Davis' Church Bag and Jed's cake....

When Kate was born my mom came and stayed with us to help us out. While she was here she made Owen a "church bag", which he takes each Sunday full of quiet activities and books. Recently I have started some serious "nesting" and have made several "to-do" lists. On one of the lists was a church bag for Davis. Then without him knowing that I had already thought of this a few weeks ago Davis says, "When can Nana make me a church bag?" Well, that task immediately went onto Nana's list (don't worry Nila I will have tasks for you too!). Yesterday our family friends moved up here from my home town and what do you think they brought with them in the truck...THE CHURCH BAG...and a few other surprises...
A Speed Racer Calendar...he loves it!
Kate could not hug her dog enough...she just kept saying, "Pa-pa, Pa-pa..."
And now the ultimate gift...a mint chocolate cake for Jed! Jed said that the only thing he wanted from my parents for his birthday was my mom's mint chocolate cake...she is famous in our family for it...so the cake got a seat of honor on the floor of the moving truck and just look at how happy it made my Jed. Who knew it was that easy?

And now for a message for Nana and Papa...

Does this look like the face of a nursery bully?

At the end of December Kate was officially old enough to go into the nursery at church--OH HAPPY DAY! Of course we had put her in there a few weeks early, with the permission of the teachers, and she had no problem. It did help that Davis was still in there and her idol...Ellie. Then the new year rolled around and all of the big kids moved on to Primary (or in other words, the big kid Sunday School--Davis still complains that he misses snack time). Well, one of the nursery leaders is a friend of mine (Grandma Cherie we call her) and she called one day to ask about something else and then casually mentioned that there are a few really aggressive kids in the nursery now. I told her that I knew she was talking about Kate, which she admitted before telling me how surprised she was because the boys had both been so calm in nursery and when they visited her home--HA! I asked her to please discipline Kate by putting her in time-out for any inappropriate behavior (ie. pushing, hitting, etc--pushing being her torture of choice). Just last week I walked by the nursery door and heard, "Oh, that's a time-out. Kate you are in time-out for pushing". When we picked her up at the end of church the teachers said she had a great day and was only in time-out once...ugh. I always thought that if I ever had a daughter I would want her to be a strong woman, but a nursery bully...I think that having two older brothers may have something to do with it. What do you think?

Curious Sleeping Habits

Owen has always had very curious sleeping habits. Knock on wood, but I think that the days of night terrors are behind us and it is now very rare that he will come in our room anymore, but he still likes to sleep in strange places. In true younger brother tradition, Davis almost always follows his lead. This week they made a special bed in the toy box in their room. Owen slept in it one night and Davis in it the next. Davis is still quite a bit shorter than Owen, so he slept much better in the new "cozy" bed, while Owen woke up after just a few hours and finished the night on the floor.

Oh, and this may be a good time to note, for my own record, that Davis is currently going through a “crying wolf” phase. Every night last week he emerged from his room complaining that something hurt or that he couldn’t sleep for whatever reason. My favorite, by far is “I have a stummyache”. I guess he can’t decide if he has a stomach or a tummy. Owen went through a phase like this too, so I am hoping that it is just that, a phase?

Curler Mania

When I was a little girl I LOVED when my mom would put our hair in sponge curlers before bed. I understand why we didn't do it too often now (I had the thickest hair and it probably took her forever to do mine and Amy's hair), but at the time I wished I could wear my hair curly every day. So, now that Kate's hair is thickening I just couldn't resist trying curlers in her hair too. It is pretty obvious that she pulled the ones in the front out (or they may have just come out while she slept--she is a "stomach sleeper" after all) and then the back was a little out of control. We didn't quite duplicate the beautiful curls of her cousins Hannah and Adrienne, but it was fun trying.

Valentine's Day Happenings

Just in case you were wondering I thought I would give you my take on Valentine's day...It's funny as a kid I loved the holiday. I mean who doesn't love getting a bunch of cards and CANDY from all of your friends and family!?!?! As a teenager my girlfriends and I would refer to the holiday as "Single Awareness Day". As a young adult I thought it was a fun holiday. Now as a married gal, I have to be honest and say that I really don't put a lot of significance on the day (I know I am such a romantic--don't worry Jed and I agree on this point). Really, I think that husbands and wives should find opportunities all year long to express appreciation and spoil each other. As a mom...I LOVE VALENTINE'S DAY! I love the opportunity to see the holiday through the eyes of my children once again. I love the chance to teach them to say "I love you" to the many people who spoil them and show kindness to them on a daily basis. My kids are lucky to have fantastic/involved grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We have the world's greatest neighbors...most of whom happen to be grandparents themselves. Who can have too many grandparent figures? Jed has the greatest office staff. My kids have great teachers and we all have AMAZING friends. So to all of you....We love you and hope you have had a Fabulous Valentine's Day!

Before I move on to the picture mania I do have to tell you a fun thing that Jed did on Valentine's Day with the kids. When I woke up there were valentine cards at my door waiting for me. Then they spent the morning showering me with praise...."Mom, I LOVE the breakfast that you made us!", "Mommy, I LOVE you so much", "Mommy, I love the way you set up my bunk bed"...and on and on and on. It didn't take long before I noticed the chart Owen had made on the wall and I realized that they were having a contest. Jed and the boys were competing to see who could use the word "love" the most in relation to me. It went on all day and was a riot! I LOVED every minute of it. I am grateful for a hubby who teaches our kids to treat their mom with love and appreciation...and not just on February 14th!

Now here are a few pictures (in no particular order) to sum up our Valentine celebrations...

The kids and I made oreo truffles for Jed's staff. The boys call them "chocolate meatballs".

Heart-shaped pizzas, ice cubes and straws...always a hit!

Thank you for the Valentines Grandma Nila! She even sent one for the new baby...can I have her dollar?

Davis made the day special by NOT wearing his "Awesome Shirt" (see past entry for explanation)

Kate and I stopped by Owen's class party to grab a couple of photos and Kate got in on the dancing action too...this girl has some moves!

Owen was the fish feeder for the day...an honor for any 5 year old.

Kate was a sweet little Valentine. I love how she poses for the camera now...too funny.

Oh, as a side note we did also have a party with Davis and Kate's music class--very fun and entertaining for all.

Owen's Valentine's Message for you!

Owen was singing this song at dinner last night and we just had share...he is growing up so fast, but is still so dang cute!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Today is my Grandma's birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!! I love and admire my Grandma for her strength, sense of humor and dedication to her faith and her family. We are blessed that each time our family gets together Grandma makes an effort to come and join us. I feel very lucky that my children know their "Grandma Jones" as well! We love you Grandma!

Happy Birthday to our Daddy!

How old do our kids think their Daddy is on his birthday (oh, and please excuse the talking with their mouths full!)...



Due to scheduling conflicts, we celebrated Jed's birthday a little early. Jed and I spent the afternoon together shopping for new soccer shoes, flipping through books at Barnes and Noble, eating Thai food, etc. Then we made a little trip to Costco where Jed bought himself this...



Oh, now would you look at one of the gifts I had bought him for his birthday...


Too funny!

I love you Jed! Thank you for being a great father and terrific husband. I am so grateful for your kind spirit and adventurous personality!

This one's for you Sheri!

When we lived in NM there were so many great families who reached out to us and loved our little baby, Owen. On Sunday we were able to have a reunion with Kelli who is the member of one of our favorite NM families...the DeVores! Our kids loved wrestling/attacking her and she was such a great sport about it. I thought that Kelli's mom in particular would appreciate seeing "baby Owen" with Kelli now!