Birthday

I had the best birthday. Thanks for all the lovely birthday greetings. Jerry went above and beyond with his planning and thoughtful gifts. He made an appointment for me during the week to get a spray tan which was quite the experience. It was fun to be tan for one week! Then on Friday, he arranged for my parents to come and stay with the kids overnight. We left around 1pm. He had a makeover appointment scheduled for me. It was so fun to get my makeup done. When we got there, he handed me some money and insisted I buy some makeup for myself. What a treat for me! Of course, I had a hard time deciding what to get but he was patient. Then we got in the car and he drove me to our hotel he had reserved for the night. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn. It is a beautiful hotel with an amazing breakfast. He had a gift on the bed (a new watch) and a basket full of all my favorite treat. He even had the refrigerator stocked with drinks. He told me I was completely in charge of the rest of the night. I had him go with me to the optometrist to pick out my glasses. I needed his opinion. Then we went out to eat at Olive Garden. When we were at dinner he handed me a letter he had written to me. He had even looked online to see how to fold it like we used to fold notes to each other in high school. Loved it. Then we went shopping. He had given me a gift card to Down East Outfitters. He was very patient and helped me pick out a few outfits for church. We stopped at Cracker Barrel on our way back to the hotel. We found the cutest outfits for Lauren and Landon to use for Halloween this year. It was so fun to spend time together and not be concerned about the kids. I felt so spoiled. I have a wonderful husband. The next morning we came back and the kids were having a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. I don't think they noticed we were gone. My friends Jill and Kendra arranged for us to go to lunch on Saturday. It was so fun to visit and catch up with them. We went to Cafe Rio. Then I came back and my Mom and Dad were here. We had In and Out Burger for dinner and my Mom made her lemon bars for dessert. Jerry and my Dad have been spending lots of time playing the guitar together which has been so fun to hear. Jerry is doing really well and learning quickly. I have so much to be grateful for. The Lord has truly blessed me with wonderful family and friends. I could not ask for more.

Hidden Valley Park

We had a park outing with Grandma and Grandpa. We are having so much fun with them here. This park is one of the newer ones in the area and in the summer has a splash park as well. The kids love it there. Landon enjoyed climbing and jumping all over the place. Lauren loved the swings. She kept asking me to give her a "run over dog" AKA an under dog. We couldn't help but laugh about that. Avery loved the swings and crawling on the grass as well. Grandma and Grandpa took Avery on a walk through the model homes and Grandma let her climb all the way to the top of the stairs in one of the homes. She kept looking back at Grandma to make sure she was there. We are so happy to have such nice weather and company.

Landon

Landon is growing up so much. I can't believe he will be in Kindergarten next year. He is doing extremely well in preschool. Lately, he has been working on his pizza pass off cards. They are to help him prepare for Kindergarten. We go through a checklist of specific skills and then work on the ones he is not quite sure of. He is a boy, through and through. He has been making booby traps lately. I think Jerry inspired this by allowing him to watch "Home Alone." Our house may never be the same again. We were out in the car last week and the cop who lives by us had his lights on. Landon said, "Uh oh. Someone must not be listening to their Mommy!" If only that were the solution when kids misbehaved. I think I would be calling the cops quite a bit. He is still very interested in space and human anatomy but has been learning lots about dinosaurs. He went on a field trip to the art museum and loves to identify "art" around the house now. He is very good at doing his chores....emptying the garbage daily. It was starting to be quite the expensive chore when he insisted on replacing all the small garbage bag liners daily. After some intense negotiations, he has agreed to only empty them once a week. I guess we can view that as an appropriate budget cut. We went to the park this week and I was amazed at how well he can climb, run and play. It is so fun to watch and even more fun to play with him.

Lauren

Lauren is amazing. She keeps us on our toes and laughing at her growing vocabulary and ideas. She has this idea that I have a baby in my tummy. The other day she told me, "I think after the baby boy in your tummy comes out we should have a girl and name her FeFe or Jesus." Wow. She has also been saying, "I quit you" when she is angry. Now my first response is so say, "I quit you, too" because when she says this we are obviously both at our breaking point but I try to remain silent and think of something more mommy appropriate to say. It doesn't always happen. She loves her Baby Alive and plays with her constantly. She seems to be more interested in caring for her babies lately which is why our closet is full of baby dolls and we are constantly being told to quiet down because they are sleeping. She is a princess to the max and LOVES reading all of the princess books. She loves jewelry, make up, ballet and everything girly. She loves to help with cooking, cleaning, dishes. She is always there and ready and willing to help. I am not always ready to accept help but I am working on it. She will be going to preschool next year and is very excited about that. She has been coming to my bed in the morning and snuggling with me. This is one of my favorite parts of the day. Landon will come down as well. I love talking to and learning from my wonderful kids. I am so lucky to be their Mommy.

Avery

Avery is learning and growing every day. She is still smiling as much as ever just wiggling and moving so much. She is crawling all over the place and has discovered the stairs. She cries when we put the gate up! She is talking more as well. My parents came in last night for dinner and she said, "Bapa" to my Dad. She says, "Hi" and gets so happy when we go to get her from her crib or when she sees her Dad come home. She has figured out how to open cupboards and drawers so we are having a great time cleaning up after her. She is like a little tornado and leaves a messy trail wherever she goes. She has also started using her walker. She is gaining more confidence and it is so fun to watch. She loves crawling around the island in the kitchen and playing peek a boo. She has the cutest laugh and smile. She loves to rock a bye, dance and rock back and forth when she hears music. She loves to be read to before she goes to sleep. Grandma likes to put her in her jumper and she spins herself in a circle until she gets dizzy. She loves to be outside to learn and discover new things. Every day is an adventure with her. We love our Avery!

Company

Avery with Aunt Jean
Avery, Aunt Jean and Lauren

We have had company for the past few days. It has made our life eventful and fun. My Dad's sisters Jean and Jan have been here in Saint George. My Aunt Jan has moved down here for a few months and my Aunt Jean came to help her get settled. We had a great time eating together and spent a few nights playing the guitar and singing. Jerry got a new guitar with the help of my Dad. He is doing so well and it is fun to hear him play. My Dad has been giving him some lessons and they are singing together. I love having music in our home. Aunt Jean and Uncle Darwin stayed with us for four nights. We also had Nate come down for a quick visit. We had a really good time and are so glad we live in a place people like to visit!

Trees

We spent the afternoon at the park with the kids and their scooters. They had a ball. They both don't know how to use their brakes. They just jump off and fly into the grass. It is fun to watch. The kids have found they can climb trees. Grandma said just to let them go so I just watched them climb and prayed they wouldn't fall. Grandma assured me it was a perfect climbing tree. We love the beautiful weather here and LOVE having Grandma and Grandpa here.

Thirteen Months Old

Our little Avery is thirteen months old. She has grown up so much this month. She is crawling EVERYWHERE and getting into EVERYTHING! She is still a happy, smiling baby but does squawk a bit when she doesn't get her way or something gets taken away from her. She has found the bathroom which she loves, the dishwasher which she also loves and the pantry. She is keeping us on our toes. We are learning also that it doesn't matter how many toys she has she still wants to crawl around and find any small piece of anything on the floor, any expensive electronics and basically anything she can find that is new and exciting. She is in a fun phase. She has started saying "uh,oh" which is super cute. She throws things off her eating tray as she says it which is also fun. She has been a bit more attached to Mom lately probably because of all the travel we have done and also her age. She is a wonderful baby and we LOVE her.