Valentine's Day

We had a great day today. We woke up and I made breakfast. We had heart shaped waffles with strawberries and whip cream. I have been wanting to do a garden and we found out about a community garden close to our home. We went over and secured a little portion of one of the planter boxes. I have no idea what I am doing but I want to give it a try and see if we can make something grow. The kids are so excited to plant. Jerry took the kids to the park for a while to give Avery a chance to nap and me a chance to get ready. When he got back we made roll out sugar cookies. Jerry insisted on piping the frosting on which is why they turned out so well. He's good that way because he creates culinary masterpieces and he tells me I can take credit for it :> We had fun sharing them with neighbors and friends. After we had baked all the cookies we went to Home Depot to get our gardening supplies. All I will say is we do have a big bag of steer manure on our front porch right now. Just in case you wanted to know. I loved Jerry's explanation to the kids about why and what we were purchasing. One of my favorite moments of the day. That night I went with a friend from the ward who owns a photography business. I go and help with the pictures and earn a little extra money. It is lots of fun. There was a group of teen boys in spandex. I just tried not to look. Jerry and I watched a movie, "Fireproof" when I got home. Jerry accused me of setting him up because I think we have marriage problems. That wasn't the case but it was a clean, Christian based movie. It was a great day.

Fourteen Months Old

Our little girl is becoming a toddler. She is fourteen months old now and getting into EVERYTHING! Nothing is safe when she is around and she makes a path throughout the house that looks like a tornado. Her favorite things to make a mess of are: the shoe rack, the cd's under the television, the drawer with all the sippy cups, mom's drawers in the bathroom and anything else she can open or tear up. She has also discovered the bathroom and can pull out a roll of toilet paper in 10 seconds flat. She is continuing to expand her vocabulary and mimics sounds and words that are said to her. She LOVES to crawl and has discovered stairs. The problem is she is not sure how to get down yet so she requires constant supervision. She is not happy when she sees the gate being put up to prevent her from climbing. She loves playing with her big brother and sister (most of the time). Her sleeping and eating patterns have been somewhat irregular due to teeth coming in. We haven't seen any new ones (she has two on the bottom) but she is drooling and irritable or as Jerry says, "How come she all the sudden has attitude?" She LOVES music and dances anytime she hears it. It is so cute to watch her. She is working on using her jumper when Lauren isn't pushing her like it's a swing or twisting her up and making her spin. It is not used much because it can be a hazard when she has "help." She has issues with going potty in the bathtub. I have never had a baby poo poo in the tub as much as she has. I try to bath her fast but if she stays in longer or I am not looking she does it. I think we are in double digits for the number of times she has done this. She is picky about what she eats more than her brother and sister were and she likes to feed herself most of the time. We got rid of the bottle and she does great with a sippy cup. She is a sweet baby and we love having her in our home.

Gary

Today is the two year anniversary of Gary's death. I still miss him and sometimes I still think he will come back. I finally came up with something I can do that makes me feel like I am honoring him. I decided to make his kids a valentine package and send it to them. I know he must ache to be with them and I thought this would help us as a family to feel connected to them. I talk to the older kids but I miss Sadie and Ellie. I hope we can make this a tradition and do this each year for him. He is still in our thoughts each day and we hope to live worthy to be with him eternally. I don't know how you would survive losing a family member without the reassurance you will be able to see them someday. I am so grateful for Gary, his life and most importantly for the gospel which gives me the strength to live without him.

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!