The Dream Becomes a Reality (Maybe)

Karianna drew a picture the other day:

As you can tell from her labels, its a picture of me, Karianna, and Sara. Who is Sara you ask? Well, Sara is Karianna's little sister that just isn't born; if you ask Karianna, she'll tell you baby Sara is in heaven and she'll come join our family when Jordan is bigger. All of Karianna's old clothes go into baby Sara's box. If Karianna outgrows a toy or a doll, she'll add that to the box, graciously stating that baby Sara can play with it when she joins our family. Karianna knew full well that baby Sara wasn't coming anytime soon, but it has been fun for her to plan ahead, so to speak.

We are now at a point where that dream is becoming a reality since (if you didn't already know) we are now officially expecting baby Sara....or Joshua. If its Joshua, Karianna is going to have to have a major paradigm shift. Baby is due October 22nd and we are certainly excited to get into the craziness that we believe will be a family of 6. Question for everyone: how do you go anywhere with 4 children ages 5 and under? I'm still working on that. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Where's the Smoke?

As we were coming home from the park today, Jared and I were having a conversation in which he majorly exaggerated. We were both laughing about it, and Karianna asked what was so funny. I told her that Daddy was blowing smoke out of his rear end (which I think is a phrase indicating obvious fabrication, right???). Karianna and JD both cracked up, they thought that image was so funny. When we got home seconds later, Karianna asked Dad to get out of the car so she could see the smoke coming out of his rear end. She was very disappointed when she couldn't see the smoke. Ha ha, still makes me laugh!

When I Grow Up

I know I have blogged about this before, but today made it official. Karianna pranced into the office today to announce that she wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up. She struck a pose to solidify her career path, barbie and all. Sounds great, banana!

Barbies and Stress

Playing with barbies has been a creative process for Karianna. Why? Because she is all about modesty and barbie clothes tend to not be very modest! Karianna has resultantly become a pro at making jackets out of tissues (I kid you not). It's been pretty cute to watch, however I've been scoping out Ebay for a while to try and buy a bigger variety of barbie clothes so she can achieve modesty without shredding 10 tissues in the process. I finally succeeded last week and unknowingly won a lot of 75+ barbie clothes for $4.55-shipping included! Woohoo for cheap deals on Ebay! It was seriously a surprise because I woke up one morning to find an email in my inbox saying I had won overnight. What a feeling of exhilaration, I can understand why people might get addicted to Ebay...thankfully I am so cheap, I don't think I'd ever have a problem overspending :)

Karianna was completely overjoyed yesterday when she got a packet full of barbie clothes in the mail yesterday and we have spent all morning dressing barbies galore for a ball. Sure enough, each and every one of them are modest and dressed to the hilt in Karianna Couture. I even had a blast playing with her. Here's a quick picture of the party en route to the ball:

On a completely oppostie note, I was pretty stressed out last night and decided to take my stress out on our collection of finger puppets. I stood them all up in two lines, facing each other, and ready for battle (not pictured). My side then proceeded to knock down all of the opponents on the other side. The result was a great deal of finger puppet devestation-and I felt a ton better :) Jared got a picture of that, and I had to share because...well...this was just plain weird, and the funny part is I was totally serious about it. The things we'll do to ease stress. Better than browsing Ebay all night...

Progress

Karianna has been making leaps and bounds lately in reading and writing. I always loved seeing this progress when I was teaching, but I have to admit, it is just that much cooler when it is your own child. Karianna didn't want to erase her work, so I told her I would take a picture and put it on the internet so she could see it whenever she wants-so here you go! She has a big enough bank of sight words now that she can read a decodable sentence on her own-there's just one word that she has to sound out, this week it is the -at family. She writes the sentence on her own, hopefully with spacing, and then she draws a matching picturs. I kind of want this hat. :) I don't think I can call her a true blue reader yet because she is still getting the hang of it and really benefits from a lot of modeling, but it is super cool to see the lights clicking "on" in her head. We are so proud of you Karianna!

By the way, I just wanted to point out Karianna's outfit. She tries to wear this skirt every single day without fail. It is size 18 months. She refuses to give it up. At least it's a skirt I like.

It's Not Working

I'm slowly starting to get JD used to the idea of potty training (I admittedly have no idea how to potty train a boy, and after an exceptionally easy first experience with Karianna, I think I am due for a rough stretch with JD. So that "getting used to potty training" statement was for me as much as JD. Time to end this parenthesis.). I have him sit on the potty a few times a day and encourage him to do his business. As I sat him up there before bed tonite, he really tried to "go"; I could hear him pushing and thought, wow, he really means business. After a few minutes of pushing and pointing, he looked up at me and said, "Mama, it's not working-it's broken" and proceeded to climb down.

Okay. It's not working-in fact its broken. Guess that ends tonite's potty training experience fairly succinctly.

The Beginning of Water Days

The kids have been begging for days now to turn on the hose. Today I finally relented as it is undeniably warm outside. Are we seriously still in March?!? I wish the pools would be as warm as the weather! Here's how the kids chose to employ their initial water play day:


JD immediately zoomed for the little inflatable pool that is worth it's weight in gold times 10000. Splashing up a storm and playing with the growing crocodile and turtle to boot. This guy is the true water baby of the family (besides me).












Karianna is, of course, is smarter about how she engages in water play-she doesn't want to get wet. Such a girl :) So instead, she chose to use the mop to write her name with water on the pavement. Then she made footprints and handprints. Good choices.

















Jordan seemed content exploring the art of splashing in a smaller bucket of water before letting curiosity get the better of him: He had to know what JD was doing in the pool. End result-both kids were soaked head to toe, fully clothed. See, that's why I opted to delay water play until now. Seeing their faces and hearing the shrieks of joy are well worth it though!

My Sad Little Boy

Jordan had his 12 month well visit today, although it is more like his 13 month appointment. Not so good as doctor appointments go! He's been tugging his ears a lot lately, which is an obvious ear infection sign, however it wasn't manifesting anywhere else, so I wasn't sure if it was ear infection, or if Jordan had just discovered that he has ears. The doctor confirmed that it is in fact a double ear infection. Bring on the amoxicillan (I am totally aware that I spelled that word wrong, but I'm too lazy to google it).

On top of the ear infections, Jordan had to get 4 shots-I hate the look all my kids give me during shots: "Why are you doing this to me Mom???" Pull at my heartstrings! Jordan is now officially on a diet of soy milk for 6 months due to a potential milk allergy. Not just soy milk-that would make for interesting diapers. We'll try cow's milk again after the 6 month mark and see if he has the same allergic reaction he had a few weeks ago.

Finally, it appears that Jordan has hit a growth de-spurt. He dropped about 15-20 percentile points on both height and weight, settling at 20% for height (29 in) and 5% for weight (19 pounds). That can't be good, right? I expected the weight issue since he was in the ER for severe vomiting and had to be given IV fluids. The height thing came as a surprise though-we'll follow up on that in a few weeks when we go back to the doctor for his ear infection check up.

So that's it for my sad little boy-who is really so happy and full of life! Jordan's favorite part of the day right now is waking up Karianna and JD in the morning. As we walk down the hall to their rooms, he starts waving and pointing to her door, saying "Nana!" He tries to say JD, but it just comes out as a /j/ sound. Jordan has taken about 10 steps to date, but doesn't see the need to walk excusively yet at all. He's biding his time. :) He loves to play peek a boo and he loves to share-whatever he's holding, he'll try and give it to you, and that's cute. He's a binky-less babe now unless he has to go to the doctor for double ear infections and shots, or on a long car ride. I introduced Jordan to sand a few days ago at the park and he didn't try to eat it-not once. That's plain cool. Makes his park visits more enjoyable! All in all, Jordan is loving life and I love to see his eyes light up and focus when he's very obviously studying something in order to understand it. Fun stuff-I love you Jordan and I promise to try and bulk you up a little more in the next two weeks!

Smarty Pants

Jordan loves to turn the TV on and off in his free time. He doesn't have too much consideration for others who might be watching TV at the time. In order to curb his habit, I put several layers of masking tape over the TV buttons. I thought I was so smart, worked for the other two kids. Yeah, not for Jordan. The tape didn't last more than 10 seconds before Jordan had peeled it off in its entirety. Smarty pants.

Just For Me

This post will end well, I promise! These are my recollections of the day my Dad passed away four years ago today. I have written this out mostly for me and hope anyone who reads it can be okay with the emotion in it.

Today has been an interesting day of quiet remembrance. Four years ago, my dad passed away from a massive heart attack. He was only 52 years old, completely healthy, active, and well loved in the community. Jared and I were living on the west side of Mesa at the time, and I had just laid down for a nap after a busy day of teaching first grade. Jared had gone to do some studying at Mesa Community College and Karianna was napping herself-she wasn't even 6 months old yet. The phone started ringing around 5:30, and I was honestly annoyed. I didn't answer the many rings that followed, convincing myself that napping was more important. When I finally answered the phone with a very frustrated "Hello", my world pretty much stopped moving when I heard my sister Rebecca tell me my Dad had collapsed. She sounded a bit frantic, and I remember telling her to calm down and to tell me what happened. All she knew is Dad collapsed on the driveway and they thought he had a seizure or a heart attack-she really wasn't sure. Tables flipped and all of the sudden it was me flipping out. I remember Becca telling me to calm down, that I need to drive to Mesa and I had to be calm so I could drive safely with Karianna. I very quickly threw odds and ends iton a diaper bag, crying the entire time, and grabbed Karianna. As I drove down the stree to MCC to find Jared, I was still crying and praying out loud that Dad would be okay.

We got to MCC and parked illegaly in the teacher's parking lot; I ran to the library only to find out there was no intercom system to find Jared-5 floors and precious time was ticking away. I can only thank a silent prayer for directing me to Jared in minutes. As we drove to the hospital, I did not consider for a moment that Dad might die. I remember talking to Jared about what recovery would be like from a stroke-how long would it take Dad to get his speech and movement back? Would he be in the hospital for long? Jared told me later that he knew Dad had passed away. I just don't think I was willing to consider that. We pulled up to the ER parking lot and Jared let me out while he found a parking space. As I walked in, I saw Bishop Hunt. I remember smiling shakily and asking him how Dad was. He didn't say anything. He led me back to the ER and I saw my whole family huddled around a bed that I couldn't see. Daniel was closest and as I walked up to him, I asked him if Dad was okay. I don't think I will ever forget Daniel's response. He said, "Dad's okay, but he's not here anymore."

Several things happened at once. Daniel hugged me and the crowd cleared a bit. I saw my Dad, looking so oddly different. And I just fell apart. I was in total shock. Next thing I know I was sitting right next to my Dad in tears. At some point Jared was kneeling next to me whispering how sorry he was, and all I could do was ask him to bring Dad back. That's all I wanted, and my heart was breaking for it.

The next few hours were spent in a private room with my family. I remember sitting next to Becca, just holding each other and constantly reaching out to hold Dad's hand. I remember worrying about my four youngest siblings, wondering how in the world they were dealing with this. I remember worrying about Suzie, who was out of state. I just can't imagine how hard that must have been for her. Most of all, I worried about Mom. It is inconceivable to me to imagine losing Jared. If my heart wasn't already broken, it certainly did as I thought about Mom. It was just so shocking for me, and I couldn't understand it-how our family could be together one day, and seemingly broken apart the next. It just didn't make sense. The only thing that was very apparent to me was the fact that Dad was gone. His body was there, and I was doing everything I could to will it back to life. But his spirit was gone from it, and it was totally different.

I didn't want to leave the hospital at all. I felt responsible for watching over Dad; it seemed weird to leave him all by himself, and at one point I remember thinkging, he'll be scared when he wakes up-shouldn't someone be here? When we finally left for the night, I remember walking back to the car with Jared struggling to hold back the tears. As Jared closed my car door, I completely lost it again and pleaded with the Lord to let Dad stay with us just a little longer. We spent the night at my mom's house with most of the other siblings. We huddled on Mom's bed for a while, read Dad's patriarchial blessing and tried to just comfort each other to make it through the night. Eventual bed time brought no relief other than having Jared by my side to remind me of the things that would pull me through. I'm so glad he was there, that night and since, to help me make sense of something that was so foreign to me.

I never expected to have my Dad pass away when I was 22 years old. I feel like I grew up in a bubble, never really experiencing major trials. To have this as my first big trial was very overwhelming. For quite some time, I felt very lost and very confused. I didn't know how to make sense of losing my Dad so suddenly. To some degree, I'm still trying to figure things out. Here's what I have learned though.

There is a plan beyond this life to be with my Dad again; in essence, the time I have to be away from him is relatively short. I belive this with all my heart, and I believe it because my Dad, along with my Mom, taught it to me. My Mom was so diligent after Dad passed away in finding comfort from the leaders of our church. One quote that she shared with me and the whole family has always stuck in my mind and I wish I could remember it exactly and who said it. In any case, it has brought me a lot of comfort: No righteous man is ever taken before his time. This I too believe with all my heart. My Dad was such a righteous man. He lived his life so wonderfully and faithfully, full of integrity, and bearing a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know exactly where he is and that he was taken from this Earth for a very specific reason. He was needed in Heaven, and I can trust that the Lord will buoy me up until I can be with him again.

Another thing I learned is how well my parents taught me. My Dad's passing was so overwhelming for me. However, I believe that the Lord did not take my Dad from this Earth until he had taught me and my siblings all he needed to teach us. It is for this reason that I have been able to come out of this trial with a quiet testimony that the plan of salvation and Jesus Christ makes it possible for me to be with my Dad again. Of that I have no doubt.

I have learned how much I love my family. I have always considered my family to be my best friends. Now more than every I truly cherish my family and the relationships I have with them. I don't want to waste moments anymore. I don't want my kids to miss out on time with their aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. The memories I have of my Dad carry me through so many sad days, and I hope to make as many memories as I can with my family and my children as possible. I have learned how strong our family is together. We are not perfect. But our faith and our committment to each other has been a cornerstone in keeping our family together forever, including Dad. My Mom is amazing. Her strength over the last four years is incomparable. I know she misses Dad more than I can imagine. But I also know that her testimony is strong and I know Dad is watching over her.

Above all, I know that I love my Dad more every day-and that emotion overrides missing my Dad more every day. In moments of sadness, I know I I can close my eyes and go back to happy times with Dad-and it just seems to lighten the coils in my heart. I loved the new relationship I had with Dad when I started teaching. It was so wonderful to have education talks with Dad and get his expert advice. I thought it comical to hang out with Dad while he was watching a Suns game-boy, did he get into it! I remember Saturdays of going to Mendoza or O'Connor to practice batting and catching fly balls. On that same note, I remember seeing him walk into the gymnasium for a volleyball game, white shirt and tie, having come straight from work just to see me play. I remember how dedicated he was holding family home evening, family prayer, and family scripture time. So many good memories that I am so grateful to have.

I miss my Dad. I long to have a conversation with him. I dream of inviting him over to play with Karianna, JD, and Jordan. Most of all, I wish I could have said good bye to him, to tell him how much I love him and how much I honor him as my Father. I am satisfied to know that these things will come, and I am comforted to know my family is eternal. I love you Dad-Karianna drew a picture today of me and you holding hands and jumping on trampolines together. I'm going to hold you to that someday!

Birds and the Bees

Karianna explained the Birds and the Bees to me today.

Her friend's mother is expecting triplets this month and Karianna wanted to know how you get babies in a mommy's tummy. I asked her what she thought. She said, you cut a mommy's tummy open very carefully, put a very small baby in, and then sew it up. Then the baby can grow. She then added if it is triplets, you just put one baby on the side, another baby on the other side, and then the last baby in the middle so they don't get all squished together.

I wonder how long that explanation is going to hold up.

Confidence

I am only submitting this picture because I have complete confidence in my ability to make a goofy face and still look extremely cool.

Family Outing: A Big Well and Snow!

Making the Decision: What a spur of a moment trip this was! The car was in the shop, we were not prepared at all to take off for the weekend, and had zero snow clothes to speak of. Nonetheless, we decided this weekend was a perfect time to take the kids up to Flagstaff to experience snow, which they have never experienced before. Call us sporadic-best memories come that way!

The Prep Work: No snow clothes? No problem. I took a brief trip to the local Goodwill and spent 30 bucks getting waterproof everything for our entire family. Can't get any better than that! We even booked a cheap hotel room in less than 10 minutes-I don't think that has ever happened to us before, and a suite on top of it! I managed to get us completely packed and loaded up in the car in 1 hour. That's gotta be a record somewhere. The only thing we forgot was Karianna's froggie snow boots that I bought for 2 bucks. Darnit.

The Big Well: We stopped off at Montezuma's Well on the way up to Flag. Last time Jared and I were there I was pregnant with Karianna-this visit sure was different with two walkers and a baby strapped in a snugli! I always get so nervous that one of the kids will fall off a cliff; this trip was no exception! Notice how I am unwilling to relinquish my grip on JD even though he is sitting for a picture?

Regardless, we had a blast hiking the trails, especially the irrigation canals, and seeing all the Indian ruins and cave homes-lots of new vocab for Karianna to learn! I don't think we were supposed to actually walk in the ruins, but oops, we did. I excuse it by telling myself I'm just giving the kids a real-life experience. ;) The kids LOVE hiking, and I think that is so cute! Jordan just loved being in a snugli (don't know how I made it through 3 kids without having one of these things). As we were hiking back to the parking lot, Jordan realized I was behind him and kept twisting around to give me these big goofy smiles. Silly guy! We had a great time, definitely would head back for another visit!

The Snow: I have to admit I was a little nervous taking the kids in the snow. I knew they would be plenty warm and dry, thanks to Goodwill. I knew they would be just fine sledding, I knew we were completely prepared. I just didn't know if they would adapt to the snow. JD tends to throw a fit when I put a jacket on him. Period. Jordan refuses to eat or drink anything cold. What to do if they got that stingy about being in snow? Thankfully most of my worries were overthought (as usual). The kids LOVED the snow! We spent about 2 hours at the Snowbowl play area throwing snowballs, making a mini snowman, and riding the sled. We let JD and Karianna take the maiden voyage on the sled and they did great until they got to the end of the hill, where they both tumbled off and burst into tears. The reason? They had snow on their faces and they didn't like it! ;) We switched over to a smaller hill and sledding became popular again, especially when Karianna figured out how cool it is to sled backwards on your stomach. Our snowman is kind of wimpy. You know the song "Once There Was a Snowman"? Our snowman is a visual representation of the latter half of that song where the primary kids melt to the ground. Both Jared and I learned that we really don't know how to make a decent snowman, however we blame it on the fact that we are Mesa bred for the most part. The snowman-woman's name is Bella, though I don't know why Karianna picked that name. After looking closely, I realized it does resemble my mom's poodle....My favorite part was piling all 3 kids on the sled with me and taking the plunge! I could have done that all day! Karianna said her favorite part was making snow angels. Thanks to our new camera which has high speed burst, I took several consecutive pics of her making an angel and can literally watch her in action. Love that feature! JD's favorite part hands down was throwing snowballs at Jared-it was hilarious to watch! Only bad part is JD kept confusing the snowballs with rocks-not literally, just in his explanations. If you ask him what he did in the snow, he will tell you, "I throw rocks at Dad!" Better correct that quick since our backyard is full of rocks... Jordan did great in the snugli, though his face got pretty red. He kept giggling when we went on the sled and when the kids got pretty crazy with the snowball throwing. He wouldn't quite touch the snow, but thought it was intriguing to watch me flick flakes off of it.

I had such a blast playing with the kids, and I really hope we get a chance to head up to the snow again before it all melts!

The Conclusion: Porta Potties stink. Karianna had to use the restroom really bad, thus I resorted to the porta potty even though I am morally opposed to them. Just solidified my distaste for them. Otherwise, conclusion is-great trip! The kids did so well with everything we did. JD and Karianna slept in the same bed at the hotel for the first time ever; after some talking and giggling, they did great sleeping through the night. The best part is just making these memories with our family. I know I have said that a lot recently, but it is so true-that has been the focus of our family outings, and it is amazing to me how joyous it is to spend time together. No frustration or dicipline problems, just having fun together and experiencing new things. I love it and I love my family!

The Reward: No reward really, but if you made it through this entire post, you are very cool and my respect for you is through the roof! Hey, lets try an experiment, if you are reading this, submit a comment so everyone knows how cool you are! Go ahead, give yourself a pat on the back! As Jared would say, do a toyota jump for yourself! Woohoo! I really have no idea what a toyota jump is come to think of it. Maybe I'll see if he'd like to demonstrate...

Family Outing: Lake Pleasant

Or is it spelled "Lake Pleasent"? That looks weird. If I'm wrong, please tell me! Anyhow...we decided very spur of the moment today to take the kids to the lake for a few hours. We live about 20 minutes away from it and have never visited, so in lieu of our goal to expose the kids to more outdoor experiences, we decided to take the leap (though not into the water-too cold). The kids had such a fun time hiking up the trails and clamboring down the mountainsides to get to the water's edge. We spent quite some time skipping rocks-or in the kids' cases, simply throwing handfuls as far as they could. Jared is such a pro at this-I managed to skip a rock four times and was pretty proud of that! We explored some snake holes, prickly pear cactus, and spider rock (aptly named after we moved it and tons of spiders rushed to escape). The best part for me was seeing how much the kids loved being outdoors. Both Karianna and JD tried to wade in the lake up to their knees-I was pretty shocked they didn't mind the temperatures, especially Karianna. JD just wanted to chase the ducks, even if it meant jumping in headfirst! Even Jordan got into it by throwing several rocks into the water. All in all, great time together as a family. Jared loves this kind of stuff and I think it made him proud that his kids were such naturals at the whole hiking bit. It definitely makes me feel much better about taking the kids camping at some point! Here's a few pics!

Love this shot! JD and Karianna were enjyoing the outdoors so much that they were actually hugging each other without it turning into a wrestling match!

This shot was taken before I realized Jordan was sitting on Spider Rock... The pro showing us how its done!

Adding to the rocky lake bottom.

Great faces come out of facing the sun for a picture.

I know this pic is way dark, but I love it anyway-all three kiddos and I love them to pieces!

The Good Moments

Jordan is being pretty clingy right now-being sick all last week resulted in being held and "babied" more than normal, and I think he still expects that as opposed to going back to normal routines. Thus I have been ending my days pretty tired from having to hold or tolerate a crying baby all day. Frustrated might be a better word. So I had to post a picture that I took of the boys before bedtime tonite. They were just laying together, happy (almost forgot what that looked like on Jordan), and JD was actually giving Jordan hugs and kisses, and saying "time for sleepies Jordan". This is the good moment I will remember if Jordan's rough spell continues tomorrow.

Didn't Realize She Knew That...

Yesterday at preschool, Karianna's class talked about President's Day. She came home with a George Washington mask complete with cotton ball hair, and a self portrait of President Karianna. I thought it was adorable! I also thought it a great lesson for her because I didn't really think Karianna understood much more than the basic idea that the president is the person who makes the rules for the United States of America (I thought explaining the three branches of government was a little too much for a four year old).

Karianna proved me wrong today. We were waiting in line to buy lunch at Costco. Karianna was holding a 20 dollar bill. She was studying the back of it pretty closely when she looked up at me and said, "Hey, that's where President Obama lives!" I was cracking up so hard I was nearly crying. I didn't feel embarassed about that at all though because the lady behind the counter was too. Guess Karianna soaks up more of talk radio than I previously assumed!

Belated: Party Part Two

Jordan's second party was the day after his actual birthday; this would be his cousins party, or in essence, all the extended family. I love this tradition too and I know there will come a day when getting everyone together won't be as easy. Thus, we have to take advantage of it while we can! The cousins in my family are all good friends and it is so much fun to watch them all play together. I wish I knew my cousins that well.....I wish I knew all their names at the very least. Anyhow, we had the cousins party at a park, which in my opinion, is the only way to go. Free reign for play time, talk time, and no one has to feel stressed out or ostracized in the name of keeping a house clean. It's a self-preservation tactic :) Jordan once again seemed enthralled with opening presents and true to form, gobbled up his cupcake (which came back later to haunt him in the form of throw up). The funniest thing about this party was the fact that Jordan, despite his bare feet, kept crawling out into the dead Arizona grass without seeming to care. Fishing grass out of his mouth thereafter became an olympic sport. In any case, the weather was beautiful, celebrating Jordan was wonderful, and we had a blast. Thanks to everyone who was able to come and thanks for the gifts!

Belated: Party Part One

I have been meaning to post pics of Jordan's birthday party for a while now, but I've been putting it off because I have a bajillion pics of both parties and couldn't find the energy to sort through them all...woe is me. I suppose if that's the worst complaint I can come up with, I'm doing pretty good. It's not the worst complaint, by the by, but I digress. Jordan's first birthday party was a family one. I am a believer in family parties. That's all I ever knew growing up, and I love those memories. I know I will have my fair share of friend parties, and cousin parties, and teenager parties, but I always want to make family parties a priority for my kids. We did Jordan's family party on his actual birthday and we learned several things:

1. JD and Karianna possibly enjoyed Jordan's presents more than he did. But I took comfort in the fact that they took the toys out of his hands before he had a chance to really appreciate them, so I could be wrong in that first statement.


2. Despite number one, Jordan loves opening presents. He was totally into it. Didn't try to wriggle out of my lap one time.


3. Jordan loves cupcakes.



4. Jordan loves fingerpainting with frosting.
   


5. Jordan didn't care if the candle was lit, he wanted the cupcakes. His reaction when I wouldn't let him play with fire was comical.
   



6. Karianna and JD were great gift-getters; plus they each said a compliment about Jordan as tradition goes. Karianna said Jordan is fun to play with and he laughs good. JD said Jordan is cool.
   
7. Buying toys on a budget can work. All of Jordan's presents except the books were one dollar apiece. The books were clearanced for 75% off at Albertsons.






8. Jordan is a singer. He sang along with us during our beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday. I like to think he was adding a lovely descant.

Happy Belated Birthday to my grown up One Year Old! We sure do love you!

As Karianna Would Say-Happy Vday!

Walmart has pulled out their Easter stuff and Valentine clearance shopping is on the list for tomorrow-guess that means Valentines Day is over! Still time left though to say how much I love my 4 valentines! We started off the day with valentine goodies for the kids. Every time we go to Walmart Karianna and JD beg to go back to the toy section; when I comply, they make a beeline to the book racks and pull off the same books every time. That's what they found in their valentine bags, and I was dubbed the most popular mom in the house :) Karianna and I then went to a primary activity, which was a blast-decorating cookies, making cards, and playing relays....tons of fun!

At that point we had a pretty quiet, laid back day hanging out together as a family. Jared made me an amazing steak dinner and I retaliated with a plate full of oreos and chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Jared went the extra mile by getting me flowers and a new set of PJs; I am a fan of comfy pajamas, so he hit the nail on the head with that one! All in all I love my family-we certainly have our flaws (the kitchen is one of them), but I couldn't ask for more! Bonus points to Jared for being the most understanding and loving husband I could every imagine-hugs are good :)