Emily's Birthday Party

Amidst the turmoil of selling a house, we decided Emily would have a birthday party with her friends since we will be moving this summer. It was a princess themed party and each little princess attending was crowned on arrival. Here is my 6 year old princess on the big day (excuse the extended middle finger in the picture-purely innocent).Each princess made their own pizza and then we played some princess themed games. The favorite game was "The Princess is Missing her Favorite Things". I had a tray of "princess" items. One child left the room and we took off one item. They had to guess what was missing. I was surprised at how much they liked the game.

After games and dinner Emily opened her presents. Emily absolutely adored every gift. As soon as all the guests left, she played with each toy and even woke up early the next morning to play with them again. Poor kid all her other toys have been packed away.

I'm really glad that we have a picture with each of Emily's friends. They are wonderful girls and I'm glad we can remember them in picture. Here is Emily and Mary Jane G.

Emily and Rachelle B. Emily with Sam (At first he did not want to wear a crown. But when everyone else had one, he asked for a blue crown.)
Emily and Sarah C.
Emily and Alyssa M. I'm so glad Emily invited Alyssa. She is only 4 but she is the only girl in our cul-de-sac. They play together all the time. I was afraid that being much younger, she would be left out. But everyone at the party was so kind to everyone else.

Ella F., Emily and Tessa P. I adore this picture. They look so happy. Emily LOVES the "Emily" mug. I can't wash it fast enough.
Emily and Haley T. Haley and Emily were only 2 when we moved to Minnesota. Haley was her first MN friend.
After presents we had cake and ice cream. Emily chose a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and Neapolitan ice cream. She blew her candles out too fast for a good picture. Then she had the candles out before I even put the camera down.
Every party has to have a goofy face picture.
After cake and ice cream we had a Princess search. I told the girls that a princess had been captured by a dragon and it was up to them to rescue her. The dragon left pink eggs with clues to help us find the princess. Each girl was assigned one clue. We searched the house to find them all. To help the hunt progress quietly, they had to whisper so they wouldn't wake the dragon (the best idea I ever came up with). Emily drew, colored and cut out a princess to glue to the pinata. I hid it in the laundry room and Emily was really surprised!Here is the first whack!! Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the mad scramble for candy. But there was plenty for all. Because it was cold and rainy outside we had to break it inside. It was so heavy and the girls so strong that the pinata fell from the hook in the wall. Luckily Brad was home and he held the pinata while they took a swing. Brave man my husband!
Hopefully a fun time was had by all the royal attendees!

Happy Birthday my dear daughter!

Grateful Sunday (A Day Late)

I am grateful for...

• The Internet. Ours was down for several days and I felt so isolated. I missed the blogging world (Oh gee-I really need some real human contact).
• Brad. I have been so down and frustrated and worn out lately. He has been really understanding.
• Brad's schedule is back to normal. He was working nights for 2 weeks and as much as I love to see him in the afternoon, I am really happy for normal hours.
• My mom. She let me cry my sorrows away last night with understanding and love.
• Ben. Who can resist a face that is so full of pure love.
• Emily's birthday party went well (I'll post pictures later). I really stressed over having one with the house for sale but it worked out okay even with a showing two hours before the party.
• The hope of summer. It has been so bleak and cold. I long for summer.
• Grateful Sunday posts. It forces me to look for the good.
• Emily and Sam when they play nicely. No explanation needed.

Speaking of Polly Pockets

So I went into Emily and Sam's room to return the Polly Pocket who so kindly posed for my haircut picture and I found them playing with the Polly Pockets.

This is Emily explanation of their play:

Emily: Mom, remember the story in our scriptures that a man can have two wives (she is referring to Jacob, Rachel and Leah). Well, we are pretending that he (Playmobile SWAT team motorcycle man) is getting married to these two (dolls). They are sisters. They are twins.

Me: Hmmmm (how do you respond to that?)

Here is a picture.

At least each "wife" has her own car.

New Haircut

I got my haircut the other day and I thought it looked nice. It's short, fun, and versatile. A day after I got it cut, Emily and I had the following conversation:

Emily: Mom, you look like a Polly Pocket.

Me: Hmmm, is that good or bad?

Emily: Bad. People aren't supposed to look like Polly Pockets.

Me: Oh....

Sorry folks but I'm not going to post a picture of my new haircut (but it looks similar to this Polly Pocket) because who can compete with a Polly Pocket on cuteness.

I Hate Sad Movies

I'm watching a movie (In the Land of Women) and I didn't realize it was going to be a sad movie. I was all excited to watch a cute little romantic chick flick. But NO! I actually cried!

CAUTION!!! I'M GOING TO SPOIL THE WHOLE MOVIE

I mean come on Meg Ryan's character has cancer and her husband cheated on her. I just can't deal with movies where the mom gets sick and the kids are all sad and crying and wondering if their mom will be there throughout the rest of their lives. I don't need that in my life-ever.

Then his former girlfriend, who dumped him at the beginning of the movie, wants to come back but when he calls she is totally "wasted." The girl across the street who you figured would end up with him but you don't want him to because she is in high school, finds her high school love and he is left with NOBODY. And then his grandma dies!

Why did I waste my last Netflix DVD on this stupid movie (I cancelled my subscription).

Okay, my rant about the movie is over. But I still HATE sad movies. I refuse to see them (if I can help it-stupid Netflix suggestion). Some of my least favorite movies:

1. Little Women - I still think Jo and Laurie (how do you spell his name?) should end up together and I despise little Amy.
2. My Life - I hate movies about parents dying and spouses/children being left behind.
3. Bridge to Terabithia - If only she came with them!
4. My Girl - Why do little girls have to die?
5. The movie I saw as a kid where the little girl takes her goldfish to school and then the dad comes upon an accident and sees the broken goldfish bowl...
6. Another movie I saw as a kid where the mom sings a hymn at night and then dies the next day and I think the boy comes home to an ambulance in his front yard or something like than. Then you hear the song I'll Build You A Rainbow. I have tried to block it out.
7. Cipher in the Snow. Can you get any sadder?

Alright, your turn. Add to my sad movies list.

Ben Babbles in Sentences

I'm so proud of myself for learning how to post a video so I couldn't resist posting this video of Benjamin doing what I call "babbling in sentences."

Grateful Sunday

There were many times this week when I really felt like I had nothing to be thankful for: Our house hasn't sold, I'm tired of keeping it spotless, Brad works too much, and on and on (I won't bore you with my pity party). So I guess I'm grateful that I have a chance to reflect on my week and think of the good that has happened.

• This week I'm grateful Emily has a caring, proactive teacher. We had a situation with another boy in her class on the bus. When I emailed Mrs. C. she immediately called to address the situation. The situation was minor but I'm glad that her teacher took the time and effort to address the problem with all the parties to ensure everything was okay. From my experience I know that not all teachers would take the steps that Mrs. C did for us.
• I'm grateful that we had five showings this week. We don't have any offers but at least people are looking. I feel a lot better knowing that at least it is being shown.
• I'm grateful Emily gave a talk in Primary today. She was so excited and practiced hard so she could give her talk without any help (I was forbidden by her to go in the front). She was a little nervous and forgot to show the pictures until the very end but I was pretty proud of her!
• I'm grateful everyone is healthy. Being healthy makes my life so much easier.

Emily Rides a Bike

Emily has learned how to ride a bike! Again! Last summer my dad taught her while we were visiting and she did really well. She rode around all night. The next day she wanted to show her cousins but she got nervous. For some reason she didn't want to ride again. When we came back to Minnesota we didn't take the training wheels off her little bike because we live on a hill and we were concerned that it wasn't a safe place to ride a bike until she was better at it.

Well, today was the most beautiful day we have had in probably 7 months! We came home from church and Emily asked Brad to take off the training wheels on her bike. While they were working on that I took my bike for a ride. When I came home Emily was riding all around the cul-de-sac like she had been doing it for years! She can start, stop, and turn all by herself with no problem! She is so proud of herself. Here is a short video of her riding.

The bike she is riding is too small for her but we want to wait until we move to buy a new one. We hate to buy one and then haul it across the country. So she will be cruising the cul-de-sac on her 12 inch Barbie bike until we move.

Daisy Meadows

I love books. I love to read. Reading is a need I have that must be satisfied just like eating and drinking. Before I had kids I worried that my children might not like to read. This really upset me. When Emily was just a little bitty baby and she wouldn't sit still to hear a story or look at a book, my fears resurfaced.

But I worried for nothing. My Emily LOVES to read. Since she was old enough, she loved to hear a story and look at books. When she was two I introduced her to books on tape. She was able to follow the beeps by herself. Now she spends more time than I would like listening to chapter books on tape.

I worried a lot about Emily learning to read. She learned her ABC's very quickly but she was very resistant to learning how to read. I decided not to push her and let her natural curiosity go at the pace she preferred. I have to admit it was frustrating that she was not reading because she had all the skills necessary to put the sounds together. I told her when you learn to read independently you will be so happy because then you will be able to read whenever and whatever you want. She still didn't want to do more than her 20 or so words she had learned. But I let it go and figured she would progress when she was ready.

Well, this year in kindergarten she took off. She finally had the motivation and drive. She is now doing excellent. She is the top reader in her class and we are so proud of her. For the past few months she has been staying up late at night reading books by herself. Every morning there is a stack of books in her bed. We have had to limit it to five.

But what I'm really excited about is that she just started to read "chapter books". We have been reading the Fairy books by Daisy Meadows (yes, Daisy Meadows-I didn't get it at first). Tonight as I was reading to her, we had to wait for Sam and I asked her to read to me. She read the whole page-no problem! I was astonished! She was so proud of herself. She said she wanted to read these before but she was afraid if she did I wouldn't read them to her any more. I assured her that I would always read to her (for the millionth time) but now she can read her favorite books anytime she wants.

So the reason I'm writing this post is not to brag by any means but to express my joy that my daughter is a reader. Just like I always wanted! As I'm writing this Emily is reading Inky the Indigo Fairy in her bed. Sam and Emily came in a few minutes ago to give me an update (she is reading out loud to Sam) on what is happening. Soon I'll have to go in and turn out the lights but for now I'm just glad Emily loves books. Emily loves to read!

Ben's Walking Progress

Emily was a very early walker. She took her first steps at 9 months 1 week. It didn't take long before she was walking everywhere. Sam started walking at 10 1/2 months and by 11 months he was walking exclusively.

But Ben has been a different story. He is now 1 year and almost 2 weeks but is still crawling. He can cruise along while holding onto the wall or furniture. He can push a walker toy with no problems, but he has no desire to walk.

This really bothered Brad for awhile. Mostly because from a doctor's point of view he should be walking by one year old. It hasn't bothered me because I can justify that he is just a heck of a lot fatter than Emily and Sam (he already weighs more than what they weighed at 2 years old or older). He is very content crawling. It definitely hasn't slowed him down; he plunders like a maniac.

But since the weather turned somewhat decent for Minnesota, Ben is dying to go outside and play. As soon as the door opens, he bolts for the door. The kids have to quickly shut it or he's out of the gates crawling at record speed. So why don't I let him out? Well, it really bothers me to see him crawl on the cement (he hates being on the grass). Why? I'll explain:

1. It ruins his cute little fake Robeez's shoes.
2. It makes his pants so dirty and dusty.
3. I'm afraid he is going to wear out the knees in his pants before he grows out of them.
4. I hate seeing his hands on the cement. I have this weird tactile phobia (I hate touching certain things) and to see his hands touching the cement really makes me want to wash my hands and smother them with lotion and file my nails. I know-it is crazy.

Call me strange and a freaky planner but one reason all my children have been born in the spring is because I figure they should learn to crawl and walk during the winter so by spring/summer they should be walkers. This makes summer time much more fun. The thought of a crawling baby at the beach or the park gives me heart palpation's? I figure if they are walking, there is less chance of sand, dirt, bugs, and/or rocks in their mouths.

So everyday Ben and I have walking practice. I hold him and try to get him to take a few steps towards Emily or I have him stand up against the couch and try to get him to come to me. He generally takes one step then falls toward me giggling. But today we were practicing in the kitchen and I stood him up against the dishwasher and had him walk toward me. It was the same as usual. But then I was holding him and he was facing the dishwasher and suddenly he took one, two, three, four and five little steps all so he could press the buttons on the dishwasher. Well, I of course cheered, hugged, and kissed him and made him do it again, and again, and again. Generally the buttons on the dishwasher are off limits but hey, if this is what gives him motivation then by all means walk and press away (I'm sure I'll regret that later).

Maybe he will be walking soon, but until then, I'll still cringe every time he crawls on the cement. Lotion anyone?

Bugs and Birds

Every Sunday I have Emily and Sam tell me two things they learned at church. Yesterday when I asked Sam what he learned, he replied, "I learned about bugs and birds." I thought this was an unusual reply. I asked him what he learned about bugs and birds in church. He said, "Well, I'll tell you a story." He proceeded to tell me the story about the early Utah pioneers whose crops were being eaten by crickets. The seagulls came and ate the crickets and saved the crops "so the people had food to eat."

So I guess he did learn about bugs and birds at church.

Grateful Sunday

Sometimes this weekly list is hard because the same things pop in my head. Maybe my life is too monotonous. Here's a few:

• I'm grateful for spell check. I had trouble with monotonous.
• I'm grateful for thoughtful friends. I have had several people tell me they are praying for our family to sell our house. I was very touched by that.
• A working car. A couple of weeks ago the check engine light flashed on the minivan. It happened on a Saturday when Brad was driving. We drove to the mechanics and asked about it. They were able to fix it on Monday. I absolutely HATE car trouble (one reason we usually buy a new car). This was relatively painless. Brad dropped it off Monday morning. Their shuttle took him to work and picked him up at the end of the day. And it only cost $300 which I was grateful for. Could have been a lot worse.
• Recipes. This sounds silly but I have been so bored with making the same food over and over. I went through my hodge-podge of recipes that I have acquired over the last couple of years. I think I might try something different for a change. (If you have any good ones, pass them on!)

Okay, I'm tapped out for now and Ben is screaming in his bed. He usually goes down so nicely so I'll end with saying I'm grateful when kids go to bed without fussing because it doesn't look that way tonight.

Let's cross our fingers that Emily and Sam are already asleep.

Emily is the Best!

One of the frustrations of having a house for sell is that I feel like I have to have the house looking perfect every time we leave. Yesterday I was talking to Brad on the phone debating whether or not to mop the kitchen floor before we went to story time at the library. We decided that the chances of a showing in the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday was slim. Brad told me to relax, let it go, or else I would go crazy.

Well, just as I was telling the kids to get into the car, the phone rang. It was a realtor who wanted to show our house (while we were at the library). Frantically I tell the kids we have a showing and we can't go to the library yet. Fortunately, I had everything "show ready" except the kitchen and living room floor. As I'm grabbing the mop and mentally calculating how long it will take to tidy up and can we still make it to story time, Emily comes to me and says, "Mom, what can I do to help?" Oh, my heart filled with joy and relief. With her help I knew we could probably make it. She cleaned the entry way and vacuumed the living room floor while I gave the kitchen a quick mop. Then as I was finishing up, she carried Ben to the car and buckled him in his car seat and had Sam do the same.

We got the house ready and we were only a little late for the library. I'm so grateful for Emily's willingness to help. When the call came, my first thoughts were that the kids would complain about missing story time and/or get in my way while I hurriedly cleaned up. But it went so smooth and I was able to leave knowing that the house looked pretty good. They didn't complain about being late and cooperated while we rushed into the library.

Here is a picture of Emily reading a story to Ben. When did she grow up?

Happy Birthday Ben

This weekend Ben celebrated his 1st Birthday. I can't believe he is a year old! To help him celebrate, Emily made him a birthday hat. Isn't it cute?We gave him a few presents. Emily and Sam piled them on top of the couch pillows (I'm not sure why...)He was so adorable opening the presents; although, his brother and sister had a hard time not helping too much help. He loved the tent house. He crawled in and out and looked out the windows.
But his FAVORITE toy was a play phone. I picked this one up on clearance after Christmas knowing Ben would like it. HE LOVED IT! Ben loves phones and to have one that he can push the buttons and have all to himself was so exciting for him!
He would not put the phone down. He knew just what to do with it. He "talked" and "talked" and "talked" and loudly protested when Sam and Emily wanted a turn. It was so fun to see him so happy.
On Sunday we had a few friends over for dinner and cake and ice cream. Ben had a little help blowing out the candle (do you like Sam's Spiderman hat?). He obviously enjoyed his slice of cake.

Sam was more than willing to share his ice cream with the birthday day. (Do you see their matching shirts? Sam loves to dress the same as Ben.)Happy Birthday Benny! We love you so!

He's So Proud of Himself

Today during conference Brad had Emily and Ben on his lap. Somehow Ben flipped his head and bonked Emily in the face. She started to cry (he's done it to me before and it really hurts). I was holding Ben as Brad was comforting Emily. Ben looks over at Emily and Emily cries out, "He looks so proud of himself!"

It was really funny! Maybe you had to be there but Brad and I found it quite hilarious.

Grateful Sunday

I almost forgot to compose this week's post. Here it goes:

• I'm grateful for TiVo. As Brad and I tried to listen to conference, we kept saying, "Be quiet-we can't hear." I think I will listen to it again later.
• I'm grateful for friends. We had a small dinner to celebrate Ben's birthday. It was fun to spend some time with friends who are like family. I wish we could have invited more.
• I'm grateful for a clean house. It has been really difficult keeping the house as clean as it has been (due to showings) but it is totally worth it. I love living in a clean house.
• I'm grateful for nice weather. On Saturday the temperature was actually 60 DEGREES!!!! The kids played with friends outside for hours! (That really helps keep the house clean!)
• I'm grateful for nice neighbors. We don't have a lot of kids in our cul-de-sac but that means they all play together and usually quite nicely.
• I'm grateful our babysitter was able to come at the last minute on Friday night. Brad and I really needed a night out alone.

My Three Girls?

Emily really wishes she had a sister (and a pet) so she uses her little brothers to act out her dreams. Here is a picture of her brothers dressed up as her little sisters (we took it tonight).

The boys are so excited to be a part of her play that they are more than willing to do whatever she wants (well, Ben doesn't really have a choice). I'm sure in a few years Sam will be mortified that he dressed up in "girl" clothes (you should see some of the pictures I have-hee hee). Earlier this evening she had Sam crawling around on the floor with a jump rope leash, pretending he was a dog.

I'm glad Sam is willing to play because there is no way we are getting a pet (who knows about a little sister-or brother-just to clear up any speculations).

Happy Easter

I have been so overwhelmed with the whole selling the house situation and Brad's horrible schedule that Easter was really low key this year. The Friday before Easter Sunday we had our Easter Egg hunt since Brad was home. The kids woke up to Easter baskets filled with toys, games and candy. They had fun looking through the baskets and they couldn't wait to find all the eggs hidden around the basement. It didn't take long for Ben to realize that there was candy in the eggs. He was so excited! On Easter Sunday, our friends the T's invited us (me and the kids since Brad was working) for dinner at their house. It was a fun evening visiting with friends and eating good food. Maybe next year I'll have it more together and we can focus on the true meaning of Easter.