~RS Birthday Dinner~

A few short days after I got back from Texas I had a Relief Society Birthday Dinner to put on!  This was the first dinner I had ever done on this large of a scale.  I am not a natural planner so this was a learning experience for me.  My vision was light, springy, simple yet still lovely.  Our theme for the evening was "Forget Me Not", a talk given by President Uchtdorf.  I think we pulled it off nicely.  

 

Ellen and Jackie are so fun to work with!  They crack me up all the time.  Our committee was great about helping in any way the could so no one was left feeling overwhelmed or stressed.  Perfect.

 On the menu: fruit kabobs, chicken salad sandwiches on cressants, olive garden salad, and strawberry short cake.  

It was delicious (even if the nasty canned lighting in the gym makes it look gross).

 The turn out was great!  Our speaker did a beautiful job, and the musical number was lovely.  We kept things short and sweet and from what I could see everyone went home feeling fulfilled and uplifted.

I call this a success.

~Spring Break in Texas: Part 3~

From Temple, Texas we found ourselves heading north again making our way back home.  This time we stopped in Hugo, Oklahoma.  My gracious Uncle Sam and his beautiful wife, Diana, put us up for the night in their lovely home.  They live in the home where my Grammie lived when I was a little girl (like Lyssa) and would come and stay with her.  It was neat to bring my kids back to the same place I had spent some of my early memorable childhood days.  

 My dearest Grammie with Elyssa. They were so cute together. I'm so glad I snagged this picture of two pretty ladies crossing generations. How many kids get to meet their GREAT GREAT GRANDMA? We are so lucky. :-)

 Grammie, my girls and me. I'm so glad we got to visit with her for a few hours. She is an amazing, beautiful person. Too bad Cordy looks like a freak out baby. She didn't handle all the strangers very well. Neither did Alec, hence he is not in ANY pictures. Sigh.

Elyssa with Uncle Sam and Miss Diana. They were such gracious hosts, putting me up with my three young and crazy kiddos. They ate Elyssa and her sweet smile right up.  In fact Uncle Sam called her "the little princess".  He even called the next day after we got home to ask how his "little princess" was doing.  It's nice to have at least one socially charming child. :-)  

It was a wonderful visit and I'm so glad we were able to see everyone.  

~Spring Break in Texas: Part 2~

After a sad goodbye in Austin, we made our way north to Temple Texas, where we found this sign waiting for us on the front door of one of my very favorite families.

We made it to Becca's house!  Oh what fun we had.  Becca was determined to win my children over with oreos upon arrival and hidden pirate treasure in the morning.  

Fighting off pirates with water balloons at 9AM in March?  Who could ask for more fun?

 Becca spent the rest of the week spoiling us rotten with park playdates, delicious food, and fun.  The kids had a blast!  Seriously they wanted to stay for another week, and I didn't blame them.

Becca spoiled me every night with  pedicures, manicures, yummy treats, vinyl for my water bottles,  and lots and lots and LOTS of girl talk.  It was fantastic!  

I fully admit that when it was time to go I cried.  Whenever I am around Becca I am a better mom, a better friend... pretty much a better person in general.  No wonder my kids didn't want to leave!  Becca is one of those amazing people that just brings out the best in everyone she meets.  I love that I can laugh with her until I'm crying, and then turn around and have a deep spiritual discussion all within the same day.  What I would give to have this lady as my next door neighbor... or at least in the same state! Here's to hoping that they finish residency and come back to Iowa.  A girl can dream, right?  

~Spring Break in Texas: Part 1~

I decided to be crazy brave and take a road trip down to Texas for Spring Break. With my three kids.  All. By. Myself. 

Yep.  I'm nuts.  Somehow it all worked out though.  Long days in the car, one night in a Wichita hotel, lots of movies and snacks, lots of patience and organization and then we made it!  Dearest Robyn and her clan welcomed us with open arms and we were very excited to be there.

The Mons were our good friends in Iowa until they moved last Fall.  It was a hard shock to Alec's system to lose his best friend.  I wondered how they would do after not seeing each other for 8 months but they just picked right back up where they left off.  Alec was in Heaven!  My girls were spoiled rotten by Miss Riah (Mariah) and everyone had a wonderful, relaxing time.  All I wanted to do was hang out with my dearest Robyn in her giant house, laugh, listen, and let the kids play, so that is pretty much exactly what we did.  It was perfect.  

It was a fantastic few days and we were all sad to say goodbye.  I am so grateful for the good friends I have made over the years and the friends my children have made, even if we can't always live close.  I think one of my favorite memories was when Harrison was saying family prayer one night and he said "we're thankful that our cousins could come and visit us".  I'm pretty sure my heart smiled.  :-)  I'm so thankful for the friends like family, the Iowa cousins we've been blessed to have in our lives.

~Omaha Weekend~

We headed over to Omaha for a ward temple trip on a warm March day.  It was so nice to go to the temple with our ward.  Afterwards we had a picnic on the lawn outside the church and then headed over to the Zoo with our good friends, the Teeds. Let the fun begin!

The kids had so much fun playing together and the day was so beautiful that we decided to extend our fun with dinner at Old Chicago Pizza with our six munchkins in tow.  Fun for us, big justified tip for the server.  :-)

Then we walked over to the Old Market river walk slides before loading up and heading home.

I realized right as we were getting in the car that there wasn't a single picture of me from the day.  It was so much fun I had to document that I was there.  

 What a fantastic day. 

~Pirate Obsessed~

With a little time, everything eventually turns into a pirate ship.  Even wood scraps, tape, and play money.

He's always so proud of his creations.  I'm always so proud of him for entertaining himself and using his imagination.

I love this creative, pirate obsessed little boy.  

~Before School~

When my kids head off for preschool in the morning their hair is perfectly combed, their clothes clean, faces washed, and teethy shiny while I am usually a disheveled mess.   While I really try not to get caught up in how they look day to day, I still wanted to document that first thing in the morning look.  

 

Alec

Elyssa

Cordy, with her favorite toothbrush in hand.

 By mid-day they look like most kids their age, smudges of dirt here and there, costumes on, hair going this way and that, food stains, etc. I don't really care too much as long as they are healthy and happy.  We lived pretty charmed lives so I think it's safe to say we are all pretty happy. :-)  

~Elyssa at 4 years~

As my mother says, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree with this one.

 She is her mothers daughter. Yet at the same time she really is her own spunky, happy, dramatic, feisty, silly, brave, kind little person.  She knows she has limitless possibilities and she likes to run with them.  She sings and dances her own songs, and makes up the most fantastic stories.  

The imagination on this one is endless!  At times her life is just one big game of pretend.  I have found myself questioning the stories she tells me about kids at school and realized at one point that the line between reality and fantasy is blurred in her vision.  In some ways it reminds me of Anne of Green Gables. 

 She makes up story after story about her monkey, Mortimer, his life, and his family.  That monkey has quite the dramatic life!  Elyssa is so earnest in her story telling and it can be quite entertaining. 

This silly little lady loves to draw, play games, go to preschool, play with friends and be in the middle of whatever is going on.  She makes friends with kids at almost every park we go to, and plays and draws for hours on end with her brother.  She lives with all her energy and sleeps hard every night.  She is sleeping in the same room with Alec and Cordelia, and somehow manages to never wake during Alec's nightly trips to the bathroom, or Cordy's occasional night time wails.  

4 year old Stats: 39 1/4 inches tall (35%), 34.8 lbs. (46%)

She keeps on growing,though she's on the shorter side like her mama.  She takes great pride in being her mothers daughter and loves it when we have matching toenails, clothes, etc.  I think it's sweet that she wants to be like me because I know it won't last forever.  

Elyssa can steal the heart of any guest.  She loves attention and has great company manners.  She loves trying new things, eating anything I give her, and doing anything that "big kids" do.  Sometimes I feel like she is growing up so fast.  I love this little lady with all my heart.  I'm so thankful to be her mother and her friend.  

I love you more than all the stars in the sky, Elyssa Lael!

~Alec at 5 years~

He just keeps growing up.

Stats: 43 1/2 inches tall (44%), 40.8 lbs (46%)
In all honesty there was a time that I couldn't imagine him getting any bigger.  That was a time when I loved him to pieces, but the days were so long, and the conversations were very much one sided.  Now we can talk forever if we get on the right topics (pirates or transformers).  I love listening to his ideas and stories.  

Speaking of ideas, this kid has quite the imagination.  He spends most of his time in some sort of imaginary world, dressed up in a wide variety of costumes, though most of them involve being pirates.  This boy has the entire soundtrack to Pirates of the Caribbean memorized, despite the lack of words.  He knows almost everything there is to know about the movies, despite never seeing them before.  His obsession runs deep.

 Zoobs, Magnetiles, costumes, sticks, swords, and tranformers dominate his toy playing time, but this kid easily spends an hour a day drawing and creating pictures.  They are usually pirate ships, fighting captains, or treasure maps.  Right now he hopes to grow up and be a treasure hunter and an artist.  

At five, Alec's favorite foods are pizza, chicken nuggets, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and mangos.  If it tastes like mango he will try it.  His favorite treat is peach harvest mango gum.  Gum of any form is a novelty in our house, but he really does have good taste. 

I find myself starring at my sweet boy, realizing just how big he has become.  He is so creative, so very bright, and such a great big brother to his sisters.  He treats Cordy like a queen, with seemingly endless patience for her.  Elyssa is easily his closest companion, partner in crime, and occasional enemy.  Alec is so very independent now, getting breakfast for himself and his sister, brushing his own teeth, picking out his own clothes, showing his sisters how to do things.  He is still a typical, goofy five year old, but when I need him to step up his game he can be such a wonderful helper and example.  I adore this little boy with all my heart and feel so honored to be his mother.  

I love you to the moon and back, my dearest Alec.

~Another Week of Single Parenting~

I felt a bunch of anxiety this time when Nick left, though I'm not exactly sure why.  I was grumpy all the way around and super impatient with my kiddos from the get go.  A few days after Nick left I was running off some stress at the gym and felt a great peace come over me as I realized, I've done this before.  I can do it again.  Just relax, have fun with the kids and forget the rest.  That is EXACTLY what we did.  We ate pizza or cereal or snacks for dinner almost every night.  We read tons of books, played lots of games, watched fun new movies, didn't clean or do any laundry and even had a slumber party in my room, sans Cordy.  The kids and I got jammies on, snuggled up in my Queen bed with popcorn and treats and watched "The Princess Bride" together before nodding off.  They thought it was awesome, and (other than the little knees in my back all night) so did I!  These little people of mine can be so much fun.  They have such awesome imaginations and give the best snuggles.  

Once I adjusted my attitude it seemed like the rest of Nick's trip went by really fast.  I was geared up for at least one more day, but alas there he was walking out of the airport.  We were soooo excited to see him, especially little miss Cordy.  She wouldn't let him out of her sight for at least 2 days after he got home.  I find myself so glad he has a good job he likes were he gets to have awesome experiences, but I'm also so grateful every time he comes home.  :-)  

~Cordelia at 18 Months~

When Cordy was a tiny little infant she was always so calm.  She slept all the time and smiled at everyone.  She was what people call an "easy baby".  I really appreciated her easy ways.  Now that she is 18 months she is not so easy anymore but I still appreciate her fabulous, spunky, crazy personality.

At 18 months this little girl climbs on EVERYTHING.  I have complained many a time that I spend half of my day getting her off the table or saving her life.  She tries crazy dangerous things all the time.  For Cordy that means putting tiny toys in her mouth and climbing (and often falling off) pretty much every anything with two to four legs.  She isn't climbing out of her crib yet, which actually really surprises me.  I call it an answer to prayers.  

This little lady thinks she's a big kid, just like her older brother and sister.  Here she is showing that she is One, but I swear this girl is One going on Five.   

She copies what the big kids do, wears their costumes, and carries around their toys.  She tries to do and be just like them all the time.  Some handle her copy cating ways better than others.  :-)  She likes to be in the middle of things, never being left out of a social situation.  She can be extremely friendly, waving and saying "Hiiiii!" and "Bye Bye!" to everyone we see at the gym or the grocery store.  She seems to particularly attract the attention of grandpas everywhere and I've found going to Sams Club in the morning takes twice as long now because everyone wants to stop and talk to her or play peek a boo around the isles, etc.  She's a little charmer when she's in a good mood, but believe me when I tell you she can throw a fit and scream with the best of them.

At her 18 month check up her stats were as follows: 

Height: 31 inches (25%), Weight:22.7 lbs. (48%), Head:18.25 inches (50%)

I think percentiles don't make any sense.  My older two weighed more at 18 months but had a lower percentile.  Maybe a mixup?  Who knows.

Now that she's 18 months we have finally stopped cutting the back of her hair (in efforts to let the front catch up) and just let her mullet grow, hence enough hair for mullet pigtails.  

This picture sums up Cordy really well.  All dressed in her coat and shoes, ready to go explore the world, with her favorite puppy under her arm and a toothbrush in her mouth.  Some of her favorite words to say are "puppy," "shoe," and "teeth".  She's obsessed with toothbrushes and will brush her teeth with any toothbrush she can get her hands on. 

This little lady really is obsessed with teeth, hence she is pointing to my teeth.  She's building up her vocabulary of words (that at least we can understand):  Mama, Daddy, Chester, cheese, shoe, teeth, mine, no, some, more, Whats that?, puppy, nose, eyes, ball, bath, book, baby, and a wide range of animal sounds.      

This little lady may keep me on my toes with her crazy antics, but she cracks me up all the time, melts my heart with her smiles, and lights up my days with her laugh.  I adore her more than ever and am so enjoying watching her learn and grow.  

I love you to the moon and back, Cordy baby!