Sunday, September 21, 2008

Grateful

"Everywhere in nature we are taught
the lessons of patience and waiting.
We want things a long time before we get them,
and the fact that we wanted them a long time
makes them all the more precious when they come."


~Joseph F. Smith

Friday, September 19, 2008

My favorite part of our trip

The coastline of Maine was so beautiful.
Did I mention that I loved the coast?
The beach was my favorite and I am pretty sure that Jack would live on this beach too. It had tidal pools, rocks to climb on, sand and water. Can't get better than that. Every time I get out this sweatshirt for Jack to wear he says, "Beach?" I wish we could go here everyday but Ryan reminds me that I may not like Maine if we visited in January.


One of Ryan's favorite parts of the trip was eating lobster. Lots and lots of lobster. Oh, and the best clam chowder we have ever had.

Reasons why I chuckle during my day

I took these pictures over the past few days.
They still make me laugh.

Number One:
This is Jack feeding his cousin Willa a piece of bread.

I guess he thought she was hungry so he took down my sister's family picture and started to feed Willa and saying, "Here you go, Whilwa."


Reason Two:
He made is own bed this morning.

Usually I help and put the blankets and sheets flat on the bed so it is all neat and tidy. This is Jack's version of making the bed. Not my style but ordered just the way he wanted it and he was very proud of himself when he finished because he said, "Good job, Jack." I say, good for you for making your own bed. We'll continue to work on technique.

Reason Number Three:
Nakedness

I walked in the living room and saw this.
We're getting ready to get serious about potty training so there is more nakedness in my future.
Wish us luck.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Where have we been?

We spent a lot of time in our car last week on an unexpected, meaningful, enjoyable trip to Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. We survived the 8 hour days in the car and lived to tell about it.
Jack travels really well and his sister took her cues from him. They slept and talked to each other as we drove. Granted it helped that we had an endless supply of chocolate milk for Jack and double-stuffed Oreos. As you can see below, Jack licked out the filling and handed the cookie part back to Ryan with the words, "More, please Daddy."
Once Jack was released from his car seat in Sharon, Vermont, he ran to the first puddle and started to do a little rain dance. Let's just say that he had some energy to spend and ran up and down the hill.
Sharon, Vermont is beautiful and so peaceful. I needed both of those things when I got out of the car after driving 7 hours. I am glad we took the time to visit the birthplace of Joseph Smith and see this beautiful part of the state. It really is the middle of nowhere. I thought my parent's mission was the middle of nowhere but at least it is on the way to somewhere.

I'm pretty sure Jack is giving some sort of talk in this picture. Not sure what he was trying to tell us.

Again, we see Jack's energy as he dances around the monument.
You may also notice that he is wearing his pajamas. We had to get up early and get ready to leave so he did not get to have his gradual getting ready time. When I got him dressed in clothes he cried and cried for his pajamas and I said, "What do I care if he wears his pajamas in the car all day" and put them back on. He traveled comfortably in his pajamas and we were all much happier.


The missionary who gave us a tour of the site thought Jack would like to ride in the golf cart. She was right. Jack yelled, "Faster. Faster" and she drove faster. He loved it and I think spending time with Jack made the sister missionary miss her grandchildren a little less.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Why did the Police Show Up at the Labor Day Picnic?

It wasn't to control the mob of cute girls trying to hold Addy . . .

or because they thought Jack was having too
much fun on the slide . . .

It was to check out the rockets.


Jack talked about rockets all week.
This was the highlight of the picnic.
(the rockets, not the police.)

Nummies

Thumb hors d'oeuvres

Rice Cereal

"Mom, you're too slow. Give me that spoon."

Got cereal?

More!

First taste of Solid Foods: August 31, 2008

She LOVES her cereal and she's tried sweet potatoes, pears and peaches. All are a hit.

Special Thanks to Mary for the cute dress and bib worn in this picture:)

Friday, September 5, 2008

Is this going to leave a scar?

I answered the phone and a few minutes into my conversation I hear Jack crying from downstairs. My first thought was that he got too close to Addy's grip again and that she was pulling his hair. But as I turned the corner I saw all of the cushions on the floor with Jack in the middle crying.


I checked him out and he seemed fine because he went back to playing within a minute or so.
It is only when he is back to playing that I noticed the large red line on his forehead.

Upon further inspection, I see that he has a long scratch that I assume came from the red chair (see above picture) that he was trying to jump over, into, or onto as he perfected his daredevil skills.
It doesn't seem to be bothering him and he can always cover a scar with his beautiful curly hair. Heck, I couldn't see the cut through his hair and it was bright red so the scar should just blend in, right?