All Things Squishy

Snapshots

2012-02-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

The kids are always stealing my camera. I can't tell you how many times I turn it on only to find 50 new pictures of someone's little feet or eyes. But they're not all random...

Jax's self-portrait

Jax took this one of Ava...

...and this one of her wiggling her loose tooth

Not sure who snapped this one, but it's from a little person's perspective nonetheless

mmmm.... cereal milk

I took this one at the kids' request

Jax snapped this one of his beautiful big sister!

Jax and Eden through Ava's eyes

Courtesy of Ava

While I'm always surprised to find pictures I didn't take on my camera. I can't help but take the time to look at each one, not only because there are some real gems in there, but it's fun to see things through my kids' eyes.

Little Scooter

2012-02-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

Our sweet Eden adores her big brother and sister. She watches their every move and smiles as soon as they enter a room. She giggles when they play and does her best to involve herself (if she's close enough). I think she may be getting tired of her lack of mobility preventing her from being a part of the fun because she has taught herself to scoot to her desired locale. She gets up on all fours and rocks, trying so hard to crawl, but she's still not there. So scooting it is. For about a month she mainly moved in reverse, which always led to a fun game of "Where's Eden?" I'd put her on the floor, walk out of the room briefly and come back to find her in a completely different spot. As entertaining as this was to me, it frustrated our baby girl. So, she's learned to scoot forward and sideways and now her big brother and sister, who have been so anxious for Eden to crawl, are getting just a small taste of what life is going to be like when she's fully mobile. She is into EVERYTHING! She has a special fondness for paper, which she first attacks then drools on until it's a big mushy clump. It's pretty gross. She also prefers Jax's monster trucks to more girl offerings, much to Ava's chagrin.

Push ups!

I remember when Ava was a baby, being so excited for her to move. With Jax, I was excited, but didn't mind any delays. But to be honest, this time around I'm a little less anxious. I'm not sure I'm ready for three mobile kids! It's not the actual moving, it's the constantly having to make sure Barbie shoes, puzzle pieces and crayons are off the floor or at least out of baby's reach. That'll be a full-time job in itself!

But, on the other hand, I am looking forward to Eden really being able to include herself in all the fun things her older siblings do.

Boys Night Out

2012-02-01T22:48:00.000-08:00

Monster Jam comes around once a year and it's a must for Jax. This year though, rather than dragging the girls along, Andy and Jax enjoyed a guys night out with most of the Kleinman boys. These kids are OBSESSED with monster trucks!

Our little dude would have enjoyed any trucks, but he was especially excited that his favorite, Sonuva Digger was on the lineup. He and I even made him a special Sonuva-Digger shirt the day before.

Andy says Jax could barely contain himself for most of the show, his excitement was just bursting out of his body! The boys got home around 1 am. Jax was asleep when Andy brought him in, but as soon as he heard my voice the little dude popped right up to tell me how "really awesome" his night was and to show me the new monster truck DVD Daddy bought him (which he slept with).

I love that Andy and Jax got to have this special time together and I think a new Guys Night tradition may have been started. If nothing else, this night only strengthened Jax's desire to grow up and become a monster truck driver.

Catch Up

2012-01-21T22:11:00.000-08:00

Now that we live back home and close to family, I find I don't blog nearly as often as I once did. So, now I'm playing catch-up. So much has happened in the past month or so, much of which needs it's own post. That will come. Eventually. For now, here's a glimpse of what's happenin'.

The little dude is a Sunbeam! What?! In our church, the January after a child turns three he/she moves out of Nursery and graduates to the Sunbeam Sunday School class. It's kinda a big deal. Our little guy isn't the biggest fan of church. Well, it's more the sitting he isn't fond of. But, he's been so excited to move into Primary (the children's Sunday School program) that Andy and I have noticed a huge improvement in his behavior at church. Not that he was bad, just impatient... and bored... and that can sometimes lead to him running toward the front of the chapel, giggling and taunting Daddy... while the bishop is talking. But, no more. Not our little guy. He tries so hard to be reverent during sacrament, loves to say the prayer in Sunbeams and comes home ready to tell us what he learned or what scripture story they read.

Our teeny baby is now six months old and has been introduced to the wonderful world of solid foods. There's not a fruit or vegetable this girl has met that she hasn't liked. I've been working on sign language with her, to help her tell me when she's hungry or wants more, but she hasn't quite caught on yet and much prefers to yell at me when I'm not shoveling her food into her mouth fast enough.

And our big kindergarten girl was named Kid of Character for her class this week (it's like student of the week). Each week, all the teachers in the school choose one child from their class who has exhibited one of six character pillars (trustworthiness, fairness, respect, responsibility, caring and citizenship). There's a bulletin board near the front of the school that displays pictures of each of the kids of character and the character they exhibited. Ava's teacher said she couldn't choose just one for Ava so next to Ava's picture it read: "Ava couldn't choose just one character pillar to be good at. She's good at all of them! Way to go Ava!" She was so excited when she saw that and thanked her teacher. It makes my heart swell with happiness to know that the things we strive to teach her at home, and the things we see her often exhibit in our home, she carries with her at school too. We're so proud of our sweet girl!

A Unique Sense of Style

2012-01-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

I have a hard time relinquishing control. There it is, I admit it. Before I had kids, I knew this woman whose son would only wear swim trunks, snow boots and t-shirts. So, every day that's what he wore. With the exception of Sundays, when church attire was necessary, the kid had a standard uniform. While it was quite the conversation starter, I remember wondering how in the world she could let her son out of the house looking like that. I just knew that when I had children they'd always be dressed adorably. Their outfits would match and people would comment on how cute my kids look. I would have control of their appearance.

Funny story. I had kids and lost control. Well, atleast of their clothing choices. Jax most days will only wear a shirt with a monster truck on it. We have about 20. Every time we go to a clothing store he is sure I browse the racks for monster truck shirts.

On occasion, he'll forgo the monster truck shirt for Ninja Turtles or Star Wars, but that's about it. Usually, his pants aren't a problem but he has an odd affinity for a pair of blue galoshes that look like sharks WHICH he likes to tuck his pants in.

And Ava, my sweet little girl who I dressed so adorably in her early years is now a little fashionista. Each day she chooses her own ensemble, right down to the accessories. And we get something that looks a little like this:

Let's go over this shall we? We've got the pink scarf that actually belonged to Andy's grandma. Ava found it as we cleaned out Grandma's house after her death and just HAD to have it. Next, we have the butterfly rhinestone shirt and a color block skirt. Not too bad. But look closely at what's below the skirt, those, dear readers are blue leggings with large sunflowers on them. They're Ava's favorite leggings. Next, we have a pair of purple Fancy Nancy socks (if you've read the books, you know why these socks are so appropriate) and brown Mary Janes. She LOVES this outfit! It's a pretty accurate representation of what she wears on a daily basis. Initially, I had a hard time letting her choose her outfits. It's one of those things I wanted to have control of. I mean, my kids' appearance is a direct reflection of me, right? Did Ava's outfit make it seem as if I didn't have it together. Is any of this important. NO! Because, when I realized the confidence it gave her, when I saw her admiring her ensemble in the mirror before school, I was okay with losing control. My little girl is growing up. She's developing her own sense of style and using it to express herself. I love that. One day, she'll be a teenager, she'll be obsessed with her appearance and clothes. I'll long for the days when she was little and carefree and happy to wear this:

Or this:

All Smiles

2011-12-23T21:37:00.000-08:00

Our little Eden is already five months old! My goodness, that went fast! But, alot has happened since the wee one blessed our little family.

I'm lucky. I have really good babies. And Eden could very well be the best yet, if that's even possible. The other two were great eaters, slept through the night at six weeks, rarely cried. But Eden, well, she makes Ava and Jax look like little stinkers. She sleeps well, eats great and cries only when I don't feed her fast enough... or when her sister picks her nose. Which happens alot. Not sure why. Better save that for another blog post. Anywho, our baby girl is super sweet and super smiley! She's quite charming. And her giggle, well, I wish I could capture it, lock it up and listen to it anytime I wanted to.

We sure love our Eden!

Poor Little Blog

2011-12-18T15:53:00.000-08:00

Oh, poor, poor little blog. I'm so sorry I've neglected you! I have much to tell you about, but alas, it is the holiday season and time just doesn't permit. However, I will quickly tell you about the weather as of late. We've been hit with snow like no other. Ava has already had two snow days! The kids love playing out in the fluffy white stuff, even if their hands and feet are slowly headed toward frostbite.

Jax launching a snowball at Mama

Here are the big kids enjoying some of our snow. Eden hasn't played in it just yet, but she loves to watch her big brother and sister from the big living room window.

Cousins Out the Wazoo!

2011-11-27T23:49:00.001-08:00

Cousins out the Wazoo. That's how our hilarious Ava describes the ever-expanding brood of Kleinman cousins.

We all got together (minus baby Andrew) at the park for fun and pictures. The big kids ran and wrestled, played with balls and devoured Aunt Courtney's snacks. While the two babies (Eden and Rex) spent most of the time bundled up with their Mamas.

Jax, Nathan and Konrad

Little cheeseballs!

Am I surprised that Jax and Konrad found giant sticks for sword-fighting? Absolutely not.

Look how big our baby girls is getting!

Cousins out the wazoo (minus baby Rex and baby Andy)

For those keeping count, there are currently NINE cousins (seven boys and our two girls) with another adorable boy on the way.

A Very Harry Halloween

2011-11-17T22:07:00.001-08:00

I realize I am a little late with this post. But, I've just finally gotten around to downloading our Halloween pictures.

Well, it finally happened, I can no longer control my children. In the past, I've gotten away with doing a family theme for Halloween. Usually, Ava told me what she wanted to be and I chose Jax's costume accordingly (Mickey & Minnie, Dorothy & Tin Man, Teeny Bopper & Elvis). But this year, I wasn't allowed to choose. nor, were my attempts to "convince" my children to be certain things effective. So, four out of the five members of our family took part in the theme. One, however, chose to be a little different. I'll let you see if you can figure it out ;)

One of these things is not like the other....

Ava and Daddy love to read "Harry Potter" together, so they dressed as Hermione and Harry. I made Eden's Hedwig costume (Harry's white owl) and I went as Professor McGonagall (kinda). And Jax, well, Jax was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Our Halloween week was pretty busy and candy-fueled. The Thursday before the big day, Ava got to wear her costume to school where they had a Halloween party. Saturday, we attended the ward Trunk-or-Treat and Monday I took the kids around a nearby neighborhood for some good-ol'-fashioned trick-or-treating. Despite my kids' general aversion to strangers, they had no issues asking random people for candy.

They got quite the haul and have been good about only having a piece or two a day. Yes, I'm one of those moms. For three days after Halloween, Jax took his candy bucket with him everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE. Car, bed, bathroom, outside. He wasn't letting that treasure out of his sight. But, he has also been very sweet to share with Mommy, Daddy and cousins. Ava, on the other hand, is much more stingy with her candy, only giving out the ones she doesn't like. But hey, can you blame the kid? She's so candy-deprived she's got to take advantage when she can. She did tell me one day, though, that mommies deserve candy sometimes. I agree.

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Upside Down Dinner

2011-10-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

I try my best to be a fun mom. I'm constantly worrying that I spend too much of my day reminding my kids to pick up their toys, practice piano or get their fingers out of their noses. So, I try to balance my nagging with fun. Thus, the birth of the upside-down dinner. I had Andy take the kids for a walk to Grandma and Grandpa's while I prepared the fun: Individual chicken pot-pies places on the plate upside down, Capri Suns with straws in the bottoms, upside-down hats, socks for hands and upside-down cupcakes. I was giggling inside imaging the kids' reactions to the dinner I had planned. I envisioned them laughing at the silliness and telling me what a fun mom I was. Ah yes, it would be perfect. Well, things didn't go quite as I imagined. Jax, who is very particular about his clothes was not interested in wearing his hat the wrong way. Although, I did convince him to wear it upside-down for a picture. Ava, loved the idea of the dinner but found eating with socks on her hands a little difficult. Neither kid liked the pre-made, store-bought chicken pot pie, both saying they preferred my homemade version, which is actually very sweet. The cupcakes, however, were a hit.

Despite the upside-down dinner fail, we did chat at dinner and came up with other possible silly dinner themes. I've got a list going in my head, hopefully they'll be more successful!

Cousins

2011-10-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about living back home is being so near family and getting to enjoy some fun times together!

The kids especially love getting to play with cousins! Those of us in town got together at Curtis and Courtney's Tuesday for dinner, playtime and an impromptu dance party.

It makes my heart so happy to see these kids hanging out and laughing together, and they all get along so well. Seriously. It's amazing. Ava and Nathan are the oldest of the bunch and I love listening to them talk and crack each other up with silliness. Jax and Konrad are just five months apart and have bonded over monster trucks.

Bracken, Jax, Nate and Ava watching a movie

Dogpile on Nathan!!!

Right now there are eight cousins ranging in age from newborn to five-and-a-half (Ava's the oldest). A friend of mine said the birth of grandkids is like popcorn. First it starts out slow: POP....POP.....POP, then starts to pick up POP..POP..POP, and then POPPOPPOPPOPPOP. Our family is no exception. There are 11 months between Ava and Nathan, then another 11 between Nathan and Konrad. Five months later, Jax was born. Then there was 15 months before Rodney and Bracken were born (three days apart). Then 10 months later, Eden came along, and little Rex joined the bunch two months after that. We've got another boy due any day now, and Nathan and Bracken will welcome a new little sibling in March.

This extended family of ours is growing like crazy. When I think about the close relationship all of the cousins will have growing up, it just makes moving back home that much more worth it.

Princess Polka Dot

2011-10-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

My children are perfect. I mean that. They're perfect. No, I'm not blind or oblivious to the fact that they make mistakes, throw the occasional fit, make serious messes when they eat and spend way too much time with their fingers up their noses. But their little bodies, their little minds, their little spirits are perfect. They are perfect little creations of our Heavenly Father. I've become so much more grateful for and aware of their perfection since Eden's birth.

On the day Eden was born, I stared at her. And stared. And stared. And stared. I've given birth three times and still it's hard to believe that the little person in my arms was once in my belly. As all mothers do, I looked over (inspected) every inch of her soft skin. Beneath her dark brown hair, I noticed two little dots on her head. And I mean little. Like, grain of rice little. But, they concerned me. The next morning, I asked the pediatrician what they were, he told me they were "stork bites" -- the little red dots most babies have. But, I simply wasn't comforted by that answer. Several years before Eden's birth, even before I was pregnant with Ava I watched a Discovery Channel show about hemangiomas. The children on the show had large masses on their faces that required surgery. Those masses started out as tiny dots. When I saw Eden's, I just had this feeling in my stomach. I knew they were hemangiomas. At her one-month check-up her doctor confirmed what I already knew. Because of the location of one of the hemangiomas, her doctor in Mississippi ordered a CT scan to determine if it was deep-rooted. Fortunately, it wasn't.

Here's what I can tell you about hemangiomas: they're benign tumors. Ten-percent of babies have them in some form. Most of those babies are girls. No one knows why a child develops a hemangioma and there are some treatment options, but more often than not, they aren't necessary. Hemangiomas are fast little buggers. They grow rapidly in the first year of life. At just a month old, Eden's teeny spots had grown to 10 times their original size. Now, at 11-weeks-old, they're at least five times bigger than that (width and height). And she has a new one growing on the back of her neck.

Initially, I struggled with the thought of my little girl having something "wrong" with her. I tortured myself by looking online at pictures of "worst-case-scenario" hemangiomas. Some were as large as grapefruits, others impeded eyesight or left large scars. I cried thinking of mean kids teasing my sweet little girl. Or having to deal with the stares in the grocery store. Or people focusing on what was on the outside, rather than the sweet spirit inside. I'll admit, most of it was superficial. I didn't really worry about her health at the time because hemangiomas will go away on their own. Sometimes it takes a year, sometimes it takes nine. Sometimes they get huge, sometimes they don't. I worried about what people would say. I'm so embarrassed to admit that.

In the midst of my pity party for myself and my baby girl, I had a brief moment of clarity and did something I should have done from the beginning, I turned to my Heavenly Father in prayer. I needed comfort. I came away from that prayer ever more grateful for my baby girl. But still, there was something eating at me. So, I asked Andy to give her a blessing. Again, something I should have done from the start. And it was during that blessing that I received not just the comfort I needed, but an important realization: Eden is perfect. She is a blessed daughter of her Heavenly Father. Her "issues" are nothing. She's a little different that's all. I needed to stop looking at the hemangiomas as something negative and instead recognize the positive impact they could have on our family and others. So, rather than calling them tumors, or "owies" (when kids asked) I started calling them her sweet spots or her polka dots. Ava and Jax, who were very worried about the frightening-looking bright red bumps on their baby sister's head, loved that. Then, from there we started calling her "Princess Polka Dot." Now, when Ava's friends at school or kids at the library ask we tell them that Eden is a little different and that she was born with special polka dots. It's always Ava's job to share Eden's nickname with others, she loves the reaction it gets.

I have used the hemangiomas as a teaching tool with my two older children. They see that even though Eden is different, she doesn't need to be treated differently. When we were in Mississippi, Ava had two special needs children in her class. I was able to explain that like Eden Heavenly Father just made them a little different. So, my sweet Ava did her best to befriend those two children. She always said hi to them, paid them compliments and comforted them when necessary. When we see someone in the store with a disability, as is natural, my kids stare. So, I always ask them if they're curious about that person's condition, and I tell them about it. I don't ever want them to be scared of differences or disabilities. Because, I'll admit that in the beginning I was.

Now, I know that Eden's hemangiomas aren't serious. I am in no way comparing our situation to a much more severe condition or disability. However, I'm a mom and a human. I worried. I felt sorry for my baby and myself. No one has a baby and says, "I really hope she has a physical abnormality" or "Please, let my baby have a disability." Part of it is not knowing how to deal with the difference, but for me, part of it was not knowing how to deal with the guilt that inevitably comes when there's something wrong with your child. No matter how out of your hands it is, as mothers, we worry. We take on our childrens' pains and ailments and beat ourselves up, wondering what we could have done to prevent it, or wishing we could take it upon ourselves so our children would never have to experience physical or emotional pain.

But, I'm over all of that now. Eden's hemangiomas aren't painful. They'll go away over time. We had a little scare when the third one popped up on her neck. In some cases, multiple external hemangiomas can be a sign that they're also growing internally and internal hemangiomas can lead to heart failure. I took Eden into a specialist at Phoenix Children's Hospital and he said we had nothing to worry about. They'll keep growing for the next year or so and then gradually start to shrink on their own.

So, like I said, my children are perfect. I am so grateful for the things that make them different and I hope I can teach them to embrace everything about them that is unique.

Giving It Another Go

2011-09-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

Last year, Ava swore off soccer. After a few seasons she decided it just wasn't for her. To be honest, I agreed... reluctantly. I had a hard time accepting the fact that my little girl might not love soccer as much as I did/still do. She liked dressing up in the little uniform, her pink and black cleats and watching butterflies zoom past while she was on the field. But that was about it. When we moved back to Arizona we decided she'd give gymnastics a try. But that changed very quickly once she found out her little friend Anna was playing soccer AND that her team's uniforms were fluorescent yellow. She decided soccer might not be so bad and maybe she'd like to give it another go. My initial reaction was hope... hope that maybe, just maybe she'd be a soccer player yet. But then, I got a little nervous. Nervous that she'd get on the field and be more interested in how much time was left until snacks, than actually playing. But, our family rule is if you sign up for something (team, class, etc.) you stick it out until the end. No matter what. I reminded Ava of this rule and she said she still wanted to play soccer. So, we signed her up to be on the "Yellow Butterflies" with her friend Anna. I took it as a good sign when I saw her soccer number was 5, which happened to be both mine and Andy's first soccer numbers.

Saturday, the whole family joined hundreds of other families for what I like to call, "Soccer Chaos." It's several fields, hundreds of kids, hundreds more families and soccer ALL. DAY. LONG. It was awesome. As Ava warmed up with her team, I was pleasantly surprised. She was giving it her all. Game time was no different. She was aggressive, played defense, threw elbows (she gets that from her Mama) and best of all, SHE SCORED A GOAL! Andy, Jax, my parents and I were all jumping up and down cheering. But, Ava just walked back to the center of the field like it ain't no thang. I'm not sure she even smiled. She was in the zone.

So, I'm glad we gave soccer another go. There's still nine games left in the season and I hope she enjoys it as much at the end as she does now. If nothing else, she got an awesome jersey. But, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she gains a little more... a love for soccer.

Eden's Blessing

2011-09-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

Blessing day is always chaotic. I spend the morning making sure everyone is dressed, groomed, has underwear on (Jax can be sneaky) and that we're out the door on time for church. Then, when we get there, I frantically search the chapel with my eyes making sure all the family is there (especially the men), panic because it's been two hours since the baby last ate which means said baby could potentially cry during the blessing and say a silent prayer that this Sunday isn't the one where my child's diaper can't hold what's dumped in it, leading to a blowout on a beautiful white outfit. That's my morning. But then, we sit. Church starts. Andy takes our beautiful little baby from my arms, then is joined by several priesthood holders to give our precious baby a name and a blessing. Suddenly, the craziness of the morning melts away and I am filled with gratitude. Eden's blessing went as the other two before did: chaos followed by peace. We were blessed to have two of Andy's four brothers, his dad, an uncle and a cousin all take part in the blessing of our little Eden Faith. I felt the Spirit so strongly as she was promised blessings from our Heavenly Father.

All the Kleinman cousins (at the time). We've since added one more boy, with another on the way next month and one more baby due in March. We don't know what that one is yet.

Afterward, it was a Kleinman party at our house, full of fun for cousins and a lot of catching up. If I could have, I would have kept Eden's dress on her all day, but since we live in the desert, I thought it best to take it off. Oh, but there is nothing more lovely to me than a baby in white. This dress was extra-special for me since I made it myself (pattern and all). Although, not too much attention is paid to the dress when you have a baby as beautiful as our little Eden in it!

Home Again, Home Again!

2011-09-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in far too long, but I have good reason. We move. Across the country. Again. This time, though, we're back home to Arizona. Back near family, friends and the weather we love. I won't go into details about the move itself except to say it happened quickly. Like, in less than two weeks. And in that two weeks, Ava started kindergarten at her school in MS, I had to pack up the house, recover from a c-section and take care of a three-year-old and a newborn. Challenging? Yes. Worth it? Totally. Besides, this is what we do, we always make our biggest moves when our kids our little, little babies. Ava was three months when we moved from Oregon to Arizona. Jax was six weeks when we made the journey to Utah and now Eden was just five weeks when we loaded in the car and headed from Mississippi to Arizona. So, we've come full circle. We're not done having kids, but hopefully we're done moving.

We were blessed to find a house to rent very quickly. As a matter of fact, we came across it on accident and it just happens to be owned by old Kleinman family friends. It's an older home (wood paneling EVERYWHERE), but it's great! The best part? A good-sized fenced front yard for the kids to just run around in. Even better? NO HUMIDITY, so they can actually go out there and play in the middle of the day! Jax's monster trucks have spent plenty of time in what he calls the "big pool of mud," better known as dirt.

Ava started kindergarten at Andy's alma mater. They offer both half and full-day. We opted for half. She's made some great friends, but I'll admit, I don't love the school as much as her school in Mississippi. But, unfortunately, I think schools like that are a rarity. She was sad to leave, but seems to have moved on. I'm having a harder time letting go of her school and teacher. She and her class in Vicksburg are e-mail penpals, though and her teacher there has told me she hasn't removed any of Ava's things from the classroom because she misses her so much.

Our sweet Eden is seven weeks old today. She's a wonderful baby, full of smiles and sweet sounds. Her brother and sister still adore her. As a matter of fact, most of their fights and arguments tend to revolve around who has spent more time with Eden or held her more.

Check out that cute crooked smile :)

So, there's life in a tight little nutshell. I have more to post about the decision to move, but that blog post is going to require much more time and thought. And with a baby to feed and boxes to pack... well... that post will have to wait.

First Day of School

2011-08-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

I started crying when I woke up at 5:30 this morning and the waterworks continued off and on for the next four hours. My little girl started kindergarten today. It's obviously a major milestone that I've had five years to prepare for, yet somehow, I still wasn't ready for her to be gone from 8-3:30 five days a week. But, the day came. I woke up early to get myself ready before waking Ava, but that wasn't necessary. Her excitement had her up and out of bed 20 minutes before she needed to be. She got ready fairly quickly (which is a big deal for our morning dawdler) and took time to prance around the house in her school uniform, and who can blame her? She looked adorable! We were out the door in a timely manner and to school earlier than expected.

Because this was a special day, the whole family took Ava to school. She bounced as she walked up to the doors, her pink Barbie backpack slung across her back, carrying her Scooby Doo lunchbox. I made her stop in front of the school for pictures, after each one she'd say, "Okay, Mom. Let's go inside." I was dreading her walking through those doors and she couldn't get in there fast enough.

Once inside, we sat in the auditorium until they released the kindergarteners to their classrooms. She lined up with her class and made the long walk down the hall to her class, where Ava found her name tag at a seat and sat right down.

At this point, I was expecting her to hesitate a little. I mean, she's never been away from me for very long. But, she didn't. She got to work on the writing sheet at her table and, once again, humored me by posing for pictures.

I looked at the clock: 7:57, which meant it was time for me to go. But how could I. I was about to walk out the doors and leave my little girl for 7.5 hours. Tears welled in my eyes as I gave my best girl a hug and kiss, told her I loved her and reminded her how proud I am of her. When it came time for Andy to say goodbye, I was surprised to see that he too was struggling to keep the tears from falling. Jax, well, Jax was sad to see his best friend go to school. Sunday night, he cried for quite some time. He kept telling us he didn't want Ava to go to school because he would miss her. So, Monday morning, he packed up his backpack and wore it in to Ava's school. I thought he just wanted to be like his big sister. But, when we got into her classroom I realized what he was doing. He was trying to stowaway with Ava. When we put her backpack in her cubby, he placed his in the one next to hers. Then, he commandeered a classmate's seat and worksheet. He was intent on staying at school with Ava. When the time came to actually leave, he handled it pretty well... only attempting to sneak away once.

As for me. Well, to be honest, I was surprised by how quickly the day seemed to pass. Jax and I kept ourselves busy (Eden slept most of the day, as babies do) playing, baking and drawing. But, we were both excited when it came time to pick Ava up.

Jax wrote this ALL BY HIMSELF!! (Obviously, I just told him how to spell the words). He's a good little writer, isn't he?

As expected, Ava came out of school beaming. She loves her teacher and especially enjoyed her music class. She reminded me about 30 times that I needed to check her "take home folder," and couldn't wait to pack her lunch for tomorrow.

So, tomorrow we'll run the whole routine all over again. I'm sure we'll get the hang of things and the mornings will get easier --- now, let's just hope the rest of the day gets easier... for me. I figure if I stop crying by 8:30 tomorrow, it's progress.

Pretty Girl

2011-08-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe, but Eden is already nearly three weeks old.

She's a wonderful baby with such a sweet spirit, and oh, she is so loved!

The Insect Whisperer

2011-07-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

Ava is a girly girl -- she loves Barbies, the color pink, ballet, princesses and anything sparkly or shiny. However, she's also an outdoor girl who loves to dig in the mud, climb trees and catch critters. As we went for a family roll the other day (Ava rollerskated, Jax scootered and Eden rode in her stroller) the kids stopped to inspect an ant pile. Somehow, someone noticed a large dragonfly trapped in a spiderweb on the wheel of Jax's scooter. I'm not sure how long the little guy had been there. It's quite possible he had been stuck the entire ride, spinning like crazy. I wonder if dragonflies get dizzy. I digress. Ava, of course, thought it her duty to rescue the little critter. So, she very gently picked it up, all of us fully expecting it to flutter off in a frenzy once freed. However, much to our surprise it sat in Ava's hand for several minutes. How cool is that? It's not very often one gets to hold a dragonfly. I'm so glad I had brought my camera along for our little outing and could capture this memory for Ava.

Our New Baby Girl

2011-07-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

It's taken me eight days to write this post, but that's excusable when you're getting up every few hours in the middle of the night to feed a hungry baby, right?

Well, the newest addition to our little family is here... and she came on her own terms! Eden Faith was born Saturday July 16, at 11:39 a.m. She was 7 lbs 2 oz and 20" long, a runt compared to her 8lb 9 oz/21" big sister and 8lb 14oz/22" big brother. Eden's arrival surprised us a little, as it came four days before my scheduled C-section (and 12 days before her due date). I'd had "Braxton-Hicks" contractions off and on the last few months of my pregnancy, but last week, they began feeling more intense. By Friday night they were uncomfortable but not very close together. However, by Saturday morning they were about seven minutes apart so I called the on-call nurse. Since we live an hour from the hospital, she suggested we get on the road "just in case." Fortunately, Andy's mom was already here so we packed up, I wrote up a schedule for the kids and off we went. On a side note, we had planned to take the kids and Grandma to our favorite donut shop Saturday morning before visiting the Farmer's Market. Ava and Jax had been looking forward to our fun Saturday for a few weeks, so I sent Andy to the donut place while I finished packing. On his way home, my safe-driving husband was pulled over for going 50 in a 30. And he got to use the excuse, "My wife is in labor and I'm on my way to take her to the hospital." Seriously. How often does that really happen? The officer was very nice and let him off with a warning.

I thought we were just going to the hospital for observation and wasn't at all prepared to actually have a baby. So, when after about 30 minutes the on-call doctor came in and said, "It looks like we're having a baby today." I broke into tears. I had just had July 20th in my head for so long, not to mention, I didn't finish all the projects around the house I had hoped to before the baby came, hadn't done all I had wanted with Ava and Jax, hadn't made freezer meals for my family, hadn't finished painting my toes the night before (seriously). I kinda fell apart. Fortunately, my good husband was there to comfort me, to tell me this was actually for the best, that the kids were excited to meet their baby sister and that my toes looked cute. So, the preparation began and within 20 minutes I was in the operating room getting a spinal. A few minutes later, our sweet Eden Faith made her debut, with a loud, healthy cry! She looks quite a bit like Ava did as a newborn, just smaller and with a little less hair. She's absolutely, perfectly beautiful!

A few hours later, a wonderful friend picked Ava, Jax and Andy's mom up from our house and brought them to the hospital so the kids could meet their new baby sister. It was love at first sight.

Modeling the big sister and big brother shirts (and skirt) I made.

The C-section went so smoothly. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better surgery (as far as surgeries go). It was the easiest, least painful and quickest of any of my three c-sections. Overall, my recovery has been the best too. I haven't been in nearly as much pain as with my others and I was up and moving quite a bit sooner... if you consider hobbling around like an old woman "up and moving." With some persistence I convinced my doctor and nurses to let me go home Monday, just two days after my surgery. Why anyone would choose to stay in a hospital is beyond me. I never love my bed more than my first night home from the hospital. It's like sleeping on marshmallows.

The adjustment to life with another child has been great! Our older kids have been a dream, seriously. Jax, who I thought might act out, has been the best big boy. He throws Eden's diapers away, loves on her gently, gives her "baby trucks" to play with and says things like, "Don't cry baby girl, big brother is here." Ava has been the helpful big sister I knew she would be, however, I was not prepared for the jealousy issues. Oh no, she's not jealous of the attention I give the baby, she gets jealous when other people are holding her baby sister. She wants to have a hand on Eden at all times. She can't wait for her to wake up, she follows me around like a little shadow, whether I'm feeding Eden, changing Eden, burping her, bathing her, you name it, Ava is there because she simply doesn't want to miss a moment with her baby sister. It's so sweet, but to be honest, sometimes I just have to ask her to back off a little. It's hard because I want her to know how appreciative I am of her love for her little sister, but a baby's gotta breathe! I will say this, the time Ava and I spend together in my room as I feed Eden is precious. We've been able to just talk and laugh and really enjoy some special time together. As I prepare for my big girl to go to kindergarten in just two weeks, I can't even begin to explain how much I cherish these moments with Ava.

Now to the million dollar question: Am I getting any sleep? Actually, yes. Much like her big brother and sister before her Eden has, thus far, proven to be a good little sleeper. She usually sleeps in three to three-and-a-half-hour intervals at night, waking to be changed and fed, then as long as the lower half of her body is swaddled, she's back to sleep. Not too shabby. Am I still tired? Yes. We've had family here all week so I'm not resting during the day like I should. But, my good husband has made an effort to provide opportunities for me to sneak in an extra hour or two whenever possible.

Despite the lack of sleep, I'm enjoying having a newborn in our home again. I've loved the newborn stage with each of my children, but I have to admit, this has been my favorite because of the extra added joy of having an excited big brother and sister in our home too.

Our family is truly blessed! I feel my Heavenly Father's love each time I see my three children on the couch together, Ava and Jax giggling at the silly sounds and faces their baby sister makes. I am grateful for my wonderful husband, how sweetly he shows his love for me and for our children; wrestling with Jax for hours, reading chapters of "Harry Potter" to Ava several times a day, waking up in the middle of the night just to stroke Eden's hair as I change her diaper, telling me I'm beautiful even though I haven't showered for two days, my hair is in disarray and I have dark circles under my eyes. As our eternal family grows, I can't help but wonder what I did to deserve such a blessed life, whatever it may be, I am grateful.

Lots O' Projects

2011-07-13T00:27:00.000-07:00

Our poor children. The heat, the humidity, lack of a backyard and their pregnant mom have forced them to spend much of this summer indoors. We try to make it outside early in the morning before it gets too hot (it's already miserably humid by 7-ish) but we don't always make it. So, I do my best to come up with fun activities for us to do indoors.

Both kids are really into art lately. They love to color and draw together, but have been interested in using different mediums, or painting with different utensils (Q-Tips, apples, combs, fingers, etc.). I saw an idea on a blog for salt art, so we gave it a try. First, the kids drizzled glue onto their papers, then sprinkled table salt (which we colored with food coloring) on top of that. This was a big hit... and a big mess. But, it provided an hour of fun and took just a few minutes to clean up, which is a trade I am willing to make!

As for me, I've been nesting like crazy and taking on far too many projects. In all actuality, it's probably best that I keep as busy as possible so as not to focus on how terribly uncomfortable I am. I tell you, this pregnancy has been an odd one. This baby is much lower than the other two EVER were and as a result, she is constantly hitting the scar tissue along my incision line (from my first two c-sections), pouncing on my bladder and causing general discomfort. Despite waddling when I walk and having to go to the bathroom every five minutes, I am very grateful for this little girl and all the added energy she seems to have provided me in the last weeks of pregnancy because this is some of what I've been up to:

We had these two ugly pieces of furniture annoying me so I had to do something about it. The first is a dresser that was in the kids' room. We got it for super cheap at Walmart when Ava was born. It was an awful honey color. We weren't using it anymore and considered just throwing it away when I had the ingenius idea to paint it. Zinsser makes this AMAZING primer that you can use on ANY surface, even that cheapo glossy fake wood lookin' stuff. So, a few coats of that, a few coats of black paint, vinyl, spray painted knobs (I still need to get two for the bottom drawer) and TA-DAH! We moved the dresser to the living room and now use it as a TV stand. Smart, huh? The other is a side table we got at a thrift store for $10. I loved the design on it, but hated the color, so I painted it. I've been seeing so many bloggers paint their furniture this pretty blue shade and have loved it, I just don't know if I love it on our piece. It's in the same room as the black dresser, so maybe that's what's throwing me off. The good news is, I can always repaint it.

I've been doing major sewing too, but haven't taken pictures. Soon enough, soon enough.

And lastly, Ava got to attend her very first Kids Club at Home Depot this month! It's held the first Saturday of every month and she's been begging to go for quite some time, but our schedule never permitted. However, we made it a priority this month and she and Daddy went on a little date to build coasters and a coaster holder. Pretty great, eh? She even banged the nails in by herself! She came home and painted it pink, purple and green (sorry no photo)... so very Ava!

So Awesome!

2011-07-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

The kids successfully completed two weeks of swim lessons! Jax is even more fearless than before (if that's possible) and Ava, our formerly water-shy girl, will now go ALL the way under water and even jump in the deepest part of the pool (as long as someone is there to catch her). I'm amazed at what a difference two weeks make!

Jax got to the point in his class, where some of the "skills" he was being taught were a little too, well, easy for him. Or maybe they just weren't as daredevil-ish as he would like. Either way, Jax's teacher sometimes just let Andy and Jax spend the last portion of class in the big pool where Jax would practice jumping in to Daddy. In the beginning, he would jump into Andy's arms (still going under) but after a few days he would jump in by himself, go all the way under, touch the bottom of the shallow end (3-4 feet) and kick back up to the surface. Here's video of our little jumper:

Like father, like son!

I love this picture because he looks like the Karate Kid!

Unfortunately, I don't have video of Ava. She told me it made her nervous when I took pictures of her. I don't know if the child has ever been camera-shy in her life, but, I honored her request to keep the camera away. Although, I did get a few pictures back before the camera made her nervous.

On her way under...

We had a great two weeks and look forward to practicing the kids' new skills in our pool the rest of the summer!

A Too Loud Fourth

2011-07-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

Our little town was exceptionally hot and humid on the 4th of July. Maybe my gauges are a little off since I'm pregnant, but I tell you, it was miserable. However, late in the day we got some cloud cover which cooled the temps down a bit, but did nothing for the humidity. We had planned to go downtown for the fireworks, but an invite to our friend's house changed our plans, and it's a good thing because the fireworks were cancelled downtown because of lightning and rain.

Fireworks are legal here so many people forgo the traditional shows for those of their own. We had front row seats to our very own show in our friend's cul-de-sac. I had no idea there were so many variety of fireworks! The only thing is, the kids and I watched from inside. They enjoyed the fireworks, just not the "too close noises" (as Jax called them). Jax lasted about five minutes outside, hands on his ears, before asking me to take him in. Ava went about 15 more minutes before she too opted to watch from the window. We still got quite a show and the kids had a great time.

Ava thought it was pretty cool that our friends brought a couch and rocking chair outside!

Watching from the window

Ava got distracted by a book... no shock there.

As much fun as it was to spend the holiday with friends, there's just something about going to a big venue and watching a HUGE fireworks display that just screams 4th of July to me. I missed that a bit this year. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to our friends and had such a fun time, but I think there's just something nostalgic about hanging out in your camp chairs, surrounded by thousands of people who all go completely silent when the firework begin and Ray Charles' "America the Beautiful" begins playing in the background. Not to mention, the fireworks are far enough away that my kids don't feel the need to take cover.

Swim Lessons

2011-06-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

Andy and I both taught swim lessons in our younger years. So, I always assumed we'd just save money each summer and teach our own kids to swim. However, we've learned that's much easier said than done. Despite our best efforts to teach her to swim, Ava is a little hesitant in the water. I don't want to say fearful, because she loves being in the pool, but she won't put her face in, freaks out when she gets water in her eyes and annoyed when people splash. Andy and I have both tried to help her feel comfortable in the water, but thought it best this summer to enroll her in swim lessons and see how she does when it's someone other than Mom or Dad teaching her. Jax is quite the opposite of his big sister. We have to always keep our eyes on him in the pool because the boy has no fear. He jumps in, he goes under water, he tries to swim on his own. But, we put him in lessons anyway, just so he had something fun to do.

The kids started lessons Monday. Ava is in Level 1, Jax is in a Parent/Tot class (because of his age) with Andy. I sit pregnant on the side, under the awning and offering quiet encouragement to Ava via facial expressions and thumbs-up, and try my hardest not to jump in and take over the lesson (the teachers are VERY inexperienced). I'll admit, I wasn't quite sure how Ava would do, especially when the first day of class her teachers (there's three of them) told her to do "bobs," which require her to go completely under water, blowing the air out of her nose and mouth. She looked at me and grimaced, but I gave her a smile and mouthed, "You can do it." So, she tried. She didn't make it ALL the way under, but she went further than ever before, even getting her eyes wet. She popped her head up and immediately looked at me, a big smile (which is so cute with a missing tooth) and a bit of pride on her face. From there, she did great, doing everything she asked, smiling and giggling. When lessons were over I greeted her with her towel and a big hug, telling her how well she did. I asked how she felt and she said, "Great! I got braver today." She sure did.

Doing her "bobs"

Practicing her kicking. I just love her face! She's working really hard to make big splashes.

Today, she even wore a life jacket and floated in the deep end. It took some convincing from her teacher and me for her to let go of the wall, but once she realized the life jacket made her buoyant, she did fine. Some of the kids in her class were jumping off the edge, going under water and bouncing back up, but she said she wasn't quite ready for that, and I'm not going to push her. At the end of the day she said, "I think I was even more brave today than yesterday."

Jax excels in his class. His teacher seems impressed by how much he can already do in the water. He loves splashing around in the wading pool and "diving" for the octopus (a little sink toy that he throws in and retrieves once it hits the bottom). He puts his face in, blows bubbles, kicks and even goes all the way under the "raining mushroom." Today, he went into "Ava's pool", as he calls it (the big pool) and jumped off the side. He didn't even want Daddy to catch him, he just jumped in, went all the way under and then let Andy help him up to the surface. The best part of his class though, is the special time Jax and Daddy have together. It's not very often that they hang out just the boys, so I love seeing them playing and enjoying the pool with each other.

How handsome is he?!

The kids really love their swim lessons and can't wait to go back each day. I love seeing their smiling faces and hearing their excited giggles as I watch them during their classes. And, I especially love how worn out they are after their lessons which makes them fall asleep quickly each night!

Look At Those Faces

2011-06-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

While we were in Atlanta we got the kids red, white and blue star popsicles (or pocsiples as Jax calls them). The kids loved them, although Andy tasted them and said they were disgusting. I think when you're a kid, the presentation is much more important than the taste. Anyway, I had to snap a pic of their faces as they inhaled the popsicles.

No, her tooth hadn't fallen out yet. If you look closely you can see that she's pushing it forward with her tongue. Gross.

And, of course, their tongues afterward.

The Blueberry Patch

2011-06-27T06:48:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about living in the South is access to local produce farms. Blueberry patches are especially popular this time of year, and the kids and I couldn't resist an opportunity to stock our freezer full of the delicious blueberries. So, one morning after we dropped Andy off at work we drove about 20 minutes to a nearby blueberry patch and picked two gallons of berries.

Fortunately, we went early enough in the morning that it wasn't too hot and the humidity didn't kill us. However, as our 90 minute excursion neared the end, the sun was beating a little harder and both kids were sweating and red-faced. They spent a little time on a nearby bench before heading back out to help me pick the last of our blueberries. At which point Jax told me he needed to rest because his legs were broken. It's a good thing there was a shady spot not too far away for him to plop down in, wouldn't want to do any more damage to those broken legs.

That afternoon we canned delicious blueberry jam (sorry, no pictures), Sunday morning it was blueberry crumb muffins for breakfast and today we'll be giving lemon blueberry poppyseed bread a try. Of course, we've all been snacking on blueberries for the past few days and I've frozen several bags, but I think we'll head back out this week and pick two more gallons, so we can make more jam, some syrup and freeze enough to last us through the end of the year. Maybe this time we'll take Daddy along, you know, so he can carry Jax, just in case his legs break again.

Baby Bumpin' It

2011-06-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

A few family members have asked for pictures of my bump. So, without further ado, I give you... my belly

There you have it. We're creepin' up on 36 weeks now. I'm feeling okay, except for the exhaustion, and a six-day headache I recently suffered. Oh, and I've been having contractions off and on, which I NEVER had with the other two, and this baby is WAAAAAY lower than her siblings EVER were. But I'm not complaining. I'm grateful for this little girl in my big belly! I just can't wait for her to come out.

Georgia on My Mind

2011-06-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

Our family took a little five-day vacation to Atlanta last week. Actually, it was a work trip for Andy (he was presenting at an Army Corps of Engineers conference), but playtime for the kids and me. Atlanta is one of those places you visit once and you're good. It's a wonky city, but it has lots of fun attractions. The kids and I (and some friends) went to the Atlanta Children's Museum, awesome parks and the pool. Then, on Friday, Andy's conference ended early so our little family planned a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. It's the largest aquarium in the world and certainly didn't disappoint. My only complaint is that it was ridiculously busy, which is to be expected, it just didn't make it any easier for this super-pregnant lady to get around without getting bonked in the belly.

I could try to explain this aquarium to you, but I wouldn't do it justice. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

As I said before, our friends were at the same conference, so we got to hang out with them all week. Plus, we swapped babysitting so the grown-ups would have a chance to attend the Atlanta Temple. Andy and I haven't been to the temple together since we lived in Utah (over a year ago), so this was an extra-special trip for us.

This was our last major hurrah as a family of four. It's hard to believe, but on our next vacation, our backseat will be filled to capacity with kids!

Finally!

2011-06-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

Ava has had a loose tooth for months! We've thought for three weeks now that it would come out any day, but that stubborn little booger was just hanging on by a thread. Ava could twist it, push it straight out with her tongue and every time she said a word with a "P" or "S" in it, the movement of her tongue would force that tooth to shoot forward. Plenty of people offered to just pull the tooth for her, but Ava said she just wanted to let it come out on its own. I was all for that plan until the last few days when I became concerned her tooth would finally decide to come out while she was eating and she'd end up swallowing it. So, I encouraged our little "Loosey Goosey" to wiggle and twist with all her might. Still nothing. Then, last night I came up with a genius plan. I offered to "help" Ava brush her teeth. She has a battery-powered toothbrush, which I very gently used to get her tooth extra clean for the tooth fairy. Before we knew it, Ava said, "Mom, is my tooth coming out?" And sure enough, we finally broke that last stubborn thread and all that was left was a teeny little hole in Ava's mouth. We got to see plenty of that hole last night, because our toothless girl couldn't stop smiling (or staring at herself in the mirror).

Ava held onto her tooth for quite awhile last night before finally sticking it in her tooth fairy pillow. All she wanted from the tooth fairy was a silver dollar. Turns out, silver dollars are hard to come by these days and have been replaced with gold Sacajawea dollars. Knowing this, I taught Ava about Sacajawea a few weeks ago and explained to her the currency change. So, she beamed this morning when she woke up and found her very own gold Sacajawea dollar in her tooth fairy pillow. She's still holding it as I type this post.

It's hard to believe that we're already at the stage where our little girl loses teeth. I swear, she just got those things! She's got another loose one right now, but who knows how long it will hang around in her mouth. But, the tooth fairy would be wise to have a gold Sacajawea dollar on hand, just in case.

All Worn Out

2011-06-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

Andy had a conference in Atlanta this past week. Since it's just a 6.5 hour drive, Andy opted to save the government some money and drive instead of fly, which means, he got to bring his family along. Some friends of ours did the same thing, so the moms and kids got to hang out in Atlanta for a week while the dads attended a nerdy engineer conference (not the official title).

There's a lot to cover and I haven't made it through editing all of the pictures from our week, but to give you an idea of how much fun the kids had, here's a little preview.

That's right, that's Ava and Jax sleeping peacefully in the same hotel bed. The two were so tuckered out at the end of one of our days that they plopped down in bed together and conked out --- a definite sign of a good week!

Yippee for Three!

2011-06-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

Jax turned three May 28th, but we were without internet so I couldn't blog about the exciting day. First let me say, WOW! He's three!! And it's been a long time coming. He's been wanting to turn three since Christmas, because after Christmas we start the countdown to birthdays (Ava's in March, mine in April, Jax's in May). So, he's been talking for months about being three. Let me tell you about our big three-year-old boy. Well, he's big! He hasn't been in for his three-year check-up yet, but here's an idea. Our little boy wears the same size shoe as his five-year-old sister (that's an 11), he weighs just three pounds less than said sister and is taller than many of his four-year-old friends. He's a giant, solid, beefy, rough and tumble guy.

(Birthday Boy on his birthday morning)

As I've said many times before, he's fearless. He'll try anything, jump off anything and then laugh when he falls. His first love is monster trucks, but his latest obsession is Ninja Turtles. He loves to wrestle, beat up imaginary bad guys (or Daddy), do ninja kicks and somersaults. But here's the thing, in all his ninja excitement (I should mention he's Michaelangelo... always Michaelangelo) he sometimes forgets that not everyone else is, well, trained in the art of Ninja Turtlery. Just recently, my three-year-old had to apologize to an eight-year-old and a 7.5-year-old for attacking them, oh, and making them cry. Did I mention these were on separate occasions? No? Yes, they were. Oh, and while I'm mentioning things, it might be worth noting that one of the attacks occurred at church. Granted, it was after all the meetings were over and a big group of boys were being wild in the Primary Room and Jax was just getting in on the "fun." While I figured out how best to approach the situation, teaching Jax that we can't beat up our friends without making him feel bad since he wasn't really trying to hurt anyone, I couldn't help but notice the pride oozing out of the sides of Andy's little grimace. I knew what he was thinking, "That's right, my boy just beat up an eight-year-old."

(Such a boy)

Now, he's not all ninjas, monster trucks and attacks on big kids. While he's every bit the boy his Daddy always hoped he'd be (he loves basketball too), he's also the cuddliest little sack of sweetness. His smile warms my heart, and fortunately, I get to see it often. He wakes up each morning, climbs into bed with me, cuddles up against me and showers me with kisses (and tries to push Daddy out of the bed). Or, he gently tries to open my eyes, then giggles as I snap them shut. It's a wonderful sight and sound to wake up to. He randomly tells each of his family members throughout the day that he loves us. And it's not just an "I love you." It's "I love you, Mommy" with a nuzzle or a hug (or sometimes a really tight squeeze around the neck). He's always the first to thank me for making dinner, or for reading him a book. He's the first to ask if someone is okay when he senses sadness, the first to help someone pick up something they dropped. He rushes ahead of Ava and me when we walk into Church just so he can hold the door open for us. Just today, I asked the kids to clean up the playroom, Ava went in then quickly came out and said, "Jax already picked up my Barbies for me." Sure enough, our thoughtful little guy had cleaned up his sister's toys, without being asked and without a word about it. When Ava and I thanked him, he said, "I wanted to serve Ava." Made my heard melt. But my favorite is anytime Jax sees a member of the military in uniform, no matter where we are, he'll run up to them and say, "Thank you for your service." He loves, loves, loves to do this and I love to see the look and the serviceman/woman's face when they hear those words coming out of the mouth of such a young child.

(Daddy's little baller)

I know, I know, he sounds like the perfect little boy, right? Well, he kinda is. He definitely has his moments. He's easily frustrated and super-stubborn, but he's also very obedient and is good about calming himself down and "trying again" when necessary. He does throw fits on occasion, but always apologizes afterward. He's pretty awesome!

Look Mommy, I'm a GEEK! (Grandpa always says the Kleinman boys are a bunch of geeks)

Andy and I are so grateful for our "Little Digger" (as Andy likes to call him). He's the perfect compliment to his big sister and the two of them together bring us such joy and happiness! Happy, Happy 3rd Birthday, Jax!!! We love you!!!

(Don't worry, we celebrated Jax's birthday in true monster truck style. Party post to come soon!)

Tooth Fairy

2011-05-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ava is just a few days away from losing her first tooth. She's so excited to leave her tooth for the tooth fairy, however, Ava is in the top bunk of the bed and quite the wiggle worm which make the tooth fairy nervous that the tooth or the money she leaves could end up in a crack... not to mention, I'm told, the tooth fairy is preggers and reaching the top bunk is a little tricky.

So, we made this little doozy.

It hangs right on Ava's door, eliminating the possibility of a pillow issue. The mouth is actually a pocket where Ava will leave her tooth and the tooth fairy will leave the money.

The best part is Ava and I made this together! She chose colors, helped me sew, stuff and hot glue! We hope the tooth fairy likes it!

Dress Rehearsal

2011-05-19T23:29:00.000-07:00

Ava has been counting down the days to her dance recital for about a month now. Unfortunately, she didn't make it. Our poor girl woke up early, early, early Saturday morning crying that her ears hurt. Of course, having had my fair share of ear infection experience with Jax, I knew she was suffering from a double ear infection. She was sick and congested all last week which led to the ear issues. She spent most of Saturday laying on the couch in horrible pain, barely able to move because any pressure change hurt just too much. She was, of course, terribly disappointed to miss her recital, but fortunately she was able to attend the dress rehearsal the night before. I took my camera along to the practice and was able to get video (although, the picture isn't great)

Here's the tap routine (sorry for my shoddy video-taking)

With her dance friends Maria and Kennedy

And here's the ballet routine:

Our sweet friends are giving Ava the opportunity this weekend to perform her routines for an audience. I felt so terrible that she missed her big recital (and performing for her friends and family) that I asked if she could use their hardwood floors (perfect for tap shoes) to put on a show for all of us. They happily agreed and Ava has been practicing at home this week in preparation for the big event. Dancing really is her favorite thing, and I'm so excited she'll have the opportunity to share her love for it with a group of people who love her so much!

A Pleasant Surprise

2011-05-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

Andy's been really busy lately with work and his church calling. He rarely has a weekend off. This weekend was no exception, he was gone pretty much all of Saturday and Sunday after Church. So, he took Monday off. Fortunately, he has accrued quite a bit of credit time at work, most of which he is saving up for when the baby comes, but I suggested he dip into it this week. He deserves it. Not to mention, I am more than in over my head with my little business and welcomed the help with the kids today so I could get a little extra work done.

We were out running a few errands this afternoon when Andy mentioned that he wanted to stop by the Mississippi River (yes, we live that close, we can just STOP BY) to see how high the water level was. The most convenient spot for us to visit the river just happens to be at the site of the kids' favorite park. So, we thought we'd take them there to play for a little while. But, all plans to swing and slide came to a screeching halt when we arrived and saw that the water play pad was turned on! The kids certainly weren't dressed to play in the water, so my initial thought was to bring them back another day in their bathing suits. But they were just too excited so I said, "What the hey" and let them go for it in their clothes which, in Ava and Jax's eyes, made me the coolest mom ever!

He stuck his head in one of the fountains RIGHT as it began shooting water.

Using Daddy's shirt as a towel.

Ahhhhh....

Once the kids were soaked to the bone we walked a few hundred feet to get a better look at the river. The water level has actually swelled so much in recent weeks that crews were out building up the levy. It was neat to listen to Andy, the civil engineer, explain what exactly the crews were doing, why they were using a particular technique, etc

I love having Andy home with us and find myself a little sad, after an extra day off, when he has to go back to work, although I am extremely grateful for his job. The good news is, it's only four more days until the weekend!

Hat's Fancy

2011-04-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

I didn't wake up this morning to watch the royal wedding. Sure, I wanted to see what Kate was wearing, but I figured I'd be inundated with wedding recaps all day so I'd be sure to see it. Sure enough, first thing this morning when I logged on to my computer, there it was. I immediately showed it to Ava who, of course, oohed and aahed over it. Then, I noticed a slideshow on the sidebar featuring some of the crazy hats worn to today's event. Ava and I had fun looking through them and providing our own commentary. Then, I had an ephiphany, we could make Ava her very own British Royal Wedding hat! I gave her a paper plate, fabric flowers, tissue paper and ribbon. And here's the final product:

Princess Catherine indeed looked beautiful today, but she's got nothing on our little princess!

Baby Name Help

2011-04-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

So, we're having a hard time naming this baby of ours. Ava and Jax's names were easy to come up with, this time around, we just can't agree. Names Andy loves I hate and vice versa. Some people have told us to just wait and see what she looks like when she's born, but I think that if all babies were named based on their appearance after birth they'd be named, "Grandpa Lizardface" or "Goop." So, just for fun, Andy and I have created this baby name poll. The names listed aren't necessarily names we both love, as a matter of fact, we both only like three of them. The other names are some we like individually. We thought it would be fun to see what you all think we should name our baby. We may take your advice, we may not :)

Good Haul

2011-04-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

I taught a couponing class last night at our ward's Relief Society activity. I really don't know that I'm the most qualified person to have taught the class, but it went well. About 30 women showed up from our ward and the community AND the local newspaper is doing a story on couponing featuring yours truly. I have to say, it was strange to be on the other side of the interview. When I told the reporter that I too used to be a reporter, I joked that I was recording our conversation to ensure accuracy. I don't think she knew I was joking.

Anyway, I had to do some shopping this week which was perfect because I was able to share some of my experiences at the class. I had a great week this week! On average, I saved 80% (I usually save around 70%) and I got a TON of stuff, including diapers which we have to begin stocking up on. Here's a picture from one of my trips:

I got all this for $14! That's just about an 85% savings. Not too shabby! Of course, I stocked up at the grocery store getting $350 worth of groceries for $97 -- and that's two weeks worth of groceries (with the exception of milk).

I kept telling the ladies last night how addictive couponing is. Really, I enjoy it! It's almost become a game for me! I love to go to the store and see just how much I can save. Even my kids love to get in on it, helping me sort coupons or double check prices. If they see something they want at the store they always ask, "Mom, do you have a coupon for this?" I love it!

A Tender Moment

2011-04-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

I wanted to quickly blog an experience I had today because I want to share it with grandparents, family and friends, but also so I have record of this sweet little moment.

Between breakfast and lunch today I cut up a mango and served it to the kids for a snack. Jax and I immediately began partaking of the juicy goodness, but then I glanced across the table at my sweet little Ava who had her head bowed and was offering quite thanks to our Heavenly Father for the food. When she opened her eyes, she caught me staring at her, but rather than say anything she too began to eat her mango.

We have taught our children to bless the food before breakfast, lunch and dinner. But how wonderful that Ava thought to give thanks for a small little bowl of mangoes. I know it's minor, but this simple, small act really touched my heart. I am so thankful for Ava, her sweet spirit and her closeness to our Father in Heaven.

Such Fools

2011-04-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late getting this post up. I don't know where my brain is these days. I guess being pregnant will do that to a gal.

I never do anything for April Fool's Day, but this year I wanted to make it a fun day for the kids. So, I planned our meals around the "holiday." For breakfast, I surprised the kids by turning their cereal milk their favorite colors. First, I put a few drops of food coloring in the bottom of a bowl, then covered it with cereal. The kids watched as the white milk I poured out of the jug changed colors once it hit their bowls. Ava was shocked and excited, Jax thought it was neat, but much preferred just eating his cereal uninterrupted (meaning no pictures).

For lunch, I made our regular: sandwiches with fresh fruit and vege's, but I told the kids I had made a special juice for them. They, of course, were very excited because their mom is mean and rarely gives them juice. However, when they went to take a sip from their straws nothing came out. I had actually made Jell-O the night before, put it in cups along with straws and refrigerated it overnight. The kids weren't the least bit disappointed to have Jell-O rather than juice. I even had an extra and they tricked Daddy when he got home.

For dinner, we had breakfast, which I served on cookie sheets. I made Monte Cristo sandwiches and "fries" which were actually little nubbins of pastry dough I had sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and ketchup (strawberry jam).

Everyone seemed to enjoy my tricks for the day and I enjoyed Ava and Jax's giggles each time I fooled them. We'll see what I can come up with next year.

Ninja Turtle

2011-03-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

Andy introduced the kids to the classic cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and now Jax is obsessed. He pretends to be Michaelangelo, always wants pizza, when he's angry at someone he calls them "Shredder" and insists on wearing a piece of fabric around his forehead. As if Ninja Turtles weren't exciting enough on their own, they just happen to come in monster truck form. That's right, Jax's two loves all wrapped up in four totally awesome monster trucks!

Jax wants a Michaelangelo costume but the pre-made ones are expensive and I simply don't have the time to make one, but I did have time for this:

I saw a similar shirt online but it was $25 plus shipping, which I was not willing to pay. SO, I made it all on my own for about $6. Not too shabby, and Jax loves it! Cowabunga, dudes!

Ava's Birthday Extravaganza!

2011-03-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

Five is a big birthday! According to Ava, a five-year-old can be a big girl, be an example, go to school and cut her apples with a butter knife all by herself. For me, having a five-year-old is bittersweet. Of course, I love watching this little girl of ours grow up, but in the fall, she'll go to school which means she will be gone for seven hours out of every day. This little person who I have spent every day of her life with for five years, won't be here to help me make lunch or to tell me when her little brother is giving himself a mohawk with jelly (as he did this morning) or to play Barbies with first thing in the morning. She'll be off learning and growing. Oh, and she's so excited! Ava's love's to "exercise her brain," as she calls it. She's reading very well, which means she is often lost in a book. If I haven't heard from Ava for a little while I can guarantee she's in her bedroom reading. We've even started keeping track of all the books she reads out loud to us so she can look back and see her progression. She continues to be interested in science: animals and their habitats, plants, the solar system, natural disasters, etc. She's in ballet, despite my best attempts to turn her into a soccer player, the girl loves to dance and perform.

To celebrate Ava's big birthday I made Thursday (the 17th) all about her. After dropping Daddy off at work, we headed to the airport to get G-Ma, then to Chik-fil-A for lunch (Ava's favorite) then off to the new children's museum. The good news is, the museum was AMAZING, better than I imagined, the bad news is it was spring break and PACKED! Fortunately, the kids were able to enjoy plenty of the activities and exhibits. Ava especially loved the dance room and storybook/dress-up area, while Jax loved the car and boat races.

Check out the dress I made for Ava's special day! She especially loved the built-in apron.

Little Elvis

Pretending to be a pioneer in a log cabin. Yes, that's catfish on her plate.

Once the kids felt they had seen all there was to see at the museum, we scooted off to Toys R' Us so Ava could choose a pair of roller skates. I told her months ago that I got a pair when I turned five, so she thought it only appropriate she too get skates for her fifth birthday. She chose a pair of pink and purple princess skates (shocking, I know!) with matching knee, elbow and wrist pads. Unfortunately for Ava, she had to wait an entire hour for us to get back home for her to try out her new skates (and new Barbie helmet from Jax). As I made homemade pizza for dinner (birthday girl's choice), G-Ma took Ava out to the patio to practice her skating skills.

After dinner we had homemade strawberry shortcake and opened presents, and let Ava stay up until 10.

But the real fun came Saturday at her "Fancy Nancy"-themed party.

Ava invited five little girl friends (one couldn't make it). They made necklaces, got pedicures and glittery makeovers courtesy of Afton and Kaylynne (the sweetest teenage girls), went "shopping" for fancy headbands and jewelry, played fancy games, ate cupcakes and parfaits (fancy for ice cream sundaes) and played with all the girly gifts Ava got.

All fancified. Thanks Afton and Kaylynne!

A Fancy Nancy doll from her best friend A.J. back in Utah!

Ava thoroughly enjoyed her birthday celebrations, but as she does every year, she's already planning her sixth birthday party. I'm still recovering and looking forward to the next bash we'll be throwing --- a monster truck-themed 3rd birthday party for the Little Dude.

I posed the girls for a picture, but Jax thought one of him would be better!

In the meantime, I'm still dealing with the shock of realizing my little girl is five. Although, I do enjoy seeing the excitement on her face when people ask her age and she gets to tell them, "I'm five years old." And already, she's taking her new age seriously, making some more mature choices (how to handle arguments with her brother, doing something the first time I ask) because she knows, "that's what a five-year-old would do." One year older, one year wiser and, if possible, one year sweeter!

A Neccessary Evil

2011-03-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

Ava had her five-year check-up today, because well, she's five now (don't worry, the massive birthday post is coming). The five-year-check-up is a run-of-the-mill (could I have more hyphens in this sentence) appointment: weight, height, heart, lungs, etc. But, it also includes shots -- three to be exact. I told Ava a while ago she'd needs vaccines at this appointment. She seemed okay with it. We've discussed vaccines, why they're necessary, that they hurt for only a moment, yadda, yadda, yadda. Going in to the appointment she was fine, even telling the nurse she knew she needed shots but wasn't worried because she had said a prayer to help her be brave. Jax, meanwhile, was a basket case. Just last month, Jax had to get two steroid shots for pneumonia and since then has been mortified of the doctor's office. I thought taking him to Ava's appointment would be great, it would be a chance for him to see Ava get a shot and see it really isn't that bad. To say that was a bad call is an understatement.

As soon as we got in the exam room, Jax began whimpering saying he wanted to "get out of this place." Ava and I explained repeatedly that this was Ava's appointment and that she was the one getting the shots. He calmed for a while, until shot-time. As the doctor went over with me which vaccines Ava would be getting, he started freaking out, pacing the room and loudly reminding us that he didn't want a shot. Then, I noticed the panic on Ava's face. All of a sudden, it became a reality and my brave little girl started crying. Oh, but this wasn't the end, when the nurse walked in with the needles, pandemonium broke out. Jax started screaming and crying, Ava began crying and trying to slide off the table. So, I climbed up, sat next to her and held her arms in place. One shot. Screaming. Jax tries to take off out the door. So, here I am, 22-weeks pregnant, my arms around Ava, desperately trying to stretch my legs and catch Jax with my feet before he runs out of the room. Second shot. I catch him in the nick of time, he's still hysterical, as is Ava. With each shot she screams, so then her brother does. Third shot. Jax is frantically pacing the room shrieking, Ava is yelling for the nurse to stop and all I could do was laugh. An I-can't-believe-this-is-really-happening, barely able to hold it together kind of laugh. All I could think was, "Is this real?" It was like an over-exaggerated skit about the worst thing that could happen at the doctor's office with your kids, but it wasn't a skit, it was reality... and these were my kids. Once I pulled it together, I noticed Jax had stopped freaking out. Ava's shots were over, as was Jax's screaming fit. The nurse handed the kids stickers and suckers for their "bravery" (HA!) and sent us down the hall to the lab for a hemoglobin test. I knew what that meat, a finger prick. Not a shot, but a little tiny finger prick. Ava had one when she was two. She was fine. I told her the needle was like a hummingbird getting nectar out of a flower. At two, she loved watching her blood go into the tube. At five, not so much. I chose this time around not to tell her what she was about to face, although I don't know if not telling her was any more effective. The nice lady called Ava back to sit in a chair. Ava immediately recognized it. It looks just like the chairs at my OB/GYN's office. The ones surrounded by needles and tubes, she knew what was coming. "What are you going to do," she asked with hesitation and spite in her voice. "I'm just going to give you a little finger prick," the nice lady responds. Ava screams and tells me she won't do it. I give her the hummingbird spiel. She doesn't buy it. I get down on my knees and look at her, "Honey, it will be so quick and it's very important she checks your blood." Ava nods her head then begins to walk to the chair, although I don't know that she ever intended to actually sit in it, because my normally uncoordinated child made like a superstar basketball player, faked me out and ran in the other direction. I make like a lion going after a gazelle and pounce on her, scoop her up and place her on my lap and myself in the chair. The nice lady asks for her finger. Ava clenches her fists. I pry those little boogers open, explaining to Ava that it will be so quick, hold out her finger, cover her eyes and count to three, "1, 2, 3" PRICK! Ava yelps as big crocodile tears stream down her face. Before this happened I had sent Jax into the waiting area with a nurse, I thought he might be better off there. Good call, Mom. The nurses squeezes Ava's finger a few times to get some blood in a tube. Ava's cries and tells me she's miserable. When all is said and done she gets an Iron Man band-aid. Probably not the best choice for a little girl, but whatever. At this point she could have stuck a cotton ball and a piece of Scotch tape around her finger and called it good, I think we just all wanted to get the heck out of there. So, we make the long, grueling walk back down the hall. Ava still crying, Jax telling all the nurses he passes that he doesn't need a shot. We head back out into the waiting room (which is ALWAYS full) so I can check out. Ava sits down and wimpers. Jax walks to the front of the waiting room and loudly announces, "Kids, you might have to get a shot!" I pick him up and we haul rub out of that place. I don't turn around for fear my son has just created chaos and panic in the waiting room.

The good news is, Ava doesn't need another vaccine until she's 11 (although she'll need a flu shot every year. I'll wait to tell her that). The bad news is, I have to do this all again with Jax in about two months.

Monster Jam

2011-03-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

I bought tickets to Monster Jam way back in December. Once I told Jax (around Christmas) he asked daily if it was Monster Jam day yet. Sadly, for three months I had to respond with, "Not yet." But, alas, the day finally arrived. The big even was in Baton Rouge, about 3.5 hours from us, so we piled in the car the night before, stayed in a hotel and woke up early to check out the city. We decided to take the kids to the USS Kidd, an old military destroyer. First, we took a tour of the museum. The kids loved checking out the models of ships and warplanes throughout history. However, despite their best efforts to remain calm and quiet, Ava and Jax just couldn't handle the military museum for more than an hour. I must admit, it really isn't kid-friendly and I'm impressed they lasted that long without getting too antsy. So, we took them outside to hop aboard the Kidd, which was definitely more their style. They got to explore the ship from end to end, pretend to shoot large guns, lay in the beds, play in the kitchen/mess hall and climb, climb, climb.

Heading below deck.

How many women can say they've been barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen aboard the USS Kidd?

After they had searched every nook and cranny on that ship, we took a little walk around downtown Baton Rouge, had lunch, then headed over to Monster Jam. I can't even begin to explain Jax's excitement and any attempt to do so simply wouldn't do it justice.

Let's just say, he was jumping out of his skin excited, and remained that way the entire show... well almost. After about two hours our poor little, monster truck-lovin' guy just couldn't stay awake any longer and finally, just gave up and went to sleep. I was a little disappointed he'd miss the end of the show, but excitement had kept him up late the night before and woke him up extremely early that morning. But, the time he spent awake was full of cheers, claps, joyous giggles, hoots and hollers and looks of amazement (and not just from Jax, Andy's was just as enamored). I don't think he could believe he was that close to actual monster trucks, including his very favorite: Grave Digger! Ava enjoyed herself but definitely wasn't as into it as the boys. However, her interest piqued when she learned the driver of Monster Mutt Dalmation was a girl.

Jax woke up on the walk back to our car and thanked me for taking him to Monster Jam and asked if we can go again "next time." I think this may have to become a yearly tradition.

John Hancock

2011-03-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

Having a big sister around is good for Jax. He has a constant playmate and a constant teacher. I have always assumed it was my job to teach my kids, but little did I know how much Ava would teach her little brother.

Every day that we do preschool (2-3 days per week) Ava works on her handwriting. It is definitely not her favorite part of the school day. She can write all of the letters (lower and uppercase) very well but gets extremely frustrated when, in her eyes, she doesn't write a letter perfectly (poor girl, she inherited that from BOTH parents). So, I've had to come up with little sayings or stories for each letter to help Ava remember certain rules while writing, but also to make the process more enjoyable. During this time, I usually have Jax work on tracing or dot-to-dot to get him comfortable with moving the pencil around and familiar with lines. But, what I didn't know was that while his eyes were on his work, his ears were on Ava and me. Because all of a sudden, one day he came to me with this:

He did that ALL BY HIMSELF! I know! I was just as shocked as you are! I mean, he's not even three! When I asked him where he learned to write his name he told me Ava taught him. But, Ava said she didn't do it. Hmmmm... a mystery. When I had Jax write his name again, I realized Ava had taught him without meaning to. How do I know this you ask? Because this is what Jax said when he wrote the lowercase 'a' in his name, " 'a' is a circle and a line on the side, not too tall, not too wide." It's the same little saying Ava uses (or used to use) while practicing her lowercase 'a.'

In the past, I've always held Jax's hand and helped him write his name at the top of his preschool papers, so, the motions were familiar to him. But, I'm just so impressed that he picked up on our little tricks and taught himself to utilize them (although, he doesn't use the little jingle much anymore). Here's video of him writing his name:

Ava, recognizing her great responsibility to her brother, now attempts daily to teach him to write all the letters. However, right now, he's not really interested in anything other than J-a-x and A-v-a. Who knows though, he may be retaining more information than he lets on. The kid is full of surprises. In the meantime, he's leaving his John Hancock on every paper/paper surface in our house.

A Child's Interpretation

2011-03-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

Each night before bed I sing the kids four songs. The first two are songs I made up when my kids were newborns -- one for Ava, one for Jax. The next is "You are My Sunshine" and the final is a hymn called "Teach Me to Walk in the Light." This routine has become such a habit that often I get to the end of our four songs and can't remember actually singing them all. Last night was one of those nights. When I leaned in to give Jax a hug and kiss he looked at me, tears in his eyes and with his voice quivering said, "Mama, why can't that boy walk?" I had no idea what he was talking about. "What boy, honey?" "The boy in the song? Why he doesn't know how to walk?" I had to stop and think. Then, I realized what he was talking about. Here are the lyrics to the first verse of "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" (you can click on the link to hear it):

Teach me to walk in the light of his love
Teach me to pray to my Father above;
Teach me to know of the things that are right;
Teach me, teach me to walk in the light.

My sweet boy thought that the child in the song didn't know how to walk and needed to be taught. He was so concerned about this child who, in his mind, couldn't walk that he was brought almost to tears. I hugged my little guy and explained to him that the song was about how Mommies and Daddies need to teach their children to be like Jesus. He understood that concept, but I don't think he understood how that related to the song. However, he seemed comforted by it, gave me a kiss, told me he loved me and went to bed.

I don't think I'll ever sing or hear that song, without thinking of this sweet moment with Jax.

Snapshots

2011-03-05T21:37:00.000-08:00

I made our big baby announcement yesterday but didn't post any picture of our little beauty. This is for two reasons: 1) I hadn't yet scanned them and 2) there aren't many good shots. Our little girl was being shy... or sneaky, and wouldn't give us a good profile pic. As a matter of fact, she much preferred mooning us. She's already such a Kleinman.

If that isn't proof, I don't know what is.

This is her head/brain from the top. I can tell she's going to be smart!

Her spine -- she's a strong one!

Teeny tiny tootsie

Outnumbered

2011-03-04T19:04:00.000-08:00

Andy and I made this deal early on in my pregnancy. You see, I was sure this baby #3 of ours was a girl. Andy, of course, was positive it had a little something between the legs. For the record, I have never been wrong about the gender of my babies. However, Andy was absolutely sure. Which, in turn, made me question my own accuracy. Not to mention dreamed two nights in a row that I had a baby boy. So, despite my gut feeling, I was worried that maybe I was wrong. However, I held to my guns, and reminded Andy of our deal: no matter what the baby was, the one of us who was right wasn't allowed to gloat. When we went in for my sonogram March 1st, it was boys against girls. Ava and I sure we'd be busting out her old baby clothes, Andy and Jax sure we'd be expanding our monster truck collection.

So, in we went. Of course, they have to do all the measurements and what not before they actually tell you what the baby is. Apparently, this is the more important part of the sonogram, but it certainly wasn't what any of us were looking forward to. Ava, unaware of just how long the process would take, repeatedly reminded Serena (our wonderful ultrasound tech) that she was still waiting to know the gender of her younger sibling. The baby, who obviously already understands its role as the obnoxious younger sibling, would not stay still. Instead, it rolled from side to side not showing its face and making the shot between the legs a little difficult. All of this while Ava impatiently asked, "When are we going to find out what it is?"

Finally, I saw it as clear as could be. I told Serena I knew what it was, then verified with her. She then, let me tell my family.

"Ava, you're going to be so excited!"
"It's a girl?" she asked, with an enormous smile on her face.
"It's a girl," I said with just as big a smile.

Andy didn't say much. I think he was really just so surprised that it wasn't a boy. Jax on the other hand, didn't seem to mind the news until a few minutes later when we said something about his baby sister.

"I'm not having a baby sister. It's a baby brother."
"No, honey, it's a girl. You're going to have a baby sister," I soothed.

That's when the crying started, and the repeated wales of, "I want a baby brother."

I reminded him that when he was born he brought Ava a present and that his baby sister would bring him a present too, and suggested he talk to my belly so his baby sister knew just what he was wishing for.

He slowly walked up to my round belly, an impish grin on his face, placed his mouth very close to my belly button and said, "Baby sister, I would like a Bulldozer monster truck." And that was that. He's been okay with having a baby sister every since.

After the appointment, the kids chose a "coming-home-from-the-hospital" outfit for the baby at Target. Of course, it's full of bright, bold colors and sparkles. It'll be her first taste of what to expect when she gets home.

On our way home I made sure Andy was okay with having another girl. He smiled and said "Yes, of course!" but then joked that he and Jax are outnumbered and won't have a vote in the house. I joked back that he should know that they never had a vote in the first place.

What a Goof

2011-02-28T19:54:00.000-08:00

My kids are used to having balls of vinyl to step over. It comes with having a mom who owns a vinyl decal business. As I weed vinyl, I ball it up and toss it on the floor until I'm done, then I put it in one big ball before disposing of it. However, between weeding and disposal it's free for anyone to step on, play with or create with. Ava isn't as impressed by vinyl as she once was, Jax, however, can't get enough of the stuff. The other day as I weeded, I heard him chatting as if on the phone:

"Uh, huh. Yes. I can hear you. It's just me Jax, I'm calling you on my vinyl phone."

Sure to see something hilarious, I look up to see this.

Through chuckles I asked, "What are you doing?"
"Talking on my vinyl phone."
"To who?" (I know, I know, I should have said "whom")
"You on this ear (pointing to his left) and Daddy on my right one."

I had to stop what I was doing to give my little goofball a big hug. He's so full of entertainment and imagination!

Sign of Spring

2011-02-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

We've been fortunate to enjoy some beautiful weather the past two weeks or so. I'm hoping this is a sign of what to come, that maybe, just maybe, spring is on the way (knock on wood). The lovely weather stirred in me the urge to create a new spring dress for Ava. We picked up this adorable fabric several months ago, it's just taken me that long to get around to using it.

The pictures don't really do it justice. It's an A-line dress with this adorable ruffle neckline. I think it was just perfect for our fabric. But who cares about the dress, really, when the wearer is so beautiful! Really, she's just growing into a lovely little girl... with the personality to match that gorgeous little face!

A Day Out With Dad

2011-02-19T19:19:00.000-08:00

While we have been blessed to have Andy home on the weekends since he starting working for the Corp, we don't often get to go out and do things as a family. Most weekends, Andy has some sort of Scout obligation for Church (he's 1st counselor in the YM presidency) or someone is sick, or the the weather is yucky. But today the stars aligned; nice weather, Daddy was home, everyone is healthy, so we headed out for a family date to the Military Park a few minutes from our home. Our little town played an important role in the Civil War, and the folks here are very proud of their Confederate heritage.

This is the first large monument you see on the loop.

Here are the kids sitting on the monument (which we later found out they're not supposed to do. Oops.)

And here they are jumping off of it.

The park was impressive. We followed a 16-mile loop to memorials, statues, even markers, cannons and a large Union ship pulled from the Mississippi River 100 years after it was sunk by a Confederate torpedo. Andy and I both enjoy American history, so we took the time to read whatever we could at each of the stops. The kids much preferred picking flowers and chasing bugs. Although, Ava was very interested in little facts we shared with her along the way. The landscape of the park, while well-maintained, is still very true to how it was more than 150 years ago. The hills, bunkers and ditches the troops maneuvered or used for protection are still visible, although covered in green grass. It was interesting to look down on those areas, or stand behind a cannon and think that that was the exact place soldiers stood, fighting, during the Civil War. It's a little surreal.

Cannons are a big deal in our little town. People even have them in their front yards.

Did we get him?

This was at the Illinois Memorial. We thought it was cool because Illinois' constitution was adopted on Andy's birthday (160 years earlier).

This guy was the Chief Engineer for the Corp of Engineers. Maybe one day someone will erect a statue to Andy :)

This is how I distract Jax from attempting to hop on an old man's unattended bike.

The USS Cairo -- the first ship in history to be sunk by an electrically-detonated torpedo.

Daddy and the kiddos aboard the Cairo.

We spent several hours at the park, before returning home to watch our Wildcats beat Washington (basketball). The perfect end to our wonderful family day!

Southern Snow

2011-02-18T06:59:00.000-08:00

This week we're enjoying temperatures in the low to mid-70's. Ahhhhh. It's glorious! Last week, however, was another story. It was cold and frosty and we even got a visit from that white powdery stuff we saw all-to-often in Utah -- snow! After Andy got home from work one night, we bundled the kids up as best we could (I got rid of all the snowgear when we left Utah) and headed outside for a good ol'-fashioned snowball fight. Which really turned into Daddy convincing the kids to attack an unarmed Mommy as she tried to take pictures of all the fun!

But they did get Daddy a few times. Problem is, he fought back.

Ava was like a kid in a candy store. She's been missing the snow this winter and absolutely did NOT want to go inside. But, we convinced her that coming inside was better than her fingers falling off.

As much as I don't enjoy the snow, I'm glad we got one little snow this winter for the kids to enjoy. Now, bring on spring!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Love Ava & Jax

Modeling the skirt and bow tie Mommy made them for Church.

Check out Ava's hair!

It's Begun

2011-02-07T18:38:00.000-08:00

Ava is a big dresser-upper. Just tonight, she came out of her room sporting pajamas, a cowgirl hat, ballet slippers and a stick horse. She calls herself, "Cowgirl Ava O'Neal." She's always loved to play dress-up and impresses me by just how creative she can get, often making a costume out of the simplest of items.

Jax has jumped on the dress-up bandwagon. But, in the manliest way, of course. It started with a cowboy hat, then a fireman's hat, then a knight's helmet, armor and sword, then he got his first pair of cowboy boots and a fireman's jacket. Then, we found the mother load. In Walmart's after-Christmas clearance, a box of three superhero costumes for $5. That's $15 less than the normal price. I couldn't pass it up, especially considering Jax's new found desire to be a superhero (don't worry, he plans to drive monster trucks by day).

He still hasn't tried on the Iron Man costume, spending most of his time as Spiderman. When he's in costume, he even requires that we refer to him only as Spiderman. We sure think our little superhero is pretty super!

Monster Mouth

2011-02-07T18:17:00.000-08:00

I'm always searching for fun and creative things to do with my kids' food. They're great eaters, not picky at all. But, I just want to be the fun mom who makes fun food, so they can one day do the same with their kids.

I saw this idea on my friend Joni's blog not too long ago and had to copy it. We call them "Monster Mouths." Two slices of apple with peanut butter and marshmallows in between. They were a huge hit with the kids!

Ava loved playing with her monster mouth. Jax was much more interested in just eating his.

A Family Tradition

2011-02-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

I called my wonderful mother-in-law not to long ago to get her delicious bread recipe. Her bread makes the BEST toast. As we chatted, she told me that when her five boys were younger she always allowed them to make turtles with some of the dough. So, I thought it only appropriate to carry on the fine family tradition.

Jax's is the chunky one on the left, Ava's is the dainty one to the right.

Thanks for the great idea, Grandma! We'll be making turtles every Sunday when we make our weekly loaves of bread!

Easy Bakin'

2011-01-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

I'm lucky, my kids love to help me in the kitchen. Whether it's just making oatmeal for breakfast or our four loaves of bread on Sundays, I can guarantee one or both kids will be standing next to me on stools helping pour ingredients or knead dough.

So, you can imagine Ava's excitement when she got her very own Easy Bake Oven from G-Ma & G-Pa for Christmas. Okay, okay, I was excited too. I had some fun times with my EBO when I was a kid and couldn't wait to see the upgrades made in the last 20 years. Well, other than updating the outside of the oven to make it look a little more modern, it's still the same. Which I can understand. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Anyway, Ava got a couple of mixes to go with her Easy Bake and chose to start her baking adventures with the sugar cookies.

She loved mixing the batter and rolling out the cookies, but was a little frustrated that she was only able to cook on cookie at a time. Then after waiting 10 minutes, as the directions stated, for her first cookie she was brought nearly to tears when we pulled a charred cookie out of the oven. However, after adjusting the time to just five minutes on the next cookie, her face lit up when a perfectly golden sugar cookie emerged from the oven. I cooked the last two while she frosted her cookie, then topped it with pink crystal sprinkles. She and Jax each enjoyed one of the creations and saved the last for Daddy.

Mmmmmmmmmmm........

Ava says her Easy Bake Oven cookies are the best she's ever had, must be the pink sugar crystals.

May the Force Be With You

2011-01-19T08:49:00.001-08:00

Andy loves Star Wars
and can't wait until the day the kids are old enough to watch it with him. In the meantime, this will have to suffice.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Oh, the Things He Says

2011-01-12T14:38:00.000-08:00

Jax's voice is so cute. I mean, seriously cute. I wish I could capture, put it in a little box and carry it around with me forever. I love it! What makes his voice even better is the way he says things, especially the words he mispronounces. I promised myself, when Ava was little, that I would never forget the way she said certain words, or funny things she said. Well guess what? I did. Apparently, when you're a mom, your memory is NOT like a steel trap. So, I've promised myself that I would keep record of some of the things the Little Dude says, so I never forget them. And of course, I have to share.

Pocsiple - popsicle
Lell - yell
Thomas the Tanchenchin - Thomas the Tank Engine
Prolly - probably
Toe-tay-do - tornado
Racky-phobia - Arachniphobia (one of his monster trucks)

These are just the one's I've heard today, so they're fresh in my mind. We've also had some funny Jax moments in the last few days worth mentioning.

During Family Home Evening I asked if there was any family business. For those who don't know how FHE works, family business is when we usually go over our schedule for the week, or discuss anything pressing. Ava raised her hand, stood up and said, "Help Mommy more." So sweet and so very Ava. After Ava sat back down, Jax raised his hand, stood up and said, "Ummmm.... tackle Daddy." So hilarious and so very Jax!

One day, after lunch, I told the kids my tummy was full. Jax looked at my belly, then at me and asked, "Because you ate the baby?" I nearly fell out of my chair I was laughing so hard. Earlier in the week during preschool, I had taught the kids about digestion. Jax knew that for something to end up in your stomach, it needed to be eaten first. I tried to explain in the simplest terms how the baby ended up in my belly, but I'm pretty sure he's convinced I ate it.

Oh, our silly boy. The things he says often surprise me, but ALWAYS put a smile on my face!

Getting Dirty

2011-01-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

The kids and I planned yesterday to go for a bike/scooter ride but just as we were getting ready, the rain began to come down. So, we waited it out about an hour and, sure enough, the rain stopped. So, we helmeted up and headed outside for some fresh air. After a few laps around the complex we headed over to the park, which was nice and soggy from the rain. And that's when the real fun began. I threw caution to the wind and let the kids play in the mud and puddles, getting as dirty as their little hearts desired. I can remember playing in the puddles and muddy goop left over from Arizona monsoons, and wouldn't dare deprive my kids of the same kind of messy fun.

Jax, of course, had his monster trucks in tow and went straight to work building jumps for them from mud (I should mention that he insisted on keeping his helmet on while playing). When he tired of that, he just took them romping through the muddy puddles. Ava, always the little baker, began creating Mississippi mud pies, and sometimes mud bombs to throw in to the puddles.

I love, love, love this picture. Jax loves to swing like this while screaming like a banshee and I just happened to click the camera at the perfect moment.

I spent most of the time taking pictures and giggling at how much fun the kids were having. I'll admit, I kinda wish I had gotten my hands dirty, but alas, there were memories that needed to be documented.

After more than an hour of muddy fun. The kids' hands were frozen (it was a pretty chilly day), their clothes filthy and they had mud in their hair. We ran back home, where I stripped them down and threw Ava in the shower and Jax in the bath, after which, they enjoyed some warm hot cocoa.

Both kids were pretty disappointed by the sunny skies today. They were hoping for more rain. I promised that as soon as it rains we'll go mud-bogging again. Looks like more mud is in my forecast.

Scooting Along

2011-01-03T13:27:00.000-08:00

Ava and Jax have this cousin named Nathan (or, Naterator, as we like to call him). He's an awesome little dude. He and Ava are a little less than a year apart and play really well together. But Jax, he adores his big cousin Nate. Nate loves cars and monster trucks, playing outside and sports, just like our little dude. When the kids and I were in Arizona in September, we got to hang out with Nate, his baby brother and Mama (his Papi too, but only for a little while because he is one busy guy). As the kids played outside one afternoon, Jax became enamored with Nate's "big boy scooter." First Nate would take a turn on it, then Jax. Since then, our Little Digger has been asking for his very own "big boy scooter." So, we thought it only appropriate to get him one for Christmas. When he laid eyes on his scooter he just kept saying, "Look Mom, my fast scooter! My fast scooter!" He loves it!

A few nights after Christmas we finally got around to taking Jax for a spin on his scooter. Ava led the way on her princess bike, stopping occasionally to let her little brother catch up. Andy and I were both surprised by how well Jax maneuvered his scooter and how fast his little legs could propel him.

I've taken the kids outside to ride several times since then, and Jax just gets better and braver. He's already taking his scooter down ramps, attempting to jump off curbs with it and splashing through muddy puddles on it.

And, I should add for Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Eric, that Jax proudly proclaims, "I haul rub!" as he zooms around on his scooter. He's definitely his uncle's nephew!

Christmas Morning

2011-01-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

Our kids gave us the best Christmas gift this year: THEY SLEPT IN! Ava was the first awake (which is a rarity), coming into our room excitedly at 8 am. She hadn't even gone into the living room yet, but had seen the loot sticking out of her stocking. She quickly woke her little brother up, who was groggy, until Ava exclaimed, "Jax, hurry! Santa came!" The little dude got the biggest grin, hopped out of his bed and ran down the hall with his sister.

Like all kids on Christmas morning, ours went a little crazy! I was sure Ava would tear through her presents much more quickly than Jax, but the opposite was true. She gently opened each gift, and stared at each gift, looking it over, before moving on to the next one. Jax on the other hand, ripped off the wrapping paper, glanced at the gift inside, threw said gift into his "loot box" (Andy gave each kids a box to put their presents in) and was immediately asking for the next one. Fortunately, he was patient when we asked him to wait for Ava which allowed us to stretch out the Christmas morning present-opening, well that, and the fact that Santa wrapped some of the presents with impenetrable wrapping paper. Seriously, Andy could barely tear through it.

All Ava really wanted this year was a Barbie house. Jax asked only for monster trucks (surprise, surprise!) and a scooter. After all the gifts were unwrapped we asked Ava if she got everything she wanted. She was so sweet, saying, "Yes. I love all my presents. There's just one thing missing. But maybe I'll get my Barbie Dream House for my birthday." What she didn't know was that Daddy had assembled her Dream House the night before and set it up in the play room. So, we slyly told her that maybe she could take her new Barbies into the playroom and introduce them to her old ones. She was reluctant at first, but when we finally convinced her, here's what happened:

For the next five hours, we only saw her when she came out of the playroom for a drink or to hug us and tell us how much she loved her Barbie house (a gift from Mommy and Daddy). Jax, on the other hand, acquired what Andy and I refer to as "Christmas ADD." He moved from one toy to the other in mere seconds. One moment he'd be playing with a monster truck, zooming it across a room, but on his way to pick it up on the other side of the room, he'd be distracted by another toy and begin playing with that. This went on all day. He just didn't know what he wanted to play with the most. He built a train track with Daddy, a monster truck jump with Mommy, read books, raced monster trucks, did a puzzle...

This is my fifth Christmas as a mom, and by far my favorite. Ava is old enough to understand the whole process, to be excited when she woke up Christmas morning, to know some gifts are from Santa and some from Mommy and Daddy and to spend the whole magical day in her pajamas enjoying her favorite gifts. Jax, for the first year, was jumping-out-of-his-skin giddy about opening gifts and he too spent the day in his Christmas jammies playing. Andy and I were just as excited as the kids, not because of gifts (although, Andy got me a great one), but our hearts were just so full watching Ava and Jax and the joy that beamed from their little smiles. Special memories were made that morning, and it's a Christmas I will treasure my whole life.

Merry Christmas, Y'All

2010-12-21T22:29:00.000-08:00

We were lame this year and sent out our Christmas cards via e-mail. Or maybe we weren't lame, maybe we were being green... yeah, that's it. We were trying to save the planet.

If you didn't get it, it's because I don't have your e-mail, so send it to me and I'll e-mail a totally earth-friendly Christmas card your way.

Or, if you want, here's the abridged version:

This year we:
-Moved across the country
-Andy started a new job with the Army Corp of Engineers. And he's totally rocking at it!
-Ava is a princess
-Ava scored a goal in soccer this season
-Ava learned to read this year
-Jax is still obsessed with monster trucks
-Jax knows all his letters and the sounds they make
-Jax wants to grow up to jump a monster truck on the moon
-Bekah's business is busy
-Bekah does preschool with the kids from home
-Bekah is PREGNANT! (due in July)

There you have it! Merry Christmas!!! Enjoy our little family video in honor of our new home in the South!

Trimmin' the Tree

2010-12-20T08:34:00.000-08:00

I'm way behind with December blog posts. I have my business to blame for that. It's insanely busy! Fortunately, I'll get some much-needed relief this week.

We bought our tree right at the beginning of December. That's right, a REAL tree. I know the fakies are convenient, but I just can't bring myself to become an owner of one. Nope, nope, not me. I like the smell of the pine. I don't even mind pine needles on the floor.

Anywho, as always, we let the kids pick. And as always, they chose the best Charlie Brown tree they could find. This year's winner is pretty small, a little lopsided and a whole lotta scraggly. But, it doesn't matter because the kids love it.

I always imagined I'd be one of those people with the pretty trees that's all matchy-matchy. I'm not. Our tree is a mish-mash smorgasbord of Christmases past and present. Our ornaments range in age from 32 years (Andy's first) to brand spankin' new! Each year our family gets an ornament to represent our year. I had hoped for a Mississippi-shaped ornament, but alas, could not find one. So, we settled on a monster truck ornament and a Cinderella ornament in honor of the two things that dominated most of our year: MONSTER TRUCKS and PRINCESSES.

The kids had a great time decorating. They're favorite part though was hanging the candy canes. There's serious candy cane congestion going on on our tree. Although, I've noticed that each day there seems to be a few less... and my kids seem to have sticky faces. Hmmmm....

Gooey Gak

2010-12-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

Our goal yesterday was to make marshmallows, but after a quick scan of our cupboards I realized I was missing a major ingredient. Andy had the car so the grocery store was out of the question. With two very disappointed kids on my hands I came up with the next best thing: GAK! Not edible, but super messy. And it provided a great teaching opportunity.

I remember making this stuff in elementary school. It's just corn starch, water and food coloring. Once mixed, it's hard, but when you pick up a lump of it and let it sit in your hands it turns liquid and oozes. The kids were so surprised by this they couldn't stop giggling. During all the playing we talked about solids and liquids. The kids and I had a great time naming something and then determining whether it's a solid or liquid.

I know this Gak stuff looks super messy, but the great thing is it's hard on the table so you just pick it up and put it back in the bowl. Clean up is so easy too. The Gak washed right off their hands (added bonus: the corn starch made them super soft) and quick wipe of the table and you'd never know the mess that had been there minutes before.

This was a HUGE hit with the kids and they've already asked when we can make Gak again. Andy is intrigued by it, so we may have to include Daddy in all the Gak fun next time.

Sock Snowmen

2010-12-03T07:37:00.000-08:00

I try to do craft projects with the kids a couple of times of week. But this time of year I like to create with them more frequently. Yesterday, we did our first craft of the holiday season making sock snowmen. We have this container in our room full of orphaned socks. We leave them there hoping that one day their match will come back to claim them. Surprisingly, it happens on occasion. But mostly, we just have a box of single socks. So, I dipped into our stash and took out two of Andy's tall white socks. I cut the tube part off the sock then turned the remaining portion (the foot part) inside-out. Then the kids went to town stuffing the socks with filler.

After that the snowmen were big and fluffy we sewed the top shut. I, of course, took care of Jax's for him, but Ava sewed hers all on her own and she did a great job! She gets lots of practice helping me stitch by hand, so I'm not surprised by how thorough she was.

From there, I took thread and wrapped it tightly around the snowman's neck, making a head. We cut the tops of two little socks for the hats, then used buttons for the nose (I let the kids squirt the hot glue on for the eyes). Ava and Jax chose from my collection of fabric scraps for the scarves. I quick stitched on some embroidery floss mouths. Then VOILA! A snowman and a snowwoman. The kids slept with these little creations last night and began playing with them first thing this morning (Ava's, of course, was a damsel in distress, Jax's served as a jump for his monster trucks. Go figure).

Today, we're making homemade marshmallows. Pictures to come.

Silhouette Machine Giveaway

2010-11-22T07:55:00.000-08:00

I will keep entering giveaways for this until I win one!!!

Silhouette Machine Giveaway

It's a Bird, It's a Plane... It Really IS a Plane

2010-11-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

Those who know our boy know how much he likes anything with an engine. ANYTHING. Lately, he's shown an increasing interest in airplanes. So, when Andy's co-workers told him about an air show right across the river in Louisiana (seriously, like 15 minutes away) we knew we had to go. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. I mean, it was in Tallulah, LA. Have you ever heard of Tallulah? Yeah, me either. However, I will say, they tiny Tallulah-Vicksburg Regional Airport surprised me. It was a great show! For about three hours we enjoyed non-stop entertainment -- stunt planes, war planes and Jax's favorite, a jet truck. That's a truck equipped with a JET ENGINE that hits 374 mph. Pretty awesome!

As you can imagine, the jet truck was ridiculously loud. Jax, has super sensitive ears, and was great about covering them up as he enjoyed the truck. He couldn't get enough. This was our conversation after the jet truck zoomed by.

J: Mommy, can I drive the jet truck?
Me: That would be fun, honey. But you're too little. You can pretend to drive a jet truck at home.
J: No, thank you. Maybe I just ask the guy if I can drive his truck.
Me: We'll see.
J: Don't worry, Mommy. I will say please.

I've been so worried about him growing up to be a monster truck driver, I don't know what I'd do if he drove around in a truck that went 374 mph. Somebody warm up the defibrillator.

When the kids got a little antsy, we took a looksy at the military planes and vehicles.

There's this book we love, "Are You My Mother" by P.D. Eastman. It's kinda a classic. In it, a little bird is trying to find it's mother. Near the end, it runs into a digger and asks if it is the bird's mother. It responds with a, "SNORT!" so the bird refers to it as a "Snort." Ava, as of late, things she's hilarious when she snorts like a pig anytime Andy asks here a question. So, he calls her "Snort." She was so excited when she read the name of this plane and just HAD to have her picture taken with it.

The wings on this plane fold up. Everyone oohed and aahed over it.

This was just one of those perfect days. The weather was amazing. The entertainment was awesome! We had a great time together as a family (added bonus: our great friends met us there) and our kids are still talking about the air show (and the snow cones they snarfed down). See you next year Tallulah-Vicksburg Regional Airport.

A Fun Project

2010-11-15T21:52:00.000-08:00

The kids took to tearing apart some scraps of scrapbook paper they found in my room. Rather than throwing the pieces away, I challenged Ava and Jax to use them to create a masterpiece. I cut off the front and back panel of an empty cereal box, then armed them with glues sticks, scissors and their scraps with the instruction to fill the ENTIRE piece of cereal box with paper. Jax, more than anything just wanted to cut and leave globs of glue on his piece, but he still created quite the work of art.

Ava, on the other hand, took more than an hour meticulously gluing, placing, cutting and color-coordinating hers.

These one-of-a-kind creations are going on display in the playroom!

Sunday Morning

2010-11-07T21:09:00.000-08:00

I took these photos two Sundays ago, as we prepared to leave for Church. Ava was singing that morning in the ward Primary Program, and was so excited to wear her new dress. Of course, her handsome little brother joined her for a snapshot too. I know the background in these photos isn't great, but I don't care, these are my new favorite pictures of the kids. They're beautiful! Andy and I are so blessed to be their parents!

Giveaway on my Vinyl Blog

2010-11-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

I'm hosting another giveaway on my vinyl blog! This one's a big one. I'm giving away one of my Family Name & Established Signs. These are the biggest sellers in my Etsy shop, and make GREAT gifts! Just in time for Christmas!!!

For your chance to win, check out Love Letters Vinyl .

A Rockin' Halloween

2010-10-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

Ava and Jax are still bouncing off the walls. They've been on a perma-sugar high since Friday afternoon and I don't foresee them coming down from it anytime soon.

Our Halloween festivities kicked off Friday with the ward Trunk-or-Treat. Our kids were a HUGE hit. First of all, they are absolutely adorable, costumes or not. But secondly, this is the South. Not just the South, but Mississippi, home of Elvis. Oh, how the ladies swooned over our hip-shakin boy.

Making his best Elvis face

Since Halloween was on a Sunday, or town of church-goers declared Saturday to be Trick-or-Treat night, even setting a time-frame to knock doors (4-8 pm). We joined our good friends for pizza than a little door-knockin'. The night was pretty chilly, but the kids stayed warm running like wild banshees to each door. Ava stumbled and fell a few times along the way, losing about half her candy each time. The good news is, she's fine and she has a lot less candy. It's a win-win.

Now, we have a giant bowl sitting on our counter, full of candy and calling my name. I'm resisting the best I can. Jax and Ava however, have had their hands in the candy bowl since they woke up this morning. Ava's been great about waiting until after meals to have a piece, Jax on the other hand, walked into the living room today with a Dum-Dum in his mouth and one stuck to his tail side. After that, I made a deal with the kids: they can each choose 10-15 pieces of candy to keep, then after that, they can trade in their candy for books. One book for every 100 pieces. Fair, right? Fortunately, I have about 60 children's books in my closet (thank you Scholastic book orders) for occasions such as this (and Christmas). My children get books and they get to keep their teeth for a few more years. Hooray!

Five Generations

2010-10-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

My family is unusual. Well, yes, unusual in THAT way. But unusual in that we have FIVE living generations. My mom, grandma and great-grandma all live in the Phoenix-area. So, when the kids and I were in town my mom and I thought it important to capture those five generations in photo.

I will cherish this picture my whole life, and hope my children will one day understand and appreciate just how special this moment is.

Hi Ho Hopi!

2010-10-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting back to blogging about our vacation. We've been home a month now, but that month has been a busy one.

A trip home to Arizona wouldn't be complete without a ride on Hopi. Ava has been in love with this horse since she first saddled up more than two years ago. The family who owns Hopi is amazing! The girls are always more than willing to take Ava for a ride, or show her around the farm. This time around, Jax even got to hop on Hopi, and he loved it just as much as his sister!

Since Ava's an old pro when it comes to this horse-riding business, she got to try a new trick:

Cousins Nathan and Bracken joined us for the farm fun, along with Grandma and Grandpa. Here they all are. Those are some good-lookin' kids!

A Broken Heart

2010-10-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

It's never easy to hear bad news. Never. It's even harder to share that bad news with your children. Especially a child as sweet and tender as Ava.

Ava has this adorable little friend, her name is Katie. These girls were meant for each other. They're both girly girls, both a little sassy, both a lotta sweet and when you get them laughing together... it's hilarious! Katie is a foster child. Our wonderful friends and their four children welcomed her into their home almost a year ago. They've loved her, taught her the Gospel and changed this little girl's life. I know she's changed theirs. But today, we got the heartbreaking news that Katie was being sent back to her biological mother. Trust me, it's a shock. I obviously won't go into details about the situation, only to say that I question the judge's ruling.

So, tears in my eyes, I had to tell my little girl that her little friend won't be at Church Sunday. That they can't play together anymore. That Katie is going to be living somewhere else. In the simplest terms I could, I explained the situation to her. My heart ached seeing the sad look in her eyes as tears began pouring out of them. "Can you ask her real mom if we can visit her?" she asked. I had to explain to her that we couldn't. Right now, she's sitting on the couch holding tightly to the Barbie doll Katie accidentally left at our house just two days ago.

We are so sad. Words can't express our sadness. So, I can't even imagine what our friends and their sweet children are feeling right now. I can't imagine the pain of their loss. What I can say is this, today I lost faith in the justice system. But even worse, our friends lost a daughter. And my daughter lost a friend.

We love you, Katie!

A Mother's Confession

2010-10-11T22:51:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who hates blogs. Actually, she hates personal/family blogs. She thinks they're fake and don't present a true picture of a person/family's life. I can see her point. Who wants to air all their dirty laundry out in Blogland for all to read? It's much easier (and nicer) to paint a picture that includes the best parts of a day and omits the worst. But on the other hand, I want this blog to serve as a journal (kind of) of our life. What do I want that to include? Should it be more "raw?"I want to be able to look back and remember certain times/phases/events in our lives. But most of all, I want Ava & Jax to be able to have a record of our life as a family. That life, as wonderful as it is, of course isn't always fun outings and giggles. It's real life. My kids fight sometimes. Every once in a while, I go to the bathroom, book in hand, lock the door and just sit on the side of the tub and read for a 10 minutes. This used to be my guilty secret. I wouldn't dare admit it to other moms for fear I'd be viewed as a bad mom for needing a "break," and I certainly wouldn't have dared admit it on my blog. But then I read a talk by Elder M. Russell Ballard in which he encouraged mothers to find time for themselves, to "cultivate your gifts and interests... Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children."

I love that. Not only because now my little "bathroom trips" are justified. But, because it helped me to realize how important it is to make time for myself. Even if it's just 10 minutes in the bathroom, or a craft night with the girls. Maybe one day I'll tell my kids what it is I'm actually doing in there. Maybe when Ava's a mom I'll pass my little secret on to her... maybe.

I recently happened across a post on another blog that discussed a question written in to an advice columnist. The question-asker said she felt like her friend, a stay-at-home mom, used her busy life as an excuse not to hang out with the question asker. She then stated basically that she always hears about how busy SAHMs are, but can't figure out what it is they actually do all day. You can imagine the response that got from SAHMs. I gotta say though, before I became one, I often wondered what stay-at-home moms did all day too. When Ava came along and I shocked even myself by abandoning my career to stay home, I became humbled by the responsibilities that came with being a mom, and being a mom who stays home. Even still, four-and-a-half years later, I am still humbled and sometimes overwhelmed by all I am required to do, and all that I choose to do.

This you must know: I love my kids. Oh, how I love them. I can't remember what life was like before Andy and I were blessed with these sweet spirits. But, I gotta tell you, they're exhausting. By the end of the day, I usually realize I forgot to eat lunch, I'm stepping on monster trucks and finding Barbie shoes in every crack and crevice of my house, the sink is full, one or both of my children are coming out of their room insisting they can't sleep, there are e-mails to answer, orders to fill, and a husband who I desperately want to just sit on the couch and talk to. That's one list, but then there's the other. The one that every mom can tell you is longer and much more memorable than the first. At the end of the day, I can chuckle to myself when I think of Jax hopping down the hallway like a frog, his cute little bum in the air. I can smile when I remember the excitement in Ava's voice when she sounded out a diffiult word all on her own. We've read books together, played cars, played dolls, created with chalk, cleaned together, sung together, learned the importance of an apology, learned about bugs, baked, played with Daddy, read scriptures together and said prayers together. My days, while busy and sometimes stressful, are also full of lots of hugs, lots of "I love you"s, Ava telling me atleast twice a day I'm her best friend, and Jax telling me I'm his "best partner." My list is no different than most moms'. I guess, I could be more "real" on my blog and complain about all the things that go wrong or are frustrating in my day. But, do they really matter? The joy of motherhood comes in moments. It's those moments spent enjoying our children, savoring our time together that are most important. And those are the moments I (and many moms) choose to make immortal, to last forever in writing and in our memories.

Chugging Along

2010-10-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

I don't think I ever appreciated Phoenix very much when I lived there. Maybe I was blinded by the sweltering heat, or maybe I just thought I was too cool (big emphasis on thought). Now that I'm a grown-up with kids of my own, I'm getting to experience so many of the things I missed out on, or just didn't appreciate. Case in point: McCormick Railroad Park in Scottsdale. Jax, like most little boys loves trains so this outing seemed only obvious during our vacation.

The park is huge and surrounded by a miniature railroad track. I think in all, we took four trips around the park on the train. Both kids loved the wind through their hair, waving to all the passerbys and especially screaming "CHOO CHOO!" as we went through the tunnel. While Jax was all about the train, Ava just couldn't get enough of the carousel. She told me she feels like a "princess upon my steed" when she rides. I gotta admit, she does look pretty regal. Jax wouldn't step foot on the thing, much preferring to stand off to the side with whomever wasn't accompanying Ava.

Ava's view from the carousel

Please excuse how terrible I look in this photo, but doesn't my mom look pretty?

After all the riding, we enjoyed a picnic and time in the Old West-themed playground. Phoenix even surprised us with cooler temps and a light breeze. Perfect day!

Ooey Gooey Good Time

2010-10-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

There's this chocolate factory in downtown Glendale, Az. that I love. I can remember my dad taking me Cerreta's when I was a kid. It's nothing like Willie Wonka's chocolate factory, but what is? It's a plain building, with copper awnings. But the inside, ahhh, the inside. As soon as you open the doors, you're pelted with a thick layer of cool, chocolatey air. You take bigger breaths when you're in there, as if trying to suck in as much of the delicious air as possible, as if it will satisfy the inevitable grumbling of your tummy. It's awesome! So, it was only natural that when the kids and I visited my parents we made a special trip to Cerreta's. Ava, who loves the book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" couldn't believe she was in an actual chocolate factory. We happened to go on a Saturday and Ava got to take part in a fun kids' activity. Armed with melted white chocolate and loads of toppings she went to work decorating a milk chocolate bear, sneaking several tastes during the process. Unfortunately, Jax was tuckered out from all the traveling and was asleep in my arms the entire time, so G-Ma decorated a bear for him.

Check out the giant Santa in the back

Of course, we left Cerreta's with a bagful of filled chocolate candies (YUM!), and my new fave: chocolate cayenne bars.

Our Little Soccer Playa

2010-10-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

When we moved to our little town, we gave Ava the choice: soccer or dance. I would love her to do both, but money and time simply don't permit right now. To my surprise, she chose soccer. To be hoenst, I couldn't be happier. Not only because I was a soccer player myself and get great joy out of passing on the tradition to my daughter, but because dance is a little different here in the South. Basically, most dance studios are preparing girls for the pageant circuit. Not all, but many. And as beautiful and talented as my daughter is, I don't think the pageant circuit is the best place to share that.

So, soccer it is. For the second season in a row, I'm coaching Ava's team. We're sponsored by a local business called Falco. The kids couldn't agree on our mascot, so we're the Falco Falcon-sharks. Pretty dangerous. I am loving coaching, and more importantly, Ava is loving playing. Our team is 4-0, which has nothing to do with my coaching ability and everything to do with the talent on our team. Seriously, I'm impressed. Ava has improved greatly this season. She's much more aggressive, and handles the ball quite well, although on game days she tends to be easily distracted by what is going on on other fields. She's working on it though.

Right before soccer pictures. Don't worry, her Belle doll didn't make a cameo.

While we were in Phoenix Ava had the chance to take part in a kids soccer clinic at the indoor soccer field I used to play out. I tell you, the girl was on fire! She was the only girl on the field (seven boys) and she scored all of her team's four goals. While many of the boys gave up, or complained of being too tired, our little soccer player ran up and down the miniature field, scoring at one end then defending her goal at the other. All went smoothly until she and a boheameth of a boy collided and he stepped on her arm. It happened near the end of the clinic, so she called it in and rested until snack time. Injury and all, it was such a joy to watch my little girl enjoying soccer so much. It was even better watching the looks on my parents' faces as they cheered her on, as they did for me for so many years. A little part of me can't help but be proud she's carrying on the soccer torch.

Phun in Phoenix

2010-10-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

Two weeks seems like a long time for a vacation. But, to be honest, we could have spent another two in Phoenix and still not accomplished all the things we wanted to. However, the things we did and the places we went kept our days full and busy, so busy as a matter of fact, that by the time nighttime rolled around Jax was begging me to go to sleep. That never happens. Ever. As I right this, he is in his room reminding me that it's not time to sleep, or so he thinks.

Our first full day in Phx., the kids, G-Pa and I took a trip to the Phoenix Children's Museum. Awesome! Where was this place when I was a kid? Seriously. I could go on and on about the activities the kids (and I) enjoyed, but I wouldn't do it justice. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

We call this the "Dr. Seuss Tree"

painting the castle

taking a ride on the race track (there are several types of vehicles for the kids to use)

Jax's favorite part: the giant race track. He didn't want to leave.

Ava's favorite part: the grocery store

A few days later, we hopped on the freeway and headed out to Arizona Mills to check out the new Sea Life Aquarium. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. I mean, it's Arizona. Not a whole lotta sea life there. But, I was wrong. Oh, so very wrong. The place was amazing! Of course the animals in the tank were super cool, but I was almost more impressed by the aestetics of the aquarium. Ava's favorite part were these little bubbles/helmets that you stuck your head in, giving the illusion you were actually IN the tank with the fishies. Jax was a little hesitant at first, but after I talked him into going in (and by that I mean, I carried him in with me, kicking and screaming) he loved it!

This is the view of a guitar stingray from underneath. So ugly! This guy was swimming in the ceiling above us.

G-Ma, G-Pa and the kids walking through the aquarium tunnel

Inside the bubble

Look closely. Do you see Ava inside the stingray bubble?

Monkeys!

If you have kids, and you live in AZ, you must check these places out. You won't be disappointed. At least you shouldn't be. If you are, well then, your standards are too high. Or I'm just easily amused. Or both. But, it's all about the kids, right?

Stay tuned for more from our super fun vacation...

The Highlight of Jax's Vacation

2010-10-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

The kids and I spent two weeks in Arizona in September. There's really too much to blog. That's why I've neglected it for a week, I have no clue where to start. I was sure two weeks was plenty of time to accomplish all I wanted to, surprisingly it wasn't. My biggest regret is that we didn't make it down to Tucson to visit our friends there. But, there simply wasn't time. On the other hand, it was nice to have a busy two weeks, and to enjoy time with mine and Andy's families.

As all my readers know, Jax is monster truck-obsessed. So, you can imagine his overwhelming excitement when G-Pa told him we were going to see a real monster truck.

This truck just hangs out in front of the office where it's owner works. He was kind enough to let my kids climb all over it. And, I'm pretty sure Jax drooled on it. The kid was in love and asked if he could drive it. Then, if he could earn it. He still talks about it and how he's going to "jump Red Inc when he's bigger." I believe it.

Curly Sue and Fancy Boy

2010-09-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

No, no, these are not new superheroes. They are my children. Last night after cutting Ava's hair I got the idea to put curlers in it. She, being the girly girl she is, was all for it. So much, as a matter of fact, that she was willing to endure uncomfortable sleeping conditions, all in the name of beauty. We were disappointed, however, when I started pulling the curlers out of the back of her hair this morning and her hair was still wet. That's what happens when you have mounds and mounds of thick hair. But, the front curled up nice and ringlet-y and we made up for the rest with a teeny tiny curling iron. And our little beauty went to church looking just as lovely as ever!

Jax, not to be outdone, went to church today sporting his very first bowtie. I made it for him with some baseball fabric I had leftover from a blanket I made for him last year. He L-O-V-E-D it, and kept telling us, "I look fancy in my new bowtie!" AND he got tons of compliments at church. We'll definitely be making more of these babies.

How adorable are these kids?

Masterpiece

2010-09-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

We've been spending a lot of time with crayons. Every morning the kids and I spend close to an hour coloring and drawing. It's just become routine. They each have a "Thought Book" in which they draw a picture of something they're thinking about that day, then write a sentence about it (I obviously help Jax). I got the idea from my dear friend Erin and just love it. It's fun to let the kids draw, but often it's even more fun to see what's on their precious little minds. Jax's usually involves a monster truck, Ava's is usually an animal. These are things that are important to my kids right now. They're already growing much too quickly for my liking, and with that comes changing interests so I love the idea of chronicling the things that are on their minds at various stages of their lives.

After "Thought Book" time we usually just draw on plain sheets of paper or color in one of their many coloring books. The other day, Ava was very secretive about her artwork and repeatedly reminded me not to look at it. Finally, she approached me with this:

STEGOSAURUS! Isn't it awesome?! She told me she was frustrated because she ran out of room on the side and was unable to include all his tail spikes. She also told me she was being silly and gave him six legs. I think it's just perfect, missing tail-spikes and extra legs included!

On a side note, if you notice she spelled her name "AVAV." I asked her why and she said, "Because you and Daddy call me Ava-Ave." She sounded it out and AVAV is what she got. I love that she tried to figure it out on her own.

This masterpiece is currently up on our refrigerator. But it will eventually land in her baby book. It's a keeper!

Just One More Page...

2010-09-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

All who know and love Ava know just how much our little girl enjoys books. They're her favorite things in the world! We're currently ready the Felicity: An American Girl set together. Each night we read 2-3 chapters, but that just wasn't enough last night for sweet Ava. She needed just one more chapter. So, I told her she could read quietly in her bed after she and I had finished reading together. I knew she wouldn't last long, so when I went in her room I wasn't surprised to find this:

First thing this morning, she joined Jax and me on the couch where we read 16 books before breakfast. As I write this blog, Ava is reading to Jax. Reading/books is such an important part of our family's daily life. I love that it's something we can enjoy and do together for years to come!

Good News

2010-08-27T00:09:00.000-07:00

PHEW! My appointment with the neurosurgeon went very well. Much better than expected. To be honest, he said he wasn't sure why my regular doctor scared the bejeezies out of me the way he did. Yes, I have a ruptured disk, but he's confident some good ol' fashioned physical therapy will take care of that. As for all the other issues. Yes, they're issues, but nothing to be alarmed about. The thing is, we were alarmed. My doctor told me things looked "bad" and he was sure I'd need surgery. When in all reality, it appears the dude didn't really know what he was talking about. So, Andy and I have spent the last two weeks nervous and anxious for my appointment with the neurosurgeon. We were prepared for the worst, but of course, hoping for the best. To say the least, the news today came as a huge relief. I'll begin physical therapy sometime next week and go from there. The issue with my sacrum is actually a condition called spina bifida occulta. Trust me, it's not as frightening as it sounds. Basically, when I was just a wee fetus a couple of my vertebrae and my sacrum didn't form exactly as they should have. No biggie. It's really not a big deal.

There it is. After two weeks of holding our breath, Andy and I can finally breathe. My sweet husband took half the day off work today (his birthday) so he could accompany me to my appointment in Jackson. That may not seem like a huge deal to anyone else, but if you know Andy you know he NEVER takes time off work. EVER. He never said it, but I know he knew just how scared I was and didn't want me to possibly receive bad news on my own. The past two weeks, he's lifted kids and groceries, got me water and ibuprofen after he was already snug in bed and reminded me over and over to "take it easy." But most importantly, he and our friend Isaac gave me a beautiful priesthood blessing. It brings me great comfort and peace, especially during experiences like this, to have the priesthood in my home. To have a husband who is worthy to hold that office and to have sweet children who so reverently fold their arms and bow their heads as their Daddy performs such an important task. I am truly blessed.

Fun Food

2010-08-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

I try to make our dinner meal plan a month in advance. It's really not as tough as it sounds, especially since we have a few "set" meals: Taco Tuesday, leftovers on Wednesdays, Pizza Pieday (Friday). Anyway, I've done my best to include the kids in the meal planning and allow them to choose a few meals a month. Last week they chose Sloppy Joes. I decided to take it one step further and came up with these:

SLOPPY JOE CARS! This was a big hit with both kids, although Jax wouldn't eat his. He didn't want to ruin the car. I finally convinced him to eat the meat out of the car, but had to give him a separate plate of vegetables and cheese.

Just My Luck

2010-08-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

I'm a pretty lucky person. I just have good luck. I was that kid who always won the cakewalk at the school carnival. As an adult, I tend to win contests/drawings. It just happens that way. But, when it comes to my body, I have bad, bad luck. I always have bizarre things going on with me. A femur tumor? Really? Six wisdom teeth? Not surprised. An ovary fused to my uterus? Just par for the course. Strange, strange, strange. Well. my recent medical issue is no exception.

I've been having severe lower back pain for about five months now. It constantly hurts, but some days are tolerable, others I can barely get out of bed. The only time it doesn't hurt is when I exercise (I know, seems counterintuitive). After months of just dealing with it I finally started going to a chiropractor. After three adjustments a week for more than a month and no change, Andy and I thought it best to go to the doctor. So I did. After going over my symptoms he ordered an MRI. Here's what it showed:

-I have a ruptured disc in my lower back
-I have an extra disc which has thrown my back all out of whack.
-My sacrum (the triangular bone at the base of your spinal column) is in two pieces. It's supposed to be one.
-There are some "growths" on my spine they want to take a look at

So there you have it. Weird, right? I meet with a neurosurgeon next week to discuss the best course of action. Many doctors will recommend physical therapy for a ruptured disc, but in some cases surgery is necessary. Obviously, the major concern is the effect the ruptured disc and extra disc are having on my nerves. If a ruptured disc goes untreated for long enough it could lead to severe nerve damage. If the neurosurgeon does choose surgery, the good news is that a discectomy is a fairly common, minimally-invasive procedure with a short recovery time. But who knows if he'll want to go in and take care of the other issues, or go in at all. We could speculate right now, but at this point we'll just wait and see. Andy and I are just grateful I decided to go to the doctor, and that we have great insurance. Thank goodness he works for the government!

My appointment is Thursday (which happens to be Andy's birthday). In the meantime, I'm not supposed to lift more than 10 pounds (yeah, good luck with that) or exercise. The doctor prescribed some serious meds, but I don't think they're necessary. I'll just stick with good ol' ibuprofen. Ava is good to remind me to take ibuprofen every morning and gets stern with me when I pick up Jax. And she's ALWAYS sure to tattle to Daddy when I do something I'm not supposed to. I should be grateful she's looking out for me, but I'm more just annoyed she's such a little stickler for the rules. In all other areas of life, I appreciate how good she is about following the rules... except when she's making sure I'm the one to follow them!

A Friend All His Own

2010-08-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

Jax's friends have always been Ava's friends. That's just part of being the little brother. He tags along when his big sister and her friends play and by default, her friends become his friends too. Not to mention, we've never lived anywhere where there have been many kids Jax's age. But thank goodness for our new little town. There are an abundance of little people here all Jax's age. But he and this little guy, Eli have become great little buddies. They met in nursery our first Sunday here and the rest is history. Jax even tells us, "Eli my very best buddy."

Eli's family moved here just a few months before us (also from Utah) so we've all bonded over our new, very different home. The dads are both nerdy engineers, and the moms are both crafty. It's like it was meant to be :) Ava has made a few little friends too, who get this, ARE GIRLS! Crazy, I know! Anywhere we've ever lived there has been an overabundance of boys Ava's age and I just happen to become great friends with a mom who has a boy. But here, there are girls. And several of them. Who know that such a small little town would be full of so many fun friends?!

I Knew This Day Would Come

2010-08-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

Ava and Jax are great little helpers! Monday is our deep-cleaning day and they actually fight over who helped me the most. It's pretty sweet. Until someone throws a dirty sponge at someone else. That's not sweet. That's gross. Anyway, they especially love to help me fold laundry. Ava is a great little folder. Jax is more of a wadder, but he's trying. As we folded whites the other day, Ava came across one of my bras and naturally, did what any normal little girl would do:

First THIS:

Then, THIS:

She thought this one was especially hilarious because I had just taught them the day before in preschool about flies' and bees' eyes. She was buzzing around the living room, "I'm a fly. I'm a fly."

We had to put it away once Jax asked if he could wear the bra. I'll admit, I played with the idea for a moment simply for the go-to photo to show his future dates. But, I thought better of it (plus, I already have plenty of embarrassing pics of him).

Savings Machine

2010-08-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly, groceries in our little town are super expensive. Four dollars for a gallon of milk says it all. Our first month here, our grocery bill was double what it was in Utah. Crazy! So, in an effort to save money, I've been a coupon clipping, savings-blog-following machine. I even have a binder, separated into more than 30 sections where I keep track of all my coupons. Initially, I was a little overwhelmed but excited. As a matter of fact, Andy thought my excitement a little weird. Until this happened:

All of this totaled more than $60. What did I pay? NOTHING! This was all FREE!

I've had similar shopping trips since then, but I felt most successful after this week when I got our family more than $750 worth of food groceries for about $200. In one shopping trip alone I got $98 worth of groceries (including 12 boxes of General Mills Cereal and eight boxes of Nature Valley granola bars, among other things) for $23. We've got our meals set for the next six weeks or so. I will have to go back to the store to get milk and fruit (I've been making our bread), but during my shopping trips I earned $15 off my next purchase so I'll be able to use that for those things. I would like to whittle our shopping budget down even more over the next few months, but this is a good start, especially considering grocery prices here. For now though, we've got enough cereal, granola bars, yogurt, frozen vegetables and cheese to get us through the next year (or so it seems).

Settling

2010-08-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

Jax has been very interested as of late in my belly. More specifically, the nine months he spent in there. He often talks about when he lived in my belly or how, "when I come out your belly I was a Baby Jax." Today, on the way to Church we were having this same conversation when Ava said, "Jax, when you were in Mama's belly I called you Baby June. I wanted you to be a girl. But you came out a boy." Then, after a brief pause she announced, "Better than nothin'." She's so honest.

Thoughful

2010-08-13T05:05:00.000-07:00

I wanted to blog this mainly because I don't want to forget it, but had to share too.

As Jax sat on the potty yesterday I sat on the bathroom floor, my back against the door. Jax said to me, "Mommy, you don't sit on the floor. It's dirty." I say this to him everytime we're in a public bathroom, but he obviously didn't realize it didn't apply to our home bathroom. Anyway, I said, "Oh, it's dirty?" "Yes, I get a wipe and clean it. I clean my bathroom floor." "Buddy, that would be very helpful, thank you." "It make you happy, Mama?" "Yes, it would make me very happy." "Then I do it. I like to make you happy."

How sweet is that?! Had he not been sitting bare-butt on the potty going #2 I would have scooped him up and given him a big hug!

Just Another Weekend

2010-08-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

Andy's never had weekends off. Well, atleast he's never had them off in our almost eight years of marriage. I guess as a teacher he technically had weekends "off" but in all actuality he spent them grading, planning lessons, etc. And in our time at both UofA and BYU he spent his weekends doing some hardcore homework and studying.

But now, he has weekends off. He has a regular 9-5 job. Which is great. But even better, because he works for the Corp of Engineers, much of his work is classified which means he can't bring work home. Nice.

So, for the first time in nearly eight years I have my husband all to myself on weekends. Well, WE have him all to OURselves. We haven't really done anything fancy since we moved here to celebrate having him home on the weekends, but we do make sure to enjoy our time with him. This weekend was no exception. As is the norm here in our tiny little river town, it was a hot and humid one this weekend. So, we took the kids down to the good ol' splashpad. This time though, Mommy and Daddy were smart and wore our bathing suits too. We weren't just going to sit and melt while the kids got in on all the cool water action. No way.

This one should make the Kleinman boys proud

Like father like son

Looking at the Mississippi. See all that greenery over there? That's Louisiana. The nearest city to us is actually IN La. We really do live RIGHT on the Ol' Mississip.