Spring?

Ha! This is what we woke up to....
Along with 3 extra children in the house. Ang worked last night, so we had our first official slumber party with Michie, Emmee, and Olivia.
This Afternoon turned into some Fun Photo opportunities when Megan showed up with her three little ones.

Sweet little sammy Loved Matties reflection in the window
playing with photoshop..

Flirt!

Okay so my baby, you know the one with the worst Stranger Anxiety you've ever seen? Yeah well apparently he gets over it really quick when a pretty girl is flirting with him! My friend Katie came over last night to hang out and watch a movie. Mattie was shy at first but it didn’t take long before he became a TOTAL ham! He was showing off his verbal skills and his ‘more’ and ‘please’ signs to get some of her popcorn and even climbed up on the couch to hand her handfuls of it while jabbering on and on and making faces for us just for the attention. He jumped and threw his head back in an enormous fake laugh over and over again just for her benefit. Then he made us laugh so hard because he slid himself into the crook of her arm and laid his head on her. I was in shock watching him. There he was snuggling with someone who an hour before was a total stranger, when usually if anyone not living in our house even talks to him he hides his face and says “no-oo” He was SO cute Katie was eating it up. Katie had my laptop on her lap and Mattie, there in the crook of her arm, pointed to the screen asked “giggles?” How could anyone resist that? So Although Katie was in the middle of something she pulled up Wiggles on You Tube just for him.
When it was time to take him to bed, he gave her a hug goodnight.
My Boy the little flirt! He was so cute.

Easter 2008

Easter 2008
Taylor had to work at the hospital this morning so he wasn’t able to be here for the Easter baskets. The girls tried to wake me up at 7 and I said “No way”.. After some excited squirming they finally fell back asleep in our bed until Mathew woke us all up around 8. The Easter bunny had left a trail of eggs down the stairs to their Easter baskets and Mattie discovered those right away. He tried taking each one with him as he made his way down. The girls ran straight to their baskets excited to see its contents Mattie who had discovered the filling Inside the eggs, sat diverted at the bottom of the stairs shoveling the sweet candy into his mouth..
Ali got a basket full of art supplies and Megan got a fun paper doll type set for the bathtub. (Not actually paper obviously).
The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Grandma and Papa came over with Aunt Stephanie to bring Easter baskets to the kids. Craig, Merry, Lucas, and Mathew came too. It was a very lively living room. When Mathew woke up he wasn’t quite sure what to think and decided he’d be safe and sound snuggled in Mommy’s arms.
Taylor finally arrived home and After saying goodbye to Papa Grandma and Steph , He and Craig took an abundant amount of eggs to the park to hide for the kids. The park was busier than we’d anticipated so They had just covered the baseball diamond and surrounding area with the eggs. The Kids had a good time running around picking them up. We (adults) had a good time watching them trip, spill candy out of their baskets, and race for the last eggs.
Afterwards we let them play in the playground for a while.
Merry made a wonderful Gourmet Lasagna dinner , and I made Cheesecake for dessert. The kids had a wonderful time running around outside in the warmer weather.
We spent the rest of the evening snuggled up in our big King size bed watching “Enchanted”. Taylor even watched it with us.. (well, when he wasn’t snoring).


Overheard.......
Megan While gettting ready for bed to Taylor.
“Dad I Love you…."," you WERE the person I was going to Marry”…… “but there’s a little problem........., cuz you’re already married……….
and your older………..
and your FAMILY!”
"I Do remember the rules…….” she said.

On the Hunt

We went to Wheeler Farm this morning for their annual Easter Egg Hunt. It was INSANE! There were SO many people. We had to park across the street and walk in. They had it broken up into age groups so as to make it a little more fair but I don't think it much mattered because there were just people EVERYWHERE.. Poor Megan was able to go a whole 10 feet before the entire thing was over. She was a little overwhelmed by the crowd and a little disappointed that she wasn't able to actually "hunt" but at least we can say that we went, and that we got to experience the Wheeler Farm Easter Egg Hunt.

The CROWD!


Matties ONE piece of candy given to him by his big sister.... too bad it was a choking hazard..


After the Hunt, We went to Breakfast.. Then we stopped at the park.

Matt LOVED the slide...

Getting Brave and going all by himself..

A little crack from Megan........

Friday

Fun day today, dying Easter eggs and running amuck out in the back yard..

What happens when you give an 18 month old a sugar covered Marshmallow?

I gave Mattie his first Peep today....

from the Time we left Target till the time we got home (which is honestly about 1 1/2 minutes) this is what he looked like!

His eyelashes were STUCK to his eyelids! I have NO IDEA how he was able to completely cover his entire face like that!

Okay speaking of 18 Months old

Today was Matts 18 month Well Visit with our pediatrician.

I took him into the room and proceeded to undress him for the Nurse to get his weight.

she said "He's a BIG boy!"

"why yes he is" I replied a little hesitantly

He wasn't too thrilled about the entire thing, especially since he's aquired a severe case of 'stranger anxiety'. But I was very interested in seeing his stats.

The results: He is in the 55% in Height measuring in at 32.5 inches. He is 60% in weight. A whopping 26 pounds and 2 ounces. And his Wee little head....... a mere 17%..... I had to laugh at that one.... he's always had a tiny little head and a big fat belly!

I was surprised that he was so...................................Average...... I mean he really is quite "Solid" as Meg likes to say..

When our Pediatrician came in, he looked over the numbers and looked at Mattie and said "Well... He LOOKS bigger than 60th percentile......"

"what! are you saying my kids fat?" (I didn't really say that)

I just squished his chubby little body closer to me and kissed his tiny little head..

So to get down to it, he's doing fabulous..

We talked about his dis-like of milk, and of ways to integrate that into his diet. We've tried doing the chocolate milk thing.. He's just not a milk drinker... but We're supposed to keep pushing it. We talked about all of his milestones which he is (of course) exceeding. And then the poor little guy got 6 shots!

He told the Dr and The Nurse "all done" at least 15 times. He broke my heart when he got his shots because he was shaking so hard.. Poor baby... He promptly ripped off the offending band aids when she was done..

He's is talking so well, and even counted to 4 right there for the pediatrician.

He repeats things constantly these days, including putting words together to make small sentences like his favorite " blankie, Whey ah you?". (tonight in fact he said "dinosaur"! I was quite impressed). I still LOVE that he signs please, more, and thank you even though he says them. I especially love the thank you , as its more like the Little Rascals Hi sign than the actual sign for thank you....

He LOVES the Wiggles and gets so excited when we turn it on for him. He'll point and say "Gaggles!! Gaggles!" He still LOVES trucks. Infact his favorite PJ's are the ones with trucks all over them. He loves wearing them and pointing out all the trucks all over his body. When I tried to change him the other day he insisted on holding his jammies for a while, and when Ali tried to take them he yelled at her and held them closer...

He will play outside for an hour without a second glance to see who's with him. Content as can be.

He can use a fork and spoon very well. And can drink from a regular cup. (although I don't give him that option very often.. Can we say mess?)

He likes to color with crayons, throw balls, chase the dog, play patty cake, Give '5', play peek a boo, climb things, push things, dance , take baths, and of course still Loves his red blankie and his binkie. The other night, he was so tired that he pulled his red blankie into the bath with him and sat snuggling it in the water for about 20 minutes before he'd let me get him out.

It is so fun to see the "boy" traits coming out more and more. After having two girls, its fun to see the distinct differences they have. Much of its personality I know, but I still love seeing it.

Here he is climbing into the garden wheelbarrow decor so that he can stand on top of it and throw dirt. He's in dire need of a haircut in this shot.. but He's still the cutest boy ever..

Happy St Patty's day.

Don't Pinch
by Bruce Lansky
When I got on the school bus,
I was in for a surprise.
My friends all stared and pointed.
There was mischief in their eyes.

A kid who sat in front of me
reached out and pinched my knee.
My friends all started laughing,
but the joke was lost on me.

And then I got my second pinch.
I felt it on my ear.
And then I felt a third and fourth.
You guessed it--on my rear.

I asked, "Why are you pinching me?
I think it's very mean!"
They said, "Today's St. Patrick's Day
and you're not wearing green."

Saturday and Snowing

Megan came out of school Friday very anxiously telling me that “there are only 3 days left”..
“3 days left for what?”
“Till I have to wear green Mom!”
“Ahh…. That’s right.”
“yeah, cuz If I don’t I’ll get pinched” ( looking very troubled) “ and I don’t want to get pinched,
You have to remind me Mom, cuz I can’t forget!”

I think seriously children just go through life waiting for the next holiday or party to happen…
Easter is only a week away too..
Its much too cold for Easter dresses. Its snowing again today!

I had a minor panic today while at work..
The Emergency room called to inform us of a Trauma coming up to the floor. An 8 year old girl who had been up skiing with her Dad and had been life flighted to PCMC.. When Trauma’s come in they are given a pseudo name until they have all the correct information they need. I always worry when the kids are with Ex and especially when I see traumas coming through that are the same age as either of my girls, but because they come to our unit I get their real names pretty quickly and don’t have to stress for long. Well today this poor little girl was life flighted all alone while they tried to track the Dad down off the slopes. They were holding her in the ER until they could contact him.. That left a few hours without having any real information, including a name to ease my fear.
I finally called Ex when I couldn’t stand to wait any longer. I caught him just as they were leaving the ski resort.. Both girls in the car……safe and sound….. phew!

Husband Tag

I've been tagged by Amy
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What is your husband's name? Anthony William Taylor. No-one calls him Tony, the girls call him Daddy, and I call him Taylor so Anthony sounds Foreign sometimes.
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How long have you been together? 4 1/2 years, Married for 4 years
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How long did you date? well that's a funny story really... we started hanging out as "friends" at the beginning of the summer, I refused to believe that we were actually dating for a couple months, and before I knew it we were married !

Who eats more? He does. I honestly have no idea where he puts it. He's a sugar JUNKIE! He seriously stands in front of the fridge and pantry and just grazes.
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Who said I love you first? He did. We were sitting on the couch talking and he squeezed me and said "I love you" then immediately followed it with a "holy crap! did you hear that?"
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Who is taller? He's a little over 6 feet, and I'm 5'6".
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Who has more speeding tickets? His driving record sucks. And so does his car!
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Who is smarter? Well, like I'm going to answer that one, He reads this! (see, I'm pretty smart aren't I?)
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Who is more sensitive? depends on the day I think.. He's the only guy I know that seriously goes through PMS like symptoms once a month! I think in our whole relationship he's cried more times than I have...
But I like that he's very loving and tender hearted.
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Who does the laundry? We both do but I'm better at it.
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Who does the dishes? We both do. We are pretty good about splitting things up around here.
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Who sleeps on the right? If you are looking at the bed from the foot, I am on the right.
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Who pays the bills? I do but it gives me heartburn so we're trying to work on a system we can both use right now..
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Who mows the lawn? He does. But only after I've reminded him at least 3 times. He hates our lawn mower so he does his own silent protest by letting the grass grow until the neighbor complains. I've only mowed the lawn once in the 6 years I've been here. I hate to admit this but I still have the "that's a Man's job" attitude about Mowing lawns, and taking out the trash (although I DO take out the trash more often than he mows the lawn).
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Who cooks dinner? We both do depending on who's home. If we're both home, then I do. I tend to burn things a little less often..
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Who drives when you are together? ME! He makes me sick when he drives. plus I'm a control freak!
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Who is more stubborn? I'd say we're both pretty stubborn in our own ways.
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Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? neither one of us. See above. If I had to pick, I'd say He does.
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Who's parents do you see more often? Mine. My family is within walking distance of our house. I grew up in the same neighborhood and went to the same school my children go to. We can walk to my parents house in less than 10 minutes. His parents live about 3040 minutes away.
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Who has more siblings? He does. He has 2 brothers and 4 sisters. 7 kids total and he's smack dab in the middle of them all. All of his siblings have kids too, so you can imagine the family parties. Can we say Chaos?
I'm a middle child too, but there are only 4 of us and only a small handful of little ones..
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Who wears the pants in the family? That would be me...... I take care of almost everything that requires decisions or planning. We talk about things and I like to get his input, but he's not the best at follow through. If I leave things up to him, I'm usually the one who takes care of it in the end anyway. I'm the realist in our relationship... a.k.a the boring one with the plan..oh, and did I mention that I'm a control freak? Poor Taylor...
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Who eats more sweets? He does.. I really don't like sweets / junk food. Once in a while I like something sweet, but he can eat candy for breakfast. (and usually does. ...... I'm not kidding)
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Guilty pleasures? PlayStation.. He can spend HOURS playing..
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How did you meet? The Very first time I saw him was when he was walking in for his interview at the hospital. I remember thinking that he was cute but very young. (he's two years younger than I am). I was NOT interested in dating anyone at the time.
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Who asked who out first? He invited me on a group date....
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Who kissed who first? He was dragging the "moment" out soooo long that I finally leaned in and kissed him.
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Who proposed? He did while snowboarding..
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Best Feature? Physical; I'd have to say his eyes and his lips.. his lips are so luscious! (did I just write that?). I also completely love his heart and soul.. He is the most caring loving soul I've ever known. He's amazing.
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Pet names? Honey Taylor
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Where do I see us in 15 years? Taylor will hopefully be a driver for UPS, and I'll still be at Primary Children's. We'll have a bunch of teenagers by then so we'll probably both have gray hair. I can see us still snuggling on the swing in the back yard chatting.
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What is my favorite thing about him? He is a wonderful father. . He can always make me laugh, and is so patient. He spoils me when I'm sick or sad. I I know that he's always there for me. I'm really lucky to have him
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Now I tag Megan, Dawn, Heather, Kenz, and Liz

old pictures

I was going through some old photos..... these are Mattie, Sammy, and Kayden Dont they look cool in a collage?
I LOVE taking newborn pictures . I just Love the wrinkly, newborn itty bitty parts.

Room to play

When I first bought our house almost 6 years ago, it was a MESS. It was owned by a widow, who had not updated the house for 20 years. The walls were smothered in the tackiest 70's wallpaper I'd ever seen , and apparently she had imported the 2 inch leopard gag I mean shag carpet all the way from Texas. It was really aweful.
These pictures are of our family room downstairs. 5 years ago this room was so hideous that we could barely stand to enter it. The closet used to be the 'laundry room'. which left very little room for anything else in that area.. My Wonderful husband moved the washer and dryer to the basement and built me custom shelves to organize the wonderful space into a "Jessica" type toy closet. "Jessica" meaning everything in certain drawers complete with labels.. yep I LIVE for organization... I LOVE when everything has its own place. Wouldn't it be wonderful if everything had labels? okay moving on..
We Do love this room. Its a wonderful place for the kids to play, and its so warm and inviting with its dark panelling.. ( I know panelling is so totally 70's, but I like it). We're so blessed to have such a warm loving home to live in, and this is one of the many rooms that make us happy.
The end...

Speech Therapy

.Not the most attractive kind of therapy.......

But really, Is any type of therapy attractive?

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And yes, I love Picasa's Collage option...can ya tell?

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Matt

Matt is getting so big. Last night he opened the fridge all by himself. He brought me the bag of ham cubes and said "moyyy" then signed please excitedly while bouncing on his feet... the day before that he opened the freezer and asked for a "pomuble" (aka popsicle)


I’ve loved watching him play outside this past week. He’s so content to just wander around the yard kicking balls, and playing with his trucks. He doesn’t even care if I’m there, which is NOT the case when we’re inside. He looks so little to me waddling around all layered up to keep warm. Yet he’s so big entertaining himself and picking himself back up when he trips on a stick. I stand there ready but barely have to move because he’s got everything he needs. A bit of Sunshine the whole backyard..

He’s expanding his vocabulary by the minute these days too. Repeating everything we say and “talking” non-stop about the world around him. He understands and follows commands like “go get your blankie” or “pick up your shoe”, and he answers simple questions knowingly.

“do you want a cracker?”

“No”

"Are you ready for Nigh-Night?”

“No!”

or if he IS ready for bed, He’ll deliberately go and find his blanket and pacifier and come back to me to be carried upstairs.

I LOVE it when he’s looking for something because he sing-songs whatever it is “whey ah youuuu” when he hears a noise outside he will make an O with his mouth and excitedly says “oh!, Whats dat?” he still thinks he’s really funny and has now began fake laughing while putting his hand over his mouth. What a Ham!!

Weekend Recap

The weather has been fabulous today. The kids and I spent a few hours in the backyard enjoying the sunshine.
Its been a pretty good weekend.
Friday the girls were out of school and I convinced Taylor to leave us the car so that we could get out of the house for a bit.
The kids voted to go to the Library. We haven't been for months. I enjoyed being in such a relaxed environment flipping through all the board books with Mattie while the girls picked out there own assortment. All three of them put on a puppet show and I even got a book on tape to listen to when I am driving to and from work. (I have piles of books here at home that I need to catch up on so I didn't get anything else).
When we got home we made peanut butter cookies together. We spent the night hanging out and watched Mr Magoriums wonder Emporium. It was very cute.
Yesterday (Saturday) after spending half the day playing outside and the other half cleaning out closets I got to go scrapbooking with a bunch of friends. It was so nice to sit back and be creative, and I am pleased to announce that I have finished Matt's first year book! yeah! Now each child has their birth story and entire first year scrapbooked, completed, and in their box.
I'm doing a lot less scrapbooking now that I've got this blog.
My intent for scrap booking was to journal through pictures, so that the kids would have something to look back on, and now that I have the blog, I can post pictures AND write more about what is happening on a daily basis..... well, And then some.
Someday I'll put it all together and it will be a book for the kids to look back on and see what we did. It might not be as pretty but atleast its something........ Or at least they'll see how much I suck at punctuation.
When I got home around 11:30pm the girls were still awake in our bedroom watching TV. Taylor was dozing on and off, and I was wide awake. I started flipping through channels and at about midnight a show caught my eye. By then Megan and Taylor were snoring, but Ali and I were getting deeper and deeper into the movie. Every time it would go to commercial we'd groan and I'd ask "should we turn it off?" both of us were hooked and wanted to keep watching. I had my hand on the remote the entire time just in case there was a questionable part in the movie but I never had to change it expect for some commercial breaks that would have made a sailor blush! The movie was Looooong, especially with so many commercial breaks. Before we knew it, it was 3 o'clock in the morning! 4 if you count the daylight savings time change.... We were laughing that it was so late, and I asked Ali what we were going to do when we would be so tired in the morning that we couldn't stand up? It was fun. I liked having that time with her even if the movie WAS a little over her head, and it was 3 in the morning.
I looked the movie up this morning and found that it was Pride and Prejudice. I have never read it, so I hadn't recognized the story line. I quite enjoyed it..

so right now the girls are lying here in my bed watching cartoons, Mattie is asleep, and I'm expecting Taylor home from work in about an hour.
Good weekend..
Hope yours was good too.

Parent Teacher Conference

We had parent teacher’s conferences Thursday night. I left that school just about the Happiest Mommy on earth.
The School sends you appointment times so there is no more waiting in line like they used to do. Ex came and our first stop was Ali's classroom. Right away I noticed a certificate sitting on the table with Ali’s name on it. Her Teacher jumped right in to explain that it had been awarded to Ali because at the beginning of the year when they took the state "Iowa Tests", Ali placed in the top 90th percentile in the entire state! The certificate is from the Utah board of Education!
WE were all very proud. We talked more and her teacher stressed again about Ali’s writing skills. She said that Ali is an amazing Author and is very creative. She actually said very seriously “I really hope she does something big with it”. “She can really go some where with her writing!”
Another awesome step for Ali is that she is FINALLY above her grade level in reading. Since Kindergarten she has been below average in reading, and she has gone to special reading groups since the first grade. This year she was on the verge and her teacher had decided to put her in the group. Ali has had a hard time this year feeling like she didn’t need it, and that she was a bit embarrassed, and to be honest with the amount of time she spends reading I myself was surprised she was still in the group. So we discuss talking with her reading teacher about taking her out of the group. That made Ali VERY happy. Through further discussion I did find out that there has been some drama going on with her and her friend Izzy. Apparently it’s an every day occurrence, which they’re either fighting, or talking too much. I’ve wondered about this friend of hers this year as I have heard Ali mention a few things that I didn’t necessarily like hearing (for instance, that this friend was “rubbing” her ‘boyfriends’ back! Okay First a BOYFRIEND??? Second... RUBBING HIS BACK????? Oh, I don’t think so!!!!) She’s been a friend of Ali’s since Kindergarten and I know her parents well in the ward, so it quite surprised me to hear. Besides having many discussions with Ali about age appropriateness, “being eight” and NOT doing things just because her friends are, I have kept a careful ear out for any other red flags. .
Her teacher said that Ali is pretty good about not letting the drama effect her work, but that they needed to work on a way to “leave recess at recess” because “Izzy is “less mature” than Ali and it really has an impact on her (Izzy) (including Izzie sobbing with her head down at her desk)!. Well, okay….. That’s yet another issue I’d like advice on!!!
Her teacher did say something that made me feel really good. She said “Ali is such a great, happy girl. You can tell that she has a wonderful home life and that things you are doing are really working well for her because she always has a positive attitude, and is very confident” I swear I felt warm and fuzzy!
I don’t know if she remembers that we’re a “broken home” but all these years I’ve spent worrying and hearing Ex echoing in my ears telling me that I’ve “ruined the kids lives by leaving him” among other things. I hear this gigantic statement and it finally felt like someone was telling me I’m doing fine.
Okay, Moving on………. So because her school work and grades are so beautiful, her Goal for this last trimester is to cut down the drama with her friend, and to maybe broaden her friendships.
I’m so incredibly proud of her.

On we went to Kindergarten.
Megan was very quiet as we sat down and following her teachers instructions without a single hesitation she brought over her workbook to show us her progress. She’s improved on her own reading skills tremendously since our last meeting. I mentioned to her teacher that it felt like things had clicked about a month ago, and I was seeing some very strong reading skills coming out. She’s doing great and is right on track. We got to look at some of her artwork, and some other stories she’d written about her pictures... This girl of ours is such a riot. She wrote a story about the sea complete with “plankton”! Meg was quiet throughout the meeting snuggling into my side, and listening to our discussion. I’m glad to know that she’s not behind in her reading skills like Ali was, and that she is still a good little girl in class. Megan LOVES School. She loves being with her friends, and she loves doing her work. I’m so glad.

We made a brief stop at the book fair before we left, and Megan picked out a book to bring home. Ali was jipped by the horrendous selection left which only included books beyond her age level, or WAYYYYYY below it.
I am glad I asked her Teacher for a list of age appropriate chapter books. This “tween” age is NOT easy!


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Ali continued with her speech therapy. More eating, swallowing, and keeping her “tongue on the spot” a.k.a. on the roof of her mouth..

When we got home, My mom who had been watching Mattie, had made us a wonderful dinner and had even set the table with my fancy dishes... It was so nice..


Good things…….

Memories

Last night I helped the girls clean their room. I wanted to do some ‘mother daughter bonding’ so I told them that I was going to ask them a question and they each had to give me their answers no other talking allowed.
I threw out things like
“What’s your favorite color”
and “if you had 5$ what would you buy your sister?”
I got some pretty typical answers, but then I got some pretty sweet ones too. It isn’t often that my girls show love towards each other, so when I hear the occasional proof it makes me very happy.
This is what I learned
Ali’s favorite color is still yellow. (It has been for about 4 years)
Her favorite food is still mashed potatoes, and spaghetti.
If she had 5$ to spend on one person she would buy
Megan “things to color with”
Mattie “a toy”
Me a “fairy or a frog or a Make over” (should I take that personally?)
Ex (her Daddy) “climbing stuff”
Taylor (daddy too) “a new hat or something like that….”
I learned that if she could go anywhere she’d go to Hawaii, or California,
And If she could spend time with anyone in the world, it would be her family.
She also wants to have a slumber party for her birthday.

Megan When asked about the 5$
Turned and asked Ali “what would you like Ali?” which I thought was very cute. Ali said she’d like “a book”. (ahh, a girl after my own heart).
She’d buy Mattie “a toy”
Her Daddy (Ex) “climbing or camping stuff”
Daddy Taylor she wasn’t sure of….”what does Daddy like?” she asked
And we didn’t even get to me, because there was too much squirming and talking about Birthday parties that I had to move to the next question..
So I learned that if she could go anywhere right at that moment, she’d go “swimming”. After hearing Ali’s answer, she changed hers to Disneyland.
She’d spend time with her family, and
She WANTED to have a Ballerina Birthday party… including Jack! “do boys do ballet Mom?” but after hearing that Ali wanted a slumber party, she’s decided that she is going to have one too.. With Michie, Emmy, and Mia.

To keep the mood going I started telling them stories. Now for those of you who know me, I love to get lively when I tell the kids stories.. I use motions, gestures, and different voices with facial expressions.. I love to see the sparkle in their eyes when they hear stories and they love it even more when I get animated.
I began with stories of myself when I was a child. I told them of the time we stepped out of our cabin in Yellowstone to find a Buffalo right outside our door.
I told them about how when Pushing kids on the tire swing in third grade I ran into the pole and got a concussion. I dramatically re-enacted the entire scene for them, including my Teachers reaction to the giant welt on my forehead. . I told them how I was the ‘best tire swing pusher in third grade” to which Ali responded “That comes from you then, mom, cuz, I’m the best tire swing pusher too, I get that from you! It must run in the family”.
I told them about the time I broke my pinky playing kick ball, and thought my pinky was my thumb.
I described to them the temperature of the water as we jumped into the pool for the first time every spring. (I definitely burned calories re-enacting that one!)
I ran out of my own stories so I went on to tell them stories about when they were tiny.
I told about Ali’s pacifier addiction and how no matter how hard I tried to get rid of them she would always magically find one hiding somewhere, and when she did, she’d pop it in her mouth happily and suck away. She LOVED the binky!
I told of Megan when she was about barely crawling and would climb into the baby bouncer and bounce so hard she’d catch air.
The girls were giggling and begging for more. I remembered that I had Megan’s bouncer jumping on video so we went in search of the old home movies. As it was getting late, we spent just 20 minutes playing the tapes and forwarding through to the fun parts. I couldn’t believe how little they both were. Listening to Ali’s little gruff voice telling me things was just darling. She was such a little busy body. She was jumping around, climbing on things and talking non-stop just like she does today. Megan was a super chunk and she loved seeing herself crawl around ‘growling’ and being charming. I could have watched them all night. I really enjoyed it. And I think the girls did too.
I was especially grateful when they climbed into their beds and went to sleep without any protesting. It always feels good when you can tuck them in and leave with a good feeling.
When I went in to check on them a few hours later Megan was yet again curled up on the end of Ali’s bed, squished into the 2-foot space she had.
I picked her up and put her back in her own bed. I’m glad I did, because unfortunately she had an accident last night… I probably should have woken her up to go to the bathroom, but that’s okay, we’ll keep trying.. First thing she said when she woke up was “will I have to wear a pull-up tonight?”

Oh and cute Mattie had been hanging with us the entire time. He LOVES playing with the little trinkets and things that the girls have on their shelves.
He was particularly intent on getting something on the top shelf of Ali’s and kept saying "dat, pees, Dat, pees" so I picked him up and let him point it out to me. When I handed it to him he took it out of my hand, immediately stuck his hand up under his chin and said “dant-do” (aka Thank you). He’s such a smart boy. We only showed him once and he does it all the time now.

Megan update

So I feel like I just posted This entry but I'm pleased to say I have a wonderful update to it.
Megan has stayed completely dry every night for over a week now!
Way to go Megan!!!!!!
she's s happy not to be wearing pull ups anymore..We've officially retired them (with a little hesitation on my part)
And I'm happy she's happy!

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got Milk?

Mattie is finally drinking Milk...



Well, Kind of..........

Spoke too soon.. but a Great day none the less

Saturday was supposed to bring us up into the 60's.... That's not what we got however.
Instead we got SNOW!
I had such a great day yesterday..
I went up to Kaysville for Jacob's Baptism.. He was very cute, and it was fun to see all of Megan's family. Meg and I have been best Friends since we were 12 (roughly 18 years believe it or not) and I felt more comfortable with all of her family than I imagined. Mia had attached herself to my hip through most of it She's so cute.. I wish the girls could have come.
It was fabulous having a vehicle all day too.. I'm so used to Taylor having it and being stuck at home that I seriously felt like I'd been given parole! I could go ANYWHERE I wanted,and with the girls at Ex's, I only had Mattie to strap in too! YEAH!
After hanging out in Kaysville, I drove through the nasty snow home, and decided that Mattie And I would go grocery shopping. I haven't done that in ages, because usually Taylor just stops on his way home late at night. I was glad to go, because Taylor is notorious for getting JUNK!.
I filled the cart with fruits and veggies, and wholesome ingredients to make some yummy meals this week. I really want to get everyone eating healthier in our house.
When we got home Mattie and I cleaned the kitchen. He helped by smacking everything with the broom handle as he swept the floor, and by climbing into the fridge, freezer, and pantry as I cleaned them. He's so helpful. really.
Earlier in the day before the storm came in and we'd gone up to Kaysville, Mattie had begged to go out in the backyard to play.. It was So windy I was afraid he was going to blow away, but he was so happy that I let him play out there for a good 30 minutes. He seriously had a grin on his face the entire time. He was begging to go out again so I finally brought in his 'Flinstone' car so that he could push it around the kitchen and living room. he loved that, and has mastered going forward in it as long as there are no walls to stop him..
I had so much fun with him all day.. he was being so silly, making up his own jokes, and giggling as I reacted to them. He's such a little snuggle boy too.
He kept scaring me to death by shutting the door to the family room stairs all while standing as close to the edge as he could get without falling off on the other side. I jumped onto the stairs so that I was behind him, and the little joker turned around, ran and slammed the door shut on me laughing so hard he almost fell over. I knocked on the door and he would open it and shut it really fast then run away laughing. I could see his little feet backing away from the door. I stuck my hands under the door, and he'd run up touch them and run away giggling.
We went down to the playroom and he thought he'd be funny by pretending to fall off the couch. He'd climb up and in slow motion would let himself fall onto the floor. (thank goodness for the splurge on thick padding) He LOVED my reaction and was giggling so hard he'd have to wait a minute to climb back up again. We played for quite a while down there, watching Elmo's world, and reading books. He's getting to that age where he's testing things to see what kind of reaction he gets, like wacking me on the head with his plastic hammer (OUCH!). We have to be careful how we react to those things so that he doesnt think they're funny. I love that he gets that things are so funny though.. He totally knows when he's teasing. He's such a clown sometimes.
One of his favorite things is when Taylor and I pretend to fight over holding him.. I'll hold onto his legs and Taylor will hold onto his body and we'll pretend to pull saying "my baby, No, My baby!".. he thinks that's hilarious.
When Taylor got home, I kissed him hello. Mattie took my head and Taylor's head and pushed us back together to kiss again.. Then I kissed Taylor on the cheek hoping Mattie would imitate and he did, it was the cutest little pucker kiss we'd ever seen and I got one on my cheek too. we were both melting. We thought that was it, but then he grabbed my face in his chubby little hands and as I turned to get another kiss on the cheek, he surprised us both by deliberately turning my head and giving me a great big wet one right on the lips. He's so stinking cute, that boy of ours!
before I went to sleep, I snuck in and watched him sleep for awhile. Its so hard for me to not pick him up and snuggle him..
I was telling Taylor that It makes me think about the girls when they were Matties age. I remember them being little, I remember them being so adorable that I felt the same with every little cute thing they did just like we do with Mattie, but those in the moment feelings are not there, I can't remember them exactly its just the stories, and pictures...... it makes me sad to think that next week, that precious little moment will be forgotten and before we know it he'll be 5 and we'll have forgotten what he was like when he was 18 months.
oh sure, we'll write things down, and we'll have pictures, and I do think that there are fun things about every age, but it reminds me that they're growing up really really fast, and I want to hold on to these very moments where its all about playing, and giggling, and sleeping with their butt in the air .... Puberty, and homework, just isn't as fun......