My Baby is 3!

Today is Jayne's 3rd birthday!  My baby girl is growing fast.  We held a little family party last Saturday night to celebrate.  She is so spunky and strong-willed. I think that's why we're having trouble with the potty training. =) Today we're going to take her to use her Build-A-Bear gift card she received from her uncles Jake and Chad and then maybe get some dinner or ice cream or something like that.  We also made cupcakes this morning and she can't wait to frost them and blow out candles again. 
Happy Birthday Sweet Jayne! 

Jayne chose a Little Mermaid cake.  It took her a while to blow out all 3 candles.  The first attempt was taken over by Jonah.  He  blew them all out before she even had a chance.  So we re-lit the candles so she could do it on her own. 

Loving the purple frosting!

Giving kisses to her new Minnie Mouse doll. 

Ta-Da!  Jayne and Rapunzel are BFFs. 

My darling 3 year old.  

 

 

Lilly Turned 5!

Last Wednesday was Lilly's 5th birthday. We celebrated that night by going out bowling as a family.  It was fun to watch the kids rolling the ball down the lane and see their excitement when the pins fell.  We all had a great time! 
Then on Saturday we had the extended family over for a pizza party as per Lilly's request. 

Lilly in her Happy Birthday crown that she got from her preschool class.

Lilly got a mermaid Barbie.  Her hair changes color and her fins transform into a hoodie for when she's a human.  She also came with a sparkly pink dolphin. 

Can you tell that my girl loves chocolate?  She could not believe the size of this bag of m&m's that she got. 

Lilly couldn't wait to wear this new summer outfit. 

Lilly picked out a Tangled cake. 

She was so eager to blow out her candles that we weren't even close to finished singing 'Happy Birthday' when she took a big breath and blew them all out.  I think she was worried about Jonah blowing them out.  He was inching closer and closer as the song went on.  

 

 

So Happy Birthday Lilly!  We're so lucky to have you as part of our family!

Nate Turned 30!

Actually, he's been 30 for a whole week now.  I'm just ridiculously slow in acknowledging it here on the blog.  Nate's birthday was last Monday.  Nate likes his birthdays to be very understated.  The Saturday before, I wanted to take him on a birthday date and let him decide what we would do.  We went to Best Buy and picked up a new CD by Cage the Elephant.  Then we had some lunch at Bajio Mexican Grill.  It was the first time we'd been there and I'm sorry to say we were a bit disappointed.  Not bad, just not great.  
After lunch we headed to Coldstone Creamery to share some ice cream.  Then, on the way home, we did some serious "mudding" in the Wrangler. My knuckles were beyond white.
After we got home, we loaded up the kids and took the little outing to Grantsville that I posted about.  
On Monday, Nate's actual birthday, we didn't really do too much.  He got some gifts.  His mom made him a new quilt complete with John Deere and chili peppers on it.  The kids and I got him some tee shirts and a movie. His sister, Amanda, dropped off some fun DVD's and yummy chocolates.  

Nate with some of his birthday swag

Nate's not big on cake, but the kids are.  So we picked up some cupcakes and sang to him and blew out a candle.  Yes, just one.  That was my fault.  I forgot to buy candles at the store and I only had a couple.  So the kids enjoyed the cupcakes and I got Nate some Ben & Jerry's Pistachio Pistachio ice cream (his favorite).  
Anyway, the point of all this is that this beautiful Earth has been blessed with the presence of Nate for 30 whole years now and I, for one, am so incredibly grateful for it.  Happy Birthday Love!

Jonah's 7th

Last Friday, January 21st, was Jonah's 7th birthday. To celebrate, we decided that he could invite a few friends to go bowling with us on Friday and then we would have the family party on Saturday.  Jonah only wanted to take one friend with him.  Her name is Adelle.  Adelle is in his primary class and they are such kindred spirits.  They both love to read and are a bit on the sensitive/emotional side of Sears.  I asked Jonah several times if he'd like to invite one or two more friends, but he only wanted Adelle to come.  So on Friday, Jonah, Adelle, Lilly, Jayne, Aunt Sarah, and I set out for the bowling alley.  We went to Fat Cats Fun Center in Salt Lake.  This was my kids' first time bowling.  
Our biggest challenge was finding a semi-light ball.  The lightest we could find in the whole place were a couple of 8 pounders. 

It was really fun watching the kids bowl.  They all had their own style.  Jonah wanted to be precise, Adelle had to get a running start, and Lilly would set the ball down in front of her and push it and then lie down on the floor to watch it until it got to the pins (which was usually a very long time).

 
After bowling we headed to McDonald's for some happy meals and play time. Then Jonah got to open his present from Adelle.  It was a book, but not just any book.  It was a big book of facts.  Jonah loves non-fiction. He was so excited about this book and has been reading it all weekend.  He's been regaling me with tidbits about Venus fly traps.  
Then on Saturday we had the customary birthday dinner with my family.  At Jonah's request, the menu was pasta, vegetables, and fruit. After dinner we had a pinata, also per Jonah's request.  Uncle Jake was brave enough to hold the pinata up for us while my three sluggers gave it their best swings.  Then it was time for presents.  Among Jonah's birthday swag this year were a Walmart gift card which he used today to purchase a toy manta ray and dragon, some very handsome school shirts, Star Wars Legos, a Beach Boys CD, calculator, and Nerf dart tag set.  I'd say he did pretty well.  He loves it all.

Jonah's birthday cake was in the shape of an octopus.  My mom had bought an octopus mold and gave it to us to use.  It turned out really cute.  My sister, Rachel, did the embellishments. Jonah wanted the number candle and mint chocolate chip ice cream (he takes after his mother).

Jonah said it was the best birthday ever, which makes it all worth it.  I'm so proud of the way he's growing and what a great big brother he is for Lilly and Jayne.  Happy Birthday Jonah!  

Jayne Turns 2!

Today is Jayne's 2nd birthday! We celebrated last Saturday with my family. Jayne got lots of wonderful gifts and she loves them all!
Some of Jayne's favorite things right now are....

• Baby dolls. She has one in particular that she likes to carry everywhere and wrap up in a blanket.
  
• Her "softy" which is her blanket that she sleeps with every night. She got a new one for her birthday, so now she has to have "softy" and "new softy" before she'll go to sleep.
  
• Dogs--or as Jayne likes to call them, "Woofys". Jayne loves dogs. One of the boys in Lilly's preschool class has a chihuahua and his mother brings it everyday to drop him off and pick him up. We cannot leave the school until Jayne gets to pet the "woofy".
• Chocolate milk---definitely Jayne's drink of choice.
• Shoes---especially sparkly ones. She just got a new pair for her birthday and even though they are too big, she insists on wearing them everywhere. She loves to steal Lilly's pink glittered shoes and wear them around the house.
  
• Gum---Yes, I know. She's way too young for gum. Don't look at me, we can blame this one on Daddy.

Now for the obligatory then and now pictures.....

Then.....












and Now.

They grow so fast, don't they? =)

So, I want to wish my sweet Jayne a Happy Birthday! We love you sassy-pants!

Today is Nate's dad, David's birthday! David is a great father, father-in-law, and a fabulous grandfather! We're so grateful for the blessing he is in all of our lives. We just wish we lived closer(Nate's parents live in Las Vegas) so we would help celebrate.
So, Happy Birthday Dad and Grandpa! We love you oh so much and hope your day is full of joy!

I couldn't find a picture of just Grandpa, so here he is cuddling our little clan.

Happy Birthday to Nate!

Yesterday was Nate's 29th birthday. Yes, I know what you're thinking. He doesn't look 29!
Anyway.....in honor of the love of my life I am going to share with you...

29 things about Nate

1. Nate is an extremely hard worker. If you don't believe me, you can go over to Les Schwab and watch him for half an hour. Or you could have him help you move. You'll be thinking he's a crazy man.

2. Nate was born in St. George, but lived his entire life, right up until we got married and I dragged him off to the freezing cold of northern Utah, in Las Vegas.

3. Nate ran cross country in high school.

4. Nate has never ridden a horse. I'm working on remedying this situation this year. He's always wanted to, but the opportunity never arose.

5. Nate can play the cello. He played in orchestras all through junior high and high school.

6. Nate loves to go shooting, but doesn't get to very often. He's never been hunting, he just likes to go target shooting. Among his favorite things to use as targets are old televisions, spray paint cans, phone books, glass bottles, etc.

7. Nate is a sort of jack-of-all-trades. Some of the jobs he's had include working for the Nevada Water Authority(I think that's the name of it), mowing lawns and doing landscaping, flower delivery, bank teller, grocery stocker and dairy manager, door to door sales, a brief stint as a car salesman, janitor, apartment manager, school bus driver, and now tire sales and service.

8. Nate earned his Eagle Scout at the age of 14.

9. Nate loves movies! We have over 300 movies and we watch one together practically every night. His favorites are war movies or documentaries, action/adventure, and comedy. He's always so good to watch my romantic movies with me too.

10. Nate's favorite TV show of all time is M*A*S*H. We have all 11 seasons and watch them together all the time.

11. Nate would love to be a rancher and have horses and cows and the whole bit.

12. Nate loves the outdoors. He's really working hard to make me like camping so that we'll do it more often.

13. Nate's favorite author is Louis Lamour. He has almost all of his books and could read them over and over. We've even read a few of them together.

14. Nate is a fabulous father! All three of our kids are crazy about him and he's really good to play with them and make time for them, even when he's exhausted from that crazy working we talked about earlier.

15. Nate loves shoes. They are one of his favorite things to shop for.

16. Nate's fluent in Spanish.

17. Nate served an LDS mission in the Mexico Monterrey North mission. Hence the Spanish.

18. Nate used to spend summers in Oregon with his family. They have property up there and would go for a couple of months every year. He loves it up there.

19. Nate's favorite ice cream is pistachio. But it has to be the good stuff, i.e. Ben & Jerry's.

20. Nate has a great sense of humor. He makes me laugh every day.

21. Nate never actually proposed to me. Getting married was just kind of this mutual decision we came to one night. Then after he bought the ring he tried to just give me the wedding band for the engagement ring reasoning that I should wait until the 'big day' to get the 'big ring.' I did not find this amusing.

22. Nate is very generous.

23. Nate is very accepting of other people. Sometimes he has to remind me not to be too judgmental.

24. Nate is allergic to everything! I finally made him go to an allergist this year and they did the scratch test with at least 30 or 40 different allergens on there and every single one of them flared up. Poor guy.

25. Nate loves music. He's got all different genres on his i-pod and loves to listen to music before he falls asleep.

26. Nate has re-broken the same pinkie finger I don't know how many times. It is now permanently crooked.

27. Nate and I met at the Manti Pageant when we were teenagers. The first thing he said to me was "you have beautiful eyes". I'm still not sure if he meant it or it was just a line. =)

28. Nate is getting gray hair. He'll probably be mad that I mentioned that one, but I think it looks good on him. He just gets better as he gets older!

29. Nate is an amazing husband and friend to me. I couldn't ask for better.

I love you Nate! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Jonah!

Today is Jonah's 6th birthday! I can't believe it's already been six years since I first became a mother. Here are some fun facts about my favorite little boy....

• Jonah is in kindergarten this year and absolutely LOVES school! He loves to read and to learn anyway he can.
  
• Jonah loves to make things. He loves to build with blocks, paint, color, draw, you name it. He's constantly cutting things out of paper and taping or gluing them together to make animals or shapes.
  
• Jonah is a very good big brother. He's very protective and helpful with his sisters.
  
• Jonah came into the world weighing 8lbs 9oz.
  
• Jonah likes dinosaurs and all things reptile.
  
• Jonah loves to play the Wii.
  
• Jonah was definitely worth the 9 months of pregnancy and the 29 hours of labor that it took to get him here!

Here a couple of pictures of Jonah when he was 2 years old. Sadly I don't have any digital ones of him as a baby and I don't have a scanner, so these will have to do.

These are both from May 2006.

And now he's six. Yikes! Where did the time go!
I love you my handsome little man! Happy Birthday!