Jack turns FIVE!

He was our bday boy over a month ago.... but this year was a big one!! I didn't want to clump it into the mass of pictures because this kid is so great and funny, he deserves his own post to mark the occasion.

All year, I said that we weren't going to do a birthday party, but he got invited to a few and he really wanted one so I caved. We didn't do anything super great, but I think the kids all had a great time. On his actual birthday, we made him his favorite muffins for breakfast and hung around in the morning. He didn't want to go to the gym. (I couldn't make him... its not MY birthday)! That afternoon, we met up with some friends at Chuckee Cheese. The kids ran around for a few hours and played all the games they had. I played a few at air hockey. It was a fun afternoon. That night, he had a baseball game and then we went to Leatherbys.

For his party, we invited about 11 kids and had them over to our house for pizza, ice cream, cake, pinata, games and presents. We had a Stars Wars theme and all the kids seemed to like the games. They all loved giving Jack their presents and they crowded around him, almost smothering him.

I love this boy. I'm tearing up a little as I type... he brightens my life, our home, and everyone and everything he is around. He is pretty popular with his friends, because he is such a NICE boy. I hope he holds on to that, because that is one of his best qualities. He cares about people. He is a pleaser. He is a helper. He is a great big brother. He is sassy, but hilarious. He has opinions and he loves learning. He loves reading. He is sensitive. He is a good listener and he wants us to be proud of him. He loves his daddy and looks up to him! He looks to me for approval in everything he does. I love being a stay at home mom because of this. Savannah loves him to death and wants to be wherever he is. He is so patient with her and is a great example. I am a blessed momma to be his. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!!

On to Kindergarten....

Since school starts next week, I guess I better finish up on preschool on the blog... Jack finished his last year of preschool in May. He is getting ready to start kindergarten in about two weeks. EEEEKKK!! I think he is semi-nervous, but mostly excited because he is in the same class as three of his good friends. That makes me less nervous too.

We really loved preschool. Jack learned so much from Ms. Lorie and I know that he will be heading into kindergarten with all that he should know. I was thinking about holding him back and talked to Lorie about it. She said that he is really smart and totally ready and I have to agree. She really does a wonderful job with the kids and when they leave they really are ready for the next step.

His end of year program was really cute. He had a little part, that he did wonderfully, and it was fun to see how grown up all the other kids were as well. Jack is such a great kid. I love him sooo much!! I'm sad that these past five years have gone by so fast.... but we are on to new adventures!

PICTURES!!

Six months worth.....

HELLO?

Is anyone out there?? I have been MIA. I finally got our pictures loaded up on our new computer, but looking through them is not very exciting. I can see that over the last six months, we have not done much!! Most of my pictures have my kids at home in their PJs. But, those are the best days, right? I'll do a brief update like I did the last time and then load some of the favorite pictures from the past six months and then we will start fresh with hopefully a post a month going forward.

JASON--

So, last time I wrote, he was getting ready to apply for school in the fall. That didn't work out. He did well on the GRE, but the degree he was thinking about is so different from what he is doing and he doesn't have experience in it so they told him to volunteer and apply again next year. He has since been thinking about other options and we have a few things in the works, but that's all I will say for now! Other than work, his calling and family time keeps him busy.

JACK--

Jack has just turned five and has had a BUSY few months. We started the spring with soccer, and then he moved right into karate, followed by baseball and swimming lessons. He had a great time doing all of these things and has had the BEST summer of his life because he has had so many friends to play with and things to do. He is getting ready to start kindergarten in about three weeks. (EEK!) I think he might be a little nervous (he has been kind of emotional lately), but I think he is really excited and I really do think that he is ready for this change. I hope I am ready too!

SAVANNAH--

This little lady has probably changed the most these last six months. She has grown from a baby to a toddler. She is really communicating with us, but not talking yet. She does say MAMA, but it is a struggle to get her to say anything else. She is finally pointing at parts of her body and she understands everything we say, but will not talk. I think she must be one of those kids that will never talk until she can say a full sentence! She is a lot of fun, but very feisty! Because she can't talk yet she mostly screams bloody murder in order to get her way. She is also very opinionated and wants to get her way. But, under all that feistiness is a very loving, wonderful girl!

ME--

Nothing new to report... nothing at all. I am loving staying home with these kiddies and hanging out with my great friends! I am ready for the fall weather, but not really ready for school to start. Makes me sad to let this boy of mine leave me and have a whole life that I will not know anything about! I'm going to have to volunteer a lot at the school! We do have a family vacay planned for the end of September to San Diego. We figured out how to fly there for free so we are super excited! We will be hitting Sea World, San Diego Zoo and Legoland! Can't wait!

Here's to starting fresh and leading more exciting lives!!

Recap Minus Pictures....

We have had the worst luck with cameras these last six months. It makes it hard for me to blog if I don't have a functional camera because I don't take pictures and then all my thoughts are scrambled and I am left with nothing to blog about! We did finally get a new camera awhile back, but thought it had chargeable batteries and it doesn't so now that we have that figured out, we should be able to get some pictures uploaded this weekend. I am hoping, anyway.

We have had a busy few weeks/months since I last wrote. I'll do a brief summary of each of our developments!

Jason-- He had a very busy two weeks this month. He was called to be the executive secretary in our ward. The stake president told us it would be a busy calling, but so far it hasn't been that bad. Our bishop is really cool and I think Jason likes to be involved in everything. But, it does make for long Tuesdays and Sundays... and Wednesdays because I am in YW and gone so two nights a week is hard. But, he is doing a great job so it'll work for now. :) He also took the GRE for grad school about a week ago. He did really well and got what he needed to get in to his program. All that is left is sending in the application.... we will see what happens! If he gets in... our schedules will be very crazy... he will be in school Tuesday and Thursday nights and probably have bishopric on Wednesdays! He also quit his job about two weeks ago and moved to Backman Title. His good friend, Dave, had quit a few weeks before and they both ended up at the same place. It has been a really good move, but it was a bit crazy because he thought he could get a job there, but they couldn't talk to him until he quit his other job so it was a pretty big leap of faith! Heavenly Father is watching out for us... he quit on Monday, interviewed on Tuesday and started his new job on Wednesday! YAY!

ERIN-- I probably have the most boring life of the four of us. I am training for a duatholon next weekend. My friend enrolled me as a "birthday gift".... yikes. :) No, I am excited for it. I am just not really into racing much anymore. I guess I am not really in the phase of life where it is a priority. I would rather be home with my family. But, once I am there I love it and its always good to have a few hours to myself. I am still working... and that is getting harder. I really can't sit down at my computer during the day anymore so that leaves me with staying up really late... hence the fact that it is 1113 pm as I type. :) I am truly enjoying this time though and I actually looking forward to being even busier as life goes on. (I type this so I can go back and remind myself when it gets really crazy!). I also have a bunch of great friends and I love the fact that I can stay home and be in this great group of women! I love my book club!! It is a highlight in my life!

JACK-- This boy is the biggest nut ever! He has so much energy and he makes me tired just watching him. He has been obsessed with video games lately and it is driving me crazy!! I know it is probably due to the fact that the weather has been so terrible, but that has always been my worst fear... to have a gamer for a child... :) He is getting ready to start soccer on Saturday and we have signed him up for Tiny Tigers... karate moves starting in May. He loves his friends... He is so happy. He is smart. He knows how to work my phone better than I do. He loves preschool and.... is excited to start kindergarten in the fall. I know I said that I was going to hold him back, but his teacher thinks he is ready... I tend to agree after this winter and all of his friends are going. So... his orientation is tomorrow. AUGH!!! I am nervous about it. I'm sure I am going to have to be talked down by my friends. I just really don't want to lose this baby of mine to the world. I love him with my whole heart. He will play Tball in June and start swimming lessons again. We are entering into such a new world for him.

SAVANNAH--- This girl is the best. She is getting to be so funny. She is 15 months old (almost) and walking, talking, playing, copying, learning, loving... the list could go on. She and Jack are starting to play really cute together... the other night they were playing peek-a-boo in Jack's bed and I just watched them laugh at each other. Jack really loves her and she loves him. She still loves me and when I am sitting on the floor she will just run up and hug me. She loves our new kitty and any mention of her can stop Savannah's tears. She says... hello, mama, mmmmaaaa for milk, dada and points to everything. She loves to read and will bring me books all the time. She loves Spiderman and always wants me to put the mask on. She loves when I wear hats and if Jack is wearing a hat she wants one... also a cape if Jack has one on. I was giving knuckles to Jack the other day and in she walked with her hand outstretched for me to do it to her. She loves to eat, especially sugar. If you make faces at her she tries to make them back... I really love her wink.

ZOE and the KITTY--- They love each other... sleep together... cuddle at night... fight, run around the house and scratch in the morning. But, they are pretty good friends.

That's our family in a nutshell. Pictures coming soon.

The BIG 1!!!

Savannah turned one. A month ago. But still... I can't believe it. She has been such a joy to have in this family. The year went by fast... really fast... probably one of the faster years in my life. It seems like just yesterday she was in the hospital and it was all so stressful and we were shuttling back and forth everyday to see her... and now she's a year and she's babbling and she's walking and she has never been sicker than having a slight ear infection. I was nervous when she was born that it would make her more susceptible to illness, but just like Jack... she's as healthy as a horse. I'm so thankful for her. We tried long and hard to get her and she was worth everything we went through. Jack loves her and the older she gets, the more they play and get along. I can't wait to watch them pretend together and become great friends.

For her birthday, I took Jack to Build-A-Bear and he built her the cutest bear with hearts all over it. He picked out a sparkly red outfit, plus shoes, for her and named her Lily. It is funny that he picked the outfit he did because it looks just like something that Savannah actually has. He was also really excited to stay up late and help us decorate the house for her. We blew up balloons, while watching Free Willy. (as a side note... I don't want to forget... while watching Free Willy... at the very end when the kid is sending Willy back the ocean, Jack teared up and looked at me... not quite understanding what he was feeling and said... "I'm a little bit sad right now...." It was about the sweetest thing I have ever seen). He helped Jason hang the streamers and then scatter the balloons around. When Savannah woke up, she was delighted by the balloons and loved her bear. The rest of the day was fairly normal and that night we had family over for cake and ice cream. She loved her cake... double fisting it for most of the time. She loved all of her presents and seemed to enjoy her day. As much as a 1-year-old can enjoy it, that is.

Some things to know about our girl:
--She started walking about two weeks after she turned one. She walked across her room and then realized that she was doing it and sat down really slow... ever since then she has been a pro.
--She babbles a lot and points and grunts at things she wants. I love to hear her and lately she has been "talking" to me and saying MAMAMAMA, BABABABA, YAYAYAYA. It is so cute. She gets so happy about it.
--She really wants to be where the action is. I have seen second children do this before and it was something I wasn't familiar with because as a first child, Jack was always more timid. Savannah wants to be wherever Jack and his friends are and will plop herself down right next to them to play. We were at McDonalds and she was just walking around the kids area with the biggest smile on her face. She was so happy to be there.
--I love rocking her to sleep. Yep, I still do it... don't know when I will bring myself to stop.
--She weighs 22lbs and is 31in... that is 65% and 90%.
--She loves dancing and talking and clapping and playing.
--She loves the dog and will point to her whenever she sees her.
--She is the biggest mama's girl EVER. And, I love it. She prefers me and is okay if she can't see me, but the minute she sees me, she reaches for me. I hope that is always the case.

I love this girl of mine. I count my blessings everyday to be the mother to such wonderful children.

Update-- January

What, you may be asking (if you are still reading this, that is), have we been up too lately? Well, I can tell you... not much. We had a fun month of January that went by fast and now we are already into February... soon spring and then summer! I am excited for summer. This awful cold we have going on here is not any fun and I am anxious for the days to get the kiddies outside instead of cooped up in the house all the time.

During January, we decided that Jason was going to go back to school. Well, he decided and I decided to be excited about it! Ever since Savannah was born and in the hospital for a week, Jason has wanted to work in a hospital. Obviously, he is not going to be a doctor or nurse, so he got to thinking about what he could do with the skills and experience that he has. He finally settled on Hospital Administration. He is going to go to Weber and has been up to talk to the admittance rep. They gave him good news and made him even more excited to go. Because he will be getting an MHA rather than an MBA, he can take the GRE instead of the GMAT. Got that? :) Everything we have read online says that the GRE is much more friendly to people that are not math whiz geniuses and since Jason is no math person, he was very excited to have this option. He is studying for it now and hopes to take it in March sometime. I am very proud of him for coming to this decision and being so willing to work hard to achieve it. I think he will be great at this job and it is exciting for our family!

We also celebrated our 8th anniversary. Sorry to report that even though our 7th was spent in the hospital with me having just given birth two days before, our 8th again passed without much fanfare. I have to say, though, that those are my favorite days. I spent the day with Jack on a preschool field trip and lunch at McDonalds. After that, since I was wearing my gym clothes in the hopes of getting a workout in, we went to my moms... baby napped, Jack played video games, and I went on a delicious 7 mile run outside for the first time this year. It was beautiful! We came home after helping my mom with a few things with Cafe Rio and me not having showered yet. Romantic eh? I love that my hubby still loves me even when I am stinky and in a foul mood from not being home all day. I came home to roses, cheesecake and a movie from Redbox. The movie was lame, so after the kids were in bed, we fired up the DVR and watched The Bachelor and ate our dessert. In my mind, a perfect night. I don't know about Jason... :/ We are still planning to go out sometime in the next few weeks to celebrate, but it is hard to get away anymore. :) I just love my hubby. I love that we are such good friends and partners. I love that we can talk and advise and support each other in everything we do. Jason is a great father and whenever I get nervous about bringing Jack up, I am reassured because Jason is his father and I know that he will do anything for him and be the best example. I've loved him from the time I met him (at Wells Fargo in 2000!!!) and I love him more today... almost 11 years later.

We also celebrated Savannah's 1st birthday and she deserves her own post... so that will be coming.

I need to be better about taking pictures and updating this so one resolution is to update AT LEAST once a month this year... also, I need to make my blog into a book. So much to do... so little time.