Kids'll Say the Darndest Things...

Emily and Christian each cracked me up today. Here goes:

Emily was doing a "newscast" with a play microphone and was doing a report on how a bank got robbed. I asked her, "So, Emily, what got taken?"
Emily: Oh, money. AND they took all of the suckers and the stickers too.

Then, Cubby and I asked Christian who he wanted to invite to his birthday party.
Christian: Lots' of friends. All of them.
Cubby: Like who?
Christian: Julia. And Maren. And Maddie.
Cubby: Any boys?
Christian: One boy. Christian. Girls love me.

HA!

We Love Our "Old Man"!

Yesterday was Cubby's 31st birthday! The kids and I had a lot of fun preparing for his big day. The kids each picked out a shirt for him (Christian picked out a green shirt; Emily, a blue one). Christian and I made his favorite cookies (snickerdoodles) and Christian discovered the light in the oven. He loved watching the cookies bake! We also decorated our own wrapping paper for one of his gifts.

For breakfast, I made his favorite, french toast. Then, we had a nice time opening gifts. Cubby's family all called throughout the day so he got to catch up with them as well. After dinner, (hot dogs and hamburgers) my mom, Harvey, and my brother and sister came over and we had cake and ice cream and opened more gifts. Good stuff.

I'm so grateful for Cubby and for all that he does as both a husband and father. He always is so involved in all that comes along with the role of a parent and I couldn't have asked for a sweeter friend as well. Happy Birthday, honey! We sure love you!

Kari's Favorite Place to Play

This post is mostly for family and for a blog book that hopefully will get made someday!

Here is Kari doing what she likes to do best (well, other than nursing and crying in her carseat). She LOVES laying here and "playing" with her little "friends". It is sooo cute and sooooo handy when I need to get some things done! She'll seriously play for up to 30 mins. It's AWESOME.

On Saturday, we were busy in our yard, weeding and building some beds for our new veggie garden. (Cubby was just so manly with power tools :-).) Kari was pulling one of her cat-nap days where she only wanted to nap for 40 mins at a time--I think she's afraid she's missing out on something! So, I pulled her favorite toy outside and let her play out there. Emily and Christian both took turns talking to her as well and we were able to weed out our flower bed before she decided she'd had enough and threw a royal tantrum that could only be calmed by Daddy!

YMCA Picnic

This past Tuesday we attended Emily's school picnic. It was held at the high school and there were activities galore for all of the kids: pony rides, a train (that went around the parking lot), bouncy houses, face painting, bubbles, balloon animals, etc.... It was soooo windy and so Kari and I spent most of the time inside, but Emily and Christian didn't mind and were so busy they didn't even want dinner! (We ended up getting McD's when it ended at 7:00.) Here are just a few pictures from the evening!

Got Worms?

Christian has been sooooo into digging for worms lately! He is just sucha' boy and doesn't hesitate to pick them up to put them into his bucket. He likes to think he's putting them together as a "family"!

Spring Break, The Zoo and A Mommy Moment

So, it all started about 3-4 weeks ago when I decided that since Kari was sleeping well, I had enough energy to start trying to take off the rest of my "baby weight." I began exercising more regularly, watching what I was eating (bascially cutting down on the cookies!), and even starting to train for a upcoming 5k.

It was a Tuesday evening and I'd just gotten home from running, when Kari decides to begin a growth spurt. My milk supply was almost gone and she would not take a bottle! So began a cycle of nursing every 2-3 hrs around the clock for a week. NOT a very fun schedule to return to! My milk supply finally catches up in time for Spring Break...but I'm so worn down from the week before that I ended up coming down with strep throat! It hit me pretty hard and I was out of it from Sunday-Wednesday. Thankfully, my mom was also on spring break and was able to come over and take care of everyone. Cubby even had to stay home one day so that my mom could take care of Kari and me and he could take care of Christian and Emily. NOT the way I'd intended on spending the week, but I guess if I had to get sick, that was the time to do it. In anycase, my mom was able to have some fun with the kiddos while she was here (she's making green pancakes with Christian in the picture above). She also got to spend a lot of time with Kari and see her happy, giggly and cooing (rather than grumpy and tired in the evening!).

I finally did make a full recovery (thank goodness for anti-biotics!) and we were able to make it to the zoo this past Monday (the last day of break). It was Kari's first time at the zoo--she was just thrilled, as you can see below. Emily and Christian had a fun time though and Christian even got to touch a snake! He was sooo excited! (He loves snakes and turtles :-) .) So, even though the break started out tough, it ended on a good note!

Finally, I had to record a "Mommy Moment" from today. Kari hates her carseat--and I mean HATES IT. But, we have to go out sometime and so we went out to a local crafts store that I've needed to get some things at for quite a while now. I brought our double stroller in (b/c the carts they have are terrible) and make sure Kari was fed, changed, burped, and generally happy before making the trip. Well, it didn't last long. She started screaming when I put her sweater on and continued to do so while we were shopping. I finally took her out b/c I know the other shoppers are thinking "why won't she comfort her baby??!" That pacified her, but only momentarily as she then proceeded to mess herself b/c she was so upset. In the meantime, I'm trying to find what we needed, and I start to smell something else...or should I say, someone else. Christian had also made a mess in his diaper. (And just after he'd gone on the potty earlier!) So, I've got a crying baby and two poopy diapers in the middle of the craft store, where the bathrooms are far away and NOT ones that I'd be comfortable changing a diaper in (I don't even think they have a changing table!) Ugh. But, instead of crying out "Why hast Thou forsaken me?!" I start to laugh and just make my way out as quickly as possible and make an extra stop at home for changes before having to go pick up Emily from preschool. Kari still continued to sob until we got Emily and then she was so exhausted, she fell asleep and has been sleeping ever since. Ah, motherhood!

Easter 2010

Easter was really nice. I enjoy it b/c it's not as hyped-up by the media as Christmas tends to become. The focus is still on the Savior and His resurrection. The rebirth of all things as a part of spring also make it special. We do enjoy having the Easter Bunny come and visit, but we keep it pretty simple. Emily and Christian enjoyed hunting for their eggs--Christian LOVED all of the candy and chocolate. He amazed us all with his new talent: stuffing an entire Cadbury egg into his mouth at once!

We got all dressed up for church--aren't the kiddos cute? I'm pretty proud of Emily's hair, myself! Christian was pleased that his hair is now long enough to do his "spikes."

We drove out to my grandma's house for Easter dinner. As usual, it was delicious and we all had a nice time visiting and watching some old home movies of my mom when she was little! Kari spent her afternoon smiling at her daddy and everyone enjoyed her cuteness!
Auntie Erin and her boyfriend, Jeff, were FANTASTIC in that they played with the kids and took them on a nature and exploration hike at my grandma's house. Emily and Christian were in seventh heaven! Thanks, guys!

We hope you and your families all had a Happy Easter!

April Showers...

Brings us flowers! Yes, our daffodils are beginning to bloom. Spring is officially here and after our LOOOOONNNGGG (and COLD) winter, we are so happy!

Today is Good Friday and so Cubby got the day off. (It really was a good Friday!) It started out with a few showers, but then the clouds lifted and the sun came out! What a GORGEOUS day it turned out to be! Hurray for spring!