Moo and other News

Zoe completed another successful year of COW Bus preschool. She was lucky to have a lot of her church friend in her class this year. She looked forward to spending time with Mrs. Natasha each week as well as time with Dallin, Shayla, Jenna, and Kysha, plus Chloe from the other ward. A ton of us LDS moms took advantage of this great program, as I think half of her afternoon classes were our kids too. Mrs. Natasha had better health luck this year and we are looking forward to participating in the summer program. It is strange to think that Zoe only has one more year before she enters Kindergarten. So, in the fall she'll have the chance to attend preschool two afternoons a week. This year Daddy was able to attend the end of the year party with us. He took the day off for a chiropractor appointment and to volunteer in Noah's classroom. Too bad the weather didn't cooperate, it was one cold, gloomy morning at the park. At least it didn't rain.

After Zoe's end of the year party we had lunch at Round Table Pizza with the Christensens. After lunch Zoe, Jack, and I headed into Reno with Jalyssa and her girls to do a little shopping. Dan had the pleasure of entertaining Erik and Noah.

This is what I found when I got home. The boys constructed a Zoo in my living room.

8 Months Old

He's growing up so fast. I can't believe it has already been 8 months since we welcomed this little guy into our family. Every day has been filled with new adventures and new adjustments. New laughter and a ton more love. I don't know how we got along without him.

He is a happy and busy guy. No new height or weight stats, that will come next month. He is still army crawling, he can get up on all fours, but finds the army crawl much more productive and a lot faster. He is very determined and doesn't let anything get in his way. He has gotten better about sitting up and has even started pulling himself up on all sorts of things. He has also started to experiment with his voice. I've nick named him my holler monkey. He lets out shrieks if he feels you are ignoring him by passing by him, or leaving the room. It is very hard to keep him contained to one spot these days.

I am happy to report that he finally likes his jumperoo. This is his new hobby while I am cooking or cleaning the kitchen. It is the only way I can protect him these days. Some days that doesn't even work - his siblings love to bug him.
He gets himself stuck very often these days. He is able to climb between the couches and tables, but hasn't learned how to turn corners.
Baby Jail. This is Zoe's solution to keeping him out of trouble. Jack thought it was funny, me not so much.
An example of climbing on things. Look how proud of himself he is.
He loves the vacuum. And all other electrical cords.
Trying out the big boy stroller. I've decided to take up walking with the two younger kids while Noah is at school.
Can't wait to see what this next month brings.

Friends

We are so blessed to have good friends in our lives. I volunteered to watch my friend's kids on her birthday while she got her hair done. It was the first time I have ever had a full, I mean full van of kids. We started the morning by dropping Noah off at school, then we dropped Zoe off at school, and picked up Kambrie. Kambrie, Jack, and I hung out at the house for a couple of hours and then it was time to do the afternoon pick up. First we picked up the girls from COW Bus and then we picked up the boys at Cottonwood. We probably weren't entirely legal for the short distance between Cottonwood and our house, but everyone was buckled in. Noah sat in the front passenger seat, in his booster as far back as possible, Jack had his normal car seat, Kambrie sat in Zoe's car seat, Zoe sat in the back in a booster, Kysha used the other booster, and Erik was belted in between them. It was a big adventure getting everyone buckled in. Then it was home for lunch and a quick craft. Got to love clearance Easter activities, the kids all made Candy Necklaces.

Here is a sneak peek at the process and results:

Noah
Erik
Kysha
Zoe and Kysha
It was a fun day.

Too Tired

Jack couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.

I guess this is what happens when Mommy ignores you a little too long in an attempt to get the kitchen cleaned up after dinner.

Mother's Day 2011

Happy Mother's Day to me!

Here is a look at my fabulous gift....
Take a closer look...
Yes, I really asked for a Gas BBQ.

This insures many wonderfully grilled meals throughout the summer with little effort on my part. So, it is a gift that keeps on giving. Can't wait to put it to good use.

Here are the happy gift givers.
I was also treated to a nice cooked breakfast before church and a nice nap after church. I milked the day for all it was worth.

Mother Daughter Fun

May's Relief Society Activity was a Spring Fling Mother/Daughter Style.

In honor of the upcoming holiday all about mothers we decided it would be fun to kick back and enjoy an evening with our daughters.

The evening included a dinner of Hawaiian haystacks followed by a pampering station, a quilting station, a cupcake decorating station, and a photo booth. We had such a huge turn out that we ran out of rice for the dinner. At least everyone, except the committee got a bite to eat. I ran around most of the night trying to keep everything stocked, so I didn't get to participate in everything. Luckily I have a few good friends who were willing to adopt my daughter for the evening.

Here are a few pictures I took of her enjoying our "girls" night.

Zoe with a mud mask....
Zoe and her friend Jenna.Zoe and her friend Kysha. Zoe ended up eating her cucumbers. Brya painting Zoe's nails.Letting them dry.Everyone seemed to really enjoy the evening. I can't wait to see the pictures from the photo booth.

All Night

Jackson managed to sleep in his crib all night.

This was a huge shock to me. I think I woke up every couple of hours to check on him, making sure he was still breathing. He went down around 10 pm and didn't wake up until 8 am. He probably would have slept even longer, but Zoe was a little too eager and couldn't stay out of his room.

I'm sure this was just a fluke, but wouldn't mind if this trend continues.