Happy Memorial Day

We spent the morning on our 2nd annual cemetery tour.  We were happy to see (and feel) that the weather had improved drastically from the cold and rainy weekend we had.  And it was much improved from last year’s on-and-off snow.

Grandma L. accompanied us on our tour this year.  We were glad to have her, though her ears (and psyche) are probably grateful to be in the peace and quiet of her own home now!

Daniel enjoyed a tour-length nap in his carseat.  Thus, he is absent from pictures – and I didn’t think I could Photoshop him in!

We began our tour at the gravesite for Jared’s grandparents and great-grandparents (as well as a few other extended family members).

Rachel and Caleb scurried from flower pot to flower pot, enjoying the smells of each new variety of plant.

They were all delighted to see a cute little chipmunk scurrying up and down trees (he was too fast for me to get any pictures).  The best moment of all was when the talented little critter successfully landed a death-defying jump from the limb of one tree to the branch of another. 

We next visited the grave of Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon.

The highlight for Caleb was…wait for it…the DRINKING FOUNTAIN!  Ya gotta watch out or it will hit ya right in the eye!

The wind really picked up, making the temperature a little chilly, so we didn’t stay long.

Our last stop of the day was to see the gravesite of James Willie, captain of the 4th Handcart Company of Mormon pioneers that crossed the plains in 1856.  We watched “17 Miracles” recently, so it was neat to be able to make a real-life connection with this man.

The kids spent several minutes exploring a headstone that was made to look like a pillow.

Snow-capped mountains around us.

We also saw Capt. Willie’s house as we were leaving.  That’s an old rickety handcart just behind the fence.

We’re so thankful for the many people who have gone before us and made it possible for us to have so many of the blessings we currently enjoy.  We’re thankful for the legacy they left us and the example they gave us.  We hope we can repay them as we try to emulate the lives they lived.

Daniel is Back!

Daniel had a rough couple of weeks with ears being infected and plugged and a sinus infection.  On-and-off fevers and constant drainage pretty much wiped him out.   It was a long couple of weeks, and so sad to see him laying around and barely able to even hold his head up. I was feeling pretty bad about wiping his nose 149 times a day. After a couple doses of antibiotics (and a major torture session from the ENT), his smile returned and his regular self re-emerged.   (The ENT said, “He’s done well aside from this hasn’t he?” Uh, no. I wouldn’t consider a once-a-month visit to the ENT for clogged tubes and infected ears “doing well.” )

How' ‘bout a round of applause for feeling better!!!

He is feeling so much better that he can actually sit up and play again!  This mom is so happy to see his smile and energy back.

Oh, hi Mom!!  Nice to see you without a kleenex in your hand!

Here’s to hoping we can stay out of the ENT’s office for longer than a month!

And Happy Memorial Day to all of you!

And the Award Goes To…

Emily is quite the accomplished sixth grader.  Her school had its awards ceremony on Friday.  Jared got to be the attending parent, as I was witnessing another round of “ENT tortures Daniel.”  But that’s another story.

Emily was recognized for her accomplishments in these areas:

• Honor Roll (all 4 quarters!)
• Young Writers & Artists Fest
• Citizenship
• Intramurals

I am so proud of this girl!

She is an awesome student, but even more than that, she is an outstanding girl.  She is so talented at so many things – most especially at being Emily!  She has a huge heart and a talent for being friends with everyone.  And, she makes a pretty good babysitter too.

We love you Emily!

A BEAR!

Josh progressed through the Cub Scout ranks to earn his bear (finally)!  He also earned a gold arrow point to go along with it.

Still a wolf…owwwwwww!!

And now a mighty bear…grrrrrrr!  Do I detect a hint of a smile??  (Black and white to hide the blurriness and our red eyes that Photoshop wouldn’t fix.)

Way to go my cute little Cub Scout!!

Hummingbird Don’t Fly Away

I mentioned previously that Daniel loves paper.  He will do just about ANYTHING for paper.  He will army crawl like a madman (we call it his moon crawl…sort of like the moon walk, but crawling, and with forward motion).  And he will flap his arms like a little hummingbird.  I worry that he really will take off one day!!

Enjoy!

A Race and a Finish

Josh ran the W. Mile yesterday.  First of two times for him in his school career.  He’s not a big fan of running, but he did it!

So proud of this boy (and all my kids) for sticking with it!

And now…for the final episode of the Daniel photo project.  This has been so much fun, and I think you’ll all get a kick out of the final picture in the series.  Take a look at that hair!!

I knew his hair was long, and desperately needing a cut…but I had no idea just how much it had grown lately!  And I love how chunky he’s looking.  He kept popping the snaps open when he would stretch out.

This was so much fun!  I only wish I would have seen the idea a little sooner, so I could have had a picture from every month.

And last but not least…just because I thought this one was so cute!  (I don’t think I can get a bad picture of this kid if I tried!)

12 Month Update – New Skills!

I know it’s Mother’s Day – Happy Mother’s Day!! – and I should be posting about being a mom, loving my mom and lots of gushy stuff like that.  But the only thing gushy today is my stuffy nose!  I have a head cold that feels like it’s as big as New Jersey and I can barely think straight.  I have been wanting to get this post up (I wrote it a few days ago) but have been hoping to grab some pictures.  It hasn’t happened, and Daniel will soon be 13 months old, so it’s going up tonight.

Stats from Daniel’s 12-month well check:

Weight: 17 lbs. 10 oz. (20th percentile)

Height: 27 inches (5th percentile)

Head:  (50th percentile)

The doc. was super impressed with how good he looked and with what he’s doing.  And alas – he agrees with me about the sleep apnea thing!  So perhaps I’m not THAT mom who thinks her kid has everything in the book, and of course she knows better than the doctor!  (But having sleep apnea sure is no consolation.  I’d rather be wrong.)

Daniel’s latest trick is getting himself into a sitting position!!  He gets up on all fours – like he’s going to take off crawling – and backs into it.  Perhaps a little unconventional, but it works and gets him where he wants to be.  He’s getting super close to four-point (hands and knees) crawling as well.

He can also pull himself to a kneel at the bottom step, and he cruises along the couch with a little support.  He loves to walk everywhere while holding onto our hands/fingers.  He’s going to just take off one day.

He eats.  And eats.  And eats.  He doesn’t know when to stop.  We recently discovered that he loves rhubarb crisp and is completely unfazed by the tartness.  He also loves the wood chips at the park.  And paper.

He loves to clap his hands and flap his arms like a little hummingbird when he gets excited.  Video will be coming soon.

He loves to have his hand rubbed up and down daddy’s whiskers.  Sometimes he rubs my face.  It’s not nearly as fun though.

He enjoys books, and I think he’s tired of the “baby” toys we have to keep him entertained.  He much prefers a pile of laundry, an open tote full of anything, a shoe, or itty-bitty paper scraps found in the darkest corners of the room he’s in. 

**As of last night, this is Daniel’s latest and greatest new trick:

He pulled himself to standing and then climbed onto the top of this plastic tote (about shin high on me)!!  And he did it over and over and over.  Perhaps my favorite Mother’s Day gift ever.

I also realized that he is waving Hi/Bye pretty accurately.  And he’s blowin’ raspberries like crazy.

Have a great week!

Random Pictures

It’s been a crazy crazy week, and amazingly we’ve only had ONE visit to a doctor!!  We finally got the ball rolling on getting our house on the market, so we’ve been work-work-working and not doing much of anything else!

Just thought I’d post some fun random shots from April.

The only person I know who falls asleep while eating!

 Two of my cute cuties.

Grandma love.

My lovely lovely girl.

Stuck in the crib slats.  Again.

The look.

Fun in a tote.

Warming up by the oxygen concentrator.