Catch-Up

 These pictures were from a very long time ago, but I had to post them.  Aunt Nat came for a visit, which we always love!

This is what I get when I tell Sammi I want to take a picture

And this is what I get when I tell Emerson I want to take a picture

When I told him to smile normally...

To look at the camera...

Finally!

 When the weather was being psycho we had a lot of inside days where we tried really hard to find fun things to do, and this idea came from my mom.  She used to use shaving cream on her students' desks so they could write their spelling words in the foam, and then she would wipe it off and it would clean the desks at the same time! Isn't she smart?

 It was a hit with these little fellas too.

Big Girl Bed

 Sammi has been a tricky sleeper.  She made up her mind when she was almost 2 that she no longer wanted to be in a crib and that she was going to be a stinker about naps.  We have been battling her about naps for the past year and have found that it is always a trade off that if she takes a nap, she will have a difficult time going to bed at a reasonable hour.  Not for lack of trying, though.  She just isn't tired and will repeatedly pop out of bed.  I am happy to report that things have magically gone much better since we bought her a twin bed.  That stinkin' toddler bed didn't do the trick for some reason.  She is sleeping much better and going to bed is much more pleasant for all of us.  I don't know if it's actually the bed or she just happens to be growing out of that particular phase, but either way I am grateful.

 

She pretty much thinks she's da bomb in her princess jammies and big girl bed.

Cavity

Poor Little E had been complaining about his mouth hurting for a few days and I thought he had just accidentally been biting his lip when he chewed.  I looked in his mouth way at the back after he had been complaining, and discovered that part of one of his molars had chipped away!  No wonder it hurt so bad.  We got him in to the dentist right away for a good cleaning, and unfortunately he had a cavity.  He was a champ while having it filled.  He didn't even know that he got a shot because the dentist was THAT good.  I, on the other hand, dissolved in a puddle of guilt that he had a cavity.  We have tried to be really vigilant about taking care of the kids' teeth, but I guess these things happen.  It made me feel better that the dentist said it probably only happened because part of the tooth was broken so it allowed the bacteria to grow in there.

Chitty

 Grandma and Grandpa J gave Emerson yet another special birthday surprise!  One of Emerson's favorite movies is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (I think because it is a vehicle with a personality) and it was playing at Hale Center Theatre.  Grandma treated us to tickets and it was very special because you had to be 5 to attend.  Grandpa was kind enough to tend Sammi since Emerson made it clear she is NOT 5 yet.

He loved every minute of the show and I think I had more fun watching his reactions to things than watching the actual show.

And at the end, we were able to snap a picture of him with his favorite flying car.  He carried the playbill around for the remainder of the day.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

The Big 5

Here are pictures from E's big 5th birthday.  He was SO excited and made Sammi cry several times when she insisted it was her birthday too and he just wouldn't give her an inch.  I finally talked him into letting her "help" because that's what he will want to do when it is her birthday.

He was a pretty lucky boy and got to have lunch at Brick Oven, go bowling, AND go couch shopping (not by his choice...).  I think he was one happy 5-year-old.

Poor little pink eyes

 

Hoping and hoping for Rescue Bots

Boulder!

Blades!

So excited to have the complete Rescue Bots team

Ready to open presents later that night with Grandma and Grandpa J.  He was so excited to get Cranky the Crane, some new trains, and a brand new unbroken Bumblebee Rescue Bot.

He wanted a red velvet cake that was somehow a Transformers cake, so this is the best we could do.  If you can't tell, it's the Autobots icon thing or whatever.  Don't worry, I'm not planning on being on a cake decorating show on the Food Network anytime soon.

 

Pleased with his ability to blow out that raging inferno.

Happy Birthday, Big E!  We love you to pieces.  And thank you to everyone who was so thoughtful to send him presents over the next few days.  It is always exciting to get mail, and even better when they are such great birthday presents!

Emerson's 5th Birthday

I cannot believe this handsome little man is 5 today.  I have to admit, this is not a picture from his actual birthday, because wouldn't you know it, he has pink eye in BOTH eyes. Grrr. He's been a good sport about it though once he got over his fear of the eye drops.

It is hard to describe how much we love this little guy! He has such a sweet personality.  He is tender-hearted, funny, imaginative, athletic, and just so himself.  He is very entertaining to talk to, and I love to eavesdrop on his play.  He likes to imagine he is different characters, and right now his favorites are Bumblebee, Lucky the Puppy, Wall-E, and Fix-It Felix.  He has been sleeping with his plastic hammer at night. When he was born, I never could've imagined I would be so entertained, so in love, and so challenged all at the same time by my precious little boy!

Here is Emerson's birthday interview:
My favorite food is: meat sandwich, spaghetti

My favorite sport to play is: soccer!

The best show is: Rescue Bots

The coolest person on earth is: Tucker

My favorite thing to learn about in school is: The number 5

The thing I do most awesomely is: Soccer, playing with Legos and having fun

If I could go anywhere in the world I'd go to: Disneyland or a train place to ride a train

My favorite color is: RED!

When I grow up, I want to be: a daddy

My favorite song is: Rescue Bots theme song

My favorite book is: Freight Train

Three words that describe me: buddy, fast, strong

When I was little, I used to: be baby E.  I liked to play in the sunshine.

My favorite season of the year is: Fall

The best thing about me is: I am good at having fun.

The snack I like best is: scrambled eggs

One food I dislike is: soup

My best friend is: Tucker

If I had one wish, it would be: Blades and Boulder (Rescue Bots)

My best memory is: Playing with others.  Riding Thunder Mountain Railroad

Happy Birthday, E!  We love you to pieces.

Easter Morning

 The Easter Bunny made it to our house.  The kids kept thinking they could hear him hopping around our house the day before, but he was able to do his job without getting caught.  Both pleasant and unpleasant surprises awaited us that morning, however.  Pink eye made its second appearance at our house in 3 weeks, but this time it infected Emerson.  The poor kid's eyes were extremely swollen by the end of the day and the green junk coming out was disgusting.  I sanitized everything and washed my hands like an OCD person.  I had sanitized everything when Sammi had it two weeks before, EXCEPT for the Lego Duplos they were playing with, and I suspect that was where E caught it from, because it had been a good week after Sammi had it.  Those toys had been put away during the whole week we were all healthy, and then we got them out the day before Easter.  Go figure.  The lesson I learned during all of this was that Clorox wipes are your best friend.

Anyway...onto the fun.

 

 Growing up, the Easter bunny always hid eggs in plain sight, and then he hid the baskets behind closed doors, or cabinets, or closets.  And the big rule is, if you see someone else's basket, you are not allowed to tell them.  You can always tell when one kid has found the other's basket though, because there is always a gasp, a giggle, and a refusal to make eye contact with that person.  Or, in the case of my kids, they just ran and told each other anyway. :)  Mom had to intervene and talk over them so the surprise wouldn't be ruined.

Please ignore the piles of laundry.

The goods

The Easter getups

I ended up having to get E ready for church even though we weren't planning to take him because Ben had to run into the hospital to check on one of his Labor & Delivery patients, and I had to be there to play the piano in Primary.  So we ended up taking him just to part of Sacrament meeting and then he went home with Ben.  I will admit I was glad to get the official Easter clothes picture, though.

Then we finished out a big day by going up to the Christensens' house for an awesome cousin Easter egg hunt, and then to a fabulous Easter dinner at the Johnsons' house.  It was a great day (despite the pink eye).

Egg Dyeing

 When I told the kids we would be dyeing eggs, Emerson got all teary and said he didn't want the eggs to die.  Not a good start. :)  I had to patiently explain that DYE-ing is another word for coloring, and the other kind of die is when something is dead.  Such a sensitive little guy.

We were lucky enough to have Dad home to dye eggs!  Yay!

 

Girly dropped this egg a few times, so we let her eat it.  She gobbled it right up!  You never can predict with my kids what they will like and what they will despise.  (Example: soup)

We only had a few egg casualties, and minimal dye spilling, so overall I would say it was a success!

St. Patrick's Day

 Those sneaky leprechauns visited us with a trail of magic to their pot of gold!  The kids were really excited and remembered from last year how the silly leprechauns turned our milk green.  Lucky for them, they did it this year too, and even turned our pancakes green, too!

After church, E and I went on a leprechaun hunt (per his request) while Sammi was playing in her room napping.  The hunt consisted of tiptoeing around and jumping around corners while shouting "ha!". Unfortunately, we didn't catch one this year.  Maybe next year.

For dinner, our sweet friends from Residency invited us over for a St. Patrick's Day extravaganza.  They went all out with green food, green play-dough for the kids, a treasure hunt, and green prizes for the winners of the games.  We all had a great time.

A Little Announcement...

  We let our families know with a Valentine a little earlier...

 But it's not official until it's been announced on the blog, right? 

We are expecting Baby #3!

I've been feeling pretty good.  I've been tired of course, but I've also had worse morning sickness than with any of my others.  I think we're past that now though, thankfully!  We are so excited, but it just seems so far away!

E keeps saying it's a baby brother, and he keeps telling me to ask Heavenly Father to make the baby a boy. Sammi is convinced it's a girl most of the time, but the other day she told my sister that it was a baby brother and we were going to name him Lizzie.  She also announced to her nursery class that her mommy has a baby in her tummy, so it's not staying a secret for much longer.

Joseph's Pink Mustang

Sammi has discovered all sorts of fun toys at Grandma & Grandpa J's house lately.  She found this pink Mustang Barbie car, but it got even better when she discovered Uncle Scott's old Robin Hood playset, and promptly assumed that because of the forest surrounding the treehouse village that it was the Sacred Grove.  Therefore, following said two-year-old's logic, that would ACTUALLY make Robin Hood...Joseph Smith.  So Joseph has been cruising around in his pink car, loving life.  If only Satan had tried tempting him with the pink Mustang, then maybe that whole true church thing never would've gotten off the ground.