Big Girl Sami

I am so proud of my Sami Girl!

She is officially sleeping in her big girl bed-and loves it!

We have been telling her for awhile now that if she slept in her big girl bed, we would have a "big girl party." So we set Monday as the day to take down the crib, and I asked Grandma to come over on Tuesday morning for the party. Sami wanted cake, games, and presents. She's a girl who knows what a party is all about. ☺

On Monday afternoon, the crib came down. Sami said, "this bed is for babies, and I am not a baby." That's right. Oddly enough, Janie was the one freaking out, not Sami. I don't know what Janie was thinking that made her so upset. That night, we tucked Sami in, she asked for her baby bed once, and we told her it was for a baby, and she was fine. She slept all night, didn't fuss or get up. And she was so proud of herself in the morning and so were we! So we partied.

And she has been great ever since. She loves her big girl bed and loves to tell people how big she is.

I'm glad that there's one thing I can check off of my New Year's Reslotions. Now to finish potty training Janie...

The Phoenix Zoo

This week we went to the Phoenix zoo for the first time and it was a hit! Sami had a list of animals she wanted to see: a lion, a tiger, a baboon, and the monkeys. It was so fun to see the girls so excited. It was contagious. 

There were so many cool things to see, the girls had to get out of the stroller and run.

Janie loved this orangutan. It was such a special treat that he stayed by the glass so we could see him, and point at him, and take pictures of him.

The first ever camel ride for Jonathan and the girls!

We loved the lily pad.

And the carousel. We're big fans. 

After the lily pad, we wanted to go to the carousel, but there was a sign there that said the kids needed to be dry and sand free. So I started digging in the bag for the clothes while Sami just started stripping down. I turned around and she was naked in front of the carousel. I was laughing as I was trying to get her clothes on and she was like "what?" Oh, the innocence of children. 

I am thankful for the good memories made. 

Today is my sweetie's birthday. I made a list of 31 things I love about him, because we're celebrating his 31st birthday, but I will spare  you all the mushy stuff ☺. I will just say that I la-la-love being married to my best friend!! He knows me so well. He can tell by my text messages how I am feeling, he thinks my idiosyncrasies are cute, and he works so hard for us at home, at work, and at church. I am so blessed to have him for a husband.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

What's Up...

Chrissy-These past two weeks have been hard for me, on a personal level. I have struggled, but feel myself moving on, for which I am so grateful. I have issues, and I struggle with trying to be perfect and the resulting guilt and anxiety that is a result of falling short. My sweet and very patient husband and my wonderful mother have helped me so much as I have tried to gain a proper perspective. I love them. What would we do without our mothers?! Seriously...

Every year, I find myself loving my Savior even more. I have beeing re-reading "Believing Christ" and "Following Christ" by Stephen Robinson. These are great books and I highly recommend them.  I am so grateful for my Savior's love.

Jonathan-J is a very tired intern. These past few months have been exhausting for him and sometimes it seems like the light is just around the corner and other times it feels like it will never come. But he has a week off coming up and we are going to have fun!

Sami-Sami is in love with games! She loves all board games and thanks to yard sales, we have quite a few of them. I try to play a game with her at least once a day, although she would like me to play with her all day. She is growing up so fast. I am sad to say that the tattling stage is here. She often comes to me and says something like, "Mom, Sissy said no to me. Can you talk to her?" And I know Janie will start in soon, it's just a part of childhood. I remember tattling on my siblings even when we were teenagers! (Sorry about that, Rachel and Dave!) 

Janie-Janie is still struggling with potty training. She is on a Miralaax regime which makes it harder, poor thing. But she is talking so good, and still has her ferocious appetite. She is still a cuddle bug, and I love that.