Lucy Update

 Lucy is walking everywhere. She is done with crawling.

She is teething again. I am will be so glad when all those teeth are in and I know she will be too.

She loves to play with her sisters. She is always trying to do what they do, which is why she can already climb up on my couch. 

She loves canned fruit the very best.

She amazes me constantly at how smart she is. When I tell the girls to go wash their hands, she rubs her hands together like she is washing her hands.

She leans her head in for kisses. 

She is determined. Very determined. If we can channel that determination, she is going to do amazing things.

She likes to try talking and she is really good at saying "hi" and waving her hand.

She loves playing peek-a-boo.

We think we are so lucky to have our Lucy girl. 

Preschool Graduation 2013

This past Thursday was preschool graduation for Sami and Janie.

Jonathan had to work a night shift in the ICU so he couldn't come and I got a sitter for Lucy so she could go to bed and I could enjoy the program. It was really nice to just enjoy their big moment and take tons of pictures. 

 We are all sad that preschool is over for the summer. It was only on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-10:30, but I got a lot done in those four hours every week! And I knew the girls were learning and having fun so it was a win-win situation. 

The girls were true to their personalities before and during the program. 

Janie gets nervous when she doesn't know for sure what is going on around her.

And Sami is our little social butterfly, always. 

Finally it was time to walk up and get their "diploma." (I was tempted to put in tons of pictures of all their songs, etc. but I realize that maybe you don't want to see all 94 pictures that I took that night. ☺)

And Sami and Janie would tell you the best part were the cookies after the program. 

I thought Mrs. Carole was a great teacher. She has done preschool for 25 years, and she only charges $60 a month per kid. I think that is SO reasonable. She is so good with the kids and they learn a lot. And I liked that she is LDS and all of the kids in the class were LDS too.  I will miss her. But maybe we will be back in Arizona for Lucy to go to her preschool. 

And now Sami will be going to kindergarten in the Fall. She is so excited and just thinking about makes me anxious. I will miss not having her around all day. I will miss not knowing what she is doing and who she is with. I realize that I will have to turn her over to Heavenly Father and good teachers. And although it stresses me out, I know it will be so good for her. She is academically ready, and I know she will love being around other kids best of all. I think my kids are growing up too fast.  

Tumbling Recital 2013

This past Friday was the girls' tumbling recital. It was so, so cute.

Sami was nervous before their song, which kinda surprised me because she wasn't nervous last year. I guess that means she is growing up, sniff, sniff.

We were lucky that Grandma Trish and Aunt Tami came. Boy, are going to miss them when we move! Jonathan made it too, which was a miracle because he was on late call in the ICU. But we were so blessed that he walked in right before it started. I am grateful that he has good friends in the program that were able to cover him.

So I have got to say that I am a horrible video-taker person. The picture is so wobbly and I almost didn't post this, but just in case you really want to see it, here it is. I love that the girls' personalities shine through so much during their number. Sami took the cartwheels and her part very seriously. She had been practicing and practicing at home. And Janie doesn't mind moving her hips at all. She does this all the time at home and it scares me how good she is at moving those hips. (And please ignore my cackling laugh, it makes me cringe every time I watch this, which is a lot because the girls' love watching themselves perform.)

First Steps

On Tuesday, Lucy took her first step, all my herself. Everyday she gets braver and takes a few more. Today in nursery, she took five steps. 

I think children really are so brave. When I watch Lucy, I admire her, because she knows she is going to fall, but she wants to do it anyway. 

 She loves her push walker and uses it every day. She has calluses on her knees from crawling. Let me just tell you, this little one gets around and does it very quickly, so once she is walking, I think she will be running.

 She loves the little girly things. She finds doll hairbrushes and brushes her hair. She takes out all her hair bows, looks at them, and then tries to put them back in herself. For that reason, she is rarely wearing bows.

 Her sisters love to tickle her. She is getting lots of teeth.

 Her favorite place is in the kitchen with me. Which is good and bad. I like seeing her and having her around me, but I am afraid I am going to trip on her and she is going to get burned or something awful like that. She loves the garbage and is constantly pulling garbage out and looking at it and shredding it. It's kinda gross. 

Our sweet friends, the Harris family, have been angels to our family during residency. They have sat by me and helped me every week in church. They save us seats by them. They bring over birthday presents and Christmas presents for the girls. They are like extra Grandparents. People in the ward have actually thought they were my parents, they help me that much! Last week they came over with cinnamon rolls and matching ASU Sundevil dresses for the girls. I am going to miss them so much when we move!

Released

Today I got released from the Primary Presidency.

I cried when Brother Barraza called to make an appointment to see me. I knew why he was calling.

I  loved this calling. I had never been in primary before and I learned so much. 

But Brother Barraza could tell I was sad about being released (even though I know I am moving in two months) so he said, "how about the nursery?" And I said "oh, yes, I love nursery!" I thought he was just saying I could hang out in nursery for the next two months, but today they actually called and sustained me over the pulpit! I am so happy! I have coveted the nursery calling for years now, and it's finally mine! He he he! 

And this week I videotaped Sami doing a singing show for me. It was so funny to me. I thought her accessories were hilarious, and she is using a toy blood pressure cuff for her microphone. She made up the song but I think she got the "rock star" part from Barney, because BJ sings about being a rock star (although I can assure you that is not a goal for our children!)  And half way through Janie starts choking on an apple and I start hitting her back. You can only hear it because Janie was sitting by me for the "show." 

This past week Jonathan and I spent four days in San Francisco by ourselves! 

Last December, Jonathan's program asked him to represent their residency in the Arizona ACP chapter contests. So Jonathan did a poster presentation and an oral presentation and took first place in both. So he got a free trip to the national convention in San Fran. Of course I wanted to go to, so my parents came to watch the girls and I got to support my hubby, take some time off, and just enjoy being together. It was so nice. It was also a little stressful for Jonathan to present again and to be judged again. It was pretty intense. But he got to leave the conference every afternoon and do whatever we wanted...nice. 

We went to San Francisco on our honeymoon, so it was fun to return. Although this time we stayed down town, so we didn't get a rental car. I didn't anticipate how much walking we would be too, didn't bring appropriate shoes, and got blisters. But I loved it anyway. 

Jonathan and I have great memories of San Fran because of our honeymoon. We had a somewhat different experience this time however, just because we couldn't explore as much and well, we have three kids and the stress of life, which we didn't have on our honeymoon. But this trip we decided we are good with San Francisco. We don't need to come back. It was nice to re-visit but it is not really a city that I love. 

 But I do LOVE the chocolates made there. Mmm...so good. 

 And I turned 34 this week. 

It seems crazy that I am this "old." I never felt like I would be in my mid-thirties, it's just not an age I ever thought about. But honestly, I love my life so it's totally cool. I do think I will struggle with birthdays in my forties. Just a hunch, but I think that's when I will feel old. Maybe because my mom struggled with aging the most when she was in her forties. (Sami tells me she wishes she was 34 and that I am so lucky to the oldest in the family ☺)

So what's up with the weird cake, you ask? When my parents were here, my mom wanted to have a little party for me. She and the girls planned it out and my mom made the most wonderful german chocolate cake. But we didn't eat all of it. So on my actual birthday, we finished the rest. 

 The girls think these pictures of me blowing out the candles are so funny.

And as always, J spoiled me on my birthday. Bought me roses. He took the day off and made me breakfast in bed, took care of all the housework all day and took care of all the kids. That's pretty amazing for a tired man who isn't home much. He gave me some gift cards and told me to go to the mall, after my two hour nap. It was ah-mazing! :) I also had friends and family come by and call. I went to lunch with Jonathan's mom and sister.  I felt loved and appreciated, which was really, really nice. 34 is going to be a great year for me-it has to be with a start like that! 

Conference and Janie

The more kids I have, the harder it is for me to concentrate on general conference. 

Good thing I can print them and watch them again. 

To their credit, Sami and Janie love conference. But I am not kidding myself here. They don't appreciate the spiritual feast. They love the snack-fest that happens around here. I figure we should make some positive associations with conference. So they get lots of snacks and treats. Some for every apostle. And some in between. And then Jonathan brought home donuts, chips, and suckers. Great. More junk. Oh, well. 

And Janie has been doing some really funny things lately and I want to remember them.

Everyday she picks a new name or title that she wants me to call her. Yesterday it was Courtney, the day before that Sophia, and the day before that Princess Jane. 

For a few days she insisted on calling us Mother and Father (only it sounded like Mudder) and insisted that I only call her Daughter. 

Sometimes when I tell her something, she says "ok, Mother, I understand," in such a cute voice it just melts me. She can wink. She tilts her head to be of maximum cuteness effect.

She is totally into skirts. She begs for tights, that I have to put on her. She loves dress up. She has insisted on pig tails every day.

 Last night Jonathan found her like this. She put my socks on her arms for gloves. 

I am so glad we have her in our family. The cuteness is overwhelming.