Our Fun Saturday

This past Saturday was a lot of fun. It started with the Mccormick Train Park in Scottsdale. I had heard about this great park where kids can go on train rides and carousel rides really cheap. I thought Sami would love it, so we invited our friends Suzanne and Julia and had the perfect spring outing. I really enjoyed being able to give Sami all the attention she wanted. She was a little tired, so she isn't her smiley self in these pictures. But I think she still had a good time.

Two things are funny about these pictures. First, isn't Sami cute with her sunglasses?! She leaves them on and loves not having to squint in the sun. Second, I barely fit on the carousel horse, but did that stop me? Obviously not. I got on with her because she was scared when she was on by herself. We actually had to get off before the ride even started because Sami was just too nervous (or maybe just got crowded out :) )

After the train park, we went to Jonathan's mom house for a bbq. It was delicious and fun. We loved seeing our friends/family: Trish, Jeremy, Sarah, Elizabeth and Andrew. Of course we had a blast until bedtime approached, then we had to jet. I took this picture of Janie on our way home and thought it was too cute not to post. Sami was in bedtime meltdown at this point of the day, so no picture of her. But we had a totally fun-filled day. I hope there lots more of these this summer.

Our St. Patricks Day

Our St. Patricks Day was really fun. Jonathan got to come home early (yay!) and we invited Grandma Olsen over for corned beef and cabbage. She brought Sami a little gift bag with green beads (her favorite) and some green candy and green jello. Needless to say, she was thrilled. And for dinner, we had the traditional corned beef and cabbage, with green Sprite, green jello, green salad, and homemade oreos with green frosting. Sami actually enjoyed the corned beef, which surprised us. Now that we have children, traditions are becoming more and more important to me, and I hope this happy St. Patty's day is a continuing tradition.

How Sami's chores came about

For some reason unknown to me, Sami became fascinated with her dirty diapers. And not just hers, Janie's too. She was always trying to grab them or touch them. When she would get a hold of them, she would often stick them in her mouth. I know what you're thinking. Because I thought the same thing. That's really gross. And my reaction was always consistent, usually a horrified look with something like "Yucky Sami, put that down," or "Give that to mommy right now!" At which point she usually ran with the dirty thing, giggling. In a moment of frustration, followed by a moment of inspiration, I knew what I needed to do. I needed to take the game out of it, and I needed to replace the negative behavior with an acceptable behavior that I could consistently reinforce. And the only acceptable thing to do with a dirty diaper is throw it away. It only took one time of showing Sami what I wanted her to do, and she has been doing it ever since, and loving it. Her first "chore" is to throw away both her and Janie's diapers. Here's how it works:

Now if Sami ever forgets to do her job, I won't remind her because I really prefer she doesn't touch the germy things. And it would save me a lot of hand washing. But for now, she loves her chores.

Blessing Day

Sunday was a wonderful day. Janie's blessing was beautiful. It was fun to have most of Jonathan's family there with us. Everyone was there except Gregg, and we hope to see him soon. After the blessing, everyone came over for sandwiches and cookies. Sami loved the chaos and ran around playing with everyone and everything. She slept very well that night. We are grateful for the gospel, which blesses every area of our lives.

Beautiful Babies

Janie- 9 weeks old. She's getting blessed on Sunday and her Grandpa Larry bought her this beautiful dress for the occasion.








And our Sami girl, 14 months old.

Another Valentines Day in the ER

Five years ago on Valentines Day, Jonathan proposed to me in the ER. It was thoughtful and romantic. This year we also spent Valentines Day in the ER, but it wasn't fun. Janie has RSV. It started with a runny nose, then a cough, and by Saturday she was having a hard time breathing. Jonathan took her to the emergency room at 1:30 pm and at 7 pm, they admitted her in the hospital. I am happy to say that she is now doing well and we got home this afternoon. Once again it broke my heart to see her small body on a big bed attached to monitors and oxygen. But I learned some really good things while I was in the hospital with her. First, Jonathan is ever the romantic. We took turns sitting with Janie and being home with Sami. Since we didn't spend much time together on Valentines day, he came in to the hospital the morning after and brought me perfume and a romantic card. Thanks J, I love you. Second, I am so grateful for family close by. Jonathan's mom, Trish, stayed with Sami for most of the time so J could go to work or I could take a nap when the other was at the hospital. Thanks Mom, we love you. Third, I am grateful for the health of my girls, something I have taken for granted with Sami. And lastly, I am grateful to be a stay-at-home mom. While in the hospital, I was amazed at how many kids were there without their parents. In fact, as I was leaving with Janie, I looked at the room next to ours, and a little girl was in a crib looking out her door. Her parents couldn't be there, so the nurses left the door open to her room so they could check on her easily and she could see out. I was so sad for that angelic little face peaking out of the crib bars. I am so grateful that I get to be there for our girls. This is a huge post, but I had a lot to say. Hopefully next Valentines Day is boring. :)

So this is how it works!

My mom has always said that two kids are easier than one because they play with each other and keep each other entertained. Yesterday I put Janie under the Leapfrog gym for the first time. Sami ran over and started pushing the buttons for her, making sure the music didn't stop. It only lasted for a minute, then Sami pulled out Janie's pacifier and put it in her mouth and then Janie started crying. But I got a glimpse of how these two will eventually play with each other. And one day soon, they will be having a blast together. I picture them having tea parties together with their dolls and playing dress up. Or maybe they'll climb trees and play in mud puddles. I am so grateful that they have each other.