A busy week

Makin' blondies - our favorite treat!

My budding artist - this piece she titled "Noah's Ark" - could have had something to do with this week's family home evening on animals:)

Sam ADORES his big sis.

and the winner is....

Asics! Boy, what drama trying to find a good pair of shoes, I'm on my third pair. With all the rubbing and blisters and loose heels, on and on....I've finally found them! The training for the 1/2 marathon has become a very slow crawl now...trying to heal - I also have an old platform shoe ankle injury that's rearing it's ugly head, boy I thought this would be a cinch, but it's not. I'll keep you posted.
Sam is so funny, he started to play a game where he follows me around and tries to bite my toes (Jared used to play the same game when we were first married JK!) when he gets to my foot I yell a little and he LAUGHS, he thinks he's so funny. He's also in an "unloading" stage - you name it he unloads it....as I LOAD the dishwasher, he UNLOADS it - he unloads the pantry, the bookshelves...I can't keep up! He's so efficient.
It was Jared's birthday on the 11th, I was surprised to realize it was his 36th - WOH! I gave him a hard time - maybe not super appropriate for those folks over 35 - sorry sweets:) We decorated the house, made him a cake and got a few gifts. Most excitingly we went on a DATE - a real one, where we got a babysitter and everything!!! We went to the movie...very exciting I know, but it felt GREAT! (though we talked about the kids the whole way there) Amelia gave Jared balloons for his birthday and made him some really nice pictures. She kept saying Happy Valentines Day and singing Happy Birthday to herself.
When I was little I remember my dad reading the "Clifford" books to us. He could barely make it through them because he was laughing SO hard. Tears streaming down his bright red face, choking through each page of Clifford's hilarious antics. I remember thinking, these books are just NOT that funny, but we would laugh, because Dad was so funny:) I had the same experience today with Amelia while reading "If you give a pig a party". That book is HILARIOUS...I'm telling you...I think it's the reading it to a child who is similar to the main character PLUS the illustrations...it's a good one for sure. BUT I found myself laughing hard, the tears were there - red-faced, the same choking out each phrase, Amelia looking at me with wonder, but laughing anyway - it probably just wasn't THAT funny, but...I am my father's daughter:)

A day in the life

We're SO glad when Daddy comes home!

It was just one of those days. Went to bed early, work up early - 5:30, exercised, ate well, read scriptures BEFORE everyone was up, got all my housework done, played hard with those babies, cooked great meals, even got a brief nap...it was AWESOME! These days are so rare, something always comes up, but today....boy it felt great! Amelia insisted on being a bunny all day..very cute, she loves music...I'll have to get on teaching her soon. She is also learning to be such a big helper. She has several chores that she does, but really she helps me with all the housework. Tuesdays are "Floor" days at my house which means cleaning, shaking, scrubbing, vacuuming, all floors/rugs in the house - she was right with me the whole time, rag in hand...or stroller in hand (that's her pretend vacuum) and she just beams when we're all done. She also makes her bed in the morning and unloads the silverware from the dishwasher regularly, I've seen her really take pride in "HER jobs". She and Sam both enjoy a rousing game of "laundry locomotive", which is after we get laundry done, they both get rides in the laundry basket, which is fun for them, and a real workout for me, but a girl's gotta have fun:)

1/2 Marathon update - blisters are healing, I got new shoes, so NEW blisters are forming. Heidi and I did about 10 or 11 miles Saturday, this Saturday we'll be doing 13, just to truly feel prepared...it's only 3 weeks away!! Exciting!

Garden update - lot's of things sprouting peas, beans, lettuces....now we're just trying to nail down a plan for the rest of the yard. We haven't seen the yard in the summer...or spring for that matter, so it's hard to decide what to plant where...any suggestions?

Well, better prep for Sunday's sharing time - also open to suggestions!!

Throw another shrimp on the barby:)

Yeah, warm weather - although brief, sure lights up our weekend. We have a fun backyard in our new house, we may BBQ every night. Jared's the MAN when it comes to BBQ - steaks, ribs..you name it, he rocks as an outdoor chef!

It's official

...or I'm making it official. Sam has now said his first words. He says Mama and no no no. Ok, that's what it sounds like to me...to others it's more like Muh Muh and nah nah nah, but it's pretty much there. When I walk in the room he whispers in a deep little raspy voice "muh muh" and when I leave he YELLS the same...see, I think I've proven my case:)

Gratitude

Sometimes, when Amelia is really happy, not hyper, just happy...ie. we had a dinner she likes, Sam makes her laugh, or Dad brings home a "prize" for her, she'll spontaneously start to pray. When she does these "happy" prayers, she just thanks Heavenly Father...for everything. Today she did this. She said "Momma, this was a nummie dinner, thank you", then she thanked Heavenly Father for Sam, Dada, Sister Johnson, Keerie, Adam, Matt, on and on. It reminded me of when I was keeping a gratitude journal - it changed my perspective so much so, that I mark my life as changed after that point. I've decided that I'll follow my daughter's example, in a way, and start one here. Thanks Sissy for the reminder.

Genius Children

Well Amelia and I finally got our seeds started for our little garden. We don't want to dig up much of our yard, so the garden will be around the perimeter mostly. Amelia is very excited about it and checks the sprouts hourly:) Amelia is a very driven girl. She has recently taken it upon herself to teach Sam how to talk. Why just tonight on the drive home from the store she began a lesson... it went something like this...."Sam, say Old MacDonald...say it....Old.. Mac...Donald...Good boy Samboy (that's what she calls him)..." She cracks me up, she really loves her brother...often the way I used to show love to my brothers...they have the scars to prove it - don't ya boys;)

Our "Parents as Teachers" educator came over yesterday. If you don't know about this organization, they pair experienced parents with new parents and educate you about developmental milestones to look for or work toward with your children, inexpensive homemade toys for your child's age, and they also screen/test the children - in an informal way - to see how they're doing. I LOVE our visits. Mostly because my children are brilliant and it's wonderful to share my pride and wonderment with our educator Kristie:) Anyway, Amelia was doing genius work with the blocks our educator brought for Amelia to play with. I believe her comment was....I have never seen a child this young use so many blocks and explain her creation in such a detailed way....can you say prodigy:) - see the picture below I'm sure you'll be as impressed. Amelia is really a clever girl, she's coming our of her 2-year-old-ness and really getting to be super sweet and a lot of fun. She's curious and wants to learn, discover and create every day. I love being her momma. Jared and I like to do an impression of her that goes like this "You make me laugh all the time" - in a 2 year old's voice it sounds cuter, but she tells us that every day. Sam is getting more and more active every day. The other day he pulled himself right into the bathtub, with a big thud and bump on his head to prove it. He's very strong, he pulls himself up on everything and is super curious. But mostly he's happy, always giggling and smiling and exploring. I love this age with him. Our educator was impressed with Sam because by the age of 14 months they should understand at least 10 words, and he already understands and responds to at least 7 that we counted...I'm tellin ya ...these little smarties:)

As for my marathon update here goes - I'm doing a 1/2 marathon, and by "doing" I mean walking....I know that wows so many people, unlike my loving brother who remains unimpressed, not everyone can walk 13.1 miles ya know, including me, so it's taking some work, some "training" if you will. The training is 4-5 miles daily and a big walk on Saturdays. This Saturday my walking partner and I (shout out to Heidi:) will be walking 11 miles...oh boy! Hopefully my feet full of blisters and pain will be healed by then. (If you have any helpful tips on blistering feet, let me know)

Well that wraps up another happy day from beautiful Garden City.