Thursday

Our day in pictures:

Coloring

Checking out the mud puddles

Jumping.  This resulted in a change of clothes.

Learning how to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

Crawling

Dressing up

Talking.  Always talking.

Emptying out the tupperware.  Again.

Not really thrilled that I interrupted her activity.

Super dad comes home and shows everyone who's boss.

New Life

I love spring.  And this has been an especially good spring.

On Sunday night we got a call that Landon's dad (who has been dealing with a bad heart for the last 13 years) was getting a new heart.  Landon hopped on a plane a half-hour later and was able to see his dad before the transplant and then got to sit with his mom and some sisters during the long surgery.  We are so grateful for the many miracles, generous people, and dedicated doctors that made everything possible.

As if that wasn't enough to get me into the spirit of Easter and the celebration of new life, the Children's Friend this month has an article laying out the last week of the Savior's life with corresponding scriptures to read with your kids.  Aiden, Annie, and I have been reading it together in the evenings.  I'm pretty sure they aren't getting a whole lot out of it, but I have loved it.  After days filled with easter eggs, bunny buns, and candy, reading about the Savior's life and the Atonement is a refreshing reminder of what is important and truly worth celebrating.

The Happiness Project

I don't read self-help books.  I'm certainly not against them, I just find them extremely boring.  So when my book club picked this book I got it from the library simply as a token.  I had no intention of actually reading it.  I thought I would just skim the chapter headings to get an idea of what it was all about.  And, truth is, I really enjoyed it. I read it (mostly) cover to cover-skipping a couple chapters that didn't apply to me (the chapter on working, etc,).  It was funny and helpful and didn't leave me feeling guilty or annoyed. 

It is kind of the idea of the book Eat, Pray,Love.  A woman spends a year trying to improve her happiness.  But unlike Eat, Pray, Love the author finds happiness within the structure of her actual life.  She recognizes that she has responsibilities and then finds happiness within, instead of outside of them.  No trips to faraway places in this book.  It just chronicles her desire to find happiness as a mother, wife, and individual.

It reads much more like a memoir instead of a self-help book which made the whole thing palatable.  But interwoven amongst her funny stories were reports on scientific studies and straightforward ideas to improve life satisfaction.  My favorite quote of the book, "I also stopped eating brown sugar out of the jar.  Gross, but something I did do quite frequently." I can certainly take advice from someone like that.

Let the Festivities Begin

As happens on all birthdays we had some hits and some misses on Annie's big day.

Hits:
pink frosting
pink streamers
pink My Little Pony (from Jim andChar)
pink legos
pink rainboots
pink scooter (from Roger and Sue)

Misses:
yellow kite

 

Biggest hit: burrito dinner with a collection of Landon's siblings (Thank you Evan, Tawna, Kory, and Krista) and my parents.  It is always nice to celebrate with family.

 And to finish off the big night, I made the most beautiful birthday cake ever.  TLC is thinking of signing me for a new reality baking show called "How to Bake a Tacky Cake".  It will be a hit. For the record,it tasted pretty good, minus the gummy butterflies.

And now we are spending the day decompressing.  Fortunately it is sunny outside and Annie has been cruising on her scooter all morning. 

Lucky Number Three!

Happy Birthday Annie-Mo!

Three awesome things about Anne:

1. She loves all things pink and purple.  

2. She has an incredible memory for names.  Example: The other day we were driving around and Aiden was talking about the "scary man" we saw at my dad's office on Halloween (he was in a scary costume).  Annie gently said, "don't worry Aiden, that was just Brian."  Sure enough, I called my dad and asked who that guy was, and he said Brian.  Annie hasn't met him or talked about him before or since, but somehow remembered his name. She knows the names of all the kids at Aiden's preschool, and their siblings and moms.  She also knows the names of every pet in our neighborhood.  She comes in handy sometimes.

3. She loves precipitation.  If it is snowing she will just walk around the yard for hours.  Eventually she will ask for a hat and gloves, but not always.  She also loves to stand directly under the leaking rain gutter and doesn't mind that she gets soaking wet. 

We love our Anne-Girl. 

Wrestling

I'm sorry to say that Norah lost.

I love Annie

Annie's favorite new activity is hiding.  Most of the time it is cute.  She hides every time Landon leaves in the morning so that he has to find her to give her a goodbye kiss.  It involves lots of stomping (from Landon) and squealing (mostly from Annie).

However, this week she decided to hide while we were at Old Navy.  Not cool.  After a few minutes of me and another nice lady yelling her name in the store (for the record, I don't usually yell in retail stores, it is amazing what a mom will do when her child is lost), we got the employees involved.  She was eventually found hiding behind a rack of clothes in the corner.  She thought it was a lovely activity.  I did not. 

After that adventure we went on a little walk to a river behind Old Navy.  The kids had a grand time throwing rocks, sticks, etc. into the river while I played with the camera on my phone.  After a few minutes Annie climbed up the bank and told me she needed to go potty.  In exasperation I muttered, "can't you just go potty outside?!".  She looked at me kind of funny and proceeded to go- even though I know full well she could have held it until we found a potty.  She didn't even attempt to remove her underwear. Just let it all out all over her feet.  And I have learned my lesson- I shouldn't make sarcastic comments to my kids.  They don't really get the subtlety.  Luckily, we had a new dress in the car that she was able to wear home.