Shark!

My 4-year old is showing a real liking for art and crafts. Today she drew a picture of a shark. Here it is:

Pretty good shark, huh? It'll be the last bit of shark I end up seeing if I ever get too close to one!

Park day- March 18th

I took a bunch of cute pictures of Evie and Henry during our outing to the park back on March 18th. At 4 years old, Evie usually hams it up for the camera which results in not-so-cute pictures. But I actually got a good one of her while she was on the slide:
I think it is definitely one to print and frame! So CUTE!

My favorite one of Henry is on the slide, too, but this one is more of an action shot. Can you say, "HI-YA!"Yup, you guessed it...he is ALL boy. What a character. :)

6 months old- a couple weeks late

I am really behind on my blogging. There has been so much and yet not much going on. It is how my friends from college, Christian and Rob, would put it "Same sh*$, different day". The only thing that seems to change are my kids. Sometimes the changes are good. Like Julianna is now 6 months old...well, she was on March 20th. I said I am a little bit behind on my blogging! Sheesh! Here are a few cute pics of Julianna at 6 months:

Here she is blowing "raspberries" at me when we went to the park:
And here is her royal cuteness in the bath. This was the first bath she has taken when she sat up by herself and played with toys. It kinda helps to not have big sister and big brother in the bath with you!

5 month cuteness

The other day my baby turned 5 months old. I was totally on the ball and took her 5 month pictures on her actual 5 month-iversary. I totally dropped the ball, however, and failed to put any new pictures up on the blog. Well...at least I got it half right, and the other half is just a bit late! :)

Anyway, here is a picture of her royal 5 month cuteness:She's so funny. She loves playing with toys and with her sibs. She won't take a bottle for Daddy, but she WILL eat a whole jar of carrots for Daddy...but she won't eat solid food for Mamma or if Mamma is around. She chews on her binky just to hear it squeak. She has recently discovered her toes and wiggles and wiggles when she is tickled. She is 5 months old and her eyes are still blue. I wonder when her eyes will change color, if at all. She grabs my face and gives sweet baby kisses (translation: slobbers) that just make my heart melt. She blows raspberries and can talk over her sibs to make herself heard. All in all...she's just the cutest and we love her!

Happy birthday to me!

So, yesterday was my birthday. I love my birthday. I feel it to be my own personal holiday. And, since I decided several years ago that I will NEVER get old and that the "number" does not define me, I don't care that I am now 33 years old. I say, BRING IT ON!!!

My birthday didn't go at all the way I had planned it. Instead of doing something fun with my kids I had to clean the house. Instead of making my traditional Hawaiian Chicken for dinner, I went out for Brazilian barbeque with my hubby. I even had a grand scheme for my birthday cake. I had it all planned out in my head. I was going to make a sponge cake and then pipe a basketweave pattern on the cake with whipped cream. On top of the cake I was going to artfully mound glazed strawberries and then use chocolate covered strawberries to garnish around the base.

Well, by the time I had cleaned the house, taken care of the kids all morning and afternoon, made the sponge cake, the chocolate covered strawberries, glazed strawberries and whipped cream...I was way to tired to haul out even one piping bag or one little tip to do any sort of decorating. So, instead, my cake turned out looking like:
I know it is not nearly as artful as I had planned it out to be, or is it any sort of grand, decadent dessert like my friend, Sierra, is learning to make in culinary school...but boy! It was yummy! My absolute favorite dessert is strawberry shortcake, so this is my little spin on it. The sponge had orange zest in it which was yummy with the strawberries. The strawberries were glazed with vanilla sugar. And...there are very few things in this life better than chocolate covered strawberries.

So, happy birthday to me!

I love my big bay window!

So, today I took pictures of Julianna (mostly) because she is now 4 months old. Kind of trippy to realize that she is indeed 4 months old, but there it is...I can't change it. My kids were in a particularly restful/happy mood today, so I whipped out the camera a shot about 70 or so pictures. No big set up, just in my livingroom with daylight coming through my big bay window. I love my big bay window. I have used it several times before while photographing my kids, and let me tell you, it is fabulous! So much light comes streaming through that I don't have to use a flash! It is like we are outside taking pictures, but without the cold! I absolutely adore natural light and the fact that I can shoot pictures of my kids inside my house using natural light is a wonderful, wonderful thing!

Here are a few examples of what we accomplished today:

Aren't they cute? I love it!

Gratitude Journal

This year for Relief Society, we have been challenged to keep a "gratitude and service" journal. We made little notebooks and we are supposed to write in them everyday- 1 thing we are thankful for and 1 thing we did that was of service to others.

My journal is going to be simple...I have the simple pleasures and services of being a mostly stay at home mom. But, I thought I'd share with you my entry from yesterday:

1-9-08: I am thankful for a 4 year old daughter who in response to the question: "What does leg start with?" answered: "A foot".

It is always amazing and pretty much the cutest thing to see the world through the eyes of a four year old. I am starting to understand the Savior's direction to us to "become as little children"...only my little children could have ever gotten the lesson through my thick skull. And I am grateful for that!