Happy Birthday Isaac!

Jake and Stevie had a great time at Isaac's 5th birthday party last week. It was held at Backyard Adventures in Draper. Great place... Thanks for inviting us. Happy Birthday!

Scarecrow Festival

Crazy times at the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. Blow up slides...it will be a while before I want to see one again :-) I need to figure out that I can't do everything I used to do before Kelly arrived. I can say it was a good learning experience. The highlight was the "giant" the kids saw...aka Shawn Bradley. I think he is 7 ft 4 inches and a local Utah celebrity.

Friendships

I recently read this quote and I loved it!

"With clothes the new are the best, with friends the old are the best."

I spent some time last weekend with some very close friends, eating, shopping, watching a movie, and just talking laughing talking. Most of my closest friends are ones that I have known since elementary or middle school. It feels good to have friends who know so much of my history and my family and who I have shared so many experiences with. I feel blessed to have kept close to them. I love that we all bring different things to the table and we can learn from each other. Having girlfriends that are going through the same things as me on a daily basis helps me get through it all. Thank you for being there for me.

I thought quite a bit about friendship (friends & family) that weekend. I’m always trying to organize time to get together. Personal goal...one thing that I need to do better at is to just see a need with a friend or family member and try to help. I’m really good about scheduling dinner and other activities, but I’m going to try to do better at the other part.

A Smile is Worth a Thousand Words

Kelly smiled! That is one of my favorite parts of the newborn stage...working so hard to get a smile. We have seen a few in the last few days. She smiled at Jake today and he was so excited...I think it made his day.

Another Attempt

If you have read Katrina’s blog, you saw that the last time we went to Discovery Gateway (the children’s museum in SLC) it was somewhat of a disaster. And it didn’t end at the museum either. Stevie actually pushed Jake down the stairs and locked us out of the house when we got home. Wow. It was one of those experiences that I didn’t want to document in my blog because I didn’t want to relive it. (And blogs are supposed to be all positive...right? Ha ha). But I’m just thankful that Katrina was there with me. Thank you for all of the help.

Anyway…Jenna called and really wanted us to go with her and her little ones – Stella & Drew. I spent some time contemplating it and decided to attempt it again and try to minimize the issues by planning ahead and being prepared. In this case, that meant tennis shoes (so I could chase Stevie), the front-carrier (so Kelly wouldn’t cry as much), and a pep talk in the car discussing consequences for both Jake and Stevie if they didn’t follow Mommy’s Rules. We ended up having a good time and no major issues or runaway children. Who really knows if it was the planning or just a fluke. That was the first time for Jenna and her kids to Discovery Gateway and hopefully there will be many more. I am a big fan! www.discoverygateway.org

Jake's Favorite - The Tractor

Stevie's Favorite - Shopping at the Grocery Store

Stella's Favorite - Playing in "The Bird House"

Success! (at least for one night)

Yesterday we did the big switch - Stevie moved into her new room and Kelly moved into the nursery - Stevie's old room. The biggest concern was how Stevie would do in bed and staying in her room. Success! She napped there yesterday and slept there all night without getting out of the bed. One cry out at 7 a.m. this morning, but then she went back to sleep. Now she and Jake have adjoining walls. I didn't even think that this might be a problem, but it was comical to hear them banter last night before they finally went to sleep.



Kelly also slept great and Steve and I had our first "middle-of-the-night panic" with Kelly wondering if she was alive because it was 5 a.m. Peacefully sleeping, but she started crying soon after...ready to eat. I know we can't expect the same success tonight, but 5 hours of straight sleep does wonders for sure...wonderful! I can probably live on that for another week :-)

GranDaddy & GranJackie Visit

Steve Sr. and Jackie visited us last weekend. It is always good to catch up with them and see the kids interact with them. Both Stevie Kate & Jake were very excited to see them and warmed up immediately. GranJackie figured out how to soothe Kelly and how to motivate Jake & Stevie - puzzles & princesses. Zeke and Tippy also enjoyed the extra attention and games of fetch. Thanks guys!

The warm weekend coaxed us to the zoo as well. The highlight was the bears...they were very playful that day. We ended with the train ride - Kelly's first - but there will be many more to come I'm sure.

Kelly's Endearing Traits

The dimple on her right cheek...only visible at certain times. Jake and I have the same dimple.

The way she snorts when she cries really hard. I'm betting that this happens when she starts laughing really hard too.

The hair on the top of her head that stands straight up and then curls to the left. We can't get it to lay flat.