Matthew finally got his first tooth today! I’ve been wondering when they were going to come through, he’s been teething for a while now. I’m going to miss his cute little gummy smile, but it’s fun to see the cute little teeth come through too!
Matthew playing with Daddy...one of his favorite past times!
We had another trip down to DC as part of our Memorial Weekend holiday. Originally we had planned to go camping with Kimber & Mike, but schedules didn't work out like we thought so we decided on a day trip. We met up at the temple again, and it was great to be there. Afterwards we headed downtown for a trip to the Washington DC Zoo. 
It was a perfect day, you couldn't have asked for better weather. The great thing about this zoo is that it's free. Of course they charge for parking, so we found on-street parking and walked in. It was definitely a popular day to be at the zoo; I couldn't believe how many people were there, but we still had fun. Jacob & Caleb absolutely love having Aunt Kimberly & Uncle Mike with them. 
Some of our favorite attractions were the panda bears, hippos, monkeys, and elephants. The best part though were the seals, we got there at just the right time and got to see a little show. 
It was fun and the boys loved it. More than anything we loved being able to spend some time with Kimber & Mike. It's great having family somewhat close and we're already looking forward to our next vacation with them! Hopefully sometime next month!
Tonight was Jacob's preschool graduation. All the kids have been excited about it for a while now; they’ve been working hard learning songs, memorizing parts, and tie-dying t-shirts. I think the only ones more excited than the kids have been the moms! It’s sad to see the preschool year come to an end, but for me it’s been so fun to see how they’ve grown and changed throughout the past 9 months.
We were fortunate this evening to have decent weather. The forecast predicted rain and cold all day. We had a BBQ with families from our apartment complex earlier that afternoon and it started to rain at one point, I think there must have been some divine intervention because the weather, although a bit cold, was perfect for the program that evening.
It was held at a nearby park with a fun gazebo for everyone to sit under. The kids all looked so cute in their t-shirts. They were all pretty excited and I loved how they would look around for their families and give them big smiles. I love to watch Jacob, he’ll look around for us, and then give a shy little smile. I loved watching him sing his songs and say his parts. I was impressed how well he remembered them all by himself with just a little practice.
Caleb and Matthew were pretty good throughout the program. Matthew started to get a little cold at the end, but was great once he had a blanket wrapped around him. 
Caleb was a crack-up. First of all, he ran right over with all the preschool kids and joined their little pre-program “Preschool!” cheer. It took some convincing to get him to come back and just watch with us. Secondly, there is a girl in Jacob’s preschool named Maelie, she’s a few months older than Jacob but Caleb is completely smitten. At the program, Caleb thought Jacob was cool, but kept saying, “Where’s Maelie?” and would try to find a place to watch where he could see her. At the end of the night he said, “That’s my Maelie.” He insisted on having a picture with her and brought her a flower-a white one he picked from the grass. It was so funny. He definitely has good taste though, she’s a darling little girl from a great family!
It was fun to see the end of the program where each child received their graduation cap, and had some fun facts to share. Jacob wants to be a doctor when he grows up and his favorite color was yellow.
It was fun to visit with all the other families after the program, and the kids loved having cookies and running around together at the park. It was also a time to say more goodbyes to good friends. Actually they still have a couple more days, graduation isn’t until Thursday, but you can’t help but be a little sad at all of these ‘end of the year’ events.
It was such a fun evening. I’m so proud of Jacob and all he’s done throughout the year. It’s probably going to be a little sad for him not to have preschool anymore (until September) but we’re going to do some fun things together this summer. And both Jacob and Caleb are excited for preschool next year.
This morning was playgroup. We went down to the nearby park for a walk and lunch with friends. The boys’ favorite part was throwing rocks into the water and playing in the puddles. My least favorite part was nearly getting attacked by overly aggressive ducks & geese that wanted our bread. I’m going to have to take a big stick with me next time! It was also fun to do a little BBQ with some fun families that live nearby us. Once again we’re reminded how fortunate we are to live next to so many great people. I wish I would have had my camera with me, but we were having too much fun enjoying the great company.
This morning for playgroup we went to the Smith playhouse again. We got lucky today and had absolutely beautiful weather and spent all of our time outside on the play equipment and slide. They boys really love all the different swings and rides. 
Today their favorite was the big tree slide. It’s a big old wooden slide that’s been formed around a tree. Each child takes up a gunny sack to slide down on. 
The outdoor playground is closed during the winter months so it’s been a little while since we’ve been out there to play. This was the first time that Caleb was able to go down by himself and he loved it! In fact, I walked up with him the first time to help him and show him what to do. I shouldn’t have even bothered; Caleb ran up way ahead of me and was straightening out his sack and going down before I even made it to him. He’s such a little dare devil with absolutely no fear-I loved watching his face.
Jacob loved the slide too and had fun running up and sliding down with friends. Matthew just enjoyed being outside. And I always love being able to visit with great friends.
At preschool, Jacob’s class has been observing caterpillars transform into butterflies. It’s been a pretty fun cycle to watch. We saw them from the time they were tiny caterpillars, to big fat caterpillars, to chrysalis’, and finally saw them coming out as butterflies. Today was the big day that they set the butterflies free. It was fun to see them come out and fly away. Some of the kids were even able to hold them before they flew away. It was fun for everyone. It was also class picture day and Miss Jamie, Jacob’s teacher, got a few fun shots of the group.
Today was Mother’s Day. It’s still amazing to me to think it’s my fifth one (if you count the one when I was expecting Jacob). I don’t know what it is, but I look forward to and even find myself getting excited for Mother’s Day more and more every year.
More than anything, for me Mother’s Day is a great reminder for me of how blessed I am to have such a wonderful husband and children. I really feel like I am the luckiest woman in the world.
This morning I got to sleep in until 
Phase two of the day, church, didn’t go quite as perfectly as the morning. Jeff got paged in to the hospital to see a couple patients so after staying for the sacrament he took off and I was on my own with the boys. Jacob sang with the primary, “Mother, I Love You” and did such a great job. It was his first time doing anything like that, and of course, my first time as a mother watching my child participate. I can understand now why mothers get so excited about the Primary Program. Unfortunately we didn’t make it through sacrament meeting. Matthew was starving and wouldn’t wait 20 minutes for the meeting to get over, so I had to march our little troop out into the hallway so Matthew could eat his baby food. I did get my nice little potted Mother’s Day flower though. During the 2nd and 3rd hours I spent my time between moving all our bags, carseat & books to my various classrooms, taking Caleb potty a few times, assisting Jacob with a couple ‘issues’, and trying to get Matthew to sleep. He’s usually such a good baby, but today he cried most of the time. So the church period of Mother’s day was, to say, less than ideal. Jeff didn’t get back to pick us up until
We headed home where we hurried and got dressed, cooked up some corn on the cob and put together an apple crisp before heading over to have dinner with some friends. We met up with the Newells and Sanders for a BBQ. It was a lot of fun, we had a good time visiting with the adults, the kids had a blast running around together and I was just grateful it didn’t rain. It was fun to be with friends.
We finally headed home around 9, put the kids to bed and called our moms. Even though some parts of the day were crazy, all in all it was a great mothers day. I had told Jeff that one of the things I wanted more than anything was just some pictures of me & the boys together. It doesn’t happen too often, especially when we’re dressed up. We ended up getting a few before church. It was also a good reminder of how difficult it is to get a good picture with everyone looking at the camera with a smile. We didn’t quite accomplish that feat, but we had at least one of each child looking at the camera with a decent look on their face.
I’m sure grateful to be a mother, it really is the best blessing I could ask for. I’m also grateful for my wonderful mothers, grandmothers and amazing women in my life.
This past week has been a very busy and very fun. I love this beautiful Spring weather, it’s so nice to be outside and there’s always lots to do.
Sunday after church we had some friends, the Ritters, over for dinner. Always a fun excuse to be with friends and enjoy the evening together.
Monday a good friend, Reina Barton, held a “Cinco De Mayo” party at her house. There were lots of people to celebrate with and the kids had a blast. They colored pictures, made musical instruments out of beans and danced to the Spanish music. Everyone brought some food and we had a yummy lunch of taco salad. My favorite part was definitely the yummy homemade salsa that Reina made. After lunch she even had a couple piñatas for the kids. They were great and Jacob only got hit in the face once! It was super sweet of Reina, and everyone had a great time.
Tuesday was preschool for Jacob. It was a pretty standard day, but I got a lot accomplished at home.
Wednesday was a pretty normal day, but that evening we had a picnic for everyone as one last get together before all the senior dental students leave. We met up at Miles Park for dinner and everyone brought dessert to share. The park was great because the kids could run around and play together and the adults could visit. I forgot my camera, but luckily a few others took some pictures. 
The night was great, but I do have to say that one of the highlights of the evening was after the picnic was over. Some of our friends just got a new(new for them) car and it happens to be a convertible. Debbie Palmer and I were walking with our families back to our cars when Kristen & Annette came driving around the parking lot in the convertible together. They called over to us to join them, so our husbands-being the sweet, thoughtful men that they are- told us to hop in. (3 of the 4 of us live in the same complex anyway) So the dads drove with the kids back and the four of us went for a drive in the convertible, top down, hair flying, music rocking….the whole bit. Sometimes it’s fun to have that little moment of “I-feel-like-a-teenager-again” freedom. We all have children and busy lives as mothers-we wouldn’t have it any other way, but it was fun to go for a little drive just us girls! Who knows…maybe we’ll plan a little
Thursday was preschool again for Jacob and errand day for the rest of us. I’ve been at the post office a lot lately. Jeff bought a big lot of Adidas tennis items off Ebay, 67 items to be exact- including shirts, tank tops, and skorts. It was actually a good investment, we’ve made back the money plus extra and I’ve gotten quite a few more workout/tennis clothes because of it.
Friday was a pretty rainy day and it was nice to just stay home. Jacob and Caleb got to play with some friends, Colin & Brannon during the afternoon. They had a blast playing hide-and-seek, playing with trains and cars, and just running around. At one point, it was so sweet, I caught Jacob and Colin sitting on the piano bench going through the children’s songbook singing primary songs. They sounded pretty good together! Anyway, they all had a good time. 
Friday night, after putting the boys to bed, Jeff and I were able to spend time reading together. We thought it would be fun to read the Chronicles of Narnia series together and picked up the set from the library last week. We’ve gotten about halfway through the first book so far and have really been enjoying it. Friday night I worked on some Mother’s day gifts while Jeff read outloud.
Saturday morning Robyn and I got in a 9 ½ mile run. I also had a friend, Amy, who’s trying to get her Step teacher’s certification, so I went to her Step class at 10. Jeff had to go to the hospital to see some patients that afternoon, so the boys and I did things around the house. That night Jeff and I did a popcorn and movie night.
This week has also been busy because I finally decided to go move forward full force with the potty training with Caleb. I figured it was time to just go with the underwear. The first couple days were a little rough, I think I washed about 10 pairs of underwear the first day alone. But I’m pleased that he’s been making great progress and he’s had a few days with only one accident. He’s done great even when running errands or sleeping through the night. I’m just hoping he’ll continue to do better each day. I’m proud of him, and ‘knock-on-wood’ he’s really been a pretty good little boy to potty train.
Matthew has been a mover right from the start. He rolled from his tummy to his back before he was even a week old. Now whenever I put him down on a blanket, it doesn’t take more than a couple minutes before he’s turned in the opposite direction or moved completely off his blanket and across the carpet a couple feet. The funny thing is that he hasn’t rolled from his back to his stomach. First of all, he’s a very happy content little guy and hasn’t really seemed all that interested in actually turning over all the way. He gets around fine with little scoots and turns, and is surprisingly talented at reaching things far away (unfortunately he especially has a knack for getting a hold of wrappers, packages, etc that the boys put on the floor and loves to play with them and chew on them…already??)
Well today Matthew decided that he was ready to turn over. We were all sitting together on the floor reading a book. Matthew was laying by us and all of a sudden he just rolled over from his back to his tummy like it was nothing. I guess he just didn’t want to turn over until now. I looked over at Jeff and sadly said, “I guess my baby’s a big boy now!” He just laughed. Even though Matthew’s been moving around well for a while, there’s something about when they’re sitting up and rolling around. It's quite apparent that Matthew is definitely going to be another busy little boy!
