Philadelphia Museum of Natural History

Today for preschool we went on a field trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Natural History. It was a little crazy trying to get out the door by 9am with all three kids & all our things, drive down in the traffic, find a place to park on the street and walk to the museum in the rain; but it all worked out well. I was found a great parking space and made it to the museum early.
It was such a fun trip. We met up with everyone at 9:45, explored the museum for a while, and met up again at 10:20 at the ‘Dinosaur Dig.’ That was definitely a hit for all the kids. They were given special goggles and tools to dig for the bones. We didn’t get to stay quite as long as we would have liked, apparently they run a tight schedule in that area, but we enjoyed the time. Caleb especially thought it was great to sit and chip away at the rock around the bones. (I especially loved the 'cool' kid sized goggles!) From there we went to the large dinosaur exhibit which is always fun. Jacob and Caleb really enjoy dinosaurs and are pretty good at knowing which ones are which. We’ve checked out books about dinosaurs from the library and have a nice collection of dinosaur toys thanks to grandma, so needles to say Jacob and Caleb both really enjoyed that section. Matthew did great the whole time just hanging out in his little hip hammock. Can I also say how much I love it! It’s so much nicer for an older baby than a front carrier. He ended up even falling asleep the last 30 minutes of our visit. After the dinosaurs, we were able to see lots of neat ancient artifacts, animals, insects and fish. One area was focused specifically on modern animals, and had some live turtles, fish, snakes, and rabbits that were fun to watch. They also had a section of a bee hive with real bees inside. It was cool to watch them work and try to find the queen bee.

I only wish we could have stayed longer; there were a few areas that we didn’t have time to see. Both Jacob and Caleb were pretty sad and didn’t want to leave. Unfortunately the time was about to expire on our meter, and Matthew was getting hungry too. I guess we’ll have to head back another day and maybe Jeff will even be able to join us.

I'm a Big Boy Now

I finally decided to put Matthew in our little highchair to feed him. He needed a little support around the sides to keep him upright, which I did with a blanket, but he's definitely ready. I loved to watch his expression as he looked around; just watching his face you could tell he was totally proud of himself. It was so funny. He still needs to work on being more steady, it was a bit of a trick to feed him before he would look down or around the room, but he's doing better and seems to enjoy the new view from the big boy high chair. He also loves to play with toys on the tray. It's so much fun to watch him.

Jacob Comment

I was reading scriptures with the boys the other night when we came to the versus in 3rd Nephi where Jesus is telling the people to "let your light so shine" and how we don't put a candle under a bushel, but on a candlestick.
After reading the scripture I said to Jacob, "Jacob if you had a candle, would you put it under a basket?" He replied with a big smile on his face, "No." Then I said to him, "Where would you put a candle?" Jacob replied happily, "On a Cake!"
I tried really hard not to laugh... and then we talked about the scripture.

Weekend Happenings

This morning we started our day off by a trip to the YMCA. We just recently got passes, and wanted to try it out together. We’ve been using our apartment’s gym for a while, but the problem is that they don’t open until 6am. Due to the fact that most mornings Jeff has to leave pretty early, it’s been a challenge for both of us to be able to work out, unless I went at night after dinner, which isn’t my favorite time. We figured it would be nice to have the option for both of us to go early in the morning; or that Jeff can go early in the morning and I can go a little later and take the boys with me.

In the afternoon we had an Easter Egg Hunt with a bunch of our friends, it was a lot of fun. Everyone met at the park and brought their Easter eggs and baskets, a few of the dads hid them, and then all the kids did the hunt. A few people brought treats to share, and we had a great afternoon visiting with everyone and letting our kids play at the park. I was especially grateful because the weather was supposed to be rainy & snowy. That’s all the weather report had said for the previous days and even that day; and would you know it? It was a beautiful, sunny, only slightly chilly day. The boys had a great time and we all enjoyed spending the afternoon with friends.

Caleb with his Prize

Showing off their loot!

Matthew all bundled up with Daddy

Picture of part of the group, don't necessarily love the backside shot of myself, but I didn't get any pictures with the other kids & families, so it was fun to see at least a few friends in this one.

That evening was the Relief Society Birthday celebration. I rode with a few friends and we had a great evening at the church enjoying great speakers, doing a service project, and enjoying the yummy refreshments in the company of wonderful sisters! Doesn’t get much better than that.

Happy Easter

Today was such a beautiful, warm, sunny day. You really couldn't have asked for a better Easter Sunday. We didn't have a visit from the Easter bunny, but we did have some sweet moments with our children. This morning as I was looking through the Ensign, Jacob and Caleb came and sat by me on the couch and we spent 25 minutes looking though the pictures and talking. Church was wonderful, I was especially happy to have the chance to substitute as the chorister in primary.
We enjoyed a nice dinner as a family, and afterwards we watched segments from 'The Testaments' about Jesus' life and appearance to the Nephites in America. I love to watch my boys when I know they're feeling the spirit. It was neat to watch, and then discuss things afterwards. I love Easter Sunday; I can't help but feel so grateful for Jesus Christ and his love for us.

Painting by Simon Dewey

It's That Time Again

Our brackets are in, our winnings have been decided, now let the Madness begin! This year Jeff and I still have our own challenge, complete with victory & consolation prizes. My 'victory' prize would include some nights of "girl" time involving shopping and/or scrapbooking; but our consolation prize is a dinner of choice complete with dessert prepared by the winning contestant; so pretty much it's a win-win situation where we both end up with something fun.
This year we're also doing a Stevens vs. Menssen challenge with Kimber's in-laws and other members of the Stevens family (no betting involved in this one...only bragging rights)It'll be interesting to see how things pan out this year, and the big question... will Ang prevail again? Go UCLA!

First Day of Spring

I love the first day of Spring...especially in Philly... because it means Free Rita's day! Today wasn't an ideal first day of spring, in all honesty it's pretty dang cold; not exactly the weather I was hoping for when getting a water ice, but it didn't stop us either.
Jacob had preschool this morning, so Caleb & Matthew and I ran errands; stopping at the post office and the store for some grocery shopping. Even though we've been here for 5 years, it never ceases to amaze me how people can completely clear the shelves of grocery stores. Today's case involved all the Easter candy, oh well. After the errands, we headed back to pick up Jacob.
Jacob was pretty excited for preschool today because they were having their class Easter Egg Hunt. It was so fun to watch them . They're at the age now where they know exactly what to do; they all pretty much bolted out the door and immediately started gathering the Easter eggs. Even though all the moms were trying to take pictures, I think everyone was grateful that the kids were quick because it was way too cold to stand out there for long.
After they finished, we packed up and headed home. And of course...stopped at Rita's on the way. Jacob picked out coconut cream, Caleb picked island fusion, and I went for the new '08 flavor- birthday cake, not too bad. Happy First Day of Spring!!

Matthew is 5 Months

5 Months old and still as bald & beautiful as ever!
-His hair is growing in more, getting thicker, but he still would be considered a "bald" baby.
- He absolutely loves his baths now. (I'm so glad he got over his 'extreme dislike' of baths from when he was a baby.) He gets so excited whenever he hears the water going. When he takes his baths he kicks his feet and moves his arms as fast as he can.
-He loves to be outside and will laugh and smile as soon as we walk out the door. He's definitely a "on the go" type of baby. He's happiest when he's being toted around whether it's to preschool, the store, or anywhere else we might be headed that day.
-He loves to talk and laugh. He especially loves it when Jacob and Caleb talk with him; he's quite the little chatterbox. He also loves to 'sing' and will often times sing himself to sleep.
-He loves to play with toys. His little rings are his favorite, especially hanging from his carseat.
- He has the cutest little boy voice; I'm glad he loves to sing & talk so I can hear it all the time. He even says, "da da, ma ma, ga, na na, etc." Of course he doesn't know what he's saying, but it sure is cute. Jacob told me that he was asking for a banana (na na).
-Lately he's been getting up every 2-3 hours at night. In all honesty, Matthew is probably my worst sleeper yet, but he'll usually do better than 2-3 hours. I'm hoping he'll start to improve. In the past 5 months I haven't slept more than a 4 hour stretch. I've forgotten what a nice 8 hour night feels like. Oh well...
-Still chewing on his hands and fingers, I know those little teeth are going to come through one of these days; but I'm enjoying his little toothless grin.
-Matthew is already going through many of his 3-6 month clothes, once again it's getting to be that time to pack away the clothes for bigger ones.
-Eating his solids like a champ! (most of the time)
-Matthew is 5 months and we're still loving him more and more everyday!

Tuesday the 18th

Today was one of those perfect days you just wish you could keep forever. It was a busy day as usual and a bit crazy too, but all in all such a great day.
Jacob had preschool and I was able to go during the last part to read a story. Matthew was great sitting in his carseat watching. After preschool my friend Angie and I went to the store together to get some Easter candy and cereal that was on sale. She also has two boys the same ages as Jacob and Caleb and is expecting her third boy in June. Needless to say we were an interesting site- two women with 5 almost 6 little boys who are acting like crazy men, in a grocery store buying cereal- which didn't work out exactly how we planned because they were out of some varieties so we were trying to find other boxes, get rainchecks, look for the Easter candy-which was also gone, found other candy on sale, tried to check out where the cashier gave each of our boys another huge bag of candy-those Valentine hearts, etc. At one point I was standing with all the boys myself and had a few people ask if they were all mine. Anyway it was completely crazy, but one of those fun memories that just makes you laugh.
When we got home, the day went great. Matthew took a couple good naps, the boys were surprisingly cooperative and played great together. I was able to accomplish a lot- getting the house cleaned, dinner made, and even had time to sit and read a bunch of stories with the boys. And even though Jeff didn't get home until after 8:30 (again) it was a great day.
These pictures weren't taken today, they were taken about a week ago when we went out to play on the open area by our apartment, enjoying one of the warmest days we'd had up to that point. I just forgot to add them. We played baseball, frisbee and ; another fun day.

Jacob vs The Couch..

...And unfortunately the couch came out victorious. Jacob & Caleb were both dancing in the living room. Jacob was showing me his "cool moves" when he experienced the all-too-common result of showing off.. he tripped...and that darn couch got in the way. I was just grateful he didn't bite all the way through his skin, that wouldn't have been a fun trip to the ER (Jeff's *other* office when he's on call). Luckily an ice pack did the trick, and a sucker served as anesthesia.
Caleb didn't mind too much, he got a sucker without the pain, and poor Matthew is trying to beg Caleb & Jacob for a taste; he's giving an excited little laugh and kicking his feet, doing his best to get the boys to notice him and take pity.
Hopefully Jacob's lip will go down quickly, at least we didn't have family pictures scheduled this weekend right? I do think his new crooked smile is cute in it's own little way though. Poor guy, he was sure tough.

Just Because

Saturday we had originally planned to go out and do some sightseeing with the boys... but unfortunately, Jeff had some clinic work to do that took longer than expected. One of his co-resident's father is an ophthalmologist and he set up the clinic in which they could practice doing some cataract surgeries on..get this..pig eyes. Apparently he had the eyes specially flown in from Texas and they spent the morning working on those. Ophthalmology residents don't get to do much surgery until their 3rd years, so this was a good opportunity. It just took longer than expected; Jeff didn't get home until about 2:00.
With the circumstances the way they were, we decided that since it was such a nice day, we'd just head down to the park near our house and go for a walk. Great choice. The weather was beautiful and I took the camera along to get some pictures. (I promise I haven't forgotten Alyssa, I'm working on the pictures :) Anyway, it was so much fun and the boys had a blast getting sticks, throwing things in the water, running along the path and just enjoying the outdoors. At the end we were ready to head home & pick up some pizza for dinner. We were also grateful not to have been one of the 15 cars that had parked along the road (because there wasn't enough parking spaces) as we saw a typical Philly cop writing tickets to all of them. But all in all it was a great afternoon. Here are some pictures of the afternoon...just because...

A Day at Home, Night on the Town

Today was a basic day at home. I got laundry done, the bathroom and kitchen cleaned, paid the bills, managed the budget, listed a few things on ebay, and did a few other projects. The boys entertained themselves in the morning with their train set and their most recent hobby: building one massive track from their bedroom through the living room, Matthew enjoyed watching them while he played on his tummy in the living room. It can still be crazy around here sometimes; there are times when all three kids are clamoring for attention, Matthew's hungry, the boys are hungry, I'm trying to finish something, Jacob wants something, the room is a mess, and I haven't even finished my breakfast yet. But as Matthew gets older and gets onto more of a schedule, I do feel like things are falling into place better. I'm grateful because I do so much better when I feel somewhat organized and in control. Anyway, the day wasn't exactly perfect, but it was fairly productive and fun.
Matthew also had his first experience in the jumper. He actually did pretty well and enjoyed it more than the other boys did at his age. I think he liked being able to stand up and move around a little (if you count turning circles as moving;) He played in it while we cleaned up the boys room. Jacob and Caleb thought it was pretty fun too and kept 'helping' Matthew swing and jump.
Friday night, Jeff and I had a date night. The boys enjoyed going to play with their friends, and Matthew tagged along with us as we set out to try out a new restaurant. Jeff had searched around for a while to find a good Brazilian restaurant, and finally settled on one called Picanha Brazilian Grill. It's funny here in Philly because some of the best restaurants can be in these old run down, not-so-nice-looking areas. This one was one of those places; not completely ghetto like some places we've been, just a little grungy from the outside, but it was a pretty good restaurant; and the price wasn't as bad as some other Brazilian restaurants. It ended up being 19.99 for all you can eat, or $6 a pound. Jeff went for the all you can eat, and I opted for the pay by pound. I think our total for the night was about $27, not bad considering we both had our fill of sirloin steak, pork loin, chicken, fresh fruit and other great foods. It was a lot of fun to be out, and Matthew was great the whole time as well. (Of course it didn't hurt that Jeff would give him an occasional taste of some of the fruit) Anyway, we had a great time and enjoyed the food, the music, and especially the company!

Old..and New Again

So there was this particular outfit of Matthew's that was my absolute favorite. My Mom gave it to me when he was born and it was an instant favorite. It was one of those outfits that was worn, washed right away and worn again. He probably wore it more than anything else and I was so sad when Matthew started to grow out of it. It was a 0-3 month outfit, so it didn't take too long before he was too big for it; and even then I tried to make it last as long as possible. You know those certain outfits that you associate with your child's baby-hood? I was so sad to put it away.
So.... when we went back for Kristie's wedding in February, my aunt Tami had a baby gift for Matthew. Imagine my surprise when I opened the present and found that same outfit! Only this one was the 6 month size!! I was so excited.
I guess Matthew is just destined to wear this outfit for another couple months or so before he grows out of it completely, it's already getting smaller. At least we'll enjoy it while we can. Who knows... maybe I'll be able to find the same outfit again in the 9 month size...

November 07
March 08

March 8th

Today is March 8th and we're done with our taxes, hooray! Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for our refund. Thanks Jeff for your hard work and thank you Turbo Tax!

Matthew Visits the Doctor

Yes we've been to the doctor's office a lot this week. Luckily it's been for the well child check-ups. Matthew got to see Dr Cohen on Thursday morning for his 4 month visit. This visit I only had Matthew and Caleb with me and we didn't have to wait very long.
Matthew weighed in at 15 lbs 11 oz (and that was just moments after completely filling another diaper...I won't complain, I'm glad it was before the weight in and not after...or during) and he was 25 1/2 inches tall. Pretty good sized little guy; about 80th percentiles.
He did great with his Dr's exam and was happy and smiling. It looks like he's right on track with development, and actually doing a few things early; he's already been making consonant sounds (na na, ma, da, etc-Jacob told me the other day that Matthew was asking for a banana because he was saying 'na na')
Then came the rough part, the 4 month old visit is rough because they get 5 immunizations. Luckily one is an oral one, but the other four are all shots- two in each leg. Poor little guy, he wasn't as brave as Jacob and I don't blame him. I always feel so bad when babies have to get shots, you're trying to hold their hands and arms and they just look at you and cry. It's almost like they're looking at you wondering why you're letting them be hurt. I was glad when it was over.
Afterwards we ran a couple errands & went to the library before we picked up Jacob from preschool, had lunch at home, and went to some friend's house to help her with some household things.
It's still crazy to think that Matthew is already 4 months old, he's sure growing up fast.

Jacob Visits The Doctor

This past week Jacob had his 4 year old checkup. I'm happy to say that it went really well. First of all, just having and entertaining three boys in the doctor's office can be a bit of a trick, but the boys all did pretty well.
It's kind of fun, Jacob has had Dr. Barbara Cohen since the time he was born. We had a different doctor for the time we were in Idaho, but Dr Cohen has pretty much been Jacob's doctor. We really enjoy her & can't say enough good about her. It's been fun that she's pretty much seen him grow up from the time he was a newborn; and now she sees Caleb & Matthew as well. Jeff's also come with me on enough occasions that she knows our entire family pretty well. I'm kind of glad my boys can have this experience because I never had the same doctor growing up. First of all, I wasn't at the doctor's office much as a child, and secondly we moved around a lot so I don't really have strong recollections of any particular doctor. It's been fun having Dr Cohen as our pediatrician; I love her personality and she does a great job.
Anyway, Jacob had his 4 year old visit and it went well. He had fun being measured and weighed. He weighed 43 1/2 pounds and was 43 inches tall. From the time he was a baby, Jacob has always been 95th percentile for height and 75th for weight, and it looks like he's keeping the trend. He did great with the eye exam, and enjoyed talking with the doctor about different things he likes to do.
The last part of the visit was the shots. We talked about it for a few days beforehand because I knew he was going to get shots and wanted him to be ready. I pretty much told him straight-out that he would get a couple shots and they would hurt a little bit, but not too much because he was such a tough boy. It worked great. I even overheard Jacob talking to Matthew the day before his Dr's visit; telling him how he was going to get shots but that it was okay because he was tough. I thought that was pretty cute. His preschool teacher also told me that he told everyone about his doctor's visit and shots too. Anyway, he got two shots and did a great job. He flinched a little, but didn't cry at all. Afterwards he was happy to pick out the bandaids and a couple stickers. We also went to the store where Jacob got to pick out some ice cream & ice cream cones as a special treat. I hope all our doctor's visits go this smoothly!

Preschooler Politics

Jeff and Jacob were talking about Cain and Abel the other day. Apparently it must have made somewhat of an impression for Jacob to remember. Later on that day when Caleb was being naughty Jacob said to Jeff, “Dad tell him about McCain.” (Hmm, wonder if he meant Cain or John…)

Finished Project

I've been wanting to do a project with some vinyl lettering in our home. I found this quote and thought it would be a fun one to put above the doorway in our kitchen. For me it's a good reminder to enjoy the little moments, as crazy as they may be; because they won't last forever!