Eva is 6 Months Old!!!

How can this be?????? Well Eva had her 6 month appointment and she is only a whoppin 14 lbs. She is not following her growth curve the way she should and so they want me to fatten her up with things like avacado, egg yolks, and other fattening foods. I have recently started oatmeal cereal, carrots and pears. She loves to eat and you can't get the spoon in her mouth fast enough. She is a MESS when you finish :)

She is rolling over, almost sitting up on her own, and reaches for anything and everything that is in my hands. Her FAVORITE show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. If she hears the music come on she will almost jump out of your arms to see the t.v. The other night she had an upset tummy and would not go back to sleep. I tried feeding her, walking her outside, cuddling her, but NOTHING was working. I had the idea of turning on our only recorded episode of Mickey Mouse and sure enough the second she heard the song she COMPLETELY stopped crying! She LOVES Mickey! We live in the right place!

Happy Birthday HUBBY!

Happy Birthday Matt! What a FUN day! Gavin, Eva and I went out to eat with Matt for lunch and while at lunch he decided he couldn't get himself to go back to work and so he called his Administrative Assistant and asked her to shut down his computer and lock it up! YES! I love when that happens :) So he and Gavin went fishing while I ran around and got the rest of his birthday surprises ready.

I surprised Matt and got him a Xoom...if you don't know what that is, it's like an ipad. I knew he would own one someday soon because he has been drooling over it since it came out, so I might as well get it for him rather then being mad at him for going and getting it for himself :) he he he. I did what I used to do to my brothers when we were younger, I used 3 boxes and then wrapped his present like 10 times :) At one point he thought it was a box to a Xoom or some kind of electronic but when he flipped it over it was the box to Emma's DS...ha ha ha. He was very excited when he finally got to the actual gift. He also got a Ray's t-shirt and a Steelers cup.

Then we had THE FUNNEST night!!! We went to Tampa for a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game! Talk about a fun night. Luke was in shock and bright eyed the whole game and filled us in on info on the different players. The stadium was HUGE. I never realized that the games we have watched on t.v. are INDOOR! Even though the Rays lost we still had a blast. We didn't get home until 2:00 a.m. and were EXHAUSTED! But it was worth it. I was impressed with Eva, she was such a trooper and lasted most of the game and then fell asleep on my lap. What a good baby.

I am so grateful for such an amazing husband who works so hard to support our family and give us the best life. He is so fun to be with and he is constantly making me laugh. I cherish all the fun memories we make. He always makes me feel like a princess! He makes me feel good about myself and the work I do around the house and with the kids. I love that he works so hard at his calling and loves the youth of our stake. He is so knowledgeable, he is my dictionary, encyclopedia, and google. I feel so secure with him by my side and am grateful for his friendship! Happy Birthday Matt!

I love this picture because this is how it is around here most of the time we are all crashing on our bed...he opened his presents right before leaving for work (please excuse the shirtless boys - it was in the morning and this is how they sleep)

Gotta love the cupcake dance

I had to stick one in of me and Matt to prove I was really there...I'm behind the camera most of the time :)

Our funny little house guest...

These last 2 days we had the pleasure of watching my friend Ginger's little girl Ellery...talk about a hoot! She is the funniest little child. She is Gavin's age and in his nursery class at church and also on his soccer team. In fact she scored a goal for the other team last week :) Here are a few of our favorite Ellery moments:

• She saw a pile of dirt out back and thought it was an ant hill. She was all worried over it even after we told her it was just dirt. She didn't believe us and so finally Luke walked out to where she was. He said "Watch" as he brushed his foot over the dirt and showed her that there were no ants coming out. She said "Oh that's just because you have stinky feet and they don't want to come out!"
• While at the dinner table we asked her what her family likes to do for fun....she said they like to hop around like bunnies. I asked if even her dad hops around and she said "No he just watches us like this" (as she pulls the funniest face of surprise and amazement)
• Gavin and Ellery were out back and Gavin came in for something. She was yelling at him from outside and finally came in with her hands on her hips in disgust and said "Gavin you left me ALL ALONE!"
• She could go cross-eyed like a PRO!
• She and Emma slept in the guest room (to which she then referred to as HER room). As they were going to sleep she didn't like the lights off. First I turned the hall light on...NOPE, then the bathroom light on...NOPE, finally she just wanted the lamp in the room on. She said "There now that's not so spooky"

In these pictures Gavin is trying to go cross-eyed :)

Happy Happy Birthday Lukey Dear!

My little boy is growing up! Since we already went out and partied for his birthday on Saturday we stayed home and partied! For breakfast he had our traditional blue pancakes that spell his name and then he was off to school. Then for his big gift Matt and I bought him a new basketball hoop. He loves to shoot around on the back porch with our little plastic one but it has been broken for a while now and every time he would shoot the dumb hoop would fall and he would have to fix it after each shot. So I went and bought him a new one. Monday is garbage day and so I threw out the old one while he was at school. But then it hit me that right as he comes home from school he always goes out and shoots. I wanted to wait for Matt for him to see the new basket! So I called Matt and he came home early. So right when Luke got home and went out he was surprised!

THEN Luke wanted to go fishing for his birthday. So we went to one of the ponds near our house and fished the rest of the night. Matt caught about 4 little fish and Luke begged him to bring one home to cook up. Well when we came home and cut it open there was hardly any meat on the little thing....so Luke had to settle for spaghetti. (thank goodness. Matt threw the fish in the trash and our garage has been stinking for days :) Then we had cake. What a fun birthday!

Luke is growing up so much. I am so proud of the wonderful student that he is, and it tickles me to see the love of reading and learning that he has. He is just like Matt and remembers facts so well. He is such a great friend to everyone and is always great to look out for his friends and make sure he doesn't leave them out. He is very responsible...he makes his own lunch everyday and is sure to clean up after himself. He rides his bike to school and is sure not to stop and play around but get right home so I don't have to worry. He is getting to the point in piano that he can practice on his own and is getting soooo good. He is respectful of adults and it's fun to see him carry on conversations and understand grown up humor. He loves sports and is always out practicing basketball or baseball with his friends in our back yard. I love the moments when he will just come up and put his arms around me and hug me or when he wants me to scratch his back at night as he is going to sleep. I love you Luke! Happy Birthday!

Happy Easter!

What a wonderful day! I LOVE Easter! It was so neat because we my friend that I visit teach, Maria DeRuyter, came to church with us. She is trying her hardest to make it back into activity and so it was an extra special Easter treat to have her with us. And the talks were wonderful. One lady bore testimony of the plan of salvation as she talked about her baby they lost when she was 8 1/2 months pregnant with him. How hard that must of been, I couldn't stop the tears as she told of how she held him in the hospital and he lay lifeless in her arms. But how wonderful that we have the gospel and know she will someday be with him again. I am so grateful for the Savior and for all that he did for us! Thank goodness for the Atonement because I feel it's affects daily as I repent of my daily short comings! I am grateful for his perfect example and most especially that because of his death and resurrection then I can be with my family FOREVER! I love my Savior.

The morning went so smoothly, the kids found their Easter baskets, then their eggs they colored and then they went out back and found more Easter eggs that the Easter bunny left! This is the FIRST year Emma didn't fall while finding eggs. She is usually running around like a crazy woman and it never fails that she falls and her eggs go flying. Always a highlight for Matt and I to watch :) But this year no falling...she says it was because she was in her pajamas and not her dress. So next year she will be back in her dress :) he he he.

We had a wonderful dinner and Emma did the cutest thing...she had made name cards and put them on the table and then she took some of the plastic eggs and wrote things about her family...for example

• I really really really love my family
• My family is cool
• I love playing games with my family
• I love playing spoons with my family
• My family is so so so so cool

She passed around the eggs and we each got to read things about our family. So cute!

Talk about flexible :) Matt was holding her so funny!

What a week! Etiquette, Easter Eggs and Luke's Party! Phew...we made it!

This week turned out to be a very busy, but very fun one. On top of our usual dance class, soccer practice, baseball practice, soccer game, piano lessons, YW activities, etc. we had our YM/YW Etiquette night AND the Ward Easter Potluck Brunch/Easter Egg hunt AND Luke's birthday party. YES it was a busy but fun week. I kind of have a big mouth and volunteered the YW to be in charge of the Ward party, not realizing it was the same week as our Etiquette night. So we decorated Wed. night, had Etiquette Thursday night and Easter Egg hunt Saturday. I think my counselors want to put a straight jacket on me when I go to Ward council so I won't volunteer us for anything else :)

The Etiquette night turned out beautiful. We decorated with silver and gold, had lights hanging above their heads, with fabric draped. We used the fancy plastic plates that look like china and the plastic utensils that look like silverware. To start the evening we had the YM draw a girls name out of the hat and then a table number (so we could mix up who they sat with). Once they drew the name they proceeded to the YW room to pick up who they were escorting and then they gave them their arm and walked them down the hall to the cultural hall and helped her into her seat. They had a dinner...which I usually pawn this duty off on someone else because the thought of cooking for that many makes me SCARED! But I DID IT!!!! And I think it turned out great. In fact almost every plate that came back to the kitchen didn't have anything left on it! We served Ceaser salad, bowtie pasta with alfredo sauce mixed with spaghetti sauce, grilled chicken (which I marinated in Italian dressing for 2 days...mmmmm....) and a roll. Then cheese cake for dessert. Talk about relief that it is done. I fretted over the food for days and then it turned out to be a piece of cake to grill the chicken.

Then after they ate my stellar, amazing, wonderful, Laurel President, Christina Padilla (who is sadly graduating...not sad she is graduating, in fact that is wonderful, just sad that she won't be around anymore ) anyway she put together a fun Jeapordy game with questions from the etiquette handbook that she had put together. The winning table won pretzel M&M's with a "Most Mannered Award" certificate on it. The kids seemed to get into the game and the table that won were cracking me up because they spoke with an English accent pretty much the whole night :)

After the game we went to the other side of the room for dancing. It was fun to watch the Beehives all nervous and excited at the same time :) I jumped in and taught them all the line dances that the bishop played (did I mention that we have connections, our bishop is the DJ at all the Stake dances and he is WONDERFUL!) So the kids had a great night and I was EXHAUSTED but pleased by the end. THANK goodness for the wonderful leaders I work with who were stuck in the kitchen serving, cleaning, and cooking. I love and appreciate them!

The Ward party was easy...you make something potluck and it is smooth sailing, no stress. Emma brought her little friend Breanne from down the street and they went early with me and put table cloths on the tables and helped me decorate our pavilion. We ate and then the Primary Presidency took all the kids into the gym to run around and play games and then the YM/YW hid all the eggs. The Sr. Primary kids' eggs were around the building and the Jr. Primary eggs were out in the field next to the pavilion. There was one kid who got stung by a wasp (twice), and Eva pooped on my friend Amy, but other then that there were no complaints!

Then we hurried home and got ready to go to Luke's birthday party. Well I don't know if you can call it a party....more like a birthday get together. Last year he had a party with TONS of kids and I decided that they can have that kind of a thing every other year. So Luke invited 2 friends, Carver and Nicholas, to go play laser tag at Hard Knocks. Matt's old friend from work, Joe Wheeler, actually started this company after he got laid off from Hewitt about 5 years ago. Now it is an AWESOME laser tag place and very popular with the kids. They had a great time. Then of course we can't celebrate a birthday without cake so we went to my favorite cupcake shop for dessert.

After we took Carver and Nicholas home we went to Fuji Sushi for dinner as a family. It is a fun restaurant with the Teppan grills where they make the food in front of you. The kids loved it. They got a kick out of the chef when he made a volcano out of the onions on the grill and made the flames rise, and then he made our rice in the shape of Mickey Mouse and made it look like it was talking and telling Luke Happy Birthday. We ate WAY too much :) What a fun day. Luke was so excited because he got an awesome watch from his Grandma and Grandpa Rose (he has been updating me with the time all day AND timed the guy who said the closing prayer in church), and he got Tampa Bay Rays baseball game tickets! We are going as a family on Friday! He was stoked about that. But I think his favorite gift was a little cheap nerf basketball hoop that you put over your door. He and Gavin are having some intense games in the playroom, complete with fouls, dunks, alley oops, foul shots, and 3 pointers. So yes it has been a wonderful week but I feel like a walking zombie :)

ETIQUETTE DINNER...

Emma was my little helper for the evening...she helped decorate, serve food, clear tables, and she even got to have fun and dance :)

WARD EASTER PARTY...

LUKE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY...