Emily's Birthday

Emily turned for a four just over 2 weeks ago. We're having a hard time believing she's already four. Time has just flown by. We spent her birthday as a family. We had a picnic lunch at the park with Jeff then everyone at his work sang to her and we had yummy carrot cake from Kneaders (of course it happened to be the admissions coordinator birthday that day too, but I'm sure they would have still gotten a cake and sang just for Emily. :) )
Emily LOVES her dad and misses him everyday when he goes to work. It always makes her day to go visit him at work.

Jacob gave Emily his present after we had lunch - Emily got her first barbie.

We had a fancy dinner that night with the china. Emily got to choose what we ate and she chose pizza - with peppers and olives - and of course punch. Then we walked over and she got her a free icburg birthday shake - chocolate with marshmallows. That night we Jeff and I also gave her our present - a bike and helmet. Jeff and Emily have enjoyed several bike rides together. Their first time out Emily fell 3 times, but she's getting braver and starting to ride quite fast.

Again, we can't believe our little girl is already four years old. She is such a good helper and such a sweetheart. We sure enjoy her and are so grateful to have her in our family.

A Few More Joys

It's been busy and will only get worse the next few days. Emily started swimming lessons this week. She likes them and loves her teacher. Wahoo! I had preschool flash backs where I would have to drag her there and bribe her to stay.Emily and I also went to the library. I love how much she enjoys books. She'll spend hours at night 'reading' if we let her. I enjoyed freely looking for good books the other night and not having to worry about keeping Jacob quiet. I think I'm going to start attending the library when Jeff's home more often.

I also went on visits with my presidency the other night. It was so fun to just be in the car and talk about Brook giving turkey samples at the grocery store or Jenn's favorite iceburg shake. I am so grateful for the wonderful women I work with. I truly enjoy their friendships and will miss them all greatly when our time to serve together comes to an end (which will most likely be when we move).

I continue to be in love with Jacob. Emily has created a new game for when he's not eating very well. Instead of an airplane or train, we make animal sounds. The other morning as she was telling me which animals to do Jacob just wasn't responding very well until she requested a mouse. After my first "squeak, squeak" Jacob finally looked up at me and just started laughing. I loved it! As did Emily and she has of course been requesting a lot more "squeaks" since then. Jacob is also learning to grab the puffs off his tray and put them in his mouth. He's not usually very successful - at the letting go part - but he has done it a few times. I love the way his face lights up when I clap for him when he does do it. He also lights up in the morning when he sees Emily for the first time. He's usually up before she is so when I pull him out of his crib he immediatly looks over to Emily's bed and when he see's her he lunges toward her and just grins. I love how much those two love each other.

Jacob has also discovered a new toy while I'm changing his diaper. He immediatly grabs his feet and starts sucking on his toes. It's hilarious and just makes me laugh everytime.

The last enjoyment of the week that I will post is the mountains. When we were in OBX Emily kept asking where the mountains were. I think they're something I take for granted since I see them everyday. I love how majestic they are. And I also love how green they are right now. They remind me of the mountains I saw while in Alaska - although not quite as lush since they don't have glaciers at the bottom... and that's probably a good thing. I hope the greenness lasts for a while longer.

I'm So Glad When Daddy is Home

Happy Father's Day! Jeff got to sleep in this morning and then the kids and I woke him up with presents. We then layed in bed for 40 minutes and cuddled, laughed and played. I love mornings like that. And I love watching Jeff play with the kids. He's so good to pretend with Emily.

After breakfast we looked up Brad & Heather's and Lisa & Spencer's new houses on google earth. It was fun to at least get an idea of what their new lives are like. Then it was on to church. It was busy today. The primary kids made m&m bowties and then sang to all of the priesthood. Emily made sure Jeff got peanut - he quizzed her the night before on which ones were daddy's favorite. It was fun to see all of the men wearing the bowties in Sacrament Meeting - and I won't complain that we got out 15 minutes early.

The Bishopric in their bowties

We had dinner with my family today. I love it when it's warm weather so we can send the kids out back to eat. It's fun to be able to actually talk to my siblings while we eat. I love summer dinners - hamburgers and watermelon. Mmm.

After dinner we got Lisa and Spence online so they could see my dad open his father's day gifts. It was so nice to see them. It feels like forever since I have. They then took us on a tour of their house via a webcam. They sure are putting a lot of work into it. I sure wish I could go out and help Lisa get settled. Dang Southwest reward flight limits!

Party

I love weekends. We got to sleep in a bit today. Then after getting ready Emily and I went to Jackson's birthday party. It was the first time Gma Newman's waterslide was pulled out this year. The kids loved it and also enjoyed splashing around in the little pool. After a pinata and presents we sang and had a spiderman cake.

Later we ran errands and Jacob got to sit in the cart like a big boy. I can't believe how quickly he's growing up. After dinner went for a visit to Gma Holbrook's for a popsicle and then decided to take a drive up to Mike & Niki's new house. It was beautiful. We're so excited for them. We ended the night, as usual, checking on the kids. Both were laying sideways. It made me smile.

Popcorn

Today I changed sheets, emailed 5 different people about cubscouts, talked to a good friend that I haven't talked to in months - it was SO good to finally catch up Sara! - wrapped father's day and birthday presents, picked up the office, went to the park, and snuggled on the couch and ate popcorn with Jeff. Mmm, the last part was my favorite.

Whew!

The past 7 days I have:

finished cleaning out closets and organizing kids clothing
finally dusted my house and cleaned bathrooms
met with two brides for wedding flowers
scheduled appointments with two other brides
ran errands to 10 different stores
kissed jacob a million times
planned, prepared & conducted 3 primary meetings

read books with emily
prepared to throw a baby shower
bought emily's birthday presents
taken pictures of emily & jacob
posted on my ridiculously outdated blog
went on a date with jeff
made emily's birthday party invites and mailed
registered for swimming lessons
made cookies
made a note to sign up for soccer and ballet before the next session fills up
went to the grocery store 3 times
thought and pondered and prayed about who to call to numerous primary positions
planned jeff's birthday and party
dug through hiding place to find his birthday gift that I hid 2 months ago
posted on incredibly outdated flower blog
found birthday gift for mom
shopped for father's day gifts
found birthday present for nephew
found birthday present for niece
checked completely overspent budget - dang all those june birthdays!
washed, dried, folded and put away 8 loads of laundry
squeezed in reading of incredibly good book that I can't renew
went to lagoon
finished cleaning out the primary closet
talked to sisters and mom ... numerous times
talked to friend for the first time in months
smelled the rain

...

I have a tendancy to get caught up in my 'to do' lists and forget about the important things. There are brief times when I can put things aside and just enjoy the sweet moments. But the majority of the time I become overwhelmed with all I have to do and all that I'm not getting done and I get so frustrated and stressed that I just don't take the time to enjoy the good things. I decide to let Emily watch one more "Tigger and Pooh" so I can fold one more load of laundry or check my email. I don't think that makes me a horrible person. I just unfortunately miss the opportunity to play with Emily. And who knows how much longer she'll want to play with me.

A friend was just diagnosed with cancer. Hopefully treatable and not too life threatening. But still earth shattering. She says that her whole perspective on life has changed. I can see why. Her news has made me stop and realize how many of the good, small, sweet and simple things I take for granted and/or miss.

I want to start making a daily post on my joys for the day and in so doing I will be forced to stop and remember to smell the roses. Because if I'm held accountable here and know others will be 'checking up on me', then maybe I'll remember that sitting outside and eating popsicles with Emily is sometimes more important than running numbers for a flower quote.

6 Months

I can't believe my little guy is already 6 months old! Where has the time gone? He has been such a joy and so fun to get to know. I am so in love with his smile, his smell, his laugh, his slobbery kisses, his pouty face, his chubby legs and hands and his happy disposition. (As is evidenced below - one second crying, the next a big smile).

So, as predicted, Jacob learned to sit before rolling. On May 26th he sat for the first time (for a significant duration that is) and he's been doing it ever since. He LOVES to sit and definitely prefers it to laying down. Then 3 days after his sitting success he completed a stomach-to-back roll. He is now rolling back to front too, however that way is rare.

A few of my other recent loves for the month: Jacob is talking and laughing a lot more. He has noticed his tongue and likes to play with it and stick it out all the time. He plays with his feet all the time and seems to have to always be holding something - my finger, his toes, my hair, Emily's hair, a toy, his burp cloth, his sippy cup, his bib, his paci. He loves to wave his burp cloth around while taking his bottle. He is such a little social bug and adores kids and babies - especially Emily. He loves to grab faces and try to eat you. He still is enamored with Emily and just lights up when he sees her.

We all sure love our little man and I definitely can't get enough of him.

One Year Older & Wiser Too

Last Thursday was Jeff's birthday. I spent the morning getting kids ready, running to the store, and putting together chicken salad sandwiches. Then the kids and I met Jeff at work and we walked over to Wheeler Farm for a picnic lunch. It was great weather, great food, and even better company. We love seeing daddy during the day. It was fun to just relax and spend time together.

After we ate we gave Jeff his birthday presents - "The Blindside" DVD and Mario Party 8 for the Wii. Then Jeff played soccer with the kids and Jacob had his first experience with grass.

That night we got together with friends from our ward. We had pizza, homemade root beer, and pie from Marie Callenders. In order to accomodate everyone we had the party at my parents house. We jumped on the tramp and played Jeff's new Wii game on the big screen. It was fun to spend time with good friends and to celebrate Jeff. He is such a good husband and father. We're so lucky to have him. We love you Jeff!

Soon Is A Relative Term, Right?

We flew out to Norfolk, VA on May 13th. The kids were REALLY good on the flight. Jacob briefly fussed twice, but other than that was happy to look out the window, grab his sister's hair, eat, and sleep. I was pleasantly surprised at what a great flight it was and how much I was able to read. One downside was that we didn't get in till about 11pm and to our hotel till about midnight. The airline misplaced our stroller so Jeff stayed at the airport getting our rental car and getting the stroller issue worked out while Dave came and picked the kids and me up so I could get them to bed. Even with Dave's generosity, I don't think beds were prepped, jammies on, and kids asleep till 1am. It was one late night and we ALL passed out. Friday we were up and going early. We spent our first day driving to Williamsburg to go to Busch Gardens. Emily was very excited to see Ella and go on rides. Her enthusiasm quickly died after a couple hours though. It was HOT! Jacob drank an entire sippy cup full of water while we were there and we were all hot and sticky. After eating lunch in the shade and cooling down a bit, Emily was ready for round two and enjoyed a few more rides. We ended the day with a popsicle for Emily and a funnel cake - with ice cream - for Jeff and me.

Saturday morning we were up early once again to get ready for Brad's graduation from Eastern Virginia Medical School. I think we were all rushed to get there, however not quite as rushed as Stan & Melanie. Heidi was just learning to walk and they were so rushed they were just letting her play and she fell and hit her lip. Unfortunately they ended up missing the graduation and spent the next 5 hours in the ER getting stitches. I guess Heidi is officially a Holbrook now. I just hope Maggie and Jacob decide not to follow the other three girls examples. Congrats Brad!!!

After the graduation we ran errands and packed up to head down to Outer Banks, North Carolina. We were all so excited to get there and to spend a week relaxing on the beach. And the rainy weather made sure we got plenty of the relaxing part and but not the sunburned part. Fortunately there was an indoor pool, racquetball, and wallyball, not to mention the collection of games we all brought, to help fill the rainy hours.

All of the cousins had a blast together and loved every minute of the trip. They laughed, cried, built cushion forts, wouldn't share toys, threw fits, then shared toys, went on walks, splashed in the ocean, built sandcastles, read books, and giggled like crazy.

The sun did eventually come out and we spent the last three days playing in the sun.

Jacob LOVED his first experience with the ocean and the sand

Our last night at the beach house we grilled hamburgers, had smores, and birthday cake for Stan. I think we'd all agree that the week went by way too quickly and we could have used several more days at the beach and together. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Dave and Arline for planning and taking us all on such a wonderful trip. We enjoyed every minute and appreciate your generosity.

Coming Soon...

We had a very enjoyable trip to the beach. Details and plenty more pictures to come.