my life is about to really change

  Neal is 3 days away from crawling and I'm not so sure im ready for it. 

silly faces

growing like a weed

Neal is making all kinds of progress that I need to update on! He has preferences and opinions and even some little quirks. Here they are..

laughs at peek a boo
rolls around the house and is completely mobile!
scoots forward by putting his bum high in the air and pushes with his feet as he smashes his face in the carpet (picture and inch worm)
favorite toy is measuring spoons
nurses 2x in the night
does not like to practice sitting up- he has a very strong back but no balance
splashes in the pool and kicks his legs getting both him and I soaked in the face
thinks Grace is the greatest
can get out of the stroller- caught him half way out today! scared me!
loves his blankie and chews on it before falling asleep
does not have a preference as to Mom or Dad
scream is identical to Grace's
holds his feet
studies his hands
pulls Grace's hair

He is still very easy going, taking naps wherever and whenever and eating in between. We just love this little guy so darn much. Cant get enough of his square little face and mini mouth!

-5 months old-

arm and hammer plug

These were my models today while the kids were napping, they performed great! They stayed in one place and didnt move a muscle while I took all the pictures I wanted. No talking back, buggers or blurred pictures.
Arm and Hammer should pay me for this advertisement, but I am honestly impressed with ALL of these products you see. The toothpaste leaves your mouth "sweater-less" (an old friend used to say), the deodorant lets me sweat and feel natural, the scrub free bleach saved me from even getting close to scrubbing my toilet bowl rings, and the detergent is "our scent". I have finally found it! I have searched and searched for just the right smell for us.

meet Bjørn

Last night Cari surprised Alec with a golden retriever puppy. They are so excited to have Bjørn (bear in Norwegian) in their little family, and we are so excited to share in the benefits of letting Grace "have a dog" without any of the clean up! She carries him wherever she wants and he doesnt even complain. They hide under couches, tables and trees together and even play in his kennel. Grace is so in love.

for the love

breakfast in manual focus

This is one of my favorites right now.
vanilla yogurt
target granola
&
blueberries

Happy Ruby Kaye Collette day!

Our sweet little niece Ruby arrived today after a "perfect" delivery into a perfect little family of now 5. Happy Birthday Ruby! We already love you so much and are feeling of your sweet spirit all the way from Chicago.

a special blessing outfit

Josh's Mom Lorna made this perfect little linen blessing outfit for Neal. I absolutely love how it turned out and it fit him to the T. She is so very talented and we love her so much!

I turned 24

Josh took me to KiKu for Sushi and boy did we eat! It was such a treat to have a nice dinner together to just chat and laugh and kiss.

(and wear matching shirts and for me to have frizzy hair.)

a happy Mother's Day

(This picture makes me laugh!)

Josh and I were talking tonight, over the delicious barbecued dinner he made for us, and he gave me some really sweet complements about me as a mother. He said that of all the things that I have ever committed myself to, he notices a common theme: Things that make me a great Mother. He talked about how dedicated I was to my job and Tricks and how that prepared me to be a mother. And it did, and I absolutely loved that job. He talked about a few other things and I just sat there beaming and blushing. I have a sweet husband

I also asked Grace what things she likes that I do for her and she said, "um the presents"
Then I asked her what she likes that I make for her and she said "Candy"
And last I asked her where she likes to go with me and she said "Costco"
Funny Girl! I hope these answers change by next year!


I am so grateful to be a Mother. I know that my Father in Heaven has put great trust in me to teach and care for these perfect little babies. I need to do better.

Jenilyn sent me some "pick me up" (what Josh calls anything inspirational or motivational) and I want to share it with you.




Happy Mothers Day to my Mom and Mom-in-Law. I love them both so much.

this is what I wake up to.

Neal is 4 months now and..

smiles at anyone who gives him one

rolls over from back to tummy

chews on anything he can find

loves his blankie

pulls Grace's hair whenever given the opportunity

doesn't cuddle Mom, only wants to face outward to see whats going on

notices Mom and fusses when she leaves the room

prefers to stand and doesn't like his bumbo chair

laughs when we say BOO or when we tickle his chest or neck

should be sleeping through the night instead of waking up to eat every 3 hours.

we are here in Chicago

(Grace showing Neal her new phone apps)

I forgot to mention that we are here in Chicago! been here about 3 weeks and are really enjoying the warm sunny weather and beautiful spring outside. Grace spends most of her days outside "looking for bugs and snakes", cuddling with Neal, and playing with Wes and Mae and reading and doing puzzles at the library. Although he cannot stand to spend more than a few minutes on his tummy, Neal spends all day trying to roll over, and then screams and cries until I roll him back over to his back. Josh works from about 10am until midnight EVERY night and is very focused on making this a really great year for us. It has been so fun to see him spend any free moments he has with Grace and Neal, they really adore him and both cry when he leaves for the day. Last night he spent some time downloading phone apps for Grace to help her learn how to spell, write, color and to memorize. She was so excited when he showed her her new games and is already getting better at some of these things! I have been pretty busy with our cars. Of all things to keep me busy I have to say that cars are my least favorite! When we got here we bought a van for Josh to drive for work, well along with it we bought a few problems as well. It has been to the shop three times and has 1 more apointment! Hope its the last for the van too. I have also been running in the mornings with the kids in the double stroller, planning out where and when we are going out to explore Chicago, playing with my camera, and trying to organize my computer. Lots of fun things!

That's what we are up to!

my baby boy

tonight Grace said the prayer all by herself

and this is what she said

Hefenly Fader, bless the food. Thank you for mommy, thank you for Daddy, thank you for mommy's ears. Thank you for my baby, mommy's shirt, and those spiders. Thank you for the other spiders. Please bless Jesus.

Amen

Today we got out and enjoyed some sunshine

and some flowers and dirt

Grace loves Neal

each morning when Grace wakes up she comes into our room and the first thing she asks is "wheres Neal!?" "I hear him!"
Or
when Neal is sad or hungry and it telling us so, Grace says things like "Its ok, Mommy is right here"
Or
"Its OK hampsome, Its OK"
Or
"you want Mommy's milk? hu?"
Or
"Mommy's gotcha, Mommy's gotcha"

Grace will make a great Mommy some day.

Easter 2010

When Grace went to story time at the library the teacher pointed to a HUGE purple bunny on the wall and asked what holiday we would be celebrating that weekend. Without hesitation Grace responded with "Jesus died". And I was hoping she would follow with "and he was resemected" but she didnt and that was OK with me, because I knew she had understood what we had been trying to teach her.

we are thinking about renting

our house for the summer to someone we know real well or to family. Or to a cute couple that we can trust. We would want someone here from may to the middle or end of august. Let me know if you know anyone who might be interested!
(I wont put pictures or info about the house here online but I can talk about that stuff through email)

Communal with Mom and Dad

My parents and Beth came out for Neal's blessing and we celebrated with a dinner at Communal. It was pretty good! All except for the 10 dirty looks from workers we really enjoyed the food and what a cool atmosphere they have created there.

Neal's Blessing Day