Another Birthday

We finally finished up birthday season(one each month starting in December) in our household with my birthday on Wednesday. It was a definate improvement from my last birthday in which we all layed sick on the couch with strep throat. Danny and the girls made breakfast for me while I got to sleep in. Then while Danny was at work we had a pretty normal day with an added bonus of me being able to pull the Birthday Card in order to get the girls to behave("Can't you just stop fighting for Mommy on my birthday?"). Danny came home early from work and suprised me with these.
Then we enjoyed Dinner at a restaurant that we had never tried. The food was good, the atmosphere was kid friendly, and we scored by showing up on "kids night" so we paid hardly anything for the girls meals. Instead of a cake at home that we would just end up throwing away, I opted for dessert at the restaurant. We ordered a piece of chocolate cake and a piece of cheesecake. Both were delicious and way to big. I wished that we could have taken those leftovers home too. After dinner, we came home and I opened my presents. This is a picture of me and the girls just before opening presents.

I had a really nice birthday and enjoyed all of the birthday calls and cards that I recieved during the week. Thanks to all who remembered and made it a special day.

Sleepy Head

Ashley hasn't taken a regular nap for at least 6 months now. After a really busy morning, she tends to crash around 3 or 4, but that is usually only once a week or so. The other day, I pulled out a bag of Doritos for a snack for me and she came over to join me. I had to get up to start dinner not too long after that, so I put her in the chair (I know, I shouldn't let her have a snack so late, but sometimes it keeps her out from under me so that I can make dinner faster). After about 10 minutes, I realized that she had stopped talking to me (Ashley is always talking), so I turned around and looked at her and found this.

I'm pretty sure I laughed out loud when I saw her. Normally she falls asleep in her carseat or on the couch while watching TV. And although there have been a couple of times where she has fallen asleep in the middle of playing on the floor or just climbed into bed, she has never fallen asleep sitting up like this. I guess she was tired.

Our Little Family Getaway

A little over a month ago, Danny asked me if there was anything around here that I wanted to do before we move to Utah. I told him that I wanted to take one more trip to Nauvoo so that I could go here:
We chose a time, Monday-Tuesday of this week, and invited some friends to go along with us so that we wouldn't have to go to the temple by ourselves. Unfortunately, our friends weren't able to go, but we went anyways and Danny and I both enjoyed going to this amazingly unique temple. We stayed overnight in a little house owned by the same people that own the Hotel Nauvoo. The girls loved the getaway and the chance to stay in the "Hotowel House" as they call it. We took them to some of our favorite sites, let them enjoy the two different carriage rides that are offered, went "bye-byes" for meals (our term for eating out), let them play at a park, took them to the little play that the senior missionaries put on in the evening, and let them throw rocks into the Mississippi River. (I forgot to bring the camera along, so we don't have any pictures). As we were leaving, Alyssa said "I love Nauvoo." My thoughts exactly. There is something special about that little town that you can't help but feel complete gratitude for the early saints who lived there. I am so thankful for their sacrifices and their examples of faith. I wonder if I would have been as strong as they were had I lived at that time. For me, that same spirit that you feel in the town adds to the spirit that you already feel inside of the temple and makes for an amazing experience when you go inside. I am thankful for the opportunity that we have had to visit Nauvoo so many times as we have lived in the midwest and for the chance we had to go there one last time before moving away.

Can't Wait for Spring

We have had a couple days in the past week where our temperatures have gotten over 70 degrees. I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather and the fact that we won't have the free Zoo (or any Zoo for that matter) close to us after we move. We headed out nice and early so that we could take advantage of some of the things that normally cost money but are free for the first hour. One of these things is the carousel. We rode it twice.

It started moving right as I took this picture which is why both girls have that same suprised look on their faces.

For some reason, Alyssa thinks that this is a photo spot at the zoo becasue she wants a picture here every time we go.

The temps got up to the low 60's by the time we left which made for a really beautiful day. It was more crowded than I expected so we were all happy to get out of there when we did. I did splurge on one thing for the girls. We saw this as we were walking in and I thought the girls would love it. So we stopped and saw it on the way out.

Here they are in their 3D glasses. They both kept them on the whole time which I didn't expect. They loved the new Dora and Diego movie. When it was over Ashley said "I want to watch it again." I told her that maybe next time we go to the Zoo we will see it again.

Now our temps feel more like winter again and we are all so sad. I wish those spring-like temperatures would last longer.

A Funny Conversation

The other day when we were on the way to Alyssa's preschool, Alyssa and I had a funny conversation. It went something like this:
Alyssa: "Ms. Shannon isn't going to be at preschool." (that is one of her teachers)
Me: "That's right. Do you remember why?"
A: "Yes. Because she had her baby."
M: You're right. Do you remember how her tummy was big. Now it won't be anymore. That is what happens when you have a baby."
A: "But how does the baby get out?"
M: "Well, the Mommy goes to the hospital and the doctor takes it out."
A: "How?" (she couldn't let me get off that easy)
M: "Well, when you and Ashley were born, the doctor cut open my tummy to take you out." (Thank goodness I didn't have to explain to her the other way that babies come out)
A: She thinks about that for a second and then asks, "Did it hurt?"
M: "Yes, but the doctor gives you lots of medicine so it doesn't hurt too bad."
A: After about 30 seconds of silence she says "I wish I were a boy."
M: I thought she had moved on to something else so I asked, "Why?"
A: "Because I don't want it to hurt when the doctor takes the baby out of my tummy."
M: LOL. She totally caught me off guard. I then tried to explain how wonderful it is to be a Mommy and that you forget about how much everything hurt when you see the sweet baby.

Birthday Snack Update...

Sunny skies, school in session, and snack delivered.

A big sigh of relief that the 5th attempt was a success.

Happy Birthday Danny!

We celebrated Danny's 30th Birthday last week. It started with a Super Bowl Party on Sunday evening. We invited 3 families over, set up the big screen/projector from the Convention Center, and enjoyed a lot of good food and a Football shaped cake(I forgot to take a picture of it. In fact, I forgot to take any pictures at the party). It was a lot of fun.

Then on Thursday, we celebrated by eating Danny's requested meal (Homemade mac n cheese and broccoli), he opened presents, and we ate angelfood cake with strawberry topping. We didn't take many pictures of this either, but here are some of the ones that we did take.

The old man (I have to milk my month of being the same age as him for all it is worth).

Can you tell that this is his daughter. They both have the same cheesy smile :)
Ashley is playing with the balloon hat that Danny brought home from work. He wore it to lunch when his co-workers took him out. The girls destroyed the hat design within minutes of getting it in their hands.

Daddy with his 2 sweet girls.

Here is a family shot that we set the camera on a chair to take.

We are all grateful for Danny, for the wonderful husband and father that he is. We are grateful for the countless hours of playing "monster" with the girls and for the prizes that he brings home most nights. We are thankful that he has a good job that he loves and that provides for our needs. We love you, Danny/Daddy!

Mommy and Me Preschool Night

Last Thursday night, Alyssa had a "Mommy and Me Night" at her preschool. It was basically set up just like her preschool is every day, only I got to do everything with her, including sitting on the carpet for storytime. She loved having me there with her. Here are some of the fun things that we did. This was a water table where they could go fishing with little nets. She got to make a paper airplane and decorate it with stickers.

Here is a popcorn kernal table where they could find little birds.
There was also playdough, a bird nest to build, a book to put together, and a memory game. The story that was read was "Are You My Mother" and all of the activities were realated to the book in some way. After the activities, we went to music time and sang all of the songs that her music teacher has been singing with her lately. After music time, we all had a snack together and then we went home. After we left I told her how much fun preschool was and she said to me "Now do you see why I love to go to Preschool so much." She does love to go to preschool and is really looking forward to Kindergarten in the fall and the opportunity to make new friends.