May iMoments

Johnny can't get enough of his little brother. No one can take the place of Luke in Johnny's life, but having Joey here has made Johnny happy in a way he hasn't been in a long time.

Joey made his debut in church! All three of our boys have worn this suit to church on their first Sunday, and Joey was able to fill his older brothers' rather good-looking shoes. :) Too well, actually...it barely fit! Everyone was in love with his hair and cheeks. 

Bro time.

We finished the Book of Mosiah...and we still haven't missed a night! Our treat for finishing was compliments of our friends, the Applonies...and it tasted even better than it looked! We're ready for a whole summer of Alma!

We didn't know how we'd feel about Joey using any of Luke's things...most especially his blanket. Turns out, we love seeing Luke's blanket keeping Joey warm. It feels fitting somehow.

The boys and I try to get out on a walk every day...I know even though it hurts it's the best thing to help me recover. John is so good about pushing the stroller so I don't have to. Such the big brother!

This is how Joey wakes up. He's such a calm and contented baby!

Danny and I just can't bring ourselves to buy a new infant stroller when we know that Joey is our last. So we're making Luke's stroller work until Joey can sit up in it like she's supposed to. :)

I wish I could freeze time and keep him like this forever. My snuggly boy, with a full tummy and sweet dreams. :) It kind of breaks my heart that he's my last...

Johnny gets a lot of face time with Joey, but let it be written that his sisters are every bit as obsessed with him and Johnny is! Claire is such a huge help, and Joey already senses that she's looking out for him. :)

My sister Jami sent me this outfit when Luke was born. It was one of my favorites when he was little. Just like with his blanket, I wasn't sure how I would feel about putting Joey in it. I love it! He looks so handsome and strong...just like his big brother Luke!

Craziest hail storm ever! We've never seen hail this big, and it about scared the kids to death!

Before braces...

After braces!! Should be about a year for this first phase. Let's do this. :)

Every day: "Mom, can I hold Joseph and you can take a picture?!"

I had some very uncomfortable pain in my side that looked like it could potentially be appendicitis. I needed a ct-scan...but the contrast I had to take meant I would have to "pump and dump" for 48 hours. That meant formula for Joey. I was devastated, but he did really well! I was so nice to nurse him again after that two days...especially because it wasn't appendicitis after all. Just more c-section recovery. 

Seriously. The hair!

We opened up the grill at the school tonight and found these hungry fellas!

We hope their Mama comes back soon!

Oh my goodness, he's so cute. And I love these blankets that Ann Alisa made him! They are the perfect weight for a spring baby.

More bro time...just can't get enough!

So Joey is the most content baby ever. So much so that he won't even wake up to eat! I tried everything I knew how to do to get him to wake up and eat...I stripped him naked, I put ice on his foot, I put ice on his back! We even put him on his tummy...and this was his reaction. I guess we're just going to go to bed. :)

My sweet Luke...

The kids were sure to decorate the kitchen window for Luke's special day!

Happy 4th Birthday, Lukey! We all love you, and miss you, and we'll have two pieces of cake for you!

I know...another picture of Joey sleeping. But I swear his face changes every day and I don't want to forget a single one!

I wish I had one of these baths for all of my babies! Joey LOVES bath time...just chillaxing...

Our almost-six-WEEK-old filling out a set of six MONTH jammies! He's changed so much already...

"Sup, Ladies?" :) He got this too-cool-for-school, name-brand outfit from his stylish buddy Stetson. It's awesome.

And every handsome boy needs a pair of kicks that are worthy of him. I think the moccasins from my best friend Amanda are perfect! I love them so much!!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day usually involves food and fun of some fashion. But for us, as long as we are in Utah, the day will start with a visit to the cemetery to decorate for Luke and Rachel. This year was no different. I picked out Luke's yellow mums over a week ahead of time (go me!) and I love how they brighten up his place. My Mom brought him some beautiful BYU blue and white flowers, and put his picture by his headstone. I love that she does that. I love it when Luke's Place looks so bright and beautiful!

We brought Rachel the white mums, and it looks like a few others besides my Mom remembered Rachel this year. The kids love the mustache candle my Mom leaves out...they demanded a mustache picture for Aunt Rachel. :) I love that my kids feel like they have a relationship with her, even though they don't remember her. I sure do miss my sister.

I am so grateful for a day to remember my loved ones. And I am so grateful for the men and women of our military who have given everything so that me and my family could be free. And I am once again most grateful for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Redeemer. For the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and the priesthood power upon the earth that seals my family together forever.

Happy Memorial Day!

Claire's 9th Birthday

It turns out that it doesn't matter if you celebrate a child's birthday or not, they still get a year older. And since I can't keep that from happening, we may as well celebrate! :) We took Claire out on her birthday for her special birthday lunch. She chose to try something new, so we took her to ParkStone Wood Kitchen at Station Park in Farmington. She ordered the fish and chips...and we even got her to try calamari! And she loved it!! Claire's wonderfully mature palate and willingness to try new foods is one of the things we love best about our firstborn. We had such a fun lunch, eating yummy food and talking about life and how Claire is doing. She's such sweet and special girl! Later on that evening, since it was her birthday, we let her open one of her birthday presents from Danny and me. She's been wanting a watch for a while, so she was super excited!

The rest of her presents had to wait until the next day when we would have her family birthday party. Our kids are so lucky to live by so much family that all loves them so much! Claire got some fun presents this year...but among her favorite were her gifts from Johnny and Claire. She's especially excited to give that mermaid tail a try!

Happy Birthday, Claire Bear!! You are growing up to be just the most delightful and beautiful girl. We love you!!

To My Claire, On Your Birthday...

Happy Birthday, Claire Bear! You're nine years old already, and I don't even know what to think about that! I can't believe you're so big.

Claire, you are such a delight. Still our angel baby in every way! Your Dad and I often say that you are simply good to the very core. You have such a simple, but intense desire to do what is right. We love that about you! In the year since your baptism, you've continued to grow in your love and knowledge of the gospel. The few times you've done something wrong in the last year, you've understood how to repent and have cultivated a relationship with the Holy Ghost. You love to participate in Primary, and you especially love Activity Days. You are so good at reading the scriptures during our family study, and you follow the story and understand the lessons being taught. I marvel at your goodness, Sweetheart! I can't wait to see you continue to grow in your love of the Lord and His gospel. Because I have no doubt that you will.

You've had an excellent school year, making so many new friends and strengthening your relationships with your old friends. You have such a loving heart, and you always tell me what's going on in your friends' lives. I don't know them all, but it shows me that you are a great listener. Your friends will love you forever for how much you care for them. You excelled in your classwork, though your homework load was just about more than either one of us could take! But you (we) persevered, and we've made it to the end of the school year at last. You're saying goodbye to third grade! Well, I suppose you're saying "adios", since your Spanish is so amazingly excellent now. :)

You have been such a huge help since Joey was born. You love to help take care of him! Your Dad recognized that you were ready, and taught you from the time Joey came home how to hold him, carry him, and change his diaper. It made me nervous...I just couldn't admit to myself how grown up and capable you are already. But you took to caring for your baby brother immediately. I'll never forget when you said, "Changing diapers is disgusting...so why do I love doing it so much?!" :) You crack me up! You continue to have a close relationship with Sophie, and you and Johnny are buds. You have been solidifying your role as the oldest sibling, and you're more of a leader in your games and activities together than you used to be. I've loved watching your confidence grow.

You still love art. But I've decide that it's more than just drawing for you. You love to be creative, whether it's drawing or decorating or cooking. You've taken quite a shining to the concept of "dyi", and you've even found a crafter on YouTube that you love to follow. You've found your voice, quite literally, and love to sing. You even sang in the Stake Children's Choir for Stake Conference! Again, your confidence just makes my heart swell! You have a beautiful voice and a natural talent. I look forward to when we can sing together. :) 

Claire, you are such a beautiful girl, inside and out. With your gorgeous long hair and your braces, you are growing up before our eyes...and sometimes it's terrifying how beautiful you already are! I can't believe it's been nine years since you came to me and made my dreams of becoming a mother come true. You are a gift to me, Claire. You are so quick to forgive me of all my blunders and for all the times I lose my temper. You always see the best in me, and that means more to me than I could ever tell you. I look forward to the ways in which our relationship will grow. I hope you'll always see me as one of your best friends. I love you, Sweet Girl! I can't wait to see what this next year holds for you! Happy Birthday, Claire!

Love,

Mom

Claire and Grace's Birthday Swim Party!

I gave Claire a choice this year. She could either get nicer presents from her Dad and me, or she could use her birthday budget on a friend party and get one or two smaller presents from us. She opted for a friend party...combined with her bestie Grace, of course! In fact, they already had it all worked out. Claire told me they wanted to have a "Sandwich Party"! I was all about that!! Until I found out that "Sandwich Party" didn't mean a party with sandwiches...which would have been awesome. What it actually meant was a party sandwiched between the two girls' birthdays. They decided on a swim party with a mermaid theme...which was only slightly cooler than the sandwich idea. :)

Late May is so tricky in Utah. It could totally be swimming weather...or you could be shoveling snow off your driveway. Laura (Grace's Mom) and I watched the weather for over a week, and it fluctuated between rain with cool temps and sunny with cool temps. So we made all sorts of contingency plans in case we were stuck inside, and in case we could be outside but it was too cold to swim. The day of the party arrived, and the temperature was supposed to be in the low 70s. Danny had turned on the heater in the pool the night before, so we decided to go ahead and let the girls swim. 

Because we were swimming, the party was pretty simple. Claire and I had been searching Pinterest for ideas, and we came up with these cupcakes. I made them myself, and I was very pleased with how well they turned out! Claire requested ocean water, so we made sure to have that. I found a cute sign that turned it into mermaid potion, and I even burned the edges making it look all piratey and stuff. I was really flexing my creative muscles with this party! ;)

The only other request the girls had was for everyone to make a shell necklace or bracelet. Laura was in charge of this part, and she did a great job! The girls (and Johnny!) all loved it! And it was a great way to get the party started as we were waiting for everyone to arrive.

While everyone was finishing up their bracelets, we handed out drinks...complete with cute little umbrellas!

The girls were all anxious to hit the pool, but first we had to blow out the candles, eat cupcakes, and do presents! It would be so much easier to do the aforementioned with dry girls as opposed to soaking wet and cold girls. :) 

I just have to say, Claire and Grace couldn't be better friends. Or more prefect for each other! It has been such a blessing in Claire's life to have such a perfect friend, and I have no doubt they'll be best friends forever! 

So...it was a little breezy. Every time we lit the candles they blew out. So we had the girls pretend...you can tell they thought it was a little ridiculous. :) But once that was out of the way, it was time for presents. The girls' friends were very generous, and they got lots of fun stuff!

 

 

And we had to get some cute pictures of these cute girls. Again, before they all got wet! 

 Finally it was time to hit the pool! Turns out, the heater turned off during the night, so the water was pretty chilly. And it wasn't really that warm outside, so the girls got pretty cold! Somehow, though, that didn't stop a single one of them. :)

It was a fantastic party, and I think the girls were very happy! It was definitely the perfect way to kick off another amazing year for these beautiful girls!