March Happenings

 
Easton and Jayne are so cute together.  He loves to have her sit on his lap and give her a ride down the stairs


Going for a ride with Grandpa


Jayne is so cute!   She loves her backpack and fills it with all kinds of "treasures."  She loves her dress up jewelry, her baby, headbands as necklaces and her pretty pink "Fox Paws" shoes!  Check out that pose!



Guess who gave up their binkies?  I thought it would be really hard but we cut the tip of one and gave it to Jayne and told her it was broken.  She kept trying to suck on it but it wasn't working so she went and threw it in the garbage.  She was a little sad about it and went to the garbage a few times to look for it but she did it!  She still loves her blankie though.


DINOSAUR MUSEUM

We went to the Dinosaur Museum with some friends and had a great time!  (Easton, Drake, Elle, Jayne, Sadie, Ila)


Of course, the favorite part is always digging in the dirt for fossils


 



GIRL TIME

Elle and I needed some girl time together so I kept her home one morning while Easton and Jayne were both in school and we had some one-on-one time.  We went to breakfast at Kneaders and got their yummy french toast


Then we went and got manicures together


It was so fun to have some special time with my sweet girl


ST. PATRICK'S DAY
Our kids love St. Patrick's Day!  Every year, they look forward to "Lucy the Leprechaun" coming and making a little mischief and leaving a treasure hunt for them.  And every year, they go to a lot of work to set a trap to catch Lucy so they can get three wishes.  This year the trap was pretty elaborate, with yarn strung around both of their rooms and big green 4 leaf clovers cut out of construction paper to lure her in.  They are so creative!

The kids found a mess in Easton's room and the first clue for their treasure hunt


Finding clues


The treasure

 



LILY AND COSMO
It was so sad when Elle and Easton's hamsters, Lily and Cosmo, died.  Even more sad, was how they died.  We had their cage in our play room up on a table and had a can of hand sanitizer next to it so that when the kids held them, they could sanitize after. I was worried about Jayne getting sick from the germs.  It had a latch and Jayne had never gotten into the cage.  Until one day when sweet little Jayne and one of her friends did get the cage open.  I was upstairs with Elle trying to get her some medicine because she came home from school not feeling well.  She went downstairs to rest and found the cage full of foaming hand sanitizer and the hamsters were covered in it.  She and Easton both cried and cried.  It broke my heart.  We made a little grave for them and they put flowers on it.  They were both pretty upset with Jayne that day but they both forgave her by the next day and knew that she didn't mean to.  It is such a hard thing to lose a pet.

Worries of Tomorrow

I have been having a hard time the past few months.  I don't know if I am just emotional because of pregnancy but I feel like I am in a state of constant worry. I worry about Jayne.  Some of my concerns that I had when she was born have come back.  She has gotten a lot harder ever since she turned three and it is hard to see her friends moving so far ahead of her.  I worry about her future.  Will she be able to speak well?  Will she be able to go to school with her peers and do all the things that she wants to do?  I worry that I am not doing enough for her. I worry that having another baby will take away time that I should be helping her.  I worry about this new baby coming to our family.  Will she be healthy?  Will she know how much we love her?  Will I be able to take care of 4 kids and give each of them the time that they deserve?

Amidst all this worry, Don has been my rock.  He has been so positive and understanding.  He read an article about stress and worry and it said to not let the worries of tomorrow rob you of the joys of today.  If we spend all our time worrying about the future or what might happen, we will miss all the joy of the moment.  I decided to make that my new motto.  Jayne is doing amazing and I need to stop worrying about the future and just enjoy every moment with her today. She is such a cute little girl!  And our new little baby coming will be the perfect addition to our family.  I love all my kids and I will do the best that I can to teach them and help them do everything they want to in life.  All we can do is our best!
So now when I start to worry, I am going to try and remember...

"Don't let the worries of tomorrow rob you of the joys of today!"

Bikes and Bird houses

 Elle and Easton are really into animals right now and asked if we could get a bird house so more birds would come in our yard.  Don told them he would make them one instead.  They looked online at some pictures of bird houses and found one that looks more like a bird mansion than a bird house to me but Don was up for the challenge.  They headed to Home Depot for the wood and supplies and then Don got started.  He is such a nice dad!





The bird house turned into a longer Saturday project than Don planned for but the kids loved it! It was a beautiful day so we played outside while Don worked on it.  They got to help cut some of the wood and helped to paint it bright green too.


Jayne was happy as could be playing on her trike with her baby! 


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Look who's riding a two-wheel bike!!!

 

Cute little Easton is a little bit cautious when it comes to learning new things.  He wanted to ride his bike but was really nervous. We have tried to teach him a few times but he didn't like feeling unstable and got scared.  Finally, he was determined to learn.  Don and I both ran up and down the street with him over and over again and then... he got it! 





Now we can't keep him off his bike!  Go Easton!

February Happenings

Basement fort camp out

Easton with a Fuzzoodles monster he made

Jayne wanted some chocolate milk and decided to help herself. She loves to climb inside the toy box too.

Jayne and Easton love to do play dough together

Watching cartoons together

The kids wanted to sleep in the basement family room together after family movie night. So, we blew up the air mattress and got out their sleeping bags. Unfortunately, Jayne wandered upstairs after few minutes and Elle couldn't sleep so she went into her own bed. Easton was really sad when he woke up the next morning and he was the only one on the air mattress.

Easton and Jayne play so cute together. He dressed her up in a "jedi" costume and got out the light sabers. Jayne knows just what to do after watching Elle and Easton. It was "Jedi Jayne" vs. "Darth Vader Easton" and of course, he lets her defeat him every time. He is such a sweet brother.

Easton was chosen for the Tiger Pride citizenship award for his school class in February. We are so proud of him. He is such a good boy. His teacher wrote on his award:

"We are so lucky to have Easton in our class. He is always making others feel good. At recess he always includes everyone. Even after school, he makes up games and tells jokes to pass the time. When someone needs help finding something, Easton is the first one willing to help. When someone gets hurt at recess, he makes sure they are ok and he tries to make them feel better. I want to thank Easton for being a wonderful example to the class and me."