Playing House

I hear other parents say, "My kids just play and I get stuff done!" "REALLY?" I always wonder if these parents are for real of if they just tune out fighting and messes. I do admit, at times I am a bit jealous of these statements. I have children who love to be right by my side, entertained and who do not have a great track record for playing peacefully together. (I do attribute this to their age-differences and stages) Well, we have 1:00 church. It is a lovely time of day, in that we can eat a good breakfast and spend the day getting ready, but for kids who wake up at 7:00, it makes for a really long morning. We have a "no TV on Sundays rule" at our house to try to make this day stand out for our kids. Today the kids seemed to catch the vision. (My Sabbath vision I should say, of it being a quiet, reverent family day!) As we took turns getting ready Noelle and Corom played house. It was the first time I have seen them do this and it was CUTE! They were mom and dad pretending to go to church. Noelle was preaching a PRIMARY sermon and trying to dress Corom.He came in with her church shoes on and a pink boa. (We need to work on our boy stock of dress ups) I heard my own words come out a few times. She said, "I'll give you 10 seconds or you will have to sit on your bed for time out!" (Okay, not so proud of that one!) But then Corom said, "We can't leave the house until we say a prayer." (Our morning routine before we step out the door!) I love seeing these little imaginations blossom and the kids making sense of the world around them, not to mention actually seeing them play together. This post is purely for my own documentation. I have to write these things down! I do hope you enjoy the little glimpses into our lives. Have a great week!

QUIET TIME???

So, afternoons are quiet time in my home. Elijah and Corom have always taken naps while Noelle is at school. I push laundry through, do dishes, prep dinner, clean, etc... (I know, doesn't my life sound exciting?) Anyhow, Corom has not been taking naps lately. He would greatly benefit from them, but will just stay in his bed awake and eventually come out to tell me, "My not tired momma!" One day I tried to snuggle him to sleep, "My don't like snuggling momma, its bad for my body!" He cried and cried until I eventually gave up. Anyhow, today he has been following me around while I do my chores. "What are you doing momma? Can I help" Why are you cleaning the toilet?" I was bending down in the bathroom, scrubbing the floor when all of a sudden I got shot with the Nerf gun. "HA! HA! HA! I got you in the bum mom!" Darn it! So much for quiet time, alone time in the afternoons! He is really good company, but a bit of a prankster!

Lil' Elijah

We are approaching 17 months and this baby is so sweet. I am writing this post more for myself as I want to accompany a post with pictures. It is going too quickly! Here are a few things about Elijah at 16 months:

-Words: Mama, Daddy, Noelle, balloon, banana, juice, milk, wawa, diaper, bath, ball, doggy, giddy up, vroom,vroom, to name a few.
-Favorite Things: Climbing, gymnastics, his family, balloons, eating, dogs, baths, being out and about and teasing you. Elijah loves to say, "Where did Elijah go?" He will then pop out from behind a wall to say, "Here he is!" He also love putting things on his head and saying, "Hat!" He will approach any dog and squeals when they reciprocate the affection. He also loves giving mommy and daddy a run for their money at church!
-Every morning he wakes up between 5:00-6:30 and Dan brings him into bed. My morning wake up call is a little head in my face saying, "Momma, Momma, Momma!" over and over again untilI wake up and say, "Good morning Elijah!"

He is delightful! I spent a quiet afternoon trying to take pictures. I was lying on the floor so I could be at his level and he kept climbing on my back "Giddy up Momma!" He would then run off and climb a couch, get down and run to do something else. He is busy! We love this little guy!

Our Little Big Boy Begins Preschool

This year we have been joyschooling with families from our court. We have 3 groups of children. I have been feeling guilty all year about not including Corom in it because I knew he would love it. We decided to add another rotating group with 3 little boys Corom's age. It will mean teaching twice as much, but it should be worth it. Today we did the letter "P". P for police man, popcorn, Pooh Bear and paint. THEY WERE SOOOOO GOOD, obedient and fun! When I called to see how the girls did, the other mother said that they argued a lot. Isn't that funny? Girls are just more passionate. We have been busy. We had little Eden last week at our house and my mom decided to fly out and help me. Then Callie and Brian came home a little early. We had a crowd here in our little apartment, but it was fun spending time with my family. We are now off to drop Noelle off at preschool #2. I haven't given up on blogging, I just haven't been devoting much time to the computer lately. I will try to be more diligent as the kids are growing fast and if I don't blog about events rights away, they pass by without documentation!

OUR CUTE LITTLE POLICE MEN!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We are still here. I am sorry it has taken me so long to update. Happy 2011! We are looking forward to the decisions and changes that will come with this year. We had a few days with Eden as Callie and Brian are on vacation. (She is now with Callie's brother and sister in law) The kids loved having her here! We have been getting back into the routine of preschool, joy school (at our house last week) and having Dan away with his internship for long days. It has been busy, but we are healthy and the kids are keeping us on our toes with their humor and energy. I will update more later- have a great week!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I cannot believe that Christmas has come and gone already. We took our tree down yesterday. We would have loved to keep it up until New Year's Day, but space is limited and the clutter (though good clutter) was driving us crazy in our tiny apartment. We had a wonderful Christmas. It was magical for many reasons. We began playing Christmas music around the clock around Thanksgiving and it never did stop. I am missing it already. I also felt more in the Spirit than I have in a long time. We had a paper chain counting down the days, loved looking at Christmas lights, had the tree lights on continuously, told the kids the story of the Night Before Christmas so much they had it memorized and did many Family Home Evening lessons on the Nativity. I made all of my gifts this year- an ambitious pursuit that left me both exhausted and fulfilled and made caramels and all sorts of goodies. We hosted Dan's parents the week before and celebrated Noelle's Birthday. The kids not only believe in Santa, but are at the age where nothing could be more exciting than seeing him in person, talking about him watching to see if they have been naughty or nice, and were thrilled when Aunt Gina sent them a personalized message from Santa via email. That sealed the deal- Santa officially knew them by name! As previously posted, our family and friends came to our aid to ensure that our family had a wonderful Christmas. I had been so worried about how we would provide a Christmas for our children this year being in school, and the gifts, packages, cards filled with money and treats just kept coming. It was testament to me that Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and sends relief in the form of loved ones assisting. This will indeed be a Christmas that I will tell my children about for years to come.
This is my first year celebrating Christmas outside of Sacramento and away from our California family. We missed them dearly. We kept ourselves busy to stay in the spirit. On Christmas Eve we celebrated Noelle's 5th Birthday and went to Grandma (Shirley) and Grandpa Strong's home with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins. We had a yummy dinner and a program. That night the kids fell asleep on the way home, but we woke Noelle up to write Santa a note and to make him a plate of cookies. Santa and Mrs. Claus had fun exchanging gifts and arranging presents for the children. The next morning the kids were up at the crack of dawn to see what Santa had brought. Corom got a Buzz Light Year and Noelle a Jessie the CowGirl from Santa. They then opened all of the gifts from the family! Elijah had gifts to open too, but paced around the living room, watching as other people opened their gifts. He seemed unsure about all of the festivities! We got so many fun, thoughtful gifts! The kids are still mesmerized by all of the new items in their toy room! That night we went down to Orem to celebrate Christmas with the Jessops. We had so much fun that Noelle asked me if we could stay there forever!
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We wish we could give each of you a hug and express our gratitude for your love and support.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOELLE!

We have a birthday girl! Our sweet Noelle Juliette is turning five today and it has been a week of celebration! I have some updating to do, but will save that for when I have time to write! We celebrated last week with Nana and Papa and on Tuesday with close friends Pinkalicious-style! I cannot express in words how much this beautiful girl has blessed our lives. She is creative, sweet, curious and energetic! I keep telling her the story of her birth- how 5 years ago today we were surprised to have a Christmas baby! She was 2 weeks early and the best Christmas present. We have a weekend of celebrating ahead of us...so we wish you a wonderful Christmas and are so blessed to have such dear family and friends in our lives. So many of you have come to our aid to ensure that our family has a wonderful Christmas. This will be a year we will always reflect on- for many have recognized the needs of a young student family and have presented us with such generous gifts. We love you all!