Happy 18 Months My Little Perfect!

I call her my perfect because I think she is just that. :O) I think that of all my kids but I am not sure I could call them all the same word...it'd get confusing for them. ;)

 My BABY is now a year and a half old. She is less and less of a baby all the time. We all adore her. I think her brothers and sister more then ever now that she plays with them quite a bit. She does silly things that keep us giggling all the time. The thing about her and especially at this age is the amount of joy she radiates. You cant be sad or grumpy when Genevieve is around. You just cant. She walks up to you just overflowing with cuteness and joy...she is adorable. She is confident, obedient, curious, smart, happy, a consistent mommy's girl, she LOVES to eat and would eat constantly all day long if I let her, she loves to swim and run and jump and she loves music and dancing. Her wave is the cutest thing you have ever seen - seriously my favorite thing she does. she loves kids and if she sees someone close to her size she immediately tries to be friends with them. I think we might have a social butterfly on our hands. When she hears music she lights up like a firefly. She LOVES babies: real and dolls. I love watching her reaction when we see a baby at the store. I love how she gets the little doll stroller ready with a baby doll buckled in and everything and pushes her baby all over the house coming to each of us to show us her baby. She loves shoes and wearing dresses...I never have to wrestle her into clothes when its a pretty dress and never shoes...she loves shoes. She gives really sweet cuddles and she leans forward not to give a kiss but to get one....99% of the time she expects a kiss and doesn't really think she should have to give them in return so if you get a kiss from her its a big deal. She gave one to me the other day it was literally and figuratively sweet as her mouth was covered with fruit-loop crumbs. I loved it no matter how sticky it was. ;) She is shy of strangers but quickly her curiosity over shadows her shyness and she is just as cute as can be and as BUSY. Did I mention how BUSY she is? Well she is very busy. :O) When I am not calling her Perfect I might be calling her "My Mischief Maker" or "My Tornado" because a path of destruction, I mean exploring and play, ;)  follows behind her at all times. Its getting to the point where I cant really let her play without my supervision...don't love that part too much. At least she is cute to watch and play with. ;)

She is not talking very much in English but her "baby talk" is very developed. She has complete conversations with people with nothing being said in English. It worries me a little that she isn't using real words much but its still pretty adorable. Besides Ben all my kids were pretty slow talkers so we'll see how long it takes her to develop her speech, hopefully not too long because I want to hear more and more of her thoughts. With all her childlike cuteness there is a deep intellect to her, this maturity that is easy to miss with all her giggles and putting on my make up three times a day but its there and I want to hear her thoughts more fully to get to know that side of her a little more.

She loves doing little actions to songs so we'll sing the popcorn popping song or the itsy bitsy spider and she loves to do the movements with us. It is so cute how fun it is for her.  On Sundays she has to help lead the music...she loves music. She has been going to nursery for the past two weeks and loves it. The nursery leaders love her too because she is so happy and cute to have around. When we get to church she walks right over to the nursery room and wants to go to nursery as soon as we get there...needless to say sacrament meetings are a bit long for us these days. :)

Yesterday she threw her first real tantrum. I was a bit shocked. She kept climbing onto the counter/bar and grabbing handfuls of her brothers' and sister's cereal. She had a bowl for herself but she wanted theirs not hers. I kept putting her back in her chair and showing her the bowl for her. That's when she climbed back on top of the counter picked up her bowl and poured it out on the counter and then threw the bowl. She then proceeded to wave her hands in her spilled cereal frantically in defiance. I picked her up washed her off and set her down on the ground while I went to work cleaning up the mess...when the little rascal climbed back up the counter and plopped right down in the mess. I was getting aggravated. I told her firmly that she cant climb up on the counter and sit in milk. I cleaned her up yet again and set her down on the floor she was screaming as I set her on the ground and she marched over to our basket we put our shoes in and she pushed it out into the room and then pushed it over and started to scatter the shoes. At that point I was so shocked by her little tirade I couldn't help laughing. I guess she is stubborn and has a temper too!  You learn something new everyday.

This morning when I got back from my run Stewart and I were about to kneel for our morning prayer and I could hear her awake in her crib. I went and got her and she was just beaming and giggling and talking to us about little things we couldn't really understand and she knelt with us dragging her giant blanky and folded her arms so cute while we said prayers. Then she leaned forward for a kiss from me and then her daddy and beamed at us giggling. Stewart remarked that he was so glad we have her in our family because she is our little sunshine. And she really is.

I think one of  the best ways to capture her cuteness is in pictures so enjoy these cute pictures of my little perfect. I tried to have her sit still for them but she is not the type to sit still so these are action shots of the two of us going on a walk together....she's a doll. :O)  I am so glad she is my daughter. She keeps me smiling all day long,  she's a joy.

A Special Family Home Evening

This week we had a special family home evening that I wanted to share because the spirit was so strong and I felt really guided when I planned it and put it all together.

Last summer we took some really cute pictures of the kids outside the Reno temple and I had wanted to get them hung but with the move coming and our limited wall space as it was I decided to wait until we moved. So last week when I worked on my personal progress in divine nature I thought getting those pictures hung would be a really good value project for me to do. So the kids and I went to the store picked out nice frames, picked out our favorite pictures and then ordered prints. I felt inspired to hang along side the pictures the proclamation to the world. I wanted to do a family home evening centered around talking about why we were going to dedicate a whole wall to these pictures and the proclamation. I wanted to focus on how important the temple is and how real their divine nature is. as I pray and pondered about it it came to me what I could do.

I had the week before taught the kids in great detail about the plan of salvation and it was a really spiritual experience. At the end of the lesson I asked, "do you feel a special feeling inside? do you feel really happy and loved?" they are said they did. I told them that was the Holy Ghost telling them that what I had taught them was true, that they are children of God and this is his plan for us so that we can return to live with him again. Angeli came running up to me and gave me a big hug, Ben exclaimed, "I want to go to heaven!", and Bridger said, "Mom, do you know what the spirit is telling me? He  is telling me that I am a child of God and that Heavenly Father loves me." Then tears welded up in his eyes and I gave him a big hug. It was a really special moment for me and the kids.

So for this lesson I followed up with that and I told them that they are children of God and that because of that they are royalty! They are princes and princesses. They loved that idea. We then decorated crowns and put them on...very cute. Then I asked, But where is our castle? The kids took a couple guesses and they got it, the Temple! We talked about how it is like our castle that Heavenly Father has given us. We talked about the special ordinances that we do there and the kids LOVE the idea of being together forever as a family. It was fun to talk about how in the temple we promise to act like royalty and then Heavenly Father promises us that if we will act like a Son and daughter of God (Royalty) then we will inherit his kingdom and all that he has. That was such a fun way to illustrate that to the kids. We talked about how it was our family goal to act like royal children of God so that we can be together forever with our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ. The spirit was so strong as each child expressed how much they wanted that too.

Then we hung the pictures up on the wall. We talked about the proclamation a little bit and how it tells us how to live like royalty as a family. It was such a great way to make the most of my personal progress, family home evening, and my home decorating. ;) I loved how the kids applied it, Angeli asked "Would royalty talk with bad words?" (which in our house is saying "poop" and other such words like that), to which everyone replied "No!". :O)  I hope that every time they stop to look at that wall they remember the things we talked about and have a renewed desire to be true to the royal and divine nature they have inherited from their Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.

Snapshots of Life

These are just some random pictures of us and our lives I wanted to share without any special writing or description.

 First these are my kids all ready to go to church...aren't they beautiful? honestly that picture of Angeli sort of took my breath away when I saw it. she is an angel. And Ben's coloring is so handsome. and all their eyes! such a light blue and so clear. How did Stewart and I make such beautiful kids? Anyways, I am bias I am sure, but really they are so beautiful. And so grown up too.

 Then this is the view from the front of our house. To the west there was a coral sunset so everything has a peachy tint to it but I think it is really pretty. So different then I thought our view would be in my day dreams I had pictured years ago of our future but I think its so much better, its so cool that we live here. What an adventure for us.

Here are the kids being super heroes...They were running all over the house solving mysteries and saving the day. It was really cute to watch. Genevieve did her outfit all by herself. :) The kids dubbed her "Goggle Girl"! LOL

 My sister and her kids came to visit us for a little day trip from Phoenix. Angeli has been so excited that she will get to live closer to her cousin EDEN! they are too cute together. And then the cute toe heads....this is them trying to smile for the camera. LOL We are goign up there next week and we are super excited to see them again! 

Good Morning.

Its 7:30 in the morning. I just got back from a relaxing 50 minuet jog. I kissed the hubby good bye and now I'm laying on the trampoline under our big green tree in our back yard listening to the coos of doves and the chirps of little sparrows. I can hear a rooster calling out the morning and the faint nay of a horse from the stables on the other block of our neighborhood and with the kids sleeping in this morning I feel so blissful. Its fun to watch Choco hunt a fly that is annoying him.....life is so good. I didn't think Tucson would be like this but I am so glad it is. 

Life

Life is pretty normal now-a-days. Which is good. I don't really have any crazy fun plans for the summer - mostly because we are short on cash right now. Man, moving is even more expensive then I thought it would be and I was expecting it to hurt. I was thinking we might head to Cali for a week but not so much. So instead I am looking at the good in the days we have already playing out this summer. I also wanted to capture a little snap shot of our revamped lives here in Tucson and share a little of what we are learning and liking about this place.

The pool...I know we cant get over it. But we like it a lot. This is us swimming on the 4th after a big monsoon rain storm just went through.

Stewart's training. Oh, I cant even express how fun it was to have Stewart come home from his first day of Radiology and see him just beaming. I like few things as much as my husband's smile and knowing he is really happy. He loves it. First off, they gave him an Ipad, so how could he not like it? Plus all these gifts cards with credits to things like buying scrubs and all that jazz. Plus they told us he can start moonlighting as soon as he can get basic knowledge of nuro rad which is his first rotation so that is great. PLUS they will completely pay for all his licensing.  I think that is over $3000. Which is really good because we don't really have any money left over after the move. Thank heavens! Plus everyone is really nice. Lots of Mormon guys with families and the program is growing and they have hired on some really awesome new instructors that not only bring a huge new knowledge base but also lots of grants. So nice to be part of a thriving program that is family friendly and with great Doctors he can work along side with.

My running. So we live really close to miles and miles of trail running. Oh, what a tender mercy. I've been able to start running again in the mornings since Stew doesn't have to be at work until 8am this week so I get up early and get a run in and I love it. Not going really far but I'm at least going! :)

Cactus. Okay I don't love cactus but it is pretty cool. We have a a HUGE cactus in front of our house and the kids are super proud of it. When we drive around town they point out all the different types of Cactus. There are many different types.

Kids School. we walked to the school and I timed us. It took a grand total of 6 minuets. How nice will that be?!?!?!? love that.

Lizards. There are so many different types of lizards. There are these tiny ones, like two inches long, that run around so cutely. I love those ones.

The kids have been really grumpy lately and I was wondering what it was that was making them freak out so much when I got sick and realized they have all been sick too. We are all a little out of it...like super tired, have head colds, and hacking cough. its been a slow onset but I hope it will be a fast recovery. probably not but I can hope. :) 

Our ward. They are the nicest, down to earth people ever. We are always blessed to be in the best wards ever and this time is no different. We have been so impressed with how kind, helpful, on top of things, and fun they all are. It feels like coming home going to their ward. So happy!

Shopping. Living outside of town was nice but it is nice to live a little closer now. I love how we live in this neighborhood with houses spread out just enough so you feel like you have privacy and space but still close enough you don't feel like you are out in the county and we have these beautiful views of the mountains but then I can drive down the canyon for four minutes and there is everything I could ever want. Sweet.

Potential. I have a love hate relationship with potential. I am depressed if I cant see potential in the things around me BUT I have this weakness where I am very impatient in the wait time that is often required to reach full potential....I am referring to our house. I see so much decorating and design potential in our house but I have to be sensible and just tell myself, some day we will get to do something better with that room or that space  but that day is not today. Its hard for me. But I like to dream in the mean time. Almost every day I am showing Stewart a drawing of an idea I had for this porch or that porch or what have you. He is so good to try and care. :O)

"Mom School" - every week day I do mom school with the kids. It has been cute how much they love it and beg for it. We are working on everything and we have a little chart and we cover every little area each day. I have a section where I teach a little lesson on something that has to do with science or history (my favorite subjects) and yesterday was the history of Ireland and today was a lesson on bones, muscles, and our vascular system. Oh, I love teaching! We've been observing our caterpillar we found on our porch on moving day back in Reno and he has made his little cocoon....We think he'll be a moth. time will tell!

Routines. We sure love our routines around here. We have Morning chart, where they have a chart of things we need to do each morning: morning prayer, breakfast, take medicines and vitamins, clean up from breakfast, feed the pets, dressed, brush hair & teeth, make bed. They do really good at it with the proper application of nagging. ;) Then we also have a bed time chart: pick up house, jammies, brush teeth, family scriptures, stories, family prayers, tucked in bed and then personal prayers.

Watching Genevieve grow. She is in the cutest stage ever. she has such a fun little personality. She is such a busy little ray of sunshine. She keep us laughing all day long. She loves to walk on her tippy toes and rest her left hand on her hip and she looks too cute with her baby chub and her oh, so elegant walk mixed together. She is the cutest thing ever.

Swimming lessons. We found this awesome website that gives really great instructions for teaching swimming lessons by yourself, Its Uswim.com. We have been doing it with the kids and it have been really fun to see them take off. Bridger is getting really good, he swims like a little dolphin it is really cute watching him dive into the pool and touch the bottom 8 feet down and come up so proud of himself and Angeli is just a few steps behind him. Ben, I would not be surprised if he becomes a champion swimmer in high school - his cannon balls about the cutest things you have ever seen.  Plus we do water slide Olympics....I got a perfect 10 the other day for my tummy slide. ;)

Shedding. The dogs have been shedding like crazy. I have to sweep and vacuum like crazy to keep up with it. I want to give them a buzz but Stewart wont get on board with that. So I tell him he has to brush them daily. :)

Chocolate chips. They have to be kept in the refrigerator. If I keep them in my cupboard they are super soft...not totally melted but very soft. I think that is sort of interesting.

The monsoon season. It has been really fun so far. I was taking a nap yesterday when I woke up to the sound of crazy hard pouring rain. It was fun to go sit outside in our AZ room and just watch it pour down. I love that room. I cant wait till we have some furniture to put out there so we can utilize it more.

So those are the random little things about my life right now that I find interesting and fun.