A Good Weekend

I love weekends. Especially good ones. Some highlights from this weekend:

- Our ward's annual Chili Chocolate Cook-off. Good chili, good chocolate, good friends, and a fun silent auction. We won a rib dinner at the Palmer's house as well as a homemade cheesecake by Landon Hagberg . . . . can't wait for both!

-Fun game night with friends after the ward party.

-Saturday morning pancakes at North Star Cafe with Sarah Lunt (she wanted to go one last time:)

-Family outing to the Columbus Zoo.

-Quick trip to the Polaris Mall to check out Janie and Jack.

-Dropped the girls off at the Young's (baby-sitting group) and went to the Orthodontic Graduation - nice dinner and event.

-Demetra and Amanda (two girls from Dan's ortho clinic) came to church with us today and then came to our house afterwards for dinner and a discussion with the missionaries.

-A nice visit from our home teachers.

Here are a few pics from the ortho graduation:

Me and Sarah Lunt . . . . Darin graduated and they are off to California.

Dan and INext year's graduating class . . . . minus Matthew and Laura Ames who were out of town this weekend. I can't believe Dan will be graduating in 1 year!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Today Dan's Dad turns 60! The girls have a special message for him:

Happy Birthday David! We even celebrated last night by making a BIG bowl of popcorn with Sprite and OJ mixed together. This always reminds me of you:) We hope you have a great birthday - we love you!

Welcome Spring BBQ

Ohio winters are cold, gray, and LONG. So you can imagine how anxious we all are for the warm weather to finally arrive! It hasn't come quite yet, although we have had some pretty nice teaser days recently. Our friends hosted a "Welcome Spring BBQ", and even though it wasn't quite warm enough to eat outside (although the kids did), we had a great time and it just got us even more excited for summer! It was also a little last get-together with the Lunt family . . . . Darin is a fellow ortho resident of Dan's who is graduating this next Saturday. They will be moving to El Dorado Hills, CA and will love it there:)

Singing the Night Away

I'm afraid Leah's days of napping are coming close to an end. She has always been a baby that hasn't needed a lot of sleep . . . . she never took two naps as a baby. Just one in the afternoon. And now, my barely two year old, doesn't even need that. She is completely fine (and has been for awhile now) going all day without a nap. She doesn't get cranky. And then when her 8:00 bedtime rolls around she goes to sleep pretty quick and easy.

Some days I'm selfish, and put her down for a nap anyway because the girls are fighting and I need a break. Or I have things I need to get done and want to be able to work without interruptions. (I mean, really, is it too much to ask that my 2 year old naps? I know some 4 year olds that still nap!) Or sometimes I think that she really is tired, and so I put her down thinking she does still need naps. But then, without fail, on the days she has naps, she stays awake in her crib for hours. HOURS. Not falling asleep until at least 10, sometimes 11 pm.

At least she's happy (for the most part) for those 2-3 hours that she's laying in bed. Her favorite thing to do in bed is sing. She could sing the night away, and often does. Check out this VIDEO that Dan took of her a few nights ago by clicking HERE.

And wish me luck as we transition into a "no naps" household . . . . But maybe we'll still do naps once in a while . . . . I might miss hearing "twinkle twinkle little star" coming from that cute little voice upstairs at 10:30 at night:)

I'm Lucky. And not just today.

Today I was reminded how lucky I am. Dan came home after seminary today (something he never does) because he had a little time to spare before he had to be at Children’s Hospital. Annie was still asleep, but Leah was charming Dan with her morning cuteness. I could tell he didn’t want to leave. But he gave her yogurt covered mouth a little kiss anyway, and walked out the door to go to work. On his way out, he said to me, “You’re lucky.” And I’m pretty sure he had forgotten that it was St. Patrick’s Day today.

Sometimes I forget how truly lucky I am. It’s good to be reminded every once in a while. I have two adorable little girls and I am so lucky to be able to stay at home with them. Some days are harder, and my patience wears thin, but I still think to myself, “Would I rather be doing anything different?” No. Even when they throw tantrums, or take 15 minutes to buckle their own seat belt, or fight, or cry for milk in my face . . . . I love it. I love it all. I love staying at home with my girls. Because for all those bad moments, there are many more good moments, and I wouldn’t want to miss them for anything.

Today has been a really good day.

Today I got to cuddle in my bed with Leah. She really is cute in the mornings.

Today I got to listen to my girls giggle and play with each other in the bath.

Today I got to wrap Leah up in her towel and hold her like a baby. She loves this.

Today I got to help them button their buttons on the clothes I picked out for them to wear.

Today I got to brush out their beautiful long hair. And tie a bow in Annie’s.

Today I got to help Annie do her jobs and then watch her so proudly put stickers on her chart.

Today I got to pretend to be a rabbit and run away from lions and foxes at Singing Time.

Today I marched in a musical band with my girls and 20 of their friends.

Today I got to give my girls underdogs on the swings.

Today I got to sit in the sun and talk to my friends while I watched my girls play.

Today I got to hold and kiss my girls when they got hurt on the playground.

Today I got to listen to their sweet voices sing songs in the car.

Today I got to make my girls chocolate milk.

Today I got to read Leah a book before her nap.

Today I got to listen to Annie practice her reading.

Today I’m lucky. And it’s only 3:00. I’ll get to do a lot more things today. And not just today.

Mission Call!

Dan's youngest brother, Brian, opened his mission call last night! He will be serving for 2 years in the Tempe, Arizona mission and reports to the MTC on July 8, 2009. Congratulations Brian!! We are so excited for you. You are going to be such a great missionary! We love you!

Flirty Aprons

Dan's mom made us these matching flirty aprons for Christmas. Aren't they so adorable!? We absolutely LOVE them. Thank you Mary! You are so talented and creative. We love you! And our aprons!