All Smiles

At almost 8 weeks, Jackson's personality is really starting to show. He is so easy going! Which is a total blessing since we've been so busy. We are moving next weekend so I've been packing every spare chance I get. When he's not eating or sleeping, he's usually just watching us ever so quietly. He loves his swing and bouncy chair. He's sleeping a lot better too. And he just started to smile! I'm so happy I got one on camera. Sorry its a little off center- I kept trying but its hard to do the baby talk and try to keep his eye contact with a big camera in the way! 

Cute Crazy Tyler

This little stinker is about to be 2 and boy is he showing it!

No this isn't chocolate on his face. But luckily it isn't poop either! He came in the house crunching on mud and dirt! My big mistake was to say "Eeew gross!" Cuz then he started spitting everywhere! I wasn't sure whether to yell at him or laugh (this wasn't the first time and I've told him MANY times to not eat mud). I decided to laugh and made him pose for a picture.

This photo is for Grandpa and Grandma Clark! He LOVES his backpack and today decided to stuff it full of his animals. He wore it for a couple hours until he found his wagon and decided that  would be a fun way to carry his pals too. Thanks for the cool gift. (He's also wearing his cool Shrek shirt and loves to press the button for anyone who tells him they like his shirt!)

So one day Jeff was playing a new song for me on the laptop. It is called Poker Face and says "PaPaPaPoker Face" Tyler was the only one listening to the song at the moment and started singing "BaBaBa"..."BaBaBa"...It was so hillarious!

A Return to Virtue

A new value has been added to the Young Women's Theme. 

The Young Women’s theme is recited by Latter-day Saint girls aged 12-18 each Sunday across the world:

"We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places" (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are: Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowlege, Choice and  Accountability, Good Works, Integrity, and Virtue. We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation."

I've been studying what VIRTUE means: "a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards...Virtue begins in the heart and in the mind, is nutured in the home, and is the accumulation of thousands of small decisions and actions." 

Sister Elaine Dalton has given many talks on virtue and they are all really awesome. Check them out if you have some extra time:

A Return to Virtue

Stay on the Path

Look toward Eternity!

Not so bad...

Looking back at yesterday (after getting some sleep) it was not so bad...

I'm usually really good about finding the good in all things. Here are the great things that happened on my bad day:

My friend Becca and her son Zach came over to visit and play

I saw some friends at the park, it was a nice surprise

Tyler wasn't feeling well and I cuddled him to sleep. Its been months since I was able to do that

Jeff brought home dinner (Burger King at 8:30 pm, but hey I didn't have to make it)

Within minutes of writing my bad day post, my neice Lily (almost 4yrs old) called to sing me a song (click here if you'd like to hear for yourself!), and tell me a joke: "Knock knock. Who's there? Chocolate. Chocolate who? Chocolate Kirsti!" It made me laugh. At the end of our visit, she said, "Are you having a good day now?" How could I answer no?

Today was definitely a better day. To prevent yesterday from repeating itself, I spent the day with friends. Tyler got to play with Zach and I got to visit with Becca and Ashna. Jackson even had a buddy to play with (look at)! It was nice to escape all the responsibilities of housework for a day and I really enjoyed the good company!

Not a Good Day

Today was a hard day... my house is a disaster, my incision is sore, I smell like spit-up and I feel like I could brake down and cry at any moment.

Just in case you wanted details...

In the 10 or 15 minutes it takes to nurse the baby, Tyler will: remove all the cushions off the couch, try to blow his nose on my arm, insert my breast pad into the DVD player, try to remove the baby's face from my you-know-what, and smear oatmeal all over the chair, floor and wall. This last act was just the topping on the cake at 6:30 pm and has decided that I am in fact having 2 kids instead of the once planned 4 or 5...

I'm sure my lack of dealing with this has nothing to do with my lack of sleep (right) and the fact that I'm still mourning over the loss of Nemo AND I miss my mom, dad, cousin, mother-in-law, and father-in-law. Please come back!

The good thing about a bad day? Tomorrow has to be better! 

Poor Nemo

This is not a toy. This is the real fish we found on the floor by the tank. Nemo pulled a Nemo and jumped out. We were looking for him all day in the tank, filter and pumps. Never once did we think to look for him on the ground. By the time we found him, he was dry and crispy. I almost cried.

Just so you know, I was screaming as I was taking the picture. Who lets their kid touch a dead fish? Me.

Blessing Baby Jackson

Bapas are Comin!

When I told Tyler earlier this week that Grandma & Grandpa are coming to play with us tomorrow, he ran to the door and yelled, "BAPA!". I said, "no tomorrow" and he started crying. It was so sad! But I felt the same way. It couldn't be soon enough! Now they are here: Jeff's parents came on Tuesday and we have been having a blast. Sewing, playing games, a little shopping, and relaxing! My parents & Andy (my cousin) came last night and Tyler was going crazy enjoying TWO grandmas & TWO grandpas! actually three grandpas- evidently he thinks cousin Andy is somehow his third grandpa...we asked him where his grandpas are and he pointed to all three guys, one at a time!! We were cracking up

We are blessing Jackson at church tomorrow, so look back for more pictures in the next couple of days!

I found a dress for me to wear at Macys- originally $96 and after sales and gift cards, I ended up paying $11.58 for it! It couldn't be more perfect!

Smarty Pants

Tyler is quite the smart little guy. It cracks me up the things he says (or tries to say!)

• When I give him a piece of candy or something yummy and I say here's one, he says: "TWO!" I'm so proud of him that he can count to two that of course, I give him two candies!
  
• This one isn't quite so funny, but I'm proud of him that he is using words instead of whining when I TRY to dress him while he is playing, he will shake his head and say "nononono". The way he says it cracks me up everytime (either that or it just makes me say "yes yes yes yes!")
• When I ask him if he wants a drink of water, he walks over to the fridge and points to the dispenser and says "iiiiiiice". He just started saying the "s" sound last week. He is just like his mama and likes his water with ice!
• When we walk through the grocery store, he points out all the food he knows. This is particularly exciting in the produce isle. He will yell "a bapple" or "a nana" at the top of his lungs and everytime I tell him that we have to wait until we get home to eat them or else it is stealing!
• Anytime I ask him "what color is this?" He answers "purpa!" (even if it isn't!) He also calls powderd sugar purple because we made purple frosting one day.
• Whenever Jeff says "say bye to mom" while I'm holding Jackson, he will say "a baby" until Jeff says "say bye to mom and baby" And then he will wave bye.
• When we say prayers, he has always folded his arms. But he has just started to talk during the prayer. When we are doing our thank yous, he will say "dadda, mamma, baby". It is so sweet!!