Aaron's latest

Aaron gave his first talk in Junior Primary today.

For the month of June, the 3-4 yr olds in our ward at church are responsible for the opening prayer, leading the 3-8 yr olds in saying the monthly theme, scripture, and 12th article of faith and giving a short talk. Aaron's job this Sunday was the talk. The theme for the month was "The temple blesses me and my family" so on Wednesday Aaron and I sat down and talked about it and wrote his talk.

We then practiced having him read it a few times then on Friday Paul suggested he memorize it, and he surprised us by having already memorized the whole thing. Saturday we went to the church so he could practice saying it in front of the podium in the primary room with the microphone on. We talked to him about it a lot and he didn't seem nervous at all, but we knew that come Sunday afternoon it could be a totally different story. We were prepared to have to help him if needed as we know most parents have to whisper in their kids ears what to say.

But not Aaron. When it was his turn he stepped right up on the stool, grabbed the microphone in his hand and spoke right into it. He said his talk perfectly, and while maybe not everyone could understand him, he did a GREAT job and we were so proud of him. We sat in the back of the room and just beamed at our amazing son.

Here are some pictures of our adorable boy taken right before church. The fat lip was from falling at the play place in the mall, it bled for just a second, but then he was over it and thinks the ice cream he had for dessert last night erased the bump!









He fell asleep in the car on the way to church...precious!

Also, here is the talk he gave and again...we are so proud of him!

The temple blesses me and my family
Heavenly Father has asked us to build temples
A temple is also called the house of the Lord
In Doctrine and Covenants section 97 versus 15 and 16 it says:
“And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, my presence shall be there, for I will come into it.”
In temples families can be sealed together for eternity.
I’d like to bear my testimony that I know the church is true and I know that because of temple blessings I can be with my family forever.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Brian's latest

In General Conference in April, Elder Ballard told a story about being in church with his kids and the "cheerios got away" from him. Well today, the cheerios got away from Brian. He tried to bring me the whole bag, but he grabbed it from the side/bottom and it spilled all over the floor. I cleaned up about half, then took a picture of what was left.



We started working on transitioning Brian to the "big boy bed" in his room upstairs this week. Brian typically doesn't sleep well anyplace other than his crib. After several attempts each day, he's now napped there two days in a row. When he finally fell asleep Friday I braved the possibility of waking him up and took some cute pictures. Here's one of them.



He's such an angel!

One more thing...
Aaron:
Mom, what is tuba plus tuba?
Me:
I don't know, what is it?
Aaron:
Fourba....hahahaha!

Fun weekend with Friends

Gotta love the three day weekend!

Our friends Amber and Warren and their 3 daughters visited us from Kyle, Texas and we had a great time! When they showed up Saturday afternoon we made some of my home-made strawberry banana ice cream (turned our pretty good if you ask me) which won me a prize at our church end of summer party last year. Unfortunately for my waistline, I think we've eaten over half of the batch already! Paul was at a baptism at the church, so we went to Mary Jo Pecham Park in Katy near the church so he could meet us there and play. Silly me, I forgot to bring my camera, but Amber took a few great pics so check them out on her blog referenced above.

Amber and Warren brought us dinner Saturday night from Papa Murphy's Pizza. There aren't franchises here in Houston, but there were in Logan where I went to school and I miss it! I don't know whether it was a gift to get it again, or just mean since I can't have it again for a while! Delicious though! That night we stayed up late playing games (kazink and killer bunnies), chatting, and having fun.

Sunday was church of course, and Aaron (4) and Taryn (6) sat very nicely on the pew next to each other reading The Friend and doing puzzles. Brian (1) and Haleigh (3) were a little more all over the place, but it was a good service with great talks on family history and the new website the church has put out to help us with it. My mom and I plan on working on dads genealogy so I'll have to check out the site soon.

Sunday night we had some emergency home repairs of replacing our garbage disposal (Seriously Amber, it WASN'T your fault) but luckily Paul and Warren are both really handy and were able to fix it all after 3 trips to the Home Depot. Silly us though, we set the delay start for the dishwasher when we thought the disposal was fixed, then later took it back out and while we played games that night (more killer bunnies) the dishwasher ran and water filled the bucket we luckily had placed under the sink, then overflowed in on kitchen floor. It's all cleaned and fixed now, so no big deal!

Monday we had plans to head to the museum of natural science, but Brooklyn (2) wasn't feeling so well so they all headed back home.
Memorial day Paul ended up playing volleyball at the church with the missionaries, I started cleaning the house a little, we went shopping at Target for nothing special, then we had some other friends, Julie and Justin over for dinner and more game playing (pinochle) and chatting.

Now life is going to have to get back to normal, I've got 5 loads of laundry to do today, Aaron still has 3.5 days of preschool, the house is still not really clean and dinner will need to get made like always. Thank you Amber, Warren, Julie and Justin for helping us have a great Memorial Day weekend. It's always nice to visit with friends and I hope more people come to visit us soon.

A Million Dollars

Aaron randomly asked me at lunch today, "Mommy, what would you do with a million dollars?"



He's totally Paul and my son...we talk about stuff like that all the time!

I responded that after paying 10% to tithing, I'd pay off the house, buy 2 new cars, buy new clothes for me, give some to each of mine and Paul's siblings and save the rest.

Aaron said he'd buy 3 new cars...one in yellow, one in orange and one in red!

Paul later said he would pay tithing, pay off the house, buy two new cars, heavily invest in college funds for the kids, then save the rest.

We're pretty boring I guess...but what would YOU do with a million dollars?

Busy Day

I am the only one awake at home...my 3 boys are all asleep. I should be asleep too since I have had a very busy day.

I just typed a nice long blog explaining everything exhausitng I did today but then decided no one really cares what I do all day, so instead I'm going to discuss some stuff that's been on my mind.

Via my Google Reader I routinely monitor about 50 of my friends or family members blogs. Sometimes I check my reader multiple times a day and read one or two new posts here or there. I didn't check it for about 2 days and there were over lots to read today. Several of my friends had very interesting entries which I left comments on. That brought up a thought about a discussion Paul and I had lately about this blog.

Paul started this blog about 2 years ago for the purpose of sending information to his family in Utah. Since then (and against Paul's wishes) I've kind of hijacked the blog and my audience is more of my friends from church and school who are moms too and who we all read each other's blogs. I TRY to keep it describing the kids and stuff that my extended family would enjoy reading, but sometimes I just want to vent my thoughts, feelings, frustrations, or excitements about whatever goes on in MY life (church, teaching classes, kids driving me crazy, fun things I've done with Paul or other friends). I know Paul doesn't approve (and probably won't like this entry either...then again he's asleep right now!) but getting comments on my blog makes me happy and my girlfriends in the trenches comment (and probably read it) a lot more than my family or Paul's so I feel justified. Keep those comments comin' girls!

Anyway, there's my post...ramblings and all. I really should get to sleep though since it WAS an exhausting day!

Bunnies, Bunk Beds and Brian

For those of you that don't know, our house backs up to the pipeline easement, so we will never have neighbors directly behind us. Instead, we have a grassy field or sorts behind our house. My father suggested we plant a vegetable garden back there, but I think that would be weird and think our vegetables might get eaten by others such as...



This bunny, (maybe there's several bunnies, we don't know, we only ever see one at a time) shows up in our front, side and back yards on a regular basis. The boys and I went out to see it in the backyard on Monday and he stayed long enough for me to get several pictures of it. I'm sure he was scared of us, but I was pleased my boys weren't scared of him at all. As long as it's a bunny and not a snake I'll be fine.

Our fun news for the week (so far) is that the bunk beds arrived. Last Thursday we went to Star Furniture because we had gotten a coupon for 10% off which was only good on Thursday. We bought Aaron a set of bunk beds, a chest of drawers, and a nightstand for his room. We later went to The Mattress Firm and bought two new mattresses. Everything looks great and we are very excited! I can't wait to go shopping with my mom to buy some new bed linens! Aaron's old furniture is now in Brian's room upstairs and we plan on moving him from his crib to a big boy bed in about 2 weeks. Please wish us luck!



Lastly, Brian continues to learn how to do new things all the time. He is now tall enough to turn on and off all the light switches and I either see things flashing or just find random lights on now. He's been able to open door knobs for a while, and has even wandered outside the house by himself before (luckily it was moments before Paul arrived home from work!) The cutest thing he can do though is verbal. Not only does he have a good grasp on the alphabet, both recognizing and saying, but he'll randomly be heard around the house saying "I love you" and even says "I love you Mama" or "I love you Dada." Is there anything better in life than that?

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a busy weekend, but it was great!

It started with Friday night where we chatted with some family friends, Derle and Marjene Thorpe, until late in the evening. They were in town visiting Mom Fuller from Cache Valley, Utah and we really enjoyed their visit. Derle Thorpe was an engineering professor at Utah State University and was one of Mom's college Bishops. Simultaneously, he and Farrell Edwards, a physics professor, befriended Dad and lovingly taught him about the gospel through their examples. We are all eternally grateful to Derle and Farrell!

Saturday though, we got to work. Our goal was to hang the microwave in the kitchen and hang one ceiling fan. We out did ourselves though and not only hung the microwave, but hung 3 ceiling fans and purchased the new mattresses needed for Aaron's bunk beds which will be arriving on Tuesday. Thank you President Bush and your economic stimulus check! We've stimulated the economy alright! Here's some pictures of our handy work.



Paul did MOST of the work, but I helped and handed him things as needed and even helped lift the microwave which Paul thought would require asking for help from the neighbors!

We then put the kids to bed, had a relaxing dinner, and veged on the couch!

Sunday was a great Mother's day. Paul let me sleep in, made french toast (yummm!) and didn't have early morning meetings so he was able to help me get the kids ready for church. We had Mom and Derle and Marjene over for dinner and sat around chatting and opening our present. Unfortunately, Aaron wasn't feeling very well, and had a little bit of a fever, but that makes him extra cuddly with we love. I kept him home from school on Monday and he's already feeling better.



My favorite present was from Paul and was an addition to my Willow Tree statuette collection. It's of the mom and her 2 boys...which I think look A LOT like my 2 little guys. Love it!



I hope the rest of my week is as good as my weekend was!

Computer Time

I love my computer. I love the things that I can do on my computer. Technology amazes me, and I don't understand a lot of it, but I love it. My children watch me. They watch how much time I spend on the computer and they both love to play on the computer themselves. With Aaron, when he first got interested in the computer, we gave him an old broken keyboard to play with, then later we would just let him type on a word document. We'd put up a large, fun, colorful font and just let him type for fun. Then as he got older we moved up to starfall which is a great learning program. Now Brian loves starfall too. He's too little to move the mouse or touchpad, but he loves to watch us do it and even will sit and watch Aaron play on it.



They both are mesmerised. I feel as though I can already start to relate to my friends with teenagers who worry if their children are spending too much time on-line.

Likewise, I feel as though I probably spend too much time on-line. I love all of Google's products. Gmail, Google Reader, Google Calendar, Google Documents, Google Maps, etc. It is very addicting...checking to see who has updated their blogs...checking to see who has sent me e-mail...checking to see who has played me on facebook in the latest scrabble game. There are lots of legitimate reasons for me to be on-line too. My work as an environmental consultant, helping my mom sort out the medical insurance bills from my dad's last year, my job as a baby sign language instructor, paying bills, etc. but I feel as though sometimes I sit here in front of my laptop too much. Do you ever feel that way?

In April, our church had what is called General Conference. Twice a year the leaders of our church speak from Salt Lake City, Utah to give us counsel, advice and doctrine. Elder Ballard, one of the Twelve Apostles, gave a great talk about women and spoke to the mothers of young children in particular. Part of what he said was a wake-up call to me.

"Third, even as you try to cut out the extra commitments, sisters, find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests. Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that will enrich your life, and make time for them. Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children. Avoid any kind of substance abuse, mistakenly thinking that it will help you accomplish more. And don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet. Turn to the Lord in faith, and you will know what to do and how to do it."

That last line about not being "caught up in time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet" was directed right at me for sure. I'll admit...I watch soaps. I have 4 soaps that I've watched for years. I now try not to watch any of them during the day, but I set my DVR to record 2 of them and I have one or two story lines on each show that I watch and fast-forward through the rest. I often wait 3 days or so and watch 6 hours of programing in about 1 hour. Does this qualify as being caught up in time-wasting behavior? What about checking to see who has commented on my blog? Is that a waste of time? I am trying to be more conscious of my time...not having the TV on...not playing on-line as often...reading more and checking on-line less. Hopefully it'll make me a better mom and a better person. I'll let you know!

Buzzzzzzzzz

For my birthday I requested, and received, a set of clippers so that I can try to learn to better cut my sons hair. On Wednesday we had an extra hour before I had to go to my Young Women's activity, so we tried them out.



I know that it's not perfect, and hopefully I'll continue to learn as I do it, but I don't think they look terrible. They definitely look different than they did Wednesday morning though! Hopefully these will be good summer haircuts! (sorry to those in Utah still dealing with snow, but it is summer in Houston most days!)

While it's been a busy week of birthday parties, play dates, lots of cleaning and shopping and baby showers, there hasn't been much new to really report. We've gotten a lot done, but I still feel like there's tons to do. We're trying to decide what to purchase next...ceiling fans for the upstairs bedrooms, garage door openers, landscaping stuff, bunk beds...when we decide on our next project we'll let everyone know!

Paul wouldn't let me kill him

When I went to pick Brian up from his nap before church I screamed and told Paul "Don't let me kill him." Here's what I saw.



He didn't just pull down one little piece of wallpaper, it's like one BIG tear and LOTS of little tears. Tons of little pieces on the floor actually. It's partially my own fault, I knew he wasn't asleep, but I thought some quiet time before church would be good for him. I was livid though and am still a little mad at him. I guess we'll have to put his crib in the middle of the room now, instead of next to the wall. GRRRRR!

Maybe we'll buy those bunk beds we have been talking about and put him in a bed instead of a crib. Question to other moms and dads out there...when did you move your kids from a crib to a bed? Any advice would be appreciated.

So many Birthdays! and an update on Aaron

I've recently found out that in addition to all my family members birthdays in April, I also have several good friends with birthdays right around mine. So...to all my fellow April birthday friends
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Last week Aaron started going to PPCD, a pre-school program through the school district, in the afternoon. He now is enrolled in 2 pre-schools, one at a Presbyterian church on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings from 9am-noon, and now goes every week day to a local elementary school from 12:40-3:40pm. Tuesdays and Thursdays are a little crazy as I have to pick him up, bring him home, feed him a "quick" lunch, then go drop him off at his new school. He obviously no longer gets an afternoon nap, which used to take place about half the time. He's definitely more tired, and a little more cranky, but he does sleep in a little later in the morning.

The teachers at this new school are supposed to help him out with his social issues and specific goals for him include initiating conversations, questions and comments with his peers. Since the PPCD class often moves slowly, he spends most of his time in the pre-K class. He likes that he gets to ride the school bus home and now suddenly notices school buses whenever we are in the car. I guess now I notice how many buses there are too! Don't you love being able to see the world through your kids eyes?




For those of you who don't know, the school district thinks my genius boy might fall somewhere on the Autism Spectrum. While I don't want to think that he has any problems, I'm glad that the school district is taking the initiative to help him at this young age. Next year they'll put him in a regular community pre-school program, but send a teacher to his school to help him on his issues. Please wish us luck as we continue to try to find what is best for him!

Birthdays, Lots of Family, Austin, and Fun!

You know how sometimes during the year, especially around the holidays, you wait for life to calm down...look forward to things getting back to "normal"? I'd still like to believe that someday life will achieve some semblance of normalcy, but I'm waiting to find out what "normal" will look like.

After my dad's funeral we were lucky enough to have family around for quite a while. My brother and his wife and baby stayed for 2 weeks. My sister and her newborn are still here, but will go back to the east cost the end of this month. Her wonderful husband has been commuting on weekends to see them and continues to help out around here. We've had a great time with them all in town and will be sad to see them go back to their lives. I hope they find their own "normal" soon!

During all this time, March and April is birthday time for our families. During these months there's 4 siblings, one niece, one grandparent, 2 parents, and Aaron's and mine. Those that took place the week or so around the funeral didn't get the attention they usually get, but everyone was very understandable. We do have pictures though from Aaron's birthday in March and my birthday in April. We all got lots of great stuff and appreciate the generosity shown by all.


In between Aaron's birthday and my birthday, Paul's parents came into town. They had been planning on coming earlier in March, but kindly rescheduled for us. We had a great time with them. We went to the Museum of Natural History and saw Lucy. (Thanks mom and dad for having a membership to the museum! Dad would have loved it!)For those of you who don't know who Lucy is, find out here. I think the exhibit is only here for one more week.

While there we also visited the Cocheral Butterfly exhibit and got some great pictures too. Aaron enjoyed it right away, but it took Brian a while to figure out what was going on. When he did though, the look on his face as he watched the butterflies dancing in the air was priceless...definitely worth the price of admission!


While they were in town we also went to Austin for the day. We drove up by way of Bastrop State Park and drove around the scenic park before having lunch at a great roadhouse in Bastrop. Then we continued to Austin and toured the LBJ Presidential Museum and Library. If you haven't been there I highly recommend it. Aaron and Brian got their pictures taken with the actor portraying Senator Johnson and though we didn't stay long, it was fun. While Paul's folks continued to tour the museum we sat on the grass outside on the University of Texas campus and just played. Great times.

After driving around Austin for a little while longer we drove out to Lake Travis to eat at the Oasis Restaurant for some good food with a great view.


Before they left to go back to Utah we spent a day relaxing at home and played at what we call Airport Park. We drive to Cullen Park, then take the 1.6 mile walk to a playground and grassy field where we fly the kite. The local small airport is nearby and we can see the planes right after the take off and before they land. We had perfect weather while they were here and it was an awesome day!


Before they left we had a Family Home Evening testimony meeting which was great. I'm amazed by the wonderful spirits our Heavenly Father has blessed us with so far!


Well, that's my current update, I hope to get more "normal" postings done on a regular basis soon. Wish me luck!

Fuller Family Cousins

The good thing about the last few weeks is that my whole family has been in town. The last day before my brother left we were able to get a picture with all the cousins. Here's Aaron (4), Brian (1.5), Jackson (5 months) and Brycen (2 weeks).



I, (Jen), haven't blogged much lately, I've been leaving it up to Paul mostly, because it's just too hard to put any of my thoughts into words. Hopefully I'll get back to it soon.

(Check out some of the new pictures we posted on the right...I love the new slideshow feature! Expect more of those!)

Skidamarink

A few months ago, Aaron found an old children's song book at Grandma and Grandpa Fuller's house. He brought it downstairs and he and Grandma started looking through it. Grandma remembered this song and taught it to Aaron. It has been sung many times since.

Skidamarink is a very popular children's song with a long fascinating history. It was originally the grand finale song of the 1910 Broadway musical, "The Echo". Since the title is not a real word it has had various spellings over the years.

Though the original musical only lasted a few months, the song endured and was re-popularized in the 1950s by Jimmy Durante.

Typical Version of Lyrics

Skidamarink a dink a dink,
Skidamarink a doo,
I - love - you!
Skidamarink a dink a dink,
Skidamarink a doo,
I - love - you!

I love you in the morning
and in the afternoon,
I love you in the evening
and underneath the moon;

Oh, Skidamarink a dink a dink,
Skidamarink a doo,
I - LOVE - YOU!

Thank you Aaron and Brian for your fantastic rendition!

Birthday at Chuck E Cheese

Friday, March 28 is Aaron's 4th birthday. We will be going to the Chuck E Cheese by the Katy Mills Mall that afternoon at 1:30pm. Anyone who wants to come and have their kids play at that time is welcome. We'd love to see you and play with you! If you have questions...just ask!

Happy Easter

With the death of Jen's father this week and his funeral on Good Friday, Easter took on a deeper meaning this year.

Needless to comment, it has been an emotional, sad, and difficult week for our family. But this Easter has been special as the promises of the Atonement and Resurrection have taken a deeper meaning in our life. Jen's sister Marcia and her Husband John blessed their week old baby Brycen in Church on Sunday.

This holiday wasn't JUST about death and sadness, but also about birth, life, and hope.

While less important, we had an Easter Egg Hunt today in the backyard. Aaron was an old-pro at looking for Easter eggs. But Brian, although a rookie, figured out the object right away.




The azalea flowers have been in full bloom this weekend, and provided a nice backdrop for our Easter family photo

In memory of...

Funeral services will be 11:00 AM Friday

at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,
Cypress Stake Center on North Eldridge.
12310 New Hampton Dr

Interment will follow in Klein Memorial Park, SH 249.

Here's the link to the obituary in the Chronicle.

We do appreciate the love and support that we receive from family and friends.

we miss him already

For those who don't already know, Richard Fuller (Jen's dad) passed away Tuesday night after a year long battle with cancer. Details regarding his funeral service will be posted later. We appreciate all the love and support we've received this past year and the help we know we will continue to receive in the upcoming months.

From the Mouth of Babes

I've wanted, and tried, to do a blog entry several times this week...but life happens and so here it is Sunday before I make another attempt.

First the good news, my sister, Marcia, gave birth to a baby boy on Friday. They are going to call him Bryce and the pictures I've seen so far are SO ADORABLE! I can't wait to see him in person!

Next the bad news, my dad is back in the hospital and not doing so great. I don't want to go into details, I'm just too tired, but please everyone pray for him and my mom.

Lastly, at 9:50 tonight I went upstairs because I thought I heard Aaron moving around (keep in mind he is still 3 years old!). As I approached his room I found that his light was on and I got ready to send him to bed with gusto. However, I found him on his bed, reading The New Testament! He was reading in 1 Corinthians chapter 9. When I got there he was in verse 12 and when he finished his verse I started to read verse 13 to him. That made him cry though because "He wanted to do it all by himself" I laid there next to him and listened to him read all 27 verses, at which time I told him it was almost 10pm and that he should go to bed. We said our prayers and I turned off his light.

When asked why he likes reading the scriptures, his reply was "Because it talks about Jesus." When asked why ELSE he likes reading the scriptures, his reply was "Because is has so many books and so many chapters." When asked how he feels when he reads the scriptures, he replied "I feel GREAT-FULL"

He amazes me constantly and I am SO grateful to Heavenly Father for this amazing boy which I have the opportunity to help raise. I learn so much from him and I feel extremely blessed to have him as my son! I guess I'd better follow his example and go read my scriptures before I head to bed.

"Must Have Balance"

Daniel: When do I learn how to punch?
Miyagi: Better learn balance. Balance is key. Balance good, karate good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home. Understand?

We were walking around the block this afternoon, when I told Aaron to try going really fast and then picking up both feet. Up they went, and off he went. He coasted 15 - 20 feet on his first try.

The things I did on Monday instead of housework!

Paul says I have a sickness and that I should name it. Maybe others suffer from this as well, or maybe it's just me, but even though my kids are 2.5 yrs apart I love to dress them in clothes that are the same or similar. Especially for church or pictures. I don't know why, but I just think they are so cute and that they are even cuter in the same clothes. Maybe it's called "Identicalitis" or "Crazy Kid Dresser Disease" anyway, here's another one of them in cute clothes taken just after I gave them both haircuts on Monday. Brian was super squirmy, so his didn't turn out nearly as well as I would have liked, and I think they are both too short in the front, but luckily their hair grows fast and hopefully I'll keep learning until I get it right.



A couple of years ago Marcia bought Aaron the tent, tube and clubhouse seen here. In our old house it took up the entire main room. I love this house! Having an upstairs game room for the kids where I can set this up is awesome. And it only takes up half of the game room too! Brian and Aaron both love it and play in it tons. Super cute. Thanks sissy!



I also did our taxes and laundry, but the vacuum is still sitting in the living room unused (except for the hair!)

Good news! Dad came home from the hospital Monday afternoon. My "Aunt" Rene Wojnowski is staying with Mom and Dad for a few days to help out. I was over there all day Wednesday and have plans to be there all day Friday too. Dad is doing great. He is still pretty weak, gets winded easily, but he sat up in the family room all day, ate well, and was really himself again. We are so glad to have him back home again. The boys really do adore him, especially Brian. He LOVES to sit up and cuddle with Grandpa. When Brian was born we thought he looked like my dad which is why we gave him the middle name of Richard. We don't think they look much alike anymore, but Grandpa is definitely one of his favorite people!

My kids are SO CUTE!!

Ok, so I brag a lot, but I really do think my kids are the cutest ever! I hope I have tons more just like them!

Lately, they've been doing some super cute things. Aaron says "oh yes" and "oh no" all the time. Here's an example.

Mom: Aaron, would you like a banana?
Aaron: Oh Yes Yes!
or
Mom: Should we turn the TV off now?
Aaron: Oh no! We don't want to do that!

We don't know where the "OH" came from, but it's pretty adorable!



His latest amazing feat is that he truly has learned how to tell time. He can look at the big clock on the wall, and with just a little help from me, can tell me what hour it is, and what the minute is and then tell me what time it is.

His other cute thing lately, is that when he sees something that he wants that someone else has, he suddenly wants to share. He understand what sharing is, but he now wants to share what other people have, not what he has. This lesson is obviously still a work in progress.

Brian has his share of adorableness too. Recently, when he smiles at us he also raises up his shoulders...scrunching them together. It just makes his smiles all the more precious!



Also, he is one of the easiest babies to put to bed. (most of the time!) We give him his milk, then his pacifier, then we lay him down in his crib. He lays on his back with his arms stretched above his head and says through his pacifier "night night." We love it!

Brian had his 18 month doctor appointment this week (we are so excited to send him to nursery at church tomorrow) and the doctor said he was perfect! His head measurements were in the 50-75% (slightly higher than average). His height was in the 75-90% (he's pretty tall). His weight was 30.5 lbs which is in the 90-95% (so he's a chunk!) Aaron was also weighed on the same scale and was 34.5 lbs. Despite being 2.5 years apart, they only weigh 4 lbs different!

In other news, my dad is still in the hospital (2 weeks now) but hopefully will be able to come home sometime soon. He continues to respond well to the treatments they give him and while there continue to be problems, everything is being worked on and we pray he continues to grow stronger everyday. The kids are doing great as we drive to the hospital constantly and they behave very well in the family waiting room.

Brian showing off his Signs

Paul was quizzing Brian on Tuesday about some of the signs that he knows and he passed with flying colors. He knows other signs too, and learns more everyday. I should bring him to my class next week to show him off...but he'd want to crawl all over me and not let me teach. He sure is adorable though!

Time to update

It's been a super busy week or two which is why I haven't posted lately. Here's a brief rundown. We went to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate that Aaron had done such a good job potty training lately...he had gone several weeks without an , there was a YW activity, a dentist appointment, I took my car in to the body shop and went to BUNCO. We've had some play dates, story time at the library, and lots of time at Grandma's house. We feel like we've been really busy!

Then on Friday my father went for a radiation treatment and collapsed and had to be admitted to the ICU. He was there through the weekend, then was in a regular room for the next day or so. He was released Tuesday morning, but they had no business releasing him in the condition he was in and after meeting with his doctor in the afternoon was readmitted to the hospital. It's been a busy few days. Paul and I were both there to help Tuesday and Paul went with my parents to dad's doctor appointment. I am so grateful to my husband for being so loving and helpful with my family. Thank you Paul!

Monday Aaron had his evaluation through the school district to see if he has social delays. They were all very impressed with how amazingly smart he is, but they still want to observe him at preschool and see how he interacts with other kids. We won't know their recommendation or diagnoses for at least a month so I'll post more when I know more. We are thinking about not putting him in preschool next year though, just doing a home preschool co-op with other moms in the area. If you have done it and have any information to share I'd love to hear from you.

I do have some cute pictures and videos of the boys that we've randomly taken this past week and I'll put a slide show on to show just how adorable they both are. Sorry the bath one is dark...we'll try to fix it. By the way, Happy Valentines Day everyone!

I've been tagged.

I don't usually do these things, but Amber tagged me well over a week ago and I'm just now getting around to trying. Hope someone learns something fun!

Ok, so on to the "rules" once you've been tagged...
1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name).
3. After you are tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and your answers.
4. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name.(Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details.)

L - Lazy - I hate to admit it, but I really am. If I could sleep for hours, lay on the couch and watch TV all day I would totally do it. Unfortunately (or fortunately - depending on your view point) I have way too much to do to lay around. I HATE to clean my house (and it often shows) and dishes pile in the sink much more than I'd like to admit.
Y - Yeppers - Evidently I have terrible grammer, my 3 yr old started saying "yeppers" a lot...A LOT and while we started thinking he picked up this bad habit from preschool we soon realized, no...I'm the one that says "Yeppers" way too much. So much for my good example!
N - NOW - I'm really quite impatient. It is not a good trait to have as a mom of little ones either. It takes quite a bit of effort to watch them not do things right, do things slowly, and not interfere. I also am always anxious for the next stage...right now that's being impatient that I'm not pregnant again yet, but I guess Heavenly Father is trying to teach me patience the hard way and not letting me get what I want NOW.
N - Nice - Despite all the negative comments I just made about myself, I do think I'm nice. In high school my sister said I was the pretty and smart one and she was the nice one...but I think I'm nice too! I guess I'm vain though!
Ok...look out for me to be sending this to you now!

Caribbean Cruise

Everyone's been asking when we are going to post pictures of our cruise...sorry it's taken so long, there's just been a lot going on. If you are viewing on Google Reader, check out the actual blog to see the slide shows!

For those of you that don't know, we went on a cruise last week that left out of Galveston, went to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, then back to Galveston. The kids stayed with Grandma so it was just the 2 of us and we had a GREAT time! We got sick the week before we left, fevers, coughing, just the typical cold/flu virus that had been going around. For me it turned into an asthma attack and I actually had to go to the emergency room for a breathing treatment, then Paul got sick the next day, then Brian and finally Aaron the day we were leaving. We felt bad leaving my folks with sick kids, especially with everything else they are dealing with (my dad just started radiation treatment) but we also knew they were in good hands.

Thanks again to my parents for all your hard work. My mom got sick while we were gone too! Thanks also to Aunt Nancy and Uncle Tom for dropping us off at the cruise terminal and for helping my folks while we were gone.

We were on the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas and it is an awesome ship.

We had a cute little room with an ocean view, spent lots of time reading, playing games, and just relaxing. We ate GREAT (probably ate more than we should) and did almost everything there was to do on the ship. We swam in the pools, soaked in the hot tub, bought art at the art auction, took a massage class in the spa, took a class on a dominoes game called 42, saw a nice Broadway singing and dancing show, saw a magic show, saw an ice skating show, watched the fun Love and Marriage game show (like the newlywed game but with a newlywed, a couple married 20 years and a couple married 60 years), took part in a game show, ate at Portofino's (the nice Italian restaurant on board), ate at the Johnny Rocket's on board, ate at a midnight buffet, and lots more. There was always tons to do, but we relaxed and only did the stuff we wanted to and just played games and read a lot of the time.

At our first port, Montego Bay, Jamaica we took a bus ride up into the jungle and rode a series of 6 zip-lines through the canopy. It was amazing! Luckily neither Paul nor I are afraid of heights, but it was safe and we had a lot of fun.




Our second port was Grand Cayman and we took the tender boats in and our tour was a snorkeling excursion with 2 stops. The first stop was at a coral reef teeming with colorful fish. We were able to just snorkel and look at the beautiful coral and amazing fish. The second stop was not at sting ray city, but at a location 10-15 ft. deep where they routinely feed the sting rays so we again were swimming and snorkeling with the sting rays. They were HUGE. Larger than my arms outstretched and they ate squid out of my hand and swam around with us. We each got to pet them and kiss them (for luck) and we loved it. The water was just amazing and it was definitely our favorite port.


The third port was Cozumel, Mexico. The excursion we booked was to Passion Island (Isla Pasion) which is where they filmed a Corona beer commercial several years back...imagine white sandy beaches and a beautiful view. While on the island we ate a great buffet, shopped for our souvenirs, read our books, took walks on the beach, played in the water, and just relaxed. It was a lot of fun.

We did miss our boys and were glad to see them when we got home. Life is finally starting to get back to normal now. I was in charge of New Beginnings (a church meeting) last night and had a large group of young women and mothers (and some fathers) over to my house for a sit down dinner. Now that it is over I will get back to the business of putting my house in order. We look forward to having more friends over for dinner, playdates and games. If you live close please come over and play with us! We're officially ready for guests!

Not much of interest lately

Well, we haven't blogged much lately because life has been getting back to normal lately. As much as I love the holidays, I am glad to get back to our normal routine. Aaron is back in preschool and loves riding his skuut almost every day. He's getting pretty good at balancing on it, but mostly just has fun.

Brian got 2 new teeth lately and continues to just be happy. He is saying more and signing more all the time. I think the latest is "Thank you" simultaneously verbalized and signed. Totally adorable!

As for Paul and I, we're VERY EXCITED about our cruise which is in less than a week. Our next post will likely be pictures and stories from the cruise. My folks will be watching the boys and hopefully the boys will sleep well and be well behaved. Dad is going to be starting radiation soon, and hopefully it won't make him sick like the chemo did. Keep him in your prayers!

Lastly, tonight we had Family Home Evening and had the missionaries over for dinner. We had a new missionary from Avon, UT and he knew my old Bishop from Utah State (Noel Gill). It is a small world in the church! We did our songs and prayers, the Elders did the lesson, then for our "activity" we played "Trouble-pop-o-matic." It was really fun to see Aaron and the missionaries playing this children's game. Aaron's squealing with delight at the top of his lungs is quite an ear full, but it's enjoyable!

That's it for now...later!

Happy New Year - 2008

What a beautiful new years holiday. I overheard some people at church almost complaining about how the Christmas weather is so 'weird.' Granted, at home, I heard that there was definitely a white Christmas. It even snowed on Christmas Eve. However, I must admit that I like Christmas weather in Houston.

Here are some pictures from New Years holiday to back it up. We went to a nearby park and went for a bike ride. Aaron was able to ride his Scuut. By design it has no pedals, chain, or brakes. It's designed to teach balance on a bike. Not all the other distractions. My bet, and Jen isn't fully on-board, is that this is a better way to learn to ride a bike.

Aaron's bike - Part 1


Aaron's bike - Part 2

Merry Christmas

Since we haven't finished sending out Christmas cards I still reserve the right to wish a Merry Christmas.

Here are some pictures of Christmas morning.

Here are some pictures of the house. (as promised, but probably not anticipated.)

Moving In.

Moving into the new house and out of the old house was a paced methodical project. Jen, with some help from her mother, packed the house. Since the new house was only 1.5 miles from the old house, I would take loads over from one house to the other in the evening. We had some help from friends who helped us load a U-haul up with the beds, refrigerator, piano, washer/dryer etc.

One particular challenge that we encountered in moving the big stuff was moving the refrigerator. While unhooking the water line from the refrigerator to the old house, apparently, I didn't the valve turned off. As soon as the line came unattached I was immediately soaked. Water rushed from the pipe as I scrambled to tried to move the stubborn valve. Jen raced outside to turn off the water to the house. I did eventually get the valve shut, but not after gallons of water filled out kitchen. One of our good neighbors, whom we will miss, lent us his large wet/dry vac, and the kitchen was clean in 15 minutes.

The weather for the move was ideal. In Texas, moving in December is preferable to moving in August.



We are still unpacking. The massive pile of boxes has been moved from the front room to the garage. Although it is work, we are having fun setting up the new house. Deciding where to hang pictures and put stuff that doesn't have an obvious place are our challenges. We hope to be able to park in the garage soon.

Another quick update

I promise to try to post more pictures soon, but since I haven't gotten to it yet, I figured I should at least post something.

We've moved! We are officially in the new house and love it. Boxes are everywhere and we can't find all our stuff yet, but we are excited. There's tons to do of course, but we look forward to the challenge!

The old house is empty and has sold too! We should close this Friday and are so excited that someone else loved our house and wanted to buy it. That happened the day after we got back from Utah for Thanksgiving. We had a great time visiting our family in Utah and loved every minute of it (except for getting a cold that is!)He are some pictures.



Well, like I said, I'll try to post soon, but here's our new address for those that need it. Highlight the space below to see it

3015 Providence Oak
Houston, TX 77084

Quick update

I haven't had much time to post lately and don't have much time now before I run Aaron to pre-school, but here's a quick update on what we've been up to.

We closed on the new house on November 6 and are now excited and nervous about the move. The house is currently being painted and early next week will have new carpet and wood blinds in all the windows. We've done a few of the "fix it" tasks that need to be done, and others will have to wait until after we move in, but the house is in good shape.

Paul is out of town for Woodbadge Training (Boy scout stuff) Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Next week we'll work on moving more of our boxes from one garage to the other and some even inside the house once the carpet is done. Then we get to go to Utah for Thanksgiving! We are leaving on Thanksgiving and staying until the following Wednesday. When we get back we'll do the final push to move and will be in the house early in December.

Once this house is empty we'll probably have the carpets cleaned again...do more touch up painting and then just continue to pray that it sells quickly. We do have people showing it fairly frequently...a few times a week at least, so we are hopeful it won't take too long. Please keep us in your prayers for a good outcome!

Well, I've got to run, Aaron is having a meltdown about Brian turning the TV off. Wish me luck!

Family Home Evening

Every Monday night we try to have "Family Home Evening" where we spend time together. We start with a song and a prayer, then do a short lesson, then an activity of some sort, then close with another song and prayer and finally dessert. This week we were having some beautiful fall weather and decided to head to Mary Jo Pecham Park. I had made a pasta dish for dinner ( I just finished another session of "Once A Month Cooking" with my mom and sister), so after it was finished baking I threw it into a plastic container and we had a picnic. Once Aaron had eaten 18 bites (we counted of course) and Brian had eaten everything he could get his hands on, we let them play on the playground.

The swings are great, the boys had a lot of fun on the slides, and the Koi pond was a big hit with Brian this time. Aaron noticed the free mini-golf course this time, but we'll do that activity another night.

After playing on the playground we started our "FHE" with our song, prayer, and a lesson from the "Preach My Gospel" book (since all our regular FHE books have been packed already). Aaron helped read some scriptures and it is so adorable to hear his little voice reading. Then we had our activity of ring-around-the-rosie. We closed with our song and prayer and rice krispy treats then went for a walk around the lake before we headed home. Here's some pictures of the fun event. We love October weather!













And one more video...this was taken a week or so ago in our back yard. The kids LOVE the slide they got from Grammy and Grandpa Thomas last year!

The pain of the move

It's been a long time since I moved. I've lived in this house for over 6 years, and back then I had a LOT less stuff. I was single and I obviously didn't have 2 kids. Now I'm sitting at my computer sneezing and sniffling.

In less than a week we've put a lot of effort into cleaning out our home to put it on the market. It is now listed here and we had 2 people come look at it today. Before we listed though we cleaned the house thoroughly. As our realtor put it, we're moving anyway so we might as well keep packing. We've packed up kids toys, all our board games, re-arranged furniture and moved tons of stuff into our garage. I also cleaned the house thoroughly, on my hands and knees scrubbing everything. I guess I didn't realize how dirty the house had been. There's a lot of dust stirred up and Paul and I both feel like we've got a cold. Please pray for us that the house sells quickly.

As for the new house, we've gotten a lot of work done for that too. We had the inspection on Saturday (everything looks pretty good except it is FILTHY). Evidently it had been on the market for 7-8 months and it is just filled with dirt and dust. Yet another reason for feeling sneezy all the time. We've secured our financing (after long hours with several mortgage groups) and have signed all the paperwork and sent in our check for earnest money. We're going to get some estimates for re-painting the place and re-carpeting it too. Hopefully we can get that all lined up and done immediately after we close, but before we leave for Utah for Thanksgiving.

We still can't believe how crazy it is that we are moving. This has been one fast roller coaster ride. I can't wait until it's over and we are finally in the new house with this one sold!

So much to share!

It's been a little while since I blogged, and there's been a lot going on, so this may be long! (but it will be full of pictures on the different slide shows!)

First of all, here are just some pictures of the boys. Paul mentioned that no one had seen Brian's new haircut and they both look so cute of course!



Grandma went out of town for a few days so we hung out with Grandpa. We especially had a great time at the park.



We went to the mall with Grandpa too and there is a new play area for the little kids. It was really quite extensive and the kids loved it!



Brian is always a troublemaker these days and climbs on everything. He gets so proud of himself too. All I can do is shake my head.



Paul's birthday was a little over a week ago and after opening presents we went for a walk in my folks subdivision. We ended up at the gazebo where we got engaged and had our engagement pictures taken. Lots of great memories.



Lastly, our big news is that we are buying a new house. We got a really good deal on this house because it had foreclosed and we should close on it the middle of November. Now we're trying to fix our current house up so that we can sell it. Wish us luck!

Brian's latest update

Now that Aaron is in preschool, Brian and I get a little more one-on-one time and we love it. Actually he takes a nap first, which I love, then we get to spend time together. Today I was reading a magazine on floor of the living room while he played with a ball in the entryway. It was so fun to just watch him throw the ball on the carpet, then on the tile and laugh every time. He's still such a sweet, happy boy. I feel I can't call him a baby anymore now that he walks so well and understands so much of what we say. He follows instructions really well and surprises me all the time. Here's a few more examples:



1. For years we've had this routine for putting Aaron in his car seat (1 arm, 2 arms, click 3, click 4, click 5, kiss for 6 and hands on head for 7). Brian has the same car seat and I've said the same things for a while, but I usually gave him his pacifier for 7 since I knew he was little enough to not be able to get his fingers caught in the door or anything. This past week, when I've put him in his car seat he automatically puts his hands on his head after I give him a kiss! He's so observant and I love it.



2. He currently has a spoken vocabulary of 4 words and a sign vocabulary of 4 words (although he seems to learn more signs all the time, he just doesn't do them when I prompt him yet). His signs are: eat, more, milk and finished. His words are dada, mama, amen and my mom got him to say Grandma this past weekend. When we say prayers, whether on the food, or our nightly family prayers, or Family Home Evening, or even at church, he folds his cute chubbly little arms and at the end he actually says amen. It is so adorable!



3. He also loves to give kisses. If you ask him for a kiss he will walk over to you and with his mouth open WIDE dive at your mouth. Sometimes he'll get you just about from nose to chin. And sometimes he is in a kissy mood and just kisses you repeatedly! He's an animal. He can also blow kisses and gives high fives like a pro!



4. Lastly, the kid still eats everything in sight. He empties his bowl or plate at every meal (granted we find half of it in his lap or on the floor) and seems to never fill up. The first time he signed "finished" I was more excited that he was actually full than that he had made the sign!



Well, that's the update on the one year old. I'll update Aaron's activities again soon too.

Nature's Bug Zapper

We have the greatest backyard Bug Zapper. We share it with our neighbor just behind us. It's yellow and black and gives us all the heeby jeeby's. I had to muster up some courage to take these pictures. To give you a sense of scale... she is about 5" long with her body being about 1.5" - 2". She's big. I can see her from where I sit here on the couch.

Nephila clavipes (Linnaeus), or, Golden Silk Spider is a large orange and brown spider with the feathery tufts on its legs is well know to most native southerners. It is particularly despised by hikers and hunters, as during late summer and fall the large golden webs of this species make a sticky rap for the unwary. However, as is typical with most spiders, there is little real danger from an encounter with the golden silk spider. The spider will bite only if held or pinched, and the bite itself will produce only localized pain with a slight redness, which quickly goes away. On the whole, the bite is much less severe than a bee string. Typically, the webs are made in open woods or edges of dense forest, usually attached to trees and low shrubs, although they may be in the tops of trees or between the wires of utility lines. But ours has spun her web on our back fence.

When mowing the lawn or otherwise being in the backyard, I find myself ducking. I can't bear to exterminate her. She is pretty and has kept our back yard free of mosquitoes, flies, and other flying pests. So I guess we are both creeped out, and grateful. (mostly creeped out.)

Fishing and the Camera

Aaron, Grandpa Fuller and I went fishing a few weeks ago. Honestly.. it was the first time that I caught a fish. We all were having a great time until the camera fell into the lake.



Story of the Camera in the lake....

As you can see in the pictures the dock where we are sitting isn't super wide... Jen, playing the role of motherly photographer, capturing her husband's and son's first fish was maneuvering all over the dock with the nimble footwork of a billy goat. Just after snapping the pictures above, she slid the camera into her pocket and tried to edge herself around Grandpa. I don't think she noticed, but I saw the camera slide out of her pocket and gently splash into the lake.

When she realized what had happened and took over the duties of keeping Aaron from following the camera off the dock and into the lake, I jumped in after the camera. The lake is only about 4 - 5 feet deep where we are fishing. Initially I attempted to dive and feel around on the bottom with my hands. I quickly learned that my feet were better suited to find the camera sitting on the bottom. I found many other treasures on the bottom of the lake before I found the camera. It had spent 5 minutes underwater and was surely dead.

We took the batteries out, rinsed it with clean water, and attempted to dry it with a hair-dryer. Then we let it sit for a week ensuring that it was completely and utterly dry before attempting to turn it on again. When we did finally put the batteries in, it took five or six tries to get most of the camera functions to work... but the camera did work. And worked for about a week before it stopped auto-focusing. Then stopped working all together. After some effort we declared it gone.

Yippee! I get to shop for a new camera. Then I realized that the new cameras aren't as nice as the one we had. And they take different types of memory cards, and connection cables, and every other accessory.

I turned to eBay. I found our old camera for sale and started bidding. It took a few tries before I successfully replaced our camera with one identical for a great deal! Be careful... eBaying can potentially be addicting and time sucking!

But we have a camera again. So... the blog will continue.

Aaron's first day at preschool

Today Aaron started his first day of preschool. He attends New Hope Presbyterian Church Child Development Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am to noon. His teacher, Miss Anne, is very nice and there are 12 children in his class (more boys than girls too). We're hoping he makes friends easily and learns some necessary social skills. Here are some pictures of him from his first day.

He ran right in and started playing with toys. I made him kiss me goodbye and then I left. I was a little sad leaving him, but he didn't care at all. He was having a great time.

When I came back to pick him up he was all smiles. He was telling me stories of what he did in class (something about playing catch with a blue square and a story about a grumpy lady...who knows!) He helped decorate his own bag to take back and forth to class and he's looking forward to Thursday. When did he grow up so fast?