Our Princess

Well, as you all know, every princess needs a castle so we decided to make J a princess bed and as soon as she saw it she exclaimed, "It's my castle" and there our princess has slept ever since, except for last night when she tucked herself in on top of her hope chest. Oh, and something else every princess needs, a good pair of rain boots. Her Daddy got these for her last week and she hasn't taken them off since.

p.s. here's a close up of the blanket I made for her bed. My mom finished it off for me and brought it back with her when she came to visit earlier this month.

Belle & Beauty

I thought I'd write a little more about our two wonderful puppies. These two can be a handful at times, but we love them anyway. They compliment each other very well and get along great. They love to play with J, the only problem is that they like to play with her in the same manner that they play with each other, and it's a bit rough at times. When we first brought them home, Belle is the calmer one, and she loves to chew on her bones and is actually quite possessive about them. Beauty is definitely the active one and she's a bit more brave than Belle (which isn't saying much because they're both pretty chicken). They're growing fast and are almost the same size now (Belle was a lot smaller when we brought them home) To tell them apart you have to look at their collars or their feet. Belle has a pink collar and all black feet. Beauty has a purple collar and brown coloring on her feet. Both of them love to be outside playing and that's where they spend most of their time. We bring them inside when we're not home and they also sleep inside (we put them in a crate). They love to go on walks and occasionally Erik and I will even take them running in the evenings.

Gymnastics

J started taking gymnastics last September at The Little Gym and a couple of weeks ago her 1st semester ended and she graduated to the next class (2.5-3yr olds). Up until they're 3yrs old it's a parent-tot class. It's been fun for me to be able to go and help her as she is learning new skills. For her last day of class, Daddy was able to go as well so I was able to take a few pictures while he helped her out. Class starts out on the big red mat where they shake bells and sing a song then they move on to warm ups where they practice skills like jumping and walking backwards and then a group exercise (this day they played with hula hoops, they also have a parachute, balls, bean bags, and a bounce pad for fun activities). After that it's exploration time, at first, J's favorite skill was walking on the balance beam. She would walk on curbs or speed bumps or anything that looked like a beam (and still does). Lately, her favorite skill is hanging on the bars. She also enjoys doing spider walks, bear walks, forward rolls, and handstands.
Class always ends with bubbles and stamps. Here's J with her teacher Miss Patti.

Off to a Great Start

This year has kicked off with a great start. So far this year, Jordyn got her finger bit by a horse, I've had a head cold, both Jordyn & Erik have had food poisoning (on separate occasions), our dishwasher has started leaking and now we have a water leak in our foundation. Happy New Year!

I Danced with a Monster . . .

- I danced with a monster in your bathroom because I'm sexy and do what I want!
- Jordyn danced with a fork in an elevator because she's AWESOME!
- Erik sang to a fork at the dinner table because he's sexy and does what he wants!

Thought this was too funny!

Pick the month you were born:
January——-I kicked
February——I loved
March——–I karate chopped
April———-I high-fived
May———-I jumped on
June———-I smelled
July———–I did the Macarena With
August——–I had lunch with
September—-I danced with
October——-I sang to
November—–I yelled at
December—–I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1——-a birdbath
2——-a monster
3——-a phone
4—– –a fork
5——-a snowman
6——-a gangster
7——-my mobile phone
8——-my dog
9——-my best friends’ boyfriend
10——-my neighbor
11——-my science teacher
12——-a banana
13——-a fireman
14——-a stuffed animal
15——-a goat
16— —-a pickle
17——-your mom
18——-a spoon
19—— – a smurf
20——-a baseball bat
21——-a ninja
22——-Chuck Norris
23——-a noodle
24——-a squirrel
25——-a football player
26——-my sister
27——-my brother
28——-an iPod
29——-a surfer
30——-a homeless guy
31——-a llama

What is the last number of the year you were born:
1——— In my car
2 ——— On your car
3 ———– In a hole
4 ———– Under your bed
5 ———– Riding a Motorcycle
6 ——— sliding down a hill
7 ——— in an elevator
8———- at the dinner table
9 ——– In line at the bank
0 ——– in your bathroom

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:
White———because I’m cool like that
Black———because that’s how I roll.
Pink———–because I’m NOT crazy.
Red———–because the voices told me to.
Blue———–because I’m sexy and I do what I want
Green———because I think I need some serious help.
Purple———because I’m AWESOME!
Gray———-because Big Bird said to and he’s my leader.
Yellow——–because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange——–because my family thinks I’m stupid anyway.
Brown———because I can.
Other———-because I’m a Ninja!
None———-because I can’t control myself!

Now type out the sentence you made, in the comments.

Jordyn

Jordy Pordy Puddin' and Pie

Kissed the Boys and Made them Cry

When the Girls Came Out to Play,

Jordy Pordy Ran Way!

Jordyn LOVES hearing her personalized nursery rhyme. Today, I was thinking of how grateful I am for my little munchkin. I LOVE it that she likes to snuggle and that when she's tired or not feeling well she likes to curl up on my chest (she doesn't fit very well, but she tries). I think it's funny that she tries to "wipe away" kisses just so she can get more. I enjoy listening/watching her play and frequently hear her singing "I Am a Child of God" (she knows the entire 1st vs). I just LOVE this little girl!!

p.s. in the picture above, she took her toys off the shelf and tried to hide from Grandma & I. When I found her she said, "look Mom, I'm a toy!"

Finding JOY in the Little Things

One of my goals for the new year is to be more grateful. As I was thinking about this goal, I decided that it would be easy to just start off with the normal things that people are usually grateful for (family, friends, church, Jesus, etc.) and I am VERY grateful for these things, but I decided to try to think of the "little things" in my life that bring joy and gratitude. Here's a few that I've thought of so far. . .


My jacuzzi tub: I enjoy hoping in here and relaxing after J goes to bed and before E gets home. This is where I read over my lesson for Sunday (E & I are Sunday School teachers for the 14/15 yr olds at church) and read the ensign. It helps me to relax and gives me a quiet spot to be able to ponder the messages I'm reading.

My bed: Ours is truly a family bed. Since E works evenings, we are able to spend many lazy mornings in bed with J reading scriptures, snuggling and having fun.


Skype: I LOVE that this program allows J to get to know my family better. We are able to visit with my parents and all of my siblings via this program. It also allowed my parents to be able to watch J tear into her Christmas presents last year since they weren't able to come to Houston. It also allows me to visit with my family and keep those family bonds strong.