Catching Up on the Little Things

I just uploaded a bunch of pictures and realized how many day-to-day events I haven't blogged about yet, and since I use this as a secondary journal, I wanted to make sure they weren't missed!

A mere 8 days after I had my hysterectomy, Jonathan was headed back to the hospital for Colby to have his tonsils removed. I stayed home with Brycen, knowing I shouldn't be up too much yet, so I missed out on any "fun" hospital pictures, but this is the poor little guy, a few days later, zonked out on pain meds. This nap was so long that a couple times I went in to touch him and make sure his skin was still warm!


Even though Bailey is now 7 years old, she's only recently taken on the challenge of riding her bike sans training wheels. I tried to teach her last year, but she was scared (what little girl isn't?), so Jonathan put the wheels back on. This year I put my foot down and lovingly accused him of being a slacker dad because our 7-year old is the only child over age 5 on the whole street who still has training wheels. :-) Even Bailey admitted that she was scared to learn, but it was embarrassing to have them on her bike. So a couple weeks ago Jonathan raised them up so that they don't touch the ground if she's balanced well enough and started working with her. Her old helmet is too small now, but she wanted to wear one, so she slapped on mine.

Brycen is finally starting to really love his little gym. The first couple times I put him in it, I think it was a sensory overload, what with the music, lights, and crinkly toys. But now he'll play there for a good 20 minutes or so, talking to the butterflies, waving his arms around in vain attempts to grab at things, and just generally enjoying himself.

Jonathan had to work the night before Mother's Day and the afternoon of, which meant he spent the morning in between sleeping. Obviously that didn't leave much time for him to pamper me, but he was sweet enough to make a quick stop on the way home from work to let me know I was loved:
So yes, I had to make my own (and the kids') breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Mother's Day, but he's made every effort to make up for it since then--and always! He makes dinner 90% of the time, so I can't complain! :-)

This picture is awesome, so I'm annoyed that it didn't come out more clearly. Mother's Day evening I was outside with the kids while Jonathan was at work, just getting some fresh air. Then some neighbors came down the street to visit, and pretty soon there were kids running in every direction, riding bikes, etc. Colby went right to the garage to get out his 4-wheeler, and Bailey jumped on someone's bike. Besides the fact that they know we don't do those activities on Sunday, I had just been getting ready to get them inside for bedtime. I told them to get off the toys and just stay by me and visit, or go inside. Bailey did OK (for a little while), but Colby threw a little fit and stormed inside, slamming the door behind him. A few minutes later, he opened the door, stuck this note on the door with a magnet, and then slammed it behind him again. I was across the street, but I saw what he did, and my friends and I just laughed. When I finally went up to the door, I realized that it said the only 2 words Colby knew how to use to express his anger: "COLBY NO." He's done this a couple times now, and I've learned that since "no" is the only word he knows how to spell that has any kind of negative connotation, he uses it to say what he's really feeling: "Leave me alone, I'm angry, and you'd better not cross my path right now!"


The Martineau's in our ward have been generous enough to let ward members garden in a plot of land they own. We decided to take a parcel, even though we're not sure if we'll be here all summer (if Jonathan gets a job somewhere). We couldn't pass a good opportunity to obey the prophet and plant a garden!
The Martineau's also thought it would be fun to have a pumpkin patch for all the children, so they invited all the Primary kids to join them in planting pumpkin seeds, and then we can have a pumpkin harvest in the fall!

Since I didn't get to spend any time with Jonathan on Mother's Day--or have a special dinner or anything--I thought it would be fun to have a date with him the next night after FHE. I wanted to surprise him, though, so while he was working in the garden, I went home to shower and dress up. I had Brycen in his swing, but he was awake, so I didn't want to leave him alone there. I asked Colby to stay in the house and watch him and NOT go to the garden until I got out. I wasn't sure if he'd obey, but sure enough, when I came out of my bedroom, this is what I found. He wasn't happy, but he was obedient! (And by the way, this was after the pumpkin-seed planting, so no, I didn't deprive him of that!)


My parents have an exchange student from Norway right now, Ase Berit. (Ase is pronounced "Oh-seh.") She's so sweet and we've had fun getting to know her this year. We happened to be in Panaca for her birthday last week, so we got to share in the fun--Happy Birthday, Ase!


Friday was Field Day at Bailey's school. We had recently bought her some new summer clothes, and she thought this outfit was just perfect for the occasion. I pulled her hair back and even let her wear her new shoes, and she was so excited! She was embarrassed that I made her pose like this, though, and had to look around to make sure that none of the kids at the bus stop were watching!