BEGINNING OF JUNE

6/2 CJ and Mattie wearing silly hats

6/3 National Donut Day. This is what Mattie decided to do with her donut

6/4 CJ's first time fishing

6/4 CJ took this cute picture of Bryce

WHAT HAPPENED IN MAY

Apple Blossom Basketball

5/7 As part of the Apple Blossom Festival, the city puts on a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. Bryce was asked to play on a team by some guys in our stake that he plays basketball with each week. Besides the rain, and the fact that the games were scheduled right during the parade, it was pretty fun :)

Girl Time

5/7 Bryce's cousin got married in the Columbia River temple and so we headed out to their wedding reception and met Bryce's parents there. Bryce's parents both come from large families, so there were lots of cousins there, and Mattie had a blast playing with the older girls

Mother's Day

The card CJ made for Mommy in his preschool class

The flower that CJ planted for Mommy in his preschool class

5/8 Mommy woke up to breakfast in bed and this cute card the kids colored for her

Bowl Races

5/8 Even though the kids were sick on Mother's Day - just look at their faces - they still managed to find some time for fun. Usually the bowls are on their heads, but this day they decided to sit on them and scoot around the floor. Despite their faces in this picture, they seemed to really be having fun.

Computer Time

5/8 CJ has recently discovered that he enjoys playing the games on the Sesame Street website. Those are the only computer games he's into right now, and we're hoping it stays that way. Mattie likes to watch and we're fine with that.

Pretty, Pretty, Princess

5/9 Even though Mattie got her dress-up clothes at Christmas, she is just starting to get into them 

5/15

Sick kids

5/9 Unfortunately, our kids were sick for a couple weeks in May. Mattie started about a week before Mother's Day, and CJ started just a few days before Mother's Day. It took about two weeks before they were both all healthy again

 Sprinklers

5/10 So our kids are pretty much obsessed with the water. They love to play in it, inside the house and out. So when Daddy tests the sprinklers every once in a while, this is what happens: our kids strip down and enjoy the moisture

Flowers for Mommy

5/12 This afternoon we ate lunch out on the deck. CJ likes to look for "flowers" for Mommy (glad those dandelions are good for something) and took the opportunity to hunt for flowers while we were in the backyard. He found one and brought it back to Paige. He must have enjoyed her reaction because then both he and Mattie spent the next 30 minutes finding a "flower" and bringing it back to Mommy. The result was this little pile of love :)

Paige's Ever-Growing Belly

5/12 CJ loves to take pictures on our camera and he captured this great belly shot of preggers Paige

Playing in the Rain

5/15 One of the kids' favorite things to do is get all decked out in their rain gear and play in the rain. CJ especially likes it when he finds worms. Mattie, on the other hand, is not so into the "bug" thing :)

Crib Crammin'

5/16 CJ had gone in to play with Mattie after she woke up from her nap. Not too soon after, Paige heard Mattie complaining from her crib, and when she went in to check on them, this is what she found. CJ had put everything in Mattie's crib...while Mattie was still in there!

CJ's New Bike

5/17                                                                                     5/19

Mommy's Little Helpers

5/17 CJ and Mattie decided to help Mommy with dinner by setting the table. They were so proud of themselves that we had to take a picture

Who Needs a Vacuum...

5/22...when you've got Mattie around?! After spilling some of her breakfast, Mattie had no problem cleaning it up her own way. Sluurrrrp!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

5/23 It's been quite windy in Wenatchee this season. Not always that great, but at least it makes for good kite-flying weather

Rice Krispy Face

5/28 After eating her cereal and milk in the morning, Mattie likes to drink every last drop of milk from her bowl, and this is what her face looks like afterwards half of the time :)

Story Time

5/30

Pretty, Pretty, Prince?

5/31 Maybe it's time we got CJ some of his own dress-up clothes? :)

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

Tuesday May 10th - Monday May 16th

- 5/12  Tonight was the first time the baby was kicking enough to feel it outside my belly. He's been kicking more and more, but mainly at night, and really it's only been something I can feel. Unfortunately, Bryce just missed it :(

- 5/14  Bryce was able to feel the baby kick for the first time tonight! Yea!!

- It's so cute how CJ calls Mattie "sweetheart" and "sweetie pie." He especially does it when she's waking up in the morning or from a nap. He'll go in and with the sweetest voice say, "Are you awake, sweetie pie?"

- CJ is excited to be getting a little brother. The other night he started telling me everything he's going to teach his little brother: baseball, catching bugs, singing, throwing balls, cars. It was very cute and we are so excited.

- Mattie is excited too. She likes to kiss my belly (and she insists that it be my bare belly) and gently pat it. It's becoming a nightly ritual with both CJ and Mattie.

- We got CJ a real bike last weekend! When Mattie turned two and got a tricycle, we really felt like we needed something for CJ because all he had was a scooter. He's big enough for a bike with training wheels, but we weren't sure how well he'd do with it since he's never ever really ridden a tricycle, so we held off. But after a couple months of CJ very quickly mastering Mattie's tricycle, we thought it was time for him to get his own bike, something that's not pink with tassels :). So Toys R Us was having a sale, plus I had a credit there, plus we had a gift card, so we were able to get CJ a super cool green (his favorite color), Tony Hawk bike with training wheels. It was originally a $90 bike that we got for $35! Can't pass that up, right? CJ's loving having his own bike. I just wish we had a flat driveway to make it easier for him to practice without going in the road.

Happy Monday!

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

Tuesday May 3rd - Monday May 9th

- 5/3 We found out today what we're having! It's a boy! Yeah! I'm excited!! I don't know why, but I'd rather have Mattie be the only girl, than CJ be the only boy, so I'm excited he's going to have a brother. This baby is big though, measuring in the 94th percentile for weight. That's why I'm so big, right? ;)

- 5/5 My life as I know it is now over...Mattie learned how to crawl out of her crib :(

- Brent landed in Indianapolis on Wednesday, and after a speedy demobilization, was reunited with his kids in MI yesterday! So good to finally have him back on American soil!! I'm so proud of my brother.

- When Mattie wants to sing Yankee Doodle, which is like her favorite song right now, she calls it "macaroni."

- Mattie has become quite the little sass-a-frass lately. Most two-year-olds just say no, but Mattie lets us know very definitely how she feels: "No, I don't want to take a nap!" "I don't want a hot dog!" "I don't want to brush my teeth!" "I don't want to get dressed!" And her cry has turned into a screech/scream half the time. Oh, and she has also become a super picky eater. Her once rather large palette now consists of cereal with milk in the morning, toast, yogurt without chunks, corn, and fruit. Once in awhile she'll tease us by actually taking a bite or two of whatever has been prepared for lunch or dinner, but then she turns her nose up at it. Ugh. I hope she gets over these things soon because I'm not sure how I'll handle it when I have a new baby around.

- Our poor kids have been sick and it stinks. Mattie has had a cold for a week and her little face is all chapped from being wiped every minute or two. And now CJ has the flu. I was hoping the season to be sick was gone with the snow...

- Mattie calls backpacks "pack backs," but when she wants to actually wear the backpack, she asks us to help her put on her "wings." :)

- CJ has this new silly thing where he lips words without actually saying them :) 

- So our kids are obsessed with nursery rhymes. That's what they want to read every night and they like to take turns choosing which one to "read," which really means them reciting it. It's great! We even got to enjoy a little concert today where CJ and Mattie would take turns sitting on the table singing us some of their favorite songs - The Wheels on the Bus, Old McDonald, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Mary had a Little Lamb, Bingo, and Hey Diddle Diddle. Each performance was praised with a round of applause by the entire audience :)

Happy Monday!

ACTION TREMOR

Ever heard of it? Neither had we. But we're learning more and more since CJ's pediatrician told us he thinks CJ may have one. It all started on Monday, April 11th. Actually, it started long before that, but let's go back to November when Paige's mom was visiting for Thanksgiving. She noticed something in CJ, a tic is what she called it, but it was something noticeable enough to Grandma Forsgren that she told Paige about it. Now Paige, who had noticed CJ wasn't the smoothest in his movements, was a little defensive and brushed it off, knowing very well that CJ could sit and be perfectly still while watching a movie or reading a book, so she knew he didn't have a tic. Fast forward to April 11th when one of CJ's preschool teachers stops Paige after class ("Oh no, what has CJ done now?" were Paige's thoughts...see earlier posts) and asks if she's ever noticed that CJ is shaky, like when he writes, almost as if he's shivering. Um, taken aback a little bit, Paige responds that she's noticed that he's not quite as coordinated as other kids his age, and that he's always been just a little behind physically (he crawled at 12 months, walked at 17 months), but she thought that was just his personality. But then, of course, she's reminded of her mom's comment months earlier. Ok, so now if not only Grandma noticed, but a professional who works with lots of kids CJ's age noticed it and it struck enough concern in her to talk to us about it, maybe there is something more going here with CJ than just being a little more cautious or timid than other kids.

And so Paige made a phone call to Dr. Jantzen (CJ's pediatrician) that day, and 3 days later CJ was in his office. After asking several questions and doing some physical tests, both reflexive and task-oriented, and after looking at some of CJ's school work and drawings, Dr. Jantzen assured us that CJ's cognition is perfectly fine. In fact, in one of his drawings he had drawn seven features (it was a drawing of Mattie that had her head, eyes, nose, mouth, legs, hair, and pigtails) when most kids his age only draw 5, so that was very reassuring. However, he did want to run a blood test just to rule out a metabolic issue, which he was pretty sure was not the case, and he also wanted to have CJ evaluated by an occupational therapist to see if his fine and gross motor skills are delayed. That's when he told us he thought CJ had an action tremor, which he told us was nothing really to be too concerned about. Dr. Jantzen even said he had one, and showed us by pointing to something with his index finger so we could see the slight shake in his hand. Anyway, he went on to say that CJ would never be an Olympic gymnast, but he could play baseball and tennis and whatever else and be just fine. After looking at CJ's writing, Dr. Jantzen also thought that CJ might have something called dysgraphia, which is a deficiency in the ability to write, but that at the same time, a lot of kids CJ's age have scribbly, shaking writing, so it's probably too early to tell. Overall, Dr. Jantzen was very positive about everything, telling us that he really didn't think that CJ's tremor was much to be concerned about, that he didn't think he'd need therapy, but that he wanted to get an evaluation just to be safe.

After leaving the pediatrician's office, we headed over to the lab across the street to have CJ's blood drawn. And let us tell you, CJ is a champ! First they went in one arm, and after meddling around for a bit with no blood, they had to switch and go into CJ's other arm. More needling around in there and they finally got some blood, but they weren't sure if it was enough, so they sent CJ, who had watched the whole thing without as much as a yelp or a tear, back out to the waiting area. Then they called his name again because, just our luck, it was not enough blood and CJ had to go though it all again, except this time, all the meddling in his arm came out fruitless (unless you count the wincing and small crying that began this time around -  poor guy!). Finally, they had to call in the head phlebotomist who found a vein in CJ's hand that they used to get the rest of the blood they needed. CJ walked out of there with pencils and stickers and more stickers, they felt so bad, and he was practically bandaged up like a burn patient. It was probably all worth it though because his labs all came back normal. Yes! Check - no metabolic issues here, thank goodness!

Now to get an evaluation done. Not as easy of a process as we thought it would be. We won't go into all the details about therapists no longer on staff, therapists no longer taking new clients, therapists not taking our insurance, year long wait lists, etc, etc. Instead we'll just say that after many, many phone calls we were thankfully able to get CJ into to be evaluated by an occupational therapist just 8 days after his teacher had first brought this up to us.

CJ's evaluation was held at an occupational therapist's house. Heather MacNeil, the therapist, has transformed her basement into a mini gym, with pads and swings and planks and ropes, as well as toys and games and all sorts of other things. CJ had no idea he was being evaluated, he just thought he was playing at a new friend's house and this friend had the coolest stuff to play with :). The initial evaluation took almost 2 hours and ranged from things like balancing on one foot and throwing balls, to drawing shapes and using scissors. After his evaluation was complete, Heather told us she'd get back to us in about two weeks. And sure enough, about two weeks later Heather gave us a call. She sent us the official evaluation, the same evaluation she sent to the doctor and the insurance company, but over the phone she summed it up for us. Heather said that she did notice a little shakiness in CJ, but nothing she felt was hindering his motor skills. Good news. Then she told us his ball skills are great (in fact, that part of the evaluation took a long time to complete because when they test the skills of the child they test until the child fails a portion of the test, and CJ kept passing all of the ball tests, so it took almost a quarter of the time :), his fine motor skills and grasping are borderline, and his gravitational security and motor planning are what she would want to work on (gravitational security/insecurity is what affects how CJ feels when he goes down the slide, rides the swing, jumps off a high surface, etc; not feeling secure in his own body is probably why he's reluctant at first and usually needs help. Motor planning is the ability to see or be told how to position oneself, like playing Simon Says). Overall, Heather said that CJ is borderline delayed. He has skills that are emerging, like using scissors, but others that therapy might be beneficial for, but again, because he is borderline, we could go with or without treatment. She set some goals and thought that CJ could get up to speed on all the goals in 24 session at the most. And the insurance company would cover it. All good news...really good news.

So after both going over the evaluation and the goals Heather set for CJ, Bryce and Paige both decided to go ahead and begin therapy. CJ has now had two sessions - he currently has a one hour session every other week - and we already see improvement. He is doing much better at the playground, going from needing assistance at first, to not needing any assistance the last couple of times we've gone. And his grasping skills have really improved as well. Instead of using all his fingers but his pinkies to hold a pencil, he now is getting much better at using the standard tripod approach (thumb, index, and middle fingers) when he holds his pencils and whatnot. And probably the best news is that CJ loves his therapist and loves his sessions!

We feel very blessed that the insurance we currently have completely covers CJ's therapy, otherwise it would not be possible for us to have CJ in occupational therapy. But most of all, we feel so blessed that of all the struggles that CJ could have, being a little delayed in his motor skills is something pretty minor, and it's something that can be taken care of. We know there are so many children out there who suffer from terminal illnesses, completely debilitating diseases, and irreversible mental and physical handicaps, and so we feel very humbled, very grateful, and very blessed to have such healthy children. Life is good! 

BABY #3

Paige finally had her 20 weeks ultrasound on May 3rd (but she was actually 19 weeks along). We were so excited to finally see some more images of our little baby! It's always such a relief to see the little baby moving and to see that they are growing and developing normally and naturally. And then of course, to find out the gender! We had originally arranged for a babysitter, but Bryce decided he really wanted the kids there (Paige did too, but since she'd be laid up on the table and not able to help with them much, she left it up to Bryce), so we canceled the babysitter and took the kids along too. CJ was so excited to see the baby on the tv screen, and his interest definitely lasted longer than Mattie's :).

After the ultrasound, waiting for the sonographer to come back with the images

Baby's tiny feet

Sucking their little thumb - so cute!

Baby's profile

In order to really be able to share the news of the gender together, we decided to have the sonographer not tell us the gender right then - and we looked away when she checked that area. Instead, she put it in an envelope for us to take home and open together. We couldn't wait to get home! Once we got home, we set up the camcorder, sat around the table together, and then let the kids open the envelope. The sonographer was so cute and surprised us by putting two suckers and two stickers in the envelope for CJ and Mattie, which they loved. And then we pulled out the picture of our little...

...BOY!!!

(and it is most definitely a boy! in fact, we debated about whether this picture was too graphic to put on the blog :)

APPLE BLOSSOM YOUTH PARADE

The Apple Blossom Festival is kind of a big deal here in Wenatchee. And apparently the youth parade is pretty huge too. CJ's preschool, Little Learners, got to participate in the parade a couple of weeks ago, along with 91 other entries. That's a long parade! Thank goodness CJ's school was 9th to walk. Anyway, they were able to ride on a boat and some of the parents (including Paige) walked with them. It was CJ's first parade and even though he was a little intimidated at first, by the time they actually started moving, he was smiling and waving...and kept it up the whole time. He did great! And his preschool took 2nd place overall for their float/parade entry!

CJ (kneeling by the sign) and most of his preschool class

Practicing their waves

CJ really like playing with that fake fishing rod :)

Bryce and Mattie cheered from the sidelines and speedy Bryce was able to catch up with Paige and CJ multiple times!

Mattie got to snack on a crunch pak of apples, and even be interviewed with Daddy for a Crunch Pak commercial, while waiting to see CJ

Proud of our little parade man

Happy Apple Blossom!!

TO THE BEST MOM I KNOW

Today was supposed to be a special day.  A day where Paige could relax and enjoy thoughtful gift after thoughtful gift from her husband and kids...where she could be pampered.  Unfortunately, due to a busy weekend (a result of my overplanning and carelessness) and a husband with the foresight of a twig, today has turned into a pretty pathetic excuse for a Mother's Day.  Not to mention the fact that both our kids are sick today and Paige had to go to church all by herself.  In a last ditch effort to salvage the day, I am doing something that Paige has wanted me to do for years...publish a post on the blog. 

Paige is much more eloquent and whitty than I am, so I've always been hesitant to throw in my two cents to this masterpiece that is the blog.  But if I'm going to post something, I figure it's best to talk about something that comes easily:  talking about the love of my life and best friend. 

This isn't meant to be a slight on my Mom (who is the best mom I've ever had :) ), but Paige really is the best mom I know.  It always amazes me how much she loves our kids.  She spends the majority of her time caring for them and thinking about them.  She is an amazing teacher, always taking time to teach our kids important things.  If you were a fly on our wall, you would quickly learn that CJ and Mattie know scores of primary songs and nursury rhymes, they have entire books memorized thanks to Paige's insistance on reading to them, CJ can quote the 1st Article of Faith, and (most importantly) our kids can recognize the Savior in any picture and understand that He loves them. 

Paige has the strongest desire to make special occasions (birthdays, holidays, etc.) the best ever.  She spent hours (seriously...HOURS!), baking Spongebob, Ladybug, and other cakes that our kids barely took a bite out of.  She is also constantly thinking about what to get people for their birthdays.  I can almost guarantee that somewhere in her purse there is already a Christmas list in the works!  This past Easter we had enough candy to give an entire elementary school cavities for the rest of their lives.  You would think, at first glance, that Paige just liked to shop and had very little self control, but you'd be dead wrong.  I've learned that the painstaking time, effort, and energy Paige puts into these events is a result of the deep love she has for her family and her overwhelming desire to make them happy and feel special.  And she's never let us down on that front.

I just have to mention that one thing that CJ loves about his mommy is "hugging her" (he just told me that).  She really is a great hugger :)

Unbenownced to Paige, she already has experience with raising three kids, myself being the biggest child of all, requiring constant care, encouragement, instruction, and re-instruction.  Despite how frustrating it must be to have to parent a grown man, she does it lovingly and patiently.  I can honestly say that Paige makes me the best me I can be.  Besides just flat out making me happy, she constantly encourages me to do the right things and grow personally and spiritually.  I honestly don't deserve her and will be eternally grateful to a loving Heavenly Father for blessing me with her. 

Paige, if I am not able to give you anything else today, I hope that I can at least help you to know that you are loved.  Your kids love you and I love you more than anything...and will forever.  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

- 4/27 Today after lunch CJ got a time-out for hitting Mattie. It was about nap time anyway, so I just took him in for his nap and we stopped in the bathroom on the way to his room. As he was sitting on the toilet and I was waiting for him to finish, he caught me off guard by saying, "Mommy...I just love you." Talk about softening my heart! It was the sweetest thing I've heard! (and I'm glad I finally got to hear it because I know he's said that to Bryce before already :)

- This week we had BLTs for dinner one night, with sliced watermelon and some carrots and cucumber with ranch. Low-cal, low key, and usually a crowd-pleaser. I guess I didn't realize how much of a crowd-pleaser it was until CJ looked at me and said, "Thanks for making the best dinner, Mommy!" Wow! I could use that kind of appreciation a little more often :)

- Bryce and I made a tough decision this week, one we've been struggling with. We decided not to go to the reunion of our law school friends. When we graduated last year, we all were so close that we discussed having reunions. Even then, Bryce and I thought that having a reunion the first year was maybe a little quick because we'd all still be poor, but we knew we'd be on board regardless. Every one was in favor of having a reunion this year, so after months of planning, the date was set, condos were scheduled (including Bryce's great aunt's condo at the family rate), plane tickets were bought, calenders were marked, and we were ready to go. But as we drove home from Seattle last week (Bryce had a CLE downtown, so the kids and I spent the day with Gramma) and had the 2 1/2 hour drive to discuss our finances and everything going on this summer (Courtney's wedding in June, Scout camp in July, Cameron's wedding in August), we both finally said out loud what we'd been feeling months: we really shouldn't be going to this reunion. As much as we didn't want to say it, once we both admitted that's how we felt, we knew we couldn't go. We just felt like we were being really irresponsible and frivolous and that, at this stage in our lives, we hadn't exactly earned such a trip. And that's not to say anything about our friends -  especially since most of them will not be spending the amount of time and money that we would have had to - but just what was right for us. We've probably known all along we shouldn't be going, but we so didn't want to miss out on seeing our friends. These are some of the greatest people we know and we miss them terribly and the more I think about what we'll be missing, the more I cry when I think about it. So I try not to think about it. And Bryce and I better be doing some crazy-fun stuff that weekend or I'll go crazy with envy that we're not basking in the sun in St. George, enjoying a poolside BBQ or a great pedicure, and sleeping in for 3 days. Anyway, we're doing the right thing. Just gotta keep telling myself that. We're doing the right thing...

- Mattie has been ultra sensitive about her fingers lately. Her fingers or her "nickles" (knuckles) always seem to be getting hurt, and then when we don't find the exact place to kiss, she takes over and shoves her fingers/hand on our lips over and over until she's satisfied. It's pretty funny.

- We discovered last week that Mattie can crawl out of the pack-and-play (4/23), which is going to make visiting Papa and Gramma a little more difficult. Ugh. But so far she hasn't utilized that information to get out of her crib, thank goodness! We're hoping she never really figures it out ;)

- On Thursday night Mattie was sitting next to Bryce and me and I was talking about the baby. She leaned over and kissed my belly. It was very sweet. Then she asked if she could, "Please I see it?" Hopefully we'll have ultrasound pictures soon that will keep her satisfied for a while.

- Speaking of baby, I think we've got names figure out for baby #3. I better not say what they are yet, at least the boy name, because Bryce is still deciding whether he likes it or not. He said he doesn't not like it, which is a good sign. I just need to be a little patient and give him some time to get used to the name :)

- I went to see the doctor last week for my monthly visit and to my relief, not only did the baby have a strong heartbeat (160 beats a min), but according to the doctor, was very active. It had been over 5 weeks since I had been to the doctor, and since then I had had my episode of spotting and cramping, plus I haven't really felt the baby move much, so it was a big sense of relief to hear that rapid little heartbeat on the monitor (sigh). On a not-so-great note, I'm getting fat!! I've already gained 20 pounds and I'm only 18 1/2 weeks. My sweet doctor didn't say anything, like I expected, but just asked if I was making "healthy choices." I said I'm trying and told him about the mile and a half hard walk I had just gone on pushing my two kids uphill for half of it. What I didn't tell him was that last month we celebrated 3 birthdays, last weekend was Easter (which I think is probably worse than Halloween because of all the food on top of the candy), and this weekend is the Apple Blossom festival, which I have been waiting two years to attend (festivals = super healthy food, right? :). Thank goodness I walked in a big parade and then we walked all over town for the festival. And now that the weather is starting to get nice (except for the wind), we'll be out a lot more going to the park, going on walks and hikes, riding bikes, etc. So to the second half of my pregnancy I say, Bring It!!

- Yesterday would have been my dad's 76th birthday. Love you, Dad! Miss you like crazy!!

- After a two day delay, my brother finally boarded a plane out of Afghanistan. His deployment is finished! Right now he's in Manas waiting to leave for the U.S. in a couple of days. I'm glad he's out of Afghanistan - especially since the U.S. killed Osama Bin Ladan yesterday and who knows what kind of up roar this is going to cause. But I can't wait for him to just be back on American soil. I will breathe easier and sleep better when I know his plane has touched down here in the good ol' U.S. of A.

- We find out tomorrow what we're having!!!! I think it's a boy, which probably means it's a girl (that's how it was with both CJ and Mattie). Bryce doesn't really have any inclinations, and of course, CJ wants it to be a boy and Mattie wants it to be a girl. We'll keep you posted!

Happy Monday!

SOME APRIL RANDOMNESS

4/25 This picture is great because it shows what Mattie and CJ look like most of the time around the house: Mattie in a "silly hat" and CJ pant-less

4/25 CJ was so excited to finally use all his rain gear (he doesn't need to know that puddle came from our sprinklers and not the rain :)

4/25 Drop by our house after 8 PM on a Tuesday night and this is what you're likely to find. Yes, Bryce delivers papers once a week. He knows how to bring home the bacon :)

4/26 Bryce had a CLE (continuing legal education) class in Seattle, so we all headed over for the day. Mattie and CJ had a blast playing with Zack in his bouncy ball pen.

4/27 Spring is the windy season in Wenatchee. Great time to whip out the Buzz Lightyear kite that the Easter Bunny (aka Gramma) brought CJ.

4/27 Our neighbor's much-talked about "goat and ducks" that our kids ask to see on a daily basis (goat not pictured)

 4/28 Why are the kids smiling? Because they both got their toe nails painted. CJ wouldn't let Mommy get away with painting Mattie's toe nails and not his and he was positive Daddy was going to love it despite Mommy telling him otherwise. Daddy's exact word was "hideous." Oh well. It took less than 24 hours for CJ to decide for himself that he didn't like it and whine until Mommy took it off. And then only a few hours later to ask for it again (don't worry - Mommy didn't make the same mistake twice).

4/29 We put Mattie's hair in curlers for the first time. They were a little too big so they just made Mattie's hair wavy. Oh well. She still looked adorable, as always.

4/29 The kids had apples at lunch and Mattie kept asking Mommy for more. Mommy was really happy Mattie was eating the apples so well until she saw this...

MATTIE'S 2 YEAR PICS

 (not a fan of the ugly stuffed animals from the studio that Mattie is holding but she refused to let go of those things, so if we wanted some smiles, we had to let go of not wanting them in the pictures)

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

- My kids like Sesame Street, and lately, CJ has decided that he LOVES Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures, a segment they do about a third of the time. He loves it so much that when they announce that it's coming on, CJ screams. Yes, he literally screams like a tweenage girl at a Justin Beiber concert. It's pretty hilarious!

- Last Wednesday night Bryce woke up at about 5 AM after having a strange dream. He got up to go the bathroom and felt like he should check on the kids. He was tired and wondered whether he was just being paranoid, so he said a little prayer asking whether he really needed to check on the kids. He still felt impressed to go check on them, so after looking in on CJ and seeing that he was ok, he went to Mattie's room. As soon as he opened the door he could smell an almost burning smell. He looked to see that the fan in her room had been too close to the curtain and had sucked the curtain into it's back, causing the engine to overheat. I'm not sure what would have happened if Bryce hadn't gone in there, possibly a fire, or maybe some other issue related to breathing in those toxic fumes, but all that was averted thanks to his listening to the Spirit. I'm so grateful that I have a husband who lives worthy of the Spirit and who acts on the promptings he receives. Now I'm just wondering if I need to re-evaluate my life since I was sleeping like a log...

- In case you need to know, oil-based paint doesn't come off with water...but if you get it all over say, your hands, you can used some olive oil and some salt and it scrubs right off. Just in case you were wondering :)

- Last week I found an awesome kids bench, that even has some storage under the seat, in someone's yard with a sign that said $5. I checked it out and it was in pretty good condition, so I bought the bench and brought my little treasure home. CJ was so excited about it that he wanted to paint it right that second. My problem is that I can't decide on what color. I want a fun color but worry about not liking the color after a while, so then I think I should stick with something like black. Blah...the life of a practicalist (I just made that word up :)

- Wenatchee has had some pretty beautiful sunny days the last week or two. Unfortunately, it's the "windy season" I guess so it makes it pretty impossible to play outside because it drops the temperature and plus, wind is really only fun it you're flying kite (maybe we should get CJ's kite down from his closet shelf...)

- Currently, CJ's dirty words consist of "poop" "pee" and "stupid." Oh how I wish it could stay that way forever.

- 4/21 I think I felt the baby move today. I've been praying for a couple of weeks now that I would start to feel the baby move, you know, just to feel peace of mind that everything it ok. But then I'm reminded of my blessing, to trust it. Anyway, I've had times where I've wondered whether or not I was feeling the baby move or if it was just gas bubble or light braxton hicks. But today was different. It was brief, but it felt like a little kick! Here's hoping I start to feel more of those

- Did I tell you that a couple of weeks ago I was flipping through the channels on a Sunday night and saw that Anne of Green Gables was on. I remember watching the whole series with my mom when I was a little girl, probably 10 or so, and so I clicked on it to check it out. It didn't take long, but soon I was hooked and watched the remaining 2 1/2 hour in the PBS special. Then I went to the library two days later and ordered the rest of the series to watch. Anyway, guess who else sat and watched it with me? That's right, my husband, Bryce. Isn't he great?! And not only did he sit with me, but he actually quite enjoyed it. Shhhh, don't tell anyone I told you. I don't know what it will do for Bryce's reputation if the word that he likes Anne of Green Gables gets out :)

- So we hosted a family holiday function for the first time since we've been married, I think, and man, I appreciate my mom and my mother-in-law so much more! How did/do these ladies do it?! I don't think I sat down once (minus church - not exaggerating) since the moment CJ came into our room Sunday morning so excited about Easter. I didn't even get to eat Easter breakfast with everyone, but instead stood at the counter and ate my French toast while I read recipes and prepared for dinner that evening. I loved having our family here, so the work was worth it, but I can say that Bryce and I (and Mattie and CJ) slept more soundly Sunday night than we have in a while, we were all so exhausted. But it was a good exhaustion, one that I could deal with on a much more regular basis. It's good to get tired from doing things with and for your family. One thing though is that I haven't figured out yet how to not let the duties of hosting interfere with the amount of time I get to spend with our guests. Will someone please tell me the secret??

- When Mattie burps she says she has the hiccups :)

- I'm sick about the fact that I cannot find the journal I kept of the first 5 months of CJ's life! I thought I had printed them out, but they aren't in CJ's book with the rest of his baby journal. I know I had them on our old computer, and I'm pretty positive that when we gave the computer to Bryce's brother, I copied all our files onto a USB stick. We used to have two, but now I can only find one of our USB sticks and that stick does not have the baby journals on them. I've been searching for the other USB stick in hopes that the files will be on there, but with no luck. And I still need to check with Bryce's brother to see if any of our files are still on the computer (which I doubt), but I'm starting to lose hope. I just hope this is a prayer that will be answered soon.

- CJ read the scripture in Primary yesterday for the first time. And by the read I mean, CJ clung to Daddy as Bryce read the scripture. I was a little surprised because he had no problem giving the prayer, but he's only 3 1/2, so I wasn't that surprised :)

- Speaking of CJ and church, I was disappointed in our lack of teaching CJ what Easter is really about before Easter actually came. I had been planning on having an Easter FHE on Friday, before we started all the Easter festivities, but it just never happened. Then, after dinner on Saturday, everyone went for a walk, but I stayed home to clean up, start some food prep for Easter dinner the next day, and mainly to put together an FHE lesson on Easter. Unfortunately, everyone was out much later than they had expected, so by the time they got home, it was definitely time for bed, so no FHE or egg dying like I had planned. Then the next morning was more craziness, so anyway, we weren't able to talk about it as much as we had wanted before Easter. But we had a great FHE tonight about Christ's life and his resurrection, and what resurrection means, and I think he really got it. Mattie, on the other hand, spent most of FHE in her room on a time-out because she was crying, but at least we got through to one child, right? :)

Happy Monday!