For the Love of May

I like June.

But May is even better.

May is good to me. I get to celebrate Mother's Day and my birthday.





Mother's Day is a day filled with many wonderful things.

No cooking. No cleaning. Much relaxing.

My Roberto spoils me with lots of delish food.

And of course, there's always the tender homemade gifts from the kids.

Then there's my birthday. I'm not one of those people that dreds their birthday. Don't get me wrong, I don't enjoy the fact that I get older.

Celebrating my birthday is still good times.

Lunch with my mom and a couple of sisters while a dear friend watches my kiddos. Not having to worry about "What's for dinner?". Children who are just as excited to watch me open presents as I am to open them. And of course, a fabulous hubby who always does a great job of planning.

This year, my Roberto surprised me with a "Minute to Win It" party. (What's "Minute to Win It" you ask? A fun game show that my fam enjoys watching together. Definitely worth checking out.)

He even incorporated one of our beloved family birthday traditions......with a twist.

My dear friends wrote very kind words about me and put them in balloons to be popped.

Well, look what was behind those balloons.....

Whoa Nelly! What a beauty! (Am I really posting this for all of you to see?? I must be crazy.)

Many thanks to my love for fun times. Can't wait for next May!

It's a good life.

Yum

We finally found something Aliyah likes to eat.

Any guesses? Yup. Nutrient filled DIRT!

Ali really had a good time picking up the aerated dirt chunks for a tasty snack. Yuck.

Backwards

Hey Dyl, is your head on backwards? Dyl bounced down the stairs one morning. I glance up and smile at his awesome outfit.

"Hey Dyl, you know your clothes are on backwards, right?"

Dylan of course replied with, "Yup, I like them like this." And then off we went to preschool.

My dear sweet Dyl Pickle, thank you for filling my days with lots of smiles and much laughter.

One good thing...

Awwww......Spring.

The greens of daffodils and tulips s.l.o.w.l.y show their beauty above the cold ground. Ever so quietly they come out of hibernation. The anticipation of the grand opening of the blooms is almost as fun as Disneyland. Okay, not really, but I do anxiously await.

The daffodils decide to beat the tulips at their beauty contest and flaunt their pale yellows first.

Then it seems the tulips take their sweet time.

Waiting.

And waiting.

Oh, well hello little pretties! It seems one morning they decide to show their glory and tulips, of all colors, open up all at once.

But wait! This is springtime in Utah we're talking about.

That means after a couple of days of warm happy sun, a crazy rain/snow/hail/wind storm decides to roar in. Sometimes multiple.

That's exactly what happened last week.

My sad shredded spring flowers were victims of this year's vicious spring weather.

Good bye little pretties.

I realized one morning there is ONE good thing about this disliked spring weather.

That's right! Boot weather! The happiness doesn't necessarily come from the boots themselves, you see.

Mornings are rushed when you're trying to get everyone out the door. That's just part of life with kids, right?

This particular morning, I open my drawer to grab some socks.

Dang.

No socks.

I rush over to my overflowing laundry basket of clean clothes and begin the search.

One sock.

Found a different sock.

Come on! Where's a match?

Ding! Ding!

No match.

Just the realization that I was going to slip on my boots which means.....

Yup. Who needs a matching pair of socks when you've got boots?

Yes, even a candy cane sock.

It is snowing, so why not!

Even small things, such as mismatched socks, that help my mornings go more smoothly brings HaPpInEsS!

After starting this post four hours ago, I'm finally finishing it. In the course of these four hours, I have been again reminded of something else that makes me truly happy amidst this unpredictable spring weather.

Good health.

Every day I thank my Father in Heaven for my good health, for my husband's good health, and my children's good health.

About an hour ago, I got off the phone with a friend. On Friday, she was diagnosed with MS.

You just never know.

I cherish good health.

Disgust

Some how, on our play list, Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am" was replaced with someone saying repulsive swear words. My deepest apologies to anyone and everyone who's ears were polluted with these words. The song has been deleted.

I hope everyone knows me well enough to know that I would never allow such a thing. Another example of when a good use of technology goes bad.

Thanks to my bro-in-law for letting us know! If anyone ever runs across anything like this again, please let me know.

Happy Monday!

Rock Star

"Hey Dyl! Should we go buy us another Rock Star!" (go here if you need a refresher)

(What a great deal! Our Rock Star was WAY more expensive!)

Dyl: "M000000mmmm! We can't go buy another Aliyah!"

Thanks to my sis, Britt, for the adorable blanket!

Our Little Lady is growing way too fast!

She was almost 6 months when we weighed her last. Yup, a whoppin' 12 pounds!

Now at 7 months, she might even be 14 pounds!;)

So what is our little Ali up to?

Well, after many daily attempts, she's finally starting to like the tasty goodness of rice cereal (just kind of...blek....I don't blame her).

I've pureed home grown spaghetti squash and carrots for her. Ali's not a big fan of either, but definitely prefers the carrots over the squash. Hmmmmm, what shall we try next?

Aliyah is very social and isn't phased when someone else is holding her (unless she's hungry, of course). Which is very nice for me! She rolls and spins on her tummy, but is still working on the fine art of sitting by herself. Ali can sit for a bit but she's too squirmy and before we know it.......plop! Her older siblings love to watch her topple over.

She is my ONLY baby that has nursed, taken a bottle, and a pacifier. Yep, she's spoiling me. No complaints here! I can escape when I need to.......which, I think I'm about due!

Ali's at the stage where she would love to be able to do more than she can and gets bored much more easily than in the past. Bummer.


Sleep? What's sleep? For some reason this week, sleeping at night has NOT been on her agenda! I'm selling her for one night......any takers?

Rock Star's older brothers and sister are still very much in love with her. What a pure joy it is to see them interact with her. Parker says to me nearly every day, "Hey Mom, isn't Aliyah so cute." or "I really like Aliyah, Mom." or "I just want to squish her cute little cheeks!" Parker's favorite thing to do with Ali is hang out in our bed.

Our Dyl Pickle laughs very easily when it comes to Ali. Often times, he's laughing so hard, he grabs his belly and falls to the ground in hysterics. Who knew a 7 month old could be so funny?:) Dyl loves it when I let Rock Star "hang out" with him in his room. He jumps at the chance to "take care of" her when I go to move the laundry.

Alexia's tender sweet kisses are evidence of her affection for her baby sis. Lex also loves to have some quality one on one alone time in their bedroom together. Rock Star must be present for Lexi's bedtime prayer and it is routine for Lexi to hold Ali during her bedtime song. Coordinating her outfit to match Ali's is a favorite past time of Lexi's.

Is it apparent that we find our lovely Rock Star simply irresistible?

Dear Mr. Winter

Dear Mr. Winter,

I've really appreciated the time I've spent with you this season. My family and I have spent hours in your fun fluffy white stuff.


We've played.

And played.

And played some more.

Parker even attempted to become an angel!

Oh, but the moment past....


Our lovely Little Lady was a good sport when we dressed her up like she should belong in the movie "The Christmas Story."

You generously blessed us with blankets of glorious white for the holidays. Christmas just wouldn't be the same without the beautiful white.

Your freshly fallen snow is always a magnificent sight.

But Mr. Winter, I'm sorry to say that it is time for you to say goodbye. It is time for your cold deceptive sun to be replaced by Spring's warm inviting sun. My daffodiles and tulips are poking there lovely greens up above the cold ground. The birds are singing in my trees anxiously awaiting Springtime.

It is time for me to open my windows to let fresh air in and the cold germs out. It is time for me to put away my black boots and pull out my sandals. The sandbox is calling my children's names. Do you hear it?

We had our very first backyard hot dog roast of the season last weekend. Yes, even hot dogs are tasty when cooked on an open fire. We finished up our meal with melt-in-our-mouth-s'mores. Oh, how I've missed them! It is time for me to stock my pantry with an array of s'more roasting goodies.

Our grill is missing us. We've only used it a couple of times this cold season. It is time to make our grill and tummies happy again with delectable juicy morsels.

Mr. Winter, please don't be sad. It's just part of life. I do appreciate you. Your priceless snow provides us with much needed water to get us through those hot dry months. We'll look forward to seeing you again for the holidays. I'll be anxious to see you then and to play in your fun fluffy white flakes with my children again.

Good bye for now!

Sincerely,

Jamie