We have hit some major milestones in our family, and we are very excited to share the news!
Jonathan is walking! Our sixteen-month old is one stubborn little guy. Although he learned to cruise at 8 months and took his first steps on his birthday, he has been so content to just crawl for the longest time. He was pretty steady on his feet, and we knew he COULD walk, he was just choosing not to because he was such a speedy crawler. It was driving us crazy, and we think he knew it, too! We're thrilled that Jon is finally walking. We love you, buddy!
The next big milestone is that Emily is potty-trained.
Wahoo! I discovered the magic secret to potty-training success...are you ready for this...wait till they're ready! Genius, I know, but I learned this the hard way. We tried potty-training her when she was about 27 months and guess what? It was a flop! Her desire was there, but her little body was just not ready. Some kids are ready that early, but every kid is different. The first time around, it was the hardest week of my life. Neither of us were happy because she was having so many accidents and didn't understand her body and when she needed to go.
This week has been completely different, now that she's 34 months. She was basically trained in just a few hours, and it was a beautiful thing! I have been so proud of her. She woke up from her nap the first day, took off her dry night-time panties (pull-ups), used the potty that I had left in her room, put on new panties, and then knocked on her door to let me know she was awake and ready to play now. I couldn't believe what a big girl she was doing it all by herself! Way to go Ems!
Even though Emily has been doing awesome with potty-training, we have not left the house all week just in case, besides going outside to play with side-walk chalk and blow bubbles. So you can imagine, I was going crazy and needed a break! Wade suggested I have a GIRLS NIGHT OUT, and he would do the dishes and put the kids to bed. What a sweet husband! So I called Traci, and she was totally up for it. Yea!
We went to see Mama Mia, and it was fabulous! We both LOVED it! Seriously, it was such a good movie, set on a beautiful island with a star cast, a cute story, and awesome music. I could not stop smiling! The popcorn and chocolate milkshake we enjoyed weren't too shabby either. :) Thanks Traci, I really needed a girls night out!
Finally, I just wanted to say that I have rediscovered the Book of Mormon and it makes me so happy! I can tell a big difference in my mood on the days I read as opposed to when I miss my reading. It's amazing. Although I love my church calling and wouldn't trade it for anything, because I serve in the primary, I don't have the opportunity to attend Relief Society or Sunday School. Sometimes I feel like I'm missing out on the spiritual development that I need.
So Wade and I made a goal to read the Book of Mormon this year along with the Sunday School lessons. It's been so rewarding for our family when we read. I say "when" because we aren't perfect, but we're trying our best. There's a quiet peace in our home that comes when we kneel together in prayer and when we read a chapter in the Book of Mormon or even a few verses. I'm so grateful for the Gospel. I can't imagine where I'd be if I didn't know my Savior loves me. But I do know, and that knowledge brings me great joy and peace.
After eating dinner and yummy homemade peach pie, we took turns playing the Wii, while the kids wrestled and had a pillow fight. Here are a few pictures of the cousins being silly together, while Wade and Jeff are so "into" the game. haha You know how guys are with any kind of game system, right?
We put the kids in their pajamas, turned on Peter Pan, and let them cuddle with the cool Halloween quilt Elizabeth made, while we played the Wii upstairs....but it didn't last long. Within ten minutes, the kids were back upstairs playing around us. Typical, huh? :) It was such a fun night. Thanks guys!
Here's Emily with Lindsey's, daughter, Emmaline playing on a pole. We both call our girls "Emmy," so whenever we're together, it just gets confusing as both girls turn around and respond. :)
Just for fun, I thought I would share this photo of us on Ruthanne's first day of 2nd grade and my first day of 5th grade. My friend who lived next door, Emily Jones, is in the green. Of course we are all sporting the famous rolled socks, because it was "the look" back then. :) 
This was the first day of school the year before. We took a summer sewing class and made these outfits and the bags ourselves. I think they're pretty rad. Don't laugh too hard at my puffy bangs or my gigantic hair scunchie!
Here's where Deceptively Delicious comes into play. Jerry Seinfield's wife, Jessica, has put together this awesome cookbook where you add pureed fruits and vegetables to foods your family already likes. Our family's favorite recipe is the Banana Bread with pureed cauliflower. Sometimes I add butternut squash instead. Yum! And you can't even taste the vegetable. The best thing about it is that it simply gets you thinking, so that you can start adding pureed fruits and veggies to some of your favorite recipes. You don't even need to tell your husband and kids. Just see if they taste a difference. I took my sister's Spaghetti Pie recipe and tweaked it. So now I use whole wheat spaghetti noodles, pureed squash added to ground turkey and pasta sauce (the red pasta sauce covers up the orange color of the squash, so it appears normal). It's so tasty! I'll take a quick picture and share the recipe soon. Even though there's squash in the main meal, I still serve salad and cooked carrots on the side, so I make sure we get enough of what we need. But if Emily or Jon barely touch their carrots, I can feel confident knowing they got SOME vegetable from the meal.
