Easter Fun and Jon Turns One!

First off, I have to say my inspiration for my catchy title of this post that rhymes is my friend and self-discovered poet, Kelly Clegg! Wade's mom and step-dad had an Easter egg hunt and BBQ for the whole family the Saturday before Easter. Unfortunately, Emily and I were sick, so we stayed home and played together instead. I loved the one-on-one time with my sweet girl, but honestly, it was so hard to stay home while everyone else was having fun! :( It was the worst case of the flu I have ever gotten. I mean I was out of it! Although it's never fun to be sick, we were so blessed that it was Spring Break for Wade, because he was able to take care of me and the kids when he normally would have had class. He definitely earned the HUSBAND OF THE YEAR award! He was so good to me! I love you babe!

So even though Em and I stayed home, Wade and Jonathan had a great time with the Easter egg hunt and just being with the family! After dinner, they celebrated Jon's 1st birthday and let him attack the cake and get super messy! I can't believe I have a one-year-old...and a two-year old! Jon is such a funny little guy! And yes, those chubby cheeks are very kissable in case you were wondering! :)
Easter is a special holiday because it's all about our Savior and remembering His atoning sacrifice for us, but of course, the kids still had Easter baskets hidden around the house left by the Easter bunny. Next year, to help my kids focus more on Jesus, I want to do what Carolee's family does with hiding one empty Easter egg to help remember that Christ's tomb was empty and the special child to find that egg receives a picture of Christ. Great idea, huh?

 What a happy boy! He's been fussy lately with teething pains (you know how that is) but not today, he was all smiles.
After dropping Emily off at Joy School, Jonathan and I headed to the library as usual for Book Baby, which is a fun story time for babies. The story lady reads a few books and sings songs with the kids, and then she either gets out the big parachute, musical instruments, or blows bubbles while the kids dance around. It's a blast!
I think he loves his mama! Thanks Traci for capturing this on camera. This is a great moment!

Shakin' the jingle bells at Book Baby and playing with the kitchen when we picked Emily up from Joy School

Playing Peek-A-Boo with the snowman's black hat. So silly!

We had a nice Easter dinner (a week late since I was so sick on Easter) with my sister, Margaret and her family. Jon got more birthday cake to destroy, which he thoroughly enjoyed! I love that my sister lives so close. We scrapbook and make cards, bake all sorts of things, especially cinnamon rolls, and just talk. Sometimes I miss my friends and family in St. George so much, but having Marg here makes me happy! I'm also grateful to have Wade's family near by. They are a great support to us. It's so wonderful to watch my kids play with their cousins, both their first cousins and their second cousins! What in the world would I do without our family?
Since Jon just turned 1 years old, I have thought A LOT about my labor and delivery with him and both the joys and challenges that I experienced in welcoming him into the world. To help me avoid the baby blues a little, I bought a collection book of my favorite comic strip "Baby Blues." I would read and reread and just couldn't stop laughing! It was very therapeutic. I recommend it to any of you moms out there with a new baby (Ali, Haven, Michelle-soon) In fact, it's a pick-me-up for ANY mom! When Jon was born, I struggled with feeling guilt for everything. I wondered if I was giving enough love and attention to Emily since baby Jon required so much, or if I was giving Jon enough of myself since I had a toddler that also needed me. It was a battle of emotions, as many of you have experienced. I loved my new little boy, but wasn't sure if I felt the same connection with him that I did when I was a brand new mom with Emily. Prayer got me through a lot. I knew I could love both of my children unconditionally, even during my most difficult times, because I knew I had a loving Heavenly Father who loved me unconditionally, despite my constant mistakes and imperfections. I still know that! The truths of the Gospel give me so much strength, and even though I know it's okay to cry from time to time, I feel so much joy and gladness to be alive and healthy and have the amazing friends and family that I do.

American Idol!

I knew I was hooked to this show when I saw the Finale between Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice. I was so inspired by this young country girl making her dreams come true. Until then, Wade and I didn't have television, and I just heard people talk about it. In St. George, my friends Mardi Gubler and Kiki Shakespeare-Thompson and I would get together and have girls night and watch it. Good times! :) Now that I'm in Salt Lake, Wade and I record it and then watch it after Emily and Jonathan are asleep for the night. Nothing moves me like good music, and when I watch this show, I just get happy all over! I don't care if the artist singing isn't the best, if it's a good song, I'll jump in and sing along. But mostly I appreciate when the artist is talented enough to be RIGHT ON, if you know what I mean. Some of the best artists American Idol has introduced to the world like Carrie, Bo, Chris Daughtry, Melinda Dolittle, Blake Lewis, and Jordon Sparks, I could listen to again and again. Wade and I even rocked out at the American Idol concert last year...just us and thousands of 13 year-old girls! It was so funny to be surrounded by all these young girls who wanted to marry Blake! This season, I am absolutely thrilled that talent like David Archuleta and Brooke White are in the top 12! They're such a breath of fresh air in an industry that has declining values. You can't help but like them, but also, they can both genuinely SING! They're amazing! Poor Brooke can't dance at ALL, right Kim? But she sure can sing her heart out and I just love to listen to that deep, soulful sound! Wade just added David and Brooke to our blog play list, if you want to listen. I'm also a fan of David Cook and his unique style and I think Michael Johns could go far! Anyway, I just wanted to talk a little bit about this crazy show that keeps me coming back for more! I know there are Idol fans out there...what do you guys think about the show and about this season?

Disney on Ice

Last weekend, when my parents were in town, they took us all to see Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes. It was honestly the coolest thing I have ever done in Salt Lake! It was even more exciting than going to the American Idol concert last year. I know big shocker, huh? You would think THAT was the thrill of a lifetime for me. But nope, this was better! I felt like a kid again with my handsome prince Wade sitting next to me holding my hand. Disney has an amazing way of creating magic for both adults and children. The best part for both Wade and me was sharing the moment with our little princess! Emily was on cloud nine and couldn't be happier!

I dressed her up like Snow White because of her dark hair. She was beautiful!

Before we left for the show, we practiced looking in the mirror and saying, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest one of all?" She thought it was really funny! quick shots with mom before the show and with dad during intermission

I couldn't stop smiling when the 7 dwarfs came out. They were so darling! Emily hasn't even watched the Disney movies, except for Cinderella, who her cousin Hailey just adores, but she was still just as enchanted watching the show. The ice skating was wonderful, the costumes were fun, Sleeping Beauty's fire breathing Dragon was awesome, the music was classic, the company was the best and everything was just magical! I know I sound cheesy, but it really was a special day!

Thank you so much mom and dad for this experience and for making our little girl feel like a princess for a day!

Callister Cousins

On Friday, we had a cousin get together with just the girls in Orem. And since my mom was in town, it was really nice to spend time with her as well. I have the most FUN aunts and cousins on the planet! They rock! They will even agree with me when they comment on this blog post! ;) Seriously, we had such a good time just laughing and joking around and eating a nice lunch. I didn't take any pictures of my cute cousins or aunts, so next time we get together, I'll have to do that, but for now, here are some highlights of our day. Jonathan climbing on the table like a monkey! What I tried to capture on camera, but couldn't because he was too FAST was Jono, Julie's 1 year old boy, who climbed up and around and down the table in a circle again and again. My Jon was trying so hard to catch up with Jono that when he finally climbed onto the table, Jono was ALREADY down on the ground ready to do it all over again! "Get me down!"

(I had to post this one. Aren't the ornery shots usually funnier than the cute ones anyway?!)

Emmy decorating a cake with Grandma Lang

"Grandma, hurry up and finish so you can start eating it like me!"Here's Jon just hanging out with Grandma after lunch. Doesn't my mom have a great smile? In high school, she was voted "Prettiest Smile!" She's such a happy person! I really think her positive attitude had a great influence on me growing up. Thanks for all you do mom! Love you!
Emily adores Ethan, my cousin Karen's litte guy! They have a blast playing together! They chase each other up and down the hall laughing and then run to the couch and FLOP upon it. I'm really looking forward to more cousin get togethers! Thanks Aunt Anne for letting us all invade your house! As much fun as my kids had, I think I had even more fun just relaxing and talking with my awesome cousins and aunts! What a way to spend a day, huh?

Goin' to the Zoo and Playing Cops

In the winter, the last Wednesday of every month is free day at Hogle Zoo, so we decided to take advantage of it and enjoy a day at the zoo with some friends. It was an awesome experience for all of us! The favorite seemed to be the CHEETAH for both Emily and Jonathan since they could see him so CLOSE through the window. What a beautiful animal! He just paces back and forth, and the kids are THRILLED when he strides right in front of them and seems to look directly at them. The monkeys also made the kids smile!

While we were waiting to see the next animal, Emily spontaneously ran over to Jon and started tickling him. It's so cute to watch them play together! At times, Jon gets tired of it, but most of the time, he loves it, and today was no different. He just giggles and giggles like crazy!

At preschool, the girls have been learning about community helpers so Miss Brynn made them police hats, badges, and stop signs. They run all around, and then she says "Stop!" and the girls all hold out their stop signs and shout, "Stop!" It's hilarious to watch them do this! Run, run, run...Stop! Run, run, run, Stop! Emily sent herself a letter in the mail from preschool and when it arrived two days later, she helped me get the mail and was pleased to recognize HER VERY OWN LETTER! Funny enough, the next day when she helped me get the mail, I had received an ABC Distributing Catalog in the mail. When she glanced at it, she immediately took it from my hands, and said, "Oh, for me? Thank you Mailman!" She treasured that catalog for a few days and kept showing me pictures of the princess purses and other items in it. I don't think she wanted the items necessarily, she was just excited that the mailman had brought her a pretty book with pictures. I'm glad my kids are easy to please...give Emily a catalog and Jon ANY piece of paper, and they are happy for hours! :)

Snowmen fall from heaven unassembled!

On President's Day, Wade had the day off at the bank, so we decided to build a snowman as a family. Honestly, we had been planning on doing it ALL winter, and our Saturdays kept being gobbled up by other things...good things...just not "playing in the snow" things. It's always been important to us to spend quality time together as a family, but with this cold winter that we have had this year, we sure have spent a lot of that quality time INDOORS rather than OUT! Anyway, we had such a blast playing in the snow and building this snowman, and we're thankful to Dad and Claudia for the "Snowman Kit" that helped make our snowman look extra special!

Our little blue polar bear...We love you Jonathan! Luckily, we were smart and took a picture of him when he was still warm and happy! We won't post his "Get me out of the cold NOW!" pictures. We'll save those for another day...
Emily and Mommy "pat, pat, pat" the snow to create a nice, solid base for the snowman.
Helping daddy
"Mommy! Daddy! Come try some of this! It tastes REALLY yummy!"

Doesn't he look great? When we finished and went inside for hot chocolate, Emily kept looking out the window and saying, "Hi no-man! Hi no man!" (since she tends to leave off the "S" on words like "snow") For the next few days, we sang again and again, "Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman. Once there was a snowman tall, tall, tall..." As much as we loved this experience and were proud of our good looking snowman, we weren't TOO bummed when the sun came out and melted him "small, small, small" because we LOVE the springtime, so bring on that warm weather, baby! The Reed family is ready to go biking, hiking and camping once again. Anyone want to join us? :)

First Day of Preschool!

Three weeks ago, Emily started her first day of preschool, and I wanted to share a few thoughts about it. It's a JOY SCHOOL type of preschool, where 4 other mothers besides myself take turns teaching in our homes. We all liked the idea of saving money and also having more one on one time with our younger child while our older child is at preschool. It's only once a week for 2 hours, which is the perfect time for our 2 and 3 year-old girls. Emily has loved every minute of it! For Valentines Day, she learned about love and friendship in Preschool and came home with pink and red paper hearts which she had decorated. The next day, when she and I were making pink heart shaped Rice Crispy Treats at home, she kept telling me with much excitement, "Dat a pink heart, mommy!" How cool that she had learned that at preschool! She's quite proud of her back-pack she takes with her and tells me all about her friends and what she learned at school.

Our fun group of girls (minus one girl who's on vacation)

I am especially looking forward to when it's my turn to teach the kids because teaching is one of my greatest passions! I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and then taught preschool for several months before Emily was born. It was difficult to leave my classroom, but I knew I needed to be at home with my kids, and I have never regretted my decision to stay at home. However, I have always missed it, and I know this joy school will be just another great opportunity for me to continue teaching other children besides my own and fulfill that need within me to make a difference.