Speaking of organizing

Had Reese sort out a big mixed bag of these pom poms. I was warned that I should start with less and only a couple of colors, but to my surprise she did great! Reese decided to pretend they were different flavors of ice cream that she was scooping out for us to enjoy! Have I mentioned that I LOVE teaching my daughter?! :)

Spring reorganizing

I don't really clean. (Thankfully I married a man who not only is great at this, but also enjoys it....the man asks for a vacuum cleaner almost every holiday!)I organize!

The bookshelves made it into Reese's room for her reading corner.



And into the bathroom for those potty books!



I have been so annoyed at all the stuff that piles up, usually on the counter, that needs to go up stairs. (Man I sound like my mom!) So now we have this cute basket as a place to put those things. Working pretty well so far...just need to train the troops!



The other annoying thing was jackets! Yes it is April and yes we are still wearing jackets. Probably until June this year! We have a coat closet, but Reese can't hang her coat up there yet, and it takes more time than a hook, so my coats and Matt's coats would often join Reese's on the shoe bench. Hence the quick and easy coat hooks! Again just a little training and they will be great!



No reorganizing these two...just a cute picture of them because I love them!

The Best Book...besides the bible that is....

I am reading through a mom devotional call "Diapers, Pacifiers and Other Holy Things" by Lorraine Pinuts. I LOVE it! Each chapter is a couple pages with a good mom story that is then related to the mom's relationship with Christ. It ends with a verse to memorize and some questions with other verses to look up. It brings me to tears each day I read it! Some how the stories are speaking to just what I am struggling with. If you need a good devo this could be a good choice for you!

Every so often I want to share what I am learning through it, to encourage you and to remind me of what God is teaching me!

Using a story about peek a boo it is pointed out that we have a God who sees, not only sees but opens our eyes, with the purpose of meeting our deepest needs. I struggle with eating...I like to reward myself with treats when the girls are sleeping...some how I earned it. But God gave me this body and wants me to fill it with things that are good....food included. So no sense in hiding what I eat. God already sees it all and is ready for me to give it up and to help me to do so!

Best birthday!

I had the best birthday celebration!

Let's start with Matt....he planned ahead! :) The night before, he had Reese help him wrap presents and make a card. Then in the morning he had her help put up the birthday banner and balloons. Next he made waffles and fresh fruit for breakfast. He then took Reese with him to show a house so I could get a morning nap while Maleah slept. Matt came home and made a yummy veggie spaghetti for lunch. He got me just the cake I wanted and he bought me my own camera, so I won't whine about wanting to use his! Next he "made" pizza for dinner. He was wonderful and I felt so pampered!



Reese planned ahead as well....with some help from Grammie. As we would ride in the car listening to her music I would tell her that I liked the song "Apples and Bananas" so she would say that she would get it for me for my birthday. Grammie helped her shop online while we were in CA and I get to enjoy another Raffi CD. (No joke, I love Raffi!)



Maleah, she has been planning this for a while now, I know, but she slept at night and for her naps! Sleep is the best gift from a baby! ;)


(I know, you just saw this picture, but I LOVE it!! So you get to see it again!)

My sister Kami sent two CDs, Water mark and one of her favorites JJ Heller. Love them both and love to listen to them thinking about my sister.

My sister Kacy got me the best nose sucker! You put one end in the kids nose then the other in your mouth and suck! Works so well!! Gross, but a wonderful mommy gift!

My mom and dad sent oranges from Redlands, so sweet and yummy and great at helping us fight out colds. They also got me new running shoes!! So excited to start that habit again...it's been over a year off!

Grandma Sue and Grandpa Dan sent me some yummy snacks, which Reese made sure I shared. They also got me gloves, a mat and some thoughtful seeds to plant in the garden. Reese and I have dreams of doing a garden this spring...high hopes!!

Such thoughtful gifts and a great day with my little family! Feeling so loved and blessed as I turn 32!

Happy 5 months!!

Today Maleah is 5 months old! This was a month of GREAT changes! Maleah now naps in her bed in her room! That is HUGE for us! Maleah has learned to suck her thumb! She now calms herself back to sleep very well. She sleeps swaddled with her thumb sucking arm out and this works very well for her. Since she was unswaddling at night at least part way, I knew the swaddle was on the way out, so we tried sleep sacks during naps...they worked pretty well. Just last week, by accident (or divine intervention) we found the Halo sleep sack with the swaddle option. This turned out to be the prefect combo for Maleah! So with naps going so well, we decided to move her to her room at night. She does very well, waking once to nurse. And now if she wakes early, she can use her thumb to put herself back to sleep.



Okay, she does do other things than just sleep well.... :) Maleah eats solids pretty well! She has had rice cereal, sweet potatoes, carrots, avacado (although that is a lot of work!), and prunes. We started with the rice cereal when she was on an antibiotic and that helped her. But after the meds were over, the rice cereal stopped her up, hence the prunes. And thankful they work, fast too! Fed her prunes at breakfast and lunch and she exploded by 5pm that night! SOOO thankful that happened during the day and not at night!



Maleah laughs and giggles, plays well with her toys, enjoys her bath and still has a worried/concerned look on her face when we go out to new places. She seems to be an observer. She lights up and gives her best giggles to Reese. So glad she is 5 months old now the REAL fun can begin! :)

Jumping or just hanging...

Decided to try Maleah out in the jumper this week, and she likes it. She just hangs there, swinging herself from looking into the kitchen to looking in the living room to checking out the office. Often times she swings over to have a chat with the dog. Reese really wants Maleah to start jumping in this soon....we have a video of Reese jumping away when she was a bit older than this, so that is how she remembers it and wants her sister to do the same! It is great to have another "activity" for Maleah to do now. Although I have to admit, she is a pretty easy going baby and we are very thankful for that!

Home Depot Gig Harbor

Each Saturday morning Daddy has a Maleah date and Reese has a mommy date. Reese and I went swimming at the Y and then to the Home depot for their FREE craft making event. At our home depot they do it every Saturday morning from 8 to 10 am. Mr. Steve is a grandpa himself and SO VERY good with the kids. Reese nailed together this planter box and then got to pick out flowers (50 cent each) to go in it. The Home Depot was also having a potting event that day, so they potted our plants for free! As Reese said, now maybe they won't die so soon!