Dancing Shirt

Today after I got the kids up in the morning and was picking something out for Jordan to wear, Jackson said he wanted to wear his soccer shirt. It's the only shirt (and shorts) that he ever wants to wear. But since it's laundry day I had to wash it. He was very sad and said he wanted to wear his basketball shirt, but both of them needed to be washed too. He was ever more sad. Then he decided he wanted to wear his dancing shirt. I had no idea what his dancing shirt was. I pointed to a few and he kept saying no and said it was a red one. I finally figured out that it was this shirt: We got these shirts for Doug's family reunion last year. We call it his Dance shirt. He calls it his dancing shirt.

Solution to a problem...

My kids haven't been sleeping as good lately as they normally do. Mostly they haven't been sleeping as long during their naps, but they haven't been waking up too much earlier in the day. That is until today. My little Jackson woke up at 6:45. That's an hour or two too early in our house. Then little Jordan woke up around 7. I'm not really a nice mom when it comes to my children waking up to early and so they were told it's not time to get up and they stayed in bed until it was time to get up. They didn't cry while they waited. But I still decided that I needed to fix their non-sleeping habits before they get any worse. According to my sleep theory, kids sleep best when they are well fed and are in darkness. It also helps if they're active and in the sun for much of their waking hours. I figured that this time it was the darkness factor that was keeping them from their full sleep. So today I fixed that. Their rooms are perfectly dark now. All it took was several blankets and boxes. Even with Jordan being very grumpy today because of his lack of sleep every time I walked into their rooms I was a little happier thinking about how they would hopefully be able to get some good sleep now.

The Garden

I wanted to give an update on my garden. It's actually been a lot easier so far than I thought. Everything is growing pretty good. The peppers, that were sick awhile ago, are doing much better and we have a couple growing and several more are going to be coming soon too. We've been able to eat some lettuce and parsley so far. I enjoy going into my garden and getting the food I want for dinner. I bought a trellis for my cucumbers because they were kind of overtaking the rest of their pot and I was worried I may have killed the plant when I put the trellis in, but it seems to still be growing. Although one side doesn't look as good as the other so maybe I partially killed it. At least I learned to be more careful when putting a trellis in the garden, and it's probably a good idea to put it in much earlier than I did. Here's some pictures of the growth of my garden:

Several weeks ago:

parsley and lettuce, strawberries, watermelon, yellow and green peppers

potatoes, carrots and onions and cucumbers

Now:

parsley and lettuce, strawberries, watermelon, yellow and green peppers

watermelon, yellow and green peppers potatoes, carrots and onions and cucumbers

New Haircuts

Jackson and Doug both got their hair cute last week. Doug's is actually a lot shorter then the after picture shows. I accidentally did a strip on the top the same length as the sides... I told him you couldn't tell, but he still decided to cut it shorter after we had taken the after shot. He still likes it and says he might cut it super short every time.

Before:

After:

Little Dancers

Today I was feeling like listening to music so I turned the radio on. Jordan immediately started dancing. He seems to like dancing. He does it a lot in the car too, and especially loves dancing to wheels on the bus. He's getting good at the motions for that song too. Jackson also loves to dance. Whenever I turn music on in the house he gets excited and wants us to all dance. Here's their moves...

He loves watching himself in the mirror :)

I also wanted to post about a cute Jordan story. Today after I took Jordan's pajamas off and changed his diaper, I stood him up on his changing table to get him down. He reached down on his table as he often does, and I thought he wanted his blanket since that's what he usually wants. But today he wanted his jammies. I let him grab them and then put him down on the floor. He ran to Jack's room, said Jack, and tried to open the door (as he always does), then he ran to the dirty clothes basket and put his jammies in it. It was really cute. He usually puts his clothes in there if I ask him to, but he's never taken his pajamas without me asking him to.

Why do you love daddy?

Doug with his presents and kids.

I asked Jackson and Jordan why they loved daddy. Here were their responses:

Jordan: nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. daddy

Jackson: Because. Because I do.

Then I asked Jack what games he likes to play with Doug. His response:

candy land, hi ho cherry-o, hide.

So there you have it. That is why my kids love their father.

Today we played Candy Land as a family (which is why Jack said he likes to play it with Doug. We don't really play that much.) Jackson asked where Doug was going to sit then went to the chair next to Doug's chair and said he was going to sit by daddy "because I love him."

That Jordy...

I often say that to Jordan then Jack or I finish the phrase with he's silly or he's trouble. Yesterday while getting Jordan up from his nap the phrase was finished with he's trouble. He took his nap at my parents' house. He was in the play pen next to a dresser. I didn't think that he could reach the dresser, but I was wrong. He opened two of the drawers. He was only able to reach inside of one of them I think, finding a bunch of markers. He pulled them out. Most of them landed on the floor with their caps still on, but he got several of them in his bed and took the caps off and colored on the bed, his foot, his hands, and a little on his face. Here he is with the markings on the bed.

A close-up of the markings.

and here's his colored foot. He didn't color on his body too much, luckily. And also luckily, the markers were washable.

99 days

We're into the double digits now in the countdown for when our little baby girl will be born. Only 99 days to go, which doesn't seem very far away. The baby seems to be doing good. She moves more than I remember my other two moving. Jack barely moved at all. I was happy to feel him kicking at least once a day. Jordan moved more than Jack but still not as much as my little girl. She usually is moving around in the morning before I get up, during the boys' nap time, and after they go to bed. So basically she moves when I rest. I love feeling her kick. It helps me feel more assured that she's healthy.

Me 25 and half weeks pregnant. I really wish I would have taken more pictures of my pregnant belly when I was pregnant with Jack and Jordan. Then I could compare myself to then. At least I'll be prepared for the next child...

Check Up

I took Jackson and Jordan to the doctor today for Jack's 3 year check up and Jordan's 15 month one. Jackson did very well and didn't cry at all. He even sat on the check up table and laid down on it and had his blood pressure drawn and stood on the scale without crying. He's usually scared to do those things. He was still a little nervous but was brave and did it all without crying. Jordan started crying as soon as we walked into the room. He screamed when he had to get on the check up table. But overall the boys are both doing good. The doctor was seeing if Jackson knows his body parts and he asked what Jack's foot was called and Jack just kept looking at him and smiling. I was worried the doctor wouldn't believe me that he does know all his body parts. But then he asked Jack where his hands were other parts of his body and Jack showed him. So the doctor did believe me. Jordan has had a bump on his head for much of his life and the doctor recommended that I take him to a dermatologist to get it checked out. He said what the bump probably is, but I don't remember the name. He didn't make it sound bad... The doctor was concerned about Jackson's weight. He said it might be a good idea to have him tested to see if he has any metabolic problems. I don't think he does. I think he's just small. Ever since we moved up here from Utah the doctors haven't said anything about his weight until today. I don't know what I'll do about it. Nothing right now. Here's their height and weight:

Jackson: 24.6 lbs, 34.4 inches
Jordan: 24.14 lbs, 32.5 inches.

So Jack is still a little bit bigger than Jordan. I was somewhat surprised. Jordan feels a little heavier when I hold him.

Here's what the boys are doing these days:

Jordan: enjoys climbing, especially loves standing on stools. He likes to carry the little ones around with him sometimes. He likes to eat. His favorite foods are fishy crackers, other crackers, mashed potatoes, and pizza. He also loves waffles and yogurt. He also loves to drink. He gets sad when he goes too long without water or milk. He likes following Jack and me around all day. He likes to climb on the train table and stand on it. He loves playing in water. He can say: mommy, daddy, Jack, thank you, good job, yay, night night, hello, ball, book, this, that, look, clean up, fishy, cracker, cookie. Most of those words he just repeats when I ask him to. He doesn't really just say them on his own. I'm not really sure if he actually says this, that, and look, but it sounds like he says something like them a lot and they seem to fit with whatever he wants. He's good at pointing and grunting to get what he wants. He has 12 teeth with at least one more coming in. He likes to give hugs sometimes. It's really cute when he does give them. He likes hugs when he falls down, even when he's not really hurt. He just likes to be comforted. He loves his blankie and binky. His favorite blanket isn't even one anyone made him. It's one my sister gave us that she got from the hospital when one of her kids were born. It's a great wrapping blanket and I had planned on using it for all my kids, but now I can't because Jordan is very attached to it. He doesn't have a bottle anymore. He's good at following directions. If I ask him to get his shoes he runs to the closet and find his and brings them to me. He usually will find mine for me too after he gets his. He loves going places. He also loves going outside. I likes to put things on his head and sometimes I think he says hat. He can also say "u" for up when he wants to be held. He also likes playing with balls and cars and he loves reading books. That was a lot of information I just gave... I just want to be able to remember what he's like and he just changes a lot...

Jackson: Jackson doesn't change as much. He loves playing soccer, baseball, football, basketball, pretty much anything with a ball. He likes to play with Doug, Jordan, and me. He's a good big brother. He shares well and helps Jordan. He helps me a lot too. He loves cooking with me. He likes to try as many of the ingredients as I let him try, which is most. The only one he really hasn't liked and didn't want to try the next time we used it was aking powder. He loves reading. He know all the letters in the alphabet and can count to 20 (except he skips 15 most the time) and can go higher with a little help. He likes to play with his friends. He can't wait for summer so he can to to the beach and beach and ride his orca whale (a blow up toy). He surprises me a lot with the things he knows about animals. I don't remember teaching him about the things he tells me most the time, but he still somehow knows. He often tells me that caterpillars turn into butterflies. He says things like "yesterday, when you were at the store, I fell off the bed" and "last night, when we were at Ashlee's house I slipped" a lot. I don't think they're usually true. He likes to say things are people's job. For example, if I tell him he can't do something that I am going to do (like cutting an apple) he'll say "because it's your job." and when he wants to do something he'll say it's his job. He's finally started to say more for prayer than just thanks for the food please bless it. He usually says "please bless baby sister that she will be healthy and come to our family", "help us to make good choices" "thanks for mommy for making this dinner (or lunch or breakfast) for us" "please bless daddy will come home safely." It's cute to hear him copy the things Doug and I say. I guess even though Jackson doesn't change as much as Jordan, I still have a lot to say about him...

Brother Pictures and more

I finally got some brother pictures that I thought actually turned out cute. Nothing professional, but cute enough for me.

I just wanted to show off my new lawn chair. I really love it. I enjoy sitting in it looking through magazines looking for good recipes while the kids play in the pool and the water table. Jackson wouldn't look at me because it was too bright. He did smile though.

Jordan figured out how to climb on the couch in the last couple weeks. Now he likes to get on it and stand up and look at me and smile since he knows I don't like him standing up on it. He also likes to run on it. He is getting a little better at sitting down when I tell him to. I found that if I give him books on it, he'll sit to read them. He loves books lately. Almost anytime I sit down in the living room he'll find one and bring it to me to read to him.

Outside

We've been playing in our backyard a lot since it's been warm here. We love having it all paved now. It's so much better then the dirt and weeks it was last year. They love playing in water, Jordan especially. He always gets covered in water when he's playing out there. He likes to dump the water onto himself. He also likes to get rocks and dirt from my garden and put them in the water or try to eat them. I don't like him playing in my garden so I'm trying to teach him to not play in it. Hopefully he'll catch on soon. Here's some picture of the boys playing outside:

Jackson is trying to give Jordan a hug. I often try to get a cute picture of them both smiling and looking at the camera and standing near each other, but it rarely happens.

Jordan is eating Jackson's popsicle. He already finished his and Jack said he was done so Jordan ate Jack's too. He seems to love them.

Jack making a silly face.

Today was pretty warm so the boys went swimming in our little pool. Before we played we went to the store and bought me a lawn chair. We didn't have anything out there for me to sit on, other than the ground, which is rather uncomfortable. Having my new lawn chair though was great.

Jackson is filling up the water table. They love playing in this thing.

Jordan and Jack in the pool. (do you notice how in all the pictures with both the boys only one is ever smiling and looking at me?)

Jackson swimming.

Jack swimming some more. I don't know why he sticks his tongue out while he swims.

Jordan with the bubble wand.

Free Stuff

I went grocery shopping last night and I wanted to share my excitement in the successful trip I had... Using normal coupons, double coupons, and the store sales I was able to get really good prices on some of the items. Here's the best of my deals:

two boxes wheat thins: -.75 each... I got $1.50 taken off my total just for buying wheat thing.
cheese: -.60 each
individual pizzas: -.25 each

Pretty amazing that for buying those three items I was able to take 3.20 off my total. I also paid just $ .03 a box of instant pudding.

Doesn't this make you all want to start using coupons? I don't really get free food that often, but I do get great deal all the time.

Baby Girl

I had an ultrasound today at a place that tests ultrasound machines and tries to make them better. It was free and the place sometimes pays you for doing them. They didn't pay me though. But it was free... They did some 3d and 4d pictures. The 4d images of that baby are pretty cool when you can tell what the images are of. It's amazing that they can see the baby inside of me so well. They baby was covering her face most of the time with her arms so we didn't get a good straight on picture of her face, just one of the side of her face. The ultrasound lady said that she is probably about 1 lb and 5 oz, so tiny! I had a normal doctor's appointment today too. Our baby is doing very well. Everything looks normal. Here are the ultrasound pictures:

Here's her little hands.

This is her spine in 3d.

This is a 4d picture of her profile with her hand in her mouth. Isn't it so clear? She actually looks like a baby, not an alien.

Here's her little foot.

This movie is good shot of one of her legs and arms. Her elbow is resting on her knee.

Sunny Days

The last couple weeks have been very sunny and hot. My house seems to be around 80 degrees during the day the last few days and probably around 70 at night. It's hot and we don't have air conditioning, just a few fans. But we have been enjoying the weather. But I have been a bad mom or blogger and haven't taken many pictures of the things we've been doing lately. My camera is always in the diaper bag, but I just forget about it until I'm too lazy to get it. I'll start taking more pictures of what we do again. But here's a list of some of the things we have been doing: going to the park, swimming in our pool with friends and by ourselves, walking to a nearby park, playing outside in our yard at the water table, went to a state park, and taking care of our garden (which is growing by the way, although some of the plants seem to have gotten sick... but I got some fungicide to help make them better hopefully). I guess that's really all, nothing too exciting. We just hang out outside in our yard a lot. We were going to go to a sprinkler park today, but I got called in to substitute for my sister's preschool class. Since we've had such clear blue sky days I've been teaching Jordan about airplanes. I guess not really teaching him about them, just showing him then whenever I see them. He looks for them sometimes. Jackson has gotten over his must wear orange faze and is now in a must wear a basketball shirt faze. When they're dirty he gets pretty sad. I guess this has turned into a lot of rambling... sorry. Here's the pictures of our trip to Flaming Geyser State Park:

Doug and Jackson with the Flaming Geyser.

Here's a close-up of the Flaming Geyser. I'll admit I was expecting more from it, since it has a State Park named after it.

Jack and Jordan's favorite part of the park was throwing rocks and sticks into the river and stream.