Baby Push-Ups

Jack has started to want to crawl. Each of my kids has started out differently. Do you remember the worm dance that was all the rage several years ago? That's how Carly started out. For Josh, it was the army crawl. So far, Jack does little baby push-ups. He gets on his tip toes and hands and just holds himself up. He'll also get on his knees and rock, but I love his little push-ups.

My Treasures

I can't ever get a good picture of all three kids, but I thought this was pretty sweet. Josh was actually willing to look at the camera and smile. I'm going to write it in my journal later, because he is so stubborn when it comes to taking pictures. I won't even tell you about my latest saga at JCPenny portrait studio. What a nightmare. I've learned my lesson about trying to go with all three kids, by myself. I definitely needed an extra pair of familiar hands. After I took this picture, I just couldn't get over how much I love being home with my kids every day.

Family Night Fun

Well, like I said, both Jarod and I were sick yesterday, and I felt even worse thinking about what to make for dinner. So instead, I decided we'd have our first bi-monthly, or monthly....I haven't decided yet...picnic movie night. As a rule in our house, you do not eat in the family room. I thought the kids would get a kick out of breaking the rule. We put blankets down with pillows, and moved the kids' activity table over, and ate KFC while watching the new Bee Movie. The kids loved it. I remember doing the same thing with my mom and sister when I was little, and thought it would be fun to make the same sort of memories for my kids. We already have the next movie lined up.

Nacho's First Bath

Well, since yesterday was Jarod's day off, we decided to use that time to get some things done. Of course, since we're both sick, we didn't feel like planting the tree we bought last week, or mowing, etc. So, we decided to bathe the dog. He's getting so big. I thought my kids grew fast! Holy cow!

Sitting Up!!

I can't believe how fast my baby Jack is growing. I've been trying to get him to sit up by himself for a little while now, and he always fell over after a few seconds. I tried again the other day, and he just sat and sat and sat. I was so proud.

Cute Couple

Carly just loves her new puppy. I get a kick out of watching her with Nacho. Of course, she wants to hold him all the time. The other day I looked out, and she was holding him like a baby over her shoulder, in the fort. I felt sorry for the dog, because I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant trip up the ladder. I guess it's possible he had fun going down the slide with her, though. :)

Delectable Cheesecake Disaster

So, I got this great cheesecake recipe the last time I was in California visiting Jarod's parents. His mom and I made it a couple times, trying to get it just right, and the tallest possible. We even made one late the night before we drove to Texas, so that Jarod would have cheesecake on his birthday. I made it a couple weeks ago and got rave reviews from the folks here. It was so delicious, I couldn't wait any longer to make another one.
This afternoon I made the most delectable looking cheesecake. So tall, golden, and no cracks. I was so proud of myself, I took a picture of it. Of course, as my luck would have it, as I was putting it in the fridge, the bottom of the spring form pan came loose, and the cheesecake landed all over the inside of my refrigerator. I wanted to cry. I called Jarod to tell him of the tragic news. From the tone of my voice, he thought either one of the kids had broken a limb, or the dog had run away. When he realized I was calling about cheesecake, he reminded me that he left the house every day to work. So that's where he goes! Now all I have left is a delicious mess.

cute kids

Aren't they cute?!

Bobcat Bash

Last night was the carnival at my mom's school. They had all sorts of great activities for the kids: Petting zoo, jump rooms/slides/obstacle courses, food, race cars, train rides, face painting, hair painting, game booths, etc. It was a lot of fun, and the kids had a great time. Their favorite thing was the jump room. Josh didn't want to get out, so I had to climb in to get him, with Jack strapped on...TWICE! All in all, it was a fun evening.

Back Yard Flowers

So one of the things Carly and I like to do is check out the plants in the backyard, for new blooms. She likes to show me new ones, and tell me what color they are. We go out daily and check to see if our flowers have opened yet.

Nacho

So, to make up for taking the fish back to the store, we got a dog. That's right. I always swore I would never get a dog, and here we are...dog owners. Actually, I really love the little pup. He's such a sweet little dog. He's a Boston Terrier, and such a cutie. He doesn't bark, but he's been known to cry when he wants me. He loves me the most already. I guess he knows I'm the mommy. I'm also his protector. Carly has a habit of loving him a little too much. Josh still isn't too fond of him. He runs when ever Nacho gets near, which makes Nacho run after him because it seems like a game. Poor kid ends up on the ground getting licked and jumped on by the dog, until I can run over and rescue him. I'm sure he'll get used to having a dog soon. Meanwhile, I should keep my video camera on hand, cause it's quite the scene to see my toddler running for his life from the 6 lb. baby dog.

I should add that Jarod named him Nacho, short for Ignacio, which is Grandpa Val's name. I think he gave up on convincing me to name one of our sons Nacho.

The Fish

We also decided one morning to get the kids a fish. We figured it would be good for the kids to have a pet, and what's easier than a fish, right? WRONG! We had a heck of a time trying to get the water right. I don't know if it's because we have hard water or what, but it just never seemed to be right, or if it was, it wasn't right for long. So, for a short little while, we had fish. Pat, Jo, Ruby, and Tiger. Carly still talks about them, but knows they're at the store, getting better. They were sick at our house. :)

Jarod's Harley

We've had some fun this month. Jarod got a new motorcycle. I guess he figures he can't ride up to work on a Yamaha motorcycle, when he works at Harley Davidson. I guess I can see his point. So, here's his new bike. He really loves it, and it's good for him to have something he can unwind with on the way home from work.

Dying Eggs

I've decided not to go too far back in chonology for this blog. There are so many pictures we have already, that I consider blog worthy, but I'll just keep it to the most recent.
Last Easter I didn't realize that you needed vinegar with the dye (duh), so we missed out on that little tradition. This year I made sure to buy vinegar ahead of time, and we dyed eggs the night before Easter. This was Carly's 4th Easter, which is hard to believe. This was Josh's first time dying eggs, and I think he got a kick out of it. At least he liked picking them up after they were dyed, thus getting dye all over his hands. Easter morning was fun. The kids had a great time looking through their Easter baskets, and playing with their new playdough tools. That was a big hit.

My First Blog

Well, at the behest of one of my sisters in law, I'm starting a blog. Now, you can all look at our pictures when and if you want to.
Things are busy, busy, busy here. In the last few months, Jarod has started a new job, we got pet fish, returned the pet fish, and gotten a dog. So, here are some of the latest pictures.