Spring Fling

I realized I haven't updated on my cuties in a while, so while we are on a short visit to Lubbock, I figured I could drop a line on these little munchkins. Jackson is just as curious as ever and continues to be such a GREAT big brother. He loves to cuddle and play with his little sis, even if she is not so obliging. He is loving the new litter of kittens at Granny's house. He loves to watch them climb and jump and wrestle each other. However, he is a little rough on them when he actually tries to play with them and we keep having to remind him the kittens are babies like his sister.  I went to check on him yesterday while he was playing with the kittens and he had one of them hooked around the neck with a hanger and he was trying to lift it by the neck! Clearly we have our work cut out for us if Jackson is going to get a little puppy for his b-day this year. He is noticing letters and numbers everywhere we go and he knows uppercase and lowercase of almost all the letters and he can recognize numbers up to 20. He is also learning to tell time (at least the hour), addition, and the days of the week. He is so eager to learn and it has been really fun teaching him these things as he has asked about it. He is also just as funny as ever and he keeps us on our toes and laughing all the time. Funny story from last week: We usually ask Jackson at dinner on Sunday what he learned about in his Sunbeam class and he usually tells us "Jesus" (already a smart alick). Last Sunday we tried to get a little more out of him by saying "what did Jesus do?" He proceeds to tell us a story about Jesus as the main character of the movie "Tangled", which we had just finished watching before dinner! So clever and creative, and yet it was hilarious!

Lacey is still our little sassy girl and there is no doubt she knows how to get her way. She has really learned to talk and SCREAM lately and she is ALMOST as chatty as her brother. She is still refusing to roll over or to giggle so she spends a lot of time on her tummy and being tickled. She is just such a diva that she screams when I put her on her tummy and just waits for her brother or I to turn her, even though I know she could do it herself! And ultimately, I think her brother will finally get her to laugh because she loves to watch him talk and play. She started getting veggies with her rice cereal and she likes green beans, but squash-not so much. She is overall a much happier girl eating some solid food now, but I know she secretly wishes she could eat whatever we're having because she stares and drools at our food and tries to grab whatever she can see. She has tasted a fudgcicle-which she of course loved. And here is a video of her girly screams:

Get into my belly!

Lacey eating rice cereal for the first time!

Lubbock Trip

 

We spent the last few days in Lubbock visiting Seth's brother and parents. We love having them so close and making a quick drive that the kids can tolerate! Seth was able to make some good visits for work and the kids and I were able to relax and play. I even scored a new double jogging stroller for $60 from a gal in their stake-so I would say it was well worth the trip!! We also really enjoyed watching conference with the fam and eating some yummy food that was NOT a part of our diet! And Jackson loved meeting the litter of 5 new baby kittens at Granny's house. And of course Lacey was as charming as ever. Aren't those pics of my little kiddos playing together just so sweet?! We are so grateful to always feel welcome to make a visit out to Lubbock. Thanks Stokers for a fun weekend!

March Madness

The month of March has flown by and we are so glad to have Spring in the air here in NM.  We have enjoyed several trips to the park with beautiful 70 degree weather. We have also been watching our fair share of BBall the past couple of weeks as we followed our beloved Cougs to the Sweet Sixteen! Seth spent the weekend in Vegas at the MWC bball tournament while the kids and I headed down to Mesa for some fun at Gramma and Grampas. It was a nice relaxing trip for everyone, minus the fact that Lacey had RSV while we were there! But she is always such a sweetie, she still charmed everyone with her sweet little grin. Jackson is growing like a weed and I can't seem to keep enough food on the table. He is also loving playing with his trains, cars, and just about anything else "boy". He is keeping his mommy on her toes between "Mommy, will you play with me?" and "Mommy I need a snack" I don't have very many minutes left in the day! Lacey is growing into quite the diva, just as her daddy feared. She is definitely a girl that knows what she wants and won't stop until she gets it. Jackson is very affectionate with his sister, often to the point of smothering her. Typically he will kiss her cheek or hand until she cries and I tell him to stop. One morning, Lacey was sitting in her chair and Jackson was relentlessly giving her good morning kisses. Lacey saw that I was watching and she let out a pitiful little whine, so of course I said "Jackson, leave your sister alone"...and she had the most smug look on her face! At 4 months old, she has already learned how to tattle and get her brother into trouble! Unbelievable! Amongst all the regular hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, we also managed to go house hunting, find a home we loved, put in an offer, wait for what seemed like ages to hear back (it was a short sale), have our offer finally accepted, and then decide to back out at the last minute. It's really a long story, but I am so thankful for the promptings of the Spirit in my life! It is always so wonderful to make a decision and feel good about it. And as an added bonus, there are exciting things in the works regarding that same topic, which I will update as soon as I know more.