This is what I'm up against at bedtime!!

Every night when I'm getting Summer ready for bed, this is her routine: we get a bath, then jammies, brush teeth, read a story & give kisses and hugs to any and everyone who is in the house. From there, she runs into my bathroom telling me that she needs to go potty! Note that this is the only time of day that she is willing to use the toilet because she has picked up that it buys her a little more time! She will sit in the bathroom for as long as I will let her or until she uses the bathroom, the latter doesn't usually come first. You'll note in the picture, she isn't really concerned with actually going to the bathroom, just goofing off! She sits like that forever, but I don't want to discourage her. Once I get her into her bed, she needs "lips" (chap stick)-she actually says, "my lips is owee." then she tells me, "I so berry, berry hungry." My reply to this is that I will make breakfast for her in the morning. To this she says, "OK" and goes to bed. I can't remember a night where we haven't gone through all of this. She likes to make sure that she has covered every angle before she can give in to go to sleep. Even tonight, she started crying about 20 minutes after I put her to bed. When I went to check on her, she had put the elastic from her hair on her foot and it had cut her circulation off! Silly Summer!

Gerald comes to visit

The Geralds are in high demand with all of the kids!

Matthew with Gerald and "wanna-be Gerald"!

Everybody with Gerald!

This is Summer playing at our weekly play date. There is a big indoor playground here, which is nice for the long ND winters. We ended up staying for almost four hours today! The time really flew. I was able to talk to my friend with minimal interruptions since my kids were having so much fun running off energy with their friends!

Gerald is T Jay's travelling "pet" giraffe from his pre-school class. They draw names to see who Gerald gets to go home. He has his favorite story, "Giraffes can't dance" and then they put pictures and write what they did with him in his journal. They share it with the class the next class day. It is the highlight of the day. T Jay was so sad about having to return Gerald the last time that we bought him one of his own (the smaller one).

Pics for Daddy

So, Matthew likes to stick his tongue out. I am surprised that it doesn't dry out! I have been trying to get a good picture of it and this is the best so far!

Summer has decided that this is fun for her too! In some ways, I think that she still wants to be the baby. On the flip side, she loves to take care of the baby.

T Jay is on a picture strike, so he freaks out every time I pull the camera out. Maybe next time.

We miss our Daddy!

Hi daddy! I miss you a lot! "Daddy I wish you were home, I want you to come back soon & I hope you drive so long to Oklahoma, I hope you get there soon. I hope that you don't fall out of your chair. I miss you. I wish you came back to do your homework. I hope Toro doesn't scratch or bite me while your gone or I hope that he doesn't make mean sounds at me. That's all I want to say" -T Jay

I love you, Daddy!!

Matthew's new favorite spot! He loves to jump! Holding him is tricky because of all of the jumping!

Poor Baby boy!

Summer is going to suffocate him with her love!

Matthew can sit up-sort of!! Summer was holding him, and then she scooted away and he kept sitting. It was kind of a hunched over version of sitting up, but he didn't fall over for at least a minute. Here he has put his hands down and then went onto his tummy! He's getting so big!

Keeping the commandments

So, I just asked T Jay why Summer was crying and here is what he said:
"I moved her train coloring book because she was trying to put it on top of the Buzz coloring book. She's not keeping the commandments, Summer, you have to keep the commandments, Mom, Summer's not keeping the commandments."
When I asked him which commandment it was that she wasn't keeping he said,"oh, she was not keeping Jesus' commandments, when we're making a bad choice then that's not keeping the commandments." Very matter of fact! I am still chuckling!

Playing in the snow

It was 20 degrees today, but we needed to get out of the house and burn some energy. The kids love to shovel snow. Our driveway was clear, but they like to just move snow from point A to point B.
This is a very old newspaper that Summer found while digging. She was very pleased with her "buried treasure".
T Jay is showing off his "snow shoveling muscles!

Yesterday was a day to clean.

We had a busy weekend with ward conference, so I took advantage of yesterday to get the house all spic-n-span. I cleaned almost all day, and then I had a friend (whose husband is also gone) come over for a yummy dinner. We also made chocolate chip peanut butter cookies. The were to die for! After I got the kids down to bed, it was just Matthew and I up for a couple of hours. He actually fell asleep in my arms, something that none of my babies ever really do. They like to be in their beds. It was very peaceful to hold that sweet little baby while he slept. He would wake up a little, see me and then snuggle back in. I kept thinking that he looked like he felt so safe each time that he woke and went back to sleep. When it was time for him to go to bed, I gave him his first bath all alone. He loved it! He splashed and splashed, and then laughed and squealed. It was so funny to watch him get surprised when water would splash on him. These quiet evenings with him are really special. It's kind of funny, Summer's individual time is early in the morning because she is the first to wake up. (I have to say that some of the time she gets her attention begrudgingly!) T Jay gets his one on one time during nap time. If we have another, I'm not sure what other times of day are left!
I watched Oprah Winfrey's special on her new Leadership Academy last night. I wasn't going to, but I was sitting there when it came on. I am glad that I did, not because of Oprah, but because of the little girls that were on. Their plight for knowledge was incredible. It made me appreciate the things that are so readily available to me everyday. I really like to watch most of Oprah's shows, but at times I get tired of her self important attitude. I guess it comes with the territory. This new school that she has started will open so many doors for the girls in South Africa. It is the ultimate pay it forward. Speaking of, I really missed not seeing her "My Favorite Things" episode at Christmas this year, but I really liked her idea of having the audience "pay it forward." What a true way to celebrate the birth and life of Jesus.
It is now time to go and play Barbies with Summer and maybe even get a run in.