Just cute pictures

You may have noticed that I am catching up from the last four weeks or so.. Here's something cute to look at..

Jon-Jon's Birthday

We celebrated Jon-Jon's 2nd birthday on Sunday, March 30th. Rachel, Brandon and Abi came, as well as our friend Karen.

Here's video of the candle blowing. Yes, he sounds like an elephant. No, he couldn't actually blow the candles out. I had to help him there.





I had to add this video clip as well.. He's so cute when he says "YUCK"!

St. Paddy's Day 2008 and good news

As is traditional, the Ferrin family had green eggs and ham for St. Patrick's day (also honoring Dr. Seuss's birthday on March 2nd). We were all decked out in our green, but Braden and Adam had matching St. Patrick's day T-shirts. That was cute. Here's the pictures of our holiday breakfast.


I almost didn't get to download these pictures because my new cell phone about died. I left it charging on the bathroom counter last night, and about 4:30 this morning, it started making the weirdest noises. When we checked on it, I realized that I had splashed water on it last night while washing my face. The most embarrassing part is that I have to admit to the destruction myself. I finally got the thing turned off (a very long story), and the battery out, and I used my blow dryer on the cool setting. With that treatment and then sitting on my dresser upstairs where it was nice and warm, the phone decided not to die. That is nice for me since to replace it would cost me $199. OUCH!

Sly Mommy and the Squishy Squashy Mac and Cheese

One thing that I've noticed about toddlers, especially those about 2 is that the more they like a food, the more the food covers their face. I think that they are in such a hurry to stuff the food into their mouth that they can't help but get it everywhere. Today was no exception.

My favorite part about today's lunch was my own slyness. Jon-Jon hates veggies. He'll eat some fruit, but vegetables never cross his lips. So a couple of weeks ago, I started getting sneaky. I would put squash in the macaroni and cheese. Today I pureed a whole bunch of squash, then added about 1 1/2 cups of the pureed squash into the mac and cheese. Then to make it even better, I added a cup of shredded mozzarella. I tried it, and it be truthful, I couldn't taste the squash over the powdered cheese flavoring. Jon couldn't eat it fast enough. He ate 3 helpings of the stuff. The first bowl, he ate with his spoon, but the 2 and 3rd helpings he just crammed in with his hands. Adam also enjoyed his, but not to the same extent. Unfortunately, the pictures don't do justice to the amount of squishy squashy mac and cheese that was all over Jon-Jon's face.

Oh, on a completely different note.... It's snowing again. *sigh*

Baby's growing up

I decided that it was time that Jon-Jon actually had pants that fit, so out go the 24 month clothes, in come the 2T. It's hard to believe that he'll be two at the end of the month. The sad part was that while I was sorting the new clothes, I came across the outfit that my Grandma Davis bought him as a new baby gift. I don't think that she even considered that she would never be able to see him in it. It's hard to believe that all of my grandparents have passed away in a space of about 2 1/2 years.

In happier news, I am going for a haircut today. I plan to cut off about 6-8 inches and to have it thinned out. I imagine that I will lose about 2 pounds extra tomorrow from all of the hair loss. :)

I hope you are having a great day. Our day is lovely here. The temperature is supposed to be in the high 50s..

Beautiful Day at the Park

We love the park! Yesterday I took Jon to the park. Today was so beautiful that I took Adam and Jon to the park for a lunch date with their cousin, Abi. Rachel brought Abi to the park and we had lunch. It was so fun..


I just downloaded some pictures from my cell phone. The pictures below are from the night that we picked up Eric from Parent/Teacher Conferences. I love the picture of the three boys at the wipe board, as well as the picture of Jon having a kiddie sized Frosty in the large desk. Braden was very proud of his long division problem. He's decided that long division is COOL! I had to add the picture at the bottom of Eric and Braden (at Eric's school) when Braden was Jon's age.

More snow and other items of business

We have MORE snow, only about 3 inches, but my yard was just beginning to show signs of grass around the edges. Oh well, we will appreciate the water in the summer.

Emma's 2nd grade program was last night. She was one of about 20 children who had a spoken part. She did a great job, her voice was lovely. The program focused on Martin Luther King Jr and they sang several musical numbers. Here's a picture I took right before the program started.




I didn't realize until I had taken the picture that Emma is considerably shorter than her friends. (yes, she's the one in the middle.) She looked very cute. Her teacher, Mrs. Roylance, is in the back. Emma LOVES her teacher. (Drama is at new heights recently. Last week, Eric diagnosed her with a case of dramafeminitis.)

Speaking of cute. We have two more children who love the camera. Eric's parents swear that this is a trait they inherited from him. I guess he used to jump out into any picture he could. We were used to Braden doing that, but now Adam and Jon both want their turns..

They start posing whenever I get my cell phone out. It was even more fun taking video of them..

Braden had pack meeting last night as well. He earned the maps and compass belt loop, the swimming belt loop, a bead toward his Bear badge, and the Religion Knot patch. Next month, he will have earned his Bear and several arrowpoints. I'll have to get a good picture of him in his uniform so that he doesn't feel left out.

Needless to say, even by our busy standards, yesterday was a doosy. Both Pack Meeting and the 2nd grade program were at 7, and Emma had gymnastics from 4:30 to 6.

Oh, and finally to end with, Eric and I weighed in this morning. I lost 7 pounds in the month of January and he lost 5! CONGRATS to us!

Wednesday Morning

We are having a lazy Wednesday morning. Adam and Jon are watching the new favorite PBS show, "Super Why."

http://pbskids.org/superwhy/index.html

Check out the above link for more information.

Quiet Time

I am sitting here in front of the computer for some much appreciated quiet time. Jon-Jon is sleeping and the other three kids are at school. Ahhh... So I am catching up on my PTA responsibilities, and I'm helping Eric out with his. He's the only male commissioner on the PTA committees and he's in charge of the school's yearbook. This is the first year that we are attempting a yearbook. It will be a lot of fun now that we finally have all of the materials together.

I spent the morning running errands, such as buying new piano books for lessons, registering Emma for gymnastics and taking some returns to WalMart. Of course, I had to browse the holiday and toy clearance items. I'm always on the lookout for things to put in my gift box. I collect things all year round so that I never have to scramble at the last minute for a gift.

Well, the doorbell just rang and it's my new cell phone. The glass on the front of my old one got shattered, so TA-DA... here it is. Until later...

Christmas Holiday Update

It seems like I haven't posted for weeks. We've had a delightful holiday. The Sunday before Christmas we spent at Grandma and Grandpa Ferrin's house for a sleepover. It was nice for the kids to get their grandparents to themselves. We had Sunday dinner and then opened our Christmas gifts to each other. We put the kids to bed, and then Mom Ferrin and I created "sculpy" angels for my 8 young women (Beehives) at church, and Dad Ferrin and Eric did a puzzle. On Christmas Eve, we went home and prepared for the night's activities. We drove back to the Ferrin household, to be joined by Karla, Don and their family, Neil and LeAnn, Stefanie, Josh and their family, Rachel, Brandon and their daughter, and Tim and Carly. Peter, Kristina and their daughter were sorely missed. We had a traditional Portuguese Christmas dinner consisting of boiled vegetables and fish, and then we had a family musical program with different members of the family performing. After all of that excitment, we packed up the kids and drove back home. Most of the other siblings stayed at Grandma's house.

Christmas morning was delightful. The kids woke up about 6 and went downstairs to discover their gifts from Santa. Then we opened gifts. We spent a quiet morning playing and watching "Elmo's World" DVDs. Jon-Jon LOVES anything Elmo. So when he discovered that DVD, he insisted on watching it at least 5 times. At about 9 o'clock, we started the pie making. The only trauma was when both containers of shortening were rancid. Eric drove all over Springville looking for any place that had shortening. Nobody did, but we were able to borrow some from a neighbor. We made pumpkin, dark chocolate cream, sugar-free cherry, banana cream, and apple pies. They were delicious. We had a traditional American Christmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings.

The day after Christmas, the Hunstman cousins came from Salt Lake City to go to Jumpin Jacks with the kids. They had a blast. I only wish I had pictures. We then topped off the evening with a visit to the Golden Arches. How could a day get better?

We were going to head to Idaho for the blessing of my sisters' new baby, but didn't make it after the hospitalization of the husband of my best friend, Liz. He's still in Intensive Care, with the doctors and nurses confused about whether or not he had a heart attack. A nasty infection has made him a very sick man, and we stayed at home to help Liz with her children. Please direct any thoughts and prayers to their family.

Tonight we had another turkey dinner (turkeys were cheap 50 cents a pound). Rachel, Brandon and Abi came over and also our neighbor, Karen (who the children adore -- especially Jon-Jon.)

So, now that you have been updated, except our love for the beautiful Holiday Season and Wonderful New Year.