Power Shots

This will be a quick and simple post, because I have tons of pictures of Jilly's birthday that will take some time to get organized and properly described, so that will be it's own post.

Jason went for his 4 month well-baby visit this week, only a month late! Oh well, his 2 month appt was also a month late. He is a healthy and strong guy. I have to say I was quite surprised by his measurements! He seems totally normal to me, about the same size as Jilly was, and she was usually in the high percentiles (like 70s & 80s, head always in the 90s). But his weight (15lbs 4.5oz) is only in like the 25th percentile and his height (25.25 inches) is about the same, and his head (17 inches) is in the 25-50th percentile too. This really surprised me, because his head was in the 95th percentile two months ago, and let's face it, Jilly has a huge head, so I assumed Jason would too. I know boys have different growth charts than girls, so really they are similar sizes, just boys are generally bigger I guess. But it still seems odd. Oh well. I wasn't very impressed with the PA-C we saw, so when we go back for his 6 month appt, I'm going to ask to see someone else. He got a few vaccines, though I am delaying one for now, but there were no worries brought up and he was a very calm and happy baby.

Jason is teething these days and has been for like a month. This past Sunday I noticed there was a white line in his gums. I thought I might be seeing things, so I asked Michelle if she saw them too, and she said she did. So his teeth are getting closer! The poor guy hasn't been super bothered, but it has been enough discomfort to keep him from napping well lately. This is younger than Jilly teethed, but luckily so far neither of my kids have been inconsolable with it. Jason is also getting VERY giggly and rolling over from his tummy to his back all the time. In fact, we usually lay him down on his tummy to sleep, because he can't ever seem to fall/stay asleep on his back. But most of the time when I go in to pick him up or just check on him, he has rolled onto his back. :-D I've seen him sleep there for over 6 hours, so that's good. He also scoots around like crazy in his crib. He pushes with his feet and gets some propulsion going, but doesn't move his arms, so he usually face-plants and then rolls to his side. It's funny because it seems like the opposite of Jilly. She seemed like she could get everything, except for her feet under her to move her forward. He LOVES putting everything into his mouth and holding on to things very tightly in his hands. His teething ring is his best friend right now. The kid bites so hard that he makes my knuckles hurt! But he is a very good baby, and a definite Mama's boy. (Yay!)

My baby girl, Jillian, is now 3 years old! Time has flown. It seems like she was so little just yesterday and here she is, about to start Sunbeams in a month. She had a marvelous birthday and got quite the haul! Lots of presents and lots of treats! What a lucky and loved girl she is.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful, relaxing day, with yummy food and excellent company. We are so blessed to have so much family, so close.

That's it for now. I will post pics of Turkey Day and Jilly's birthday later!

Thankful

11/22: I am grateful for sweats and soft PJs and Sunday afternoon naps!

11/23: I am grateful for Dr. Pepper!

11/24: I am grateful for my dad and the example he showed to me of what it means to serve and put others' needs ahead of your own.

11/25: I am grateful for healthy and happy children who are growing and learning like crazy!

11/26: I am grateful for the love of my Heavenly Father, who provides everything for me. I am grateful for my testimony of His gospel and the Savior He sent to this earth.

Thankful

11/19: I am grateful for my mom. She is a strong, independent, smart lady who worked really hard to raise me well. She is an amazing granny who is more of a second mother, than just a grandma to my kiddos. I lubs her.

11/20: I am grateful for kids who go to bed early and sleep all night long!

11/21: I am grateful for a husband who does so much to help me out. A husband who is willing to get up early on a Saturday morning and come to the Church for 3 hours, wrangling a toddler and a baby, carrying things, doing some grocery shopping during it too, and all around being my gopher, so I could help run through the Primary Program and set things up for the pizza party.

Thankful

11/17: I am thankful for Primary! I love serving in Primary and have had so much fun doing so, these past 2+ years. Steve has learned that our presidency meetings usually take 2-3 (sometimes over 3) hours because we have such a good time with each other. The kids are awesome and I know it is a privilege and an honor to teach them and help them cultivate their personal testimonies.

11/18: I am thankful for the spirit I feel in the temple and I am grateful to serve there. Today, my mom watched the kids while Steve and I went to the temple. We were too late to do a session (we had to leave by a certain time so I could go to work) so we did initiatories instead. I love doing those. I love the blessings involved and getting to hear them repeated so many times.

Thankful

11/15: I am thankful for chocolate milk. Jilly loves chocolate milk and when I gave her some, she was so happy and we started a fun little game of yelling "Boo!" at each other, which dissolved into giggles for both of us. :-)

11/16: I am thankful for a healthy and strong body that was able to carry, give birth to and nourish my beautiful babies.

Giving Thanks

I have seen a status update challenge on several friends' Facebooks. With it being November, the month of Thanksgiving, it challenges you to write down one thing you're grateful for, each day. I want to do this as well, but I think I'll do it on my blog instead. Since I am starting this two weeks into the month, I am going to do the first 14 days all here:

11/1: I am grateful for our ward and the amazing people in it, who serve so willingly.
11/2: I am grateful for my job. Not only do I have a source of income, but I work with great people, at a wonderful company, and have a supervisor who is very flexible and understanding with me.
11/3: I am grateful for the right and opportunity to vote.
11/4: I am grateful for a husband who loves to play with his kids! He can make them giggle like no one else.
11/5: I am grateful for Facebook, blogs and computer games that help me keep from getting insanely bored when it's slow at work.
11/6: I am grateful for thunderstorms! I love watching them. There was a wicked cool one about midnight, so Steve and I opened up the blinds, turned off our lights and watched it.
11/7: I am grateful for wonderful friends, who have done so much for my family, and I will miss them when they move!
11/8: I am grateful I am able to help friends. At a time in my life, when I need so much from others, I am grateful for those times when I can give back, even if only a little.
11/9: I am grateful for little miracles. Jilly said a complete, spontaneous sentence with no prompting from us. We've been very concerned about her speech and language development, so this was a reassuring sign.
11/10: I am grateful for a sister who loves my kids as if they were her own.
11/11: I am grateful for friends who drive for hours to come visit, even though they're only staying overnight.
11/12: I am grateful for an aunt, who even though we've only known each other a few years and we're not blood related, she treats me as family and is willing to do anything she can for me. She texts me to find out if I need something and is happy to get whatever it is.
11/13: I am grateful for wonderful family and friends who buy my kids very very cute clothes! I went through ALL of the baby clothes boxes and reorganized the kids' closet and dresser. What awesome wardrobes they have! And lots of clothes! I am grateful I've never worried about my kids going without proper (let alone adorable) clothes.
11/14: I am grateful for a safe car and car insurance! I saw 2 or 3 accidents on my way to work, and I remember the months I drove 'Shaniqua', a car we'd been given, that was getting old and a bit unreliable. Now, we have a car we don't worry about and feel safe in.

There you go! 14 things I am grateful for, so far this month. I'm going to try to post something new each day.

Outnumbered

My friend Sariah just came to visit Tuesday night and left Wednesday afternoon. She brought her super fun girlies, Cadi & Rori, which brough the girly count up to 5. Poor Steve was severely outnumbered and Jason wasn't that much help. ;-) We had a great time hanging out, chatting, playing with the kids, wandering the mall, and eating. It was short, but tons of fun! It had been almost a year and a half since we'd last seen them (the beginning of June 08), so it was well overdue! Her girls were so much bigger and even more fun. Cadi wanted to play with Jason all the time, and offered to hold and carry him a lot. Jilly and Rori actually played together a bit, and then all three little ladies had a slumber party in Jilly's room. It was insane trying to get them to bed, and I think it was 11:30 or midnight before they were all asleep. And then of course, us adults stayed up until like 2:30am, just talking. Somehow the kids didn't get the "we stayed up late" memo and were up bright and early at 7am! We were all pretty tired, to say the least. ;-) It was a wonderful time and we were so happy to have them visit.

Just for fun, here's a picture of Jilly and Rori the first time they met (Jilly 3 months, Rori 7 months):

And this last time, both girls 3 years old (well, practically, Jilly's birthday is in 2 weeks).

I love that they have similar expressions in both pictures. Cute girlies for sure. Look at how much they've grown. Such long and pretty hair they have. :-)

Good Idea, Bad Idea

Good Idea: Putting your keys in your purse as soon as you get home, so you don't have to look for them when you're ready to leave the next time.

Bad Idea: Putting your keys in your purse right away, then forgetting you did that, and panicking while you search the entire house for them and have no idea how you lost them. Then give up, because you're already late for work, and take your husband's keys. Finally, when you're leaving work to come home, find your keys safe and sound in your purse after all, and feel excruciatingly dumb. Especially because you've had some pretty embarrassing key-losing experiences in the past.