Fun stuff

Sophie and Nora have designated shelves on their bookshelf in their room where they get to have whatever they want on them. It started a few months ago when Sophie kept rearranging her bookshelf, and then when she was gone to school I would fix it back to my way..... typical mom. She would come home from school and get sad that I had "messed it up". So I decided since it is their room they should have a spot to do with as they please! Sophie takes great pride in organizing hers on gym days (Tuesday and Thursday!) It is so fun to see how they change things around and what treasures they find or get that are placed on the shelf - it is quite an honor for an item to be put on the "special shelf" as they call them. So here they are:

Sophie's special shelf

On Sophie's is a book that her 8th grade buddy made her at school, a Hello Kitty journal, a small snow globe that Brian brought her back from a conference, a freaky doll-head jewelry box that my sister sent her, a clay bird/birdbath that she made in school and was SO proud of, the large pink diamond she got in her stocking, a few marbles, a kitty figurine from the dollar store, her "willow tree" from Christmas, a top Brian brought her from his last conference, a ceramic horse she painted, a purple decorative tin that I bought for myself but she loved it so much I gave it to her, a container with tape, staples and whatnot in it, a marble purple egg that Brian brought from his last conference as well, and a silhouette that I made of her that she immediately loved and put right on her shelf so I figured it was a good place for it!

Nora's special shelf

One of Nora's prized possessions is that pink piggy bank. She got it from the dollar store from my mom and counts the money inside it at least 3 times daily. She also loves her large pink diamond from her christmas stocking, her purple treasure box from the dollar store, her tin lunch box where she likes to put her stickers, a calendar of naunie and grandpa's dog, - Tay - and her silhouette. She is not the stickler that Sophie is about keeping hers organized, which is good because hers is within the reach of a certain little boy.....

* In case you are wondering I got the idea to do the silhouettes from the blog of Stephanie Nielson. She is amazing and inspiring in so many ways. I remember doing them in 4th grade and I think they are so fun! They were super easy to do. I took a picture of the kids profile's (letting them watch tv while I did so made it easier!), printed them out, cut them out, and spray painted them black and glued them onto white paper. These are 5x7's but I also did 8x10's so more pics to come of them when they are finished!

Guitar Hero

The girls and I have been trying to convince Brian to let us get a video of his awesome air guitar. Unfortunately he has not cooperated. So we took matters into our own hands, and now we can share this amazing talent with all of you! :)

Help!

I am printing some new pictures of the kids for the wall in their bedroom........ and I can't decide which picture of Nora to enlarge. I think they are both simply adorable so I thought I would ask what you think? Leave a comment if you can!

Do I go with bangs??
Or no bangs??

I think it is so hard to decide because the bangs change her look SO much. I think the bangs make her look older. Both of the facial expressions are typical "Nora" faces so I love them both.
Decisions, decisions.....

I had to throw this one in as well - such a cutie!!

A funny story: A few weeks ago we were reading scriptures and Nora opened to a page in the Doctrine and Covenants Children's Reader that had a picture of all the past presidents of our church. She looked at it for a few minutes and then held it up and said, "Okay - which one of these is Barrack Obama??" It was so funny!

Doing well...

I think Miles is on the mend....... he hasn't had any Motrin since yesterday morning and he has been laughing and playing all day. He still sounds raspy and has a snotty nose but those don't seem to be bothering him! And because we have such awesome neighbors and friends here we have been well taken care of with Brian being gone. THANKS for your thoughts/comments & love!

Our sick - and little - boy!

Miles has not been feeling well since Tuesday and yesterday he started coughing, running a fever, having a runny nose and just wanting to be held constantly. Last night about 7:30 I took his temperature and it was 103.3 - which was pretty high considering I'd already given him some Motrin. Brian and our friend/neighbor Ryan gave him a blessing and he had a pretty good night - thankfully, since Brian left at 3am for a conference in Texas and won't be home until Sunday night. Miles had a doctor's appointment scheduled for today, for his one year check up, so I took him in and after the check up the doctor said he probably has RSV and would need to have his blood drawn to run some tests. Because he is sick he was unable to get the 12 month immunizations but they still did the height/weight/head measurements and although his height is remaining in the 10th percentile and his head in the 25th percentile - his weight had dropped off the chart - so the doctor had to get a urine sample to run some tests for that (I was worried they would need to use a catheter but they just put this pee-catcher bag thing in his diaper until he went - pretty cool!) He also told me to up his calorie intake so the boy can gain some weight. (I told him that I would try but if he was anything like his father it would be impossible to get him to gain a few pounds!) The girls of the family don't seem to have that problem.... I pulled the baby books out and Sophie weighed 20 pounds at 9 months and Nora weighed 18 1/2 pounds at 9 months.... and Miles weighed in at 17 pounds 9 ounces at one year (he has only gained 6 ounces in two months). So he's always been small - but the worrisome thing was that ideally babies follow their own growth curve and Miles had dropped off of his. So we'll see. I have to take him back in a month for a weight check and immunizations. I'm not worried - I am sure he is fine and that his weight has dropped because he is getting more and more active and still adjusting to drinking regular milk. As for the RSV - the doc told me to watch him closely for signs that he is struggling to breath, suction out his nose a lot, turn on the humidifier, prop his mattress with a pillow under it, and give him Motrin for the fever...... I really hope it will not last too long! Or it's going to be a loooong weekend without Brian home! I figure I'd better add a picture of my sweet little guy to the end of this long post to make it worth the read! He has still been such a good boy and extra cuddly - so I'll do my best to enjoy that while it lasts!

Such a sweetheart!

He's One!

We can't believe our little Miles is ONE year OLD! It has been a good year and we are grateful for Miles every single day. He had a great birthday filled with lots of friends, toys, cake and candy! What more could a little boy want?

The birthday cake (made with the giant cupcake pan from Wilton)

The boys of the house

Miles had plenty of help opening his gifts. It was fun to watch him because he was very excited about all of his toys and loved opening the presents.

Sophie has been wanting to get Miles these baby crayons since long before he was even born!

About to dig in to the cake!

Yummy frosting!

He also had plenty of help licking the frosting on the cake! :)

Our girls think you can't have a party without a pinata! Luckily I found this Blue's Clue's pinata at the party store on clearance for 5.00. It was a big hit! (pun intended)

After the party I was cleaning up and Miles attempted to carry his cake and dropped it on the ground. He couldn't resist just a few more bites!

Miles gets to share his birthday with his uncle! So happy birthday Uncle Mike - we miss you!

Full of love

We had a busy Valentine's day at our house (we spent most of the day in Detroit where we were able to babysit a bunch of cute kids while some couples in our ward attended the temple - then we were able attend the temple sealing of our good friends Paul and Katy! Later that night I got to chaperone a youth dance at our church!) I am so thankful for my husband and sweet kids who make me feel loved every day! Here are some pictures of the past few days:

My baby boy (who turns 1 tomorrow!) Crazy.

Sophie on Valentine's day with the kitty we gave her.

Nora at her pre-school Valentine's party. I asked her if I could take a picture of her and the cookie she decorated and this is the response I got. She was happy to be there - just not to have her picture taken I guess!

Nora loves going to pre-school on Wednesdays. Here are both of the pre-school groups.
So cute!