Salem's Seventh

Happy Birthday Salem! We love you so much!

Breakfast math

This morning Salem was sitting at the table eating his breakfast and he said, "Mom, when you add two odd numbers together you get an even number."

I thought about it for a minute and realized that he was right! How cool! Then we  discussed further and figured out that when you add the same number together that it's always even too. (7+7, or 8+8, etc.)

Anyway, I just thought I should share that little tidbit of information about what we talked about during breakfast. :)

Here's more info that I googled if you want more fun math facts.

Morning thoughts

This morning Oaklen came into our room and the first thing uttered out of his mouth was "Mom, I dreamed about pasta last night." Then Salem came into the room and the first thing out of his mouth was "Mom, I'm planting the seed of education today."

You can get a glimpse of their personalities just by those sentences. :)


My morning thought: "Today is the last day in my 20's, what am I going to do?"

Happy February

I have been known among my friends to wish people "Happy [Month]" when it's a new month. Today I got a phone call from my friend to wish me a Happy February! :) It was so nice and I'm glad I've trained her to say that. :)

January flew by very fast, so here is a quick update...enjoy all the pictures, click on them to view larger versions.

Salem - His two front teeth came out on New Year's day. One while he was sledding down the hill. He walked back to the top of the hill and said "Hey, my tooth is gone!" Then later that day he wiggled the other one out. He had to write a letter to the tooth fairy to explain the missing tooth but assured her/him that he indeed lost 2 teeth. (By the way, is the tooth fair male or female? I've always thought that the fairy was female, but the Santa Clause 2 movie states otherwise.) He went skiing for the first time and  had a good time. Thanks Uncle Cabot for taking him!

Oaklen - He is still as funny as ever. Every day is an adventure for him (and me.) He is back in his Bob the Builder phase and is calling me Wendy. His imagination is quite cute. He started primary in January and has enjoyed it. His teacher is great, and his primary president is awesome! :) He still is always in the fridge and pantry. I happened to be holding the camera to go take a pic of Ezril and found Oaklen under the table eating to his heart's content. :)

I made my mom's cake, and let Oaklen lick the frosting off the beaters, he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ezril - I can't believe he's already 11 months old today and it's interesting to watch how different each kid is. Ezril still does not crawl, he scoots along as he sits and is content with that. He has learned this week how to open cabinet doors and is starting his curious phase. He likes to stand while leaning on chairs and couches. He's just starting to cruise. He like his mega saucer and jumper and loves to jump. He babbles and has said momma, dadda, and other various baby words/sounds. He went swimming for the first time and loved it. He loves the water and baths. I call him my "little boy blue" because of his small stature and beautiful blue eyes.

Darrell - Darrell's company changed office buildings and it's been great all around. It's closer to home, and there is an on-site gym he can use for free. The desks, cubicles and computer hardware is better and it's got a great view out the windows. Darrell continues to get up every morning and run. He's very healthy and happy and a great example to all of us. He still serves as 1st counselor in the bishopric and still finds time to enjoy his guitar, children, wife and home.

Heather - I'm trying to keep my patience and temper on an hourly basis. I am a complainer by nature and it's a challenge for me to just be content and happy. :) (Thanks for putting up with me Darrell and kids.) I have cut back on eating sugar and only had one small taste of my mom's birthday cake for the entire month of January. (Although this may be why I've been ornery. :) ) It's not really a new year's resolution but just a "holiday-detox." I plan to continue this and only have sweets on a very rare basis. (Special occasions happen too often in our family, I can't use that as an excuse.) I still serve as Primary President in our ward, am the treasurer of the Utah Breastfeeding Coalition, and am a member of the school community council and PTA.

Smile, it increases your face value!

I hope these make you smile...

Happiness is...Volume 2 Part 3

Happiness is...
* Ezril wiggling his whole body with excitment when we sing him the good morning song
* Darrell constantly wanting to get things done
* Darrell never complaining
* Oaklen's hiding place
* Eating a banana every day
* Ezril's smile when you don't expect it
* Oaklen praying by himself
* Salem reading to Oaklen & Ezril
* Oaklen "reading" the scriptures by himself - "And Jacob came into the house and killed them."
* Salem being in a great program at his school
* The front porch being done before winter
* Ezril getting excited whenever we pick Salem up for school
* Family Home Evening when everyone is happy and participating
* Ezril loving bath time
* Salem putting a note on the door for Santa, already!
* Christmas music in the middle of November (yes, I'm one of "those" people)
* Darrell, Salem & Oaklen having a fun time at the Home Depot Kids Club
* Salem not the least bit scared to do his part this year for the Primary Sacrament Presentation
* Watching our neighborhood squirrel scurry across the trees in the front yard
* Oaklen being self sufficient in the bathroom (except when he uses way too much toilet paper)
* Playing Candyland
* Having a warm coat
* Driving a nice van and being able to afford the gasoline
* Oaklen say "Mommy...ya know what?..." (In the middle of the night, in the morning, all the time.)
* The fact that my 6 year old boy still likes and wants to snuggle with me
* Dinners not made by me - they always taste twice as good when someone else makes them
* My boys learning how to "play rough" (Oaklen is finally old and big enough to take on his brother.)
* My boys remembering to pray for certain people who need extra blessings that day
* Being able to multi-task while wearing the baby sling
* Darrell and Ezril's striking blue eyes

* The boys having more fun giving out treats on Halloween than actually going trick-or-treating

Here is a glimpse of our beautiful porch. I'll post more pictures of the porch later.

* Salem's stories he writes for homework and the pictures that go with them.

I love the "wow" face that I have in this drawing. I'm so impressed with him sweeping the floor.

* Oaklen's motor going when he enjoys what he's eating (which is almost always.) (See video below)

This is Oaklen a while ago, but he still makes his motor sound whenever he is enjoying what he's eating.

It's Fall time but I haven't fallen off the planet

It's been over a month since I've posted, I'm sorry! I forget that I have a blog, I'm too busy reading other blogs and websites that I forget that I need to update mine! :)

Here's a quickie...

Here are a few pics from playing in the leaves last week.

 

I updated my food blog tonight with a fun Halloween recipe, check it out!

Salem's 6th Birthday Review

I'm a little late posting this, but here is Salem's 6th birthday review. His birthday was on a Friday so we did many things with our little family on that day, then had a big family party on Sunday evening.

This is the sum of Friday's activities
* Breakfast in bed
* He got to open one present in the morning, it was a Darth Vader mask!
* We went to Sugarhouse Park and played on the playground
* He got to go to Toys R Us and redeem his $3 gift card from Geoffrey's birthday club. He chose two wrestler action figures.
* We went to the library and the librarian gave him a sticker and helped us find some books about birthdays.
* We got to meet Darrell at Olive Garden for lunch.
* We played with moon sand at home.
* We went bowling
* At the bowling place he opened a present and it was a fish bowl and goldfish crackers. It was a clue to where we were going next...
* We went to the pet store and Salem got to pick out two goldfish. He named them immediately: Zinner and Miguel.
* We brought the fish home. (Unfortunately Miguel died the next day and Zinner died on Monday. It's okay...we had funerals and talked about the plan of salvation, we even sang "I am a Fish of God.")



On Sunday evening we had a family birthday party. Salem and I had been making a pinata for this occasion for a few months. We made it out of paper mache so it took a while to dry and do another layer, then we forgot about it and finished it up a few days before his birthday. It turned out really cute.

Our friend Rachael posted pinata instructions on her blog and that's how we got the idea. Salem did most of the work and it was pretty easy. We decided on doing a spiderman head since the balloon looked like a head. What did we fill it with? String cheese of course! :)

Here are some pics from his family birthday party. I made a goldfish cake for him. Thank you family for coming and the fun gifts!

Happy Birthday Salem - Half a Dozen

Salem is 6 years old today!

Spiderman - Salem loves to dress up in his Spiderman costume as well as his lion, Batman, cowboy, duck, Peter Pan, sheriff ...and the list goes on. He would play dress-up all day if he could. (The funny thing is that he doesn't even know who or what most of the characters are, he just likes to dress up in them.)
Activities - He loves to choose the activity for Family Home Evening, or during Mom & Me time. He comes up with some lengthy rules or agendas and they usually turn out fun. He loves to go with his Dad to Young Men or Young Women activities.
Love Notes - He loves to make cards, color pictures and write notes to everyone. It's adorable when he leaves a love note or picture on my or Darrell's pillow. The drawings are classics!
Energetic - He is a happy, healthy kid who is full of energy.
Memorable - He's already old enough to remember his past. I hope he has fond memories and continues to build great ones.

I love you Salem Wallace!

How do you get to the moon?

Salem once asked me "How do you get to the moon?" I told him that he needed to do a lot of math so that he could go to the moon.

Well, that's been Salem's motivation as he's been doing math. We do it for fun during mom & me time and both of us like doing math more than many other things. I'd rather do math than color a picture, do some craft, or play dress-up.

Here's to many happy times doing math, and maybe someday we'll reach the moon! :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Greetings from the tooth fairy

The tooth fairy made a stop by our house last week. Salem had his first baby tooth come out! He put it under his pillow and in the morning he received a dollar and a nice note from the tooth fairy commending him for taking good care of his teeth.



Here's to many more years of tooth fairy visits in our family! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I had some fun with photoshop...
Have a Happy Valentine's Day! :)



We are having a primary activity today and will be going Valentine caroling, singing the following songs. You should sing these to someone you love today...they may be cheesy but I bet they'd still bring a smile to his/her face!

1. If you love me and you know it
Sung to: "If you’re happy and you know it"
If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.
If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.
If you love me and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it.
If you love me and you know it, Clap your hands.
_____________________________________

2. Love your Friends
Sung to: "Row, Row, Row, your boat"
Love, Love, Love your Friends,
Love them all year long.
Especially on Valentine's Day,
As we sing this song!
_________________________________

3. The Primary Brings a Valentine
Sung to: "Mulberry Bush or Pop Goes the Weasel"
The primary brings a Valentine,
a Valentine, a Valentine.
The primary brings a Valentine,
It says we love you!
_____________________________________

4. You are my Valentine
Sung to: "You are my Sunshine"
You are my Valentine, My special Valentine,
And I do love you, oh yes I do.
You are my Valentine, My Special Valentine,
And please say you love me, too!
_____________________________________

5. Do you know my Valentine?
Sung to: "The Muffin Man"
Do you know my Valentine,
My valentine, my valentine?
Do you know my Valentine?
His/her name is _____________.
_____________________________________

6. Be my Valentine
Sung to: "London Bridges"
Will you be my Valentine, Valentine, Valentine?
Will you be my Valentine, Be a friend of mine.
_________________________________

7. Valentine for you
Sung to: "Farmer in the dell"
A valentine for you
A valentine for you.
A valentine, a valentine
A valentine for you.
__________________________________

8. 10 Little Hearts
Sung to: "One little, two little, three little Indians"
One little, two little, three little hearts,
Four little, five little, six little hearts,
Seven little, eight little, nine little hearts,
Bring love on Valentine's Day.
_____________________________________

9. We Wish You a Happy Valentines
Sung to: "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"
We wish you a Happy Valentines
We wish you a Happy Valentines
We wish you a Happy Valentines
and a smile your way!
_____________________________________

10. Hello, Hello
Sung to: "Hello, Hello" (Primary Song)
Hello, Hello! Hello Hello!
Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hello, Hello! Hello Hello!
We’re glad to smile your way!
_____________________________________

Happiness is...Volume 2 Part 1

I haven't done a happiness post in a while. That must mean I'm miserable! :) Although these pregnancy hormones make me happy, sad, or miserable within seconds I still have things to be happy about.

(Some of these I wrote a while ago, so they may be Christmas related.)

Happiness is...
* Oaklen closing the door for me to use the bathroom and saying "You need your priva-seat?" (privacy.
* Coming up with silly names for the baby with my boys.
* Watching Frosty the Snowman with the fam for the first time.
* Oaklen yelling "Happy-yeah!" when we tell him something exciting.
* Teaching Salem what a commercial is (at 5 yrs old!)
* Getting Christmas cards from good friends.
* Knowing that I am a child of God.
* Feeling the Christmas spirit, all year long.
* Listening to Oaklen roll-play and pretend with his little people and toys.
* Watching our quail family in our backyard.
* Oaklen telling Darrell that he belongs at the man-village. (From the Jungle Book)
* The boys having fun with moonsand.
* Oaklen recounting or "reading" the book A Fish Out of Water.
* Picking Salem up from school every day and asking me "Do you have a surprise for me?"
* Oaklen then telling Salem "I don't have a surprise for you, Salem."
* Watching the garbage trucks with Oaklen on Thursday mornings.
* Oaklen realizing the difference between feel-good food and junk food.
* Salem making good choices with his eating.
* Salem making his own breakfast. He prepares ane egg from start to finish, and even puts his dish away.
* Oaklen looking at my hangnails and saying "I'm sorry!"
* Brother hugs and baby brother hugs.
* Giving 20 kisses to each boy before bed then singing the goodnight song.
* My boys giving me comfort when I start to cry. They come to hug me and give me a tissue.
* Oaklen wearing his pajamas and looking like Uncle Fester.
* Naked bums...then me saying "who has a naked bum?"
* Oaklen saying "Jesus Christ has wounds?" loud and clear during the sacrament ordinance at church. Then later saying "Is it time to go?"
* Salem finding joy in such simple things and projects for "mom & me" time.
* Staying up later and talking with Darrell.
* Salem wanting to reserve the same books at the library instead of spending money and buying the books from the school book order.
* Oaklen coming in my room early in the morning and saying "Mom, can I snuggle with you?"
* Having an eternal family.

Sweater Brothers

Today was the last Sunday before Christmas and I always like to dress up for the occasion so my boys wore some "Christmas sweaters" to church. They looked nice except I couldn't convince Oaklen to wear black shoes with his black pants & socks, he insisted on his brown shoes that he wears everyday. They're still cute.

Happy Haircut?

Among my many talents, I also cut hair! (Please sense the sarcasm in that sentence.) When Darrell and I were engaged, he told me that he always dreamed/thought of his wife cutting his hair. I just laughed thinking that I'd never do that.

Well, he gave me enough courage (and the realization that we'd be saving money) that I started cutting his hair. Years ago I went to the salon and watched the lady cut his hair and then the next time around, I tried it. I've gotten better over the years and it looks pretty good, but I'm sure a good hair stylist would be able to spot the "home job" from a mile away. :)

I use scissors, clippers and have even tried using a flowbee that my former neighbor gave me.

This has now lead me into cutting my boys' hair. We usually use clippers with longer attachments for them so it's actually pretty easy...if they held still. When Salem was a toddler I put him on my lap and let him play a sesame street game on the computer while I cut his little hair. I stopped that after two times since I didn't want the hair mess on the computer. Now we do it in the kitchen or outside if it's warm weather.

Oaklen absolutely hates hair cuts, regardless if I use the clippers or the scissors. He screams bloody murder. A few months ago we cut it really short so we wouldn't have to cut it again for a while.

Oaklen's first haircut May 2007

Last night I cut Salem and Oaklen's hair. I had been meaning to do it for a week or two but I realized that I HAD to cut Salem's hair last night when I found a huge bald spot on the crown of his head! He has a habit of twirling his hair and he twirls it so much that his hair falls out. That's the reason we've kept it relatively short, but I always try to let it grow a little more each time to see if he'll stop the habit.

Salem's first haircut September 2004

While I was cutting Salem's hair last night, I discovered not only one bald spot but four! I felt so bad for him but it's his own fault. I'm sure others look at his hair with the bald spots and think "Geez, that kid got a really bad hair cut!" So, the next time you see Salem, remember that it's not a bad hair cut, I cut it as evenly as possible.

Thanksgiving Weekend Highlights

We had a fun, relaxing weekend.
1. On Thanksgiving we feasted with Darrell's extended family. We watched old family slides/pictures and saw some cool things. When we drove home I asked my family what they were thankful for. Salem said "eggs" and Oaklen said "Um...orange" with a big grin. :) Darrell was thankful for our family and I was thankful that we have a healthy family.
2. On Friday we spent the morning putting up our Christmas tree and decorations. The boys were quite excited and loved putting ornaments on the tree and putting up their Fisher-price manger scene.
3. Saturday we were able to see Santa arrive at the Sugarhouse Santa Shack in style riding in a fire truck. (There were 2-3 news cameras but I haven't been able to find anything online about it.) The boys had a great time. Salem said he wanted a "spiderman set" and Oaklen didn't say anything at first but nodded when Santa asked him "Do you want toys for Christmas?"

Here are some pics...(click to view a larger image.)

A Halloween to remember

I'm catching up and am finally doing a post about Halloween 2008.

This Halloween will be one to remember...
1. Salem was a lion. We had talked about him being other things throughout the year, like a pirate, darth vader, or batman, but when he saw this lion costume that I had, he really wanted to be a lion.
2. This was my first school Halloween parade to attend, the first of many I'm sure. It was interesting to see all the costumes that the kids wore, and it was weird that I was the adult watching the kids. I always felt silly walking in the Halloween parades at school, so I felt for those awkward kids.
3. Oaklen was an aligator/crocodile/dinosaur (I couldn't quite tell what it really was.) He only wore his costume halfway through the time we spent being at Salem's parade then he took it off. He refused to wear it the rest of the day.
4. Oaklen got sick! (No it wasn't from too much candy.) We went to visit my friend Candace and he puked on her carpet! He had no symptoms of anything, and afterward was as jolly as a lark, so I'm not really sure what happened to him. I spent some time cleaning up the mess, and I doubt Candace was able to eat the soup I brought due to the likeness of the stuff I was cleaning up. Sorry Ace!
5. We visited Darrell's employer. They always go all out for Halloween and the kids get to go down aisles of decorated cubicles.
6. Darrell was an old man for his costume. His team did different demographic segments and he was "gray power" older people who live in quiet comfort.
6. We came home and watched a movie since we all were pretty tired. Afterward, we went outside for a little trick or treating. The boys enjoyed the blow-up Tigger across the street and I snagged a picture of Oaklen next to it.

Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion

Today I got emotional...that's not an uncommon thing for me right now due to the pregnancy, but today I wanted to share the reason I got emotional.

We were doing our usual family home evening and Salem updated the FHE chart to assign himself to do the lesson and the scripture.
1. He read one verse of scripture; just like he usually does for his bedtime routine. He's getting better and better at reading the hard words every day.
2. For the lesson he got the children's Book of Mormon Stories and read to us the chapter about Nephi building the ship. I was a hesitant at first about him reading it since I figured I'd have to help him a lot and he'd get frustrated. I ended up only helping him with only 2 or 3 words and he read the rest himself! After the first few picture captions I just broke out in hysterical tears which quickly turned into a chuckling laugh because I pictured how ridiculous I must have been, yet I was laughing from being overjoyed.

Geez pregnancy does a lot of crazy stuff to you...but I am very proud of Salem for learning to read so well, good work!

Oaklen's ABC's & Salem's backpack trot

Here are two videos to make you smile...

Oaklen has been learning his ABC song, he sings it everywhere we go and we were able to catch it on camera. His little 2-yr-old voice is so adorable.


From the second day of school, I have been meaning to take my camera to capture Salem's backpack trot. It's so cute to see the cute little kids with their backpacks almost the size of them, running off to school. I finally remembered my camera, but he now has to wear a coat and the backpack doesn't bounce as much as it would if he wasn't wearing a coat. Enjoy!