April

Here are some odds and ends of pictures. My parents lent me a camera they don't use anymore so I was just trying to get used to lighting and everything. So here they are:

Charlotte getting me quite wet while bathing. I have to cover myself with towels. :)

Jesse enjoying a treat- you can tell he really likes it because he doesn't often lick his fingers.

Jesse's playing with his "trains."

I just loved his bright-eyed look of Charlotte's

I LOVE this cute little outfit

More playing

Jesse's morning bleary-eyed look.

Charlotte is rolling around everywhere and finds all kinds of things to be into. She loves stringy things and found some strings hanging off this little magazine holder (that holds cloth diapers).

Hopefully there will be more pictures to come since I am enjoying using this new camera.

March into April

We have had a quiet beginning of the month but it is soon to get busy. This week Andy starts up his third semester of school with classes in Chemistry and English. He is really enjoying being a student and has earned two 4.0s for his last semesters. I am proud of the work he is putting into school. He is going to initially get a degree in nursing and then go from there.

Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to the last couple of weeks:

Jesse and I enjoy "quiet reading time" together the last month of so. It has replaced his naps and it is something that we can do together that is a breather in the middle of the day while Charlotte is sleeping. He loves it- especially since I let him pick out whatever books he wants and he reads them all himself.

Here is Charlotte with her new favorite snack (a mum-mum cracker):

She feels so happy to be doing something independently (and so is mom!)

I love this look and had to capture it:

We planted some veggies and herbs this last weekend with the help of Jesse. He had fun digging the holes and putting plants into the dirt. We are still green to gardening so it will be a little bit of an experiment to see what grows this early in the season. We have strawberries, peppers (red and green), oregano, roma tomatoes, and walla walla onions. Yum!

My three favorite people. My husband is such a good dad...

Charlotte in her church outfit one morning.

Jesse with his dollar store treat :)

And a pirate! Arrrgh matey!

We are looking forward to sunnier weather where we can all get outside and ride our bikes or simply go for a walk. Have a nice week!

A day like any other...

Our days pretty much blur into each other because nothing unusual or exciting is happening this time of year. Andy finished another semester of school (this being his second) and will be moving onto the next one. He still has about a year before he has his pre-req's done. Here are a few pictures of our goings on:

Dad loading up the babe to go on a walk

Jesse very happy about his treat (yes he is a little spoiled...I can't help it, who can resist that?)

Charlotte hanging out with dad while he does a little gaming.

Jesse LOVES this puzzle from Grandma and Grandpa Summers and puts it together at least 4 times a day. We had a melt down because one of the pieces was missing the other day!

Eating dinner and being silly with dad.

Charlotte attempting to sit up. She'll get there :)

Okay so maybe sometimes out of the ordinary things do happen; my little sister returned from her mission from Texas! Here she is, grown up and everything. :)

Here is just a funny face that I captured with Charlotte :)

We have been having a hard time with Jesse's bedtime/sleeping lately so I got some advice (thanks Carrie) and we have started skipping naps and going to bed sooner. So instead of naps, after Charlotte goes down for her second nap, we have "quiet reading time." I thought that I would read some books to Jesse but NO! He HAS to read the books to me. He won't even let me touch to page or anything! So silly :). This particular video is of him reading one of our favorites "No, David" by David Shannon. So enjoy!

Bragging

What mom can't help but brag about their amazing kids? Well I am no exception. I think my kids are the cutest, smartest, most wonderful things ever (most of the time) and just want to take a blog to write about them.

I took these series of photos in a matter of seconds. Apparently Jesse has done the photo booth somewhere before because he got the idea perfectly, whereas I did not....I think I was trying to get just a nice picture of us smiling together but Jesse had different ideas. hehehe they make me laugh. Especially the last one :)

My Charlie is getting so big. She is such a Mama's girl. I am warning you now- if you see her and she cries while looking at you- it is just a phase. One that I may not live through if I can't get some peace. Not really...but someday's I do love her smiles just for me.

Jesse told me he was "lettering" or in other words writing. He is quite imaginative when he wants to be. He is pointing to the letter "x." That's my boy :)

And he likes to pretend like he somebody else. Can anyone guess this pictures? It's Buzz Lightyear of course! The plumber was here this morning and he asked his name and Jesse said his name was "Tony." Where he got that I am not sure....but I just laughed and the guy said "Is that your alias?" Jesse is such a character and is constantly cracking me up!

He loves this board that he can erase over and over again. The other day he drew the letter "D" and showed it to me and proudly said "D, for dada!" We have been working on our letters casually here and there and I am please to see that he catches on so easily.

February Happenings

This month has not been too busy for us- we have just been going about our regular routines. Andy works, goes to school and I squeeze in work somewhere in between a few days. It works for us and our children never have to go to daycare so I am happy :).

My Charlotte is getting so big! Here she is in her ducky bathrobe:

And her cute twinkly eyes :)

And this was her first time in her saucer- it is a big hit because there are buttons that make noise and colors light up

I came into Jesse's room the other day and saw this. :) I am hoping that Jesse likes to read as he gets older.

For Valentine's Day, we decided to let Jesse make some heart cookies. Here he is with Dad helping him cut them out:

Andy bought me tulips- they remind me that spring is just around the corner!

We had a special Valentine's dinner as a family. (You can tell these two are related with their cheesy wide-mouth grins...)

Here is my little man with the finish product of cookies. He even frosted a few himself!

We are looking forward to seeing my little sister in a week- she comes home from her mission from Texas! It seems like forever since I have seen her :). Another big event is we are moving into a new place! It is in the same area but less rent and a little bigger. It is a townhome too so it feels a little more "homey." This will happen in less than a week so I have lots of packing to do!

A weekend away

So occasionally I get the chance to head down to Salem and spend a "weekend" with my mom. It is always a much-needed break and I enjoy just sitting around talking with her. This last trip we had a nice day with the kids and spent some time outdoors.

Here is a picture of Jesse with some glasses that I used to wear when I was his age. Priceless....

We went to Mission Mill- an old mill that made yarn? Things out of wool? Maybe I really should look through the museum there more often. Anyway, they have ducks on a river that Jesse LOVES to feed.

My bald little Charlotte.

A group shot! Pretty cute I think. Again I must mention these are all taken by my mother's far more superior camera. I don't even want to put my pictures up because they would pale in comparison to hers. :)

Jesse being his mischievous self. Can you tell? Love it.

Again, like his father, pulling a face for the camera.

Me and my baby!

So cute!

She has turned into my little thumb sucker! I just think it is CUTE!

A few updates- Jesse wrote his first letter yesterday. It was "M" for momma. :) I feel loved. He has hit a coloring high in his life- he finds pictures online to print off and he colors them so fast I feel like that is all I do- press the print button for them to print! Also, we are moving at the end of February into something a little bigger, with some green spaces, and into a more private area. We absolutely LOVE this area and the ward we are in so we will probably be here for a while! My baby sister comes home on March 3rd from her 18 month mission in McAllen, Texas. We are really looking forward to seeing her again. Other than that, we are doing well! Andy is getting good grades in school and I am subbing, tutoring an awesome set of kids, and otherwise loving life! Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.