A little bit country

Ellie taught us how to square dance for FHE last week. I can't even put into words how much fun we had! We have the kids teach the lesson every once in a while, but for whatever reason we've never thought to have them be in charge of the activity. We'll definitely have to change that because it was a blast. The first graders learned how to square dance last week at school. She felt super cool knowing how to do something that the rest of us didn't have a clue about. And being able to then teach us how, well that was just the cherry on top! She and daddy were partners and I switched off with the little boys. I wish I had thought to take some pictures throughout. At the end I hurried and captured a little bit of miss Ellie dancing with Jack (along with a guest appearance by charlie and his light saber).

things i want to remember

owen is a special boy.

he's six months now and that kind of boggles my mind. how? how is he already six months? I'm embarrassed to admit that i don't remember many of the details about jack or ellie when they were at this stage. that makes me sad. i know we had all those special little details with them. i remember a few about charlie. i think one of the reasons why i don't really remember too much is because at the time i thought i'd be having more babies and i'd be able to relive those moments again and again with each new addition. but this might be the last time we have a little one, we don't know. besides the fact that I'm experienced enough to know that each baby has their own special habits and details. 

i don't ever want to forget how owen concentrates so hard to get his hand up to my hair and gently twirls it between his sticky, chubby little fingers while he's sleepily breastfeeding. i don't want to forget how sweet his breath smells while he runs his hands over my face and bites my nose. or how his little body tenses up in anticipation for tickles when i say "i'm gonna get you!". i don't want to forget how he always scoots his head into the corner of his bed before falling asleep. 

or how smooth his plump little feet are from heel to toe. i don't want to forget how his eyes light up and smile when he sees jack or ellie or charlie and especially me or papa. or how squishy those cheeks are when we kiss them over and over and over. and that head. he has the softest, smoothest, warmest head. or how he stops whatever he's doing when i say "you are... so cute" to smile directly at me. i don't want to forget how surprised he is when he splashes his face while slamming his strong little arms down in the water thats pooled by his side during bath time. or his grunts of frustration when he rolls over onto his belly. he doesn't like to be on his belly. or how his tongue curls on the sides when sticks it out because he's slightly tongue tied. i don't want to forget how warm and soft his tender skin is under his neck or how much he tries to fight the urge to laugh when i nuzzle right under his chin with my nose and lips. or how ticklish his armpits and back are when you barely touch his skin. 

i don't want to forget how much he loves to jump in his jumper and how strong and muscular his calves are because of it. or how every once in a while while eating, he'll look up at me with his smiley eyes and we will both start giggling. it takes a moment for him to start eating again, but as soon as he does it happens all over again. or how hard it is to get him to laugh out loud if he doesn't want to. i don't want to forget that during the quiet moments, my heart almost hurts because it's filled to bursting with love for him. and i really don't want to forget how happy he makes our family. i've never seen so much love for a sibling before. every milestone is so much more monumental when you have an 8 year old, 7 year old, and 4 year old cheering him on. i hope i remember these little details forever.

owen had his first real food last night, besides a little rice cereal. jack got to feed him his first bite as a reward for doing the dinner dishes and ellie got to pick out his first real food: pears.

may holidays

the first week in may has some pretty sweet holidays.

first up:

the kentucky derby!

which technically isn't a holiday, but its a reason to celebrate nonetheless!

we each picked out the horse we wanted to win and placed our bets on a candy bar. we grilled burgers and then chris made some virgin mint juleps to drink during the race that were so so so tasty. we've never had the real deal so we have no clue how they compare, but these were delicious. in the end, mama won the candy bar because my horse came in 2nd, jacks 3rd, and ellis's 4th.... not too shabby for not having a clue about horse racing.

next up:
may the 4th be with you!

the kids have really been loving star wars. we started watching them a few weeks ago and this holiday conveniently fit right in! the kids wore star wars shirts to school, then we had chocolate cake that looked like chewbacca (its a stretch, i know) for an fhe treat, followed by a viewing of episode 1. such a fun night!

and lastly:

cinco de mayo!

this may give thanksgiving a run for its money as the tastiest holiday of the year. we grilled yummy meats and cooked up tortillas, all while dancing to mariachi music and wearing mustaches.

that night we went and watched chris play softball. he's on the ward softball team. they play against other church teams from the area... mostly baptist teams. chris hasn't played since our rexburg days, but that doesn't slow him down a bit. he hit a homerun during the first game!

a few shenanigans

jack participated in his first pinewood derby race back in march. he and chris worked hard on building his car for a few months prior. they studied all the secrets that youtube had to offer. and you know what? it paid off! jack not only won out of the wolf pack, but the whole troop! 

he was supposed to go to district, but decided at the last minute to play in his soccer game instead. we let him make the decision and he said he felt like he'd let his team down if he didn't go to the game.

jack did  most of the work on his car including the design, sanding, and painting. he called it The Zombie. you can't kill a zombie.

jack's cheerleaders:

we had a great easter!

we've been busy with spring soccer (when it hasn't been rained out) and jack is also taking golf lessons too. charlie is understanding the rules of soccer a little better this season and usually makes a few goals each game.

and this little guy is usually happy just being outside while the others are at practice and games.

charlie recently took a spill down the driveway. for the next week, people thought he had chocolate and/or boogers on his face. which he probably did have those things along with the scabs.

owen is such a great little porkchop. we love him so very much. he turned 6 months yesterday and had a check up. he weighs 19 lbs and is 28 in, thats about the 74% for both, which is smaller than our other kids were at this point.

he is getting better with his spit-ups, but it still happens. just ask jack...

he started rolling over really well last week.

 this job in arkansas has been so good for us. we are seeing progress in paying off our student loans and its awesome! although most of the time it feels like chris works a ton, he actually does get breaks every now and again. last week he worked a pretty long call shift and had post call off, which doesn't always happen. he took me and the little boys out for some vietnamese. chris loves pho, i love rice, and charlie loves noodles. it was a win-win-win kind of lunch!

spring break: video

the kids enjoy family videos so we put one together of all our video snippets from the trip.

spring break 2015 from Lisa Brower on Vimeo.