6 years

There's something about my childrens birthdays every year that make me sentimental and reflective. With Spencer, he was the one who first made me a mother. What an honor! I'm so grateful.

He has captivated me with those big beautiful eyes since day one. How did I ever get so lucky?


I never knew how much love my heart could hold until someone called me "mommy."
-- Author Unknown


Happy Birthday to our boy. Man, are you ever one cool kid. Your family LOVES you!

All Lego'd out!

(warning: picture overload, but this is my family journal so bear with me)


On Saturday we threw Spencer his 6th birthday party here at our house. It was the first real birthday party he's had with multiple friends, and we had a blast!

He's really into legos this year. I mean, he's really into Legos. So when he said all he wanted was a Lego party with a pinata...well, I took the theme and ran with it!

The party table



The goodie bags (thanks goes out to my awesome MIL for all the help cutting out all the foam circles)



The Lego brick pinata I made with Shirley and Paul (My mother/brother in law)...cute huh? (it was my favorite and I had a hard time watching them bust into it, lol)



The birthday cake (I won't show you what a disaster the red brick looks like from the back...oh well, good thing 6 year olds don't care what form their sugar comes in)



We played "pin the dot on the lego"



We had a timed tower building contest, this was a hit!






Of course the pinata fun




We ate pizza, grapes and lego shaped fruit snacks for lunch



Sang Happy Birthday and dove into the cake



Opened presents...who knew that watching someone else open really cool presents was so fun?! His friends were so good to him.



Thanks to Grandma for helping us with the 17 guests! (between his Primary class, few friends in Kindergarten and the neighbor kids, we had that many, it was fun!)





Took our annual birthday family picture in the same spot as we do every year



And ended the afternoon with a "Spencer sandwich"



We can't believe this little boy made us parents SIX years ago this week. It just doesn't seem possible that he's this old. But we are really digging this age.

Spencer, you are one very cool six year old and we love you so much buddy!

Proud of my Dad

My Dad has been playing the piano since he was a little boy. He began playing the organ when he was just 13 years old for his ward at Church. He went on to study at BYU and has been a professional organist for 35 years now. He still plays every Sunday for an episcopal church (The Church of the Angels in Pasadena) and he's been their organist since before I was born.

This past weekend he soloed on the harpsichord with the South Coast Youth Symphony Orchestra (conducted by the prestigious conductor Rocky Lee) and again, we couldn't be more proud!


He got to get all dressed up in a fancy tux...doesn't he look snazzy? We think it's the first time he's been in a tux since the day he married my Mom!




When I was little I used to think that everyones Dad could just sit down at the piano or organ and perform any song I wanted at request. But it wasn't until I was older that I learned my Dad was special. Dad, I love watching you play and that you have shown me by example over the years what it means to work hard to develop the gifts you are given.




And hey, thanks for giving Aaron and I a reason to get a babysitter and go enjoy a date night out listening to uplifting music. To put it in your words, "You didn't do half bad!"

We love you!

Hard lesson

Today was a tricky day, and despite my early morning trip to the grocery store to fully stock our pantry and fridge, we ordered pizza tonight and ate on paper plates.

Don't judge me.

Aaron and I like spice---lots of it. Tonight we ate our pizza topped with jalapenos like this:



Well, Leda insisted....no, more than insisted...what's the phrase? She wouldn't take no for an answer? She just had to try jalapenos on top of her pizza like us.

Have you ever tried "talking down" a very stubborn, smart and persistent three-year old an hour before bedtime? Well, it's pretty much impossible. And exhausting.

So Aaron gave in.

We warned her in advance that it would burn her mouth. She of course thought she knew better...ya, you see where this is going:





It was a little sad and a lot funny at the same time. Stinker. I quickly got her ice water (before I snapped these pics, don't worry) and she calmed down within a few minutes.

So now you know what a three year old looks like after they've just ingested a half of a jalapeno on a slice of pizza.

Hard lesson, poor little stubborn thing.

(yes Mom, I hear you. She's just like me. Oooh boy)

"Sad day" for Spencer

One thing you should know about Spencer---he hardly ever cries. Whenever we hear him cry, we know to come running because he must be terribly hurt.

He's just a tough kid.

So when he came to me this morning with tears in his eyes saying he wanted to have an "absent" day today, it had me concerned.

After many questions, I determined that nothing profound had happened last week to keep him from wanting to go to school, he just simply wanted to stay home. And I know having an absent day from Kindergarten every once in a while isn't a bad thing...

BUT (he doesn't know this part yet)

he's flying to Utah next week with Grandma to go see his cousins for six days...so you see, he can't have an absent day this week. He needs to save them. (We can't wait to surprise him!)

So instead of granting him his wish of absence, we spent a few minutes snuggling in bed (fully dressed for our day) talking about how much fun it'd be to stay in bed all day and not do our work (his work: school, my work: laundry, his siblings) and just have the pizza guy deliver us pizza right to our bed. Maybe one day we'll have to do just that. But for today we decided that he should go get smarter and I should do his laundry so that his friends don't call him "Stinky Spencer" (he thought me quite hilarious for coming up with that one)

So me and the troops walked Spencer to school (all the while tears streaming down his face) where I told Mrs. Brown he was having a "sad day" (his words, not mine) and I kissed his little face and told him I loved him. I watched him walk away with his classmates all the while waving, exchanging blow kisses and thumbs up signs.

It just about broke my heart and the lump in my throat is still here. Being a Mom is not for the weak.

Today when he comes home (in just 2.5 hours) I plan to have a treat waiting for him. I love that on the cusp of turning six, he can admit (quietly) that he still needs his Mommy. And this makes me feel so good, cause man alive, do I ever need him.

Check your child's homework...

Note sent the next school day with 1st grader...



Dear Ms Davis,
That is not a dance pole on stage in a strip joint! ...I work at Home Depot, that's me selling a shovel.
Mrs. Smith


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I just received the above in an email and it had me laughing out loud. I wonder if it's true? Even if it's not, it's pretty funny! I know that Spencer draws some pretty funny things! Just this week on his homework where he had to draw his family, he drew Chase with fire-red hair just cause he likes the color red more than yellow. Silly kids!

We have ourselves a sunbeam!

This year at church, Leda is old enough to leave her nursery days behind her and join the big three-year-old Sunbeam class!




She was so excited that morning, but then got very shy and grumpy when it was time to go into Primary for the first time.

She kept saying, "But I'm NOT going with Spencers big class!"

It was a bit confusing to her to see her big brother sitting a few rows back, not be IN his class, but be IN the same room with him for sharing time. But she warmed up, has the same sweet teacher she had in nursery and ended up doing just fine.

Oh and like the purse? She's just like her Grandma D and loves her purses and carries them everywhere.



I can't believe we only have one child in nursery now. How are my kids growing up this fast?

Someone make it stop.

Uncle Paul

"Uncle Paul, we are going to Costco today and you need to come with us because you are HUGE...you remind me of a dinosaur!"

What a way for Leda to welcome her Dads 6'4" brother from Alaska, huh?



We are all very excited that he's here "thawing out" with us here for the week. We can't believe it is -8 degrees right now where he lives. Yikes!

Uncle Paul is not only big, he plays the Wii (on demand) with Spencer and steps in to help give Chase a haircut.


What an Uncle, right?

I take it back...

what I said yesterday about being in a fight with Chase because of a rough night.

Turns out (after another bad night last night, this time with a scary croupy cough) that my poor baby has pneumonia...confirmed by a trip to Kids Doc today on New Years Day.

He seems in good spirits, though has to have breathing treatments every 3 hours, isn't sleeping well, misses his Daddy and his Mommy is absolutely exhausted.



Sorry to Grandma and Daddy who received "freaking out" phone calls from me (at 2am and 4am, respectively) but a big thank you to Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Rob for helping me with Spencer and Leda today so I could tend to Chase.

Happy New Year, huh? lol