T-R-O-U-B-L-E

As if doing this at 6 1/2 months weren't enough...



Kindly ignore the obnoxious woman talking on the video like Grover...


Now, a few weeks later, she is doing this:

oh hi there!

TA DAAAA!

is this even LEGAL???!!

Soren 5 months

Seriously. Five months flew this time. Maybe because i'm having to deal with/entertain/chase two other small children while she's growing?? Hmph. Anyway.

At 5 months, Soren is:

• rolling not just tummy to back, but back to tummy.
• unreliable. I will put her down in one place and find her in a completely different position a few minutes later. She's not crawling, but with the rolling and scooching, she's certainly mobile.
• loving her solids. Girl loves to eat.
• big. I just bought a bunch of 6-12 month clothes and she's already growing out of them.
  
• very vocal. Lots of fun gurgly noises.
• still very very smiley. And she loves a good joke.
  
• adored by her brothers. She still can't get into their stuff, so what's not to love?

February Happenings

The usual stuff around here in addition to Bode's birthday party. We go to school. We do homework. We read books (Bode's reading and it's really fun!). We play. We fight and bicker. We get sent to our rooms. We apologize. We repeat that cycle. We constantly ask for food even though a meal was just served. Mommy gives herself a timeout or two. We have playdates. We hosted a Superbowl party. We're enjoying new friends. Here are some pictures of our February so far...

Keegen and I built some towers (while Bode was at school) so we could knock them down with monster trucks.

A sample of some of Bode's recent artwork. He's really gotten into drawing and coloring.

Oh, she's cute! And she's rolling over from tummy to back. I have it on video. But it's a long video because she took her time when i asked her to perform in front of the camera.

She's also much more aware of her surroundings. See? "Oh! Hello there!," she says. "How can i get you in my mouth?!" She plays with the toys on her gym now.

We have some new weapon additions to our household thanks to Bode's bday party. Being the "safety girl" that i am, i appreciate the safety glasses. Now he just needs some ear protection...

Even though the pediatrician told me they now recommend holding off solids until at least 5 months for breastfed babies, i decided she was ready for some rice cereal. She seems to like it. Really.

She's signing "more." Yes, my baby is brilliant. She'll be reading soon, too.

She's also discovered that she can suck in her bottom lip. Fun times.

I made these banners for sisters-in-law and sister. I enjoyed it until i made six of them. Then i was kind of sick of it. But i traced all the letters and shapes and cut them out and stitched them by hand. And then i said "to hell with it!" and hot glue gunned them to the ribbon!

Bode at his school Valentines Party. That's his buddy Jacob next to him.

Doug and the babe on Valentines Day before church.

Oh, so cute again! I learned from the show "What Not to Wear" that metallics are neutrals, so aren't her shoes fun? And what a cute little Ralph Lauren dress, eh? Yes. So cute that during Relief Society she made it extra special by pooping up her back and all over her dress. THAT was fun.

The tank sent by Grandpa Bill. Doug has made sure the boys know it is HIS and that he is letting them play with it.

We've decided to make the Superhero posters a permanent fixture in our family room. They launch the missiles from the tank and try to hit a specific character.

That's all for now!

These Boots Are Made for Walkin'

♪♪♫♪♫...

Bode's 6th Birthday Blowout!

Bode's birthday party happened this past Saturday. True to form, even though Doug and I had 3 weeks to prepare, we were scrambling to get things ready the day and night before. I need that looming deadline to get anything done. But it came together and was a really great time. We had 15 kids (including our own), 3 adults, 4 activities, and a lot of fun. We divided the kids into 2 groups and had games upstairs and an obstacle course in the basement. Here's a glimpse...

Doug dubbed these "bat-a-rangs" (like boomerangs) and were used in the obstacle course

Each child was armed with a marshmallow shooter

We had a pre-game team meeting to explain the game plan, what things were and what you were NOT to do with them (i.e. no throwing bat-a-rangs at people, we do not shoot marshallows at eyeballs; etc.)

I think they were taking things seriously...

Pre-obstacle course target practice

I think he was having a good time (laughing as someone walked into the wall while blindfolded for "Pin the "S" on the Superman")

This game was dropping "kryptonite" into the Planet Krypton (the foil covered pretzel barrel). It was kind of a flop, and they enjoyed pelting me with kryptonite instead...

More target practice

Obstacle Course Challenge 1:
Find your ammo (mini-marshmallows in a snack bag) somewhere in the balloon-filled bouncy castle

Obstacle Course Challenge 2: Find your weapon (marshmallow shooter) in the maze

Obstacle Course Challenge 3: Speed away to save the day in one of the Batmobiles

O.C. Challenge 4: No pictures, but they had to use their shooters to knock down a foam block castle.
O.C. Challenge 5: Using their Superhero lung capacity to get the ball up the ramp.
The final O.C. challenge was working together to get their bat-a-rangs off the top of the punching bag (using pure brute strength). The bat-a-rangs fell off the bag and into their hot little hands.

Check out the kid on the far right. I laughed hard when i saw that one!

Yahoo! A bazooka!! (rocket launcher? some sort of anti-aircraft missile?)

Batman (iron-on) t-shirts to take home

And now? i need a nap.

Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks!

In the Beginning...

Question posed to me today by Bode...

"Mom, how were the first people put on Earth?"

My answer had to do with Heavenly Father and Jesus creating the world and people.

"No, Mom. Like, how did they make it?" (He asked this question much more clearly and intelligently than i can remember. But this was the gist).

I asked him what he thought. He didn't really have an answer and asked me again.

My answer was a bit vague; about Heavenly Father putting energy together somehow.

Next question?

"But Mom. Who made Heavenly Father?"

Dude. I'm in trouble.