Life is Great!

Just to warn you, you by no means have to read this post.  It is more of a journal entry as we plan to start printing our blog each year.

Here is Kailee TOTALLY ecstatic about her Daddy/Daughter date!!  Where will they go today????  SONIC!!!  Jared had a gift card from one of his students, so they might as well use it!!  It wasn't too chilly, so they ate outside.  Looks like a lot of food for a little girl... but not when you have Daddy to help you eat it!  Kailee loves chocolate milk and ice cream, so you can imagine she was in heaven!  Kailee looks forward to her time with Daddy and talks about her dates with Daddy for weeks... months.  She still talks about her date to the fair which was like 4 months ago.

A stomach bug was passed around our family.  Allie threw up twice in 1 day, but was very happy and that was the end of it for her.  Mommy had horrible stomach pains and thought she had food poisoning.  It lasted less than 24 hrs.  Then Daddy got it and had to cancel a voice lesson he felt so bad.  He went to bed at 6:30 pm and got up at 6:30 am.  He literally slept like a baby.  Kailee gave him kisses goodnight and sincerely hoped he got better soon.  What a doll.  We can hardly stand how big Kailee is getting.  She is so grown up and very independent.  She is a great big sister and really tries hard to share with Allie and help her do things she can't do by herself.  Kailee knows her alphabet and all the sounds and really has a talent when it comes to puzzles.  She is great at them and loves to do them over and over again!  She LOVES books.  She loves for Daddy and I to read to her and she can sit with a pile of books by herself for 30 minutes.  She particularly loves dressing herself everyday.  I've taught her the fashion sense she needs to look normal and she is very good at matching.  Almost too good.  She always asks for a cup or spoon the same color as her shirt "that way it matches my shirt."  Kailee loves to color, practice writing letters, play games, play dress up, mother her dolls, and mother Allie.  She is a sweetheart and a softy.  She gets very emotional at times.  We look forward to her teen years :)

Allie Anne gets more spunky each day.  Her favorite word now is unfortunately "MINE."  She yells it while snatching a toy or sippy cup away from Kailee.  Sometimes she says it jokingly about her blankie or food.  And sometimes she taunts Kailee with her toys and yells "mine" as she holds toys close to her tummy.  I'm trying to teach her not to say that word, but she just doesn't get it.  Good thing Mommy is around to referee.  Kailee has gotten very good at saying "Mommy, will you help me please, Allie took a piece of my puzzle."  This is greatly preferred over the "MINE" fests they've had before. lol  Allie thinks she has dibs on everything and she thinks she can snatch anything from Kailee anytime she wants.  She'll learn soon enough.  After helping her return the snatched item to Kailee. I sit her in time outs and tell her when she's ready to share she can get up.  She probably doesn't completely understand, but she always stops screaming, gets right up, and gives me a hug.  Her time outs lasts like 5 or 10 seconds.

Allie LOVES chairs.... a little too much actually.  She carries or slides preschool chairs into the kitchen and tries to get to the counters or tries to open the pantry door.  We have tile floor, so I have to watch her like a hawk.  She has pretty good balance actually, but I am trying to teach her to only practice good balance around carpet.  Allie LOVES to help me do anything in the kitchen.  I get her a chair and she stands right beside me.  Though she often slows down the cooking or dishwashing process and usually makes some kind of a mess, it sure is a delight to see her squeals, giggles, and smiles alongside of me.  I LOVE her curly hair, but fear that it is growing out.  It is straighter at the top.  She recently had her 1st haircut.  I just cut a little of her mullet off.  Every time she hears the dryer open, she takes a run for it and is in the dryer before I can get 2 shirts in.  She looked so happy and cute, I had to capture the moment.  I hope the day doesn't come too quickly that she can no longer fit in the dryer

Allie is 18 months now and it's weird to think that she is the age Kailee was when she was born.  Allie still seems like a baby.  Kailee seemed so much bigger at 18 months.  She's about the same size Kailee was, but she still just seems like my little baby.  Which is good.  Because if I don't have a baby, then I need to have another baby, right!  I love babies!  I can't imagine having another baby right now.  Allie is so high maintenance compared to Kailee at this age, lol.  Allie is finally starting to build her vocabulary.  She attempts to say a lot.  She babbles all day long.  Sometimes I just look at her and smile wishing I knew what she was saying.  She still loves endless kisses and hugs.  One of my favorite things to see is when Daddy gets home and Allie takes off running towards the door. "Da da da da da da."  She simply adores him.  We all do.  We couldn't ask for a better Daddy in our home.  We feel very LUCKY!!!

Jared built himself a workbench for the garage to put all his handy man tools on and for extra storage.  I was very proud of him.  Way to go Jare!! 

It seems like we have been been talking a lot lately about how great our life is.  Jared truely loves being a choir teacher!  He says it was the job meant for him.  I totally agree.  More than that though, he LOVES being a husband and father... and he's dang good at both of them too!  He is enjoying teaching seminary and never complains about the lack of sleep.  He got hurt playing basketball, so his foot is in a boot for a month!  Two of the ligaments in his ankle tore.  He needed the break though b/c his big toe was about to fall off.  It was blue and purple b/c his shoes were so cheapo.  I got him some new basketball shoes at the NIKE outlet, so hopefully when he gets back to playing ball, that will prevent his toe from hurting all the time.

As for me, no pictures, sorry.  Today, I had to stay home from church b/c Kailee's bronchitis is getting worse and Allie was coughing all night.  She has a major cold or virus now.  No fever yet, but she's loosing her voice.  I hope it's not the croupe virus.  Jared and a friend gave the girls a priesthood blessing of health before they went to bed and I realize that since they went to sleep, neither of them have coughed once.  It is literally an answer to prayers.  They were coughing constantly last night and all day today, so I recognize the Lord's hand in our lives once again.  I'm so glad we have someone above watching over us.

I stay busy being a homemaker and a preschool teacher, both of which I love.  The Lord has really blessed us with a home that happens to have a 2nd living room that works perfectly as my preschool room.  I love teaching, especially this age.  All of my students are so eager to learn, sing, dance, read books, play games, etc.  Before I started teaching preschool I wondered if it would be like managing a 1st grade class and wondered if it would be hard to manage 2 and 3 year olds.  Sometimes a challenge, but totally not hard.  They love to learn and want to be big boys and girls.  They love sitting on the rug eager to learn something new and they love circle time on their circle mats.  They love the sound of my whistle when they get to rotate to the next center.  They love it.  I love it.  I love preschool.  But what I love more are my little girls.  I absolutely adore them and cherish all the cute little things they do and say.  I always tell Jare that I feel so blessed and that we really do have it made.  Our life is blissful and full of fun!

Jared sometimes jokingly makes fun of me for my goal setting ambitions!  I love to set goals and I feel it's what I have to do to push myself.  I like to set companionship goals too.  I really enjoy being a mother, wife, and teacher, but sometimes I feel I am so caught up in everyone and everything else, I sometimes forget to do things for myself, like scripture study or taking the time to read a good book or soak in a tub.  I feel I do a great job as a wife and mother, but I want to keep pushing myself and I want to keep striving to be better.  Jesus Christ is my example and I want to keep striving to be more like him.  I want to spend more time in the scriptures and in the Ensigns and more time on my knees.  Though I may have to neglect a little cleaning or preschool planning to make more time for these things, I feel everything will work out and the Lord will bless me for pressing forward.  He always does.  As I do these things more fervently and more often, perhaps I will be a little more patient with my family and a little more giving of my time and service to my friends and neighbors.  I strongly believe that we can all be instruments in God's hands.  I believe that He needs us to bless the lives of others.  The more in tune with His Spirit I am, the more personal revelation I'll receive, and I trust that He will lead me in the direction I need to be going.  He has lead me to where I am today and though it's easy to be content with our busy, joyful life and happy family, Jared and I both want Him to keep leading us to where we need to be so that we can help others to feel this joy as well.  Though the demands of parenthood are great, I feel that our whole family is benefited and blessed when Jared and I take time to think outside of ourselves and our busy lives and simply serve.  Though we serve our families daily, I think it's good for our kids to see us serve others.  We are not only raising sweet, obedient princesses, we are raising compassionate hearts.  I feel a great responsibility as a mother, as well as a great sense of gratitude that the Lord has bestowed upon me such a beautiful family.  It is my prayer everyday that I can be the kind of mother and wife Christ wants me to be.  I'm definitely not perfect, but I feel that if I keep doing my best everyday, that's all that matters b/c Christ makes up the difference and helps me to feel perfectly happy with the progress I'm making.  Time for bed!