6 Months Down, 3 To Go!

Miss E is on antibiotics for the first time in her life. She has an infected eyelash follicle which had swelled up quite dramatically. However, after just one day of eye ointment and oral antibiotics it's already improving. She HATES getting the ointment in her eye (understandable, especially since it blurs her vision for a good ten minutes afterward), so we are totally bribing her. Or using the reward system, whichever you prefer. I'm comfortable with the term "bribing." She will get this doll once the medicine is done and her "bump" (as we all call it) is gone.

Her last day of preschool was today, we had a little party. As in, everyone brought food and the kids played the whole time. It was a preschool co-op, twice a week, and I taught one week a month. It was great for Miss E, I think it helped with her socialization skills and increased her interest in learning the alphabet, but I don't think I'll ever do it again. Teaching preschool is not my thing. M can't go to preschool this fall since he's not pottytrained yet, so I'm thinking I'll just save some money from next year's tax refund so I can put him in an official preschool in Fall 2012.

M has reached the defiant threes. My mom always said age three was worse than age two, and after two children hitting those ages & stages, I agree. M is figuring out the boundaries and whether I really mean it when I say, "Go to your room NOW!" (Hint: I do.) He also gave up naps completely though it means we now have to be really prompt about putting him to bed on time. Otherwise he has a meltdown at bedtime.

Baby #3 is so active we call her Ninja Baby. The kids like to talk to her but they don't seem interested in feeling her kick around. M was going through a phase where he wanted to be a baby and was baby talking a lot, but that's faded away. Now he insists that he is a little boy and he wants to sleep in the bunk bed with Miss E. (We've tried it a couple of times but it hasn't worked yet. They just giggle and play for an hour and then start fighting and we put them back in their own beds.) We're not looking forward to the exhaustion, but I'm getting really excited to meet Baby #3!

Tulips for a Clean Room

Mr N made a deal with Miss E that if she cleaned her room she could have tulips. It took a very long time (she must have inherited her procrastinating skills from both of us!) but eventually she got those tulips!

Playing Daddy

I especially like the pointing finger. She really knows how to act like Daddy! Ha ha

23 Weeks Pregnant

Motorcycle

Shopping cart as motocycle, basket as helmet. Love it!

Easter Finery

M is not much of one for posing nicely for pictures.

Easter Candy!

The actual Easter egg hunt is on the video camera...so that's not going up tonight. Ha ha

M's Third Birthday

Recognize the cake? M wanted the same cake he had last year - a basketball. This year though he asked for chocolate cake with sprinkles on top.

For M's birthday, we went, per his request, to Chuck E Cheese, where both kids had a blast. (It wasn't as bad as Mr N or I expected, probably because we went on a weekday at 4:30.)

Then we came home for cake and presents. M got a booster set of big lego blocks and a hammer set. He loved them both. We are so happy to have M in our family! He is a sweet boy who loves to give hugs & kisses.

M's Obesession

M is obsessed with boats. Due to his father, he knows a fair amount about them. He often builds me boats out of big lego blocks, complete with kicker motors and trailers. It's awesome. Here is a picture of how he rigged together the bike & trike to be his truck and boat on a trailer. I love his happy, proud face!

When Children Feed Themselves

They make butter & Goldfish cracker sandwiches. Yum!

Sorry for the Dearth of Posts

You may have noticed a peculiar lack of posting going on over here. There is, in fact, a simple explanation for this. A few months ago, I got my own laptop and the old laptop became Mr N's. Though admittedly it is also a little bit Miss E's, because I let her play games on the Nick Jr website during M's naptime/quiet time. I have not uploaded the needed software for downloading from our camera to my laptop. Honestly I have no idea where said software is. Nor have I even bothered to look for it online. So there you have it. However, as you know April is a busy month for the N clan, so there are some important pictures to share with all y'all! So I actually got on my husband's laptop (risking his eternal wrath - I'm so brave) and am uploading all the new pictures as I type!

Briefest of brief updates:

• M turned 3. I will no longer be typing out Bonesteele because 1) it takes a lot longer than typing M, and 2) Spellcheck doesn't recognize the word Bonesteele and seeing those angry red lines under my son's pseudonym is rather irritating. Ha ha
• Mr N celebrated a birthday with root beer floats and spaghetti & meatballs (his request).
• Mr N & I celebrated 9 beautiful years of marriage. heehee
• Today is my birthday; I have reached the dubious milestone of 30. I'm fine with it - 30 sounds nicer than 29.
• As of tomorrow, I am 24 weeks pregnant with baby #3, which is a GIRL!
  

Gender?

In two days we find out if this baby is a boy or a girl! Any guesses? E wants a girl, M wants a boy. Big surprise, eh? Stay tuned!

Most People Who Read This Already Know, But...

The Kids Put on Makeup, Or Why I Only Buy Washable Markers

Hello? Potato Calling!

Snow Day!

Mommy & Miss E

Playing in the Leaves

Quotes

"[T]his gift [of faith] takes root in our hearts as hope and, nurtured as a seedling, will eventually flower as knowledge and bear the fruit of eternal life." --Dallin H. Oaks


"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." --Ether 12:4

"We should seek after spiritual gifts. They can lead us to God. They can shield us from the power of the adversary. They can compensate for our inadequacies and repair our imperfections. Almost a century ago President George Q. Cannon of the First Presidency taught the Saints:

“If any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. … No man ought to say, ‘Oh, I cannot help this; it is my nature.’ He is not justified in it, for the reason that God has promised to give strength to correct these things, and to give gifts that will eradicate them. If a man lacks wisdom, it is his duty to ask God for wisdom. The same with everything else. That is the design of God concerning His Church. He wants His Saints to be perfected in the truth. For this purpose He gives these gifts, and bestows them upon those who seek after them, in order that they may be a perfect people upon the face of the earth.” (Millennial Star, Apr. 1894, p. 260.)" -- Dallin H. Oaks

Quotes 1 & 3 Quote 2

He's Not a One-Trick Pony

We are all very happy and delighted here that Mr N is so strong!

And such a good sport. Ha ha