Handsome Husband

I posted these pictures reverse order of what I intended. These first few are of a hike on the monument. We just love it up there. The boys found a rock that rocked :) and they had a blast rocking on it. I didn't get any pictures of Thomas on it...I'll have to do that next time.

Jackson just left yesterday to attend a work conference. He needed a photo to go on a name badge, so we did this one in the garage for him a few days ago. He will be gone for a full week, so wish me luck with three kiddos by myself for that long! It has actually been very pleasant and fun so far. I was REALLY worried because last week and the beginning of this week were HORRIBLE! Estella had a cold, got shots, and cut two teeth all in the same week. Also, we were having major tantrums from everyone...especially Thomas. One day Thomas had 5 MAJOR, full blown tantrums. It was bad. I had an enlightening moment (guidance by the spirit) as to what he needed a few days ago and things have gone MUCH smoother since then. I can't wait to have my handsome husband back home with us!

I see you Daddy!

Dress ups

I have fond memories of playing dress-up as a child. Over the past few years I have started collecting cheap or free dress-ups for my kids. Thomas and Nicholas are beginning to get interested in them. A few days ago I got the dress-up basket down from the closet and let them have at it. First, they dumped everything out and ooohed and aaahed over it all. Then they decided on what they wanted to have on. I had to help a bit. They were so pleased with their costumes.


After playing for a while in his snakeskin vest, Nicholas wanted a change. He found this "Mommy hair" as I mentioned in the last post. I wasn't aware that my hair was short, curly, or mulitcolored. Thankfully I have Nicholas to open my eyes :)

It is annual "junk pick up" time in Grand Junction. There are piles of junk on the sides of the road all over town waiting for the trash crew to pick up. Jackson rummaged up a few things to make a bike jump with, so he could practice up for his upcoming mountain biking trip with his buddies. The boys thought it was super cool that daddy could go off a jump on his bike.

:)

I just love this picture! Like I said before, I didn't have any ideal fabric for a background, so I was using what I could find around the house. Jackson's grandma left a bunch of fabric here when she left, so I found this in her stash. I was initially planning on trying to take some photos of Estella and change them to black and white using this as the backdrop, so it was set up when Jackson bribed Thomas to sit for us. I only took a few shots with it before I changed it to something more manly, but I think it is perfect for this expression!


I am behind on pictures, so I don't have a visual image to go with this story, but I want to tell it before I forget it. Today, Thomas and Nicholas were playing dress-up. Nicholas pulled a bright multicolored clown wig out of the box. He ran up to me saying (in all seriousness), "Look Mommy...hair like yours!" I waited and waited for a grin or a twinkle in the eye to show me he was kidding, but it didn't come...He only repeated his devistating remark. I will post a picture of him wearing "hair like mine" soon :)

A bin full of Estella

A few days ago I was putting away laundry in Estella's room and just for fun I set Estella in the empty bin. Thomas had a great time pushing her around the house.


Last night Jackson bribed Thomas with an ice cream sandwich to dress in his church shirt, gel his hair, and sit for a photo shoot. I don't have the supplies I want yet, but I was anxious to try, so I used what we had around the house. I was disappointed because a lot of them turned out blurry because it was just too dark, but we got a few that were sharp. This was one of my favorites. It is such a Thomas look :)

Aiden

This afternoon my nephew Aiden came to play. He looked so adorable I couldn't help snapping a few pictures. I was also excited to use my new camera. Jackson gave me the Nikon D80 for my birthday. I am SUPER excited! I have big dreams as far as photography goes. I keep having to remind myself that I have my whole life ahead of me to learn and practice. I get carried away with dreams and ambitions far to easy, which sometimes causes me to neglect things that are more important. I am so thankful to have a husband who encourages me to pursue my interests and supports me in any decision I make.

Grandpa Groesbeck and Essie

We took a quick trip to Utah this weekend to get Jackson's cello repaired in Salt Lake. We had a great time. I have lots of pictures, but here is my favorite. This is my dad with Estella. PRECIOUS!

Family Home Evening

Monday at about 4:45 Jackson called from work and said, "Let's have a picnic on the Monument for Family Home Evening." So I threw some food in the cooler and loaded the kids in the van and off we went. It was so refreshing. We ate with the warm sun on our backs and cool breeze on our faces. The sun started going down so we "chased" it as long as we could. The boys had a great time exploring and climbing. Here are a few pictures Jackson took.

Spring!!!

Spring is here! I love spring. After a long winter, spring is such a joy! I love the daffodills blooming in my backyard. Thank you Grandma Berry for creating such beautiful flower beds!


I love that the boys will go outside together (without me) and play. This shot was taken out my VERY DIRTY bedroom window. Also take notice that they are in their church clothes! What kind of a mother am I? I guess one that likes to do a lot of laundry and doesn't like to wash windows :)
Estella is 5 months old now. It is amazing how time flies and how fast babies grow. She is such a fun, happy, laid back baby. We love her so much!

This isn't a very good picture, but I had to include it. Essie is definitely a thumb sucker! I might not like it in the future, but it is great right now! For some reason the boys don't like it when she sucks her thumb. They are both always pulling it out of her mouth.

Preschool it is

Thank you all so much for your advice. I have always thought I would wait a year, but as I started calling different preschools this past week, many of the people I talked to strongly suggested Kindergarten. After thinking and praying and asking advice of many people, I think it will be best for Thomas to wait. I do, however, think we will pay to send him to preschool two mornings a week. I don't necessarily think they will teach him anything that I can't, or that he will learn more there than he would at home, but he enjoys it so much, and I think Nicholas needs it. Thomas is constantly directing Nicholas in everything he does. So much so, that I think Nicholas needs some regular time away from him to spread his own wings and discover his own person. I do think a lot about homeschooling in the future (as Carrie mentioned). I have several good friends who have done, or still do, that with their children. Jackson and I often talk about how horrid middle school was. Is it just us, or was that a rotten time for anyone else? Of course we still have a lot of time before we meet that challenge, but we think it may be good to consider homeschooling during that time. I could go on and on about this subject. My opinions are ever changing, though, because I am still so inexperienced. Thanks again for the advice!

KINDERGARTEN?????

I need some advice. Thomas's birthday is September 4th and he will be the big 5. The cut off date for kindergarten here is September 15th. DO I SEND HIM, OR DO I WAIT ANOTHER YEAR? I thought I had decided a long time ago, to wait and send him when he turns 6, but now that it is drawing closer and I am thinking about it more, I just don't know. Everyone has always told me to generally send a young girl, and hold back a young boy.

Thomas (like most kids) is ready academically. Socially...I used to think he was behind, but he is doing better and better with people, so now I think he may be ready. As far as seperation from me, he is fine for the three hours, twice a week he goes to preschool...but every day for Kindergarten...I just don't know????

To throw another spin on things, Nicholas will be 5 August 23 in two more years. That means his birthday is well before the cutoff. I feel like if I send Thomas, I will need to send Nicholas...if I hold Thomas back, I will need to hold Nicholas. I think because they are two years apart, minus two weeks, in age, they need to be two years apart in school.

Also, he has cousins here. Newell 6 now and will be 7 on September 5th...he just went to kindergarten this year and will be in first grade next year. Ethan is 5 now and will be 6 in November and he will be going to Kindergarten next year.

Advice???? Please send any and all!

Oh...in answer to some comments about my preschool post. Some friends and I do a rotating preschool. It is twice a week, for 2 1/2 hours. We rotate weeks. So I teach at my house one week out of five weeks. Our goal is to teach the kids to follow directions, sit still for a short lesson, raise their hands, and get along with each other. We are very laid back and give them a lot of free play time and movement activities. We use a book called, "Teach me Mommy," as a base for ideas and themes, and we supplement whatever else we want to do. This is the second year I have done this...last year in Las Vegas with three year olds, and this year in Junction with mostly 4 year olds. It has been a great experience both times.

Preschool

I taught preschool this week. These are the cute kids that are in the class. Thomas really 'likes' the girl with the bright colored kite standing next to him. Her name is Ellie and he talks about her all the time. We talked about insects this week and had a blast. These are their 'butterfly' kites. They had a great time running around the front yard trying to get them to fly.

We also did some searching for insects. We didn't find much. It is still a bit early in the season. We did find ants and rolly polly bugs. This little preschool has been so great for Thomas and for me. I love teaching on my week, and I also love the little break when it is not at our house.

Trip to Richfield and Fillmore

As usual, I am slow at getting pictures on the computer and writing a post. These are pictures from our trip the week before Easter to Richfield and Fillmore. This is our kids with Great Grandma and Grandpa Groesbeck (my dad's parents). We love them so much!


Jackson and Essie in my parent's backyard. It was a lot colder than we expected. Of course I didn't pack warm clothes for anyone. Jackson was trying to keep Essie warm.
There is an old lava flow about 5 minutes from my parent's house. Jackson loves it, so we always go out to explore while we are there. That's Thomas with Jackson in the background. He really isn't very far away...it just looks like he is.
This is actually from Easter weekend. This was Thomas's first soccer game! There is small indoor soccer field (?) in the same office complex that Jackson works in. It is so perfect for little kids! It is as non-competitive and fun oriented as you can get. Thomas LOVED it! He was on a high the whole day after the game. The bad thing is that there isn't much room for parents to watch...hence the poor picture. I'll try for a better one this Saturday.

Video Test

This was my (Jackson's) first attempt at video editing.

Hard shoes

Last week I took the kids to a park that has a sidewalk all around it. I pushed the two little ones in the stroller and Thomas rode his bike. Thomas rides faster than I can walk, so he was a bit ahead of me. He stopped, staring at the ground. When I caught up I saw that he was looking at two shoe prints in the cement. He sounded totally amazed when he said, "Wow, look Mom...someone had REALLY HARD SHOES!"

Cousins

We are so lucky to live so close to cousins. Jackson's brother (with 4 kids) and sister (with 2 kids) live here in town. We see them at least once a week. We had Jackson's brother's family over for dinner last week. They came over right after church, which is why they are all dressed up. They all love to take turns holding baby Essie.

Clarissa (8) holding Estella


Juliette (1)
I love being an Aunt!

My sister Kara got engaged last week to a great guy named Cody. They are planning on getting married this summer. I am so happy for her. Cody is a very lucky man! Kara is going to be such a great wife and mother. Maybe within 5 years I will be an aunt on my side of the family!

Blurb

I have been wondering how to save a hard copy of my blog...not that I'm all that great at keeping it up. Maybe I would write more often if I knew I could save it somehow. Anyway...my friend Karin mentioned on her blog this website www.blurb.com which will 'slurp' your blog and put it into a book. A hardcover book with 40 pages is less than $25. You can do up to 440 pages. I just browsed the site and it looks really good. I thought I would share in case anyone else is interested.

Sunglasses on Cloudy Days

Nicholas is so funny about his sunglasses lately. He wants to wear them all the time! It is even cuter because he usually puts them on upside-down. What a fun, silly boy.




I don't have a picture of this, but last week I took the boys to watch our young men play church basketball. After a particularly rough play Thomas asked, "Mom, when are they going to put their helmets on?" Later, there was a time out and Nicholas said, "What are they doing Mommy?" I said, "They are having a time out." He got a very sad look on his face and said "Oh." I realized that he thought they were getting in trouble. The people behind us kept laughing at all of their cute comments. I love my little boys!

3 Months Old

Our little one is over three months old now. These pictures were taken Feb. 1st, which was two days before she was 3 months old. She is already full of personality. She loves to look people in the eye and coo. She can't resist a smile. I have to stop myself from looking at her while she is nursing, because she is always looking at me and if she sees me look at her, she can't help but smile, which disrupts nursing.

Nicholas is potty training now. He is doing great! He decided about a week ago that he was through with wearing diapers. He doesn't even want to wear them at night. He is definitely not able to go through the night yet, so that has created some problems. The first night he was adamant, so we let him fall asleep in his underwear and then put a diaper on over the top of his pajamas to at least save the sheets. He didn't wake up wet until 2:00 a.m. (I was expecting much sooner than that). He was then willing to put on a diaper. Anyway...enough details...he is doing well, and I am proud of him for deciding to do it.

Thomas started taking piano lessons and violin lessons. I know you will all think that is crazy. I was not planning on having him start either for a few more years. Jackson's Grandma Birkedahl teaches piano and LOVES to teach the grandkids. I mentioned to Thomas that if he wanted to, she would teach him. He was so excited and just wouldn't let it go, so we decided to give it a try. He loves it. Grammy and I decided to just be very laid back and make things fun and pressure free, so it is fun for him. While he has his lesson with Grammy, Nicholas plays with Grampa doing little puzzles that Grampa makes and playing with other toys. As soon as we get there Nicholas runs around the house calling, "Grampa, Grampa, Where are you?" It is so fun to see them interacting with their great grandparents. Jackson's mom teaches violin and she also likes to teach the grandkids. She had mentioned that in order to develop a good ear (to play in tune) it is important to start early. I just kept thinking about it and feeling like this was a good time to have him start, so we went for it. If it gets to be too much for him we are totally willing to stop, but he LOVES it so far. He loves the lessons and even the practicing. We will see how long it stays fun. I will try to remember to take my camera to the lessons and take some pictures of him. He looks so cute during the lessons!

Tagged

I have been tagged. I couldn't resist this tag...it is all about my favorite person in the world! I hope this helps those of you who don't know him very well get to know him better, and help those of you who do know him, remember how much fun he is.





















1. What is your husband's name? Jackson Alexander Berry
2. How long have you been married? 5 1/2 years
3. How long did you date? Not long! Technically, our first real 'date' was when we got engaged. I know it sounds crazy...it was. I am thankful every day that it happened, though!
4. How old is he? 29...he will be 30 on June 1st this year...that seems so old!
5. Who eats more? It depends. If I am nursing (which I have been for the majority of our marraige) we eat about the same. He eats a bit more than me, but not much.
6. Who said I love you first? I don't actually remember. I think it was him.
7. Who is taller? He definitely is.
8. Who sings better? Definitely Jackson. He has a great singing voice. When it comes to remembering the words to songs, though, I am better at that.
9. Who is smarter? We are both smart in different things. He is a great writer and amazing at history and remembering facts. I have a horribly short term memory, but I am good at math and science.
10. Whose temper is worse? I would like to think that neither of us have bad tempers, but now that we have a 4 and 2 year old, our tempers get tried more than we can handle sometimes. We can read each other really well, so when one of us is starting to get frustrated with the kiddos, the other will try to step in and let them cool down. As to getting mad at each other, I do that more than Jackson does, but I don't yell...I just get quiet and weepy. I am getting better at letting silly things go, though.
12. Who does the dishes? Both of us if we are both here. This is hard for us sometimes, because Jackson really likes to lay down and relax right after dinner, and I like to clean up the mess first and then relax. Sometimes I try to wait for him, but usually I just start doing them and he feels bad and gets up and helps.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Jackson does. I don't like change, so that's the way it's always been and that's the way it will always be. It is actually kind of a joke between us. Jackson will sometimes jump in before me, get on my side, and say he wants to trade sides, but I won't stand for it. I don't think he really wants to trade, he just likes to get me riled up :)
14. Who pays the bills? I used to pay all the bills and file everything. We went through a time when I was struggling with depression, though, and it really stressed me out for some reason to do them. Jackson did it then, and now we need to work out a system because sometimes I do and sometimes he does, so something could go unpaid with each of us thinking the other did it.
15. Who mows the lawn? We both do. At the end of the day, I would much rather be outside mowing the lawn than watching the kids by myself again. I really enjoy outdoor work.
16. Who cooks dinner? I do. Every once in a while on Saturday Jackson will make his special Eggs A La Goldenrod. They are delicious. He usually gets breakfast ready, and on the weekends he always helps with lunch.
17. Who drives when you are together? Jackson. I prefer it that way. On long trips we take turns, because the one not driving has the harder job of caring for the kids.
18. Who is more stubborn? I am pretty stubborn. I would like to think I am less stubborn than I used to be, though.
19. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Definitely Jackson. He is so good at apologizing.
20. Whose parents do you see the most? Jackson's now that we live in the same town. It used to be the same. I wish we could see my parents more often.
21. Who proposed? Jackson, and it was super romantic and sweet. I will never forget it.
22. Who is more sensitive? If I am pregnant, me.
23. Who has more friends? same
24. Who has more siblings? Jackson has 4 and I have 3.
25. Who wears the pants in the family? We try to each take a leg.
26. Where did you meet your husband? BYU
27. What was the first thing you said to your husband? I don't really remember. It was 5:00 in the morning and I had just rolled out of bed without even brishing my teeth, so I tried not to talk much :)
28. Where was your first date? We went on walks together and studied together. Then school ended and Jackson went home to Colorado. He came to my house for a weekend and I went to his for a weekend. Then he was supposed to go to Russia for 2 months and then come back and move right to Texas with the Air Force. He had come to Provo to pick up his brother and sister from swim camp and he was saying goodbye to me. I was expecting some sort of DTR, but all I got was, "Well...I guess I'll see you when I get back from Russia. Bye." I thought it was a lost cause, and I went home and cried. Luckily Heavenly Father is in charge and his passport didn't come through and he had to postpone his trip by two weeks. That's all the time it took!
29. Where was your first kiss? So unromantic...in front of DT (the dorms) at BYU. A very public place for anyone who doesn't know. We hid in the shadows by the bushes. I was so happy I could have cared less who was watching! :)
30. Where did you get engaged? Up Provo canyon at a place called Theater in the Pines. It was great!
31. Where were you married? Manti Temple
32. Where was the honeymoon? Oceanside, CA. We rented a condo for a week. It was so wonderful. You could see the ocean from every window.
33. If you could have changed anything about it what would it have been? I can't think of anything...it was wonderful.

I tag anyone who wants to do it!

Community Playthings Blocks

First of all, I was looking through my pictures, deciding what to write a blog on, and I realized that I don't have very many pictures of Thomas. This isn't because I don't want to take pictures of him, it is because he doesn't want me to take pictures of him. Any time I get out the camera and point it at him, he turns his face and says, "No pictures." Estella is the easiest to take pictures of right now. Nicholas doesn't mind it, but it takes some work on my part. Anyway...to the point...I did get a few pictures of Thomas while he and a friend were building a jail for the bad dinosaurs and a castle for the king and queen.
Let me say that I LOVE these blocks that we have. We bought them for Christmas 2006 and I am happier and happier with them as the boys have gotten older. Jackson had this same block set when he was growing up and LOVED it, so that is how we knew about them. They are from Community Playthings. They are expensive, but worth every penny. If anyone is considering getting them, the shelf is SO nice. My mother in law bought that for us when we told her we were getting the blocks. It is from the same company as the blocks.

The other shelf that has toys on it is also a Community Playthings shelf and was a gift this year from my parents in law. I love it for a few reasons. 1-it has wheels that you can flip, so you can use them or tuck them under. They are great because if I don't want all the toys out everywhere I can easily turn the shelf around facing the wall, putting the toys out of sight and reach. 2- The back of the shelf is a flannel board. I don't have any flannel board stories yet, but Thomas and I made a few animals that are fun to arrange. Well..there's my plug for Community Playthings...expensive, but worth it.