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.