Happy New Year!

Happy 2011!  This is my first attempt at blogging in several months.  I've got lots of catching up to do and hopefully I'm up for the challenge.

I like to say it all started with Jason and I on New Year's Eve nine years ago.  Our first date was at the end of October.  We had a few casual dates before I went home for Christmas vacation.  While I was home for Christmas vacation, we talked on the phone EVERY night for hours.  I decided to cut my Christmas vacation short and head back to Washington so I could spend New Year's Eve with Jason.  That was the night of our first kiss.  He says I kissed him.  I say he kissed me.  Either way, I guess you could say that the rest is history!

We kicked off our New Year's Eve making our traditional cheese and chocolate fondue.  The kids were so excited to help and Emily couldn't wait to wear the apron that Aunt Andrea made for her.  Jacob wanted an apron, too, so I found one of mine for him to wear.

Jacob was guilty of double and probably triple dipping on multiple occasions and kept dipping his dipper in the chocolate with nothing else on there and just licking it off which led to this chocolate face here:

That boy is a chocoholic just like his mom!

We finished off the night with some board games (there's nothing like Candyland and Hi Ho Cherry to bring in a New Year!), watched G Force, did some fireworks and finished off the night with some sparkling cider which Jacob loved and Emily said tasted "funny in her mouth."

We're excited for the adventures that lie ahead in 2011.  We hope you all had a great New Year's Eve, too!

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

This isn't exactly "family" related as I think that my children are still too young to really understand the events of 9/11/01. Of course, I'm not sure any of us will ever really understand.  As I reflected on the events of that day, I watched several tributes and this was the one that I liked the most.  I think the song and the images do a great job of pulling together the events of that day.

I remember that morning started out as a "perfect" morning.  I was living in Washington at the time and so fall and the cooler temperatures were already kicking in.  I had gotten up early and had an awesome work-out. Because of that, I had to rush when I got home to get ready for work and didn't have time to turn the news on the way I normally did in the mornings.  On the way to work, in an effort to maintain my adrenaline high, I had cranked up the stereo in my car with one of my favorite CDs and I was singing along, so no radio or news.

Then, my cell phone started ringing.  It was the guy I was dating at the time and I remember thinking it was such a pleasant surprise and just a continuation of that "perfect" morning that he would be calling me so early.  I smiled as I answered the phone, but that changed quickly as he asked if I had seen the news and quickly filled me in on the morning's events.  I quickly turned on the radio.

I was working in a middle school at the time as a school psychologist, and when I got there, they already had a TV on in the conference room across the hall from my office.  As I watched the images play over and over again, I stood there in disbelief.  It looked like something out of a movie and I couldn't believe that something like that could happen here.  The middle school years are rough ones, and I spent the day attempting to comfort, reassure, and console emotional middle schoolers even though I couldn't seem to find the words myself.

A National Day of Prayer was held a few days later and I remember feeling comfort and gratitude that our nation was coming together in prayer following this great loss.  I was so grateful to be able to sneak away from work for a brief period to go to a local meetinghouse to hear the words of President Hinckley.  I was anxious to hear what he would have to say during this time and was grateful for the words he shared.  I managed to find his talk from that day (in two pieces).  As I listened to those words again, nine years later, I realize how inspired they were, and I look forward to General Conference in a few weeks when we will have the opportunity to hear more inspired words from our leaders and find more guidance and direction.

Good Things to Come

This is one of my all time favorite talks and I love that they've now made this video to go with it. Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed or discouraged, this talk always helps me to put things in perspective!! (The full talk is definitely worth checking out, too!)

OUCH!

Jacob fell off the slide at daycare last week and scraped up his poor little nose.  He handled it well, though and by the time I got home and offered to kiss it better, he said, "That's alright...daddy kissed it already."  Thankfully, it looks much better already!

Emily's 1st day of school!

Yesterday was Emily's first day of school.  I can't believe that she started first grade - the time is flying by!  We met her teacher last week and we both loved her.  I think it's going to be a great year.  I took this picture from my cell phone before I left for work yesterday morning.

Jason took this picture from his phone when he dropped her off in the classroom.  Look at that smile!

Here's Emily outside the school with her friend Kaitlyn.  (Thanks Jennie for the picture - there are definitely some "perks" to working in education but having to miss my own kid's first day of school is not one of them)

Emily couldn't tell us much about her first day other than that it was "good" and that she saw her teacher and some of her friends from kindergarten.  She was pretty worn out by the time she got home!

Lions, tigers, and bears - OH MY!

I've been wanting to take the kids to the zoo for awhile now, but every time I make plans to take them, it seems like something else comes up. A few weeks ago, there was a "free" day, so Jamie and I took the kids and they had a blast even if it was 100 plus degrees outside!

Emily loves monkeys and had fun posing with this gorilla (Jacob was scared of him).  She was a little bit disappointed in the "real" monkeys, though, and thought they were kind of boring.

The reptile exhibit was one of Emily's favorite exhibits at the zoo.  We happened to get there when they were feeding the pythons, which was a bit disturbing for the rest of us, but Emily was mesmerized.  The goats were her second favorite thing.  She just loved brushing them and they just sat there and enjoyed it!  Jacob would only get close to the goats if I was there holding his hand and/or the brush, so I didn't get any pictures of him with the goats.

Both kids loved the lion water fountain!

Other highlights included the giraffes, lions, and baby elephant.  Emily thought the grizzly bear was "cute."  I hadn't been to the zoo in years and really enjoyed it, too!

Fun in Austin!

A few weeks ago, the kids and I went out for a few days to visit my sister and her kids. The cousins all had fun playing together and especially liked it when they got to play outside in the water!

Three girls in a small pool!

Four kids makes the pool an even tighter squeeze!

Even though there were two sides to the pool and the other side was much bigger, for some reason, the kids all liked squeezing into this side!

Emily liked the little slide that they had!

The kids had fun on the swingset, too!

More water days!

Jacob got two Fridays in a row of water days.  The second week, Crystal got a jumping castle and water slide.  The kids were excited about it all week long and Jacob had a blast that day!

There's nothing like a little fun with water blasters!  Boys will be boys!

Lunch by the pool!

A popcorn snack with friends!

And rounding out the day with a popsicle!  What a fun day!

Jacob's Splash Days!

Two years ago when I was changing schools, I needed to find a new babysitter for Jacob and I was totally stressed. We interviewed several potential babysitters and I was getting more and more stressed after each interview.  We were so blessed to find Crystal. She has an amazing amount of energy and enthusiasm and takes great care of our little guy.

One of the fun things she does every year with the kids is a "splash day" (last year, she did it when she was nine months pregnant and I am still in awe of that!) This year, the kids got to enjoy "Splash Days" two Fridays in a row!

Here are some pictures that she sent me from Splash Days.

Jacob the ladies man with Taylor, Jordan, and Hailey - all three girls have been at the daycare since Jacob started.  For a long time, he was basically the only boy (and he even went through a stage when I would pick him up from daycare where he would tell me "girls love me").

Fun with shaving cream - who can resist?

Playing in the pool with Finley!

A popcorn snack with friends!

Thanks Crystal for another fun splash day this year and for taking such good care of Jacob!

Kindergarten Celebration!

About a year ago, Emily and I went to her kindergarten orientation together. Parents and kids all met in the gym initially and then they separated the kids from their parents to take them on a tour of the school and then to do some activities in the classrooms. I had been working in schools for 10 years at that point, but I remember how teary I got as the reality set in that MY kid was really starting school. As I walked down the hall today for Emily's "kindergarten celebration" I got teary again thinking about how fast this past year has gone by.

The Kindergarten Celebration was just that - a celebration of everything that the kids have learned over this past year. They wowed us by counting to 174, the number of days they've been in school so far. They counted by 5s and 10s. They named odd and even numbers and even sang some songs.


They started out by singing "Tootie Ta." This was one of Emily's favorite songs when she first started preschool when she was 3 and I was sad to hear the teacher say that this is probably the last time the kids would be doing it unless they end up teaching kindergarten somewhere down the road. If you're not familiar with the "Tootie Ta" it is a VERY silly dance. You can see her doing it below (I forgot my Flip video camera, but remembered that my camera has a "video" feature, so I pulled that out, but this was actually their second time doing it because some of the parents were late, so Emily wasn't quite as excited this time around...I couldn't figure out how to "flip" the video to vertical when I uploaded it).

The "Tootie Ta" from Melissa White on Vimeo.

The class also sang a "Zippity Do Da" song about moving on to first grade. The picture of her at the top is her saying "We're going to first grade - hip, hip hooray!" while singing the song.

Hip Hip Hooray for 1st grade! from Melissa White on Vimeo.

After showing off their skills, the kids got certificates. They went in alphabetical order, so Emily was the very last kid and the kids were pretty restless at that point (growing up, my last name started with "T" and I always wanted to move up in the alphabet some day....when Jason and I were dating I actually wrote in my journal that I couldn't marry him because his last name started with a "W" and I couldn't go DOWN in the alphabet!)



I thought it was pretty funny because the teacher had asked each of the kids what they wanted to "be" when they grew up. Lots of girls said "teacher" and lots of boys said "policeman" or "firefighter" and there were a few doctors and vets and even a marine biologist along the way, but my Emily in true Emily fashion had declared that she wanted to be a "princess"

Another "teary moment" for me came when her teacher asked her what her favorite thing in kindergarten had been and she said the winter party. When her teacher asked what part of the winter party she liked the best, she said "that my mom was there with me."

We are so proud of Emily - she has learned so much in kindergarten and has done so well. We know she'll do great in 1st grade, too.

Rock stars!

Jacob got this guitar for Christmas two years ago, but he loves to carry it around and say "Mom, I'm a rock star!"  It cracks me up.  My mom got each of the kids a pair of shades and they thought they looked oh sooo cool.  Jacob wore his for a couple of days, including taking them to daycare and sleeping with them.  I hope they remember me when they're famous some day!

Ready for summer!

A few weeks ago, as we headed out to run errands, we passed by the pool in our neighborhood and saw that they were putting the umbrellas up. Almost instantly, I was greeted by chanting from the back seat - "The pool is open! The pool is open!" Sure enough, the pool WAS open that day and the kids were so excited to go swimming.

I was amazed (and a little scared) by how much their confidence in the water has increased over the past year. Both kids have been in swimming lessons all year. They swim at an indoor pool and the parents can watch from behind a double-sided window, but it's hard to truly catch the effects of how they are doing in the water that way. Emily immediately started swimming back and forth across the length of the pool and Jacob was equally confident with the aid of his floaties or swimming ring.

All of us are excited and ready for summer when we can go to the pool pretty much every day (weather permitting, of course!)

Happy 6th birthday Emily!

Six years ago, a beautiful baby girl joined our family and changed our lives forever.  She was the most alert and curious newborn I have ever encountered (which was a bit rough on two parents who had just been through 20+ hours of labor followed by a traumatic c-section!).  That curiosity has continued and I am amazed each day by the new things she learns and by the things that she teaches us.

We have really been trying to teach Emily about money over the past year.  This has included letting her earn and spend some of her own money.  She was very excited about the $6 dollars she got for her 6th birthday from Uncle Reed, Aunt Jamie, and Madison! (she was also excited about the Target gift card that came from Uncle Nathan, Aunt Christine, Ksenya, Crystal, and Kylie)

Emily loves to draw and she really is talented! Her favorite thing to do when she gets home from school is to go in and sit at the art desk she got for Christmas. We are frequently the recipients of sweet cards and flower gardens, among other things, that she creates for us. Here are some fairies, which were one of her latest creations (she took this picture herself - another of her favorite past-times is getting ahold of my camera and taking pictures!)

I asked Emily what she wished for as she was blowing out her candles, but she wouldn't share!

Emily was very excited that she got to celebrate her birthday with her cousins.  My sister Melinda and her three girls - Juliana, Krystyna, and Abigail had come into town and got to spend the evening with us.  Here's a picture of all the cousins together.

This year, it has been really fun to watch Emily learn so much in kindergarten. She has really come a long way with her reading, and lately, it melts my heart when she sits on the couch with Jacob and he brings her stack after stack of books and she reads them all to him. Last week, we checked out our first chapter book at the library and she and I have had fun reading about the adventures of Junie B Jones together.

The other day, she came to me and said, "Look! I wrote my name the "fancy" way (we read a lot of "Fancy Nancy" in this house)." She had written her name in cursive. I have to admit - I was impressed!

Last week at school, she got to be the "Rhino of the Week" and we got to make a poster about her.  Here it is (this is another picture she took).  It's fun to look back and see how much she's grown over the past year!

Emily is such a sweet and smart little girl and we are so blessed to have her as a part of our family!

Chocoholic!

I've been trying to catch up on blogging by posting each night.  It's been a long day today and I'm really tired, but this picture was short, sweet, and to the point.  Jacob is a COMPLETE chocoholic (I guess it's not limited to just chocolate - he'll pretty much take anything sweet).  This picture says it all - once again caught raiding the candy dish!  Like mother, like son, I guess - what can I say?

This is what happens....when your dad is a hunter...

As I was going through all of the pictures on my camera and transferring them over to the computer, I came across this one.  Emily is such a character and we never know what she's going to do next.  Jason went hunting several times this fall and winter and Emily was anxious for him to get a pig so she could have ham and bacon (she loves both).  One night she came out with this picture she had drawn of dad shooting the pig for her (the thing going toward the pig in the upper right hand corner is the bullet).  Hope this doesn't offend anyone - it cracked us up! 

Rodeo Days!

Living in Texas, Rodeo time is a BIG thing and most of the schools have some sort of "Rodeo Day" celebration.  Emily's Rodeo Day was actually a few weeks ago, but I'm a bit behind on getting pictures up.  I also was able to take some video of the singing and dancing which I'll post once I figure out how to transfer it over.  I was lucky enough to be able to sneak away from work for a few hours to share in the Rodeo Day festivities.

There's a saying here that goes, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could."  And so it goes with our Emily!  For my baby shower when I was pregnant with her, my Aunt Jill and Uncle Steve sent me a jar of soil from Texas to put under the delivery table, so she could be born on Texas soil, so maybe she is a "native Texan" after all!

Cowgirl friends - Clara moved in across the street from us shortly after we moved in so she and Emily have pretty much grown up together.  Clara also goes to church with us - we hope that she and Emily stay friends for a long time!

Sage is one of Emily's "buds" that she met in her kindergarten class this year.  Here they are figuring out "how many hands high" they are."  Emily was 7 hands high!

Riding the "horse" - she's a natural! 

Panning for gold!

Horseshoe toss!