Grace had a birthday...shout hooray!

Gracie's birthday was a pretty small affair this year. We celebrated it on a Sunday after having everyone over for FHE. I made her a jello poke cake (and discovered that she doesn't like Cool Whip, if you can believe that!) and she absolutely LOVED blowing out the candles. She just keeps asking if it's anybody's birthday. Like every single day. For example, right now she's stuck on Aunt Meg. She asked me about 8 times yesterday, "When is Aunt Meg's birthday so she can blow out the candles?" So cute. Meg's birthday is in December, poor Gracie :) So, here are some pics from her b-day party...and some of her playing in her new splash pool.

Yesterday was one of those days where I just kept thinking, "Kids make life hilarious." Really and truly, I think that we bear children so we can gain a sense of humor. Can I get an amen? While I was getting ready in the morning, Gracie was playing with her plastic fish in the tub, but she was being abnormally quiet. So I turned and asked her what she was doing. She said, and I quote, "I'm sleeping with the fishes." LOL.

Then, we went to the library for story time. The theme for the summer is "Bugs" (which, by the way, is perfect because Gracie is obsessed with bugs these days.) So basically, all the stories, activities, etc. are about bugs. Well, yesterday they had the kids EAT bugs. I'm not even kidding. Gracie ate a bunch of fried meal worms with taco seasoning. L.O.L. I tried to catch a picture with my phone, but she was shoveling them in so fast, you could never see the deceased worm in the pic. Dang! Kodak moment TOTALLY MISSED :) Isn't that funny?

So later on, still at the library here, we were walking along the rows looking for an audiobook for Joe. We were on the outside row, so there were tables beside us and one guy with a laptop sitting there minding his biz. Well, Gracie has been kind of sick, so what happened next wasn't completely out of the blue...but are we really EVER prepared for what kids put us through? She just squated down and had explosive diarrhea in her diaper. Right there. Next to the guy. With the laptop. Seriously. It was SO loud and SO gross, I just picked her up and we walked away. I couldn't even look at the guy to see his expression. In hindsight, this was a big mistake because I'm sure it was...shall we say...priceless? "Taking your daughter to the library...$0. Interrupting a man's quite solitude with said daughter's explosive diarrhea...Priceless."

Honestly...if you're not laughing at my embarassing moment by now...I don't think we can be friends anymore. Sorry :)


Here's the poke cake and fun, fun, fun candles for blowing out!

I loved her happy face in the pic. It just screams, "I'm getting presents!"

Yep, she's a tech nerd, just like her Uncle Scot. They are watching Bugs Bunny.

Playin' on her new splash mat.

She has about 6 hand-me-down swimsuits from Andrea's girls and we are using every single one! :)

The only man a girl can trust is her Daddy...right? He wont kiss and tell :)

Awesome Weekend

Joey and I celebrated our 7th anniversary last weekend! April and Brad were awesome (fabulous, endearing, kind-hearted, merciful) enough to take the girls for us overnight and Joe and I hit the town, baby! It was AMAZING to get away from it all and spend some time together. We were both so relaxed and pleasant...hmmmm...so THATs how it used to be...I'd forgotten ;) We stayed at the Little America, which was really beautiful. They had two humongous flower arrangements in the lobby that were simply stunning. It smelled like stargazer lillies (my very favorite flower - they remind me of Davey) each time we walked in through the doors. We drove up to Park City on Saturday and rode the chairlift up the mountain and the alpine slide down. We shopped at the outlets, ate dinner at Ruth's Chris (culinary perfection, as usual), and played in the pool and jacuzzi before bed. We felt so unburdened...LOL! Sunday morning we went over to the Grand America for their brunch buffet (culinary heaven this time), and saw some movies before we came home. All in all, FANTASTIC weekend! April and Brad were just so adamant about how fun it was watching the girlies that we've already booked our room for next weekend...HA! ;)

Gracie started gymnastics last week and it was SO cute to watch. It is just her and a set of twin girls in her class, so that is awesome, They have special equipment for the young ones and they go around the room and do sort of an "obstacle course" of things. I think Gracie's favorite is the balance beam where she gets to shuffle herself across while holding her arms out. She's been practicing that move following a line on our big carpet in the living room :)

Janie has been loving getting outside everyday now that winter is gone and it's a scorching billion degrees outside :) She loves to sit in the sandbox and throw out all the toys. She's figured out how to stand up and try to fall out of her high chair (much to my hair's dismay - it's turning prematurely gray!), and she has also found that if she just pulls open the kitchen cupboard doors, there are lound, shiny silver toys to play with hiding in there! I just know she's upset that Gracie held out on her for so long with that secret :)

Joey's started his own blog. Check it out...http://joebags.blogspot.com/

I've been digging into good books left and right these days! I just finished The Wednesday Wars, The Book Thief, and The Host in the last week or so. Wierdly enough...they were all really exceptional reads! I recommend each one of them. Don't you think that's so rare to read multiple books in a row that are just great? I feel pretty lucky! Have you read anything great lately????? I'd love some new recommendations! Come on people, show me love!!

The Spout Makes A Comeback

Okay, so there really needs to be a picture with this post, but I'm on Joey's computer so I don't have one. So shoot me! I'm really sorry that I don't post more often, but seriously, I do it as often as I can. I've got two tots, okay?!

Janie sported her first "spout" hairdo today. She looked so much older, it was scary! She's pulling herself up on everything in site. Today she even pulled herself up on the tub and watched Gracie take her bath :) Cute, huh? She says, "Thank you" now, which is darling. It's more of a "thangoo" in her sweet, high voice.

Gracie starts gymnastics Thursday and I'm really excited to see how she likes it. She's been rolling all over the house doing summersaults lately, so I think she'll be stoked to have an instructor to actually show her how to do tricks, etc. I'll be sure to take some pics to post.

Back To Normal...

It seems like "normal" for our family is when there is just a bit of chaos. Why is that, I wonder?

Mom started her first round of chemotherapy yesterday and was a trooper, of course. She hasn't felt sick yet, just kind of headachey and has a yucky taste in her mouth, she says. I think she's so brave and strong and I also don't think she realizes just how many people are in awe of her positive fighting attitude and her submission to the will of our Father in heaven. Mom, you're awesome lady!

My brother Rob had surgery yesterday for a ruptured disk in his back and I just wish they were here in Utah so we could do something more to help them out . They were on vacation in California when it ruptured, so he's at Long Beach Memorial. (Hey, that's where yours truly entered this world!!)

But enough of the downers...how 'bout some good news? Joe is applying for a different job within his company that he thinks might suit him better. I think it's a systems manager type position, but I'm not completely sure. I don't speak "recruiting software." I'm so proud of him and how his career is advancing. He's more than I deserve in so many ways.

Gracie's doing a bit better with her potty training. Last night she told us herself that she had to go potty and went up and did her biz (with her daddy's help). We were SOOO proud of her! That was a first. Normally I just let her run around nakey after her bath and that's when she uses the potty, but last night she actually told us she had to go. I've got to tell you, I'm so nervous about this whole potty training thing. I don't know the first thing about it and I really don't want to mess it up by pressuring her. I think I'm kind of sitting back and trusting nature to take it's course here...we'll see how that goes!!! Yikes.

Is anybody out there obsessed with Twilight like me and Mom and April and Meg are??? LOL. I read parts of the books everyday when I do my hair and makeup. Seriously. Obsessed. :) Just ask Joe :):)

Well, this post is long and boring, so I'll just end the misery here. Have a great day!

Happy Happy Birthday Janie Dear...

I know it's been almost a month since Jane's birthday, but I've finally uploaded the pictures for your viewing pleasure! She's such a little pixie pie that I still can't believe she's a year old! Her birthday party was really low key and relaxed, which was so nice. Thanks to all who came to celebrate with us!


Daddy helped her open all her fun presents!

She LOVED the cake :) She got way messier than Gracie did, I think!

She's double fistin' it here :)

Auntie and Gracie-lou!
"The men" hangin' out by the food :)

Oh yeah...

I got a question from the "Jolleys" (I assume it's April, but I'm not sure actually) in the comments about where the music on my blog has escaped to. Well, I wasn't sure that anyone liked it, so I took it off. Give me a shout out if you want the music back...:)

Rockin' Out

Hey ya'll! A big THANKS to April and Andrea who were the ONLY peeps to give me suggestions (awesome ones, I might add) for my iPod. I'm still accepting suggestions, by the way, so feel free to leave some in the comments :) I'm rockin' out these days every time I have a spare minute...hanging out at the hospital today with Mom (she had her gallbladder out), doing some laundry tonight, getting ready for bed, right now while I'm blogging, etc. I only have earphones right now, so I'm just cruisin' around the house with them in feeling like an antisocial teenager :) I'm going to have to take Andrea's advice and get a few docking stations so I can be rockin' 24/7! My new favorite band is Coldplay - if you don't know 'em yet, I highly recommend you become familiar.

Mom's surgery went well today. I was so glad I could be there with her. Sri was awesome enough to watch my kiddos while I was at the hospital. I couldn't have done it without her. Mom's home now and doing pretty darn good! She's a trooper. Everyone who lives here in Lehi knows exactly what I mean and that's it's totally true. Love you mom.

Here are some recent pics...Gracie feeding the geese at Liberty park...Janie smiling her sweet, sweet smile...and a side ponytail pic (finally!). I hope you enjoy!!

Preschool Program

Gracie attended a spring term of preschool at our neighbor's house. She learned a letter of the alphabet each time she went and she just loved it :) Honestly, I don't know how the woman puts up with EXTRA children being in her home, but hey...to each her own. She is such a sweet lady and loves the kids so much. Here are a few pics from her preschool program. They sang Safety Kids songs (is that a blast from the past, or what??!!) and did dancing also. Mostly, Gracie stood at the front center of the stage and just grinned at everybody in the audience. I don't know where she gets her "center of attention, please" attitude...I blame April ;)

Thanks for all of the sweet birthday wishes yesterday! I had a really nice day! Joe took half the day off of work and we went to Mazza for lunch (delish middle eastern cuisine), tried to go to a Bees game (which didn't work out so well, but it's the thought that counts!), and I got to take a N-A-P while Joey watched the girls ("hallelujah chorous" here). In the evening, mom watched the girls while we got dinner at Cafe Rio and went to pick out my present from Joe...a new iPod! Woo hoo! It's my first ever iPod, so I'm all excited :) I'm an iTunes pro now ;)

So, my question for YOU is...what's the last couple of songs you downloaded to your iPod? I need some good suggestions.

Quote of the Day:

I think the worst time to have a heart attack is during a game of charades...or a game of fake heart attack. -- Demetri Martin

More San Diego Pics

Here are some more San Diego pics. I know it's been forever since I posted the last ones but life has just been kind of hectic lately...and I've been reading the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer...and I've been busy daydreaming about Joe being a vampire...JK.

Hat removal #1 of 856 :)

Asleep in the stroller at SeaWorld
Aren't they cute??
Seaport Village...one of Heather's favorite places.

Yes those are QTips. She's on the couch watching Clifford :)

Heather and the limescicle :)

Loving the sand!

Bathing beauties :)

Quote of the day:
"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop." - Confucius

A Fast Year

My sweet little girl is a year old today! I am so amazed that a year has passed by so quickly. She still seems like a baby to me, but she's definitely growing up faster all the time. She's pulling herslf all the way up to standing now, she can do patty-cake (including the rolling and tossing in the oven :)), she's weaning, she giggles and plays peek-a-boo with her sister, she can eat anything she wants to now, and it's all just awesome! I'm so proud of her. Happy birthday sweet Jane!

Everything's pretty much ready for her party tomorrow...well, kind of :) I still have a bunch of laundry on the floor to wash and put away. And I need to vacuum, dust, sweep, scrub toilets, cut up fruit, pick up the cake and food trays at Costco (I hope everyone comes with a gigantic appetite), etc. But it seems like it's well on its way :) We might try to go to the library for story time today too. Gracie digs it.

I'll post some pics later today unless a toilet swallows me up while I'm trying to scrub it clean ;)

Side Ponytail

I wish I could post a pic of Gracie sporting her side ponytail (think 1988 here) but I can't find my camera case with the spare battery in it! Sheesh! She looks so cute. It totally reminds me of the girl in Napoleon Dynamite. LOL.

Well, yesterday the girls and I got a bit of sun out planting flowers in our garden. It was a lot of fun! We got a clematis, a bleeding heart, some beautiful purple cala lillies and some coral carnations for the yard. I also got some carrot, radish and butternut squash seeds to start a vegetable garden, but I haven't figured out the logistics on that yet. It was so nice to be outside. Oh, and I cleaned out Gracie's sandbox and refilled it with new sand. Phew. It was a full day. It's nice to have days where you accomplish things, isn't it? Being a mom with babies, days don't feel very full of "accomplishments" if you know what I mean.

Janie woke up at 4:30 this morning throwing up. I'm not sure if it's something she ate outside yesterday or if she's got a bug, but she's just pitiful. I think she's on the mend now though. She ate some toast earlier and has kept it down, so that's a start. I just felt so bad for her this morning, heaving away. She's so little and so sweet. She doesn't deserve to feel icky. She's going to be the big "1 year old!!" on Friday. Wow. Time has really slipped away.We're having her birthday party on Saturday and I still haven't decided what to do for food...I better start thinking about that I suppose ;)

The girls are sharing a room now so Joe and I have an office!! Woo hoo! It's so nice. There's a big box of toys in here and Janie crawls around while Gracie draws and does stickers at my craft table. She's there right now saying, "Beware the jaberwocky, beware the jaberwocky, beware the jaberwocky." LOL. Joe's been reading that to her each night. I think it's kind of scary for a toddler, but hey, who am I to judge the literary preferences of Miss Thang?

Let's go fly a kite...

Or NOT. I saw a lady in our ward out flying a kite with her kids and it looked like lots of fun, so I decided to buy one at the grocery store today for Grace and Jane. We took it out to the park behind our house and tried to fly it but everytime I'd start to run away Gracie would absolutely freak out. I'm talking serious, blood curdling tantrum here. It was SO weird. There was no one else in the park. Just us. It was so frustrating I finally just folded up the kite and dragged my poor kids back home. I don't know what got into her. We decided to do sidewalk chalk instead. Phew. I'm tired.

No pics today of our "fun" kite adventure, obviously (eye rolling smiley emoticon needed here).

Fun In The Sun!

We've been in San Diego on vacation for about a week! It was a lot of fun, but also a great learning experience...it being our first time traveling with the girls. In most ways it was WAY HARDER than being at home, but the awesome sights, warm weather and many Kodak moments were worth it! Our very favorite thing was SeaWorld, but we also went to the Wild Animal Park and the San Diego Zoo, both of which were very cool as well. We spent half a day at the beach and that was fun too. Janie ate TONS of sand and tried to eat a bunch of seaweed too, but I tried to keep it away from her :) Gracie liked to be held by her daddy over the waves and we collected a few shells and pretty rocks too. Needless to say, we're glad we survived the drive there and back without bloodshed :) Here are some fun pics to give you a taste of "Alexander Vacation v.1.0)

This is the half second that Janie actually wore her hat the entire trip. She didn't like it at all and kept pulling it off :)

Touching the Starfish was her favorite activity of the day at Sea World.

That's a big walrus swimming round and round his tank. He was HUGE and SOO COOL!

Isn't she a vision in lime? I think she's absolutely the most darling child ever created.

Self explanatory :) This was at the Zoo.

This was the coolest thing at the Wild Animal Park. At the top of the pic is the mother with a nursing cub, and other cubs lower in the pic. The dad is just out of the shot, asleep on the hood of a Land Rover that is in the lion's territory. So Cool! I just loved how close we got to the lions. NEAT-O!

These were foot massaging chairs, but I think Gracie just liked them becaue they looked like Zebras :)

Zogle Hoo

Meg and I took our kidlets to the Hogle Zoo today. It was such beautiful weather! Here are some pics of my girls...

Treasure Chest

I was tearing my room apart this morning trying to find my passport. No, no, I haven't resumed my CIA activities. Joe asked me to get all of our passports in order for our family trip a year from now, with the Alexander clan. I just had to tell you how funny it was, applying for Janie's passport. Name - Jane Eleanor Alexander. Date of Birth 5-9-07. Height-. Hmmm. 2 feet, 4 inches. LOL. Isnt that so funny? I had a good chuckle :)


Anyhoo - one of the places I looked for our passports was my cedar chest. That thing is packed full of memories, I'm tellin' ya. Well, I don't think Gracie had ever seen it open. I don't think she knew that it DID open and you should have seen her face. "It's a treasure chest!" She exclaimed. She nabbed Davey's blanket and ran away with it. LOL. I feel bad, bad because my first impulse was to scold her for taking something of Daveys, but I held my tongue. It was just so cute to see her eyes light up with the prospect of "treasure" hiding in Daddy's room. (It's definitely not "Mommy's room," that's for sure. Everything is "Daddy's" nowadays. She adores him, as she should.)


Here's where I wish I was today...Kauai with Davey :)

The Big 30!

Happy birthday to Joe, happy birthday to Joe, happy birthday dear Joey, happy birthday to Joe! My hubby turned 30 yesterday commencing the "rest of his life" or so we hear :) Is youth really gone at 30? Leave a comment and tell me how you feel...

Joe's birthday was pretty low-key, I suppose. I hired a dancing girl for the morning, we flew to New Zealand for Lunch and had Joe Josts in his new M5 for dinner. Um, No. Actually, Joey had to work so the girls and I met him for lunch up by his office in Magna. We gave him his present there too. We got him a digital picture frame for his office...A really nice one with a brushed nickel frame. I think he liked it! After he came home we put the girls to bed and Mom listened for them while we went to dinner and a movie. We saw Leatherheads, which, despite it's negative reviews, was pretty darn funny, we thought! It had kind of an "Oh, Brother" feel to it...kind of.

Anywho - today will probably be low-key as well. It's general conference weekend, so I should probably delete my "dancing girl" comment from above. Hmmm.

Silly Gwama

Mom took this picture at her work. She stuck her fake mustache (ask her about that!) on Gracie's beautiful pic and here ya go...it looks like she's got her finger up her nose, but she's hiding it with her honkin' mariachi mustache:)

Not much is going on in our house today. Meg and her cute kiddos came over for a playdate and I have my first book club meeting tonight at the clubhouse in our subdivision. I'm leading the discussion, so I'm a little bit nervous, but it should go pretty smoothly.

I better get back to washing grapes and worrying about the book club!

A Blast From The Past

Here's an old pic that I love...

Par-Tay!

On Friday, we invited all the cousins over to decorate Easter cookies and have an egg hunt in the back yard. It was so much fun! The kids did an awesome job on their cookies...many sprinkles gave their all that day in the name of good, messy, fun. The egg hunt was really fun too...for some reason I don't ever remember doing an egg hunt when I was a kid. Wierd. Uncle D and Tawny were here too, which made it even more special. Gracie absolutely loves "that guy." ;) She keeps saying, "I want to go downstairs and play with Uncle D." Poor thing.

Happy Birthday Sweet Davey

Our son Davey would be four years old today. It was a deeply wonderful thing to have his birthday fall on Easter. The life and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the greatest gift that our Father in Heaven has given to us as his children, and the hope that Easter brings into my life is nowhere more recognized than when I think of my sweet, perfect son. I'm humbled when I think of how innocent he is and that he is mine. I can't wait to hold him again.

It was a really nice day today. We spent the morning visiting with Dennis and Tawny and then went to the cemetery. Reagan came along with us :) We spent some time there and Gracie had fun blowing a bunch of bubbles. (The easter bunny brought her bubbles in her basket.) She learned how to do the entire process...dip the stick thinggy, blow through the hole, dip the stick thinggy again. It was fun to see her figure it out and have success blowing bubbles...it's the small things that touch a mother's heart, isn't it? Like finding a basket of flowers at Davey's grave when we got there to visit him, and knowing that someone else thought of him today too...