Pudding and play

My friend Shannon came up with idea to let the kids get messy this week at playgroup and use pudding as finger paint. We had the kids in swim suits (crazy how it snowed just a few days ago) and let them go at it. Jackson loved it. He had fun "painting" but even more fun eating. He seriously consumed a ridiculous amount of pudding. I must admit, when I was mixing it up it suddenly looked like the most delicious thing on the planet and I made a mental note to make it more often! Anyway, here are a few pics:

Still fairly clean and lots of room left in his tummy

Getting into it!

I'm sure my neighbor will love the little pudding handprints Jackson and Davis left on her porch!

I call this one the "money shot." ;)

His stomach was so full I was sure he was going to pop. I figured if I was going to let him use pudding as paint I should just let him go all out. That is what a responsible parent would do, right?

Watch out for the train tracks

We decided to go for a family bike ride Sunday and apparently I need training wheels. We were just cruising along when we had to cross some train tracks. In my head I'm thinking I need to be careful to keep my tires perpendicular to the tracks. That plan worked just fine until the dang tracks curved! haha My front tire got stuck in the tracks and my bike stopped-- I on the other hand did not. I crashed onto my left side and used my hands to try and brace myself. The result was road rash on both of my hands, a cut ankle, and a bruised shoulder, knee, hip and ego ;). Right after it happened it didn't hurt too bad, but that night I couldn't sleep because my hands felt like they were on fire. I woke up Monday morning feeling like I'd been hit by a car. My crash wasn't even bad, so I can't imagine how painful something like a motorcycle accident would be! Now that it's been a few days I feel much better and my hands are healing fast:


Moral of the story: watch out for train tracks!

A Happy Mother's Day

Sean and I have two of the best moms in the world and we are so grateful for them! I am so glad I have a mom who is such a great example and friend and taught me to love things like cooking. And I am lucky I have a mother-in-law I love! I'm grateful she raised Sean to have a sense of humor, be honest and hard-working, and the best husband and friend I could ask for.

I had a fantastic Mother's Day this year. Sean and Jackson made it a really fun day. Sean made me both breakfast in bed and a yummy dinner. I got a new purse (hooray! My duffel bag will no longer adorne my arm!) and Sean surprised me with a gift card for a pedicure. I felt very pampered.

I told Sean one of the things I wanted to do was get some pictures of Jackson and I together. A lot of times I am the one behind the camera so we headed outside and Sean took a bunch for me. Here are some of my favorites of me and my handsome boy :)

A few days ago my uncle e-mailed me a few pictures of when I was little. Usually I think Jackson looks mostly like Sean, but I did notice some similarities to me in these pictures.

Curls, chubby cheeks and round little tummy :)

And I had to throw this last picture in because it just makes me laugh! I'm not sure why I was furrowing my brow, but this is pretty darn close to the exact face Jackson makes when he's not happy!

I hope everyone had a happy Mother's Day!

Sippy cup: 1 Jackson: 0

Jackson has had kind of a rough week. As you can see in the photo above, his sippy cup took out his lower lip and part of his cheek earlier this week. Not really sure what happened, but I think he was running and drinking at the same time and did a face plant. He had a fat lip and it was cut pretty bad on the inside. I am happy to report all teeth are still intact! Poor kid.

Jackson's also had a cough that won't go away. It started months ago when he got sick and he just can't shake it. I took him into the pediatrician again yesterday and they decided to do a chest x-ray. He HATED the x-ray. Screamed the entire time and had big tears coming down his cheeks :( The x-ray shows evidence of childhood asthma. He's got his own little inhaler now and it should help. The good news is the doctor said if he does have it, it is very likely he will grow out of it. The cough doesn't seem to bug him, but I'm hoping it will be gone soon.

Here are some recent pictures and a video of J-dawg!

The curl hawk

One very tired little boy

Swimming- He LOVES going down the slides

Happy :)

With Mother's Day being tomorrow, I just want to say I am incredibly thankful for this little guy. Every night I tell him "You are the best part of every day" and "I love your guts!" He is such a sweet kid. So loving and smart and funny and happy. I feel very blessed that I get to be the one he calls "mama."

Celebrating our 6-year anniversary!

Saturday was our 6th anniversary! We had such a great day hanging out together.

We started our day by taking the whole family out to breakfast. We tried out a place called Joe's Diner in Orem after Sean had seen really good reviews online. We LOVED it. "Joe" has a big personality and also happens to be the cook. Our food was awesome and we will definitely be back.

We did a little shopping in the afternoon. I was hoping to find a new purse to replace what I call my "duffel bag" because it is so huge. I didn't find one I liked (well, not one that was less than $180), but I did find a new pair of jeans! Sean also found some new shoes so it was a successful trip.

My sister babysat for us so we could go out to dinner. It's sort of become a tradition for us to go to The Roof in Salt Lake. The flowers are always out at temple square and we always have a great time. This year was no different-- beautiful flowers, really good food, and really great company ;) I was sort of worried that Sean wouldn't have much he'd be able to eat (since he is gluten free) but he was definitely not lacking in choices. There was a ton of stuff, including multiple desserts, and the chef personally made him anything he wanted. Sean can't stop talking about the salmon. I think I could have just eaten creme brulee all night!

It's been an awesome 6 years together and I'm looking forward to at least 60 more! :)

Scout trip to Zion National Park

Sean serves in the young men in our ward. They go on campouts all the time, but they went on a really cool one to Zion National Park a few weeks ago. They hiked to Angels Landing and did the "subway." For the subway they had to wear wetsuits because they had to swim in parts and the water is really cold. Sounded pretty intense! He said he had a great time and the scenery was amazing. Here are a few pictures from the trip:

Tulips & herbs

I snapped a picture of my tulips with my phone yesterday. They are my favorite flower and I needed a picture before they passed their prime! I wish they would last longer! I also planted a bunch of herbs in pots today-- it's never really worked out so well for me, but for some reason I'm giving it another go. Probably because the price they charge for fresh herbs like basil, rosemary, etc. is so irritating. I planted like seven different herbs. Maybe, just maybe, a few will work out this year!