Feeling Domestic

Last week I made a hot/cold pack from my old ripped pajamas.  Then, I made some homemade baby wipes, from paper towels, and it turned out awesome!  And yesterday, I made some healthy, baked chicken nuggets for the kids.  I made a huge batch and froze them.  Both Talmage and Emma love nuggets and I was tired of giving them ones filled with preservatives and fried.  Easy and yummy solution!

Highlights of our Day

What a Day!

Thursday, January 26

Here are some highlights of our day:

1. Emma dumping the entire new box of cereal all over her.

2. Talmage getting off the bus and crashing on the couch.

3. Making chocolate chip cookies together.

The Bow Game

Daddy & Emma at Olive Garden

1.25.12

Wednesday night, the day of the funeral, we got together as a family again for dinner at Olive Garden. Since Emma is 13 months and an active little girl, Jacob had to come up with some "creative" ways to entertain her. He kept putting her boy on her nose and she loved it! She kept laughing and trying to put it back on. So cute! 

Emma and the Slide

Fiesta Mall Play Area

1.25.12

My Beautiful Grandma

My grandma passed away on Sunday, January 22, 2012. We attended her funeral on Wednesday, January 25, 2012.  It was wonderful to celebrate her life and to have the knowledge that she is in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I'm so happy for her that she is now with her eternal companion again, my grandpa. It must have been a glorious reunion. I've been so blessed to have grandparents in my life growing up. They are amazing! We love you Grandma!

1925 - 2012

She was a very classy woman, had numerous gifts and abilities and always was found serving others.

Playing at the Mall

Playing at the Mall

1.25.12

While we were waiting to meet up with family at the nearby Olive Garden, we took the kids to play inside the mall.  Emma had a blast crawling around and she made a new friend as well!

My Little Kitchen Buddy

Emma in the Kitchen

1.20.12

Emma loves to play with dishes, lids, spoons, etc.  And she especially likes to help mommy with the cookies!

Photos by Talmage

Photos by Talmage

1.20.12

As I'm sorting through pictures and updating the blog, I came across these photos.  Talmage loves to take pictures but usually they are random and sometimes blurry.  This first two pictures are by the tv and the last picture is on the side table, by the lamp.  I guess he just wanted to make sure the background was "just right."  I had to post these!!

Sick Kids

Sick Kids

1.19.12

Yes...the kids are sick again!  It's Talmage first year of Pre-school and it seems like he is bringing home EVERY sickness there is!  We just received a letter home saying that one of his classmates has strep throat and another has scarlet fever!  Seriously?!  Where do these little kids pick these up from? 

The kids have been coughing a lot and apparently have some sort of virus that you can't give medicine for.  And, they also have ear infections...again!  On the ride home from picking up the prescriptions, they both were sound asleep...

(Talmage just had cookie)

Family/Date Night

Firehouse Subs Family/Date Night

1.13.12

Guess what just opened in Queen Creek? Yup...the amazing Firehouse Subs!  It's so fun living in a growing town because there are always new shops and restaurants opening up.  I had never eaten at Firehouse but Jacob had told me how incredible it was!  So on Friday night, we headed over!  It was delicious and I wanted more!  I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a gourmet sub! 

Anyways, the kids loved the Firemen hats that they were giving away.  They both looked so cute!  I just had to take a picture!

Daddy and Emma Game

Daddy and Emma

January 5, 2012

New Year Tradition

January 11, 2012

New Year's Tradition

Yearly Interviews for the Kids

Here's Talmage's Interview!

Look What I Found!

I found these 2 adorable little rascals playing under the sink in the bathroom.  It's their new secret hideout.  They even shut the cabinet doors and have secret meetings with their toys.  I love how they play together....such good friends!

Chuck-E-Cheese

Chuck E Cheese with Papa & Grandma Patterson

January 2, 2012

Today was a special treat!  Not only did we get to see Papa and Grandma Linda, but they took us out to lunch to Chuck E Cheese!  Woo Hoo!  Talmage was so excited!  When we pulled in the parking lot, he said, "Yaaaay!!!" It was also a special treat because daddy had the day off since New Year's was on a Sunday.  We all had so much fun!  One of Emma's favorite foods is pizza.  I think she actually ate more pizza than Talmage.  He was a little preoccupied with the games and rides.  Emma loved the little rides and Talmage had a blast with the games!  What a great day!

Candid Shots at the Chuck E Cheese Photo Booth

Perfect!

Not so perfect...wrong camera...let's try that again!

Almost...Let's see if I have any luck...

Nope!

And definately no!

Grandma Linda had a lot more success!

And so did Papa...perfect!

Grandma Linda and Emma...so cute!
Emma let grandma hold her at least a half hour!
That's amazing for Emma!  Go grandma!

Emma giving kisses and showing off her pigtails!  

Her hair is finally long enough in the back for a pony!  I'm loving that!

Emma LOVES to dance whenever there is music and sometimes without music.  Papa recorded a little bit of her dancing moves.  She was rocking out all afternoon long!  Go Emma!

A SUNBEAM!

It's official!  Talmage is all grown up!  He's now a SUNBEAM in PRIMARY!  I can't believe it!  I'm so excited for him though.  I know he will have a blast singing songs and learning lots.  Talmage had a hard time departing from daddy and he cried a little.  

It's such a huge change from nursery but in the end, he did really well.  Actually, he did a lot better than daddy did.  Jacob kept roaming the halls and checking on him.  Funny but so cute to see him worried for his son's big day!

Our church time changed from 8:00 am to 10:00 am starting today.  It was soooo nice to wake up when it was light out and let the kids sleep in a little.  I'm loving the new time!  

Happy New Year and Happy Sabbath Day!  Hope everyone had a wonderful day at church!

Happy New Year!

We celebrated the New Year with Jacob's family at his brother Jay's house. Seven out of the twelve kids, and their families, were present: Merie, Ginger, LaLoni, Audrey, Annie, Jay, Eddie and, of course, Jacob.  We had a blast. Talmage stayed up to see the ball drop and we left with him crying because he didn't want to leave his cousins!  Crazy boy!  We had some awesome food, roasted marshmallows and Starbursts, made S'mores, had hot chocolate and played games.  It is so fun being apart of a BIG family!  I love it and I love that Talmage has soooo many cousins to play with.  It's a blast!

Now onto the New Year's Resolutions...