Is it June yet?

May...my-oh-my, it's almost over right? As you know, this was a rough month so I'm not sad to move on. I know that what lies ahead isn't going to always breezy and easy, but nevertheless I'm looking forward to the summer!

Let's see, what else has happened this month? Baby A is now nine months old, though don't ask me about her stats...I have no clue where she currently falls on the charts. Her nine month birthday fell on the last day of school and I'm a week behind on getting her into the pediatrician for her check up...don't worry though, it's on my "To Do List" for next week.

Proud to be "So-o Big!"

Baby A is getting around very well via forward pull as well as the backward push that she mastered a while back. What she does is not quite an army crawl, and definitely not a four-point crawl yet, but she does get far!

Watch out world, Baby A is on her way!

Everyone finally grew tired of A's baby mullet, to the point that a friend and my mom both offered (well, more like threatened) to cut it off, so I took Baby A to a stylist in our ward and had her cut and even out Baby A's hair. She did very well throughout the cut, though since she was on my lap I couldn't take any pictures until after it was all done.

Now you see it...

...now you don't.

Baby A is a very healthy eater who enjoys not only many a baby food jar daily, but also just about anything else you might be willing to share with her: graham, animal and fish crackers, popcorn, french fries, beans (green or otherwise), bread (especially Sacrament bread if I can't get the tray out of her reach in time!), cooked veggies, etc. She has been very happy to not only have both her brothers home from school this last week, but also her daddy these last couple of days--yay! She's been so-o happy and thinks herself SUCH a BIG girl now that she self-adjusted her schedule so that she is down to one nap a day...uh, say what? Yeah, I've got my work cut out for me next week as I re-adjust and get her back on a two naps a day routine!

Li'l J finished off preschool and though he is sad he won't see his friends everyday, he is happy to have Matthew home for the summer.

Last day of Li'l J's preschool: N, D, A, Sis. H, M, & Li'l J

M too finished up his school year and is enjoying being home to read and swim in the pool all-day, everyday. He has been wanting a new game for his DS so-o badly that he came up with a great summer reading goal all on his own in an effort to earn it: this summer he will read 100 books. Once he shared his goal with us, he let J-rod and I help him flesh out the details: 50 books will be books he has not read before and 50 books can be books he'd like to re-read. Picture books won't count toward the 100 total and bigger chapter books like Harry Potter 7 (which he is currently working on) of course will count for more than just one book. I love that M is a little bookworm! I am excited to read some new books with him (and Li'l J...he is beginning to catch the reading bug too) this summer. In the week since school let out, M has already completed 6 books all on his own so I'd say he is well on his way. Anyone with suggestions for good books or book series that for M to devour, please send them our way!

He can fly!

We celebrated the end of the school year by taking in a movie...for free, it was awesome! The day after school let out, our local Allstate agency held a customer appreciation day at the theater to see Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian with popcorn, drinks, and candy included. The night before we jogged our memories by watching the first edition of Night at the Museum. We didn't know it then, but the next day at the theater our Allstate agents held a fun trivia game based on the first movie. It was fun to see how many questions we could answer...we got all but one, but only because of the way it was worded. Most sequels don't live up to the first, but we all decided that we liked the second one better than the first. I was impressed by the creativity of the special effects and how those effects allowed the characters to interact with the museum artifacts.

Other than keeping busy with the kids and Cub Scouts, I've enjoyed getting ready for a "Card Club" I've been a part of for a number of months. CC was started by a dear friend in our ward. This is something she has done in the last several wards she'd lived in. Ten ladies get together one night a month at someones house for a "girls night out" (so to speak) and swap handmade greeting cards, eat yummy food, and visit for about an hour or so. We each make ten cards of our choosing (birthday, get well, thank you, etc.) and then swap. It's been fun to see what each gal will come up with every month as the creativity in the group is amazing! CC has been a great way to get to know this gals a bit better. Before sending out any of the cards I've collected, I plan to photograph them so I can keep an idea file...I first need to clear off enough memory on one of our computers to store such a file, ha! Once I do, I'll post some samples.

After our early Mother's Day dinner: Li'l J, Zippy, Baby A & M

J-rod has been keeping busy with his calling and working the night shift for much of this month but does have the next handful of days off; we do enjoy having him home! And even though he has been working like crazy, he has managed to get in the pool with the kids a few times this month--yay! This weekend is our stake conference and he is currently getting ready to give a talk at the priesthood session tomorrow...yikes, I can hardly keep my nerves down speaking in Sacrament Meeting, but speaking at Stake Conference? No thanks, I'd rather have another root canal!! Good luck J-rod, I'll be thinking of you tomorrow afternoon.

Aww!

Here is an update on my dad: the inoperable tumor on his liver has grown despite the doctor's hopes that the chemo would have shrunken it, and the cancer has now also spread to his pancreas. He is home now, getting stronger everyday--yay! Since we don't know how much longer we will have him with us, nor when we will be able to go back and visit him, the boys and I call and talk to him daily. My sister A says he looks forward to our calls and that hearing from us cheers him. I'm glad that even though we are far, there is a little something we can do to help him. We sure do love you Papa!!! Thank you to all who have extended kind words of support and encouragement, we are very grateful for your love!