Copy Cat

I love my sweet little boy. He's talking more and loves to copy what everyone else is doing.

He loves his daddy.

Also, he has been helping us by setting the table. However, this time he decided it needed to be on the floor. Notice the 4 figures from Candy Land who are also ready for dinner.

Nathan has been helping Robert say pray for us and he can do it all by himself. I don't think anyone else could decipher what he says but us.

Pay it Forward

We had an interesting and special thing happen to us on Saturday. I've been trying really hard to make healthy homemade dinners for the past 2-3 weeks. Because of that we haven't gone out to eat for a while. When we do go out to eat we generally go to IHOP because breakfast food is my favorite and we found something that the kids will actually eat there, plus we generally only spend $20. However, on Saturday we went to Applebee's instead. We got there about 4:30-5 and the waiter put in the kid's order first while Nathan and I were still deciding what we wanted. This made our whole experience better. Hannah was also unusually good and was just happy to sit with her daddy. Generally, I have to fed Hannah during dinner, this was a nice break for me. We had a wonderful meal together while spending most of the time talking about how we can afford health insurance. We even ordered 3 dessert shooters and when the waiter came to check on us we fully expected to tab.


This is when our dining experience changed. He informed us that someone else had already paid for our meal and that we can just go when we are ready. Nathan was extremely perplexed by this and I turned to the waiter and said "Really?" thinking maybe he was just joking. He said it was already taken care of and left us to our own thoughts. The last few minutes we were there, we were pretty silent. I started to look around to see who was interested in us. We were ready to go but Nathan stayed behind to talk to the waiter about a tip. We only had a $20 bill and had no way to leave a tip. The waiter said the guy already left one so there's no need.

Nathan's reaction was more confused than any other emotion. What would compel someone to do that? So we started analysing the situation in the car. And we came up with a few answers.

The person who did it could have known us. However, we would have seen the person and there are very few people we know that are well established. So most likely it was a stranger.

So why would a strange who knows nothing about us but the fact we have 3 young children?

A: He thought our kids were the cutest little things in the world.

B: He has grandkids that he misses and we remind him of them.

C: Or he just wanted to do something nice and give service.

Whatever this person's motivation was, the important matter is us. Because of this, I've wanted to serve others. I try to be more aware of those around us. I will remember his kindness for a long time.

Feeding the 5,000 has been going on in our town to help local people who need the food bank. So with the money we would have spent on dinner, we gave it to our church through fast offerings and to the food bank. For every dollar the food bank receives they can buy $7.50 worth of food.

Another act of service I receive a week after this event, was at Walmart. I went shopping for food while Nate stayed at home with napping kids. I had Hannah in the front pack and was exhausted by the end of the trip. The gentleman who was parked next to me just finished putting his food and kids in the car and then offered to do mine while I put Hannah in. I was so grateful for this big act of service to me.

Smart Boy

Recently during story time right before bed, Robert handed me the Smart Baby ABC book. I pointed to the letters before I told him what it was. Before I could say what it was Robert told me the letter. That blew me away so I pointed to another and another. He said almost all of the letters except 4 or 5. He is such a smart boy.
Also, he has been saying his numbers too. He can count up to 12. He doesn't know how to count quite yet but his does know the numbers. On Sunday, I was calling Hailey who was on the computer to come upstairs and get dressed. She didn't come, so I told Robert to get Hailey. Robert shouted from the top of the steps "HeHe 1 2 3 dress!" He's a cutie. I love my smart little boy.

First taste of cereal

I need to be careful of Robert around Hannah. However, I still need to shower so while Hannah is sleeping in her swing and Robert and Hailey are watching TV, I went upstairs for a little bit. While I'm changing, I hear Hannah screaming. So I ran downstairs to find Robert's cereal on the floor and Robert in front of Hannah trying to give her some. While I save Hannah from Robert, I see her spit out a little piece of cereal and went back to sleep.
A week before this incident, with similar setting, I came downstairs to a screaming Hannah and Robert on top of her on the swing. I know Robert loves her but just doesn't understand to be gentle.

Downstair's Changes

When my mom came, she helped me organize the apartment to be more functional. One big problem was the pantry/coat/shoe closet. There wasn't enough room for any of the items. Most coats ended up on the floor and it was a hassle to find church shoes each week. So here's the changes.

Two coat racks behind the front door.
This bookshelf has baskets for our shoes and the hooks are for Chloe and Luc's coat and backpacks. This has freed up our entry way a lot.

Our couch switched sides with the desk.

I finally got an updated version of the first presidency. Also the desk functions more as a desk then as a place to display my willow tree statues. This has helped a lot.

So, now I have great shelves for the statues.

Of course, our main concern was how to change things and not block the window and still be able to see the tv from the couch. This way there is no more glare on the TV. I love the new curtains up. It makes it feel more homier.

So now that we circled the living room, let's move to the new pantry.

I have the shelf reliance for the cans which works out wonderfully. I can actually see what I have and have a way to have food storage.

And since we were doing the downstairs, my mom put up more shelves in the washer and drier closet. It's nice not to have to reach so high so frequently used items.

Thank you mom for all the work that you did. I love the changes.

2 Months

Hannah turned two months on Tuesday. She is smiling more. I weighed her on the Wii last week and she weighed almost 11 pounds. She hasn't cooed much yet but has laughed twice so far which is a strange and funny sound. Right now she has her days and nights mixed up which is a little challenge for me to get enough sleep.

Sick Days

On Sunday, we had a special stake meeting from 10-11:30 instead of our regular meetings. Robert was very fussy and clinging during that time. He was convinced that there was nursery and wanted sit down with the family so we stayed in the hall most of the time. I thought it was a little strange that he was so fussy but I quickly dismissed it.

After church, Robert just laid in the chair like this during lunch, trying to sleep.

Unfortunately, Robert woke up on Monday with the stomach bug and threw up all over me after having 3 cups of milk. He did eat the rest of the day and just wanted to cuddle. So this is how we spent all Monday; everyone piled on me watching TV while I either nursed Hannah or read my book.

It was tough not being able to do anything that day but luckily it was only a 24 hour thing for him. However, I woke up on Tuesday with the stomach bug. Yuck! Thankfully, Nathan was able to stay home in the morning and Hannah slept well during the day. I'm also thankful for Hailey and how independent she can be. She was in the bathroom playing around noisily. So I get up from my nap and she tells me "Go away mom! You're sick. I do it myself!" She also entertained herself most of the afternoon.

Another thing I am thankful for is that today, Wednesday, no one was sick and I was able to clean the kitchen, bathrooms, living room, car, and start laundry.

However, as I'm trying to write this post, Hailey woke up with threw up all over herself, hair, lambie, and bedding. Poor girl! I put a trash can next to her and her little potty closer. She has done well at aiming. I'm so proud of her. It seems like the stomach bug hit her the hardest.