Gimme FIVE!

We had another birthday this week! Makenzie is now 5! I guess you can call it one of those milestone birthdays. We celebrated on her actual birthday as a family on Wednesday. Jordan is also showing us he is three. He has mastered holding up the fingers since his birthday.

She had a special day at preschool and much attention was given to her there. She got a sandbox (so she stops playing in the neighbor's flower beds) and piano books to start learning the piano. I have toiled over the last 2 months to make a BLUE Sleeping Beauty dress. I made it big so it will fit for a few years. I took the picture right after she opened it, but I already adjusted the straps so it doesn't fall off her and drag on the floor. She also got a crown and jewelry to top off her new princess dress.


On Saturday we let her have a little friend party. It turned out well and all the girls got a long. They dressed-up as princesses, painted their nails, and played in the new sandbox. We gave them each a Barbie as their party favor, which was a big hit. Makenzie has been so excited for her cake. I was a little nervous making it (and having it turn out). Makenzie and all the girls approved (and Gavin also)!

Laughter is the best medicine

Here are the latest antics from my kids! They are my laughter and joy each day. I'm so glad to be home to capture these moments!

Gavin:
With having red hair and being fair-skinned, a hat is going to be a must for this kid. I tried it out for the first time yesterday while we played outside. It lasted for 2 seconds. But then I turned it backward and it stayed for 10 minutes instead. I think little boys in hats are so cute.




He has discovered how to clap and take his socks off. He is learning how to get in the crawling position from the sitting position, but still isn't mobile, besides rolling a little bit. I'm cherishing these last few days that I have before the REAL fun begins.

Jordan:
Jordan has finally discovered the joy of books! He never was interested in them at all and it made me so sad. But now he LOVES them and it is so fun seeing his excitement as we turn the pages and read. He has come to love reading so much that his preferred reading material has become this as well:




The other day, I asked him to pick out a book for us to read, and he brought me the car owner's manual. I tried to persuade him to pick another book, but it didn't work. We didn't read much of it and I just made up a car story instead. Jordan also loves flipping through the hymn book at church. That is usually one of the best "quiet" activities for him during sacrament meeting.

Jordan is also picking up on a lot of songs that we sing to him. He will often sing out loud to himself throughout the day. There is one tune that is he is singing more frequently and it makes me laugh. If you are a "Love and Logic" parent you may recognize "Uh oh, a little bit of bedroom time. That is soooo sad!" Yeah, I guess that bedroom time is becoming more frequent for our little guy, so he has made it one of his little jingles that he loves to repeat (just not when he is actually receiving bedroom time!)

Makenzie:
Miss Makenzie is full of antics. Her latest thing is "tricking" me and telling jokes. While I was putting her to bed the other night, she was telling me jokes that she made up. "Why did the monkey's head hurt after he hit it on a weed?" "Because he hit it 10 times!!!" HA HA HA.... she would be rolling over in laughter! She would continue to tell me the same joke, but change the animal.

My rule of shopping...

I'm quickly finding that outfitting 3 kids for each season can become very expensive, especially on our student budget! So I'm always out there looking for deals. Now is the time to shop for next winter as the clearances are in full force to make room for Spring and Summer. My rule of thumb is to never buy any article of clothing that costs more than $5. I REALLY have to like an item and think about it REALLY hard before I will pay more than that. So... I was very excited to find a stealer of a sale at our local Big K. Sweaters and fleece jackets were $3.99. Blue oxford church shirt and tie were $1.99. The shoes were $3.49!!!! Can you believe that?!?! Okay the boots were $7.00, but good winter apparel is hard to come by for under $5, so that was my splurge.

Since I am on the subject, they have these amazing children sales that they do here for moms. Schools, churches, and other organizations use it as a fundraising tactic. They charged a minimal fee for people to have table space to sell any baby or kid stuff. There are usually 50 to 100 tables--so it is like yard selling, but all in one spot! They charge a $1 or $2 admission fee for people who want to come. There is so much stuff that people want to get rid of, so you can usually talk them down on prices. I was at one booth a couple weeks ago finding a few things for the boys. She was going to charge $1 per outfit. I had about six. She then told me she would let me fill up a huge storage tote of whatever I wanted from her 4 bins for only $15! I got so much stuff! I couldn't even fit it all in one washer load.

It's very satisfying to clothe your children on amazing deals! I wonder if this will stay a habit and a hobby for me when the real money starts flowing through our hands! By then we will have teenagers though, so shopping for clothes will be a whole other story!

Added Pictures

FYI.... Scroll down and find some cute pictures of Jordan on "The Good. The Bad. The Ugly." Post. I forgot I took them until I was downloading pictures off the camera.

A Trip to the Hair Salon...

Makenzie has been wanting to cut her hair for several weeks now. One afternoon I had to hide all the scissors, as she threatened she would do it herself. She idolizes Snow White and wanted it short like her's. I told her we would have to go to the hair salon, since I didn't dare do it myself. It was a much needed change for both of us. The long hair was becoming an issue with tangles as of late. We made a nice mom and daughter date out of the event.

A Beauty Queen, Businessman, and Explorer

Gavin is in one of my favorite baby stages right now-- the "I'm happy just to sit here and play with whatever you give me" stage. I was downloading the latest pictures off the camera and realized that I've got a lot of Gavin just sitting around being cute in all his little outfits.

Letting Makenzie do his hair...


All ready for church in one of Jordan's hand-me-downs....


Wearing a kids headlamp... He loved trying to grab the light on the floor.

A breath of fresh air

Oh, Mother Nature is starting to play her tricks on us! We turned the calendar to March 1st and **boom** the sun came out and SPRING FEVER has hit. We've been having above 40 degree weather during the days... I know scorching! But after being cooped up in the house for the winter, it is doable for a good amount of time with coats. Makenzie thinks that we are now done with the snow, but of course, we all know that may NOT be true. But for now, we have enjoyed sidewalk chalk and wagon rides and a breath of fresh air! The kids have enjoyed the water puddles and mud as well, but not me.