Farewell, Nasty Ni-Night!

Some of you will be thrilled to hear that we have officially said good bye to Lauren's security blanket! Well, at least I am pretty sure that by posting this announcement that I will be able to follow through with it and not give in again! And when I say, security blanket, of course I mean the little pink blanket that she sucks on and I don't mean the original blanket. We threw that one away months and ago and have replaced it over a dozen times over the past several months. I don't even want to think about how much money I have spent on replacement blankets at $8.99 a pop. So better late than never, so they say. I am embarassed that it has taken me this long, but Lauren has proven to be the exception to too many rules. I have new resolve to take control of the situation and the first step is acknowledging the problem. My daughter is a spoiled ****, and I have no one else to blame but myself (and my husband, and her grandparents, and my friends, and complete strangers taken in by her charms). I am the one who spends the most time with her and so it is up to me to say enough is enough! I am the boss, right? Right. I love my little girl and she brings me great joy, singing songs all the time, pretending her dinosaur is chasing her, using a domino to eat her yogurt, and how she loves me to draw on her back. I hope we can make this transition without too much fuss! Wish me luck!

Most Favorite Christmas Gift...

Grandma Rowley surprised each of her grandchildren with a personalized ABC scrapbook. On Christmas morning, it was difficult to get our kids to put their books down and finish opening the rest of the presents! They absolutely LOVED them! So last Sunday was our first time at the 1:00 meeting time. Surely I have no excuse to not be on time for church! So Chad had already left with the boys and I was coming shortly with the girls. I come out of my room to head to the car and there is little miss thing, sitting in her little chair, one knee propped up, reading her little book. It was just so adorable I had to race over and unpack my camera and take some pics! Then I remembered we needed to get moving! SO after all that we were a couple minutes late for church! As you can see, she loves to look at pictures of herself! She studies each page and has to tell you all about it. In fact, we took this book to church and Lauren would not stop talking too loudly so I had to take the book away!
Ressa wanted to jump in the picture, too.

Here are all 4 of the books! These will be something our kids will treasure all their lives!

Thank you so much, Grandma Rowley, for such a thoughtful and precious gift! We love you so much!

Happy Birthday, Babe!

Today was Chad's birthday and what a nice day he had. Started off by sleeping in, awaking to the wonderful smell of german pancakes that his sweet wife made him. Then off to go golfing with his dad for the rest of the morning. Came home for lunch, had a nap and then fired up the grill, added some juicy steaks and had a nice dinner and small party with his family. The day was capped off with the Cardinals winning handily over Carolina, putting Chad in a terrific mood. A good day for sure!
The kids love to decorate for any birthday so you can see a little of their handiwork. Jackson did the chandelier that you can see on the right side. He was pretty proud!

Of course, Lauren had to have a turn blowing out the candles. Can you guess how old Chad is? That's right! 83! I know the cake looks a little suspect, but it really was good. Chad loves this hot fudge sundae cake so I made it for the first time. Turned out good, just not very pretty. Chad's uncle John and cousin Ryan showed up just in time for the festivities.

I love Chad so much! He is a great guy and I am so proud of the kind of father and husband he is. He takes such good care of us! This new year will be full of new challenges and adventures. Recently called to be the Elders Quorum Pres., Chad is going to pretty busy. I know he will do a great job! We love you, babe! Happy Birthday!