bath time times two

With Jill on the eve of 3 months,
bath time has become a
whole lot more fun!

Jill's first bath with Jack 8/23/08.

Notice Jill's perma-part, compliments of Jack,
a little yellow cup, and lots of water.

Here's Jack comforting Jill.
"Jus' wa-ter Jilley."
were his exact words.

What a sweetheart.

And to commemorate this milestone
event here at the Howe home
I've adapted an old nursery rhyme:

Jack and Jill went up the stairs
to take a bath in water.

Jack did splash
and Jill near' drown,
"but Jill it's only water!"

Ice Cream Dream

I scream...

You scream...



but mostly Jack screams...



for iCe CrEaM!

I'd never given Jack ice cream
on a cone before. And I'm not sure
I'm brave enough to do it again.
But look at the joy on his face.

PuRe EcStAsY.

Ummpostor

Jack carries a blanket everywhere
he goes. He calls it "Umm." It's really less of
a name and more of a grunting sound
that rises up out of his throat.

Kent and I first noticed this
name, err noise months before Jack's
1st birthday. When Jack couldn't find his
blanket he would whine "umm, umm, umm"
until his blanket was found. And I guess it
didn't take that long until we put the sound
and the want together. He had trained us, and
in the process named his beloved blanket.

One day at the Doctor's office, Jack's pediatrician
admonished us to buy an identical blanket just in case
Umm ever got lost (gasp). We did, but the
replacement was pretty,clean, and fluffy.
I.E.- nothing like Umm. Jack wasn't fooled
by the look-a-like, so I started calling
it "Ummpostor."

Then about a week ago Jack started
saying Ummpostor on his own and I knew I had
to get it on video. Enjoy!


Lt.- Umm & Rt. Ummpostor
Can you tell the difference?

PS-What cute quirks do your kids have?
Please share, I'd love to know.

Summer Daze

It's been a summer of sleepless nights,
adjustments, and taking it slow,
yet some how my days are blowing past me.

Blogging has definitely taken a back seat as
I've had to make some hard choices like-
I've got 1 hour of peace, do I eat, shower, sleep,
or blog? 9 times out of 10 I pick sleep.

Here's what I've neglected to blog:

1. Mormon Night @ Angel Stadium

Jack & Kent had a blast without the girls.

2. Lots of walks

Here I am modeling Jack & Jill's
smooth new ride.

3. Ladybug metamorphosis

Jack has faithfully checked the bush in front of
our townhouse each day to see if the "baby"
ladybugs have broken out of their pupas.
The black spot in this photo is a newly
"hatched" ladybug. I've enjoyed this
little adventure in learning
we've shared together.

4. Cousins

Kissin' Kousins Lydia and Jack

Lydia & Liza came to visit.
We love those girls.


Pops holding this years batch of grand daughters-
Liza 1/29/08 and Jillian 5/28/08

5. Kent got a Wii for Father's Day/His Birthday

Jack loves Wii baseball. He hardly ever gets on base,
yet he almost never loses a game. I always hit the ball, but
never score any points. How does that work?

6. Kite flying. Pops taught Jack the basics.

Jack caught on pretty fast, but
thought it was way more fun to watch Pops
scramble to catch a fly away kite as
he repeatedly let go of the line.

7. Playing with big kids.

Uncle Tucker (blue and white rash guard) 17 years old

I'm convinced that young Aunts & Uncles are best.
Mack & Tuck are always ready to play and never miss
an opportunity to make Jack feel special.


Aunt Mack 13 years old

8. Fourth of July Parade

"Fammy" as Jack calls us.


How Jack rolled.


How Jill rolled.


Here we are- tired, but happy.

9. WICKED!

Loved it. Great music with
a clever twist on an old classic.
Plus it was girls' night out (literally).
I went with a handful of the Young Women
that I teach at Church.


A quick dinner at Dos Burritos.
Then we were off for 8pm curtain call.


If you haven't seen this pop opera,
what are you waiting for?

10. Beach days...

and one blond boy.

Did you know?

.

Just the validation I needed
to make it through my day.

A Name & A Blessing

On July 6, 2008

Kent blessed Jillian at Church.

Jill received a beautiful blessing
Here are few bits and pieces:

courage to do what is right,
the ability to recognize the spirit,
compassion and caring for those around her,
a desire for spiritual learning,
good health,
and the ability to be a good sister
and a friend to Jack and all siblings to come.



It was a wonderful day. Perfect for
blessing our special little girl.



Kent's Mom, Terri, made the beautiful blessing
dress & the slip that went underneath.
Heirloom pieces for sure.
And my sweet friend Keely
made Jillian's amazing little bracelet.
Thank you Terri;
Thank you Keely;
Jillian looked like a princess!

Jillian Marie we LOVE you!
You are the perfect addition to our family.

Skadoosh!

A couple Saturday's ago (yes I'm all blogged up),
Jack and I had a little "Mommy & Kidlet time"
alone and went to see Kung Fu Panda.

For those of you that haven't seen this flick we definitely give
it 2 thumbs way up! Then again,
who doesn't enjoy 90 minutes of
cool animation, ninja moves, and banter witty enough
to make this Mom laugh?

This was Jack's first trip to the Movies.
He loved it all! And I had so much
fun watching him take it all in.

He loved the busy carpet:



The snacks:



And Wall*E:



But he was terrified of the Hulk:



I tried telling him this 15 foot monster was fake.
Didn't work.

I tried to pull Jack over to touch this green guy.
Didn't work & I ended up falling over,
that's right, onto the floor!

Finally, I told him the Hulk was a giant TOY and he
calmed down enough to walk past him toward our movie.
I guess I just need to use language he was familiar with.



There really is nothing better than taking
time to enjoy your kids. We ran, laughed, and
smiled all morning. Not once were there tears,
expectations, or reprimands; PARADISE!

Blog Post Learning

There are tons of reasons why
I love to blog
here are a couple of my current favorites:

1. It keeps family & friends updated on our lives.

2. I'm still up and up with friends that live
100's of miles away. Long distance friendships
can actually flourish when blogging!

3. I've made new friends through this blog.
How cool is that?

4. I hate to journal, but blogging comes easy
and I can count it as journaling
as long as I get my posts hard bound.

5. I learn so many great mom tips/advice.

6. I'm reminded daily that I can, should,
and will be a better person if I work hard
and strive for excellence.

#5 & #6 are constantly on my mind as I
read through my favorite blogs.

Recently I was enjoying a friend's blog and she
reminded me that I need to appreciate
my crazy "learning to be a mom of 2" days.
Not every moment is awesome, and truthfully
I don't think it's supposed to be. But I need
recognize and appreciate all the beautiful moments
of my life even if that means drowning out the noise,
seeing past the clutter, and striving to see the bigger picture.

Here's the music video that inspired her post:

"You're Gonna Miss This"

And I'm going to follow her lead
to spend more time on the floor playing with
my kids and less time blogging.

That doesn't mean that I won't be around,
but it does mean I'll only be online when
the little ones are asleep. It's going to be
hard at first, but my kids are worth it!

I belong

As I'm sure some of you have noticed I have a new icon
that greets you as you upload my blog.

For those of you that don't know, this "blog button"
takes you directly to mormon.org
where you can learn more about bein' Mormon.

On two separate occasions now Elder Ballard has asked
the general body of the church to share our beliefs
through conversations on the internet & on our blogs.

I'm ready to get started Elder Ballard.
I think I'll start with this button and
see where it takes me...

If you would like a button for your blog click here.
Then scroll down to the May 12th post that reads
LDS Link Buttons. Follow Leelou's easy
instructions to add your favorite button to your blog.

I want all my blog readers to know that
I'm proud to be:

I believe in Jesus Christ.
I know that he is mindful of my life.
I know that if I follow his teachings I can live with him again.

I believe in scriptures like the Bible & Book of Mormon.
I read them and I read them to my children.
I know that by reading the scriptures I learn
how to be more Christ-like, which in turn
makes me a better person.

I know that I can live with my family forever
and that my marriage doesn't end with death.
These truths bring me great comfort.

I believe in latter-day prophets,
blessings, temples, regular church attendance,
service, baptism, the golden rule,
family home evening, Joseph Smith, seminary,
missionary work, enduring to the end,
the second coming, family history, and a million other
"Mormony" principles.

I have a testimony.
I know this Church is true and I'm proud to be a member.

tardy yet true

On behalf of our little family,
I'd like to thank everyone that has helped
us welcome baby Jill into our lives.

Thank you to our families who watched Jack,
held Jill, cooked meals for us, cleaned up after us,
and let me nap. We appreciate all you do for us.
We love you so much. You're wonderful!

Thank you to our ward family who invited Jack
to play, brought meals, dropped by to help, and took
over our callings while we adjusted to life with two kids.
We are so lucky to be part of such a wonderful ward!

Thank you to our friends who have called
to see how we are doing, sent notes to wish
us well, and showered us with little girl clothing
and accessories. It's friends like you that
make life interesting and fun! Thank you for loving us.

Our cup runneth over...
We are so blessed to have each of you in our lives!