Just like Lebron

Jack was watching a basketball game last week with Dave and he saw this happen:



Lebron games jumps over the Lakers bench and somehow doesn't hit Phil Jackson.

Today I was sitting on the floor watching Jack play basketball when he ran at me really fast. I pushed him away so he didn't smack into me and Jack said, "No, mom. You need to bend over." He wanted to jump over me! It took me a few seconds to figure out that he remembered seeing Lebron jump over people.

Maybe it's time for a new hobby...

Stepping Jack's Game Up

Jack's basketball game keeps getting more and more complicated. Today he wanted numbers on his basketball shirt. We got out the masking tape, and voila, he's #10.



UPDATE on #10:

That night I had to put #10 on his pajamas, front and back.
Then yesterday (Monday) Jack was upset because his basketball shirt (pictured above) was dirty, so I took the "numbers" off of his dirty shirt and put it on his other basketball shirt. This morning I tried not to mention numbers at all as I stuck a soccer shirt on him.

Jack wanted me to be #8 yesterday. Maybe we should just make family jerseys...

The "Big One" that wasn't

We've been anticipating the "big one" coming this week. The weather-man has been talking about this huge storm. So far it hasn't turned out to be that exciting. It snowed pretty hard yesterday, so Kate got to come home from school at 12:30.

Today Jack's school was cancelled and KAte didn't have to go until 10:00. Dave didn't get a delay at the lab, so he had to go to work at 8:00 like usual. It didn't really snow much last night, so I guess the delay was a waste.

The snow we got today was really heavy and wet. I don't think I've ever shoveled snow as heavy as it was.

Here are a few pictures from this afternoon:

Jack in mid-air jumping off the snow pile.

The kids in the snow cave that Dave had just built. Too bad the picture of the kids actually smiling and being nice was too dark to post.

Our yucky-looking-snow piles.

The storm is supposed to last until tomorrow. We'll see if anything happens tonight. Bring on Spring!

Who needs school clothes when you can look like a basketball player?

This is Jack's new shirt that we bought on Monday. He's worn it every day since then. Don't worry it has been washed a few times. Right after school yesterday Jack took his clothes off and changed into his "basketball clothes". He told me that he doesn't need to wear school clothes when he's not at school.

He's a little obsessed by basketball lately and plays it constantly. He's always coming up with new things to add to his game. Most of the time he needs to be wearing a basketball shirt, shorts or pants and basketball shoes (which is against our no shoes policy, so I make sure that they are super clean before he wears them). Jack wants his name to be Jack Superman Rudy Judi. (He and Dave watched Rudy and Hoosiers over Christmas break.) He told me the other day that my name is Coach. this morning while I was tying his basketball shoes he told me to tell him something (give him a pep talk) before he ran out (like the team does before the game). Funny kid.

Happy Birthday, Martin!

Kate made invitations for everyone in our family and gave them to us last weekend. It says: "Dad We are goen (going) to celebrate Mrtins (Martin's) birthday."

Kate was very excited that Monday was Martin's birthday and she was planning a party for us. I guess they talked about Martin Luther King at school. On Monday, she got dressed in a "party" dress. I decorated the kitchen table with balloons. And that's as far as our party went, since we spent the rest of the day in Santa Fe waiting for our van to be fixed. But I'm glad that it was Martin's Birthday so we could spend the day together.

Big Boy, Ty

This is Ty's favorite way to play in his bouncy chair. He wiggles down until his feet are on the floor and his hands can reach the toys. He's happy for a few minutes and then I'm guessing it gets a little uncomfortable.

I took him to the doctor last week for his 6 month check up and he weighs 16 lbs. 2 oz and he's 27" long.

Star Student Kate

Kate was the "Star Student" in her class all last week. She's been waiting for her turn to be the star student all school year. On Monday she took some pictures of herself to share with her class. She got to be the line leader all week and a special helper.

Here are her answers to questions about herself:

1. My favorite food is cake.


2. My favorite thing at school is house.


3. When I grow up I want to be a ballerina because I like to go on Pointe (on my toes).


4. When I'm with my friends, I really like to play dollhouse.


5. When I'm alone, my favorite thing to do is color.


6. My favorite TV show or movie is McClintock.


7. I think the best color in the world is pink.


8. One thing I do really well is draw.


9. The best thing about me is I share.

Dave, Ty, and I got to go to her class on Friday for a half hour and share more about Kate. We brought a few pieces from her dollhouse to show the class. Kate showed the kids how to make things with Perler Beads and showed some of the creations she's made with them. She brought a piano piece to show that she's learning how to play the piano.

Then Kate and I read the class one of Kate's favorite books, Fancy Nancy.We brought plain white cupcakes and the kids decorated them with frosting and sprinkles to make them fancy.

Notice Kate's new haircut (an "a-line" -- shorter and stacked in the back). I took a cute picture of her hair after we had it cut last week, but something happened to the camera card and the pictures disappeared (aagh!).

New Year Resolutions

So, I know it's January 17th already, but I thought I'd post a few of my resolutions/goals for this year. Dave and I had the privilege :) of talking in church a few weeks ago about resolutions and goals. In my talk I quoted Elder Ballard, who said that if you don't write down your goals, you probably won't accomplish them. I've been thinking about what I want to improve on, and I guess the first step is to right them down.

1. Family -- Be more patient at home. Stop yelling. Discipline with love. Relax and enjoy the kids more. Spend quality time w/ the kids while they're not at school, instead of trying to get things done. Maybe even watch a game or two w/Dave.

2. Spend time wisely. Read more books and spend less time on-line. Finish things that I start. Clean up as I go, instead of making messes I clean up later. Make a cleaning schedule and stick to it. Stick to my menus. Plan my grocery lists more efficiently, so I don't have to go shopping every other day.

3. Spiritual -- read all the Relief Society and Sunday School lessons this year. Plan Sharing Times before Saturday night. Read scriptures a little longer daily. Write in my journal.

4. Physical -- Eat healthier and better portion control. Run in a race -- at least a 10K.

Next step. Do them!

Ty is 6 months...well, close enough

Can you believe that Ty will be 6 months old in 2 days? I can't! He's growing up too fast!

Feel free to skip this next paragraph as I gush about what a great baby he is! :)
Ty is the sweetest and best baby. He just started sitting up by himself last week. He discovered his toes last week too (I love it when babies play w/their toes). I've tried feeding his rice cereal and even a little squash, but he hasn't figured out the don't-spit-it-out-just-swallow-it concept. He is usually very happy and smiley. He is pretty patient w/Kate and Jack helping him, holding him, touching him, etc. He rolls over both ways and is a little more mobile now. He sleeps so great at night, but unfortunately has forgotten hy is ow to lay down in his bed and take a nap all by himself. He has the cutest squeal and I love to hear him "talk". Anyway...That's what Ty is up to these days. I'm just glad that he is part of our family.

Jack with his "best buddy"

Colorado

We spent the last week of Christmas break in Colorado. We stayed with Geoff and Annelisa. We had a great time at their house, but for some reason I never took any pictures. I always forget. Vaughn and Marianne came to their house for a visit too. The kids loved playing with their cousins and w/Grandma and Grandpa.

We took a drive up to Denver to see our friends, Bryan and JoDee who moved from Los Alamos last year. We haven't seen them since they moved. It was great to visit with them and the kids loved playing together.

Here are all the kiddos: Jack, Kate, Ty, Zack, Sadie and Halle