Love my sweet boy

Tonight I was tired and trying to get the kids in bed and they were giving me an unusually hard time about it. Finally I got Halle down, but Luke was still full of energy. It was already an hour past his normal bedtime and I knew he wasn't going to be settling down anytime soon, so I finally told him he could stay up and play in his room as long as he didn't come out and would get into bed when he got tired. He agreed, but about ten minutes later I heard his door creak open and he came sneaking out. I was losing patience and, probably a little grumpily, asked him what he was doing out of his room.

"I just need to get some paper and markers, mom."

Okay, that I could handle. So I got him his paper and markers an walked him back into his room to color until he got sleepy. He asked me to write the names of his friends next door on one paper, so I did, and then left him in there to color.

I didn't hear anything else from him. About a half hour later I went to check on him, and outside his door I found this:




How cute is that? He had been drawing pictures for his best friends, mom and dad, and Halle. It melted my heart just a bit. What a sweet boy, always thinking of others and always wanting to make something to give to someone. I love all his sweet little drawings and cherish them all. After seeing these pictures I thought, and why was I so frustrated trying to get him to stay in bed? I peeked in on him laying in his bed, fast asleep, and was overcome with love for my little guy. He is so special to me and I love him so much.

Leprechaun Booby Traps

Today Luke has been hearing about a leprechaun that visits kids houses and leaves them treats. Somehow he missed ours (I didn't know this was even a thing!) SO we figured he must have accidentally missed our house and decided he will be by tonight. Luke is determined he is going to catch the leprechaun and take his pot of gold, so all our doors are now equipped with booby traps. This is the front door...bells, a tambourine and a broom propped up against it. Cross your fingers for us that we'll catch him!! :)

Lemonade Stand!

Luke has been talking about doing a lemonade stand for a long time. After all the talk he got Halle excited about it too. They wanted to do it last summer but we never did. All throughout the winter the kids would mention it here and there, and I would tell them when it got warm enough we would do it. Finally, today was the day!

Right when they woke up Luke and Halle started making plans for their lemonade stand. I had to hold them off until the afternoon because I knew otherwise all the kids in the neighborhood would be at school and they wouldn't have any customers. The kids made the sign together - Luke wrote it and they both drew lemons all around it.

Luke told me he thought they would sell it for ten dollars. I told him I thought 10 cents would probably be better. Once we got the table and everything all set up I did yard work while the kids stayed at their table. They took it pretty seriously. They both kept calling out, "Lemonade for sale for ten cents!" They were very diligent sellers!

As for the selling, they ended up getting quite a few customers! A few neighbors stopped by and Grandma Lori and Grandpa Sheldon drove out to buy some.

I'd say Luke and Halle's first attempt at a lemonade stand was a success! 

Lightsaber Hunt

It's the night before Valentines Day, and I went to three different stores searching for this Darth Maul lightsaber Luke has been wanting for months so that I could give it to him for Valentines Day tomorrow. He has been doing chores for quarters to earn money for it, but it is $20 and it's going to take him a month at this rate! I finally tracked it down at the Target in West Jordan tonight at about 9pm. The things we do for our children! Of course it's because I love my little boy so!!

Valentines Day

This year I got a little more into Valentines Day then usual. The kids are at a really fun age right now where they get into all the holidays and are old enough to understand what is going on an have fun with it. Leading up to Valentines I did the valentines hearts on their doors, which was fun, and then Valentines Day morning Cory and I had little "love gifts" for each of them. Luke got the Darth Maul lightsaber he has been dying to have, and Halle got a princess camera she has also been dying to have and a little princes magnet book.

Luke loves Star Wars right now and thinks it's the coolest thing ever. He loves to play with his lightsabers and do "cool moves" with them, twisting them around in the air and swooping them down and through his legs. Halle is really getting into princesses lately. It's just been lately, too, that she seems to really understand the whole princess thing and she tries to act like them and do princess type mannerisms. The other day she said, "I am a sensitive princess."

So anyway, the presents were a hit and started the morning off fun. Then we had red dyed pancakes that were heart shaped for breakfast. In the afternoon we made our usual Valentines Day heart sugar cookies and for dinner I decided to cook dinner and do a candlelight dinner with the kids. The really liked this and thought it was so neat that they got to drink out of goblets and eat a fancy dinner. It was a fun night and I think we'll keep up that tradition. After dinner we took around valentines to friends and delivered valentines cookies to the kids primary teachers.

We had a lot of fun with Valentines Day this year. It's a fun holiday and I tried explaining to the kids that it's an important one because it's a special time we can show and tell each other how much we love each other. They seemed to get that, and were really cute on valentines day about telling each other they loved each other and also us. Kids are so fun. Without them, Valentines Day would just be a boring holiday! Kids make everything more fun! I love my little family so much!

Luke's Valentines countdown hearts

This year for a fun little Valentines countdown activity I decided I would write something I love about each of the kids on a heart each night for ten nights leading up to Valentines Day. I taped the heart to their door so they would get to see/read it in the morning. The kids had fun with it and would get excited to run to their door each morning to see what their heart would say.

Luke, I love you SO, SO much and hope this was a little extra way to show and tell you how much I love you and a few of the little reasons why!

Slow down, time.

Two weeks ago my sweet boy turned 5-years-old. FIVE! Doesn't that sound old? I was talking about it to a friend the other day and we decided that going from four to five is a big step. It just kind of seems like they go from being an older toddler to a kid.

Luke's definitely not a toddler anymore. And with that front tooth missing that he got knocked out last month during a head bonk (so much blood!) combined with him being on the taller side for his age, plus that "little man face" he's always had since he was a baby, he really is looking more like 6-years-old these days.

Luke at 8 months old. Just look at that cute little man face.

So all of the sudden I've gone from having two toddlers to a kid and a toddler. That's how it feels, at least. I try to focus on the positive. There is a lot to look forward to. As much as I dread him going into elementary school because then he really will be a big kid, I know it will also be fun to move onto that next step. I'm excited to go to his sports games and to sign him up for piano lessons when he gets a little older.

But let's be honest, sometimes I just want to wrap him back up in that swaddling blanket we brought him home from the hospital in, big kid or not, and cuddle him like the little baby he was just five short years ago. The baby he still is to me. I love that he still likes to cuddle with me. I cherish that, because I'm afraid sooner rather than later he's going to be too "big" for that.

Being a mom is so fun. So rewarding. I love watching him grow and go through new stages of life. But sometimes, can't time slow down, just a little?