These are a few of our favorite things...

I wanted to do this earlier, but better late than never, right? I couldn't let our 6th anniversary and Father's Day go by without putting up a mushy post about how fabulous my husband is. I know there are many days that go by when Christopher doesn't receive the words of praise that he deserves from me...and this blog isn't just for me to write about the kids and my projects. I can't imagine trying to fill his shoes and deal with the slightly-organized chaos that has been his life the last 7 years. Here's 10 great things our hubby/Daddy manages to do for us in between work, study, classes, callings and other responsibilities that he never shirks:

1. Bathes/dresses/read scriptures with kiddos every night (he's home)


2. Never complains about my new adventures in cooking or when I'm too lazy and we get McD's instead


3. Plays duck-duck-goose, montsers, tag & "Simon Says" better than I do


4. Still attracted to me on the days he comes home to an unshowered mess of a human still in pajamas


5. Is a pretty good sport when it comes to playing with his girls when they're in "girly-mode"


6. Never questions my "control" of the finances


7. Teases but supports my love of "Twilight"


8. Gives the best hugs and kisses :)


9. Surprises us with treats after coming home from work


10. His favorite thing to do with his free time is just be at home with us!

Thanks for being our Superman!!

Lexi-Lou and a Party, too...

So I'm already behind on getting pics and stuff up from Alexis's birthday. I don't have too many pictures but I did take some videos. If you look to the left, there's a link to the Wood family home movie blog, which will contain all the Oscar-worthy glimpses into the life and times of "us". (Really, it's more for family so if you venture over there, don't expect too much.) Anyway, head on over there if you find my lack of Kodak moments disappointing.

Alexis has no appreciation for sleeping in, even on her birthday, so the girls were up and ready to celebrate bright and early. They both feasted on a waffle/strawberry breakfast while we tried to decide if we wanted to risk aggravating the birthday girl's cold by going out to one of the various indoor children's heavens (aka Chuck E. Cheese or Bouncing Off the Walls) here in town or try to live it up here at home. We compromised and Lex and I headed off to Meijer for a little one-on-one time to pick out some stuff for her birthday dinner and then to Sonic for some cherry slush action. It was a good thing we did since her new Radio Flyer tricycle was delivered while we were gone, giving Christopher time to put it together. Well, we walked in on him putting on the finishing touches but we still had slushes to keep the birthday girl occupied in the foyer while he finished up. We decided to pull out the stopper and bring out the bike along with all the presents right then. I don't know if I fully captured it on camera, but Alexis's enthusiasm for getting gifts is one of the best things to watch, hands down.


Dinner consisted of grilled hot dogs (one of the few meats sources of protein we can get this kid to eat), chips and watermelon. Then there was cake. Now, maybe I was just a slacker mom but I didn't know what to do for her cake this year. So I had Alexis pick out the type of cake and icing she wanted and then decided to do my rendition of a "fancy" big girl cake. At least she was excited about it, if nothing else.
All-in-all, it was an exciting day for our brand new 2-year-old. Now for some stats: Lex weighs 24.5 lbs (30 %ile), is 34 in. (50 %ile) and right where she should be everywhere else. Her two-year appointment did include a shot but she was a trooper. She still has a great love for her binky but it's banned during awake hours. We've already started a "potty chart" for Lex since she has started regularly going in her training toilet. She's very good about telling us when she's "gone" in her diaper and so we figure we'll let her take the lead with potty training. She likes twirling, shrieking, naps, dressing up, her elephant, dirt, getting into her wipes, taking care of her baby, books, rice, "make-up", trash, getting her picture taken, jumping, singing, putting non-food objects in her mouth, chalk, splashing, strangers, and making mad/serious faces. She dislikes dogs (at least barking), being still, time-outs, potatoes, using utensils while eating, being quiet, when Kira bosses her around, being told "no", and textured blankets (don't ask). Again, we can't emphasize enough the joy this little girl brings into our life. These last two years have certainly been more memorable with her in them.

Happy birthday, Lexi-Lou!! We love you!

Summer sisters...

We've been enjoying tastes of summer up here in Michigan lately. It's so nice to have a fenced-in yard where the girls can be outside enjoying the sunshine and I can enjoy the fact that in my eighth month of pregnancy I don't have to run around making sure they stay put! It's finally warm enough to pull out the sprinkler and enjoy the all-to-cold hose water. Kira, of course, LOVES it, even while shivering covered in goosebumps a half hour later. Alexis, surprisingly has taken a little while to warm up to the water. I think it has something to do with it spraying in her face. Here are some photos to show the contrasting attitudes.

Alexis started to warm up to it after a few days, though.

Speaking of Alexis, I can't believe that my baby will be 2 tomorrow! In many ways, it feels like she's been apart of our family so much longer but then again I can clearly remember her birth day like it just happened. I'll be posting more age milestones and big birthday news later but I just had to post a few things about her quickly. Lex is definitely our outspoken child. She has no problem communicating her feelings. She speaks more in volumes than words, but we're working on that. She's actually starting to make even more improvement in her speech. Her new thing is to ask, "Whas dat, momma?" over and over again. I love that she's starting to talk in sentences more often and ask questions. Another more current development is her new obsession with her baby doll. We've had baby dolls in the house since Kira was little but they've never been given much attention. Now, there are days where the only person in the house that gets a kind word from Lex is her baby! It makes us hopeful that this love for babies makes the transition to becoming a big sister a little easier for everyone. Alexis and Kira certainly have a love/hate relationship most days, but it's nice to see how much Alexis looks up to Kira and wants so much to be like her. And 90% of the time, Kira is more than happy to show her how! I don't know what we do without Alexis's unending collection of facial expressions that make us laugh so hard, her love of snuggling with us (after being wrapped up in the "right" blanket, of course), her creative ways of trying to hide the fact that she snuck her binky again, her ever changing love of dress-up or stripping down, and watching this petite little thing explore and grow each day. We love you, Lex!

Motherhood...

What can I say about motherhood. Sometimes, I tend to forget that I've had experience in that field. In fact, here soon, I'll be tripling the experience. It's not that I go through my day oblivious to the two munchkins running practically beneath my feet...it's just when I think about motherhood I think about, well, my mom and mother-in-law and friends' moms...you know, the ones that have REALLY had the motherhood experience. This past Sunday, I think I officially crossed over to a full-fledged "mom" as I watched the cutest Sunbeam in the ward swallow her nervousness and bravely go to the front of the chapel to serenade me while trying to keep a toddler beside me from fidgeting too much in the pew and being momentarily distracted by a tiny foot trying to find an impossible inch of space somewhere in my abdomen, quite forcefully, I might add. I know I still have so many milestones to come to and bridges to cross on the road of parenthood, but this Mother's Day, it really struck me that I truly am a mom and it's one of the most wonderful things about me. Yes, there are days where I feel just like this:

But it's made all better by requests like this:

Of course, I couldn't have progressed to this role without the wonderful man who has made not just my Mother's Day but my week by bringing home these:

Here's to an awesome 5th Mother's Day for me with many more to come! Hope yours was just as fabulous!!

Et cetera...

So this is going to be a very lengthy post (well, visually, anyway). I feel really backed up on reporting the recent events of the Wood household. We've had some pretty big things going on. The most important being this litte lady's big advancement into big girlhood. Yes, our baby is now 4-years-old! Kira's birthday landed on a Sunday, which is nice, but we felt a little limited in what we could go out and do. Her day started out with an early morning surprise...she woke up to a roomful of balloons. I don't know who had more fun with that, the birthday girl or her equally pleased little sister. Her day continued on with a "special" breakfast of Lucky Charms, a new Easter dress to wear to church, lots of birthday recognition in Primary, a Briar Rose dress to play with after church, her favorite dinner- spaghetti followed by Mommy's attempt at a princess castle cake, and tons of love from friends and family over the phone and through the mail. Sometimes I look at her in wonder...how could she, our tiny 5 lb 15 oz firstborn, have grown up into this beautiful little girl so fast? I wish there was some way to push a pause button. Though she can't wait for her next birthday, her parents are fine with letting time move a little slower, keeping her young a little longer.

The Wood family also basked in a glorious Easter/Conference weekend at home. We were uplifted by the beautiful weather, inspiring messages and the opportunity to reflect on our Savior's selfless sacrifice and promising resurrection. We focused more on the spiritual aspects of Easter this year, though we were visited by that sly Easter bunny Saturday morning. Below are some pictures of the girls enjoying Easter/birthday gifts sent from distant family (thanks Gee and Grandma...wish you all could have joined in on the fun in person!).

Since I feel like most of my fun crafty projects have been with baby in mind, I wanted to do something fun for the girls. Here are our little ballerinas enjoying their new tutus.

Hopefully, that catches us up a little bit more. It's nice to have a slower-paced schedule now that Christopher is off of OB/Gyn rotation and back home from out-of-state testing. He's now doing an elective rotation in Gastroenterology, which is the field he hopes to wind up in...and he's loving it! We are, too! It's nice to see Daddy at breakfast and then back home with plenty of time to play before dinner. Anyway, there you have it...now I'm off to see what I can do about those brownies that just came out of the oven. Don't want them to feel unappreciated...or the vanilla ice cream. It gets lonely in that freezer, you know.

March madness...

So, I've been pretty spoiled this past week. I enjoyed having my husband home for my birthday and the luxury of having my mom in town so that I could let the kids loose on her to have some free time and run errands alone! My mom treated all of us to a birthday dinner at Carraba's. We'd never been but heard good things...and good things there were! Yum! My big gift from my parents was gift cards to Joann's and Hobby Lobby so that I can have a little help with this long list of crafts I've been itching to get started. Christopher surprised me with a day at a cute little spa here in town for a prenatal massage and pedicure. Heavenly...he's definitely a keeper! It's been nice to have my mom in town, though we didn't do as much together as usual. It seemed there was always someone sick or places to go so after much arm-twisting, she always ended up at home with the kids. It was pretty helpful considering Christopher was still on OB/Gyn and I was preparing to perform in our Relief Society production of the Ten Virgins (and you all know how singing and performing in front of people is totally my thing! No stress whatsoever). I also spent some of that time at home while mom refereed so I could finish these little projects:

I used a pattern posted by a friend on her fabulous craft blog! A little hospital homecoming outfit using one of those tiny shirts they give you at the hospital.

And this was an awesome diaper bag pattern I found here months ago. I loved it from the moment I saw it. It has 5 pockets on the outside and 5 on the inside...so much needed storage room for three kids' "necessities".

I made a few adjustments of my own like adding the key clip and using D-rings to give the strap a more finished look. I actually finished it in 2 days! Couldn't have happened without my mom being willing to spend so much "alone" time with the kids.

Though there were some stressful moments, I've really enjoyed having time to do things I wanted and even being a little pampered, too. I especially came to appreciate being able to take part in the Relief Society program. It was a challenge for me on so many levels but I came to really identify with my character (one of the foolish virgins) and see how I need to prepare myself for the Savior's coming. I came away from it hoping to bring that spirit of preparation into our home and into my children's lives.

AND- Thanks for all the birthday wishes and phone calls! They all added to my spoilage! Be on the look-out for upcoming posts about another birthday girl's special week!

A moment in time...

Princesses at a royal lunch of ramen noodles.

11:25 AM