Happy Birthday to you...

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to Derek

Happy birthday to you!

Hope you have a great birthday! I love you so much!

You are such a wonderful huband and an amazing dad.

More pictures

We got some really cute pictures yesterday so I thought I'd add them now.

I was trying to take a picture of Chase but Maeley popped her head in just at the right time. I absolutely love her smile.

Chase was jumping around being the goofball he is so this was the best shot I got of him.

This is Zoe playing with her feet. She does this all the time. She is also sucking on her bottom lip which she started doing recently.

Derek with his girls.

This is so adorable! She has a Daisy Duck stuffed animal that was given to her by her Grandma and Grandad Jones while at Disneyland. That duck always makes her smile. This is her getting excited as Derek is showing it to her.

If you were interested in what Derek and I are doing well there really isn't much to tell. Derek is the Elders quorum secretary in our ward. Like I mentioned before I am a CTR 5 teacher in primary. Derek is very busy at work and is normally gone about 11 hours a day. I haven't ever thought about how long he's gone. Know wonder I lose my mind some days. Okay, well maybe most days. I just try to survive the week and cherish the weekends.

Pictures of the kids

I love digital cameras. It makes it so easy to take so many pictures. I would say we take 200+ pictures of the kids each month. These pictures are just random pictures of this past week.

Chase's "cheesy" smile

Chase loves Zoe so much. He always wants to hold her, and hug and kiss her.

Zoe loves her feet. She often is playing with them.

Maeley's "tiny" smile. Derek was trying to get her to smile normal and not cheesy and this is what we got.

I love this picture. I can't wait until they can do girly things together.

I wish they were all looking at the camera. Oh well.

He did a face plant on the back patio the day before this picture was taken. Poor kid.

She just lights up when you look and talk to her.

Watching TV together

I know I am pathetic

Derek's birthday is coming up and I bought him some new shoes online. When the package was delivered I was so excited to open it up and take a look at them. I was pleasently surprised by the inside of the box. It was so cleerful and bright.

I can't bring myself to throw this box away. Instead I am saving it for the next move so I can pack my stuff inside and be happy again when I open it. I am so lame aren't I?

Chase

AKA, Buddy, Bud, Chaser-racer, and Chase face.

I began calling Chase buddy pretty much the time he was born. Maeley has caught on and calls him that too. Come to think about it if she's being nice and they are playing together she calls him Buddy. However when she is mad at him or is blaming him for something its Chase. He can be such a sweet boy and I absolutely love his smile and his facial expressions. The way he moves his eyebrows are just hilarious. He gets that from Derek. Currently there is the never ending crying that is getting really old. Maybe he's feeling the middle child syndrome already. He cries when you say no, when something gets taken from him, when he gets hurt (major and minor), or if the dog tries to ride his blanket that he is dragging behind him. He has learned how to open doors recently which now makes nap time so much harder. We have the door knob backwards so we can lock him in his room. If we didn't do that he would have no nap and the afternoon and evenings would be brutal. Really Chase can be so sweet I just really hope this phase ends soon. Oh, he is finally staying in nursery without Derek. Nursey is the only time he's ever away from all of us. I can see why it took him 2 months to adjust, it wasn't an easy 2 months though. He is talking a lot now and sometimes in sentences. I love that he can tell us what he needs/wants now.

This picture cracks me up. Remember in the 90's when it was the cool thing to say "word"?

Well that's what I invision he's saying.

too cute!

Chase and Ella
He loves this dog to death. After getting her Chase is no longer afraid of other dogs. I guess the big test will be if he's still afraid of Phil and Stephanie's english bulldog.

So he wouldn't wear this costume for Halloween but sure loves it now. He can't say Mickey Mouse, instead he calls him Boopa. Silly boy!

My wonderful husband!

I am a CTR 5 teacher at church and yesterday was my class presentation for sharing time. My friend Shannon gave me the idea to play a tic-tac-toe game incorporating facts of the prophets. Derek had come up with some pretty clever ideas on making a nice board so then the kids can play with it and then I could use it for other lessons as well. After getting all the supplies on Saturday he spent the afternoon putting it together. He was more than willing to do it afterall he did get to use his tools.

Working with a smile.

Doesn't it look great?!

Finished product.

We bought the letters at Michaels and put magnets on the back. Then went to Lowe's to get a thin sheet of steel and molding that he made into the frame. I love it! Thanks again Derek!

Maeley's favorites

Today I decided to ask Maeley random questions and see how she answers them. Some were more surprising than others.

favorite color: green
favorite food: chicken nuggets
favorite drink: pink milk
Who do you love: Chase (then gives him a great big hug)
Who is your best friend: Tanma (aka grandma)
Favorite place to go: Target (I really had to laugh at this one. I was expecting to hear grandma's house or maybe Disneyland but not Target. Silly girl.)
Favorite movie: Tarzan (not expecting this either, I was expecting Tinker Bell)
Favorite princess: Princess Aurora of course
Where would be a fun place to go: Disneyland
What was your favorite ride at Disneyland: cars (Autopia) and Buzz Lightyear (I was expecting to hear Nemo, because she brings it up all the time)
What does mom say a lot: Stop, don't get into that. (They have been getting into things they know they shouldn't lately)
What makes mom happy: me (said with a huge smile on her face)

I did ask her more questions but can't remember now. She's a great kid. I love her.

More pictures from our trip to Gilbert

Going back a few couple weeks ago, we had dinner at my parents house and Laurel, and Carl's family came over. Boston is Carl and Heidi's little boy who is also 3. Maeley, Chase and Boston had a great time playing together.

While everyone else was in the house I looked outside to see what the kids were up to and found my dad playing with the kids. Looks like they were digging a hole.

Ella is on Maeley's back

This was really funny. Somehow, somewhere the kids found some of my dad's baseball hats. For some reason they pretended they were pirates with these hats on.

Chase eating cake.

Doesn't Chase look so dissapointed? Well he is. Derek made him come back to the house instead of playing on the bridge which goes over the irrigation ditch.

Zoe cuddled in our blanket.

It's been a hard week

I have no idea why but this week has been so hard. Maeley and Chase have been extremely difficult. Maeley especially is going through an I'm not listening to you stage and is driving me crazy! She thinks she can get everything her way, which is totally not happening. And Chase will get upset or hurt and just cries. The crying has got to stop! Most of the time his crying has to do with something that Maeley took from him. Seriously they just need to leave eachother alone! Then yesterday Zoe got sick. It was so strange because it only lasted about 5 hours and was gone. I'm definitely not complaining about how short it was, it just seems weird. Just now Maeley and Chase were running around and woke up Zoe because they were too loud. Urgh! I am so happy its Friday!

This picture was taken a few weeks back during movie night.

It's just a good thing they are so cute! Even though there are difficult days it doesn't change the fact that I love being a mom and I love my family.

Zoe's 4 month check-up

Back to the doctor today for Zoe's 4 month well checkup. She sure has grown.

Weight: 14lbs. 14oz. -- 75th percentile
Height: 24.25"--50th percentile
Head: 41 cm--50th percentile

It's funny the difference between the first kid and the third kid have been. With both Maeley and Chase at exactly 4 months I started them on rice cereal and soon after veggies then fruit. But Zoe is obviously eating well so why add more to her diet now? Before I was so eager for the next stage and for them to grow up. Now I'm actually enjoing the baby stage. Zoe loves to "talk" but does it more frequently when she's by herself. She wants to sit up but can't yet. When we hold her she often pushes away from us and tries to sit up by herself. She does rollover from her stomach to her back. She has a sweet smile and laugh.

I love her blue eyes. The doctor mentioned today that he thinks they will stay blue because they are a light blue. He said that other babies that later change eye color start off with more of a grayish blue color. Wahoo! I want one of my kids to have my eyes. I love you Zo Zo.

Trip to Gilbert

Derek's parents are leaving on a mission to Sierra Leone, Africa tomorrow so last weekend we spent some time with them. There was a big dinner with family as a good bye last Saturday. They rented a bouncer for all the little kids. Maeley was really excited to get in and bounce. Papa joined her, unfortunately she fell and got hurt. After that she was very cautious.

Maeley getting comforted by Papa.

This was taken right after she fell and got hurt.

Jumping with Aunt Kari

I love this picture! He was so excited to eat. Most of the other kids were in the bouncer and Chase just wanted to eat.

Kari joined him at the "kiddie table"

Stephanie holding Braden and Zoe

Braden and Zoe

Maeley riding Linus

Climbing in the doggy door

What great fun!

Chase, Zoe, Maeley, Parker and Braden

All the Jones grandkids

We had a great time and I would post more (because there are a ton more pictures) however I'm getting pretty sleepy.