Bag Puppets

Sometimes I forget how much fun simple little projects are. I made these puppets with Jaden today and he absolutely loved them. I feel like since I had Logan I haven't spent as much time doing things with Jaden so this was a good activity for us to do together. Last night I cut up several of the pieces and kept them in the bag so they will be handy to do again later on. I'd like to get myself motivated to have some sort of little project to do with him everyday...any suggestions?

Welcome Home Elder Holt

We just got back from a quick trip to see Scott's family in Idaho. His little brother Mark got home from his mission in Brazil. He didn't know we were going to be at the airport (we didn't know until a few weeks ago) so it was a fun surprise. Actually, I think he was so overwhelmed that he didn't know what was going on anyhow.

Yep - there is my son laying on the floor at the Salt Lake City airport. At least I had him wash his hands before we ate lunch...well pretty sure.

I had a really hard time getting a good picture of Mark arriving. First off I tried to stay back a little so his parents and siblings could get to him first. Secondly, he was moving all around obviously trying to take it all in and figuring out who was all there to see him . Finally, Holts are tall! Everytime I got a good view of him an uncle or cousin would step in front of me and my 5'4'' stature just couldn't compete with their 6 foot plus. All that being said I was able to capture Logan meeting his Uncle Mark for the first time. A little blurry, but not bad given the cirmustances.

The other day I was talking on the phone with my sister and she asked me if I was getting arrested. What? She explained that she could hear sirens in the background. We live on a fairly busy street and near a fire station so we hear sirens several times a day. I didn't realize I had learned to block that noise out so well. Well one of the reasons that we love going to Preston is that when you are there you don't hear a thing. As you can see in the picture of Jaden playing in the front yard with his cousins that there is nothing around. Just wide open space.

What is more fun that having a 2 year old running around...having 3 of them!

Carson, Jaden, Dallin

4 months

I took Logan in to his 4 month check up this week and besides the fact that he was getting over another bout of brochitis he was doing great. He weighed in at 18 lbs 11oz! My sister requested a picture of his rolls so here's a few we took after his bath yesterday.

Jadenisms

I think Jaden is hilarious. Everyday he seems to pick up more and more what is going on in the world around him. I am often surprised by the things he says and remembers (the kid has the best memory of anyone I've ever met). I find myself having to be really careful what I say around him because he picks up on everything even when I think he's not listening. Here a few things he has said this weekend that I thought were blog worthy.

Out of the blue yesterday: "I don't want you to be my mommy. I want Melissa to be my mommy." Well I guess if he runs away when he's older I'll know where he went!

"I love basketball. It's the joy of my life!"

Jaden : I need one helper.

Me: What do you need help with.

Jaden: Uhhh I want Daddy to be my helper.

The funniest part about this was that he totally used the "this is awkward" voice to tell me I didn't make the cut.

I guess I ought to pick up on the hints that I need to step it up a notch in the mothering department. It's always good to know where you stand in the rank of things. Basketball, Daddy, Aunt Melissa and then Mommy.

I hate to leave Logan out so I'd better tell some of his latest tricks. He's really into blowing raspberries and has just started this high pitch squeal that sounds like he's crying but when I look at him he's got a big grin on his face. He goes in for his 4 month check up next week and I'm guessing he will weigh in around 18 lbs. The boy is a tank just like his brother. Below is a picture taken entirely for my dad's benefit. Go Nebraska!

How come, mommy, how come?

Jaden has a serious case of the how comes. He wants to know how come Melissa called to say hi, how come George is a monkey, how come it is late and time to go to bed, how come he can't hit his brother. If I don't answer right away he follows his question up with "how come, mommy, how come?" repeated over and over until I can come up with a suitable answer. That answer usually results in another how come question. It's an on going cycle all day long.
With the recent death of President Hinckley a whole new type of how comes have been asked. How come President Hinckley got old, how come he is living with Heavenly Father now, and the most frequent one of asked....how come President Hinckley is in that box? We were watching the funeral online and Jaden picked up on what the casket was. How do you explain to a 2 1/2 year old who doesn't quite grasp what death is that we put people in boxes and bury them in the ground?! I'm afraid to tell him too much because he is also going through a little scared phase right now too. Since Scott and I have failed to give him a good answer so far he keeps bringing it up. Any suggestions to answer the question...how come President Hinckely was in that box?