::five::

My baby boy turned 5 today!!


We were hoping to get to go to the park for a picnic and some playground time, but it rained all day, so we couldn't. But, we played Mario, watched some kid shows, made a hut with all the pillows on my bed, played spaceship in Bubb's room, went to the store for party things, and, FINALLY, when Dada got home we went out to dinner.

We went to Chick-a-Lay (Bubb). Portie picked that place because we saw the big yellow slide when we drove by last week, and thought it'd be a fun place for a birthday dinner
:)


...and it was!

We ate our dinner, played in the playland, ate our dessert, played in the playland, and then opened some presents...


(some Mario jam-jams)


(and a new Mario game WOOOOOOO!!)


It was a kind of a good idea to have him open the presents when we were ready to go, 'cause we knew he'd wanna go right home and play!

And we did...

(Portie playing his NEW Mario game in his NEW Mario jammies on his 5th birthday)

...and we watched...

(don't laugh at my bare walls!)
...and it was a fun night!

I love my little Port-Port! I can't believe he's 5. I sang to him when he woke up this morning. Chloe said first thing off the bus this afternoon, "Happy Birthday, Port!!!!!", Dada called from work this morning to wish him a happy birthday, Bubb told him happy birthday and tried to sing the song. He got really smiley and squeaky when we'd make a big deal out of him today. He told me lots of times that today was HIS day, and that yesterday was my day (he really meant Sunday) because it was mothers day, but that today was his day. It was cute. I kept telling him all day that I didn't want him to be 5, and he'd just say that he had to because he had to be 6 and then 7 and then 10. He's such a fun boy! He's a great big and little brother, he's pretty helpful, super smart, super funny, super sweet, and super fun to be around. I hope he always knows how special and loved he is and how happy we are that he's a part of our family and how much I love being his mom.
We sure love our Portie!!

::blessed::

Ava's blessing day...

(all of us in the church foyer afterwards)

Matt did a beautiful job with the blessing, as always.

He blessed her...

~to stay close to Heavenly Father~

~to live her life worthy to always have the Holy Ghost~

~to stay close and become best friends with her siblings~

~to be baptized~

~that when the time comes, she will choose a partner who will take her to the temple to be sealed for eternity~

~to enjoy the blessings of the temple~

~to know that she can always come to Mom & Dad for guidance and direction~

~to be an example and a leader~

~to always live the standards of the Church~

He was SO nervous. He did great. I got a little teary.

We had a little get-together afterwards.

My side.

Matt's side.

So nice.

Thanks to everyone who came. We love our families so much, and appreciate all their love and support. It was such a special day for us, and we feel so blessed and thankful to have so much family to share it with.

I love days like this

:)

::Ava's newborns::

Here's our little newborn

(who's almost not a newborn anymore)

Ava @ 2 weeks old

(just a few of our favorites)

We love them!!

Thanks, Amber!

::how do I love thee...::

I love...

I love that she still wears princess jammies. I love that she still watches princess movies, colors princess pictures, likes to dress up like a princess, and wears princess undies. I love that her eyes are green just like mine. I love the dimple in her chin. I love that she's so smart and nothing gets past her. I love her long hair. I love that I can pick out anything for her to wear to school and she'll wear it with no contest at all. I love that she plays with her brothers all the time. I love how happy she is to have a baby sister. I love that she gets some pretty hard spelling words at school and likes to see if her dad knows how to spell them. I love that other kids at school always want to play with her and are always giving her little things (pictures they drew, marbles, shape bracelets, etc). I love that she can do a back handspring. I love that she just has to giggle sometimes-whether it's really that funny or not. I love her freckle on the palm of her hand and the inside of her ear. I love that she shares and always thinks about other people's feelings. I love that I can talk to her about almost anything. I love that she wants to do hair and make up when she grows up and also be a teacher and a power tumbling coach. I love that she's so girly, but can play Mario and sword fight with her brothers. I love that she loves pink so much. I love that she loves to read. I love that she's so sweet-pretty much all the time. I love that she wants to do everything I do. I love that she wants to wear my clothes and shoes. I love that she thinks she's almost as tall as me and that her feet are almost as big as mine. I love that she has a dainty little run.

I love that he does this! Every time I vacuum, he runs to get his "baowkin" to help me. He likes to ram his vacuum into mine. I love that he talks so funny. I love how much he likes to hug. I love that he comes into my bed at 6 every morning and snuggles right up next to me (we share a pillow). I love that he follows the big kids around and wants to do e.v.e.r.y.thing they do. I love that he's so smart, and is so sensitive to people's moods. I love that he asks questions all the time and if you don't answer right away he says "yeah?". I love that he looks just like Porter. I love his big ol' eyes, and his chubby little baby cheeks. I love that he thinks Dada is SO big. I love that every time we get ready to go somewhere, he says "can I drive?". I love that when he watches Geigo (Diego), he yells stuff out at the TV when they tell you to. I love that he can raise and lower his eyebrows separately. I love that he thinks jelly beans are gum. I love that his favorite color is bluegreen because Porter taught him what bluegreen is. I love that he calls Chloe "kiss" and when she doesn't answer, he says it louder and louder and changes it to "kissy." I love that he thinks he's big-he has NO idea he's 2 or was ever a baby OR that he's littler than the other two kids. I love that he gets right in Ava's face and says in a giggly little voice "Aaaaava, Aaaaaava, AAAAAAAAAVA!!" I love that he calls snow plows (like on the fronts of trucks or 4 wheelers) shovels. I love that he has dimples in his cheeks like Portie, and one in his chin like Chloe. I love how he runs. I love his two little cowlicks in his hair right above his forehead. I love to hear him laugh.


I love that despite being incredibly picky about what he wears, he thinks this is a good outfit. I love that he loves his John Deere boots so much and wants to wear them everywhere with everything. I love that he has dimples in his cheeks like me. I love his big round eyes. I love that they're so expressive. I love that he always wants to be just like Dada (like when he wants to leave his spoon in his chocolate milk cup like Da). I love that he gets so excited about things that he sort of runs in place when he's telling you about it. I love that he loves strawberries. I love that he's so smart and is always asking questions and wanting to learn more. I love that his hair is always sticking up in the back. I love that he's so sensitive and worries a lot that people are mad at him. I love how crazy and rough he is with his brother and dad, and how sweet and gentle he is with his mom and sisters. I love his little laugh. I love that his favorite color is green, and everything he gets (plates, cups, balloons, crayons, etc) has to be green. I love that all the little girls in his preschool class think he's cute and they say "hiiii Porter" when they see him. I love that he gets embarrassed and a little mad when his dad teases him about it. I love that he's always worried about whether or not food is healthy. I love that he does "muscle man" hand stands. I love that he calls electrocuted "cuted" and the pedestals that the washer and dryer sit on are "tetsals." I love that he's so brave, and likes scary things (dragons and bad guys in movies). I love that he sucks on his tongue when he's falling asleep. I love that he smells one specific corner of his mummah (his blue blankie). I love that he's cuddly.

I love her little newborn stretches. I love how her eyebrows go up, lips poke out, back is arched, and legs are bent. I love that she doesn't really cry unless she's really desperate. I love that her cry is a squeaky little girly cry. I love how she grunts all the time. I love her little ears-they're tiny and really flat to her head. I love that she crosses her eyes a little and opens them really wide when I talk to her and click at her. I love the noises she makes when she's nursing. I love her tiny little head. I love that she's starting to reach for things. I love that she sticks her tongue out all the time. I love that she knows me and my voice when I talk. I love that she's so cuddly. I love how she smells. I love when she's "baby bird" and just opens her mouth and turns her head when she's hungry. I love how she looks in purple. I love that I can put any kind of humongous hair bow on her head and she doesn't seem bothered by it at all. I love her long fingers and toes. I love her little bald top of her head. I love when she sucks her lips in a little and it looks like somebody who forgot to put in their dentures. I love her beautiful dark skin. I love her chubby cheeks and double chin. I love that she looks just like Chloe did. I love that she doesn't love a binky just like Portie when he was a baby. I love that she sleeps best when she's cuddled up on my shoulder just like Bubb when he was a baby. I love that she's a baby sister and completes our family.

I love our history together. I love that we've struggled and triumphed together. I love his laugh. I love his eyes. I love how much he likes to play games. I love how he looks at me. I love how in sync we are on just about everything. I love all his goofy sayings. I love how devoted he is to our family. I love how hard he works. I love that he put himself through school and graduate school. I love that he's so smart. I love that we communicate so well. I love how funny he is. I love his dark hair. I love how tall he is (6'2"). I love how he smells. I love that he loves basketball and golf (and pretty much every other sport). I love that he swears all the time-not because he's mad, but just because that's how he talks. I love that he knows how to do just about everything, and if he doesn't, he learns. I love that he always has my back. I love that he's kinda bossy-but in a good way. I love that he's a go-getter. I love that he makes pancakes or french toast for us every weekend. I love that if I ask him to go to the store to get a few things, he calls about a billion times to ask if it's right or where it is in the store. I love that he thinks I'm a good mom and doing a good job. I love that he hates when I buy anything low-fat. I love that he loves the Cowboys. I love how he dances. I love that he has two cowlicks in his hair at the back. I love how much he loves chocolate. I love that he talks about how much he needs to go on a diet, and then wants to order pizza for dinner. I love that he always tells me I'm beautiful-even when I first wake up in the morning and look gross. I love that he knows me so well. I love that he's always joking around with everybody. I love that I can hardly tell him I love him lately without getting teary eyed. I love that he never forgets to call me back when he misses my call. I love that he tells me all the time how we need to do more things together as just the two of us. I love his smile. I love that country is his favorite type of music. I love to hold his hand. I love that we're married for all eternity. I just love him.

Most of all, I love that we'll all be together forever :)

(A little viddy that I also kinda love. A lot.)

::our easter::

We had a busy weekend.

We started out with our annual coloring of eggs @ Grandma Snowman's on Friday.

We had fun. Bubb wasn't in to using the little egg holder thing, so he just used his hands; and they were yellow for two days :) He spilled the pink dye, and got Port's butt all wet! We made a Yoshi egg (actually it was backwards-supposed to be white with green dots, and I made it green with white dots-oops). Chloe made some princess ones, and Port just liked seeing how they would turn out after they soaked in all the colors.

Saturday afternoon, Matt's family (on his mom's side) had their annual Easter party. There was lots of family and food. They do a swap meet type of thing where everyone brings things bound for good will, and if anybody wants it they take it. Chloe made out with lots of jewelry :)


Uncle Brandon likes to hold Baby Ava :)


We had a candy hunt...



They got lots of candy!!

Then we were headed to our friends', Carrie and Brad, house for a bit. She helped me make a video (more on that later), and I love it! The kids played. They have 2 little boys right around Port's age, so all the little boys had fun together. I wish we got together with them more often...

Then Grandma & Papa Kitty's. We usually do our Easter dinner on Easter Sunday, but not this year. The dinner was SO good! Mom does not disappoint when it comes to making a great dinner! They had some Easter treats for us, and we played some games. Then we headed home. It was a long day and a late night, but really fun.

(Our dinner. Baby Ava just laid on the floor and wiggled while we ate :) )




(Playing "hot and cold" is a new favorite for us. We played with the plastic Easter eggs. Portie hid them all in the same spot)

Easter morning. We had our egg hunt in our house. That Easter bunny is pretty tricky. He hid eggs all over, and hid the baskets. Port's was in a closet he likes to hide in, Bubbs was behind some suitcases and under a table, and Chloe's was in the dryer! Ava's was just out on the table. He gave the kids some play-doh, sidewalk chalk, sockies, and LOTS of candy. Baby Ava didn't get any candy. She got baby things (binkies, baby soap, hangy toys for her car seat). The egg hunt is pretty fun. The kids love it! They get so excited every time they see an egg. It's fun to watch.



(emptying out all the candy into a big ol' bowl. We ended up with 2 of these bowls full of candy! I hope we don't really eat it all!)

We went to church later in the morning. It was our first time as a family of 6 to go to church (all 3 meetings, all 3 hours). It was a little rough. We were late, of course. Part of that was because Chloe had a couple of nail polish fiascoes in our bathroom. First she spilled the remover all over our tub. So we had to scramble to clean that up (because it can eat up the plastic, right?). Then she set the bottle on the counter, and Bubb climbed up there to watch Baby Ava's bath, and knocked it off and it broke. Nail polish everywhere! Bright pink too. I didn't even know what to do! I stood there looking at it just frozen-what do I even do? We didn't have any nail polish remover, because she had just spilled it all in the tub 5 minutes earlier! Matt came in and helped. The tile's still a little pink, but we'll get some more remover, and hopefully that'll get it out.

At church the kids were not great. Usually they're pretty good. They were so loud yesterday! Bubb couldn't whisper to save his life!! He tried though. It came out as a whisper yell. The big kids were playing games on the iPad, and were a little too enthusiastic. I was a little disappointed in the program yesterday too. I guess I just wish there would've been more emphasis on Easter. I'm still glad we went. Hopefully next week goes a little better :)

We're grateful for our families, and for all the work they do on occasions like this. We appreciate the parties and activities so much. We appreciate their love and support. We're so thankful for a loving Savior and his atoning sacrifice.

Happy Easter!