So my sister-in-law did this and I thought it would be fun. I like reading other people's things like this and thought I'd share too.

4 shows I like to watch: (I'm kind of a tv-aholic at night after my kids go to bed, so I record lots of shows and watch them later)
1. Amazing Race
2. Biggest Loser
3. CSI (the original)
4. Lost

4 things I am passionate about:
1. My family
2. Reading
3. I like to bake, although I'm not sure if you could say passionate about it
4. Music

4 phrases I say a lot:
1. Really? (in a sarcastic sounding voice)
2. Knock it off/stop doing that (insert one of my kid's names here)
3. I love you
4. Get in bed

4 things I have learned, or am learning:
1. French
2. Patience with my kids (not very well, but trying)
3. Boys don't know how to pee in the actual toilet
4. Why God gave me all boys

4 places I would like to go;
1. Paris (actually I'd like to tour all of France)
2. Back to the UK
3. Hawaii
4. Australia

4 things I did yesterday:
1. laundry
2. Pilates
3. ate a Suzy Q for lunch (sorry Janet, I'm a junkfood junkie)
4. taped Lifesavers to 32 Valentines

4 things I am looking forward to:
1. Traveling with my husband
2. Losing those last 10 pounds
3. Learning how to decorate cakes
4. Growing my hair out again (what else is new? every time I cut it, I want to grow it back out)

4 things on my wish list:
1. My boys to all serve missions
2. New clothes (what girl doesn't always want new clothes?)
3. Travel with my husband-wait, did I already say that?
4. A million dollars, I mean world peace ;)

I'm not going to tag anyone. I just thought this would be fun. So if you want to do it, then do. If you think it's lame, well then you're lame. Not really, but I always say that kind of thing to my kids when they say something like that. That probably makes me a horrible mother, but whatever. I make up for it by writing reports about Abraham Lincoln-including printing off the Gettysburg Address in Lincoln's handwriting and putting it on card stock and coloring the border of a ginormous poster in colored pencil when your hand is cramping. Oh, and taping Lifesavers to 71 Valentine cards. Oh yeah, and staying up until midnight on a nightly basis with Chatty Kathy while he jumps on the couch and plays with all of his really loud toys that he doesn't play with during the day. And cleaning pee off the wall, floor, and outside of the toilet.

So it's 1 pm. Just about time for Jo Jo's nap. Peanut was having a "bread" for lunch. I know, very filling. Anyway, Jo Jo comes running over to me shouting something like, "be-fast." I thought he was saying "breakfast," but wasn't sure so I had him take me to the pantry to show me. He kept pointing to the bread and saying, "be-fast." I asked if he wanted bread and he said, "bread," but then said the other word again. So normally he asks for bread by using the actual word, but for some reason today he was calling it breakfast. Thought that was cute. In the pictures you can see his new Spongebob pajama pants. We found them at Target on clearance for $1 since they are Christmas pants, but whatever, they're warm and they were $1. He is also wearing one of Peanut's undershirts that is a little big for him. And I'm sure you're asking yourself, "Why is he still in his pajamas at 1 pm?" My answer-because we're not going anywhere today so who cares. At this moment, he is proceeding to take everything that is on the baking shelf in the pantry off, and putting it on the kitchen counter. Good times.

On Friday afternoon I decided to paint my toenails while the kids were playing downstairs. Jo Jo generally realizes I'm not in the room pretty quickly and walks through the house yelling, "Mama, mama." I let him know I was in my bathroom and he came in to watch. You know where this is going, don't you? So he stuck his foot out at me and said, "my foot." So I thought, what the heck I'll see if he lets me. Well, he sat perfectly still and wanted me to do both feet. Every time I see his feet now I smile. When we came downstairs later Bubba loudly said, "What did you do that for mom?" Because he asked me to. Simple as that. I showed B later and he laughed and said he didn't blame me because my little shadow wants to do what I do and I won't get to do it with a little girl. Plus, he's such a boy boy, that it's not going to scar him. Here he is showing me his toes very proudly.



And finally, this was taken yesterday while he was emptying his toy bin out in the living room. I guess he needed a place to sit.

Snow Much Fun

I know, corny title, but it had to be done. So we got snow on Sunday. The kids were so excited. The past few years we get more snow than the year before, but this year it's only snowed like this once or twice. The snow was perfect for a snowman. B was the first one outside and started rolling it up from the back of the yard to the front. This became our result-


Check out Jo Jo throwing a snowball at it.

They also made a snow fort versus a picnic table. That was an all out battle to see who could get who the most. This was Jo Jo's first time ever playing in the snow. I'm so mad. I bought him snow boots in the Spring that were the size he's wearing now, but I could NOT get them on to save my life. I was so so bummed. Luckily we had rubber boots from the other boys visiting the farm that were the right size. He was a little leary at first about walking in the snow, but once he figured it out, it was all good.



I opted to stay inside and occasionally venture out in the doorway to video tape and take pictures.

Cute things Jo Jo has been saying lately-

Yesterday while we were driving he said, "I fine it the big truck. Here it comes, here it comes." I realized I always say that when I need to distract him and say, "Here it comes," so he can see where it is. We were also at an intersection and there was a truck that looked like B's waiting to go through the light (it was all the way across the road) and he said the same thing except instead of that first line, he said, "I fine it daddy's truck."

The other day he had Peanut's popper gun (the one from Cabela's that makes the obnoxious popping sound) and he was pointing it and said, "I shoot the birds." That night he was playing with it and proceeded to tell me, "I shoot the dog," and then the letters (while pointing it at their intials on the wall), then the bear, and then the birds again. When did he become such a big boy. I guess he never had a chance to be a baby with 3 big brothers.

Last night I was reading a book all about trucks to him. It's in cartoon form and the dumptruck on the front has dirt in it. So he points to the dirt and says, "chocolate." I'm so proud.

My other favorite is, "I need you" every time he wants to be held. Usually he inserts mama or daddy after it. It melts my heart every time and needless to say, he gets picked up.

Last week, I was having a particularly hard day with him. He was doing so many naughty things-climbing on the table and throwing chip crumbs and cereal on the floor, refusing to nap, throwing toys at his brother's head, jumping on the couch onto his brother's stomach, pulling chairs over to the couch to climb over it and jump. Finally I'd had enough and I said, "You're a brat." His reply, "You brat mommy." Nice.

Happy Birthday Co Co Jo Jo

Today is my baby's 2nd birthday! I don't really know where the last two years have gone. I know people always say that, but I'm serious. It makes me so sad-especially since he's my baby. B tried to tell me the other day that he's a toddler and not a baby anymore. I was very adamant that he IS still a baby. Even when he's 70 he'll be my baby. He finally gave in to me when I insisted and got annoyed. We celebrated last night with Mickey cake and homemade chocolate chip ice cream (which everyone was oohing and awing over by the way). Our neighbors came down, my sister and her husband came, and B's dad and step-mom made the drive up. He did an awesome job eating his cake. I gave him a cupcake to go at it and it was much better than the freak out fest from last year. I wasn't thinking when I made the frosting black-our tongues were all black.

First we opened presents


This is the cake


Digging in


First time he got down from the table


On his way to a mustache


Final product-awesome black mustache that looks like a REAL mustache

This year my baby has learned to talk A LOT. He learned to walk (at 16 mths. finally), climb lots of stuff and also act like his brothers. He honestly mimics everything they do and say. So it makes him turning 2 even harder because he didn't seem like a baby for very long.

Some of Jo Jo's favorite things-CHOCOLATE milk, and actually chocolate ANYTHING, big brothers, wrestling, jumping off stuff, watching cartoons (when they're actually on), playing kitchen with Peanut, playing with cars and trains, nat nats (fruit snacks), granola bars, bread, see-e-al (cereal), any toys that make noise, his stuffed bear and dog, mama (the best), and da-ee (daddy). We love our little boy with a big voice, his blue eyes, tons of curls, contagious giggle, and everything else about him-well his ear piercing scream not so much. He can say SO many words now. And actually a lot of the time he speaks in full sentences. I love when he comes up to me and reaches up and says, "I you"-meaning he wants me to hold him. The other day we were driving down the road and he said, "firetruck" plain as day exactly the way it should sound. I love to drive down the road with him saying, "I fye it the car," or "I fye it the truck" (find). One day while we were at the store, we walked by the chips and he said, "I wan chips right now." Another fun (but sometimes frustrating) thing is when he says, "I do yit." He really wants to try everything himself first and he almost never lets me help-even if he can't get it. He loves to eat applesauce at night by himself too. Last night I was telling B that he needed a b-a-t-h, and he said, "I wan baf." So I guess he can spell along with counting to 6-which he does every time he's going to jump off something, or any time he's counting toys. Tonight B's step-mom and I were coming home from the mall and my sister lives over there. As we were driving by Barnes and Noble (where she lives behind), he said, "eesha"-her name is Alicia. So in case you don't get it by now-he's very smart. In fact, the smartest 2 yr. old I've ever met. ;)
Some more fun words that maybe only we understand-
biders=diapers
buy-ees=jammies
o yit=open it
rickrish=licorice
boing whenever he's going to jump
And he also loves to ride his "bye" in the garage. In fact, sometimes I have to rip his hands off his little trike to get him in the house.
He is also fond of crawling on all fours and panting and saying "ruff." Can you tell I love my boy and that I'm so proud of him? Happy Birthday Crazy Coconut!!

and Again...

Last night these cars, were in fact, waiting to use the elevator at the fire station.

More OCD

Sometimes I feel really bad that Peanut got my OCD, but at the same time it makes me laugh. I love how he organizes everything. I love watching his brain work as he does puzzles and builds big structures with Legos. He's pretty amazing. And I love how he can play for hours by himself. Such a fun boy.

Coco Crazy is at it Again...

As you can see, Jo Jo has struck again. I was downstairs and B was up helping the boys in the shower tonight. I could hear madness and mayhem going on upstairs, but that's usually what it sounds like when they're jumping around in the shower. I decided to finally go up and help finish everything up before scriptures. I walked in the entry way to this-

the stuffed animals had committed suicide. I thought Peanut was showing Jo Jo how to do it, but he was actually still in the bathroom. We have them all in a big blue tub in Peanut's room, and he was taking them one by one over to the stair railing and throwing them over. As I was coming up the stairs, he had started to take Peanut's clean jammies out of a tote and throwing those over as well.

We've had to start time outs because of his tantrums. He gets mad if you tell him "no" and starts throwing stuff-usually hard things-at everything and everyone. He's really lucky that he's so cute.

He got his first b-day card today from our Texas Randall cousins. He really liked the dog on the front. Thanks Aunt Janet!