Dad's Birthday Today

It is Dad's birthday today. Rick was up at 6am today and as I drove him to work he reminded me (along with my phone alarm, my planner and my callender) that it is Dad's birthday today.

In the Shumway family it is tradition for everyone to say something to the person having the birthday. We say something funny, sweet, or just something unique to that person. I knew that Dads birthday was coming and of course, even though he is no longer here, I still think of things I would say. I would say first to him that I love him. I always felt like a part of things in the family and I loved his sweet smile telling me that I belonged. I miss his funny stories and the humor that he had. We often laugh at things and say that is dad's kind of funny. I miss his dinners that he used to spoil us with. We were grown up but any chance to spoil us he took. Especially with Jacob. I think that as I thing about him this is one of the things I miss most. His love for Jacob was inspiring at times. Dad was kind, gentle and stable for Jake and I loved that. Jacob always knew that if we were visiting and he was near Grandpa, he could get away with a little more. (I remember that feeling with my Grandpa Bratton (my moms dad). He would sneak me some candy when mom said no. He would let us throw a fit a little longer than mom would (though with him, there was nothing to cry about. He gave us anything we wanted). That is the way that Grandpa Shumway was for Jakie. I miss that for Ricky. He will not have grandpa to smile when he squawks, to laugh when Ricky plays or to read to him the same story for the 100th time. Grandma will have to do double time and fill that void for the Shumway side.

Rick and I will often say" Grandpa would have let him do that" when we realize that we have been too harsh on Jake. It reminds us to have a soft heart and be more understanding of things that maybe we are a little too stringent on. That is so often a gift to me as a mother because I make amends for times I feel I was too tough.

I miss the many lessons I learned daily with dad. We love him so much. More than he could have known! I know he is no longer here to hear it but, Happy birthday Dad! Time here does not limit you, but I know that you are near on your day as we miss you and honor you with out thoughts as you did for us each year.

What We Are Up To

Hey all. Sorry about the lapse in blogs. We have been up to the busy business of life. Nothing too special has gone on in the past few weeks, just daily stuff. So, I use this blog as a daily (or whoever I enter it) blog and I love just adding little pieces of our days. I thought I would blog about nothing really to anyone else, but just things to remember and mark where we are at times. Hope no one gets too bored.

Ricky: He is not 5 months and a week. He is long, long, long! About 28 inches last measure. He is about 18lbs, not fat, but chunky. I love his tiny roles! Ricky loves to sit up, play in his Johnny Jumper (I will get pics/video of that sometime), but is so over laying on the floor. Tummy time is fun for him for about 10 minutes and then he has had it. He is too big for his swing now because his weight slows the swing and stops, so of course he is done there. Problem is that I cook, clean, do projects, do bills, etc. all day and I need a place for him to just be for a bit so my idea was the exerciser. I got it for 20$ on Craig's list and it was in perfect condition. I will sell it the day he is done with it too. I sure love it for the short while he loves it though. Here he is playing and enjoying his new toy. Other than that, we have all been hit with sickness. Ricky has had croup hit 2 times in just the last month so we have been home bound most of our fall/winter so far. He just woke up one morning and barked at me. Anyone that has ever heard croup cough knows what I mean. It literally sounds like a dog barking at you. We are all but recovered since we got medical treatment right away. Cant wait till spring!

Jakie: He is doing great in school, when he is there. Jake also got croup and had to be home for a week or so. His teacher Mrs. Patterson is fantastic and loves Jake so much. Even when he says the work "poop" and laughs about it in a naughty way. (It is hard to stop that one though. It is just built into our DNA to think poop is funny!) She reprimands him kindly, but lets it slide. She is kind, generous, understanding but firm with him and I love it. He really loves being in school and thus far, cant wait to go each morning. Jakie finished his first season of Soccer and loved it. He was thrilled when his coach came by after his last game (because he missed it when he was sick) with a trophy with D.C. United Soccer 2009 on it. Jake was sure he won MVP! I am so glad that he has things he loves and it makes me happy to see him learn new things. Jake has entered a really creative phase where he wants to learn about things, loves to paint, tell stories, watch shows on dinosaurs, play games and just loves being with mommy. I sure love this stage!

Sarah: I too have been sick a few times. I spend my days running the kids to things, doing play dates, Dr. appointments, cleaning the house, doing the bills, groceries, and getting Rick to and from work. I am exhausted most evenings but I absolutely love it. I have dong many jobs, worked a lot of hours in my life but I am so happy to be at home with the kids and running the home. I am truly happiest when things run well. No more cursing because I cant find socks, undies, or church clothes at the bottom of the hamper! Okay, maybe on Sundays, but only on occasion. My only really eciting news is that I CUT MY HAIR. I cut off about 6 inches so it now goes to my collar bone and I love it! I am able to do it every day and it looks nice all...well, most of the time. It still looks long enough and will grow out awesome. I will get pics up after I get them taken. Other than that ..I have been planning my brother Jonathan's wedding in TX. from PA.and that has been time consuming but fun. I love helping when I can and I have really enjoyed it. I get to go back and see him at Christmas for the wedding and spend Christmas Day with my family and Rick and the kids for the first time. I am excited. Our primary program is on the 22nd and we have been busy with that in church, but with councilors like mine, I don't worry much. I figure with the Kate, Barb, and that lord on my side, I cant mess much up! Wish us luck.

Rick: Rick has been busting his rear at work. He gets up every morning, commutes into work, supports the family and then comes home and plays Mr. mom. He is a one of a kind, hands on dad. I love him so much. He has had a few perks with work and friends and been to see a few College and pro games for football, baseball and hockey. He is actually at the Pitt/ Notre Dame game tonight and having a ball.

Like I said, nothing super new, but it sure exhausts us! We wish you were all here to hang out, maybe play some catch phrase, have some dinner and let our kids play together. We sure love you guys!

Fall Pictures With The Boys

Well, I tried...I swear I did! I swore a lot!!! (under my breath to myself.. Just kidding.) These pics were the hardest to get ever! I took tons of them yesteday afternoon and there was too much sun but I still managed to get some super cute ones. We changed locations 3 times between Ricky crying, Jake complaining, etc. Then I got home and accidentally deleted them
all :(

I went throught the trash bin of the computer and only the ones I deleted individually prior to deleting the whole folder could be restored. Total bummer! So, I have the rejects of yesterdays shoot and the ones that I did today too. So, you guessed it. I dragged them back out and shot until I saw tears-only 30 frames later. They were not having it! So, I gave up! Here are the best fruits of my labors...reject shots and all. They are not as cute as the ones I got yesterday, but they are still pretty cute. These kids are so photogenic! Jakie is trained by now but Ricky is not a fan of being photographed. I will have to train him up like his big brother and always have candy in my pocket to bribe him.

Enjoy:

Here are a few others that turned out pretty cute:

My Conversation With Jake

I thought I would share this conversation with everyone so that I don't ever forget what a funny boy I have, and so you can all see how sweet his little mind is. Here was our conversation as we watched the show Dinosaur Train on PBS.

Jakie: Mom, do you know what a carnivores and a herbivores are?
Me: well sure honey, it is when an animal eats meat, and when an animal eats plants.
Jakie: yeah mom, when a dinosaur eats meat or plants.
Me: well, not just a dinosaur honey, anything that eats meat is a carnivore and anything that eats plants is a herbivore.
Jakie: Oh, really, okay.
Jakie: (4 minutes later after he learns about omnivores) Mom, do you know what an omnivore is?
Me: Sure, it is when something eats both meat and vegetables.
Jakie: Yep, you sure are right mommy. You are really smart.
Me: Thanks honey, you sure are too.
Jakie: Well, I watch dinosaur train and they know a lot. I just learn it.
Me: I sure am glad that you learn it honey.

Jakie: (4 minutes later while mommy is nursing Ricky) Mom, I am an omnivore and so are you.
Me: Yep honey, you sure are.
Jakie: Yeah, and Ricky, he must be a Milk-ivore right?
Me: (after a few chuckles) Sure is honey. You are a smart one.
Jakie: Thanks mom, you sure are lovely and I love you.

Kids, Costumes, FUN!

Halloween with the kids. So, it is now Halloween afternoon and we have already been to 3 parties, filled a cookie jar with candy the kids got, and worn our costumes out. We did our ward party that the young women put on for the primary kids, pre-school party for Jacob and a friends Halloween party last night. We have really done it up this year! Jacob decided to be Spiderman and Ricky is a monkey (as seen in pictures and video below). It is so fun for me to see Jakie so excited about things and seeing him flip out about the Spiderman costume was especially so (see his face in the pics?? priceless!!). Ricky could not have cared less about his costume, but it sure was cute! We will take the kids again tonight to trick or treat with our friends and their kids but I think we are done with candy for a bit come Monday. I had a dentist that said parents should let their kids just binge on the candy, get over it and be done within 48 hours of Halloween. A binge of sugar (if you are still cleaning teeth every night) is easy to overcome, but the continued eating of candy for weeks/months does damage to your teeth. He is an authority and I know jack on the subject so I figured a binge is what Rick and Jake want so, we will binge and then it shall disappear by force if necessary. J/K. Anyhoo.. we are loving the season and cant wait until the next Holiday. This time of year goes so fast and I am ready for Christmas already! We were pregnant with Ricky this time last year and I was pretty sick so I am grateful for feeling good, having to healthy kids and a wonderful husband that I can share it all with. All that is missing is the rest of you guys! Enjoy the pics (just my very favorites) and videos. I think they are pretty darn cute!

And Ricky Was A: MONKEY

He does not sit up on his own yet, so this was a feet in itself! Would you look at those eyes!! He is all eyes and cheeks!
He loved his paws!
This one was just for the tail! I just want to eat him all up! So cute.

SPIDERMAN here was thrilled to have muscles. At a party Jake said excuse me to a kid as he passed and said, "you have to make room for the muscles!" -HA! Such a cutie!
Jakie's 4-5 year old class at Pre-School. They are all great kids!

**VIDEO OF JAKIE'S COSTUME PARADE AT PRE SCHOOL. Classic Speidey!Jakie's sweet Spidey moves! He is quite flexible and agile.

This one is a favorite. His face is so expressive!This was a bonus for mom. I said I'd give him candy if he gave me a muscle pose and smile. I love this kid!

MIA

Well Hello Everyone,

Sorry that I have been MIA (for you non military families ...Missing In Action) for a bit. We all got sick, Ricky ended up with croup and then we had a house guest so time on the computer was limited almost exclusively to bills that HAD to be paid. We are all getting back to normal and feeling better (though I am still hoarse from a cold). I hope you all have not been plagued by the sick that we have been. No H1N1 though, so I guess I can count my blessings, right? So, I will do a short catch up with a few pics below and see if we can get back on track. We didn't do much because we were sick for a few weeks, and even after Lisa Venturi came to visit, we just hung out, baked cookies, pies, etc. and lived life for a few more weeks with her here. Especially since she was sick for a week of her two week visit. Darn Colds! The weather turned cold a few days before she arrived and has been Fall weather since. We loved having her here and are loving fall and all that it offers. It is my favorite time of year for outdoor fun because the colors inspire me. I will update with more pics of costumes, parties, the kids in a fall picture or two, holiday plans, etc. as we go. I just wanted to get these out there! Lisa, we sure miss you!! Come back any time you can!! You are always welcome in our home for as long as you want to stay!

Fun At Our House!

Fall is in the air and for me, that means cleaning, baking, getting out into nature, etc. It is what spring is for me so naturally I have taken on 20-30 projects! That is how I spend my free time..

projects. I love them. Not crafting per -se..just finding something that needs to be done, made, photographed, commemorated, celebrated, anything as long as it is fun or worth while. So, today I was thrilled to tackle quite a few of them.

Project 1. I have been meaning to make a little habitat for a Caterpillar with Jacob for forever. It took all of about 5 minutes and it was so fun.(You can see the the little guy inside on the branch by jakies eye. He has white fur with a black legs and belly.)

Jakie was delirious with excitement and I loved watching him squeal about Jr. That is the caterpillars name. Junior (Jr.). The kids in the neighborhood were poking him with a stick when I found them and rescued him with Jake. Jake was poking him too, but I told him caterpillars are not bugs, they turn into butterflies, so we love them! He got excited and promptly promised not to kill him anymore. Thank goodness. You have to listen to the video I have on the little guy. Jake is so funny. Listen for the herbivore line. He watches animal planet and loves to use their lingo. I will post a pic when the little guy becomes a butterfly (if he makes it that long).



Project 2. Clean out the house. I have made room for Jakie's bike, my jogging stroller, blankets, etc. in a closet that a few days ago could not fit another thing in. Now I have room to spare. Shout out to the good folks at Goodwill that made that possible. Who needs 12 un-used bags for the airport?? 1200sq ft. can feel pretty big if you get rid of all of your crap! I got the kitchen re-organized, laundry done, dishes washed, a full run to wal-mart (a full days event in itself.). hit a swap meet, listened to conference and got cute today. I wish every day was Saturday!



Project 3. Paint Jacobs bed. We previously had Jacob sleeping on a box spring and mattress because I refused to by a cheap bed that would fall apart or that I hated. I wanted to find a great bed that I loved and would hang on to for a while. Well, a friend (that's you Kate) gave me a bed that they were going to donate that was perfect. I sanded, primed and painted it to be milky white and it is just perfect. I cant wait to afford a massive bundle of bedding that will rock the rooms world!! The bedding and frames and whole kids room (and house) decore will be my project for the tax return time!! YAY! Anyway, for now.. I am just glad that the bed works. (I will post a pic here tomorrow when the light allows a good pic)



Well, that was about it today. I had hoped to get the car cleaned out, take Jake to ride his bike and go to the park with Rick & The kids but the day just was not long enough! Also in the works, I am going to go do fall pics with my kids and hopefully a few trys with my friends kids. Can't wait!



Hope your conference weekend is wonderful. I am excited for tomorrows session. I just love my family, ward, and friends here. We miss you all and wish we were home to play and visit! Have a great week.