Compton Corners

Cute Videos

2012-02-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

Just some cute videos to go with the last post.

Sadie always keeps us smiling. She loves her pink pajamas, or her "jumpsuit,"

and her pink tutu.

Michael, the Not-So-Automatic Leaf-Compactor.

Tons of Pictures

2012-01-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

Sooo,I thought I had already posted all the pictures from Christmas, but apparently, I hadn't, so here is Christmas with the Comptons, plus a lot of pictures that are just too cute to not share. (Sorry, I forgot to rotate a bunch of these.)

Birthday:

I finally got smart about birthday cakes. In the past, I have always made a normal, "big" cake for everyone's birthdays which is always waaaay too much cake for all of us to eat before it goes bad. So this time, I made a bunch of little tiny cakes. We made one into the birthday cake, and froze the rest for future chocolatey enjoyment (see below).

Christmas at home: For the first time, we celebrated Christmas in our own home this year. All of Matt's family were kind enough to oblige us by coming to our house this year, and WE LOVED IT!

The kids were mesmerized by Grandpa's skills playing Angry Birds.

Chocolate for breakfast --Yum!

It didn't take Ada long to find the really cool toys to play with.

The day after Christmas, Aunty Sarah and Uncle Ben babysat for us so Matt and I could go see the King Tut exhibit at the museum of art. It was really cool: full of actual artifacts from his tomb. They didn't let us take pictures inside, but these were only slightly less cool.

Christmas at Nana's:

New Year's weekend, we went down to Nana's to celebrate Christmas with them. As always, the most exciting part was the stockings.

The kids enjoyed a little fishing . . .

One of Michael's favorite pass times right now is digging in dirt and finding rocks, each of which he proclaims to be some sort of fossil. He has found fossilized cats, squirrels, fish, shells, etc at our home, along with various bits of dinosaurs here and there. While at Nana's, Michael "discovered" a whole dinosaur skeleton. I thought he was pretty clever.

What Christmas is complete without making a gingerbread house?

Lake Tahoe:
Matt's firm had a business meeting in Nevada, and since one of the partner's has a house out there, he kindly invited me to come along and go skiing. Matt LOVES to ski, so of course we jumped at the chance to go skiing together. We made all our flights, picked up our rental car, and headed up into the mountains. Everything was going great, until after dinner when Adelaide started vomiting all over the place and then went limp. She didn't have any fever, so I thought maybe she was just exhausted from getting up at 5:00 a.m., staying up late, and not getting any really good naps in. Then someone suggested it may be altitude sickness. We did a quick Google search and learned that it is especially dangerous for young children. She fit all the symptoms so we rushed her down to the valley as quickly as we could. We rented a room at a hotel in Carson City (next door to a huge casino), and thankfully by the next morning she was better. We didn't dare take back up in the mountains, so the end result was that I stayed at the hotel with Adelaide for two days while Matt took care of business and got two half-days of skiing in. . . . Not exactly the vacation we had planned, but at least our little girl was okay.

The last day, we did a little hiking in the hills around Carson City. --It wasn't as high an altitude, and the view was beautiful.

Raking Leaves:
Having been raised out in the country, no one ever cared what our yard looked like. So, this is the first year that I have experienced the joy of leaf raking,

and raking,

and raking. We have filled over 40 bags by now, and the sweetgum tree is still far from bare.

Cute Pictures of the Kids:

Surprise!

I am so blessed to have such sweet children!

The kids loooove to play trains.

Michael loves to help me unload the car.

What a boy!

Finally a picture showing off her two little teeth.

She is sitting up really well now and rolling all over the place. She scoots backward really well, forward not-so-well, and can just barely make it up on all-fours. I'm pretty sure she'll be crawling within a month.

Sadie is such a little girl. She loves everything pink and is especially enamored with her pink tutu right now. She want to wear it all the time, every day. And she loves to dance. (See video clip to follow.)

Here she is sporting her first hair cut! Not that it was all that long; it was just getting a little strageley-looking, so this is an improvement.

Michael loves to climb trees and has claimed this one as his "tree house."

Sitting pretty.

A Very Merry Christmas

2011-12-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a year this has been! It has been so very hard and so very wonderful. This year's highlights include:

Michael turning 3
Michael getting potty trained
Matt finishing law school
Matt looking for a job
Jennie giving birth
Adelaide being born (three weeks prior to)
Matt taking (and passing) the Bar
Adelaide being extremely dairy-intolerant (and very cranky until)

Jennie learns to live without dairy
Matt finding the perfect job at Clearman Prebeg, LLC
Sarah turning 2
Jennie house hunting (with Michael, Sarah and Adelaide all in tow)
The whole family moving
Buying our first washing machine (Oh, happy day!!!) and first lawn mower
Kids loving the novelty of having a backyard (with their own dirt pile! . . .Thank goodness for the washing machine!)
Jennie putting up Christmas lights for the first time
Having Christmas in our own home for the first time

Having wonderful Family and Friends who love and support us continually, and whom we love so dearly!!!

Our lives are overflowing with blessings great and small. The Lord has led us down a rocky path these last few years, but we are finally beginning to see the blessings of taking the road less traveled. But one of the greatest blessings remains constant --the love we feel from each of you. We love you all, think of you often, and pray for your welfare and happiness.

Have a blessed and happy Christmas!

Love,
Matt, Jennie,
Michael, Sarah & Adelaide

Holi-daze

2011-12-06T15:02:00.000-08:00

So it's been a while since I've had a chance to update the 'ol blog. Downloading and looking through all the pictures on my camera, I realized it's been two very full months. So following is a quick run-down of the holidays and other momentous occasions our family has enjoyed.

Sarah's Birthday
We held Sarah's 2nd birthday party at the park close to our house. Lots of friends came to celebrate with us, but this little girl had eyes for only one "person" . . .

her "Thomas Cake." She insisted on a Thomas-the-Tank-Engine cake for her birthday, and I had a lot of fun making it. Sadly, the day was warm enough that the frosting melted really fast, but it was cute while it lasted.

Sarah Compton and Sarah Turner: could have been twins? A friend from BYU moved into our ward about a year ago and, oddly enough, has a daughter named Sarah. Their birthdays are just a week apart and they even look similar: same height, same fair skin, same blue eyes, same strawberry-blond hair, etc.

Halloween

Of course, we made our annual Jack-o-lantern. This year, for some reason, Jack succumbed to black mold rather quickly and within a week turned into a black, mushy, grotesque mess. Fitting for the holiday, perhaps, but still really disgusting. He didn't even make it to Halloween; we had to toss him early.

For trick-or-treating, Sadie was a blue dragonfly. Michael wanted to be a fireman again, but in all the craziness of packing for our move, I couldn't find his costume. So, we whipped up a super-fast robot costume out of a yet-empty box, aluminum foil, packing tape, and glow-bracelets.

The Move
Sorry, no pictures of the action. It all happened so fast, I totally forgot to take pictures. With the help of my parents, brother, sister, and a neighbor who owns a moving company we got almost everything moved in one evening. Then, it was just a matter of unpacking, putting away, and cleaning.

In all the commotion, Adelaide learned to find comfort in sucking her thumb. Both Matt and I were thumb-suckers, so it had to happen to at least one of our children. As soon as she started sucking her thumb, she started sleeping through the night. Hooray!

Michael is such a good boy. He is always eager to help with anything and everything. His favorite compliment is to be told that he is a "good worker." The week we moved in, I bustling around trying to put things away. I had unloaded the dishwasher but hadn't had time to do the dishes. Suddenly, there was Michael in the kitchen doing the dishes for me. I was amazed. Considering he is only 3 1/2, he did a really good job too!

Solid Food
Adelaide is now almost 5 months old, and I started her on baby food this month. This is a picture of her first experience; she sloppily, but happily, gobbled it down. She now eagerly anticipates her "solid" meal each day.

Matt, Esq.
Here is Matt getting sworn and becoming an official, fully fledged lawyer.

Matt's 33rd Birthday
Mmmmmm . . . Birthday ice cream.

Thanksgiving
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my everyone in both of our families. We spend several days with my folks. The whole family was there. My mom put me in charge of keeping all the kids occupied, so I planned lots of different activities. Here we are making Thanksgiving posters.

Here we are on a fossil hunt.

"Turkey Olympics" included funny face contests, relays,

a ball fight,

and, everyone's favorite, a pie eating contest.

Hyrum was the victor and Kylie came in a close second. Cole made a good showing and certainly came out the messiest, thanks to Uncle Stephan.

I think the kids' favorite thing to do was feed the animals.

Nana and Popie had lots of baby ducks and chickens to pet and cuddle.

Aunt Alison has adopted one of the chickens and taught it to sit on her arm.

We also spent several day with Matt's family and enjoyed another Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma Lamm's house. (Sorry, I forgot my camera.) It was lovely to see everyone there.

Sadie got a few belated birthday presents, including this cute tutu. She loves everything pink, so it was a big hit.

Other Events of Note
One of Sadie's birthday presents was a "little pink potty." We're taking a very relaxed approach to potty training this time around.--She can use it when she wants . . .and when I have time to supervise . . . so it's not very often. But here she is sooo proud after a big "success."

We've been having lots of fun fixing up the house. My parents gave us an old desk and shelf that needed repainting. I finally gave up waiting for some time without the kids around, so I got everything out, took a deep breath, and said they could help. We had lots of fun and they didn't get nearly as messy as I thought they would. . . . The paint job isn't perfect, but there are more important things.

Last weekend, Matt bought our very first lawn mower. The whole family, minus Adelaide, got to help push the mower.

The kids couldn't wait to decorate for Christmas, so everything is out and up.

I grew up in the country and we never bothered with Christmas lights. All my adult life, I've lived in apartments. So this was the first year I got to put up Christmas lights on the house. It was actually really easy because the original owners, long ago, screwed in little hooks all around the eves. I thought it was brilliant.

On Top of the World

2011-10-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

We have some exciting news. --Matt got a job working at a law firm here in Houston, Clearman Prebeg, and it's doing exactly the kind of work he wanted to do: IP litigation. He worked with two of the partners last summer as an intern, then they split off to form a new firm. They hired Matt on contract basis a few weeks ago and liked his work so well, they made him an offer for a permanent position within a week and a half. He loves the work and comes home super-excited about everything he's done that day. But it's so frustrating for me, because he's so excited about his work, and he can't tell anything about the cases he's working on. Oh, well. At least he's happy.

Also, we will be moving at the end of the month. Finally a house with a backyard and a washer and dryer of my very own! I'm not sure how long the link will be good for, but you can check out our house at http://search.har.com/engine/4421-De-Milo-Dr-Houston-TX-77092_HAR64364041.htm (We're renting, not buying it.)

The last few weeks, with Matt getting a job, and then a permanent position so quickly, and then finding the perfect house, have seemed miraculous to us. I feel like we've been mountain climbing for the last four years and we've finally reached the summit and are looking down on the beautiful valley below. Yes, we still have a long way to go, but right now, we can take a breather, enjoy the view, and marvel at God's goodness, power, and mercy in our lives.

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I've been so busy, I haven't had time to update the blog in a while. So here are some pics from the last month or so.

Family picture from the day of Adelaide's Blessing. We had a nice luncheon after church with Matt's family, my family, and several neighbors.

Aunt Lisa and Sadie.

Ahhhhh. Time to relax --for the kids and for me. This was one of the few times all three kids have fallen asleep at the same time, so I had a good 30 mins of peace and time to myself. I was so excited, I had to take a picture. . . . Of course I had to spend the whole time in the car with them, but it was still very pleasant.

"Mom, why do you keep looking into that little silver box?"

"No, I don't want to smile for the camera."

"All right, all right. How about a half-smile."

Grandma came to visit for a few days and we loved having her.

Finally a real smile!

We went to the beach several weeks ago, as a "last-hurrah" before Matt started working.

A few days before, someone sent me a YouTube video of the Tsunami in Japan. The kids were at my elbows watching it too, so I explained in simple terms what a tsunami was. When we went to the beach and Michael saw the waves, even though he has loved!!! the beach before, he went berserk. He threw a huge fit thinking that the waves were going to come up and wash us all away. It took a looooong time for him to calm down, but he eventually did. (The moral of this story is --Never let your kids watch YouTube!)

Feeding the gulls.

Michael and Sarah both hated the ocean as babies, but it didn't seem to phase Adelaide one bit.

Fun with Dad

2011-08-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

Since Matt finished the Bar, he's been at home job searching part time and being a full-time Dad, nanny, au pair, mother's helper, or whatever you want to call it. I would have gone crazy by this time without his help. He is the best! And since this is his first real vacation in four years, we're taking full advantage of it and doing lots of fun things.

We've been to the Children's Museum and the Natural Science Museum. (The kids can't get enough of the dinosaurs.)

We had an indoor campout. No we didn't sleep in the tent, but the kids had fun getting ready for our "campout" by turning the lamps into trees and hiding stuffed "forest animals" around the living room. The big thrill was turning off all the lights, climbing into the tent with a flashlight and Dad telling camp fire stories. (Nothing scary.)

Playing with water is always a hit. Sadie especially enjoys her mini-pool.

Matt took Michael to NASA Space Station. What a perfect father-son outing!

They looked at all kinds of cool space things. Michael got to touch a real moon rock. And they rode two different flight simulators. That was the coolest!

With so much to see and do, our little space cadet was pretty spacey by the end of the day.

With Matt here to help take care of Adelaide, I try to use my "free" time to play with Michael and Sarah. Sadie is really into dress-up right now, and of course, I play along.

More fun with rockets . . . Matt bought an even bigger rocket and used the same size engine in the hopes it wouldn't fly as far this time. We fired it off in the middle of a huge, empty field

and, of course, it landed in a tree at the edge of the field.

It took quite a bit of time and help to get it out. It took a group of homeschool boys and some tools borrowed from the park maintenance crew to finally get it out.

Adelaide News:

Adelaide continues to grow at an astonishing rate. She's a lot more fussy than either Michael or Sarah were, but we're slowly learning how to make her more happy, or at least cope with the fussiness. Tonight we tried giving her camomile tea (Pediatrician and Grandma recommended) and it was the first time we'd even tried to give her a bottle. And it worked! She took the bottle with no problem and drank the whole thing! (Neither of my first two babies would take a bottle at all, so this was pretty amazing to me.) She settled down a little, eventually fell asleep, and woke up happy. Wow!

She will only sleep during the day if you're holding on your shoulder. She sleeps in her bassinet just fine at night, but if you lay her down any other time of day, she immediately wakes up. It'd be fine if I didn't have two other kids in need of attention too . . .

She learned to smile this week, but I haven't caught a picture of it yet. Previously, this was about as close to a happy face as we could get.

Michael News:

Michael has recently learned to do buttons. This is a shirt he buttoned all the way all by himself!

He is a great big-brother. He loves coloring and doing "crafts" (anything involving scissors and glue).

Sadie News:

Sadie is in love. Not with the boy next door. Not with a favorite stuffed animal. Not even with Mom or Dad. She is totally head over heels in love with "Thomas the Tank Engine." She idolizes anything that has to do with Thomas, and carries her little Thomas trains everywhere she goes. She checks out "Thomas" videos at the library every week and watches them every chance she gets. And when she can't watch the videos, she carries around the DVD case so it can be near her. We're not sure how this infatuation began, but I suppose it's just one of those things she'll grow out of, right?

Pretty in pink --her favorite color.

Sadie recently discovered how fun it is to stick things down your shirt--if you're wearing a onesie.

And baby makes three . . .

2011-08-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

Wow! Three kids is a lot more than two. Thankfully, I've had my mom and Matt to help out these last few weeks as we are all adjusting. We stayed with my parents for 2 1/2 weeks after Adelaide was born while Matt was preparing for and taking the bar. (He took it last week, but won't have the results until early November.)

Michael and Sarah loved being at Nana's and getting extra attention, and I loved having the extra help. Matt's mom came up a few times to help out too. Now, we're back at home trying to get into a new routine and adjusting to new rules. (e.g. "No, you can't sleep in the bassinet." "Binkis are only for babies, not big girls." and "Aaaahhh! You can't push the baby swing that high! She'll fall out!") Thankfully, Matt is at home helping out until he starts working.

Just some pictures from the last few weeks:

Visiting at the hospital

Going home

Nana and Popie got a new puppy, Freckles. He's a little rambunctious still and pulled Michael down on the gravel driveway while taking a walk. Michael got pretty skinned up and got a huge goose egg on his head. The picture doesn't do it justice.

Despite that, he and Michael became fast friends.

The kids have been really sweet with Adelaide. They have been surprisingly gentle and are always wanting to tickle her feet.

Watercoloring

Watering the plants

At the splash park

Popie's shoes are hard to fill

Fun with balloons

Bath time

Adelaide Ellen Compton

2011-07-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

Adelaide Ellen Compton was born on Friday, July 8, 2011. She is 8 lbs 8 ounces and both mom and baby are doing well. The epidural took 4 pokes and still did not work, but the hard labor was less than 1 hour, so that was very nice. Below are the pictures that you want. Enjoy.

Rocket Boys

2011-07-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

For the last month or so, Matt and Michael have slowly been putting together a model rocket. They finally blasted it off over the weekend. Both of my boys were so proud! The only problem is it went so high, we couldn't find it again. Michael firmly believes it blasted into outer space and aliens are now playing with it. . . and they might even shoot it back to us.

The kids also had lots of fun chasing each other up and down the hill at the park while Dad tried to get the fuse lit.

In other news, I am going to be induced this Friday, 8th, so we'll soon have more news and pictures.

D-day approaches . . .

2011-06-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

As my due date approaches, things are getting more interesting at our house. Within the last two months, I've given two different baby showers for friends. When I explained to Michael why I was giving them baby showers, he decided we needed to have a baby shower for our baby. So, here was our baby shower, complete with left over St. Patrick's Day paper goods. (Michael picked them out.)

We even wrapped up some baby clothes I had gotten on sale and let the kids unwrap them. That was the big highlight, of course.

That was several weeks ago. Today, we had another sonogram done to see about how big #3 is. From the measurements, she's weighing in 8 lbs. 10 oz., plus or minus 1 lb. --with 3 more weeks to go. This is definitely another Michael-sized baby. We're considering inducing early. . . The picture is kind of fuzzy, but you can see her eyes, nose and big round cheeks.

Several months ago, we did an "experiment" and rooted a potato. We planted it in a pot and have been faithfully watering it. When the leaves started turning brown, we decided it was finally time to dig it up and see if we were going to have any fruits from our labors. And we did! We dug up 3 mini-potatoes. The kids were so proud! We cooked them up for dinner that night, and they were delicious!

Michael and Sadie continue to enjoy building "nests" together.

Fun Times

2011-06-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

Michael loves to watercolor, but I hate the mess. My latest bright idea? Watercolor the tub! They have fun, the mess is contained, and it washes right off.

Another great idea? Flingings! As a reward for cleaning up, Matt gives the kids three "flingings" on the couch each night. The kids love it, it's great motivation to clean quickly, and it helps get out any extra energy before bedtime.

This week as part of our library's summer reading program, they brought in a bunch of live snakes for the kids to see and hold. Soooo fun! Michael even gave one of the king snakes a hug and kiss.

Sibling Sociality

2011-06-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks, Michael and Sadie have really -finally!- started having fun together. (As opposed to tolerating each other as they've played near one another, at best, and fighting over toys, at worst.) It started when we moved Sadie's crib from our closet into Michael's room (in order to make room for the new baby in our closet.) I was really worried how they would both handle it, but it has been surprisingly positive. They love being able pile stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets into one of the two cribs and then crawl in and play together. --And it's always Michael who starts things off by calling, "Do you want to come in here, Sadie?"

They have also discovered the fun of taking the couch cushions off to tumble on,

watering plants together (This is what they do when I say "look up" at the camera.),

and playing jack-in-the-box. --They climb into two large buckets we have to hold toys (after emptying all the contents onto the floor, of course), cover themselves up with a blanket, and then pop up together.

We still deal with the occasional squabble, but it's sooo nice to see them starting to be friends!

In other news. . .

We spent the last two weekends out of town. The first weekend, we went to Austin and stayed with my folks so we could attend our friend Yi Jeng's graduation from UT with her Ph.D. During the several years preceding our official courtship, Yi Jeng was always gently prodding us to get together. So in a way, you could say she was our match-maker.

Her father flew all the way from Taiwan to see her graduate and it was lovely to finally get to meet him. They flew back to Taiwan together, and we have promised to come visit her there someday. Congratulations, Yi Jeng! We will miss you!

The next weekend, we went to visit Matt's family. Poor Matt and his dad spent all of Memorial Day painting their fence.

But we also enjoyed going swimming at the pool, attending a garden show, climbing trees,

and blowing bubbles.

A friend from our ward gave Michael a little suit to wear to church. Doesn't he look snazzy!?

One of Matt's favorite books to read to the kids is "Little Baa." It's amazing how, no matter how many times they've heard it, they still pay rapt attention.

Graduation

2011-05-15T18:51:00.001-07:00

We can hardly believe we're at the end of law school. It's been a long haul for all of us, but I am so proud of Matt and all the work he has done. It has been amazing to me to see him stretch and grow in so many ways -as a husband and father, as well as a student -these last three years. I love you, Matt!

(He's the one walking across the stage with the tassels on. He graduated magna cum laude.)

We are also soooo grateful for the love, support, and prayers of our families through this extended ordeal. We couldn't have done it without all of you . . . or at least not and have stayed sane.

(Yikes! I look like a big blob --and I still have two more months to go.)

April Showers of Blessings

2011-05-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

Matt took the Patent Bar on April 27th (and PASSED!), and since he hadn't had any time to study up to that point, the kids and I evacuated our apartment to let him hunker down with his MPEP (Manual of Patent Examining Procedure). Where to go for a week and a half? Grandma's, of course! We got to spend a few days in San Antonio with Matt's family. Grandma took us to visit some beautiful botanical gardens, and the kids had fun helping out in Grandma's own backyard garden.

When the kids woke up from naps Friday afternoon, Aunt Rachel surprised them with Easter baskets! And the Easter Bunny made an early visit to the backyard. The kids were so excited! Michael knew just what to do, and it didn't take Sadie long to figure it out. (Sorry, I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures! :(

Saturday morning, we headed back to my folk's place for our family's annual Easter reunion and egg hunt. We had a ton of people there and LOTS of kids for the egg hunt this year. My brother Jeremy even came down with his family for an extended vacation, so we got to spend lots of time with them.

The kids took their egg hunting very seriously.

Ever since, when Michael says his prayers, he includes the phrase "Thank you for the Easter hunt."

Fun Stuff:

Michael enjoyed the chocolate fountain a little too much . . .

and Sadie enjoyed her broccoli a little too much.

Egg dying, of course.

Feeding the horses became a daily ritual.

Popie trapped an armadillo in the garden. --The day after, there was an article in the newspaper about how they spread leprosy. Yikes!

We took the kids on their first real train ride. We missed the first train we wanted, so we got to play around the station while we waited for the next one.

Big Kids

Little Kids

I think this one's funny because you can see me taking the picture in the door's reflection.

The conductor was really nice and let each of the boys blow the horn.

The train took us all the way downtown. As we walked to a park to eat our picnic lunch, we passed a fire station. One of the fire fighters called us over and asked if the boys would like to see the inside of the fire engine. Yes!!! What a fun, impromptu tour! She even flashed the lights and blew the horn for us.

When we finally came home, Jeremy and Megan followed us down to Houston, and we got to spend a few days playing with them here. We went to Herman Park,

(The boys loved the "bamboo forest" in the Japanese Garden,

and of course the play area was a hit.)

took a boat tour of the Houston Channel,

(This was so cool! We sailed past HUGE tankers and cargo ships from all over the world being loaded and unloaded. --And it was free! The Houston Channel Authority gives free tours twice a day for tourists.)

and went to Galveston beach. It was a gray, windy day, and the beach was covered in seaweed, but it didn't phase the kids one bit.

I am so glad my kids have cousins their ages to play with! What a blessing it is to have such a wonderful, loving family!

In mid-April, Matt and I got to attend the Houston Law Review's formal banquett. The week before, I had won a make-over at our ward's Young Women's Girl's Camp auction, so I spent all day at my friend Emily's house getting all primped up for the evening. It was the first time I've ever gotten an up-do, and she also gave me a hair cut, manicure, pedicure, and did my makeup. It made for a long, but fun day.

This is sooo cute! To get the kids ready for Easter --and focused on the true meaning rather than the egg hunt and candy --we reviewed a simplified version of the Easter story before bed each night. By the end of the week, they both had it memorized. Sadie especially loved rolling the stone away, and now whenever she sees something round (e.g. a dinner plate), she rolls it back and forth saying "Jesus resurrected!

Just a Cute Picture

2011-04-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a cute moment. Michael watched me pick Sadie out of her crib after nap time today, and he decided that he wanted to pick Sadie up too. . . Only, she's too big for him, and she didn't seem to appreciate his efforts to pick her up. So I sat them on the couch together, and that seems to satisfy them both.

Peanut Butter Anyone?

2011-03-30T19:17:00.001-07:00

Just thought I'd post this. Matt has been volunteering every other weekend at the peanut butter factory for the last 2 1/2 years.

http://newsroom.lds.org/article/more-than-peanuts-for-the-hungry-in-houston

Spring Break

2011-03-29T18:53:00.001-07:00

I must admit, I never actually thought it would happen. But Matt took a whole week off for spring break! And even more special, he took me on an anniversary get-away trip to Wimberly. It was only two days, but we packed as much as we could into those days! We visited art galleries and antique shops in Wimberly and Boerne, a glass-blowing factory,

a bonsai exhibit, and an olive orchard. And of course, we found time for a few walks together.

As much as I love my children, I have to admit, it was nice to have a little time away to just be "Jennie" and not "Mom." And when we got back (A million thanks to Matt's family for watching the kids!), the kids never even seemed to miss us. . . . I think we'll have to do this more often!

The kids are learning to play pretty well together. Now that Sadie is a little older, she tags along with Michael and enjoys doing pretty much whatever he does. They love playing puppets,

playing with their farm sets, reading, having picnics outside, making towers (Dad helped a bit with this one),

coloring, playing with play dough, helping me "garden" (ie. water plants), and making "pillow nests."

In other news, Michael is now officially a "Big Boy!" (In other words, he is potty-trained!) After his third birthday, we decided to just go cold-turkey and take away all his diapers. I have to admit, I was scared, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. We've been working with him for the past year, and when it came time to make the switch, he seemed to know exactly what we expected. Way to go Michael!

It's a Girl!

2011-03-04T11:54:00.000-08:00

It's official. Baby Compton #3 is another little girl. We are thrilled! She and Sadie will be close in age and have lots of fun together.

At one point during the ultrasound, she appeared to be waving at us. I guess she just can't wait to join her new family.

Busy February

2011-03-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

February was a very busy month including Valentine's Day and Michael's third birthday!

For Valentine's breakfast, I made heart-shaped toast with red sprinkles. --It was a big hit.

Matt planned on taking me out on a romantic lunch date. But when babysitting fell through, it turned into a family event. We did a little shopping (What does a loving, student-couple buy for their romantic Valentine's gift to each other? A new, high-quality can opener from William Sonoma, of course!), then went out to lunch at Pappa's Burger. Following lunch, we opened cards and "treats." I surprised Matt with the biggest card I could find. Sadly, even a giant card can't fully express my love.

We made a trip to San Antonio where Grandma took us to the S.A. Livestock Show. It was sooo fun.
What with the baby animals exhibit,

the tractors to climb on,

the pony rides,

the milking exhibit,

and the Vlasic Pickle Stork,

the fun never ended!

Then, we headed north to Leander to celebrate Michael's birthday with my family. There was a burn ban in effect, so instead of a bonfire outside, we roasted hotdogs over the fireplace. --It was almost just as fun.

We also got to ride around the park on the train.

Michael wanted a Bob the Builder birthday party, so Uncle Stephan and his friend, Jen, created a masterpiece of a cake complete with workmen, bulldozers, and plenty of dirt.

It was a very fun birthday!

When we got home, we celebrated again with Dad.

The highlight was the amazing racetrack Dad got him. It's flexible, so you can bend it into ramps and loops.--Heaven for little (and big) boys!

More cute pics:

When the big cold fronts came through last month, we were a little anxious for spring, so we had a few indoor picnics. (Now that the weather is beautiful, we've been having outdoor picnics just about every day for lunch.)

Michael went through a phase where he was obsessed with flashlights. We finally gave him his own little flashlight, and every night when we'd go in to check on him, we'd find him curled up under the covers, fast asleep with his flashlight still glowing.

Another favorite pastime is getting spun and flung on the couch by Dad.

Sadie always seems to have a smile on her face. She is such a happy little person, she's an absolute joy to have in our family!

Holiday Round-up

2011-01-22T20:12:00.001-08:00

Okay, so if you haven't heard already . . . I'm expecting another baby (due July 15th). The last 3 months have been a little chaotic dealing with morning sickness on top of the usual holiday madness. So, forgive me for not updating the blog in a while. Evenings have been particularly hard this time around, which is usually the only time I have to do things like blogging.

But, I'm finally beginning to feel better. Hurray! (It's 9:30, and I haven't passed out on the couch yet!) So here is a very abbreviated photo-summary of the last few months . . . or, at least those few times I actually remembered to take pictures.

November included Matt's birthday --the big 3-2!--

and Thanksgiving at the Compton's in San Antonio. It was the same weekend the morning sickness kicked in. So, sorry, no pictures. It was kind of funny. We hadn't told anyone we were expecting yet. We showed up at their house, and I looked looked and felt horrible. Matt's mom knew something was up. After a few polite hints that I didn't look so good, I finally fessed up.

December included my birthday --the ahem-2. (Again, no pics.) And, of course, Christmas! Our Christmas celebration included 3 rounds of present opening.

Round 1 --Our Home

Round 2 --Matt's Parents'
We went down a few days before Christmas to spend time with Matt's family and to meet John's new fiancee, Kaylin, and her daughter, Brooklyn. (Congratulations you two!) We had lots of fun taking family pictures, visiting, and of course, opening presents! We also had a special treat when Lisa shared some of her experiences from study abroad at BYU Jerusalem, including some culinary delights she brought home with her. (Pop-Rock Chocs and Baklava. Yum!)

Round 3 --My Parents'
On Christmas Eve, we headed up to my parents'. We actually had the entire family there for a few days --all 18 of us --and it was a blast!

Big pile of presents Christmas morning.

Michael getting into his stocking.

Sadie loves her new scooter --so did all the other kids! Here she is checking out Hunter's dinosaur.

The gingerbread houses were a big hit. Fun to make

and fun to eat!

One day, we went down to the Austin Nature Center. We had a picnic and played around,

saw some wild animals,

and DUG UP DINOSAUR BONES!

Help! Help! My parents are burying me alive!

We also got to ride the train at Zilker Park.

Celebrating New Year's Eve, Michael was in little-boy-heaven watching all the fireworks --so were Daddy, Popie, and all the uncles and cousins.

Sadie was pretty impressed too. She sat on my lap mesmerized, not a bit scared.

Matt and I kept up our New Year's tradition of greeting the sun. Here comes another beautiful year . . .

Sarah is walking!

2010-11-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Funny video of Sadie using an improvised walker while at Grandma's. She has finally started walking on her own this week, though she's still pretty wobbly. I'll try to post a good video of it soon.

Halloween at Grandma's

2010-11-03T20:14:00.001-07:00

I took the kids to Grandma's house in San Antonio for Halloween weekend. (Poor Matt had to stay home and study.) We had so much fun! Their ward had their Trunk-or-Treat Saturday night. Michael was so excited to get to go trick-or-treating again!

By the second time around, Michael had this figured out. Mom and Grandma had to run to keep up with him.

Visiting Grandpa's trunk was extra special.

A bucketful of booty!

Even more exciting, however, was giving out candy with Aunt Sarah on Halloween night! Believe it or not, he was this animated for 1 1/2 hours giving out candy. It was a true lesson that "It is better to give than to receive."

Halloween Fun

2010-11-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Here is one happy fireman!

Sadie (if you can't tell) played the part of the faithful dalmatian fire dog.

We had lots of fun at our ward's Trunk-or-Treat on the 27th. Michael loved trick-or-treating! Sadie had no idea what it was all about, but tolerated it pretty well.

Matt sacrificed several hours to decorate our trunk in preparation for the event. Decorations included spider webs, flying bats, miscellaneous bugs, and a partial skeleton. When the trick-or-treating started, he folded down the back seat of our car, climbed through to the trunk, covered himself with a black sheet, then waved the bones around and made spooky sounds to scare the kids. They loved it! . . . However, I'm not so sure how Matt felt about it when it was all said and done. He took some abuse from several 10-year-old boys who thought it was funny to grab the bones and whack him under the sheet. And the fact that it was still 80 degrees out and pretty hot under there. . . . But all that work paid off. We won the funniest trunk award and got a trophy and everything! Good job Matt!

Birthday Girl!

2010-10-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Sarah just celebrated her first birthday! I can't believe it's already been a year since she joined our family. --At the same time, I can't imagine our family without her!

She has been the sweetest baby, and now that she's getting more personality I can tell she is going to be lots of fun. She has a lot of spunk and definitely knows her own mind! Her favorite pastime right now is to grab my fingers and lead me to exactly what she wants --the bookshelf (at which point she will start pulling books off the shelf one at a time until she finds the one she wants), the toy box (she digs around until she finds the exact toy she wants), or the kitchen for a snack. And don't even think of trying to lead her somewhere she doesn't want to go!

This girl is smart! She is actively using 5 words now --Mama, Dada, bath, duck (Can you guess what her favorite time of day is?), and pancake ("pa"). She can also point out a few different object in picture books while we're reading.

(Mom, why did you stick me in a boat full of pumpkins?)

While visiting my parents earlier this month, we took a trip to a pumpkin farm. Matt's mom drove up from San Antonio to double the fun. The kids had a blast! We will definitely be going back.

This was the cutest thing ever! Using hay as bait, Michael learned how to entice the goats at the petting zoo to stick their heads through the fence so he could give them big hugs.

Pumpkin painting is messy, but good fun.

Michael, Kylie, and Cole after successfully completing the kiddie corn maze.

Michael loved cutting flowers for his fall bouquet with Grandma. The real fun lay in using the scissors, which, up to that point, I had never let him use before.

Back at Nana's house, Sadie spent most of her time in the swing outside. (It doesn't matter how cold it is, she hates wearing socks and pulls them off as quickly as she can.)

Michael enjoyed reading the paper outside with Nana

and baking Halloween cookies. (Nana asked him what color he wanted them to be and he said purple! If the color was a little unappetizing, the taste made up for it.)

We also had a little birthday celebration for Sadie and my brother Joel. Mmmmmm . . . chocolate cake!

Back in Houston, we celebrated Sadie's birthday by going to the zoo. We took her there several months ago, but she was definitely more interested in the animals this time around.

She was mesmerized by this hornbill that was squawking and flapping all over its cage.

Michael loved the reptile house. Yes, that really is an albino alligator!

Sadie preferred the aquarium.

Being close to Halloween, Michael got to color a pumpkin and take it home!

That evening, we enjoyed some birthday custard. . . . Actually, Sadie didn't really enjoy it. She kept spitting it out.

September Recap

2010-10-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

Over the River and Through the Woods . . .

Since my last post, we've made 3 trips to Grandmas' houses, so I will give a brief recap of each:

#1 to Nana's

We visited Nana for a few days and enjoyed a picnic at Georgetown Park,

making cookies with Nana,

and a trip to a nearby petting zoo,

including a free wagon ride provided by Uncle Stephan.

#2 to Grandma's

Then we headed south to visit Grandma. Our visit included lots of sidewalk chalk (Michale is so funny! Whenever I say "Look up" so I can take a picture, he takes me literally and looks straight up.),

a trip to the Texas Transportation Museum (of course!),

and a trip to Natural Bridge Caverns.

Michael looooooves caves! He has had his room decorated as a cave ever since he saw the Caves episode of Planet Earth--complete with stalagmites, stalactites, bats, and birds.

Sadie liked it too!

Thank you, Grandma, for making this little boy's dream come true!

#3 back to Grandma's

A few days after getting back home, we got a phone call from Grandpa saying he was just called to be the bishop of their ward. So, we made another quick trip the following weekend to see him sustained and set apart. What a special day!

Coincidentally, that Sunday was also Grandparent's Day. Michael and Sadie made some very sweet cards.

More pics & updates:

Matt is in the middle of his second-to-last semester of law school. Yikes this semester is going by fast! He will be taking his first midterm next week.

He is the sweetest husband and father!. . . .and yes, he is still giving me 2 hours a week free!

Michael is all over the place. He is the sweetest little boy most of the time, and then in in a split-second, he throws himself into a raging fit. He is talking non-stop now, and he loves to sing. He favored me with a spontaneous rendition of "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam" this afternoon. He is learning to dress himself . . . that is to say more correctly, to undress himself. (I leave him in a room fully clothed and come back a minute later to find him completely stripped.) He loves making little crafts, helping in the kitchen, and wearing hats!

Sadie is close to walking. She loves holding my hands leading me around the house. With the cooler weather, we've started taking more walks, and more often than not, she will lead me to the stroller and start climbing in wanting to go out. She uttered her second word last week --duck! (She has several bath toy ducks she loves playing with, so I guess that just stuck. --"Mama," was her first word, of course!) She loves reading just as much as Michael did at this age and will drag books up to Matt and me wanting us to read to her. She hates wearing hats! I had to really work to snatch this one before she whisked it off her head.

Author?

2010-08-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, one of my life-long goals has been to publish a book. And now that I'm about 1/3 of the way through my life, I figured I had better get started. So here it is--my first manuscript submission about to be put in the mail.

"What is it about?" you ask. Suffice it to say, it's a very simple rhyming story that I think would make a great picture book. . . . If it does ever get published, you can read it then.

Matt has been an angel! He has whisked the kids off and given me two hours to myself each Saturday for the last month to work on this. . . . I'm really hoping he can keep it up, even with classes starting soon. All he can promise me is "We'll see."

In other news:

Sarah is getting her top front teeth in finally! She is just starting to cruise around the furniture and is becoming more and more aggressive about wanting to play with Michael's toys. --He, in turn is also becoming more aggressive. Sibling rivalry, here we come!!!

Motorcycle Mama. . . um Baby!

Yesterday, she got really ambitious and crawled up onto Michael's tricycle. She held on pretty well, and I pushed her around the living room a bit. She loved it!

Sarah has taken a special liking to a monkey puppet that I actually bought to give to my mother. Every time she sees it, she pulls it down and gives it to me wanting me to put it on and play with her.

Mom, I have to give this thing to you before it becomes another Toad.

Bay House

2010-08-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

My Uncle Richard was kind enough to let us use his house on the San Leon peninsula. The kids and I enjoyed three days with my mom, nephew Cole, niece Kylie. The house looks directly out on Galveston Bay and we had fun rocking on the big porch swing and watching all the huge ships sailing by.

Of course, we headed to the beach!

Michael was in little-boy heaven! He spent the whole time digging in the sand.

Sarah makes the cutest beach baby!

(Back at home) She is definitely turning into a Daddy's Girl.

Fourth of July

2010-07-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

For Independence Day, I took the kids to my folks house. What was going to be just a quick weekend trip turned into a week-long vacation due to some inner-ear problems I was having. (Yes, I'm better now.) So aside from a little vertigo, we had a nice long visit with Nana and Popie. My brother Joel came down with his kids, Cole and Kylie, and Stephan and Alison were there too.

The highlight was, of course, the fireworks. I let Michael stay up late to watch and he was in total awe; not a bit afraid! And surprisingly enough, he didn't burn himself with the sparklers!

We devoured the smoked chicken my brother, Stephan, made. Not only is he an excellent chef, he's quite the marksman too!

One day, Mom, Alison, and I canned tomatoes. It took all day! But I think we came out with over 6 dozen beautiful red pints. I remember my mom saying once that one of the cheeriest sounds she's ever heard is the "pop" of a canning lid sealing. After hours of boiling, peeling, slicing, and steaming, I have to agree.

Matt's mom came up to share a day with us, including taking Michael out for ice cream and to the park!

Higher, Grandma! Higher!

Back at home, we've invented a new sport--Plastic Bubble Racing! Thanks to a kiddie gimmick at our local grocery store, we have an over abundance of these vending machine bubbles. So one rainy Saturday afternoon, we realized the perfect way to recycle these babies is to race them in the water draining from our complex's parking lot. Now every time it rains, Michael want to go bubble racing.

After a visit with my cousin Chris and his wife Julie, who successfully survived potty training their twins, I have decided to revisit potty training with Michael. I must admit that have been dreading this ever since I became a mother. We're using a horse and carrot approach. Each potty session earns him an M&M. . . . As my mom said, it's not bribing, it's a reward. We also went out and bought him some fun character undies. He's pretty excited about all of it, and he's doing pretty well all things considered . . . as long as I remind him periodically. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Giddyup Dinosaur!

It's never too early to begin training for a career in piracy.

Sarah is zooming all over the house these days. I can't go from one room to the other without her following me. Within the last few weeks, she has also learned to pull herself up to stand. She's still kind of wobbly, but she does pretty well as long as she remembers to hold on.

Sarah's Crawling!

2010-06-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

After a few weeks of wobbling on all fours, Sarah is now officially crawling. She's been zooming around the house a few days now having so much fun exploring things she hasn't been able to get to before.

She is also sporting two teeth now, and I finally got some pictures where you can actually see them.

Michael is as charming as ever. I thought Sarah's learning to crawl would make him more resentful of her, but it seems to be the reverse (for now anyway). The last few days he's started talking and interacting with her a little more. I think he's seeing her as more of a real person now that she's mobile.

Painting has become a favorite pastime. Here he is sporting his "craft apron" and "artist's hat."

We've gotten a lot of rain lately, even a few floods. They're not much fun to drive in, but they are lots of fun for splashing in puddles.

Matt's the Man!

2010-06-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

Last week, Matt found out that, after earning 3 A's last semester, he jumped into the top 5% of his class in law school. All that hard work really is paying off. I am so proud of him!

Aside from law school, he's also the best husband and dad. A man who wears many hats--literally.

Trip to Missouri

2010-06-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, my mom and I packed the kids in the car and headed to Springfield, Missouri to visit my brother and his family. We hadn't seen them for almost 2 years and since then, we've had the addition of 3 new family members!

Our first day there, they threw a belated birthday party for "Nana."

Hyrum, Hunter, and Michael had a blast racing Hotwheels through a "tunnel" off the couch.

Nana with her three grandbabies: Sarah, Emma, and Justin.

Hyrum and Hunter were soooo sweet with Sarah. They hugged, kissed and coooed with her the entire visit. Hunter was especially affectionate! I guess they get lots of practice on the twins.

On Thursday, we took a trip to the Springfield zoo. It was so nice! It was a beautiful day, and the boys had a blast running from animal to animal. I think we made quite a sight, however, pushing around 4 strollers!

The petting zoo was a big hit!

Little boys and couch cushions. Could there be a better combination?

Friday, we made a trip to the Bass Pro Shops which have their headquarters in Springfield. ATVs and fishing tackle don't normally impress me, but this place is amazing! There are ponds, rivers, and waterfalls all over the store. Stuffed wildlife and huge aquariums are around every corner. There's even a live alligator! I'm definitely going to have to find one of these places in Houston.

The boys loved test-driving the ATVs and boats!

The whole crew: Jeremy and Justin, Megan and Emma, Hunter, Hyrum, Michael, Nana, Jennie and Sarah. (No, the grizzly isn't part of the family.)

The next day, we made a trip to the nature center near their house. It isn't just any nature center --it is a dedicated, protected forest. We trekked through the woods a bit

and saw this deer wading through the river right in front of us. It wasn't a bit afraid!

We also saw a water snake, a heron, wild turkeys, turtles, and, of course, frogs . . .

really big ones.

Fun at the park in the evening.

All six cousins: Hyrum and Justin, Sarah, Michael, Hunter and Emma.

After a fun-filled week, we headed back home. The night before we left, I had a sudden desire to see the Ozark Mountains, which are just south of Springfield. So, we changed our travel plans and took a longer, more scenic route to get home. It was worth it! Not only did we get to see the beautiful mountains, we also avoided the horrible storms and flooding that were going on in Oklahoma (which we didn't know about til after the fact.)

A Very Merry Un-Birthday

2010-05-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

This morning, I asked Michael what he wanted to do today. He answered, "birthday party." That made me laugh, so I asked him whose birthday it was. Michael's? "No." Mom's? "No." Sarah's? "No." Toad's? (His stuffed frog.) "No." So, whose birthday is it? The answer was a resounding "Daddy's!"

So, we spent the whole day getting ready for Daddy's (un-)birthday party. We made a birthday card and party hats. We made a paper chain to decorate with. We even picked out birthday presents.

I took Michael to our pantry and asked him what we should give Daddy for a birthday present. He chose a can of olives, a can of black beans, and a tin of sardines (some of Dad's favorite foods), and we wrapped them up. We even made blueberry muffin "cupcakes" for dessert.

Boy, was Dad surprised when he got home!

Welcome, Summer!

2010-05-24T13:06:00.000-07:00

Matt finished up his law school finals last week. Hurray! Two years down and one more to go. He was definitely ready for a break. The kids and I met him at school right after his last final and we headed to the beach. Michael, of course, loved it ...

especially feeding the sea gulls ...

but not so much the big waves. (Dad had to wade out and rescue him.)

Sarah tolerated it as long as she stayed out of the water.

We found a dead puffer fish. --Kind of yucky, but I thought it was pretty neat.

And Grandma came up for the weekend! We always love having her.

Fun pics:

For Mother's Day, Matt got me a "flirty apron." Now, I can cook in style!

Michael, King of the Laundry Pile. Laundry days are always fun at our house.

Sarah's first teeth just popped up. Poor girl, she had two teeth coming in at the same time and had a nasty cold to boot. There were a few days when she actually seemed cranky --weird because she is normally the mellowest baby ever! But now that the teeth are through and the cold is over, she's back to her happy self.

Michael sings the alphabet song:

Our Little Angel

2010-05-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Sarah continues to grow and is ever becoming a more active member of our family. As you can see, she now enjoys nibbling on her toes.

She has started scooting a little bit (mostly backwards) and can rotate in a complete circle on her belly to grab toys off to the side. She is very good-natured and easy most of the time, but she definitely lets you know when she feels like she's being ignored. This girl wants to be in the middle of the action!

We took a family temple trip a few weeks ago and took advantage of the beautiful weather to take a family picture.

Our little bunny. (This one's for you, Nana.)

Michael continues to amaze us. He can already point to and name all the letters alphabet; he's just picked it up from books we read together. Now, he's learning the ABC song, again just picking it up from a musical toy.

Had to Brag

2010-04-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

In addition to a heavy class load and Law Journal assignments and Peanut Butter Factory duty* and making time for his family, Matt also spent huge amounts of time working on an 80-page paper for the Houston Law Journal last fall. All members of Law Journal had to submit a paper and last week at the annual banquet, we found out that, not only was his selected for publication, but he received an award for the best paper in his field!

I am so proud of him! He puts so much effort into being the very best he can, including the best husband and father. He is amazing to me, and I feel so blessed to have him to walk(/jog/sprint as the case may be) through life with. I love you, Matt!

*Not sure if I've mentioned in this forum yet that Matt has spent every-other weekend the last year and a half working the graveyard shift at our church's peanut butter factory where they make peanut butter for needy families around the world.

Easter Fun

2010-04-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

We traveled up to my parent's house for Easter for our annual Easter family reunion. We had a great turn-out this year and it was so nice to see everyone! Of course, for Michael the highlight was the Easter egg hunt.

Even Sarah got into the act.

I stayed with the kids for the week after Easter(Matt had to come home for classes). The first day we were there, Michael saw Popie using a shovel to put leaves into a wheelbarrow. For the rest of our time there, Michael couldn't get enough of this activity! We even bought him his own little shovel so he could work safely.

My great-aunt Vern was there on an extended visit, so we got to spend the whole week visiting with her too. The night before we left, we made a camp fire and roasted hot dogs and smores. Michael loved the taste of the smores, but not so much the googey marshmallow that got all over his face, hands, and clothes.

This past week after we got home, Sarah started rolling over by herself --back to tummy. And she's already half-way to making it the other-way around too.

Sarah is sitting up by herself now pretty well. We still try to keep pillows around her, though, just in case.

Hmmmm. Any resemblance?

She looked so sweet today, I just had to take a picture.

Sarah sits up!

2010-03-29T12:38:00.001-07:00

Sarah has just started sitting up on her own! She's still a little wobbly, but she's getting a little better every day.

For Spring Break, Matt took a few days off and we went to San Antonio. Grandma took us and Aunt Sarah to the Texas Transportation Museum. The name might not be too exciting, but it it a 2-year-old paradise!

They have a real, full-size train to ride around the premises; a building full of old cars and carriages, including an old fire-truck you can climb up into; a passenger train set up to walk through; and several big mock-up model train sets. Michael loved it!

My mom and Alison came to visit last week and we took another trip to the zoo to see what we missed last time. I think the coolest thing of all was the komodo dragon. I think Michael probably liked the monkeys the best.

Michael wanted to wear a tie to church yesterday, just like Dad, so we made him one out of a wide piece of ribbon. He was very proud. --And it makes him look so grown-up.

Michael is such a sweet boy! He decided to share all of his frogs with Sarah one day. He piled them up all over her, and she was literally covered with frogs. (This picture was taken after I removed them from covering her face.)

Just a sweet smile.

Birthday Blowout

2010-03-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

Not sure why, but I couldn't get this to post to the last update, but here it is.

Michael had been trying to blow out the candle for several minutes before we even began recording . . .

Michael's 2nd Birthday

2010-03-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Michael's second birthday this past month. We had a little party for him at home the day of, and then had a "real" party for him when Grandma came to visit the week after, including a trip to the zoo.

Balloons + static = fun!

One of Grandma's gifts was a magnetic sketch pad. Michael loves it, and Mom & Dad love it because it's one of the few toys we've found that will keep him quiet during church!

Michael loved the zoo! Sadly it's so big, he wore out about half-way through. We'll just have to go back.

The giraffes were a highlight.

Run for your life, goat! Michael had sooo much fun in the petting zoo. Those goats are really well trained. They get non-stop toddler lovin' dawn to dusk and take it all in stride.

Sarah got her first "solid" meal this past week, and some of it actually made it down her throat.

Another Joyful January

2010-02-09T15:08:00.000-08:00

Just some fun pictures from the past month . . .

Sarah started smiling early in the month. I've been trying to decide who she looks like in the family. I'm still not sure, but I do think she has her Grandpa Compton's smile. Within the last week, she has started giggling. But you can't always tell what will make her laugh, so it's always a surprise when she does.

She loves riding around in her front carrier, seeing the world,

and enjoys baby-kick-boxing in her infant gym.

She is learning to grab and hold onto toys, but is still working on motor control.

As you can see, she is very well fed.

Smiley and beautiful!

Michael is Busy, Busy, Busy! It's like he has a little motor inside him that never stops . . . except for nap time.

Hanging

Swinging (I got out my Gazelle exercise machine to try to work off some baby fat, and Michael has soooooo much fun on it. It's like a playscape in our living room!)

Doing the splits

Cuddling all his frog friends: Toad, Frog, Gorf, Puddles, and Widdle.

A few weeks ago, we made play-dough for the first time. We made several objects before deciding to make a dog, complete with a ball, a stick, and a water dish. At this point, I had to leave briefly to take care of Sarah. When I came back, Michael had a big smile on his face and pointed to the water dish, which magically now had water in it. I looked a little closer and discovered drool on his chin. --What a creative little boy to make water for the play-dough dog!

While visiting my mom last week, we took a trip to the Natural History museum on UT campus. Michael loved the dinosaur exhibit, as you can see. He hugged this dino bone repeatedly!

Michael finally learned how to climb out of his crib, but he's not quite ready for a real bed. He ranges from one end of the bed to the other and back through the course of a night. So, we lowered the rail of his crib all the way to the floor. It's high enough that he can't roll out, but low enough that he can climb out without falling.

A Compton Family Christmas

2010-01-08T20:07:00.000-08:00

So, we actually celebrated Christmas three different times. We opened presents at our house Christmas Eve afternoon (Michael woke up from nap time to discover Santa had come a little early), then we headed to my parent's house. After a traditionally yummy Christmas breakfast whipped up by my mom, we had another round of gift opening, much to Michael's enjoyment. I stayed with the kids for a week, while Matt had to come home to get some work done. (He's got a 60+ page paper due by the beginning of next semester!) Then, we joined up again at his parent's house in San Antonio where, much to our amazment, Santa struck again. Needless to say, Michael became more adept at gift opening with each succeeding "Christmas."

Christmas #1

I think Matt's favorite gift was a set of hand puppets.

Christmas #2

My brother, Joel, came with his kids, Cole and Kylie. Michael had so much fun playing with the "big kids"!

My mom (very patiently!) helped all the kids make cut-out Christmas cookies.

I love this photo! My mom bought Sarah a striped Christmas outfit and then, coincidentally, wore red stripes too. The lights in the background add a halo-like quality.

Christmas #3

Wrip!

Michael and his dad love playing in boxes!

My favorite gift. The real reason we celebrate Christmas! (Thanks Lisa!)

Birthday Fun and More

2009-12-23T21:32:00.001-08:00

We celebrated my birthday on Monday by going to Galveston. We turned Michael loose on the beach and he got soaking wet and covered in sand from head to foot. (Good thing we brought and change of clothes!) Matt got out our kite and managed to let out all the string --over 1000 feet!

Later, we drove over to the ferry connecting Galveston Island to the Bolivar Peninsula. That was pretty exciting too, except for the hour we had to wait in the car for the return trip.

Michael had a ton of fun helping me make Christmas cookies. The best part? The sprinkles!!!

Ummmm. You want me to do what!?

Christmas Newsletter

2009-12-23T20:43:00.000-08:00

It's been another exciting year for the Compton family. We've added another member of the family, celebrated Michael's first birthday and transition to toddler-hood, and gotten Matt half-way through law school, including a busy summer of internships. And somehow through it all, I've managed to remain relatively sane. Below are some of the highlights:

Sarah

We welcomed our little girl into our family in October. She's only been here two months, but it's hard to imagine our family without her now. At her two-month check-up just this morning, she weighed in at 11 lbs. 1 oz. and 22 inches long. She is so petite and feminine; so very different from Michael.

Just this past week, she's started sleeping through the night on a regular basis, between 5 and 6 hours usually, with an occasional 7 hour snooze (heaven for Mom!) She's also working very hard at getting her thumb into her mouth. She hasn't quite made it yet, but her fingers are adequate substitutes for the time being.

Michael

Michael turned one back in February and has developed into an amazing little boy this year. He's gone from not-quite walking to running, climbing, jumping and kicking. He loves playing at the park, especially going down slides; picking up sticks, rocks, acorns, etc.; going to the library and reading books; helping Mom cook and shop; and playing with Dad. He gives great big hugs at random and little kisses upon request. All in all, he is the cutest and sweetest little boy in the world.

Matt

Matt just finished up his third round of finals, marking the half-way point in his law school career. We were told that the first year would be the worst, but so far his second year has been just as busy. He loved his internship this summer at the federal court downtown and is still juggling interests and opportunities for internships for next summer. He has enjoyed working in nursery at church each Sunday and also working the graveyard shift at the peanut butter factory every other Saturday. (Can you call it enjoying . . .?) He has also gone on a gluten-free diet this year and felt a huge difference in his physical health and mental outlook.

Jennie

I love being a full-time mom and continue to be amazed at how much I am learning "just" from being at home with my children. Despite a bad bout of morning sickness through the spring, I enjoyed a relatively easy pregnancy and delivery. Much to my surprise, the biggest challenge of having two children is not the physical demands of caring for two, it's the emotional strain of not being able to give more time to each one. I am enjoying teaching in Relief Society (our church's org. for women) once a month and attending a playgroup whenever I can (guilty secret --It's more about Mom getting to socialize than Michael getting to play!)

Thoroughly Fun Thanksgiving

2009-12-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we celebrated Matt's 31st!!! birthday. We went out to dinner and enjoyed some almost-yummy gluten-free cupcakes. (I'm still experimenting with recipes.)

We had a very busy, but very fun, Thanksgiving week. I packed up the kids and headed to Leander the day before Thanksgiving. I was very proud of myself for making a three-hour car trip with two kids all by myself --with only two pit-stops along the way! We enjoyed lots of lots of family, yummy food, and play time.

Michael loves taking rides on the luggage rack outside!

The day after Thanksgiving, we met Matt at his parent's house in San Antonio. That Saturday, the whole Compton clan enjoyed another Thanksgiving feast at his grandmother's house. More family, yummy food, and play time!

The next day, Sarah received her name and blessing in Matt's parents' ward. It was a beautiful blessing, and my dad said that she was smiling during the whole thing.

Grandma gave her a beautiful blessing gown. She looked like a little angel.

Sarah 1 and Sarah 2.

After all the fun, we headed home. Matt is busy getting prepared for finals that start This Week! I'm busy getting ready for Christmas. Michael is just busy. And Sarah is enjoying not being busy.

Giddyup horsey!

Yes, that really is snow. This is our second winter in Houston and, oddly enough, our second Houston snow-storm. Michael was so excited! We were hoping it would stick so we could build a little snowman, but sadly, it melted as soon as it hit the ground.

Michael is turning into a great big brother. He loves to pat Sarah and show her how to play with her toys. He is talking a lot more, too. Every day he surprises me with a new word or two. His pronunciation still needs some work, but it is kind of nice to be able to hold a two-sided conversation with him, even if all of his responses consist of no more than one syllable. His favorite word? "Yeah!" This is his response to almost any question. Surprisingly/thankfully, he has yet to pick up the word "no."

Finally, More Pictures . . .

2009-11-16T12:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm finally making time to add a few more pictures of Sarah and "Big Brother" Michael. Sarah is now three weeks old and is a joyful addition to our little family. She's eating and sleeping well and enjoys hearing Mom sing to her.

In case you're wondering how we chose her name: Her firstname, Sarah, means princess, and it was fairly easy to decide on. It's a family name on both sides, and everyone we've known named Sarah has seemed to be an influence for good. We had a horrible time choosing her middle name and finally decided on Eleora, which is Hebrew meaning "the Lord is my light." It's not a family name or anything; we found it in a baby name book and it was one of the few names we both liked. And when she was born, it seemed to fit. :)

Michael wasn't quite sure what to make of his new baby sister at first, but he has actually adapted quite well. He mostly ignores her, but has given her a few hugs and an occasional loving pat. (We have to continually remind him to "be gentle!" And every time we go to get in the car, he makes sure Mom doesn't forget "bebe" in her car seat.

Coming home from the hospital.

This post would not be complete without a big "THANK YOU" to my mom. She came up to stay with us the week before Sarah was due and was a huge help with Michael!!! Coming home from the hospital, I was suffering from a spinal headache (from the epidural) which took over a week to go away. So while I was recouperating, my mom took care of me, Michael and Sarah for another week and a half. She is an absolute angel and I continue to learn what it means to be a mother from her. Thank you, Mom!!!

Dad gave Michael his first real haircut last week. I think he actually enjoyed it. We got him real excited about the buzzers being like a big bee going "buzzzzz" on his head.

Before

After

Come on Dad. Don't you have enough pictures already?!

Sarah Eleora Compton

2009-10-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

Sarah Eleora Compton was born on October 23rd, 2009 at 1:39pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs 1 oz and we don't have her length measurements yet. Baby and Mom are doing well. The labor was MUCH easier than with Michael.

Misc. Fun

2009-10-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

Matt is deep in the midst of his third semester of law school, but has managed to find time for a little fun here and there. He and Michael have become best buds in the last few months.

Sporting the latest fashion --cabbage leaf hats.

Whooooaaa there horsey!

Kite flying fun.

Michael now prefers running to walking, and I do my best to waddle after him. During our kite-flying adventure, he ran the perimeter of 1 1/2 soccer fields in order to touch the flags at every corner. Needless to say, he gets very excited about flags . . . and traffic lights . . . and balloons . . . and fire hydrants and . . .

As for me, I'm doing pretty well with only 2 1/2 weeks left before D-Day. This picture was taken several weeks ago.--I'm quite a bit rounder now.

Sunday evening fun in the tub. My husband, the Sharp Shooter.

Aunt Rachel came to visit us a few weeks ago. As you can see, she's a lot of fun!

Aquatic Adventures

2009-08-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Matt took the whole day off of law school and we headed down to Galveston for some famliy time. We went to the Moody Gardens' Aquarium, which was fabulous! Michael loved it and ran from tank to tank squealing in delight at all the fish, seals, turtles, penguins, sea horses, etc.

They have this huge tank where you can go "under water" in a tunnel and see huge sharks, sea turtles, eels, and schools of fish. I think that is the coolest part. You could literally spend hours just sitting and watching and never get bored!

Yes, the sea turtle really is as big as a grown man!

In the evening, we headed to the beach for Michael's second adventure with the ocean. Last year about this same time, we took him to the beach before he was really mobile. It's much more exciting when you get to play in the waves! He especially loved picking up sea shells and throwing them into the water as the waves came up.

Back at home, enjoying a nice evening of bubble blowing.

Bubbles, etc.

2009-07-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun at Cousin Amelia's and Cousin Calder's (twins) second birthday party last week. There were a dozen or so toddlers running around, splashing in baby pools, and of course, eating cupcakes.

This Thursday, we had a huge rainstorm that flooded the streets around our apt. We took Michael out to splash in the puddles and he loved it!!! Unfortunately, the traffic was so slow, Matt's car ran out of gas 1/2 mile from our house, so he dashed home as fast as he could, and then we all took a soggy walk together up to the nearest gas station and back to his car. --We were actually really happy it was just the gas and not the fact that he had been driving in 12 inches of water! The street in front of our house was lined with cars stuck in the water.

Ring-around-the-Rosie has quickly become a favorite since Michael learned to spin in circles. He's also practicing walking with his eyes closed and walking backwards --sometimes at the same time. I guess he's working on his spacial memory? He actually does surprisingly well and only occasionally bumps into things; thankfully, no injuries yet.

Michael is very "into" bubbles right now, including blowing bubbles, bubble baths, and making bubbles in his hair (ie washing his hair). His latest words are "bubble" and "pop." He's actually learned quite a few new words the last few weeks, including bee, ball, bird, and baboon --all "b" words! I've also been trying to get him to either shake or nod his head for "no" and "yes," but he hasn't gotten the nodding movement down yet, so it always looks like he's saying no. I have to go by facial expression and just guess which is which.

In other news --Matt is doing great! He not only got A's in both of his summer classes, he was also accepted onto the Law Review Journal's editing staff, a big honor! This coming week, he's flying to Chicago for interviews to (hopefully) line up another internship for next summer.

As for me, I'm feeling pretty good for being almost 7 months pregnant. I have to keep the AC running pretty much non-stop now and can't ever seem to get enough to eat, but besides that, I'm doing well.

Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree

2009-07-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

Michael gets cuter by the day. He's learning lots of songs, with the hand motions that go with them. His favorite right now is "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree." His other acts include "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man," and "Open, Shut Them." I'll see if I can get them on video too.

In other news, Matt just found out yesterday that he got a full A in his summer class! The professor even used two of his essays as examples of ideal answers. This is totally amazing considering that, between working full-time on his internship and taking 4 credit hours of evening classes, he literally had no time to study. We attribute it to 100% divine assistance!

Father's Day

2009-06-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a wonderful Father's Day last week. Michael and Dad enjoyed some down time together, with Frog and Toad, of course.

Michael was especially proud of the card he made for Dad.

Those boys sure do enjoy their food!

Water and a couple of buckets. What could be more fun?!

It's a Girl!!!

2009-06-02T05:19:00.000-07:00

We had an ultrasound on Saturday and it looks like baby #2 is going to be a little girl! Mom and Dad are thrilled, of course. Michael, however, reacted to the news rather nonchalantly.

Easter Pictures, Etc.

2009-05-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm a little behind with my blog updates. My only excuse is that I've been super-sick and tired from being pregnant. I'm finally starting to feel better, so here are some pictures from the last two months.

Michael and I left Dad at home (so sad) so he could catch up on his studies, but we had a ton of fun visiting with Nana & Popie and Grandma & Grandpa. As usual, we had a huge family Easter party and egg hunt the day before Easter at my parent's, and then we headed down to San Antonio to spend some time with Matt's family.

Michael took his egg hunt very seriously.

So many eggs to find!

The Aunties gave Michael a little more egg hunting practice.

Grandma got Michael a huge box to play with and he had a ton of fun crawling back and forth to get "Mooey."

Mooey and Mom.

Within the last month, Michael has become VERY attached to his stuffed animals, especially his frogs.

We took Michael into the pool at our apt. a few weeks ago, and while he didn't seem to enjoy it very much, he didn't throw a fit. Yesterday for Memorial day, we had a BBQ at my Uncle Eddie's house, and Matt took him in their pool. He freaked out at first, but with a lot of carefully planned distraction (an intense game of fetching the ball out of the water), we eventually got him in without minding it. Now we just have to keep him used to it!

After months of taking great joy in destroying every tower he sets eyes on, Michael has finally learned the joy of building them too. He was sooo proud of this one. I think it's one of the tallest he's made so far.

Funny clip of Michael helping Popie plant sod.

Spring Break

2009-03-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

During Spring Break this year, Matt used the whole "vacation" to study at home while Michael and I took a trip to Nana and Popie's house. (That doesn't seem quite fair, does it?) My nephew and neice, Cole and Kylie, were visiting that same week, so we got to do lots of fun things with them like visiting the Austin discovery center, riding a train, and attending the Georgetown Library's tea party for the second year in a row. Cole and Kylie especially loved the dancing!

Michael loved playing in the grass, leaves, sand, etc. wherever we went (I don't let him into the grass at our apt. complex--too many dogs and cats around.) and swinging on the swing set where he knows how to hold on all by himself.

Look at my big muscles!

I love this clip of the kids playing peek-a-boo with Michael.

Matt caught this one last Sunday. Michael naps better if Mom is next to him and that means Mom gets a naps too!

Michael is now officially a "toddler." He's walking everywhere! He especially loves going outside. He brings me his shoes and then bangs on the door to say it's time for a walk! I caught this clip yesterday.

Another Compton is Coming!!!

2009-03-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

The picture should be worth 10,000 words. Gender unknown, names undecided. Due date is late October/early November. We'll probably have to induce again, so we're looking at October 21st to keep with the tradition of birthdays on the 21st of the month so far...

Birthday Boy Turns 1!

2009-03-05T18:48:00.000-08:00

We just celebrated Michael's first birthday! I can't believe he's a year-old already, yet in other ways it seem like he's been with us forever!

On his actual birthday, we met up with some family at the Houston Zoo. It was Michael's first trip to the zoo, and he was surprisingly complacent about it. He looked at some of the animals, but I think he was more interested in the people walking around.

He did, however, love the train ride we took at the end. It's just outside the zoo and takes you all around the park.

We celebrated his birthday this past weekend when my family and Matt's family could all come up. It was sooo nice having everyone here.

We had never given him cake before, and it took him a few seconds to figure out what to do with it, but the picture speaks for itself!

Also last week, Matt and I took Michael to the Houston temple for the first time. We wandered around the beautiful gardens, which are especially beautiful right now with the azalea and tulips in full bloom. Michael was most impressed with the fountain.

Valentine's Surprise

2009-02-16T08:49:00.000-08:00

Can I just brag on my husband again? In addition to roses and chocolates for Valentine's Day this year, Matt made me a web site dedicated to his love! It's so sweet I have to show it off. http://www.ilovejennifercompton.com/

Wow, I'm sooo behind!

2009-02-11T18:17:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm way behind in updating this thing. What can I say? I'm busy being a mom! But here it goes:

In early January, Matt's sisters, Sarah and Lisa, came to visit for a weekend. We visited the Arboretum and had lots of fun "appreciating" the trees.

This is a great action shot. We came across a termite-eaten tree, and Matt and Lisa enjoyed kicking part of the bark off.

Lisa conquers the vine!

Matt and Jennie sitting in a tree . . .

We're not sure what Sarah's doing . . .

We also went to visit the Battleship Texas, a real battleship that fought in WWI and WWII and is now retired.

Bring out the big guns.

Ahoy there!

A few weeks later, my mom came to visit to work on our family history. My grandmother was an avid genealogist and collected tons on information. So, my mom and I are trying to get it all organized on the new Family Search program. It didn't take long for me to catch the genealogy bug. I'm now dedicating at least an hour each Sunday to it.

Last week, my sister Alison was here in Houston for three different job interviews. We loved having her here and Michael enjoyed the extra attention. By the end of the week he would point from one to the other of us and we'd have to say Mom-Alison-Michael over and over. The last day she was here, we visited the Museum of Fine Arts downtown, including the sculpture garden. If you've never been, it's worth a trip just to see it. They have a fabulous collection!

I love this guy! Matt got not one, but two judicial internships for this summer, covering first and second terms. We would have felt lucky for him to get one, but two is amazing. And, they're with two of the judges he most wanted to work with. He'll be taking classes on top of the 40-hour a week internships, so he won't get much of a summer break, but the experience will absolutley be worth it!

A Michael update: Michael said his first word, "Mama," a few weeks ago. It made this mama very happy! About that same time, he took his first steps! He's been toddling around a little since then, but mostly he just takes a few steps and then falls. I think by his birthday, though, he'll be getting around better.

Just some funny pictures:

Hey mista', can you spare a dime?

Don't hate me because I'm cute.

Michael enjoys feeding himself yogurt and green beans.

Like my new do?

Christmas & New Years

2009-01-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous Christmas with Matt's family in San Antonio! We stayed with them for 5 days and loved every minute of it. Michael got a ton of toys and clothes. He had a little trouble getting into the whole wrapping paper business. He wanted to eat the paper more than tear it off, but I think by next year, he'll be a pro.

Michael had a blast playing with all of his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins (and the cats, of course). Matt and I especially appreciated all of the willing babysitters!

A few days before Christmas, he developed a funny little elephant walk. He is also starting to stand on his own. The longest he's stayed up is about 20 seconds so far, and he seems to stay up longer when he's distracted by something else and not thinking "Hey, I'm standing!"

Matt had a blast playing with some miniature helicopters with his brothers.

Another highlight of the trip was getting to see Matt Sr. sworn in as an attorney. It was a joyous occasion after a lot of hard work! It was a nice reminder for Matt and I that, in just a few more years, we'll be there too!

What a beautiful family!

From San Antonio, we headed up to my parent's place in Leander. We had a wonderful, relaxing time with them too.

One of Michael's gifts was a lego set. (Initially, I think Dad had a little more fun with it than Michael did.)

One day, Matt went up to the ranch with my dad to help feed to cows. He even got a picture of our cow, #42.

As per tradition, Matt and I got up to see the sun rise New Years morning. (Call us whimps, or just tired parents, but, no, we did not stay up the night before.)

Matt taught Michael how to hold onto a swing and he loved it!

We got back to Houston late last Friday. After being gone for 10 days, I wondered if Michael would remember home. --No problems there! He got back into the swing of things without missing a beat!

Birthday, Books & Thanksgiving

2008-12-04T18:46:00.000-08:00

We joyously celebrated Matt's 30th birthday this month! Michael and I suprised him by decorating his cubicle at school. He came home early and we enjoyed a lovely walk in Memorial Park and had an early yummy dinner at a Thai food resteraunt. And before he got his last present that night, he had to find 30 hidden kisses, each with an attached reason why I love him. (Thank you Megan for the great idea!)

Thirty Things I Love About Matt

1. I love your sense of humor.
2. I love you because you bring me flowers “just because”.
3. I love hearing you make Michael laugh.
4. I love to sing with you.
5. You’re the world’s best fajita maker.
6. I love you because you don’t mind leftovers.
7. I love you because you do your home teaching faithfully.
8. I love that you take out the trash without being asked.
9. I love that you make the bed every morning.
10. I love you because you keep up with my car maintenance.
11. I love your gift for poetry.
12. I love learning new things with you.
13. I love you because you help with the dishes.
14. I love your dedication to providing for our family.
15. I love your puns!
16. I love your buns!
17. I love your manly physique!
18. I love your beautiful brown eyes.
19. I love you for serving others.
20. I love that you never criticize me.
21. Your mathematical mind amazes me.
22. You’re a handy-dandy handy man.
23. I love going on "adventures" with you.
24. I love our long walks in parks together.
25. You’re a totally suave dresser.
26. I love your musical taste.
27. You’re my personal computer genius.
28. I love it that you don’t mind giving me pedicures.
29. I love your back massages.
30. I love you for being you!

We spent Thanksgiving this year with my family. As always, my mom out-did herself with tons of delectible dishes, but the best part, of course, was being with each other. With all of the extended family driving and flying in, we had over 40 people there for dinner! We were especially excited that Matt's family drove up for the occasion. (I meant to get pictures of all of the food. --All of the kitchen counters were packed, not to mention the dessert tables (yes, that's plural!)

One exciting event: Michael had his first "major" accident at Nana's Thanksgiving night. I had laid him on the bed to change his diaper and turned for a quarter of a second to get the diaper. Before I could grab him, he was off the other side. He hit his head pretty hard on the bedside table and it swelled into this ugly purple bump. But by the next day, it had gone down considerably (as the picture attests) and now it's almost completely healed. (Thank you to all the other mothers present who reminded me that 1) falling off the bed is a right of passage for all young children and 2) I am not a bad mother for letting it happen.)

Friday morning, we headed down to San Antonio to spend a day with Matt's family, and Matt & I were able to slip away to attend the temple there. Michael had a blast playing with Grandma and Aunt Sarah and chasing around Aunt Rachel's two cats.

We came back to Houston Saturday and life is pretty much back to normal. Matt is bearing down even harder as finals begin next week. I know he'll do great, but he's understandably stressed.

I put up our Christmas decorations on Monday and Michael is fascinated with the Christmas tree. We walled it off in a corner with furniture and boxes, but he can just reach a few of the branches. It's enough to keep him satisfied, for now.

Within the past few weeks, Michael has started "cruising" along furniture and today he even held his balance standing up for 5 seconds! I'm assuming he's going to be walking by Christmas, so Nana and Rachel: consider this your warning for the beloved pets in your lives! We also discovered upon our return that Michael's top teeth are coming in. One has poked through completely, and the other isn't far behind. He is turning into a pro-eater and, while he doesn't always enjoy eating new foods, he certainly loves playing with them!

Michael has also developed a passion for reading! Several weeks ago, he started turning the pages to books as I read to him. And when we get to the end, he immediately flips it back to the beginning and we have to start all over. Now, he's even bringing books to me. If I don't notice right away, he gives a little whimper until I pick him up and start reading to him. As you can see from the picture, this past week, he's also discovered the fun of pulling all of the books off the book shelf in his room.

Last thing: Stacie and Tina, as promised, here is the recipe for Vern's Sugar and Spice cookies. Enjoy!

Sugar & Spice Cookies

3/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. sorghum or molasses
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
3/4 tsp. ginger.

Cream together the sugar and shortening. Add the egg and molasses. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Roll into small balls and dip in Turbinado sugar. Bake for 10 mins. at 350 degrees.

Major League Minor

2008-11-08T08:08:00.001-08:00

We took Michael around to a few houses to trick-or-treat and it didn't take him long to figure out what he was supposed to do --go for the candy!!!

We had a blast at my cousin Tina's Halloween party. Michael got to play with his twin cousins Caulder (the skeleton) and Amelia (the flower).

Daddy's Little Monster --One of Michael's favorite tricks now is to show off those two front teeth. His top two teeth are about to come in any day now.

Caught in the act!

Look what we found down by the crick!

Michael went to his very first football game November 1st and got to see his cousin Christina play in the marching band. Go Stratford Spartans! I'm not sure if they actually won (we left after half-time) but it was fun. Understandably, he was a lot more interested in the band and the flag girls' sparkley pom-poms than the football game.

We survived Ike!

2008-10-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

In case you were all wondering, we got through Hurricane Ike just fine. We actually evacuated Houston at 6 a.m. Friday morning (before the terrible traffic jams started) and weathered the storm at my parent's house near Austin. Thursday afternoon, lines at gas stations stretched into the streets, and there were peole waiting hours for only to find that the gas tanks had run dry. Luckily, Matt went out late that night to withdraw some emergency cash from the ATM and right as he was about to leave, an oil truck drove up to make a delivery at the gas station across the street. He was the first in line to fill up his car, then he came home and drove back to fill up my car. We count it as a great blessing to have been in the right place at the right time. So many other people could leave the city just because there was no gas to be had. Our trip to Austin was pretty uneventful. It was a nice break from school for Matt, and we enjoyed spending time with family despite wondering what we were going to come back to. We were glued to the news reports all day Saturday as they showed pictures of what was going on back in Houston and Galveston. Actually, the Austin area didn't even get a drop of rain --just a couple of strong wind gusts. Matt's parents and brother Ben came to visity Sunday, so it was nice that we got to visit a little with everyone. Matt's classes started up again the following Tuesday, so we drove back Monday afternoon to find that our electricity had come back on just a few hours earlier. Again, we were among the lucky ones. There were people in our ward who just got their power back on last week.--They went 18 days without electricity!!! Besides having to boil our water for the next few days, we really didn't have any problems. Our apartment complex had several trees uprooted, minor roof damage, and water damage from water being blown under window sills. Thankfully, our area was spared major damage, but I did take a few pictures of things within 1/2 mile of us. There were branches and limbs down all over every yard. All in all we were very blessed through the whole ordeal. Our prayers continue to go out to those who suffered greatly!

In happier news . . . Michael has finally mastered the art of crawling after spending the past month or so scooting around on his belly. He loves being able to follow me around the house and is becoming an expert at picking things up from the kitchen floor. (I suppose I ought to start sweeping on a regular basis now . . .)

He has also started pulling himself up on furniture, the sides of his crib, and on our knees. The picture is his first success. Matt had put him in the bathtub while he was doing some things in the bathroom and Michael just pulled himself right up. He was very proud!

First Day at the Beach

2008-09-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! We had an exordinarily exciting past week. First, Michael got his first tooth in. It finally poked through the gum last Thursday. (Sorry no pictures yet. If you try to open up his mouth, he sticks his tongue out so you can't see anything.) I don't think it means much to him yet, but his parents are pretty proud. --And, it's funny with all the extra saliva in his mouth he's been making lots of raspy-gurgling sounds which are soooo cute!

For the last few weeks, he's been struggling to get up on all fours and is now doing really well getting up and down and wobbling back and forth, but he hasn't tried to move his hands while he's up yet. Instead, he's finally learned to use his feet to scoot on his belly. He hasn't gone very far yet, but I think within the next few weeks, he'll be able to get from one end of the living room to the other.

We have a keyboard we keep down on the floor for him to play with and he loves it!!! He uses his hands, his feet, his nose, and will even use a random plastic toy to bang out the most unique melodies. We're absolutely certain he is a child prodigy and are planning on signing him up for piano lessons as soon as he learns to use his fingers independantly. :)

Also last week, we had to deal with the most horrendous smell coming from our refridgerator. After several calls and visits from the apt. maintenence folks, we finally got a brand new refridgerator put in a few days ago. Our best guess is that a huge rodent of some sort (it was way too stinky to be a little mouse) got caught underneath and died. Anyway, our whole apartment became unbearable to live in so we spent as much time as we could out of it.

Friday night, Michael and I met Matt down at the U of H and he showed us around campus. Michael loved watching the fountains!

Last Saturday, Matt took the day off and we headed down to Galveston where Michael got his first taste of the sea --literally! He loved the sand (playing in it and eating it), but the waves kind of freaked him out. But it was a fun adventure for Mom and Dad too. We stayed on the beach to watch the moon and stars appear and enjoyed watching the crabs come out and dance across the sand.

Matt and I would love to back, but I think we'll have to wait until after Michael is past the crawling and "let's stick everything in my mouth as fast as possible" stage.

Sunday after church, we headed straight over to my uncle Eddie's house and spent the day with his family. It is sooo nice to have family close by! Unbeknownst to us, we moved into some apartments right next to the neighborhood where my cousin Tina lives. We're within walking distance so we've been enjoying going on morning walks together.

Just a cute picture --Michael helps out with the laundry.

What a month!!!

2008-08-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

What an incredibly busy month we've had! So much has happened, I don't know if I'll be able to fit everything in, but here it goes ...

With Matt quitting his job at the end of July, we had a little extra time to spend as a family, so did some fun things around Austin, including going to beautiful Zilker Botanical Gardens. This was where Matt and I took our engagement photos in the middle of winter 2007. As pretty as it was then, it is glorious now at the height of summer! Matt and I loved it, and I'm sure Michael would have too if he hadn't slept through the entire thing.

We were also able to go down to San Antonio to celebrate Matt Sr. completing the bar exam. After three years of dedicated study, it was a joyous occasion for the whole family! I also think it helped me put Matt going to law school into better perspective. --Yes, it will be three hard years, but there will be an end!

The week before we moved, my brother Jeremy came down from Ann Arbor with his family for a visit. We hadn't seen them in over a year so it was a lot of fun being together. It was especially fun to have Michael meet his cousin Hunter who is just 6 weeks older than he is.

Michael caught his first cold from his cousins, a time I had been dreading. But thankfully, it was a pretty minor case of crusty nose and, with all of them sick, I could just let him interact with his cousins and not worry about it.

One of the days they were there, we all went to Inter Space Caverns in Georgetown. Matt and I had fun toting Michael around in a carrier. We were pretty amazed that he didn't fuss at all. I think he's so interested in seeing new things that it never occurs to him to be scared.

Over the weekend, we had a family reunion of sorts. My brother Joel came down from Ft. Worth with his family, Alison had gotten home from Provo the week before, and Stephen came up from San Marcos. So, everyone in the family was there.

All five cousins! This was a fun shot to take. Try getting five active little kids to all look relatively happy and in the same direction all at the same time. If it weren't for digital cameras, we would have gone through a least two rolls of film.

After our week of fun, Monday the 11th, we got down to the work of moving. With lots of help from our family (including Jeremy and Megan on vacation) and members of our (church) ward, we loaded up a huge 24" moving van. Looking at the inside of the empty truck, I didn't think we would even come close to filling it up. But, we ended up using every bit of space. Who knew we had so much stuff?!

Tuesday morning we headed for Houston in a caravan. Matt drove his car (noone else could drive a manual), Jeremy drove my car, Alison drove her car (so Jeremy would be able to get back), and I got to drive the truck (I felt like quite the trucker mama). Matt's dad and brother, Ben, met us at our new apt. to help unload, along with my uncle Eddie who lives in Houston and some missionaries from our new ward. This is what we had to face after they unloaded. Two weeks later, we've gotten settled in fairly well and it's starting to feel like home.

Michael has been amazingly cooperative with all the changes and Mom and Dad being stressed out. He really is an amazing boy. We just celebrated his 6 month birthday with lemon cupcakes, of which he got to enjoy a few crumbs. Also on his half-birthday, he had his 6 month check-up with a new pediatrician here in Houston. Always the ladies' man, he made quite the first impression by peeing in her face as she was examining him!

During the past month, Michael has become quite adept at sitting up on his own and is enjoying playing by himself more. (This makes life much easier for me.) He loves bathtime and trying new foods. (He's liked pretty much everything he's tried except strawberries.)

I believe his most favorite passtime of all, however is still sucking on things. He's moved beyond his binkey now to sucking on his feet, his shirt, and anything else within reach.

Smoked Texas Barbecue!

2008-07-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

AND... I've also been expanding my companies. Here's my latest Texas Barbecue variant. They sent us some ribs, sausage, and brisket which was absolutely delicious. We fed some to Jennie's dad, the LDS Missionaries, and a few others. It was too much barbecue for us to eat all at once. The brisket was really the most amazing thing, you could cut it with a fork it was sooo soft.

Off to Law School

2008-07-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I've done it. I'm going to law school. I got my acceptance letter in June and I've been working hard to get ready for it ever since. My Austin Search Engine Marketing Company, Apogee-Search is obviously sad to see me go, but that's life. I really hate to leave the SEM world, this has been my best job ever! It's been an interesting decision to make - leave the best job you've ever had for something that might not be as exciting... but could be even more so!

At any rate, we're moving to Houston, the Galleria area. If you want our address just call/email us. School starts August 25th. It's been interesting getting our loan situation all squared away in this rough economy. I told Apogee I was leaving before they were secured, and we're still waiting on the last 1/3rd to come in, but at last we've at least gotten the bank to accept our faxes.

4th!

2008-07-15T12:20:00.000-07:00

Michael celebrates the 4th! He has loved playing with the balloon Nana got him for Independence Day. It seems to get more fun for him as the helium has escaped and he can actually grab hold of it. We spent the 4th of July weekend with Matt's family in San Antonio. They were kind enough to watch Michael for us while Matt & I went out to dinner Friday night, and we loved spending all day Saturday with them.

My nephew and niece, Cole and Kylie, came to visit Nana for a week. Michael and I had lots of fun with them at the Georgetown library one day. The children's room there is a magical place for kids --even without the magic show that was going on.

This past weekend we got to spend the whole day with Dad! Due to a martial arts injury, Matt made an appointment for acupuncture and Michael and I accompanied him. It was really cool to see them stick the needles in. (No, there was no blood involved!) The needles they use are hair-width, and Matt didn't even feel a lot of them go in.

Next, we had a picnic lunch under a gazeboo overlooking a beautiful goldfish pond. (Sorry, I didn't think to take a picture.) Then we headed down to UT campus and toured the Natural History museum. Michael thought the dinosaurs were okay, but most enjoyed the beautifully colored rock specimens they had. Next, we walked over to the LBJ library to see several exhibits there, including a space rock (pictured) and some amazing presidential gifts from around the world.

It's been a while since we've made a picture of all of all three of us together, so here we are in my parent's front garden.

Cute Pictures

2008-07-02T15:17:00.000-07:00

Just had to share some cute picutes.

Watch out world, he's mobile! Michael has learned to roll from his back onto his tummy.

Michael discovers his ears!

First experience with "solid" food. The picture doesn't reflect it, but he really seemed to enjoy his very watery rice cereal.

Yeah! I was finally able to catch some pictures of him smiling.

First Father's Day!!!

2008-06-18T16:01:00.000-07:00

We just had the honor of celebrating Matt's very first Father's Day as a father! And, you'll have to let me brag a little bit here) he's a great dad who loves his little boy. They have great fun together singing, dancing, making faces, and, of course, napping.

At the end of last month, we were able to go down to Matt Sr.'s graduation from St. Mary's Law School in San Antonio--the culmination of three long years of dedicated study. Way to go!!! The whole family was there to celebrate, and we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon visiting.

Michael is incredibly camera-shy. He has a beautiful, bright, big smile, but he goes stoic as soon as he sees a camera. So, I haven't been able to get any good pictures of a big smile, but here's a half-smile I was able to get.

Right now, he's in the process of learning to roll over. He can get from his back onto his side with his hips facing the ground, but he hasn't quite learned how to get his shoulders over yet. He's a little more tolerant of tummy-time now and we're expecting he'll be scooting from one end of the living room to the other before long. He's also learned to suck on his lower lip if his binki is unavailable.

My First (real) Mother's Day!!!

2008-05-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Sunday was my first Mother's Day as a mother! Matt and Michael made me feel very special and loved by presenting me with what every woman wants --chocolate and flowers!

I have to say I love being a mom! I love being able to stay home with Michael and see him learn and grow day by day. And for the most part, he makes my job pretty easy by being such a sweet baby!

It's the amazing Burrito Boy! --Michael still loves being swaddled every night before bedtime. He is also vey attached to his pacifier.

With binki . . .

Without binki . . .

April Flowers!

2008-04-19T10:19:00.001-07:00

I have to say my husband is the absolute best! Last Friday he brought home these beautiful tulips --just because. He's great with Michael, helps around the house, and doesn't even complain about changing poopy diapers. Who could ask for more?!

Michael continues to grow and learn at an amazing pace! Right now, he's learning the difference between his right and left side as he bats around toys on his play gym. He continues to practice his smiles and is enjoying his voice lessons immensely!

Look ma!

After a hard day's work . . .

Soooo happy!

You talkin' ta me?

Excuse me ...would you happen to have any Grey Poupon?