Spring Break

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!

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

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

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!

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

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

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!