Spring is around the corner

Our computer is still down, and it's hard for me to do blog updates at work, so I apologize for the lack of posts.

We had a great 3-day Easter weekend with Grandma Rita in town from Indiana. We went to the Mall of America, ate at the Rainforest Cafe, and rode rides in Nickelodeon Universe (ok, so it was 3 rides in almost 3 hours - that wasn't so great.) The Easter bunny visited us on Sunday, and Madeline finally started sharing HER candy with us all.

Madeline got a cool note from her teachers saying that she was the only student in her class that remembered why we use drums in music (to keep the beat) and the Spanish word for cold (frio). It's fun to see get feedback like that! She's been really into her body these last few weeks - like making her eyes cross, crossing all of her fingers on one hand, and saying the word "butt." After prayers, we try to say "thank you for Madeline, thank you for our books, etc." and she said "thank you for my butt." The other night, Nathan had her ROLLING with his version of a nursery rhyme: "1, 2, buckle my butt, 3, 4, shut my butt, etc." He's hilarious all right!

Henry is 5 months old this weekend. He just started rolling over 2 weeks ago, and now he's doing it all of the time - what a show-off! He is constantly smiling and is so easy-going (much more low key than his older sister.) And another first.... We put him in the high chair and fed him cereal on Friday night. It's all going much too quickly!

With warmer temperatures, we're getting excited to start playing outside more regularly. And I can't wait until we can stop bundling them up! Spring is around the corner!!

Video for Aunt Amanda

Amanda is having a tough time lately with Uncle Frank leaving for Iraq this week. So, Madeline and Henry wanted to record her a special message...

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Fun with friends

My best friend at work, Tami, came over with her kids on my birthday so that Nathan and I could go out for dinner. Thanks, Tami! Her kids, Alicia (4) and Nick (2.5), are so cute and fun. The three of them got along great! Here they are in the princess and fairy dresses...

Henry's 4 month check-up

Henry (a.k.a. The Tankster) had his 4 month appointment this past week. He was 27.5" long (100+%) and 17 lbs, 10 oz (90%). I hesitate to describe him as a "noodle," because he's not, but he's not quite as proportional as his big sister was at the same age.

The kids are doing great! Madeline has been hilarious lately. Her new thing is to sing songs - like hard songs. She'll hold the notes and sing the verses, not just the melody. And if she realizes that she had forgot to sing a song while it was playing, she'll make me start it over so she can sing it.

And Henry has been changing alot, too. He's rolling over from his stomach to back, and we're waiting for him to roll over the other way any day now. He is so much more aware of his surroundings, and his favorite person to find and smile at is his big sister (and she LOVES that, by the way.) He's getting really good at using two hands to grab and hold his toys. And, of course, everything goes into his mouth, because how else would you be able to tell if it was a fun toy or not? Duh!

Hilarious

So, Madeline came home with a new trick from daycare. After she poops on the potty, she climbs off, bends over, and puts her hand on the ground in an impressive linebacker-like 3-pt. stance. Then she yells "wipe me, wipe me!" I wish I would have been there to see Nathan's face when she first did this to him.

I have found that the inital butt wiping is usually followed by "more wipes, more wipes," as if she doesn't trust me that I've cleaned everything up okay. It is HILARIOUS and it keeps getting funnier every time she does it. Just had to share....

And the HOTY Award goes to....

...my honey, Nathan Knutson!

The HOTY (Husband of the Year) Award recognizes those individuals who exceed in their husbandly duties by demonstrating outstanding service in one or more of the following categories:

• Romance
• Thoughtfulness
• Parenting
• General

Nathan recently demonstrated excellent parenting skills while flying solo for 3 days while I attended a work meeting in Salt Lake City. I never heard one single complaint from him and he handled it all perfectly. Mr. Mom himself! He is such a great dad and I love him for that!

But seriously, he does deserve so much credit because he is such a natural at this whole dad thing. He is especially great with Madeline at bedtime. He has perfected the "tickle lion" routine, in which he pretends he's a lion coming to get her, which forces her to hurry up and get into her pajamas. Anyone with a 2 year old knows how hard it can be to get a toddler to easily commit to PJs and bedtime. The next part of the routine is that she hides from him under the covers, he finds her and tickles her, and then she fake throws him out of the bed. It's the same thing every night, it works, and it's so sweet. And to overcome her dread of getting her hair combed, he created this routine where he pretends the comb is stuck in her hair and then throws it in the air. She was laughing so hard at him tonight that she was crying. How sweet is that?

(Please note that this is not his first HOTY Award. His first award was received several years ago when he randomly sent me flowers at work to wish me luck on my first day of MBA classes.)