We had a blessedly slower week. Jack is getting ready to start football season, so we took advantage of one of our last free Saturdays and headed to the Little Sahara sand dunes. Alice has officially given up her nap. This is a net negative for my productivity, but at least we can go on day adventures without having to plan around naps now.
I am blessed to have parents who remember our important dates for us when we forget. Saturday was the anniversary of me and Jared getting engaged (pi day). My parents offered to babysit while we went on a date. We ended up at Olive Garden and actually had such a great time! It's been a while since we've had a good official date. For the past year we've eeked by on our makeshift Wednesday afternoon dates--Jared has a half day on Wednesday so our strategy has been to put Alice down for her nap when he gets home and then order in some lunch or play a game at our house. Now that Alice has given up her nap, this isn't a possibility anymore. We're lucky if we can steal half an hour while Alice takes a quiet time, but it isn't quite the same with her yelling requests down the stairs at us the whole time haha. But all that to say, we really enjoyed our anniversary restaurant date. I was laughing so hard at the message Jared left for Olive Garden on their little table devices before we left: "Our experience was magical. We had the most amazing dining experience of our life. Thanks Olive Garden! I love you."
I'll get right to the pictures, and then post the photos form Jack's baptism that I didn't share last week:
Jared's parents came to town last Monday, so in the race to get our house ready I forgot about a blog post. Sorry! This week I'll pull double duty to report on Jack's birthday and baptism.
Jack turned 8! I can't believe it. We officially have a big kid on our hands. I'm sure every child is different, but around age 8 I have felt the shift from little kid to big kid. First grade and the beginning of second grade for Jack still felt quite sweet, innocent, and playful. At the end of second grade we have a big boy who is starting to outgrow playing with toys, would sometimes rather hide in his hoodie at a playground instead of playing, and is more aware of the ups and downs of life. If I were to interrupt him playing with friends out in the neighborhood, I think that would be received with embarrassment instead of joy haha. As a bigger kid I find Jack is picking up a more sophisticated sense of humor, can help with more jobs, and last night (daylight savings following a week of sugar highs and late nights with grandparents), he had a rough time staying asleep all night. The first time he woke up he came down to me so I could comfort him and get him back up to bed. The next time he woke up I heard him come down, get himself a cup of water, and take himself back to bed. This is a groundbreaking milestone.
We love Jack. He is kind, fun, smart, assertive, and resolute. This kid will do anything he sets his mind to in life. Jack has never been afraid to ask for what he wants, even from adults in his life like coaches or bus drivers. He doesn't get upset if the answer is "no" (well, unless the "no" is from his parents) but he will always ask. I am a more assertive person because of the time I have spent with Jack Lambert.
For Jack's birthday this year he asked to get a ride to school early so he could enjoy school breakfast. Jared had a half day so he took cupcakes to Jack's class in the afternoon. And then after school we met with cousins at an arcade and introduced Jack to Pizza Pie Cafe for dinner. I have never seen Jack eat so much--he was in heaven. When we got home we enjoyed an Oreo birthday cake and he opened presents: a new book series for our voracious bedtime reader, Zelda from grandparents, a laser tag set (big hit) and a basic electric scooter (another big hit). I do feel bad that a proper birthday party sort of got swept under the rug amidst the chaos of in-laws coming to stay for a week, and organizing Jack's baptism. But he's been a good sport about it.
Jack was baptized over the weekend. We had a sweet program, with a special musical number from my parents and Jack's cousins, and talks by Jared's mom and my brother Tim. I was especially touched that my Grandma Roper was able to give the opening prayer. After the baptism we went back to our home to host a little gathering of brunch finger foods for everyone who attended. It was wonderful to host so much family in our home who haven't been able to see it yet. Jared and I were thrilled at how well our home accommodated a large group of people mingling, with kids on all levels and playing outside. We are hoping to get a backyard put in next month, which will make entertaining even better.
I hear the kids waking up, but we had a truly wonderful week. Now for some pictures:
It snowed! Like, once. What a weird Utah winter this year. I'm glad we got enough snow, even if just this once, to test out the snow tires we thought we'd need living up by the foothills (they work great), and to test out the dirt pit next door to see if it's sleddable. Great news: it is! Basically we live next to a big water retention bowl that isn't grassed. Luckily, if we get enough snow it is still a blast for sledding, and at least this year, we had it all to ourselves. I hope we can get one more big snow this year so we can invite the cousins over for a sledding day. The hill closest to our house is the perfect size for little ones, and then the hill on the other side of the pit is 3 times taller and steeper--a blast for the big kids. I love having the ability to immediately run back inside the second the cold became too much for Alice and warm up with some cocoa. I also loved that the next morning, Jack could run outside and sled the morning away while I stayed warm in my house and could easily peek on him from the kitchen window. It's a winter dream come true. The Pit is one of my favorite things about our house.
We also got to introduce the kids to ice skating at Jared's work party this week. His employer invited everyone to come to the Olympic ice oval in Kearns for dinner, a magic show, and ice skating. They also had curling lessons, but we ran out of time for that before we really needed to get the kids home for bed. For me, ice skating is an activity that I always think is going to be fun . . . but then it kind of isn't haha. Don't get me wrong, I loved the experiencing of watching my kids experience ice skating for the first time, but it took half an hour to go one lap around and everyone was in pain by the end--Jared's back from hunching over Alice to hold her up, and my ankles because I have terrible skating form. Jack and I hovered on the edge, at first unable to really stand up at all, but by the end of the first lap we were a little faster and no longer hanging onto the wall. The kids loved trying something new and are begging to go skating again soon. I do think it would be fun to get Alice in a lesson but doubt it will happen this year.
And now for some pictures:
It has been a busy, no-breaks Presidents Day and I am exhausted, so we'll do the brief version of blogging today. Jared still has to work on Presidents Day, but the kids were home from school. Thank goodness for living near so much family and so many cousins now--it would have been a miserable day without that support system. We spent the morning playing on the beach of Utah Lake. It was a bit chilly, but with coats it was fine for playing and skipping rocks and collecting seashells. We even found some steel wool and driftwood and lit a fire in a fire ring. Afterward, we brought one of my nephews home with us, and he played with Jack all afternoon in The Pit by our house while Alice took a truncated and then woke up absolutely miserable and livid.
Alice is officially phasing out her nap and went 4 days in a row last week with no naps. My free time is withering away. I do demand a quiet time in place of the nap, but it only lasts half as long. Her short nap today wasn't quite enough to make up for the sleep deficit. I was hoping to be able to accomplish some cleaning and maybe buy Jack's birthday presents on holiday sales this afternoon, but not a chance. Luckily, more siblings/cousins for the children came back for dinner and Alice perked right back up again for another few hours of play time. Bless. This was heaven sent since Jared didn't get home from work until 7:00 p.m. It's a good thing I got used to him being gone for every weekend, holiday, and special event during the entirety of his 7 years of medical training. Working 12 hours when everyone else gets the day off isn't my favorite, but we're still fresh enough out of training for me to know it could be much, much, much worse. I've seen some things, man.
Other than that, it's been an exhausting but gratifying week. Jared and I attended the Thanksgiving Point Valentine's Dinner Dance again, which is a highlight of our whole year. I also convinced my brothers to save me and help get our powder bathroom trim and sink installed before Jared's parents come to stay with us soon. I feel like a burden has lifted from my shoulders now that I don't have to look at our unfinished main level bathroom every day.
Ok, let's get to some pictures:
