Faces that make me happy- well most the time

I hit the very lowest point of motherhood yesterday when I dragged my screaming kids out of chick-fil-a. Yes, my 5 year old was SCREAMING. James (no surprise) was throwing a fit. Thankfully, Ruth was asleep. For a whole minute the place was dead quiet as everyone in the restaurant turned their head to see what the commotion was. I have never been so humiliated in my life.

I guess the rewards of motherhood come in small doses, like when you see your baby roll over for the first time:

or when your two year old learns to say "I love you!"

or when your 5 year old tells you that you make the best bread in the "whole universe"!

We had a little scare with David last weekend. He woke up with a huge fever, complete with hallucinations, shortness of breath, and rapid heart beat. When he told us that a choo-choo train was coming to take him to heaven, we were very alarmed. Thanks to priesthood power and Motrin we have our little David back.

Happy Birthday James!

Time has somehow gotten away from me, and I have neglected a few important events... like James' two year old birthday! We had such a fun day, complete with lunch at chick-fil-a and a fun dinner with cousins and grandma and grandpa Larsen. I think that he felt pretty special.

What do I love about James? While he has been a very challenging toddler (tantrums that you wouldn't believe possible), deep inside is a very sweet loving boy. James is very considerate. He notices details that go unnoticed, like the sock that dropped onto the floor, or the baby that got left in the car (yes, that did happen once). He also loves music and constantly sings E-I-E-I-O or the star wars theme song, both on pitch. Whenever I play the piano, he is playing along right next to me. He is also very strong and can have his older brother pinned by the hair on the floor (David is sweet enough not to hit back). He also loves to flash his killer smile for the camera. We are sure happy to have this little monkey in our family.

His favorite things? "Hahee" (monkey), blankey, "dong-dong" (a little storm trooper lego guy), trains, and legos, and anything that David is playing with!

Mormon Battalion Museum

This is about a month old... but I wanted to document our recent trip to the new Mormon Battalion Museum in San Diego. Surprisingly, the Mormons were instrumental in establishing the first settlements here. They even dug wells, and taught the locals how to make bricks. The museum was a MUST see. It was so interactive- organized so that we felt we were actually part of the battalion. Here is David all dressed up as a soldier.

One more of the boys panning for gold