The Perfect Valentine's Date

Andrew planned the perfect date for Valentine's Day this year.  We went to dinner at a fancy restaurant in downtown Seattle and then went to a Seattle Symphony concert where Pinchas Zukerman was the guest viola soloist.  Zukerman in was one of the great masters of the viola and I've grown up listening to recordings of his playing ever since I started playing the viola when I was 10 years old...and there he was standing right in front of me.  As you can imagine I was in heaven and loved every second of it.  One of the pieces he performed was the Telemann Viola Concerto and the whole time I had a huge smile on my face and I had to restrain myself from bobbing my head along to the music.  I remembered playing that piece with my junior high orchestra when I was in 8th grade and how I would listen to my cassette tape of Zukerman playing the piece as I prepared.  The night left me in awe of this great performer, feeling like I need to practice a little harder and be a better teacher so I can pass on this beautiful art to others.  I guess I could say the night left me falling in love with the viola all over again.  Thank you Andrew for the perfect night!

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

A couple of days ago I was pleasantly surprised to see flowers growing in our yard.  The kids have been a little overly excited about it too and it has been difficult keeping Megan from picking them. Yesterday when she picked one, it instantly fell apart, which resulted in a melt-down and her asking if we could tape it back together. 

It seems a little early for flowers to be blooming but this whole gardening thing is a new experience for me.  This is  going to be our first spring in this house so I have no idea what's in my flower beds and when they'll bloom.  I know I have a bed of roses, but have no idea how to take care of them and they seem a little intimidating to me.  There's one bed that's full of moss and when I went to rake it all out I discovered a bunch of bulbs...don't know what they are, we'll just have to wait and see. 

So, how does my garden grow?  Right now that's a mystery... I guess that question will just have to be answered in a couple of months!!

Miss Megan

I love to watch my little Megan sleep.  When she's awake she's so full of energy, life and emotions and has such a big presence in our home, but when she's asleep I'm reminded that she's just a very little girl...who still likes to call herself a baby.  Here are some things about Megan that I don't want to forget.

1.  She is a girl of many names...Miss Megan, Megan Rose, Megs, Meg, Meg-pie, Nutmeg, Rosie, Little Miss and Jordan's favorite...Meggers.

2.  My most favorite thing about Megan is her laugh.  She is a very petite thing, but her laugh is anything but that.  She has a very deep, loud belly laugh that can really fill up a room...kind of like Grandpa Alan.  I would venture to say that we have taken her out of sacrament meeting more often for laughing than crying.  We've also had to take her out for playing peek-a-boo and shouting "Hi" and "I love you" to her cousin Lily who was clear on the other side of the chapel.

3. She is my lounger...definitely like her mother.  I'm not really sure when she actually wakes up but when I go into her room around 8 or 9 I always find her just lounging in her blankies.  Many times she doesn't want to get out and lays there a little while longer.

4.  For some reason, she doesn't like it when I sing.  During church she covers my mouth and says, "No singing Mommy."  It's really kind of annoying but she always lets me sing to her before bed.

5.  She has a shy side and when she meets someone new she always puts on this little show where she won't look at them, she sticks out her bottom lip and does deep breathing.  Not really sure why, but it makes me laugh.

6.  She loves her babies and I always sigh when she brings her baby to the dinner table because I know that means I'm fixing an extra plate...with silverware and a drink.  She likes to make sure her babies are properly cared for and have all their needs met.

7. Not only does she love babies, but she likes to make it very clear to everyone that SHE is a baby.  She loves to say, "I'm a baby. I'm soooooo cute" in a little quivering voice.

8.  She has a very strong opinion about her clothing and likes to pick out her own clothes (which always makes out for very interesting outfits) and dresses herself.  She likes to wear underwear over her diaper, her pants are often backwards and her shoes are always on the wrong feet.   Lately she has been wearing a Bob the Builder hard hat and her fairy tutu everywhere she goes.

9.  She is a pure delight and even though sometimes she makes us want to pull our hair out we love her to pieces and she loves us too.  She's always quick to give kisses and hugs and whenever I (or Andrew) enter the door we always know we'll be greeted with outstretched arms and a very animated "I MISSSSSED YOU!!!!!!"   Yes, we love our Megan Rose!

Jordan Turns 5!!!!

This past week was one of celebration, parties and presents.  Jordan turned 5 and had a lot of fun doing it. We started off the week at the Stout's with cake and presents.....

He got a cool bubble maker that attaches to his bike from Grandma Erin.....
a dinosaur lamp from Auntie Noel....
a shark game from Mom and Dad....what do you think...did I score on picking the perfect gift or what?

We finished off the week with another party with the other 2 Bolles cousins who also have birthdays in January.
Here's some things about Jordan for him to look back on about what his life was like at the age of 5.

1.  He LOVES going to preschool and Ms. Shauna has made it to the top of his favorites list.  He asks every day if it's a preschool day and will quickly do his homework when I tell him it's for Ms. Shauna.

2.  He's a very early riser and literally bounces right out of bed ready to attack the day.  I know this will be a great thing in the future, but the 5 am and sometimes even 4 am wake up calls are a little too much for the rest of the family....well, mainly just Mommy. 

3.  He's very sensitive when others are upset and many times if someone gets hurt he's crying harder than the one hurting.

4.  Just give him a pen and paper and he's content to draw for hours.  His drawings are amazing, with such detail...definitely something he inherited from his Daddy. 

5.  He loves to snuggle, give kisses and still loves to hold his Mommy's hand and out of the blue will give her hand 3 squeezes...our secret code for "I LOVE YOU!"
                                                HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN!!!! 

Our Home is Complete

Over the Christmas break my brothers were all in town so they helped move my piano from my parent's house over to our new house.  It feels like life is more complete now having a piano in the house.  Tonight was our first night having Family Home Evening with it and it was so much fun.  I actually heard my kids sing.  Megan stood on the bench next to me and belted out "I am a Child of God" and Jordan sang, "Holding  Hands Around the World."  Yes...our home is finally complete!!   Now it's time to find a piano teacher for Jordan.  I've tried to give him a few lessons, but he insists on doing it his own way...with only one finger...which won't get him very far!

SNOW!!!

We've had some snow here in Washington, which doesn't happen all that often.  The kids have had fun playing in it, but it's real dry, powdery snow so you can't even make a snowball with it.  Jordan keeps asking me if I will make a snowman, but it just won't stick together.  There's a house in our neighborhood that has a gigantic snowman out in front and I've been tempted to go knock on their door and ask them to help me, or at least tell me how they did it.  Maybe got out the hose and wet it down?  Not really sure...it's a mystery.  Someday we will build that snowman!!

Christmas Day

Christmas day was very busy, but fun.  We're lucky that both families live close by so we can see everybody.  We opened presents at our house, then went to the Stout's where we had a very yummy breakfast and then to my parent's for the afternoon.  The kids loved seeing all their cousins and opening presents all day long.  At the beginning of the day, Megan was a little hesitant and very careful when opening up her presents, but by the end she had it all figured out and was ripping open her presents and everyone else's too. 

                                           Our little sassy fairy princess!