Strawberry Picking

This week for playgroup we decided to go strawberry picking at a farm next door to one of the moms in our group. It was a horribly rainy day but that didn't dampen our spirits! Morgan looks miserable in all of these pictures but he was really excited to be there and he was especially excited about the strawberries! Some of our group stayed behind at the house to watch the babies.
Morgan's not a huge fan of being dirty so this was a bit of a challenge for him. Our plan was to pick enough to for a pie and a salad. I'll post pictures of the yummy results. Hopefully they'll be a little left over for snacking.

Morgan's trying to hide the fact he's been eating the strawberries faster than I could put them in the basket. I finally had to get him to stop or we would have been there forever. I think next time I may try to leave him behind as well but I'm glad we got to go. Morgan's been asking to go every day since!

A close up of Pepper's horrible baby acne. She is getting better but it's pretty sad to see her pretty face all covered with red bumps. We're getting closer to capturing that pretty smile...so far I can tell she has one little dimple near her chin.

Our Fun Weekend

This weekend was technically nothing overly special but just a nice weekend together. Poor Cody was feeling a bit under the weather with a cold but was a trooper nonetheless.Pepper is finally warming up to Daddy.
And likes to tell us all stories. And yes she is very blotchy and covered in baby acne.
Poor little girl!

She of course gave me two big smiles right before I got the camera.

After a couple attempts to capture her cute smile this is the face I got!

On Friday morning we went over to our friends house to enjoy their blow-up pool and to by some fresh strawberries from the farm next door. Pepper enjoyed just laying out on the grass.

Morgan and the kids having a blast in the pool. Morgan being the daredevil he is charged right up the climbing part (with a little help) and went down the slide. Of course when the tractor lawnmower went off next door he freaked out...he picks and chooses when to be brave.

I was attempting to get Morgan to show off his medal and get my haircut in the picture. All Morgan cared about was the "football". It bugs Cody to death he doesn't call balls by their correct names.

Friday night our ward had a picnic, which we did attend but did not take any pictures. We stayed long enough to eat and let Morgan run up and down a hill with the other boys about a million times. Then it was time to go home and watch the hockey finals. Cody forgot to set the DVR and was frantic to get home in time. We made it and the Penguins won so it was a good Friday night in our home!

Saturday afternoon we to Ft. Island Park for a while to let Morgan run around. It was overcast but we got a good hour in before the rans hit and we headed to Wendys for dinner.

Cody trying to play catch with Morgan.

Pepper cheering them on.

Nice throw...so close.

On Sunday afternoon we went back to the park but went for a walk on their many trails.

Morgan's getting pretty darn good at that little scooter. It is slow going however and the mosquitoes were beginning to eat us alive. I guess we actually need to invest in things like bug spray out here!

Almost fits Cody!

Morgan was so inquisitive the whole walk. He wanted to check out every bug and either pick it up or squish it. Such a boy!

My handsome and sweaty little man.

So that was our weekend. Hope yours was fun and relaxing as well.

This afternoon we're headed to Cleveland to go to an Indians game for free courtesy of Smuckers. We figure we will only last a couple innings with two small ones but it should be fun. We'll let you know how it goes!

Morgan's Fun Week

For our playgroup this week, we decided to go to a pheasant farm. One of the mom's neighbor raises pheasants and let us come over to feed them and watch the babies hatch.
She's also testing out raising turkeys but so far has not had much success.

Watching the babies hatch.

This morning was Morgan's Little Gym class showcase.

Morgan's been taking this class since we moved here and just loves it. I am amazed at how far Morgan has progressed in 10 weeks. He is much more confident in his abilities and is willing to try all the new skills. I was very proud of my little man today!

Excited to be there!

Using his jumping skills to jump the rope. One of the skills they've worked on is jumping with two feet together. Since Morgan spends half his day jumping he is very good at this.

Morgan's favorite skill is the bars. He loves to hang on them, swing on them and spin over them. Spotting him is not the easiest because he is a hefty kid. Good thing his teacher Miss Anna is so strong!

Fearless

The balance beam is not his favorite but at least he's willing to try it out. Whenever Miss Anna was teaching a new skill Morgan was always first in line to try it out. When we first started the class Morgan spent a large chunk of time off on his own but now he really pays attention and participates with the group. He use to cry and cling to me all during warm up excersises but lately he has been happy to do it. The last two classes the parents were asked to sit against the wall and let the kids do it themselves with the teacher. At first Morgan wasn't sure about it but then he ran right up and joined her. Today he was the first one up and smiling so big. He's usually very shy but he seemed to be enjoying the attention. It was so cute!

Doing bubble yoga. I especially love his mountain pose.

Morgan received a medal for finishing the semester.

It was very cute watching him accomplish something and enjoy the recognition.

Since it was a special showcase day, families and friends were invited to come watch and take pictures. It made me a little sad that there was no one to come watch Morgan. Just another reason why it's great to live near family.

Another reason would be to have help when you're sick. Yesterday I came down with mastitis. I felt perfectly fine in the morning and then all of a sudden I had horrible chills and I was achey and tired all over. I had no energy and a terrible headache. By the time Cody came home I was miserable. I finally asked Cody to call someone to help him give me a blessing because I was worried about taking Morgan to his gym class and having the energy to take care of the kids. Another brother in the ward was nice enough to come over and Cody gave me a wonderful blessing. I truly have a testimony of the power of blessings and the priesthood. I knew that if I got a blessing everything would be ok. Maybe I would still feel sick but I would be able to cope with everything. I'm still not a hundred percent but I feel much better. I am so grateful to be married to a priesthood holder who is worthy to bless my family and me.

Cody's 30th B-day Week

Last week was Cody's b-day week. We celebrated by spending most evenings eating food he wanted for dinner and viewing movies he wanted to watch. All in all it was pretty low key but lots of family fun.Saturday morning Cody took Morgan to a barber shop to get a "real" haircut. I convinced him to keep a little on top so he's not totally bald. I must say that electric razor takes a lot less time than scissors at a salon and Morgan didn't seem to mind them. I decided we had to take a picture of my handsome men and beautiful daughter looking spiffy this Sunday morning.

(Chamaine, we must have gotten a million compliments on that adorable dress today! And don't worry, Pepper had a blow out at church but managed to miss the dress and bloomers and just get me and the onesie!)

In honor of Cody reaching a new decade, I thought we'd look back at the last couple years and witness how much he and Morgan have grown.

Cody and Morgan celebrating Daddy's b-day in 2007

Turning 29 in 2008

Excited about happy cupcakes in 2009

Cody's trick candles kept Morgan entertained for quite awhile. He's finally mastered the skill of blowing out candles.

Here's Pepper the other day when Morgan was playing with the camera.

She's doing really well these days, except for when Cody holds her. The same thing happened when Morgan was around this age and lasted for a month or so. The poor guy gets a complex but at least we know now that it won't last forever and his children will eventually love him:)

The first week of June is a big time for our family so we just wanted to say happy birthday to our bother-in-law Mike, and our niece Mandie. And a very happy 3 yr wedding anniversary to Chamaine and Kurt.

We love you guys!

My Daddy's Old

Today is my Daddy's 30th birthday. Pepper and I decided to be artistic and show our daddy how we feel about him through pictures. Since Pepper can't hold her head up, let alone the camera, Mommy and I were the photographers. So here's to you Daddy!

Daddy

(Morgan attempting to sign the word daddy and smile at the same time)

THIS MUCH

I love Daddy more than I love playing with my animals...that's a lot!

(It looks like the animals are migrating across our ottoman every day.)
I want to be a great protector like Daddy.

And be a great example like Daddy..."See Pepper this is how you stretch out on the couch and watch teewee," (Morgan's word for TV).

Good thing our Daddy is so handsome because my goodness we're cute!

We also love how happy Daddy makes Mommy.

She's much nicer when he's around.

So don't get any ideas of going anywhere for too long Daddy!

Daddy has big strong hands to work hard for our family.

Mommy says she loves Daddy for many, many reasons.

I think the number one reason has to be my little sister and me!

Yep that's me in all my baby adorableness!

Pepper's not half bad either.

Mommy just wanted to include a cute picture of baby toes.

Mommy's glad Daddy puts up with her silliness over everything cute!

Daddy does a great job of keeping us all warm and cozy.

(That's Mommy's hand but you get the idea).

And finally Daddy on your big birthday we just wanted to let you know that we were thinking of you and loving you. You are the greatest Daddy we know and we hope we are just like you when we grow up...well maybe Pepper should be a little more like Mommy in the girly department but my goal is to be a great man just like YOU!!!