N.Y. Part 2

This park I took the kids to in New York gets its own post because it was by far the cutest park I've ever seen. It was called The Story Garden. I might as well have been another kid in there cuz me and Jete were both running around from one spot to the next to see what other cool things they had. At each little spot, they had some form of a mailbox with little books in them, and a place that you could sit down and read the books. I have a ton more pictures of this place. I just couldn't help but taking a picture at every little spot. We all loved it, and were sad that Had couldn't come with us cuz of work.

At Peter Rabbit's Garden, those are actually real plants growing, and they really got to water them. Jete LOVED this, and spent most of his time here!

Jerzi, however, loved the flowerpot and playing in/eating the dirt.

Jete, Jerzi and the 3 Bears

Jete wanted the frog to read to him too.

This is where Jete decided he knew how to rock climb. He wouldn't ever even try it before, which is kinda weird cuz he loves climbing and jumping off everything. Anyways, so he tried it, and I was nervous and stood right behind him. I tried to tell him where to grab and where to put his feet but he said, "Mom, I can do it, leave me along [alone]!

New York in June

We went to Johnson City, New York for the month of June for Had's externship. Despite the fact that all four of us were in a one bedroom apartment for the month (it was free, so we can't really complain), it rained a whole lot, and we only had one car, we still managed to enjoy our time there. We became friends with some of the other residents and their families, and spent a lot of time hanging out with them. We had weiner roasts, dinners, games, and went to the strawberry fest with them. They were all so nice to us and made us feel very welcome. I also got to take the kids to do a few fun things around that area while Had was busy workin away. Just as a warning, i have tons of pictures so i might have to do a few more posts than this to document all the ones that i want to.

I can't remember what this place is called, but it was THE CUTEST children's museum. It had the funnest little things and I was wishing that I didn't have Jerzi in my arms so that I could have had an excuse to go play all the stuff with Jete. He loved it and would have played in there for hours. The grocery store was the coolest. It had everything regular grocery stores have, just miniaturized.

Jete and Jerzi started actually playing together this month. It was so fun to watch them interact with each other. They both loved to copy each other. I also straightened Jerzi's hair for the first time.

One of the girls that I met there was super nice and let me borrow her running stroller so I could go running with both kids. (Thanks again Heather!)

Top pic: before the run
Bottom pic: after the run

My friend Angie and her husband (from Cleveland) moved to Johnson City the same month that we were there, so we got to hang out with them a few times. They lived right across from a lake, so we went with them one day to it and played. It was super fun! We played in the sand and built this cool sand castle, HAHA while Had and Marshall went sailing.

They also have kayaks, and let us take them out on the lake. I was kinda scared to go, cuz if you lean to a side, they tip over. But I was real careful and didn't fall in, so then of course I loved it. Now I want kayaks of our own. Had was a lot more brave than me and he took Jete with him. Had warned him that he couldn't move or they would tip over. That was the stillest I've every seen Jete sit before in his life. They never tipped either.

Jete thought those little logs in the right picture were crocodiles. :)

The Aaronic Priesthood Restoration site wasn't too far away from where we were living.

The Susquehanna River
We took a little walk back through the woods and it opened up to the river. So pretty!

Birthday Boy

Last week was Jeter's birthday. He is 3 years old now! I can't hardly believe it. He has been so much fun and such a handful, but we wouldn't want it any other way. He gets into mischief, does naughty things all the time, but is so sweet, hilarious, and lovable. We can't even hardly get mad at the kid because he makes us laugh when we're supposed to be mad. He has the sweetest smile and he really does make everything better when he apologizes. Some of the things he loves and we want to remember about him right now:

He loves playing outside
He likes to get dirty now :)
He says he's super fast like Dash (boy on Incredibles)
He wants to go everywhere with his Daddy
He loves pretending to go to work, school, and the beach
He loves to ride his bike
Loves playing with friends (which include a range of 3-14 year olds)
Loves to come crawl in bed with Mommy and Daddy during the night
He loves monster trucks, all kinds of games, and all sports
Loves playing tag
Loves motorcycles
Favorite food is steak
Loves meats
Loves going to parks
Always has to have a snack before bed
Loves his naps (he tells us he's really tired and that he needs a nap)
Loves to draw, color, paint, and do his homework(draw in his notebook)
When he doesn't want to do something that we ask, he says, "I don't understand, I'm just a little boy."
Plays rough with everything, including his little sister.
He has a "big dance" that he does just for Mommy and Jerzi.

A look back:

Newborn

1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

Happy 3rd Birthday!!!
He was so excited to open some of his presents. He got a new powertools workshop so he can "work".

When we lived in New York for a month, Jeter got to ride one of these while we were there and he fell in love with it. But what he actually wanted was a battery powered motorcycle-and thought he was getting one for his b-day. Well, no such luck, so we hoped this would take his mind off of the motorcycle. We thought our plan worked as he opened up all his presents. He was happy and loving life. Then after Had went to work, Jete said to me, "Mommy is that all of my presents?" I said yes and he said, "No, what about my motorcycle?" Oh i felt so bad and felt like crying. But he actually does love his little car and goes to all sorts of make believe places, and takes Jerzi for rides in it all the time. And now, no mention of the motorcycle. :)

We had a picnic at a park with some of his friends and had cake and ice cream.

This is usually the response i get whenever i ask him to look at the camera, or to say cheese, and that's why i don't have any good pictures of him.
Jeter wanted a monster truck cake for his birthday this year. He loves monster trucks right now and loves to watch them on TV. Since i never really watch them and had no clue what a monster truck course looked like, Had came up with a plan of how he wanted me to make the cake. So in case you can't tell, that's a monster truck course with Jete's favorite monster truck Gravedigger, and Maximum Destruction on it, getting ready to race.

Jete was so excited about his cake (along with a couple of his friends) and thought that it was a real course, so we let him and his friends drive the course and smash the cars and go over the jumps. It was so fun making this day special for him. We love to see him so happy and excited over such simple things. Happy Birthday Jeter-boy! We love you!!!

Seattle in May

Ignore the fact that it's now July and I'm posting about May. We just got back a couple weeks ago from our 2 month long excursion from one end of the country to the other, and I've gotten things unpacked, we've settled into our old routines, and pics downloaded to the computer now.

For the month of May we went out to Seattle (Lake Forest Park), Washington and stayed with Hadley's Aunt Jill and Uncle Mike and their family while Had did an externship there. We couldn't have asked for nicer hosts than them. They were great and it was fun getting to spend time with them and getting to know them better. I just want to write about some of the things we did and how we spent our month for journaling purposes, so feel free to ignore all the writing.

Had spent most of the days working, so me and the kids spent most of the days with Jill and Addy, while their boys were at school. We played outside when it wasn't raining and this is one thing that was love at first sight for Jeter. He rode this thing just about everyday. And when he didn't get to ride it because it had rained the whole day, he would tell me at the end of the day, "Oh no Mommy, I gotta go ride the motorcycle. I haven't even rode it today!" He loved it and made a little race track for himself. Then he would beg us to come race him. We would run beside him. Fun times. It was a pretty fast little bugger too, it has a turbo button and it can haul going down their hill. (He now wants one for his birthday and they don't make these anymore.)

We also got to be there while their boy Jake got baptized. It was cool to get to be to such a special event for him, especially since we miss all sorts of things like that living away from family. Had's grandma and grandpa were able to come to it as well, so we got to see even more family.

This family that we stayed with is a very sporty, active family. On the weekends, all three of their kids had baseball games, and we went from one kid's game to another. It gave us a glimpse of what our life will most likely be like in the near future. I loved it! I was bad at taking pictures but i did get one when we were leaving the baseball field. Both kids were happy as can be!

There's a lake right by their house with a trail that goes all around it. I went running on it a few times and we took the kids out for a walk around it one night. Mike and Jill took us out on their boat one day too. It was so beautiful. I could get used to living next to a lake real easy.

Our sweet little girl, found her tongue this month.

Daddy and Jerzi playing while Jete plays on the toys

Of course on our walk back home it started to rain.

A few other things we did that i don't have pictures for, but are still noteworthy....

-drove to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to watch Kenzie, Had's little sister, play in her state softball tournament.
-stayed in a house on the lake in Coeur d'Alene with Had's family
-got to see his Mom and Dad and and their families
-got to go running/work out at Jill's gym (thanks again Jill for the VIP pass)
-see the Washington Huskies campus where Mike coaches
-eat at a great little Mexican restaurant, Todo Mexico
-play baseball and basketball with the kids
-beat Had and Jake in a 2 on 2 game of basketball
-watched Biggest Loser, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and the NBA playoffs with their fam (with a big thanks to their DVR)
-helped Mike and Jill move from one house to another (we weren't too much help though. Had was gone all day, and I had two little munchkins to try and keep out of the way.)

It was a good month and we just want to say thanks again Mike and Jill for letting us come crash your place for a month so we didn't have to be apart for the whole month. You guys were a huge blessing to us!

A Few Recommendations for Happiness

This past week i have learned (or relearned) a few things that make me happy and thought that i should share them with you all.

1)Take away all the toys and play with your kids. Now that we're in New York, without hardly any toys or anything to do, both Jeter and Jerzi's personalities are coming out more and more. I can't believe how Jete's imagination just started growing like crazy. I am loving playing with these two and seeing what new things they do each day.

2)Lindt Lindor Truffles. Oh man, these are freaking good!

3)Go out for a run, preferably in the rain. It makes you feel amazing!

4)If you want your baby to sleep through the night, let them cry it out. If you think you're too tired and that it will be easier to just hurry and get up, feed her, and go back to sleep, I promise, it will be worth it in a few days when you get a full night sleep without waking up once. Yay for sleeping through the night again, finally!





5)If your 2 year old asks you for something to eat, don't ignore him. He'll find a way to get it without your help.

Exhibit A:

6)Four people living in a one bedroom apartment is not going to kill you, like i once thought.
(But i wouldn't recommend it.)





7)Plan a vacation. Even if it's not gonna happen for awhile, it will still put a smile on your face.

Cleveland Carnival

When we were in Cleveland for the month of April, we went to some sort of Cleveland Carnival/Fair thing with some of our friends. It had a tiger show, all sorts of rides, and peeps trying to get you to play their dumb games. Our friend only lost like 30 bucks trying to win a huge stuffed tiger that was too big to even put in his house. HAHA We did make friends with one of those dudes cuz he liked Jeter's name. He gave Jete and Jerzi free stuffed animals. Jete was a little scared at first to go on any rides, but after we forced him to go on a couple, he loved it. We had to drag him out of the place when it was closing. Jerzi even liked it and got to go on a ride.

One Month: Done

Hadley is going on externships this whole year off and on, for a month at a time. He had an externship in Denver for the month of March, so we all packed into the car and drove across the country. We dropped him off and me and the kids went on to Idaho for the whole month. Wow! One month being away from each other was the hardest thing ever. At least I got to be with family. Poor Had only had one little TV in a big empty house to himself.


We definitely hated being away from him, but we did manage to have some fun too. :) I was terrible at taking pictures while we were home, so here are just a few random ones that don't even come close to depicting our month in the good ol' west. And oh, how I love the west!

Jete's teachin Jerzi how to play games on Linz's itouch. What a good big brother.

Some of my sisters were able to come visit while I was there, and we had a fun weekend together. Here we are right before we got busted from the security guy. He told us we couldn't take pictures in the mall, and after we told him we were doing a scavenger hunt, he told us we couldn't do that in there either. Who knew? HAHA We didn't want that to ruin our fun, so we went ahead and did it anyways. We just had to be sneaky about it and make sure to hide from all "securidads". Good times.

Grandpa Pocock with Jerzi and her cousin Deegan

Jete and Cole, his twin separated at birth, got to play together a few times. They're only a couple weeks apart and they really do act just like each other, right down to them shaking their little booty as they eat. Don't ask me what Jete is doing in this picture. I tell them to say cheese and Cole smiles, Kallie busts out a pose, and Jete does that. haha

Little Miss Jerzi Girl started eating solids while we were there! I wanted to wait until we got back so Had could be there, but I couldn't handle her getting up every two hours in the night, especially since Jete was also waking up a few times each night too. I was exhausted pretty much the whole month.

Getting ready for church (mainly i just like the outfit) :)

We got to spend a lot of time with family. My sister came over from Boise and stayed with us for a week so her little girl Saylor and Jeter got to play a lot together, and cause a lot of mischief. Sorry about all the mini beads that will never come out of your carpet Mom. Just think, now it shimmers. :) We also went and stayed with one of my sisters and her family in Utah. Jete loves his "new friends" or cousins as some peeps call them, and can't stop talking about them. It was fun to just chill for a week with them. We visited a lot with Had's family too. I think both kids loved being in Idaho cuz there was always someone there to entertain them. It was a pretty good trip, then Had made it even better by surprising us and coming home a day early. We stayed there for another week with him, then made the long drive back to Cleveland.

We made it back to Cleveland in about 4 days, and the day after we got home, it was sunny and warm. Then I won that one award, Mom of the Year..........

Oh wait, nope! Poor little guy. Sorry Jeter!
He was so excited to play outside since it was cold in Idaho the whole time. I let him play outside the whole day.