This lovely picture is of the kiddos with their pink celebratory cupcakes. Although you might not believe me, they really ARE excited for a baby sister to join the family...
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
GIRLS RULE!
Or at least they do now. Yup, it's a girl. We're overjoyed. The boys are going down!
This lovely picture is of the kiddos with their pink celebratory cupcakes. Although you might not believe me, they really ARE excited for a baby sister to join the family...
This lovely picture is of the kiddos with their pink celebratory cupcakes. Although you might not believe me, they really ARE excited for a baby sister to join the family...
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Merry Christmas!!
Here's our 2009 Tomlinson family Christmas letter! Procrastination has gotten the best of me and we'll have to settle for the online version. It sure is convenient! We'll get back to the "real deal" soon, I promise!
I won't bore you with all of my childrens endless achievements. (Isn't that what a blog is for anyway?) But I will try to remember how greatly we've been blessed this year.
Our greatest blessing is our family.
John still works for the Transportation Department, which he really enjoys. I can't articulate how grateful I am that John enjoys the work that he does. He's a hard-working husband and father and I am quite certain that our family would fall apart without him.
I am blessed to be able to stay at home with our two little ones, and I am plum-tuckered! (That's a common family phrase...) Every day is filled with smiles, joy, tears, frustration, tantrums, and chaos. (In no particular order.) I love being a mom, and I can't imagine what life without my munchkins would be like. I hope that we're ready for baby #3 coming in May! Are you every really ready?
D-man is my big boy! He is officially potty-trained!! That news might not make other Christmas letters, but it does ours! He mastered it a while ago, but we're still pretty stoked. He is a great big brother and loves Rachel to pieces. (I am actually afraid at times that we might find her in pieces...) He is still obsessed with all construction trucks-- the excavator being his favorite. He has told us that he would like to be a dentist when he grows up, or a teacher, or a doctor. Sounds good to me. He loves all Disney movies since enjoying Disneyland this past Fall with his grandparents in California. A day doesn't pass that D-land isn't mentioned. Danny is a smart kid that has limitless energy and countless questions. We love him!
Rachel is quite the little charmer! She knows how to smooth trouble over with those sparkling eyes and contagious smile. She follows D and does everything that he does (for better and worse). Rachie-bop loves to read with others or by herself. You can see her entertaining herself with stacks of books... That's my girl!! :) She's a complete nurturer. All of her dolls and stuffed animals receive special attention from this little mommy. Rachel is a sweetheart. She enters Nursery in church next week! Yup, she's eighteen months! She is such a joyful little girl and you can't help but smile when you're around her. I count my blessings every day that she is part of our family.
Our other blessings include our new home! We moved into a larger home at the end of Summer and we have loved stretching out a bit and letting the kids run free. In a time where many people have little, we are keenly aware of what a rich blessing it is to have a roof over our head, clothes to wear, and food to eat.
Lastly, but certainly not least, we are grateful for our knowledge and testimony of Jesus Christ, our Savior. It is Him that we are most mindful of and desiring to emulate this Christmas season. Life has been good this year, and we look forward to future adventures in 2010.
Merry Christmas to all!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Last but not least...
Note: I have posted what feels like 10,000 posts tonight. If you care, scroll down. It won't hurt my feelings at all if you don't.
Life is grand. I don't do much anymore, though. (Who am I kidding, when have I ever done much?) But I'm allowed to be a couch potato right now. I'm pregnant!
Baby #3 is coming next summer. John and I are thrilled.
Life is grand. I don't do much anymore, though. (Who am I kidding, when have I ever done much?) But I'm allowed to be a couch potato right now. I'm pregnant!
Baby #3 is coming next summer. John and I are thrilled.
Autumn is the best!
I love our new house. We have a huge tree in the backyard which sheds the most delightful leaves. They are big and crunchy and make lovely leaf stacks to jump in. The kids are hoping that we can keep them forever and ever. I love Fall!
Vacation!
Since I'm playing catch up, I will limit my commentary, but let me tell you-- vacation rocks!! We had a fabulous time in Southern California with John's family, and were so sad to be gone. Daniel was the most traumatized, but he recovers quickly when we show him pictures and tell him stories from our trip. He still is worried that, "Mima Sally misses me so much, huh?" Of course I tell him that she does. He then says, "I miss her lots and lots too..." Sweet boy. He loves his family.
Vacation had many highlights, but I'll just document the photographed ones... :) Beach, Disneyland, Trampoline, Angels game, oh my!
Beach
I knew that Daniel loved sand. He is Mr. Excavator, obsessed with ALL THINGS big and manly (that involve construction). He really took to it. Rachel wanted to but sand in her face kind of threw her off her game. We all recovered and had a great time.
It was Johnny's idea to bury the kids in sand... Daniel was a fan. Rachel, not so much.
We got four-day park hopper passes to Disneyland, my home away from home. When I was in High School I went to D-land 5 or 6 days a week. I couldn't get enough of that place. Still can't. I love to just sit on Main Street and watch people, or jump on the Mark Twain or Columbia and just daydream the cruise away. I couldn't wait to show the kids the Happiest Place on Earth. They loved it, although Daniel didn't like the "pirate ride" (Pirates of the Carribean) because they weren't very nice to each other. I was so proud of Daniel. We took him on everything we went on (with the exception of Tower of Terror and Splash). He's a stud! They were troopers for being so good. We had a blast.
Grandma Tomlinson was amazing as our official tour guide. The kids loved having Grandma there to share everything with. We even had John's brother, Gary, and his wife, Michelle, with their kids. So fun!
Daniel liked to play in the dirt while waiting in line. We should have taken some home with us.
Rachel loved to crawl in, around, and through the pole lines, smiling adoringly at other patrons.
Although Disneyland was great, the TRUE highlight might have been Grandma and Grandpa's trampoline. Oh, the simple pleasures of life. Look at these kids!! (And I include John in that sentiment.)
Finally, John was able to go to an Angels' playoff game against the Red Sox, which was a dream come true. As a So. Cal native, he grew up loving the Dodgers and Angels (I won't tell you which one he loves more), and went to thousands of games. But he had never been to a PLAYOFF game! When a ticket fell in his lap, he was elated. So elated in fact, that he chose to dress as a clown. Go Angels! (If you are wondering, that really IS an Angels hat, and John wasn't the only one dressed like such a goof ball...)
Angels won that game, but they couldn't get past the stupid pansy Yankees... Go Phillies!
Vacation was great. When can we go back??
Vacation had many highlights, but I'll just document the photographed ones... :) Beach, Disneyland, Trampoline, Angels game, oh my!
Beach
I knew that Daniel loved sand. He is Mr. Excavator, obsessed with ALL THINGS big and manly (that involve construction). He really took to it. Rachel wanted to but sand in her face kind of threw her off her game. We all recovered and had a great time.
It was Johnny's idea to bury the kids in sand... Daniel was a fan. Rachel, not so much.
We got four-day park hopper passes to Disneyland, my home away from home. When I was in High School I went to D-land 5 or 6 days a week. I couldn't get enough of that place. Still can't. I love to just sit on Main Street and watch people, or jump on the Mark Twain or Columbia and just daydream the cruise away. I couldn't wait to show the kids the Happiest Place on Earth. They loved it, although Daniel didn't like the "pirate ride" (Pirates of the Carribean) because they weren't very nice to each other. I was so proud of Daniel. We took him on everything we went on (with the exception of Tower of Terror and Splash). He's a stud! They were troopers for being so good. We had a blast.
Grandma Tomlinson was amazing as our official tour guide. The kids loved having Grandma there to share everything with. We even had John's brother, Gary, and his wife, Michelle, with their kids. So fun!
Daniel liked to play in the dirt while waiting in line. We should have taken some home with us.
Rachel loved to crawl in, around, and through the pole lines, smiling adoringly at other patrons.
Although Disneyland was great, the TRUE highlight might have been Grandma and Grandpa's trampoline. Oh, the simple pleasures of life. Look at these kids!! (And I include John in that sentiment.)
Finally, John was able to go to an Angels' playoff game against the Red Sox, which was a dream come true. As a So. Cal native, he grew up loving the Dodgers and Angels (I won't tell you which one he loves more), and went to thousands of games. But he had never been to a PLAYOFF game! When a ticket fell in his lap, he was elated. So elated in fact, that he chose to dress as a clown. Go Angels! (If you are wondering, that really IS an Angels hat, and John wasn't the only one dressed like such a goof ball...)
Angels won that game, but they couldn't get past the stupid pansy Yankees... Go Phillies!
Vacation was great. When can we go back??
Sprinklers and temples and Swine (in no particular order...)
I'm slow. I've never disputed that. The fact that I am posting about stuff that happened months before should be no surprise. I just dumped nearly 300 pictures to my computer, so I'm trying not to be too overwhelmed. Life is busy, as any of you avid bloggers can attest. I still have yet to figure out how to organize and prioritize... Until I do, enjoy the snippets!
SPRINKLERS!
I love wet and happy kids.
The family took a temple trip. It's one of D-mans favorite things to do. He loves to smell the beautiful flowers and play in the fountain. He was pretty excited to touch the temple this time. He is learning more and more how important and sacred temples are. I love the temple.
Can't you just feel the love between these two? It's a shame that you couldn't see Rachel's face-- I think that her eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets. Daniel sure loves his little sister!
Mr. Swiney struck poor little Rachel. She was out of it for a while, but is all better now. I hate having kids with fevers. I missed my little sunshine. Having the flu was annoying but what made matters worse was the fact that we were leaving for vacation four days later. Oh well! It wasn't anything that we could change, so we just finished recovering in So. Cal... Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for taking such great care of us!
Poor thing!
SPRINKLERS!
I love wet and happy kids.
The family took a temple trip. It's one of D-mans favorite things to do. He loves to smell the beautiful flowers and play in the fountain. He was pretty excited to touch the temple this time. He is learning more and more how important and sacred temples are. I love the temple.
Can't you just feel the love between these two? It's a shame that you couldn't see Rachel's face-- I think that her eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets. Daniel sure loves his little sister!
Mr. Swiney struck poor little Rachel. She was out of it for a while, but is all better now. I hate having kids with fevers. I missed my little sunshine. Having the flu was annoying but what made matters worse was the fact that we were leaving for vacation four days later. Oh well! It wasn't anything that we could change, so we just finished recovering in So. Cal... Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for taking such great care of us!
Poor thing!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Life in a nutshell
Since I've neglected to blog regularly for the past several months, I thought that I'd write a doozy here.
Goodbye old home with wonderful memories!
First and foremost, we've moved! Our house miraculously sold and we were able to buy a new home that can/will fit our family for years to come if not FOREVER! It's not huge by any means (that was one of my criterion) but it's spacious enough, has four bedrooms, a nice simple yard, but most importantly, it feels like a home! We feel ridiculously blessed (can I say that??) to have been able to move and we are looking forward to getting completely moved in. (This might take years, I've discovered.) One of the greatest things about our new house is that it's still close enough to our old house (two miles) that I can still see my wonderful friends from my old ward. They can't get rid of me that easily!! :) (Although they probably think that I've fallen off the face of the earth because, well, I'm unpacking-- same thing). Life is good here! (Sorry-- no new pics of house. We'll post some soon).
Daniel and Rachel are my world. They have to be the cutest and zaniest kids around. I never know what's going to come out of Daniel's mouth nor can I predict what mischief little Rachel is going to get into. They are quite the dynamic pair and they keep me on my toes. Here's a little snippet on both:
Daniel loves the color orange, and he loves knowing everyone elses favorite colors. Weeks will pass and he will say, "There's a green truck. Mima would like that because that's her favorite color." He's got a keen memory which frightens me. He picks up on everything that I say, including my "naughty words" like "Criminitly!" or "Darnit!" or "Heavens to Betsies" or "Great day in the morning". He can bust those out at any time. D-man loves to sing. His favorites right now are the Sunbeam song, the wise man song (although he loves to switch the outcomes and let's the foolish mans house stand firm while the wise mans washes away), "you are my sunshine", "Bob the Builder" (all verses), "apples and bananas", just to name a few. I love singing with him. Daniel is still OBSESSED with excavators and any other heavy equipment known to the construction scene. He is a good boy, with tender feelings and a desire to do what's right. He's a great big brother.
Rachel is my little sunshine. She is a joy-filled and energetic little thing! She is much smaller than Daniel was at her age (which I'm sort of grateful for because if you knew Daniel, he was SUMO-big!). But what she lacks in girth (yes I really just used that word in my blog), she more than makes up for in spunk! She knows how to antagonize big brother and drives him mad! Yet she follows him around and want sto be near him always. When Daniel is asleep (he takes longer naps than Rachel), Rachel is in mourning, walking past his door, saying his name "Da Da Da". It's sweet. Rachel is finally getting some more teeth and now has six to her name. She loves anything stuffed. She is very caring and hugs and kisses them all and cuddles with them on her bed. She also loves trucks and excavators (go figure). I think that she'll take after her mama and be a little tomboy. Rachel will NOT allow mom to do anything with her hair, so her gorgeous hair does whatever it wants. I think that she's darling even with her crazy 'do... She likes her animal noises and has mastered elephant, cow, dog, horse, and bear (which also sound like a tiger, lion, cougar, leopard or any other fierce beast...) I was so nervous about having a little girl; I was afraid that I wouldn't know what to do with her. Now I can tell you... You simply love her. No other child could be this easy to adore. And this mama sure does.
In other exciting news, or not, we might be canceling our internet. (**GASP**) How will we live? I'm not sure. John and I just feel like this might be something that we need to do for the time being. In the meantime, don't fret-- I'm still checking on all of you and reading email, etc... Me and the library are going to become good friends. So don't neglect me.
In more exciting news, Rachel had her first ER trip today. She fell down off of a fireplace and bit out a nice chunk of her tongue. She has a long and deep laceration that is ragged and bloody and nasty. I nearly passed out when I saw how deep it was. I called Dr. and she told me to go to the ER. Rachel was a trooper and endured much poking and prodding. The verdict was happy-- no stitches. The doctor hadn't seen one that deep and long on such a small child, but he said that it should heal on its own fine. He almost did the "cheerio test", where you give the child a cheerio and if it gets stuck in the wound (gross, right?), then you operate, but he felt that Rachel was okay. What an exciting day!
The pictures do not do the wound justice-- this thing flaps around when she's crying, for Petes' sake!
What a sweet girl.
So, that's my life in a nutshell. I'm sure that there have been many more exciting things, but that'll have to do it for now.
Go BYU Cougars!
We had to capture the exciting victory in pictures somehow! :)
Goodbye old home with wonderful memories!
First and foremost, we've moved! Our house miraculously sold and we were able to buy a new home that can/will fit our family for years to come if not FOREVER! It's not huge by any means (that was one of my criterion) but it's spacious enough, has four bedrooms, a nice simple yard, but most importantly, it feels like a home! We feel ridiculously blessed (can I say that??) to have been able to move and we are looking forward to getting completely moved in. (This might take years, I've discovered.) One of the greatest things about our new house is that it's still close enough to our old house (two miles) that I can still see my wonderful friends from my old ward. They can't get rid of me that easily!! :) (Although they probably think that I've fallen off the face of the earth because, well, I'm unpacking-- same thing). Life is good here! (Sorry-- no new pics of house. We'll post some soon).
Daniel and Rachel are my world. They have to be the cutest and zaniest kids around. I never know what's going to come out of Daniel's mouth nor can I predict what mischief little Rachel is going to get into. They are quite the dynamic pair and they keep me on my toes. Here's a little snippet on both:
Daniel loves the color orange, and he loves knowing everyone elses favorite colors. Weeks will pass and he will say, "There's a green truck. Mima would like that because that's her favorite color." He's got a keen memory which frightens me. He picks up on everything that I say, including my "naughty words" like "Criminitly!" or "Darnit!" or "Heavens to Betsies" or "Great day in the morning". He can bust those out at any time. D-man loves to sing. His favorites right now are the Sunbeam song, the wise man song (although he loves to switch the outcomes and let's the foolish mans house stand firm while the wise mans washes away), "you are my sunshine", "Bob the Builder" (all verses), "apples and bananas", just to name a few. I love singing with him. Daniel is still OBSESSED with excavators and any other heavy equipment known to the construction scene. He is a good boy, with tender feelings and a desire to do what's right. He's a great big brother.
Rachel is my little sunshine. She is a joy-filled and energetic little thing! She is much smaller than Daniel was at her age (which I'm sort of grateful for because if you knew Daniel, he was SUMO-big!). But what she lacks in girth (yes I really just used that word in my blog), she more than makes up for in spunk! She knows how to antagonize big brother and drives him mad! Yet she follows him around and want sto be near him always. When Daniel is asleep (he takes longer naps than Rachel), Rachel is in mourning, walking past his door, saying his name "Da Da Da". It's sweet. Rachel is finally getting some more teeth and now has six to her name. She loves anything stuffed. She is very caring and hugs and kisses them all and cuddles with them on her bed. She also loves trucks and excavators (go figure). I think that she'll take after her mama and be a little tomboy. Rachel will NOT allow mom to do anything with her hair, so her gorgeous hair does whatever it wants. I think that she's darling even with her crazy 'do... She likes her animal noises and has mastered elephant, cow, dog, horse, and bear (which also sound like a tiger, lion, cougar, leopard or any other fierce beast...) I was so nervous about having a little girl; I was afraid that I wouldn't know what to do with her. Now I can tell you... You simply love her. No other child could be this easy to adore. And this mama sure does.
In other exciting news, or not, we might be canceling our internet. (**GASP**) How will we live? I'm not sure. John and I just feel like this might be something that we need to do for the time being. In the meantime, don't fret-- I'm still checking on all of you and reading email, etc... Me and the library are going to become good friends. So don't neglect me.
In more exciting news, Rachel had her first ER trip today. She fell down off of a fireplace and bit out a nice chunk of her tongue. She has a long and deep laceration that is ragged and bloody and nasty. I nearly passed out when I saw how deep it was. I called Dr. and she told me to go to the ER. Rachel was a trooper and endured much poking and prodding. The verdict was happy-- no stitches. The doctor hadn't seen one that deep and long on such a small child, but he said that it should heal on its own fine. He almost did the "cheerio test", where you give the child a cheerio and if it gets stuck in the wound (gross, right?), then you operate, but he felt that Rachel was okay. What an exciting day!
The pictures do not do the wound justice-- this thing flaps around when she's crying, for Petes' sake!
What a sweet girl.
So, that's my life in a nutshell. I'm sure that there have been many more exciting things, but that'll have to do it for now.
Go BYU Cougars!
We had to capture the exciting victory in pictures somehow! :)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Parks and sprinkers... I love summer!
We love our local park. It's great to come in the morning before things get too hot. Rachel is now an official "park-ie". She can't get enough. Here are some cute pictures...
It's been HOT here. I hate hot. Time to bust out the sprinker. My kids love water, so it's a fun and cheap party in the front yard. John loves that it helps our dead grass. :)
It's been HOT here. I hate hot. Time to bust out the sprinker. My kids love water, so it's a fun and cheap party in the front yard. John loves that it helps our dead grass. :)
Rachel's first birthday... TWICE!
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Rachel, happy birthday to you! Our little girl has turned one! (Technically her birthday was nearly a month ago, but we're a little slow in posting-- the story of my life!) We celebrated first with my parents while camping in their trailer. We went to a place called Mackay, ID, and lived it up with their ATV buddies. Daniel and Rachel had a great time going on "motorcycle" rides. It was beautiful up there and we were glad to be able to enjoy some of the gorgeous sights here in ID.
Her second first birthday party was today at her cousins' house. We always have fun partying with Ben, Emma, and Spencer (oh, and their parents too!). We enjoyed a lively evening of gifts, cupcakes, and hide-n-seek. Fun stuff! Notice Rachel eating her cupcake like a lady? She was daintily eating sprinkle after sprinkle until daddy finally showed her the way to get it done... :) Happy birthday, little one! We love you!!
Her second first birthday party was today at her cousins' house. We always have fun partying with Ben, Emma, and Spencer (oh, and their parents too!). We enjoyed a lively evening of gifts, cupcakes, and hide-n-seek. Fun stuff! Notice Rachel eating her cupcake like a lady? She was daintily eating sprinkle after sprinkle until daddy finally showed her the way to get it done... :) Happy birthday, little one! We love you!!
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