Things I love lately

1. When the kids play together nicely. 2. How Libby says, "Baby soup" instead of "bathing suit." 3. How Travis applauds me for every little thing. "Wow, Mama! You ate all your dinner! Great job! Gimme five!" 4. That Scott plays with the kids each day (and that it's their favorite time of day). 5. Jamin's sweet stance when he pitches. 6. That spring is just 4 weeks away.

Valentine's Day 2012

Highlights of our day:

• Putting valentines in Scotty's car while he got ready
• Finding my valentines from Scotty after I got ready
• Sending Jamin to school for his big class party

• Watching Disney "love" movies, painting, and baking with Travis & Libby
• Exchanging valentines with the kids when Jamin got home

• Sharing Valentine's Day love with grandparents

• Making (and eating) heart-shaped pizzas

• Loading up on way too much sugar
• Crashing with Scott once the kiddos went to bed

My valentines

I'm a lucky lady.

I have four valentines, each of whom I love with all my soul.

As we've prepared our little gifts for each other, I've thought of the things that bring these special people to the forefront of my mind... smells, stories, mental pictures, songs. While I could go on for a long time in each category, I'll focus on music today.

Scotty

The two of us have very similar taste in music. When we started dating, we quickly bonded over artists and genres that we both love. Through the past 10 years, we've developed a bunch of song memories. All of them bring a smile to my face (and many make me laugh out loud, literally). Here are a few:

• Coldplay, "Green Eyes." Scott asked me on our first date outside the Eyring Science Center at BYU. It was a bright winter afternoon, and I noticed the green in his hazel eyes. When I heard the lyric "Green eyes/You're the one that I wanted to find," I thought of him. And I still do.
• Smashing Pumpkins, "1979." A local radio station played this song a lot when we were dating. Scotty would sing along in a loud opera-meets-Metallica voice that cracked me up.
• Sublime, "5446 That's My Number/Ball and Chain." When we were engaged, we wanted to find the perfect wedding dance song. (Our first dance was to some country song at a Utah State dance we crashed. Since we both aren't into country, we have no clue what song it was.) The whole thing felt too forced, so we jokingly played this inappropriate number when we became stressed by the process. (We eventually opted against the wedding dance entirely.)
• Rancid, "Who Would've Thought." On our honeymoon, we drove from Portland to Netarts, from Netarts to Meridian, from Meridian to Cascade, then from Cascade back to Meridian. In the hours spent on the road, we listened to lots of Rancid. We belted out this one every time it played.
• Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Zephyr Song." This reminds me of the time we spent in Fiji-- working, body surfing, snorkeling, discussing the future.
• Hootie and the Blowfish, "I Only Wanna Be with You." We would laugh and sing this really loudly when driving home late from work at BYU.
• Muse, "Starlight,"and Foo Fighters "The Pretender." These played all the time when we lived in the Bay Area. At first, we turned them up. Later, we changed the channel. Now, we turn them up again.
• The Shins, "Australia." When we first moved to Idaho, we listened to this goofy pick-me-up song a lot.
• Royal Crown Revue, "Beyond the Sea." I have many mini-memories with this song-- dancing in the kitchen, singing as we unpacked, and listening with Scotty in various places.

Jamin

When Jamin was two, he adored Curious George. He named most of his toys "George" (and even wanted to name his baby brother the same thing). Every night, he asked me to sing "the Curious George movie song" to him... for almost three years straight. So "Upside Down" by Jack Johnson reminds me of Jamin in a big way.

Other songs that remind me of my J-Bug: "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley (as a baby, he cried every time the chorus played) and "Animal" by the Neon Trees (he was obsessed with this song about a year ago. he even had an imaginary Neon Trees cover band).

Travis

The first time I heard the lyrics "Little boy, when you speak/I can't help but kiss your cheeks," I thought of our T-Man. Mindy Gledhill's "Hourglass" reminds me of silly, happy Travis.

He also requests "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn & John and "Bye-Bye" by Marcy Playground every time we drive together.

Libby

Miss Libby loves "The Dog Days are Over" by Florence and the Machine. And she busts up in laughter and dancing when I sing Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)" with her.

But Amos Lee's "Sweet Pea" makes me think of Libby Jean the most.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ginky Bear

Last January, Travis separated himself from his binkies by putting them in a stuffed friend.

On Friday, we took Libby to Build-a-Bear with the same mission.

When we got there, Libby ran around the store collecting all the dress-up shoes. After we selected a bear, she helped stuff her new friend and put her "ginky" inside.

Since Libby seemed more interested in accessories than in her bear, I was worried that she didn't get it (and that bedtime would be a nightmare). That evening, she proudly shouted, "No more ginkies!" and settled down easily.

The next day, she woke up with a fever. Because she doesn't feel well, the transition has been tough. But she happily snuggles with Ginky Bear when she feels especially yucky.

Choo-choo!

On Thursday mornings, I can count on the kids to arrange all the chairs while I deep clean the hardwood. Yesterday, they made a train. (For the record, they dressed themselves.)

Photos from December

Charlotte took some darling photos of the kids in December (as part of a gift for Nanay & Papa). I recently got copies and had to share some of my favorites.

We have a problem

Libby really doesn't want to wear diapers,

But she really doesn't know when she has to go.

And I'm really sick of mopping.