The Duke does church

8 months old & sweet as ever.
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Yay for the Circus!

For a while now Jack has been asking-
"Some day can we go to the circus?"
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So when the circus flyers came in the mail
I decided to jump at the chance to take them.
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Of course the day of the circus I had the
flu, so Kent and Aunt Mack graciously filled in for me.
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To lessen the blow, Kent sent me picture updates
throughout the night. Here are the highlights:
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Pre-show anticipation or in Jack's case jitters.
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PETA passed out anti-circus literature which included
coloring books disparaging the circus and how they
take care of their creatures.
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Since my kids can't read I'm pretty sure
their words fell on deaf ears... or illiterate eyes. :)

Jack standing tall during the intermission
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Jack's favorite part- the tightrope walkers!
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Jill's favorite part-"the efelents!"
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My favorite part-the excited phone
call from the kids after all was said and done.

Take 2

I know I've been a terrible blogger.
Pretty sure no one reads this blog anymore.
I'm okay with that.
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I am going to make a concerted effort to
post some of our life events, so that our out-of-area
family can stay up to speed on all the exciting
things Jackson, Jillian, and Griffin are
achieving. Milestones. Funny kid-isms.
Big outings. You get the idea. Cross your
fingers this goal sticks...
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Here's a run down of the last 7 months in case
you rely on this blog for Howe information.
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1. We had a baby in October
2. Days later Kent starts studying for the GMAT
3. Kent takes the GMAT the beginning of December
4. Kent has an admissions interview the end of December
5. Kent finishes application to Thunderbird before new years
6. Kent is accepted to Thunderbird mid-February
7. April Kent attends Thunderbird's preview weekend
8. May 2nd we sign papers to lease a house in Glendale
9. May 19th we move into our new little home.
10. June 13th I finally update the blog.
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It's been an action packed 7 months, but we wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Look Who's Riding Now...

Jack asked today if he could ride
his bike without training wheels. He's virtually
impossible to say no to when he asks with a
please, so after dinner tonight we all
filed into the front yard and watched as
Jack rocked his two wheeler!
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I must admit, I'm kind of shocked it all
went so smoothly. I haven't exactly
fostered this skill. I hardly ever set aside time
for him to ride his bike. period.
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But I guess Jack knew he could do it.
I wish I had his self-assurance & confidence...
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Here's a video of him 3 or 4 tries into it.
I wish I could post our other (earlier) video,
but the file size is too large for Blogger to handle. Enjoy!
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"Let [this] be a time to remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the Wise Men. My brothers and sisters, may the spirit of love which comes at Christmas time fill our homes and our lives and linger there long after the tree is down and the lights are put away for another year. "-President Thomas S. Monson

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I love the prophet of the church. He is an inspired man. This is an excerpt from his talk, entitled A Bright Shining Star, at this year's Christmas Devotional (click here for the whole talk).
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Merry Christmas! May the true meaning of Christmas fill this season and carry over into your next year.

Give Great Thanks!

We wish you a very happy thanksgiving!
May this holiday be cozy & filled
with family, (good) food, and much laughter!
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We are truly blessed!

growing like a weed

Griffin is growing like a weed.
He was born my biggest baby at 8lbs. 6oz.
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At 2weeks old he weighed 9lbs. 5oz.
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And today at his 1month check-up
he weighed 11lbs. 5oz. and is 23 inches long.
In his first month of life, Griffin gained 3lbs.
(45% of his body weight) and 2inches!
We are shocked; we've never had a big baby before!
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I have a good friend who turned me on
to baby's first 52 weeks.
The idea is simple-take a picture of
Griffin each Saturday to show his
growth and progress for 52 weeks. It's remembering
to pull out the camera that's hard.

I must admit that I'm off to a poor start,

but I've added a reminder to my phone and
will have to settle for 50 weeks of Griffin (in perfect pictures).
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My next goal, is to learn to use photo shop, so that can
add a cute tag to each picture specifying the week.

Happy Birthday Griffin- Week 0

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Cheater picture-Week 1

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Cheater picture-Week 2
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Week 3

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Week 4

Toy Story 3 (Jilley style)

Every kid has their cute interpretations
of how to say words or communicate
what they need and want.
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My all time favorite Jilley word is "ra-ra".
In Jilley speak, a ra-ra is a pacifier.
Jill coined this term when she was very little
and still uses it daily.
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Her latest "Jillism" isn't so much a word as it
is a tune. She loves Toy Story 3, and I've found
that she prefers to sing the opening song,
in the opening scene, to me when she
wants to watch the movie.
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See for yourself...

And as a bonus, I recorded Jill's "hiddy-up!"
I love the cute way kids say things.
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Here's a snippet of the actual scene to help
put it all in context.

P.S.- My favorite "Jackism" was pissed-a-deer.
Sadly, he knows how to correctly say this word now. :(
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Jack: "Mom, look I pissed-a-deer."
Me: "Pissed-a-deer? What's that?"
Jack: {annoyed} "HUUH!""You know,
you can see me, then I pissed-a-deer. Poof!"
Me: {holding back laughter} "Oh no, where'd you go!"

all mine

I love these kids! I'm so grateful to call them mine.
Jackson, Jillian, and Griffin...
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Being a mom is such a hard job, but their
love, smiles, and laughs make it so much easier to
view parenthood (and life) with "rose colored glasses."
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I know that someday I'll look back on these
crazy sleep deprived days and resolutely
state that these were the happiest days of my life.