Climber

Needless to say she's in a toddler bed now.

Hello?

I've been thinking a lot today about manners. Partially because of a story I read on KSL. My children seem to have ok manners. I've had a lot of people compliment me on how polite they are. Lately however this has not been the case.

We had taught them that when two people are having a conversation they need to wait until that conversation is finished and then say "Excuse me" before they say what they need to say. Somehow they've gotten away from that and it is a constant "Mommy; Mommy; Mommy or Daddy." It drives me crazy and it's something we are working on on a daily basis. Along with others on the list that make sense to me since I've read them. But some of them I hadn't really thought to much about or focused on teaching to my kids. Though they are all necessary.

Anyway the article I found on KSL was titled Does your child have the proper manners? Check the checklist. And it had some great things to say. They also link from there to an article titled 25 Manners Every Kid Should Know By Age 9. A very interesting article which puts things in a good perspective.

However the thing that has made me thing the most today is in the KSL article where one of the people they interviewed talked about phone etiquette and how her mother would call and "train" her children the "proper way" to answer the phone. She talks about how the "proper" way is to answer the phone by stating your name. For instance "Hello. Coleman's this is 'so-and-so' speaking. Which I've heard before. I however was raised differently. My mother always told us "Don't ever tell someone who you are until they've told you who they are. They called you."

It may not be the correct way but I don't really see how there's anything wrong with it. In fact it seems to make more sense to me. I'd rather my kids not introduce themselves to someone over the phone unless they know who it is calling them. So when someone calls me and the first thing they say is "Who is this?" My response is generally "You called me, who is this." Unless they introduce themselves first. Is that wrong?

How were you taught? And how will you teach your children?

Abigail turns 7

Last month Abi turned 7! Am I really old enough to have a 7 year old? It's super weird and it blows my mind each time I think about it. She will be in second grade this year. How did time go so fast?!

She is a HUGE help around the house. I know that if I need something done I can count on her to do it. She Loves to take care of her baby sister and I will often catch her dressing her up in the dress up clothes like a baby doll.

Here are a few things about Abigail

She is very sensitive

She is caring

She loves to "collect" things

She loves Barbies, Polly Pockets, Squinkies, Zhu Zhu pets, and pretty much any other "girly" toy

She is super smart

She is a peacemaker

She is a great artist

And She is such a wonderful blessing to our family!

We love you Abigail!!!!

These Ladies.......

I've spent the past 3 years serving with these wonderful women in the Young Womens program. I suppose all good things must come to an end. But they will always be some of my closest friends. I've learned so much from them. I love these ladies!

In the words of a very popular song and one that was played for us at girls camp last year........................................................................

Because I knew you; I have been changed for good.

Family Resemblance In One Old Year Pictures

=Here's some pictures of the girls each at 1 year old.

Abigail

Hannah

Emalee

Someone turned 1!!!!!

Yes my sweet brown haired brown eyed baby girl turned 1 last month!!!! I can't believe it! This past year has gone by so fast!

Here are her one year stats.......

Height: 31.2 inches (97th percentile)

Weight: 22.10 lbs. (75th percentile)

Head: 18.1 inches (75th percentile)

Here are a few things about our little munchkin at 1 year.

She still has lots of smiles (even when she's sick.)

She is VERY Independent

She will try almost any food (and a lot of things that aren't food; ie. dirt, rocks, etc.). If she doesn't like it she will just drop it on the floor.

When she is done eating she tells us by throwing everything from food to her sippy cup on the floor.

She loves to say HI!

She's still chunky as ever and so super cute!

She absolutely adores her sisters!

She loves to be outside

We can't imagine life without her!

May

May was a very busy month. We had a Birthday (a different post entirely!), Mother's day, and lots of school functions. First was Hannah's Graduation! It's strange for me to think that she will be in Kindergarten next year. She's so excited. This past year was hard on her with most of her friends in the neighborhood in Kindergarten already but she really benefited from this year at Preschool and she has learned a lot. I'm so proud of her! She has 5 more weeks of Pre-K class. We will miss seeing Mrs Gray but we are super excited for all the things she will learn at Elementary school!

With her teacher Mrs. Gray.

Abi also had an end of year program to show the parents what they have learned. It was such a cute program. She's learned and grown so much this year at school we are so proud of her. And have absolutely LOVED her teachers. They are such great women!

With her teachers Mrs. Arnold and Mrs. Meachum.

And because they both had school programs/graduation they HAD to have new outfits to go along with it! So I made them each a skirt. And then I made Emalee a little dress too! :)

The following week was the dance festival for Abi's school! So much fun to see all the dances that each grade was a part of.

And last but not least we took our first camping trip of the summer (if you can call it that) on Memorial Day weekend! We totally got rained out on Friday night but luckily the rain stopped just before dinner and the rest of the night and Saturday morning were pretty nice. I however ended up leaving the campsite to come home around 10 pm because Emalee would not stop crying. She was super tired but she had an ear infection and was simply not feeling well. Luckily the campground was relatively close to home so we came home and then went back in the morning for breakfast. And I got to take my morning walk/jog with my sister-in-law Jen. We hope it was the first of many more camping trips this summer!

April

It seems as though not a whole lot happened in April since I don't really have any pictures. :( However, Josh started a new Job (which he absolutely LOVES) working for a company called Intelliserve. We as a family have really benefited as well. We have a more consistent set schedule, which is a must with 3 little girls. He is home in the evenings and on weekends so we can do normal family things and though he doesn't have 2-3 days off every week (other than Sunday) I feel like we have more time together as a family. And there is no more rotation to graveyard shift (YAY!). Not to mention the better work environment he has. We feel very blessed and continue to thank our Father in Heaven for the gift of this new job.

Also in April Josh and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary! It's so hard to believe it's been 10 years! It seems to have flown by! They are however the best 10 years of my life. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful, understanding, loving, husband to spend eternity with! I LOVE YOU JOSH!!!!

March

March went by rather quickly for us. And yet slowly at the same time. Josh's dad ended up in the hospital at the beginning of the month for over 2 weeks. A very serious situation was given a very grim outlook at the beginning and that was just the start of a very long and emotional roller coaster ride for everyone involved. Lucky for us it wasn't his time to go yet and thanks to the prayers of so many and the countless Priesthood blessings he was able to pull through and go home. Our testimonies were definitely strengthened as were our family relationships as we all pulled together to lift up and be there for those we love.

We are extremely grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. For his sacrifice for us and the knowledge that if the outlook had not improved we would still be able to be together in the next life. We were witness to many miracles during this time of trial. And our faith was strengthened as well.

We love you Grandpa (Dad) Coleman!

And during the countless hours of sitting in either the Surgical ICU waiting room or the Operating Room waiting area Emalee took her first steps to give us yet another sign of hope that even in the darkest of situations there is always something to brighten the mood. :)

I'll try to add video later.

February

The first weekend in February we were able to go down to St. George to be with Josh's brother who was being ordained an Elder. It was a lot of fun even if it was only for one night and a really quick trip. We were able to spend the night with Grandpa and Grandma Coleman, then go to church with DJ and Michael. And after church see DJ ordained then we were invited to lunch at their house. After all that we still stopped in over at the temple grounds and the visitor center. It was a great opportunity to learn about the St. George Temple and for the girls to mark off one of the Temples in their Utah Temple Passport that they got for Christmas. Not to mention we learned something new! We learned that there are two dedication dates for the St. George Temple. The one listed in the girls books said January 1, 1877. And the one on the outside of the Temple says April 6, 1877. So we had to ask why. They said it's because the font was finished and Brigham Young really wanted it to be opened to do baptisms so they dedicated that portion and then finished the rest and dedicated it. It was really fun to be able to walk through the visitors center there and sit and listen to the presentations. There's so many other things that we want to go back down for. Like visiting Brigham Young's house there and all that fun stuff.

Dad and Brothers

Brothers

At the Temple

Also in February Emalee turned 9 months!

Here are the 9 month stats:

Height: 28.1 inches (75th percentile)

Weight 19.9lbs (75th percentile)

Head: 17.7 inches (75th percentile)

I didn't have one of just her so here's one of all the girls!

January

So back in January (I know I know I'm behind) the Disney Store did a Princess Party so I decided I was going to be a fun mom and take my girls. :) I then recruited my good friend Jessalyn to go with me since she has a little girl the same age. We got there super early just so we could get in. They did a couple of games with all the little girls and then let them decorate their own tea cup. They had a lot of fun!

all dressed up, showing off their teacups!

Also in January it was finally decided that Emalee needed tubes in her ears. :(

So the surgery was scheduled and arrangements were made. I was actually surprised how quickly it went we got to the hospital at 6:30 am and I got home just as the bus picked Abi up for school and in time to drive Hannah over to school. Since getting her tubes she has been better. But not without a few ups and downs. She still gets infections (boo!) but they aren't as often which is good.

Before the surgery. with CRAZY hair! :)

Stay Tuned.........

I know, I'm WAY BEHIND! More posts to come soon so keep watching. :)

......that is if there's anyone out there who still reads this. :)

Hannah's Birthday

I can't believe I forgot to post about her birthday. :( One of those bad mom moments.

Well Hannah turned 5 back in December. And yet again she was sick. This time with Coxsakievirus. It's the virus that starts hand foot and mouth. Kind of annoying. She had it for over a week. And since it was a virus there was nothing they could give her. :( But we had a little party with a few friends and some family on her birthday. We went out to Brick Oven at her request even though she didn't feel like eating anything. And she had been asking for months to get her ears pierced so we went and met her Aunt Ami at the mall and got all 3 girls ears done! Hannah did great. I (being the chicken mom I am) couldn't sit with her I had to walk away while it was done. I didn't go far but I thought for sure that I would hear a blood curdling scream when they did it. So I took Abi and Emalee on a little walk. There was no scream or even crying so when I walked back around and Josh and my sister said they were done I couldn't believe it. She didn't cry at all! She sat there with her eyes closed really tight til they were done. I'm actually surprised that she didn't cry because she had a pretty nasty bruise on the back of her ear where they pinched it with something!

Abi cried a little and Emalee screamed her head off! I felt so bad for her! But they are all done now. Should have done them earlier. :)

Anyway, I'm sure it won't go down in history as the best birthday ever but she got what she wanted and she's another year older!

A few things about her at the age of 5:

She loves to play things like Polly pockets and Barbies

She LOVES lip gloss (a little too much!)

She is very much a girly girl but she sure knows how to stick up for herself.

She has the cutest laugh ever!

We Love you so much Hannah and we are very happy to have you in our family!

8 months

Ok so I'm more than a little behind. We've had some computer issues and so I'm hoping to be able to do a few more posts in the next few days.

Emalee turned 8 months in January. Each and every day it marvels me how fast time has gone yet at the same time how slow it goes.

Here are a few things about her at 8 months

She found and wanted to explore the stairs

After months and months of ear infections she got tubes put in her ears

She started getting 3 teeth at the same time. for a total of 7!

Loves bath time!

still a little stinker at nap and bed time. (she will only go to sleep if she's rocked)

Has the cutest little laugh and grins I've ever seen

We are continually blessed to have her as a part of our family!

My girls

I've had so many people tell me that they want to see what my older girls looked like at Emalee's age. And I've had so many people tell me that she either looks like Abi or Hannah so here's a couple pictures.....decide for yourselves. :)

Abigail 8 months

Hannah 7 months (I didn't have any 8 month pics :()

Emalee 8 months