Photo Announcement

Horsey Rides

All three kids wanted a horse ride from Justin--so he obliged at the same time!

Needless to say, his back hurt afterwards, but everyone had a blast!

Benjamin's first day of school!

Here is Benjamin waiting for the school bus. Seth got to walk with Justin and Benjamin to the bus stop and clearly loved it! Benjamin is now a first grader!

Benjamin has a new haircut (he loves the longer hair look--like his Uncle Mark, "but no hair in my eyes"!). He looks really good without a buzz.

6:30 is so early to get on the bus, but Benjamin is a real trouper about getting up and getting ready for school when it is still dark outside. At least this year he will get home just before 3 p.m. instead of 3:15.

Jorgensen Picture Updates

The best part of making strawberry jam...eating it with fresh homemade bread afterwards!



The boys and their hats in preparation for the beach trip with Grandma and Grandpa Clendening in June!


Madeline LOVES to play the piano! Pretty much any time I sit down to play, she runs up to the piano and wants up next to me. I have to scoot the bench over so she can have a spot to sit and we make beautiful music together!

Madeline's Second Haircut

Madeline's first haircut was a while back. She had rubbed off the hair on the middle of the back of her head, leaving quite a tail below that I trimmed. I love her curly hair and wasn't wanting to cut it, but it kept getting tangled (and she loved to put food covered hands in the long parts and pull!) so I finally had to cut it recently.

Here she is feeling like such a big girl! She got to sit on the tall stool that her brothers get to sit on when they get their hair cut. She even is holding the brush (and scissors) while I took a picture of the finished cut.


She was excited to see her brother in the mirror and show him what her new haircut looked like!


So much long hair--now it is rather more even. Though after it dried, for some reason the back middle is a little longer than the rest. With the curls it doesn't show too much, but I still clearly have to learn new techniques to deal with curly baby girl hair!


Madeline loves to smile for the camera!

Seth

(Justin sitting on the couch; Seth standing on his lap).

Seth: I'm taller than myself!

Justin and Amy: Uproarious laughter!

Benjamin's Birthday Party Photos

So I'm finally getting around to posting Benjamin's birthday photos. We rented paddle boats again (third year in a row--it's what he loves to do), had a picnic lunch at the lake, then headed back to Aunt Marianne's for presents, cake and her pool! Enjoy the photos!








The nice staff at the boat dock took the picture so we all could be in it (Uncle Eric had to work).

Memory Lane

So, I was going through a box and found this picture of Justin and me when we were dating.

I decided to have some fun and do a then and now photo since my hair is about the same length.
We still have the same shirts; I still have the same necklace. That said there are some differences. Justin points out that my hair doesn't have as much strawberry in it now. He has facial hair; I'm wearing glasses instead of contacts. We are cuddling a bit closer :); it is our front door in the background and not the Jones'; and Benjamin is taking the picture (he had to stand on a chair to get the same angle).

Wow, time flies!

Madeline Smile

She is such a happy baby! This is one of my favorite of her smiles--she scrunches up her nose, squeezes her eyes shut, and shows all her teeth.Usually she smashes her gums together more, but this is pretty close.





Additionally, she got a hold of Mr. Potato Head's smile and decided it made a good chew toy--my slow phone camera made it difficult to get a good shot, hence the blurry.

Chainsaws, Diapers, Teeth, and Pizza a.k.a. What's New with the Jorgensens

So a lot has happened lately with our family. I weaned Madeline to whole milk (she loves it). Benjamin turned 6 (pictures coming as soon as I remember to ask Marianne for them--I, of course, forgot my camera). Our ward boundaries were just redrawn so we are in a new congregation for church. AND...drum roll please!!! Seth gave up diapers (more below)!!!!

Chainsaw:
We are working hard on our yard. When we bought the house, the backyard was mostly wild trees/shrubs/undergrowth. Unfortunately, that undergrowth included LOTS of poison ivy--Justin got it mildly a couple of times; Benjamin got it badly twice, the last time on his face, arms, hands, and in between his fingers, YIKES! So below is Justin's hard work with our handsaw, a rake, and then a bunch of chemicals to kill all the poison ivy (including the roots so it won't come back--that's the theory at least).


However, when you look at the picture (and the one below) you can see there is still MUCH work to be done. So Justin borrowed a chainsaw from someone at church and cut down the rest of the trees. I took a picture of him felling trees and then emailed myself the wrong one.


We're really excited to be able to clear out a large space in the back for the boys to run around and play in--kicking balls, playing tag, and just running or rolling around.



Also new in our family is Madeline's diapers. I've been feeling really guilty about all the diapers I throw away (in an average week, we would generally have one kitchen bag of trash and at least that volume or more of diapers). I know how to do traditional cloth diapers (prefolded, pins, and plastic covers) from my younger siblings. I had thought about starting out that way with Benjamin but we didn't have a washer and dryer in our first apartment. Various things (most likely habit being the strongest) contributed to me not switching back.

However, I finally decided to go for it--not being in graduate school anymore, no job yet, and having more time being BIG contributors. Oddly enough the final catalyst was not wanting to have to drive 30 minutes to Target to buy more disposables. I did some research and picked a style (there are several different varieties now) that promised to be easy enough so that Justin could change them without much (if any) learning curve. Below is Madeline modelling one (with the new bag I needed to carry wet diapers changed while out--it helps that it's cuter than any of my other bags).
I got three colors of shells: one white for church (to wear under light-colored dresses), two pink giraffe, and three green giraffe (both with brown backgrounds to hide the inevitable dirt that comes from sitting on the ground). The inserts (on the bottom of the picture) just snap into the covers so they stay in place without pins. The covers snap adjust to different sizes and snap closed. I've been pleased so far though it did take a day or two to get into a new routine so diaper changes didn't take quite as long. (I also picked up flushable wipes for dirty diapers since wet pieces of flannel only do so much.) I feel much better about my family's impact on the environment and our cost savings for not having to buy any more disposable diapers.
Also, Seth is now independently using the bathroom! (I used Azrin and Foxx's train in less than a day method with slight adjustment for Seth's older age and penchant for temper tantrums). He has had so many successes and only a few accidents in the past few days and loves being a big boy!

He is also finally pushing through more teeth! (Madeline is also getting on of her front middle to fill in the gap). He last pushed through teeth between 1 year and 18 months, so I was getting a little worried because his canines and half his molars were missing. However, they are coming in now!

As a cute and adorable side note, below is Madeline's first experience with pizza!
She loved it and ate more of it than Seth--who has been choosing to pull everything off, including the cheese, before he eats the bottom crust (but not the edge of the crust).

Graduation

So, I graduated with my Master's degree in English, Rhetoric and Composition, Saturday May 14th. Camera problems prevented any pictures from the actual graduation. I didn't bother wearing a cap and gown (over half my fellow graduating MAs also didn't wear cap and gown) and was very glad because it was VERY hot.

Many thanks to Justin for keeping three small children happy and relatively good and quiet for an hour and a half in a crowded, hot church. He received at least 5 compliments on how well he did from those who saw him with them, both at graduation and the reception afterward. Justin, you are amazing! I love you!

This photo below was taken post graduation and reception; clearly the kids were worn out. We hadn't been driving for more than five minutes when Madeline and Seth were both zonked (Benjamin is not sleeping, he is coloring).
I love my family and am so grateful for their support that allowed me to complete my degree! I know that without their support and God's help, I would never have been able to manage it all.

Madeline's First Birthday

Madeline turned one a little over a week ago. She is walking quite well now and getting into everything even more. For her birthday, we had cake and opened presents. She enjoyed it though she didn't really understand what was going on! I was still fighting a cold so didn't have much effort to put into decorating the cake.


Below is a video of her first encounter with cake. She didn't really know what to do with it at first but ended up eating all of it (well, except most of the frosting that I found down in her highchair seat)! Neither of the boys ate much of their first birthday cake--Go Madeline!




More pictures detailing her enjoyment of the cake!


Clearly she enjoyed the cake so much she wanted to eat the plate too!

Happy Birthday Madeline! It's hard to believe that it has been a full year since we welcomed you into our family! We love you!!!

14 Steps!

Madeline just took a few steps out from under the table (where I'm finishing up my last paper), stopped and stood for a few seconds, and then took fourteen steps out of the kitchen into the living room (crossing from linoleum to carpet) where she stopped and stood still for about 5 or so seconds more before plopping down!

YEAH!!! She's doing so well with her walking!

Easter, New Pictures, and a Video

Madeline LOVES it outside! She loves the wind and crawling around everywhere. She does start to realize after a minute that the concrete is scuffing her knees if I've forgotten to put her in pants--she will then start crawling on her hands and feet stink bug style!


She also loves to eat ANYTHING she can get her hands onto--seeds from our decorative grass, wood chips, rocks, etc. She's even tried to pick up a bug--luckily I saw and was able to intervene!

Here, Madeline is looking out the front window trying on her Easter dress (ok, so it's really not an Easter dress...it was just really cute and spring-y and fun!).


The boys in their "house"--the small space between the couch and the bookshelf. Usually that is where the bean bag chair goes, but they have claimed the space as their own!


Madeline loves cottage cheese!!



Here is a picture we took right after we got home from church on Easter. Benjamin is in his new church clothes (totally snazzy!)--Seth and Madeline had just woken up from naps on the way home in the car. Amazingly enough, we got this picture in just one take! (Granted it took several bribes to Seth (cheese, milk, crackers, Thomas movie) to get him to sit down and stop screaming and monkey still was in the picture--but at least monkey wasn't in front of Seth's face!)
Just in case you were wondering, no, the monkey doesn't have a name--he's just monkey or red monkey (since Seth has at least three monkeys!).



Here is Madeline modeling her new shoes (her first shoes as well!). She is standing up really well and will take a step or two independently before plopping down. She will walk quite quickly holding on to anyone's hands (including Benjamin's to his great delight!). She has taken 6-7 steps altogether without falling down.

This is my absolute favorite! Seth is being chased down the hall by Madeline! Seth is somewhat paranoid about Madeline "getting" him and of course she loves to!


Enjoy!

Moments in the Life of the Jorgensens

The boys were so sweet today.

Benjamin wrote Justin a note on the sidewalk with chalk to see when he got home from work. It reads (with standardized spelling), "April 4 Dear Daddy I love you today was a good day I would like to play with you love Benjamin" It was so sweet and arched around the sidewalk from the driveway to the front door. He also was so excited to watch General Conference this past weekend. His eyes lit up when he found out Conference was coming up, and when President Monson spoke, his eyes were riveted to the screen.

Tonight, Seth got out of bed to ask me where Jesus was. I replied He was in Heaven. He kept asking, and I pointed out the picture the boys have in their room; he liked that but kept asking "where Jesus?" I finally figured out he wanted the doll we used to play baby Jesus last Christmas. We had centered December around preparing for this doll and the service we gave to others became the soft bedding for baby Jesus to sleep on when He came Christmas Eve. I found the doll and took him to bed to sleep with Seth (who I haven't heard from in ten minutes so hopefully is asleep).

On a side note, Miss Madeline is fearless! She will try to dive off of beds or the couch to get something she wants on the floor (luckily I've always managed to catch her before she goes over the edge, but she just laughs and thinks it is a game). She also loves outside--crawling around on the grass or concrete to get to anything and everything (dirt, grass, rocks, sand)--which all go in her mouth. I once found a rock tucked between her cheek and gums! She especially loves the wind--even when it tries to tip her over like it did today. If nothing else will calm her down, stepping outside will.

Luckily, my last semester is almost over. Four more weeks and all my coursework--and capstone defense--will be done! (Watch out Justin! You won't be the only one in our family with a master's degree for long!) I'm staying on top of things but will be glad for summer to relax, rejuvenate, and enjoy my family.

I hope you, all our friends and family, are doing well. I apologize for slacking off on the blog--my only excuse is that I've been insanely busy (and my MacBook doesn't have an SD card slot to transfer pictures from the camera). Hopefully you enjoy what I'm able to post. Summer should be better!

We love you all!

Line upon line: Our children's growth

Our children are continuing to grow! Enjoy the mini-vignettes about their mini-milestones.

Benjamin is learning to read in school. He had really been down on himself earlier in the year because he was afraid that he wouldn't learn to read in time to go to first grade. We helped him calm down and reassured him he would be fine. Now he is one level above where he needs to be! He is doing really well sounding out words and recognizing his sight words! He also is using some big words (with occasionally interesting results). Today he came home and said that it was an "arguable" day in class. I responded with "argumentative?" "Oh, yeah. Everyone was fighting."
Additionally, he has been really nervous the past couple of week about going outside (some of his classmates have told him stories about the "scary" animals that are outside around here). I had assured him that Heavenly Father would protect him and that our yard is safe. Well, today he asked to play outside, and before he went out, he knelt down in the living room (without any prompting), and I caught a few words of his prayer for safety as he ventured out to play.

Seth is continuing to grow up (in addition to the previous post about his "cooking" skills). He is doing so much better sleeping in his own room--save for the occasional night I wake up to find him snuggled up next to me in our bed. We put a futon mattress on the floor and both the boys sleep there (think "sleep over"!). He has stopped calling Benjamin "Be-be" (some of the time) and can say "Benjamin" well. He continues to surprise me with the words that he knows. He also is into everything but comes up with serious face and an adult excuse every time I remind him he's not allowed--banging on the computer: "check my email"; dismantling a laptop power cord: "it my job!" He also loves to look at books and "read" them like his big brother does. He also is doing well in family scripture study repeating most of the words of a scripture as I read it for him. He folds his arms really well for family and meal prayers and loves to say prayers with my help!

Madeline is crawling well and can sit up after she gets somewhere (she is also 9 months old today). Also big news! She pushed her FIRST TOOTH through her gums! She is jabbering often (particularly at church). She is not very interested in the doll she got for Christmas--the boys' toys are just too interesting. She does however love the measuring cups Benjamin gave her--they bang so well! She loves chewing on books (and "tasting" everything else she can pick up or lean towards). She is very ticklish and has the sweetest laugh. She also smiles very big to see those she loves and will often bounce with happiness. She is going in for her check-up Thursday, and I will try to post her growth statistics then.

We love our family and are so happy to see them growing up so well and happily. We are so thankful we can be together forever!

Seth Singing

Seth has been singing more Primary songs over the past several months and getting better everyday making his words clearer. His favorite song is "I Love to See the Temple." We've been trying to get it on video for so long but something always happened to mess it up (background interference from Madeline, stage fright once the camera came out, etc.)

This time, we had just given him his own pocket size Children's Songbook (he loves the one at Aunt Marianne's). He found the page on his own and started singing! I frantically motioned Justin to find the camera. After a long minute stretched by (finding the camera, waiting for it to turn on), I told Seth we were going to sing the second verse. The result is below--Enjoy!



Seth loves the song so much that he loves to clap after we finish!

The words to the entire song are below:

"I Love to See the Temple"

I love to see the temple.
I'm going there someday
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
A place of love and beauty.
I'll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.
I'll go inside someday.
I'll cov'nant with my Father;
I'll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I've learned this truth:
A fam'ly is forever.

(Words and music: Janice Kapp Perry, 1980. Children's Songbook of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1989).

I love the Primary songs! I love the reminder in this song that families can be together forever. Sometimes when I sing this song for the boys at night, the Spirit is strong, and I feel a small portion of the special peace I find at the temple.

I'm so thankful that I know my Heavenly Father lives and that He has given us temples to seal families together beyond death into the eternities!

Seth Growing Up

Since he hasn't wanted to stay in his big boy bed at night, we've had to stop giving him naps. This has made him rather cranky sometimes. One of the first times he just had "quiet time" instead of a nap, he fell asleep on the floor in the middle of his toys. His door was open, and I snapped a picture!



Seth, like Benjamin, loves to be a big helper! Here he is helping to cook the sauce for enchiladas.
As a side note, in these pictures you can see the back splash I painted in the kitchen (sunflowers and ladybugs)--I took separate pictures when I finished it last summer but never got them posted :).

He kept asking to "check" the chicken--he would pick it up with the spoon, say "not done yet" and drop it back into the water. He LOVES to stir! (Even after he grazed the pan and had to spend a minute with his finger under the cold water, he still wanted to help cook!--I gave him a longer spoon that time around.)


He also loves to "wash dishes" though he often gets distracted "making soup."

He has his moments of terror, but we all love him!!

Madeline is Mobile!

So, I don't really know what to call how Madeline moves in this video--creeping, army crawling--but whatever it's named, she is mobile!



p.s. In the two or so days since filming this, Madeline has improved dramatically in her coordination and muscle strength--it looks like traditional crawling more of the time!

Christmas

When we read the story of Christ's birth this year on Christmas Eve, we also acted it out. Our boys really enjoyed it (Justin less so for the dressing up). Madeline kept not wanting to lay down and play Baby Jesus. We also borrowed a tradition from one of our neighbors and throughout the month of December we placed a soft piece of cloth in a box every time we did something like Jesus would do. It really helped center Christmas around Christ and His birth. On Christmas morning, the boys woke up to see Baby Jesus in his box under the Christmas tree. They really liked thinking about how soft the bed would be for Baby Jesus.






This year, instead of trying to capture our children's faces as they opened their gifts, I opted for enjoying watching them. I did pull out the camera for this wonderful photo below of the boys enthralled with the last gift they opened.The boys' favorite toy is this train set Grandma Clendening sent. They play with it every day (Justin of course loves to help them set up cool new arrangements).

We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed all the time we were able to spend together as a family. I love this time of year that we get to focus on the Savior, His birth and His life. We hope that all your Christmases were equally merry!