I Hope They Call Me on a Shishon!

Mother's day was filled with both happiness and sadness at our house. Grandma Fetzer passed away early in the morning after 102 wonderful years on this earth. The funeral is today so I will post more about the past two weeks over the next few days. We also had the opportunity to Skype with Uncle for a few hours! It was so much fun to watch N see Uncle for the first time since she was three months old. She enjoyed telling him all the letter sounds and singing "I Hope They Call Me on A Shishon (Mission), and Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree." She also showed him a picture she drew for him and gave him hugs and kisses. I am excited for the two of them to develop a relationship once he gets home. It was a pleasure to see how much he has grown and how focused he is on his mission. His one request was for my parents to purchase Harry Potter 7 parts I and II so he could watch them the second he gets home. For those of you who know Rich, this request is proof that he is still the Rich we know and love!

 trying to hug uncle

 tired buddies

Summer Nights at SodaRow

Every Friday and Saturday evening there is live music at the shopping center a short walk from our house. After a long week we could think of nothing better than relaxing with good friends and enjoying some music. N and her friend D had fun playing and dancing while we sat around chatting. We look forward to more summer nights relaxing, listening to music, and enjoying good company.

dancing

D and N playing

flying high

First Cabin Trip of the Year with N

Two weeks ago Camp Williams was running artillery drills so we got the heck out of dodge and escaped to our favorite place of respite, the cabin. We left at 7pm and got to the cabin just after 9. As soon as N saw the cabin she gasped and said "bacin!" which is apparently excited speak for cabin. She spent the next hour running around the cabin, onto the porch, and back into the cabin. She also identified EVERYTHING! She would say "Bacin fridge", Bacin, bed, Bacin home, Bacin couch...you get the idea. After the excitement of being at the cabin wore off, we all went to bed.

On Saturday we walked to the swings and let N play to her hearts content. She loved running from the porch into the cabin and back out again. She also loved playing with water beads while D and I read on the porch. It was truly relaxing. Our favorite time was during N's naps. While she slept, D and I would lay on the couch and read. We spent more time reading during our four day stay than we had in the past month. 

 

 

 N and D playing shadow tag

 

On Sunday we went on a hike near the Mirror Lake Highway. N absolutely loved it! A few hundred yards into the hike was a small stream that we stopped to throw rocks into.  We would have stayed there all day if it was up to N, but the time came to leave and she was not happy about it.

 throwing rocks into the stream

 

We came home Monday afternoon rejuvenated and ready to tackle our week. We are so grateful to Grandma and Grandpa H for building such a wonderful place to escape too.

This Is The Place State Park

Last week we met some friends at This Is The Place State Park to go see the baby animals. N had a blast! She loved the baby pig and pygmy goat. Trying to get a picture of five toddlers is near impossible, but it happened. They all held still for a few seconds and I got this shot!

P, D, N, V, and B

So much to do....so little time

Naomi and I go crazy if we are stuck in the house all the time and the warm weather seems to multiply the effect. For the most part April has been really warm which means a lot of time at the park and a lot of play dates. Here are a few of the things we have done this month.

N and D hanging out

N and B at the zoo

N, P, and D at the zoo

N and B chatting away

play group at the lake

trying to wrangle five almost two year olds together for a picture is not an easy task

Easter

Our Easter week was busy! I was in SLC for the week while D was at our house finishing the wood floors in the kitchen! (pictures coming soon). N enjoyed being near Noni and Papa all week and it was nice not to have to live in a construction zone. We enjoyed dying Eater eggs with R, eating an Easter egg surprise lunch, and of course, Easter Sunday.

During N's nap I put small amounts of food in each of twelve eggs. When Naomi got up she was so excited to see all the different foods. For the next few days she wanted all her food served in eggs.

Of course the highlight of the week was Easter Sunday. We had a nice church service, followed by a family dinner. It is always nice to see our wonderful family! When we were at dinner I looked around at four generations all gathered to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. My thoughts were drawn to family members who have passed, my own little family, and my wonderful extended family. How grateful I am to have a Savior who suffered in Gethsemane and rose again. He is risen! In a world filled with uncertainty and turmoil I am grateful for my testimony of the resurrection and the knowledge that families are forever.

N running to greet Auntie M

 

Easter egg hunt

playing with Aunt Karen

N and

N and Grandma Great

Kitchen Renovation

We finally got started on the kitchen floors! It is the last place on our main floor that we are putting 3/4 inch maple down. N and I went to Noni and Papa's house overnight so D could pull up the tile.

This tile is no joke! It takes forever to pull up because it is on top of the sub floor rather than backer board. UGH!! Now we have to replace half of the sub floors because they were weakened by the thinset. Thus, the small, soon to be large hole in our sub floor which N is pretty convinced she helped make.

 

Hopefully wood will start to go in tomorrow. Fingers crossed! There is still a lot to do in the kitchen, but the floors are the largest project. Here is what is to come in our kitchen:

• hardware
• paint the cabinets
• back splash
• new faucet
• open shelves to the left of the sink
• paint

A ride for N

We bought this cart for Christmas thinking that N would use it to tote small toys around the house. We were wrong. N and J decided it was better suited for carting small children.

Trim Please

D put trim up this week! Hooray for us! Here at the Tallerico home we work hard on projects for a few months, and then don't work so hard for a few months. We are happily spending the time while N naps to instal trim, make frames (yippee for our router), and repaint N's dresser. Painting N's dresser has taught me two things. 1) we are going to buy a paint sprayer and 2) don't repaint any furniture until said paint sprayer is purchased. It takes way to long with a brush and foam roller. We will post pictures of the frames and dresser soon.

Naomi loves to help us do any project. Weather we are cleaning our house, brushing our teeth, putting on our shoes, or installing trim, she likes to be involved. She decided to pitch in and help D secure the baseboards yesterday.

 

Sledding.......finally!

It finally snowed enough to go sledding. During N's nap I went and bought a sled and put it on the kitchen table. When she got up from her nap she looked at the sled, looked at me, and said "blue boat." So with blue boat in tow we went across the street to the park to go sledding. She absolutely loved it!

waiting to go down the hill

so much fun!

Daddy's turn

going back up the hill

Yummy!

N has suddenly become a picky eater. She still likes all the foods she used to eat, you just have to persuade her that she still likes them. I am not sure what caused the sudden hesitation with food, but we are working through it. Today for lunch I gave her yogurt. She could barley contain her excitement.

Untitled from Elizabeth Tallerico on Vimeo.

N's four favorite songs

Party Rock Anthem - She loves to shuffle
Scripture Power - We sing it before we read scriptures
I Love to See the Temple - She loves sign (ASL) temple
Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree - Everybody loves it!

Where's Santa?

N did not really understand the concept of Santa during Christmas. We would talk about Santa a lot and explain that he brings us a gift for Christmas. She looked at us like we were crazy and was pretty convinced that all the packages under the tree were cookies. Christmas came and went and as far as Naomi was concerned she got to have a blast at Noni and Papa's house for a few days and got some new toys. A few weeks ago she looked at me and said "Santa, where did he go?" Where on earth did that come from? We had not mentioned Santa since Christmas! I heard that same question several times a day and gave her the same answer, "He is at the North Pole." After several days this seemed to satisfy her. Every once in a while she will say "Where's Santa?" I play dumb and say "Where did he go?" N smiles, and says "Pole."

Ready, Set, Go!

Tonight N and I were racing in the front room. I would start the race with the typical "Ready, set, go!" phrase and we would run (N would win every time). I had to run into the bedroom for a minute and while I was in there I hear N say "Ready, go, set!" I heard the little pitter patter of feet running toward me and with a huge grin on her face she says "Mommy, I did it!" We sure love our little N.

Bulbbles, Bubbles, Bubbles!