Spencer's First Primary Talk

Sunday, February 24th, Spencer gave his first Primary Talk.  He really dragged his feet about writing it, but, in the end, did a great job.  Here is a picture of him before we went to church.

Here is the talk he gave:

The Theme was: “The Earth was Created for Heavenly Father’s Children”

In the bible, it says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”  Heavenly Father had Jesus Christ create the earth and everything in it.  I am thankful He made deer, horses, elephants, ducks and eagles because I like these animals.  I also like blue whales and fish.  I am thankful he created all the flowers because they are beautiful and they smell good. 
Jesus made all these things because He loves us.
We came to earth to get a body.  I am thankful for my body because I like to ride my bike and play with my friends.  Last year, I played soccer.  Here is a picture of me playing soccer.  I liked my teammates.  I used my body to kick the ball and score!  I also ran as fast as I could.
I am thankful for all that Jesus created for us and I know this Church is true.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

(Here is the picture he held up of him playing soccer.)

 

He has read it several times since he gave the talk.  We Skyped with my parent's after church so he could give it to them and he really wanted to read it to my friend who I swap babysitting with so we can volunteer at the school.  I'm sure if anyone else wants to hear him give it, he'd be happy to read it to you over the phone:).  I love how well he reads it and how clearly he speaks.  My little guy is becoming quite the little man!

Daddy Daughter Luau

February 22nd was the City of Wilsonville's Annual Daddy-Daughter Dance.  Kylene and Kyle went and Kylene had the time of her life.  She had several friend's from her class at school who attended and she loved every minute of it. 
 

 They had raffle drawings throughout the evening and the very first one, Kylene won!  She was so excited when she came home and showed me all her Hawaiian-themed paraphernalia they had given away.

Valentine's Day Kindergarten Party

For our school Valentine's Day Party, we made heart men (I forgot to take a picture.), made graphs using conversation hearts, and made cookie/m&m/marshmallow bunnies.  After all, "some bunny loves" them!

Daniel got to join us for the party, which helped make it extra fun.


Jana had the great idea to do a babysitting swap for the day. Her and Scott went out to lunch while I watched Daniel and Katelyn, then Kyle & I went out to dinner while she watched my kiddos.  It was great to get to go out to dinner with my sweetheart on Valentine's Day AND not have to pay for a babysitter!

30 Minutes After a Bath!

Believe it or not, these pictures were taken about 30 minutes after his hair cut and bath.  So much for "all clean"!

Not just on the face, not just on the hands...I've got an itch here on the side of my head, mom!

Thank goodness his cuteness still shines through the mess!

January, in Sum

January started fabulously and ended with a bit of a downer.  Here's a quick rundown:

Have a I written anything about Kylene's finger?  I can't remember.  Back in December (December 15th), I managed to smash her middle right hand finger in the bathroom door (hinge side).  OUCH!  After an urgent care visit and them telling us all would be fine after the nail fell off, I still felt unsettled and decided it needed to be check by a hand specialist. 

A few days later, after x-rays and a hand surgeon visit, we discovered not only did I manage to kill the nail, I also managed to break her finger between the two top joints, right where ligaments attach.  So she has been in a splint/cast for almost two months now.  She has been a trooper, although it has been scary and painful for her.  The specialist says it is healing well and she can finally begin wearing the cast less and less.  The old nail still has not fallen off, but could any day now.  A new nail will take up to a year to regrow normally.  (The first nail that grows back in is wavy and misshapen, apparently.)  She has enjoyed the different colors of wrap she has able to "sport."
 

 

The last week of January, Jana and Scott were able to go to Las Vegas together for a work conference.  They stayed with Nate and Cami.  We were lucky enough to get to have Daniel stay with us for almost a week!  The boys had a ball playing together the first three days, until the awful sickness hit as again.  Here are a couple of pictures of their fun: 

 

Unfortunately, part way through his stay, we got hit with another flu virus: this time we think it was the Norwalk Virus. (Or so the ER Doctor told us.)  Skyler and I had it, but it only lasted a day this time.  But it hit Spencer HARD.  He was vomiting for 2 1/2 days.  By Saturday evening (January 26th), he was so dehydrated and looked awful.  His eyes were sunken, lips completely flat, heart racing, and he wouldn't drink anything but miniscule amounts of water.  He hadn't walked in almost 24 hours.  I knew we needed to take him in.  They got him started on an IV pretty quickly and it was amazing the difference it made.  They ended up giving him almost 1,000mL of IV fluid and he was a totally new kid.  He sat up, ate a popsicle, and started asking questions about everything in the hospital room.  He even talked to me most of the way home.  He was still weak for a few days after that, but once we got him keeping down solid foods again, his body bounced back quickly.  I am so grateful for modern medicine and the priesthood; we gave him a blessing shortly before taking him to the ER.  It was a scary few hours, but we survived.

After all that sickness, I started February out with fun, though!  Last weekend I actually got to go on a girls' get-away with some friends in my ward!  We headed to Lincoln City on Friday afternoon and stayed overnight in a hotel right on the beach.  It was a beautiful view to wake up Saturday morning and watch the waves while we lazily enjoyed gabbing and eating breakfast.  After walking on the beach, we enjoyed going out to lunch together before heading home.  It was short, sweet, and filled with lots of quality talking time!  I stressed about leaving Andon (my first time!), but Kyle insisted I needed the break.  He held down the fort (and held a screaming Andon most of the night).  (My husband is the best!)  He took the kids in the "Donut Van" on Saturday and let them enjoy some of the sunshine at the park.  (Dad's are the best!)