Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time. — Mark Twain

I think this is a perfect quote for trying to be a better person and changing some of those bad habits. Right now I am trying to be better about working out, eating healthier, and in general living a simple life (i.e. get rid of clutter and not buy unnecessary purchases). I think this quote helps me not too get overwhelmed by change but that anything one-step-at-a-time is manageable!

St Jospeh MI

In November we did a weekend trip to St. Joseph, Michigan. Shawn was offered a job there so we went to check out the town. It was a lovely little town that was very quaint. I loved their light house. It is right on Lake Michigan which would have been a lot of fun in the summer. I guess the town is a bustling vacation spot in the summer but quite dead in the winter. We really enjoyed our little visit. It was all decorated for Christmas. The whole town had lights up every where and had a big Christmas Tree that the town gathers around when the tree is lite. A true taste of Americana. I think it would have been fun to live in a small community like St. Joes. But ultimately the warm place (Texas) and free flying benefits rules out the small town feel.... Maybe some day.....

Jack, Jack!

So I was uploading pictures from my i-phone and discovered some old but fun pics of Jack. Enjoy!

Jack was obsessed with his friends pink bow. It was really funny, he kept coming up to me and holding the bow to his head (he wanted me to put it on his head). Once I finally realized what he wanted me to do (put the bow on him), he got this big smile on his face. He was so happy to be wearing a pink bow much to his father's disgrace!

We wen to the Children's Museum with our friends Emi and Lisa and Jack and Lisa were obsessed with this rock. Who knew washing a rock could be so much fun! Jack also liked eating the brush, yuck!

My friend and I did a day trip to Bronner's largest Christmas Store. It is one of the largest Christmas stores. It was a fun little trip but the store itself was a little over whelming!

My mom's dog chased the cat under my mom's bed. Jack discovered the cat under the bed and showed my mom. Too cute! He watched the cat for a long time. He could not figure out how to get the cat out.

We went to an MBA playgroup at this cute Tree house. Jack loved the slide. It was a little tricky for me to climb up the tree to get to the slide....


Can't remember if I have posted this picture already and too lazy to look but Jack's hair cracks me up!
Jack's new favorite place to hang out. He reminds me of a monkey!

Kirtland Ohio and Niagara Falls

Kirtland Ohio
Shawn and I decided we needed to make a trip to Kirtland, Ohio and Niagara Falls before we leave Michigan. If we did not have Jack we would have headed to Palmyra, NY since it is only 2 hours away from Niagara Falls but we did not want to have Jack be in the car for that long. We had a great time and Jack did amazingly awesome. He rode in the car for 5 1/2 hours, never stopping once. Pretty impressive, especially for Jack.

We lucked out and Friday was a warm beautiful day at Kirtland. We first went to the Kirtland Temple and took a tour through the Community of Christ since they own it. The tour guide was wonderful and we learned some new stuff. There was such a feel of reverence and sacredness as we entered the temple. It was pretty amazing to see what the early saints were able to accomplish. Shawn and I both felt a deep gratitude for the sacrifices the saints made to build this temple, endure persecution and ultimately leave their beloved temple and place they called home because of persecution. Shawn and I were reminded of the trials that the saints faced especially Joseph and Emma Smith. I can't fathom losing twins after the mob tarred and feathered Joseph but despite all the persecution that took place, it was a time of great happiness for the Saints. We went to Newel K. Whitney's store and home. We had no idea how much this man helped the church and how rich he really was. The sister missionaries took us on a tour and they did a fabulous job.
The side of Kirtland Temple

When they were building the temple, they put glass in the clay so that it would sparkle in the sun. The first floor was used to worship, the second floor was used to teach the men of the church and the third floor was used as a school for the children and offices.
This was the original color of the doors. I am big fan, as you know green is my favorite color!
The Newel K Whitney store. It was one of the largest stores in Ohio. A lot of neat things happened at this store.
Newel K. Whitney's house. It was a very large house for that time period. I think it is so cute. Jack loved being outside.

Side note: We LOVE priceline.com. Once we got to Niagara Falls, we needed a hotel but everything was kind of pricey. We went onto priceline, named our price and got a 3 1/2 star hotel next to the falls for half the price. Can we say, greatest website ever! We love it.

Niagara Falls:
So we purposely got Jack a passport so that we could visit the Canadian side of the Falls because that is supposed to be a lot better than the American. However, 2 hours into our drive we realized we left them at home. Needless to say we only got to see the American side and if you ever go, the Canadian side it better. Niagara Falls is not a happening place in the winter but we were still happy we went. It was rainy and cold but we were still able to see the Falls. It was kind of neat because there was lots of ice and snow. The Falls were amazing!

Books

Jack finally loves books. Ever since Jack was born, we have read to him as part of his bedtime routine and at least once throughout the day but it always has seemed like a chore. Jack is usually restless during book time and trys to shut the book as we read it. I have often thought "why am I doing this" but I know how important it is too read to your child. Just lately Jack has been going into his bedroom, picking out a book and then lays on the couch as he reads it to himself. We think it is very cute. Finally, our hard work is paying off.

Messy, messy!

Every time I turn my head it seems like Jack is destroying something. I know it could be a lot worse but he loves to empty out cupboards, drawers, cabinets, baskets or anything else he can get his hands on. Sometimes I simply don't care because I am too lazy, tired, or I just have fun watching him. My mom keeps reminding me that "a child's play is a child's work." This statement seems to be true. He works so hard at destroying and appears very proud and satisfied with the end result. He woke up super early one morning so as I laid on the couch to get some rest this is what he was busy doing. I need to remember to always close everything. He took out all my perfectly organized shoes and shirts that were folded above my shoes.

What has this little man been up too?

1. He blabs and blabs about everything in his own cute little language. But the thing that makes it so darn cute is that he holds up his left hand up with the palm facing the sky as he chats away. I have no idea where he got it from (maybe Shawn.....:)) but it makes everything that much more important.
2. As he chats away he makes some seriously funny facial expressions. Eyes get big and wide, then they scrunch up, the serious face, then the fake laugh face, too funny!
3. The "more" sign. He has approximated it but it is really cute how he does it.
4. He is starting to really talk, it is fun to see what words he picks up every day. He just combined 2-words the other day.
5. He always yells GG (Grandma Gray) when he wants his own way.
6. Walking, he is walking all around (finally!). He still seems wobbly but somehow he manages to walk everywhere. He falls a lot but just gets up, no big deal to him.
7. Shawn does the bed time routine and then calls me in to say a prayer together and after the prayer, Jack holds his arms up to give me a hug goodnight. Because Jack is sitting on Shawn's lap it turns into a big family hug. I know--totally cheesy but Jack loves it and secretly I love it. It is so precious.
8. I love Jack's dancing, laughing, giggling, and clapping at everything that Shawn and I do (especially after I sing a song to him, he claps and when Shawn throws the ball into a container, he claps).
9. I just love to see what the next day holds.
10. He still is not sleeping well, go figure. Last night he woke up at 12pm and cried until 3:30am. I went into his bed room twice and laid him back down and said "night, night" but it did not help. Our poor neighbors were stomping but there was nothing I could do that would stop him from crying except for getting him out of his crib, but I was not about to go down that road again so I let him cry. Finally, around 3:30am I went in his bedroom and said "Jack lay down and go to sleep" he looked at me and started chatting away. It was like he was telling me, "look mom, I am sorry for screaming at the top of my lungs for the past 3 1/2 hours but I really need to get out of my crib and play, can't you just let me." He told me what was up for about 5mins then I laid him down on his crib and he fell asleep. The little stinker! He is the most frustrating sleeper. I really don't get it.

Flour, flour and more flour!

On Sunday after dinner we really wanted to play a game of Ticket to Ride, the only problem was Jack. If we are playing a game he thinks he should be playing too and it ends up as a disaster. So I thought, how could we possibly entertain him for an hour while we play.....um....maybe some flour in a bowl with some measuring cups, etc to play with. Well, he loved it and after playing for about 45 mins, we turned around to look at him and this is what we saw (pics below). We were laughing so hard. He was having a blast. Flour was everywhere but we did not care because we were able to play our cherished game. The clean up was totally worth it, especially because I won:) After about an hour he was done and told us. We plopped him in the bath, cleaned up the kitchen and it was like no mess had ever happened. Flour might just be my new best friend!


All done!