genuine smiles

I have the hardest time getting true, 100% genuine smiles out Jace when taking a photo. This morning he was kind enough to give me a couple. My heart smiles when I see pictures like these of my little guy.

silhouette

I've been wanting to do a silhouette of Jace for a long time. I finally got him to stand still for 2 seconds this morning. Do you know how hard it is to get a 2 year old to stand still and look in the right direction at the right angle? After about 15 shots we got one to work.



I'm really loving it. I want to do one of me and of Jared and hang them on the wall together.

facebook

Jared and I just jumped on the Facebook bandwagon. One more thing to waste my time. Could be fun though. I guess we need friends now.

slacker

Meet Slacker...

Slacker joined our family on Christmas day 2006. Jace was 3 months old and celebrating his first Christmas. Jared and I looked all over for the perfect stuffed animal for Jace that December. We found Slacker at FAO Schwarz in Las Vegas and fell in love with him (and paid way too much for a stuffed animal).

Slacker's name came from, well, his tag. But we like it and it's unique. Slacker has slept in Jace's crib/bed since then and occasionally gets dragged along when we go out of town.

Until this week.

Slacker has now joined the family on a different level. Slacker has to get dressed in the morning with Jace, eat all our meals with us (with his own plate and fork), is thirsty and needs drinks, plays trains and catch (with my help) with Jace, goes to play group, brushes his teeth and says prayers. It's almost like we are a family of four now.


I love that Jace's imagination is taking off and that he has a little friend that is always there for him. It's been fun having Slacker as part of the family.

balance

I have been thinking a lot about balance in my life right now. There are so many great things out there to do and explore and learn. I could get lost in a sea of wonderfulness but totally neglect the most important.

For example, I really enjoy photography and design and want to learn as much as I can and get as good as I can right now. But, that would take a lot of time and focus away from my family. But, it doesn't make sense not to have a hobby or learn new things or do something that I enjoy.

Maybe it's the whole "I want it all and I want it now" mentality that is throwing me off. Kind of like the whole paying off school loans and buying a house. Why can't I just have it all now?

Most importantly though, I want to be a good mom and a good wife. I want my family to look back and know that they were the most important things in my life. That they were always more important than the camera or the computer or the book or the t.v. show. I want Jace to remember me on the floor playing trains with him or at the table making silly things out of play dough.

So I guess for the New Year I will be focusing on having balance in my life and remembering that I have a lot of life to live so I don't need it all today. That I can learn and grow a little at a time. And that most of the stuff that I think I need or want won't really matter in a few years. And that I'm okay with being "just a mom" becuase my family is the most important thing and will always matter and right now that is my priority.

*I never really got the whole "mom's sacrifice a lot for their kids" thing until recently. Not that I would really call it sacrificing since the reward is so much better but you know what I mean (or maybe you don't and maybe I don't even know what I mean). I'm sure that my mom gave up a lot for us because she was always right there for us giving us everything. But the great thing is she never let us know that maybe she would rather be curled up on the couch reading a bestseller instead of helping us with a school project that we put off until the last minute. So how do you do it all. Balancing between yourself and your family?

photo book

It's almost 1:00 a.m. and I'm still awake working on a photo book of my favorite photos of Jace. I wasn't planning on doing this but then Jared and Jace fell asleep around 8:00 so I started playing around on photoshop. And then I couldn't stop. Good thing tomorrow is Saturday. Here's what I've come up with so far.

snapshots of our holiday

This was the first Christmas that we weren't in school which means no more 2 week break from work, school, etc. It was also the first Christmas that we spent at home as a little family and the first Christmas that Jace understood and was excited about Santa, Christmas, presents, baby Jesus, etc. We really had a great Christmas and New Year.

Here are some snapshots of our holiday:

putting together Jace's train on christmas eve (it took 2 1/2 hours)

new toys on christmas morning




eating lobster for the first time (and loving it)

grandma & grandpa plowman with jace at the plowman christmas party

the plowman family

playing games in malad for new years

snowmobiling behind the house on new years

snowmobiling in bull canyon

digging out jacob's snowmobile

playing with cousins

watching football

playing trains with cousins

playing with my new tripod

Other things we did:
ate lots of yummy food
played with our new phones
talked to Jared's family on the webcam
said goodbye to some of our best friends, Matt, Shaunte' and Carter (they moved to Alabama)
played more trains and then some more trains
talked to my little bro on Christmas (who is in Mongolia on his mission)
visited family
played lots of games (ticket to ride was the most popular)

Santa found us...

...and brought a much anticipated train set!


We have been enjoying our holiday, taking it easy, playing with trains and eating great food. We will continue to enjoy the holidays until after the New Year! Hope you all are having a great time also.

the floor

Jace has taken to sleeping on the floor. He never wants to sleep in his bed anymore. Crazy kid. He has also decided that he wants to go on a mission like Uncle Devin and Daddy and wants us to sing the missionary songs to him. Hope he keeps that enthusiasm for the next 18 years.

snow day

I love the snow! I love how beautiful it is. I love playing in it. I love snowboarding on it. I love driving in it. I love watching it snow with a cup of hot chocolate.

This morning I set out to do a little Christmas shopping (without Jace!) and after about an hour it started to snow big beautiful snowflakes. So I finished up with the things nearby and headed home. After a little struggle getting up our hill (I had to get out and give the car a little push) I made it home just in time to throw on some snow clothes to play outside with Jace.

We had a great time throwing snowballs, riding on the sled, making snow angels and building a snowman.

(Jace's very first snow man. I put the hat on the snow man and Jace says "mom, he needs some gloves. oh! he doesn't have arms. he needs some arms for his gloves.")




p.s. Jared hates the snow (except when he is snowboarding). And good luck to all who are trying to go places for Christmas. Hope you all get to your families by Christmas. I'm glad we are staying right here in the basement.

p.p.s. When I got home from shopping Jace says "mom, i was very good for hunter. you bring me presents?" Don't tell Jared but I let him open one of his Christmas presents (snow gloves and a hat) so he could play in the snow without being cold. Maybe we will wrap them back up before Jared gets home from work!

(**Jared's wonderful cousin, Amber, took these pictures of me and Jace together. Thanks Amber!!**)