33 Things I Love...

about Chris!

1. That he is so understanding when his birthday gets short changed because of everything else going on!

2. His blue blue eyes

3. His loving smile

4. How he still opens the door for me after 11 1/2 years

5.  That he always holds my hand in the movies (and other places)

6. The way he fidgets with my fingers when he's uncomfortable in situation

7. The way he stick his tongue in his cheek when he's irritated

8. The little wrinkles around his eyes when he smiles or laughs

9. His sense of style 

10. His obsession with accessories (especially watches, check out the Nixon I got him [well he got himself, since I didn't get him anything, I just said OK] for his birthday yesterday)

11. How cute he looks in a suit

12. His goatie

13. His smooth skin when he shaves his goatie

14. Running my fingers through his hair ;)

15. How he always smells so good!

16. That his hands are always warm

17. That he always gives me a sip of his drink, even though he hates to because he knows I will drink more than him... and he also knows that if he gets me my own drink, I won't like it as much as his...

18. How he always says he's going to give up soda... then the weekend comes, and stays for most of the week

19.  How organized he is 

20. How he helps to keep me and the kids organized, and usually doesn't complain about it

21. That his birthday present to himself was spending 8 hrs the day before cleaning out and organizing the garage!

22. That his other birthday present to himself is a weekend snowboarding with his brother (had to add that one so y'all wouldn't feel so sorry for him)

23. That he loves his Mom so much and still misses her all the time

24. The ways he is just like his Mom- he knows how to be a comfort to people

25. -he is very wise

       -he always dresses sharp (that one doesn't count cuz I already mentioned it)

26. -he loves to travel, and take the kids to new places

27. -he's a pushover

28. -he knows how to laugh at things (this he gets from his Dad, too :] )

29. My favorite way he is like his Dad... he is very musical, plays the guitar, piano, and sings... and he loves to share this with his family... we have so many good memories of singin while Chris plays the guitar

30. How coordinated and atheletic he is

31. He is so good at teaching the kids things like riding their bikes, hitting/catching a ball, playing football, basketball, soccer, golf, skateboarding, snowboarding (he's taking Cam soon!), you name it, he does it!

31 1/3. How he can convince anyone of anything (comes in handy at restaurants, theme parks...)

31 1/2. When he speaks to me in French (oo la la)

32. His testimony of the Savior, and his surety of the restored gospel

33. His deep love for me... he has always been so dedicated to us and determined to give me (and the kids) the best life possible.. and he has!  I sure do love you Chris!  Thanks for being you!

(do I have to stop already??)

Happy 33rd birthday!!

Happy Birthday Mia Bailey

                         Mia Bailey Sly January 15, 2008






The sad day has come. Our last baby is no longer a baby. Ok, maybe she is, but I'm having a hard time coping with her growing up... her walking, her little bit of talking, her trying to be independent of me. Well maybe not the independent part. Mia is still very glued to me all the time, especially when there are lots of people around, and she thinks they are trying to take her away. But the fact still remains that she is getting older and soon won't be my little nursing cuddly baby anymore. Thats ok, we'll have cute grandbabies someday.

Mia is a little person already. She is NOT afraid to voice her opinion. In fact, she voiced it all night tonight during dinner. Even when we were having prayer. She was letting me know she was hungry... by yelling very loudly... and didn't stop letting me know until she had had her fill of spaghetti.
She already thinks she's a big kid. She wants to go outside and play on the swingset when Isaac and Ava go out. She wants to jump on the trampoline when she sees the other kids on it. She wants to talk on the phone and control the TV (She already likes Spongebob like her brothers and sisters and loves Dora, like her big sis Ava).  Her new favorite toy is the mini trampoline Isaac got for Christmas, she likes to climb up onto it, hold on to the handlebars and bounce as much as she can (which really isn't much since she doesn't weigh a whole lot... shhhhh, don't tell her!).  

One of my favorite things about Mia is her blankie and her thumb sucking habit.  She has these little blue fleece blankets that she likes to fall asleep with, and anytime I stick her in the crib with one of them, even if she's not happy about taking a nap, she'll grab her little blankie with her right hand and suck away with her left.  And usually fall asleep pretty quickly.  I love that whenever she sees one of her blankies around the house, she'll immediately grab it up, put it up to her face and start sucking her thumb!  So cute. :o)

I love that all of Mia's brothers and sisters adore her.

Cameron is her little protector... he's always making sure the kids aren't attacking her, especially Ava.  He is always so wonderful about getting her out of bed, or finding her from one of her stair crawling escapades, and bringing her back downstairs to me.  

Madison is her entertainer.  She always sits and shows her all her fun toys, and how to make them do fun stuff.  

Isaac is her little clown.  He bounces around and makes funny faces for her when she's upset, sometimes he may get a little out of control, but he always means well.  He also likes his new found talent of being able to pick her up and move her all around the house.  

                                           best friends

                                          worst enemies
Ava is her little partner in crime, or else her worst enemy!  I think she both loves and hates Ava the most out of all the kids.  Mia gets so excited to see her in the morning, but cries and screams at her all day long when she takes her toys.  Just the other day, Mia was playing with her new Dora push along car, and of course Ava was again trying to take it from her.  Ava walked away for a minute, then came back, and everytime she so much as touched the little car, Mia would seriously start screaming bloody murder.  Over and over again.  It cracked me up! I'm so grateful to have my little Mia girl, our little Bailey Bear, in our family... she has truly brought so much laughter and happiness to each one of our lives!



       One of the many times she has fallen asleep on Daddy!

                               In the bath on her bday

Mia walking!  Her record for consecutive steps without falling down now is 26!

Hudson is Here!

January has been quite the busy month!  We were so happy to welcome little Hudson into the Jensen family, Jacob and Lauren's first baby, and the 11th Jensen grandchild!  He is so beautiful, with his soft blonde hair, cute little nose, and his Jacob-esque plump lips.  I really enjoyed seeing him and remembering that my kids were once that small!  (Except Cam and Mia, they were over 7 lbs).  I know that Lauren and Jacob are going to be such great parents... they've been wanting a little one for so long, and it just seemed so natural to see them with their sweet little bundle of joy.

Hudson Charles Jensen, 6 lbs 6 oz, 20", born January 6th, 2009

Congratulations, Bryant and Taryn!

Can I say how happy I am that all my siblings are now married?  Yay!  No more receptions to worry about!  ;o)  Actually, I really am happy that all my brothers are able to experience what Chris and I have had for the last 10 years!  

Bryant and I are the closest in age of all of our siblings, he is 16 months younger, and we were pretty close growing up- especially in high school, we had a lot of the same friends.  So it has been strange that his life has been so different than mine the last 10 years!  He's been single and had lots of adventures around the world, including his latest, living in Mexico for about a year, to study their educational system.  He is know finishing up his doctorate in child/educational psychology...(?)  Yay for Bryant!  I am happy he is almost done with his thesis, but even more happy that he has found Taryn and they are both so happy! 

Bryant is really lucky to have Taryn.  I just have to say she has been very patient. ;)  I love that she really understands and loves Bryant... even with all his little bachelor quirks he has acquired over the years!  She is also a very kind person and a great listener.  They truly compliment each other in so many ways, and I know they will be so happy, as I have seen this last year!  We love you Bryant and Taryn, and we are so happy you are now part of our family, Taryn!

Isaac Garrett Sly

Isaac had his birthday on December 18th, but I'm super behind on blogging... so I'm finally getting to writing about him!  

Isaac was our 3rd baby due on Jan 3rd, but he was just too anxious to come for Christmas, and so he came exactly a week before! 

 

December is such a crazy time of the year, so we usually try to do something for Isaac's birthday at the beginning of the month so it doesn't get skipped.  Well this year, it got skipped.  I actually gave Isaac the option of whether he wanted to have a small party before Christmas, or a big one after.  What kid wouldn't pick the big party?  So I guess I kinda tricked him into putting off his party.  Since then he has asked me no less than a dozen times when his party will be.  Today he asked me if he will have to wait until 2010 to have it. ;)  Poor kid.  



Always has a face for the camera!

I always tell Isaac that he is my favorite kid.  Not ever any of the others.  Now don't get me wrong, I don't have a favorite.  But for some reason, I just feel like Isaac needs to hear that.  Like he needs to know he has that special bond with me.  I guess its just a middle child thing, like I'm always worried that he's not getting enough of my love and attention.  It could also be that I feel so guilty for always getting upset at him since 9 times out of 10 if theres a mess, or something's broken, Isaac did it.  But on the flip side, Isaac is so great!  He is my sweet tenderhearted boy, who always worries so much about what I think or that I am going to be mad at him.  He is deceptively very contemplative.. even though he's always on the go, bouncing off the walls, he finds time to really think deeply about things... as shown by the sweet profound questions he asks.   He is a very good student in school.  His kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Altstock, absolutely adores Isaac.  She always tells me how helpful he is, and well behaved and smart he is as well!  I have to admit, I worried that Isaac might have a hard time sitting still through kindergarten... but his teacher seemed confused when I even mentioned his "bounciness."  I am so happy that he loves to learn and that he has such a wonderful teacher that knows how to peak his interest!  

I've come to realize the essence of Isaac is FAST!  He moves fast, he thinks fast, he learns fast, heck he even came into this world fast!  I often have to remind him to slow down and do "quality work" as he says his teacher would say.  I am grateful to have Isaac in our home, he's my little buddy, my tender hearted boy, and of course my little ball of energy!! 

                                  Before there were 5

                      Uncle Brandon and Isaac... age 2

                     One of my faves... Christmas 2007

                                 Always Daddy's boy

                         Hangin with the bro and the cuz

Did I mention he and Maddy are the same height? This and the fact that they are both red heads- hence, short tempered, doesn't help their constant love hate relationship :)

                             Cool Isaac with little Ava

                 Isaac and his best buddy (and cousin) Tyler

         Awww... kissing their other cousin Emily, on her bday

                                             Mr. Cool


          One of Isaac's favorite pastimes... quading with Cam


                              His other fave... XBox 360!

Sad news for my friend the blog

No, I haven't posted much lately... cuz I've been so sad.  And I'm finally admitting it.  I lost my camera.  I haven't seen it since Thanksgiving, and I checked with Jen and Jenn and its not at either place.  I kept thinking I would find it but, alas, it hasn't shown up like most things do that I lose.  (Car keys, wallets, kids, you know).  Chris did buy me a new fancy camera for Christmas but it was totally retarded (or else we just were) so we took it back.. so back to no camera.  So I can't post any pics, and we all know how boring blogs without pics are.  Plus I was so hoping to put up the cute Christmas pics we took... but now I just have a memory card and have yet to figure out how to actually get the pics on my computer.  I'm kinda lazy that way.  So just know I'm still here, I'm just a pictureless loser right now.  I'll keep y'all posted. :o)