Gloria Shaniqua Weaver

We can't wait to meet you! In just a few short weeks, you will enter our world. Meanwhile, it is your month, and this is the only picture we have of you. (And very happy to have it, I must say.)

Keep growing strong and healthy, and we'll see you soon!

Baby John, John-Johnny, Big John, John-John

November was Baby John's month. I don't know how much longer I can call him Baby John because he is growing so quickly! Not just in size, but he now sits on the floor and entertains himself for long periods of time. He has started "talking" with consonants: Da-da, Ma-ma, etc. and expects to be understood! He is more social than ever, and has a huge grin for everyone if his dad or mom is holding him. Adam has competition: John has a major crush on his mom. So very cute to see how excited he gets when Marie comes near.

As Grandpa B says: "Baby John just gets cuter by the minute!"

Harrison gets my 100th post!!!

Harrison the cute was my poster child of October.

At three and a half years old, Harrison can sing ...well, just about any song you ask him to sing. Christmas songs? Sure. Hymns? Which one? Movie songs? He's got the repertoire. He loves his little sister to distraction and thinks that pre-school is fun.

Something you need to know about Harrison: he has a best friend named Walter. Walter looks kind of like this:

except that from being loved and loved and loved by Harrison, his arms are twice as long as his body now. But no matter; they are best friends forever.

We love you Harrison and can't wait to see you in TWO weeks!!!!

Sept-emma-ber

Emma's gma date
Originally uploaded by ValerieBW

Emma at 3 1/2:
Princess of pre-school.
Senorita of the parasol.
Sweet big sister to baby John-John.
Playtime pal to big brother Spencer.
Pray-er of "grateful" prayers.
Idolized by cousin Ryan.
Lover of books.
Spunk encarnate.
Oh, how we love this Emma girl!

Overheard at our backyard swingset: (setting: Spencer's soccer team playing on the field behind our house; Grandpa Brad swinging Emma on our swingset, talking to our neighbor, Paul Gavura)

Emma: Look, there is a rainbow!

Paul: Well, actually, Emma, that is a contrail from an airplane. (Goes into explanation of a jet contrail). Can you say contrail?

Emma: (silence)

Grandpa Brad: Emma, can you say contrail? Sure you can...con - trail.

Emma: (silence)

Emma: It's a rainbow. It's an airplane rainbow.

See why we love this girl?!!?

Introducing Bridget Ellarie!

August was supposed to be Emma's month, but since I didn't hardly see her in August, it turned into the month of Bridget! (Emma will get September) Bridget Ellarie was born on 8-9-10, and we were able to see her when she was just a few hours old. She is so precious! So little and sweet, with a tiny little button nose and a beautifully shaped little mouth. She loves to be swaddled and held, which we were all very happy to do. Harrison is a very cute big brother, who frequently says, "I think she wants me to hold her." We miss her and her family so much!!! (Thanks to Aunt Kate for this beautiful picture!)

Count Von Count

AKA Ryan Samuel Pascual!

Wow, does this happy little guy love his numbers!!! On the way to a lake one hour away, he counted to 267, and stopped only because we arrived at the lake. Did I mention that he isn't four yet? He is absolutely fascinated with numbers. Recently Maddie, Daniel and Ryan stayed with us for a few days. Brad would read them a story at bedtime; Ryan would want to see the pages, not to see the pictures, but to keep track of the page numbers!

He loves all things Toy Story: Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye.

He grew to be very brave in the swimming pool. He even went down the swimming pool slide twice!

Ryan is also fascinated by and loves talking about the Holy Ghost. He can recite the first Article of Faith: "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost", and is beginning to understand his role. These days, when he's done something wrong, he'll ask his mom, "Is the Holy Ghost sad now?"

I love this little boy!!!

Daniel!!

Daniel was our June bug, but since I had camp brain in June, I'm writing his blog now. I didn't forget his month, just didn't take the time to write about him. I love how Daniel is growing up. What? Four years old next month??? How can that be?
Daniel is the MathMan; he loves to count, and seems to be able to add in his head. Emily said that one day they went to a doctor's appointment. Daniel started counting the panes of glass in the door, then suddenly knew how many panes there were, without finishing the count. Maybe he can multiply?!?
He loves matching games, and loves to sing. Ask him to sing the First Article of Faith next time you see him.
He loves loves loves the Toy Story trilogy. Be sure you don't ask to see "Toy Story 1" because he knows it's just "Toy Story". He wants to wear his Toy Story shirt every day, even if it is in the laundry.
Daniel, we love you!!!

Spencer is five!

Time to write about our boy, Spencer, since his month is almost up. Spencer is all boy, rough and tumble on the outside, and kinda like a marshmallow on the inside.

Por ejemplo, not too long ago he asked me, "Grandma, when are you going to move?"

Surprised, I answered, "I don't know. Where do you want me to move?"

His reply, "Closer to our house." Sweet boy. We live two miles away from them!

He is liking the idea of being a big brother more and more. He felt a little displaced at first, but now has it all figured out.

He REALLY wants a pet these days. I love it. He loves to ride his bike, to wrestle with his dad, to work in the yard with his grandpa. He has started a little business: a candy store in his dad's office. If you visit them, you will be offered a candy bar at the very small price of $1.

At the end of the summer, Spencer will start kindergarten. Does that give you a pang in the heart like it does me?

Maddie is our girl!

The following overheard conversation might explain Maddie at six:

Apparently the conversation had been going on for some time. I came in on it at this point:

Spencer: "Maddie, you don't know everything!"

Maddie: "Yes, I do. But how about this? I know everything, and I will share it with you."

Spencer: "Ok."

I guess that says something about Spencer too. He thinks Maddie is wonderful. We all do!

It's Brick!!!

Well, Harrison knew all the time. It's not Olympia, nor Percy, but BRICK!! (See Peter and Leslie's video. I tried to link and my Mac wasn't cooperating.) Harrison has been saying for months that he is going to have a little sister, and her name will be Brick. Yesterday he was proven correct; at least, for part of it. He is going to have a little sister, and we can call her Brick until she is born in August.

Is it you, Percy? Or are you Olympia?

We're waiting with much excitement and anticipation for this coming Tuesday, when we find out if Peter and Leslie's baby is Percy or Olympia. (My names, not theirs. Definitely not theirs). Percy/Olympia will join us in August, and we're already planning our trip!

I'll do anything to get a free gift certificate....

I have become a big fan of Queen Baby Bean (located just around the corner from my house, apparently). I think it's a web-based store, and they carry PujBaby stuff, so of course, I'm a fan!

They also have a gazillion other adorable things for kids, and I get a chance on a gift certificate if I post this, so I'm posting away!!

Snicket!

Snicket, this is your month! We love you already, and can't wait to meet you in May. You are going to wait until May, right? This is how Mommy and Daddy looked and felt when they found out that you are a cute little boy. I'd say they are pretty excited, wouldn't you? That's how we ALL feel.

Looking for the Gold

For our Resolutionary Challenge this week (Olympics week), one of our challenges is to "Find and document the gold in every day. The point would be earned for finding something "gold" in every day, whether it be a kid’s funny comment, a nice gesture...something that made you laugh + journal about it!"

I figured as long as I am journaling about it, I'll share my daily gold with y'all.

Feb. 15: Wow! What a way to start! Tonight we went to the Kennedy Center to see/hear Maris Jansons and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (said to be the greatest orchestra in the world). The sound was incredible; I'm still floating in the clouds. They played Sibelius and Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony. It reminded me why I play cello; to be part of that beautiful noise is indescribable. Of course, I was only participating as an audience member tonight, but I need to do that more often to remind me of the beauty, and just forget about the hard work for a while.

Feb. 16: The gold from today happened when I was practicing. Time disappeared and I was totally focused. Love that feeling.

Feb. 17: I teach a young man named Stephen. He is very very shy and hardly says more than a word at a time during his lesson. However, today I made him laugh multiple times and he even offered a couple of sentences of his own volition. So Golden to me!! :o)

Feb. 18: Fantastic RS meeting tonight with our ward and Leesburg Ward combined. We made hygiene kits for Haiti and some other projects for the local hospital. Lots of socializing going on while we did service. No food was served; at least I don't think so. If there was, it wasn't a big deal. Sister Beck would have been thrilled! Gold!!!

Feb. 19: Following on the Sister Beck theme, I read a talk this morning that she gave last August that was pure gold. Her words helped me realize once again and on a deeper level what a wonderful, dear husband I have.

Some words that I read today that made me laugh: (from our local paper)

Feb. 20: Today I spent golden time developing relationships. Adam, Marie, Spencer and Emma spent some time with me this morning. I talked on the phone with my sweet daughter Emily, my amazing brother, Brett, and my incredible sister-in-law, Lori. I went to an all-county orchestra concert to hear two of my students play. My dear hubby called from down south; so wonderful to hear his voice. I called my friend that is undergoing radiation and chemotherapy, and now I am going to go read Anne of Green Gables to my adorable sixteen-year-old, who loves a good bedtime story :o).

Feb. 21: Two golden lessons on agency today underscored what I have been thinking about lately, and will continue to ponder. It is finally dawning on me how huge the gift of agency is, and why we fought for it. I can't quite imagine life without agency (Satan's plan) but I'm also pretty sure that I don't come close to fully appreciating the potential that it gives us. This week I realized that every second of every day, except maybe when we are sleeping, we are making choices (exercising agency). We can trip through life without realizing this, OR we can harness our brain power and soul power to make each moment what we want it to be. This links directly to praying always; keeping a prayer in our heart. If we are consciously choosing each moment what to do in the next moment, we'd better have some guidance.

Feb. 22 Two awesome gold medal moments:

#1: Kate has been hired FULL TIME by pujbaby.com. She worked just a few short days for them before they realized how awesome she is.

#2: Brett Weaver, Brock's dad, travels a lot. He had some miles that were going to expire, and gave them to Brock and Kate so they could COME HERE at Thanksgiving. Oh yeah, Brett definitely gets a gold medal for that one!!!!

Feb 23 and 24: Last week Laura was rehearsing for the upcoming musical revue. One of the songs had a word in it that La didn't want to sing. The teacher said, "Nobody minds saying this word, do you?" La spoke up and said, "Actually, yes. I do." The teacher ranted and raved, and La felt very uncomfortable. Later several kids came up to her and said, "Thank you so much for saying something!" My golden girl.

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer true.

Sweet Harrison
Originally uploaded by ValerieBW

I'm half cur-Azy, all for the love of youuuuu.
It won't be a STY-lish marriage. I can't afford a carriage.
But you'll look sweet upon the seatbelt for twoooooooo. (He likes draw out the notes)

I want to hear this again. And again. Just like we did in the car on the way home from ...somewhere. Harrison is SO CUTE!! What a singer! He has quite a repertoire, and sings them at will during the day, and sometimes when he is saying the prayer: "We're thankful for our families can be together forever through Heavenly Father's care...etc."
It's your month, Harrison, and we love you to pieces!