4 Years Ago Today- Jillian Marie

4 years ago my little princess, Jillian Marie, was born. I can still remember every detail. She was 6 lb. 13 oz. 20 inches and the sweetest baby. Right after she was born she was crying and they wiped her down and she was screaming. They put her on my chest and I started talking to her. She immediately stopped crying and looked right at me. It was the most incredible feeling. Now, 4 years later, she's still my sweet baby. I am so gratful for her and love everything about her. She is hilarious, sweet, kind, affectionate, brilliant and an incredible sister.

Jillian Marie throughout the last 4 years

Jillian Marie 4 years old

Fabulous Valentine's Weekend

This Valentine's Day weekend was like a dream! We've been married for 10 1/2 years and this was the best of all Valentine's days. Bryan took off work on Friday and my sister, Sara, came and picked up the kids. She took them to my parents for the weekend and Bryan and I went off to San Francisco.


We went to dinner at a restaurant that overlooked downtown San Francisco and it was amazing. The view was awesome, the food was great and it was so fun to not have to cut up anyone else's dinner!

After dinner we went over to the Orpheum Theater to watch Wicked. It was INCREDIBLE! I can't even tell you how much I loved it. The music blew me away and there were some really hilarious parts. I highly recommend seeing it if you can. (By the way Heidi, this was much better than the last time we saw a musical in San Francisco. I didn't have to put up with a crazy old date annoying me the whole time. Then again we did get to see Phantom for free though!)

After Wicked we went to our hotel. Bryan surprised me by booking the night at my dream hotel. This place looks like a castle and I've always wanted to stay there. It was awesome! We woke up and had room service, a massage at the spa and just relaxed all day.

After the hotel we went to an early dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. The food was delicous! Then we went back home and finished off the night by chaperoning the YM/YW stake dance. That wasn't so much fun, but we laughed our heads off at the hilarious dancing and outfits. I swear it's been forever since I went to a church dance, but the kids are still the same.

**Check out my sister Sara's blog for pictures of the kids from their fun weekend away.

http://teamwatkins.blogspot.com/

Family Pictures

For Family Home Evening we talked about families. After the lesson the kids drew pictures of our family while I got the cookies ready. Bryan helped Maddie, but Caden and Jillian drew theirs by themselves. I was pretty impressed and think we might have some little artists on our hands. I especially enjoyed how dark they both made Bryan and colored his hair black. It drives Bryan crazy, but they really believe he has black hair. He tells them all the time, "My hair is not black, it's dark brown!" But they just laugh and say, "Silly Daddy!"

Caden

Jillian

Bryan and Maddie

Side story: Bryan came home from work this week and went to the bathroom to splash some water on his hair, take out his contacts and put his glasses on. It's been warm here and he was hot after driving home. He came out and Jillian said, "Daddy, you look like Harry Potter! You both have black hair and glasses!" I laughed so hard and Bryan just glared at her. It was pretty hilarious.

The Kids- in one picture

I know I haven't blogged in a while, but really there's been nothing to say. Tonight I was thinking about blogging and what I might say and walked into the family room and found the kids like this. This picture pretty much sums up our kids right now.

Madelyn is obsessed with books, Backyardigans and being naked. She is constantly trying to get me to read to her and while I love doing it, after about 10 books I need a break. She loves to watch tv and knows all the Backyardigans names. She also loves to take off her clothes. I can't tell you how many times I turn around and she's naked. I even pick her up from her naps and most the time her shirt is off. If it wasn't January this probably wouldn't be much of a problem.

Caden loves Madelyn more than anything in the world and is always willing to give in when she asks him to read to her. It's really sweet to see how much he adores Maddie. They have a very special bond and I swear she has him wrapped around her little finger. He will do anything for her.

Jillian is always in her own little world doing the funniest things for no apparent reason. This picture was taken at about 7:00 pm and it was pitch dark outside. She found Caden's old sunglasses and wore them all night. She kept having to lift them up so see things better, but then would put them back down over her eyes. She is the funniest person in the world.

**Funny story: This afternoon I was running on the eliptical while Maddie was asleep and Jillian was watching tv. I came out and Jillian said, "Mom, when will you paint my toe nails with the pink sparkly heart nail polish?" I said, "I can do it now if you'd like. Let me go get it." She smiles evily and stands up. "Look Mom it's right here. It fell in my pocket." I say, "How did it fall in your pocket?" The nail polish sits on the top shelf of the bookshelf in the office. I put it there to keep her away from it. She says, "I was in the office getting a book and it fell off the shelf and landed in my pocket." She's still smiling with her evil grin and I just started cracking up.