10 on 10: April 2019

1. I started to feel like I was getting shin splints and then realized I'd been wearing the same running shoes for 5 years! Way too long, way too many miles. Found these on major sale and my legs felt so much better almost instantly.

2. A storm a couple nights before blew down this big, beautiful old tree right by the park. It was sad to see it all chopped up.

3. Millie's outfit was especially awesome, had to remember it.

4. Max is getting to be quite the good little reader! 

5-7. Picnic lunch in the backyard.

8. Anytime I lie down this boy joins me and wants to snuggle. Who could say no to that?!

9. First splash pad visit of the year.

10. About 5 minutes in, Millie and Harvey crashed into each other and fell. Harvey was fine but Millie had some pretty scraped up knees and feet that were really painful for a few days.

Pregnancy update

I've always thought it was so interesting to compare different pregnancies. These three pics below were all taken at 26 weeks pregnant. I think.

And this is pregnancy #4 at the same point.

29 weeks. I think.

  

Thanks to cute Millie for taking a pic. It was even her idea before we left for church haha.

Working on baby girl's blanket was so fun. The colors were SO loud at first, don't worry I toned it down later!

And 31 weeks. 

Little things April

Harvey started doing this funny leg trick on his scooter. Cracks me up every time.

Running out of room on my lap but he still finds a way to get comfortable!

The kids collected grass and put it into various containers as hay for their pretend horses. I love it when they play nicely together.

"I wike your baby, Mom!"

Millie made this sweet sign for her teacher. She loved her 1st grade teacher but her teacher wasn't there the last little bit of the year. Millie took the sign on one of the last days in hopes that she'd still get it when she came to clean out the classroom after school was out.

Trying to enjoy parks as much as we could before it got too hot.

We did a burger/chicken nugget taste test one night. We got a plain cheeseburger from McDonald's, Wendy's, Sonic, Whataburger, and Burker King. Tyler and I tasted them all blindfolded to see if we could identify which burger came from each place. The kids tested McDonald's vs Wendy's nuggets. It was pretty hard to tell (especially without toppings) but we both got 3/5 correct.

First swim of the year at Gigi and Poppy's pool!

Millie got gymnast of the week and was very proud of herself.

Whenever the big kids get asked to do something in Primary (pray, read a scripture, or give a talk) in front of everyone, we try to practice at home. Millie's birthday microphone comes in handy! It usually turns into everyone wanting to say something and it's pretty cute when Harvey gets up there.

I can't remember now if Harvey had gotten hurt or if he was sick, but he sure liked to be held, even with my big belly.

Max wasn't feeling well and took a nap,

and Harvey thought it was pretty funny and wanted to pretend to sleep.

I love these little bookworms! I'm trying to be better about reserving library books as they think of specific ones they want to read, as well as just letting them pick what they want when we're there. 

General Conference Weekend, April 2019 edition

We enjoyed a great conference weekend. The kids took notes on every talk to earn a prize from Monka, and it really kept them engaged and trying to listen. It was awesome.

Tyler mowed the lawn between sessions on Saturday and had an eager little helper.

I think it was Max who brought me this sweet bouquet.

These kids are so lucky to have a wonderful dad who leads them so well! I love this picture.

Three generations of Juergens men at the Priesthood session that night.

We went to Gigi and Poppy's house on Sunday. It rained a good part of the day.

The boys kept checking on their captive lizard (in the bin outside the door) and watching the rain.

Gigi got cute baskets and goodies for the kids, and Poppy hid some Easter eggs for them to find!

I was massaging Tyler's shoulders for a minute and Harvey must have noticed. He came up behind me and attempted to massage my neck, asking me, "Does that feel good, Mom?" 

Then it became a family massage train! Pretty funny. It was a great weekend.

Max turns 5!

Our newly minted 5-year old!

Max asked for Legos for his birthday. He was so excited to open them.

His birthday fell on a preschool day and we took in sugar cookies to his class. He chose the bunny and the white frosting and was happy with them, rough-looking as they were.

The kids get to wear this birthday hat at preschool.

He spent a lot of the rest of the day putting together Legos. He loved following the instructions.

He requested Mod Pizza for dinner and cupcakes. We had fun celebrating this sweet boy!

Max also got a baseball mitt for his birthday and has had fun playing catch in the yard with whoever is available.

Some things about Max at 5 years old:

- Max loves his routine. When he knows what is expected of him he does it without a fuss (mostly). Changing things up is not his favorite - he likes to do the same things in the same order! 

- He is a good little reader but math is his favorite. My personal favorite are his drawings and the way he is figuring out how to spell.

- Max is a great brother, in every sense of the word. He and Harvey especially like to wrestle and be rough with each other, and tease each other lots. It's pretty cute.

- He is a great eater. Sometimes when trying something new he says, "I already know I'll like it" which is a great attitude in my opinion!

- Max loves intensely. When he learns about something it is the only thing on his mind for a while. He has been through trains, cars, dinosaurs, DinoTrux, Transformers, and most recently Pokemon. His focus will take him far in life.

- He is our shy guy and more quiet in general, which makes it all the more cute when he busts out in a   cute giggle.

- Max is good at memorizing things and is loving learning the Articles of Faith this year.

We love our Maxwell! Happy birthday!!