What's your favorite part about being a parent?

I loved reading all the "least favorite parenting jobs!" I could relate to them all! But now I thought it might be fun to tell our favorite part of being a parent. Mine would have to be in those silly moments when you don't have to be a "mom" but can just have fun with your kids. I love when we can all play and laugh together, and nobody cries, fights, or whines. (It's a rare occurrence!) I also love any sort of spontaneous "I love you" from the kids. Halle used to tell me all the time that I was the "best mom in the whole wide world." SO SWEET. And the other day at bedtime Josh came charging down the hall as fast as his little legs could carry him, threw his arms around my neck and said, "Love you mom." Moments like that make all the other stuff worth it.
So what's your favorite part of being a parent?

Per a Previous Post

The joys of having a sister obsessed with Band aids.

Another Trip to Happy Valley

Thanks to the ever awesome website airfarewatchdog.com we scored some way cheap tickets to Utah. We got to meet baby Jack and celebrate Alan's 60th birthday. Funny story--Josh has a bear that he takes EVERYWHERE! We went to the hospital to eat lunch at the Pink Shop with my Dad, and of course Mr. Bear had to come. (Mr. Bear even ordered a milkshake!) Well, it was time to leave and Mr. Bear was nowhere to be found. I'm not sure who was more devastated, me or Josh. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Pink Shop, it is also the hospital gift shop. So I am searching through all the gifts and millions of stuffed animals. I come to the teddy bear display, and who do I see sitting proudly amidst all the other bears? That's right, our Mr. Bear. I guess someone saw him on the floor and figured he belonged with all the other bears--although he is so very filthy that I can't imagine anyone mistaking him for a new toy!


Sunday we celebrated Alan's bday with a very yummy dinner, and of course, Cars decorations. The kids were especially fond of the party hats and the balloons. There was Chaos everywhere, and everyone had a great time.




We went Bowling at good old Jack and Jill's with the Cornell clan. As it did require exerting a certain amount of physical energy, Halle hated it. Along those same lines, Josh LOVED it. He had the best time trying to carry his own ball and then pushing it down the kiddy ramp. Josh must be destined to be a great bowler because his score tied Landon's, and Landon was on the bowling team in HS!




We also got to attend the Open House for the Draper Temple with Grandma and Grandpa Banks. It was fun to take the kids (Well, it was fun to take Halle, Josh we could have left home). Halle especially loved the Brides room. She loved spinning in front of the full length mirror. We got to talk a lot about the importance of temples and you could see that it really hit home with Halle. On the other hand, every time we drove past the Mt. Timp Temple Josh would say, "There's the Temple! We can't climb on it."


Other fun events included going to breakfast at IHOP, playing for hours in the hot tub, playing Go Fish about a million times, Halle having a sleepover with Grandma Banks, and Halle making everyone come to her room and listen to Scripture Scouts (anyone else remember these from when they were a kid??)

conversations with Halle

This was the conversation we had on the drive home from church today:

Halle: Mom, I'm excited to go to Utah.
Me: Me too.
Halle: Do you think Grandma has any bandaids at her house?
Me: I'm sure she does.
Halle: What kind do you think she has? Princess, Dora, Barbie....
Me: Probably just the plain old brown kind
Halle: HUGE HUGE Sigh. Quiet for the rest of the ride home.

What's your least favorite parenting job?

For me, it's a toss up between bedtime, and bathtime, although if I had to pick one, I'd go with the bath. For some reason I just HATE giving the kids bath--I always end up frustrated, and they usually end up crying. Luckily Dad usually takes care of both bath and bedtime at our house. (Thank Heavens!)

So, my question to you is, Do you have a parenting job that you'd gladly give up? Share here!

Introducing to you...

Jack Michael Bird. Isn't he so cute? My little sister Natalie had her 1st baby on Jan 22nd. ( Which is also Alan's bday!) He was a day late, and we were all anxious for him to get here! Nat says he is a great baby, he doesn't really cry, he just sort of yelps. We were looking at pics my Dad sent after he was born and Josh couldn't get enough. All day he kept saying, "Baby Jack come play with us? Baby Jack have lunch with us?" We are so excited to have a Cornell Cousin and can't wait to meet him!


There was also another addition to the family earlier in the week--this is Chloe, and she may rival the baby in sheer cuteness. Carlie and Danny got a little puppy and she weighs 1.2 lbs.

1/2 way there!

We had our 20 week ultrasound this week and we are very happy to report that we have a healthy baby BOY! Halle was a little disappointed--she asked the ultrasound tech to "check again," but she is coming to terms. I think she rather likes that she will be the only daughter in the house--that's more time with mom to do girly things! Rusty says he knew it was a boy all along. We feel very blessed that the baby looks healthy, and can't wait to meet him! 140 days to go!

Colorado Christmas (with a little Utah thrown in!)

We spent our first Christmas at home this year. It was so nice not to have to pack up all the presents, and the kids loved having the day just to relax and play with their toys. Santa brought Halle an Easy Bake Oven, and Josh a Geo Tracks Airplane. On Christmas Eve we had a yummy dinner with the Yates Family, played Christmas Bingo, and attempted to act out the nativity.
On the 26th we packed up for our drive to Utah. The weather in Wyoming was a little hairy, but we made it safe and sound. The kids had a blast spending time with the Grandmas and Grandpas and and Aunts and Uncles. Halle even told Michael that he was her favorite Aunt. We all got a kick out of that.
All 8 of the Banks cousins got to spend time together and we had a rockin New Year's Eve. Things get a little crazy with 8 kids 5 and under running around, but all the kids love to play together. And we finally got to meet Cory and Lindsey's baby, cute little Cohen--he is so adorable!
On our drive home we decided to split the trip and spend the night in Rawlins, WY. Sleeping in one room with our whole family is quite the adventure. Josh refused to get in the port-a-crib, so he slept with Rusty and I slept with Halle. Josh fell off the bed in the middle of the night, and I swear he didn't even wake up. Rusty hurried and picked him up, he whined for 2 seconds, then was fast asleep again. And Halle grinds her teeth SO BAD. It sounds like she is chewing boulders. I am surprised that she has any teeth left at all. So, no one really got a great night's sleep. But the kids had fun the next morning in the swimming pool (or more accurately, the hot tub) and then they slept almost all the way home. Thanks to both our families for a fun filled trip!

Parade of Lights

We made the annual trek down to Denver on Saturday to see the Parade of Lights. We were going to meet Brian and Sara and fam for dinner, but of course we got stuck in nasty traffic. Seriously, whenever RUSTY goes to Denver it is a nightmare. Any time I've ever gone by myself or with friends I never have any trouble. But put him behind the wheel and you are sure to get stuck in a traffic jam. So we got there right as the parade was about to start only to find that the bagel shop we were going to eat at was all sold out of bagels. They had other bread, but it just wasn't the same. Despite the rough start the parade itself was great! The weather was perfect--it was warm enough that we didn't need hats or gloves, which made things so much more enjoyable. After the parade was over we walked to our car, which was on the 5th level of the parking garage, only to find that cars were backed up all the way to us trying to get out. After waiting for 20 min we decided to call it quits and go get some hot chocolate. We found a Starbucks at the 16th street mall and sipped our hot chocolate while we watched all the Denver craziness go by. We went back to the car an hour later, and luckily things were cleared out. Next year I'm driving.....