Too Cute at Two Months

On one of our walls at home we have pictures of the "2 monthers". Newborns change so much in 2 months! It seems to me that their personalities start to come through around this time. They are too cute. Here are pictures of the first four. Can you tell who is who?

And finally for the caboose...

My amazingly talented sister in law, Amanda, took this picture of Lydia. She has been busy with her new little sweetie, Gwen, and getting the pictures hasn't really been a priority for me. But it is so fun to have them now! Thank you, thank you Amanda. It is the perfect addition to our wall! I can't wait to frame it (it is taped to the wall until I can make myself venture out to a specialty store for a matte!)

I couldn't resist adding a few more of Lydia at 2 months...

Okay, enough is enough isn't it? I don't blame her!

I had some cute outfits picked out for Lydia, but she was only happy when I took the clothes off. Go figure. She still didn't last very long, but Amanda somehow managed to get the perfect shot for our wall.

Heroes

It may seem like I blog a lot about Tyler. He is so fun to write about, and I really want to remember his great personality as a toddler.

Tyler has a hero (in addition to Grampa Max and Daddy). His hero is Chief Captain Moroni. He loves to talk about Capt. Moroni, pretend he is Capt. Moroni, and pray for Capt. Moroni. Almost without fail Tyler will thank Heavenly Father for Jesus and Captain Moroni in his prayers. It is very cute.

I have a sneaky suspicion that he adores Moroni because he was a great war hero which translates to: he got to fight with a cool sword and was still a good guy. I try to emphasize that Moroni didn't want to fight. He fought only to protect his family, his freedom, and his right to worship God. Somehow I don't think he gets that yet. I love that he has such a great hero anyhow!

One day I thought Tyler would get a kick out of seeing himself as Capt. Moroni. So using my basic and somewhat embarrassing skills in photo shop, this is what I came up with:
We call this guy Captain Tyroni. Tyler loved the modified picture!

It is great to have heroes to look up to and try to be like. I feel like I am so blessed to be surrounded by heroes that I want to emulate!

Wall of Thanks

Last week we had our family lesson on all of the things we are thankful for. Thanksgiving season always provides a great opportunity to reflect on our blessings. A good friend says that we need to give Thanksgiving it's due! So true! We have much to be thankful for.
We decided this year to create a Wall of Thanks to help us remember many of our blessings.
We made a poster and stuck it on the wall. Then, each person got a pad of sticky notes. They have been writing the things they are thankful for on the note pad and sticking it to the wall.


I was impressed with all of there thoughtful notes on the wall.
Here some of the things they said:
clothes
brothers
shoes
seasons
tigers
books
moonlight
Cassie (grandpa's dog that recently passed away)
stars
friends
mom
Heavenly Father
my self
Italian food (okay, that was mine!)
scriptures
Michael Jordan
a car
dinosaurs
a bed
strawberries
eyes
a handful of thanks for all things Star Wars

I won't write all of them. It is fun to see how they write and try to translate kindergarten spelling! We will keep working on it and see if we can't fill the whole wall and maybe start another. It really shouldn't be that difficult...

Little Lydi

This Little Lady is so much fun. I know it is said so many times, and I should avoid the phrase altogether, but truly she is growing up so fast!!! Lydia is 5 1/2 months and is a wiggle worm to the extreme. It makes me laugh how she is constantly lunging to get at whatever is closest. She can't sit still on my lap for long. Then when I stand up, she is content looking around and around. She doesn't want to miss anything! She will twist in my arms until I turn her around, then she keeps twisting until I turn her again, until she is facing the way she originally was facing!

She sticks out her tongue. ALL the time. I love it! She is so slobbery and slimy and slippery. She blows on my neck and arms and hands, making raspberries and cooing.

This morning I was trying to get her dressed and she kept rolling over, trying to get away, trying to reach for the nearest thing she could grab and chew.

Yesterday I went jogging with my friend and we took our babies. I discovered that Lydia really likes jogging! She sat so quietly and so still. She even slept! When she was awake, she was so content! Good thing too because I am planning on doing a lot more running : ) I am glad she can keep me company.

I know that I say having children is challenging, exhausting, etc. Well, it is true! But, I love it and I love my little ones. How lucky am I?

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CA & MT

Last weekend Travis took TJ to California to celebrate reaching his goal of reading the Book of Mormon in less than 45 days. TJ has been asking to go back to Medieval Times (dinner & show) ever since we went back in '05. So we thought this was the perfect trip for the two of them.

It was a really quick trip. They left Friday early and had to be back early evening on Sat. But, they had a great time. They went to the beach, which TJ couldn't get enough of. There is something about chasing birds and watching them flap away in terror that really appeals to 9 year old boys! They enjoyed a nice hotel (thank you Priceline!). They went to Medieval Times and cheered on the yellow knight during their finger licking chicken dinner. TJ bought a cool light up sword (I think this was the real reason he wanted to go to medieval times!!). They had front row seats which, I am sure was really exciting. Travis really liked the horses and show. They also had fun on the drive talking and listening to Harry Potter

I love that the two of them got to do this together. We try to have some one on one with the kids, but it is challenging when you have 5 little ones. I am sure TJ will remember this time with his dad for years to come.

*just a side note: I am proud of Travis for taking pictures!!! Thank you : )

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Funny or Not?

So, is it funny to make your baby cry? Probably not, but I couldn't help laughing!

This was taken a month ago or so. It was really bothering Natalie that we found Lydia so funny when she did the "lip thing". Mean ol' dad and mom!

*It is interesting that Lydia's Dad is her favorite person. She doesn't smile a lot, but always has one for Dad! It is a good thing that he doesn't make a habit of scaring her or she might decide Mom is her favorite!

Halloween Highlights

This month seemed to fly by. And despite feeling very exhausted, we still did some fun things for one of my funnest holidays: Halloween!



One night, after our Family Home Evening lesson we did a fun mummy activity. Tyler, Natalie, and Elaina were our models as we wrapped them each in a role of toilet paper. After we mummified the kids, we went next door to scare our neighbors (Grandma & Grandpa)!

Mrs. Sandy asked Tyler if he wanted to come to her preschool's Halloween party. He isn't in preschool yet but he said he wanted to go. Tyler is pretty shy when he is in a big group so I was surprised he wanted to do it. I had to laugh when they broke the pinata and he retrieved 2 pieces of candy (after I coaxed and prodded!). He loved the bounce house and going fishing. He even caught a Superman toy!!

The last day of school before Halloween, the kids had a spooky meal in their lunch boxes. Thanks to the kids for helping make our ghoulish delights and to many of the fun ideas on the internet, we ended up with mummy dogs, bread stick bones, jello worms, and witch finger cookies.

Halloween night we went to the church for a hot dog and chili dinner and the annual trunk or treat. We were feeling a little wicked this year and all the kids went as villains. TJ was Hades, from Hercules. Natalie was the evil queen from Snow White. Elaina was Cruela DeVille from 101 Dalmations. Tyler was Captain Hook and Lydia was the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. I made all of the costumes except Hook's, which we bought. Mom helped me with the finishing touches. By the time I got to Travis and my costumes, I was out of time and energy. No Maleficent and Jafar! We had to settle with a Mime and a Referee.

*Note to self: next year, plan more than one hour to get a pot of chili and 5 kids ready for Halloween!