Friday, June 22, 2012

End of the school year stuff


Little miss Tayter Tot getting bigger every day.


To start off the end of the school year and beginning of summer Dad had a camp out. The kids were so excited. Since #1 sleeps walks every night we knew it would not be the best idea to sleep on the grass so they slept on the balcony. To our surprise both kids slept out all night.


#2 Loved making S'mores and drinking hot chocolate. 

#3 loved watching the movie.



We did an early session of swim lesson but by the end of the week #2 was a...not perfect but better swimmer.


#1 enjoyed arts and science day at school. She loved Mr. Valentines nature class which was full of exotic animals like kangaroos and the sticky bug below.



#3 was blessed in the LDS church and we were so lucky to have my in laws fly in from Utah to spend a few days with us. We took them on a day trip to Santa Barbara and stopped at a local fruit stand in Camarillo which they had never done before.
#2 got to enjoy Grandma and Grandpa all to himself while #1 had a birthday party to attend. We enjoyed lunch at CPK and walked downtown.

We also took them to yogurtland. They had never eaten at a frozen yogurt store so this was a special treat.



#3 Blessing Day
June 3, 2012




                                                                 Great Grandma.






Schools out for Summer!!!

We enjoyed our very busy last day of school with a class party. We will miss her 1st grade teacher as she had a fantastic year!

Grandma and Grandpa also got to attend #2's last class party.

First day of summer


I told the kids to go outside and play and after an hour of not hearing from them I checked to see what mischief was going on. I was right with mischief...

They had jumped in the pool fully clothed and were having a water fight with the hose. I loved watching them play in the sun and enjoy that they had a summer break.
I think #2 was thrilled to have his sister home to play with and not be bored by his mom.

They washed and sorted rocks.


It was a bitter sweet moment to look at the full backpack of hard work this last year. I was so proud of their accomplishments and growth and so proud to see both be strong and have a very successful year in many ways. I was also sad because I knew it meant another year had quickly come and gone and we would soon be moving on to 2nd grade and last year of pre-school. I know my sweet babies are growing up so fast and I will miss the crazy, hectic, chaos days of kids but will embrace them while they are here for me to treasure.

Friday, June 1, 2012

10 things


10 Things about #2 at age 4

1.  He is my snuggle bug.  He will be in the middle of a TV show or playing toys and stop to come say he loves us and give us a gentle hug. He will give you adorable sweet kisses on your leg or face and barley touches you when he does it. He will lie on your lap, climb into bed and stroke your hair and face and just smile.

2.  He lives in his own imagination world. He pretty much has a Broadway play of Pirates of the Caribbean in his head and acts out every scene with his imaginext figures accompanied with every part and piece. When asked what he is doing he will tell you the whole movie and has everything figured out down to the last detail. He loves to line up his cars and people and have things in order.

3.  He looks up to his big sister tremendously. He watches her every move and waits for her to come home from school, asking every 15 minutes how much longer till DD gets home. Once we pick her up he right away and anxiously asks if she will play with him. He will cry if she says no and will continue to bug her until she caves. He will happily do anything to play with her, which includes doing what she wants of Barbie’s, Polly pockets, house, restaurant, and crafts.

4.  He literally has his eyes half closed once we say our nightly prayers to what he calls his Heavenly Flower. He is almost crashed when we sat Amen. He is our early bird and wakes up as early as 6:00am bright eyed and bushy tailed as he quietly walks into our room. Once he wakes me up he tells me he wants my phone and quietly turns the volume all the way down so he wont wake anyone. He goes back to his bed to play on the phone until 7. He has a rule of no getting out of his bed until he sees number 7 on the clock. He then races down and wakes me again to say MOM, It’s number semen (seven). 

5.  He loves to graze like a cow. He will eat snacks and bites of food all day if I would let him. I purposely give him very small portions knowing he will never finish the 2 small spoonfuls of eggs. He loves watermelon, cantaloupe, eggs and chocolate chips. He hates French fries and will not eat them even with dip. He always tells me NO LETTUCE even if what we are eating is something you would not have lettuce on. He will always tell me he wants to eat a strawberry but then he spits it out. He loves ice cream.

6.  He HATES taking showers. I think he has only taken 1 in his 4 years. He hates water on his face and is slowly learning to enjoy the pool. He has been very timid of the pool and scared to swim unless we are right alongside him in the water. He doesn’t even want me to watch in a chair on the side, It can only be right next to him.

7.  Although he is very quite and expressionless he has a LOT of thoughts in his little head. He takes a lot in and really observes and remembers a lot. He can get away with murder with his twinkle in his eye and constant smile. He is horrible at being sneaky and as I am watching him he will tell me he didn’t color on the table and then smile. We have the hardest time getting mad at him since he has tender heart. He is not a sissy by any means and will hold his tears in like a true boy, rub his eyes with his wrist and tell you he is fine. He never wants to hurt someone’s feelings, other than his big sister. If you happen to do something that makes him feel bad and you realize it he will make up a story and and put the blame on  someone else like his sister so he doesn’t make you feel bad.

8.  Everything is on his own time.  You cannot entice him with prizes, rewards, candy, etc.  He is willing to throw his most prized possessions away if he does not want to do something. (Which makes telling him “Mom will throw away your toys if you don’t pick them up” almost impossible.) He is his own person, and does not need to be the center of attention. Most of the time this comes across as being shy, reserved, or not interested.  But the he is quite the exact opposite.  He loves quality time talking with people individually, especially if he is in big crowds. He amazes us when he decides that to do things like finally dribbling the soccer ball (after trying to get him to do so for the last year), as if he has played for years.

9.  He is a GREAT big brother.  We were a little uncertain how he would handle a new sibling taking up his mother’s time. He loves him Mom and she sings him their special song from Toy Story.  However, true to his character, he has fully embraced his role as a big brother. You’ll catch him out of the corner of your eye gently leaning over to kiss her on the forehead, or see him take the initiative to put her binky in when she is crying...all on his own. He strokes his little sister’s hair and says I love you Tates.

10.  He is funny when it comes to church and the gospel. He is not very interested in going to primary and tends to get bored as he tells us. If there is 1 big thing we have learned is he takes a lot more in than he lets on. We were told by the leaders in primary that they were teaching about the 12 apostles. They had played a memory game of all their names. When it came time for kids to remember them no one knew the apostle Boyd K. Packer. In true style when literally NO ONE could guess he quietly raised his hand. When called he softy said BOYD K PACKER as clear as day. It was hard to believe he really knew that but when it happened again the following Sunday Quinton L. Cook Everyone was in awe. He often tells me that Jesus will come to live with us again on earth and we will one day die and live with him in heaven. He will tell me that Heavenly Father is in his heart and ask me to tell him about Jesus.



He is our sweet boy and we love him so much. He is a very unique and special person and is loved by everyone. We look forward to the following year with him before he heads off to Kindergarten. We realize our time is too short with our children and are enjoying every precious memory he gives us as we feel it is a great gift and blessing to be his parents and family.