11 Months

I love noon on Wednesdays and Thursdays. It is my one-hour of peace while everyone's schedule's are over-lapping and I have quiet. Brenner is asleep. Porter just left for preschool. Lexi is on the bus on the way home from Kindergarten. And Kyler is at school. My exercising is done, my house is picked-up (for the moment), so for a few minutes I have some time to myself and I'm soaking in the peacefulness and loving it. (Although I still need to shower!)

Okay, 11 out of 12 of these bear photos already. My baby is growing up. He is 11 months today. I'm going to make a photo book for his first year next month after he turns 1. I'm excited because it will be so easy just to take these monthly posts and stick them all together. Wish I had that for my other kids. Blogging is nice for things like that.Love that smile with those cute funny front teeth.He loves to stand. Always.
A few other of Brenner's favorite things (besides bananas, zerberts on his belly, and climbing the stairs)...

Toilet Paper.... what baby doesn't love toilet paper? Brenner loves to eat it. He's always chomping on something he's found on the floor (yuck, I know, poor 4th child) and it's usually a wad of toilet paper he's pulled off the roll)...

Unloading the dishwasher...I had to put this picture in of his froofy-hair. I love those baby curls and can't bear the thoughts of cutting them off. Dave is fearful he's going to have a baby mullet but I think it's cute. (I don't think mullets are cute, I just love those soft baby curls.)

He loves walking along the walls from room to room. Here he is walking along the kitchen cabinets and then he got to the fridge, but can't get it open. He's smashed his fingers a few times in the cabinets or drawers and it's always so sad. He's getting brave and will let go every now and then to balance on two feet. He even took his first step the other day. It's not going to be long before he's toddling around the house.

Finishing off someone's muffin, paper and all. Poor baby. The other kids love giving him food. He loves it and will eat anything and everything they give him. And then mean mom usually takes it away. Love you Mr. B!

New Perspective on Losing Teeth and Kids Growing Up...

Kyler lost his top tooth last night. It was hanging on by a small thread so he had me tie dental floss to it and he gently wiggled it all the while we read stories before bed. He didn't quite dare tie the other end of the dental floss to a door, although he considered it for a minute. He went in the bathroom to look at it and we all followed him in and gathered around. He tugged it a little and it popped right out! We were all so excited. Then Lexi and Porter started wiggling all their teeth like crazy to see if any were loose yet. Oh the excitement.

Kyler mentioned that the tooth fairy wouldn't come last night because it was Sunday and she doesn't work on Sundays. So I guess she'll make her visit tonight. I thought it was cute that he thought of that. And I was glad to be given a head's up about her work schedule!

Here comes the days of those funny big top teeth. Don't they always look so huge when they first come in on those poor 6 and 7 year olds? I can't believe I have kids old enough to have those big permaneant top teeth. Each time Kyler loses a tooth (this is #3) it makes me a little sentimental, I guess because it was such a big milestone when those cute baby teeth first came in. Sigh... I'm such a big boob about these things... I guess I should just embrace the fact that my kids are growing up because they really have been fun at every age, so who's to say it won't just keep getting better? That's going to be my new attitude. No more crying about time passing, I'm just going to live each moment to the fullest and keep enjoying being their mother each and every day. So I'm squaring up my shoulders. Permanent teeth? No big deal. Bring it on!

Stairs

Brenner loves stairs. He has gotten really good at cruising both up and down. He speeds up and then if we turn him backwards at the top he can go back down all by himself. He loves it, loves the challenge and loves feeling so big. My cute boy. So proud! What a big boy!

Oh, and Brenner loves to play with the phone. He got a hold of it the other day and a few minutes later it rang so I answered and it. It was the police dispatch because he had called 911. Ooops!

Kindergarten Registration

Yesterday was Porter's registration for Kindergarten. Two years ago I took Kyler and was in tears that my first baby was growing up. I thought it might be easier when I took Lexi last year because I had already been through it once but it still made a lump in my throat. And now here it is Porter's turn. It pulls just as much on my heartstrings to have my third child following the other two and growing up too fast. He wanted to go to Burger King afterward so we went, just the two of us. I love one-on-one's with my kids. It's easier to see into their hearts when it's just the two of us. I love you Porter!

Happy Un-Birthday!

Because Kyler's birthday is in the summer he got to celebrate his UN-birthday a few days ago at school. He decided he wanted donuts and chocolate milk so I went over after recess and took them to his class. He got to wear a birthday crown, they sang "Happy Un-Birthday Cha-cha-cha" and then he got to take the first bite and they all cheered. It was very cute! He has the best teacher, I just love her and would love all my kids to have her for 1st grade.

Strawberries

Love those chubby fingers, love that gap-toothed smile! Hooray for strawberries. Hooray for my yummy baby who's starting to look not so much like a baby and more and more like a little boy...

Porter

This poor child! Where is his mother? He had this crazy rooster tail all day today and when Lexi got home from school she couldn't believe he still had his 'chicken hair.' We laughed and laughed because she was trying to remember what it was called. All day we laughed about his rooster tail being called chicken hair. That name might just stick! Poor Porter has had a rough time of it the last few days. Yesterday he got stung by a bee on his thumb and it swelled up about twice it's normal size. Cold mud made it feel a little better. Then tonight he took a slammin' spill off his bike. He is a kamakazi rider and goes 90 mph, we wince as we watch him speed down the driveway with the front tire wobbling every which way (now that he's riding with no training wheels). But will he listen to us telling him to slow down? Hopefully now he will! His nose, lip and chin were bleeding pretty good and his poor little heart was broken that he got hurt. Poor little Porter. Love you buddy!

Update: Tuesday morning he got a haircut. And here is a picture of his battle wounds. It doesn't show the 5 holes in his lip where his teeth punctured through. But still such a cute smile!

Earth Day

Lexi's kindergarten celebrated Earth Day last Friday. Porter, Brenner and I got to go with them as they walked from the school to the park picking up trash. They were so funny because they got so excited to find a little piece of garbage to put in their bags. A few of us moms laughed because it seemed just as fun for them as the Easter Egg hunts of last week! Then they got to play at the park and eat hot dogs at 10:00 in the morning. Fun times!

Lexi, her friend Kennedi, and Porter on their trash hunt. We are thankful for our Earth!

Ahoy!

Just had to share what CONSUMED my life over the weekend. A sweet friend asked for my help making a Pirate Bulletin board for our sons' 1st grade classroom. I seriously ate, drank and slept pirates for a few days! Isn't it funny what stresses us out? I love doing things like this, I think my worry came in getting what was in my head onto paper and having it turn out like I wanted it to, and trying to accomplish it in the middle of 4 kids. I stayed up late Monday night and worked on it while my family was sleeping and then hung it up after school on Tuesday. It was a huge relief to me to have it done. The purpose of it is to help encourage the kids to read. Each time they read a book and take a test they get points to move along the treasure map. Kyler's teacher printed out a picture of each child's face and then I printed out pirate hats for each of them and their faces will move toward the buried treasure. (Fabulous idea Amber!) I can't wait to see it with all their cute faces on it!
Here it is in Kyler's classroom. He said his class loved it! Hooray! Anchors away me hearties!

Easter 2009

We had a nice Easter weekend complete with lots of sunshine. I had to include this picture because I'm pretty sure it's the last year I will be able to get my older kids to put on these bunny ears. Brenner wouldn't leave his on which was no surprise, but he looked cute for the 2 seconds he had them on.

We colored eggs...


We made a flower Peeps cake... (thanks Holly for another fun recipe)











On Saturday the kids met the Easter Bunny... (they said they were pretty sure this was not the real Easter Bunny because his mouth didn't move. Smart kids.)
We had lunch with Dave's family before the Easter Egg Hunt...


Searching high and low for Easter Eggs at Grandma's house...











Checking out all the candy... All day it seemed Brenner's mouth was full of candy he swiped out of other kids' baskets or found laying on the ground. I'm pretty sure he thought this was the best day ever!
How many kids can fit on one teeter-totter? I love this teeter-totter Dave's dad made years ago. The kids had such a blast playing on it and running around outside all afternoon with their cousins. Hooray for Spring! The kids are so jealous that Grandma and Grandpa's yard has no snow. Our whole yard is still covered.

Okay, some of you have wondered why I never have pictures of my dear wonderful husband on my blog. I'll show you why. (He is going to kill me.) Every time the camera is pointed his way he makes this face. It cracks us all up. But, my beloved eternal companion, if you want normal pictures of your handsome face on this blog you better flash me your gorgeous smile when I'm taking pictures! Love you.

On Easter morning the kids woke up to yarn zig-zagging around the house leading to a clue to where their Easter baskets were hiding. Then they hunted for eggs full of quarters and even some dollar bills. They each got a card game in their baskets that we played before church, like "Nephi's Courage' and 'Noah's Ark Match.' After breakfast I had one more special egg for them. They opened their special eggs to find that they were empty. We talked about the empty tomb and what that meant on the first Easter morning, that because Jesus was resurrected we will be too and what a wonderful gift that is. We didn't get the kids new Easter clothes this year but I still think they look nice all ready for church.
Brenner figured out that there was always something good inside those plastic eggs! That made him smile.




After church my parents and my grandma came for Easter dinner. It was so nice to have them here and after we ate the kids ran outside to show off their tricks on the trampoline.

Things were a little more simple this year and I was worried the kids might be sad if their Easter baskets weren't as full as other years, or if they didn't have new Easter clothes, but they didn't even notice. They were thrilled anyway. It makes me tear up to think about it. I'm so thankful for their hearts and that they were just as happy as any other year. What is truly important is these sweet little people in my life, not all the things. I always get so stressed out trying to make everything just perfect and this year having everything simpler really did make it better I think. (Note to self for future holidays.) I'm so thankful for all of our many, many blessings. Truly my heart and my joy are full.

"At this sacred season of the year, filled with the promise of renewing life, may we be more devoted and disciplined followers of Christ. May we cherish him in our thoughts and speak his name with love. May we kneel before him with meekness and mercy. May we bless and serve others that they may do the same."
-Howard W. Hunter


(Thanks for sharing that quote Christal!)