First Day of School

It's a matching game! Someone was a little shy, someone was evading getting in the car, and someone else just wanted to go back to bed! And two kids are wearing identical shorts.

Fourth Grade

First Grade

Preschool

One Month Old

At one month old, Georgia
- weighs about eight pounds
- likes her swing
- likes taking naps with mommy (maybe? I like it at least)
- likes to be outside
- still sleeps an awful lot

Skyler is Nine

Skyler celebrated his birthday with a trip to Explora with me and a dinner out with dad. He had a joint birthday party with his brothers a few weeks later. All he wanted for his birthday was money. He is saving for an iPod touch. He is a wonderful big brother and a great help around the house - when he wants to be. :) He is so very smart. Not just "book smart", but I'm constantly impressed with the things he just figures out on his own. He likes to read, but can be very picky about the books he reads! He likes to play with completed lego sets, but not build them, and likes to ride his bike.

In his own words -
Favorite Food: Enchiladas and Italian Beef Sandwiches
Favorite Thing to Do: Watch TV
Favorite Show to Watch: Electric Company and Wild Kratts
Favorite Color: Turquoise ("because turquoise is basically a green and blue")
Favorite Animal: Jaguar
Favorite Toy: The Computer
What Makes Him Happy: My favorite foods for dinner
What Makes Him Sad: I don't know
What He Wants to Be When He Grows Up: Watchmaker
Favorite Song: Darth Vader Song (Imperial March)
Favorite Friend: Bethany and Hannah
Who He Loves: Georgia
What He Likes to Do With His Family: camping
Favorite Place to Go: Disneyland

Our Gender Reveal

Gender Reveal Parties seem to be all the rage these days. Expecting parents throw a party for friends and family and announce their unborn child's gender in some cutesy way. Sometimes, the parents will be surprised right along with the guests by having the ultrasound tech write the gender on a piece of paper and have a friend do something to surprise the couple at the party.

Our gender reveal party was a small affair that took place in the early morning hours of June 18th. In attendance were me and Jordan, a doctor, two nurses, and this little lady.

Georgia Jeanne weighed in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. (my biggest baby, but just by a few ounces) and was 19 1/4 inches long. Such a surprise to have a girl! But not too much, because that's what I've really thought all along (and I love being right!).  We love her! And we're so glad she is here safe and healthy!

Now, if I could just get people to stop saying "you finally got a girl!" I know lots of families with lots of boys in a row and I hardly think that three boys in a row justifies a "finally"! Four maybe... Plus, it seems to me that that insinuates that our family would somehow be less wonderful and special if there weren't a daughter involved. Not true! I won't lie though, I'm looking forward to the (hopefully) change of pace that a girl will bring to our family!

Jonah is Six

Jonah turned six! We celebrated his birthday with some game time at Chuck E. Cheese, a trip to Wendy's for a frosty, some slip n sliding, and a pizza picnic (just him and dad) at the park.

Six Years Old and a Shirt to Prove It

Playing with new toys. See that Spiderman silly string? It was for his mega blaster web shooter and was used up in approximately 30 seconds. It was the best 30 seconds of his young life, mind you.

He had so many funny facial expressions while opening gifts. He was especially excited about this book because it was a sequel of sorts to a book he already has and really enjoys.

Skyler carrying Jonah (why?) to find his big gift.

It's a new bike!

In his own words -
Favorite Food: Lucky Charms
Favorite Thing to Do: play video games
Favorite Show to Watch: Scooby-Doo
Favorite Color: red
Favorite Animal: monsters ("monsters are animals, but they aren't alive")
Favorite Toy: Spiderman mega blaster web shooter
What Makes Him Happy: playing video games
What Makes Him Sad: not being able to play video games
What He Wants to Be When He Grows Up: construction worker
Favorite Song: Darth Vader Song (Imperial March)
Favorite Friend: Oliver
Who He Loves: Georgia
What He Likes to Do With His Family: camping
Favorite Place to Go: toy store

Getting Ready for Baby

The kids all participated in a soccer camp this week and last, which ended up being an interesting experience. During the last two days, it was as if I could just have one kid participating at a time while the others just pouted on the sidelines for whatever reason. All three of them are great soccer players and I loved watching them play. Skyler went to Cub Scout Day Camp this week. He hated getting up early (6:30), but had a great time each day.

In an effort to make the grocery store trip more exciting, I took Oliver and Jonah to the pet store next to the grocery store before we went shopping. Oliver was upset that there were no dogs (just cats that day) and a random bird flying out of its cage startled both of them, so I am not sure if that was a success or not.

Jordan took the boys camping. Our ward's father's and son's outing was canceled, but that didn't stop him. They had a great time, though Jordan says it's much better to camp with another adult. I enjoyed what very well may have been my last child-free Father's and Son's trip.

Oliver is Four

I thought I had a deal going on with Oliver - that he would stay three years old forever! It didn't work out though, because he happily turned four years old the other week.

Jordan was going to be out of town on Oliver's actual birthday, so we celebrated a few days early. We asked Oliver what he wanted to do and he said slip 'n' slide. Easy enough! It actually wasn't a very good slip 'n' slide day - it was windy and overcast. But, Oliver still had a great time. 

On his actual birthday, he and I went to help out in Jonah's classroom like we always do on Mondays. We took dum dums to the class and they were all so excited and Oliver thought it was fun to pass them out. We also got some playground time in with both Skyler and Jonah before heading home. I took Oliver to Bahama Buck's after lunch for a treat to round out the birthday festivities. I also made the strawberry cake that he requested and he and Jonah both devoured it! Never before have I made Oliver a cake that he enjoyed so much, I was so happy!

In his own words -
Favorite Food: sorbet
Favorite Thing to Do: play wii
Favorite Show to Watch: Curious George Swings into Spring
Favorite Color: red and black and pink
Favorite Animal: turtles (?) and dogs
Favorite Toy: his stuffed dogs (doggos)
What Makes Him Happy: doggies
What Makes Him Sad: nothing
What He Wants to Be When He Grows Up: construction worker and make a house
Favorite Song: Jesus Christ (he says he made it up)
Favorite Friend: Cooper
Who He Loves: Dallen
What He Likes to Do With His Family: play with brothers
Favorite Place to Go: Red Light Green Light and Bahama Buck's

When Oliver was the spotlight kid in primary (at church) a few months back, he said that his favorite thing about our family is Jonah. He and Jonah have definitely become best buddies over the past six months. Oliver is very much a homebody (mostly because going places involves getting dressed) and prefers to play with others (mainly his brothers) rather than be by himself.

School's Out!

A weekly (bi-weekly, once a month, whatever) update with end of school activities. What could be better?

OLIVER and I helped out a field day. I ran a station for Skyler's and then just followed Jonah around during his. Lots of fun, but I sure was exhausted at the end of the day! Sidenote: This was completely PE teacher and parent volunteer run, the teachers got to take some time to do report cards and clean up their classrooms. At the school I taught at, it was entirely teacher run. I got the shaft, clearly.

Oliver lends a hand during tug of war at field day

JONAH is done with kindergarten. Sigh. That means he's pretty much a big kid now. Jonah has also really latched on to reading during the last several weeks. He was always a fine reader, but just now he's started to want to read books on his own, where he hasn't had that desire before. He especially likes to read to Oliver.

Jonah's last day of school picture

Jonah and his teacher. It was her first year
teaching and she rocked it. I want to be her BFF

SKYLER is done with third grade. He got really, really mad at me one night, but still really wanted me to come to his class party the next day, which Oliver and I did. I love his forgiving nature (though sometimes it takes awhile). His class watched the movie Stone Fox, since they had just finished reading the book. That book is Skyler's current obsession. We had to find it in the library so he could read it to Jonah. Luckily, Jonah did like it, so there were no fights over it when Skyler demanded it was storytime.

Skyler's last day of school picture

Skyler getting wet at field day and enjoying it

I managed to not have the baby while Jordan was out of town, while we were all visiting his parents, or while he was camping with the boys. Anytime is fine now, baby! I also found a spider in the drinking glass next to my bed. I will be using water bottles with lids now for my bedside drinks.

JORDAN had some horrendous delays returning home from a training the other week. He got home about 14 hours later than he should have and ended up spending the night in the Chicago airport.

Jordan helped out in Jonah's class since I was going to be late. He enjoyed it more than the look on his face would have you believe.

And, in other news. All three boys are now completely obsessed with Star Wars. But, they strive to be Darth Vader, Darth Sidious, and Darth Maul instead of say, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Obi-Wan. Not sure what to think about that. Skyler also thinks that the Weird Al Star Wars Song (the American Pie parody) is the most awesome thing ever. Just as I manage to get it out of my head, he plays it again.

Fun with the Phone Camera

The kids love to take pictures with my phone. Since I have it password protected, picture taking is the only thing they can do without my permission! And they definitely take advantage of it. I find lots (and lots and lots) of pictures of random things and most just get deleted. I quite enjoyed this little photo sequence though. No need to thank me for only including four out of the forty four that these two took during this sitting.

Hi Skyler!

Bye Skyler!

Hi Oliver!

Just For the Record - Skyler Had a Half Birthday

Skyler is much closer to nine than he is to eight and a half, but I fear the future repercussions should I not give him a blog half birthday shout-out.


Just like I did with Jonah, I took lunch to Skyler at school. He chose Arby's.

Here's where I totally fail. I could tell you lots about Skyler right now, but his likes and tastes have actually changed quite a bit over the last five months! One thing that never changes about him, though, is that he loves to make people laugh. I'm pretty sure he was trying to make one of his brothers laugh in that picture.

Wrapping Up The School Year

OLIVER is ridiculously good at Mario Kart. I've seen him get 1st place on a few occasions. I don't know whether I should congratulate him or turn the game off because a three year old should not be that good!

This is happening more and more often around here.

JONAH had his end of the year kindergarten program last week. They sang the songs they have been learning in music this year. Jonah has hated music so much that he would refuse to go to school most Wednesdays. He was excited to perform for me and Oliver and Jordan, but a little nervous (or shy, as he put it) about the fact that so many other people would be there!

I think this was President's Day, maybe? Jonah convinced me that we
needed to go bowling.

SKYLER brought home a permission slip for a roller skating field trip a few weeks ago. He did not want to go because he has never been skating before! So, I bought him some skates so he could practice. He got on them once for about two minutes and decided that he was never going to skate again because it was too hard! But, we did convince him to give it another go and after two more (much longer) practice sessions, he was actually excited to go! The trip was this past Monday and he said that he was able to go around the rink once without holding onto the sides and without falling. I'm so excited that he was able to try something new and keep at it until it wasn't scary anymore.

milk, soap, and food coloring science experiments.

I finally finished a blanket for Oliver that I started in October. I was done with all the sewing in November, but It is a rag quilt, so the final steps are to cut it and wash it. Those are the things that take me forever! I don't like to do the first wash in my own washing machine and dryer (I don't want to clog it up), so I take it to a laundromat and I just did that last week. I finished the blankets for the other boys while I was in the final weeks of pregnancy for the next kid and when I started Oliver's, I didn't think that would be the case this time at all, but alas, it was!

JORDAN planted some squash, zucchini, and chiles in the backyard. He was also the patient one who taught Skyler to roller skate!

Not Much To Report

All of us have now had our spring dental cleanings and I am happy to report that we are all cavity-free! Skyler was a little disappointed because that meant no laughing gas for him this time around. Lucky for him, the dentist recommended pulling some teeth because the adult teeth were coming in behind them, so he got his laughing gas after all.

Oliver and I have been baking this week. We made him cinnamon rolls and soft "oreo" cookies. True to form, he didn't like them, but the rest of the family did. We also learned that his endoscopy biopsies looked very good and we can consider soy a safe food for him.

And, some oldies, but goodies in the photo department:

I love how they are sitting in the exact same position

Watching the Super Bowl - Jonah was bored  almost immediately, and though Skyler  quickly followed suit he was still always wanting to know what the score was.

Our Super Bowl spread. Don't you wish you had been at our house?

The kids decorated the TV

Valentine's Day Treasure Hunt

Valentine's Day treasure hunt. The hunt led them to the car, and we drove to Barnes & Noble so they could each pick out a new book.

The Wii is Back!

Our Wii has been fixed. There was much joy and rejoicing in our household this weekend (and a ridiculous amount of Wii playing). Oliver asked me the other day "how dumb are you at Mario Brothers? You probably fall in the lava all the time" Um? I'm sure I'm better than you, three-year-old.

OLIVER has had an odd obsession with watching the sunrise at the beginning of this week, but (luckily for us), he hasn't managed to get up that early. So, we would hear "oh, no, not again!" each morning shortly before seven. Oliver also had another endoscopy this week. We are still awaiting results.

While Oliver was being a real patient, JONAH was pretending that his teddy bear was one during a field trip to a Children's Health Fair at one of the other hospitals in town. I was going to go on the field trip with him, but it got changed to the same day as Oliver's endoscopy, so I couldn't go.

SKYLER is learning cursive. His cursive is legible - hooray!

I almost bought a Vitamix blender this week, but I didn't, because I didn't like the demo lady at Costco and had no desire for her to benefit in any way, shape, or form  from my purchase.

JORDAN read a book about Peru to the kids and then decided we needed to eat Peruvian food for dinner, so we did.

The Week That Was

OLIVER still thinks he is a puppy. He will randomly bark, which I think is kind of cute except when we are at church, when I will tell him that there is no barking allowed at church. He also still insists that his puppy name is Bananas.

JONAH had his snack day and show and tell at school this week. He took his Mickey Mouse/Jack the Pumpkin King ears (see picture from last post). He loves those things and will randomly wear them when we go places.

SKYLER went on a cub scout field trip to a local nature center. He saw two porcupines in trees, and said that he didn't know before that that porcupines could climb trees.

JORDAN AND I convinced the kids to go see some of the Parade of Homes houses. They were very well behaved and actually enjoyed it. Especially the house with the theater room. They really wanted to go live in that one. Too bad we don't have an extra $850,000 lying around!

Last Month and Then Some

I had the best intentions of keeping up with my weekly posts, but I think maybe I skipped a few weeks? Here's a little catch-up with random (and sometimes not so random) pictures interspersed.

OLIVER still loves loves pajamas, but has added slippers to his repertoire. It's cute. Oliver and I go to help in Jonah's classroom each Monday, and one day we stuck around for their "indoor recess" and Oliver did the art center with Jonah. We went to Disneyland and Oliver was just barely tall enough to ride the 40 inch rides. He loved them all, but still says that his favorite ride is the Gadget GoCoaster, which was his favorite ride last time. He had no fear at all and was even all set to ride Space Mountain, but he fell asleep during Fantasmic and we were going to take him afterwards. Oliver thinks he is a puppy named Bananas.

JONAH keeps getting invited to fellow kindergarteners' birthday parties. He went through a phase where he was making "monsters" everyday in the at center at school (pictured below - kinda creepy, but creative). He currently seems to want to design amusement parks when he grows up and is always sharing his latest ride ideas and whatnot. Roller Coaster Tycoon is his favorite thing to play on the computer. He loves riding his bike to/from school. His favorite rides at Disneyland were Haunted Mansion and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree (he rode that at least six times). Jonah currently thinks that Scooby-Doo is the greatest show ever.

SKYLER presented his science fair project (seeing how different sweeteners affected candy making) and also made it through his first Pinewood Derby. His car didn't do so well, but he had fun. He has swapped out  riding his bike to school for walking home with a girl in his class. He really like Matternhorn at Disneyland (he rode it four times, I believe) and he had fun pin trading (for the uninitiated - many cast members wear lanyards full of Disney pins. Guests are encouraged to trade their own Disney pins with the cast members). All the kids thought that was a lot of fun, actually. He also liked hanging out with his Aunt Kristin. One morning, we left them behind at the hotel, and then they walked over together later and rode a few rides before meeting up with the rest of us. His current favorite read is books in the "Hank The Cowdog" series.

Fast cars! Skyler's is, unfortunately, the one that is not winning.

Showing his science project to his teacher

It's Grem! Because, you see, if it doesn't do well you just blame it on the fact that Gremlins are well-known lemons.

I have been riding my bike and pulling Oliver in the trailer to pick the kids up from school. I now feel bad for giving Jonah a hard time about the "hill" in between our house and the school. It is important to note that this particular "hill" is only noticeable if you are pulling a child in a bike trailer or are a five year old bike riding novice. Instead of food cravings, I instead got a strange craving to watch 7th Heaven reruns. I came up with a killer snack schedule for our trip to California. The kids got one predetermined, bagged snack each hour. It was may more OCD than I tend to be, but it was much better than hearing them constantly ask for a snack and me constantly passing things back. I was pleasantly surprised by how fun Mater's Junkyard Jamboree was (who do you think rode it with Jonah over and over again?). I thought I would have more time to, well, eat things at Disneyland, but everyone else was really speedy when they rode rides I couldn't (due to my pregnant state), but was happy to get a chance to eat a fried green tomato sandwich. Yum.

I wasn't planning on being in this picture, but the picture guy offered to take one and then Tow Mater started in on it, and well, how does one say no to an animatronic tow truck? He said, "yay!" when I agreed to be in the picture.

JORDAN has been reading books. He also spent some time working on a YouTube video about what it would be like if watchmakers celebrated their successes as much as football players do. Remember Skyler's science project? It required making a lot of candy, which Jordan has been happily eating. He got a garden put in in our backyard. He and the kids planted stuff. I don't know what exactly. He has started running again now that it isn't so cold in the morning. Jordan has also taken an interest in bow ties and colored shoe laces.