My little ladies man

Steven is such a little ladies man it makes us laugh.

The Thursday before Valentines day his preschool class was practicing a song with lyrics that say, "my heart skips a little beat every time I see you. My heart does a little dance every time I'm near you..." He didn't know, but I was looking at him through the one way mirror outside his classroom. He and a little girl were singing to each other and every time they would say, "you" they would point to each other and say it. Today in his bag was a little drawing she'd given him of them together and a parent had helped with the names. It was really cute.


On the day of his duet his teacher came out into the hall to tell me that a few days before his "girlfriend" Haley (from his bday party) had come to them crying because Steven had told her she couldn't be his girlfriend anymore. (he'd proposed to Lillian and thought he could only have one girlfriend) I told him he could have numerous girls that were friends. (emphasis on girls that are friends and not girlfriends) After their next class I asked him if he'd told her they could be friends again and he whips around and says, "hey Haley, you can be my girlfriend again." You should have seen the joy on her face! I think she thanked him and could not say enough sweet farewells. She even gave him a special valentine.

Last month at stake conference (a church meeting) Steven asked me to introduce him to an adorable 12 year old girl in the ward named Abby. Steven became smitten with her and sat with her family through most of the meeting. (his "quiet" voice was an issue, but they didn't mind) At the end of the meeting he asked her if she'd baby sit him, and when she said she could, he told her to give me her number so I could call her. Every week since he's found her family and sat with them through part of church. Last week he drug her to our seats and leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Mike told him not to, but Steven couldn't understand why. I asked him why he wanted to give her a kiss and he said innocently, "Because I love her!". He was thrilled when I finally let her babysit tonight. When I came home after dropping her off he realized he hadn't hugged her goodbye and started crying. I let him call her to say good night and that fixed it.

He's such a funny kid. Mike hope he holds onto it, since it stems from confidence. If he continues to be a "ladies man," I hope he's one of the nice ones. :)

Welcome Home Mike...Again!

Last Friday Mike came home from IFS (Initial flight screening) in Pueblo, Colorado. It was a one month course, but thankfully he was able to leave thirteen days early. It was a day shy of three weeks from when he had to leave.

The kids and I did well this separation. Knowing that it was for a shorter period of time really helped. Another thing that really helped is that we could talk to him every day. Sometimes I would call him just to say "Hi" because I could. We were very grateful to get him back at the end of it.

The kids decided wanted to throw him a coming home party, so we decorated the house and prepared a nice dinner with root beer floats and cheesecake.

And this weeks $10,000 winner is...

We did it! We finally did it! We recorded the funniest candid video to send in to AFV. I know they usually pick the three least funny videos, but there is no way they could resist picking ours. Imagine this...

It was Adams first time painting. We had Lillian and Malcolm over as well, so there were five kids painting and having fun. Adam thought it would be funny to paint himself, which the kids thought was really funny. But wait, there's more. Steven decided it would be funny to paint with his face, so he rubbed his face in the plate of paint and then painted the pages with it. To make it even funnier, Sarah was busting up laughing in the background. If you've never heard Sarah really laugh, you're missing out. It is hilarious and contagious. All of these combined to make the perfect submission.

I downloaded the movie and....it didn't work. The tape was almost out, so the recording has lines all through it and goes at triple speed. Bummer!

Sarah will keep trying. This morning she put on a scary mask and tried to scare her brothers, but neither of them bought it. (it must have been the Rapunzel nightgown she was wearing)

Here are a couple pictures from Adam's first time painting. I would have taken after pictures had I known the video wouldn't work, but didn't know. :)

It's check up time!

Last Thursday all the kids went in for check ups with Dr. Harris. Here are the exciting results:

Sarah was happy she wasn't getting any shots. She weighs 41 lbs (22%) is 45 1/4 in. tall(41%) and her BMI is 17%. She's been complaining of headaches, so the Dr. told her to make sure she's drinking a lot and eating plenty. Sarah is very health conscious for her age, so this has helped me even more at dinner time.

Steven weighs 39 1/2 lbs (77%), is 40 1/4 in tall (47%) (perfect for Disneyland) and his BMI is 89%. That seemed a little high to me, because he doesn't look that big, but his pediatrician, Dr. Harris, said it doesn't take into account muscle and Steven is a solid little boy. Steven had a couple warts on his hands that had to be frozen off, but he was really brave. He could have gotten his kindergarten shots, but we chose to wait until it was a little closer.

Adam weighs 25 lbs 1 oz (36%), is 33 in long (65%) and his head circumference is 48 3/4 cm (74% He's a smarty :) Adam is such a sweet little baby/toddler. He's a momma's boy through and through, and although I wouldn't mind him letting me leave a room, it's flattering when he throws fits for me. If a babysitter, including his grandma, comes to our house in the evening he starts crying when he sees them and clings to me. He loves to play super hero's, and Batman is his favorite so far. He still isn't talking much, but he's mastered the point and grunt which gets him what he needs. We love our little Adam.

Happy Birthday Dude!

Last week Steven turned four years old. FOUR!!! I love this little guy! I allow my kids to be "in charge" for the day, and he took full advantage. He got to choose what we ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He kindly reminded me all day that I had to do what he said because he was the boss. :)

We had his birthday a couple weeks early so Mike could be there. He chose Jump N' Bounce for his party, and the kids had a blast bouncing off the walls. (literally) We played first, to work up their appetites. There were too many kids for me to watch as they ran in all directions, so I gave them "buddies" and they went crazy.




Next we opened presents. I'm glad we bounced first, because Steven wanted to leave and play with his toys as soon as he started opening them.




We weren't able to light candles while we sang, "Happy Birthday," but we had something even better...a disco ball and laser lights. :) (this is the kind of look I get when I say, "Smile!" If I say "Don't smile!" I get the best smile ever. I was not on my game apparently)


We love our little Dude so much! Just thinking about him makes me smile. Steven is a big ladies man. He has a number of girlfriends, although they change frequently. The girl sitting next to him in front of his b-day cake is Haley. She is in his preschool class and when he told me she was naughty and got in trouble a lot I told him he should be extra nice to her a be a good example. He decided to hug her and be her friend. She decided she was going to marry him. When her family passes a temple she points to where she's going to marry Steven, and on Christmas day, when her family was talking about what their grateful for, she said Steven. Last week he proposed to Sarah's bff Lillian and she accepted. Sarah told him that men used to have more than one wife, so he proposed to her as well. He loves it when I talk like Tiana from "The Princess and the Frog" and gets a silly grin on his face as he asks "her" questions. (princesses never get upset at little boys and only use sweet voices at all times)

He is a super tough little guy. He is always jumping off of things, throwing things and wrestling, but he rarely cries when hurt. He loves all things boy and was excited to find out that secret agents and ninjas really exist.

He is also really sensitive. My sweet little Steven might be a toughie when it comes to getting hurt, but he has really sensitive feelings. He loves his siblings and is always giving them hugs and kisses. When he's tired I get some great mommy snuggles as well.

He has the cutest voice! Steven has two volume levels, loud and extra loud. :) When I ask him to lower his voice he "whispers," which amounts to a whisper sound at regular level.

I am so grateful for our sweet little Dude and for all the joy and energy he brings into our home. We love you Steven!

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Sarah got to celebrate two birthdays this year. She wanted Mike to be able to attend her party, so she pushed it back by almost a month.

Like I wrote in my Christmas post, we celebrated Sarah's birthday in Colorado with my family. She received some things for her American Doll and had a lot of fun playing with her cousin Angelina who is nine days younger.

For her party she chose a "Tangled" theme. Sarah forbade Mike from shaving once he got home so he would be ready to reprise his role as Flynn Rider. Since this would be her last b-day party with these friends we let her invite a lot of kids and we ended up with twenty kids including our own. It was a full house!

We started with a pizza picnic in the front room


We then played pin the nose of Flynn Rider


After games we opened presents



Then, we ate some delicious birthday cake. I didn't know how many kids we'd have, so we actually ran out of cake. I had kids asking for seconds, but couldn't give them. :)Oops!


Adam wanted to wear Mike's wig, and I'm not sure who it looks better on. :)




My little princess is such a great blessing to me and our family. Even though she's only six years old, I am constantly amazed at her loving personality. I'm far from perfect as a mother, but she is always quick to forgive and pores out love to everyone.

She is such a great big sister to her brothers, always willing to help them and show a great example. When Adam wakes up she runs into his room to greet him and never says no when I ask her for help with them. I've come down many times and seen her reading to Steven on the couch snuggled up together.

She is so funny! We watch "Americas Funniest Home Videos" each week and she is almost daily thinking of funny things she can do for the camera to send in and earn her thousands. We've made some funny videos, but none we can send it yet. :) She also likes to tell jokes and has a contagious laugh that I love to hear.

She is a great little missionary. She is so sweet in the way she tries to share her beliefs with others. If a friend or relative is over that doesn't attend church she'll explain why we pray and how we do it. She lets everyone know we're all brothers and sisters in a heavenly family and gives the sweetest prayers uttered. She may be too young to fully understand all that she's saying, but she sounds almost angelic sometimes.

She's a little smarty pants. Sarah has loved her year of kindergarten in Mrs. Venning's class. Although she's learned a lot, her favorite parts of school are the social ones.She has good reasoning skills and Mike calls her a little politician. I love hearing her arguments for getting what she wants.

We love you Sarah!

Christmas programs

*I will post video when I find a few extra minutes

This year we got to enjoy not one, but TWO adorable Christmas programs. Mike came home on December 16th, which was just in time for Steven's program in the morning of the 17th. Hearing Steven sing is such a pleasure of mine because he has a lot of energy, a cute smile and his little voice is just.... I just remembered I let Sarah take most of the pictures....oops! Just imagine him in cute antlers, singing loudly, smiling and swaying from side to side. :)




Sarah's kindergarten was really cute as well. It was much different than her preschool performances. She's only six, but she seems to be growing up so quickly. I was looking forward to seeing some art they'd created for a slide show, and to see her recorded speaking part, but they were having computer problems. I can't wait to watch the video, because I spent most of the time out in the hall with Adam. :)