Boys!

Bedtime gets kind of crazy around our house sometimes.  We put the kids to bed at the same time every night, but it seems like no matter how early we start the bedtime routine we run into a serious case of the wiggles, giggles, and second-wind syndrome.  Tonight seemed especially hard for the kids to go to bed.  We read scriptures, said prayers, sang songs, and said goodnight.  As I headed out the door Zachary asked me, "Mom, do I have to be good tomorrow?"  I smiled and told him that it was nice to be good everyday.  I should have known that it was only a foreshadowing of things to come.

It all started when Zachary decided he needed to use the bathroom three times in a row.  On the third time out it was decided he needed some extra work to go to sleep, so upstairs he went to clean up the toys.  This usually allows the non-offenders some time to calm down enough so that when the culprit goes back to bed things are more quiet.  While Zachary was upstairs with Kevin, Matthew decided he needed to use the bathroom as well, but he needed some toilet paper because their bathroom was out.  I found some more for him and told him to finish and get to bed.  After Matthew was done I heard more giggling and went in to find out what was going on. I happened to step on something wet on the carpet.  Upon further investigation it turned out to be little bits of wet toilet paper.  I asked Matthew and Ryan if they knew anything about it and Matthew said he must have had a little bit left from when he went to the bathroom.  At this point Zachary finished his job and after a little reminder of what bedtime is for (i.e. sleeping, not jumping around), he was put back in his room.  I shut the door and went to find something to read so I could keep watch for awhile until they quieted down.  When I came back there was more giggling.  I opened the door and walked in to step on several more pieces of wet toilet paper.  I looked up to see Zachary throwing pieces out of his bed.  Apparently Matthew and Ryan decided it would be fun to put some in Zach's bed while he was away.  So we turned on the lights, made everyone clean up the toilet paper, and put them back to bed.  Let's just say the boys have lots of cleaning to do tomorrow.

Summer!

Can it really be summer already?  Matthew had his last day of first grade today.  I can't believe this little man is turning into more of a bigger little man every day.  He told me this morning that he was excited and sad that school was done, but mostly excited.  We'll see how long that lasts!

We ran a few errands and by the time we got back it was hot and the kids were tired of being inside.  Solution?  Water!  They were so excited to break out the squirt guns and the pool.  I thought it was a great way to kick off the new season.  Here's to late nights, popsicles, bike rides, and summer adventures!

Here they are loading up....

Andrew playing with one of his favorite things - a broom

Love those smiles!

Happy Easter!

The boys have been looking forward to this weekend for sometime. They have been talking for weeks about finding their Easter baskets, doing egg hunts, and most of all - eating candy.

We did the Easter baskets on Saturday morning. Andrew was the first to find his and the rest did a good job of helping each other.










After a quick cleanup it was off to soccer games. When those were finished we headed up to Grandma and Grandpa's house to have some yummy food and play with cousins. Too bad we didn't bring a camera. The kids had a lot of fun playing and getting spoiled (ie more candy).

We let the kids watch the new Muppets movie on the way home and the older three got to stay up late to finish. Although they loved staying up, they were definitely ready for bed when the time came. Zachary was practically begging to be tucked in. I'm glad we wore them out!

Today we tried to focus more on the spiritual side of Easter. We watched a story about Christ's resurrection before church then headed off to our meetings. The later night and the candy crash must have hit our kids because they were certainly more wiggly than normal. At one point Kevin had to take Andrew out and I was trying to help the other three make it through sacrament meeting. Zachary and Matthew were coloring and Ryan had pretty much just given up. He was lounging all over the bench. I asked him to please sit up and try to listen to what was being said because we only had a few more minutes. His response: "I can't mom. I think I'm church sick." I had to stifle a laugh and tried to help him see that the speaker was talking about the resurrection, just like we had been focusing on this morning. His response: "That's why I don't need to listen. I already know what he's talking about." It's a good thing the meeting wrapped up about then.

Because of our busy day yesterday, we didn't get time to dye eggs and the boys were asking to do it. After lunch we got the eggs ready and they fought over, I mean, shared the colors.



Andrew tried to get in on the fun too.



While I cleaned up the eggs they took turns hiding plastic ones outside. They had a lot of fun together.







Overall it was a good weekend. It was nice to spend lots of time together as a family and focus on the resurrection of the Savior.

He's One!

I can't believe our littlest guy is one already. I remember his birth like it was yesterday.



We had a fun day. We ran to the store to pick up a few things and Andrew loves going out. For some reason he thinks riding in the carts is a lot of fun.

After Kevin came home, we had some dinner with Andrew's favorite for the moment: strawberries. He is in that funny stage where he will love one thing one day and the next he changes his mind and throws it all on the floor.

We opened presents and he loved his new touch and feel book, the bristle blocks, and a new little cell phone - because of the buttons of course.









After presents we had cake and ice cream. Andrew was not bashful in the slightest. He grabbed that cupcake, took a taste, and almost couldn't get it into his mouth fast enough. He was also a huge fan of the ice cream and cried when he couldn't have more.











Some fun things about Andrew:

He is our cuddler. He loves to be held and snuggled.

He has started demanding that he be fed what everyone else is eating. We have quite the little moocher on our hands. You'd think he would be weaned by now, but he has also been my most attached baby in that regard. It might be a few more months before I can convince him to give it up.

He isn't walking yet, but he is learning to balance and can walk a few steps on his own when he wants something really badly. That's just his personality though. He can't be foreced to do anything unless he just wakes up one day and decides to do it.

He only says mama or mum mum as far as words go, but he does babble a lot and looks at you like you should know what he is saying.

He loves to play with balls and anything with buttons. He would also play with legos if he could, but of course they are off limits (something he is not happy about.)

His favorite places to play: downstairs with the boys, in the dishwasher when it is open, and anything else he can get into and empty.

We sure love this little boy and couldn't imagine our crazy house without him. Happy Birthday Andrew!

Andrew's Busy Week (Feb. 6 - Feb. 10)

Monday: Hmmm. I've been cruising around the furniture for a couple of days now, so maybe I should take a crack at walking?

Piece of cake.

It's been a busy day.

Tuesday: Those stairs look interesting. Maybe tomorrow. I think I'll just show mom I can wave bye-bye.

Wednesday: Hey, I remember those stairs from yesterday. Looks pretty easy. I'll just venture up the first one for now. And maybe I'll try to grab the knives out of the dishwasher while mommy is trying to load. What? That's not a good idea?

Thursday: Those stairs were fun. Guess I may as well climb up the rest while I'm at it. (And mom didn't take a picture because she was busy making sure I didn't fall back down the stairs.) But here's some great video taken later that day!

Friday: Aha! Mom left some cupboards open. Maybe she'll let me bang those jars of spaghetti sauce together.

Saturday: When I stand at the top of the stairs, shake the gate, and yell, mom takes me downstairs to play with my brothers. It's nice to find a new place to play.

Sunday: These graham crackers are delicious!