July Celebrations

A normal 4th of July! Lots of fun, lots of fireworks, lots of watermelon and BBQ! What else could you ask for?

Family Updates

So, I've been preoccupied with being a Mom to a new little one. Sometimes I forget to mention all the great things that have been happening otherwise. We've been extremely busy, as usual. I'm a bit upset right now because our video camera is missing. I believe it must have been in the diaper bag that was lost during Pony Express Days. Jared took it to the parade, and it hasn't been seen since! Luckily most of my videos were already downloaded on my computer. I'm still missing some from Peyton's kindergarten program and Caile's choir concert. There were a few cute pictures I took of Peyton with his kindergarten teacher and some of his friends from school. All gone. I guess I can pray that it turns up, but I won't count on it.

Jared has been amazing as usual! He's continuing to work 2 jobs, is coaching Caile's soccer team, and is assisting with the scouts when he can. He's also playing on a soccer team himself. He likes to tell me that he's not the "oldest" person on the team...."there is one guy older". It's been a lot of fun for him. A bunch of out of shape guys running around the field...haha...it's good for them! It doesn't leave much time for anything else! Sometimes he has so much on his plate that it's hard to get everything done....but he always has the best intentions.

Josh has struggled a little this year. Problems with his ADHD has made things difficult. We started him on some new medication and he's in counseling again. I think it's helping some. He can be such a good kid, he just has a lot of struggles that most of us have difficulty understanding. He's wonderful with his baby brother. Always willing to help if we need him to. He gained some privileges back after being in trouble most of the school year. So, he's been excited to spend time with friends this summer. He's been even more excited to have his Xbox back! He's going to scout camp next week, and can't wait to go. School was a bit of trouble this year, but he managed to get his grades up before the end of the year. He also did really well in band! He started with the flute, the changed to the clarinet the following semester. He does great! Very musically inclined. He's looking forward to football tryouts. Football has been a good outlet for him, so hopefully he'll be on a good team this year! Josh is a wonderful artist and loves to draw. I'm really amazed at his talents!

Caile has had a great year. She's been on a competitive soccer team all year! They play indoors during the winter months and have just recently started playing outside again. She absolutely loves it! She's a defender, and is really good at it. Jared coaches the defense on the team, so we know her coach is good :) ! Her team had a really good season and made it to the playoffs. She's a very well rounded child, or at least tries to be. She has been in choir all year, loves to sing. She's also in a theater day camp all week this week. Her best friend's parents are running the camp, so we had an in! Caile is also a wonderful artist. She loves to draw and write stories. She did well in school, with a little help from a math tutor :). She's growing up too fast....and is becoming a beautiful young woman!

Peyton Peyton Peyton. He's had some ups and downs this year. We all know that he's an adorable beautiful boy. He's so loving and compassionate. He can be a little overly sensitive and emotional....which has it's good a bad sides to it! He's not the kind of kid to sit still for too long....which becomes a problem in the classroom. His teacher was so wonderful and worked so well with him though. He had a great Kindergarten year...after a rocky start. He's learning how to be a big brother, which he's done really well with! He loves his baby brother and tries to be involved with everything that is going on with him. Sometimes he tries to help too much! I think it's also been a bit of a struggle for him. He's not the baby anymore, and that's a hard thing to give up. He still fights for attention. I try to show him I love him just as much as I did before. He's just a Mama's boy and is learning to deal.

Preston is more of a Daddy's boy. He just lights up when Daddy comes in the room! I love how animated this little boy is. He just has this amazing awareness in his eyes all the time. I can tell he's going to be extremely bright, and a handful! He already throws temper tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants. There's no tricking him either. Way too intelligent for the redirecting trick. He cries so hard sometimes that he doesn't take a breath, and starts turning blue. Then he does his big gasp for air and is fine. It's usually over something silly like taking a Lego away from him that he was trying to eat, or closing a door to a room that I don't want him to go into. Oh, the thing that makes him the most angry is blocking the stairs off so he can't climb them. This can't be a learned behavior at 9 months old.....it's definitely personality! It's gonna be fun to figure out this one :). He can be a very happy baby though. He laughs a lot, smiles a lot. He likes to dance and is walking! He just recently started walking a ton! All the way across the room. He will even hold things in his hands and walk at the same time. So cute! I've even seen him turn in a circle and go the opposite way! He also just barely started standing up in the middle of the floor instead of crawling somewhere to pull himself up. I knew it wouldn't take him long to get the hang of it. Smart boy. He's sleeping a little better. Only waking up twice a night usually. It's much much better! I can't believe how blond his hair has turned, and his little eyes are still blue as ever! He still just has his 4 little teeth but is starting to cut some more further in the back. He's been such a wonderful new part to our family.

I'm doing about the same. It's been a bit rough working every weekend, but a necessary thing. I'm looking forward to having some weekends off in the near future...so maybe I can spend some time with my whole family. I don't think I've had more than 4 hours of sleep in a row in the last year or so. I think I'm still adjusting to living so far from my family. It's really good in some ways, but it would be nice to hang out with my sister now and then. Or have my Mom near by to help out with the kids once in a while. I have made some great friends out here, and have some good neighbors....with the exception of a few HORRIBLE ones. I'm enjoying my life and know that the best is yet to come. I'm trying to enjoy the journey!

Some new videos of my baby walking and dancing...I'm such a proud Mama!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tw6Ln1AH4Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aprmDSrFTr8

Cute....had to blog it :)

While tucking Peyton in bed tonight he said, "I'm as tight as a bug in a buckle!" I said, "Yes, your are as snug as a bug in a rug!" He's so funny. He got a little closer the second time he said it :).

Kindergarten Program

Peyton's K program was this morning! It was incredibly adorable! Since our camera was lost after the program, I no longer have a video. I do want to share some little memories of what I can remember though. All of the little kids were in their best dress. Peyton wore what he considers his "Michael Jackson" outfit. It's basically black slacks, red shirt, black tie, and a red and black vest. He looked pretty darn handsome in it!! One of the songs they sang for the program was "What a Wonderful World". They did little hand motions and everything! The most darling thing I've ever seen! Peyton of course is a wiggle worm, so sometimes he was paying attention to the song, and actually singing. Other times he was moving his mouth and looking around at everyone else!! They did a song that I don't remember well, but they all wore top hats. They would take them off for certain parts of the song and were suppose to put it back on during certain parts. Peyton thought it would be cool to spin the hat before putting it on top of his head....so he was always the last child to get it there! They did a song with the ABCs and all of them had a speaking part. Peyton's was, "R is for Reading stories, especially those we love so dear." He said it so fast, I don't know if anyone understood it....but I was such a proud Mama anyway! There was another song about how good parents are.....it was a sticky sweet song, and I loved every minute of it! I'm so bummed that our camera is missing! I got some cute pictures of Peyton with his friends, and his teacher....and they are just gone. At least I still have the memory!

So, after I put up this post, I found a couple pictures I took of Peyton in the morning before I sent him off to school on his program day! I was so happy that I at least had these!! He's such a handsome little man!

I took this upclose shot because I was trying to show his two lost bottom teeth. Pretty much immediately after he lost them, the adult teeth started growing in!

9 months

Preston is a big 9 month old now! He's not walking on his own completely yet. He lets go and stands in the middle of the floor for long periods of time, but has only ever taken the one step that he did on video. He is able to go from standing to sitting without hanging on. He also attempted to stand up from a sitting position, but didn't quite make it! The only thing that he "says" with meaning behind it is the "yay" pronounced "aaaa". He mumbles lots of things and has said mama, dada, and baba for a long time, but they don't seem to mean anything. He doesn't seem to associate his bottle with baba, or me with mama, or Jared with dada. Right now it's just noises. I'm sure it will all have meaning soon! He is in this phase of biting. He's always had a thing with putting everything in his mouth, but ever since he got those little teeth, he bites! He bites hard too!! He's taken bites out of things that I wouldn't have thought about, like the handle on the stroller. It's just rubbery foam stuff, but he took chunks out of it! When he leans over onto my shoulder, he always bites down, then pulls back...OUCH! He's in a sort of tantrum phase. He gets super angry when we take things away from him. He hates to be held in any fashion that may put him to sleep. He cries so hard that it catches his breath. He actually didn't breath very quickly once, and started getting that blue tinge color to his lips....then he gasped for air and continued to cry. I told Jared that we are in soooooo much trouble when he's 3! Yikes. He's still not sleeping well....and has been even worse recently. He's had a bit of a cold, so maybe that's why. I'm also wondering if he's starting to teeth again. Some nights he's awake every 30 minutes-hour, just crying. It almost seems like he's in pain. He doesn't want to eat, doesn't want to sleep, there is no position good enough for him. All he wants is for you to get up and walk him around. I've given him Tylenol and Motrin at night, without a big change in his behavior. He's not usually like this during the day either....which makes me wonder. Anyway, hopefully he'll get out of this stage quickly! His cute little smile, the way he bobs his body and head up and down to the sound of music, and his laughter make it all worth it! The cutest thing ever happened the other day. Peyton was pushing his ship around the floor and the baby was following him, so Peyton gave the baby a piece of his ship (basically a smaller boat). The baby put the boat on the ground and was pushing it behind Peyton and the big ship! So cute, I wish I had a picture! It's just amazing how he wants to play with his big brother, and is imitating him already! Anyway, moral of the story....the baby is beautiful and sweet and naughty all rolled into one.....and me, well I'm in love and exhausted!!!

Preston in his "little brother" shirt. He's such a big boy now!

Peyton in his "big brother" shirt, and Preston in his "little brother" shirt. They were so cute, but this was the best picture I got of them together...

Preston ate his food....then fell asleep in his high chair. He's normally hard to get to sleep, so this is a rare occurrence!

Preston is learning to play, and loves attacking his big brother! Peyton thinks it's funny and just lets the baby tackle him. It's really fun to watch them play together!!

Conversations with a 6 year old

I've had a couple of funny conversations with Peyton in the last few days that I wanted to share. These are the kind of conversations that I have often with my son. I don't always have the mind to write them down, but I came to the realization the other day, that these kind of conversations won't last. I just want something to look back on, and laugh at, and share with him when he is grown...and has kids of his own! These are just some misunderstandings/misinterpretations of words.

On the way home from school....

Me: "What did you do at school today buddy?"
Peyton: "Well, I had to go shopping."
Me: "Really? Shopping?"
Peyton: "Yep, that's what they called it."
Me: "Well, what did you do? Did you buy stuff?"
Peyton: "No, I wrote stories and stuff."
Me: "Oh! Did you go to a workshop?"
Peyton: "Oh yeah, I think that's right."

At home......

Peyton: "Mom, I need a ear cleaner to get the food out of my ear."
Me: "What?"
Peyton: "I need to get the food out of my ear."
Me: "You don't have food in your ear buddy."
Peyton: "Yes, remember? The Dr. said I have food in my ear."
Me: "Oh, you mean fluid! The Dr. said you have fluid in your ear."
Peyton: "Oh."

First Steps!

Preston took his first step today! It was a small step, but he did it! What luck to catch it on camera! Excuse the filming....it was done by my 6 year old. You can hear Peyton in the background...he was just as excited as me! What a good big brother! I can't believe my little booger Preston is almost walking. Not even 9 months yet!!