From the Mouth of My Babe

My friend Kami took our picture at a nearby vineyard on Sunday afternoon. I came to the conclusion that day that I get testy and frustrated about family pictures because I want them to reflect not necessarily my life, but how I want to remember my life at this stage when I look back on it 20 years from now. And this picture pretty much sums up how I want to remember it. 

Tonight the kids and I were watching this video about Christlike attributes (I highly recommend it) when the word "humble" came up on the screen. "What is humble?" Isaac asked. I tried to explain that it is someone who is willing to be taught new things, ask for help, and who thinks there is always more to learn and that they don't know everything.

"I'm really humble!" chimed Davis.

"Yeah, so I am." affirmed Isaac.

Happy Halloween From Hogwarts!

Love Harry, Hermoine, Ron, a witch, and a couple of dementors.

Soy un Hijo de Dios

The kids sing "I am a Child of God" in Spanish to their Grandma Ruth:



The kids are participating in their annual primary program this upcoming Sunday and they were asked along with a few other children in the ward to sing "Soy un Hijo de Dios." We have been practicing a little bit each day and they are getting excited to perform. It has helped me recommit to speaking to them in Spanish as much as possible (I all but fell off the Spanish-speaking wagon during my pregnancy/4th trimester with Nathan). I really want them to be bilingual, but it is harder than I ever anticipated it would be at times. People often ask me if they speak back to me in Spanish. They respond almost exclusively in English but seem to understand almost everything I say to them in Spanish. It is on my never-ending to-do list to work on their verbal skills someday before they leave for college :).

I Can't Stop Laughing...

Maddie reading to her baby brother.

This morning I was grocery shopping with Davis and Nathan. Nathan was sitting in his portable car seat which was snapped into the shopping cart. A little old lady came up to me while Davis was standing by my side. "What an adorable baby!" she gushed. "And is he yours as well?" she asked, pointing to Davis. I told her that they were both mine, to which she responded, "Are they twins?"

WHA? Her question left me speechless. And then, after she was gone, I couldn't stop laughing. TWINS?!? I had never heard that one before. I mean, I know Nater is a hefty kid, but he is four MONTHS old and Davis is nearly four YEARS old!

I keep imagining how Davis would look buckled into an infant car seat carrier. And I'm still laughing about it.

After the long week I just had, I really needed a good laugh today. Thank you cute little old lady in the produce section. You made my day.

Nathan @ 4 Months Old

Playing on the ground with me this morning.

 My baby is 4 months old! At 4 months, Nater:

• Is super squishy and squirmy. Just look at those slobbery cheeks!
• Smiles a lot.
• Loves his dad but cries whenever Ryan sings to him. He makes the cutest lip-quivering face at the sound of Papa's crooning.
• Rolls quite easily from his back to his belly, but not so much from his belly to his back. Hopefully he figures it out soon since he still hates being on his tummy for very long.
• No longer sleeps on the go. He loves his crib and will only sleep in the car or stroller if he is exhausted. Because of this I try to protect his 3 daily nap times as much as I can.
• Still sleeps like a champ at night. I have no excuse for still being so tired!
• Has discovered his feet but is too chubby and inflexible to pull them all the way up to his mouth. It's pretty cute to watch him try. 
• He loves it when we  hold onto his hands and pull him up to the standing position. 
• One of his nicknames is still Chuck. I hope he grows out of that name soon as it makes for a lot of extra laundry on my part. 
• Is the most entertaining part of our family right now...even the kids would rather play with Nathan that do just about anything else. It's getting harder and harder to remember what our life was like before he was a part of it.

Watching General Conference with his dad this weekend.

Davis @ 3 1/2 Years Old

The Hulk was a popular character at the Fall Festival's face painting station.

 At 3.5 years, Davis:

• Loves preschool. He marches in there like he owns the place, mouth jabbering a million miles an hour. When I pick him up a couple of hours later, he is usually still jabbering strong. 
• Is still full of passion. This boy wears his emotions on his sleeve. You never have to wonder how he is feeling, he always lets you know.
• Loves cheese, eggs, fruit, and hot dogs. He hates tomatoes but loves ketchup.
• Loves his baby brother, Nathan. Loves his only sister, Maddie. Idolizes his big brother Ike.

Davis is my constant side kick these days. Sometimes I can convince him to cook with me.

We have tried for literally years to teach him to control the volume at which he speaks, but he is still SO. LOUD.

He wants to be a hockey player when he grows up, "because den I can hit stuff wif a stick."

Loves super heroes, Legos, and Harry Potter.

His laugh is contagious. He really is the heart of our family. 

Classic Davis look.

Isaac @ 6 1/2 Years Old

A local park does a Fall Festival every September and the kids and I went this past weekend. Isaac wanted his face painted like The Hulk.

 At 6 1/2 years old, Isaac:

• Loves Harry Potter. The books, the legos, the movies. Guess who he's dressing up as for Halloween?
• Is starting to show a lot of interest in sports. He is playing soccer this fall, and he also loves basketball and baseball. He got to go to his first MLB game when grandpa was here. He loved seeing the Yankees play since they are his favorite team. 
• Runs everywhere. My mom thinks he looks like a little Forest Gump because he runs wherever he goes. Truth be told, I would rather take any other child grocery shopping because he has such a hard time staying in one place.
• Will eat just about anything. He is a pretty adventurous eater for a six-year-old. 
• Is a thinker. He is always asking questions that I have no idea how to answer.
• Makes everything a competition. He is pretty good about letting Davis win once in awhile when they race or play together. I think he has figured out that he has to give in once in awhile or D won't want to play anymore, and then the competition would be over. 
• Has a kind heart. Most of the time I am very pleased with how he treats his siblings. He is easy-going and fun-loving and I'm really proud of the boy he is turning out to be. 

Rock climbing at the Fall Festival. It was about at this moment that Ike realized how high he was and wanted nothing more to do with rock climbing.