Our big two year old!

Here is the new crazy Kyle!

*He is hilarious. Our favorite is when he goes, "aaaa" (a pretend burp) and then quickly follows it with, "me-me!" (excuse me).
*He likes to do what the big kids do...his high chair is usually unacceptable these days and he climbs up onto the bar stools.
*He likes big dogs, not usually small dogs ~ they freak him out a bit.
*He and his na na (blanket) and pass (pacifier) are still very important.
*Thinks saying please (pwe with or without s) gets him anything...no matter what.
*signature words: "Mere!" (come here), "Oh," "No?" (different than reg. no - for I don't know.")
*milk = milp or milt
*candy = dadum or nany
*Cannot take no for an answer when asking for a drink.
*I love when he cuddles before and after nap time.
*Sean = Don and Donny. Ryan = Nyan He gets so excited when he sees we are close to either of their schools (to pick them up).
*Loves to go down slides.
*A funny dancer!
*loves his dad's breath mints and will devour a whole roll if he has enough time before someone finds him! You know those times when it gets really quiet?
*He says lots of words and is putting words together. We can usually figure out what he's saying!

Happy Birthday to our Kyle man! We are so glad he is part of our family ~ and I know he is too because he LOVES to play with us!
He's game for just about anything...


Here is Sean dragging Kyle on a blanket. They were going pretty fast!

Here's his cute baby face (blessing day: about 6 weeks old). I just love when babies hold themselves up over shoulders!


Enjoying soccer practice. He's been the main attraction with the older sisters at every sporting practice and game.

Kyle was so cute on his birthday! With Sean's birthday just a few weeks before, he really had figured out the whole shabang. He knew he was special and about presents and cake and what to do with them!

And finally! It's cake time! He'd waited oh so long! *he was so funny! Here is a reinactment of him pretending to take a bite before we cut into it.




Almost like this 3 year old birthday boy a few moons ago!

Kyle was so excited about his cake. He invited each party guest (grandparents and great grandmas) to view his cake by saying his signature, "Cummere." And then he would escort them to the counter to show them his "cake!"

And this was a post-birthday present I found at Costco...an Interactive Dr. Seuss book based on The Best Nest (this one is called My Nest is Best)! I'm so in love (Kyle cherishes too) I had to share so if you have a little tot you could get one while they last!

And then.....

Trauma for the almost two year old!

Two year old fall a lot. At least this one does. Just walking along and falls. So on Tuesday evening while we were playing outside and he fell it wasn't such a huge deal ~ well....except this time he did hit his mouth and there was blood. I took him inside to clean up and cheer up ~ retrospectively, he doesn't usually cry when he falls. There is usually no blood, his knees and elbows have sustained minor scrapes, but nothing bloody. Anyhow I lifted up his lip to examine to make sure we didn't need to go get stitches. But it didn't seem too bad so he got a drink and a cookie and was all better and back out to play. The next day was pretty normal, but a few whinny calls for Mommy when he was eating, I figured because of his lip being quite scratched inside and out. It wasn't until bedtime when I brushed his teeth that I discovered this!

Can you see his tooth? It's in two pieces! Scott wasn't home and I was freaking out but still getting kids into bed. My mind was wandering to hospitals and general anesthesia to try to save the tooth...to having it pulled...trying to find a dentist as our insurance had changed in January and being grossed out that it was split!

Sadly there was no hope in saving the tooth as it was fractured in more than one place. We were lucky that the dentist was able to get it out in once piece as she was anticipating the root breaking at fracture points and having to dig for them. Seriously lucky! It actually happened quite quickly. It was traumatic for all involved, but ended sooner than we feared.

He took a long nap afterwards and woke up to mom and dad and brothers all checking to see if he was okay. He quickly was offered medicine, a Popsicle and a smoothie. He felt like a king.

And quickly did the toddler dip.

Mmmmm... Coconut Popsicle dipped into a Raspberry Banana Smoothie!

He hasn't seemed bothered by the hole yet. Hasn't smiled big enough for a new look at his new smile yet.

Oh yea...the forehead scratch is from a different tumble outside Wednesday afternoon.

Hopefully he feels better so he can have a fun birthday tomorrow!

Our Pet Experiment!

My poor children have been deprived of dogs. All three would love a dog. The oldest two know the primary reason why we don't have one {I'm allergic}.


...So when Grandma's friend brought over a slew of Tad-poles or Polliwogs {same thing...tomato - tom-a-toe} we were game! It's been very interesting and now successful {except for the two that died}! We got our first frog the other day. I was so surprised when I checked in on our tad-poles and found a little frog sitting on the rock! The process to move him to a different home so he wouldn't jump into our house was quite funny.


Ryan named him Sticky Feet.

Kyle loved checking the tad-poles but after we got a frog he was obsessed!

He was so fun to watch we kept him in a different home with it's own water, rocks, dirt and some leaves for several days and I realized the leaves and grass has started to rot in the water and it stunk! I didn't want cute Sticky feet to die! So we took him to the pond and set him free.

Here we are at the edge of the pond that used to be a creek but a beaver damned it up so now the pond almost reaches the trail.

Notice the cones. On our way out, Ryan insisted on these cones so no one would come and take away Sticky Feet while we were trying to let him loose.

Good-bye Sticky Feet!

When we got home, Kyle would go over to the counter and ask, "GO?" His version of frog is unrecognizable...but something that mean frog too.

We have several more tad-poles! It'll be fun to find more frogs!

Other than finding the new frog, another funny thing about our tad-pole adventure is that Sean noticed one day there was one with three legs! We could hardly believe him - assuming legs would come out in pairs, but I saw it with my own two eyes too!

Oh yea....I also saw the top two legs still sealed inside the polly-wog move (they like to squeeze between the rock and the glass so you can see their belly really good) ~ like a baby moving inside a momma's belly.

Good times.

*UPDATES: One more frog discovered...Two more with short tails that like to get onto the rock - and look like lizards...groses me out! BUT...Two more have died. One in the water...and we found a little one with a little tail left dead on our floor(apparently he figured out a way to jump out of the fish bowl from the rock...or climbed all the way up and over/out of the glass ~ I figured the angle of the opening would prevent a young unexperienced frog from figuring out how to escape!)!

**GOOD THING we don't have a dog...I don't have a great track record of keeping these pets alive!

Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday Sean! I love looking back at my cute boys and how they've grown! (but how do I choose...I love so many of my pictures!)

I love this picture for a many reasons...
a) It's a great example of what a great big brother he's turned into in the last 6 months. While he's always been good to Kyle; he's recently gone above and beyond and enjoyed entertaining, reading, and teaching Kyle. He said two funny things today...First he said that Kyle asks him lots of questions...when in reality Sean just loves to explain everything to Kyle (ie...the details of his new bike while Kyle is strapped into a stroller and I ran inside to grab something). Then he said that Kyle's his best bud. But really that's when Ryan's at school or doing homework and then he's Ryan's wing man. He's got it pretty great! When Kyle naps, mom plays games with him. When mom is busy, he has Kyle to play with. When Ryan comes home from school, he plays with his older brother. What a great life!
b) look at that boy's eyelashes. He's got beautiful long and dark eyelashes. Always has.

Here are a few shots over the years. I love the spunk you can see in his gingerbread picture. This kid has spunk!

This one is on his second birthday! So funny to compare kids at the same ages...Kyle will be two in a little more than a week from now!

Always trying to do what his big brother can do!

And now he's five! With a birthday party....

and a new big boy bike to prove it!

For his real birthday and preschool he requested these Orange cupcakes...

He was so specific in his request...

Orange (he said it was Easter-y and spring-y) swirls that look like an ice cream cone that have stripes in the swirls...If you notice the four on the far right corner, they are smooth swirls(I was deciding which I liked best) and he did not like those.

Since I was making the frosting orange colored I thought it would be fun if they tasted like Orange too...so I found a recipe...oh Heavens! It is divine! {seriously...I'm usually a chocolate frosting lover...this frosting might match a chocolate frosting in my book!}(from Dulcedo)

Orange flavored frosting

1 cup butter, softened

6-8 cups sifted powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon orange extract

1/4 cup orange juice (preferably fresh) *and I always add sour cream to my cakes/cupcakes...makes them much more moist and yummy.

Then a few days later we had a party with some new friends!

Kids opening presents is a pretty funny ordeal, but then add friends into the show and it's hilarious. Three/Four year olds are notorious for telling you what they bought you before you opened it. Five year olds and up are totally into each gift. Checking it all out. This Batman was a big hit!

And so was the windmill!

For the party I made baseball cupcakes - but still with the same yummo frosting!

Notice the squeezed orange juice didn't tint the frosting orange...I used a little less than called for. But this proved to me that I can flavor a regular frosting orange! Seriously loving it. So sad we are out of cupcakes...oh yea! Kyle's birthday is coming right up! I am also thinking about adding orange juice and orange extract to a cream cheese frosting. Sounds tasty, right?

But before we did cupcakes and presents we played some games!

First off, I proved that I am the worlds worst Simon Says caller. Good thing there were 4, 5 and 6 year olds playing the game. Any older and I might have had a revolt on my hands!

Then we had a potato sac race...per Sean's request. Pretty fun and funny. Even Kyle was having fun figuring out how to hop - though he didn't make it to the finish line before he fell and was over it.

Then we played a game where they had to win the things that went into their goody bags by tossing the ring onto the item. It was pretty fun, but dragged a bit after a while.

Happy Birthday Sean! We love you so very much and are so glad you are a part of our family!

*Sean is the king of "what if?" questions. Some are non-sensical...some are very inquisitive.

*Sean tells stories...makes things up, but will admit to it..."Mom, in our preschool olympics today, we got to ski! Senora Brock had snow in the back yard and we put these things on our feet and we each got turns to go down the little hill!" Totally impossible scenarios.

*Sean is a great sharer. The last few days he let Ryan ride his new bike home from school because I can't bring Ryan's bike with us...the first day Ryan rode it all the way home and Sean rode the scooter. Today I forgot the scooter so he suggested Ryan start off and ride it half way home and then they switch. All his idea...when he found out I forgot the scooter.

*Sean is a smart cookie. He loves preschool. He loves to answer all the questions in primary...I have to keep reminding him he needs to raise his hand and he can't just shout out all answers. He has great math and reading skills for a brand new 5 year old!
*As previously mentioned, Sean loves to play games. All games.

*Sean sometimes needs to sleep! There are days where he'll fall asleep in the van or get a little testy which means he needs a nap. After he wakes up, he's good to go! Especially in the morning...this kid pops out of bed talking a mile a minute!

*Sean is very loving. He loves to tell me how much he loves me and give me kisses. He's excited for our new baby to be born. He loves his brothers endlessly (even though he'll purposefully bug Ryan sometimes ~ he is a human). He loves his dad ~ he told me that he loves the skateboard toy he got from his birthday because he loves his dad to teach him the tricks and he literally can hardly wait for his dad to be his coach in soccer next fall. He loves cousins and grandparents and loves to be around them!

What a great kid! We are lucky to have him!

Our family is getting bigger!

Yay! 2010 is a big year! Our family is growing by two!!!

Well, my little family is growing by one(not twins!)! We are expecting baby number 4 towards the end of September or early October...hoping for September.

Look forward to May 6...our big Ultrasound date;)

And my sister just got engaged on Saturday so her Mike will be a new member of our family too! We are so excited and happy for you both! I hope Mike knows what a lucky guy he really is!

Congratulations to the future Mr. and Mrs. Mike Kearns!!!

And the pretty ring! I hear it is oh so sparkeleeee!

Easter-eggstravaganza and Spring Break!

Happy Easter! What a nice week we had!

Terrible picture of our yummy easter tomb rolls. But the empty tomb worked better this year!

*wrap a thawed frozen Rhodes bread dough around a large marshmellow. Seal tightly.

*dip in butter and then cinnamon/sugar mixture.

*cook on 350 for 15 minutes.

*serve quickly. Gooey yumminess!

This one pictured somehow doesn't look as yummy as some of the other ones. Less gooey. You can also assemble the night before and put them in the fridge overnight. I started with dough that had risen overnight so I didn't let it rise again.

Easter breakfast:

Tomb rolls

Hard boiled eggs

Orange slices

Easter was is a beautiful day ~ despite our very cold and blustery weater here. Because we had General Conference, we stayed home ~ all together ~ watched General Conference, including a few beautiful Easter talks on our Savior, ate yummy food, had a little hunt in the yard, watched two PowerPoint presentations (from previous Silent Lesson presentations) on the computer about Jesus ~ one to I know that my Redeemer Lives and the other to I believe in Christ.

In reverse order...

Ryan finds an egg in our very windy and cold but before the rain came between General Conference sessions on Easter Sunday!

The boys and their pretty colored eggs and my beautiful tulips from Scott!

The week before Easter...on a gorgeous Saturday morning...our super awesome friend hosted an egg hunt for some friends! LOOK how cute it was!

Ryan is all about hunting and could not be interrupted to look at the camera.

Meanwhile, Kyle was delayed because he knew there was candy inside the eggs...he learned from Ryan's school hunt the day before.

Grandma helping Kyle get back on track!

Post hunting mayhem on the trampoline. Don't worry...they dumped the candy into their baskets before jumping into them!

At one point, Sean got hit in the head with an egg...I watched intently to see what his reaction would be...since he'd gotten hit with a rock on the head before the hunt...He calmly said, while rubbing his head, "I don't think that's a very good idea." Which I'm fairly certain no one heard.

What a fun morning!

Day before...Ryan's 1st grade Easter Egg Hunt...over 2500 eggs donated by families....each kid allowed exactly 17 eggs...Ryan followed the rules precisely.

So many eggs!

After hunting picnic.

















Not pictured: Sean's preschool Easter Egg hunt!

A whole lotta fun! And Grandma came to town for Spring break too!

Folsom Zoo....the bears were out and close to see really good. Here's one who was actually the farthest away!

Of course we had to take a ride on the train! Kyle loved it!

The big boys thought they were so cool to get to ride in the cargo car!

And we got to spend some time visiting with Grandma Lee.

Here are the boys telling her all about Bakugan's.

Other stuff we did:

* showed Grandma our new trails.

* enjoyed some Rubios Fish Tacos (a western treat).

* watched Ryan play baseball ~ he made a legitamate out playing second base!!! So exciting~despite the fact that I didn't see it. Seriously so bummed. I saw everything else, but that! Argh!

* Ryan discovered how good he is at playing catch and how much he loved it. Took baseball mitt along with him whereever we went...happened to have it when we needed to run into a grocery store for a few things. Luckily Scott's was in the back and per Ryan's request they played catch in the parking lot instead of coming into the store! So cute. SCOTT WAS IN HEAVEN!

* watched Scott play softball (where I got hit by a line drive foul ball on my shoulder. Still tender...so lucky it wasn't my head! I probably would have blacked out!)

* rain ruined Scott's day off and our hike plans on Friday. Bummer.

* watched General Conference! So awesome.

So nice to spend time together! Thanks for all the fun mom! We love you and miss you!