Sitting Pretty

I placed Elora in this sitting position and she stayed for a little bit. Long enough to capture a picture. She seems so proud of herself.
Degan got to have his friend Kyera over today. They decided to sit and have a snack after playing for 2 hours straight. She will be back 2 days next week and Degan can't wait. She is such a cutie pie and so is he.

Father's & Son's Camp Out

Our ward had a father's and son's camp out this past weekend at Vernon Reservoir so Jon decided to take the boys. They had a good time with all of their friends and Conner and his dad were even able to drive up with them and share a tent. How fun is that!! I had a nice time home alone with Elora but when the boys got home I had massive laundry to do. Even stuff that they did not use had to be washed or aired out because the stench was awful. Apparently the fire smoldered all night and the wind blew right towards the tent. Our poor guys had to smell that all night and I had to smell it until laundry was done.

Tyler, Conner and Gabe

Tyler, Jon and Degan

"BIG FOOT TRACKS"

Jon and Kevin(Conner's dad) were teasing the boys and pretending that big foot was around. It all started when the boys saw this and thought it had to be a footprint left by big foot himself.

Hunting for Big Foot

The reservoir was almost all dried up so that they could fix some pipe.

Thank you to the Kendell's for taking pictures and sending them to me.

Picture Tag

I got tagged by Heidi. Here's the deal - open your pictures folder, go to the fourth folder, then post the fourth picture. Tag four friends.

Brandon, Klara and Shane holding Elora

(I love Klara's hair)

I tag Stephanie, Summer, Amanda and whoever else wants to join the fun.

Funny Face

Elora has been so funny lately when I try to take a picture, mainly because of the flash on my camera.
Silly girl.
Oh so pretty, look at her posing. She is 7 1/2 months and such a cutie. My only complaint is the lack of sleep. She is worse now almost than when she first came home from the hospital. I don't know what happened. She was always such a good sleeper and now she is crying every 1-2 hours. We had to move her to her own room last night and it was a bit better but I am getting pretty tired of being tired. I thought maybe she was just extra hungry so I made a bottle of formula to which she totally gagged at, I don't blame her. I wouldn't want that gross stuff either. I guess it will get better one day. I love her so much that it is worth every tired day that I have. I also love the way she wants to give me kisses, I will have to try and capture that on video.

Beware, Walking Could be Hazardous

I would like to say that this happened from some crazy trick that Tyler was trying on his bike or skate board but nope. Me and the boys went to check out the new church next door and were walking back home through the parking lot when all of a sudden I hear a big thump behind me. Somehow Tyler wrapped his hands in his jacket and then the jacket somehow tripped him and he fell face first onto the blacktop. He couldn't catch his fall since his hands were trapped and worst thing is that Friday is picture day at school, figures. I am pretty lucky that for the most part Tyler hasn't really had that many accidents and I guess it could have been worse, he could have knocked out a tooth or broken his nose. I will take a scratched and bruised face any day. My poor boy, he kept looking at it and saying, "what are the kids at school gonna say?". I just hope the teacher doesn't think I beat the kid.

OUCH!!!

DEGAN'S BIRTHDAY

On Friday September 19, 2008 Degan turned 4 years old. I love my little guy so much and can't believe how these 4 years have flown by. He is 4 but really acts like a 6 or 7 year old sometimes, I guess because he is around Tyler and just thinks that is what a normal 4 year old does. His vocabulary always amazes me and Jon. He uses words like 'actually, enormous, and of course others that I will have to come back to fill in because I can't remember right now. He is a sweetheart that you can usually find right next to me. I know that my neighbors have probably heard me say "get away from me" which sounds so mean but if you had someone under your feet at ALL times you might catch yourself saying it too. I really love having him around all the time but it is sometimes very hard to get things done. He loves to hug, kiss, play with and bug Elora. He also loves to play with and bug Tyler so much. Tyler is HIS buddy. We are so grateful to have Degan in our family. I put 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' on my playlist because when Degan was in the nursery at the hospital I would sing it to him while I fed him. He had some breathing issues and of course Jaundice. Whenever I hear that song I think of my sweet boy. I am truly blessed to have such WONDERFUL kids.

Degan wanted a 'Go Diego, Go' birthday party. He picked all of his guests and was soooo excited to tell everyone that called him on his birthday that he was 4 and that our neighbor Lexi was coming to his party. After the party Degan got a couple more phone calls and he told them that he was 4 and that Lexi came to his party. Thank you Lexi for being such a good friend. Even if you are 7 years old, see what I mean, he has no idea that there is an age difference.

Homemade Diego cupcakes. Way easier and cheaper than buying a store bought cake.

Craft project was to make the Rescue pack. I should have made it a bit more challenging for the older kids but the little ones liked it.

Make a wish!!!

Playing "Diego says(like Simon says).....be a jaguar"

The kids loved playing this. They were also monkeys, snakes, crocodiles, macaws and whatever else they could think of.

I LOVE YOU BIG BOY!!!

Swimming Update

It was a very busy 2 weeks taking the boys to and from swimming lessons and we are done, for now. Tyler loved swimming lessons so much and did so well that we will be continuing this new adventure for a while. Tyler gets to move up to level 3 but the cool thing is that his teacher said that he should continue because he is doing things that normally take kids weeks to learn. So just when I thought I was done.....we will be signing him up for more. Degan will take a break for a little while. He did pass level 1 but I don't know if I am ready to put him in level 2.

The boys loved this big sign at the pool.

Degan and his big brown eyes. They melt me. I am very proud that he finished his classes even after the traumatic event mentioned earlier.

Tyler was always in the lead. By the last day he was swimming and turning his face to the side to breath, of course I didn't take video of him doing it. I am so proud at how well he did with these lessons.

Irritated

If your kid is taking swim lessons you usually feel pretty safe that everything will be fine cause they are with certified instructors right??? WRONG. My sweet little Degan somehow wandered too far and started going under a couple of times. Thank goodness another instructor found him right when Degan's teacher and myself noticed that Degan was missing. All I am saying is watch your kids when they are taking swimming Level 1. DO NOT trust these little young lifeguards to catch everything. I am so grateful that everything was fine after a few watery coughs and lots of hugs and kisses. We even were able to get him to go back in. I love my sweet boy, his main concern was drinking the yucky water. Especially since on Wednesday a little girl threw up in his swim class, GROSS!!! Jon and I have now decided that private lessons are the only way to go. I will only do private lessons from now on, it will be well worth it.

Swimming Lessons

Now that it is the end of summer I decided to sign the boys up for swimming lessons, yeah I know, doesn't make much sense since summer is over but I never got around to it at the beginning of summer and we are hoping to go swimming during our Disney Vacation in October. The boys have been so excited and so far love the lessons. This morning Degan was pretty set on putting his swim trunks on at 8:15 am until I told him he had school first and it wasn't until way later. Tyler is already swimming a little bit. I am really impressed at how fast he is catching onto things lately.

Tyler and Degan at the Lehi Legacy center where the swim lessons take place

Degan with his teacher Maggie

Tyler is the 2nd from the bottom, his teacher is Cameron

Daddy was able to get off work a bit early and made it in time for swimming lessons. We then decided to go to The Mayan for dinner. The food isn't the greatest but we have free dinner tickets from when we bought our minivan and the boys LOVE it because they have a fire dancer and cliff divers who dive into this really tiny(but deep) pool. It was a non-stop kind of day but well worth the time we got with Daddy. Jon's work hours during the week are rough so it was a nice treat.

Our little Elora has the army crawl down pretty good. This video is of her this weekend. She is getting too big. Where is my itty bitty baby?

Preschool 2008

Today was Degan's first day of PRESCHOOL. My little buddy is growing up so fast and he is so proud to be a big boy like his big brother. He was so disappointed when Tyler started school on the 18th and he had to wait until Sept. 2nd. He loves his teacher "Liz". Jon asked what he calls her and Degan looked at Daddy and said, "Yiz"(he is not able to pronounce the L's yet), like what else am I suppose to call her. He hasn't really figured out the Mrs. thing since it is actually his little buddy's mom. He will do so well this year because he is a go getter and nothing will get in his way, except maybe his attitude. He is so extremely sweet but if he is upset or angry, he will definitely let you know and it doesn't matter who you are. That is what I struggle with but I also admire that he will stand up for what he believes in. Good Luck sweet pea!

So excited to take a picture in the same spot that Tyler did on his 1st day.

Inside the Little Corner Preschool

Lots of one on one since the class is very small, only 5 kids

(Ben, Mimi, Degan and Simon)

(Anna wasn't there yet)

Goodbye Toddler, Hello Big Boy

It was long overdue but we finally got Degan out of his little toddler bed. For the past couple of weeks or months I had to go in his room to put his dangling feet back on the bed at night. Tyler and Degan have wanted a bunk bed for over a year and so we finally did it. We had to convince Degan that the older one always sleeps on top but Tyler was so sweet to tell him that he would take turns(which hasn't happened yet). Jon and I were a little worried about Tyler needing to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night or falling off but he did great. No falls yet.

Degan saying bye to his toddler bed

Tyler and Degan loving their new bunk bed. All they want to do is play on it.