In My Defense

I could virtually hear all your thoughts when you read my last post. "How could she allow such horrible behavior at the dinner table!?"

Here is why. My kids were getting along SO WELL! I have never seen them cooperate like that. "You say, 'ooh, ooh, ooh.' I’ll say, 'wah wah wah.' And Reagan you say, 'la la la.' 1-2-3 go!" All together they would do their part and then laugh. It was amazing. Then they would try new sounds. They almost forgot that they didn’t want to eat their food. They were happy and did not complain. So, I let it go.

As for the booger eating, I have no excuse. I was hurt by the display. Maybe I should tell that child that dinner is booger casserole.

Dinner and Entertainment

Warning: More than you want to know.

Tonight at dinner Aubryn, uhh, passed gas. It was loud and had an unusual rhythm. Throughout the rest of the meal I heard every kind of sound my kids could think of, made to that rhythm. It was lovely. I also found out tonight that one child would rather eat boogers than my cooking.

Swimming Lessons

These are really out of order, but I don't have a lot of time right now. This swimming teacher was SO GOOD! I was thrilled with what she taught my kids. Brad was FULL of fear. Aubryn had NO fear. She helped them both a ton. At the last minute I put Reagan in too. He also did well. His biggest challenge was to say, "Chicken Little crossed the street." That was how long the teacher wanted them to keep their face in the water. They would stick their face in and she would say that sentence, then they could take their face out of the water.

Rylan, enjoying himself.

Aubryn had NO FEAR. She jumped off the diving board with no hesitation. She learned to swim back to the edge all by herself! (teacher close by) She also swam across the deep end with Teacher close by. Brad swam across the deep end. This was HUGE! Before this class (which was only 8 days long in a10 day period of time) Brad would not get his face wet.Reagan

Waiting for his turn.
Below is Aubryn on the first day with her face in the water.
Can you hear it? "Chicken Little crossed the street."

Day one. Brad learning to float on his back.

For the life of anyone, even the teacher (who had already worked many miracles), Brad would not jump off the diving board. So Teacher Stacy got out of the pool, grabbed Brad and jumped in! I only caught the end on camera. He really could swim and would have been safe to jump, but he was way to scared to do it. How do you teach your child to not let there fears dictate their choices? Push past it, Boy! You can do it!

First Day Back to School

Brad started 4th grade today. He was SO excited to go! So excited that he gave no thought to his outfit. I love Brad. I hope he has a great year. I dreaded today. It didn't help that it was gloomy outside when I woke up this morning. It turned out to be a nice day. Summer break is never long enough.

Aubryn "won" this microphone at Chuck E Cheese (more on that later). She carries it with her everywhere singing. This morning she was outside with Brad waiting for his friend to come so they could ride bikes together to school. I heard, "MOM!! Brad says I can't sing!"

On Top!

Brian hiked to the top of Ben Lomond Peak this morning. That is the big mountain just north of Ogden. It was 18 miles and took them about 6 hours.

Ice Cream!

I think Rylan liked his first ice cream cone!

Just as it was time to go, Brad dished up a big plate of mashed potatoes! Mmm.

Birthday Fun!

The other day I was sitting on the edge of Reagan's bed while he was supposed to be falling asleep for his nap. He was having a hard time that day. (Not like him) So I patted his back. Pat, pat, pat. After awhile, I thought he must be close to falling asleep. Then he turned, looked at me, and said, "You like hitting me?"

One Already!

Rylan turns one at 7:25pm today! (To re-live that moment go here.) It has been a great year and I am sad that it is over. But I am looking forward to this coming year too! He is a wonderful blessing to our family. Happy Birthday, Rylan!!

More Potty Talk (and more TMI!!)

The other day I was helping Reagan with some potty business while I nursed my nearly 1 year old and I thought to myself, "This has got to be some kind of super power."

In other potty news, Reagan has been doing very well. (keeping fingers crossed, knock on wood, hope I didn't speak too soon) Yesterday he was really enjoyed having his hands in his underwear. This has become a bit of a new problem. I told him several times to not put his hands in his underwear. Finally, I tried to explain as nicely as I could that it is bad manners to put your hands in your underwear. He seemed to understand.

"Okay." he said.

Then I turned around to find him running around in the buff. No underwear on. Hands still in their usual position. It was time to rephrase things, for he no longer had his "hands in his underwear." In his mind, he had fixed the problem. Underwear was eliminated! What a smarty no pants.

Potty Talk (TMI!!!)

Amidst the nonstop summer activities, I frequently talked about the potty with Reagan. But we were not ready to take the plunge. Last Tuesday Reagan took it upon himself to sit on the potty and he went! Wow. So I pulled out the underwear and he’s been fashioning it ever since. He really is fashioning it because usually it is all he is wearing.

I have been using lots of “P” words lately. Potty, pee pee, poop, and another one I won’t mention here but it is usually included in the phrase, “Point it down!” I can’t decide if I’m glad he knows that word or not. It was pretty embarrassing to have him mention it in the crowded Walmart restroom, that echoes.(have I ever told you that Reagan is loud?) But then, we were in Walmart, so.

Reagan really took off with this potty stuff. I was so proud of him. My heart was swollen with gratitude for the easy potty training experience I was living. It was all going great!

Then, the “hick-up”(as Brian put it). Reagan had a bad couple days. Lets just say the lunch ladies at school lunch were probably wondering who spilled the lemonade. And were did the lemonade come from? If it wasn’t so incredibly loud in the lunchroom they would have known it was Reagan when he announced, “I PEED IN MY UNDERWEAR!”(have I ever told you that Reagan is loud?) He made a similar announcement at a dinner at the church. He stood on the stage and everyone heard, “I POOPED IN MY UNDERWEAR!” That swelling in my heart was gone.

But today has been a victory. Dry underwear all day. Woo Hoo!

Fun Times!

Samantha, Reagan, Orion, Nathan (I think), Aubryn, Jacob (I think), & Brad (I'm sure).

My brother, Craig, and his sweet family came out from the east to visit us and the rest of the family. It was so GOOD to see them. We packed in the activities! Believe it or not, I did not put pictures on from everything we did! I LOVED spending time with everyone. I miss them. Thanks for making the trek west to see us all. It was great!!!

Nathan and Jacob, I mean Jacob and Nathan, I mean... Ahh!

24th of July fireworks!Reagan and Tanja

I don't know these two.