Two Years Old...and He Means It

It's official. We've hit the two's here. And he's definitely 2, through and through. We celebrated Isaac's second birthday on May 11. He is such a cute little kid and has hit the two year old stage head on, tantrums and all! He can be the sweetest, cutest little guy and then turn on you in an instant. He loves to play with his older brothers and sister and thinks that he can do most anything that they do. He likes to sing, especially, "Follow the Prophet" very loud in the grocery store. He also loves to read books and sleeps with about 20 in his crib every night. I think that Isaac is the one that is going to try my patience the most, but it's good that he's so cute that I can over look it (sometimes). He loves riding his new trike around, feeling just like a big kid. Happy birthday, little man! We sure love you!

Backtrack::April 2012

April 2012

We had fun dying eggs and celebrating Easter

The bugs came out and the boys were right there with them

We had a snow storm early in the month and were worried about our fruit trees

We went to the park and played with friends

We attended the Blue and Gold Banquet

Brandon worked on his Science project - Bubbles!

Slingshot's with friends

We rode our bikes to the temple one Sunday afternoon

Fashionista

I don't consider myself stylish in any way. My idea of style is to throw on a comfortable t-shirt, jeans, and flip flops. The other night, I had an opportunity to hand out with the girls and go shopping. Lucky for me, they all took pity on me and showed me how I can still wear my jeans and t-shirts and still kick it up a notch. We had a great time together trying on clothes and picking out new things to wear. Shopping isn't necessarily my thing, but it sure was fun to come home with a few new additions to my otherwise bland wardrobe.

Peace

I've had a lot to think about today. We lost another friend to brain cancer this morning. This is our second friend within the last 8 months that has passed away from this awful disease. Words can't express the deep sorrow that I feel for her family. It's hard to lose those that we love. I am so grateful for the love and hope that our Savior, Jesus Christ, brings to each one of us during these hard times. I am especially grateful for the sealing power that enables us to be together with our families for eternity. She will be missed, especially by her sweet husband and four kids. Having a knowledge of the gospel makes it a little easier. I am so happy that she is not in any more pain and that she is able to move forward with her life on the other side of the veil. She will be a great strength to those she is with now with.We will miss her and are sad to see her go, but knowing that we will see her and our other friend again someday brings us peace and happiness.

A (Not So) Funny Little Story

Anyone who knows Brandon knows his happy, energetic, love for life attitude. It's great to have such an optimistic kid around at times and he always seems to help us see the good rather than the bad. He also definitely has a one track mind! There are a lot of good things that can be associated with this quality, like never quitting, try try again, and never let it get you down kind of philosophies. Sometimes, though, it can get him into trouble.

Mario Kart Wii was recently added to our growing  arsenal of video games and the kids have had a lot of fun racing each other. They recently have figured out how to unlock new levels and open new characters to beat the game. Wally and I have had our suspicions about a certain little boy who was getting up extra early in the morning to play a game or two before everyone else wakes up. This wouldn't necessarily be a problem if it wasn't a rule in our house about no video games in the morning. We asked him repeatedly if he knew anything about this to which he always replied with "not me!" (fortunately he doesn't cover his tracks very well). Well, lucky for us a friend gave us a motion sensor when we moved into the new house.

You can imagine the startle when we heard the receiver "ding dong" at a very quiet, early hour of the morning. I gasped when I saw what time it was. It went off a little before 3:30 a.m. Quietly, Wally made his way down the stairs to confirm our suspicions. There he was, with the volume turned all the way down to zero with controller in hand, racing to his little hearts content. Wally made a little sound with his foot, to which Brandon turned his head, realized he was caught and just let out a sigh as he hung his head down that confirmed his worst fear, getting caught. After a firm command to get back to bed and to not get up again until morning, the night was quiet again.

So, this is the part of the story where I start to wonder what it is that makes a kid so focused and so determined that he gets up at insane times during the night to play a video game. If only I could just channel that energy into something that is actually constructive and good for him, like school or sports! It is pretty funny after the fact and a sentence was given and he lost any and all gaming privileges for two weeks with the threat of it being lost forever is this every happens again, along with more than a few extra jobs. Oh, and we have our little secret weapon we make sure is on every night now. Nothing's going to get past us, or at least the sensor.

Backtrack::March

March 2012

Spring Break came and went, and we didn't let it pass us by.

Spring started to blossom around the city.

Brandon went to the fire station for cub scouts.

We spent many afternoon and evenings at the park.

Caleb learned how to ride the big bike.

Rock climbing has become a new family favorite activity.

We got in a little extra sleep time.

Unpacking and getting things settled in the new house is a constant thing around here.

Getting Close to 2

This kid is almost 2 and is at a fun and challenging stage right now. Here's what he's been up to:

He is getting very independent

He talks a whole lot more and doesn't scream any less

He loves to read books and is often found sleeping on 4-5 in his crib

He likes to tell secrets (when he's not screaming)

He yells "bus!" any time he sees one before and after school each day

Curious George is his favorite thing to watch and is sometimes the only thing that can calm him down

He idolizes his older brother, Caleb, and tries to do just about anything he does

His new favorite game is duck, duck, goose

He has a cheesy smile that he will give on demand

He is starting to enjoy nursery more

This kid lives for food and will do just about anything to get it.

and

He makes us all laugh and smile and can easily drive us crazy as well!