Basketball

Will has been playing basketball again this Winter. He really enjoys it. He gets a little beat up every game, but he has a good time and has learned a lot. He's made some good baskets, too!

He said he wanted a picture

I just asked Ian if he liked this picture and Alex asked him what it was and he said, "It's just a picture of me glaring at Mom." Well, at least he knows what he's doing! Maybe I am underestimating him...

Emmett's Favorite Things

Emmett started playing peek-a-boo with me the other day. I tried to snap a photo, but missed a good one. He would put his hand over one eye and peek at me with the other. So cute!

Emmett has learned to tip things over to get what he wants. It's kind of funny when he surprises himself.

He loves running for the dog food.

He loves watching movies, especially Baby Einstein in the swing. He's totally outgrowing the swing, but he gets excited and smiles and kicks his legs when his movie starts.

He still loves reading! If you say a line from a book he will get a huge smile and go get the right book! He started saying "bowowow" the other day. 

Emmett is Standing Up!

Emmett started pulling himself up. He is so proud of himself when he does. He looks so big! He starts to whimper after a few minutes because getting back down is kind of tricky! He's getting stronger every day!

Great Performances

Will and I went to see Matti's opera performance of Dido and Aeneas. She did great! Even with a yucky cold! We rode up with Lauren, Cameron, Dallin, and Adam. It was pretty fun. I really enjoyed the dancing they incorporated into the opera. It was really creative!

Dallin played Peter in a children's theater performance of Narnia and Eden was a cute zebra!

It was a great play! I can't believe how well all the kids did and it was even a musical!

Ella Selfie

Day at the Park

Two weeks ago I asked Kimball to take the kids to a park. We have a nice one nearby with a pond and ducks. The kids loved it so much they wanted to go again and have a picnic. We had a few days of 60 degree weather so, they went off to the park. I guess the weather decided to change that day. Kimball said it was super cold and windy and started snowing by the time they left! Well, I guess it is February...

Happy Valentine's Day!

With so many cute ideas on the internet, you can't really pass on an opportunity to make something adorable for Valentine's card boxes. The kids made these boxes and they turned out great! 

A Time for Laughter (and potty talk)

I think about a year or so ago I realized that I didn't mind potty talk at the table so much any more. It usually meant that everyone was laughing instead of fighting. That being said, I think we have reached a new level of acceptance in the area. The other day everyone was sitting at the table eating their sandwiches and Will said, "Wait, who cut my cheese?" Bursts of giggles erupted around the table. Ella said, "Who cut my cheese?" More giggles. Then, Kimball, while trying to hush them without laughing himself said, "I cut everybody's cheese." And everyone lost it. I admit, I couldn't help from giggling myself.

Then, the following night, I'm not sure how, but I started singing a new version to the popcorn song: "I looked in the diaper and what did I see? Lots of poopoo that was so stinky" Alex got upset that I was saying potty talk and I explained to him that 10 years of changing dirty diapers has earned me the right to talk about poop as much as I want. Ella couldn't resist and had to write the next two lines: "Emmett's brought me such a nice surprise. Brown and yellow right before my eyes." "Eeeeewwwwwww!!! That's so gross." I told her. Then, we had to finish the song of course. "I can take a wipey and wipe his bum. It smells so bad that I want to run. I really want to go, but I have to stay... wiping all of Emmett's cuckies away."

Little Muncher

Emmett is so adorable learning how to put food in his mouth. His fingers are getting way more controlled and his little mouth is so cute working things around!

Honors Recital

Ella and Alex had a recital this past week and they had a Solo Festival (which is a fancy way of saying playing for a judge) a couple days later. I thought they both did great at the recital. Right after it was over, their teacher gave everyone an extra coaching session, reviewing dynamics, tempo, etc. It was a little intense. There was kind of an awesome moment when she told Ella to try going faster on her song and Ella did it! It was like the whole room went "wow." They both played great for their judge, really played the loud and soft well and did awesome. So, both Alex and Ella got into the Honors Recital where the top kids played for each other and everyone was given a ribbon and some money! Pretty cool! 

Birthday Cake

When Emmett saw everyone dive into their cupcakes he started opening and closing his mouth so cute like, "Where's mine? I want one, too!"

Emmett fingers his piece of cake suspiciously. It's very sticky.

Emmett cautiously takes a bite.

He didn't like it and dropped the rest on his plate! Haha The frosting was really sticky and apparently he isn't all that into sweets yet. Everyone else enjoyed it, though!

Ian

Yesterday I gave Ian a bath. When he got out he said, "What kind of shirt is that cause I really want the Thomas shirt." Then, he took a glance at his Lightning McQueen jammy, giggled, and let out a guffaw and said, "O" giggle, "It's my favorite guy." giggle

He can be so cute and funny sometimes. Today on the way home from taking the kids to school he said, "Mom? Since it's no school day, I can just get my jacket and shoes on and then I can go to Sophia's house." (He's been asking to play with her for about a week.) I said, "I talked to her mommy and she said next week would be good." He said, "Next week? Wait, do we have to do another Christmas?" I said, "No." Then he said, "Wait, is next week in seven days?" I said, "Yes." And he said, "Phew!" I was wondering why he asked about Christmas, but I quickly realized he was trying to figure out if a week was seven days or one year! What a smartie!

Today Ian learned how to say his R's!!! We have been working on it here and there for about a year. Most of the websites I've checked have said it's usually one of the last letters for kids to learn and they can get it as late as 6 or so. He got pretty close one day when I was teaching him to put his tongue up to the top of his mouth and close to his teeth. He usually just says an ''l'' instead. Today he was walking in the hall and he said longow and longER. I said "Ian! You said your R!" He gasped and clasped both hands over his mouth with a huge smile. I asked if he could do it again and he tried it and did it two more times! It was so exciting!!! I mean, I was planning out speech therapy for when he got into kindergarten and wondering if he would ever get it! And he had been trying a lot, too. We were all so excited. He's been practicing with lots of words ever since, like glitter, and later. Such a cutie!!!

Emmett is 1!

This little guy turned one today! 

He got a cold a couple days ago, so he's feeling a little stuffy,

 but he's still as adorable as ever! 

Here are some things I love about Emmett: 

I love the way his head falls on my shoulder when he's tired.

I love how he holds his hand out to the side, palm up when he needs help.

I love his cute little wave "hi" and "bye," which he does when he sees himself in the mirror or when his siblings are going to bed.

I love that he started saying, "Mamamamama" last week!

I love that he tries to say, "Woof, woof" when he sees Mimi.

I love that he is starting to eat more on his own.

I love that he loves books! He loves turning the pages, looking at the pictures, and smiles huge when we read to him.

I love his giggles when I kiss his tummy!

I love his cute little crawl, and that he goes faster when he sees me catch him headed toward the dog food...

I love that he misses me when I am gone for only two hours.

I love how he likes to explore the house.

I love all the joy, sweetness, cuteness, and love he brings our family!

Look closely: Emmett is giving Kimball bunny ears!

We went to Classic Skate for Emmett's birthday. Emmett seemed a little confused, but everyone had fun. They all got a lot of tickets from the arcade and got to choose some toys. Ian had really good luck with a ball dropping game. Scoring 80 tickets in all!