August...and then I'll get better at blogging

So, August. I guess August, rather September will be my month to redeem myself in my blogging/journaling. The very first week of August Logan finished up Itty Bitty Soccer. He had a lot of fun, it was harder with Tragon this time because he was walking and wanted to go out and kick the ball too, so it was an hour of squirming Tragon, fussing Damon, and happy Logan. Next time, Damon will get to do Itty Bitty Football while Logan is at pre-school, then I'll only have to worry about Tragon. :)

We were able to make it to the temple in August. I think we've only missed one month this year, so we still have about 4 more to go. It's really been a blessing to have the temples so close so that we can go and I especially want to go as much as I can now that we're having another baby and I usually don't get back for about 6 months while I'm on a tight nursing schedule.

At my last Dr Appointment everything was looking good with baby number 4. I have my ultrasound towards the end of September, so we'll be able to find out soon. I'm really hoping it's a girl though, we're having a hard time deciding on a boy name and usually by now it's already been decided for boy or girl. Either way I'm going to be really happy.

Morgan went on his big Scout Camp from Wed-Saturday. Luckily some of my friends in the neighborhood also had some summer time off, so we played in lots of water, had lots of picnics and the time really went by pretty quick.

We've still been going to the library more, but I decided that I need to be better at getting chores and other more important things (like scripture reading, praying, blogging, laundry, cleaning, etc) all done before I let myself read my fun books, otherwise I get sucked into a rather neglectful time warp and nothing gets done. Even though I know this happens every time I go on a reading binge it still happens, hopefully this time I will finally be able to find a good balance.

Logan has his pre-school open house this week and then he starts pre-school next week. I'm so excited for him. It will be good for us to have a little break from each other and I think it will do Damon some good to have a little more attention before another baby is requiring it too.
Tragon loves to feed himself and most of the time will eat much better if you let him take the reins, but it is a lot messier. Sometimes though, it's worth the mess if I can actually sit down and eat with them too when I'm hungry. :)
The pudding was everywhere, but he loved it!
Logan is getting to be too smart, but having a hard time with the fact that parents sometimes get to do things that kids don't. He doesn't quite understand why he has to listen to me and do what I ask, but I don't have to always do what he says. He's getting more independent and more trusting, but he's also coming up with more creative tantrums too. Overall, he's the best big brother in the whole world and loves to play with Damon and Tragon and I'm so glad I have him as my oldest to be the example.
Damon, oh Damon, where to begin. It seems like no matter how fussy you have been you can just smile and bat your big blue eyes and I forget why I was mad....well, sometimes. Life is so big and dramatic to him right now. And if things don't happen just right, it's always someone else's fault and surely means the end of the world. His laugh is contagious and he's really starting to bond a little better with Tragon, now that he seems more like a little boy rather than a baby. Damon can still be persuaded to eat or at least try most things at dinner and loves a good treat. Most of all he still loves trains.

Tragon's Birthday

Tragon's birthday was July 19th. I can't believe my baby is one! He is walking and running and getting into all sorts of mischief.My parents were able to come up for an evening and a do a little birthday partying. Morgan's dad had just recently had surgery, so they couldn't make it to the party, so we took some cake to them the next day.
I made a fun carrot cake.
See the cute carrots. That's about as far as I go in cake decorating. :) It's really not my forte.
he didn't actually get too messy eating the cake, probably because I only gave him a slice at a time, but I bet he could have polished off a whole cake all by himself. He's a really good eater and unfortunately has him mom's sweet tooth too.
Tragon really loved reading books with papa. I love to see my parents with my boys and it was great to see them even if it was just a short trip.

We love you Tragon and can't imagine our family without you. You've been such a good baby, but now that you're walking I worry about you all the time. You like to quietly get into trouble where your older brothers were always very loud about it. You are such a monkey and love to climb on things and just want so desperately to keep up with your brothers in everything you do. You sleep well, eat well, and take naps well. Happy Birthday Little Guy.

Fishing at Payson Lake

We took the boys fishing to Payson Lake last Saturday on a spur of the moment trip. It turned out to be a good learning experience. Fishing with little kids is NOT the same as fishing as a kid with your parents. :) I'm sure we kind of knew that going in and really it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I was a little sad that I forgot to take any pictures. We didn't catch anything and we ended up scaling the curvy canyon road several times (we had to go back in to town because the pay booths don't take visa and we rarely have cash, and really we weren't even expecting a toll for fishing and since we drove all the way down there to fish, by golly we were going to fish!). The kids were pretty patient, but towards the end they were ready to get out of the car and fish.

Logan was more interested in finding rocks and eating Nutella pancakes, a new favorite snack and craving of mine.

Damon just liked throwing anything in the water, I threatened to throw him in if he wouldn't stop...and I really should have followed through on the one, but I didn't want to deal with a wet crying kid for the whole way home...I should have thought of that before I made the threat.

Tragon was interested in walking up and down the path and sucking on the bobbers. He's getting pretty steady on his feet now. I need to take a video of it before he gets too good and it doesn't look like he's just learning.

Overall, it really was quite fun, we didn't catch anything, but just as we were getting ready to pack up and go we did have a bite, but it got away. It started raining and a storm was heading in, so we had to high-tail it outta there. It's been years since Morgan went to Payson Lake to fish and it was way more crowded than he remembers. The boys want to go again and so do I. It was fun to just go and do something without much preparation. Luckily I was craving pancakes, so I had just made a whole bunch of fresh pancakes that we took with us to eat for dinner. :)

Family Pictures July 2011

This past couple of weeks we did some photo-shoots with our neighbor. And, boy my kids were quite un-cooperative, but over the course of two different sessions we were able to finally get some decent ones. These are just a few, I'm still going through the rest to decide which ones I want to print and frame, so I'll probably throw some in the blog posts randomly just to get them in there.Logan was probably the hardest to get a good face on. He was trying a little too hard to smile most of the time.
Damon takes after his mom, he's not super photogenic when looking at the camera, but I loves the faces and lines on him when he's distracted with something else, it makes him look so much more innocent.
And Tragon was a little model baby....for the first little while anyway. He had lots of smiles for the camera and part of these pictures were to document him being 1 year old!!! Wow.
There are a couple other family pictures that turned out pretty good too, but we're still in the editing process on those. :) I sure love my family. I wanted to hurry and get pictures done before I got too fat again, because yes the rumors are true, baby #4 is on the way and due in February!!! YAY!

This past month....

I thought I was only a week or so behind....not a whole month! So, here's a quick catch up. The boys love to play outside, especially when there is water and Popsicles involved. This was a little ramp we made with our rain gutter piece that keeps falling off. Then to top it off we stick the hose in it and it becomes a waterslide. I think we have done this at least 3-4 times a week for the last month.
The porch is the only place with shade in the afternoon after nap times, so that's where we play, in the morning it's still early enough that we can go for walks and bike rides.
And of course our afternoon treat is usually some sort of popsicle or otter pop. mmmmm, I love summer for that reason alone! I love how blue and bold Damon's eyes are, even if they are full of mischief.
His mouth is all blue from the blue popsicles we had that day. I tell you what, Shout spray and wash and me are best buddies right now. :)
Logan prefers the popsicles with sticks, but Damon would rather have an otter pop that he can bite...actually, he's probably good with anything really, but Logan always wants me to make his otter pop juice so he can just drink it. :)
Damon is still my little hooligan and trouble maker. His excuse lately for misbehavior is usually a very sincere, "but Mom, I have to." I know he's a boy and probably really can't help it, but if I have to clean up one more mess of toilet water all over the bathroom floor because he just had to fill up his cup and water the stools, so help me....
Tragon just puts up with all the craziness like a champ even though, he gets the brunt of negative attention. I don't think Damon intentionally tries to be mean, he's just a little territorial right now, so if Tra is even near him or turns in his direction he grabs his toys and screams. Tragon just thinks that's pretty funny.
Logan is my Mr. Information. He's always telling me some story about this or that and most of the time it's really fun to just sit back and listen, but when I'm trying to take a nap with the majority of the household it's not so cute, but I love that he craves information and I think he's going to love pre-school in the fall.
Tragon is pretty much walking now. He'll take about 10-15 steps and has really good balance, but just sits down anyway. He's been the most different learning to walk and boy is that kid a monkey. He just started standing up in the middle of the room and I thought he would just take off, but it took him a few weeks before he tried that first step and then rather than going to mommy or daddy, he took his first step towards the garbage can. :) He loves his walker too, I couldn't get the other boys to use it until after they were proficient walkers.
Damon's nursery leaders always comment how great his smile is and how good he is and how happy and I tell them, for as good and innocent as he looks, that's how mischievous and guilty he can get.
Tragon will be turning one year old tomorrow, so I'm sure I'll have more to post on that after his birthday cake adventures and his stats from the doctor.
My garden has been doing well. I've been getting a lot of spinach, lettuce, and chard and I decided already that I don't like the chard and lettuce enough to plant it again next year. :) I have enjoyed the fresh salads though.
The spinach has been great in smoothies and the kids like it that way and then I feel like a good mom getting veggies in my boys and they are totally aware there is spinach in there and they still eat it. :) Our neighbors gardens are doing well too. We got together and had a neighborhood BBQ for the 4th of July and went down the street to watch the neighborhood fireworks before heading up to our place to watch the Thanksgiving Point fireworks from our front lawn. Our friends brought strawberries from their garden and they were so good! We had a fun 4th of July, we spent time with a lot of friends, played games, stayed up late and just had fun.
So, we got suckered into getting the Pass of all Passes thinking it would be such a great deal...not really a great deal, but now that we are stuck with them, we will make the best of it and get our money's worth. Part of the pass is free general admittance to all the Orem Owls games. We took the boys and they did good for a while, then they were restless, but luckily there is a playground right there and they loved it. Next time we go we'll sit closer to the playground so I don't spend the whole time in the play area. The game was really slow and we ended up leaving early and realized that most of the games are going to last until 10:00 or 11:00 at night since they start at 7:00 (our kids go to bed around 7-7:30 most nights) so it will definitely have to be a weekend treat when they have all gotten a good nap during the day.
Another fun activity we did was go to the splash park nearby. Our first attempt was a failure as a pump had just busted and they closed it down for a while, so we headed up to another one with more sprayers and much colder water. Needless to say, our kids hated the other one and refused to play, so after about only 5-10 minutes we decided to head back and see if everything was fixed or see if it would be worth it to just wait it out.
They had just fixed it as we got there and we had the whole place to ourselves...for about 2 minutes, then people started showing up, but our kids had a blast. I want a swimsuit like my boys, not necessarily Cars themed, but I like the shirts and I am bound and determined find one in my size. :)

We dried of a little in the sun and then headed home to change and decided that we didn't want to make dinner so we actually took the kids out on a date, we haven't been out to eat as a family since way before Tragon was even conceived, so it was pretty exciting for the boys. We went to the Pizza Cafe and it was alright, not the greatest but we all left fed and happy. The next day Logan kept saying, "Mom, it's time to go to the pizza cafe like we always do" I think it's a good thing we don't eat out a lot. Hahaha
I found the perfect place for Tragon to play while I clean the bathroom. I was scrubbing the sink and he just climbed right into the bathtub, so I let him play until I got to the tub part, then I got him out.
This boy loves water though, I feel bad I haven't taken him to the pool at all, I'm sure he would have a blast. He's always sticking his face in his bath water and blowing bubbles and splashing and trying to drink water and blow bubbles in his cup.

So recently we took some family pictures with our friend and should have some edited soon, so I'll post those later, but we're excited to have some good family pictures. I might actually get around to printing one and getting it framed and hung, wouldn't that be awesome?! And hopefully it won't be so long in between posts, I forget the funny little things that happen along the way when I do, but we've got some fun stuff coming up so until next time...

Father's Day 2011

Father's Day was a good one this year. My parents were actually up here because we also had a family gathering for my Grandma's 80th birthday, so it was nice to celebrate with the father of my children and my own father. I sure love my husband. He is the best dad and husband in the whole world and his boys adore him, even if he doesn't think so sometimes. For Father's Day my parents watched our boys while we went to a matinee on Saturday and saw the X-men movie. We really liked it. After that Morgan went up to the RSL store to pick something out. He took Logan with him and was somehow able to weasel in a free soccer ball. :)
I was also able to find the The Sandlot movie. We've been keeping our eye out for it for a while now, so when I saw it I couldn't resist. We watched it together on Sunday....and realized there was some mild language that I hope the boys didn't pick up on, but if you hear them cursing, I promise he didn't hear it from me. :) Morgan is my everything and I love him so much!

My own dad is also quite amazing. He's always been an example of calmness and faith to me. He has a quiet comfort about him. He got an ipad for Father's Day/Birthday and had it with him and of course he got my boys (all of them including Morgan) sucked in Angry Birds. It was actually a great distraction for them Sunday morning while I was trying to get everything ready. They sure love their papa and I do too!

T.Z.H.

Oh, my little Tra, what would we do without you. We are basically done nursing and have been for about a week. 11 months is about all I've been able to make it with my other boys too (their decision, not mine, I would have hung on there one more month). He's doing great with whole milk though (won't touch formula). He LOVES bath time and climbs all over the place. My favorite thing to watch is when he sticks his face in the water and blows bubbles and comes up laughing. He might be my little fish if I ever got him to the swimming pool.

He's a great eater and great sleeper and for the most part is very happy and mild-mannered, but boy howdy can he throw a mean tantrum...it would be annoying if it wasn't so cute. He's very dramatic, especially when it's Damon that is taking something back that Tragon initially stole. :)

He loves his big brothers and always wants to be with them. He is a super fast crawler and will stand on his own if he feels like it and he'll now cruise around the furniture a little. He loves stairs and can go up them like a bullet, but hasn't quite figured out the best way to get down from things. He loves to climb up on the boys' toddler beds and bounce and slide off and do it all over again. I have mixed feelings about him walking, I really want to be able to go outside and not worry about his hands getting all gross and scuffing all his shoes and being in a position where he puts everything from the ground in his mouth, but I know that once he starts walking he might go straight to running and then I'll be spending our days outside chasing him around. :)

Tragon is also a big talker. He always has something to say and we've had some great conversations in the morning when he first wakes up. I love it. I love him, we all do!

L.E.H

Logan is my little boy now. He loves to go to the library and read. He can get dressed all by himself and usually picks out his clothes for the day. (If only we could get the wiping thing down, we'd be set) He's a really good big brother. I'm excited for him to start preschool in the Fall and for all the things he's going to learn and the friends he's going to make.

He loves to be outside and draw chalk roads and parking lots on the driveway (well, he likes me to draw them because if he touches the chalk he gets too dirty). He loves being outside and while he loves the concept of water and watching it go down the drain and throwing water balloons, he's really not a huge fan of actually getting wet. It's something we're working on and I've gotten him to to run through the sprinkler once. :)

Lately he has really turned a corner with his eating habits (knock on wood) and the other day he actually came to the table without already protesting that he hated whatever we were having and ate the taco salad...it was more like nachos since I left off the lettuce, but he ate the chips with meat and beans and cheese...really I was flabbergasted, it was a huge step forward. Then, last night, he actually ate the tuna casserole that Morgan requested for Father's Day. All the boys ate it, I guess I'll be fixing that meal more now. He's been better about actually trying something first before absolutely putting his foot down.

He loves to go down and help me water the garden and gets just as excited as me when something is growing. I hope that when harvesting time comes he'll be just as excited to try and eat the food that we have grown.

Logan is just as much of a tease as Damon and lately has been into the whole peer pressure thing, as in I'll tell him not to do something, like don't turn on the hose and then I'll hear him saying, "Damon, go turn on the hose" oiy! We've had a few talks about that. And, he'll laugh when I'm disciplining Damon, but he came up with his own way to calm down after he got sent to time out too for that. He takes a deep breath and says "whew, mom, I just need to take a deep breath and calm down so I don't laugh" I could probably take a few lessons from him in that department. :)

I loves my Logan and it has been so fun to see him growing up...sad, but fun. :)

D.J.H.

I love my little Damonater, but he and I butt heads the most. I don't know what it is, but my temper seems much shorter with him. I do keep reminding myself that he's only 2, but he really does know better. He has a fascination with any sort of liquid and I usually can't leave him at the table with an open cup of anything or it ends up all over the floor and the table.

He's still Logan's little shadow, but I see him wanting to break out of that and be his own little person, I think he's still just trying to figure out what he really likes. He melts my heart when he wraps his pudgy little hands around my neck and says, "I love you mom, you're my best friend" it makes me forget all his misbehavior for a few moments at least until he's off testing his boundaries again.

When my parents were up this weekend, my dad and I took him with us for a little shopping trip while Morgan had Logan and my mom stayed with sleeping Tragon. I asked him a few of his favorite things; Color: red Word: Damon Number: 2 Friend: Buddy (or Scott, I asked him a couple times to see if the answer would be the same) Letter: X

I hope I get to spend some more one on one time with my boys more often as they are growing up so fast. Once Logan starts pre-school in the Fall, Damon will be the "oldest" and I'm sure we'll be able to bond a little more. He still loves trains and cars and digging in the dirt. He doesn't care about being dirty or messy (unless Logan points it out) and he loves to tease! He is very sweet with Tragon most of the time, but has his moments...let's just say they are not allowed in the same vicinity without adult supervision. :)

I love my Damon and his big blue eyes always make me smile!

Reading

There is something about summer that always inspires me and gets me back on the bandwagon of reading. I have not been able to get enough reading in lately. It helps me fall asleep to read at night and Morgan doesn't mind when it usually involves me scratching his head until he falls asleep too while I'm reading. :)

A few of the books that I have read recently are:

The Healing Spell

Cross My Heart

Stonefox

A Taste of Blackberries

Pieces of Paris

A Girl of the Limberlost

Dragon Slippers (all 3 in the series)

The Thirteenth Tale

Trespass

She Walks in Beauty

Dragon Prince

The Hourglass Door

Most of them are YA books, which are easy to read and put down when I need to and they are relaxing, but I do have on my list...which is about to 100...a few more thought provoking books. We have been going to the library almost once a week and Logan and Damon have loved picking out books and have had a lot of fun reading too.

Occasionally we'll even get a movie or two for the boys. Sometimes we'll go outside and read our books on a blanket on the grass, or get some snacks and have a little read-a-thon. I know my pace has been pretty fast reading lately, so I hope that I can curb it down a little at a time so I don't just completely quit reading again, it's just so much better than watching all the garbage on TV. So, here's to a happy summer of reading. If you know any good books, let me know. And I also have an account on goodreads if you really care to see what else is on my to-read list. :)