Seth is 6!!!

Seth turned six on Tuesday!  He is such a sweet, fun, smart kid.  I am constantly amazed at how self sufficient he is and how he tries to tackle just about any task (whether he should be or not).  He has a knack for figuring out how things work.  He is as stubborn as a mule and can be a bit cranky when tired, but for the most part this is one happy kid that is always ready to go anywhere and do anything (except shower in the morning).  Seth has done amazing in kindergarten this year.  He is one of the best readers in his class, and he is zooming through the RAL series.  He can read just about anything.  He gave an "ancestor moment" in Primary a few months ago, and I was so proud of him.  We didn't exactly practice as much as we should have, but he got up there and read the story we prepared (complete with dates and big words) so loud and clear without making a single mistake.  He loves school...but those kindergarten homework packets are another story, and he probably won't win a prize for his handwriting anytime soon!  Seth learned Chinese three afternoons a week for about 2 1/2 months and it is amazing how much he knows!  He can count, say colors, sing songs, etc.  His teacher told me he had a knack for it and picked it up very quickly.

Seth is not about finesse, but he takes the bull by the horns and just goes for it in about any situation.  He loves biking and scootering and is quite a master at putting Legos together.  He has a knack for making a mess...if there is something to be collided with, ran over, spilled...Seth is the man.  At this point it is just so predictable and lovable—that's Seth!  We love this big kid and are so grateful he has blessed our lives for the past six years.  

Seth's birthday was on a school day, but the kindergartners got to eat school lunch for "practice" that day, so he was totally stoked.  I did his little birthday spotlight in class the day before, complete with the poster of pictures he put together without much help from me.  He came home sporting a birthday crown and in a great mood.  My mom was able to watch the little kids for me, so he and I headed out on the town.  

He really wanted to go bowling, so we did.  We also hit a candy store and a park and got back just in time for him to go to a classmate's birthday party.

That evening Jer and I took the kids to dinner.  Seth chose The Coppermill because he wanted salad bar!  After dinner we came back for some chocolate pie and presents.  Seth is so excited about his Aggie hat and can't wait to use his kayak.  He can float it on the river at our new house.  We also had a party this weekend with grandmas, grandpas, and cousins but that can be its own post.  Happy Birthday Seth!

Little Chefs

Leah got this cute kitchen for Christmas and she really likes it, but she and Ian probably haul and/or throw the food around a lot more than they actually play with it.  Ian got his chef stuff for Christmas and this is the only time since then he has worn it as far as I know.  Leah's room is the only one in this entire house where a half decent picture can be taken.  The walls are light, the carpet's not crazy, and it gets nice light.  Anyway, I took a few shots of the kids being little chefs the other day while it lasted...which was about five minutes for Leah in that hat!  I guess ketchup on lettuce is for dinner.

Mother's Day Attempt

Well, let's just say for Mother's Day I kind of last minute decided to try and get some shots of all the kids to give to their grandmas.  That did not go well!  With the exception of Luke there was not a lot of cooperation in the bunch.  Leah was literally running away in most of them.  After seeing the sad results—some my bad and some theirs—I ended up making some really cute mini accordion books for the grandmas that just featured small prints of small groups of the kids.  They turned out cute.  There was definitely nothing that was large print worthy!  Oh well, I'll give it another shot.  I am posting a few of the keepers as well as a few that can easily be identified as rejects!

I had a great Mother's Day, and I am so thankful for the amazing moms in my life.  My mom is awesome, and I so appreciate her friendship and her willingness to help out anytime, anywhere...the kids absolutely love her and for good reason.  Jer's mom is also great.  She is so fun and easygoing and a wonderful grandma too!  And last but not least I always think of the two birth moms in our life on Mother's Day—my life would not be complete without the incredible gifts I owe to them.  Being a mom is really hard and sometimes I'm downright lousy at it, but I sure love my kids and wouldn't trade it.

 

 

 

  

  

   

Cute Girl

Random Stuff

Here are a few random things to mention.  Back in April Seth lost his first tooth, and he was so excited!

The boys had a furlough day from school in April, so we decided to go to Hogle Zoo.  It was so fun!  It was the perfect day for the zoo, and I will never go in the summer again.  It was not crowded and even a bit chilly.  It did not stink, you could go right up to the front of each exhibit, and all of the animals were out and active.  The kids loved it, and I actually thought it was really fun too.  I've probably met my zoo quota for another two or three years though!

The kids all had fun on the carousel but a picture was not happening.

And last but not least, Luke has had fun with his first year of Cub Scouts.  I'm still so clueless about the program.  At the last pack meeting Luke earned his Wolf badge, so I guess he's officially a Bear.

Luke also participated in his first Pinewood Derby.  It's kind of intense—which seems kind of ridiculous.  We borrowed a scale to get his car the right weight but when they weighed it in at the church it was too light on that scale.  They left it anyway, and he raced it the next day.  He did okay in the first few races and then kept losing every time.  We could see he was getting kind of discouraged, and I was seriously feeling bad for him.  At our bishop's suggestion (we have a new bishop who is Jer's good friend and is younger than us!) we decided to glue something to it.  Jer quickly glued a drill bit to it and it still made weight so Luke won his last race.  That was enough to put a smile on his face!  Afterwards the boys raced a bunch of times for fun and his car won a lot.  That few ounces made a huge difference.  All in all it was a good experience and I guess we know now what to do next time.  I'm really trying to get excited about Scouts, heavy on the trying, because we have a lot of it in our future!

I do actually think Scouts is great, and I got to see the program in action at the pack meeting.  It was a canyon clean up in Providence Canyon.  All of the boys were climbing the very steep mountainside that goes up out of the parking lot.  Seth of course followed all of the older boys up there—way to the top.  It is very, very steep.  Well, when they turned around to come back down he was really scared.  Luke and two other cute little Scouts, Jaden and Ben, ended up holding his hands and working together to help him back down every step of the mountain.  So cute!  That does a mom's heart good.

Belated Birthday Post

Ian's birthday was April 14th, but he partied for days.  Boyd and Cindy were headed out of town for the weekend, so they came down for a visit and took Ian to McDonald's for some ice cream a few days early.  Then on Saturday we met up with TJ and Amy's family and went to dinner and The Jump Zone.  We love these cousins!  Sorry about the bad phone picture. 

Sunday the 14th was finally Ian's "real birthday."  He had already been asking me for days if it was his real birthday "on this day."  Since we had already celebrated with everyone else, and it is also my dad's birthday we went down to my parent's house after church for a little party.  Ian turned four and my dad is 69.  Both of those are a bit hard for me to believe!

A bit about Ian at age four and some silly pics from his party:  Ian is so animated and funny.  He cracks me up on a daily basis and even though he's as stubborn as a mule and can be extremely difficult at times he gets happy again so quickly and is so loving it's hard to stay frustrated with this kid.  February was a rough month for Ian.  I don't  know if it was the move or what, but he was difficult at home, preschool for the first time ever, and Sunbeams!!  We survived though and although Sunbeams is still not his favorite, he's back to being his happy, funny self.

Here's a little conversation with Ian the other day:
Ian (looking in the pantry):  Mom, did you get more fruit snacks?
Me:  No, I haven't yet.
Ian:  What kind of a freakin' mom do I have?

This kid endears himself to you though.  Lately anywhere and everywhere we are if he sees a white dandelion he has to stop, blow it, and make a wish.  He is truly never in a hurry.  He also is in the  habit of saluting the flag.  Every time we drive around in the car he says "look mom" whenever he sees a flag, and when I look back he's doing the cutest two finger salute ever.  He is also so cute with his sister most of the time.  He is forever telling people to "look at his cute baby sister" or asking them "isn't she cute?"  He also only refers to her little arm as a "nub!"  Hopefully she will have a thick skin and know he says it with love!

Ian learned to ride a two-wheel bike a few weeks before his birthday.  He loves to play with his brother Seth in the afternoons.  They are so cute together.  He loves Lego Ninjago just like his brothers and pretty much just wants to do whatever they are doing.  We love this kid!