Tub Time

Landon had the luxury of taking a bath all by his lonesome the other day. Usually, Ashlyn joins him immediately. She washes his hair repeatedly and dumps cup after cup of water over his head. She scrubs every inch of him. Sometimes she accidentally knocks him down causing him to choke on water. She will only let him play with certain toys. Basically she is an overbearing, older sister. He is a little anxious when bathing for these reasons. He had so much fun by himself that I felt really bad.

Child Labor

I told them to look tired in this shot. You can't see it in the photo very well but they were all filthy! Especially Ashlyn.

Last Saturday, Chris put the kids to work carrying these bricks to the backyard. They were on pallets in the front yard. Whitney and Gavin were not overjoyed with this development. Ashlyn thought it was great fun! Rosie and Victoria, two of our cute neighbor girls enjoyed it greatly too. They kept saying what a fun day it was! Gavin complained nonstop. Whitney complained that her hands were getting blisters. Chris lectured them about how he had to carry two five gallon buckets of water to goats for 2 miles when he was around their age. This kind of backfired though when all the kids could focus on was that he had goats! Chris paid them for their labors with Dairy Queen blizzards.

All the bricks they carried!

Happy Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day, Whitney wanted to make herself a flowered headband. She is pretty passionate about going green, recycling ect. We made this treasure Friday night and she was absolutely delighted with it!!! So much so, that she wore it to church on Sunday. There was much debate on whether to wear it all week long or save it for the big day. I voted for saving it for the big day.

Here is a shot of her before she headed off to school this morning. She felt the green and white striped socks and her recycling tee were perfect in honor of recycling and going green. I'm not sure how the mismatched shoes tied in though. Her class is going on a field trip to the movie theater today to see Disney's "Oceans" movie. Sometimes letting her express her individuality is very hard.

Four Eyes

Genetics have failed us once again. I had high hopes that all the children would get Chris's 20/20 vision. Since Chris and I both have straight teeth we thought we would at least save our wallet and our children's egos from braces. Dentists have been telling us Whitney will need orthodontia since her permanent teeth started coming in. Ashlyn had her first dental xrays and her permanent teeth are just as rotated as her baby ones. Genetics have been on my mind a lot lately. As I also recently discovered I have high cholesterol (Thanks Dad!). This development has more to do with genes than my diet. Gavin had his annual eye exam this month and we found out that he has a slight astigmatism and is colorblind. Colorblindness is passed through the Mother so he has me to thank for that. His problem is mainly with greens.

Gavin was not a happy camper. He was trying his best to fool the eye doctor into thinking his vision was fine. He basically just needs them if the teacher is writing on the blackboard. He keeps insisting that he does not need them. And that he sees no better with them.

I could not get over how much he looked like a little man headed off for another day at the office in the above photo. He could totally be a poster child for the young professional.

Landon at 11 Months

Landon is eleven months today and has officially entered the "Here Comes Trouble" stage. He has discovered the joy of the toilet and the toilet paper holder. He gets so gleeful pulling it off that actually let him do it sometimes. He learned how to climb the stairs and had a giant bruise on his forehead to prove it. He loves all the typical favorites. The cats food and water bowls, the dishwasher, the kitchen cupboards, pulling books off the bookshelves any kind of electronic device he can get to. I actually found him a few months back trying to put a DVD into the XBOX tray. They start so young these days, don't they?

Making messes. It's hard to be too annoyed when he flashes that smile at me though.

He loves when Chris throws him in the air! Chris throws him as hard and far as he can and he cannot get enough of it. He will start arching his back and trying to push his legs off Chris's chest. This is his way of saying "Toss me around Dad"! Often people become alarmed by this display. I think Chris has finally gotten his roller coaster buddy in Landon.

When Whitney starts playing the piano Landon is never far behind. He used to just hang out right at her feet and mess with the pedals. Now that he can pull up he gets to play duets with her. But mostly he just stands there and enjoys the music. I think we have a music aficionado on our hands. Whitney says his favorite is "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera.

Sloppy Kisser

Landon's kisses are messy! Mouth as wide as it can go with lots of slobber and tongue action. You might want to click on the above shot to really get the full effect. He sure loves to give'em though!

Roles

Chris often tells me, "We each have our roles." Sometimes I get a little envious because he is the fun parent. Mom is the one they want in they are sick, hurt or sad. Have you ever noticed how Dada is almost always said with a tone of delight? Whereas, Mama is usually in a whiny tone? Landon is our first baby where I have felt like he preferred Chris over me. With Whitney is was a close match between us but I always felt like I had a slight edge. Gavin was hands down, Mama's boy until the age of 2. Ashlyn was like Whitney. Since I spend the most time with them I feel it is my due that they prefer me above all others.

One of life's big disappointments for me has been the fact that I was only able to successfully breastfeed Gavin for any length of time. I won't bore you with the details of why it did not work out in each case. But I would like it to be known that I did everything humanly possible to succeed. Whitney was two months old and still at her discharge weight before I threw in the towel. I was one of those people who had read "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" (among many other books) and attended breastfeeding classes in advance. I had envisioned myself breastfeeding my baby for a full year so that they would benefit from the numerous advantages breastfeeding offers. I was devastated and felt like a complete failure when this dream died.

I then committed to bottle feeding with love which basically just meant that I always held them when they ate. I never propped the bottle up or let them hold it themselves once they were old enough. Therefore ensuring that they would at least not miss out on the close human contact. This was hardly a sacrifice on my part though. (One added benefit was that it made weaning from the bottle very easy also.)

When Landon wants to eat he will come over and hang on my leg until I pick him up or if he can manage it he will get on my lap. Then he will violently throw himself back into the feeding position. This is his not so subtle way of saying, "FEED ME!" This is common among breastfed babies but I had not seen a bottle fed baby do it before. Recently he has started to refuse to take a bottle from Chris. He will start saying mama over and over before culminating into a full blown fit. Landon must have some ideas about our roles as well. Mine is Preferred Bottle Feeder. And I am lovin' this role!

Speedy Whitney

The other day at school Whitney's class ran the 50 yard dash. Whitney was the fastest girl in the 5th grade (only one boy was faster). 4 of the local schools in the area were having a combined track meet today and she wanted to go. Chris is opposed to any kind of competition but he managed to support her in this desire.

The events were the long jump, discus, hurdles and relay races. She came in second in the hurdles! I was disappointed that they didn't have sprints. Because that is what she seems to like best.

Racing in the hurdles.

Running the relay race. Chris was helping out at the discus event with the 6th grade boys. He said all the boys were really embarrassed for this boy because he was losing to a girl. Chris informed them that she was his daughter and would kick all of their butts too!

This cute girl, Brianna, was the only other girl from Whitney's grade and school to show up. Chris and I overheard her telling Whitney that all the other girls said that Whitney was just too fast so they weren't coming. Which really was too bad because the meet was more of a chance to try new things than anything else. Chris gave them both detailed instructions and demostrations on how to throw the discus. And Brianna took first place in the discus event! We are proud of Whitney for not being afraid to try new things and giving it her all!!!! Is there anything this girl can't do?!?

Chris sharing his expertise and wisdom.

Some high school kids were supposed to come and run the discus event but they were late. Chris volunteered to run that event until they showed up. The high school boys were impressed with his coaching skills. =)

Trendsetter

Apparently, Whitney is a trendsetter and not a follower. Her two main criteria for fashion are:

1.) COLOR

2.) comfort

If it is not colorful or comfortable she does not want to wear it.

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer." - Henry David Thoreau

High Five Award

On Friday Gavin was awarded the "High Five Bus Award" by his bus driver for being such a well behaved bus rider.

Chris & Gavin's First Pro Baseball Game

Tuesday night Chris and Gavin headed up to Phoenix to see an Arizona Diamondbacks

baseball game. This was a first for both of them and they were very excited. They had seats right behind the dugout. Gavin was lucky enough to catch two baseballs from players coming off the field. He informed me that no one else got 2 balls that night so he was feeling pretty good!

Looks like they were the first ones to arrive.

Good thing he brought his glove.

Enabler

This morning as Ashlyn was drinking her morning cup of chocolate milk, Landon crawled over and started throwing a fit for her sippy cup. Leading me to think she had been sharing her love of chocolate milk with him. This is how the conversation went:

Me: "Have you been letting Landon drink your chocolate milk?" (I was expecting a denial or an apologetic yes.)

Ashlyn: "Yeah! All day long!!!!" Now it was her tone of voice that really got me, it was like you moron! Why are you even asking me such a stupid question?!?

Easter 2010

Our Easter was pretty low key this year. I think we each consumed at least 5 pounds of candy over the past two days though. The Easter Bunny comes to our house on Saturday. Mostly so Mom and Dad don't have to deal with kids on sugar highs during church on Sunday. The kids think they have really lucked out on this one! Another tradition is that we set out their Easter baskets Friday night and then the Bunny fills them. Chris prefers to have the egg hunt inside the house on Easter morning. I prefer to have it outdoors later on. This was Chris's year so it was indoors. In the picture below Ashlyn is throwing a fit because someone beat her to the eggs on the stairs. Of course Gavin went and put some of his eggs on the stairs and called her over. And then he wonders why she behaves in this manner.

Gavin got that baseball hat he is wearing and of course the latest Nerf weapon. Along with the "Boys Survival Book". It is full of all sorts of useful info like how to survive a tornado.

Whoopsie decked out in her new dress the Bunny brought her.


As you can see, Ashlyn got that coveted high chair for Whoopsie. Ashlyn makes me take pics of just Whoopsie. She is one proud Mama!

Gavin made us wait to start the hunt while he ran upstairs to get his sword. He needed it to knock down those hard to reach eggs on the top of those pictures.

Whitney wanted lots of colorful knee socks for Easter. She loves to wear them with shorts. She thinks it is very stylin'. I thought the shirt fit her oldest child personality perfectly. I just wish they had one in Chris's size. =D

To really enjoy her candy she needed to be reading a book.

Landon's First Easter

Landon loving those plastic eggs.

I laughed over this. That is Ashlyn's doll's new bottle he is enjoying. He was sitting on the sofa with Chris while we were watching conference. That bottle was sitting on the arm of the sofa. He start going crazy trying to get it. As soon as I handed it to him he immediately popped it in his mouth and drank every last drop of water in it! I was impressed that he knew it was a bottle since it looks nothing like his bottles.


The Easter Bunny brought him this giant gumball machine toy. I had gotten one for my niece's birthday and it was a big hit with all the kids from Landon to my nephew who is close to 5. I know he remembered it too cause he got so excited when he first saw it. Whenever he is really concentrating his tongue comes out. =) He is a smart little guy.

Click on the collage to take a closer look at Landon enjoying his chocolate bunny along with my witty captions.

Visiting with Mr. Bunny

Today we finally got Ashlyn and Landon down to the mall to see the Easter Bunny. I was fully expecting Landon to start screaming as soon as we got within a couple feet of the giant Bunny. The employee at the front desk took one look at him and said lets see how he does before you pay for a photo. Kids his age usually find the Easter Bunny frightening. Imagine our surprise and delight when he was absolutely thrilled with Mr. Bunny!!!

On the flip side was Miss Ashlyn. She had been wild to go see Mr. Bunny. She decided that wearing a dress was a must when visiting the Easter Bunny. She was going to tell him all about the high chair she wants for Whoopsie Doo. Once we got there she got a little shy and had to be coaxed into visiting with him.

Whitney and Gavin did not want to visit the Easter Bunny this year. =(

Mesa Temple Easter Pageant

Families Can Be Together Forever!!!

Last night we headed up to Mesa for their annual Easter Pageant. The pageant is held on the temple grounds. We had to get there early to ensure a good spot. We met up with one of Chris's friends and his family. We enjoyed a pizza picnic while we were waiting. A little info on the pageant. The pageant celebrates Jesus Christ's life and teachings through drama, dance and music. It began as a sunrise service back in 1928. Now it is one of the world's largest outdoor Easter pageants, with a cast of over 400. It is completely free too. You can't beat that! I was really excited to go. It was well worth the effort and late night! And a great way to kick off the Easter season. Flash photography was not allowed so I don't have any pics of the pageant but it was impressive! The kids thoroughly enjoyed it. Ashlyn clapped throughout the performance and was really into it. Though she really thought that Jesus was there in person and wanted to go see him. I read on the websites FAQs that it is a common request to have your photo taken with Jesus. But that is not allowed. =D She kept asking when God was coming. Also prior to the performance some of the performers were carrying around a baby black sheep. The kids had a lot of fun petting him and hearing all about my black pet sheep, Peter, that I had as a child.

The sun is in our eyes is making us awfully squinty eyed. =)

Landon's face looks so sweet in this one.


Ashlyn making Gavin be a monkey. This consists of her pulling on your ears (HARD), saying hoo-hoo-hoo and then saying "Gavin's a monkey"!