More Firsts!

Sunday Dillan paid his tithing for the first time. This was money Grandma Mary hid in the eggs from Easter. He doesn't really earn any money yet. Any change he finds goes straight to his piggy bank. We explained the purpose of tithing and how it helps to build churches and temples. He seemed okay with that. Chris showed him how to fill out the slip and he placed the money into the envelope. They then walked together to the stand to find the bishop. He's becoming more brave with the handshakes, probably because that's what Daddy does!



Today Dillan had his first dental cleaning. His appointment a few weeks ago just had some teeth counting and a little scraping to show him what "sugar bugs" looked like. Before we left that appointment, the dentist said he was ready for his first cleaning. I was nervous for him, I didn't know how he would be. Dental visits when I was younger were horrible, and I never had a cavity! (Thanks Mom!) I had my first set of cavities after returning home from my mission. It was horrible! Then later, I was newly pregnant with Dillan, and during a cleaning nearly puked all over the DH. I was also told I had two more cavities. So weeks later I was back to get those filled. Still nauseated from being pregnant, I held a bucket in my lap. When the dentist shot up my gums, I started crying. It hurt SO BAD! The assistant offered to hold my hand. Then I puked with a numb mouth. Yeah, THAT was lovely. Luckily I had a bib on. I never returned to that dentist. I wonder if they remember me.

But enough about me, who would have thought the dentist could be so much fun? Dillan was having the time of his life. Jennifer, the DH, who is THE BEST, was so sweet in how she explained everything to him. He carried a conversation with her like they were old friends. He even got to hold the instruments! (Mr Thirsty, The Water Squirter, and the Tickling Toothbrusher) Lucky! He did so well, they suggested trying X-Rays. Yup, I hate those too. I think it's because my teeth are too big for my mouth, so it always hurts to hold those pads inside my mouth. My nearly 4-year-old showed me up with how still he sat with those things in his mouth! His teeth are next to perfection (thanks to good genes ;) ) and we were able to look over his X-rays and see the perfect molars and permanent teeth still under the gums. Fun Times!

Not to be outdone, Leah turned her first doorknob today.

She's a whiz at closing doors all over the place, but finds herself stuck in most cases. Today she was able to free herself from my closet and her bedroom. No no no, I'm not a big fan of those plastic kidproof doorknobs, they've worked me over too many times (very embarrassing). So we're just growing right along! Exciting!

And we ended our Cinco de Mayo at Rosa's, where else? Chris occasionally suffers from Mi Ranchito withdrawals, especially this time of year, but we got our fix. A mighty good one too!

So Long Paci!

It's been officially one week since we went cold turkey with the pacifier. Or as Leah affectionately called it "Nigh Night." With Dillan we tried the whole weaning thing, and it took months and months to get him rid of it. Leah had a couple rough days and many tantrums, but now she's doing well. When she's exhausted in the middle of the day she'll push a chair over to the counter (where my bag is supposed to be high enough out of reach) climb up and start pulling zippers and looking everywhere she can for that thing. I hung onto it for a few days just in case I became too overwhelmed, but it is now officially gone and cannot come back.

Of course, that little temper of hers has it's moments.


Moment #1. After she cools of later I'm sure she'll be willing to help me clean it up.

On the upside, she has definantly started jibberjabbering more that she doesn't have the plug in her mouth. She's putting words together and her vocabulary has taken off. It's fun to hear what comes out of her mouth and what she likes to get into. She's quite the helper around the house, always wanting to help me with laundry and cooking. She's absolutely in love with Daddy, and always has something new to show him, like his shoes that she clops around in. At breakfast one morning, she held up her spoon and as he walked in declared: "Daddy! Spoon!" At the pool, she started following a young 7 year old girl. Poor girl didn't know what to do about it, but was sweet enough and chatted for a minute with the little social butterfly.

She's just too much!

Birthday Fever

It's that time again. Really, up until 4 days ago I was planning to have one fun-filled day at Disneyland with Dillan for his 4th birthday. It has now blossomed into 3 separate birthday celebrations. Day 1, bring cupcakes to school. Day 2, Disneyland. Day 3, a Spiderman birthday party. Hopefully we'll come out with smiling faces!

Be warned if you give him one smidgeon of attention, he'll break into his tell-all routine. "It's almost Grandma's birthday and then it will be MY birthday. I'm gonna be 4. I'm gonna have Spiderman and cupcakes and play on the toys at the park!" I guess he's got it all figured out, now if only Mommy could get more on board with what's going on!

Relay For Life

We joined the Best Buy Team for the annual Relay For Life. I am not understating when I say we were there the whole day. The WHOLE day. The past 2 years, the kids and I, with Grandma, have attended RFL in Claremont with our cousins, but only ever stayed a few hours. We were there for the start, and left after the Luminaire program. The only thing we did not do was sleep over in a tent. Hopefully those brave ones didn't freeze to death. It was a beautiful day, but we could have done without the cold gusty wind. There was lots to do at the event, and we made sure we did it all.


So much fun! We played Plinko, Bowling, and some football!

We started out by coloring our Luminaire. We wanted to remember our family members who are fighting cancer and make a tribute to them. Of course, Dillan was first in line when it came to coloring with MARKERS!

Our luminaire. A tribute to our heroes Chad, Kyle and Shelby. We love you!

When we weren't walking the track, we had a relaxing spot under the EZUp with blankets, chairs and enough snacks to last for days. There were groups performing on the stage the entire day, and plenty of contents going on. That plus everyone was giving away food the whole day. Various groups had things to sell to raise money, others had games to keep kids entertained. Best Buy had a fun set up with Guitar Hero, so Dillan got his fill of that. He's quite the percussionist on the drums and performed well for all the employees present, who couldn't help but cheer him on.



Leah had the toughest time with all the outdoor exposure. She took a couple good naps all bundled up, but her appetite was weak. Even before we left in the morning, she didn't eat very much. Everytime I circled the track I collected 2-3 water bottles to make sure we were all drinking enough.

It was an exhausting day, but being surrounded by good people who are completely devoted to fighting for a good cause was a lot of fun. I was amazed at the efforts of teams and individuals who have been affected in one way or another by cancer. Everyone was friendly and charitable, you couldn't help but enjoy yourself. We will definantly do this again.

Our Playground

So we were hoping for another 90 degree day today, but 75 ain't so bad either. Since Daddy was home we decided to hit the beach!

A little breezy, a little cool, but plenty of fun to keep us entertained for hours! Plus a nice healthy glow to start up the beach season (some of us with a slight reddish tinge).



Leah braved touching the water, but once she got splashed by the wave, came running to me in tears. We cuddled under a towel every few minutes in between sand castles and snack munching, per her request. She even caught a good 30 minute nap curled up under the towel.

Nothing kept Dillan down the whole day. I love how as 4 approaches, he seems to be whining less and obeying more. He braved the water and played in the sand with Daddy. Then he let me strip him down and stood under a cold rinse-off open air shower before getting in the car. Once he was buckled in with only a towel keeping him real he said, "Ahhh, that was a long fun day!" Sure was!

Let it Begin...

We kicked off the start of pool season today! The water was warmer than expected, and it was great!


Look at those pie wedges! Yeah, on BOTH of them!

I wasn't sure what to expect from Dillan. I was hoping that he would pick up where he left off the end of last summer, where he had overcome any fears and was enthusiastic about learning to swim. Yeah, dead wrong. Hopefully we're not starting from square one, but he obviously needs a few warm up trials to get back on track. That better be how it is. I'm trying to talk him into swim lessons, but he said no way. I know he won't listen to me, but I would want someone who will push him and be a little merciless. Peggy, where are you? He loves his goggles, even though he only stuck his eyes in the water for a millisecond and for all I know, he had them closed! It's just the beginning. I am determined to have him swimming laps by the end of summer.

Then there was Leah.

She started out just giddy to get into the water. No surprise, she's like that every night before climbing in the bath. Once she was in the water and comfortable on the top step, she got more excited. Gradually her excitement escalated to daring, nay psycho crazy. When I tried to hold her, she pulled away and wiggled with all her strength so I'd release her. Sure, she went under a few times, and came up coughing and choking...then smiling. I'm working on cues with her, trying to make it to 3 before dunking or jumping in. She was a jumping machine. It was robotic: jump (or plop) to me, turn to the steps where I'd release her, climb out onto the deck, go under the rail, double back to original jumping point, and (usually) wait for my signal. Too cute!

We had so much fun and look forward to many more days of water water water!

Go Halos!

Yes, normally this family bleeds blue. Cougar Blue & Jazz Blue. BUT, this time of year, our boys of summer just happen to be RED. And we like it that way!

Ahh yes, the warm weather, the bright lights, and baseball season lasts all summer! The smell of the hotdogs (I don't eat the things, but don't mind the aroma at the ballpark), the sound of the crack of the bat, watching the ball fly out of the park, laughing at those die-hard fans that surround you. It's great!

We are so excited for baseball season, and we plan to attend a game or three and cheer on the Angels! One of the first songs Dillan learned was "Take Me Out To The Ballgame," second only to "Popcorn Popping." He's so excited about going to see a baseball game, hopefully it will happen soon!

I should mention the NBA playoffs as well. Once again Daddy's love-hate relationship with the Jazz has taken over his sanity. Bad news: the Lakers. Being in thick Laker territory is hard enough, but he has no one nearby to take his side. It's a difficult time. There are many nights that the poor TV gets yelled at every few minutes, like it did anything wrong! He's been known to have all the blinds up and windows open in the house, while "watching" a game. Hopefully the new neighbors won't come complaining! Don't tell him I said all this!

What he needs is a nice family outing to a baseball game.

This should be fun...