Busy Bees

This month we took a trip to visit Grandma Donna and Papa Bob in St. George. It was extra special in that Aunt Leeann, Chad, Venessa and Jenasea came down as well!
We went to the Dinosaur museum, fed the ducks, played all over Grandma's fun house, and had a great time visiting with everyone!


Once we got back, everything turned BUSY!
Dillan finished basketball season with a trophy. He had a fantastic coach, Coach Todd, learned a lot and can't wait to play next year!

Baseball season has officially started, and Dillan is (surprisingly) really getting into it, so we're knee deep in practices and games start this weekend!

Leah decided she wanted to play soccer. Her reason is because she wants to get treats after the game and NOT share with Dillan. This is what she looks forward to most. We laced up Dillan's old boots with pink laces, got a pink ball, pink socks, Dillan's purple jersey and she's ready to go!

She did pretty good, even though she kept asking for water breaks. She doesn't like to sweat too much!

Dillan and Drew found a way to keep themselves entertained during soccer. Drew likes to push the stroller (as he practices walking), so Dillan tried to get a ride in the process.

Leah has also started taking ballet/tap combo with her best friend Avery. Her favorite part is shuffling the tap shoes and of course checking herself out in the mirror!

Yup, BUSY!

O to be 1!

Drew is 1. He can now have cow's milk. And peanut butter. And honey. He sits forward in his car seat! It's a whole new world to him!
We had a ton of fun at Chuck E Cheese, where Drew had his own plate of french fries. He has discovered dipping and dips everything he eats. Even if there's no dip in front of him. He ate up his birthday cake, but not before touching the burning candle wax with his fingers. He loved the cake and cried when it was gone.

He had a set of 3 shots, plus a finger prick to make sure he wasn't anemic. That was the worst. After she squeezed his finger to get out some blood for the testing piece, the nurse put a big bandaid over the tip of his finger. It drove him nuts. He was screaming and trying to pull it off. Thankfully it wasn't on his thumb-sucking hand.
He weighed just over 21 lbs and was 28 or 29 inches. Nice and proportionate.

He also makes lots of sounds, including Daddy's favorite where he sounds like he's clearing his throat. After he takes a drink, he looks at you and says "Ahhhh."
Our new house is covered in big textured tiles, so he's been crawling all over and has worn holes in the knees of 2 pairs of pants! Hopefully he'll be walking before we run out of pants!

Drewby is 1!

So a lot of things have happened lately. 1-We moved. 2-Drew is now facing forward in the car in his new seat. 3-He also started drinking cow's milk. 4-He's 1 today!
The time has gone by so darn fast, it's out of control!

Some things about Drewby and his first year:
He was 7 pounds when he was born. I remember when I first saw him all bundled up and Chris was holding him. I said, "He's so tiny!"A rough labor followed by a C-section. Thankful for good recovery and a healthy baby.
He absolutely loves his big brother. Even in his first few weeks, he turned his head towards Dillan when he heard him speaking. No one makes him laugh like Dillan.

When I took him to his first photo shoot I was asked to try and put him to sleep, to which I replied, "no problem." After nursing and nursing forever, he stayed awake the WHOLE time, not sleeping for anything. He doesn't like to miss anything going on.
He stands by himself and has tried taking a few steps, but remains cautious.
He can climb though. His favorite perches have been the step-stool in the bathroom and on top of the DVDs.
He LOVES his left thumb!

He eats anything and everything!
He says "Mama, Dada, Pappa" and just a few days ago started saying something that sounds like "Dung-a." Trying to say Dillan maybe?
He's ridiculously laid back and goes along with everything thrown at him during any given day.

We love you Drewby!

BOYS

These boys around here have been SUPER busy!
First: Dillan completed his Rocket Words, the final set in the word clubs for 1st grade. That's 786 words he knows "quick as a snap!" During winter break, he and Daddy worked hard to finish up his last few words. Dillan's motivation was he wanted to be the first in his class to finish. Always competitive, he was neck-and-neck with a friend and ended up beating him. He received another dog tag for his chain and was glowing in front of the school, so proud of himself.
He is also quite the reader and earned a level 20 on his report card. The principal wrote a note on his report congratulating him on a job well done. I'm so glad he loves reading and learning. Fingers crossed he'll keep it up!
AND...on Saturday he scored his first game-time basket during basketball this season.
Darn, no picture.

Little Drew isn't so little anymore, he's hit a growth spurt recently. He now stands on his own and has even taken 3 or 4 steps! His top 4 teeth have all sprouted at once, so no more toothless smile! He's also quite the electronics junky loving phones, laptops, Wii controllers and remote controls. He recently discovered pointing his finger to type and press keys. He turns the big 1 next week!

Camping!

Yep, in January. The weather has been impeccable, and since Grandma and Papa have all the cool camping stuff, they invited us out to the beach with them to spend a few days.

We had a lot of fun riding our bikes all over the campground. Leah is getting pretty good on her new Christmas present bike and loves all the pink. Drew rode around in the trailer, and even caught some Zs on a few rides.

We played in the sand (the water was freezing) and searched for rocks with GGMa. It was cute to see Dillan and GGMa sharing the same compassion for treasure hunting and finding unique rocks. They are kindred spirits in that sense.


We had delicious dutch oven meals over the campfire and of course all the s'mores and biscuits we could handle.

The kids love sleeping in the tent with sleeping bags and even though it was chilly at night, everyone slept great!

Can't wait till next time!

Bring on 2012!

2011 brought us so many blessings and lessons, it makes the new year exciting to see what's in store. Never a dull moment around here.
Basketball season is off to a great start. Dillan loves it. He has a great coach and loves learning the game and sharing the passion Daddy has for the sport.

We had a wonderful holiday season spending a lot of time with family. There were visitors from Missouri who came and stayed.

The kids got lots of gifts on Christmas, trying to be good, thanks to the watchful eye of our elf Scratchy Zart.

He went back home with Santa on Christmas Eve, but the kids still ask about him. They wonder if he's married and if he'll be back next year. Such a fun tradition. Such great memories to record.

Our little baby boy is growing up. He tries to stand up on his own and we are sure at any time he'll be walking. Only 1 month away from being 1-year-old. Time is FLYING!

We got to visit the Newport Beach temple for a cousin's wedding. Leah is already planning her special day. A pretty princess dress, plenty of flowers (she really wanted to catch the bouquet), and a prince who will dance with her THE RIGHT WAY, with plenty of twirling.

Leah has also started out her new year with the decision to get her ears pierced. Again. Maybe it was the wedding, but she brought it up to me one night. I told her ok, figuring she'd forget about it and I wasn't about to bring it up. But sure enough, she brought it up the next day and insisted we go. So I took her to the mall, not sure what to expect. She got up on the chair, picked her earrings and BAM! No tears. NONE. She didn't make a sound, just smiled when she looked in the mirror. WHAT!? Wait, what just happened? She brings me her cleaning stuff every morning and night reminding me to clean them. She loves her new look!

Merry Christmas!

Such a fun time of the year around here. It's so fun to see the excitement on the kids' faces. The anticipation leading up to Christmas is my favorite thing. There is magic .
It's so great talking to the children about the birth of Jesus and seeing their understanding grow.


We know we are so truly blessed with everything we have. We are so grateful for those who bless our lives.

Merry Christmas!