Bryce turned 7!

Bryce's first day of 1st grade

This year Bryce has changed so much physically. As you can see from the picture he lost his 2 front teeth (among others) and told me, "Mom, I'm so excited for my Big teeth to come in cuz then I'll be a member of the Beaver Club!"

First Grade seems to be treating him well. He's still in the Spanish Bilingual class and it's definitely been harder for him this year, but through our encouragement and his good teacher he's chugging along. When I asked Bryce what he wanted to do for his birthday it was to play his Xbox game Sonic the Hedgehog! I probably rolled my eyes at that, but then realized that hey, that sounds pretty easy! So, I suggested maybe having a tournament with prizes, etc. So, that's what we did. It was the easiest birthday party I've ever done for the most part. I did make the mistake of buying everyone their own spray can of silly string and let them all go at it in the backyard. (I'm still cleaning up that mess) They all had a good time.

The day before Bryce turned 7 he woke up and tried to talk me into letting him skip school and "enjoy his last day to be 6!" That didn't fly to well with me so I sent cupcakes with him to help him feel better.

If you spend any amount of time with Bryce you'll know that he's a boy who knows his facts! He frequently dives into a chapter book and like his father becomes invisible to the outside world while reading. I enjoy his calm personality and zest for life. Welcome to the Beaver Club Bryce!

February Fantastic!

Cameron turns 5!

I just wanted to take a minute and talk about Cameron and my thoughts on him turning 5!

What can I say Cameron, he is one unique child! He has such a strong will and spirit. This past year he was able to make and connect with some great friends at his preschool and now ask's me almost everyday, "Mom, which one of my "buddies" is going to come and visit us today?" He's both a big brother and a little brother, but little and last aren't in his vocabulary! Catch him in a good mood and he will be the most eager helper and playmate, catch him in a bad mood and he's your worst nightmare!! ha! He hates to lose and works at not doing so. He's Bella's entertainment while in the car since he's the only one she can see and he sure gives her a show! He's also my backup "put Claire down for a nap" person because he enjoys reading her his own version of The three little pigs and then softly scratches her back. It's so special to listen to him be sweet to his sisters. When Bryce gets home from school it seems to be the highlight of his day. Someone to wrestle with and play games with. It'll be interesting to see him blossom into kindergarten, as crazy as that sounds to me. Where has the time gone! We all love you very much Cameron! We're so happy you're in our family.

Watching a Wonder

Just wanted to give an update on Bella since she has completed a milestone. On Jan. 15th Bella started to sit unassisted. Last week she attemped to crawl, but it was more of a little dance on all fours. But, yesterday she gave it her all and with just a correction and guidance from me following behind her (for the hundreth time) she finally got the hang of it and started to crawl. It's always so wonderful to me to witness when the neurons connect in the brain and a child learns something new and big like crawling. I was excited and saddened at the same time. This is a new stage for her and a stride away from when she was a "baby." Plus, I'm going to have to really be on the ball and make sure all of the lego's, barbie shoes, etc are picked up around the house. Today Jesse and I kissed good-bye the days of being able to sit with her on our lap during Sunday school. She wanted on the floor to explore. We entertained her by tossing a pen a few feet away from her and then she's go after it. After about the 10th time she tired herself out and let us put her to sleep.

I have to say that Bella has a mature disposition to me. She enjoys watching me read to Claire, lead the music at church, our dog Bandit, or her brothers and sister in general while clapping her hands when sometime exciting happens. She loves food and gives me the most satisfied groan after eating her favorite banana slice or sweet potatoes. I can hardly hold her still enough to take off her clothes and get her in the bathtub she loves it so much!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm thankful that I followed the promptings I had to have her because it's hard to imagine life without Bella.

Does life ever slow down?

I have so much to catch up on I don't even know where to begin. I thought I was home free from things for a while once the Holiday's were over, but it seems like every week there's something big I have to either do, have going on already or I make myself because I get a wild hair and want to get the project done asap. (My projects unfortunatly last more than a day.)

The boys started another Soccer season together and have been winning most of their games which of course makes it exciting for them. They work really hard in practice and I've seen big improvements in their passing. For Valentines weekend we headed up to Ruidoso, NM and joined Jesse's parents in their timeshare. We swam (it was Bella's first time in the water and she seems to love it like her momma). :) The next say we went to the innertubing place. We had a good time, the weather was perfect. Grandpa Greg raced all of us down the hill and he would take a running leap onto his tube and then down the hill. (I wonder how sore he was the next day?) ha ha. We were there during Cameron's official b-day so we celebrated that night, but Bryce had school the next day. Cameron wasn't ready to go home so he spent the next 2 days with the Grandparents and Abe & Cody. He was so homesick after he would speak to us on the phone, but he had a great time and I think the experience made both of us appreciate each other more. I found myself just feeling heart sick for him. He brings a lot of excitement and happiness to our family. When he came home he was a complete angel all day, but the next day it was back to the normal brother & sister bickering. I never thought it would sound so good. ha ha. Anyways, here are some pics and video of the trip and Cameron's b-day "parties."

This jump may not seem big on camera, but it was big enough for neither Jesse nor I to try. I've had my share of bruised tail bones and I wasn't about to get another one. I thought he was Crazy, but enjoyed the entertainment, ha ha thanks Greg! Bryce was brave and tried it, but he said that he "wasn't going to do that again!" I think he landed on his bum pretty hard.

On your mark....Too close to call!