Children's Museum

On Saturday we went to the Children's Museum.  We have had a free pass (thanks Mel) for a while, but we wanted to wait until Wyatt could enjoy it with us.  He loved it.  He loved playing in the water.

I can never get him to look at the camera anymore.  He is way too busy for that.  He had a great time and got soaked.

Caitlyn and Jonah ran from activity to activity having a great time.  Caitlyn loved to pick the flowers and play house.  What a cute girl!  She is amazing.  On Sunday we usually read the friend together and we only watch church movies on Sunday.  When I was putting her to bed I told her to read a book until she fell asleep.  She told me that she would only read church books because she wanted to keep the Sabbath day holy.  I told her I thought it was okay if she read a normal book.  She seemed nervous about my answer so I told her that she had to decide for herself.  A few minutes later she came upstairs and said, "Mom I prayed about it.  I told Heavenly Father to help me have a good feeling if it was okay and a bad feeling if it wasn't.  I had a good feeling so I think it is okay."  I am so impressed with her.  She has an amazing desire to do what is right, I hope she never loses that.  She is also funny.  The other day I went to three stores and forgot to buy bread, I'm pretty sure I'm losing my mind.  When the home teachers come over that night they asked us if we needed anything and Caitlyn said, "Oh Yes, we need bread."  Awkward!  I explained it so hopefully they know we can buy bread.  She has a little temper on her which make some mornings really rough, but overall she is such a sweetheart.

They had this cute little playhouse for Wyatt.  He loved the little couch. He is looking so grown up!  He is so busy.  He is usually pretty good when we are out, but when we are home he is constantly finding trouble.  He is a climber so I find him in strange places.  This week it was on top of the kitchen table and standing on the piano.  He keeps me on my toes.  He used to be such a good eater and now he doesn't want to eat anything.  I'm hoping it is just because he is teething.  I can hope, right?

I climbed up in there and played with him for a minute.  Right after this picture a little girl rode a bike up there and knocked Wyatt over and he got a huge bump on his head.  Poor kid is always bumping his head.  I don't remember my other kids falling down so much.

Jonah loved the rock wall.  He spent a lot of time here.  Jonah is so competitive about everything.  He is so fast and wants to beat everyone all the time.  It wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't constantly telling other kids that he is faster than them.  I'm glad he has so much confidence.  Now we are working on being humble!

Caitlyn was so proud of herself for climbing to the top of the wall.  She kept trying and saying, "I just know I can do it Mom."

Usually the helicopter is so crowded that we can't even get a picture on it, but they had it to themselves for a little while. 

We took a picnic dinner and ate it outside.

It is so fun when Keith can come with us.  We love to get out and do fun activities, but usually it is while Keith is at work.  He loves to be able to come along.  Keith has been working the graveyard shift for almost two years now.  It worked out okay for a while, but as of the last couple of months it has been really hard.  Keith is having a hard time sleeping during the day and I'm having a hard time keeping the kids quiet and making sure he has enough time to sleep.  He finally told his boss he needed a new shift.  He is starting back on a swing shift on Monday.  I'm excited and nervous about it.  I'm so glad he will feel good again, but the swing shift isn't a great shift.  It is hard to have him gone every night.  I think it will still be better for our family though.  Hopefully some day we will have a normal schedule.

Caitlyn and Jonah insisted that Wyatt get a picture on the horse.

After the Museum we went to the Planetarium.  The kids loved it. 

It was a great way to spend the day as a family.

Last soccer game of the season

Saturday was Jonah's last soccer game of the season.  He hasn't been aggressive like he was last season, so we told him we really wanted him to play his best in his last game.  He did awesome.  He scored a couple of goals, but more importantly he was very aggressive and played so hard.  I was so proud of him.  He also made an awesome assist.  He dribbled the ball down the field and was off to the side of the goal and the other team was on him so he kicked it right to the middle to his team mate who kicked it in the goal.  It was great! I was so glad to see him be aggressive again.

It was so fun to have Keith coach his team. Jonah loved to give him high fives on the field.  Keith was nervous about coaching, but he did a great job.   A lot of parents came up and told him how great he did after the game.  His team improved a lot and Keith is so good about making all the boys feel good.  A lot of the parents want him to coach basketball.  He wasn't planning on it, but I think he will end up doing it now.

Jonah had fun playing with his friend Andrew this season.  They are becoming great little friends.  Drew invited him over this week and Jonah has been asking me every day since when he can invite Drew over.  I'm glad he has so many good friends.

Wyatt has been good about staying off the field until this last game.  He was constantly trying to walk on the field.  I'm kind of glad we will have a little break before basketball starts.

Caitlyn always has fun playing with her Grandmas during the game.  Last week she stole Grandma's glasses. I will miss watching Jonah play, but it will be nice not to rush out the door Saturday morning!

This week

We have had a fun, busy week.  Jonah and I went to story time at the library on Monday with some friends.  The lady that does it is awesome.  Jonah loves it and they do such cute things.  The kids have had karate three times this week and they are still loving it.  My sisters and my mom came over on Tuesday.  I love seeing Wyatt and Rockwell together.  They still are too young to play together, but they are both just so cute!  Wyatt woke up with a horrible cold on Wednesday.  Poor kid is teething and has a constant runny nose.

Caitlyn is doing so much better in school.  She seems to be adjusting to the long day and she is excited that she is getting to know all the kids in her class.  I have been able to go in and help in the class a few times.  I love to do that and get a feel for what she does all day.  I'm very impressed with her teacher and the things Caitlyn is learning.  Caitlyn is so funny, the other day she said, "mom every time the boys see me they fall down."  I said, "why?" and she said, "because they like me because I'm so beautiful."  Wow, that is some confidence.  I can't argue with that, she is beautiful!

Every once in a while Wyatt will pull this funny face when I pull out the camera.  He doesn't do it very often, but it always gives me a good laugh.  I think we are all adjusting to our new schedules.  I'm starting to enjoy having Caitlyn in school and Jonah in pre-school.  Once in a while I will get lucky and Wyatt will nap while Jonah is gone.  It was a bit of an adjustment for me to enter this new phase of life with my kids in school, but I'm getting used to it quickly.  The only problem now is adjusting to Keith's school schedule and crumby work schedule.   We are hoping that he will get better hours at work soon, we are both growing tired of his schedule. 

I forgot to write that Jonah bore his testimony for the first time this month at church.  I felt like I needed to get up and share my testimony so I asked Jonah if he wanted to come.  He said no so I went up and bore my testimony.  The rest of the meeting Jonah kept saying, "should I give a talk?"  He wanted me to help him, but I know he has a testimony and I have heard him share it with me so I knew he could do it.  Finally he decided he wanted to go. He was really hesitant, but went through with it.  He said, "I love to bear my testimony, I love this church is true, I love my family and I love Jesus and I always want to obey."  It was so sweet. 

Jonah only has one soccer game left this season.  Keith has had fun coaching his team.  We have both been a little frustrated with Jonah this season.  He is not being aggressive at all.  It would be fine, but we know he can do it.  He will just hang back and seems nervous to try and take the ball from anyone.  He has great control of the ball and can make a goal off a fast break, but other than that he has been pretty timid.  It is so hard to watch him just circle people instead of getting in there and fighting for the ball.  Oh well, he still seems to be having fun. He keeps talking about playing basketball now, so maybe he won't be as interested in soccer.  I guess we will have to wait and see.

He still manages to get a few goals every game and I think that is all he cares about.  As long as he gets one goal he is happy.

Caitlyn had a great time playing with Grandma and Uncle Kirk during the game.  She stole Kirk's glasses and now she is begging me to buy her some.  Keith was able to take both kids out for some one-on-one time this week.  It was much needed for all of them.  He has a tough schedule this semester so we don't get to see him as much as we would like.  The kids were thrilled to be with Dad and of course get a treat!

After the game on Saturday Wyatt walked off and went over and started kicking the soccer ball.  It was so cute.  I knew he would be a soccer player, he has some strong legs and loves to kick!  Earlier in the week the kids Karate teacher told us about Nija night that was happening on Saturday night. It pretty much consisted of water games and pizza. She said it was seventy-five for one person or one-twenty-five for two. Keith asked if they could bring their cousins and they said, "sure the more the merrier." So I had Jen's kids and invited Mel. EJ, Ataiya and Amarie came so we had seven kids total. We got there and there didn't seem to be any kids there. I asked if this was ninja night and he said it was and asked if we had paid yet, I told him no we would just pay now. So he pulls out his calculator and says, "that will be three-fifty for seven kids." I thought it was a good deal and figured that they were trying to recruit people. I handed him my four dollars and he looked at me funny and said, "no three-hundred and fifty." I was shocked and just stood there and finally said, "dollars?" He thought that sounded perfectly normal that we would come and pay three-hundred and fifty dollars for our kids to have a water fight and eat some pizza. When I told him we thought it was three dollars and fifty cents he said, "we have a dunk tank."  I was shocked and speechless and then me and Mel had a good laugh about it.  Luckily the kids were good sports about it.

Wyatt started folding his arms for prayer this week.  It is adorable!  We all kneel in a circle for family prayer and usually Wyatt is just wandering around.  Earlier this week he came over and sat next to us and folded his arms like this. Now he does it all the time because he got such a big reaction out of all of us. It is so fun to see babies learn new things.

The Karate Kids

I know you wouldn't want to run in to these two in a dark alley!  Caitlyn and Jonah started Karate lessons this week.  Caitlyn has been asking to take Karate since a Karate teacher came and talked to her kindergarten class.  We found a great deal for one month worth of lessons so we let them try it out.

I think the uniforms alone were worth the money, they look so cute!

I didn't really think Caitlyn would like it, I figured she would try it and realize it wasn't for her.  She loved it.  My sweet little girl turned into one tough cookie.  She was so serious about it and loved it all, even when they made her do push ups when the class made mistakes.

She loved the kicks.  They got to kick punching bags and she picked up on it quickly so the teacher was complimenting her and that gave her a lot of confidence.  She especially loved yelling, "Hi Yah," while she kicked.  At first it was this little timid, "hi yah," and then she was screaming, "HI YAH!!"

Of course she had to give me a goofy pose.  I keep forgetting to write that Caitlyn is sleep walking.  She has done it twice since school started.  The first time she came upstairs and ended up tripping so she was crying.  I kept trying to ask her what was wrong and I couldn't get her to answer.  Keith kept telling me she was asleep, but I didn't believe him.  Finally she calmed down and told me that she wanted a carrot.  I told her to come lay by me and she was immediately snoring.  The next time she came up with the dazed look and told me she wanted to go home.  It is kind of funny and a little creepy at the same time.

Surprisingly Jonah wasn't all that excited about Karate.  I wanted him to take it because I thought he would love it and I figured if I'm taking one I might as well take both. He ended up loving it and doing great.

He especially liked the kicks, once he realized that you kick the punching bag, not the hard stand that it is sitting on. 

They are both looking forward to their next lesson.  They get to go three times a week for a month.  Unfortunately Karate is really expensive and that is way too big of a time commitment for us, so they will only do it for a month. I think we will have a lot of Karate chops and kicks at our house.

Bath Time

Wyatt loves to take baths.  I try not to give him one every day, but if he hears the water running for Caitlyn or Jonah he will run in the bathroom and stand by the tub and try to get in.  He loves it so much I just can't say no.

He loves to play with all the toys in the tub.  It is kind of nice because I have an excuse to just sit and relax for a minute while I watch him play.  He is entertained and confined and I can rest and just make sure he doesn't dive in head first, which he has been known to do a few times.

Love that smile.

Wyatt always has his hands over his ears.  He does this when he gets upset or nervous and sometimes just playing.  If someone he doesn't know talks to him he will immediately put his hands over his ears.  I'm always being asked if he has an ear ache.  Nope, just a weird habit.

We have started reading bedtime stories together before bed.  As you can see, he likes it.

He is walking all the time now.  He still falls down sometimes, but he will jump back up and start walking again. He has discovered it is better to walk because then you can carry things.

Once in a while when we have to wait for Caitlyn after school, or the other night while the kids were in their karate class I will let Wyatt climb around in the van.  He loves it.  He is so happy walking in between the seats and he just discovered how fun the steering wheel is. 

First day of Preschool

Jonah has been so excited to start Preschool.  Tuesday was his first day.  I went with him that day and helped him with a project and then the teacher talked to the parents while the kids were busy playing with play dough.  I think he was glad that I went with him because he was a little nervous about what to expect. 

I have been debating on sending him to preschool, mostly because I didn't want to spend the money.  I work with him at home and he already reads and writes so he really doesn't need it for those things.  I know preschool helps for other things, but I also don't think it is necessary.  Jonah really wants to do it and I know he will love it, so we went ahead and signed him up.  I'm really glad I did.  I was really impressed with the teacher and her organization and structure.  I think it will be really good for Jonah.

He got right to work on his project.  I wasn't prepared to feel sad about him being in preschool.  I guess I keep realizing how fast time passes and it seems like just yesterday that I dropped Caitlyn off for preschool and now she is in first grade. There are so many wonderful things about the kids growing up.  I love that I can have a real conversation with them and that we can do fun activities that we couldn't do when they were younger.  I love that they can buckle themselves in the car and get themselves dressed and it is great to see them be independent, but it is a little sad to realize that their years at home with me are over or getting close to being over.  I can't say enough how grateful I am that I have had this time with them.

Jonah didn't want to go home, he loved it.  Today was his first official day.  He was so excited and I think he was glad that I wasn't staying with him this time.  He made a friend with a cute little boy on Tuesday and today they were running up saying hi to each other.  It was so cute.  My boy is growing up!

Water Fight

On Saturday we took our pool down.  The kids wanted to get wet so I was throwing bowls of water on them.  They loved it and kept laughing.  I was filling one up and Keith walked up behind me and dumped the whole bowl on my head.  I was not expecting that at all.  That started a big water fight.  I had the kids help me soak Keith.

Jonah and Caitlyn loved getting water thrown on them.  They kept yelling, "throw it on me."

It was so funny to watch them try to get each other wet.

We had a lot of fun and it was a great way to cool down on a hot day.  We are going to miss having the pool, but I won't miss cleaning it every day!

This is Wyatt's new favorite thing to do.  Luckily we have a door at the bottom of our stairs.  If anyone opens it, he makes a break for it and laughs the whole way up.  We finally put up a gate in the kitchen.  For some reason child locks wouldn't work on our cupboards so I have a gate to keep him out and keep him away from the stairs.  It makes my life so much easier.  Wyatt doesn't like it one bit, he just sits at the gate and cries if I am in the kitchen.  Poor kid!

I love this picture of Wyatt.  He has had a great time playing in the jump-o-lene with Caitlyn.

He also tries to sneak into the bathroom any chance he gets.  We keep the door closed, but if he hears it open he will get there as fast as he can.  His favorite thing to do in there is stand on the stool and throw things in the sink.

Jonah keeps finding new ways to make Wyatt laugh. They walk around the house like this and Wyatt loves it.

Jonah has been building with Lego's a lot lately.  He insisted on wearing his dress up to pick Caitlyn up the other day.  This was the day I couldn't find the girls so we spent ten minutes walking around trying to find them. I'm sure we were quite a sight with Jonah in his dress up and me in my work out clothes.

Caitlyn is doing so much better in school this week.  She hasn't cried.  She got a little nervous yesterday morning, but still went without crying.  I'm so glad.  She told me she likes it now.  Let's hope this keeps up!