photo shoot

We had a photo shoot before church today with our three little adorable kids.  And it went about as expected.  But they were having fun:

And I just think Colette is so pretty in this one: 

Today as we were getting ready, Mike pulled out his Rudolf/Abominable Snowman tie and asked playfully if he could wear it.  I said no and he said please and I said no again, joking around.  Jordan was standing there and said finally, "Mama, that isn't very nice.  You aren't letting Daddy have what he likes."  It was so stinkin' cute.  And of course Mike wore the tie.

Jordan keeps asking us lately how old we are going to be when he is certain ages.  One he asked put me at 127 and he said, "Wow.  You aren't going to be able to come in the house because you will be so big."

Colette is just all about being up.  She hates laying down and won't even bother trying to roll or crawl.  As soon as we lay her down she is straining to sit up.  She just really wants to be able to run with her brothers.

Jordan is done with preschool until January and the naive part of me is really excited to have him home everyday with me.  It is hard to let him go sometimes.

what a month so far

Well, what a month.  My Mr. Evan has been sick in some form or another for the whole month.  I was looking at my calendar yesterday and noticed that my month is full of crossed out things that we never got to do (wow, whiney I know!)  First he had maybe croupe, maybe  something else.  Now they say he has hand, foot and mouth, but he isn't bothered by it at all, so I'm not sold on that diagnosis.  But, he is happy and doing well.

The other day Jordan and I layed on the couch together and talked, and after a little while we both fell asleep.  I was so nice to have that quiet time with him.  And he was so cute:

The only downside though was that the boys were up past 10 playing in their room that night!

Evan won't take naps very often and I am really sad about it. 

Speaking of naps, today I could tell that Colette was really tired so I was trying to get her down for a nap.  She was fighting it and trying to crane her head to look out into the living room where the boys were.  Finally I laid her on my bed (swaddled) facing the living room and she fell right to sleep.  She is so much like Jordan so far.  He fought sleep so much because he wanted to be a part of everything going on.

Yesterday I took Evan to the doctor to see what was going on with him.  When we were leaving he walked right into a glass wall because he didn't realize it was glass.  It was so funny and sad at the same time.  He was definitely cofused for a moment.

Today Evan was tracing paths on a worksheet and he did it once in blue really well.  So I told him to do it in green next so he could practice again.  He grabbed the green colored pencil and started making crazy lines all over the page and said, "Oh, the green's not doing very well."  He is a crack up!

Very early this morning I started hearing weird noises in my dream.  Then I realized that it wasn't fitting in and it must be really happening.  It took a little while to process that and when Mike and I finally woke up we saw Jordan standing next to our bed going, "Hmmm.....hmmmm......hmmmm..." over and over waiting for us to wake up.  It was actually pretty funny to think about how long he was just standing there saying that.  (Mike admitted late this morning that it was finally funny to him. :) )

And lastly, I think it must be completely overwhelming to be the third child sometimes:

by the way, did you notice the "my faith" button on the side?  that takes you to Mike's thoughts on his faith.  check it out!

As promised

I have been so exhausted lately taking care of sick Evan and Colette is getting a whole lot more demanding.  So sorry it took so long to post this video (I'm sure you were all waiting with anxious anticipation!)

Yesterday I asked Jordan what he wanted to be when he got bigger and he said he wanted to be a doctor.  Then Evan said with a face full of excitement, "I wan to be a car when I get bigger!"

I was trying to give Evan his medicine this morning (he is now on an antibiotic and is MUCH better) and he said he didn't need it because he wasn't doing any "coughses."  I love hearing them figuring out language.  He has been so sweet through all of this.  He hated taking his medicine but if we ever said that it was about to drip he would immediately open his mouth and take it. 

Tomorrow is parent/teacher conferences and Jordan's preschool.  I know it is kind of a silly thing, but I am really excited!  I love talking about my kids and I don't have to worry about boring the other person because she has to talk with me about him!  I'll let you know how it goes.

Amid the sickness...

I just wanted to get on real quick to post a couple stories from my day today.  I have some pictures and a video for tomorrow.  Things have been a little off here - my sweet Evan has croup, so we have been taking it easy and trying to keep him cool and happy.  He is doing well though.  I hope he will be over it soon and back to his crazy, hard to manage at times self.

Today I was sitting on the couch with the boys for a minute and I had my arms crossed because I was a little cold.  Jordan started laughing a bit and told me I didn't have to do that.  I was confused so he clarified that I didn't need to fold my arms because we weren't at church.
Later he was tracing shapes on a toy and he told me that if he stayed on the red line that I needed to give him a high five.  He loves praise and resorts to requesting it every once in a while!
Speaking of Jordan, we had a mini miracle here today - he slept until 9 this morning!  I couldn't believe it.  Apparently he was up a lot in the middle of the night but I have learned to not hear any of the kids when I am sleeping so Mike kept getting up with him.  I feel kind of bad about that!
We found out yesterday that Jordan is really good at analogy puzzles (like "arm is to hand" as "leg is to ____").  I couldn't believe that he can answer them without much thought most of the time.

I remembered something about Evan today.  I took Jordan with me on an errand tonight and Evan wanted to come.  So we told him that I was just going shopping and then he was okay with not going - you see, he likes going to the store, but he hates shopping!  It is so funny that I just have to word it a certain way and then it is a completely different thing.

The boys got some balloons for Halloween and have loved playing with them.  In fact, they play with them more than they do their toys.  So, I'm thinking about nixing all those toys for Christmas and just buying balloons and boxes and basic things like that!

A wee bit.

Last night we had a bit of fun with/at the expense of the boys.  They were playing in their room after they went to bed, which they always do.  Then we hear Jordan saying, "shhhh...be quiet.  Shhh...." as they were creeping up the stairs.  So we waited for them and when they turned the corner, we were there and it was quite amusing to hear them scream and laugh while running back to their beds.

Today Evan, Colette and I were driving to pick Jordan up from preschool.  I had a new CD in that I love and I asked Evan if he likes it too.  He said no so I asked why and he said, "Because I just don't."  Well alright.

My little Colette is going to be so much like Jordan.  She is so interseted in people.  In fact, I had to kick Mike, Jordan and Evan out of the living room tonight while I was feeding her because she wouldn't do it while they were around - she just wanted to watch them.

We went grocery shopping tonight and every time it tries the patience.  And we have become those parents - the ones with the out of control kids that just run crazy down the aisles, screaming occasionally.  Oy.  These boys are like synergy together in their crazy energy.  We just learn to pick our battles and if we get dirty looks we just join in with something like, "yeah, I really wish their parents would take care of those kids!"  Actually they get more smiles than glares, which I am grateful for when I am trying to wrangle them in and keep them a bit quieter.

who knew diapers were so exciting!

I don't have any pictures today, just a couple stories.

Each night we just leave Colette's wet diapers (wrapped up, of course!) on our floor until the morning when we thow them away.  Well the boys started fighting over who gets to throw them away in the morning, so we make them take turns if there is only one.  Yesterday morning Evan got up first and threw a diaper away.  He was so excited when Jordan got up that he went right up to him and said, "I saved a diaper for you to throw away Jordan!"  I love that they get excited to help with things like that because I think it is really funny to hand Evan a diaper to throw away during the day and have him say thank you.

Today I was at the store looking at a toy that I really want to get Colette for Christmas.  I held it up for her and she was really excited.  Then I took it away to put back on the shelf and she fussed!  I am excited that she is getting the age where she has preferences and is aware of her surroundings.

Jordan and I were playing Hi Ho Cherry-O while Evan was napping and he told me he was happy to stay at home with me (instead of going to school.)  He is so sweet.  I know he loves being at school, but it is nice to hear him say that he is happy being at home with us too. 

Here is one of Jordan's favorite things to say lately, "Mama, you are older than Daddy but Daddy is bigger."  He seems to need to quantify and qualify his world, which is fun to see.  He loves doing math and is pretty good at it since he started playing Wii basketball.  He is really good at adding 2 and 3 to any number and can do it without even thinking now.  Maybe he will be a mathlete like his dad was (yep Mike, now it is out there for the world to know! :))

High five!

Are you ready for more cuteness?  Well, here it is.  One of our friends lent us this Bumbo seat.  Colette enjoyed it.  And, as you can see here, she is obsessed with sucking on her fingers.  Really, obsessed.

Jordan had his preschool's trunk or treat and Halloween party.  Here they are at the beginning.  His teacher was Cat in the Hat - she looked great!

Next they did the trunk or treat.  Jordan was so excited to start, he was jumping up and down:

They had activities after - here is Jordan making a popcorn hand:

Siblings were allowed to participate, but as usual, I couldn't get Evan to do anything.  He is so shy that he never participates in anything when there are other people.  He won't play at the park, he won't play with other kids when they are over here.  Every once in a while he will start to get comfortable at someone else's house and branch out.  But, he misses out on so much because he is shy.  He wouldn't even trick or treat.  The funny thing is that he is seriously one of the craziest, silliest, funniest kids I have ever seen.  And, he has amazing verbal skills that very few people get to hear.  Oh well.  Maybe one day he will get over it.  For now, he is his mother's son...

Speaking of Evan, he said the funniest thing today.  When he sleeps for naps and at night, he likes to have a bunch of toys with him in his bed.  Well, when I put him down for a nap today, he had an arm from Mr. Potato Head.  He grabbed it and exclaimed, "My high five!"  Seriously, silliest, funniest kid ever!

This afternoon I was feeding Colette when Evan woke up so he wasn't too happy to have to come upstairs by himself.  So he was sitting and cuddling with me while Colette finished eating.  Jordan looked over at us and said, "Mom, you need to take a picture of you and Evan and Colette.  You guys look so cute!"

A "Wii" nap

Yesterday Jordan was really tired.  I let him play Wii a bit when Evan goes down for a nap, and soon after he started, he turned it off and fell asleep.  Cute, huh?!

Tonight, Mike was struggling to brush Evan's teeth and Evan was crying.  I heard Jordan go over to them and say, "What are you doing to my brother!"  I love that he loves Evan.  Today he was telling Evan he loves him and Evan wasn't responding, making Jordan upset.  I told him Evan was just being silly but loved him because they are brothers.  Then Jordan said, "and brothers are friends!"

All the kids in Jordan's preschool class have a task to do each time.  Jordan loves telling us what he gets to do next and what other kids get to do.  So this morning I asked the teacher how she keeps track of it and saw the schedule.  He was right about who was doing what!  She told me that he loves to go look at the chart and tell the other kids what they are doing that day.  He loves order!

I let Colette taste a banana today - she made some really cute faces.  When I held it up in front of her, she grabbed her pacifier out of her mouth and pulled my arm to her so she could try it.  It was fun to see her interested in food!

Today, Evan was experimenting with his fingers.  He wanted to show me that he is two and kept trying different combinations of fingers. 

racecars and pacifiers

              

Yesterday Colette did something new!  She grabbed her pacifier out of her mouth by the handle (by accident, I'm sure) but then she kept trying to get it back in her mouth.  The first try she hit herself between the eyes and was startled.  But, pretty quickly she fine tuned her aim and made it in!

When we pulled up to church yesterday, we realized that Evan has created a single classifier for a race car - a spoiler.  We parked next to a Nissan Sentra four door car that had a spoiler and he excitedly yelled, "a race car!"

Today when I picked up Jordan from preschool I asked him about his class.  I remembered that it was one of his classmates' birthday and asked him what they had for a treat.  Every once in a while he reflects our parenting back to us.  This time it didn't make me cringe!  He told me to guess and I said a cookie.  He said, "no, but that's close."  So I guessed a cupcake.  He then said, "No.  But I will help you.  It is round, but it isn't a cookie or a cupcake."  And honestly, my fried brain came up with nothing.  It was a donut.  But it was cute to hear him ask me to try and figure it out and give me a hint to help.

Mike was brushing his teeth this morning and Evan was by him.  But when he was done he didn't see Evan.  Then he noticed the laundry on the ground and this:

Evan is hiding under the basket and was very proud of himself!

In other random news, I just learned the most fascinating thing tonight.  It turns out that being a picky eater is genetic!  Just thought I would throw that out there.  I feel much better about myself, incidentally. :)

New strategy

So, I guess I have not been the best about blogging.  It is hard to find time to do those big catch-up posts.  But, I was thinking about what I really want to get out of this blog.  Besides just keeping updated on our goings-on, I want to remember the things my kids say and do.  And I know that at least my family will love the updates! :)  So, I am going to get on every day or two to post little stories about our kids and family.  Here we go!

Yesterday we were shocked when Jordan counted to 100 all by himself.  Well, he went from 99 to onety ten.  He is so cute!  We have been counting together a lot, but I didn't realize he had put it all together to get up that high.  Mike didn't know I have been doing this with Jordan and so he was shocked!

We had to run to Walmart last night and we passed a McDonald's on the way.  We could smell it as we went by and Jordan shouted all the sudden, "It smells like dinner!" and then proceeded to beg to have dinner in the car (we really never do that but road trips, so I'm not sure why he was asking...)  It was funny though.

Jordan got slivers on his nose yesterday in the backyard.  True story.

Mike has a little nickname for Colette - he calls her Lettie.  The boys call her it every once in a while too.  Well, Evan has loved watching Beauty and the Beast lately.  Like, a lot.  Only he calls it "Lettie and the Beast."  

There were so many cute things that Evan has said lately, but I forget them so quickly.  So this is the new purpose of this blog - to remember my babies.  So, enjoy if you would like!

And, as a quick update about my sweet baby girl, she is still so so sweet.  Which is great because I just started eating dairy again!  She had her four month check-up last week and she is in the 90's for percent in height and weight and the 5th percent for her head.  So, she is growing and doing so well.  She is very talkative, laughs a bunch and loves her brothers already.  She fusses often until she can see them - she was just trying to get my attention to move her around. 

Mike loves his internship still and is starting the job hunt.  It is kind of stressful realizing that it is here!  But exciting too.

I am doing well - I love my life with my kids...most days. :)  I get to teach Relief Society now, so I am excited to get to study and learn.  And, it is fall here, which I absolutely adore have have really missed. 

Okay, there's the update and our new plan!  I will try to throw pictures in frequently too when I get time.