Busy weekend...

Boy was this a whirlwind of a weekend. Friday night kicked off by us having our friends the Rhodes over for dinner and a little guitar hero and Settlers. We had a great time and the kids had a blast riding scooters in the basement and playing basketball. It was a ton of fun!

Then Saturday rolled around and we had tired kids, Briggs had a basketball game that afternoon and scored two points (he thinks ;-) and then that evening we attempted Chuck E Cheese to play games; not to eat pizza! But what were we thinking trying to go on a Saturday night? We walked in, got our stamp, decided there were too many people and turned around and walked out. The line was literally out the door. The kids all cried (we're such mean parents) but we told them we'd go back on Monday when it is less chaotic and they can actually enjoy the games and each other. Instead we headed over to the local Steak and Shake and enjoyed some dinner. The kids had fun making their old fashioned cars. We headed back to our place and played Settlers and chatted until late. It's always a party with them!!

Thinking the kids would sleep in this morning because they went to bed at 11, I was surprised to see Briggs by my bed at 6:15 this morning. He told me that his "nose doesn't work" which means he has a bunch of boogers and doesn't know how to get them out. I told him to pick them and put them in a tissue (since he refuses to blow his nose) but he stood firm and said that he didn't want to. I'm not sure if I should praise his choice to not pick his nose (even though I suggested it) or be a little annoyed that he is waking me up. Anyway, he headed down for some sunday cartoons and cereal.

(Here are some pictures of what we've been up to this month. The ones from the diner and at the end of this post in the living room were taken with my point-and-shoot and I didn't realize until this morning that my lens had little finger prints covering it--not the greatest quality, but you get the idea.)

Lydia...too cute for words. She loved sitting on my lap while we played games; she was my little buddy!

The kids loved watching old home videos. Here they are watching the one of Briggs' first birthday. I love how Briggs is holding Brooklyn--such a good brother.

What a handsome little boy...he looks so old to me in this picture!

Getting ready for some basketball! Sitting with his friend Carter. Say "Cheese" Carter

(his momma loves when he smiles like that ;-) right Kelly?!?!!?)

For Christmas my parents got the boys a cookbook and some baking utensils and they love to help me in the kitchen. Here they are making some muffins.

One day I was mopping the kitchen while Ethan was at school and this is what Briggs and Brooklyn decided to do...watch cartoons from their fort. I used to LOVE doing that as a child! What sweet memories that brought back to me!

Playing light sabers before bed.

Pictures I took this morning. The kids love playing under my tables and making forts. Here are some of the pictures of them doing that.

Nursery

Brooklyn had her first day of nursery today and she LOVED it! She made this cute picture; one of many to come I'm sure!!!

Half-birthday

Ethan loves pre-school, and this year he is the only little kid who has a summer birthday, so because of that, they celebrated his 1/2 birthday this past thursday. He was thrilled!! He asked for baseball cupcakes to take to class for their snack, and though, a little confused that it wasn't his "real" birthday, he had a great time! He even got to be the special leader that day! His teacher invited us to come to his class the last 15 minutes and bring a few things to share about Ethan, and then the class members all got to tell why they loved Ethan. He felt so special and was beaming from ear to ear.

I shared with the class that Ethan is a fun boy and always brings excitement to our home. He is adventurous and can be very sweet and loving. He loves to play tackle with Briggs, horses, look at books before bedtime, play with cars, and anything with wheels. I showed a picture of him when he was a baby from his baby book and he loved that!

His teacher said of him "He is such a fun little boy with a great love for life!" and a few of his classmates said, that he was "nice," that he brought "yummy treats," one little girl said that she liked his clothes, another that "he always sits by me," and one boy said that they liked the cars he brings for show and tell.

Cory got to make it for the last few minutes (just in time to say why he loved Ethan and to get in a picture with us) but we were so glad to have him!

(These pictures are courtesy of his teacher! Thanks!)

A post on Ethan coming soon. I've been gathering some great pictures too cute not to share!

Restless night

So this is how it all went down last night:

(Times approximate but pretty accurate)

8:30 pm Young Women presidency meeting that last for about an hour

9:35 pm I come home and get ready for bed and set my goals for tomorrow (something I'm working on) and I'm feeling pretty prepared for the next day.

10 ish I head downstairs and ask Cory if he wants to watch American Idol with me...so we do. We talk for about 10 minutes after the show, about my meeting, and head to bed

11 pm crawl into bed, tired and ready for a nice slumber

11:30 pm can't sleep (even though my eyes hurt because I'm so tired) and I decide to get up and respond to an e-mail.

11:35 pm back in bed, tossing and turning

12 ish finally in a light sleep

1:15 am wake to screaming coming from Ethan, go in to hear him tell me that he wants to go down and eat breakfast. I tell him it's the middle of the night and time to go back to bed and he gets upset, talks really loud, and gets mad every time I try to leave

1:25 am leave room get half-way down hall and he's yelling for me again. Annoyed, I go back in and ask him if he's hungry and if he wants a piece of bread (he didn't eat his dinner last night so I'm sure that is why he is up). After talking about it he says grudgingly "yes" and I head downstairs to fetch the bread; hoping this will be the end I can go back to bed.

1:31 am Now I'm back in his room and he doesn't want the bread now and throws it off his bed onto the floor; then decides 2 minutes later he wants it. I'm feeling my blood pressure rising. I tell him sternly that I will sing him one song and it is back to bed and I don't want to see him until the sun is up. I sing a song and he keeps telling me that he "wants me" so I said that I will lay with him for 2 minutes than I don't want to hear any more crying or whining (Ethan is hard to deal with during the middle of the night because its like he's sleeping, though he is awake, and he is hard to reason with and get through to). I lay with him then tell him goodnight and head back to bed.

1:45 am I'm in bed wondering if it was a smart idea to give my son bread during the middle of the night because, well...what if he chokes? I laid there for about 10 minutes trying to will my tired body to get up and just go and make sure that he hasn't fallen asleep with bread in his mouth when I hear "MOMMY....MOMMY!" A blessing in disguise, at least I know he's alive, but that means I have to get up again, and just about on my last straw. As I walk I give myself mental reminders to try and be patient and I go in and ask him what he needs. He is thirsty....of course.

1:47 am I tell him I'll get him a drink and then it's right to bed. He agrees. I am thankful for that and head down to get him some water. He thanks me for the cup and off to bed I go. I fall into bed and do the math......I've only had a good hour of sleep, maybe an hour in ten. I'm thinking there goes my plans to work out before Cory goes to work. I lay there and cannot sleep. Go figure.

2:14 am I roll over and hit my phone to see what time it is and shortly after fall asleep

4:10 am I wake up to hear Brooklyn SCREAMING! Usually I just let her cry but knowing I've only had a few hours of sleep under my belt I get up and get her a warm bottle of milk and it does the trick. Off to bed I go...again.

6 am ish Ethan is awake, it's dark outside and he's standing in the dark hall crying that it's dark and he can't see (surely going to wake the entire household while he's doing it). I nudged Cory who got up and took him downstairs to get him something to eat.

Somewhere between 6-7 am (it's all a blur) there are screams from Ethan....LOUD screams....a product of him being "bugged" by Briggs. It's his defense mechanism, and not a well-accepted sound in our home. Cory gets up and gives him a stern warning and back to bed he comes.

7:02 am I hear Brooklyn crying. Cory says his ankle is hurting and asks if I'll get Brooklyn. I don't know if I answered him but I'm so tired I lay there and fall asleep until Ethan comes in at 8 to ask me if I'm still tired? When I tell him "yes" he says matter-of-factly and too chipper for me this morning, "well, I'm not tired anymore." I think to myself "glad to hear it."

8:00 am I roll out of bed, say my prayers (because I know I'm going to need them today) and head down to start my day.

May my prayers work today and may I get to bed earlier than I did last night!!

18 month Brooklynisms....

So, we are enjoying our little Brooklyn very much! She is a bundle full of personality!!!! She is so keen and has an infectious little smile and an adorable little dimple!

Lately she has discovered how to take her shirt off and I will walk into a room with a shirtless little girl and a big smile from ear to ear. She loves to show us her tummy and if we ask her she will pull up her shirt, and say "du bai" and pat her tummy.

She loves yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, and macaroni and cheese (seeing a pattern). She won't eat anything with bread unless it's dressed like pizza ;-) or a crouton or tortilla (meaning she won't eat breadsticks, rolls, bread, sandwiches etc.) What toddler...or girl for that matter doesn't like bread?

She loves treats and can spot a treat a mile away; even if she's never had it before (Cory said she gets that from me ;-) My mom said that I could always find treats wherever she hid them...and that is so true (still true today)!!! So, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

She also has a spiteful side to her when you aren't paying enough attention to her; which Cory said is also like her mamma ;-) which I think is pretty funny, maybe I shouldn't laugh at that one but I can be honest with myself, and she is just so darn funny when she does it that it cracks me up!

She loves to wear "jewelry" and she is very matronly and loves her baby. Boy, girls are so different from boys! She loves to point to her eyes and say the word and she loves to honk our noses with her fingers. She is getting good at identifying different body parts and is beginning to say their names. She also says "Br" for Briggs but hasn't really attempted Ethan's name. She always says, "nigh nigh" when I put her down for bed or a nap and it melts my heart. Boy, I love this age! She can be the sweetest, most cuddly little girl and she loves to give her brothers and us kisses. Lots of kisses!

She loves wooden puzzles and has just started saying "ah right" (alright) and it is so cute! She loves to dance with her brothers before bedtime and is super loud in sacrament meeting at church! It seems every week someone comes up to me and tells me that Brooklyn sure has a set of lungs on her. Yep...I know!! The more you tell her to be quiet the louder she gets.

This is the Brooklyn scowl. It even gets more severe than that. I asked her to look at me for a picture and she said "NO" and then gave me the look! But how could I resist a picture of the necklace and medal hanging from my shirtless little girl!

She also loves to eat crayons, put things in the toilet like jacks and books, (drink out of the toilet if you remember that post from a few weeks back).

She bit me the other day for the first time because she wanted me to hold her while I was chopping some food at the counter. I said to her "we don't bite" and I asked her to say "sorry" to which she hugged me and said, "dar-ry," she really does know when she's made a mistake and is very sweet and quick to say sorry and gives lots of loves.

She has very good manners and is usually the first one to say "thank-you" or "dee-doo" as she puts it and "peeeees" (please).

She loves to talk! I got a kick out of her the other day when she was being so sweet and giving Cory hugs. As she laid there, for at good 30 seconds, with her head on Cory's shoulders she talked softly to him just telling him all about her day. Cory smiled and softly put his finger on her lips and said, "you don't have to talk baby girl," ooooh, it makes me smile! She is such a funny girl! Cory said that he can see them down the road on a daddy-daughter date and her sitting in the seat talking his ear off--but, he/we wouldn't want it any other way! Sure love this little girl.