Happy UnBirthday A & B!

We decided to have the boys birthday party a little early this year. The main reasons: I wanted to be able to invite all their friends from their class this year and also to spread out our August birthdays! We had a hawaiian theme. Donn bought a fun kids luau cd. I made cupcake toppers and table decorations. And the kids partied out back in a little swimming pool and our infamous waterslide!

Having their birthday early really confused the boys. They did not grasp the concept of a celebration day and the actual day they were born. They kept asking me if it was August 4th. We had the conversation many many times but I was not able to shed the proper light! They had fun any way!!

Busy Baby!

Our little Daisy has been very busy lately. Turning 10 Months Old!

Trying out some pancakes. She really loved them and is also enjoying many other kinds of people food (as opposed to baby food).

Getting enough hair for me to be able to get a little curl on top of her head!

Holding toys with her feet just like her big brother Ashton used to do. Ashton and Daisy have had very similar, first year, milestones. They both started out rolling around the house first, then the funny army crawl/scoot, then regular crawling. Daisy just figured out how to get up on her knees and is starting to do a little bit of the regular crawling. She can also go from laying down to sitting up all by herself!

With the new found use of her knees, Daisy can now pull herself up on to everything! We were very surprised to find her standing up in her crib after her nap the other day. This picture was taken after Daddy lowered the mattress!


Hanging out with her Dad!

She's also been putting up with me taking pictures of her in her cute clothes. The little pink skirt and the cute denim shorts are two of my fave outfits and both were purchased at a resale store! I love getting good deals on super cute clothes!

We call Daisy "The Little Troublemaker!" Usually because she is no trouble at all! Recently she has been letting a different side of her personality shine through with some glimpses of stubbornness and temper tantrums. So Darling! It's so fun to see kids develop their own personalities! Even the naughtiness makes us laugh!

This is how Daisy likes to get around when she is downstairs. She LOVES the "Texas Walker Ranger" that cousin Preston was nice enough to hand down to her!

2 hours away = 20 degrees cooler

Last weekend we drove up to Payson to see Grandma Betty. We like to meet at a little restaurant called the Rimside Grill. We always get the table outside under the gazebo. All the grown-ups get to sit and chat and the kids get to explore the woods: gathering sticks, rocks and pine cones. The kids always have such a good time and I always get some really great photos! The weather was perfect, about 80 degrees.

Um....hello? Is she gorgeous?

He has candy in his mouth and it is making it hard for him to smile! hee hee!

Cute, dimpled boy! You can't see his missing tooth!

She's finally getting some hair! What color do you think it is going to be?

Update on the last post:

There was no clear winner of Lily's contest. The key was to think of the question through Lily's perspective. She does not consider herself "little" so the correct answer was "3." Better luck next time! Pretty tricky question Lil!

Also, Donn does not recall knowing or ever teaching Bailey a leprechaun dance! It is unclear where Bailey learned the dance and why he said that his Dad taught him the dance. I will keep you posted of any new developments! However, if you need a good laugh, just close your eyes and imagine Donn doing the leprechaun dance! giggle-giggle! When I imagine it, he is wearing green leiderhosen, no shirt, pointy wooden shoes. I just laughed so loud that I woke up the kids!

Mr. Bailey Boy

Here are a few of the things that Bailey's been up to lately:One night when he was supposed to be sleeping, Bailey decided he wanted to read this book. The lights were off in his room, so he was reading by the light from the hall. He kept coming out of his room and asking what some of the words were. I would tell him the word and send him back to bed. After about 5 visits, I finally said "let's just read the whole book." He read most of the book by himself with only a little help from me. Now he reads the book almost every day and can read the entire book by himself. I don't know if you can tell but the book is a Level 2 Reader. Ambitious boy! Bailey just lost his first tooth. He's been wiggling it for about a month. Man, it grosses me out! I think it may have grossed him out too, or he swallowed a bit of blood, cuz he got a little woozie and had to lay down!

**This is a re-enactment of an actual event**
In case you couldn't hear him, he said that this is the Leprechaun Dance and that he learned it from his Daddy!
Lily has been begging me to have a little contest on the blog. She wants me to give $5 to whoever can guess her question correctly, but I think we will just go with letting the smartie who gets it right first SAY they are a winner!! Here is the question:
How many little kids do Heather and Donn have?
Put your thinking caps on and let us know if you can figure it out!

Opinions Please!

I'm still trying to catch up on my scrapbooking! I decided to do some digital pages of the boys' birthday last year. Problem is I made pages from two different kits and now I can't decide which one to print. The layout and pictures of the pages will be the same, just the paper and embellishments are different. Please tell me your feelings and help me decide which paper/embellishment combo you like best!

1.


2.

I am going to print one two-page spread for each boy. The Kits are from http://www.designerdigitals.com/ Thanks for your help!

Only One Stone!

You may remember, from a previous post, that I enjoy killing birds! And if I can get rid of two of them with only one stone I am a happy camper. So close your eyes and imagine my joy from this day: (um, you may want to read this before you close your eyes! tee hee!) Ashton, Daisy and I were in the family room watching a little spongebob. The room looked like a disaster area. Blocks and lego discs all over the place. There were also crumbs everywhere from snack time gone bad! I was trying to figure out how I was going to get the place cleaned up. Then it hit me: Ashton LOVES to vacuum. Every time we are vacuuming around the house he asks if he can have a turn. So I said to him "Hey Ash, I'll let you vacuum in here if you clean everything off the floor." His eyes opened wide and a huge smile came over his face. He immediately started picking things up off the floor and had finished the job in about 5 minutes! He then spent the next 20 minutes vacuuming. Happy kid:check Clean family room:cha-eck!
Yesterday: I decided to start having one-on-one time with each of the kids. Every Monday, I will take one of them to swim all by themselves at Grandma's. No competing for Mommy to watch their pool tricks! Last night was Ashton's first turn. When we got in the car he was smiling from ear to ear! And he kept saying "I don't know why I'm so happy!" Cute boy! He had a lot of fun having Mommy, Grandma and Grandpa all to himself.


Today: Ashton is mad at me because I wouldn't let him have cookies for breakfast. He said "If you don't let me have cookies I'm not going to listen to you!" Then he locked and slammed every door upstairs. Cute boy! I am taking deep breaths and trying to ignore him!!

The One and Only................

Lily Lin Beloved by Brothers..................

Sweet on Small Sister with Similar Shirt..........

HATER of Hairstyles..................

Singer of Sensational Songs...................

Electronic Entertainment Expert...............our Family's Favorite Fourth-grader!!!