Andrew

I finally got around to getting Andrew's 4 year old pictures.  He sure is cute, when he is happy.  Now we just need to figure out how to keep him happy all the time.

 

 

 

 On another note, since our attendance to Stadium of Fire during the Fourth of July, Andrew has been obsessed with the Jonas Brothers.  He wants to sing with Joe and dress like him too.  They have even made it into his round of coloring pages.  Should I be worried?

Reflections 2009

Anna participated in the Reflections PTA program for her school again this year.  She entered something in 4 different categories.  Two of her projects (photography and poetry) were chosen to go on to district.

Anna with her paper plate butterfly creation.

Anna's winning photography picture - this view is right out our front door.

Nathan turns one!

I can't believe Nathan is already one.  Time sure does fly by fast.  We had a pretty low key birthday for him, but it was still fun. 

 He wasn't too sure about this stuffed, walking gorilla that grunts.

The birthday boy with his zucchini chocolate chip cake.

Yummy!

I think he likes it.

I need to include his 1 year old stats from his doctor's appointment.  He is still a big boy.

Weight - 24 pounds (70%)

Length - 30.5 inches ( 75 %)

I don't know what to think

I think this picture of Nathan is so funny.  What is he doing with his hand?

Halloween 2009

This is the best group shot I was able to get.  Let's start with Nathan's Halloween.  He wanted nothing to do with his pirate costume.  I am sure he was thinking, why are you putting these clothes and hat on me.  He did, however, discover suckers.  He found one lying on the ground and was quick to get the wrapper off and I could tell by his face that he thought he was in heaven.

 

 

Anna had a great Halloween.  Here she is at her school's Halloween parade.  She wore a costume her grandma and aunt brought back from Spain.  Her highlight was that for awhile on Halloween night, her and her 7 year old friend went trick or treating all by themselves. This was not meant on purpose, but will be explained in Andrew's Halloween night.

 

Here is Andrew after his preschool parade.  He was a teenage mutant ninja turtle.  He did not have a very good Halloween.  If you notice in the group shot, he has two stick swords.  He was convinced that he could not be a ninja turtle without these swords.  Anyways, on Halloween night, Danny took Anna and Andrew to his preschool for a quick dinner that they have.  Afterwards, they were going to go trick or treating and stop at Anna's friends house.  Well, Andrew threw a major fit because Danny wouldn't let him take his swords with him.  It was so bad that Andrew lost all privledges to go trick or treating.  At the same time, he was throwing his major fit, Danny arranged for Anna to go trick or treating with her friend and another adult.  Well, there was some miscommunication and Anna and her friend ended up going all by themselves. Luckily, we figured out the miscommunication pretty soon and Danny was able to find the girls.

So, it was an interesting Halloween.  It will be interesting to see how this will affect Andrew. 

Peter and the Wolf

Anna's dance studio performed Peter and the Wolf again this fall.  Anna was a racoon this time.  They do such a good job putting the show on and they go and perform it for an Assisted Living Center. Anna really loves to dance and she has a wonderful teacher.

 

I love Anna's scared face in this shot!

 

Quick Update

Just wanted to post a quick update with what the kids have been doing.

Nathan is still our blonde hair, blue eye kid.  I can't believe he will one in November.  He is into everything and if there is something he wants he will do whatever it takes to get it in his possession.  For instance, he loves to play the piano.  I sat him down on the piano bench and he started banging away.  I turned my head for a second and when I turned around he had climbed on top of the piano to get something.  So, even though he doesn't look like Anna or Andrew, I am pretty sure he will be just as active and mischievous as they were when they were toddlers.  Good thing he is cute!

Whoever said girls are more emotional than boys never met Andrew!  I have never seen a kid on such an emotional roller coaster.  He can be as happy as can be and then act suddenly like the world his ending.  He definitely keeps us on our toes.  He is into all things involving super heroes.  He also loves the Jonas Brothers since we some them in Stadium of Fire.  Anytime he hears anything related to them (which is not very often), he has to say how he loves them.  In fact he told me he wants to be in there band and sing with Joe.

Anna loves second grade.  Her teacher is absolutely fabulous.  She is really into creative writing, it is so cute to see all the fun stories Anna is writing.  She is also doing some fun after school programs:  cooking, art, and golf.  In fact the picture of her is something she made in cooking class.  They lined a Terra Cotta pot with aluminum foil and then baked a brownie it it.  They then put in plastic flowers, it was really cute.

Danny ran a race!

My family did a health/fitness challenge this year for prizes. In order for Danny to earn his prize he ran in a 6K road race. Anyone that knows Danny, knows he is not a runner. I have been very proud of him as he has been running most days to prepare for the race. He did great, but says he will probably never run in a race again and just stick to basketball. I guess he hasn't caught the running bug.

My Mom, Dad, Jason, and I ran in the 3K. Jason and mines goal was to see how fast we could run it. I guess we did pretty good as we were the first male and first female to finish. It also helped that this was a pretty small race and there was not too much competition. I was just happy that I averaged a 6:50 mile.

Anna and Andrew also ran in the kids 1K. Anna told me she wants to start training and run in more races, so I guess she liked it. Andrew cried the last 100, so I think he might just stick with basketball like Danny.

Jason, me, and my dad before the race. I get so nervous before races. I remember feeling like I was going to throw up while this picture was being taken.



My mom is awesome and pushed Andrew and Nathan in the stroller during the 3K.

Cheering Andrew on as he cries, I mean runs to the finish.

The winning brother and sister team.

Swimming Lessons 2009

We of course did swimming lessons this summer. Anna and Andrew did great! I love that they love the water.

On another note, about a month ago I went to get my haircut. I told the stylist I wanted my hair cut to my collarbone. I guess she must of heard collar of my shirt because it was a lot shorter than I was going for - luckily hair grows!

Soccer Season

Fall soccer season has started. Only Andrew is playing, as the games for Anna's age group are on the same day as dance. She is only sad about not being able to play when we go to one of Andrew's games.

Andrew I would say likes soccer just okay. Sometimes he really enjoys it and other times he wants nothing to do with it. His attitude is actually pretty consistent with his personality.



My parents were here for Andrew's first game. My dad is never been known to shy away from helping in anyway that he can, especially at a sporting event. The kids all the loved the assistant coach that game.



My dad giving the pep talk before the game.

Anna is 7

Anna turned 7 on August 25th. The weekend before her birthday my parents were here for BYU Education week and to help me with the kids while Danny was in India. To celebrate her birthday we went bowling and out to dinner. We had a great time!

On her real birthday she picked out some cupcakes to take to her class at school and dance class. She then requested for dinner that I make steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, and salad. She loved the gift card to Wal-mart that she got from Grandma Mary, when she opened the envelope she squealed, "I always wanted a credit card." Seriously, where did she get that from?

At Fat Cat's for bowling with Grandma and Papa

I don't know how, but Nathan slept through the first part of the bowling

Where did these ramps come from? I remember being little, using two hands, spreading my legs and trying to roll (throw) the ball down. Bowling has gotten way too easy for kids. :)



Andrew is going through the lovely stage where he does not know how to smile.



Nathan is up and ready to party.



We are so glad Uncle Jason is back from his mission and going to school at BYU.



It wouldn't be a party without at least one melt down.



Happy Birthday Anna! We are so glad you are in our family. You are such a sweetheart.

First Day of School

I won!

I won my first blog give away. I am the lucky winner of not 1, but 2 So You Think You Can Dance workout DVD's. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would win - dreams really do come true.

Nathan 9 months

Nathan turned 9 months on the 14th. He is all over the place. It will be interesting to see when he starts walking. He can pull himself up to stand and can even balance by himself for a couple of seconds. However, he is such a good crawler, I don't know if he will try to walk. He is a good eater and still loves green smoothies.

Here are the 9 months stats:
Height - 29.5 inches ( 86%)
Weight - 22.3 pounds (76 %)