How Do 2nd Children Survive?

Let me preface this by saying that Dylan really does love Preston. We've been super fortunate that there has been very little jealousy. He's very loving and quite protective of his little brother. And yet life is still not easy for baby Preston. The more I see, the more I am amazed that second children ever survive.

Preston was only a few weeks old when I realized he'd had his first survival miracle. Dylan had held him so many times before and was old enough to know how to be gentle. I had Preston lying down in a little baby gym with toys above for him to look at. I put a movie on for Dylan and went upstairs to take a quick shower. I came back to find loving little Dylan holding Preston on the couch, clear across the room from where I left him. My heart sank and I realized I had to be a little more careful about leaving the two of them together. Luckily nothing happened.

Skip to today. A much more sturdy Preston is now used to daily Dylan "experiments". He loves to lie on top of Preston and play "squish". We play that game with Dylan, but of course we don't put any weight on him. We are learning that everything we do, he will soon do. So far, Preston just giggles and tries to pull his hair so he must be pretty gentle, but still...when you walk in the room to find your 3 year old squishing your 7 month old baby, you get a little nervous.

Here's another one for the history books. One day we had just come in from a long day of errands. We were on edge and trying to get a ton of things done. All of a sudden I heard Marcos yell, "Dy-lan". Uh-oh, now what? I ran to see what the problem was. Preston was still in his carrier carseat and Dylan had tipped it all the way forward so the handle was holding it up. Preston was strapped in and must've just thought it was like a little Lagoon ride. He wasn't making a peep. Anyway, it was pretty funny, but just another danger in the life of a 2nd child.

We've been dog-sitting for Alicia. Well, kind of. We were supposed to dog sit for her and then Alicia ended up not going out of town. By then, we'd already told Dylan Belle was coming to our house so we ended up taking her anyway. So Dylan's had a leash around the house to play with for a few days. Preston was in his saucer (usually a very safe place for him) and I turn around to see Dylan almost tipping the thing over. He had hooked the leash onto the end of the saucer and was pulling Preston along. Saucers aren't exactly made to be stable on the move. I got to Preston before the saucer tipped over, but it was pretty close.

I've thought a million times about all the things Preston has to tolerate having an older brother, but I realized it's not a unique challenge for our family the other day when Angie called. She was in tears...trying to get advice and vent all at once. I guess she ran to get the laundry and left Connor and Tanner on the bed. Apparently Connor wanted to play with Tanner and ended up pushing or dropping him or something. She heard a thump and went running. He was fine, but Angie was so mad at Connor. I could so relate! It really is a miracle that second children survive their older siblings. For now, I'm going to do the best I can to love them both and keep little Preston safe from harm!

Cousin Saturday

What a fun day! Leah turned 5 and had a Halloween birthday party. It's become such a fun tradition...all the kids wear their costumes, play games and get to go trick-or-treating in the basement. It was a great day. After the party, Alicia, Angie and Justin stopped by with the kids on their way back up north. Dylan was sick of his costume by then and was just wearing his normal outfit. Angie commented how funny it was that all the kids were wearing black and red shirts. All we had to do was take Preston out of his Tigger outfit and put him in his onesie. Too bad Tony was in St. George so we're missing one cousin. This truly is a history-making picture though. Trying to get that many young cousins to hold still and not scream is nothing short of miraculous. The crazy thing was, there were actually several decent pictures that came out of this impromptu photo shoot. Who knew? So here are some of our favorite pictures from a fun Saturday full of cousins...from both sides of the family.

Crazy Busy Days...

So the last month or so has just been crazy busy. I didn't plan it that way, but somehow everything happened all at once. Here are the reasons life has been super crazy.

• I started tending Anthony three days a week instead of two days. I knew Activity Days was not going to work anymore...there is no way I can lead activites with three kids around. I've had that calling for almost 3 1/2 years anyway so I didn't feel bad needing a break. It was bad timing for the Primary President since we were about to get new ward boundaries, but I figured I'd better let her know that I couldn't do it with my schedule anymore. Well, until they found somebody else, I was trying to help out with activities and juggle the tending. So that was chaotic by itself.
• I decided one day to sign up for a six-week digital scrapbooking class at the high school. Again, I thought it would be nice to get out of the house and learn a new skill. Alicia and I have been taking that class together and enjoying it, but as things have gotten more and more busy, it's been more of a task than something I look forward to.
• I agreed to help a friend of mine with an event she was doing. It worked out perfectly because Anthony was out of town that Friday anyway. I was so excited to help with the event and get out of the house, but by the time the event rolled around, I had been out of the house a lot. It was a lot of fun and some extra money, but one more thing this month that ended up being "extra".
• I was at Primary Children's with Preston when I found out that someone from my old job at the Republican Party was quitting. She was a part-time employee who had worked there for like 11 years or something. So even though I wasn't considering looking for a job, I thought this was too good an opportunity to pass up. It was stressful to even think about working out the details, but I decided just to go interview and see what happened.
• By the time the boss called me to tell me I had a job, I figured he had decided to go with someone else. I had made my peace with it. Then I get a call saying he did want me to work there. It wasn't the position I had applied for, but is much closer to what I used to do so I would have a lot less to learn. Then he asked when I could start. Ahh... I was so excited and nervous all at once--it was a total freak-out moment.
• I now had to figure out who was going to take care of the boys. Luckily we'd talked to some family members and had thought through a babysitting plan that we hoped would work. Amy would tend the kids one day a week and Mercedes would tend the other day of the week. So it's been a week and a half and so far so good. Amy has tended twice and Mercedes once and it seems to be working out. Amy said the kids were great both days so I'm hopeful that this is a good fit. It feels really good to be back at work a couple days a week, but it's not so much that I feel guilty about leaving the kids. Plus it helps that they are with people who love them and who I trust. I think getting this job is a blessing. It will help with our tight budget and it seems to really make me appreciate the days I have with my boys.
• I'm not the only one with a crazy schedule. Marcos has been going crazy too. He works full time, is Young Men's President and works a little part-time job about 2-5 hours a week. His part-time job isn't much, but he usually ends up working in the evenings when his family misses him more.
• Marcos has a friend who does finish carpentry who asked him to help with a job last Saturday. He was gone all day--like 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. What a long day! He called him again this week and asked him to work today. Of course, he couldn't say no. It's a little extra money and it's something Marcos enjoys learning. That's the one thing about Marcos...he isn't a super skilled handyman, but he's a really good worker so he's still a great choice as a side-kick in construction-type projects.

Anyway, it's been way hectic! Most of it has just been timing though. I don't think our new schedule is going to look like this. I just think we were kind of bored and needing extra money so we both said yes to everything and now we've got to let it simmer down a little bit. I'm super excited about my job though and pray everything works out for the best. Wish me luck!

Little Ears Are Always Listening

I had a rough day teaching Primary on Sunday. I was a little negative on the drive home and told Marcos I wasn't sure I could teach this class. I forget sometimes that little ears are always listening. Out of nowhere, Dylan's little voice says, "Mom, do you not want to be a teacher?" Oops... I quickly try to back pedal by saying, "I do want to be a teacher. I just had a hard day today." Dylan then says, "No, I don't want you to be a teacher." What? That totally caught me off guard - I expected him to say okay and be fine with the whole thing. Then he says, "I want you to be a mom." It was so sweet! The negative moment was gone and my eyes welled up with tears at the thought of my beautiful, loving little boy.

A Day At The Park

I love this weather. It's a bit chilly, but the fall is so great. I took Dylan, Anthony and Preston to the park today to feed the ducks and play a little bit. They were so cute. They had so much fun feeding the ducks, but got a little nervous when the geese got too close. Dylan chased them around though...sometimes he's a little too brave. At one point, there were so many ducks, geese, and even a swan right next to us. Anthony was practically standing under me and Dylan was protecting the lid to the container we brought the seeds in. He was afraid they would eat it. I wish I could've taken a picture at that exact moment but they really were everywhere. Dylan wore his bird backpack the whole day. He loves that thing! The swan must've thought there was food in it because it was pecking at the poor backpack. Dylan just stood still, but after I chased the swan away he said, "Mom, why was that swan 'nicking' at me?" Funny kid, he just makes up words when he doesn't know what I say. Preston enjoyed the whole thing and just sat there and watched the ducks go by. We played on the playground for a bit, but it started getting cold and was close to nap time so we didn't stay long. What a great way to break up a long day with kids though. It was perfect!

Sunday Dinner

What a fun Sunday dinner. Marcos' cousin, Maria Noel, was in town and came up to dinner with her sister, Raquel. We had dinner at Mercedes' house. It was so much fun! Maria Noel has a beautiful, round pregnant belly. Amy's is starting to round out and Laura's is just barely showing. We found out that Raquel is expecting for the middle or end of May too. Holy cow! Abuela and I were the only two women not pregnant in that room...how fun! I must say I'm happy to be on the non-pregnant side of the room though. I'm feeling just perfect with my two little boys! Anyway, we had yummy food and then played for awhile. I went to check on the kids because Mason kept telling on Dylan. Although kindergarteners are known for tattling, I thought it was worth making sure nothing was going on. Somehow I ended up playing sharks with Diego and Dylan on the ground. Once I was down, there was no turning back. Someone hopped onto my back and the next thing you know, I'm hauling almost the whole gang around. Talk about a big load! It was sure fun though...those crazy kids! Later, abuela took the oldest four kids into her room and put them in their little costumes that she's been making. Man, were they excited. Gabi and Leah were posing the rest of the night and Mason and Dylan thought they were super heros. Dylan's still young enough that the super hero he thought of was Super Bunny so he ran around yelling that. Amy asked if he was talking about Max and Ruby. Sure enough, he was. I'm surprised she knew what he was referring to. So here are a few pictures from the evening.

GG Betty

GG is my grandma Betty. She has the kids call her GG because she's their Great Grandma. She fell last week and has been in the hospital for several days. We went to see her at the hospital over the weekend and luckily she's doing much better. It looks like she may be able to go back home and the physical therapist can work with her at her house. I think they're also putting in an alert type of system in case she falls again. We love you GG. Get well soon!

Spooked

So our neighborhood has been "spooking" each other. I think it actually started with our Activity Days' girls, but it spread quickly. We got spooked a couple nights in a row so we decided to take treats around for Family Night. At first we had to convince Dylan that he didn't need all the cookies and brownies himself since we made more than enough to share and keep a few for the fam. It was so funny though. At first Marcos was a little grumpy about the whole ordeal and just wanted to get it over with...he denies it, but he was. I was trying to have a fun family activity and everyone was complaining. Well, it didn't take long until they both caught the spirit. I sat in the car with Preston around the corner from the house we were spooking and Marcos went with Dylan to the door, dropped off the plate, rang the doorbell and ran. He just wasn't fast enough so Marcos picks him up like a football and starts running down the street. I had my window cracked so I could hear both of them giggling. Dylan LOVED it. We ended up doing like 5 houses. It was soooo much fun. One time, Marcos decided they would just run to the fence and watch for a minute and then meet me down the street. I guess a car pulled up and parked next to them so that was the first thing that threw them off. Then Dylan sees someone come up to the door so he yells out, "Hey, we brought you some cookies and brownies. We were just trying to spook you." Marcos grabs him and starts running, trying not to bust up laughing. The funny thing is that our ward boundaries just changed and this was a family in a new area of the ward so they don't know our crazy Dylan. It's going to be interesting to see whether or not they recognize him next Sunday. Needless to say, it was a great FHE and Dylan really seemed to catch the spirit of service. He wanted to go home and get more plates of goodies to deliver. What a cute little boy!

I Love The Rain

Tonight I went to the digital scrapbooking class that I'm taking with my sister, Alicia. We got out of the class and it was pouring - not just raining little drops, but huge drops of rain...the kind where one drop can really dampen you. Anyway, as we were walking (not running) to the car, I thought about the rain. I remember being a kid and just playing in the rain, getting totally soaked and thinking nothing about it. I miss that! I love how fresh rain makes everything seem - it feels, looks and smells so clean. I really love the weather that comes during the change of seasons. It's just so unpredictable and exciting. You never know what you're going to get. And fall is my fave. It's not too hot, not too cold, just nice and cool...jacket weather. And there's something about fall and this kind of weather that reminds me of my younger, hipper college days. Something about back-to-school time that makes me reminisce a little. Good times! Well, enough blogging, I'm going to sit by the window and just appreciate this little rainstorm.

Dylanisms

Dylan says such funny things that we have started referring to his sayings as Dylanisms. Here are some of our favorites from the past few months. They're written "to" Dylan because they came from his journal that I keep for him. They're really cute though!

• You have such a keen sense of smell. You always ask, “Mom, what smells like that?” One night on the way home from Alicia’s house, we passed a skunk on the road and you asked me what the smell was. I told you it was a skunk. You said, “Why it smells like that?” I told you it was because a car hit it. I didn’t even think about it, but you were so sad. You started to cry and said, “Mom, I miss my skunk friend. When he’s coming to our house.” You just love your little animal friends.


• We caught a grasshopper and you put it in a little bug box you have. It had been several days and the grasshopper died. I didn’t mention it, but you saw the box one day and asked about him. I said, “Honey, the grasshopper died.” You said in a sad voice, “Oh, is he in the hostibal?”


• I had bent down to give you a kiss goodnight and you were combing my hair with your fingers. They kind of got stuck and you said, “Mommy, is that a ‘tot’ in your hair?” I said, “It’s called a knot.” You said, “Oh, a lot in your hair?” I just laughed. Then you said, “Why it’s called a lobster?” And as I walked out the door, you asked me to comb it one more time. Then you said, “Okay, Mom. I think I got the monsters out.” That’s what we tell you after we brush your teeth. The whole conversation was just so funny!


• You colored all over my activity days’ papers one day and I said, “Dylan, you colored all over my papers?” You said, “Mommy, but it’s so beautiful” in a sweet little voice. Nice try.


• You are so protective of Preston. We put him to bed a little later than you and you didn’t understand why he didn’t have to go to sleep. I explained that he still had to eat before bed. You really love it when he eats rice cereal. Now when I tell you he’s going to eat before he comes into his crib to sleep, you ask if he’s going to have cereal. If I say “no” or “maybe” you beg me to feed him cereal. When I say “okay” you say, “Oh thank you, Mom. Just feed him very carefully so he won’t choke.”


• You were so excited on September 24, 2007. You figured out how to put your own shirt on. You have been able to help and take clothes off, but this was the first day you actually put your own shirt on by yourself. You put it on backwards once and I was trying to help you figure out how to turn it around. You kept putting the same arm in the wrong hole. You finally got it and said, “Mom, I swixed it.” Kind of a combination of “fixed” and “switched”. You thought about it and tried to change the word, but it seemed right to you so you finally settled on “swixed.”


• You were playing with a Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtle one day and yelled, “Mom, ‘engine’ turtles can fly.” You are convinced that they are engine turtles and not ninja turtles.


• You were eating a carton of yogurt and said, “Mom, I want some more gorilla gravy.” Everything seems to taste better to you if it is animal food.


• One day I was kicking the soccer ball with you and you said, “Mom, say pollege.” I asked you what that meant. You said, “Pollege!” Finally I asked you what pollege is. The only thing I could think of was college and I didn’t think you would be talking about college. You said, “It’s like soup.” Oh, you were talking about porridge like in Goldie Locks and the Three Bears. I told you it is called porridge and you insisted it was pollege.


• We drove by Hill Air Force Base museum and you said, “Mom, look space rockets.” They really do look like space rockets so I said, “Oh, yeah.” You said, “How they’re not ‘lasting’ off?” meaning blasting off. You are just so funny. There are several of these sayings almost every day. I wish I had a tape recorder so I would remember them all!


• We went to visit the neighbor cat and you were telling me all about her. You said, “This cat doesn’t like dogs.” You thought for a minute and then said, “She has wonderful teeth.”


• I let you help take the CD out of the car one day. You pushed the button and were so amazed that it just popped out. I took it from you quickly so you wouldn’t scratch it. You still weren’t sure what to do or say so you looked back at the CD player and said, “Thank you for the CD.”


• We were leaving McDonald’s drive thru and you said, “Mom, it won’t go up.” I didn’t know what you were talking about so I asked you. You said, “The clopper that clops the drinks.”


• You were helping to wipe Preston’s mouth and you said, “Mom, we need to get a ‘wec wag’ for Preston.”


• You and Papi were upstairs playing and Papi was getting pretty tired. You just had way too much energy. He decided he would play the “sleep game” to calm you down a little so you basically pretended you were going to sleep. I wandered upstairs to see why it was so quiet and you were both there under the covers pretending to sleep. You said, “Hey mom, what are you doing here? We’re trying to sleep. Don’t ‘bee-sturb’ us.” It was pretty funny!


• Preston was pretty fussy in the car later that day and you put your arms out as if you ask a question and said, “Mom, I don’t know what to do with this boy.”


• Mommy was taking Preston to his doctor appointment and he was pretty fussy. We were on the freeway and I was trying to keep his binkie in his mouth. I finally said out loud, “Preston, if you drop your binkie again, you’re on your own. I can’t keep getting it for you.” I was basically talking to myself, but you leaned over to him and said, “That’s okay, bud. I can get it for you.”


• I told you that I needed to floss your teeth. You said, “I want to sloss them.”


• One night, you were using two q-tips like a train and chugging them. I think they were like the metal part that connects the wheels to you. You wanted to put them down, but not put them away. I think you wanted to save them to play with later. You put them in Preston’s little pink Tupperware thing that holds his binkies and stuff. You said, “I need to put away my ‘train puffs’ so Anthony won’t get into them.”


• Mommy was feeding Preston one morning and you came over by me to talk to him. He looked up at you and you were talking to him and playing with him so cute. He lifted his hand up towards you so you grabbed his hand and said, “Nice to meet you Preston.” It was so cute!


• Papi asked Mommy one morning if she wanted another baby. He said, “Don’t you want a little girl? Or just another baby?” I didn’t answer very quickly, but you sure were quick to. You said, “Yeah, let’s have another baby. Let’s go to the hostibal and get another baby.” You sure love being a big brother.


• When we were planning a day to go look at new cars you asked if we were going to look at cars. When I told you yes, you said, “Oh yeah, we’re going to look at cars huh? We’re going to look at a meaty van huh?” You had heard us debating whether or not to buy a car or a van and you think it’s called a meaty van.


• Our car has had so many problems lately. It’s been a really stressful few weeks in a row. One day, you said, “Oh no, is our car broken?” and practically started crying. Apparently you do catch on to the stress we feel.


• One day, Mommy and Papi were trying to make a plan for the day. We were talking back and forth to work out the details of the day. You went over to Papi and said, “No, this is not exactly what’s going to happen here.” It was so grown up sounding. We had to laugh, even though we had to tell you not to talk like that because you were being a little bossy and rude.


• You were telling me you wanted to go to Tarzanland. I thought I misunderstood you, but that’s what you were saying. I asked you where Tarzanland was and you said “in You Nork”. Funny boy! Who knows where you get this stuff.


• Mommy’s been trying to teach you to say “may I.” You just don’t quite understand. You start to say, “Can I go swimming?” and you stop yourself mid-sentence and say, “Can I, may go swimming?” Close enough!


• You were in the bathtub in July scooping up some water with a measuring cup. You said, “Mom, I’m making some copy.” I asked you what “copy” was and you said, “It’s for my special recipe.” My guess is you were making coffee, although I have no idea where you heard about coffee. You proceeded to make “copy” with two cups of sugar, one cup of flour…


• One day you asked me, “Mom, will you learn me this puzzle.”


• Another day something similar happened. I was cutting an onion and you asked why I was crying. I told you about the onion making my eyes water. I guess you didn’t make the connection though because when the strong smell of the onion reached you, you didn’t know what to do. You started yelling and asked what had happened to your eyes. I had to take you away from the kitchen and explain that the onion was making you cry too.


• One day you were eating ice cream. You looked over at me nervously and kind of started to cry. It took me a minute to realize you had brain freeze and weren’t sure what was happening to your head.


• Your prayers are just so sincere and innocent. You really do just talk to God when you’re praying. You talk about what you are thinking and feeling right then. It’s unusual and yet so touching in a way that you would want to thank Heavenly Father for whatever you are thinking about and grateful for at that moment. Some examples of things you have said in your prayers include, “thank you for helping Mason be nice”, “thank you that we can not bite”, “thank you that Bell could sleep in my bed and that she’s wagging her tail”, “thank you for Tony”, “thank you for our prophet”, “thank you for Bishop Kjar”, “thank you that we could play outside”… the list goes on and on. You are just so cute!


• We were tending Bell for Alicia and Nate in July. You loved the whole thing. You fed her, walked her, filled her water, and just wanted to play with her non-stop. She rolled over once and you were petting her belly. You looked over at me and said, “Mom, I’m touching her milk tanks.”


• One day your tonsils were really bothering you. You’re just so tough so when it seems like something’s bothering you, I know it’s really bad. You looked at me with this look of fear and pain, opened your mouth and kind of stuck your tongue out and then said, “Um, mom, I think there’s a ‘ploblem’ in my mouth.”


• Your tonsils have really been bothering you. One day you weren’t feeling very well and you said, “Mom, can you burp me?” You wanted me to hold you and pat your back and that was your way of communicating that with me.


• Abuela went to get some gas medicine for Preston at Mylo’s birthday party. We ran out and he was pretty fussy. You were ready to go (especially since you only had your tonsils out 4 days before so you weren’t feeling the best). I told you we had to wait until Abuela came back with the medicine. When Abuela came in you said, “Thank you so much for bringing the special medicine for my baby, Abuela.” It was so sweet.

Cooking With Kids

I had to get a bunch of cookies made for the Halloween plates we were doing for Activity Days. It was a hectic day and trying to get anything done seemed impossible. I finally gave up trying, grabbed both kids, and started mixing. Marcos got home and started laughing. The three of us were all baking cookies together. I had one kid sitting on the stool next to me measuring and dumping and the other one strapped right on the front. Preston's grabbing and excited little kicks slowed me down a little, but it was the only thing that allowed me to get it all done. Preston was too fussy and Dylan loves to help in the kitchen. If you would've told me five years ago that this picture would exist, I never would've believed you, but here I am. These boys have turned my world up-side-down, yet I can't imagine life without them.

Dylan's "Wedding" Ring

Dylan was really admiring my ring on Sunday and then looked over and noticed that Marcos had a ring as well. He wanted to wear my ring, but the thought of a three-year-old even touching real jewelry makes me cringe. I explained that it was my special ring and that Papi gave it to me when we were married. He started telling me that he wanted to be married too. I tried everything to divert his attention, but there was no stopping this kid. He really wanted to wear a ring. So I jumped into brainstorming mode and went on a mission to find something that could serve as Dylan's "wedding" ring. Sure enough, there wasn't a plastic spider ring to be found...even in October. It serves me right for cleaning out his junk all the time. So I went to my jewelry box with fingers crossed. So this it is...Dylan's special wedding ring. It's actually an old, cheap earring I had stuck in the back of my jewelry box, but it fit perfectly and looked real to him. He was so funny. He wore it to Grandma's house and had to show it off. Then when he was playing, he asked me to take it off and hold it for him. He said, "Mom, could you just not lose this for me. Be 'berry' careful with it." The whole process was so amusing. He really thinks we're all married now--I guess it's some sort of family bonding for us all.

Uboldi BBQ

We had a BBQ on Saturday with the Uboldi cousins and abuelo. It was supposed to be at our house, but we had a water pipe crisis Saturday morning, so we moved it to Amy and Esteban's at the last minute. Murphy's Law...it gets us every time. Anyway, all the kids ended up outside playing on the trampoline after dinner. They were having so much fun. All the kids were piling on top of each other, with Dave monitoring the process. No one seemed to mind too much and I don't think there were any major injuries. I couldn't help myself -- I grabbed my camera started to "capture the moments." I have to admit that with six crazy kids running around it was almost impossible to keep anyone in focus. It wasn't long after the camera came out that the girls (Gabi and Leah) started posing and asking me to take a picture. So much for candids! It was really fun to watch them play together.

Check out my Slide Show!

Click on the "X" in the white box of the music video so you can view the labels for the photos.

Summer

There were so many fun things that happened this summer that I wanted to share. Here are some of the highlights.

Utah Arts Festival

We decided on a whim to go down to Salt Lake to the Utah Arts Festival. Marcos heard some band was playing so we went to see them, but made a day of it. We ran into Carol, Kyle and their kids, Mary Jane and Jonah (my aunt, uncle and cousins). What a small world! Anyway, it was so much fun. Dylan had a blast in the children's area and Preston was cooing the entire time. After the children's area closed, we walked around, ate yummy food, and listened to several different bands. It was a great day. Neither of us could believe how great the kids were. They just love being outdoors and seeing everything there was to see.

Musikgarten Summer Camp

Dylan has been taking Musikgarten classes since he was six months old. He really loves it. Now he's in the big boy, 3-year-old drop off class and got to go to summer camp this year. Teacher Amy had so many fun things for them to do. They made tie-die shirts, bark refrigerator magnets, boats, butterflies, clouds... I can't name them all. They did a couple art projects every day, learned about nature, and sang fun songs. What a fun little camp.

Swimming

Dylan took swimming lessons this year for the first time and was a total fish. He lucked out and ended up in a class with only four kids in it so there was a lot of one on one attention. There were two girls and two boys. He and Logan were pretty competitive so one would swim under water and then the other would. Poor teacher, trying to keep 3-year-olds together in one area. It was so much fun for him!

Lagoon

Melissa, Tony, Mom, Dylan, Preston and I went to Lagoon for Melissa's work day this year. It was a great day! Preston loved being in the stroller and just watching everything. Dylan was a little cautious and remembered the "scary" rides from last year. He was pretty brave though and went by himself on a lot of things. We had to just gradually work up to the bigger rides. It was a great day, but super crowded. Melissa and I went on one ride while Mom watched the kids and it was almost two hours before we we on the ride. We gave up on being kids again and focused on our own kids. Kiddie land moves a lot quicker than the big kid rides. It was really hot and we all ended up in the fountain soaking wet at one point. Crazy kids!

Fourth of July

We kind of just hung out on the 4th of July and then went up to Mom and Barney's house for a bbq and fireworks that night. Everyone had a great time.

Denker's Family Reunion

We had the Denker's family reunion at a little park in Salt Lake. It was so much fun. They rented a big blow up castle for the kids to bounce on. There was tons of good food, snow cones and cotton candy and lots of family and memories. The kids were well behaved and it was a really fun day. Dylan was a little hyper so at one point, we stuck him in a tree and just left him there. He loves "climbing" trees so it was a good solution for all of us. He didn't want to come down. Marcos ended up with Nate and Dad ganging up on him in a big water fight. Somehow that always happens. Marcos swears he doesn't start it, but some how he is always a part of those "big boy" fights so he can't be that innocent. Either way, it was a really fun day and great to see so much family. It's just amazing how quickly people grow up and change. Life really does fly.

Chapman Family Reunion

Mom and Barney took Tony and Dylan to the Chapman Family Reunion this year. I was worried about sleeping in a tent with a 4-month-old baby and had to tend Anthony so I decided not to go. It was hard to pack my "baby" up and send him for three days with Grandma and Grandpa, but I have to admit, I got so much done that week. He was fine and was so sad when he had to leave Tony. I guess he didn't miss us quite as much as we missed him. I'm so glad he can have fun experiences like that.

Cherry Hill
We didn't get a Cherry Hill pass this year because Preston was so young and I was going to be tending a lot. I figured we wouldn't get our money out of it. We ended up going one day when Melissa was off of work. It was so much fun! We ran into so many neighbors and friends that we knew so Dylan had cousins and friends from nursery to play with. He loved it! Preston took a good nap and loved the water. It was a little windy, but other than that, it was a great day.

Dylan

Mr. Independent. Dylan loves to try to dress himself. He came downstairs with this fabulous outfit to go to McDonald's. I couldn't help but laugh.

He got bit by a spider and ended up with a huge forehead from an infection. Poor little guy!

He still loves his music and jammin' out. He is already trying to teach Preston how to hold a guitar.

Preston
Preston is such a sweet little baby. He started rolling around this summer and flips over pretty much the minute you put him down. He found his voice months ago and is not afraid to use it. He is quite the little chatter box! He is just a mellow little guy and is truly a blessing. We have had appointments at Primary Children's Hospital at least once a month and he is just so tolerant and loving. He smiles at everyone he meets!