The Circus

Lynne and I took the kids to the circus for the first time. Caleb had no idea what a circus was. When we first got there the floor was open and you could ride the ponies, elephants or camels, all for an extra fee of course. So, we skipped it. As we were walking to our seats Caleb starts telling me, "I want to play." He kept getting more and more upset until he was in full out tears. He thought a circus was an interactive place. He had no idea it was a show. He refused to come up to his seat and was just crying at the bottom of the bleachers. A little boy came up to him and gave him a sucker, didn't help. I finally had to pick him up and carry him. When the show started the music was super loud and Caleb held his hands over his ears the whole time. He was upset until the first clown act was on. He thought it was funny and was more relaxed.
At intermission I said to the kids, "Do you want to run up and down the bleachers?" They both looked really excited and said yes. I think that was their favorite part.

For the second act I bought Caleb some popcorn and I think they turned the volume down and the kids really enjoyed it. I was glad it ended well after not being what Caleb was hoping for. The show was a little dull to me but I thought it was cool that the kids got to see tigers, elephants, a camel, zebra, dogs and ponies. And it was really good to just get out of the house during this cold winter.

Snow!

I started putting Brynn's hair in little pony tails. She gets a kick out of them and whenever she thinks about it she always says the word, "Pony tail." It's pretty cute.

I had to take a picture of Caleb next to our huge piles of snow that has been building up from all the driveway shoveling. It's hard to imagine piles like these ever melting.

Here's a few stories from the past week or so:

• On Sunday the kids are always crazier than normal. After Brynn's nap the kids were so fussy. At one point I took away a dirty utensil from Caleb and he started crying. After 30 seconds or so he asked, "Why was I crying?" Then again in a more distressed voice, "Why was I crying?" Silly children.
• Last week we met Derrick for dinner since he was going straight from work to BYU. While there Brynn saw a man and called him Grandpa. It did look a lot like Grandpa, he had the same jacket as grandpa, similar hair, glasses. I told her it wasn't Grandpa but she kept looking at him and calling him Grandpa. Poor girl, I hope she doesn't think Grandpa was ignoring her.
• Tonight at dinner We had some whole wheat bread Grandma made for us. Brynn loved it and had seconds. Caleb barely touched it. I told Caleb Grandma made the bread. Then I asked him if he liked the bread Grandma made. He looked to the side, and a totally conflicted look came on his face. I think he didn't want to say he didn't like it because he knew the grandma he loves so much made it. It was actually really cute. I was glad he didn't want to hurt her feelings, another good trait of Caleb.
• At the end of church I was picking up the kids. Brynn first then Caleb. As Caleb was walking out of his class his teacher handed him four Gummi Bears. Brynn saw them and said, "Gummi Bears." Caleb, without even thinking about it, carefully put two right into Brynn's hand. No thought of selfishness at all. I was never that way as a kid. I looked out for number one, still catch myself doing that sometimes. I am so grateful Caleb thinks of others.
• Directly north of us is an NSA Data Center. Caleb asked what the building was. Derrick explained it's where lots of computers are for storing information. Caleb said, "So when people don't have a computer they go there to get one." We tried to explain that it was just there to hold information, but I think that concept is a little over his head. I love how he always tries to decipher what things mean.

Shelves and Food Storage

The past two weeks we've been working on our food storage shelves and a light for the food storage room. We have had the shelves up for a few months but we needed to secure them in. That required buying a hammer drill to get through cement. We also put in an extra light which allowed Derrick to learn a little electric work. Let's just say it took a lot of work and a few failures before we had it all done.

 We took all the food off the shelves to do our work. When it was time to put it back Caleb loved helping. I would show him what food to get and where to put it. He would go back and forth and keep working until it was all back on the shelf.
At one point I said to Derrick that we should get a step stool for the room. Caleb heard me and said, "We could use the stool from my bathroom." I told him that was a good idea. He left the basement and a minute later he came back with his stool. He used it while he was putting food back. It was so cute!
We felt really strongly that we should build up our food storage this month. We made multiple trips to stores to get long term and short term food. We had family home evening lessons on food storage. Now when you ask Caleb why we have food storage he will say something like this, "In case the stores don't have food we can go to our basement and get some. Or if we don't have money, we will still have food." He always says both of those reasons. He understands things so well.

Bath Time and Stories

It's been a while since I've done a bath time post. I think bath time pictures are so cute so I took some today.

 Stories from the week:

• All of our electronics are breaking. My phone doesn't work with the SD card in. Derrick's phone reboots as much as twice a day taking away all the apps and messages he had. The computer needs a new hard drive. The X-box's power button is broken and you can only turn it off by pulling out the cord. And there's probably at least one more thing I'm forgetting. Anyways, this week Caleb was watching Netflix on the lap top and the mouse pad stopped working. Caleb said, "Everything is broken. Daddy needs to fix everything!" We are just as frustrated as he is.
• Paul and Lynne came and watched the kids Friday night so Derrick and I could go on a date. When I told Brynn that Grandma and Grandpa were coming over she said, "Kent?" I told her no Kent wouldn't be there. She said, "Lisa?" She loves her aunts and uncles!
• I was making a dress for a niece that will be born in June. Caleb asked what I was doing and I told him I was making a dress for his cousin. I asked if he remembered her name, since we had told him before what her name was. He said, "June?" So cute! He did remember something I told him. Then he looked at me and asked, "Did they pray to have a baby?" I told him I'm sure they did. I then told him Uncle Scott and Aunt Julianne are praying for a baby too and asked him if we should pray for them. He was excited and said, "Yes. I'll pray you help me." We said a prayer right then. There was definitely a sweet spirit at that moment.

Christlike Service

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." Mosiah 2:17
I have been feeling for months now that I should write this blog post. I don't know why but these thoughts of service I've seen in my life have left me feeling so grateful and inspired. I feel like I need to write them down. One thing that inspired me was this video and how a little service can impact the lives of individuals so greatly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHSkiEeLpTk
Service I've seen:

• This is, by far, the incident that has left the biggest imprint on my heart and it brings me to tears every time I think of it. When Derrick and I got married we moved onto Stanford campus. We were far away from any immediate family or any friends we knew. When I was pregnant with Caleb I thought about the possibility of never having a baby shower because I didn't have anyone near us that would throw one for me. I would cry many nights thinking about that. I even prayed that there would be someone who would give one to me. One month my visiting teacher asked me if she could give me a baby shower. (In the LDS church each woman is assigned to visit another sister and assess her needs and the needs of her family). I was overjoyed that someone cared about me enough to do this act of love for me. This experience reminds me of the quote, “In the performance of our responsibilities, I have learned that when we heed a silent prompting and act upon it without delay, our Heavenly Father will guide our footsteps and bless our lives and the lives of others. I know of no experience more sweet or feeling more precious than to heed a prompting only to discover that the Lord has answered another person’s prayer through you.” --President Thomas S. Monson. I know that my visiting teacher acted on a prompting from the Holy Ghost and did indeed answer my yearning prayer.
• Similar to the above story when Caleb was born we didn't think we would have anyone to come visit us at the hospital. But a couple from church, our parent's age, came on Easter morning to get a look at our less than a day old little boy. We felt so loved that our friends would come, with flowers, just as our own family would. It was nice to feel loved at a time that was so special to us.
• The first Christmas we were married we went to visit Derrick's family in Utah. Derrick's mom had a operation just a few days before Christmas. The neighbors brought so many meals that their refrigerator was overflowing. The next door neighbor and her son shoveled snow from their driveway. Others stopped by just to make sure she was doing alright. There were 6 other adults in the house but that didn't matter because those people's hearts were so full of the spirit of Christ that they wanted to help when they knew there was a time of need. I love the example of those loving neighbors.
• A few months ago Derrick's family was all meeting at BYU campus at the Cougar Eat to have a birthday dinner for Derrick's dad. Derrick was already at campus with recruiting stuff for his work so I had the kids by myself. As I was walking up to the door to head in I was wondering how I would open the door because I was holding Brynn, the diaper bag and a cake, with Caleb walking by my side. A young man walked out and was already a good 6 feet past the door when he noticed me. He immediately turned around and held the door for me.
• On a similar note, when Derrick and I were dating we were driving in Derrick's roommate's car. Derrick was in the passenger seat and I was in the back. We past someone on the opposite side of the road whose car stopped working at a stoplight. Derrick immediately pointed it out as his roommate simultaneously turned the car around. They helped push the stuck car out of the road. Both this example and the one above is another great lesson to me: turn around! How often if we pass someone will say, "Oh well, it is too late, someone else will help." No, if we see someone in need we should not take pause but turn to help immediately, the Savior would.
• A week ago I dropped Derrick off at BYU for another recruiting thing he had going on. I took the kids to the playplace at McDonalds while we waited for Derrick to be done. It was a snowy evening and the roads were very slick. When Derrick was done we went to pick him up. On an uphill turn I was headed for I had to stop because the car in front of me couldn't get up the hill because the tires weren't sticking to the road, the car kept sliding. After a minute a car stopped behind me and three collage aged boys hopped out of their car and pushed the one stuck in front of me. After they got the car around the turn they walked back to their car and as they passed me one of them gave me a thumbs up and mouthed smiling, "You'll be ok." I knew I would be. If my car didn't make it around the turn, they would be there to assist me. How great it was to know that. When we have a problem in our lives don't we want to know that we'll be ok? If someone is there to help us, we feel so much relief.

I am so grateful for so many Christlike examples of service. It has blessed my life and helped me to see what I need to do to love and care for others just as the Savior wants me to do. I pray that I can do better because I know I am so far from where I need to be. My instincts aren't so quick to serve, I have to make a conscious effort to help. I so often find myself rationalizing and pausing and I am trying to get around that. I am so thankful there are so many good examples for me to follow. I also have faith that through my daily scripture study I will start naturally being more Christlike because His words will be at the center of my being. I love Christ and often find myself getting so emotional about the sacrifice he made for me and everyone on the earth. I know He lives and we will live again too with everyone we love. How grateful I am for a testimony of Christ and the happiness and hope it brings to my life.

Funny Kids

We were driving in snow and Caleb said, "They put salt and garlic salt on the ground so cars don't slip." Later, I wanted to see if he would say it again and I asked him what they put on the road so cars don't slip. His response, "Salt and pepper." The roads around here need a little seasoning.
Brynn has been in the stage for a while where she pulls out everything from cabinets. This week she was getting into one too much and I gave her a time out with her hands on the wall and we counted to twenty. As soon as it was over she ran back to get into the same cabinet with a big smile on her face. I told her she had to have another time out and she ran straight to the wall, put her hands on it and said, "One, two, three, four, ten!" I don't think I'll use that method of punishment for a while, it's not a punishment at all to her, she loved it!
Last week we went to a volleyball game with Derrick's family. Brynn saw a guy next to us with some popcorn. Her eyes locked on it, then she looked at me and said, "Get it."
Brynn also discovered a stuffed animal she's had since she was born that a girl I taught piano made for Brynn. Brynn has called it a kitty, mouse and a bunny. Once she even said it says "ribbit." Whatever animal she thinks it is, she loves it. She wants to sleep with it and take it with her on our errands.

We are also back to pre-school and music class. The kids love getting out again. Though, this upcoming week I am dreading going anywhere because the highs are supposed to be in the teens. I'm not ready for this cold weather!

Christmas in San Diego

We spent a week with my family for Christmas. Christmas morning was so exciting for Caleb. He got a wooden train set (to go with his other one), tools, a car transporter, a toy vacuum, cars, books, hot wheels tracks and other stuff. He keeps asking me when the next Christmas is, we think he got enough toys for 2 Christmas'.

Brynn wasn't excited about presents this year. She had no interest in opening them and she never stays focused on any toy for very long.

We visited my grandparents in Huntington Beach. We also saw my Aunt Michele, Uncle Tom, Jodie and Brent. It was fun to talk with them again. My grandma gave Brynn these cute sunglasses with a hat:

Derrick and I had a one night get away to the Hyatt in downtown San Diego. It was right on the bay and our room had a great view. We walked around Seaport Village and got pizza there for dinner. In the morning we toured the USS Midway. Derrick was in heaven on the aircraft carrier, he loves stuff like that.

This was so funny, Brynn was dancing to the music Jenna had on.

We also saw my dad's side of the family for Sunday dinner. All of my aunts and uncles, grandparents and more than half of my cousins were there. It was nice to see them again. Caleb had fun playing with my younger cousins.
And here's a random picture of Brynn:

Trucks

I have plenty of Christmas videos and pictures to post but for now I just want to write down a few stories before I forget them.
We have been looking at F150s. We are thinking it might be our next car. We have taken test drives, and looked up a lot of info on them. Caleb loves trucks and the fact that we have been looking at them makes him super excited. Once when we were leaving a dealership he said, "Let's come back tomorrow and get it." Derrick explained that we still have to save up a little more money before we can get it.
While in San Diego, Caleb was in the car with my parents. They drove by Christmas display of Santa driving a tow truck with his sleigh in the back. Caleb said something to the effect of, "Santa is driving a truck. Daddy is saving his money so he can buy a truck. Maybe Santa lost his reindeer. Maybe he is using his delivery truck to find the reindeer." Later they saw some reindeer and Caleb said, "There's his reindeer."
Last night we had dinner with Derrick's family. We told them the above story. Julie asked Caleb, "Are you going to get a truck." Caleb said, "Yes. I've never had a truck before." Julie said, "Neither have I." Caleb said with a confused look on his face, "You haven't?" His face relaxed and he continued, "You should get one."
Here's a funny Brynn story: My mom had some trail mix in her hands, Brynn was eating out of it. She ate the M&Ms first, then yogurt raisins, then pretzels. She put a sesame seed stick in her mouth and spit it out. Someone told her to go put it in the trash and she did. She looked at the 4 raisins left in my mom's hand and my mom asked her if she liked raisins as Brynn grabbed them all out of my mom's hand. Brynn answered her by turning around and walking away saying, "Trash."

To remember

I think I've mentioned before that Caleb always says to us: "Tell me a talking scripture story." A more recent one is Moroni hiding the golden plates and Joseph Smith finding them. The Friend this month had paper puppets of this story. We did it with him last night, then today he was doing it all on his own. Later I heard him say in a powerful, superhero-type voice, "Angel Moroni, go to the top of the temple!"
I also heard him say yesterday, "I'm Captain Moroni!" I thought he was going to say Captain America. I love that he plays scripture characters instead of superheros. They should be the people we admire anyways right?

Pre-school Christmas Performance

Caleb had his pre-school Christmas performance this morning. He was sitting next to his 3 other friends from the playgroup we do. They totally bring out the silliness in each other, as I am sure you will see in the videos. Caleb is usually the one to start it too. He does the same thing with Brynn. At one point three of them started scooting their chairs toward the front of the stage. A few times they were kicking their feet and saying silly words. All the other kids were so well behaved. I don't know what to think of his behavior yet, hopefully it is just that he is still so young. Time will tell.
Also, Grandma, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Kent came to support Caleb. Brynn had fun sitting on their laps and clapping for Caleb. She loved his performance!

I took a lot of video, if you only want to watch a little, watch this first one. it is Caleb saying his part: H is for holly and Santa's red hat.

Songs and Happiness

In music class we sing the C scale with, "Do, rey, me..." We also sing a song that goes, "So, me, so, me" and Brynn sings it every once in a while. I have caught her a few times now, on the piano, playing and singing, "so, me, so, me." When I showed up with the camera here she stopped singing but I got her to do it again. She was doing it all by herself though.

This week was the last week of music class for the semester. All of the kids brought an instrument. We brought Derrick's snare drum and maracas. While the drum was still out at our home, Caleb would play it and sing, "I am a Child of God." I didn't film that but today he got his guitar out and started singing and playing that song again. It's a little blurry but still cute:

We bought some Christmas candy for the kids, Reeses peanut butter trees, Brynn was so cute, I just had to take a video:

When Caleb saw me filming Brynn he had to get his picture taken too:

Also this week we went to a play place called Jungle Jim's. Caleb had been there twice before and was so excited to go. As we pulled out of our driveway to go there Caleb said, "Tonight we will have to pray that we went to Jungle Jim's." I love that! Before he prays at night we always ask him, "What made you happy today?" He knew right away that would be something that would make him happy.
Friday the kids and I went to pick up Jenna so she could stay with us for the weekend and we could give her a ride to the airport. As we drove up to BYU Caleb started chanting, "BYU, BYU, BYU, BYU."

Before I Forget...

We went to Home Depot tonight. Caleb saw a couple get out of their car and said:
"Look a mommy and a daddy. They did not bring their kids though. He must be home with his grandma."
Grandma is always the one that watches him. His observations are really funny.

Kids and New Job!

 Brynn is just as sweet as that picture looks! Sorry, it's been over a week since I've blogged. I've been working on a quiet book for sacrament meeting for Caleb and that has consumed a lot of my time but I know it will be worth it. I brought a few almost finished pages to church on Sunday and Caleb was so focused on it. I'm trying to make it high quality so it will last through all of our kids!
This past week Caleb was sick on Monday and a little on Tuesday with a fever and a little throwing up right after meals. He seems all better now though.
In that past week we have driven around to look at Christmas lights 5 nights. The kids love it and how can you say no to such a simple request? Brynn is obsessed with Santa. Whenever she sees one she points it out immediately. We have also been practicing the song "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" because it is one of the songs in Caleb's pre-school Christmas performance this month. Brynn is even learning it. She sings, "Santa, coming, town." I tried to video it here but she was a little silly and wouldn't say the word "town."

On Saturday night we had gyoza (pot stickers) for dinner and Caleb loved them! The next morning he was jabbing about how he wanted them for breakfast. I told him we were having waffles but he could have them for lunch, which he was totally fine with. He started talking about how we have waffles and pancakes and cereal for breakfast and gyoza for lunch. I tried to get him to keep talking but I asked poor questions for that so this video is mostly him saying "yes" but it's all I took of Caleb so here it is:

And other big news is that Derrick handed in his 2 week notice on Monday. He will be starting a new job at a profitable start up called Lucid Chart. He is going to be paid a little less but he will get to do what he has always wanted to with his skills. He will get to be a manager where he will help junior engineers and he is even heading up the recruiting committee. If, within the year, he does well in his position he will be the director of engineering! We are so excited for Derrick to have better opportunities.

Outfits

My mom bought Caleb and Brynn Christmas outfits. They wore them today for the first time and got many compliments.

 

Thanksgiving

 Just like last year we had Thanksgiving at our house. The only difference is that James wasn't there :(
The food was good:

 The kids loved having family around to play with all the time. Caleb loved that Gram let him watch fun shows on her Kindle:

 Jenna read a lot of books to Brynn, especially one called DW All Wet. She probably read that one 2 dozen times because Brynn loved it so much. Jenna also taught Caleb a new song. After only singing it about 5 times Caleb knew this much of it:

Brynn knew this much:

We also went to Salt Lake City. Jenna and the parents went to an art museum while the rest of us went to the children's discovery museum. Then we met for lunch at Denny's. Lastly we hiked Ensign peak. This is the mountain top Brigham Young hiked, with a few other people, 2 days after the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. He surveyed the area and planned out how the valley should be organized. It was at most a mile long hike (luckily you can drive up pretty far) but it was steep. Caleb did great. We hurt a little from having to carry Brynn but it wasn't too bad. The view was amazing though!
I loved playing games at night together and going to the temple together today. The family left tonight and are driving through the night to miss the traffic tomorrow.
I'll post my mom's pictures soon!

Slide

We bought a used slide this week and it was such a good purchase. It may be a little silly to have inside but when it is cold out it's a great extra thing for the kids to do.

Alright so this is kind of a funny picture but it is the best I got. We found out that Brynn has to be wearing socks when she goes down the slide or her feet stick and she will go forward in a face plant. Bust she is great with sock on!

Caleb had a friend over and they played on the slide the whole 40 minutes.They loved to try different ways to go down and up the slide. Caleb loves to show me his tricks:

Winter is a grand old time...

Caleb was so excited for the snow to come and boy did it come! The deepest snow was probably about 8 inches but mostly it was about 3 inches. It didn't stop snowing for about a day and a half. Caleb begged to help me shovel the snow off the driveway yesterday. Then today he wanted to sled, build a fort and build a big snowman. Here's the fort:

He loved sledding too! It is so nice to have a little hill in our backyard so we don't have to go anywhere to sled. We actually went to Walmart this morning and bought this sled. The whole time we were shopping Caleb said, "Don't forget the sled."

I didn't get any videos of Brynn in the snow because she was very needy. She was super timid of the snow at first and didn't like it at all. Once we cleared some of the ground away and I took her down the sledding hill, she started to ask to go sledding again. And when I got the window to the fort built she loved looking through it and saying, "I see you." Then we sent Brynn and Caleb down in the sled together they fell over (Brynn face first in the snow) at the end of the hill and Brynn was just crying and miserable. We went inside at that point and had a nice warm bath. All better!
Brynn has been feeding herself for a while but I finally got a video of it:

Also, Derrick had to go to a Young Men ice skating activity and brought Caleb with him because he wanted to spend more time with Caleb. The cool thing about it is they went to the Olympic Skating Park. One lap was so big there were 2 hockey rinks in the middle of the track. Derrick stood behind Caleb and held his hands. After one lap Derrick worried Caleb was tired so he took him out but Caleb quickly asked, "Why are we stopping?" They went around a few more times. Caleb had a blast!

Halloween Night

Since we took pictures at our ward Halloween party we didn't take as many on Halloween night but here are the few we did take:

You can't really tell in the picture but I carved a Woody pumpkin for our little Woody.

 Derrick took both kids out trick-or-treating for a little bit, then came home and I went out with just Caleb. We went up a cul de sac and down one street. We had one more street to go up and after 2 houses Caleb said, "I'm all done trick-or-treating. I want to go home." I said ok but kept asking him if he wanted to go up to any of the houses we were passing and he politely said no. Crazy huh?
They loved the candy though:

Halloween Party

 

Are they not the cutest Woody and Bo Peep you've ever seen? Brynn is finally starting to like the camera...yay! She was saying cheese right before this picture:

  

I was so happy with how her dress and bonnet turned out

 At the ward party we found a Buzz and Rex too. We tried to get Brynn in the picture but she was scared of the other boys. I don't get that, they are so cute!

Here's the family picture we got:
 


















I was the lovely Katniss Everdeen! Did anyone just get that movie quote? I didn't even think to do her until 2 days ago when I realized I had everything for the outfit. It was perfect because a few people told me I really look like her. I attribute that to my brunetteness. I hated my hair as a child, I always wanted blond hair but I really love my dark brown hair now.

I even did the Katniss braid (we took the pic at the end of the night so it was kind of falling out). I was proud that I even got the cute twists in there.

Conversation

Caleb: Brynn isn't a baby anymore.
Derrick: Nope, she's getting to be a big girl.
Caleb: We need to get a new baby.
Derrick: We will someday.

Haha. Glad Derrick added in that "someday" because I'm not quite ready yet for another baby!

Ice Cream!

We just bought an ice cream maker and I am so excited to make all kinds yummy treats! Caleb has been loving it and he especially loves that it isn't very loud. When he was little he would crouch in terror and cry at loud sounds, now he just runs away.
The first time we made ice cream I grabbed a little spoonful and gave Brynn a bite without telling her what it was. The second she tasted it, her face lit up and said, "Ice cream!" That's my girl.

When Brynn says a pig noise it is the snorting through the nose. I have no idea where she picked it up because we didn't teach it to her. I've never seen Caleb do that either. I tried to get her to make that noise in this video but she got distracted by the camera. She was still so cute though, I had to include it:

We picked a jalapeno from our garden and it was sitting on our counter. Caleb picked it up and sucked on the outside. Derrick said, "Caleb you don't like that it's spicy." Caleb replied, "I don't like to eat it. I just like to suck on it." Silly kid.
Brynn loves to say, "I did it." She always says it at the right times too. It's cute. Also, she is starting to really love books. She will sit for a while and listen to them. She is at the sweetest age too. If I ever feel frustrated or sad or disappointed in myself for doing something wrong, I will hold her in my arms and soak in all her goodness. How could you not feel at peace holding someone so precious? When I am holding her in these times of sadness the spirit quickly overcomes me and I often cry because she makes me so happy. I know why Christ loves little children so much.

Barnyard Boo

We went to the farm on a special day when they had Halloween activities. There were lots of games like croquet, horse shoes, ring toss, "eye ball" toss and an obstacle course. He especially loved that they got to pick a prize at the end, sometimes it was candy.

Brynn was in the stroller most of the time but she was fine with that. Especially when she could still see the farm animals and eat treats.

Ashes, Ashes...

This is what we have done almost everyday the past month. Brynn loves the tramp and whenever she sees one she says, "Ashes, ashes."

I was trying to record Brynn talking about her blankie. Usually when I say that it is bedtime she says, "Blankie. Oh, nice," while putting her hand to her face. This reaction was more funny, though I still want to get the other reaction on camera.

I stopped giving Caleb naps, though I don't think he's completely ready. Twice he has fallen asleep on the couch while watching something. Transitions are difficult.

Life Around Here

Here's another watermelon from our garden. Huge, I know, but again it wasn't ready. Plus there were a ton of seeds, blah! I loved how Caleb posed for the picture though, his little personality is really starting to show!

I thought this was cute, Brynn wanted to ride and Caleb gave it to her:

This would be a good time to add that Brynn loves Caleb. When he was at preschool she came over to me and said, "Brah, Brah?" I could tell she was asking where he was. I told her he was at preschool. She looked around as though I had just told her a location in the house but she didn't know where and was looking for him. She misses him when he is away!
Here my phone is playing One Direction. Brynn loves this song. In fact, when I took her to Target this week she was singing, "Na, na, na, na" all throughout the store. I love it!

I posted this on FB but I will post it here too, for record sake, because I think it is funny. I finally got my first pair of skinny jeans. I really wanted some red ones for a while and I found the perfect pair for only $16 at Walmart. Good thing I've been doing Jillian Michaels workouts so I can look halfway decent in them!

Smart children

Brynn is so happy. I love this video I took of her just when I'm playing with her. She loves to laugh and Caleb loves to copy her when she is laughing, he thinks it is funny to imitate her.

She also is talking a lot these days. She picks up on everything we say and I will hear her say phrases I didn't know she learned yet all the time. We have lots of flies around our house now so "Shoo fly," is a popular one. I got her to say it on video:

Caleb a boy who wants to know how things work and why things are the way they are. This week we had the carpet cleaners over and he asked me what kind of vacuum they used. I told him I didn't know and he begged me to ask them. So right before they left we asked them and they explained how their cleaning equipment worked to Caleb.
This morning I was telling Derrick about an article I saw posted on Facebook about an off duty police officer who died in a motorcycle accident who had two young kids about our kids ages. Caleb asked what I was talking about. I told him a man died when he was riding a motorcycle. Caleb asked about dozen more questions. Here is about how the conversation went:
Caleb: How did he die?
Me: A construction truck pulled out on the freeway and the man on the motorcycle crashed into it.
Caleb: Where did it happen?
Me: On the road.
Caleb: Was he going too fast?
Me: Yes, they were going very fast.
Caleb: Construction vehicles need to go slow.
Me: Yes they do.
Caleb: Who was the guy?
Me: He was a police officer.
Caleb: Was he on a police motorcycle?
Me: No, he was going home after work.
Caleb: And he was killed?
Me: Yes, he went home to Heavenly Father. Did you know you lived with Heavenly Father before you were born? He went back to Heavenly Father but he will be resurrected someday. Who died so we can live again?
Caleb: Jesus.
Me: Yes, do you remember how Jesus died?
Caleb: On the cross.
Me: Yes, on the cross. And then he came alive again and we will come alive again too after we die.
Caleb: Did Jesus get his tools to fix the man?
Me: Jesus is going to use his priesthood to fix the man. The man will live again and be happy.

I loved this teaching/review opportunity. Caleb remembered the lessons we taught him at family home evening and he got to put it in perspective. I am so happy that his faith is growing so early in life.  I know his knowledge of the scriptures will help him throughout his whole life.
Here is a picture Caleb took of himself:

Johnny Appleseed

 At preschool this week Caleb learned about Johnny Appleseed. He came home with a "pot" for a hat. He said they planted appleseeds and watched a short video about Appleseed. Brynn liked the hat:

Though it was a little big:

Crazies

Caleb has been loving preschool. When I drop him off he forgets I exist the second he gets out of the car. He has been practicing tracing shapes and this week he started working on the letter A. I wouldn't have thought to teach a 3 year old how to write letters but he is doing pretty well. I totally under estimated the ability of a 3 year old.
Last week was my turn to pick up the 4 boys. For lunch they started doing going nuts. I had to get a video. I love Brynn at the end...hitting her head:

Brynn has funny quirks. Like when she is hungry she goes to the trash to find food. It's easy to know when she needs to be fed :) The sad thing is when I'm making her breakfast and she just can't wait...she gets a little impatient. Example: Last week she saw cookies on the counter and cried out for them saying, "I cookie, cookie, cookie, me." No Brynn, breakfast first not trash, not cookies. Haha.

Preschool!!!

Here is a pic from Caleb's first day of pre-school. It was when he got home and at first he refused to take a picture. Then I said if he let me take a picture I'd give him a brownie. That worked.

All I really know about how is first day went is that he colored some pictures and made a crown. Caleb didn't tell me too much and I didn't pick him up at the end of the day since my neighbors and I are switching off. He also came home with some bubbles he was excited about.
Here is a skirt, shirt and headband I made for Brynn. She smiled perfectly! It will be interesting being at home with just this cute little one while Caleb goes to preschool.

Pretty and Prayers

Brynn says this a lot so I had to get it on camera. If you ask her, "Brynn are you pretty?" She will respond, "I pwee pwee." It is too adorable.

On Saturday night Derrick and I went to the Piano Guys concert--which was awesome even though it was an outside concert and raining for 3/4 of it. We got some baby sitters (twin sisters) and when we got home they told us when they lay him down to bed he started bawling. He was folding his arms and saying something to them. When they finally understood he wanted to pray. So cute he is adamant about his prayers.