Fourth of July Fun

This year Kris and Abi started our Fourth of July off a little differently.  Abi challenged Kris to run a 5K this summer and so they signed up for our Firecracker Fun Run.  They had trained hard this summer so at 7:00 am not even the nervous butterflies could keep them down. 

Sprinting to the finish line.  

Abi set the pace and Kris stayed with her the whole time.  They clocked in at 28:30, a personal best for Abi. 

After a little rehydration and some breakfast we got these two showered and then were off to the parade and a BBQ at a friend's house.

We had another BBQ out at Nana and Papa Fife's house before the fireworks.  We loaded everyone up and headed downtown to watch the fireworks over the river.  Eva was not too impressed but the rest of us Oohed and Ahhed. 

On Saturday we joined up with the Meek Clan for another BBQ and our backyard fireworks.  This is Kris's favorite part.  We really had quite the show this year.

The sparklers captivated Eva.  Kris had a hard time keeping them out of her reach.

Look Who Is One!

 It is so hard to believe that my little Eva turned one.  Where did the last year go?  That year of babyhood flew by in a blur of kisses, hugs, cuddles, smiles, new tricks, adventures and of course many a sleepless night.  But it was a year to be cherished as I will cherish all of the years to come.

 Kris was out floating the Salmon River on Eva's actual birthday so we celebrated a week later.  At first Eva was puzzled by the piles of presents with their wrapping paper, bags and bows.  But after a little coaxing from her brother and sisters Eva got into the groove.  She loved each new surprise but was then confused when her new toys would be whisked away and she was presented with a new gift to open.  She loved all of her new presents, especially the babies.  She also received new books, clothes, sippys and snacks, and a playful toy puppy.  Talmage also made her an airplane mobile for her room.

 Eva was so excited to receive her very own cupcake with no restrictions that she dove right in before I could get a good picture.  She kept trying to grab the flame on her candle while we were singing "Happy Birthday" so Kris had to douse the flame.  Eva surely enjoyed smashing and eating that strawberry frosted cupcake though.

10 Things about Eva

1. Her nickname is Eva MaGoo.  But she also gets called Sweetie, Bug-a-bug, and Munchkin.  I doubt she even knows her name is Evangeline.
2. Eva is learning to say a few words, including: Mama, Daddy, Abi, Leah ( Eeah), Buddy, Baby, Be (Please or I want that), This and we swear we have also heard Car, Ball, and Juice.  
3. She has the brightest, beautiful blue eyes.  People always comment on them.  Those eyes are so quick that she is always pointing at "This" object that catches her eye.  She is especially enraptured by birds darting about the lawn.
4. Eva loves to go outside.  She points and "Uhhuhh's" out the window to play on the swing or be gently bounced on the trampoline.  She also loves riding about the neighborhood in the stroller.  
5. Her favorite food is strawberries.  She will pick them no matter the color, green, white or red from our patch and our neighbor's and stuff her little mouth until the juice is running down her shirt.  Strawberries are her favorite for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.  Mom buys them just for her as well.
6. Eva still cruises along the furniture but is getting very quick.  She has become quite the climber and pulls herself up on chairs, couches, stools, beds, tables and more.  Eva remains too timid to strike out walking on her own but giggles and grins if we hold her by the hands and walk her around.
7. Eva loves music and songs.  At each nap and bed I sing her Primary songs while she nurses.  Our favorites are: I Am A Child of God, Teach Me to Walk in the Light, I Love to See the Temple, Whenever I Hear the Song of A Bird, and I Like to Look for Rainbows.  
8. I wish she was as good of a sleeper as a nurser, they are probably interconnected.  Eva is down to one nap a day, usually from 1:30-3:00.  At night she goes to bed about 9:00 pm but is up between 1:30 and 3:00 when she gets pulled into bed to nurse and snuggle until morning, about 8:00.  Thankfully the frequency of the middle night parties is drastically reduced.  We have a little routine going and the other night when I forgot to turn on her fan she wiggled and pointed at it until I remedied the discrepancy to the routine.
9. Eva is a baby on the move.  I try to read her books but she will rarely look at more than a page before she is climbing and rascalling about.  She climbs and scoots, wiggles and worms, and loves to be in the middle of the action all day.  
10. Mealtimes continue to be an adventure for Eva.  She hates to be confined to her booster chair and will fight and wiggle against the tray.  She is the messiest eater; her food always ends up covering her from head to toe.  She loves a variety of food, but when she is done watch out.  Eva signals completion of her meal by dumping the contents of her plate onto her tray and rapidly throwing it onto the floor or flinging it in all directions.  

I Love You My Little Eva!!!

Beautiful Ballerina

I blinked and my little chubby cheeked ballerina grew up into a beautiful, graceful ballerina. Where did the time go?
Abi performed at her Spring Recital last week. Each year she grows more talented and graceful. I sure love to watch her dance.

A Princess Party

Leah celebrated her 4th birthday with a Princess themed party. She was thrilled to pick out invitations, decorations and crowns for each friend. The day of the party Leah adamantly dressed up in Abi's old leotard so she would look like a Princess. The other princesses didn't keep their crowns on long either but Leah loved her special day with friends: Sage, Emily and Addy.
We drew sidewalk chalk princesses and played lots of princess themed games including a castle bean bag toss, Kiss the Frog, Queen May I,and Frog Frog Princess.
But the biggest hit of he party was this pony pinata. Each girl took a few good whacks at it before the pinata unloaded its trove of goodies.
For her cake, Leah requested "pink cupcakes". I easily obliged with these pink strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. Yummy!!!
On Sunday, her real birthday, Leah enjoyed a family party with everyone. She received this adorable cupcake outfit from aunt Sarah, piles of tutus from Nana Meek, fairy wings from Walker, a music box from the Howell's and a princess sticker book from Uncle Eric. From mom and dad she got a Princess Accessory pack with dress up her bike and a new swimming pool. I'm sure many days of summer fun are just around the corner.

10 Things About Leah

1. This funny girl lights up my life with her smile, sing song voice and funny sense of humor.
   
2. Leah loves painting her fingernails, wearing tutus, dancing, crowns and fairy wings, and all things princess.
3. Leah loves to ride her bike. Every day she wears out the sidewalk between our driveway and our neighbor's and most days cajoles someone into going with her so that she can ride on the road. Ting, Ting rings her new bell as she rides along.
4. Leah's favorite foods are strawberries, chocolate milk, cheese sticks and candy. Thankfully she also is willing to eat almost anything else too, ( well at least 3 bites.)
5. She loves to snuggle up on the couch and read stories. We always have library books but she often goes back to well loved favorites like Dr Suess's Sneeches and Put Me In the Zoo.
6. Recently Leah discovered computer games. She could spend hours on nickjr.com or pbskids.org. I am continually amazed at how quickly she picks things up.
7. She is a great sister. Leah loves building forts with and pestering Talmage. She snuggles in bed with Abi and steals her Kindle. Leah entertains Eva with songs, funny faces, and playing toys with her.
8. Pink remains her favorite color.
9. Leah loves music. Her favorite songs are Nephi's Courage and Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam. She also loves dancing, twirling and pretending to be a ballerina like Abi.
10. Leah has an adorable little lisp. She is getting her L's down but S's still elude her.

I LOVE YOU LEAH!!!

Funny Kiddos

This little girl just cracks me up. Leah says and does some of the funniest things. Yesterday she was sitting on the potty and her pants were hanging off of her feet, one longer than the other. "Look, these are my elephants," she tells me. "This one is a big elephant, WROOOOO," she said as she raised the longer pant leg. "And this is the small elephant, wrooooooo."

This day Talmage set up a photo shoot in our basement and Leah was one of his models.
Too funny.

This was his self portrait.

Talmage wanted to play AYSO soccer this spring. Every year as we sit out it the cold and the rain to cheer on our kids I ask myself, "Why do we play Spring soccer again?!!" But Talmage has improved a lot this year and is having a blast learning some new skills. Go Buddy!!!

Eva at 11 Months

Who could resist a kiss with a face like this?

Eva has long been a fan of ice cream, but this month she discovered the joy of ice cream cones. I'm sure that I have done her a life long disservice by passing along my sweet tooth but have you ever seen a happier grin.

Eva has also learned to climb our stairs this month. She is great climbing up but has not yet figured out how to go down. She scares us as she scoots over to the edge of the stairs and peers down. She is cruising along furniture really well now and has also tried standing alone for a few seconds. But I think walking is still a couple of months away.
In this picture Eva looks so grown up. Except for bedtime when she loves to cuddle and snuggle Eva doesn't think she is a baby anymore. Eva always wants to be in the middle of the action with her sisters and brother. She loves to go outside and bounce gently on the trampoline or take rides in the bicycle trailer with Leah. She initiates peek-a-boo games at the dinner table by pulling her bib up over her face or peering around pitchers or bowls at members of the family. She loves to wave and say "Hi" to everybody. She also clenches both fists and gestures at whatever she wants or if she wants to be picked up. Eva has also developed a fondness for toothbrushes, she loves to chew on them. Hopefully that counters the ice cream habit. She has 7 teeth now, we are still waiting on that bottom incisor. I wish I could say that we all sleep soundly but Eva and I have far too many middle of the night parties. However, she can sleep through the night and will about once a week. So this weekend we are undertaking sleep training again. Uggh!!! Wish us luck. When I'm awake and 2:30 am and sleep deprived the next day I will try and remember that kissable ice cream face.

Happy 11th Abi

Turning 11 must be the transition from girl to young lady. This year Abi wanted a luau for her party and she took the lead in planning and carrying out her party. We had a blast shopping for luau decorations at the Dollar Store and planning games, food and the movie. But when it came to party time, mom kind of stepped back into the wings and Abi directed the fun with her friends.
Party goers arrived dressed for fun. (Abi, Tal, Leah, Elle, Gabby, Taylor, McKenzie, and Aubrey) Abi gave each girl a hair flower and lei. The girls played limbo, human knot, beach volleyball and lots of other games. Everyone loved the strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas. Abi also chose Hawaiian haystacks for dinner, yummy.
Abi also found the idea for these cute beach cupcakes online. She wanted red velvet so I baked up some Georgetown Cupcake Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Abi decorated them. They were delish but the frosting was by far the best. After presents the girls were treated to a theater experience of "Soul Surfer" which dad projected up on the wall.
For her family party Abi chose a lemon poppyseed cake which she also helped me make and decorate. She received several nice presents from family and friends but her favorite present had to wait. Abi decided that she wanted a Kindle Fire tablet and saved up all of her birthday money from mom and dad, grandmas and grandpas, and uncle Eric as well as emptied out her fun money savings. She could hardly contain herself from the Monday we ordered it to its arrival the next Monday. She loaded up on some books, games and learned to e-mail right away.

10 Things About Abi

1. Abi is the best big sister and second mommy to the other kids. She packs Eva on her hip and lets Leah play in her ballet costumes or hair accessories. She and Tal fight a lot but at other times she is sooooo sweet and nice to him.
2. One of the first things she did on her Kindle was to send me a sweet e-mail to tell me "I love you Mommy" and thank me for what I do for her.
3. She loves ballet and chose it above all others for her extra activity. She is graceful, poised and talented.
4. Abi devours books. Often she has 2 or 3 going, one for home, school, and and extra in her bag. She reminds me of me sometimes.
5. She is learning to cook and likes it. She makes cookies, Ramen, sandwiches and more.
6. She loves music whether it's singing along to the radio or her iPod, dancing around while we do dishes together, or scouring for new songs on the computer.
7. Her piano playing had graduated to music and it is so nice just to listen to her play. Fast and funky songs seem to be her favorite, or at least the ones she practices the most.
8. Abi is soooooo smart. She continues to earn straight A's, achieved super high marks on her ISAT tests, and completed the 6th grade math book in independent study ( she was in 5th grade.)
9. She loves clothes and mixing and matching different items for a look that is fun, funky, and totally Abi.
10. She still likes getting hugs and kisses and being put to bed each night. Don't grow up too fast.

I LOVE YOU, ABI!!!