I feel like I just did a big catch up post, but here goes another one. I need to get back to posting weekly, so I don't have so many pictures at once.
I have been collecting ideas of fun stuff for the kids to do to keep them busy and happy. Aubree is always wanting to do crafts and make stuff. We got some outdoor paint and the kids have enjoyed painting rocks.
I love how the kids personalities come through even in how they paint their rocks.
Jared enjoyed watching his siblings paint.
We have gone to the beach a few times. Trav loves wearing mine or Sara's sunglasses.
I have been loving the instagram app on my itouch and getting more random pics of the kids. They love jumping on the trampoline with a sprinkler.
LOVE my salad opener...
Our new favorite dessert are ice cream sandwiches.
Our diva girl
Eric is the best!
Trav made this and couldn't decide between a ham or jam sandwich, so he made both.
The kids "camped" on our driveway.
Aubs workin' it.
Tanner posin' with a pear.
Pulled out the boys summer shirts for church and Trav still fit into his from last year so I took a new pic to compare and see how much he has grown up. Trav cracks me up. We have had to add No Potty Words to our family rules because we have a few kids who think they are pretty funny to say. Anyways, Travis now gets after me every time I say anything close (even the letter P). For example, I asked Tanner to grab me a diaper so I could change Jared's poop, and Trav tells me, "Mom, don't say that word. It is a potty word." Thanks Trav for cleaning up our language.
August '10
July '11
We signed Aubree and Tanner up for a week of summer camp. They were gone from 9-4 everyday and they came home exhausted. I will be doing it again next summer...
I tried to get a picture of them everyday before they left.
While Aubree and Tanner were gone, we signed Travis up to go to swimming lessons everyday.
Travis loves his cousin, "Melson."
At our family reunion, Trav got some zoo animals from Grandma Nygard.
He is rarely seen without them.
This picture didn't turn out that great, but I wanted to get a picture of our "gym" in the mornings. There are kids lined up in strollers and playing around the yard and house, waiting and watching while their mom's get tough.
Jared loves his baths.
In almost every picture you may have noticed Travis has bandaids on his forehead. I think he needs to be wearing a helmet. He has been falling a lot lately and has bruises and cuts all over. The one above almost needed stitches.
Tanner loved peeling apples this way. It kept him busy for a long time.
AUBS: I wanted to add a few updates of the kids with this post. I just got our first blog book in the mail and looking back, I realize how fun those are to read. Anyways, Aubree is growing up too fast. She loves playing with friends and especially loves spending time with her cousin, Maycie. She loves playing with Polly Pockets, Barbies, My Little Ponies, Littlest Pet Shop, and all her stuffed animals and dolls. She loves doing crafts and creating stuff using glue and scissors. Aubree LOVES Eric! She is the biggest Daddy's girl, and they have such a cute relationship. Aubree is pretty shy of new people, but once she gets to know you she becomes more talkative. She loves holding Jared and is always so sweet with him. At their summer camp, Aubree got Most Valuable Camper. The counselor told me that on the first day Tanner was having a difficult time, and she came right over to him, hugged him, and took care of everything he needed. Aubree never forgets blessing Andrew in her prayers. She sure misses her brother.
For our 4th of July festivities, we had friends and family over for a barbecue/potluck. We had tons of good food and the weather was perfect.
Eric and the boys with poppers.
Sister-in-law Kerrie trying to gets sparklers lit.
TANN: He loved playing with sparklers. In the last six months, Tanner has grown 3 inches and gained 5 pounds. He has such a fun personality. Tanner loves playing with his siblings. Whenever he sees Jared, he squeals and yells "gooooey." I don't know why he says that, but Jared always smiles. Tanner loves making Jared smile/laugh. Tanner loves going to the beach. He could play there all day. Tanner is still the best eater. He likes to eat adult (spicy/bold) food and eats as much as Eric at some meals. He talks about Andrew often. He gave a talk in primary about temples and did a good job of sharing his testimony of eternal families. He tells us that Andrew flew up to heaven. Tanner is such a happy boy and so fun to be around.
TRAV: He loved the fireworks also. Travis is still loving all animals (esp. Tigers), Spiderman, and Toy Story. Travis is getting better at writing the alphabet and putting puzzles together, but mostly he loves to color and draw. He can keep himself busy for hours with just an orange and black marker (tiger colors). He has started asking me all of the time about stuff in our house, "Mom, where did we get that?" I tell him and he points to something else and asks me again. Travis and Aubree both love to go to sleep with their "stuff" on their bed. Tanner only sleeps with his blanket and Andrew bear. Travis refers to his buddy boy, Andrew, regularly. He still loves helping me put Jared to bed and helping me sing and say prayers with him.
We did a few extra fireworks out in our cul de sac. All the kids loved running through the smoke bombs.
Eric, Sara, and I all ran in a 10k this last weekend called The Dirty Dash. There were 12 obstacles throughout. Sara got there a little late form work, so Eric ended up running with her again after we had just finished.
Tanner ended up doing the last two obstacles with us and he loved it.
As soon as he got off the water slide he took off for the mud puddle.
If you look close, you can see Sara and Eric holding Tanner's hands, and I am behind them going through the final mud puddle.
That was Tanner's kind of race.
JARED: His face is all messy in this picture, but it was the one I have showing his new top two teeth. He has the cutest, toothy grin now. Jared is 10 months old today. He is almost 23 pounds and his head is in the 90th percentile. Jared is such a happy boy and I can't get enough of him. He now says "Mama and Dada" all of the time. When Eric gets home from school he lights up and always reaches out of my arms for him. He loves when Eric plays with him and swings him down. Jared is rocking back and forth on his hands and knees but is not crawling yet. He is sleeping from around 6pm to 7am. He loves solid foods, especially big person food more than baby food. I found some video the other day where Jared was only a week old and Andrew was crawling around. I was holding Jared and trying to help Travis not call Jared "Jerry." Andrew crawled over to us and put his hand on Jared's head. He sat there for a minute with his hand gently resting on Jared's head. I wish I could see how Andrew would be with Jared now. I know they would be best buddies.
Andrew really was the perfect sibling.
ANDREW MEMORY by Eric: I remember many times when I would be playing with Andrew, reading to him, feeding him, or just holding him, and I would look over to see him intently looking into my eyes. It was as if he was studying my soul. I remember feeling that he could see more than simply a person or his Daddy - it was a profound and penetrating look. Typically, a smile would slowly come to his face, and he would hug me, talk to me, or continue playing with me. The thought came to me many times "this is a special boy, and he has an unusual depth of spirit and character." He added so much to our family, and the incredible thing is that he continues to add so much to our family and home, even though he is not currently physically with us. I love my sweet boy, and I miss his penetrating looks.
Dear Andrew,
