October & November

I think I am going to just try monthly (or every other month) updates.

For our ward's Super Saturday we were taught how to make bow ties out of ties, so I made little bow ties out of one of Eric's old ties.

Most of the pictures off my camera were all of Brady…  

Brady is 20 months old now.  He is the sweetest.  He is starting to run and jump.  Brady is a boy of few words, but is really good at expressing himself.  He LOVES his brother, sister, and Dad and gives them the best hugs.  Brady loves all the super heroes, but he especially gets excited when he sees Spiderman.    He loves the stroller, the wagon, and loves playing in the car.  

Jared is a super hero all day, every day.  He loves wearing pajamas and it is hard to get him to wear anything else.  He runs every wear instead of walking.  Jared is such a smuggler.  When he gives me the sweetest hugs and kisses my face, I tell him "Jared, you are so sweet."  He tells me, "I'm not sweet, I'm awesome!"  

Tanner-man turned seven in October.  He is loving 1st grade and has tons of groupies/friends.  Tanner is a great big brother who makes Jared and Brady laugh all the time.  Tanner is really great reader and really good at math.  He is one of my best helpers when it comes to cleaning and cooking.  Whenever we cook, he wants to help, watch, and smell each spice we put in.

We had a fun Halloween.  We weren't used to such warm weather for the holiday.  It was really nice to trick or treat without rain and having to bundle up.  

Travis-Megatron

Tanner-Batman

Aubree-Supergirl (she wasn't feeling so good)

Couldn't get a good one of all the kids together.  

Aubree is almost 8 and acts like a teenager.  She is the best big sister.  Aubree is obsessed with making Rainbow Looms, Lego Friends, and anything crafty.  She will make "crafts" as long as I let her use the supplies.  Aubree has been memorizing the Articles of Faith for church and is preparing for her baptism. 

Aubree has been wanting to get her ear's pierced and we decided to let her for her baptism.  They did both ears at the same time and she didn't even flinch.

The rest of the pictures are from my phone.  Brady got into my mascara.

We have a park really close to our house that we walk to all the time.  Travis wanted to wear Eric's motorcycle helmet when we went to the park.

Travis turned six years old yesterday.  He is a funny boy that seems to hop from obsession to obsession.    He went from Tigers to Transformers to Ben10 to Plants vs. Zombies and now Snakes.  He is a walking encyclopedia on any of those topics. Travis is enjoying kindergarten and I love that his teacher appreciates his personality.  

Another time Brady found my mascara.

Brady at the park.

We drove to Bakersfield for Thankgiving to celebrate with some of our good friends from Pullman (undergrad).  Our friends have two sets of twins and we loved spending time with the Remunds again.

When we got home from Bakersfield, we put our tree up.

During our Thanksgiving break we found a zoo not too far from our house.  This zoo made us miss our old zoo in Seattle.

Jared got a new batman shirt that came with a blank cape, so we used some freezer paper to personalize it.

Jared had a minor surgery a few weeks ago. It has been fun trying to keep him from climbing on things…

I wish I had more pictures of me at the gym, but I never think about it at the right time.  I love coaching/CrossFit and have loved getting to know so many new people.  I coach 4 days a week and Jared and Brady get to go to childcare for that hour.  It has been a great outlet for me.  It is hard for me to be slowing down.  I am into my last trimester and am still working out, but have to scale differently these days.

Can't get enough of this Brady boy.

Jared and Brady are buds.

Brady thinks he can only eat at the table with us now.

Jared, the monkey

Jared and Brady at our ward trunk or treat.  Eric ended up getting stuck at the hospital, so I got to brave another one of these on my own.

We couldn't find Jared's mask, so we painted it on.

Brady, the elephant

I love it when Brady lays on his tummy to draw/color like he sees his siblings do.

Loved being able to carve pumpkins outside.

Happy Birthday Tanner

Brady loves the chalk at the gym.

We drove to Arizona to my brother's house for a baby blessing and baptism.  We loved being with family and their pool.

Superhero Jared

So proud of Eric.  Jared always calls him Dr. Dad.  Eric is loving what he is doing and what he is learning.  He just finished a two month rotation at a hospital in a neighboring town where he was doing the anesthesia for all sorts of surgeries.  He is now back at the dental clinic, doing anesthesia for dentists.  Eric puts in long days (12-14 hours), but we are excited to almost be a quarter of the way done (not that I'm counting :) ).

Happy Birthday Andrew!

 Yesterday, Andrew would've turned four.  This was the third birthday that we have "celebrated" without him here with us.  I thought about him all day yesterday.  A lot of our little friends have recently been turning four and we can't help but imagine what Andrew would be like as a four year old.   

 It is so hard for me to feel like I am forgetting everything; as time passes, the memories seem to fade.  Most of what we remember now is from videos and pictures.  It is hard living in a new place where not many people even know about Andrew.  Eric is very thoughtful and while I was gone taking the kids to their tumbling class, he made a birthday cake for Andrew.
He put four candles in the cake, and we all sang to him.  

I thank Heavenly Father every single day that I was blessed with being this perfect little boy's mom.  I try to be the kind of person and Mom that would make Andrew proud.  He helps me in my parenting now and helps me to try harder to become worthy of seeing/hugging/smooching him again.  I can't wait.  I am grateful (now) for the things I have learned through this trial and I am also grateful for the reminder to be better.  Andrew is a constant reminder to me of what is important and I am grateful for that.  

Happy Birthday Buddy Boy!

Another Baby Boy!

In February, we are having another baby boy!  We are so excited and feel so blessed!

California!

That was my longest hiatus since I started the blog is 2007.  Hopefully I can get back in the habit of posting weekly, but I kind of doubt it.  Maybe I can shoot for monthly...  We have now moved to sunny Southern California.  We live in Loma Linda and are getting used to the seeing the sun all over again.  We are getting used to it being pretty hot all of the time.  In Seattle our summer's were very mild, in the 80's.  Now it is over a hundred most days.  Our air conditioner isn't very efficient, so we don't turn on the AC unless the house gets above 85.  The heat has been the only complaint from the kids about California so far.  We have been able to spend a lot more time swimming, which they have enjoyed.

Some of these first pictures were from right before we moved (3 months ago) at my parents house.

Jared sharing popcorn with Grandma.

Love this Aubs.

Good thing Trav man got a buzz as soon as we moved.

Busy Tann man.  

I can't look at this picture without smiling.  I think Eric was trying to do a face like his dad does.  I am so grateful for Eric!  He is so kind and so patient.

This is the first morning of Eric's residency.  He puts in lot of hours and works very hard.  Eric loves what he is doing and learning. 

 Tanner grew a mustache.

 Brady boy at the pool.

 We are back to training in our garage and these guys are getting strong.

 Most the time if we are outside in the heat, we have the water on.

Aubree won a gift certificate to the Cheesecake Factory with the summer reading program, so Eric took the kids on a date there right before their school started. 

 Brady is getting good at feeding himself his morning yogurt.

 Aubree was so excited for school to start, she laid out her clothes and even put her backpack on her shirt.

 Eric gave the kids school blessings the night before we started.

The week we moved down here I got a groupon to a CrossFit gym right near our house.  I started working out their and noticed the owner/trainer needed help and offered to help him out.  He told me if I could get my certification, and when he went back to teaching school, I could teach some morning classes.  It was perfect fit.  This gym has childcare for every class I teach, so I have the kids there with me.  I love training people and I loved the CrossFit certification course.  I passed the test and am now official.

 These guys would dress-up all day if I let them.

 Building/playing forts together.

 We had Travis' back to school night.  We couldn't stop laughing at his picture.

Brady has just recently found his nostrils.  He thinks it's pretty funny to pick his nose and even try to pick our noses.

Since we moved, Brady's hair has been going blonde.  He still is doing his scrunchy face.

Brady is growing up too fast.  I have been asked a lot lately if he and Jared are twins.

Brady has the sweetest disposition.  He loves his siblings and is very affectionate with them.  Brady is quiet and easy to please most of the time, but when he wants something or his mad, he is feisty and lets you know it.  When I left town for my certification course, he and Eric formed a new bond and he lights up when Eric is around.  Brady gets busier everyday.  He climbs on everything from all our chairs (that are high), stools, and even onto our piano.

More scrunch-face Brady Boo.

Jared is going to be turning 3 this weekend.  It seems like forever since we have had a 3 year old.  He is completely potty trained and growing up too fast.  Jared thinks he is a super hero.  He always tries to wear a cape or a super hero shirt.  Jared loves to be read to and loves to snuggle.  If I ever get after him when he is being bad or disobedient, he looks at me and says, "But Mom, I'm your buddy!"  He speaks really well and says the cutest prayers.  When he says J's they sound like "ts" or "z" sound.  So we like to tease him and tell him he is Joker instead of Batman.  He says, "I'm not zoker, I'm Batman!"  The way he says his name is the cutest.  Jared has the cutest teeth and his smile makes us melt.  

We went through a few weeks this summer where the kids were obsessed with making and painting salt dough creations.

Can't get enough of Brady.

The first day of school.  It took a while for Jared and Brady to get used to be the only ones at home.  School starts at 7:45, so it helps us to get moving in the morning.

Tanner started 1st grade this year.  He is really growing up and becoming a good boy.  Tanner still loves his blanket more than anything.  He loves jumping on the trampoline with anyone who will jump with him.  Tanner is a great friend to Travis.  Brady and Jared both adore Tanner and light up whenever he is around.  He still loves to eat anything and everything.  There are plenty of meals where he out eats Eric.  Tanner has lost 6 teeth now and is one of the fastest little boys I've met.  He has such a great imagination and uses it daily/differently with each of his siblings.

Travis started Kindergarten this year and it has been a little adjustment.  We didn't put him in any preschool, so he has been getting used to having to sit still and listen.  Travis still goes from one obsession to the next.  He went from tigers to transformers to Scooby Doo, and is currently loving Ben10.  He loves drawing and building stuff with Legos.  Travis is now reading at a second grade level and constantly blows us away when we're reading scriptures and he can read the verses by himself without sounding them out.  Travis is working hard on writing and focusing.  Whenever he is awake when Eric leaves, Travis runs out to him as he's leaving and with the cutest look on his face, signs I Love You.

Aubree is a 2nd grader this year.  Her teacher just loves her and she is perfect at school.  Aubree is learning a lot and love seeing her in bed, reading her books.  She is really into Lego Friends and builds some really cool stuff (especially when she has friends over).  Aubree is such a great big sister and is so helpful.  She loves riding her scooter and bike all over the place.  Aubree still loves doing CrossFit workouts with us and can do a few strict pull-ups.  She loves cooking, but especially loves doing any kind of craft.  Aubs would be a happy girl if she could do crafts and nails all day.  She has gotten really good at doing nails and has even given me a few pedicures/manicures.  Aubree has to share a room with Jared at this house and is so patient with him.  The other night, Eric was snuggling with her as she was going to sleep and Jared turned the light on.  Aubs looks at Eric and sighed, then said, "Welcome to my life!"

Proud of this girl!

Jared lives in his new Batman pajamas that have a cape.

The family who own the house we live in and lived here before us, have a son named Andrew.  Near the front door, he wrote his name, and every time I walk in the house, I see his name, and it reminds me of our angel son.  I am so thankful for the many happy memories I have of Andrew and for the reminders in my life that God is aware of me and my family.  I embrace the reminders of Andrew - they don't bring me down, rather, they lift me up and motivate me to live and be better.

Next month, on October 12th, we celebrate Andrew's 4th birthday.  We miss him, and we love him.  We are so thankful that God loves us enough and trusts us enough to bless us with the opportunity to not only have a house full of living children, but to have an angel in our home also.