My 3 kids

I decided to take some time to write about my kids and what they are doing right now. Time seems to be going by so fast that I can't keep up. Adjusting to 3 kids was not hard at all for me. Carter fit right in and the girls love him. With the continuing growth & change in our family, I hope it is always as easy. I sure love these kids I have been blessed with.

Alivia is a typical first child. She loves to be in charge and be the center of conversation. She is a rule follower. She will refuse a cookie if she didn't finish every bite of her dinner. She has even admitted to doing things she didn't do so that I will know the "truth." (She still doesn't quite understand the concept of the word truth). She is really interested in time right now. Everyday she asks me what day it is, what number today is on the calendar, and what time it is. I'm not really sure why that's important to her. She has become an easy child (after 3 years of lots of tantrums) and is almost always obedient. She loves to help me, especially in the kitchen and she does a good job. She insists she is a grown up and will not be told otherwise. She loves to dance, and she has since she first could. She can hear a rhythm and move right along with it. She loves playing with her friends, and she is not shy at all. She is learning to read, and will write if she's in the mood. She is also working on basic addition. She is a sweet girl and we are so happy to have her in our family. I am still trying to figure out if she is a "words of affirmation" or "gifts" child. More on that later.

Kate is very opposite of her sister. She is our comedian and loves to make people laugh at her. She is a mischievous little spirit and likes to do things her way. She likes to have certain doors closed all the time, and if there's a cabinet left open she will come close it from a mile away. If I leave the fridge or dishwasher open for a second she comes and closes it. She thinks it is her responsibility to open & close the fence for everyone when we leave and come home. She doesn't listen when she is told no sometimes and will wait for you to not notice her before doing it again. Every night we tell her to stay in her bed, and every night she is into something. this morning, for example, she was playing in our closet at 3 am. It looked like she was playing dress up, but I was half asleep when I sent her to bed. Kate is shy around strangers and it takes her a little while to warm up to people. She loves to dress up in dresses and she also loves to get dirty and make a mess. She likes to be independent and do anything she can do herself. She is currently refusing to potty train (hopefully that will turn around fast) and she loves to go to church. She loves all things music. She can hear music and repeat it, not the right words, but she will sing on key. The number of songs that she knows, for being 2, amazes me. She knows all of her letters, and numbers, and can count to 20. We are now working on letter sounds. She is definitely a physical touch child. I get random hugs from her throughout the day when she needs a little love. We love this little fireball and our lives wouldn't be as fun without her.

Our Carter boy is a sweet little baby. He is a typical busy boy. He loves dirt, and rocks, and being outside. He gets around the house pretty fast and follows me everywhere. He will play on the floor by himself for a while as long as he doesn't see me. He loves to eat, and loves to feed himself (even if it isn't food). He loves to wrestle with daddy and cuddle with mommy. He loves to play with his sisters and he always smiles at them. He now sits up pretty good, but he still doesn't crawl on his knees. He prefers to use his arms and one foot to get around. It's really cute. He is loud and makes noise anyway he can. He gives kisses and snuggles and his big smile lights up the room. He only has 2 little bottom teeth and they are so cute (and sharp). I am looking forward to seeing him grow up and take on the world. I hope he stays just as sweet and fun. He is definitely loved and we love having him in our family and watching him grow up.

Can these kids just stop getting so big please? I feel like I am running out of time...

As seen around our house May 2011 edition

In no particular order...

Here is Carter joining Kate in the bathroom, don't be fooled she has not gone in that little potty once even with bribes of candy...*sigh*

Alivia can now crack eggs all by herself like a pro. She loves to help me cook.

Just playin on the floor

He likes to find treasures under the table to put in his mouth and look at how proud he is.

And here is little Carter escaping from the exersaucer. He leaned all the way over, toy in hand, so he could get out. Don't worry I was standing right by to catch him while I took a picture. I didn't think anyone would believe that a 7 month old could escape an exersaucer.

This is one of Kate's favorite places to play, in the toy box.

Here is Tyler mowing our super fast growing lawn. Behind that fence is a drop down to a creek. More on our house to come later. And you can see the picnic table that some awesome friends of ours gave to us.

The kids playing a puzzle after breakfast.

Alivia wanted to make some cupcakes and have a piano recital, so we did! And no, she is not taking lessons right now, but she imitated me (and my fingers) pretty well. I was impressed.

This is some artwork I found on my recliner. See below for the video for more info on this.

A pie Liv & I made for Family Home Evening. I think this one was cherry and we made hearts in the top of it.

Carter snacking on a biter biscuit. Anything he can feed himself makes him happy.

Lil C loves to watch the kids play outside and they like to come in and love on him too.

Livi playing outside.

Kate playing outside. Her mouth had lots of chalk around it...

and so did her hands.

Livi was writing everyone's names and made a really cute hop-scotch.

This sneaky little boy poked holes in his pj's with his big toe. I don't know how he did it, but the holes are not on the seam and they were not there when put him to bed.

close-up. Good thing he's cute :)

I also tried to record Liv singing a song in the tub. She comes up with some awesome lyrics...

Spring Ballet Recital 2011

On May 26th was Alivia's first ballet recital. She loves it and wants to have a recital everyday. She has been performing for Family Home Evening ever since. She amazes me by how not nervous she is in front of people. She even waved to us a few times. She loves to dance and she loves people to watch her.

This is her in the music box dance in the green dress

and here she is again

This is her doing her class demonstration for the semester

which is also the same as the video I posted...

Here is Kate at the recital pre-I didn't have a nap-meltdown

Here is Livi before she performed. We were looking around the beautiful garden where she performed.

After she performed, Kate had an absolute melt down and had to be rushed to the truck. Carter was hungry and fussy, and Alivia was hungry so we left before it was over (but she had done both of her performances). Daddy got her a flower and he took some pictures of her with it after we got home.

She did a great job and we are so proud of her!

Dreams

I always try to be an open minded person. I like to hear other people's points of view and opinions because everyone is different and therefore thinks differently. I love advice and suggestions (especially when they are given in a positive way). And I don't like to decide anything unless I've heard both sides of the story or tried to put myself in the other person's shoes. With that being said, I have recently changed my mind about something.

Have you ever seen those parents like the one's on American Idol? The parents that never doubt that their child is awesome even though everyone else cringes when they hear them sing. I have always said I would never be that parent that gives my children an unrealistic view of their talents.

With that being said, I recently had a conversation about dreams with Tyler. Tyler and I still have unfulfilled dreams. And what is holding us back? I am not talking about the dreams we had in elementary school when everyone wanted to play in the NBA and be a famous actor/actress or singer. The dreams I am referring to are the ones that you have to work for, train for, sweat, and stress for. The dreams that people say that anyone can achieve if they work hard enough for.

So, I thought about those American Idol type parents. And I thought about all the things I believe make up a good parent. How would a conversation go with your child when you tell them they aren't good enough to do something they love? How much better would a conversation go if you told them that they needed to work harder AND you (as a parent) would be there to support them the whole way? (and not necessarily financially support them, but physically be there for them).

It was then that I decided that I want to be like those American Idol parents (sorta). I want to be the one that goes with my children to auditions, tests, practices, or field trips so that my child knows that I support them in doing what they love. I want them to know that I want them to be happy regardless if they are the best because really, who is the best at anything? Is there really one great singer, athlete, or actor out there?

So I am publicly (or to all 10 of you that read this) going to pledge to help my children fulfill their dreams even if they aren't successful because I want my children to know that I am always here for them and I want to see them happy.

I should also say that I will only support dreams that are in accordance with my beliefs. It has to be a good dream for me to support them. I just had to make that clear. Any dreams of becoming a mother by age 14 or dancing in certain places in Vegas will not be supported.

Thank you for reading my thoughts, over and out!

Carter is 7 months

I got a little behind because my desktop is getting close to dying and it won't cooperate with me. But, our little guy is 7 months old now. He is busy and into everything. He is the easiest baby I could have ever asked for and I am sure grateful for him.

He is hard to take places because he gets bored easy. He puts himself to sleep. All I do is put him in bed when it's bedtime or nap time and he falls asleep with no problems or fussing. It is awesome!

He got his first bottom tooth at 6 months old and just a few days ago he sprouted his second bottom tooth. He is loving biting everything and he is very proud when he can feed himself. He even grabbed his spoon of food one day when I wasn't looking and put it in his mouth.

He is a little tease. He likes to look away when you say his name and smile to himself. It cracks me up. He loves to see his sisters in the morning after he wakes up. He gets so excited he just starts kicking like crazy. He also gets excited when daddy comes home. They play rough together (well, rougher than I play) and he loves it. This little busy boy is going to keep me on my toes for sure. Good thing he is so cute!