Primary Program

This past Sunday was the Primary program in our ward. It was Noah's last one since he will be 12 next summer. We won't have anyone in the program next year since Dean will still be in nursery. Noah did a great job at his speaking part and sang all of the songs. The whole primary sang "I Am a Child of God" and it was so sweet hearing Dean sing along with the primary kids. I love the Primary Program!

More Julia Bathtime

I had to give Julia a bath this morning after breakfast. She still has bed head which makes her look like she has more hair than she does. I could not resist taking these pictures. The cup was too full for her to lift it all the way up.

She is showing some effort that she might want to pull herself up. This was a first for her.

What a cute smile!

Open up wide!

Julia 11 months

What can I say we love this girl! I really can't believe that she is going to be a year soon. She is not going to be a little baby any more(not that she was ever little except when she was born). She continues to put a smile on our faces and she loves to smile herself. She loves it when we make her laugh! She still does not crawl but she is starting to move around more. I guess it is a blessing for me because I only have to worry about making sure a small area is clean in case she wants to put something in her mouth. Her top 2 teeth have been coming in. They make a total of 4 teeth. She still eats and sleeps well. She likes to talk and says mama and dada a lot. She also is pretty good at screaming when she wants something. She is very content when we go out on errands and when we drive in the car. She only will cry if it is at night and past her bedtime or she is hungry. She is very happy playing by herself as long as there are toys around. She has overall been a very easy baby!

Noah's 11 yr old Scout Campout

Two weeks ago Noah went with his Boy Scout Troop 480 to the Superstition Mountains. They camped, cooked foil dinners on the fire, and went on a hike the next morning. Here is his troop. Brother Swain is the leader.

Noah has been liking the opportunity to attend scouts this year. He enjoys going every Tuesday to scouts and is learning so much.

Gilbert Temple Groundbreaking

This past Saturday we also watched the Gilbert Temple Groundbreaking. Due to the busy morning and our young children we chose to watch it at the church. It was a good experience and Dean and Julia were better than we thought they would be. We are excited to have a temple in Gilbert!

We also had Stake Conference and Regional Conference this weekend. Brian and I enjoyed going to the adult session of conference. Our Stake Presidency is still very new so it was wonderful hearing them speak to us and discuss our goals as a stake. We were then privileged to have regional conference broadcasted. We got to hear President Monson speak to our region. It was a spiritual weekend with many special events!

Shun the Sun Run

This Saturday Brian participated in the Shun the Sun 10K run. Last year he did the 1/2 marathon but due to a busy schedule and injuries he chose the 10k instead. It was a beautiful morning and it was fun seeing him run. We did miss his finish because we were parking our car but we saw him running while we were driving to the event.We did the Family Fun Run that was 1.5 miles. I pushed Julia and Brian helped Dean so it was a lot of walking and stopping but we made it and it was fun!
They had some fun activities for the kids, one was balloon animals. I took this picture because lately Dean has been wanting to do everything by himself and will tell us to leave. This is what happened while he was waiting his turn. He told us to leave so we backed up a few yards and watched him from behind.

He is becoming so independent!

Sunday Happenings

On Sunday Julia only takes one nap since we are at church during her morning nap. We usually try to keep her awake until her normal afternoon nap time. Two weeks ago she just could not make it. Brian gave her a bottle when we got home but she was out before she really even started it.I was clumsy one day and dropped a gallon of milk causing it to leak so I put it in a pitcher. All week I was calling it Dean's special milk. He decided that he did not want to poor it in a glass anymore and we found him like this.

Lanee's Legacy Pancake Breakfast

This past Saturday we went to the 2nd Annual Lanee's Legacy Pancake Breakfast. Lanee's Legacy is an organization that donates bereavement boxes to families who have lost an infant at birth or shortly after. They had fun activities for the kids, good food, a raffle that we won 3 prizes, and a lot of nice people to meet.Dean was in heaven because they had two bounce houses and this one had a big slide. He was in it practically the whole 3 hours we were there.
Julia did great at just hanging out on the blanket playing with some toys and people watching. Her daddy got her dressed and yes her shirt is on backwards.

They had some balloon people and Dean got a dinosaur, spider man, and an octopus.

I have been doing a fundraiser for Lanee's Legacy through the gym I go to Fitness Works. Half of the proceeds of the $20 three month gym passes go to Lanee's Legacy. I had a booth set up to sell the remaining passes that I still have available.

Dean found the face painting booth all by himself. He wanted to be a pirate. He has sensitive skin and had red marks where the paint had been for a couple of days after.

It was such a fun morning!

Breakfast

The other day I let Julia sit at the table without her tray. She enjoyed eating her breakfast with Dean. Yes my kids where clothes but sometimes it takes a while for them to get dressed.
Dean thought it was cool to have two forks to eat with

I sure love these little cuties!

Playing

It is fun to see Julia and Dean playing together. Julia is starting to be a little more aggressive and will try to take things if she wants them. Dean loves having Julia around!


Here is another picture of Dean and where he likes to put or stuff his toys.

Aunt Christin was cleaning out some of the toys at her home and found this game for Dean to play. He loves it and I thought it was great as well until Julia got a piece and put it in her mouth. Now the game is put away until Dean and I can have one on one time.

He is holding one of the bear pieces that Julia tried to eat.

Naps (or lack of) for Dean

Lately it has been hard for Dean to take naps. We usually can get up to his room read some books and sing songs but once I shut the door he starts making noise. He will start yelling, screaming, throwing things out of his bed, etc. Sometimes this can go on for about 45 minutes until he goes to sleep (he isn't yelling the whole time but I know he is awake). If it goes on for more than an hour I usually take him out of his bed and have him lay in Noah's bed for a while but that doesn't last for very long because he can get out of a normal bed.

Today he was awake for quite a while but eventually it was silent so I knew he was asleep. We had to go pick up Noah from the bus stop so I have to wake him and Julia up from their naps. When I walked into his room everything was out of his bed even the bottom blanket. Dean was completely naked sleeping on the mattress. He had taken every piece of clothing off including his underwear. He looked cute all curled up but I didn't feel a picture was needed plus we were in a hurry.

Dean is 2 1/2 years old

Dean is 30 months or 2 1/2 years today. He is growing up so quickly. He is such a good boy and we love him so much! He is a typical 2 year old and loves to explore and do things for himself. He has to buckle himself in his car seat or freaks out if we do it. Lately he wants to shut the car door as well. He loves going to the park especially when he can play with friends. It is fun watching him run, jump, and climb. He also loves to play with any kid he sees and he usually is drawn to those older than him. He loves playing with Julia and Noah. He is becoming pretty good at sharing most of the time. He speaks very well and likes to sing. I sing to him before nap and bedtime and he has a list of songs he always wants me to sing in the exact same order. Dora, Diego (these two I have to make up), Snowman song, I am a child of God, I love to see the temple, Twinkle Twinkle little star, and Give said the little stream. He knows if I try to go out of order. He also wants a few books read to him before bed. He usually likes to pick a couple and then wants me to pick one to read. He still takes one nap but sometimes it takes him 30-45 minutes to fall asleep but he needs it. He usually tells me "I'm not tired" when it is time for bed. He likes to say the food prayer with my help but usually declines other times. He loves to help make breakfast or any meal. During the day he will tell me he misses Daddy, Noah, or even sometimes myself even though I am with him. He always notices when the moon is out. He likes to go outside with his daddy to look at the moon. He still likes to make big piles or big messes with his toys. This picture is one of his recent messes. He put all the stuffed animals from his room which is a lot and some other toys in the bathtub. He then decided he wanted to fill it with water. I luckily got there in time and only a few of the animals got wet.

He likes to color, work on his shape, color, and letter flash cards with me. One game we play when we are out is naming different letters off big signs we see at the store. He names the ones he knows and sometimes he surprises me because he is still learning and remembering. He likes to count anything he sees sometimes counting in order and other times just naming off numbers. When we are playing on the ground sometimes my back will start hurting so I lay on my side. He usually does not like me laying down and wants me to get up and sit. The other day we were playing connect four-Dean's version-and I was laying on my side he said in a concerned voice "your back hurts". It was cute seeing his concern.

Even though he tests our patience quite often at this stage in his life he life is wonderful with him around. He always melts my heart when he says "thanks you". We love you Dean!

Another Halloween Party

Since our Ward had their Halloween Party the week before my sister Emily invited us to her wards party and trunker treat. There were a lot of fun things to do and they had a lot of food. They had Navajo tacos for dinner and for a treat caramel apples. Yummy my favorite. I had 2 apples that night and brought home extras and ate 2 the next day. I tried to get Julia to wear a different costume but she freaked out when I was trying to put it on so she came as herself. Since the weather is still in the 80's and 90's I found an old basketball jersey I saved from Noah and Dean wore that. It was a little big but much cooler that his Santa costume.


Brian with Ryan our bro in law and Hailey

Hailey was being camera shy in the first picture but she is a cute Alice in Wonderland!

Emily, Alexis, Mom, and Peyton

Ryan's dad lived in China for a year and travels their frequently. He bought a couple of these vehicles and they had rides for the kids.

One of Dean's favorite things is bounce houses. We went to 3 parties this Halloween that had these and he loved it. This one he liked to go in, jump a little, and then climb out so he could go back in. Their ward does not have a big primary so it did not get too crowded.

Brian got to be the one to hand out the candy while I took care of Julia and monitored Dean.

Peyton wanted to take Dean around and he loved it! She was very helpful and super nice to him.

We did not got trick or treating this year but we did enjoy a yummy potluck with some neighbors on Halloween night. We sat outside in the driveway enjoyed the wonderful weather and the fun company!

Ward Halloween Party

Our ward Halloween party was on Oct 23 this year. This was the best picture we could get. Brian and I were dressed 80's because we had another party to go to later that night. Noah was a vampire and Julia lasted 1 minute in her costume as Lady. Dean had a few choices this year but at the very last minute he decided to be Santa Clause but took the coat off once the picture was taken.

Julia's Costume

Our super sweet and giving neighbor Marisela called me up one day and said she bought a costume for Julia. It was Lady from "Lady and the Tramp". I was not able to get her to wear it for very long but here are some pictures I got at home.

She was starting to let me know she wanted it off!

I could not resist taking this picture, so CUTE!