Latin Moves

We watched Puss in Boots for the first time last week. Actually, the kids had seen it once with their cousins. We all liked the show but the best part for Justin and me was watching Nolan dance to the song on the credits. It's called The Puss Suite. He mentions that he did this dance at his Aunt Lacey's house but we were quite surprised when he busted out these moves. He was really feeling the music!

A Bad Mix

Last Sunday I was asked to substitute in Primary for our singing time leader. I have never done singing time and was feeling pretty nervous. I was afraid that I would time the activities wrong and have lots of time left at the end, or I worried that the kids would just be so chatty that I couldn't get their attention. Well, it turned out that it was a lot of fun. We did a little egg hunt and each egg had a song with it. The kids were really well behaved and surprisingly, things went smoothly. I was feeling pretty good about myself when it was all over. Justin came in to watch for some of the time (he was just too interested) and afterward he said, "You didn't really act like you were nervous at all. It went great." I said, "Yeah, I really wasn't all that nervous after all. It was fun!" Then he said, "But I could tell that you really were nervous deep down because of the giant pit stains under your arms!" AAAHHHH! I looked down and to my horror saw that my light blue shirt had turned dark. Well, I was humbled. I'm not that great after all if I can't pull off singing time without giant pit stains! Pit stains and song leaders don't mix.

More Birthday

Nolan's real birthday (he's officially 5!) was last Thursday so we headed to Cold Stone for some ice cream. We had 2 buy-one-get-one-free coupons so Justin concluded that if we got the large size then we could get two free larges for the kids. Well, needless to say, we felt pretty silly sitting there having our kids with a bowl that size in front of them! It was huge! We enjoyed them for several more days after. Here is Ezra eating it for the 4th time and he's barely made a dent. He made his stinker face because he didn't want to be disturbed!

We let Nolan open one present that night (his real party would be later that weekend). He loved the rocket launcher from Grandma K.

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit and we attended Raynor and Lois's 50th anniversary party and my cousin Tiffany Tibbs' wedding reception. We had beautiful weather that was perfect for Nolan to ride his new bike! He learned to balance and ride around the cul-de-sac that same day. It was fun that Grandpa John could help teach him, too. He had a couple moments of frustration, but overall he was a really fast learner. He's used to balancing on his balance bike. The bike is still a little tall so we're helping him get started but he's really starting to get the hang of pushing off the curb. When we gave it to him, he came running into the room and got a little crazy with excitement.

We had a great time celebrating Nolan, Ryan, and Kendyll who also have March birthdays. Even Keeley and Bryan and their kids were able to come visit since they were in SLC for the anniversary party. It's so fun to get all the cousins together. Nolan got a fun marble run, some Legos, a Nerf gun, and a new hiking hat for our upcoming Moab trip. He and Dad are doing "knuckles" in the picture below.

Ryan and Kendyll picked out the Hello Kitty cake. But Nolan didn't mind... his favorite color is pink!

Party Time

Nolan is 5! Yesterday we had a party with his friends and cousins. I had found a fabulous deal at Jungle Jim's Playland so we went ahead with a party even though Nolan wasn't begging. It really was such a fun place for kids this age. Nolan's party friends included Ryan, Kendyll, Carter, Jaxon, Ella, Dane, Elle, and Ezra. We missed Jesse; he was sick and couldn't come.

Justin took the afternoon off work. We drove our two cars and a couple of friends met us there with their moms and siblings. It was nice to have some extra eyes for supervision (although the kids were all sooo good)! When we got to Jungle Jim's we had a surprise: my good friend Terrah was there with Cora, Violet, and Luke! She moved from our neighborhood 3 years ago so it was so fun to be able to have them at the party, too. I think Nolan felt pretty special having all those people to hang out with!

The day of the party was the first time I had really wished for a camera with a faster shutter speed to capture these quick-moving moments. But you'll get the idea even if they're blurry!

Rollercoaster!

Jeeps and Spinners! Dane was so sweet to go on rides with Ezra and put his arm around him. He probably saved his life on that crazy rollercoaster!

The Bumper Cars were a huge hit!

Carousel and Swings. Ryan and Kendyll were so helpful!

Spaceships (Ezra called them boats).

After cupcakes and presents (thank you, again, everyone!) the kids spent another 30 minutes on the rides before we had to tear them away. Nolan was especially sad to leave. This morning Ezra woke up saying, "We're going to go back to ride the rollercoaster today!" Oh, it was a great time! Happy Birthday, Nolan. You are loved.

Keep 'em Busy

Thanks to pinterest and a wonderful book called "The Preschooler's Busy Book," I've been doing a little better at keeping my boys entertained. That means less whining. Here are some of the fun things we've done:

1)We made cloud dough (8 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil). It feels like flour but it is moldable. Nolan enjoyed making sandcastles. Afterward I just bagged it up for another day. The boys even had fun sweeping up afterward. Well, Ezra spread it around worse but I just practiced deep breathing and let him do his thing. Can you tell I'm learning that sometimes a mess is worth it? It actually cleaned up nicely once Ez was done "helping."

2) Daddy built an awesome train track, Nolan did an art project, and Ezra has been playing with flashlights (best stocking gift for my boys... thanks Santa!).

3) The kids had a blast doing tub paint. We mixed shaving cream and food coloring. Ezra wasn't so sure about making the colors at first, but once we got in the tub he loved it. Nolan has been learning about mixing colors at preschool so it was good practice for him. It became extra fun when they discovered they could paint themselves and each other! We ended up with blue tub water.

4) Luckily we got another snow storm. I just wish all the work of getting them suited up had a better payoff. Ez only lasts 10 minutes before he pulls his gloves and then comes inside saying, "My hands are told!" ... still working on his "c" and "k" sounds.

My personal favorite activity this week was taking Nolan to see the BYU Young Ambassadors perform at our local high school. When I first told Nolan that I was taking him to a show, he said, "It sounds pretty boring." But he was a good sport and came along anyway. It turns out that he loved the live band and all the fun songs. I even got to watch someone I know from Diamond Talent, where I used to take dance classes. It was a pretty fun date night and Nolan didn't fall asleep until the 2nd to last number. It's amazing that around the age of 4 kids actually become FUN to take places. Who would have thought?!

Funny Things They Say

Lately, when Ezra is bothered by something (usually some kind of food at meal time), he'll say, "It taunts me!" We question him about it and that is for sure what he is saying.
Nolan has been working hard earning points for chores at myjobchart.com. We love that site. They have a feature that you can send little notes back and forth between kids and parents. Dad had sent him a message and then Nolan told me to type this in reply: "Dear Daddy, Thank you for sending me that message. You saved me life. I bet you didn't know."
When we drop Nolan off for preschool, he gives us big hugs and kisses. For a while Ezra would scream and throw a fit and say, "I don't like those loves!" and "Get off me, Nolan!" But he's had a complete turnaround. He now says, "Yeah, I like loves, I do," and cheerfully accepts them. It's like he's talking himself into it. I wish he'd do the same at home when Nolan tries to love on him.
Nolan: "Do you remember when I prayed that we would never go to heaven? It's because I want you to live forever and me to live forever and we can enjoy this house."
I'll have to add onto this post when I remember what else they're saying.

Monster Truck Show

Last Saturday Justin took Nolan to see a Monster Truck Show. Justin said that Nolan was pretty amazed. Nolan would turn around with this surprised look on his face whenever something new or exciting would come out. They even saw a girl get shot out of a cannon. It was even more fun because Grandma K. and Aunt Karen went, too. They also rode TRAX and Nolan decided he wanted to dance on the train with Aunt Karen. We know Nolan is happy when he busts out his dance moves! Here is Nolan plugging his ears... he had a hard time keeping the ear plugs in.

Dad then took Nolan to get a smoothie and they shopped around for a new bike (for Dad). I was back at home with Ezra. He napped and I enjoyed a very relaxing day. The day before was spent shopping in Park City with Lacey and Travis so I really got spoiled with a perfect weekend!