Millie thinks she can do whatever the other kids are doing… WHATEVER. It is good and bad. This month she thinks she can roller skate and she doesn’t give up and she begs for you to help her and it is just too much…
Ray is a pretty cute skater too.
My 3 Munchkins:
I get up at 7am and send Benji and Packer out the door at 7:45. Ben leaves for work. I walk Cali and Mia to School at 9:00. Then it is just me and the 3 littles. Sometimes we watch TV, sometimes we nap, sometimes we don’t finish breakfast until 10am and then eat lunch at 11am. Lots of times we don’t go anywhere cause it’s to much work. Sometimes we color or paint or draw. Sometimes we play trains or cars. Lots of times they run around while I try and get chores done. Then Cali comes home at 12:00 and the day goes on.
I love these little Cuties:
Ray is a good fun boy. His 2.5 year old downfall is naps – He gets tired and needs a nap but if he takes the nap then he can’t fall asleep at night. So I am constantly making the decision of peace now or peace at 8pm.
He is growing up a lot lately. He speaks pretty well when he tries and he always surprises me with how much he knows and understands. He was super brave when he got his flu shot this year. He likes to snuggle with mom but he also likes to be big and explore and keep up with the other kids. He is the prefect play ground age and climbs all over everything.
Ray’s other trait is that he does not give up. When he decides he wants something he repeats it, and repeats it and does not give in. He’s very stubborn that way.
One of our church sponsored activities is a campout just for the boys. Ben took all 3 of the boys this year and they had a great time up near Strawberry Reservoir. I’m never good at blogging about this event because I wasn’t there, (Ben should do this one post per year)… BUT they all said it was fun and the pictures look fun so I am glad that they get to do Father and Son things and that they enjoy spending time together.
LOVE THESE BOYS AND THEIR CUTE SMILING ECXITED FACES
they made paper snakes
campfire
eating Crawdads or Crayfish or whatever they’re called…. yuck
a movie in the tent!
We went and wished my Grandpa a happy Birthday last week. We brought a picnic lunch and hung out for an hour or so. It’s nice to live by grandparents. It’s a treat to be able to see them whenever I put forth the effort.
A few facts about Arden Johnson that I copied from my cousin Sasha: Happy 91st Birthday to one of my favorite people. He’s a WWII vet. He served on the USS Missouri, he watched the peace treaty signed with japan from 20 feet away. He is a gentle giant.
AND IN OTHER NEWS: Packer earned a minion cookie for being the super helper in primary:
and we helped pick cherries at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and then Ben and I pitted and froze 15 pounds of them. I don’t even like them but the kids do and Ben loves them so we’ll see if we can make some good pies and smoothies:
The other day Raymond had gone out to the swing set by himself and the next time I looked out his cousins Mia and Luca were just playing with him so nicely. They pushed him on the swing and laughed with him and dug in the sand and it just melted my heart to see them interact with their much younger cousin that way. Cousins Next Door is as awesome as we hoped it would be!
My Aunt Carol called me out of the blue this week and offered to take the kids to the park to play with River! They had a great time at discovery park even though Ray got motion sick on the swings and barfed all over himself. I told my aunt I never push for more than 15 minutes cause I get tired, so I make them be done. She was being super Aunt and spoiling Ray and Rosie at the park. River stayed and played a little after the park – He’s a good kid.
And I love seeing this little nugget crawl across my floors. She is so little and cute. She is getting fast and adventurous. Those little legs are getting strong.
And I’ll end with a story about answered prayers. We had a super fun weekend – wave runners and parade and sleep over and church and world cup and lots of little things in between. On Monday I Washed and Dried 4 loads of Laundry and folded 8 loads. I didn’t get much else done and I was getting frustrated with my messy house and tired kids. Today, Tuesday, we got quite a few chores done, even the basement. But the house was just messy especially the main level and I wasn’t getting it done. Plus I didn’t have all day to clean cause I had a few other things I was working on and trying to get done so… I was frustrated. I finally took a bath, snuck a piece of chocolate and asked Heavenly Father for help. Then when I was going out to clean up the wave runner, (my way of avoiding/putting off the gross floors and kitchen) my brother Brady and his girlfriend showed up. We hung out, played with the dogs, finished the wave runner and next thing I knew they were totally cleaning my house. They swept and mopped everything! That’s a big job in this house. My house is back under control. My prayer was answered. I am excited to start tomorrow in a much better emotional state of mind. Thank you Brady and Monique.
We ate strawberries and went to the parade to round out our Strawberry Days here in our home town…
The parade was hot like it usually is. We went with just the Falabella’s this year and sat more in the middle of the route instead of the end. The kids got plenty of candy even though they were shy. Diego waved at all of the pretty girls on the floats and I helped Raymond most of the time. Until next year…
speaking of Rayzor – I have been calling him sweetheart all week and each time he tells me that he is not sweetheart! When i picked him up from nursery on sunday his teacher said “goodbye sweetheart” and he immediately told me, “I not sweetheart, I Ray Ray”. It is adorable, hence the reason I keep saying it. He will also tell you that Millie is sweetheart 🙂
I found a sippy in the Diaper Pail this morning! I do remember Ray telling me that it was yucky last night… I guess when you are 2 years old anything ‘yucky’ should go in with the yucky diapers.
And I feel the need to document Raymonds napping and sleep patterns. He NEVER wants a nap but he does need one. Sometimes as early as 11am. He used to sleep in until 10am or later EVERY DAY and he would take a late afternoon nap EVERY DAY. Then he learned to climb out of the crib – (BOO). Now he sleeps on the floor and wakes up at 7am with his brothers and he HATES naps. He goes kicking and screaming and I have to hold the door shut. He does eventually give up and take a GOOD Long nap but it is so exhausting to get him there that I don’t do it everyday. Especially when he is having so much fun playing with his siblings and neighbors and being a big boy.
once in a while he will just crash and sleep
This is the “BED” that Ray chose. He is still refusing the crib and the toddler bed and the bunk bed… He sleeps in this little nook every night.
We had a 2 hour winter snow storm on Tuesday morning. The snow was flurrying everywhere and the ground was covered and then it was done. We got a little rain that afternoon and my kids were so excited to use their umbrellas. It has been a little too windy to play outside so I’m not liking that. The boys ask me to check the weather every morning so they can decide if they need their coat or sweatshirt or both. It has been unpredictable lately. I’ll be excited when the sunny days are here to stay.
and we got the NEST – it’s the “smart” thermostat. It can sense if you walk by it or not and tries to figure out what temperature you like it and when. It is geeky and can be controlled by your phone!
he won round One but I won the match!
I had to resort to an old trick I used to use on Josh and other younger siblings when things would get out of control… I tied the bedroom door to the next closest door. The first time I didn’t tie it tight enough and he slipped out. I got it tied tight and he finally gave up. I hope this isn’t a daily occurrence but it did work and I will do it again if needed. This boy NEEDS his naps!
This kid challenges us in new ways, different than the previous 4 kids ever did. He has his own look and HIS OWN way of life. Here’s the story of the week…
Millie started crying during the first 30 minutes of church. Benji came out soon after with a stomach ache. He threw up and then Ben brought Ray out with a stinky diaper. So I took the fussy, barfy and poopy kids home from church to deal with them.
I got Benji and Millie settled and then I put Raymond down for a nap. He immediately climbed out of his crib and I immediately put him back in. And then we repeated that scenario and then I blocked the door with a suit case and left.
A few minutes later I came up and found him happy in the toy room so I just let it be.
Next Benji and I hear the front door open and close so I go and see what he is up to. He just walked out the door
and down the driveway
and passed our house
and passed Falabella’s house
And then as I came around the side of the neighbor’s house he caught sight of me and came over to talk.
I asked him where he was going and he said : “to Daddy” We talked a little more and he said he was going to the Temple! From what I could tell he really wanted to get back to church with Dad and his nursery! So cute right? Except that he just left and had no worries and no sense of direction!
This kid is something else – that is for sure.