Sunny's Part

Sunny was so excited for her program. They had the option to choose a speaking part or not, and Sunny really debated whether she wanted to say something or not. I'm not sure why it was such a dilemma, but in the end she decided she did want a part. Her line was, "They held our hands and helped up walk." She was so precious.

Sunny's Kindergarten Program

Sunny did a great job with her program. Lila and Griffin like it too. Jax was at school so he didn't get to see her. He did get to see the afternoon kids do it the day before. He was disappointed though because he wanted to see his sister.

I can't believe she is going to be in first grade.

Horrible dark pictures, but I couldn't get the camera to work right. She is on the bottom row with a white sweater. I told Ryan that when I was a kid I was always on the back row because I was so tall. I always wished I could be on the front row. Well, she was on the front row, but who could see her over all the parents and kids in front of us. I finally found a little hole to peek through.

See her plaid dress? Right when we walked in she was sitting there waiting to start and I snapped a quick picture.

There's No Use Crying

...over spilled milk!



After church yesterday we raced home to change clothes so we could make it over to Mimi's in time for dinner. I went upstairs to change and help Sunny get her dress hung up and Lila kept yelling from the kitchen that she needed a glass of milk. I kept yelling back for her to come upstairs and change out of her beautiful Easter dress, and then she could have milk.

This is what I came downstairs to find. She was covered in milk, so I took off her dress before I stopped to really look at the situation. Once I took a step back I noticed that she was beaming with pride. She told me, "I poured my cup of milk...I spilled a little...sorry." She wasn't focused on the fact that she spilled about half of that carton, she was proud of the fact that she had poured her own cup full. In that moment I was proud of her too, and snapped a picture. I love this picture, her face sure tells the story.

I wish I could be more like Lila. I wish I could focus more on the positive and not worry so much about all the other stuff.

After all, it was only spilled milk.

9 Month Check-up

My sweet baby had his check-up yesterday and it went well. And by well, I mean of course Griffin did fine, but more importantly Lila did fine. I had been prepping her for a few days saying, "We're taking Griffin to the doctor, you're coming with us, but it's not for you." Well, it worked, she was happy as could be and had Dr. Wilcox laughing b/c she said, "For Griffin, not me. Not me Dr. Webox (that's the best I can describe how she pronounces it)" to him about 13 times in the 10 minutes he was in the room.

Anyway, I love this first picture. I think he looks like Uncle B.J.. I'm still not used to his buzzed head. I'm kinda looking forward to his mohawk coming back, because I think he looks boring with out. But, he's cute either way!

He was so cute when I put him down for his nap today that I had to grab the camera. Love that smile.

His stats from his appointment are:

Weight: 20 lbs 2 oz -- 38th%
Height: 28 inches -- 35th%
Head: 17 inches -- 10th%

I think I said this last time, but it is shocking to me that his weight is only the 38th%. He's a pretty big kid, but apparently there are kids a lot bigger than him out there.

I've been going through my old pictures and papers and found all the papers from the Doctor's office about how big the other kids were. I figured I better post them so I can though the actual papers away.

Jackson: 19 lbs 8 oz and 28.5 inches
Sunny: 16 lbs 7 oz
Lila: 16 lbs 14 oz and 27.5 inches
Griffin: 20 lbs 2 oz and 28 inches

Funny how the boys are almost exactly the same size and the girls are almost exactly the same size. Funny part being that the girls are obviously miniature sized. ( I found a paper from Sunny's 18 month check up and she was only 18 lbs 1 oz. Pretty funny)

Love the smile behind the pacifier. He still loves his sleep sacks. Don't know how I'm going to break him from those. Maybe he'll just get too hot eventually, once the weather warms up of course.

And...there's been a lot of this going on. I turn my head for a second and he is up the stairs in a flash. He has no clue about going down and a couple times has just crawled straight off the little landing at the bottom and on to the tile.

I got a gate a few days ago but realized I didn't get the right extension pieces since the opening is wider than normal. Then I realized that even with the extension it would be a few centimeters too small, so back to the drawing board. I think the opening is 102 centimeters, so if anyone has any ideas about gates I'd love to hear them. It is getting harder and harder to keep and eye on him every second of every day.

Baseball 2010

Jax has been anxiously awaiting baseball season this year. Last week, the first game was rained out, so he couldn't wait for Saturday to get here. Ryan is the coach this year and so far they are both really enjoying it. They have had two practices and Ryan has been working with the kids a lot on fielding drills. He doesn't want them to get hit in the face with balls so they need to learn how to block them ( I think I might be rubbing off on Ryan just a little. I tell him before every game or practice to make sure J doesn't get hit in the face or chest:)

So, this was J before the game. Showing off his batting skills.

That's him over by Ryan. He was warming up with his new friend Jackson.

Making a catch. It is amazing how much he has improved since last year.

More warming up.

Jax's team was up to bat first. He was the second batter. And...he got an awesome hit on his first pitch. Unfortunately a lady walked right in front of me and blocked my shot (even though I had the camera ready -- how rude). So, by the time I snapped the picture he was halfway down the first base line. Go Jax!

This league is machine pitch, but the machine was broken this week so Ryan had to pitch. He did great, but there was an annoying Dad on the sidelines who kept yelling at him to do it differently, blah, blah, blah. Ryan was getting super annoyed, but managed to ignore him.

Warming up with his friends from the team.

That is Ryan in the black shirt. Best Coach ever!

Griffin, Lila, and Sunny had a pretty good time too. Doesn't G look cute with his Bear?

Jax is #9 with the helmet on and holding his bat.

Kids Are Amazing

Lila has been having a really hard time going to bed lately. She is "scared" of every noise, every shadow, every everything, and freaks out big time. I was really getting fed up with it and so two nights ago I decided to try some music. I've tried it before with some classical music, but it didn't help. This time I got one of my favorite CDs to try. It is Marvin Goldstein's "Favorite Hymns of the Prophets." Here is the story behind it (as best as I can remember since this was probably 15 years ago or so.)

Back years and years ago, my Dad was driving around Fort Walton Beach and met some man at a light while they were both stopped in their cars. The man asked for directions to the Mormon church. You guys all know what my Dad is like, and he immediately told the man to follow his truck and he would lead him there. Once they got there the man introduced himself as Marvin Goldstein. He had come to Fort Walton to play at a stake fireside ( I think), and had gotten lost and couldn't find his way to the church. He thanked my Dad for his kindness and gave him the CD. I fell in love with it and my Dad gave it to me.

So, back to Lila. I started 2 nights ago playing it in her room. I turn it on and sing two songs and then I am able to leave the room and she can go to sleep. It seems to be working pretty good, and I'm hoping it lasts. Today for nap time I did the same thing. This is the cool part. I started singing, "How Great Thou Art", and she started singing along. She knew the words, mostly to the chorus, but still! Then I tried "Lead Kindly Light" and she knew parts of it too. It is so amazing what wonderful things kids can learn if we give them the opportunity. It was so beautiful to hear a little two year old singing those beautiful lyrics.

In between singing the little bits she knew she would say, "Hear the piano? Hear the piano? It's pretty." She absolutely melts my heart.

p.s. You should also hear Sunny sing "Amazing Grace." It is beautiful too.

p.s.s. Jackson cannot sing. Don't tell him that though. He is absolutely tone deaf. But, it is still sweet to hear him try to sing his best. His favorite song is "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," and is has been since he was a Sunbeam. He still talks about learning it with Sister Eddington.

9 Months

In honor of Griffin's 9 month birthday, here are some rather unflattering pictures of him. Notice the dirty pajamas. They are covered in a mix of formula and sweet potato. Yum Yum! No pants in the first picture (I don't mind, I think cloth diapers are super cute). Oh yeah, and then there's the bow on his head. Courtesy of his two big sisters.

But ... He is all boy!
Just to prove the point, he is sporting the bow while playing with Daddy's drill!

Apparently he thought they were pretty cute. He obviously has no problems wearing bows!

He doesn't go to the doctor until next week, but I'm guessing he's about 20 pounds or so. Pretty tall, and pretty healthy! His two bottom teeth are all the way in and he loves to bite. He is a great eater and is learning to use a sippy cup.

He is a crawling machine and his newest trick is standing, pulling up, and walking along furniture. He is a such a fun little boy. He is happy all the time and loves playing with his siblings. We love him so much!