FHE

This is what we did for family night one night. Braeden was making his own creation of LEGOs, so we all joined in. But I couldn't help but take pictures of our kids adoring their Dad. They LOVE when he gets home.

Caleb started it all by being this cute. This is what made me get my camera out.

Elli HAD to get in the picture too

Then Braeden joined in.

I love how much our kids LOVE their Dad. It's hard not to when they have a pretty COOL DAD!!

His Favorite Thing

Caleb's new thing now is "watching a movie." If you ask him that question, he grabs a blanket or pillow, runs to the couch and sits with the blanket or pillow on his lap because he wants to watch a movie. It's usually the Baby Einstein movies because those seem to hypnotize him. Even Braeden & Elli still watch those movies. This is perfect for me when I am trying to get ready or clean up, because he usually follows me everywhere I go.

He gets so excited that he plays peek-a-boo while I'm turning on the movie.

And...... awwwwww..... he's mesmerized from the second he hears the music.

But in all reality, it only lasts for about 10-15 minutes. He will get up and walk around. If I'm lucky, he'll stay in the family room for a while. But he's usually destroying something after his 10-15 minute hypnotized mode. But I'll take it!!

A Little Highlight

My sweet sister Kara is my Hair Stylist. She always does a great job. I love it!! This time she did my hair, Elli wanted to join me. I told Mark that if she came with me, she just might come back with highlights. He's not a big fan of that for Elli. Well, Elli came with me and Kara had some left over color. Lucky for Elli! I'm pretty sure that I'm setting myself up for a girl who loves to be pampered. But her hair was so cute!

When Elli was watching me get my hair washed, she told me my hair was purple. She knows that is my favorite color so she was excited for me to have purple hair.

Awwww, see what I mean...... her hair was soooooo cute!! Thanks Kara!!

It's Only Just Begun....

That's right, USC Football Season has started...... thus our Saturdays are filled with football. Luckily my husband isn't a football bum and sits on the couch watching EVERY football game all day on Saturday. It's mainly just USC he watches. He'll catch up on the other games at night.

Caleb with his cousins Eli & Carter. All within 3 months of each other.

Brian & Carter, Mark & Caleb, Brigham & Eli

The kids keeping busy while the Moms chit chat and their Dads watch the game.

FIGHT ON!

Cute Story..... Don't want to forget!

Since my sweet little Caleb decided to break my glasses, I went to the eye doctor to get another pair. While I was trying on some frames, Elli did too. She really wanted me to buy her pair. They had some really cute ones for her, but that girl doesn't need them. When we were walking out the door, she begged me for a pair. I asked her if she could see or if things were blurry for her. She of course said yes and tried to convince me she really couldn't see. When we got closer to the car, she started walking to another car. I said, "Elli, our car is right here." Her response, "I can't see though."

I love my little kiddos!! Always so funny!!

Grandparent's Day

A couple Fridays ago, Braeden's school had a Grandparent's Day lunch. So my mom and I went to Braeden's school and ate lunch with him. He loved it and had fun having us there. We picked up some Sonic and enjoyed our hamburgers and popcorn chicken..... as much as we could enjoy fast food hamburgers and popcorn chicken.

Braeden and his friend Caden.

Braeden's fan club!

Thanks Grandma Harper for joining us on Grandparent's Day!! Thanks for being such a fabulous Grandma, our kids LOVE you!!

Continued....

So after I wrote the post from last night, Mark and I headed to bed. Well, I saw all these papers by Braeden's door. Since Braeden took a nap yesterday, he couldn't fall asleep. So he was writing and drawing on paper. The cutest part is what he wrote and drew on the paper.....

"I love you Mom and Dad so much." (Picture of Mom & Braeden hugging and picture of Dad & Braeden hugging.)

"Mom & Dad are cool."

"I had fun today so much fun!" :)

"I have fun."

"Life is fun with you Mom & Dad." (picture of the family.)

Braeden and Elli had a ton of fun yesterday before he got a headache and didn't feel good. They played all morning before church and after. But recently, he hasn't been loving the idea of playing with Elli. Because she's a girl, he hasn't been wanting anything to do with her. So we kept saying to him yesterday that they have been so cute together and he can actually have fun with her. He agreed with us. He even told me before bed that he doesn't always need his cousins, he will have Elli to play with. He's excited for Caleb to get bigger too. I'm not sure what changed, but I love that it did.

I love our little Braeden!! We love you too and DEFINITELY had fun with you!!

For My Records....

Braeden got a headache after church today. So I gave him some Tylenol and he laid down. But a half hour later or so, he came to me not looking very good and saying he still didn't feel good. Well, he threw up a little bit. (Too much info.... I know) So Mark got him situated and had him lay down. He fell asleep even though all of his cousins were over. When he woke up, it was like he was ever sick. He ate dinner and played like crazy.

Tonight while we were getting the kids ready for bed, Braeden told me a sweet story. He said this..... "I think I would still be sick if I didn't say a prayer while I was in bed after I threw up. I sang my favorite primary songs and it reminded me to say a prayer. So I'm glad I said a prayer so I wasn't still sick." Oh how I love the sweetness of kids. When I worry about how Mark and I are doing as parents and stressing whether or not my kids are actually understanding the importance of staying close to our Heavenly Father, it's moments like these that reassure me that our kids are listening. They pick up the littlest things. Even in Primary when I think Braeden isn't listening, he is. He is such a sweet boy and very tenderhearted. I love these kind of moments. So much that it can't go unwritten.

Kara & Ryan......

My sister is engaged!!! We are so excited for the 2 of them. Ryan proposed to her last weekend in California...... with a ring pop. Kara was so excited about getting the watermelon flavor!! But the real ring wasn't ready until tonight!! They both came over to show us the ring and let me tell ya, it is BEAUTIFUL!!!

They don't have a date yet, but will soon!

Congrats Kara & Ryan!! We are so excited to have Ryan join the family. He is so perfect for Kara and we love his sense of humor! We are glad our family didn't scare you away!

If you've ever wondered what happens.....

Twice a week, my little sister Kara and I will go to my older sister Lisa's house to do a little exercising. I have always called Lisa my trainer just because she has always loved to exercise and told me what I should be doing. But now she really is my personal trainer... and quite a mean one too!! :) She just makes us do some pretty crazy things, but that's because I need it.

But anyway, her little gym is in the garage and we usually just let the kids play outside or in the house. But this is what happens when you leave them all by themselves.....

Braeden said they were having a contest to see who could be the funniest. He said he got 1st place. Well, Cade got 1st place too, but Braeden got the highest 1st place. (whatever that means)

BOYS.....

When it rained last Saturday, my kids spent a ton of time outside enjoying the cool weather. They love playing outside when it's a decent temperature outside. Caleb on the other hand would play out there all day if I let him... even in 110 degree weather.

I decided it was time to get the kids ready to go watch some USC football at our cousins house and I walk outside to find this.....

They decided it was OK to play in the mud and also cover Caleb in it too. Notice how the older kids have hardly any mud on them. The little stinkers kept piling the mud on Chubs. But Caleb didn't mind. He just kept walking around with mud in his eyes and mouth. It was even more fun for them to be sprayed down with the hose. There was mud everywhere, but they were so cute.

It was actually impossible to get a picture with him holding still. These were the best I could do.

Baby Mozart

Caleb is very busy. He is constantly looking for something to get into or even mess up. But he has discovered his love for the piano. He has learned what "soft" means and won't pound on it. He gets mad at me when I take him off the piano. He just sits there for a while and plays.

I kept trying to get him to look at me and smile, but since I interrupted him, this is all I got.

Preschool....again!

I was so bummed when Elli had to go to preschool again. She is so ready for Kindergarten, but those darn January birthdays. But she loves Miss Glenda and just begs me everyday to go to school. She loves it there.

She is so stinkin' smart. After the first day, Miss Glenda told me that she picked up right where she left off before summer. She is blending words and reading so well. We are so proud of her.

He LOOKS so innocent

I was in my room on Saturday and I knew the kids were playing in the playroom / office / exercise / sewing / everything else room. I heard Caleb playing in there too and talking. The other two kids left the playroom and usually Caleb follows them wherever they go. But I still heard him in there. He started talking louder and I could hear the light switch turning off and on. So I decided to check on him. I found him sitting on the desk, peeking out the door. He couldn't get down, he was stuck up there. It was so cute. I have never seen him up there. But ever since then, he is always up there throwing papers on the ground and destroying everything. Yet, this picture shows the face of an innocent little boy.... just look at that smile!!

Just yesterday, I was in the kitchen cleaning up after lunch and Caleb was walking around and then all of a sudden, he was in his high chair. And this happened only within 2 minutes. He climbed there so fast. I don't know how he did it. But he is climbing on counters and pretty much anywhere he can. I have a feeling I'll be making a trip to the ER for a broken bone one day. Hopefully not though.

My Rock Starz

Braeden loves Michael Jackson's "Beat It" song. I think it's because of his death when I showed him a few of his songs because he didn't really know who he was. But whenever we go over to Lisa's house, he plays Rock Band and always turns on that song.

It was so cute when Caleb grabbed the microphone and started dancing and singing with him.

I go a little video of it. You can hear Caleb trying to sing on one part of it.

Mmmmmm... SUGAR!

I swear this kid can smell sugar a mile away. Caleb wasn't interested in food up until a little after he turned one. I would try to feed him, but he never caught interest in it. Which was fine with me since giving him a bottle was so much easier. But now he is a great eater and will eat almost anything I give to him. He will eat veggies and whatever I make for dinner. I still don't want to feed him red meat so he hasn't had any of that. But I'm sure he would love it if I did. But anyways, he still has a sweet tooth and will sneak it.

I couldn't find him one time and this is where he was....... into the Oreo Cookies. He knows what is good though. I will be downstairs and Caleb will go up into the pantry and grab something to eat like yogurt covered pretzels and carry them downstairs so I will feed them to him. It's way funny!

Caleb's Hair

Caleb was born with dark curly hair and he never lost it either. Maybe a little patch in the back, but kept it for the most part. Braeden & Elli completely lost their hair and were bald for a while.

I was so in love with his curly hair. It was so adorable and he was so cute with it.

He and my Dad even had the same hair.

But the curls eventually died down and it was just a crazy head of hair. But he made it look good!!

While we were in Pinetop, I gave Braeden & Caleb a little haircut because they needed it really bad. Well, the day after we got home, I was looking at Caleb's hair and I thought to myself..... "I did a horrible job on Caleb's hair." It was cut to the scalp on top. The front had obvious signs of being cut bluntly. It looked funny. And I kept looking at it like "What was I thinking when I cut this?" He was moving a lot, but geez, I did a horrible job.

These pictures really don't show how bad it looked. But it gives you an idea.

(Man, he is hard to take a picture of, he doesn't stop moving.)

But then I realized that maybe he had another helper cutting his hair. I thought it was Elli because she loves to cut things, including her hair SERVERAL TIMES. I asked her if she did it and she said no. I actually believed her by the way she said it. It didn't dawn on me that Braeden would do that. He never cuts stuff like that. But I asked him and yep, he admitted it. Braeden cut his hair. Now I'm not feeling so stupid on cutting hair so sloppy.

So here is the result of what we needed to do after Braeden cut it.

He looks so different with a buzzed head! I love it. He looks older and now looks more like Mark's Mini Me.

But after I cut it, we noticed a dark spot on the back of his head. I looked at it and it's not a birth mark..... it's a patch of dark hair. The camera flash makes it look lighter than it is. So who knows what this patch means. Hopefully it means that his hair will go back to being dark and curly. Wouldn't that be nice if it did go curly again!!

This kid must know he's cute, he sure flaunts it all the time with that smile!!!

Lucky Blue

So Mark got some pretty exciting news this past weekend when his country band went to Las Vegas. But nothing has happened yet so I don't want to get too excited. But I did want to post this picture of Lucky Blue's (Mark's band's name) BIGGEST FAN!!! Braeden made this poster that says "LUCKY BLUE ROCKS!!" He is one of their groupies and it was so cute how he made this poster and put it on his wall. Such a creative kid!!