Tuesday, December 29

Happy 3rd Birthday A!!

I am constantly amazed at how grown up this boy has gotten! He is incredibly witty and fun, and I'm so grateful to have him as part of our family!


We kept his birthday pretty simple this year because almost all of his little friends are ones we've met here through M's MBA program... and a lot of families went out of town for the school's Christmas break. But he always says that E is his very best friend, so I think he was perfectly fine just celebrating with family.




We also had a little party in Idaho with my family and another little party here with M's family. Three parties for a 3-year-old seems like a pretty perfect deal. All in all, I think he had a fantastic time!

A at 3 Years

I love this handsome little guy so much and can't believe he's already THREE!!


His 3-year-old stats are:
  • Weight: 31.5 lbs.
  • Height: 39 inches
  • Diaper Size: 97% Potty Trained!
  • Clothing Size: Tall for his 2T clothes but his 3T stuff is a bit baggy.
  • Likes: Repeating letters to spell words, counting to 20, playing all sorts of silly games with E.
  • Dislikes: Being tired, being told what to do.
He is such a clever boy! I love watching him work on things and see his eyes light up as he solves his projects. He still enjoys doing puzzles and lately has been doing amazing well at large 24-piece jigsaw puzzles lately!

He has also found a love of building with blocks, particularly with his Legos. He has always loved organizing, playing by sorting his toys into lines and patterns, so it's been fun to watch his methodical habits transform into creating well-planned, symmetrical towers and buildings. I've started to wonder if he'll grow up to be an architect!


Recently, he has also started showing more interest in art projects. It's been fun for me to spend time drawing or coloring together. He especially loves painting and is fascinated in what colors are made by mixing together other colors. He doesn't draw particular things, such as people or toys, but his artwork is always a specific arrangement/lines/patterns of colors in a systematic version of creativity.


For Christmas, Santa brought our family two new iPad Minis. I am amazed at his ability to navigate the apps as well as his skill level with any of the preschool apps!

Speaking of preschool, we decided to get A involved in a little co-op group with our MBA friends. It is music based and the moms take turns teaching simple topics such as the seasons, shapes and colors, etc. It has been really fun to help A socialize and get involved with other kids, but one of his favorite parts is that E gets to come and sit right next to him each week! It's so cute to watch them make new friends together.



He loves to spell small words, he knows how to spell the names of our family as well as a few other short ones such as "no," "go," and "stop." He constantly wants to know how to spell more words but doesn't fully understand how to figure it out phonetically, so he will ask us how to spell more difficult words and then repeats the letters proudly.


Our MBA friends also organized a kid's soccer league, so A played on a soccer team this fall that M helped co-coach with another dad. It was so much fun to watch. He loved practice and I think it was because it was fun for each kid to have their own ball, running around and kicking it together. But as soon as the actual game started, A didn't like having to compete with everyone to get the one ball on the field. Most games, he would come sit with E and I on the sidelines and refuse to play. A couple times, he willingly gave it a try but came out crying within the first few minutes because someone pushed or kicked him. Yet by the time the team treats came out at the end of each game, he was suddenly happy to be on the team again.




As E has continually become more and more fun, he continues to develop into such a fantastic big brother. He loves to tease her but is also very protective of her when anyone else is around. He also loves to make up silly games and includes her in everything, to the point that sometimes he causes problems by demanding she play his games constantly.





This has been a really busy time for our family with M going back to school, and selling our home and moving to a small apartment. I was worried about all the changes, particularly how A would handle them,  but he has done really well adjusting to the move to Provo. He and E now share a room and they LOVE it. Each night, it takes at least an hour for them to fall asleep because they're busy giggling and playing together. I feel like it has really helped their friendship blossom in ways it never would have before.

The world fascinates him! Although sometimes it makes me crazy that he asks a million questions each day, it's fun to see the world through his eyes. He is my little shadow and also enjoys being involved around the house. He takes great pride in being a helper!


He has been so excited for his birthday! He really loves numbers and counting, so it's become a big deal to him that he'll be three because he's starting to realize that bigger numbers means growing bigger too. He's so cute and I love seeing how logically he grasps concepts.

I love being his mom and he is growing up to be such a sweet, smart and helpful little boy! We are so lucky to have him in our family.

Friday, December 25

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas season has been so much fun! A & E both loved seeing the Christmas lights everywhere and their excitement made the holiday seem magical.



When we went to see Santa, they were both nervous. A tried really hard to be brave and sat on Santa's lap like a big kid; E, on the otherhand, couldn't conquer her fear and was terrified when we tried to give her to Santa!


A comprehends the basics of things like the story of Baby Jesus as well as Santa Claus, but I'm grateful he is still sweet and unselfish in what gifts he wants—all he wanted was "the Hippo Game." And I especially loved how he was thrilled and grateful when Santa brought it for him!


This year, we decided to follow an idea where the kids ask for four items: something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. I love the simplicity of this idea and allowed us to talk more about gifts to get for other people rather than constantly thinking of more and more toys they want for themselves. It turned out that the majority of their gifts were from each other and it was fun to teach them about the joy of giving instead of receiving. As we mommas do, I worried it would seem like a sparce Christmas morning but the kids seemed to think it was great and didn't seem as overwhelmed by all the new stuff like they have in the past.








We still managed to fit in our annual trip to Temple Square, although this year we did it on Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, it was below freezing and soooo cold!! But it still helped us remember the real meaning of Christmas.


I'm so grateful to have this cute little family to share the holiday season with!



Saturday, December 5

Annual Family Christmas Lunch

Today, we had our second "Annual Family Christmas Party" with my family. On my mom's side, the majority of the cousins and aunts/uncles have ended up spread throughout Idaho and Utah. A couple years ago, we realized that Brigham City, Utah was a pretty good middle spot for almost everyone and the tradition began. It's fun to get to do something Christmasy with my family and I especially love getting to see a lot of my cousins all in one place!