Christopher's 7th Birthday

Christopher celebrated his 7th birthday on December 27th. Where have the years gone!

Christopher is reminded often of what a blessing he is to our family. I never would of dreamed 7 years ago we would be where we are at today with him.

Christopher is a very sweet boy. He is very passionate about the things that matter most to him. He is a good helper and is sensitive to others feelings. He loves to do silly things to make others laugh. He is very determined and knows what he wants. At times that can become very frustrating to him. He is a perfectionist, to say the least. He is a fighter. Thankfully that trait has gotten him where he is today. He loves to play any kind of sport. He excels in all the sports he plays. To say the least, he eats, drinks and sleeps whatever sport is on his mind at the time. (Ryan and I wonder if he could be our key to an early retirement.) What a joy it is to be his mom.

He lost his second front tooth Christmas Eve. I'll have to post the story behind that one. But I had to post this picture from his Birthday, I think it is the cutest. It's not Christopher's typically smile, but this picture says so much about Christopher's personality.

Christopher was a little nervous with his birthday being so close to Christmas that he would not get anything this year for it. Reasoning behind that is...He decided he wanted a new bike for his birthday we went out the day after Christmas to find one. Big mistake on our part. Let's just say the pickins were slim. He wasn't able to find a bike that he liked. We went to several different stores.

In the morning he woke up and had his favorite breakfast Crepes! He was pleasantly surprised to unwrap one of his gifts from Mom and Dad which was Star Wars LEGOS! Need I say more, he was as happy as could be. Later in the day we headed out on a mission to find him a new bicycle. We did have a little ways to drive, but found in Fair Oaks plenty of bikes to choose from. When we first got in the store, Ryan found a bike with wheels he always wanted as a child but he never got. He shared this info with Christopher and was telling him how cool the tires were. Well, long store short, he didn't want anything to do with the other cheaper bikes. He wanted the one that Daddy wanted as a kid which was very cool looking in his mind and Ryan's. Unfortuantely for our wallets it was of course the most expensive bike in the store. Namely because of the TonyHawk name. Well as you can see by the picture below Christopher was defiantely excited about his new bike.

On our way home we stopped and ate at the restuarant of Christopher's choosing which was Red Robin of course. I of course forgot the camera which will never happen again, Thanks to Santa. Christopher did enjoy having a bunch of waitresses and waiters sing to him.

We then came home and opened the remainder of his gifts. Ryan put his bike together and as you can see from the picture above. It was a gorgeous day, very warm for December. The boys rode their bikes long after it had gotten dark outside.

We then came in and had Cheesecake and sang "Happy Birthday to Christopher." What a great way to end a special day.

Piano Recital

Matthew & Christopher started taking piano lessons in September. Their teacher is a friend from our ward, Sister Airmet. The boys have enjoyed learning how to play the piano. Sister Airmet has made learning the piano fun and interesting. The boys love that she lives right around the corner and can walk home after their lessons. The boys look forward to their lessons every week. Matthew wakes up every morning and practices his piano before school. I love having a piano in our home and hearing the boys play it.

Today they had their 1st piano recital, which we hosted at our house. I am so proud of my boys. They did a good job playing in front of everyone.

Christopher

Matthew

Can you tell they are brothers?

The boys had their school pictures taken back in September. I have been meaning to post them ever since. I can't believe how grown up all three of them are looking. Matthew is in 4th grade, Christopher 1st grade and Joshua Preschool.

Thomas turns 2

Thomas' birthday fell on Thanksgiving Day this year. We celebrated his special day by having a bunch of friends over for a BIG Thanksgiving Feast. It was a beautiful, warm day and the kids enjoyed playing in the backyard with their friends for most of the day.

Since Thomas' birthday was on Thanksgiving we decided to for go the traditional cake and ice cream. Instead we had pie and ice cream. Thomas didn't seem to mind.

After everyone left Thomas opened up his presents. This year he got several different bath toys. Thomas loves his baths. Anytime he hears the bath water, he quickly runs to the bathroom and insists on his clothes be taken off including his diaper. If you are slow at helping him, he figures it out himself and what he can't get off, he leaves on. I like to get the water going before I jump in the shower. I usually turn it on and leave the room to get the kids busy doing something. Several times, I have return to my room to shower and have caught him in my shower fully dressed.

Thomas also is very much into imaginative play. He loves to play in the basement on our car rug with cars and trucks. Lined up against the wall and rug is all of our Fisher Price farm, city, parking garage, etc. He can sit or should I say lay for several hours playing with the little people, farm animals and cars/trucks. So for his birthday we decided to add to it with a another fisher price set. As you can see from the picture, all of my boys enjoyed playing with Thomas' new toys.

Thomas is a fun, sweet, cute little boy. He LOVES his mommy. He is always willing to give hugs and kisses and to cuddle. He tries hard to be independent. He loves to play with all of his brothers and tries hard to keep up with them. He is an easy going boy, who goes with the flows of things. He loves to ride his bike, play with cars.

Viva Las Vegas

A few months back, I was feeling very sad that I hadn't seen my sisters and my mom for some time. As I was talking on the phone with one of my sisters, I mentioned we should take a girls trip. Just my mom and sisters, no kids. After talking and doing a little planning we were able to sell all the husbands on the deal. So early November we all boarded planes except for Mom who drove from St. George and headed to Las Vegas. For a long weekend together.

Here we are in the airport parking garage. Tami is the oldest, then myself, the youngest and my middle sister Michelle. It was EXCITING to see them.

Our first stop was to get some lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing a lot of shopping! Which was a lot of fun for me, since my boys hate to shop. (They are typical boys.)

That night we went to see Phantom of the Opera. We had the best seats, front row center. I have never sat that close in a show before. It was amazing to see every little detail of the actors and actresses! Little side note: On my flight from Denver to Vegas, I sat next to the Aunt of the actor who played Roule. It was fun visiting with her and learning more about the actor. We actually ended up seeing her at the show along with her sister and mother.

We laughed so hard the whole weekend and had a great time together!

Our last night in Vegas, we went and saw the show Mamma Mia. Fantastic performance very different from Phantom. I had a wonderful time with my mom and sisters. It was fun to spend a few days together bonding.

Leesburg Fire Station

Matthew and the other Cub scouts took a field trip to the Leesburg Fire Station. The boys and I tagged along, I knew the boys would love seeing the fire trucks. Thomas went crazy seeing the great big fire trucks up close. He loved being able to climb up inside of one, he did not want to get out. Joshua was scared and wanted to leave when the firemen put on his firefighter gear including his mask. It was a great opportunity to teach Joshy not to be scared, but to see that the uniform protects the firemen from getting hurt by the fire. Once he understood, he was okay with the whole thing.

Matthew has such great scout leaders who are very organized and make scouting a lot of fun. He looks forward to scouts every week.

Thomas' New Shoes

The night before I left for Vegas we were at Target getting a few travel items. Thomas did not want to sit in the cart so we let him walk around the store. As soon as we got Thomas out of the cart, we noticed him dragging his left foot as he walked. His shoes had been getting snug, but we weren't sure that was the reason why he was dragging his foot. Well, after we did a little experimenting we discovered his shoes were too small for him. So, after Target we ran to the outlets, to see if we could buy him some shoes before they closed. Long story short, I couldn't find any shoes that I liked or shoes that were in his size. Ryan was given the task of finding a new pair of shoes for Thomas. So while I was in Vegas, Ryan took Thomas to buy him new shoes. Ryan was able to find a pair a shoes the following day at his first stop. He pretty much tried the shoes on Thomas and they never came off his feet for the remainder of the weekend. To say that Thomas loves his new shoes, is very much an understatement. He wakes up every morning and brings his shoes to you and insists that you put them on his feet. He has even learned to put them on himself. He loves to run around and make the flashy lights come on.

Thomas my Climber

The SMILE should say it all!

It all started Thursday afternoon, when I sent Matthew upstairs to wake up Thomas from his nap. However Matthew found Thomas in the hallway instead of his crib. Matthew quickly called for me to come see. Matthew had asked Thomas how he got out of his bed and Thomas quickly ran to his crib, grinning ear to ear. When I got upstairs, Matthew had lifted Thomas into his crib and said to Thomas, "Show Mommy how you got out of your crib." Thomas quickly lifted his leg high over his head and rested it on the end rail of his crib. He then used his upper arm strength to pull him up to the top of the arch rail. Once he had his whole body over the railing, he simply let go of the railing with his hands and dropped to the floor laughing. By now all the boys had gathered in Thomas' room and were rolling with laughter. Mistake #1 on my part, Thomas had an audience and was thrilled to be showing off with his newest trick.

When bedtime finally rolled around we could not contain Thomas in his crib. As soon as we put him in the crib and pulled the railing up, he would climb out of the crib before we could get out of the room. Each time he would get out of his bed, he was grinning ear to ear. Needless to say, he was very PROUD of his new found freedom.

I spent hours the following day trying to get Thomas to take a nap in his crib while he continued to do the same routine from the night before. I finally gave up. For bedtime that night, he ended up falling asleep in the car while we were out getting last minute things for my trip to Vegas and looking for shoes for him.

Ryan being the best husband ever, dropped me off the airport the next morning at 4am. I wished him "GOOD LUCK" on getting Thomas to bed for naps and bedtime. I was leaving on a girls trip with my mom and sisters to Las Vegas and would be gone for the next four days.

HEE HEE, PERFECT TIMING ON MY PART!

Halloween 08

Halloween this year was a blast! After the Trunk or Treat at the church and the take from Halloween night, we have candy everywhere!!!

Shenandoah Valley Discovery Musuem

Tuesday, I had the opportunity to be a chaperone on Christopher's field trip to Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum. We had a great time. I had never heard of this children's museum, but was pleasantly surprised when we arrived. There was so much for the children to do. Christopher had a blast, playing with the simple machines.



The second favorite was the huge children's size ambulance and hospital equipped with Dr. coats, x-ray machines, wheelchairs, crutches, beds and a whole lot more.



The third favorite rock wall.



Fourth Favorite Raceways. All different kinds of ramps with loops and golf balls.



The children were in awe as they went from one hands on station to another.

I enjoyed the one on one time with Christopher. This year I have been very involved in Chris's classroom and have been working very closely with a few moms. It has been a lot of fun, because I have become good friends with those moms. All of us were able to go on the field trip. We had a great time sitting in the back of the bus, laughing and enjoying some great conversations.

Claude Moore Park Field Trip

On Friday, Matthew went on a field trip to Claude Moore Park. It was his third time going to this park on a field trip. Matthew didn't seem to care though. He was very proud to share what he learned with his classmates from previous visits.


We spent the morning learning all about watersheds. The gentleman that taught the class was very passionate about watersheds. He made it very interactive and hands on to learn about. He had the children crumble up a piece of paper into a soft ball. He then had them un-crumble it and lay it out, but not flat. He had them take a color marker and draw a line on all of the peaks on their paper which would represent the mountains. Next, he had the children get a different marker and draw a line along the low parts of their paper which represented the rivers. He then them draw where the buildings, homes, retail shops would be on this map. When all of the children had finished their map the instructor gave each kid a water bottle. He told them to spray water on their rivers. The boys of the class thought this was pretty cool. As the children, quickly began to spray they noticed their homes and business getting washed away by the water. The kids were so excited and some were even disappointed that their homes had been flooded.


After lunch, we walked along an old highway which George Washington had used during his lifetime. We were also able to see where archaeologist where doing a dig to find artifacts.. We hiked through the woods to the top of a peak which served as a signal station during Civil War.


I enjoyed spending the day with Matthew. We had a fun day together.

Pumpkinville

Yesterday, Joshua had his first field trip with Hope Preschool they went to Pumpkinville. It is a farm here in Leesburg where they have slides, corn mazes, hay rides, moon bounces, a petting zoo and tractors to play on. At the end before you leave the farm each child gets an apple, apple cider and a pumpkin.


I was excited to be able to go with Joshy on this school outing. I couldn't help but think about when Christopher went with the same teachers two years ago. I was pregnant with Thomas and in the hospital having a transfusion and it was Grammie who got to spend the afternoon with Chris and his schoolmates at Pumpkinville.


Joshua, Thomas and I had a lot of fun. Joshua enjoyed seeing and playing with his classmates. I enjoyed visiting with the other moms. The boys were happy sliding down the long slides. They also loved climbing up on the bails of hay, and running through the maze. Surprisingly, at the end, Joshua wanted to go in the area where we could feed and pet the animals. Thomas ran from animal to animal, he did keep his distance from the camel though. Joshua stayed close but put his hand out to feed the animals, and finally petted them in the end.