Um...Hum?

The boys are in the middle of their swimming lessons and are really enjoying them. After Dallin's class last week, his teacher came up to me and said, "Dallin told me he doesn't know how to hum." And she said it in such a way that it seemed like she couldn't believe we hadn't taught him this! I felt like I had to make excuses, "Uh, I guess not. I usually just sing and Steve whistles a lot, but we don't really hum. Sorry." She went on to explain that's how they teach this age group to keep the water out of their noses. She asked me to teach him and practice with him. Okay, I can do that, or so I thought...
That afternoon I tried to teach him, telling him it was like singing but with you mouth closed. Well, he said he couldn't do it and Caden needed to teach him. I have no idea where he got the idea that Caden needed to teach him, but Dallin is very stubborn and once he gets an idea it stays there. I kept trying to get him to try, but he was freaking out saying he needed Caden, so I dropped it.
After school, as the boys were playing, I heard Dallin say to Caden, "You need to teach me how to say 'Um!'" It was really hard not to laugh at him, because he was trying so hard to communicate it to Caden. I told Caden what he meant, and Dallin copied him perfectly. He is such a stubborn, funny boy!

Andrew's 8 months

Andrew turned 8 months on Sunday. I thought I'd share a couple of the pictures. He wasn't excited about sitting still, so no smiles this time. He's getting his top two teeth, and he likes to grind his teeth together. It sounds like he's chewing on sand! Steve and I cringe everytime we hear it. He's still not crawling, but he's still a happy boy. He really loves his brothers and they can really get him laughing. Very cute to see.

Our budding artists

Caden loves to draw. He spends hours at it. He was excited when I brought home a box of old computer printer paper from a garage sale. It was 1000 sheets and I could see his mind thinking up all the cool monsters he could draw with all that paper. That's what he mostly draws, monsters, dragons, snakes, sharks, dinosaurs, anything with sharp teeth and is scary. He'll make up these creatures, draw them, name them, talk your ear off about all the little details of the creatures, what they can and can't do, etc, then run around the house pretending to be the creatures, terrorizing his little brothers. I'm quite impressed with them imagination he has to come up with all that, all except the terrorizing his brothers, that is! This picture he was copying dinosaurs from a book and I think he did a pretty good job.













Sometimes it gets old seeing all these pictures of monsters, so I was quite pleased with this picture of me on my "ship". And of course he went into all sorts of detail about what everything was, but I can't recall any of it.













Dallin's pictures are usually just scribbles, so I was impressed with his picture of me too!

No monkies here!

Both Caden and Dallin are afraid of heights. It runs in the family. Well, I remember climbing in our tree as a kid and having a blast. Caden's never really figured that out. I decided it was time for them to learn so I put them both in the tree. Doesn't it look like they're having a blast?














Caden was nervous at first, but he's gaining confidence and I think he likes it now. With the aid of an upside down bucket he can climb the tree without me and will actually move to a second branch! I still think they need some lessons from their Davis cousins!

Tinkerbell

For those of you who don't know Tinkerbell, she's a very good dog but likes a lot of attention. I don't give her much-the boys give her plenty-but she's always right at hand just in case it's one of those moments where I pet her. She loves it when I get on the floor with Andrew. She sits right next to me and leans against me.
Andrew loves the dog. He is always fascinated with her and when she comes in reach, he grabs her. And she puts up with it, if it means she can be close to me or Steve. She only cries if he gets her face, and we do our best to not let that happen. Well, the other day I was folding laundry and I put Andrew on the floor in front of me. He was happy playing with his toys so I didn't pay close attention to him, then I heard Tink cry. She had come to sit at my feet, right in Andrew's reach. I let her go and shewed her off. A few minutes later it happens again. And again! And again! I really wish this dog would learn! I finally had to put her in her kennel for her own safety so I could finish the laundry.

New bikes

In the beginning of spring this year, Steve and Caden set two goals for Caden's summer: to learn to swim and to learn to ride his bike. Then, we found out we were moving and didn't have any time to help him. Our house here doesn't have a community pool, either. Now that we're mostly settled, I've enrolled him in swimming classes that start next week. As for riding a bike, that hasn't been as easy. Both the boys have cheap bikes we found at garage sales, and every time the boys went out to ride, the chains kept falling off. The boys would get frustrated and I got sick of putting it back on. So, today we took a trip to Walmart and got the cheapest bikes that fit the boys. The boys were so excited, walking their bikes around Walmart. Steve even let Dallin sit on his while Steve pushed him around. All the adults stopped to talk to them and say how exciting it was they were getting new bikes. I could tell they were each reliving their memories of their own first bikes. It was really fun. When we got home the boys spent an hour outside practicing. The really had a good time. Hopefully now getting them to practice riding their bikes won't be like pulling teeth!

Sorry about Caden's picture. He didn't want to stop and would only slow down! :)

Hungry?

The other day, as I was opening a box of soap, this is what I found.

Yes those are huge teeth marks in the soap. My first thought was Dallin, because he puts anything and everything into his mouth. But then I thought about it, and I remembered the box was sealed. So I check the box, see if there were any tears or anything, and there weren't. So, it must have happened at the factory. Weird, huh?

Cell Phone?

So, when Caden asked for a phone before school started, I thought it was sweet he didn't want the dog to wake up the baby when he came home. Then tonight he comes to me and says, "A lot of kids at school have cell phones."
I laugh, "The kids in your class?"
He nods. "Can I have one please?" (Imagine a really whiny voice here)
I laugh harder, "NO!"
"Please mom! Jake and Aaron and blah blah blah all have one, and it makes be feel really bad!"
"Well, maybe you can use theirs! You know, I got my first cell phone when I was 28 (Caden's eyes get big) so you have a ways to go."
First grade! Give me a break!