Graham's Birthday

Don't laugh. I'm taking baby steps to dig myself out of a blog hole and I'm starting with Graham's birthday . . . which was in June.

We celebrated by having three families over for dinner and cake after church. Graham was slightly overwhelmed by the hubbub. When we sang to him and gave him the cake he started crying and was only consoled by his bottle. But, all in all, it was a fun first birthday gathering for our favorite baby!

At the beginning of June, I was able to join some great girls from my ward for an over-night in Palm Springs. It was so relaxing to be at a pool all day without having to watch anyone. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Truman received the "Best Shot" Award at his end of year preschool program. His teacher said that regardless of the game, if it involves a ball, Truman always excels. I remember that for his first birthday "party" I tried to have a ball theme because it was what he loved most.

May 2010

Photography by Parker

Our family in Arizona for nephew Sam's baby blessing.

First of all, how can you fall asleep leaning on your hand like that? And secondly, I have a nearly identical picture from the Sunday afternoon session of the last General Conference. It sure was great having DVR this time around. So much more pleasant to just push pause instead of getting so uptight with the kids every time they needed me to do something in the middle of a really good talk. Plus, I'm much more likely to watch a talk here and there when I have time than when it was on VHS.

"Let me out!"

Here are a couple pics of the kids before our Easter egg hunt.

March

March in a nutshell: new sod, broken elbow, boys who needed lots of baths because of dirt from the backyard work and, in Graham's case, from crawling army-style all over our tile floors.

A Little More February

Truman has turned four. He is the cutest little boy, and the funniest person. Todd and I have to laugh at him, even when we shouldn't. Watching him try to find his place in the world and become a force to be reckoned with has mostly been very entertaining. Sometimes, lately, he crosses the 'naughty line' and even his cuteness can't save him. Truman is very independent. He helps himself. He has some strong opinions. ("I hate that backpack" - said about a random girl walking outside of the elementary school. And, "I'm not going to Primary ever again.") But, he is also a lot of fun. He was giggling so hard playing a game earlier this week that he fell over backwards. He loves when he gets to choose the activity for Family Home Evening; it's usually dodgeball. He has always been a very good builder, constructing marble runs, train tracks, and castles that look like they were built by someone twice his age. Truman has started taking a speech class at the elementary school, and we're hopeful that this will help others (and us!) be able to understand all that he says.

For his birthday "party," Todd took Truman and his friend, Jeremiah, for a round of fun at Mulligan's. They bowled, played miniature golf, rode the bumper cars and tiny trains, and apparently enjoyed some Ring Pops.

The only two pictures we took of our days away together:

February

February was nice and full. Grandma and Grandpa Rudd came to visit us, and so did my sister, Janelle, and her family. These beach/park pictures are from a day the three kids spent with Grandpa Rudd watching the sea lions and playing at La Jolla. It was a little shocking to me that my dad can just hop in the car with three kids and few granola bars to be gone for the whole day. I am so used to packing and preparing for every contingency: jackets in case it's cold, swimsuits in case it's hot, sand buckets, hats, chairs, etc. They had a great day.

It was nice to have a sister in little kid mode, too, to pass the time with.

Todd and I spent a wonderful 3 days in Los Angeles. We stayed in Beverly Hills and went to Knotts', the Getty Center, a Jazz/Clippers game. It was so fun to have fun, without keeping track of anyone. The folks at home held FHE without us.

Parker's 6th birthday!

He wanted those (I think) icky pink-frosted "Lofthouse" sugar cookies instead of birthday cake. But he agreed to also have cupcakes so the rest of us could choose which we preferred.

With his birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa Everett, Parker wanted to go to Build-A-Bear. He walked in, knew exactly what he wanted, and was back out in around five minutes. I admire decisivesness like that. He named his bear, Sporty, and dressed him in karate clothes because he was taking karate at the time.

My favorite bikers.

Why is it so entertaining to watch two babies together?

Graham and Daisy