Yet Another Reason . . .

Cats sprayed my stroller. Not happy. Didn't figure it out until AFTER Emmit had been it it. I guess it could have been worse, I could have put it in my car. I did put Emmit in his exersaucer while I went to investigate the familiar, yet couldn't-put-my-finger-on-it smell (it's how my parents first rentals always smelt). That stuff really transfers to EVERYTHING it touches. I almost threw up again.

Another Reason I Don't Like Pets . . .

Kylan just came in from feeding the cat and said that he and Mya ate the cat food. I ran out to get Mya right as she shoved a whole handful in her mouth. I almost threw up. I'm gagging right now just thinking about it again. I knew this day would come, I just wasn't prepared for how much it really grossed me out!

Ky's Treehouse

We have (well, had) this weird tree in the middle of our lawn right in front of our front porch that we have been wanting to cut down since we moved in. When it came time to re-roof the house, it came down to make room for the dump truck. So, for the last month the tree has been laying in our front yard and Kylan has been calling it his tree house. He works on it everyday - fixing the roof, building a garage, etc. So, while it is in the way and kind of ugly, it is keeping my kids very happy, so I'm okay with it sticking around until we have to start mowing our lawn again!

Ignore the interesting clothes - it's laundry day and Mya is really good at finding and getting into any little speck of mud she can find outside, and getting food all over her so she isn't in good clothes unless we are going somewhere!


Kylan working on the roof.

And I had to include a picture of Emmit because I think he is so cute all the time! He is getting close to 6 months old (which I can't believe) and yet is still totally content to just lay on the ground or stand in his exersaucer and watch his brother and sister play! He can roll from his stomach to his back and I think he could go the other way if he really wanted to, but he doesn't seem to mind not being able to mover around more. He can scoot himself around a little and he is getting closer to being able to sit by himself, but he is way behind his brother and sister in these areas. However, he is so much happier than they were that I am just fine with it!

Here are some cute things that have happened recently:

Last night Emmit was screaming for about 30 min or longer straight and nothing I was doing was making him happy (so not like him), so I finally went and put him back on my bed because that is where he takes naps and I thought maybe he was just tired. Well, Kylan was very concerned, so I told him he could go try to make him happy if he wanted. Within just a couple minutes I could hear Emmit laughing! He just loves Kylan so much and it sure does make me happy!!!!

The kids got a little play blender for Christmas and Tim and I have been trying to be healthier, so we have been working out and we usually drink a protein shake for breakfast in the morning after Tim gets home from playing basketball and I get done with my work out video. Well, the other morning Kylan told me that he had just gotten done playing basketball and that he was making a protein shake in his blender and wanted to know if I wanted some! Kylan also will do my work outs with me, but only if there is a guy on the video doing the exercises. If there isn't, then he says he can't do them!

Mya has been talking a lot more all of a sudden. We had some of her birthday cake left over and so the other night after dinner she pushed her plate away and then said "Chocate cake peeze". She is really good at saying "peeze" and it makes it hard to say no to anything she asks for!

I recently showed Ky how to push play on the remote for the dvd player in their room. A few days later he (all by himself) knew how to pause, rewind, and open and change the cd.

The Party

We remembered to get the video camera out, but not our regular camera. Luckily Kade had his and was snapping away (he's practicing using his indoor flash and lense stuff) and his turned out way better than mine would have anyway. So, here is Mya's party in pictures:

The cake was Skor cake and it was very yummy!

Mya and her princess ballon.

Pointing to her cake

This was the second time I lit the candle. The first time she blew it out before we could sing!

Listening to everyone sing

Leah and Evan waiting for cake.

The birthday girl waiting for cake.

Braden
Kylan

She loved it!

Opening present. She was very spoiled by everyone!

I had to include a pic of Jocelyn because she is just so stinkin' cute!

Happy Birthday Mya Girl!

Her birthday isn't until tomorrow, but since she and Emmit are napping and Kylan is hanging out with Grandma Teri I thought I would do this post while I have a minute. My My-My girl will be two tomorrow (I asked her if her name was Mya yesterday and she said no, and then I asked her what her name was then and she said "my-my"). I can't even believe that it has been two years since I had her because in a lot of ways it feels like just yesterday she looked like this:

and this:
And now she looks like this:


Her nickname from practically birth has been Beastie Girl (and all our family members understand why) and although she has her moments, she is such a sweet girl! She also makes me laugh everyday (sometimes I have to get after her first and then laugh later)! So here is what Mya Rae is doing at 2 years old:

• She has (finally) started talking really well and is saying new things everyday and starting to put her words together into phrases and sentences. The other day she told me that "Emmit is cute"
• It's hard for her to say Emmit, she says it "Emt" so she usually just refers to him as "baby"
• She LOVES her big brother Ky. She always wants to know where he is and if he gets to go anywhere without her she is VERY excited when he gets home.
• She also LOVES her dad and as soon as she hears the laundry room door at lunch time or night she runs to the laundry room sqealing "daddy" and then says "need you" which in Mya means pick me up.
• She loves books and loves me to read to her. The funniest part is she really loves Grandpa Donald to read to her, and since he will do anything she asks he does it even though he hates it!
• When I take her to the store she works her big blue eyes with everyone we go by, so I hear a lot of "oooing" and "awing" the whole time.
• She is very stubborn and head strong. If she doesn't want to do something, she looks right at you and says "NO!" then walks away. I think we may be in trouble!
• She is pretty fearless. All the crazy throwy, flippy thingys that Uncle Kent does that scared Kylan she loves!
• She has started learning to count (thanks to Kylan, not me) and is learning her colors. However, when she doesn't know what color something is she calls it "ink" (pink).
• When she is making a decision on what she wants to says "um, um, um . . ." until she decides.
• When she is really upset she doesn't cry, but her chin starts quivering and her eyes get really big and she runs to Tim or I and buries her head in us. It is really pitiful!

Happy Birthday Mya Rae! We love you and are so thankful you are part of our family!

Emmit at 5 Months

Emmit is now 5 months old! I can't believe it! It goes faster and faster with every child!

His favorite things to do are:

• suck on his hands, fingers, clothes, blankets, toys, the shoulder of whoever is holding him, and occasionally a pacifer. He always has something in his mouth!
• Take baths. He LOVES his baths! He just kicks his little legs the whole time! He also loves showers with dad.
• Watch his big brother and sister play. He loves to be in the toy room with them and just watch every thing that they do.
• Watch sports on TV. If there is a game of any kind on TV he wants to be watching it.
• Talk to everyone! He loves to talk and be talked to (you don't even have to be talking to him, but he still thinks that you are).
• Scream/yell. He has found his voice and he usually isn't mad when he does it, he just loves to do it!
• Laugh and smile. This kid inherited his great-grandpa Schank's ability to smile constantly! And we LOVE it!

New Years

So, by new years I wasn't even taking pics anymore. We did have fun! Tim spent all day with Laine and Kent working on reroofing our house, then that night we had Kort and Jessie, Kade and Leah, Abe, Lindsey and Crew, and Kent over and we ate pizza, dips, chips, and cookies and then all left/went to bed by about 9:30. That's what I call a GREAT New Years!
New Years day we ate yummy food at my parent's house and played games, and I did laundry because our washer was broken (but it has now been fixed. I had no idea that a nickle from someones pocket could cause so much damage!)