Our Little Walker!

Well...it's definitely official...Joshua is a walker now! He prefers walking over crawling and has figured out how to stand up from sitting. (without holding onto anything) It's crazy how fast he went from walking to running!!! He sure is fast!! Now I think I'll be working off quite a few calories everyday trying to keep up with him...which is probably not a terrible thing! Lol!

Happy 4th Of July!!

We all had a great Fourth of July weekend! Since the 4th fell on a Sunday this year most of the city's events happened on the 3rd. So early that morning we went down to watch the parade, which the kids loved!! Then after the parade we walked over to the park where they had a bunch of blowup jumping things for the kids to play in! Emma usually loves those things, but on her first jump a bigger kid landed on top of her...needless to say she was done after that. So Emma, Josh, My mom and I decided to go and get some shopping done while Jamie and Zach stayed and played for a while since he was still loving it all! The next day (4th) we went back to my parent's house for a barbecue and to tye-dye shirts for an upcoming family reunion. It was so fun to help the kids pick out their colors and to help them create something! We had an awesome fourth of July weekend with family and are sad to get back to the regular work week. Why can't holidays just stay around a little longer?!

Happy Fourth Of July!

Too loud for Zachie!

Watching the Cool Cars!

Zachie feeding a tortoise.

Emma feeding a tortoise.

Emma's First Tooth Fairy Experience!

Emma has had a loose tooth for quite a while now and it finally fell out! I've been giving her ideas of how to make it more and more loose. I've had her bite into corn on the cob...I told her that if she bites really hard on it then the corn will splash into her mouth...I know...I'm terrible! But it worked pretty well at making it even more loose. This last time though she bit into an apple and had forgotten all about her tooth! It was SOOO close and I guess she just couldn't keep her tongue away from it! She came running upstairs with it in her hand and said that her tongue pushed it out! She was so excited!! It's kinda sad though...cause now the cute little smile that I adored is different!! I guess it's ok though...it's just going to take some getting used to. You should have seen the look on her face when she woke up the next morning to find that the tooth fairy had come and left her a whole dollar!! Priceless!! It's also pretty funny though too...she now has a slight lisp from the huge new hole in her mouth! Lol!

When we thought all hope was lost...

Zachary amazed us again!! I read that it takes kids who use pullups a lot longer to potty train since they can be used just like diapers. We were using them at night with Zach until his very recent set back...when he was wearing them all day. He has since been moved back into underwear during the day with pullups at night and has been doing really well. When I read this article about pullups however, I decided that I was going to try the underwear at night and see what happened. Well...this morning he woke up dry!!!!! I was so excited!!! And the look on his face when he came and told me after he was awake that his underwear stayed dry was priceless! He was so proud of himself!! I'm so proud of our "big boy"!! I'm hoping that the excitement this time will last and he will stay potty trained...I'm just trying to stay very positive with him and it seems to be working so far! Keep your fingers crossed!! :)

Brandon's Wedding Trip

Jamie's youngest brother recently got married in the Cardston, Alberta Temple. So we took our first road trip in the new van! It went really well...the kids were so good for the trip thanks to our DVD player. I honestly don't know how we drove anywhere before!! I love that thing!! Julie (one of Jamie's sisters) and her husband, Paul, ended up driving with us also! So when there wasn't a movie going Auntie Julie played with them in the back! It was so great to have them with us!!

The wedding was so beautiful and Brandon and his new wife Mekaiah looked so happy! It was kind of funny because a few of us had never met her...so after they were married I walked up and said "Congratulations" and "Nice to meet you"! Emma just adored her new Auntie Kaiah...she said that she looked like a Princess! So for a big portion of the reception Emma walked hand-in-hand with the bride...I wonder if Brandon was jealous? Lol!

The Monday following the wedding most of Jamie's siblings and their families went to Fairmont Hot Springs near Banff, British Colombia. It was another long drive, but so worth it! For two days we all lounged in the hot springs and relaxed together! It was so fun to spend time with everyone again! Josh was hilarious in the water! He was wearing an infant life jacket (the ones with the piece behind the head that floats up so they can keep their head out of the water) and he would just lay back completely relaxed with his arms up over his head and his legs crossed! He almost fell asleep a few times! It was so funny!! We weren't able to get any pictures of it though since we were all too wet to bring the cameras...so sad! Everyone had a blast!!

After Fairmont we drove back to Tom and Sandi's house and stayed there for a few more days before heading home. The kids loved playing with their cousins and Aunts and Uncles! They also loved having fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house!! I'm so glad that we were able to make it up there and spend time with family! We're all missing everyone now and so sad the fun had to end!

The Family

Group picture...minus 3.

Auntie Julie and Emma

Emma feeding Josh breakfast

One of the beautiful views

Checking out the mineral deposits from the hot springs

What??

So, remember the post that I recently put up about Zach being completely potty trained during the day...please disregard it. The little stinker has decided that it's just too much of a hassle to stop what he's doing now to go into the bathroom to pee and poop on the toilet. He did really well for our recent trip to Canada (another post coming soon on that) but immediately when we got home he changed his mind. Grrr!!! I just keep chanting in my head "there aren't any kids in school in diapers!" Just wanted to vent my frustrations a little...thanks for listening! Lol!

Goofball!

A few weeks ago Zachary was driving somewhere with Grandma and she noticed in the rear view mirror that he was picking his nose (a very common thing lately with him). So she told him that he needs to keep his fingers out of his nose because it's gross! Zach then looks up at her with his finger still up his nose and a big smile on his face and says "but look how far up it goes!" Now we know that he's not really "picking" but more like "cave diving". Eeeeewwwww!!!!

No Training Wheels!

Yesterday was just a great day full of new and exciting things! It was Zach's third birthday and also Emma learned how to ride her bike without training wheels! We took the training wheels off for her on Saturday for a little while and let her try it out...but she was far from being able to do it by herself. So first thing on Monday morning she asked if she could get dressed and go outside and practice. About an hour later she comes running inside to tell me that she did it all by herself!!! At first I was thinking that she had just been able to pedal a couple times before falling over (what she had been doing). So I come over to the window and watch while she gets up on her bike, takes a couple of tries at getting started, and then pedals two houses down, turns around in their driveway and comes back to her starting place! WOW!!!! She is such a big girl now!!! She was so excited and proud that she had accomplished it!!! I was too!! I think I was probably more excited than she was for a little while!! This is a pretty neat thing for Emma since she has been getting easily discouraged lately! I'm so proud of her for sticking with it and practicing!! She did it!!! Now when she gets discouraged again I can remind her how she practiced at riding her bike when she thought she couldn't do it! She can accomplish anything she puts her mind to...I hope she learns that!! I'm so proud of her!!

Our 3 Year Old!

Zachary turned three years old yesterday and was LOVING the extra attention! When he woke up I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said that he wanted to go for a bike ride to the park! Good thing the weather was gorgeous!! So Emma, Josh, Zach and I went for a bike ride to the park that is just a few blocks from our house. It worked out perfectly that we went right when school was getting out, so a bunch of our friends from church went to the park also and ended up all singing Happy Birthday to Zachie while we were there! It was so cute! He doesn't quite understand what a birthday is yet or what people mean when they wish him Happy Birthday...he just repeats it right back to them. But you can definitely tell that he enjoys people telling him anyway! :) Later in the evening we went to Jamie's softball game where Zachie got to play at another park and ride his bike some more. Then on the way home from the game we stopped and picked up a special birthday treat. We stuck three candles into his tasty vanilla frosty and sang happy brithday to our little stud...he was so excited!! I think he really enjoyed his special day!

Zach went for his three year checkup about a week earlier and he is growing great! He is now about average for his weight which is a first for him! It was kind of funny because the doctor asked him a question about what he was going to do for his birthday (to check on his speech) and ended up getting an earful about how he was going to have lots of balloons and a big surprise! (Still not exactly sure what he was referring to.) It was hilarious to see the doctor look over at us like he wasn't expecting a huge description! So funny! We are so happy for our big 3 year old and are loving watching him grow! We can't wait to see the fun things that are in store for this happy little boy!! We love you Zachie-Doo!!

Zach's a Big Boy!

Zachary is finally potty trained during the day! WOOHOO!!! I honestly wondered if the day would ever come when I could say that!! He has gone a few days with no accidents now and I couldn't be happier! Zach is so excited to be able to wear "big boy" underwear now and loves to pick out a new pair every morning! It's so cute!! One of the ways that we were able to get him excited about it was to tell him that they were "secret" underwear. The secret was the "trap door" to make it easier for him to go pee! So funny!! He was so excited about his secret that he had to tell everyone! I'm so proud of my little "big boy" and I love to watch him grow! :)

Mommy's Boy!

I just have to tell you that I'm loving the fact that Zachary is a mommy's boy. He just loves to cuddle with me and will come and sit on my lap and give me kisses and hugs just because! I love every minute of it! It doesn't matter where we are either...in line at the grocery store, outside playing, or even making dinner. This little boy has so much love to give! I know there will come a day when he won't want to be seen hugging his mom and will absolutely refuse to give his mom a kiss in front of his friends...so until that day comes, bring on the kisses my little man!!

Happy 1st Birthday Joshie!

Our little Joshie isn't so little anymore! He turned 1 year old on the 10th and I still can't believe it!! We had a little family dinner for him on the 11th...we ate Carne Asada (Yummy) and of course some tasty cake after singing Happy Birthday! Josh had his very own cake that he thoroughly enjoyed! It was so cute to watch his face as he tasted the first bite then looked at us as if to say "I can really eat all this?" He also had his 1 year checkup about a week later and he is growing great and the doctor was very excited to see that he is gaining weight. His last appointment put him in only the tenth percentile for his weight (17 lbs)...now he's in the thirteenth. (20 lbs 4.5 oz.) It's still funny to me that he's even on the lower end since he has out eaten his daddy a few times at dinner! Crazy!! He's definitely close to walking though...he easily stands up holding onto pretty much anything around him and he will let go and stand there for a short time before grabbing for it again. Anytime now! It's still just amazing that he's growing so fast! Time Flies!!

Playing with a new toy

Showing Mommy his new bubbles!

Singing Happy Birthday

The first bite!

Mmmm...

Joshie loves chocolate!

Emma's Playing Soccer!

Emma started playing soccer!! She was so excited to start playing with "her friends". (Any other child around her age.) It's so cute to watch them all get out there and kick the ball around! She had her first game two Saturdays ago and she was really into it for the first half! There are about 8 kids on the teams so they only play 4 of them at a time and rotate every few minutes. She was really excited to get to play until halftime. For some reason we could not get her to go in again...she got really scared and completely refused! Eek!! I was so sad because I played soccer for 8 years and loved it...I wanted her to love it too!! It's ok, though...she had another game this last Saturday and she didn't have any problems at all! She actually gave me a thumbs up just before a kickoff! :) So, we're looking forward to a fun soccer season watching Emma have a blast!!

Emma-Lee Earl...Lucky number 7!

Look At Her Go!

It's only the end of the half...but there's no way she's going back in...what a Turkey!

Happy Easter 2010

Easter morning Jamie and I woke up to Emma running into our room in hysterics saying that we REALLY needed to come out to the living room because the Easter Bunny came!!! It was so cute!!! We got up and went into the living room to find that he left little tiny candy eggs all over the living room and each of the kids had their own special treats too! Josh was having a great time crawling all over collecting the robin eggs in his mouth! I had to follow him around with a rag since he finally started drooling blue (Multicolored candies). It was so funny!! After watching the first session of General Conference we headed over to my parent's house for dinner and an easter egg hunt! The kids had such a fun time!! Josh even had his own egg to find...and was so excited when he could grab it! He didn't really care that there was a toy car in it...just the big purple egg was enough for him! Lol! I really think one of the many perks of having kids is enjoying the fun holidays through their eyes! I love it!

Playing in the Snow!

I thought Spring meant warm weather, bright flowers and occasional rain...Not SNOW!! Eek!! Well...a few days ago we got a pretty big snow storm...the kids loved it!! Emma and Zach couldn't contain their excitement when I told them they should go outside and play in it! Josh wasn't all that excited about it, so he just stayed inside and played with Mommy instead. I can't wait until he discovers how much fun it is to play in too! Until then his big brother and big sister will have a blast! :D

Just Josh

Ok...here are just a few cute pictures and a video that we've recently taken of Josh. He's almost a year old now and I still can't believe it! He has very recently gone from not being very mobile at all to crawling so fast and standing up on about everything! He's going to be walking soon for sure! Josh also astonished us all when he smiled one day to reveal 4 new top teeth! Wow! It's just so crazy how fast they grow!

Family Home Evening Snowman!

Jamie, Emma and Zach decided to make a snowman in the front yard. It was so cute to watch them all work together to make him "the perfect snowman". They couldn't really think of any hat to give him so Jamie just decided to give him a very cool (no pun intended) Mohawk. Emma thought that was so funny! After having some fun with that, they came inside to thaw out and have dinner. Then we all helped to make some chocolate no-bake cookies! Yummy!! Daddy was having a craving!! Lol! After eating a few of the cookies we all played in the living room with daddy's laser pointer. It was so funny to watch Josh chase it all over the place!! Who said that they only entertain pets?? While Jamie was leading Josh all over the living room with the laser, Zach said "Joshie's trying to get it so he can barf on it!" We all had a pretty good laugh over that one! He's been saying the goofiest things lately! That was our fun night! :)

When Zach was asked to say "cheese" for this picture he said "cheeseburgers and french fries and ketchup!"