Our Little Artist & A First

Aiden got to show us around the class “art gallery” at Preschool Open House recently. He was excited to do that but maybe even more excited that his teachers had ice cream cones for the kids after showing us around. Landon had fun playing in the play yard while Aiden ate his ice cream.

This is the “Mom, stop taking my picture” face:

After Aiden’s Open House, we went to Chuck E Cheese with the Kobersteins and Evans to celebrate Brooke’s birthday. Aiden, and Landon nor I had ever been there, so it was a new experience. Aiden wanted to know if all kids in California got to go to Chuck E Cheese. Isaac assured him that even kids in other states sometimes get to go.

My Sweet Littles

Aiden is acting very grown up sometimes. He asks thoughtful questions, figures out difficult concepts more quickly, and is getting more excited about kindergarten. He is also very excited to take a few plane trips this summer and loves to tell people about it and show them on his US Map placemat where he will be flying.

This is his artwork from the super fun birthday party he attended for his friend Xochitl.

Landon is 18 months old! He weighs about 22 pounds. He talks more and more all the time and really shows a serious interest in communicating. He BEAMS when he says something, and we respond to him and show that we understand him. He is very quiet around people he doesn’t know at first and will hardly even smile (or make any expression with his face at all), but once he warms up, he is friendly. He loves Nursery and his wonderful Nursery leader Sister Palmer. He is getting to be somewhat of a climber, so we have to keep an eye on him. He loves to play outside, throw balls, eat almost whatever we’ll give him, and do pretty much anything his brother is doing.

Putting him in his high chair with food is the surest way to get him to stay in one place for a little while…

And just for fun, a blobby-looking #3:

It’s a Girl!

We had our ultrasound on April 22 and saw a healthy little girl!

Aiden has been saying it’s a girl, and he wants to name her Sister… or Mom… We’re all pretty excited.

Yes, I already started shopping. While Mandy was in town, we had a girls’ shopping trip with my mom, and we found some basics, some just plain adorable items, and some matching outfits for our little girl and Mandy’s little girl Emma since they will be about eight months apart. It was so fun.

Speaking of Emma, we had a blast when she and Mandy came to visit. Aiden loved talking about her tiny hands and tiny feet and her cute little face. Landon was super jealous, but I feel like he got somewhat better over the course of the week, so it was a really good experience for him.

So… now the last 25 or so days of school feel like a REALLY LONG TIME. I am ready for it to be summer… time to go on walks with my boys, prep Aiden for kindergarten, take our anniversary trip to Hawaii, visit the Snows in Denver for Sarah’s wedding, say hello and goodbye to my students in August, and then have a baby girl! There are so many good things to look forward to, I can hardly wait!

Dinosaurs

Aiden has been pretty interested in dinosaurs since the fall. Now even Landon has an idea of what dinosaurs are from watching his brother play with toys. If I call him a little dinosaur, he roars at me, ha. Today they got to pick out a few dinosaur books while we were at Half Price Books, and then they both ended up in dino pajamas… so of course, I had to take their picture. It sure is tough to get both of them looking at the camera in the same picture.

Spring Break

This year has been challenging so far. Isaac started a new job with Honda last month. We’ve all been sick more than once even though we are typically a healthy family. There have been multiple colds, flu, and maybe some strep throat.
Aiden had pink eye.

Landon got an ear infection, and we rushed him to the ER because we couldn’t bring down his fever. It was 105 when he got to the hospital.

We are hoping that this month brings lots of good health and good news to everyone! Bring on the spring!

We have lots to be grateful for lately. My Spring Break started on Friday, so my mom took me and the boys to the zoo and for ice cream and to visit her cousin. It was a beautiful day.

Today we had rain, which is SO needed. I submitted our final yearbook pages yesterday, which is a big weight off my shoulders. Landon’s language has been exploding lately, which is really fun to hear. Mandy is coming to visit in a few weeks, and we can’t wait!

Easter Weekend

This weekend we enjoyed General Conference. Isaac made us waffles.

The boys had an Easter egg hunt. It took Landon a minute to figure out what we wanted him to do, but then he had fun.

It was a beautiful start to Spring Break.

Arizona

So, this is pretty belated. About a month ago, we took a short trip to Arizona. I was offered the chance to attend a conference with a few colleagues on the district’s dime, and when I told Isaac it was in AZ, he was all for bringing the boys along (otherwise I definitely wouldn’t have left them for three days).

We had a 7 PM flight that ended up being SUPER delayed, so we didn’t get to our hotel in Phoenix until about 2 AM. It was exhausting. There were no rental cars at all, but we got a minivan, and Aiden was especially excited about that.

We stayed at the Sheraton on the 24th floor or something like that.

I had to laugh at both boys sleeping the same way…

I spent lots of time at the Conference Center downtown, and it was a great conference. In the meantime, Isaac and the boys did some shopping and swimming, and they visited Jon Thursday night. After my conference ended on Friday, we drove down to Sierra Vista to spend more time with Jon.

We got to see where Jon has been stationed and watched him complete a challenge in the pool on base. We were super bummed that we missed seeing Whitney and the kids by less than a week, but it was great to visit with Jon and see where they have been living.

Isaac and I both teach on Sundays (Gospel Doctrine & Primary Singing Time, respectively), so we decided to be responsible and head back to CA on Saturday evening. We went by the Gilbert and Mesa temples on the way back to the airport, which was awesome.

We even got to see lots of cacti… (Are you so pleased, Mandy? )

I’d never spent much time in Arizona (aside from driving through once or twice), so it was a fun adventure, and both boys were incredible travelers.