LET'S GO RIDE A BIKE

Colton and Asher were much older than Kyler when we finally taught them to ride a bike. I didn't want to wait that long for Kyler and thought it was about time to learn. Asher was happy to step in and teach Kyler for us.

He was very patient with his brother and even made sure that he was well protected - helmet and elbow and knee pads.

Kyler's not ready to go solo yet, but he'll get there. For me, the best part was when his dad pulled up and was able to see this moment.

My goal is for Kyler to be riding his bike (without training wheels) by his 6th birthday. I hope he agrees!

BRACES!

January 5, 2010. 7:51 am - Asher and Kyler are dropped off at their elementary school, the first day back from winter break. Big sigh of relief from mom. I then pick up Colton from home and we drove to Robison Orthodontics for our 8:30 am appointment. After some x-rays Colton is sitting comfortable with a frozen drink in hand. (yes, this is an orthodontist office!) I, on the other hand, am not sitting comfortably - I'm writing a check...a VERY LARGE CHECK! Once the paperwork is handled, the Dr. has seen Colton, we are now very close to actual braces!

Here they are! That's a lot of $$$ for little bits of metal!

The point of no return. Colton's ready (or not) for it all to begin.

The first of only two bands is put on a back molar.

One last look at that metal-free (pain-free) mouth!

Now the first bracket is placed. This really brings back memories for me -

not good ones, but memories nevertheless!

This part seemed to fly by! More than halfway done with brackets already!!!

This does not look pleasant! I had to include it though.

Colton said it was as comfortable as it looks!

Colton's first look at his braces.

Robison Orthodontics is on facebook now. They asked Colton if he would like to make a little video for their page. I thought it was a great way to finish off the day. (Isn't the office so cool?! We love it!!!)

Once we were done here, we went to Colton's dentist to schedule a tooth extraction - YIKES! He still has one baby tooth and it needs to get out! By the time that was done, it was lunch! So much for getting Colton back to school. We grabbed In-n-Out (Colton's choice of course) and as he was eating, he popped a bracket off!!! We called the office and were sent down there to have it repaired. So here's Colton in the chair for the second time today!!!

We really do like Dr. Robison, but I hope we don't see him until March!!!

Here's Colton's new smile!

It may not feel like it to Colton, but 18 mo. will fly by!

(I promise, Colton)

Kyler (in true baby-of-the-family fashion) could not be upstaged by Colton's braces. Here he is with his new haircut all spiked up! He asked for it, he got it! Pictures are great, but I should be recording this kid! He had both of the hairstylists there cracking up at everything he said or did.

DECEMBER

I just thought Roscoe would be a cute start to this very large post. Isn't he adorable.....well, that is when he's NOT peeing on your bed on Christmas Eve!!! Apparently in the hustle and bustle of the night's events, Roscoe didn't get outside as often as he needed to. He jumped up on our bed that night (nothing out of the ordinary) then started digging to China (he's done this on a few occasions WITHOUT peeing) then assumed the position. That's when I started yelling "He's peeing on the bed!" Tony freaked out (especially since he was sleeping) and jumped up, grabbing the dog in one hand and the comforter in the other. (thankfully we had a $9 comforter on top of our quilt and was able to throw it in the wash quickly) As Tony and Roscoe were leaving the room, Tony shrieks "He's still peeing!!!!!!!" (I have to admit.....that part was HILARIOUS!) Well, let's go back to the beginning of December. It was the first Saturday and Colton's orthodontist was throwing his annual Snow Party (he also has an annual Swim Party in the summer) We had invited the cousins, but they were busy helping Mamita move into her shoebox.....oops, her condo. So this year it was just our three boys. Asher was the only one to happily pose for me, so he gets two photos!

Kyler wasn't posing.....he was trying to throw a snowball at me!

(it was one of many)

Asher getting ready to battle.

Colton in action.

The snow was fun, but Kyler was in Heaven in the Game Truck! He could have cared less about the food, snow, his brothers, the huge blow up slide, the bouncy house or the face painting clown (ok, to be honest, he would have NEVER cared about the clown) He only explored other attractions when we forced him to stay out of the game truck!

On the last day of school, Asher and Kyler had parties. Normally their school only allows the party the last hour of the day. This year, they had the Kindergarten party at 12:30 and the 5th grade one at 1:30. I was soooooooo happy to be able to attend both. So, off to Kindergarten. First, they made gingerbread houses.

Next, Kyler made an ornament out of his handprint.

He ended up with a trip to the treats table. After getting his Capri Sun, cookies and cupcake, he sat down to enjoy the feast. Apparently a feast would not be complete to Kyler without a massage.....yes, MASSAGE! He asked, I complied, then took a photo. Oh, to be the baby of the family!

Christmas Eve. We had a wonderful evening (I'll get the photos and then post about that later) with all the extended family. After they left, the boys were able to open one gift: their pajamas. Don't you like our festive skull and crossbones?!? They did! Here's our annual pj picture by the tree. Complete with Roscoe - you know it was his first Christmas (a fact the boys pointed out to me several times) Can you believe how tall Colton is.......he's taller than me now!

Christmas morning the boys came out to a roaring fire with the stockings hung with care. (translation: We played a fireplace dvd complete with fire noises and Christmas music. I didn't put up their stockings and we didn't want to search for them, so we just used Chipotle bags - they were also used on Halloween for trick-or-treating.) Pathetic or genius.......hmmmmm.

The boys even "warmed-up" to the fire!

There aren't photos of Kyler opening gifts.....he mainly complained about them. It wasn't the action figure he wanted, that wasn't the right color, he wanted the video game for the Xbox360, not the Wii. He'd open a gift, complain, be called over to me, get a little lecture about being gracious, followed by an apology from him, then back to his gifts to start the cycle again! I kept telling myself, he's 5.........he'll learn........right?!? Colton and Asher have already been educated in this area and they loved what they got! Here's Asher with his big gift....his new bike!

Colton only wanted one thing for Christmas - Call of Duty, Modern Warfare II for the Xbox 360. Now, remember that he's a teenager.......he has a lot of teenage attitude. So I decided to have a little fun with him. I didn't get him the game.....don't be sad though, my mom bought it. My plan was to give him his other Christmas gifts ($$cold hard cash being his biggest one$$) and then be done. Wait for a little bit so he could sweat it out, then give him Mamita's gift. Colton was really confused about not getting his one wish, but he was gracious!!! (hope renewed for Kyler one day) He was sooooooo good about it! My mom was not happy with me and in tears because Colton didn't get the game yet. Finally we gave him Mamita's gift and you can see by the reaction.....delayed gratification was worth it!!!

And once this gift was opened....

this was all we saw of the boys!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

A few things I'm thankful for:

My Family!!!

My Testimony

That I live in this day and age....I love my modern day luxuries, like running water, electricity, dishwasher, washer & dryer, refrigerators - can you imagine living without all of that?! Not this city girl!

My 20 year marriage

My Friends

Blogging

Scouting

That I have 3 independant boys! (well, thankful & frustrated)

I'm also very happy to entertain friends and family in our home. Thanksgiving day we'll welcome my mom, Mita, Jean-Jacques and Linda and his six kids for dinner. Then all the extended family will be joining us for dessert that evening. I also get to host Christmas Eve for all the extended family. I can't wait! I love my family and having them close for holidays....we don't need a holiday to get together though!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

THE PROBLEM WITH MY BOYS......

The problem with my boys is........they do and say sooooooooo many things I DON'T WANT TO BLOG!!! Sure, we can't stop laughing at the dinner table.....but do I really want to share the conversation with everyone!?! Like the first time Kyler met Jean-Jacques' girlfriend and said - and I quote "I'm Kyler and this is my dog, Roscoe. We're going to cut his balls off!" Or the morning that I awoke to a conversation between my boys about who would wake me for scripture study.....Kyler says "I know, why don't we just fart to wake her up!" And then there's the dinner conversation where Kyler wanted to know..........well.........nevermind! That conversation SHOULD NOT BE SHARED! (ok.....if you really want to know.....call me) So do you see my problem!!! I want to blog more....share the fun I'm having with these boys.....tell all the things that make me laugh.....but it's not always appropriate! Maybe tomorrow they'll have better manners.........maybe

LIBERTY BEAR

Kyler was so excited to bring Liberty Bear home with him on October 30th. He was able to have Liberty visit for the entire week! On Saturday Kyler took Liberty Bear to his flag football game. He enjoyed being on the sidelines....even though it was a little too warm. Gripping action out on the field (ok....they're just 5/6 year olds)
Kyler and Liberty Bear on the bench.

Roscoe made quick friends with him.....except when he mistook Liberty for a chew toy. Thankfully the confusion was cleared up and Liberty went back to school in one piece.

HALLOWEEN 2009

We decided last year that 13 was our cut off age for trick-or-treating. Colton was fine with it - especially since he was able to go to a party! Asher (in his penultimate year of trick-or-treating) was really looking forward to all the fun of running around with his little brother. The Tuesday before Halloween Kyler became ill. Thankfully it was short lived and he was back to school by Thursday. Then Friday night came......Asher was sick! He was not well throughout the weekend and MISSED trick-or-treating!!! (asher is back to normal now and was spoiled with clearance candy deals) The saddest part of this (for me) was the lack of pictures. Colton wore a demon mask to the party, but quickly took it off. Asher didn't dress up. Kyler wore his costume from last year and didn't pose for me.....until we got home that night. I looked over to the table and saw this little power ranger worn out!

Tony asked if we had to undress him for bed. I thought it would be nice to have his tennis shoes and costume off, but as we started to help him - he woke up and started talking a mile a minute! After a little more awake time he happily went back to dreamland.

Maybe next year we'll get some better pictures...with all three of the boys.....IN COSTUMES!