Over the Christmas Holiday (from December 2012)

It was a different Christmas Holiday for us this year with a new baby.  We pretty much stayed put and it was our first year not having a trip to the farm over Christmas.  But everyone came here over the break to visit and it was great fun.  They got to meet Oaklee and we all got to hang out, exchange gifts, and cousins got to play together.  On Christmas Eve we went out to eat at Dee's it was a fun and different thing we thought we'd try.  On Christmas morning, the boys had another magical time.  I think their highlight was transformers and scooters from Santa.  On Christmas day we went to Grammy and Teebo's and exchange gifts, ate, and played bingo and Skyped with Uncle Jon, Aunt Chelsy, and Aunt Styfe who was visiting them.  It was a great holiday!

Logan the Four-year-Old (from June)

So this handsome little Logan Bear is not so little as he used to be.  He's now four-years-old and able to do so many things!

• He had his first real friend birthday party with about a million kids.  It was exhausting and a blast.  After going to his cousin Porter's Little Gym birthday party at a gymnastics place, he wanted a little gym party.  So instead, this mom created a little gym in the back yard with a balance beam, jump over the rope, tumbling mat, etc.  They had a good time.
• He loves to play with cousins and had a blast playing at Chuck E Cheese.
• He loves to punch Dad's punching bag.  We call him Red Hulk when he does that.  Also, when he gets so angry and starts punching things and scrunching up his face, we call it Logan Hulking Out.
• Logan is a first year preschool graduate.  He was very proud to have his Grammy attend.
• He took swimming lessons this summer and is getting so brave in the water!  He will jump off the side in the deep and swim to dad.  He will go under the water all the time and hold his breath.  He will swim across the rocket cave with much bravery!
• He loves to play with friends.  Some of his friends are Maia, Sawyer, Alexis, Rebecca, and Annabelle.  When he is watching a movie with Maia or Alexis, he puts his arm around them and they snuggle.  It is too cute!
• He unloads the top rack of the dishwasher everyday. 



Silas the 6-year-old (from clear back in May!)

Yes, it has happened, I now have a six-year-old who is also a Kindergarten graduate.  It is amazing how much they learn and develop at this age.  I can hardly keep up with all the new things he does!  Here are his latest things:

• Dad taught him how to shine his Sunday shoes
• He is getting really good at money (trading up coins, knowing how much of each makes a dollar, knowing how much more he'll need, putting his coins in rolls, and especially knowing all the things he wants to buy with his money!) 
• LEGOS!  This boy can't get enough legos and loves to play with them wherever he goes!  He got his own legos for his birthday and just LOVES building things with them.
• Can fly a kite all by himself.
• Rides a two-wheeler bike by himself.  Loves to ride bike or scooter and is now old enough to ride around the block by himself or with his friends.
• He loves to play with friends and almost daily has a friend over or goes over to their house.
• Is a Kindergarten graduate!  I cannot believe that Kindergarten is over.  He had a wonderful year and was blessed to have Mrs. Gallacher, an amazing teacher!  We love her so much and will be sad to not interact with her so much next year.  He is turning into quite a confident reader and will even look at signs and things while we are out and tell me what they say.  We got some Lego books from the library and guess what...Lego books = motivation to read!  He made so many great friends in his class and was sad when school ended because he wouldn't see his friends everyday. 
• He is my little helper boy who I can trust for a lot of things.  He now can unload anything from the dishwasher, not just the silverware or plastic dishes.  He keeps Oaklee safe and happy and helps out with Logan as well. 
• And he tells me seriously about 30 times a day, "Mom, I love you!"  I could learn a lesson or two from this boy.  I sure LOVE him!

On To Summer Vacation

Here's a few fun things we've done in the last little while...then on to Summer Vacation!!!

We were so blessed to have Jon and Chelsy's family here over Easter and we had the greatest time together!  Look at all of those cousin!  They are at the fun age now where they can play together with minimal fighting.

As a family we worked to fill our pebble jar and as a reward we went to Nickel Cade.  This is my boys playing the original Ninja Turtles game.  This was the best!

For Cinco de Mayo we had some friends (and family) from our old ward over for a party.

 Grammy got some fun new summer toys.  The boys had a great time fishing in the wheelbarrow.

Today out of nowhere the boys decided to put on a play for me.  This is the scene where they were roasting marshmallow.  I LOVE these boys!

Busy, busy, busy!  That's how we've been lately!  I never realized how busy the last month of school would be!  We made it through though and now here we are in our second week of summer vacation.  I worked hard the weeks leading up to vacation trying to get organized for summer with plenty of things to do and a structure so I don't loose my mind with 3 kids all day everyday!!!  So far so good.  And I made it through Si and Logan's birthdays...phew! 

The first two weeks of summer we have swimming lessons everyday.  The boys are so much more comfortable in the water than last year!  Silas can touch in the 3 feet section and will try diving to get his rocket in any depth of water.  Today he swam across the pool and only had to touch his teacher for a second to get going again (it was in a spot he cannot touch).  I am SO proud of him!  He's no longer afraid of the areas he can't touch.  Logan willingly went to class on the first day with no hesitation.  He loves his teacher and will willingly put his face in the water to dive for things and even to swim for a second.  He is working on his back rocket and at doing it with no help.  Oaklee is a trooper and hangs out in the stroller and drinks her bottle while observing all the busy things happening at the pool. 

On Saturday we ran (jogged/walked) the American Fork 5K with many other members of the King Family.  We ran to honor Grandma Elva or Jellybean Grandma and Abuelita who have both been battling cancer in the past year.  They are now both cancer free and we are so grateful for countless answered prayers.  It was a great experience to honor them.  At the start we were just walking and Si was walking fast with us.  We kept asking him if he wanted to get in and he kept saying no, stop asking me!  He finally did get in for a little bit.  But he ran most of it, including the last mile which he did in 14 minutes.  He was so proud and keeps asking us when we can sign him up for another race.  Thanks Izzy and Scott for letting us borrow your double jogger! 

The Update

Wow, I'm overdue to update on my sweet family again, as they change so quickly!  Our life has been going about 200 mph lately with our new addition and Tyrel in class three nights a week.  We enjoy having him home on Mondays until he goes to class.  Silas especially enjoys having his Daddy get to volunteer at school each week.  We used to trade off, but have realized that Si just really needs to have his Daddy there, since he misses him so much during the week.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are long...he goes to work, then goes to class, then comes home exhausted.  Let's just say we all live for Wednesdays.  The kids love to have Daddy home in the evening, I love to have him home in the evening, and love the chance to go to the gym, and he loves to not have class, have a few minutes for homework and family, and relax watching some "Duck Dynasty".  Tyrel is our superhero and we are so grateful for how hard he works for us, and so grateful to the Lord for helping us all get through this busy time.  Sometimes Tyrel and I have to sit back and have a reality check saying to ourselves, "It's not always going to be like this...there is life after school!"  And then we just smile :) 

Oaklee

 

• Blessing Day was beautiful.  Her Grandma King crocheted a beautiful dress for her to wear!  Daddy gave her the most beautiful blessing, and it was so great to have so many uncles and grandpas who hold the Priesthood and were able to stand in the circle. 
• Our adorable little princess is already 3 1/2 months old...WHAT!?  We keep telling her we're going to just freeze her at this age so she doesn't get any older!
• She is so happy and we call her our silly little girl.  She gives the greatest smiles and even giggles a little.  Most often the smiles come when she sees or hears Mommy, Daddy, or her brothers.  It's so cute that she already "plays with them".  When she is fussing, I can send a brother to entertain her and give me a few more minutes to finish what I'm doing.
• Pat-a-cake, "playing" with her friend monkey and frog on her bouncer, and talking to her cow are some of her favorites.  She is already reaching for the dangling toys and shakes them.
• As far as sleeping at night, she has been a dream baby!!!  Since about 2 1/2 months old, she usually sleeps straight through the night (10 or 11 to 7 or 8).  If she does wake it's usually at 5:30 or 6:30 to eat and go right back to sleep...yes...dream baby! Sleeping long stretches during the day...not so great, but I can't complain.
• Keeps eating more and more, can't keep my milk supply up with her hungry appetite and have to supplement with a few ounces of formula each day.  Also can't keep up with her out-growing outfits.  She is wearing 3-6 month clothes.

Logan

• This handsome little man is coming up on his 4th birthday and is in the Sunbeam class at church.  He is so proud to be in primary.  Still a little shy about answering questions and participating, but he's always silently engaged in singing and sharing time.
• He has many friends now and loves to go play at their houses or have them come over to ours.  When he watches a movie with Maia or Alexis, he cuddles up with them.  But when I ask him about it, he gets all embarassed and makes the angry, "Mom, stop embarassing me!" face (I didn't know that face would come so young!)
• He loves going to his neighborhood preschool and randomly will connect something he as learned at preschool with something we do at home.  I have to be very careful about what I throw away, because every once in a while it will be the most important thing in the world to him and then my hear will break as he sobs uncontrollably and tells how that picture he made is now sitting at the dump!  If Si is ever being mean to him (hits him or yells at him) he will yell back in anger, "Si!  That's one of my preschool rules!!!"
• He absolutely cannot physically keep his hands off Oaklee.  I would definitely say she is one of his best friends!  He has so much love for his little sister and they both already mean so much to each other.

Silas

• At school he has been learning about caring for his teeth and has been extra focused on caring for them at home...to the point that sometimes he'll decline candy because it will be too much for his teeth!
• He is bringing home books that he reads every night, he is now beyond the 3-letter phonetic readers and is reading a little bit harder books with 'sh' 'wh' and 'ch' words.  He usually grumbles about reading and feels it quite a chore, but he's really an awesome reader, and it's so much fun for me as a Mom to watch him grow in his reading!
• My picky little eater is still quite picky, but has made some HUGE progress on his eating.  He now finishes his dinner almost every night and has even been trying and liking (though he'll try not to show it) many new things that I never dreamed I'd see him eat until he was a grown-up.
• He plays with friends a lot and is learning the skills of being a friend, dealing with friend problems, and we're trying to teach him to stick up for himself.
• His favorite things in the world right now are screens.  He'd be on the Nexus or playing computer games 24/7 if we'd let him.  He's quite the pro at every Phineas and Ferb game!

Tyrel

• Is going through some changes at work right now and quite sad to be loosing his boss. 
• Is trucking through to the end of the semester, staying on top of his school work and staying awake in classes.
• Being super-daddy and super-hubby every second that he is home.
• And unwinding and enjoying life with every moment that he gets to watch "Duck Dynasty", his new favorite!
• He cannot get enough snuggling with his baby girl and the special love he has for her is one of the reasons I prayed to have a girl.

Elena

• With how swamped I am all the time with just taking care of our family and our home, I actually feel quite good and that my Mother Heart is in the right place about 80% of the time.  I have gone through phases but I'd say for a long stretch now, I have just loved being an at-home-mom and enjoy the time with my children, without having to work so hard to enjoy it!  There are certainly moments, but I'd say I'm quite happy and just love my life. 
• I also cannot get enough of my little Oaklee.  I just can't even describe the love I have for that little girl and for the difference it is to have a girl. 
• I am training for my 3rd Moab Half Marathon and it's been rough...not going to lie.  I'm trying to balance nursing, getting off the baby weight, running training, and the lack of time to do it all in.  But I'm sure excited about the progress.
• I've become quite interested in nutrition and have seriously changed some of my own eating habbits, and working hard on changing those of my whole family.  I want to do all I can to help those I love most to be better nourished!