Football

Kaden just finished his first season of flag football and he loved it!  We were lucky to get on a really great team - it was a fun group of parents and kids and our coaches were GREAT!  His team was the Buccaneers.  He really didn't know anything about football going into the season, so he learned a lot and really enjoyed it!

It cracked me up that he is so meticulous about holding the ball just like the coach taught him - that's a good thing I guess.

At Baskin Robbins after one of the games - coach bought ice cream for everyone!  The boys had a great time and so did all of the little sisters!

Kaden and one of his best buddies, Gabe

Kaden (who DID NOT want his picture taken) with coach Keith.  We had such a great coach - he was SO good with Kaden!  He said it was because Kaden reminds him so much of himself - really competitive and occasionally a sore loser!  Nice!

Kaden is so proud of his trophy!

Kaden said he definitely wants to play football again!  Now soccer starts this week!  Ugh - why do I do these things to myself? :)  Good thing these programs are so cheap here in Maricopa!

Evil Lexie

Lexie is perfecting her evil glare!  She is getting quite good at it!

Diaper Cake

One of my very best and cutest friends, Jen, had a baby girl last month.  I helped throw her a shower and decided to attempt a diaper cake.  It was really fun and I think turned out cute (if I do say so myself!)

Just for fun

We got ready for church quicker than normal one sunday and I was taking pictures of Lexie - because I have pics of Bailey in this dress about this age.  And of course the older kids wanted in on the action!  Just random pictures.

New Leaf

At the beginning of the school year I decided I was turning over a new leaf and was going to be organized!  I was majorly motivated by this website.  I love it!  So I made a weekly schedule for both the older kids as well as a chore chart.  Now I have to say this is our first real attempt at a chore chart and it is working like a dream!  Kaden knows exactly what he need to do in the morning before school without any nagging from me - well, ok, with less nagging!  And Bailey knows what she has to do before she is allowed to watch cartoons.  That's not to say that every box gets marked every day - but its always good to have something to work towards, right?!  I also made a little To Do list for myself.  It's for one week at a time and I scheduled out all of my household chores each week.  I also have a goal that I work on for a few weeks at a time and I get to check the box next to the day if I got it done!  It's amazing how motivating a checkmark can be. :)  So for you born organized people - this is probably second nature to you.  But this has been a huge help for me to schedule everything out for the week.  The last thing I did was make homework stations for the kids to use for homework - they work great at minimizing the teasing and fighting - since they can't see each other!  fabulous!

Utah

Ok - So I am horribly behind on updating. Back in July we took a trip to Utah with Matt's family. Here are some highlights:

The seriously long drive! My darling Lexie slept for about 20 minutes of it!

Swimming at the hotel - Patrick and Kaden

My high-maintenance child. He got chlorine in his eyes and was SERIOUSLY freaking out. You would have thought someone cut his arm off! I finally distracted him the the ipod and a cool rag on his eyes. Oh, that child!

Took the kids to Wheeler Farm

Toured the Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Temple Square - I have only been maybe 2 or 3 times before and it was a first for all my kids!  We loved it!

A trip to Farr's ice cream up in Ogden

We stayed up in Park City, not too far from Olympic Park - so we thought we'd go check it out:  There were guys practicing the K90 and it was amazing to watch!

We also got to see our good friends Jodi and Mason.  Thanks for comin up to park city - we loved seeing you guys!

Just some journaling . . .

This may be a little long - so feel free to skip on over it! Not gonna hurt my feelings! :)

Kaden has started Kindergarten and already seems older. On about the 3rd day of school, Kaden comes in and whispers "Mom, I have a secret to tell you. But you can't tell any other girls! Cause that would be embarrasing!" After I promise not to tell he says, "I have a girlfriend!" and he hides his face acting all embarrased. Really? Who is it, I ask. "Weeeeelllllll" long pause. . . "I don't actually know her name. . . . but she sits at my table in school!" Ok, you don't know your girlfriends name? He tells me, "Not yet, but we're gonna be friends!" I am dying by this point and trying so hard not to laugh because he is so serious! He has since told me that her name is Chloe and she is, in fact, NOT his girlfriend. Because him and his friends have to run away from the girls on the playground!

Another funny one was early one morning he came out and said "Mom, I have something to say that you are NOT going to want to hear!" I'm a little worried at this point. "Justin, in my class, HAS 10 GIRLFRIENDS!!!" Really. He has 10 girlfriends? Kaden says "YEah! He told me!" It's funny how fast they pick this stuff up at school - makes me feel really old! Isn't Kindergarten a little young for all this girlfriend/boyfriend crap?

Kaden is also playing football for the first time and he LOVES it! He is one of the oldest in his age bracket of flag football and he is doing really well. He is so proud of scoring a touchdown at both of his games so far! I debated if he was a little young to start football, but I'm glad he's doing it because he feels so successful at it. It's good for him to have a boost of confidence - since he is such a perfectionist and so hard on himself! Without going into too much detail - I'll just say that Kaden can be a tough kid and has been especially challenging lately as we have been dealing with certain issues. But the good thing is I feel like I understand him better than I have before, and am workin hard to help him the best I can! I have always said, Kaden is so extreme and driven and intense - I feel like if I can channel that in the right direction there will be no stopping him! He is a good, good kid and is a great big brother!

Bailey:

This picture of Bailey is SO typical. She loves auntie Monique's pointy black shoes! Bailey is so observant and is very opinionated about what is fashionable. This past sunday she told me "I liked Jen's brown shoes and her hair today. It was curly!" And this is a friend we saw for 10 seconds! Bailey is always the first to notice when I wear a new shirt or have a new haircut. The other day I got ready and walked out of my room, Bailey looked at me and said, "I like your makeup today. But you need lipstick!" Seriously - where did I get this girl? But honestly I love it - at least I know someone will notice new hair, makeup, or clothes. When other certain un-named male persons are oblivious. ;)

A couple weeks ago we were at target and were looking at all the clearance shoes - Bailey disappeared and came back wearing adult size big huge wedges. "These are the shoes I want, mom!" When I told her no, try on these little girl's pink shoes - she came back with 4-inch leopard print heels! And was running in them! She really couldn't understand why I wouldn't buy them. Next we were onto the socks/underwear department. We walked down an aisle and Bailey started screaming "Mom! Boobies! Look mom! Little girl boobies! Can I have them?! Can I?!" Apparently they make padded push-up bras for little girls. And that's what Bailey wanted. No barbie or candy - a pushup bra. And she's 3. Fabulous.

Bailey seems to be enjoying the new school year as much as I am. She steps into the oldest kids role while Kaden is at school. She LOVES helping with laundry. I know - she's insane. I'm counting the days til she can do all of it! She really is so helpful with most of the chores around the house. She loves her dance classes - ballet and jazz. She is so proud to tell everyone she is a dancer. She spends most of the day coloring and playing "mom and dad and kids and baby". Bailey has always come up with the funniest names for her babies. I wish I could remember all the funny names - the two she has stuck with are "Encie and Anka" She carries around her baby, purse, keys, and phone and is happy for hours on end. Well, at least til she wants another snack. This girl is the snack queen and never wants to eat any meals! We're workin on that one! We are doing preschool at home this year and I LOVE it! She loves sitting down with me and doing her workbook pages. She is the personality that this works perfect for her - and it means less running around for me! She knows a lot and has 2 more years til kindergarten - so I'm not too worried.

Bailey is a pretty easy kid - but, boy is she sneaky! She is always getting into things and is smart enough to do it when I'm on the phone, in the shower or asleep. A few weeks ago I wake up at 2am to the sound of my bedroom door closing. I come out to find Bailey sitting at the kitchen table coloring and eating oreos! And she closed the door so I wouldn't hear her! Honestly! I can't even list all the things she gets into - it would take up the whole page! A couple weeks ago my friends Jen was at the house and we were visiting. I sent Bailey in to wash her hands. All the sudden I realize I haven't seen her for a few minutes. We find her in the bathtub, standing up, fully clothed, the water about to overflow, and bubbles EVERYWHERE! She had emptied an entire bottle of shampoo in the toilet. And, I guess decided that was so fun, she ran the bath and emptied more shampoo, the body wash, and conditioner into the water! Oh, that girl! And this is not a rare occurance!

Well, there's an update on Bailey's latest. We sure love her - sneakiness and all!

Oh, our little Lex! She is almost 18 months old and is at such a fun age (if you dont count the whole emptying all the cupboards phase - I need to do a whole post on that, because boy, do I have pictures)! Lex is such a sweet little girl and is so fun. She still has her red hair - which I love, love, LOVE! And is startin to get a little spunk to go with it! That girl has some attitude on her and loves to strut around the house with a purse on one shoulder and a baby in the other arm. She is Bailey's shadow - so its no wonder that she loves shoes, purses, phones, babies, etc etc. Lex is always worried about other peoples feelings - she gets really upset when she sees someone crying - she'll go lay be them, rub their back, it's pretty cute! I am typically not a cryer - but last time I was upset about something, she wanted me to hold her constantly. She would grab my chin and turn it toward her and then just stare at me with a worried look and put her chubby little hand on my cheek! Poor little thing was so worried. Speaking of chubby - she still have her delicious chubby legs! Even though she is getting taller and thinning out - she still have her perma-rolls on her thighs! I love it! She is talking a little bit - mainly just mommy, dada, bubba (which she uses for bailey and kaden), DON'T! is quite a favorite, uh-oh, bye. Overall, she is just a good natured baby! (and yes I call her baby, because I don't want her to grow up!) We just love Lex and really can't imagine our family without her.

Day of Firsts

My first day of having a kid in school ALL DAY!
Although Kaden went to school last year, it was Early-K so it was only half day. Today was my first time having a kid in school all day! I'm sure most moms can relate - I definitely had mixed emotions. I was sad last night - my baby is too little to be in school all day :(! But I was also excited for him and all the things he will get to experience. I was worried because there's so much more I wanted to teach him first - and now I have no control over what he is exposed to all day. I have to admit, I was also happy to only have my 2 girls at home all day. But ready or not, the first day came. . . and he did great!

Kaden's first day of Kindergarten:

Kaden's choice for breakfast - pancakes with whipped cream and berries!

He was SOOO nervous - I love that he was trying to smile

We saw those smiles a little! Lex could tell he was stressed - she kept giving him hugs

Apparently not happy to be standing in line

I think his nervousness somehow seemed to translate to him being very moody!

Poor little things was so nervous and stressed. He was fine until we got to the school - he said "I'm not sure about this! That playground looks too crazy to me. I think we should cancel school and go home." Sorry, not gonna happen. So after we stand out on the playground for awhile, he teacher tells them to line up. All the kids lined up against the wall and all the parents just kinda stood there looking at them - I would be nervous too with 50 people staring at me! As the teacher walked them inside, Kaden walked by and said "Am I even in the right line? I don't know where I'm supposed to go!" He was so worried. Inside, we found his seat, put his backpack away, hugs and kisses and I left. I was relieved that he seems to calm down after I left - yes, I was standing outside peeking thru the window for quite awhile :)! I'm glad the first day is over - my little Kaden doesn't not handle change so well. Once he is used to it, I know he will love it!

A friend of ours made Kaden a little book and it is SO DANG CUTE - I had to share. It's called "Super K":

There was once a boy named Kaden. Super Kaden that is!!! Super Kaden was getting ready for his first day of Kindergarten. He ate his super breakfast. He said his super prayers. He brushed his super teeth and combed his super hair. Starting school is even a little scary for Super Heroes... (and that is super, duper OKAY!) So put on your Super imaginary cape, give your super mom a hug and enjoy your first day of school!

You really have to see it to see how dang cute it is - with pictures in place of some of the words. Thanks, Jen - you are the best! So creative! And perfect for a 5year old boy!

Bailey's First Day of Dance Class

Practicing her twirls!

Bailey's anticipation for dance class has varied - one minute she says she is excited and the next minute she says she's too scared to go! She had a great time and I think will really enjoy dance classes - she is taking ballet and jazz. I asked her awhile ago if she wanted to play soccer like bubba (he started right when he turned 4) or if she wanted to do dance. We can see what she chose - she has no interest in soccer at all! Since we are doing preschool at home this year (which I LOVE!) I wanted to get her doing something to have a bit of social interaction. Being dressed up in a pink leotard and twirling around is definitely Bailey!

It was a fun and exciting day. I'm excited for my kiddos and all the new things they are learning!

Monique's Farewell

I'm finally getting around to posting pics from Monique's farewell. It was a great weekend - and we are grateful we live close enough to go home for the weekend.

I think Logan was lifting Kaden onto the roof to get the frisbee. We spent most of the day after church outside. My mom hosted a great dinner for a TON of people - so we were glad the weather was beautiful so we could eat outside!

Auntie MoMo with the neices and nephews - Kaden, Neva, Lexie, and Bailey

The stake president came over and was able to do the setting apart at the house - which was so nice! And made it so much easier with little kids!

Then we ended the day with game night and homeade ice cream! Doesn't get much better than that!

I'm proud of Monique for going on a mission. She really had a hard time deciding and I admire her for trusting the spirit and listening to the answers she was given - even when she was a little disappointed with her call (she got over it). She is getting ready to leave the MTC this week and sounds very excited and anxious to teach! She will be an excellent missionary!