Oh Landen.

Landen has some new Primary teachers at church and this is what one of them wrote to me on Facebook about him:

"I have your little Landen in Primary now. What a crack up! Shirley Callaway was giving the lesson and reading a story. She said the word "damage" and he said, "Damage....that's a swear word!" Also, "How many more minutes? Like 12 or 13?" "I just have one brother. My baby is not a brother." "I need 3 red hearts and two pink ones. Red for my dad and my brother and my baby. Pink for my mom and for me." You must laugh at him all day long."

We do laugh at Landen a lot. He is so smart and says the funniest things. I can just see him telling his teachers that Tanner is his baby and that he has to have a pink heart. Sometimes I wish I could be a fly on the wall and watch my kids interact with others and the world around them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving. What could be better than hanging out with family, relaxing, and eating? Nothing! Well this year certainly didn't disappoint.

Mike got up early to participate in his annual Turkey Bowl with his family and friends. One year I need to get up early and go watch. I never have in all our 10 years of being married. You can tell they are getting older because for the past couple of years they have held the event indoors on a soccer field instead of braving the cold November morning. Also, I have to hear stories for days about injuries and sore muscles obtained during the game.

I spend my morning pouring over the ads planning my attack for Black Friday. I love a good deal!

In the afternoon, we went to a church in Kaysville and ate Thanksgiving dinner with Mike's side of the family. I can't even remember the last time we spent Thanksgiving with my parents. My dad goes stir crazy and believes Thanksgiving weekend is an invitation to travel.

We ate yummy food and the kids had so much fun running around the church. It was nice not having to worry about them breaking something in someone's house. Here are just a few pictures of the cousins hanging out.

Tanner pushed Noah around on this car almost the entire time. They are only a week apart and are the best of friends.

I love this picture. Gage and Brayden have gotten to be so close lately and they love hanging out together.

The Stats Are In!

I took Landen to the doctor last week for his 5 year checkup and here are his stats:

41 inches tall - 20th percentile
34 lbs - 10th percentile

Landen grew over 2 inches! However, he only gained a pound which the doctor felt was a little concerning. I also mentioned to him that Landen snores and that he has been so tired lately. I have to wake Landen up in the mornings for school and he has been known to sleep in until 9 or 10 on the weekends. The doctor looked at Landen's tonsils and sure enough they are huge! The doctor felt all of this information warrants a trip to an ENT. We will see what he has to say!

Happy 5th Birthday Landen!

Landen turned 5 a few days ago. I can't believe how old he is. He still is my little man but definitely growing. We decided not to have a friend birthday party this year since he had that last year. Instead, we celebrated pretty much all week long. He was able to open presents from us on his birthday. The next day we went to Chuck E. Cheese with both sets of grandparents where he received fun gifts from Mike's parents. A few days later, we celebrated again at the Zampedris where he got even more presents. Spoiled little guy!

From us, Landen got Transformers and a Hot Wheels track.







We had never been to Chuck E. Cheese in Layton and the pizza was just as bad as we had heard. However, the kids had a blast playing all the games and winning tickets. I think Mike had a lot of fun too. Landen got more transformers from Nana and Papa. Just what he wanted. I feel kinda bad but while Landen was opening his presents, we all kinda focused on Tanner. He was stuffing his face with cupcakes. It was hilarious. He had 3 and just kept pounding them.
























Today, we headed over to my parents house where Landen received more Hot Wheels toys. My dad jokes that we barely celebrate his birthday a day and for the grandkids it goes on all month. Happy Birthday Landen!

Walk Around The Sun

When someone has a birthday at Landen's preschool, they get to participate in what's called the 'Walk Around The Sun.' The birthday child gets to be in the center and walk around a lighted candle as their teacher describes something that happened in each year of their lives. I was able to go and watch Landen 'Walk Around The Sun.' Afterwards the kids sang Happy Birthday and Landen was able to hand out birthday treats.

I am so proud of Landen and how hard he works at school. He is such a self learner. Landen would listen as we reviewed the alphabet and sounds with Gage and Landen just picked it up on his own. Landen is now starting to read. He is always reminding us that he needs to do his homework and read his books. I can't wait to see what the future holds for him!

Doing Chores

So Mike and I haven't been that great about enforcing chores around our house. We definately need to. Mike told me this story the other day about how he told Gage it was going to be his job to start filling Beau's dog bowl with food everyday. We only fill Beau's bowl once a day and once it's gone that is all he get's. Well, I guess Mike took Gage out into the garage and demonstrated how to scoop out the dog food. He told Gage that Beau gets 4 scoops a day. Mike said Gage was whining and pouting about the whole idea the entire time. Mike then left Gage to fill the bowl by himself. Mike said it took Gage a really long time, but finally he came in with the bowl practically overflowing. Mike asked him how many scoops he had put in and Gage replied, "I put in 8 scoops so I won't have to do it tomorrow."

They Did It!

Just so I know for future trips down memory lane, Gage and Landen officially know how to ride their bikes. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures or video of this momentous occasion because Mike and I were both too busy helping. We haven't really taken them out since back in July when my sister Brandy made it her goal to teach my kids to ride and failed. Well, I couldn't let it go on any longer with Gage being 7 and seeing kids younger than Landen riding without training wheels.

Mike and I took the boys over to the church a few days ago and it only took Gage a couple of tries until he could officially ride. I feel bad we didn't make an effort to work on it sooner since winter is upon us. Landen, being my stubborn child, didn't quite get there until the next day. However, Landen is a little better than Gage. It is only because he is daring and fearless while Gage is a little more cautious. If one were to get hit by a car one day, I would put my money on Landen.

I am so proud of my boys. I just hope we don't have to relearn this Spring!

Gage Graduates From Speech

Gage has been in Speech for his articulation at his elementary school since he was in kindergarten. He has worked so hard and graduated today. His speech teacher, Mr. Owens, let him invite a few of his friends and they had a graduation party at lunch. Mike even went and ate with them.

I am so proud of Gage and how hard he tries to make his words sound correctly. Way to go! Love ya Gager!

Toothless Gager

Finally, Gage lost one of his front top teeth. It has been hanging on by a root for over a week and it finally fell out. I'm sure the one next to it will follow soon.

How Many Sippys?

One of my biggest challenges at work is getting kids to drink. Based on a child's weight, there are so many ounces one should drink in a 24 hour period. Hardly any kid reaches that goal while they are in the hospital let alone a normal, healthy child. Well, except maybe Tanner. He is my drinker. It's kinda hard to tell, but Tanner is actually holding 3 sippy cups. Here he has milk, juice, and water all at once. He is rarely seen without at least one sippy cup under his arm like it's a football.