Smoothie mustache

The other night I made a berry Julius type drink to go with dinner. Luke loved it. After he had been at it for a minute we all looked over and found this cute little smiling face:

What was quite impressive about Luke's feat was that for the rest of the meal Mikey kept trying to give himself a mustache and running to the mirror to check it out only to be disappointed at the lack of any 'stache whatsoever. (And then at the very end of the meal Lance even finally admitted his surprise at his own clean face as apparently he had been working on his own smoothie mustache through the whole meal--like sons like father ;)

The teacher and the student...

Recently Mikey has been quite enamored with telling time. He has a couple of watches that he can't live without (and he is also not allowed to turn on a show or wake us--in theory--before 7:30) So Lance has been working with Mikey on telling time. He is still a little young for it so he's more learning how to state what the time is even if he doesn't know what it means.

So the other morning after Lance had talked to him about time again he found Mikey laying on the floor here in front of the cable box clock explaining his recently acquired knowledge to Luke.

Luke was diligently listening--as he usually does when his big brother is trying to help him. So cute.

We were not actually privy to the subject matter of this teaching moment, but no doubt it was of vital importance...

....or vital mischief. They're a couple of little boys--mischief is to be expected.

Mikey Quote of the Day

"What?! You can't ground me every time I'm naughty!" ...Priceless.

Mikey is 4!!

The years are going so fast!! The long awaited day has finally come and gone. Mikey has been talking about turning 4 for about the last 6 months and I think the day lived up to the hype.

Mikey turned 4 a week ago. I worried that after his birthday was over he would be sad and ready for his next, but instead all we do now is talk about how he is 4 and all that it brings. He tells us all day about the things he can and should do now that he is 4. Today he even said that 4-year-olds listen better to their moms and dads...hey, who am I to argue with that!

It really does amaze me how grown up he seems every day. He is a huge helper and such a great big brother. He is also so enthralled with every baby we see and will give it all he's got to get a smile out of a baby. So I have high hopes for his relationship with the new baby when he comes. We are so crazy about this little man--from the very first day we met! :)

Day one

One year

Two years

Three years

And here we are at four! I personally didn't think the party was as smooth as it could have been, but Mikey had a blast so I count that as a success!

Mikey and Luke were a great help in getting things ready for the party (well, Mikey was anyway. But Luke gets credit for trying.)

Mikey has a sudden obsession with superheros. Batman was the chosen one for the day.

So here was my 7 1/2 months-pregnant-and-husband-in-finals Batman birthday cake creation. It wasn't quite as great as I had hoped, but I was still pleased enough. And again, Mikey was thrilled and that's what counts! (I've got to stop having babies at the same time of year every time--it makes for difficult birthday party execution!)

A little present opening...

Some hanging out...
Bampa getting into the Batman spirit of things...
A few games and prizes...


And we're done! Happy Birthday, Mikey!!!

At least I know he loves me...

As per the usual with Luke, Saturday morning he was wanting to sword fight. Lance and I were awake, but still in bed and Mikey and Luke were kind of running around waiting for us to drag ourselves up and take them downstairs. So Mikey got a couple of plastic hangers and he and Luke started sword fighting.

After a minute Lance kind of got up and brought the usual theatrics and excitement that he brings to whatever game Luke and Mikey are playing. So they were all sword fighting and playing and I started to sit up and was just kind of laughing at them all. Suddenly Lance grabbed me around the neck from behind, pointed his sword at me and said something along the lines of, "I got mama! Stand back!" I, in turn, screamed and yelled something like, "oh no!"

Well Luke was standing at the foot of the bed right in front of me and his little face just froze and then slowly turned from worry to fear to and then to this sad, little, slowly growing cry. After a few seconds he was just standing there with tears streaming down his face.

We immediately stopped, of course, and started telling him it was okay and we were just playing and all that. I grabbed him and hugged him for awhile and he just cried for a few minutes like that....how cute, but sad is that?! The sweet little thing. He was so worried about anything happening to his mama (either that, or dad should worry about how scared Luke is of him... ;) hee, hee. Just kidding)

Too Big Too Fast

Let me start by saying that Mikey is still so very young and small and I know this. He will be 4 next month. That's still SO little. I know. That being said...HE'S GETTING SO BIG SO FAST! That's how I'm feeling right now. He just seems so grown up lately! I've been looking at pictures from a few years ago--from before and around the time Luke was born and it was like I had forgotten he was ever that little! So I'm feeling all nostalgic and missing this little face that won't ever be this little again...






Of course, I sure love my "big" little man. I'm amazed and proud of him every day with how big and grown up he is. He does so many things by himself and is such a big help. He says the funniest things, asks the funniest questions, and it amazes me how smart he is.

Last Sunday he gave his first talk in Primary. I couldn't have been more proud. He was super excited about it and has been asking to be able to give a talk for the last two months (I know, right? Who asks to give a talk?) I wasn't sure how he would actually be considering the fact that in February (on my birthday, actually) he begged to be able to go up and talk during fast and testimony meeting and when we got up there he completely froze (giving me the chance to say a few words ;) But he was amazing. Dad helped him and he repeated every word loud and clear. I could understand EVERY word (even "dispensation!") That's quite a feat in the 3-4 year old group, as some of you may know :)

He is such a great big brother and so excited to have another little brother. I love watching him and Luke laugh and play together. (Yes, these are rubber bands on their heads. Note: mom was NOT there. Take up the issue of putting rubber bands on their heads with DAD!)

Mikey teaching Luke to blow bubbles

But even though he is big and grown up, he does do naughty things (only now and then ;) He's usually pretty good at going to time out. But after a long day of playing can one really be expected to stay awake during the whole 2 minutes of said time out? Yes, Lance put him in time out here and went back two minutes later to find this. He was fast asleep. (And yes, those shorts are on backwards. He gets himself dressed most days and most days does a pretty good job. But figuring out front and back can be a little tricky :) Love this little man.

Guke

My little Luke

Time for a little update on our little Luke (21 months). I'm having issues lately with how big he is. I feel like it was only yesterday that he was born and yet here he is, as big as Mikey was just before Luke was born and about to be a big brother. Kids just grow too fast. (I'm having the same issues with Mikey getting so big, but more on that later since this entry is dedicated to Luke).

I'm remembering how much kids change between 18 months and two years--mostly in their ability to understand, listen, and communicate. Luke is talking so much. Much we don't understand, but more and more we get.

Our absolute favorite thing right now is that he starts most words with "G." Some of the best examples:

Gankie (blankie)
Get go! (let go!)
Gock (sock)
Gook (look)
Guck (stuck)
Guke (Luke)

Gock, gook, guck, and Guke are a little hard to differentiate and so cute! Yes, he calls himself Guke or Gukie. So now it's all Mikey will call him. It's so funny.

The other favorite is "stop it." He doesn't use the usual "g" though--it's a "b." So he goes around saying "bop it!" I love it.

Here is the best "gankie" example with the best little giggle and his continuing auto-response to seeing a camera.

Luke was also our brave little boy this week because he had surgery :( It was about the simplest surgery a kid can have--he had tubes put in his ears, but it was still a little traumatizing at moments so I was so proud of him. He was getting ear infections right on top of each other. I wouldn't even know when he had one because he hardly complained! He was just used to the pain :( But even at the end of an antibiotic his ears were filled with fluid. Poor kid. He was great the morning of the surgery and rode away from us in the little wagon before the surgery without a fight. But waking up from the anesthetic was rough and the drops in his ears for the past 5 days were torturous it seemed! But he does seem so much happier and is sleeping later than before. (Definitely worth it just for that!)

Otherwise, he's just a funny, cute kid. On this particular occasion he just randomly pulled his shirt up on his head like this and walked around for awhile.

Hair cutting time! Luke's hair was getting out of control. Mikey really hates getting his hair cut so we've put it off for awhile because we were postponing the fighting with Luke as we do with Mikey. But Luke, as we should know by now, is just totally different from Mikey. He just sat there and took it.
He was even all smiles when he saw me with the camera.What a handsome boy.

And last, but not least, we continue to talk about this kid's obsession with sports and balls and of course his amazing skills. When he's not sword fighting, he will throw and catch all day if he finds a willing soul. This video was at 20 months. Check out his catching skills and that form! ;)

**I know I sound like I think he's this prodigy or something. I'm not really planning his professional career in sports or anything--he's only 21 months! (Lance and his grandpas might be, though...) But I'm mom so of course I'm proud of everything he does.

Run You Through

If you have been around Luke recently then you know--the kid is obsessed with all sports utilizing a ball (more on that later) and sword fighting. Today we talk about sword fighting. (I apologize for the lessons in sword fighting he gives to all your kids.)

Thanks to Mikey's temporary obsession with knights around Halloween, we ended up with two swords for his costume. But Luke will also turn any little thing he finds into a sword. Of course any sort of long pole works best, but smaller things will work, too. Pencils, chalk--my favorite was when he handed me one of two little blue penguins from a Wendy's kids meal and started hitting mine with his.

We are constantly trying to keep the sword fighting at bay (and safe for all kids, walls and electronics in the house.) But there is one thing that has developed that just makes the whole thing too cute to be mad about.

Just once or twice, while Lance was indulging him and his obsession, Lance pretended to get run through with the sword. Shortly thereafter Luke started doing this:
It's the cutest thing I've ever seen. And these videos aren't even his best work. I love this kid.

Under the Table

Tonight we went out to eat at the Training Table with the boys. Half way through eating our food, I noticed Mikey picking at something under the table and then little green pieces on his fingers.

My response: AHHHH! What are you doing?!!! Stop! Stop! Stop!! That is so gross!

I then proceeded to explain to Mikey, while practically ripping his fingers off with a wipe and dumping a whole bottle of sanitizer into his hand, that someone was very, very naughty and gross and put their gum under the table, which is very gross and very naughty, and sometimes people do things that are gross, and someone who was naughty....blah, blah, blah you get the idea, I couldn't stop saying it.

Mikey finally cut in: But there is a LOT. Some are hard. Some are soft.

I just stopped. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. Lance, on the other hand, knew. He was hiding behind his food laughing so hard I thought he might pass out. Boys!

Shake that thang!

Best. Video. Ever.
Mikey hula hooping on the Wii.

The difference a few months makes

A few weeks ago we went to St. George for a break from the cold and fog. Not that it was super warm there, but it was at least not snowing and freezing. We chose a hotel with a pool 'cause it had been some months since the boys had gone swimming. That turned out to be a good choice because they LOVED it. At the end of the summer they, of course, loved swimming, but Mikey was still very clingy to the edge of the pool and to us and Luke wouldn't dare get in this little boat. Apparently they progressed over the last few months...by swimming in the bath tub...? Who knows, but it was great and they loved it.

Luke loved his little boat, as you can see. (I know I've said this before, but MAN that kid is the cutest thing ever--though I'm pretty sure it's so that we don't kill him, but more on that another day.)

And Mikey just swam up and down the pool in his life jacket like it was no big deal. (Trust me, last summer it was a big deal!)

(There is actually a pool at my gym. I feel a little bad about not taking advantage of that more now. Time to go swimming)

Snow Time

This year has been so fun with the snow because both boys are big enough to enjoy it. They don't always last too long and Luke will sometimes lose a boot and just stand there in a sock screaming, but he goes right back out there. This is one of my favorite pictures because Luke is just so little still that he is the cutest thing all bundled up in his snow clothes. I could watch him walk around like that all day.

Mikey and Luke will definitely venture out alone in the snow, but it is SOOOO much more fun when dad is there.

Another cute little Luke picture

And finally a snowman! Lance has been complaining about the fluffiness of the "greatest snow on earth" because he couldn't get it to pack enough for a snowman. Well finally we had a wet snow!

They did a fabulous job, don't you think?
(Yes, we need to work on Mikey with his EXTRA cheesy grins. What can we do? He's 3 1/2 and gives it all he's got)

And the other good thing about wet snow? The ability to make snowballs. The best thing about this video is Luke just using the same snowball over and over again. And this is only a brief shot of this. It went on for quite some time with the same snowball.

Christmas PJ's and Christmas morning

What's that you say? It's almost Valentine's Day? Well I say, "back off!" I was busy this month, alright? I thought that since my boys keep insisting on wearing their Christmas PJ's then it's really actually current to post these pictures. (Seriously, Mikey will settle on his other PJ's when these ones are dirty, but otherwise it has to be these.)

I know that most everyone does the whole PJ's on Christmas Eve thing, but I never really did that growing up. Well this year I saw some cute ones so I thought I'd try it. I think we actually let them open them up a few days before Christmas so that they could get used a few times before Christmas was over. Who knew they'd be so insistent on going against the social norms and continuing to wear them long after the season! Those rebels.

And here is Christmas morning. Hey, I have a handful of other Christmas morning pictures that I never posted so at least I resisted the temptation of posting the full blown Christmas tree and present opening in February. (Mostly because I have like a gazillion other pictures from January to catch up on--so stay tuned for the next few days.)