Silly Boy

Aiden got a fun Christmas stocking from Aunt Janae.  It was full of fun little toys to play with like Play-Doh, giant jaw breakers, sticky hands, and … silly putty.  One night, Aiden was playing with the silly putty at bed time and fell asleep.  This is what we woke up to…

Bessy the Messy Penguin and the Last Day of School

Aiden and his class at school wrote and performed an opera called Bessie the Messy Penguin.  Aiden's teacher actually sat down with the kids and created the opera with them.  Grandma and Grandpa Baker were able to come with us to watch his play.  For a group of kindergarteners, it was really impressive.  Aiden had his own little solo.   Here it is (he sings "why don't we cheer up and do something to help her not be so messy"):

Aiden's last day of school was June 8th.  Wow!  I went to school with him and watched his end of year video that his teacher put together.  It included all of the highlights from the year. I felt so nostalgic and teary-eyed.  It felt like crossing off another year that I get to have this very special little boy at home.

Chucks!

You know those blue pads you get at the hospital that catch fluids?  They're called chucks, and Rich was able to come by a case of them a few years ago.  They have come in very handy this week as puke catchers.  It's never a good sign when you have done an entire load of laundry in the middle of the night, which is what happened last night. 

Last Wednesday, Connor came down with a GI infection.  At times, he was puking faster than I could clean it up, and sleep has been something I haven't been getting much of.  Yesterday, things were looking up and he turned the corner by bedtime.

However, Mackenzie woke up in the the middle of the night bawling.  She had puked all over her bed,  which is something she repeated several times.  She was asleep on the floor this morning and her bed once again had vomit on it.  Then Aiden started puking this morning.  I fear we have some very long days ahead.

Piano

A month or so ago, I saw a post on Facebook by my all time favorite piano teacher, Kerri Green.  She said she was re-opening her piano studio; she is an amazing teacher and pianist.  There were squeals of glee at the Hymas household, and I quickly got Aiden signed up for lessons from her.  He starts in a couple of weeks.

Since that news, I have rededicated myself to my own piano practicing.  I really can't sight read to save my life, but I have set some goals to learn all of the hymns that are sung in church and to learn the 50 Greats for Piano from the Yamaha music book. The question is when?

Back in the day, I used to get up early and go workout at the gym.  That, of course, is not an option now that I have kids and a husband who is usually out the door sometime between 5 and 6 am.  So, I had to find a different solution to the problem.  I contemplated it for months before I finally got myself psyched up enough to go to the gym after I dropped Aiden off at school, and put the other two in the gym's daycare for an hour.  

That has left those early mornings free.  Until recently, I've used them to sleep, since I am, at times, a little sleep deprived thanks to my little ones.  However, I am proud to say that I’ve gotten up at 6:00am for the past 4 weeks and practiced the piano before the kids got up (I have a Clavinova that can be used with earphones), and I'm feeling good about my progress.  I'm to the polishing up stage of Bach's Invention No. 1, and I'm on my 6th hymn. 

Easter Sunday

Sunday was Easter, and the Easter Bunny paid a visit to our house.  The older kids got a lamb pillow pet and blanket and Connor got Nanny McPhie.  We ate ham and asperagus quiche for breakfast, an Easter tradition, and then the Baker clan came over for a delicious Easter dinner with ham, homemade mac’n’cheese, broccoli, and Magelby's style rolls.  It was fun to have an excuse to pull out the china, crystal, and table cloth we got for our wedding.  I wish I had taken a picture.  I forget how pretty those dishes are.  Makes me want to use them more often.

Easter Egg Hunt

On Saturday, April 23, we went to our neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  We had so much fun!  There were potato sack races, egg spoon races, parachute games, and of course, the Easter egg hunt.  Everyone brought a treat to share, and the kids came home loaded with goodies.

Two Front Teeth...

Family Resemblance

At Connor's 1 yr birthday party (post coming soon), we started looking at some old photo albums.  Here are some pictures of the kids when they were one.  I think you'll see a slight resemblance. :)

Missing Front Tooth

Breakfast in Bed

Aiden and Daddy made me breakfast in bed this morning--a yummy ham and avocado omelet and hash browns, and PEZ for dessert.  Aiden said "[he] wanted to serve [me] because [I] serve him all the time."  Love that kid!

Santa

The other day, I stopped at the mall while we were out and about for some sorely needed stuff.  It was suppose to be a quick in and out stop.  However, Santa was right next to the store we went to, AND there was no line, AND we had missed all of our opportunities to see the man himself.

Sadly, however, I did NOT have my camera with me.  But, I'm so glad we stopped.

In years past, Mackenzie has usually burst into tears when she sat on Santa's lap.  Not this year.  It was so fun to see her light up with the magic of Christmas.  I wish I had my video camera with me so you all could see.  Aiden was unusually shy and apprehensive about seeing the big man himself.  I think he was now a little intimidated and nervous about meeting him.   Good times!

Aiden

A few weeks ago, one of the other mom's of Aiden's kindergarten class stopped me when I was picking Aiden up from school.  She said she had a story for me from one of the days she had volunteered in class.  She was passing out the snacks to the class.  That particular day everyone got two cookies.  Aiden came up to her with one of his two cookies and held it out to her.  She wondered if he had dropped it on the floor or something and asked him what he needed.  He said, "no, it's for you."  She said she had a hard time not crying because of his thoughtfulness.

Lately he has become Mr. Helper around the house.  He's started making his bed, sometimes, without being asked.  He clears off the dishes from the table, and he tries to help me tidy up the house.  Tonight, he absolutely cracked me up.  He helped me out by putting toothpaste on my toothbrush, turning town the covers of my bed, and laying out my pajamas.

I guess that's what they mean when they talk about the "successes" of motherhood.  I sure do love my little guy.  He's growing up way too fast.

Aiden's Birthday

At least once a week, I tell Aiden that he needs to stop growing up, to which he always replies, "I can't."  This week marks another milestone, his sixth birthday. To celebrate, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Baker's house and had a small family party (the other November birthdays also got celebrated).  His favorite gifts were a gun from his dad and grandpa, and Lego Star Wars for the Wii, which he hasn't stopped playing all week.

It's amazing to see how much he's grown.  School has been great for him!  He loves kindergarten.  He's already becoming an amazing reader and is one of the brightest kids in his class (this will come as no surprise to anyone who knows Aiden).  He just finished up his first season of tee ball, which he really liked.

He is so enthusiastic about life, and he's genuinely friendly to everyone.  I've always been really proud of this characteristic of his.  He befriends anyone who seems to need a friend and just accepts everyone.  I hope that life won't extinguish this amazing quality.  I'm grateful to get to watch him grow up.  I can't wait to see what he'll accomplish.

Here are some pics from his party...

Halloween

Despite having 5 sick little Hymases, we had a nice Halloween.  Friday, we went to our ward's Trunk or Treat activity.  It was a lot of fun.  There were lots of costumes, food, and candy.  The kids went as a soldier, princess, and pea in the pod.  Sadly, I did not take any pictures.  They got gobs of candy at the trunk or treat part of the activity.

Saturday, Aiden, Mackenzie, and I went to Grandma and Grandpa Baker's house to go trick or treating.  Aiden was a cowboy and Mackenzie was a ladybug (we have too many costumes for the kids to choose from).  We only got to go to about 3 of our neighbors houses before we got rained out.  But they still managed to have pretty full buckets because Grandma and Grandpa's neighbors made up some special sacks just for our kids.  They are spoiled, I know.


All in all, it was a really fun month full of Halloween activities here on campus.  Good times!

This is the Place...

Aiden was off from school Thursday and Friday for UEA, and we took advantage of his time off and went to a fun Halloween activity at This is the Place Heritage Park.  Our neighbors got us two free passes, so I only had to buy mine.  It was a beautiful, warm autumn day.

The kids dressed up in their Halloween costumes.  Aiden was a cowboy, Mackenzie was a ladybug, and Connor was a pea in the pod.  The activities at the park included a trick-or-treat neighborhood, a story telling witch, kid friendly crafts, train rides, tractor pulls, pony rides, and panning for gold.  There was plenty of fun for everyone.  The kids had a GREAT time!

Our neighbors Andrew and Josh

Ride Em, Cowboy!

Future rodeo star

There's gold in them thar hills

Wagons, Ho!

Outlaw

Happy Halloween!

Luv Sac and Prince Caspian

I have been trying to interest my kids in letting me read chapter books to them for years.  I've tried everything from Harry Potter to the Mouse and the Motorcycle with no success.  This fall something has changed.  We started reading Prince Caspian from the Chronicles of Narnia, and they can't get enough.  Every night, they like to cuddle up under a blanket on the Luv Sac downstairs and have me or Dad read to them.

Who wouldn't LOVE those little smiles?

Hair Cuts!

Cutting their own hair seems to be something that every child does.  Unfortunately, the bug bit at my house, again.  The other day while I was making dinner, Aiden got the scissors out and clipped his and Mackenzie's hair and then Mackenzie finished the job.  Sadly they both have been grounded for the last 3 days.

Mackenzie LOVES to go to Cookie Cutters to get her hair cut.  So, I felt in a pickle because I know they are affordable, do a great job because they see it all the time, and they are convenient.  But we don't want to reward bad behavior.  In the end, I buzzed Aiden, and took Mackenzie to Cookie Cutters.  However, I didn't let her watch a movie (standard when they get a hair cut there), I didn't let her have a balloon, and I didn't take any pictures while we were there.  The worst thing about it is that she looks so stinking cute with her new little bob, but I can't tell her that.  I'm terribly afraid that the kids are going to do it again.

Before

Aiden After

Mackenzie After

Kindergarten

This week was Aiden's first week of school.  He loves it!  He really seems to be enjoying the experience.  His teacher is Mrs. McDonald, and she is Mary Poppins.  The creative things she has for the kids to do is amazing.  She started the week off with an introduction to monarch butterflies by having live catepillars for the kids to watch turn into butterflies.  The week ended with a cowboy dress up day, and they had lots of fun and learning in the mean time.

Bees Baseball

Mackenzie has been asking all summer to go to a Bees game.  Rich actually got the whole weekend off, so we took advantage of it and went.  We always like to watch the games, and this was no exception, but I must say it was LONG!  At 10pm, we were only at the bottom of the sixth, and Connor and Mackenzie were done.  Every time we plan what we think will be a nice family outing, I forget to factor in the baby.  Rich and Aiden thought about staying and riding the train home, but in the end, we all came home together. Sadly, that also meant that we missed the fireworks.  Aiden ended up getting a foul ball on the way out of the stadium though.  It just plopped right over the stadium wall, and Aiden and Rich chased it down.