I know, it's been forever since I posted. I have a ton of Christmas pictures and such to post, but first I am going to do what I was going to do BEFORE the holidays and never got around to it. A kids update.
Ammon: Oh my goodness, he has grown so much and not just physically! He's really become a lot more outgoing, and has done great giving scriptures and prayers in primary (a big step for him) plus performing magic tricks for everyone. He has also started to love reading. We got him a set of scriptures for his 8th birthday, and he has made a goal to read the whole triple combination by himself this year! We are also just starting Harry Potter 7 with him-- we have read all the others and watched the movies this year, and he loves them.
He did a one month taekwondo session earlier this year, and would love to do more. (the schedule of the classes is really hard for us!) He has gone through several phases of favorite toys, including pokemon and bakugon-- but they seem to be short lived. His favorite thing is still his bike and playing outside. He also loves to set up little "camps" with Talia that have different areas for activities like reading, craft, animals, etc.
Although our struggles with his temper have not gone away, at least now he realizes he has trouble with losing his temper and tries to control himself. It really is a good thing.
He really likes to lecture Talia and BJ with things that he has heard me say to him, like "that's enough, you just need to LET IT GO!"
One thing about this year that I thought was really funny was that he told me that at school he would go around asking people if they thought he was weird. If they said "yes," he would say, "okay," but if they said no he would wave his arms around and act crazy and then go ask them again. Yes, that's my child.
I'm proud that he is getting conscious of the environment (always asking me to bring a bag so he could pick up trash on the way home from school.) And he is also gaining a testimony of the gospel--and even reminds me often of things that I or we should be doing.
Talia: Her most favorite thing to do pretty much for the whole year was to draw pictures or do crafts. We have boxes full of her artwork! Just recently she has started to like writing a lot as well and is always asking how to write things, and love to put our family's names on anything and everything. She went through a typical "princess" stage around her birthday, but other than that she really has not wanted anything to do with anything "girly." She loves her stuffed animals, loves to play pretend with Ammon, and spent many hours outdoors during the warm months collecting worms, rolie polies, and other bugs. She also finally has learned to ride her bike (with training wheels.) Right now BJ is her best friend and worst enemy. They really are starting to play together a lot, but also constantly fighting. He really can be a pesky little brother, and I think she resents the amount of attention he gets.
Talia is so so eager to please-- she is always pledging to do better and to help more-- she just has a little trouble following through with her pledges when it comes down to actually doing something. She can be a great helper though. She is so quiet and I'm constantly having to tell her to speak up (hmmm... I wonder who she got that from??) unless I am telling her to stop yelling!
BJ: He's 2-- need I say more?
Okay, yes, I do. What better entertainment is there than the antics of a 2 year old? He is a bit happier generally than Ammon and Talia ever were at his age. He is pretty outgoing too (at least for our family he is!) A year ago he couldn't even say a single word, unless you count "MAAA," and now he can say or at least try to say pretty much anything. He did sign quite a bit, but has stopped doing that since learning to talk better. He still has trouble with consanants, and many words he says with an "h" like choo choo train is hoo hoo hain. But he has recently learned to recognize the whole alphabet. A few months ago he started pointing out "o's" everywhere he saw them, and then "m's" and suddenly it seems he knows them all!
He started an obsession early last year with Blues Clues, which quickly morphed into an obsession with the Wiggles. He still likes the wiggles, but I wouldn't say obsessively. He really isn't much into toys-- mostly just playing with his brother and sister, being a pest, getting into things, and playing outside. Speaking of playing outside-- he has no fear of heights, and by age 1 was climbing up everything at the playground (including the big A-frame bars!) and sliding down the slide by himself.
His favorite friend is Audrey Varney, and lately he is constantly asking to go to "Hee's house." They are so cute together, and play so well. He loves nursery too and has not once in the past year had any problem with staying in there-- although lately him and Audrey have been little trouble makers and get the whole group riled up!
One more thing about my little one (who by the way, is very insistant that "I'm the baby!") is very large. He officially now wears the same size shoe as his 4 year old sister (who does not have small feet!) I actually don't think he is as tall as Ammon was at his age, but he is pretty tall and quite hefty!
That's all for now, though I'm sure there is so much I left out. I love my kids-- they are my challenge and my joy!
Ammon put on a great magic show for his friends.
Yes, they look a little bored in this picture, but really they were pretty enthralled by the magic!
Russ and I had a few tricks up our sleeves as well:
And then there was the pinata. A large stick and a bunch of boys eager to run in to get the candy! We had a couple of close calls...
Then there were the presents:
A guitar from mom and dad.
A really big cake. (And it's a wand, not a log!)
We made our annual gingerbread house, but this year it turned into...
a gingerbread stable, thanks to one of my collapsing walls and creative family. The nativity characters were then made out of cinnamon bears and santas.
And here is our little Nakey boy, about to open his Christmas PJs.
And of course, the donning of the PJ's. We also had a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve (didn't get pictures) and had the kids sing and blow out candles. Sissy didn't really get it-- she kept asking how Jesus was going to get his cake when he doesn't live here.
Here is Sissy and her "fuzzy balls" that she got from Santa. It was the number one thing on her wishlist ever since we saw them at JoAnn's and I told her that she would have to ask Santa for them.
Ammon got a bike, which I failed to get a picture of. Here he is figuring ot the cypher that tells him where the bike is hidden.
