Humpty Dumpty Steals The Show

Max's first year of preschool came to a close last week and he ended the year with a bang.  The theme this past year has been mother goose nursey rhymes, so all the kids picked a character they wanted to be for the final program.  Although Humpty Dumpty wasn't his first choice, he embraced the part.  His mother did an awesome job with the costume, ha ha!

 

I honestly didn't know what to expect from Max.  He really practiced hard and told me in detail every aspect of the program but you never know.  I was pleasantly surpised.  Max was the highlight of the program.  Every song, every action, Max was right on point.  It was awesome to see.  Halfway through the program, the other kids had lost interest but not Max...

When it was time for the awards, Max patiently waited to be awarded with "Best At Numbers".  He is a number man, just like his brother.  In fact, Hank received the same award his first year of preschool.  What can I say, I make some cute number crunchers! 

Max really loved having an audience just there for him.  It was finally his time to shine, and shine he did!

His darling grandmas came to show their support.

Max has grown up so much this year.  His first day of school was the day Sam was born.  I remember how shy he was and how nervous he would get when we left.  He insisted his name was Vern, or Darth Vader and he didn't really enjoy playing with or making new friends. Boy has that changed!  He has really come out of his shell and I feel like everyone can now see what I've always known about my sweet Max.  He is such a loving, sweet, sensitive, and hilarious little boy. 

I got teary watching Max preform.  My little buddy is growing up so quickly and I am so proud of him.  He is such a good boy, so smart, and such an important part of our family.  Love you buddy!

Sam's Photo Shoot

 

Sam had a very successful photo shoot last week.  He was in great spirits, his hair was parting nicely, and the photographer captured his true essence.  She took over 80 pictures and every single one was precious.  Sam needs to model for the Gap or something, I mean come on...it doesn't get much cuter than this.

The photographer at Camera Shy did an amazing job.  It didn't hurt that Sam was a true professional and delivered, shot after shot. 

Mother Goose Games

Field trip season came to a close as I took part in Bear Hollow's Mother Goose Games.  I remember going on this field trip with Hank and it was one of the first times I witnessed his competitive nature.  I wasn't sure how much Max would get into it but he didn't disappoint.  He is more like his brother than I thought!

 There were many games to play mostly involving running and jumping.  I have another little athlete on my hands.  Most of the kids had no clue what was going on.  Max on the other hand was in it to win it.

I think these pictures illustrate my point precisely.  He had no problem dragging his teammates along.

 

After the games, one of the moms decided to take a bunch of pictures.  Max was compliant for the first 10 minutes.

 

But it went on about 20 minutes too long and he had enough.  

 

I mean he was pissed to the point of tears.  Poor kid, I mean how many pictures do you people need?

Good thing lunch was the next activity.  That turned his spirits around in a hurry.  

 

Sitting next to Bree also helped.  She quickly became his girlfriend as soon as he heard Hank had a love interest.  Bree is a lucky girl and she doesn't even know it!

All this field trippin' has been exhausting but so worth it.  Between Hank and Max, I've been on 7 field trips this school year.  I have to thank my willing babysitters who made it possible.  Thank you so much mom, Sarah, and Jeri.  I love spending one on one time with my boys.

8 months

Another month bites the dust.  Sam has certainly become more mobile over the past few weeks.  He is scooting, rolling, standing, and rocking.  His favorite trick is to stand next to his little table and take his hands off and stand unassisted for a few seconds.  I'm pretty sure he needs to crawl before he walks right?

I'm still waiting for that first tooth to break through.  He chews on everything.  We've started feeding him food off our plates and he loves that.  It's making baby food a much tougher sale.  He loves to try new foods.  He just smacks his little lips together and squeals at the sight of any food coming his way.  He is quickly losing interest in his bottle.  Why is he growing up so quickly? 

He is sleeping like a champ still, going to bed around 7:30 and sleeping until 8 or whenever we go in to get him.  Sam loves his crib, he really enjoys taking his time to wake up.

It's hard to believe these two will be in the same grade one day!  Sam is so stout in comparison to cute little Tuck.  Trust me, this won't be the last picture you'll see like this.  What would I do without my precious Sammy-boy.  He is amazing in every way.  What a little doll.  Oh yes, and he's a total mama's boy, the obsession is mutual!  I freaking love this kid.

32

How am I 32 already?  Obviously everyone ages and every year that number increases but for some reason, that number is really freaking me out.  I really love being in my 30's, in fact I don't want to go back to my 20's one little bit, it's what comes after the 30's that is problematic.  Time for my live in the moment mantra to start in.  Aging is just one of those inevitable facts of life, so I better accept it. It's going to happen regardless of how hard I resist it.  The best way to distract me from dwelling on getting older is to celebrate with my friends and family.  I like to spread my birthday parties out over the course of a week.  I began my week of fun with a shopping trip including my favorite ladies.  This has become a tradition and the opening of City Creek Mall came at the perfect time.  After indulging in some new summer duds, we were starving.  The Cheesecake Factory fixed that problem in a hurry.

 We wore our striped shirt uniform, not planned by the way, I swear!  Great minds think alike.

 I adore my sisters and my mom.  We don't hang out without kids and distractions nearly enough.  I haven't laughed that hard in a really long time.  It felt awesome.  These are incredibly busy ladies, so for them to give up 6 hours just for me, means a lot.

Randy took over the party planning from there.  He organized a Sunday afternoon golf outing with my parents.  Jeri and Jenni watched our kids so we could focus on our intense golf match!

My dad missed his golf date with his regular Sunday morning group and my mom actually dusted off her clubs and played all 9 holes.  Since I'm there favorite daughter, it's not too surprising.

 

 My game is a bit rusty but I had a blast.  Randy also invited our entire family to come over for a BBQ.  He prepared the food and everything was perfect.

 This is the beginning of many bbq's sure to happen this year. You know Bob Marley was blasting through the stereo.  

 

 Sam helped the birthday girl with the candles.

 He happily chewed on grandpa's glasses for 20 minutes.

 I love these beautiful ladies.

 I am so grateful to have my grandparents around to celebrate.  I really miss my Grandpa Karl and Grandma Joanne.

On my actual birthday, Randy surprised me and took the entire day off.  He bought me a new dryer and then took me to lunch with the girls.

Sarah, Kate, Mom, Jack, Tucker, and Sam all met us at Magleby's Fresh

 After a delicious lunch Randy took the boys to Target and they picked out darling cards and thoughtful gifts.  Max got me a make-up bag and Hank bought me some exercise shorts.  Later that night, my mom came over to watch the kids and put them to bed while Randy and I went to dinner in Salt Lake.  We found a new restaurant, Pallet, and the food was delicious.  It was such a beautiful day.  

Since my dad's birthday is May 2nd, the party continues.

Max and Hank were so excited to go to the Harley Davidson store to pick out grandpa's gift.  

 They really got into the biker spirit.  I'm terrified there might be a motorcycle in Max's future.

After much deliberation, they settled on a skull face mask and a sleeveless skull shirt.  Grandpa Curt loved it.

Happy Birthday to my incredible dad.  I am so lucky to have him in my life.  I love him so much.  Speaking of love, I most certainly felt it from everyone on my birthday.  I had so many calls, text messages, and visits from my family and friends.  It was overwhelming.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.