Everyday Adventures

Damon has been pretty generous with his hugs lately, and we all love it!

  

I got to go to Ataiya and Alexys' dance concert. They are so fun to watch. You can tell they both really enjoy dancing.

I went to Elijah's band concert. He had an improv solo with the Jazz Band. He sounded awesome! I love listening to a good jazz band. Both of his bands sounded really good, especially for a junior high.

We've enjoyed visiting and feeding the ducklings that are often in the canal by our house.

Today we rode bikes in the church parking lot and stopped to feed the ducks on the way home. All three kids had the same bloody knee by the time we got home.

I found this note on my shopping list one day. I love when Rockwell leaves me sweet notes!

Tessa and I worked on her ABC book throughout this school year. We finished it, and she knows all but a few of the letter names and the sounds they make. She carries it around everywhere now and LOVES to look at the picture of the puppy.

I heard Damon saying 'Cheese!' over and over so I went to see what he was doing. Tessa was posing and he was taking pictures of her with his phone. :)

It was so funny to listen to the kids and Eden playing the other day. Our trampoline was covered in stuff that drops from our tree. They all got a broom and cleaned it up. Rockwell and Eden talked about how they were doing Habit #7. They were synergizing by working together to clean the tramp off. I love that their school teaches those things!

Track and Soccer

Rockwell is doing track and soccer right now, and loves them both!

We signed him and Brig up to be on the same team, which has been fun for him. He's done great so far at trying to learn the game a little better. His team is really improving on spreading out on the field and working together. He was super excited though when he got a fast break and took the ball all the way across the field and scored. 

He's really enjoying track. He's liked doing the standing long jump and the javelin at the last couple meets. Those are the only field events he's old enough for now.



He chooses different races at each meet. I love that he chooses the longer ones sometimes, even though he doesn't excel at them as much as the 50 or 100.

He and Addie chose all the same events at the meet this week. They had fun cheering each other on, and playing together in between the events.

Tessa-isms

I got Tessa new summer clothes and a swimsuit from Old Navy. She loves them, and loves to tell Paul all about her new clothes. Every day that she wears an outfit from there she says, "Do you like my Old Lady clothes, Dad?"

  

The kids and their friend Addie were playing with the bubble guns outside. Addie set it down and Tessa picked it up and asked me, "Should I give it a go?"

She chose a Tootsie Roll for her treat one day. She set it on the counter, went and did something, and when she came back she couldn't reach it. She asked me, "Can you please hand me my rollie toot-sie?"

End of 1st Grade

Rockwell finished out the school year strong! He passed off his Gumball Math on the second to last day. He wanted to pass them off so bad and worked very hard to accomplish this. He studied and practiced, and was so proud of himself when he reached his goal.

He really wanted Damon and Pongo in his 'Last Day of 1st Grade' picture. This was a great year for him. He grew and learned so much over 9 months. I'm very proud of the work he did all year long.

His teacher sent home a huge folder of his work, his journal which was so fun to read, and some super cute scrapbook pages she had made throughout the year. This picture from the 100th day of school was my favorite!

Mother's Day

This year was another fabulous Mother's Day. Our bishop cancelled all the meetings, so Paul was home with us all day. He started it out with crepes for breakfast, and presents from him and the kids. I love the papers where they answer questions about Mom. Those are adorable.

After church I spent the afternoon reading and napping in my room. It was heavenly to have a few hours to myself. Paul made steak tacos for dinner and cleaned it all up. After the kids were in bed he washed and cut up all the produce in the fridge just to make my week a little easier. That meant so much to me. He is so thoughtful and sweet!

Rockwell used his classroom money to buy me a candy necklace. He has been so generous and thoughtful lately.

For family night we planted the flowers that Rockwell/Mrs. Smith gave me for Mother's Day in our front yard.

Damon's Birthday Continued

Rockwell had a track meet the night of Damon's birthday. We got home late, so we did dessert the next day. Isn't he just the sweetest?!

He loves playing with his new bubble gun.

We got to watch Hallee on Damon's birthday. When Al came to pick her up, she took some time to play outside with Damon. He was in heaven with her, Wyatt and Hallee pushing him on the swing!

Damon Turns 2!!

Happy birthday to our Damon Boy!!
These 2 years with Damon in our family have gone by really fast. I always think of him and refer to him as my baby, even though he's much more a kid than a baby anymore.

Damon loves loves loves to be outside. Nothing makes him happier than putting on his shoes and running out the back door, and nothing makes him cry faster than being told he can't go outside. It's heartbreaking and also adorable at the same time to see him hugging his cowboy boots, a major frown on his face, holding his quivering chin before the tears overflow and run down his cheeks. I'm not sure why he always holds his chin when he starts to cry, but I love that little quirk of his.

Damon can put about 4 words together in a sentence right now. He says a couple new words a day. He says 'Hi Mom' and 'Hi Dad' constantly. And he really makes you believe he's going to do what you ask him when he responds with 'Kay'. More often than not he does not do what you ask as soon as you turn your back, but he sure sounds convincing!

Damon adores his brother and sister. He loves to feel like an equal with them and keep up with whatever they're playing. Rockwell and Tessa both adore him back. They think everything he does is so cute, and brag about him to other kids. The first thing Damon wants to do when he wakes up in the morning or from his nap is go find Tess and Rockwell.
  
Damon loves fruit snacks and asks for them all day long. He still loves peek-a-boo and hide and seek.   He likes nursery now, and the bubbles are his favorite part. He likes to read books. He loves to not have any clothes on, but he also loves dressing up for church. And he always holds doors open for me while saying, "Here Mom." I love that!
  

Paul went into work a little later today so he could make chocolate chip pancakes for the birthday boy. The kids were all so excited for Dad's pancakes!

Damon was so excited to move into a forward-facing car seat today. He was so cute looking out the windows. He got all excited when he saw a bird. When we drove away from it he kept saying, "Birdie! Where are you?"

We opened presents and had dinner when Paul got home from work. Damon was super excited to open more presents.
  
He loved his new tools and tool belt.
  
We sure love you Damon Boy!!