This stage

Dear Baby,

You are at such a fun age! People always call this stage the terrible twos, but I don't feel like it's been terrible at all so far! I love that you are getting more independent and sometimes I get a break, but you still are very attached to me too. You are almost always in whatever room I am in. You play cars by me if I'm reading, you do dishes with me, you play fire on the bath mat while I'm showering, and you do yoga right next to me. Sometimes you just play in the room while I'm doing yoga but today you did downward dog and tree pose with me! You leaned against me so I had to balance both of us and it was the cutest thing ever.
You get nervous if you don't see me for a few minutes, but you go to nursery just fine each week when Dad drops you off! You want me to hold you a lot still too. I usually kiss kiss kiss you and tell you how cute you are each time I pick you up and tote you around the house. I'm totally ok with this attachment! I know it's over so quickly.
Of course you do sometimes have tantrums, especially when you ask for something with words and you still don't get it! After you have cried for a few minutes you come to me for hugs and loves and then it's over. You still cry at nap time too, except for today when you actually asked me to put you to bed! That was crazy. And you get mad when the kids tease you and take one of the 25 cars you are playing with. Luckily your siblings love you and usually play nicely with you though.
You get scared in movies sometimes. We have been watching a lot of Disney movies lately and when you get nervous you either run out of the room or climb into my lap and close you eyes while you jabber to me about what's happening.
You are still quite cautious too. You just started walking down the stairs, not sliding down on your belly. It made me a little sad when I noticed yesterday that you consistently go down that way now. I said "Hey, that's not how babies go down the stairs!" and you stopped and looked at me with a worried look on your face. When I smiled to let you know I was joking, you smiled back and continued walking down the stairs, carefully holding on to the railing. The other day I joked similarly when you were talking and I said "What? Stop that talking. You're still a baby and babies don't talk!" Lulu really got a kick out of that and we all giggled each time I told you to stop talking!
I also love how you are starting to talk so much. You say 2 or 3 word sentences all day long. Sometimes you have a few words that sound the same and so I have to keep guessing at what you are saying and when I get it your face lights up and you do this little giggle. I think you say a new word every single day. 2 days ago it was Mickey Mouse and you said it clear as day.
You are learning your colors and numbers and even sing your own version of the ABCs when it's washing hands time!
We went to the park twice today! It was such beautiful weather. It's still summer in my book! I had to hold your hand and help you down the slide a few times, but once you decided it was safe you went down over and over by yourself:

We had such a great evening didn't we?
And so as you can see I am really enjoying this phase of your life. I just wish you would try more foods. It's hit or miss with what you'll eat, which is different from how any of the other kids were. I still offer everything to you on your tray and sometimes you take a few bites. I still give you a protein snack before bed too since that usually helps you sleep longer. My second wish for you would be that you consistently slept at least 10 hours each night. That would be so nice. It's been rough lately, and I'm hoping it's just because you've had a cold. That's it, right? And on that note, I better be off to bed since you've already been down for more than an hour!
Love you my sweet 2 year old,
Mom

Mr T's preschool excitement!

Hey buddy,

You started preschool last week! You were so excited to put your new Ninja Turtle backpack on and spike your hair and wear your new shirt to school. You were a little disappointed that you didn't get to ride the bus with the big kids in the mornings. One more year for that.
We took pictures outside at our house and then packed you up into the car!

Dad was working from home that day so we left Baby home with him and drove over to your school. We were a few minutes early so we stopped to visit with the llamas across the street. They were cracking me up. You weren't as amused, but you were definitely interested in them. I decided to take a few picture of you by the llamas, and they turned out great!

Then a few pictures by the school and in the classroom. I get a little crazy with pictures on the first day of school because it's just such an exciting day! I can't help myself!:

You got a little nervous as I was leaving, but when I picked you up that day you said that you had fun! I was so proud of you for being brave. You only go twice a week so this is a great way to ease into school. There are 3 teachers in your room and they all seem great! You like all of them! You told me that you already made a friend but couldn't remember his name. You do have a kid named Olaf in your class, which is pretty cool.
When I took you to back to school day and testing day you were not shy or nervous at all. You were giggling and being silly but also trying to answer the questions. The teacher said "He sure has a lot of energy huh?" When I filled out a get-to-know-you sheet for the first day of school I had to choose one word and I chose Animated. I love that about you. You have a lot of energy and passion and when harnessed those qualities make you such a great worker and a fun guy. As time goes on hopefully you will learn when being silly is not appropriate and how to motivate yourself. You are super smart at math and I have no doubt that you will excel in school. There are great things in store for you and your journey is only beginning. It is super exciting for me to watch.
I love you my smart energetic little buddy,
Mom

August Edition

Hey guys,

I have a lot of pictures to post here. We did lots of fun things at the end of summer, even though we were sick for a week! Check it out...Life Lately, according to my phone:

First, at the beginning of August we always get to celebrate our city's Founder's Day. We love it!

 Next, we discovered this fun new activity at the park that I named Summer Sledding:

 Hammer, you love riding your bike!

One day it rained and rained and rained and Hammer kept going outside to look at the river in the backyard. I kept getting mad at you buddy because you were going out barefoot and getting soaked! Finally I went out to see what the fuss was and look at this. That is water flowing down the golf course right by our fence! That is usually all grass:

 Lulu, I like your church art that says "Love one a nuther":

 Family reunion at the park:

 Saying goodbye to my friend Diana and meeting her newborn:

 Loving the pool!:

 Hammer's turn for a date night. Oreo milkshake and bountiful basket:

 Remember when we met Jen and Brent and Ava downtown for a fun Friday? We met at the library and were surprised to get free lunch! It was fun:

 Next we tried to see the library's roof, but since it was a little rainy the doors were locked. Then we went down to the basement to play in the kids' area:

 And then we were off to see temple square:

We finished up by visiting the Disney Store and Lulu got a new nightgown that Dad is so graciously modeling:

We got donuts half off after dinner one day and noticed these awesome clouds in the distance!:

Luckily we beat the storm home. The wind was crazy. Look was it did! We lost part of our tree by the basketball court:

Hammer, you still love checking in on the garden. Look at the tiniest watermelon ever that we found!: 

Lulu, you had a free kids meal certificate at a pizza restaurant so I took you and Hammer and Baby while Dad and Mr T were helping at Grammie's house. It was pretty exciting:

Another exciting night was Lulu and I got to see Laura in her play! We went to the last dress rehearsal, and loved it:

Another fun outing was a free museum by Grandma's house. We had a great time in the kids' areas:

After the museum Grandma got us lunch and we ran through the sprinklers!:

Here we are at the Davis County Fair. This was a first and we definitely had fun! Pony rides:

Petting zoo:

Brushing the cow:

Feeding the animals:

And eating cotton candy! (after washing our hands of course. don't worry):

Hammer, you looked cute looking out the window of the kids' play area at the photo store we went to:

Baby, you weren't super happy about watching everyone swim and not being able to get in too. It was worth it though since every time we played at the park after:

Hammer, you learned how to do the fireman pole by yourself!:

 Here you are Baby, waiting patiently by the pool and eating your breakfast:

And our last time at the park after swimming:

Lulu, you were so excited for your date with Dad for a milkshake from Burger King:

Then after Baby's birthday school started. I finally changed out the mantle and set it up back-to-school style:

Hammer, you had your first soccer game and did great! Your team is called the Sharks. Guess who you played? The blue sharks! That made me laugh. Check out this awesome action shot Dad got of you:

Lulu, here you are at your first dance lesson! You were loving this ribbon dance:

And then I made you pose by a statue after class:

 And that's it! Phew! What a month. I love summer. Thanks for making it fun!
Love you all,
Mom