Birthday Boys

Its that time of year again. Tayden and Beckett celebrated their birthdays. Back to back birthdays are hard. Tayden was in tears the night of Becketts birthday because he was really wishing for what Beckett got ( a nerf vest. They both got them). And Beckett was upset on Taydens birthday because he didn't get the same night vision googles Tayden did. Having them so close with alot of the same interests is hard, but I hope at the end of the day they both felt special and celebrated.

This year it was Becketts turn to have a friend party. He opted to take two friends out to McDonalds instead of have a party at home. The plan was to pick them all up after school and take them to lunch, but Beckett woke up to a snow day and didn't have school. Luckily, Scott had a snow day too and didn't have to go to work. He fought the crazy roads and made sure Beckett and his friends still made it to lunch.

We stayed home and hung out the rest of the day. It was low key and perfect. We opened gifts that night and had cake.

I sure am grateful for my Beckett boy. He is fiery and has a bad temper, but he is a sweet as they come. He always wants a cuddle and gives the best hugs. He is smart and so funny. His speech is doing great. So much so that we pulled him out for a while and aren't sure if he'll make it back or not. He is just the greatest and we love him so much. Happy 6th, B!

Tayden wasn't so lucky and had to go to school on his birthday. He didn't mind getting the extra special attention at school though.

He had a busy afternoon with homework, basketball practice, and pine wood derby weigh in. So we had a quick little party when had a free minute and celebrated all that is Tayden. He really is so great and my right hand man. I don't know how I would do half the things I do without him. He is kind, loving and loves to make people laugh. He is awesome. Happy 8th, Tayden!

My cake skills were a little lame this year, due to the second degree burn on my finger. Last Sunday, I was warming up my new eyebrow wax. My old stuff took forever to warm up, so I put the new one in for two minutes...which ended up being entirely too long. The boys were playing a chasing game with Luna and right as I was taking the wax out of the microwave, the pup got under my feet and bumped me. Not hard, but hard enough that I spilled the scalding wax down my finger and I ended up with a gnarly burn. 

I headed to the urgent care and luckily my childhood "second dad", Brad, was working and took real good care of me. I have the major second degree burn and about four first degree on my fingers. Apparently I dropped the wax and it splattered up on my other fingers. 

 Four days later and its looking pretty good. Hurts like heck, but is healing. And that's a blessing. And the fact it dumped on my hand and not the head of one of my children is even a bigger blessing. I'll be doing my eyebrows at night only from here on out. 

I'm happy to be the mom of these two great boys. Even if my finger was healed and I could type all I wanted, I wouldn't be able to say enough good things about my two oldest sons. They are what blessings are made of. 

Basketball

Tayden started basketball a couple of weeks ago and is loving it.  He is playing on a team that has been together for four sessions and playing in a third grade league. He was a little nervous to start, but knows the coach and has a few friends on the team, so he was excited. The first week he played a team of girls, which turned out to be a good first game to get his jitters out. This week he played a more experienced team and still did great. Turns out this boy has some good defense in him and was much more vocal and aggressive this week than last. I'm excited to watch him grow! 

Treat Tuesday

Every Tuesday during the school year is treat Tuesday. This Tuesday, instead of a homemade treat, I took the boys out. It was fun to spend a little time with the boys doing something fun and mixing up the daily routine. 

They are my heart and soul. Boy oh boy, I love them so. 

Day 11: Pet Peeves

Remember FOUR years ago when I started a 30 day challenge. Well, I'm a little behind. But I said I was going to finish and finish I will. So onto Day11: 10 Pet Peeves. I don't think I'm a super bugged person, but I'll do my best.

1. Sour cream that hasn't been stirred.
2. Wet hands while I'm swimming. (So weird, I know.)
3. Things that are just a hair to big to fit into something else.
4. Not remembering where I put something.
5. Lists with two different colors of pens or handwriting.
6. When my shampoo and conditioner run out at different times.
7. Rude people.
8. The ice drip on my walkway to my house.
9. Walking to my car and pushing a cart with my hair down on a windy day. (probably my #1)
10. Missing one ingredient to make something.

That didn't take as long as I thought. I'm hoping to get through the other 19 this year and at the rate I've been going...that means it'll be done next year.

Taydens Baptism Pictures

My friend, Jodie, took Taydens baptism pictures yesterday. They are phenomenal and completely priceless. I am so glad we documented this special time for him.

Albee

Our little Kyle has the craziest hair. We have joked that he's our little Albee, after Albert Einstien and his crazy hair. It also doubles as our little Albino African American as his hair is as course. No matter what we do it stands on end and will not go down. We've tried gel, mousse, hairspray, palmade, straight water and mom spit. Nothing works. So, on the very rare occasion the stars align and his hair lays flat, we take a picture. 

He loves his dog. 

And so does our oldest. 

She's a good dog. 

We are letting Kys hair grow out in hopes it will lay flat more and more. And if it doesn't, well, we'll try something else. In the mean time, we just love our little Albee. 

Things to Remember

There are a few things that I don't want to forget about this stage of life and the fun little quirks about my boys at their particular ages. 

TAYDEN

Tayden is very protective of his brothers in the parking lot. Like, extremely...almost overly. He makes sure everyone is holding a hand and he keeps a hand on as many of them as he can. And if they won't hold a hand or are straying too far, he holds their hoods until everyone has made it to the car. It's honestly, the sweetest act of kindness. It's pure love for his brothers. And a huge help to me. 

I was a having a rough week a couple of days ago and was not as nice as I should have been. I got frustrated and blew off some of my steam at the boys because of the way they were acting. Sweet Tayden went into the computer room and shut the door behind him. As I walked by I heard him praying to his Heavenly Father to help the spirit come into our home and help him know what to do to help me out. I cracked the door open and he was on his knees. I was so proud. 

The same week, he could feel my overwhelmed spirit. He said to me, "Mom. Come here." He lead me to my closet and knelt down. He wanted to pray together. He said a sweet prayer and hugged me when we were done. He has the sweetest spirit. 

This same sweet spirit loves any jokes about toots, farts, or poop. It drives me nuts. 

BECKETT

This boy still has the fiercest spirit of them all. When he's happy, he's happy. When he's mad, he's mad. But he is getting better at calming down on his own. 

He loves to build with Legos and is quite good. He takes after his dad loves to use his hands. 

He is messy. Super duper messy. But takes great care of his snap circuit set he got for Christmas. He keeps that stuff emaculate. 

He loves Cinnamon Toast. 

CACHE

Cache is still our chattiest boy. He loves to talk and tell stories. His latest favorite phrases are, "Phew!" And "Right, mom?!" He also says, "You know it..." like, "Mom, can I have a...you know it...an orange." 

He loves his primary teachers. It doesn't matter who it is, he is always sitting on someone's lap or cuddled up next to them. 

He is starting to draw legitimate pictures and is always so proud of himself. 

When he gets tired, he gets mean. 

He likes to talk out the "ghost busters" theme song like he's having a conversation with you. 

KYLE 

He is finally starting to talk. Not much and not super clear, but it's a start.

He knows what belongs to who and is always making deliveries around the house to people to give them their shoes or a blanket or backpack, etc. 

Loves to wear others people's shoes. 

Talks to himself to stay awake. 

This stage of life is fun. Hard, but fun.