Ten for Tuesday 5.27.08

1. Happy Birthday Blake! I can't believe my baby is a year old! Hooray! (It's supposed to get easier now, right?!) We had such a great day celebrating his birthday. My family and Reed's family both came over for dinner, cake & ice cream, and presents. Everyone was able to make it, except for Robby who is on a mission right now. It was really fun to have everyone together at the same time, and Reed thought he was in heaven throwing the football with all the guys in the backyard. Blake didn't quite know what to do with all of the presents, but he had three little helpers who were so excited to help him open them. I think he liked all of the attention, because he kept clapping his hands! Hands down, his favorite part of the day was eating his cupcake. He ate one and a half in just a couple of minutes, and probably would have eaten more if I had let him! He knows the good stuff when he sees it! Blake makes us laugh, and is so full of energy. We are so lucky to have him in our family!

2. Besides growing two new teeth this week, Blake also really got serious about learning to walk. He has been practicing, practicing. . . He can take 3-5 steps now without falling, and he gets very excited about the whole process. He is also starting to talk, just a little. He can say "bottle" (ba ba) when he really wants to, and he said "no no" a few times on Sunday. Also, I think I may have heard "thank you," but I'm not positive. He's definitely growing up! Aren't those cheeks so cute? I just want to squeeze them!

3. Michael has been waiting forever for his "unbirthday" at preschool. He got to bring treats for his friends, and wear a special crown. He was so excited that it was finally his special day.

4. T-ball is taking over our lives. Not really. Well, sort of. It's twice a week, and it is fun, but I still wish it were only once a week. Michael says he likes t-ball better than soccer. He says the best part is standing in the outfield being silly with the other boys. They love to tackle each other when they are chasing a ball, and Michael has been on the bottom of a dog pile more than once. They love to have grass wars and put their hats on funny. Who really cares about hitting the ball?!

5. The other day Michael said, "Guess what Mom? When I close my eyes I can see things in my imagination." How funny. I love that he is getting old enough to express complex concepts.

6. Ty really wants to wear big boy underwear. He just doesn't want to be inconvenienced by using the bathroom. A couple of days ago he insisted on wearing underwear, and I told him he couldn't wear underwear until he was able to poop on the toilet instead of in his underwear. So, he went and sat on the toilet, pooped, and said "Put on my underwear please!" Oh boy. That day he wet through three more sets of pants, and never once took himself to the bathroom. Potty training this child is a nightmare!

7. A few weeks ago Ty taught himself how to cross the monkey bars all by himself. Michael was really impressed, because he hadn't figured them out yet himself. Tonight I caught Ty crossing the top of the monkey bars. And, these bars are the kind that roll instead of being stationary. The child is fearless.

8. My little sister Maddy has agreed to be our regular babysitter once a week so Reed and I can have a date night. The last two weeks consisted of dinner at Cafe Rio and birthday shopping for the boys. It was so nice to go out without having three little boys attached!

9. I've been running (if you can really call it that) twice a week with my friend Valerie who really puts up with a lot considering I am so slow, and I constantly complain about how much I hate to run. On the up side, I am running further without stopping than I ever have in my entire life. On the down side, that's only maybe 2 miles. Yes, I'm a wimp! My question is, will it ever get easier? I still feel like I'm going to pass out after going about 2 blocks, and the entire time I think, "I've got to stop once we reach that tree. . . "

10. On Sunday I taught Relief Society for the first time. My topic was the family finance pamphlet, and the lesson was pretty interesting for me to prepare. I came to the conclusion that we are probably not saving enough, and need to work harder at setting money aside for the future. I talked a little bit about a website that one of my old finance teachers created that offers free courses on finance topics ranging from beginner to advanced. One of my friends asked me to post the address, so here it is: personalfinance.byu.edu. If you are interested, check it out!