Tyson - May 2012 - 5 Months

As I sat down to pick pictures for this letter I had a hard time picking just a few so, yeah, we've got picture overload again this month.  Then again, I think pictures are probably better than my ramblings anyway, so I guess we're good!

You started getting pretty good at rolling over right at your 4-month mark, but it took you a few more days to master it pretty well.  In the meantime, I enjoyed watching you struggle.  

Just kidding, it is actually really hard to sit back and watch you try, but since that is how you learn I had to do it.  You've gotten pretty good at it in the month since then, and I'm not going to be too surprised if you end up rolling around the house like your brother did.  I remember losing him a few times after setting him in the middle of the floor only to come back and find him missing because he rolled away and around the side of the couch or somewhere.  

I caught you and your dad having fun the other night, and it was just too cute to not take some pictures of...

It's been such a windy spring that even when we have been brave enough to make it to the park I have kept you in your carseat, but I was finally able to get you out the other day and get you in the grass.  You weren't quite sure about the grass that tickled your feet a little bit, but I think you enjoyed yourself quite a bit.  Look at that dreamy look on your face.

...and here's a few that are just dang cute that I couldn't resist putting in.  Pretty much everyone who sees you remarks about how big and expressive your eyes are.  You do make some pretty cute faces, and I'm in love with those big brown eyes myself.

Smiles!  I love 'em!

Last month I put a picture of you in your fire shirt in your letter, but this month I was smart enough to remember to get a picture of you in your shirt and your dad in his. You've got fire in your blood (on both sides), and I don't think either me or your dad would be sad if you decided to work a few summers doing that.  

There's those eyes again!

Last month you decided you loved chewing on your hands, and this month you decided your toes are even better.  It is pretty funny to watch Logan try to do the same thing.  I guess you ought to enjoy those toes while you can still reach them.

I put you in the ExerSaucer the other day, and the first time you pretty much hated it, but you are getting more and more used to it every time.  You spent a good 5 minutes trying to get that little green and blue elephant into your mouth the other day, then cried when you finally did.  Spinning the noisy thing rolly thing on the other side is another favorite pastime of yours lately too.

The other day the big kids were at grandma and grandpa's house and dad was working late, and boy we were bored.  You were a little cranky but not quite ready for bed so we had a dance party in the kitchen instead.  You really did enjoy it, although it doesn't look like it in the picture...

I was trying to wait until 6 months to start you on solid foods because I HATE baby food.  Hate it, but lately you've been acting more and more interested in the food that the rest of us are eating, as in you nearly lunged right out of my hands the other day trying to get my toast, and because were were bored last weekend I mixed up some cereal to see how you would do.  To my surprise you actually ate all of the little bit that I mixed up for you.  Maybe this box of cereal won't go to waste like the boxes I bought for Logan and Tessa.  Then this afternoon I was eating a banana when you tried to snatch that, so I mashed some up for you, and you enjoyed that too.  So much for waiting until 6 months.  I'm pretty sure I'll regret starting this whole mess so early, but you seem to enjoy it, and maybe, JUST maybe it will help you sleep longer at night.

Another thing you have been working on is reaching for things - and not just food.  You have a few favorite toys that you are getting better at getting for yourself and keeping a hold of them for a while.  You seem like you might be close to getting a tooth here soon, but I'd be happy if you waited on that one for a while too.  I love gummy baby smiles, and I'm not quite ready to start the teething thing just yet.  It seems like once you start you don't stop until you are 2.  Besides, you still aren't sleeping any better than you were when you were a couple weeks old, and I'd hate to think that teething could make that worse.  Let's try to work on that this month.  Getting up a couple times at night is starting to make me cranky, and with a whole summer ahead of us with no city pool or lawn at home, the big kids will definitely be needing all the help they can get to keep mom from being cranky.

Love you Tiger,
Mom

Logan - May 2012

How is it already the middle of May?  I wonder at the age you are when you read these letters if the years are flying by for you too or if that just happens when you have kids and can measure the weeks and months and years in holidays and birthdays so anxiously awaited, school years, and summertimes?  Maybe it's because of a combination of all of those things at this time of year that makes me feel like things are flying.  Today was your very last day of preschool so a school year ends, a summertime begins (your last before you start your elementary school days), and your 5th (FIFTH!) birthday less than a month away now.  My goodness boy.

I better not get ahead of myself and start with the pictures from last month and go forward. 

This one is from an assignment you did at school.  It wasn't the assignment that caught my eye, it was the swirly-curly letters you had drawn.  You were pretty proud of them too!  I thought I had better take a picture so I could show you when you are older and get a laugh.  one of the things we are going to work on this summer is writing your "g"'s the right way instead of backwards.  It drives me crazy!

T-ball started again last month, and you have a really fun team.  Your buddy Kashton Kabonic along with Kyan Lyman and Janae and Hallie Beckstead have made it a fun team for you and for me!  You are doing so well this year, and you love to go to practice and to games.  Your favorite thing to do when we play at home is to have me or dad pitch to you instead of hit off the tee.  You do pretty well that way too!  Catching, throwing, and perfecting your stance are what you work on these days instead of which way to run when you hit the ball.  It is easy to see that you have grown since last year.  Your dad bought you some cleats, and we think they might be the reason you are a little on the slower side when you run to first base, but if you think we can talk you out of wearing them for the sake of speeding you up - well we'd all be wrong!

Love, love, love that baseball-pants butt!

We went to a fundraiser dinner in Fredonia a couple weeks back, and you and Tessa were able to go for a pony ride.  You were pretty excited and kept talking to me about the baby horses.  I explained that they were actually ponies and not just baby horses, but I think you and Tessa both like the baby horses idea better.

It's garden time again, and you and Tess came out to help me plant.  You both begged and begged to be the ones to take the plants out of their containers and put them in the ground, then of course when you saw the water turn on you came running over again.  I thought this was a pretty cute moment that I caught of the 2 of you sneaking a drink.

The other night as I was getting ready for bed I walked toward your room to turn off your light and saw this outside your door....

When I got closer and picked up the pages you had slipped under the door I got kind of teary eyed...

 Have I ever mentioned what a sweet, SWEET kid you are?  Every night you stay up in your room after we've said prayers and read books, and you color or draw.  You told me the other day that you stay up "working."  Well I love it.  You drew some pictures of grandma and grandpa and one of Aunt Lisa too.  I love to take that walk down the hall at the end of my day and see if you've left me a piece of art.

Yesterday at school was your end of the year Safari program.  You did such a good job being a Safari guide and got to do eensy weensy spider with Kashton, and you were "Jack" in Jack and Jill.  Your dad and I were talking last night about how grateful we were that you were able to get into Ms. April's class.  You have loved every minute of it and have learned SO much.  I am excited for you to start kindergarten, but when I walked into your class today and saw all the tables and toys and things put away and the walls undecorated, I was so sad!

And here you are today in front of the door on your last day.  I did a quick comparison with your first day of school picture that we took here, and you are a bit taller now than you were, but where you have really grown is in that brain of yours.  I can't believe how well you read.  You go around sounding out words everywhere you see them!

The next time I write a letter you will be 5 years old.  That makes me feel old!  I'm so excited to see what happens when you turn 5, since you knew everything suddenly when you turned 4!

Love you buddy,
Mom

Tessa - May 2012

April, April was quite a month Tessa girl.  First we started off with our conference weekend/Easter celebration with Grandma and Grandpa Hillier.  Grandma is the one who finally talked me into cutting your bangs.  I had been thinking about it for quite a while, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it because I know what a pain it is to grow bangs out.  I had talked to my friend Kasidee about it after I saw the bangs she and her daughter Bentlee had, and she said I could totally do it on my own.  Well I got brave, sat you down on grandma's coffee table, grabbed some scissors and water, and cut you some bangs.  I ended up cutting them a bit shorter than I wanted (they shrunk up more than I expected), but all in all I think I did a pretty decent job for someone who doesn't even style their hair let alone cut hair!

Here's one of your first pictures with the new 'do after you finished gathering up the eggs Aunt Lisa and Uncle Joe hid for you and Logan at grandma's house Sunday afternoon.  Grandma also found an old Hurricane Elementary School Cougars shirt of mine, and you and Logan both thought it was funny that it fit you guys and not me.

The next night we had family home evening, and our tradition is to have our lesson and then go get ice cream at Junction afterwards.  Most of the time you guys get the regular vanilla soft serve baby cones, but this time the girl asked if you guys wanted the chocolate frozen yogurt in your cones instead.  I said yes, but when I got home I realized that was probably a bad idea.  As I was pulling into our driveway Logan said, "Uh, mom, Tessa made a HUGE mess."  Yep, you sure did.  It was like you had held the ice cream in your hands and licked it out of them or something.  Your hands and face were covered.  It did make for a really good cute picture though.  I sent it to your dad who was in New Mexico at the time, and he was still having a hard time believing you were the same girl.  Those bangs make you look so much different.

The weekend we went out to Kodachrome with the Pollock side of the family for the Easter lunch and candy hunt.  You and Logan have got this figured out pretty well by now, and of course you came home with your buckets full of candy.  Every year I finally give in about a week later and just let you eat whatever is left because I get so sick of hearing, "Mom, can we have a piece of candy?"  It is fun to watch you 2 barter over the candy that you like though.  "Hey Tessa, I'll give you some Tootsie Rolls for your M&M's..."

The weather was just about perfect.  In the years I have been married to your dad it has rained, snowed, or been so hot or windy that it isn't always as nice as it was this year.  You guys played and played, sliding down the yellow hill and getting sand in your pants and shoes.

Other than the Easter celebrations, we pretty much just hung out at home and did our usual routine.  It's funny to watch you and Ty as he gets bigger.  One morning you asked to hold him and it had been a while since you had last held him, and I laughed pretty good to see how you struggled to hold on to him.  He's half your size all of a sudden!  You better watch out or he's going to pass you up sooner than later.

You can be a little bit of a diva at times, dear daughter, and I think it has something to do with the fact that everywhere you go people call you a princess.  The other day in the car you weren't minding, and I turned around and told you that you were NOT a princess and you needed to listen.  Your dad looked a little shocked that I would tell you something like that, but goodness girl, as much as I love you - you AREN'T a princess.  You sure act like one any time someone asks you to help pick up or do something else you don't want to do.  Just the other Sunday I asked you to finish your dinner before you could have a popsicle. You wouldn't do it, and things escalated from there.  Pretty soon I put you in your room and told you that you couldn't come out the rest of the night.  Sure enough when I went to check on you 10 minutes later, you were sound asleep and DID stay in your room the rest of the night.  Whether it is that stubbornness or just plain faking being tired or sick so you don't have to help Logan pick up the toy room, it looks like I've got a long road ahead of me to convince you may not be the princess that everyone thinks you are!

I love when I get a chance to sit down and play with you one on one or happen to walk by a room where you are playing by yourself and listen to your imagination as you play.  I am hoping to get you into Logan's preschool next year because of how much interest you have shown in school after we stopped going to Ms. Teresa's and also because I think the teachers there are AWESOME, and doing 2 years there would only do you good.  At the same time though it makes me feel like I am rushing you too fast.  The absolute LAST thing I want is for you to start to compare yourself to others and change who you are.  I see it in Logan here and there, and I know it is a natural thing humans do when we interact with others, but oh how I would do anything to keep you from changing who you are.

We love you so much sweet girl, even when you refuse to help pick up and especially when you tell us "ab-so-woot-wee."

Love you Sis,
Momma

Tyson - April 2012 - 4 Months

I forgot how much fun this stage is - the 4 months stage.  You are still mostly content to chill on your back and stare up at the world, your favorite thing to do is grab your toes or chew on your hands, which are both available to you nearly 24/7 (unless you are swaddled), and just about any goofy thing any of us does can get you to laugh.  It's a fun time at the Veater house.  I'm not even going to mention some of the upcoming milestones that may not be so fun (one starts with "T" and ends with "eething") because I am just going to enjoy THIS. RIGHT. HERE.  (Right as I typed those words you started to wake up from your nap.  Good timing!  I put the binky in and turned on your mobile to see if I can't buy a few more minutes to get this written...)

You had your first Easter, and the weekend before we got to go to Grandma and Grandpa Hillier's house to spend a night or two.  It was your first sleepover, and you did really well!  You actually slept from around 8 or 9 until 4 a.m., which is pretty darn good bud!  We had a good time watching conference (although we didn't actually  hear much of it), hanging out, and eating good food with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Joe while we were there.  Dad left for a detail a few days before, so you and I and the big kids stayed an extra night because we were having too much fun to go home.


The next weekend we went to the Pollock Easter out at Kodachrome.  Of course you were too young to enjoy it to its fullest, but you did spend lots of time being cuddled by Aunt Linda, Aunt Bre, Aunt Linda Grandma Veater, and Aunt Linda.  The other women in the Barnhurst family weren't very happy with Aunt Linda when it was time to leave because she had definitely hogged you all to herself!  On a rare break from Aunt Linda Grandpa got to hold you and I snapped this picture when he thought I was done taking pictures. I sent it to your dad who wrote back and said how alike he thought the two of you looked.  I have to agree!

We've gotten into a pretty good eat/happy & awake/sleep routine and one of the times you are awake is when I am getting lunch ready for the older kids before Logan goes to school, so I usually put you in your swing, turn up some music, and dance while I make sandwhiches or mac & cheese.  You are especially fond of the dance Logan, Tess, and I do to "Party Rock" by LMFAO (look it up boy, I guarantee it is probably so ingrained in your brain that it will cause you to involuntarily dance as soon as you hear it).  I wanted to get a picture of how big you smile when we dance, and this is the best I could do since I was dancing adn moving my phone and you were in the swing...swinging.  Most of the others are blurry, but you can definitely tell how much you enjoy our smooth moves.

Aunt Lisa calls this your "Blue Steel" look.  You've gotten into this cute little habit of sucking on your lip.  It's adorable.  You also LOVE to chew on your hands, so much so that they are actually chapped from all the slobber that ends up on them.  In the past week or so you've also decided that grabbing onto your toes and subsequently rolling from side to side is pretty fun too.

The night dad got home I put you to bed around 7 p.m. as usual, but by 8:30ish you were up and NOT interested in going back to bed.  Dad said it was because you had missed him and wanted to hang out with him, so I got you out of bed and granted your wish.  He had you laughing pretty hard.  Even after being gone for 2 weeks you still give him smiles more freely than anyone else I've seen.

The classic "Baby in Sunglasses" picture.  Just to be clear - these are your dad's sunglasses that I started wearing when I lost my smaller ones.  I realize that they probably look SO out of style by the time you read this or maybe it will have been so long by then that big glasses are back in style.  At any rate, putting them on you and taking a picture had to be done.  Wait until you ahve kids, I guarantee you do it too.

The big kids are starting to like holding you a little bit more since you are less breakable and don't just lay there on their laps rendering them unable to move.  The problem for Tess is that you are more than half her size at this point.  You go to the doc next week so I will make sure I put your stats up, but I wouldn't be surprised if you are getting right up there at least in the weight department.  Sometimes at night when I pick you up to feed you the weight of you surprises me, and I'm certain that you have grown and gained weight since the last time I put you down.

Update 5/3/12 - So your stats have flip flopped a little from last time.  Your weight was 14 pounds 4 ounces, which is 50th percentile, but your height is up to 26 inches long, which is the 90th percentile!  Your dad thought you might be a little on the short side, but if you keep up the way you are now you might be a bean pole instead!

Come ON kid, save some adorable for the other babies!

You can't decide if you like your Bumbo chair yet or not.  Your legs already get stuck in it though chubby.  

You got to meet Smokey at Kanab's earth day shindig.  You had refused to take your naps all day and were a miserable, awful beast by this point - hence the zombie look on your face.   You were kind of cuddly though as we walked around, which was a plus since you still have yet to decide that it is okay to put your head on mom's shoulder and snuggle EVER.  Get used to hanging out with Smokey, he's one of dad's bestest friends.

This is later on after we got home from earth day sporting your North Zone fire shirt.  You look happy but you were SOOO not.

You still love your baths though!  I was scrubbing your hair and got a huge smile.  Then I dried you off and got a huge smile.  Then I put the lotion on and got a huge smile.  

And one last one just because.  Yes that's a pink blanket, but it is thinner than your blue silky one and you are so touchy-feely lately that you like the silky blankets up near your face to fall asleep.  The white blanket is the one I have to wrap around you as tight as you can so you can fall asleep.  Most of the time I have to do this 2-3 times before you fall asleep because you are THAT determined to get your hands to your face and pull your binky out.  When I come in to get you after you wake up from a nap you have usually gotten to about this point where your hands have gotten free and you are waving them around all over.  You've rolled over a time or two in both directions but aren't that consistent yet, which I am okay with.  You don't need to rush through these milestones at warp speed just to keep up with the other two I promise.

You are such a fun little guy.  You sleep pretty good for the most part.  You go down to sleep easy.  You eat good.  You laugh.  You like the way I dance.  You only poop once a week (really!).  Really my only complaint is the same as last month - and that is the lack of cuddling.  Help a mama out buddy!  Considering all the other good things you do I guess I will take the lack of cuddling.  We sure love you buddy and, as always, I'm excited to see what new tricks you've picked up when I write this letter next month.

Love you Ty (Moose didn't really stick...),
Mom

Logan - April 2012

It's the 19th.  The other day your dad asked if I had written your letter yet, and when I said I hadn't he said, "You know, someday you are going to wish you had written more."  That is very, very true, but right now I am happy with the fact that each month since you were 15 months old you have a letter from your mama (and very occasionally, dad).  Seeing as how you are coming up on 5 years (60 months) old, I'd say that is quite the accomplishment, and I'm okay with being a slacker and blaming our busy lives for your short (and often late) letters.

I snapped another quick picture of you heading into your school this month.  I feel like I never do this moment justice though when I take a picture.  Having the camera ready and telling you to wave isn't as awesome as when  you turn around on your own and blow me a kiss and yell, "Love ya mom!"  I guess it is something though.

You continue to LOVE your brother.  L-O-V-E.  I had no idea you would be this enamored with him.  I thought it would be Tessa wanting to love on a baby, but boy was I big time wrong.  In fact, you would do anything to be able to be with him, including changing a diaper!  I had to help you out with the logistics a bit (tabs in the back, etc.), but you did a great job.  I still have to get after you quite often during the day to give Ty some space because woah, you can be a lot to take in, but it really is sweet to see, and I hope you continue to enjoy having him around when you both are older.

Dad got to bring Smokey Bear to your preschool class this month, and you were pretty excited.  You figured out (or a classmate told you) that Smokey is really a person inside a suit.  I'm not sure if it was that knowledge or just the fact that you are getting older, but you were definitely more comfortable with him this year.  I think you like having your dad come to your class because your chest was pretty puffed up and you had a proud look on your face the whole time he was there.  It was pretty dang cute.

You've been dying to start a fire in our backyard with some of the dead weeds we had laying around from last summer, and finally dad broke down when he was outside dragging the yard with the fourwheeler.  It was just a tiny little thing with hardly any flame, but you didn't care.  Also, that shirt is your "Mater shirt," and ever since Grandma H. gave it to you it has been your favorite.  You are forever asking me if I have washed it yet, and I know the second it comes out of the dryer you will have it on.  You wear it even when it is too hot outside for long sleeves, so for Easter this year I tried to one-up grandma and got you an Angry Birds shirt (I try not to buy the "character" shirts, but seeing how much you loved your Mater shirt made me cave I guess). I don't think it is quite as big of a hit as the Mater shirt, but you were still pretty excited to see it in your basket.

Speaking of Easter, the Easter bunny spoiled you and Tess 3 times this year!  The weekend before actual Easter was conference Sunday, and dad left on a detail to New Mexico right before, so the rest of us went to G&G Hillier's house for the weekend.  We had ham and funeral potatoes for dinner and an Easter egg hunt afterwards.  It was a good time, and we even got to spend Sunday night there too since it was spring break and you didn't have school.

The next weekend we were supposed to go camping, but with dad gone you just went up to G&G Veater's house a day earlier than normal to hang out with them and dye Easter eggs.  The next day Ty and I came out, and we went out to Kodachrome with the Pollock side of the family.  You and Quade ended up watching us hide the Easter candy in our usual spot, so you knew it wasn't the Easter bunny, but that didn't keep you from having a blast looking for it.  You got your usual haul (we aren't sure how to get the Grandmas who don't have grandkids there to stop bringing 10 bags of candy a piece...), and you had a good time sliding down the yellow rocks on your butt just like your dad and uncles used to do.

Whew!  So that has been our month.  We've got you all signed up for t-ball, which starts this weekend, and KINDERGARTEN!  I can't believe I am going to have a kindergartner.  I asked Ms. April if I should request a certain teacher for you next year whose personality or teaching style would work the best for you, and she gave you a great compliment when she said, "With a kid as well rounded as Logan you really don't need to worry."  I'm so proud of you bud.  You have learned so much this year in school.  The other day in Primary I was conducting and you were assigned to read the scripture, and you did!  You read pretty much the whole thing without help, and i had more than one person comment to me afterwards about what a good job you had done reading.  I love it.  I hope you never lose your love of learning and READING!.  It is so, SO important.  We have so many fun things to do this summer with t-ball, preschool graduation, swimming lessons, the pool, the park, the river, birthday parties, camping, reunions, and I can't wait, but I also can't wait to see how you do when you start kindergarten in August.

I love you bud and am so proud of you,
Mom

Tessa - April 2012

Your letter is 11 days late because my computer was being fixed and all the pictures went with it.  And yes, it has been gone that entire time...

I told this story in Logan's letter, but since you were the one who ended up covered in lipstick, I better share it in yours.  One night while your dad was gone and I thought I had successfully gotten everyone to bed you came into my room where I was working.  It was dark so I couldn't tell what you had all over your face, but you told me that Logan had drawn on you.  I thought it was marker until I got closer and saw that it was lipstick!  The two of you had been playing in the bathroom and found an old, OLD lipstick of mine and decided to color on it.  Now that it has been a few weeks and I was able to (mostly) successfully get the lipstick out of the carpet and off the walls, doors, etc., it is funny.  But oh, that night it was NOT funny.  Your head was stained pink for at least a week.  I can't believe you let Logan do that!

Ty gets more than his fair share of pictures taken lately, but that's just how it goes with baby.  That doesn't mean you don't jump in front of the camera almost every chance you get though.  This is just a picture of you being silly one day when I had the camera out.  Spoiler alert for next month:  Those bangs aren't long anymore!  I didn't want to cut them even though they were always in your face and made you look homeless, but grandma Hillier finally convinced me to, and you look really cute.  As always, I wish I would have done it sooner.

Daddy was gone for training for week this month, and we were all excited to see him when he finally got home.  I was smart enough to pull out my camera and caught your little reunion with him.  I think this will always be one of my favorites!

And we took one of daddy and kids one morning before he went to work.  I took two pictures, and the funny thing is you are making the exact same face in both of them!

Another picture just hanging out with mom, probably one day while Logan was at school and Ty was asleep.  I love when you ask "Mommy will you PLAY with me?"  I try so hard to always make time to play even for just a few minutes, but it seems like that time is when I am playing catch up with work or housework.  I don't want to waste this time with you though.

The other night I was feeling particularly sentimental as I was laying in bed next to you trying to get you to go to sleep.  This was our conversation...
Me: Tess, will you always talk to me?  Even when you are big?
You:  Yes...
Me:  About boys?
You:  Yes....
Me:  About your friends?
You:  Yes!................................And food?

I laughed pretty hard.  I love how much you love me right now.  It is a pretty big ego boost for this momma who is starting to feel old and moldy, so please keep your promise and talk to me about whatever you want!

Another thing I wrote down for this month happened while you were playing in the bath one night.  My hair has started to fall out again after the pregnancy, and you found a piece of it in the tub.  You got excited and said, "Mom look!  It's my pet snake!"  You played with that piece of hair the whole time and made sure I got it out for you when it was time to get in bed.  By the time I had gotten you out, dried off, dressed, and in bed though we had lost your pet snake along the way.   You were looking all over for it, and while you weren't looking I pulled another piece out and put it on your pillow because you wanted your pet to sleep right by you.  You really are such a silly little thing, and I absolutely love it.

The other day I was talking to a friend about how big (or not in her case) we get during pregnancy.  I remembered that your dad happened to take these pictures the day Ty was born, so I had him send them to me.  This was literally 4 hours before Ty was born, and we were all sitting on the floor rolling the basketball to each other (me cringing through contractions...), and you and Logan decided to see what you would look like with the big belly look.

Oh little miss I do love you so much.  You are definitely not the baby in the family anymore, but I'm going to hold on to the time I've got with you home with me with all I can.

Love you sis,
Momma