CUTENESS!!

Baby drool!!

So precious!

We were watching a movie the other night, and my sister called; so I went down stairs to talk to her and when I went back up stairs I found Brady and the big kids fast asleep.

Soooooo cute!

My two sweet girls! "Girl Power!"

Getting Better

Wesley had his second swim meet yesterday. He did a little better with back stroke; He made it almost halfway across the pool this time. He was very determined and didn't want to quit trying. He was getting really tired though, so we told him good job and had him get out. We were proud of him for trying again. He was a few seconds slower on freestyle this time. I think his time was 122.13 or something. I will find out for sure Tuesday at practice. I was thinking about it and realized we are going to be involved with the six and under crew for quite a while. Especially if Aubrey decides to do swim team. Wesley will have two more years! Hooray! I guess that is 2 more years of us getting to leave the meets earlier.

Aubrey still can't figure out why she can't get in the pool with Wesley at the meets. It is tough being two! She is so hilarious. Brady was teasing Wesley tonight, pretending to pop him in the mouth, and Aubrey said to him, "Brady, don't hit Wesley. It's not nice!" She loves to sit by Cali and feed her the pretend bottles she has for her dolls and cover her up with her doll blankets. She won a hula hoop at bingo night last week. She really likes it and it is a hoot to watch her try to hula. Aubrey has some seriously amazing moves. She CAN dance. :) Potty training is NOT getting better.........I am giving in for the sake of us all, until the end of summer. She is now in a pull up. So, take away one more gold mommy star from my chart cuz I am failing at potty training. *sigh* Oh well, she'll get it eventually.

Cali is trying so hard to make noises and 'talk' to us. It is sooo cute. I love to play with her and cuddle her. She is such a sweet little thing. She is getting bigger and bigger. She is really interested in the other kids. It is fun to see her be so curious. She is starting to drool all over the place. Gotta love baby drool! I love her pretty eyes and that she can be crying hysterically, and then I pick her up and she goes silent. I love it when she snuggles down into my arms to nurse. I enjoy my time with her.

So Much Fun!

Playing peek-a-boo with Cali is SO MUCH FUN!! We all love to see her smile. (The afgahn in this picture was made by Sister Chestnut. Elder and Sister Chestnut are here serving as missionaries. They lived next to Granny and Grampa long ago when they were all raising their kids. They are wonderful!)


"Peek-A-Boo!"

Aubrey loves to ride this super cool motorcycle. It belongs to our next door neighbor, DeeJay. He has lots of really cool "rides" the kids like to play with.

A few of the gang enjoying Popsicles together after a very fun water fight. Yes, that is our sweet little princess with her shirt off. And yes, she is usually the only gal out playing with all the boys.

This past Saturday was Wesley's first swim meet! It was actually pretty nice weather. It was hot, but not so hot you felt like melting. He did really well. We were really happy with his free style; he needs to work on the back stroke. He got about 5 feet out with the back stroke and just could not get himself going again. He had two events, and would have had three, the third being a relay, except one or two of the kids didn't show up.

Cali slept most of the morning of the meet. This is one of the rare moments I was able to set her down and she stayed asleep!!

Wesley and Aubrey just chillin', waiting for Wesley's second race.

Aubrey GOT IN THE BIG POOL! Yes, she started down the steps into the pool while we were watching Wes attempt the back stroke. *sigh* She just wants to participate too! She spent most of the morning wandering around and playing on a nearby playground (when she wasn't trying to sneak into the pool, that is).

Brady volunteered to be a timer the first half of the meet.

Wesley waiting to go to the ready bench.

SWIMMERS, STEP UP!! (He kept watching the kid next to him to make sure he was doing it right.)

GET READY! (still watching the kid next to him, lol)

GO!!!! (I love this picture! Nice 'dive', don't ya think?)

Go Wesley Go!

Almost finished.....And he never once grabbed the lane rope!! We were thrilled, and amazed. He did AWESOME! We had never seen him swim the whole length of the pool with out stopping to rest on the lane rope. I (mom) was standing near his lane close to the pool, and when he got to the end I was yelling "Keep going Wes! You can do it!" and he heard me and looked up and got a big smile on his face. He was getting a kick out of everybody cheering for him, and kept glancing at the side line and smiling to himself. It was soooo very cute. I literally had a tear or two come to my eyes when he finished. I felt so happy for him! And I realized, yes, he is growing up.

Feeling proud. His time was 118.90, not bad for a four and a half year old! All of the kids got a participation ribbon. Wesley was really excited about it. His coach gave him a little box of candy, and that was really cool for him. He kept saying, "Mom, I'm gonna get more of these ribbons! I love this!". It was so fun to see him swim and be so excited about it all.

As you can see, we have been having SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Photo Gallery Week Ending 5/10/09

I thought this was cute of Wes and Aubrey.

We struggled to get a good picture.....there is always one of us that looks goofy and it is usually mom.

Brady, Wesley and our neighbor Brinsan, went camping this past weekend. It was our ward Father and Son's outing. This is the camp site.

Wesley and his friend Cyrus.

Brinsan is the one in the gray shirt. He loved camping! This was his first ever camp out. I am happy he could go and that Brady thought to invite him. The other boy is Adam, from our ward.

Aubrey waiting for swim practice to be over.

Wes practicing being on his back so he can learn the back stroke.
He missed the practice meet Saturday because he was camping. Hopefully he won't be overwhelmed next week at the his real first meet!

Chowin' down on gold fish after practice! He is doing pretty well. He made the cut for swim team; he is swim ready and gets to finish out this season. I am happy because he really loves it. He has a lot of work to get better.

At practice this past Thursday, the coaches had the 6 and unders practice like they were at their fist meet. They taught them what to do to get ready and to jump in and swim when they hear the beep. Wesley made it just about half way across the pool before he grabbed the lane rope! I was super excited. He definitely needs work on technique, but that will come. Friday he did okay, but not as well as that first day. Hopefully after next week he will be even better and more confident.

Three of my greatest blessings:)

Soooo sweet! Wesley and Aubrey love their little sister.

Cutest kids ever, don't you think???

Cali is smiling so much now! I love it. It is totally deja vu with her.....she looks just like Aubrey!!!

I just can't get enough of her!! (and she can't get enough of ME! that is why I nurse ALL DAY LONG!)

Daddy and Cali.

Family Home Evening on Monday was.....well, did not go how I wanted it to. But the kids had fun. Like how Brady blind folded them??? Silly daddy.

Mothers Day is today, as you all know. At church, the primary kids sang with Sister Bradley (the primary president). Wesley didn't want to go up because he says singing makes him tired. He really doesn't like singing time. It cracks me up.

Also, some of the girls from primary got up and sang a really cute song about wanting to grow up to be mommies and have little babies (blessings)of their own. They ended up singing it in Relief Society too, since one of the girls missed it as she was in the restroom when they went up to sing. I was glad they sang it again, in a setting where I could really listen to the words. Part of the song was an answer to my prayers of pleading.....my kids (especially Aubrey) have been very difficult to deal with lately. Needless to say, I have done a lot more yelling than normal. I feel frustrated all day long. I don't remember the exact way the song went, but it was something about being excited to be a mom and giving the kids cookies and milk and yellow balloons. I heard them sing that and it hit me that I am focusing on all the things my little ones don't do or do that they shouldn't, and I am forgetting to have fun with them. I am forgetting to look for the good things they do. I don't know why that phrase in the song woke me up to that. Maybe it is because it made me remember my Granny and Grandma Posey. We got balloons a lot at gran's house (a long with ice cream and cookies) and always got, what we called, bugles and bears, at grandma Posey's. When you are a kid and you get to have cookies and milk and balloons, the whole world feels wonderful! And though I realize life, and motherhood, isn't always cookies and milk......hmmm I just don't know how to put how I feel into words so that it makes sense. I am just so grateful for all of the wonderful mom's in my life who have given me fond memories and happy feelings that I remember. Who love me, mistakes and all. I love my little ones, mistakes and all. Even on the days that I feel like popping all the balloons and throwing away the cookies.
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY EVERYONE!!!

5/4/2009 Update

LIFE IS GOOD


BUMBO TIME!!

SWIM TEAM PRACTICE

FUN WITH WATER....

LOTS AND LOTS OF RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!