Captured Moments

Marco loves to explore new things, pull things out and slobber all over them.  A babies life is so amusing!

Nathan and Bracken aren't supposed to jump on the couches but every now and then when the start it up I don't have the heart to squash their fun and let them go at it.

Over the last few months I have given Nathan a few piano lessons when he has the hankering for one.  Like a sponge he has absorbed more knowledge about the piano over his short life span than I realized simply from observing my student's lessons.  He has great posture and technique.  I love to watch him practice.  He is so focused and serious.  It's seriously cute.

Fall Break

Fall Break, was a while ago in reality but oh well better late than never!

Nathan loved his first vacation from school, sleeping in every day and hanging out with Bracken and Mom like the good ol' days.  Mostly the week was spent just taking it easy and enjoying a slower pace.  We did have a fun excursion to the zoo with our cousins.  The fall weather was perfect and Nathan and Bracken had  a blast racing from animal to animal with Ava and Jaxon.

County Fair

September 28th

Here in Prescott Valley we have a  ton of little carnivals that come throughout the year and every time we drive pass them the boys beg and beg to go and check out the rides.  We usually come up with some excuse as to why we can't make it to the carnival, but we always remind them that maybe next time it will work out.  

So this year we decided that we would make a night of it and enjoy the lights and smells of our local county fair.  Andy, Bekah and their kids joined us and the kids had fun experiencing the magic together.  

The place was crazy crowded. Every time we moved we bumped into someone.  And maneuvering our stroller through the thick crowd was almost impossible.  The lines for the kiddie rides were reasonable so the kids didn't get too antsy waiting.

When the last of our tickets were all used up we headed back to the food carts and enjoyed some funnel cake and then called it a night.  All in all it was fun especially for the kids.  It never ceases to amaze me how much work goes into having a fun outing with our boys.  Both Nathan and Bracken had at least one tizzy fit at some point during the evening and we were constantly reminding them to stay close, hold our hands and stay in line.  But I think in their eyes it was a magical evening which means it was a success.

Baby Cereal

I finally fed Marco his first little taste of baby rice cereal.  I'm not sure why I waited so long, mostly I just didn't take the time to bother with it.  But Marco has been VERY interested in our food and drinks lately so I knew he was more than ready to give it a try.

I introduced him to the creamy, bland goodness during lunch one afternoon.  He was excited for his first spoonful, but after a few more tastes his face looked a little worried. 

Pass the water please!?!

After a couple of days I started adding in baby food puree for more flavor and then he was sold on the whole food concept.  This baby loves him some mashed bananas!

6 Months Old

My little cutie pie is 6 months old already!!!!!!

He is still as sweet as ever, giving gigantic grins and smiles to everyone he meets.  

Marco has found his feet and he is enthralled with them.  The minute he lays down on his back he grabs for his feet which makes diaper changes a bit more challenging.  

Marco is a sitting pro now and has finally started rolling from back to tummy or tummy to back.  Twice he has rolled enough times to travel several feet, but I guess he figures rolling isn't worth the effort to get from point A to point B because he uses it sparingly.

His dark chocolate eyes are so rich and dreamy that I regularly get lost in them.

I can't get enough of my little Marquito!

Family Celebration

Bracky waited patiently all Tuesday to finally have his birthday dinner, cake pops, and PRESENTS!

Grandma and Grandpa Kleinman joined us for burgers and hot dogs.  After dinner we sang Happy Birthday to Bracken, he blew out his candles and then attacked the pile of gifts with the help of Nathan.

Bracky turns 3!

September 10th

Our little Brack Brack is 3 years old!

His birthday fell on a Monday which is one of the evenings that Curtis works.  I like to celebrate birthdays on their actual day as much as possible so we hoped to celebrate during Curtis's office hours and have a birthday lunch celebration at Texas Road House (Cowboy restaurant to Bracken) but we had to skip to plan B because Curtis needed to the time to finish up a big project. Sooo....

Marco and I busted out balloons galore to make the house more festive and...

I let Bracken open one present so he wouldn't have to wait another whole day for his birthday family dinner which we decided to postpone till Tuesday evening.  I wanted to make his birthday feel special even if the celebration had to wait another day.  Bracken loved his birthday decorations and played with the balloons all day long.  And every time someone wished him happy birthday he would wish them a happy birthday too!  

We decided to enjoy a trip to our local zoo.  Bracken loves animals and he soaked in every moment of our stroll around the zoo.  

At the last moment I decided to go ahead with our plan A and take the boys to the Cowboy Restaurant all by myself! I may have been crazy but it actually turned out OK.  Towards the end Marco was starting to get a little tired and when he's tired he shrieks, loudly.  The booth behind us had 2 mature couples enjoying dinner, and after several high pitched squeals one of the gentlemen mumbled "Get that kid a cracker!"  I was embarrassed but his sweet wife pointed out to him that I was by myself with 3 little boys and he needed to give me a break! 

When I tucked Bracken into bed later that night I asked him if it was a good birthday and he said "YES!"

Mission accomplished!

Stake Center Dedication

September 8th

Curtis and I were involved in the open house for our growing Prescott Valley Stake brand spankin' new stake center.  Curtis was on hand from 1:30 till 6:30 for any Spanish translating needs and I was involved with the musical entertainment.  The open house was a really involved venue.  They had amazing presentations throughout the tours and awesome displays with wonderful information in the cultural hall.  The feeling and energy in the atmosphere was amazing and we felt really grateful to have been a part of this little bit of PV history.

September 9th

Sunday evening we packed up our kids and headed for the dedication service.  I accompanied the choir musical numbers and had to be there early for the last rehearsal, which left Curtis alone to handle our 3 boys.  He did his best to keep them occupied, entertained and quiet and luckily another family jumped in to help him with the older kids while he bounced a fussy Marco.  Curtis survived the meeting, but barely.

As for me, I had my biggest piano playing blooper EVER!  A small mens choir sang a beautiful song that had challenging accompaniment.  I practiced A LOT in preparation for this song and just as we came up on a key change that lead into an acapella section I turned 2 pages instead of 1 and I flubbed the key change so badly that the poor men singers did NOT get their key change!  I could have died!!!  I didn't know what to do!  Halfway through the verse I had to join back in with the choir but now there were singing in a different key than I was playing.  It was a mess.  I came in when I was supposed to and prayed that things would right themselves out somehow.  The men floundered around for a few measures but eventually they adjusted and we finished the last page of the song with everyone back on track.  I was too devastated to cry, luckily, but I was so disgusted with myself I went home and moped.  Curtis tried to cheer me up but in the end a good nights sleep was all that could cure me of my self loathing.  It was pathetic and I'll never forget it.

Snails

A friend of ours gave us some lettuce from his garden.  While I was washing it I discovered a few little stowaways.  Two slimey snails!  The boys were thrilled to observe them for the day so we kept them in cups with a leaf of lettuce and watched them do their thing.

Bracky was so enthralled with his snail he carried around his little friend all afternoon.  I encouraged them to stay outside as much as possible just in case the little critters got away.  

We sat them outside by our flower pots for the night but when the morning rolled around we found they had crawled out of the cups and away.  I explained to them that the snails were happier out in nature.  Nathan was cool with it but Bracken mourned his loss till his mid morning show.

Thank you snails for an afternoon of discovery. 

Head Banging

It all started when "Eye Of The Tiger" came on our Pandora station.

Everyone's got a little bit of rocker in them!

5 Months Old

Marco continues to be my sunshine.  His happiness if contagious.  I could drink in his sweetness all day long.  He is learning and growing every day.  His tiny hands are starting to open up more and more instead of being  balled into fists, he rolls from side to side, and he is sitting up.  He has two adorable (sharp) teeth making his infectious smile even more endearing.  His face lights up when his family gives him their undivided attention, but he especially loves his Mommy!  He is happy to let other people/strangers hold him as long as he knows that I am close by.  In the morning when I get him out of his crib he throws his arms around my neck, grabs my hair with his little fists, and smothers my face with his slobbery besos!  It's a pretty great way to be greated!

We've Got A Sitter!

Marco has reached an important milestone.  He is can sit up all by himself!  

On August 1st it hit me that he was probably ready to start trying to sit.  So I sat the cute little bug down and sure enough he held himself upright for about 30 seconds before rolling over to his side.  Over the next few weeks we practiced sitting a little every day until he could sit pretty good on his own.  He is still a bit wobbly and unpredictable so we keep the boppy behind him to help soften the fall. 

Bracken's new favorite game is Marco Tipping.  He finds it very amusing to walk by Marco when he is sitting up and give him a little nudge.  Poor little baby, he is only beginning to understand what it means to have 2 older brothers.  By far the funniest predicament that Marco finds himself in is the forward fold, as I call it.  I think sometimes his little muscles just get tuckered out holding him up and he just falls forward over his legs and gets stuck folded in half!

It won't be long before Marco is an old hat at sitting and begins experimenting with crawling. Babies grow up so fast!

Just Keep Chewing, Chewing Chewing

We have teeth!

On August 8th Marco's left, front bottom tooth broke through and his right bottom tooth followed the next day.  This first round of teething was fairly tame. The previous week he had one abnormally fussy day and a few nights where he whimpered and woke more than usual.  All in all it was very manageable so I guess time will tell if he is a "good" teether or not.

Having his new little teeth has increased Marco's desire to chomp and chew.  The minute he grabs onto an object it goes right into his mouth.  Softer, rubbery objects are his favorite.  He will suck and chew on them till they get so thoroughly slimed the can't hold onto them anymore!

Bracky's Songs

A-pranes

Like most little kids Bracken goes through toy phases.  For a few days he'll be on a moto kick than move onto his Rescue pack filled with various rescue gear.  But today he has chosen airplanes or as he pronouces it A-pranes.

First Day of School!

August 6th

Oh what a day!  My first born is off to start his adventure in public school.  Nathan woke up extra early due to an over abundance of excitement.  He was dressed and ready in record time, we shall see how long that lasts.  Usually this kid is not a morning person and he drags his feet getting up and at'em.

After breakfast we headed out back to take our first day of school pictures and everyone got in on the action.  I love that Bracken wanted to wear his back pack and be just like Nathan even though he has a few years to go before he can head off to school.  I have pictures of my family on the first day of school with my younger siblings doing the exact same thing.

The whole family loaded up in the car to see Nathan off.  I could tell that Nathan was getting a bit more nervous the closer we got to the school which mostly means he was more quiet than usual.

Curtis waited in the car while I walked him into his classroom.  Nathan looked all through the desks and found his seat, and settled into his chair.  I could tell by the look on his face that he was a bit anxious, but he was still very ready and happy to finally be a kindergarten kid.  There were a ton of people in the room. Lots of parents and extra siblings taking pictures and several having emotional break downs.  I decided it was best to make it short and sweet so Nathan could move on with his exciting day.  I kissed him good bye, gave him a big hug and smile and walked out the door.  I wasn't sure if I would cry or get teary eyed but I didn't.  I was happy for him.  He has been looking forward to the day he could go to school for a very long time. He was ready and so was I.

One of Nathan's lifelong dreams also came true.  He gets to ride the bus home!!!!!  He has had a small obsession with school buses since he was a toddler.  There was a bit of confusion about which bus he needed to get on since he is a half day kid and leaves school just before lunch.  The half day kindergarten kids get their own bus which is different than the usual buses and routes.  But the teachers called me and so did the bus driver to make sure I was aware of the changes being made to his bus assignment directions and at 11:20am Marco and I greeted him out front after his first day of school and his first school bus ride.

Nathan came home happy and ready to fill me in on all the amazingly cool details of his day!