Ember - 5 Years Old

Ember is now 5 years old! Halfway to 10 years old! AHH! How is this happening! It is amazing to see how much children grow and learn each year! God has made them amazingly and I am so thankful to be a steward of such a precious gift that just so happened to make me a Mom. 

Ember is now about 35 pounds and 40 inches tall. Ember now sleeps in a big girl full size bed in her room. She still has a quiet time every day in which she enjoys reading, listening to music or book cds, playing with her new doll house, making necklaces, and doing other crafts. She really only takes a nap these days if she is sick or has been awake too late or early.

Ember is still the same girl that God made her to be - no surprise there! She is independent, particular, and a strong leader. She can be such a sweetheart in what she says or does for our family or others. She also of course has her selfish moments too. She loves to sing and dance and make jokes. She loves being silly and laughing. On the other side of things, she can be emotional about things that do not go her way. She continues to be a wonderful blend of sweet and spice and she sure keeps life interesting! 

Ember has a lot of things that she loves. Here are just a few of her five year old favorites. Ember loves lazy days in pajamas and she also loves going places and doing things with friends. She loves having planned crafts/activities at home and loves doing Tot School with Reece. Some of her favorite places to go are The Summit, "little church," preschool, swimming at the Aquaplex, any park, Chick Fil-A, HAPT to play, Mima and Pappy's, Grandma and Grandpa's, Sedona, Mexico, and our current trip we are looking forward to - Disneyland. Ember still loves singing and her current favorite songs are "How Far I'll Go" and "Your Welcome" from Moana, "Tis Christmas," "Thy Will be Done," and the scripture lullabies that she listens to in her room. This girl still LOVES to eat and these are some of her favorite foods: waffles, chia pudding, sausage and gravy over potatoes, apple, grapes, fig bars, mac and cheese, cheese crisp, almond butter and honey sandwiches, carrots, yogurt, pizza, sausages, Hawaiian Haystack, and candy as a little treat. Ember loves helping me clean with the Norwex rags and mop. She also loves writing, drawing, and coloring. And her newest thing is to make Dad or Mom a picture and sneak it down and hide it under our pillow or in our slippers for us to find later. 

Some of Ember's favorite things are games! She loves to play Go Fish, Zingo, Twister, and Jenga. She still enjoys puzzles as well. Her and Reece have created some games/activities that they love to play. Ember and Reece love to take turns driving each other around on the Plasma car. They also love to take turns leading themselves around using the stretch strap as a leash. They will color and draw together and read books together. They will pull each other around on blankets and sit in boxes together. They absolutely LOVE popping bubble wrap and will create dances together on their stage (the cat walk). Ember also really loves made up games that her and Daddy play. Tickle Bridge now has many variations such as "Hug Bridge" and "Wrestle Bridge." Ember still loves Hide and Seek and loves running around us in a circle having us try to catch her and tickle her. It is so fun to watch her imagination as she calls herself a "protector" and helps people and things. She also loves playing in the backyard with a plastic bowl, a little water, and leaves to make soup. She is constantly busy doing something with Reece, us, or her own imagination. 

Ember has learned and tried quite a few new things this past year. She has learned how to ride a bike with no training wheels and has been thoroughly enjoying that. She knows all her letters and their sounds and has been able to start sounding out and reading simple books like BOB books or books with few words and lots of repetition. She also loves to try and read things when we are driving around. Ember will try and spell things on pictures or in cards for people and sometimes is spot on with the spelling. Ember can count to 120 by herself and also enjoys counting by 5's and 10's to 100. We are thankful that she really enjoys learning and wants to try new things.

Ember was able to play AYSO soccer this past summer for the first time and really enjoyed it. She was pretty clueless as to how to play the game at first but once she figured it out she did very well and scored multiple goals. Ember also started a ballet/dance class through NAU this past August and has really been loving that as well. They learn different ballet and dance movements through story and always have a chance to do a freestyle dance. It is so fun to watch her grow and flourish in new learning new things and genuinely enjoying them.

There is so much more depth and complexity to who God has made Ember to be. She has given us extreme joy as well as many challenges in parenting her. We are thankful for both and wouldn't trade anything for the 5 years we have got to spend with our Ember Renee so far! 

Ember's Birthday Fun:

Ember wanted her usual chia pudding breakfast

Then she had her Noah's Ark party at preschool

We stopped by Mima's work for a little trick or treating

Chick-Fil-A for lunch and Daddy surprised Ember with a stop by

First time Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. Both kids LOVED it! 

And we found out there is a fun little train for FREE right up our street on Halloween that we got to ride! 

Ember got to open a few more presents! 

She had a "perfect day" in her words! 

Ember's 5 Year Interview:

Favorite color? Purple

Favorite toy? Tickle

Favorite food? Pizza

A food you don't really like? Onion

Favorite thing to watch? Moana

Favorite place to go? Disneyland

Favorite book? "Where the Sidewalk Ends"

Favorite song? "Tis Christmas"

Favorite restaurant? Chick Fil-A

Favorite thing to do each day? Eat

Favorite thing to do with Mommy? Tot School

Favorite thing to do with Daddy? Tickle Bridge

What makes you happy? Tickle

What is something scary? The thing in the entryway at Mima and Pappy's around Halloween and the mat that screams at Uncle Lee's house

What are you really good at? Soccer and playing "Twinkle Twinkle" on my Kidijamz Studio without looking at the music book

Who is your best friend? Addi Mews, Evi Drayton, and Evelyn Kayser

What do you want to be when you grow up? A mom and a nurse

What do you think about before you fall asleep? Movies, shows, and Disneyland

Here are a few other pictures for Ember during her 4th year of life! 

Legoland Trip!

Instead of having a birthday party to celebrate Reece turning 2, we decided to take a family trip to Legoland. And we are so glad that we did! We stayed at the Legoland Hotel for a whole week which is right outside the Legoland Theme Park. We had 5 day park hopper tickets for the Legoland theme park, the aquarium, and the water park that are all connected. The hotel was AMAZING! All the rooms were themed and there were lots of activities for the kids like a dance party every night, a pool with floating Legos, and juggling lessons. There was also a full on breakfast buffet included that we ate and thoroughly enjoyed every morning! Here are some of the highlights of our trip! 

Outside the hotel

First day at Legoland

The park was FULL of amazing and intricate lego creations like this one.

Ember coming off her FIRST roller coaster. You can tell she loved it.

There were tons of little play places all over the park which were perfect for Reece to enjoy while Ember rode the rides that he wasn't quite tall enough for.

This was the kids favorite play place in the park!

We went to a nearby beach for dinner and pictures on Reece's actual birthday! 

Thankful for the splash pads on our last day. It was a warm one!

Ember got $15 to spend at Legoland from her Mima and Pappy and this is what she decided that she wanted. It was very pretty! 

Enjoying the hotel pool our last night in California.

We are so thankful for such a FUN trip filled with great MEMORIES! Every time we mention Reece's birthday he starts waving his arm around and saying "Ninjago" which was his favorite ride at Legoland where you move your hand to shoot fireballs at things on the ride. They both loved Legoland so much and would love to go back sometime soon. Thanking God for such a wonderful trip with much needed family time during a very busy season of life! 

Reece - 2 Years Old

Reece is now a big 2 year old!! And wow is he a little character that wins over the hearts of almost everyone he meets! 

Reece weighs about 24 lbs and is 32.5 inches tall. He still takes a 2-3 hour nap around 1:00 each day. He goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes up in the morning around 7:00-7:30. And this little guy is still nursing if I am here when he wakes up in the morning, when he wakes up after his nap, or when he goes to bed for the night. 

Although Reece is still small for his age - he is mighty! He is constantly trying to lift things and carry things around that are much bigger than him. And this boy loves to eat. There isn't a huge list of things that he likes but he will eat and eat and eat the things that he does like. His favorite foods right now are waffles, grapes, scrambled eggs, sausage, pineapple, hot dog (which he asks for every day for lunch), macaroni and cheese, peas, sweet potato, cheese, and fig bars. 

Reece is finally beginning to really pick up speed in the vocabulary department. He is definitely learning how to communicate better which has been really nice for him and for us. He loves making train and car noises. And he also loves singing - with or without a microphone. His favorite songs are Twinkle Twinkle, the Moana theme song, and "Oh Oh God, Forgive Us" (by For King and Country). I have to sing him Twinkle Twinkle every night at bedtime. And every time he sees any of the Disney princesses, he starts to sing Moana. Every time that he sees a white car he says "Daddy's car." And the he says "more Daddy's car" when he sees another. And on and on it goes! 

Reece is still as affectionate as ever when he is in that kind of mood. He usually wants Mommy (coined "The Special One" by Daddy) to hold him and cuddle him after he wakes up in the morning sometimes but especially after nap. He will randomly run up and give us or Ember a hug. And even to other family and friends there is often unexpected hugs and kisses. When I take Reece to pick up Ember from preschool, he will run full speed into the classroom and practically tackle her with a hug. We love his displays of affection. He will also say "Mommy home" and "Daddy home" while giving us hugs. It is one of the sweetest things. He often will run over to Maci when we are about to leave and give her a big hug and say "bye doggy."

When Reece isn't being affectionate and cuddly, he is usually looking for trouble. Whether he is trying to play with electronics that he isn't supposed to touch, or trying to get into whatever his sister is trying to do - if Reece isn't around us it usually means he is up to no good. He is thankfully doing better with not hitting or biting and is learning that that is not how we treat others. It is also very very obvious when something isn't going as Reece planned because he has the highest pitch scream that he will let out. He has a shirt that says "Little but Loud" and that is a perfect description for our little guy.

And man oh man is this little guy silly! There are so many things he does that I can only shake my head and laugh at. He loves to sit down and put things in his shorts - like rocks, plastic toy frogs, woodchips, etc. And then he stands up and they all fall out. He loves it! He also loves saying "knock knock" jokes. And he actually is getting pretty good at them. He loves to imitate funny lines or funny voices like "yoo hoo." And every time after he wakes up in his crib he throws his Tigger, his stuffed elephant, and his blanket out of his crib across the room and then says "uh oh" and points at them when I come get him. 

Since Ember is so into crafts, Reece likes to do them with her as well. He loves to color with colored pencils, crayons, and Color Wonder markers. He will make a few marks on his paper and then run over with his paper to show us. Then go back and make a few more marks and bring it back to us again. Reece is also very polite. He says "thank you" unprompted to almost everything. I take a picture of him - he says "thank you." I turn his sound machine on at night - he says "thank you." I hope his manners continue in such an abundant fashion. 

Reece really loves to play and is always very busy! Some of his favorite toys are cars, balls, balloons, building Legos or blocks, playing with Ember's camera or baby doll, and making food in the play kitchen. Reece still loves books too. Some of his favorites right now are "Little Blue Truck," "Slide and See," "Zip It," and "Growl, Growl, on the Prowl." He is starting to be interested in movies and shows for short periods of time. His favorite is "Vroom Vroom" (Baby Einstein's On the Go). He also likes Elmo's World and Sesame Street. And he still loves doing what his big sister is doing. He is constantly copying her and following her around trying to do big kids things.

Reece loves being outside - whether we are walking or he is riding his Strider bike. He loves taking baths, playing in the water table, and being tickled fiercely. He loves to pick up Ember from preschool and Daddy or Mommy coming home from being gone. He can't wait to play outside of the church after the service is over. He has a thing for a little girl friend named Kierra. He loves eating snacks and having ice in his water. And we found out for his 2nd birthday that he loves EVERYTHING about Legoland. 

Reece keeps us on our toes and gives the sweets hugs! He is oh so loveable and I am so grateful that two years ago God made him ours! He adds such a perfect dynamic to our family! We love you, Reecey Pie! 

New HAPT Trainer!

I have always liked the idea of becoming a personal trainer at the gym very part time once the kids were in school. But in August, a need for subs came up and a trainer was leaving so it seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to jump in and be trained up, get some good experience and than drop down to being a sub! It has been a HUGE change but a good one! And bonus - Dustin got to train me up and teach me the ropes :)