The Kids

JAKE
Brian and I watched "Mama Mia!" over the holidays and Brian thought Jake would really enjoy it. I was doubtful. Guess who was wrong? Yep, Jake's favorite movie is "Mama Mia!". He goes around the house singing "Super Trouper" and, of course, the title track over and over. He may be the only one in the world who thinks that Pierce Brosnan's singing is "Great!".

He had Friday off school so he and I hung out while I "worked". I love having that one-on-one time together. We did a yoga video at lunch- which he really enjoyed-completing several Sun Saluations proudly. He keeps asking me if we can do it again.

He still loves four square- we taped off a court in his bedroom so we can play inside since it continues to be COLD and FOGGY here. He can beat me with one hand tied behind his back.

Although I am not thrilled that he and Tanner woke up at FIVE AM both days this weekend, I am so proud of how they play together in their room in the mornings- Jake reads Tanner books, they draw on the easel, play their computer games, build Lego towers, and just generally crack each other up until it is time to come into our room at 7.

Speaking of reading.... I am amazed by what he can read these days. He and Brian are reading a non-fiction book on "Baseball's Greats". They take turns reading pages. He picked up a "Magic Tree House" the other day and just sat down and started plowing through it. ( In fact he is now reading this over my shoulder as I type...)

TANNER
He loves school now. After sobbing uncontrollably for months on end every time we dropped him at Miss Wendy's, he now goes happily, always picking out a book to share at reading time and asking if today is field trip day (they take a "field trip" once a week to local free places (Burger King, the mall, the park, Cabelas).

He loves that he has 'homework" (This is just letter practice he does with Miss Wendy but he likes to call it HW so he can be like his big brother). He carries it back and forth in a Steelheads folder.

He is proving to be quite a basketball star and "announces" games as he dribbles through our living room and shoots into the laundry basket. He calls himself "Koby Carl"- who is the star player on our local team. While I was in the hottub yesterday he bundled up (it was 25 degrees outside) and shot three-pointers in our backyard. That kid is so persistent. He did not give up until he made that shot. It took a lot of tries.... but he did it.

He also shows a lot of talent for football. He can catch it from across the living room now and can throw fairly accurately. I don't know where these kids got their athletic ability from, but he's got it in spades. We call him our "Retirement Plan"...

He would survive on PBJ if I let him. And cold pizza. That's his favorite breakfast.

Whenever he falls down or hurts himself in some way he says, "OH... THAT'S gotta hurt!".

We are starting a garden and have been composting for a few months. He loves to help Brian in the garden, turning over the soil, picking up leaves to compost, etc... I think he will really get into it when we actually get to plant things and (hopefully) see them grow! Now if we could only get him to EAT vegetables, that would be good....

FAITH
We have reinstituted "Family Game Nights". Faith loves them! It is a challenge finding games that all three of the kids can enjoy together. So far we have two: One of them is a Disney DVD Bingo game and the other is a Disney Pictionary game. I help Tanner, Brian helps Faith, and we play for about half an hour. When it is time to turn it off Faith just falls apart. She sobs inconsolably. The boys love Game Night, too, and would gladly have it every night instead of 2 nts/week.

She loves to be naked. She runs around the house screaming, "I NAKED! I NAKED!" and when we try to put a diaper on her she yells and bucks her body around, making it almost impossible to get her dressed.

She loves to play sports with her brothers. She does this little tippy toe dance with her hands in the air yelling "I READY! I READY!" while she waits for her brothers to throw, pass, punt, kick, hit, bounce, or roll the ball-of-the-moment to her.

She is definitely showing signs of being almost 2. Yikes. She's always had a scowl that could stop you in your tracks but now she combines it with this loud mean grunting sound. Lovely girl. I'm so proud.

She is addicted to Diego. She was home sick one day last week and I had to work so I plugged her into a CD that had 2 hours of Diego on it. She watched it nonstop the protested loudly when I turned it off. I put her down for a nap and the only way I knew she was awake is that I heard her plaintively repeating, "Dieeeeeeego! Dieeeeeego!" in her crib

She loves animals. She has always adored Milo and will lavish him with love (sometimes a little too roughly) but Miss Wendy has a dog, a cat, a bird, and a turtle and she can't get enough of them. She also loves to play with stuffed animals and currently has a cat, a giraffe, a monkey, and whenever she can manage to steal it away from Tanner.... a "penguino" that she calls "Geeno".

She is the best hugger. She gives these bear hugs that I just eat up. She also holds my face in her hands and says, "I love you Mama!" while staring into my eyes. Seriously. It's a heart breaker.

US
Brian turns 40 on the 30th of this month. His mom is coming to visit for a few weeks and she and my mom are going to watch the kids for two nights so we can get some time alone. This will be our first night away since Faith was born. We are heading to beautiful downtown Boise!!! Yep, we are staying in our own town- but with the huge difference of getting to experience it without little ones. We are taking a snowboarding lesson together on Saturday, have dinner reservations at nice places both nights, plan on seeing a matinee on Sunday, and will sleep in or at least stay in bed both mornings until well past 7AM. We can't wait. Also, LOST starts on Wednesday so its a pretty great week ahead all the way around.

Quick Hits

Things I actually wrote down because I didn't want to forget to post about them:

1. I was reading the dire predictions regarding global warming in a book that Marisa had gotten for me as a Chistmas present, you know flooding, freezing, more extreme weather etc. Tanner was listening in and his verbatim response, "Wow, that's cool Dad". If it's a wreck of a planet we're leaving him, he doesn't seem too concerned about it.

2. We went over to visit Cori before she left to go back to CA and caught her while she was doing her laundry. She had the ironing board set up and we sat and talked for a few minutes before Jake spoke up, gesturing to the ironing board and said, "Hey Dad, what's this thing for?". I may do the laundry here, but I do NOT iron. We don't own an iron, much less an ironing board. If you want something pressed in this house, get a job and take it to the dry cleaners.

3. Jake stayed home from school sick for three days right before we left for Christmas (how sick he ACTUALLY was is open to debate). But he "rested" on the couch while I worked in the office. He is quite the sports fan and will watch old college football games on ESPN classic etc. But I came out from the office and saw him watch, two COMPLETE....Spanish Cup Soccer Games (yes in Spanish)....from the 1998 Spanish Soccer Cup. I don't know if he was sick, but man he MUST have been bored.

I love the dichotomy of kids....they're either cracking you up, or driving you insane.

G Diapers

In a "better late than never" effort to cut down on the number of diapers we put into landfill- and in our continuing quest to lessen our carbon footprint- we started using flushable/biodegradable diapers this week. For those of you with children of diaper age, I highly recommend them. They are easy to use, easy to flush -and you can even compost them if you want. There is some controversy over the flushing (amount of water used) vs. landfill. But since there is no way I am going to use cloth diapers, this is good middle ground.

Faith is modeling one for you!

Check out their website here.

Christmas In California

We decided to leave Boise after work on Friday, December 20th and ended up spending the night in Winnemucca, NV on our way to Truckee- our first planned stop. We hit some snow in Rome and thought it best to get off the roads. We got to the hotel at 10:30 and the kids were WIRED. Thankfully the boys fell asleep sometime around 11:30 but our little girl was a big stinker. She was up until 3:30AM. Brian took her downstairs to the hotel lobby at around 1AM and tried to wear her out- to no avail. She laid between us and repeatedly sang The National Anthem and The ABC Song, then just started yelling things like, "Mommy! Daddy! Jake! Tanner!" while we tried to shush her as best we could while trying not to wake the boys or piss off any of the other hotel guests. Tanner was up at 5:30AM and we departed the lovely town of Winnemucca soon after. Faith escaped with her life.... very narrowly.

Our time in Tahoe was much more fun. We got there by noon and all five of us napped.... AT THE SAME TIME!!! Sheila and Wayne and their kids arrived at 3 and we got to spend the afternoon and evening catching up and laughing and enjoying good homemade food that Sheila brought. Sam is now a sophomore in college and Shelby is a senior in HS- who we are hoping chooses to attend Boise State in the fall. It was so much fun to spend time together- even if it was a brief visit.

The next day we headed to Auntie Sue's house where the kids were greeted with new Christmas dishes/sippy cups and a bedroom decked out with "pre-Christmas toys", new books, stuffed animals, and sleeping bags. Not to mention to the singing Elf hats and Santa masks (see picture). They were in heaven being spoiled to death by Grandma Mary (who was also visiting from MN) and Auntie Sue. Tanner treated us to a performance wherein he dressed up like Santa and spent 30 minutes walking around to each of us "ho ho hoing" and asking us what we wanted for Christmas. Then he would bring us something completely unrelated to our request and say, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!". Very funny. While in San Ramon Brian and I got to see several old friends, renewing friendships from our previous lives in CA. It was so great to catch up- now if we could only get others to move here with us!!!

After two nights at Auntie Sue's we headed to Kim's house in Mountain View. We spent Christmas Eve there with my mom, dad, and sister Kiri. Kim and Bill bought a Wii Fit for Christmas and the kids got to open it on Christmas Eve. The afternoon was spent bowling, skiing, hula hooping, and playing baseball. (Anyone want to place a bet on how long it is before my husband wants to buy one?). We ended the evening with a double feature of "Shrek the Halls" and "How The Grinch Stole Christmas".

On Christmas Day Brian was awake before the kids and, unable to contain his excitement, was whispering things in their ears like, " It's Christmas morning. Santa came last night! I think there's TOYS!". They awoke at 6:30 and the extravaganza began. Many presents later (two huge tupperware containers full to be exact!) we headed back down to Auntie Sue's house for Christmas Morning #2. More unwrapping ensued. Favorite gifts included a doll and inchworm for Faith, a Nintendo DS for Jake, and an indoor hockey "rink" and scooter for Tanner. However, the most cherished gift of all was a stuffed penguin from Auntie Sue that Tanner calls (You have to imagine this being said with a strong Italian/Spanish accent) "Penguino!. It was love at first sight. He tells us all the time now how he LOVES Penguino (same accent) and how Penguino is his friend. Penguino is now a permanent fixture in bed with Tanner- keeping company with "Moosey", "Ah-Ah" (monkey), and his sippy cup of water. Needless to say, the bed is getting a little crowded!

Two nights later we headed BACK to Kim's house to see some old college/HS friends of mine for a quick brunch before hitting the road back to Truckee. Again, a short but wonderful visit. There was no way we were going to fit all of the Christmas loot in our Suburban, so it seemed like a Christmas miracle when Nikko and Shannon decided to follow us back to Boise in their truck to spend New Year's with us. Sometimes spontaneous decisions are the best thing ever. They are currently here and we are enjoying watching movies, talking, and playing with the kids- leading up to our New Year's Eve Trivia Contest tonight after the kids are in bed. (JAN 1 Update: Nikko beat Brian in Trivial Pursuit- another Christmas miracle??)

So... it was busy. It was really, really fun. We feel more blessed than ever to have so many wonderful friends and family in our lives. But we are glad to be home. And I for one am looking forward to school/daycare starting again next week!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL FRIENDS FAR AND NEAR!

Warriors beat the Celts!

So because we can't go more than a post or two without referencing sports in some manner, here is the tale of our night after Christmas trip out to the Warriors game.

So, for anyone not in the know, Uncle Eric is the Equipment Manager for the Golden State Warriors and the King of killer hook-ups. When we knew we were coming back for Christmas, we checked the schedule and low and behold, the Warriors were playing the Celtics the night after Christmas. So we reached out to Uncle Eric and he hooked us up with tickets (and some SWEET jerseys for the boys).

Just a note...this is not just selfish sports going, in the past, this was the only way we were able to ever visit with Eric, was to go to a game. He leads a very busy, hectic, but fulfilling life, doing what he loves...we should all be so happy.

I had taken Jake to a Warriors/Sixers game a couple of years ago, but he doesn't really remember it anymore, so he was looking forward to the game. Tanner had never been and we knew he would love it; for the sake of the game as well as the transportation....the BART train. Tanner has never been on BART and has always been a crazy person for trains of any sort. 

As usual when Mom and Dad say, "It's going to be a late night, both of you boys NEED to nap today.", there was no napping, so the boys were both exhausted and entering that wonderful tired/loopy phase when we loaded them on the train. Tanner was quite confused on how the train was going to take us INTO the basketball arena, additionally, he was concerned that he couldn't see the tracks. He spent a good portion of the ride there looking under the seats to see where the tracks were. Auntie Sue was able to come with us as Grandma Mary stayed behind to get some one on one time with Faith, so she was witness to Tired Tanner in all his glory.

We met up with Eric's girlfriend Mona at the game (who Jake just adores....the boy can BLUSH) and had a really great time. Mona took Jake down into the locker room at half time to see Eric 

and they got to go into the family room where the players families can watch the game ("Dad, do you know WHERE I got THIS cookie from?"). As usual, Tanner wanted to avoid the mascot, whom we never did see, and eat and drink, with only passing interest in the game after the Nation Anthem had passed. Jake got really into it, Kevin Garnett (Celtics) is his favorite player, and I had to explain that he couldn't root too loud as we were in Uncle Eric's seats.

But the best part of the whole thing was that the Warriors won! I thought they would get killed as the Celts had been on a tear and had just lost the night before in LA, so I figured they would be upset and wipe the floor with the Warriors, but it was a great game.

On the BART ride home, Tanner was VERY concerned about where the dirver was. I explained that you couldn't see the driver, but promised to show him the front of the train when we got back to the station. When I walked him up and pointed into where the driver sat, she lowered the window and said hi to him. He jumped in my arms, so I think it scared him, but he was ear to ear smiles the whole time. Not positive, but it might have been his high point for the night.

Snow Day

Today was the first decent snowfall we have had this year, and Marisa and I being big proponents of child labor and sweatshops, went out this morning and brought the boys snow shovels and locked them outside until the sidewalks and stairs were cleared. Just kidding, if you look closely you can see me in the background as well (without supervision they stop working and just goof off, so someone has to watch....).

We shoveled our walk and then headed over to Nana's and shoveled hers as well, the boys were pretty tuckered out after that, so we came home and rested/took naps (depending upon age...meaning Tanner, Faith and Marisa). Jake and I watched the Bills/Jets game.

After that it was off to the sledding hill behind the Merc. All of the kids went out, bundeled to the hilt. Faithy survived for about 10 minutes before tears started falling and Marisa had to take her in. Jake and Tanner and I stayed out for about 45 minutes sledding down together, on their own, and eventually getting brave enough to try going down on Jake's boogie sled standing up, which was AWESOME. Both of the boys went down with me that way and I think snowboards may be a late add to the Christmas list for the Alan Men!

Speaking of Christmas, we are really getting geared up for our trip and are really looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible. Coming back to visit family and friends makes leaving our White Christmas behind a little more bearable. We'll see you soon, and for those not on the itinerary, know that we are thinking about you and yours and send all of our best Holiday Mojo your way too! Merry Christmas all!

PS. Also, Happy Almost Blogirthday! It's been three years since we started this thing, can you believe it? I never thought we would keep it going this long, but we look back on it now and just love having it there (you have no idea how many arguments this thing has solved!), so we don't anticipate stopping anytime soon. 

Santa '08

Tanner and Faith started screaming the instant Santa walked into the room. All eyes were on our family as Brian, Mom, and I tried our best to calm them down as they screamed things like, "I WANT TO GO OUTSIDE !" and "NO SANTA!!" Seriously, it was like they had just seen the most hideous and terrifying monster imaginable. Faith decided to deal with the situation by falling asleep on Nana's shoulder for the duration. Tanner sat on my lap and kept repeating, "Mom, I never have to sit on Santa's lap, right? Never ever? Ever? Never? Right, Mom? Promise? Really promise? For real?"

Santa called Jake's name first so he went up to get his gift and candy cane, smiled for the picture, and loved every second of it. He's always liked Santa so his brother and sister's response was an enigma to him.

Tanner continued with his rant as Brian and I debated whether or not to take him up there. He didn't want to go with Jake. Didn't want to go with me or Nana. And he didn't want to go with Daddy. Still, when his name was called, Brian picked him up and brought him to the side of Santa's chair. He cried for a second, then took the gift from Santa and even smiled. I was desperately trying to take a picture of this but was ultimately unable since the camera battery had died. I am pretty sure this was karma for forcing my son to confront his fear of people dressed up in character suits- all in the name of a "Merry Christmas".

Faith woke up in time for her name to be called and Brian took her up there, too. She screamed bloody murder and refused to even look in Santa's direction, choosing instead to bury her head in Brian's shoulder. She was shell shocked for the next half hour, recovering on Nana's shoulder, half asleep.

The therapy bills for Christmas '08 are gonna be huge.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Please forgive us for the Christmas card you are about to receive.
It may be irreverent but it is also how about 98% of people feel when they realize it is already "that time of year again" so we are only saying what everyone else is thinking (along with Peace on Earth, joy, love, happiness, etc.... of course!)

Faith Wilder

She is growing so much that I had to post about my 21 month independent, talkative, loving, and stubborn little girl. Honestly, if I could keep her this age forever I just might do it. Another list of random things I want to remember:

1. She says her brothers names constantly. "Tanner" is "Tana". She adores them and she brings out their tender side all the time. She has them kiss her dolls and help her tuck them in. The other day I watched as Jake patiently kissed her blankie about 10 times in a row, never losing the forced enthusiasm.

2. She calls her blankie and her stuffed giraffe "Bainey" (they are one entity to her) and insists on them when she is tired or hurt or grumpy.

3. When we put her in her crib at night she scoots her whole body into the corner and curls up into a ball, waiting for us to cover her up. She never resists bedtime (OH, PLEASE let this continue!) and when she wakes up in the morning she calls to us insistently, "MAMA! DADDY! JAKE! I AWAKE!". She doesn't cry at all, but just repeats this loudly until we finally (often after an hour) we are ready to go get her.

4. She loves her Nana. Since mom has moved here she has grown quite attached. Even the mention of Nana's name and she lights up screaming, "NANA! NANA! NANA!" in anticipation of seeing her.

5. She is very independent and wants to do everything herself. From putting on her shoes (she's getting close) to brushing her teeth and reading books.

6. Speaking of books.... this girl loves to read. She calls books "Bobos". I think she would be content to sit on one of our laps all day long and read stories, point at pictures she knows, and play "Find The______" in the children's dictionary that we have.

7. She is still loving baseball. She hits a ball in some manner with a bat and then runs around the room yelling "Home run!" and then falls down on the floor dramatically and says "Safe!". I tried to capture her playing baseball while holding her doll as the combination of the two hobbies was pretty cute.

8. Brian's attempts to get her into horses have been successful (Don't ask me why my husband wants to encourage this as I am sure one day she will want a real horse and then, knowing my husband, we'll have to have a very serious discussion about the reality of this move!). She has 3 plastic horses that she loves to play with and is getting a stable from Santa (guess who's idea this was....)

9. She still is very hesitant around any man but daddy. She is her daddy's girl and loves him to pieces with an enthusiasm that I sometimes envy, but if any other older male comes close she breaks out into tears. She was not a fan of Uncle Bill or Uncle John, didn't take to Papa, and is terrified of the assistant basketball coach Ken- a friend of Brian's. Santa is coming to the Barn this morning and I am not holding my breath about getting a picture of her on his lap. Trauma would definitely ensue.

10. She sings the National Anthem. Seriously. It may not be totally recognizable to anyone but family, but there is no doubt that is what she is singing!

11. She has started to say, "I love you" and she says it to all of us- her two brothers, Brian, and me. It melts my heart every time.

So.... that's our Faith at 21 months. If I can't keep her at this stage, then I definitely want to be able to go back and reread this when she is in the midst of the "Terrible Threes or Fours" which I am too much of a realist to deny are on their way.

A Holiday Equation

Thanksgiving 2008= 7 kids +7 adults +3 dogs x (4 days+ Many Snacks)

It was our first T-Day that we stayed in Boise and we were so happy that both Kim and Lisa's families were able to make the trek out to see us. Mom was in town, too, so we split between the two houses, making everything a little easier. On T-Day the cousins played together happily all day. Jake taught the three girls how to play Four Square and they kept themselves pretty well occupied by playdoh, art, decorating a gingerbread house, and playing outside. But the meal was definitely not the highlight. Shrek (in the soon-to-be-Christmas-Classic "Shrek the Halls") says , "That wasn't Christmas... that was CHAOS!". Well.... the same could be said for our Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a hurried affair with tired kids all with many varied needs and requests and we were back at our house an hour after dinner (at Mom's) began.

We had time in the days before and after to talk politics and books and movies and jobs, parenting, and gossip. It was great to be together. Our last night we gathered in our family room and watched the Grinch together. It was a great way to end the holiday and also a fun way to get in the Christmas Spirit.

In the holiday spirit

So the tree is up, the lights are hung and the Alan Family is ready to go with this whole Christmas thing. I learned last year, while hanging the lights in the snow, that you do those kind of things early here, so ours went up outside the day after Thanksgiving. We got the tree the next day at Home Depot (I just do NOT understand the whole tromp into the woods and kill a perfectly healthy and happy tree thing - no offense if you do, but it's just not me) and got it decorated that night as well.

There is a reason for our haste. We are going to CA for Christmas in just three weeks, so we wanted to be able to enjoy some Christmas spirit in our home here before we left. The kids had a great time decorating the tree and the house looks great. It was Jake's turn to hang the angel this year, probably the last time we will be able to do it in the manner shown in the photo, as the next time it's his turn he'll be 8 (and I'll be 42ish) and I don't know if I'll still be able to lift him above my head. But it was great to be able to do it this way one more time.

I have dropped the holiday playlist onto the iPod and we have the kids advent calendar full and set. 

We watched the Grinch while everyone was here for Thanksgiving, and our new holiday favorite, "Shrek the Halls" is being Tivo'd as we speak. 

I am currently on an internet search to find a photo Christmas card company that uses recycled paper, to make a Christmas card that is, itself, recyclable, so if you know of one already, please tell me. I very cautiously broached the subject of doing a much more earth friendly e-Card campaign this year and almost lost a limb in the process. I love me some green energy, but not at risk of bodily harm, so we will be sending out the most earth-friendly cards I can find (please recycle them!). 

Marisa and I both took this Friday off work to finish up the Christmas shopping (and maybe have a quiet lunch together but who knows), so we should be set to load up the gas guzzling sleigh and hit the road with Christmas cheer just oozing from our ears when it's time to head south for the holiday. 

Stampede Game

One of Tanner's birthday gifts from his Auntie Sue was tickets for us to the Idaho Stampede Basketball game. Tanner also got some spending money from his Poppa for the hat, foam finger and mini-basketball that you can't quite see in the photo. Both of the boys loved the game.

We went on the YMCA appreciation night, so a bunch of kids from Jake's team, and the league as a whole were there. The kids got to go down on the court and form a High-5 tunnel for the player introductions, so Jake got to High-5 the entire Stampede team. He sat with his friend Tyler for the game and Tanner alternated between sitting on Marisa's Lap and mine.

Tanner had a great time rooting on the Stampede. He has his usual bout of "mascotitisosis", which is the fear that the guy in the "goofy suit" will come and make unwelcome comedic advances in your section and heaven forbid, to you directly. But "Rumble" stayed on his own side of the arena and Tanner was able to relax and enjoy the game. 

We were planning to leave at halftime, then after the third quarter, then ended up staying until the very end since the boys were having such a good time and behaving so well. We then finished our late night sports tradition by sleeping in separate beds; Tanner in with Marisa and Jake and I in our bed.

Thanks to Auntie Sue and Poppa for a great time out!

Tanner's 3rd Birthday

It was Tanner's 3rd birthday on Friday. After much back and forth by Marisa and I about where to have it (Tanner truly couldn't have cared less) we did it at our house after dinner. Tanner, who didn't seem at all interested in the fact that his birthday was approaching, seemed to enjoy everything at the party. He was very detached from the whole thing until the party actually started. Despite repeated attempts by Mom and Dad to get him into the process by asking him where he wanted to have his birthday, what kind of gifts he wanted, or what kind of cake even, the kid just didn't care. He would always answer, "I don't care, whatever you want Mom".

In the end, he had a good time. He got a lot of presents that he loves playing with, had a healthy dinner of beanie weenies and potato chips with diet coke and followed it up with the Dora cake that Marisa and Jake made for him. Grandma Cori, Jake, and Faith all had a good time, too!

I am of two minds when thinking about Tanner being three. I'm sure that this is just because he is the middle child, and is probably the case with all middle kids, but there are times that I can't believe he's three already, then there are times I can't believe he's ONLY three. He has turned three with a vengeance though, (no matter which I am looking at it that day). He has spent more time in Time Out then I think Jake has ever seen, and has a brave/stubborn/suicidal streak that is going to make the next year or so just AWESOME. But he balances it out by being a sweet and loving little boy when you least expect it.

We finished the weekend with a Pancake Breakfast/1 mile Turkey Trot fundraiser for Jake's school that Jake and I ran in. There was a shorter course for littler kids, but Tanner was clearly too worn out from being three to want to do it. It snowed a little here on the way to our basketball game on Saturday and we were socked in by a fog inversion this morning so thick we couldn't see the front yard. Perfect football day!

We are really looking forward to everyone showing up this week for Thanksgiving and can't wait for Turkey day. As we probably won't post again before then (unless Tanner lights his room on fire), have a great Thanksgiving. Spend good time with good people. Love to all.

Faith's First Haircut

Faith's hair is coming in slowly. Poor thing has quite an interesting hairline, with long wispy pieces on the sides and barely anything on top. We finally decided it was time to help things along, so we took her with Tanner (who was looking quite a bit more than shaggy) to get her hair cut today. She laid on my shoulder the whole time- didn't cry- just laid there while the lady trimmed the wispy ends and told her how good she was being.

Her favorite thing to say these days is, "No, Mama!!" when I try to help her do anything. She also has become very attached to the baby doll that was given to her by Grandma for her first b'day. She hugs it and kisses it, feeds it, and gives it juice. It's very cute. She has begun tormenting Tanner by taking anything he is playing with and running away with it, laughing maniacally. Considering Tanner's propensity for just this behavior, I say bring it on, Faith! She has clearly learned from the Master.

Jake

Jake had his first sleepover this weekend. His friend Sean from his K class and also his B-Ball team came home with us after the basketball game on Saturday afternoon. They had a blast! We took them out to dinner, then got ice cream from 31 Flavors and came home to watch "Little Giants" (a football movie for kids). They slept in Jake's bed together, while Tanner spent the night waiting for the Night Night Fairy sleeping between Brian and I.

He continues to love Kindergarten and is learning far more than I ever could have imagined. He can read- really read. It is incredible to me. And he can tell time and count change and write sentences. I have my issues with his school and the academic focus but since he is in all day K he gets a hefty dose of all the fun stuff, too, so I have made peace with it (mostly). The most important thing is that he is so happy there. He has so many friends. The best thing we heard at his parent conference was that he "is confident in who he is"- that he "is his own person". If we can hold onto that for a while, that's all we could ask for.

Funny story about Jake: The kids play this game they call "Stroller Girl" which consists of the boys riding their mini trucks around the downstairs, chasing Faith who is pushing her doll stroller. So the other day they were doing this and Jake was leading. He had made it into a game in which they were headed to Minnesota to visit their cousins. They hit the laundry room door and he delcared that they "were lost". So he points to Faith and loudly states the solution: "Follow Stroller Girl! She's got the GPS!". Make Believe- 2008 style!

He loves playing basketball still and loves watching Football on TV. He still gets sad that he won't be allowed to play "professional football" (anything more than playing with friends out on the green) and lamented that "It's not fair that Faith and Tanner both have two kidneys and can play football!" on the way home from his annual ultrasound. He then ammended this statement to say, "Well, Faith can't. She can only play tennis or golf". That got my inner feminist riled up but when I told him that it wasn't true, he pointed out that there are no girls on Major League B'Ball teams or in the NFL, NHL, or NBA. I vowed to make him watch the WNBA but will not under any circumstances allow him to watch anything called "Powder Puff Football".

The Night Night Fairy Strikes Again!

Tanner turns 3 on Friday, so in preparation for that momentous event the Night-Night fairy visited our house on Saturday night. The "Night Night Fairy" (for those of you not in the know) is the mythical creature that comes to childrens houses and takes their binkies (presumably to give to little babies that need them) and leaves a present in their place. Tanner was a champ. He left his binkies in a little pile on the stair railing and was a bit shocked I think to find that the Fairy did indeed take them and leave in their place a firetruck with Dora and Diego riding inside (just what he asked for... that Night Night Fairy knows ALL!). He hasn't looked back since. He proudly proclaims each morning, "NO more night night face, Mom!" ("Night Night Face" being the icky goo that tends to collect on the upper lip of the addicted).

He has good days and bad days. And just like the poem my grandpa used to quote, "When he is good he is very very good, but when he is bad he is horrid"! He is very low-key about his upcoming birthday. When asked what he wants he says, "I don't care. Whatever you want, Mama". He doesn't really have an opinion what what kind of cake he wants or if there is a character on it or not. He did not want a party but told us that he just wanted "to have dinner at the Merc with mommy, daddy, Faith, Jake, and Nana". He's such a funny boy. It is hard to believe he is the same age Jake was when we decided to move here. They are so different.

Halloween 2008

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. The boys dressed up as BSU Football player. The hockey-player-dressed-as-a-football-player idea was quickly forgotten when Jake realized he wouldn't be able to wear his football helmet with the mask on. However, the mask (as you can see) did not got to waste .

Tanner really got into trick-or-treating (much to our surprise) and loudly shouted, "TRICK OR TREAT! GO BOISE STATE! YEAH!!" at every door. He stayed out with Jake and I till the bitter end- walking the whole way and asking, "Just one more house, Mom, please???" as it got later. He was scared of the house that played spooky noises, but other than that he was game for the whole thing.

Faith was a black cat. Nana had brought her the cosume earlier in the week and she loved dragging it around the house and saying "MEOW!"- wanting to take it to bed with her at night but not wanting to put it on at all. When it was time to get ready to go she saw that I was going to try to put her in the costume and she hid behind our stools, crying. I forced her in it (put another dollar in the therapy jar- as my sister would say..... ) and she was ready to go.

The concept of"knocking on doors and asking for candy" really appealed to her, too. The first house we went to she walked right in, past the lady holding the candy, and would have gone right into their kitchen and joined in the party had we not dragged her out. She also walked most of the way, and went to way more houses than either Jake or Tanner went to when they were her age. She came home early with Brian and proceeded to dump out her loot and talk to herself- oohing and aahhing over the bounty before she got scared upon answering the door for a scary trick-or-treater and promptly asked to go to bed.

1st B-Ball Game

So today was our 1st Basketball game. We had the 9:00 am game the day after Halloween, so we ended up short a couple of players off our normal roster, but we had enough to play. The game was AWESOME!

We have only had two practices, and there is so much to go over, that I was worried that it was going to be a rather large fuster cluck, but the Y really has it down on game day (they have issues at ALL other times). They have two ref's that come and work with the kids 1st on rules, drills etc. and work with them during them game. They were great about calling (and not calling) penalties to help the kids learn. They bring colored wristbands and kids on each team all have different ones, corresponding to the kids on the other team that they are supposed to guard, which helps with the whole "mob ball" thing, and the kids did really good. 

They passed, they played defense, they made a couple of shots...mainly they had a good time. A couple of minor injuries, couple of "non-listening" instances, but mainly good teamwork and sportsmanship. This is a really great program for the little kids; no score, no stats, 4 eight minute quarters, a "safe zone" they can go to where no defense is allowed and short baskets (8') so they can actually make a shot, which is the big news...

...Jake made his 1st basket! He did such a great job (see below). We have another practice this week and a game next Saturday. We got red uniform shirts today at the game, so the kids named themselves The Red Rockets (much better than Team #2).

It happened again.....

So I guess once you get a reputation as a "soft touch", it's all over in the world of youth sports. This time, one of the former T-Ball parents "volunteered" me to coach the Y-Basketball team....so many issues:

#1 - You've seen me, do I look like I had a big basketball career? I am 6' tall in my dreams and have never played any type of organized basketball, at all....ever. I know baseball, love baseball, PLAYED baseball, so there's a foundation there for baseball. Basketball is Uncle Eric's sport, not mine.

#2 - Due to #1 above, I know absolutely nothing about basketball (other than what is required to watch it on TV), let alone how to impart that knowledge (again, not that there's any there to being with) to Kindergarteners for God's sake.

#3 - This means that due to the guilt that my Mom and Auntie Sue imparted in me while growing up (between them and the Catholic church - I am a fountain of guilt) that all things must be equal bewteen siblings, I now have to coach both Tanner and Faith in Basketball too.

#4 - Related to #2, basketball is confusing to teach....and there's a lot of stuff involved; traveling, double dribble, 10 second violations (yes, for kindergartners)....plus the whole "mob the ball" mentality to diffuse.We had our first practice last night, and even explaining some of the rules to kindergartners, I had the feeling like they were looking at me a saying, "What you can't be serious, look what a ridiculous concept that driblling is"...and..."you look like 

a moron with the whole pivot foot thing going".

I don't know, baseball is just so much more of a "Here's a ball, hit it with this stick" kind of thing. 

But anyway, now that I'm doing it, I'm doing it. We have practice once a week in the gym at Jake's school, and games on Saturdays. Plus there are a couple of cool tie-ins with the NBA D-Ball team in town. We get to go to a team practice, and the kids get discounted tickets to the season opener and get to go down on the floor and high five the players during introductions.

So it will work out fine and Jake and I will have a great time, just like we did for T-ball. When hockey season rolls around, I'm hiding under a rock until after the games start.

Best Husband Award

Remember the post I wrote a few weeks ago about a recent day we had where everything just clicked and I wanted to write about it so I could remember it on days when things fell apart? Well, in that same vein, I'd like to take a moment to give my hubby some credit where credit is due.

Besides the fact that he does 80% of the housework (seriously... I have not changed one set of sheets or done a load of laundry since we moved here) and does half of child related duties, he also recently went out of his way to do something really special for me.

My company is going through some hard times and we recently experienced a lot of layoffs (approx. 40% of the employees were let go) . Thankfully I am still employed (for now), but I found out on Monday that the health care for our family was no longer going to be provided. This is a big hit financially. In discussing how to handle this setback, I was bummed to realize that I would not be able to continue with my Bikram Yoga classes. Brian came home that evening (after attending a basketball coaches meeting.... go Super Dad!) and handed me a punch card for 10 more classes. He handed it to me and said, "I can mow the lawns for another summer, Honey." (We had recently added in a budget column for a gardener). I haven't felt this strongly about a hobby for a long time and the fact that he knew that and was willing to give up the luxury of someone else mowing the lawn for a change..... not to mention that he actually went to the Bikram Yoga studio himself (one of the more "granola-y" places in the world and definitely not in his comfort zone!). It made me remember again what an amazing man he is.

Sappy? Sure. But something I want to remember today, tomorrow, and years from now (especially on days when I want to kill him!)

Getting Ready for Halloween

Both boys want to be Boise State football players for Halloween this year (Jake will actually be a "steelheads hockey player dressed as a Boise State football player " since he really wanted a mask to be involved in some way in his costume.) Faith is going to be a black cat. Mom bought the costume for her so I have yet to see it, but I'm sure she will look adorable. However, for the Halloween party at the Merc last Saturday we dug out our costume bin and let the kids choose what to wear. Jake settled easily on Spiderman (from last year and a bit snug if you ask me), Tanner tried on the clown suit (my personal favorite), the bear, and Superman before settling on the chicken costume. Faith went with the bear, after deciding right away that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with the chicken suit. Smart girl, that one. Anyway, the party wasn't very exciting, but there is another neighborhood party this weekend, then the trick-or -treating to look forward to.

The leaves are all red here and the weather is gorgeous. By this time next week, though, I bet the trees will be bare. It is still partly dark when we walk to school in the mornings and we are all bundled up in woolen hats in the AM, while changing to short sleeves by afternoon. I love this time of year!!

Tanner and Faith took a field trip to a local pumpkin patch/corn maze and Tanner just couldn't stop talking about it. He took a tractor/hay ride and picked out a pumpkin and drank juice and ate popcorn and did art and did I tell you about the tractor ride?and the popcorn and juice? I'm sure he'd love to tell you all about it when you see him!

Potty Training Success (Round 2)

Just a quick update on our "problem child". I am happy to report that he has gone to daycare 3 times in a row now with NO CRYING!!!! On Friday, he actually waited at the door, telling me to hurry up because he wanted to go to school. He has also stopped repeating himself ad nauseum (so we may actually be able to keep him for awhile longer). And the big news is the potty.
He has stayed dry for 5 days in a row in his big boy undies- both #1 and #2 are making it into the potty. Probably TMI for most of you, but for us, having only ONE in diapers is a huge deal.

Sports Season

Fall really is the official sports lovers season. Between the MLB Playoffs and World Series, the start of hockey season, Sunday football, Monday Night Football, and the NBA getting underway, October is quite a month.

We became sure that our hunch that Jake had been watching too many televised sports when we were driving through a Taco Bell drive through on the way to the Steelheads hockey season opener on Saturday (Tanner's first game!) and Jake quoted a Taco Bell commercial as Brian ordered a triple steak burrito. Word for word. Yeah.... I'm a good mom. Really. That kid knows his sports, though, and he's got all the right moves, too. The fact that he knows what a "volcano taco" and "gillette fusion" razor is.... that's just collateral damage (I hope).

The Steelheads game was so much fun. We had Cara babysit Faith so we just took the two boys. Tanner was unsure at first, and spent the first 10 minutes of the first period with his fingers in his ears and a slightly worried look on his face. But then he got into it. He cheered for the players, sang the national anthem- all the while keeping his eye on the mascot very closely- asking us repeatedly, "Is he going to come up here, Mommy?" with a lot of concern in his voice. This kid does not like human sized animals prancing around. Disneyland would likely be his worst nightmare. Unfortunately the Steelheads lost in overtime. We got home very late (10:30) so decided to do a sleepover- one boy with me in the guest room, one with Brian in our room. They slept until 8 which was really nice! And I love taking advantage of these days when sleeping with us is a treat!

We've been watching the MLB Playoffs, of course. Jake and Brian are rooting for the Phillies while I became a late supporter of the Rays due to their closing pitcher last night that I fell in love with. So it should be a fun World Series to watch. Even Faith has gotten into the action. She refused to go to sleep a few nights ago and after listening to her cry for an extended period of time, we decided to go get her. She came down and sat on her daddy's lap for 30 minutes, watching one of the playoff games, cheering them on in her own way, content as could be. It was so great to get that one-on-one time with her. She also "plays baseball" when we are playing with Tanner and Jake. She holds the bat, one of us throws the ball so that it makes contact with her bat, then she "runs the bases" (around the kitchen island) and "slides" into home (our fireplace). Very cute.

Jake starts Y-basketball on Wednesday. Brian is coaching the team and is currently trying to figure out how to teach 7 five year olds how to play the sport. We had enough Kindergartners up here in Hidden Springs to make a team so all of our practices and some of our games are up here in our neighborhood, which makes it so much easier. Even limiting Jake to one outside activity at a time can be overwhelming in terms of scheduling dinner, etc... One practice a week and one game a week is PLENTY for us at this point. God help us when Tanner and Faith start to play organized sports.

The Harrison Classic

Jake and I ran in the Harrison Classic 1 mile race together today (he ran the race and asked me to run along with him). It was a YMCA race and the school with the most participants won 250.00 worth of new PE equipment. The race course was right down one of our favorite streets in Boise, Harrison Street, which is a gorgeous tree lined street, with large 1920's and 30's houses on each side. 

There were a lot of kids from Jake's school there, so he had a lot of friends to run with. His PE teacher Mr. Perotto was there as well, he is an awesome teacher and one of Jake's favorties, so Jake got to see him outside of the school setting which he really loved.

Jake did great. He ran the whole mile and 

sprinted the last 100 yards or so. I didn't know what to expect when we started out as we had never tried anything like this bfore, but I was so proud of him. He just put his head down and went. Never a complaint, never a whimper, at the end he got his gold medal (which he is so proud of, it is already hanging in his room above his desk). We got a water and headed back to

 meet Marisa and the Kids. 

They stood on Harrison and cheered us on as we ran by. You can run in the race as young as four, so I think next year, we will have two participants. Tanner and Faith both cheered for us as we ran by. I didn't see them until I heard Faith yell, "Hi Dad!" and saw them on the curb. Jake had a great time and is raring to do it again.

Idyllic and Rare

I'd better write this post fast....before I forget. Because today was such a great day- one of those rare days when I felt that I not only had everything under control but that I was actually excelling at this motherhood/partnership thing. That allusive search for balance.... today, for once, I felt I had found it.

Brian and I grocery shopped together- with two baskets and three kids. This is not new, actually. For some odd reason this is fun for us and even though we have been saying for years that it would make much more sense to "divide and conquer" we really enjoy our Saturday early morning trips to WalMart. Anyway, then I did my yoga class (more on that later) while Brian baked a new cookie/energy bar recipe and put the kids down for naps. Then I came home and put together a crock pot dinner while he worked out. Later we ran a few errands, took the kids to the park, and sat together on the couches watching the ALCS. Tanner "read" quietly to Faith on one chair (really one of the cutest things I've ever seen) while Jake laid with Brian ,covered in a warm blanket, on the couch.

Maybe it is the sudden change from fall to winter. It snowed last night (Yes, I said "SNOW" and it is only Oct. 10th!!) and as we walked to the Merc for dinner the boys kept the blowing flurries off their faces with their Spiderman umbrellas while Brian tried to hold our big umbrella over both Faith and I. The Merc was warm and welcoming and full of friends and neighbors. It was the first night that we had ths kids in "feety jammies" and the fireplace on. Then we woke up this morning to 22 degree weather and it just made everything feel so peaceful.

Maybe its the fact that I am three weeks into my new hobby- Bikram Yoga- It is a challenge every time and it makes me realize how rarely I challenge myself (physically and mentally). I take the 90 minute class three times a week and look so forward to it in a way I rarely do anymore when it comes to working out. I love it. I am not a "It changed my life!" kind of person and yet I feel like it is doing just that. And even though my three week trial period is over and it is kind of pricey, I feel like I can't afford NOT to continue.

Maybe its that Tanner has made noticeable progress in daycare (he didn't cry at all on Friday!) or that he has slowed down some on the repetition thing. Or the simple fact that there was no drama at bedtime and everyone ate their dinner without complaint

Maybe its that the passing of yet another season reminds me that time moves too quickly and these days will be over before I know it. Easier to embrace today knowing that one day soon I will miss the chaos (or so I am told!).

In any case, I have so many days (and so many blogs) that highlight the hard parts, that I just wanted to take a minute to record one that was easy. Because the next time I feel like I need to run screaming from my house and head for the nearest bar, I want to be able to look back and see that there really are days like this to balance out the craziness.

My Middle Child

It's official. The honor of "Most Challenging Child" has now moved from Jake (holder of the title for 3 years running) to Tanner. Don't know if it's the age (almost 3), the change in daycare situations, the bump on his head he got in August when falling off his stool , or a combination of all three. But there can be no doubt: He has earned the Title.

Most annoying (and somewhat concerning) behavior: He repeats the same question over and over ad nauseum until you want to strangle him. You can answer the question over and over and over and over and he won't stop. It is manic. And exhausting. And a little worrisome. We try to be patient but it wears on us. Our Doc says this could be due to the "concussion" he may or may not have suffered from at the end of August and should end soon.

Saddest behavior: He sobs relentlessly at daycare drop off. I love his new daycare person- Miss Wendy. She has been working with us closely to make it easier on Tanner. But to no avail. She always calls me and tells me when he has stopped crying (generally before I have even made the first left turn onto Cole Rd. on my way home) and the other day she actually videotaped him for me (her idea) so I could see how instantaneously he stops crying and starts happily playing. It was literally as the front door clicked behind me. It is so hard, though, to drop him off in that state every day.

Most Normal but Frustrating behavior for his Age: He does things he knows is wrong often immediately saying, "Don't spank my butt!" which is further evidence that he knows exactly what he did wrong. We never really spanked Jake- since his conscience always seemed to be his guide but with TJ we have resorted to the occasional swat on the behind . Last weekend he hit Faith with a broom, then when we put him in timeout, he kicked her!!! This is not my sweet, loving boy. What has happened to him???? Oh yeah.... he's turning 3.

This too shall pass and will be looked upon with longing and fond remembrance as he goes through the teenage years, I am sure. But for now, if you love my middle child, you may want to say a little prayer that he actually makes it to three years old!

ON THE OTHER HAND: He's just so funny and sweet and sincere that he melts my heart all the time. Last night he and Jake came downstairs around 8:00 saying that they were scared. I asked Jake what he was scared of and he said, "A Witch!". Tanner said he was scared too, so I asked him what he was scared of. Copying Jake (or at least trying to) he said, "I scared of Mitch!". Brian and I looked at each other trying not to laugh and said, "Mitch? Tanner, who is Mitch???". He looked at us innocently and said, "The scary guy in my head". Mitch..... the stuff of nightmares! Then, out of nowhere, he hopped off the couch, pulled off his diaper and jammies, and did an impromptu "Booty Dance" yelling, "Look at my booty, guys! Look at my butt!" repeatedly. Who needs Comedy Central when you've got a show every night in your living room?

Yet another plan......

So in yet another genius attempt to get the kids to behave (ie: go to sleep without fits, sleep through the night etc.....it's not like they're setting the house on fire or stealing cars....yet), we have come up with a new plan.

The boys have a giant blackboard on the wall in their room that we painted with blackboard paint when we moved in. We drew a huge chart on that wall with the days of the week and privileges that they get across the top (For bonus points: it's a large spreadsheet that is color-coded per child, see if you can guess which parent had this brainstorm...). When one of the kids starts to misbehave, they get a warning, if they keep it up they get an "X". They have to choose what they lose and when that week- from after school TV to dessert to scooter, etc. They then have to put the "X" on the chart and it lives there in the room with them all week.

So far, as with most of our "parenting" ideas, I can't tell if it's made a difference or not. Things at bedtime are definitely better than they were before The Chart. But we still have fits, we still have timeouts, and I'm still nowhere near as Zen about it as I should be...so who knows.

The one thing The Chart did was get us the above photo. When drawing the chart, we told the boys that if they could go a whole week with a clean chart, they would get a special treat (without really discussing or even thinking about what that would be....I mean come on, a whole week? It would never happen right?). But lo and behold, a week or so ago, Jake did it. A whole week with no "X", so we had to come up with a special treat. Coincidentally, Jake's school was closed two days this week for teacher workdays and I had to take Friday off to play daddy day care. He and I decided that his special thing would be to go to the batting cages.

The slowest cage was still a little too fast for him at 45MPH. But he hung in there, didn't get frustrated and swung at every pitch (makes a Daddy proud). We then played some mini-golf (he has a hockey-like golfing style - luckily it was a Friday and we were the only two on the course), hit some video games and came home and watched the Speed Racer movie, which he loved. A good Daddy-Jake day, and a fitting reward for a clean chart. The chart is filled up now, so who knows if it will ever happen again, but it was fun while it lasted.

Alan Family Update

Things are rolling right along here in the Alan Household- I didn't say rolling smoothly, but they are rolling! Our hard drive and back up hard drive crashed so we lost all our music and photos and our refrigerator caught on fire and melted part of the interior (along with all our food) so we are currently in our second week of arguing with Sears on whether or not they need to replace it and in the meantime are living out of a small rental fridge in our garage. But (drum roll please while I cross my fingers and knock on wood...) everyone is back to sleeping!!!! And, really, if I have learned anything in the adventure of parenthood it is this: Well rested parents and well rested children are they key to a happy family life!!!

I am really enjoying my new job. It is such a cool company to work for and one that I really believe in, so talking about them to the teachers in Idaho is easy and fun. Plus they are a really fun group of people. . The program I am training teachers on(Apangea Math 5.0) was purchased for 43,000 students in Idaho so there is a lot of implementing to be done! Overall the teachers are receptive and fun to work with and although I miss my students (and being part of a staff) the diversion from the classroom has been good for me and also for the family. I am able to walk Jake to school most mornings and pick him up some days,spend more time with Tanner and Faith in the AM, and work from home when I am not on the road. Right now I am spending about 1 night/week in a hotel in some odd Idaho location because they have not yet hired the two other "Learning Specialists" (but promise me they are working on it). The nights away are lonely, actually, and I regret giving Brian such a hard time about work trips being "a vacation" when we first moved to Idaho and he was gone so much. On the positive side, though, II have so much more "quiet time". Since I am driving a lot I can call friends, drink my coffee, listen to music and books on CD, then return home in the afternoon much less harried and out of patience than I used to when coming home from a long day of teaching. All in all it was a good move for me at this time in my life.

Jake loves Kindergarten and has made lots of new friends. He has a crush on this little girl named Quinn and gets all embarrassed and giggly when he talks about her. Mostly they play "chase" on the playground. Ahhh... young love! He starts basketball next month and participated in a River Clean Up project last weekend with Brian. He is too much like me- it hits me everyday and sometimes it justt breaks my heart. My faults are his faults- his irrational fears (being in the dark and being alone); his extreme sensitivity(that one is also Brian's genes); his desire to please; his worries when he doesn't do something right; his tendency toward jealousy. It is painful to me to watch because I know how hard those traits can be and I want to be understanding and supportive while at the same time not wanting to coddle him too much and enable the behavior. The nature vs. nurture issue keeps rearing its head as I watch him develop into the tender hearted yet challenging boy that he is. I just want to hug him tight and not let go.

Tanner is talking so much now. He has turned into quite the little conversationalist and keeps us laughing with his singing, dancing, and troublemaking abilities! He can be quite dramatic and will throw his arms down and sigh disparagingly when we reprimand him. He still loves to read- his current obsession being "Froggy Plays T-Ball" which I finally had to hide last week. He has an absolutely incredible baseball ability. He hits home runs off live pitches and has an arm that amazes everyone that watches him play. He can be a total goofball. He and Jake made up this character they call "Apple Butt" and he constantly puts "Apple Butt" in different stories and just cracks himself up.

Faith is growing up too fast, refusing her nighttime bottle (I know logically that this is a good thing, but she's my BABY and I am not ready!), copying everything her brothers do, and is starting to sing and dance. She climbs up the ladder on our playset and slides down the slide by herself as I stand by watching and trying not to get too protective as I see her feet slip a little on the ladder. She has quite a temper on her and will throw her body down on the ground and sob relentlessly if something is taken away from her. This morning she pooped in the potty- she didn't tell anyone, just took her diaper off, sat down, and later we found the evidence in the little potty that Tanner is still trying to master. I wouldn't be surprised if she is potty trained before TJ at this point! Of course, we went out and got her big girl undies immediately- even though it will be a long while until we actually put her in them!