Another Boy Scout in the Family

We went with Cayden to one of the very few pack meetings that he has gone to the whole time he has been in scouting because he was being awarded his Arrow of Light.  We pulled that one out of the hat in about 6 weeks!  He was really behind on his Webelos stuff and his Arrow of Light requirements but with the help of his scout leaders we were able to get it done at home.  The ceremony was a nice one with "Akela" coming to speak to the boys.  He got his face painted too.  The other boys that got that award that night were Zac Zobrist, Eli Whitmore and Luke Barlow.   Cayden also got to start working on a few of his merit badges because our ward held a merit badge pow wow every week for 3 weeks.  Cayden was able to work on his first aid, citizenship in the community and art merit badges.

A few weeks later Cayden got to go the 11 year old scout camp with the 11 year olds in our ward.  Don went with him. It was a stake led activity out at the Overton Wildlife Management Area.  The theme was Heros of the Book of Mormon and they got to visit various stations where they learned about Nephi, Ammon, Helaman's Stripling Warriors and Alma.  They tied knots, shot bows and arrows, and learned about knives.  They spent the night out there and made their own breakfast of pancakes.  Then they had some other events and this ropes course that they were all supposed to climb up and over.  Not too many of them made it all the way over and down because it was so wobbly.  Don was roped into helping at one of the station's because they didn't have enough leaders.  His station was a team building exercise where they had to balance the big piece of wood with everyone on it.  

No Green Day

So I didn't do a very good job of documenting or even celebrating St. Patty's Day this year.  Mostly because it was on a Sunday and I really was not that prepared.  We did have corned beef and cabbage but that was about it.  I had grand plans back in February but they never happened.  I think Caleb was the only one who wore green  by wearing a green tie to church but he may not have done it on purpose.  Iit may have just happened.  This picture is Kyle eating lemon bars that came from a family who Don went to visit that night.  We did by mint chocolate chip ice cream so that we could have a green dessert but we didn't even do that!

Pi Day

Elder Lane and Elder Percy

We celebrated Pi Day this year again.  This year it was chocolate cream-Marie Calendar's.  The missionaries stopped by and celebrated with us!

Kyle Brandt is 18 months old!!!!

  Kyle turned 18 months old on Sunday, March 10.  This was his second official week in nursery and he didn't do much better than the first week.  It was a much slower day in Primary and Don didn't have to teach so we took turns with him.  He did have to stay by himself for the first 20 minutes or so and he did NOT like that one little bit!  This child is the busiest child I have ever seen.  Maybe I just don't remember the other boys being so busy but man, he keeps us running.  He runs, climbs, pulls over, pulls out, dumps, rips, empties, scribbles on, pours out, and opens everything cabinet and drawer in the entire house when there is not a barricade in his way.  He works quite diligently to move or climb over any barricade to get to what he wants and we won't be able to thwart him much longer.  The chairs at the kitchen table are bungy corded together so that he can't pull them out and climb on top of the table.
-He is at that terrible/wonderful separation anxiety stage and only wants mom and occasionally dad.  Why oh why do they have kids go to nursery at 18 months right in the midst of this awful time?  3 months ago he would have been just fine staying there with out us but right now it is awful.  I can't hardly leave the room without him following me and heaven forbid I actually leave the house without him!
-He is now doing the lovely throw himself on the ground and throw a fit thing.  Not my favorite.
-He also arches his back and screams when he doesn't want to be held.
-He wants to feed himself with the spoon or fork and usually won't let anyone help him.  MESSY messy messy!  He gets lots of finger foods!  I wish I knew how to get more veggies into him.  He will eat carrots, corn and peas but he spits out green beans and broccoli unless it is hidden in soup or covered in cheese sauce.  He is not a fan of lettuce either.  He loves fruit and yogurt and cheese.
-He likes to drink mom's drink out of a straw.  It's a good thing she is off the Diet Coke!  He calls everything  to drink juju.
-I spent an entire morning cleaning out his room and closet so that it would officially be HIS.  I have spent the last 2 months sleeping in the room with him to get him to sleep in his own bed.  He has only slept through the night maybe 3 times.  Of course 2 of them were when his dad was in there because I had HAD it and wanted to sleep in my own bed.  Don went in there, put Kyle in his bed and then Don laid on the bed in there and Kyle didn't make a peep and slept the whole night through.  I keep thinking that we will be done with this here soon and I can sleep in my own bed and Kyle will sleep in his own bed.  Since I am in there when he wakes up I just pull him into the bed with me at whatever time that it.  Sometimes it is at 10:30, sometimes around 1:30 or 3 and there was one time it was 5:00.  Maybe one of these days.  He does do pretty well for naps and just lays down on his own and goes to sleep so that is a start.
-He is talking and copying almost everything we say.  Better watch the cuss words!  The boys taught him "Oh yeah" and we love to get him to say that.  He says owee, no, juju for juice, fruh fruh for dog, me-o for meow, baby, nanny for candy, car, go, keyden for Cayden, Concon for Connor, bub for Caleb, Co-ee for Cody, ba for bath, shoes, baba for bottle, poon for spoon, ba-oom for vacuum, key, waa for walk and makes lots of other animal sounds.  He makes the beep sound for the microwave and car noises. We ask him what his name is and he is trying to say Brandt.  He still makes lots of signs for things he wants or needs.
-He love being outside.  It is perfect weather right now and so we just let him run around out back.
-He likes birds and when we open the window and he hears or sees them he will say "mama!" and make the sign for bird.
-He loves Itsy Bitsy Spider and he does the actions for spider and loves to do the "wash the spider out".
-He raises his hands to be held and then he lays his head down on your shoulder for a snuggle.
-He seriously knows when he has to poop-because he told us in the tub-"poopy" and although I said "no, no We don't poop in the tub" he did it anyway. He says stinky or peew when he is poopy.  WE did try to put him on the potty the other night when he did the same thing but he did not like that AT ALL!
-He calls Pooh Bear poopy.
-When he gets in my drawers or cabinets and he gets something like hairspray or lotion I say "yucky, caca".  Well he is doing that too although that doesn't stop him from getting the stuff out.
-He will help pick up things and is starting to bring me things when I ask.
-He loves Curious George and says Jo for George.  He also loves Bubble Guppies and says buppies.
-He still is fascinated with dogs and loves the animals app on the Ipad and Iphone.
-He knows that I want a smile and that we are taking pictures when I put the camera up.  If I say cheese then he will too.
-If we let him out into the garage with the door up, we have to keep a close watch on him because he will just barrel down the driveway and right into the road.
-He doesn't like the sound of the garage door opening and he doesn't like Connor's remote control 4 wheeler.
-He likes to take walks around the neighborhood especially in his car that he got for his birthday.
-He is fearless on the slide and dove head first down it tonight.
-He likes to color but has to be watched because he still likes to eat crayons and markers.  I bought him some color wonder markers but he bit the tip off one so they got put up.
-He is quite the terror in Sacrament meeting so I usually try to get through the Sacrament and then I take him to the mother's lounge where I can at least listen to the meeting and he can play.
-He likes to give "knuckles" instead of high fives.  That is the missionaries favorite!
-His nap time varies depending on the day.  Sometimes it is as early as 10:30 or 11 and he will sleep until 12:30 or 1 but then he is tired again by 4:00.  There are some days he can make it until bedtime when he has an early nap but then there are others where he has to have a little power nap around 5.  Other days he is able to stay up until after lunch and then takes a good nap in the afternoon.
-He is wearing size 24 months in most clothes and a size 7 shoe.
-We need to get him in for his 18 month check up and shots but life has been a bit nutty recently so we will get him in when we can.
-He has had 2 haircuts in the last few months because it just coming in so fuzzy.
-If the barricade isn't up on the stairs he heads up there as soon as he realizes is it an option.  If I can't find him and I start to holler his name all I have to listen for is the pitter patter of feet running across the floor upstairs.  We had to get the screen replaced in Don's office and so it was out for a few weeks.  The weather has been so nice that we have been opening the windows but I was terrified that he was going to climb on something and fall out of it.  Thankfully it wasn't out for too long.
-He loves to rough and tumble with the boys and his dad.  If I am sitting on the couch he will climb up on the couch and just dive onto me.
-He knows how to say prayers by folding his arms and bowing his head.  He makes a gibber jabber noise and then claps when he is done.
-He is a hand holder and finger rubber when he is tired.  He likes to sort of pick and rub my rings and he has to determine the way that he holds my hand.  I can't try and put my hand in his the way I want to, he just moves it to the way he wants to anyway.

This is the first day I put him in his bed for a nap and he cried for a good 30 minutes before he fell asleep sitting up.  I have decided that I won't let him cry more than 15 minutes and other than the first week of the new bedroom and a few other times, he has gone to sleep before that on his own.

Afro circus!

He climbs on EVERYTHING and we have to barricade around things we don't want him touching-like the printer here.  Yeah, that worked well.

Talking on the phone is his favorite.  We call daddy every morning he's in town from Kyle's room.

Bubbles!

One of his new favorite sleeping positions.

Mess maker!

He loves this cowboy hat!

He loves MandM's .

This child loves loves loves being outside!

He wants to feed himself with the spoon.  This is what happens.

Eating crayons.

More outside and eating ashes from the firepit.

Busy busy busy busy boy!!!!

Youth Conference

The first weekend of March Caleb and Connor were able to go to youth conference.  It was held in Alamo which is about an hour and half from here.  This is the first youth conference for both of these boys.  They left here about 4 and then met up with the kids from the Alamo area, had a dinner of Hawaiian haystacks, and then held a big combined "sock hop".  The kids all took their shoes off and got to dance in their socks.  I heard it was an incredibly stinky gym that night!  The girls from the stake slept at the church and the boys slept out at the church farm where they were going to have a big service project the next day.  After a breakfast of cereal, breakfast and fruit the real work began. They were all given bright blue t-shirts with the theme of Stand Ye in Holy Places and Be Not Moved on it.  There was brush to cut and haul, barbed wire fencing to move, trees to trim and piles of weeds to burn.  They had a lunch of sandwiches and chips and the kept right on working until about 1:30 in the afternoon.  There was some horsing around going on with all those kids and all that open space!  There were also a few injuries but luckily not our boys!  Connor supervised most of the burning and that was right up his alley!.  Connor actually didn't go up until Saturday morning and he got the great privilege to ride up with our stake president and one of his counselors.  We had two extremely tired and very very dirty boys that came home that afternoon.  I don't have any pictures of them though because I didn't go!  Bummer!

Welcome Home

Cody came home on medical release from his mission on February 25.  It was quite a surprise since we really didn't know anything was wrong until February 5 and even after that we thought things were ok until we got the call from the Stake President the week before he came home saying it was imminent.  We picked him up from the airport on Monday afternoon.  We took him to lunch a Brio and then came home.  The boys met him in the garage and were clapping for him when he got out of the car.  Grandma Dottie picked up some balloons and Connor made him a Welcome Home sign.  It wasn't the longest mission in the world but he serve faithfully and obediently.  He wants to go back out but he has atleast 6 months before that can even be discussed and it may not happen at all.  We are all at peace with the situation and we are putting our faith in the Lord that He is in charge.  Cody got a calling the first weekend he was back as a ward missionary and has been able to teach the Gospel Essentials Sunday School class and go out with the missionaries several times.  He also has taught Elder's Quorum as a sub and was asked to be their on call sub.  He likes to teach and he does a good job.  This was all unexpected but we just keep on moving forward.  We are glad that he is home and working on getting better.  

A Sad Day for Momma

Today was the day hoped for during long hours of walking the halls at church with a fidgety baby but also the day not hoped for since that would signal another end to babyhood. Kyle went to nursery today the whole time by himself. It was a crazy busy day at church with everything backwards because of youth conference testimony meeting. Don had to teach priesthood and primary was chaos so Kyle just had to go. Cody took him for about 5 minutes but then he needed to go class so he left. I spent that hour and forty five minutes with my eye glued to the peephole as much as I could. He cried at first especially while another little girl cried but then he was just a lap baby on sister Ramos the rest of time. He did sit down and eat snacks but then immediately held his arms up to be held. We have some sweet sweet ladies in nursery so he was well taken care of. I just had a hard hard time with it. When I was able to get him when it was over and he saw me his face just scrunched up in tears and he was clamoring to get to the floor trying to get to me. I scooped him up and we both cried for a minute. Man! Separation anxiety is brutal! The rest of the day he has been right behind me and not letting me out of his sight. He wouldn't let anyone hold him but me during sacrament meeting and he wanted to be right in my arms all the while I was trying to cook dinner. All the boys tried their best to distract him and let me cook or clean up but he wouldn't have that very long! Tonight he is in the bed with me even though the last few nights he has done really well in his own bed. Tonight he just stands there and cries and whimpers mama and I just can't stand it. He was laying down for a minute but then he would stand back up and cry again. I've had an emotional week so listening to my baby cry makes me cry. So we will toss and turn together in the big bed in his room and hope that tomorrow he will know his momma will always come back even if she is just going to the potty!