Beginning of March

A few weeks ago I got to go to the temple to be with one of my counselors in the primary presidency as she got her endowments. It was such a wonderful trip! Anthony's parents came to watch the kids and I rode with a friend to Orlando. As I was getting ready to leave in the morning, I was cleaning and found a few pacifiers around the house. Rett collected them all and had one in his mouth and one in each hand. He was set!

I was gone for about 7 hours, and when I walked in the door, Anthony's mom immediately said, "How do you do this??". Apparently, they wore them out ;)

We bought new chairs for the backyard so that we would have a place to sit while the boys play. Previously we've always just sat on a blanket, but this is much more comfortable. At least the boys think so, because they immediately took over both chairs and we were back on the ground again :) Now I need to find some kid sized ones so that we can have our chairs back!

 Our strawberry plants are doing very well and both boys love going out everyday to pick all the ripe ones. They also love eating them warm right from the garden and I love watching them devour them, especially Rett.

One day we accidentally caught a cardinal under the screen we have over the strawberry plants. The screen is supposed to keep animals from nibbling on our strawberries, but this determined bird found a way in. Then he couldn't find his way out!

Last Saturday was our stake pinewood derby and I wanted to go to support the cub scouts in our ward and cheer them on. The only catch was that it was in the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday, so I would have to bring both boys during their normal nap time. I was a little nervous about it... I helped James make a pinewood derby car from a kit so that he could bring it and not feel left out that everyone else had a car. It was a good that he had it to play with, but also a little aggravating when he asked me every 5 minutes when it was his turn to race his car. Overall, they both did really great with how much waiting around and sitting we had to do. We sat through 3 hours of racing because they only had one working track, but finally James got to race his car twice right before they said the closing prayer. He was so excited!

Our ward was in charge of the refreshment room, so after being there for 3 hours, we stayed to help vacuum, clean, and wash the dishes. I put James in charge of vacuuming the crumbs while I went into the kitchen next door and washed the dishes one handed while holding Rett. James was such an awesome helper! He loved making sure he got all the crumbs and everyone was impressed with how hard he was working. Give that kid a task and he is ready to go!

Tuesday was James' first soccer practice for the spring season. This is his third season with the same coach, so it is nice that things are familiar for him. We were so impressed with how James did in his first practice! He actually listened to his coach, did what was asked, and he didn't hit or push anyone!! (The no hitting and pushing is a major win for us. It really can go either way anytime he has to interact with other kids). We've also noticed how much more coordinated he is compared to when he first started soccer almost exactly a year ago. I think that will make soccer more fun for him and less frustrating since he can control the ball better.

He actually put his foot on the ball when he was supposed to stop it, which he never did last season because he couldn't keep his balance. We were very excited for him :)

They also got to take turns shooting their ball into the goal. James was very determined! We asked him later if he was going to make a goal during a game this season and he casually said, "Yeah, probably".

Rett sat with us and watched for most of the practice, so we didn't have to chase him around too much. He loves those soccer balls though, so it is going to be hard to keep him away from them all season.

The weather has been so beautiful lately, that Anthony decided to take James out fishing in the boat for some one on one time. When we told James that he was getting to go out on the boat, he yelled, "Yay, yay, yay, yay!!" and did a little victory dance. They had a great time together! Anthony caught two keeper fish and James tried to reel them in, but they were too heavy for him. After they got home, James told me all about the "sand bar with lots of mud" that he got to walk on. He was so happy after spending an afternoon fishing, he really does take after Anthony!

Whenever I do preschool activities with James or we play with more intricate toys like his circuit set, Rett tries to push his way into what we are doing. He likes to walk right on top of the toy, or sometimes even sit down on the paper and refuse to move until you pull him off. Then he has a little tantrum where he cries angrily, and stretches out on the floor with his face in the ground. I feel bad about pushing him out of the way so often, and I want to try to find ways to have him participate without interfering. It doesn't always work, but this time it did! While James did some painting I put Rett in his highchair and let him finger paint at the same time. He loved it! 

Funny James

James had his 4 year old check up and had to get shots for the first time in a long time. The last time he had them, he was too young to really understand what was going on, so we tried really hard to prepare him. We talked him through what would happen and warned him about shots and that they hurt a little bit, but then it feels better really fast. Then, you get to go pick out a toy at the toy store! We might have talked up the toy part a little too much (I think out of guilt, I hate that I have to make him get shots!), because when we had a little car trouble the day of his appointment and I told him we might not make it, he said, "Nooo! I want my shots!". While the car was getting fixed, Anthony ended up having to take him alone in the truck since there are only 3 seats and we all don't fit. So I stayed home with Rett and worried the entire time :) On the one hand I didn't want to see him cry and be hurt, but on the other hand I wanted to be there to mother him. I totally didn't need to worry, he was amazing! He barely minded them at all! When he came home he told me, "It hurt a little bit, but then I got bambaids and a red lollipop!"

 He was very excited to get a glove balloon, specially made by Daddy :)

His 4 year old stats:

                   Weight: 35 pounds (38th percentile)

                    Height: 42 inches (80th percentile)

On the way home they stopped at Dollar General and James picked out two toys: a plastic boat that has motor so it works in the water and a plastic airplane for the bathtub. He has already told me what toy he is planning to get the next time he gets shots, so he is definitely not traumatized :)

Just a few funny stories about James that I want to remember:

*One morning James came up to me and wanted to play with my wedding rings. I told him that I couldn't take them off because they were special.
                        James: "You got them when you were married?"
                        Me:      "Yes"
                        James: "So when am I married?"
                        Me:    "When you grow up and after you go on your mission, you will find a girl you really like and then you will get married.
                        James: "But the girl I really like is you!"

*James found an old ring of Anthony's in a box and was playing with it. He was putting it on his different fingers and twirling it around. I went off to volunteer at the library when I got this text from Anthony: "Daddy, I swallowed that decoration ring". I couldn't believe it!! I texted Anthony back and he said that it was for real and he thought James was telling the truth about swallowing it. I immediately decided to call and talk to James directly because something didn't sound right...James has seriously the most sensitive gag reflex I've ever seen so I just didn't buy that he swallowed something large and metal. Anthony put James on the phone and this how our conversation went:
                        James: "Hi Mommy!"
                        Me:      "Hi honey. What are you doing?"
                        James:  "Playing with Daddy's decoration ring"
                        Me (real calm, trying to act like it is no big deal):  "So where is Daddy's ring now?"
                        James:   "In my pocket".

Sure enough, he pulled it out of his pocket to show Anthony. Apparently he gave Anthony this big story about how he swallowed the ring and now it is in his tummy and everything. When I asked him about later in person, he got this sneaky smile on his face and said, "I just teasin'!"

Harry Potter World!!!

I did it!! I finally got to go to Harry Potter World at Universal!! We have been planning and saving for this trip for 5 months as a part of my birthday celebration. Anthony took the day off of work to watch the kids, and my mom and my brother came to visit for the week. We decided to get there really early to try to beat the crowds, so we woke up at 6am Monday morning to make the drive to Orlando. I could barely contain myself! I have been wanting to go for so long and it was finally happening!

When we first got there, the park wasn't officially open yet, but they let us in so that we could line up for the different rides. The shops and the decorations in Hogsmeade village were amazing!

I read online that the line for Olivander's wand shop is crazy long since they only let in 30 people at a time, so we decided to do that first. We ended up being one of the first people in! I was hoping that they would pick me to be the one person that does the "experience" where you try out the different wands, but they chose a teenage boy instead. Booo! :) After you watch him try the different wands and settle on the right one, they lead you into the wand shop where you can buy your own wand. Daniel and I both bought one because there are spots all over the place where you can use your wand to make things happen (like move things in a window, or turn on a fountain, things like that).

Of course, we had to Oooo and ahh over Hogwarts castle!

The castle was our next stop. The line for the ride goes through the entire castle and you see so many cool things, like doors to different classrooms, Dumbledore's office, moving pictures hanging on the wall, and even the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

Paintings hanging on the wall:

 The entrance to Dumbledore's office:

After the castle we decided to ride the Hogwarts Express train over to Diagon Alley in Universal Studios. This a relatively new addition to Harry Potter world, so it was definitely busier. It was so awesome to watch the train arrive. I could almost imagine that I was really going to Hogwarts! :)

After you get off of the train, you exit into a London street, complete with the Knight Bus and the large fountain that is in front of the ministry of magic.

There is a British telephone booth that you can go inside. If you dial "Magic" on the phone you get connected to the Ministry of Magic!

Then you go through a hole in a brick wall to find Diagon Alley! It is a little crowded in there: there are a lot of people and very narrow streets.

 There were so many cool shops and things to look at from the movies and the books. We wanted to go on the ride inside of Gringotts, but the line was always too long for us.

 This monster book was inside a cage and would rattle around and chomp at you:

You can go inside Gringotts and exchange your muggle money for magic money (that you can use to buy things all over Universal). We went in just to see the animatronic goblin. We tried asking it questions, but it ignored us.

We ate lunch at the leaky cauldron and it was dark and gloomy, just like in the movie! They served traditional English food like bangers and mash and toad in a hole. I almost got a regular old chicken sandwich, but then I thought I should be adventurous and try toad in a hole. Definitely should have gotten the chicken sandwich :) It wasn't the greatest thing to eat, but at least I tried! We tried the soda butterbeer here and it was delicious! Just like cream soda with a layer of whip cream on top. Yum!

After lunch it started to get really crowded, so we decided to check out the rest of Universal. We went on a few rides, but there wasn't anything too exciting. We were just killing time until we could go back to Harry Potter! After awhile we got back on the Hogwarts Express and back into Hogsmeade so we could do some shopping. We had plans to buy a lot of souvenirs so we made sure to do our shopping last so that we wouldn't have to carry around a lot of bags. I got a toy for James and a stuffed owl for Rett. Then we went into the candy shop and got chocolate frogs, every flavor jelly beans, cotton candy, and fizzing whizzies (chocolate with pop rocks in them). On our way out we tried the frozen butterbeer and it wasn't as good as the soda. It was a little too sweet, but it didn't stop me from drinking it all :) On the way home I tried the every flavor beans and I ended up eating a rotten egg flavored bean and an earthworm bean. So gross!! After that I cheated and used the little picture guide they give you to make sure I didn't eat anymore gross ones.

It was so much fun, I can't wait to go back with the boys once they are older and can really enjoy it. Plus, that gives me an excuse to go back again!

James' first talk in Primary!

James had his very first talk in primary on Sunday! I asked him a bunch of questions about the topic and used his answers to make his talk, so it mostly in his own words. We practiced a lot at home about using the microphone, but I still wasn't sure how it was going to go ;) Luckily, once he decided where he wanted to stand, he got into his groove. We were all so proud of him! Here is the video of it:

He had quite the cheering section, my mom was visiting so she got to see it and Anthony's parents drove up to go to church with us just to be there. He is one well-loved little boy!

I'm trying to be more consistent about getting James to do chores everyday. I made a chore chart for him where he can move pictures of his chores over to a "completed" section once he does them. Every day he does all of his chores, he gets a small coin to add to his piggy bank. He generally doesn't mind doing his chores, but some days he needs extra encouragement. One morning he said he needed to be in his transformers costume before he could do his chores. Once he put it on, he did everything really fast, "like a superhero", so it actually helped!

Anthony's parents visited us on their way back home from a weekend trip with James' cousins. James loooooves to play with his cousins and he looooves Mimi and Papa's RV, so he was one happy little boy to play with them all.

James just got over a persistent cough that he had for at least two weeks. He seemed fine in every other way, but the coughing sounded so terrible! On top of that, James has the most sensitive gag reflex, so a bad coughing fit would often lead to vomit. Not fun! I tried to limit our outings and stay home as much as possible with his cough, but after awhile we both were getting restless and grumpy. I decided that we needed to do something fun to get us out of our funk, so we decided to visit the sea turtles at the marine science center and play at the park by the lighthouse (his cough was mostly gone by then). It was a beautiful sunny day and we all had a blast! Rett is hard to chase around at these type of places and he won't stay in his stroller anymore, so it was hard to get many pictures. James did get to pet the sting rays and watch them get fed. We also saw them feed an octopus and we saw all the of the sea turtles that are there for rehab.

The playground outside of the lighthouse had a lot of fun equipment, including a seesaw. They both loved it!