{Two}

HaPpY BiRtHdAy LiTtLe MaN!!! Tate turned two on Wednesday, January 11th. Why do they keep doing this to me?!?!

The big kids each picked him out a gift of their own and he opened their presents before the kids left for school. Hayden picked out a Sesame Street puzzle celebrating Cookie Monster's birthday!

Hunter picked out a couple Toy Story 3 figures.

Gage gave him a Sesame Street counting DVD.

f

Gage also gave him his big orange tractor with the ripper and his road grader. This was very special (to me) because I know how much Gage loves his farm stuff.

We had family come over that evening to help celebrate and they were so kind to bring (and make) gifts!

It took him a couple tries (and some help) to get all those candles blown out!

Tate's stats:
   Weight: 26 lbs
   Height: 32 1/2"

Favorites:
   Shows: Sesame Street, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Signing Time, basketball and football!
   Color: blue (according to Gage)
   Food: Microwave popcorn
   Toys: basketball and hoop, tractors and trucks, pretend vacuum, wooden puzzles and books

Dislikes:
   *The drive to Driggs (another BIG dislike by the rest of the family) CaRsIcK!! :P
   *Having messy hands and/or clothes
   *Washing his hair in the bath tub
   *Nursery

Happy Birthday Baby! I love you so much!!!!

Christmas 2011

We had a great Christmas and I'm sad that it came and went so fast! Weeks of preparation and then,"Bam!" it's done within a few hours.

Hayden decorated most of the tree by herself. Steve spent 4 hours checking each light bulb on the 6 strands of lights that weren't working and had as much fun as he could stand before the decorating part even began, Hunter found other things to do, Gage's attention span was that of a 6 year old, and Tate was not as much help as you might think. :) Great job Hayd!!!

 Tate was fascinated that he could see himself in the glass balls. (Although in this picture, he just looks fascinated with Esmerelda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.)

 We got this year's gingerbread house done.

 We made Christmas cookies...a few times throughout the month.

We got spoiled at Grandma and Grandpa's!

 Hayden is Team Edward and Madi is Team Jacob! Yikes!

 Gage and Jace added some much needed equipment to their farms!

 And Hunter was pleased with a Derek Jeter Fathead.

 But still made time to be silly. (I always knew he was hard headed. Now I have proof!)

l

And Christmas morning...

He got the jersey to match the Fathead

and a picture collage of the hunting club they go to in Utah. (I "borrowed" his iPod while he was at school and created it. He had taken these himself when they went hunting in September of 2011.)

Hayden got the Bieb doll from her dad! So cool! 

Gage got the Lego Train Station. (Santa thought it would be fun if Mom and Dad got the actual Lego train set for his birthday in May until he checked the price of them...YiKeS!!)

And Tate would have been completely content with the first gift he opened no matter what it was. It took him a good part of the day to take it all in!

 f

Each of the boys got a mini hoop of their own. When it was time to leave for church, Tate "hid" and was not about to leave that ball and hoop!

It was a great holiday season and I was very happy to have the kids home for a week!

BOO!

Scared ya, didn't I? It's been that long since I've posted that you never saw it coming...

We carved pumpkins at Grandma's house. (Keep the mess somewhere else...hee-hee-hee)

Gage got to actually carve his own this year. (Mainly because the pumpkins were a bit on the soft side and could be carved easily with a butter knife.)

 His finished product. (This kid can pull some scarey faces himself!)

 Hayden, carving away.

 Aahhh. She decided on a cute kitty cat - for that side. Rotate her masterpiece and she also has a face and lightening bolt.

 Grandma bought a brand new tool for cleaning out the insides. (Pretty sure she didn't think that one through!) Hunter was eager to put the 12" metal thingy onto the power drill and give it a go. And as you can see, it went - everywhere!

His finished pumpkin. 

 And this is definitely an idea that Grandma thought through completely! How perfect for Tate (and mom) to have an un-carved Elmo pumpkin! Gage stuck the pieces in and Tate couldn't help but give him a love.

And then came costume time!

 "Tate"-man

 Hayden as Clawdeen Wolf from the Monster High book series, Batman, Cowboy Gage and well, Hunter.

 Not too often do I get a picture of Steve not holding some dead animal, so I decided this was perfect!

 The kids all had a great time trick-or-treating and running wild with cousins!

 Frightening!

 The candy-givers!

 And the big kids. So glad that Hunter had Katie there so that he could cause trouble with someone his own age. ;)

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!

The Fourth...of July Activities

For the 4th of July weekend, we got the chance to see the hot air balloons in Driggs. They do this every year but it starts at 6 a.m. and let's be honest, none of us has ever volunteered to get up and leave by 5 a.m. to go see big balloons. So, this year when we had to be in  Driggs for an All-Star Baseball Tournament by 7:00 a.m., we got to see the hot air balloons as we drove by. That totally counts!

After we watched Hunter play his baseball in Driggs, Steve and I raced back and participated in the annual 4th of July Softball Tournament in Ashton. So much fun!! I learned just how out of shape I am and my body kept reminding me of this for the entire following week.

 

Hunter was bummed that he couldn't play in the softball tourney. Instead, he would try to time it right and catch the foul balls on my aunt's bike. No luck, but it was fun watching him try. (Picked up on some girls though ;)

We went to the Ashton parade and got our share of things thrown at us.

The kids found a great way to stay cool! (And they were sure to keep everyone within a 20 foot radius cool as well!)

I swear he was clean when we left the house!

 

 

And a Birthday on the 4th...

Hunter turned thiiirr...thirt....thiirrte...a year older yesterday, and man was it a day!

Gifts before his french toast breakfast. (He wasn't going to be home all day so he didn't get to choose a favorite supper, just a favorite breakfast)

 

 

 And then after school, he had baseball practice in St. Anthony, but while he was there, Gage had a game of his own just outside of St. Anthony.

 

 And after Hunter's practice, he had his game. He pitched...

 ...and pitched some more...

 ...and had three AwEsOme hits!

 "Hey Hunter, now that you're thir...thirte...older, what are you going to do?"

 "I'm going to Hayden's piano recital!"

 So, after school, practice, games and recital, he made it back home to open the remainder of his gifts.  

 This was one of his favorites! A party pack of tacos from Taco Bell from Grandma Susan! That is one genuine [and a bit dirty] smile! (And one great gift after such a big day! 3 down, 9 to go!)

Happy Birthday to my TeEnaGeR!!!