bits-n-pieces

I don't have nearly as much time for blogging as I would like. This post will be a mishmash collection of events from the last little while, many of which deserve their own posts.

Lexi is 17 months old now. She is mostly delightful. I am enjoying her increasing ability to talk; she attempts to say everything we say now. She is adding "k" and "t" sounds at the beginning and ending of many words. She also adds "no" to lots of words: no shoes, no bib, no milk, no night-night, etc., in order to express her opinions. Lexi has a big personality and big ideas. Her favorite pastime is sitting in a bathroom sink with the faucets on full-blast. Watching her climb from the ground to the counter is quite amazing.



Last Sunday Lexi ran outside after church and rolled around in the empty flower bed. She was covered in dirt from head to toe. I was one happy mama when her adorable outfit came clean.



Tyler lost a tooth! Woohoo! Snaggletooth be gone! The tooth fairy paid him a dollar and even remembered to visit on the night he lost the tooth (which might be unprecedented). I'm thrilled that Ty is missing all four front teeth at the same time. Super cute.



Tyler is thriving in his weekly music class. The rhythms and instruments are a perfect fit for our boy's musical nature! Here he is pictured with his teacher, Miss Ro, and the music bag he designed.



How's this for irony? After nine months of having my books in storage in the garage, I finally put them back on the bookshelves downstairs. Gavin and Lexi immediately attacked them, so I put up these gates. Limited access is better than no access, I guess! I am very happy to have them back in the house...and a little surprised at how much I have added to the collection since I boxed them up to move!



We've been having trouble with the photo card reader that works with Garry's camera, so it has taken a couple of weeks to download pictures from Kid Photo Shoot: Take 3. I think this is the best we're going to get.




Zachary's football season ended today. We're all pretty happy about that! The Rams had an undefeated season. Playing tackle football was more work than Zachary expected, and we don't know if he will play again, but overall he had a good experience! We were blessed with fantastic weather on every game day -- quite amazing in these parts! Last week he "versed" his best friend Gavin's team. It was fun to see his family on the sidelines. In the picture below, Zach is playing center (in blue) with his hands on the ball.



Sometime last week we pulled out our telescope to look at the stars. We found a few constellations, looked at craters on the moon, and even saw Jupiter! Zach passed off his first scouting requirement for the Cub Scout Bear rank and we had a lot of fun together!



Gavin enjoyed some time in the leaves yesterday morning before we raked and bagged them. He has spent a lot of time in the yard this week, often using the grass as his own personal toilet. I'm not thrilled with this development, but I'm hoping the novelty will wear off as the temperatures cool.



Gavin has become obsessed with the rubber boots I dug out of storage a couple of weeks ago. He pairs them with every outfit -- even pajamas! I love this picture of Gavin snuggling with Stanley in bed in the middle of the night.



We enjoyed a fantastic dinner with our friends, Danny, Annie, and Gavin last night. Gavin and Zach are the same age (and football buddies as pictured above).
We have gotten to know his parents over the last couple of years but even better recently. A couple of weeks ago we shared our religious beliefs with this sweet family, and last night they committed to be baptized into our church. We feel honored to share this special experience with them and look forward to their progression in the gospel.