Atticus is 6.5!

 

*He desperately wants an axolotl

*He blew his first gum bubble on 07-08-21

*He calls Dr. Kaddu Dr. Kazzuess (a mix between Kaddu and Dr. Seuss)

*He asked about how babies are made. I told him about how mom's have eggs and dad's have sperm (swimmer's) that meet and create the baby. I kept it simple and he seemed satisfied with my answer

*He talks to himself a lot and will close the door and talk to himself like we can't hear him while he is in the shower. I asked him one day what he was talking about and he said posting to his YouTube channel in his head

*He wears a size 2 shoe

*He is getting braver in the water and can hold his breath for quite a long time. He loves to dive for things at the bottom of the pool

*He and Ava debate/bicker constantly about everything

*He is a wild sleeper and is always hanging off the bed or sleeping diagonally

*He is obsessed with Gavin's turtles, Tank and Godzilla

*He has started licking us and things, just because and will slip us the tongue when he kisses us. He has been keeping us on our toes

*He rolls up in his covers when he rolls over, just like his dad

*He was talking about how excited he was to get a giant pickle at school. He said, "It's big. It's long. It's juicy." Then he got out the pickles and ate some for breakfast and said, "Yummy! A pickle dickle!"

*He can do lots of bubbles and tricks with his spit

*He says straightaway for right now

*He likes to do his own hair for school and will comb it straight down his forehead and separate it into 3 chunks

*He started 1st grade with Mrs. Lasater and Mrs. Sun and loves it

*He still thinks everyone's middle name is Scott

*I was talking about how I like to pick things and he said, "But I like to more. If someone had peeled off skin on their butt, I'd pick it"

*He has been testing boundaries. He has started to act naughty at home sometimes(mimicking in a meanish way, hitting, intentionally not listening, backtalking). He has had lots of missed electronic time this past few months

*He lost his 3rd tooth (upper left central incisor) on October 7th, 2021

*He calls the Milky Way the Silky Way

*He moved from level F to I on leveled library 

*He is doing super well in school in all subjects, even Chinese

*We are working on having him ear a larger variety of foods. He is really resistant to try new things

*He loves to Rollerblade around the house and to ride super fast

*He loves Chinese class

*He told me that I am luckier than him because I get to be responsible for my kids. He is excited to be a dad

*He says, "I'm allowed to be an American" instead of proud to be an American

*He lost his 4th tooth (upper right central incisor) on November 17, 2021 at school... His dream come true

*He started writing his name in his version of cursive

*He says, "Picture a stable in tortilla" instead of Judea

*He wants 2 Huskies when he grows up

*He went to the Grand Canyon/Tuweep area for the first time on November 27, 2021

*He has started stomping his foot really hard when he gets upset

Ava is 9!!!

Height: 4' 3" (31%)

Weight: 64 lbs 13 oz (52%)

BMI: 68%

We are ecstatic to have been able to spend another year with our amazing girl! It has been a great one! Ava has been growing and learning so much! She never ceases to amaze us! 

*She really wants an axolotl 

*She wears size 2 shoes

*She still bickers and debates with Atticus constantly 

*He loves to be another mommy to her brothers, for better or worse

*Uncle Matt always says, "Ava's such a cool girl!"

*She told me that she likes to wear whatever she wants and doesn't care too much about how she looks. She thinks it's weird that girls are late to school because they took too long to get ready for school

*She went on a weekend 12 mile backpacking trip with Colby to Ashdown Gorge July 16-17th, 2021. She did amazingly well and was starving when they finished. Colby told her she could get anything she wanted and she chose Costa Vida. He asked if they just wanted their own burritos or to split one and get queso and she immediately chose queso

*She is becoming such a confident swimmer and has leaned to roll on her back when she gets tired

*She loves watching lighting/rainstorms

*She loves anime and BTS

*She believes that if she looks into people's eyes when she poops (like she did when she was little) that it really helps her go

*She had an ear infection behind her left ear, near her ear piercing that might need plastic surgery. Luckily the antibiotics seemed to help. She only has 1 piercing now while it heals

*She has been playing with Draper Eves and Everlie Openshaw for hours a day

*She backpacked into Coyote Gulch with Colby and Gavin on August 7-8th, 2021

*She started 3rd grade with Mrs. Marchant and Ding

*She got a rapid COVID test on 08-20-21 after potential exposure at school and was negative

*She participated in Girls on the Run

*She started wearing a training bra. She loves sleeping in it and underwear at night

*She drew an amazing picture of Christ on the cross at church September 27th, 2021

*She really wants to learn Korean as well as continuing learning Mandarin 

*She is worried about wasting her Magical Decade so she is trying lots of new things (girls on the run, storytellers club where she recited the book "Same, but Different Too")

*She started sneakily sucking her thumb again

*She loves watching baking shows

*She has been playing clapping games at recess

*She went to the Grand Canyon/Tuweep for the first time on November 27, 2021

*She doesn't love hotdogs or eggs

Gavin is 11!!

 

11 whole years with Gavin has been a dream! It has been amazing to watch him grow into such an amazing young man! 

Height: 4' 10" (67%)

Weight: 100 lbs (86%)

*He loves penguins

*He got glasses to see close to read. The Dr. was super impressed at how Gavin explained what was happening with his eyes. He said he explained it better than most adults and with more detail 04-16-21

*Colby said, "When hell freezes over" and he said, "Really?!" He is pretty gullible 

*He had his 2nd HPV vaccine and did great again 04-19-21

*He moved into his room in the basement 05-01-21

*He love Sprite and Fanta but doesn't like hot chocolate. He also doesn't like yogurt, beans, mashed potatoes, or milk

*He finished 4th grade with Mrs. Xu and Ruiz

*He went to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming for the first time when we went to Yellowstone May 23-31st, 2021

*He says pacific for specific 

*He spent a week in Tropic with Grandma and Grandpa White and Jackson. He learned how to drive the four-wheeler and helped out a lot

*He is becoming a really good, confident swimmer. He likes to swim underwater and go off the diving board.

*He has a silly sense of humor

*He doesn't love to exercise and puts up a fight when I have them walk around the neighborhood. When he does run he is a really fast runner

*He could send hours a day on electronics and building with Legos

*He got two red-eared slider turtles named Tank and Godzilla for an early birthday present that he paid half for

*He loves to cook ramen al dente and loves to cook it for others

*He is starting to eat spicy foods

*He started growing his hair out but cut it short a few months later

*He is wearing size 7 shoes and size 14-16 clothes and large or XL youth shirts

*He is always up to dance and make silly faces and noises with me

*He loves to listen to podcasts and audiobooks

*Pesters Ava and Atticus and sometimes forgets how big he is and accidently hurts them

*He loves watching the Line Upon Line vidoes that go along with Come, Follow Me

*He made a pixel art of Mabel from Gravity Falls on the computer

*He lost his 16th tooth (left upper canine) on 07-24-21

*He loves trying to scare people

*He backpacked overnight with Dad and Ava in Coyote Gulch 08-07-21

*He started 5th grade with Mrs. Spark and Bu 

*He does homework at recess with Henry and Dylan so he doesn't have to do it at home

*He met Kade Devlin (our neighbor) and hit it off right away on 09-02-21. He told me if felt like he met his twin

*He is starting to get a few zits

*He does a slow clap when he think I'm funny but doesn't want me to know he actually thinks I'm funny

*He can roll his stomach

*He said he likes the number 69 because you can switch it around and it's the same number while we were at the cabin. Matt, Taylor, and Colby couldn't keep a straight face

*

Atticus is 6!!!

Atticus is 6! It's been such a good year with our crazy, funny, sweet boy and we couldn't want for anything more!           

Height: 4'1" (50%)

Weight: 50 lbs 8 oz (74%)

BMI: (34%)

*He likes to play the piano while it's on song mode and is actually really good at keeping tempo

*He is excelling at school and is easily reading level c (level 3 books) and can write 1-20 quickly and correctly. He also knows all his letters sounds and almost all of his sight words

*He is super fast on his scooter

*He runs his entire recess time at school

*He still a tantrum thrower (running around wildly and kicking his legs and throwing his arms everywhere) when he gets told no, especially when it pertains to electronics 

*He is the princess and the pea with shoes, like his mom because he has wide, tall feet and he likes room to move his toes

*He drew a picture of Gavin on the top bunk with a happy face and him on the bottom bunk with a sad face when they switched beds 01-14-21

*He likes Cheetos Puffs dipped in ketchup

*He tried scrambled eggs and liked them! 

*He is very snuggly and lovey to me He gives lots of kisses and hugs and says he loves me. 

*He talks in a different voice when he gets excited that is really hard to understand

*He comes out almost every night and says, "Is my eye (or some other body part) ok?" 

*He has started screaming and scratching things when he is upset

*He got mad and kicked me int he shin and ran away one day

*He lost his 2nd tooth (bottom right central incisor) on 02-12-21, He was super scared for me to pull it but after I did he said, "That didn't hurt that much"

*He says, "Do you want the good news or the cute news? Baby penguins are going to hatch!" while we were watching a show about penguins on Disney+

*He can do the monkeybars

*He said he like the way the "G" word sounds but knows it's not ok to say it as a swear word

*He hates his food being touched by anyone

*He loves all parts of school

*He said, "I like Sax and phone. Ya. Saxaphone"

*While eating a crepe, he saw two blueberries near wach other and said, "Mom, look! These look like one of your private parts"

*He fell asleep on me at church for the first time in a long time 03-14-21

*He is messy and hates cleaning

*He really loves granola bars and will eat at least 2-3 at a time. He also really loves cereal, oranges from the orange man in Santa Clara, Little Caesars cheese pizza and breadsticks, and marshmallows

*He could play Nintendo and watch YouTube all day long. He will pee his pants sometimes because he doesn't want to stop what he is doing

*He runs away from us when he is in trouble 

*He is obsessed with spanking butts and winds up and hits hard when he does

*He still jumps all over the couch

*He loves reading books over and over again

*He is on a reading level D (where kindergarteners should be at the end of the year)

*He has amazing test scores

*He is so used to his mask that he usually wears it until I remind him that he can take it off

*He could eat candy and snacks all day long

*He had 4 small cavities

*He calls Peeps "Meeps"

*He spanked Dad and said, "You're skin's so wobbly" or "Wobbly skin!" while putting his hand on your stomach and moving it around

*He likes to watch aumsum.com to learn facts

*He loves pandas

*He is super good on drives and loves to look out the windows

*He got glasses and needs to wear an eye patch at home on his right eye so that his left eye can catch up with his right eye. His brain is only relying on his right eye right now since that is a 4 line difference in his vision in each eye 04-16-21

*He slept in his own room upstairs after Gavin and Ava moved downstairs 05-02-21

*He asks me to sing him a church song before I leave his room each night

*He stepped on a bee and get stung for the first time while walking on the grass and came into the house running around like crazy 05-07-21

*He is taller than Ava 05-21-21

*He told me that Henly Hickman and Drew Olsen were his crushes. Henly wants him to be her boyfriend, but he doesn't want to tell her yes because he doesn't want to have to marry her

*He likes sour cream and onion chips, hot chocolate, and scrambled eggs. He will not eat mashed potatoes, meat, veggies

*When dad teases him and gets him in a leg lock, he will run away to him room because he thinks he's actually going to die

*He finished kindergarten

*He went to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming for the first time when we went to Yellowstone from May 23-31st, 2021

*He called Old Faithful "Old Nelson"

*He kept calling out "Wildlife!" anytime he saw any type of animal in Yellowstone

*He told me, "You're basically a grandma"

*He likes lots of milk in his cereal 

*He learned how to pump on a swing and jump off

*He really likes to watch Unspeakable on YouTube

*He likes to annoy Ava by singing "Oh, Hi" and "Baby Shark"

*He rode in a boat and tubed for the first time with the Manwarings

*He started putting his face in the water at swimming lessons and has started to really try to swim. He will jump off the edge and go under and do waterslides (with a life jacket)

*He had his 6th birthday party at Sand Hollow Aquatic Center

Ava is 8.5!

 

Ava is 8.5! 

The past 6 month she has been up to a lot! 

*She has been really into using boxes to make houses for her stuffed animals and loves to do crafts

*She loves to paint with Dad

*She loves to watch craft and art shows on YouTube

*While we were playing cards she said, "That's B A A D"

*She had a massive headache that woke her up 02-04-21

*She has started to cry and get emotional and hangry more often

*She asked me to come help pick out her clothes for the next day to do her 70-80's birthday party for Jessie McGee

*She is very interested in sewing

*She learned how to roller skate

*She likes sour cream and onion chips and almost everything I make

*She loves taking leftovers to school for lunch

*She likes math and Chinese

*She will still put herself down for naps when she is tired

*She likes to dress like a tomboy sometimes and a girly girl the next minute. She also likes to dress for the occasion or theme her outfits

*She didn't win her Valentine's box contest in her class and was super bummed out because she made hers almost all by herself and those who won didn't

*She bought herself Rollerblades and can blade without falling after just 2 days

*She loves to ride her Rollerblades in the house

*She rarely lets me do her hair anymore

*She likes to cook and makes a mean Macaroni and Cheese

*She loves mashed potatoes and can eat so much of them

*She loves Heath bars, Werther's, caramels, Milk Duds, Whoppers, and Robin Eggs

*She started needing and wearing deodorant 

*She still sleeps with an eye mask

*She is very tenderhearted and sensitive 

*She loves Sophie and Sophie loves her and listens to her most of the time

*She always wants Sophie to sleep on her bed, but she rarely stays up there

*She has been starting to instigate arguments at home and correct people and tell them what they said or did wrong

*She is growing out her dolls and toys

*She wanted a one piece swimsuit that looked like a boys. We settled on a light blue and white stripped suit

*Her favorite colors are black, blue, and gray 

*She is not a huge fan or cleaning and is quite a messy girl. She does go through phases where she cleans her room and is ruthless about what she throws out

*She told me this joke

"Why do ducks have feathers? To cover their butt quack"

*She loves penguins and elephants and pigs

*She got hot tub foliculitis from the Howard Johnson we stayed at in Sandy for Kate's baptism

*She finished Lexia Core 5 on 04-15-21

*She has a crush on Ike (Isaac) Mathews and he likes her (They played Truth or Dare at recess and found out). He has liked her since the beginning of the school year and he has been in her top 4 crushes but has moved up because her other crushes are being too crazy)

*She had her 2nd piano recital and memorized and played "Powerwalk"

*She moved into her room in the basement on 05-01-21

*She loves BTS and Korean pop and constantly watches shows about them to learn anything she can about them

*She loves Korean food, chili relleno casserole, and mexican food and will try anything. She doesn't like grapes, fish, deli meat, blueberries, or oranges

*She finished her 2nd grade year

*She went to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming for the first time when we went to Yellowstone from 05-23 to 05-31-21

*She says pacific for specific 

Gavin is 10.5!

 

Gavin is 10.5! 

*He is growing by the second and will pass mom up in no time

*His favorite color is green 

*He had his first round of the HPV vaccine as well as his flu shot on 10-19-20 and did really well. When he was younger that was definitely not the case

*He loves to doodle and draw comics

*He is really good at making paper airplanes and boats

*He came home from school and told me this joke 

"Snake 1: Are we poisonous?

Snake 2: No.

Snake 1: Good. I just bit my lip.

*He was Link from Legend of Zleda for Halloween

*He loves Twix and 100 Grands

*He lost his 11th tooth on 11-11-20 (right upper 1st bicuspid- premolar)

*He lost his 12th tooth at school on 11-13-20 (left bottom bicuspid)

*Then he lost his 13th tooth on 11-18-20 (left lower bicuspid)

*He stepped into "dad mode" on a hike to make sure the kids and I could make it over obstacles while Colby hiked back with his parents

*He learned long division 

*A girl named Lily Brewer has a massive crush on him

*He lost his 15th tooth on 01-09-21 (top left bicuspid- premolar)

*He is very good at changing songs from major to minor (or vice versa) and changing the melody of songs. He can also switch octaves and keys

*He has been helping around the house without being asked, like bring in the trash cans and taking Sophie outside. He has also been saying thank you a lot more

*He says pernamnet for permanent; donimo for domino

*He has been getting into matchbox cars 

*He belches and farts a lot and very loudly in his sleep

*He likes history and reading about WWII

*He likes to help Grandma A with dishes on Sunday since her dishwasher has been broken

*Sophie has been loving on him more lately and loves to give him kisses

*He had a special Valentine at school (Audrey Edwards)

*He has been having trouble going back to sleep if he wakes up in the night because he stresses about not being asleep

*He told me he would be so sad if he couldn't see or her his siblings in person like I have to do with Aunt Leah

*He is wearing size 6 youth shoes and size 12-14 clothes

*He can fit into mom's shoes