{"I pLedGe aLLegiAncE...."}

I love when my kids learn things like this at school!  Today Zoe busted out in the "Pledge of Allegiance"!  She knew the whole thing word for word when she said it to me....who knows, she has probably known this for months and I didn't even know it!!  I remember being so proud when Ayden learned this at school and I feel the same about Zoe! Here is a video of 3 year old Zoe....

And a video of 3 year old Ayden....

And on a random side note, I love it when my kids are all entertained and enthralled with a show or movie on TV!!!  That was the case today....so cute!!

Not sure what they were watching here, but Maddix definitely loves TV already!!  His favorite is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (just like Ayden's was at that age)!  So fun!

{i lOve mYseLf}

Maddix loves himself.  

Whenever we pass a mirror, he flashes one of his HUGE smiles and then gets all giddy thinking there is a new friend in his life!!  I caught him on video this time having a little conversation with his new friend in the mirror!  I love that about halfway through the video, Maddix spits up (story of our life) and he thought that baby in front of him just spit up and he laughed!!  I am sure he was thinking...."HA, you just spit up!!  That's funny....I do that all the time too"!!  HAHA!!

{bE hAppY}

We are having a "Don't Worry Be Happy" kind of day today!!  In other words, we are going to have a GREAT day!!  Hope yours is just as good!!! 

{ZucChiNi bReaD}

One of my earliest childhood memories is my mom making zucchini bread!  I can't really remember eating it myself, or even if I liked it!  But I do remember the smell that would fill the house!  Oh how childhood memories come flooding back when that smell fills my house today as an adult!  My mom would make zucchini bread often I remember.  And I remember she would often invite friends over and they would sit and visit in the living room, while eating zucchini bread and drinking hot tea.  Gosh, I can almost picture the china that she used sometimes....and sometimes I remember it was just on regular everyday dishes.  Oh what fun!  My mom is the hostess with the mostest...she can always put on a good gathering and this is one of things that I hope I can learn from her....if I am not already too late!??!  :-/

I've been craving zucchini bread, so today Zoe and I decided to make some while Ayden was at school!  She is the best helper in the kitchen and LOVES to bake!!  This recipe that I use is THE BEST!!  I have never tasted a zucchini bread that is half as good!  It is the recipe that my mom has used since I was a kid....not sure where she even got it from!  But it is definitely tried and true!

When Ayden heard us talking about our plans for zucchini bread and a tea party today, he INSISTED that we wait until he got home from school!!  Not sure he was thrilled about the "tea party" part, but I think he was worried that we would eat all the zucchini bread!  HA!  I had to laugh watching him at the tea party!!  It is a totally different site to see....I am used to dainty Zoe that picks up her tea cup so carefully and then takes a small sip here and there!  Well, Ayden grabbed his cup....spilled half his chocolate milk (which you can see in the pic) and then chugged the entire thing in one gulp....slapped his cup down and asked for more!!  Typical boy.....

Zoe is quite the opposite....she savors every moment of the tea party!  She carefully eats every little crumb so slowly and sips every last sip so carefully!  No messes were made at her place!!  :)

I love doing things like this with my kids!!  And I think it is fun to include Ayden in these things even though he is a boy!  I am CONVINCED that by him doing things like this as a child, he will be an even better dad to his girls!!!  I can't wait to see that!!!  :)

{bYu's biGgeSt fAn}

On Monday night, we went down to San Diego because BYU basketball was playing against USD!  My entire family was going and my brother got us tickets to go, so we couldn't pass that up...especially since Ayden is obsessed with BYU sports and thinks he is the BIGGEST fan alive!!  He gets so excited to watch BYU play on TV, so being at a real live game was heaven for him!  He kept telling me that he wanted to make sure that BYU knew that he was their BIGGEST fan!  And then he asked me "what do fans do"??  He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do at the game...and then I realized this is the 1st "real" sporting event he has ever been to!!  How sad is that?!!?  We will have to change that now because he enjoys it so much!

We all went to dinner in Old Town San Diego at a Mexican Restaurant.  The kids sat at their own table and were as wild as ever!  This was when Ayden told the waiter "thank you for your service"!  HA!

Somebody is showing off her sassiness....this is such a funny pose and one that she often does when she is in front of the camera!!  I think she thinks this is her modeling pose!  :)

Joe and Cara...

Jeremiah wasn't there yet...he rode the train down after work...so just Maddix and I...

My dad and mom....

We got to the game pretty early, so the kids got to see the teams warming up....Ayden watched every minute of warm up and literally every minute of the game!  It was fun to see him cheering for BYU and boo-ing USD.  HA!  He would cheer so loud when they scored!  So fun!

Even the little ones liked watching....well, Zoe actually liked watching the cheerleaders the best!  I even walked up to a couple with her and she was so excited to meet them!!  LOL!

Maddix and Auntie Cara....

Crew and Maddix....

After the game, we waited with the crowd by the door where the players come out to walk to their bus.  Ayden, Cooper & Carter were excited to get some autographs of the players!  Ayden got a couple autographs on his ticket and took it to school the next day with his BYU sweatshirt for show & tell!  He was so excited!  It was fun to see him so interested in something!  I can't wait until we can go again!!

{a DeE dOo} *added a few things I forgot last post*

I really need to start writing down the things this kid says! I say this all the time and I know I am going to regret it when my old mind can't remember anything!! :( He mixes up a lot of words and I know we need to correct it, but sometimes it is just too darn cute! Like the other day when we were driving and I asked him if Maddix was sleeping in his carseat....his reply was "Yep, he is PAST (instead of fast) asleep"! And whenever he is building new legos, helping me follow a recipe in the kitchen, or learning something new, he always asks for the "CONSTRUCTIONS (instead of instructions)!  Ayden is also Mr. Social and so friendly to everyone!  At times he is such an old soul in a little body....we often look at each other and say, "how old is this kid anyway"!  HA!  We were out to dinner the other night with my whole family and Ayden said to the server when he was clearing our table, "Thanks for your service"!  And yesterday when we went to the dentist, the dental hygeniest was x-raying his teeth and when she finished, he said, "So you guys must be really busy here with customers"!  LOL!!  It was so funny....not sure why he thought they were busy....it was almost as if he was making small talk just to be nice!  Love him!!  Those are the only few I remember....because they happened in the last 24 hours or so! I need to try to be better about that!

Anyway, I am loving the age of 5! He is so sweet and still tells me he loves me multiple times a day and still lets me give him kisses when I drop him off at school and still asks me to stay and watch him play on the playground at school....but at the same time, he is getting big...and independent...and can do a lot of things all by himself!  Lately, he has been making breakfast and lunches for everyone on the weekends!!  He is a great PB&J maker!  Now if I could just teach him to be a great cleaner upper, we would be in business and I could hire him to make dinner every night!!  :)  Maybe someday....for now, I will enjoy the PB&J maker that he is...

He is also the BEST big brother EVER!!!  He plays so well with Zoe literally ALL DAY LONG!!!  And he is the BEST helper ever with Maddix!  I know that even though they are 5 years apart, they will be best buddies soon....as soon as Maddix can run and jump and be crazy with him!!  :)

For now, I will just enjoy the fact that he can always succeed at putting a smile on Maddix's face!!  He makes him so happy!!  Even if I just say the word "AYDEN" to Maddix, his face lights up and he squeels with delight!!

Last night when I went in Ayden & Zoe's bedroom to check on them and make sure they were asleep, I found Ayden like this....

When I asked him about it this morning, he told me he was wearing that hat to keep the bad dreams out of his head!!  It was his protection!  HA!  :)

I am so lucky to have such great kids!!

{gRaceY giRL}

At the beginning of January, Zoe finally got to move up to Primary at church and she is officially a SUNBEAM!!!  She didn't seem too sad to leave nursery behind her....she hasn't even missed the snacks or the toys at all!!  She was SO ready to go to Primary....she even seemed ready last year....and now she loves being in there with Ayden!  This past Sunday, she was asked to give the prayer and share her favorite scripture!  The Primary gets a big kick out of Ayden and how social he is and his willingness to be the center of attention!  I think they thought "If Ayden is that way, Zoe must be the same"!!  Not so much!!  She freaked out about giving the prayer and didn't even want to go to Primary that day!!  We told her Ayden would go up with her and would whisper in her ear what to say....nope...didn't work!!  So, it ended up that she went up to the podium with him and then Ayden gave the sweetest prayer since she wouldn't!!  At least she went up though....one step at a time!!!  :)

Jesus Wants Me For a SUNBEAM......

I love Zoe's curls, but I have also been so curious what she would look like with straight hair!  So earlier this week, we tried to straighten it.  I'm sure I didn't have any of the right product.....I have no experience with straightening curly hair!  HA!! So we gave it a shot and she was excited!!!  We couldn't believe how long her hair was!!  She looked so different!  I told her that nobody was going to recognize her like this! HA!  As soon as I was done, she looked in the mirror and said, "Yep, I am STILL cute"!!  HA!!  Love it!

These pics were all taken about an hour after we straightened it....and it had already started curling up again!!  What a lucky girl....she is never going to have stick straight hair like her Mommy!!!

It was fun for a day or two, but we were excited to give her a bang and see her curls bounce right back!!!  :)

{rOunD}

I love taking pictures of my kids!!  But as they get older, it is harder and harder to get them to smile for the camera!!  Actually, Ayden has a GREAT smile for the camera, but he has a hard time LOOKING at the camera and smiling at the same time!!  I love that he smiles, says cheese and looks in every other direction than the camera!!  :)  

And this little cutie will look at the camera, but she is going through a silly smile phase!!  She used to do the BIGGEST HUGEST smile for the camera....and lately, she is on smile strike!!  That's ok....I know it is just a phase and she will be back to her smiley self in no time!!  :)

I am DEFINITELY enjoying having a baby around again to take pictures of....one that will just stay put wherever I put him.....and one that I can pretty much get to smile at the drop of a hat....oh I am having SO. MUCH. FUN!!!  I take at least 100 pictures of him a day!!  HA!!  And I still just cannot get enough!!

Have you ever seen a face so round?!?!?  I don't think I have....it is a perfect circle!!  And I am in love with this roundy face....

And now that he is 3 months old, someone thinks he is a big boy now that needs to be sitting ALL THE TIME!!!  Whenever he is laying down, he always tries to pull up into a sitting position!  And he LOVES to sit on our laps!!  I think it's mostly because there is so much crazy chaos going on around him that he doesn't want to miss out on all the action!!  So today, I decided to sit him up and let go to see what happened!!  Well.......the little stinker actually sat up on his own for a few seconds!!!  He is so strong and I am sure with a little practice, he will be sitting all the time!!  What a whole new world it will be from a sitting position instead of a "laying on your back staring up at the ceiling" position!!

Once he discovered what he was doing, he was SO happy about it!!!  :)

{caNdiD}

Ayden and Zoe get in BIG trouble if they touch my nice camera without permission.  I have a huge fear that something is going to happen to my expensive, fancy camera!!  I would be so sad!!  When I was uploading pictures last night that I had taken of Maddix for his 3 month birthday, I found a couple pictures like the one above!!  I had set my camera down on the couch and went to try to get Maddix in a good mood since he wasn't smiling for the camera!!  Ayden must've picked the camera up and snapped a few pictures without me knowing!!  I could use this as a teaching tool....and proof that he disobeyed me since he knows he isn't allowed to use the camera without asking me.  But......I think I will just enjoy this picture....and be grateful that my little 5 year old captured me....yes, me.....the one that usually does ALL the picture taking and doesn't get to be in many pictures myself!!!  Thank you Ayden for capturing the moment....and I wouldn't be mad if you want to do this more often.....just sayin'!!  :)

{FlasHbaCks}

I love to look back through my computer files and see old pics of my kids!!  I often look back on my blog and see what we were doing 1 year, 2 year, 3 years ago on that same day!!  And now that I have another baby, I find myself looking back at pictures of Ayden and Zoe at the same age that Maddix is to not necessarily compare, but to just see and remember what they looked like at that age!!  It REALLY makes me realize how fast the time flies....because when I look at pictures of Ayden or Zoe when they were only 3 months old, the memories come flooding back and I really feel like it was just yesterday that I held their infant bodies in my arms!!  

Since Maddix turned 3 months old yesterday, I went searching for pictures of Ayden and Zoe on the day that they turned 3 months!!!

Maddix 3 months old on 1-6-12.....

 

Zoe 3 months old on 7-4-08.....

 

And Ayden 3 months old on 9-27-06.....

I was sad that about a year before Maddix was born I sold ALL of Ayden's and Zoe's baby clothes!!!  :(  SAD!!!  Ayden was the best dressed boy in town his first year!!  I literally had SO MANY clothes for him!!!  I did keep a few outfits that were sentimental or special to me for some reason!  Or ones that I just loved and thought they were cute!  There are only a handful I kept and when I dressed Maddix in this last week, I had to find the old picture of Ayden wearing it!!!  HA!!

Maddix 11 weeks old.....

Ayden 6 weeks old....

Maddix was in his high chair the other day for the first time, so I got my camera out!!  After taking the pictures, I knew for sure there was also a picture of Ayden in his high chair in a white onesie!!  Sure enough.....I found it!!!  :)

Maddix 12 weeks old....

 

Ayden 6 months old....

 

So fun!!  I love doing this and I am sure there will be many more pictures like this to come!!  :)