The 4th Time Around

I haven't written a blog post in forever! Part of me doesn't really feel like doing it anymore but I find whenever someone asks me how tall or big my kids were at a certain age I look here because I know I've written about it on here. So here we go. :)

Seth
A month ago Seth turned 18 months! Here are his stats. 
Weight: 22 pounds 8 oz (27%)
Height: 32.5 inches (54%)
Head: 47cm (39%)

He is finally starting to talk! His favorite thing is to tell Dean what to do. "Deeee! Top cy-ing! Deeeee! Get dacket on!" He never says Brennen, just calls both of them Deeeeee. He does say mom and dad pretty well as well as ball, get down, nose, eye, blanket, drink, shoes, jacket, outside... and a few other things.
He is very coordinated and can climb on everything at the park. He has great balance and runs super fast. He loves to look at and pretend to read books. He's still pretty happy for the most part but has started getting an attitude and throws a lot of fits. 
Here is my Seth (and a good looking guy) at 18 months! We were up having a picnic at Mallo campground.

And just another cute one.

Dean

I never posted about Dean's Birthday! It was an extra special birthday this year because it was on Easter and we were at his grandma's house. He had a really fun day finding eggs, going to church, eating lots of candy, and having cake and presents. He was really hyper that night and told me it was the best day ever!

His huge messy looking cake was cool, it had a secret hole with some toy animals inside. He wanted a cake that had a home for a foxy so this is what he got. It fell apart and I know what I'd do different next time but it tasted good anyway. :)

Lately he has been a grump, crying about everything and fighting with his brothers. But at school he is everyone's darling and the teachers all just adore him. He is doing great in preschool, above average in all the academic skills. He's really excited to start swimming lessons soon but whenever we go he stays on the side or a flotation device so we'll see how it goes... :)

Brennen
This kid is almost done with kindergarten! He is super smart and happy. He comes home every day just hyper and bouncing off the walls. He seriously never acts tired, he stays awake late and wakes up early. That kid has never needed a whole lot of sleep...
He just finished soccer and is starting up t-ball. He says he loves sports and is excited for the summer and his birthday.
He's also a great musician. He just understands the piano and music naturally. He remembers everything I tell him and had the note names memorized pretty much as soon as he saw them. He got to play the xylophone for his spring concert and was excited about that (even though it doesn't look like it).

Baby #4
In case anyone who reads this missed the memo, we're expecting baby #4 the end of August! And SHE is a GIRL this time! I'm soooo excited! I know Matt is, too, but he was sorta hoping for another boy. :) The boys are excited and happy to welcome their new sister in a few months.
This pregnancy has been so easy, especially compared to the last one. Except I'm already super fat. I have been more nauseous and tired but also way more hungry than I've ever been! I just feel a lot better overall and have not had problems with contractions or anything else.
So here's a "before" picture (shortly after I found out, just about 6 weeks) and a current 26 week picture.

Me and Matt
Matt is so ready for school to be over! He has worked so hard this year coaching two sports and teaching early morning seminary. I sure appreciate all that he does for us.
I have been teaching piano and trying to be a good wife and mom! I've been practicing piano and also whipped out the trombone and alto sax just for fun. I'm really not good at those but it makes me wish I had more instruments to play! Seth cracks up laughing whenever I play the trombone. He just thinks it's hilarious. Brennen can buzz pretty good in it, too!

So that's all for now! We are just a happy little family of almost six!

My Sweet Boys

Seth went to his 15 month appointment and here are his stats. 

Weight: 20.11 lb (19%!)
Length: 31 inches (43%)
Head: 46.75 cm (48%)

I was happy to see he is higher than 9% for weight! He had a ruptured ear drum a couple weeks ago and it has healed up ok but there is still a lot of fluid in that ear so he has to take antibiotics for another month and then hopefully it will clear up or he'll need tubes, too.

He is running all over the place and really likes to climb. His favorite is to climb onto the piano bench. We added another railing to our stairs so he can't fall off the side so the gate is down and he loves going up and down to keep up with his brothers. I still panic a little that he'll fall down them because those stairs are hard! He only says "mom" and "boo" but the doctor says not to worry yet... he's just so different than his brothers! They both had a tons of words at this age.

Getting ready to read scriptures. 

Dean got ear tubes and has been a different kid! So much more energy, so much happier, and so much less whiney. He never really wants to go to preschool but always says he loves it when he goes. We do preschool at home, too, and I think he's learning a lot! He knows all the letters and is getting better at their sounds. He has been able to write his name for awhile and loves to count and sing. 

Some of his home preschool work.

Brennen is doing great at school. He seems to really like it and tells me he's the smartest one in the whole kindergarten. He really loves to read and is reading at a 2nd grade level (at least). It's awesome to listen to him reading scriptures. He has learned to recognize the tricky words that are fairly unique to scriptures. He really enjoys playing the piano and is getting really good at it! In typical Brennen fashion, he memorized the note names pretty much the first time he saw them. He can just look at a song and play it (it takes him awhile to really get it down of course but unlike my other students who struggle at even knowing if the notes are going up or down or which hand plays them, he just knows what the note is and where it is and plays it). He is as loud and energetic as ever and he and Dean love making up games together. 

Before school piano practice.

Sometimes I forget how little they are, especially Brennen since he's so smart and the oldest. I took Seth to the school and we ate lunch with Brennen today. He was SO excited that we were there and looking at him compared to all of those other kids made me realize how small he is! I just wanted to hold him and not let go. He's young for his grade anyway and he just looked smaller than most of the kids in his class.

I never posted anything about Christmas but I'll just briefly say that it was wonderful! We spent Christmas Eve and day just us at our house in Newcastle. It was definitely different not being around a lot of family but it was just amazing and I'm happy that we're at that place in our life with our little family. We did travel to see all of our extended family after Christmas and that was wonderful, too! Dean LOVED sledding at Grandma Hope's. 

Christmas morning!

Christmas morning!

Post-sledding red cheeks and smile!

Matt and I also "celebrated" our 9th anniversary about a month ago. We didn't really do much in the way or celebration but we are very happy and glad to have 9 great years together! We went on a double date with my sister Christena and her husband while we were in Lyman and then on our anniversary we were in Laramie and went for some quick frozen yogurt. And I do not even have a picture of us together! We need to work on that...

That's all for now!