Eleven Months Old

The outtakes are getting more and more hilarious. He gets in wild moods and is such a ham for the camera.

The Talminator is 11 months old and getting saucy.  His little personality is coming more and more out.  He is tender and gentle yet stubborn and vocal when he wants something. Here are some things he is doing now.

-He is definitely more active. He is starting to scoot and roll and critically think how he is going to get something that is out of his reach. He has figured out how to get from sitting, to his tummy and then back to sitting. He loves to get in a somersault position and smile at people through his legs.

He is in the early stages of army crawling and often rocks back and forth on his knees. We lowered his bed because we don't want to find out the hard way that he can pull himself up.

-He is finally starting to ear a few solids without gagging and acting like he is choking. He is still a veggie lover and now loves his little yogurt melt treats. He goes berserk when he sees them and lets out a complaining roar when you take to long to put some on his tray. He loves to drink his bottle and fall asleep in this position....the chilax position!

-He is getting more vocal about who he wants to be held by. He often rejects his father and has a tantrum when he doesn't get to be held by his mom. He is so a mommy's boy and for the most part...I am basking in the love. He is cuddly and tender with me. He pats my back and he lays on my shoulder and tries to give me kisses on my cheeks. He is such a sweetheart!

-He loves the tub and loves to splash.  Whoever gets the honor of bathing him also gets the privileged of having a bath themselves..haha!

-He has a new sad forced cry when his feelings get hurt or he is shy or pouting.  He closes his eyes and opens his mouth and lets out a long whine. Then for full dramatic effect he puts both his hands over his eyes and face and bows his head in defeat. 

-He really tries to mimic sounds or even words we say.  He really likes to click his tongue or growl in low animal like voice. He mimics sounds like oh no, or ought oh! We call Ava "A" and sometimes he says it after us. Of course we are going to produce talkers...have you met my husband? He also mimics actions and this is one of his best. Can you tell mommy works too much from home?

-He is starting to defend himself a little. He pulls a little hair and has even tried to push or swat at one little girl in particular. Her name starts with a "C" and she is a big baby lover. She has actually shed a few tears due to his self defense moves.  I guess...let the wrasseling begin.

His scream mask face. This is right before his forced cry

And the Best picture of the night!

His dislike of a beanie could mean he is not going to like, winter, snow, and skiing...shhh don't tell his dad.

He warmed up to the beanie eventually and daddy's reconfirmed daddy's hopes for the future!!

He attracts attention from "the ladies" and he likes it. He is a smiley flirt and enjoys the attention. What can I say?  He is a Charmer!!

Firsts

We have had some fun FIRSTS this week.

To start off, Claire had her first dance class at Silhouette Dance Studio. It is a combo ballet/tap class. She has been so excited about it and on the day of she nagged me every 30 minutes about when it was going to start. Of course when she got there she was a little timid, but was happy to have her friend Brooklyn in class with her. Ava's primary teacher is Claire's Dance teacher and that helped Claire come out of her shell. 

Claire loved being in her ballet clothes and even asked to sleep in them that night. I can't wait for her winter recital.

Ava got her first black eye this week, compliments of the same coffee table that gave her her first experience getting stitches. She is 0-2 with that table and I think she should just end that unhealthy relationship. We iced it for a long time, but it progressed to all sorts of shades of blue and purple throughout the day. She is nervous to go back to school and get made fun of. I told her that people will think she is some sort of  undercover/secret ninja and think she is cool. 

I don't think she believed me!

Another 1st was seeing Disney's Tarzan at Hale Center Theater. The last two years I have taken Ava and my mom down to St. George to the Tuacahn to see a show. This year we are traveling to Oregon for my nephew's wedding and so we decided to save some money and do something closer to home. Ava has really loved musical theater and this show did not disappoint. Ava was so smitten with the aerial acrobats and all the fun dancing and animal costumes. She asked me if I would come see all her shows when she gets older and of course my answer was "Yes".  It was a fun girls night. We got some dinner before the show and my mom enjoyed a little bonding time with us. We already know Mary Poppins' is coming next year and we want to go.

The round theater was transformed into a wonderful jungle.

 

 Ava gets shy getting her picture taken with the cast, but secretly she loves meeting them. These were some of the apes in Tarzan's family group.

This was Tarzan's mom Kala, dad Kerchak and Tarzan's best friend Terk.

And finally Tarzan and Jane. Ava was a little shy that he had no shirt on. She commented a few times that he looked a little naked. He was seriously strong though. He swung around on vines (aerial drapes) and did some amazing tricks.

Can you tell she is blushing?

 We also went to our first Redneck Party. Our Cousin Ambria had a Redneck Birthday Bash.

There were many fun redneck games, but the most popular was the woopy cushion challenge.

Here they are as official rednecks.

Crestview Cougar

Ava went back to school last week. 

She is in first grade and was so anxious about all day school. We actually had about two weeks of Ava waking up in the night until she had her back to school meet the teacher day. After we visited the class, met the teacher (Ms. Nixon), picked her desk, and practiced where to stand in line after getting off the bus she was able to sleep through the night (well until the night before school). We spent a lot of time talking about what to expect and how to handle different situations. She was a pro by the time school started.

Our great neighbor had donuts and juice in her drive way on the first day before the bus. The kids are all so anxious they can barely eat but it is fun to see everyone with their new back to school outfits and haircuts. You can kind of see Ava's anxiousness in her face as she smile. I know lots of mom's cry...but I just felt gratitude. Gratitude that I get to be her mother and that I get to take part in raising her, but also grateful for all the others that help me teach her and mold her into the woman she will one day be. I had flashbacks to pregnancy moments and that day she was born. I thought about her milestones and every memory made me smile more and more. I am really the lucky one...lucky to have her as my daughter. I heart my 1st grader!!!

 

Lining up for the bus! So many neighborhood kids.

Coming home! She was tired but excited to tell me all about it.

We celebrated a successful back to school week by going bowling with some friends over the weekend. It was fun but by the end, you could see how tired the kiddos were.

We love these three crazies!

It's a Wrap!

Summer raced by with a ferocity that left us with wind blown hair and blood shot eyes!

But it was GREAT!

We summed things up with some fun and exciting activities such as:

The annual Ward Camp Out

 I admit that we didn't actually camp this year or any year so far for that matter, but it is in the plans sometime in the future. We don't actually own camping supplies and my husband doesn't think a night in a small tent with 3 kids 6 years and under sounds that fun. I can't think why he things that! I actually think the kids would surprise us and be great campers but until we buy a tent and sleeping bags, we will just have to be party poopers. We had fun at the dinner and the kids loved the annual candy scavenger hunt. The night would not have been complete without a ghost story around the fire to give the kids good dreams (oh compliments of one of the bishopric). :)

The Homestead Free Concert Series

We went to hear my cousin Stephanie Mabey (actually 2nd cousin) who is a super talented singer/songwriter play at a free concert up at the Homestead. She has a great newer CD out that my kids make me play on repeat in the car. The CD includes a few songs she did for the EFY soundtrack last year and Ava especially loves the song Glorious. Ever since I told Ava that I had a cousin who sang on stage and introduced her to the music, she has been asking to see her play in person. We made the trek up to Heber for some yummy greasy food at the Dairy Keen and then off to the concert. Ava was fascinated and I could see her plotting her future in her head as she watched. A few months ago Ava was singing and dancing around and I asked her if she would sing a specific song (I can't remember which one but something like Twinkle Twinkle) and she told me that she only sings "original" songs.  First of all, how did she know that word or what it meant? Second of all, she knows her mind and there was no persuading her otherwise. I love watching her creativity growing and developing. She starts piano lessons next month and she couldn't be more excited. 

Ava was enthralled and Claire was a little less so. I think she was more there for the treats!

Ava was a little star struck and couldn't believe she was meeting the girl that sings "If I were a Zombie." Her eyes just glimmered with the hopes and aspirations of her future possibilities. I hope she never loses that belief in herself.

And of course while we were there we had to check out the crater and walk around the beautiful scenery at the Homestead.

Oh, and we made new friends too! Claire again was a little unenthusiastic about one dude who tried to share the bench with her, But she loved Heather (Stephanie's sister who also is a talented singer). She was adorable with my kids and my kids love it when "grown ups" take interest in them. That is a cute and scary prospect sometimes!

Talmage was snug as a bug in a rug as he slowly let his heavy eyelids close and be lulled to sleep by melodic tunes.

 Definitely the definition of a Perfect Summer Night!

Taffy Town Tour

Thanks to our great friend Katy Ramsey, we took the kiddos on a Taffy Town Tour.  The fragrance was heavenly and the kids were too.  They actually behaved very well and were so interested to see how the Taffy was made and packaged. They don't do the traditional taffy pull, but the kids watched while the smoothed cut and separated huge batches. Of course they favorite part was the sampling. They each got to pick the flavor of their choice to sample. Ava tried her hand at reading the label signs by herself and ended up picking caramel apple. There second favorite part was picking taffy to buy in the gift shop when we were done.  There were some pretty incredible flavors. My kids wore their hair net around for days. The two babies, Talmage and Simon even cooperated and wore their hair nets without complaint.

RaNea and Lola Johansen, Robyn Elsie and Von Hardcastle, Katy Ava Sawyer and Simon Ramsey & Us!

Bear Lake for a Day

We had been talking all summer of going to Bear Lake for a day but never put a solid plan in the works. Then my nursing school friend Erin approached us about heading up the weekend before school started because they wanted to go and didn't want to go alone. Some friends from church decided to come too and we made a quick day trip out of it. We were a little slow getting up there due to chaos trying to get out of the house and 2 small bladders traveling with us. We went to North Beach for the first time and it was beautiful. The beach was lined with canopies and kids. The water is nice and shallow but quite a while and pretty warm too. It was perfect weather. As we drove along the beach front road the water was crystal blue and beautiful and Tyson and I immediately wished we were back in Hawaii. 

Talmage loved the water and I think drank half the lake. He would get so mad if you tried to pick him up or make him stand. He wanted to sit and splash as the waves rolled in.

 These girls practiced swimming and just played to their hearts content.

The Sand was perfect for building sandcastles and we all jointed in the fun.

Jaysen brought his raft and took the kids out for rides.  It was a big hit and some good exercise for those who rowed.

All in all I think the day was a hit with the kids and maybe even the dads too!

There have been a few fires that have created some incredible sunrises and sunsets. There have been red suns and moons that are beautifully eerie.

It has been a great summer full of lots of family fun and togetherness and there is no other place that I would rather be than with these 4 people.

Artwork compliments of Ava Anne. She is such a good little artist.

(btw Talmage is sitting in his Bumbo chair)