Kiddos

Here are a few facts about each of our kids lately (other than Luke, who I already wrote about).

   Dallin started his school year off very strong. He had his teacher for reading last year so they know each other well. That has made the transition into a new year very easy for him. After the first couple of weeks I emailed his teacher to see if there were any issues that we needed to trouble shoot. She replied that he is always on task, doing well socially and is a MODEL STUDENT! He is not using any extra schedules, or reinforcements so far, so I am very proud of his independence. As usual, this kid amazes me and continues to prove that there is no limit to how far he will go. Dallin is quite obsessed with Angry Birds on my Ipod which I use to my advantage as an incentive to do his reading, homework and chores. Dallin is doing great in soccer and chess club as well.

Eden is loving first grade. She has a couple of really good friends in her class that she likes to play with. She also loves to come home and do her homework. Her teacher (Dallin’s old teacher who we love love love) said she is always on task, is funny, contributes to discussion and loves her cute little voice. Eden is a soccer star, enjoys chess club, an after school drawing class and started ballet this year and loves it all. Lately I have noticed the shy side of Eden fading away as she has become more confident. This is wonderful to see. She has a great sense of humor and especially loves to joke around with her daddy. She holds her own with all her brothers and doesn’t let any of them push her (or anyone else) around. She is also a great big sister to Lily. They have a great little friendship going on.  I used to be a little sad that there is a 5 year space between the girls, but now I see that is is awesome.  Lily totally trusts Eden and does whatever she wants her to do and Eden loves to help her.  Sometimes I think Lily likes her big sister better than her mommy (who makes her take naps)! 

Tanner started Kindergarten! What???? I must say he is the cutest kindergartner that I have ever seen. Dallin and Eden walk him to school and I love seeing them holding Tanner’s hands as they walk down the street with their backpacks on. The bus drops him off at the end of our street after school and he is always so happy. He steps off the bus with big grins and runs to me with his outstretched arms to give me a big hug. He is just so cute I can barely stand it. He looks like such a big boy to me, but at the same time such a little guy. Then we walk home and he talks my ear off about all of his favorite things about school. He especially loves his “Alpha Friends” which is how they are learning the alphabet sounds with actions. Tanner is trying to work it out socially. He was trying to be friends with a boy on the bus named Patrick. The first couple of days Tanner came home talking all about how he sat next to Patrick. Then, one day he scrunched up his little face in a very Tanner like way and said that Patrick did not like him anymore. I don’t know what happened, but I tried not to make a big deal of it. The next day he came home even more frustrated and said that he sat by Patrick and he said that he did not want to be his friend. Then his scrunched up sour face turned into a mischievous smile and he said “So I scooted really close to him anyway.” Apparently he thought it would be funny to annoy the boy that would not be his friend. I tried really hard not to laugh and was just glad that he didn’t take things to hard. Now he sits by another boy that likes to be his friend instead.

Carter is an all out 3 year old. He has started to have a love for books and begs me to read to him throughout the day. It is so fun to have a child that is so easy to read with, he loves it. He is talking a lot and showing his cute 3 year old logic now and making hilarious facial expressions. I sense a lot of Carter quotes in my blogging future. I love this phase of finding out what is really going on inside their little mind. Carter is an affectionate little guy and often says “I love you.” and “You are my friend.” After Luke came he kept coming up to me and saying “Baby out your tummy?” and I would say “Yes” As he would look back and forth between my belly and Luke. Carter officially does not like to be called a baby and will assure you that he is a “big boy.” Lily is just as cute as a button. That girl has my heart. She is also a very busy girl and is quite a handful. Talk about a free spirit. She loves to dance to music and talks a mile a minute in her adorable little voice. A lot of what she says is jumbled but she really tries to get her point across. She can say everyone’s name now and I love how she tries to make the right sounds. Her disposition reminds me a lot of Tanner’s at this age. Very happy and playful but also really smart and observant. Her strong independent side also shows through a lot.