Baby Gage

My sister had a baby boy and he's the cutest little thing. I took the boys last week to her place so they could meet their new baby cousin. Logan was freaking out (in a good way) when he saw the baby. He loves babies and to be that close to one was just so fun for him. He had the biggest smile on his face and wanted to hold Baby Gage the whole time we were there. He'd get mad at me for taking him away and say, "No! I hold baby!" It was fun seeing the boys with him. Trevor and Colin thought he was cute, they each took a turn to hold him but that was good enough for them.

Happy Birthday

This is for our family who was too far away to sing to Logan

Logan turns 2

Logan's birthday is this week. He will be 2. Dave and I remember when Trevor turned 2 everyone warned us about the terrible twos. We prepared ourselves and we waited and waited but 2 was a great age for Trevor and for Colin. It was 3 and 4 that were difficult (and also 6 for Trevor). Logan has already had his fair share of tantrums and trouble making, but he is actually a really, really good boy. Some things about Logan:

• he loves sharing a room with his 2 older brothers
• he wants to do everything his older brothers do
• he is very good at helping - he likes to help sweep the floor, put away the clean dishes, wipe the counters and anything else we are doing to clean up
• he goes down for naps and bedtime really well if Dave does it, but gets up a lot when Mom does it
• he talks a lot, is starting to sing songs, LOVES to be read to
• Logan is a great little boy with lots of energy, a good heart and mostly good intentions

Trevor and Colin meeting Logan for the first time

Logan at 6 months old

His first birthday - he sure loved his cake!

Trying to fill his Daddy's shoes

My little warriors

Dave, Trevor and I moved into this house five years ago. For my birthday that year (in 2005) my house was being painted and we were getting ready to move in. I was pregnant with Colin and this was the house we wanted to raise our family in. Well five years later we now have three boys instead of just one. I took this picture yesterday. Colin was in time out and I walked by to check on him to find Logan giving him a hug. He's a pretty nice little brother and if his older brothers are hurt or sad or crying he likes to try and make it better. I ran to get the camera and Trevor had joined in on the hugging. Someday, when they are all older I am going to show them this picture so they can see that even at a young age they were always looking out for one another. All of the time in my prayers I ask that my boys grow up being good friends, that they will be good examples to one another and help each other to stay on the right path and make good choices. Sometimes when I look at them now I will imagine what they will all be like when Trevor is nineteen and getting ready to leave on his mission. And I think about Colin waiting to leave on his until Trevor gets home so he can have a chance to see his brother before he leaves. And while he's gone I see Trevor and Logan being close, Trevor helping his little brother prepare for when his time comes to go as well. I have always loved the story of the Stripling Warriors, how they had so much faith because of the things their mothers taught them. I always wonder if I am doing the job those mothers did and if I am teaching my boys enough and in the right way. I have made lots of mistakes with them already, but that is what's nice about a new year, a new month, a new day. You can always start over and be better than you were before. My sister is about to have her first baby - a boy. When she found out what she was having I sent her a card telling her all of the fun things she will get to experience having a boy. One of the things I said was, "You'll be the first girl he loves." I hope when they are grown they will be better brothers, sons, friends, missionaries, husbands and fathers because of the things they learned and saw and heard here at home.

Pictures

Dave's been wanting e to update the blog so here are some pictures I've taken recently. I think in the future Dave needs to take pictures so I can be in some. Here are the boys Christmas Eve before going to my mom's for breakfast. We took like fifty pictures of them and this was the best one. Christmas Morning after the gifts have been open. Loving Trevor's hair that morning (they got haircuts the nest day). And this is Logan's new smile. When he sees the camera he closes his eyes and opens his mouth. I'm interested to see how long this phase lasts.

Trevor has had his front tooth hanging there for forever. Finally he was eating lunch and it fell out. That night he wrote a note to the tooth fairy asking what does she do when their town starts to break (since we all know in Tooth Fairy land the buildings are all made of teeth). He's ready with a new question when the next tooth falls out.

Holiday

I've been giving the lesson each week this month at church for the kids. Each lesson has been centered around Christ - how He was born into a family, what His childhood was like, what things he did during His life, how we can remember Him more this December. I keep telling these kids things they can do to remember Jesus and to make the holiday more special but am I trying to do the same? Well maybe I'm trying a little but not really succeeding. I yell at my kids all of the time, I stress and worry over little things that don't really matter, I frown more than I smile, I nag and complain. I wonder why the holidays seems to bring out the worse in some people. It should be a time when everyone is happy, when we all remember how blessed we are, how lucky we are to have the things we have. We should all feel more willing to be nice to strangers, and especially to our family members. As the day went on today I found myself thinking, "I have one more week." I am determined to make this week better. The kids will be home so I'll have to keep my patience, but I also want to do things so that my family will think more of Christ and more of the reason we're celebrating. When it's all over and done with, when Saturday comes and the gifts are unwrapped I want to look back on this week and remember the good, not feel sorry for the bad.

Christmas Family Pictures

I love it when I get my friends' Christmas cards in the mail so I can see how cute their families are. But when you look at a picture it's fun to imagine what was happening right before it was taken and then right after. For us it was Dave and me, and my parents yelling at the boys to look up, smile, put their hands down, smile again, open their eyes, and on and on. After each picture they thought they were done and they all wanted to run off and play, but we wanted enough to choose from since we knew there would only be one out of a hundred where all three of them were looking okay at the least. But if you look at each boy in this picture you will see a little of who they are. People will sometimes ask if Trevor and Colin are twins (seriously?) and we hear all of the time how much alike they all look ("they are cookie cutter kids"). But when I see them I see three boys who couldn't be more different. Sure they all have some similarities because they learn things from one another. But I think it's so fun to have kids and then get to know them. They are never what you expected, never what you imagined and hoped. But they always surprise me with different things. I think I don't take enough time to really watch them. When I do take time, especially when they don't know they are being watched, they do something to make me proud that they are mine. I used to want girls. I used to want to have the yellow bedroom, ballet slippers, dolls and dresses. But these three boys have been a surprise to me, a good surprise. Sometimes they make me crazy, but most of the time they love me even because of my faults and they teach me to do the same for them.