Faith 13 Months

Faith is doing great. This past month she has started to communicate even more. She is signing more, and will shake her head yes or no to just about any question. However, more often than not she will tell you no. Some of her new signs include please, birdie and thank you.

She is one tough cookie. Bryce likes to get low to the ground, grab Faith around her middle, or sometimes her neck, and wrestle with her. She often falls to the ground with a loud thud, but doesn't cry. She just rolls over and wrestles with him. We try to encourage Bryce to wrestle with her gently, since she is such a peanut, but it doesn't often happen.

Faith is still throwing some good fits as you can see from the picture. Thankfully once she screams for a couple of minutes she normally reverts back to her happy self quickly.

She is really loving playing with her new doll and stroller. She pushes it all around the house. She also loves playing with whatever Bryce happens to be playing with.

Her feeding and nap schedule hasn't changed in the last month. Thankfully she still eats whatever I put in front of her. She is getting better at using her spoon. She still uses her hand a lot, even with things like cereal w/ milk, yogurt, and soup, but we're encouraging more use of the spoon.

Soda Springs Trip

Nathan, the kids and I headed up to Soda Springs mid morning on Thursday the 12th. Pops and Julie were already there. Packing was simplified since all we had to worry about were our clothes, Nathan's bike, and a few toys for the kids. Pops and Julie took care of everything else, including all the food and drinks.

The house we stayed at was very nice. Since we were the only family joining Pops and Julie for the first two nights, we were able to have Faith in her own room, which made our first two nights much more restful. The following two nights all four of us were in one room. Bryce slept in a bunk bed that ran perpendicular above our bed. He thought it was really neat to sleep up high.

The first afternoon Pops and Nathan went for a little bike ride. Julie took Bryce outside a helped him to build a snowman, which Bryce named "Mr. Tall Foot." The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing with the kids. That evening we celebrated Tom's birthday. Rather than having a cake, Julie put candles in some chocolate chip cookies. Bryce thought that was great. Each night after he wanted to know if we could have candles in the cookies.

The next day we went sledding. We drove out a long dirt road, covered with snow, until we found a good spot. It was very beautiful as we had a view of the surrounding snow-covered mountains and valleys below. Bryce had a blast. As he barreled down the hill he would yell "heave those halyards" or "man the long cannons" both lines from Peter Pan. At the end of one run, he tipped forward off the sled and landed face first in the snow. I was sure it would be the end of sledding for him, but he stood up, brushed off the snow and was ready for more. He carried the sled up the hill on his own without complaining at least 40 times. Faith also enjoyed her rides down the hill and equally enjoyed Julie pulling her around on the sled.

That afternoon Nathan and I went on a long walk through the neighborhood while the kids slept. It felt good to get out of the house and get a little exercise. We were hoping Em and Justin would be coming up that evening, but unfortunately Justin got bogged down with work and they weren't able to make it.

The next day we hung out at the house until Julie's kids arrived. We really enjoyed getting to know them and the kids played really well together. Julie had told me that Caitlin and I had a lot in common and that our family structure reminded her of Ryan and Caitlin's. Meeting Julie's daughter, Ally, and her boyfriend was also great. That afternoon we went back to the same place we sledded the previous day. The snow had melted quite a bit, but there was still enough left for sledding. The kids all enjoyed it. On the way back Joey's car got stuck in the snow. The guys had to go back and dig him out. Later in the day Nathan and I went on another walk around the neighborhood

The following day the guys went on a bike ride and us girls and kids stayed home. We played in the snow and the kids made another snowman. That afternoon we all went for a walk. Julie prepared a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner that afternoon. We ate until we were stuffed. Tom and Julie gave each couple a wonderful poetry book, and each kid received a blessings book.

We left to come home the following morning. Pops and Julie - thanks for a wonderful trip.

Blueberries

Nathan and Bryce planted three blueberry plants at Nanny's house. We did research to find different varieties that grow well in this climate. With any luck each of the three plants will produce about 10 pounds a year.

Bryce had a great time helping Nathan.

Bryce 3 Years, 4 Months Old

Bryce is still thriving at school. He loves it. He has made a lot of friends, but mostly plays with Garrett and Dax. He has not gotten into any trouble since the first week of school when he pushed a little girl. I'm so happy that he behaves well at school and seems to get along with all the kids. In the beginning he didn't like to do the art projects. Now, if I ask him to make me some art on the way to school he tends to participate more.

Naps are still sporadic at best, but he is doing a little better at staying in his room for quiet time.

We have a new timeout spot - the garage or if he has been really naughty than he gets strapped into his car seat. This seems to be the only effective discipline. He hates it. Generally after only a few minutes he is ready to come in, apologize for his actions, and change his attitude. This seems to work better than earning smiley faces which earn him prices or taking toys away. It sounds a bit harsh, but I know he is safe and it really calms him down. When I would put him in his room for a time out he would throw all of his toys down the stairs and try to climb over the gate. It was not good.

Sometimes out of the blue Bryce will come up to us and say, "I love you Mommy (Daddy)." It is so wonderful that he is doing this without prompting. It melts our hearts.

He is still really enjoying playing with his Peter Pan toys. He also loves Buzz Lightyear, his Goofy stuffed animal and his car movie cars. His imagination keeps growing, it is wonderful.