Faith - 21 Months

Faith's vocabulary has really taken off. She can now say just about anything and fairly clearly. She tries so hard to keep up with the big kids. She runs as fast as her little legs can carry her, and is one tough cookie.

One of her new things is screaming at the top of her lungs over and over when she is upset. It is very frustrating. When you cover her mouth, she stops, but as soon as you move your hand she starts again.

She has been spoiled the last month. We've been staying with Nanny for the past month. As a result, she has been sleeping in our room and every night when she cries I pick her up and let her sleep with us. Letting her cry it out just doesn't work when she can see us. We just officially decided yesterday to move in with Nanny permanently, so we have got to figure something else out. She has started crying Mama NiNight or Mama Sleep and points to our bed.

The whole family ended up getting really sick this past month. It started with Faith. She got a bad case of the flu and couldn't even keep water down and had diarrhea. She was sick for about 2 das. Nanny and Nathan got a little touch of it next, but nothing like Faith. Then Bryce got the sick, but thankfully he never threw up. I ended the cycle and unfortunately was sick on the 4th of July. With being so sick I was forced to stop nursing Faith for a couple of days. Once I got better she wasn't really asking for milk. It seemed like a logical time to wean her. Since then she has only asked for milk a couple of times. She now says "empty, no nurse."

Faith got the worst looking bruise and cut on her face a few weeks ago. She and Bryce were running through the house when she tripped, fell and landed face first right on the corner of a doorway. Her check split open and her eyelid bruised and swelled immediately. She ended up with a black eye and a solid line of bruising from her forehead down to the middle of her check. She looked so pretty.

I forgot to take her picture today while she was awake, so I had to sneak in while she was asleep. Thankfully she didn't wake up. She is wearing her favorite piggy pj's.

Lake Shasta

We had a wonderful trip to Lake Shasta with Grammy, Gramps, Auntie Hannah, Uncle Blake, and the Garcia's.

Bryce absolutely loved swimming in the water. For the most part, we made him keep a life jacket on, but sometimes when we were right with him, he took it off. He liked the freedom of not having it on. He also loved riding in the boat, and even went on a Jet Ski for the first time. He thought that was pretty neat. He relaxed in the canoe while Gramps or Uncle Blake did all of the paddling. He went for a bike ride on the trail-a-bike with Nathan and I and rode on Blake's skateboard.

Faith also enjoyed the water, but was petrified of the rocks at the shore line. She would cry hysterically, "no rocks, no rocks." She must have stepped on a sharp rock the first day and from then on we had to carry her across into deeper water. She liked the boat ride, but not as much as Bryce. She held on to me very tightly, but did have a smile on her face.

Everyone enjoyed a fun morning at the Shasta Caverns. The boat ride over was nice and relaxing and the coolness of the caves was very welcomed. The tough part was carrying the kids up the hundreds of steps inside of the cave. Some were very steep and the kids wouldn't walk up them on their own. The view from the caverns overlooking the lake was beautiful.

We also enjoyed relaxing at the house, eating great food, and enjoying each others' company.

Thanks Grammy and Gramps for a great trip.

Bryce's Birthday Party

Bryce had a Toy Story themed birthday party. As usual, we did a swim party at Nanny's house. This year was much smaller than in years past. The same number of people were invited, but many people happened to be out of town, and others ended up sick the day of the party. I think there were only about 30-40 people, including kids. While it was too bad that some of his closer friends couldn't make it, having less people was nice.

Just like his 3rd birthday party, his party ended up falling on the hottest day in weeks. It was over 90 degrees. The good part about the heat was that the pool was thoroughly enjoyed.

My family convinced me to not go all out on the cake/cupcakes this year. We had so much going on the week prior to his birthday with VBS, a party for a friend at the house the day before Bryce's birthday, and Nathan still sore from his bike accident that it would have just added unneeded stress. So, I simply made a bunch of cupcakes and bought a small Buzz Lightyear cake from Safeway. Bryce was perfectly happy with this and I eliminated a lot of stress.

As usual, he received a lot of wonderful gifts. A big Buzz Lightyear, Tinker Toys, tickets to see Peter Pan 360, Franklin books and a stuffed Franklin and Snail (which he asked for) a stuffed Caterpillar (again he specifically asked for this), tractors, books, a Toy Story poster, chair, sleeping bag, lunch bag and thermos, and much more. As you can see Toy Story was the all around theme.

Bryce 4 Years Old

Bryce woke up on his 4th birthday with a terrible headache and a fever of 101.8. He laid on the couch sleeping, staring at the ceiling and watching movies all day. Nathan was going to take the afternoon off work so we could take him to see Toy Story 3. After Nanny and Faith were going to meet us at DePaoli - a great family Italian place where kids can make their own pizzas and eat free on Thursdays (his birthday happened to fall on a Thursday). I felt so bad for him. When I told him we'd have to celebrate another day he sadly looked up at me and asked if we could save him some cake.

Bryce's behavior has continued to be an issue the last few weeks. He gets angry so quickly and doesn't take no for an answer. He also loves to argue. He is a very head strong little boy. I'm hoping his tenacity, unwavering determination, and stubbornness can be channeled into positive things as he gets older. On the other hand, when he is not in a mood, he can be so sweet. He helps with Faith, gives me hugs, tells me how much he loves me, etc.

Bryce is also a very bright boy. He knows all his letters (names and sounds). He can sound out simple words in his mind. He can make letters by putting sticks, pretzels, or other things together to resemble their shapes. He can also count to 20, but sometimes skips 15. He can do simple addition and subtraction in his head with the help of his fingers. He also understands concepts and picks up on things that are well beyond his years. For example, when Nathan had his bicycle accident, Bryce told me that it was a good thing daddy was going to be okay, because if he wasn't then he couldn't go to work and make money. That would mean that I would have to go to work and then he and Faith would have to go somewhere everyday to be watched while I was working. Very insightful.

Bryce is also a sensitive little boy. He doesn't like to watch anything with people being naughty or anything slightly dark or scary. He has me fast forward movies, even movies like Veggie Tales when bad guys are there.

Bryce has a hard time turning his brain off at night, much like I do. He thinks and thinks and runs scenarios over and over and worries about things. At night we often ask God to quiet his mind so he can sleep. Sometimes he lays awake for over 2 hours, even when I know he is exhausted.

Bryce doesn't like to sing or dance because he tells me he is shy. However, he loves attention and being the center of attention (when he chooses to be). He doesn't like being the center of attention unintentionally. He also hates it when he thinks people are laughing at him. I find this strange since when he was younger he had class clown written all over him.

Bryce seems to continue to grasp biblical teachings to a level beyond his years. I love this about him and pray it continues.

He is such a wonderful, special boy. I can't believe we've been blessed to have him in our lives for 4 years. Time flies. I thank God daily for him and pray he grows up to be a man of integrity with a heart for God.