Gymnastics and a whole lot more!

There's not much to write about for this post, it's just a lot of random pictures from our life lately. We have been soaking up the last days of summer before school starts. This little munchkin is headed off to Junior Kindergarten on September 1st, and she is so excited. She's grown up so much lately. If it seems like you've seen a lot of pictures of her in this dress, it's because she wears it all the time. I had to make her stop wearing it because it's coming apart, and it needs some fixing. My seamstress services are few and far between, and they take a long time to be completed, so she might be able to give it a rest.

Wierdo...Those are some sports cones she decided to wear on her ears.
These are faces that I see all the time. Rydge whining because Jaycee's picking on him, and Jaycee's acting like nothing is happening. I don't know why kids think it's fun to pick on the younger kid, but it's heartbreaking for a mother. The other night he was "in her way" so she just decided she would stand on his wrists and ankles. Does anyone know of a good punishment for the mean older sibling? Sometime I just want to give her a taste of her own medicine, but that's not very effective. FYI: Rydge is wearing the necklace because Jaycee put it on him. We don't make him wear girl stuff.
This is Jaycee's first day of gymnastics picture. It all started on the 4th of July. We were watching the parade, and some of the gymnastic academies had their gymnasts walking along doing tricks to advertise. They had people going along to the crowds handing out fliers. Afterwards, Jaycee said, "I am going to be in the parade because they want me. The lady handed me a paper." It was so cute. So, she got into a gymnastics class, and loved it. We actually had to miss her last class because we had the family pukes. All of us were too sick to even get out of bed.
Look at Lance. That is the face of one relieved medical student. He lost a couple years off the end of his life because of his boards test, and this is the day he got his score back. His hard work paid off, and he could finally take a deep breath and somewhat relax for a minute. I say "a minute" because it was back to reality very soon after that because he was already in a very busy rotation.
I just had to take a picture of these cute little boots on Rydge. They're Jaycee's cowboy boots, and he decided to slip them on.

What is it with kids and their parents' shoes? It's so cute.

We are very slowly working on Jaycee's words and writing. She's coming along, but I think I'll leave the rest up to her teachers. She gets bored when I try to help her.

Last but not least, Rydge started walking a week or so ago, and it's so much fun to see him so mobile. He really loves his new tricks and has already advanced to carrying anything possible around the house. For example, golf clubs, balls larger than he is, bats, food, etc. So, this is his zombie walk with Jaycee maulilng him at the end.

Water fun!

So, lately it has been extremely hot in Wisconsin--almost to the point of unbearable--but it's so bad to complain about it being too warm outside considering we have to practically hibernate during the unbearable winters here except to gather food from the grocery store when we are feeling brave. Still, some days are too hot even if you're going to play in the water. Being the boring adult, the plan is to just watch the kids swim, but it all comes down to whether you want to be soaked with sweat from sitting there, or have a little fun and cool off in the process. We joined in on the slip 'n slide, but opted not to take pictures. I have made sure to take pictures of Rydge and Jaycee's water fun, though. Rydge isn't completely happy about hanging out in the cold water. He'd rather wander around our 4'x4' yard and crawl all over the thistles that have taken residence there. The other boy in some of the pictures is Drey. He and Jaycee are pretty good playmates, and they had a great time on the slip 'n slide. Drey was very unsure of the safety of the slide, but after seeing Jaycee go down it a hundred times, he decided to give it a try. Of course, being the tough guy, he had to run across the whole yard to get his momentum.



Hopefully no one thinks this is harsh, but we sent Rydge down the slide, and he seemed to enjoy it. He never cried, so it means he had fun, right? I'll show you his run, then you can decide if he liked it or not. I love the face he gives.

I didn't want to leave Jaycee out, so here is her run down the slide as well.

I'm a little partial, but his smile is to die for. I love it.

Happy times

Ever since Lance started rotations for his third year of medical school, time has been flying by. My days are all a blur, and I have found myself wondering what I am doing with my time. I really can't look back on the day before and say some big thing I accomplished. I look at my house, and it's not exactly clean,to say the least. Sometimes there are more important things to do besides the housework, like playing dollies, or hide-and-seek, or coloring. I look at my kids and keep thinking that this time with them goes by so fast, and they are at such fun ages. I'm somewhat saddened when I think about sending Jaycee to Junior Kindergarten in a month just because I never imagined she would grow up so fast. There are so many things about having kids that are frustrating and make me want to scream, but there are so many more things that make it so worth it. I love staying home with my kids. The other night I was leaving for just a few minutes and I had both kids screaming their heads off because I was going out the door. It was heartwrenching for me. Ironically enough, they survived my little 15-minute absence. I love these times with young children, and hope time will slow down a little bit so we can enjoy it even more. I think you've seen this picture before, but take this picture, for instance. Look at that adorable face. I had a huge mess to clean up, but he was so cute. He had to feed himself, and there wasn't any way to stop him. I swear he knows when I want the house clean because that's when he starts pulling things out of the cupboards. It's all just part of the life of parenthood and I wouldn't trade any of these moments. They are priceless.We've been having a lot of rain lately, and we just had to go out and enjoy it. Meghan went with us to play in the rain, too, but I didn't think to take a picture of her with the kids. She was nice enough to snap a picture of us. What fun times.

I've posted a video before of Jaycee's dance recital, but this was at our ward talent show. She got a second chance to try and dance a little faster (the last time she didn't move because she said she was just dancing slow and everyone was going too fast) and we bribed her with anything she wanted if she would just dance. She actually did a really good job, and I almost cried because I was just glad she actually moved and didn't suck on her hands the whole time. I was so proud. That's just like Jaycee to do something because there's a reward involved. You can't really see her face, but she's the one on the end.

4th/5th of July Celebrations

We finally found one advantage of living on an extremely busy street in Milwaukee--the 4th of July parade is right out our front door. It was so fun to invite friends over and enjoy the parade. It was a long parade with not very much candy, but the kids loved it. Rydge was so cute waiting for the parade to start, then right before it started he decided to take a nap instead. It was great. I had to post these pictures of this handsome little guy. I didn't say much about him in his birthday post, but I really do love this guy. He is so cute, and has me wrapped around his little pinky. He's as stubborn as can be, but has such a tender heart. He's in such a fun stage right now, and I am looking forward to lots more messes and dirty kisses. I caught him right in a yawn. So cute.

That look is to die for.

Jaycee and Myleigh.

These are our neighbors' kids, and they are so funny. We love getting to hang out with them because it doesn't happen very often.

Some of the crowd.

Talking about rotations. Blah.

Jaycee and Caleb.
This was at the fireworks. It was a day filled with fun and adventure and totally wiped us out. We even had to go home and take naps before the fireworks started or we would never have made it.

Life through Jaycee's eyes...

I just thought I'd give everyone a little sneak peek of Jaycee's amazing photography skills. Watch out professionals, Jaycee might give you a run for your money. This is what happens when she gets in the mood to take pictures. Just look at that detail...

She always catches Rydge at his best.

Me getting ready for the day. Timeless.

Another of Rydge's finest moments.

And look at those legs.

Wow! She got a face in there. She always seems to catch the laundry baskets in the background. It could be because I feel like I'm perpetually doing laundry.
And now one of the photographer herself. What a beauty! As soon as she wakes up, she's snapping pictures. I tell ya, this kid's got talent.

Gotta love this girl!

One year later...

My sweet little baby turned into this...

messy one-year-old! I can't believe how fast a year can go by. We celebrated Rydge's birthday on June 17th while we were in Idaho on vacation, and he wasn't very interested in eating his cake. He just wanted to squish the frosting in between his fingers.

The birthday song had to be restarted because of an active foot. (Please excuse the terrible singing.) See video below.

This one's for Lance

These kids (and their mom) miss Lance something fierce, but it won't be too much longer until he gets to come join us in the beautiful, yet frigid weather in Idaho. Hopefully the weather cheers up a little by the time he gets here, or he will freeze on his mandatory fishing trips. Keep studying hard, honey, because that's about all there is to do. How boring! Jaycee has been completely worn out keeping this rigorous schedule of playing all day. She has been taking naps, and not even fighting it. We start driving and she is out like a light.
Rydge is sleeping better because we've been wearing him out as well. In fact, last night he slept 12 hours straight. I couldn't have been prouder.

It's nice having cousins so close. Lots of giggles going on...

I took this video right before we left, and thought it was so cute. Rydge misses his daddy even though he can't talk. I just know he does.

I love my mom!

As my journey of motherhood progresses with each passing day, I am more keenly aware of the love and sacrifice my mother has given and still gives to me. I can't believe the ironies that I have found since I have become a mother. When you're little you think that your parents just shouldn't yell at you. It's that easy. Now I really have to make a conscious effort to stop yelling and remain patient. I don't know how many times I've said, "How many times do I have to tell you!?", which is a phrase that I heard a couple times when I was younger ;) Not to mention all the times I have to ask, "Are you even listening to me?" (husband included in that question). What can I say? I have turned into my own mother, which isn't a bad thing at all. My mom is a very talented woman. I just wanted to write about a couple things that make her so endearing to me. She can play a very mean game of racquetball; she's an excellent spinster (the exercise class); she could wear anyone out in a shopping day, or even in a regular day; she's an amazing grandma to my kids (and her other grandchildren as well); she's an amazing saleswoman--she's the only one I know who can sell temple clothing and lingerie at the same time; she's so ticklish that my dad can't even attempt to tickle her without risking the loss of his favorite appendage; she's willing at any time of day or night to play games; I've always been jealous of her because she's allergic to make-up, and still looks gorgeous; and she stayed up into the wee hours of the morning waiting for me (and all my siblings) to come home from parties, etc., sacrificing many hours of sleep. She's an excellent example of making the effort it requires to keep family ties together. She has done so much for her brothers, sisters, and her own parents. Most of all, she is an amazing example of anything gospel related. She's got such a strong testimony, and taught us all so much about remaining true to your testimony. I love you, mom, and hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day (and belated birthday on Cinco de Mayo).

A lot has happened...

First things first, Jaycee just celebrated her 4th birthday last Sunday. She was so excited, and couldn't wait to open her presents. She actually tried bargaining and making deals with me to see if she could trade a pair of her shoes for the flip-flops I bought her for her birthday. She'd say, "But I don't want the flip-flops for my birthday, I want them now. You can give these ones for my birthday." She is such a thinker. I can't believe I have a four-year-old. She starts school in junior kindergarten this September, and I've had very mixed emotions. I never imagined she would grow up so fast, and it just keeps getting faster, but I also think she is ready to learn from someone else besides me. So, I would have taken a ton more pictures of Jaycee on her birthday, but my camera's batteries were dead, and we were totally out of new ones. I did get the video of her blowing out the candles, though, which took forever. We were mentioning in the video that she was going at a Master Uguay pace (Kung Fu Panda) and we needed Master Shifu to come blow them out with his Kung Fu fury (forgive the spelling of the names, I have no idea what it would be). As a sidenote: I bought Jaycee a little cake from the store, but it wasn't that exciting, and she told me she didn't like that cake. She wanted another Dora cake like last year. I decided to try and make her a Dora one, and it really looked a lot better in real life than in the video. Not to mention the fact that Jaycee decided to poke her Dora's out with the candles, which makes it look really creepy. I also know that there are eight candles on the cake. Jaycee just wanted to keep putting them on, and it's not like we'd be able to find those candles next year anyway.

The other day I heard Jaycee in her room laughing hysterically. This is what I found...

She thought she was hilarious.


Rydge has had thrush for a while now because I can't remember to give the medicine four times a day all the time, so this syringe has become his playmate. I'll give him the medicine, then he'll crawl around with it in his hand and suck on it. Speaking of growing up, doesn't he just look so grown-up. I can't believe he's going to be one in a month and a half.

This happened a couple weeks ago. Normal bathtime routine, but I decided that Rydge was having so much fun that he could stay in while I washed Jaycee's hair. Bad mistake. I wasn't thinking about not letting him stand up, and of course he slipped. I couldn't believe he split his eye open on the bathtub. Lance had just left to go study at the school, and I had to flag him down from a window frantically while the blood was pouring down Rydge's face. I was so glad Lance saw me and came back. We debated back and forth about whether or not to take him to the ER, but decided not to. Afterward I decided that the feeling of guilt you have when you think you should have taken your child in to a doctor and didn't outweighs everything else. I couldn't believe how bad I felt. We didn't want to take him anywhere because we could just hear the comments: "Whoa, and you didn't take him to the doctor?" Anyway, now there's just a thin pink line, and he will have a scar, but I don't think stitches would have made it any less noticable. This kid is so tough. He only cried until I picked him up, but then he stopped. He was very wiggly, and wouldn't let us touch his eye, but he hardly cried at all.

Just playing at the park. I love warm weather.

I had to take a picture of Rydge's cuddle moment with daddy. He's always cuddly with me, but hardly ever cuddly with Lance. He plays with Lance.

More pictures of Jaycee's dance recital. I'm too lazy to put them onto the other post.