Trampoline Nets

This is why we have a net around our trampoline.


And because Kode recently flew off. But amazingly he was uninjured. Just made him a little more cautious. And that kid could definitely use a little more of that.

Markers

Ruby thinks that markers are make-up.

Bubba

No, I didn't forget about my Bubba. We have been hit pretty hard with the flu and I've gotten behind. Most people think it's bizarre that we call our daughter Bubba. The nickname started when she first started to talk. She called her baby doll Bubbas so we started calling her our Bubbas. And eventually the "s" was dropped and she's been our Bubba ever since. Even with such a masculine nickname she still manages to be pretty girlie. She loves to play dress up with her friends which typically includes make up. She loves to wear her hair down and really likes when people notice how long it is. Lately she has been telling me that she doesn't want to look cute, she wants to look pretty instead. Lyda loves to do crafts. She often asks me to set out a craft for her at night so that she can get up and work on it in the morning. (I think I've only done this once, but she loved it). One of her favorite crafts is just cutting out hearts and decorating them. She loves to make things to give to others. Steve and I were just talking about what a "giver" she is. She loves her friends. Everyday when I pick her up from school she asks if _______ can come over to play. It's usually Zoey that she's asking to have over. Her and Zoey have been having play dates since they were a few months old. The funniest thing about those two is that they really are so different from each other. But they love being together so much. Those two are so funny to watch and listen to. They are so grown up. Kindergarten has changed my little girl so much. She is learning to read and is doing a stellar job. She is a great student and rarely if ever gets in trouble. She has never been given the dreaded pink slip, she's come close apparently, but has somehow weaseled her way out of it. Lyda is a nice girl. Her teacher told me that there was a little girl who came to school with hardly anything to eat for lunch and Lyda split everything in half from her lunch to share with this girl. I was so happy to hear that she had done such a nice thing. It's hard when you send your child off each day and you really don't know how they are behaving and treating others. I love hearing good reports and I hope that she will always be so sweet. As much as I love how much Lyda is learning, I really do feel sad when I send her off to school. Partly because I know she'd rather stay home with us and because I feel like she's gone for so long and misses so much around here. She totally riles up her brother and sister and can be quite the tease, but she is such a bright spot too. She helps me so much. She knows when I really need help and she's always quick to step in and help out. She can even change a poopy diaper! We don't make her, but every now and then she asks if she can do it. Kind of funny.


Lyda's smile has been changing a lot this year. She has lost 4 teeth so far. She is very careful to put her tooth under her pillow and is always so excited to collect her dollar in the morning. Lyda loves to be with her Grandma Crandell. She invites herself over every chance she gets. Her latest tactic has been to ask for a ride home from church with grandma. Grandma is always so patient and kind about it. She gives in to these self invitations more often than I'm sure she'd like. Like Kode with grandpa, Lyda is always sure that grandma has something that she can help with. Baking, gardening and whatever other things grandma needs to do. Lyda has become quite fond of the monkey bars at school and has trashed her poor little hands. She seems to always have a new blister to show me. She is always telling me about the progress that she's made at recess. In fact, I hear more about recess than any other part of her day. Lyda is a big "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" girl. For quite some time now that is how she'll respond when I ask her if she likes something or how she's feeling. So a little while ago she added the sideways thumb. She just points her thumb off to the side. It's probably used more often than up or down. Everything seems to be just ok. I love Lyda's laugh. She has such a contagious laugh. When she gets laughing about something really funny she can get me to laugh just from listening to her. She loves jokes. When we drive in the car we either play "I spy" or Lyda will say, "Let's do jokes". The jokes are the most nonsensical things you've ever heard of. For example: "Mom, do trees drink gasoline?" And then I just have to say "no" in the most obnoxious voice you've ever heard and this provides plenty of entertainment. Especially since I'm the one who typically has to come up with the jokes. Maybe it's my own fault that our jokes are so meaningless. Hmmmm. One last story about Lyda was from this morning. We watched the movie Enchanted together. We were at the end when the evil queen poisons Giselle and then there is all of the drama about who her true love is and fortunately he kissed her just in time. Well I don't know if you noticed that the queen had a sword in her hand, but Lyda did. So Lyda pipes up and says, "Why didn't she just slit her throat"? That's my sweet, sweet non-violent little girl. Oh how I love my Bubba. She is just so full of love (other than the throat slitting comment). She is the cuddliest, huggiest, back ticklingest girl ever. I am so proud of the choices that she is making as she decides what kind of a person she will be. Love You!

Thirty Two

So I'm a little late, but Steve celebrated his birthday last week. It wouldn't be kind to mention his age but just know that he's getting up there, but he's hot as ever! We went on a great staycation in Scottsdale thanks to my mother who stayed with our kiddos. So I always write about the cute little things that my kids are doing, so I think its about time I write a little something about the man who stole my heart almost 10 years ago. Steve is the hardest working person I know right now. He has so much on his plate right now with work and he has been working overtime. Its been a little rough here and there for everybody, but I think especially for him. I don't think a man has ever loved his kids as much as Steve does. When he has late nights, he has to tell himself not to speed as he drives home in hopes that the kids will still be up so he can squeeze them before they go to sleep. One of the things that I loved about Steve from the start was his funny personality. After all of these years he still keeps me laughing and now our kids too. Kode is always keeping tabs on his daddy. He always asks the obvious question of "where's dad?" even after he knows he's just left for work. He wants to be big and strong and tall like his daddy, and I think he just might be someday. Lyda loves to cuddle with Steve. She knows that daddy likes a cuddle buddy more than anything. Steve will plop down on the couch and say, "Who wants to cuddle with me"? Lyda almost always says, "I will" as she runs over to him. She still asks her daddy to pick her up. She says to him, "uppies, uppies". She has said that since she was tiny and he can't get enough of it. Ruby is Steve's little buddy whenever he is at his desk. She believes that she belongs on his lap whenever he is in front of the computer. She is very interested in the keyboard and mouse, to which Steve usually says, "You're too cute to go into computers. Too cute". All of the kids run to the door squealing and screaming when daddy comes home. Steve is wonderful to me. I have never doubted for a minute that my husband truly loves me and I count that as one of my greatest blessings. We still love being together, even if sometimes its just being in the same room doing different things. And when we are especially lucky we get to go out on a date. I love Steve so much. He works so hard for our little family and loves us all so much.

Kode-man

Oh my dear Kode. Where do I start with him? Kode is such a unique little person and I love watching everything he does. He is so doggone cute and just plain funny. He is such a boy and he loves trying to figure out how things work and always wants to "fix" stuff. One night he got all of his little plastic tools loaded up in his toolbox and he came to me and informed me that he was going to go over to Grandpa Crandell's house because he was sure that he was working on something and could use his help fixing whatever it was. I tried to explain that grandpa was going to be ok and that he probably wasn't working on anything at that moment, but Kode was so not ok with that answer. He had decided that he was doing some sort of work up on the roof and that his help was needed. Kode loves helping Grandpa Crandell with everything and he is so wonderful to always find a way to include Kode in a project. From cutting up branches that he's cut off of a tree to making lemonade. Making lemonade is Kode's newest obsession right now. Almost every day he asks if we can make lemonade. He just always wants to work on something. We recently put a new toilet in one of our bathrooms and Kode was fascinated when Steve hooked it up and filled the tank with water. I have caught him on more than one occasion lifting up the lid after he flushes so he can watch how the whole thing works. I love watching him learn. We had some new flooring put in our house and Kode loved watching the guy work. At first he kept his distance and just watched. But it didn't take long before he was this poor guy's shadow. He would constantly tell the guy, "Great job" or "The floor looks perfect". And everyday when the guy would leave, Kode would always ask when he was coming back or if maybe we should feed him dinner so he wouldn't have to go home. Speaking of the floor, Kode is a firm believer that tights work way better than socks for sliding around. I just know that they make for better blackmail pictures.


Kode is still obsessed with Avatar. He is still Avatar Aang, although he answers to his own name again. He loves to pretend. Him and his cousin Laureli take pretending pretty seriously. We often have a couple of dogs around here eating off of the ground or out of bowls. Kode loves to tell me that he is a lost puppy who doesn't have a name and that my job is to name him. I suggest name after name until we find a good boy dog name that he approves of. Kode still loves sticks of every kind. He almost always has some sort of stick on him at any given time just in case bad guys show up. He sticks them in his pockets, through belt loops and sometimes just straight down the sides of his pants. You can never be too prepared. He saves me on a regular basis from bad guys. He likes to dress up as Spiderman, The Hulk, a pirate, Yoda, Aang and a knight in shining armor. I found out the other day that he really thinks his knight's helmet will keep his head extra safe. I hope that's true because he still hits his head more often than any person should. Kode does so well when he goes to the doctor, the dentist and when he gets his haircut. It's pretty funny how seriously he takes these visits. I think he really likes that the whole appointment is centered on him. Maybe a middle child thing. He really is so good for these visits. We went to the dentist a couple of months ago and he was so awesome. So they sent him home with a little plastic bag with a toothbrush, dental floss, toothpaste and a chart to record when he brushes. He is still toting this bag around. It carries all of his toothbrushes now and some fluoride rinse also. It is a big decision each time he has to pick a toothbrush to brush with. He keeps it right next his bed and I have even found him sleeping with it. So funny. Last little story about Kode happened last week. The kids got some temporary tattoos from their grandparents for valentine's day. They decided to put them all over their bodies. I knew they were putting them on but wasn't paying close attention until I heard some talk about putting one on Kode's behind. This was Lyda's idea no doubt. So I said, "no tattoos on any private places". Lyda said, "oops". I walk over to where they are working to see what has been going on and sure enough Kode has a temporary tattoo on his, oh what shall we call it . . . undercarriage? Yeah, tattoo time pretty much ended there. And then we had a good discussion about private body parts. There is never a dull moment around here with Kode-man. He is such a fun kid who is sure becoming quite the chatterbox. He has so much to say and I love hearing the unfiltered thoughts as they fall out of his mouth. Love you Kode!