Happy Halloween!

Friday night Ken and I went to an awesome party (The Scallywag Soiree)! I think we look pretty awesome in our pirate clothes. The decorations were just insanely cool and the food was great! Our kids even got a fun sleepover that night, so we got to have a fun date.

On Saturday, it rained and hailed pretty intensely in the afternoon. But just in time for the festivities we got a beautiful surprise!

 The picture doesn't do justice at all. It was a full, bright rainbow with a double on one side!

Boyd and Owen were so ready for Trick or Treating!

Daisy was pretty excited, too! She was really funny asking for candy, she just yelled at everybody "Tweet! Bye!" and a couple of  "day-doo!" (thank you's).  For some reason Lucy had a tantrum getting into her costume, so she ended up in her regular dress up clothes.

This is from the other day for her preschool party. She made a great Red Queen! I was a little disappointed to not get a picture of the two girls since they were a theme (Daisy was Alice in Wonderland).

 Lucy drew a super cute picture she titled "Halloween Friends dressed as Kitties."

I had to share my cute food creation. We had mummy hot dogs for our cub scout party and the kids (except Boyd) thought they were awesome!

Daiser Beam

I can't forget my little Daisy. I think she deserves a post all to herself once in a while, too. She is turning into such a character. Daisy is a big girl and can (or think she can) do everything herself with no help or she will scream. If she is happy or sad or wants something, she will scream. You get the idea- she's a screamer. She has learned to get into things and she's a climber and a strategist. She will push chairs over to climb on things and waits for mom to be occupied.

Then she does things like this regularly. Its chocolate milk mix all over the counter and the floor. I did not leave it out- she got into the pantry herself (or she had an accomplice, notice a guilty looking big sister licking her fingers).

Daisy is a little bit of a clown like her big sister. She loves to pull funny faces, do silly dances, and sing (her favorite song is the Daisy song). She just started doing "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" (she calls it "knee-toes") and "Itsy Bitsy Spider," Daisy is starting to talk a whole bunch- not all of it coherent, but she tries. She has been saying new sentences lately like "Daddy home now," or "Got pee-pee bum" (that one cracks me up) and constantly "Wha happy?" (what happened).

The other day it got unusually quiet in the afternoon and I found Daisy asleep on the floor. Awww... isn't she a cutie? Another funny story about nap time... I was putting her down in bed and she said, "want toot bobbies!" I knew "bobbies" is blankets, but I had no idea what she wanted for a few minutes. Then I got it- TWO bobbies and she said "YEAH toot!" and she cuddled up, sucked her thumb and was out. Silly girl!

There's a whole lot more to this girl than a pretty head of hair. She still gets that compliment more than anything else since the day she was born. Mostly Daisy is a big weirdo, but I love her to pieces! She makes up for all her naughtiness when she snuggles her mom, sucks her thumb, and says "love you!"

My little Lucy goose

Lucy is about the biggest drama queen I have ever known! She is definitely sweet, thoughtful, helpful, talented, smart and of course, darling as can be. But, there are some times I think she might be possessed; I'm just waiting for her head to spin around during one of her tantrums. Her fits are mostly about her clothes and hair, sometimes it is about her drawings not turning out just right. Poor girl has sensitive dry rashy skin, so I think some of her clothing issues have to do with just being uncomfortable. Her hair is wavy and frizzy like mine, but if I don't style it the girl looks kind of homeless. I have no idea what to do about her not perfect creations, she tears them up too fast and furious.

Lucy has started the Waterford Institute online preschool computer program. Boyd had it before and he did so great with it, now I can already see how much Lucy is learning from it. She does especially well with writing letters- she knows most of them and and she always asks how to spell words. Her drawings are so incredible and detailed lately. She just figures out how to draw new things on her own without being showed how, and she is very creative. She loves to make combination creatures like spider-kitties and pig-ants (all with bows on their heads) and tells stories about them. Lucy is constantly singing and dancing around the house. She also loves to play with her siblings and she takes pride in making Daisy laugh. She has great imaginative play games with Boyd (which really has helped him a lot!). Lucy has a funny sense of humor and does some of the best physical comedy with pulling faces and weird dance moves. I sure love this big girl! She keeps me on my toes all the time, frustrates me to death, gives me the best compliments and loves, and makes me laugh all the time.

One funny story: The other day I was taking her to school and she said," Mom you forgot to change your clothes." I said, "no I didn't, I'm wearing these ones." She squinted up her face and said, "well I guess its okay if you go out like that."

Little things

Its those little things that make a silly old mom choke up. My boy is the master of catching me off guard like that. I'm so happy with all the little things that Boyd can do and all the things he can say. I spent a couple of years crying for different reasons: just about every day was so frustrating and I was constantly sad and worried that my boy wasn't going to be okay, wondering why he couldn't just be happy, or tell me anything or do normal kid things.

This morning when I got up I had to clean up Daisy after a nasty diaper mess, so I wasn't quite on top of the time to get Boyd ready for school. I ended up with just 15 minutes to get Boyd dressed and waiting for the bus. I did a little panic worrying that I wouldn't be able to do it- we have NEVER been able to rush Boyd successfully. I got his clothes out and he told me, "I don't like that new shirt, I already have a striped shirt." (I thought that was it, oh no he knows I'm trying to hurry, he's gonna flip) I told him but this one is green- your favorite color- and you needed more long sleeved shirts since it is getting colder. To my surprise he just said oh okay and put it on. He got all dressed, made himself chocolate milk, brushed his teeth, then asked if he could have "sharp hair" today and a haircut on Saturday. Sure buddy! Boyd got his jacket and backpack and waited for the bus with plenty of time to spare. He was just happy and pleasant and excited for the day.

What a different kid he has become in the last year and a half! I had no idea that Boyd could even do such a normal thing like get ready for school without one tantrum. I used to have to pry him out of bed, force clothes on him, literally sit on him to brush his teeth, I wasn't allowed to touch his hair. I pleaded, begged, bribed and still had deal with screaming and flailing between each small step. Don't get me started on haircuts- those were some of the worst experiences of my life- even the sight of clippers got Boyd screaming, slapping his own face and bashing his head into things. Now he just asks for one like its fun- I'm completely blown away!

This boy has a way of getting to me. Even in his hardest times, we saw glimpses of that sweet amazing kid. I'm so proud of Boyd growing up and overcoming a huge amount of hurdles. I don't even remember the last time I had to use the "A" word to explain Boyd's behavior.

Red Barn

Lucy had her first field trip with her preschool class. We went to the awesome Red Barn in Santaquin and we loved it! We started on a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch.

The kids thought that was pretty neat! Daisy was a little unsure about it, but she was just a little grumpy anyway.

She pretty much made that face the whole time... or she cried. I just had to hold her constantly so I couldn't take a better picture of Daisy (not that she would have smiled for one).

This is Lucy's preschool class. I think they are a cute bunch!

Lucy got to pick out a pumpkin then go through the little maze. We got a wagon ride back to the barn and we got a doughnut and apple juice. Red Barn was the perfect place for Lucy's first field trip. She said she wants to go again next time with her dad so he can buy her ice cream there.

Happy Birthday Boydie!!

Yesterday my sweet Boyd turned 6! It even sounds weird to say it, when did he get to be so old?

Boyd had quite the traumatic arrival- poor little guy (and his mama)!

Boyd was just 2 weeks old for his first Halloween as a little bear.

Here's Boyd when he was about 18 months. He got to be a pretty handsome boy.

We had a fun birthday weekend for Boyd. On Friday we went to Pumpkin Land in Orem.

We always have a fun time there, one of these days I will remember my real camera.

On Saturday we had a party at Jumpin' Jacks. The boys were so spazzy, almost every picture I took was so blurry. They loved it, got a lot of energy out, and were covered in sweat!

Daisy finally decided she liked the place and started climbing up the big kid slides.

On Sunday it was Boyd's real birthday. He was really excited from the minute he woke up. At Gramma and Papa's house Boyd got a big cake like he wanted.

Then he got to open presents. He loves Buzz Lightyear and was really happy to get his favorite toy.

The thing Boyd wanted most of all was a Buzz costume. He's been asking for it for about 6 months.

I think he makes a pretty sweet little Buzz! All ready for Halloween and everyday in between.

Sweet Sisters

 We had a little bit of a lazy morning with no school. It was really cold in the house, too. All the kids and cats ended up in our bed after Ken left. Daisy loves watching shows on my phone- she says "Wa Show. Meow!" Usually she does not share, but she must have been feeling a little snuggly this morning to let Lucy watch with her.

Boyd's Spotlight

Today was Boyd's spotlight day in school. We made a poster to bring all about Boyd's favorite things. We showed his class and then read Boyd's favorite story Scarecrow's Secret. When I first got to his class, they were finishing up snack time eating toast with jam. Boyd actually ate something other than "Boydie food." I asked him if we could made toast at home and he said, "no, toast is just school food." I'm glad Boyd will eat something new for his teacher at least.

Boyd sang a song about writing numbers. He is doing so well in his class- some of the other kids wander around and pick their noses, but Boyd does just what he is supposed to do without any trouble. I'm so proud of my boy!

All about Boyd:

Name: Boyd Kenneth Martin.
My birthday is "Hoptober 17."
My family is my dad, mom, and 2 sisters.
My favorite food: Yellow chicken and rice (Lemon Chicken from Chen's Noodle House)
My favorite color: Green
Favorite movie: Spiderman
Favorite Story: Scarecrow's Secret
Favorite game: Mario Galaxy 2
Pets: 2 cats- Bella and Homer Ears Martin

Our cool Vacation

Sorry about the picture overload here, but we had a big week on our SLC vacation. We stayed in the Grand America Hotel- super fancy and awesome! We got Salt Lake Connect passes and didn't even get to everything on there. We went to Thanksgiving Point first for the Dinosaur museum and Gardens. We went to the Aquarium in Sandy, the Hogle Zoo, Temple Square, Discovery Gateway, we went swimming at our hotel, went to a drive in movie, and Lagoon! For the last day Ken and I got to have a fun day together with an awesome Sunday brunch, we went to Conference, we had a couples massage, I got a haircut, and we went out to dinner. It was all so fun! I loved not having to travel very far and we kept busy and got to do all the things we wanted.