Thrilliam is 4!

So my baby turned 4. Rude right? The last four years have FLOWN by. He's my right hand man. We are literally together every hour of the day. Most days he's even my alarm clock. We go to school together, shopping together, have all our meals together, and when I try to sneak away for a private moment, he finds me in the bathroom.

He's a sweetheart but a bit of a brute as well. The boy is just solid. He's at that stage where there is still baby fat but his little body is hardening into little boyhood. It makes me sad when I think about it. Luckily, I'm too busy laughing at/with him to dwell on it much! His play wrestling with his brothers is starting to cause more pain than before...for his brothers. He and Abby are best buds and I pray that lasts. He knows all his letters and numbers and insists on writing his name as "William" and never "Will". Shortcuts aren't his style! He asks daily for more presents and has excellent negotiating skills.  He's truly our pride and joy. We love you Squilliam!

A New Post

Well, I'd almost given up on blogging.  I've had a post in the wings since October.  I dabbled with it a little in November, and then in December.  In January I finished it and tried to upload pictures.  Then after I uploaded pictures, Blogger refused to save it (rude, rude, RUDE blogger)!

In February I was still too offended to touch it and March just sort of ended before I realized it.  But its April now, I'm on spring break.  I've had the whole day without any sort of schedule (minus sending my kids off to school because their spring break didn't line up with mine).  I've cleaned out my fridge, done 4 loads of laundry and edited a few pictures.  No more excuses.  I'm going to blog!

But where exactly do I start? Should it be with the 4 birthday's I missed? The two seasons of soccer?  the holidays of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day or Easter? Should I write about my job? Jackson's brand new "he's in remission" news? Abby's first, and second lost tooth? How about her dance recital?  Or the boy's piano recitals? Or our trips to Washington and Utah for Carter and Dexter's baptisms? Seriously?  I don't know where to start, it's all so overwhelming.  It seems wrong not to post pictures.  I could start there...

Right around William's 3rd birthday, he fell asleep on the same fuzzy white blanket I had used to take his newborn pictures.  He just happened to be shirtless.  I seized the opportunity.

Before...

After.

He's my baby and he always will be.  There will be no others behind him.  It breaks my heart that he's getting bigger, and bigger.  But he's also getting better and better (and naughtier).  I do love this sweet boy.

How about Abby's dance recital?  She gets to dance with her cousin Brynn and bestie, Lily.  Both Uncle Cory and Uncle Brandon came out to see them and of course, Mimi and Papa too.

And just because I already had these collages done.  I'll throw in Christmas too.

William (who only replies to William, Will, or his favorite, Will the Thrill.  DO NOT call him Bill or Billy...you've been warned).

Our princessa.

Carson.

Preston (who now wants to go by Stone.  It's not my favorite).

There.  I posted.  It's a step in the right direction, yes?

It's Been 3 Years!

It's a good thing he'll be my baby forever, because my baby isn't a baby anymore. He's a big boy with a big boy bed and big boy pants and learning big boy words (like delicious and awesome).

He loves trains, Cars, Buzz and Woody. He loves to swim in the baby pools (but hates mistaking a hot tub for a baby pool, which causes him to sink to the bottom, so him mom rushes in to save him and ruins her iPhone, resulting in him not being able to play with said iPhone).

He still asks for a morning sippy cup full of chocolate milk and likes to pour the powder in himself. He thinks messing with Abby is hilarious. When he wrestles with his dad or big brothers he'll laugh until he can't breathe. He loves the dogs and will always be the first one to pet them, hug them or snuggle them. If only the dogs would realize they'll get more attention from him than me, then we'd all be happy.

He still has white blond hair (and I pray it stays)! His eyes aren't blue, their bluish, greenish, grayish. I don't know if that's a color because it's all one color I just can't name it. Is it hazel? Isn't hazel a mix of different colors? It's a real brain buster for me. I digress.


~A couple of cute pictures from Uncle B's wedding.~


~He LOVED the boats in the harbor.~


~Have I mentioned that he still loves to eat? He does.~

He's happy and smiles and teases and can be a brute at times. He's also sweet and still a snuggle bug. He's my shadow and I'm okay with it this time. There's something special about the last baby that makes you a little more patient, a little more aware of the insignificant things. It's why the baby's of the family are more spoiled I guess.

Last night, I put him to bed. 10 minutes later he came downstairs and I immediately said, "Will. Go back to bed buddy." Then in his sweetest little voice he replied, "Mommy, I want more kisses." How do you say no to that?

I couldn't and didn't and re-tucked him in, kissed him 4 more times and whispered, "I love you buddy".

"I yuh you too Mommy."

Happy Birthday my sweet sweet William.

Potty Training Genius

Not to brag or anything, but I'm an amazing Potty Trainer. I should open a potty training boot camp. It's day 5 and we haven't had an accident in 2 days (I realize I've just jinxed myself, but I'm too self absorbed to care).



By day 2, he was asking to go potty. By day 4, he was refusing to sit on the toilet if he didn't have to go (no more of this, "just sit down and SEE if you have to go" business). I asked him for an hour and a half yesterday and he wouldn't go. I finally HAD to take a shower, and as I was getting out, I heard someone trying to open my door. He came in, announced he had to go, stripped down (because he won't just pull his drawers to his ankles) and proceeded to produce #1 AND #2! Serious breakthrough! Again, I'm a genius.

William

I haven't talked about my baby for a long while. He's two years and almost nine months old. He'll be going to preschool this year. What?!?! He talks a lot and makes faces. He's obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Mater and trains and cars and chocolate milk. I'm pretty sure he thinks we live at some 5 star restaurant and the chocolate milk is bottomless. He's HILARIOUS! I've never met such a brute. He'll climb and jump off of anything, including, but not limited to, couches, retaining walls, chairs, beds, people, etc. He gives kisses but wipes them off, EVERY TIME! He can climb in and out of his crib and has now decided that every other day is plenty where nap time is concerned (insert audible sob here). I love the way he says, "I lull lue too mama" whenever I tell him I love him. He gives the best squeeze hugs. He adores his older siblings but will tattle on them even if they're not home. He'll come up to me with the saddest little face and say, " Carthson hit me". And I'll reply, "Carson's not here buddy." And William will reply, "Abby hit me Mama." And I'll reply, "Abby's not here either so stop tattling on your siblings." He'll totter off and be over it just like that.



William can make the biggest messes. Literally the biggest. I have four kids. I've seen messes. Preston and Wesley dumped half a bag of Costco rice over three floors in our Utah house (I was loading the car for a trip, don't judge me). Preston and Tyson took a dozen eggs and broke them on my kitchen floor (I'm not sure what I was doing in this instance. Probably laundry or something constructive I'm sure). Preston seems to be the common denominator there. My point is, I've seen it all. Nothing should shock me. But it is IMPOSSIBLE to keep the whole house clean. I spent all day yesterday cleaning the entire first floor. Today I have to tackle upstairs and the tornado that hit it yesterday. And while I'm doing that, guess what will happen to my sparkling first floor?



I'm not complaining, no really. It's such a short time before we're out of this stage and it's the last time I'm going to experience a two year old. The thought of it was making me so sad and I kept pouting about it to Trevor. He wasn't acting bummed about it AT ALL. So I pouted about that too, until the day he told me that he would miss the babies. But he was so excited for this next phase of our lives. The phase where we could go on a date every Friday night. Where the kids would be a little more independent and we could start going on more trips together.



I honestly hadn't thought about that. Strange how men and women think so differently. I was mourning our baby phase and he was pumping himself up for the older and more independent phase. When I think of never holding a sweet fresh newborn of my own, in the middle of the night, I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. A real "I'm terribly homesick" feeling. But then I tear a page out of Trevor's book, and I get so excited for dinner and a grown-up movie on Friday night. So, I'm just going to enjoy all the messes I have to clean up now. In a few short years, I won't have toys to pick up or sippy cups to refill with chocolate milk.

Get In, Sit Down, Buckle Up, And Hold On

Prepare yourself. I'm about to unleash some serious visual stimulation. I decided the only way I was going to catch up with all the blogging was to just do one massive marathon post. You'll all be happy to know that I've pinpointed my biggest issue with my blogging ineptitude. I take to many pictures. I admit it. I am a snap-a-holic. I'm wondering if there is some sort of support group. The only reason there aren't more pictures of our Washington trip is because my battery died and I left my charger in California. Thus, I only had 650 pictures to sort through instead of 1000. So, in no particular order (save chronologically), here is December contained in 22 collages.

ABBY TURNS 5!!! How did I miss this one? She had a great day with our traditional breakfast in bed, presents and a low, LOW key family/friend party.

Princess on her birthday morning.

Opening presents at her party.

All her peeps.

A few days later, our 5 year old princess was the star (to us) in her dance recital. She was the cutest one there and the only thing missing from her big night was her daddy. He was in D.C. It's a shame too, because she seems to have his coordination instead of mine :-/!

Our pretty girl with Miss Lisa.

Warming up and with her bestie Lily.

"I'm the Happiest Christmas Tree"

Abby wasn't the only one strutting her stuff. The big boys had their piano recital the same week Abby did. Which, again, meant Daddy missed the action. But luckily for me and the kids, Mimi and Papa were there to step in for BOTH recitals! Thank you thank you for suffering... ahem... enjoying those nights along with me.

Both boys performing. Carson had only had 3 lessons before the recital. Miss Judy gave him the option of participating and I was shocked and thrilled that he wanted to. Big, massive, enormous step for him!

Candid shots of that night (Way to block Mimi, Papa...rude)!

Christmas Eve we had Mimi, Papa and Uncle Brandon over for soup and presents. Mimi and I vetoed the idea of NOT making her famous clam chowder (the boys are seriously mistaken in their disdain for all things seafood). I did make a mean cheese potato chowder to make up for it.

William on Christmas morning! On the eve of Christmas Eve (got that?), I counted all the presents to make sure all was fair and balanced. It was, Abby and the big boys each had 10 gifts. But William had 2. I'm still not sure how that happened, but I will always be a Target fan after rushing there to make up the difference and spending less than $40. However, the cheap price tag might have come with the fact that a 2 year old isn't picky, hence the $1.50 echo microphone!

Carson got his wish of being a firearm owner. I was super nervous about Santa's decision, but after the guns broke 4 days later, my nerves were eased. Also, he loves to close his eyes as he opens his presents. He wants the surprise to last that much longer. Love it.

Abby is all that you want a little girl to be. Barbies and jewelry and shoes and snow globes (both of which, William broke...grrrrr). She is so fun to watch!

Preston was also armed this year. He's getting harder to buy for. Less toys more...???? I don't know! 10 year olds are hard! But he's such a sweetie I could have given him a Ken doll and he's be fine with it.

CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON! These are in a kind of random order, but we did have so much fun with all the crazy Andersen's. There are a lot of us (31) but you'd never know from the state of Mom, Becky and Courtney's houses...wait...no. You'd definitely know. We stayed at the Noftle Inn and it never disappoints. There's always a continental breakfast and plenty of people to keep the kids occupied.

A highlight? Why the extended family get together at Matt and Court's. I just love my Uncle and Aunts. But my cousins are the bomb. Plus we got to spend a little time with Granny Great. I think she must love sitting back and watching all of us laugh and chat and get super competitive playing Family Feud (my team won). Not to brag, but she must be so proud!

Ensign Ranch was fabulous, except there was no snow. I take issue with this. I love in Southern California and when I drive 22 hours to Washington I expect it to be blanketed with a fresh layer of Christmas snow. Is it so much to ask? I mean really!

Group shots: Girl cousins (easy to photograph), natural siblings (holding our baby brother), all the cousins (19), sisters, and boy cousins (seriously not easy to photograph...where's the Ritalin?)!

More candids...Matt and I are hot.



Slushy snow on our last night. Abby loved it, William....not so much.

And what is a family get together without a dance party? The little girls shook their stuff, then a bunch of thugs showed up. It was weird. And because we're a competitive family, the mommy's had to show their daughters that we still had it. Bring on the pyramid!

More candids.

A buddy collage (Avery and Zoe), (Brax, Pres, Tys, and Wes), (Bro-in-laws + Jax), (Sam, Ky, Rerra, and Syd), (Carson, Dex and Coug), (Adalynn and Abby), (the sisters), (Aftyn and Will).

I'm now officially caught up on blogging...BOOM!

The First Day Pics + Extras

So school started for my bigs on August 10th. If you ask me, and no one ever seems to ask me, it's far, FAR too early. They got out in a normal month (June) but were forced back 10 weeks later. Rude. Here's why; a full week off at Thanksgiving, a three week "Winter Break" (it will always be Christmas Break to me), and two full weeks for Spring Break. Retarded. That's right, I called our school district retarded. Sue me. Anyway, I digress, as per usual for me. The point was to post pics of my angels (because when they're away from me all day, they turn back into angels) on their first day of school. The best ones are at the end.

Pig is now entering his "Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing" phase. Except that he's not nothing. He's actually pretty spectacular.

My Bigs.

Carson looking all happy-ish to enter 2nd grade.

This was actually pretty hilarious. Will decided to scootch on in...picture perfect smile and all.

So I added the other two. Will's usually not that cooperative...had to take advantage.

Mr. Confident. I love it.

Here come those stinky nerves again. Every year! I hate that it's so hard for him. Changes are the worst for my Carce.

I can just feel the nerves in his stomach. Can a mom get sympathy nerves?

It all ended alright. We're in the swing of things and both boys like their teachers. Carson has pinned down his biggest issues with school and we're working on those. It's boring and there's too much work. Pretty valid excuses I'd say.

And just because I think he's so dang adorable...

Will eating a Gogurt.

Will's concerned/mopey face.

And chilling with his pup. He loves, loves, loves the dogs.

And my princess for good measure. She doesn't always appreciate that I take so many pictures of Will. She doesn't remember the camera constantly in her face when she was 2. Or maybe she does and misses the attention.