Dallin's Birthday

Dallin is 9! We had a little family party on his birthday. I tried to comply with all of Dallin's requests. He wanted pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast. He wanted me to take him for pizza and ice cream for lunch. He wanted me to make his class chocolate chip cookies. He wanted biscuits and gravy for his after school snack. (Sorry, that one slipped through the cracks). And he wanted french toast for dinner after football practice. All in all a very food filled day. We had the stomach flu travelling through our family that week, so Tanner missed his friend party a few days later.

A few words about Dallin....

He is incredibly stubborn when he makes up his mind. He hated nursery and primary until he was about 7. Some days he still feels this way about going to school. He made me camp outside his room to keep him there for his nap every day until he was about 3. About this time I was pregnant and would fall asleep first. He was then free to roam. Naptime should have ended a good year earlier. He still insists he doesn't need to use the bathroom until there's no holding it for another second.When we lived in Chandler he figured every way to get out of the house, so we had to put locks up high on the doors after some scary searches down the street. He still doesn't mind going off by himself, and has been *lost* (resulting in great panic) at Disneyland, Mexico, my brother's basketball game at EA.....When 7 months old, he got his first tooth. That same week he started banging his head on the floor, crib, chairs and my kneecap whenever he got frustrated. At first I thought teething made him grouchy. Then his doctor said he was entering his "terrible twos" early, which on the plus side would result in him finishing them early. No such luck. Dallin is either hot or cold. Happy or not. This led to "PIZZA!" Who knows....but when Dallin was about 3-4 he suddenly began yelling out "PIZZA!" out of nowhere during a meltdown. This signaled the abrupt end of the fit and the sudden onset of good times ahead. Dallin lived off about 5 foods for the first 6 or so years of his life. He has slowly expanded his diet. Very slowly. How in the heck did he turn out to be such a tall kid? How can I say you can't get big and strong if you don't eat when....he did???? He hated his first soccer game. "Too much running and too much kicking." Yes, I know. It's soccer. But by the next year he was scoring so many goals we had to tell him to "only practice passing" and not score for a quarter at a time to give the other kids a chance :) He can smash a baseball, tackle a kid and make him cry (his proud moment, not mine) and has a fine basketball shot. He loves to ride his horse Hershey, and has some sweet skateboarding and snowboarding skills. And, he sure got a lot of swim team medals this year! (It's his birthday and I'm his mom. Yes I'm bragging.) Dallin would not watch TV, try as I might, until he was 3. Then it was only Old Yeller and Sandlot over and over and OVER. Then he added Spiderman. Somehow I still enjoy the first 2. And I can sing you the old school theme song for Spiderman. He has the most tender heart of almost anyone I know. Just watch him with babies, little kids, animals, and even his mom. His brothers and sisters adore him. Most of the time. He works hard when he wants something. He won't sing, but is good at the piano. And he actually loves school now. Thank you Mrs. Bonham and Mrs. Binnie. We love you Dallin. I couldn't imagine life without you.

Dallin's 10 (+) Favorites

1. Song: Shadow of the Day by Linkin Park (now playing for your listening pleasure)
2. Color: Dark Blue
3. Food: Breakfast foods! The more cooking involved the better. Lately enjoys French Toast.
4. Sport: Football. And basketball. And... too hard to limit.
5. Drink: Egg nog. Yes, egg nog. Which is devastatingly seasonal. And expensive.
6. Vacation. "So far, Mexico, California, and Georgia." He must have big plans.
7. Book to read: Series of Unfortunate Events.
8. TV Show: Man VS Wild
9. Movie: Sahara
10. Disneyland ride: Probably Space Mountain.
10. California Adenture ride: Grizzly River Run
10. School subject: PE
10. What he wants to be when he grows up: Professional Football Player.
10. Backup plan: scientist

Dallin!

It's official, he'sa walker! The other kids still don't think he can do it without them, though.

I was worried about having a straggler, but had no idea how much we would enjoy this little guy. The kids have not been sick of him yet. Not even once. On the other hand, Luke may get a little tired of the attention sometimes. This was not one of those times.

Luke being Luke

If you have kids, you have walked into such a scene as this. Of course I was looking for something to do, and immediately thought, "Thank you Luke. I was just bored out of my mind." But somehow it's still funny. Hmmmm.

OK I know this is not anyone I know but I came across this picture and was instantly taken back to the many parks that were kind enough to provide baby swings such as these when my girls were so little. I know I have pictures like this somewhere, but for now I will enjoy this and remember when my girls were so small, packed back to back in the same swing and loving every minute of it. I think I loved it most of all! Just looking at it makes me laugh. I still look at them and think "twins??? How did this happen?"

First Week of School

I'm glad Chris (Lyman) is a good mom and got a picture of the girls on the bus for me. That is her son Caleb in the background. We love him. There has even been talk of marriage here and there. But that was before kindergarten started and that became embarrassing.

Owens Pond

We got to go to Owens Pond (in Show Low) before school started with our Jones and Cook cousins. We had so much fun catching fish, frogs, and just playing in the water. July and August are probably my favorite months of the year, I love the monsoon season. It was so green and the storm clouds would roll in every day. I wish I could keep it like this forever.

So I have to thank Stephanie and Martin for asking me to watch their kids this weekend. I brought Caitlin, Riley and Luke down with me last night and we will be here in Peoria until Sunday. Steph and Martin got to go on a retreat in San Diego for his law firm and I hope they are having fun! Olivia is ditching kindergarten with my girls, and Michelle brought Hailey and Lindsey over to play. There have been lots of gymnastics, giggling, and who knows what going on. I say who knows what because Michelle stayed too and helped me finish setting up my blog. Luke and Benjamin have been playing like only 9 and 19 month old boys can. Can I say the house is trashed? And poor Steph was worried about having it clean for me.... But the older girls will be home from school in a half hour and we're about to have it so clean they'll have no idea of the fun they've been missing :) I could have never got this set up at home with the way my days go, so thanks to my sisters!