18 Months

Zander turned 18 months old on the 10th of October. It is funny how life works--Zander has been the baby and that is how I have thought of him, and then gradually, right under my nose, he has grown up! He has so much personality! He makes me laugh every day with the new things that he comes up with. He loves to do whatever Haylie is doing. We have started letting him do the same bedtime routine as Haylie so as soon and you even mention brushing teeth he drops what he is doing and heads for the bathroom. He also will drop everything when you mention feeding the fish, another bedtime ritual. It is amazing how much he understands about the world around him. He has a ball popper that blows balls up in the air that he is completely obsessed with. He will push the button to turn it on over and over again and then, just like his mechanically minded dad, he looks in this hole and that, stops the ball here and there, just trying to figure out how everything works. He literally shakes with excitement while it is running. He loves anything involving a ball or a vehicle, including motorcycles, or "cycles" and he calls them to his dad's delight. Here are some shots of Zander doing some big boy things. What a cutie pie he his! Lately Haylie has been the subject of most of my posts so this one is just for the Z man!

Playing Play-doh.

Eating Breakfast. We recently put the high chair in storage and now he sits in the booster seat at the table. (Haylie took this picture)
He climbs up on the slide on Haylie's bed. This time it was to see the fishy.

Joining in the family tradition of popcorn and movie night.

New Friends

One of the biggest reasons that we hated to leave Boise was having to leave behind so many wonderful friends. The biggest thing that I have learned through the experience of moving is that Heavenly Father has a plan for us, and when we are obedient He will provide for us. This time he provided in the form of a family in our ward, the Bohmans. Just when I was ready to back up and go back home, a knock came on our door. It was Bonnie (the mom) with a plate of cookies. It turned out she has a girl named Haylee, just a few months younger than our Haylie and a boy named Max who is just one month younger than Zander. As we have gotten to know each other have learned many other similar interests the biggest of which is that we both love volleyball. We have been trying to find people to play with. They probably don't know it but they have been a huge blessing to me.
In Boise we were in a babysitting swapping group that allowed us to go out a couple times a month and watch kids on other weeks. We started the same kind of thing with the Bohman's and it has been great. We even combined the kids last week and got a babysitter so we could go out together and get to know each other better. Here are some pictures of the kids playing on the first night we watched them. They have a great time together.

Zander and Max in the sandbox.

The big sisters helping in the sandbox

Haylie and Haylee taking their horses for a ride.

Matching names and bikes!

Preschool

Haylie started preschool on September 8th at the Munchkin Manor Preschool. She spent the whole summer telling me that she didn't want to go to preschool or that she wasn't big enough. I could tell her resolve was weakening though as we bought her backpack and got the paperwork in the mail telling us what session she would be in. When the day finally came she was so excited she could hardly contain herself. She was rubbing her hands together and saying, "I am so excited to go to school!" So far she loves it. She already knew all the letters and the sounds they make before she started but she is excited to be learning the sign language for each letter. Here are some shots of her on the first day before we left for school. The picture above is in front of the shool.

Appreciation

Last week Dave worked 57 1/2 hours. That is 17 1/2 extra hours that I am by myself with the kids. This morning I dropped Dave off at the airport to fly to Florida for a weeks worth of training. Again a week where I am playing the role of single parent. It is times like these that I realize just how much Dave does for me and the kids everyday. Sometimes I get caught up in the monotony of the tasks of every day that I start thinking that I am doing everything to care for the kids. So, as much as I don't enjoy being on my own, I am grateful for the opportunity every now and then so that I can appreciate again what a great father my children have. He is a great teacher, makes a wonderful jungle gym, and loves to spend time with our family. Thank you Dave! We love you and miss you when you are gone.

"I am riding a bike!"

Haylie finally washed enough dishes to earn herself a new bike! Just kidding...she did have to earn it with good behavior but washing dishes isn't a chore for these kids! Both she and Zander love to wash the dishes. They both cry if they see I am doing it and they aren't getting to help.


Haylie earned a new bike by filled a jar up with "gems" that she gets when she does good things. The first day she got on it she kept saying, "I'm riding a bike!" She had some trouble remembering which way to push the pedals so as soon as she would say that she would put the brakes on and stop. It was funny and as you can see from the pictures, she is very proud of herself and even had no problems passing the trike on to Zander, who can't reach the pedals quite yet.

Zander on the tricycle.

Getting ready to ride!

"I'm riding a bike!"

Pure joy...

and satisfaction

Another action shot.

We bought the bike and helmet at about the same time we bought a backpack for Haylie to start preschool with. That was a big shock to realize that she is old enough to ride a two wheel bike and be getting ready for school. She starts preschool on the 8th of September. I will post up the details of how it goes.

Late 4th of July

Left to right--Ethan Barlow,Haylie, Isaiah Buhler, Paige Barlow, Lexi Barlow, and Brooklyn Buhler

Zander being contemplative.

Blowing Bubbles

Duck, Duck, Goose!

I found these pictures and realized I should have written about this awhile ago. We were back in Boise over the 4th to get the rest of our things from our garage and also to pick up Dave's truck. It was perfect timing because we got to continue our tradition of hanging our with some of our favorite people for the holiday. I am pretty sure we will never find friends like the Buhlers and Barlows again. I love you guys!! We had a BBQ at Spenser and Laura's place, the kids played outside and we lit some fireworks. Haylie is afraid of everything that is loud so it was surprising that it was Zander cried and not Haylie during the fireworks. The trip was bitter sweet because the reality of the fact that we don't live there anymore really hit me and it made me sad. I have been really blessed to have great friends that are so much fun!

Every Day Life in Price

We have been slowly been getting used to living in Price. We have met a few new people and found fun things to do around our little apartment to keep us entertained. Zander had some money that he got for his birthday in April that we hadn't gotten around to spending yet. We decided to get a small sandbox that could go on our driveway on the side of the house. He has had a great time playing in it and so has Haylie. He doesn't know how to climb out of it yet so he just sits there and plays and plays and then he says his little word for "all done" when he wants to get out. So cute! I am not a huge fan of the constant layer of grit on the kitchen floor but seeing both of them enjoy it so much it's worth it.




We have been watching the neighborhood rabbits. Most of them are little brown ones but this one is either someone's pet or a domestic one that some one has let loose. It is about twice the size of the little brown ones but it just wonders around.

Sometimes we just hang out in jammies,
or sometimes we let Dad take us for a ride in the bike trailer.
When we really feel crazy we take a swim in our pool! We washed the car in the driveway and the water pooled up on the side of it. It started out as a little wading and ended in this. We felt really classy letting our kids play in muddy water off the car! They were having a ball!