Meet Cassie

Boston has a new friend...

.....She's such a good playmate...

.........She's always around when he wants her...

...............She goes along with whatever he wants to do...

........................She doesn't swim very well though...

.....................But that's OK, because she LOVES to play in the dirt...

........And they like to go on walks together...

........And they both like to wiggle a lot...

...........Once, he even broke her and she didn't get mad at him...

.................And another day, they stayed in the sun too long...

...........And she got a little dehydrated...

.....So he threw her in the dirt...

............And the next day she was just fine...

What a friend!

Fishin on Memorial Day

When you go fishin...

it's always nice to have your Uncle Dan with you to bait the line and unhook the fish, and

it's nice when the fish are little so little hands can hold them, and

it's nice when you're only 7 and he buys you your very own fishing rod and polarized glasses so you have the right equipment, and

it's nice when you can dig up your very own juicy worms from the garden...
but,
it's especially nice when

You give your fish a kiss before you throw him back in!

Check out my Father's Day promo-awwwww-Love'em!

Father's Day

My cuddle boy gave away my snuggles!

I got to take Boston to see the Easter Bunny the other day. Just the two of us. He is sooooo sweet when he has one on one time. He's my cuddle boy. The only thing is, as soon as he saw that Bunny, I was chopped liver. He ran right up and climbed on the bunny's lap. He got so comfy and snuggled in that I'm pretty sure he would've fallen asleep there if I left him for a few minutes. He's still a little hesitant about the huge bunny coming to our house this weekend.

Dizzy

Busy week!

I have so much to write about from the past week, so this post is just a shmorgasboard of stuff that we've been up to. On February 8, Caden got to perform at the Tabernacle on Temple Square with an LDS youth choir for a program called Interfaith Musical Tribute to the Human Spirit. We saw performances from Muslims, Jews, Native Americans, Hindu, Catholics, Baptists, Greeks, Scottish Pipe Band (which were so amazing and intense to hear) and many other faiths and Nationalities. It was so interesting to see their traditional songs, dances, and outfits. They didn't want camaras in there, so we followed the rules. To see an article about it with some pictures, click here.
Chris and I took Boston and Hudson to the Discovery Museum on Tuesday for some fun. It's one of our favorite places as you can see.

On Thursday, Chris and I GOT TO GO ON A DATE WITHOUT KIDS! Aunt Emily offered her babysitting services and also gave us tickets to see a play at the Hale Center Theatre. We saw "Cash on Demand" which was a very funny comedy. Aunt Emily not only survived, but she had Caden in bed on time, Hudson asleep and Boston happily occupied! Thanks a ton!

On Friday, while Chris was working in the woodshop, Caden built a tree swing all by himself. He asked Chris to cut a rope, then climbed in the tree, looped in over a branch, climbed down, and tied each end to a stick he found in the woodpile. Pretty clever!

On Saturday, we went to watch Caden play Basketball (and Daddy coach). The boys are so fun to watch and Caden made a basket! He is so good at defense and dribbling too.

Boston's cardiology follow-up

Bosty went to the doctor today for a follow up on his heart. He did sooooo good. He let the doctors do everything they needed and didn't cry or anything. They were going to do his echocardiogram in a couple weeks with full sedation, but he was cooperating so well today that they did it today with no sedation at all. So after 2/1/2 hours of testing, we got the OK to go 2 years between appointments now and he has no restrictions on activity or anything. We feel so blessed! So, I asked Bosty what he wanted for lunch since he was so good and he said a sammich. I asked what kind of sandwich and he said a chocate sammich. A boy after my own heart. A CHOCOLATE SANDWICH! He settled for a cheeseburger kids meal with a chocolate frosty (which he ate first-because he knew he could today).

It's good to be his mommy

I think Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he made Bosty so stinkin' cute! Boston knows how to push all my buttons and is a little pistol, but he never fails to melt my heart with his sweet words. Recently, on a number of occasions, he'll be watching a cartoon or movie and the character will be in some situation that is sad. Maybe he's crying or hungry or scared. And Boston will sympathize with the character and then tell one of us "He needs my mommy." It may be followed by something such as "He's hungry. He needs my mommy to make him sammich (sandwich)." or "He's crying. He needs my mommy hold you me gorilla." That would be if the gorilla was sad and needed me to hold him. It's good to know that he thinks I hold the world up and make everything better, when sometimes I feel so inadequate. And he doesn't just say that they need any ol' mom, but they need his mommy. There is nothing to compare to the love of a child. I am madly in love with my boys (all four of them).

Happy day

Saturday was a good day. Ya know, one of those days when you finally get the kids in bed and you think, "I was a good mom today!" Occasionally I have one of those days squeezed somewhere between the "messy house, cereal for dinner, no time for reading books, boys still in pajamas, stinky from not showering, guilty mom" kind of days. So I thought I should definitely brag... oops I mean blog about it. While Chris took Caden to his guitar lesson (which I was able to barter music lessons for hair services-score one point for me!) I put Hudson in the baby-backpack carrier and did dishes (by hand) and cleaned the house. Meanwhile, Boston painted with watercolors at the table with plastic to keep it mess free (and he didn't even paint himself...for the first half hour). I played a cleaning music mix to help me work-Big thanks to Katie-I loved the mix! Then, when Chris got home, he offered to cook lunch. I never turn this offer down because it's usually pretty predictable. I know we will have either quesadillas, grilled cheese and ABC soup, or scrambled eggs with toast, or pancakes if he's really feeling crazy. Scrambled eggs and toast it was. But, as I started eating my eggs, they just didn't taste right. Not wanting to risk him never offering to cook again, I didn't complain. I thought, maybe I am just getting a cold and my tastebuds are all messed up. But halfway through the meal, Chris said,"So, can you taste my secret ingredient?" Caden blurts out, "Egg Nog!" Hmmm. Note to self: Monitor Chris when he cooks. Yeah, not so tasty. But I ate them anyway. Then we got all bundled up to take the boys sledding. Caden absolutely loved it! Boston, not so much. OK, he hated it. Chris took him down once and he cried. And cried. And then ate snow. And then cried some more because "he couldn't walk." That's his new thing. He gets all helpless on us when things aren't going his way. So I carried him to the van where Hudson was sleeping all cozy. And I liked it too, because by this point, the eggnog eggs were causing some stomach cramps. The sun was going down and most everyone had packed up their sleds and gone home. But not Caden and Chris. Not till the sun was completely gone. Because that's the beauty of having kids. You can sled for hours and noone thinks your crazy. Then we came home to a big pot of warm homemade vegitable soup. And it was GOOD! I mean "Shut my mouth, that sho is some good soup" good. Then we went to a Christmas party, so I dressed up. No, it wasn't a dressy one, but I was going out that's reason enough to dress up. The boys were on their best behavior. I'm not sure how I lucked out with that one. Then we went to target. OK that part sucked-it was a madhouse-so just forget that part of my day and I will too. Finally we went home and, inspired by Katie, I created a cleaning mix of my own so I can have another day like today. I liked it. I love my boys. I love being "mom" and "beautiful"(that's how Chris addresses me even on stinky, no shower days). It reminds me of a song "with all that I've done wrong I must have done something right to deserve their love everymorning and butterfly kisses at night" Now I'm just getting cheesy so it's time for bed. Night Night

.

Bubbles, eyedrops, and elves

I know you're wondering..."What in the world do those three things have in common?" So let me tell you. Laughter. I think that I may have the most hilarious boys in the entire world! I'm pretty sure that Heavenly Father gave them such wonderful senses of humor to balance out the chaos that they cause on a daily basis. It allows me to lighten up and laugh when sometimes I want to cry. You know, those times when I'm cleaning Boston's artwork off the fridge (literally off the fridge) only to hear music coming from the other room and realize that he's now sitting on top of the piano and playing tunes with his feet (Sorry grandma and grandpa Yeager! No permanent damage was done!). And then I find Caden's collection of swords on the kitchen table that he fashioned from my foils that I use to highlight hair. And this is usually topped off with at least one blowout a day from Hudson. And that's a mild day compared to some. So, like I said, it is with great love and planning that I was given funny boys and I'll share the laughter with you.
Elves- I picked Caden up from school the other day and a Christmas song was on the radio. He said "They should play this song at Christmas. Is Christmas soon?" I replied "yes, we should start thinking about what you want to put on your list for Santa. What do you want this year." Caden thought for a moment and said, "I think I just want one of his elves. Then I can just give him the materials and he can make me all the toys I want. And he can make all the presents for us to give to people and we won't have to buy them." I agree!
Bubbles- I was relaxing for a quick moment in the tub the other day when Boston comes toddling in, strips down, and hops in with me. A few minutes later, he makes a funny face and says "Oooh Gross...bubbles my butt" If you are any good at interpretting 2 yr old talk, you know where he was going with that. My relaxing was short lived and I hopped out and let him enjoy his "bubble bath" alone.
Eyedrops - Boston had a cold the other day that gave him a little eye infection, so we had to put drops in his eyes throughout the day. With a handy stash of Halloween candy, we bribed him to be a big boy and let us put the drops in and in return he got to pick a piece of candy each time. So, tonight we took the boys to the local rec club for an evening of swimming. There is a water play tower in the middle of the kids area that has wheels, slides, waterfalls, and all sorts of things. When we walked near it, water was really splashing in our faces, and Boston paused there, then suddenly got really excited as he exclaimed "Eyedrops, eyedrops-I get candy!"

Twinkle Twinkle Boston's a star!

Our family garden

This is our first year growing a garden. Check out that zucchini!

Two year old things

Boston really did love the chocolate pudding-we promise! He just isn't too into sharing, so don't ask. This is the response you'll probably get. Food is serious stuff with him. Having such an attitude is quite exhausting so Boston and Elmo decided to take a nap.

Boston and Caden wearing their new hats

Left: Such sweet brothers. If only they were always like that!

Below: Caden proudly sports his Boston Red Sox hat that his Aunt JaNae and Uncle Dan picked up in Boston where JaNae ran the Boston Marathon!
Left: Boston loves his England hat that Grandma and Grandpa Yeager sent him! It is a little big still, so his ears stick out, but we think it is adorable!

Boston's Cardiology check-up

Boston just went for his annual cardiology check-up this week and everything looks great. His EKG had the same reading as it did last year, which is excellent. That means that his heart is functioning just as well even though he has grown significantly. He will have another check-up next January where they will do an echocardiogram and if everything still looks good then, they will space his appointments out further. Needless to say, we are thrilled!