Abby, What do you THINK you are Doing?

This evening Benjamin began shouting, “Dad come here, quick! Abby is getting in trouble!” My immediate thought is: “What is she into now???” Well, this is a new one.

Play Ball!

The day has finally arrived – Benjamin’s first baseball game! He has been waiting for this day “forever”, according to him. The first thing this morning he asked what time we were going to leave and by noon he said “this is the longest day ever!”

Last Saturday he received his uniform and so far he has managed to put it on at some point during day. One would think it was a Halloween costume.

Not only was this a new experience for him but the whole family as well. We quickly learned that there were no innings, no outs, no strikes, nor foul balls (after so many tries). The pitcher and catcher were the coaches and when all was said and done; each kid got an opportunity to hit the ball and run the bases twice.

We also learned that everyone was a winner!

I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag…

Today our family had the honor of attending a citizenship ceremony. It was truly amazing to be invited to this special day. There were almost 200 new citizens that took the oath in our great state. The Judge stated that these citizens comprised of almost 60 differently countries. I was in awe to see the culture, diversity, and experience represented. I then began to ponder the many other states that were holding similar ceremonies; wondering how many new citizens that would take the oath. I then found out that this event is held monthly and I began crunching the numbers in my mind…

I began questioning myself – if I really understood what it is to be an American? The blessings that come from being a citizen and what it truly means to be free. The Judge allowed about 20 to 25 of the new citizens to express their thoughts and feelings on knowing that they were now legal citizens of the United States. There were many expressions of gratitude, honor, pride, relief, and love spoken. I was humbled by their comments of sacrifice and suffering.

So today, when I said the pledge of allegiance – it had a whole new meaning to me. I am proud to be an American! I love this country and the freedoms that are allotted to me.

Thank you N for inviting us, we are so excited and proud of you!

Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail!

Happy Easter to all! We hope that everyone enjoyed their holiday with friends and family – we sure did!

On Saturday we attended the Herriman Easter Egg Hunt! It was cold and the clouds were threatening to rain – but it didn’t!

We were excited as this was Abby’s first experience. Early that morning, Mitzi and I practiced with Abby picking up the candy and putting it in her bag. She caught on quickly and we both thought, she’s got it!

We arrived a few moments early as in the past years the hunt started 5 minutes before the scheduled time. Apparently there were enough parental complaints last year as the event this year was very well organized and the hunt started about 5 minutes after the hour allowing straggling parents and children to get into their assigned areas.

As we stood in the cold an extra 10 minutes more than we had planned, now totaling 20 minutes, Abby decided she was done before the fire engine sounded the alarm. She began to cry when we tried to put her down.

Benjamin was a trouper – his hands were cold, but his mind was busy mapping out where we was going to go.


This morning, Benjamin woke up bright and early – very unusual for him. He came into our room, what a great kid, and laid in our bed. After successfully waking us up, he said he needed to check on Abby. We allowed him to confirm that Abby was asleep and heard him saying, “Abby wake up, the Easter Bunny came!” Mitzi and I struggled to hold back our laughter as we began spying on him to see what he was doing. He was right, the Easter Bunny came.

Oh Sooo Pretty!

Today was the day, the day Mitzi said: “We are going to get Abby’s haircut!” Abby received her first haircut today. She did well considering it was her first; and well, it’s Abby. This moment took me back to Benjamin’s first haircut. He quietly sat in the booster chair, head down with a scowl. It took only a few moments and he was done with a big grin on his face because he got a sucker. He loves getting his suckers, I mean haircuts.

With Abby, we knew this experience was going to be different. Maybe we jinxed her and ourselves. She started out with a sucker and on Mitzi’s lap. She had to be repositioned about 10 times, another sucker was given and then a comb for the other hand. Ending up with a sucker in her mouth, a sucker in her hand, and a comb in the other while we all continued to tell her how pretty she was. For the most part, it worked.

Of course we took a picture of the event.

“There singing time and dancing time and laughing time and playing time and now it is our favorite time it’s SIGNING TIME!”

Those of you who have had children under the age of 2 understand that at times you wish to communicate with your child more effectively. While watching my two children go through this non-talking stage, I have often wondered what they are thinking or what they really want instead of trying everything in the diaper bag. I have seen many parents go through this same ordeal and our family has found a solution that has worked for us. It’s Signing Time

Mitzi and I began signing with Benjamin when he was about 6 to 8 months old. By the time he was 10 months old he could sign milk and more. We saw much success over the next couple of months and by the time he was two, just learning to talk, he could sign over 250 words. These signs ranged from colors, family members, foods, animals, and everyday language.

We are now starting to see the same success with Abby. At 15 months old she can sign: milk, more, want, water, bath, cold, hot, cat, dog, sheep, book, ball, tired, blanket, hat and her favorite - EAT! (I am sure I am missing one or two.) It has been a bonding experience to know what she is thinking/wanting and being able to respond and communicate back with her.

Apparently scientific studies suggest that “typical” children who learn sign have higher IQ scores, are better adjusted and read at an earlier age. Now we have not tested either of our children nor have pushed for any of these things as our primary desire has been to communicate with our children at a very young age.

Mitzi and I did observed that with Benjamin’s ability to communicate earlier in life, he never really when through the “terrible twos” as he was able to sign instead of throwing a tantrum. Now I know Benjamin is an exception as he is a very easy child, but we are hoping for the same with Abigail.

I know that each of us as parents have found something wonderful that has helped out our families and the development of our children – please share, I would love to hear what has worked for you!

They grow up sooo fast!

For the last two months Abby has been toying with the whole walking bit. She, like Benjamin, has been an amazing crawler – if not faster and a little better. Benjamin did not walk until 15 months old as we discouraged it. Every time either of them has toyed with standing and walking we tried to hold them off as long as possible. Benjamin never had any interest; Abby on the other hand has had a lot more however she has preferred crawling due to her speed on her knees. Well Mitzi and I now believe tonight was Abby’s turning point – she has seen the advantages of walking over crawling. All night she walked and of course she received a ton of praise. She then began to “show off” and now I think she’s hooked. Of course we had to take some pictures – hope you enjoy!

Woo, That was close!

Did you see that one?

Still Walking