June 2009

Birthday Weekend

This past weekend, my husband surprised me by throwing me a surprise birthday party. Not only was I surprised by the party and everyone there, he also surprised me with a special guest... my mom. He had flown her out all the way from Missouri and she was the first person I saw when I opened the door to the party. I totally cried and for those of you who have it on video, I will track you down... :) Little Freeman picked out a princess birthday cake and we went swimming and ate pizza. The rest of the weekend we were able to hang out with my mom and sister and we had a great time. I can't wait until she comes back out in November!

Spying on Freeman

The other day it was a little stormy out, and this inflatable raft flew into our backyard. Well, this is Freeman's favorite thing to play with now. Over the past few months I have caught Freeman just sitting outside quietly looking around at his surroundings. He doesn't talk during this meditative time he just sits and looks around. So anyway, here he is in the inflatable raft enjoying a quiet afternoon.

(10 minutes later...)

I guess he had his new Diego sunglasses tucked away somewhere because he is now my stylish, quiet boy chillin out in the sun.

Happy 3rd Birthday Freeman!

This past weekend we celebrated Freeman's 3rd birthday! He was so excited to have a birthday party, and his requests were that he had balloons, cake, presents, and Diego tattoos. The kids made telescopes, made monkey noises, ran through an obstacle course to rescue an animal, and of course, swimming! We had a great time and Little Freeman enjoyed having all his guests come!

The kids making "Diego Telescopes" to help them find animals later.

Laurie and Gui

I found these three playing together away from the party.

Nathan, Pierce and Jackson

Nate enjoying the view of dad below

Little Freeman is a flirt!

Here he is cuddling with Camille and Ellah

Tohbi felt a little left out.

Here he is looking out from our bedroom at the party.

The Gould Family

Brian, Ellah, and Camille

(I think Camille was sad she didn't go swimming )

:)

Laif and Freeman

Freeman, Nick and Kelly


Time to blow out the Candle!

Freeman wanted blue icing and he loved his Diego candle!


Here are all the kids checking out Freeman's new toys

(I've never seen presents unwrapped so fast!)

Father Son Campout

Our Ward had their annual Father and Son Campout and it was the first time Dad Freeman and Freeman got to go. Little Freeman was excited the whole week and couldn't wait for sleeping in the tent and putting marshmallows in the fire. They went on a night hike to search for animals and Little Freeman was happy to report that they saw, "Deer Poop!" on their hikes. It was a muddy and rainy weekend, but that didn't stop my maucho boys, and they had a great time. I loved hearing their stories and that they had their "boy time." Little Freeman looks up to his dad sooooo much and I know that this trip made a great impression on him.

Little Freeman after roasting some marshmallows

Freeman holding a horny toad

Dad and Freeman were on a walk and Freeman suddenly crouched down and said to be quiet.

Freeman was so excited to finally use his new sleeping bag that Grandma Donna got for Christmas. He was so proud that he slept in it the whole night and "stayed on his side of the bed"

The Father's and Son's went on a long hike to look for animals. Daddy Freeman was so impressed that Freeman kept up. I guess it was a few miles.

Sitting on a fallen tree

Dad and Freeman enjoyed some 1 on 1 time with their own little hike in the woods.



Little Freeman (far right) and some friends at a Pioneer Village on the way home.

Making Bread with Mom

Our friend Megan made some very yummy homemade jam and of course we had to make some great homemade bread to go with it! This was the best activity to keep Little Freeman busy. He helped pour the ingredients that I measured out, and I gave him his own dough to knead. We had so much fun and of course made a mess. Little Freeman loves helping out in the kitchen and I truly think it's important to teach my kids (boys or girls) to cook/bake. Here are some fun pics of our time together.

Freeman showing me his floured hands

Here is my little baker. He thought it was so neat to wear an apron. (It helped a lot as you can tell)

This is after our long day. Tohbi has started to sleep with Little Freeman in his bed and I thought it was so sweet!

La Jolla May 2009

Renaissance Festival

For years I have been wanting to go back to the Renaissance Festival and last month Freeman surprised me with tickets that he had recieved from work! We had a fun time there and saw some funny shows and some funny people. I think our favorite character was the, "The Booger Fairy." He (or she... according to Nick ;) ) was painted green and had green goo in a cup that when you pressed down on it it made a lovely sound. It was funny because he/she would ask the kids in this weird voice, "Do you want to fart?" It was hilarious.

Uncle Nick was popping some wheelies with the stroller that the kids thought was so much fun. Here they are posing for the camera.

Freeman took Little Free on an elephant ride and they both loved it. Little Free couldn't stop smiling.

Here is Freeman and I!


Nathan and Freeman

Nathan

This post is all about Nate! He is our little goofball. He is always making us laugh and I love his personality. He is almost 17 months and I can't believe how fast it's gone. In a few months he won't be my baby anymore! Nate has been up to a lot the past few months. He has always been really quiet, but now he is just our little babbler. He has been interested in communication and all of the sudden is more into trying to talk and to sign. I love asking him what food he wants and he'll let you know by nodding or shaking his head. His first and favorite word was "Dadda" but now he is saying "Momma" a whole bunch more which I just love to hear.

Another thing that's new with Nate is that he loves to cuddle and read books! Ever since he was born he didn't not like to cuddle. He would never fall asleep on me, he would throw his body back if I tried to sit him in my lap, he just always was content to be near his brother or doing his own thing. Even when we would go to the Library, Nate was always the one walking around and actually trying to get the other mom's to read to him. Well, probably a few weeks ago, we went to the Library and he sat in my lap and stayed there! Ever since then he has to sit or cuddle with us for him to read a book. I just love it! Anyways, here are some great pictures, showing off our Nate!

This is Nate's before picture of his first haircut!

He was so excited and I couldn't believe that he sat so still.

Here is Nate's after picture of his hair cut. He was upset because I was, "All Done"

Okay, this was right after his haircut and all of the sudden he just turned into the hyper, daredevil kid. He loves this bike.

Okay, who does this remind you of???? I swear Daddy Freeman is doing this same move at work right now on his Bike.

Nate has discovered sitting!

He loves to climb in chairs and just sit. Here he is listening to our blog music.

Caught on Camera...

These pictures are dear to my heart because the last few months have been pretty interesting with Little Freeman getting along with his little Brother. So, lately they have these special moments where they are playing nicely and not taking toys away from each other, or pushing eachother around. Here are some great moments caught on camera.

Freeman was sitting in the chair reading a book and Nate climbed up and sat next to him. Freeman decided to become "teacher" and read Nate his book.

I love this picture of all my boys. Nate used to wander around during the bedtime story, but lately he loves to sit in our laps and have us read to him. Both of the boys love it when they have their time with dad.

Okay, this was the sweetest thing ever. I was making pancakes and Nate gets really impatient waiting for his food to be served to him, so I gave him some raisin bread to munch on to hold him over for awhile. He was still being whiny, and Little Freeman all of the sudden goes to the fridge and gets out pudding and a spoon. He opens it up and starts feeding it to Nate! He fed him the whole thing! I was so impressed with Little Freeman being aware of his brother's needs and just helping out. This is now Freeman's favorite thing to do.