Another Busy Month

I always feel our month isn't that busy until I look back at the pictures we took. I guess we were pretty busy in May as well.

I took the kids to the zoo again with some friends before the heat of the summer hit. May was a little cooler than normal, which we gladly welcomed.

BYU Football came to north Houston one day. Joseph and Ashton went up and had a blast. The lines to meet Coach Sitaki were really long so they skipped that. Joseph did say there was a contest for the first person named Tanner to get an autographed picture of Tanner Mangum. No one claimed it and we were bummed that Tanner was at home. He could have won something! In case you didn't know, Tanner's name was brought up during BYU Football season so we always joke about Tanner Mangum.

The next weekend, I took Ashton to Nasa Space Center with some friends. We knew Tanner wouldn't last the whole day there. Ashton loves pretending to be an astronaut with her best friend.

We went to the beach a few times and the kids loved it. Tanner took a while to warm up to the idea of the waves but once the first wave hit him, he was more than okay with it.

Entertaining Tanner at church is a big feat each week. Six more weeks until nursery. For now, Joseph takes him and Tanner finds his own version of entertainment.

Tanner has no fear of just wandering off. Good think we live in a cul-de-sac.

Still loves to fall asleep on me. And I don't mind one bit.

Our garden is going very well this summer. We've made lots of blackberry ice cream and been eating fresh blackberries for weeks now. Ashton loves picking them every day.

Tanner prefers to dump bubbles on the ground or drinking from the hose while we look at the garden.

Preschool ended in May. They did a Red, White, and Blue parade on their last day. Ashton keeps asking if summer is over so she can go back. Next fall, Tanner and Ashton will both go so I will have some time to work more for BYU-Idaho. Hooray! At home, she is now working on writing her letters better and learning lower case letters.

And she demands to dress herself most days.

Setting up chairs for primary after a baptism we went to.

 A nearby town hosted a "Touch-A-Truck" event that Ashton loved. We went with her best friend again and they had a blast exploring all the trucks.

 At the end of the month, our youth had a talent show and Ashton sang in it. She had no fear and I was very proud of her.

 We also had our annual church crawfish boil. Ashton tried one crawfish and liked it but now tells me they are spicy.

 I also ran a 5k Mud Run in north Houston with some friends. It was a fun race.

 Also, the annual video by Ashton for Mother's Day. Such a cute girl.

The Month of April

We started off April with General Conference. Ashton did pretty well listening to a few sessions. I had some key words to listen for and she would get a M&M. We had the young women over Saturday evening of that weekend to play volleyball and hang out. It was a great weekend. It was also the first weekend of the month so we headed to Home Depot to do some building.

The next weekend, I organized a church carnival as a family activity. It was a fun night and I enjoyed planning it all with the missionaries in our area. The next day, I took Ashton to the Houston Art Car parade. It was alright. There were over 250 cars and Ashton got bored about car #125. We hung out a little bit longer and drove home.

Face painting was one station of the carnival.

One of the cars in the parade.

One weekend was the migration celebration at the wildlife refuge. We missed it last year so I was excited to go this year. It was the same day as a Spanish branch beach activity and a birthday party so busy day for us. I wish we had more time to spend there but it was still fun. Ashton loved everything!

The last weekend of the month was Time Out For Women. I went with a group of about 20 women from Lake Jackson. We stayed overnight near the convention center and had a great girls weekend. The speakers were great and I enjoyed a weekend away.

The one picture that Joseph took from his weekend with the kids. Playing hide and seek at the park.

When I got back from TOFW, I took Ashton to the school play of Cinderella. It had two young women from church in it so I went to support them and see their play. Ashton LOVED it! She was smiling ear to ear the whole time. The best part was that she got to meet the cast including Cinderella and the queen. She keeps asking for more plays.

Cinderella wasn't enough for her. "What about Prince Charmin'? I need him too."

One of the young women from church. Ashton makes friends wherever she goes.

Another young woman. Ashton was so excited to see people she knew on the stage!

Another highlight this month is the splash pad opened! Hooray! Summer is coming!

 We also play at the park next to the splash pad. Tanner has yet to decide if he really enjoys the tire swing or not.

 

A wasp stung his ear. Poor guy looked like Dumbo for a few days. Benedryl was our friend.

Huntsville Campout

For the past 25-30 years, the wards in our area have organized a campout in Huntsville, Texas at the state park. This is about two hours north of us. This year, there were about 200 people there, which is great! It is always over Easter weekend as the schools and most jobs have Good Friday off.

We have wimped out the last few years as I couldn't imagine taking Ashton away from her crib for two nights. This year, I decided Ashton would do great but Tanner wouldn't. He didn't really sleep consistently through the night until about six weeks ago and even then, he still wakes up every so often. Unfortunately the only way to get him back to sleep is holding him for a few minutes and letting him cry for a little bit. I didn't want this to happen in a tent surrounded by dozens of families with other small kids. I could just imagine a domino effect of Tanner waking up the entire state park!

So we made the decision to test the waters this year by me taking Ashton and Joseph staying home with Tanner. It worked out well as Joe could get a lot of house projects done with us gone. Tanner is a pretty chill kid around the house.

Ashton couldn't wait to go camping! She was most excited about fishing. Overall, it was a fun few days with her. She slept great in our tent and I was pleased about that. We went swimming in the lake, biking, hiking, paddle-boating, canoeing, fishing, and played with all our friends.

So glad we brought the bike trailer. It made it much easier to carry our stuff everywhere.

Swimming in the cold lake. She made it to the raft/dock but didn't want to jump off.

So happy in our tent.

We got an Anna and Elsa fishing pole. It came with a purple plastic fish to use as pretend bait. Ashton thought she caught a purple fish every time. Maybe next time, we'll buy bait to use.

The scouts put up a rope bridge every year as well. Ashton loved it but made sure to wear her helmet to protect her head. This girl loves her helmet.

Naptime!

Always up for a game of Alphabet Go Fish

They do an Easter Egg hunt as well on Saturday.

Next year, we hope the whole family can go. Joe has a turnaround scheduled in the springtime so we'll have to wait and see on that.

Tanner is 15 months old

Weight: 27 lbs! This kid is huge!
Height: 32 inches tall

Still about 75-90th percentile for height and weight.

Comparatively, Ashton was 23 pounds and 32 inches at 15 months. Tanner has slowed down immensely in weight so I'm guessing a growth spurt in height is coming our way. Their head circumference is about the same as well.

Typical Schedule:
Wake up about 7/7:30 as this is the only way to squeeze in two naps.
Breakfast is almost always a piece of toast with peanut butter and half a banana plus some milk.
Depending on the day, we drop sister off at preschool or head to the rec center.
10ish-11:30 is his morning nap.
11:30-1 We use this time to run errands, pick up Ashton on preschool days, head to the park, etc.
1 is Lunch Time! He really likes grilled cheese or noodles (mac-n-cheese). Tanner isn't a huge fan of cold sandwiches yet. He also likes tacos and chili if I have leftovers of that.
We play around outside until about 2:30 and then it is nap time for the kids. He sleeps until 4-5pm.
The evening is spent playing outside, going running with the kids (we're doing a family 5K this summer so I need to prep the kids to last the whole time in the bike trailer!).
Bedtime is between 8:30 and 9pm. I do look forward to dropping the morning nap so he has an earlier bedtime but for now it works.

Vocabulary: Tanner doesn't talk nearly as much as Ashton did at this age. I miss that. He says Mama, Dada, and milk. He is always babbling so I keep hoping more words are coming soon. He definitely understands commands so that is nice.

Movement: Tanner never stops moving! It is a good Sunday if we make it through the sacrament at church before taking him out. I thought Ashton was active at this age but Tanner has her beat. He is always trying to climb and push chairs around the house to get to what he wants. I'm surprised he hasn't cut his head open yet. His favorite movements lately are to walk backwards and spin around in circles.

Favorite food: spaghetti, noodles, pizza, milk, and yogurt covered raisins.

Likes: Trains/Cars/Trucks, his Thomas the Train remote control train, puzzles, anything Ashton is playing with, swinging, straw cups, milk, playing outside, opening and closing doors, climbing up any surface, flip books, and swimming

Dislikes: Spinning on the tire swing, Ashton taking toys away, waiting for anything, and sitting still.

Climbs everything in sight!

Has gotten pretty good at riding the little tricycle around. Normally he propels himself backwards.

Attempt at a nice picture but he wouldn't sit still long enough.

March Madness

We had a great time in March! Here's the highlights of the month.

We started off the month with going to the Houston Zoo day with friends. We had a giant group, which was fun! Everyone corralled the kids along.

 The local library had a Dr. Seuss party one Saturday. I took Ashton and she had a blast.

That same day, I hosted a baby shower for a sister from church. I love planning events/parties and this was no different.

Tanner got a terrible 24 hour stomach bug the same day. He spent most of the day/night throwing up and sleeping. He even fell asleep on the floor once. Poor little boy. I became a little nervous about dehydration as he had gone about 18 hours with no wet diapers and wouldn't keep any fluids down. But right when I was about to take him in, he finally had a wet diaper. Hooray! Always like to avoid an ER visit, especially since we'd have to go to Houston for it.

One week was the school district's spring break, which means Ashton had no preschool that week. Joseph accompanied the scouts on a long campout that week as well. While he was gone, we went to the beach and the zoo again.

We finished up some house projects. One date night, we had the sitter take the kids to the park so we could finish painting the back of our house. Such a fancy date! We also built garden boxes with chicken wire around our garden beds to keep the kids out of them.

We found bluebonnets on a bike ride so I had to take the traditional Texan picture with the kids. They were less than enthused.

 We've been doing some training with River and Ashton loves doing it with her. We're teaching her to spin, bow, and shake paws.

My semester at BYU-Idaho is wrapping up. Just one more week of classes and then a week of grading final exams. I received a spring semester teaching contract, which means I have been teaching non-stop since Sept. 2015. I hope to get the summer term off but we'll see what happens. I enjoy the class and teaching helps me find a balance between my desire to work and my desire to be home with my kids.