Kristy's Cuties

Dec. 10--We went to the bank to cash a check.  After taking our cash, we slipped a candy bar and a note in the vacuum tube and sent it back to the teller.  Then we drove off before she could respond!

Dec. 11--We bought a dozen pink roses (and a couple of candy bars, for the men) and presented a rose to each librarian at our local library, wishing her a Merry Christmas and thanking her for taking care of our library needs.  Librarians are the forgotten service workers.  Everyone thanks the mailman, the teachers, the firefighters and police, but librarians just don't get noticed.  They were all women that night, and they were thrilled and surprised at the token of appreciation.  One lady said, "It makes public service worthwhile!"  Their smiles couldn't have been broader.  How could they help it when two cute little boys gave them flowers??  This RAOK is right up there with the garbage man.

Dec. 12--We went to Walmart, bought 10 balloons, and handed them out to children as they walked out of the store.  The parents were quite skeptical, which is understandable, now that I think of it.  There's usually a catch somewhere when someone offers you something "for free."  But a couple of moms were very pleased and made my little givers feel good.  Spencer kept warning Carson to "hold on tight," so the balloons wouldn't get away.  Then Spencer lost one up in the rafters!

Dec. 13--Wrote Christmas cards to the workmen who have been finishing the kids' new bedrooms downstairs.  One guy has a cute little dog who waits patiently in the back of his truck while he's working all day.  He showed us some tricks he can do.  His name is Junior, and he climbs 40- foot ladders!  Unbeknownst to us, he has been on the highest peak of our roof!  He could play fetch all day long with his little yellow football.  The kids loved him, so we got some doggy treats just for Junior, too.  We haven't delivered them yet. 

 Dec. 14--We decorated a neighbor's door with a bag of M&M's and positive adjectives that begin with "M."  Here is a picture of our messages:

It's probably hard to read, but it says, "Merry Christmas ______!!  You are... Mindful and Meritorious, Magnificent and Magnanimous, Marvelous and Much-Appreciated, Multi-talented and a-Mazing."  When I drive by their house, I see they have removed the package of M&M's, but left the signs in place.

Dec. 15--We dug into our wallets, and came up with some change.  Then we drove around town and put some money in all the Salvation Army buckets we could find.  At Walmart, there was a bell-ringer at both doors, so they ran from one to the other.  The second bell-ringer guessed what we were doing gave me a knowing smile.

Dec. 16--We wrote Christmas cards to the managers of the kids' favorite restaurants.  Spencer chose a local pizza place and said he loved their pizza and they are #1!  Carson wrote to our local burger joint.  He wrote, "Your restaurant is my favorite because ....   I like your cheeseburgers and corn dogs.  I like your chocolate milk.  From Carson   P.S.  Merry Christmas!!"  Then he drew a picture of Santa's bag and a stocking.  I hope people enjoy the effort that goes into our messages!

I ran across an idea on Pinterest (if you don't know what this is, you should--it's amazing!) of how to help your kids focus on others instead of themselves at Christmas time.  It sounded really fun and worthwhile, and since I knew they'd be out of school from Thanksgiving to January, I decided we would have plenty of time to give it a try.

Basically, it was a list of Random Acts of Kindness that we can do together, one for each day of December.  I thought it might be fun to blog about it too!

Dec. 1--I introduced the idea and the kids thought it sounded like fun.  I gave three $1 bills to each boy, which they slipped into three of their favorite books at the library, along with a note that read, "If you are lucky enough to find our surprise, Merry Christmas!  This is one of our favorite books.  We hope you enjoy it.  Love, Some Christmas Elves".  This was super exciting!  They tried very hard not to let anyone see what they were doing.  So sneaky!

Dec. 2--Wrote notes to friends.  They are men of few words.  Carson wrote, "What do you want for Christmas?"  That was it.  Spencer had to keep adding P.S. and P.P.S. because I told him he hadn't said enough.  Even then it was brief and to-the-point.  Oh well.  Hopefully eloquence will develop with age.

Dec. 3--After our family night, we got in the car and went to the grocery store to buy a much-needed gallon of milk.  As we got to the checkout, I made Spencer ask the clerk what her favorite candy bar was.  We fumbled around a bit, trying to locate a regular Snickers, paid for it, and wished her a Merry Christmas.  She seemed pleased, though not as surprised as I expected.  Maybe it was all the fumbling and conspiratorial whispering that clued her in.  Anyway, the boys enjoyed it and Spencer got out of his comfort zone a little bit. 

Dec. 4--Carson went to a birthday party at the skating rink/fun center.  We took him to the party, and then Spencer went into the boys' bathroom and left a large candy bar attached to a sign thanking the person who cleans the bathroom.  Hopefully some naughty child didn't just steal the candy.

Dec. 5--We left a treat and a note for our garbage man... 

Andy and I were worried that he wouldn't see it or he wouldn't read it, assuming it was trash, but all was well.  When I heard the truck come up the street, I was making beds and the kids were outside getting in the car for swimming lessons.  We all watched anxiously to see if the gift would be received.  He was just about to lower the big claw when he stopped, looked, opened the door, and pulled the sign off the trash can.  A BIG smile spread across his face and he looked around to figure out which of the several children outside had made the sign.  The givers were actually spying from the garage.  The garbage man grinned again, waved, and drove off.  I'm sure it made his day.  This is my favorite RAOK so far!

Dec. 6--Last day of swimming lessons.  Each boy taped some quarters to the vending machine just outside the pool, along with a note reading, "This snack's on us!  Merry Christmas!  From, A Christmas Elf."  To be quite honest, I was shocked at the cost of the snacks!  Gone are the days of the 50 cent candy bar.  You can't get anything for less than $1!  Oh well, maybe some hungry person will be glad for the help.

Dec. 7--Held the doors open for patrons of Wendy's.  Some young guys were rather surprised when Spencer wished them a Merry Christmas as they walked in, and they said, "Merry Christmas to you too, little buddy!"  Some high school girls commented, "How cute!" when Carson greeted them. 

Dec. 8--Paid a surprise visit to Grandma and Grandpa in Provo by riding the new high-speed train.  Getting there was no big deal, but getting home was a whole other story.  They waited for an hour and half, standing in the aisle of a bus, just to get on the train to go home.  After that, it was another hour and half on the train, and then a few minutes to drive back home!  They seemed cheerful and upbeat about the whole thing.

Dec. 9--Wrote Christmas cards.  Again, not a lot of wordiness, but it was sufficient.

I'll keep you updated on the coming week's activities!

One day when the kids were out of school (was it October??), I took them to the local nature center.  I remembered going there as a kid, so I thought they should experience it too. 

I remembered Chitters the owl and what do you know?  He's STILL there!!  We found out he is now 35 years old (yes, the same age as me).  Most owls live about 15 years in the wild, but he has had such a stable and safe home that he is still kickin'! 

Isn't this beautiful??  We walked along the wooded trails and the boys enjoyed finding interesting sticks and leaves. 

They also had fun pretending to be frightening creatures in the shadows!


Then there was the treehouse.  Little boys' paradise!  They could have had fun there for many hours.  We'll just have to go back sometime!

Here's Parker watching TV with his daddy. 

And snuggling with Uncle Mike on Thanksgiving Day. 

I like watching Spencer feed Parker.  I was trying to capture him opening his mouth while putting the spoon in Parker's mouth, but they were finished before I got a good shot. 

Everyone was excited when we put out our lighted deer and sleigh in the front yard!

The big brothers were wearing hats one night, so Parker had to have one too!  Spencer told me that the other day he walked into Parker's room and Parker said, "Geevenfoof!"  He asked, "What's Geevenfoof?"  Parker just pointed at Spencer, so we assume that's his new nickname.  If only I'd thought of Geevenfoof when Spencer was born!

"Aw!  These shoes stink just like Spencer's feet!  I love them!"

Carson has recently discovered a new talent...puzzles!  He is crazy about puzzles and he's really good at them.  He quickly got tired of all our 24-piece puzzles that are meant for children his age.  So now he's doing 100-piece ones!  It's fun to watch him because you can almost see the cogs turning in his little brain.  Spencer has never enjoyed puzzles because he lacks the patience for it, but Carson thrives on such a methodical activity. 

Aw...Sundays really wear him out!  At this very moment, he is snoring rather loudly on the bed.  I sneaked in with the video camera.  Now I have solid proof that he snores!

Andy has asked me repeatedly if he could have a bow tie.  I just didn't think it would look very good unless he was attending a formal event.  So he borrowed one from a boy at church one day and took a picture to prove how debonair he looked.  I'm still considering....

Yes, this is from Halloween.   Andy told the kids that if he had to carve the pumpkin, they had to clean it out.

Poor Carson had a hard time.  I thought one handful was enough, but Andy insisted he do more!  The poor boy had already helped clean out a pumpkin at school, and his teacher said he did it willingly enough, but turned his head and gagged audibly a couple of times.

Parker was a little dragon for Halloween!  I took him around to see some of our friends in the neighborhood. He's a pretty popular guy, especially with women. They always comment on his squishable cheeks.

Dakota loves to have someone sit with her.  She follows me around the house all day and literally sticks her nose into whatever I'm doing.  She loves her toys too.  She's started bringing them into the house sometimes, which I'm not in favor of, but it's cute that she loves them so.  Her favorites are the squeaky ones, but I think she has loved the squeak out of all of them.  Maybe Santa can help....
 
Spencer is learning to type.  He's pretty good at it, especially for a third grader.  I didn't learn until 8th grade.  Already his education is so much different from mine!  Anyway, I liked his comfy little set-up here.

Parker loves to watch shows with Carson.  They were watching Sesame Street on this day.  He giggles and dances when they sing.  Then when it's over, Carson turns it off, and Parker wails with despair. 

You may have heard of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."  At our house, we have Invasion of the Food Snatchers.  I went out with Carson to catch his ride to school yesterday, and when I returned to make my lunch, the plate that had previously been full of roast beef was quite empty!  The plate itself was right where I had left it and all the other food was undisturbed.  I turned around and saw these brown eyes watching me, guilty as sin!  She was uninterested in her doggy kibbles that afternoon.  Hmmm, I wonder why....

She really likes Honey Nut Cheerios.  She hangs out by Parker in the mornings because she knows he'll start tossing her Cheerios.  He throws them over the edge of the high chair and immediately shakes his head "no-no."  (He's aware of the rules, he just chooses not to obey them.)  Dakota snaps the cereal in midair and Parker giggles like crazy. 

Dakota loves her family.  She always goes in the bathroom and rubs against Andy's towel.  I've even noticed her rubbing up against the kids bath mat when the shower curtain isn't in the way.

One day she stood at the window, growling and barking in her scariest tone.  I saw an animal control truck across the street.  Apparently the neighbors had found a stray dog and called the county to come and get it.  Dakota has never had any contact with animal control, though, and I can't figure out how she knew who they were and that she didn't like them.

Parker is a delightful little rascal.  He is busy getting into mischief all day and he gets really mad when we stop him.  He wants to be deeply involved in whatever his brothers are doing, whether they like it or not.  He recently taught himself to play the kazoo.  (If I can figure out how to post a video, I'll put it on here.)  He also enjoys playing an impromptu duet when Spencer is trying to practice the piano.  He loves to go for wagon rides, especially when Dakota comes along.
 
He loves his baby swing and giggles a lot. 

This was Spencer's birthday party at the pool.  Parker looked super cute in his little baby Speedo.


Enjoying the outdoors at Carson's soccer game.

 One day while the kids were out of school, I took them to a trampoline park.  It was pretty amazing!  Basically, it's a huge room with multiple trampolines hooked together so the kids can jump from one to another.  They have an area for basketball and dodgeball.  The boys' favorite part was the foam pits.  They bounce down a long tramp and jump into a pit of foam cubes. 

Spencer is becoming a good swimmer!  I am delighted with his progress.  I've scheduled them for more lessons while they're out of school in a couple of weeks.

Geronimo!!

He actually enjoys jumping off the diving board and going down the big slide.  This is amazing for any child of mine!

Carson isn't as brave yet, but hopefully with more time and practice, he'll get there.  Right now he just needs to get his face in the water!

The kids have been out of school for the last three weeks, so things have been busy here.  Let me tell you a little about it....

Well, okay, they're not ALWAYS busy!  Sometimes we relax enough that someone takes an impromptu nap.

Carson started asking about soccer a couple of months ago.  I thought it was just a passing fancy and he would soon forget about it.  Nope, he kept after me until I signed him up.  We are not athletes in this family.  None of us are very coordinated.  Carson spent the first couple of practices admiring his new uniform and shoes.  He still runs with his elbows out--lots of movement, not so much efficiency.  But that's okay.  He got some good exercise and obeyed the "Stingers'" number one rule:  have fun!

He spent a fair amount of game time hanging back with his pal, Maddie.  I have no idea what they talked about (thought I'd love to).  They just seemed to stick together a lot.

See what I mean??

Whew!  A thirsty little athlete.  The post-game snacks were a big bonus too.  Spencer was Carson's personal cheerleader.  He found a couple of friends at the soccer field and made a sign that said "Go Stingers  #6 Carson Sherman!  Run!"  He would hold the sign up and run from one end of the field to the other, cheering all the way. 
Spencer is just a funny, funny kid.  I don't know what he was doing dressed up like this, but it sure made me laugh, especially the look on his face!

Spencer is quite the little entrepreneur.  He began his own business called "Jobs Around the House."  Here is the advertisement:  "We can (1) Take out the trash for 10 cents (2) Clean the baseboards for $3 (3) Dust the house for $2.  Thank you!  Open Friday at 4:30 and Saturday 10:00 to 2:00 or call us at..."  My mom called that day and he picked up the phone and in his most professional voice greeted her "Jobs Around the House, this is Spencer."  Since he's been out of school he hasn't done much business though.  He's too busy playing! 

Once again, Parker is not easy to read with.  He was sitting there playing with Spencer's hair, but as soon as I tried to take a picture he decided to try and roll off the couch--yikes!

I've been a terrible blogger lately. A brief update on Parker: He LOVES puppies! He started making high-pitched meowing sounds at every animal he saw, so I tried to teach him to bark like a dog. Now he says, "Arf! Arf!" We had a little stuffed puppy that my grandma gave Spencer. Neither of the other kids showed much interest in it, but I got it out for Parker and he gave it lots of wet, open-mouthed kisses on the nose and hugged it to his chest. He gets excited about pictures of dogs and of course, he loves Dakota and laughs at her all the time.

He holds his play phone on the back of his neck and says, "Ha-wo!" He learned the word "ball" shortly before I got a bushel of peaches to can. He discovered the peaches and said, "Ball!" again and again as he tossed them across the floor. (I stopped him before he bruised more than 4 or 5!)


This was at a restaurant called Kneaders. They have delicious sandwiches, soups, and salads. And Parker thoroughly enjoyed the raspberry cream cheese pie!

Perfectly pink, round baby cheeks are the best!

His brothers got a real hee-haw putting these glasses on him!

Too many boys in the tub again! Parker didn't want to be left out, so he went in and started throwing stuff in the water.

It's complicated to try to read with Parker. He wants to be too involved in the story!

He's very short!

I just overheard the following exchange:

Carson: Hey Spencer, see this painting I did?

Spencer: Oh, hmm.

Carson: Are you amazed or anything??

I don't know if "amazed" would be the best word to describe Spencer's reaction, but that's what Carson was hoping for! I think everyone has experienced this situation. You're so proud of some accomplishment and you finally share your news with a special someone and they just don't react as strongly as you hoped. So you want to grab them by the shoulders and ask, "Are you amazed or anything??" Oh well.

It's that time of year... already! The boys started school July 25. Spencer is now in third grade and so far he's he's having a good time. He finally lost his other front tooth, so now he has the typical vacancy in his smile. (I'll have to get a picture of that to put on here too.) He was in P.E. class when he decided to just pull it out. He keeps losing teeth and Parker keeps growing them--eventually they'll have the same number, right?

He says his teacher is funny because she does math problems backwards (gotta ask about that at parent-teacher conference)! She seems like a really cute lady.

Carson is in Kindergarten and he LOVES it!! It's fun to see him come running behind Spencer at the end of the day, pulling his little backpack and looking very scholarly and busy. He's been doing a lot more paperwork at home too. I separated his "school clothes" from his "play clothes" and he is very good about changing as soon as he gets home.

One day Andy made some (jokingly) chauvinistic remark and Carson piped up, "That's what men do!" How will I ever survive this house of boys?!

Aww, I love sleeping babies! When the kids are at school, Parker and I are free to play, play, play! I like taking him out and about, but it's getting embarrassing. He's started pointing at people and laughing, "HAHAHA!" I worry about this child. He may be the troublemaker. His latest tricks include: folding his arms for prayer and "bowing" his head (touching his cheek to his shoulder), making animal sounds which all sound the same (a soft, high-pitched "Ahhhh!"), and pretend eating (I think I mentioned that in an earlier post). Oh, and he also loves a game of peek-a-boo, even though his hands don't often land over his eyes.

Spencer was eating Pop Rocks tonight and of course, several of them fell on the floor. Dakota started licking them up and I could hear the little crackly sounds in her mouth! She has become such a good doggy, there really aren't any stories to tell about her. Well, except for the day she snatched a waffle off the counter top. That was a huge no-no! She likes to sleep in our room at night now, which is fine except for when she's dreaming. She must be chasing cats or something because she twitches a lot and makes little throat sounds. Silly puppy!