Trip to Phoenix with Cory

Every 3 months I have to go to Phoenix with Cory for an evaluation, and since other children are asked not to join for the session, Cory and I get some good ol' one-on-one every three months. It has become something we really look forward to.

Here's us at the beginning of the day, all raring to go!

(I just love his expression!!!)

We met with Bob Doman (founder of the NACD) for this particular appointment, and he was impressed with the growth Cory has made, and had some helpful comments about how to deal with his "avoidance bahavior" which has been a significant problem over the past few months.

Yay for people who know about this stuff and share it with little moms like me.

We decided to make this trip extra special by going by the temple this time. Come to find out, it was only about 20 minutes away from where we have his appointment!!

Petrified wood...Cory thought it was AWESOME!

Cory is the iddy biddy dot at the end of the pool.

I gave Cory the camera to shoot pics of whatever he wanted to show Bryson. I won't post all of them (he really liked ALL the flowers), and he had some not-so-attractive shots of me walking away (ay!), but here's one he took of me, please ignore the piece of a finger at the top.




Me and one of my best buds ever!

Cory and I have a tradition of going to Subway when we go to his NACD appointments because there is a Subway really close to where we meet, well, this time since we went to the temple, we had to go searching for a Subway. I tried to offer him something else that was closer, but he was very insistant that we go to Subway because it was our special thing. I LOVE IT!

Cory was introduced to Bahama Bucks, and seemed to enjoy it....

A lot.

And the aftermath:

Crashing on the way home (no, not the car!). Don't mind the pic being a little off-center, I was driving 80 and trying to take a picture.

Thank you, mom, for making this trip with just Cory possible!

Cory's Guns!

So, Cory came up to and wanted to show me how he could lift one of his big toys above his head with one hand. I told him how impressed I was, and he asked if I wanted to see his muscles. Sure, why not. So, he says, "to see my muscles I have to take off my shirt", so he takes off his shirt and starts flexing for me. Of course I continue to be impressed, and tell him I think he'll be as strong as daddy when he grows up. Then I flex to show him my muscles. He pinches my "bicep" and says, "Mom, your muscle is kind of squishy." Thanks, Cory, but the real kicker was when he says, "It's because you're almost 70."

Gosh, I knew I was getting older, but 70?!?! That's just depressing.

Please pass the rolls...

So, if you've seen Father of the Bride II, you'll get this...

Dallin fell asleep at the counter yesterday while eating his burrito and reaching for another tortilla. It totally reminds me of Father of the Bride II where the dad ODs on sleeping pills and falls asleep while saying "Please pass the rolls..."

What a nut!

And he's totally the cutest tuckerd boy around.

You may notice some dark marks around his eyes...he got into my eyeliner today...AND knew where to put it. I think he's going to watch daddy shave this weekend.

Also, as you may know from a previous post, I have been trying to get Dallin to talk for the camera. He's learned several new words recently, and I wanted to show them off :) Well, finally got it, unfortunately the room he was in was in shambles, so if you can focus your attention on the cutie in the middle, I'd be obliged.

A Way Fun Couple of Days!

We've had such a fun couple of days. First of all, the kids have been sick for like three months straight, so just about ANYTHING would have been fun in comparison, but I got to reunite with some friends from high school this weekend, so it was ultra-fun. The above picture is of us gathered up in Tucson at a park with all our kids. I'm SOOOO grateful we didn't have to cancel because of sick kids!

On Thursday Sarah got into town and we met up for lunch at the Diner and then she came over to the house and spoiled all the kids rotten! Then we met Lisl and Franklin at the mall and had fun chit-chatting while the kids played, then of course we got ice cream. It's a bit of a shame that the kids were all a little tired and grumpy, so we had to cut our visit a little short, but it was still fun.

On Friday Sarah and I drove up together to Tucson and met with Kristi and Jess at the Reid Park. The kids had a lot of fun, and ran themselves out. Jess had to leave, so Kristi, Sarah, and I headed over to the mall to play and have ice cream. The kids slept soundly most of the way home. Ahhhh! Thanks to my wonderful in-laws, Sarah and I were able to have our girl's-night-out. (John had to unexpectedly work late, and we were so dissapointed that our plans might have to be cancelled, but in-laws to the rescue!) We went out to dinner (La Casita...mmmmm) and then shopping. What a fun couple of days.

Here's a little something from Auntie Sarah:

And here is Nella modeling her new girlie collar...

and bowls

John got a PS2 from a friend who was upgrading, so here is him teaching Cory how to game, and Dallin "helping". And yes, John had just gotten home from work, how can you tell?

Random videos of Dallin

Somehow I locked my camera about a year ago, and I have tried and tried to unlock the darn thing, but to no avail. I've read the manual, and I couldn't even find anything that said the camera locks to begin with. So, long story short, I haven't taken any videos in over a year! Well, a friend of mine came over the other day and helped me unlock the camera, so I can take videos again! YAY!!!

Here are some videos of little Dallin. He's so hilarious. He cracks us up constantly. I keep trying to get a video of him pointing to/saying "eye" "nose" "mouth" "cheek" "ear" and "head", but he gets way too distracted by the camera. Here's the best we've got so far:

Also, just a random comment, Dallin has started to enjoy taking off his pants. I don't get it, he just quietly hides in a closet or empty room, wiggles out of his pants, and then runs through the house, free as a bird, usually calling his little "I'm free" noises. None of my other boys did this, and I'm trying my best not to encourage this behavior by laughing, but how can I not?!?!

My boys!

I haven't added any pictures lately because I've been so busy with sick kids, but they are all doing MUCH better now, and I figured I'd better get to it!

To explain the above picture, I can NEVER get a good picture of the three of them, but I keep trying. This is about as good as it gets at this point. Kind of sad, but they're so cute, I love it. They all crawled up on the couch to watch a movie together.

Cory is going to be an engineer when he grows up, I swear! He designs these fantastically detailed structures out of blocks. Here is him with one of his newest designs. He really is talented. He spends hours working with his blocks.

And I think he's going through ANOTHER growth spurt.

Sunday afternoon snooze....

Bryson posing for a picture, or maybe just stretching....

When the kids were all sick, my dear mom came over and helped for a few hours. She helped get some dishes done (badly needed!!), and then entertained the kids so I could get a shower and clean their room. Here is her reading to a sick Brysie

Dallin is going through a growth spurt too, I think. He's just looked older to me the past few days. He is talking a lot more now. He wants to explain events in his life so badly, it's cute. He explains it over and over - with hand motions and everything - until he's sure you understand.

Here is him wandering the house looking for mischief.

Nella is transitioning into an outside dog. She often spends time with her nose pressed against the glass, and Dallin often comes and sits down "with" her, playing with her through the glass.

BATHTIME!!

I love baby bums!

Update on Bryson

So, a quick update on Bryson. I took him to the pediatrician today and finally got some answers about this terrible rash he's had for six days now. It's fifth disease, which is a viral infection that causes you to feel lousy, have a low-grade fever, and a rash. So, nothing serious, and I am feeling so relieved knowing what's going on.