3 Cute Characters

It is definitely time for an update!  I am horrible at keeping up with a blog, and adding a 3rd child hasn't helped.  Life with 3 kids is so much busier than I ever could have imagined.  We are still trying to figure out how to keep up with everything after more than 3 months!  Maybe by 6 months I'll have it down :)  Although it is busy I can't believe how blessed I am to have such delightful and adorable kids who bring a wonderful, special spirit to our home.  I just want to jot down a few things about each of them so I can remember this phase we are in.

Kaleb:

• His most favorite things right now are probably dinosaurs and certain animals.  He loves cheetahs, leopards, jaguars, peregrine falcons, sharks, wolves, and most of the animals featured on Wild Kratts, his favorite show. He loves learning and talking about different kinds of dinosaurs and their distinguishing features.  He can tell you the difference between a pachycephalosaurus, hadrosaurus, ankylosaurus, spinosaurus, and so many more.  I love reading and learning about dinosaurs right along with him.
• He wants to be a super hero when he grows up and asks me daily to feel his muscles :)
• He loves to sing, and really has a knack for remembering song lyrics.  His current favorite are the songs from Hercules and the "Be a Man" song from Mulan.
• He loves to build with KNEX and legos and I am really impressed by the cool designs he comes up with!
• He adores Isaiah and is so helpful with taking care of him.  Kaleb is actually super helpful with so much.  I can't imagine a kinder, more obedient and well mannered little boy.  He is so wonderful.
• He often tells me I'm pretty.  I think he likes that it clearly makes me so happy :)
• He is very quick to let someone know (politely) when he thinks they are wrong.  He generally has an opinion on things and doesn't hesitate to speak up.
• He changes his outfit several times a day, which drives me crazy some days because of the pile of barely worn clothes on his bedroom floor.  It is fun, though, that he wants to have a say in what he wears and he is very particular about what he'll put on.
• For some reason, he recently lost the ability to keep his eyes open while a picture is taken :) 

Aliyah

• Words cannot describe the delight that this little girl brings to our home.  Pretty much everything that comes out of her mouth brings a smile to my face...except for when she is throwing one of her major tantrums.  Her behavior is so hot and cold...either so happy and sweet and so excited about life, or screaming and being completely unreasonable.  Luckily the happy times are the way most days are spent.
• She has 3 favorite movies right now.  Her most favorite is Hercules and she asks to watch it at least once per day.  She loves to sing and dance to the songs.  Her other 2 favorites are Enchanted and Mary Poppins.  Bee Movie and Despicable Me are also definitely in the running. 
• She is a little ballerina princess, and she will tell you that with confidence.  She loves all things ballerina.  She loves to twirl and pose and wear her tutu.  There is a cute ballerina show that comes on once a week, so it is a special occasion when we watch Angelina Ballerina.
• Aliyah's favorite word is DowDow.  We don't know exactly what a DowDow is, but it seems to be the answer to many questions and the name for many things Aliyah creates :) 
• She loves reading and drawing and building with legos and playing at the park and swimming and all things girly.  I have so much fun doing her hair and painting her nails and talking about how we both love pink.
• She gets spooked easily, thanks to a book called "The Monster at the End of the Book," which really isn't a scary book at all.  Ever since we read that book though, she is often frightened by loud noises or when any of us raises our voice at all.
• Some of our favorite Aliyah phrases are, "That's not ok!" "Don't forget..." "I can't know" "Just nothing" "I would love to" "I probably can" "How about [enter anything here], is that a good idea?"  "That's so awesome!" "That's a bummer in the summer"  
• She thinks Isaiah is pretty neat, except for when I am feeding him.  She tells me pretty much every time I sit down to nurse him that she doesn't want me to feed him.  She is so sweet with him though, and always talks about how cute he is and that he has the same bum as Kaleb's.

Isaiah:

•  We call Isaiah our little tank, or chubbers because he is one big baby!  He is 3 months old and he already wears some 6-12 months clothes.  I think his chunkiness must contribute to his disposition, because he is generally such a calm, happy baby.  (Jonny might disagree with me on that)
• He has become a super roller!  This kid can seriously move.  I thought he wouldn't move around as much and as early because of his chubs but he is all over the place.  It makes us a little bit nervous because he ends up on his tummy during the night and during naps and we worry about him getting into a position where he can't breathe very well.
• Isaiah has a smile that just makes us melt.  He opens his mouth so wide and looks so happy and excited that he is about to burst.  He acts like he is going to coo or make some cute little baby sound, and all that comes out is a crack in his throat because he is just too excited to actually "talk."
• Isaiah is a momma's boy and I am telling you...he loves me so much.  I have felt from the day he was born that he somehow conveys so much love to me.  When I get home from work he hugs me with his tiny little arms and just seems so thoroughly happy to see me and it fills my heart with so much joy.  I get the same reaction every morning, and I just feel like he has missed me and is so thrilled that it is time to cuddle.
• He watches Kaleb and Aliyah so closely.  It is clear that he already thinks they are so neat and wants attention from them.  
• Unfortunately, he is a spitter upper.  We lucked out with Kaleb and Aliyah, but now we get to smell that sour odor and get drenched with it ourselves each day.  He also drools a lot, mainly on Jonny's arm.
• Isaiah is such a great sleeper, which I firmly believe is due to the fact that Heavenly Father knew I'd lose it if I didn't get enough sleep.  I am very grateful for the divine help :) Most nights he gives me at least an 8 hour stretch.  There are occasional nights when he'll wake up and want to eat, but he always goes right back to sleep. He is also a pretty good napper most days.
• A couple weeks ago we decided that Isaiah's hair was out of control.  There was so little on top, so much in back and pretty much none on the sides...so we buzzed it.  We were happy to find that he got even cuter with his new do.

We are having a fun summer here in Spokane.  June was beyond busy and we were basically in survivor mode for about 5 weeks.  Jonny finished up his class and I started a job working for Family School of Music, which has been a huge blessing for us.  I work 2 shifts each week, which gives me a chance to get out of the apartment and Jonny a chance to spend more time with the kids.  July is a nice change of pace and we are loving having a little more time to relax and just enjoy being a family.  Jonny has applied to transfer to a few schools, so we are waiting in limbo as we wonder where we will be spending the next 2 years.  We have recovered from a horrible morning about 2 weeks ago when we discovered that someone had shattered our van window and taken my purse.  This has definitely been a learning experience for us...and yes, I did wish we could just move back to our sweet Sugar City.  Maybe someday :)