Kids

3 kids is getting easier as Stockton gets older. They are my life and I am forever grateful that they are mine. I love being their mama and taking care of them. 

Our kids love playing with our next door neighbor, Dallas. They ask to play at his house every day. I'm not sure what makes his house so cool but they love it there. If he is in his backyard they will stand on our cozy coupe car to peek over the fence and talk with him (and also invite themselves over to play with him). His parents are our good friends so they are great with my kids pestering them all the time.

Doesn't this picture just melt your heart?!? Holding hands while we drive. This was Hallie's idea but Brooks and Stockton were all for it. So cute!

 

Brooks

I'm not sure if I have posted this yet but Brooks finally poops in the toilet! One day he said, "Dad, I gonna go poop in the toilet." And Russ said, "Do it!" And he actually did it and has been doing it ever since. He also doesn't need diapers at night anymore. Yay!! No more diapers for this kid! He also goes to primary all by himself. He chooses to sit with our good friends, Brielle or Dani, who are in the primary presidency instead of his class but that's okay. I'll take the progress. 

Snuggling with his hero

His best friend is probably our next door neighbor, Dallas. He is a year younger then Brooks but they love playing with each other. 

Pool Party

We are lucky that Lauren and Drew have a pool in their backyard. They invited the whole Ahlberg family over for a pool party tonight. Hallie is a great swimmer, loves it and will swim for hours without problem. Brooks is terrified of the water and doesn't enjoy it at all. We have swim lessons coming up real soon and I'm nervous about how those will go for him. Stockton also wasn't too fond of the water. Haha!

Spanish Program

Hallie had her end of year Spanish program today! Honestly I am blown away at how much she has learned in Spanish this year. She has caught onto the language so well. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that. She excels at just about anything. 

Her program was darling. Every classmate had an individual part to say in Spanish. Again, no surprise, that Hallie had all of the classmates parts memorized including her own. They sang the cutest songs in Spanish and then ended the program by singing "You've got a friend in me" from the movie Toy Story. I got a little teary eyed listening to their sweet voices sing that song and watching my beautiful daughter show off what she has learned this year. I was one proud mama watching her! And you could tell she was pretty proud of herself as well. And she should be!

They all wore aprons with different letters of the alphabet on them. Hallie had the Spanish letter N.

I look at this picture and see a lot of me in Hallie. Most people say she looks like Russ with a little bit of me. But I think we look very similar in this picture.

I have loved Hallie's teachers this year and they have loved her! I love knowing Hallie is well taken care of when she is at school and that she is loved and adored by her teachers.

Ms. Davis and Maestra Garrido

Hallie

May photo download!

Hallie was playing at our neighbors house and got hit by a swing in the eye. This girl has had a decent amount of black eyes in her lifetime! 

Hallie made this "cast" for her foot (made out of coband wrap). She told a few people at school she "broke her foot." Haha! 

Hallie holding the watermelon like a baby. Man that smile is adorable though!

Color Fun Run

Hallie's school hosted the color fun run where the kids ran around the field while staff threw chalk at the them. Hallie had a blast running around. Brooks refused to run but danced to the music with me. Stockton hung out in the stroller and enjoyed people watching. 

This is Hallie's 1st grade crush, Zeke. Ha! She writes papers about how she marries Zeke and even wrote that she kissed him once. I informed her that she has a crush on Zeke and then had to define to her what having a crush means. Haha!

Soccer

Hallie had yet again another successful soccer season! She was one of the best on her team and was certainly the best girl on her team. She played almost entirely offense and scored lots of goals. She is fun to watch and I think she is ready for a more competitive soccer league. In fact, we have signed her up for a more competitive soccer league. Its a commitment of a team practice, a training and a game every week. She is excited and so are we. It will be fun to see if soccer is really her thing and watch her grow! I love watching you compete, Hallie!

On the other hand, Brooks did not have a great soccer season. He didn't participate in almost every game and towards the end of the season we didn't even go to his games. Brooks is a very timid boy. He hates the unknown of things and it takes him a lot longer then most to get comfortable. He likes to be in control of his circumstances and doesn't enjoy loud noises. I think we will give soccer a break for him. Maybe in a year or so he will want to play. Or maybe not. 

Brooks refusing to go into his game

Percussion

 Hallie's school offered a percussion club that Hallie wanted to participate in. She went once a week for 30 minutes and learned how to play "the drums" (home depot buckets). She had a great time and says she wants to do it again next year. Tonight was their end of year performance. They played a number to the Encanto song "The Family Madrigal." I was one proud parent with a permanent smile on my face watching her preform and be so happy doing it. I loved the moment where I watched her scan the audience trying to find us and then when she locked eyes with us she just lit up in excitement. I'm so grateful we could be here for her. I'll always be there for my baby girl. 

Stockton

Stockton is now 14 months and is busy busy!! He still isn't talking and also doesn't seem to be understanding commands like my other kids did at this age. Hopefully in the next month he turns a corner. He still doesn't sleep the best at night. He usually wakes up once in the night wanting you to come sleep by his crib. He often sneaks his hand through the slates of his crib to hold my hand. It melts my heart every time. He is the cutest little dimple man I know and I love him to pieces!

Climbed under the chair and then got stuck!

From about 4 months of age Stockton had this growth on his belly. At first I thought it might be eczema because he does have eczema but it never responded to any steroid cream like the other spots on his body. It almost looks like a wart. Lately it has been bugging him and he has been itching at it. We decided to take him to derm to have it looked at. They took a biopsy of it and found it was a birth mark (epidermal nevi). I guess you can develop birth marks up to 2 years of age. To remove, he would need surgery. We will just watch it for now. If it is something he wants to remove in the future we can go that route when it comes. 

  

Fell asleep holding his Ollie, burp cloth, toothpaste and toothbrush. Haha!

He loves climbing in the dogs kennel and shutting the door. Silly boy!

Otter pops are a favorite of his!

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day this year! We are just loving having our new puppy to play with. She is the cutest little thing ever! And she was my Mother's Day present this year, all $3,600 of her! YIKES! But dang she is cute and SO sweet! 

I sure love being a mom and I sure love my kids! They are the beat to my heart and I am forever grateful they are mine. I love watching them grow and seeing their unique personalities develop. The other day I saw this quote. "Sometimes it is hard to be needed this much yet ALL THE TIME I am grateful to be needed this much." It is so true. I hope my kids grow up and know that I loved being their mom and I tried so hard to be great for them. Even when I was tired, or stressed, or struggling. I tried. And I hope they know that I did it all for them. I love them with all that I am and thank my Heavenly Father every day for the blessing of being their mama.