As of Late

Troy has started to take violin from my mom..

NOT. But believe it or not, my mom had a student that said she started at age 2. What did she do? Learn how to hold it for 30 minutes?! I guess girls are more patient than boys maybe?

My mom and I went to visit Sarah Card at her house during Ben's High Adventure. I love mommy playdates!

Troy is obsessed with this princess scooter that belongs to a neighbor behind us. Page, the owner, is too old for it now, so Troy has claimed it as his.

Troy thinks the Johnny Jumper is really funny. He bounces Liam and laughs. I don't ever leave him alone with Liam in it though ;)

Mister Liam is getting so big! He needs to stay small!!

Troy has been going through a hat phase. He loves hats and wants us all to wear them. So, we have hat days.

Whatever keeps 'em happy! Plus it protects from sunburn ;)

Noah's Birthday!

Noah turned 3 on July 19th! So we went up to Murray to celebrate.

Troy had 2 cupcakes. They were a huge hit with the kids.

The Murray pool is perfect for little kids. It gradually gets deeper, but remains shallow for a long time. Troy finally is playing in the water by himself!!

The week before, I went up to Murray to play with Rachel and Noah when Ben was at High Adventure. We went to Willow Pond Park. They are such cute little buds!

Every time I see Rachel's cute, short hair, I am really close to chopping mine.

It was really windy, so this is the best picture ;)

Liam turned 5 months!

This little man is the sweetest baby ever. He LOVES solid food. The first time I gave it to him, he would smile too much to actually swallow. The pictures above are right after he ate some fruit. He found his hands and stares at them. It's so cute. He holds toys and sucks on them. He also gets confused when his hands clasp together and probably wonders why he can't let go.

Liam has a grip of death. No, really. I have bruises to prove it. His upper body is really strong and will not lie down as long as he can stand it. He crunches his abs and just sits like that in his swing or bouncer. He still LOVES attention, but seems to be scared of little children when we go on walks in his stroller. Maybe Troy has scarred him in some way... Liam will be able to take him on pretty soon though. He is a thick kid.

Liam is so sweet to put up with Troy's "playing." Troy will push him in the Johnny jumper or swing him in his swing and laugh hysterically at Liam's expressions. It's cute sometimes, but I have to intervene a lot. Troy likes to point out all of Liam's body parts and boss him around if he isn't holding a toy right.

Liam will always give you a smile and brighten your day if you need it.

Liam is such a perfect 5 month old.

Boating

We had the boat for a couple weeks and took advantage of it. I've already documented our trip with the Cards. We also went with cousins Kent & Haven, Devin and Sarah, Ryan Brown, Ben's family, and Chris. Here are some highlight pictures of the trip with Ben's family and Chris.

Mom was such a trooper. She came with her cast and everything. She gets her cast off today though!

Boating with the Cards

Our trip can pretty much be explained by Dave's face...

Haha. We had a blast with the Card family on the lake. The two babies did really well!

Aliyah is being swallowed by a giant infant vest.

Troy had a really rough time his first time on the lake. He cried for an hour and a half... straight. It was not so great. But by this time (we had gone like 3 times) he was a pro and would light up when we said we were going on the boat.

Sarah is a secret awesome slalom skier. Ben and I agree that we havn't ever seen someone pick it up so quickly. She didn't even struggle. She also has a fantastic expression. This family wins when it comes to facial expressions.

Dave got pretty good at the air chair. This will have to be an annual outing, if not more. It's too much fun not to.

Andersen Reunion July 4th 2011

My Dad's side of the family is so much fun! I love these reunions. I have a lot of cousins my age and we are all in the same area of life with 1, 2, or 3 kids. They help lift me up when I forget my purpose as a mother. Here is Elise and Merica with me. They both live back East, so it was so fun to see them!!

I wish I would have got more pictures with cousins, but of course, I just have tons of my boys ;) Here is Liam wearing his first pair of shoes.

In this next picture my cousin, Stephanie, is holding her third child, Dean. (Both Merica and Stephanie's husbands are gone in the air force and training. Stephanie has three kids that are close together.) They are courageous mothers. When I think of complaining, I think of these women doing it alone. My mom, Alan, and Ben are also in the picture.

Troy and Ben made a whistle out of a hose and wood. AND I got to make a Sunday quiet book with pictures of my grandparents, temples, and family symbols. Love it!!

Troy wasn't brave enough to get in the water (it was freezing), but he loved playing near it. We also did American history trivia and puzzles on the tables to the left. They were pretty hard, but my cousins are taught well and knew everything!

Here is the gathering before the Flag Ceremony. I have quite a few family members that have been serving our country in Iraq and other various places. It was really neat to see them home with there families and raising the flag.

Can't wait till next year!

Cute Brothers

I have lots to catch up on, reunions, boating, Liam rolling over at 4 1/2 months and eating his first solids. And I will do it this week when Ben is at High Adventure with the Priests.

BUT, I just had to document this morning. Liam took a really long nap (hooray), but when he woke up he was screaming and would not stop for anything. After 15 minutes of trying to feed him, walk with him, etc. Troy came in the room to see what all the ruckus was about. Liam was facing Troy on my lap and stopped crying when he made eye contact with Troy. Troy talked to Liam in his gibberish and Liam just stared at him. When Troy started to walk away, Liam started to cry again. So, I told Troy to come back and give baby some attention. Liam stopped crying, again! As long as Liam held some eye contact with Troy, he was fine. But if I looked at him, he would burst into tears.

They are surely brothers. Troy plays peek-a-boo with Liam in the car and they both laugh hysterically at each other. These two boys bring many priceless moments of joy into my life.