To my Mister

Dear Kendrick,

You had a Birthday last month and it is only fair that I remember the precious mile stone of you turning 4. Why? Because I want you to remember that the statistic of an average 4 year old asking why over 500 times in a day is completely spot on and you possibly exceed that. I'm not sure how you know to drastically change a personality trait on your Birthday but both you and Garrett seem to do just that. It is like you need the entire world to see you as older.

You aren't 3 anymore you are just 4 as you proudly will tell anyone who asks for your name. You get dressed and ready for the day faster than I can get out of bed. You absolutely love LOVE cold cereal. If I ever would let you have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner you would probably still ask for it during snack time. In fact when asked what you wanted to have as your special Birthday dinner cold cereal was clearly the only option (I should have known).

You are terrified of getting cavities. I mentioned it one time before you were even old enough to pronounce the word cavity but you will brush your teeth anytime I ask because of this fear. You have been known to cry and scream at me when I try to rush you and take away your toothbrush to get you to bed faster. While you brush your teeth to prevent cavities Garrett has learned to brush his teeth out of love for the toothbrush. Garrett loves your toothbrush the most and we have had to switch yours out often due to him finding it in the bathroom and then wondering around the house happily brushing his teeth.

As a baby you loved it pitch black in your room and now that is just the opposite. You have to have a night light in your room. You also really like having your blue blanket and baby dog with you. In fact you have woken up many people (including guests) with a flashlight in the eyes looking for either your dog, blanket, or asking why we forgot and turned off the bathroom light.

You have a heart of gold. You are the most forgiving and loving openhearted boy I know. I forgot about your very first friend birthday party (terrible Mommy moment) and you immediately started consoling me and hugging me saying "Oh it's okay, we can just go tomorrow. I'm sorry that we forgot it is okay though." We had spent all week telling you about it and using that party to get you to help us around the house. You were very very excited to go and yet you just immediately tried to make me feel better. That my boy is Christ-like love that I hope you always carry.

Potty training. Oi! Um it has been a challenge. You are potty trained -ish. You will occasionally relapse with poop skid marks from trying to hold it in for too long. Your Dad and I have turned into very creative people in order to try to find out what will motivate you. We have the hardest time wrapping our heads around why you will wake up in the middle to go pee in the toilet for weeks and then randomly not care and just decide that peeing in your bed is an okay thing to do. I don't get it buddy. You have officially ruined our motivation to ever want to potty train Garrett.

You love many things so lets sum up what you love most: Biking, walks, park, fire truck, any truck, toys, matchbox cars, preschool (when we do it), milk, chocolate milk, cereal, plasma car, shows, ipod, motorbike game, library books, scriptures, flashlights, guns (not your Momma's fav), and everything else because you are just happy and love everything.

Shows have been interesting. You LOVE them and I do not love that you love them. You are so smart that you can quote just about every show you have seen. While this does mean that you are incredibly smart it also means that we have had some very real adult conversations. We have had talks about being a bulling, privacy, swear words, etc. Elf and Fireman Sam are seriously on my naughty list this year along with many many other kid shows. Our rule is that you get to watch a show as long as you are nice to Garrett. It has worked really well and will probably always be a house rule.

I hope that you always remember just how special and loved you are mister. You saying I love you too, thank you, I love you, over and over again when saying goodbye will never grow old. You are constantly teaching me how to be a better mom and I hope I can figure it out fast because time is slipping. Thanks for being so forgiving and loving while I try to figure out parenting.

Here is what your 4th Birthday looked like:

Garrett wouldn't sleep at when we pulled into St. George just before midnight. He had slept in the car and loved that we were all having a slumber party. Defeated I finally gave up and decided to take him for a drive around 1:30am. We ended up at Walmart getting a few things for our trip and your Birthday. We forgot your shoes so we picked out some new ones along with various things on my list. I was so sleepy that the trip took much longer than necessary.

While we were checking out Garrett saw the yellow advertising Walmart balloons and started going ballistic. After asking around we found out we could buy some birthday balloons for you (who knew?). We bought you mostly blue balloons along with one Happy Birthday balloon. Before returning to Great-grandpa's house we I filled up the car with gas so we could leave early and not have to make any stops.

-The alarm went off way to early your Birthday morning. We had breakfast (cereal your all time fav) then chatted with Great-grandpa before starting our trip up North. You were a great sport about traveling on your Birthday.

-Drove to the Mona house for some brunch. Had a few minutes to play with William and Charlotte. You even shared 2 of your balloons with them.

-Took Grandpa Crow to SLC so that he could pick up a truck that he was buying there. You opened a couple of your gifts (books) in the car and had Grandpa read them to you.

- Stopped at G n G Hall's for haircuts and dedicated time for you to open your gifts. Being debt free meant that you were officially spoiled!!! You opened your bigger presents (Firetruck and a door basketball hoop) a few days before leaving for Utah. At Grandma's house you got a few preschool activities, books, and some Nerf guns that Daddy was sooooo excited to finally give you.

-After we were dressed up we headed to The Habit Burger for your Birthday celebration with all of Mommy's siblings. Uncle Jared, Uncle Nathan, Uncle Matt and Aunt Heather, G n G Hall were all able to come. :)

-Made a quick stop to It's Sugar and let you pick out a few different candies. The few moments in that store were absolutely the best part of your birthday for me. I felt like it was really the first time where I got to spend some quality time with you and really just make the day only about you.

-Great-Grandpa's viewing was next. You probably just thought that everyone was there to see you. While I absolutely loved seeing all my cousins and family it was incredibly hard to see my Grandpa. You just kept telling me that I didn't need to cry and that everything was okay. To be honest your Daddy mainly watched you and Garrett while I attempted to have courage to actually walk into the viewing room. It wasn't until my friends parents (The Carrigan's) came through the line that I was finally able to make it up to the front and hug my Grandma. I was holding Garrett and my Aunt Linda took him halfway through the hug. That hug with my Grandma and the last conversation I had with my Grandpa will be something that I cherish for the rest of my life. I hope it is a memory that never ever fads.

-After playing with all the kids and Mommy being emotionally exhausted we headed to Matt and Heather's for the night. You and Garrett were seriously angels. We had your birthday cake the next day but we probably could have skipped it all together and you wouldn't have cared.

Kendrick I love you so much my little 4 year old. While your birthday was shared with the sadness of my Grandpa's passing I hope you felt the love that everyone has for you. We are so blessed that you are in our little family. Love you forever and always!

Love,
Mommy

G helps with dishes

This happens multiple times a day. He is a really good aim usually but I already closed the soap compartment because he had filled it up earlier in the day. I tried hiding the opened bottle toward the back of the cupboard and putting the sealed bottle up front and that lasted all of 2 minutes (I have another video of him trying to open it). Love my little helper. Teach them young right?

Photos... The advantage to blogging

So the best part about living in Prescott is that we now get snow (Feb 1st). This is the first time it has snowed this season and stuck for longer than a couple hours so we had to live it up. Garrett was a little unsure about it but I was proud of him for getting cold and figuring it out. 

 This photo of K was taken this morning and even though I stared at him for over a minute I had to capture it so it would last forever. I absolutely love that he has bed head and baby cheeks with the eyes of an old soul. Oh how I wish I knew what he was thinking while looking out the window.

Oh hey I forgot that I even had a blog...

So  this blog is pretty much non-existent. I use 2 other journals that are much easier to use on a daily basis than this one. Let's just say that 2015 was amazing and 2016 had already been a roller coaster.

I have experienced some heart ache from my Grandpa unexpectedly passing away. He has always been healthy so it has been hard for me to accept that he is no longer with us on this earth. My hope is that I can figure out my purpose in life so that I don't waste the time I have left here on this earth and can one day see him again.

My goal this year is simple. Find balance and purpose in life. Every goal I have made this year is to hopefully make that overall goal a reality. I feel like the more I try to find balance the more off balance I seem to get. One simple step I am starting off with is to enjoy each moment more. I have been loving the quote: "The only way to be truly happy is to connect with the present, connect with the moment."

I have 3 of the most wonderful boys in my life and I want so badly to learn how to balance the precious time each day that I get to spend with them. I can honestly say that while I have experienced sorrow and heart ache it is my wonderful husband and boys that have brought more happiness than I thought I'd ever experience. I'm so grateful for what they teach me.

This blog post is random but basically we are happy, healthy, busy and anticipating the adventures ahead. We are semi house hunting but are in no rush to find our dream home. We love our area and if I can convince my siblings (and friends) that they should live here too than I could see us living here permanently.

I am hoping to still write on this blog at least once a month but my other journals are my main priority.