my favorite time of day ...

mom, tan i see hor phone while hor pushing da buttons?

Easton loves it when i text his name to Andy at night time ... He recognizes the 'E' and says that every word that starts with 'E' is his name - except when it's my name! (he knows that my name starts with an 'E' too because i write it when i sign him into the Y's adventure zone!) this picture is taken with my phone and the flash was SO bright we couldn't keep our eyes open!

He loves to sing at bedtime (or in the bathroom, or when it's just the 2 of us in the car, or when he's playing by himself ... never performing ... but he loves to sing!) and he has his favorite songs ... this one is one of my favorites!!

"i'm so dad when mommy tums home,
dad as i tan be!
tap my hans and shout for joy
and time up on her knee.
put my arms ahound her neck,
hud her tight hike dat,
pat her cheek and dive her what?
a date bid kiss!!"

i need to post the video ... his face is the best part!

Cinco de Mayo! ... it's already been a week since i turned 34?

We started this morning by reading the first 5 verses in 1st Nephi ... it is our first day since we committed to be a part of this:

As part of our September 2009 Everett Stake Conference, President Duce extended the following invitation to the stake membership with regards to studying The Book of Mormon as a family:

1. Get a paperback copy of The Book of Mormon for each member of the family and write your name in it
2. Meet as a family and decide what time of day you will read from The Book of Mormon as a family
3. Get four different colored marking pencils for each family member
4. As you read, highlight in different colors:
a. Each reference to Jesus Christ (any of His names or pronouns referring to Him)
b. His words (spoken by Him or by prophets when they say “thus saith the Lord” or similar)
c. His attributes
d. The doctrines and principles contained in The Book of Mormon
During the General Session of Stake Conference this morning (April 18th), President Duce again extended this invitation in support of the stake focus - Increasing Faith in Jesus Christ through Daily Scripture Study and Praying with Real Intent. We join with President Duce in inviting each of you to accept this challenge of reading and marking The Book of Mormon with your families as outlined above. We know that doing so will be a blessing to your families and will bring you closer to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

We raised our hands in Sacrament Meeting just last Sunday and committed to do it!

Then I dropped kids off at school and headed to my hard core step class ... (and yes ... my teacher kicked my bum today ... if you were wondering!)

I hurried home to shower and get ready for Visiting Teaching and then hurried to get Ammon from school!

We dropped off our friend that we carpool with and headed to lunch!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Hooray for Taco del Mar!

YUM!!

34 is a little young to be having actual heart attacks ...
But this kind i could have everyday!!
My friends are so nice!!

The booger one was one of the funniest! I also liked the one that said "get out your lawn chair and pretend you're in Hawaii! Thanks friends! You're the best!

tiptoeing is next to impossible with 5 boys

aren't they beautiful!? they are breathtaking in real life ... pictures are good ... postcard material even ... but so much better in person!

there's our crew

these 2 wouldn't pause for a good pic to save my life!

see mom, more mud

happy easton ...

we didn't get a good nap ... and it showed!

it was more like herding cats, really ...

someday we won't be that mom with those kids ... right?

we had a great time and (not to wish our lives away) next year will be better ... we hope!

easton's present to his "mama" on her birthday!

the evolution of road rash

easton is over a year and a half ... it's about time that he get dumped out of the stroller. i did a little research and found ammon's - he wasn't quite a year when it happened to him!

last saturday (the one hot day so far this spring) we spent the day outside enjoying the sun. we walked over to our YMCA for the 'healthy kids' day. then while i was preparing munchies to take to the zoo, andy was outside with the kids. he had easton in the umbrella stroller. easton's favorite thing to do while in the stroller is lean down and feel the wheel rolling ... he relies on the strap to hold him. he wasn't properly restrained and took a header. andy rushed in apologizing with blood coming from easton's head and nose covering the 2 of them (i exaggerate - andy only had a little spot on his jacket where easton had rubbed against him). it looked pretty bad but we cleaned him up and gave him some tylenol and headed to the zoo! [with 1 million other people! the line to pay was huge! and we slipped into the short membership enterance line - gotta love being a member!!]

why is there a drip trail from the toilet to the kitchen?

the hazard of not putting the roll on the TP dispenser ...

the baby of the house will put the WHOLE thing into the toilet.

and don't even worry ... he knew it wasn't supposed to be in there ... so ... he brought it to me!!

(i put it back in for the picture)

we've been tagged - (drumroll please...)

quite a while ago Alicia tagged us ... here are our answers to "7 things you never knew you wanted to know about us". she thought it might be fun for the WWW to learn about the crazy Shaw kids!!

we tag Gabi, Zack, Alivia and Megan Rowe … we’d love to hear a few things that we didn’t know we wanted to know about them before they come for a much anticipated extended vacation (that we’re SO excited about) to our house this summer!!

here goes ...

Abi (age 7):

1. i was born with NO hair on my head but my mom and dad knew i'd have red hair because my eyebrows were red from the start.

2. i had my very own language called "abian" before i 'actually' spoke. sometimes i still make up words when my sister and i play. we pretend that it's spanish or chinese ... but really it's abian.

3. i love to read and write. i am reading above my grade level and love to read anything and everything ... i've been known to spend more than 20 minutes in the bathroom on the potty looking at magazines and reading books. i am in a 1st/ 2nd grade split class and i love school!

4. i went to 2 different preschools. the first one i only attended for 2 days but everytime we drive by i remind my mom that it was my 'first' school.

5. i sometimes call myself Rocky - from the movie '3 Ninjas'. i'm Rocky, Elyssa is Colt, and Ammon is Tum-Tum. we sometimes practice what we'll do if a bad guy breaks into our house.

6. when i grow up, i want to be a vet and a mom and a cowgirl ...

7. my favorite animal is a horse. i want to have one someday, but for now (when we get a house with a yard) i will settle for a puppy - even though i have no idea how much work a dog really is ...

Elyssa (age 5):

1. i have always been off the charts in height and weight. i'm usually a head taller than other kids my age.

2. i'm really athletic. i work hard to learn new sports and i’m usually pretty good at all sports.

3. i know i’m in trouble when my mom only uses my first name – i usually go by ‘lyssa mae’.

4. i’m a snuggler. when i climb into bed with my mom and dad … i’m not content to just lay in their bed … i have to be touching them – usually full-body contact.

5. i won’t go potty in the downstairs bathroom because one time i saw a bug on the floor … i don’t even like to wash my hands in there.

6. i love to hold babies and i try to be a good helper so that i can be the one that mom asks to help with the baby.

7. i love to be praised, i thrive on it. i will do just about anything if you will tell me how much you appreciate it when i’m done!

Ammon (age 3):

1. i have lots of ‘favorite’ things … football, ninja turtles, tools, and cars – to name a few!

2. i wear my cowboy boots just about everywhere … church included.

3. i like to pester my sisters and brother – i’m really good at it!

4. i’m cute – so i can get away with things that the girls can’t do …

5. i am learning to be a nice gentleman and i hold the door for my mom … sometimes she has to remind me … but i’m getting pretty good at remembering!

6. my newest talent is doing puzzles – i can do them pretty fast and i don’t get frustrated easily.

7. when i grow up i’m gonna play football – that’s why i eat a lot of food.

Easton (age 18 mo.):

1. i have 3 uncoordinated cowlicks on my head.

2. when i was born everybody thought i’d have red hair … but after my first haircut – no dice.

3. i can speak 1 (one) word: bubble. this is worrisome to my pediatrician but not my mom – i think she is secretly happy that i don’t know how to say her name. i communicate quite clearly with sign language - it's amazing how easy it is to use ... everybody should learn it!

4. for fun, i like to wait until everyone is watching the tv and then walk up and turn it off. it’s funny how much attention i can get for just pushing a button.

5. my pediatrician also says that i’m ‘off the charts’ (whatever that means) – what she doesn’t know is that i can take down my big brother already – wait a few more years and i’ll be knocking him down and stomping on him for fun, and then a few more years, we’ll play football together and steamroll the competition!

6. i’m sensitive, when mom scowls at me and tells me ‘no no!’ i get teary-eyed and feel sorry for dumping my plate (again!).

7. secretly, i am a LOT smarter than i let on. i have my whole family fooled! although, i think mom is catching on – she talks to me like she knows i can understand her … i hope she doesn’t tell anyone!

thanks Alicia for tagging us! this was fun!

who is that darling little boy!?

this is easton.

he sucks on his left ring finger.

he knows he's cute.

say cheese!

cheese!

what is with that face?!

every time i get my camera out and point it in his direction!

except when his sister pesters him!

he doesn't need words ... his face says it all!!

march march march

happy march

leap day

today is an extra day ... i love it ... what in the world will i do with my whole extra day in february?? i know ... take a darling picture of my darling 4-some as they 'leap' into march ... then maybe tomorrow i'll record them 'march'ing (hee hee)!

taggie's in the wash - again!

easton = linus?

meet easton's taggie - it's dirty (the picture doesn't do it justice!)

he loves it
he holds it with his right hand while sucking his left ring finger and then rubs one tag between his left thumb, pointer and middle fingers (it's clean now!)
and he's the most darling baby ever
when he's not driving me crazy!

i need to make some videos to share so that you can become more aquainted with this little boy - he may not have words but he definitely knows what he wants! stay tuned!

easton gets a haircut

sunday morning my darling babiest turned into a little boy, haircuts grow them up for some reason i can't explain! he was born with reddish hair -

we were hopeful that it would stick around ...

look at that smile

daddy did most of the buzzing

shower time - wash all that hair off

(he puts his hands like that everytime he showers ... too funny!)

He's so handsome - but not red.

caged?

why didn't i think of this sooner?!?!

now if i could just get him to stop that blood curdling, eardrum bursting squeal!

and all he wants is someone to toss his ball back in there

"so we can play I-throw-it-you-get-it"!

(aka: 'fetch')

we have a biped 1 year old at our house now!

Easton turned 1 on the 23rd and has been trying to walk since around the 12th ... he still crawls when he has somewhere to get in a hurry ... but for the most part he's a walker! he reminds me of an orangatan - balancing himself with his arms in the air ;) and he still sucks that ring finger ... funny baby!

life as we know it has changed forever

Time to break out the baby gates!! Easton climbed the stairs all the way to the top. Yesterday after naps the 3 biggest were up in the girl's room playing and Easton and I were down in the living room - I was surfing and reading my favorite blogs and he was milling around among the toys, tables, and television. He could hear the kids upstairs and it must have been impossible to resist. Suddenly it was too quiet behind me, I turned around to see where all the silence was coming from ... it was the lack of Easton in the room! I peered into the kitchen, not there; powder bath, nope; hm ... I looked up the stairs and saw this ...

Of course I was concerned for his safety ... but I couldn't pass up the chance for some pictures! (I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I was forming the title and text of this blog all the while it was happening ... )

Up he goes ... following the noise ...

Victory!

The gang turned out for the victory party at the top of the stairs!

Had any exciting victories in your neck of the woods lately!?

pacifier anyone?

 

Easton has picked up a new self-soothing habit. I was a MAJOR thumb sucker for years and fortunately it has not transferred to my children. Abi would NOT be pacified by anything artificial. Elyssa was a full-on gyp baby. 'Gyp' is what my parents call a pacifier/binki/nuk cuz the baby is getting "gypped out of the real thing." Ammon STILL has his 'gyp and raggies' (he has a thin flannel burp rag that he rubs his nose, eyes and ears with when he's tired) at night and most of the time during the day - much to his parent's chagrin! They are so adorable and have their very own personalities and ways of doing things!