Christmas tunes

I really enjoy Christmas music.  I am moved by the beautiful poetry set to music and how its singular message unites all people of the earth since His birth.

It's pretty fun to see our boys getting the groove on to Joy to the World.  Here's the version they like best.  It's "Joy the World" by Go Fish.

Thankful boy

Trevor: Dear God, I'm thankful for my mom's voice when she sings and my friends-- how nice they are.
Amen.

dizzy boy

Joel ran around in circles the other day.  He focused on this one activity for at least 7 minutes.
He was sweaty by the time he stopped!

I'm keeping a close eye on him.  I think he's just making sillyness a part of his everyday life. 

awkward

Scott: Trevor eat your eggs, son.  Please try.

Keri: They have spinach in them.  You like eggs and you like spinach. 

Trevor:  I don't like them...... Awkward!


We'd like to thank the movie Rio for contributing to some dinnertime funnies.

A pretty September wedding

These pics are mostly for my sister Jen who didn't get to come.  I was under strict orders to take lots of pics.  

 Makayla was a flower girl.

And I love this picture, but Wendi and I would both agree it's just not complete without our Jenerous Jen right in the middle. MISS YOU SIS!

 Catching normal pictures of Trevor REQUIRES ambush.

 

My beautiful niece and my Dad.  

Kira is a compassionate, loving, smart wife.  I am so happy for this new chapter in her life!

 My Mom and Dad.

The scene

 

Here is the bride and her little sister.  

Sisters make the best friends don't they?

The ceremony.  My best shot while feeding two wiggly boys fruit nuggets, agreeing with the message and whisper-yelling "No, no! Quiet!"

 

Nick, Kira, Mom, Dad.  

We're still getting to know Nick, but I sure do like him! He is kind and loving to my nice and he wants to be known in our family!! May God bless their marriage abundantly with joy and guidance.

Here's Christian all dressed up for a wedding and swinging happily in a dangerously dilapidated swingset.  I love that scrunched up nose!

 

Here Christian is with Joel who is NORMALLY shoving, pushing and yelling "NO!" at him.  But, Joel is making progress I'm glad to say! 

 

So, you can understand why the arm around the neck isn't always welcomed. 

The 4 boys planning what they'll do at a quiet, small wedding for their cousin Kira and her new husband Nick.

 

Soccer seemed like a good idea.

 

Maybe show off the belly tattoo.

Make up a game called Bum Bump.

Definitely make some goofy faces for 6 family pictures that don't get any better than this:

Crazy Christian

My nephew is almost two and is a total crackup.  Here he is responding to some older sibling silliness.

a post

I'll let the pictures do the talking... but just so you know how to pray for us.

a sweet and singular position

This is how pretend time went with Trevor Sunday.

T: I'm going to transform into a lion. Into a T-rex. With my belt. I say belty belty (as he talks into his magical belt) transform me into a lion! .....ROARR!

Me: Okay, I'll be a dog.

T: No, you can't be a snake. That's a boy thing. You can't be anything that swims in the ocean or has claws. You can only be a cat or a doll.

This is just a glimpse into his all-boy thinking. I like playing pretend with him just for a these times. It's like show and tell for his views. Although it's not easy to shelve my to-do lists and focus on the imaginary and mostly unreasonable, it can be totally worth it. We played with the bakugans today and I got to teach Trevor all about kings and queens and how sons cannot marry the queen to become king.... Being his mommy is a sweet and singular position! I love it.

Here's a pic of me with Trevor from August. We all rented a paddle board and played at Ponderosa Park in McCall. One of the highlights of our summer!

good n plenty

We have been getting a 2-3 pounds of tomatoes from our little garden every few days. POUNDS of cherry and grape tomatoes! Let me know if you want some before it's all over!

highly recommended by a boy who has heard many books

What's your favorite book?
The one with the dinosaur.


Check it out.

Hair

Trevor is very particular about my hair. He will quite often express this sensitivity. I put a had on mid-morning and immediately he said, "Mom!! I don't want you to wear a hat!"

Me: Why not?
T: Because I want you to look pretty.
Me: What if I curl my hair and then put a hat on?
T: Okay, yeah. That would look good.

And now I know how I can better pray for his future wife.

Do the Dew

I lounged with the boys for a bit on the couch while we watched the BMX Park Finals last summer. So that's where guys who are in their teens to 30's ride around a park full of ramps and do cool tricks.
The sponsor, Mountain Dew, had some commercials that inspired our 4 year old's heart. It showed some teens on a bike, drinking mountain dew and then riding off a cliff, flipping, and landing in a lake. Their friends were all cheering and partying.

He asked me half-tranced,"Does Mountain Dew make you jump?"
"Ha, no. It's just a sugary drink."

Three days later...

"I wish we had some Mountain Dew. For Daddy." he says, still thinking about those big air jumps.

T is for Talker

Trevor has been a talker since he was so little. At a year and a half he was really doing well telling us what he needed and wanted. Now he's asking and understanding and answering with so much thought. On top of that he has this memory that rocks. Now this is starting to sound prideful, but we didn't make him that way! Praise God, He did it. I mean, we read a lot of books to him, but it really is just how he works.

This chattiness is most humorous to me on the greenbelt as Scott pulls both Trevor (on the Tag-a-long) and Joel (in the Chariot.) He makes conversation with nearly every passerby. Starting his comment as the other person passes in a regular voice, then ending it in crescendo to make sure they hear it as we cruise along.
Here are some.

"Hey, you have a helmet JUST LIKE MINE!"
"How CUTE of a dog is that!" then to Daddy: "That dog was so cute I could eat it for dinner!"

He also likes to let people know , "Comin' up on your left" as he is looking right at them from the left. It's a little late, but fortunately still pretty cute.

Now when this 4 year old does lack the speed or vocabulary for words, he makes up for it with a tongue click and a little gunpoint finger action or else a thumbs up. Also, a super cool expression to go along with a chin drop. I'm kind of afraid to even wonder where he got some of these things from. And worse, I think I might see the gunpoint finger pointed at me : )

Friday we played in the front yard and he had something to YELL to everyone that came out their front door. "IS MARY IN THERE?" he yells to Chelsea as she drives by. Joel echoes just as loudly as his body can produce. Then to the teen boys who pulled up across the street he says, "Hi!" They are surprised by the very young welcoming committee and say "Hi." Then he says, "You look cool." while adding in a gunpoint finger and some kind of cool expression. It was sincere I know. And I think it had something to do with the red sporty car they drove.

Some of the funniest things are coming out of his mouth. I think a lot of it is his age. For instance, this evening Trevor and his Dad had this conversation:

Scott: "You're 4 now. It's time you learn to wipe your own bottom... No one wipes my bottom for me."
Trevor: "Well, I can't reach your bottom. "

He also finds words in our quietest moments together in the form of song. Twice now we have left my sister's house and he starts up an impromptu 3-4 minute solo about how much he loves his cousins or how badly he wants a sleepover with them. They have the voice quality and emotion of a somber Junior Asparagus. Parts of them are saved in my phone for some day when he is 14 and needs to be cheered up.

Dirt Bath

We took some practice time at the BMX course at Eagle Bike Park with the Jennings. Joel and Lyla are a little too small to do the big track, but they found a new and activity by the end of the night.

Swim Trunks: The Uniform of Summer

Please, whenever you are able, get the kids in the swing and turn on the hose.


I highly recommend this. It is so much fun.
At least, we think so.



You know it's a hot day when Daddy's up for it.

Thirsty.

We have a perfect indoor spout for filling water balloons. It's very exciting for the boys. I found a new way to enjoy it more, too. As I hand them a balloon, I squeeze it to splash them. There you go. Now you know all my water fight secrets--the indoor filling station and the sneaky way to splash someone.


Awesome buds. Trevor loves his cousins.

Here are the boys after watering the garden. And each other. We planted carrot seeds this past spring. I really don't know what I'm doing, but we're all enjoying the little garden Uncle Jason made for us. We may have picked the carrots a little early, or they may just be the small pygmy kind. I don't know. I guess that's why you keep the package.

Disguised as a cool guy

This morning I challenged Trevor to get dressed faster than me. He won. I was still choosing a shirt when he came in super suave and said, "Okay, I'm ready."
I have never seen Scott sport a cap sideways or wear a necklace, so I think we can thank the Electric Company for his fashion inspiration. And his enthusiasm for beat boxing. Anyway, he was pretty excited about his choice and later called it his disguise.



He picked out his hat and necklace (a craft I did with him with beads that spell his name). He said he wore all of this stuff because he wanted to be cool.
"Ah, really!? And you know that I think you're cool no matter what you're wearing.... and whose opinion is the most important?"
"God's." said our little boy who remembers more than I think sometimes.
"That's right. Is God concerned about the outside?"
"No. He cares about our heart."

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Coach Dad

1. This first picture shows the "What Happened?" Training. Even though Daddy knows exactly what happened.


2. Here's the "Brush-it-Off " and pick it back up step. This is amazingly helpful even when there is no dirt at all.3. Wrap it up with a nice tight squeeze.

good help

This was way less messy than finger paint for kids. How can that be?

Trevor did a great job painting. (Probably better than me.) I got a chance to kneel in a pile of tiny ants that like to bite.

how to play fighting games

as demonstrated by Trevor and Joel. But mostly Joel.

spring pics

Always "Higher! Higher Pease!"




Climbing trumps swinging.

Awana ends for the year.
Swimming lessons begin.

home circus

This is how Joel feels about helmets

And, you kind of have to click on it to see how much sadness his teeny little face can express.

where did I come from?

I was reading the newspaper this morning and came across an article about how in rural areas of Haiti malnourishment is even more common. I showed Trevor the picture and told him about it. I also told him that this is where one of his friends was adopted from. He understood the concept saying something like, "Oh, so Rob and Elicia wanted to help Myna so they adopted her?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Where did I come from?!"
"Oh, just my belly."
"Oh..... Was Joel stuck in there right behind me?" I think there was more questioning about kicking his way out even though we've straightened out that idea already.

Several times lately this boy has strongly suggested that he have ANOTHER baby brother. Another SWAN brother. One that doesn't hit and we can name him Sharky. For the record Sharky Swan doesn't sound kind of funny to him.

BMX

Trevor took his first try at the BMX course during a $5 workshop last weekend at the Eagle Bike Course. He loved it! He was probably the smallest there, but he kept at it even after falling off his bike. He rode hard for more than 2 hours! He just got better and better. It was a lot of fun to see him ride. I might have to try it, too, when nobody's watching.





This is Joel saying, "YAAYyy Trevor!" and "FLIP!" as in "Do a flip now for us!" You see the kind of mind set I'm dealing with?


They got to ride out of the gates.

big one and little one

We visited some friends a while back and Trevor was so excited to reunite with his friends Kelton and Sawyer. He cherishes any amount of time with them, but cannot remember their names. So he calls them Big One and Little One. And they answer to that! You can see by this picture that although Little One is a little younger than Trevor, he is definitely not little for his age.
Also Big One and Little One mistakenly call him Travis.... which is close enough for Trevor.

They got to jump on the trampoline. It was netless-- just the way it's supposed to be...unless you're the mother of a circus toddler. Joel decided at one point to just jump off. I was watching him as he stood looking out to the grass, both feet behind the stitching of the tramp, then he jumped down and stuck the landing fairly well. His reprimand was a little mixed I think as Daddy told him, "Joel that's a no-no... but nice landing."