seven

Started this birthday off with Poptarts and chocolate milk, a traditional Fuehrer birthday breakfast.  It was not the best morning.  Elle was whiney, Mack was bratty and I was grumpy.  We all calmed down after he left for school though.  Our crazy morning didn't ruin our day!

He got to wear a crown and a birthday sticker at school, be the lunch line leader, and bring treats to his classmates.  He brought ice cream in those little cups with the wooden spoons.  

We decided to stay for lunch- chicken balls and string cheese!  He was so excited to show us how to get lunch and where to go.  It was kind of squishy on the table with his whole class, but it was really fun to get to have lunch with him, so we didn't mind.

After lunch he wanted us to spend recess with him, but there were cupcakes to frost, so we could only stay for a few minutes.  He showed the girls how to ask the recess ladies for a spray of water in the face.  They all got one.  

Sadly, McKay already had a pretty strong suspicion that he was getting a bike. . .this bike.  Brian accidentally opened his trunk, where we were hiding it, right in front of Mack.  Oops!  He was still excited to come home from school and see that it was actually a bike for him.  It has a hand break and a kickstand.  This is a big deal.

He also got the Ice Age movies, a light saber, some books, a Star Wars shirt from Elle, a BYU hat from Grandma and Grandad, and the Muppet Movie, his latest obsession, from Grammy and Poppy.

Then it was time for an Angry Bird party!  

We played pop the pigs.  Eto was the big winner.

And those naughty pigs had hidden golden eggs all over our backyard.  They found them all, and got to enjoy a birds favorite treat- gummy worms!- inside.

This little bird found an egg that had melted worms inside.  It kept her busy for half an hour, but after she was done, she looked homeless.

This was my favorite game.  Those mean old pigs took these poor little baby white birds and plucked all their feathers out and scattered them all over our basement.

My favorite game 

It was up to these kids to help these babies get their feathers back.  And they did!  And it was so funny. Running downstairs and back up- and they could only get one feather at a time.  There were lots of sweaty faces by the end, and Ellery even had me feel her armpit when it was all said and done.  

Presents.  He got lots of fun things, including some cash that he counted right away.

Then it was time for cake and ice cream and other angry bird snacks. 

I did not anticipate them to decorate their cupcakes with runts, but that's exactly what happened.  I guess when you have a bowl of runts at your fingertips, that's just what you do!

Our last game was playing the real thing.  They had fun launching the "birds" but it was harder than we expected.  I think they all still liked it, and most of them hit at least some of the boxes.  

I sure love this boy of mine.  He is so happy, excited about life and everything it has to offer.  He is growing up!  Sometimes I think back to when he was my cute little toddler, like this:

And I can't believe how fast the time has gone.  Ah, look at how precious he is!  

Brian and I both feel like he has such a good heart and a sweet sensitivity.  He's also really funny and loves making people laugh, maybe a little too much.  

I'm sure glad he's mine.  

there's a first grader around here

This boy started first grade last week.  He was pretty excited.  He was also pretty nervous.  As we were walking to school, he kept saying his tummy didn't feel good.  At one point, he asked if he could get in the stroller.  I looked at him and said, "You really want me to push you in a stroller to first grade?"  He decided maybe not and kept walking.  

He is in Mrs. McKell's class, who we've heard great things about, and so far she seems great.  When we went to meet her before school started he was pleased to see that she is a Star Wars fan.  It's the theme of their classroom, so he was pumped about that.  He also got a school shirt which he wore for about three days straight (I pick my battles).  He is so excited to be a grizzly!

  A few noteworthy things about his first week in school:

After his first day when we asked how his teacher was, his response:  "She's heaven."

When we went in for his assessment his teacher allowed him to pick a desk.  He is super excited to be at a real desk, rather than a table like in Kindergarten, so this was quite serious stuff, picking a desk.  I could tell the wheels were turning as he studied the desk placement all around the room.  His teacher then started reading off a few names of desks that had already been chosen.  She read four girls on one grouping of desks, which had one open spot left, as well as some others.  Guess what he chose?  Yep, I'm pretty sure he was concentrating so hard on which desk was the best that he didn't even think about his neighbors.  He hasn't complained about being the only boy in the purple group though.  Maybe it was intentional after all???

He is way into school lunch.  He doesn't like to know what it is ahead of time- he wants it to be a surprise each day.  When he gets home his lunch recap is one of only a few details I hear about.  He ate fish sticks one day!  That's a first.

Sometimes I think of what a big deal it is to be a first child.  You have to do everything first.  First things can be really scary.  As the youngest, I never had to be first.  I am amazed at all you firsts out there, along with my boy, because it's not easy to go first.  I'm proud of him!

this little miss turned two

Woke up early (we hit the yard sales!) to birthday decorations.

Opened one present because it was hard to wait until four when dad and McKay got home.

Her very own chapstick, and plenty of it.  She loved it.  She often asks people if they have chapstick and she loves mine, so I knew it would be the perfect gift.  

Happy girl.  Yeah, I feel a little bit weird that I got my baby chapstick, knowing that she would eat all of it.  Anything for this birthday girl!

Donuts from Daylight here in PG.  So yum!  And chocolate milk, of course.  Another one of her favorite things.  

Her siblings were really helpful with opening presents.  Baby "rella" and this "punzel" barbie were a big deal for this girl.

Then. . .off to Chuck E. Cheese!  It's hard to have Layla and McKay two days apart, but one nice thing about it is that on the years that one of them has a friend party, or "theme birthday" as McKay calls them, the other doesn't and so we get to do something fun as a family.  And all you parents know that nothing is more fun or exciting or special for kids as Chuck. E. Cheese.  Plus, it's easy, so I'm a fan.

Riding the rides.  She's a little young for the games. . .okay, a lot young actually.  

But she still liked the little rides, and especially liked driving in the race car game.  She kept wanting to play that one.  

Luckily no one was scared of the characters this year.  Layla kept wanting to see Chuck E. again after he came out once.  She's way braver than Elle was at her age.  

Really great prizes, especially love those braids.

Time for cake.

Brian has been giving me a hard time because I wanted to make Layla a chocolate zucchini cake.  (Jenn, mine didn't taste anywhere near as good as yours.  Sad.)  I stand by my decision.  She loved it.

I can't really express how much happiness this little one brings to our family.  She is definitely a little light around here.  I love how independent she is.  I love how well she understands and expresses herself.  I love how much she loves her older brother and sister.  I love that she can play by herself and how much she loves books.  I love how she thinks the kitchen floor is a stage and sings at the top of her lungs at least once a day.  I love how she is still my baby, at least for a little bit longer.  I just love her.

Happy Birthday, baby girl!  

thoughts on a sunday

jam session

• Heard outside while doing yard work from Elle:  "Um, Layla is sticking her hand in a spider's web and eating it."

• Does my girl have pica???  What with licking the sidewalk, gnawing on rocks, and devouring chapstick at every opportunity I am beginning to wonder.

• McKay's new phrase of choice, "That's so epic."  There is a ton of stuff that happens around here that's epic.  Who knew.  I think someone's been hanging out with the Allred boys :)

• We had quite a scary event occur on Saturday.  We were all outside and Brian was cleaning the guinea pig cage.  Smokey and Sparkles were out on the grass in a little dip where the irrigation box sits in the lawn.  Elle was doting on Sparkles and Smokey was left alone in the hole.  A few seconds passed and we looked in the hole and Smokey was gone!  No one saw where he went so McKay began crying, Elle was running around panicking and Brian and I began to search the wild outdoors for a black and white guniea pig.  McKay was getting pretty upset and had the idea to say a prayer.  He knelt down and said it and we kept looking.  I said my own prayer, not that we would find him, but more that McKay's prayer would be answered.  It was!  I was searching through thick ground cover under a bush and saw sneaky little Smokey hiding.  It was pretty eventful, and I'm glad McKay was able to learn a few lessons from the experience.

• Brian and I got new callings.  I teach the 11 year old girls in primary- which I think is going to be really fun.  So far it's been great.  It's fun to just have it be girls and get them ready for young women's.  

• Brian's calling is a little more prestigious than mine.  Yep, I never thought I'd be the wife of the second counselor in the sunday school presidency!  When he was asked we were both a little surprised because honestly, we have no idea what the sunday school presidency does. . .as a whole!. . .let alone the second counselors responsibilities.  No one can really tell us what he'll do either.   He's hoping he'll get to ring the bell.  He'll be such an awesome bell ringer!  

• Brian thinks he hit the jackpot, calling wise.  At leaset he'll still probably be able to escort Layla to nursery.  Hehe.

• Layla's been sick this week.  High fever, goopy eye, fussy-pants.  There were a couple days when I felt like I had a colicky newborn on my hands.  It was no fun.  She seems to be on the mend, I hope.  I'm kind of tired of getting up at two a.m. although it is nice to snuggle and rock my baby alone. . . just not in the middle of the night.

• Elle is getting more comfortable playing with friends.  It's kind of funny, but whenever the  neighbor girls come over we pretty much let them do whatever they want because I want it to be a good experience so Elle will like it and keep wanting to play.  

• She may be taking her time with the girls, but she has already found a best friend in Ben from down the street.  They play really well together and hug each other when they leave.  It's cute.  

• This week I refinished the mirror in our entry way.  I haven't done a project like that in a long time and it made me remember how much I like to refinish things.

• McKay registered for first grade this week and met his teacher.  He was so nervous about it, but it went well and she seems nice and she loves Star Wars- it's actually the theme of their room- so of course that helped him feel comfortable.  

• I cannot believe I have an almost-seven-year-old first grader!  I am dying a little bit.

• I can't lie though.  I am quite excited for the structure and routine that comes with school.  And six hours a day without my boy?!!  I am crying and laughing at the thought simultaneously.  

• In an effort to do something fun the last week of summer, we had the Allred cousins (youngest three) over for a late night.  We had nachos for dinner, and they played outside and made birds nests out of grass.  Then we watched the new Muppet movie and had treats and popcorn.  It was a fun night and I'm glad we did it before summer ended because I'd been meaning to all summer.

• McKay is now completely head over heels in love with the Muppet movie.  We watched it three days in a row until I finally insisted we take it back.  They both thought it was the best movie ever and we've all been singing the songs all week.

• Brian got good news this week from work.  He is now in the call schedule!  This means his hours will increase, and he will take call which means he will be working some nights, weekends and his share of holidays.  He is not thrilled at this, but I am thrilled because we thought he might be bumped down to part time in September, so this is a welcome surprise.  A blessing, for sure.  

• Poor Brian has not had much time to run, due to his super early mornings at work.  He's actually gone at night a couple times, but he hates that.  

• He was able to run the Hobblecreek half this weekend with his dad.  We went down to see them finish, but missed them by like ten minutes.  They must have been super fast!

• Layla has quite an advanced vocabulary for her age.  Sometimes it's surprising, even to us.  Like tonight at dinner when she looked over at Brian and said, "Chill out daddy."  We don't ever say chill out.  Where did she get that?

• We are huge fans of Baby Signing Time, thanks to Jana who gave us the music.  The girls especially love listening to it and Layla asks for it all the time in the car.  She calls it Baby Baby.  Anyway, there is a song about washing your hands that says, "I wash my hands, everyday."  Layla now thinks that washing your hands is called wash your hands everyday.  

• Speaking of music, I havent' mentioned in awhile how obsessed Ellery is with Taylor Swift. . .still.  She knows that Taylor lives in Tennessee (actually, I don't know if she does, that's just what I told her).  The other day she said to me, "Mom, I want to go on my mission to Tennessee."  I can only guess why.

• Lisa and I went garage sale-ing last Saturday.  I know a lot of people are not into garage sales.  I know people think it's weird (like husbands especially) but I really love it.  We found so many treasures- a dehydrator for $2, seven pairs of like-new Gap shoes for Layla, a set of early reader books for our library!  It is so satisfying and fun.  

• While washing my new dehydrator in the tub with bleach, I put the jets on and we went downstairs to make lunch.  Ellery went up to see if I was upstairs and came running down with a frantic look on her face.  I guess I shouldn't have left the jets going for so long.  It was exciting and it was all I could do to keep Layla out of the tub.  She was dying to play in those bubbles.

• Layla went poop in the potty right during the bubble explosion.  It was a random act, really.  She happened to be naked, like she often is, and I could tell it was coming.  I plopped her on and she tired and said she was done.  She was disappointed that nothing was there as she peered inside the toilet.  She tried again, this time with some pushing demonstrations by me, and she produced!  She was so excited and so were Elle and I.  We danced and cheered.  I know Brian will die that I put this on here, but  I had to.  Look at her and how proud she is!  Sorry.

• Another thing I'm totally loving right now is Olioboard.  Anyone doing this too?  It's a website where you can design a room and/or make inspiration boards.  I love it.

• I am busy planning an Angry Birds birthday party.  Layla turns two on Saturday and McKay the next Monday.  Oh last two weeks of August, what did I do to deserve you?  Busy, busy around here!

Happy Sunday!

PC 2012

WALKING MAIN:

Moose hunting on Main Street with rock candy suckers.

FIRST EVER FUEHRER FAMILY TALENT SHOW:

Poems, songs, dances, instruments, jokes- it was a great show!

SWIMMING:

Always a favorite part of Park City.  Cute little Gemma Mae.

Many in the fam gathered outside to watch these musicians put on a show.  McKay got to be Stinky Pete, or something like that, and they dressed him up and he was part of the show!

BUBBLES:

These pictures of Layla are too sweet not to include. 

She and Nonnie sat out here for quite a long time together.

AROUND THE HOUSE:

Eating, lounging and a new tradition: the nightly dud award, mostly given to Jana and Mark.

PARK DAY:

The spectators.

Kickball and a pooper scooper.

More kickball, j-dawgs, and a pyramid of cute kids.

Always a stop for a drink of water in the lobby.

DATE NIGHT: