Payton Michael

Payt-Payt.  Our boy.  And what a special one he is.  Wish he was as nice as he often is, all the time...but he tries.  He's so very good at everything he does.  He is gearing up for football now and doing cross fit with his dad.  His little body gets so sore and he likes back rubs.  He is a good boy.  He got a new teacher this year for 4th grade, hoping it turns out well.  He was a bit disappointed to not be in Spencer's class, but he's done it before.  He has a fun opportunity to go to quite a few of Jared's horse races in SanFrancisco with Mike.  He has sure enjoyed that time.  He also loved boogie boarding and finding shells at the beach.  He is strong.  His little body is quite impressive :)

I have been trusting him as a baby sitter a bit, lately.  And he has done a great job.  He is a very responsible boy.  I'm excited for when he is 12 and I feel more comfortable leaving ;)  He is caring for his dog and doing his chores and loves playing with friends...especially swimming.  Yesterday they did an "otter pop" sale.  He is an entrepreneur at heart.

Sydney Kate

This girl.  Sydney Kate VanSteenkiste.  She is a beauty and a talented little person.  She is reader of the year, right now.  Seriously, she always has a book in hand, using the head-lamp to read at night.  The funny thing is she starts like 4 books at a time and reads them all a bit at a time.  We have been going to the library every few weeks and they are working on the summer reading program.  She is also a great swimmer, in the pool hours at a time.  I have also had her in swim club this summer.  She and Payton took a cooking class in June and they LOVED it.  I enjoyed having them in the kitchen preparing the recipes they learned.  It was really fun...wish it was all year long :)  She turned 7 in June and had a fun family dinner at Rio Rico and a friend party a few days later.  We went to see the movie "Brave"...then home for cake and presents.  She had a special birthday...one gift in particular: a plane ticket to Boise to see her Sophie!  She got to go by herself (I was a wreck) for 6 days.  She did great and had a wonderful time.  It will be a special memory for her and I feel like it helped her confidence.  She knows she can do things on her own.  We ended up not going to Idaho this summer but stayed in California a bit longer than planned ;)  So we had her flown into LA and reunited with us...it was sure fun.  Although it was a trains, planes and automobiles sort of adventure getting her from Boise to Salt Lake. I was thankful for all the people that helped get her safely back to us.  She is starting 2nd grade this year and she got the best teacher in the school, so that's exciting.  She is a smart girl. Verrrrry emotional and sometimes internalizes all her feelings.  She has a hard time communicating when she's upset.  I know I'm in for it when parenting this girl throughout the years.  But when she loves, she loves so strong and amazing.  She is a mother hen, constantly taking care and watching over her siblings.  She is kind and spiritual. Even Payton looks to her for answers during family night.  She is very thoughtful and tender.  We are coming up on her one-year broken leg anniversary.  We are going to have a little party to celebrate "brokey"... I love this girl and I'm proud of the young lady she is becoming.  I can't believe she's getting baptized next year.  I must constantly remind myself to tread softly with her for she is Heavenly Father's sweet daughter and needs that extra care and compassion.

Avery May

This little "sassy sprout" as her dad calls her, is so much fun right now.  Seriously.  She is pure entertainment and joy.  She is beautiful and growing up so quickly.  She is hilarious and witty.  She is kind and loving.  She is reasonable and consistent.  She is "happy when's she's happy and sad when she's sad"... (direct quote).  She loves playing with friends and brother and sisters.  She is getting to be quite a confident swimmer.  She is counting the days down until she can go back to pre-school.  She is a singer and a dancer. She makes up songs and dances.  She turned 4 in May.  We had a super fun friend party at the house after school with sprinklers and ice cream sundaes.  She loved it so much

She loved playing at the beach in California.  She was the bell of the ball at the horse race at Hollywood Park.  She really just is happy and fun to be around.  And pretty much my favorite 4 year old ever.  She is mature for her age and talks like a 12 year old.  She is growing...her little body is filling in and she's quite built...kinda like her daddy.  Avery is one big blessing to our family.  I am so lucky to be her mama.

Tess Marie

This picture pretty much depicts the girl as of late.  She is angry and unhappy.  And yet, she brings me such joy. She is such a beauty with such a personality.  Let's talk a bit about why she's angry.

1. I stopped nursing her. She is officially weaned...and sooo mad about it.   She still begs daily even though it's been quite a few weeks since we've been done.   She doesn't really like to drink milk or anything else for that matter...except muscle milk.  Mike has introduced her the stuff and that's turned into her "boobstitute".  Not sure if that's the best choice for a one year old but it helps.

2. She's hungry. Because of said "weaning" I just think she is hungry a lot more and can't quite figure out how to fix the problem.  And she's stubborn so it has to be her idea if she's going to enjoy her meal. I tell you what, she's a pill.

3. She's teething.  She is working on 2 molars at the moment which I think are making her pretty miserable.

On a more positive note :) She is talking up a storm.  She loves the word "no" which is naughty.  She says mom, dad, buddy (payton), dinee (sydney), woo-woo (doggy), teet teet (birdy), hee hee (horsey), baby (she LOVES babies), fishy, more, nana (favorite food), cheese, baba (drink), book, shoe....I'm sure there's a few I'm missing.  She is walking/running everywhere and loving the pool.  She is going to bed really well and sleeping through the night.  She won't sit still to watch a movie or show.  She is a busy bee, starting to pull stuff out of the cupboards.  She has cute teeth...kinda looks like mater.  She has a whole mouthful, actually.  She loves her mom.  But is quite fond of her dad, too.  When she's in the mood, she loves to play with the kids.  She loves giving kisses, high fives and bump the rock.  She'll pretty much kiss anything that breathes.  We sure love her.  Little pistol and all.