Dear Joseph,

You are officially five. This one has been probably the hardest to swallow since you turned one. You have made some wonderful progress in life and I couldn't be prouder of you. Now that you are five Kindergarten is just around the corner and you will be going to school full time. I'm excited to see the new adventures you will have, as long as you are willing to tell me about them!

                              

You learned how to write your name, every letter (capital and lower case), most letter sounds, numbers, simple addition, to use scissors (no expert yet), and to recognize a few words among other things. I think you will be ready for Kindergarten academically, but we are hoping to work on other skills, like fine motor, potty-training, and social skills. Luckily you have an amazing preschool teacher (that I adore) who has helped you along the way. I cannot thank Mrs. Mitchell enough for her hard work and genuine care for you. You have made some friends at preschool and tell me all about Ian and DJ being your best friends.

                             

The fact that you can tell me about your friends is amazing. You still receive speech therapy at school, but we cut back on physical and occupational therapy. Sure you still seem careful or behind on some things (like potty-training), but you are making good progress, and that's what we care about! Beginning of last year I couldn't have many conversations with you, and that made it hard sometimes. Now we talk about a lot of things, mainly things you find interesting, but it's a good start. We talk about school, animals, and your latest obsession is baby sister! 

That's right, you are getting a baby sister! You talk about her all the time, asking if she's coming yet, telling me the things "he" likes (anything pink), and you carry a baby doll you dubbed "Pink Whale" (I just figured out you named the doll that because of the tiny pink whales all over the outfit). You are excited, and I'm excited. You are playing a lot better with Eli than a year ago. You still fight all the time, but you play all the time too and Eli loves following you and likes whatever you like. You guys are my world, and hopefully baby sister won't rock our world too much, but make it bigger and more adventurous.

You are getting to be a good, average-sized five year old. After being on the small side for a while, you are officially tall enough to ride certain rides (42 inches) and weigh a healthy 40-pounds. Your appetite has definitely increased and you tell me you are hungry all the time. Your favorite foods are any kid's favorite foods: hamburgers, pizza, yogurt, apples, ice cream, donuts, fries, and other food that isn't too great for you. But you eat a lot more and I'll take it! I mentioned potty training and we are in our third month. You are sooo close! But you still need some guidance and motivation. This time will work (unlike our other two failed attempts) because you take yourself a lot of the time, are a lot better at pulling your pants up and down, understand you are a "big boy", and reach the toilets seats a lot easier, making them less scary. Crossing fingers that you will be fully potty-trained before your sister arrives!

You have a lot of interests at the moment, it's hard to pinpoint your absolute favorite. You currently carry around a red praying mantis, "Pink Whale", your puppy and your dog, the occasional vehicle, and some Paw Patrol toys. Your love for Paw Patrol hasn't faded yet, but you are open to other shows, like Wild Kratts, Octonauts, Cat in the Hat, Dinosaur Train, and other Netflix or PBS shows. You love learning facts and cite them back to me all the time, even if they aren't quite true. Being in Texas, we get to go to Sea World often and you love the Orca whales and the sharks. You tell me all the time, "the blue whale is the biggest animal!" among other animal facts. An animal fact lover just like his mommy.

You are understanding more and more of the gospel, and it is getting easier to teach you scripture stories, primary songs, and how to pray. You still say a "Paw Patrol" prayer every night, but occasionally we will hear a sincere prayer from you as you pray for each of us. I love being in Primary with you and see you blossom in that setting. May you always enjoy church and the lessons being taught. May you always remember that Jesus loves you very much! And we love you too. Happy fifth birthday, Joey!

Love, Mama

Dear Elijah,

Two. Years. Old. My baby! You hardly have baby tendencies left, you are getting so big. I apologize in advance writing this letter so late after your birthday. I was hoping to take some semi-decent photos of you before writing them, but I will just have to add them in later as well. I cannot wait any longer to tell you what an amazing little boy you are!

You haven't gained much weight in a year, but you've gotten taller. People comment on how tall you seem (but really you are right where you should be). You've gone from a decent eater to a bad one! It's not that you refuse different foods, you just refuse to eat in general. There are foods you do not refuse if offered to you, they just tend to not be nutrient dense and sugar-filled. Your favorite foods are chocolate milk (you ask for it every day), cereal, hamburgers, and yogurt. Maybe when you hit a growth spurt your appetite will increase.

You always been a pretty happy guy, and for the most part you still are. Now, however, you know how to throw a mean tantrum when told no or when Joey takes a toy away. I understand, it's hard to communicate when you don't have a lot of words, or when no one understands what you are trying to say. At times, you do get upset over petty things and it's hard to have patience, but I'm trying, little guy! You are starting to say more words and repeat words, but few are discernible to ears outside our home. Words said include car, spaceship, boat, plane, choo-choo (for train), muau (milk), chaw-et (chocolate), bowl, cer-o (cereal), da-ee (daddy), mama, Jo-eh (Joey), shoes, beanbee (binky), dow (dog), Pawtrol (Paw Patrol), poop, show, heh-o (help), hur (hurt), ow, go, nose, and pizza. You can also say cute animal noises.

Some of your favorite things to do include whatever Joey is doing, running around, giving kisses, watching Paw Patrol, and being outside. It has been cold lately in Texas, so we haven't been going out as much. Instead, I just sign you and your brother up for a gymnastics class. You like a lot of it, but since you are in a different age group, you want to follow Joey around but can't. I hope you still share that desire to be with him and play together. I think both of you are getting along better (or I just turn a blind eye more often and let you guys figure things out yourselves). You can hold your own a lot better than a year ago.

You love nursery at church and it's such a shame you turn three right before the New Year this year so that time is cut short. I feel bad that we don't have a lot of time with other kids, but you can get a little rough and randomly hit kids (for fun, not because you are angry). You're brother is your best friend. Maybe that will change because you will become a big brother this year! I hope you learn how to be more gentle with this new baby coming. You have to learn to share your mama at least.

I have a feeling you will grow so much this coming year! I already see the new things you learn each day and the new independence that you try to show. Hopefully we can channel that new independence in more productive things instead of refusing naps. This mama is not ready for that. You are a beautiful son of God and I love your sweet kisses and cuddles. Always be your happy self! I love you so much!

Love, Mama

Halloween Extravaganza 2017

This is actually Kiley posting, not Sam. Some catching up to do, so this post will be a little long! We had a blast here in Texas and never celebrated Halloween with such vigor. It even lasted beyond October! I'll let the pictures do most of the talking and caption all the stories.

Grandma Hobbs sent a Halloween care package in the mail
 and the boys had a field day over it. Here they painted Halloween crafts.

Left:Making a pumpkin snowman. Right: Joey's new Halloween socks.

Joey broke our mirror on Saturday the 14th (a day too late, haha).

 Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Patching, 10/14/17

We went to Braune Farms to pick our pumpkins out. We rode in on a tractor (not the one pictured).

We always spend the most time in the corn pit.

It was a hot day! One of those times you try to will Autumn to come faster I guess.

Hay bales to climb! Eli's in heaven!

And slides to slide!

Goats, sheep, and pigs, oh my!

They muddied up really fast!

Other activities included golf, bouncy castle, face painting,
 and purchasing candy apples and other goodies.

Is it a sheep or goat?

Joey always picks a half rotten pumpkin every year and refuses to switch it out.
Sam chose an expensive size, and Eli doesn't care as long as he has one.

 Neighborhood Party

Police doing a demonstration at our Neighborhood's Fall Party.

Joey wanted to be a firefighter for Halloween, so he was in heaven.

Most of the food was gone when we got there, but there was still some popcorn.

This and the Bouncy House were Joey's favorites here.

 Cookie Time

Joey in heaven decorating pumpkin cookies. Not a bad job on his part!

Sam came out with the best cookies this time round.

Finished Products.

We dropped some off at our neighbors' house and got asked for the recipe.
Successful batch this year!

Elementary School's Carnival

Joey's school hosted a carnival and it was so fun. This time the weather was very windy,
but Joey loved it (especially that root bear float!)

The school's spirit squad. They are so cute I had to snap a shot.
I really like Joey's school and his teachers.
(Can you spot the girl that's taller than me?)

Zoo Boo

This one we just happened upon. We were getting Halloweened Out, so I wasn't
looking for something to do, but going to the zoo proved to be extra fun! 

Pumpkin Decorating 

I decided to try something different on my pumpkin this year, and it turned out so beautiful. Crayons, hot glue, and a blow dryer (it does get messy!)

Eli scooping out the guck.

My pumpkin was done, so I had camera duty!

He looks so old in this picture! Joey went for a traditional face.

Sam wanted to make Joey's favorite character off Paw Patrol.

His definitely took the longest.

The result!

Hallow's Eve.

Day of the Dead/Halloween/Book of Life Ward Party 11/3/2017

"I'm David Pumpkins!"

"And I'm Part of It!"

Recycled Yoda costume.

Joey the Firefighter

Amazing decorations!

"I'm going to scare the heck out of you!"

"Any questions?"

Other notes:

We went to Sea World to go trick or treating but we didn't take any pictures! Bummer. It was really cute, but I think they pulled out their big guns for the adults (which happened after our bedtime) so we didn't go see the haunted houses and such.

On actual Halloween it rained cats and dogs. We went out during the wrong part of the night because it cleared up after we finished. It was nice meeting some of our neighbors. One house we were about to walk up to had a skunk cross the porch. Um, no thanks!

The ward party was the only time Sam and I dressed up. We showed up a little late, but it took a while before dinner was served, and by the time any other activity was going to start, we had to go home for Sam's bedtime. It was a bummer for us, but it was a really cool theme otherwise! They had the Family History consultant talk, a haunted graveyard, and a pinata filled with candy, along with a chili cook off. Oh well!

We'll see if next year comes close to what we did this year!