Nascar

The boys love Nascar, just like their daddy. Sterling has been to a few races, but this was the first race for our two big boys, Sterling and Dellin. They went down with our friend Matt and Jack. To say they loved it would be an understatement.

Before the race started and the boys were going nuts just looking at all the cool cars.

They had really great seats close down to the track. The boys loved the noise and all the excitement going on around them. It about blew their minds with the race started.

If you don't pass our on the way home with your earplugs on, then you probably didn't have as much fun as Dellin did.

I love that Sterling loves to take the boys to do fun things. I hope these boys know just how good they've got it!

BYU FOOTBALL WITH UNCLE PARLEY

 We were really excited when BYU announced that they'd be playing their season opener in Charlotteville, VA, just two hours from our house. Sterling decided right away that he'd go and take the boys. We all wanted to go, but knew it would be a long day with all the boys. So we decided to send the two older boys Sterling Henry, and Dellin, and leave the Gouverneur and Israel home with me. Sterling's older brother Parley decided to come out and join them. He stayed for the weekend. It was a lot of fun.

The boys left early in the morning to give them enough time. Gouverneur cried at the door for a good 20 minutes after they left, poor baby. 

They stopped in the Shenandoah on the way down. Here's Parley with the boys.

Sterling and Parley are practically twins, so this picture makes me laugh.

 All seated and ready for the game to start with uncle Parley. It was super hot, but the boys were pumped.

 A HUGE storm blew in and there ended up being a 2-hour time delay. The boys waiting it out.

Even with the time delay, the boys had a great time. This was their first of many BYU football games.

Gouverneur was really sad not to go. It's a good thing we're moving to Utah and can hopefully get him to a game in Provo this season. I'd like to go myself. I haven't been to a game in years. Raising boys sure is fun!

LAST DAY OF PRESCHOOL

Sterling had his preschool program while Josh and Laura were here. I took Israel with me and left Dellin and Gouverneur home to play with their cousins. Dad met us there. It was fun to sit and watch Sterling Henry. He has absolutely loved preschool! He will go back to the same one in the fall and Dellin will go with him.

They sang lots of cute songs and had a graduation at the end. I loved it.

Little Man with his teacher, Miss Lynn.

We are so proud of you, Sterling Henry, You are such a darling, smart boy. You love life and live it to the fullest. We know that this is just the beginning of all the great things that you will do!

NO CAVITIES

The two big boys had a dentist appointment today. It was their first "real" dentist appointment, and it went a whole lot smoother than I'd imagined. I have been putting it off for months.
They were both a little nervous at the beginning. Little Man's expression below on the left says it all.












































Miss Bree (the hygienist) was great with the boys. She had lots of fun names for all the instruments and let the boys try everything. They loved getting a prize bag at the end with lots of free swag. (Who knew that a toothbrush and some flossers could make the boys so happy?)
The best part of the appointment was when she told me that their teeth look great. No cavities! Woot! Woot!

Preschool Christmas Party

It's no surprise that Sterling is absolutlely loving preschool. The kids in his class are really fun and his teacher, Ms. Lynn is amazing. She is always planning fun things for the kids and they all adore her.

This week was Sterling's class Christmas party and he had a great time. Parents were invited at the end to be there when a "special" visitor would arrive. The kids had no idea. To say that they were thrilled was a complete understatement.

Here he is knocking on the door. Ms. Lynn is beyond darling is this picture.

Sterling stood right up and started yelling, "SANTA".

This picture is priceless. I'm not sure I've ever seen him this excited. Just look at that face.

Each kid got to go up on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted. Sterling is NEVER shy so it was cute to see him be a bit timid. Such a darling boy.

They also sang songs, played games, and decorated cookies. It was a lot of fun.

We just love watching this cute boy grow up. We just wish he wouldn't grow up quite so fast. We love you Sterling Henry.

Lego Time

Our dad is a serious Lego fanatic. He has all his sets from his childhood with all the instructions saved and packed away nicely in our basement. He has been waiting for the day when his boys were old enough for big boy Legos. Little Man got his first real set for his birthday and has been waiting to put it together with his dad. Dellin was happy to sit and watch.

Sterling walked him through step-by-set and let him find all the pieces. It was darling to sit and watch. 

 Here are the happy boys with the finished helicopter. I'm not sure who loved it more but something tells me that these boys are going to be doing a lot more of this.

I love my boy world!

Sterling Henry's Birthday recap

 I love how much kids look forward to their birthdays and it's fun to make sure they really enjoy it. Sterling Henry had a wonderful birthday. He has a timeline of all the fun things happening in the next few months and his birthday is the first thing to start the fun.

We always do a special birthday breakfast, and balloons are always hanging from the ceiling. I had intentions of making a birthday banner that will work for all the birthdays but that is on the back burner for now. This year, Little Man wanted German Pancakes and sausage. It's not a combo that we do ever so he was thrilled to have it on his birthday.

Here's the breakfast gang.

I already posted this picture but I have to post it again. Here is the big boy. He is growing up way too fast.

I made these cupcakes for him to take to preschool to share with all his classmates. On the car ride home I asked him if the kids liked the cupcakes. He said, "they did like them but some of my friends ate the paper part..." Gotta love preschool. His teacher made him a super fancy crown that he loved.

 Such a happy cute boy.

 Make. A.

 WISH!

The cake. It's supposed to be a race car track but I'm just learning the ropes of cake making. Lucky for me, he knew exactly what it was and loved it. 

Opening presents. This one came in the mail on his birthday from Grandma and Grandpa Fillmore

Here is the birthday loot. He got his first big boy Lego set. Dad has been waiting for years to give his son a big boy Lego set. This will be the first of many I'm sure. He also got a bin of army guys, finger puppets from Dellin, M&Ms from Gouverneur and a big book of Bernstein Bears from Grandma and Grandpa Fillmore. He was thrilled with it all.

 He had his 4 year old checkup the day after his birthday and he was mighty brave. He got three shots and didn't cry at all! His stats keep him in the 90%, not that we're worried about his size.

Weight: 43.2 lbs.

Height: 33 1/2 inches.

20/20 Vision

We sure love our Little Man. He has brought us more joy than we could have ever imagined. Looking forward to what the next year will bring for this darling boy.

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN!!

Our darling Little Man turns four today. These last four years have flown by way too fast. He is growing up right in front of us. He amazes us daily with all the things he's able to do. He is a perfect older brother and so good to his younger brothers. They look up to him in every way and it's easy to see why. He loves reading and is getting the hang of it. He loves to write his name. He loves Nascar, The A Team, trucks, trains, playing baseball in the backyard, his dad, and preschool. He is a very social little guy.

 Little Man was born at 11:45pm. We woke up the next morning in our room to him just looking at us through the glass in this baby bed. He wasn't crying or anxious. He was perfectly content just looking at us. This image will forever be in our minds.

 First birthday.

Second birthday. 

Third birthday. Just last year. He has grown up so much in just one year. 

 Here is our new 4-year-old this morning. Happy Birthday!

 We love you Sterling Henry and LOVE raising you. We look forward to watching you grow up and seeing who you will become. Thanks for making our job as parents so easy and fun!

And so it all begins.

Sterling Henry started preschool today and I have mixed emotions about the whole thing. I sort of feel like today was the beginning of the end. Every year from here on out out we will have a child going back to school in the fall. Yes it is exciting in a way but mostly sad to me. Little Man couldn't wait of course. He has been counting down the days for way too long.

Here we are just minutes before leaving the house. They don't need backpacks but they are supposed to bring a snack each day.

The boys are posing with big brother. It is going to be a fun change up in a way to have Dellin get to be the big brother two days a week.
In the car all ready to go. "Look Dad, I found the perfect place to put my lunchbox."

We made him wait outside a bit longer so we could get some pictures. I love this one of me and my boys.
I also had dad come to be part of the big day. It made the whole experience really fun. Plus, it helped me keep my emotions in check. Look at those darling boys.

We opened the door and off they went. Dellin was just as excited as Sterling Henry. I think this picture captures the excitement.
And here is the fabulous Mrs. Lynn. She is a perfect fit for Sterling Henry. They are going to have a lot of fun together this year. I had to pull Little Man away from playing to get a picture with Mrs. Lynn. All in all it was a good day. He will be going two days a week for three hours. I will say that it was pretty nice to only take two kids to Walmart. But we were all more than ready to go pick him up when it was time.
He loved it and can't wait to go back. Mrs. Lynn did pay him a high compliment for the first day. She said he was a great listener. Looks like we're off to a good start!

Working with Dad

Let me just start by saying that Sterling is the king of projects. One of the main things we love about this house is the huge backyard. Sterling was out mowing the lawn the first Saturday we lived here and he has loved doing it ever since. He has also done a lot of things to improve the yard. (Our landlord loves us.) He saved the driveway that was breaking up by adding a bunch of topsoil and sod. It looks a million times better and he finished it in one Saturday.

The last two Saturdays he has spent getting pickup loads of mulch and manure to spread all over the grass and for our garden. The grass is looking a million times better and our plants will be in the ground this weekend.

The boys absolutely love working with their dad. They will do anything he is doing, and he finds a way to make it really fun. They beg to go out and work with dad. They have their own shovels, hammers, wheel-barrel, lawnmower, and lots of other cool work stuff.

Here's Little Man unloading manure with dad.



And here's a video our friend Wes took of the boys helping their dad spread the manure on our lawn to make it awesome this summer.

The wood collecting is still going strong. Sterling had a guy drop off this cedar last week in front of our house.

The boys were thrilled that they got to help dad move it. I found this little wheel-barrel at a thrift store for 3 dollars. It has done a lot of work with dad. The boys love moving whatever dad is moving.

Dellin look so grown up pushing his own wheel-barrel. I keep telling him he's loosing some serious tough guy street cred with that binky!

Gouverneur watches from the porch and is chomping at the bit to get in on the action.
Boys sure are a lot of fun especially when they have the coolest dad around to spend time with. I sure hope they still feel this way when they are 16. Something tells me with a dad like Sterling, it won't be a problem!