And He's Off...

Today was a big day in the Stoker household. Kamden was off to school for the first time. When I took him in for his 4-year check-up, the pediatrician mentioned some concerns about his speech and the pronunciation of several of his letter sounds.

I knew that sometimes people had a hard time understanding what he was saying and even Jeff and I had to have Ethan translate occasionally. But Ethan has never had difficulty knowing what Kamden was trying to say...I guess that's what brothers are for. That, and pinching each other until they scream, which is what they are doing at this very moment. But that's another post...

Anyway, I hadn't been concerned, but she had me take him to the school and have him screened, then tested, then I met with Kamden's "Ladies" as he now refers to them. Every day he asks, "Mom, do I get to go see my Ladies today?"

So...he qualified for Speech Therapy once a week and he has been SO EXCITED to go. Today was his first day and he has been talking about it ever since I picked him up. He got to make a caterpillar out of hearts and he even buckeled it into a seatbelt for the drive home. We ran a few errands and when he got back in the car he said to the caterpillar, "Hello, my Best Buddy!"

I think this will be a really good thing for him to have something of his own and some one-on-one attention without any brothers around. Plus, he gets to work with Mrs. Hale who is just awesome and he LOVES her.

He insisted on taking a backpack this morning and kept saying he needed "school stuff" so he ended up taking a few papers, about a million pens, (which he kept calling pencils) and a little tube of lotion. He's waiting for next Monday to hurry up and get here so he can go see his "Ladies" again.

BoWLiNg...

On Saturday we took the boys bowling and invited some friends along. I really wish the warm weather would show up, we are getting tired of being cooped up in the house while we wait for Spring! 

The Stokers

The Hodges' 

 

The Rogers'

Kamden is practicing for when he is 16...he's already a Ladies' Man!

In my defense, Owen bowled 2 frames for me...but I still am not very talented when it comes to bowling!

18 Months

Well, it's official. My little baby is fading away into a big boy, he is now closer to being 2 than he is to being 1. Today was his first time in Nursery and he did really well. He went straight for the closet full of toys and showed me a few things, then decided the new toys were more exciting than mom, so I snuck out. I did sneak a peek through the window awhile later and it about broke my heart to see him having so much fun, coloring with markers at a table with the big kids. Jeff said he even checked on him and they were having story time, Owen was just sitting there quietly listening.

I do have to admit that when church was over and I could hear Owen crying and saying "Mommy!" from down the hall, I couldn't help but smile. When the parents started showing up for the kids he realized that his weren't there yet, and he decided he still needs us.

And it's nice to be needed, especially by someone so adorable.

Mathematics...

If you take one tempermental younger brother who's body mass is greater than that of the older brother and upset him when there is a basketball hoop less than two feet away, which weighs less than younger brother, making it possible for him to lift the basketball hoop and hurl it at antagonistic older brother, what would be the end result? 

This is also the result of what happens when mom is sick and the boys are supposed to be playing quietly (and nicely) while mom rests. The rest is interrupted by yelling children followed by a loud noise, screaming, and then a hysterical older brother running in with blood gushing from his mouth and a front tooth hanging by a thread.

Oh, well...at least the Tooth Fairy is on her way...

So Long, 2010...

2010 was such a good year for our family. We've had ups and downs, trials and accomplishments, laughed, cried, and everything in between. Here's a quick recap of our year...

Jeff has had a lot of success at work and has been ranked the top Business Specialist in the region. I just have to brag about him for a minute...he has earned various prizes for his efforts including: movie tickets, gift certificats, an ipad, and most recently he won a gift card for a competition he didn't even know about!

He turned the big 29 this year and we've spent the football season watching games with friends and family. He's done some golfing (though not as much as he would've liked) and competed in the ward watermelon eating contest. In October he took me to Lake Tahoe and has been staying busy as the 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric.

I couldn't have imagined a better husband, I'm so thankful that he provides for our family, supports and encourages me in the things I do, helps me with anything from cleaning toilets, painting my toenails when I'm too pregnant to do it myself, and takes care of the boys so I can have time for myself. I'm glad he picked me and asked me to be his wife (even if he had to ask more than once!)

The year went by so quickly for me, it's hard to believe it's January again! I taught Ethan's preschool group once every 8 weeks until May and we spent the summer going on walks, playing at the park, and I planned the first Stoker Reunion for Jeff's 5 brothers, their families, and their parents in July. I went on my first motorcycle ride and burned the heck out of my leg. We went to Jeff's 10 Year High School Reunion and I'm pretty sure I won't be attending my own this coming year. I celebrated my 28th 25th birthday and was able to host Thanksgiving and we had an Ugly Sweater party on Christmas Day with my family. I've been able to complete several projects and serve in the Primary Presidency. In September I did my second 5k and I'm looking forward to doing a few more this year.

Ethan has had quite the year. He learned to ride his bike without training wheels, lost his first tooth, lost a second tooth, went fishing, camping, golfing, and turned 6 years old. The biggest milestone for him in 2010 was starting Kindergarten, which he loves. He is learning so much-we were out raking leaves a few months ago and he picked up a leaf and said, "Look Mom, this has a line of symmetry."

He is such a good boy and loves being a big brother. He is a great helper and got high marks on his first report card, excelling in math. He likes to draw and color and he spent the football season cheering on BSU with his dad.

Kamden's big success of 2010 was (FINALLY!) potty training! He was able to tag along on Ethan's preschool field trips and is more than excited to be able to start preschool in the fall. He spent as much time outside as possible and loved going camping at Hells Canyon. He loves animals, swimming, catching bugs and worms, and picking things in Grandma & Grandpa's garden. He enjoyed the snow and has tried several times to bring large chunks in the house and he doesn't quite understand why that isn't such a good idea. He likes to dress himself and has a firm belief that shorts are for every season-rain, snow, or shine.

 Some exciting things he did last year were feeding a camel and turning 4!  

Mr. Owen was a busy man in 2010 also with successes like learning to crawl, feeding himself, getting his first teeth, and learning to sit up. He loves to swing and look at himself in the mirror, but who wouldn't if they were as cute as him! He likes to dance and throw things down the stairs. 2010 was also the year of his first camping trip, first steps, and his first birthday!

Some of his favorite things are playing in the water (even toilet water is fun to him), brushing his teeth,'honking' noses, and reading books.

We are looking forward to 2011 and what lies ahead for our family. We are so blessed; all that we have and all that we are comes from our loving Father in Heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ. May you be blessed with love, health, and happiness in the coming year!  

And A Happy New Year...

We rang in the New Year with Jeff's family, which means a 3 hour drive with 3 kids who decide not to sleep in the car no matter what time you leave. Ethan was making me crazy on Wednesday since he decided we were going to leave Thursday instead of Friday. He got out the suitcases and started packing, determined that the faster he packed, the faster we would be at grandma & grandpa's house. The car was packed and ready to go before Jeff got home from work but the only problem was...the battery was dead. The boys had left the interior lights on in the very back seat. Thankfully my dad and my uncle were able to come by and take care of that for me. Jeff got home and we started out, hopeful that the boys would eventually fall asleep. No one slept except Owen, and that was only for about 20 minutes. The entire way Ethan and Kamden were asking "Are we there yet?" "Can you see Grandma's house yet?" "How much longer?" "Now how much longer?"

It was awesome.

But, we made it...

It was like a second Christmas for the boys, they had gifts from Grandma & Grandpa Stoker as well as both sets of Great Grandparents.

We are so grateful to have such wonderful family on both sides who help make the holidays special for the boys.

On Saturday we were able to visit with Grandma & Grandpa Hurst when they stopped by in the afternoon. It was nice to be able to visit with them since we don't get to see them very often.  

Ethan's birthday was on the 27th but his party was scheduled for the Sunday before. My mom ended up in the Emergency Room that evening so Ethan decided to wait and have his party the next night, hoping Grandma could be there. She had to have surgery Monday night, so Ethan wanted to save his cake and party for Declo. I was a bit worried about how to get the cake from our freezer and through a 3 hour car ride in one piece, but it turned out ok...even though the cake got a bit squished, it was still edible. He wanted a Star Wars cake this year, which I wasn't terribly excited about since he kept saying he wanted Darth Vadar and Luke Skywalker fighting on the top of it. I couldn't come up with anything more creative than this, but Ethan liked it and it wasn't as time consuming as some of the other cakes I've done.

Then we had lots of snacks and played The Newlywed Game while we waited for 2011. Jeff and I lost, but that's only because Tyler and Jolynne weren't there. Just kidding, guys! 

Anyway, it was a fun game and midnight came around faster than expected. The grandkids all stayed awake and were able to celebrate with party horns which were quickly confiscated at 12:01.

Jeff & I stayed up and played cards with Kelly & Mindy until 2am and at 10:30 Kelly made everyone delicious Buttermilk pancakes!

We just hung out at the house on Saturday and the grandkids drove everyone nuts with their noise and craziness. I'm very thankful that the boys are able to have fun and play with their cousins, even if they do get a little loud!

We attempted to get some pictures of the grandkids together, but that didn't quite go as planned, so you'll just have to imagine that Coltin is in the group picture. We will have to try again when it's warmer and can take the pictures outside.

The grandkids all exchanged gifts and had a fun time seeing what they each recieved. Then Jeff & I went with Mark & the boys to visit Grandma & Grandpa Stoker before the brothers & sisters-in-law also exchanged gifts. Then there was more card playing and more snacking!

We all got to bed late again that night and then Owen decided he just couldn't sleep, so I was up with him from 2-6 and Jeff was up with him before and after that. We had dinner with the entire family, then loaded up the car and headed home. Thankfully, though, all of the boys were worn out from the weekend so that made for a pretty quiet drive home.

It was fun to be together with everyone, but by the time the weekend was over, we were all exhausted!