Catching Up Post 1

I finally feel ambitious enough to try to catch up on my blog. This is our family journal and I need to record a few things before I forget them.

Zackary had a great third birthday. His new cousin Claire was born on his birthday. He also got to see Santa Claus at the ward party. We had a little party for him afterwards with Grandpa and Grandma Butler and Uncle David. We had lots of fun celebrating having our little spitfire with us for three years.

He is still very spunky at HOME.  Anywhere else he seems to be painfully shy. He has a contagious smile. When Anton wants something Zackary is the first to share and come to a compromise about 90% of the time.  He LOVES to make others happy which is why he is so willing to share, despite the fact that he is only three. He has been struggling with his pronunciation quite a bit.  Linden and I had been working with him when we would read with him, talk to him, etc. trying to help him improve his pronunciation. He had improved some, but progress was very slow. At the end of January when we finally got him in to the doctor for his three year check up he recommended that we get a speech evaluation.  He has been in therapy since then.  His pronunciation has improved immensely.  He still has a long ways to go.  But, it is wonderful for us to be getting less and less frustrated as we try to decipher what he is saying.

Zackary loves books, toys, balls, blocks, MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC, dancing, and playing with his brother and sister.  We are hoping to start piano lessons soon with Grandma Butler (Anton also).  They should have lots of fun with it.  He is such a joy and a blessing in our lives.  How grateful I am for my tiny little Zackary.  (He comes up to the shoulders of everyone else in the Sunbeam class.)

Here is our little Zackary showing off his birthday cards he got in the mail from Grandma Nielsen.  In Spanish I am encouraging him to show us how old he is, for those of you who would want to know.

Anton is showing off Zackary's new pajamas. Zackary got them for his birthday and was kind enough to let Anton wear them the first night. Anton's prayers have been showing off his personality a lot more lately. One night he was quite upset that we wouldn't let him do something because it was bedtime.  In his personal prayers he said in the saddest most imploring voice you could imagine: "thank you for my broken heart it is just so broken."  I had the hardest time holding back laughter until I could get out of the room.

The same night that Anton wore Zackary's new pajamas Zackary decided to wear as much stuff as he could when he got ready for bed. He had on three different pairs of pajamas plus three other pair of pants, one on his head, and then did a little dance for us. What great entertainment he is in our lives.

One Sunday in church, late November or early December, Isabel decided to show off her newest skill.  There were a few people sitting on our bench with us and she is so cute they couldn't resist holding her. They all got a shower.  In this video it took some encouragement, the camera distracted her, but she finally decided to show off her spitting skills. You should have seen her when she really got going.  This is about five or six months ago now.  How much she has grown since then.

The sixth try was a charm.  I finally got the video uploaded. It only took six tries and about four hours.  The really frustrating thing is that I don't know why it finally worked, I don't think I did anything different.

Our wonderful children posing together on the floor. As usual, the boys had to join in on the action as soon as they saw the camera. They are so cute, I just had to share.

I was trying to get a close up of the saying on Isabel's shirt because that is truly what I wanted for Christmas.  Now, six months later, Isabel has finally slept through the night about four times.  As with her brothers, she just needed to be weaned in order to start sleeping through the night.  She is now waking up at 6 am instead of 8 am.  She still wants that early morning feeding and won't go back to sleep.  But, hey from 8 or 9 pm to 6 am (with a little stirring around midnight or 1 am) is WONDERFUL.  

Clear back when Isabel was just starting her swim across the floor I got this photo.  I know, I should have been a better mother and gotten the shoe insert away from her instead of taking the photo.  The real story is that she only got it close to getting in her mouth, I hurried and snapped the photo and then got it away from her.  Her army crawl truly did look like she was swimming across the floor, especially when she first started.  She would throw her arms and hands clear out in front of her, grip the floor and pull herself forward as she wiggled and kicked her legs to help her scoot forward also.  It is so cute.  The last couple of weeks her crawling skills have improved and she is now crawling more and more.  Along with that came her pulling herself up to stuff (the first time was a week after her first birthday) and now she is also walking along the furniture.

I couldn't resist adding these adorable pictures of Anton and Zackary in their favorite pajamas.  Anton is showing off his cheesy grin.

Instead of his Elmo slippers Zackary opted for Anton's snow boots and a cowboy hat as accessories for his sleepwear.

Thanks for your patience as I have neglected my blog.