Playing Family

My kids love playing family (House) together. They used to play family together every day, now not so often. They have played family for a few months now. The pictures in this post were taken in May, five months ago. If I remember correctly they have been playing family before May.

Everyone is assigned a part in the family. Most of the time Emmy is the mommy, Hyrum is the daddy Ben is a baby. Every once in awhile we get a random grandpa, dog, etc.

Emmy usually has a doll and her blanket(she calls it baby) that she is pushing around in the stroller, she has her purse and usually some accessories like her phone, sunglasses, necklaces etc. Of course she wears her play high heel shoes and sometimes she wears my shoes. Ben acts like a baby. When they first started to play I would wonder what was happening because I would hear been crying/whining the whole time. I soon came to realize that he was just playing his part in the family. He does a very great job at being the baby.

Hyrum also does a really good job being the daddy and takes great care of his family.

This particular time they played family they made me laugh since all of them wanted to wear a pair of shoes. The boys wanted to wear Brandon's shoes and Emmy wanted to wear my shoes. I love the way they have been playing so well together. Don't get me wrong, they still fight, but they love being and doing things together. It is fun to hear them play family and listen to the way they talk to each other. It is pretty funny and pretty humbling to hear their conversations as they play. I am so grateful that they love each other.

New Favorite Thing

A new favorite thing for Ben and Emmy right now are puzzles. They have liked puzzles in the past, but I think puzzles might have turned into an obsession. They will do puzzles for a good twenty minutes or so. They are getting quite good at putting the puzzles pieces together. It is so cute to see the concentration on their face as they are trying to figure out where everything goes. Sometimes they ask for help, but they do a lot of them now on their own. I think they love the feeling of accomplishment when they can finish a puzzle. They usually yell at "I did it!" with great excitement when they finished the puzzle they have been working on. They also love to do puzzles at nursery and when they go to the gym play area.

Sometimes they do work together to put a puzzle together. However, they do get bugged when one is trying to put a piece in a spot where the other one does not think it belongs.

I love the fact that they enjoy and love puzzles. I think puzzles are an excellent activity.

Book Train

These pictures for this post were taken back in August. Ben and Emily have figured out something else that is fun to do with books...make a train. They loved lining the books up right next to each other. They had to put every book just so. They loved to walk along their train track. However, I drew the line when they started to walk on the books. It was so sweet to see them work together to accomplish a goal. For the most part, they do have a great time together and love each other so much. In fact, right now they are snuggled up in the recliner watching a show together.

Playing in the Rain

It has been raining every day this week since Monday. I went into the other room for a minute and came back to find them out side splashing in the puddles that build up in our back yard after a small amount of rain fall occurs; so you can imagine what a week of "Southern" rain might create. I decided to let them play for awhile. The kids have been cooped up in the house due to having croup again and because of the rain. They were in absolute heaven splashing in the puddles and running in the mud. The pictures are blurry because they didn't want to stop being silly in the rain. Brandon was only able to get a couple of good shots. Besides, playing in the mud and rain is a part of growing up, right?

Playing Outside

The weather was wonderful while we were in Utah. As a result, we played outside almost every single day, more then once. The kids loved the freedom of being able to play with out dying of heat in a matter of minutes. They also loved the wonderful soft grass (which we don't have in Memphis), all the toys, sidewalk chalk, which they drew everywhere (I am sure my parents are still finding "pictures" all around ). The kids were in heaven!! I didn't take very many pictures of them playing outside, but trust me they played lots and had a great time. To be honest, I was soaking up the sun on the grass reading various books my sister said I "had" to read. The pictures below are of the two boys showing off their muscles.

Ben in a Basket

I found Ben sitting in the laundry basket the other day holding his football and just as happy as can be. Ben thought he was so silly. He sat in the basket for a long time. I guess he decided that the basket was a perfect spot for him to sit in that was just his size. Of course when I took his picture, his siblings didn't want to be left out. The kids played so well together that day. As you might notice in the pictures, both of the boys are holding their footballs. One of their favorite thing to do together is play football.

Three Little Monkeys

I just wanted to share this fun video of the kids singing and acting out their favorite song. They love to jump on the bed much to my dismay. I heard them singing the Three Little Monkeys song and had to get my camera. If you listen closely, you can hear Emmy and Hyrum singing. For the most part, they love to play together and have great imaginations. They worry about each other all the time. If someone is missing (went to preschool) and then they come home they are met by many hugs and kisses. I am so grateful that they love each other so much and are perfectly content to be in each others company.

Easter- Part 2

On Saturday, April 11th, our ward had their Easter party. The party started off with the kids doing the bunny hop dance. Our friend Starla led the way. Hyrum wasn't sure about the dance at first, but when he saw all of his friends up there he decided that doing the bunny hop was okay.

After a great potluck dinner, the kids went outside for their Easter egg hunt. Each child was told to find six eggs of a different color. The primary set up a great activity for the kids. For each egg, the kids would go to a different station that would teach them about the true meaning of the Easter season. Below is a picture of Hyrum with our friend who was a Roman solider. Greg did a great job telling the story of the Easter story from his perspective.The kids did quite well at sitting through all the different stations, even Ben and Emmy. I think that is because at each station each child was given a cup of candy to help keep them quiet.After the ward party, the kids came home and took naps. After their naps we did another little Easter egg hunt in the back yard. We were supposed to go to an Easter egg hunt with some of our friends, but the kids were still sleeping when we were supposed to be at the hunt. As a result, we did our own little hunt again.

Emmy once again was the first to notice that there were eggs in the back yard. The kids had great time finding the eggs in the backyard. It was the perfect way to end the day.