Thursday, May 5, 2011

Bradley turns "4"

I can't get enough of this kid.  I guess it is a good thing since he is stuck with me all day long.  He has such a fun personality and constantly cracks the family up with what he says.  He is always saying off the wall remarks that will make us all laugh. I can also tell that he thinks things over quite a bit.  I can literally see his mind just churning as we have conversations.  He remembers things so well - names, conversations from a long time ago, places, etc.  We recently purchased a new washer and dryer that are the color red.  They have been such a big hit because they are digital and are low enough that the kids can help without getting a chair.  Bradley looks forward to helping me push the buttons on the machines and loves helping.  One day after helping he said, "Mom, what color of washing machine are we going to get next time?"  I said, "I don't know, what color would you want."  He said, "I want orange." 

As this year has progressed, so has his attention span for both TV and also sitting and writing his letters, coloring, and other fun activities.  I love seeing him spending more time with his letters and actually having them look like what he is writing.  He knows how to spell his name out loud.  We are still working on writing it, but he has mastered the "B."  He loves using sidewalk chalk lately using every square inch of cement to draw his creations along with letters.  He brought a paper home from church the other day and sat at the table coloring it - staying in the lines really well.  I was very impressed.  I can actually see him at school now that he is starting to develop some of those skills necessary to go.  It has been hard in Joy School because he is a year younger than all of the children - they are all going to kindergarten next year.  I have been comparing Bradley to these other kids all year and it is finally getting to where everything seems to finally be clicking.  I love hearing from some of the other Joy School moms how Bradley's attention span is great and how he will spend extra time making sure he makes the best letters.
 At Joy School, Bradley loves going to the Jacob's home and gathering eggs from their chickens.  This particular day he was able to bring an egg home.  He was so excited and wanted to eat it for lunch.  He loved helping me crack it and make a wonderful omelet with it.
At Joy School he planted these plants and was so excited to see them grow each day.  They all got pretty large, but ended up dying since it was too cold to plant them outside and apparently they outgrew their living conditions.

He turned "4" on March 10th. He was counting down the days until this fun occasion.  He opened his presents from Byron & I that morning before everyone headed out.  I don't think he was quite all the way awake, but very excited to open presents.  He got a "Cars" fishing pole and soccer ball - just what he had wanted.

 
 We didn't have our family party for a few days, so instead of cake we opted for donuts.
He got a cool card from Grandpa & Grandma Adamson along with some money he was anxious to spend.

I told Bradley that he could take one friend to swim on his birthday.  He invited his cousin, Cadan.  They both had such a fun time.  I loved watching the fun energy they both had and seeing their cute relationship together.  I am constantly surprised at the bond they both have.  They were definitely meant to be cousins and are so cute together.






 Bradley went to Wal-Mart to spend his birthday money from Grandpa & Grandma Adamson and got this cool truck.  You push down on it and push it along the floor.  After a few seconds, it will jump high into the air.  Bradley loved doing it over and over again seeing the fun reactions he would get from his siblings.
 Bradley made this cute puppet at Joy School.  Wendy Jacobs laid out some yellow construction paper for his hair.  Bradley quickly told her that he wanted to have hair the just like Johnathan's.  What a cute boy!  I love the orange hair and Johnathan got a laugh out of it.
This tool set he bought with his money from Grandpa & Grandma Beck.  What a fun gift to pick out your own!  He spent so much time constructing things and playing with this.
Two more fun crafts Bradley did at school - tracing his body and "I Am Special" crown. 
 

Eli Wilcox and Bradley playing at the park together.  They are turning into really good friends and had so much fun at the park together.
Bradley came home from primary with some fun birthday cards and a yummy candy bar from his Primary teachers, Brother and Sister Mahana.  Boy did Bradley enjoy teasing his brothers with this candy bar - especially since it was fast Sunday. 


Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Tanner - the big "12"

I can't believe Tanner turned "12" - what an awesome young man he has become.  I started out the birthday celebrations by taking his to lunch - he picked "Panda Express."  Bradley & I were lucky enough to go with him. 

That evening he had a friend party. We decided to head to Lehi Legacy Center for swimming. I brought my camera and never took any pictures. They were all having a great time and seemed to be playing really well together.

After swimming, we headed back to our house to open presents and have some treats/snacks.
 Cooper
 Karter
 Brett
 Kobe
 Mason
 The fun gang together.
On February 27th, Tanner was ordained a deacon and received the Aaronic Priesthood.  What a special day!  We went back over to the church around 3:00 for him to be ordained.  What amazing family we have!  All of the Beck's immediate family were there minus Michael's family.  We met in the overflow to the chapel with the Bishopric.  The spirit was very strong and so awesome for Tanner to be surrounded by such amazing men in his life.  Afterwards Bishop Jensen asked Tanner to bear his testimony.  It was quiet but powerful.  I love this guy and can't wait to see what the next 7 years bring in growing both physically and spiritually.  He will make an amazing missionary one day.  I love you so much Tanner!

 The family - (Carter with red tie and Parker with orange tie)

Seussical

Camille was in the play "Seussical" with the Lehi Junior High.  She did such an awesome job with this part.  She was the "Young Kangaroo" and was actually on stage quite a bit of the time.  Her and the Kangaroo were so perfect together.  I wish I could have recorded it, but unfortunately it was prohibited.  So I guess we only have pictures to remember it by.  Before the play started I had never heard any of the music.  We started listening to it after her practices started and we got hooked.  The music is so fun and has very catchy tunes. 

There were 6 performances and I couldn't get enough - each time it seemed like the cast did a better job.  Thanks to the awesome family and friends that supported her in this endeavor. 




 Camille after taking her hair out after one of the productions - we couldn't help but take a picture of the wild hair.

 Bradley, Cadan, Cameron, Camille, Carter, Ashlyn, Alyssa, Carter & Cooper in the back
 

Melissa was so sweet to give Camille this beautiful gerber daisy.