This Little Girl...

...thinks she's soooo big!

What has Claire been up to lately?  A LOT!  Remember THIS post?  Yeah...she did it.  The first one to learn how to climb out of her crib.  Not a single one of the boys ever climbed out.  She hops in and out like it's nothing.  At about the same time she also learned how to open doors.  Any and every door.  What does this mean?  It means we see her in the middle of the night...a lot.  But that's not all.  She also learned how to open the fridge and can always be seen munching on apples or peeling oranges.  Not such a bad snack but she leaves the evidence everywhere.  But that's not ALL!

She also decided it was time to potty train.  And this is one accomplishment that I am VERY happy about!  It's been about three weeks and she's doing great!  It took about three days to figure out that she needed to tell me before she needed to go instead of after.  But once she figured that out she was done!  I never have to remind her.  She just takes off and does her thing.  She does great at church and out on errands.  It is so great!  And I have to admit...being able to hop out of her crib, open her door, and open the bathroom door is all a good thing when she decides to get up to go to the bathroom in the night.  It's all part of being a big girl I guess.  And since she doesn't need her little "poo-poo treat" incentives anymore we are putting them to use in a different way.  They are now "stay-in-your-bed-and-don't-climb-into-Mama-and-Dada's-bed" incentives and so far they are working!

So if you ask me if it's easier to potty-train a boy or a girl I'd have to say they are equally easy ;)  But Coen still holds the record of fastest.  One day...and never has had an accident during the day or night since!  However, I will say that boys are soooo much more convenient to take to the bathroom.  You can get in and out of there never touching a single thing and FAST!  But that's ok.  I'll still take my girl.

Austin is NINE

Austin had a cool birthday this year since it was on 1/11/11.  Once in a lifetime date!  He turned the big 9 this year.  I brought goody bags to school for his class and then we had a fun celebration with the family in the evening.  Austin had a hard time trying to decide what kind of cake he wanted but finally decided he wanted FIRE cake.

  

So fire he got!  He wanted to be surprised so here's his first look at it:

I think he likes it!

He wanted steak and mashed potatoes for his dinner.  We don't do steak that often so this was quite the special occasion!

After dinner we moved to the family room for presents.  He got a rock tumbler, Bendaroos, and some other fun stuff.

Then back to the dining room for cake.  He took his wish very serious.  He thought about it for awhile.  I'd love to know what he wished for!

Whatever it was, it's sure to come true!

I just think this picture is so funny!  They're all there...but everyone is just doing their own thing.  Best part is the vacuum right in the middle of it all.  Cracks me up.

We're sure thankful for our wonderful Austin who is the best big brother you could ever ask for.  

He's one tough guy.  Must have been the early start we gave him backpacking in the wilderness at 6 months old.  Yes, that is Tory crossing a river on two logs holding our 6 month old baby.  

Austin is such a fun boy and so smart.  Not to mention...CUTE!

And boy could this kid get into mischief.  I think he holds the title.  Becoming a big brother definitely slowed him down.  Thank goodness!  This one is a picture of him in my makeup.

This one we were cruising down the aisles at Joanne's in the double stroller.  I didn't realize until we got in the car that he had grabbed a bottle of acrylic paint and put it in his hair like gel.  It never came off.  He got his first buzz that day.

Testing the waters...literally.  I found him standing in the washer walking around and around in the clothes.

And this one is one of my "favorite" mischief memories.  He used the drawers as steps to get to the container of oats which he mixed with an entire stick of butter and water while I was changing Dallin's diaper.

What a fun little boy.  We wouldn't trade him for anything.  We love you Austin!

Happy Birthday!

New Year's Day 2011

Happy New Year!

I don't know how it can possibly be 2011 already but here we are!  2010 went by very quickly and was a special year that brought us our baby boy Beckham...definitely the highlight of the year!  I can't wait to see what 2011 brings!  Hopefully it won't fly by as quickly, but I have a feeling it will so we'll just have to make the most of every single day.  

We are all working on personal goals and if we are successful as a family we will go to Six Flags this summer!  We are so excited.  We haven't been in years.  The last time we went was before Austin was in Kindergarten and Coco was just barely one!  We hope everyone is successful with their goals so that we can go.  The boys are a little concerned with Beckham's goal and are afraid that he might ruin it for the family.  You see...his personal goal is to be walking by the time we go.  The boys do not think this is possible but we keep assuring them that Beckham will for sure be walking by then.  Hard to imagine but very true.

We had a fancy dinner on New Year's Day with salmon and cream sauce, wedge salads, quinoa pilaf, and fruit salad.  A little healthier than our New Year's Eve dinner the night before!  Ha!

Welcome 2011!