See what I mean about the boys growing up too fast?

At least these professed super heroes are keeping each other young! :) We love them just where they are and are trying to enjoy and appreciate these sweet moments.

Soccer

Here they are on their way to soccer practice. These photos kind of sum up Aaron and Grant's general attitudes about playing soccer. :) Aaron will get in there and play; Grant isn't too interested in the game at this point. At the game yesterday, he and a fellow teammate were making silly faces at each other while the game was in full swing. :) Although, he did score two goals! Granted they were for the other team. ;) (We were just excited that he was more involved in the game, and luckily there are no hard-core parents on the team. They all seem to have a pretty good sense-of-humor about the whole thing!) Aaron scored three goals for his team though, yahoo!! So I guess they about cancelled each other out! :) We'll get there ... They are so cute to watch. We love them!

Happy birthday Aaron!

Dear Aaron,

You just turned FIVE! I have been rather emotional lately -- granted I am pregnant -- about this milestone. I will tell you, "I'm going to miss you when you're not little anymore!" Your response? "Ya mean when I'm a teenager?" Yes, that's exactly what I mean! :)

You are wonderful. You scored a goal during your first-ever soccer game! You seem to be a good player! You are smart and often surprise me with your vocabulary. You get to start kindergarten next year! You seem to know a lot about the world around you. You LOVE playing with Grant. You enjoy climbing the trees in our back yard and have yet to get hurt (knock on wood!) You're very into super heroes, particularly Spider-Man, Captain America, Superman, and Ice Man. You enjoy reading from the children's Book of Mormon. You seem very attentive and ask good questions. You have a speaking part in the upcoming Primary Program in Sacrament Meeting. Your line is, "This makes it easier to make choices Heavenly Father would be happy with." You almost have it memorized!!

The only fruits that you say you like are apples and oranges. You love chocolate milk and root beer (who doesn't!) and will almost always eat your vegetables.

You had a blast in Virginia when we were just there visiting. Your Ninas and Papas and cousins are very special to you. You speak of them often. You seem to have a good grasp on the importance of family.

You often think of others. Your preschool teacher was sick the other day, and on your own, came and told me you wanted to draw her a picture to help her feel better. You told me what to write.

We hope you continue to be the confident, happy, and wonderful little boy that you are today. You give great hugs and kisses. You seem to be so excited to meet your little sis. The other night you hugged my belly and said, "I'm loving my sister."

You're a sweet little boy and definitely keep things interesting around here! Thank you for being a part of our family and for sharing so much joy everyday.

We love you!

Soccer Season!

Aaron and Grant play on the same soccer team and had their first game on Saturday. They did wonderful! Aaron scored his first goal. Grant was quite tentative on the field; he may be a little too young still to play competitive sports. :) We'll see how the next game goes. But it was still fun to watch. The boys were excited that their team name is the Sharks. (Picture to come!)

I'm sure most of you know by now, but we found out we are having a baby girl! We are so excited to meet this little one. My nesting instinct is in full force. Organizing rooms, getting rid of junk, I don't think I've ever been this determined to have a clutter-free, organized home! I want to only have stuff in our house that we NEED or that we LOVE too much to part with! The rid is just stuff! It feels so good to get rid of it. I love the quote, "Less is more." It's so much easier to keep a clean house with less stuff! I was really grateful to my husband who took a bunch of backyard toys to the dump while we were out of town.

Speaking of out of town, we traveled to Virginia for three wonderful weeks. The weather turned perfect while we were there -- the perfect blend of crisp fall weather. Oh I loved it. We happily spent time with both sets of grandparents and were so thrilled to see them as well as aunts, uncles and cousins. The boys and I had a great time! Unfortunately we were quite sick for a good part of the trip; however, we all bounced back and everyone is healthy now. Thanks to Nina and Papa Stathis and Nina and Papa Mathis for hosting us. We truly appreciate your generosity and your having us in your homes! We loved seeing you all!

Aaronism for the Day

Today we were getting ready to leave for the gym. Aaron and Grant often protest going to the gym because they claim to not like the play area there. (However, every time I go to pick them up, they seem to be happy as clams.) But I digress. Today as we were about to leave, Aaron walked up to me and said, "Mom, can we stay home? Because I have the hiccups." I assured him that hiccups are not a reason to stay home. Oh, I can't wait to hear what excuses he comes up with when he wants to get out of going to school!

Blue or Pink in the House?

Well, we find out the gender of baby #3 one week from tomorrow. But who's counting? :) Our house is pretty divided as to what gender we think (translate: hope) the baby is. Truthfully, I think it's a girl, and the three guys think it is a boy. I just think we need a little more girl power in this house! Just sayin. And I think the boys would be darling with a little sister.

Of course we will be ecstatic either way! If it's another boy, just think, we could have a football team! And, we like boys! I see this as a win-win situation. :) We are honestly just hoping for a healthy baby; gender is almost irrelevant. Any guesses as to what the gender might be? Only time will tell!

My Peanut-Butter And Peanut-Butter Sandwich

I think most moms would agree that some days as a mom are good and some are ... rough. (Let's just be honest here.) Today started out as a not-so-good day. But I couldn't help but get happier as the day went on. On his own accord, Aaron made me a sandwich. I always thought building a sandwich was a skill I would need to teach him, but apparently he picked this one up on his own.

He approached me and told me he made me sandwich. "All by yourself?" I asked. ... "What did you put in it?"

"Peanut butter and ... " he paused. "Peanut butter."

I tried it, and he was right. It was ... well, peanut buttery. And so very delicious. You should try it sometime. Just be sure to eat it with a glass of milk! :)

Kids sure do know how to make us happy!

My sweet little boy and his very own delectable peanut-butter and peanut-butter sandwich. Such a big boy!