Abby's Flower Garden

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Asher Turns 6!

*There is another post about our summer activities below!*

This little boy turned 6! He had been asking me since March (David's birthday) when his birthday was going to be. He would tell me "Mom, ask google how many days till my birthday!" So I would google how many days and he would be super disappointed because it would be like 95 days. So he was super excited when we got down to just a few days! He was even more excited when we had his family birthday party a few days early because we would be camping on his real birthday! Here are some thing about my awesome little boy:

Asher loves his family! He always wants us to do things together and play with his sisters and want me to play games with him and to do all the boy things with David.
He is doing great in school. He loves math and is pretty good at reading. I was worried about him being so young for his grade, but it hasn't hindered him at all!
Very skinny and very tall for his age. His yearly appointment is in a couple days and I expect him to be his usual 50th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height.
Loves Pokemon, Minecraft, and Sonic. I used to think all the kids that played Pokemon in middle school were super nerdy, but now I know a bunch of names of Pokemon, have seen the new movie, know the theme song, and play Pokemon Go every night when I take Millie on a walk all because of Asher.
He is a rule follower. He is very concerned with following the rules (most of the time). He gets very upset when he sees other kids breaking rules that I have for him so we have had many talks about not being able to control what other people do, just what we do. It is good thing because he always washes his hands after going to the bathroom and brushes his teeth before bed, but it's bad because when I want to cheat at the rules (like not save treats for the girls or David) Asher always makes me feel bad!
He can run hot and cold with his emotions. He's always been like this so it's something we've been working on. He gets frustrated really easily but also gets crazy and happy. He's getting a lot better! Starting all day school has been hard and a bit of a setback, but I think he's getting more used to it. When he gets home he's just very drained and has a harder time controlling his emotions, but it's getting better!
Is such a good helper at home. Most of the time. He loves to help with the girls. He wants to help put their shoes and jackets on and buckle them into their carseats. He'll even sometimes help brush their teeth! He is so good with them and sometimes talks about the kids he's going to have when he's an adult.
Such a mama's boy. Always has been and probably always will be! I'm a little nervous he's going to try to live with me forever...but it's fun having my little sidekick around!

Asher really is a good kid and we're lucky to have him. Happy birthday Asher!

Saturday, August 31, 2019

July and August

I feel like this summer went by so fast! We did manage to squeeze in a lot of things and have lots of fun! This post is mainly pictures of everything we've been doing.

My girls LOVE babies and it was so nice of both my sisters to each have one! Ava especially spent a lot of time this summer in this position - laying on the floor admiring a baby.

My sisters husband has tried so hard to get my girls to come to him! My girls take awhile to warm up to people so it was a big task. But he finally got Mia to the point where she would let him hold her! I was very impressed.

I have spent a lot of time this summer trying to figure out how to take care of this girls hair. It was a bit of a learning curve but I'm slowly figuring it out! The thing I've learned most is that curly hair on a toddler looks good for about 20 minutes before they start throwing blankets on their heads or rolling on the ground and it goes back to being an afro. I took this picture right after I did her hair in the morning to prove it does look nice at least once during the day!

My mom made all these dresses! We had to get a picture of them together!

After the girls got off Asher jumped on the couch and said "My turn!"

I left the room for 3 minutes. They can be very mischievous sometimes!

We spent a lot of time at the library this summer doing the summer reading program. Asher is such a good brother and spent much of this trip playing with the girls!

This is my life. All the time. If I ever sit down I always have children plop down on top of me. But it's ok because they're cute. ;)

She's such a girly girl!

They do this all the time! They love to hug and cuddle with each other.

Hammock in our backyard!

She's quirky and I love it!

My brother (who lives in Florida) and his family came to visit! His wife, Keny, is amazing. I told David that I forgot that she's a better mom to my kids than I am because she's always getting them snacks and toys and taking care of them. Here she is giving Mia a manicure on our girls night!

T-ball again this summer! There were a lot of problems with the league he was in that they sent an email out saying it would be better next year. But I think this was our last time with t-ball for Asher. He didn't really like it and I'd rather he do things he loves like swimming or soccer. But he finished out the season and didn't quit which is really all I wanted him to learn!

Swimming at Grandma's house. We learned this summer that Ava is a little fish and could spend all of her days in the pool.

Again, she's quirky and I love it! She loves hats and will wear hats even to the library. In the summer. In 90+ degree heat.

Asher did have a birthday but I'm going to make another post about that next! We went on our annual Mitchell Family camping trip! We went to Downata, ID again this year. It's kind of nice because it's right next to a swimming pool so we don't really get bored because we spend half the day swimming! This trip went better than the last 2 years. Last year we had moved into our house less than a week before so my kids were all very unsettled and running on no sleep before we even got to camp. We only stayed one night. The year before my girls were only 3 months old and I was exclusively nursing them so I spent all my time nursing. The girls actually did really well that year! But it's just hard to do a lot of the camping stuff when you have babies that young. So this year was fun because the girls were both walking, when we went swimming they could swim on their own with the puddle jumpers, and they didn't need to have someone holding them 24/7! They even slept pretty well in the tent, although that first night was definitely play night and they both had David and I laughing pretty good! We all had fun during the trip and am looking forward to next year!

They're buds. ;)

Ava was very tired! Grandma is the best person to sleep on.

Don't mind how gross we all look...This was on the last day!

Grandma's hammock is always so much fun!

There were always multiple kids in there!

Like really!

They kept dragging chairs all over camp and have these little conferences. It was super cute.

Asher had his birthday at camp! He didn't mind though. He had been looking forward to this camping trip all year long, swimming is one of his favorite activities, and he got to play with his cousins all day!

My baby is 6!

I like these three.

Hammock again.

Grandma brought a painting activity for the kids and these girls loved it!

Playing Go Fish wish a bunch of 4-6 year olds.

He's cute.

The only other picture David would let me take of him.

Mia spent her days just wandering around camp. I like her.

Having another conference.

David's brother blessed his baby the day before school started, so we made a quick trip to Utah to see them! It was fun seeing them again (I haven't seen them since Thanksgiving). They have a very cute little baby boy and my kids were all super excited to see Grandma and Grandpa Clay! Ava especially loved having them here. She sat on their laps all through church and kept waving at Grandma all through the luncheon.

David holding little Eli.

Grandma with Eli!

Asher started 1st grade! I used to think that people my age who had kids in elementary school seemed so much older than me. And now I'm there! He was a little sad because his two good friends that are in our ward and that were both in his Kindergarten class are in the other 1st grade class. But we had met his teacher at Back to School Night and she was so nice and I think that helped Asher get more excited for school. He was also super excited to use his lunchbox Uncle Brian gave him (like 2 years ago) and to eat lunch at the school. It has been kind of a hard week with him transitioning to all day school. I can tell when he gets home that he's just mentally drained and it takes him awhile after he gets home before his mood levels out. But it's getting better and he really loves class! And he's finding friends in his class that he eats lunch with and plays with at recess so I think that's helping too. He's a great kid who loves learning and I hope he's always this excited about school!

1st day of school picture!

This shows his personality.

Yes I was one of those mom's in the courtyard waiting with my kid before his teacher took him inside. And I'm not ashamed of it! There were about 50 parents of 1st graders, a few of 2nd graders, but I guess by 3rd grade you figure your kid has it down because I didn't seen hardly any parents from 3rd-6th grade! Oh well. I was so glad to see Asher walk into school smiling and not one bit nervous. He didn't even look back at me! He's made so much progress and it really makes me proud!

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Birthdays and Summer!

This is probably going to be a long post...just to warn you...

Since my last post a lot has happened! First off, the girls and I had a birthday! When people hear that we share a birthday they usually give me some look of sympathy but I actually love it. I don't like being the center of attention so it's nice that I can make things really fun for my girls on our birthday because that's what really makes me happy! We had a fun party with my family at the park by our house and then a small party with just our family on the actual day.

Ava Jane:

This girl is a party! I can always tell where she is because she's usually squealing with delight at whatever is going on. When I look back at pictures of her I can just hear her belly laugh. She also prances everywhere because it's way more fun than just walking.
Loves her Daddy. Still. She likes to be harassed and he likes to harass her. They have quite the bond.
Has such pretty curly hair. I'm trying to figure out the best way to care for it so that it stays nice and tame, but that is so difficult for a toddler that takes naps and rides in a carseat and loves to hide under blankets so her hair gets all frizzy, but I'm trying!
Probably my best sleeper. She takes great naps and falls asleep pretty fast. She gets really grumpy if she doesn't get enough sleep. She is usually happy all of the time unless she hasn't had enough sleep.
Loves to be in the middle of everything. She never wants to be left out of a part and will often try to join in on whatever Asher is doing. I don't think Asher minds, he likes having a buddy.
She's very good a physical things. She loves to climb and run and picked up on riding a tricycle really fast. I may have to get them bikes for their next birthday!
Still has a hard time with strangers/people she doesn't see very often. It's getting better but she definitely sticks right by our side when we go anywhere.
She is a Mitchell at heart. She loves her drinks and a lot of times all I have to do to put her in a good mood is give her a drink of milk and she perks right up!
She will talk your ear off and you will have no idea what she's saying. She has such a conversational jabber and it sounds like it's so important! Someday we'll know what she's saying!
Loves to color. It's one of her favorite things to do and will spend an hour making scribbles on a page. Mia will sometimes join in, but that is the best way to keep Ava content. When we take long car rides I'll give her a little notebook and a pencil and that keeps her happy for most of the ride.

Mia Elizabeth:

More of an introvert than Ava. When we're in public she's very quiet and wants to be right next to me. But when we're at home she can be just as loud and crazy as Ava!
Although she's a little quieter, she does say more words than Ava and a lot more sentences. Her favorite word right now is "naughty". She usually says it when I'm getting mad at someone else. Like if I'm telling Ava not to do something, Mia will say "Sissy naughty". It kind of makes me laugh every time! She is also getting very good at saying which thing belongs to who. She'll point to Asher's cereal bowl and say "it's Asher" or she'll point to my phone and say "it's Mama".
Still is a girly girl and loves all things pretty. She especially loves flowers and will always pick the clothing item that has flowers on it. It makes it easier for me to get her dressed because I point out that whatever she's wearing has something pretty or has flowers and she really wants me to put it on her! She also loves having me paint her toenails. She does NOT like it when I do her hair though. I am probably going to get her hair cut short because it's so hard to keep it looking nice.
Mama's girl all the way.
She tends to be more willing to try new things and be around people she doesn't know. She doesn't love being around new people, but she has an easier time than Ava.
Loves animals! She gets so excited when we watch my brother's dog because she thinks it's amazing when she throws the ball and the dog brings it back. She will also point out any animal we see around town.
My best eater. I hardly ever have to convince her to eat meals and she always eats a lot. I am so grateful for this because Asher is just the pickiest eater ever and it exhausts me to feed him.
Loves water. She always wants to drink water and will regularly steal my mug of water.

More pictures from our park party!

Ava wants to hang out wherever David is.

2 years old!

Asher has been very helpful with the girls. He loves to play with them and read them books. When we read books before bed he will pick out the book and about half the time he'll try reading it to them.

He will also sometimes help brush their teeth. And help buckle them into their carseats. He is also often times the reason they are crying, but that's what big brothers are for, right?

I don't know why but I love this picture of her! She is always wearing some weird component like boots or a hat. And she loves carrying her snacks all around the house.

I love having a backyard! I can send the kids back there and not be worried they're going to run into the street or anything like that. This is one of the girls' favorite things to do: use sidewalk chalk on the fence. It comes off when it rains and they have a lot of fun doing it!

They were snuggling and David fell asleep. Ava layed on him for 20 minutes just like this.

Asher finished Kindergarten! He loved school and can't wait to go back for 1st grade. He had a great teacher and had a lot of friends in his class that are also in our ward. We found out next year he has a different teacher from his best friend Tucker, but they'll still ride on the same bus, have the same lunch, and see each other at church so I think he'll be ok (Tucker is in the solid blue shirt next to Asher in the picture below). Asher got the "Rockin' Reader" award because he loves reading! He can read much better than I could at his age. He is also really good at math and numbers. I was worried about him starting school because he's a lot younger than the other kids in his class (his birthday is August 5th) but that hasn't seemed to be an issue! They had a super cute Kindergarten Graduation to finish off the year. It's going to be weird when he's at school all day but I think he'll like it. He loves being with friends and learning new things!

Mrs. West! She was great for Asher and I'm sad she won't be his teacher forever.

A couple weeks after school ended our family got hit with some amazingly awful sickness. Ava got it first, then Asher, then David and Mia. I never got it (thank goodness!) and I don't know how we would've survived if I had! I don't think I've ever had to clean up that much puke or do that much laundry in one week. I washed my hands about 50 times a day and disinfected everything I could. The picture below shows how pathetic we were. Ava was watching TV (on the tail end of it), Asher with a puke bucket in front of him, and Mia falling asleep on the floor because she spent the entire previous night throwing up. No fun for us.

David and I played in a quartet for a wedding at the beginning of June. It was snowing. None of us could feel our fingers. Amazingly right before the ceremony started it stopped snowing and the sun came out! I'm sure the bride was very relieved.

Another reason I love having a backyard! We set up a small pool and they played in it for a good hour.

This girl has always known how to relax! Also, I can hear her belly laugh just by looking at this picture!

My mom gave me this chair hammock for my birthday. I have been able to sit in it about twice because either this girl or Asher is in it! But if they're happy then I'm happy.

Asher started swimming lessons! He loved his teacher (he said she was even nicer than me...) and he did so great. If there was a sport I could see Asher being good at, it would be swimming! He has such long limbs and is super skinny and is a little fish out there. I was a little late getting him into swimming lessons because of the girls being born 2 summers ago and us moving last summer, so I'm glad we're finally doing it now!

I remember playing on this when I was a kid.

Making cookies! I try to do this with the kids a couple times a month. They all get really excited when I pull the mixer out!

4th of July! Ava with her bear she has become really attached to and had to bring with us. It's actually David's old bear from when he was little.

They were both pointing at the horses. That was by far their favorite part of the parade!

I try to take a picture every year at the parade! Up till this point it has just been Asher and I so it was fun that the girls are old enough to enjoy the parade. They did enjoy it even though they look super serious in these pictures.

Seriously, like 15 minutes after I took this Ava was jumping around dancing to the music. It just took them a little while to get used to it!

My buddy! I have about 5 pictures of us at the 4th of July parade, even when we lived on an Indian Reservation!

We went with my Sister-In-Law and her kids. It was a lot of fun!

Getting all three of them to smile was very difficult. This is the best I could get. Happy Independence Day!

My kids love going to see Grandma's chickens.

Setting off fireworks at our house!

At the party at my parents house! Almost everyone was able to be there minus one brother who was in Wyoming working and one brother and his family who live in Florida.

David grilled the meat for the occasion.

Setting off fireworks at Grandma's house!