Independence Day

 

I LOVE Independence Day!! It is my favorite holiday (along with Easter). I love the 4th of July so much that I have accumulated enough red, white and blue clothing for my boys to wear every day of the week leading up to the 4th and several days following.

During this special week, we ate outside a lot. It was so beautiful! 

 Dallin enjoyed a patriotic cupcake one evening.

 Meanwhile Tanner ate the rest of his birthday cake.

I took the kids to Home Depot to get the proper tile color for our master bathroom. (Just a couple arguments about that were had by me and Jeremy, haha)

 

In his defense, he worked super hard all week to finish the shower tiles.

Here's more red, white and blue outfits.

We had a playdate with the Taylors because they were getting ready to move on short notice. We miss them terribly.

We ate at school lunch every day, and played on the little slides and swings each time.

School lunch gets Dallin all tuckered out!

On July 3, we hosted a Red, White and Blue Bash at our home. We played family kickball in the park across from our backyard, had a little bike parade, then enjoyed BBQ and desserts, and played with sparklers.

 

Dallin was SO cute during kickball. We had an extra ball that he kicked and ran after, all over the field. He hardly stopped to rest the full 45 minutes we were out there. What a hard worker!

Tanner was looking forward to kick ball because he had seen some big kids play the game at school lunch. But once we actually played with everyone at our party, he got too anxious. "I don't want everyone looking at me when I kick the ball." We of course let him just watch, but it was really hard for me to see him struggle within himself. I knew he wanted to kick that ball so badly! 

The bike parade!

This year, my festive food included watermelon

Red, white and blue kabobs,

and American Flag bean dip.

 

Even my garden was festive! I was so excited to find red, white and sort of blue flowers.

We only had a few accidents with the sparklers, haha.

 

The bugs that day were in love with Dallin. Poor little guy, his forehead swelled up and stayed swollen for 3 days, along with the bites down the side of his head.

One mosquito bite caused all this swelling! I felt so bad for him.

 For breakfast on the Big Day, we ate red, white and blue pancakes.

We spent the morning packing and taking care of last minute errands because we had to leave the next day at 4:30 am for Sacramento (bad idea, let's not travel this close to the 4th again). We were excited to go to the park for evening festivities. We got to ride our bikes!!

 At the park

 We met up with old and new friends.

We explored the bounce houses, played catch and frizbee and had fun with glow sticks before the big show. The firework show was amazing, you really can't beat this small town's festive flare. The symphony plays live music for the first 5-7 minutes of fireworks. Then we enjoyed another 20 minutes of fireworks to some popular recordings. There were about 7 finales, and the most amazing silver sparkles that filled the sky all around us at the very end. Jeremy, Tanner and I loved it. I didn't expect Dallin to be terrified. The poor thing was too scared to make any sound. He was playing with Bryan when the first fireworks went off, and I had to pry his arms off of Bryan's neck so that Bryan could watch the show. Dallin refused to look up at the sky, just buried his head in my collar bone. He fell asleep in my arms before the show was over. 

It was a beautiful 4th of July here in Minnesota. I loved being able to ride our bikes to and from the firework show because we got to really take in all that the 4th of July has to offer. The weather is perfect, hot and humid. The town is lush green. The fireflies are out, and there are yummy BBQ smells at every block. Music coming from backyards, laughter around each corner, smiles on everyone's faces. Dozens, then hundreds, of people walking the streets and riding bikes to the same place. We all come together, from all different walks of life, all representing different corners of the globe, to celebrate one event that makes us all similar. I love it!!

Here are some 4th of July gangster signs to commemorate our American pride. I am so grateful to be a citizen of this great country! I hope to bring my forefathers justice for all their sacrifices by passing on their amazing legacies!

Tanner is Four!

This little guy turned FOUR years old on Sunday, June 28, 2015. He was SO excited to finally have his birthday. Tanner really likes birthdays, and is always talking about his. 

Jeremy and I did cake and presents with Tanner right after church. (Dallin was sleeping, so Tanner got lots of attention). We kept it simple, and Tanner was thrilled about his party. 

He wanted to add sprinkles to his cake. He really made it his own!

Tanner also wanted a picture of the cake from this angle, haha.

While getting a few pictures of him with his cake, he had to make sure he had four fingers up.

He was really excited!

Then we added the birthday hats. Can't forget that!!

For his birthday service project, Tanner chose to make a package for his Uncle Matt, who is serving a full-time mission in Atlanta, Georgia. Tanner drew him a picture, dictated a letter for me to write and helped choose some things to put in the package. 

Later that day, we did cake again so Dallin could sing with us. DJ wanted to be right next to Tanner when we ate cake. He was really excited for it to be Tanner's birthday.

Jeremy got some good giggles out them, I was so glad to get these shots!

We gave Tanner this pajama top that Jeremy wore as a kid. When Tanner opened it, Jeremy got a little emotional. Turns out these jammies are more special than I realized! I thought Jeremy's mom made them, but actually Grandma Davidson sewed these clothes. Look closely to see Jeremy's name stitched on the pockets. The matching pants still exist, but I need to fix the elastic before Tanner can wear them.

On Monday night, we went out to eat at Applebee's for the birthday dinner.

Tanner was glad that the restaurant people didn't sing to him. He said he didn't want everybody looking at him.

Tanner is inquisitive, silly, creative, and smart. If you play baseball, basketball or wrestling with him, and follow his rules exactly, then you will be his best friend. He loves making airplanes, machines and robots out of paper and trash. He is a talker, a leader, and a singer. Did I mention that he is a talker? If you ask him a simple question, you better be okay with a long, detailed oratory speech for an answer--and don't interrupt! Tanner is good at creating new games, songs and rhymes on a daily basis. He loves practicing his writing and drawing skills, handyman skills and musician skills. He is our little scientist, describing his discoveries like a little professor. One of my favorite things about Tanner is that he has the silliest dance moves! His favorite food is mac&cheese, his favorite color is all the colors, and he plans on being a farmer and daddy when he grows up, with lots of animals, and he will work for Skippy peanut butter. :)

This past year with Tanner has been a unique learning opportunity for me and Jeremy. From what I've been able to figure out, Tanner struggles with general anxiety, including tactile anxieties, that get worse when he is fatigued or hungry. Looking back on this past year, I suspect that Grandma Ginny's death triggered real depression in this sweet little boy, bringing his anxieties to a level that forced us to take notice. His worst behavior lasted from November to about January. Many nights, I would try to think of anytime during the day that we went longer than 15 minutes without Tanner having a tantrum or panic attack. Often, TV was the only thing that offered respite. He would walk aimlessly around the house, complaining that he did not know how to be happy. From Dec-Feb, we saw several professionals and therapists and got blood work (none of which were cheap), but still no clear diagnosis or plan for helping Tanner. Our small town and neighboring cities have limited pediatric care. We decided that I was getting better information and help through prayer, reading books and talking with experienced friends. So we have taken a break from therapists and doctors, and it has been better than I expected.

The other day, I realized that I haven't heard Tanner say "I don't know how to be happy" in a really long time. What a wonderful realization, but also sad that this is something our family has reason to rejoice about. I am very grateful for Heavenly Father's watchful care over me and my son. We are getting through our days much better now. I don't have all the answers, but I've learned a few tricks that are working to help this little person cope with his anxieties and be the happy kid he was meant to be. 

I love my Little Tan Man so very much. He is helping me grow in ways I never thought I would need to grow. I'm hopeful and excited to see what this upcoming year will bring for my beautiful, beautiful four year old boy!

Baby Showers

I got a little baby hungry with two baby showers in one week. On Thursday, June 25, I hosted a Pink and Purple shower at my house for Angelina. It was really fun!

We had a great turnout.

Sweet and salty foods brought by several friends.

She got a great start on baby's wardrobe.

We played Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, where you match the Disney princess with her accessories and hair styles. Winner got a princess figurine. 

We played Pretty Pretty Princess with real jewelry. Winners got a cute ring holder. 

We played "My water broke!" with these little plastic babies. I froze them in some ice cube trays, then put the ice cubes in empty cups, one for each person. While Angelina opened her presents, everyone kept track of their babies melting out of the ice cube. We yelled "my water broke!" when the baby was free from the ice. First baby free was the winner. Winner got a vase.

The next day, the boys and I got ready to go out for lunch. Tanner was very proud that morning about brushing his own hair. I wondered if it had anything to do with the shirt he was wearing, haha.

We enjoyed lunch at the school. Our town provides free lunch for all kids ages 1-18 during the summer, regardless of income. The boys and I love it! I save about $30 a week this way.

Playing on the playground with our friend.

Walking back to the car after playing.

The next day, Sat June 27, we drove up to the cities so that I could be at Stacy's baby shower!! She was so pretty and happy. There were a lot of fun games at her shower, my favorite was writing messages on a stack of baby diapers.

I can't wait to see little Baby Burke!!