Party at Gillands

We spent Cami's Birthday with the Gilland family at Jimmy (my bro.) and Verusca's.

She got all kinds of fun, pink things. She's since been using this dinnerware set from Aunt Jamie and Uncle Johnny many a time and really enjoys it. She hugs her doll that she got from Gramma and Grampa now and says, "aww." She loves pushing this stroller around the house. Finally something pink on wheels!

Jamie's and Cami's feet. Can you guess who gave her the socks?

Putting herself in Mom's shoes This cute outfit is from Jimmy and Verusca, who loves shopping for little girl clothes. I know how she feels :)

Remembering Kiddie Kandids

I remember walking in the mall as a little girl back in my hometown in Midland, TX and looking in at the "Kiddie Kandids" portrait studio there. I loved the props and baby pictures they displayed. In my mind, it was THE PLACE for photography.

My relationship with Kiddie Kandids began in Ogden, UT, just after Jace was born and I found a coupon in my hospital packet for a free 8 x 10 photo of my newborn up until he was 3 months old. FREE! I didn't waste time, and we got this beautiful picture of Jace. He was only just 3 months and didn't really know how to pose like this. Can you see the photographer's finger marks on his elbow?! She was quick and I was so impressed. Needless to say, this photo began a hobbie of numberless trips to Kiddie Kandids and many more priceless photos.

Angels Among Us 5 years later...I could go on and on with photos from them, but you get the idea. I began a trend with these black, white, and red photos - when they turn 5 (or 3, in Evan's case), they get an updated photo in a suit (or dress, in Cami's case) with those cute white pillars they have. When Evan was sick, the Layton Hills Kiddie Kandids became one of our best friends. When Evan began to sleep a lot more towards the end of his illness, I called them up and told him that he is only awake for short periods of time and asked if we could please be put in the front of the long line of people waiting for pictures. They completely understood and made sure we had a good, experienced photographer. The photo below was taken in June, one month before Evan became an angel:Jace and I needed some time together while Evan was sick, and I took him for his five year's old shot. The photographer told me to come into one of the photos, and I wasn't even planning on it! Nonetheless, she got this one of the two of us, and I loved it.They kept this one in their display photo album:

As well as this one:

Gotta get one of Lance quick, while he's five!

Mommy and LanceWait, I didn't get one of Kyle and me yet! Why'd they have to go and close on me?!

We have always been pleased with their photos. They would make sure of that, if we weren't, they let us come back and try again, same day. They have treated us so well. When Evan passed away, they framed an 11x14 of him and gave it to us. A couple of photographers even came to his funeral! We continued to drive out to the Layton Kiddie Kandids even after we moved here. I will SO miss Kiddie Kandids.

Good Taste

I love crochet! Jared's Grandma made this beautiful sweater for Cami, and it finally fits! The hat was also given to her by Jared's sister for Christmas, who got it for Cami from a neighbor that makes them. The boots were her birthday gift from Lance. She really likes this outfit. She told me so.

One Year Old!! Happy Birthday, Cami!

I wish we could have Cami as a little baby for just a little longer, but then I guess she wouldn't be able to be THIS fun age!

Latest words:

• "Nana" (Banana)
• "Uh-Oh"
• "La-La" (Mom's personal favorite, for singing)
• "Dad"
• "Mom"
• "Hi"
• sounds like "Thank-you". Really! She has said it several times now after I give her food; I just know this kid's got manners.

Gestures:

• Nod her head and raises her eyebrows up and down for "Yes"
  Wave "hello"
• Kisses
  Roll her eyes - already! I have yet to catch it on camera, but it is the funniest!
• Clap when she hears someone say, "Yay!"
• Fold her arms during prayer
• When she tries really hard to blow air out, she spits. Her brothers love it.

Favorite Things to Do:

• Play with trucks, cars, trains, and dinosaurs. She got a doll for Christmas and is still figuring that out.
  Sit in the booster chair, stand up, and sit in it again.
  Go in the laundry room when the light's on and check out stuff on the shelves
• Unload the bottom drawer full of kitchen towels.
• Unload dishwasher
• Climb onto dishwasher door while mom unloads.
• Anytime the front door opens, she wants access to that hallway outside. She loves walking up and down.
• After her brothers are in bed trying to sleep, she heads down the hallway, walks in their room and starts laughing. I try to keep her in the living room, but if I don't watch closely, off she goes again. She loves them and misses their company.

Jace decorated with white frosting, and wrote her name, and Lance and Kyle sprinkled little crowns, shoes, apples, and pearls on. Since we didn't have a small doll around, I printed 3 of them and made them into a "3-D" Princess. I thought it might work better than a Lego or transformer.

Blow it out! She tried. Luckily, her trusty brothers helped her out.
Cake, anyone? Off goes the crown with cake on it. She pretty much played with the cake more than eat it, thank goodness!

The boys really enjoyed wrapping the gifts and giving them only to unwrap them again for her. They picked them out of the "birthday store" I gave them. Jace said, "Is this all we're giving her? Shoes?" Pretty much. Plus a few accessories. Hey, she's gotta walk in style! All her brothers gave her some hair elastics, I was able to gather her hair up in one today - yay!

Jace picked the pink crocs, so she could match her brothers'. Lance picked the pink fur boots., and Kyle opted for variety and gave her some cute brown shoes. They took turns putting each shoe on her, and she waited like a princess. She actually really loves the feel of shoes, so her smile tells.

You guess who made the tutu. We're going to have some fun with that.

And there's a pink carseat on it's way in the mail from family. Playing her part (cute shades from a neighbor)

Handing out party favors - Pink Bubblemint Gum!

She missed her Dad on her birthday. He had to leave on his birthday to head to Wisconsin for his last interview. When he called, I put him on speaker phone and she looked around, sometimes saying, "Dad?". Here, he's wishing her a happy birthday. Good thing it's on speaker! He returns home late tonight.

Happy Birthday, Luv/Dad!

After singing "Happy Birthday" Kyle was quick enough to blow out the candles before Dad got to it. So Jace lit them again so Dad could have a chance. Perhaps he's getting slower with his age :) (Ha! Ha!)I love the looks on these faces after Kyle blew out the candles. Kyle doesn't see anything funny about it.
We celebrated one day early. Jared had to fly to Milwaukee this morning for another interview. I believe this one really is the last one. Whew!
Jared is currently in a Neurology rotation at Primary Children's. Kinda neat since he got to work on the Neuro/Trama Unit, where Evan spent a great deal of time. He saw a few familiar faces.

Happy New Year 2010!

If you watched the Rose Bowl this morning, you might have seen these folks in tiny specks of the crowd:

Jared's parents celebrated the new year this morning at the Rose Bowl, enjoying their vacation with aunt Linda (Jared's mom, Judy's sister), on the left. They are staying with her and Lon in L.A.

Meanwhile, back in Utah, we rang 2010 in at Jared's sister's house. We played games and the kids got to stay up LATE with almost all of their favorite cousins (we were missing two, well three). Cami went to bed just minutes before the celebration, but sleep was the last thing on the boys' minds. I can't believe Kyle made it to midnight without a struggle, as you can hear in the video.
It's too dark to see, but I think the sound alone establishes Kyle's point.

Christmas Card 2009

Wishing you Joy and Happiness in 2010

Jared is almost all grown up to be a medical doctor, graduating in May. Between his busy hunting schedule, he was able to find time to fly all over the place interviewing and looking for just the right place for a residency program. We will find out on March 18th where we live for the next 4 years.
Jenny has heard rumors, and wonders how residency could be any worse than medical school. J/K! It has been a blessing to live so close to the school where good friends and memories were made that will be cherished forever.
Jace,9, doesn’t really like 4th grade. It’s too much work. But he enjoys his class in the Extended Learning Program and is currently working on a research project on the topic of his choice, cars, that he will give a 30 min. presentation about at the end of the year.
Lance,5, loves preschool. When he grows up, he wants to be either a police officer, piano cleaner, floor mopper, or dishwasher. His preschool teachers asked if he is this clean at home. Mom doesn’t know where got the habits.
Kyle,3, is about laughs and love. His cheerful disposition is contagious. He and Lance have become buddies, and if you come by our place in the evenings you can be sure to hear him and Lance giggling hysterically as they run up and down the hall with toys on wheels, dodging their little sister.
Camille Jane, almost 1, was born on Jan.6 of this year. She made it to the hospital (U of U, also Jenny’s birthplace) just in time to be born*, and was delivered by her Dad (His 2nd delivery – Kyle his 1st). She is now walking and continues to charm us every day.

As we celebrate our Savior’s birth this year, we ponder His profound love for us and the sacrifice that he made, so that we can live with Him again; even to be together as a family, with Evan someday. We know that our Heavenly Father loves us, and He continues to bless and watch over each of us.

Love, The Martins

* http://martinfam6.blogspot.com/2009/01/more-on-cami.html

Christmas Eve

We had Jared's parents over and had a great time, as you can see by these gleeful faces. I think the kids (in new P.J's) were excited for some reason. (More on Jace's glasses later - he loves them)

We did an impromptu Nativity while Jared's Dad read from the Bible. You can't see it very well, but that's Evan's photo in the star ornament, so we are, once again, united together in a photo (I'll post the other one after Christmas gifts are opened). Cami was exhausted and slept through the whole thing just like a perfect baby Jesus.

Then One Foggy Christmas Eve...

Santa came to say,
"Cami, with your nose so bright,
won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

...After a meeting with the corner today. Then the song came on the radio! By the way, that's the corner.

Gettin' Into That Christmas Spirit

Lance has really gotten into the Christmas spirit. He has enjoyed doing services for his family and helping with things around the house. He requests to turn on the Christmas music. He even says, "I have the Christmas spirit!"

This year, the boys drew names for gift giving. (So much simpler!) It was fun watching the kids today as they wrapped their presents. I wasn't prepared for Kyle's reaction. I thought we were just getting the wrapping job done. (I guess I needed to get in the Christmas spirit) We were in the room with the door closed behind us, ready to wrap Lance's gift when Kyle said,

"I want that monster truck! That's my monster truck!"

I told him that this is the gift he's wrapping to give to Lance. He completely didn't like that idea. So I explained (in my best 3 year old terms) that Christmas is about giving and, as a bonus, his brother wrapped a present for him. I waited. He seemed to understand and finally put the tape on. He actually really enjoyed the mechanics of taping. I was relieved that it didn't take too much more explanation (can't imagine what we would have gone through if we had to wrap one from him to each of his siblings!). Afterward, he proudly walked down the hallway past Lance with his beautifully wrapped gift and Lance said, "I wonder what's inside my present?"

Kyle answered simply, "It's a monster tru--"

"Ookay! Let's take it over here and put it under the tree!" I spoke as loudly as I could. Lance was good with my pleading him not to ask Kyle what's in there.

In later news of today's fun, Kyle is continuing to progress in toilet training. He gets an M&M each time he goes. Today he decided to find his own candy once the M&M's were gone. I found an almost all eaten candy bar sitting where the M&M's go. So I asked him if he had eaten it. He nodded his head with no remorse. I asked him where he found it. After he told me, I explained to him that he shouldn't take candy from other people and he needed to go ask Jace if he could have his candy bar. Jace was reading a book when Kyle asked him so sweet and innocently, "May I please have your candy bar?"

Jace looked at it, then went back to his book and said, "Sure now that you've already eaten four-fifths of it."

That's the Christmas spirit!

Christmas Spirit

I needed this reminder. So sweet!

(For best results, push the "PAUSE" button until it finishes downloading)

Happy Thanksgiving!

...from the 80-degree beaches of Carlsbad, CA. I'm thankful for my family near and far, including my dear grandparents that live minutes from this beach!

Just My Cup 'o' Tea

My friend let me borrow her teacup last Friday. I couldn't wait to use it. That night, before dinner, I had the boys quickly throw on their suit coats and ties over what they were wearing. I was impressed that they were such good sports about it. Especially since I pulled them away from playing video games. (Jace gets to play every Friday after he mops the floor - it's a great motivator). They loved getting onto the kitchen table for these shots. Thanks, Jess!

On Jace...

I feel like I have missed pictures and time with Jace because he is gone SO MUCH. He leaves in the morning to reach his bus stop at about 7:30am, and is gone until the bus drops him off at 3:40pm. I have offered to pick him up from school so that he would have more time at home (thus more time to complete his, sometimes mounds of, homework), and he protested, "But Mom! That's my playtime!" He loves the extra time he gets to play with his best friend, Dalton, on the bus rides and at school in the mornings.

By the way, Jace qualified for the Extended Learning Program at his school. It's a program where the subjects of Math and Science are studied at a higher level, and the kids get to do things like a 30 minute presentation and research project, studied throughout the year, about any subject they are interested in. Jace is doing Insects and Arachnids. When I asked him who else qualified, he named off all of the friends that he plays with, including Dalton. There was only 1 person in the 11 that he didn't know. I guess birds of a feather really do flock together.
They get to have a class 4 days a week for 45 minutes during schooltime, usually while their class is having reading time. Jace LOVES his ELP teacher. She is so great at making exponents and square roots INTERESTING and EXCITING. His teacher told the class not to tell their peers how much fun they are having in ELP. If they ask, just tell them it's more work, she told them.

In regular class, the children have monthly presentations (3-5 min) about any subject they choose. I love watching Jace at these. I don't mean to brag, but he is a natural when it comes to public speaking. He remembers what to say, without notes, and looks comfortable up there (even though he says he was nervous). I wish I could do that.

His first presentation was going to be called, "How to Make a Bomb". Way to begin the school year! He chose this idea because he read about it in a book. I remember him laughing as he read this book about a couple mad scientists. However, when his Dad heard what he was going to call his presentation, he advised him to use a different title to so he wouldn't alarm the teacher, or principal :)

So Jace titled it, "How to Make a Bag Pop." He demonstrated using a ziploc bag, vinegar, and baking soda wrapped up in a napkin. It exploded perfectly, and the class loved it. The teacher must have liked it because he got an A+.

Yesterday was his second presentation. He was going to talk about trees, in general, but once he got started, he decided he wanted to talk about how maple syrup is made. I love this topic, but, in all honesty, I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, because he, like his mom, procrastinated until the night before to decide on his topic. Anyway, it turned out to be another A+ presentation, taking after his dad :). Whew! Way to go, Jace! We discussed it, and next time he wants to give himself a week to work on it.

After school that day, he enjoyed Maple syrup on Blueberry Pancakes. He wishes we could go to Vermont and make our own syrup. Does anyone know if we can make syrup out of our own native Maple trees here in Utah?

Jace Got the Spirit!

My Mom was so cute to send me home with some things inside of a BYU Bookstore bag. Thanks, Mom! However, Jace thought it needed some touching up: It's too small to see, but everywhere that it says, "BYU" in small print, he crossed out the "BY" with his red pen, leaving the "U".

What Are You Gonna Bring?

For Show and Tell this week, the kids in Lance's preschool were asked to bring something that makes them smile or laugh. He said he wanted to bring ME for Show and Tell.

So, today, after hiding from the kids, as I was instructed, Lance showed me off (with some good tickles and laughs). It was so fun.

Aah, he must love me.

Kyle-isms

Mom: "Kyle, did you poop?"

Kyle: A little annoyed, "No. It's still in my hole."

After breakfast, I heard the dishwasher running again for the 2nd time without my turning it on. A very pleased with himself Kyle exclaimed, "My bowl is getting clean!"

Kyle found a ziploc bag of Halloween candy I was trying to throw away. "Mom! This doesn't go in the garbage!"

I guess I'd better put more effort in if that's going to be successful. (He got a couple pieces of candy for that.)

And, my favorite, tonight, Jared got home from a class and began looking for the phone that was off the hook while he was trying to call. We searched the house to find our third phone. They need pagers on those for when they're off the hook. Now that I think about it, they need pagers on my keys, hearing aids, and cell phone.

The kids were in bed, but I was sure I saw a phone earlier somewhere by Kyle's room. I went in, he wasn't asleep yet. I told him I was sorry that I needed to turn the light on to look for the phone and to close his eyes. I looked around his bed, under his blanket, and said goodnights again as I told him to lay back down. I began to leave to look elsewhere. I saw him standing up as I left and told him again to lay down.

"Mom, here's your phone." And he held up one of my socks (the cute blue one with sparkling snowmen on it.)

I picked it up, and there, inside, was our long-searched-for phone. He would have slept with it all night, and we never would have found it until morning!

Little Turkey!

Gotcha!

Far Away, In the Midwest...

So, basically, the interview in Iowa went really well. Jared loves their program, and they seem to really want him there, too. There's a ton of pluses to going to their program and we're really quite excited about it. I know it's sort of jumping the gun a little, being his first interview, so we'll have to see what we find out about the other programs. He's going to Creighton University in Omaha this weekend.
Anyway, I was talking to Lance a little on the way home from preschool today as we were looking at the beautiful mountains that we live RIGHT next to.

I asked him, "What if we move somewhere that doesn't have any mountains?"
He answered easily, "Then we'll just have to get some wet dirt and BUILD one!"

There it is. Hopefully I can keep that mindset if we move somewhere far away...