Tuolumne is 2

- 30ish pounds and i think 34 inches tall 

- you are STILL very addicted to your mom!
- you are a mini-me
- you are wild and free
- you cry A LOT! you know what you want, how you want it and can get pretty upset if anyone gets in the middle of your plan. even if it is to help!
- you are independent. i had to force Cap to undress and dress himself but you have been attempting this since right after - you turned 1! you aren’t there yet, but boy you sure try!
- you are a great eater. prefer veggies over bread. not sure what i would say is your favorite food is. may be potatoes, rice     and beans, or broccoli.
- you are the fastest walker! again, a mini-me! as soon as you were walking you were “running”!

- you are so good at pretending. this started right after you turned one also, but it is so fun to watch you and Cap play. 

- you are happy to be by yourself, but by the end of the school year i think you were ready to have your brother back!

- you are so persistent. you don't give up and don't even get frustrated too easily for being 2. i can't wait to see where this trait takes you. 

- you learned how to ride your scooter this past month. you steer heavy to the left which leads you to the rocks every time!

- get you on a trail and you light up! you are such a great hiker and you love to be outside. i love holding your hand and running down trail with you while you laugh the whole way down. 

- can't say you love sweets but you do love chocolate!

- you call eggs eggies and undies ugies. thank you sounds more like knick knack.

- you hardly are putting 2 words together though you have improved a lot in the last month.

- you can sit through long Dr Sues type books and Brown Bear Brown Bear was your favorite for months last year. we have had many book casualties since you joined our family.

- it is not unusual for you to cry once a week or every other week at night time. as strict as i am with sleep time you have kept persisting. doctor said last month that may be you are having nightmares or night terrors so now we just pray against every night.

- you wear 3t tops at least and 2t/3t bottoms. 

- size 7 shoe as of this week

- you have the biggest belly and the cutest figure to me. you look so strong in my opinion. 

- you have become very brave in the pool. you still don't choose to get your head and face in the water but you don't make a big deal of it when it happens. when i say we are going to go swim or go the pool you do this cute hand motion like you are swimming. it is pretty great. 

- you love to swing at the park. you would do just that for an hour if i let you. 

- you are just like your brother in stores. you both just come "alive" in them. it is so funny. you are both so silly when i shop. 

- your hair is very curly and when we went to Padre it became even more so! most people their would stop and tell you they loved your curly hair.

- your first plane ride was to South Padre Island this past May. you did great but threw up before the second flight. the week before that you got car sick and threw up in the car. yuck!

- after months and months of practicing you finally learned how to jump. you had me worried for awhile!!!

Happy Birthday Tuolumne! You are such a toot but we are so happy you are part of our family. You are wild and free and brave. We love you!

 

she got a backpack for her birthday

 barely touched the candle than we all screamed

as she was going for it and make it much worse!

 quickly got over it though

 we took these out by Papa and Grammi's house in Woodland Park

4 years old

This boy of mine! I wish I would have been documenting more about how he has grown and the conversations we have had. I have so enjoyed the little talks we have going from here to there or hanging out at the house. He is in constant thought it seems! He turned 4 on the 13th and he has been "owning it" since then.

We spent 3 weeks in San Angelo and actually drove home on his actual birthday. So we had a special day for him on the 12th. Since he didn't know all of his options we gave him several "SA" things to pick from and he designed his day from there.

His day included going to Crossfit with us. Then to Stangos afterwards. He loves that place! Then we met our cousins at the bowling alley for some pre-nap bowling. This was his second time to be able to bowl. Our friend Oliver had his birthday at the bowling alley back in December. The boys had a blast. Then we napped.

For afternoon fun he wanted to go to Kids Kingdom and also feed the ducks. We didn't feed the ducks but he was okay with that. He wanted Rosas for dinner with sopapillas for his dessert. He was actually a little upset I wasn't making him cupcakes but we just didn't have the time for it! I told him we would make some back home and that helped. (Which reminds me we still need to make some!)

After Rosas we went to the skate rink and rode the go-karts for the first time and jumped around in the bounce house. He had a blast and was pretty worn out afterwards. I missed having him all to myself like I have had in the past but it was SO fun to be surrounded by family on his special day too! I guess sometimes I need to share him.

Here are some things that I want to remember about this time

- He is my lover boy! Always wants to hold hands, sit in your lap and give you hugs. He tells me he loves me at least 6 times a day! He does get his feelings hurt sometimes that Tuolumne doesn't share the physical touch need like he does.
- He is so smart. Sometimes I don't realize that normal 4 year olds don't know or care about the stuff he knows. Nor do they communicate the way he does. A lot of times he sounds like an adult talking to you. He ask all the time how to spell words or what something says. He finally got into learning to write at the end of last summer. He loves doing school at home and used to ask multiple times a day if we could do school.
- started preschool last fall for social reasons. School probably set us back a good bit on learning at home, but it was worth having him in a social setting without me or Bryce. Both my kids are still very quite around others they do not know well and might not say hi back to you if they don't know you, but he has grown in this area because of school.
- would love to paint everyday but i can't handle the mess! i do feel bad about this!
- recently started to really like legos and building along with some directions. it has helped him be more creative and make his own creations as well!
- Cap and Tuoly share a room as of December. He went through a very difficult time from the first of December until February. It was so out of character of him and VERY difficult on us. I still don't understand the "why" in it, but thankful we are out of it and he is doing better.
- He was really into acting out Jesus stories for several months. Daniel in the Lions Den, Jonah and Whale, Peter cutting off an ear of the centurion, Moses parting the Sea, Jesus feeding thousands with a few fish and some loaves of bread, etc. Oh and David and Goliath which is what started it all!!! He notices Bible stories in every store we go in. Even grocery stores will have a book with stories and he always insist on stopping and finding his favorites.
- He has come a long way in what he eats this year. I messed him up by giving him the same old stuff all the time for so long. I also was careful about "flavorful" foods. We have never made Tuoly separate meals and it shows! She loves everything we eat, but it took Cap longer to get there. He is definitely a meat man!
- He is a great big brother!
- Hates when water gets into his eyes.
- Sleeps with a toy every time he sleeps.
- Has to have water at night.
- Is very into money right now and keeping a wallet on him or change in his pocket.
- chews gum.
- Has become much more flexible as he gets older. So nice!
- He is dangerous and courageous! Always climbs up high rocks when we hike or walks on the "edge" of wherever we might be.
- Has become a great hiker. He has always been the slowest walker since 12 months old! But now he is getting much better. He has started to ask to go on certain hike in the afternoon or certain places like Garden of Gods or Red Rock Canon.
- This boy loves Christmas and buying gifts for people.
- Goes to bed a little later now. 7:30- 8:00pm


Cap is awesome. He is very silly and loves to make up silly lines. He likes to take turns saying something funny. His laugh is contagious!

I wish I could remember the great Jesus talks we have had. Some are about heaven and what it might be like and who might be there. Sometimes we talk about how we hear God and why we can't see him. He knows he can pray for healing and receive it or pray for his sister and it works! One time we prayed for a bad cough of his and when he realized a little while later he wasn't coughing anymore his face and grin was just priceless! You could see the wonder and awe in his eyes.

One day I heard him talking to his sister and he said "May you laugh in Jesus Holy Name!". This made me smile! Though he doesn't have that authority and is beginning to understand it!!!

Happy Birthday Cap. I love you bunches!

pics from a few months ago