Davis at age 5

Davis says he loves "hotness." If he gets in the car and needs it to be warmer, he says "I need hotness." (He also calls it coldness.) :) 

Davis's first night in his big boy bed was mid January! Is age 4.5 too old to be in a crib? Probably, yes. But also--have you met this crazy boy? We kept him caged as long as possible haha. We tried telling him it was so scary to climb out of the crib, which is what made him too scared to get out for so long. Then he finally got brave and kept doing it so we made the switch to the big boy bed. It was honestly a tough adjustment. I think he got up at 4 AM for several months and was always very tired. But at this point, he's adjusted and sleeps decently well.

He's become very creative this year and is always making really complicated lego creations. Most of them are weapons. (He's very into making weapons to "kill bad guys" in general. We've often joked he'll be a weapon designer one day.)

He's gotten really good at puzzles this year and enjoys them.

His best buddy is probably Trey Stanley. They play so well together. Basically, they're both high energy mischievous boys and they understand each other. :)

Davis finished up tumbling in May. He loved his teacher. It was great to get some energy out and let me shower in peace on Mondays when he didn't have preschool.

He went through a 1-2 month phase where he was obsessed with playing this farm memory game.

Cute preschool class

Davis and Theo were on their first soccer team together. They basically dominated because it was a toddler team and they were the oldest. They were very cute.

A wall drawing in Davis's room. :( 

Davis's Sound Beginnings music class. It was so fun the first half of the year and then he decided he hated it and didn't want to cooperate the second half of the year. So fun having Theo in class and Carson/Anna too.

Davis loves the "ninja turtle game." (War) He really learned to love games this year. He has big reactions to everything. He really loves to win and really hates to lose. I actually think this game helped him really understand numbers and which numbers are higher/lower.

Davis is the cutest, most creative artist. I always love seeing what he comes up with.

Two of his beloved preschool teachers, Miss Val and Miss Ariel. (Not pictured, Miss Mandy.) He had them for two years and loves them. 

These two are just the cutest friends. He can be mean to Violet still but he absolutely adores her. And she's so sweet and nurturing to him.

Big fan of the butterfly museum and absolutely no fear in picking up critters. He'll pick up all sorts of things in our yard and put them in cups to be our pets. (Until they die.) I realized this year that's how he thinks people get pets--he thinks they find them in nature. When we're on a hike he's hoping to find an animal to be his pet. :)

Davis did his first T-ball season with Brendan as his coach and Fordy on his team. He had fun, but didn't love it nearly as much as soccer.

These three continue to be good buddies and we had fun going to splash summit. (Except for the time Davis took off running from me without his puddle jumper and I was terrified he was drowning somewhere. A lifeguard pulled him out of the lazy river and saved him.)

We did swimming lessons this year at The Swimmin' Hole and loved it. Davis made a lot of progress and can basically swim short distances now. Here he is jumping in (he got brave a few times and did it without his teacher holding on to him).

He loves swimming lessons!

He's obsessed with this onesie Fordy gave him for his bday. He loves wearing it to bed.

Davis is a lover of tape. We go through a whole lot of tape.

I call him my special boy. I absolutely adore him.

Bug lover!

Star of the week in Kindergarten. 

He loves to help me in the kitchen.

Abby jokes that he loves the "darkness." It really is true though. He loves scary things. He always wants to pick out Halloween books or books with scary things. And he wants to watch scary shows.

Davis drawing this stuffed llama. Maybe the cutest thing I've ever seen.

He won honorable mention with this in the school reflections contest! He got a medal and is so proud.

Lots of cute selfies on my phone like this.

Can you even handle him? I always ask him why he's so cute and he says, "I don't know!"

A house he drew.

A cute shirt Elder Tuibarotu sent back with my parents for him.

Davis is reading now! He can read words with 3 letters and some with 4 letters. He is so proud of himself and it is so fun to watch. He's obsessed with doing Lexia and has already finished all the Lexia levels for Kindergarten.

Cuties in sweatsuits

More lego creating

He loves "Sleeping McQueens"

Can't handle this cute scarecrow he drew at school.

Cutest kindergarten pic. Not sure why his teachers left his jacket on? ha

Davis with Principal Pead and Henry from his class with his reflections medal.

Absolutely adore my special boy so much. He says I'm his favorite and I don't mind at all. I could eat him up. (I always tell him I want to eat just some of him. Maybe a finger? A toe? A nose? He laughs and says "noooooo.") 

Cutest paper from school. I love how he writes and sounds things out.

He drew his family on his Thanksgiving Feast placemat at school. (Though he missed Andy for some reason, haha)

I can't handle how cute he is. He told me this is him with Trey and Tagg. 

• He's done so well starting kindergarten. I was extremely nervous about it, but he has absolutely loved it (and so have I). He's really thrived and is basically reading. He had some delays in preschool, but he's testing above grade level on some things now. At the encouragement of his kinder teacher (Mrs. Hurst), we've pulled him out of his extra help. I thought we would have him repeat kindergarten, but I'm not seeing how we'll do that now. He's really just doing so well. He loves Mrs. Hurst and Mrs. Morgan (his aid). They're always telling me funny stories about things he says at school.
• Davis is the cutest singer. He has a really good voice and really good pitch. I love when he sings Sweeney Todd songs: Not While I'm Around and Johanna. His favorite is "Epiphany" which he calls "We All Deserve to Die." (Which is connected to his love of darkness that I talked about earlier.) 
• Davis loves music and loves blasting songs on his Alexa in his room. He loves songs from the Zombies movie. And Imagine Dragons and Coldplay. And the music from "Into the Spiderverse." 
• He has a whole box of pokemon cards he's inherited from his brothers and he loves them. 
• He is such a stinker in primary. He is pretty disruptive in singing time and talks to the music teacher as if he the lesson is just a one on one chat between the two of them. 
• In the primary program he was soooo naughty. He kept saying "nipple" over and over again. When the primary president (Michelle Beckstead) was giving her remarks and just said "blah blah blah" loudly over and over again. Not sure why they stuck him right next to the microphone. Also, during "As I Have Loved You," he loudly just sang "chew gum" the entire song. Not sure where he came up with that? 
• Davis is so cute at this stage and I'm trying to just soak him up since he's our last. In my opinion there is nothing cuter than a 5 year old. I love his cute remarks on the world. And his zest for life. He makes everything more fun. 
• He still has a big temper and gets very mad when he doesn't get what he wants. He really likes to win and will find a way to make sure things go his way. If he's mad at me he'll say stuff like "I hate you so much. You're a stupid little mom." Last night he apologized after he did that though, so I think he's maturing a bit! :) 
• He has a very kind heart. I was having a hard time last week and he came over and scratched my back. And then said, "Mom, I will do all your work!" And went around cleaning the house. 
• This is random, but he loves Sara's teeter totter at their new house. He will spend 30 minutes on it, happy as a clam. He's also obsessed with their dog Milo. It's temping me to get a dog. He asks Sara, "Can I take this guy home?" 
• Davis has the cutest giggle and loves to laugh. Like most 5 year olds, he thinks potty words are hilarious. 
• He loves to read books. If he's not listening, we usually threaten he won't get a story before bedtime which is a big blow to him.
• He's very friendly at school and knows everyone's name. A social guy, through and through. The principal recently emailed me a cute video to show me that he'll hang out with a table of sixth graders, no problem, and talk to them like they're peers. 
• We adore our Davis boy and I don't know what we'd do without him!

Violet at Age 8

Violet continues to be an absolute joy in our lives. Is there anything sweeter than an 8 year old girl? She is kind, thoughtful, smart, creative, joyful, silly, sweet and a million other wonderful things too. I always tell her she's my favorite girl. We have a very close bond. Some things to remember about her: 

• She's got a full schedule! Piano: she's still taking from Dr. Williams and really enjoys it. She and Max just made it to the ensemble festival honors recital (even though it about destroyed their relationship). Dance: she's at Hilight twice a week and is on a crew team. She likes jazz more than ballet by a long shot. She tells me she likes "sassy dancing," haha. She's had a hard time that Quinn and Gigi are on company dance and she isn't, and we've talked about not comparing ourselves. We didn't even try out because it's so time consuming and she's so young. I'm not even sure if she likes dance that much or if she just wants to be with them? Not sure what we'll decide to do for next year. Tumbling: she moved up to Gold a couple of months ago! Singers Company: I think it's her third year? fourth year? She still really likes it! This year Penny and Blair are doing it too, which is fun. 
• The poor thing has had a rough year with bowel issues. She's suffered from chronic constipation since she was a toddler. We finally started seeing a great specialist this year. She had to do a bowel  cleanout in July (actually her second cleanout: her first 18 months ago didn't work). It was so, so hard and broke my heart. She was a real trooper. Now she has to remember to have push time multiple times a day, miralax in the morning, and exlax at night. It's tough. But we're hoping she can have a fully recovered colon sometime in 2025!
• She's in second grade at Ridgeline and has Mrs. Kelly. She's had a hard time loving Mrs. Kelly as much as Mrs. Swalberg. But she's loved having Gigi and Londyn in her class! 
• Her best friends are Monroe and Gigi. But she has lots of friends! She also loves playing with Londyn and Phoebe at school. There's definitely more drama with little girls and there are already things I have to talk through with her. 
• Violet says her favorite move is the Parent Trap. We also went through a real Descendents Red phase earlier this summer. (The music is actually really great.)
• Violet loves her music! Most of the year she was a big Swifty, listening to Taylor Swift nonstop. Then she was introduced to Benson Boone and she's obsessed. I love hearing her sing. She loves to make up dances too. 
• She's our kid who suffers from night terrors, which is weird? She won't have them for several months and then all of a sudden will have them most nights and wakes up at 11:00 confused and upset. 
• She's become extremely chatty lately and wants to talk to me a lot in the car and everywhere. She always wants to talk about things coming up that she's excited about, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. 
• She and I have a "kiss shake" she made up that she wants us to do every night before bed. 
• She's become very particular about her hair this year and only likes certain hairstyles. She likes having her her down. Her favorite lately is a slicked back high pony with a bow (I have to use gel and she insists I get her hair wet so it's not staticy). There have been tears on days that I don't get it quite right. 

Violet's room! Lots of girly things everywhere. :)

I feel like Violet's developed a strong opinion about her clothes this last year! She cares a lot about her clothes and sometimes tells me things I want her to wear are "not her style." (And she's informed me she won't be wearing skinny jeans anymore.) She has really cute style and loves clothes from Zara. 

Gigi and Violet have continued to be very good friends this year.

Violet is one of my greatest blessings.

She got an American Girl doll for Christmas (Brooklyn) and that's turned into this year's obsession. She wants lots of new clothes and accessories.

Fun playdate at Kate Kenny's! I'm glad she has fun girls all over the neighborhood to play with.

She likes creating things with legos and is extremely creative and detail oriented. 

U of U gymnastics meet with Christine and Grace. She and Grace continue to be very good friends.

Violet loves her dad. They try to sneak tickle each other at bedtime. Cameron calls her his little "squirrel." And he insists her doll's real name is Cameron Junior. Violet thinks he's hilarious. :)

Kathy surprised Violet with these beautiful doll clothes she made for Brooklyn. She's continued to make more this year and I think it's the most special thing.

She begged me all winter to take her skiing, so I finally did. She loves it! No one else wanted to go.

She continues to be a tumbling girl! This is from her spring showcase in the silver level. She finally got her front walkover in September and moved up to gold. She worked so hard! She's always cartwheeling all over the house.

Her cute friend Evelyn was in her tumbling class. I put them in different classes in the fall because I'm pretty sure they just played during class haha.

I've been Violet's activity days leader the last year. It's been so fun! She's definitely more disruptive when I'm the one in charge though. :)

Picture from a fieldtrip.

Last year was her first year on a Crew Team at Hilight. She loved it! Their dance "Blackbird" was darling.

She's a great artist and everything she draws is basically the cutest thing ever.

From her first grade program. She absolutely adored Mrs. Swalberg. I'm pretty sure she'll be Violet's favorite teacher for life.

Gigi and Quinn.

Finally missing teeth!

She has a very silly, fun side.

Violet and I went to see Annie with Christine and Grace. She loves plays and musicals. She loves all the music from Annie.

Another new dress for Brooklyn!

She's been doing Singer's Company again! 

Fun doing it with so many friends! Avery, Gigi, Venna, and Evelyn.

She loves Mrs. Christie.

Dance tryouts with Quinn and Gigi! She made it onto another Crew team.

These three continue to be wonderful friends. So special to be there for Avery's baptism!

Violet is the sweetest big sister to Davis. They're really cute buddies. Even though he's pretty abusive at times, she's quick to forgive and is so nurturing to him.

Singer's Company camp with Avery and Venna!

She's a pro swimmer and took lessons this summer! She's doing so well on all her strokes.

Seven peaks with Avery and Venna.

She did a cheer camp with the neighborhood girls and had a blast. 

Cheer camp with Kinlee and Kyra (some of our favorite babysitters!).

She's a pro reader. She loves going to the library. She's really into graphic novels right now and has me go into Max's room to steal dogman books. She also loves Ivy and Bean books.

Violet continues to adore baby Anna.

Violet has loved having Penny and Blair live closer! She loves playing with them so much.

Monroe and Violet continue to be the dearest friends. They spend a whole lot of time together, especially in the summer. They love to be together and are so kind to each other. (If they're one on one...adding in a third is always trickier.)

Kathy made these darling matching dresses for Violet and Brooklyn! Violet wanted to wear it every Sunday several weeks in a row.

Hiking cousins!

More activity days!

Loves her daddy.

Violet continues to be a fantastic pianist. Her super power is her attitude--she's always willing to try and doesn't shut down when things are hard. It's incredible to watch. Because of this, she's able to make a lot of progress. We practice 30 minutes every morning together, though that should probably start inching up. She won first place in the Keyboard Competition this year! She played Tarantella by Prokofiev and Winter Scene.

Cutest cousins had a sleepover at our house.

Lots of baptisms this year! Here she is at Alivia's baptism last week.

Cute 2nd grade pic. She didn't want to wear a bow, but I insisted just for one more year. :) She's very insistent about wanting to part her hair in the middle, to which I conceded.