Congrats to Blake!

This picture is an oldie but a goodie of Uncle Blake and Carson. Sorry, I do not know why it is sideways or how to fix it...

We need to give a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Blake! He graduated from BRHS yesterday. I seriously can not believe that Blake is old enough to be graduating...
Here are some of my favorite memories and things we LOVE about Blake.

He is the greatest uncle. Carson loves Blake. He is always willing to play with Carson. He is great at playing chase, building starships out of legos, jumping on the trampoline, and all other sorts of things that little boys think is cool. Carson really looks up to you, Blake.

He is soo funny. You should hear his impression of Rex from Napolean Dynamite. It is hilarious.

Last summer, the Greener family was swimming here and Blake was doing tricks off the diving board. He was jumping and catching balls etc. He did a front dive into a little tiny tube and about broke his neck. You could tell it hurt and I was scared, but Blake came out of the water with a smile.

This probably doesn't seem that funny to anyone else, but a few Christmas's ago you received a Scene It- sports edition game and wanted to play. I remember playing and you were the only one answering any questions. :)

Blake, remember at the family camp out when we rented those bikes? You and I were biking up the hill and I was doing all of the work. :)ha ha :)

Remember your wrapping paper 'costume' at the family Christmas party? I have to admit it was pretty good and you played the part well.

There are so many other great things about Blake. He is kind, happy, handsome, great at sports, fun to be around, and the list could go on and on. We love you Blake and are proud of you! We can't wait to continue to be involved in all the things you will accomplish!

School's out for Summer!

We celebrated Carson's last day of Kindergarten on May 29, 2008. I think I must be a weird mom because I am soooo excited to have my little boy home again all day! I have missed him.

In honor of the last day of school we had a 'Happy Summer' Party. I dropped Carson off at school, made him an invitation, picked up a cake, and picked up a surprise that you will see and hear more about below.

Hear our some pics from our 'Happy Summer' celebration.

Surprise number one was a cute cat cake that I wrote 'Happy Summer Carson!' on.


Surprise number 2...a new bike for Carson! I have to explain this though...Carson has never had a new bike, his was a wonderful hand me down from his cousin. The night before this I took him on a bike ride. His seat was as high as it would go and his knees were almost touching his chin. The training wheel was bent and the bike leaned to the side at a 30 degree angle! A new bike was needed so I tied it in with our celebrations!


The last thing we did to celebrate summer was set up the tent and had a 'campout' outside. We ate treats and watched movies.

Bragging about Carson

I just have to brag about my little boy for a minute. Isn't that what blogs are for anyway? To brag about our kids? Well, maybe not. But that's pretty much what I enjoy doing the most on mine :) So be patient and enthusiastic :) while I brag for a moment...

I think my boy is pretty smart. The second week of April we had him test for the Accelerated Learning Academy (ALA) at Hillcrest. So what is the ALA program you ask? :)

This is a program for first graders -6th graders. There is only one class per grade. The ratio is 19 students per teacher!!!! Yipee! The ALA program is composed of children from all over the district who are accepted. The curriculum is one grade higher than what they are actually in. So first graders will be doing second grade work etc. They get more hands on experiences like fieldtrips, science experiments, computer time, more autonomy etc. The best part is if the child is ready to advance to the next learning stage they can!

Before testing Carson, I observed the first grade teacher for a day and she is AMAZING!

I am sure by now you know where this is leading...Today (after 6 and 1/2 weeks) Carson got his test scores back and his acceptance letter. He tested wonderfully! He received his highest scores in Math (thanks to Dad!) and Reading. His lowest score was in Listening Comprehension....hmmmm :)

So, next year we are off to Hillcrest. I hope it is as good as an experience as I am thinking/hoping it will be. Can I just say how proud I am of my little boy! (as if you could not already tell :)

Okay, the bragging is over (for now).

Last post about the running day I promise!

So I am going on about this day..but I have to post these cute pics of Hannah after the Kids K.





Stoller toe touchers! Do I have a gymnast on my hands? :)

Kids K

I signed Carson up for the Kids K (which was actually a mile) the same day as the 5K. It was not until 12:30 though. So we all went home ate and came back. Carson was super cute and super excited. You could not drive to the start of the race so we had to meet and ride a bus there.

Cam was busy working on his project (the duplex) and was going to meet us at the finish line. I of course was taking my crutch along with me again. We got to the meeting area and again there were TONS of people and kids there. I thought Carson would be one of the youngest but I was wrong! There were little 2 and 3 year olds there with enthusiastic- obviously runner- parents too!

A lot of the parents I saw had already run and finished the marathon and then were running the race with their kids. I was impressed! After running my half marathons I didn't want to run or walk another step! I can't imagine how they felt.

As we got closer to loading the bus I was thinking of how I was going to possibly get Carson loaded, hold Hannah, fold the jogging stroller up and pack it onto the bus. A man behind me saw my plight and offered to take the stroller-Thank you Mr Anonymous Man!

When we got to the start Mr. Anonymous Man unloaded the stroller for me and asked if I needed help unfolding it. Not wanting to be a nuisance anymore to him I said "no, no I can get it."

So with one hand on the stroller the other holding Hannah I did the one arm flick to pop the stroller out in its usable position. In doing this I pinched Carson's finger in the side. Ouch!

It was minutes before the race started and Carson was crying his little eyes out. He kept saying "I can't race now!" and "My legs won't work now because my finger hurts!"

I was talking a mile a minute to get his mind off of his owie and then I remembered the fruit snacks in the stroller! I got them out and they were the cure-all! We were now ready to race again!

They said Go! and my little guy took off. I had to swerve (the stroller) around about a hundred adult/kids to not keep up with him but be able to keep an eye on him! This pace lasted for about 1/4 of a mile. Then it turned into complaining and walking for the next 1/4 mile.

Luckily Cam was standing on the sidelines at the 1/2 mile mark. I told Carson I saw Dad and he better start running so Dad could cheer for him. Seeing Cam was all the motivation Carson needed.

He ran as fast as he could for the last half of the race. He loved all the people cheering for him and I was so proud of him. He ran one mile in 14:00 flat. I think that is pretty good for a 6 year old.

All the kids got cowbell medals and the lady even put one around Hannah. It was a good experience for Carson. We had a lot of fun that day!


Before the race started-after the injury happened :)


After the race-showing off his "medal"



Me and my other very cute running partner!

Ogden 5K

Last Saturday was the big 5K. My first 'race' since having Hannah. When I have ran in the past I would get sooo nervous before it started. Feeling sick to my stomach, jittery, etc. This time I did not feel that way at all. (Probably because I had "my crutch"-the running stroller and because it was the shortest race I have done- 3 miles instead of 13.)

The race started at 7:00 in the morning. Cam kept telling me to just leave Hannah home and he would bring her. I refused because as I said early she was "my crutch" my excuse for going slow. I wasn't planning on waking her up I was just going to grab her in her pj's and bring her along. She woke up at 6:15 that morning anyway so it made the decision to bring her even easier!

There were so many people at the start of the race. Mike, Carrie, Connor, and Dallin found me at the start about 1 minute before it started and we were off!

The weather was beautiful and my littlest running partner feel asleep about two miles into the race. She was so cute and such a trooper.

I won't post my time here because I don't want all of you to be jealous :). But the race did exactly what I wanted it to do. It was very fun and very motivating. Here are a few pics from our adventure.


Greener Family at the race.


Brown Family at the race.


The cheering squad...Mom, Cam, and Carson


The cutest running partner you ever saw.

Fire!

Cam is in NYC until Thursday. He usually mows the lawn on Tuesday night to put the clippings in the garbage for Wednesday pick up. Well, tomorrow I have a primary activity to attend and knew that if I wanted to mow the lawn it would have to be tonight.

So trying to help Cam out I mowed the lawn tonight (which I actually enjoy doing except emptying the bag-I hate that) I had about two more rows in the front yard to finish when the lawn mower made this puttering sound and suddenly stopped.

The engine then proceeded to start on fire with a little orange flame shooting out the side. Luckily it self extinguished and then just started smoking like crazy and smelling really bad.

I left the lawnmower outside and played with the kids for over an hour to make sure it didn't spontaneously combust or something. When I went to put it away it was nice and cool so hopefully it is non dangerous now!

I don't know what happened to the thing. All I can say is I will never be helpful again! I almost burned something up and I wasn't even cooking!

Hannah is 10 Months Old!

Hannah had her 10 "monthversary" today. I really can not believe it. I love this darling baby!

All About Hannah at 10 months old!
I am MOBILE! I can get anywhere I want- very quickly too. If I am crawling on the hardwood floors I use a slide crawl method because it is faster. When I am on the rugs I crawl on all fours. My knees are raw. :(
New words I learned this month include bye bye, uh oh, ouch (taught by dad..because I am always pulling his hair!)
I know how to wave
If you ask me what the kitty says I make a hissing sound (We have a mean cat that only hisses!)
I know the actions to pat a cake-clapping, rolling, and throwing in the air.
I have a new funny smile where I scrunch up my nose and eyes and then smile. My mom and dad think it is SOOO cute.
Much to my mom's dismay I like to pull off all the "extras" she puts on me like headbands, bracelets, and shoes.
I love my brother very much.
I am so happy in the morning. I love seeing my family in the morning.
I LOVE being outside.
I like to copy my brother. If he yells for fun..I yell back!
I can almost pull myself up to a standing position. I still need some help though with this.
I like to kick the blankets off.
My mom thinks I am growing more hair.
My favorite foods are- anything really! I especially love strawberries and rice cereal mixed with OJ.
I am a very cute lovable baby...I am learning new things everyday...watch me grow!

Here are a few of my nicknames and who gave them to me!
Little Miss (Mom)
Lovie (Mom)
Sweet Cheeks (Carson)
Babs (Pronounced to rhyme like labs) (Dad)

Early Mothers Day..being posted late.

I have the sweetest most thoughtful little boy. I have to share this cute story.

Three times a school year the "rainbow bus" makes a visit to the local elementary schools. The rainbow bus is a reward program the school does for students who can pass of the skills for the quarter (reading 25 words, etc). It is pretty much a toys R us on wheels with brand new toys the children can choose from if they are sucessful in their skill pass offs (teachers and volunteers work very hard to have each student ready!)

The bus came for the last time the week before Mother's Day. When I picked Carson up that day he was secretly holding his "rainbow bus" prize behind his back. He had a grin from ear to ear.

I asked him to let me see his prize and he said he couldn't show me until mother's day. The whole way home from school Carson was bursting to keep it a surpise and bursting to show me. Finally he gave in and told me that instead of picking out a new toy he saw this lovely dolphin statue and knew I would LOVE it for Mother's Day!

I could not have been happier or any more in love with my little boy than I was right then. And Carson was right I do LOVE my dolphin statue! It will forever hold a special place in my heart and a special place in my home! It may seem silly but I can just imagine my little guy seeing all of the other kids choose racecars, spidermans etc and he wanted to choose something for me!

Thank you Carson for the best Mother's Day present ever! I am so lucky to by your mom! I love you!
Thank you Carson!


My "lovely" dolphin statue.

Hannah's Hematocrit Update

Warning! This post contains information on pork liver, pooping, & breastfeeding! Do not proceed if you are grossed out...

Hannah's hematocrit two weeks ago was 9.0, one week ago it was 10.5 (yeah!) and today it was 10.4 (sort of a yeah). It should be at 11.0. It is barely low and has shown improvement from two weeks ago so the pediatrician is going to give Little Miss one more week to raise it again, before we do the comprehensive lab work again.

When we did the labwork when Hannah was around 3-4 months old it came back consistent with iron deficiency anemia, so I was unsure of what/if any new information repeating the labs would offer. The doctor said we needed to make sure that it was still consistent with that diagnosis (which she was sure it would be) and to make sure all the other labs besides hematocrit were okay.

The MD increased Hannah's iron dose today so hopefully that will help. I also have been filling Hannah up with lots of iron rich foods like pork liver, turkey, cooked beans and lentils-those are all excellent sources containing iron aka lunch for Hannah. Dinner usually contains strawberries, broccoli, or orange juice which are excellent iron absorption enhancers. Hannah loves sweet potatoes but those are an iron absorption inhibitor so those are out now. In the morning Hannah has iron enriched rice cereal mixed with prune juice to help all this constipating iron stuff come out! All I can say is my poor baby. Luckily she is a trooper and actually likes her 'yummy' foods.

One thing you all might be wondering (and Cam accused me of!!) is the relation of this with breastfeeding- especially because I am a vegetarian and therefore am most likely not getting a lot of iron myself. Well, the answer is there is NO relation! Even if I ate pork liver all day long it would not help! So, sorry Cam, I will not be eating any meat.

So there you have it...I am sure you are all impressed with my iron knowledge-its amazing what you learn (and what you will do...can we say pork liver??) when it affects your child!

I hope and pray that next Thursday Hannah's hematocrit will be above 11.0!! The MD did say that Hannah just doesn't match the lab result. She isn't pale or overly sleepy so she believes it is mild and Hannah has compensated well. That made me feel good but then she said..."I still want to see the result over 11.0 though" so we will see.

The Dragons

T-Ball season has officially started. Our little guy is on the Dragon team. He has really improved since last year, although when playing outfield he would rather talk to his team or the opposing team instead of paying attention.

I think his improvement can be contributed to his team's stellar coaches...Cam and April :) That's right, yours truly. When we signed him up, the recreation office could not help and notice Cam and I's outstanding athletic ability, especially when it comes to T-Ball.

We have 11 little sluggers on our team, 9 boys and 2 girls. Each child got to choose a name and then we drew out of a hat. We became the DRAGONS (be afraid, be very afraid.) We are planning on going to state this year. :)

Come support our team and enjoy 55 minutes of entertainment and a few laughs!!

Prison Break!!!

I was surprised to find Hannah this way after her nap. What a cute baby!

What are Big Brothers for?

Carson is a GREAT big brother. He loves his little sister so much. He sometimes gets a little carried away though as shown below.


Carson made Hannah this comfortable "bed" and wanted her to sit in it all day long. If Hannah started to fuss he would run and grab her "bed" and say "I think she wants to sit in this again." It was pretty funny. At first Hannah didn't mind but she soon got tired of it and wanted out!


I filled up the sink to do dishes and then ran to get Carson's bedtime water cup. When I returned 20 seconds later, this is what I found.


If I say "Hannah relax" this is the pose she pulls.

Our First Hike

I decided that Cam and I needed to be one with nature :) and we took our family on our first hike this Saturday. We didn't have any professional gear (Yes, that is me carrying Hannah in the Maya wrap-p.s. I LOVE that thing) but we didn't need it for our first adventure. It was basically like walking on a sidewalk but in the woods...nonetheless it was great!

I knew Carson would love it-he is the main reason I wanted us to do it but Little Miss loved it to. She was so happy, it really seemed like she was in awe and taking it all in.

Our hike was about 1 mile round trip into Strongs Canyon. The weather was perfect that day and the little creek that followed the trail was very pretty. If you keep following the trail up it will lead to Waterfall Canyon...but we were definitely not "professional enough" or prepared for that.

Our baby trail was good enough for us and a great start to what I hope will be a new hobby for us.

P.S. Thanks Nana for inspiring us and fyi Carson was not a "slowpocahontas" he lead the way the entire time!


Make this picture big and check out Hannah's cute face


Carson and Dad on the bridge crossing Strong's creek.


Pretty views

All about CARSON

Favorite Food: Any Dessert and Grapple's
Favorite Color: Gold and Silver
Favorite Drink: Mountain Dew (Thanks G-pa Newman!!)
Favorite Animal: Tiger
Favorite Thing to Do: Play with Indiana Jones Legos and Play Tiger Tanks
Favorite School Activity: recess
Favorite School Subject: writing
Best Friends: Olivia, Elijah, Mason, & Mick
Favorite Scripture Story: "Samuel with the big bush that glows" :) and "anything in the Book of Mormon"
I want to be a Doctor, artist, and water inventor.

Tell me about yourself...
I am 6 years old. I have blondish brown hair, and blue eyes. I have one sister her name is Hannah. I want to have two brothers and one more sister. :o)

Responsibility Award

Each month Carson's school has a Community of Caring award given to a student. Carson was the recipient of this award this month. He received the award (in front of the whole school in an assembly)under the category "Responsibility."

Here is what Carson's teacher wrote about him, for his nomination. (It was on the back of his award)

"This student is nominated for the Community of Caring Award because...Carson is reliable and dependable. I can count on him to return to school his homework, books, or whatever else I send home with him.

If Carson doesn't understand something, he looks for ways of understanding. He will ask his neighbor, look around the room for clues, or come and ask me.
Carson is accountable for his actions. He doesn't blame others and he doesn't make excuses.

Thanks, Carson, I know what I can count on you to do what needs to be done.

Sincerely,
Miss Moore

Carson was such a cutie getting his award. He said afterward that he liked it but "he was a little embarrassed"

I am so proud of you Carson!






After, we went to IHOP to celebrate!