The Others

I thought Kael deserved his own post for his birthday, so here's the skinny on everyone else!

Tristan now has 7 teeth, almost 8, and crawls in the traditional way most of the time, unless he really wants to go somewhere fast. He's a pretty happy kid most of the time. He adores his sister and brother, though who his favorite is changes several times a day. I gave Rhydon a haircut a few days ago, and he was upset that I wouldn't hold him, so Elizabeth made him go to her room and played with him there for at least a half hour, and I didn't hear one scream! He and Kael are always fighting over the cars and trains. Kael is learning to share, which is nice, but I think eventually we will have to get Tristan some of his own. I can't believe he's almost 1!!! We think he'll start walking soon too. He's only been crawling for a couple of weeks, but he's really progressed quickly, and is already cruising along the furnitrue and trying to stand without holding on to anyone/anything, so with three weeks to go, it's certainly possible.
This last weekend, we went to Utah. Our friends Jerusha and Russell were getting married in Manti, we stayed with Matt's friend Phil et al, and had a party with some other of his friends and their families.
Elizabeth had fun playing with Phil's kids, Callie and Cecily. The wedding was beautiful. And on our way home we stopped by my brother Kelson's house and visited with his family for a couple hours. Right before we left for vacation, they found out they're moving to Michigan this weekend! So we got in under the wire to see them before they left. I got to see my newest nephew for the first time (he's only a month younger than Tristan).
Last bit of news, we got new phones and switched phone companies. We are now on AT&T, so anyone from that network can call our phones for free from their cell phones! Matt's number is the same as it has been since January, mine is different. If you need/want it, email me and I'll send it to you.
Tomorrow's potty day... I'll keep you updated!

Birthday #3 for #2

I have a three year old again! It's just a little crazy to think about, so I try not to think about it! We took the family to a local entertainment place, the Rex, which also houses a movie theater and a bowling alley. I had taken Kael there along with my brother Rhydon, to see Batman: Dark Knight. Kael did pretty well! He recognized who the good guys were versus bad guys. Every time the Joker would come on he would tell me: "That's a mean guy!" And occasionally during scary parts he would run to me and cuddle for a few seconds. Then Batman would come on and start kicking butt and he'd shout, "Yeah! Go Batman! Whoo!" It was quite entertaining, I thought, and luckily the few others in the theater thought so too. In the end, he fell asleep, but he was happy. Before the movie, he showed an interest in their game room, so we decided to go there for his birthday. Some of the games weren't working, so it wasn't quite as fun as we'd hoped, but it was enough for the kids I guess because they didn't want to leave. We won enough tickets for Elizabeth and Kael to each get a couple pieces of candy from the prize room, and then we had fresh made ice cream from Sub Zero there in the Rex.
That was July 31. On Kael's actual birthday, we had pizza for dinner, and a chocolate cake with green frosting. He ate the pizza, but true to form, didn't eat much of the cake. It's never really been his thing. I think we'll have to do a "birthday dessert" of choice, instead of cake. Ice cream, or drumsticks, or what have you. Tristan only wanted to play in it, so I think I might just stick a candle in his baby food or something! haha (His birthday is in just a few weeks... exactly 5 after Kael's.)
For presents, we gave him a Spiderman (loves him!) and a numbers placemat.
My parents gave him a BRIO beginner train set, for which he was ecstatic. Grandma Kathie sent a birthday card and a gift card to Walmart, which we haven't used yet. Per her directions, we are supposed to take him there and let him pick (within reason). So that will happen soon.
All in all, Kael deemed it a great birthday, and he's happy to be 3. Tomorrow we are moving him into big boy undies, no more diapers! I'm nervous, he's excited.