Goin' Bananas!

What's up with these 2 little monkeys? What a couple of little goofs! We have been out enjoying the sunshine...Summer is almost here!

You're never fully dressed...

Without a smile! ...So I was looking through Leslie's pictures from Easter on the computer and I said, "Look Dyl...Look at all the cool eggs Chase and Shaylee colored...Aren't they awesome?" Dylan replied with, "Ya, but could you please make Uncle Gary smile?" For those of you who don't know Uncle Gary, he's a big, bald-headed teddy-bear who always has a serious look on his face. People who don't know him are often intimidated because of his "look."

Boys of Summer

Here are Dylan's best buds...They're so excited for the weather to be warmer so they can spend all their time outside playing and making adventures...

Bathtime...

One of my neighbors made this cute little lion hoodie towel and gave it to me before Dylan was born. It's my favorite! I love it when Dyl gets outta the bathtub and puts on baby lotion...He smells so clean after a long days' play! ...And I especially love it when Dylan says, "Mom...can we snuggle?"

Dying (& eating) Easter Eggs

Tonight was an adventure dying Easter eggs. Dylan wanted to do everything (and made sure I knew he knew what he was doing). We were about half-way finished when Dylan dropped an egg and it cracked. "Shoot!" He said..."I guess I'm gonna have to eat this egg 'cuz it's ruined now." Dyl proceeded with coloring eggs, all the while eating the egg he'd peeled. As soon as the first egg was gone..."Shoot...How did that happen? These eggs just keep 'crackin up' all the time," he declared. After the 3rd "dropped" egg I said, "Dyl, is your belly full of eggs yet?" Dylan looked at me with a very serious face and said, "Mom, I think we should just eat 'em all up so we won't have to worry if they crack." Can you tell Dylan likes eggs?

Singing Sensations!

I wanna give Dyl the opportunity to decide what he likes to do in life rather than force him to do what I want him to do...So we've been trying a few things out to see what he's interested in. We started with soccer, then t-ball, then swimming--The latest is Sunshine Generation, which is a singing/performing group. Dylan and his cousin, Chase, are the only boys in a group of about 15 kids...But I think that's the way Dylan likes it...He certainly loves to flirt with the girls! Their first performance was today at Wheeler Farm. We thought we'd be rained out but the weather cooperated and, I must say, the boys were absolutely marvelous!

I Scream, U Scream!

Payton came down to Salt Lake to visit. For some odd reason, Dylan decided they must have breakfast in bed. This is 2 boys' idea of a healthy "breakfast!"

Dyl even dug his favorite forks out of the kitchen drawer...

Yummy, yummy, yummy! Payton NEVER gets to do this at his house!

Payton got a little upset when his mom took breakfast away...

Touring the Candy Factory w/Sunshine Square...

Birthday Party Time!

Some may think it's strange that a 4-year-old would want a "Totally Disgusting Smoking" video...But Dyl begged for this video for his birthday. Grandpa says he doesn't want his grandkids to smoke so he showed Dyl and all his cousins this gross movie...They all fell in love with it!

For Dylan's birthday this year we went to the Energy Solutions Center to see Disney on Ice...We had a blast!

Grandpa and the Birthday Boy!

We rode Trax to and from Disney on Ice...The kids were fascinated! Dylan wanted to wear his cowboy boots so--Give the Birthday Boy what he wants!

After the event the kids posed with their memorabilia...

We celebrated with a pinata, dinner, and a birthday cake...Spongebob, of course!

Dylan Turns 4!

On Dylan's birthday I took the day off of work and we took the kids to one of their favorite places for lunch...Carl's Jr!

We had to wait till the weekend for the "real" party--So Aunt Leslie baked cupcakes with the kids to celebrate Dyl's birthday.

Gotta taste-test before you'll ever know if you need to add something else!

Chocolate is a girl's best friend!

...Preparing the cupcake pan for the most delicious cupcakes ever!

Gotta make sure there's exactly the right amount of batter in each cake...

The finished product...Not bad for a few wild and crazy kids!

Stretching the truth (Just a LITTLE bit!)

Aunt Leslie: Hey, Dylan...I like your new shirt.
Dylan: I got it from Mexico.
Aunt Leslie: How did you get it all the way from Mexico?
Dylan: My girlfriend Jayda brought it back for me.
Aunt Leslie: Who is she?
Dylan: Just one of my girlfriends.
Aunt Leslie: How do you know her?
Dylan: Oh, just from up by Grandpa's house...She lives by him.
*FYI: Dylan knows nobody by the name of Jayda, his shirt came from the Gap...And, well, I guess, being how nothing is made in the USA anymore...the shirt could've come from Mexico!!!!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

...Just a quick story demonstrating Dylan's personality...I wanted to share (I'm getting old and probably won't remember tomorrow!). So last night as Dylan was trying to avoid going to bed (like he always tries to stall) he decided he needed to play beauty shop. I was lying in bed and he began combing through my hair and putting clippies in it; he was concentrating so hard. Anyway, I said, "Dyl, are you making Mom beautiful?" Dylan responded with, "Ya...but it's really hard work and it's going to take me a REALLY long time!"

Deep Thoughts by Dylan Findlay...

"People don't like to be called 'hot pants.' If you try trick or treating at their house and you call them 'hot pants' then they will slam the door in your face and you won't get any candy!"

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dyl had a Valentine's party at school...His candy was all gone before Mom could get off work and pick him up!

The only girl Mom will let me kiss besides her...

We made Valentine's sugar cookies...Hey, wait...Where are the cookies?

Grandpa LOVES to sleep!

...Making it work!

So I've been working from home since Wednesday of this week and I LOVE IT! I'm cutting down on an hour and a half drive to/from work and feel like I have so much more time in my day! I thought it would be weird and that I'd get lonely---But I can still IM my friends at work. Right now the working at home thing is just a trial (They picked the top 12 in the office and I was #3)--But, hopefully it will turn into something permanent! Yippity skippity!

The Big Top 10...

Here is a list of the top 10 things I love about Dylan today:
1- I love how Dylan giggles and laughs till he's about ready to bust a gut. Usually he's laughing at himself for a joke or something HE did that he thinks is funny.
2- I love how Dylan gets excited about the simplest things, like moving up on his chart or spending the day with Mom.
3- I love how, when Dylan is sleepy, he cuddles up to me and wants me to hold him...He only does this when he's tired.
4- I love how Dylan mixes up words, ie: spinachios (pistachios), churky (jerky), or O'rock Obama (Barack Obama)
5- I love how Dylan is so gentle with kids who are younger or smaller than him. He plays with his 2-year-old cousin, Shaylee, and lets her pounce on him.
6- I love how, every morning when I drop Dylan off to go to work, he stands at the top of the stairs and blows me kisses as I turn around to walk out the door. Sometimes he waits till I'm halfway out the door and then stops me by saying, "Wait...You forgot your hugs!"
7- I love reading books with Dylan every night. That's our "wind-down" time when we can just relax and enjoy the moment with no distractions.
8- I love how, when we're in the grocery store or out and about, Dylan stops people just to chit chat. He doesn't care who you are...He just wants to talk!
9- I love Dylan's big brown puppy-dog eyes!
10- I secretly love that Dylan's a "mama's boy." I wish he'd always think I'm his hero!

Frickin...

The last 2 days as I've asked Dylan what he's done all day while I've been at work he's replied, "Watched Frickin' Dora!" He says, "That's what we call it 'cuz me and Chase don't like it but we have to give Shaylee a turn to watch what she wants to watch...So that means it's frickin'!"

Head, shoulders, knees and toes...

How in the world did he get so big?

Big Foot!

Dylan's foot now spans the length of my hand...He now wears a size 1 shoe.

Spooky!

So Dylan said today, "Hey, Mom...This is what you do when you see a ghost!" The marking on Dyl's head has nothing to do with scaring ghosts off...That's just his artwork!

Red and yellow and pink and green...

Periodically Dylan analyzes the color of his skin and compares it to who he knows with the same color skin. Grandpa Findlay and Dylan are about the same color so Dylan relates to him and Grandpa being the "same." He knows that Chase is white and Dylan is brown...nothing good nor bad...but just different. The other day we went to leave swimming lessons and a black guy walked past us. Dylan yelled and pointed, "Hey, Mom...That guy's the same color as my daddy!" The guy smiled and said, "Alright!" This isn't the first time this has happened...Once we were in the grocery store and, as we walked past a dark hispanic guy Dylan said, "Hey, Mom...Is that my dad?" I just kept walking the other way! Embarrassing...but something to chuckle at! Since then Dylan's spent a little more time with his dad so at least he knows what he looks like.

Wrestling Buds...

Dylan has always been so kind, gentle and loving towards his younger cousins. Today, Dylan let Payton (or Pay Pay as he calls him )wrestle him to the ground...

Don't Be Hatin'!

When Dylan's cousin, Chase, didn't put his scooter away, Dylan tripped and fell on it. With frustration, Dylan yelled in a gruff voice, "Chase...put your scooter away!" Chase's feelings were hurt and he told Dylan he hated him. I told them to just be friends, commenting, "You don't REALLY hate Dylan." Dylan replied with, "Mom, Chase isn't hatin'...He's just a little shy!"

Grandma's 'lil Engineer

Grandma & Grandpa always seem to come up with the best gifts! One of Dylan's favorite things is the stick horse they gave him for Christmas last year. The other...is this...A good 'ole fashioned train hat! All aboard!

Whipping Cream!

Anybody who has a toddler knows how hectic bedtime can be. For us...it's even more hectic! When Dylan was about 5 months old he would throw up...not just a little...but a lot...and there was no pattern as to when it would happen. Dylan was tested for a lot of things but the doctors couldn't ever find anything wrong with him. Sometimes he'd be sleeping and all of the sudden throw up all over the place. Being a first-time and paranoid mom, I was worried that Dylan would throw up and put his head in it and not be able to breathe--Which began the habit of sleeping with Mommy! I'm embarrassed to admit this but, because I get up so early for work and, by bedtime, I'm tired...I haven't ever put forth enough effort to get Dylan to sleep in his bed. A few weeks ago I asked Dylan when he was going to start sleeping in his own bed and he told me he would when he got as big as Uncle Anthony (Anthony's 29!). The radio station I listen to in the mornings has a parenting expert on there weekly and 1 day a lady called in and wanted to know if it was weird that her 12-year-old was still sleeping in her bed...argh! Is it weird? Are you crazy? After visions of having a 12-year-old sleep in my bed I realized it was time for a change! Thus began the task of getting Dylan to sleep in his own bed! My sister, Tracy, made up a bedtime chart. Dylan gets to put a checkmark after each task he completes (Go potty, wash hands, brush teeth, read books, say prayers, go to sleep). This has been a great tool because Dylan can put a visual on when it's time to go to bed. I'm happy to report that we've made progress! Although Dylan usually comes in my bed sometime in the middle of the night I've at least got him convinced he must fall asleep in his own bed. I don't always notice but when Dylan comes in my bed I take him back to his. Last night we were reading a new book called "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" This book is like the "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" book but a little more complicated. Anyway, the first time through I read the book and then Dylan wanted to read it the second time. When it got to the part that said, "Whooping crane, whooping crane, what do you see?" Dylan paused and said, "Whipping cream, whipping cream, what do you see?" A few pages later we got to the part about the macaroni penguin and, just as confident as ever, Dylan read, "Mac & cheese penguin, mac and cheese penguin, what do you see?" Oh, how I love my little guy!