Look Who's 4!

Harrison is!  :)  He slid out of bed that morning, eyes still closed, and made a b-line for the growth marker in the hall... "Am I bigger yet, mom?"  Yes, buddy!  Yes you are!  :)  He is such a funny, sweet, loving kid!  He is the face-puller, non-morning person, quirky, hoarder at our house. (Seriously, he keeps a slew of treasures under his pillow! :) He is a great big brother. Always such a good helper for Reagan and Mom. And he loves to make her laugh. He is also President of the Jackson fan club, and has been since birth. :) He has been pushing lately to gain all kinds of independence.  Learning to dress/undress himself. Going to preschool, and loving it. Saying his own prayers "bless the ice cream to stay cold" "bless I'm super super cool" "bless Reagan at the doctor" (he says this one in every prayer, even at meal times) "bless it to be my birthday".  hahaha. He has learned and grown SO much this year!  Talking about things like solar systems and echo location.  haha. He is 43.5" tall, just a half inch shy of Jackson at 5! (Crazy!) Getting to be such a big little person. He warms my heart.  My mama's boy.  Our Bubba.  Man do we love this kid!

We have early church, so he had to wait patiently until after church for presents!  :)  He actually did really well... considering!  And he got loaded up for sure!  He was so excited about everything!

This lamp was from his Great Great Grandpa D!  :)  Both boys think it is the coolest thing ever! 

And Toothless... his Night Fury Dragon.  :)  He doesn't look very excited in the pictures, but he was, really!

We had "pasghetti" for dinner and then chocolate cake!  He was is heaven!  :)  And so very proud to be 4!

In his own words:

Favorite Food: Rice and meat balls

Favorite Color: Black... um, blue
Favorite Toy: Night Fury Dragon "Toothless"---
Best Friend: Jackson (so sweet) and Levi
Favorite Song: "This is Halloween"
Favorite Sport: Football (with Dad)
What do you want to be when you grow up: Fireman (Shhh... don't tell his dad!  hahaha.)
Favorite Thing to do: Help mom with the groceries (awww!) and play with my toys.
Favorite Book: He had a list, but basically it was anything Dr. Seuss and "Dinosaurs Love Underpants"
Favorite Movie: "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Nightmare Before Christmas" 
Favorite TV Show: "Thomas and Friends"
Favorite Animal: Elephants and Sharks
Favorite Holiday: Christmas and Halloween

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRISON!

Helper Heroes!

Preschool this week was at our house.  And we got to do the letter H (for Harrison, of course).  So for today's lesson/activity/craft... we turned into Helping Hands Super HEROES!  :)  They had SO much fun with this.  And it was a fun way for them to discover how they can be Heroes everyday... by helping... because that's what heroes do, right?!  :)  They are the cutest bunch of kiddos ever!

These pics made me laugh!  I hadn't realized how much bigger Harrison is until I put them all in a row!  He is the oldest, but still!  ;)

Finally...

After making literally dozens of these hooded towels for other people, I finally made some for my own kids!  hahaha. 

The boys each had one already (Jackson has had his since his 1st birthday from the Chapmans.  And I made Harrison a dino one just after we moved.), but they were in need of new ones.  And Reagan had completely outgrown the baby ones I have.  So there they are... all white and monogrammed and matching my bathroom!  Yeah!  :)

Frankin-Foot

Reagan got her cast off yesterday!  Woot Woot!  So here is a sneak peak at her brand new, all stitched together nicely, foot... with 5 little piggies!  :)  (I was distracting her with toys while I took pics!  Thus, the mess!)

The purple on her leg is marker... a sharpie to be exact.  The doctor drew a smiley face on it before surgery to mark it (because they don't want to take a toe off the wrong foot, right?!) and then he initialed it and had me do the same.  Weird... it kinda was!  :)

She will have a brace for that foot in a few days, to help protect it while it heals and to help keep it from wanting to spread out when she puts pressure on it.  It's going to be purple with butterflies!  hahaha.  (White wasn't an option... seriously!)  

Now as soon as those stitches fall out... she can have a real, fun, splash and play bath!  :)  So exciting!  

3 Little (and sort of Big) Things

Yesterday was Sunday.  But it was a big Sunday for our little family.  It was the Primary Program.  Which marked the first for Harrison, a Sunbeam.  (Jackson is a little more seasoned. ;)  But both boys worked really hard to memorize their parts.  And did!  Jackson has no problem getting up in front of people, in fact he loves it!  :)  But Harrison, as mentioned before, does not!  He has anxiety over walking into the Primary room filled with kids!  (Literally, tears and panic, almost every week!)  He has gotten a little better about it.  He even wore his sunglasses one week... very funny... but they actually helped!  :) 

So when it came time to practice the program in the Chapel, on the stand.... it didn't take long for the panic to join us.  It broke my heart.  He is so sweet.  And he was so scared.  We talked for about the first hour of the practice (from the pews) as we watched the kids go through their parts.  We talked about how being scared is ok, because that's how we learn to be brave. Eventually, he calmed down.  He agreed to try it out and see if it was something he thought he could do.... and he finished the practice from his seat with his class.  :)  He didn't do his speaking part, and that was ok.  He was doing what he felt he could do, he even sang a little bit, and I couldn't have been prouder. 

But I was worried about Sunday.  I was afraid he was going to panic, and cry, and not go up with his class... and then feel bad or think that we were disappointed in him.  So we made it clear, he was brave for trying, and he had already done that.  And we prayed for bravery, lots and lots of it!  :)

So when Sunday came.  We tried to get there early (we have 7:30 am church, it took some dedication) and get a good seat where we knew he would be able to see us.  And we talked to Jackson about helping him get up there and find his seat, so he wouldn't panic or feel lost.  ....I tell you what, Harrison is so lucky to have the big brother he has!  When it was time for the Primary to go up on the stand, Jackson put his arm around Harrison's shoulder and walked him up through the crowd right to his seat.  Smiling and talking to him the whole time.  Harrison's face didn't look convinced... but Jackson got him there!  The fact that he made it to his seat almost brought me to tears!  But watching the 2 of them, made my heart swell! 

Jackson the Compassionate.

And then the coolest thing happened.  Harrison got up with his class... and did his part, all by himself. "My name is Harrison Swain.  And I know the scriptures are true."  I cried a little, I'm not gonna lie!!  I was hoping for him to just make it to his seat, and possibly sing a little.  But this was a small miracle!  And he was so proud of himself!  Which was the very best part!  We got a pretty confident thumbs up as soon as he sat back down in his seat!  :) 

Harrison the Brave.

Jackson loves to sing and he did just that, every word!  He nailed his part too.  "I can live with my family forever by following Gods plan." He tried really hard to suppress the huge grin on his face as he walked back to his seat!  :)  I love it when they know how great they are... without being told!  When they feel that they've accomplished something!  Beaming... that's what I was!  I probably would have been all out sobbing (I'm recklessly emotional lately!) if I wasn't totally afraid of embarrassing myself!  So I contained it the best I could!  ...And now I'm writing about it on the Internet for everyone to read... go figure!  hahahaha.

And just when I didn't think the day could get any better... I was asked to substitute in Nursery.  (Ok, that's not the best part! ;)  But it meant that in order to really be helpful, Reagan would need to go to her Nursery class.... without me.  Hmmm.....  It's early church.  Reagan gets tired... and a little grouchy.  And she needs a little more attention and help than other kids her age.  So there was some guilt on my part too.  I feel bad making other people hold/entertain/care for her when I can do it.  But on this Sunday, I couldn't.  So I took her to her class.  To her fabulous teacher, that I absolutely adore and trust, just to clarify.  And I left her there.... (Ok, now that I'm writing this, it sounds like it was actually harder for me than her.  But I'm not apart from her hardly ever.  And I really didn't know how long she would last or how bad it would get before they would have to come and find me.)  I was scared....

She was not!  She had a whole room filled with other little people, toys to play with, singing, and crackers!  And.... she LOVED it!  Shocking, I know.  She was even happier on the ride home than usual. ;)  I don't usually catch myself underestimating her.  I push her and work with her and help her... and then sometimes... I'm her crutch.  The crutch she obviously doesn't need.  ;) 

Reagan the Independent.

Oh, my kids.  Just when I think I may not be able to survive all the big things.... they go and do all these little things that make me mush!  :)  I get so caught up in life sometimes, I wonder how present I am as a mom.  How many of these little "big" things I miss. I needed to write about this day.  I felt so incredibly lucky to know these 3 little people, let alone to be their mom. 

I love when they surprise me... surprise isn't the right word.... when they impress me.  It's not that I don't think they have it in them, I know they do!  Harrison is brave, most times he's the bravest of the 3.  Jackson is the caregiver, he loves and worries and helps so much.  And Reagan is her own strong, determined, capable person. ....Apparently knowing it and seeing it are two very different things.  I think these were big moments in time for me because I was present in them ...and they showed me what I already knew...  What these kids are made of!  And it's mostly pretty good stuff!  :)

First Day of Preschool!

For Harrison it was Aug. 16th.  I had been so nervous about him doing preschool, he is SO shy!  But we spent a lot of time getting excited about it.  And excited he was!  :) So much, in fact, that he came into our room at 2:45 am that morning.... he was worried that I was going to forget to wake him up in time!  hahaha. 

He is such a funny kid!  He got ready and ate his breakfast faster than I have ever seen him do it!  (Getting dressed/undressed/changed in any way is like "mom torture" with him.  He is such a stinker about it!)  And with all the extra time we had before it was time to go... he stomped around as a dinosaur.  :)   

He had a great day!  And the excitement still hasn't warn off!  He loves being a "big kid" and he Loves that he gets to be as cool as his big brother!  :)  I can't believe how big he really is!  Makes me so proud and breaks my heart at the same time.  hahaha. 

First Day of 1st Grade

Aug. 8th was the big day.  He was so excited he literally hopped out of bed... smiling no less!  :)  I am really excited about the teacher he got, and so far so is he!  I LOVE that he loves school!!  He is one handsome dude!  :)

Super stylin' with his new backpack!  :) 

No longer the little man on the playground!  Reading like crazy.  Making new friends.  He even gets to walk to and from the bus stop by himself!  (I can see him, but still!)  :)  He is growing into such a wonderful little man!  We are so proud of him!

Happy Born Day.... Patrick!

Patrick has officially taken his first step into his 30's... with the Big 31!  hahaha.  And he got to celebrate for a whole 4 days!  :)  He was off for 4 days straight, starting with the Friday of Reagan's surgery and ending with Monday August 1st... his birthday! :)  

We started the party with cake... naturally.  ;)  Patrick's favorite food group! 

And presents.  He wanted hunting stuff.  I don't get it, but it was fun to see him get so excited about it! :)  

Apparently you need the camo to confuse the deer... then you wear bright orange over it so you don't confuse people.  Sounds like the best money making scheme ever!  ;)  

Sporting his new backpack... with Jackson and his new backpack!  :) The giddiness was mutual. 

My mom was here to help with the boys during surgery and she got to stay for almost a week, which was great!!! It also meant she got to be here for the partying. ;) And she made it possible for me to take him out...just the 2 of us! :)  Oh, how I love when we get to do that!  First- we got our final dose of Harry Potter (SO GOOD!) and then a huge dose of the Cheesecake Factory (SO GOOD!)!  :)  We were like a couple of teenagers... all dressed up, out on a date, watching Harry Potter, eating way too much!  It was awesome.... and it wasn't even my birthday!  :)

I love him SO much!  It was the best weekend we've had in a long time (even with surgery thrown in there)!  He even said it was the best birthday he could remember!  :)  Making him happy makes me happy!  He is the very best... and getting better every year! 

Some interesting trivia:
He has more nicknames than I know or can even remember!!! (ie. PG, P-Swizzle, McSwain, Big Angry Mormon... the list goes on and on!)

He loves the color purple.  (Not the movie, the actual color!)  hahaha.

He is more agile and athletic at 31 than most people are at 20!  It's totally not fair!

He's pretty much good at everything!  Also not fair!

He is a HORRIBLE loser!
  
He is also a HORRIBLE winner!

If smack-talk was a sport he would be the MVP.

He may not giggle like a school girl while watching Twilight, but he does during The Hangover (or any Will Ferrill movie)! hahaha.

He wishes he could live in middle earth... and he has a man-crush on Aragorn.

His real crush is on Kate Beckinsale... as a vampire! 

He hates home improvement projects!  Especially painting!  ;)

He is really only 6' 5.5", but he will say he is 6'6".  hahahaha.

He loves movies and books!  Favorites of both: Lord of the Rings & Harry Potter.

He is getting to live out his life long dream of being a cowboy on a horse all day and getting paid for it! 

He works harder than just about anyone I know! 

He is ticklish... and he hates it! hahaha.

He is a dreamer! 

He is a die hard Utah Jazz fan!  (So they had better improve soon, I'm seriously worried about it's affect on his health!)
 
He mispronounces the words "melk" and "pellow". (Mostly, just to bug me!) :)

He only eats his cake with "melk" on it.

He sleeps like a tornado!  And he's almost as dangerous! ;)

He gives the best hugs EVER!  He can literally swallow me up with his arms!  I LOVE it!

And one to grow on... He's a seriously handsome man, but he was also the cutest kid EVER!  :)  If that's not the face of trouble, I don't know what is!! 

Happy Born Day!