The Little Man is 2!

 I know that everybody seems to say this, but I can't believe my baby boy is 2 years old.  Time is racing by and he is growing up way too fast.   The birthday celebrations were pretty low key this year.  We had cake and presents at the grandparents house on Sunday.  And more cake and presents on Monday.  We spent his birthday playing around the house, doing lots of puzzles, going to dinner, and playing on the swings at the park.  He got lots of attention, fun gifts and good food.  He LOVED blowing out the candles on his cake and cupcakes.  He couldn't even wait for the end of the song.  Then he kept asking for "more" so Aaron would light them, sing, and he would blow them out again.  In honor of the big day, I wanted to document a few of his favorites as well as a few of the many things that make him so great.

 He has inherited a love of all things Apple from his uncle and dad.  He has taken two trips to the Apple store with my mom.  He plays on the ipads at the kids table and gets super excited.  It was so funny to watch him play this puzzle game for the first time.  When he completed a puzzle he would raise his hands and cheer.  He caught the attention of a few other customers who were quite entertained by watching him and seeing the look of pure joy on his face.

He is a great big brother.  He is so gentle with Lexi and loves to make her laugh.  Occasionally he likes to wave his bear or lion in her face and roar, and she likes it.

He is becoming quite opinionated about things, including the food he eats.  He used to eat whatever we gave him, but now he wants a say in the matter.

 He LOVES puzzles.  One of the first things he does at grandma and grandpa's house is head to the corner and say "puzzapuzzapuzza" and reach for the puzzles.  A few weeks ago I bought him some new 24 piece puzzles, thinking they would be difficult for him to do now, but he would probably enjoy them when he was a bit older.  He became a little bit obsessed.  For the first week or so we would do all eight of them 1-2 times a day.  We started hiding them some days to give us a little break, but he would find them or keep asking for them until we got them out again.  At first he needed a lot of help, but now he can do them all by himself.

He likes to wear dad's hats.  Apparently he likes to sag his pants sometimes as well.  He is talking more and more, and we are actually understanding some of it.  He has mastered some very important words  including:  tractor, popcorn, mine, more, cookie, George, nack (snack), and bach (binki).

 He still loves to "read" his books, especially in his "tent" and before bedtime.  His favorites are constantly changing, but lately he has enjoyed The Gruffalo, Little Blue Truck, and The Monster at the End of This Book.

 He has mastered the fake cry.  He doesn't like to be told no.  Sometimes he just cries, and I have no idea why.

 He loves Disney and Pixar movies.  Some of his favorites are Robin Hood, Dumbo, Bugs Life, and Cars.  But I haven't found one that he won't watch.   He was pretty excited when cousin Milo gave him this Buzz for his birthday.

He loves to color/draw, and even more he loves to ask me to draw things for him.  Some of his favorites are elephants, lions, sheep, cows, and pigs.

But occasionally he tries to get me to be a bit more advanced and asks for Mike Wazowski, Woody, Buzz, or Dad.  One day he went through a Muppet phase and kept pointing out different Muppets for me to draw. 

It reminds me of a stanza from a poem my grandma wrote:

If I said I was an artist,

The truth would be quite tainted,

But think of all the lovely pictures

You and I have painted.

I love this little guy so much.  He is the greatest friend to have around.  He always wants to play with me and hang out with me.  He thinks my drawings and songs are the greatest.  He gives me hugs throughout the day and occasionally comes up and squeezes my cheeks while he gives me a big kiss.  He gets a huge smile on his face when I go into his room in the morning and blows me kisses when I leave his room at night.  I am so incredibly grateful for this little boy.  I can't believe how blessed I am to have him in my life.

Together Again

 The entire Hicks family was all together for the first time in a few years.  The Davis family flew in about an hour before Johnny and we spent the next few days fitting in as much food and family fun as we could.  (My child was super cooperative for family pics).

We spent a lot of time at my parents house where the kids could run around and play.  These three boys love Lexi.  They were always coming around her to give her kisses, smiles, and hugs.  She loved it.

 We wanted to get in one more day at Seven Peaks, so we went to the park even though it was pouring rain for awhile.  The kids didn't seem to mind.

We took a trip to the Thanksgiving Point Children's Gardens.  There were lots of fun things to see and do, but their favorite was Noah's Ark.

 One day we got a little crazy.  Julia and I decided to pack up all five kids (under the age of 4) in one car and meet our cousins for lunch.  This is how they looked during one of the happy moments in that car.  Apparently it was time for the oldest two to take their turn crying.

 After lunch we took a trip to the State Fair, which Brigham LOVED.  He loves animals and was fascinated by the cows, pigs, and sheep.  I think he would have gotten into the pen with them if it was allowed.

For some reason they had a giant blow up kangaroo at the fair.

After our Salt Lake adventures we spent the next day taking it easy and swimming at the Woffinden's pool around the corner from my parents.

I spent a lot of time there as a teenager and it was fun to take my kids there.  Lexi was happy as can be floating around the pool.  She did not inherit her brother's fear of water.

One of my favorite things that we did was go to see the movie Newsies at the Scera Outdoor theater.  I think I have already let it be known that I was kind of obsessed with this movie as a teenager.  It was pretty fabulous to see it on a big screen again and to be able to enjoy it outside where we could sing along without bothering others.  Aaron even impressed some of the girls by singing the songs and quoting some of the lines.  He is pretty awesome.

Johnny gave a great homecoming talk about obedience.  He spoke confidently with very few notes (a skill I do not possess).  He also informed us after his homecoming that he should be called the "funcle" because he is the fun uncle.  Lexi definitely seems to think so.

 That evening we had to say goodbye.  After 10 days of fun, these two were pretty exhausted, but when I told them it was time to say goodbye they had one more good wrestle to the ground and then a pretty cute hug.

Welcome Home Elder Hicks!

 We were so excited to welcome Johnny home from his two year mission in New Jersey!  Brigham and Jacob were so excited to see each other at the airport that they spent most of the time chasing each other, wrestling on the ground, and playing on the escalators.  But we were able to get them to hold still for a few minutes to hold their sign while we waited for him.

When Johnny left I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with Brigham.  So this was his first time meeting Brigham and Lexi.  When he left he had one nephew, and he came home to 5 nieces and nephews.  The Hicks family gatherings are a bit more chaotic and noisy than they were 2 years ago.  

It was fun to wait by the escalators to see who would catch the first glimpse.  We saw him right up at the top and he gave us a little wave and then came down for lots of hugs.  It is so great to have the baby brother home again.  We missed him so much.

Photo Shoot with 2

 I had a request for a picture of the two of my kids. I had been wanting to try to get some of the two for awhile, so I did a little photo shoot in front of my house.  Both of these kids are pretty great for the camera on their own, but trying to get them to work together was a bit more challenging.  First I tried to have them lay on the blanket together, but Brigham was a bit wiggly.

  Then I tried to have him hold her sitting up.  He was happy to try, but kept laying down with her on top of him, like she was too heavy for him to hold up while sitting.

Then he tried to hug her from behind.  She loved that. 

Trying the blanket again.

Then I get all excited that I have the perfect shot.  He is holding her up and smiling.  I click the shutter button, then notice the spit up.

But after a few minutes I managed to get this.  One of my favorite pics ever.  Love these two so much.