Autumn update

Fall is on it's way out here in the northwest and the rains have begun. But we still get the odd day--or part of a day--when the weather is decent enough to venture outside with the kids. I take the kids out to ride bikes after work sometimes. We usually head over to a grassy hill with a paved path that leads up to Juanita High school. With Sahara leading the way, the kids ride up until the hill begins to get steep, then turn their bikes around and coast down at full speed with huge smiles on their faces. Then they do it again and again!

I took Gavin out to ride his pedal-less balance bike last week. He's gotten so good at it this summer and can really fly. To help him learn to balance, I had initially told him to lift both feet up off the ground as he rode. This trick became a favorite and garnered a lot of enthusiasm from mom and dad. But last week I noticed him doing it just for himself. There were other kids riding around and nobody was paying particular attention to Gavin. Yet there he was, smile on his facing making arcing turns with his feet high in the air for no other reason than the pure pleasure of it. For a moment the world was quiet as I watched my little boy experience carefree happiness. It's hard to describe the simple joy such a sight brings to a father's heart.

Sahara is a beautiful, energetic and increasingly willful little girl. She goes to co-op preschool three times a week and does really well. She knows all of her letters and numbers and is working on reading. She also does basic addition and subtraction (with a little help from her fingers). In primary, she's learning a lot of gospel basics, often in the form of songs. She performed in the primary program last month and memorized her part. She's good at memorizing, but not so great yet at getting up in front of congregations and speaking.

Sahara's best buddy is Gavin, whether she realizes it or not. They are each others' play companion most of the time at this point. They both like Dallin, but he's too little to be involved in their many games right now. Like any little brother, Gavin copies Sahara. He knows parts and pieces of the primary songs she sings around the house. One of Sahara's favorites is "Follow the Prophet." Gavin has the chorus part down, but get's creative when he doesn't know the words. His current rendition is this phrase repeated over and over: "Follow the prophet, follow the prophet, follow the prophet, down inside the whale."

The other day the missionaries were over. After they left, Sahara looked up and me from the table and very casually said, "So, did you feel the Holy Ghost?" I smiled at the question and replied that I had, to which she responded, "I didn't." Looks like we've got more work to do with our little investigator:)

Dallin is doing so much better these days. Colic is a memory now, he sleeps well at night (better than his predecessors) and his little personality is starting to emerge. He smiles, laughs and reacts to us now, especially Sahara who seems to be his favorite. He still hates the car seat, but perhaps not as much as he used to. He's discovered his hands and spends long, enjoyable stretches watching his fingers make a fist then open again. He does so with the most curious look on his face, as if he's thinking, "They know exactly what I want them to do"!

Dallin is huge! All of our babies have been chunky and in the upper percentile on the weight scale, but Dallin is heavier than he rest and tall to boot. He's four months old and wearing mostly 18 month clothes now. He's above the 95th percentile in every category. We're racing to use up the remaining size 3 diapers and get him into size fours so that he doesn't have quite as many blow outs.

Like Sahara, Dallin can't stand to be inward facing when there's action afoot. This makes it hard to nurse when the other kids are playing or we're out and about. He's sitting up now, though he needs to be steadied and caught when he tips over.