Merry Christmas (a little late)

A brief update of our family . . .

Devlin:
-Is so very close to finishing his Masters
-Started a business with a friend - www.Instructure.com
-Serves as the Gospel Doctrine Teacher
-Is the father of a new baby girl!

Cheree:
-Is the mother of a baby girl!
-Survived 2 moves and delivering a baby girl
-Started a recipe blog: daleyfood.blogspot.com
-Finally updated daleylife.blogspot.com
-Serving as a Relief Society Teacher

William (5 years):
-Is learning how to read
-Can often be found in disguise as “Superman,” “Super Turtle Guy,” “Santa Claus,” or a “Rock Star.”
-Is a brother to a new baby sister
-Taught himself how to ride a bike without training wheels

Maxson (2 and 1/2 years)
-Can give you a fantastic “cheese” smile when getting his picture taken
-Is still allergic to milk and eggs . . . and now allergic to peanuts as well!
-Loves to say “Mom, watch!” and follow it up with something amazing (usually a fast sprint across the room, an gigantic leap, or wonderfully choreographed dance).
-Is now a big brother to a little sister
-Wants to be just like William

Gwen (6 months)
-Can roll over both ways
-Likes to hear herself jabber
-Has a smile to melt your heart
-Did I mention . . . we have a GIRL?

Kiddie Tag

So Maxson has been "kiddie tagged" by my good friend Kandice. Must I limit it to just 5 things???

Five (okay maybe more) neat things about Maxson:

1. Whenever he and his brother get into arguments, we do the standard, naughty chair, hug, say you're sorry, and ask if you can be friends. Whenever William asks Maxson, "Can we be friends?" Maxson lifts himself up on his toes and raising one arm in the air, shouts an enthusiastic "YEEE-AAAH!!" Too cute.
2. He has a contagious smile. He has multiple smiles. The "Cheese" smile that he does for pictures--that usually has his eyes closed. The "Puppy Dog" smile that he does when he feels bad for something he did wrong. The "PLEEEESE" smile he gives when he asks for a cracker or some other favorite snack. The "Happy Face" smile he puts on after he's gotten in trouble and showing you he's ready to be good again.
3. He's got big muscles. If you don't believe me just look at the picture.
4. He is really good at sharing. One of our sharing rules is that if one kid wants a toy the other kid has, they need to ask, "Can I play with that toy when you're done?" 99.9% of the time, when Maxson is asked this question he'll say with a smile, "Ye----aaahh!" And not a minute after, he'll give it to whoever asked.
5. He's thankful. He always says thank you whenever I dish him out his dinner. If he really likes what we're having he'll say, "Mmmm . . . goo----oood." (Imagine a southern drawl here, because that's how it sounds.)
6. He likes to sing. One of these days I'll get him singing I Am a Child of God on camera.
   
7. Okay, one more . . . Maxson is just plain good. His personality is one of the most pleasant to be around. He's always trying to make everyone around him happy.
   

Thanks, Kandice. I needed to write those down. Alrighty then--tag, you're it! Tell me about your kids!

Eli and Seth St. Clair
Daniel Hahn
Claire Odle
Kaya Bigler
Kayden Layland
Camille Day

Let it SNOW!!!

This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland. The boys were freaking out. Seriously. William kept yelling at the top of his lungs, "IT'S CHRISTMAS!!! IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!" I had to keep reminding him that just because it snows, it doesn't mean it's Christmas. Our neighbors got out before we did (I had to get little Gwen down for a morning nap) and he was again, yelling, "Get out of our snow!"

He turned to me and said, "Mom, they're in our snow!"

He finally settled down after I told him there was a whole backyard full of snow that the neighbors hadn't touched. He was extremely glad for that.

They did it all--snow balls, snow angels, a snow man, and rolling around in the snow like they were animals. (The boys will be getting snow pants soon *we think from Grandma* and boots *from me and Devlin* for Christmas--so they went out without 'protective gear'.) Needless to say they were soaking wet when it was time to come in. I stripped them down inside the back door and their legs from the top of their thigh down to their toes were bright red. It took them a while to come back to a normal fleshy color. But the boys didn't seem to care at all. They had a great time.

Enjoy the pictures!

The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian

Devlin and I watched Prince Caspian tonight. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Here are my favorite quotes from the movie:

"Aslan." Lucy smiled. "I knew it was you. The whole time. I knew it. But the other's didn't believe me."

"And why would that keep you from coming to me?" Aslan questioned.

. . .

"We can never know what could've happened, Lucy." Aslan said. "But what will happen is another matter entirely."

Loved it. I liked this move better than the first. I can't wait for July 2010 for the next one.

William's Reading!

William has recently moved from "sounding out" words to reading the "fast way." I had to post this clip from our reading lesson the other day. It was too cute. (Note: William is not in his pajamas. This is his "Superman Suit." I can barely get it off him to wash it. The only time he takes it off is when he goes to bed--he puts other pajamas on, when he goes to church, or when I persuade him to wear something normal for errands and outings.)