Smore Firepit Pictures

A couple weeks ago when we finished the fire pit, we decided to try it out with Grandma and Grandpa Greer. It was a hit and was so awesome to roast marshmallows in my own backyard. So here are a few pictures from our marshmallow roast:

The Fire Pit is Finished!

We always forget to do a BEFORE picture. Ugh! But believe me, it was ugly! It was covered in pea gravel and had weeds all over the place. The fire pit itself wasn't really a pit, just a circle line with rocks and red lava rocks in the middle mixed with ashes.

First we had to remove all the pea gravel. Dave and I got shovels and shoveled it all into his trailer:

Luckily the ground covers under the pea gravel made it easier. We listed the pea gravel for Free on ksl.com classifieds and got rid of it day of. 

Then we sifted through the contents of the "fire pit" and removed all the good lava rocks and rinsed them off. We found all the flat red rocks around the yard and decided we would have enough, then Dave dug a big hole. We went to Lehi Brick and bought their left over bricks that sell for 15 cents a piece and Dave started on the fun part. Once the pit was done, we went to Lowes with our gift card we got through using our Discover Card points and bought 15 bags of dark brown mulch. We put it in, hosed the rocks off, and voila! Our fire pit. It only cost us $24. Woohoo!

Spike

Dave was working on the lawn yesterday when he came across this little guy:

So of course we looked it up and found out that he's a Horny Toad. I had no idea we had Horny Toads around here. But Cruise instantly fell in love and named him Spike.

I think God created these specifically with little boys in mind. 

Preschool Graduation

There is nothing quite like a Preschool graduation. No matter what happens, it is always adorable and entertaining. Especially if it's in an Autism specific class. Then it's just awesome. 

His teacher, Ms. Tina, read them some of their favorite interactive books, and the whole things was so entertaining to watch. They get so into it and it is just the cutest thing on earth. Jett just had to sit with the class as well. It was kinda cute and he was completely taken by the books. They also had a super cute slideshow after that was just so much fun to see! 

They then did the ceremony with their little hats, and of course, Cruise had to don his shades. It took me back to high school when all the "cool" kids graduated with their sunglasses on. But I think Cruise looks SO much cooler than they did. He is, after all, Super Cruise, coolest kid around. After the ceremony, we all went outside and had ice cream and played with bubbles.

Super Aunt Abby

Cruise & Ms. Rani (Aide)

Cruise, his friend, and Ms. Dorothy (Speech Therapist)

Cruise & Ms. Kelsey (Aide)

Cruise & Ms. Tina (Teacher)

Cruise has accomplished so much, especially this past year. He went from one to two word sentences in September to being conversational. We were so blessed to have such an amazing teacher, aides, therapists and program. The Autism Program through the school district is amazing and we are so grateful for it and the incredible, hardworking teachers that are hired. It's because of them that we have not had to seek other services other than the occasional meeting with his Autism Specialist, Laurie. 

I'm so excited to see what Kindergarten brings. I can't believe he's getting so big!

Fathers & Sons Campout '12

I haven't been able to get Dave to write a post about the Fathers and Sons campout that happened a few weeks ago, so I'll just post video and pictures.

I was surprised Dave was willing to take both the boys, especially since Jett still isn't potty trained. But he was really excited to take them camping. While they were away, I was able to get  a few things done that I just can't do with the kids hanging around, so it was really helpful to have Dave take both of them.

A family in the ward owns a big ranch in the west desert, so although the drive was about an hour or so, it was very spacious and allowed for some fun activities. The boys had a blast and luckily they are outdoorsy, so there weren't any meltdowns or major problems.

Cookin' dinner

Riding bikes

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Update On My 2 Little Monkeys

I haven't done an update on the boys lately. I feel so behind! 

CRUISE:

Cruise has loved living in the new house and loves the neighborhood. Everyone is so nice and probably knows Cruise better than they know me. One day he's Super Spy Cruise, the next he's Super Hero Cruise or Cowboy Cruise. He keeps everyone smiling. 

Posing

Something so admirable about Cruise is his concern for other people. A few weeks back, his friend Aiden fell off of his scooter. Cruise came running into the house in a panic and said, "Mommy! Aiden fall! Aiden get hurt! Hurry Mommy!!!" So I ran out there and Cruise was so attentive and wanted to make sure his friend was okay. Needless to say, Aiden was just fine. But it was adorable seeing him so concerned. 

One day, Dave and I took the boys to the park. While they were playing, Dave and I were across the playground just talking. We heard Jett whining and asking to swing. We took a little too long to respond, so Cruise picked him up and put him in the swing all by himself, and then proceeded to push him. It was adorable. 

Those of you who follow us on Facebook probably know some of Cruise's little phrases and things he's said, but I'm going to share a few that I loved:

Me: Cruise, is Miss Tina nice? 
Cruise: Yes.
Me: Is Miss Rani nice?
Cruise: No.
Me: Is Miss Teresa nice?
Cruise: No.
Me: Are they mean?
Cruise: No.
Me: What are they then?
Cruise: Ummm....Ummmm....BORING!

Me: Hi Cruise!
Cruise: No, not Cruise. I'm DUDE!

Cruise sticks his finger in his ear, looks at his finger, smells his finger and says, "Mommy, there's poop in my ear!"

"Mommy smells like Angel."

"Oh dear, not again!"

Cruise has chosen his favorite hat out of my entire MLB hat collection: the Oriole's. It's because it has a bird on it. So he calls it his bird hat. He wears it every day, even to school, but he has learned there are times and places that we don't wear hats and he has done a great job at following the rules. The hat now is frayed, sun bleached and well loved, but he still wears it. I was super proud of him the other day when we couldn't find it, so he said, "Okay, I wear blue hat," put on his Dodgers hat and walked out the door. It was awesome. 

Cruise's "bird" hat

I recently had Cruise's placement meeting with his teacher, the school psychologist and the speech therapist. They went over his scoring and we were all so excited about all the progress he has made over the past year. It is astounding! But we all agreed that the best place for him next year is the Autism Kindergarten. I am so grateful for these programs with the public school. I feel so grateful to witness miracles every day.

A few weeks ago, we had a hard time getting Cruise to go to school. When he showed up to his class, he took his shoe off and threw it at his teacher's head. Luckily she's got super cat-like reflexes and caught it. But we realized he didn't think he should go to school because the sun wasn't out. It was raining. So with the help of Cruise's Autism Specialist, Laurie, we decided maybe a calendar that addresses the weather and even something he can put appropriate clothes on as well would help him. So I got a great calendar, weather chart and frog with all the clothes from a teacher website. I got them all laminated and so every morning we do the "froggy". Since then, Cruise has been happy to go to school, despite the changes in weather.

Cruise has still been struggling with church. He recently was assigned an aide: Bro. Watson, who is a police officer. But one week he was gone, his wife subbed and he behaved so well for her! So now we know he responds better to females. But along with his aide, I've made a little folder (about 1/4 the size of a regular filing folder) that has all the PECS for church in the inside. On the front are four spots to be rotated for his visual schedule. On the back is a picture of what he is working towards (ie. soda, candy bar, picnic, visit to the park) and three spots in front of it to put stars. Each hour he completes at church, he gets a star and a candy. If he completes 3 hours at church, he gets the big reward. Last week it was a picnic and it was so much fun! I think he really likes it and he loves having something fun to look forward to after church. 

JETT:

Jett is in his Superhero stage. He MUST wear super hero shirts every.single.day. Sometimes he goes through two or three shirts a day just because he changes his super hero persona. Needless to say, I have many shirts going unused in his dresser. But the kid knows what he wants and I figure it's just not a battle I need to fight.  

There was one day last month when he just refused to get dressed. It was cold out and Dave and I were going to go get some lunch. We kept trying to get him dressed, he'd run away, throw his fit, and if we managed to get something on him, he'd tear it off. He would only wear his shoes. So I said, "Fine! Go naked!" We set him in his car seat padded with a diaper, and left for lunch. Not long after, he started whining because he was cold and uncomfortable. We drove through and got our lunch, went home, and right away he wanted to get dressed. Since then we don't have many battles about wearing clothing.

Jett has been talking more and more and more! Since his tonsillectomy, Jett has not only started talking more, but he has gained about 8 pounds. He finally doesn't look emaciated anymore. And just recently he has finally been trying harder to say all the sounds in a word. We've been working with him with Early Intervention to help him start saying complete words rather than just parts. For example, he says, "Ma" instead of "Mom", "Da" instead of "Dad", "hel" instead of "help", etc. So he has been making a lot more progress lately and we are so excited! 

I say this a lot, but it's the truth: Jett is EXCELLENT at being two. He has got it down to a science! If you could get a degree in an age, he would have a Doctorate in 2; he is that good. He is so good at pushing his parents' buttons, testing his boundaries, and questioning authority. The other day, we took the boys out to dinner at Thanksgiving Point deli. Jett kept climbing all over the chairs and irritating the customers behind us. I warned him to get down and eat his dinner. He obviously disobeyed me because he looked at me just as he climbed over again. So I picked him up and sat him next to me. He began wailing and wailing so loud! So I picked him up and took him outside for a time -out. I sat him on the bench, told him he was in time-out for two minutes, and stood a couple feet away, counting down the time. As I did that, he proceed to scream to passing strangers, "HELP!!! HELP!!!" I couldn't believe the nerve of that kid! I was in shock! Luckily no one thought I was some child snatcher with parenting skills.

Jett has found a new interest this past month which are jigsaw puzzles. He doesn't really like the wood puzzles you have to fit the pictures into. He likes the cardboard ones and would do them all day if he could. Right now he has five small superhero ones, a Curious George, and a giant puzzle of animals. He will do them over and over again. He needs a little help, but overall is amazing, especially putting faces together. Looks like I'm going to have to invest in more puzzles!

Finally, Jett has two cute little friends in the neighborhood that he just loves to go play with every day while Cruise is at school. He is such a social little guy and loves having friends to play with. His little girlfriend across the street comes over every now and then and it's hilarious to watch them play Hide-and-Go-Seek (Cruise & Jett's favorite game). It's so nice to have kids in the neighborhood that are so sweet and are good friends to my boys.