Bird

You know what I did today? Chase a bird out of my house and clean up bird poop. Joy. How did a bird get in my house you ask? I blame Danielle! She opened a window in the playroom this morning to cool off the upstairs. The bad thing about this is that the window doesn't have a screen on it. So she only opened it a little. However, it was enough for a small bird to get in.

Ellie discovered the bird and came running down stairs freaking out. She told me there was a bird at the window flapping its wings trying to get in. So I didn't think it was actually in the house. Tate wanted to see so Ellie and Tate went back upstairs. I wasn't too interested in a bird flapping at the window so I got in the shower and proceeded to get ready for the day. When I got out, I could hear Ellie screaming my name and told me the bird was still there. That seemed weird to me, why would a bird still be trying to get in the window? So we all went upstairs to the playroom to see the bird flapping at the window. But the bird wasn't flapping at the window, it was frantically flying around the room!! I screeched and closed the door. I went and got the broom and was going to somehow get the bird back out the window. When I came back to the room, the bird was perched on the computer monitor and when it saw me it freaked out again. I was only going to get close enough to use the broom handle to open the window more and hopefully get the bird out. But before I could do that, it started flapping at the window and landed on the windowsill and then found the opening! The poor thing was so scared. And proof of that was all over the playroom! Gross. So we had to walk around the room and find where it had pooped. Let's just say it was scared a lot! Yuck! I think we got it all and I hope we don't find any little surprises we missed. 

I am very thankful for birds as I know they are beautiful creations from a loving Heavenly Father, but I am also thankful when those beautiful creations stay out of my house!

Tate Lately

I love Tate! I can't believe how fast he is growing into a little boy. He'll be 2 in a few weeks and he is so fun. 

Here are a few conversations we've had with him today:

Me: Tate how old are you?

Tate: Five.
Me: Are you sure? Are you 1?

Tate: No. Five

Me: Tate, who made this mess? (the playroom was completely destroyed)

Tate: Ehyee.

Me: Who else? 

Tate: Aynan.

Me: Anyone else? 

Tate: No.

Me: Did you make this mess?

Tate: No, Ehyee and Aynan

Aunt Dani: What's your name?

Tate: Aynan

Aunt Dani: Oh, it's not Tate?

Tate: No. Aynan

She called him Ayden for the next few minutes and he answered every time!

Me: Who made this mess? (it was a continuation from the playroom into the hallway)

Tate: Ehyee

Me: Ellie made this mess?

Tate: Yes, and Tete (that's how he says his name)

At least he was honest this time!

It always makes me laugh to see my children mimic something we've done or said. Of course, it's not always funny when it's something I prefer they didn't do. But last night, we all got a good laugh when Tate mimicked our disciplinary style.
Ellie was eating dinner and kept tipping the bench on 2 legs. I asked her 2 times to stop and finally, on the 3rd time I took the bench away and told her she could finish her dinner standing up. Ellie(always tending to be dramatic) got very upset about this. She started crying and refused to eat her food. As she's standing there screaming, Tate walks over to her and starts counting and holding up his fingers! "One, twos, free....Ehyee, bop", translation: one, two, three....Ellie, stop. It was so cute to see him discipline his sister and be so serious about it. We all better stay in line or else!

White and Nerdy

Ayden showed off some of his dance moves to the music of Weird Al Yankovic's White and Nerdy. We think this should be Ayden's new theme song!!!

Dance Night

Monday night after FHE, the kids asked us to come to a dance program they had prepared. On the door to the play room was a sign saying "Welcome to the Ayden Ellie and Tate dance!" We were then told the dance featured Cheerlite Ellie, Awesome Tate and Spectacular Ayden! Man oh man, did they have some killer moves especially Ayden. We laughed so hard. Our kids are so cute!

 To be honest, Ayden and Ellie are much better dancers than myself!

Dying Eggs and Counting

Here is a video of Tate counting while the kids dye eggs.

Easter

Easter at the Shaw house was a pretty uneventful day. We enjoyed a day at church, naps, making dinner, having the sister missionaries over for dinner and early bed. The best part of this Easter was that we were together as a family! Last Easter, Spencer was here in Alabama and the rest of us were still in Utah.

Saturday we had a crazy big day, though. We did a small yard sale and Ayden had 2 baseball games, and we also had a primary activity for the ward. And that night we dyed Easter eggs. Tate LOVED it, he dunked egg and hand in all at once. He kept asking for more. And surprisingly, his eggs were some of the best looking ones. Sadly, none of my pictures from dying eggs turned out, the camera freaked out. 

This is Easter morning. These pictures didn't turn out great either, so this was the best one I could find! I love their morning faces.

Mr. Fix It

The started on Spencer's car went out and he decided he was going to figure out how to replace it himself. The part alone was expensive and we knew paying someone else was going to be very pricey. So he researched it online and figured out what he needed to do.

The toughest part about getting the starter out was actually getting to it. There wasn't a lot of room for finger maneuverability so it took some time getting the bolts off. Not to mention, the bolts were VERY hard to get off. So Spencer solicited some help from Ayden.

 Finally, after about 3 hours (total) Spencer had the new starter in place. He was so surprised that he learned how to do it. I wasn't. Spencer picks things up so quickly that I knew if he took the time to figure it out, he'd get it done! And I love that he even took the time to teach Ayden about it.
Ellie and Tate spent the whole day in the garage too, but it really wasn't in a helping capacity, more of a supportive role. Eating popsicles!

all 3 barefoot

I think this picture is round 3, maybe 4, of popsicles! And notice that all 3 are barefoot. I cannot keep shoes on those kids. I love that Spencer was able to fix the car and save our budget and I appreciate his hard work. I didn't appreciate all the grease, however. And it made me so thankful my husband is not a mechanic by profession!

Hey Batta Batta!

Ayden started his first year of baseball. He's loving it and doing really well. His first couple of practices he was nervous, but now that he's understanding the game more he's getting more confident. His team had a preseason tournament over the weekend. They played 3 games and for each Ayden played in the outfield.

ready for the pitch

and the swing

Our friends Stephanie and John surprised Ayden and came to his games on Saturday. They had plans to see the Blue Angels (special Airforce pilots) in Tuscaloosa, but John decided he wanted to support Ayden. I thought it was amazing that a teenage boy would give up his Saturday plans to come see a 7 year old play. Love it.

Stephanie, Ayden and John after the game

John promised Ayden that if he hit the ball while batting he would take him out for ice cream. What motivation for a 7 year old boy! He did hit the ball and John did take him out for ice cream.

 They were awesome and got ice cream for all the kids. Stephanie calls the kids her babies and can't resist spoiling them. Tate loved the ice cream and putting on Ayden's helmet(is that what it's called in baseball?)

it's on backwards...what a goof

Tate loved watching Ayden play and frequently yelled to him on the field "Aynan". He was a good "beeball" watcher. This is my favorite picture of him intently watching the game.