New Preschool!!!!!!

Happy Boy!!

Today Logan started a new preschool!!!!! The week before Christmas I went and had him evaluated for a speech and language program with the school district. During the evaluation they agreed that he qualified for one of their speech and language preschool classrooms. Last week we took a tour of the school and then on another day we meet with the teach and speech therapist and talked about some goals for him.

During the evaluation they tested other things like his comprehension and with that he tested average, if not slightly above. So, we know that when he is talking to us he is answering appropriately, but the problem is he can't articulate very well. So, our goals with this preschool setting is to work on his articulation. As his mother, I can understand him I would say at least 85-90% of the time, but I know that other people have a hard time understanding what he is saying. We really want him to start Kindergarten in the fall and I want to give him the best advantage possible. My good friend Penny has always said such wonderful things about this school because her daughters have also gone there. (However, they did not participate in the speech and language program.) I feel really good about this and I am excited for Logan to get some more help with his speech. It is funny because even with the amount of times that we say "What?" to him, he very rarely gets frustrated with us. I feel he has really been blessed in that aspect. We just love him so much and are just so happy that he gets to be a part of this preschool.

By the way, he really loved his first day. Today was gym day and he got to ride some bikes and go on the obstacle course. (His brothers are jealous that his gym has bikes that you can ride on.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN!!!!!

Today is our Logan's 4th Birthday. We could not be any happier that we were blessed to have Logan join our family 4 years ago. He has been nothing but a wonderful part of our family. Here are a few little facts about him:

He loves Spider Man
He loves pretty much every other super hero too
He loves to play the Wii and especially the game Super Smash Brothers
If anyone ever says that kids don't get excercise by playing video games, then they have never watched Logan play the Wii.
He loves spending time with his brothers.
He is super sweet with his little sister and is never mean or hostile toward her.
He has a smile that could melt anyones heart.
He has the most beautiful big brown eyes.
He loves going to preschool, especially since his cousin Wesley is in his class.
He has a mom and dad that love him so much and couldn't be more happier to have him as their son.

We love you Logan and HAPPY BIRTHDAY again!!!!!!!!!

Preschool Graduation

Today was Graduation at Parker and Logan's preschool. I always love going to this event because it is just so cute to watch. They had a Candyland theme and the decorations were great. I am not posting that many pictures because something is going on with the printer right now and since that is how I upload my memory card I can't get my pictures onto the computer. My friend Lisa posted these pictures online and so I just copied them. (Thanks Lisa) I will put more pictures up later since I don't have any of Logan right now.

Here is Parker with his fellow graduates. He is the 3rd from the right if you can't tell. Don't you just love those little cap and gowns? I remember when Bradyn wore it 2 years ago. So cute!!!!! Logan was sitting on the other side of the stage with the rest of the kids who will not be moving on to Kindergarten next year.

Here is Parker with his "girlfriend" Brooklyn, but don't tell him that :) We spend a lot of time with Brooklyn and her mom Lisa so, they are great little friends. I have been so lucky to have Lisa to hang out with a ton this year, it has really made the year super fun. Now that Parker and Brooklyn aren't going to preschool together anymore we won't see each other quite as much :( However, I know that the two of them are both so excited to start Kindergarten next year.

Congratulations Parker for doing such a great job in preschool!!!!!!! Also to Logan, who transitioned into school so nicely it was awesome. I think it was a real blessing that he had Parker with him for his first experience into the world of school.

Trouble!!!!!!!

I do not know what is up with these two little boys lately!!!! They have been so insane and acting naughty quite often. It is so hard because sometimes it seems that they really don't care that I am getting mad at them. I have been trying really hard to keep my cool so, I have tried to keep the yelling to a minimum. However, I swear they don't respond to me unless I am raising my voice. I don't know, maybe I have somehow taught them that I only mean business when I am yelling. I guess, I need to reteach them that just because I am not yelling doesn't mean that I am not serious about them stopping whatever it is that they are doing.

So, today I am coming up from the basement and I notice this on the wall.

It is a row of stamps leading pretty much all the way up the stairs. Now, you may have thought that it was the 3 year old who did this, but NO it was the 5 year old. I mean come on, are you kidding me!!!!!! What would ever make him think that it was ok to stamp a bright blue stamp up a white wall, I have no idea. I think what makes it worse is that he really didn't seem to care that I was unhappy that he did this. Also, what makes it WAYYYYYYYYYY worse is that right now we are living with my parents so, it is not my wall that he stamped, it is theirs. When I showed my dad he didn't freak out, which is good.

Then, after talking to him about the stamp (and I do mean talking, I didn't raise my voice once) about 10 minutes later the two of them hide under a plastic table we have by the door wall and proceeded to finger paint on the bottom of the table. Like, Seriously?!?!?!?!? I am telling you, they just don't care about the way they are behaving lately. This is something that I definitely have to change. I am not going to tolerate being disrespected!!!!! And, I don't tolerate it so, I don't know why they want to get in trouble because they do get in trouble. Everytime!!!!!!

So, do you think that a magic eraser will take this off? Does anyone have any other ways that will take a stamp off a wall?

Hicks Family Egg Hunt

The weekend before Easter all the Hicks gathered at Les' brother Charlie's house and had a fun family Easter Egg Hunt. The kids had a great time not only hunting for eggs, but also playing with their cousins.

Here are all the Hicks Grandkids.

Bradyn was quite the awesome egg finder.

Here is Logan searching away.

I just thought this was a great picture of Logan from the day of the hunt.

*I thought I uploaded a picture of Parker looking for his eggs, but I guess I didn't. He however was there and had a great time too. He can be seen in the first group picture.

Catch up!!!!!!

I have been a horrible Blogger lately and I think the reason why is because I got so far behind with my posts that I just didn't know where to begin. Well, enough is enough and I need to start up again. Instead of going back and trying to catch up on all the different posts I have missed, I have decided to do a picture catch up all in one post. This way I can still post about some of the things that I wanted to share (and document for my own memories) and then I will be able to start up again with my more detailed posts. So bare with me, I have a bunch of pictures I am sharing. Now, there are so many more pictures I could post, but I am afraid that it would probably be over kill.

Jan. 28th Audrey pulled herself up to a standing position for the first time.

Feb. 10th Logan is such a big boy because today was his first day of Preschool. He was sooooo excited. A lot of people asked why he was starting in the middle of the year and it is because it was the start of the new semester and he was finally potty trained so he was able to enroll. Hooray for Logan!!!!! Now him and Parker go to Preschool together two days a week. Hooray for mommy!!!!!!!

Feb. 24th Audrey had some super crazy hair when she woke up from her nap.

March 5 I thought this pictures was so cute because it looks like Audrey is playing video games with her brothers. She loves being part of the action.

Feb. 27th After Bradyn left for school that morning, Audrey crawled over to the door to look after him. She stood there and watched him at the bus stop.

Feb. 27th I realized that Audrey was no longer in the living room so, I looked down the hall and sure enough there she was in my Grandma's room. She just loves crawling down there and seeing what she can explore and I think that my Grandmas actually likes it too when she comes in there.

Feb. 27th OH GREAT!!!!!!!! She has discovered the stairs. This is always a dreaded day for me because now we have to put up a gate.

March 2nd Whenever one of the boys are laying on the floor Audrey has to come over to them and ATTACK!!!!! My boys are so great because they just let her do it. Here she is attacking Parker.

March 2nd Audrey had a bath in the kitchen sink for the first time. I don't remember what she had been eating but she got covered in it so I just decided to plop her in. I think she really enjoyed herself.

March 16th March seemed to be a sick month for Bradyn. Twice he was stuck home with a high fever. It was really weird because all he had was the fever, no runny nose or cough. When he had Motrin in him he was perfectly fine, which meant that him and his brothers were really crazy either playing or fighting. However, once the Motrin wore off and his fever spiked he was down and out and just plain miserable. In this picture, the Motrin had worn off and I didn't have anymore so we had to wait for Les to get some. So, Bradyn laid on the couch with a wet wash cloth and tried to cool down. (I am not sure why he had the blanket on him, it was probably during one of the times that he also had the chills) While he was laying there Audrey came to see how he was doing. She was worried.

March 16th While Bradyn was home sick we worked on the Leprechaun Trap that he was suppose to make for school. We heard that they liked shiny stuff so, we made a very shiny box with a pot of gold inside. On the top was a rope made of green ribbon so that the Leprechaun couldn't jump out. Unfortunately, the Leprechaun that came to his class was very very sneaky so, nobody was able to catch him. Maybe next year. (Don't you just love Parker and Audrey in the background.)

Long Night

I am sooo tired today. Last night I was woken up 5 times, that is right I said 5 times, by my children. Audrey got up 3 times, one of which was just 1 hour past the first time. Logan came in crying at like 12:30ish because he said that his knee hurt. Then at some point (I am not sure the time because I never looked at the clock) Bradyn came in telling me that his nose was bleeding a little bit, but that it had stopped. I told him, ok then go back to bed and he did. Sometimes he just likes to come in and tell me these things. I am glad that he wants me to know, but I am not exactly excited that he has to wake me up to tell me.

Of course, the side of the bed that I sleep on is closest to the door so naturally the kids ALWAYS come to me. Ahhhhhhh sometimes I am just sooooo tired. Audrey still gets up at least 2 times a night, which I am sure is mostly due to the fact that she has to be in our room. It is really hard because when she wakes up I know that she can see me so, of course she is not going to put herself back to sleep. It will be nice when the day comes that my baby girl will have her own room. Of course, I have no idea when that day will be. For now, I will just be VERY grateful for the blessing it is to be able to live with my parents and pay some things off.

Sick Babies

We have had a lot of colds going around over here and Audrey just can't get rid of hers. Yesterday I kept her and Logan home from church and luckily Logan seems just fine today. Audrey on the other hand had a really horrible night. She was coughing so much that it made it hard for her to sleep. She did pretty well if Les or I were holding her, but as soon as we laid her down the congestion in her nose would get so bad that she couldn't keep her pacifier in and she was uncomfortable because she couldn't breath out of her nose. It was pretty sad. I even took her out of bed and suctioned out her nose and man I couldn't believe how much came out. She was up and struggling to sleep from 3am to 5am!!!! Which of course meant that we were up too. Finally we were able to get her to fall asleep laying in bed next to us. She NEVER sleeps with us so, I was surprised (but grateful) that she actually fell asleep. She is still pretty boogery today, but has taken some really good naps. Now, lets hope that she is able to sleep better tonight!

*The picture in this post is not of her sick, but I thought that it was really sweet.

Logan's Wonderful Milestones

On Monday January 5, 2009 Logan, Audrey and I all went to the store, but that is not the exciting part. The exciting part came after we got home. This is when I put underwear on Logan and told him that he was not to pee in his underwear, but to only go in the toilet. Now, we had tried this before for like one day and he just wasn't haven't it. I am not one to force it if it is not working so, we went back to diapers. However, on this glorious Monday things seemed to be working. For the rest of the afternoon he didn't have any accidents. He also refused to poo, so I am assuming he was just holding it. That night he went to bed (with a diaper on because I am not about to deal with a wet bed), then in the middle of the night he came into our room and said that he was poopy. I think that he was holding it so much the night before that he just couldn't anymore. Now, I wasn't mad because I knew that he was still learning, not to mention that I had Les change him :) The next day he had one more poopy accident, while I was upstairs feeding and changing Audrey and then that was it. Not a single accident after that!!!!! He was even telling me when he had to go instead of me always asking him. We are all so proud of him and the great job that he did.
At FHE the following Monday, my mom presented Logan with a blue ribbon for his great accomplishment (that's what Grandma's are for, right). He was so happy to stand in front of all of us and hear us clap for him.

Another milestone that Logan accomplished this month involves this blue nemesis of mine that is pictured above. Many people always liked to mention the fact that Logan still had his "meme". Now, I definitely wanted him to get rid of it, but he truly loved it so much. We tried different incentives, but he just wouldn't budge. I know that as the mom I could have just taken it away, but I didn't want to do it like that.

Last weekend my sister and her family came for a visit and we were all sitting around the living room that Sunday morning and I mentioned to Logan that we needed to throw his "meme" away because it had a hole in it. Normally he would cup his hand around it and say NO, but this time he got right up off the couch and said something like "Throw my meme in the garbage". We all looked at him with shock and wondered if it was really for real or not. I thought, yea lets wait till bed time tonight. Well, he never asked for it once that night or the next day. I guess he is just a quit it cold turkey kind of guy. He has grabbed Audrey's a few times, but has never freaked out over it. I can't tell you how happy we all are that he has CHOSEN to do this on his own. He is such a sweet little boy and it is always wonderful to see his happy, smiling face. Now WITHOUT the meme hiding his smile.

First Sunday of the Year, which Brought Logan to Sunbeams!!!

I know that this was like almost a month ago, but since my blog doubles as my journal (I have always been a horrible journal keeper) I still wanted to document it. Bradyn is now a CTR 7 in primary (for those who may not know, primary is like Sunday school for the children in our church, it is for the kids who will turn 4 in this calendar year up until a child's 12th Birthday). Parker is now a CTR 5 and our little Logan has joined his brothers in primary and is a Sunbeam (the class for the kids 3 turning 4 in this calendar year).

This is really the only picture I got of Bradyn and it is only because I ran into him picking something up from the Library. However, doesn't he look so handsome!!!

Parker coming into the primary room. He too looked oh so handsome that day. Don't you just love those beautiful dimples?!?!?

Parker with his little friend Brooklyn. They also go to preschool together and her mom is my really good friend so, they get to play together quite often. This makes for happy kids and happy mom!!!

Logan was not exactly thrilled to be going to primary for the first time like the rest of us were. For some reason he had had a really hard time leaving mom and dad to go to class (he is doing better now). I thought that he would for sure do OK, especially since one of my best friends Melissa and my Brother's wife Crystal are his teachers.

Sweet little face!!!!

Being in the classroom for the first time. I don't think it is OK for kids to hide under tables in primary so, I made him get out right away. However, I had to take a picture because it was kind of funny.

Finally he took his seat although, he doesn't look to excited. This is him with his cousin Wesley.

In the end, I think that Primary was enjoyed by all that day :)

Crazy Doctors Appointment

So, Logan had his 3 year check up on Monday and since I made it for later in the day, Les was h0me and I was able to go with just Logan. Which was very nice!!! I had told me ahead of time that he was not going to be getting any shots, since I don't remember my other kids getting shots at age 3. Well, apparently I was wrong and he was going to be getting 2 shots. A Hep. A shot and then a flu shot. After the Dr. left the room I broke the news to him and I think he was in denial because he didn't get upset about it at all. So, the two assistants came in to give him his shots. I laid him on the table and was being silly with him by puttin my hand over his eyes so that he couldn't see. They never told me to hold his hands back and then they started giving him the shots, both of them taking on leg each. Well, the denial was over and the second the shots were inserted in he instinctively went to grab for the one in is right leg. I tried to grab his arm, but I was too late and he made contact with the shot and pushed it away successfully sticking the assistant with the needle. I quickly apologized, but I am not sure if she heard me.

Well, the girl kind of freaked out and dramatically pulled her hand away and rushed out of the room. I felt really bad because I know that I wouldn't want to be poked with someone elses needle. However, I know that he isn't sick with anything (I just don't know how well she knows that). I quickly comforted my crying child and got him dressed to leave. As we walked out the door I could hear the girl behind the desk washing her hands. Also as we were leaving another assistant just stared me down and looked at me like I was the worst and dumbest parent there was. Whatever lady, yes I feel bad that she got poked, but come on she is the so called professional shouldn't she have made sure that I had his arms securely down first. Oh well, I am sure I am plagued at that office now.

Plymouth Orchard

Yesterday we went to the Plymouth Orchard and had some great family fun. We saw some animals, (which we couldn't touch since they were behind big fences), took a wagon ride and then had some good old fashioned cider mill doughnuts. The weather was absolutely beautiful which was great!!!! The kids had a blast and so did Les and I. We didn't get any pumpkins because I am too cheap. I figure that we can go to a local store and buy them for so much less money.
Our manly boys :)
Is that not the most beautiful flower that you have ever seen?!?!?! Sometimes the craziness of our family is like living with a bunch of animals :)
I can't believe that we actually got a picture of the whole family. How often does that happen? Not very!
My beautiful babies. Sometimes I just can't believe how blessed I am to be their mom.

Some pictures of our little Audrey

"She's a manic, manic on the floor and she's dancin like she's never danced before" I love this picture. My friend Melissa got her these "baby legs" (which I had never heard of) and she wore them under a jean dress, but when we took the dress off, we thought that it looked like she was a dancer.
Just looking beautiful after church.
He just loves his baby sister soooooooooo much. Can you tell?!?!?!
This is how Audrey celebrated Logan's birthday. Relaxin in the swing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN!!!!!!!

Today is my baby boys birthday. He is 3 years old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had a little family party and had a great time.

The Tower of Cupcakes!!!! Logan helped me decorate them.
Such a little cutie pie. He did such a great job blowing out his candles.
The main theme of the presents tonight was SPIDER MAN. He just loves Spider Man!!!!