May Wrap Up

Here are the other things happening in May.

We started potty training with Caleb. He has been ready for a little bit now, but there were a couple things that pushed it over the edge. 1) We are getting new carpet in June, so it would be nice to get potty training done (or at least started) before that, and 2) We are in the middle of pandemic where we don't ever leave our house and if we don't, we don't take the kids, so it is basically the perfect time.

So far Caleb has been our best potty trainer (according to Shantel) and is doing really great. However, potty training is rough, so "great" is a relative term. 

Austin got his first stitches. Austin and Lydia were playing with friends outside and a expandable house got stretched and then someone let go of it suddenly, but Austin was still holding it and it came flying back into his face. We are so fortunate it hit right above his eye and not on the eye. The damage was pretty bad and after looking at it, we decided we better take him in for stitches. Shantel took him in and he got three stitches. He was super brave.

I love this picture of him. Even though he has this massive wound and is at the doctor office, he has just such a good attitude. 

 

We participated via some friends (the Perkins) in the chocolate "Utah Taste Off" and got to sample and rank a bunch of chocolates with them (over Zoom). It was so much fun. Shantel and I love breaking it down and deciding which one is the best. They had to do 1 salted caramel chocolate and 1 they could choose. We were excited because the Bluebird was in it (we love Logan!), but they did not have their best stuff. In the end, we decided we like Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factor the best. 

Shantel took the kids up to Morgan for the first time since the Pandemic. With a flattened curve, we decided it would be okay to go and the kids loved it.

They made bread with Grandpa Walker.

They played on the swing outside.

 Austin building a tower with our game. Fun picture.

 
One day the boys built this to keep Lucy from crawling around and getting into their stuff (I don't even remember what they were trying to keep her from). She is super mobile now which is fun, but she is getting so fast at going where she wants to go. 

We did a visit (social distance style) with my parents and Lucy fell asleep in my arms, it was so sweet. (Also, I could not move my arm at all after hold her like that for an hour).

 Matt and Brooklyn came out from California to visit and we went and saw them in Morgan. We loved getting the chance to see them!

Lydia and I reading the scriptures outside on the swing.

 Lucy and Juniper together.

 

 That is it for our May wrap up.

A Post About Lydia

With Lydia's birthday this month, I thought it was a great time to share a post about Lydia. As I was going through pictures this month there were so many examples of things that represent her.

Lydia is an amazing big sister. The pictures that capture this are all of her and Lucy, but that goes for her brothers too. She loves to play with Lucy, care for her and make her happy. Just as much, she is willing to play with her brothers and be kind to them. She especially is always there to make sure they don't do anything too dangerous. She is such a wonderful big sister.

Her newest thing is to put Lucy on her shoulders and carry her around and then drop off on the couch by leaning back and letting go.

 Sometimes she also climbs into Lucy's bed to take care of her after a nap before Shantel has time to grab Lucy.

 Lydia loves to read to Lucy.

Lydia is also a really good gift giver and it is always important for her to give something meaningful (and usually homemade). For Christmas she hand made a gift for everyone in the family. For mothers day she made a little picture thing for Shantel. Then one night she decided she wanted to make something randomly for Shantel and made a bed for bunny sue (Shantel's stuffed animal from her childhood) and a blanket. She is sweet and kind.

Lydia is so creative and loves to make projects. She makes houses for her stuffed animals or other toys. She makes all sorts of inventions and toys. This is a little boat that she made. Then after blowing it up, it would float across the water.

Lydia is hard working. She works hard to do a good job with her family economy jobs and after dinner jobs. When she gets her mind set to do something, she is very determined. Here is a picture of her working on her piano lessons.

This last month Lydia made a goal to learn 25 recipes that she could make for herself. She has a recipe book that she has been adding everything she makes. Shantel has been helping her and Lydia has been so happy. Once she learns it, she has been able to make things on her own. After she learned to make no bake cookies, she must have made them three times the next week. It is fun to see her learn and grow and do so much on her own.

Here she is making a snack she found out of apples, peanut butter and marshmallows.

A few weeks later we even did a cookie competition and all made different rice Krispie treats and had judging and everything. My favorite thing in the pictures below is that you can see how much care she takes to set everything up just perfectly. Amy came to join us for church and the competition. Awards were as follows: Favorite: Lydia; Most Creative: Amy; Sweetest: Austin.

Lydia loves to laugh and be silly. Being with her is so much fun and she always makes me smile.

She is adventurous and athletic. Here she is jumping down the stairs with Austin and climbing a tree.

Lydia is an amazing girl. Some of my favorite words to describe her are: Kind, Smart, Funny, Creative, adventurous, Determined, Brave, Friendly.