April Newsletter

Some of this is review for regular blog viewers (if there are any out there), but following is our monthly newsletter.

Here are pictures from April.

Colby is screaming at the top of his lungs upstairs. The good news is that Ashley and Sienna are sleeping right through it. Ashley has just started falling asleep without screaming – the last few nights it seems like Colby is filling in for her.

Ashley smiles occasionally now and is definitely more alert and attentive. Although getting her to sleep has been a struggle, I am grateful that she averages about one poopy diaper per week, and chances are that it occurs while I’m at work so I don’t even have to worry about it. Last week’s poopy diaper came while Kristen and I were on a date. How’s that for good timing?

I think Colby has started the “terrible twos.” When he’s in a good mood, though, he can be great fun – particularly because he’s talking a lot now. We bought him a new “big wheels” type tricycle. He loves his Pooh-car and it’s sad to put it away because he has so much fun with it and has learned to get around so well on it. But it was way too small and he was ruining too many shoes pushing it along. For “Performance” for family home evening tonight, Colby counted to 10 and then sang the ABC song with a little help from Sienna.

Sienna is our angelic daughter. Maybe angelic isn’t the right word – she definitely enjoys pushing Colby’s buttons – but she has been pretty good lately. All I have to do is tell her a Zorro story after she’s in bed, and she stays there and falls asleep almost immediately. She loves being outside. While I was mowing the lawn this evening, she spent over an hour outside riding her tricycle, and playing with the rake. (Colby is scared of the lawn mower, so he stayed inside. Ashley slept – she’s going on 5 hours right now! Hopefully that doesn’t mean we’re in for a long night.) Sienna loves primary and I think it’ll be good for her to start pre-school in the fall, as sometimes I worry that she’s a little bored at home – even though Kristen does a nice job trying to keep her occupied.

Kristen has discovered the world of blogging. You can check out our website at http://bandkshepherd.blogspot.com/. She also cut her hair very short this past week. Two men in the ward commented to me that it looks really nice, and she just got an email from the Bishop saying that she looks like she’s 21. I think I’ll punch the next guy who says she looks great.

I ran the Country Music Half Marathon this past month. It was so much fun – there were 30,000 other runners! Work is fine. The weather is really nice out here now, so I’ve started commuting on my bicycle again.

May should be a good month with trips to Georgia (visiting Craig and Kim) and Orlando (meeting all of Kristen’s family) planned. We may not be visiting Jerusalem, but hey, I’m sure there’s some Jerusalem display at the Epcott Center.

Love,
Bryan, Kristen, Sienna, Colby, and Ashley

OOPS!

About a week and a half ago I took the kids to the zoo with some friends. I usually make the kids walk the whole time, and push Ashley in the stroller. Colby was wearing some cheap-o Walmart version of Crocs that were a couple weeks old. At the end of the zoo trip we ended up at the Tot Lot in the playground, which is a padded, enclosed area for bouncing and jumping for toddlers (Colby loves it).
You have to take your shoes off and store them in cubbies, which is when I noticed that Colby had a pretty bad blister on his foot. So when it was time to go I threw his shoes in the stroller and carried him out to the car.

A few days later when I thought he'd healed sufficiently, I grabbed his shoes out of the van and put them on him, only to realize his feet had shrunk! As he's shuffling his feet in shoes two sizes too big I think back, trying to figure out what happened. That's when I realized that I grabbed the wrong shoes at the Tot Lot! Some poor kid got left with cheap-o Crocks, two sizes too small, with holes in the toes (see Pooh-Car post below), while we have a real set of Crocs in good condition for next summer!

I feel bad. I called the zoo and they took my information in case somebody calls about it. Perhaps some mother has written an irate blog about how somebody stole her son's shoes at the zoo. If you happen to read such a blog, let me know and I will gladly exchange back.

Dress-Up

It's 5:00 am and I've been wide awake since feeding Ashley at 1:00. She is having one of her best nights EVER. So why am I awake? Thinking about really important things. Like my grocery list, upcoming sharing time, upcoming vacation, things to do today, errands I need to run, etc. Sigh.

So I might as well be productive and post some pictures. I love watching my kids dress up. The more random and disconnected the better. Here are a few from this month.

One day Sienna decided they needed to wear vests and headbands. After he was properly attired, Colby kept trying to tell me something. His diction isn't that great yet, so it took a few tries. Finally I realized what he was saying: "Me a pretty princess". By the time I got the camera, Sienna had him convinced he was actually a prince.

Off With the Hair!

Before...After...
I'm pretty happy with it. Although we'll see how I like having bangs. I swore I'd never do it again. Yet here I am, doing it again!

Run, Bryan, Run!

This weekend was the Country Music Marathon and 1/2 Marathon, where 30,000 runners and 100,000 spectators swarm downtown Nashville. Bryan ran in the 1/2 marathon and finished in 1 hour 35 minutes. He was 338th place. Not bad, considering around 21,000 people finished the 1/2 marathon! Way to go Bryan!

I wanted to go downtown to see all the festivities. But on Friday night Sienna started getting sick with a cough, sore throat, headache, and eventually she threw up. So I decided to stay home with the kids. She even ruined a date night we had planned for Saturday night. She's fine now, except for a lingering cough.

After Bryan got home from his race I rushed out the door to go to a Stake Relief Society Enrichment Meeting. When I came home I found the tent set up in the family room! Bryan really wanted to rest after his race, but the kids really wanted to play with him. So they compromised. They were "Princess Camping".

Pooh Car

Colby's favorite outdoor toy is his "Pooh Car". He can zoom around on it like nothing else. He's really too big for it, and his knees almost scrape the ground as he goes. Notice how his toes drag with every push?

You might be wondering what that does to his shoes. See for yourself:


These are his main Pooh-car-riding-shoes. They are really falling apart, but I don't want him to ruin his other shoes, so I make him continue to wear these ones. It really is time to get him a new trike.

Homemade Hand-me-downs

My sister, Kerilee, made this cute little outfit, and my mom the cute little booties, both for Sienna. Ashley got a lot of compliments on them.


Here's Sienna wearing it at 5 months old.