"Tater"-Time!

Steve and Stephanie adopted a little boy, Tate James, about 5 weeks ago. Ever since I got the text from Steve about his birth I have been so excited for them and anxious to get out to Utah! After looking at ticket prices I had resigned to not being able to go. Then, about a week and a half ago Dan came home and handed me my itinerary. Surprise, I was going!

Dan had to be in Oregon for training but made it home in time for me to fly out on Thursday, June 16. Dan got home from Reagan Airport at 10 a.m., we picked up Jake from his last day of school at noon, and I flew out of Reagan at 3 p.m.

I told my sister Aimee I was coming and told her she could tell everyone but Mom. Mom's reaction as I walked into the room behind Aimee was priceless! I think it took her a good 10 minutes to settle down to the idea that it was me. It was great!

So, first thing Friday morning Aimee and I headed down to Steve and Stephanie's house. Tate is absolutely precious. But even better than seeing this sweet little baby was seeing Steve and Stephanie with him! Words just can't describe it!

Tate is one very loved and KISSED baby!

I spent the afternoon with Emily and her kids at the pool.

It was Owen's 1st birthday so we all met up at Em and Ben's that evening.

More time spent adoring "Tater-tot"!

Saturday morning Mom hosted a baby-shower for Steve and Steph with all our extended family invited. We had a yummy brunch and then gathered around to hear Steve and Steph tell the birth story, adoption process, of Tate. As I looked around the room everyone was either grinning from ear to ear or crying. It is such an amazing story. It is so evident that the Lord truly was apart of every little detail.

My Family

Mom with her 23rd grandbaby!

It wouldn't be a true Breinholt celebration without a treasure hunt to end. Aimee and I had a lot of fun coming up with a nursery rhyme themed treasure hunt. They had to read the marked nursery rhyme and then figure out where their present was stashed. We ended the hunt with Jack and Jill "ran" up the hill.... the gift was money for a jogging stroller. (They will be buying a double stroller, hoping to get a sibling for Tate soon.)

I spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday with the family and enjoying Tate.

Dan had a blast with the kids! They spent every waking hour playing. They went camping in the rain and woke up to a thunderstorm, they had a hands-on anatomy lesson about frogs from Aunt Bonnie, they ate lots of ice cream, and spent a day at the Zoo and National Cathedral. The Bishop gave Dan permission to sit in the congregation with the kids on Sunday and then a family invited them to dinner Sunday night. They stayed very busy! The kids loved every minute with their Daddy. If it weren't for all the BYU Bookstore candy I brought back for them I think they would have put me back on the plane! I can't wait for more "Tater"-time. in six month I get to go back for his blessing and family sealing!

Kindergarten Graduation

Dan and I packed into the cafeteria to watch all 8 kindergarten classes sing a couple songs and recite their favorite parts about kindergarten. After their performance all the kids gathered around the tables to eat lots of goodies! He was pretty nervous being in the crowds and was glad to leave! He is now a "grader"!

ABBY

Abigail is almost 22 months old. She is full of energy and expression. I love the stage of language development she is at right now. She is such a cute little talker, talking in sentences and repeating everything she hears. I love how she says "Mama, wanna hold you!" for me to hold her. I really do wish I could sit and hold her all day long.

She is an adorable little rascal! The house is "baby-proof" however she always manages to find a new danger! For example, Dan found her in our shower about to lick a razor! (I didn't think she could open the shower door.) She falls off of chairs and our table on a regular basis. She thinks NO means yes and FASTER! In the 30 seconds it took me to take the clean laundry from the dryer into my bedroom she managed to do this....

Her hair is finally long enough to pull back into a spout, I love it!

At church on Sunday the closing song in sacrament meeting was I Am a Child of God. Abby was so funny to watch. She was standing on the bench, grinning from ear to ear and giggling in between singing. She got so excited. I noticed that she had several people's attention, including the Bishop. Then came nursery. Abby is struggling with nursery still. Dan and I are not quite sure how to handle the situation. There have been several changes in leadership on top of several cry-ers who continually set each other off (Abby being one of them). I don't want her to be in there crying for more than 5-10 minutes for her sake and the leaders.

Somehow Abby knows when it is time for Daddy to come home. She stands at the back window calling for him around 530 each day.

Being her mom is so rewarding. It is fun to watch her discover new things and overcome her fears. She is always happy to see me when she wakes up and quickly asks about her brother, sister, and daddy. Are they "sweeping", "where Dada go"? She is very affectionate. She loves to give hugs and kisses, or see mommy and daddy kiss!:) She is a joy to be with.

T-ball is over

Jake hitting a waterballoon at his last t-ball practice.

playing 1st base

After the last game we had a party and trophies were handed out. Jake "polished" his about 25 times in the first two days!

SWEETS

She is the cheerleader of the family. By that I mean she is everyone's biggest fan. Even though Jake and Abby often require more attention, Tess just happily goes with the flow. She is a cute freckled face red head! She still runs to her daddy when he gets home from work. She loves to get her back rubbed, eat strawberries, and playing/watch/draw anything to do with dogs.

Gymnastics with Cole

A couple weeks ago Tess was invited to go spend an hour doing gymnastics with one of her friends from her primary class. Cole's parents were surprised that when given the choice to choose any friend to go to class with him he chose Tess (they were expecting one of his boy friends). I think that says a lot about Tess and her friendly, kind personality. She had a blast. I was impressed with how she just did what the other kids did, without hesitation! That balance beam is HIGH, I remember cartwheeling and rolling right off it back in the day! We have decided that this Fall we will be putting Tess in gymnastics.

Tess is the first one walking across the beam in the white shirt and blue pants.

End of "Mommy" Preschool

For our last "Mommy" preschool day we had a pool party. She loved being in this little pool! I really enjoyed teaching and interacting with these cute kids and their fun moms! Tess is also done with Damascus Community Preschool for the Summer.

Tess could color all day long. Well, she does need a few breaks...

Tess puts a smile on everyone's face...(wish you could see Dan's face in this picture better!)

Tess and Abby

Tess is so good to Abby. A recent example of this: As I was in another room I listened to a sweet motherly exchange from Tess to Abby. Jake was wearing his patch and playing on the computer. A loud vroom and honking came from the computer. Abby, being her dramatic self, started to whimper. Tess's soft, high pitched voice calls out to Abby "It's okay Abby, come here Abby, it's okay! JAKE, Abby is scared of that noise!"

Sometimes Tess joins me when I rock Abby and sing to her at bedtime. Abby will put a finger over my lips and tells me to shhhh, she wants to hear only Tess's voice!

Most of the pictures I have taken of Tess and Abby, Tess is holding her hand in a loving or helping way. However, when the Branham blood in her gets the best of her, she squeezes with a bit too much force.

One of my nick-names for Tess is SWEETS!

The other day I asked her what she wanted for lunch. She replied "You decided Momma, because you're wonderful!" She is a sweetie!

She is always saying I Love You!

She is my little angel. Here is just one, out of many, examples I could give: It happened at the end of one particularly long Sunday. Dan had been gone all day fulfilling his calling, it was about bed time and the kids were tired of dealing with me. Jake needed another time out. After making sure he was in his room I turned at the top of the stairs and slipped. I fell down the stairs and decided to recoup at the bottom. With my head on my knees Tess came over, put her hand on my shoulder and softly told me "Mommy, I sure do love you!" She softens my heart at just the right times. Her ability to spread peace and love is truly a gift from a loving Father in Heaven!

Mr. Man

Jacob is approaching his last week of kindergarten! It has been a good year for him. He is so excited to be a "grader". This morning he was thrilled to go to school just with his dad for "donuts with Dad". I know there just might come a day when he isn't as thrilled to be with his parents at school as he is today so I thought I'd document just how fantastic it feels as a parent! I love that he wants me to walk him to the front door of school every day. I love that he ALWAYS stops and wait for me to help him get his book bag on, give him a hug and kiss, tell him I love him send him on his way. I love that most days he gives his sisters a good bye hug too.

A couple weeks ago we went the big Pizza Premier at Jakes school. All the kindergarten classes worked for weeks drawing pizza, writing down lists of ingredients, learning about persuasive writing, then writing their own commercials, and video taping each child's commercial. Jake decided he wanted to do a fruit pizza, he liked the idea of a cookie crust and frosting! Jake picked out his clothes that day, belt and all, and I got him some new glasses for his red carpet walk! Each of the kids had a turn being introduced by Mrs. T, strut'n their stuff down the red carpet and posing quickly before turning to sit down. ( I didn't get the picture in time, Jake crossed his arms and ended all tough looking! It surprised me that he had to courage to do that in front of so many!)

Jacob still wears his patch (over the right eye) for 2 hours a day. He is so great about it. He doesn't complain and can put the patch on his glasses all by himself. I am so grateful for his good attitude!

Recently he has taken more interest in how he looks. One day before school I was amused just watching him decide to tuck his shirt in and then he ran and put on his belt. The grin he gave me when he came to show me how handsome he was was filled with so much pride.

In the car one day Jake sang us a song, it went like this, "This is a mom's song, mom's are great, mom's are better than chocolate cake..." Dan and I were impressed and told him so, he replied "I rememberized it".

He is such a good kid with a big heart. He loves responsibility and really responds well when Dan and I talk to him like a big kid explaining and asking for his help with things (ie. his sisters). He is becoming more independent and adventurous. I think he will really progress this summer in some of the things that have scared him in the past (ie. swimming, riding his bike). We love our little (almost 7 yrs. old) man!