Birthday Interview: John

While we're in the swing of things, let's get some Johnny responses down as well. John has been looking forward to his birthday in a BIG way. We had to make up a calendar to give some visual cues to how many more days he has to wait. Whenever we talk about birthdays, he gets a glint in his eye, smiles big, and says "My birfday. It's coming?" 
"Yes, John, it is. It's coming soon." 
"It's coooo-ming," he replies with delight. One day he even pulled the chair from Adam's office into the family room (where we traditionally open presents) and got things all set up. That boy is ready for May 5th and some "heavy, heavy hangover thy poor head" or "bonk my head" as he calls it. (This is a Wride tradition where you get bonked on the head with a gift and wish the giver something nice before opening the present). Hearing John chat about his birthday is almost as cute as when he greeted all of our neighbors with a "Merry Mis-mas" as we caroled last December. It's become legendary on our street as the cutest thing ever. Love this boy. 

My favorite food: Hot dog

My favorite sport to play: Wootpa (Football)

My favorite TV show or movie: Barney Goes to the Fire House and Fireman Sam (He watches one of these every morning while eating breakfast)

The coolest person on earth: Me

My favorite thing to learn about: Firemen

One thing I am awesome at: My birthday is May 5th. My birthday come up.

If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to: Pool!

My favorite color: Um, Green. (Spencer pipes in...I thought you liked pink.) Pink.

When I grow up I'm going to be: Builder

My favorite song: Little One ("God Bless my Little One" is a song Great Gpa Barnard sings to grand babies). 

Three words that best describe me: Me

And...that's where we lost him to the toys in the corner. I'll answer the rest for my little buddy. 

When I was little I was: Smiley. This kiddo has smiled at passersby from an early age and has the most winning grin. 

My favorite season: Any one that permits him to be outside. Snow? Yes. Rain? Yes. Sunny? Time for sprinklers. 

My favorite snack: Clementines are a big favorite right now. 

The food I hate most: Broccoli. We had "My Favorite Casserole" this evening, and he loves every bit of it except the green stuff. Picks it out every time. He loves cucumbers, green beans, and has made major headway on salad. It's not all green veggies he dislikes, but he definitely has strong feelings about broccoli. 

My best friend: Cole. Or Spencer. Or any of Spencer's friends. Or Tommy, a cute 2 year old neighbor. 

If I had one wish, I would: Have it be May 5th. We talk about it all the time, and the other day John was walking through the kitchen chanting "May 5th, May 5th..." to himself. So cute. 

If I had a million dollars, I would: Put it toward legos, squirt guns, cars, and anything used to fight "baa-guys." 

Birthday Interview: Emma

Now for some info on my girl Emma! 6 years old and one lovely little lady. 

My favorite food: Chicken Tikka Masala (her birthday dinner this year)/White Shells and Cheddar (Pasta Roni)

My favorite sport to play: Gymnastics

My favorite TV show or movie: Merlin/The Ten Commandments

The coolest person on earth: Our family/cousins

My favorite thing to learn about: Blueberries

One thing I am awesome at: Let's say soccer

If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to: Let's say...I know. Mt. Everest

My favorite color: White

When I grow up I'm going to be: In the Olympics, I think
 
My favorite song: Some Nights

Three words that best describe me: Sensitive skin, blueberries, White Shells & Cheddar

When I was little I was: Snuggly

My favorite season: Probably Summer

My favorite snack: Blueberries

The food I hate most: Beets

My best friend: Kareena, Reagan, Capri (all neighbors)

If I had one wish, I would: wish for a baby sister

If I had a million dollars, I would: buy 100 American Girl dolls

Birthday Interview: Spencer

Birthday season is in full swing here at the Wride house. We have survived and thrived while throwing party after party to celebrate all our spring babies. I borrowed these questions from my friend Mika, who also has a cluster of April birthdays in her fam. 

Here are Spencer's answers at age 8!

My favorite food: Macaroni Salad and Potstickers 

(Spencer had potstickers for his birthday dinner this year)

My favorite sport to play: Football and basketball and lacrosse

My favorite TV show or movie: Star Wars, Zathura

The coolest person on earth: George Lucas

My favorite thing to learn about: Math and Writing

One thing I am awesome at: Drawing

If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to: Florida

My favorite color: Pink

When I grow up I'm going to be: An inventor/soldier with Cole

My favorite song: Gangum Style (he gallops around the house singing edited bits of the chorus or the "Mormon Daddy Style" version)

Three words that best describe me: AWESOME, COOL, AND CRAZY

When I was little I was: bored

My favorite season: Summer

My favorite snack: Cheetos/Cheese Curls

The food I hate most: Beets

My best friend: Cole, Zach, Cavan, Jack R.

If I had one wish, I would: Fly/Have a lot of money

If I had a million dollars, I would: Buy a big extension to my house and buy the whole world. Not in a mean way; I'd be a good ruler.

*All slashes contained in this were specified by Spencer. If I asked what he would do with one wish, he replied, "Fly - slash - have a lot of money." Funny boy. Hard to narrow those answers down. 

Miscellaneous Photo Dump with Brief Explanations

Ready for some random photos?

We'll start with some memorable moments from before Brett was born. 

I've been trying to capture some everyday snapshots. After I get Spencer off to the bus at the early hour of 7:22am, Emma and John usually lounge in their pj's through breakfast, a Netflix show, and then join me upstairs while I finish getting ready. This particular morning, they were using the bath as their racetrack. 

Daddy makes an excellent horse. 

Book buddies: John and Dad

My very own butter softeners. We were making cookies together, and I had to get a picture of these cuties in their aprons. John is still wearing his Lightning McQueen pajama shirt, which came from "Tana Caus" aka Santa Clause.

Spencer and Dad bought an invention kit at Radio Shack and spent some good time creating circuits and experimenting. Spencer plans to be an inventor when he grows up. 

Two days before my scheduled induction, I took John to the eye doctor to have his tube pulled out. Dr. Malone gave him a few eyedrops to numb his right eye. John was snuggly, but super brave. He didn't even flinch when the doctor came at his eye with tweezers, pulled the tube free of the duct, snipped it, and pulled it out. After it was done, John said "that not hard" and was so proud of himself for being so brave. I was really proud of my little buddy too. He snuggled me pretty good in the doctor's office (no small feat with my huge baby belly), but he was SO good. 

Had to document Emma's awesome outfit when we are at Costco one day. This girl has a strong sense of individual style and the confidence to pull just about anything off! This day was all about layering. 

The day before baby was to be born, I wanted some special time with John and Emma, so we headed to the library for a load of books and a little game time. 

After Brett was born, Emma went on a grandma date and came home with a cute little stuffed dog named Snowflake. Sneaky little puppy often gets into her backpack and goes to kindergarten. Wonder how that happens...

We had a snowstorm when Brett was just a few days old. Our neighbors, the Fergusons, came to our rescue and shoveled our walks and driveway when there was a 2 hour delay for school. Such a tender mercy because Adam had been up all night with a software release, and I had been up with a baby. A couple days later, our own shoveling crew took over when we had another light snowfall. Love this shovel brigade! 

With a baby in the house, John is feeling more and more like a big boy. He is potty-trained and decided he was ready for a big boy bed. He never threatened to climb out of his crib, so we never felt the need to move him. We purchased a new mattress from Costco to add to the bunk bed in Spencer's room, and now the boys are bunkbed buddies.  Amazingly, John doesn't leave his room once we have tucked him in for the night. Wish we could say the same for the older two.

I always check on the kids before I got to bed. This particular night, I found Emma snuggled up with Samantha, a gift from Aunt Heather. 

Emma loves Samantha SO much that she wanted to have her bangs cut to look more like the American Girl doll. 

Here is Emma on Wacky Day. She has mismatched socks (although she does that regularly), backwards shirt, tons of ponytails in her hair, and several necklaces. 

Spencer has become a master paper folder and claw maker. He outfitted best bud Cole, John, and himself with a full set of paper claws. 

My boys are so handsome in sweater vests. 

Brett snoozed his way through his first trip to the library at one month old. 

He likes to snooze with Daddy too. It makes Daddy s-l-e-e-p-y. 

Spencer read My Side of the Mountain and it fired his imagination. He talks regularly of going to live in the Catskill Mountains, has written out a packing list for when he goes, practices making shelters in the forest behind our house, and tried his hand at making clay pots. (Thanks for the clay, Grammy!)

John likes to hang out while I fold laundry. 

Oh, look! Another little laundry helper.

Aunt Celeste lived with us for a few weeks, which we LOVED!  (We miss you!)

One evening, she made these delicious lemon-blueberry scones with Emma. I may or may not have eaten more than my fair share. 

Emma had one for afternoon tea. 

Spencer had a boa constrictor around his neck at the science fair. No big deal. 

(WHAT?!! I couldn't believe he wanted to try this.)

Emma LOVES her dolls. Here's a lineup of her favorites.

(Friend Gracie's McKenna, Jenny, Snegurochka from Russia, Samantha, Phoebe, Celeste)

Emma and I were helping John learn colors by lining the cars up. John is an excellent color matcher, but he thinks it is funny when I say "Look at this blue car, John. What color is this?" to then say "Green!" Sneaker! My new method involves M&Ms. I pull one from the pile and say its color, John pulls the same color and says it out loud, then together we say "It's a ______(color) one" and eat it. Works wonderfully!

Brother love. Brett is a total people (and ceiling fan) watcher. He is one happy little guy if I  put him in a seat where he can see me mill about while making dinner. He has a special set of smiles for his siblings and loves when they play with him. 

Cousin time with Uncle Joel!

We were super lucky that Uncle Greg had spring break and Uncle Nathan was abroad in March so we got to have lots of cousin time. Brett had some pretty sweet smiles to share with Uncle Greg. He loved meeting Aunts Michelle and Jenny too.  

Handsome little man in a onesie embellished by my friend Tera. 

Lily and Emma put on a dress-up show. 

Such pretty girls. 

Brett is pretty awesomely consistent in his spitting up. This time he gave himself a milk mustache - and beard, for that matter - by rubbing his face in his work.

Another snow day in March! So fun to watch my boys playing in the slushy white stuff. They managed to build a snowman and a snow fort out of this small snowfall.

Linsy Meets Brett

When Brett was just a wee little dude, my roomie Linsy came down with her boys Tate and Beau for a visit. Darin was off to TX to check out a fellowship. 

John loves nothing more than to play "baa guys" with the fellas. I believe they won this battle. 

When we last got together, John was going through a hitting phase. Happily, we have moved past that. Beau and John were the best of buddies now that John was no longer playing the sweet, smiley bully. (He'd give a big grin and then go for the tackle.)

LEGOS! Boys and more boys having a grand time together. 

(Spencer, Beau, Tate, John)

Emma loves a Linsy visit too. Whenever I wear anything Em thinks is fashionable, she asks me if I got it from Linsy. We love the Linsy look! 

In the photo below, we are about to cut into a delicious cupcake-cake made by Nancy Smith from our ward. 

Linsy came with some delicious pre-made food and took great care of us while she was here. John woke up so happy each day because he had buddies to hang with, and I loved showing off my sweet little munchkin. Thanks, Lins, for a great visit. 

A Snippet for Emma

My Emma is a voracious learner. Her kindergarten year with the fabulous Mrs. Fay at the helm has been nothing short of extraordinary. Every week, different stuffed friends join the class (or take over until the kindergartners help restore order, as was the case with the silly monkeys that caused mayhem at the beginning of the year until the children taught them the classroom rules). Last week, there were insects all over the place. This week, Clarissa the Caterpillar promises to emerge from her chrysalis as a butterfly. Real butterflies will soon hatch in class as well. Can't say enough good about your kindergarten experience.

Well, Emma. You soak all the information presented in class through stories, projects, direct instruction, and doing "research." I am always amazed by the details you recall and vocabulary you utilize. Today, when your eye was hurting after you rubbed some nose medicine (mentholatum) in it, you asked if it looked like you had a compound eye. Dad and I weren't sure what you meant. "You know, like a fly." Earlier in the year, you explained to me that unlike insects, which have abdomens and thoraxes, spiders have a cephalothorax. Say what? Also, I loved that when we found a dead fly on the windowsill, instead of screaming you remarked on the latticework on its wings and thought it would be a good idea to take it into class in a bag. (You still wanted a little help getting said dead insect into the baggie, though).

Tonight I was tucking you in and straightening your room a bit. There was, as always, a collection of books at the foot of your bed. There lay The Dangerous Book for Boys, which you borrowed because you were curious after Spencer had used it to research for his planned trip to the Catskill Mountains. (The Far Side of the Mountain has taken strong hold on that boy's imagination). In addition, you had pulled from our home shelves some Magic Schoolbus books - one about butterflies and the other about insects. Ties in perfectly to what you are learning about in school.

I love you, Emma. I love your curiosity, your thirst for knowledge, and your confidence in conversation. You are one special book lovie.