The HEATON clan

A little about Evan ...

A girl friend of mine, while we were playing at the pool, once looked at me and said while looking at Evan, "Teresa, he is just so damn cute." I replied with a "yes, Heavenly Father knew what he was doing, because if he wasn't so cute, he'd be in a lot more trouble.

Evan is my mimic. He speaks relatively well because he practices so much. He only stops talking to sleep and ends up repeating what everyone else says. Most of the time it is cute. The only times it is challenging is when we are in the car and he says, Mom ... Mom ... Mom ... Mom ... (without stopping, regardless of my reply for 10 minutes).

Because he has always been a great orator, we have had some trouble when his lips and mouth aren't up to the task of enunciating the words his minds wishes to speak ... words such as "Truck" and "Flag" have presented particular embarrassing moments.

Evan is definitely the life of the party. He loves to laugh and joke and tries to get everyone else to join in as well. At dinner time especially, he will say something that he thinks is particularly funny and start laughing so raucously, until everyone else starts laughing as well.

He is also Mr. Mischief. One of my favorite memories of Evan was when he was 11months and still very new to walking. Nick was playing with toys on the bottom stair, using it as a table of sorts for his battle. Nick was completely enthralled in play and oblivious to Evan's quiet advance. He took advantage of an opportune moment, when Nick turned the opposite direction, to steal one of the toys Nick was using. The second his chubby little fist closed around the toy, he turned 180 degress with an enormous grin on his face and started running away as fast as his little legs could carry him from Nick. Which wasn't very far, as he fell three steps later and Nick was able to forcefully dislodge the stolen item from Evy's hand. I could see in his eyes that he knew full well what he was doing and had purposefully taken his brother's toy with the sole purpose of annoyance. It was then, that I realized what I was in for ...

Even with his penchant for forcing conflict, he is a very sweet boy and loves his Mom. He is still at the point, when he injurs himself, that a kiss seems to make everything completely better. Throughout the day, he is constantly running to me crying and stops the second, the kiss seems to sink in. I love this and don't let one opportunity pass to give him kisses.

Evan is so smart. Part of being a mimic, he has learned some things much faster than the other boys. He knows how to count. Likes to sing the ABC and other songs ... especially "itsy-bitsy-spider".

He loves to play in a group, but thankfully, he is also very content to play alone.

One of the cutest things he has started say is "My Boys". We refer to Tyson & Nick regullarly as "The Boys". "It's time to pick up 'The Boys' from school." "Take it to 'The Boys' room" ... etc. Well, Evan has taken it a step further and often asks, "Where are 'My Boys'?" "Let's get 'My Boys". I love it. It just warms my heart to hear how much he loves them and wants to be with them.

We were looking for something interesting to do outside this afternoon and found the Botanic Gardens at UCR. I HIGHLY recommed it! It is free to the public and has some really good trails. John was amazing and took Josh & stroller off-roading on the more rugged trails and we all had a great time. It was beautiful. Probably even more amazing in the spring, but well worth getting outside for a while.

This is just inside the park.

Evan with his Botanic Bingo - these free sheet were really cute, but didn't last long.

The boys inside of a wooden "green house".

I loved the flowers. I took a bunch of pictures. Part of our outing was supposed to be a scavenger hunt of sorts for a picture of the most interesting thing or just the best picture. The boys were so interested in everything else, they didn't want to take pictures.

There were turtles!!! It was so neat to see them. There were probably about 15 or so. It was so fun. The boys were enthralled.

Chocolate covered Josh

We came to one point with some large rocks and an opening to a beautiful view. This picture doesn't do it justice.

Nick & his "hunting" pose. He was keeping me safe from bobcats, lizards, etc. ... didn't see any bobcats, but there was one on the brochure, so Nick was ready!

Nick and I on these beautiful, rustic, weathered benches.

I want to write a few observations about each of my sons, mainly to keep the memories fresh and for the future when I eventually make this into a memory book.

So, I will start with Joshy. He is such a joy. He is an easy going child by nature and definitely a lover. He will cuddle with me more than any of the other boys did at this age. I am not sure if this is my memory or due to the fact that he is content to look around and take everything in. He isn't like Evan, who is always busy and in such a rush to do anything and be in the middle of everything.

Josh also loves to be outside. He would rather be outside doing anything than inside. He is also rather quick and has started sounding more like I imagine a Pterodactyl would sound, than a boy. He voice is normally quite deep and resounding. But he is so pleased with himself that he can get around on his own - what wonderful freedom! - that he has started screeching a little. It is very cute.

While outside, Josh loves to roam and is especially facinated by Tyson's skateboard. This is a little worrisome, but we'll keep an eye on him.

Josh is a good eater and many times will out-eat Evan. He is tall and big for his age, I am sure due to the fact that he eats his weight in food daily, but no bigger than Tyson was at this age. He does, however, have amazingly large hands and fee. I noticed these from birth, so I imagine that he will be pretty tall when he finally stops growing.

Joshy also has the cutest, genuine smile. He is quick to laugh and likes to join in when the rest of us are giggling about something. His joining in is a source of amusement to us all and tends to extend the laughing.

One of my favorite memories is of Josh squishing his face after tasting something new. It didn't really matter whether it was sweet or sour, whether he liked it or not ... he would always make the same face. It was extremely cute.

Officially, our 4th back to school night. We missed (thank you lucky stars!) the beginning blah, blah, blah by the principal. Every year it is the same old thing, teacher introductions, reminders to the parents to not call their students cell phones during school hours (how is this not common knowledge!!!) & pta introductions.

I seriously appreciate the participation, but it has been the same for the last 4 years, at this point, I think I could do a pretty good job with the announcing! :) Ok, I am not that cynical.

But, on to the important stuff. The class rooms. While neither classroom, is ornately decorated, each seemed rather oddly clutter free. I am not sure if this is an improvement or detraction. Tyson's teacher is all business and as I understand it there is a lot to learn in third grade - multiplication starts soon, the always looming language arts and of course the STAR testing! Nicholas' teacher is quite friendly and seems to be less rigid, for lack of a better description. I am excited about both and heard good things so far both from student regarding teacher and teacher regarding student. So, I am confident and looking forward to a great year!

As a side note, we received Tyson's STAR Student Report in the mail last week and he scored the highest level ("advanced") in both Language Arts & Mathematics. We are really proud of him for trying so hard and paying attention last year!

I meant to take pictures and completely forgot - oops, I know ... what kind of Mom forgets this stuff ...

I don't think any of us slept well last night. Too much excitement for today, the first day of school. The boys were up, fed & teethbrushed - without me even asking - before my feet even hit the floor. As I arose, my mind was filled with thoughts of mounds of clothing on the floor as kids everywhere were trying to decide which outfit was the "perfect" one to wear today. Thankfully, Tyson & Nick chose theirs last night, so somewhat abnormally, their floor is clear.

Of course, once we got to school, I forced them to stand in front of the school sign to take the mandatory first day of school picture. I have been taking the same picture on the first day of school for 4 years now and it is funny how "cool" Tyson seems now. He was a little annoyed at my technical difficulties ... first the camera batteries were completely dead, even though I had checked them at home before leaving, then my memory was full on my phone camera, UGH! Then after I was able to sort that out, I took a picture and Nick decided to make a rather uncouth adjustment, just as I took the picture - delete that one, thanks! Finally, I got my picture! Then I uploaded it here and noticed Tyson's eyes are closed!!! Oh, well - nothing can dampen my spirits today, it is THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Well, I originally created this blog as a way to send out a fun christmas greeting and that was about the end of it. I am anxious to get started again with the fun!
I will get pictures from our Colorado fun up soon! In the mean time, love you all!