Sherman Turns 2

Sherman is Two!  Can you believe it?  I can't!  The first two years are some of the most exhausting, but they also fly by so quickly.  Sherman is a delightful, witty little toddler.  He loves to be silly.  If anyone is laughing he starts laughing too.  He loves to be tickled and he LOVES his dad.  He loves keeping up with the big boys - when it comes to playing catch and jumping on the tramp he can hop in and play with the 4 year old's no problem.

Sherman loves animals; especially horses.  Almost everyday he says "Nay...Nay...Farm..."  It's his way of asking to go down to our local petting farm to ride the horses.

We're so glad you're in our family Sherman and love you so very, very much!!

The Birthday Boy with his fishy cake!

 Brother is always close by to help...especially when there's cake!

 Happy Birthday's been sung and it's fair game to stick your fingers in the cake!

Sherman on his 2nd Birthday!

Riding the horsey...he never wants to get off!

Backyard Campout

Our dad is the best, most spontaneous dad ever.  Last night we got home late from Grandma and Grandpa's house and as mom was getting Sherman ready for bed dad surprised Everett and set up the tent in the rain in the backyard!  While Ryan set up the tent, Everett watched and kept excitedly asking me what dad was doing. Ryan finally told him they could sleep in it - he was sooooooooo excited.  Fun night!

Sleep Tight!

Hawaii At Last

 After many long hours of fairly uneventful travel, we made it to Hawaii!!  We were so excited to hit the beach and enjoy the beautiful ocean.  Our time there was short, but we did our best to cram a lot of fun in!!

 Everett Climbing a Tree by our hotel

 The best Family Photo we have from the trip.  We loved our evening walks to the strip mall for frozen yogurt.  Great Island treat for the whole family.  The boys had so much fun running on the board walk, playing in the grass, sand, ocean, and pool.  Such great memories.

 My sweet Aunt Amy helping me with the boys as we explored the Iao Needle.  Right when we arrived at the state park it started pouring rain.  We've been here so many times, but never rain.  This time it really felt like a rain forest!  The boys loved it.  

 Eating at our favorite breakfast restaurant - The Gazebo.  The boys had fun making silly glasses while they waited for their food.  

 Beach Time!  Everett tried snorkeling and loved seeing the fish.  Daddy jumped off black rock several times, and mommy held down the fort on the shore.  For those of you who know me well, I semi conquered my sand phobia this trip.  You'd be proud :)!

 The Banyan Trees are always a big hit.  The boys had fun climbing and exploring these very strange trees where the roots grow from the branches to the ground.  

 Look at these handsome guys!

After they were done exploring the Banyon Trees we headed to Cheeseburger and Paradise for a burger and 4th of July fireworks over the ocean.  Great Trip! Fun Memories!

Sherman at 21 Months

What to say about Sherman?  There are so many things I love about this boy.  He loves to snuggle his mom and his dad and will sometimes give hugs lasting close to 5 minutes - usually to dad when he comes home from work.  He is very active and fun yet he loves to lounge on the couch.  Several times a day he can be found laying on the couch drinking his bottle.  Much like his mother, this boy is NOT a morning person.  He wakes up slowly and on his own terms.  Sherman loves to jump and easily keeps up with the big kids on the trampoline.  He is turning into quite the little fish in the water.  He will do anything he sees his big brother do - dive into the pool from the side (with assistance), go underwater to retrieve a toy, jump in the pool, you name it he'll do it.  NO FEAR!  Sherman loves, loves, loves his bottle and milk.  It'll be awhile before I attempt to break this habit.  He is starting to talk a lot and will attempt to say almost any word I ask him to say.  Regular words include: Milk, ball, Everett aka "ah-uh-ah-uh-ah", da, momma, nana, papa, gma, sam, lyla, whitney, more, night night, no, yes, & hi.  We're so glad this little guy is in our family!! 

 This is a great Sherman picture.  He LOVES animals.  For a long time he loved them, but was also terrified of them; however, recently he has lost most of his fear and really enjoys petting animals.  

  My little lounger

Love that smile!!

And He's Off

A Great Morning with Dad

These two had a great morning yesterday as they headed up American Fork Canyon to hike Timpanogos Cave!  Dad reported that Everett was a fantastic hiker.  He never complained and hiked the strenuous 3 miles with no problem.  Fun memories!  Great Idea Dad!

 Iron man with his repulsor ray and dad just before they left.

 On the Mountain!

 Two of my favorite boys!  My other favorite got to stay home and play with me!

In the Cave!!

Curls

I love how curly this little guy's hair is.  Can't believe he'll be two in just a few months!

Children's Museum with Aunt Whitney

We had so much fun at the Children's Museum with Lola and Aunt Whitney.  We wish we still lived close, but glad that we can enjoy our visits together.

 Cute Everett in the pilot's seat.

 Sherman loves his spider-man water bottle.  He didn't stay in the stroller for long though.  He had to join the fun.  

Everett and Lola waiting their turn for the helicopter.  

Spring Program

Everett did a fabulous job in is Spring Program today.  He shined as always and sang all of the songs loud and proud.  After one of the songs I gave him two thumbs up and he responded with "thanks mom" in the middle of the program - so sweet!  They started the program with their school song, then a really fun patriotic song called  "Stand Up for America", next a few songs about vowels and blending words; Everett finished the program with a couple dance songs where he really showed off his moves and the very last song was "The spider and the Fly".  I love watching this little boy grow and learn and am so proud I am his mom.  I'm so glad that he can go to such a great school and learn confidence away from home.  When I picked him up from school today he said, "Mom, guess what?  I'm a rockstar!"  Yes you are buddy and I'm so glad you know it!!

Thanks for coming Nana and Gma and Gpa Butters!

"I Butter-fly!"

Scissor Lift

Dad had a scissor lift at work for a day and was kind enough to invite this little man to come see it.  Pretty cool day in Everett's life.  Thanks dad!

The view from the roof is amazing!  

We love playing with Friends

One of our favorite things about living in Utah is having good friends and family nearby.  Everett and Eli first met in Texas when they were 9 months old and they've been best buds ever since.  We love going to parks, aquariums, malls, and playing at home with friends.

 Eating Lunch is way more fun with friends.  Thanks for staying to play Eli!

Eli has a little sister just one month younger than Sherman.  These two little toddlers love to run around together and giggle while throwing playground bark.  Cute little kiddos.  

I love their expressions in this picture.  "seriously we have to sit on these stumps :)"

Our new outdoor toy

A big thank you to these two Butters men for setting up our trampoline.  They worked hard - I think it took about 6 hours total.

  

I'm so very grateful to have a fun toy in the back yard for my boys to do this...

Look closely and you'll see Everett's splint on his finger...two breaks in 1 year.  I'm scared for the coming years and accidents.