The cat says meow, the cow says moo and the mom says. . .

Last night I was getting Carter dressed in his pajamas and he was making animal sounds.  I asked him what the cat says and he said meow.  I asked him a couple of different animals and he told me the appropriate sound.  Next, I asked him what the baby says and he made a crying sound. 

Then I asked him, "What does the mommy say?" He told me, "She says, can I get you some chocolate milk?" 

I don't know what I was expecting but that made me laugh. 

Updates

This week Dean opened a Clovis branch of the shop.  He has been working really hard on this and I am so proud of him.  Along with work he has a calling in the Elders Quorum Presidency.  

He has been enjoying Fresno State football and has gone to most of the home games.  I have gone along with him to a few. 

In September Dean had LASIK.  He was not fond of wearing glasses and contacts were irritating his eyes.  He is happy with the results. 

Dean is also super helpful around the house and with the kids.  He is a great dad and husband. 

In August I started a Statistics class at Fresno City College.  It feels good to use my brain.  Being a mom is challenging but not really intellectually stimulating and as nerdy as it sounds, I enjoy math.  It was kind of hard in the beginning getting used to the schedule and finding time for homework along with everything else but it seems to be working out well. 

I have recently taken up a new stress reducing activity.  I am taking spin classes at the gym.  I never thought that pedaling a bike in room for an hour would be so much fun or help keep me sane.  I leave the class feeling a weight off my shoulders. 

I am still the secretary in primary.  For some reason I kind of feel like a foreigner in this calling.  I am grateful though.  I work with some amazing women that make me want to be a better person.  It has been a surprisingly spiritual experience.

Abby is doing well.  She is still loving school.  As you can see in the above picture she had and a recent visit from the tooth fairy.  Grandma Dori is the official tooth puller in the Dockstader home.  Although after Carter kicked Abby in the mouth during some roughhousing the tooth was barely hanging on. 

Abby plays really well with her brothers.  Her favorite cartoon is now X-Men.  I would not say that she is anything close to a tomboy but is funny to see how living with brothers has changed her. 

Carter is also doing well.  He's really enjoying preschool.  The above picture is from his trip to the pumpkin patch with the boys from school. 

I took Carter to be assessed by the speech therapist at the school.  While he is not where he should be for his age he is not bad enough that he qualifies for speech therapy.  He has been doing so much better though.  He also seems happier now that he can tell me what he wants.  He is still Carter (high strung, stubborn) but he is really calming down.

Carter occasionally fights with Grant but it has not been as bad as I thought it would be.  Grant is usually the instigator.  Carter is quick to help Grant.  If Grant is upset, Carter will find a toy or his passy and take it to him and tell him, "Don't be sad." 

One of Carter's new favorite pass times is playing pbskids.org.  He is really good on the computer and with most electronics. 

Carter is calming down and Grant is becoming WILD!  The kid runs everywhere he goes.  He wants to play outside climbing and getting dirty.  He is only 16 months but feels more like a 2 1/2 year old.  Grant loves to wrestle, play with trains and stuffed dogs but also pretty much whatever Abby and Carter are doing. 

He is also talking pretty well.  His first word was Dad.  Followed by ,"Hi Dad." as soon as Dean got home from work.  He can also say Mom, Abby, Caca (Carter) gogi (go gurt), bye bye, no, go, and he will mimic many other words and sounds.

Well, that is what is going on with the Dockstaders.  He are healthy, happy.  What more could a girl ask for?

They were fighting over what?

So this morning we were getting ready for the day.  Dean and I were in the kitchen.  Typical of Carter, he was crying and screaming somewhere in the house.  After a little while we heard that Abby was involved.  Carter was screaming at Abby, "Give me my button."

I continued making Abby's lunch and Dean went to intervene.  Dean asked Abby what happened and she said, "Nothing."  I hear him ask her, "Why are you smiling like that?"

She tells him, "The button is imaginary."  I call to her from the kitchen to just give it to him. 

She tells Dean that she lost it.  (Reminder:  The button is IMAGINARY)

So, Dean goes to get Carter.  He took him to Abby's room and told him to find it.  Then Carter says, "There it is! Swoop." 

First Day of School

Here is Abby on her first day of school.  She is in the first grade.  Abby wants to be very independent and after the first day of school she did not want me to walk her to her classroom. 

Abby is in a first/second grade combo class this year.  After back-to-school night I was shocked at how different first grade is from kindergarten.  Abby said it best, "It is a lot of work and a long day."  She is doing very well though.  Her teacher told me that she is great and that if she had a whole class of Abbys she would be a happy teacher.

Carter is doing his first year of preschool this year.  We have a group of boys from church that we do school with.  Each mom takes turns teaching.  He goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays for two hours.  I think it is a good experience for him and he really seems to enjoy spending time with this classmates. 

Santa Cruzin' and Racing

This year for Dean's Father's Day/Birthday/Anniversary/Late graduation gift we went on a trip to the coast. 

He chose to go to the Historic races at the race track in Monterey.  We attempted to stay in Monterey but because we were late in making reservations the closest place to stay was Santa Cruz. 

We left on a Friday.  We walked around Santa Cruz for a bit and strolled along the boardwalk.  Then we went for a bike ride on a bike path that ran along the beach. 

The weather was perfect. 

That night we ate dinner at a local Italian restaurant called Lillian's.  It was pretty good. 

Day two was race day.  As soon as we started turning at signs that said, "Race traffic turn here" Dean started glowing. 

It was actually pretty cool.  (Don't tell Dean I said that.)  There were tons of cars.  There were some really old ones (I don't remember any specifics) to a brand new Bugatti, which is a million dollar car.

There were also a lot of famous car people there like Dan Gurney, Jay Leno and some Snake guy.  I guess I should have got some details from Dean before I started this post. 

After the races we went back to our hotel in Santa Cruz and had dinner on the pier.  The next day we went to a nearby ward then drove home.

It was nice to have time with Dean and learn more about the things he loves. 

Monterey

Abby and Aunt Emily

At the end of July we went to Monterey with most of Dean's immediate family.  Emily rode over with us on Friday morning (Something she may never volunteer to do again.)  Grant wasn't really happy on the way there and did not sleep in the van. 

Playing "Water Park" in the hotel shower.
(Sorry about the nudity.)

So, Dean stayed with Grant in the hotel to nap and Emily and I took Abby and Carter to the beach to play.  It was pretty chilly but they didn't seem to mind.That evening Dean went to get pizza for dinner.  The boys were pretty bored in the hotel room. (Apparently Monterey has bad traffic and it took Dean and hour to make a eight mile round trip) So, I found ways to entertain some restless boys

Dean, Carter, Jason Freeman (possible future brother-in-law), Emily, Heather (aka Heffer), Jeffrey, Tyler, Grant and Wendy

The next morning we got up and went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Carter, Abby and Uncle Tyler checking out the sea creatures

Carter really enjoyed himself

Grandma Wendy playing with Grant and some silly sea anemones (Jeffrey and Tyler's fingers)

Carter very focused on enjoying the kid zone

Grant LOVED the toddler section

Abby riding a sea horse

We met up with Dean's sister Jillyn, her husband Gary and their kids at the aquarium.

Note to self:  Next time don't go to the aquarium on a Saturday.  It is crazy busy.)

Busy Being Lazy

We were so busy being lazy over the summer that I have not had time to blog all of our activities.

We went to the water park at least once a week. The kids loved going on the slides, swimming in the wave pool and relaxing in the shade eating our usual lunch of turkey sandwiches, chips and Capri suns.

We also went about once a week to the lake.  Dean's family has a house boat that we would take to Millerton and let the kids swim.  No wonder my kids are so tan.

For the record

I was talking with my sister, Rachel today and she reminded me of a few things I need to blog before I forget them. 

First, a couple of weeks ago my mom, my sister Sam and I took my kids to dinner at McDonald's.  We ate in the play place and sat at two small tables next to each other. During the course of dinner, we moved the high chair between the two tables trapping Carter.  As stated previously Carter has a hard time communicating.  So, when Carter was done eating lunch he noticed he was trapped. 

First he pushed, it wouldn't move so he became angry.  He pushed harder, then the rage began.  He staring hitting the highchair.  That was not enough to dispel his rage so, purple with furry he began biting the chair.  My mom and sister could not contain their laughter.  I am working to help Carter communicate his needs but sometimes at the end of a long day the kid just needs to bite a chair. 

The next story involves the same family members.  After a typical target shopping trip (tantrums, whining, falling, timeouts) we were headed to the parking lot.  The kids had eaten all of the snacks I brought.

Carter was whining that he was hungry.  I tried to explain to him that we would eat in a couple of minutes when we were home.  This just made him mad.  So, I held out my empty cupped hand and offered him invisible food.  He then took the "food", looked at it, became more angry and threw the "food."  I almost peed my pants. 

The last story is from today.  I was at my sister Rachel's house.  While there Carter was calling Rachel's dog Penny something we could not understand.  After hearing him say it a couple of times I realized he was calling her Money.  Apparently he knew she was a currency and figured Money worked well as a substitute.

Love you Carter. 

(This post is dedicated to Carter's future wife, who will one day come to me with her sweet, beautiful, wild, belligerent son and wonder where he came from.  I will say to her, "Please refer to family blog book 2010, in the month of July."

Grant

My baby is one year old! 

I can't believe how fast this year has passed.  Grant is now walking everywhere.  A week before his birthday he started taking steps and about two weeks later he decided walking was going to be his primary mode of transportation. 

Grant also had his physical a couple of days ago.  He was just over 24lbs (75%) and 33 inches tall (off the chart)

Grant loves fruit and anything sweet.  He does what I call his "chocolate dance."  If you feed him chocolate pudding, ice cream, etc he starts dancing.  

Grant has a very sweet temperament.  He is quick to smile and usually only cries if you take away food, he is hungry or sleepy.  A couple of weeks ago he was cutting two teeth and had double ear infections and I thought I lost my sweet boy, but once he was feeling better he was back to his happy self.  

Grant will clap his hand if you ask him to.  He tries to figure out how things work.  He can use my cell phone.  He is very curious and smart.  

One thing he does that the other two didn't do much is, get into EVERYTHING.  Right now he likes to open the dishwasher, climb onto the door and play with things in the dishwasher. 

Carter

May 20th Carter turned 3 years old.  I know that is really old information.  On Carter's actual birthday Dean was out of town and Uncle Jeffrey came home from his mission.  So, June 10th we had a birthday party for Carter and Grant with our family. 

Carter is still his crazy self.  Last week some of my family was over after I had put the kids to bed.  The doorbell rang and I thought maybe my sister had decided to come over.  At the door was a man asking if we were missing a little boy. 

After putting Carter to bed he decided to open his window, remove the screen, climb out the window and play with the cat in the street.  Thank heaven for this man who found him and brought him home.  So now, if you come to our house, you will see we have taped the window screen so Carter can't escape.  This story is a pretty good example of what daily life is like with Carter. 

Anyhow, Carter had his physical a few days ago.  He is 32lbs (50%) and 40 inches (95%)  He has an appointment with a speech therapist to see if he has a delay.  I am hoping if I can help him communicate that it will resolve some of his anger.  I can imagine how frustrating it must be for him not to be understood and I am sure that is why he acts out. 

Carter is a good boy.  I love him and am grateful to have him.  He has taught me so much. 

Abby

Abby and Mrs. Ormonde

My big girl finished kindergarten a couple of weeks ago.  I can't believe how fast the school year passed.  She is such a smart girl and is a great student.  The last weeks of school were a lot of fun.  She had a party, a kindergarten concert and a field trip to the zoo. 

Abby is also a great helper around the house.  She is so sweet with her brothers.  She is always willing to play with them so I can get something done around the house. 

Abby also has very funny things to say.  I am now passing the computer to Dean so he can tell the story. . .

We went to the lake on Monday with Maclynn and Gill and the kids were having a great time playing in the water.  Abby let me know that she needed to go to the bathroom so we pulled the boat over to shore so I could take her to the restrooms.  When we were getting off the boat some other people on shore let us know that they had found and killed a rattlesnake earlier that day.  This scared Abby and as we walked to the restrooms she asked if it was the same kind of snake that didn't have arms, while she asked she waved her arms in front of her like short little T-Rex arms.

Apparently the snakes scared her so she went to the bathroom quickly and we got back on the boat.  About 30 minutes later she complained that her stomach was hurting and I asked her if she needed to got to the bathroom again.  She said she did need to go to the bathroom again and now she would have to go back to "rattlesnake island" so she could go to the bathroom.

(Thanks Dean)

Anyway, we are enjoying the summer.  We did swim lessons and Abby did pretty well.  She now loves to swim underwater.  We also have season passes to the water park and she loves going there.  I don't know what recessive Mexican gene I have passed to Abby and Grant but they are super tan and we still have several weeks of summer to go.

Elder Ortiz

Typical picture Chris and Mom

Chris sampling the food before the open house

Waiting for the delayed flight

Wednesday, June 9th, Elder Ortiz reported to the MTC to begin his mission.  He will be serving in Spokane, WA speaking Spanish.

From receiving the mission call to saying goodbye at the airport, it has been a fun, scary, miraculous, emotional experience. 

We will miss him but we are so proud of him. 

Kitchen

A while back our kitchen and most of our house flooded.  So, we needed to do some repairs.  We decided that since while our kitchen was already going to be torn apart we would do some additional work.   

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

We are so happy with the changes.  Our contractor (Ryan Budge from our ward) got everything done quickly and just the way we wanted. 

Family Pictures

Several weeks ago we had some family pictures taken.  Stephanie Ryan also took these pictures.  She was great with the kids.  These are just a few.  

I am going to brag just a little. . . I have dang cute kids.  I know I am a little biased

Mother's Day

I would have to say this Mother's Day was the best.  Dean took care of the kids so that I could sleep in until almost nine.  For breakfast I got one of my favorites, fresh from the oven cinnamon rolls. 

My family attended our ward to see Abby sing with the primary.  After church Dean barbecued some yummy hamburgers for my whole family.

That evening we went to visit Dean's family.  Dean was so great letting me have a break.  Any time the baby would crawl to me crying he would come over and pick him up. 

I also got a sweet sewing machine.  I am so excited to use it.  I already made a skirt for my sister and hope to improve my sewing skills. 

I also want to acknowledge my mom.  She is a strong woman.  Her life has never been easy but she always did what she needed to do to take care of her family.  She always put her children first.  She sacrificed a lot for us.  I am grateful that she was brave enough to make hard choices that have helped our family to a happier place.  I love you Mom! 

This year for Mother's Day we took some family pictures for my mom.  Here are a couple of them. 

Stephanie Ryan was our photographer.  She did a great job.