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.