Lovable Laird

This week Laird turned five.  Happy Birthday on tax day.  Last year was a long time ago, so it is time for a new spotlight.

Laird loves the BBC series "Planet Earth" series, as well as the companion "Blue Planet" series.  He knows quite a bit about animals, especially marine biology.  He does prefer to skip the scary parts though.

Laird still loves talking.  For him, dinner time is a forum where people are seated to hear his views on things.  As we all finish and leave, he then starts to eat.

Laird at the zoo

Laird is totally infatuated with Star Wars.  The only time he has seen a part of one of the movies was when he came downstairs after a nap and watched Luke destroy the Death Star at the end of Episode IV.  It was enough.  He knows all the characters (though he doesn't always know which side they are on) and loves his Star Wars legos.  He was also Obi-Wan Kenobi for Halloween.

Laird has recently learned to read, thanks to "Teach Your Child to read in 100 Easy Lessons" and Sheralie's hard work.  He still prefers to be read to though.

Since he tries to do everything Jeffrey does, Laird has been playing more basketball lately.  Laird also enjoys the trampoline, swimming in shallow water, running on Dad's treadmill and playing with his lego guys.

Everything (especially bread) with Laird is a weapon - a gun, sword, shield, knife, you name it.  Above you can see him with his stick/scope rifle.  And of course you can also see Green Blankie.

Laird is looking forward to going to school in the fall, but we're still having trouble breaking him out of his nap habits.

When Laird is in the pool, his snorkeling mask makes him invincible.  He can do any task, handle any jump, slide or other obstacle, as long as he has his mask.

Laird loves to look at pictures on the computer with me.  He takes great delight in remembering different trips and visitors to our house.

Laird is a great big brother for both Lucy and James.  He can often be found showing James his weapons or legos, trying to teach James the names for his many prized possessions.

Laird is not quite as social as he used to be.  In large groups, he runs if the attention turns to him.  However, if we ever have guests over, he tries his best to monopolize the conversation.

Laird is usually the first one up in the morning (due to his power naps almost every afternoon) but we have at least trained him not to come into our room at 5 am and say "Can I get up now?"

Laird talks about several imaginary friends.  John is his good guy friend.  Ma'am is the bad guy.  And Luke is the topper.  For example, "Dad ran 10 miles today" "Luke ran 1,000 miles!" or "Jeffrey's team won today in basketball" "Well, Luke's team won 1,000 games".  You get one guess where wonder-boy Luke comes from.

Laird has excellent hand-eye coordination and enjoys playing baseball. But for now, he says he would like to be the "second best basketball player in the world!" His generous heart shines through, as he would like Jeffrey to be the first best.

Long Awaited Birthday

It must be painful having your older brother's birthday 6 weeks before yours. Actually, I know so. We have counted the days since Jeffrey's birthday and fortunately the day arrived. Unfortunately, I dropped the camera today so these are all from celebrating with my family last week.

Laird and his mint and chip ice cream cake.

Note to self: Chocolate fondue and hot fudge are not the same thing.

Do not substitute in an ice cream cake or chocolate forms a rock-like layer.

Opening his gifts with reckless abandon.

Laird does most things that way, all or nothing.

Dragonslayer. And since we are on the topic of weapons, here are some funny things Laird has said:

"What is your favorite weapon? Let's talk about weapons!"

I must not have been enthusiastic enough . . .

"Girls don't like weapons as much as boys. Girls aren't like boys. I like to play with boys."

and yet he is willing to help around the house,

"I am going to take a rest on the couch. Call me if you need me.

If you have a little job for me, call me."

And Laird's thoughts about General Conference,

"Why are there so many white people?"

Ummmmm. Well.

"Is that an organ?"

Yes.

"That man looks like he has two heads and four hands!!" as he laughs gleefully.

We love you Laird. Happy Birthday!

Jeffrey is Baptized

Last Friday Jeffrey was baptized and confirmed.  It was on Friday because General Conference was broadcast on Saturday and Sunday, and we also wanted the Monroes to be here for it.

The church is undergoing some renovations, so on our initial arrival we found lots of dust and paint fumes.  But we were able to get it all ready in time for the ceremony.

The refreshments afterward

Newly baptized

Special thanks to the Monroes and especially to Sheralie for all her hard work organizing and planning.

Monroes in Town

We have been blessed to have had many visitors to Bahay Broadbent lately.  Our latest were the Monroes, who flew in for Easter Sunday and the week following.

We took off Monday morning for Tagaytay and Lake Taal.  We had 10 people in our mini-van, which actually has 10 seatbelts, thanks to bench seats in the front (3), middle (4) and back (3).  It was cozy.

Our initial reservation at the Green Lake Resort in Talisay (down by the lake) was a bust due to their green pool, which they advised we could not swim in.  So we relocated to the Balai Isabel resort down the road, which was a hit.

At the restaurant by the hotel pool

With my constant sidekick

Laird, blankie and Aunt Kim

Chicken fight at the pool

On Tuesday morning, we managed to rent both a computer and wi-fi access so we could watch the NCAA final with Duke and Butler.  Jeffrey was pulling for Duke and Grandpa Keith and I were pulling for Butler.  It was a great game.  We lost power with 8 minutes left in the game, but power was restored for the with 3 minutes left.  So close Butler.

On Wednesday, we set out to hike the Taal Volcano.  First we had to cross Lake Taal.

Then there was the Long March up.  We opted to not ride the horses.  This meant that three of the children had to be ported up - Laird on Grandpa Keith, Lucy on me and James with Grandma Bev or Sheralie.  It was a trek, but worth it.

View from the top with my lovely wife.

James flashing a smile with Aunt Charity

Thanks for a great vacation from the Monroes!  We love you.

Easter

We celebrated the Easter egg hunt part of Easter on the Saturday before Easter Sunday.  On Friday, the children colored eggs.

We also put off getting Easter candy until Friday, which was a big mistake, since this is the one day all year when almost everything closes.  Fortunately, gas station convenience stores stock candy, so my efforts were not in vain.

On Saturday morning Lucy was a bit frightened to go outside to look for eggs because she thought for some reason we were also hiding a dog that was barking (our neighbors have a dog).  But eventually we had a successful hunt.

On Sunday we celebrated Easter Sunday with a passover dinner with Sheralie's family, who flew into town on Saturday night.  I know Passover dinner should not be on Easter Sunday, but that was how we did it this year.

We are thankful for the atonement and resurrection of the Savior and wish you all a Happy Easter season.

Spotlight on Lucy

About a year ago, I did a spotlight on each of our children.  Now that is a year later I thought it would be worthwhile to check in again.  To check out last year's spotlight on Lucy, click here.

Lucy loves to dress up and will change clothes 5-10 times a day.  Often her goal is to match her mother.  But usually it is just to change for the sake of changing.  She is very much a girl - loves painting her toe nails, brushing her hair and finding a bow or ribbon to match her outfit.

Lucy is now 2 1/2 and is quite talkative.  However, she won't talk much outside the home.  Most people are surprised to hear her speak because she is quite shy around strangers.

Lucy is a homebody.  She does not like to vacation and be out of her comfort zone.  On our recent trip to hike a volcano, I had the pleasure of carrying her all the way up and down.  On the way up, she constantly whined and said she wanted to go home and carried on like the world was ending.  On the way back down, knowing she was heading back to the hotel (then to home), she was absolutely cheerful.

Lucy adores James and is always trying to give him hugs and kisses and talk to him.  She is tickled to be sharing a room with him.  She is jealous of the attention he gets too.  If James is in Sheralie's arms, she will look for her Dadda to hold her.

She is a very picky eater - she loves eggs, beans, bread, juice and especially mangoes.  She doesn't like a lot of things.

Lucy is recently potty trained.  We are still not at 100%, but we have had some recent successes which are heartening.

Lucy loves to sing and usually winds up conducting the music for family night.  She will often open the hymn book during church and declare she is ready to sing even if the congregation is not.  Sometimes when I sing to her at night putting her to bed, she will sing along and she is even on-pitch sometimes.

Lucy nursing her baby doll

Lucy knows quite a bit about Star Wars and light sabers, thanks to her brothers.  She will sometimes play along in the melee.

Lucy loves to help Sheralie in the kitchen.  In fact, she is Sheralie's shadow in all things related to being a mother - taking care of James, housework, cooking.  When I stayed home for a couple weeks when James was born, she was by my side almost constantly.

She does not like taking naps.  Laird still takes naps pretty frequently, but Lucy will often protest and just read books in her room.

Lucy loves going to the pool.  Recently she has taken to the arm floaties, enabling her to float independently of parental support.  She giggles and giggles with her newfound independence.

Speaking of independence, one of her favorite phrases is "I want to do it myself!" whether this be putting on her shoes, getting dressed, tearing toilet paper, putting salt and pepper on food, buckling her car seat, etc.

I'm not sure what look she is going for here, but it is funny.

Lucy plays well with Laird, but is often left behind when Jeffrey and Laird play together.  She still has James and Sheralie, and she always gives me a warm send-off to work and reception when I come home.

Her current nicknames include "Luce" (pronounced like "loose") and "Lucy Goosey".  

I'm happy to have at least one little girl to be "Daddy's little girl".  We love you Lucy.