Ridley... Upside down!

Ridley wanted me to take a picture of him doing a handstand today. He is holding himself funny because his shirt kept falling down! At least he is trying to be modest! Looking at this picture reminds me of when I was a girl. I used to stand on my head and read books. Literally getting all the blood flowing! I have a few pictures of that, actually! I will see if I can dig them out! I tried it the other day and I just can't do that kind of stuff anymore... So sad... I guess I am just getting too old. ;)

**Princess Kiada! **

Kiada just got dressed into her tutu today! She looks like a punky princess! She is wearing her pink and black Converse shoes which I think totally completes her look! She is running around dancing and spinning! She is absolutely ADORABLE!!! My friend made it for her and if anybody wants a tutu, bows, or headbands let me know she customizes everything! She is totally inspirational! I am going to try to get more into arts and crafts again I love dolling my baby girl up! And she won't be letting me do this forever you know! I am trying to prepare myself for the day when my daughter says, " Mom. I want to wear pants. No more dresses! No more bows! No more pigtails!" I can hope that she never grows out of them, but we will see. I only have one girl, so I want to keep her all decked out and looking like a princess at all times!

Bottle Baby!

Parker is officially in the process of being weaned! I am so excited! I might actually be able to leave the house for more than 2 hours in the near future! YAY! So I am very much looking forward to this... Parker won't let Kody hold him while he eats, he actually likes to feed himself! But when he is tired, he lets me hold him and feed himself. He drinks 6-8 ounces in each feeding. When he gets hurt or something, I still nurse him but for the most part, I am really trying to get him on the bottle and whole foods. He likes baby food, but I usually have to mix baby food with oatmeal cereal too make it last longer... This boy just loves to eat!

Kids say the funniest things...

I always read warnings out loud to my children. For example, my blinds say "Keep away from children, beads and cords can strangle." So I tell them what it says in the hope of them understanding that they can be dangerous. Last night, Kiada found a bag of candy that Kody had hidden. The bag said Life Savers on the top, but according to Kiada, it said "To share with kids!" She even dragged her finger across the letters as if she was actually reading! Isn't that the cutest thing?

Parker's one big boy!

Baby Parker got weighed and measured on Thursday, he is 21 pounds and 28 1/2 inches! He is in the 75th percentile for height AND for weight! That is the biggest anyone of my babies have been! He got his first shots on Friday and he was miserable for the whole night and most of Saturday... He followed me around all day crawling after me and didn't want me out of his sight! He is such a sweet boy, always wanting mom... I would go downstairs and he would just sit at the top of the stairs and get all excited and squeal when I got back up! He just wanted to be held all day and didn't want to crawl on his sore legs! Poor baby! :(

Parker in his new high chair

Parker has been eating alot lately trying out his new teeth! He has two teeth now, and he bites everybody! :) Today he had macaroni and cheese! (so did the kids!) He likes to serve himself and I have never had a baby that ate from a spoon so well at such an early age. He hardly lets a drop spill! He really tries to get every bit down. This is the first high chair we ever bought! I just thought about that, we had a clip on high chair with Ridley and Kiada, and we didn't buy that, it was given to us! So, yes, I guess the youngest one IS spoiled! Haha! We have more baby furniture than adult furniture! That is what Kody says anyways...

Our new car!

So Saturday before last we got a new car, well new for us! We bought a 2006 Toyota Scion xB and I love it! I took a picture of it by itself, but it looked too big. So I told Kiada to stand next to it and now you can accurately see just how cute it really is! Kody is very excited about it and wants to really deck it out once he gets rich! A spoiler, an exhaust, tint, underglow, shift knob, the whole 9 yards! He is so funny! I am just soo happy to have 4 doors! :)

Green eggs and ham

So today we went to preschool at Lara's house and she read about green eggs and ham! She made green scrambled eggs and green ham, as well as green muffins! The kids had a blast drawing themselves. All in all, I would say it was quite successful! As I was putting on my shoes the kids were excited to go and I told them to wait for me. As soon as I put on my shoes, I opened the door and they were halfway home already! So this picture is a re-enactment of that! I couldn't take it fast enough! Right after I took this picture, Kiada fell in the snow. But she got right back up again!

I don't want to grow up...

So it was Kiada's first day in Primary officially today because it is warm enough to have more than just one hour of church! 30 degrees today! What a heat wave! The one big problem with it being so cold here is that the kids forget fast how they are supposed to be good for 3 hours instead of one or two hours! (Church cancels part of the classes if it gets too cold!) It is crazy how big your kids get, and so fast! I love them, I just don't want them to grow up! Even my baby isn't a baby anymore! Parker has two teeth and pulls himself up to stand every opportunity that he gets! Ridley asks me everyday if he can go to the "real school" and ride the big yellow bus and Kiada actually made her own sandwich and didn't make a huge mess today! I was thinking today that once Ridley goes to school, I am going to miss him so much! He helps me around the house alot! But all you can do is enjoy and cherish every moment with them that you can!

Sledding

So this week we have had record highs of 48 degrees! I love it! Except for all the bad roads... but the kids and I actually got to go out and do something without freezing our tails off! We went sledding with Charles and Daria (my brother in law and niece) and had a blast! Charles got a huge sled and took everybody down in it. Ridley went all the way to the top and slid down really fast! Only the teenagers and adults were up there! He is so brave! I didn't even want to do that! Kiada had fun in the sled with her uncle she didn't want to have to walk up and down she kept getting tired. Parker only wanted to lay down in the sled with Daria no matter what happened, he always got snow in his face when we slid down with him! Kiada and Ridley got so tired after playing for just 2 hours they both slept really well that night! Comes from playing too hard! Those kids are so much fun at these ages!

Destiny in the Phillippines

I stole this picture off of Destiny's blog, (she is my little sister-in-law) She is in the Phillippines with her Dad and stepmother right now until March. She hates it, but I told her she should at least try to learn some of their language because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity! So, she taught me "mahalkeeta" which means "I love you" She is the sweetest girl! I love her and miss her but I do get to talk to her online sometimes thank heaven for webcam! She can see me and my babies on the computer on occasion and I know she just misses them terribly! She always offers to baby sit while she is here and I appreciate her so much! I can't wait for her to get back here, Alaska just isn't the same without her!

My visit to Texas!!!

So as most of you know I went to Sugarland, Texas in December just me and my youngest to visit my grandparents. It was so nice! I had fun it was warm and the humidity was great! We had fun setting up for Christmas, although with how much my Grammie has for the holidays I don't think there was any way she could have gotten everything up in time! She goes all out for Christmas! I love that! My mom was down there while I was down there and it was really fun going down there to visit her with my Grammie. I took this 4 generations photo because I have one of me with my dad, Grandpa JT, and my Papa Ish where there were 4 generations and I was the only girl! So I thought it would be great to have a 4 generation picture where we were all girls and my baby was the only boy! I get a kick out of stuff like that!

Parker''s first Haircut!!!

Parker got his first haircut last week! He looks soo cute! When Ridley was at preschool, a little girl told him that he looks just like his baby brother! She was 4! Ridley took it as an insult, of course, thinking she called him a baby... It was so funny I had to explain to him that the girl just wanted to say how much older the baby looked with his new haircut! Parker looks just like Ridley when Ridley was his age! It is amazing! My handsome boys!

Kody and Teresa

Kody and I were introduced by my little sister Tabitha in 1996. We were in a Little Rascals play shortly after we were introduced. He was Alfafa and I was Darla. We started writing each other soon after that and continued to write each other in high school, college, and while he was on his mission. I even saved up money from babysitting to see him at the Seattle Art Institute! We got to hang out with each other for a whole day! It was soo much fun! He left for his mission shortly after I turned 16, got back and we got married when I was 18, had Ridley just 4 days before my 19th birthday, had Kiada right after my 20th birthday, and had our youngest right after my 22nd birthday! So, yes I am busy now, but the plan is to have them all out of the house by the time I am 40! So, as long as we don't have any more, I made it! ;)

Ravage Parker

This picture of our youngest always cracks me up! He rolled over for the first time in this photo, so this is us documenting that! He was so excited you saw him smiling all the way over! He crawls now, and is starting to pull himself up to stand alot. I wish he didn't, I want him to be my baby forever! But I understand that he has to. He learned how to kiss me while I put him on my shoulders it is the cutest thing! He is starting to try to talk, he talks in his sleep already! He said "Jack" a week ago and that was his first clear word! (Jack is the name of one of Kiada's stuffed toys) Kody and I have had issues to say the least on the name of our little baby. We had a deal, if it was a girl, I would name her, if it was a boy, Kody would. When we went in for the ultrasound and found out he was a boy, Kody threw his hands up and said, "Yes! Ravage is born!" So, yes, our son's name is Ravage Parker Mantei, his initials are RPM, and I call him baby Parker. I told Kody once Parker gets to be old enough, I am going to drive him to the courthouse and give him the money to change his name if he so chooses. Kody says "He won't." I say "We'll see!"

Kiada Lin

Kiada Lin is our second child. She is very active, loves to eat, and loves to sleep! Her favorite thing to say is "I too hungry!" She will eat absolutely anything as long as you put barbecue sauce or ketchup on it. Once, Kody took the kids out to get ice cream cones and she wouldn't eat it until he gave her barbecue sauce! She wants to grow up and be a princess I can't count how many times I have gotten her dressed and she runs upstairs and puts on a princess dress and then says she is all ready to go! She takes naps every time my back is turned. One time, she went in her closet, crawled into her toy box, shut the door, and fell asleep! Just so I wouldn't find her! She doesn't like to go to sleep at night without a small book, a bear, and her dolly. She lives without them all day long, but at night, that is all she wants! She loves her brothers and is always trying to carry the baby around! She likes to jump around and be a ballerina but then she automatically turns on the kung fu moves! So she likes Ballerina fu! She is hilarious! Lately, she has been getting into my make-up... red lipstick on the walls on more than one occasion! Kody says you can't blame her, she wants to play with make up like mommy, and be an artist like daddy!

Ridley James

Ridley is our oldest, and he shows it! He is 5 this August, and he is getting really excited about going to school for the first time. He is a great helper and he gets along fabulously with his baby sister and baby brother. He won't go anywhere without Kiada and has a very hard time if they are seperated. I think that will start to get better once he goes to school but I think it is cute right now! He loves playing the Super Nintendo and his favorite foods are Macaroni and Cheese and pizza (of course!) He loves to hold his baby brother and help out with all the chores. He can finally clean up his whole room by himself and I am loving that! He loves to say prayers, although he always thanks God for Santa Claus (even in July!) His Favorite thing to do is fingerpaint and he hates singing, (at least when his daddy does it!) but since Santa Claus sang "Jingle Bells" He doesn't stop singing it. He just cracks me up! He is very smart, he used to get into everything, but he is much better now that he is older he understands all about the consequences of your actions so that is good! Life is a whole lot easier now! He is very sociable and is always asking to have friends over. He really likes hanging out with 8-10 year olds because then he feels like a big kid like his uncle Ethan (who is 8) Ridley is always trying to grow up faster but in my opinion, everything is happening way too fast!