Tyler's 6th Birthday

 Tyler's favorite thing is still backhoes.  This is the 3rd year that he's had a backhoe birthday cake, but this year we added friends and an actual backhoe to the party!!

 Our generous neighbor brought his backhoe to our house and let the kids all ride in the bucket.  He said usually kids stand and wave their arms, but all of the boys at our party wanted to hold Ryan's hand while they were in the bucket.  :)

After they each had a 'ride' in the bucket, they all climbed into the cab and Brother Jacobson showed them how to run the backhoe.  They learned how to turn it on, put it in gear, and how to move both the bucket and the scoop.

 There were 5 kids in the cab with Brother Jacobson, and they were all fascinated!

Even Andrew wanted to make sure he got a chance to get in.  Cutie pie.

It was a lot of fun for all the kids and one that I'm sure Tyler will talk about for a while.

He loves to tell me all about Grandpa Mel's tractor, and I think this will rank up there too.

 We love going to the park now that the weather is warm.  Zac is fearless and will try any slide on his own.  He barely even sits before he throws himself down the chute. 

 I can't believe how fast they are all growing!

Tyler is almost done with Kindergarten and has done great with online school.  He is starting to come out of his shell a bit, but is still pretty shy.  He and Andrew have been playing soccer this spring.  Ryan is coaching their team.

Andrew is doing great!  He still eats almost constantly, and was able to have his feeding tube removed in February.  It's been more than a year since he's had a dilation and has made it through several illnesses without needing his tube.  It was his first winter without any ER visits or hospitalizations!!  He is also learning letters and sounds.  He and Tyler love to watch Wild Krats on PBS kids and tell us animal facts every night at dinner. 

Zac is our most outgoing little boy, and keeps up with his brothers in almost every activity.  He loves to sing.  He knows the tunes for Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star; ABC (which is the same tune, but he makes different sounds); I am a Child of God; and My Heavenly Father Loves Me.   

 Baby Levi is also doing well and is due somewhere around Aug 18.  I am 27 wks along tomorrow.  He is a finger sucker already!!  I've seen him do this in a few ultrasounds.  At this last appointment we could actually see his lips moving and his throat moving when he sucked!!  We are all looking forward to him joining our family. 

(He is laying on his back here.  You can see the profile of his face in the right half of the picture with his hand to his mouth.  His other arm is in the left side of the picture.)