My Mallory

Sometimes when Todd and I go up to bed we find messages written to us on our bathroom mirror. They are always very sweet, but the last message left me in tears. This is what was written;

Dirr Mom i love you be kus you kuct and you kerr fr us! and you desidid to be arr mom!
Love Mallory! you are the best mom evrr. i love you!

Mallory

How cute is that?! After reading it I felt so overwhelmed with love for my kids (and a little guilty for not being as patient as I should.) There are times when I'm just not feeling the "joy" in motherhood. You know, the days where certain 8 year-olds want to tease all the other kids to the point of tears, two little boys won't stop fighting, a usually sweet little girl is being very demanding and whiny, and the baby keeps emptying out all the cupboards and has diarrhea. I could go on, but why torture myself. Anyway, thank you Mallory for helping me remember why I love being a mom! I love you too.

Haydyn's First Birthday!

I can't believe little miss Haydyn is already 1! That first year goes by way too fast for me. I have enjoyed every second spent with my sweet girl. The biggest surprise of number 5 was how much joy my other 4 children have found in having Haydyn around. Brigham loves to be the first one to get her up in the morning and bring her downstairs. He also wants to hold her any time she is playing happily on the floor. Mallory is such a nurturer. She knows just what to do when Haydyn is upset. Quin has learned a lot from watching Mallory and can also comfort Haydyn. He is the master at catching Haydyn BEFORE she puts something scary in her mouth. Cole loves her to death. Literally. Well, not quite, but it's just so hard for him to keep his rough and tumble 3 year old hands off of her. Haydyn - we are so blessed to have you in our family. You have added so much to our lives. We love you!

4th of July

July 4th has always been a favorite holiday of mine. Ever since I can remember my family has gone to the parade (in Provo) and to see fireworks. My Dad has always saved places for the whole fam to see the parade. Sometimes sleeping over, sometimes waking up at 4:00 a.m. to get the perfect spot (always 800 N. and University!) With the family getting bigger, and Grandad getting older its getting a little trickier. This year Todd and Brigham slept outside with Grandad, Jake, and Jared. Wouldn't you know it, Brigham didn't fall asleep until 2:00 in the morning. But we got the usual spot and had a blast watching the parade. The kids were so excited and loved every minute of it.

Miley Rocks!

On July 2 a friend of mine called saying she had two extra tickets to Stadium of Fire. I jumped at the chance to go and take Mallory. She loves listening to Miley Cyrus's music. The look on her face was priceless when I told her we were going. "I'm going to take my autograph book!" she said. It was so much fun spending that night together. Everything was so exciting for her. I hadn't been to the Stadium of Fire for years and it brought back all of the same emotions as when I was younger. I always feel so blessed to live in this country and for all the rights and freedom we enjoy.

Mini Milestones

Cole - so proud of himself actually using the pedals on his "bike." Cole got his bike in February when he turned 3 and had no desire to try the pedals until now. If only we could have the same luck with potty training. Ugh.



Yea! Miss Haydyn decided she would start crawling about 4 weeks ago. Since a crawling baby means a busier me it has taken me this long to write about it. In this picture she is about 10 1/2 months old. Yes I know, some little ones are walking by now, but not the Mecham Kids. They like to take their own sweet time. If Haydyn follows suit, she won't be walking for another 6 months or so. I'm happy where she is and still enjoying every single second of her.

Dance Festival

Mallory and her dance partner.

Brigham dancing to "What time is it?"
from High School Musical.

I was so impressed with Brigham and Mallory at the dance festival this year. Last year Brig was so embarrassed about dancing he didn't even want anyone to come watch. This year he wasn't shy at all. He got his groove on and didn't miss a step (I think wearing a hat helped.) Mallory did the Charleston to perfection. She smiled the whole time and her pose at the end with James Brandt was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. Too bad I didn't get a picture of that. They both have had awesome teachers this year and have learned so much. Now it's time for me to step up to the plate and figure out what to do to keep them learning this summer!

Memorial day camp-over

I guess we're starting a new tradition of sleeping over at Nana and Granddad's house in the camper on Memorial day weekend. This was our second year doing this and the kids were so excited to "camp" at Nana and Granddad's. Todd pulls the camper into their backyard and the 4 oldest kids get to listen to Todd's infamous camping stories as they giggle themselves to sleep. I get to sleep in the house with Haydyn and enjoy some time to myself as I read myself to sleep. Pure bliss. In the morning Todd makes a delicious breakfast for everyone outside on his camp chef. This year we woke up to rain (which Todd LOVES when he is sleeping in a camper.) But the breakfast went on as usual thanks to N and G's covered porch.

In the afternoon we went to see "Horton Hears a Who" which was very cute. Todd and Cole enjoyed the movie with their eyes closed. Nothing like a cool dark room for an afternoon nap.

Jill treated us to a BBQ at her house that evening. The kids were exhausted as we headed home for bed, only to find all of our neighbors in our circle gathered around outside launching homemade rockets made out of 2 liter pop bottles. The kids had a blast counting down; 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....blastoff! Brigham made a sign that said "Go Calls!" that he would hold up whenever they would shoot their rocket.

After a hectic month and Todd being gone over the weekend it was great to have a day together as a family.

Congraduation?

Yeah Quiny Quin! On Thursday night Quin had his preschool graduation program. He has never been one to like singing, but he sang every song and even did most of the choreography too! His favorite part was getting a balloon with a treat attached to the string. My favorite part was watching his right shoulder lift up as his little shy smile spread across his face.

Also on Thursday night was Mallory's violin recital. She played Allegro and did such a great job! She works so hard each day and rarely complains about practicing (no, that is definitely not normal). All of this talk about programs, recitals, concerts, graduation, got Quin a little confused. And always having a word for everything he started calling his program "my congraduation."

Todd, hurrying to make it to Mallory's 5:00 recital, was pulled over and given a ticket. Aaahhhhhh! He never speeds. And wouldn't you know it the one time he does....busted. He made it - just as we were leaving. Ya gotta love the guy, he's always rushing from one place to the next never quite making it on time, but always thinking he will.