BUILDING BL(ayl)OCKS

Here we are, September of 2026 and Jay is in his second year of Kindergarten. After much prayer and consideration, we decided it would be best for him to repeat Kinder. It would give him the best chance to relearn foundational school "skills" in a general education environment with better supports around him. We switched his RBT three times over the summer, which made things even more tricky to begin the year. We were very sad to see Shelby go, but knew Jay needed someone who was willing to push him and follow new behavior plans with his growing age. The next RBT was inconsistent and intimidated by Jay, the next one lasted one day, and we finally landed on Robert the morning before school started. Jay seems to really like Robert, and we pray every day he's a good fit since we didn't really get to see him at home like we were hoping. Jay's embraced a full day of school like a champ! The first day of school, he walked strait to the bus, didn't even turn back. He was excited the bus was picking him up! Every morning since, he's been a true sport about going. He gets on the bus at 8:07 and I pick him up at 3:35 or he gets home on the bus a little after 4. It's a looooong day! He still naps on Saturdays and Sundays when he is home, it's part of his routine. He is starting to sleep in a little past 6 on school days, which is amazing! The first week of school he got bit by a peer because he was kicking them, and this past week he pulled a peers pants down. I can write all that here because hopefully someday I will think it's funny. He is also the person who wants to help the teacher with everything, and when he has good behavior, he gets to help the teacher bring the cart of lunches back to the classroom for everyone. His autism classroom has about 10 kids and they have 2:1 ratio, 2 students per 1 teacher. Ms. Evelyn seems to love Jay, she said he's one of her most independent and this week he's starting to go into the general education class with Ms. Reese. He spends most afternoons after school eating whatever food I let him and then loads up his backpack, wagon, and other bags with random items from the house and totes them around. I think it's how he processes the day and the things that have happened. His recall about what he did at school is getting so much better, and it's fun to hear what he remembers. He actually did recall a story that he read yesterday, which was a huge win! He's attending to tasks at school, getting into the routines and asking for help verbally. I love watching him grow and we're so excited to see what this year brings for him! Jay also lost his first tooth, so I am sure we'll be losing more throughout this year, which is exciting and terrifying! This tooth basically had to fall out because the one time I tried to wiggle it, I almost lost a finger to the jaws of Jay. He had no clue why I was a-hollering, but eventually he did open up and no blood was spilled.

We just love him!

Hugh, Lee, and Jay

There he goes! Off to the bus!

Lost it right before church.

He's getting a little big for our dressups, but he sure loves them.

We built this together and it was very fun!

Jay loves to imitate Dad, so here he is, working in Dad's office when we got to visit.

If you ask Jay, this is how sunnies should be worn. He's worn them like this since he was old enough to put them on by himself.

Jay loves holding Lee

Jay loves his brand new bike!

Hugh, I think deep down, misses Jay while he's at school. He is always ready to go do "something fun." That's his request every morning, "Can we go do something fun today?" I signed him up for swim lessons in Berthoud and we've been doing those twice a week for the past three weeks and I have another 4 week session coming up. He cried the first day, a lot the second day, then Aunt Katey took him the third day and he's been fine ever since. That's exactly how nursery worked for him, he cried so badly when Matthew or I would take him. Jack moved in with us, took him one Sunday, and he was good after that. Thank goodness for aunts and uncles who can help! Hugh loves to create with duplos, it's usually a lawn mower or some sort of pushing vehicle. He always wants a person to drive it and he can play with his creations for hours! He loves to pretend, and it is so cute! He loves books and loves learning letters and any academic anything I ever put in front of him. He's mastering the sticker by number pictures and thinks those are really fun. Puzzles are getting easier and easier, so I need to find the next level to challenge him. He asks so many questions, questions about everything. We've had discussions about if Satan is bad and if he was the one in the battle with Jesus. He asked what kind of bad things Satan does, that is kind of a tough question to answer for a 3 year old. He loves saying the prayers at meals, always wants to go pee in the rocks instead of the potty, says the word poop so often he's started to get soap as a consequence, and weasles Dad into giving him treats any time he visits his office. I've never had a kid who talks so much and so long, and I am now having the experience! Hugh broke his leg on our trip in July and spent the rest of the month in a cast and finally got it off after what seemed like the longest 3 weeks of life. He managed amazingly well and was so brave for every step of the way!

Hugh getting his cast on

Hugh loving Lee

The noise canceling headphones were magic, he didn't even know it was happening.

We got a treat after he got his cast off!

Sometimes he isn't tired, can you tell?

Ready for the first day of swim!

He loves climbing and is getting better every time!

Someday, he'll thank me for making him do this with his hand while dressing like Darth Vader.

First time with cotton candy! He didn't really like it.

His first time in a jumping castle, he LOVED it!

Hope and Hugh, enjoying one last day at the splash pad.

Another climbing pic.

Hope and Hugh at the park

Lee, he's everyone's favorite right now. Today at lunch, he started to fold his arms, literally one of my most favorite things a baby does. He also closes his eyes sometimes when you do, then when you open he giggles and giggles. He laughs the most at his brothers, no matter how silly they are being, he laughs along with them. His eight teeth help him eat anything, and we're working on not eating the rocks in the backyard. He's getting better and just inspecting them how. He's also developing opinions about what food he wants and doesn't want, like he refused his cheese stick and then I pulled out a cracker and he crawled over and held his hand up, panting with excitement. He sometimes signs all done and more. He plays peek a boo and claps. He loves listening to books and feeling and holding any book he can. He crawls everywhere and the big brothers are learning what having a mobile little brother means. Thing that finally motivated Lee to crawl at 10 months old was Uncle Jack's watch. He wouldn't move for anything else, so again, we're grateful for family motivators! Lee has also learned to open kitchen cabinets, so I have installed a few locks now. He is not very happy with me about that. He does stairs at the playground, but hasn't ventured up ours yet. I am sure it will be soon. He's starting to pull himself up everywhere, so I know walking is in the soon horizons. He's fully on freezer milk now, which is a gift of time and energy back to me! I think he misses nursing, but it's a gift to be able to spend more time with the other boys and taking care of the other things I need to. Most days he eats a full sandwich at lunch, and this morning he ate two pancakes and half an egg for breakfast. Like the other boys, he loves food!

10 months!

Loving the fresh cold water

Lee and Hugh on a Home Depot errand with me

11 months!

He's not very stable, so we sit for a short period of time and smile

He's learned crawling in rocks isn't too bad, ouch!

Hope, Lee, and Hugh

Lee's first bike ride!

The first day I pulled this out, Lee was climbing all over it.

He walked almost the full length of the rug, but definitely still prefers crawling

Matthew has been in his first fall busy season with Tax Ops, and it didn't really start to feel busy until late August/September. Truly a miracle and a gift to be able to enjoy some summer with him! He goes into the office a couple times a week, usually dependent upon when I may need him home to run to an appointment or something during naptime. Lee has recently outgrown the ability to play in Dad's office, so I now have a shorter time window in the mornings if I leave. The highlight of everyone's day is when Dad is done with work. Almost every day Jay says, "Daddy done with work, woohoo!" whenever Matthew comes down. The boys love doing anything with Matthew, from yardwork to playing at the park. Matthew is serving as a youth Sunday School teacher, and is learning to adjust to the 25 minute lesson schedule. He also taught Gospel Doctrine one week before officially taking over the youth class. We did celebrate his 32nd birthday on his birthday this year! Our friends, the Ribletts, helped us hang a new TV on the wall! We were too afraid to drill into tile, so we were grateful for Wayne and Sam spending the evening with us. We also got to visit Matthew's office for the first time, which was very fun!

Squinty eyed temple picture!

The boys helping Dad make pizza

Dad's office!

the BIG 32! Lee, Jay, Matthew, and Hugh

Lee practicing opening with Dad so he's ready for his birthday

Jay's turn to help

Now Hugh's

Happy 32 with chocolate fallen cake, the best!

Best Dad!

Everyone loves him, of course!

Sam (Auntie) and Wayne (Uncle) helping us out!

Woohoo! We have a TV!

I have been playing pickleball once a week with the Longmont Pickleball club. I play with a group on Tuesday evenings that is intermediate to advanced, and it's so fun! There's usually about 20 of us and we just play game after game for a couple hours. Matthew is awesome at supporting me by taking the boys for those couple hours. There was one Tuesday when I was leaving and Hugh was so sad, bawling while waving on the driveway and I was waving back. There was a young dad across the street just laughing to himself and I hollered to him that Hugh would be just fine...and of course, Hugh was. I play in a little pickleball tournament once a month with women in the stake, which has been a fun way to get connected a little more. I am serving as the Primary Secretary, so I have some additional meetings here and there, but mostly just text people to remind them about their kids' talk and prayer assignments. I love being in Primary and am more than happy to enjoy learning new songs and take attendance each week. Whenever possible, I take the boys outside into the backyard or on a walk, or to the park. We all need the sunshine! I am constantly researching and thinking of different ways to organize or decorate, and always shopping for a good deal somewhere.

All the boys want to go to Grandma and Grandpa's, or Katey or Jack's house every day. I am asked at least once a day, and if those options are rejected, a park is the next best thing. We fill our days with adventures and play. Jay loves climbing everything, Hugh loves the sand, and Lee loves to swing. Jay and Hugh are both on two wheel bikes now, and they are crushing it! They love going to any park where a bike can be ridden around a "track" or a cement loop of some kind. If they could ride their bikes all day, I think they would! We did ride our bikes over to Jack's house last weekend, which was very cool! Jay was hollering at the top of his lungs, "we are almost to Jacks' house" the whole way. We got to go on a couple family swimming adventures towards the end of the summer and everyone LOVED it! Water is a happy place for all of us, including Lee. The little pool and the water table in the backyard have gotten a lot of good use this year. We enjoyed a short visit from Oma and Papa after education week and a quick visit down to Grandma and Grandpa's before school started.

Hugh learning to shoot hoops, he loved it!

All the boys had the best time!

Jay and Hugh, showing off their new bikes and the skills of riding two wheels!

Jay loved Papa's padfolio, constantly wanted to load it up and carry it around

Oma and Lee

Hugh and Oma

Needless to say, Jay loves having visitors, but loading them up to take them somewhere is also amazingly fun!

Hugh bowling!

Papa, Oma, and Jack playing arcade games. Jack won the jackpot, but unfortunately our cards were only time use not for tickets.

Our biggest family outing was a 24 hour trip to the cabin! It was worth the drive to get out and get away. We all did better with the fresh air and quiet space. We had a blast exploring, playing outside, doing the zipline, and just embracing everything the cabin has to offer.

Ready for the hike!

Rocks splashing in the pond is the best.

Dad and Lee

Sunny squinty pic

Morton Lake

Jay ziplining

Hugh ziplining

Jay did great with this one, too!

Matthew wanted to give it a try!

Good thing he's strong!

Hugh was very pleased he found this huge stick!

I was throwing axes, and the crew cheered me on

"Look Mom, I am a forklift!"

I know this is a brief look into our life, but my goal is to be better at documenting moving forward, so I needed some sort of catch-all post. Cheers to an amazing school year and much learning and growth for all of us! Some more pictures never hurt, so here they are!