Milo is 5, and says he's practically 6

Milo, has made it through one grueling year of preschool (oh, having to leave home is sooooo hard.) But, despite his obvious and inevitable growing up, he is still my sweet little boy who loves to snuggle and sit on laps. His sweetness shows up when Mommy needs it most. Many nights when a weary Mommy tucks in the kids after a rough day, Milo pulls my ear to his lips and says (with his lips actually touching my ear) things like, "I only love you, Momma," or "I love you forever and ever," or "You're my best friend." In his baby blessing, he was blessed to be a support to me, and oh is he ever. Thus, I'm pretty much a push-over when it comes to him wanting anything . . . He's found a reverence and love for prayer which is very special.

He still loves vehicles, but dinos are in the spotlight right now. He loves to find pictures of them on the computer and print them out to study. Milo is my "reader" and always has his nose in a book when there is a break in the action. He is patient. He waits at endless doctor appointments, meetings, lessons - all without complaint. He simply asks after each one, "can we please go home now?" He's a middle child - a great little and big brother. Peter Elias wants only to be like him and with him. Myna loves her partner in play. Milo's favorite pretend game is Spykids where both he and Myna and their cousins or friends have super powers. Myna is Chief, and Milo is Tough. He loves to walk like tough dinosaurs and makes me do it until, I too, have perfected the gait of each. Sometimes, he roars at other kids as an introduction - it's very effective in being unique . . . 

He is unique and wonderful. 

 Don't let this camera face fool you - he's really jumping for joy and has been waiting for months for this moment . . .

 Somehow, I managed to talk him out of a volcano cake with 3 large plastic dinosaurs on it that he gets to keep. Score, plus I used up all the rest of the red frosting :)

 All he asked for were T-Rex toys to play with. So, he got three. He gave one to both Pete and I so that "we can all play together."

 We had a dino-bone hunt.

 Dino-decor.

 Dino-friends.

 Dino-egg dig (oh the days and days of pellet finding in the living room).

 Dino-best friend Carter.

 Dino-drawings by Emily.

 Dino-hunters.

 Enough T-Rexs to make this little boy happy.

 A trip to the Dinosaur bone museum was the other celebration.

 I'd kind-of hoped that the nice guy we asked to take our picture would've included the elephants, but, I guess family is supposed to come first.

As close to a T-rex as NYC has. Happiest sixth year Milosaurus!

Milo is 5, and says he's practically 6

Milo, has made it through one grueling year of preschool (oh, having to leave home is sooooo hard.) But, despite his obvious and inevitable growing up, he is still my sweet little boy who loves to snuggle and sit on laps. His sweetness shows up when Mommy needs it most. Many nights when a weary Mommy tucks in the kids after a rough day, Milo pulls my ear to his lips and says (with his lips actually touching my ear) things like, "I only love you, Momma," or "I love you forever and ever," or "You're my best friend." In his baby blessing, he was blessed to be a support to me, and oh is he ever. Thus, I'm pretty much a push-over when it comes to him wanting anything . . . He's found a reverence and love for prayer which is very special.

He still loves vehicles, but dinos are in the spotlight right now. He loves to find pictures of them on the computer and print them out to study. Milo is my "reader" and always has his nose in a book when there is a break in the action. He is patient. He waits at endless doctor appointments, meetings, lessons - all without complaint. He simply asks after each one, "can we please go home now?" He's a middle child - a great little and big brother. Peter Elias wants only to be like him and with him. Myna loves her partner in play. Milo's favorite pretend game is Spykids where both he and Myna and their cousins or friends have super powers. Myna is Chief, and Milo is Tough. He loves to walk like tough dinosaurs and makes me do it until, I too, have perfected the gait of each. Sometimes, he roars at other kids as an introduction - it's very effective in being unique . . . 

He is unique and wonderful. 

 Don't let this camera face fool you - he's really jumping for joy and has been waiting for months for this moment . . .

 Somehow, I managed to talk him out of a volcano cake with 3 large plastic dinosaurs on it that he gets to keep. Score, plus I used up all the rest of the red frosting :)

 All he asked for were T-Rex toys to play with. So, he got three. He gave one to both Pete and I so that "we can all play together."

 We had a dino-bone hunt.

 Dino-decor.

 Dino-friends.

 Dino-egg dig (oh the days and days of pellet finding in the living room).

 Dino-best friend Carter.

 Dino-drawings by Emily.

 Dino-hunters.

 Enough T-Rexs to make this little boy happy.

 A trip to the Dinosaur bone museum was the other celebration.

 I'd kind-of hoped that the nice guy we asked to take our picture would've included the elephants, but, I guess family is supposed to come first.

As close to a T-rex as NYC has. Happiest sixth year Milosaurus!

Myna is 6

My sweet Myna is six. And, what a wonderful six year old she is. In the last year she learned to ride a bike, grew 4 1/2 feet (I swear), got most of the way to reading and half way to swimming, started Kindergarten, has improved in her art skills tremendously, answers questions with confidence even when strangers ask them, traveled to Mexico, went inside the Montreal Temple during an open house, and continues to surprise and impress us with her thoughtful questions and true compassion.

I mean, for her birthday, this cute girl, who is also known for her earth-shaking desire to never let a thing out of her possession that could ever have been called hers, didn't ask for a party. She wanted to have a family birthday and then deliver flowers to graves and to people who are dying. So, that's what we did. And, it was a beautiful way to celebrate a birthday.

Right before Memorial Day this past year, Myna had her first dance recital. So, being the great mom I am, I bought her a beautiful bouquet of roses as I rushed home from the recital in one car, while Pete brought her home in the other. They were beautiful. She was amazed and entranced. That was Saturday. On Monday, we celebrated Memorial Day. I happened to say out loud that I'd forgotten to pick up some flowers to put on graves of veterans but that we'd just have to find something else. Not too long later, Myna begins packing up all of her precious roses to give to the people we were going to remember. That was one of the proudest moments I've ever had. It was incredible to watch her pass out each one of her roses. I wasn't even mad that she was giving away the flowers I'd spent way too money on.

Also, in that recital, she was placed near the end of her row, right next to a little girl with developmental issues. I know that the teacher trusted Myna to focus and do well despite the fun and crazy dancing going on beside her, and I knew that the teacher understood that Myna would understand and not get upset with the little girl.

I must remember these things for Myna is a gift. I am glad I get to share her with the world - as hard as it has proven to be. I am grateful that Heavenly Father has shared her with me. My Myna.

Happy 1st Birthday, Peter Elias

 Well, you say, I might look like I'm two, but I just had my very first birthday. Celebrations at the Bontorno house are pretty extensive: mine started with early morning sweeping.

  Followed by late-afternoon sweeping.

 A little fun.

 Some gifts.

 And some cake that I didn't like. Who likes little blue things on their food?!?!

It was a great day to finish out an exciting year (filled with sweeping).

*Editor's Note - Peter Elias is so fun to be around. This birthday week, he's begun talking - a very guttural mishmash of sounds. But, he answers simple questions with a "da" and quick head nod for yes and a definitive shaking of the head for no. He loves to hide and wait for people to find him. He also loves to go far away from mommy or daddy and turn back to see if we are watching him. For instance, he goes to the toilet, turns to make sure we are looking, cracks a huge smile and quickly plunges his hands in the water.

Peter Elias went to Mexico with our family in June. There he began choosing to walk rather than crawl, and he's been gaining momentum ever since. People in Mexico loved him. My favorite comment was, "can I touch him?" Everyone wanted to look at him and hold him.
He loves trucks/cars/trains and sticks/poles/pencils. He makes a siren sound for the trucks he plays with. He continues to scream for joy and fun. He still rarely sits to read a book. He chews on blankets edge - though he doesn't have a comfort blanket - any old one will due. He goes to sleep after I lay him down. He usually gives me a big smile as I leave the room. He slept through the night once!!! But mostly, we still hang out 1-2 times a night.

He loves the sand and water. He will sit in our sandbox for 45 minutes at least and play with the shovels and dig. He loves slides and can climb our little slide in the basement and slide down all by himself.

Peter Elias wears 18 month clothes, and this big guy has an even bigger heart. What a special guy.

Busy Baby

10 Month Peter Elias (with a nod to 9 months as well)

I am so close to walking, but I revert to crawling very quickly when I get a glimpse of somewhere I want to be like an playhouse/hut-type structure to sit in. I think my siblings are pretty funny and even love to wrestle them. My appetite has gone down recently since I can get around and have fun so easily! But, a month ago, the greatest parts of the day were those filled with food - pizza, pasta, and frozen peas were my top choices. Now, I just want to climb and go outside. When my mom walks past the outside doors, I make it known that I want to go through them. After getting 4 teeth in 2 weeks, I am a much better sleeper and only wake 1+ times a night these days. I love my mom, but I LOVE my dad. I also don't mind other people holding me for the most part. One day, Mommy dropped me off asleep at a friend's house for a few hours. I guess I wasn't expecting to awaken to new people, and Miloe said I was "crying and crying and never stopping." Today, I ate an apple core out of the compost collection bucket. I've been slightly into tasting sand in our sand box.
I say da-da-da-da a lot. I haven't used a binky in over a week - because my parents can't find one and I don't put up much of a fuss. I continue to be excellent and cute and happy.