Tucker {4 years old}

 Tucker Kreg {4 years old}

 Oh, Tucker!  Where do I even start?  Tucker Kreg turned four this summer! My blond hair, green-eyed boy has broken the Kell Boy mold in many ways.

Tucker & I do preschool together a few days a week and it is such a treasure to me to have this time with him "one-on-one..." I put that in quotation marks because Brooks is very much here with us but I do my best to keep him occupied long enough to give Tucker as much of my undivided attention as possible.  And let me tell you, if you ever get a chance to get this boy one-on-one, you are in for a real treat.  Getting a little insight into how his mind works is jut fascinating!  He thinks outside the box and I can't wait to see how that develops as he gets older.   Right now its just plain fun :)

Like the rest of the Kell boys, Tucker loves being outside and being active.  He's been able to play soccer, basketball, and take swimming lessons this year, and he excels in every sport.   He struggles when he's too young to do something Westin is already doing and I think this just gives him that little extra motivation, not to mention an upper hand at understanding said sport, to be the very best when he does get his chance to play!  He blew our minds with his rock climbing skills when we found a gym that allowed him to give it a try-- he just climbed all the way up like he was Spiderman!  He was THRILLED that he was allowed to climb :)

His favorite color is green and he frequently points out that he & I are the only ones in the family with "matching green eyes." 

His favorite food is pizza & pineapples... at least that's what he said when I asked him!  He's a great eater and will try just about anything.  No food fear for this 4-year-old. 

His favorite game is "Lego Star Wars" on the ipad-- he and Westin put their hard earned money together to each come up with $3.50 to pay for the full game so they could stop playing the one free level :) Thank goodness for the family icloud sharing!

His favorite movie is Star Wars-- the Force Awakens 

He would like to have a baby pig for a pet and discusses this possibility with us frequently.  He told us recently he would like a farm for his birthday so he can finally get his baby pig.  This child.

He is fascinated by tornadoes so we had to start watching tornado documentaries because he asked questions I had NO idea how to answer.  He's the expert if you ever want to know any random twister facts!

 

 Tucker has the biggest heart and is always so conscientious of other people and their feelings.  He also has a classic ornery streak and its always so fascinating to me to see how these traits go hand in hand so well :)  He's the perfect middle brother-- he holds his ground with Westin & his friends and his gentle side comes out with Brooks-- and really ALL babies.  He's the first one to give up something that belongs to him to make someone else happy. He's protective and playful and we just love him to pieces. 

Thank you, God, for our Tucker Kreg!  Please bless him as he continues to grow and learn and love You and Your people and Your creation so deeply. 

Westin {6 years old}

 Westin Wayne, 6 years old

 Our biggest boy turned six this year! He continues to be a delight to our family and such a large part of what makes us "us!"

 He started Kindergarten this fall and is doing FABULOUS.  I couldn't have asked for better!  He's a bright, capable student, a willing helper, and a friend to all.  He enjoys reading and creating, and understanding how things work.  His latest obsession is dinosaurs.  He knows far more about them than I do and we have made our way through many a messy dinosaur-dig-kits.   

 He continues to enjoy being active and played basketball, soccer, and baseball this year as well as took several months of swimming lessons.

I recently asked him which sport was his favorite-- which one he would choose if he could only play one.  His eyes teared up and he said, "only one?" HAHA-- guess we're not there, yet! This was a huge year for him in soccer-- he played two ourdoor seasons, did 2 soccer camps, and one indoor season, just in 2015.  It was amazing to me to watch him go from really just being out there to socialize, to using real skills and moves and becoming an active participant in the game.  This most recent season he had a 3-week scoring streak and was THRILLED with this accomplishment!  Baseball was a fun adventure this summer-- this was our first venture outside of t-ball and he did great! I can't get over the fun of watching the pride and joy on his face when he accomplishes something new.    

He's a little fish in the water-- we spent hours and hours at the pool this summer and it was a delight to watch him!  He loved the ocean this summer as well and frequently talks about going back.

 Wes also started taking piano lessons from a sweet friend of ours this year and has loved it so far!  He's always seemed to be drawn to music and its fun to watch him practice because he can't help but sing along while he plays.  Coming from a *former* pianist, this amazes me because I always found it impossible to do both at once!

 His favorite color still is, and will probably always be blue.  He gravitates towards blue everything and we all associate it with Wes in the Kell house.

His favorite food is bison hot dogs.  He's also a wonderful veggie eater and prefers to snack on celery, carrots, and broccoli throughout the day.

His favorite game is "Wits & Wagers" which we keep up at the cabin in Estes.  He's quite good at it and we all enjoy playing with him.

His favorite movies are the Star Wars & Jurassic Park collections, all of which his Daddy has enjoyed introducing him to this year!

His favorite TV show is, get this, The Magic Schoolbus.  It's on Netflix these days!  Like I said, he loves learning how things work. 

 Westin is the most extroverted, social person I have ever met.  I'm a giant introvert so this has stretched me pretty much his entire life-- one of the parts of being a mom that I'm really so grateful for.  He gets along with people of all ages and is constantly asking for play dates.  He says all the time how great it is he has brothers because "it's like having built-in friends." This introverted mama is thankful for those built-in friends!

It's been an absolute joy to me to watch his faith grow this year.  His precious prayers have extended beyond the "thank you God for [insert literally everything here, which is also a great phase]" to being full of depth about the needs of others that he sees and asking for character traits for himself like being a good leader and a good friend and a hard worker.  He's quick to share his faith with others and ask them about their own.  I know God's word is being hidden in his little heart as he has been able to apply verses and stories to his day-to-day this year and nothing in the world could make me more proud! Thank you, God, for our Westin Wayne!  He is a joy and our lives are forever better because you sent him to us to love.

Brooks William {18 months}

 Brooks William Kell, 18 months

Sweet Brooks! How fun you are! You are in full-on little boy mode! You bring such joy to our family & a good amount of challenge to our day-to-day.  You are energetic and playful, sweet and snuggly, smart and funny, and your smile-- your smile is SO contagious!

 You are talking up a storm! Every day is a new word and you have an uncanny knack for stringing them together to make lengthy sentences to tell us exactly how you feel or exactly what happened or exactly what you want.  

 Your favorite things are: 

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!  Your favorite characters are Mickey (Kick-ey) and Donald (Nonald)-- you sing along with the songs and interact with the characters.  Any time we see something with Mickey on it while we're out, we have to stop to investigate!

Football!  As soon as Daddy walks through the door and you've given him your "daddy HOOOME" squeeze, you ask him "watch foo-ball?"  You enjoy watching it and playing it with your Daddy.  You have quite the little arm!

Your Brothers! "Bubba" & "Kucko" are your best friends and your biggest role models.  You just KNOW you're one of them and there's nothing you feel you can't do with them.  They love you too!  They think you're the cutest thing on planet earth and they would do anything to protect you.

Sweet potato fries!  You eat all of yours and mommy's too! 

Backpacks!  You always want to wear your brother's and load it up with your stuff-- so we got you one for yourself and you think its just awesome.

 Brooks William, you are SO loved! We love having you as part of our family & we delight in all of your "firsts" and in each new discovery.  We are so glad God entrusted you to our care and we pray that your heart will always seek Him and strive to love & serve His people.