Wednesday, December 12, 2012



2012 In the Pratt House

Emma (7) started 1st grade this year! She is quite the student!  She is one of the top readers in her class and loves that she can now read chapter books.  She also started piano lessons and we love to listen to her practice everyday.   Emma played soccer this year and had a ton of fun on her team.  Over the summer she finally became an official swimmer!  Once she got it, there was no stopping her and she spent hours and hours every week in the pool and jumping off the diving board.  She keeps busy playing with her friends, dancing, singing (always) and running after her brothers.  She is a very tentative big sister, always ready to help out with the boys and keep them happy.   She will be baptized in November 2013 and to prepare as a family we made a goal to read the Book of Mormon all the way through.  She keeps us on task and we have enjoyed the blessing this goal has brought us.  We are so blessed to have her and are grateful that her brothers have her as an example to look up to.

Carson (5) continues to be a busy preschooler!  He is an awesome student!  He enjoys reading, writing, painting, being creative and he LOVES to dance.  It is one of our favorite activities to turn on iTunes and shake it! Carson also played soccer this year.  He loved playing with his friends and his cousin Logan on his team! Over the summer he took swimming lessons and found his confidence under the water - he is the cutest little fish you will ever see! Carson is growing so quickly and this year started learning to ride his bike without training wheels. He did not master it yet, but he is very close and we are pretty sure once it warms up again that he will be zipping around in no time.  He continues to improve with his speech and is quickly becoming an awesome little talker. We love our little guy; he has a great sense of humor and always strives to make everyone smile. 

Harrison (3) brings us new adventures everyday!  He is a great learner. He is starting to write his ABC’s, he can spell and write his name beautifully and loves “writing letters” with his sister at his side.  He loves playing on the computer and iPad, playing pretend and being a train conductor with his Geotrax collection.  He is a huge fan of his older brother and sister - he   looks forward everyday for their return from school.  Harry is very athletic and enjoys any type of ball playing!  He loves playing outside in any weather and often times has to be dragged in to avoid hypothermia.  This last month Harrison has FINALLY started potty training - it has become a special time for he and Mom - we are proud of him for the progress he has made and proud of her because he is still one piece.  :)

Dallin (3 mos) is the newest addition to our family.  He was born in the early evening of September 7th, at 8lbs 11 oz and 21 inches long - our biggest baby yet! It was a slow labor, but once he wanted to come, he was serious, his doctor even missed the adventure and his Dad nearly missed it also because they both decided to step out at the wrong time.  He had a rough start and had to hang out with the NICU team for the first few minutes of his life, but quickly showed everyone he was a tough little guy and nothing was going to stop him!  He has grown very quickly - weighing over 14 lbs already!  It’s no wonder because his favorite hobby is eating!  He is a great smiler and is always loves to brighten Jared’s day with an excited grin when he arrives home from work.  We are so blessed to have his sweet little personality in our home.  The whole family has wrapped themselves around his little fingers.  His brothers and sister are addicted to holding, hugging, kissing and playing with him. 
We couldn’t be happier to have him in our family!

Summer loves being a stay-at-home-Mommy!  She keeps busy running after the kids and trying to stay sane.  She has taking redecorating to a whole new level - redoing the kitchen cabinets, sewing curtains, reupholstering our kitchen chairs, painting anything and everything to fit the color scheme and adding new furniture and rugs to our house for a finishing touch.  It has been quite fun and she really finds joy in the projects and planning for future projects for 2013.  Together Jared and Summer joined a co-ed soccer league. Along with 10 other friends on their team they have weekly games where they are run over by co-eds that look to be half their age with double their energy levels.  It has been very fun for us to participate in and fun for the kids to be our cheerleaders.  Summer is the Activity Days Leader and really loves her group of girls - they keep her young!

Jared continues to love his career with Patterson Dental.  His job is a wonderful blessing in our home, but it also brings a few laugh - the kids are convinced that Daddy’s job is going out to lunch with his friends and picking up “Daddy’s Drink” (Dr. Pepper) on the way home.  Jared calls it a job, Summer calls it a vacation. :)   Jared enjoys playing golf, soccer, racquetball, basketball and hiking. This year over Labor Day weekend he, his brother Steve and a few friends did a “rim to rim” hike of the Grand Canyon.  He says it was an amazing and challenging adventure.  Jared is now the Webelos leader and has had a great time with his young scouts. All of these adventures came together making him “The Most Interesting Man in The Ward” for our Ward Talent show.  He grew out a nice beard and with the help of some great friends and neighbors put together 3 awesome commercials to show at the talent show.  It got a ton of laughs and secured his legend in the ward.  If you would like to check them out - please feel free to look up “most interesting man in the ward” on youtube.  It is awesome!

We have had an amazing 2012 and are so grateful! We hope that your 2012 has brought you the same happiness!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
The Pratt Family
Jared - Summer - Emma - Carson - Harrison - Dallin