Addie Lees

My little Addie. She is growing too fast. She is 7 weeks and 2 days old. The time is flying by. I have been so busy with these 4 little kids that are 4 years old and under. I run around all day from one kid to the next. I am sometimes able to throw a load of laundry in the washer, but most of the time it doesn't make it to the dryer until midnight. And then it is never folded and put away. Once the older 3 are in bed, little Addie is fussy until midnight or later so I can't catch up then. Sometimes I will get only 7 hours of sleep in 2 days so by 1:00am on the 3rd day I am having a pretty hard time staying awake with Addie. At least she sleeps until 6am-ish once she falls asleep.

Just look how CUTE she is!

Daniel thinks Addie is our hardest baby, but I still think that Bensen was. He screamed a lot more during the day and at night. Although all these babies keep me busy, I am so happy to not be pregnant. I feel a whole lot better. I did not do well during Addie's pregnancy, physically and emotionaly. She was worth it, but I am so glad it is over with.

I have decided that she is definitely a girl. She screams really well so she must be dramatic like her big sister. We are so happy to have another princess and Staucie cannot wait until Addie is old enough to play princesses with her. Parker is a good playmate, he is just too much of a boy and does not play "girly" games well.

We decided to spell Addie's name with an I-E at the end to go along with the other 3 Lees girls. Daniel and his 2 brothers each had a baby girl in the same year. The first baby for each of them and we all named them with a name that ends in I-E and we did not plan it. As of now, these 4 little girls, Staucie, Ellie, Sadie, and Addie, are the only grandaughters. After Sadie was born came a slew of boys: Parker, Bensen, Noah, Ethan, Evan. There will be 2 more grandchildren before the end of the year and I am sure they will keep on coming, but not from us :)

Addie has what we like to call "scary eyes." Parker did the same thing when he was this age. Parker thinks it is so funny when Addie "is scary," as he would say it. She also goes cross-eyed a lot when she tries to focus like Staucie used to do. So cute!

Addie has been congested with a cold since she was a week old. I took her to the doctor a couple weeks ago and she had an ear infection. Trying to give her Amoxicillin was not fun. She did not like it. She has a little pink stain on her shirt in the picture below from spitting it out. I think she spit out more than she swallowed, and yes we tried all the "tricks." Her cold finally seems gone, but she still sounds raspy so we are thinking she probably has a little reflex which could be why she is so good at screaming :)

Well, that's it folks. Addie is crying on my lap, Bensen is awake from his nap, and Staucie and Parker have filled the backyard with water! We love you, Addie. Thanks for joining our family.

Father's Day

"Fathers, you are the primary model of manhood for your sons. You are their most meaningful mentor, and believe it or not, you are their hero in countless ways." -Elder M. Russell Ballard


I am so grateful for the man that I married. He is the father that our sons and daughters need in every way. I am grateful for my father-in-law and the man that he is. I know that Daniel is the man he is because of his father. His 3 sons have become amazing men, wonderful husbands, and super dads!
Daniel is so good at getting on the floor and playing with the kids. They squeal with joy when he comes home from work. They ask me all day long when Daniel will be home and when they hear the front door opening, all 3 of them go crazy. He is not just a father but a DAD.

I am very grateful for my dad. I cannot express in words what he means to me. He is one amazing man and I know that anyone who knows him thinks the same thing. I cannot imagine life without him. I wish I could see him more.

This is him holding Staucie when she was brand new (at G&G Dougherty's house).

I love when my dad comes to visit. I miss being Utah so that I could see him more. He would always stop by to visit on his Harley rides if they went through Utah, even when I was single.

This is him and my mom with Staucie on one of their bike trips.

When Bensen was born my dad came to Utah and his truck broke down and he got stuck with us for about 10 days. I know he was going crazy, but I was secretly happy that his truck broke down so that I could spend more time with him :)

Here he is playing princess 'paper-doll' dress-ups with Staucie.
What a great Grandpa.

I love you, Daddy. Thank you for all that you have provided for me, all that you did and still do for me. Thank you for the example you are, your testimony, the husband that you are, and for the man that you are. Thank you for loving me, my husband, my kids, my mom, my siblings, and for loving all people.

I am grateful for the other dad in my life. He has raised a wonderful son and he has loved me and my kids. He has done so much for us. I have been very blessed to have another amazing dad in my life. I am grateful for all of the times that he has visited us. It is so fun to have our parents come see us. I am excited they are coming again soon.

Here he is running on the Galveston beach with Staucie and Parker in November.

What a good Grandpa to play in the tree!

Parker LOVES his Grandpa. Parker loves music and singing and loves that Grandpa Lees always sings to him when he sees him. The kids favorite song that Grandpa sings is "Puff the Magic Dragon." I married very well when I married into the Lees family. I know Danielle and Bethany will agree that Dad and Mom Lees raised 3 great boys who have turned into 3 great husbands and dads.

Happy Father's Day to Daniel, our dads, our grandpas, and all the great men that we know.

I love you, Daniel. Thanks for killing all those bugs for me.

Daniel's Birthday!

We celebrated Daniel's birthday on June 2nd. The kids were so excited for his birthday. Daniel doesn't really care about gifts and there was nothing he wanted that was in our budget so I took the kids to the store and let them each pick him a present that was under a certain amount of money. It was really funny and they were very excited. They also ended up telling him what each present was before he opened it. I kept telling them that is was supposed to be a secret, but at least they lasted until we were getting ready to celebrate. I was surprised they lasted that long.
Staucie got him a little stuffed pony. Parker got him two race cars from the movie Cars. Bensen got him a small soccer ball. These are their most favorite things: ponies, cars, and balls. And Addie and I got him a movie.

We also made him a cake and since I baked a cake and a ham, the kitchen was super hot with the oven being on so long. The frosting was melting off the cake as I frosted it. So, I stuck the frosting in the freezer for a little bit and then quickly re-frosted the melted cake and put it in the fridge until after dinner.

I made one of his favorite meals: spiral ham, mashed potatoes, and corn. After they opened presents Daniel played cars and ponies with the kids until they went to bed. He is such a good dad. The kids LOVED his birthday.

Addie was a big partier.

Bensen was doing his tricks.

Please excuse my boys and their underware and diaper bums. Parker never wears pants and Bensen had some shorts on in the beginning but I guess they fell off because they are now missing for this picture :) He is skinny and loses his shorts sometimes.

Happy Belated Birthday, My Love!

Slip-and-Slide

When my sister, Tyne, was here she bought Daniel a Slip-and-Slide for his birthday. The kids really love it. This is the first day they tried it. Bensen missed out because he was taking a nap. He has played on it since and loves that the water shoots out from the side and spends the whole time walking through it. The kids slide into him.

We can only stand to be outside if we are in the water, otherwise we just sweat and get REAL hot. And then in the late afternoon and evening the mosquitos come out to attack. In Utah we stayed in doors in the winter and in Texas we stay in doors a lot more. It is either too hot (unbearably hot), raining, or the mosquitos are eating us. Ugh. I am glad we have a backyard with a kiddie pool so the kids can get out of the house! Yay for water!

A Few Weeks Ago

These are just some pictures from a few weeks ago...

The boys.

Bensen is laughing.
We found the kids asleep in the same bed one night.

Parker was trying to get Addie's pacifier in her mouth.

We celebrated Aunt Tyne's birthday when she was here.

The kids opened her presents for her.

Staucie's Preschool Graduation

Staucie graduated from her first year of preschool on May 27th. My mom and sister, Tyne, were here to celebrate with us. They had a little ceremony for the 2 classes that her teacher, Mrs. Rachel, teaches in her home. They sang us some songs they learned and got diplomas and then we watched a slide show of pictures from the school year and watched little videos she took of each kid. It was so cute.
When each kid was called up to receive their diploma, her teacher said something about each one of them. She said that Staucie was the shyest person she knows and enjoyed watching her open up. Staucie is really shy, but she is WILD at home. I am so glad she was able to go to preschool this year. She really benefited from it socially. Thanks to all those who made it possible.

After the ceremony they had a picnic/pool party at a neighborhood pool. We had the splash pad reserved and it was lots of fun. Luckily Tyne was there to put on her swimming suit and play with the kids in the water because my mom and I did not want to run around in our swimming suits, although my mom looks good.

Happy Graduation, Staucie! We love you!