McKay Justin Sweeney

I'll let Marin update the whole birth story and how we chose the name...but here's a few pics:

McKay was born at 7:57pm on Dec 26, 2011. He weighed 8lbs 3oz and was 20 inches long.

baby is here!

we'll post more later on the amazing story but here's a quick pic to introduce to baby #4 (name still pending).

marin did it all with NO epidural...crazy stuff.

Merry Christmas from the Sweeneys 2011

Oh Christmas Tree!

Carden couldn't wait to get the Christmas tree up. He did all the decorating and made sure "nothing was touching!" He had so much fun putting up the ornaments! It made it really fun. This was my first time putting lights on a tree and it was a LOT of work. I did about 12 strands of lights and sadly two strands died out two days later. I was so sad. All that work. So i just took another strand just to fill in the gap. It worked. We are ready for Christmas and can't wait for SANTA but honestly I think the kids are MORE excited for their baby brother!

37 Weeks!

Wow, I am already 37 weeks and can deliver at anytime! I still can't believe I am pregnant and really going to have baby #4. We are excited. I must confess though that I am a little scared. This pregnancy has gone WAY too fast. I'm so excited to have my body back though and this will be the best CHRISTMAS present ever! I'm hoping that everything will go well and that the whole nursing transition will FINALLY go smoothly! I just want to have no stress with this baby and really be able to enjoy the whole NEWBORN phase.

I finally found all the boy baby clothes out in the garage which are washed and put in drawers. I am trying to fix my bumpers that are falling apart. Hopefully I will get a crib skirt made! I'm not too excited about the baby boy clothes that I have to use again. I might just end up putting him in all Brooke's baby girl stuff feels more new! We still don't have a name picked out exactly. I like THREE names and really don't know which one to go with. I think I should just name him all THREE, Crew Alan McKay! Doesn't that sound nice?!!! haa haa!!!

Anyways I haven't written anything about this pregnancy. It really has been a good pregnancy. It started out WAY different though with sickness and so I was FOR SURE it was going to be a girl. Plus we kept having ultrasounds that were girl-boy-girl-boy! But we are for sure now it is a BOY! My body has felt great except for my legs. I have been exercising through this whole pregnancy which makes ALL the difference! The kids are all excited about their new brother. Carden can't wait for "Q" to sleep in his room! Carden likes the name Crew for the baby, but when he says it it sounds like "Q". It is really cute! It is weird to think that I am going to have a VISALIA baby. I never thought I would be back in my home town. At least the weather is nice and hopefully we will keep having these SUNNY clear DAYS ahead!!!

Thanksgiving 2011

We had a great Thanksgiving here on the hill. Brooke and Rhead loved the TURKEY's Grandma made!

Here are the leaf turkeys we made! Carden, Brooke, and Rhead collected all the different leaves!
Here is the kids table with all the CUTE kids! We wished all our cousins could have joined us!
Rhead loves to watch Grandpa with his WING!

Will and Grandpa did some flying. We thought Will was going somewhere else for THANKSGIVING! I guess he just wanted to swing from a TREE!

Carden, Brooke, and Rhead couldn't keep their hands OFF this CUTE BOY MAX!!! Guess they are all ready for a BABY to come!

LOOK AT THAT EXTENSION! :) Justin did A LOT of the cooking and not a lot of THIS! Luckily his pants didn't SPLIT! :) Above are the "TURKEYs" that the KIDS loved to eat! We ate on the special COW PLATES since we live with the COWS!

This was our first year doing the turkey! Justin did an amazing job! He also made a homemade APPLE PIE from scratch! It was delicious!

See isn't it BEAUTIFUL! We loved having the van Beever's over to join in all the FUN! Thanks for making the trip down! The kids had a lot of FUN with Grandma, Grandpa, and their cousins!

"TWO YEARS OLD!"

It seems like just yesterday we were at the Glenn's home eating cake and ice cream listening to the cousins cheer, "TWO YEARS OLD!" as Carden blew out his candles! Carden seemed so much smaller and "sweeter" as Justin put it! haa haa! Brooke and Rhead have been a hand full and it seriously is amazing that we are ALL still ALIVE, especially Rhead! Poor Rhead fell on the rocks the day of his Birthday and had another BLOODY mouth and I was for sure he lost his other tooth. Luckily it was just his lip! I swear this boy needs a helmet and mouth guard.

We had a great day celebrating their Birthday though. Justin got work off a little early so he came home and made us another GREAT DINNER!!! We had BBQ chicken, pesto tomato pasta, salad, and grilled asparagus. Brooke and Rhead ate every bit of it PLUS SECONDS. They couldn't even eat their cake and ice cream, which they kept asking for ALL DAY LONG! Rhead ate one bowl of pasta and handed me his bowl and said, "CAKE?!" But then saw the the grilled chicken and started eating that instead.

Brooke and Rhead loved all their presents. They each got a COOL CAR that was able to fit into their small mini backpacks. They also got a play dough set which is always a hit at nursery so I thought I would get that for them for those rainy days to come! They played all night long with their cars and it was pretty cute since Brooke and Rhead really don't have any toys that are actually theirs! I just love going in their rooms after they fall asleep to see their little hands still holding their CAR!

Happy Birthday Brooke and Rhead

Just two years ago I was sitting fully pregnant waiting to deliver two full term babies completely nervous and scared for what lay ahead. Today is not much different. My stomach is full of butterflies and a baby! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE AND RHEAD!! Maybe I will need to blow out your candles in hopes of our wishes to come TRUE as a family!

Nursery Time

So Justin and I have been in the nursery since Brooke and Rhead turned 18 months. Now they are turning two on Saturday so we've been in there SIX months! It has been crazy especially since we have about 15-17 KIDS all together and only about 5 of them are THREE! But anyways today we had a lesson on being "THANKFUL". I really wanted to go to the teacher resource center and cut out all the things we are thankful for so the kids could have made a collage, but I never had the time to go out there without any kids. So instead I put on a PLAY! I had Justin be JESUS and I had all 15 kids CONVINCED that he was Jesus.

Every Sunday the kids get ot walk outside after our snack and just before our lesson. So as we lined up after snack time to go outside I told all the kids that Brother Sweeney was going to pretend to be Jesus and that we wanted to "FOLLOW Jesus!" They all folded their arms and walked reverently. They didn't even RUN or try to get away! One girl named Jenna said to another Mommy in the hall, "Look I'm FOLLOWING JESUS!" Then when Justin took off his costume after our lesson one boy said to Brother Sweeney, "Where did Jesus go?" It was so cute to hear these stories about how JESUS was REALLY in nursery today and how we need to FOLLOW Jesus and say THANK YOU! I'm glad that the kids learned that because the rest of the time left in nursery the kids started cracking up.

Justin did a great job playing Jesus as we talked about the story from the Bible about the 10 lepers . He healed each one and only ONE came back to say "Thank You Jesus" (that was Carden's part!). The kids had a good time. It has been a challenge being in nursery but it has been a blessing. I enjoy watching the kids learn and grow closer to their Savior each Sunday.
Here is Justin as Jesus. Luckily Justin got creative and put his tie around his head since I forgot something to cover his head!
The kids ALL fell asleep on our way home from church (Carden is on the floor)! It was GREAT having a LITTLE REST on the SABBATH day!

Carden

I LOVE THIS BOY! He is such a good example to ME and his brother and sister. He loves to "BEE like JESUS!" He enjoys making others happy and doing service for others. He is such a good helper and loves learning. He is getting so good at his letters and I still can't believe we have another year before school! He is so ready for kindergarten.

Carden is our athlete. He is extremely coordinated and ready FOR SOCCER, BASEBALL, and BASKETBALL! I hope next year to put him in some sports because he loves watching the other kids at practice and always asks to go play. He loves to RUN and go on walks. He also loves to hike to the top of the hill with Mommy and never needs to REST! He loves to ride his bike and he would TOTALLY BE on a TWO WHEELER if we lived somewhere where there was room to RIDE!!!! He gets going so fast and loves to "BASH" into his brother and sister.

Carden still is OBSESSED with THOMAS (and so is his MOMMY)!!! He loves using the sayings from the movies. He is getting really excited now that Rhead is showing more interest in trains. He keeps asking me if we can ride a train. I hope that SOON we can go and ride the train. I miss Sacramento and I think Carden does too! We miss our days playing at the train museum and playing with our cousins. Carden begs daily to go to Chase and Sam's house. He just loves all his cousins. He is so observant and knows all those little things about his cousins. For example, I finally put Brooke in pigtails and Carden's first response was, "Pretty Brooke, you look like HALLE!" He also noticed a VOLLEY BALL player on the computer and said, "THAT is what Michelle does!" He remembered seeing Michelle play volleyball from about a year ago!!

Carden reads the scriptures now and enjoys saying the prayers. The other day he read a whole chapter in the Book of Mormon and wanted to keep reading. He read for an hour with Daddy that night and wanted to keep going! It is pretty exciting to see him want to learn! He is pretty excited to turn FOUR. He is also SO EXCITED for the BABY to come. He loves to feel his brother kick. He always asks, "when is the baby coming?" He now understands the order: first Brooke and Rhead have their Birthday, then Mommy and Daddy's anniversary, then Christmas and the baby, then Carden's Four year Birthday!!!! Lots of stuff going on in NOVEMBER and DECEMBER! I am pretty excited!

Brooke

Brooke, she is a funny girl. She loves to run and play with Carden. She keeps up with him on our runs down the driveway. She loves to ride her bike and loves to TEASE Rhead whenever possible. She is actually a little punk sister to Rhead. She likes to beat up on him and Rhead just sits there and cries. She still loves STRAWBERRIES and always asks for some. She loves FOOD and still doesn't crave any sweet stuff. She will take a cookie but just holds it until it is a mess all over the floor. She just doesn't like the JUNK food. She rather have seconds on salads than ice cream. She pretty much eats four bowls of salad a night, which makes diapers difficult. I still have to change about SIX diapers a DAY and that is not with a NEW BORN!!!!! I complain but I guess I shouldn't since my kids do eat REALLY well. They eat better than me! I never was a good eater.

Brooke loves to say the prayers now and she says every word. She is finally saying her "B"s and it is so cute to hear her pronounce her name! She loves nursery and is pretty quiet in there. She doesn't really play with the kids but rather she does her own thing. I guess all my kids are like that though. None of them really interact with other kids, they prefer my lap. I am taking them every Wed to story time at the library and they are kind of starting to warm up to all the kids.

Brooke is FINALLY DANCING! She is starting to do little movements here and there and loves to "stretch" with Mommy. She knows exactly how to stretch and shows me when she touches her toes! She loves the "SUNBEAM" song as well and loves to JUMP up on every "BEAM"! She is starting to be a little more girly. She loves to carry around a purse like mommy. She likes to clean the house. She always wants to "TRY"! She follows her big brother and tries to get herself dressed in the mornings which is pretty hilarious.

She can walk for MILES. This girl does not get tired. She can hike up the hill with Mommy and doesn't ever need to rest. She loves to read stories and loves her little lamb. She loves to push her stroller and ride her bike with her brothers. She LOVES to brush her teeth!

Rhead

Rhead is talking more and more each day and I love it! It is way more pleasant to hear him talking than crying. Rhead is my "little fuss". I guess he is more like his Mommy. They used to call me "Marin Fuss". I know it is sad, but I guess now I can understand what I put my Mom through. We love Rhead though and he is just EXTREME. He is either SO HAPPY or SO GRUMPY! He is a smarty pants though. He is OUR LITTLE FISH! He is more of a swimmer than a runner. It is so hilarious to see/HEAR him RUN! He huffs and PUFFS and it is just really cute to see his long skinny body with his hands flying everywhere when he runs. The kids run about a MILE around the house before going to bed and this is on a regular basis. They get their second wind after their bath and then start the "On YOUR MARKS, GET set, GO!"

Rhead loves "CHOO-CHOO's" and always insists that they are "MY CHOO-CHOO's" as his little bottom lip curls :) He also loves to see his "GANGA" (Grandpa) drive away and come home in his car. He always keeps us posted on when Grandpa is home and when he leaves. He also loves to ask, "Where is Daddy?" Or "where is Carden?" He is always aware when someone is missing and when I tell them where they are his reply is, "Oh".

Rhead loves to sing "I am a child of God" with Daddy at night and says each word at the end of a sentence. He is our little BASS, but I must say he does have good range. He loves to sing "Sunbeam" song and gets his hands going and jumps in on every "BEAM!"

Rhead loves to say his prayers and read his scriptures. He loves his BIG brother and follows his example. He pretty much copies EVERYTHING Carden does. He loves to ride "MY BIKE" even though sadly his bike is a PINK bike which he KNOWS is HIS. He loves to ride down the steep drive way with his feet up and this always makes MOMMY SO NERVOUS. I swear he is going to have NO TEETH by the school starts! He already fell on the concrete today and bumped his tooth and then fell off the couch and got a bloody eye. We have to hold our BREATH each day for RHEAD to SURVIVE! We think he might be a lefty as we watched him throw a rock into the river. The kids love to find the BIGGEST ROCKS and throw them into the river to make a DAM. They are getting good at finding the best dam ROCKS!

Rhead loves "KITTY". He will spend hours just sitting on the grass holding his kitty. He is getting really good at finding the kitty. I will have to post a picture!

OUR BLOG WORKS!!!!

We had a great Halloween with the van Beevers! The kids did so well with trick or treating this year it was amazing! I just remember last year Carden wanted to eat his candy as he went and then after four houses he was pretty much done. It was funny. But this year he kept up with the boys and RAN HOUSE TO HOUSE and came home with a FULL bag of candy. Brooke and Rhead stayed behind with Daddy and went to each house answering with "TRICK OR TREAT". Brooke was actually the one who said the "trick or treat" and "thank you"s. They both kept their candy in their bags until they got home. I was impressed! There were a few houses though that were scary and Rhead wouldn't even go up the drive way he just kept walking. Hope he always keeps to that instinct! Brooke kept saying "Scary" when she saw something she didn't like. They all had a lot of fun but I just wish people wouldn't make their homes so scary or wear such scary masks.



Here are the PUMPKINS! We did one with a HAPPY face for Rhead since he is always so "HAPPY"!!! and then another with a SCARY face. Carden is showing the faces. He does a great SCARY face don't you think? Actually I really like his HAPPY FACE. Carden always has a GREAT HAPPY FACE that will hopefully rub off on Rhead!


And here are the kids: Spider Man, Mr. Incredible, and our little FAIRY
Hope everyone had a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Wow, I was getting really nervous that we were going to lose our WHOLE BLOG. But finally it works. I guess this dance blog was hacked and since I had the link on our page it blocked our blog as well. But anyways I am so far behind but I might as well put up some Halloween pictures!!!