Family photos

I figured since 2 out of the 4 kids were getting pictures, all of us should get pictures. Here is a sampling. It was so hard to narrow down for this post.

4 months old

At the beginning of December Tanner went in for his 4 month check up. So far he has beat all the other kids in size ever since he was born. He latest stats were:

Height: 26.5 in
Weight: 16.3 lbs.
Head circ.: 16.9 in

According to clothing charts this means he fits 6 to 9 month clothes.

Here are pictures from his first photo shoot.

Funny Sayings

Braden: "I know why you signed me up for school. So I would have to do boring stuff."

Kelsey had a school assignment to define 2 words and then use them in a sentence. One of the words was "overjoyed".  The sentence she wrote was "When I go to the mall I fill (feel) overjoyed." This is a true statement for her. Brian and I are really worried for her bank account.

The other day Braden had spent his allotted time watching TV/playing video so I made him stop. A little time had passed and he was ready to play more video games but I wouldn't let him. Below is what I remember from the conversation.
Braden: Can I play video games?
Me: No. You need to find something else to do.
Braden: If you don't let me play video games I am walking out the door.
Me: I will be really sad if you leave, but you can't play video games.
Braden thinks for a bit: If you don't let me play video games I am going up to Jeffie's house without calling him.
Me: Okay. Have fun.
He then goes outside for a couple of seconds then comes back in.

Braden: Do you love me?
Me: Of course I love you.
Braden: If you love me, then you will let me play video games.
Me: I love you that is why I am not letting you play video games.
Braden: If you won't let me then I am putting on my big coat and leaving.
Me: I will be really sad if you leave, but that is your choice. I will always love you no matter what, but I can't let you play video games.

Braden then got his big coat on and went out the front door. I went and peeked on him and he was hiding behind our big, wooden Nativity in the front yard. He was out there for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Baptism

In November Kelsey chose to be baptized and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Brian and I are so proud of her decision. We would have loved her no matter her choice but we know she made the best one. She will be happier because as long as she keeps the commandments she will be able to have the Holy Ghost with her at all times. What a wonderful gift!

She was able to share her special night with her good friend and our neighbor, Lindsay Driggs. The girls were so excited to be baptized on the same day. Both families were able to attend and support the girls. Afterwards we had an ice cream sundae bar and dessert bar. I am not sure what Kelsey was more excited for, to be baptized or the treats afterwards.

Happy Birthday Kelsey

I don't know who decided to have Kelsey when we did, but it is too darn close to Halloween. (Oops that was me. I didn't want to wait another week for my due date and at that point in my life Halloween was a breeze.) Every year I prep for Halloween and a birthday. This year was worse because she got to have a party this year. We made it worse on ourselves because we decided to throw it ourselves instead of going somewhere. The reasoning behind the madness was Macy had never gone outside the home for her party, she wanted to invite a lot of people and we could do it cheaper (only slightly). Next time I will push for it to be else where and make sure I have budgeted appropriately.

It did turn out to be a blast and all the work paid off. I received several comments from parents about how much fun their daughter had. Kelsey chose a science theme because at one point in the decision making process she wanted to go to the Natural History museum. The party there was science based.

So we did science experiments with the help from a special guest, Professor Von Kartchner, and her assistant, Stefanie Tallwoman. I think I shocked Brian and Kelsey when I walked out wearing goofy glasses, a pink mustache (Stefanie brought them not knowing the plan which was perfect) and a funny accent. I didn't tell them what I was going to do and I know Brian didn't ever expect me to do anything like that. The girls at the party loved it and thought it was hilarious. The glasses made it hard to see things clearly so I would take them off sometimes. The girls would quickly remind me that I couldn't see without them and I would have to put them back on. They would also remind me when I stopped talking in the silly accent.

It was a lot of work but I was happy to do it for my sweet Kelsey. I hope she enjoyed it.

Just in case you can't tell it is a flask with bubbles (the m&ms are bubbles along with the 2 circles at the top). Just before lighting the candles I put dry ice in a cup at the top.

The experiments we did were

•  elephant toothpaste
• exploding bags
• exploding colorful milk
• lava bottles
• slime
• mentos in soda

Happy Halloween

So I do know that in 3 days time it will be Thanksgiving but I had to share our Halloween pictures.  This year we had a ninja, vampire and a Hershey's kiss. Macy's costume was homemade because I suggested the costume idea thinking I could easily buy something like that. Her previous ideas were a little out there so I thought this would be perfect. I learned my lesson, always do an internet search before suggesting anything. I could only find adult Hershey kiss costumes or toddler sized costumes. She kindly offered to be something else like a sewing machine. I knew we wouldn't find a sewing machine costume so a kiss was a lot easier to make. It actually wasn't too bad (it took maybe 4 hours). It was perfect for her because it came off easily (she isn't in to wearing costumes for a long time) and it didn't require a lot of extra touches. I could have found a silver/grey shirt and she could have worn colored leggings but that is just not her so I didn't bother. And she was still happy with it.

I was also the hit of 2 classroom Halloween parties. I brought homemade slim (thanks Alacey for the the idea). The kids loved it, but they somehow managed to make a mess with the slim I intentionally made not as sticky. Maybe it was the way they dug their fingers into it or wrapped their hands in it or just all the hot little hands playing with it that made it really sticky and stringy by the end of the first party. I had to keep adding a little more borax solution during the second party so the damage was very minimal to the second classroom.

I couldn't get a picture with all the kids together. They were in too big of a hurry to be with friends and wouldn't stand together. Looking through the pictures I realized I didn't get a picture of Macy's painted pumpkin yet (it is still on the front porch).

Kelsey's pumpkin/mom's. She picked the design and mom did all the work.

Braden's pumpkin. Cleaned out by mom, designed by Braden, drawn by mom and carved by dad.

So Where Do I Begin

I have taken a break from the computer. Not completely, but I have spent less time on it and more time doing other things like: feeding a baby, reading books, doing off-track things, blessing a baby, doing Halloween things, joining a gym, planning a birthday party and planning a baptism. In fact there has been so much craziness that I am groaning that Thanksgiving is here already. And Thanksgiving means decorating the house and lots of shopping (not that I hate shopping). It is just more work. I want to relax. I was able to do that last week but I don't think that will be the case this week, maybe the first couple of days so I plan to live it up.

Tanner has been growing like a weed, literally. At his 2 month check up he was 12 lbs 14 oz and 24.5 inches long meaning he fit 3 to 6 month clothes. His 4 month check up is coming up and he still appears to be ahead of the charts. I even think he has 2 bottom teeth on the way. It is hard to get a good look because a tongue and drool always gets in the way. He is an awesome kid, a bit of a cat napper in the day but a wonderful sleeper at night. He goes to bed between 8 and 9. Some nights he wakes up around 4:30 for a quick snack but last week he had several days in a row of waking up at 7:30 (there have also been a few other scattered all nighters in the past 2 months). I am hoping for a all night sleeper soon. Please knock on wood now that I have shared that piece of news.

He is quite the talker. He loves to jabber anyone's ear off. Kelsey can really get him going. He grunts and strains a lot when he needs to relieve his bowels or is unhappy with the situation, such as he wants to sleep or eat. The kids still can't get enough of him and Braden has shared 2 colds with him already. The boy cannot not stop kissing his brother or lightly rubbing his lips across Tanner's head. Braden does that same rubbing thing with his blanket. If Jeff is reading this, it is similar to the way you would sniff your shirt. Macy and Kelsey rush home from school and ask where Tanner is. Macy still acts like his mother. She likes to comfort him and rock/bounce him to sleep. Kelsey is true to her nature and likes to play, talk, and tickle him. He is quite ticklish.

Tanner is a drooler. He is a diaper Houdini meaning he seems to always manage to get pee out of his diaper. He still likes a clean diaper to poop in and because of the nature of the situation he has peed in his eye a couple of times. I have to always remember to throw a wipe or cloth over his boy parts when he is relieving himself. Like Kelsey and Braden, this week he had to have some prune juice in his formula. I hope it was a fluke thing and in a couple of days we won't have to worry about it. It appears to Brian and me that he may have some neck weakness so I will have to talk to the doctor about that. He also has eczema pretty bad on his head. I think I get it all cleared up and then the rash comes right back. The bad part is he is starting to figure out his hands and started scratching at it last night.

In his Ute gear at the Young Alumni Homecoming 5K - Brian was in charge this year (mid-Sept)

Braden is showing him how to play with the baby toys. (end of Sept)

 

I don't make my girls match but I made my boys match. Tanner's blessing day. (mid-Oct)

Glad someone forgot to tell me to stand straighter.

How I like to pass out.

"Will they ever get out of my face?" I am pretty sure that is what Tanner asks all the time. (mid-Oct)

The beginning of sibling torture. Kelsey dressed him in glasses and leg warmers. (mid-Oct)

He is a TV addict. He will crane his neck trying to watch the TV. (late Oct)

A little big for the baby bath. (late Oct)

The drool monster. (mid-Nov)

The Best PB and Jelly Sandwich

Last week as I was preparing lunches I caught a whiff of a fermenting type of smell. The girls could too. Kelsey thought it smelled really good. I looked all over in the fridge and pantry to see what might be rotting. I found nothing. I smelled the jelly and it smelled like grape jelly. There was nothing I could see. Over the next day or two I would catch whiffs of the same smell. I still found nothing. Then Kelsey comes home and says to me "You know that smell, I could taste it on my sandwich today. It was so good. It was the best sandwich. I want PB and jelly everyday." I didn't think too much on this because I had already checked out the jelly and PB wouldn't smell that way and I have smelled moldy bread before. Actually I thought I better keep her away from wines. The very next day I am making Braden a jelly sandwich and the smell comes back. I check out the jelly again and still a negative. Then the bread bag passed my nose. I opened it wide and took a good breath in. I found the culprit. It must have been a different type of mold because it was tiny white dots that blended in with the bread. Not sure how it got a different mold or why it went bad so fast. It was a fairly new loaf. All I know is Kelsey hopefully won't be getting the best sandwich ever again. But you never know it is the second time I have served her moldy bread and she never noticed.

Since I am on Kelsey stories here is a little insight into her personality. She is a shopper. She was upset the other day because she didn't get to go to the outlets with me, really upset. I had to pacify her with the promise to take her shopping for winter clothes when it gets cooler. I have been on 2 other clothes shopping trips in which I came home with bags. After the first trip it killed her that I wouldn't let her look at all the shoes purchased. I had a pair of shoes in the bags for her that I wanted to surprise her with (and I hadn't decided to keep them because she didn't really need them). She bugged me incessantly for hours to look at all the shoes (I had purchased way too many). I finally got tired of it and let her look. It was like Christmas for her even though only one pair was for her. She was so happy just looking. After the second trip I had the bags in the car when I picked her up. As soon as she was buckled she was grabbing and tearing open the sacks to see what new clothes I had. Again she was as happy as if it were Christmas morning. I think I might be in trouble in the near future. I hope she is ready to work to earn her spending money.

Braden's Big Day

 Little man started preschool 3 weeks ago. He seems to really enjoy it. He has a wonderful teacher and he has been waiting so long to be like his sisters and all his buddies. I only signed him up for 1 year of preschool so next year it is kindergarten with all his friends.

Leaving school I noticed he put his backpack on upside down. It made me smile.

Just because he is in school doesn't mean there isn't play time. It makes his sisters mad that we do things while they are in school. A couple of weeks ago my parents, sister and I went to the county fair. It was the right size for Braden and Ellie. We also went opening day first thing so no one was really there. They had the pony ride all to themselves and the petting zoo was not overly crowded. We also rode in a monster truck. Ellie giggled the whole time and Braden seemed a little unsure.

Good thing the kids have an awesome aunt. Stef and JT took them all back to the fair on Saturday so the girls could go. Stef let them do the walk on water thing where you get in a big ball and move it like a hamster. The videos were pretty funny. She also bought the girls umbrellas. Like I said they have a good aunt.

Besides the fair, Braden went swimming with my parents at Grandma Bonnie's and we went to the outlets. I am in need of some new shorts. Kelsey was really upset about not getting to go to the outlets. She is such a shopaholic. Again it is not poor Macy and Kelsey. Grandma and grandpa took all the kids to see the movie Planes one Friday because they couldn't make it to the lake. This will be the first year in a long time in which we never made it to the lake. Doesn't hurt my feelings because I can't do anything yet. Maybe September.

One last funny story. So Braden has decided he doesn't like being alone in the basement. Actually it is anywhere in the house because he follows me all over creating messes in whatever room I sit down in. I wish he was comfortable in the basement so everything could stay there. Today I finished exercising downstairs and was heading upstairs to shower. He asked if Tanner could stay with him. I guess any warm body will do.

Anyways that is not the real funny story. The other night Macy was at a late over so Braden had to go to bed in the basement by himself. He was not comfortable with this and kept trying to come upstairs. Brian and I thought we had him convinced to stay downstairs and fall asleep. This is how Macy found him when she came home.

She almost stepped on him which could have been really bad news. If he had moved slightly or rolled it could have sent him tumbling. Needless to say, now when he has to go to bed without Macy in her room someone stays downstairs to watch TV until he falls asleep.