Tyler's 6th Birthday

 Tyler's favorite thing is still backhoes.  This is the 3rd year that he's had a backhoe birthday cake, but this year we added friends and an actual backhoe to the party!!

 Our generous neighbor brought his backhoe to our house and let the kids all ride in the bucket.  He said usually kids stand and wave their arms, but all of the boys at our party wanted to hold Ryan's hand while they were in the bucket.  :)

After they each had a 'ride' in the bucket, they all climbed into the cab and Brother Jacobson showed them how to run the backhoe.  They learned how to turn it on, put it in gear, and how to move both the bucket and the scoop.

 There were 5 kids in the cab with Brother Jacobson, and they were all fascinated!

Even Andrew wanted to make sure he got a chance to get in.  Cutie pie.

It was a lot of fun for all the kids and one that I'm sure Tyler will talk about for a while.

He loves to tell me all about Grandpa Mel's tractor, and I think this will rank up there too.

 We love going to the park now that the weather is warm.  Zac is fearless and will try any slide on his own.  He barely even sits before he throws himself down the chute. 

 I can't believe how fast they are all growing!

Tyler is almost done with Kindergarten and has done great with online school.  He is starting to come out of his shell a bit, but is still pretty shy.  He and Andrew have been playing soccer this spring.  Ryan is coaching their team.

Andrew is doing great!  He still eats almost constantly, and was able to have his feeding tube removed in February.  It's been more than a year since he's had a dilation and has made it through several illnesses without needing his tube.  It was his first winter without any ER visits or hospitalizations!!  He is also learning letters and sounds.  He and Tyler love to watch Wild Krats on PBS kids and tell us animal facts every night at dinner. 

Zac is our most outgoing little boy, and keeps up with his brothers in almost every activity.  He loves to sing.  He knows the tunes for Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star; ABC (which is the same tune, but he makes different sounds); I am a Child of God; and My Heavenly Father Loves Me.   

 Baby Levi is also doing well and is due somewhere around Aug 18.  I am 27 wks along tomorrow.  He is a finger sucker already!!  I've seen him do this in a few ultrasounds.  At this last appointment we could actually see his lips moving and his throat moving when he sucked!!  We are all looking forward to him joining our family. 

(He is laying on his back here.  You can see the profile of his face in the right half of the picture with his hand to his mouth.  His other arm is in the left side of the picture.)

Spring is here!

Well, this will be quick, but at least it's something.

 This is the cute car seat cover I made for my friend.  I really like doing things like this.  I am also making a sun visor and blanket to match.

 For Easter weekend we spent a few days at Bryce Canyon with Ryan's family.  It was a nice little vacation.  We'd like to go back when the kids are old and hike down in the canyon.

 It is a pretty amazing sight.

 The boys got new shades for the trip. 

 They got a pretty good Easter haul.

 We've been working on our home renovations.  We're finally getting to the finishing stages.  The floor is completely in.  The living room is painted (aside from a 2nd coat on a few walls), the couch covers are on, and the chandelier is hung.  I'll post finished pictures eventually.  :)

Zach is growing so fast and tries his best to keep up with his big brothers.  He's cruising the furniture now, so it won't be long before he's walking.  He is such a cute boy.

Andrew had follow-ups with his surgeon and kidney doctor last month and both were pleased with how he's doing. 

I got a little brave and with a little divine forgetfulness we took Andrew off his prevacid.  We've been using aloe vera juice to manage his reflux and he's been doing great!  I suspected for a while that it might be a factor in his difficulty gaining weight, and he's gained almost a pound in the last month.  He's finally growing out of his 2T clothes and size 3 diapers!  Hopefully the trend will continue.  He was 25.5 lb last time he was weighed. 

Tyler is totally into numbers lately.  He counts everything, and sings number songs all day.  He can count to 29.  We're still working on 30's.  He says 20-10, 20-11, 20-12 etc.  In church yesterday he was asking Ryan to write numbers and then he was trying to make his own.  He loves to type letters and numbers into my phone or the computer.  Mostly he sticks to numbers though. 

Ryan is officially hired with Catepillar now!  I'm so proud of him and how hard he works to support our family.  We're relieved that we'll have insurance again, and grateful for the raise he got as well.

I'm starting to read and learn more about homeschooling methods and plans.  It was a reality check when the school called to register for kindergarten and I told them we weren't enrolling.  Ryan and I both feel good about the decision to home school though, so I'm sure that we're going to do it.   I'm actually really excited about it.  One of my favorite things as a mom is watching my kids learn and discover things.  I'm really looking forward to it.  My plan is to start full-on at the same time school starts in the fall. 

I hope I'm not jinxing myself, but I think this is probably the happiest I've ever been.  I have it all.  Heavenly Father has blessed us so much!

Happy Birthday Drewbie!

 It's hard to believe it's been 3 years since Andrew came into our family.

I thought about reminiscing through all that we've been through since then, but decided to just let it rest and love on him.  He is such an amazing little boy.  I love when he lifts his eye brows, tightens his lips and blinks his big brown eyes at me.  I love to hold and cuddle him.  He warms my heart with his smile.

He wanted a train cake for his birthday, so I stretched a little farther than putting a toy train on a cake and came up with this.  Ryan helped me, and it turned out cute.  Andrew loved it! and that's really what mattered most.

Shave and a Haircut

Tyler is such an intelligent boy.  He took all of his bathtub letters and stuck each one on a tile in this pattern.  He was upset that he didn't have enough to complete the square.  He is always making me smile and shake my head.

It's become apparent that he needs more time outside or more guidance in his entertainment.  The boys were playing in their swimsuits (because they were in a kick of playing 'beach') and got the bright idea to try out my razor.  Andrew ended up with razor burn on his back and some nicks on his spine.  The next day as I was reviewing the rule of 'No using Mom's razor', I learned that Drew had also shaved Ty's stomach.  It's very common for swimmers to shave their bodies, but I think they need a few more years.

So they moved on to art projects.  For a few days they would cut and glue paper.  I had tiny pieces of paper all over the kitchen and living room floor, but they were happy and safe so I didn't worry.  The only problem was that we just had one pair of scissors, so when I found kid scissors for 99 cents I bought them.

When we got home from the store the boys went in their room and Ty started playing with Drew's hair.  They had my round brush and a clip and a pick and Drew was a great client holding very still.

Ryan and I sat down to relax and in comes Andrew with a new haircut!!

You can see that most of the top of his head had been cut nearly to the scalp.

 So the next morning I took my smallest lift on my clippers and buzzed the rest.  There are still some low spots, but I can't make myself shave it, so it will have to grow before we fix them. 

Zac has learned how to scoot now and is starting to get into distance scooting.  He eats two meals a day of baby food or small bites of regular food.  He loves food and always wants to be at the table with us during meals, and makes a fuss until we give him a bite.  He got in the habit of waking up twice a night when he was sick a few months ago, so I'm trying to change that now.  Of course, the boys all got coughs and runny noses again, so that may go on hold again.

Ryan is going on his first camp as Scout Master this weekend.  Hopefully they'll all stay warm and have a great time. 

It's a busy life, but we love it.

(Ty's project yesterday.  Don't worry it's a toy.)

 We've tried several times to get a family picture in the last few months.  This is our favorite.

 Andrew has been doing great still.  He still has not had to have a dilation.  At this time last year he was in the hospital recovering from his surgery.  It's now been 8 months since his last dilation!  He did have a little pneumonia in early Dec, but we caught it quickly and so it never gave him too much trouble.  I can't believe he'll be 3 next week! 

We've been working on the alphabet with Ty, but Drew is learning at the same pace (and maybe even faster) than Ty.  They can recognize several letters, and thanks to Leap Frog's "Letter Factory" they know most of the sounds.  I'm starting to help Ty practice writing letters.  Our new routine is that we have story-time and 'learning-time' after breakfast each day.  We all really enjoy it.

 Drew got a new train for Christmas that has rekindled the love of trains in our house.

Ty loves tractors and construction equipment.  He wears one of his three John Deere tractor shirts nearly everyday.  (He was wearing the same one everyday, but he got two new ones for Christmas.

 Zac is getting big so fast.  He's eating baby food now and gobbles it up.  He's a major momma's boy.   

He really likes playing on the floor, although we have to be careful that Andrew doesn't knock him over with all his hugs and kissing.  Zac gets up on his knees easily now.  He does move forward sometimes, but I think we have a few more weeks before he really takes off.  Time to buy a baby gate for the stairs!

Ty and Drew are so creative in their play.  Look carefully and guess what they're doing.

They're playing church!  Notice the ties and belt in the other chairs.  They were pretending to hold song books and singing.  So cute! 

We had a nice holiday season.  It was especially nice to see Skip and Bonnie and finally meet Griffin.  We hope your holidays were merry as well. 

Happy Halloween and Stuff

 My name's Woody.  Howdy, Howdy, Howdy.

 This little boy was a sweet little pirate.  He loved wearing his costume, even though he was still feeling sick. Since then he had another cold, and now has something resembling croup.  He's ok in the day but has a hard time sleeping.  I'm glad that he's well enough to play and eat.

 I often find Ty and Drew on the top bunk playing doctor.  Drew will tell me, "Mom, I have a baby." 

 Another day they both put on boots and used this toy to play "Tractor".  Ty would give Drew rides, just like grandpa Mel does for Ty.  They play together so well. 

 Another recent favorite is using this tote as the cab of construction equipment.  This picture he was just watching a movie.  Most of the time he turns it on end and makes engine noises.

Zac is cute and happy as ever.  He loves to be part of the group.  He and Ty are good buddies, and Ty hauls Zac's chair or saucer to wherever he is.  Ty says, "I think he wants to have breakfast by me."  He is such an easy baby!  He's discovered his voice and jabbers a lot now.  He's very smiley too.

Ryan started his new job at Catepillar last week.  So far it's going really well.  He's liking the work, even though he's been a little sore.  His job with Conoco was not physical, and now that he's lifting and on his feet all day he's having to adjust.   We're also starting to go to bed a lot earlier.  He has to be to work at 6 am!  He's hired through SOS for now, but in a few months they will hire him permanently once he's proved to be a good employee.

I'm doing great.  Things are usually pretty busy, but I love being a mom. 

I raked leaves for 5 hrs yesterday and ended up hurting my arms.  It felt like horrible shin splints on every bone in my left arm.  Seriously, it was so bad I cried like a big ol' baby.  I never knew arms could hurt so badly.  Luckily I have a wonderful husband who pampered me and gave me a blessing.  I'm doing much better today, and am only a little sore.  Amazing. 
New rule:  Unless I have been lifting weights everyday for a month, I am not allowed to rake for more than 2 hours.  Please remind me next fall.  :)

 The boys are great at entertaining Zac!  Tyler has really starting to like helping with Zac and has been asking about picking him up.  I guess we'll see how long it takes before he goes for it himself, or I finally show him how.

 The boys play out back every morning with Gill keeping watch.  Tyler goes out morning, afternoon, and evening some days.  I love having a fenced back yard!

 These deer live in the wash behind our house.  They have been pretty brave and even come close when the boys are playing outside.

 Zac is getting better at using his hands.  He likes to suck on his hands and fingers.

He's a very happy baby.  His favorite toy is this giraffe.  He sweeps with both hands to grab it and then pulls it to his mouth to lick, chew on, or suck on.

Drew has been sick for a few days now.  He has the stomach flu, I think.  For him, every kind of flu lasts 5-6 days and results in him having terrible reflux and not eating or drinking.  He moans a lot usually, but it hasn't been as bad this time.  It's nice now that he's older and he can tell us what's hurting and we can talk him through things a little.  We just try to keep him hydrated and as comfortable as we can.

Ryan and I have been called to teach Sunday School for the 15-18 year olds in our ward.  It's very different than other classes we've taught, but is going well.  I like that it's something we can do together.

The hunt was a success this year and on the last day Ryan got a 3x4 deer. 

Otherwise we have just been up to the usual.  Cook meals, do the laundry, read some stories, teach piano, etc, for me.  Work and the never ending 'honey-do' list for Ryan.  Life is good.