Sawyer's blessing...

We had planned to bless Sawyer in church on Sunday, but since Kendyl was sick Saturday night, we ended up blessing him at our home. It actually turned out rather nice and much more personal having the blessing at home with just family and a few close friends.

Sawyer with Mom and Dad.

Steve gave Sawyer a very nice blessing.

Looking handsome on his big day.


We tried to get him to smile, but didn't have any luck.

Brityn loves to hold him and he did smile then, but we didn't quite catch it.

Our family photo with Kendyl in her pajamas. At least she was feeling a little better and we were able to all be here for the blessing.

Thanks to all the family and friends (and the bishop) who changed plans at the last minute to be with us for Sawyer's blessing. We love you!

Jumping fun...

We had family in town for the holiday weekend and Steve came up with a brilliant idea...instead of dragging ourselves and all the kids out for a day of fun, why not rent a jumphouse for the backyard! Again, I say brilliant idea, because the kids played outside the entire day, little ones could take naps in the afternoon, no hunting down bathrooms for potty trainers, and the adults could watch the Olympics without having to compete with the kids.



I've never seen a more happy bunch of kids. They were jumping and sliding from the moment it was set up until they came and picked it up.


Gabrielle probably spent the most time outside.

Ethan having a great time.

Brityn sliding down on her back.

Kendyl had so much fun jumping all day, she ended up getting sick that night! Too much of a good thing, makes this girl sick.

It was Kennedy's birthday on Monday, we hope you had a fun time. Thanks for spending your birthday with us!

Ryder had lots of fun going down the slide all by himself.

Steve couldn't resist going down the slide and jumping too.

Aunt Kaylene couldn't let Steve have all the fun.

And then Grandma went down the slide...

Grandpa Jerry went down the slide...

And Grandpa Herbie succumbed to the peer pressure!

Valentine's...

We started a tradition a couple of years ago with these Valentine mailboxes. We write little "love notes" for each other to say thank you or I love you or anything nice.



The kids love waking up each morning or coming home after school to "check the mail" and are so excited whenever they see their flag up on the mailbox. They are also very disappointed when there is no mail, so we try to write daily. The girls always say our house is filled with love because of all the "love notes"!


This year we made heart-shaped cookie Valentines. Brityn helped me shape the cookies in the heart cookie sheet.

Then we wrapped them and tied each one with some ribbon and a card. They turned out super cute!

We added a little bucket of chocolate candy for their teacher Valentine's.

Good thing Grandpa Jerry was here this week to hold Sawyer so we could make all the Valentine's!

Ryder was our #1 taste-tester--yummy!

Brityn had to taste her hard work too. Both girls had Valentine's parties at school on Friday and came home with almost as much candy as Halloween!

First smiles...

Sawyer has only given us smiles in a sleepy, semi-conscious state, but yesterday he started grinning at us fully awake!



I wish my camera could take a quick succession of pictures, because I felt like I always just missed the shot.

The kids had fun trying to make him smile.



Just so cute!

It's just so good...

Ryder has developed a love for icecream.


Enough said.

Tutu...

We were so fortunate to have Tutu come and stay with us for a couple of weeks right after Grandma left. We are so thankful for wonderful grandmas who came to help!


Sawyer loved all the extra attention and bonding!


It was so nice to have help with the kids, school pick up and drop off, laundry, cleaning, homework, supervision, babysitting so I could run errands, etc. A big thank you to Tutu and Grandma for all the help and also to Papa Jack and Grandpa for letting them stay! We love you!

Addendum to yesterday...

I guess my day wasn't finished yet, because we woke up this morning to pockets of darkness. Some of our lights weren't turning on. At first I thought the light bulb was burned out in the bathroom, but then Brityn came in to tell me she couldn't turn on the light in their bathroom either. Or our closet. Or the laundry room. Oh, and one of the hallway lights.


A friend of ours came over to see if he could discover the problem, but he found no tripped gfi's and no short circuited outlets. So, we called in the electrician who had to open all the wall switches until he found the problem.

Here's the culprit...the hallway light switch...the last one he opened. At least it was an easy fix and it is done--lights are all back on. Did I mention that our phones went dead over the weekend and we had to get someone from the phone company to come fix it on Monday? So far we are 3 for 3 this week for repairman visits...not a record I wish to break!

Reflections on the day...

What a day. I am inspired to document all that has happened today. It just doesn't seem possible that all forces of nature should combine and wreak havoc on one family in one day.


This was my favorite book when I was growing up. Today I feel some sympathy for Alexander.

I am tired. My sweet baby is 4 weeks old. I keep hoping that one of these nights he will magically sleep and I'll wake up the next morning refreshed from a full night's rest. Unfortunately for me, he continues to wake up like clockwork every three hours. It takes me almost an hour to feed, burp, diaper change and get him back to sleep, then I get about 2 hours of sleep before he wakes up again. I think I am functioning on 5 hours of interrupted sleep. My day began in earnest at 7:00am with Brityn telling me Ryder was awake, so I go to his room and get him out of his bed and put him on the potty. This kid is almost potty training himself at 22 months old--he is AWESOME! So I sit in the bathroom and read books and sing songs waiting for him to do his business. Steve is in the shower so I get the girls up and getting ready for school.

Burned toast is never a good sign in the morning, besides the fact that no one will eat it, it takes forever to clear the smell out of the house. I am so thankful my mom is here helping me survive these first few weeks of newborn-dom. She gets the girls breakfast so I can get ready. Sawyer has a doctor's appointment this morning so I need to drop Kendyl off at school before I take him to see the pediatrician.

Everyone is loaded in the car and I turn the key in the ignition only to find I have a dead battery. I unload the kids and run with Kendyl all the way to school so she won't be tardy. Thank goodness my mom is here or I'd have to run with all four kids to school! So I call roadside assistance and they come replace my battery an hour and a half later. Meanwhile I must cancel Sawyer's doctor appointment cause I've got no transportation.

Ryder has a runny nose. I thought maybe he had allergies yesterday because he was sneezing, but today it is worse and he is drooling. I think he is cutting his 2-year molars.

He is very unhappy with me for constantly wiping his nose all day.

Like I said, Ryder is practically potty training himself and with no pressure from us. Last week he started saying poop on the potty so we put him on and he went! And since he is telling us when he needs to go, we are trying to accommodate him by putting him on the potty. So, he is on the potty and somehow got his leg up and tried to push himself up and his leg slipped into the toilet bowl. Of course, he has just done his business so it is not pleasant. I clean him up and put him in the bath.

Now that the car has a new battery, I drive over to school to pick up Kendyl. It is only sprinkling, but as soon as the kids start coming out it starts to downpour and there is even hail! I have to get out of the car to stand by the gate to get Kendyl, of course I have no umbrella, and in those few minutes we are soaked!

Oh, did I mention that Brityn dripped chocolate ice cream on her shirt at lunch? My mom was kind enough to wash her clothes and then let her put them back on. After Kendyl and I get home, we change and make hot chocolate. Brityn manages to spill hot chocolate on the same shirt, same day, (apply shout, wash, repeat).

Now, even in my exhausted, sleep-deprived state, I am sitting at the computer wishing I was in bed, knowing I need to shower, knowing my baby will want to eat again in an hour, so I can remember this "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." I think I need a vacation, but I'd settle for a good nights sleep. ;-) Tomorrow is going to be better.

Happy New Year...

We had planned to spend New Year's Eve in the hospital having a baby, but since Sawyer came early, we all got to celebrate the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 together.

The kids had fun wearing party favors and glow bracelets.

Traditionally, we do a big puzzle on New Year's Eve to pass the time and this year Grandma helped out!

Grandma with Sawyer and Kendyl waiting for midnight.

Brityn was trying really, really hard to stay awake and watch the fireworks. As soon as midnight came, she was finished and went straight for her bed. :)

Kendyl likes to have her picture taken with the fireworks as proof that she stayed awake for the new year.

The next day poor Ryder started throwing up and couldn't stop. By late afternoon, we tried to take him to see the doctor, but ended up in the emergency room so he could be hydrated with an IV.

He did surprisingly well getting the IV and was intrigued by the bandages and not being able to bend his arm. We had great nurses who got the IV in on the first try. After a few hours, he was looking and acting more like himself.

He was very pleased when they came in and offered him a popsicle and let him start drinking juice. Thank goodness Grandma was here to help out! So in the end, Steve was at the hospital with a son, just not the one we planned for.