Spring 2014

Lexi was SUPPOSED to be born on 4.14.14. Easy to remember. But no. She is actually 4.15.14.

Anyway....

Life doesn't really slow down with kid #4. Business as usual around here. Baby girl gets dragged all over the place. Put her in her car seat and say, "Well, I hope you catch a nap sometime today. We've got school drop off, preschool drop off, grocery store (since we have NO food), preschool pick up, school pick up, soccer practice, etc etc."

It was around this time that Dillan found his spark. Soccer. He started club. He was finished with everything else. After many seasons of success and learning so much with Coach Edgar, he is moving forward.

My grandmother assured me that #4 had to be easy going. Heavenly Father made her that way.



Cub Scouts

 We're all smitten with this girl. She's scrumptious!

 Last day of school for these two! Both had same teachers 2 years in a row! Mrs Hoadley and Mrs Falciano are amazing.

Look how cute he is in his new club uniform.

And the cousins came out for blueberry picking!

Life is crazy. Crazy good.

Lexi Belle

Turns out, her name HAD to start with an L. That's the pattern, right? Chris and I couldn't agree on anything. Not even her middle name. Did I mention I can't stand naming babies? Especially girls. Who needs that kind of pressure? Eventually I found the name Lexi, and Chris, of course, didn't like it. When she was penciled in as a boy, we agreed on a name fairly quickly. Caleb Charles. Why did it have to be so hard.

Little by little, Chris started to like the name. He'd bring it up random-like. Standing in the kitchen, cooking dinner, he'd come in and say "I kind of like Lexi." This happened more than once, so we started to settle in. Then my aunt told me of a student she had in her PE class who had Lexi A written on her PE clothes and instantly knew it was meant to be. We looked through French dictionaries, books, hymn books, looking for a good french name (word) that would work for a middle name. Chris wanted Belle. That was it. He wasn't hearing anything else. Yes, it took me awhile, but I came around. It's even the title of the hit song from Notre Dame de Paris, which I was okay with.

My new doctor, Dr. Langford, was highly recommended. On my first visit, in January, he read through my history and we talked for what seemed like forever as I recounted the drama and also lack of drama with all my previous pregnancies. He looked like a seasoned doctor who had seen and experienced a lot with bringing babies into the world and after that first visit, I felt so much peace and knowing I and my baby were well taken care of.

Each visit I had an in-depth ultrasound, more in-depth than I had ever had. He checked the baby's heart every visit. Not just a sonogram. He checked it's growth down to the last detail. But he never revealed what IT was! I guess I could have asked? Maybe. It obviously wasn't as much a priority to him. And for me, I was 100% positive BOY or GIRL...I was DONE. My body hated me the whole pregnancy. I was sick. Forever. My skin was itchy. I got hemmorroids right from the start. Acid reflux (that was new). In the middle of the night, I'd wake up choking, not being able to breath with my throat on fire! Leg cramps. I was moody. I was miserable. And I made sure my family knew it. Too bad for them.

In February Chris had apparently had enough. He called me up one day and told him to meet him in Old Town at a small ultrasound boutique. We were going to do it right. We all went down to this small place. I was totally bitter, feeling like it was a waste of money to find out what we already knew. A boy. We were taken to a dark room with a raised bed for mom, a couch for the family, and a large projection screen on a wall by itself. She pulled out the cold slime gel, pulled up my shirt and started. There's the baby. Baby's head. Baby's heart. Going lower. I'll never forget what she said "Ummm, I hope you haven't bought all boy stuff for this baby." Not really, I said, I have stuff leftover from the other boys. "Because this baby is a GIRL!" Wait WHAT? Are you serious? "See the three shapes stacked, we call that the hamburger. Hamburger means girl." Oh my gosh. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked. Best day of pregnancy so far.



We took the kids across the street to a park and plopped down on a bench. Chris was beside himself. He was so excited. This is what he wanted. He would have been happy with a boy, but more than anything he wanted a baby girl. 2 and 2. We felt like we had won the lottery. We felt like celebrating. This was for real and I felt complete joy for this amazing gift. My amazing family.

winter 2014

OK, so far so good, I'm into 2014! I seem to be moving right along with trying to catch up-ish on this blog. Some pictures from Winter 2014.

Drew turns 3!

Drewby turns 3! That's pretty much my best birthday cake ever! Drew is all about Thomas the Train. Thankfully because of the Dillan's collection over the years from Santa and Grandmas, he has tons of engines and tracks! He always wants to watch Thomas on Netflix and can't get enough!
He's sensitive and sweet. Also very intuitive and always thinking and solving. You can see the wheels turning often in his eyes. He likes to be goofy and playful. He is such a special addition to our family. We can't get enough of our Drewby-Doo!

Blue & Gold Dinner

Dillan has been doing great with scouts. He's the ONLY one from our ward that goes. So his den is full of boys who all go to school together and are friends. But he's a trooper and is hanging in there. We brought our contribution for the cake contest for Blue & Gold dinner. We knew boys liked donuts. We were right. This cake was devoured in seconds. It didn't win a prize, but it did get eaten. Most of the fancy ones were untouched! Gold medals all around!

Bowling

Both kids were students of the month! Seriously so proud of these two. They are amazing students, super smart, and learning so much. They teach me everyday and help me become a better person. So grateful.

And finally, it appears I'm about to pop. Back in November, I found out Dr Bianchi was leaving his practice and the state. He did a quick ultrasound to try and figure out the flavor of this baby. He couldn't really see very much, but "penciled in" a boy because he thought he saw "something." I didn't argue because I don't see those things very well anyhow. I knew I was done with being pregnant ever again, boy or girl. This was it. This pregnancy kicked my behind. It's like my body hated me for going through this again. I was sick and uncomfortable A LOT. I had crazy symptoms I'd never had before and was just overwhelmingly miserable!

So for a few months that's what we went with. Finally, in March, Chris couldn't take it anymore and set up an appointment at an ultrasound boutique. He says he just wanted to be 100% sure, but I know deep down he wanted the baby to be a girl. I just wanted to be done with being pregnant. And I was at peace with that. The ultrasound room had a bed, a couch, and a huge projection screen on one wall. I was hooked up and the kids and Chris watched the huge wall. The ultrasound worker said "You haven't bought any boy stuff yet, have you?"

"Uhhhh, no?!"

"Because this baby is a GIRL!"

WHAT?!?!

"I am 100% positive. See the hamburger? That's a GIRL!"

It's like Chris knew. He was thrilled after that. We all were. And we couldn't wait to meet our little girl. Now if only it was easy to come up with a name...

Not my favorite thing: naming babies.

Catch-up!

It's not the best feeling knowing it's been 2 whole years since I've done any writing of our family's story. But I'm determined to catch up and start fresh for next year. I love seeing the books I publish on our bookshelf and have hope that one day someone in my posterity will appreciate them.

December 2013 We loaded up our van with grandma and grandpa and drove across country to Tennessee. I believe it was the worst winter Oklahoma had had in a while. Freezing rain. We saw Chad & Lindsie and then they followed us the rest of the way. It was a week of nutty craziness. Cousins and Christmas taken to the extreme. But as Chad has said: It always just feels right when we're all together. I agree 100%. We had a blast and the drive wasn't really all that terrible. The kids did great. We did discover, however, that my kids are NOT very good on roller skates. I'm not sure why. I tried to help coach them, but they didn't want to listen or something. Still working on that, actually.

gotta love these faces!

they seem so young just 2 years ago!

Just before Christmas Day, we found out the sad news that Papa Bob had passed away. We had spent Thanksgiving in St. George, and while his Alzheimer's was definitely advanced, it seems that it took a huge dive just after. So, we took a detour home to Utah to attend a funeral. Got to meet a bunch of people who called us family and remember a great man who had a positive impact on Chris and especially his mom.

Fall

So sorry blog. I have ignored you. Not on purpose. Honest.
I've been feeling like garbage since late August which means ZERO pictures taken, which means ZERO posts to blog about. That doesn't mean nothing has been going on. It's actually been very busy. So now catching up.

Drew
Loves Disneyland, is usually the only one who wants to go all the time, even though our passes run out SOON! Has shown interest in using the potty. Grandma even bought him some Cars underwear, which he's tried on a couple times. Could possibly be potty training right now, except Mommy's not up to it. Makes messes everywhere, is a pro on our newest Samsung tablet (aka "The Kid's Ipad"), and loves riding scooters.

For Halloween, Drew dressed up as a monkey. At first he wasn't a fan of his costume, but after the Trunk or Treat and chowing down candy, he didn't want to take it off. He still talks about his beloved costume and getting candy. Such a funny guy.

Leah
Leah is off to a stellar start in first grade. She has a great teacher this year (Mrs. Falciano) and has blossomed in her 1/2 combo class. Mommy gets to help out every week in the class and it's been a lot of fun. After he first parent/teacher conference, the only thing she needed to work on was her handwriting. Like the pleaser she is, she worked at it for a short time and improved drastically. Really, it was about taking her time and not rushing through her work. She has also discovered a great love for math and using IXL on the computer.

After her bff moved away, Leah has been busy making new friends. Anytime there is a little girl playing on the playground, she has no problem jumping right in and playing along. She enjoys reading and writing and doing crafts. This fall she didn't have any specific activity to call her own, but she is looking forward to trying gymnastics in January. She is constantly doing handstands, sitting upside down and trying to perfect her cartwheels. Still our little girly girl with a big heart and fun personality.

Dillan

Definitely the busiest of us all this season, Dillan participated in soccer AND flag football. He wanted to try football with his friend Cody. Cody's dad was the coach and we couldn't have asked for a better experience. Dillan instantly loved the game. He got really into football and watching college football with Daddy. His confidence started to pick up when he scored his first touchdown and caught a long pass, earning him the game ball. He told me he was always nervous when the play heavily relied on him carrying or catching the ball. He just needs to believe in himself more! It was his first experience and I know he learned a lot and had a good time. Soccer is definitely his thing. We tried a new league this year, much more challenging for him with more players, a bigger field, referees, offsides, big goals and goalies. He had a very nice coach and enjoyed himself. He misses his old team and his coach. He didn't develop this season as much as I would have liked, which was disappointing. He held back and let the older boys take over. Not really his style. I told him we would work on his kick and he would be unstoppable in the spring. At least, that's our goal. He can go back to Coach Edgar and we'll see if he regains his soccer confidence.

 

Dillan is doing well in 3rd grade. I think it was a big wake-up call for him, especially after a slow 2nd grade year. It is much more intense, but he has an excellent teacher (Mrs. Hoadley). Dillan clings to his competitive nature even in the classroom and is constantly trying to outdo his classmates. He has developed a great love for writing and wrote a few small books, all about various Mario video games.

Dillan has also been loving cub scouts. He loves to go to his den meetings, even though he only goes to church with Cody. He has been making new friends and having lots of fun new experiences. The highlight of the season was when we took him to a BYU football game. It was snowing and cold, but he loved it and we got to see 3 touchdowns happen right in front of where we were sitting.

Daddy
Daddy got a promotion at work (YAY!). He no longer goes to big stores, instead he visits individual dealers. It is more driving covering a greater area (thankfully he got a new car!), but also means weekends off and better finances to take care of our family. He works so hard and never complains.

Mommy
Mommy's the lifeline behind everyone else. It's not always easy and exhausting most of the time. Yes, I am pregnant, due in April. But that's just the icing on the cake. The day that I suspected I might be pregnant was the day I received my new calling from the Bishop. Primary President. Chris was traveling for the next month, it was the hottest most humid it has ever been, and I was in an all-out war with ants in my house!
This pregnancy has been a great test of hope and faith. I haven't told many people, because I'm not sure what the outcome will be. So far everything is perfect. I was horribly sick most of the time, but that has gotten better. It has been one year today since Chelsea was born, and it's been a crazy year.  I know that I have grown a lot, but I am amazed at the amount of growing I still experience. Painful growth too.
But we hang in there!
Thank goodness I have a great group of crazies to keep me sane!
 

Last Days of Summer

The kids were determined to spend the last few weeks of summer doing as little as possible. Some days Dillan would get frustrated if I told him I needed to go to the store because he did NOT want to put clothes on! They played the Wii every morning until finally got...bored. Once the boredom set in, it was Mom who suffered. It was too hot to go outside or do anything. Those days were hard. When Daddy finally got home, we ate dinner and discovered the temp outside was better. Poking around in the garage, the kids rediscovered their bikes. Some little tune-ups, new helmets, and smash! Now they are hooked!

It's a new found freedom that they love. Mom and Dad are now in the market to get bikes of our own.
 A bike riding family!
It's a forgotten dream of mine finally coming true!

Drewby absolutely LOVES his bike. Although there's just one problem-he doesn't pedal. He insists on putting on the helmet and sitting on the bike, waiting for someone to push or pull him.
So once I finally get a bike, I will have to figure out a seat or trailer for him. Or he will have to let me know what works for him.  Now if we can get Leah to ditch the training wheels she doesn't need, we'll be good to roll!

Shaver!

It is such hard work waiting for Shaver Time to roll around. The kids (and parents) had to dig out all sorts of patience to wait for the day to finally come! The days just seemed to drag on until the cousins arrived and we were ON OUR WAY!!!

 

This year Papa came up with the brilliant idea of adopting a cove and dedicating it to Kaley and Tayler. Duh! Why didn't we think of this before? 80 hours of picking up trash, with the Taylors? Piece o cake! The kids didn't even complain. They had fun trying to figure out what some of the stuff was they were finding. Yes, mostly bottle caps and cigarette butts. There were a couple treasures found, too. A turtle-shaped sand toy and a squirt stick!











 We also discovered another hidden treasure in town: Hawaiian Shaved Ice! Perfect after the hot days at the lake, just before dinnertime. Next year: Amazing breakfast crepes!!!










The kids were over excited to be with cousins. They played in the sand, played in the water, rowed the kayaks to "rock island," played frisbee and snacked to their hearts' content! Dillan even braved the tube this year behind the boat and loved it! Drew couldn't wait each morning to get on Papa's boat and go "simmy-simmy!" He's been going through all the pictures and points out Papa's boat almost as much as he points out Baby Gwennie!

It's the best time of the year, we love being with the family and making memories!