Egbert Family

Spring portraits

2011-05-11T08:07:00.002-07:00

We had to get some quick spring photos of the kids. We didn't have the time or money to get the super nice ones done this time around, but they turned out ok. Picture day is exhausting with 4 kids!! I'm just happy to have semi good pictures of my cute little monsters!

Josh age 14, Caile age 12, Peyton age 7, and Preston age 20 months

Bravo Caile!

2011-05-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

Caile just finished up her first Middle School play! They did "Music Man Jr." She was cast as a River City Citizen. I was surprised how much of the play she was in! There were very few scenes without her. She worked so hard for it! She spent so many days at the school practicing until 5 pm. Not to mention she was heading to school at 5:45 for soccer practices. I'm just amazed by her will and determination! I'm sad to say that I didn't get much video of the play....since this was "strictly prohibited due to copy right laws". I caught a couple little things of her, but they are shaky and not very good. I sat in a weird spot, so I didn't get good pictures either :( . We have some friends that did get a few pictures of her because they were in the front row. When I get those, I'll post them on here! I wish you all could have been there to see her! She danced and sang her little heart out.....and didn't even seem nervous! I will take some credit for making sure she looked beautiful! I spent an hour and a half, every night of the play, fixing her hair and makeup. Honestly, I enjoyed it! She looked gorgeous, if I may say so myself! I just have to say, those 7th and 8th graders were AMAZING!! They had wonderful voices and played the parts so well. I honestly don't think it could have been much better! Congrats Caile on a job well done! We love you and are sooooo proud of you!

Accomplishments

2011-02-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

Caile made it into the middle school play!! They are doing Music Man this year.  She is VERY excited! She wanted to have a big role, but didn't get the part she wanted. She's in the ensemble as a citizen. She gets to sing and dance, and even has a 2 word solo (haha). She is just happy to be in the play this year. We are excited she made it in, the competition was fierce! We have some great neighbors who do a lot of plays and theater camps in our area. They worked with Caile, along with their own daughter, to prepare her for auditions. I was so glad to have their help! Other than my choir experience, Jared and I don't have acting/music talent. Anyway, Caile did great in the audition and was even on the call back list for one of the main characters....unfortunately the part was given to someone else.  Like I said, the competition was tough. Even Caile's theater friend (who seems to always get the lead) ended up with a citizen part. We are still so proud of her for the hard work she put in just to be in the show! It's going to be fun to watch the play....I can't wait for April! She is still doing indoor soccer right now too. She'll never give up soccer! She's got almost all As at school right now.....that one dang 89% is holding her back! Maybe she'll get it up by the end of the term.

Josh had a Scouts ceremony recently. He earned 3 badges and a pin! He received the rifle shooting badge, the rowing badge, the archery badge, and the snow shoe making pin. We are so proud of him for his accomplishments!  He's been a bit slower at his scouting achievements because of his sports interfering, but he does the best he can. Speaking of sports, Josh just had his last freestyle wrestling tournament a couple weekends ago. He took 6th place, which was good enough to earn him a trophy! He was happy with it. There's some good kids out there, and this is Josh's first year wrestling. Some of those kids have been wrestling since they were 4! It's been interesting watching Josh become so serious about his sports. He even lost 3 lbs to get into a lower weight class for his last competition! He ate grapefruit for breakfast! Grapefruit!! I never thought we'd be trying to get him to lose weight....he's always been such a skinny boy. He just started another season of a different style of wrestling....don't ask me the name of it, I can't remember. He's doing well though, really loving it!

Peyton just finished his first season of wrestling. We only took him to one competition, where he took 4th. He just had a hard time getting serious about it. He loved going most of the time, but had rough days too. It's funny to watch the boys his age wrestle. Either they are super serious, or they are playing.  Then you have at least one kid every day who cries through the entire practice. Peyton has had that kind of day before. He also had a day that he complained that his leg hurt during the whole practice....and it magically got better at the end. Weird. He's still learning. He had such a big group of kids his age to practice with, it made it hard for him to get the one on one attention he really needs.  If Jared wasn't with him, he had a hard time getting the moves right. He has the half nelson down though!  If he wants to, we'll try it again next year. I don't want to push him though.  Peyton is loving school right now!  His teacher loves him. He's reading so well. I don't know when the transition actually happened, but in the last couple months he's just taken off! He reads his books all by himself, and very seldom gets stuck on words.  He's like a little sponge right now and repeats things he hears word for word. He told me all about red blood cells and white blood cells the other day, in detail. I don't think I even knew what that stuff was until high school. He's passing me up in the smarts department!

Little Preston just turned 18 months old! I can't believe it....it's sort of heartbreaking. I can't believe how fast they grow! He's a rowdy boy. He climbs everything and gets into everything! I'm surprised he's survived this long without any major injuries. The constant bruises to the forehead explain a lot though! The doctor said that kids his age constantly have bruises on their foreheads and shins from falling so much.  So he didn't accuse me of beating him haha :) Gosh I love that little Monster! It's like living with the Tasmanian Devil!  His fit throwing and screaming has decreased slightly....maybe ignoring him during these 'episodes' is finally starting to pay off?! I hope so! Preston has always been a little on the small side. I'm not sure if it's the non dairy diet I had to eat while breastfeeding, or if it's the soy milk he's been on since I stopped. He just didn't get all that good fat that Peyton had. He's growing consistently though....even after a month of viral diarrhea! (latest stats: wt-24 lbs-24% ile, ht-31 3/4"-33% ile, head-43 3/4 cm-76% ile...my kids always have big heads!). Poor baby, he had a rough start with all the sicknesses! He's been really good lately though.  No ear infections for a few months. He's had runny noses here and there, but nothing that required a doctor visit. He sleeps pretty well through the night. He still wakes up sometimes, but just long enough for me to lay him back down, tuck him in and rub his back for a minute. I wish he'd sleep in once in a while too, but he's just not that kind of kid, dang it! He's starting to talk more. I was getting kind of worried....maybe because Peyton seemed to talk early. The doc says he's right on though. His most recent words are, "Hi" (he tries to say "hello" when he pretend talks on the phone) and "doggie".  He's copying me more often when I speak, but it's more mimic than actual understanding of the word. I'm excited to see what the next 6 months bring us for this little guy!

My Escape?

2011-02-01T09:13:00.000-08:00

Since the day my first son was born, I've struggled with "alone" time. It's nice to leave the room and have a minute to breathe. It's hard when your kids think you can solve the world's problems, and they can't stand to be without you for more than 2 minutes.

Starting with shower rituals....when Peyton was tiny, I'd take him in the bathroom with me and leave him in his bouncy chair while I did my 30 second shower. I could keep and eye on him, and get out if he needed anything. Little did I know, this phase would not pass. Pretty soon he was either showering with me, or crying outside the door while I showered. When they get a little bit older, there's the knocking on the door, sticking the fingers under the door, and asking muffled questions through the door. These questions are so important that it can't wait 5 minutes for me to come out...no...these are apparently life or death situations that require my attention NOW! Don't forget the tattling. I need to know that so-and-so called another so-and-so a name. This is crucial, and definitely can't wait. So-and-so must be punished now! Not to mention the occasional time that I hadn't locked the door...and the kids felt they had the right to just come on in! I've literally had to get out of the shower to solve some of these critical problems.

Most of my kids are older now, so a lot of the bathroom bugging has calmed (mostly because they are scared of 'Mommy turned Monster' when I'm bothered in the bathroom). I've told them that unless someone is dying, or the house is on fire, they aren't allowed to bother me when I'm in the bathroom! It's sad that taking a shower is my only real "me time", but hey, I take what I can get! It's my escape! One of my friends told me that she keeps a stash of chocolate in the bathroom for her escape time. I might need to try that one! For the most part though, I've got those kids trained!

Except....I was reminded today, what having a child 5 1/2 years after your previous child does to your "me time". The crying and knocking on the door obviously wasn't working, so next thing I know, the fingers show up under the door! I opened the door and Preston was crouched down, trying to see underneath it. He wants to know what I'm doing in there! How dare I leave the room without him! And so it begins again.....

Why don't people know how to use 4 way stops?!

2011-01-31T14:48:00.000-08:00

4 way stops aren't that complicated, are they?

I do know that they give me anxiety.

Every morning, while taking my son to school, I come across a 4 way stop. It's a pretty simple concept. Whoever stops first, goes first.

The problem? Nobody pays attention to who stops first.

The people who stopped last want to go first and cut you off. The people who stopped first wave you to go ahead of them.

I JUST DON'T GET IT! It's not hard to know if you stopped before or after someone!

I get some sort of road rage when everyone is sitting at their stop sign, and nobody is moving.

I'm scared to just go, because some other crazy person might just take me out. Sometimes when I'm coming to a 4 way stop, I purposely slow down to let the other person stop first. I figure this way, they know they stopped first. It's not a race for me. Yet, somehow, they don't know that they stopped first!

And God forbid we stop at the same time....that look of complete confusion will spread across their face. I try to avoid this completely. Nobody seems to remember that the person on the right goes first in this situation.

So, I slow.....stop a few seconds after the first car stops, a couple seconds later a 3rd car stops, then the 4th. The first car is still sitting there.....waving for me to go, when out of nowhere the 3rd car goes.

What is wrong with people? It's weird how smart people can become complete morons at a 4 way stop!

Does Utah not require driving school and passing tests to get a license? Is it like this in every state?!

The 4 way stop is not that complicated!! Pay attention people!

Deep breath Catrina, deep breath.........sigh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:4waystop.jpg

In case you were wondering where on Earth I get my information, I provided a link! (for those who could use some studying) :)

Crib Escape Artist

2011-01-31T11:22:00.000-08:00

Preston just climbed out of his crib....not gracefully I might add. I hear a loud Preston scream coming from the bedroom....then a thunk, and a cry. I ran up the stairs and meet Preston at the door to the bedroom, where he should not have been!

I can picture the scene in my head. Little Preston figures out a way to pull himself to the top of the rail. Then he's scared and can't get down! The screaming begins, then the fall to the floor. Then he comes to the door crying to find Mommy.

I opened the door and there's my little boy, holding his head and crying. There's no bump or even redness that I can see. Good thing little boys are so sturdy and resilient! We walked and cuddled until he went to sleep. I put him back in the crib....but now I'm not sure how safe that is! We're gonna have to figure this one out. He's not even 18 months old yet, I don't think he's ready for a big boy bed!

I've got a smart little monster on my hands :)

Any suggestions and/or funny stories of your own would make me feel better!

A fine day

2011-01-30T12:34:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I'm ok with being a working Mom, and other times I feel guilty about it.

Saturday Jared took Josh to a wrestling tournament. It was an hour and a half drive time to the tournament, and going to be an all day event. I worked Friday night and needed to sleep Saturday. Jared asked if I'd be ok with Caile babysitting while I slept. Of course I didn't feel this was a great idea. Caile, as great as she is with Peyton, is not a baby person! She doesn't like baby drool. The couple times she's changed Preston's diaper....she put it on backwards! I laugh because it's much harder to put on backward than the correct way....but whatever. She's not very patient with him, and I just knew that if she was home with him, I'd be awake every few minutes listening to him cry. Let's face it, he's not an easy baby! Anyway, Jared decided he could take Caile and the baby with him to the tournament. That way she could watch him, but Jared would be there to help if she needed it....and it wouldn't keep me awake. But that left my little Peyton. It wouldn't be fun for him to hang out at the tournament, and Jared would be so involved with Josh that Peyton would be on his own. Caile can't be responsible for the baby and Peyton at a place like that. So, Peyton stayed home with me. He's so good about it, and really a good kid. It doesn't take much to occupy him. He played his Nintendo DSi and the Xbox a little. Really all I did was feed him breakfast and lunch and he was good. The doors stay locked, and my bedroom door stays open so I can hear what's going on. Like every mother knows, it's time to get worried when it gets quiet. At around 1 in the afternoon, the house was extremely quiet, and I woke from a dead sleep to whispering in the hallway. I jumped out of bed and asked Peyton who he was talking to, turned out it was himself. He was playing with toys and trying to be quiet. During my brief awake period, we could hear some of the neighbor kids outside playing. Even though it's winter, it was a gorgeous day, very sunny. All Peyton said was, "It sure seems like a fine day to play with friends." First of all, that cracked me up! A little mature statement for my 7 year old. Then it just about broke my heart! He wasn't whining, just letting me be aware of the inconvenience my work puts on him. He knew he couldn't go play because I needed to sleep, and was being a good sport about it.....but he's 7! He doesn't want to sit inside all day with his sleeping Mother.

I am proud of my kids for the things they have to deal with, having a working Mom and Dad. We do our best to make things good for them. Sometimes it doesn't feel like enough....but they could have it worse. At least I'm only gone on the weekends :)

Puppy Love

2011-01-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

Peyton has had this cute little friend at school for the past couple years. Her name is Katie. They play together really well. She comes over for play dates, and he goes to her house sometimes. In Kindergarten, they used to come out of school holding hands. Peyton even declared a couple times that he was going to marry Katie, "because she's cute." I've told him that now is not the time to worry about getting married, so they can be just friends. He still insists that she's his girlfriend. While we were in CA over Christmas break, Peyton was asked about his girlfriend by the family.

Family: "So, Peyton, do you have a girlfriend?"
Peyton: "Yes"
Family: "What's her name?"
Peyton: "Katie"
Family: "What does she look like?"
Peyton: "Well, sometimes she wears 2 bows in her hair."

He notices the bows in her hair! Awwww Puppy Love!

"Uh"

2010-12-16T08:47:00.000-08:00

Preston has his own language. He sometimes says something that sounds like "oodie goodie" or "oydie goydie", I still can't figure out what that one means. Then he'll say, "wassat" which I think means, "what's that?" The problem is, he also says, "is at is" while pointing, which I also think means "what is that?" He understands more words that he'll actually try to say. He'll point to the light when I ask him where it is. He'll point to his belly button, and he'll go get his "ba ba" if I ask him to. The thing is, his favorite word right now is "uh", sort of the cavemanish "UHH". He points and shows me things that all have that same pronunciation in his vocabulary, yet he expects me to be able to translate. For example, yesterday morning Preston brought me one of his snow boots. He said, "uh" and handed it to me. I thought, "ok, he wants me to see this boot." I told Preston, "thank you" and put the boot down. He cried, grabbed the boot and handed it back to me with another "uh". I told him "thank you" again and handed him back the boot. He was getting angry at this point and said, "uh" very forcefully, handed me the boot, then stood on his tippy toes. I picked him up and put him on my lap. He grabbed the boot and gave it to me again. That's when I realized that "uh" actually means, "I want you to put this boot on my foot woman!!" I put the boot on his little foot and he limped around happily, until he came across the other boot and wanted it on too. I understood the language better the second time around....maybe I'll become fluent in Prestonese.

Wow....that was fun

2010-11-30T19:35:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving. A time to be Thankful. A time to be grateful for the things we have in life, to cherish our family. My Thanksgiving was a bit more....well let's just say stressful. The Hubster took a couple extra days off of work. I was so excited to actually spend some time with him and my kids. Generally the Hubster works all week, and I work weekends. This makes for a tough family life, since we hardly ever see each other. So, Wednesday, aka Thanksgiving Eve, we were all hanging out at home, as a family. The Hubster planned an actual date for he and I. We were going to see Harry Potter....yes the "nude scene" one. I had to get a few last minute things from the store first. I got in the car, started backing down the driveway, and BAM. I hit our other car in the driveway. First of all, I forgot it was there...I'm used to backing out, without the Hubster's car blocking the driveway. Also, it was dark, so I seriously couldn't see it. I know, I know....excuses. I pulled forward and assessed the damage. We will need a new panel above the left front tire and a new side view mirror. I get back in the car, straighten out as much as I can and begin to back out again.....and Bump. Imagine that, I hit the dang car again!! Basically in the same spot. No extra damage occurred, but I wanted to cry. I pulled forward, jumped out of the car and handed the keys to the Hubster. All I could think was, "how are we suppose to pay for this and manage Christmas at the same time?" Just like everyone else, we struggle a little in this economy. I sat pretty much silent for the next few hours until it was time to go to the movie. I almost didn't go, but the Hubster forced me.....he already paid for the tickets. So, we get to the movie theater. I'm walking head down with my hands in my pockets. It was COLD! I step over a curb and get whacked in the head with a tree branch. My hair is caught in the branch. Seriously? Like my day hasn't been bad enough! I ripped my hair out of the branch and broke down crying, in the middle of the theater parking lot. I know, funny right?! Can you imagine how that must have looked? I have some serious anxiety issues apparently.

Although I didn't feel any better about our situation, Thanksgiving was a little better. Considering it was our oldest son's birthday as well, I had to snap out of it, right? I got up early to make a birthday breakfast. When the Hubster got out of bed, I tried to take a nap. It didn't really work since our 15 month old....who was suppose to be taking a nap.....kept playing in the crib. I rallied and helped the Hubster with dinner. We had a good dinner and spent the evening with some neighbors. Our oldest son seemed to have a good birthday. Pumpkin pie was his cake of choice this year. It was interesting to say the least.

I'm still trying to snap out of the looming depression that is hanging over me. My mom used to get depressed every year around Thanksgiving and Christmas time......oh Lord, please tell me I'm not turning into my Mother!

Ultimately, I'm thankful for my family. I'm thankful for the things I do have in life. But, I'm entitled to feel sorry for myself once in a while, right?

Climbing!

2010-10-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

The other day Preston pushed the bench from our table over to the counter. I didn't think much of it....he's not big enough to climb onto the bench....so I wasn't paying super close attention. The next time I looked over, Preston was standing on the bench, getting a drink of water from a cup on the counter! Startled, I ran over to get him down. I then realized what my smart little boy did. He pushed the bench over to the new box of diapers I just bought. He got onto the diaper box, then onto the bench, where of course he could stand up and get the drink he wanted so badly! This wouldn't be so odd if he were a little bigger, but he's only 13 months old! Most children are barely learning how to walk.....yet he's getting drinks from the top of the counter. I'm soooo in trouble with this little one!! I wish I had a picture....but in my panic, it didn't cross my mind to grab the camera.....

Pictures are here!!

2010-09-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

We FINALLY had some pictures taken of the kids! Preston has NEVER had professional pictures in his life.....so at a year old, it had to be done! We decided to go ahead and have all of the kids photographed, instead of paying for the dorky pictures that they take at the school every year. We always pay way too much for one pose that we usually don't like! Anyway, I think they all turned out wonderful! I can't wait to hang these in my home!!

Barf Vader

2010-09-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

Only a big nerd would buy this shirt for his son...but I have to admit, it's kinda cute!

Preston is one!

2010-09-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

It's so incredible how fast a year can go by. Even with the cranky days, not much sleep, milk allergies, and multiple ear infections, it all went too fast! From his tiny 6 lbs 9 oz to a whopping 21 lbs. Through all the stages of rolling over, crawling, walking, running, spinning in circles and dancing. Screaming and crying every time we put him in his car seat to sometimes enjoying the ride....and bopping his head up in down to the music in the car. In just one measly year, my little Preston went from an infant who needed even the most basic of things done for him, to a child who likes his independence, gets into everything, throws huge temper tantrums, and gives hugs and kisses.

Some of his other recent qualities/accomplishments:

He's a biter...but we are working on that!

He's not talking alot, but he babbles like crazy and tries to mimic what we say, even if it means nothing to him.

So far he's doing well with the words "Dada" (of course), "Mama" (only on rare occasions, when he's screaming and mad), "Bye Bye" (which sounds more like "Die Die" and he waves when he says it!), "Yay", and "Uh oh".

Jared got his daddy's boy. Preston lights up every time Jared walks into the room, and cries every time he walks out.

He likes to put everything in his mouth.......still.

He's learning to climb......recently he climbed onto a bench seat and got himself a drink of some body's water from on top of the counter. (talk about scaring me to death!) Just want to send a big sarcastic "thank you" to the darn "walking early gene".

Recently found his belly button....and now points to it when we ask, "where's your button?"

He gets into his swing and on his little four wheeler all by

himself.

He's cutting 4 new teeth right now.....the 2 teeth next to his front to teeth, and two molars in the back on top. Poor baby!

He's such a good eater! Will try anything...but prefers to eat from other peoples plate instead of his own.

Loves his all of his siblings and wants them to hold him all of the time. He likes to sit on their laps if they are sitting on the floor.

He is fascinated by his big brother Peyton.....those two play together surprisingly well....considering there is a 5 1/2 year gap between them. Preston lights up when he sees Peyton and runs to give him hugs....it's super adorable! It's like he just knows its his big bro.

Mommy, Peyton and Preston 8/17/10. Preston's actual birthday, but he was sick :(

Preston just got over a horrible sickness called herpangina....basically like hand, foot and mouth disease. Poor little babe! We don't know where he caught it, but was running a fever for a few days. I thought he had another ear infection, but when we took him to the doctor, we found out that he had really bad ulcers in his mouth! No wonder he wouldn't eat! For the next few days, Preston ran a super high fever. I couldn't get him below 100 degrees even with medicine for a couple days....and his fevers would run as high as 103. The hard part was, there was nothing else I could do for him, we just had to wait it out. Finally after about 10 days, it went away. We put off getting his year old pictures because of it (pictures to come). We put his birthday party off because of another darn ear infection.

We had a great Birthday party a week after his birthday, with just our little family and a couple neighbors we invited over....last minute. We invited family but knew they wouldn't make it because of distance. It was fun anyway....Preston loved digging into the cake! He opened all of his cute gifts! Thanks to Grandma Egbert for sending the cute outfits and books for Preston....he loves those books!! We got him a cool little four wheeler....that he LOVES! He got a couple other small toys like a telephone, a dancing cow, some stacking rings, etc. All of those things that seem really boring to us, but babies seem to love! Oh, he also got a leap frog dog that talks to him and sings, it's pretty darn cute!

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Bedroom Talk

2010-09-16T11:15:00.000-07:00

This conversation happened in bed last night

Me: (to Jared) "I'm really glad you are home tonight, so I don't freak myself out. If a boogie man comes to get me, you'll just beat him up!"

Jared: "Yep....unless the boogie man has a gun."

Haha! My hero!

Caile is 12!

2010-09-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

This year was Caile's "family birthday". We only do a big party every other year for each child. It's a lot of work, and a lot of money to throw a party! We could spend that money on better gifts, or just save money for a change! Anyway, it was Caile's family party. It was small and fun! Just us, visiting, enjoying cake, eating our favorite dinner, and playing on the slip and slide. We were able to take some of that money we would have spent on a party and do some cool things for Caile this year! We gave her a surprise new bedroom! This was only possible because we decided to give her Josh's old bedroom. Josh had to suffer with "girly" decor for a couple weeks or so. It was so hard to get everything put together without Caile knowing! We managed it though. We didn't spend a ton of money either! It did cost us, but we were pretty thrifty. Caile's bed, desk, and chair were ksl.com finds....so we got some awesome deals! Everything else was either things we already had, walmart finds or cheap internet finds. It took a lot of work for me....I had to do a lot of painting myself, but it did save us some money. The end result was amazing though....and Caile more than loved her room! She was so funny to watch. She kept saying, "I love my room! I just can't get over it!" It was a great to see her so happy! I would go through all that work again, just to see that look on her face!

Caile getting ready to blow out the candles. I thought we had candles at home so I didn't buy any. When I could not find our candles, we had to improvise....with candles from the house. Caile thought it was "cool

Caile's new bedroom. She got a new bed, bedding, desk, desk chair, new paint and wall hangings! She was super excited!

Enjoying the warm day on the slip and slide!

Preston's first experience with sliding! Dad gave him a good push and he loved it!

Just had to share Preston's first time running through the sprinklers! He's such a little ham!

July Celebrations

2010-07-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

A normal 4th of July! Lots of fun, lots of fireworks, lots of watermelon and BBQ! What else could you ask for?

Family Updates

2010-06-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

So, I've been preoccupied with being a Mom to a new little one. Sometimes I forget to mention all the great things that have been happening otherwise. We've been extremely busy, as usual. I'm a bit upset right now because our video camera is missing. I believe it must have been in the diaper bag that was lost during Pony Express Days. Jared took it to the parade, and it hasn't been seen since! Luckily most of my videos were already downloaded on my computer. I'm still missing some from Peyton's kindergarten program and Caile's choir concert. There were a few cute pictures I took of Peyton with his kindergarten teacher and some of his friends from school. All gone. I guess I can pray that it turns up, but I won't count on it.

Jared has been amazing as usual! He's continuing to work 2 jobs, is coaching Caile's soccer team, and is assisting with the scouts when he can. He's also playing on a soccer team himself. He likes to tell me that he's not the "oldest" person on the team...."there is one guy older". It's been a lot of fun for him. A bunch of out of shape guys running around the field...haha...it's good for them! It doesn't leave much time for anything else! Sometimes he has so much on his plate that it's hard to get everything done....but he always has the best intentions.

Josh has struggled a little this year. Problems with his ADHD has made things difficult. We started him on some new medication and he's in counseling again. I think it's helping some. He can be such a good kid, he just has a lot of struggles that most of us have difficulty understanding. He's wonderful with his baby brother. Always willing to help if we need him to. He gained some privileges back after being in trouble most of the school year. So, he's been excited to spend time with friends this summer. He's been even more excited to have his Xbox back! He's going to scout camp next week, and can't wait to go. School was a bit of trouble this year, but he managed to get his grades up before the end of the year. He also did really well in band! He started with the flute, the changed to the clarinet the following semester. He does great! Very musically inclined. He's looking forward to football tryouts. Football has been a good outlet for him, so hopefully he'll be on a good team this year! Josh is a wonderful artist and loves to draw. I'm really amazed at his talents!

Caile has had a great year. She's been on a competitive soccer team all year! They play indoors during the winter months and have just recently started playing outside again. She absolutely loves it! She's a defender, and is really good at it. Jared coaches the defense on the team, so we know her coach is good :) ! Her team had a really good season and made it to the playoffs. She's a very well rounded child, or at least tries to be. She has been in choir all year, loves to sing. She's also in a theater day camp all week this week. Her best friend's parents are running the camp, so we had an in! Caile is also a wonderful artist. She loves to draw and write stories. She did well in school, with a little help from a math tutor :). She's growing up too fast....and is becoming a beautiful young woman!

Peyton Peyton Peyton. He's had some ups and downs this year. We all know that he's an adorable beautiful boy. He's so loving and compassionate. He can be a little overly sensitive and emotional....which has it's good a bad sides to it! He's not the kind of kid to sit still for too long....which becomes a problem in the classroom. His teacher was so wonderful and worked so well with him though. He had a great Kindergarten year...after a rocky start. He's learning how to be a big brother, which he's done really well with! He loves his baby brother and tries to be involved with everything that is going on with him. Sometimes he tries to help too much! I think it's also been a bit of a struggle for him. He's not the baby anymore, and that's a hard thing to give up. He still fights for attention. I try to show him I love him just as much as I did before. He's just a Mama's boy and is learning to deal.

Preston is more of a Daddy's boy. He just lights up when Daddy comes in the room! I love how animated this little boy is. He just has this amazing awareness in his eyes all the time. I can tell he's going to be extremely bright, and a handful! He already throws temper tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants. There's no tricking him either. Way too intelligent for the redirecting trick. He cries so hard sometimes that he doesn't take a breath, and starts turning blue. Then he does his big gasp for air and is fine. It's usually over something silly like taking a Lego away from him that he was trying to eat, or closing a door to a room that I don't want him to go into. Oh, the thing that makes him the most angry is blocking the stairs off so he can't climb them. This can't be a learned behavior at 9 months old.....it's definitely personality! It's gonna be fun to figure out this one :). He can be a very happy baby though. He laughs a lot, smiles a lot. He likes to dance and is walking! He just recently started walking a ton! All the way across the room. He will even hold things in his hands and walk at the same time. So cute! I've even seen him turn in a circle and go the opposite way! He also just barely started standing up in the middle of the floor instead of crawling somewhere to pull himself up. I knew it wouldn't take him long to get the hang of it. Smart boy. He's sleeping a little better. Only waking up twice a night usually. It's much much better! I can't believe how blond his hair has turned, and his little eyes are still blue as ever! He still just has his 4 little teeth but is starting to cut some more further in the back. He's been such a wonderful new part to our family.

I'm doing about the same. It's been a bit rough working every weekend, but a necessary thing. I'm looking forward to having some weekends off in the near future...so maybe I can spend some time with my whole family. I don't think I've had more than 4 hours of sleep in a row in the last year or so. I think I'm still adjusting to living so far from my family. It's really good in some ways, but it would be nice to hang out with my sister now and then. Or have my Mom near by to help out with the kids once in a while. I have made some great friends out here, and have some good neighbors....with the exception of a few HORRIBLE ones. I'm enjoying my life and know that the best is yet to come. I'm trying to enjoy the journey!

Some new videos of my baby walking and dancing...I'm such a proud Mama!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tw6Ln1AH4Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aprmDSrFTr8

Cute....had to blog it :)

2010-06-01T21:09:00.001-07:00

While tucking Peyton in bed tonight he said, "I'm as tight as a bug in a buckle!" I said, "Yes, your are as snug as a bug in a rug!" He's so funny. He got a little closer the second time he said it :).

Kindergarten Program

2010-05-19T13:29:00.001-07:00

Peyton's K program was this morning! It was incredibly adorable! Since our camera was lost after the program, I no longer have a video. I do want to share some little memories of what I can remember though. All of the little kids were in their best dress. Peyton wore what he considers his "Michael Jackson" outfit. It's basically black slacks, red shirt, black tie, and a red and black vest. He looked pretty darn handsome in it!! One of the songs they sang for the program was "What a Wonderful World". They did little hand motions and everything! The most darling thing I've ever seen! Peyton of course is a wiggle worm, so sometimes he was paying attention to the song, and actually singing. Other times he was moving his mouth and looking around at everyone else!! They did a song that I don't remember well, but they all wore top hats. They would take them off for certain parts of the song and were suppose to put it back on during certain parts. Peyton thought it would be cool to spin the hat before putting it on top of his head....so he was always the last child to get it there! They did a song with the ABCs and all of them had a speaking part. Peyton's was, "R is for Reading stories, especially those we love so dear." He said it so fast, I don't know if anyone understood it....but I was such a proud Mama anyway! There was another song about how good parents are.....it was a sticky sweet song, and I loved every minute of it! I'm so bummed that our camera is missing! I got some cute pictures of Peyton with his friends, and his teacher....and they are just gone. At least I still have the memory!

So, after I put up this post, I found a couple pictures I took of Peyton in the morning before I sent him off to school on his program day! I was so happy that I at least had these!! He's such a handsome little man!

I took this upclose shot because I was trying to show his two lost bottom teeth. Pretty much immediately after he lost them, the adult teeth started growing in!

9 months

2010-05-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

Preston is a big 9 month old now! He's not walking on his own completely yet. He lets go and stands in the middle of the floor for long periods of time, but has only ever taken the one step that he did on video. He is able to go from standing to sitting without hanging on. He also attempted to stand up from a sitting position, but didn't quite make it! The only thing that he "says" with meaning behind it is the "yay" pronounced "aaaa". He mumbles lots of things and has said mama, dada, and baba for a long time, but they don't seem to mean anything. He doesn't seem to associate his bottle with baba, or me with mama, or Jared with dada. Right now it's just noises. I'm sure it will all have meaning soon! He is in this phase of biting. He's always had a thing with putting everything in his mouth, but ever since he got those little teeth, he bites! He bites hard too!! He's taken bites out of things that I wouldn't have thought about, like the handle on the stroller. It's just rubbery foam stuff, but he took chunks out of it! When he leans over onto my shoulder, he always bites down, then pulls back...OUCH! He's in a sort of tantrum phase. He gets super angry when we take things away from him. He hates to be held in any fashion that may put him to sleep. He cries so hard that it catches his breath. He actually didn't breath very quickly once, and started getting that blue tinge color to his lips....then he gasped for air and continued to cry. I told Jared that we are in soooooo much trouble when he's 3! Yikes. He's still not sleeping well....and has been even worse recently. He's had a bit of a cold, so maybe that's why. I'm also wondering if he's starting to teeth again. Some nights he's awake every 30 minutes-hour, just crying. It almost seems like he's in pain. He doesn't want to eat, doesn't want to sleep, there is no position good enough for him. All he wants is for you to get up and walk him around. I've given him Tylenol and Motrin at night, without a big change in his behavior. He's not usually like this during the day either....which makes me wonder. Anyway, hopefully he'll get out of this stage quickly! His cute little smile, the way he bobs his body and head up and down to the sound of music, and his laughter make it all worth it! The cutest thing ever happened the other day. Peyton was pushing his ship around the floor and the baby was following him, so Peyton gave the baby a piece of his ship (basically a smaller boat). The baby put the boat on the ground and was pushing it behind Peyton and the big ship! So cute, I wish I had a picture! It's just amazing how he wants to play with his big brother, and is imitating him already! Anyway, moral of the story....the baby is beautiful and sweet and naughty all rolled into one.....and me, well I'm in love and exhausted!!!

Preston in his "little brother" shirt. He's such a big boy now!

Peyton in his "big brother" shirt, and Preston in his "little brother" shirt. They were so cute, but this was the best picture I got of them together...

Preston ate his food....then fell asleep in his high chair. He's normally hard to get to sleep, so this is a rare occurrence!

Preston is learning to play, and loves attacking his big brother! Peyton thinks it's funny and just lets the baby tackle him. It's really fun to watch them play together!!

Conversations with a 6 year old

2010-05-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

I've had a couple of funny conversations with Peyton in the last few days that I wanted to share. These are the kind of conversations that I have often with my son. I don't always have the mind to write them down, but I came to the realization the other day, that these kind of conversations won't last. I just want something to look back on, and laugh at, and share with him when he is grown...and has kids of his own! These are just some misunderstandings/misinterpretations of words.

On the way home from school....

Me: "What did you do at school today buddy?"
Peyton: "Well, I had to go shopping."
Me: "Really? Shopping?"
Peyton: "Yep, that's what they called it."
Me: "Well, what did you do? Did you buy stuff?"
Peyton: "No, I wrote stories and stuff."
Me: "Oh! Did you go to a workshop?"
Peyton: "Oh yeah, I think that's right."

At home......

Peyton: "Mom, I need a ear cleaner to get the food out of my ear."
Me: "What?"
Peyton: "I need to get the food out of my ear."
Me: "You don't have food in your ear buddy."
Peyton: "Yes, remember? The Dr. said I have food in my ear."
Me: "Oh, you mean fluid! The Dr. said you have fluid in your ear."
Peyton: "Oh."

First Steps!

2010-05-10T22:07:00.001-07:00

Preston took his first step today! It was a small step, but he did it! What luck to catch it on camera! Excuse the filming....it was done by my 6 year old. You can hear Peyton in the background...he was just as excited as me! What a good big brother! I can't believe my little booger Preston is almost walking. Not even 9 months yet!!

baby talk....and walk?

2010-05-07T23:13:00.000-07:00

Preston has started balancing on his feet....without holding onto anything! He only lasts about 5 seconds at a time. He thinks it's really funny that he isn't holding onto anything, so he laughs, then falls down. So cute. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but he's a stair climber! He will scale our entire flight of stairs in no time. It didn't take him long to learn it either, just a few falls, and he's got it down! He's starting to mimic a little bit. I started saying "Yay!" every time he would clap his hands together. Now he thinks it's pretty cool, so he claps his hands and says something like "aaaaaaaa" TOO CUTE! I love it!!!

This is a video of Preston clapping his hands! I love it!! (Just so you know, I'm not very video savvy....I don't know how to edit, so you are stuck with a big long video. You will get bored with the clapping after about 5 seconds....but this lasts way longer than that! You really don't have to watch it all....nothing spectacular happens at the end!)

Fish, Fish, Fish and Penguins!

2010-04-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

We had a little family trip to the Aquarium the other day. We had so much fun!! We met some friends of ours there....and just enjoyed spending time looking at fish, sharks, and the cool little penguins! Peyton LOVED it! He especially enjoyed the sharks, jelly fish and manta rays! Josh and Caile had just as much fun, they just aren't as animated about it!! Preston actually thought some of the fish were pretty fun! He was trying to grab them through the glass. It was so funny to watch him not understand that he can't reach through the clear glass! It was our second trip for the summer....and it was just as fun as the first time! I'm glad we have such a cool place so close to us!

My friend Becky and her family met us at the aquarium! This is her husband and two adorable kiddos....

Becky and little Casey! I love this picture of them!!

Becky stole my baby from me part of the time....I was just helping her get her baby fix!

Preston is trying to grab the fish through the glass....just can't understand why he can't pick them up!

Cool fish!

The jellies....one of Peyton's favorites!!

Peyton petting the Manta rays....they put there wings up the side of the wall so you can get them easier! It was sooo cool!

And finally the penguins!! This was the best picture I could get unfortunately. They were so cute!!

Wreckage

2010-04-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

Car accidents. I've always been afraid of them....but hadn't had one since I was like 20. My very first accident was horrible. I was riding in a car with a friend. I was sleeping and she was driving. We were probably a mile from her house when we wrecked. She fell asleep and veered off the road. She popped her eyes open, tried to get the car under control, but obviously didn't. The next thing I know, we went off the side of the road, hit a fence and started flipping. I remember something hitting my head, then everything was just black. I couldn't hear anything, but I could feel myself flipping around even though I couldn't feel pain. Finally, after what seemed like a few minutes, we stopped moving. The whole accident was probably 20 seconds, but it was in slow motion for me. The next think I know, I heard my friend saying my name. It took a second for me to be able to respond to her. We crawled out of the vehicle....on the side that the door would open on and searched to find our way back to the road. It was late, or I guess early in the morning, pitch black on a road with no lights. We'd wrecked into a field and I had no idea where we were because I'd been sleeping just before we crashed. We found a barb wire fence that we had to climb over to get to the road. Just after we found the road, a man came to investigate the noise he heard, and called the police for us. We were fine, miraculously. We had some serious bumps and bruises, I could count 5 large bumps on my head, my hand was cut and bleeding, and I had some nasty bruises the size of grapefruits on each of my thighs (likely from the air bag). Of course some severe whiplash that took a while to heal as well. But for the most part, both of us were fine. See, I was never a big seat belt person. I knew that they could save your life in an accident, but I was young and invincible....never thought I could die. My friend was the same way....neither of us wore our seat belts on the way to our friends house that evening. On the way home, it was late, and I was soooo tired. I decided to put my seat belt on so that I could lean my head against it, sort of like a pillow. When my friend saw me put mine on, she put hers on and said, "I guess I'll wear mine too." I keep thinking there must have been some divine intervention there. If we weren't wearing our seat belts, we would have been thrown from the vehicle, and likely be dead. The cop that showed up to the scene said that we hit the fence head on, causing us to flip, end over end 3 times. The car was incredible to look at....and even more incredible that we walked away from it. My hair was stuck in "oh shit" handle above the door, that section of the car was crunched down.....so I knew what hit my head on one of our first flips.

Recently, my children and I were driving on Main Street in Lehi. We came to an abrupt stop at a light when the person in front of me slammed on their breaks. We were able to stop fine, though quickly....then the sound that gives me nightmares happened. The squeal of tires. I could hear it, but couldn't see where it was coming from. I had that "OH NO" feeling just before the back of my van was slammed into. Immediately my kids were crying. My poor baby screamed louder than I've ever heard him scream. I could see Caile out of the corner of my eye. She had that freaked out look on her face. I immediately pulled my car to the side of the road, and could see the truck behind me follow me over. I looked back to make sure Peyton was okay. He was crying. He was the closest to the back, so he got most of the impact. He said that he heard his neck pop. But he felt OK. A poor 19 year old kid gets out of his truck to see if we're OK. I've got 3 kids in the back crying and I tell him to call for help. Of course, then it's my turn to panic a little. We were all OK, but had some whiplash. I just don't think there can be a car accident without a little pain, and being scared to death! This was not my worst car accident, but this one had my kids involved! I am a little bit scared to drive. I'm scared every time I have to stop quickly that someone is going to slam into the back of me. I am just thankful that again, everyone was OK. Even though we have a ruined van, my family is OK. We are truly blessed.

Our car had $5000 of damage to the back end. Thank goodness for seat belts and insurance!! I'll post some pictures if I can get them off of my husbands phone.....

Sleep Paralysis

2010-04-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli (1781) is thought to be one of the classic depictions of sleep paralysis perceived as a demonic visitation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_Paralysis

Sleep Paralysis. So, I never knew of this phenomena. I'm pretty sure I could have gone a life time without ever experiencing this. Sleep Paralysis is actually where the original term "nightmare" comes from. Let me tell you, this "nightmare" is unlike any nightmare I'd ever experienced in my life! It was like the most horrifying and terrorizing thing I could have imagined for myself! The weird thing is, sleep paralysis is pretty common, with as much as 30% of the population experiencing this at least once in their lifetime. Some people have these nightmares often, others only experience this once. I pray that this will be my one and only experience.

So let me just break down what exactly happened to me. I decided to sleep downstairs in the family room. I had been sick, and the baby was fussy. Sometimes it's just easier to sleep where the baby swing is...if you know what I mean. I fell asleep on my back in the reclining chair. The white noise sound was going on the baby swing when I went to sleep. I woke up to a sound that I thought was a child saying "Mom". I opened my eyes, looked around the room...even though it was dark, I didn't see anyone. So I closed my eyes and was trying to go back to sleep. I heard a couple other random weird noises...house noises....that shouldn't have made me jumpy, but for some reason they did. I just had this creepy feeling inside of me. Somehow I was almost able to get back to sleep when I heard the white noise on the baby swing cut out for a second, then it shut off. I freaked out a little, but there are always logical explanations for these things, right? The sounds on the swing are still not working today. I don't know what happened to it, it must have given out. So, starting off, I was jumpy, freaked out, and my mind was probably working up some crazy stuff, before I even went back to sleep. Even with all the creepiness, I was able to get back to a light sleep. It felt like every few minutes or so, I was opening my eyes to a weird sound, or a strange feeling. After waking a few times, I woke to find myself unable to move. It was strange but only lasted a second, then my hands and feet started tingling and I could move again. We've all had occasions where we wake up with an arm or a leg asleep. I really thought I must have been laying weird, and put my whole body to sleep. So, I adjusted in the chair, and went back to sleep quickly. It seemed like just a few minutes later that I woke up again, paralyzed. I couldn't move and was waiting for the tingling feeling to start again. Instead, I stayed paralyzed. I suddenly got a very uneasy feeling, like something bad was going to happen. Honestly, it felt like an evil spirit or entity was coming to get me. Suddenly I had a ton of pressure on me. The only way I can describe the pressure is that it felt like an evil being laying on me, like something wanted to hurt me. The pressure was so great that I could feel my back pushing into the couch, past the cushion, into the frame. I want to say it was like something was trying to take over my body. Scary! I looked up with only my eyes...because that was all I could move, and saw a being of some sort. It was something that I'd describe as a ghost....white, floating, no real body, but the face of an old man. There was also something else that I didn't get a good look at because I was scared to death and closed my eyes. I tried to scream for my husband but couldn't. No words would come out of my mouth. At that same moment, I had what they call an "out of body experience." I seemed to float above myself, and could see myself trying to scream, then went back to my body. Just as suddenly as the nightmare started, it stopped. The whole thing lasted maybe a minute or two. When it stopped, every bad feeling was gone, and I could move my body. I was freaking out, as you can imagine. Then I started to wonder if I dreamed it all. I thought it may have just been an extremely realistic nightmare. I also thought maybe I was going completely insane or that I was actually being possessed by some evil entity. All I really knew was that it scared the crap out of me! I stayed awake most of the rest of the night, and told some of the story to my husband this morning. Of course I didn't tell him the whole story....I didn't want him to think I was crazy! He just said, "Wow, sounds like you had a nightmare." I wanted to say..."You have no idea!" The whole day, I was spooked. Convinced that I was insane, I decided to do some research on nightmares and being paralyzed. That search turned up a lot of information...way more than I expected! I found many sites with explanations for what happened to me, and also some stories of what other people had experienced. Some of the stories could have been my story, verbatim. I was stunned that so many people had experienced this, yet I'd never heard of it! Even though there is an explanation of sleep paralysis, I'd be lying to say that I'm not still scared. There are people who still believe that something "evil" is to blame for the "nightmare." All I can say is that I won't sleep with all of the lights out, I refuse to sleep downstairs anymore, being home alone scares me, I constantly feel like something is behind me, and I will not to sleep on my back ever again(the most vulnerable position for sleep paralysis)! I have a feeling, this is going to haunt me for a while. I told my husband the rest of the story later, after I figured out that I wasn't crazy. The funny thing is, he's had it happen to him. Well, he had the paralyzed part...without all the hallucinations to go with it. So, he didn't think I was crazy at all either! I'm glad to have my wonderful, understanding husband!

Anyway, if anyone would like to read about this crazy stuff, I've posted a link on sleep paralysis (just below the picture). This goes through the definition, what it does, what can cause it, what most people experience, the history of it, and even what some other cultures believe sleep paralysis is. This has been blamed for spirit possessions, witch craft, and even alien abductions! Enjoy!!

8 months

2010-04-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how 8 months flew! Preston climbed a whole flight of stairs the other day! It's amazing how he's growing. He pulls himself up on things and walks around tables and down the couches. He has four beautiful teeth that he likes to bite with. He got his 4th tooth shortly after the 3rd one came in. He bit me pretty hard on the back of the leg the other day...I guess he wanted attention! Preston is still a bit fussier than Peyton ever was...granted, he has improved a ton! He still wakes up a couple times during the night. He hates sleeping in his crib and prefers sleeping next to me or in his swing. He is smiley when he is feeling good though, and that makes it all worth it! His big toothy grin is enough to melt any heart. Even a really tired heart! We sure love him lots. I still haven't had professional pictures done of my little fart...I feel sorta bad. I will get him there. SOON!!

Easter

2010-04-05T17:42:00.002-07:00

I worked the night before Easter, so I missed the Easter egg coloring...but from what I hear, it was lots of fun! Peyton and Daddy had a blast, and even Jared's parents were able to join in on the fun. Easter day was fun...a small celebration as usual. I helped the Easter bunny set things up in the morning when I got home from work, then went to bed for a while. When everyone was up, I got up to enjoy the cute looks on the kid's faces! It was exciting because it was Preston's first Easter! Josh and Caile spent Easter morning with their *hmm hmm* "real" Mom. So we didn't get to see them until later in the day. I obviously wasn't good at taking pictures after the morning because there aren't any of Josh and Caile...or even Jared's parents on Easter day! Usually I take too many pictures, so that's kind of weird. We had an Easter egg hunt in the morning...then I took a nice long nap!! Jared's parents were visiting from California, so in the evening we made a leg of lamb and a ham. My Mom happened to be coming through as well, so she stayed for a while and had dinner with us! It was really nice to have family around for the holiday!

Easter Eve

Daddy and Peyton coloring some really cool eggs for the Easter Bunny!

This is Preston's idea of coloring eggs! He loves Grandma and Grandpa Egbert's dog, Tucker.

Peyton bugging Grandpa Egbert!

Easter

My cute little fart Preston, on his very first Easter! Spoiled already!!

My little Mama's boy Peyton! He loves his new frog! And no, he's not completely naked...just likes to sleep in his boxers!!

Peyton and his cousins, Isaac and Kaden

Preston and Grandma Peggy

7 months old on St. Patty's Day!

2010-03-17T20:51:00.002-07:00

Preston turned 7 months old today. Best of all he celebrated his first St. Patrick's Day! We put him in green...along with all of the kids. I still wish I would have taken a picture of all of them. Oh well. That's what happens when it gets busy! Trying to squeeze a holiday in after school never really works out. We always try to make it a special day....celebrate the little bit of Irish in our heritage. We had the traditional corned beef and cabbage. I had to make it this year...usually Jared does that part. It turned out pretty good for my first try! For dessert we had cinnamon rolls with green frosting! I think the kids had fun.

Anyway, Preston is on to his next month of growing. He started eating "real" food last week on Monday....we started with some carrots...which he loved!! This week it's squash, and he's doing fine with that too. As mentioned before, he is crawling! He is still a bit awkward with it, but gets around just fine. I'm sure by next week, he'll be a pro! He has slept better at night lately, only waking up a couple times. He's developing an aggressive personality. If he wants something, he will do everything in his power to get it. If you take him away from something he wants, or take something away from him...he cries and sometimes even screams. I thought he was still too young to care about little things. You can't take away one thing while distracting him with something else either....he's just too smart for that. It's funny to watch him. Jared calls him a little cave man. He pounds his little hands on his belly and yells....so cute! He grabs on to me...pretty much pinching my face as hard as he can and pulls it close to his, then he laughs or screams, depending on what mood he's in. He gets excited when he hears loud noises, and loves music. He's a little curious George. If it's somewhere that he's not suppose to be, he will find a way to get there. If it's something he's not suppose to play with, he's playing with it. The room could be filled with Preston's toys, and he'd find the one Lego in the entire room to play with. He's one that you can't take your eyes off of. It's gonna be even better when he starts walking....let's pray that doesn't happen for a while! We are having fun watching him grow. The kids grow more attached to him every day. Peyton has fun playing with him. They both lay on the floor, and Preston crawls over Peyton...or grabs Peyton's nose. They just have a blast...Peyton laughs so hard at him sometimes. I was a little worried that Peyton would have jealousy issues, but he loves his little brother. He wants to take care of him and be the big brother. I really hope it lasts! We are ready to see what this next month brings!

Fun at the Park

2010-03-17T20:51:00.001-07:00

A day at the park...it was still a little cold but fun! It was the first "warm" day of the winter.

Preston in his little snow outfit

Peyton and Preston

Mystery Person

2010-03-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

Peyton was the mystery person for his Kindergarten class last week. Basically all week at school, the teacher gives the kids clues about the "mystery person" and they get to guess who it is. On Friday, I got to go to Peyton's class and talk to the kids about him. We made a poster with pictures of him and all of his family...we also wrote down some of his favorite things (like favorite colors, favorite activities, favorite treats, etc.). We showed the poster to the class, then we got to answer all of the questions that the kids prepared for Peyton. At first it seemed a little bit silly to me to spend 15 minutes in his classroom talking about Peyton. We spent about an hour or more just making his poster. I think I was a little bit frustrated that day....I was up late the night before, didn't sleep well when I did get to bed, I had to work that night...so I really needed sleep, and Jared had to miss work for a few hours to stay home with the baby. I was just ready to get it over with. I also knew that I would get home from the school and have to go back an hour later to pick Peyton up. It all seemed like a crazy waste of time. I wasn't going to get a nap that day....which meant that by the next time I would go to bed, I'd have been up for more than 24 hours. Anyway, I got to the school at 10 a.m. and waited in the office for Peyton to come get me. When he got to the office, I saw this proud look in his eyes. He grabbed my hand and walked me to his classroom. He was so excited for me to be there. He was even more excited to be able to show me to the class. He couldn't wait for me to sit up there and talk about him...about what a great kid he is...and how much we love him. I got to tell the kids all about Peyton's favorite things...and he got to interrupt and share funny things as well. I think I realized at that point, it was worth it. Every hard thing that I had to deal with that day...and the next 24 hours, was totally worth that 15 minutes in my son's classroom. It was worth it to see him so happy. It was worth it to watch him talk to the class with that big smile on his face. I came to the realization that it's these moments that are important, and this is all that kids really need. Someone to want to be there, and someone to love them for who they are. After we were done sharing, we passed out a treat for the kids....one of Peyton's favorites...DOUGHNUTS of course! Peyton gave me a big hug before I left. It makes me proud to have such a wonderful son. I'm so glad I got to share that time with him!

Little progression updates...

2010-03-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

Preston is so close to crawling! He's been close this whole month, and is definitely a pro army crawler. He rocks back and forth on his hands and knees...he'll even lift one hand up at a time...just doesn't go anywhere. He does what look like push ups too. He's on his hands then gets on his toes and pushes up....strong little fart! Just today he was able to go from a crawling position to a full sitting position all by himself. Then he got back down to a crawling position! He's also getting his 3rd tooth in on the top front left side. it's been hurting him, poor baby! Those top teeth can be painful! Just wanted to share....

6 months :)

2010-02-23T10:19:00.000-08:00

Preston is 0.5 years old! 6 months went quickly...even though it had its rough moments! Our little man has grown so much. He's babbling a ton, rocking back and forth on his knees and is a master army crawler. He can get around the house almost as well as if he were crawling on his knees. His doctor appointment went well...the doctor said he's sure Preston will crawl early. He's gaining weight well...he's still under the 50th percentile mark on pretty much everything...but he's consistent. We've decided we are going to wait a while to start him on regular baby foods. With all of his belly problems, I'm worried he'll be allergic to some of his foods. If we wait a while, we can decrease that chance a bit. We will stick to rice cereal for now. He likes it well enough. He does watch us eat with intense eyes. He really wants to try anything we'd be willing to give him. If your spoon or fork get too close to his mouth, he will get whatever you have! We have to work at keeping him away from our food if we have to hold him and eat. He's so beautiful. It's a good thing too, because he's still not sleeping through the night. He'll surprise me sometimes and have a good night, but usually he's up 2 0r 3 times. I can't wait to see what this next month brings!

My little man and my main man.....sleeping.....awwww!

Preston is so beautiful....he just melts my heart!

Trying to crawl....my big boy

Daddy and Preston playing

Peyton sharing his game with Preston. What a good big brother!

A couple of firsts

2010-02-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

Preston's first tooth broke through. It's the bottom, front, left tooth. I just noticed it yesterday...but it may have been there for a couple days. He's already trying to take advantage of it, and is biting everything! It's a very cute little tooth! I wish I could take a picture, but he hardly even lets me look at it! Maybe when he gets his next tooth, I'll be able to get a picture of them both.

(this picture was taken a few days later...after his second tooth broke through on the bottom right...his right. I love his little teeth!)

Preston FINALLY slept in his crib! We all know that he is not a good sleeper, so he sleeps in any place that I can get him comfortable, or any place that he will sleep longer than 30 minutes! That means he has slept in his swing a ton. He's slept in my arms. He's slept on the floor a few times. He's also slept in his bouncy chair a couple of times. We only used his bassinet for probably 3-4 weeks because he just didn't sleep well. He was sleeping a max of 15 minutes at a time in there, so I finally gave up. The other day, after deciding I was really tired of sleeping on the couch, I tried putting him in his bed. He did really well! I think it was because it was dark, cool, and quiet in the bedroom. He slept for a long time! He has to be really asleep before I put him down, or it doesn't work. He's also had some relapses. He was sleeping through the night (mostly), but this last week, he's been awake about every 3 hours, and he wouldn't sleep in his bed for longer than an hour. We are back to the swing for right now, but we will get to the crib again soon. At least it's a start to normality!

Preston has recently been able to sit up on his own! I was able to leave him sitting for a few minutes...then he finally tipped over onto his side. Up until a couple of days ago, he would fall over after just a few seconds...so it's a huge upgrade in just a couple days! He's such a big little man!! :D

6th grade science fair!

2010-02-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to do a little gloating....my daughter Caile took 1st place in her school's sixth grade science fair today! We are so proud of her for working so hard! She did a lot of research and spent a lot of time writing. Jared is good with the whole scientific process, so he made sure she was on track with everything. Other than editing and helping make things look pretty, she did most of it herself (with a little parental supervision). We really weren't expecting 1st place, but we are so happy for her! We will be moving on to the district science fair soon.

Her project was going to be something a little more "science like" but we got busy and procrastinated a bit, so we had to change our plan. Caile decided to see if certain types of cookie sheets will cause a cookie to burn. She researched the types of metals that cookie sheets are made from, and decided which one would cook the most evenly. Aluminum cookie sheets seemed to sound like the best option. Of course when she did the experiment, the thick 100% aluminum cookie sheet worked the best! The cookies were the same golden color on top and bottom. You'll never guess which one came in second....the cheap aluminum foil cookie sheet! The other expensive ones we bought...obviously not worth the money! Some were dark on bottom and doughy on top, or soft in the middle and crunchy on the edges. So, make sure you buy 100% aluminum cookie sheets for baking from now on, if you like evenly cooked foods that is! I guess the teachers voted on Caile's project because it used real world materials...and was something that you could use in your daily life. She also did well with the scientific process and how she set it up. We are proud of you Caile!

5 months

2010-01-19T14:28:00.001-08:00

Preston was 5 months old on the 17th! I've been trying to keep track of all the cute little things he does. He is army crawling now! His little feet are starting to get dirty from digging into the carpet. I swear I vacuum constantly...and I shampoo probably every 6 months. We don't even wear shoes in the house, yet the carpet still stains his knees and feet. I think it's all the dust we get from empty lots and construction around us. I hate carpet. His hair is getting blonder, and his eyes are still a nice shade of blue! He isn't slobbering near as much as he was. I can actually leave the bibs off and he doesn't soak his shirt! He is starting to sit up alone but falls over pretty quick...we'll give that another month! Preston is a rolling master... he goes in between and around things. I have to really watch him so he doesn't get stuck! He's getting the hand eye coordination thing down; he doesn't just whack himself in the face with his toys anymore. He can move things from one hand to the other...and knows exactly where his mouth is. That is where everything goes! He still likes to scream for fun...it's this extremely high pitched scream...it really surprises you that it comes out of such a tiny body. It's not only a mad scream, because he does it when he's happy too! I guess his lungs are good! It's so fun to watch him play. I like to sit back and watch daddy talk to him and tickle him. He anticipates when we are going to make him laugh and gets a big smile on his face. He is starting to respond to other people laughing. I do a loud fake laugh at him sometimes and he'll just crack up. He seems to love music. Josh started playing the clarinet this semester and when the baby hears it, he does this little hum scream type thing (sorry hard to explain) and gets all happy. If he's crying, I'll sing an upbeat song to him, and he'll laugh. He is definitely trying out his little vocal cords. He does different sounds, in different tones..it's really cute. He finally noticed himself in the mirror the other day. He did a quick smile then looked away...but I had him playing in his bouncy chair in front of the fire place and I caught him staring at his reflection in the glass cover. He was smiling and moving slightly to see if it would follow...ADORABLE! I don't know if I mentioned this last month or not, but he's been figuring out his feet and hands...and that they actually have a purpose. I sit back and watch him....he'll go to grab something, see his hand there and stop to watch it. He puts it up in front of his face and turns it back and forth slowly....then wiggles his fingers a little bit. It's so awesome to see the amazed look on his face. It's almost like, "wow...look what I have, and see what I can do with it!" Then his attention breaks...short attention span...and he's off to what he was going to do in the first place. I just want to put in here....I remember Peyton doing these little things when he was a baby...and it was even more amazing as a first time Mom to watch those things. I'm just disappointed that I don't have all those fun things recorded. I have the main things down...like crawling, walking, eating, etc. but I don't have things written out...it makes me feel bad! Anyway, thank goodness for the blog!

This is just some picture randomness that I found and added from his 5th month :)

My little birthday boy!

2010-01-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

Peyton turned 6 on January 15th...yes, I said he turned 6! Where did the time go? I have a mixture of emotions. Pride: he's grown to be such a loving, beautiful and smart boy! Sadness and Amazement: it's hard to watch your baby grow up and start becoming an independent, strong little person! Peyton is such an emotional being...if he's happy or excited, you can see it in his face...there's no hiding his emotions! You know when he's angry, sad, or even guilty! He is not one to keep things inside. It's a good quality to have.....depending on the situation! But that is why we love him so much. He is who he is....and he's a wonderful little man!

His birthday party was on January 18th. He invited a lot of kids...in total I think there were 13 kids at my house. It was a good party...we did dinner and a movie. We had pizza and bread sticks. Then cake and ice cream of course! Then we had popcorn and goodies while the kids watched "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". It was one of Peyton's better parties. So much fun! I think this will be a birthday to remember!

Peyton picked out his "army" cake. He wanted a big tank on it!

Singing "Happy Birthday" to the birthday boy!

Some friends....

Peyton with his oodles of presents!

More friends.....

2 of Peyton's very best friends! I really regretted buying those noise makers!!

Watching the movie....finally slightly peaceful in the house!

I'm eating!

2010-01-03T23:08:00.000-08:00

We wrapped up Preston's second round of antibiotics today...hopefully we are completely done with the ear infections for a while! He has a little bit of a snotty nose, so I'm a little worried. He was put on a stronger antibiotic this time around, so I can't imagine it didn't work. He seems to be feeling well. This sick kid stuff is new to me! Peyton rarely got sick when he was a baby. Here we are just 4 1/2 months in, and Preston has already had 2 ear infections. I honestly don't know what the difference is. I don't think I'm doing anything different to cause the problem. I just have to accept that Preston is a bit more complicated!

We started Preston on rice cereal tonight! Let me just say, he loved it! I think he wanted more, but I was nervous to give him too much on his first go round. With a not so good history of tummy problems, I wasn't going to over do it! He didn't seem to have much of a problem working the food in his mouth...I think it's all the practice he's had eating his antibiotics! He kept trying to grab the spoon from me and would pull the sleeve of my shirt toward him so he could get another bite! It went really well. We've reached another milestone!

The New Year

2010-01-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

Just quickly for record purposes....Preston slept through the night on the 30th and again on the 31st! He slept from about 11:30 or 12 until about 5:30 or 6 both nights! That's like 6 hours of sleep! I wasn't prepared for it, so I woke up approximately every 2 hours (freaking out) to check on him. I kept thinking there must be something wrong. He was just snoozing away peacefully. I need to relax!

Now, on to the New Year! This was my first New Year's Eve off in probably 4-5 years. I can't even remember the last time I was home for it. This year I was able to stay with my family. Jared, Josh and Caile snowboarded all day...so they were a bit tired that night. We went to dinner and just relaxed. My husband thought we'd do something fun, but it all kind of fizzled. Peyton wanted to make clock cookies to eat at midnight....a little idea he stole from "Max and Ruby". So at about 11:00 we made some sugar cookies and decorated them. Only a few actually looked like clocks...the rest were random designs that the kids felt like making. It was fun though. We lounged in the family room....reading books, watching t.v. When the New Year came we didn't even watch the ball drop, or do the countdown. I think I was busy finishing the last of the cookies. Suddenly Jared said, "Happy New Year!" He gathered the kids and they all went outside to yell "Happy New Year!" to all of the neighbors. When I made it outside, there were fireworks everywhere. Even a few that probably shouldn't have been out there. It was a good show for us though! Josh decided to dig out our stash of fireworks left over from 4th of July. Our next door neighbors and their kids came out to watch our fireworks too. It was fun. It wasn't a spectacular show....and I was freezing....but that's part of the fun! I feel bad that I was tired and not over enthusiastic. The kids had fun though....and we ate our clock cookies before going to bed. I wish I had the frame of mind to take pictures! I didn't even get one! We have the memory though :)

For the new year, we always try to come up with some wishes or goals to accomplish. This year was a little bit hard for me. It's hard to come up with things to wish for when you feel like you already have everything you've ever wanted!

My husband and I decided for us:

1. Budgeting is a very important goal. It's hard to make a budget because my income changes...depending on how much I'm on call. Also Jared only gets paid once a month from one of his jobs, then every 2 weeks from his other job. We've attempted it before and it got really complicated. We just have to bite the bullet and do it! Jared is the one who got us started on paying things off...now he seems the most resistant. I have to figure out how to get him excited about it again!

2. Organization! That one can be tough. We had that goal last year...and it did get better. I've said this before, but when you basically live out of boxes for a few years, it's hard to get things in order. We still have boxes full of stuff in the basement that I have no idea what to do with! It's not just organizing things, it's organizing time also. With a new baby in the house, we are having to change our whole schedule around and figure out new ways to manage.

3. Be happy! Not that we aren't "happy", it's just easy to get caught up in the mundane things in life. Go to work, come home, clean the house, take the kids to school, help with homework, feed the baby, go to bed, etc. We have it as a goal to make those little things count and find happiness in even the simplest things. I hope this one works out...it would be nice to feel happy all the time...or most of the time! :)

Well, I would throw weight loss/getting healthy in here...but usually it's just a futile effort. Then I just get depressed because it was a goal I didn't reach. So, lets not go there! Maybe if the "happy" thing works out, the weight will come off all by itself :)

Happy 2010 everyone! We wish for nothing but the best for all of our family and friends this coming year!

Some fun stuff

2009-12-26T22:33:00.000-08:00

Preston has been trying to copy us...and blows little raspberries! SOOO cute! He mostly just spits, cuz he's a slobbery kid...but it's adorable anyway. He's attempting to scoot himself across the floor and tries to eat everything! Sorry kids...no more Lego's downstairs! If he can't get what he wants by scooting, he rolls until he can get there. He hit his head on the coffee table the other day, mid roll. He only cried for a minute...Mommy fixed him!

Peyton has been doing really well in school and is starting to read and write. As far as I know, the first word he spelled (without being prompted) all on his own was CANDY. He spelled it just like it sounds.....KANDE. When he came home with his school papers and "kande" was written on it...I just cracked up! How cute is that?! He tried, and really did pretty well! I mean honestly...he's 5, in Kindergarten! I know for a fact I didn't start reading until 1st grade. They just put the pressure on a little sooner now I guess.

Peyton's teacher seems to be falling in love with him more every day. She walks out with the kids and tells me funny stories about what Peyton did that day. He likes to sing songs to the class, and they are usually songs that the teacher wouldn't expect from him. Like a song that's on "G Force" from the Black Eyed Peas. "Boom boom boom, gotta get that boom boom boom"! So funny! He seems to think he's a little entertainer because he did a Michael Jackson dance for the class the other day too. I guess he spun around and said, "Ow!" Who wouldn't love that kid?! The most recent story the teacher told me was that Peyton said he and his girlfriend Katy are going to get married when they are big....but they have to have a date first...."and tonight is our first date". When I asked him what kind of date they were going to have, he said, "you go get something to eat, duh!" Katy's Mom told me that Katy told her the same thing. They have it all planned out that they are getting married when they are big. They even leave the classroom holding hands sometimes. So funny! Peyton asked me the other day if you have to kiss when you get married. I about peed my pants. He wants to get married, but kissing girls is gross! LOL. Awww, the innocence of my little boy! I hope he keeps his fun personality!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

2009-12-26T22:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a little bit different this year. I was scheduled to work Christmas night, so we had to change things a little. We decided to have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. We didn't have family over this year....and obviously couldn't go anywhere. So, it was just a small little thing at home. We had a nice dinner, just ham. I couldn't bring myself to make a whole turkey for 5 people. It was delicious food anyway! I think I'm starting to enjoy small family holidays. I love our family, but the calm that comes with staying home and not worrying about getting somewhere, or entertaining a crowd. It's just so much easier!

We did our normal Christmas Eve tradition of opening PJs. The kids loved theirs! Peyton got PJs that said "Big Brother" on them. He loved that! And Preston's were "my first Christmas" PJs. We just did slipper socks this year...we have too many unused pairs of slippers around the house! After opening our PJs, we danced around the house to Christmas music, and started a new Christmas puzzle. I think everyone started getting cranky, and it got late very fast. The kids got to bed after a lot of coaxing, and after we threatened that Santa doesn't come if you aren't asleep. That seemed to work for Peyton. He asked if he could sleep under the tree so that he could meet Santa...I had to disappoint him :(

Santa and Mrs. Santa were up very late, wrapping presents and setting up the stockings. (it was about 3 a.m. when they went to bed). Of course they went overboard with presents again this year! It seems like no matter how much they plan on "cutting back" for Christmas, they still end up with too much stuff! Maybe next year!

The kids got up early....and Daddy made them stay in bed for a while. We were extra tired from the night before....but finally we made our way downstairs.

This was Preston's first Christmas! We know that he won't remember it, so everything we did was more for us than him. We wanted the pictures and the memories! He was such a good boy...and tried to open his presents himself by eating the wrapping off! We had to help him a bit.

The kids got all of their presents opened....to describe it in a word...SPOILED! We all got too much stuff, but it was a lot of fun! This is the mess that followed the fun!

I made cinnamon and orange rolls for breakfast Yummy! Then I went to bed to prepare for my night shift. Turns out that I was cancelled that night anyway...but you can't plan on that, or count on that happening. So I ended up spending the evening with my family....we played with our new toys and had a wonderful Christmas!

Trimming the tree

2009-12-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

The kids worked really hard on getting the tree in order. They climbed the ladder...or should I say "fought" over who got to climb the ladder! They really tried hard to make the tree beautiful! I usually do a little work over to all of the decorations after the kids are through....but this year it didn't happen. I was a bit too lazy. It looked pretty good anyway! It's funny how much they love decorating for Christmas. I think it helps build the excitement for Christmas day. When the tree is up, they know it's so much closer!

4 months!

2009-12-22T11:31:00.000-08:00

Preston was 4 months old on the 17th! We had his 4 month Dr. visit today. Most everything is great...besides another ear infection! Because we just had him on antibiotics, the doctor gave him a stronger antibiotic this time. I'm hoping it will take care of the problem. He weighs 14 lbs. 10 oz. and is 24 1/2 inches long! He's growing up so fast! He has been rolling around more on the floor lately. I'm having to start keeping the kids toys out of his way. He holds his head up really well...getting ready for crawling! It's weird but he seems to actually prefer being on his belly. If I lay him on his back, he immediately flips over. He's getting better with his colic. He's not quite so angry all the time! It's nice to be able to tickle him and to make him smile with silly noises. He's starting to laugh more! He holds his breath sometimes still, and tries to shove his whole hand in his mouth to stop the laugh. When he gets it out though...it's pretty darn cute! He likes to play in his little bouncy monkey thing that we bought him. He still loves the swing...and the vacuum is a God send when we can't get him to settle down! It seems weird, but it really does work! Preston's hair seems to be getting lighter in color...I think we may have a blond hair blue eyed baby on our hands! He still has a dark patch of hair in the back, below his bald spot, and some dark strands on the top. He's been losing some of that hair though, so we will see! He is still a little slobber monster! We keep a bib on him pretty much all the time to catch the drool! The adjustment to me working is still moving forward. Daddy has a hard time now and then on the weekends. Preston is just used to having Mommy around. We are getting there! We are really enjoying having a little one around. Even though he's so much work....he's also so much fun!

There's my handsome little man! Jared calls him our Gerber baby!

Getting comfy on the floor

Sucking his thumb..

Christmas day...in his monkey chair!

This is so funny because he was playing under his floor toy, tried to roll out, knocked it over, got stuck and fell asleep! There has only been a couple times he's fallen asleep on his own!

Christmas Eve

Playing with one of his new favorite toys! His feet!

It's the little things

2009-12-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

A couple of nights ago, I saw something that just made me smile. It wasn't anything big...but it was something that made me think a lot about the little things in life. The things that I hope I won't forget. My children are getting bigger every day, and I'm trying to enjoy all the things they do that make me realize what life is about. It's easy to overlook the every day mundane things. I have to stop and realize that these every day things are my children's whole world! They are only young once...and I hope I can enjoy it more.

This is what I saw that started me thinking....

Peyton's toys lined up along the tub. I listen to him play in the tub all the time...but seeing his little toys standing there waiting for him to come back...it just gave me that happy feeling. How long will this stage last? Not long enough! He sings in the shower...and has full on conversations with his toys. I had to take a picture! Then I walked around the corner and saw this.....

His toy squid stuck to the front door. Then this......

Apparently he decided to clean the white board with his hands...then wiped them on the wall! Don't worry, it came off easily.

These are little boy things that happen every day. They can be frustrating things...but they are the things I will miss when my babies grow up!

I got to thinking about all the little things the rest of the kids do too....

Preston drools so much that it drips down my arms. He smiles at every silly face or noise I make. The way he rolls onto his belly and gets stuck there. The way he bats at his little toys until he can get hold of them, then they go straight to his mouth. I also love the way he screams before he cries, just to let us know that he's really mad! Hence the nickname "Screech" that Daddy gave him. He also likes to yell while he's "talking"...I think he likes the sound of his voice.

Caile says umm before starting almost every sentence. She says "good night, I love you" approximately 100 times before actually going to bed. She always has a new picture that she just drew to show everyone. Most importantly, she writes her name on everything! When I say everything, I literally mean everything. If it's hers...you will know it's hers! Maybe that's just a girl thing because I remember doing that.

Josh is getting so big, it's hard for me to catch him doing those fun kid things. He is in a stage of his own, but it's fun too. I love the way he is with his baby brother. He always wants to hold him, and even rocks him to sleep sometimes. When he's excited about something, he'll repeat it over and over until you can't stand hearing it anymore. He can be the sweetest most helpful kid when he wants to be...like helping with dinner or taking the baby when I need to get something done. Josh is also a classic annoying big brother...if someone is happy and content, he'll make sure that changes! He likes to do just enough to get someone upset, without getting himself into trouble. That part is tough right now, but it'll be a good memory...and hopefully we'll laugh about it later!

What a blessing!

2009-12-04T10:08:00.002-08:00

Preston was blessed on Sunday November 29th in California. We chose to do it while we were visiting for Thanksgiving, that way some of our family could attend. Jared had a lot of family and friends who were able to participate in the blessing. Jared's Dad, Sid, blessed Preston for us. It was a beautiful blessing, full of health and happiness! Preston did really well through the whole thing. I was worried he was going to scream through it. I tried to prep him as well as I could. He had a full belly before they got started...and he wasn't quite to his cranky, tired phase yet. I'm so glad it went so well. Our newest little blessing was officially blessed! After the blessing, I had to change Preston's diaper...twice in a row (that's all I'll say about that!)...then his cranky, tired phase kicked in. I walked the halls for the rest of church. We made it through the important parts though!

We had a nice brunch for friends/family afterward. Thanks Barbara for getting it all set up for me! The brunch was wonderful....delicious food! Jared was able to visit with some friends...and his "second family" for a while. I know he was so excited to see his "other Dad". It was nice for me to finally meet some of the people he's told me so much about! Leave it to a baby to bring family and friends together. This was truly a blessed day!

13 years!?

2009-12-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

Josh turned 13 the day before Thanksgiving this year! Poor kid had one of the most awkward birthdays ever. The fact that we drove to California the day before his birthday didn't help at all! I had his Grandma Egbert kind of set a couple things up for Josh before we got there...hoping that it would help us have a somewhat special day for him. We drove up to Palm Desert from Canyon Lake that day, settled in a little bit, then headed to the living desert. I guess usually they have some really neat desert animals to look at during the day, but at night around Christmas time, they do a light show. We got out there and had some fun! There were lights everywhere and they had a cool little train that ran through the area. That was Peyton's favorite part! Unfortunately, there weren't any animals to see, but there was a live band playing, face painting, and glow in the dark cotton candy! We walked around for a while and the kids had some hot chocolate. It was a bit cold....nothing compared to the weather in Utah...but it was a little too cold to have the baby out for very long. I finally decided that we needed to head out when Preston got cranky. I think Josh enjoyed himself though...and that's what it was about! We didn't end up having cake for him that night...it was late and the kids had enough treats already. Josh did open his presents though. He got a movie and poster from his great Uncle Tom. Jared and I and Grandma and Grandpa Egbert went in on an I pod touch for him. You should have seen his face! He wasn't expecting that at all! I'm glad we got him something that he seems to love! The next day he got some Chargers PJs and drawing materials from Uncle Paul and Aunt Sara. I think he made out pretty well! We finally sang "Happy Birthday" to him the Sunday following Thanksgiving. We didn't even do candles! I feel horrible about it. That whole week was just super chaotic! I didn't even get a picture of the beautiful cake that Grandma Egbert picked out for him. By the time we sang happy birthday, there was already a piece of cake missing. Honestly though....I don't think Josh minded. I told him that it was going to be a small family birthday this year, so he was expecting it. He was a trooper! Next year we will try a bit harder! I still can't believe we have a teenager...now the fun really begins!!

1st Day back

2009-11-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

I imagined it would be hard going back to work...and it really was! My first day back I was pulled to a different floor (I really hate being pulled). It's hard when you aren't used to their patients, the staff, or where everything is kept. I spend all night searching for things. It's even worse when you haven't worked in 3 months! I was hoping to spend my first night back with friends...people who understood why I was upset...and people who would cheer me up. That didn't happen, but I survived. I was crying before I even walked out the door on Friday night. My husband told me to quit my job....he doesn't like seeing me that way. We both know I can't do that, but it was nice of him to offer! I cried half way to work.

I think it was even harder leaving, knowing that my baby was sick. Preston had a runny nose and was cranky for a couple of days, but seemed to be better on Thursday. I put him down for a nap, and when he woke up, he had a fever of 101.3. I called the doctor and got him in an hour later. After the PA thoroughly checked him out, she told me that Preston would have to be admitted to the hospital. Apparently when a child is under 3 months old, they usually admit them to the hospital, just to be safe. She told me they would start an IV, give him fluids and IV antibiotics. They would do some lab work and catheterize him for a UA. She said they may even do a spinal tap. I guess they do all of this because at such a young age they go down hill fast. She told me it could be a bacterial infection or even meningitis....they just don't know until they do all of the tests. I was starting to freak out. I couldn't picture my poor baby boy going through all of that pain. I told her that if she felt it was necessary, I would do it. I just wanted my baby to be safe. Before I had a chance to call my husband in a panic, the doctor came in to check on him. He decided that it wasn't necessary to admit him to the hospital. Preston had been eating well and had plenty of wet diapers. He wasn't having difficulty breathing (besides the stuffy nose). His color was good, he was alert and even smiling at the doctor.

Anyway, my first night at work started out rough...I just wanted to go home. I called to check on the baby a few times. I was upset for a while. Luckily I stayed busy enough to keep my mind off of things a bit. By midway through the shift, I felt better. I survived, and the baby survived.

My second night at work was a little easier on me...until I called my husband. He was having a rough time with Preston. Preston kept crying and didn't want to eat. Jared asked me how much money I make, then basically told me to quit my job! He calmed down after that and did fine. It was tough for me to hear he was having a hard night. All I wanted to do was head home to help. Later my husband apologized for freaking me out...he's just not used to having the baby (a sick one with colic) on his own yet. The baby isn't used to me being gone either. This is going to be a big adjustment for all of us.

Fun subject! Preston is 3 months old today! He is growing so much. He grabs at his toys and tries to stick everything into his mouth! He is starting to giggle. I get a couple little giggles out of him when I tickle him or make a funny face at him, but haven't had a rolling laugh yet. We will get there! Sometimes it seems like his colic is improving...but with him being sick right now, it's hard to know for sure. Also, Preston turned from his back to his belly November 14th...while I was sleeping after work. Daddy got to see it, but I missed it! It figures that Preston would do something fun like that, right after I start back to work!

I'm adding these on here...just some random 3 month pictures I got of Preston! He's such a beautiful boy!

Work

2009-11-09T20:44:00.002-08:00

I've been on Maternity leave for exactly 12 weeks today. I go back to work on Friday the 13th...just a few days from now! I'm feeling an overwhelming anxiety about going back. I love my job, I love what I do (most of the time), and I even like the people I work with. Things have just changed. I'm starting to feel like I have a new obligation to fulfill...and that's being a Mom.

I think seeing the way my parents struggled made me want better for myself, and my own children one day. I didn't want my kids to go through the things I had to go through. When I was in high school, I was working part time and helping to pay household bills. Sometimes it was my paycheck that kept our lights from being turned off...or maybe I payed for the gas that got us all to and from work and school. Sometimes, I just helped with some groceries. I always bought my own school clothes and paid my own bills. At that point in my life, my Dad was moved out, so it was my Mom and I working together to make sure my younger siblings were taken care of. I was almost forced to take on the role of a parent at such a young age. Without going into too much detail, it was a difficult childhood. I was for the most part happy though. I learned a lot, and it made me who I am today; but I promised myself then and there that I would never live that way again. Getting through school meant that I could fulfill that promise to myself and my future children.

I have always been a strong, independent, self motivated person. I always wanted to go to college and have a great career. I worked hard to get good grades, but didn't really have the direction I needed. See, neither of my parents went to college. As a matter of fact, my Father never made it past the 9th grade. My Mom was encouraging and helped where she could, but a lot of the time, she really didn't know which direction to push me. It was up to me to figure out the best path. When high school was over, I had to figure out the college thing on my own. I was scared to death! Actually, I took a year off after high school just because I didn't know where to begin. Finally I got up the courage to go the local University and just ask questions. That was all it took. I soon signed up for classes and got started with my career plans. I worked as a personal care provider and a CNA for a few years before I got into nursing school, so I knew exactly what I was working toward. I jumped into the college role head first, and actually, I was fine! Even more than fine, I did great! I found different ways to pay for my college...out of my pocket, credit cards, government student aid, and tuition reimbursement from my employer. I always figured it out. When I got into nursing school, I was elated! Nursing school was one of the most difficult, yet most rewarding things I'd dealt with in my life. I worked full time, went to school full time, and had a brand new baby two weeks before second semester of nursing school started. I felt that if I could survive that, I could survive anything! I worked really hard! I did it to prove to myself and to my family, that I was determined and able to make something of myself...even coming from a tough childhood. (Just a side comment...it really bugs me when people use their childhood or upbringing as an excuse for their actions or problems. Anyone can take a bad situation and turn it into something good. You make that decision for yourself!)

I always wanted to be a working Mom...to take care of my family and feel like I was providing for them. I always admired my Mom. She worked hard and became very skilled with having to get by with nothing...raising 4 kids on her own. She was so strong. I wanted to have those same qualities! When I was done with school, I did just that. My new income was what my family needed to pull out of the low income slump we'd been in. I was the bread winner...and I was okay with that. It meant that my children never had to worry where their next meal was coming from. It meant that they never had to worry about going without heat or electricity. At that point in my life, it never even crossed my mind that I may want to stay home with my kids at some point. It was too much work to get where I was!

Eventually, after some rough times, my husband retook the role of bread winner in my family. He started working more than one job, and things began to change. I cut back on work a bit, and realized how much that one extra day home made a difference. It not only made a difference in me, it made a difference in my kids....and my house! I started to see how much a mother is needed at home. Don't get me wrong...I know some really awesome, brilliant working mothers. I'm just coming to the understanding that it's really hard for me personally, to do all of the things that are required of a working mom. After I've worked for a couple nights, I'm a horrible Mom and wife! I'm grumpy and tired...and I don't want to do anything. My patience is less than it should be and I don't want to do anything fun. I'm just not the active person I could be. Not that I haven't been there for my kids...but I'm realizing how much MORE I could be there for them. I'm realizing that this is the only childhood my children will have...and I don't want to miss it. I don't want to ignore them or put their needs to the side, just because I'm too tired or worn out to want to do those Mom things. I hate watching my 5 year old cry when I walk out the door. I hate thinking about my 3 month old crying and not having Mommy there to soothe him. I NEVER thought I would say this, but I would love to be a stay at home Mom. I don't think I'm feeling this way because I have a new baby at home, I've felt this way for a while. I do think that the feeling is stronger because of the baby though. Preston has been a little bit difficult, and we are just barely getting him figured out and settled...and now I have to leave him. It's going to kill me...and my poor husband is going to go crazy not having me to help him. I probably sound pathetic...really I have it made. I only work 2 days a week...and we've made the decision for me to work every Friday and Saturday night. My children won't have to go to daycare at all. I shouldn't be complaining with my circumstances the way they are. I just really feel that my babies need me...and I need them. I thought that all of this time off after having a baby would rejuvenate me....make me miss my job, but I think it made me more heartbroken to go back to work. I also thought that during my time off I would get to do all things I don't normally do while I'm working...sortof make up for things I have missed, or things I haven't done. Of course with a baby that has colic...he's taken up every ounce of my time...and I've actually missed more than I usually do.

I guess I'm just trying to wrap my head around the fact that I'd be willing to give up who I worked so hard to be, just to be a Mom. (Well, not JUST a Mom). I'm not in the position to do that...but I would do it in a heartbeat. Now, don't get me wrong...I wouldn't give up my license...that's just something that would be dumb to lose...but I could give up my job tomorrow and not feel any remorse whatsoever. At this point, it wouldn't be a good thing, and it would hurt my family more than help. I do think it's going to have to be my next goal to accomplish though, and hopefully it will happen before my kids are grown and out of the house!

November Family Pictures

2009-11-09T20:44:00.001-08:00

We went up the mountain November 1st hoping to get some good family pictures. I was hoping there would still be some pretty colorful leaves on the trees, but they'd mostly all fallen already. We knew of a pretty area that we wanted to go to, but while we were headed there, we came across a really beautiful picnic area. The rock wall, the bridge, the water...and even the leaves that were on the ground were gorgeous! We stopped and had some fun! We took turns taking pictures and Jared figured out how to use the delay thing on our camera so that we could get all of us in the picture. I think they turned out great...for amateurs! It was just a fun time. The kids ran around and enjoyed the day. We will definitely be making a trip back in the near future. I want to go when it's warm outside and actually picnic while we are there!

All Smiles

2009-10-21T16:21:00.000-07:00

I finally captured a few smiles on camera today! Yay!

2 months!

2009-10-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

Preston is 2 months old now! We had his doctor's appointment on the 19th. He is developing well...smiling and cooing and tracking things with his eyes. He is up to 12 lbs. 2 oz., and 21 3/4 inches long! He's come a long way from his little 6 lbs 9 oz!! It's hard to believe he's already so big. I took Preston to the doctor last week to discuss a possible milk sensitivity or allergy. We put him on some hypoallergenic formula and he has improved immensely! He's not on formula 100% of the time. I have been alternating with breast feeding, and pumping when I feed him formula. He'll slowly get to all formula. I have still been maintaining my dairy free diet. Let me tell you, it's sooo hard! I am starting to get the hang of it though...with only a couple small cheats, and a couple accidental dairy consumptions! I had to have a piece of chocolate...sorry! I have found substitutes for many of my normal foods. I found a margarine that does not have milk protein...and I finally caved and got a milk substitute! I missed my cereal too much! I did not do the soy thing though....YUCK! I decided to try rice milk instead...and it really isn't bad, surprisingly. I noticed that there is almond milk too...I wonder what that's like. There is still no substitute for cheese though, and I'm really missing it! The baby still has his moments of fussiness, but it has definitely improved! He isn't pooping every half hour or hour anymore...that's cut down to 1-2 times per day! Now if only I could get him to sleep longer than 2 hours at a time during the night!!! He's much more attentive now and loves to play. We can really get him smiling sometimes. I still have not been able to catch him smiling with the camera though! He is getting so close to laughing. Sometimes he'll let out a little noise with his smile. It's so sweet. Anyway, I'm not sure how long I can keep up with this diet and life style change, but for now it seems like it's working. The doctor says after a couple of weeks on the hypoallergenic formula (that is really expensive), we can try Preston on soy formula. The reason we didn't start with soy is that some babies are allergic to both milk and soy. So we will see if he gets bad again after the soy milk is started. It's been very emotional for me to think that I may have to give up breastfeeding. I feel like it's so important for babies to have that, and I feel like I'm failing him if I can't provide it. He's such a good eater too. It's frustrating. I will do what I have to to make my baby comfortable. It upsets me to think that if I eat the wrong thing, my baby suffers. I'd rather him be happy and healthy. That said, the baby is doing beautifully! He's an amazing little man!

I love this screaming picture...this is a face that he wears very often!

Caught!

2009-10-12T13:47:00.001-07:00

This happened a few months ago, but I just found the pictures and had to share. If I keep any "treats" in the house, they are on the top shelf of the pantry. If I don't keep a close watch, the treats disappear magically! The kids try to be very sneaky when they get into things they aren't suppose to. They don't get away with too much without me knowing. I remember trying to be sneaky like them! This is Peyton's big attempt to get the cookies on the top shelf. He wasn't too quiet about it...but when you have to climb, how can you be? It sucks being little!

The "uh oh, I'm caught" face!

I let him pose for this one, just before I made him climb back down...without a cookie :(

Mobility

2009-10-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

My little Preston! He is such a ham. He has been a difficult but wonderful baby. Not sleeping well at night, wanting to be held constantly. Inconsolable crying for 2 hours at a time. He is getting better, I think. Thank goodness for vacuum cleaners (they really do calm a fussy baby)! I've cut milk out of my diet...and cut back on the chocolate :(, and I've tried to stay away from things that would make any human gassy. He just has an upset belly that is making him miserable! Since recently he has decided it's okay for me to put him down once in a while, I've been laying him on his back on the floor. He looks around for a long time, and when he gets fussy, I play tickle games with him. The most I ever get out of him is a grin...you can tell he wants to laugh, but holds his breath instead! Today I sat him down and walked away to let him explore the room with his eyes...and when I came back...he was on his side! My baby is getting mobile! He's only 7 weeks old today! No, he can't roll from his belly to his back yet...let's give it time. I was just surprised when I saw him like that...and he stayed that way until I rolled him back over. He must like it!

The first month

2009-09-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

Preston was a month old on the 17th. So much happens in a baby's first month. They grow a lot and start forming a personality. He is getting so big...he eats and eats and eats! I don't know how much he weighs now...but I can tell you that I've had to readjust his car seat straps 3 times since his first trip home!

His newborn clothes are barely fitting him and he's getting rolls on his arms and legs...along with a double chin! He also moved up to size 1 diapers...no more newborn :(.

We have had some trouble with sleeping. He is still awake every 2 hours to eat (if not more often)...all night long. He's also got some tummy/gas issues. He'll just cry and cry for no reason...after he's been fed, burped and changed. We are trying to get a handle on it! He doesn't like to go to sleep either...he really fights it when his little eyes start to close. Poor boy just doesn't want to miss out on anything! He has recently allowed me to lay him down on a blanket on the floor...and he'll just look around for a while. This is a huge improvement! For a while there he wouldn't let me put him down! He has also learned to accept his swing. The first few times we tried it out, he just screamed the whole time he was in there! Jared has a nickname for him....SCREECH! He has this really loud scream that he does, just before he starts crying...it's hilarious.

He is much more alert now, he even seems to be trying to laugh when I tickle him. Jared got a huge grin out of him the other day...it was adorable. He still giggles in his sleep....I just wonder what he's dreaming about!

The kids are really enjoying him. You can just see how much they love him when they look at him. Caile told me the other day that our baby is cuter than any other baby she's ever seen! I told her she's already learned how to be biased! It's really cute. They all love to hold the baby too, but don't do it very often because of how fussy he's been. They hold him for a minute, then he starts crying. It will get better...just have to give it a couple of months! I told Jared that I was hoping for an easy baby, after a very uncomfortable pregnancy....but no luck! He's definitely a handful...but I LOVE him anyway! We are so blessed to have such a beautiful new son.

And who can't resist baby toes...just had to throw that in there!

2 weeks!

2009-09-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

Preston is growing so fast....he turned 2 weeks old on Monday. Had his check up with the doctor and is doing really well. They were a little worried about his weight when we left the hospital because he'd lost 7 oz in 2 days. We rechecked his weight 2 days later and he'd lost another oz. and was down to 6 lbs. 1 oz. At his 2 week check up he weighed 7 lbs 6 oz! Can you believe it?! Little fatty gained a lot of weight! I think I just have good milk. He also grew 1 3/4 inches...for a grand total of 19 3/4 inches. He's getting some chunky little cheeks and his little arms and legs are getting fat. He is still tiny but he'll be big soon!

I was due today!

2009-08-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

It's so amazing that today was my due date, yet here I sit with a baby who is 11 days old! Preston is doing beautifully. He eats a lot....and often! He sleeps well sometimes, and other times not so well. He smiles a lot and even giggles in his sleep...I know they say it's gas....but does gas make babies giggle? I'm so proud to be the Mom of such a handsome little boy!

Jared's Mom, Barbara has been here helping out a ton. It's nice to have someone else to drive the kids back and forth to school and practices. I forgot how much work it is just to get a tiny baby in and out of a car seat! Also trying to plan things around Preston's schedule is really hard. It's been nice having someone here to help with meals and clean up a bit....because we know I'm not doing much of anything lately. I know I'll get back into the swing of things.

It's just the adjustment period. The pain, the hormone changes, the crankiness, and no sleep. Yeah, it will get better!

Firsts

2009-08-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

Peyton's first day of Kindergarten was yesterday! I can't believe he is getting so big....it really makes me sad, and happy at the same time. It's hard for a parent to watch their little one grow up! I took Peyton to meet with his teacher a couple days ago; and I was able to get out of the house and drop him off at school yesterday. I didn't want to leave the house yet...our baby was only 10 days old. I couldn't miss his first day of school though! And really it was only about a 15 minute trip. Grandma Egbert got into town a couple days ago as well, so she picked him up from school yesterday. He loved that, I think it made him feel a little bit special. He really needs to feel special right now! He seems to be having a bit of trouble adjusting to the baby. I know it will pass, we just need to give it time. He loves his baby brother, he's just acting out a little more lately. We will work through it. I can't believe my little man is a kindergartner!

He was so excited to go to school!

He loves his new backpack....it's hard to see but it's Batman!!

Outside of the school

Sitting at his table, ready to start his first day! It's enough to make a Mom want to cry!!

So, there were a lot of other firsts that I wasn't so lucky to enjoy. I wasn't there for Josh and Caile's first day of school...and I missed every first game. I missed Josh's first football game, and Peyton and Caile's first soccer games. I got to hear how great they did when they got home though...it was almost as good. It's so hard being at home while life is going on elsewhere. I've sort of felt a little stuck. If that makes sense. Probably just a little bit of the baby blues. I knew it would be hard at the beginning. There will be plenty for me to see as the year goes on!

If you want to go into labor....

2009-08-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

(this is a long boring labor story...not intended for those with short attention spans, ADHD, the male species, or anybody who just wants to get to the point...if you are one of those people, just skip to the end to view the pictures)

I kept telling my husband that I just needed to make it through the weekend, then I'd be fine with the baby coming. My doctor had planned on stripping my membranes the following Tuesday, and said that it takes 12 to 24 hours for it to put you into labor, if it's going to work. I figured that was perfect! I had a lunch date with some friends from work on Saturday...sort of a quick type baby shower. Then I had to get my kids ready for school. You know....all the school shopping that we hadn't done. I just wanted as much done as possible before the baby came. I got my wish!

Saturday lunch with the girls was a blast! We spent a lot of the time talking about completely inappropriate things at the table (like nursing type things). If you don't work where we work you would be disgusted...but we were laughing so hard I was almost crying. I got some really incredibly adorable things from all of them! This baby is spoiled. It was just a really good day, so much fun! These pictures were taken just before my shower...yes I'm gigantic!

After lunch I met up with my family at the mall for some school shopping. We got Peyton some new glasses...since he broke his other brand new ones, then bought some random things that were on sale. We spent the rest of the day at target, and were about 90% finished school shopping. I was exhausted...and with my big belly and sore feet and hips, I just couldn't do more shopping. We decided to finish shopping on Sunday.

Peyton and I went shopping early in the day and finished getting everything he needed. Plus I grabbed some things for the house that I didn't want to shop for after baby got here. The plan was to take the older kids to get back packs and shoes after I got home, then Jared and I were going to go grocery shopping together. We were going to do a 2 cart shopping trip so that I wouldn't have to worry about going to the store for a couple weeks. Jared ended up shopping by himself because my feet were so swollen I couldn't even walk on them (I mean literally I had cankles...I still wish I would've gotten a picture....they were huge)! He got the kids some shoes and just one cart of groceries....it'd have to do!

Jared was home from shopping very late...around 11 p.m. I was tired and cranky...the kids were still up. It was just a long day. We finally were getting the groceries put away....then we were all going to go to bed. This is where the fun began. I grabbed some big cans of ravioli and a couple boxes of who knows what off the table, and headed toward the pantry. Apparently at the exact same time, Peyton dropped a toy and dove to the floor to get it. I didn't see him, my arms were full of stuff. I literally took one step, tripped, tried to catch myself but just stepped on Peyton, fell forward, had nothing to catch myself on. I hit the ground, the cans and boxes flew. Peyton was screaming and I was in shock. I started crying, but nothing hurt...yet...I think I was just scared to death. Jared ran over to me and picked me up. At that point I was laying on my belly, but not quite sure if I actually hit my belly on the ground. Jared put me on the couch and went to check on Peyton...who was still crying. Apparently I smashed his ear on the way down. Poor guy. Other than that, he was okay. I sat on the couch trying to figure out if anything hurt. My elbows both hurt, my knees hurt and my chest hurt. My belly felt fine. I sat there waiting to feel the baby move....he did. I wasn't bleeding or cramping. I called the L&D department at the hospital to ask what to do. They said that if I could feel the baby moving and I wasn't bleeding or leaking fluid, everything should be fine. Jared was freaking out and wanted to take me in anyway. In the meantime, I noticed a big 3-4 inch bruise showing up on my forearm. I'm pretty sure I landed on the ravioli cans that I dropped. Later a big bruise about the same size as the one on my arm showed up on my chest.

I'd been having a lot of braxton hicks and false labor contractions for the last couple months. About an hour after falling I noticed I was having them a little more often. I started timing them....they were consistently about 5 minutes apart...but not painful...more like a menstrual cramp. Jared sat there staring at me, wanting to rush me in to the hospital. I told him we'd give it some time to see if they got more painful or closer together. I reassured him again that the baby was moving and we were both fine. After a couple hours of waiting and timing, nothing more happened. The contractions stayed 5 minutes apart and weren't getting worse. Jared slept on the couch, just in case he had to work the next morning. I tried every trick in the book to see if they would stop....everything from taking a warm bath, drinking lots of water, laying down on my left side....nothing worked. By about 4 a.m. things started speeding up...the contractions were about 3 minutes apart, not much more painful though. I called my sister to give her a heads up, since she had such a long drive to get here. By 6 the contractions were much stronger and still about 3 minutes apart, so I woke Jared and grabbed a few things that I might need. Then we headed to the hospital. On the way I started getting double contractions...I'd have one, it would end, and about 10 seconds later another one would start. After the second one ended it would be 2-3 minutes before the next one started. They were painful only because I didn't get enough of a break in between. I was scared that I'd get to the hospital and they'd tell me I was dilated to a 2 after all that work! We got to the hospital and in the room by 7. Yeah, I was only a 3 and 80% effaced! Can you believe it!? I almost cried. They told me they'd watch me for an hour and see how I progressed. There was no way on Earth I was going to leave that hospital! At a little after 8, when they checked me, I was a 3+.....geeze. So, they moved me to a labor room. I got all hooked up to their baby monitors and had my epidural put in, then they rechecked me. This was about 10 o'clock. I was a 4+. About 45 minutes later the doctor came in to break my water....I was a 5. By the way...I thought my water broke after they put in the epidural, like it did when I had Peyton. I felt the warm water running down my legs. This time however, I actually was peeing the bed. How embarrassing! The Dr. and nurses were so kind about it. They hadn't put in a catheter, and I couldn't really stop it. The funny thing is, I peed a lot! I mean really a lot....I hadn't been able to pee like that for months! I was on the "tinkle for one second, then 10 minutes later come back and tinkle some more" regimen. So when I started going, I really thought it was my water breaking. Anyhow, the epidural was kinda weird. It worked well, but at first I had a spot on my stomach that wasn't numb. I turned to the side that wasn't numb so we could get the medicine to the right spot. After we got that figured out, I realized that I could still move my legs and lift my own butt...which was kind of nice! I was a little numb, but not much. I called my sister around 11 to let her know what my progress was. She was sitting at home with my kids. I told her it'd probably be a couple more hours at least. So about 11:30 I felt a bunch of pressure....sort of like the baby was going to fall out...then the baby's heart rate dropped to the 80's. Jared called the nurse and they came right in...gave me oxygen, flipped me to my other side and said that I was complete! 10 cm! Yay! Let me just say....I could feel pretty much everything. I couldn't feel the contractions, but I could definitely feel the baby trying to make his way out. I tried pushing my epidural button...but I don't think it even hit me until after the baby was born...oh well. So, next thing I know, the doctor is there, and they are telling me to push. Since I could feel everything, this was really easy, except that I couldn't feel my contractions...so they had to tell me when to push...which was kinda funny. Anyhow, I pushed 2 times and his head was out, one more time was his shoulders...and sort of a half push to finish everything off. Wow....3 1/2 pushes....that was awesome! It was so quick, Jared hardly got any pictures, I couldn't stop to see what was going on...and the next thing I know, the baby was on my belly crying. Jared says that the cord came out on top of the baby's head and was sort of strung around his neck, but not tight. It was enough pressure to cause his heart rate to dip during delivery though. He also said the cord was super long....so we are fortunate that the baby wasn't completely tied up in it. It was an amazingly fast experience...and our little guy was officially here at 11:43 a.m. It's a good thing they didn't decide to send me home! I wouldn't have gone home anyway. I would have sat in the lobby for a while and rechecked in a little later.

After the birth, the doctor and nurses were joking about how they were going to tell their patients that if they want to go into labor, they should trip and fall with ravioli cans. We all had a good laugh. I told the doctor that I was just grateful that I didn't have to have my membranes stripped the next day! From what I hear that is painful!! Jared was worried that the baby was going to come out with a dislocated shoulder or something...but everything seemed great! I only fell twice during the pregnancy...I think.

It's so fun to have a new little one. It's amazing to see how they develop, who they look like, what color their hair is. It really is a miracle...and you can't help but be overwhelmed with emotions. It took us 36 hours to name our new little guy. We had the name as an option a few weeks earlier but didn't officially fill out the birth certificate for a while. We just wanted to make sure that one of the other name options wasn't a better fit. I think we picked the perfect name for our little guy! We named him Preston Thatcher Egbert. His middle name is his Great Grandpa Rolapp's middle name. Grandpa Rolapp passed away last year and it seemed appropriate. Preston's hair (we were surprised with how much hair he had...well for our family it was a lot!) is brown blond with some red highlights in the sun. In other words...we have no idea what color it is really going to turn out! His eyes right now are midnight blue...really cool looking. We know they won't stay that way, but they are beautiful! He has a little butt chin like Jared. I didn't get that instant, "He looks like Jared" thought in my mind. He definitely has some of Jared...and some of me? I don't know....I guess he looks like me in some ways. He's just got his own little look. I don't know what I was expecting...maybe I was thinking a miniature Peyton, because I couldn't imagine any other little face. Anyhow, he is beautiful...we love him. That was another thing...I wasn't sure how I was going to love another little one the same as I loved my first. It was so easy...I guess I knew when he got here it would just happen. It did...I love him just as much as my other kids!

I spent 2 days in the hospital...I was so glad I did! With Peyton, I couldn't get out fast enough...but this time, I knew I was coming home to 3 other kids. I was going to milk it for all it was worth! It was nice to be waited on and have all 3 meals brought to me. I got to enjoy a couple days of just my new son and I bonding. I did feel a little bit bad that I left my husband to deal with all the stuff at home. We did have help from my sister and my Mom...but Jared had a lot of stuff to deal with...like getting the kids ready for school! Thanks for all your hard work hunny! Recovery from this birth was much easier too....no stitches! I wasn't prepared for all the after birth contractions though. Wow, they were so much worse this time! I had to take pain medicine just to ease those! Other than that, things went really well.

We are home now, trying to adjust. It's difficult going without sleep after I've grown so accustomed to sleeping! I know I'll get the hang of it soon...it just takes time. We are so happy to have a new little addition to our family!

Preston Thatcher Egbert

August 17, 2009

11:43 a.m.

6 lbs., 9 oz.

18 inches

Me and my new son Preston, just minutes after delivery.

He's sooo sweet!

Preston getting his first bath at the hospital!

All clean!

Wow, I can't believe I have 4 kiddos now! It's crazy!

My adorable boy

Look at those chunky cheeks and all that hair!!

Heading home from the hospital!

At home with big brother Peyton!

Caile is 11!

2009-08-12T00:19:00.001-07:00

Our little Caile celebrated her 11th birthday on July 30th. We had her birthday party on August 8th at the park. We gave her the option of a theme this year, and she chose luau! We had big plans to have a really cool party in our new backyard, but it wasn't done in time...so we settled for the park. It turned out really nice. It was sort of a weird day...a little chilly and windy. Who would have guessed that it would be chilly and windy at the beginning of August? It has been a bit of a different summer though. At least it didn't rain! Besides the difficulty in getting the decorations to stay in place, without blowing away, it turned out to be a great day. It wasn't too hot, and when the wind acted up, the kids wrapped up in towels. Caile had a great day...lots of friends, presents, and plenty of fun to go around. There were a couple moments of pre-teen drama, and a little bit of crying...but what else would you expect of an 11 year old girl. The song "It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to" kept running through my head for some reason.

Caile got some really cool gifts for her birthday....and way too many to show on here. Spoiled girl!

Caile's cake...unfortunately I didn't get a picture before my 5 year old stuck a candle right on the end of her name...

Getting ready for cake and ice cream!

Daddy trying to light her birthday candles...it was a joke with the wind.

Well, I thought there were 15 kids...but this only shows 14...hmmm. Hopefully we didn't lose one! My husband and I were the only adults...yes we are crazy!!

Getting lined up for the pinata!

The kids had tons of fun with the potato sac race, the 3 legged race, the balloon toss and the water balloon fight! Only very minor injuries occurred during these games.

37 weeks

2009-08-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

37 weeks tomorrow, only 3 more to go....and hopefully I won't wait quite that long! I've been uncomfortable, but the baby has dropped a bit, so my breathing is better. It's about time. I had my appointment today, not nearly as scary as last time! The baby's heart rate is 152, I'm measuring fine....and have gained a total of 23 lbs. I've had a lot of low pains and pressure...but it's not doing much. I'm dilated to 1 1/2, according to the doc, and have thinned only a little. Of course they said I was a 1+ the morning I went into labor with Peyton. I think I'm not one of those people who walks around for a week at a 3 or 4! That's just crazy. By the time I hit a 3 last time, I thought I was dying. It may have had something to do with back labor...but it sucked. Anyway, I'm not going to hold my breath....I'll just wait for things to happen when they happen. The doc did say that since he is leaving during my last week of pregnancy, that he'll strip my membranes to try to get things started, without actually inducing me. So that's where we are....just waiting!

What a Day!

2009-08-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was one heck of a day. It started out with the landscapers showing up at 7 a.m. and pretty much being as noisy as possible. I got up and peaked outside to see how it was going. All was well until my husband left for work and one of the guys asked me to move my car so he could move the boat. He needed to get his tractor to the back yard. I moved my car and then went to talk to the neighbor who was leaving that day for vacation. Meanwhile, I watched the boat being pulled up the hill on the street by a tractor. Just as I crossed my driveway I heard a snap, a crunch, and then the landscaper say "NO!" I jumped into the neighbor's lawn and see the boat start flying down the hill, toward a car that was parked on the road. Just before it hit the car, it turned suddenly, jumped the curb, and headed toward my house. Seriously, all I could do was turn my head, cover my eyes and wait for the crunch. I was completely helpless! There is nothing you can do to stop a 3500 lb boat! After the noise stopped, I looked up, expecting to see my house crunched in and the boat hanging half way out. However, when I looked up, the boat was sitting in my front yard, looking like it was parked there....about 8 inches from my house. The landscaper was looking at the house and the boat, making sure there was nothing wrong. The house was completely fine, and the boat only had a prop bent, and slight damage to the trailer....which he fixed! So....after having my heart beat about 500/minute, I went inside to have a little rest. I slept for probably an hour or so, but just didn't feel good all day. I had a doctor appointment at 2 that day for my 36 week check up, so I got ready and headed out. During my drive I had multiple braxton hick contractions, about 5 in an hour. While waiting to see my doctor, I had what seemed like the longest contraction ever and it eased up just as the doctor walked in. The first thing he did was listen for the baby's heart. I wasn't super worried that it took him a minute to find the heartbeat because I could feel the baby move, but when he found it, the heartbeat was slow and we could hear the "gallop" rhythm. I tried not to panic. He said, "hmmm, the baby had a deceleration. I'm gonna have you go to labor and delivery so they can watch him for a while. We don't like to deliver babies this early, but we will if we have to." So, I got over there quick...luckily the hospital is right next door to the doctor's office. All I could think was how I was going to have an emergency C-section, right after the baby finally got head down! My husband was on his way to the hospital, after I called him. He said that all he could think was that we didn't have a car seat yet! lol. The things we think about! They got me all hooked up and the baby's heart rate was normal. It did speed up every time I had a braxton hick, but it never went down....thankfully! The doctor said that because the one I had at his office lasted so long, the baby probably had a hard time recovering from it. I was told to come back if I had any worsening contractions...but it's pretty much been the same since then. The sad thing is, the doctor didn't check my cervix before I left his office, and the nurse didn't check me at the hospital because she didn't want to cause more problems if there were any. So, I don't know if I'm dilating or thinning at all. I'm on weekly visits now, so if nothing happens before then, I'm sure I'll find out soon. I told Jared that the landscaper was just trying to put me into labor that day! Luckily, we didn't have an emergency C-section or an early baby....and our house survived! Unfortunate for my daughter, it was her birthday, so she had an interesting day too. Her party isn't until next weekend, so we didn't have to cancel anything or have a rushed party. Last year I had a D&C on her birthday....poor girl. What a day!

Good News!

2009-07-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

I had my Dr. appointment today...almost 35 weeks!! So, they did an ultrasound to check the baby's position....and he is head down! Just what I wanted to hear! I had almost completely prepared myself for a C-section. The baby was sort of sideways and head up when the doctor felt him last time, so I guess he just shifted position...Yay! I wonder if all that pain I had in my lower belly the other day was the baby changing position. It literally felt like he was digging in...so that must have been it. The doctor says that the baby has "no room" to move....and he kinda giggled when he said it. I guess the baby must already have a squished appearance to him. I have to agree that the baby has no room, since I have no room to breathe! So, the chance of him switching position at this point is slim. It was a fun to have a little ultrasound this late in the pregnancy! It was much harder to see things because the baby is so big now....and they just used the little portable machine in the room. We didn't get any shots that were really good enough to take pictures of unfortunately :(. But it was really cool to see the heart again, beating perfectly. We saw the kidneys and some of the ribs, one of the arms, and then we watched his chest moving up and down for his practice breathing. It was really cool! I'd never seen that before! The doctor said that they tend to get a lot of hiccups with practice breathing....so that's why he's been having them so much. So, now we just wait and see when this little guy is ready to find his way out. I'm having weekly appointments starting next week....we are headed toward the end!!

A Few Things

2009-07-21T11:25:00.001-07:00

I had a quick visit from my Mom yesterday! Luckily the charge nurse at work was able to pull off keeping me on call for the night....so I actually got to visit for a while! Otherwise, I would have been able to visit for about 30 minutes before work, and about an hour after work before she left. She was suppose to come see me on Friday, along with both of my brothers, my sister and their kids. Unfortunately, my sister Tabytha miscarried her second child this year. So plans changed and my Mom went to Cedar City to help Taby out instead, which is totally how it should have been! I actually didn't think I'd see her at all, but she decided to drive through Salt Lake and take I-80 home, so she stayed the night here. It was nice to at least see her. Of course she had my nephews Isaac and Kaden with her, so it was super fun for Peyton too! He always loves having more boys in the house! We were able to have dinner together and watched a couple movies....and my Mom got to rub my belly. She said she wanted to see me before I had the baby so she could rub my belly at least once. She is so funny.

So my poor sister....she was 15 weeks pregnant. She went in for her checkup and there was no heartbeat. This is her second pregnancy loss this year, so it's been a bit more difficult this time. The baby only measured 12 weeks and 3 days...so we aren't exactly sure when the heart stopped. It was devastating to her though. She had a D&C the next day and is working on moving on again. She is so strong and always has a positive attitude. I know she'll be fine.

As for my pregnancy...things seem fine. I'm getting very large, and have many more stretch marks this time. My belly itches like crazy! I can't seem to keep enough lotion and oil on it! At my last visit, everything measured fine and the baby's heartbeat was 141. The only thing the doctor noticed is that the baby was head up. I have an appointment tomorrow, so we will see if that changes. I hope so! I know I've still got time, but I honestly don't think this baby has much room to move anymore. We will see. The baby has had hiccups a few times! That's always fun! I was waiting for that to happen. It's like a baby's right of passage. They can't be born before they have hiccups in the womb. Anyway, I'll update how things are going after my appointment tomorrow.

Our quiet little 4th!

2009-07-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

Our 4th of July was great! We spent the first half of the day out boating on Utah Lake. The kids had never been, so it was exciting for them! They were a bit chicken about getting in the water, and wanted to go as slow as possible when they were on the tube. I got a couple pictures of Jared pulling himself up on the boat....with no shirt on! I'm pretty sure he'd kill me if I put them up here, so I'll save those for my private collection! I didn't get near the water....I'm not putting on a swim suit in my condition....and there's not much I can do in the water that is safe for me. I was just the picture taker! We went to a late afternoon movie and saw Ice Age 3. Not as good as the first 2, but the kids liked it! After that we just BBQd at home and did our own little fireworks show. Costco fireworks go a long way! We didn't go to the big fireworks show this year...just too much hassle. We had more fun at home anyway! It was simple and fun!

On Utah Lake

They had fun tubing, but they wouldn't let the boat go out of the lowest gear possible!

Here's Peyton telling us to slow down.

Josh and Caile were a little afraid to get out there....they went together and didn't last too long.

At home getting ready to BBQ!

Daddy, waiting for it to get dark enough to light the fireworks

Mommy, the only picture of me you will get to see....so enjoy! I don't much like pictures of myself lately!

Ramblings

2009-07-01T22:15:00.001-07:00

I feel like all I blog about is my pregnancy.....it's just so easy to complain to my computer! It doesn't pass judgement! I'm almost 32 weeks.....all I can say is stretch marks and 2+ pitting edema! It just happened one day. I was sitting in the movie theater and felt my feet swell....pretty much hasn't gone away since. The stretch marks are annoying....I didn't get this many with my first. Of course I wasn't nearly this big last time either! I'm buttering myself up as often as I think about it. I'm sure it's helping, but it's not preventing them completely. I guess these little boogers are worth what they do to our bodies! Still not quite ready for this little guy...I'm working hard at getting the whole house spring cleaned...since I probably won't be doing much for a couple months after he gets here. It's been a lot of work! It's amazing how much needs to be done after just one year of being here!

Things have been good other than my whining and crazy hormones. We are having a fence put in soon. We've had the posts sitting in our front yard for a few days. Our fence guys are behind because of all the rain we've had. Hopefully we'll have it in by Monday! I'm excited to let my dog run around without being in his cage or tied to his leash. I'm sure he's more excited than I am! Soon after that we'll do sprinklers and grass....yay! I'm glad this landscaping thing is almost done. It's so expensive, and it's a pain in the rear! I doubt we'll do anything cool, like plant flowers or plants. It will have to wait til next year. I just don't see me out on my hands and knees in a flower bed. I'll post some before and after pics when we are through!

For those who don't know, my sister Tabytha is pregnant again! She's due at the beginning of January. Since all of her babies have been born early, we'll say this one is coming in December. We are super excited for her. She miscarried a child not long after we did, but this pregnancy seems to be fine so far! They are hoping for a boy...so they'll be an even 2 boys and 2 girls....we'll see! Taby's husband Chris said that if they get another girl, they are trading us for our boy...lol. I don't think so! We are excited to have a new niece or nephew!

The summer has been ok so far. In all honesty....I don't enjoy the kids being home 24/7! Is that bad? Constant friends playing in the house and begging for sleepovers. It's a bit annoying. Oh, and all they want to do is eat....all day long! I usually kick them out for part of the day. It's nuts to sit inside all day when it's so beautiful outside! I think I'm the only mom on the block that allows kids to come inside, so they beg all the time. I do say no sometimes....I really don't like trying to clean my house with 3-4 additional strangers staring at me, and making more mess. It's hard enough to clean up after my own! We haven't done anything spectacular so far....and I think the kids just get bored too easy. They aren't happy just hanging out, there has to be something going on constantly. I'll make it....school is less than 2 months away! Yeehaw! I just haven't gotten the hang of summer yet.

Jared has been working a ton! When I'm not at work, he's working. And even when I'm at work, he's working from home. It's nuts! I'm so proud of him though. He's really wanting to take care of us, and I appreciate that so much. It does get hard not having him around though...it's almost like being a single parent....and let me tell you, I'm so glad I'm not one! I honestly don't think I could do it!

That's it for now....I'll do some more rambling later!

10 weeks and counting!!

2009-06-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

So, tomorrow I'm finally 30 weeks pregnant! Why did it take so long to get through the 20's? Anyway, I saw my doctor today, the baby sounds fine, I'm measuring fine.....just a typical pregnancy (according to them..lol). I've gained another 5 lbs for a total of 15 now....yikes! My belly has been stretched to an all time new capacity....I never thought it could get this big! I've learned I don't have gestational diabetes....thank God....and I'm not anemic. So the passing out thing is just an anomaly.

I wish I could say that this pregnancy has been good for me, but it just hasn't. I guess I just feel lousy. I know that pregnancy isn't easy, and I expected that the first 3 months, but I thought I was going to be doing so much better by now. I spent the first half of my pregnancy worried I was going to lose the baby....and just after we had our ultrasound and I could relax a little....things started heading down hill. The difficulty breathing, the passing out, the increased nausea, the HORRIBLE heart burn, the leg cramps, the inability to sleep (due to peeing every couple hours and the fact that there is no comfortable way for me to sleep), being tired all the time, and the insane lack of coordination. I know that there were things that bothered me while I was pregnant the first time....but I didn't have all the typical pregnancy problems. I was sick for a couple months and the rest was a breeze! Not to mention, I've been having Braxton Hick contractions every 20-30 minutes or so. No, they aren't painful, but can you say annoying?! I've also had the worst cravings with this baby....everything that is bad for me, I want! It's like an uncontrollable force takes over me, and I have to eat one more cookie. Maybe the problem is I was in much worse shape starting out this pregnancy. Maybe I'm getting too old! Maybe the problem is I've been through a lot in the last year....it's my second pregnancy in a year, and had to go through the first 3 months of pregnancy twice in a row. I'm sure my body doesn't like that. I know there is nothing wrong with me that other women haven't experienced, but that doesn't make me feel any better! I want to enjoy my pregnancy. I want to just be excited all the time and have a little energy. I am happy that the baby is well and that he is extremely active (especially around the time I try to lay down to sleep). I do love feeling him kick and I can't wait to see his beautiful little face! I'm just uncomfortable, tired and miserable right now. Definitely not a glowing pregnant woman. 10 weeks from now it'll be over....then I can complain about how I'm really not getting any sleep! I'm just old....

So quick update on how I'm doing since the fall....I'm as sore as I thought I'd be! My whole left arm and shoulder are killing me! That's what most of the weight landed on. My right hand is a little bruised and my upper arm has a sore muscle. Both of my knees have bruises. My lip is looking better...I've kept it moist with Vaseline but it's still a little swollen. All in all, I'm completely fine....just feel like I had a really intense workout! And still embarrassed that someone watched me do that! Oh well...

Well, don't I feel dumb!

2009-06-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

I was outside today, talking to the guy who's putting the rocks in our yard. Meanwhile, our dog had wrapped his cord around the stairs and got stuck. I went down the stairs and had to pull kinda hard to get the cord to come loose. When it came loose, somehow I found myself on my hands and knees with my face on the concrete! Looking back, it seems like it was in slow motion, but I'm sure it didn't look slow. Don't worry, I didn't hit my belly! I'm sure it's a natural reaction to protect that area when you fall. My left elbow and hand landed in the mud....along with both of my knees, my right hand caught me on the concrete, and my lips hit the concrete. Don't ask me how my face hit the ground, because I couldn't really tell you! Anyway, I was covered in mud, my hair in my face, my lip bleeding. The rock guy was kind of freaking out and asking if I was ok. He didn't see my bloody lip at first and I was so embarrassed that I just jumped right up and pretended like I was fine. He saw my lip eventually...and was even more concerned. I assured him that I was fine. Turns out my rock guy used to be an EMT back in the day. I guess if I was severely injured, at least there would have been someone there, other than my kids. I went inside, changed out of my muddy clothes, and headed down stairs to get ice on my lip. I just got the bag filled with ice when I had that shock feeling hit me. I seriously thought I was going to pass out (again). I got onto the floor in the kitchen and put the ice on my neck. I did break out into a sweat but didn't pass out (YAY)! I've pretty much felt horrible since then though. The baby is moving plenty and I called the doctor just to see what they wanted me to do. Since I didn't hit my belly, and the baby is moving, they told me to just come in tomorrow for my normal visit. I'll just keep a close watch on myself for the night. I mostly feel dumb. And now with a fat bloody lip, I can't really hide it from anyone! I'll blame it on the balance of a pregnant woman. I did fall down the stairs twice while I was pregnant with Peyton. I never fell in front of a stranger though.....I'm pretty much humiliated.

Jared's birthday

2009-06-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my man is 34! He freaked out a little about this birthday...I'm not really sure why, other than he's that much closer to 40. We couldn't celebrate on his birthday because I had to work....then got sick. But we went to dinner and spent the day at the air show the day before. That's what he wanted to do. I hope he enjoyed it! We had a little cake. Peyton picked out the power ranger cup cakes, ha ha. And let me tell you about the fire on that cake! I was scared I wouldn't be able to light all the candles before the cake melted! He blew them all out at once amazingly! We only got him a couple small gifts, but he seemed to enjoy them. I feel kinda bad that he didn't get anything big. Of course he didn't mind. He's such a good man! And 34 is still young babe! We love you soooooo much! Next year I'll request your birthday off!!!

Day at the Air Show!

2009-06-15T17:47:00.001-07:00

We spent a Saturday at the air show.....and let me just say it was AWESOME!! I'd never been before but it was really fun. Besides the fact that we walked about an hour (or so it seemed) just to get in. And we didn't realize we were suppose to bring chairs and all kinds of other stuff to make our day more enjoyable. What can i say....we are obviously air show newbies! Caile was in California, so she missed it. The boys loved it though! All Peyton wanted to do was walk through the planes and helicopters. The tricks those planes did.....AMAZING! We got some pretty good pictures. Next time we will find closer parking, and I will put sunscreen on a little sooner. I got a nice burn and could barely walk the next day. This is something I will definitely do again!!

Peyton looking inside one of the planes

Cool shot of the air show!

My boys! They had so much fun!

Awesome shot that Jared got of one of the planes

Memorial Weekend

2009-06-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

We had big plans to spend a nice weekend in the mountains camping....things didn't turn out quite as planned. We drove to Cedar City on Saturday afternoon, and by the time we got there it started to rain. My husband...being the optimist he is....still wanted to try to camp up Cedar Canyon. He went up to the camp site and started setting up the tent while the rest of us prepared dinner. The drive up the mountain was horrible with all the rain. When we got to the campsite Jared was standing outside soaking in the down pour. The tents were set up, but we would never be able to keep the fire lit. We decided it would be a good idea to leave and come back the next day. We stayed in a hotel for the night while our camping equipment endured the rain. Sunday was beautiful...at first. The sun was out, no clouds in site. Jared and the kids left early so they could get up the mountain and make sure all was well. I stayed behind and shopped for lunch and dinner for that night. By the time I got out of the hotel, I wasn't feeling well, and when I got to the camp site, I felt horrible. I basically handed off the food to my husband and sat in the car. Being pregnant, you never know if you are really sick, or if you are just have pregnancy issues. After about an hour or two of sitting/sleeping in the car. I got out to throw up. Let's just say there is a particular tree that I was good friends with for the day. I tried to participate in the activity, but it would never last long before I was sick again. I tried to tough it out. The kids were having a blast. My sister, her husband, and their kids were there. They were laughing and playing. I really love camping usually, so I was bummed that I missed out on so much. After my sister took care of me most of the day, she suggested that we drive down the mountain for the night....and let the husbands and kids tough it out alone. It was raining off and on, and I really didn't think that trying to sleep in a tent, feeling the way I felt, was a good idea. I was finally able to keep a little bit of fluids down and got a decent night sleep. We headed up the mountain the next day and hung out for a while longer with the whole family....cleaned up and headed home. Not the funnest weekend of my life, but the kids enjoyed it! I'm glad we went. Next time we go....I will try not to be sick....and definitely won't be pregnant!!

My sister Tabytha and her two girls....Morgan and Kaydence

My little fart Peyton....his cheeks look way cold!

Kids playing in the tent....they had so much fun.

That's the weirdest face I've ever seen on Jared!

My kids, my nephew Bailey, and brother in law Chris. They were so fascinated with the fire!

This is me....I really was trying to participate. This was after I "visited the tree" a couple times.

26 weeks!

2009-05-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

I've officially reached 26 weeks pregnant today....it's gone fast, but the time is starting to slow. I think it has something to do with not breathing properly, not being able to sleep comfortably at night, and heartburn that just can't be controlled! I'm loving that I feel the baby move so much now...it definately gives me comfort. I saw my doctor yesterday....the baby's heartbeat is still strong. He told me that if my shortness of breath gets worse, we'll do a chest xray. He will make sure it's not my lungs or my heart causing the problem. We both really just think it's the baby squishing everything out of place. It comes and goes. I've also gained 10 lbs so far! YIKES! No wonder I can't breath! I've never been this heavy in my life! My body just can't keep up. It's more exciting if I think of it as 14 weeks to go! I'm still very unprepared for the baby. I need to go shopping! I need to set up the crib! I need to shampoo carpets! There is a lot to do! My goal is to have everything ready in the next month....okay, maybe 8 weeks. We will see!

7 ate 9

2009-05-20T00:49:00.000-07:00

Jared shared this story with me today. He picked Peyton up from school and on the way out, he told Peyton the joke...."why is 6 afraid of 7? Because 7, 8, 9!" So apparently Peyton didn't respond....and he thought about it all the way to the car. Peyton finally said, "That's not funny at all, because then it would be, 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8.....10!" He is too funny.

Mom's Day

2009-05-16T00:36:00.001-07:00

Of course I worked Mother's Day weekend....not a big shocker considering my profession. But somehow, I had a wonderful Mother's Day! I came home to breakfast being cooked. The house was clean and the table was set. Peyton was sitting on the couch waiting for me. Caile and Jared were cooking. And Josh, well Josh was still sleeping! It was so nice though. Josh did get up when breakfast was ready. Peyton was adamant that he bring me breakfast in bed. Jared made breakfast burritos, so I got my plate together with everything I wanted and went to bed. Peyton brought me my plate and I could see that he tried to fold my burrito shut...but it didn't really work. He was so proud, I could see it in his eyes. When I told him thank you....I like to think I did it in a way that made him truly feel like he did something special for me. He was so happy. I asked him if I could come down to the table and eat with everyone. He said, "yea, since I brought you breakfast in bed, you can come downstairs now." It was great, I ate too much! The kids gave me some school made gifts and cards. They were really adorable. They also got me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a digital picture frame! Jared got me 3 pregnancy massages! I can use one a month until I have the baby! I'm soooo excited to use them....I've never had a professional massage before. It truly was a beautiful day....even though I slept through the rest of it! I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family!

Peyton's first real bike crash

2009-05-16T00:19:00.000-07:00

Because Peyton thinks he is a professional bike rider now, he decided to go around the block on a bike ride with Caile. Apparently he did pretty well most of the way.....even down the hill. But when they decided to cut through the dirt lot behind our house on the way home, Peyton didn't do so well. He's still a little shaky and has to concentrate while riding. All the dirt and rocks were just too much for him to handle. He fell over and had himself a good crash! Thank God I was at work, because I would have been freaking out! I came home the next morning and Peyton shows me a huge bruise and scrape on the inside of his arm....right by his arm pit. I said, "Holy crap! What happened?!" He told me about his bike wreck and as I looked him over, I found a scrape on his back, a bruise and scrape on his shin, a couple random bruises on his knees, a small bruise on his forehead, and even a bruise on his left clavicle! Seriously!? Poor kid! I guess if you're gonna wreck, do it right! And all of this just a few days after he has a rock thrown at his head! I know he's a boy....but geeze! He genuinely looks like he's been beaten! Good thing there's witnesses! After talking to Jared about what happened, everything was handled well. There was no breaking of bones and not even a lot of crying on Peyton's part. Jared just says, "He's tough." I don't think of him as a tough little boy yet....he's still my baby and I'm the protector. I think he's gonna have to stick to bike riding with Daddy for a while. He's just not ready for the big leagues yet!

Mom! We're being sued!

2009-05-16T00:05:00.001-07:00

My daughter Caile got home from school the other day and had a small flier type paper in her hand. I assumed it was attached to the door or mailbox somehow. Then she said in a surprised voice, "Mom, we're being sued!" I was thinking to myself, "Who on Earth would put a flier on my door saying that I'm being sued?" She handed me the little paper that she had in her hand. At the top of the paper I read....."Sewing 101". Apparently the church was having a class that week to teach people how to sew. So much for phonics!

Easter

2009-05-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

Easter, yes I know it was like a month ago....but I'm always behind!

So it wasn't the best day I've ever had....we stayed up way too late dying Easter eggs the night before. Of course the kids loved it, but I was soooo done by the time they all went to bed. Easter morning, I sure didn't want to get up. I realize however, that it's not all about me...so I grudgingly climbed out of bed (I'm pretty sure on the wrong side). We did the whole Easter egg hunt....and the kids loved their baskets! I think all the candy was gone in about 5 minutes. I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, then the kids played their new games. I don't know what the Easter Bunny was thinking....he brought "hungry hungry hippos" and "trouble" for the kids. Possibly two of the loudest games on the planet! Being that I'm super hormonal, I couldn't take the noise....or the fighting over the rules of the games....so I made a big scene, then sat on the porch whining about it to my poor husband. I seriously thought my head was going to explode! Jared told me that I should at least go sit on the bed in my room instead of on the hard concrete porch. Then he told me to take a nap! Can you believe it, lol?! So I took a nap. Did I wake up happy? No I did not, unfortunately. It was one of those days that I just felt mad. I just feel bad that I was so unhappy on Easter, and that I spread my gloom around to everyone else! When my husband and I started on Easter dinner, I chilled out a bit. Here's my apologetic conversation with my husband. Me: "I think the baby is making me angry today." Jared: "Me too, that's why I'm not mad at you." Then we laughed and hugged, and it was all better. I guess that's not really an apology....but what can you expect from a grouch? We went on a bike ride to the park a little later and Jared got Peyton riding his bike without training wheels! Peyton was scared to death and really wanted his training wheels left on. He did great though! I'm such a proud mama! He only really crashed once and didn't get too hurt. So, all in all, Easter ended well....even though I was a grouch. I think everyone else had an awesome day!

Peyton making his famous alien Easter egg

This is the alien...I think there are 5 eyes

Our big collage of eggs....the kids got pretty creative. That's what took all night!

I didn't get pictures of the baskets when they looked nice....this is after they've been gone through a few times

Josh with his water guns....those were also a bad idea! But the boys loved them!

Caile....beautiful as ever.

Peyton with one of the most annoying games ever!

Peyton trying to ride without training wheels. With Daddy's help of course!

Going........going.........

GONE!

Ultrasound Pics, finally!

2009-05-14T22:29:00.001-07:00

Sorry it took so long to put all of these up! We finally got our new scanner hooked up...then I had to figure out how to use it! My silly husband and all his toys...too complicated! But now I can scan from my lap top...it's pretty awesome! Anyway, we are very proud of our cute little bug! We are getting closer every day. I'm 25 weeks already! Can you believe it?! I've been feeling a little sicker lately. I had about a month that I felt awesome...but what can you really expect? I can do it! Only 15 weeks to go!

8 weeks! What a cute little peanut!

12 weeks! He was so wiggly...I could see his hands and feet and make out his spine.

20 weeks! He actually looked like a baby! He was practically jumping around in there!

His little footprint!

The baby's lips...if you look close you can see his nostrils!

The front of his face....pretty much looks like an alien in this one!

One of the 4D pics...we could only get one side of his face. The other side is squished against my placenta. Poor little guy!

Our first boy shot!!

I like this one because he has his hand up by his mouth...awwww!

Another boy shot. It's hard to see but his feet are at the far right...his legs are stretched out nice and straight...and as the ultrasound tech said, "his 3rd leg" is right in between them! There's no denying this is a boy, lol!

"Don't Throw Rocks!"

2009-05-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

The cut just looks so small and insignificant.....but it sure bled a lot!

So my 5 year old got a big knot and a small gash in his head today. A neighbor kid.....hmmm.....what else is there to say?! Beyond frustration! Anyway, Peyton and this little neighbor kid, that he sometimes plays with, got in an argument. What 5 year olds can argue about....I have no idea. Apparently this other kid decided that throwing a rock at Peyton's head was the best way to end the discussion. Come to find out...this isn't the first time he's caused this sort of injury to another child by throwing a rock. That's a whole different discussion though.

I heard a blood curdling scream from outside. Peyton is running for his life into the house screaming, "I'm bleeding!" Now, for a 5 year old....who's worst wound ever was probably stubbing a toe or scraping a knee. He didn't know how to handle gushing blood dripping down his head, soaking his shirt. Of course my other kids panicked too. I knew it was probably a tiny cut....since head wounds tend to bleed more than their fair share. The bleeding stopped in less than a minute. Peyton was scared to death. His poor little legs were shaking. I thought he was going to cause himself to pass out from hyperventilating. I had to tell him at least 10 times that he wasn't bleeding anymore before he stopped freaking out. Then it came down to washing some of the blood out of his hair so I could see the damage. Of course it was a small cut, not extremely deep. In all honesty, he probably could've used a stitch, but it took about an hour before I got close enough to tell that. I kept washing it, I even shaved his little head so I could see the cut better through his hair. Granted, he needed a hair cut...but not this kind of hair cut! I was holding pressure, just thinking it would seal up on it's own after a bit. I thought it was mostly sealed but when I let go of it, it tried opening again. I thought about taking him to the instacare about 5 or 6 times....my husband even called to find out when they were closed. In the end, I didn't think the cut needed stitches, so it was on to the super glue trick. I held the little cut closed, and put some super glue on his head. Like magic....no more open cut! Peyton's head wasn't even hurting anymore by the time I was done. I think my little guy got a crash course in the "don't throw rocks" lesson book!

A Bit of a Scare

2009-05-01T11:39:00.001-07:00

So yesterday I had a little trouble. I was going about my day....doing the usual laundry and cleaning when I started feeling weird. I felt like I couldn't get a deep enough breath. It didn't feel much like asthma, but I used my inhaler just hoping that it would help. It really didn't. So, I thought maybe the baby was squishing my lungs or in a weird position cutting off some blood supply. I tried changing my position to move him. I leaned forward to make him fall forward, to get him away from all of my organs. This didn't really help either. I finally just layed down on my side and focused on taking deep breaths. After a couple minutes I started feeling sick to my stomach. I got that "I'm either gonna throw up or pass out" feeling. If you've ever passed out, you know what I mean! The nausea got strong enough that I had to get up and try to make it to the bathroom....but everything started going black....almost like a T.V. turning off. I got down to the floor on my knees....with my face on the ground and my butt in the air. I'm sure you can imagine how silly this looked....but it was the only way I could think of to get my head lower than my heart. Things went black for just a second, then I started burning up across my neck and face. I broke out into the post black out sweat...so gross! After laying on the ground for a minute or two, I climbed into bed to let it all pass. It was really scary because only my 5 year old and myself were home. I made a couple phone calls to my husband and the doctor's office (I even texted a friend to tell her I wasn't going to make it to lunch, lol) and just waited. My husband came home and the doctor's office called back and told me to go to labor and delivery to be checked out. By the time I headed to the hospital, I felt a ton better....just a little weak and shaky. Anyway, everything checked out. The baby was moving a ton! His heart rate was good and steady. My blood pressure was normal. They were a little worried about my lungs since I'd said I had a hard time breathing, but everything was clear. I was told to come back if there's another episode...but so far, I feel fine. I don't know what caused the little black out, and neither do they. The only thing I can think is that maybe I had a sudden drop in my blood pressure, or maybe I'm a little anemic. I've passed out before because of low blood pressure...but not since high school. It was a bit of a scare, but we are ok!

Just a quick update

2009-04-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

I had another doctor's appointment on Thursday. Everything is great! After the doctor reviewed the ultrasound, he says that everything is perfect and measuring well. Even my belly measures perfect. The heartbeat was good but it was hard to hear it for longer than a couple seconds, because the baby kept moving. He's a wiggly little thing! Jared was finally able to feel him kick me from the outside this morning! Actually is was the first time we even tried. I didn't think the baby was kicking hard enough for anyone else to feel it. I was wrong....even though Jared only felt a couple light kicks, it was exciting! I'm definately feeling him all the time now. It's good for me because I've been such a worry wart! I have something I can measure now, instead of just waiting for the next appointment and hoping for a heartbeat. 22 weeks and counting!

Our 2nd Anniversary!

2009-04-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

My husband and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary yesterday. We have been together for 6 years now, and time has just flown! It's amazing what we have been through in those 6 years, and it's really amazing what has happened in just the 2 years we've been married. 2 days before our wedding, my husband was laid off from his job....what a wedding gift! He immediately got a new job, but it was 3 1/2 hours away. We spent the first few months of our marriage separated all week and just seeing each other on weekends. That was horrible. We finally got the courage to move everyone....even though our home hadn't sold....and lived in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment closer to his job. This apartment was suppose to be for only a few months....that turned into almost a year. We finally moved into a new home and have started the settling process. I can officially say after 2 years, I feel like I'm home, I feel like we are where we should be, and I feel blessed to have the things we have. We have overcome some hardships, and in my opinion have done a pretty good job with it. Most newly married couples don't have to start their lives together by picking up and moving to a place where there is no family and no friends to help out. Honestly, I think our situation has helped us to grow as a family. We've learned to sacrifice a lot for one another and depend on each other....because who else is there?! All I know is , I could not have chosen a better man to be my husband, or to be the father of my children. Our family is currently growing...and we will soon have a new baby boy in the house! We are very excited, and the kids can't wait to have a new baby brother! We are truly a blessed family!

Although we don't get a lot of time to ourselves around here...we were able to go out to dinner, just the 2 of us! We ate way too much, and just talked to one another (without interruption for a change!). It was a wonderful anniversary, the best 2nd anniversary I could ask for! I love you Jared, thanks for everything you do for me!

There's a baby in there!

2009-04-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that we had our ultrasound yesterday! Everything was perfect! The baby measured exactly to the day of my original due date! So, my due date is still August 28th. The heartbeat was 141. There was a lot of wiggling and kicking, most of which I couldn't feel! I am feeling quite a bit of movement lately, but not near as much as what's been happening. It was wonderful to see the little hands and feet, even the lips and nose!! I feel relieved that everything is okay and that we've made it this far! I'm also starting to get excited....I was just too nervous to be excited before! Since it was my husband and I's anniversary yesterday....we made the big decision to find out the sex of the baby. Sort of as a present for us! We are having a beautiful baby BOY!!! We are very excited....but we're gonna need some help with names!! I'll post some pictures soon :)

Another Milestone

2009-04-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

As of today, I've officially reached another milestone....I'm at the halfway point of pregnancy! 20 weeks, Yay! We haven't had the ultrasound to confirm this, but I'm going with it! I had my 5 year old take some pictures of my belly...he actually did a pretty decent job. My belly is much bigger than it was with my first pregnancy. At this point last time I was still fitting into size 3/5 jeans. It's a little embarrassing to say that I'm already in maternity clothes. I just couldn't do the rubber band button thing anymore. The other sad thing is that most of the maternity clothes that I wore during my last pregnancy, barely fit me, or don't fit me at all. I have one pair of pants that I can wear right now...these are the same pants I wore while 9 months pregnant with Peyton. It's a sad sad thing lol. In reality, most of my "baby belly" is fat. I really eat way too much! Our ultrasound is Tuesday next week! We are very excited and still haven't decided if we are finding out if it's a boy or girl. If we find out, we will share with everyone!

So far so good!

2009-03-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

I'm a panicky person by nature, but this new pregnancy has had me nervous from the very beginning. We waited until after our 12 week check up to start telling the majority of family and friends that we are expecting. We didn't want another loss to worry everyone. I have been freaking out constantly. Every ache in my belly could mean a miscarriage in my head! We have been monitored a little closer this time around, and I took progesterone for the first 14 weeks of the pregnancy. I'm not sure if that has helped, but I'm still pregnant! I know the progesterone got us pregnant much faster. We only tried 2 months to get pregnant this time, versus the 13 months it took last time. I really am hoping that the lack of progesterone was the problem! We had an ultrasound at 8 weeks and again at 12 weeks. Both ultrasounds were perfectly normal, the baby measured well. I watched the heart beating and the baby kicking around. My 16 week appointment was yesterday. We didn't do another ultrasound but listened to the heartbeat. 147 beats per minute! It sounded strong. I also think I've been feeling those little first kicks....though they are few and far between at the moment. My belly is starting to get bigger...I had to buy new pants :( I'm not wearing maternity pants yet, but had to get a size bigger. I was a little worried when they told me I hadn't gained weight since my last visit, but my belly is getting bigger obviously, so the baby is growing. I'm also eating plenty of food.....just ask my hubby! I have my next ultrasound in 4 weeks, and I really can't wait to see the little booger again! I just want to see the baby and know that everything is okay. I have had a little bit of difficulty getting excited about this pregnancy...mostly because I'm waiting for the worst to happen. I guess I'm just trying to prepare myself if it doesn't work out. I haven't bought one thing for our new little one, chances are I'm going to be totally unprepared for this baby! I figure I'll start some shopping after the 20 week check up/ultrasound. That should give me enough time, I hope! I will be 17 weeks tomorrow....it's amazing how the time has flown! As far as how I feel goes....it totally depends on the day. The progesterone made me really dizzy and tired, but now that that's done and I actually feel sicker. I'm still very tired but have a hard time sleeping at night. I have good days and bad days, but I'm hoping that part will end soon. I really do want to enjoy my pregnancy...especially since this may be the last one! I will post some ultrasound pics soon.

"I was just trying to help!"

2009-02-19T14:37:00.000-08:00

Is it possible to love your child and be sooooo incredibly mad at them at the same time? Yes, I'd have to say it is possible....and it's even possible to try and stay calm, when you really just want to explode with anger. I got a little test the other day, when Caile decided she was going to "help" with laundry.

There were some random things on the laundry room floor. A few whites, a sheet, a couple darks, some pinks and reds, and some bright red place mats that I purposely hadn't washed yet. Though Caile has helped me separate the clothes before, she's never run the washing machine. I've never even shown her how to run our new one. I prefer to do the laundry....because of all the mistakes that can be made. My husband does a load or two now and then, but he couldn't even tell you what needs to be washed in cold or what should never go in the dryer. I just do it myself....and if they run out of socks, they just have to wait until I get around to doing laundry.

Anyway, on this wonderful day, Caile took it upon herself to start a load of laundry. Since the laundry room is right next door to her room, I didn't even notice. It wasn't until a friend of Caile's informed me that I had pink socks, that I realized someone had done a load. My first question was, "who did laundry?" Honestly I was about to blame my husband. I never thought in a million years that one of the kids started a load. Then Caile confessed. I asked what she washed with the socks that was red. She answered the typical "I don't know." I asked her to pull everything out of the washer and put it in a basket. Before I got up the stairs to see what was in the basket, she showed me the red place mats that had been washed with the whites...and every other thing that was in the laundry room. As you can imagine I probably looked like I was about to explode. I immediately asked what temperature she washed the clothes at....and of course she didn't know. The place mats are suppose to be washed separately in cold water...thankfully they hadn't made their way to the drier. As I was trying to figure out what to do with all of the ruined clothes, Caile said, "I'm sorry, I was just trying to help." How can you be mad after that? It's amazing what an apology can do. I let her go out and play, separated the whites, that were now pink and threw them back in the washer. I guess I was hoping that after a wash with bleach, there might be an improvement. Of course after 3 washes and no real change, I gave up. I got the clothes loaded and pulled out the drawer for the detergent. I'm sure steam was coming out of my ears when I realized she had put detergent in the fabric softener spot. The detergent was caked in and wet. I spent about 30 minutes scraping it out with a spoon, then eventually pulling the whole thing apart and cleaning it out. I mentioned this part to Caile later when I had calmed down a bit. All in all, Caile learned her lesson, and I learned that I can be more understanding and forgiving than I imagined. The boys are going to need some new socks and underwear....because they refuse to wear the pink ones. I'm sure we'll laugh about it later!

Just a sample of our beautiful pink whites....

The culprit red placemats....they survived the ordeal

February 5th

2009-02-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Febrauary 5th. That was the due date of the child we miscarried a few months back. I'm trying not to dwell on it, but how is it possible not to at least think about it? I would have had a new baby by now. I think the due date will always serve as a reminder of our little angel baby. Miscarriage is a very hard experience to go through. I never imagined it would be as difficult as it actually is. People just don't talk about it I guess. After our loss, it took about a month for me to move on and start feeling like my self again. It isn't something that you just forget about though. That child was a part of us...if even for only a few short months.

This is the only picture we have of our little angel. We had the ultrasound just a few days before our miscarriage. In this picture everything seems great. I know it's hard to see, but you can see
the little head and spine and even the arms and legs.

I found this poem shortly after we lost our baby. I wrote a blog on myspace and attached this to it. It really describes the true feelings someone goes through when they lose a child....even one they haven't met.

OUR BABY

An empty space where life once stirred
My eyes were not yet seeing
Where once my heartbeat shared a tone
with a small and fragile being
So scarcely formed yet still a life
A dream, a hope, a promise
Our plans were changed to now include
This new life thrust upon us
Then just as quickly as it came
Our dreams were gone away
The deepest pain I've ever felt
Our baby died today
With footprints left upon our hearts
She gently took her leave
We're left with nothing but regret
And only time to grieve
There was no service to be held
No mourning time required
No songs of longing and despair
No words to be inspired
We're simply told to bare the pain
"It's nature's way" they say
I can't forget our baby moved
inside me yesterday
And with each word of sorrow
my teardrops fall like rain
The anger and resentment
are mixed with guilt and pain
I look to heaven for a sign
to help search out a course
Where love can teach acceptance
and eliminate remorse
My body will accept the truth
that now our baby's gone
But in our hearts our Angel
everlastingly lives on!

~Teri M. Stuckmann

Happy Birthday Peyton!

2009-01-31T16:08:00.000-08:00

Our baby...well I guess he's not a baby....turned 5 on January 15th! It seems like just yesterday that he was a brand new baby, or a little toddler finding his way around the house. Now he is finding his independence and growing up. He is incredibly proud to be so big. He talks about his big muscles and how smart he is. For example, he got the juice out of the refrigerator the other day, and poured himself a cup. When I saw the juice out, I asked him if he poured it himself. He said, "yeah, are you so proud of me? I'm so big now, cuz I'm 5!" It's amazing the mental changes that go through a child when they think they are suddenly older. We won't go into the whole "you are only a day older than you were yesterday" thing! He thinks his birthday made him a big boy, and we are going to let him believe that! Of course he's still his cuddly old self, and is still a Mama's boy (which makes me happy)! He's an amazing little man. We love you sooooo much Peyton!

Peyton in January, 2004. Only 5 hours old, and already loved so much!

Peyton had an incredible birthday. We had our smaller family party on his birthday, and had a slightly bigger party at our house the following Saturday with his friends. He was more than happy to have 2 birthday parties. He was like, "It's my birthday again!" We had just a few friends from the neighborhood over, ate some pizza, opened presents, played a few games and had cake and ice cream. It was a dream party for a 5 year old. It really was a lot of fun! One really funny part was watching Jared play duck duck goose with the kids. Let's just say he had a much harder time getting off the floor than those little guys! (haha, sorry Jared!)

Limbo

Musical chairs

The infamous duck, duck, goose

Present opening

Peyton with his brand new bed set...and his juice mustache!

Yep I'm 28

2009-01-31T15:12:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I turned 28. Yes, 28, and I hope some people are keeping track because after 30, I'm done aging! I will simply stop and be 30 forever! We didn't do a lot for my birthday, but we did go to dinner and opened a couple gifts. As a Mom birthdays are much different than they are as a kid...and I kind of messed everything up by having my baby the day after my birthday! I spend most of my day trying to get everything ready for my son's big day. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't the slightest bit disappointed on my birthday. I had a wonderful time with my family, and that is what matters to me the most! It was sort of a reflective kind of birthday for me. I just got to thinking about how much my life has changed in the last 10 years. A measly 10 years!

In the last 10 years:

1. I graduated from high school, and college.

2. I moved to Utah, and have moved 5 times since then.

3. I changed from party girl, to homebody!

4. I married the love of my life.

5. I received my CNA certificate, then my RN license (after a lot of hard work).

6. We've bought 3 different homes (all of which we still own).

7. I had a beautiful baby boy, and gained two more wonderful kids.

8. I've grown as a person, inside and out.

9. I've learned that growing up wasn't all it was cracked up to be....and that it has turned out better than I planned.

10. I came to an understanding that deep down I'll always be that little girl with big dreams!

Letting go of 2008

2009-01-30T20:28:00.001-08:00

I like to send out a newsletter with my Christmas card, but this year, I didn't have the time, the patience or the energy to even get a card out, let alone a newsletter. Since we are already a month into 2009, I guess it's a good time to go over how 2008 was for us as a family. This isn't going to be near as cheerful or as inventive as I could have or would have done. Last year I wrote "The Night Before Christmas" story about our family. Yep, not this year. Just an overview this time!

What a year! Yep that sums it up. There were good and bad things for us this last year, but for some reason, the bad always stick out first. We lost a few very dear family members and friends this last year. It gets really hard, especially close to the holidays. We also suffered a miscarriage in July. This really took its toll on our family for a couple months, but we managed through it. Our experience did come in handy when Catrina's sister Tabytha miscarried only 4 months later. We were able to help out in an emotional sense. The other hard part of this last year has been the upsets on selling our home in Enoch. We finally took it off of the market a few months ago, in hopes that we could refinance to get a lower payment every month. The house has to be off the market for a while, or this won't happen. We are kind of stuck. Our options now are selling for less than we owe, or renting the property out. We are debating the pros and cons of both and will hopefully have a plan soon. Paying 3 mortgages every month wasn't our plan, and we wouldn't recommend it! Anyone want to buy a house?!

On a good note! We have done very well during the last year. How many people could say that they are making 3 house payments and still have food to feed their 3 kids? We are making it happen, and we know how blessed we are to be able to do this! We were able to buy a beautiful new home this last May! We live in a smaller area, in a good neighborhood. The kids are close to their school and have made many new friends. It's a longer drive to work for us, but it's worth it. Just being out of that tiny 2 bedroom apartment makes life so much easier. We finally have room to breathe! The kids are growing like weeds. We are reminded on a daily basis how lucky we are to have beautiful, healthy and happy children in our lives.

Jared has had quite the year! He's been working 3 jobs regularly. Two of these jobs he actually gets paid for....and the other is a work in progress! He and a couple friends started their own business and have been working feverishly into the wee hours of the morning to get things done. We will hopefully see a return on his time investment in the future. Besides all the work, Jared is currently an assistant boy scout leader. Of course he loves this! He loves anything that involves being a man and doing manly type things! He spends a lot of time at the kids' sports practices and games. He got very involved in helping coach Josh's football team in the fall. On top of all of that, he's a wonderful husband and father. He does his best to be at home when we need him to be.

Catrina is still working at the hospital...doing the nurse thing! She is still part time and is glad for that. She has spent a lot of time at home going through boxes and trying to help the family get settled. This has taken a lot of effort, considering we've had some boxes in storage for the last 4 years. One day she plans to put some pictures up on her walls! She has kept herself busy being a mom when at home. Making sure people are fed, helping with homework, and keeping the house picked up. Sounds a little boring....but really, it's more than enough work.

Josh has had a blast this year trying out new sports and meeting new friends. He found out that he has a love for football and can't wait for it to start again in the fall. He is currently in basketball and liking that too. He has really enjoyed scouts and recently had the chance to go ice fishing! It was so much fun for him. He is doing well in school and has an amazing teacher this year!

Caile had a great year. She played soccer in the fall and found out that she is great at defense! She has done very well in school and is making good friends. Of course there is always that 5th grade girl drama that we get to hear all about! She has been reading a lot, writing stories of her own, and drawing pictures. Maybe we have a writer or artist on our hands?! She is always so willing to help out at home, and does it with a smile!

Peyton is growing so fast...it's hard to believe he's the baby of the family! He had the chance to play soccer this year too. Even though he got bored easily, and never really quite understood the rules, he was so fun to watch! He's been in the preschool program at his daycare, and goes twice a week. He is learning so much! He is unbelievably smart and we sometimes wonder how he knows the things he knows. I guess kids pick up on more than we give them credit for! He still loves his trains and trucks and just being a boy.

We are praying for a great 2009. We know that even with all the disappointments over the last year, we are a blessed family. We couldn't ask for more than we have right now.

Wishing a wonderful 2009 for all of our family and friends!

Love,
The Egbert Family

Christmas 2008

2009-01-30T17:39:00.000-08:00

Since my husband works all the time, and I've pretty much decided that I may never get our Christmas pictures off of his computer; I thought I'd write a little about how our Christmas was. Maybe down the road I'll add a picture or two!

So our Christmas was extraordinary this year. It was so calm and relaxing (not words I normally use to describe Christmas). Frankly, I loved it! The kids got waaaaayyy too many gifts, despite our efforts to "downsize" this year. Things didn't really work out as planned. It's really super hard to not give your kids every possible thing you can give to them. I think one of the problems was that we forgot about a couple gifts, and realized how much they were actually getting as we wrapped everything on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning was wonderful...we all slept in! So, we made our way down to the Christmas tree around 9 a.m. I was afraid of that 5 a.m. wake up call, so sleeping until 9 was heaven! We opened gifts....which was fun and exciting. The best part of Christmas is watching the faces of your loved ones when they receive something they've been hoping for. We had a wonderful breakfast made by my great husband and played with some toys. Then we took a nap! How incredibly fantastic! To have a nap on Christmas day....there was no one at our house to entertain, and we weren't somewhere that we would feel uncomfortable taking a nap. After some refreshing sleep, we played games, got dinner started, then we all went out to sled. (Thank you Paul and Sara for the new sled, we used it well!) As many of you know, we got plenty of snow on Christmas day...it was a beautiful white Christmas. I guess it was the perfect day for sledding (or sitting inside drinking hot chocolate). We had a couple fun filled hours of sliding down a gigantic hill, in the perfect weather. Peyton had the privilege of being hit by an out of control sled. He flew in the air, did a flip and landed face first in the snow. He survived, thankfully, and only cried for a minute or two. Other than that we avoided accidents! When it got too dark, we headed home and had a wonderful dinner. No pressure getting everything done in time...we just got it done and ate. No turkey this year, just ham. I think it saved us a lot of time and hassle....not to mention, it was delicious! We played some more games as a family, and probably stayed up way too late. It was such a wonderful day to just be a family and enjoy each other. We realize how blessed we are, and we are truly thankful for Jesus who gave us such a wonderful day to celebrate.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was great this year. Usually we are frantically trying to get to someone else's house, and I guess we just get plain overwhelmed with the chaos of family. Don't get me wrong....we love our families and we love spending time with them! It was just a nice break, or I guess just a good change to be at home this year. Just our little family. We could bond and enjoy each other and the holiday, without all the distractions. We were able to bake cookies for Santa. Of course we cheated and used the breakable, ready to cook kind! We opened our traditional Christmas Eve PJs. We played a board game as a family. The kids went to sleep relatively early (so nice), while Jared and I stayed up to wrap presents. It was probably the most calm Christmas Eve I've ever had. I loved every minute of that time we spent together. The whole experience made Christmas Day that much more special for us.

Baking cookies was fun....even though we cheated. The kids don't really care anyway. The best part is putting the cookies on the pan! Actually the best part is getting to taste them when they are done. We wouldn't want Santa to eat bad cookies!

The Pajama opening.....it's an exciting time! Please ignore the stupid faces! Apparently the parents don't take this too seriously :)

Caile loves her new pajamas, especially her flip flop fuzzy slippers!

Peyton just loved the fact that he got to open a present before Christmas....but he was pretty impressed with the Incredible Hulk PJs and slippers!

We thought Josh was enjoying himself....
and he really seemed to like the pajamas. Somehow he still looks like the exorcist in his picture.

The 3 little cuties dressed and ready for bed. They are waaaayyyy too excited for Santa!

The cookies, milk and reindeer food are all ready!

The stockings are hung and waiting to be filled......

California

2009-01-09T14:01:00.000-08:00

We had an unexpected trip to California this December, just before Christmas. Jared's grandfather, Ed Rolapp, passed away. He lived a long, happy, productive life; but he'd had some struggles with his health. We thought we might lose him last year. He fought through every trial and miraculously hung on for one more year. We were so grateful for the extra time with him. We didn't get to spend as much time as we wanted to spend with him, considering he lived in California. The time we did get was valuable, and we will have those memories forever. He will be missed deeply by all of us!

Our trip out and back was a nightmare. It dumped snow on us the morning we were suppose to leave. We hung out until the storm died down, and left that afternoon. The trip home wasn't much better. A storm blew in and we drove about 30 mph on the freeway once we hit Provo. Needless to say, it took about 13 hours both ways. Normally it's about 10 hours. Long drive with 3 kids!

Considering the circumstances, we were so glad to spend time with family. I hadn't met many of Jared's family members, and he hadn't seen most of them in years. It was almost like a mini family reunion. The funeral service was beautiful. Ed was a very loved man. This was Jared's first real loss of a family member, but he handled it well. I was glad I could be there to support him through it. There was a really nice reception at the Rolapp's home following the service. Everyone gathered to reminisce, eat, and laugh. It was a great end to the day.

We weren't planning on going anywhere for Christmas this year. We tend to travel a lot during the holidays because we have no family here. It's just become burdensome over the years. It's a nightmare to drag 3 kids and all of their presents across the states. We are packed in our car so tight, it's ridiculous. And of course the kids are whining because they can't move. We'd thought we might make a trip later....after the holidays were over. I guess Grandpa Rolapp had a different plan for us! Though we didn't stay for Christmas, we were able to do a little gift exchange and just spend time visiting. I'd say the trip was worth it!

Getting ready to leave for California. Daddy and his little helper shoveling the driveway.

Grandma Rolapp with Caile, after the funeral.

Opening some gifts at Grandma and Grandpa Egbert's house. What a mess!

Josh with his new ripstick from Grandma and Grandpa.....that thing scares me......hopefully he'll be okay on it!

Peyton with the loudest toy on the planet! Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa....he loves that thing!

A game of clue with most of the family. Jared, Josh, Barbara, Holland, Caile, Aaron, and Tom.