Spring portraits

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!

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

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?

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?!

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

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

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

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"

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

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!

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!!

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

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

Preston is one!

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

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!

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

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