Letters to Santa

The kids finally got their letters to Santa written. They asked for some interesting things. Paige asked for candy canes. If only they were all that easy! The boys were so excited to get a snow day. They all had so much fun playing in the snow. Even Paige didn't want to come in.




 

Baptism

Blake was able to be baptized on Saturday. It was really nice. I'm blessed to have such a good family. Thank you for all of your help! Thanks to Grandpa Crick and Aunt Jana for talking. The talks were great! And a special thanks to Uncle Josh for doing the baptism and confirmation! I still have a hard time believing Blake is 8. He is getting so old!

Christmas is coming so fast! The kids will be out of school the end on next week. It's crazy! Blake and Cody both have programs next week. I can't wait to see them!

Holidays!

We had a good Thanksgiving. We went to Grandpa Jerry's house for Thanksgiving and were also able to spend it with Shane, Kim, Sydney and Nicole. It was fun. The kids had a good time. The boys also got to go hunting with Grandpa Jerry and Valerie(who had an eld tag) and Shane and Kim(who also had a tag). They had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, they didn't get to see anyone shoot one. Paige, Gavin and I went and hung out with Grandma Crick and Jill. We just relaxed as best we could with a grouchy baby but it was still a nice break.

I just got the Christmas decorations put up. We still need the tree but most of the inside is done. Lucky Justin gets to do the outside. He can't wait. I love this time of year! I love the music, decorations, food and traditions, but most of all I love what we get to celebrate! What a great season!

 

Halloween

Friday Blake's school had a costume parade and the preschool was invited to join in. So Blake and Cody dressed up for that. I think they had fun. There were some really cute costumes there.




Here's our little monsters on Halloween night. It was a little cold but they had a lot of fun.

Time Flies!

Man time goes by! Gavin is now 9 weeks old. He had his 2 month check-up and weighed 8 lbs 9 oz. He gained almost 2 pounds in 3 weeks. Not too bad for our little guy! The doctor said he's doing great. He's growing so fast! He was blessed on October 11th, the same day he was due. Uncle Josh blessed him, so we did it in his ward. Josh also blessed his baby, Kinsley on the same day. She was born about 2 weeks after Gavin.

Paige is so funny! She goes around singing all day. We're not used to this, our boys do not sing. She is so girly! I love the picture with the purse and sunglasses. She's wants to go everywhere with me. Especially if it's to the store. She's starting early!

Cody is having fun in preschool. He loves his teacher Miss Garcia. I guess they started a new routine. After she gets done with school she drives by our house (she lives on the next street over) and waves. He waits for her everyday. It's so funny.

Blake just had is 8th birthday. I can't believe he's that old already! He had a friend party this year. He had 6 friends come over. We did pumpkin bowling, a candy corn relay race and a treasure hunt. I think they had fun. Grandpa Crick did an excellent job as the pirate so that they could get the treasure map to find the treasure. Aunt Jana and I made shrunken heads for the center piece and then we made mummy dogs, cheese fingers, and monster cupcakes. It was a lot of fun and they turned out cute. It was a little crazy! They were all a little wound up and very loud but I think he had a good time!

This is funny!

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Yesterday I took Gavin to the doctor for a weight check. He weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces. He's gained 2 pounds since we left the hospital, so I guess that would be 3 1/2 weeks. Not too bad! He is still so tiny but is filling out!




Blake only has 1 more soccer game. He's the star of his team. He has scored a few goals and tries really hard for more. He is a good little player.

We were able to come home on the 11th, so we've been home about a week now. Gavin is doing great! He's eating a ton (for him). At his dr's appointment on Monday he had gained 5 ounces. That's not too bad for 3 or 4 days. Now we just need to work on sleeping during the night! The other kids love him. Cody will sit and rub his head forever. I think he's going to be bald on the top of his head for a while. Paige is always watching for milk running out of his mouth and is constantly trying to put his pacifier in whether he wants it or not. Blake loves him but doesn't smother him like the others. I think we'll keep him!

Surprise!

It's been a pretty eventful week. Monday the 24th of August I called the doctor because my blood pressure was pretty high. He wanted me to go to the hospital to get checked out. They ended up wanting to keep me overnight. Then the next day decided to fly me out. So at about 7:00 pm we took off in the helicopter. (It was not the funnest thing to do.) The hospital in the valley said they wanted to make it to 34 weeks. So I sat in a hospital bed for about 3 days there until they decided to induce me because I was getting fluid in my lungs. So on the 28th at 4:00 pm they induced me and 3 1/2 hours later we had a sweet baby boy. We named him Gavin Tate. He weighed 4 lbs 9 oz and was 17 3/4 inches long. Because he was so early (just over 6 weeks early) he had to go to the NICU there. His lungs were great (thanks to the steroid shots before I had him). He's been there for 4 days and is doing really well. He is off his IV and feeding tube. He is no longer under the lights. So he's pretty much a free man right now. Just a couple more things to get past before he can go home. We're hoping it will only be a couple more days before he can go home. We will try to keep this updated as things happen. Thank you all for your prayers!

It's been a while since I've been able to post so I hope I remember what's happened. The boys started school. Blake is in 2nd grade and has Mrs. Campbell as his teacher. So far he really likes it. He has a ton of friends in his class so I hope he doesn't get in trouble for talking. He also started soccer and is doing really well. He scored 1 goal so far and is working really hard to score more. Cody is still in preschool and his teacher is Ms. Garcia. He is loving it so far. Paige had her 2nd birthday. It's hard to believe she is that old! She talks so much and is way too smart. She got a ton a of neat toys for her birthday. She loved every one of them.

Busy Weekend!

It was a busy weekend for us. We were going to take the kids camping. We had everything packed and then Thursday morning as we were getting ready we decided instead of going camping in the rain we would take the kids to the zoo. So we booked a hotel and repacked everything and took off. The kids were able to swim when we got there and then we took them to Golfland. The boys had a blast golfing. We went to the zoo the next morning. I'm not sure what would have been better, the rain or heat. It was way too hot for us. The kids had fun anyway and got to see lots of animals. Paige's favorite was the turtles. She was so excited that she got to see the 'big Charlies'.

Saturday we took the kids fishing. We went to Nelson's and didn't really have any luck there. We took a break to eat and ended up going to Hulsey Lake. Justin's dad was there so Justin got to see him for a little bit. We didn't have much luck there either. Blake really wanted a fish and tried really hard. Maybe next time.

It's a Boy!

We found out on Wednesday that we are having another boy! We are excited about it. Especially Blake. He can't wait to have another boy to wrestle with, although he will have to wait for a while. The kids loved the ultrasound. They thought it was really neat. Paige was probably more interested than the boys. It's a good thing I didn't let Justin get rid of all the boy things!

I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted last. I had a really good Mother's Day. I got some nice gifts. The best was from Blake. He took some of his own money to school to get something from the Cougar Cub store. He ended up using it to buy me some flowers from the school. It was so sweet! Now I need to make time to plant them before they die. School is almost over. I'm excited and sad at the same time. But I'm ready to not have a schedule all the time. I had a lot of fun seeing Jodi and Dan. I wish we could have spent more time with them. I guess they just need to move to Arizona!

Blake's had a good couple of weeks. His last baseball game he hit the ball! He's been trying so hard and just kept missing. He hit it hard but it went right down first base and the kid got him out. But he did really good. During the same game he was playing the pitcher and a kid hit the ball to him. He picked it up and threw it to first to get the kid out. It was close but he got him. He hasn't been able to make many plays because he's always playing in the outfield. He has a game tomorrow, hopefully he'll have a good game. Yesterday his teacher stopped me and told me they had tested him for reading. He started the year at a 2.5 and just tested at a 6.1 which is a 6th grade level. He'll only be in 2nd grade next year! He was by far the highest in his class. We're really proud of him!

Cody finally is learning to ride a big bike (well big for him). He's having a lot
of fun and wants to ride all the time. He gets to play soccer and peewee t-ball this year and is really excited about it. I'm just glad he wants to play. He's ready for school to be out but will miss it. He's made some friends there and a girldfriend or two.

Paige is getting too big. She's talking a ton and is way too smart. She loves her baby dolls. She tucks them into bed, brushes their teeth and hair, cleans their noses, and gives them her pacifier. I think she's going to be a big help with the baby when it comes (probably too much). It's amazing how fast they all grown up!

I think things are slowly getting back to normal. We still have some sickness but not quite as bad. Paige has been sick but is doing better today so hopefully that's going away. Blake is still coughing his head off. Cody is still having headaches so we might have to get him in for another ct scan. I'm not sure what's going on there.

Our Easter was good. We went to Springerville on Saturday and saw Shane, Kim, Sydney, and Nicole. It was Sydney's birthday so we were able to be at her party. The kids dyed Easter eggs and had a lot of fun. They also did ALOT of 4-wheeler riding. They loved that!

Blake is starting baseball and will be using the pitching machine this year. He's been doing really well at his practices. His first game is on Saturday. I'm sad that I have to miss it (I will out of town) but Justin will be able to take him. I'm sure he'll do a good job!

What a Week!

Last week was crazy! We've had doctors appoinments and dentist appoinments like crazy! We had Blake with pink eye and a cold, Cody with the stomach flu, cold and a double ear infection (we had no idea), and Paige with a cold and ear infection. Cody had to go to the dentist in Flagstaff because we don't have a pediatric dentist here. His teeth are about to rot out. Then Blake had one with the orthodontist because his there aren't enough room for his teeth to come in. Then add Justin and I with our colds and coughs. It's been crazy! Thank goodness that week is over and hopefully we are about done with being sick.

On Saturday, the boys were playing out in the car (for some reason). All of a sudden Cody came in screaming. I guess they were playing in the console and found my pepper spray. Blake sprayed it and it landed in Cody's hair. Of course he touched his hair then his eyes and face. Justin took him in and tried to rinse him off carefully but it ran down him. It began to burn a certain place of the body that was not fun. That poor kid cried for an hour. I felt so bad. So did Blake.

This morning I came upstairs after getting out of the shower and Blake showed me that Paige had her baby doll and she was trying to clean its nose with a aspirator and a kleenex. It was so cute! It's funny that she would do something like that. I guess she was tired of us doing that to her.

Wiggles!

Lately, Paige's favorite thing to do is watch the Wiggles. I don't know what it is about these guys but all my kids have loved them at this age. Paige will watch them all day long. We usually put it on downstairs so we don't have to listen to it (it gets old real fast!) She somehow got the VCR to auto repeat so it rewinds then starts over. I can't figure out how to get it off now! She calls it "my show" or "Yummy Yummy" (after one of the songs on there). She's always saying "my show" so that we'll put it on for her. Most of the time she doesn't move until it's over. It's nuts!

For those of you wondering my due date is October 11. It's farther away than I was expecting but hopefully it will end up being earlier (just not too early). I have to say I was not ready for the morning sickness. I will be so glad when it's over!

SURPRISE!

For those of you that don't know, we are expecting again! It was a big surprise! We wanted to be done and did something more permanent. A few days after the big day we found I was pregnant. Apparently, we were supposed to have another one. We had to use fertility on the first three so this was a big change. We are excited and would like another girl to go with Paige, but as long as it's healthy we don't care what it is. The kids are excited too. The first couple of days Blake kept saying "I can't believe we're having another baby!" We kept thinking the same thing. I'm guessing it will be due at the end of September but will find out for sure when I go to the doctor.

It's been a while since I've written so hopefully I'll be able to remember what's happened. Christmas was the usual crazy holiday but was a lot of fun. The kids got too many toys (as usual) but they were good ones. Blake's favorite was, of course, his Nintendo DS. (Justin and I even like to play a little bit.) All the kids enjoy Rock Band, even Paige. Christmas break was fun but I have to admit I was glad when school started again. Cody is a Sunbeam in Primary this year and I'm having a hard time getting him to go. He did go last week and said he wanted to go again and now he's 4 he thinks he's old enough to go. Paige will go into the nursery next month!! I sure hope she will go! Her favorite pasttime right now is bugging Cody. Whenever he turns the Wii on she has to stand in front of the tv (every time). Then he yells (which is what she wants). Cody had his 4th birthday on Wednesday. Justin told him the night before that when he woke up he would be 4. He had the hardest time going to sleep because he was so excited. When I woke him up the next morning and sang Happy Birthday to him he couldn't stop smiling. All day he asked if he was 4 now. We took cookies into preschool and they sang to him there twice. He loved it. He got lots of good stuff for his birthday thanks to Grandma Peggy and Grandpa and Grandma Crick! Thank You! Last of all Blake lost another front tooth. If he looses anymore he won't be able to eat!