It's a LONG one...hey it's been a while!

I don't even know where to begin, these last few months have been a blur. Having 5 kids has been a challenge, we have our ups & downs...like everyone...but it has also been fun. I look at the picture below & can't even express how grateful I am for these 5 beautiful, healthy children. They amaze me with the things they know & teach each other. The picture was taken in January, Kate had just started sitting up. Now she sits up well & is trying to get on her knees & rock. I stopped nursing her 2 weeks ago today. She was a biter & not getting quite enough from me. I have mixed feelings about stopping because she is my last. But I know this is what is best for both of us. I still feel a strong bond with her...she's definitely a mama's girl & I LOVE it!

I love how these kids love each other, they fight & squabble, but the next second they're best friends.

Me & my Katie-bug...love her! She is laughing like crazy! Lexi & Makelle can make her laugh like no other...it's the cutest thing to see all my kids bond with her

It may be hard to see, but Kyler got his first black eye, it probably won't be his last. He's a climber & a mischevious little fella! He got this just a week after Makelle's eyes healed. I only have a picture of her black eyes on my phone. Long story short: she fell off daddy's back & landed on her face. She got 2 black eyes & a very swollen nose...lucky for us it's not broken! As for Kyler, he jumped off a bed post downstairs & landed on the wood floor on his face.


For FHE last Monday we had food tasting fun! We blind folded everyone, one at a time & they had to guess what they were eating. It was a lot of fun!

Kyler did surprisingly well, he was the last to go & watched how everyone else did it & was super excited for his turn. It was the cutest thing!

On Friday we had a Drive-In movie night. Kate waited patiently in her chair, while the kids made their cars out of cardboard boxes & I got the concession stand ready. She is such a good baby! She doesn't complain much when she has to sit, or when I take her a million places in one day to drop the kids off here or there. I got real lucky with her!

Here is our concession stand. We had hot dogs, popcorn, soda, candy, & chips. The kids did chores & extra things for each other to earn tickets to buy stuff. We told them at FHE what we were doing & how to earn tickets. They were all super excited & worked really hard, even Kyler, he loved earning tickets!

Here they are in the cars that they made, eating their food & watching Cars 2. It was probably the quietest dinner we've had in a LONG time!

Ethan is in 1st grade, he says he doesn't like school, cause he knows everything already. But he always comes home saying what an awesome day he had. He does well & has made some good friends. He's reads really well, is really good at Math, loves to play the Wii & is a really big helper.

Lexi's still in dance, she isn't loving it & wants to only do gymnastics. I have her in both until the end of year recital & then she'll solely do gymnastics. She does cartwheels, round offs, handstands & back bend/walkovers really well! She's already caught up to her class, & she only has had 3 lessons. She will turn 5 in May & already has her 6 year molars & lost 2 teeth...crazy girl! Her body doesn't understand that she's not that old yet.

Makelle has FINALLY potty trained! It has been over a year-long struggle with that girl. She would potty train & then regress, I can't even count the number of times we went through this cycle. It has been 2 months & we have never had her go that long without an accident. My prayers were finally answered & I couldn't be happier! She is such a sweet girl, who wants to do everything Lexi does. She is doing dance & loves it!

Kyler will turn 2 on Sunday. Those 2 years have gone by so fast! I love how much he loves Katie-bug. I love how sweet he is to her & how he loves to share with her. He loves to tease, but he also loves to share. He is finally going to nursery without a big fuss!

Kate will be 7 months on the 8th. This girl is so sweet! I love her laughter, I love the smiles she gives me when I enter a room...I love that she gets so excited to see me. She loves to stand & say bbbb.

Sorry this post was so long, but that's what I get for waiting so long to update!

Long overdue

This is a long, overdue update...5 kids is wearing me out! When I do have time to be on the computer, I really don't want to...I'm exhausted! But I do want to remember the last 2 months. I met up with my MIL & SIL's at Cornbelly's...it was closed, so we went to the BooYard. The kids had so much fun looking at all the animals, going on a tractor ride & riding the horses. Lexi was excited to ride a BIG horse...She started preschool back in August, she loves it! She met a new friend, who coincidentally lives in the neighborhood behind us. She's learning to read, & really enjoys homework.

Kyler riding one of the horses...he loves animals! He thoroughly enjoyed his ride!
He's been a major pest since Kate was born! He gets into EVERYHING!! I've never had a kid get into so much trouble before. He's learned to climb onto the counter without using a chair or anything else to stand on, Makelle taught him how to climb out of his crib...so there goes any place for him to actually stay out of trouble, I can't keep him in once spot. I took him in for his 18 month check up...he's up to 5% for his weight instead of 3%! This is the first time since he's been born that he hasn't lost. I'm very excited about that!

Makelle loved her ride. Not much is going on with her. She's a quiet child, stays out of trouble, plays good by herself & entertains Kyler really well...she teaches him lots of things. I like that they play so well. She loves to learn & really wants to know her letters & numbers just like the big kids. Lexi loves to play school with her & teach her what she's learning.

I didn't see much of Ethan, he was running everywhere...
He is officially a 1st grader. We had our first parent teacher conference recently. They had all good things to say abou him. He's on a 2nd grade reading level & is excelling in all he does. He loves to play tetherball at recess. I don't see much of him...he's always playing with friends, or at soccer practice. He's done really well in soccer & totalled about 9 or 10 goals for the season, which is pretty good considering he's playing up a grade & playing against 2nd graders.

My little Katie Bug...How I love her! It's all sinking in that this is my last, she is my baby & growing too quickly. At her 2 month appointment she was 11 lbs. (50%), 5% for her head :) I thought it was pretty funny that she has such a small head! and 25% for her height. She's chunking out good & I love it! She's so smiley & happy 95% of the time

We have a tradition of doing a spooky dinner every year at Halloween time. We had witches brew, Bat blood (homemade tomato soup, YUM!!), eyeballs (deviled eggs) and Jack o'lantern sandwiches. And muddy, worm pie for dessert. The kids love it & I love going all out for this holiday.

We blessed Kate on Sept 25th. I didn't have much luck with pictures...I forgot to take them & then she was super fussy. I hate the binki picture, but I kinda want to remember the ugly binki that she will only suck on if I try for a good 5 minutes...she hates the thing, but it's better than a crying baby in the car.

She is one cute little baby! I love her to pieces! I love that she'll sleep for a good 6-10 hours, (I can never predict which one), but it's usually all night...I love it! I love that every time she sees me or hears my voice she gets a big smile!

She was about a month old in this picture...I haven't been great at taking pictures. I forget, I get busy, I'm tired! These kids are sure worth all the work, though. I've really been blessed to have such great kids.

Kate

Introducing Kate!

6 lbs. 5 oz. 18 3/4"

Born on Aug. 8th, at 7:00 pm

I can't believe she's finally here!
She's a snuggler! I really can't complain too much, she's a great sleeper. She's been sleeping great at night, waking up only once or twice. She's happy & content as long as she's full. She does have a great set of lungs & lets me know when she's hungry.

Ethan absolutely adores her! Today he sat on the couch and watched Rio & held Kate. He's been a big helper!

These two keep each other entertained. They've been playing so well together since I've been home... it's a miracle!! Makelle loves to hold her & look at her & loves helping me by getting diapers & nursing pads & water. Kyler will poke at her head & repeat "baby, baby, baby..." over & over & over. He definitely has a spot for Kate in his heart. When all the kids are getting a turn holding her, Kyler will sit on the couch & hold out his arms. Then he'll kiss her head & hold her for a minute. It's very sweet!

Lexi is my little mom. She is constantly asking to hold her. She is always asking where she is, when she's going to wake up & if she's done eating.

Our five adorable kids!

Recovery has been the hardest with this one. I have one AMAZING husband who has stayed home & taken over duties. I have amazing neighbors, friends & family who have brought dinners & taken kids. THANK YOU! I couldn't have made it without you. I'm finally feeling about 80% now & have started a "normal" routine with all 5 kids.

Lexi has started pre-school & Ethan starts 1st grade tomorrow, so I will be posting more soon. Time flies so fast!

Making Memories

The month of July has just flown by! We've kept so busy, trying to enjoy the last little bit of summer before school starts again.

We went to a ward BBQ, they had face painting, which obviously the kids LOVED! They had a dunk tank & bouncy slide. And lots of yummy food. Ethan & Lexi had lots of fun trying to dunk people in the tank. Makelle loved the bouncy slide & Kyler loved running off.
We went camping. Normally we go 5 or 6 times during the summer, sometimes more. The weather has kept us from going that often. And I really didn't want to go being as far a long as I am. Jeff opted to take the older 3 & I stayed home with Kyler. Ya, that lasted 2 days. I went up the last night & enjoyed spending time with them. I missed them so much! Let's just say the TV was on WAY more than normal because I missed the noise, it was way too quiet while they were gone! They had fun in our trailer, making a fort,

catching fish

shooting guns. Ethan also brought his bow & arrow & had fun shooting birds.

And eating rabbit. My nephews shot a rabbit, they cooked it up & ate it one night. Everybody seemed to like it, luckily that was the night that I wasn't there...I'm not so sure I really want to try rabbit.

We had a fun playdate with my cousin Stephanie. She found a fun park & we met up there to let the kids play. As you can see it took Kyler a while to warm up to the place. He just stood there like this for the longest time. I couldn't figure out why he was being so weird, normally he loves parks!

This is the park we went to. There was so much for the kids to do, I really liked that there's a toddler area where I didn't have to worry about Kyler falling off of anything. The place is pretty big & I couldn't keep track of the older kids at all times. But they had fun!

They had some super fun swings. All the kids had a blast!

Ethan lost his first tooth!

And 2 days later he lost his 2nd tooth!

School starts in 3 weeks! I'm not so sure I'm ready for that, especially with a new baby. It's going to be quite a challenge, but we'll make some good memories just trying to get through each day!

Oh where does the time go?

I have been quite the slacker at blogging! It normally doesn't take me this long to update, but I haven't been feeling my best, we've had internet issues & the kids take up so much of my time. We have done a few fun things, despite my condition.

We went to Lexi's dance recital. We got cute video of her, but no pictures. We did snag some pictures of Makelle copying the girls on stage. She sat in awe for the first little while, she clapped when they were done & said when I'm 4 I'm going to do that! Then she got down & danced in the aisle for most of the show. It was adorable, apparently she wants to be a dancer!
We took the kids to the aquarium for the first time ever. They loved it! They bounced from one thing to the next not staying at anything for long.

Kyler has found a new way to entertain himself. Not only does he love the swing, but he loves it when we turn on the sprinklers under the tramp.

Ethan has officially graduated Kindergarten & will start 1st grade in August. I can't believe he's that old! He got the Super Reader award in class. He's already at a 2nd grade level.

I wish I was better at taking pictures, but thus I have left my brain somewhere & can't find it. We have enjoyed lighting fireworks off, doing sparklers & pop its. Oh, and only 4 more weeks & we'll get to meet our cute little Kate!! I don't know who's more excited, me, Jeff or the kids!

Too much going on!

The past month has gone by so fast, I can't believe it's taken me this long to update. So much has been happening, time really got away from me. No, Kyler is not potty training, nor am I even thinking about it. But he is obsessed with the potty!! We are re-potty training Makelle (long story!), so we are spending A LOT of time in the bathroom. He is constantly pointing to the potty & saying "poo! poo!" So I'll take off his diaper, he'll sit there, read some books & have a good time.

We did celebrate Easter. I'm so grateful for the resurrection of my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. I'm grateful that he made it possible for me to return to live with my Heavenly Father & family again. We started off the celebration with a party at my mom's, an egg hunt & lunch. As you can see Kyler wasn't too excited to get his picture taken in his Easter outfit. The picture with all the grandkids isn't the best picture, but it's the only one I got with everybody in it, it's hard to get all the kids to hold still & look at me. Kyler was more interested in a ball than finding the eggs. But he did find a few & his siblings made sure he didn't go without.

At the end of April Jeff & I went to Supercross. It is an annual thing, his company gets box seats & Jeff & I get a night out. This was the first year that a baby didn't have to tag along with us, well, kind of. This baby girl was a lot easier to take care of! Let's hope she stays put for a while! Ethan & Lexi both celebrated birthdays in May.

Ethan turned 6. He chose Carl's Jr for dinner. He had pancakes for breakfast & had a blast going on a treasure hunt to find his presents! He also found out he has his first loose tooth!

Lexi turned 4. She chose cereal for breakfast & Chick Fil A for dinner. I took her & her friend Abby to a nail salon to get their nails painted. They had so much fun!
Makelle has recently started dance. A lady in my neighborhood put together a little class for girls her age. She feels so big & is loving every minute of it!

Ethan & Lexi have started swim lessons. They both look forward to it & the day of lessons they are constantly asking if it's time to go yet. It's nice to switch things up while Ethan's off track.

Lexi graduated from SuperKid Preschool. It was so cute to watch her perform her songs & talk about how she wanted to be a doctor & a mom when she grows up. She has enjoyed going to preschool with her best friend Abby. She's grown up so much & come out of her shell. She's much more confident & friendly to other kids. I love the picture with her in her cowboy hat, she saw me hold up the camera & totally model posed for the picture.

I'm loving feeling our baby girl move all around. I'm still "taking it easy" & trying my best to keep her in there as long as possible. The kids are very helpful, as is Jeff. I'm so blessed to have such wonderful family & friends surrounding me.

I'm reading a book called 5 Spiritual Solutions for everyday Parenting Challenges. It's by Richard & Linda Eyre. I LOVE it!! If I could pass one thing on, it would be this: "As our literal spirit brothers and sister, children are worthy of our respect and diligent care, and parents are their stewards rather than their creators-who should do their best to discover who and what their children already are and raise them accordingly." I view my children in a whole new light & strive each day to respect them & share my knowledge with them, rather than say do this & do that. They have helped create 5 important rules in our house & its consequence, each consequence is a natural consequence, not something random. I no longer have to think up a consequence for random behaviors. Each behavior fits in with one of the rules we have created & there is less fighting & more Spirit & love in our home.

Oh so blessed

I have been blessed to have 4 healthy pregnancy's. I have been blessed to have 4 healthy babies. Heavenly Father has richly blessed my life with these 4 beautiful kids.

At about 16 weeks during this pregnancy I started having braxton hicks contractions. It's not normal for me to start so early. They didn't go away by resting or drinking water. At about 22 weeks I started having real contractions & cramping. They didn't go away by resting or drinking water. That is what concerned my doctor. Bed rest? I begged him not to. He told me to take it easy. Take it easy with 4 kids? I don't think so! But the contractions kept coming, so I said "Ok, I hear you! I'll take it easy!" The contractions have lessened. Yesterday, my dear sweet Kyler head butted me in the stomach. Oh how it hurt! It has caused me so much pain, I don't know if there is truely something wrong or just bruising. The contractions are back, not regular, not close together.

I am learning that it's ok to have a mess. My kids are learning a little bit more responsibility. I am learning more patience & to rely on others. I am learning to let go of pride & let others help out. I am learning that my will is not always the will of Heavenly Father. I so want the contractions to stop & the pain to go away, so that I can be a mom again & help out around the house again. Is that weird that I miss cleaning & taking care of things?

I truely have the best husband. He is concerned about me & the baby & is doing everything he can to make sure the baby stays in there & continues to grow & develop. He takes care of the house & the kids & goes to work & he's been taking care of me. He is truely Superdad!