Almost 7 months

This sweet thang is nearly 7 months old!

He is growing up way too fast!

He:

*rolls

*sits

*does his own version of crawling

*eats baby food

*loves it when I pump and add rice cereal to his bottle

*giggles histerically when tickled

*loves bathtime

*still sucks his thumb, but only when he's falling asleep

*love love loves his mama!

Baseball season

Preston started machine pitch baseball a couple weeks ago. This is his first time playing on a team. {we are a little slow as parents}

He was nervous about not being very good, but with some practice we have already seen big improvements and his confidence rise.

Watching my own child play sports has really brought out the sports fan in me. We are so proud of him! He is doing so well!

zoom, zoom

March 19, 2009

Ellie is training wheels free! She is quite zippy and speedy on her little Barbie bike. Chris said now that she can ride it like a big girl she can finally have a bike seat that isn't chewed up by the dog.

Lucky girl!

The day has finally come!

Preston finally lost his very first tooth on March 28th!

He is 7 1/2 years old and we were starting to wonder if he was ever going to start losing teeth. He's got a few more that are a tiny bit wiggly. I have a feeling he's going to be a toothless wonder by the end of summer!

around the yard

In my attempt to avoid any and all house work I found myself putting my macro-lens on my Canon. I headed outside to check on my garden, front and back. This is a daily occurance now that we have a "real" garden. Picket fence and all.

Front:

A bloom from our wild blackberry bush. This beauty has vicious thorns!

Nasturtium

jumping spider

early girl tomatoes

oregano with some sneaky clovers

Back:

grass sprouts. hopefully more sprout up! it cost a pretty penny and we have big bald spots!

Yum, hope this produces well.

snap peas

herbs

Bardrock hen

Americana hen- the "Easter egg" layer

Peyton's collection of yard treasure

vacant, move in ready

If you are going to have a serious garden then you have to have cute yard decor. Thanks to my friend Alisha I have a good start.

Now onto the stinky stuff:

stinky fly trap

"deodorized fish emulsion"

Lies! all lies! My yard smells like a nasty fish market!

Never, ever, ever try using this stuff on anything indoor!

I hear the stink is worth it though. We shall see.

And last but not least. The giant that occupies our porch.

FREE kittens!

On Sunday March 15th our cat Tigra gave birth to 4 girls and 1 boy!

At 6:40 in the morning I heard a tiny mew.

I jumped out of bed and dashed to the floor and looked under my bed. There was 1 tiny black kitten!

Over the next hour or so we watched the other 4 be born.

Tigra is such a good mommy and keeps her babies well fed and very clean. These adorable babies are FREE to loving homes!

Let me know if you are interested! They will be ready to go to their new homes around April 27th.

More pictures to come soon!

My new favorite place!

We have found our own little Rocky Point right here in Mesa.

No there isn't a beach hidden away that none of us knew about!

You can now have delicious authentic Mexican food in a clean environment!

I do not want this place to ever leave! It is so delicious!

They are located on the West side of Country Club in between Broadway and Southern. Where Panchos use to be.

Let me know if you are going and I will meet you there!

ouchie

When a fan collides with a head:

and you are Ellie bouncing on the top bunk bed

You get 3 dainty stitches.

Surprise visit!

My doorbell rang shortly after 8 o' clock this morning.
I drag my lazy FaceBooking from my BlackBerry buns out of bed to the door. I peek out and I behold one of my dearest friends! I quickly open the door and hug Amy and then realize 3 things:

1. I haven't brushed my teeth yet.

2. I have no bra on. (Nursing boobs should not be allowed to roam free in public).

3. My house is a trashed mess!

I could add a number 4 in there, but we all know I don't always wear make-up despite the fact that I look way better with it on.

I let her in with a giant warning of a cps worthy mess. She so kindly reminded me that the first time she ever came over I was in my unmentionables and had to quickly throw clothes on before I let her in only to see pancakes torn up all over the carpet and some nursing pads flung around just for good measure. Then I realized something. This is how my heaven on earth looks most days when there is a baby I am nurturing day and night. And I realized, I am okay with that. Until I can't stand it for one second longer, then I have a freak out moment and everyone pitches in so I can experience cleanliness for a few hours...or minutes...you know how it goes with a lot of little people running around.

Back to my dear friend Amy. She moved to Utah almost 2 years ago. Two years already! She lived just down the street and oh how I miss having her there. She is a true friend who takes you how you are. She has 5 handsome boys! What a fantastic mom she is! I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends surrounding me who set such a great example.

My day couldn't have started out any better. Well, waking up to a clean house would have been nice. But waking up to a visit from a great friend and finally getting to introduce her to yet another pride and joy is a great start to a beautiful day!

Mr. Scoutmaster

This guy is one very busy man!! Sometimes it's hard to share him with everyone else, but we know he is blessing those that he serves as he gives them opportunities to learn and grow. We too are being blessed as a family. I sure hope when my boys are in scouts that they too have amazing leaders who do their best to fulfill their calling.

Babe, we sure miss you everytime you go on scout outings, but I sure am glad you are willing to serve and put your all into it. You are so wonderful!!!

And you look dang hot in a uniform.

When motrin kicks in...

you can do anything!

A couple weeks ago ALL my kids got sick.

Fevers, coughs, body aches.

All of which made them lethargic then whiny back to lethargic and then mostly whiny.

So I of course gave them Children's Motrin to ease their pain.

Then the cabin fever and super boredom set in.

So that of course turns into teasing which turns into fighting.

The cure?

Vitamin D

And a little picnic on the trampoline along with some quad riding.

Am I alone?

I am addicted.

It is so fun to catch up with old friends.

Friends from way back in high school. (it's been almost 12 years already!)

And newer friends.

My favorite thing:

Status updates.

There is just something about getting a peek into other's lives and what they are doing.

Even the small things like,

"So and so is going to Costco" or

"So and so is dead dog sick!"

I am so addicted that when I feed my oh so adorable baby in the middle of the night I lay in bed and check my FB status updates with my BlackBerry.

It's amazing how many people are awake in the middle of the night updating!

I thank you all for giving me something to do in the wee-hours of the night.

moo cow

My super talented and cute friend Megan

hand stitched this adorable onsie.

Do you recognize the character? It's one of Sandra Boynton's books.

We LOVE her books!

And we love Megan and I wish I was half as cute and creative as her!

she said she was cold.

Ellie told me she was cold. I told her to get her jammies on and wrap up in a blanket.

She must have heard go get dressed for the snow!

Haha!

a wonderful visit!

Courtney and her boyfriend came for a 2 day visit.

They are moving to Florida from Colorado.

My mom, big sis, and little bro drove up from Sierra Vista to see Court too.

This is our first time all together in almost 4 years. Before that it was much longer. We all said our goodbyes and well-wishes to Courtney on her way across country and Josh on his way back up to Colorado.

I love you Courtney! Thanks guys for going slightly out of your way and adding 2 days and hours of driving to your big move! Let's not let it be too long before we get together again!

little discoveries

Finding body parts to play with is cheap entertainment.

Hopefully he doesn't play with anything else below the belt.

scrumptious!

From head

to toe

this boy is delicious!

second mommy

Carson is one lucky boy.

He has a big sister who truely loves him and LOVES to play with him. Taylor is such an amazing helper!

She loves to make Carson laugh. In fact she is the only one who is able to get him to laugh histerically every time she tries.

She loves to cart him around in the Baby Bjorn too.

Whenever she goes to the store with me she asks if she can carry him. I haven't let her because I am too worried that people will look at me and think I am a crazy woman that let's her 9 year old carry her baby around!

Little do they know...

turns out 4 wasn't enough

November 2006

When I look at this picture it takes me back to when I thought I could be done having kids. I had two of each and my hands felt very full. Whenever people asked if we were done I would say,

"I think so, or we just need a little break."

I am thankful for my break. Even more so, I am thankful for the desire to have more children came back.

Carson fits in so perfectly. It would be strange not to have him in our family.

I love my kiddos SO very much!

I am doing exactly what I dreamed of as a little girl.

I am committed to making sure that no one is missing from our family. Not a single one.

The Big Game!

This was the first time I have ever watched a whole football game.

I actually understood what was going on.

That was also a first.

Such a bummer the Cards lost, but they sure did make the Steeler's fight for their win!

I made 7 layer bean dip and didn't forget to put the taco seasoning in the sour cream this time.

We also had fresh veggies with homemade ranch.

Taylor made JIFFY Blueberry muffins.

We snacked all afternoon and never did have a real dinner.

We were all too stuffed.

Carson had cereal for the first time!

I wanted it to taste as yummy as possible so I had squeezed milk into it.

(sorry if that is TMI, but this is my blog)

I asked Taylor to hold the bowl for a second while I buckled Carson in his swing then she tripped or something happend and cereal flew on the swing and the side of Carsons face and hair!

At first it was more frustrating than funny since all I could think about was how I hand pumped my milk!

So back to the kitchen and that time I used delicious distilled water.

He loved it and ate like a champ. He and Preston are my babies that seem to need baby food started at 4 1/2 months and the others were closer to 6 months.

My babies growing older and doing new things are so bitter sweet!

Part of me wants him to stay a baby forever!

Taylor was the only one other than Chris and I who was into the game.

I was surprised! I never was until now and I'm almost 30!

The other kids weren't so much into the game so they had to find entertainment elsewhere. Ellie ended up being the most creative!