Welcome Irish!

I know, I'm really behind on my postings...better late than never, that's my life motto! My little sister had her first baby girl...Irish James Talkington, and what a cutie she is!! Jessi was so excited to be the 1st kid to hold her (thanks Tam). It seems to be that Irish is following in Jessi's footsteps, already, because at 2 weeks old, she was also rushed to the hospital to be poked and prodded over a health scare. Being up at Primary Children's Hospital and looking at Tamie standing over Irish, all hooked up to wires, in her little crib, brought back all those unpleasant memories I buried when I was up there with Jessi at 2 weeks old. My heart broke for Tamie, and Irish. I realized you just can't bury painful memories, because sooner or later they will re-surface and hit you full force with even more pain! It's amazing to actually see a little of the Lord's plan unravel, because had Irish come when Tamie and Jared wanted her to, a couple of years ago, Irish would have not survived. NEC is what she had...I honestly can't tell you much about it, other than babies died from it up until a few years ago, and it's uncommon. But, thankfully, she is home and doing well...and cuter than ever! Nothing says "welcome to motherhood" like being rushed to Primary Children's Hospital in an ambulance, right Tam?!

Easter 2009

Didn't we just get through with Christmas?! And now it's already past Easter?! I guess that's what happens with time, it's inevitable! Anyway, Easter has come and gone, and what fun it was! The kids had fun sleeping in the same room that night, in fact they had a "sleepover" the whole week of spring break...whatever gets them to bed without a fight! As the Easter Bunny was making his stop at our house, he had to chuckle to himself when he saw the kids' new Easter shoes outside their bedroom door for him to put candy in them. This was a tradition my sisters and I did when we were growing up, and my kids remembered it, without my reminder this year...what fun!

I found this cute website called http://www.myfavoritepal.com/ that carries matching ties from infants to adults. So, I found blue and white polka dot ones to match Jessica's blue and white polka dot dress...so proud of myself! Dinner at Grammy and Pop's was fun, too, along with the egg hunt. But wasn't quite the same with Tamie, Jared & Irish not there.

This year I only bought 2 bags of candy and filled the rest with bubbles, toys, puzzles and snacks they don't get very often...I mean the EASTER BUNNY only put 2 bags of candy in this year. AND I didn't hear any complaining...guess Bob was right (dang), they really don't need tons of candy! Being a kid is so much fun! Next year will be even funner, with Gavin being a little older and being able to join in. But this year, he was happy just being there!

Laughin' Gavin

The other day Logen got Gavin laughing really, really hard. By the time I grabbed the camera, he was pretty much done, but we did get a little of it!

First haircut

When Logen was 4 months, I completely shaved off all his hair (what little he had of it), because I heard it makes hair grow in thicker. Poor kid...he looked so funny, it really accentuated his ears. But he now has thick (and a lot of) hair! Anyway, I couldn't bring myself to shave Sawyer's head because of the way Logen looked, but I wish I would have because his hair is sooooo fine and thin. So, I've been really torn on whether to shave Gavin's hair. After finding several sporadic hairs that were a good inch or two longer than the rest of his hair, I decided to shave it, just not as short as I did on Logen...enough to even it all up. He did really good! He didn't cry until I was done...must have been a little head massage for him. Doesn't he look good?! (Pictures courtesy of Jessica)

Valentine's Day 2009

I never really liked Valentine's Day when I was growing up, but my mom always made it fun. By passing on my mom's tradition, I hope my kids look forward to this holiday. Instead of roses for each kid, I make sugar cookies with their names on them, and give them candy and a toy. I needed a way to justify getting Mario Kart, so I talked them into wanting it for Valentine's Day. They originally didn't want it, but I did, so that just tells you how good I am at convincing! But now I can't pull them away from it. And growing up, all the kids in our neighborhood would leave valentine's on door steps, ring the door bell, & run. But no one around here has even heard of that, so our neighbors must think we're even weirder than normal! But the kids love doing that, probably because it's like playing a joke!

Sleigh Riding

I usually love the snow (as long as I'm not the one driving in it), so after driving by Silver Lake amphitheatre and watching people sleigh ride, I wondered aloud to Bob why we haven't been yet with the kids...ever. When we lived in Sandy, all the good hills were always too crowded and safety was a BIG issue for me. But now that we're out in the sticks with a lot less people, I honestly couldn't find a good reason to not go. And the un-plowed streets, after the big snow storm, brought back memories of my mom tying an inter-tube to the back of our car and pulling us around the neighborhood and church parking lot. So, I bugged Bob about getting an inter-tube for about a week. But by the time he actually got one, the streets got plowed. That's okay, because he also got a plastic sled, so off to the hills we went! The kids had a blast...despite the bike helmets I made them wear (yes, I am a worry wart). And I decided to get in the action, too, despite the usual out come for me...peeing my pants. But surely now that I'm an adult and have better control, and things aren't as funny as they were when I was a kid, I shouldn't have a problem...right? Before I proceed with the story, let me give you some background on me. I have an extremely weak bladder with little to no control when I laugh. I should have factored in the fact that child birth does a number on your bladder, too...what was I thinking?! Anyway, the first and second time going down was a blast...I forgot how much fun it was. But I decided to do one last run before we left and Logen wanted to go down with me. Well, he likes to drag his feet which made the sleigh turn and eventually tip us over. As I was sliding down the hill upside down on my back, I saw Logen fly in the air right over me, which started the laughing...uh oh. Eventually, I stopped half way down the hill so, I got up to walk down, and slipped and fell on my butt...where I finished sliding down the rest of the hill. All the while laughing with tears in my eyes, and you guessed it...peeing my pants! (I'm so good at hiding it, no one even knew!) My kids where looking at me with horror-stricken faces asking if I was alright...I'm not sure if they were actually worried about me, or just plain embarrassed. And Jessi proceeds to tell me the all-to-often speech I tell her "It's alright mom, sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself!" Maybe they thought I was crying because of the tears of laughter coming out...anyway, serves me right for giving myself too much credit on self control. I guess some things will never change...they only get worse!

Growing too fast

On January 29th, Gavin turned 7 months and got his first ear infection. I hope he has better luck with his first birthday! I've been lucky with my kids being able to avoid ear infections, until now. Sawyer had a little one, once, but this one was a pretty good one for Gavin. I hope this isn't a new trend for him. Anyway, this whole experience helped me realize what a good baby he has been. Sure, a little clingy at times...but honestly I like that; it makes me feel loved and useful :). He only cries if he's hungry, tired or one of his brothers is bothering him. So when he woke up in the middle of the night and didn't want to nurse or do anything but cry, I almost started to panic. But now he's back to his cute, happy little self and I have started appreciating him being such a good baby. Although, I fear what the future will hold with him...because he has now started clenching his fists in the air while grunt-crying when he doesn't get fed or picked up as fast as he would like. Great...pay back.