How Does Life Get So Crazy?

I am not a great blogger at this point of my life. Instead, I am just a busy mommy :) A lot has happened since the last post, but since I'm not great at getting pictures off the camera since Jim has it most of the time, I'm not promising pictures any time soon.

Spencer had a great birthday complete with Spiderman pinata, Superman cake, and family. He was so excited all day as he helped finish the pinata and watched me frost his cake. He really is a fun child because he is so easy to please. After watching us make a pinata all day, Jim said that if pinatas weren't so much work, we could just make one every day and the kids would always be happy!

The week after Spencer's birthday as I was watching Amy and Drew's children in addition to our own and Jim was on the way up the canyon to youth conference, Spencer decided to fall out of a tree and cut his head open. It was a little crazy, but fortunately my neighbor had just come over to talk with me and was able to help me quickly sort things out and ride with me to the hospital holding Spencer in the back seat while we talked with him the entire way there to keep him from falling asleep.  Jim turned around as soon as I called him and was able to make it home before Amy and Drew. Jim got to the hospital before they fixed Spencer's wound, and Drew was also able to come up and help give him a blessing. The cut was way bigger than I had realized when they went to clean it. Before I took him to the hospital, I hadn't examined the exact size of the cut--I just knew it was big and it was deep and I needed to get him to the hospital fast! The cut ended up being about three inches long and 1/2 " deep--the biggest one I have ever seen and the biggest one I ever care to see! Jim turned green when he saw it partially due to the fact that he had not eaten dinner yet and he doesn't handle needles and blood stuff really well. It definitely made me realize that if just one of us has to ever stay with our children during the blood and needle stuff, it probably better be me since I don't think the nurses could pick up a guy Jim's size off the floor! 

Spencer was so brave as they put 13 staples in his head. He held really still and did exactly what he was told even though he was really scared. We took him to the store the next day and let him pick out a toy for being so great.

His head healed well and today I took him to get the staples taken out. This was definitely more traumatic for him than getting the staples put in. Scabs had partially formed over some of the staples and it was not fun for him to have them taken out. The nurse was doing her best to be gentle, but it was taking a while and after two staples I was ready to just rip the staple remover from her hand and take them out myself. Spencer got himself really worked up and was screaming and crying hard. He wouldn't hold still and I was telling the nurse to just do it fast. Another nurse came in to help and the nurses were afraid of putting me through trauma watching my son be so upset,  but I told them I just wanted it done. They ended up wrapping Spencer in the burrito wrap and holding him down on the table to quickly remove the remaining staples. He ended up calming down at the end when we told him there were only two more left and they were not scabbed over. Can I just say that I am glad it is all done! 

This experience has made me realized how quickly things in life can change. One minute your child can be fine, and the next in the E.R. getting 13 staples. I am just so glad that it wasn't more serious. I have tried to enjoy the kids a little more lately and have taken them a lot of places in the last couple of weeks even when I didn't feel like going anywhere just so we could have a good time together. I am incredibly grateful for my beautiful, healthy children and my wonderful husband and I realize how lucky I am to have them and hope I get to keep them around for a very long time! 

These are a Few of Gabe's Favorite Things . . .

(pictures to come when I actually have the camera home!)

-Wearing hats. His favorite hats are daddy's superman hat and the construction hard hats. 

-Throwing things down the stairs. Speaking of stairs, he has decided that he will only go down the stairs like the big kids (forward facing)! After trying it a couple of times by himself ending up in an adventurous ride down the stairs, he now just stands at the top of the stairs and yells "Maaaa, Maaaa!" until I come and hold his hand and let him walk down the stairs. 

-Shoes. If he can find his shoes, he will bring them to me because he wants them put on. He also likes putting on other people's shoes. He loves going places and he loves being outside.

-Shaking his head yes and no. Today when I asked him if he wanted some more yogurt, he shook his head "yes." He has been shaking his head yes for a while, but it was so cute that he responded to my question! He also thinks he is so funny when he continually shakes his head "no" which is really cute for now, but I suspect we won't think it is too cute in a few months!

-Raspberries on his belly when I change his diapers, although he is not so fond on the diaper changing thing. He would much rather be busy doing something else!

-Daddy chasing him. The cutest little happy giggle comes out. Today daddy took him to the doctor and chased him around the doctor's office. When the doctor came in, she said everyone could hear them in the hall and that they sounded like they were having a lot of fun!

-Peek-a-Boo. He loves playing this in the morning when he joins mommy and daddy in bed and daddy will hide under a pillow or the sheets. He also loves it when Spencer plays with him! He grins ear-to-ear and runs so Spencer will chase him! 

-Food. He likes to eat and is a good little eater. When he is finished eating, he will start throwing his food over the edge of the highchair. As soon as he is out of his seat, if I am not really fast at picking up the food he threw on the floor, he will immediately find it and start eating it--must taste better off the floor!?

-Family cheer. He loves family cheer at night after scripture study. Last night he even raised his arms above his head afterwards on his own.

-Throwing things. He will throw almost anything he can, including daddy's phone! One of his favorite things to throw is a hard ball that jingles--he throws it, runs to get it, picks it up, and throws it over and over again. 

-Kicking a ball. He is actually pretty good at kicking a little ball around and it is really fun to watch! 

-Music. He loves to dance and will nod his head or dance every time he hears music. He also loves a little doll that will make music if you hold both her hands. He will find that doll and bring it to me so that I can make her "sing." 

He is growing so fast, but he is still my baby for another four months and I am enjoying every minute of it (okay, except the ones where he follows me around the house screaming and doesn't want to be left alone or held!)

1, 2, 3, and then there were 4!

So I'm the world's worst blogger lately, but nobody has complained that I haven't posted, which makes me wonder if anyone even reads my ramblings anyways :)

We found out over a month ago officially that baby number five is going to be boy number four! We are pretty excited, but Emily was pretty disappointed and still continues to tell anyone she meets who will listen to her (including the neighbor out working in her yard, and the dryer repair man) that her "mommy is pregnant, and it's going to be ANOTHER boy!!" She feels so picked on :) The day we found out, I let her make cookies to cheer her up. She insisted that the "boys" were not allowed in the kitchen to help at all because she was the poor underprivileged child who was going to have another brother! She plays it up big time that she is the only girl--can we say "drama queen?" She really enjoyed the day when my sister came and got her for the day and she got to hang out with some girls and have some "girly time!" 

Here are newborn pics of our sweet little boys:

Spencer

Matthew

Gabriel

And we can't forget our little baby girl, she's pretty cute too!

Happy Birthday, Gabe!

Our little guy is ONE! I can't believe how fast he has grown. I call him my little cruiser because he is having fun walking all over the place and it is soooo cute! 

We made him a train cake and a small little train for him to eat by himself!

He wasn't really sure what to think about his own little cake!

He picked at it for a while and eventually dug in, 

but really didn't get too messy considering the possibilities!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GABE!

Exciting Updates!

Gabe is officially taking steps on his own without the persuading of mom and dad! He's so busy and cute. He is our biggest climber and loves standing up in the rocking chair which mommy has to hide sometimes so he doesn't kill himself. He also would like to go down the stairs walking forward like the big kids (Matthew did this too), so we really have to watch him. He has luckily only taken one nose dive so far down the stairs and mommy was there to catch him at the bottom!

That is probably the most exciting news around here besides the fact that we have officially announced (or should I say Emily did the announcing!) that we are 14 weeks pregnant with baby number five expected in September.

Oh, the other exciting news is my children who have been sick for almost a week are finally starting to get better, so I just might be able to clean up this disaster of a house today and move on with life with healthy children for the most part (minus the teething and still poor sleeping habits of Gabe!)

Valentine's Day Fun

Last year for Valentine's Day we did a candlelight lunch with the kids and they remembered, so this year to keep up with tradition, we had a candlelight dinner as a family. We let the kids pick the menu--hamburgers and tater tots (romantic, huh?) It was yummy and fun. We had to continue lighting the candles for several meals afterwards and take turns blowing them out. It was cute.

We also made heart shaped cookies and had intentions of taking them to some of our friends, but they were just too yummy and we ate too many and I didn't feel like making more--sorry :( We did however share with the cousins on date night. I wrote the names of all the kids on their own cookie and then called them downstairs to find their cookie and eat it. They thought that was pretty fun. Daniel ate his cookie by licking off all the frosting first. I didn't think he would actually eat the cookie after licking off every inch of frosting, but he did and was cute!

I let the kids make Valentines for some of their friends and then we delivered them as a family on Sunday. They had a great time and it was cute to see what they wrote and how they spelled it :) Emily got a little mushy in her first Valentine to her secret crush. It went something like this: "Happy Valentine's  Day Aaron, I love you. From the girl that loves you." We told her it was way too mushy (she of course asked what "mushy" is), and I told her that if she gave that to him, he would never talk to her again. Her response was "Why?" then "Mom, he doesn't really talk to me that much anyways!" She ended up giving him a much toned-down version.

Jim and I were somewhat lame as far as actually celebrating the day. We have been so busy lately that neither one of us did a card or gift. Fortunately, it has never taken either of those things for us to know that we love each other and this year was no different! Jim did bring me home a plant yesterday and I brought home a box of chocolates (can't pass up that after Valentine's Day clearance!) I love you, Jim! 

My Kids are Growing!

Emily is always coming up with some paper creation. Her latest yesterday was a paper growth chart where she could keep track of how tall she is getting. She taped it up on her bedroom wall and drew a line to mark how tall she is--it said "Emily's Hite" (we haven't learned how to spell "height" yet, and although she can read that word, she obviously doesn't know how to spell it--still cute for a seven year old!) Along with the line, she also has some sort of a little paper cutout that she can move up the chart as she "grows."

First thing this morning she came running into my room and told me that I had to come into her room at that exact moment to see something because she had "grown overnight!" I chuckled, got out of bed and went to look at her chart. She had indeed grown several inches overnight compared to yesterday's marking. I'm not sure how that happened, but my kids are growing (and apparently really fast!) She had to wake up Spencer and Matthew this morning to show them too, and they had to stand there to be measured. I wonder how many mornings we will get the wake-up call that Emily has "grown overnight!" I also wonder what will happen when she stops growing four inches in one night--oh, the disappointment!!!