We have a six year old in the house!

 That's right, we recently celebrated a birthday here.  For some reason I have been a bit emotional over Racer turning six.  Perhaps it's because his kindergarten graduation is also coming up. . . who knows.  All the sudden it has hit me that this kid is growing up.  Fast.  It makes me want to hold him and not let go!  Thank goodness for cute pictures and great memories.

5 years old

4 years old

Three

Two

One (almost)

5 months-ish

And brand spankin' new

I love you, Racer.  Thank you for coming to me.

Those random moments

I wonder if I'll ever be able to just get a picture of baby.  When the camera comes out, everyone jumps in!  Anyway, I love how she looks in this outfit, and I made this quilt for her.  The two just happened to match.

We've started using sticker charts to keep track of good behavior in our home.  At the end of the week the kids get to shop at Mom's "store" using the amount of sticker's they've earned.  It has been a hit for us!

I just love this picture.

Racer is quite creative with paper these days.  He made this shield and mask.  I love it.  (Anyone know how to rotate pictures after they've been uploaded?  Can I?)

And finally. . . apple rings.  They're a favorite at our house.  :)

Hope you're having as much fun as we are!

Easter fun

I'm so excited that Blogger decided to change things a bit because it was so fun to learn how to do everything the first time.  Now we get to start again, right?  (I want this writing above the picture.  Grrr.)

Anyway, happy Easter!  (only a few weeks late)  Easter came just a couple days after we got baby home from the hospital.  Unfortunately, when we went to get the kids from my parents, Rue was also sick.  She had to stay home from our family's annual Easter egg hunt, much to her dismay.  Racer, Ariel, and I got to go and had a great time while Dad stayed home with the sickies.

We felt sad for Rue so Racer and Ariel re-egged some of their candy when we got home and created a special hunt just for her.  She loved it!  (Notice the sweater. . . and bare feet.  Yes, we know how to take care of sick children.)

I was quite excited to find this cute little dress in all three sizes of my girls!  And Racer is such a cute and manly compliment, don't you think?  I love these kiddos, and love celebrating every special occasion with them.

Sweet 'n' Sour

First of all, I realized after my last post that some of you don't know what we named our baby because we keep in touch through cyber world where I try to keep things safe. I think it would be okay if this once I write her name, right? So if you were wondering. . . her name is Lydia. I'm still trying to think of a good screen name for her.

April started out great for us. We had lots of family from out of town and state come for general conference so we decided it would be a good time to bless our baby. We were able to have a private little meeting on Sunday for that and it was really sweet.
All three of my girls have worn the same blessing dress, which I made with leftover material from the wedding dress my mom made me.

These are almost all the cousins on Dad's side. We're missing the youngest (before Lydia came along) who is also a girl. And. . . there is another girl on the way. (Not from me. . .my sister in law!) They're such a cute bunch, aren't they? And yes. Poor Racer. They are actually in age order here.

Unfortunately, our week didn't stay so great. On Tuesday, after a couple days of a cough and cold for Lydia, we decided we better take her to see the doctor. First thing at the office they checked her oxygen level, determined that it was too low, and sent us immediately to the E.R. After a couple hours there, it was decided that she needed to stay in the hospital. This was a first for us. We have been blessed with very good health in our family, only having occasional bugs that last a few days at a time.

They told us she most likely had RSV, although they never actually tested for the virus. Mostly she just needed to be on oxygen and they wanted to make sure her sickness didn't get worse since she is so young.
Doesn't this make you sad? She looked so cute. Fortunately, I was able to stay with her for the entire 3 day stay. I was glad we were there where I knew she was being taken care of. I also enjoyed cuddling and snuggling with my sweet baby undisturbed for 3 days. Thank you so much to both grandmas and grandpas for making this possible!
I just think there isn't a sadder sight than a hospital crib. I'm so grateful that her sickness wasn't worse and that we have her home now and that she is already better. Many people have much worse experiences. We're so grateful for the care and concern our family and friends have shown. Most of all, we're grateful for our sweet baby and hope we can keep her healthier from now on.

Our baby

I realize it has been months since my last entry, but what better time to start then with the birth of a new baby? We welcomed our new little sweetheart (I don't have a good screen name for her yet so how 'bout Baby for now?) just a couple weeks ago and what can I say? We love her!

It has been a little bit hard for Rue to see all the baby things coming out, only to be told that they're not for her. We've been letting her enjoy the cradle. . . since our baby won't sleep in it anyway.
Baby was the first of our babies to be whisked to the NICU right after birth. It wasn't too serious, she just needed a little help getting her breathing going right. We didn't get to hold her for 5 hours after her birth, much to our dismay.
Finally. . . we meet. Ah, love at first sight.

Rue was our only child who wanted to hold Baby in the hospital. She gave her this little teddy bear and insisted that she keep it tucked in her blanket with her.
They did, however, bring her presents when they came to pick us up.
She's ready to go!
Luckily, her grandparents just happened to be in town on another errand and were able to meet her while they were here.
I love this. I love how sweet it looks and I love that it means that I got a bit of a break.
Racer, I believe, came to our family because he is the greatest big brother in the world. What more could three little girls ask for? He likes to hold her, but he is just as happy to sit and look at her.
I found Rue in my room one day taking care of her teddy bear. She made him a bed and was sitting here "feeding" him. I have a picture just like this of Ariel after Rue was born. Cute little mommies.
We have a picture of all three of our girls in this dress right here on the couch. I'm not sure why it's become tradition. . . it's not even my favorite outfit of their's, but here it is!
The dress says "daddy's little girl". And this daddy definitely loves his girls.
I love it when they just happened to find the thumb and start sucking away. Cutest thing ever!

I feel bad I didn't post any pictures of Ariel with her. She also loves her and asks to hold her several times a day.

So there you have it! She's here and we love her. She has been such a sweet, content little baby. She hardly ever fusses, has a nice hearty appetite, and seems to love to just sit and take in her surroundings. Our home is a sweeter place because of her. Thanks for coming to our family, Baby!

4th of July!

I realize it's September, not July, but I've still got some catching up to do. And I can't just skip past one of my favorite days of the year!
We celebrated my birthday the day before since we had plans to be with my family on the actual holiday. Richard puts his baking and cake decorating skills to use once a year for this occasion. Didn't he do great?
We got to slip away from the kids for a bit to enjoy a special lunch date.

These next few pictures are of my family's somewhat annual summer olympics. This has become a bit of a tradition for us on the 4th. My dad comes up with all these crazy events and. rain or shine, we have a blast! When I was a teenager I felt embarrassed whenever someone walked by. Now I look forward to it!
The kids event: Throwing rags at dad's face! They got a kick out of that.
The fireman event. This is Ariel practicing her spitting skills on a flaming candle.
Couples event: I don't know what you'd call it, but we each had to stand on a bag of crushed ice while holding this balloon between us. My brother and his fiance won with a time of 5+ minutes. We eventually just told them to stop.
Firework time! Watching my kids watch them is probably more exciting than watching them myself.

Did you have a fun 4th? What are you traditions? More summer fun posts coming next. . .

Seatle

I said the last time I blogged that I would post some pictures from our little trip to Seatle. Ummm, that was kind of a while ago. Sorry about that. But. . . here they are! (As if you've just been sitting in anticipation waiting for them.) Ignore the fact that some of them are sideways. Just turn your head.

The Space Needle

Along the coast

On a boat ride!

And the favorite part for everyone. . . the aquarium!

I love these last few pictures that show very well how we all felt at the end of a very packed and fun filled day. . .


I neglected to get a picture of the only child, Ariel, who stayed awake. She was in the middle of a mega melt down brought on because we ordered the wrong thing for her at dinner. Fun times!

Thanks Mike and Tiff for joining us for a fun adventure!