We’ve been adopted

Last Saturday Leonard went to the dump and noticed that their was cat poop in a box on the floor of our garage.  He wondered whose cat had been coming into our garage to do its business.  Later that afternoon, we were returning from a trip to town and as Kaydra got out of the car, something tried to jump at her from INSIDE the garbage can.  She screamed and we all peered over the edge of the can and found a little black kitten!

The kitten was mad and scared.  It had fallen into the garbage can somehow and it was stuck!  It kept hissing and growling at us from the bottom of the can.  I put on some gloves and pulled it out.  Once I held it, it calmed down.  It never tried to bite or scratch me – seemed like all the growling and hissing was just talk!

We put it in a box with a towel and brought it in by the fire to get warm.  The best we can figure is someone dropped it off and it found its way into our garage and has been living there for a little while, unbeknownst to us!  The first couple of days we just left it in the garage.  Leonard is very allergic to cats and Kanyon is allergic to them as well.  The kitten dander doesn’t seem to bother them as much but we CAN’T have a housecat.  Anyway,  the kitten stayed in the garage but would run away and hide any time we went out there.  We had trouble finding it at times.  One time I opened the door and the cat ran from under my car, darting under Leonard’s truck and then under our freezer!  I was glad to know it was a cat! 

It’s so cold outside that we can’t just put it out in the yard; however, we decided that we couldn’t have a cat just hiding in our garage, doing its business wherever it may, SOOOO I now have a kitten living in our half bathroom until it gets more acclimated to us and not so scared – hopefully!

As you can see, its making a mess of my bathroom and it stinks pretty good in there too, but it continues to run and hide from us – I don’t want to lose it somewhere under a couch or something.  Plus, the allergy problems….  At least it uses the litter box…..And the kids are in HEAVEN…..

The plan is to let it get used to us and then put it back into the garage until spring – then it will be an outside cat – we hope!

We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl.  Right now, its name is Ashes.

Christmas Tree Hunting

This past Saturday, Leonard took the three older kids hunting for a Christmas Tree.  Tree hunting for our log house is exciting because we have room for a really tall tree!  I was happy to stay home with Timberlyn, who was sleeping, and make caramel corn and hot chocolate for their return.  Especially since it was a mere 20 something degrees outside. 

They came home happy, cold and successful at finding our tree for the year.  Right now it is on my deck but it will be decorated this weekend!  Christmas time is just around the corner!

Happy Holidays!

A-Post-A-Day

I have realized that I have really been slacking with my posting lately and so to make up for it I plan to try to post every day until Christmas.  My cousin Stephanie posts on her blog every day and I really enjoy reading about her day to day life.  I am realizing that the kids say some great things that I want to remember and even though I can’t commit to doing it all the time, I am going to try hard for the next few weeks to catch up and post on our lives as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth.  Hopefully, we will make some memories worth remembering!!

I wanted to start by posting that Kaydra and her friend Makenna are on a winning streak with their invention that they created for the Tournament of Innovation (formerly known as Invention Convention).  They invented a non-working model of a “Grow-a-matic”  Their invention magically grows hair simply by brushing.  First you spray growing spray on your brush and then you brush your head/hair and your hair will grow one inch within 5 minutes.  They thought it would be useful for cancer patients, 2-year-olds who get a hold of scissors, women who are impatient with their own hair growth, balding men, ect…

Their creation and display earned them 1st place at their elementary school and 2nd place in the district wide competition.  They are now eligible to enter the regional tournament that will take place at the mall in Coeur d’Alene in February.   Congratulations and good luck, Kaydra!!

4 months

Timberlyn hit the 4 month mark and if I don’t sit down to write about it right now then she’ll be 5 months before I know it.  Time seems to be flying by!  We are so blessed to have Timberlyn in our home.  She is such a good baby.  I’m not sure what we did to get such a mellow baby.  She is so easy going and very smiley.  She smiles every time I go to get her out of the crib.  She loves to have attention but is often content to be by herself.  Her vision is improving and she likes to lay on my living room floor and watch the fan blades spin.  She is starting to notice when she is alone and prefers to have someone within her vision.  She will lay on the floor next to me for a long time as long as she can see me…but, if I get up to do something, she will start to fuss if I don’t take her with me.  As soon as I return, she is full of smiles for me!  I love this time in a baby’s life when they seem to think that you are the best thing ever and they are so happy to see you. 

Timber had her 4 month check-up and I had to work so Leonard was able to take her to get her shots.  Everything looks good.  She still has a herniated belly button but they think it will close on its own.  She was 13 pounds 13 ounces and 26 inches long.   She didn’t like her shots but Len was able to bring her to the hospital so I could nurse her after her appointment. 

The kids still adore her and fight over whose turn it is to hold her.  She is not rolling over quite yet but has done it a couple times by accident so she is getting close.  I have a hard time leaving her on the floor because she gets mauled by the other kids so she doesn’t get much time to practice.  

Like my other children, she prefers to sleep in her bassinet and not in my arms.  This is great on every day except Sunday when I just wish she would take a little nap!  The other unique thing about Timberlyn is that she poops ALL THE TIME!!  Sorry to be so graphic but, seriously, she rarely has a diaper that is simply wet.  It’s like everything goes straight through her!!  She has started sucking her hands and loves to have them in her mouth.

Most of the time she chews on her fingers and occasionally cries because she bites down a little too hard!  She is a great baby and we love her so much!  I can’t believe how fast our time is going with her.  Don’t grow up too fast little one!

Uh Oh!

Last night I was putting the older kids in bed and I heard Timberlyn crying in my room – she had been taking a little nap.  I finished with the kids and then realized that Timberlyn had stopped crying.  I went to check on her and found she had put herself back to sleep. 

Look a little closer and you’ll see what I saw! 

At least she can soothe herself if she wants to…Hopefully it won’t become habit – although I have to admit, right now it’s pretty darn cute! 

As a side note – look at those eyelashes!  She’s giving Mandy a run for her money!

Family Pictures

I got  a great deal through Groupon for family pictures at JC Penny.  On Saturday we got to put the coupon to good use.  I will post the family pictures later, they turned out pretty good.  It’s nice to have a family picture with Timberlyn in it!  Timber was so stinkin’ cute that I thought I’d take her picture at home after we were done.  Here’s a sneak peak of what’s to come

Kanyon was happy to hold his pretty sister…

Her eyes are still changing.  They are a dark hazel right now – green or brown????

Courtney made this hat.  I have three others in different colors and I get compliments on them EVERY time she wears one – well, Timberlyn get compliments anyway!!!  She doesn’t’ have much hair and what she does have seems to be falling out so these are perfect!  Thanks Aunt Courtney!

Halloween

I am very behind on blogging so I thought I would try to do some catch up today.  We had a fun Halloween this year.  The kids all picked out their own costumes.  I bought Miranda’s on sale earlier in the month but Kaydra and Kanyon put their costumes together from things we had around the house.  I picked up a couple things from the thrift store and I made Kanyon’s vest.  It was fun to see how they turned out.  We had several Halloween events going on so they got to dress up four times!  Making use of those costumes!

Our first Halloween experience was at the Reynold’s Halloween party.  It was fun and gave even the adults a chance to dress up.  Leonard had to work all day and so he met us there.  I didn’t think he had a costume but I was SURPRISED!!  My  husband showed up as Captain Underpants!  Crazy man!  (and yes, I am totally posting a picture!

We had a good time!  Thank you Reynolds!

We didn’t have time to take pictures before the party but we did use black spray paint for Kaydra’s hair that night.  It was a MESS!  Every time she touched her hair her hands were black.  If it touched her face it smeared black on it.  By the end of the night, she had black paint all over everything!  It was even on my walls!  I had to wash her hair twice in my maid sink in the laundry and then she washed it again in the shower - with black paint pouring out each time.  We decided that wouldn’t work for the school party SO…..

We decided to dye her hair black!

I used a temporary hair dye on Friday with Markell’s help to get ready for our next Halloween event…the ward trunk or treat!

Markell and Andre came to stay with us for the weekend.  It was fun to have them here.  Archimedes is SO cute.  He’s a smiley baby, even though he wasn’t feeling very good.  I’m glad they live close enough to come visit for the weekend.   Anyway,  we dyed Kaydra’s hair on Friday night!

Before:

During:

After:

It wasn’t quite dark enough, so we did it again on Saturday morning.  It did get darker but not black. 

Still, many people have commented on her new look!  I think it is finally starting to fade a little bit.

Here are the kids all dressed up for the party.

Miranda as a strawberry, Kanyon as a pirate, Kaydra as a vampire, and Timberlyn as a skeleton

We also managed to carve some pumpkins.  I just realized I never got a picture of the end product.  Oh well, here they are in progress.

On Monday they got to wear their costumes at school and then we went to town to another friend’s party and trick-or-treating.  All-in-all it was a fantastic Halloween!

Before you read the next post…..

Can you guess which one is Miranda and which is Timberlyn?

They must be related!!

3 months

My dad has a picture of him as a baby and when I look at this picture, I see that one!  She definitely has Fuller in her!

Timberlyn is three months old!  This is always the saddest milestone for me because it means that I am headed back to work!  We are blessed that I am only working a little bit though!  Just enough to keep my foot in the door.  I work once or twice a week and I usually have a good time while I am there.  It’s a time for me to converse with other adults and, because I am just a “fill-in” person, they are always glad I am there!  Yesterday was my first day back to work.  Leonard had the day off so he was home with Miranda and Timberlyn.  I was home about the same time that the older kids get off the bus, worked out great.  It wasn’t the best day of work that I have ever had…If you want to know about it, call me…It would take too long to explain here!  It was one of those days where everything just seemed to go wrong!  But I made it through and so did Timberlyn!  Leonard said she took to the bottle just fine – which was good because we hadn’t practiced much! 

Timberlyn is growing fast!  She is such a good baby.  She is very even tempered and calms easily when she is upset.   She is starting to be interested in the world around her.  She has discovered her hands and they are constantly in her mouth.  She hasn’t quite figured out how they work…yesterday she cried because she was pinching her leg with one of them!  She smiles all the time and has almost laughed…she’s really close!  She is losing her hair a little bit at a time.  It comes out every time I give her a bath and if you pull on it just a little bit.  It’s very dark and her bald spot on the back of her head is VERY prominent.  We have started really liking hats! 

Courtney made a few and every time she wears them she gets LOTS of compliments!

The other thing that I have resisted posting about because I am afraid I’ll jinx it is that Timberlyn almost always sleeps through the night!!!  She is usually ready for bed about 8:30 and she wakes up around 5:30 or 6.  I have never had a baby do that this soon!  If she does wake up, I usually give her her pacifier and she is back to sleep.  It’s awesome!!  I did have to invest in a pump though so I could pump before I go to bed so I can sleep!!  Plus it has helped build up a supply of milk for her now that I am back to work!  I have regularly been getting 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep from 10 to 6 – it’s heavenly!!

She does cry when she’s not happy or when she is bored,  tired, or hungry.  Usually if I pick her up she quiets right away.  She gets mad when I pick her up to feed her but then realize her diaper is very wet so I lay her down to change her instead.  It’s funny how mad she gets!

The older kids still adore her and want to hold her all the time.  She talks and coos to them and Kanyon has come the closest to getting her to laugh of anyone in the family. She loves her baths and she likes to sit on the counter in a baby seat and watch me make dinner.  She likes to snuggle and will still fall asleep in my arms.  BUT she will also fall asleep on her own in the bassinet.  She is a really good baby!

 

It is such a blessing to have a baby in our home again!

Love you Timber!

Time Out

Kanyon is loving second grade.  He has a great group of friends and he has become a leader in his class.  I have had several people tell me that the other kids’ attitude can be easily swayed by Kanyon.  As a baby, Kanyon was blessed “to be inquisitive and to want to know things.”  I distinctly remember that part of his baby blessing given to him by his dad.  Kanyon is definitely blessed with an inquisitive mind.  SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!  He wants to know details about everything…even if it has nothing to do with him at all.  I love it about him….and it drives me crazy!!

Because of his questioning mind and his social life, Kanyon tends to talk a lot in class.  His teacher let the kids pick where they wanted to sit on the first day of school and Kanyon was at a table with two of his best friends – Trevor and Nickolas.  We all wondered how long it would last. 

About two weeks ago, we were eating dinner and I asked how school was going.  Kanyon mentioned very quickly that he had been in trouble for talking too much in class.  It had happened the day before:

“What happened?”

“Mrs. G. said that she thought I should probably go sit in the time-out chair.  I didn’t HAVE to but she thought it would be a good idea.”

“So did you?”

“Yep.  And then today when I went into class there was a paper at the time-out desk so I just sat there.”

“You sat in the time-out desk because you wanted to?”

“Yeah, I like it there…I’m still kinda close to people.”

“What does Mrs. G. think?”

“She doesn’t say anything.”

“What happens now if kids need a time-out?”

“She made a new time-out chair by the door.”

The entire time he is telling me this story he is smiling and happy like he thinks it is so funny that he now “owns” the time-out chair!!  He starts telling me how it’s a much better desk and it can hold all his things – unlike the table where the other kids sit.  I am still a little dismayed, but he seems to enjoy his new desk – Crazy kid!

Even though the questions sometimes make us all insane, I hope he keeps questioning life.  It’s people like that who make a difference in this world! 

Love you, buddy!

Kaydra Marie

It’s been awhile since I have updated on my oldest daughter.  She is growing so fast into such a beautiful young lady.  I remember so well the day I brought her home for the first time.  She has started fifth grade this year and is trying to squeeze in as many activities as possible.  She is continuing with Marimbas every Wednesday morning and Activity Days with church every other Wednesday night.  She has now started “Strings” where she is learning to play the violin every Tuesday after school.  She was very excited for this opportunity and she is really enjoying it.

Kaydra and Kanyon are both on the Winton Cross Country Team, which thankfully, practices during recess.  She also is applying to be on the yearbook team – they meet on Tuesdays during lunch.  We are starting to see what our lives will be as our kids become more and more involved.

Kaydra turned 10 this summer and was able to get her hunting license.  I never imagined that I would have a daughter that liked to hunt but Kaydra is starting to prove me wrong.  I have been wanting to blog about this story for a little while but I wasn’t sure how to do it…so as best as I can, I will tell it as it was told to me…..

One morning I came into the kitchen to a bright-eyed Kaydra.  She said, calmly, “Mom, I shot a coyote.” 

“You what?!!!”

“I really did!  We were going with dad in the truck and I spotted a coyote in the field.  Dad asked if he should shoot it and we all said yes, then he asked if I wanted to shoot it instead, and I said yes.  He took me up on the deck (of our house) and I sat on his lap.  He told me to wait until it turned so I could shoot it in the shoulder but it never turned. It started walking away but then dad called it with his coyote call (predator call).  It started coming back to our house, I told him that I couldn’t shoot it’s shoulder because it was facing me.  He said to take the shot….so I shot it RIGHT IN THE NECK!! MY FIRST TIME!!! And it just fell over right there!  I SHOT IT, MY FIRST TIME!!!”

As I looked at my green-eyed daughter, I said, “Really? Wow!”  Inside, I have to admit that I wondered if the tale was true… and if it was, what did I really think about it?!!  As a back story, I had been at mutual the night before and Leonard had put the kids to bed before I came home so I didn’t get a chance to talk to them…Len hadn’t said a word to me so the story took me completely by surprise!  He later said, “Kaydra wanted to tell you herself.”

Miranda added her part by acting out for me exactly what the coyote did after it was shot!  “Yeah, it put its hands up like this and just fell over on its back, like this!”  As she falls over backwards with her tongue hanging out.  I’m sure you can imagine!

Later, Leonard confirmed Kaydra’s story with just as much excitement as she had.  He was obviously VERY proud of his daughter and that she could take down her first animal with one shot!  “She didn’t seem even a bit nervous!  I was impressed!”  He says, as he tells the story.   “Miranda was freaking out because she thought the coyote was going to get into our house but Kaydra was calm and shot it – first time!”

Honestly, I’m still not sure what to think but I have decided on a couple things.  First, I love that Kaydra was so excited about it and second, I love that my husband was so proud of his daughter!  I love them both and I wish Kaydra success in anything that she tries.  You’d never guess that my pretty girl had a hunting fascination deep within ..… Just goes to show, we all wear many hats!  Happy Hunting!!

Birth Announcement

I sent out announcements (finally!) for Timberlyn’s birth.  If you didn’t get one, then I don’t have your address!  For those that didn’t get one, here is your virtual one!

I took these pictures when she was just a week old … Here’s a few more that were in the running.  I love newborn baby pictures!

Both quilts were made by different coworkers of Leonard’s, they are both beautiful!!

And a picture to remember her monstrous feet!