A Miranda Fix

I know that you are surprised that I have written three days in a row. My kids are all sick so we have been confined to our house for the past three days. This gives me plenty of time to blog. I was looking over recent entries and realized that I haven't posted about Miranda for a little while and she is changing so fast! I thought I would try my hand at digital scrapbooking and post a few pages of her. It's definitely nothing fancy but it's my first try! I am also throwing in a few random pictures that I have taken the past week. She is still a great baby. She can crawl up the stairs but hasn't even attempted to come down. I will occasionally catch her at the top of the stairs looking over them and crying because she wants to go down but doesn't know how. I have tried to teach her but she isn't really interested yet. She also isn't really interested in walking - which is fine by me. I have encouraged her a little bit by helping her stand in place but she thinks this is a game where I stand her up and then she falls into my arms -- laughing! We do this over and over -- I stand her, she falls into my arms. Occasionally she will surprise me by standing for a few seconds by herself but then she falls - as though she has played a little trick on me. It is so funny how they develop a sense of humor so early on. Her hair is at that terrible wispy, crazy stage. I really want to take her to get it cut but Len won't let me. I have been able to pull it up in pigtails which are really cute and show off her eyes. It does look kinda funny because her pigtails are so LONG and the rest of her hair is so short - I know this will change soon. She loves it when I shake my head at her - I think she likes how my hair covers my face. She also likes to play with my hair. She will grab a piece and then run her fingers through it - she is usually really soft which also surprises me. She loves to talk. She is always jabbering away about something. Kanyon and Kaydra try to understand her and make up words that they are sure that Miranda is "saying". They will say, "Miranda said, 'I am almost one' " when they catch her holding up one finger and talking.

She loves bath time and loves to watch the water fill up the tub. In fact, last night she cried when I turned off the water because the tub was full. She likes to lay on her back in the water and kick and splash. She's getting quite good at it too. We usually both end up wet when I give her one. I am so glad that she is part of our family and I can't believe that she will be one in only a couple of weeks. She is growing so fast. We love you Mandy! On a completely different note I want to congratulate my sister on her new baby. She had the baby on January 27th. She had a little girl and they named her Dreyken Jade. She was 8lbs 1 oz and you can see more pictures of her at Courtney's blog HERE. We are so glad that she is here safe and sound. Now if only my kids would get better so that we can see her more!

The New Job

So Leonard started a new job yesterday... I know, some of you are surprised. We haven't been announcing it very well, mostly because we weren't sure if he was going to get it and if he would take it if it was offered. Well, it was and he did. He is still working at the Behavioral Health Center but his new official title is Assistant House Supervisor and it included a pay raise! He is basically the person in charge of all the units during the shift, in charge of staffing the units, and in charge of admits and discharges on the Adult unit. Another HUGE change is that it is a DAY SHIFT position! He has been working 12 hour night shifts for the past 20 months and now he will work 12 hour days. I have mixed feelings about it but for the most part it seems to be a good change. I am happy to have him at home with me at night now , although I sometimes enjoyed having the bed to myself! I love that I don't have to keep the kids quiet while he sleeps during the day and that he can get his circadian rhythm back in sync with ours.

Yesterday was his first shift - I am not going to lie, it seemed to go on forever. I am used to him sleeping in the morning and then waking up about 3:00 and we spend some time together. It also gave me a chance to run some errands without the kids. Now he leaves at 6:30 a.m. and he gets home at 7:30 p.m. Yesterday, Miranda was alseep when he left and I layed her down minutes before he got home. I tried to keep her up but he was running late and she was SO tired. She was still awake in her crib when he got home but being quiet - he went in and held her for a few minutes. She layed her head on his shoulder but kept looking up at him just to make sure it was him. So cute.

We'll see how it goes but I am so proud of him - I know he will do well at this job. Congratulations, babe! I Love You!

Skiing

Yup, we took the kids skiing for the first time last night! The elementary school had discounted tickets and so we thought we would give it a try. Kanyon was free so he came along too. I called a good friend from work and asked if she and her husband would come and help us out. He teaches skiing at Kelly's and they graciously said yes. THANK YOU CHRIS AND RYAN.Ryan did so awesome with the kids. I told my mom that I was so glad that they were there because otherwise ,we surely would have lost our patience with the kids very early on. It is sure tough the first few times. They really enjoyed it though and Kanyon can't wait to go back. Kaydra had an earache that started about half-way through the night and didn't get better. She toughed it out though and kept on going - even with occasional tears. When we got home I gave her some ibuprofen and she woke up this morning feeling fine. They both say that they are sore but seem to keep going as good as ever.

I was able to try out my new board that I got for my birthday last year. It was AMAZING! I loved it. The bindings took a little getting used to but they will be awesome. There were so many times that I was bracing myself for a fall and I didn't fall! I know that I would have on my old board. It was awesome! The snow was great, they had about 5 inches of fresh powder and most of the night we were floating on it! SO FUN! I want to go again soon.

My mom watched Miranda - THANK YOU - it was nice not to have to worry about her. She was awake and happy when we got home at 9:30. Crazy -- if I let her stay up that late she would be a MONSTER! Anyway we had a great time and I even shot a little video, although I have to learn not to yell so close to the mike! - ENJOY!

Oh, Children

The kids are always entertaining us - usually they don't mean to:

Kanyon: Please can we go out to eat for lunch?
Me: Okay, but we are going to Taco Time - not Artic Circle (with the kids playland)
Kanyon: I like Taco Time better because there are not a lot of kids - it's like peace.

After a discussion about how we weren't going to rent a movie last Friday (it was late) but we would pick one up the next day, Kaydra freaked out! She was so upset that she spent about 1/2 hour in her room crying. When she came out she said she was sorry and that she had a headache - I know the feeling. As they were heading off to bed I found two notes. One said, "read the note". The other note said, "I am sorry that I got mad. I still love you, Do you love me?" The back of the note said, "Check yes or no" but that part was crossed out. Underneath it said, "Just say it to me."

The last speaker in sacrament meeting was speaking and had about five minutes left. Kanyon was restless and wanted to get a drink. "I can't wait" he said. I told him that he would wait and that this was the last speaker. About five minutes later the bishop got up to close the meeting and announce the closing song and prayer. Kanyon didn't like that. From the second row he loudly said, "You said that was the last guy!"

As a side note, I am pretty sure that I had to tell Kanyon about 40 times that he needed to stop making noise in church on Sunday. I am not exaggerating. He couldn't stop humming, singing, laughing loudly at Miranda, talking to Miranda or Kaydra. 40 times. Someday, I am gonna miss this?

Dancing and Dolls and Other Kid Things

I guess it's time to start writing. Last year I wrote at least once per week (on average) and this year is starting off slow; better catch up. Things are going pretty well around here. Our garage door is broken. It still works but not well and we are not sure how long it will last. We've been looking at getting a new one - they're kinda expensive - figures. We are getting ready to tile the bathroom - this means painting first. Len's been fixing the drywall that needed repaired where the shower head continuously sprayed the wall when we rented the house. I should have taken the repair out of their deposit - I am way too nice a person to be a landlord. Anyway, I used some English oil on my bathroom cabinets and the mirrors - which are framed in wood - and they look fantastic! I should have tried that long ago - they look almost new again.

Sunday was ward conference in our ward so the Stake Primary Presidency was visiting. Of course the kids were CRAZY! We have a couple of new sunbeams that cannot sit still for even one minute. They are all over the primary room wandering wherever they want to. They are so stinkin' cute though so we can't get upset with them. We are going to try more classtime and less sharing time with them for a few weeks and see how it goes. Sunday started off crazy because I had a scout meeting that I had to go to before church. Len had worked the night before so he was trying to get some sleep before he came to church with us. I bathed all the kids, laid Miranda down for her nap and told Kaydra and Kanyon to try to be quiet so dad could sleep while I was gone. I also told Kaydra to go get Miranda when she woke up. I thought I had managed everything so well and that when I got back from the meeting I would do Kaydra's hair and we would head to church. The kids were supposed to be there 15 minutes early to sing as prelude to the meeting (the whole primary was singing, not just my kids!) When I got back home Miranda was in her crib, screaming and she was undressed and soaking wet. Kanyon was holding a bloody paper towel on his arm where a scab had come off and was bleeding all over his white shirt. Kaydra said Miranda never went to sleep so she brought her downstairs with them. Then they continued to watch t.v. while Miranda roamed the house. She climbed back up the stairs (she can go up but not down) and found the dog's water dish and spilled it all over the kitchen floor then went to my bedroom and cried until Len came out, took off her dress and put it in the dryer and then put her in her crib - where I found her. Kaydra said she was busy helping Kanyon with his bleeding arm. I was only gone about 30 minutes. Seriously! I redressed and fed Miranda, did Kaydra's hair, helped Kanyon find a bandaid and a new shirt, tore Kanyon's room apart looking for his other church shoe with no luck. I was only able to find one shoe of every pair that he owned except his crocs - so that's what he wore. Needless to say, we were late for church.

In other news, my dad went to his parents house to visit about a week ago. My grandpa had heart surgery and Dad went to see how he was recovering. While there my Grandma gave him two dolls, one for Kaydra and one for Kalli. They are so pretty and look very much like each girl. Kaydra was SO excited. The dress that she wore for Scott and Traci's wedding came with a dress for a doll and she didn't have a doll that would fit the dress. Well, it fits the new porcelain doll perfectly. We kept the clothes that the doll came in too. Kaydra couldn't be happier and the doll stands above her bed. I know that my Grandma's computer is down so she may not see these pictures. I am sticking them in the mail to her - but if she does see them -- THANK YOU! Kaydra loves the doll.

Miranda has become quite the dancer? I am not sure she's actually got rhythm but she is so funny to watch. I made a little video of some clips of her dancing. She is dancing to some music that is playing from Len's phone. It is her favorite toy lately. Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009!

I am excited for a new year to begin. We have many plans for this year and hope to be able to accomplish all of them. Some of my resolutions:

Eat less, Exercise more - lose the baby weight!

Save more money

Fix up the house - finally tile the bathroom floor with the tile that has been in the garage since LAST year!

Those are the big ones. I know there are many more!
Last night we celebrated at my parents house with my dad and brothers and sisters. Jackson was at a friends house, Jake and Jana were in Utah, and mom had to work but everyone else was there. We played games and watched television until about 11:00 when we couldn't stand that Miranda was still awake and wouldn't sleep at their house. We packed everyone up and went home with all the kids crying in the backseat. Miranda was crying because she was so dang tired and couldn't figure out why her crazy parents hadn't taken her home earlier; Kanyon was crying because I wouldn't let him have one more snack before we left (they had eaten TONS already); Kaydra was crying because she didn't get an Egg Nog Milkshake. Traci made them and they were delish. She would have made Kaydra one but I didn't want her to have one because we were ready to leave when she was asking for one and I didn't want to give them any more sugar! (I know, I am a mean mom). The crying car ride was very short (thankfully!) and then the kids got their pjs on and brushed their teeth. I was tucking Kanyon in and had a very cute conversation with him before he went to sleep:
Me: I am glad you had fun at the party
Kanyon: It was a party?
Me: Yup, it was a New Year's Party.
Kanyon: How come we didn't have any dancing?
Me: I don't know, maybe next year we can have dancing....
Kanyon: I don't really like dancing..

Oh, well then, I guess no dancing! They all went right to sleep. Even Miranda. I didn't even feed her. I just changed her diaper and put her in the crib. She turned over to her tummy and snuggled into her blanket and didn't make a sound until 7:00 this morning. Good thing because I was tired too!

Hope you all have a wonderful year!

New Sleds!

Well we were able to find the last two sleds for sale in Idaho Falls just before Christmas so the kids were so excited to try them out. We took them to Freeman Park near the airport and let them have at it. It was SO cold but there were lots of people there.

Jake and Riley Leonard and Miranda Grandpa and Kaydra Kanyon walking up the hill Brooke and Kaydra Riley all bundled up Brooke with Kaydra and Kanyon

I managed to try out my new video camera and made a short movie about the event that I am hoping will upload -- we'll see.

It has been fun using it for the short time that I have been able to. I took it to the cabin with full intention of using it there but we were outside most of the day and I never managed to pull it out. There was so much snow up there and we were just having too much fun to take pictures! I did manage to leave my video camera and digital camera in the diaper bag which I left on the fireplace. Ron was gracious enough to bring it to Idaho Falls with him on his way back but he got in a car accident (I am told that everyone is fine) and he forgot to leave it a Grandma's so my camera took a trip to Utah and then back to me via UPS! THANKS RON!! Really, you didn't have to do that and I am SO glad that you are okay. Thanks for mailing it back to me.

We have had a good break so far. Mostly playing in the snow. Len has had a few days off now so we have played several new games together as a family. The kids have LOVED it. This may very well be my last post of the year. It seems that I have averaged about 6 posts per month. A little better than once per week. Hopefully I will do better next year but I must say that this is the most journal-writing that I have ever done in one year in my entire life. Thank you for sharing it with me and encouraging me with your comments. The comments really keep you writing sometimes. And to those of you who just read and never comment - I know you are out there! - Send me a comment! It's easy and it really makes my day! See you next year!

Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas to Everyone! We had a great day. I am really tired and can't believe what a disaster my house is. I thought we were doing so well throwing away stuff as we opened but the packaging with all the gifts is extensive! We had a good year. The kids (Kaydra and Kanyon) both got sleds from us and they put them to good use today in Mom's backyard sledding down the huge fort that Uncle Dan made. It is so fun to have uncles that like to build in the snow. I kid you not -- they were in the snow for three plus hours today. It was snowing nearly the entire time they were outside and they came in SOAKING wet. BUT SO HAPPY!! I think it truly was the best part of their day.

They were a fun group to have this morning around the tree. Miranda was unfazed by everything going on around her. She just jumped right in ripping paper and showing us the gifts. The first present she opened (with help from Kaydra) was a set of p.j.'s on Christmas Eve. She pulled them out of the wrapping and held the shirt in one hand, the pants in the other and showed them to me with a big smile on her face. Like she'd opened presents a thousand times before -- Crazy! Kaydra was really happy with her new jewlery set from Santa until she realized that she lost the WHITE watch with the WHITE face somewhere in the 2 feet of snow in Grandma's backyard. There were many tears shed but she seems to have come to terms with it now. Kanyon played the most with a Lego police car that he got in his stocking that I put together with him. He drove that thing all over the house this morning! I was extremely pleased with all of my new Christmas dishes which I think completes my set. They are perfect!

Leonard got a new memory card for his phone so he can put something like 500 songs on it and use it as an Mp3 player. I know that we are behind the times in this area but he has never had one and is excited to be able to use it when he runs.

We also got a new little video camera from my parents. It is called a Flip Video and is super tiny. It records about an hour of video and then uploads right to your computer which in my mind is absolutely perfect -- especially for blogging. It is a much better picture then our "still" camera that I have been using to take video. I am uploading our first video that I took which was of Miranda. She has learned to "dance" and I was surprised that I caught her in action with the first try -- maybe it means the camera is good luck!

Thank you to all of our friends and family. We loved and appreciated all of the gifts and cards that everyone sent. We love all of you and hope you all had a magical Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas

Most of you should have received your Christmas card from us. Thought I would post it for those of you that I missed. If you didn't get one and you think you should have - send me your address and I'll send it in the mail -- or you can just enjoy the one on the blog! Merry Christmas to you all! We love our friends and family ~ Love, The FitzSimmons

‘Tis the story of FitzSimmons’ in two-thousand eight
We are pleased to report that the year’s turned out great.
It started off slow with mom pregnant and a grump,
We just couldn’t wait to see what was under that lump.

February 17 brought a new baby’s cry,
Miranda May came and made all our hearts fly.
With big brown eyes and long lashes to lure,
We knew she’d fit into our family, for sure.

She’s happy, and healthy but also quite loud.
Her scream gets attention, for that she is proud.
She’s crawling and creeping and standing so tall.
She giggles and laughs when things drop and they fall.

Kanyon’s in preschool for two days each week,
He’s learning the letters and how each one can speak.
Riding a bike with only two wheels was his goal,
He did it! Without wrapping it once ‘round a pole!

He got his teeth fixed, they were pretty bad
Had to be put to sleep – mom was so sad.
Now all of his teeth are shiny and new,
If you ask, you can bet he’ll show them to you.

Kaydra turned seven this year don’t you know,
Mom’s starting to ask, “Where’d all the time go?”
She’s sweet and polite and always a treat,
I am sure she’s the best help on the street.

She likes to clean up if you’ll give her a mop,
And reading so many books, she won’t stop!
She is taking lessons on piano each week,
Likes playing with Kanyon and Dad hide-and-seek.

Leonard shot a bull elk which was no surprise here,
Our freezer‘s now stocked clear up ‘till next year.
He works mighty hard on all the night shifts,
Then gives mom a break when she sure needs a lift.

Brooke’s working part-time, and I’m sure you’ll agree,
As a mom, she finds that is the best place to be.
It’s fun to be home with the kids most the time,
Then off to work for a few hours to unwind. :)

We hope all finds you well and you’ve had a great year
Merry Christmas to all who we love and hold dear!

Love, The FitzSimmons Family

Christmas Tree

We decorated our tree and house about a week ago but the wedding last weekend has delayed me in posting about it! We got our tree from the farm in Coeur d'Alene again. I love fresh cut trees. They aren't as full as the ones you buy from a lot but they have a little bit of Coeur d'Alene in them and the kids feel proud that the tree was cut from Grandma and Grandpa's house. You'll notice that Miranda is missing from the picutres. We put her to bed before we got the decorations out. It was easier that way. We are such bad parents - her first Christmas and she slept through the tree decorating! Maybe next year!

On a side note we had Scott and Traci's wedding last weekend. Everything turned out beautiful. We are so happy to have Traci in our family. It was very cold but a very pretty snow came just for the pictures :) I don't have any pictures right now - I will post some later. We love you both Scott and Traci!

One more post - Thanksgiving - lots of pics!

This year for Thanksgiving we went to Coeur d'Alene again. We realized that now that we have kids in school that the best time to go there is over the Holidays. We planned to meet Kelly (Len's brother) and the Stephans from Boise at Len's parents house. We were SO surprised to see Jodi's car in the drive as we pulled in. I had just talked to her a couple weeks before and found out that they would be staying in California for Thanksgiving. They decided to surprise EVERYONE by driving to be with all of us. The kids were SO excited to see each other! We were so happy that they were there too. It was the first time in a long time that we have all been together. I think the last time was when I was pregnant with Miranda. I am really glad that they surprised us. I don't think that we would have ever planned it that way because it seemed like it would be too crowded to be in one house for five days but it actually was really fun and because Kay was inspired to borrow a motor home for more room, we all had plenty of space. We were so glad to be able to see everyone. We even got to meet a friend of Kelly's, Garity, who was brave enough to venture into our houseful and get to know everyone. We had a great time eating, playing games, eating, reading books, eating, doing crafts, eating, shopping, and of course, EATING! It was a lot of fun. The kids found the hay bales outside the first day we were there and they were the highlight of the outside activity. On Thanksgiving day the dads and Grandpa took the kids out to the woods to find a Christmas Tree. They all piled on some hay in a trailer and were pulled by the four-wheeler to the woods to hunt. It was cold but they seemed to have a good time. On Friday night we went to town to watch the Thanksgiving parade and the fireworks which were followed by the lighting of millions of lights in downtown Coeur d'Alene. We watched the parade, then we sat down and had some hot chocolate and cookies, then we walked to the park to watch the fireworks. It's a pretty big production in Coeur d'Alene and we were glad to be part of it. Then we went to Wendy's for dinner. It was a good night. The kids were really good, especially considering that it was really cold and raining most of the night. They were troopers.

The whole trip was really fun, the only thing I would change (besides the small detail that all of the children except mine were sick at one time or another!) would be the weather. Not a blue sky to be seen the whole time we were there. But it wasn't always raining, just overcast. It was fun to get together with everyone! We even managed to get a family picture. I think it's pretty good considering it was taken at the end of the weekend when we were all tired and ready to go home! Here are a bunch of random pics from the weekend.Happy Thanksgiving!

Miranda

So my baby girl is now nine months old. I can't believe it. I had hoped to be skinnier. Seems like the weight of a third baby takes much longer to lose. Especially in the tummy area. I never really understood "muffin top" until now! It's a good thing that she is so cute and totally worth anything I had to go through to get her here! She is growing up and becoming so much more like a toddler. She isn't walking yet - thankfully - but she is crawling everywhere. She used to cry if I left her in a room by herself but now she just follows me around the house. It's pretty funny. She is starting to get on a good schedule for sleeping as long as we are at our own house. She doesn't like to sleep anywhere else. Sorry to everyone that has baby sat and realized that she won't sleep. It used to be better but I think it is getting worse. She also won't sleep in my arms. She wants to be put into her bed with her blanket and pacifier and then she goes to sleep almost immediately. This is great if I am at home. Today at church - or any day at church - it is a problem because she was SO tired and yet she won't sleep. She was awake from 8 until 2 and she gets pretty grumpy when she is tired. Last Friday Lisa watched her and Kanyon for me while I worked and Len slept. She stayed awake for Lisa all day too -- Lucky Lisa! She was awake from 7 until 4 on that day. Crazy girl. I think that when she is in a new place she is just so stimulated by her surroundings that she can't sleep. As soon as she is in her bed in a familiar place, she crashes.

I took her to her 9 month check-up. She wasn't supposed to get any shots for this appointment but we decided to give her the flu shot. The doctor said that she is doing great. She had extreme stranger anxiety at the doctors office. We sat and talked to the doctor with her on my lap for about 5 minutes then I sat her on the table for him to examine her. She just about jumped off the table trying to get back into my arms. She did not want that guy close to her. She is my first baby to have this issue. My other kids would go to anyone and always had a smile ready. This one's takes some time to warm up. In some ways it's kinda nice to feel so loved! ;) For the record she weighs 18 lbs 2 oz and 30 inches long. She is still off the charts for height. The doctor says she is "the tallest kid in her class". I am having trouble with pants for her. They are either too short or too big in the waist. Seems like it runs in the family. All my other kids have the same problem.

The other day Miranda's bottom was sore and I didn't really feel like I had time to give her a full bath before bed. I was tired and the other kids were ready for bed too. So I filled the sink. She quite liked it and she looked so cute I couldn't resist taking a picture!

Miranda really is a joy to have in our home. She loves to play with her brother and sister and she loves her daddy. It is fun to see how she recognizes those of us that she sees every day. I love her so much and am so glad she is in our family.