Shylee–5 months

Shylee is getting chubbier and chubbier.  That is about all I have to say about that!  She is a good baby – I know I say that every time I write about her.  But it’s true.

This is her favorite pose.  If you didn’t know, it’s called “Happy Baby” in Yoga.  She really does do it when she is happy. 

Here is a few things about Shylee right now and, of course, some pictures. 

• We call her “Shy Shy” a lot. 
• She can roll over but doesn’t do it often yet
• She has tried baby cereal twice and acted like I was trying to kill her both times.  Seriously kid, it’s just food. (sort of)
• If you look at her, she will most likely smile.  If she doesn’t smile, there is probably something wrong with you.
• She likes to watch T.V. and will arch her back in the most awkward position just so she can see what is on the television.
• She still loves to have her diaper changed
• She grabs my face and sucks on it when she is hungry.  Love it!
• She will finally take an emergency bottle of formula.  It took several tries to convince her that even though it wasn’t breast milk, she could still drink it. (She takes breast milk without any problem from a bottle.)
• She loves her siblings and is starting to laugh.  They love her right back

Sweet girl – you have stolen my heart!

Brooke’s Day

We have a lot of birthday’s right in a row.  Mine was next.  I am still trying to lose weight for the biggest loser competition, so we didn’t have cake.  We had pie.  Pie is healthy right?!!  Just kidding…but one slice of pie on your birthday will NOT hurt you – promise! 

It was fun to have everyone gather again on Saturday afternoon to celebrate life.  We are so blessed.  We sure miss so many people when we gather together.  I wish all of my family could have been there.  I got 4 new dining chairs for my birthday!  They are black and don’t match my table, but that’s okay.  They match the kitchen and now Timber can sit in one and Shylee can use the highchair!  Yay for me!  I also got some new boots.  Leonard talked me into them. He said I would like them.  He was right.

They are amazing and very comfortable. I am glad he talked me into them.  And he found a great deal. My husband is awesome.

It was good to celebrate and have some fun.  Thank you to everyone for the phone calls, birthday messages, emails, and cards.  You are all too kind.  I am one lucky girl.

Stuck

Shylee is loving the walker.  She wants to be upright so she can see everyone and everything.  Ideally, she wants to be held all the time.  This is not realistic for a mother of five so she has compromised with the walker!  Today she managed to back herself up until she was crying.  I looked over to find her and she was gone!  Where did she go?  Following the cry, I found her backed into a tight spot!

She was happy to be found!  Silly girl!

Kanyon turns 10

Kanyon turned 10 this year. Two hands.  I remember when I turned 10.  In some ways, it seems long ago, but in others – just like yesterday.  Ten is a magic number for kids who want to hunt.  Kanyon can take hunter’s safety and get his hunting license now.  He can also, after he gets his license, hunt small game – like birds.  AND lucky for him, there is a new law that goes into effect on July 1, 2014.  Ten-year-olds can hunt big game with a licensed hunter. 

Obviously, Kanyon is over the moon about this.  Kanyon’s mom is not too sure, but his dad thinks it’s awesome.  I am outnumbered here

We had another party at our house, this time to celebrate Kanyon. 

As a side note, I love how many people we can fit in our living room.  It’s awesome! 

Kanyon’s big “surprise” that he had been hoping to get was a .22 rifle.  His dad did not disappoint.  Although there was a moment when Kanyon opened the new gun box to find his old BB gun inside that Kanyon wasn’t sure if he was being tricked or not.  Luckily, dad brought out the real gun and this boy was all smiles. 

I don’t have any good pictures of him with his new gun.  I will have to work on that.  But he has been out practicing with his dad.  Leonard says both Kaydra and Kanyon seem to be pretty good shots.  Makes for a proud daddy! 

Some things about Kanyon:

• Kanyon loves to read.  And Read.  And Read.  Seriously, this kid reads more then I remember reading in my life.  And I read a lot, too!
• Kanyon has a great smile.  He shows it a lot.  He is quick to use it and it looks good on him!
• Kanyon loves baby Shylee.  He will often play with her legs while she is laying on her back.  He makes her run really fast as he pumps them and she will laugh.  I totally remember doing that with Scott when he was a baby.  Scott was a fast runner and I am sure I had something to do with that!
• Kanyon still collects everything.  He has a hard time not picking up stuff wherever we go and I always have to check his pockets before I do his laundry.  Sometimes I am a little scared of what I will find!
• Kanyon is a good friend.  His friends trust him to stick up for them and he does.
• Kanyon is smart. and very creative.  I am always impressed with the things he comes up with when he is trying.

I am so glad to have Kanyon as my son.  He has brightened my day many times.  Love you, buddy!

Shylee at 4 months–Ambassador of Happiness

Shylee is just about the happiest baby ever. 

It is so fun to have a baby with such an even temperament.  She cries when she needs something and I would say that she rarely, if ever, cries for no reason.  Even when she is tired, if you hold her, she stops crying.  It makes it so much more fun to hold her!  A friend of mine from church gave her the title of “The Ambassador of Happiness” and it fits her well.  She will let anyone hold her but she is starting to recognize her family members and especially mom as the food source! 

Her eyes are still bright blue and I love how they smile when she does.  She is starting to lift her head well and reach for things.  She is still a good sleeper.   I love that she gets excited when she is hungry and she sees me.  She gets excited to eat!  She has super chubby thighs that are simply awesome!  As you can tell, I am a little obsessed with this cute little thing. 

She has started drooling all. the. time. Which isn’t very fun for mom or the amount of laundry that it creates.  Hopefully she will learn to control that soon!  

She still likes to have my hand on her face when she falls asleep sometimes and she is always quiet and attentive when I sing to her. 

I love this little girl…she is amazing!

Family Party

We had a family party to celebrate Bridger and Miranda’s birthday on February 16.  Bridger turned 2 on February 14.  As always, it was fun to have family here.  We pitched in with the Throcks and got Bridger a train table.  The kids wanted to help put it together.  They ended up doing it pretty much by themselves – so nice to have big kids!

Bridger loved the table! 

Miranda had fun decorating her cake – as usual.  With Timberlyn supervising closely.

She also loved opening presents!!

Here’s the birthday kids!

Miranda with Aunt Sara and Aunt Jodi…

Happy girl – with cousins looking on!!

Miranda got a new bike for her birthday this year.  I somehow managed to forget to take a picture of that!  We did a little scavenger hunt for her to find the bike and she was beyond excited!  She hopes to keep up with Kaydra and Kanyon with her new wheels.  Happy birthday, Mandy May!

Miranda’s Birthday

I am going to try to catch up with blogging.  I am so far behind!!  It is actually April 17 and this post is dated February 15.  Thank goodness for backdating.  How did I get two months behind?  I am not really sure but we have sure been busy.  I started a “Biggest Loser” competition on February 15 and it goes until May 10.  It requires me to attend 3 classes at The Body Shop every week (at least).  With this and work and spring baseball and occasional nice weather – blogging has been on the back burner.  I will try to catch up today though.  The end of the school year is coming quickly and there will be even more to blog if I don’t get going! 

So – Miranda turned 6!  I keep forgetting and often call her my 5-year-old.  I can’t believe how fast these kids seem to grow up.  As a family we went to Triple Play’s Raptor Reef water park to celebrate her birthday on Feb. 14.  She got to spin a wheel where she won the most number of tickets possible and came home with a glitter lava lamp.  She thought that was pretty cool.   She REALLY wanted to have friends for her birthday.  I was leery because I don’t really know her friends from school and she is the only girl in her primary class.  But, we sent invitations to all of  the girls in her kindergarten class (9 girls) and one to her cousin, Juniper.  We only had Juniper and one girl from her class -  Apple.  She was kinda sad, but we made the best of it.

Timberlyn made 4 little girls to participate in the party.  They played Pin the Nose on the Clown (a little scary) and did a craft where they each made a bracelet to take home.  Then Grandma and Grandpa Fuller sent her a piñata which they took turns on.  It was a “pull-string” piñata so they each pulled a string until the candy fell out – BUT the thing was SO full that the candy was stuck.  So we went the old-fashioned route and let them go at it with a bat!  They liked that better anyway.  They all got TONS of candy.

 

The party ended with cake and ice cream of course!

And with a happy girl – growing up way too fast!  

This is one of my favorite baby pictures of Miranda….

She looks like a little doll – So beautiful!  Many, many people commented on what a beautiful baby she was.  We are so lucky to have her.  She still has the longest, thickest eyelashes I have ever seen.  She is funny, and smart, and very talkative.  She likes to make people laugh but she doesn’t like to be laughed at.  Miranda is a bit competitive and can’t wait to play soccer again in the fall.  She loves to ride her bike and can’t wait for the weather to warm up a bit so she can go swimming.  She still loves to be snuggled and is just starting to read.  It is so fun to see her learn and grow.  The other day at dinner she said, “I have FINALLY decided what I want to be when I grow up…..a SINGER!!”  We shall see, Miranda!  I know that you will be great at whatever you put your mind to!

Love,  Mom

Sleeping Jumper

Who can resist taking pictures of this!  Sweet baby!

First Tooth!

Miranda FINALLY lost her first tooth.  I say it like that because she has been trying and trying to lose a tooth “like all her friends” for awhile now.  She was so scared nervous excited – it was almost funny!

Luckily, her tooth fairy is more prompt then Kanyon’s.  She actually remembered to visit the very first night!  Congratulations Mandy!!

3 Months

How time flies!  This little girl is so awesome!  She is a great sleeper, she is super smiley, and she has the BEST rolls all over her chubby little body.  I love it!  She also happens to look almost EXACTLY like her big sister Kaydra.  Seriously..it’s almost scary.  It’s a good thing that Kaydra is also amazing!  Obviously, I love my family!

Shylee LOVES to eat but doesn’t need to eat all the time.  She is very efficient at what she does.   She is always happy to have her diaper changed.  It’s such a change from Timberlyn.  Timber hated having a diaper change from the moment she was born.  Hated lifting her legs and hated getting wiped.  She would straighten her legs and it was so hard to get her all clean.  She still does that 2 1/2 years later.  Shylee, however, loves to have her diaper changed. She smiles and coos at whoever is changing her.  It almost makes it a pleasant experience….almost.

She is starting to reach for things and likes to have toys within reach. She also still loves her swing.  Mom loves the swing too! I started back to work and it’s nice that she will take a good nap in the morning after I work so I can get some sleep without having to wake to nurse her.  She is very cooperative that way!   I can’t believe how big she is getting!

So happy to have Smiley Shylee in our little family!  Wouldn’t change it for anything.

Family Pictures

We hired a photographer to come out and take family pictures.  It was the smartest thing we have ever done when it comes to pictures.  Surprisingly painless!  Shawna, with Blue Eyed Blonde Photography came out and took pictures on a very cold afternoon.  Even with the low temps and chilly wind, we still got some pretty good shots.  Here is my favorite of our family:

Not too bad considering we are trying to get all 7 of us looking at the camera at the same time – with a smile!  

This is my favorite shot of the whole shoot – love this baby girl!

This one’s pretty darn perfect too!

Thanks Aunt Courtney for the AWESOME hat that worked great on such a cold day!  So many people have asked me where I got it! 

We also took group pictures with Leonard’s family.  These people are so awesome – I love them all!

I’m glad we did it – and I want to do it more often.  With my side of the family too!  Everyone come visit us again so we can get some awesome pictures!  I am definitely having her come back out in the spring to take individual pictures of my kiddos.

Definitely when it’s warmer!