Easter Sunday

Happy Easter!  Time for an updated photo of all my kids.  How did I get so blessed?!  Love them all!

Egg Hunt

We had a great Egg Hunt this year!  We planned it for Grandma and Grandpa FitzSimmons’ house because they have some great hiding places.   We had a ton of eggs and all the kids found plenty.  It was a beautiful morning but by the time we did the hunt in the late afternoon, the wind had picked up and it was a bit cold.  We still enjoyed the fresh spring air that the farm had to offer.  PLUS – I remembered my camera!  The pictures tell it better then I can – so here they are!

The “under 3” area was in the garden.  Timber made out like a bandit because the boys were more interested in the trucks and the sandbox.

It was cold enough that I wrapped Shylee and carried her around.  She loved being outside and, surprisingly, loves to feel the grass.  Who knew?!Jodi and I thought it was funny that Leonard and Kelly were talking and standing the EXACT same way, with the same hat too.  They must be related or something…..

All the kids had an egg with their name on it from Grandma.  They had to hunt and try to find their own named egg.  Inside the eggs were some prizes that Grandma picked out for them.  Miranda got this ring.  They all had a great time.

Sorry for the picture overload, but I thought Uncle Mike in Saudi Arabia would enjoy all of them.  Miss you Uncle Mike! 

Happy Easter to everyone!

6 months

Shylee is now 6 months old.  I am pretty sure that someone is speeding up time.  Things move so much faster now.   Anyway, she is a round, happy, adorable baby.  She loves life and it helps me love life too.  I need to have someone take some pictures of her.  I have a few snapshots over the last week or so but that’s all. 

They aren’t the best pictures of her, but all I have, for now.  She is just starting to sit up!  I love it when babies can sit – but not move much!  I can put her on a blanket with toys and she will play for awhile without going anywhere.  It’s great!   Here’s one of her showing off her new skills.

These pictures were taken with my phone, so the quality isn’t great, as noted by the blurry hands

She LOVES her jumper.  She loves to jump out as far as she can and then swing back.  It’s pretty funny to watch.  I will try to upload a video but I don’t know if it will work. 

She isn’t really interested in food.  She acts like I am trying to kill her every time I put food in her mouth.  She gives a really awesome “awful” face and spits it back out.  We’re working on it, VERY slowly.   She is starting to laugh at her brother and sisters and she doesn’t really like to be left alone for long.  She is so used to having people around that if she is alone in a room by herself, she starts to cry.

She is a pretty good sleeper, but like most of my kiddos, she likes to sleep in her bed.  She doesn’t like to be held and rarely, if ever, does she fall asleep while someone is holding her.  Even at church I still lug around her big car seat because she will sleep in it, but not in my arms. 

We took her in for her 6 month checkup and found out that she had an ear infection.  She had been a little fussy and had one night that I was sure that something was wrong.  She wouldn’t stop crying in the middle of the night – that is not normal for her at all.  She cried and cried for about an hour before Leonard gave her a blessing.  In the middle of the blessing I remember thinking, “She is going to throw up.”  Sure enough, as soon as Len was done, she puked all over me.  We took a quick shower and then she slept in the recliner with me.  She was okay for the next couple days, but did the same thing on the way home from church.  I thought that she might have an ear infection because she cried and rubbed her ears.  Sure enough, the doctor said her right ear was quite red and put her on antibiotics.  He had to do a double take because he couldn’t believe she was so happy with an ear infection.  

For the record, at six months Shylee is 19 pounds and 27.25 inches long which puts her in the 95% for both.  She is a big kid!  We love those rolls, and especially those thighs!! 

Happy 1/2 birthday Shylee!  We love you!

Turkey Season is Open

Every year there is one week that only youth can hunt Turkeys.  This year, Kanyon could hunt.  His dad took him out on opening day and by 8:00 that morning I had a text showing me a picture of his first turkey.  He was pretty excited. 

His dad was too – and took some pretty cool pictures.

Pretty happy kid and dad!

Good Job Buddy!

Spring Break

I failed at Spring Break again this year.  I don’t think I took any pictures.  This will just be a quick rundown post of what we did, since there is nothing to show that we actually did it!

We headed to Idaho Falls on March 28.  We stopped just outside of Salmon to drop Leonard off with Kyle Livingston so they could fish for a couple days and the kids and I headed the rest of the way to Idaho Falls.  It was so great to see everyone again.  Courtney and her family spent a lot of time with us.  We saw Mom and Dad and Paul, of course, at their house and Jackson and Chelsea came over a couple times to visit and play games.  Jake managed to get some time off and head up from Utah with his two little girls – even better.  Jana is expecting a baby soon and had plans with her mom so it worked out for Jake to come see us – though we did miss seeing Jana. 

We didn’t really have big plans, we just let the kiddos play.  They played really well together and I don’t remember breaking up many fights.  Last time we visited we brought our snow clothes and there was not a single snow flake.  This time, we left our snow clothes home and it snowed at least 6 inches on Sunday!  WHAT!  The kids were a little disappointed, the parents were sad that the kids couldn’t be outside but we still had fun.  We went to Leo’s Place, dyed Easter eggs, watched movies, played games, went to dinner, and got caught up on everyone’s lives.  We came home to beautiful, warm, spring weather in Coeur d’Alene on April 2 and then it rained for the next three days.  So much for Spring break!

Thank you for having us, I know we bring chaos wherever we go, but we LOVE to share it with all of you!!!  Maybe next year, I will take some pictures!

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!