Halloween!

Wow what a busy week we had. Jody's parents came on Tuesday night and stayed until Monday. It was so great to have their company and much welcomed/needed help! I know they were exhausted when they left to go back home. Cindy came to Ammon's field trip with me (the pictures were taken on her camera because my battery died) and then on Friday she went with me to Ammon's parade and party and then to Cohen's party. Rylee scored by getting to enjoy two parties which equaled lots of food and sweets for her. My parents came on Friday night just in time to go to the church Halloween party. Saturday started with Ammon's soccer game and then to his school Halloween carnival, ending with trick or treating. Whew. I think we were all exhausted.

Cindy stayed home to pass out candy and the rest of us went out trick or treating. Rylee caught on very quickly. She was so cute in her little witch costume and would only hold my mom or dad's hand. If I tried to grab it she would pull away. Cohen got an almond joy at one house and yelled out, "Why did they give me nuts? I don't even like nuts!" It was pretty funny. As usual the boys got way too much candy. Cohen doesn't handle too much sugar very well. He was literally bouncing off the walls all weekend. They had so much fun with both sets of their grandparents.

Tate the slept the whole time. He is such a good baby and especially loves to be on the go because he will sleep for hours at a time if there is lots of noise and motion. He loved being held by his Grandmom and it was so nice for me!

Cohen made the perfect Harry Potter. He originally wanted to be a Power Ranger but his friend from preschool was going to be Harry Potter and so he decided to be the same.

Ammon thought it was pretty cool that he got to spray his hair orange at his soccer game.

Wolverine.

Our baby Giraffe.

And the little witch.

Rylee took FULL advantage of both of her brother's parties.

Cindy you were such a great help and wonderful company to drag along to everything.

San Diego

My trip to San Diego started off very bad. I was suppose to leave Thursday afternoon to fly down there with Tate but I woke up Wednesday night throwing up. Being sick all night coupled with nursing a newborn is horrible. So I switched my flight to Friday and stayed in bed all day with Tate. Meanwhile Jody who decided to take the other three and drive to San Diego left. It was nice to have a quiet house and when I woke up Friday I didn't feel that much better. But once I got going I started feeling better and better as the day went on.

The whole reason (excuse) we went to San Diego was to watch Mitch, Alex's husband play football. The game was hot but once it cooled down it was much more enjoyable. Mitch kicked a 44 yard field goal.

Alex was an amazing help with Tate. She has always loved my kids but she was different this time. She was all over him and wanted to hold him the whole time. It was pretty cute and I really appreciated her affection towards him.

My Grandpa and Uncle's Scott and Wayne came for the weekend as well. It was great to see so much family in one short weekend.

Every once in a while Tate finds his thumb. It's pretty cute.

Jody brought the kids down to San Diego but told me it was still going to be my weekend and he was not expecting me to help with the kids. He did a great job. He took them to the San Diego Zoo and then met us at the beach on Saturday. I'm glad that my kids were able to go to the beach. They loved playing in the sand and water and being able to run freely. It was a beautiful weekend.

Mommy Alex

Jody packing the kids up to leave.

Cohen loved chasing the birds.

Rylee was pretty attached to either Alex or my dad.

Jody brought this boy Tristan with him. He is 14 and a part of his young men's group at church. He hadn't been out of Sonoma County before and so Jody really wanted to take him. Our kids love playing with him and he is a really good kid and helped Jody out a lot.

My CRAZY kids!

Last Tuesday night I was making dinner (BLT's and Trader Joe's sweet potato fries, just because I'd be curious if I were you) and Jody was on the computer or something. Cohen had been sent up to his room because he kept putting some tiny toy in his mouth when Jody repeatedly told him not to. Like usual Rylee went up to bug with him while he was in time out.

Our doorbell rang and it was our neighbor from across the street who said," I just wanted to let you know that there are two kids on your roof right now." I bolted upstairs to find Rylee perched on top of the roof right in front of the window and Cohen sitting on the bed. Cohen had opened the window, which I've told the boys they were never allowed to open and Rylee had pushed the screen through and climbed out. Who knows how long they'd been out there. The neighbor said he heard kids outside while he was in his garage. He looked out and saw our two kids sitting on the roof!!! I about had a heart attack. I was shaking and freaking out. All the possibilities go through your mind of what could have happened. Luckily everyone was fine and the window is securely closed now. Lessons learned? Don't put too much trust in a four year old, the unthinkable is always thinkable, pay better attention to your kids, and secure your windows. Oh and tell your 6 year old not to tell anyone! It doesn't sound good when you hear him say, "Rylee has been on our roof " to a friend.

The scene of the crime

Trouble

I feel like I need to say a little bit about Rylee. Maybe just so I don't forget her and how funny/crazy she is. First of all she still sleeps in her crib. Yes she can get in and out very easily but when we put her to bed at nap time or bedtime she goes to sleep very willingly. But before she goes to sleep she always has to give everyone a kiss. Then she has every "baby" she owns plus blankets (we have to hide them from her) in her crib with her. Sometimes she wakes up early so Jody has taken the initiative to put a child lock inside her door. (We've since had to duct tape them all because she has figured out how to rip them all of the doors.) So when she does get up in the mornings we first will hear light knocking on the door and then a soft call for daddy. Once he goes in her room we usually find her naked and saying, "Daddy I pooped." But really she just peed a lot in her diaper during the night. Then it's breakfast and a bath. Yes she takes a bath in the morning because she loves to drink her milk out of her cereal bowl and then it gets in her hair. Speaking of her hair.... everyday I fix her hair and everyday she pulls it out. Seriously she looks so cute when it's fixed and then she just rips it out and looks like a little rag muffin.

Throughout the day I'm saying:

Rylee get out of the fridge. Get off the counter! Leave the baby alone he's sleeping. Put your clothes back on. Get back inside it's raining. Get out of the bathroom! Unlock the bathroom door so that I can help you get out! Give me those markers, you aren't suppose to have markers because you write on walls, carpets and couches (not to mention your clothes and body)!

Seriously the list could go on and on. I know that years from now Rylee's stories will keep us rolling but right now I just feel like I'm always mean and always yelling at her! I mean she is two. Two year olds are suppose to get into trouble and get into things but I'm telling you've never met one like her!

But she is very loving and very sweet. She says, "I love you mommy" all the time. Wants to snuggle and cuddle with us and loves her brothers. She just gets bored VERY quickly. As of late she has started calling me Mimi. Who knows something between momma and mommy I guess. It's kind of funny.

Ammon has ALWAYS been our dress up/make believe boy. In the picture above he was trying to be Wolverine from X-Men and the one below he is a yellow tiger. I've never seen a kid with more of an imagination than Ammon. He can entertain himself for hours with a box, tape and scissors.

Some other random things:

Jody and I saw Couples Retreat last weekend. It could have been really good and was hilarious at times but seriously pretty raunchy and disgusting a lot of the time. I was disappointed.

I am going to San Diego tomorrow!!! Just me and Tate. We are meeting my parents and sister Alex there to go to the BYU football game (my brother in law is the kicker). I am anxious to get away and spend time with my family.

Tate is still a wonderful baby. Last night he only woke up once. Slept from 10-3 nursed and then didn't get up again until almost 8 this morning! I can already see and feel him growing and it makes me so sad. I just want to freeze him right now. When I nurse him I can already feel him getting stronger and sturdier. So sad.

I'm debating to unleash a crazy story about my middle two kids. I just don't want anyone to call CPS on me! Okay stay tuned, now I've got to tell you.

Rylee and Tate

Drama Queen. Nough said.

Sweetest baby ever. Though I think I said the same thing about Rylee...

But she does have her moments and she is hilarious. When Ammon and Cohen are mad at each other they often call each other a baby. For some reason this particulary bugs Ammon. So the last few days when I've gotten after Rylee for something she looks at me and calls me a baby!

And she does love her baby brother. If her and I make it through this year it will be a miracle, seriously a MIRACLE!

Primary Program

The boys did such a good job in their primary program this year. I was so proud of both them. The primary program is my favorite Sacrament meeting of the year. I love hearing all of the primary songs I grew up singing and seeing Ammon sing each one of them from memory makes me tear up. He had two different parts this year and got up to the microphone and said both of them perfectly! When Cohen got up with his class he looked at me and blew me a kiss. The congregation loved it. Then after he said his part he gave me a thumbs up! These sweet boys are growing up too quickly.

three weeks

So far pretty good. We are doing pretty good. A little tired, but not too bad. Jody has been an amazing help since my mom left. Seriously I think he could take care of all four of them by himself. It's crazy how far we've come. When we had Ammon as a newborn we were both a wreck. Exhausted and feeling like having a baby was so hard. Now with four we are doing better than we did with one! Jody took all four kids to Ammon's soccer game last week. I thought he was only taking the older three but when I came downstairs Tate was gone too! He's watched the kids a number of times in the evening while I've gone out to run errands. He's let me go sleep in a different bed while he took care of Tate a few nights, he helps feed the kids, put them to bed, cleans the house and he's given up some time at the gym or mountain biking to be home more often. All of this effort on his part has made me so grateful to have married such a wonderful man! I learned that having 4 kids is so much easier when it's a team effort.

Tate is proving to be a very good baby. He wakes up twice at night and sleeps a lot during the day. Rylee is more and more interested in him. She loves to give him kisses and hugs and now asks to hold him. She is still trying my patience.

Ammon has been playing soccer and is getting more aggressive with each game. He is really enjoying it. Cohen loves preschool and the days he doesn't go he and Rylee run around and play together.

I love fall. I love this time of year. I think I say that every year. But it's true. It is such a fun time and I love the cool breeze in the air and being able to cook and bundle up again. October is a wonderful month!

L & D

The story of Tate's birth: brace yourself it's lengthy.

Friday afternoon I went couponing with my friend Amber. We were in Target rushing to get our things to make it back to Windsor in time to pick our kids up from preschool. After feeling a little uncomfortable and a few random contractions I told her that I thought I might have him that night. Once we got in her car I was timing contractions that were 8 to 10 minutes apart. This started at noon. Two hours later they were getting closer to 6 to 7 minutes apart. So I called my mom who had just finished her work week and she decided to drive down, just to be safe. Unfortunately I tested positive for the Strep B test this time. So when I called my doctor to let her know what was happening she wanted me to get into the hospital right away. If you don't this, testing positive isn't a big deal but if you don't get to the hospital in time to have 2 rounds of antibiotics then the baby has to stay for 48 hours and has to go through some blood work. Each round of antibiotics has to given 4 hours from the last. So my doctor thinking I was going to have the baby quickly wanted me to get to the hospital as soon as things started happening. I was really hesitant about this because I was not uncomfortable or in any pain and I just had a feeling we were going to be there a long time and possibly sent home. So we went anyway. We took our time though. Jody stopped and saw one more doctor and then when we got to the hospital we walked outside for about twenty minutes. I just felt kind of dumb. When we finally got there the nurse said they had been waiting for us and my doctor had already called three times. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon by this time. I guess she really thought I was going to have him quickly! So I was checked, and was 4 cm., had a very stretchy cervix which I was told at least a dozen more times before I had him and was having contractions about every 6-7 minutes apart. So we walked and walked and walked the hospital. Which I knew would happen and I just really wanted to be home. They started the antibiotics and my doctor called and was surprised I wasn't in more active labor. My doctor was suppose to come in at 8 and then 9 and finally got there at 10 that night. Meanwhile Jody and I walked the hospital, timed contractions, and watched tv. My mom ended up coming to the hospital but by ten realized there wasn't going to be any action and went back to our house to stay with the kids. My doctor was going to break my water at ten but when she got there the nurses said they had too many patients in labor and not enough nurses and they didn't want her to break my water. So we opted to just stay the night. I would have liked to have been home this WHOLE time but my doctor didn't feel comfortable with that. So we stayed the night and got horrible night of sleep.


Dr. Weinert came in the next morning around 8 to break my water but then found out that another patient at a different hospital was 7 cm and I was only 5. She didn't want to make it so she would miss one of the deliveries so she decided to start me on pitocin and wait to break my water. I knew that if she would just break it I would have him quickly. That's how the last two deliveries had gone. Tate's head had not dropped enough and was still sitting a little high. I was petrified to have them start pitocin because I had a terrible experience with it when Ammon was born. But they started it slowly and it actually helped to get my contractions closer together and stronger. So we walked and walked so more. I have to admit I was pretty depressed. I wanted to just go home. I was tired and all I wanted to do was sleep in my own bed and see my mom and kids. Finally at around eleven the nurse told me the anesthesiologist was next door and if I wanted to get an epidural I could. I wasn't in pain but didn't want to wait until I was so I said yes. By 12:00 and two attempts with lots of pushing the epidural was in. The doctor had a hard time getting it in. Jody sat and watched the first time and almost fainted because the doctor was using so much force with obviously such a big needle. Luckily it didn't cause me very much pain or discomfort. I was just worried I wouldn't be able to get one!


At 12:30 my doctor finally broke my water and the girl at the other hospital stilled hadn't had her baby. The nurse checked me an hour later and I was 7 cm. Then at about 2 o'clock I started feeling the contractions a little more and felt the urge to pee. That urge turned into a pushing urge. The nurse checked me and I was complete. My doctor had been just hanging around outside. She came right in and got ready. By then I was going through transition. Which always causes me to shake like crazy and the contractions were very uncomfortable. I definitely felt Tate come out and felt like I was going die when I was pushing out his shoulders but lucky for me my kids come out quickly and it was over very fast. I pushed for about 10 minutes, but it didn't even feel that long. I will never understand how people can push for hours. That would kill me. Like the other boys Tate came out with his umbilical chord around his neck but was fine and started crying right away.


It was such an amazing experience. There is nothing, nothing like holding your new baby for the first time. Having a baby is truly a miracle.