Happy Birthday Ryan

You're The Best!!

Thanks for working so hard, and for being such a great husband and dad.

We love you.

A Ride on The Polar Express

Monday night the kids and I were given tickets to go for a ride on the Polar Express. The only catch was we had to leave right away. I knew the kids would love this, so we hurried and got in the car and headed off to Heber City. When we arrived we met up with our friends.

We had to wait a little bit before we could board the train. The boys were so excited that I finally took them outside to wait because they were sure the train was already boarding, and they were going to miss the ride.

On the train Santa's Elves were helping everyone find their seats. One of them took the time to sit down and have a picture with the kids

The kids were all excited to be going to the North Pole and they could not wait to see Santa. As we were traveling, Mrs. Clause and the elves served us cookies and hot chocolate. The elves were friendly and Joe loved them because they told us some jokes.

What did one icicle say to another?..............are you hanging in there?

Joe thought they were hysterical.


Valerie didn't really know what was going on, but she was happy to go along for the ride.


After the Hot Chocolate was done they passed out books for everyone to look at as they read the story of The Polar Express. This got Josh even more excited. Every time we turned to a picture with the train on it Josh would excitedly say "We are on this train!"

Then as we arrived at the North Pole we saw Santa standing outside waving to us, and off in the distance we could see the buildings of the North Pole.

We sang Christmas songs as we waited for Santa to come to our car. The kids sang as loud as they could. Valerie did not really like this part because it got pretty loud, but once I wrapped her in her blanket and covered her ears she calmed down.

Luckily by the time Santa got to us she was happy again. She even let Santa hold her for a picture without crying.

(Unil now, I have never had a baby not scream when I handed them to Santa. )

Santa took a picture with each of the kids and gave them a bell from his sleigh as a gift.

After Santa left we sang more Christmas songs as we rode back to the station. The kids rang their new bells the whole way.

It was a magical night for them, and a perfect way to start off the Christmas season.

I am so thankful to my friend Susan for thinking of us.

And yes, I can still hear the bell ring............Can you?

An Ah Ha Moment

All of my children, at about 4 months old, seem to get hungrier. I noticed this happening with Valerie at the beginning of November. I was not too worried because with my last three babies the doctor had me start them on cereal at 4 months and that always solved the problem.



So I was really discouraged when we went to the doctor and she informed me that they have done studies and now believe that you should not give babies anything including cereal until 6 months. She also said that with my other children's history of allergies, reflux and eczema, I should follow this advice for Valerie.



So like a good mother I tried to follow the doctors advice. As the days past I could see Valerie getting hungrier and hungrier. She was demanding to eat more often and for longer periods of time. And after eating for as long as an hour she was still demanding more. Once again I found myself on the couch all day while the dishes, laundry and clutter began to pile up around me. My baby, who had always been so good and patient, was becoming more demanding and crying a lot more. She was also not sleeping as well. instead of taking a 3-4 hour nap in the afternoon, I was lucky to get 20 minutes. She had been sleeping through the night since she was a month old and now was waking up to eat in the middle of the night. The other kids were whining a lot more because I was not getting dinner ready on time, and when little boys are hungry they are not happy either. I had to choose between crying baby or crying kids.



I kept hoping that it was just a little growth spurt, but everything was getting out of control and with three other kids to take care of I had to do something. I decided not to listen to the doctor and give Valerie cereal, because it was obvious that she was starving.



Thanksgiving day I gave her a little cereal before bed. To my dismay it did not help. She did not go to bed until 2:00am and was back up at 4:30am for another feeding.



I am a huge fan of breastfeeding. I think there a big benefits to it. I had not been able to breastfeed Josh because he had reflux so bad, so I was really happy when Valerie took to it so well. But, it was not satisfying her anymore, and for the whole families sake something had to change.



Then came the "Ah Ha Moment". I don't know if I just hit a moment where the little sleep I did get, recharged my brain enough to think, or why my thinking was so screwed up, but I remembered when my friend told me that her son was still hungry after feedings. So to satisfy him she gave him a few ounces of formula at the end of each feeding. It dawned on me that it didn't have to be just breastfeeding or just formula, I could do both. In the back of my mind I knew this, but for some reason I was feeling like it had to be all or nothing. Maybe because that is what happened with Josh.



So yesterday I started giving Valerie a little formula at the end of her feedings and everyone seems to be a lot happier. Valerie is back on her normal sleeping schedule and not crying more than a normal baby should. I am happy, because I feel like I did more than sit on the couch today, and my house is starting to get back together. The other kids are happy, because I am able to pay more attention to them, food is ready on time, and now they can help feed Valerie.

I guess even with the fourth baby there are still new things to learn.

It is so true that every kid is different.

Happy Thanksgiving

4 Months Old

Things were a little crazy at our house when Valerie hit her 4 month birthday, but I didn't want to miss posting about what she is doing at this mile stone.

Because Valerie is the fourth child she is finding herself in her car seat a lot. Taking the older kids to school and activities, and then running around with me to do my errands. She is really good about it, even though there are some days when I feel like all we do is get in and out and back in the car.

Valerie is a very happy baby. She loves people and always smiles when they take the time to tell her how cute she is. She has started laughing and thinks that her sister and brothers are pretty funny.

Along with the smiling and laughing she also talks a lot. She has a lot to say. Too bad we can't understand any of it. I am sure we could learn a thing or two from her. She makes a lot of baby noises, but her favorite talking noise is growling. If you growl at her she will growl back. She loves to growl. I think because it is a sound we make that she can mimic.

Valerie is getting very strong. she has started to roll over. She is good at rolling from her tummy to her back. She is still working on back to tummy. (she has done it 2 times) She also likes to sit up. She can not do it without support yet, but when she is in her swing or rocking chair we have to make sure she is buckled in securely, because those are her two favorite places to practice sitting straight up.

She is getting better all the time at holding on to toys and loves her little rattle. She is exploring things more and more, and loves having a little playtime in her exersaucer.

I am so happy she is developing normally, but I wish time would slow down a little. I feel like she is growing too fast.

Totally loved

My sister Ellen, and her three youngest children, came to stay with us last week. It was so fun to see them and the kids loved spending time together.

(This is the only picture I have of her 9 month old Sam)

Timmy is 4. He and Josh had a great time playing together. The only real problem was when Josh had to go to preschool. He did not want to stop playing.

On my side of the family there are 13 grandchildren and only three of them are girls. Bethany is my sister's 2 year old daughter and the only girl who is not my child. So she is always surrounded by boys. She was so happy to come to my house and see the girl toys and the girl cousins.


The first thing she did when she arrived was walk into the toy room and exclaimed "Oh it's my kitchen!" By the second day she was calling Emily her big girl friend, and she could not get enough of Valerie.









Bethany smothered Valerie with love and attention the entire time she was here.

It was fun to see them and I hope they will come visit again.

Fall Fun

Remember when you were young and the thought of raking leaves and jumping in them sounded like fun. You didn't think about what could be living in the leaves, or how dirty they might be. You just loved the feel of the leaves crunching as you landed in a big pile of them.

This is the one time of year I don't have to ask my kids to help. They love raking the leaves, jumping in them, throwing them up in the air around them, and even burying themselves in them.

When the playing is all done they even like helping to put them in the bags.

I am sure we will get to have a few more days of play, because while our trees have lost most of their leaves the neighbors big cottonwood trees are just starting to change color.