*****Chloe is 4*****

Chloe's birthday was on February 9th and we had a little princess party that Saturday!!  We invited a few of her friends over and she loved it!!  We have Reese her sister, of course Chloe and  on the other side these girls are actually cousins, Lizzy and Lily but they love princesses just as much as Chloe and Reese!!  We started with some princess coloring pages the girl at the Disney store gave me!!

Here are 3 beautiful princesses!!

We were having a dancing party and everyone wanted to dance with Ryker - he was their prince!!

Ryker not quite sure about the dancing...

We danced in a circle to princess music...

We did lots of dancing... 

The princess pinata!!  FULL of too much candy...

Lily and Chloewas determined to get that candy out!!!!

Present time!!!

Chloe we love you so much and are so thankful for the sweet and loving spirit you bring into our home!!  Some amazing things about Chloe is she loves to hold and play with Ryker, always willing to help mommy, loves to clean, loves to sing and dance, very smart and loves to cuddle!!  Ever since Chloe was born she has had an amazing disposition about her!  She started sleeping through the night at 5 weeks which was great for me as I was sick from mastitis 3 times during that time!  Chloe you are going to be an amazing person when you grow up I just wish you didn't have to grow up so fast!!  You are so talented, loving and such a special girl in our family we love you more than words can express!!  

Stitches, Shots and a Virus

Back on January 25th, Ryker turned 6 months old so the kids and I all packed up and headed to the doctor.  Normally Cooper would have been in school but due to him having a fever for 2 days I took him also!  So Ryker got all checked out and he is just great and definitely healthy at 18 pounds!  Then the nurse came in and swabbed Cooper for Strep as she thought his throat looked red and it is going around....Negative....Ryker got his shots and they said well let's swab Cooper for Influenza A and B...I debated but thought why not we are already here and if someone else gets it then we know what is going on...After they shove the thing up Cooper's nose (he was not willing at all) he starts sneezing!!  So I am disinfecting the floor of his green snot and right when I turn around Reese had move the doctor's chair (that she never uses) over to the wall and right when I look up she falls and WHACKS the floor...My heart sang...I picked her up and thought "how many teeth is she missing?" Nope big gash as you can see under her chin...I opened the door and told the nurse and called Ryan to bring me her blanket and she was going in for stitches!  So they did them right there in the office but I was crying and crying and thank heavens Ryan came!!  I got the other kids and we went to the van.  Ryan brought Reese out and I just felt like the worst mom in the world!  It still breaks my heart that this happened to her :(

This next picture is of her chin after she had the stitches removed.  Ryan was out of town and I took the kids to Chic-Fil-A for a night out!!  She comes out of the the play area bleeding and I just felt like the worst mom again :(  Not sure what happened but I got her home and my brother was visiting and he had some new skin so we put that on there and pulled it tight with band-aids.  We kept it clean and I decided not to take her into the after hours pediatric place the have here knowing I would not be able to handle her having stitches again and it wasn't as deep as the first time.  It is healed now but she is one tough little girl and still says she has an "owie" on her chin... 

Long story short Cooper was negative for everything so the doctor said he had a virus and it took him about 10 days to clear up from everything.  After his fever of 4 days he got really congested but we are very thankful that is feeling better!!  Ryker is doing great and actually he and Reese are just recovering from right ear infections (who would have thought they would be on the same side)!!  Chloe wasn't mentioned since she has pretty much been healthy but she will be in the post above this one because of her birthday!!  While my brother was here we all got really sick...Ryan had strep throat, I had a sinus infection and the flu, Cooper had the virus, Chloe got the flu, Reese got the flu and stitches, Ryker was a bit congested but he has teeth coming in and my brother had a massive headcold / sinus infection!  We are ready for Spring time!!!

**Cooper turned 6**

First I will start off with how busy we were the week of Cooper's birthday that when his real birthday came on Saturday and his big party I got extremely mad because I thought the new camera I bought myself was dead!!  So a few hours after the party Ryan checked it and the battery was just loose...GRRRR! 

On the Monday before Cooper's birthday we surprised him by first Ryan showing up at his school with Subway and they had lunch together then the other kids and I went to Safeway and got cupcakes and drinks!!  He was totally surprised which made it really fun!  His teacher also held Ryker almost the whole time so that was really nice for us!  

 Here is Cooper with his birthday crown as he ate a cupcake!!

 And of course upside down...

 This is Cooper's teacher Mrs. Frederick and of course she is holding Ryker.

 Ryan snapped a few pictures from his phone during the chaos of Cooper's party...I made the mistake of over inviting since I sent invitations out late and we ended up with a lot of kids...Looking back it was crazy but Cooper had fun and I am glad he had lots of friends there!!

This is when we were singing Happy Birthday to Cooper!!  We started the party with playing a balloon game but due to me not planning on 15 kids I didn't have enough balloons and they kept popping so that was quick then we decorated cupcakes which was fun!  Cooper got lots of fun presents and then we had a Batman pinata stuffed FULL of candy!!!

Happy Birthday Cooper!  We love you SO much and can't believe you are 6 years old!  We are so proud of how smart you are and how much you have grown physically, emotionally, and spiritually!  You are such a good big brother to your 3 younger siblings and we know that you are going to grow up and be such an amazing person with lots of friends and family who love you!  Who would have known your wish would have come true for us to move back to Idaho as that is all you have asked for since we moved here to Arizona!

Catch up time.....

This is catch up time for us for the month of January although not over yet it's just busy!!  Life is so busy but we are trying to take every opportunity we have to see sites and go places as only have 4 more months here! Time flies so fast and I really wish we could just have more hours in the day!!  

 Ryker 5 months

 Chloe riding her new bike Santa got her!!

 Cooper riding his new bike Santa got him!!

 Reese and Carrie after our bike ride aka Carrie pulling Reese on her bike!!  She hasn't quite figured out how to pedal but we are working on it!

 Chloe walking at the Mesa Temple Lights.  They do this every year and it is amazing although Ryan took all 4 kids by himself one night while I was at work!  They also do concerts every night for weeks!

 Chloe, Reese and Cooper smiling for Daddy :)

 Ryan making Reese a beard...This is what goes on while I am at work!!  But he is bathing them I couldn't ask for anything more!!!

 IKEA and their free face painting!!!  Reese and her butterfly she picked out!

 Ryker LOVING everyone talking to him while we wait for the older kids to get their faces painted!

 Chloe and the "Elf" who pained her snowman on her arm!

 Cooper and his snake with stars!!  

 Reese all tuckered out one day after running errands.

 Ryan and Cooper up on the rock with the hole in it at Papagos Park!!

 Cooper quite scared if you couldn't tell up in the hole...I promise he was not right by the edge!!!!!

 Just a fun little place to have a BBQ at Papagos Park so we snapped a quick picture...

 Then it turned into this!  Hey Chloe is at least smiling :)

 Ryker LOVING his baby food!  I can't believe he is old enough for it!!

 Ryan took Cooper and Chloe to Papagos Park for feed the ducks!!  

Cooper and Chloe by the big hole in the rock!!

December flew by so fast with Christmas, Ryan's mom was here and then working!!  January is going by even faster!  So far in this month of January both Ryan and I have quit our jobs and have new ones although I haven't started yet (needed a break) but will start soon, Cooper turned 6, my brother Ian is here visiting, Ryan's grandmother passed away and he is in Idaho right now for her funeral and then he will return again for a boys snowmobiling trip beginning of February.  Life is crazy but we wouldn't have it any other way!!!!!!

Family Pictures 2010

In the beginning of December we had family pictures taken! One of Ryan's friends from high school lives here and she referred us to a great photographer who is also affordable!! We did a mini session even though she spent more time with us than she usually spends with people and considering how young our kids are and after the drive there I am impressed that she was able to get decent shots!! Here are some them...

We are planning on taking more family pictures in March/April with an Arizona theme...I am excited!!

7 years and counting...

I know I am a little late but better late than never right?! On November 29th Ryan and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary and we actually went on a date. Ryan got the night off of work and I got a babysitter and we left a little later than planned due to kids not wanting us to go but it worked out great! We ate at a restaurant we had never heard of but it was good! It is called Chevy's and at first I thought it was a burger place but it was Mexican. We split a platter meal and the food was really good! Then we headed over to the mall which around here everyone keeps saying all the malls are ghetto!! Only the really expensive ones are good where you wont get robbed but really I think times have changed and these malls aren't as bad as they once were. We have not encountered anything scary and I actually want to take my kids back there to the play area!

The best was right after that we headed off for our massages :) We got a couples massage and it was very much needed! My friend from work said her massage girl was great so we booked her and I got some random girl but she was good! We had a great time just chatting and talking the whole time but then it was time to go home! We came home to our night owl Chloe who was still awake at almost 10pm but soon feel asleep after we were home!!

Ryan and I have been through a lot together and have really grown to love each other even more every day! When we were first married we loved each other don't get me wrong but after having 4 kids, moving more times than I should mention and at this time in our life relying on each other for a lot more than we have ever had to it really makes us truly appreciate each other more! Love you Ryan!!

Ryker is 4 months

Ryker was 4 months back on November 25th and went to the doctor on November 29th. He weighs 15 lbs 12 oz. and is 25 3/4 inches long. The back of his head is flat like Cooper's was when he was this age! Ryker is so much fun! He started to roll over about 2 weeks ago and loves it! He LOVES to chew on his hands and suck his thumb when he finds it!!

Cooper, Chloe, and Reese are all so good to Ryker and just love him! They are always willing to sing to him or tell me if his diaper smells or put his binkie in his mouth! He is full of rolls all over his body from his healthy eating. When we took him to the doctor I told her that he is still congested and it has never moved into his lungs but he has been this way since he was born. She said it might be due to the formula we use so we switched him to Soy. He has been on that for two weeks and I think his cough has cleared up a lot and his congestion is slowly!!

We love you Ryker and want you to know you are a blessing and joy to our family.