January 2017

     I think it is safe to say that the theme for the month of January is snow. It was a record breaking year for snowfall here in the Boise/Kuna area. We have never seen this much snow here. Normally we have no snow days. This school year we had one in December and six of them in January. There were several days of ice/rain too so the roads were terrible. There was so much snow that people were getting stuck in our subdivision, cars were buried, and it was too cold to even leave the house.

     Our new year started out on a Sunday this year. Brynlee and Annalyn both got new teachers at church and I got a new group of kids to teach. Kyla is in a much smaller nursery since several of the kids in her class moved up to an older class. We have had several new people move in all around us so our ward is getting much bigger so they moved us to the stake center building. Now we don't have to cross the train tracks and we are a tiny bit closer to our building.

     On the second day of January grandma Verna brought over a gingerbread making house kits that she got on sale. It was a shopkins one and she knew our kids were sad that we didn't get to make gingerbread houses. Our girls were thrilled. They didn't care that Christmas was over, they had so much fun decorating that house. Brynlee was super excited to eat it but I don't think she liked the taste of it cause I ended up throwing it away a few days later. They did eat all the candy off of it.

     Brynlee was supposed to start school on Wednesday the 4th of January but we had so much snow that school was canceled. We stayed in the house, it was so cold. We ventured out on Thursday and the kids helped me clean off the driveway and they played in the snow quite a bit. Friday was another snow day. Joel did a lot of snow shoveling and plowing around our subdivision so we could drive in it. Things got bad and the snow plows could not move fast enough. Joel still had to work and was super grateful that he wasn't framing outside in the miserable weather.

     Saturday started out nice but the weathermen were predicting a big huge snow and ice storm that was set to hit that afternoon. I wanted to go to the grocery store early that morning and have Joel watch the kids but Joel had other plans. He said he would go to the store later that day if he could go on a snowmobile ride. He picked the right year to get snowmobiles and has so much fun riding around on those things. Joel ended up stopping to help some people so it was late when he got home. By the time he got home the storm was in full force. I told Joel we could just wait and go to the store later but he wanted donuts so he took a few of the kids and went to Albertsons. Only Joel would go snowmobiling and then go out for donuts when a storm is brewing. We did get a lot of snow and ice and the roads were pretty bad so they canceled church on Sunday.

     Monday and Tuesday brought some more snow days for Brynlee. Annalyn's speech was even canceled. The kids spent a lot of time playing in the snow. We had some friends over that live close a few times and we did our best to stay busy. Brynlee made dinner for us one night and made brownies almost all on her own and we watched some movies and played with toys. We were all going a little stir crazy from being stuck in the house for so long. Brynlee was beyond excited when she actually got to go back to school on Wednesday.

  On Thursday we went to the library and the missionaries came over that night and we fed them. Brynlee took an instant liking to them and talked their ear off. On Friday I took Brynlee back to the doctor because she was still coughing like crazy. The doctor prescribed me some Steroids to get rid of the cough. Boy, did she hate that medicine. On Saturday we went swimming at the YMCA for a friends birthday. We ended up all getting to go swimming, even the baby. Joel wasn't feeling that great though so he opted to just watch. Summer seemed to really like the water and we all had a good time.

     Brynlee went to school on Martin Luther King day as a snow make-up day. After school I took her to another school where she tried out for the Missoula Children's Theater. They were doing a musical called Treasure Island and they practice and put it on in just a week. The kids that didn't get a part got to do a little preshow song and dance and I would have been fine if Brynlee got to be in that but she actually got a part as a seagull. She was pretty excited about it and the best part is that her good friend Josie got to be a seagull as well. There were lots of practices and it made for an extra long and fun week. They put the show on two times on Saturday and we invited all of our extended family and bought our tickets early for the discount. On Saturday morning Brynlee woke up not feeling well. She had a slight fever and just wanted to stay home and sleep. I gave her some ibuprofen and a little bit later she felt fine so I ended up sending her and she rocked the performance. I was pretty impressed with how well all those kids did. We gave her some more medicine before her next performance and she did great and was feeling good. I felt kind of bad for sending a sick kid to do that performance but since a lot of people paid money to watch her I just let her go. She had a fantastic time and keeps talking about it. She got my mom to buy her a t-shirt and we paid for a DVD of the show which she can't wait to watch.

     During that week of Brynlee's performance the kids all had dentist appointment and everyone did great and no one had cavities. It still snowed on and off that week and we got dumped on again on Wednesday so Thursday was another snow day. A friend invited my girls over to play for a while that day and they sure enjoyed doing that.

     On Sunday the 22nd Brynlee still had a fever so Joel ended up staying home with her and the baby. Kyla ended up getting a fever that lasted for two days and Summer also had a fever one day and they all got colds and were feeling yucky. Brynlee was still coughing even after she finished those steroids and I had to take Summer in for her nine month check-up so I decided to take Brynlee back it too. I was debating if I should not take her and then the night before her appointment she starting crying that her ears hurt. Turns out she had and ear infection and Summer did too. There was nothing we could do for her cough but at least we could fix the ear infection. We also found out that Summer had RSV so we had to change her check-up to a sick visit. I stayed home from church with Summer and Kyla on the last Sunday of the month. Kyla had a fever all weekend so I was worried she might have an ear infection. Her fever was gone for a few days and then it came back for the whole weekend. I took her to the doctor on Monday and we couldn't find anything wrong with her and her fever never came back. I didn't get much done those weeks when Kyla and Summer were sick. Seems like the only thing I did was to hold and snuggle sick babies.

     Towards the end of the month Joel and the kids all went out and made some pretty cool snow creatures. Brynlee wanted a dragon, Annalyn picked a unicorn and a turtle, and Kyla requested a lion. Those things lasted for a long time and were still there at the end of the month. They sure loved looking at those things. Joel also made a castle out of the big snow pile that was in our yard but I didn't get a picture of that.

     Joel also made the kids a jewelry box and they had so much fun painting those boxes. Annalyn has been pretty creative lately and makes all kinds of things out of boxes. She made a house and a computer in the picture below. My sister in law Heather brought over some cakes she made and frosting just for fun and let my girls decorate a cake all on their own. She made one of the cakes look like a unicorn and my kids thought it was pretty cool. My uncle Gary died this month, he is my grandma's older brother. We didn't make it to the funeral, it was on a super snowy and icy day and the ground was so frozen that no one could even get to the spot where they were going to put the body. He was getting old and was ready to go but it is always sad to have a loved one go.

     This month had a lot of hard, cold, and miserable day but it was also filled with a lot of fun times. Those snow days were long but I enjoyed getting to spend some extra days with all of my girls. We tried playing pie face with our girls but they were all pretty squeamish and kept running away. The kids played lots of make believe. Annalyn and Kyla play babies all the time and take turns pretending to be the baby. Brynlee lost her first tooth this month as well. I will have to write that story later. Life is pretty good.

Summer at 9 Months

     Baby Summer is nine months old and she is cruising along all the furniture and crawling all over the house. She likes to be where her sister are right in the center of all the action. I took her to her nine month check-up on the day she turned nine months so I thought I would be able to put her stats on here but instead we found out she had an ear infection in her left ear and she had RSV so we ended up changing the visit to a sick check-up. When they weighed her she weighed less than 17 pounds which surprised me. In fact at first the nurse said she was only 15 something and I panicked a little thinking she had lost weight but it turns out the five was really a six. It seems like she has been sick so much lately. She had such a bad cough and was so miserable with the RSV. She just cried and wanted to be held. Poor baby. At least she really liked taking her medicine. Every time she would see me come with the medicine dropper, she would spit out her binky and get a big smile on her face. She was pretty cranky and fussy when she was sick but most of the time she is a pretty happy and smiley baby. Every time I look at her she usually gives me a great big grin and she is quick to laugh. (Three weeks later her official nine months stats are 17.62 lbs. (34%) and 27.5 in. (32%) with a head that is 18 in. (89%)

Summer is super tickilish, especially on her legs and she giggles the best giggles when her sisters play with her. Her little laughs can make the entire family laugh and smile with her. It's the best. She also does her little wiggle dance whenever the family starts to sing or when we listen to music and it is the best.

This month Summer learned how to clap. She doesn't do it very often and it is a very soft and dainty little clap without much sounds but whenever everyone else starts to clap, she will do it too. She also learned how to give kisses. They are great big slobbery kisses and I love them a lot. If you catch her in the right mood she will give you lots, over and over again. Summer is constantly scratching. Mostly her little belly and even though I can't see anything there the doctor said she probably has eczema that makes her really itchy. I can see a little eczema on her knees and cheeks sometimes so I am sure that it what the problem. is.

Now that Summer is crawling, she has no time for things like getting her diaper changed. She makes it so hard by rolling away and crawling out of my grasp any chance she can get. She cries the whole time I hold her down to change her. She is also getting good at standing and has attempted to let go for a few seconds. The first time she did it she fell and landed right on her eye and gave herself a nice looking black eye. She still likes being in the baby carrier but not as much as she used to. Now she cranes her neck and likes to hang her head all the way back so she is looking backward at what it going on behind her. It is actually pretty funny.

We had lots of snow again this month. Summer seemed to warm up to it a little better when I let her crawl around in the stuff but she still isn't a huge fan. Partly she hated all of the warm restricting clothes I made her wear.

Summer Loves to eat. She has been sleeping a little better in her crib, at least she will spend a small amount of the night in her bed. She won't take naps in there though. She just stands up in her bed and cries the whole time I try to get her to take a nap.

Summer sure is a lot of fun. She gets packed around by her sisters a lot and usually just loves all of the attention. She is a serious mama's girl though. Every time Joel tries to hold her for me he makes me leave the room or she tends to whine at me. Especially when she is tired. She will follow me around the house crying until I hold her. If she can't see me she is fine and will go to other people. She doesn't like her jumperoo anymore either. She wants to be crawling and getting into things. Kyla is the best at getting her things and giving her food and Summer just eats that up. She loves when Kyla gives her the leftover suckers or things she doesn't want. Summer is one well loved little baby and we all feel pretty blessed to have her in our family.

Brynlee is 6 and 1/2

    My oldest child just keeps growing. She can read pretty well, I can't spell things over her head anymore. She just lost her first baby tooth this month, and she is getting quite independent to where she doesn't need my help to brush her teeth or take a shower anymore. Watching her grow up is full of so many bittersweet moments for me. I love that she can do things all on her own and it is so much easier to have her be independent, but it makes me sad that she doesn't need me anymore. Luckily she still likes to be snuggled in tight before bed and there are moments when she will just want to sit on my lap and talk to me. I love this girl so much.

Brynlee recently decided that she is "getting too used to playing with toys," so I have a hard time getting her to do that anymore. She constantly begs and begs to watch movies, play on the wii, and play games on the ipad. I made a new rule that she isn't allowed to do any of that on school nights because that was all she would do. It was kind of nice because she would hurry home from school, do her reading and chores, and then beg to watch a show. It was making her pretty whiney and she would get so mad when it was time to turn things off that I finally had to make the rule. We will see if that changes things for the better. If Brynlee isn't watching a show she can usually be found in the office creating a craft, writing a letter, or making paper dolls and clothes. She loves to write. She also plays lots of pretend with Annalyn and Kyla when they are home. They always beg her to play with them and she does every once in a while. She is still pretty bossy when she plays with them but for the most part they get along pretty well.

      Brynlee is still very picky about what she will wear and what she will eat. She was wearing jeans last year but this year she decided she hates them again. She hates socks but since I won't let her wear flip flops anymore has resigned herself to the fact that she must wear them. Most morning she doesn't complain about it and wears her boots happily. On PE days she puts her tennis shoes in her backpack and changes into them at school right before PE. She likes dresses and lately she lets me fix her hair before school each morning. She usually requests two braids and ponies, one side braid pony, or two ponies. Those are the only hair dos she will do. Sometimes she will let me curl it or leave it crimpy but if not she just wears is straight down. As far as food goes, she mostly takes a PB&J sandwich to school for lunch everyday with the occasional crackers and pepperoni, or cold pizza. She will eat hot lunch at school maybe two or three times a month.

     Brynlee still loves going places but now that she goes to school everyday she is content to just stay home after school. She will play with a friend anytime she can. She has been scared a few times about someone kidnapping her and worries about that a lot. Sometimes she has bad dreams, usually about zombies, so each night in her prayers she asks for good dreams and that her dream catcher will work. My sister Alesha gave one to her and she is pretty fond of that thing. She has gotten mad at it a few times and called it broken when she still has bad dreams but she still makes sure it is hanging above her bed every night before she goes to sleep.

     Brynlee loves school. She likes riding the bus everyday and she seems to have lots of friends that she plays with. She plays school with Annnalyn at home all the time. She loves writing time the most. She has been checking out a lot of "Magic Tree House" books from the school library and we have been reading them together. She is good at reading and will sit and try to read all kinds of books. She reads a verse of scriptures most nights before bed but she hates doing the reading her teacher sends home. She brings home four books that she has to read every night. She will often pick easy books that she has memorized so she can get it over with. Lately I have been letting her get books from our bookshelf to read instead and she seems to like that better. I am getting tired of listening to the same books every night so it works for both of us.

Brynlee sure is a fun part of our family. We love her lots. Here is a little video of her talking about some of her favorite things.

Kyla is 2 and 1/2

Kyla was officially 2 and 1/2 at the beginning of last month. She is still one of my easiest and most easy going kids but she has gotten an opinion on several things and can be mischievous when I least expect it. She is the best toddler to take places because she sits for me so well and is usually content to watch what is going on around her. She is still a super observant kid. She loves playing with all of her sisters and is the best playmate. She shares well and is a great peacemaker. If someone else wants the toys she is playing with, she is usually the first one to give them the toy. She is super compassionate and will run and get a band aid every time someone needs one. She likes to be the one that gets the scriptures every night when we read them. She is one fun little girl.

 Kyla talks all the time. Sometimes she just talks and talks and goes from one topic to the other so quickly it is hard to keep up with her. I love talking to her and seeing what her little mind is thinking about. Lately she keeps talking about how she is growing up big and about how she is going to "grow up into a mom." Whenever she does something naughty or if she spills something or pees on the bathroom floor she runs to me and say, "I is just liddle. I is just a liddle girl!" She must know that makes it hard for me to get mad at her. She is super sensitive and will cry every time someone gets onto her or tells her to not so something. For the most part she doesn't have a hard time talking to other people but sometimes she can be shy and will stay close to me.

 Kyla still sucks on her thumb all the time, especially when she is tired. We got rid of her nap a long time about but every once in a while she will get tired and come and tell me she wants a nap and I always let her take one. She also falls asleep in the car on long rides. Every Sunday when we drive to Joel's parent's house Kyla takes a nap through dinner and then tries to stay up late that night. If she doesn't take a nap she will fall asleep in her bed all on her own at bed time and she sleeps in there through the night. It was a lot of work to get her to that point but things are so much easier now that getting her to sleep isn't such a struggle.

Kyla eats well and seems to like most foods. She gets dressed all on her own and lately she only want to wear "pretty pants." Right now that means she will only wear stretchy leggings. She calls jeans and anything with a button "boy pants" and refuses to wear them. Kyla loves getting her hair fixed in the morning and usually requests a braid. It is finally long enough that I can do one big side braid in her hair. I let her play on the ipad most of the time while I fix her hair and she will usually pick the show her sisters want to watch.

Kyla likes to play with barbies, stuffed animals, and baby dolls. She likes to steal the baby stuff and her and Annalyn like to take turns pretending to be the mom and the baby. She plays lots of pretend with Annalyn during the day when Brynlee is at school. She likes make-up and all things sweet. She will climb in the pantry to get things to eat when she wants a snack. Here is a picture of her making her own "hot chocolate." She made hot chocolate with straight coco powder the other day and despite me telling her that is wasn't going to taste good she took a huge sip of it. Then she declared it to be gross and left the mess for me to clean up. Lately she does not want to be bothered with cleaning up and seems to leave when chore time comes around. She still likes the color purple the best but will often ask for the pink bowl because she knows it makes Annalyn mad. As soon as Anna starts to cry Kyla will usually trade with her though. Kyla loves baby Summer and is usually pretty sweet with her. Kyla shares a room with Brynlee and they get along pretty well most of the time.

To finish off this post I am going to leave you with a video of Kyla. She was in a pretty talkative mood so you can get a pretty good idea of what it is like to talk to Kyla. I love how she just goes from one topic to the next. I really love this age, even if she is a little bit mischievous and if she throws a fit every once in a while. She is just so little and innocent, it's hard to get mad at her.

Kyla sure is a blessing to our home. She makes it a happier and more peaceful place to be. I love her happy, compassionate, easygoing personality. We sure are lucky to have her.