Recent Happenings

I feel the need to catch up on life.  This will probably be long and rambling, so I don't know if anyone will make it through to the end, but here it goes...

My blog has been completely neglected, as well as many other things around here lately.  I was doing so well on catching up but life has gotten crazy as it sometimes does.  We have had some very life changing events in the past couple months related to Darren's work.  Things I never imagined having to deal with.  It is a long story, and one that I don't really want to post on the world wide web, but we are now in the process of purchasing the practice as Darren's business partner has passed away.  There was a lot leading up to that, but I won't go into it.  It is a very sad situation and I feel terrible for those involved.  Especially his family. It caused a lot of stress on our family and left us with a lot of questions and pretty hurt as well. I think over the course of a couple weeks, I felt just about every emotion.  I felt sad for the situation and his family, excited for us and the possiblity of having our own practice, stressed over what was going to happen and overwhelmed with everything going on and at times, I felt so alone.  It also threw our schedule into total chaos.  Things at the office changed from one day to the next, so Darren's 6 hour schedule suddenly became a 12 or 13 hour schedule in order to cover all the patients.  It was a big change!  Things are starting to settle back down and he is going to 8 or 9 hour days now.  It is still a lot different to not have him around as much and to change a lot of the way we do things.  For instance, I used to do all my volunteering at the school on his mornings off and now I'm having to scramble to find people to help with my kids and things like that.  I realize most dads work that many hours, but we just are not used to it yet and the kids are having a hard time with it.  (And I am, too)  We are excited for the opportunity though.  I think in the long run, this will be a really great thing for us.  It is just very sad that it happened the way that it did.

It is also tax season.  I hate that.  I do the books for Darren's office, but I don't keep up on it very well during the year so I end up with lots of work to get things finished up for the CPA.  I just got the file emailed today.  I feel so much better!  It means that I don't have as much time for blogging or anything else. 

I also have a new calling.  I am the Stake Women's Sports Specialist.  Or something like that.  I am not sure what the official title is.  I really like it.  It just means that I have to be at the church once a week at night to run things, even when I have other stuff to do.  It has cut into my blog time, too.  But I am having fun with it and it is a pretty perfect calling for me, although I don't really feel like I know what I am doing yet. 

And, winter is turning into spring!  Well...it started to and then it snowed...  I hate that part of Utah spring!  We seem to get MUCH busier in the Spring and it has already started.  Rylee has started figure skating.  She really likes it.  At least she did the 2nd time she went.  The first time was pretty rough.  Hopefully, it keeps getting better.  Avery is taking dance and has a recital this week.  I'm excited to see if she will actually perform on the big stage.  She is pretty excited about it though.  She has 2 rehersals and 2 performances this week!  BUSY!  And soccer starts up for Logan next week. 

It is also birthday season at our house.  Rylee lost her first tooth and turned SIX the last week of March.  She had a Hello Kitty Extravaganza party and spent the day shopping at the mall.  We even had our pictures taken in one of those photo booths and she picked out best friend necklaces for us.  I felt like I was back in Jr. High.  When she picked them, I asked who she planned to give it to and she said, "you, of course."  I wanted to bawl my eyes out!  Of course I bought it after that.  I hope that she will want to wear best friend necklaces with me when she is 16.  But chances are, she won't.  So I'm enjoying it now!  She loved her day at the mall and shopping and having her nails done - She is such a girly-girl!  And she LOVES her birthday party and loves helping me plan and has such high expectations for them!  Her Hello Kitty party was great and she loved all the decorations and everything. 

After her birthday, it was Easter, which was so fun but lots of traveling to family events and super busy.  We had a really great time though and the kids looked so cute in their outfits.  The following week was Spring Break and we took a quick trip to St George.  We had a great time enjoying the warm weather and hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa Webber's brand new home down there and spent some time hiking and hanging out with Brian and Val and their family.  It was a good trip and we were able to see some friends, too.  And have some delicious sugar cookies and Dirty Diet Coke from Swig's.  That was a highlight for sure. 

We came home from our fun Spring Break, and I turned 32 yesterday.  I think.  I kept telling people I was turning 33 and I had to be corrected.  I don't think it matters once you are 30.  Everything just kind of blends together.  I had a fabulous day and was spoiled by my family.  I love them.  The kids were so excited for my day and it made my heart feel good.  And my phone buzzed all day with Facebook notifications and texts and it just put a smile on my face.  It feels good to be remembered sometimes.  I guess Facebook is good for that.  Darren treated me to breakfast in bed from Kneeder's (Chunky French Toast...YUMMM!!!) and then surprised me and got a babysitter and took me to lunch at Paradise Bakery.  I went in to Rylee's class to volunteer and her cute class sang to me.  It was so sweet!  Darren took the kids out shopping for me and we had dinner at Cafe Sabor and then had cake.  The kids got me some lotion and lip gloss and sunglasses and Darren got me a bike and a bike trailer/jogging stroller!  I am excited to try it out.  Except that it SNOWED yesterday!  All that warm St George weather and then...snow!  No fun!  I love birthdays.  I love my kids' birthdays and mine.  There is just something so great about having a day for you.  It makes you realize how blessed you are.  And I am so blessed.  Really.  I have everything I need and I have the greatest family.  I love them. 

I felt like this rambling post needed a picture.  So, now you can see how blessed I am.  And, how cute my kids looked in their Easter outfits. 

Up next...  Darren and I are taking a trip with no kids.  I am a bit nervous, but also excited!  We haven't done that for a LONG time.  I'm just worried about leaving my Bronson.  I hope it will be OK.  I stress over that stuff so much!  And then when we get back, Bronson will turn ONE!  My baby!!!  I am freaking out a little over that, too.  Time goes much too quickly! 

Miss Avery - 3 Years Old

Here are Avery's 3 year old pictures.  (They were taken in October) She is SO grown up!

 

 

 

 

 

And these are a few pictures from her Doc McStuffins themed birthday celebrations. 

 

This little lady has some serious sass!  We love her!  She keeps us laughing all the time and she has SO much personality lately.  I think this is my favorite age.  They are so funny and have formed their own personalities and opinions but are still so little and talk so cute.  If I could bottle her voice, I would!  I love it! 

Here is a bit about Avery at 3 years old.

Favorite Color:  PINK  (Is there another choice?)

Favorite TV Show:  Doc McStuffins  (before that it was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)

Favorite Movie:  She said Doc McStuffins again, but it isn't really a movie.  A couple I would say are favorites are Despicable Me and Tangled

Favorite Princess:  "The one on Beauty and the Beast"  - This changes almost daily...

Favorite Book:  "The one we read-ed"  She loves all books.  She likes to make up her own stories and read to us more than she likes us to read to her though.

Favorite Bedtime Song:  I am a Child of God  (The RSL anthem is a close second...)

Favorite Game:  To play Little People

Favorite Stuffed Animal to Sleep With:  Coconut (Or Toconut) her little monkey

Favorite Food:  Chicken Nuggets

Favorite Treat:  Chocolate

Favorite Cereal:  Lucky Charms  (She usually only eats the marshmallows though)

Favorite Game:  Where is Sock Monkey?

Favorite Toy:  Fairy Little People Set and Doc McStuffins bag

Favorite Restaurant:  Chuck-a-Gramma  (better known as Chuck-A-Rama.  The morning of her birthday I asked where she wanted to go for her birthday dinner and she said "that place where you get your own food"  It took awhile, but after she said where Logan went for his birthday, I asked, "Oh, Chuck-a-Rama?"  And she said, "yeah, Chuck-a-Gramma"  and that is what she called it all day.  It gave us all a good laugh!)

Favorite Drink:  Chocolate Milk

Best Friend:  Hallie Bladen

Favorite Ice Cream:  Chocolate

What do you want to be when you grow up?  Doc McStuffins

Favorite Birthday Gift:  Doc McStuffins Doctor Bag

Favorite Pet:  A dragon like Stuffie (Also from Doc McStuffins...)

Favorite Song:  Rapunzel Song.  (Ever since Rylee's recital in May, she requests to dance to the song from the Tangled soundtrack called "Something that I want" all the time and has some very cute little choreographed moves to it.  So funny!)  She loves the whole Tangled soundtrack, too and also "Everyday I'm Shufflin'" (thanks to Uncle Jeff!) and I Am a Child of God.

What makes you Happy?  Playing

What makes you Sad:  That nobody shares with me

What makes you Laugh:  Gig-ga-ling

What makes you Scared:  Dragons

What makes you Angry:  Who doesn't like me

What do you Dream about:  I love Bronson, Mom, Rylee, Dad and Logan.  Whose mean to me, I don't love.

Favorite Things to do or Play:  Play Family, Play Little People, Ride my scooter and bike, Swing, Watch shows, play daddy's "hi-pad"  

We love our Avery!  She is so full of life.  She is ALWAYS pulling a silly face or doing something silly.  She loves anything pink, baby dolls, princesses, her baby brother and doing whatever her big sister is doing.  Her and Rylee fight a lot but she really looks up to her and wants to do everything Rylee can do.  She will sit by Rylee and color and "write" just like Rylee does.  She is always asking when she can go to school like the big kids, too.  Avery has a lot of energy!  She is always on the go and she is fearless!  She loves to pick out her own clothes and prefers to wear jammies whenever possible.  She changes her jammies multiple times a day, but rarely matches tops and bottoms.  She especially loves her silky pajama pants.  Those are her favorite!  She also loves to pick out her OWN outfits and comes up with some VERY interesting ones.  She hates jeans and always wants leggings.  Avery loves people and is very friendly most of the time, but she can take a few minutes to warm up.   She loves watching shows on TV and she is very adept at using our electronic devices.  She can find games and anything she needs on my phone or daddy's ipad.  (She has also reset my phone and lost all my memory twice...)  Avery loves to dress-up and she loves to dance.  She loves Tangled.  She loves to perform recitals for us.  She will always make Rylee "pronouce" her before a show.  She loves to snuggle and cuddle and she is so little that it is so fun to cuddle up with her on the couch.  She has the cutest little voice and talks really well for a 3 year old.  She knows all her colors and can usually sing her ABC's without a problem.  It does have to be her idea though.  And she can count to about 8, and then it gets a little sketchy.  A lot of random numbers start after that, including eleventeen.  She hates having her hair done and gets SO mad if I attempt piggies or anything with elastics.  She wants "only a clippie!"  everyday.  Shortly after her birthday, Avery decided to start going potty and she was totally potty trained with in a couple weeks!  The youngest baby at our house yet!  Yay Avery!   

We are so glad Avery is part of our family!  She keeps us all laughing and happy!

Bronson 5 Months

Bronson's 5 Month Pictures

These pictures were right before I broke down and had his hair cut.  It is a bit crazy sometimes! 

I was a little late on having these pictures taken this month because I was waiting for his frog costume. (They are probably really more like 5 1/2 month pictures...)  I LOVED this costume!  The big feet made me laugh!

 

Our cute little froggie! 

And a few from Mommy's 5 month photo shoot.  It is so crazy how much bigger he is compared to the little elephant than when we started these pictures.  I love this little man!  He is getting to be a bit busier so these pictures are becoming harder and harder to get done! 

His little toes

I love when he is so smiley! 

He couldn't leave those toes alone.  I like to kiss them, too.  They are pretty sweet! 

Bronson is getting so big!  He is now wearing mostly 6-12 month clothes and size three diapers!

He is such a happy, go lucky baby.  He has the sweetest, BIG grin and he is smiling most of the time.  He does also have a bit of a serious face that is quite funny, too.  He seems to always be checking things out and observing everything we do.  He likes to make us work for his laughs.
One of my favorite things about Bronson is his laugh!  He has started to do it a lot more and it is so cute!  I love hearing it!  Bronson is quite ticklish.  He squirms so much and laughs so loud whenever we tickle him.  He is super ticklish right underneath his chin and he is also so ticklish when you change his diaper.  Whenever I am changing his bum and wiping him, he is usually giggling so cute.  It makes changing the diaper a little bit better.  
Bronson is getting much more active!  One of his big firsts this month was that he has started to Roll!   He first rolled from his tummy to his back on Sept 5.  He was playing on his back with some toys and I noticed he was ALMOST rolled onto his tummy.  His whole body was over except for his head.  It actually looked a little creepy.  I think with all that chub and his kind of big head, its a lot of work to get himself all the way over or he would have it easy!  Anyway, he was getting upset by being stuck like that so I rolled him onto his tummy and then he flipped right over onto his back.  And then he did it about 4 times in a row!  Then I got out the video camera and he was DONE but he did do it several times.  And once he was on his tummy, he seemed to like it a little more than before because he was so much better at holding his head up.  And he seemed to want to go!  I am NOT ready for that!  He was grabbing onto the carpet and trying to pull himself and kicking with his legs like crazy!  Maybe all that chub will be too hard to move and he will stay put a little longer.  Or maybe we will have another little mover and shaker at our house soon!   He has already perfected his "back crawl" where when he is on his back, he arches and pushes off with his feet and he can cover a lot of ground that way and manages to spin himself around pretty good.   Then, on September 7 Bronson rolled from his back to his tummy!  He had to work really hard but he did it!   He rolls everywhere now!  He rolls over and gets stuck on his tummy and he gets so mad!  He looks like he might be interested in crawling soon and manages to squirm himself into all kinds of positions. 
Bronson loves his Exersaucer and playing with all his toys on there and he also loves sitting in the highchair.
Bronson loves his toys - He gets bored now if you just set him down. He needs some entertainment - He loves his little balls, his stuffies, his rattles, and his Caterpillar.  He loves pretty much anything you can put into your mouth!  His very favorite thing to play with though, are his feet!  He is always grabbing his toes or putting his foot in his mouth.  He is so fascinated by them! He also loves his playgym and can play in there for quite awhile just hitting the toys and squealing.  I am always amazed how much ground he can cover in there and how he can end up in such different positions. 
Everything goes right into Bron's mouth right now.  He is always chewing on everything and gets a little intense about it.  He is always chewing on something - including his feet! That seems to be the favorite!
Bronson is starting to sit up pretty good.  He still tips over sometimes.  If you lay him back in your lap, he will try and sit himself up.  He is really strong. He surprises me for just a little guy how strong he is! 
Bronson has discovered seeing himself in the mirror and he loves it!  It makes him really excited to see himself and when he gets excited, his little legs just kick and kick and he makes the cutest, happiest little squeals. 
Bronson is SUCH a good baby!  He rarely cries about much of anything.  However, he does have one downfall.  He isn't a great sleeper.  He still gets up 2 or 3 times a night and he loves sleeping close to me.  He is always reaching his little hand up by my face when he's snuggled in bed next to me.  
Bronson is starting to be a mama's boy.  I can't say that it makes me sad.  I kind of love it!  The other kids were mama's babies, but have now all started to love and adore their dad, so I'm happy when they love me and want me, even though that can be hard at times.  Bronson cries if someone else is holding him most of the time and hates when he sees me leave the room.  He gets really upset.  It is one of the few things that can make him cry. 
Bronson has started sleeping in his crib now.  Or at least it starts off that way every night.  He usually ends up in our bed for most of the night anyway.  He was getting way too big for his bassinet.  The bassinet rocks and it started to sound like a major earthquake when he would move around in there!
Bronson loves being outside or just about out doing anything.  He loves people and loves to have lots to look at.  This month we took Bronson on a few fun outings.  We went to the Brigham City Temple Open House,  bowling, camping, to Uncle Kyle's football game, his first Aggie football game, up to Oneida Reservoir for some waverunning and smores.
At the USU - Utah football game, I was nursing Bronson and he had the BIGGEST blowout!  I don't know if I have ever had one that bad.  It seriously squirted out everywhere!  I was so nervous it had gotten on the people in front of us, but luckily, it was just all over me.  It was all down my pants and even in my shoes!  I took him to the bathroom and attempted a clean-up.  Lucky for him, he had a change of clothes.  I, however, did not, so I got to walk around all day covered in poop!  I tried to get it off as good as I could.  A nice lady in the bathroom held Bronson so I could try and scrub out my pants.  He wouldn't go back down and sit so we spent the rest of the game pacing around the stadium.  We did get to go back down and watch the OT and he slept through most of that, even though it was SO noisy! 
Bronson loves his brother and sisters.  He seems to especially love Logan.  he just looks up at him and stares and stares.  Logan can always seem to make him happy if he is upset, or make him laugh and giggle so hard!  He is always laughing at the kids and all the funny things they do to entertain them.  He thinks it is funny when they jump out and say "BOO!"  He gets pretty scared sometimes, but he seems to think that is funny for now. 
Bronson loves to be upside down.  If you hang him that way, he laughs and he gets excited.  Sometimes if he can't seem to get comfortable, he will lay across me so that he is part way upside down. 
We tried out the swing on the swingset this month and Bronson LOVED it!  He was a little nervous at first and made a scared face as he went back, but then smiled big when he came forward.  He loved us to tickle or "eat" his little toes when he would come towards us and was content in there for quite awhile.
We went to the family reunion and camped for 2 nights at my parent's stake campground up near Huntsville, UT.  Bronson was great!  He slept good and seemed to enjoy being up there and having so many people fuss over and entertain him.   
One of the best things I love about Bronson is how snuggly he is when he is tired.  He will snuggle his little head right into me and I love it!  He also loves for me to tickle or rub the bottoms of his little feet while I am nursing him, or if he is upset or when he is tired. 
Bronson loves his blankie!  He always snuggles it up by his face in his car seat and when you swaddle him, he will find a way to get his little fists up by his face so his blankie is right up against him.  It is so sweet! 
Bronson is starting to be a bit more trouble!  He is starting to grab - He grabs my food and if I am on the computer, he tries to type.  His little arm is always smacking the table or desk while he tries to get things.  He is getting to be so busy and grown up!