Caitlin Preschool 2010

Caitlin went to Pre-School at Teacher Anna's (who lived near to my folks) almost as soon as we moved here. She was DEVASTATED to leave Teacher Corene in Washington (and still talks about Teacher Corene often and "When I go back to Washington, I'll be in Teacher Corene's class again, right mom?"). Her new preschool was wonderful and she met lots of good friends, one of whom will remain a friend for a long time...and not just because her last name is also Layton! :) For their last day they went to the "Farm" at Thanksgiving Point and Caitlin chose to wear the dress that my friend, Shauna, made for her out of my friend, Shari's, old drapes. Isn't she beautiful?

Update

We've had a lot of things happen since I last posted. School is out! Yay. I love summer. We had lots of soccer games (all 3 older kids). We have had visitors for almost 3 weeks here in our home. My sister, Elise, and her husband, Les, and their 3 beautiful children have been here for just shy of 3 weeks. (Well, not Les, he was only here a couple of days). Elise generously agreed to donate her eggs to her sister-in-law who had lukemia as a child and doesn't produce eggs. That was a long process that put Elise's body through quite a bit, but, ultimately, it was very successful and now we're praying that conception will occur for the intended parents. It was so fun to have them here. Even though Elise was going to the clinic almost every day, we managed to get in some swimming (at Grammie & Grandaddy's as well as at our Aunt Kathy and Uncle Ren's pool), boating (Memorial Day Weekend), we went to the Farm at Thanksgiving Point, we had a fun play date for Caitlin & Emily with one of Caitlin's friends, we had a "BYU DAY" (Bean Museum, lunch, and visiting Grandaddy's office), and we played a lot here. Elise left yesterday, and she took Kenneth & Caitlin with her, so we're having some quality time with Patrick & Daniel. However, Patrick has been battling a virus since Sunday, and he's miserable. His fever has been consistently over 102 even on Tylenol and Motrin, and it has spiked up over 106 twice. Sweet baby. We had blood work done yesterday, and everything seems to point to a virus, so we're just trying to keep the fever in check and keep him comfortable.

Daniel has started competitive soccer with "The Rage" soccer club. Steve is coaching the U9 team on which Daniel plays. They had their first practice yesterday....so, here we go again. :0

I can't believe it's already half way through June! The summer is flying by.

Birthday Party!!!

To any of you who read this blog...you are invited to Steve's 40th birthday party at our house on JULY 10th. We are going to have a fun celebration to honor Steve for his wonderful life thus far. We would love any and all to attend!

6 mo check up

Patrick had his 6 mo check up a couple of weeks ago. Here's how he measures up:

Date: 5/13/2010
Length: 27 in. 71%
Weight: 17 lb 1 oz 42%
Head Circ.: 44.9 cm 80%

He's growing up!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all! And, may I add, there are some women in our lives who have touched our hearts and our children's hearts, and our lives wouldn't be the same without them. Even though they have not borne children, I consider this Holiday a wonderful time to honor their love and commitment to my children as well. Happy Mother's Day to Debbie, Nancy, Suzanne, and Heidi. Thanks for all you've given to our family and to my children.

Easter Eggs

 

 

 

 

Our Easter Egg dying activity - and the view out the window while we were working on it. Wowee. Are we blessed or what?

Beautiful Children

 

Patrick with his armadillo...we've got to get some Texas in him somehow!

 

Have you ever seen a more beautiful face?

Happy week after Easter!!!

 

Patrick was sleeping...here are the older 3 before church the week after Easter.

Sunday best

 

This is my beautiful Grandmother whom we all love dearly.

 

 

 

This is Patrick in the darling outfit his Debbie bought for him. He wore it every week for a while there, but now he's just wearing the pants - the shirt and vest are too little. :(

Riding Horses

 

 

 

This is at the "Farmland" at Thanksgiving Point.

Thanksgiving Point

 

 

 

 

We got a pass to Thanksgiving Point and the kids really like it.

Niah pretty hair

 

 

 

In January we had 2 of our nieces for a couple of weeks. Niah and Caitlin are best buds. I'm sorry I didn't get a photo of Alix. I took these photos because the first time I brushed Niah's hair she griped and cried, and before she left she was ASKING for curls! I think she liked feeling so pretty.

Update

Steve just finished getting the tramp set up and the kids are so happy. It is nice to feel almost settled again. We can park 2 cars & a boat in the garage, there are only a few boxes we haven't gone through, and we are back in a routine with chores, etc. Happy Day. A HUGE thank you to all who've helped. We've never settled in so quickly before. We couldn't have done it alone, especially during busy season. Speaking of which - I've still got a lot of work to do in the next 5 days, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. :)

Patrick is 5 months old today. He's now eating several meals of baby food in addition to nursing each day. Last night was his longest sleeping stretch ever - 7 hours. They were from 9pm - 4am, but I'll take it. We can cross our fingers that it will continue. He is smiley, happy, and getting stronger every day. He rolls over and can grab toys. He is starting to grab at everything around him. He likes a pacifier when he's going to sleep and he still needs his medicine for reflux. We are so blessed with 4 healthy, obedient, sweet children and we recognize this blessing every single day.

Kenneth started teaching Daniel the piano a few days ago, and Daniel is catching right on. Kenneth is starting to learn hymns and classical pieces and he's doing great. Caitlin is becoming a real contributer with all her chores and her eating habbits are improving. She will now eat chicken and some beef. She still prefers bread and rice, but she even ate enchilladas the other night!

Steve is pushing a deadline right now, too, so it's a little crazy and the kids didn't get much attention during spring break, but worse things have happened.

Third Meal

 

 

 

 

Steve fed him this time and I took photos (that was backwards, wasn't it?) Anyway, you can see how serious he is about his food.

Immigrant

 

Kenneth has an immigration simulation today. He did one in Seattle, but they're doing it here. He needed a passport photo and this is what we took. He went to school this morning dressed as close as we could come with 1909 garb. He is Thomas Russell today. A 10 year old boy coming over from Ireland with his cousins. Good luck, Buddy. I hope you make it to America.

Photo Shoot

 

Kenneth and I had a photo shoot in order to capture the photo in the previous post. I thought you might like to see some of the other shots. (Of course I recognize that neither my sister nor my husband would have had a shadow behind him, but I am willing to admit my inadequacy. I still think he's handsome.)

Kenneth - what a stud

 

Kenneth has gotten braces and glasses in the last month, and I think he looks more grown up than ever!

First "Meal"

Patrick had his first "meal" this morning. He was literally trying to eat the place mat and table while I was eating. I knew it was time, but I've been trying to wait for a time when Steve was home. Obviously it was time this morning, so I dug out the camera and tried to feed and take pictures at the same time. When Kenneth started eating he was like a little bird - he'd open his mouth in a perfect "o" waiting for the next bite. Patrick was NOT like that. He would see the spoon in front of him and DIVE onto it. I was worried I was going to gag him. He was HUNGRY. He ate 2 bowls of rice cereal.

On another note - he is now rolling over from back to front quite proficiently. He gets over, though, and his feet and head come up so it looks like he's high centered. It's so cute. He's growing up!

 

 

 

Our new home

Tasha

So, I like to call Tasha a stupid dog. That's mainly because my dad called all of our dogs stupid when we were growing up...it just flows...."stupid dog"...try it. Well, Tasha is 8 years old now and has been through 5 places of living with us. We are new into this home, and the handles on the doors are horizontal (not your traditional door knobs). Well, Tasha has now let herself out of our room at least twice (that we've witnessed). She gets her nose up there and opens the door. Yes, the doors pull toward her - yes, this is crazy - but yes, it's true. Our stupid dog isn't so stupid.