Stan, Heather, Emma, Tyson, Lily and Eli

Random pictures

2011-11-01T12:52:00.000-06:00

I have a bunch of pictures that are cute but not cute enough for their own post. Enjoy mom.

It was really warm one day and Lily went through the winter clothes and was very proud of herself!

Lily decided to share her necklaces with Eli

Eli got tired of waiting for mom.

Congrats Emma

2011-11-01T12:40:00.000-06:00

In September Emma received the scholarship award for her class. I am so proud of her and how hard she works always striving to do her best at everything.

New family pictures

2011-09-29T09:38:00.002-06:00

We had some fun pictures of the family taken about a month ago. It was really fun and the kids did great! Enjoy

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

2011-09-09T15:25:00.000-06:00

Two days after Lily's birthday school started for Emma!! She has been so excited all summer. The countdown began once Eli came! It is hard to believe that I have a second grader! Emma loves to read and actually LOVES school. I sure hope she keeps the same attitude as she gets older.

Tyson got to start kindergarten one week after Emma and he has been so excited. Once he found out he was going to have the same teacher Emma did he could not sleep. So far he is loving school and cannot wait to go each day. Tyson did say that preschool was more fun but that he thinks he will get used to kindergarten and like it as much someday too.

For those that know Lily knows that she does not like to be left out of anything so one day while Emma was looking for her backpack and shoes, Lily decided to pretend to be Emma so she could go to school too! She is such a character! There is never a dull moment with her around. Lily misses Tyson while he is gone but likes the time with mom too. It is nice having two kids in school but I sure miss my kids.

Lily turns 3!!

2011-09-08T15:38:00.000-06:00

It is hard to believe Lily is three! She was so excited after Tyson's birthday because she knew hers was coming. Everyday she would ask if it was her birthday and we would say no. She then asked how many days til it was her birthday. Everyday she told us she was almost a big girl. So on the morning of her birthday when we told her it was her birthday she very matter-of-factly told us she was now a big girl and could go to school and chew gum (niether of which she is able to do yet). Stan and I laughed. I guess that is what she associated being a big girl with. Too bad she still refuses to eat dinner.

We had a great day. I made a cupcake cake that Lily thought was pretty neat. Then after naps we went up the canyon where there is a park and a big grassy field. the kids love to play there and are always asking so we thought is was a great excuse to go up there.

Emma gave Lily some necklaces and she loves to show them off.

Tyson turns 5!

2011-08-05T14:11:00.003-06:00

We had a great time Wednesday celebrating Tyson's birthday! He is always asking to go to Chuck E. Cheese so we gave in and the kids had a blast! It is hard to believe that Tyson is starting Kindergarten in a couple of weeks. They really do grow up fast but we are loving every minute of it!

Emma picked out the glasses for Tyson and they were a huge hit.

Smile

2011-08-05T13:58:00.006-06:00

We finally got some awesome smiles! It is wonderful that Eli can sit and be happy for hours without being held or asleep! He is a really good baby and the kids love to make him smile!

What a cutie!

2011-07-22T15:02:00.004-06:00

Here are some cute pictures for the family that don't get to see Eli very often!

Eli at 4 weeks

His first smiles caught on camera. (sorry for the poor quality) Emma was the one who got Eli to smile first and she is SOO proud!

Tyson's new bike!

2011-07-21T15:44:00.004-06:00

Tyson has been bugging us to get a bike he can ride lately so Stan took training wheels from another bike and put them on a bike that was given to Tyson. Tyson LOVES it. He and Emma love to ride their bike together! Although Emma cane up with one rule while on their bikes - Tyson is not allowed to go faster than her. It is kinda funny how mad Emma gets when he tries to get around her. Tyson pedals his heart out and has great fun. Now we just need to take the training wheels off but Tyson says he is not ready yet.

Eli's blessing

2011-07-17T19:19:00.005-06:00

Days before Eli was born, my grandma passed away. She was a great woman who lived to be 101! Because of this my dad and two sisters were going to be in Utah. Since my dad has never been able to participate in the blessing of any of his grandchildren in person we decided to bless Eli when was 10 days old. It was a great day. It was the first time in a long time that my whole family was together, minus my sister's husband and boys who were missed terribly. We were glad there were some many family members from both sides there. Stan gave Eli a wonderful blessing. I wonder what his life has in store for him.

We had a great four days with everyone here. My kids were happy to have more attention and people to play with than just mom and dad. It was so awesome to have my family here. It reminds me of times when we were still at home and the great times we had together. I am grateful for family and for all they do for us. Now I just have to work it out so we all live close!

Finally!

2011-06-06T08:19:00.005-06:00

So I guess all my excuses for not updating the blog out way the reasons why I need to. Now that Stan finally got our pictures off a dying computer and I can access them now I need to document the last year. Too bad I feel very overwhelmed by that right now.

So I will just update those that read this on the newest addition to our family. Eli Henkel Skeem. If you don't like birthing stories you can skip the reset of this post.

This pregnancy was very different from any of my others and he still is very different from my other children. Since I was GBS positive I had to have antibiotics giving 4 hours apart once in labor. My midwife and I decided to induce me to make sure there was enough time to give the meds before the baby came because my labors are pretty short once I get started. The hardest part about being induced was picking a date. Sounds funny but it was really hard for me. See my birthday was on the 3rd. The choices they gave my for induction was the 2nd or the 3rd. We chose the 2nd so Eli's birthday will come first and take most of the lime light.

Sunday, May 29, I had 8 hours of contractions and thought we were going to have this baby on my own. Much to my dismay after a walk the contractions stopped. I was disappointed but knew the baby would come later that week one way or another.

Well, June 2nd came around and Stan was working from home and his jaw started to hurt. He has had a bump for awhile but it didn't hurt and he had an appointment with the dentist later in the month but since it was hurting he didn't know what to do. I am thinking that is was perfect timing. He was able to go to the dentist that morning after dropping my off at the hospital to get the baby process started. I was freaking out a bit but I wanted him to figure out what was wrong before it got worse. Luckly he was back before I got too far.

I was started on Pitocin and the antibiotics by noon and the contractions started right away! The midwife was wanting to break my water at 1pm but was worried how fast I would go and whether or not I would have time for the second dose of antibiotics, so much to my dismay she waited til 3:30. When she broke my water I was still at a 1 and the baby was still kinda high. I was devastated and worried this was going to be a LONG labor. I also was worried about my decision to not have an epidural and if I would be able to handle the pain. The midwife checked me at 4:45 and I was at a 6 and the baby was in the birth canal. I was happy about this because it meant the baby was almost here. Some day the doctor/midwife will believe me when I tell them that the baby will be here in less than an hour. The contractions started to hurt really bad and thanks to my mom and Stan, I was able to make it through them. After I had one contraction that did not want to stop, we knew we needed the midwife because I was going to need to push soon. We didn't even have time to finish calling her before I had to fight the urge to push. It was crazy after that. I don't remember much other than the midwife running in with the cart and trying to keep everything on it while getting gloves on and telling me not to push. If you have not had an epidural, you know that is next to impossible to do. After 1 1/2 pushes he was out and immediately put on my chest. Everything happened SO fast that I was in shock that Eli was here. Because Stan was not sure that the baby was a boy he asked the nurses multiple times if the baby was indeed a boy before the nurses thought to look. He was having problems breathing and they had to take him away pretty fast. Eli had swallowed amniotic fluid on his way out and had to have it sucked out before he was able to breathe right. It was kinda scary the way everything happened so fast. I am glad that things did go well and Eli is healthy. Some time the doctor/midwife might actually listen to me and be prepared for how fast my babies come. Eli was born at 5:20 pm. He weight 7 lbs 14 oz and was 19 1/2 in long.

He is such a joy and the kids just love him. It is hard to keep him away from Emma. She always asking if she can hold him. Lily is very concerned every time Eli cries or makes a noise. Tyson wishes he was older so he could play with Eli. It is really fun to see how they interact with Eli.

Tyson turns 4!

2010-09-14T14:27:00.007-06:00

Oh, does time fly! On August 3rd, Tyson turned 4. We decided to have a birthday party for him this year and had a blast. It was a water party in our backyard. That is totally the way to go. I didn't have to clean my house or worry where the kids were too much or care if they made a mess

It was a great day. Stan was able to work from home that day and we gave Tyson his presents at lunch before his party. He is obsessed with Toy Story right now. So we gave him a Buzz figurine for his birthday and the promise to get him a Woody since I could not find one and cannot take Tyson with my anymore to purchase presents. Anyway, When he opened it I wish I had taken a video because it was a true child thing to say! He took one look at Buzz and asked if he talked. I don't him no but he could move it and play with Buzz and Woody because we thought he would want both instead of just one. He replied "It doesn't talk. Then I don't want it!!!" He then stormed off leaving me stunned! Had my child just refused a present! I could not believe it! My first reaction after I processed what happened was to take it back and not get him a present. Luckily Stan was there and was able to calm him down and convince him that we would take Buzz back and use the money Grandma had given him and some of his allowance to buy the talking Buzz. Fun thing was when we took him to get the talking Buzz he decided to just get the matching Woody and keep the Buzz we originally gave him. Tyson is a funny boy and definitely keeps us on our toes.

Emma Graduates Kindergarten!

2010-07-02T16:06:00.003-06:00

May/June were busy for us so please excuse the month-in-review over the next few posts.

Emma graduated Kindergarten on May 2o. It was a great day for Stan and myself and Emma too. Emma had a great year! She excelled and progressed faster that I thought she would. Emma loved going to school and cried when it was over! Emma also had a great teacher whom Emma LOVED.

On the last day of school they have a circus day and Emma worked so hard at perfecting her Hula-hooping. She had fun picking our her outfit and let me paint a butterfly in her face. She had a great time. It is hard to believe that she is going to be in first grade next year. It is crazy how fast she has grown up. I remember being excited when she was 2 for the day she would go to school and now that she does I cannot believe that it is here already. I am so proud of how hard she works and how she helps Tyson to figure things out too. I also love that she can read me books!!! I cannot wait to see what next year holds for her!!!!

What a cutie!!

2010-07-01T14:52:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures of my sweet Lily that help remind me that she can be a cutie and not a tyrant!

A Good Number

2010-04-12T13:38:00.002-06:00

On Saturday Tyson was helping Stan fix the toilet, having a great time. He was so excited he got to hold the BIG flashlight! Ya know one of the long heavy duty ones. Well for those of you who know Tyson, he is a bit absent minded and clumsy. Before long he tripped and landed with the flashlight under his chin! He managed to bite a small piece off the side of his tongue. Likely I was not at home or I probably would have freaked out!!! When Tyson showed me what he did I told him he did a good number on his tongue. Later at the grocery store Tyson asked me what number it was. I told him 7 not really thinking about the question. Tyson promptly tell Stan that I said he did a 7 on his tongue because 7 is a good number!!! I died laughing! He is so sweet, I love it!

Emma's new do!

2010-03-19T15:28:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Emma wanted a hair cut. She came up with what she wanted! Short with bangs.

Funny story:
a couple of days before she got her hair cut she new she wanted bangs but didn't know what they were called. She explained them to me as bumps on your forehead. I knew instantly what she meant and tried to reminder what they are called. When Stan got home she wanted to share with him her idea for how to cut her hair. She explained that she wanted bumps and left it at that. Stan's eyes got very big and looked at me for help. I started to laugh. Then I explained that she meant bangs. It was so funny. I almost left him hanging for a moment but decided not to since I am such a nice person. ;)

Crazy Lily!

2010-03-07T12:05:00.006-07:00

Like most 18 month olds they are into everything. Lily is no exception. She knows when to be busy because mom is busy too. On day I was getting ready and there was a box of cereal left on the table from breakfast. Lily decided to help herself. Who needs mom? No her!

If there is a tight space anywhere you can bet the Lily will try to fit in it. There is a cupboard on an angle so it is not very big but it Lily's favorite place to play. If she is not taking out the tupperware she it trying to sit in it! it is really funny.

Lily is also always trying to wear anything of Emma's. She loves her shoes and coats. It is really cute. Emma loves to dress her up to. Tyson thinks it is pretty fun too. Everyday they are trying to get Lily into something different.

The other day while I was making dinner Lily was having fun in the kitchen too. She unloaded everything that she is not supposed to. It was great. I was trapped in the kitchen because it was a hazard area to try to get out. Lily thought it was great. Once she was finished with the coloring books she moved on the the picture books. I think she has a thing for books! ;)

Emma's birthday

2010-03-07T11:45:00.007-07:00

For Emma's birthday back in January we went ice skating. It was a great time. She loves Barbie movies and in one Barbie ice skates and of course makes it look easy. Emma has been obsessed with ice skating since the summer and has been asking if we can go skating for her next birthday. It was quite the experience!!! Lucky for us Stan's sister Sarah came with us. (we could not have done it without her!) Tyson was set on skating too! So there were three adults and three children, Yes we brought Lily and next time we will leave her with someone. Stan and I have not been skating for a long time. I think it was close to 10 years for me. We had a great time though. By the end Emma could skate without holding anything.
After skating we went to Pirate Island with Sarah and had a great time. That place is really cool. The kids loved the cannons that went off and made smoke rings. There also is a man there who was making balloon animals so the kids each got one. Emma got a butterfly, Tyson a T-Rex and Lily a caterpillar.
For a cake I thought we would get creative. Emma had seen a cake with a barbie in it and decided that was what she wanted. So, thanks to a friend who let me borrow the supplies needed we were able to do it. For my first non sheet cake it turned out pretty cute. Emma was so excited when she saw it. She knew I was doing it but was so excited to see it actually happen. It was a great experience.

I'm back!!!

2010-01-18T17:35:00.001-07:00

Since it has been so long since I posted I will do the highlights. It has been a crazy winter! This is really long and more for me and the familys so I will not be offended if you don't read on.

Lily
On August 20, Lily turned one. We had such a blasted watching what she did with her candle we thought we would share.

She is growing up so fast. She took her first steps on October 4th and since then she is off. We have a hard time containing her now. But she is so much happier I would not have it any other way. Her favorite place to be is standing on a chair at the table getting into all sorts of things. Lily now has 9 teeth! This is huge for us since she did not have ANY before Halloween. Now she eats a few more things but not many. It is really fun listening to her talk. She says so many things including no, sippe(sp?), daddy, cracker, and nummy. She however does not say mom! I love this in a way because she can cry and I don't have to listen to her cry my name!

Emma has had a big few months also. She started Kindergarten in August and loves it. The first Saturday after school started she cried because she wanted to go everyday of the week. It is really fun to watch her learn to read. I love to have her sit down and read me a book. It is a nice change. Emma is reading on a first grade level and would read everything if she could. It is really fun to watch her grow and learn. She is officially a big kid!

I had the opportunity in September to go on a field trip to the fire station. It was great fun. Tyson even got to come with me and loved seeing all the trucks and hear the sounds and see the insides.

Tyson
Tyson has had to learn to do things without Emma these last few months. Sometimes he loves it and other times he doesn't. Tyson does love to dress up along with the girls and we get the best laugh out of it. He is a great big brother to Lily, except with she steals his toys and runs away laughing and holding out her hand so he cannot get past him. He was Peter Pan for Halloween and insisted on having a sword to "kill the pirates that he finds." Be careful though because he might think that you are a pirate and come behind you and kill you when you least expect it! This is quite fun to Tyson. Lily even thinks it looks like fun!!!

We had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas. For Thanksgiving we got to go to Idaho Falls to where my brother-in-law's sister lives. My brother-in-law and sister met us there and we had a great time. We even spent the night at Walmart so my bil could get the tv he wanted! It was crazy. I am not sure I ever want to do walmart on black friday again!!!

For Christmas we were able to do Christmas morning at our house which was awesome! It is so fun to watch the kids' faces. Lily had more fun watching than opening anything. We went to Stan's parents for Christmas dinner and spent the weekend. It was a great time.
Stan is still plugging away at his business and we are still here to tell about it. He likes being his own boss. It is nice having him home some times so I can go to the store while the kids are sleeping during the day and not have to take them with me.

P.S. Grandma, there are more picture coming!

Time for some much needed updating!

2009-08-26T15:22:00.004-06:00

Grandma: Hi Tyson how are you?
Tyson: Great! I am still three because I just had my birthday!

He says this to everyone and anyone who talks to him. I think he is proud that he is 3!

"Mom, I have to be careful because it is my birthday!!"

Life is busy!! So on august 3 we celebrated Tyson's third birthday! We went to Chuck E. Chesse's and had a great time! He wanted orange cupcakes with orange frosting. Can you guess what his favorite color is? He also got some great car stuff to go with the MANY cars that he has! It is so great to have him finally potty trained and not have to change two children's diapers!! Tyson is our character. You can always count on him for a laugh and for him to be VERY absentminded, especially when there is a wall near by!

I love the pictures that he will someday hate!!

We also have had fun outside with the water. The kids are always looking for an excuse to get wet and "water the lawn." Emma and Tyson we taking turns going under the water but Tyson thought it would be great fun to make the water come down on Emma who then screams and runs away. She makes Tyson promise not to do it again before doing it again. One should NEVER trust a little brother who promises to do something while laughing! He got her a lot before she finally gave up her game. It was fun to watch!

Big things are happening!!!

2009-06-23T15:44:00.002-06:00

Things are busy around our house these days, but who's isn't? Tyson annouced about a month ago he wanted to go potty on the big potty. We have had our ups and our downs. He can stay dry but chooses not to. It is extremly frustrating. We have tried big boy underwear and he doesn't care that he leaks! Plus he won't poop on the potty either! Tyson still tries and I am extremely happy about it, I just wish we were done!! If I had is my way we would have waited until his birthday to start but he thought he was ready.

Now that Lily is fully mobile things are even more of an adventure. She loves the bathroom and wants to be there whenever Tyson goes potty. She also love to see the potty after he is done!! Lily is definatly a character and very strong willed. If you dare take anything away you had better give it back or she will give you an earfull and try to take it back! Her and Tyson have not been getting along lately. I cannot imagine why :). Tyson likes to be another mom. It is great we have three moms and a dad.

Lily loves to pull herself up everywhere now. She discovered that she can climb onto the downstairs couch when the cushins are off. Which thanks to the older kids is always! It is fun to watch her grow and do new things. It also makes me crazy because she love cords, stairs, couches, and beds. She also likes to pounce on people when they are on the floor, expecially mom and Tyson. It is great fun.

Stan is still self employed. It has been three months and we are still surviving! It is great. This is what he has wanted to do but I sure hope work picks up a little very soon! The kids love having him home for lunch but don't like it what he cannot play with them. They are adjusting well though.

Really funny story!!!

2009-06-05T15:39:00.003-06:00

The other night at dinner we were asking Emma what she wanted to be when she grows up. She said to wants to be a nurse. Tyson pipes up and says he wants to be a nurse too.
Emma: you can't!

Tyson: Why not?

Emma: Because you don't have any thing to feed the baby with. (she is now pointing at her chest.)

I guess that is what she thinks I am since I nurse Lily. At this point Stan and I both start choking on our food and laughing. Emma is not sure what she said but smiles anyway. Tyson is so clueless it is really funny. It took me ten minutes before I could talk again. It was great.

Great Grandma Henkel

2009-05-18T10:55:00.002-06:00

We had a great opportunity to go see my grandma this past month. I have not seen her in many years and is was neat. I also go to see my dad who was in town helping her get settled. Grandma just moved from San Diego where she has been living on her own. Her and her children decided she needed to be closer to family and be some where where there are people who can help her if she needs it which she totally doesn't. Grandma is 6 months away from her 100th birthday. She is an amazing woman. She is able to take her own medications, cook, shower, and clean completely on her own. The only thing that really gives away her age is her hearing or lack thereof. It was so good to see her. The kids thought it was cool to go meet her and show off for her. Now that she lives in Bountiful we well get to see her more often which is great!

Bananas, YUCK!!!

2009-05-18T10:25:00.002-06:00

The other day we decided to branch Lily out and try some bananas. She loves all food. She eats her veggies just fine, but anything with chunks or bananas are a different story.

Arrg!!!

2009-03-22T20:33:00.003-06:00

So, as I go through my day I come across things things that should be put on the shopping list but don't every make it. Then I go to use it and realize I really need a new one but it still doesn't make it to the list or if it makes it I forget while we are there because I have three wonderful appendages all desiring my attention. For example, I need a new egg pan or to find a way to not get a good coating of egg on the bottom of the pan that leads to frustration when I cannot get it off. I love eggs but don't love cooking them. We usually have breakfast for dinner once a week and the always involved eggs. So when I pull out the pan I remember I need a new one but don't want to buy one and still have the same problem I guess. This is where I could use some advice from the wonderful cooks out there who read this. How do you not get the eggs to stick to the bottom of the pan? It is the pan or is it the way you cook them? Please help!

Busy busy busy

2009-03-09T15:31:00.004-06:00

We had a busy but great month. The busyness started with Emma's birthday! She is five!!! We took her and a friend to Jumpin Jacks and they had a great time!

Lily started cereal this month too!! Then last night we tried a bottle and she took it!!! I am starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Freedom is close at hand. I am getting excited to go out at night totally free without having to keep track of time to get home.

For my mom's birthday my sister and I decided to buy her a ticket to come see us. She spent time in Washington and then came here. We had a blast! We painted the living and dinning rooms. They look great!!! Now comes the really fun part of accessorizing.

Mom wears the breath right things to help her breathe and night and after she left Emma and Tyson we laughing and playing really well. When I went to check on them this is what I found. When I asked them what they were doing they said they were playing Grandma. I laughed to hard I started to cry. It was great. If only grandma could have seen it.

Christmas Pictures

2009-01-23T16:51:00.004-07:00

Here are the Christmas pictures.

Thanks you ma'am. Call if you need me again.

(so cute)

Don't forget Lily

Christmas Jammies

Emma seeing Santa at preschool

Belated Christmas

2009-01-23T16:30:00.005-07:00

Ok so I am a little late with the Thanksgiving and Christmas post. We had so much fun that the fun hasn't stopped yet!! or the busyness! So for the short version.

We spent Christmas day here. It was the first year we have had Christmas eve and morning at our own house and it was awesome. We had cheese fondue thanks to a friend and it was great. Tyson loved it. He ate more than Stan and myself. Emma was not into it at all!! You would have thought it was green or something. It was really funny.

They got their christmas jammies and went to bed without any hesitation!!! The morning was great. Lily slept through it all so we could really enjoy Emma and Tyson. They had so much fun!!! Then we had breakfast and went to Grandma Skeem's for the weekend and had a great time with family there.

The best part of our vacation was when Emma threw up!!! First Tyson over Thanksgiving now Emma at christmas!! I am tired of my kids throwing up at other people's houses!! Other than that, it was a great time.

For New Years we went to my cousin's house and had a sing star/american idol/guitar hero/ wii party!!! We played so late and we did not want to move the kids so we decided to spend the night. BIG MISTAKE!! Tyson decided to throw up again!!!!!!!!!!!! We are not spending the night at anyone's house anytime soon. I hope we are done with all of this!! Luckily by the time we decided to venture home, Tyson stopped throwing up, took a nap in the car and was a new kid when we got home. I am glad the throw ups don't last very long at our house. But it was a great holiday season!!!

Here are some much anticipated Thanksgiving pictures especially for Grandma!!!!

Tyson is really serious about his root beer float!!

Emma and Macay

This is all of the wonderful kids in one house for the weekend minus the two newborns!!!

Gavin

Wesley loved holding Lily and she liked him too!!!

Happy Birthday, Emma

2009-01-22T16:03:00.004-07:00

I cannot believe that my Emma is 5 today! She is so fun to be around. She lights up any room that she is in. Emma also is learning and growing leaps and bounds every day. It is really neat to see it happen. I love how good she is with Lily and Tyson. Emma is such a huge helper. I am glad she came first.

Happy Birthday Emma

Wedding gifts

2009-01-09T15:47:00.002-07:00

I never thought I would ever be grateful for duplicate wedding gifts until last night. I was in the middle of making waffles and I burnt one. No one burns waffles, unless it is the last one and you forget. Stan also came home from work about the same time so I thought I must have missed the light and is started cooking again. But the next waffle took 20 minutes and it was still not done. I remembered that I had recieve a waffle iron for our wedding and hadn't used it yet. So I pulled it out and dinner was saved. Who says duplicate wedding gifts are no good. Thanks to whom ever gave it to us 6 1/2 years ago.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T09:09:00.002-07:00

We had such a great thanksgiving!!! We were invited up to my old college roommate's house in Idaho Falls. It was great because my sister and her family was also there. This was all brought to pass because my college roommate is the sister of my brother-in-law. Her other sister was there too. It was so much fun. We had 7 adults and 8 kids they all did remarkable well. It was so much fun to be up there. I went to Ricks, now BYU-I, and we were able to drive around and see the temple and how much the town has grown. Had it been like it is now when I was there I might have stayed for the four years instead of the two.

Anyone who has been up there knows about Big Judds. There burgers are the size of a dinner plate. Some people I know have eaten a whole one by themselves but we decided it was not the smartest thing to do so none of our group did it. But it was a fun time and a really good burger.

This was my first year doing the whole Black Friday thing. It was crazy. We were outside of Toys R Us at 3:30 in the morning and there were people ahead of us. It was nuts. By the time they opened at 6 am there were a ton of people in line. We made it in and out in 15 minutes and got everything we wanted(and then some)!!! It is so crazy. If you don't have a list forget having time to walk up and down the isles. We went to ShopKo right after and there was a mad house brewing!!! It was crazy. My brother-in-law was the greatest and stood in line for an hour and a half for us while my sister, her sister-in-law, and myself went to Kmart to be there before they opened!! We were done with everything and home by 8 am. It was nuts. Stan was a trooper and stayed home with the kids (who were in bed until 7:30). He cringed at the idea of standing outside and dealing with the mobs.

We had such a great time. My brother-in-law decided to fry a turkey this year and it was really good. THe guys had fun outside standing around the fryer while us girls we inside getting everything else ready. As we were seated around the table, we were reflecting on different things and one thing that hit us all was that we were the adults at the table. There were not parents or grandparents. It was really weird. For all of us there this was the first year there was no one older than us. It was weird but fun. It made us all seem old even though no one is over 32.

Kids say the most interesting things when you let them. We were going around the table saying what we were thankful for and when it was Tyson's turn he said he was thankful for Jesus. It was really sweet. He said it without hesitation or help. It got me thinking that I need to take a step back from the hustle and bustle of life and think about what I am truly grateful for. Stan and I have been so blessed this year. It has been one of many ups and downs but we have so much to be grateful for. Stan has a job and he enjoys it, Lily has joined our family and we are not in debt because of it, we have our health and so many more blessing. I know that blessing do come to those that endure! We hope every one had as wonderful a holiday as we did. We are defiantly talking about doing it again next year.

P.S. pictures are coming grandma

Lily time

2008-11-16T22:10:00.002-07:00

So it has been a while since I posted some pictures of Lily. She is getting so big it is fun. She is smiling all the time now. She is also starting to laugh. I have gotten her to laugh a couple of times but Stan has failed in his attempts. Lily is a joy. She is starting to sleep though the night. Sometimes she will sleep 6 hours or 4 or one in a while she will sleep 9 hours!!!! She is getting easier and it is nice. Lily is pretty mellow. There are times when you cannot get her to sleep or figure our why she is fussy. But as a whole she is very good. Emma and Tyson are enjoying the fact that she is getting better able to interact with them. It is really sweet to watch Lily respond to them and follow the sound of their voices. Sometimes I think she wants to get down and play with them. It will be an adventure I am sure when she does.

Halloween

2008-11-16T21:45:00.004-07:00

So this is a little overdue. We have had a crazy busy month!!! My dad came to visit the week before Halloween. It was so fun to see him. The kids thought he was great. Lily even warmed up to him. Pictures are coming as soon as I get them from a certain someone!

my cute little cow!

Now all we need is a horse!

The day before Halloween I got to go help in Emma's preschool class. It was a great time. I loved seeing how she interacts with other kids and how she does in class. It is hard to believe how she is growing up.

As for Halloween its self we went to the ward trunk or treat where the kids got tons of candy. It was really nice that is was so warm because we did not have to stress too bad about Lily being too cold. She was a great sport in her cow costume that Tyson also wore also. This year's costumes were just by chance. My mom found Tyson's costume a couple of years ago and Emma had everything in her closet. It is nice when things work out so well. It was a fun night. Tyson was very mellow around all the scary faces and costumes. I don't think he fully understood what was going on.

Pumpkins

2008-10-30T07:13:00.004-06:00

Last week we carved pumpkins with Stan's sister Sarah and her friend. We had a great time. Emma is still afraid of the guts inside. She takes one look and won't go near the pumpkins until they are cleaned out.

Tyson was fascinated by the guts and everything. He wanted to touch the seeds but then thought about it and changed his mind. (Lately anytime you ask him something, he changes his mind!!!) The kids had a great time. With Aunt Sarah's help he got to do some carving.

Tyson was fascinated by the guts and everything. He wanted to touch the seed but then thought about it and changed his mind. (Lately anytime you ask him something, he changes his mind!!!)

The kids had a great time. Even us adults had fun. Sarah brought a huge pumpkin that Stan got to carve. He sure got a workout doing it. After Stan we done, we all thought his pumpkin looked familiar. It wasn't until later that I figured it out. Have you ever seen the movie Return to OZ? If so , doesn't this pumpkin look like the one Dorothy meets in the movie? If you haven't seen it I recommend it. Notice how thick the pumpkin is. Stan thought it was impossible to carve this but he did it.

Funny Tyson

2008-10-29T08:37:00.003-06:00

Sunday morning we were listening to the Children's hymns on CD and Tyson wanted to dance. He and Emma have fun dancing to music and today he decided he needed and dress. Not one dress but two on at the same time. He thought it was the greatest. Emma and I just laughed. Luckily, Stan was at a meeting to he did not see this happen. When Stan did come home he tried to get Tyson out of the dresses. It was not an easy task. Tyson wanted to wear them to church. Stan was not going to have anything to do with that!!!

"I'm not doing anything wrong, Dad."

The Little Things

2008-10-21T06:13:00.002-06:00

It is really funny the little things that get us moms excited. I took Lily in for her 2 month check up and she weight 11 lbs 13 oz. She is my fastest grower of my three kids. Emma and Tyson we not that big at 2 months. No wonder my arms are more sore these days from holding Lily. Then this morning when I woke up to feed Lily I looked at the clock and it said 6 am!!!!! That means she slept for 8 hours!!!! I got my first somewhat full nights sleep since before she came. It feels so good. I wonder what I shall do with all the energy I have. Perhaps I will go wake Stan up since I am done sleeping? No he would not like that.

Lily is getting to be so much fun. She is actually happy when she is awake now. Sunday night I was able to get her laughing! I had forgotten how cute baby laughs are. Lily has brought such a joyful spirit to our family that it is hard to remember life before her!

Primary Program

2008-10-16T07:10:00.002-06:00

This past Sunday was our ward's Primary program. It was the first time Emma got to participate. She did GREAT! Emma was so excited, she had her part memorize and she knew all the songs. She loves to sing and would pester me until we would listen to the CD they gave us. There are times when she gets shy and doesn't want to draw attention to herself, so I thought she would get shy and not want to say her part at all. But I was wrong. She said her part without any help, sang all the songs and sat reasonable still for the duration of the program. I am so proud of her. Emma asked me this morning when she can do it again. I told her she has to wait until next year and she is kind of upset. If she could she would do it again next week!

I love the children's songs. They always touch my heart. It is so fun to hear Emma and sometimes Tyson singing different church songs. Their faith is so pure and innocent and trusting, I know why we are taught to me like little children. i know I am going to try a little harder to be like them.

Change

2008-10-08T09:06:00.005-06:00

When we found out we were pregnant, Stan and I debated on what we were going to do with the sleeping arrangements in the house. We finally decided to do bunk beds. I found some I liked and they we waited to get them until they went on sale and then waited another month after purchaseing them to put them together. I was not sure how Tyson would do in a big boy bed. I love having him in the crib and not able to get out. We have been talking it up and getting him prepared for the change. Friday Tyson asked Stan if he would put together his big boy bed. So Saturday he took on the task of assembling their bunk beds.

Emma loves her bed. She loves being able to climb up and down. And the fact that Tyson is not allowed on her bed is an added perk. Tyson loves his bed. He acually stays in it. Once he is in bed he has not come out of his room. I think he has gotten up to get some toys but he has not come out of his room. Sunday morning he wanted more water for his sippie, so Stan when to get him some and Tyson decided to follow dad and was not going to go back to be. Then Monday morning at 6:45 Tyson stood at the top of the stairs and announced that he was done sleeping. Today was better. He accually waited until he heard us up to get out of bed. We just have to get him to remember to stay in bed in the morning. Other than that the new beds are a great hit.

Lily's Blessing

2008-10-08T08:54:00.004-06:00

We were able to bless Lily the Sunday before Conference and it was wonderful. I love baby blessings. For all of my kids they have helped to give a little insight to their lives. Stan blessed Lily that she would be a peace maker. I guess there is just a little contention in our house for Lily to have been blessed with this. I think it is great. Every family needs one. Lily is so special. She brings such a great spirit into our house. With every thing that is going on and the impressions Stan had while he blessed Lily makes me really wonder what these children are going to have to do and live through here on earth. It makes me want to be the best parent I can and give my kids a strong foundation in the Gospel and a love of the Savior.

I love baby blessings for other reasons too. It is a great excuse for all the family to get together. It also helped me to be motivated to get the house in order too. Thanks to the help of my cousin, we finally hung frames on the wall and decorated the dining and baby room. It is great to see my house finally starting to come together. It has only taken a year and a half to get it done.

The other two

2008-09-24T10:24:00.001-06:00

Emma wanted me to talk about her going to preschool. She absolutly loves it. She always asks if it is a preschool day and if not she mopes for a few minutes and then asks if tomorrow is and then she is happy. It is really fun to see her grow up. It is also a little scary to think that next year she will be in kindergarten! Tyson misses her when she is gone but he also likes having time with mom without Emma. Tyson is just a busy as ever and is enjoying dressing up with Emma. He and Emma dress up in dresses and dance to music. Tyson is very graceful and has a ton of fun. I can never find the camera when they are doing this, so picutres are forthcoming. Stan came home one day while they were dancing and he just shook his head and after dinner took Tyson outside to play ball and do boy things. I think it is cute. Grandma sent him a suit that she found and he loves it. It is a struggle to get him to take it off at night. He is really funny.

One Month

2008-09-24T04:40:00.003-06:00

It is hard to believe that it has been one month since Lily has joined our family. It has been a very busy, exciting, challenging, difficult and fun month. Emma and Tyson love her and are always asking to hold, kiss, touch, feel, and say hi to her. Who ever said three kids will make or break you was right on!!! Life is so much more busy and hard. Trying to go anywhere with three kids and accomplish something is so much harder. When Lily is fed and ready to go it is lunch or nap time or I am still in my pjs. But it is really fun to have a little baby again. To have someone who will cuddle with you and actually sit still without saying anything is the greatest thing. Lily is really a good baby most of the time. She has her crying fits, always when it is time to make dinner or go to bed, but she is still fun. I love watching her sleep and dream. I wish I could see her dreams and know who she is talking to. She is our little piece of heaven. She had a major accomplishment tonight, she slept 7 hours!!! It was great. Both she and I got some much needed sleep!
Lily loves her binki. I am so glad she takes it most of the time. She will even pull it out if she wants to eat or remind me she is mad.

Auntie Mal came for a visit and we had a great time. The kids loved seeing her and it was nice to have another adult around for a couple of days.

Most babies get a flat spot on the back of their head from laying on it but not Lily. She is getting a flat spot on the side of her head. When ever she is laying down her head gravitates to the right side always. We will adjust her head and she will just move it back. It is pretty funny.

She's Here!!

2008-08-26T01:37:00.003-06:00

I went to the doctor on Monday and he said I had started to dialate and if I wanted they would induce me on Wednesday. Of course this was music to my ears so I said yes. So on Wednesday morning we dropped the kids off at my cousin's house and went to the hospital. This picture was Stan's idea. He thought it would be funny if the kids tried to hold up my belly. Tyson thought it was pretty funny too. So they started me at noon and by six she was here. It was pretty crazy at the end. At 5 the contractions started to get pretty bad but they were still bearable so I decided to wait for the epidural. I was not sure if I was going to want one anyway because my kids come so fast when they decide they are ready. Then at 5:30 things got pretty intence. It hurt and I was only at a 6, so I decided it was time for the epidural. They said he would be about 20 minutes and I could wait. Well he made it to the door before the baby came. The doctor did not even make it for the delievery!!! She came so fast it was nuts. During one contraction I hurting soo bad and then I had to push so we called for the nurse and it was another contraction and and half before they answered. So they all come running in and I could not stop pushing. They are trying to get the bed ready and out came the baby right onto the bed!!! The nurse hurried and sucked out her mouth and nose and she started crying right on the bed. All the nurse had to do was move her so her feet came out. If the bed had not been there she may have fallen on the floor. It was crazy. It all happened so fast that it took a while to realize that she was here. Stan and I were both in shock.
But she is healthy and great. She was 7 lbs 5 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. The kids think she is great. It took us a day to name her but we finally decided on Lily Anne. Emma would love to hold her all day long if she could. It is really fun to see how loving the kids are towards Lily. It is also great having them at my inlaws for the week. I am just glad that everything went so well and that she and I are healthy.

Emma is not the best picture poser. She is enjoying herself even though she doesn't look like it.

Happy Birthday Tyson

2008-08-06T14:54:00.003-06:00

Sunday was Tyson's birthday. It is hard to believe that he is 2. We got him a train table and some trains and it is the greatest thing ever. Emma and Tyson have had so much fun playing with it since Sunday. It was a great birthday.

We decided to spread it out over two days so we could have fun. So for Family night we went and fed the ducks because the kids have always wanted to and we just haven't yet. They had so much fun. We even got some of the ducks to come pretty close. It was a great time. Tyson would run after the ducks saying hi and they would run away. It was really funny to watch. The kids had a great time. It was a great birthday!!!!!

Just a quick story

2008-07-20T21:07:00.002-06:00

So today we were in Sunday School when from the back of the room I hear. . . "Mommy, I poopie!" Tyson has a poopie and thought he would share this with everyone in the class as he is running up the isle to me. And of course we are sitting in the front because we were late as usual. It was great. We were in a great discussion about being truly converted to Chirst when you hear this cute little voice saying that he is poopie. I don't think my face could have been any redder. I was already red from being hot, so now it is really red. It was pretty funny. At least Tyson was in a huge hurry to go back to nursery instead of crying to go back. He finally love nursery and enjoys being there. It only took him 5 months!

2008-07-07T15:13:00.008-06:00

We had a great 4th of July. We went to see the balloons in Provo and had a great time. I could not believe the amount of people there. After the balloons we decided to get some breakfast and head over to find a spot for the parade. It was 7:30 and there were a ton of people.

We walked like three to four blocks before we found a spot and even then it was sooo crowded!! It was a great time and a great parade. I am glad we found some shade because I thought I was going to die with the heat. I don't do well in the heat these days but the kids had fun and were troopers through it all. Then we went to the colonial days and it was really cool. It was like a little touch of home with all the history. The only thing that would have made the day any better were if it were like 20 degrees cooler!!!

Tyson loves to listen to music so each time the bands came by he would move his head and have a blast. He was a great waver too. He waves as the floats go by and thinks he is the coolest for doing it. It is so cute!

A week of amazing accomplishments

2008-07-07T14:48:00.004-06:00

So for starters, I watched my cousin's children while they moved and we had a great sleepover! All the children slept through the night. It was great. We had so much fun we cannot wait to do it again!

Tyson has had some big accomplishments also. Ever since Tyson started in nursery in February, it is a struggle to get him to be happy and not cry for mom. Then for the last two Sundays Tyson has actually started running to go to nursery. It was such a great sight that Stan and I could not believe it. What made the sudden change? I don't know and I am not going to question it. I am just glad the it has finally happened, and before the baby came.

The other big step in Tyson's life is bed time without the binki!!! Saturday, Tyson was being Tyson and not listening to us at bed time. So we started to reason with him which actually works, especially when the binki is involved. So we told him he had to do as we asked or there would be no binki for bed. He just kept on doing what he was doing and then when we put him in bed he realized that there was no binki. He cried for maybe ten minutes before he went to sleep and slept the whole night. So for nap time on Sunday we decided to see if he would go down without it again. He did!! Tyson still asks for it but he only cries for 10 minutes and then he is asleep. I think we may have broken the habit.

The ups and downs of life

2008-06-22T20:35:00.004-06:00

So you may have been wondering where we have gone for the last two months. Well we have been riding on heck of a crazy rollercoster. In the middle of April, Stan quit his job where he had been working for the last three years for different reasons but most of all was for security and health insurance since we currently don't have any because of that company. He did find a great job here in Springville, five minutes from home and he got a raise. It was great. We celebrated our one year anniversary of being in our house at the end of April and our 6 year wedding anniversary in May.

We also decided we should maybe start planing for the baby and figure out how we are going to work the room situation. Whether to keep Emma with Tyson, or to put her in the baby's room and give Tyson his own since we are having a girl. So with the help of my cousin we had fun rearranging our house. We moved the office, our master, the guest room and the baby's room. It turned out great. The fun now was realizing we needed a new dresser for the kids, one for us, and a place to hide the TV since neither Stan nor I like having it be the first thing you see when you walk in the door. So we bought us, with money I had earned for babysitting since January, a dresser for us and an armour for the TV. It was really great. These were the second pieces of furniture we bought together since our couches one year ago. It is a great feeling when you buy something you have been waiting for and shopped for and have fun dreaming about for awhile. Now all we need are bunkbeds for the kids, and a rug for the living room and I will be happy for awhile. Stan says it should be a long while.

Then, after Stan had worked for at his new job for about 30 days he was laid off. This came as a HUGE shock. Things were going well. Stan loved his job and we loved having a little bit bigger paycheck! To make a long story short the place where he was working was two weeks late in paying recruiting agency that found Stan the job and who paid Stan. Really confusing. But nonetheless, he was told not to go back to work without any warning. It really threw us for a loop! We had been working on savings but it was not as big a priority as it should have been. So now we were faced with not having a job, and a baby on the way with no insurance. It is kind of scary. Likely because of the bigger paycheck we had more money than we usually did left over after everything. Stan has been dabbling in starting his own web/flash development business since January. He decided now was the time to work really hard and making it work while still trying to find a full time job.

It has been a month with out a steady job and we are doing OK all things considered. Stan is making progress in his business and tomorrow he starts a par time job. He is hoping with the part-time he will be able to still work on building up his own business while having some steady income. The nice thing is he can work more hours if needed. Now we just have to figure out the health insurance issue because Stan is not eligible for 90 days. Too bad the baby is due before then. Hopefully Medicaid will work out. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

This past month has taught me many things. Some things I like and others I do not wish upon anyone. But I do know the Lord does take care of his children. It is just up to us to have the faith to trust in Him. That is not always easy, especially for a control freak like me.

So for my excuse for not updating the blog is that with Stan home more I have found myself busy more too. I am not sure if it is because he is home so I feel like I always have to be doing something so he doesn't think I sit around all day doing nothing. (I am glad he doesn't read this) Plus I feel bad being in the office when he is trying to get work done. It is really easy to distract him when he is in the same room.

Now for some pictures. We have not been very good at taking pictures the last two months. One thing we have been able to document are two of Tyson's favorite things. He has a shoe fetish. He loves to wear any one's shoes. Today he tried on my heels and got mad because he could not walk in them. For my birthday I got the cutest pair of flip flops. When I opened the box Tyson was helping and took them out and immediately put them on his feet. He wore them for about 30 minutes before I got to even try them on. He is a big goof. The other thing he insists on is having his hair done when we do Emma's. Since is hair is not long enough for a ponytail he likes to wear a headband. It is pretty cute.

Crazy Tyson

2008-04-16T20:34:00.002-06:00

Both of my kids have problems finding pants. They are both tall and skinny. Emma wears a 5t for the length but I have to put in elastic or tighten them somehow to keep them from falling down. To get pants to fit around the waist she wears a 3T! Tyson has the same problem. He wears 12 month pants but they are too short and are just now starting to fit around the middle. Well these pants I attempted to fix but was not very successful. Tyson was going down the stairs and his pants came unsnapped. I was upstairs and all I hear is "Mommy fix it!!!" at the top of his lungs. So I ran downstairs to see what was going on and find Tyson like this laughing. So I pulled them up and went back to what I was doing. Then not two minutes later I hear both Emma and Tyson laughing for me to fis his pants again. He did it a couple more times before he just took off his pants and said "Eewwie pants." It was pretty funny.

It's a . . .

2008-04-15T11:25:00.006-06:00

SO we went and had our ultrasound. It was a really neat experience. Since our crazy insurance does not cover the doctor's office who delivered Emma and Tyson we were forced to find another one. At this doctor's office there is not a technician who does the ultra sound, it is the doctor himself. He explained everything he was doing and why. He showed us the placenta, spine, heart, kidneys, and numerous other things. I never realized that they can tell so many things just from the ultrasound. He looked at the baby's heart to see if there were any defects, he checked for cysts on the brain and measured it's head. He checked the lengths of the legs bones and all kinds of things. It was really neat.

So I bet you all are wondering what we are having. Well, some of you know that we were debating this issue since we first found our we were pregnant. It has been a had decision for me. With Emma, I was knew without a doubt she was a girl. I was pretty sure Tyson was a boy and the ultrasound just confirmed my suspicions. Well, with this baby, I had not a clue. I would think it was a boy because the baby is still really low, and I have heartburn really bad. Then I would think it was a girl because we have come up with a bunch of different girl names. So I decided I did not want to know until the baby got here because we have stuff for either one and it would be fun to not know for just one of our kids and be suprised with it came. Stan on the other hand was insistant we find out because he had not clue either! So the doctor asked us if we wanted to know as he got started. Stan and I looked at each other and he said yes and I said no. The doctor just laughed. Well neither of us really had a say because the baby decided for us. It made sure it's bumb was right there when the doctor put the thingy on my stomach. Sorry for the lack of termanology. So we are having a GIRL!!! We are really excited. It is still weird because I have not recieved direct confirmation that it is a girl like with the other two. The funny thing is neither is Stan. So we are going to keep a boy name in reserve just in case. Emma is SSSSSSOOOOOO excited. When the doctor said that is was a girl, she got soo excited! She has been insisting that we are having a girl for months. So she says "See mom, I told you!!!" Emma is a crazy girl. Then about halfway through she asks if it is still a girl and we said yes. She said "Good! Just making sure." She wanted it to be a girl so bad that if it wasn't a girl I am sure she would have thrown a fit right there. We are excited and all looks great with the baby.

Here is a picture of the baby's arms together.

This picture is my favorite. This is the baby looking right at us. We tried to get a profile shot of her but she would rather look at us a wave. In case you cannot see it, the top of her head is to your left, the dark spot, and her mouth is open to the right.

More Easter

2008-04-09T14:59:00.003-06:00

So, thanks to others noticing (ToVah) I forgot to post Emma in her Easter dress. At first I wasn't going to make her one but after unsuccessfully trying to find a cute one that fit her for a price I was willing to pay, she insisted I make her one. There is a ribbon that goes around the middle but we could not find it at the time of the picture.

Tyson LOVES the ping-pong table!! He is always looking for a ball and a paddle. He is insisting that he sleep with one all the time. If we cannot find it he won't go to bed. Maybe we can trade the ball for the binky? If we leave the table down and the kids discover it, they pretend to play ping pong since Tyson can barely see over the table. Tyson like to watch us play. He says "Nice job. mommy" or " Good one daddy." He sure is a character!

Belated Easter

2008-04-01T16:16:00.003-06:00

"Hey, look! I got one," said Tyson after he found his first egg!

Holy Cow! We have had a busy month! Stan is currently looking for a new job and it has been stressful on the whole family. But we had a great Easter. We got to go to Stan's parents' for the weekend and the kids had a great time. We decided to wait until the Monday after to have our easter egg hunt and have an Easter lesson for FHE. The kids had a blast. Once Tyson realized there was candy in the eggs, he would open them and eat the two jelly beans before finding another one. It was pretty hard to convince him to find more eggs. Emma had a great time. She is a great finder too. She found eggs that I did not even see (Stan did the hiding).

I love Easter because it is a great time to stop and reflect on what the Savior did for us. It is really neat getting to teach Emma about the Ressurection and watching how she is starting to put things together and ask questions. It is great. It is also neat when you can learn something from your kids too about how to think about things you have know all your life.

Reach Emma, a little higher!

Tyson is almost too tall to walk under the tramp, his favorite thing to do.

2008-03-26T22:09:00.001-06:00

Sorry about the crazy font colors. I got creative and as my luck would have it, it does not go acording to plan! I hope to have it fixed in a day or two so bear with me.

More Fun with Daddy

2008-03-04T16:25:00.002-07:00

Sometimes I really don't know how Stan comes up with some of the things he does to keep the kids entertained while I am cleaning up the dinner dishes. Maybe it comes from being in an office all day long and the energy and comes out when he is around the kids.

This is Tyson in a pillowcase. Both he and Emma love being what Stan calls a sack of potatoes. Emma is too big for the pillowcase so she gets to ride in a blanket. Stan slings them over his shoulder and walks around the room with his sack of potatoes and the kids cannot stop laughing. It is really cute but I pray the bottom of the pillowcase does not give out. (At least it is a home-made one and there is no seam at the bottom.) Stan started this with Emma and once Tyson saw how fun it is he screams "Tyson's turn!!!!" until he gets his turn.

The other fun think that Dad and Emma do it Stan will "throw" Emma on the couch. Here are a sequence of the process. I do not like this one. For one think I consider this 'throwing' jumping on my new couches. Plus I worry about Emma hitting the couch too hard and bitting her toung or something like that. She loves it though and Stan assures me that it is perfectly safe and it won't hurt the couches. Well, we'll see. At least they have fun with dad.

Exciting Stuff

2008-03-03T11:15:00.003-07:00

So we had and exciting week this last week. I went to the doctor and got to hear the heart beat for the first time. Now I guess it seems a little more really that we are having a baby. It is still another 6 weeks until the next ultrasound. There is a HUGE debate going on at our house over finding out the gender. Stan says, "Absolutely, I have to know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I say, "We have one of each lets be suprised like they used to do." So Stan and my mom think they are going to find out and because I don't want to know I can be left in the dark if I so choose. So my mom and Stan have ganged up against me and my dad sides with me. Now all we need are my two sisters to way in on the issue and we could have a great family feud over whether or not to find out the gender of the baby 5 months early. I really don't care but the more people want me to find out the more I don't want to. It is kind of crazy how that works. My secret hope is that the baby will sense the tention and not let us find out. That way we have no choice and no one can be mad at me for rocking the boat. So about mid April I am sure you all will hear one way or the other.

The other fun thing that happened recently is that Stan finally got is Christmas present. A ping-pong table. He loves it. It is great fun. So any of you who live in the area and like ping pong give us a call and Stan would love the competion. I am just good for occasionally hitting the ball while Stan works on technic. Stan had fun putting it together. It took like 6 hours even with my help!!!!! Lets hope we don't move anytime soon because we will have to completely dismantle it to get it up the stairs and out of the house!

Randon Things

2008-02-19T12:26:00.005-07:00

Here are a couple of random videos I thought I would share with you all. We were in the tub on Friday and Tyson was making is duck stink. He was doing some great sounding ones and then I ran to get the camera and the are only ok ones but it is still funny. Now every time Tyson sees his duck he say "stinker duck" and laughs.

While I was writing this Emma and her friend just informed me that they were going to look for their imaginations down stairs. They have Emma's tinkerbell launter she got for her birthday and look like they are ready to go exploring. I am having fun laughing and the cute things they do.

This video is of a game the kids LOVE to play with their dad. He is always coming up with fun things to do with the kids that I don't always like to watch incase something goes wrong. but the kids love it. Thank goodness, I think, for hardwood floors.

Crazy KIds!

2008-02-15T15:04:00.003-07:00

Life is better now that everyone is finally starting to feel better. Tyson had an interesting weekend with a high fever after the doctor after hours clinic is closed. So we debated taking him to the hospital but I did not want to get there and have them tell me he is just teething. So we gave him a blessing and he did so much better on sunday. So we went in for his 18 month check-up on Wednesday and found out that he had the symptoms of RSV and has a recovering ear infection. WOW. Had I known that Saturday I would have taken him to the hospital. Everything considered Tyson was a trooper. I don't want to repeat this weekend for anything but I am glad that he did as well as he did. It is nice to be able to sleep at night again and not have Tyson on me with his sippie between me and him. I would not recommend it to anyone.

Tyson LOVES books right now which I think is great until you start reading books twice in one sitting because you have been through all the books in the bookcase. Emma is getting to the point where if she hears a book enough she has it memorize. Now she offers to "read" Tyson a book. He gets so excited. He will stand there and be mezmorized for 20 minutes or longer. It is so cute. It makes Emma feel so important. She loves the attention from Tyson and much as Tyson likes having someone read to him. It is really sweet.

Tyson like to get his blanket out of his, or Emma's, bed and pretend to go nite-nite in the middle of the kitchen. He always manages to do it went I am making dinner or cleaning th e kitchen. But it is fun

I'm tired of EVERYONE being sick!

2008-02-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

This post is really boring and full of me venting about my horrible week. If you don't read on I will not be offended. It is pretty bad!

So I was all prepared for a quiet week at home with projects planned and a terrific housecleaning goal when both Emma and Tyson got incrediblly sick overnight!!! So Monday we spend recovering and I laying on the couch so tired because I was up all night with a teething, coughing baby. Everything went well that night to I had hope for Tuesday. I got the kids bundled up tight because it is so stinking cold, put them in the car and turned the key when NOTHING HAPPENED!!!! Thats right, now my car didn't work. I was really frustrated. Then my throat started to burn. I have never had such a sore throat before in my life plus I felt like crap! So, Tuesday when Stan he convinced me we needed to vote and it would take no time at all. HA HA!! This is the really kicker, at 6:30 there was a line that went around the inside of the school! 2 hours later we got home. Yes and we even took the kids. They were troopers but I sure wanted to throw the towel in and say "Who cares!" But if you know Stan, you don't tell him that!! I guess we all have our things we are passionate about but I never thought I would marry one who cared sssssooo much about politics!

So Wendnesday I thought things could not get any worse, oh I was wrong!!! I lost my voice and the doctor had no oppointments until 4:30 on Thrusday!!! But my car was now fixed and things were great if I felt I could muster enough energy to go anywhere with two kids. Thrusday we went to the doctor and said there is nothing he could do. I don't have strep, flu or anything he could care enough about to discover. But my throat STILL hurts. Sometimes I really don't like doctors. Today things are a little better now that my voice is somewhat back but I cannot yell downstairs for anything which I am sure Emma is pretty happy about. Now the real kicker is Stan is getting sick. It is really not fair when guys get sick because they can take the day off from work and lay in bed and sleep the day away. But when the mom gets sick they still have to clean the house, cook dinner, change diapers that smell worse than throwing up, and entertain children. I sure wish I could say in bed and sleep all day!

Oh by the way there is a bit of good new to add to this post, I am pregnant! Finally three months and I no longer feel the desire to throw-up!!! We had a untrasound last week and all looks great. We will be having the baby at the end of August. Let's hope it is a decently cool summer. Sorry for the venting. More pictures as soon and I can remember where I put the camera.

I got Tagged!

2008-01-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

SO here it goes. . .

1. What time did you get up this morning?
7:15, thanks to Stan's alarm.

2. What do you usually eat for breakfast?
Cereal, but not cheerios!

3. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Seeing as how I never get to listen to what I want to because of a 4 year-old and her opinion, the Children's hymns are what is in the car.

4. What kind of car do you drive?
1990 Cadillac De Ville that I am desperately hoping will die SOON!!!

5. Favorite Sandwich?
Peanut butter and strawberry jam, but only if it is homemade freezer jam!

6. Favorite item of clothing?
Soft knit pants all day long

7. If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go?
Guam, San Diego, or New Zealand!

8. What is the color of your bathroom?
White, red, brown. . . it needs help and ideas!!

9. Where would you retire?
Somewhere close to most of my kids and where it doesn't snow!!!

10. Most memorable birthday?
My 18th. . .it was a surprise party thrown by my friends and even my mom was in on it. It was great because it is hard to surprise me and they did it.

11. Favorite sports to watch?
College football

12. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Night person normally, morning person when I am pregnant.

13. What is your shoe size?
9 1/2 . . . I know big feet!

14. Pets?
Yeah right. I hate pets. They loud and you have to feed them and wash them and walk them. I don't need anymore things to take care of. Sorry pet lovers.

15. What did you want to be when you were little?
A doctor until I found our how much school is required then it was a nurse.

16. What are you today?
Maid, mom, chef, babysitter, and snow shoveler!!

17. What is your favorite candy?
Anything that has peanut butter in it.

18. Your favorite flower?
Daisy or calla lili

19. What calender day are you looking forward to?
Somewhere between August 16 and 21

20. What are you listening to?
Emma watching a movie and Tyson crying because I won't let him type

21. What is the last thing you ate?
a granola bar

22. Do you wish upon stars?
Nope.

23. What faith are you?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

24. Who was the last person you spoke with on the phone?
My mom

25. Hair color?
Brown with blond highlights.

26. Name of your favorite school teacher.
Mr. P, junior calculus

27. Chocolate or Vanilla?
chocolate

28. When was the last time you cried?
This morning out of frustration with my kids.

29. What is under your bed?
A blanket, some toys I am sure and a ton of dust, (it is a hard wood floor)

30. What did you do last night?
Read a book until 9:30 when I fell asleep

31. Favorite smell?
homemade bread and clean kids

32. What are you afraid of?
I agree with Leslie, SPIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

33. How many towns have you lived in?
nine, five growing up and 4 since I moved away from home.

34. Do you make friends easily?
Depends, mostly yes.

I tag Kenna, Erin S, ToVah, Allison, and Kayla. Just fill one out and tag 6 people you know. Happy tagging!

Christmas Photos

2008-01-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

So, I know this is a lot over due, but since I have nothing better to post here are some pictures from our wonderful Christmas morning in New Hampshire. Tyson finally figured out how to open the presents and got so excited after the first rip. Emma was impatient while watching him so she usually jumped in to help him. It was pretty funny.

Here is my mom and sister helping Tyson explore a new toy.

Love those stockings!

Our cute little bunny!!

Emma loves trying on new outfits and showing them off to everyone who will look.

Tyson cuddling with Grandma!

This is for ToVah

2008-01-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

So ToVah asked me to find some pictures from when Tyson was about a year because she thinks Tyson and Zander look a like. I have to agree. There are some pictures where Tyson looks like Zander and where Zander looks like Tyson. You will have to be the judge for youselves, but I agree with ToVah.

PS. . .Sorry there aren't any closer-up ones but this is the best I could find.

Our trip

2008-01-24T14:14:00.001-07:00

'Here are some pictures of our trip. There are plenty more but we will spread it out over a couple of days. Emma and Tyson loved being at Grandma and Grandpa's. Many new things were learned. On of which is teasing. Tyson knows exactly how close to get before you can touch him and at that exact moment will do a 180 and run the other way laughing.

Emma learned how to look like a movie star. We were in the grocery store with her looking similar to this and we go so many comment on her and how cute she was that now every time we go to the store she want to look just like that again. It was really cute!

There was a train in the mall and Emma had a blast riding it all by herself.

Tyson learned to climb up on ALL the chairs at my parent's house!!! He thinks it is so great that all he does is climb up, look around, and drum his fingers on the table with a triumphant smile on his face. I wish that was all he did at home. Here he climbs up and reaches for anything and everything that is on the table. Nothing is safe up there anymore.

The kids loved spending time with their Aunt Mal.

Tyson's new favorite word in UNDER. He likes to hide under everything. Or hide his toys under everything. He loved to spend time under the reclining part of my parent's couch. This was ok as long as you knew he was there. He also adopted a favorite toy. Doggie as he is affectionatly known by. Tyson will not sleep without him or leave him in the bed so we have to keep pretty close tabs on him duing the day. Tyson with give him squeeses and kisses and throw him across the room. It is a fun relationship developing.

Happy Birthday Emma!!

2008-01-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

So I am a couple days behind on Emma's birthday post. Sickness again plagues me. We had a great day with Emma. We made it very simple this year since we just got back and all. Emma insisted on a pink cake with pink frosting and she helped put the frosting and sprinkles on. It is crazy how these kids grow up and how fast the time goes. It is hard to think that Emma is 4 in some ways, in other ways she can seem much older. So we went to Chuck E. Cheese for her party with me, Stan,Tyson and Stan's sister Sarah. Emma had a great time. Even after an hour she was not wanting to go. So we stayed almost 2 hours and had a great time. Tyson even got in on the action. He was running this way and that not caring where mom or dad were. It was a little scary.

Home safe and sound!!!

2008-01-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well, for all of you who have been wondering when the kids and I were getting back from our great adventures in New Hampshire with the Grandparents can know that we made it!! It was a great plane ride. We again had the whole row to ourselves and the kids even slept for an hour and a half of it which was heavensent!! We are glad to be home but sad to again be so far from my family. I seriously thought that by coming home we would have escaped the never ending snow but no. This morning we awoke to more snow!! It snowed 6 or 7 different times while I was at home. It was no inch or two but a foot or more in like 6 hours!!! It made a mess of things. I was really hoping to be done with snow for a long time. I don't mind if the montains get it because we need it but I don't want to have to shovel it, slip on it, or worry about sliding in the parking lot because there it snow. Sorry for my rant but I needed another outlet other than Stan. Sorry there are not pictures but the camera is still mix in with the many treasures we came home with that I am still trying to find places for.

Over the montains and through the skies to Grandmother's house we go

2008-01-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

So I am sure some of you are thinking that I have totally abandoned my blog but rest assured we are still here. Things have been pretty crazy since we left on the 13th of December to come to far away New Hampshire to spend Christmas with my family. So I braved the long plane ride all by myself with two kids and it was GREAT. I am amazing kids, what can I say. They were so good. Emma and Tyson had a great time looking out the window at the clouds and montains and lots of white stuff as Emma said. She kept asking why there was so much white stuff down there. I told her is was snow and she said, "No its not, Mommy. There cannot be snow because it is hot down there." So after much explinations she still insisted it was hot and not cold for some crazy reason.

When we got on the plane they said all was looking good and that they were going to go as fast as they could because there was a HUGE snow storm expected in Boston by the time we were expected to arrive. So, as were her HUGE snow storm all the worstcase senerios start going through my mind. What if we don't land in Boston and have to spend the night in the airport somewhere. What if they loose my luggage and have no diapers. It was crazy. As it went we had to circle the airport for an hour and a half before we landed and it was quite a landing! The captian comes on the intercome and says "Because it is snowing extremely hard and the runway are only somewhat clear I am going to have to be agressive with the brakes when we land. So now I'm thinking, "Ok, what if we skid of the runway and spin out and get suck on the plane. Could anything go more wrong." Luckly the kids were great and had no idea what was going on. So we land and it was a fast breaking but we made it safe and sound.

Then there was the drive home at 5 pm going out of Boston in a HUGE snow storm. A drive that should have taken an hour and a half took 4 hours. It was crazy. The plows could not get through because there were too many cars on the road and them that had been abandoned because they ran out of gas or got stuck changing lanes. I have never seen a car left in the middle of a four lane highway before. It was nuts. I am just glad I packed a TON of snacks and that we got home safely. The van however overheated a mile from home and the engine is having to be rebuilt. It was a crazy night! Sorry to complain but it was a wild night. But we are here having a great time! Happy New Year!!

Christmas time adventures

2007-12-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

Something Stan and I have always talked about doing it taking the kids downtown to see the lights and hear the Tabernacle Choir practice. Well this year we decided it was do or die. Of course we picked the worst night to go because between Springville and American Fork there were three accidents and little movement. It was nuts but we were going no matter what. We decided to take tracks and Emma loved it. Stan's sister Sarah came with us also. Once we finally got downtown we decided to walk around the lights before going to the choir. Tyson loved the lights! He kept oooohing and aaahhhing. It was pretty cute. It also was not that crowded which was nice. Then we went to the Conference Center and it was amazing!!! Stan and I have never been inside it before and it was just cool! The feeling as you walk it was close to the same feeling as going to the temple. Let me just say that it is HUGE. I know it looks big on TV but in person it is bigger. Emma loved the pretty music but was ready to go after about 5 minutes because as she says it was too much like church and church is too hard to sit through. It is so fun when the kids can verbalize their complaints, sometimes. It just reminds me that she is getting to be such a big girl. Because we had so much fun we decided we are going to go again when it gets a little warmer and we can spend the day downtown and do more things. I definatly recommend it to anyone who lives close enough to do it. And the greatest thing is you can bring the kids!!!

Happy 28 Stan!!

2007-12-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

On December 5th Stan turned 28!!! We had a great day. The kids and I took Stan treats to work and he about shot me because he did not want the guys at the office to know it was his birthday. Then for dinner, not to blow my own horn, I made the most amazing ribs!!!! They were better than any restaurant I have ever been to. Then we had cheesecake pie for dessert. He had a great birthday according to him.

Tyson is ready!

2007-11-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed I have been a slacker when it comes to blogging and I am sorry. We did have a great Thanksgiving. We went to Stan's family's in Delta and have a great time. I was a little worried as to how the weekend was going to go because the first night there Tyson threw up 4 times. The next day however he was great. You would have never known that he was sick the night before. Emma also had reached a huge milestone this weekend also. She survived her first sleepover with her cousins. She was gone about 24 hours and had a great time. Now she cannot wait to do it again the next time we go down. I was fully expecting a phone call in the middle of the night to go get her but it never came. I was really different not having her around for that long but she had a great time and is getting to know the joy of cousins.

The other day we were talking about our up coming trip to see Grandma Karen, and Tyson must have been listening because shortly after we found him in Emma's suit case we use for her dress-ups. He is also going through the stage where he dumps everything out and sits in the container whether his bumb fits or not.

Halloween

2007-11-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

Halloween was great this year. Emma had a hard time choosing a costume. If you asked her what she wanted to be she would say, "First I wanted to be a cowgirl, then it was a witch, and I finally decided to be a purple princess." She would say it so matter-of-factly that you thought she stood infront of a mirror and practiced it. It is really interesting now that she has an opinnion of how things should be. I am glad we did not have to buy things for the three different costumes. Just the cowgirl and the princess. So I know what she will be next year!!!

As you can see Tyson REALLY did not enjoy his costume. The first time I tried it on him he cried like I hurt him. Maybe it was because he did not think Grandma was very funny in thinking he should be a chicken because of his name. He was a great sport on Halloween. He kept it on through the Trunk-or-treat and in the car ride to my aunt's house in Orem. Tyson sure made a pretty cute chicken. Emma now wears he costume for dress up EVERY day. I am glad she is getting more than one wear out of it.

Tyson has such a little personality that is picture makes me laugh!!! At least he stood still long enough for me to take the picture!!

Pumpkin Patch

2007-11-01T21:39:00.000-06:00

One thing I wanted to do this year with Emma was carve pumpkins. She was so excited. We even went to a pumpkin patch to get the pumpkins. It was really fun. She was very specific on the size of pumpkin she wanted. We would find one and she would look at it and say "I don't think this is an Emma sized pumpkin." So we kept walking until we found one we could convince her was an Emma sized pumpkin. Tyson liked saying pumpkin and seeing all that was there. So when we got home and started to clean them out she would not go anywhere near the "guts" as she called it. Stan stuck her hand in there and got it extra gooey and she started into hysterics. Stan and I just laughed. It was really funny but she got really mad that we were laughing at her. All the while Tyson is saying "eeeewwww." Somehow Emma became afraid of getting dirty. I guess she actually listened to me when I tell her not to get too dirty when she plays. We will have to break her of this. Emma did though insist on watching intently Stan carve the pumpkin to her requirements just as long as she did not have to touch any of it. And Tyson was trying to eat the pieces that Stan took out. He ate part of one before he lost intrest in it.

It is so hard to get a good smile on film from Tyson and here he looks like he knows something bad that mom and dad have no clue about. It's pretty funny.

Can you find Tyson???

Family Home Evening

2007-11-01T21:33:00.000-06:00

At our house we love the sticky foam shapes. So for FHE on Monday Emma decided we would make pictures using these shapes. It was a great time. Emma loves to make pictures with them and Tyson loves to stick them anywhere he can. Stan wanted to see what he would do when he stuck some on his face. At first Tyson did not mind it. Once we started to put more on he did not like them and took them off. Emma even got in on the action.

Jail!!

2007-11-01T21:09:00.000-06:00

So we finally got a baby gate that would keep Tyson out of the kitchen while I was making dinner so he did not get stepped on or tripped over. He really does not like it at all. He shakes it and usually cries when it gets shut. So to distract him from the fact that he was locked out Emma and I taught him to say jail. Now if he is in a good mood he will stand at the gate and say "Jail" in such a way that you have to laugh. Which is good because then it helps him to forget that he cannot get at Mom. his most prized possession.

Long time no write

2007-10-11T21:00:00.001-06:00

So its been a long time so here is an update. All is well here in Springville Utah. We had a great summer and a great visit from my mom and sister. Tyson is 1 and loving every minute of his discovery of new talents of his. Currently he is having fun finding many ways to give himself a goose egg on his forhead. Last week he went head first off the rocking chair onto the hardwood floor. We were impressed that there wasn't any bruise until he woke up two days later with a horrible bruise on his head. Then yesterday he took a tumble into the pantry door and all he said was "ooooo" and "ow." He loves to talk and run around after Emma chanting her name. Emma loves it because it makes her feel important. She is enjoying having a girl right next door who is the same age. They play together almost everyday and cry when they cannot play. It is a great insentive to get Emma to do things so she can go and play.

While Grandma and Auntie Mal were here Emma had fun making funny poses in her new clothes.

Tyson also got his first hair cut while Mallory was here and I'm not sure who was more nervus him or me. It was the first time for me to cut someone's hair other that Stan's. It is quite the experience cutting a boy's hair. I am glad it grows fast. The poor kid, his hair is so light he looks like he has no hair.

Tyson loves books and now can say "Read" until you read it. He is really funny. He will hound you until you read him the book he brings you.

2007-07-23T16:07:00.000-06:00

clown face Emma!

Camping trip

2007-07-23T15:56:00.000-06:00

He is having so much fun walking! Over the 4th we went on an interesting camping trip. We borrowed Stan's parent's car and their pop-up trailer and went to Lehman's cave in Nevada. 70 miles outside of Delta the van overheated. So we waited about an hour trying to cool it off. Then we went 3 miles and it died again. So we waited another hour in the heat waited for it to cool off. Finally we try it with fingers crossed and we went maybe another 3 miles and it died AGAIN!!!! This time for good. There was smoke and everything. The nice sherrif of Millard County took us to the border town that was 20 minutes away where we waited 3 1/2 hours for Stan's dad to get us. But there was hope. Another vehicle was brought to us so we could go camping since we were there already!

So with high hopes we go off to find a camping spot. To our dismay. . . there were NONE!!!! So with our heads low we find an RV park( where we paid way to much) and parked for the night to try again in the morning. We were able to go through the amazing caves and enjoy a beautiful camping spot with a stream and everything. There are no pictures because we left our camera at home thanks to Heather! (Too much stuff and not enough brain).

It was a great time but I don't want to go camping for a long time. Maybe next summer?!?

After that trip Tyson decided he had enough of everyone else going faster than him. So he decided we would start walking and has never crawled again. It is crazy how they learn to fast when they want to. Emma has fun chasing him around the house. I cannot wait until HE can chase her. I don't think she will think it is as much fun.

Cute Kids

2007-06-11T15:11:00.000-06:00

Tyson is growing up so fast. He is a cutie. Emma loves playing with him and he loves to play with her toys. He also loves Emma and is always trying to find her.

The New House

2007-06-11T15:01:00.000-06:00

So we love life in the new house. It has been very busy trying to keep on top of everything. We have been busy painting Emma's room and the living room. We are still trying to figure out how to paint Tyson's room. The previous owners left us a wonderful garden area so we have been very busy out there. The kids are loving all the space. Tyson has finally gotten over his fear of the grass, much to Heather's dismay. He is able to stand by himself once he uses the couch, wall, or Heather's legs to stand up. Tyson is so close to walking it is crazy. He is 10 months and still has NO teeth.

Emma loves the tramopline in the back yard. She loves to jump and play and ride her trike. Things are going very well for us in the new house.

Cute Kids

2007-04-18T15:32:00.000-06:00

Tyson is getting so big. He is crawling and trying to walk. It is so crazy how fast he is growing up. He loves to play with Emma's toys and doesn't he look cute in Emma's sunglasses.

OH!!! I Think I had too much milk to drink. I'm feeling a little tipsy!!!

Cinderella

2007-04-18T15:25:00.000-06:00

Emma loves helping me around the house. She will jump at the chance to help mom do anything cleaning wise. Her favorite things to do are sweeping and cleaning the mirrors. And packing!!!!! Yes I said packing. Why are we packing you ask?? We are buying a house!!!! We will be closing at the end of the week and will be moving next week to Springville. We will have pictures soon!!!!

Bath Time

2007-03-18T20:30:00.000-06:00

Tyson LOVES his bath time, esepecially when Emma take one with him. The two of them have a blast spashing. I look like I have taken a bath with them with my clothes on by the time they are finished. All Tyson needs to hear is the bath running and he cannot wait to get in.

Emma Pictures

2007-03-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

Emma is becoming such a big girl. She is also very opinionated!!! and very cute!

Tyson Pictures

2007-03-09T16:07:00.000-07:00

I was going through pictures the other day and found some fun pictures of the kids. Tyson is so close to crawling it is frustrating of him and Mom.

Tyson's first bite

2007-02-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

We started Tyson on cereal this month and he does not like it. He ate it once or twice for every 8 tries. It was really frustrating. So we gave that up and started him on veggies and now he likes those almost better than milk. He can eat a ton!!! Hopefully he won't still eat this much when he is a teenager!

humm. . . what's this?

I don't think I like this!

What did you give me??

Do I REALLY have to eat this??

Emma's birthday

2007-02-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

On January 22 Emma turned 3 years old. She wanted to have a party more than anything so we decided to invite my cousin's children (we still haven't been able to figure out their relationship) who are all about the same age. They had a blast dressing up like Tinkerbell and playing games. It is so hard to believe that she is three and so opinionated too!!! She is not afraid to speak her mind and she NEVER forgets anything especially if you want her to.

Long time, no update

2007-02-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

Typical Tyson face!!

Live has been so busy. We are so enjoying Stan being home. Tyson is growing so fast. He is almost 7 months and doing soo much. He loves to sit up and see what the world has to offer. At the end of January Tyson discovered how to skoot backwards. Now he gets so frustrated because he cannot go forward. Tyson is such a mama's boy. Mom leave his line of sight and he screams. Mom leaves the house without him and he is a grump until mom comes home. It is cute but getting old fast. Stan thinks so too!!!

Christmas time again

2006-12-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

We had a great Christmas. We spent Christmas with Stan's family and it was fun. Emma had a great time. She totally has the present thing down. It was fun seeing her face. She made out like a bandit. Tyson liked looking at the paper and the sound that it made. My mom found Tyson the cutest elf outfit. He is such a cutie. I am glad that it still fit. It is almost too small. Tyson is a tank with drumsticks for legs. He sure does have the cutest blue eyes. They are hard to get on film though. His eyes like to change colors depending on what he is wearing. Sometimes his eyes look very blue and others they look grey. We did have a great holiday and hope you all did too!!!

2006-12-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

Stan and I had fun taking picture after Tyson was finished nursing and fell asleep in these positions. We thought they were cute enough to share with everyone. Enjoy!

Oh my goodness. Won't my parent's let me sleep!

I think I'll have the ice cream.

I love my bouncer and I can even bounce myself when mom and dad are too busy!

I LOVE daddy's hat!

Happy baby!

2006-12-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

This is Tyson's cousin, Acacia over Thansgiving. They had a lot of fun looking at each other. Acacia is about 6 weeks younger than Tyson. They had so much fun that they wore each other out. Tyson did not mind her laying on him which we all thought was interesting.

We're sooo tired!!!

Who's taking my picture!?

Emma loves to hold her brother and sometimes he likes it too.

Thanksgiving

2006-11-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

We had a great Thanksgiving at the Skeem's house. It was great to get to spend time with Stan's family. We had a lot of fun and even found us a Christmas tree. For those of you who don't know. Stan found a job and will be able to stay where he has been working for the last year and a half. We are very excited. We will be staying put in our apartment until hopefully next summer when we might be able to buy a house. Stan has two weeks left as a student and cannot wait to be done. This will be a great Christmas to celebrate Stan's new job and finishing school. We are so excited to start a new chapter in our lives. Tyson is growing so fast and knows how roll over but doesn't enjoy time on his tummy. Hopefully this will change as he grows. Emma is about and inch away from being totally potty trianed. She fells like such a big girl wearing underwear. She loves to look at herself in the mirror in only her underwear. Emma is also a great helper with Tyson. She is a great little mommy to him. It will be interesting to see how he handles it when he gets bigger.

We thought these pictures were funny!

Halloween

2006-11-28T19:03:00.001-07:00

We had a great Halloween. Emma had fun dressing up as many things. She had the option of being a fairy witch, a bat or a chef. Every time we went somewhere where she could dress up she chose to be something different. Tyson ended up being an adorable cow. Stan said we should have done something to make him look more like a bull but I did not care. Emma is starting to understand what happens on Halloween and boy did she enjoy getting lots of candy.

Update

2006-10-15T21:10:00.000-06:00

Things are going well at the Skeem household. We were able to enjoy some company from Massachusetts. My friend and her family were out here for her husband's mission reunion and wanted to show off their adorable 4 month old Noah. It was crazy with two babies in the house but Emma had fun playing mommy to the two babies and helped to keep them entertained. She was always concerned when either of them cried and sad when they were sleeping. It was really cute.
Stan has two months left of school and is starting to feel the pressure. But he cannot wait to be done!!! Neither can his wife!!!! Heather is having fun staying at home and trying to still get things done occasionally.
Tyson and Emma get along really well. Let's hope that it stays that way as he starts to get more mobile. It is sweet how much Tyson loves her. He is always trying to find her if he can hear her. And we even caught it on print without realizing it.

How sweet!!

Two months

2006-10-15T21:01:00.000-06:00

Well, Tyson is two months now and growing tons. At his doctor's appointment he weighed 12 lbs and was 24 inches long. He is doing so well. He sleeps on average 8 hours a night. Tyson is a very content baby. He has his moments but they are no where near as bad as Emma's when she was his age because of her colic. We are very blessed to have two wonderful children. Emma is such a great helper. She even mimics what I do with Tyson with her baby. It is so fun to watch and realize how observant she is. When Tyson gets a little older Emma will have lots of fun playing with him. Hopefully she will out grow trying to leave him at other people's house. :)

Pictures

2006-09-24T21:42:00.000-06:00

Here are some new pictures of Emma and Tyson and me.

I'm cute and I know it!

Mom and Emma having a quiet moment before bed.

Busy, busy

2006-09-24T20:34:00.000-06:00

Things are so busy around here. Stan is working hard on his last semester of school and soooo ready to be done. He is juggling school, work, the family, and assistant ward mission leader. He has his hands full. But he does find a minute every once in a while to cuddle with Tyson.

Here is a perspective for you. If Tyson were to stretch out he would not fit.

Two cute kids!!

2006-09-09T15:37:00.000-06:00

Life at home

2006-09-09T14:50:00.000-06:00

Emma loves Tyson so much. She also loves to hold him. Sometimes too much. She would hold him all day everyday if she could. Emma is so gentle most of the time when she is around Tyson. She loves to give him kisses and loves when every she can. Hopefully it will last.

Coming home

2006-09-09T14:40:00.000-06:00

After an evenful stay in the hospital, we were ready to come home. Emma was glad she did not have to go to the hospital any more to see her new baby, as she put it. Tyson had a little bit of jaundis but nothing too serious. He was 6 lbs. 12 oz. when we left the hospital.

Tyson's first smile

2006-09-06T19:04:00.000-06:00

This is the first smiles we caught on tape and they are cute!!!

The new Addtion

2006-09-06T18:20:00.000-06:00

On August 3, 2006 We welcomed Tyson S. Skeem into the world. It was a very easy labor once I got started. I was four days over due and my amniotic fluid levels were too low so I was induced that day. I was started on Pitocin at 1pm and by 7 that night Tyson was here. As the contractions got stronger his heart beat started to drop. Stan and I were worried that Tyson was not going to make it through much more, so we were luck that Tyson came out after 2 pushes and a short labor.
Tyson was 7 lbs. 5 oz. 20 inches long. He was postierier so I was lucky that I did not have to push more than I did. Tyson is a great baby. He loves his binki and sleeps very well at night. He does not have an ear pearcing cry like Emma did. Nor does he have colic.