Shane-- a joy

Shane is the kidder of the family. His laugh is infectious! Sometimes getting him to calm down and focus on what he is doing can be hard. This is when yaya was sleeping over and they wanted to sleep on the air mattress with her so I made them both sleep with pull ups on in case they had an accident (which Shane never does). We had just bought these new boxer style pull ups and he made his look like a big butt. So cute!



Another big bum picture!










This is his Easter pose. Shane has had stomach issues the past year and now sees a specialist. He has had to sit through many tests and just had his first endoscopy. They took 15 biopsies. He was so brave!!! They said he has gastritis and reflux. He has started medicine so I hope that will help. He has this quiet sweet spirit. He is happy to sit back and watch. People say that is a middle child thing but Shane just makes me smile.

Robert-- So Smart

Robert is so dang smart. This gets him in trouble quite a bit because he is always 5 steps ahead of everyone. He thinks through every thing he does (even his consequences when he does something wrong). His preschool teacher has a hard time with him because she says he gets bored and then he gets annoyed. She said he finishes all his paper work before the others are even a quarter of the way done. He is very sports minded. He would shoot baskets, throw the football, or kick the soccer ball for HOURS!!! He also very loving. He loves his brother and sister.








Ever since Robert was a baby people would stop me in the grocery store and tell me that I needed to get this child in modeling. They still do! As you can see, I think Robert has heard this too many times and now thinks he is Tyson Beckford!








Robert is very concerned about how he looks. Sometimes getting dressed for school and especially church is a chore and exhausting. His pants have to be the perfect length of right to the top of his foot, his sleeves have to go to the top of his hand, and his shoe laces have to be the exact same length or I have to retie them many times. This does come in handy though. His toys have to be grouped together in cars, trains, action figures, and he very good at helping me sort the laundry. The things that come out of his mouth amaze me. I sometimes forget he is only 5!!! IN some of our conversations I feel as though I am talking to a 30 year old. The other day he explained to me that he likes girls and they are pretty but he knows that he is too young for a REAL girlfriend. I mean, who thinks this through at 5?!?! He has a very old soul and he brings so much to our family. The Lord knew what he was doing when he had Robert be the oldest!

The Kids

Robert and Shane do fight but they are becoming best friends as well. They really look out for each other (in between throwing each other around in the living room). I like to dress them the same for church but this was just a random Sunday morning. Too cute.





They play football on a daily basis. Snow, rain, or shine. Robert has informed us that he will be the quarterback because they are the team captains and they get all the girls. Shane is quite the tackler. He may be scrawny but he can scrap!







Robert and Shane live for daddy to come home to play football or soccer outside. Even when it is raining, they just push the couches out of the way in the living room and play there. I have vetoed soccer because they have broken one too many things. You would think that daddy would be more careful. It is fun to watch them bond over their sports.



Whenever Kara comes over she takes them for a walk, no matter how cold it is . They love it! She is much braver than me. Maybe that is why I only lasted 1 year in Idaho!








The kids have so much fun playing together. This is a fun filled night at yaya's. So goofy! I am glad to see how close my kids are and how much they love each other. I am not sure what I would do with out my siblings (especially my sisters). I am not sure I could make it a day with out knowing they are there and it is neat to see them have experiences and create a bond that can never be broken.

Easter

Easter was another busy weekend! We find ourselves in Arlington/Falls Church area almost every weekend and this holiday weekend was no exception! Kara was house sitting at this amazing house with a zip line and every game console you can imagine. The boys were in heaven (even the big kid, daddy!!). As you can see we colored eggs. Robert could not let Mandy make deviled eggs with his one perfect egg. He had decorated one with stickers and it was "too pretty" to destroy.



We then went to church with Kara. I had so much fun getting the kids in their Easter outfits. I honestly could have eaten them! Robert seems to think he is a GQ model. He practiced his poses before the pictures. He knows he is so dang cute! Shane is just happy and so handsome!







All I can say is...... IS SHE NOT THE CUTEST DANG THING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN?!?!?!?!









The kids had 2 egg hunts. One at grandma and grandpa's and then one at Aunt Mandy and Aunt Cammie's. I didn't think Cecelia would really get the concept but she was very serious! We divided the eggs into colors for the kids so they would get the same number of eggs. We stuffed them with candy and money. I think we had a great weekend! I really am having so much fun making new traditions with my kids!

Christmas

This was the first Christmas that the kids woke up at home! I thought they were getting old enough that they would start to remember waking up at home. Santa did end up making it to our house, Grandmas and Granny's. They really made out this year! As you can tell they wasted no time ripping into the presents. Kara came out and stayed with us Christmas Eve so she got to be here. It was really fun! My kids would not of had near as many presents if "YAYA" wasn't here! I look forward to making many more Christmas memories!

Halloween!!!!

So here are my kiddies all dressed up and ready to "trick or treat". As you can see Robert has made a remarkable recovery and I thank you again for all your prayers! So..... Robert was a vampire, Shane was a blue power ranger, and Cecelia was a "dancing with the stars" dancer! She obviously has to work on those thighs a little more to make it on the show! Kara "Ya Ya" came out to see the kids go trick or treating. Robert really wanted her to come. I honestly don't know if I could function with out her. I made some chili (it is finally getting cold enough) and then after dinner the boys could not wait any longer to get out the door. We did the block and they racked in the candy.
As you can see-- Cece is a natural! I was trying all night to get a good picture of her and she pulls this perfect centerfold picture! Geez, we are going to have to watch out for her! Daddy is in for some serious gun shopping to keep all those boys away! If she looks anything like my niece Hannah (who is beautiful) Brian has already said she is never leaving the house.






On Saturday when Kara had her annual Halloween party Robert was having severe headaches from the spinal tap and he could barely stand for more than a few minutes before he would be screaming in agony. It was really hard to see him in so much pain. He basically laid on my sisters bed and watched TV while the kids ran around. He would try to get up and play but then would have to lay down. He even had to eat his pizza laying on the couch. Cecelia I guessed could sense something was wrong so she crawled up on top of Robert and just cuddled with him for about 5 minutes. It was so sweet.
That same day Cece found the chocolate bowl and decided to help herself. Hence.... the thunder thighs!!!






This is Shane being oh so mean! Yeah right! He has the cutest smile and just melts my heart. He was so funny because he has two Power Ranger costumes, a blue and a red. He had real issues making a decision on what color he wanted to be. Red is his favorite color but the blue one is the "coolest on the show". So blue won out.







I had to add this one. After trick or treating and bath they decided to have something "healthy". Popcorn! What am I teaching my children?! HAHA Anyway, this is Cecelia "praying" over her popcorn. I have no idea what she is really doing but it was too cute not to add.

The Scariest Night of my Life

Have any of you had a really sick child? It is probably the worst and scariest thing you can go through. So.....this is how is all started. Robert woke up Tuesday morning at 6am saying his throat hurt so I gave him some Motrin and he was fine. Brian thought it might of been because he left his window open all night and it was chilly. Anyway, he seemed fine and I kept his play date that morning. Wyatt came to play and Robert was his normal self. They played pirates, skateboarded and the usual boy stuff. Wyatt's mom came to hang too and I made the kids some homemade brownies. Well, as the brownies were cooking we went and sat outside while they played. I noticed Robert was laying on the ground with the soccer ball and not really playing. When we came in to get the brownies out of the oven Robert laid on the couch and fell asleep within 2 minutes. I thought to myself "Oh crap..... he's getting sick." Robert will be sure to tell you he "DOES NOT TAKE NAPS". He woke up an hour later with a 103 temperature. My pediatricians office has after hours from 5-7 so I called and got him in. Robert was laying on the couch screaming to me that he needed to go to the Dr. He was one sick little boy. He refused to walk so I had to carry him everywhere. When we got the Dr's office an hour later he was complaining of a terrible head ache and he said his neck hurt. He wouldn't really move his head and he was having trouble staying awake for the Dr's to talk to him. The Dr's were no joke....the had him admitted to the hospital before we even left the office. I knew if was bad when I heard the Dr talking to the hospital on the phone outside our room. He came in and said that Robert was "text book meningitis". My heart stopped. He said we were to go to the ER and they would do a spinal tap then he would stay for a couple days. I called Brian from the office and told him to call a friend up the street to come stay with Shane and Cecelia. I went into mommy survival mode.
When Brian got to the hospital I took his cell phone and called my sister Kara. Robert was asking for "Yaya" (what he calls Kara). Unfortunately she was the first person I called. I had held it together pretty well up until then. I called her and said "I am at the ER with Robert and they think he has meningitis and they have to do a spinal tap". At that point I lost it and sat there crying for a second. Then all I could get out was "I need you, come." Then I hung up. I then called my mom and Brian's mom. My mom came out to relieve my friend and stay with the other two kids. When I got back they called Roberts name. We then played musical chairs for a while as they decided whether they were going to do the spinal tap in the ER or in his room in the pediatric ward. It was very frustrating. When we were finally taken to an ER room one of Brian's friends showed up from church and they gave Robert a priesthood blessing. I am so thankful that I have the priesthood in my home and a worthy husband who can give his child a blessing. Yaya showed up and Robert perked up a little bit. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have her. The Dr's came in and administered some medicine to make Robert "relax" and go to sleep for the spinal tap. As you can see in the first picture, they had to stick him several times to get the IV in. That probably was the worst part-- Robert looking up at me screaming and crying telling me to make them stop and there was nothing I could do. They asked us to leave the room while they did the procedure. When they were done they said that his spinal fluid was exceptionally clear and it probably wasn't bacterial meningitis. Viral meningitis takes a couple days for the results to come back. It was actually quite funny when Robert was coming out of the the "sleep".

We knew he was OK when we finally got to his room and the first thing he said was "This is a girls room. There are butterflies on the wall." And sure enough the border on the wall was butterflies. He informed the nurse that it needed to be sports. Oh Robbie, Robbie. He also immediately noticed the Nintendo as well. Brian then stayed with him while I ran home and got some clothes, Robert's sleeping bag he wanted and some pajamas for him. I went back and relieved Brian and he came home to sleep and help my mom the next morning with the kids. When Robert woke up (or should I say when the nursed came and woke him up) and they took his temperature it was almost 103. They gave him some Motrin and it went down to 101.6. His Dr came in to see him and said they had almost definately ruled out meningitis. They allowed me to take him home if I promised to make him drink and count how many times he peed. They made him drink a huge glass of apple juice and use the bathroom before he left the hospital. We came home yesterday and he slept for 4 hours. He then went to bed at about 10pm and slept until 10am this morning. He still has a fever and still is one sick little boy. BUT NO MENINGITIS!!! :) I have never been so scared in my life.
I must say things like this put things back into perspective. I am so thankful to have three beautiful children and a husband who honors his priesthood. We have a couple more days of being sick as they think it is just some horrible virus. I don't know what I would do if something ever happened to one of my babies. I am so thankful to be near my family. I will keep you updated on Robert's recovery! Thank you for all your prayers and support.