Why I'm behind on blogging, life

Ellie graduated from Joy School! She was so proud.


And so were we. She is already worrying about where she is going to have to live when she grows up. She doesn't believe me that it's still a long time away.


I am certainly going to miss her sweet spirit around here next year. She helps me soooo much. It is extremely convenient to have a 5-year-old going on 35-year-old daughter. She cleans and is so helpful with the younger two. Love this girl.


Aubrie and Ellie performed in a children's ballet for their final dance performance. We couldn't take pictures of them dancing then but could at their final dance class. They loved being in class together (and I loved it too). Next year they can't be together because Aubrie will start "Ballet 1."


They also had class with two of their best buddies. I love this picture where they are scheming.


Two and a half hours of softball two nights a week certainly keeps our family busy as well.


This slugger is having a great year of "coach pitch."


We ditched the second to last week of school, and went on a long road trip, which included a few wonderful days with a handful of different family members, tons of sightseeing, a few days of Dave working in Philly, a chocolate tour, thousands of miles in the car, some tornado dodging, and ...

a very relaxing stop at the beach.


We have about a billion pictures from our trip to share, and we will eventually, but here's one of my favs. Cousins Liam and Kyler chilling in front of the nation's capitol.

June is every bit as busy at our house as December (especially with birthdays, anniversary, Father's Day, etc.) so hopefully we will be able to post more soon too.

Kyler the Smiler

I'm smitten. Look at this precious 5-month-old baby boy! I feel a little sad Kyler's already 5 months. I think I got a little gypped because I haven't been able to savor all of his infancy because he was so sick, and we were so worried about him for a good 2-3 months. But I shouldn't complain because the bottom line is he is doing fabulous!


I am so surprised how intensely he plays with his toys. He loves his toys so much more than the girls did.


He is also very determined to get them when they are out of reach. He rolls, scoots, reaches, and then cries if he can't quite get there.


Kyler is one determined little boy. So far this has been a blessing in his life. Let's hope it stays a positive trait!


Kyler cut his first tooth this week!


All the specialist doctors have signed off on him, saying he's doing just great! Although we still have a couple more physical therapy sessions for his torticollis/Sandifer's Syndrome, but he has improved so much there is little concern there too. He is still on his reflux medicine, and we're trying to decide if he still needs his nebulizer steroids.


He is still "Kyler the Smiler" and loves making eye contact with anyone at about any time. He is ticklish and a good-natured little boy. A lot of people notice the red in his hair. We are curious to see what color it is going to come in, but we think maybe blond with a little red (a lot like Teyah). Time will tell.




He is FINALLY starting to consistently have decent nights where he wakes up usually twice a night but occasionally once. Hooray!

Treasure

I sure throw away a lot of papers around here: art projects, homemade tickets to dance shows, heart-shaped Post-it Notes, self-portraits, family portraits, programs to made-up plays, poetry, scribbles, painting projects, Christmas lists, future baby name lists, etc. etc. etc.

Finding treasures like this are a definite highlight in my days of constant pick-up.

Easter Sunday

We dyed eggs,


had an Easter egg hunt,


enjoyed spring-like weather (NOT a given on Easter in Minnesota),


smiled at this guy,


talked of our Savior and His sacrifices for us to be an eternal family,


and read lots and lots of books (this one is "Ella Enchanted," but we mostly read Easter books). It was a very low-key Easter, but was such a fun, relaxing family day. I think it was one of my favorites ever because it was so fun to be together, to not be busy, and we could focus on remembering our Savior.

A blessing and more family

Our little Kyler has finally been healthy enough that we were able to bless him! It was extra special considering his previous health troubles. At times, I wondered if we'd ever make it to this day.


And, my sister Heather's family made the drive from Nebraska to support us! The cousins had so much fun together.


And, we were lucky enough to have a visit from Papa and Grammy the same weekend! It was a super fun and memorable time.


Papa and Grammy decided to do an annual birthday party for all the grandkids. Since the two boys are too young to argue, we had lunch at the American Girl store.


We had our own private room and the waitresses even brought the dolls their own food. They sang happy birthday to everyone and each of the kids had a candle in his/her dessert!


The kids enjoyed a ride at Mall of America too.


Of all the big rides, Teyah wanted the quarter machine fish ride for her turn.


The kids also enjoyed swimming at Papa and Grammy's hotel pool.


Saying goodbye!


Thanks little Kyler for being a part of our family and giving us reason to celebrate! We love you and are so happy you are happy now too!

Auntie and an overdue getaway

Some day I will catch up on everything around here, including blogging! I am happy to report that our busyness this month has been due to fun things and not due to having a very sick baby. Kyler is doing awesome and continues to improve each week. Since he has been doing so much better, and the weather has actually been spring-like, we decided to take advantage of an extra set of hands (with my sister Lauren in town) with a getaway to Wisconsin Dells.


The Great Wolf Lodge is our new favorite resort at the Dells. It was just right for our young kids and we had a blast.


Aunt Lauren was so helpful, and it was so fun to have her with us for a few days. One thing she always does for me is the girls' hair. It's a welcome break, and she is so great at it. Look at this beauty queen!


4 kids who can't swim + three adults = much more fun than 4 kids + 2 adults! And not to mention our kids just LOVE Auntie Lauren! We just can't get enough of her.


The waterparks were just right for the girls.


They also had a blast playing "MagicQuest" for the first time.


The kids were awestruck when the train delivered dinner to our table! A definite first for all of us.


Our fashionista never turns down a wardrobe addition.


Always charming the ladies ... Kyler was so easy going and good during his first-ever trip. Hooray! This might have been our best trip to the Dells yet. Thanks Lauren! We love you!

Happy 5th Birthday Elliana!

This pretty little girl is all grown up!


The day before her birthday she discovered two loose teeth, and I'm not sure if she was more excited about the teeth or turning 5!


We had five friends over for her Princess Belle party. The tutu skirts were a hit.


She also got to spend some time riding the rides at Mall of America with just her Daddy. This was pretty special. Although we also had free tickets that had to be used the week before, so mom and the three girls also got to spend some time on the rides! I love this picture because it is so candid.


I look at these pictures and can't believe how grown up she is! And just a couple weeks before her birthday, she finally figured out how to say her "R" sounds. So, she now talks all grown up too. This is one of my favorite ages/stages so far. She is so obedient, sweet, and loving. I feel like she can understand so much more, so she asks more thought-provoking questions, and we have deeper conversations. Do I really have to send her to Kindergarten in a few months? I want her sweet innocence to stay forever.





Ellie is so sensitive and smart and spunky! She is such an old soul -- so responsible and articulate. She is an awesome cleaner and organizer and thinks organizing is fun! This is definitely a talent of hers. She doesn't like clutter and easily trashes what is not used. She is great at remembering things. She is also opinionated and will defend herself if needed. How can someone be sweet and sensitive and strong-willed at the same time? I am not sure, but Ellie definitely is both. I love that little girl!

Living on Love

While waiting for Kyler to get his blood drawn today at Children's Hospital. I stood up to rock him because he got a little fussy. He cuddled up and dozed off. A lady in the waiting room starting to "ohhh" and "ahh" over how sweet it is to cuddle up to a small baby as they drift to sleep. She told me she misses that and can't wait to be a grandma. We began chatting, and I found out that she has seven children and wished she could have had more but couldn't. She had an ectopic pregnancy and lost a fallopian tube and then also lost twins when she had cervical cancer which also caused her to have her other fallopian tube removed. Too much information? That was my first thought, but this lady was awesome. These experiences obviously showed her how these babies are a total miracle and blessing.

She was so unapologetic for having seven kids (why do we always feel like we have to explain when we have big families?), just simply said that she loves kids. Then, I mentioned how impressive I thought it was that she made it that far because with four I feel like I am spread pretty thin. I said, "Well, he's had a lot of health issues though, so maybe that's a good part of it." She then told me that her 13-year-old-son who was sitting with her had 23 doctors! Wow!

She said, "You can do it! It's amazing what you can do when you are driven by love."

This totally brought tears to my eyes and was such a boost to me. It is amazing how much energy you have when love is the driving force. I am so sleep deprived, but I love this baby more than anything. And maybe what I'm dealing with isn't that bad. This is temporary, and I may not have sleep fueling me, but I sure have a lot of love!