There's a chill in the air.....

I just love this time of year when jackets and sweaters come out, the colors change, the smell of Hot Chocolate fills the house, and the big blankets come out!
This week was a short week in school for Andi.  Its fall break, and its been so nice to have her home.  Yes, there is a bit more bickering between her and Alex, but there are also more fun times as well.  Today we have been enjoying the weather, and the girls really wanted to rake the leaves.... even though there werent many..... but it was fun.  And Gideon got to come out and enjoy the leaves as well.  I am just so grateful to have such a beautiful family!!  Sometimes I have to pinch myself and say, Is this really my life? ....I get to stay home and raise these kids??  I love it!!  I know that sometimes we really struggle, and I think maybe I should just go back to work.... But then we have days like today and its worth it to me to have to sacrifice things to be home.  I dont always get to wear the new style of clothes for the season, and we dont eat out very much, and hand me down clothes for my kids are a must... but its soooo worth it!!! Im glad that the season changing is a reminder of all the things I should be grateful for.....

Gideon and Jo--best buds these days!

Josilyn is turning into a beautiful little girl!  Growing so fast!

Chillin on the trampoline while we raked the leaves

Love these kiddos!

Alex wanted a picture with the pile of leaves.....

...then Jo had to have a turn....

.... and then Andi....  crazy kids

What a stud he is!

 

Hooray for fall!!!!!

 

6 months

Seriously?  I had a baby 6 months ago??  That went way faster than 6 months of being pregnant!! Thats for sure!!  We are so blessed to have this little boy in our lives!  He is growing so big, and he is such a well behaved babe--we have been so lucky!  He still doesnt take a bottle :(  He is very attached to his mommy, and he has started to get a bit of stranger anxiety.  But I know he will grow out of it someday and be as social and fun as his big sisters.  He hasnt quite mastered the rolling over thing yet, but he is soooo close!  I think that if he wasnt so fat he would be doing it more.  He doesnt hate tummy time as much either, he loves to reach for his toys and again, if he wasnt so fat, I think he could almost crawl  :)  My poor chubby boy!  He is the sweetest thing though.  He loves to eat rice cereal and any fruits I give him, but hes not a big fan of the veges.  But hes getting better at eating with a spoon.  Its so fun to see him grow!  I love him so much and am so grateful for all of my children!!

5 months

These 5 months have flown by!!  And so far, he has been a pretty good baby... other than the last 2 or 3 weeks...  hes been getting up 2 times a night again!!  He must be growing, cause he used to sleep all night for like 11 hours straight.... now he only goes 5 hours :(  Horrible!!!  I think he is also getting a tooth, and hes so close to rolling over, but hes so fat that he has a hard time LOL  The only other complaint I have is that he refuses any sort of bottle..... so I'm never going to be able to leave him with a babysitter.... :(  He is such a mamas boy.... but I really like that--He is so cute!

LOVE YOU BABY BOY

Last week of Summer Vacation

I am falling behind on my blog.... mostly because we have been so busy, and also, my camera ran out of batteries so there wasnt anything too exciting to post.  But I wanted to remember all the fun we have had the past week or so.  Two fridays ago, Gabe and I were able to get out of the house and away from the kiddos for a bit.  We went and saw Wicked at the Capitol Theater.  It was amazing!!  It was Gabes first time seeing it and it was like my 4th time!! SO GOOD!!! 
Since it was one of the last weekends before school started, we decided to take the kids up to the lake again on saturday morning.  It was a really fun day.  We packed sandwich makings, chips and drinks and just let the kids play in the water.  It was relaxing and so peaceful.  When monday rolled around, I thought this was the last full week I get with the kids before school gets going, so I wanted to make it fun.  On monday, my friend came over with her 5 boys and we made marshmallow pops.  I wish I would have gotten more pics, because it was so fun and cute, but thats when my camera decided to die :(   On tuesday, we went to the park, and then the girls went over to a friends house to play.  I was able to stay home and get some cleaning done.  On wednesday we drove up to south ogden to see a friend of mine that bought a house up there.  I haven't seen her since I found out I was pregnant with Gideon, so its been a long time.  Gabe also had that day off from work.  So after visiting with her I came home and was able to spend time with my hubby.  He had a doc appt that day, so he was in a bit of pain from his procedure, but it was still nice to have him around.  Thursday was a really fun day.  We went to my friends house and she had a Harry Potter party.  The kids made and painted some wands.  It took a little longer than we thought, so we didnt have time for the origami snitch.  The kids also went out and played that game from harry potter.... I cant remember what its called, but they had fun.  They watched some of the first movie and ate butter beer cupcakes.  It was really fun.  Afterwards we headed down to salt lake to see family.  It was the first U of U and BYU football games of the year, so we went to my parents house to watch those.  The BYU game ended at like 11:45, so we just stayed at my moms for the night.  On friday we got up and went to see Gabes mom for a bit.  Then we headed to Andi's school to meet her teacher.  She seems super nice and Andi is so excited for school to get started!!!  Saturday we had some of Gabes family over to start the holiday weekend.  Sunday, we went to a baby blessing and then went and saw my grandmother for dinner.  Its always fun to see my kids with her.  Four generations all in the house when we go over there, its fun!!  My grandma is 89 and still going strong.  Its amazing!!!  Monday, Labor Day, we had a relaxing day at home.  Then our friends had us over for a BBQ.  It was fun to let the kids play and have some nice adult conversation!  Overall, I would say this last week of summer vacation was really fun.... and exhausting!!!!!

Beach Babes!!!

Cutest baby on the planet!

Having fun with dads hat

Alex at the beach

Random fun from sunday

Marshmallow pop madness

 

...Goodbye summer days.....

Gideon update

Hope this video works.....

This video seriously cracks me up! You would think that since he is so chubby he would like to eat food, but no.  I took him to the pediatrician last friday and the doc said to wait another month, and then try food again.  Hopefully he catches on soon, because I can tell my milk doesnt fill him up anymore.  He is nursing longer, but not going as long between feedings.  I feel like I feed him all day long!  Its made it hard to run errands and do anything.  I feel bad when the girls ask if we can do something and I have to say No, because Gideon wants to eat soon, or No, because Gideon is fussy.  Oh well.  The doctor also said that he is thinning out.  He height went up just a bit on the charts, and his weight came down.  So thats good.  

 I really think I have the cutest little boy on the planet, but maybe I am bias :)  We are having so much fun watching him grow.  People keep asking me if he is my last baby, and I honestly think I am done.  Four kids is A LOT!!  But then I get sad thinking that I'm doing all the fun baby stuff for the last time.  Its weird.  But I guess I am excited to just have all these 4 kids growing up together.  It will be fun and crazy in a few years!  I'm excited!!


Last week, one of my best friends came to visit.  She is living in Australia and hopefully will be back in the states soon.  She had a baby about 7 weeks after Gideon was born.  So, we put them together to compare... LOL  Her daughter is much skinnier and a lot taller than our short chubby Gideon!  It was fun to see them together.  Maybe he will grow and these 2 can get married one day  :)

Not sure why he was crying so much..... probably embarrassed about his height... or lack of height...

Cant wait to see you again Lisa and baby Ella!!

Reunion

Last week I got together with some of my old high school buddies!  The 5 of us had a good time catching up.  The best part was that 4 of us have new baby boys, so we put them in line oldest to youngest...and it actually lined them up smallest to biggest.  It was funny to see the older babies were small, and the young ones so big!!  So funny!!!  I am glad that some of my friends are having more kids now.  I started having babies so early, I never thought anyone would catch up :)   I wish I would have taken pics of all us girls just together!  But I did get some good shots of the kids!  I cant wait to see these girls and their kids again soon!!!  Later that night, I also got to see one of my best buddies who has been living in Australia for the past 2 years.  She just had a new baby and it was so fun to see her!!  Sadly, I didnt get any pics of us together, but hopefully I will see her more while she is visiting the states!

Left to Right:

Addie, Alexandra, Beckham, Brooklyn, Josilyn, Andi

(Andi looks so Big by all these kids)

It was cute that Beckham was the only boy other than the babies.... :)

Colby, Ray, Gideon, Jake

Too bad the 2 boys on the ends are moving out of state!!  They could all be best buds!

Gideon was trying to hold Ray's Hand-so cute!

I had a blast seeing all these girls and their cute kids!!  We have to get together again soon!!  It makes me feel old when we do these little reunions! :)

4 months

Time is really flying by these days! Gideon is already 4 months old and school is going to start again in like 4 weeks!! AHH!!  I cant believe it!  But this summer has really been a fun one!  Our sweet little boy is getting so Big!  I take him to the doc on friday for his shots and hopefully he has been growing taller, not fatter :)  I think I am going to start him on rice cereal this week.  Everytime I nurse him, he wants to eat again like only 45 minutes later.  He needs real food to fill him up, I think.  He stares at our food when we are eating in front of him too.  Its funny and so adorable.  He is the happiest baby I have ever seen, and his smile melts my heart!  Love you Gideon!