September 2010, growing up

Wow, I can't believe it has been a month since I blogged anything. It is amazing how much time a baby (+4 kids)can take. But we love, love it of course. Here is what we have been up to.

Kamden- Oh so sweet and cute. Bob and I both just smell his little head all the time(new babies smell so good) and we all love to watch every little move he makes. He holds his little arms straight out in front of him a lot. Ali says he must be like daddy and loves driving cars. The kids laugh and think it is funny, and now we always talk about him driving his cars and shifting and braking and such. He had his first smile at Dad on August 25th and since then has gotten better and better smiling all the time now. The other night on the 17th he even sort of giggled. We all love to hear him talk, making those oh so sweet baby sounds. In the last month he had his first real road trip to Fort Bridger for the Rendevoux over Labor Day weekend. Surprisingly to us all he did quite well, maybe he will learn to like driving in the car after all. We did not stay the night this year, but had a great time walking around the fort. The night before we went he had his first injury. Bob was holding him and taking some chicken nuggets out of the oven. He was holding him away from the pan but just as he turned little Kam kicked his foot and burned the bottom of his little left toe. It is healing nicely though, but we sure felt bad about it. Kam had his first sickness. He got a cold this last week, that of course turned into two ear infections. We have never had a baby get sick this little and we were quite worried about him. We hope this isn't a premonition of the future. Kamden still refuses to sleep in the bassinet. I put him in there every night when he is sound asleep, within 5 minutes he is crying and spends the rest of the night in our bed. He has had some nights where he has slept for a 4 or 5 hour stretch, but not lately. Probably because of the sickness but he is back to waking up every 2 hours. We went to church with Kam for the first time last week, and have sat through a couple of soccer games this week. We absolutely love having Kam in our house and watching him grow. We just wish he would grow a little slower.

Edyn- Edyn has been busy the last month as well. She started preschool, and his super happy to be back with Ms. Mary and Eli. She continues to beg for someone to play with every day, but now has something to keep her entertained as well. She was really sad when she was sick on Wednesday and couldn't go. Becky has been taking them and I have been picking them up this year. It is so cute when everyday they see the van and they both hold up their 3 fingers, telling me that they got 3 treats and can play together now. (a reward we set up last year for good behavior) They have been so good this year though and always get three treats. She loves going there and sharing with us what she has learned. Edyn also stated a dance/singing/acting class, and loves that she now gets to go to "ballet" like her big sister. She shares her little routines she is learning with anyone who will pay attention. She also continues to "perform" for applause every chance she gets. She plugs the wii microphone into the bookcase and then sings her made up songs with a curtsy at the end. It is really adorable. She is still such a tease and thinks it is so funny to "get" anyone, laughing and laughing. If it wasn't so cute it might be annoying. Recent funny Edyn blurbs include, to Becky, "My mom has a witch in her tummy that comes out when we don't do our jobs, but I don't believe her" This comes from me telling them that if they don't go to bed, the witch comes out after 9:00pm and you don't want to see her. Super funny! Then the other day we were driving home and she said, "Mom, look the Dr. fixed the moon." I had no idea what she was talking about so after questioning her I understood. When we were coming home in the dark from Grandma's last Sunday the moon was beautiful, a perfect crescent and was so yellow. We talked about it, and she must have decided that it was sick (remember Kamden's yellow eyes and skin from the jaundice)and when we saw the moon the other day it was white again and bigger and therefore the Dr. must have fixed it.

Dallin- Dallin is loving 2nd grade and his teacher Mrs. Williams. He also loves looking at his baby book, and commenting on how cute our baby is all the time. Soccer started back up and he is doing really well. He scored 6 goals at the last game and was very proud of himself. They were the only goals his team made. Dallin has also been sick with a cold and yesterday threw up so he is trying to get better as well. He played his soccer game yesterday sick (we didn't know until we got home that he was sick), but still trying hard and again scored the only goal his team got.

Ali- Ali is trying to enjoy 5th grade. She doesn't love her teacher, but is learning a good lesson of getting along with all sorts of different people. She trades bracelets at recess a lot at school (the shaped rubber band kind). She is really enjoying Ballet this year and practicing her splits so she can get a treat. She talks a lot about a new boy at school that sits behind her and talks about and stares at her. Can't believe how we hear about boys already. She also got her first bra this summer, tank top kind, and is wearing deodorant. The other day she asked me what "diapers" for bigger girls was all about. So we had that discussion as well. I can't believe how my kids are growing up. Ali also is taking a dance/singing/acting class and is really enjoying it. She can't wait to perform Mary Poppins in December. Ali decided to play soccer again this year. She is on a fun team with several of her friends and is playing really well. She hasn't even once complained about the running to much and she is tired. She really must be growing up. She also enjoys playing with her friends and wants to play all the time. It works as a good incentive to get her piano practiced so I don't mind. Almost every day she wants to make cookies, and has been helping make dinner lately. She is turning into a good cook as well.

Zach- Zach is very busy with his 6th grade school work in the Spectrum program at Mt. View. He really enjoys it and his friends at school. They are learning things to help prepare them for the SAT's. Crazy! The only thing he doesn't like is the car pool with 4 girls. He just sits and reads his book and ignores all the girly chit chatter that goes on. I think it is funny. He is playing soccer and doing really well, especially at Goalie, but it keeps him pretty busy. He either has practice or a game 5 days a week. They have an orchestra program at school and he wants to be in it and play the violin so we are letting him, since we have a violin, but we had to explain to him that it doesn't mean he gets to quit piano. I think he was a little disappointed. Zach is also enjoying scouts and just earned his tenderfoot, and is almost ready to get his first class. They just went last weekend on a scout trip, and about froze to death. There was ice on the windshield of the car when they got up the next day. They have another one in October. Bob's says he taking the trailer on that one. HAHA

Mindy- Between feeding the baby every two hours, (really trying to get him to go longer without much success)and carting the kids all over to their various activities and getting the fall canning done there isn't much time left. I love holding the baby every day and watching his every move. I have also been busy with trying to put together Halloween costumes, and Edyn's upcoming birthday, and Christmas. I know crazy, but I only get a few minutes each day to do anything else so I figure I better get started if we are going to do any of these holidays. The best part about baby number 5 is that I am so relaxed about everything. I guess by this time you really get how fast they grow and how fast time goes by, so If all I did today was hold the baby, good. It doesn't matter right now that my list of things to do is not getting done, because there will be plenty of time for that latter but he will only be a baby right now. I am also starting to feel like myself again, which is good. It has been a longgggggg time. :) I made cheesecakes this weekend. Random, I know. I have been wanting to try one for a long time. Bob's mom and I went to a RS class in SD a few years back, and I have just never gotten around to doing it. We will see if they taste any good when we have them for dinner tonight.

Bob- Bob is enjoying the little baby, and helping the other kids with soccer and school. He is busy taking care of all of us while mom holds the baby. He is making progress on the Jeep and enjoying working on it. He is still going to the gym and has now been going regularly for a year. He is very "buff" too. He still loves his job but is trying to look for other "jobs" as well to get us through the Christmas season, since Mom is not making any money anymore. She loves it, but it is making finances very tight. We have just had a lot of unexpected and some expected big expenses this year.

As you can see we are busy, but very happy and so thankful for all our bounteous blessings. If we could just freeze time right now, I think we would. We enjoy so much each of the stages are kids are in, and want them to slow down on the getting bigger.