Playing Catch Up

Okay it's been a while but things seem to keep coming up and we are all very busy. Brad, Brent and Teegan are all back in school and excelling. Church also has us all busy. Brad and I had a great experience helping with a Hangi where we heard Elder Groberg speak, as well as our first camping trip. And I'm still trying to find my groove as the Relief Society chorister. The boys have even been preparing for the Primary program next week. After that I have the Trunk or Treat to prepare for. Thankfully there is no ward activity in November so I'll get a little break before Thanksgiving. We love the holidays and look forward to the spirit of the holidays. Kayla is now 9 months old and ahead of the curve. You can tell she is going to be a smart girl. She's always observing things around her. She loves to play peek a boo. Last week she figured out how to stand up and three days later started to try walking. She's ready to keep up with those brothers of hers. It won't be long until she's chatting up a storm as well. I've included some video for you to enjoy.

Vacation-finally

We have had a busy summer or atleast I have. Just keeping everyone happy is a full time job. We finally took a much needed break and headed to Utah for some family time. We started with a visit from Grams, she came down from Idaho to spend a day with us and meet her newest great-grandbaby (Kayla). I think we may have gotten her hooked on Jenga. The next day we took the kids to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point after we finished there Gma and Gpa took the kids back to Ogden for a movie night. Brad and I got some alone time and went to one of our favorite restaurants (Tuscanos) where I tried Buffalo steak (yummy), then we enjoyed a movie (GI Joe)as well. On Saturday Gma and I had a little girl time and found a store full of girlie dresses and hair bows, it was fun to indulge in a little froo-froo for a few minutes. In the evening Kabi and Dave arrived from their vacation in the Northwest and we had a BBQ to celebrate Brad's bday. Sunday we went to church and enjoyed the rest of the day visiting with Kabi and Dave, and Gma and Gpa. We also enjoyed the fighter jets flying over the house everyday, playing games, and the much cooler weather.

Kayla Crawls

Hello, all! Just a short post to announce that Kayla is officially crawling. She usually only does it when she's in a hurry to get somewhere, but I imagine it won't take long for it to become her preffered mode of travel. I've posted a video to share, it's a little dark, but I hope you enjoy it.

Too Fast....

My little baby is getting big, too fast. She's now 6 months old, already. There are time when I feel like I just brought her home form the hospital and at the time I'm amazed at the personality that is now shining through. I love the way she scrunches up her nose when she smiles really big, I love how I'm, at times, the only one who can make her laugh. Anyway, you can probably tell, I love my girl.
So here are the stats: Weight= 14lbs, Height= 28inches. Her height is considered long and is causing her belly to hang out of many of her shirts. It's kind of funny. She's scooting, sitting up, and pulling herself up on things. She's only crawled 2 little crawls so far and part of me thinks she may skip crawling and go straight to walking. She doesn't babble, she squeals. She loves, peas, carrots, applesauce, squash, playing peak-a-boo, playing in the water, and her jumper. She has also become attached to the flannel blanket that Grandma made her. Her eyes are more green lately but seem to change with whatever she's wearing, and she has two bottom teeth. She likes bread and already has taken a liking to french fries. We'll be trying a sippy cup soon, can you believe it? It's amazing.
What can I say, this girl already shows signs of being a firecracker. I can't wait to see what's to come. Enjoy the pictures.

Moving Forward

I'm not sure I'm ready for Kayla to be mobile yet, but she's well on her way. She's getting so big, so fast. Her brothers have no idea what is coming their way.

Hidden Talent

Who knew Teegan was so talented. I had never seen him use a hula-hoop before, but he took to it like a champ. This is from his field trip to the Water Park (one of our favorite places). We are looking forward to many more trips there this summer.

So much to catch up on; so little time.

The time has flown by. I can't remember everything I need to post. So, I will do the best I can. Brent and Teegan only have 3 1/2 days of school left. They are really excited for the summer and ready for a break. We got a preview of summer over Memorial Day when Laura and I took the kids and headed for Santa Monica. We spent the night in a motel, then Saturday morning at the beach. It was a beautiful day and we all got a little sunburned, but it was alot of fun.

Kayla is now 18wks old (that equals 4 1/2 months). She is rolling over, screaming, eating baby food, and keeping us all on our toes. We were able to bless her on Mother's Day. It was such a special day and we are truly blessed to have her. She'll be a fireball in no time.

Brad finished another semester at UNLV and is getting a little break from school before he takes one summer term class. The countdown to being done is on. We look forward to it, and it's nice to see the end in sight.

We look forward to having some fun this summer, Carla will visit and we hope to make a trip to Utah later on, with lots of days at the water park and pool in between.

I've included a few pictures for you all. You can also find us on facebook if you want daily updates.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Well, this one is for Grandma. Since she will not be at home on her birthday this week (she's in Cannon Beach, her favorite place on earth; lucky lady) we thought we'd send her a little message, but it didn't fit in an email so I'm putting here and telling her to check it out. So Mom/Grandma Happy Birthday! We love you!

Jake turns 4!

Can you believe it? Jakob turned 4 today. It still seems like he's the baby even with Kayla in the house. My little man isn't so little anymore. He's had a few growth spurts lately and reminds us every day just how smart a 4 year old can be. On Friday we went to Walmart where we often visit the fish to say Hi, only this time I gave in and we welcomed Buzz Lightyear into the family. Who knows how long he'll survive but Jake sure loves taking care of his new little friend. Today was his actual birthday and the boys and their dad had a movie night to celebrate. Tomorrow will be the bid day with plans for the family to come have cake and ice cream, open presents, and finish off with a slumber party with Dad and his brothers. He's gonna love it!

No, Mom, I don't need a nap. I'm not tired!

Teegan called and came home from school the other day with a stomach ache. And swore up and down that he wasn't tired and didn't need a nap. After having him lay down and 5 minutes of boredom in his room he was out cold. So here is the video of a boy who isn't tired snoring away in the of the day. Sometimes he's just too cute.

Month 2

Well we've hit the 8 week mark and everything is progressing just as is should be.
Kayla is thriving and changing everyday. We love getting her to smile and try everyday to get a laugh from her. I guess she's not quite there yet. She's hit the 12 pound mark and is really begining to know who each of us are. She loves it when the boys lay next to her and talk or make funny faces. She can stare at them for minutes on end.
We've also discovered she loves music. The other night she sang along to Stevie Wonder performing on American Idol. However, she hasn't revealed her pick for this season, she's keeping that one to herself for now.
She still has her big blue eyes as you can see in the following pictures. She also has curly hair when she gets out of the bath.

Month 1

It's hard to believe it has been a month since we brought little Kayla Jo home. The first couple of weeks were great; with help from Grandma we started out just cruisin'. Then Grandma went home and reflux set in and the next 2 weeks were pretty difficult. I hadn't experienced it with the boys and I thought she would never stop screaming. Then at her check up the doctor said a word that is now music to my ears, "ZANTAC". Thank goodness for zantanc. I can finally put her down for more than two minutes and get a few things done. We're still playing catch up this week but everyone is doing much better now that she is feeling better.
Okay here are the numbers. She has gained 2 pounds and has grown 1 inch. Her eyes are still blue and we're hoping they stay that way. She is doing well by all accounts. She even gave me her first smile and is spending a little more time awake every day. She loves watching the ceiling fans and her brothers go in circles.
Thanks to all who have listened and for all the well wishing. Here are some more pics for all to enjoy.

Two Weeks, Already!

It's hard to believe but our little Kayla is 2wks. old. We love having her here especially the boys. They probably love it more than my nerves can actually handle. It seems like just when I get her settled and sleeping they want to touch or hug or kiss her and I have to do it all over again. They'll do anything to help out with her and hate to see her upset. I love seeing how protective and loving they are with her. If only I could get them to be that way with each other more often.
I do have to admit that I love that feeling I get, knowing that sometimes she just wants Mom and no-one else will do.
She's pretty amazing though. Changing every day, already knowing what she wants or doesn't want at any given moment, and just being an all around good baby.
Anyway, here are some new pics for all to enjoy.

Kayla Jo Cook

Kayla Jo Cook finally made her entrance Wednesday. She was just waiting for grandma to cruise into town for her entrance. I started feeling contractions about 8:30pm (Tuesday night), and at 9:00pm I woke Brad up and told him it was time to go! After being monitored for a few hours, the contractions were to a point where the hospital decided I could be admitted. My water broke around 2:00am on Wednesday morning. The doctor arrived around 2:30am and by 2:45am Kayla had entered the world. We feel so blest to have a beautiful, healthy girl. Kayla was 8lbs. 9oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. We are now settled comfortably at home and the boys are excitedly adjusting to their new baby sister. We will let you know about Kayla's blessing, and post more soon!