Poppy's Seeds

February Stuff

2012-02-15T07:39:00.000-08:00

A random photo shoot at McDonalds. "Take a picture, Mom!"

Jesse took a spill on his scooter and we ended up in the urgent care. Luckily his wrist wasn't broken, just a sprain. He was a little disappointed that he didn't get a cast, but he did get a cool splint and a sling. I think the coolness of a cast would've worn off quickly. He's doing just fine now and is not even wearing the splint anymore. Thank goodness! Here's a picture of him waiting at the urgent care.

We took advantage of the 75 degree weather and headed out for a little hike in the San Tan Mtns. Beautiful day and beautiful scenery. The also had a little demonstration on panning for gold and the kids got to try their hands. They each ended up with several nuggets of "San Tan gold" (gold-painted rocks!) That was much more fun than trying for the real gold flakes! It was a fun way to spend half the day.

A Valentine's dinner for all my little (and 1 big) Valentines. Heart-shaped pizza, red jello, chocolate-dipped strawberries, sparkling cider, balloons and candlelight were all on the menu. The kids loved the "fancy" dinner. I love my cute, funny Valentines!

10 and 3

2012-01-31T08:25:00.000-08:00

The end of January brings a couple of birthdays to the Thatcher Clan, which culminates in a few days worth of celebrations. This year was no different.
Jesse turned the big 1-0! I cannot believe that I have a kid in double digits...I guess it's all down hill from here! Soon we will be spiraling headlong into the teen years. Heaven help us!

For his birthday he wanted waffles for dinner and we opened his presents. He also was "turned" 10 by his dad.

James turned in his "Terrible 2's" for the "Thrilling 3's"...one can hope anyway!

To celebrate both birthdays, we went to an indoor playground called Makutu's Island...always good for a fun time.

And we finished off the weekend with cake and presents for James. Jesse requested a "desert island" cake and James was just along for the ride. I think this may be the last year that I can get away with just one cake between the two of them, I'm sure James will have his own opinion by next year!

And just so I can toot my own horn a bit, here's a close up of the cake, I think it turned out pretty cute!

Don't mind the messy desk in the background!

I love my two sweet birthday boys...life just wouldn't be as much fun without them!

My Good Citizen

2012-01-25T08:07:00.000-08:00

Grace earned a Character Counts: Citizenship Award at her school. Grace is always so kind and helpful to her teacher and classmates. We are so proud of our good citizen!

A Bear no more!

2012-01-25T08:01:00.000-08:00

Jesse earned his Bear in Cub Scouts and has now graduated to Webelos.

Despite his serious face, he is very excited to begin Webelos. Although I am sad that he is leaving my Bear den, I am excited for him because he has some awesome new den leaders that are way more fun than his old mom! Good job, Jess!

To finish off the year...

2011-12-31T11:54:00.000-08:00

We wanted to take advantage of the 70+ degree weather, so we headed out to this cool train park in Scottsdale. It was a lot of fun, but I apparently didn't get any pictures of any trains...we did see some! But there were some really fun playgrounds as well and that's where we spent most of our time! I'm loving this Arizona winter so far! Can you believe that this was the day after Christmas and we were in shorts??

We were also lucky to have our good friends, The Widdisons, come visit us from UT. We headed over to the Natural History Museum...

And took a trip to the zoo on New Year's eve.

We love playing with the Widdisons and are glad they made time for us!

Christmas Low Down!

2011-12-27T11:32:00.000-08:00

We had a surprise visit from Ol' St. Nick on Christmas Eve. It was so nice of him to make an appearance knowing how busy he is! Thanks, Santa!

The bounty

The unwrapping

We gave in this Christmas and got the kids a Wii. Well, we were the best parents ever and it was the best Christmas ever! This year will be hard to top! It was a lot of fun and they were completely surprised...which is the best fun for us parents. Grandparents, aunts and uncles were all so very generous as well. Thanks, everyone...a great Christmas was had by all.

And here's a picture just for Grandma Cindy!

Thanks for the cute hat!

9 Months

2011-12-27T11:02:00.000-08:00

Milly turned 9 months a few days before Christmas and we took a few pictures of her while we were waiting for the Dr. at her check up...not the best lighting, but I thought these were pretty funny anyway. And you can see just how chunky she is! And, of course, James had to get in on the fun, too!

9 Month stats

19 lbs, 13 oz (75%)

27 1/2" (50%)

Head 17 1/4 cm (50%)

She seems to be keeping more on track with Dylan's size (he's more on the normal scale instead of the smaller scale the other three are on!) It has been a busy month for our little Milly-moo! She began sitting up, crawling and cut her first 2 teeth (bottom ones). She loves to eat food and is especially interested in whatever her mom or dad are eating at the time! She is a still a happy-go-lucky kiddo and we are just getting used to having another kid on the move. She can usually be found with some paper or other small object in her mouth, she is very adept at finding things to suck on and it is hard to keep the floor free of debris with all these kids around! We find we are vacuuming more often, but the 5 kids are still winning on that front! Milly still loves blowing raspberries and is getting good at mocking us, much to the kids' delight. They all love taking turns shaking their heads, blowing raspberries, and growling at her so she will do it in return. She's not being a very good sleeper these days. She is getting up 2-3 times a night still and is very stubborn when we try to let her "cry it out" for a little while. It's getting really old and I don't know how to fix this...and I'm too tired to try! Besides that, she is just so much fun and we couldn't imagine life without her!

Here are a couple of other photo shoots for your viewing pleasure.

Tub Time

Growing tired of the paparazzi mom! She would hardly give me the time of day!

Once upon a December (thus far)

2011-12-23T14:07:00.000-08:00

Someone learned a new trick!

Yep, she's sitting up! Ain't she cute?

We went and saw the Christmas lights at the Mesa temple.

Beautiful and inspiring...it also helped that we didn't have to bundle up and freeze our booties off! Did you know that the Mesa temple does not have an Angel Moroni statue on top? Apparently, it was modeled after the Temple of Solomon and the plans did not call for one...interesting tidbit. There are 2 other temples built about the same time that also do not have Moroni atop...what are they?

The sweet kindergarten teachers had a party for all the families in their classes. It was fun to go to Dylan's class and make crafts and eat cookies. Teachers are the best...I can really tell that these teachers love the kids and what they do. What a blessing to have such great teachers!

They were doing some work at the park at the end of our cul-de-sac and had this big pile of rocks delivered. James was in little boy heaven climbing, sliding and rolling down the mound. What more could a little boy want? It has me convinced that I need a big pile of dirt or sand in my backyard someday for the kids play on. It's the best!

And finally, (at least before all the Christmas festivities) Dylan got an award at school.

You can see him in the red shirt right in the middle of the picture. It was a "Celebrate Learning" award. According to his teacher, Mrs. Sears, he earned this award for "growing and improving in all areas of Kindergarten (socially and academically) And for always giving 100% effort." We are so proud of him and how well he is doing in school. He's such a great kid!

November Roundup

2011-11-30T13:40:00.000-08:00

Grace had a Thanksgiving musical program at school. It was fun to do something a little different. They did such a great job and she looked beautiful. It was short and sweet...just the way we like it!

The temperature dropped below 70 degrees, so of course, we need some hot chocolate!

James had fun dumping a whole bottle of paint on the floor in the playroom. He has become quite adept at making messes and causing problems as of late. It is keeping me busier than I would like to be in the crisis management department! Luckily, I was able to get all the paint up with a quick dash to the store to rent a carpet cleaner. Maybe it would be a good time to get one of those for myself...I'm sure this is not the last time something like this will happen, much to my chagrin!

I have no picture, but we spent Thanksgiving day with the Gilyeats, a nice family in our ward that took pity on us! We had a yummy dinner with all the fixin's then went to see the new Muppet movie. It was a great, relaxing day.

And, of course, as is tradition in the Thatcher house, we decorated for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving (actually it was the day after the day after Thanksgiving because we decided to go for a hike the day after, the weather was so nice!)

And that finished off November! We have so much to be thankful for.

An hour in the life...

2011-11-08T14:19:00.000-08:00

...of a 7 and 1/2 month old!

A yummy helping of carrots and oatmeal!

She doesn't usually get this messy... she was just really gettin' into it! And don't mind the floor littered with dinosaurs!

A bath in the sink to remove the yummy carrots!

All clean and feelin' good!

A most uncooperative photo shoot!

But darn cute anyway...James stepped in to try and assist with a transformer toy...it was unsuccessful!

Sacked out!

It's hard work being such a cute chunky monkey!

*At 7 1/2 months old, this little cutie loves eating, smiling, laughing, yelling, growling, blowing raspberries, being held, drooling and grabbing and chewing on anything and everything that gets too close!

She is not sitting up on her own or crawling yet, but she rolls like a champ and can usually get to whatever she wants. She seems to be following Jesse's slow approach to the physical milestones...and I am OK with that! She is still the love of our lives and the apple of our eyes!

Another tooth lost

2011-11-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

Dylan's first lost tooth!

And it's the tiniest tooth you ever saw!

You belong in the Zoo!

2011-11-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

We took advantage of the lovely, cooler weather and decided to explore the Phoenix Zoo...and these are all the pictures I have to show for it!

I have not been very good at picture taking lately...I am having trouble balancing wanting to be in the moment and trying to preserve the moment. Plus it's just hard to be the mom of 5 kids and the photographer...it just is!

Anyway, it was a beautiful day to go to the zoo. We enjoyed being out and exploring our new zoo. It was an OK zoo. We miss our ABQ zoo and gardens. Maybe this one will be better when they are done with all the construction. It was just really big and we felt like we did a lot of walking and not so much of seeing animals. ABQ's zoo was smaller, but more intimate. We were there for about 3 hours and only made it to about half of the zoo. We did buy a yearly pass, so maybe the other half is better! All in all, it was a fun family day.

Halloween Festivities

2011-11-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin carving. Always a kid-favorite!

We also went to a Fall Festival at our local park. A fun time was had by all.

I even got in on the fun. I rode a mechanical bull and did the bungee trampolines. I've always wanted to try them both, they look so fun...well, I think they would've been more fun about 15 years ago! It hurt my body! The bungee harnesses left me a little bruised and battered. This getting older thing ain't always fun! Oh well, now I know and can be content to watch the kid have fun!

And of course, there was Halloween night and trick or treating.

This is the only picture I got! In case you can't tell, Jesse is a zombie, Grace is a zombie cheerleader, Dyl is a skeleton, James picked out his own costume. He didn't want to wear the ninja costume that we got for him and instead came out with his swim trunks and shirt, so we made him a surfer dude and Milly is a hula girl. Costume courtesy of the talented Aunt Rose!

It was about 70 degrees out while we went trick or treating. It was a lot of fun. Most people just sat out in their front yards to pass out the candy. Many houses had parties set up in their driveways complete with fire pits and such. I like trick or treating that way! After we canvassed our little neighborhood, we headed over to the Bishop's house and crashed their party.

I usually don't just love Halloween, but we had a fun time this year...me included! One thing that made a difference for me was that I told the kids that I wasn't going to stress over homemade costumes nor was I going to pay a lot of money for them, so we just headed over to the Goodwill and I let them design their own costumes with whatever they could find. It worked out so well, I think that will be our new tradition.

We ended up with quite the haul of candy. I'd say it was a success! And now onto the rest of the holiday season. I'll need to figure out ways to make them as un-hectic as I did for Halloween!

California

2011-11-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the rundown of our trip to California...better late than never!

The first thing we did was head for the beach. We only got in one trip, but it was a great day at the beach (aren't they all!) Besides family, it is the thing I miss most about CA!

I didn't get a picture of Dylan, he was there...It's hard to hold a baby, watch 4 other kids, try to enjoy the beach and be the photographer!

The main reason for the trip was for Grace's and her cousin, Haley's baptism. It was so much fun to be surrounded by lots of family and friends for this special day. My mom and Larry and my dad even flew in for the weekend.

Again, I wish I had gotten more pictures, but it is difficult keeping up with everything! Haley's Grandma Cheryal gave the talk on baptism and my mom gave the talk on the Holy Ghost then all the cousins sang "When I am Baptized" while my nephew played the guitar. It was so special and so personal. I think the girls really enjoyed their baptism.

The rest of the time was spent mostly hanging out with family. We did get to go to a pumpkin festival with Danny's family that was loads of fun.

It's always a fun time spent with family. I wish we all lived closer!

We took a breather...

2011-10-26T12:31:00.000-07:00

James "escaped" the house while I was switching out the laundry. He thought he was getting away, but I heard him leave and soon followed. He hopped on his trike and headed straight for the little park at the end of our cul-de-sac. I was in pursuit with every intention of hauling him back to the house, kicking and screaming. But as I caught up to him at the park, he had already taken off for the slide and the breeze felt nice, almost fall-like, and he looked so happy that I figured the loads of laundry and sink piled with dishes could wait a few more minutes.
He slid down the slide, rolled in the sand and scooped the sand into the "trunk" of his tricycle. I enjoyed the cool breeze, bouncing Milly on my knee and listening to the birds sing and flit from tree to tree. I was able to breathe. It was very cleansing and calming. I sat there thinking about how often that little almost 3 year old is told what to do, where to go, and how fast (hurry, hurry!) I loved just watching him move at his own pace and make his own decisions-climb, slide, roll in the sand.
After about 15-20 minutes, James says "go home?" So, I followed him home. I put on a movie for him and am sitting here typing while nursing Milly to sleep. Then it will be back to the laundry and such. I could have spent the past half hour fighting a tantrum instead of enjoying a little break in the "great outdoors!" Maybe it's good to follow a two year old every once in a while!

Just so you know...

2011-10-24T12:30:00.001-07:00

We survived the weekend. I'm feeling much better today and my children's lives(and my sanity) are no longer in jeopardy! Well, at least for the moment...that can quickly change. Thanks for the words of encouragement and/or just understanding. I feel much better knowing that I am not the only one with these feelings. Let's just keep plugging away, doing the best we can. Love to you all!

I don't know how to do this...

2011-10-22T23:51:00.000-07:00

this whole Mother thing. I've just been pretending for the past 9+ years. Now, although I've made many mistakes, I don't think I've messed up my kids too much as of yet. But, this whole pretending thing is coming back to bite me now...Life is getting a lot more complicated with the kids getting older and such that this charade is no longer working for me. I'm struggling. Insomuch that I really wanted to quit my job this last week and run away. I'm frustrated, feeling guilty and inferior and just plain worn out! I've been just trying to survive for the past 9 years, making it up as I go along. I've been in survival mode for so long that I don't know how to live any other way. It's time for me to start living more intentionally and with more purpose. The problem is, I don't know where to start. All these ideas swarm in my head. There are so many of them that I get overwhelmed and just want to curl up in a ball and do nothing. I read a quote today by a comedian, Jim Gaffigan, that said, "If you want to know what it's like to have a fourth kid, just imagine you're drowning and someone hands you a fourth kid!" While hilarious, unfortunately, that is how I feel right now (except with a 5th kid!)
I'm just venting. I'm not looking for any pats on the back or soliciting any compliments, they actually just pour salt into the wounds. I just wish I knew where to start with how to get on track. I would say back on track, except that I never was there! How do I start at the beginning when the 5 kids are already here?

September!

2011-10-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

We've had a bit of a busy month and I decided to put it all into one post instead of several separate ones. Hope you can stick with me, we've had some fun!
First up was Danny's and my 11th wedding anniversary. We celebrated by going to dinner at Islands and then walking around the mall for a bit...nothing fancy, but it's the best we could do while toting along a cute little girl! Here's a picture of us 11 years later!

Next, I was able to go on a women's retreat with the Relief Society from my ward. It was a lot of fun. We went up to the mountains to Heber, AZ. Beautiful...the 30 degree drop in temperature was a welcome reprieve as well. Here are the lovely ladies of the Gilbert 2nd ward.

I've spent a lot of this month cleaning up after this guy...

I guess it's pretty tiring making all those messes! One of James' new hobbies is pulling out all the movies...I really need to get a child lock on that drawer! He has also given up "formal" naps (much to his mother's chagrin!) but will often pass out while watching a show or playing quietly in the playroom or wherever he may be at the moment. I was doing laundry in my bedroom and came out to find him just like this, he had even pulled the blanket over himself...such a cutie even if he is sometimes naughty! Speaking of naughty, he is almost unbearable to take anywhere these days. He is acting every bit of his 2 1/2 years! The tantrums are an ever present part of life. I'm hoping this phase passes quickly!

I've also spent a lot of this month wishing this little girl would quit growing up so quickly!

Our little Milly-moo is 6 months old now. So sad and so much fun all at the same time! Ain't she sweet?

6 month stats

16 lbs 12 oz (70%) kinda big for one of my babies!

26" long (50%)

head 16 1/4 cm (25%) this confirmed our thoughts that she had a little head!

I can't find Dylan's 6 month stats, but she is definitely the biggest of the other 3. We love all of her luscious chunkiness!

At 6 months, she is rolling all over, laughing, smiling, grabbing everything in sight. She especially loves her brother, James, he can get her belly laughing like no one else, it's the cutest thing ever! No teeth yet (which is fine for this nursing mama!) and she is just barely starting to be able to sit up with a little help. We all still just adore our little Moo!

Grace had a birthday this month...#8 in fact and we are excited about her upcoming baptism. In the meantime, we celebrated with...

*yummy cupcakes for her class at school (thanks Aunt Melissa for the idea!)

*A bedroom makeover (with the ulterior motive of hoping that it would encourage her to keep her room clean!)

Before

And this was after she "cleaned up!"

After

I had so much fun planning this...it was a total surprise and she exclaimed that it was "the best birthday ever!"

This was one of my favorite parts of the redo. I started with an $8 chair from Goodwill...here is the result:

Before & After

Isn't it cute!

*and a little do-it-yourself cupcake decorating (I was a little tired from the classroom cupcakes and room redo!)

All told, it was a fun birthday and we enjoyed the festivities. We are looking forward to going to CA where Grace and her cousin, Haley, will be baptized on the 14th. So exciting! Here's a picture of Grace with our sweet Bishop Farnsworth after her baptismal interview.

That takes us to the end of September. Such a fun and busy month. In parting, here are some pictures of my two little nakey babies...one chunky monkey and one not so much!

I love those little faces! Don't you just wanna squish that little girlie-bug!?!

Tonto Natural Bridge

2011-09-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day we decided to take off to cooler temps. We headed north to the mountains to explore the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park It is the largest naturally formed travertine bridge. It was beautiful and about 20 degrees cooler than down here in the valley...Bonus! We had a fun time climbing on the rocks and exploring the cave under the bridge. The kids also enjoyed a little dip in one of the pools. We enjoyed being out in nature and spending time together.

We actually are tolerating the heat quite well. Better than expected...and it has been the hottest summer on record. The past several weeks have been over 110 nearly every day. We are getting a little tired of the heat, but it really hasn't been all that bad. However, we would welcome a cool down soon!

Back to School

2011-08-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

The kids (and the mom) we very excited for school to start this year. Jesse is in 4th grade, Grace started 2nd grade and we have a new kindergartener, Dylan.

I was a little concerned about Dylan starting all-day kindergarten, but he is doing great and seems to love school. I am grateful that my kids love school. They are great students and love learning. Their teachers seem great and we are looking forward to an awesome year!

James, Milly and I are enjoying the quiet days. It's fun having my two littles home with me. We miss the bigs, but are glad to see them come home in the afternoons. It seems so easy having just my two babies home. It's been quite a while since I only had 2 kiddos at home!

Dylan is 5!

2011-08-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

Yeah for 5 year olds that get to go to Kindergarten!

For the big day we headed to Amazing Jake's for a fun filled day. Dylan brought his friend, Ryan, and they had so much fun running from ride to ride and game to game. The rest of us had a good time, too.

Since we were all tuckered out from playing so hard on his birthday, we celebrated with cake and ice cream the next day.

I think it was a pretty happy birthday. We love you, Dyl!

Multiple post alert!

2011-07-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

Make sure you scroll down and catch all the posts...wouldn't want you to miss all the fun!

4 Months!

2011-07-27T22:57:00.000-07:00

Milly's 4 month stats

13.4 lbs (45%)

24 1/4" (50%)

Head 16 cm (50%)

At 4 months, Milly is smiling, giggling, ticklish, rolls over from tummy to back, is still sleeping pretty well, spending more time awake during the day, trying to get back to a normal routine after our extended vacation, is such a cute, little, chunky monkey and is still bringing joy to her family.

I wanted to take her 4 month pictures with no clothes on so I could capture her cute little chunkiness! I know she isn't the chubbiest baby around, but I think she might be my chubbiest. We love those chunky legs and enjoy squishing them all the time. She doesn't seem to mind! Love our sweet Milly-moo!

Brace-face Grace!

2011-07-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

Grace got braces on Monday. She has been so excited about this for a while and we were all glad that the day had finally come...we were a little tired of hearing about it!

Before

During

After

The excitement waned just a little bit when the discomfort set in, but she still loves them. This is just a first phase...she doesn't have enough room for her lateral incisors to come in. She'll wear these for about a year, then she'll get another phase when all her permanent teeth come in.

She looks pretty cute with her tin grin!

Some 3000 miles + 5 states = one fun trip...

2011-07-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

and one long post! I'll try to keep to the highlights.

We began our journey with a siblings' reunion for Danny's family at a beautiful cabin in Heber, UT.

We had fun hanging out, paddle boating, taking walks, finding deer and moose and just being together. It's so much fun to see all the cousins together. We have age ranges from 3 months to 17 and they all played together and enjoyed one another's company. It was a fun weekend...we wish we lived closer to everyone!

On the way back down the mountain, we stopped at Deer Creek Reservoir for a little wave running!

So much fun! It had been a looong time since I had done that and we had a blast!

Next, we were off to visit my mom in Elk, WA at her and her husband's horse ranch. We stopped to see the Idaho Falls on our way up to WA. It was a fun little detour.

After a long, beautiful drive through eastern Idaho and Montana, we arrived at the ranch.

We enjoyed the beautiful countryside. Dylan and James loved to sit on the steps, eat chips and watch the neighbor's cows migrate from pasture to pasture. Mom and Larry have 14 horses. They raise and breed thoroughbred race horses. It was fun to be around all the horses and the kids enjoyed helping feed them, riding on the quad and playing on the swing in the yard.

We also got to do some other fun things away from the ranch.

Danny stayed with us through the 4th of July and then he flew home from Spokane. We were then on our own for the remainder of the trip.

We rode the carousel and played in the fountain at Riverfront Park in Spokane, picked our own delicious strawberries at Green Bluff in Mead, played in a private lake, did a little horseback riding, petted some goats and watched a few pigs wallow in the mud. It was such a fun week. And, of course, the best part was spending time with Grandma Christie and Grandpa Larry. Thanks for having us, Mom and Larry, and thanks to all your wonderful friends for making it a terrific week.

From Elk, we were off to Marsing, ID to visit my childhood friend, Jessica, whom I had not seen in many, many moons!

Jessica and her family took us to a funky place called Cleo's Ferry Museum. It was part botanic garden, museum and christian icon garden. It was a fun walk through plastic, wood and bronze garden art. There was even a replica of Christ's tomb (the picture of Grace and Dylan playing dead!) That evening we had a campfire in their yard, roasted marshmallows and ate s'mores. What a fun time catching up and meeting her two cute girls, Audrey and Sophia, and her hubby, Rex. It's so great to meet up with old friends and be able to pick up where you left off...even if it has been almost 20 years!

Next up was a stopover with the Kears, some friends from NM that moved to Twin Falls, ID. I am bummed that I did not get any pictures, but we sure had fun hanging out and playing with you guys!

Last stop on the trip was back to UT where we spent an afternoon at the park with Umpy (my dad).

We went swinging, climbing and spinning! A fun time was had by all.

A visit to see our good friends, the Widdisons is always a highlight. They were our awesome neighbors at BYU...we practically lived together for those two years.

The rest of the week was spent hanging out, swimming and playing with more of our favorite friends, the Joneses. They so kindly housed us for a week and we had a great time. Thanks, Aubs!

We had such a fun few weeks and were sad when it was time to say goodbye to all our family and friends. But we missed our daddy and the comforts of our own home. So, after almost four weeks, we started the trek down south to home and Daddy (and the heat, ugh!) Thanks to all our family and friends that made it such a fun and memorable trip. We had a blast.

Phew! And there you have it! Kudos to you if you made it to the end!

Some decorating and a blessing

2011-06-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

My wonderful sister (and 2 nieces) came to town for the weekend to see Milly, help me decorate my living room and be here for Milly's blessing.
My living room is a really long awkward space and I needed some outside eyes to help me get things set right...that's where Jamie came in! Here are the results of our weekend of decorating:

It looks so beautiful! I wish I had taken some before pictures, but I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. The best part is that we used most everything that I had, added a few new pillows, a few cans of spray paint and voila a beautiful space. It makes me happy to sit in this room and even the kids are being pretty good about keeping it clean. It makes such a difference in how you take care of things if they truly look nice when they are clean! Thanks, Jamie...I couldn't have done it without you.

It's always great to play with cousins. They are definitely the best friends in the world! We don't get to do this enough. We were so glad that Kate and Maddie came to visit us. Here are the kids having a splash in the backyard. (it's so awesome to have grass!!)

And, of course, we can't forget the star of the weekend...our little angel, Milly! She looked darling in her blessing dress and her daddy gave her a beautiful blessing. He blessed her with a healthy body, to have the Spirit throughout her life and to always be filled with gratitude to our Heavenly Father. It was lovely.

It was a wonderful weekend and we were sad when it came time for Jamie and the girls to leave. We hope we will see them again soon!

What we've been up to...

2011-05-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

5/13...We moved from Rio Rancho, New Mexico to Gilbert, AZ.

Kids in the moving trailer

Our new house (we decided to rent {again!} for a year or so)

We are enjoying Arizona so far. We have an incredible ward that is so friendly and we are excited to be a part of it. The weather has been pretty mild so far, but we are preparing for the heat! We like our new house, it's a little strange in the layout, but will suit us fine for the time being. The neighborhood is quiet and friendly. We live in a cul-de-sac with a little park at the end, so there is a nice, safe place for the kids to play. It's not always best to be in a quiet neighborhood when you have 5 noisy kids!! I will post more pics of the inside when I get it better situated (my mom will probably be the only one who cares!)

Milly in her swing at an odd angle!

Our little sleeping princess...so sweet

5/17...Danny turned 37. We are the same age for a month! Through all of the unpacking we were able to make a yummy ice cream cake and have a little party.

Bathing beauty!

5/22...Milly turned 2 months...NOOOO! The time is just going by too fast. I am loving every moment with my little girl and I don't want her growing up too fast! 2 month stats:

10 lbs 13 oz (48%)

22 3/4" (60%)

Head 15 cm (50%)

She is still such a sweet little girl. She is beginning to smile and react a little more to our funny faces and coos. Her siblings still adore her and want to hold her every chance they get. She is sleeping like a champ. She has a fussy time in the evening from about 7pm to 10pm, it's not too bad, but she needs to be constantly held and bounced during this time. But then she goes to bed around 10pm wakes up about 3am and then goes back to sleep until 6:30 or 7am. I'll take a little fussiness in the evening for the trade off of a good night's sleep! She also naps a lot during the day. She is by far my best sleeper! We love our little girlie-bug!

The many faces of Milly!

Even this little guy can't get enough of her...good thing Heavenly Father made babies strong enough to survive their 2 year old brothers!

The kids had a photo shoot of their own! They did pretty well taking all these pics.

5/30...Memorial Day. We started out the day having breakfast with two of my oldest and dearest friends Dannielle and Shayla. We grew up together many moons ago in California. Dannielle lives here in Mesa and Shayla was here visiting her brother so we met up for a little bit before Shay had to head back to CA. It was fun to catch up for a little while.

And here are the offspring of just the 3 of us! There are actually 2 more of Shay's kids that were not there. Shayla has 6, I have 5 and Dannielle has 3. That's quite a bunch of kiddos!

After saying our goodbyes, we headed out to the old west...Goldfield Ghost Town! It was fun to walk around and see all the old buildings and see a gunfight. A nice little diversion from all the unpacking.

And that brings you up to date on the comings and goings of the Thatcher Family. I'm really going to try to keep this better updated so that we have a better record of our lives!

Easter

2011-04-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

We had a nice Easter. We had a special Stake meeting with Elder Keith B. McMullin of the presiding bishopric. He gave such a great talk and bore such a sweet testimony of the Savior. What a great way to start our Easter day.
Because of the special conference, I dressed the kids in their Easter outfits last Sunday. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a picture of all of us because most everyone was being uncooperative! But I was able to get a couple pictures of a few of the kids.

On Easter, I did get a picture of all the kids. Can you believe those are all mine! Aren't they cute?

We also dyed eggs, got a visit from the Easter Bunny and hunted down the eggs.

1 month!

2011-04-25T16:14:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it has been a whole month since Milly joined our family?? I can't and every day that passes makes me sad...I really want this girl to take her time growing up. I'm trying to enjoy her even with all the chaos around here. In case you haven't heard, we are moving to Arizona on May 14th. Danny got a new position at Intel in Chandler so we are off to the heat. Anyway, this post is about my little Milly. Here are a few pictures to celebrate her 1 month (plus a few days, but who's keeping track?)

Her brothers just adore her as you can see.

At 1 month, Milly is still pretty content and such a sweet baby. She is almost 9 pounds (I just held her to weigh her this am) and is still sleeping well at night...one night she even slept for 6 hours. That hasn't happened again, but she sleeps consistently for 3-4 hours at a time. Hey, I'll take it.

She's starting to chunk up a little bit and she even smiled at me this morning a few times and I think they were real and intentional!

I just love watching the kids with Milly, they are so gentle and they just love her. Every morning when we wake up, they all yell at once "Can I hold her?" Every time she wears a new outfit Dylan will say, "She looks so pretty in that." He is also known to use the word "adorable" on occasion as well. He's just too cute! Grace, of course, loves being a little mommy and is such a great mother's helper. Jesse takes a more low key approach, but loves to hold her and is also a good helper when needed. James also fights for his turn to hold her and won't give her up until she starts crying...then you have to be right there because when he's done, he's done and he just pushes her off of him!

We still can't get enough of our Milly-Girl.

The First Two Weeks

2011-04-07T08:07:00.001-07:00

We've decided to nickname our little girl Milly...it fits! We are all doting on Milly so much. We just love her to pieces. She is such a sweet, good baby. She is sleeping pretty well for a newborn (and especially one of MY newborns!) She sleeps easily 3-4 hours between feedings at night. I was lucky to get 1-2 hours at this stage with the others. I haven't spent any late nights (early mornings) in tears because she just won't sleep. What a blessing! I don't pretend to think that this will continue because babies change their habits so quickly, but I am just grateful for it at this time!

I've discovered these past two weeks that not only did I gain a new baby, but I lost one in the process:It makes me a little sad, but I guess as a consolation, I gained a BOY! It's funny how the baby grows up the moment you bring a new one home. The kids keep commenting on how BIG James is getting and I tell them that they just think that he's gotten so big because Milly is so small...they don't believe me!

Here are just some pics of our cute little Milly for your enjoyment.

(I just love my babies' heads)

We love having a new baby to adore and are trying to enjoy every moment of our final addition!

The story!

2011-03-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning I had a Drs. appt. and I came prepared with my hospital bag already packed. I was determined to not leave until I had that little girl. I told this to my doc and he agreed and let me check into the hospital (I was already dilated to a 4.) His office is right in the hospital, so it was very convenient.
I checked in around noon and Danny met me there a little later. About 1pm the doc came and broke my water. The contractions started coming more regularly and we were on our way! I had a few complications with my last 2 epidurals, so I decided that I didn't want to have one with this one. I was going to attempt birth-au natural! There was also a little part of me that wanted to see if I could do it.
Well...by 4-ish I was at a 7 and when the nurse checked me she felt the baby's hand above her head. Sometimes when this happens they can get their arm stretched out above the head and have to do a c-section. I was not too thrilled with that. The doc came to check and determined that her hand wasn't going to be a problem and was able to push her hand back...that did not feel too good!
Over the next little while, the contractions got a little stronger, but nothing unbearable and I thought that we were in for a long night because I was sure that if I was close to delivery, I would be hurting a lot more.
Around 6pm the doc came to check again and I was almost a 9 and he guessed that I would probably go within the next half hour or so. After he left the REAL contractions started and I was rethinking this whole natural thing, but it was too late at this point. I only had about 4 or 5 really hard, really awful contractions and then I was ready to push. I was freaked out and not handling the pain too well at this point, but had no other choice! The doc and the nurses came in and in 1 1/2 awful, torturous pushes, she was out. Can I just say "HOLY OUCH!" I have never experienced anything like that. You know those crazy, screaming ladies that you sometimes see on those baby story shows? Yeah, that was me. There was no controlling it. I'm so glad she came out quickly because I was sure I was going to die. It just hurt a lot. A lot, lot! But as soon as she was out, the pain was gone. That was pretty amazing!
It was nice not being numb and having control over my legs once all was said and done. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to experience the birth without an epidural and I am so grateful that she is here and healthy and perfect.
We are home and all is well. Even though this is #5, I am still in awe of the miracle of her. Just this tiny, perfect little human being. We feel blessed to have her join our family and look forward to getting to see her grow. She is just too sweet and perfect and the kids already adore her...especially her big sister. I love watching my cute boys being so gentle and sweet with her. There's nothing like a new little baby. Welcome home, Amelia. We love you so already.

Amelia Rose

2011-03-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

Born March 22, 2011 ~ 6:56pm

6lbs 10.8oz ~ 19 3/4"
Amelia Rose Thatcher

Upon Arrival

A visit from the kiddosLook at all those kids!!

Welcome home I will post more about the experience later...I just wanted to get these pictures up.

To pass the time...

2011-03-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

I guess I should do a little update. I was putting it off hoping this baby girl would come at any moment, but clearly she is quite comfortable where she is...wish I could say the same for her mother!
I also have not updated because I haven't had much material to work with. But we have done a few things lately and I know you have all been waiting for pictures of my cute kids! So here goes...
I think he enjoyed his ice cream cone!
Jesse was awarded his Wolf badge for Cub Scouts.
Don't mind the lady next to him in the tent!!

Cute pics of the kids at the zoo.
A visit from those pesky leprechauns!
And proof that I am bursting at the seams (caution: not the most attractive picture to follow!)
My mom came into town this last week to help us wait for our little arrival and that is what we are up to! I will be 39 weeks on Wednesday and I was sure that I would have had her by now, but of course, she is following her own time table. I have a Dr's appt. on Tuesday and my doc said he would break my water this week (I'm already dilated to 3cm) if I want. We shall see. I would really prefer that she come on her own, but I am not totally against giving her a little nudge! One way or another, she should be here this week. We'll keep you updated. Until then...

2 and 9

2011-02-15T09:13:00.000-08:00

We had a couple of birthdays that need to be recognized. Jesse turned 9 on Jan. 26 and James turned 2 on Jan. 30. Time keeps marching on no matter how much I would like it to slow down sometimes!
Jesse picked a dog cake because he thought that James would like it...he can be pretty sweet sometimes. He didn't mind at all sharing his b-day with his "mini-me!"
James got a slide.I think he was happy!Jesse got a new bike and some Fablehaven books (which are really good!) Sorry, no pic! But his dad did turn him 9...
I think this is the last year for him to be "turned" in this manner!

Just for the record...James had his 2 year check up and he is finally legal to be facing forward in his car seat! He was 20.6 lbs and 32" tall. He finally registers on the charts for his height in the 5th percentile and is still below the charts for his weight in the -5th percentile. Oh well, I don't think that he will ever have to worry about childhood obesity!

I'm happy that my boys had a good birthday this year. I love those boys so much and are grateful they came to our family.

A "Wicked" Time!

2011-01-29T22:55:00.000-08:00

We just got home from seeing this:
It was amazing and I highly recommend it to any of you who get the chance to definitely take it.

This song was my favorite:Just terrific. And is it just me or do any of you get choked up at the standing ovation for the amazing performers? Maybe it's just pregnancy hormones, but I had to hold back the tears when Glinda and Elphaba came out on stage for the curtain call and the crowd jumped to their feet. Tell me I'm not the only one!! Awesome!

Just a head's up...when 7 months pregnant, opt for the comfy shoes and not the cute ones! It didn't spoil the evening, though, just the walk back to the car!

Yummy!

2011-01-27T19:13:00.000-08:00

I have never posted a recipe on my blog before, but I just made the yummiest (and easiest) dinner that we have had in a loooong time. I get into a bit of a rut, but I tried something new tonight and it was great (and healthy), I thought I would share.

Curry Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

4 boneless chicken breasts (I used chicken tenderloins)
1 med onion-cut up (I used onion powder...we are not onion fans at this house)
2-3 sweet potatoes-cut into chunks
2/3 cup orange juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 tsp curry powder
1 clove garlic-minced (I used 1/8 tsp garlic powder)

Place the chicken, onion and sweet potatoes in your slow cooker, mix together remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken/sweet potatoes. Cook on low for 4-6 hours (or however your slow cooker works.) I cooked mine on high for about 3 hours.

I served this with delicious coconut rice. Just replace 1/2 to 2/3 of your water with canned coconut milk (found in the Asian food aisle) and cook as usual. I used Minute rice and did 2 cups of coconut milk (one can is just about 2 cups) and 1 cup water to 3 cups of the rice. I am not a huge coconut fan, but this was so delightful!

The whole meal was so "fancy" tasting (quoted from Danny!) I loved that it had a little exotic flair without going overboard. The kids liked it well enough, but Danny and I loved it! Definitely a keeper in our food file. YUM!

Sorry-no picture.
Original recipe found here.

You've gotta try it!

Pinewood derby 2011

2011-01-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

Jesse had his second Pinewood derby last night. It was fun, except for the part that he didn't win! He was not too happy about it. I guess next year we will have to research a little more about how to make a winning car!

Jesse and his car

Danny taping on some pennies to add more weight before the race
All the participants

If it's any consolation, he did win an award for fastest looking car...it wasn't for Jesse!!
Better luck next year!

Self portrait

2011-01-13T08:20:00.001-08:00

Dylan loves to play with my camera and it is always funny to see what he captures. Here are a couple of self portraits that he took, not the best pictures, but the first one shows off his gorgeous eyelashes (of which I am jealous, he did not get them from me!) I can never get a good shot of them. Aren't those amazing...so not fair!And the second one is just plain goofy.So classically Dylan! I just love that little goof ball!

Weird Kid

2011-01-12T06:33:00.001-08:00

This is how Dylan has chosen to spend the past several nights. Doesn't he look comfy?? I promise, he has a nice comfortable bed!!

December wrap up!

2010-12-31T19:17:00.000-08:00

Here are the festivities that rounded out our Christmas season.

The botanic gardens here in Abq have what they call The River of Lights during the holidays. We went and had a great time. We were glad it wasn't too cold!

Jesse got to sing with his school music group The Mustang Chorale at a senior center. They did a great job.

Our only snow day so far. They ended up canceling the last day of school which made for 2 very unhappy kids...they were sad because they were supposed to have their class parties that day. Grace even got mad at me as if I had done it on purpose! They were somewhat appeased when we ended up spending the day playing with friends.
We actually got a fair amount of snow and it stuck around through the next day so the kids and Danny were able to have a snow war.
James preferred the safety of the playground...and Dylan wouldn't even get out of the car!

Danny, Jess and Grace stayed out for quite a while and had a great time. Eventually James and I retreated to the car, but we all had a good time playing in the snow.

Finally, Christmas day was here.
The kids were very happy with their haul. It was nice to have such a relaxing, fun day. Although it was a little lonely without family. We missed you all!

The aftermath!!
Hope everyone else had a great Christmas as well.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2010-12-07T15:58:00.001-08:00

ChRIsTmaS

It's our family tradition to set up the Christmas tree and decorations the day after Thanksgiving. So in keeping with tradition...
And just look at this happy camper...he loved setting up the tree!
And the fruits of our labors...

I also got the opportunity to set a table for our Relief Society Christmas dinner. It turned out so pretty, I had to take some pictures. I am a terrible photographer...it was a lot prettier in person!
Bring on Santa! We're ready!

Halloween

2010-11-15T09:31:00.000-08:00

Better late than never!

I know...terrible pictures and none of Jesse. Jess took off the moment we got to the ward party and I never saw him again until we left. But he was a Jungle native and he made his own mask for it. It was really creative and I wish I had gotten a picture of it before it was destroyed!

It was a fun, low-key Halloween. We went to the ward party on Friday night and then the kids passed out candy on Sunday while we watched Amazing Race. I think the kids had just as much fun as they would have had we gone trick or treating.

Now...bring on the rest of the holiday madness...ready or not!

IT'S A...

2010-10-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!!

Finally!

2010-10-11T10:03:00.001-07:00

Whew...I am all updated. It wasn't as painful as I was fearing it would be.

I am feeling much better and, to tell you the truth, this has been my easiest pregnancy. But I do not like to even be a little bit sick, so I have been putting off most things except the essentials. Then when I started feeling better, I dreaded the thought of all that I needed to update, but I finally took the plunge today and here it is.

I updated by month, so scroll down so you don't miss all the riveting details!

Tomorrow I have another ultrasound and am hoping that they will be able to tell us what we are having.

I will not wait so long to update next time...stay tuned!

PS I added a poll to the sidebar...just for fun!

A family outing

2010-10-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took a trip to the Botanic gardens. It was a beautiful day and we had a fun time all together.

The Childrens GardenThe Harvest Festival at the farmThe Bug Boy
And the Japanese Garden (my favorite...it is so beautiful)
It was the end of the afternoon as is evidenced in that last picture of all the kids! Someone was in desperate need of a nap!

Despite the mini fallout at the end a great time was had by all.

September

2010-09-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

September brought with it...

**"School" for DylanIt's actually just a program through the parks and rec here in town. They have a free pre-k program through the school district, but we didn't have the lucky lottery number!! We are still on the waiting list and hope to make it into the school before too much longer. In the meantime he is having a good time at Kidzone.

**A trip to Dixon apple farms with the Hatches for some delicious Champagne apples. The best in NM (or so we are told.) It was a beautiful drive up to the orchards and we had fun getting the apples from the source. We drove away with over 150 lbs of apples...40 of which were for us, the rest were delivered to friends.
**And lucky number 7 for GraceThe highlight of the day being a trip to the mall with Mom to get her ears pierced (she's been waiting for over a year) and to buy some new school clothes.

We also had a flower cake (per request) and her daddy "turned" her 7.
We love Grace...the princess of the family. So glad that you are ours!

August

2010-08-31T09:11:00.000-07:00

In August, we celebrated 4 years of Dylan:It was a low-key birthday as Mom was not feeling her best, but the birthday boy enjoyed shopping with Mom and picking out his own presents and decorating his own cake. We love our Dylan and are glad that he is a part of our family.

Back to School We were all very ready for school to start this year. The kids have great teachers and are doing very well in school.

I think that the rest of August was spent trying to survive morning sickness and extreme fatigue! It is kind of a blur!

The final act!

2010-08-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

And the reason I have been MIA for the past several weeks!
We are excited to meet him or her at the end of March 2011!

July

2010-07-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

Take me out to the ball game! We got to go see the Isotopes (our minor league baseball team, associated with the Dodgers) play a game. It was fun to go with the kids and they seemed to enjoy it as well.

We also got a visit from the Allens-some good friends from our Simi days. They were passing through Abq on their cross country trip from CA to FL. We were so glad that they pit-stopped with us for a day. It was fun to see how grown up everyone keeps getting and to catch up.

We did celebrate the 4th of July this year, but the party was at our house and I was the host, so no pictures were taken. It was fun, nonetheless and we had a great time celebrating our freedoms.

A solo camping trip

2010-07-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

I know...I have been terrible about posting. I'm sure that I have lost all of my loyal fans! It's just that I have been feeling lazy and uninspired, besides not many noteworthy happenings going on lately...that is until this past weekend! I apologize and commit to doing better in the future...I hope you will come back and visit me!

So, I convinced Danny to take a day off this past Friday (amazing feat, I know!) and we headed for the hills (the mountains really) to do our very first camping trip all by ourselves! We have only been camping a couple of times since we've been married and it was with my family both times.

We felt so grown up heading out to the wild! We went to the Jemez Mountains that are only a little more than an hour's drive from our house, but a world away! It was so beautiful!
As soon as we got our camp set up (and after the rain subsided!) we went on a little hike to Jemez Falls.

On the trail
The falls and scenery

It was just gorgeous. The kids even got to play in the pools above the falls. That would've been more fun if it wasn't raining and cool at that moment!

Soon after we got back to camp, the clouds drifted away and the sun was bright and warm again. Good thing, too, because we had a little rain get into the tent and soak Grace's sleeping bag, but it dried before it was time for bed...gotta love the dry, NM air!

Around camp

We just stayed over one night...it was a trial run...but the trip was declared a success. We had a great time and survived a night out in the woods. And best of all, we created some fun memories!

Side note: Here are the skies over our house this evening during one of our monsoons. Just beautiful!
The pictures do not do it justice! Click on the pictures and you can see that it is a double rainbow, full arches. It was just too close to get a full picture. I just love the NM skies.

Arizona

2010-06-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

On the way home from CA, we stopped in Mesa to visit with our old neighbors and good friends, the Widdisons. We had a fun time playing, visiting and catching up. Thanks for a fun time.
While in AZ we also got to visit with my oldest friend, Danielle, and her family. We have known each other since we were in nursery together 30 some odd years ago. I haven't seen her for many years and it was fun to catch up and get to know her family a little bit. I wish that I had taken more pictures of this leg of the trip!

Good times in AZ!

California

2010-06-22T10:54:00.001-07:00

Here is what we did in pictures....I am a feeling uninspired in writing!

Our pit stop on the ride down

Mom & Larry's weddingMemorial Day at the beach

Water PlayAnother trip to the beachAnd a day at Legoland

Not captured in photos, but a special event worth mentioning. We got to attend the baptism of our new niece and nephew Suzzy and Eli. They were officially adopted by Danny's brother, Steve, and his wife, Kirsten. We were so happy to welcome them to the family and see them join the church. What a special day!

We had a great time in CA and as always it was sad to say goodbye to family, but we are grateful for the good times we had and the memories that were created.

BC (before California)

2010-06-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

There were several things that I needed to catch up on before we left for California, but blogger wasn't cooperating, so it did not get done. Well, here is the abbreviated version of the things that I felt were most worth mentioning. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!!

Grace was the only kindergartner to receive this award!

I'm so proud of these kids. They did such a great job in school this year. I am thankful for these terrific kids!

At the hospital

2010-05-22T08:56:00.001-07:00

James really enjoyed his time at the hospital. He got to be an only child for the first time in his little life and was the darling of the General Peds unit. Because he wasn't sick, he cruised the floor flirting with the nurses, walking into any open room and making his presence known. Although it was not the most fun to be at the hospital for a week and a half, it was really fun for me to see his little personality blossom.

The night we got there...

In his "cage"

Making friends...

With Zack (in orange-he has cystic fibrosis and has to come into the hospital for 2-3 weeks every 3 months for "maintenance" where he is hooked up to antibiotics for most of the day) and Diego (he got burned when his brother caught some gasoline on fire and accidentally spilled it all down his right side-he was so cute with James...always giving him treats and gifts and showing him how to play his new PSP. His parents were also so sweet and kind. There are wonderful people in this world!)

A visit from sibs...

They were having a fundraiser for cancer while we were there and had all kinds of fun things to see.

Hanging out with his feeding tube...

Nothing could hold him down.

I am so glad to be home and that James is alright (as far as we know-we are still waiting on the results for the cystic fibrosis test, but I am not concerned.) Most of the other children on the floor were really sick or injured and I felt almost guilty that James was just running all over the place, happy as a clam! I am so grateful for good health and pray that it will stay with us. My heart goes out to all of those affected by serious injury or illness. It was very isolating being there at the hospital and very eye opening. I hope I will be of better service in the future to those in similar situations...I sure plan on it.
I need to make mention that I think that nurses are just about the most wonderful people on earth. We had several nurses over the time that we were there and they were genuinely concerned about us and helped us with anything that we needed. There is a special place in heaven for nurses, that is for sure. They made an otherwise difficult situation much more bearable.
Thanks to all of you who expressed concern and offered prayers on our behalf...they really helped us through.
As far as what's happening now with James...he still has a feeding tube and they are planning on keeping him on it for a little while to chub him up a bit. We have a follow up appt. on Monday and will hopefully have a better idea about things. I am a bit conflicted because I feel like he is just fine and that all of this is unnecessary. But, on the other hand, I want to make sure that I don't "pull the plug" on his nightly feedings if they really are necessary. So for now we will ride this out a little further. A little extra weight on our pip-squeek won't hurt anyone!

PS: a big thanks to my wonderful mom who dropped everything and came running the moment I called. It would have been extremely difficult with out her. And thanks to all my awesome friends that filled in the gaps when she had to go home. I owe you big!

Before the hospital

2010-05-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

Jesse and Grace had a bbq picnic at school and as is typical fashion, these are the only pics of the event!I love the kids' school. The teachers are wonderful and the principal and staff are great as well. They have had a terrific year.

Some fun pics of making cookies with the boys...this is how they "help!"Ain't they cute?

We're home!

2010-05-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah! Will update later with pics of my cute little patient!

We're going home tomorrow!!

2010-05-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

Hurray! I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. He has put on nearly a pound and all is looking good. They will send us home with the feeding tube for a week, but I am so glad that we get to do it at home. It will be good to be home with my family and have everything back to normal...if that's what you call it!

Quick update

2010-05-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hopefully the next update will be that we are home and all is well. We are just waiting on one more test to come back and that is for cystic fibrosis. I feel confident that he doesn't have it and so am not concerned.
They placed a feeding tube in him last night and fed him through the night and want to continue nightly feedings for a couple of days to see if he can pack on a little weight. Since being admitted (one week ago today!) he has put on about 2/3 of a pound. Which is good, the drs. just want to see a trend.
I am going a little (lot) stir crazy. The hospital staff has been wonderful, but I am ready to be out of here. I think James could spend the rest of his life here! He loves the attention and roaming all over the place. Me...I'm tired! I've walked miles around this place and have had very little sleep. I want my own bed and to be with my whole family. Today is Danny's birthday and there will be no cake, special dinner or anything. Poor guy!
Sorry to be on such a downer...I am just ready to go home....hopefully just a few more days!

James update

2010-05-15T16:09:00.001-07:00

We are still at the hospital. I was insistent on leaving today, but the GI doc wants to try a feeding tube for a couple of days to see if they can get at least a little boost to his weight. So far the tests for everything (celiac's, thyroid, I don't know what else) have all come back negative. They have done a work up of his caloric intake and he is eating about half of what he should be to promote growth. They are hoping that by boosting his intake over the next few days that it will kick start his eating habits. We will see. There are still a couple of tests pending (cystic fibrosis being one of them) but they are pretty sure it is just his finicky eating that is the cause of all this. This is going to be fun...he is going to have to sleep with a NG tube where they stick it up his nose and into his tummy. It's Danny's turn at the hospital tonight, so I hope they are not too miserable. I will let you know when I know more. Thanks for all the comments and well wishes.

An unexpected trip!

2010-05-13T15:39:00.001-07:00

So much to catch up on and too little time. Here's the gist and I will give more information when I have more time.

James had his 15 month check up on Monday and he is continuing his non-growth trend...so he has been termed "failure to thrive" That landed us in the hospital Monday night so that he can undergo testing to see what the problem is. So far he has had his kidneys tested, thyroid, growth hormone, etc. Those all came back normal. Now they are running several tests to check for celiac's disease, cystic fibrosis and other things that affect his GI tract. We are also needing to track every bit of food and drink that goes into his body to see if he is eating enough. He is still at the hospital and I was able to run home to change my clothes (I only brought 1 change thinking that we would only be there 48 hours at the most!) and get a new cell phone because James broke it at the hospital. I have been feeling terribly cut off from the world with no internet and no phone, so at least I now have something. I am hoping that we will get released tonight or tomorrow...it is no fun being cooped up in a hospital room!
I will update as soon as we are released and know the results of some of these tests. I am not terribly worried or concerned. I think he will end up being just fine, they are just trying to rule out anything that may end up stunting his growth and development.

Commotion in the ocean!

2010-05-10T08:19:00.001-07:00

That was the title to Grace's kindergarten performance. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. The kids did such a great job and it was so fun to watch.James watched intently as well:They sang a few songs with all the classes and then each class did their own song. I have a video of Grace's class, but it will not load. I may try again later!
The teachers put a lot of work into making this a special event for the kids and we appreciate all their efforts. It was a fun night.

Warning!!!

2010-04-27T08:50:00.001-07:00

Long post to follow...proceed with caution...you have been warned!

I know you are all dying to hear about my trip to FL. I had a great time. It was so much fun seeing beautiful Florida, putting my toes in the sand and surf, but mostly just hanging out with Laura. Thanks for the much-needed getaway! This is the only picture I have to show for the weekend as I was getting out of the car to catch my plane...it's not so easy to take pictures of myself!Danny and the kids survived well without me and I received a warm NM welcome when I got home which included a couple of indians, a lizard, a jackrabbit and a large tumble weed! My kids are so fun!I missed this little face while I was gone...And I was glad that he didn't forget me!

Upon returning, we had a busy week...

A kindergarten field trip to the zoo with Grace's class.And Jesse's 2nd grade art show.He did a great job. It was fun to see what they had been working on all year in art.

And this little guy learned a new trick...life just got a lot busier!He's so proud of himself!

And that brings you up to date...whew!

I'm off...

2010-04-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

To Florida tomorrow for a long weekend, with no children, to visit my good friend, Laura...I'm so excited! See y'all when I get back on Tuesday!

Uh Oh!

2010-04-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

Here comes trouble!

Lost

2010-04-07T15:18:00.000-07:00

No, not the show (although we are enjoying it immensely!) but this...#3 came a little out of order due to a good whack in the mouth! Now if we could just get that tooth fairy to get her act together...she is very forgetful!

What I loved about Easter...

2010-04-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

*Seeing all the kids in their matching Easter finery...I'm going to get away with it as long as I can! Dyl had to wear his cowboy hat and do his new signature pose (thumbs up, dude!) Aren't they too cute!
*Having an Easter egg hunt with friends (even though it was FREEZING!-thus the lack of photos!)*Having an EGGstravaganza with more friends which included an egg toss, an egg relay, an egg roll and for the grand finale an egg drop...so much fun. Again there are a deficit of pictures because I was the organizer and it is hard to take pics, carry around a 1 year old and call the shots...but there you have it and we had a great time. Luckily it was much warmer than the previous day's egg hunt...the weather here is crazy this time of year!*Happy kids enjoying the "fruits" of a certain bunny's visit (Grace and James are MIA in this shot and I really have no excuse for the ONE picture I took this day...bad Mommy!) Doesn't Dyl look thrilled! (Along with the "thumbs up", he has a thing for going shirtless. I'm lucky to get him to leave it on when in public, so I don't fight it at home!)Easter baskets were a little lack-luster this year...I wasn't all that into it (but that's a different post for a different time!)

*And finally, enjoying conference from the comfort of our own reverence tents. There's not a better way to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior than by hearing the words and testimonies of His chosen leaders. What a great conference it was.

What I didn't (and still don't) love about Easter...

*Finding these all over the place!I hope you all had a spEGGtacular day, too! (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

A general run down

2010-03-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

I have been quite neglectful as late of this here blog...only posting sporadically and random things. As a result I have a few things on which to catch up. The best way is to just dive right in and do the marathon post. So here goes...
First off, my mom recently became engaged to her sweetheart, Larry. They are getting married over Memorial day weekend and we are excited to be able to attend the wedding in a couple of months. Congratulations Mom and Larry! We love you!

Jesse had his first pack meeting which was the Blue and Gold dinner where we got to celebrate the 100th birthday of Boy Scouts in America. He received his Bobcat and I was surprised to learn that I did, too. I didn't know that the Mom got a pin also, but found it very fitting as we do a lot of the work with the boys. It's a team effort and it was fun to be recognized. Good job, Jess. I also think that it is so fun that his first year in Cub scouts is the 100th anniversary. That makes it more memorable.

We had a bit o' fun and luck o' the Irish on St. Patty's day. The night before, we set a trap to try to catch the mischievous leprechauns in hopes of securing a pot o' gold.But they proved to be too smart for us. We didn't get their gold, but they left us some gold-wrapped chocolate and some green garb for our efforts. I didn't get any other pics, I was being lazy, but Dyl took a picture of James decked out in his green.Man, I love that baby! We also enjoyed some corned beef and cabbage for dinner. A tradition passed down from my grandma, GG. The kids weren't too thrilled about the cabbage, but they liked the beef, potatoes and carrots. Despite the smell, (Danny came in from work declaring that it smelled as if something had died in our house!) it was really good.

We took advantage of a beautiful day to check out the nearby Coronado State Monument. "It is where Francisco Vásquez de Coronado—with 300 soldiers and 800 Indian allies from New Spain—entered the valley while looking for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. Instead he found villages inhabited by prosperous native people. Coronado's party camped near the Tiwa pueblo of Kuaua, one of the many villages encountered by the explorers." (taken from the website) It was really neat and it was such a nice day to be outside.After some initial grumbling ("I'm hungry, I'm tired, carry me!") we had a good jaunt through the area and got to throw some rocks in the river... which is always fun.

We had a fun spring break. We saw The Princess and the Frog, played at the park with friends a few times and took a drive down to Socorro (we'd never been south of Albuquerque and just wanted to see what we could see!) Very relaxed and fun...just the way I like it.

We are looking forward to warmer weather. We love the warm sunny days and being able to play outside. We're hoping that the weather will quit being bipolar (high 60's one day and snowing the next!) and just continue moving on to Spring. Although that brings the winds. But we'll take it as long as it is warm!

Other than that, life continues to march along. Kids are growing, mom is trying to keep up and dad is plugging away at work. Life is good and we are trying to enjoy the ride!

James

2010-03-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

I had a good friend take some pictures of James for me the other day (thanks Elise!) She has a better camera and better skills than me. They turned out really cute. Here's a slide show of them because I had too many favorites. Just ignore the ones with me in them...I wasn't prepared for a photo shoot of myself!

Don't you just wanna eat him up!

~~to see them bigger, just click on it~~

I don't have anything to say...

2010-03-13T21:00:00.000-08:00

but I just had to get that last post off the top of the page...I'm sick of looking at it! I have been composing posts in my mind as I try to fall asleep at night, but the words are gone when I get up. They are really good, though. I wish someone would invent some device that could translate thoughts onto the computer...I write much better in my head!!

I am off to bed...lose an hour of sleep tomorrow...ugh!

Happy Sabbath to you!

Growing up!

2010-02-27T10:54:00.000-08:00

My kids are in the next room rocking out to Bon Jovi circa 1986 (a friend came over with the CD). When did they out grow the Wiggles? Don't get me wrong, I would much rather listen to some classic Bon Jovi, but this means they are growing up...Who gave them permission???

I got an award...

2010-02-26T11:24:00.000-08:00

on Diapers and Divinity, one of my most favorite blogs. Stephanie always has such great insights into the scriptures and how they apply to our role as mothers. She also shares her struggles in a humorous way that we can all relate to. I feel so honored! Thanks, Stephanie! I love being a part of the blogosphere!

Just a little project.

2010-02-23T12:34:00.001-08:00

I was tired of having kid projects, art supplies and homework all over my dining table and floor and decided that the kids needed their own space for such activities. So...

I started with an empty nook: Added a few scrap pieces of lumber and some paint:Then finished off with a custom shelf, some empty cans, construction paper, cork board and voila, a place for everything and everything in it's place...I plan to get some matching chairs or stools, but am finding kid-sized chairs rather expensive, so I may need to whip something up myself.

The kids love their little spot and even ask to do their homework. I'm sure that won't last long, but I will enjoy it while it does.

Now...let's see if we can keep it this way!

Oh, I forgot....

2010-02-23T12:21:00.000-08:00

to post 1 year pics of James and his stats!Ain't he cute?

At 1 year he is 15lbs 11oz (<5%) and 27 1/2" (5%). Still on the puny side, but still just my little heart-breaker! The doctor ran a few more blood tests, just to make sure that there is nothing causing the lack of growth, but it all came back fine...he's just a little bean!
It's hard to get a good picture of him because he won't sit still long enough. He is pretty quick at crawling and is pulling himself up and cruising around the furniture. He even stands unassisted for a millisecond on occasion! He's getting into everything lately. He has a few favorite cupboards that he empties on a regular basis and we are training ourselves to keep the bathroom doors closed because he loves to play in the toilets! As we speak (write?) he is under my desk pulling things out of the trash can. Whatever keeps him happy!! I don't know that this kid will ever sleep through the night. My training is just not going well at all. I feel like it is hopeless!! Again, I say, he's lucky he is so cute!

We just love our little, smiley guy!

Membership has its privileges!

2010-02-15T11:29:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Jesse Daniel Thatcher was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was a beautiful day. My mom and Danny's dad came for the day and it was so nice to share this wonderful time with them. We're thankful that they could be there for Jesse.

I'm so grateful to be a member of this great Church and to know the truth of the Gospel. I'm grateful that Jesse chose to be baptized. I'm grateful for a good husband that honors his priesthood and was able to baptize, confirm and bless our first born! I am truly blessed and thank my Father in heaven for all that He has given and continues to give me.

Super Funny

2010-02-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

My kids have been talking about the Super Bowl (or do I have to say "the big game!?") for a couple of weeks now. They keep asking me and Danny if we are for the Saints or the Colts. They must have friends that talk about it at school because we are not what you would call football fans. Well, last night, Grace and Jesse were talking about the Super Bowl again and then Jesse says to me, "So what is the Super Bowl? Do they just all go bowling or something???" I guess the kids at school did not go over all the finer points of the big game!

It's fun to be One!

2010-02-03T07:53:00.000-08:00

Saturday was James' first birthday. It came and went without much fanfare! Poor little 4th child! On Sunday I decided to at least make cupcakes for the little guy if for nothing else than the photo op! (And the fact that I could really go for a good chocolate cupcake!)I tried to get a shot of the cupcake before he devoured it, but he grabbed that thing the second I set it down. My other kids were all a little apprehensive with their 1st birthday cakes, but not this kid...he lit right into it without any hesitation! He seemed to enjoy it, but he never did smile...funny boy!

This is what the cupcakes looked like...They were really yummy...chocolate with caramel frosting. It was my first attempt at making a cake not from a mix. The frosting was delicious and the cake was ok....I would like to find a better chocolate cake recipe and try it again. Also it was my first time piping the frosting on instead of spreading. It was super fun and easy although these turned out a little "cowpie"-ish! I think it's just the color!

Back to my little 1 year old...At one he is a good eater (finally) and is so much fun and sweet. He loves to play "fetch" and "chase". He has the sweetest smile and cutest laughter around. He is pretty wiggly at church and just wants to crawl around wherever we go. He is still super tiny. I don't have his check up til next week, so I don't have his official stats, but he had an ear infection a couple weeks ago and he was about 15 1/2 lbs. He is still not sleeping through the night and is getting up an average of 3 times per night. He's lucky he is cute because he may not have survived his first year otherwise! He has had a cold/ear infection for the past couple of weeks, but seems to be getting better, so it is time (again) for Mommy to crack down on this kid's sleeping habits!

Here's a new trick that he learned yesterday...Look at those skinny legs!

We love our little 1 year old and are so glad that he came to our family!

It's Great to be 8!

2010-01-27T19:15:00.000-08:00

Yes...I now have an 8 year old. Jesse had his 8th birthday yesterday and we've been celebrating since Saturday.

We only do birthday parties at 5, 8, 12, 16, etc. (for now!) so this was Jesse's year for a party. We gave him the option of having a party here at the house or taking a friend to this place called It'z (kinda like Chuck E. Cheese on steroids!) so he took the second option and off to It'z we went on Saturday with his friend Jacob.

Sorry...I have a new camera and I am trying to get used to it!

We had a fun time at the buffet, on the bumper cars, little roller coaster and playing games.

Monday night we had his family party. Last night (his actual birthday) was the Pinewood Derby at Cub Scouts and because he was officially 8, he got to participate...He was so excited.We spent the weekend making his car. We're not sooo into it that we did all the tricks to make it the fastest, but he did come in 1st on one race and got an award for the "Sportiest car."And James was there cheering everyone on...this was his first time clapping and he got the hang of it real quick...so cute!Also while at the derby, Grace got elbowed in the face and lost her first tooth (it wasn't very hard...it was a really loose tooth!)It was a night of firsts...first cub scout event, first applause and first lost tooth.

A fun birthday time for Jess and the rest of us. Now we get to look forward to his baptism on February 13th...another first for this little family.

Too Funny

2010-01-25T09:22:00.001-08:00

Learn the States postcard swap

2010-01-16T07:33:00.000-08:00

I signed on to be a part of this fun postcard swap from around the United States. Read about it here. I'm looking forward to the learning opportunity and I know that my kids will have a blast getting a postcard in the mail from all the different states. They still need to cover a lot of states, so sign up for one (the ones that they need are listed on the link above.)

2010-01-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

Don't ya love when they get to that "helpful" stage?!?What is it with babies and dishwashers?

I like this...

2010-01-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

Cooking and cleaning can wait till tomorrow,
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So settle down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

-Unknown

Christmas 2009 (finally!)

2010-01-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

I have been procrastinating again! Just being lazy...but here goes:
We had a very nice, simple Christmas here at home. Christmas eve we had our traditional homemade pizza dinner, then made cinnamon rolls for the morning, read in Luke 2, opened new Christmas pj's and watched a Christmas movie together...then sent the kids to bed with visions of sugar plums...or such.Tracking SantaSanta came:And kids were very happy with the loot:Then it was off to California...Unfortunately, I was a lazy photographer and I have very few pics of our trip...but here are a few.
Celebrating with cousins (my side):Then a trip to Ventura Harbor with cousins and Grandma Cindy (Danny's side) where we rode the carousel, played games and got some funky hats (thanks, Grandma!)We also went camping at our favorite place, Carpinteria, for New Years...of which, sadly, I have not a single picture. But we had a great time ringing in the new year at the beach. Fun times.

James turned 11 months on our trip, and, again, I have to wonder where the time has gone!At 11 months he has mastered crawling, is eating like a champ (finally!), broke through his two top teeth (with another on it's way shortly) and weighs (unofficially) about 16 pounds...still our little runt, but still the cutest, sweetest little guy.

We had such a fun time on our trip to see family. Thanks everyone for the good times!

One last picture:Oh, the things we do to entertain our young 'uns on a loooong car ride...this bought us a good half hour in the last stretch...totally worth the clean up! Gotta love licorice!

Hope you all had a fun Christmas and New Years.

There's no place like home!

2010-01-03T21:12:00.000-08:00

Just got home from our trip to California for the holidays...more details to follow...it's good to be home!

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-22T14:12:00.000-08:00

So this year, I did not even pretend to think that I would get a Christmas card out...way less stressful that way! This post will serve as our "official" holiday greeting.
Besides our sweet little James joining the family, 2009 was a pretty quiet, pleasant year for the Thatchers. So, without further ado, here are the family updates:

James

10 1/2 months. Our little runt...but oh so cute. He's finally just starting to crawl normally, but resorts to the army crawl when he wants to go quickly. He started pulling himself up to a standing position this past week. He seems to be following in his older siblings' footsteps in the sleep department. Nights are still a struggle, we seem to be constantly training and retraining this little guy! We are finally getting somewhere with his eating solids. The past few days he has eaten quite a bit which makes me very happy! He's such a happy, sweet baby and will melt your heart with his big, cheesy grin. We love him to pieces!

Dylan

3 years old. Rambunctious, rough and tumble, 100% boy! Loves anything that shoots, hits, digs, hammers or causes destruction in general or makes load noises. Our little clown (I fear for his future teachers!) He is constantly making us laugh, he says the funniest things. He loves playing make believe with his toys, which is very entertaining if you get an opportunity to listen in! His toys fight and argue a lot...I wonder what this says about his home life! Just yesterday he was playing with our Little People nativity set and I heard him crying and called out to him to find out what was wrong and he said, "I am not crying, it's baby Jesus!" It was so cute and funny! Every family needs a Dylan!

Grace

6 years old. She is our star kindergartner and has had 100% attendance so far this year (an accomplishment not only for her, but for her mom as well! We didn't do so hot with Jesse last year...trips to CA were just too tempting!) She loves school and her wonderful teachers. She loves to read (which makes her mom really happy) and is really good at it. Grace loves her baby brother and is a great helper with him. She is so sweet and happy...except when she's not! She holds her own as the only girl with 3 brothers. Grace brings sweetness to our lives.

Jesse

7 years old (soon to be 8). Jesse is in 2nd grade this year and is an excellent reader and speller. He's our Mr. Smarty Pants. I can't believe how fast he is growing up. We are on the verge of having a big kid! Jesse looks forward to getting baptized and starting scouts next month. He is a great big brother when he is not teasing and tormenting Grace and Dylan! We love our biggest boy!

Danny is keeping busy with work at Intel. He is also enjoying teaching early morning seminary (all except the "early morning" part!) And I am still here trying to be a good mom, wife and contributing member of society! It's definitely a work in progress!

We are looking forward to a fun and relaxing Christmas here at home and welcoming in the new year in California.

We are also mindful of our Savior, whose birth we celebrate at this time of year. How grateful we are for His life and sacrifice on our behalf.

We are so thankful at this time for all of you, our friends and family. You enrich our lives immensely and we love you all. We hope that you have a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years.

I'm still here!

2009-12-20T21:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posting! I have 2 excuses...
1. Nothing blogworthy
2. I have been lost in Green Gables, Queens, Redmond, Windy Poplars, Ingleside and Rainbow Valley, but I am back (and missing Anne!) and will have a Christmas post up tomorrow (if all goes well, I am suffering a little writer's block!)
Thanks for sticking with me!

Giving Thanks and Hello Christmas

2009-11-28T08:26:00.000-08:00

Grace and I started our Thanksgiving at the Ronald McDonald house helping set up for a Thanksgiving feast. It was a great way to start the day.Then it was home to finish cooking...then to have dinner with our friends the Hatches and Bylunds.Nice pic, eh? But the only one I have of the turkey. Danny and I have started a tradition of brining our turkey. We try a different recipe every year and have met with success...it was really yummy!As usual, I was too busy for many pictures so this is all there is!
Good food and good company...and soooo many blessings for which to be grateful...what more could we ask for?

And as tradition stands, the day after Thanksgiving was our day to welcome the Christmas season.
We're ready for Santa!

Smarty pants Jess

2009-11-24T13:27:00.000-08:00

Sunday, on our way home from church, Jesse was telling us about what his class had done for sharing time in Primary. He said that the lesson was on how to make our homes more holy and that he held up a little truck. I asked him what the truck symbolized, completely expecting him to say "What does that mean?" Well, he didn't skip a beat and said "Do you mean what does that represent?" Well, yes that is exactly what I meant! These little people are often a lot smarter than I give them credit. They keep me on my toes, for sure!
BTW- the truck "represented" helping to pick up your toys and sharing them. He then proceeded to tease Grace mercilessly all the way home...Does that help make our home holier???

A lesson in global economics

2009-11-23T16:09:00.000-08:00

Jesse and Grace are becoming very aware that everything (or most things) are made in China. They are constantly looking for the labels on all of our products and then enthusiastically proclaiming their origin. They were shocked this morning when they discovered that James' binky was "Made in Germany"! When Grace made this discovery, Jesse had to see it for himself before he would believe it. Anyway, I didn't realize how common this occurrence was in our home until this afternoon. While we were waiting in the car to pick up the big kids from school and listening to the radio, Dylan exclaims: "I know this song...it was Made in China!" It was cause for a good laugh. He says the funniest things! He's catching on. I used to think that Spanish was the language to learn...I think I'm going to have my kids learn Chinese!

**side note: after dropping the kids off at piano, Dylan says "I not going to suck my thumb anymore cause I going to be a big boy." That lasted all of 5 seconds when he recanted with "but I am still a little boy!" and popped his thumb back into his mouth! Funny boy!**

That guy is "sick"?

2009-11-22T07:07:00.001-08:00

Yesterday at the park the following exchange took place:

Jesse: That skateboarder is "sick"
Me: He's sick?
J: You know like he has good moves, he rocks, he's wicked!
M: Can't you just say cool?
Has "cool" become outdated? Is "sick" the "bad" of today? I don't like that kind of talk coming out of my kid!I told him that I don't like him talking that way.Am I right to say so?
Or should I just let it be?How do you feel about this topic?

*pics from a beautiful fall afternoon at our neighborhood park. I love the view of the mountains from this park.

I need a plan...

2009-11-18T15:34:00.000-08:00

for my life. It is spiraling out of control. The problem is...I'm not a planner. Where do I start? How do I get control before my life is over? Anyone wanna come help me get a life? Or at least a plan for this life that is upon me whether I like it or not?

~~crickets chirping~~

Yeah, that's exactly how I feel!

Along the Turqoise Trail

2009-11-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday we decided to take advantage of the 70 degree weather and head outside. We went exploring to a little historic town called Cerrillos. It is on the Turqoise Trail which was the main thoroughfare from Albuquerque to Santa Fe before the interstates were built. Anyway, we were expecting a quaint, charming little town, but it was pretty run down. I could tell that it was a cute little place "back in the day"! There was a really cool place to go hiking that had some old mine shafts from the late 1800's, so we enjoyed our hike. There were quite a few horses and riders that passed us on the trail and every time they did, Dylan had to call out "hello cowboy!" whether they were male or female. It was really cute. We enjoyed the weather and just being outside with our little family.

And we also got to see a Jesus tree...now how many of you can say that!?!

Side by side

2009-11-04T07:47:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Jesse and James to see the difference in size. I think Jesse is a month or so younger than James in this picture.

9 Months

2009-11-03T14:58:00.000-08:00

James is 9 months old!

Stats:
14 lbs 12 oz (still below the 5th percentile) I told him that at this rate, he'll never get to sit in a forward-facing car seat!
26 1/2" long (dropped to the 10th percentile from the 25-50th)

Dr is still a little concerned because now he has dropped in his length percentile. He is still not very interested in eating anything besides nursing. He will snack a bit on things that I am eating, but will not eat a "meal"! He does really like ice cream, though (just like mom!) That would certainly fatten him up! We are being referred to a dietitian...that should be fun!

Besides the eating thing, he is a healthy, happy little guy. He is army-crawling all over the place, (none of my other kids did that and I think it is too cute!) and can get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth. Traditional crawling is just around the corner. We are being retrained to keep things off the floor...slowly! He just started sitting up unassisted this last week and cut his second tooth. He has discovered the joy of hearing himself scream, shriek and squeal and does it quite a bit. He also loves to say dadadada! Why is it never mamamama? The kids still pretty much adore him although they are not too happy with him when he chews up their things that they leave on the floor. They get upset with him and I remind them that it is their own fault for leaving it on the floor. They are learning! We just love our little James!
Just one more pic:

Starting him early! (Just in case you are concerned, he just loves the bottles...honest!)

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T19:38:00.000-08:00

Let the festivities begin...

Wednesday night dressed up for the Trunk or Treat:Carving Jack o'Lanterns:The kids loved pulling out the guts! Better them than me! The kids each designed their own pumpkins (Dylan had help from his own designer aka: Jesse) and Danny did the cutting. The finished product:Notice how Grace's has eyelashes. Jesse went for the traditional look. Jesse helped Dylan by drawing different shapes and letting him pick which ones he wanted. I just love it when they get along...I have to cherish it...it doesn't happen often enough!

We had our friends the Hatches and the Tates over for trick or treating and fun. The Motley crew!Halloween down...Bring on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years!

Random side note:
I was out doing some shopping Saturday morning and came home to find Jesse pulling James around in a laundry basket while Danny was in the shower. He had a jump rope tied around the basket and he kept walking around and when I asked him why, he said that if he stopped James would wake up and cry...it was so cute.What a good brother! And what a sweet baby!

A jog-a-thon and an exciting day in the neighborhood!

2009-10-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

The kids had a jog-a-thon fundraiser at their school where they had to run around their field for a half hour and see how many laps they made. I was impressed with both Jesse and Grace. Each lap was a 1/4 mile. Grace ran 6 laps and Jess ran 8...definitely more than I could do. Good job kids.Dylan also "unofficially" ran about 10+ laps. The different grades ran at different times and we were there all day helping pass out water and marking laps, so he ran with every group that came through and enjoyed spraying them with water.Sadly, I did not get any pictures of Jess, I was too busy marking laps as the kids ran by...Bad mommy! The kids had a great time and were able to feel like they were helping raise money for their field trips and such. Fun times.

We have a usually very (extremely) quiet neighborhood. We have been here for a few months now and rarely see anyone about. Apparently, all you need is a good sink hole to get the neighbors to come out of their houses.This happened on the street below us where the kids' bus stop is. We enjoyed watching the digger and men as they went about their work. I'm sure they loved having all these grown ups and kids running around while they were trying to repair the pipe! After this excitement was over we headed back up to our house and was met by this...A couple of firetrucks and police cars in front of our next door neighbor's house. Apparently our elderly neighbor, Gary, had passed away in his sleep. We spoke to his brother and he had been struggling with heart problems for quite a while. We had only spoke to him a few times since living here, but the kids felt sad for him. I'm just glad that we know that he is no longer suffering.

And now we have gone back to the quiet.

Uh Oh!

2009-10-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here comes trouble!

Yes, he is now mobile! Can't sit up, but is scootin' all over the place. Ain't he cute?

Pumpkins, some funny shaped balloons and a two wheeler!

2009-10-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Now how's that for a title? I know you are antsy with anticipation, so off we goooo!

Grace had a field trip to the pumpkin patch...fun was had by all!On the last few days of Balloon Fiesta, they have what they call the special shapes rodeo (and at night they call it the glowdeo where all the balloons stay grounded, but they inflate and glow from the fire) Friday was the first day of the rodeo and this is what graced our skies.We saw Nemo, the Energizer Bunny, Darth Vader and many more. We were even able to catch up with the sun.Yes, we were all in our jammies, we just jumped in the car, not intending to get out, when we saw Sunny Boy here landing next to Walmart. We just couldn't resist the photo op. However, as I was getting out of the car to take the pics, I remembered that I had a big hole in my pajama pants...Luckily I had a sweatshirt that I tied around my waist.
Balloon Fiesta ended on Sunday and we sure miss all the balloons flying overhead.

Friday night, Grace finally braved the two wheeler and is now off and running.I took her training wheels off last week to put on Dylan's little bike. She was a little upset, but being the mean mom that I am, I told her that she was too old to ride a bike with training wheels (and I didn't want to go buy some new ones for Dyl!) We tried to get her to ride it for a few days, but she would just cry for her training wheels. Finally on Friday we got her to try it. She was a little afraid at first (which is unusual because she is not my scaredy cat) but then she took right off. She asks all the time now if she can go practice...I think she needs a bigger bike!

Housekeeping Habits

2009-10-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

Do you have certain days that you clean certain rooms or do certain tasks? Or do you clean on an "as needed" basis? How does that work for you? Tell me about your housekeeping routines...I need all the help I can get!

We love Balloon Fiesta!

2009-10-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

To kick off balloon fiesta week they do a lift off at the elementary schools all over town. So, we got up early Friday morning to head over to the kids' school to see the balloons inflate and launch. It is really so much fun to see.

And then on Sunday morning we woke up to this amazing sight...

Balloons filled the sky and flew over our house. It was really a spectacular view that we had, the pictures don't do it justice. We even jumped in the car to see some of the balloons landing just a ways up from our house. How much fun.
The balloons were up again this morning and will continue until next Sunday. This is definitely one of the best parts of living here!

Eight Months

2009-10-01T19:21:00.000-07:00

Our little James is 8 months old...where has the time gone??? He cut his first tooth this morning and we had a weight check on him. He is now 14.6 lbs (3rd percentile) Still our little runt, but cute as he can be. Our little dairy-free experiment did not garner any noticeable difference, he is still growing at the same rate, so I am back to a normal diet...yippee! He didn't gain, I didn't lose, so I celebrated with a slice of Costco pizza after his appointment...Yum!
At 8 months old, he is rolling, scooting a little, but not sitting up unassisted just yet. He seems to be following in Jesse's footsteps in this regard as well, so I am expecting it to be any time soon. He is sleeping through the night (most of the time) and is just such a little joy to have around. We love our little Jamesy-bug.