Friday, January 25, 2019

{10.15.18 - 10.21.18}

Matthew saw this beautiful double rainbow while he was working down in Escalante.  
Mr. Eli is getting better at sitting up! // He tipped over while he was practicing sitting, but he made it look so intentional! Haha! 
He insists on feeding himself. I tried spoon feeding him one day and got yelled at, and he refused to let me get near his mouth with the spoon...until I just gave it to him and let him do it. That's the only way he will eat. // One of the girls took this picture of me and Eli. I really don't like putting pictures of myself like this on the blog, but I think I will like to look back on it and remember these snuggles and be glad that this picture is here. With Matthew gone throughout the week for work I have felt pretty overwhelmed with trying to keep all four kids happy and fed, so most days look like this for me. I am honestly not sure when my last shower was, the kitchen/house is filthy, the kids are being so noisy and playing with their food and I should teach this baby to put himself to sleep on his own, but I know I am going to miss all of it! (Other than the lack of personal hygiene! Ha!) 
Eli hates to be on his tummy so he doesn't roll onto his stomach, but he has been rolling from side to side a lot lately! He grabs his little toes and rolls over in a cute little ball! 
Feeding himself. He's so big, and so stubborn! // I love these boys and I love how happy Axel gets when he gets to be with his baby brother.  
I don't remember why, but we stopped in Nephi on our way home from somewhere so I could nurse Eli and the kids played at this cute little park. It was pretty cold, but they had a blast! (I also thought I had pictures of the girls playing but I can't find them.) 
Eli doesn't like the jumper too much. He does okay for a minute, but he'd just much rather be held. I think it's because he doesn't want to be confined to this one spot in the doorway. He likes how much I move around the house, so he just wants to come with me! // Axel loves these sunglasses and I just thought this was too funny!  
My beautiful Grandma passed away this week and I'm so happy my family was able to go to her funeral. She was such a beautiful woman! I didn't know her as well as I would have liked, but what I did know about her I truly loved - and still do! I love you Grandma! 
On our way home from Grandma Cheney's funeral we stopped to visit Matthew's grandma. It was so good to see her! For a few different reasons it's been really hard for us to get to Idaho so we haven't been able to visit Grandma for a long time. It was really good to visit with her for a little bit before we went home.   
Axel was being uncooperative, but I love this picture of Grandma and the kids! 

Thursday, January 24, 2019

{10.8.18 - 10.14.18}

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit for a bit and I love this picture we got with Grandma! 
Fancy Axel eating breakfast in his "glov-es" 
He is so darn cute! He doesn't get near the amount of attention from me that the girls, or even Axel got. Being the baby of the family has it's drawbacks, I guess...but he seems to just go with the flow like a champ! 
Eli just wanted me to hold him but I needed two hands to fix dinner and he was not happy to just play with toys in his Bumbo…so he got his first graham cracker and he loved it!! 
The girls were taking pictures one day and caught this gem. I love it! As much as it hurts, I think one thing I am going to miss most when my kids are all grown up is when my babies grab a chunk of my skin and pull me in for a kiss.  
The girls also caught this gem of Dad and Eli. I love it so much!!

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

{10.1.18 - 10.7.18}

10.4.18     This happy boy is a mama's boy through and through. I still rock him or nurse him to sleep even though I feel like I need to break the habit. For now it's just easy because he doesn't make a huge fuss about it. I only have to rock him for a few minutes before he is asleep. He doesn't like to sleep through the night though without eating a couple of times. I'm fine with it for now, but I can feel my energy dwindling so I'm not sure how much longer I can let that go on. He is such a happy little guy though! His smile melts my heart. He doesn't laugh easily but he makes the cutest happy baby sounds. His cheeks are getting chubbier by the day and I just can't get enough of him! Happy five months sweet boy! 
We left the trailer on the mountain between hunts and when we went up to move it we discovered that some mice had taken up residence inside the trailer. It was pretty gross but these kids are pretty stinkin' cute! 
Look Mom! No hands!!! The girls are practicing all sorts of new tricks on their bikes! They have come such a long way in such a short amount of time. They sued to walk their bikes over all the tiny bumps in the sidewalk and now they just cruise over them like it's nothing! (Alya)
Alya / Lyla...and Tooke. 
This one is Lyla's favorite trick! They are so daring and so proud of themselves! I'm pretty proud of them too! 
I love this baby!!! / Axel has a little girlfriend! The neighbor girls that my girls play with have a little sister who is Axel's age. They are so cute together! They walk around holding hands and sharing toys and showing each other cool things around the yard! It's super cute!  
Diana and I met at Hogle Zoo with all the kids one day this week. We had so much fun! The kids did awesome, as aw 



Every time I go to the zoo I try to get a picture like this. This one had my dying! Lyla - the one in the very middle...who was probably the most secure was freaking out because she was sure she was going to fall off. She made such a huge fuss about it and every time I look at these pictures I just have to chuckle at the drama! 

(I had to post this one of my girls. I have no idea what Alya's pose is, but man it kills me!) 
Axel loved the lions and the elephants! // Eli wasn't so sure about being held by another baby, but she was sure excited to hold him!  
We took the train ride! 
The kids all loved it!  
We got our new car this week. (Toyota Sequoia) and I was able to drive it up to the zoo. It was pretty nice and seemed to run great! We stayed at my mom's house for the night and I met up with my sisters the next day and left the kids with my mom. On my way back to my mom's house, my front passenger tire fell off my car!!! It was terrifying! Thank goodness I was off the highway and was pulling into a parking lot and was out of the way when it came off so no one was hurt. But man it scared me! I'm grateful my kids weren't with me and that they were so happy to chow down on popcorn and hang out with Nana while I was stuck for hours in a parking lot and I'm grateful I was with my sisters who know some very car savvy people who were willing to help and got me back on the road! And I'm so grateful this happened close to my mom's house and not while I was on the freeway coming to or from the zoo with all the kids in my car! Things could have ended so differently and I'm so grateful for the Lord's hand in keeping me and my kids safe! 

Thursday, January 17, 2019

{9.24.18 - 9.30.18}

9.27.18   
Every mom probably says this about her children, but I think mine are beautiful! 
Eli loves his toes! 
Eli has started solids. I have such mixed emotions about him hitting these milestones! I know the baby stage is so hard and I look forward to sleeping all night more often than not, and not carrying a needy baby on my hip while I'm trying to fix dinner or clean the house. But really, it's just hard while I'm in it. I know I'm going to miss all of this. Having been through all of this with Eli's siblings, it's been easier for me to cherish all these moments and milestones, but it's still really hard! // The girls are loving school these days. They are getting so good at their letters! (Alya) 
They walked up down the sidewalk hand in hand a few times! Axel loves the girls and loves when they let him play with them. Alya's helmet cracks me up! She insists on wearing it to ride her bike, even if she is only on her bike for a few minutes, and then she will run around the yard with it on until it's time to come in the house. Lyla - her poses and her Tooke. She kills me! 
The girls have been learning new tricks on their bikes! (Lyla) // Axel is getting pretty good at his bike, too! He just follows the girls up and down the sidewalk and is even getting good at lifting his feet off the ground and balancing! 
Little man is getting good at practicing sitting up! // I love sleeping babies! It's so hard to move when he falls asleep in my arms. 
We brought a bed up to the front room for Matthew's dad to sleep on when he's here for his hunts and we've just kind of left it. I'm hoping Eli will sleep better if I'm not in the same room as him, so I've been sleeping on the guest bed. The kids love it. They all have their little spot to watch their shows and relax. 
Axel adores Eli and I'm so glad Eli is getting bigger and less afraid of his brother! // Deep thoughts during breakfast! 
The girls got in trouble one day so we sent them to their corners. Axel was feeling left out so he sent himself to his "corner."

Monday, December 17, 2018

{9.17.18 - 9.23.18}

These beauties got to celebrate their *FIFTH* birthday this week! 
Matthew's parents and a couple of his sisters were able to come down and celebrate with us! I think they felt pretty darn special!  
Lyla is so sassy! (Send help!) //I can't get over how big my girls are looking these days. When did they grow out of that baby stage into such pretty little girls!? 
I talked the girls into letting me make them a cookie cake and a brownie cake...they seem to turn out better for me than actual cake most of the time...so Alya wanted a little mouse cookie and Lyla wanted a pretty butterfly brownie! I was pretty happy with how they turned out! 
The girls then got to have a sleepover at their aunt's house for a bit. They always have so much fun with their aunts!  
The boys and I went up the mountain to move the camp trailer for Grandpa's elk hunt!  
This little guy was just so content to be in the mountains! // Donuts - breakfast of champions! (And look at those curls!!!!)
I sure love these boys of mine!!! Also, I cut Axel's hair this week! I tried to leave some of his curls that I love so much, but it was time for it to be somewhat tame! I definitely didn't do a great job, but I think it could be worse! Haha!
My mom bought this crazy finger unicorn at a little toy store near her house...but there were no rules saying it had to be on your fingers... 
Matthew and Grandpa with his beautiful bull! 
Oh this was so funny!! Axel did not like this mask!

Thursday, December 13, 2018

.five years old.

To celebrate the girls’ birthday I thought it would be fun to finally record some things that they have said over the last couple of years. They are smart, intuitive, funny, entertaining, etc. So I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!
One of my favorite things the girls both say is “I amen’t” when what they mean to say is I’m not. I can’t bring myself to correct them because I think it’s just the best!
They also used to say “that’s why” instead of “that’s because.” 
 
Lyla:
Lyla had an imaginary friend that lived in the girls’ closet. His name was Bonus and they told me he was made out of bones. He sounded slightly terrifying to me, but they said he was nice! Ha!
She likes to tell us stories about all the things she did on her own as a baby, such as:
Hiked all the way to Idaho and a fox kept her warm in its den.
Canoed all by herself.
Caught a baby rattlesnake.
Crawled all the way to a huge volcano!!
Tried to catch a bluebird so she could play with.

Dad: Have you been up here before? (Near Capital Reef)
Girls: no.
Dad: Not even when you were a baby in the middle of the night?
Alya: No, I stayed in bed all night.
Lyla: Yeah, when I was a baby I got out of bed and came up here.
Alya: did you drive?
Lyla: Yeah I just steered and then I got the hang of it.
Dad: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Lyla: A horse.
Mom: Lyla, go wake up Alya.
Lyla: I can’t.
Mom: Why?
Lyla: She will just scream at me.
Matthew was trying to start the gas fireplace when the power went out one night. The girls were watching when Lyla said “he doesn’t know what he’s doin.”
Lyla: *thrashing and grunting in her sleep* No I didn’t!!
*I woke her up enough to get her back on her pillow so her face wasn’t squished into her bedpost*
Lyla: I didn’t ask for water to be splashed in my eyes!
Mom: I’m sorry, I won’t do it again, okay?
Lyla: Otay
Lyla: after applying chapstick “Lookin pretty good there, amen’t I!”
Lyla (to Alya who was making some weird, random noises) “You’re kind of seakin (freaking) me out a little bit.”
Lyla had been asking me to draw pictures for her to paint. They have mostly been “My Little Pony.” She finished the ones I had already drawn and asked “Mom, can I have Rainbow Dash now?”
Me: Not right now, sis.
Lyla: Why?
Me: Cause I’m doing dinner, I can’t draw right now.
Lyla. Okay, goodbye then.
Lyla: Good job on those cookies, mom!
Me: If you had waited just three minutes she would have been done climbing the stairs.
Lyla: But I’m not a bery dood waiter!
Lyla found and picked some Indian Paintbrush and loves the idea of the Indians using them for paint. “The Indians squished the Indian brush and used it as paint and they painted their faces!”
“I’m all cheerio-d!!” *Showing me the crumbs on her hands from the bag of cheerios she just finished.
Lyla called me to help her in the bathroom: “Mom, I’m all done. MOM I’M ALL DONE!!! MOM!!! MOM!!!”
Me: Lyla, you can’t expect me to be in here right as soon as you call me. It takes a second to walk in here!
Lyla: You should have runned!
Lyla: I drame that bear came in my room and rolled me out of bed and scratched me.
Alya: What color was he?
Lyla: White.
Alya: Did he have eyes?
Lyla: No! A white bear with no eyes rolled me out of my bed!
Lyla: Mom, can I have more bor…no. More bor…no. More bor…no. Bor…no. What is it called again?
Me: More Doritos?
Lyla: Yeah! Doritos!!
Lyla: Mom I just have something to tell you.
Me: I have something to tell you too!
Lyla: What?
Me: *whispers* I love you.
Lyla: I just don’t think anybody loves me.
(She might just be slightly dramatic.)
Jeni: You’re just working so hard. How do you handle it?
Lyla: I just handle it so easy!
Lyla: I drame about getting in a pool with bees and bumping into a frog!
Alya: I drame about…*whispers to Lyla:  Lyla, tell me!
Lyla: *whispers back to Alya: I don’t know!
Alya: Oh!
Lyla: Mom, you’re turning out to be the greatest!
Lyla: I love my sister.
Alya: I love you too, Lyla.
After multiple times of getting the girls mixed up one day Lyla had finally had enough.
Lyla: Ya know. We’re not the same!
Lyla: That’s too loud! My ears are sensible!
Me: Dad found some pretty cool rocks, huh!?
Lyla: Pretty cool? No. AWESOME!!
Lyla: Do you know how it makes me feel when you do this?
Alya: Happy?
Lyla: Yes.
Alya: I guess I did know!
Alya: I wish I was at your wedding.
Me: I bet you were watching from Heaven.
Lyla: I think I crawled there and looked over the edge of a cloud!
Me: Lyla, please don’t sniff in my ear, okay?
A short while later I sniffed a couple of times.
Lyla: Only you can sniff in your ears?
The girls each split a sugar cookie and an m&m cookie.
Alya: I almost fell in love with both of those!
Lyla: were your eyes going like this: *she then made little dreamy “in love” eyes*
Alya: When I grow up I’ll marry whoever I want.
Lyla: Like Axel?
Alya: No, I think when he’s older he’ll be a goober to me…I can’t marry my own brother!
Lyla: Why not? All husbands are kind of gooberish.
After working out in the yard spreading bark chips and helping to clean out the garden beds, Lyla came into the house and said “I was born to work hard with Dad like that!”
Lyla: *Singing* I’m illusive and I’m small…I am a bird…and I love to stay up in the sky…
Lyla: Mickey Mouse is a mouse. Mouses carry diseases.
Lyla’s first poem:
Puppy lost, puppy found.
Puppy running all around.
Lyla: (When Eli was crying one day) I can understand horses. Not babies.
Lyla: I wish I had a nicer mom and dad that didn’t send me to my room when I’m being mean or put me in time-out. And they would let me make the rules of the house.  


Alya:
While relaxing at a family reunion she asked someone, “Do you want to lay in the grass? I hear it feels really nice!”
Dad and the girls were looking at an Eye Spy book.
Dad: “I think these are the two turtle doves.”
Alya: “I can’t argue with that!”
We missed our exit on a round-a-bout so we made the loop.
Alya: (about half way through) “Why are we just driving around?”
Me: “Lyla’s asleep with her finger in her nose.”
Alya: “Oh! That’s why she’s not talking!”
Alya:”Mary rode a donkey”
Jeni: “And then what happened?”
Alya: “She hopped off!”
Me: “Do you want to come pick out your clothes or do you want me to?”
Alya: “Where are we going?”
(Is is sad that we only get dressed to leave the house?)
Alya was sent to her room one day and then I kind of forgot she was down there. She yelled up to me: “Mom? I’ve been down here for 7 minutes! Or like, a long time!”
Alya: “Jake (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates) says “Yo-Ho Let’s Go!” but I don’t know that word.
Me: “Why? Because you’re Izzy?”
Alya: “No, I’m Elsa!”
Me: “Oh! What does Elsa say?”
Alya: “She just sings songs and climbs up mountains. And builds castles. That’s what she do!”
We went to the zoo and when we got to the elephants the handlers were feeding them. It was kind of fun to watch!
Me: “What were the elephants doing when we saw them?”
Alya: “Poopin’!”
The girls and their aunts were having a discussion about saving their money one day.
Crystal: “Do you have money in your piggy banks?”
Alya: “Yeah!”
Crystal: “What are you saving for?”
Jeni: “College?”
Girls: “no.”
Crystal: “To go with me to Disneyland?”
Girls: “no.”
Alya: “To go to Walmart and buy stuff!”
Alya: “Mom, can you be the SipIt! girl?”
(Clearly the drink shop is one of my favorite stops!)
Alya likes to find something positive to say about everyone.
“I’m a bery dood driver!”
“Dogs are bery dood swimmers!”
“Mountain bobs (mountain lions) are sast runners!”
Alya:”What is that smell?”
Me: “I don’t know!”
Alya: “It’s Axel!”
Me: “No, he’s just wet. *Takes diaper off* Oh! He did poop!”
Alya: “See, I told ya he smelled.”
Me: “I didn’t know he pooped. I couldn’t smell him.”
Alya: “He smells awful!”
Me: “I have a feeling you’ll have to get used to that.”
Alya: “That why we need a baby girl. Not a Axel.”
Me: “No! I want to keep Axel!!”
Alya: “We will have to give Axel away so we can have a baby girl.”
Alya: “If I see something it’s my best friend.”
Jeni: “Ants? Bugs?”
Alya: “Yep!”
Jeni: “People?”
Alya: “Nope!”
Alya asked one day if we could go see if the gate at the swimming pool is open, but she wouldn’t believe me when I told her it wasn’t.
Me: “Okay. Why don’t you go see if it’s open?”
Alya: “But is it far away?”
Me: “Yes.”
Alya: “Then I’ll have to drive!”
Me: “Can you drive?”
Alya: “No…I know! You go buy me a horse real quick and then I could ride him to there!”
Me: “Dad’s birthday is in a week. What should we do for Dad’s birthday?”
Alya: “A stroller.”
Me: “You think we should get him a stroller?”
Alya: “Mm-hm.”
Me: “How come?”
Alya: “So he could take kids on a walk!”
Me: “What kids?”
Alya: “Kids like us!”
The girls telling each other about their dreams one morning:
Lyla: I drame that a bear came in my room and rolled me out of bed and scratched me.
Alya: What color was he?
Lyla: White.
Alya: Did he have eyes?
Lyla: No! A white bear with no eyes rolled me out of my bed!
Alya endearingly called me “mommy ma moo ma” one day!
Alya to Grandma: “I want you to sit on me and then we can hatch an egg!”
Me: “Come blow raspberries on your brother’s tummy.”
Alya: “no.”
Me: “How come?”
Alya: “Because there’s no blueberries in my mouth!”
Alya: “You scared the hickens out of me!”
Me: “How about some water?”
Alya: “No! I want juice!”
Me: “No, you haven’t had any water today. You need some water!”
Alya: “But I don’t want water.”
Lyla: “She’ll change her mind in a bit, mom!”
Alya climed into bed and her pant leg pulled up.
“Mom, will you fix my leg sleeve?”
I was teasing the girls one day about who was who.
Me: (To Alya) “I know!! You’re Lyla!”
Alya: “No!!”
Me: *Leaning in close to look at her face “Let me see.”
Alya: *Looking straight at me so that I can examine her face “I have nounder cheeks!”
Lyla was crying because she was struggling to put her Elsa dress on.
Alya: “I don’t wanna hear you crying!!!”
Lyla: “Then put my earmuffs on!!”

I wish I could remember who my mom and Alya were talking about during this conversation. It had to be a character from a show or a book.
Nana: “She went from needing more confidence to a show off!”
Alya: “No? She’s a girl!!”
While I was expecting Eli the girls liked to imagine him as a little girl doing little girl things.
Alya: “Maybe at night the baby was sleeping and she made a real live bed!”
On Nov. 3, 2017 (the girls had been four for about 3 months) Alya was telling her dad about how she took her bike over a big bump all by herself”…a long long time ago when I was four…”
Alya: I love you all the way up to the moon and back!
Lyla: I love you that much too.
Alya: No, the sun is higher. I love you all the way up to the sun and back!
Lyla: Do you know how it makes me feel when you do this?
Alya: Happy?
Lyla: Yes!
Alya: I guess I did know!
Alya: When I grow up I’ll marry whoever I want.
Lyla: Like Axel?
Alya: No, I think when he’s older he’ll be a goober to me…I can’t marry my own brother!!!
Lyla: Why not? All husbands are kind of gooberish.
Lyla: I don’t like kisses.
Alya: But when you marry someone, you’re gonna have to kiss him. *shrugs*
Alya: If somebody wants Eli, they’re gonna have to go through us!
Me: Axel, let’s go change your bum.
Alya: Sometimes when you say change your bum I think of you peeling his bum off and putting a new one on!
Me: I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached!
Alya: Does that normally happen?
Alya: The T-Rex is the king of the dinosaurs!
Me: Why?
Alya: Because it can roar really loud.