Due to unfortunate circumstances...

I am thinking it is just a matter of time before everyone makes their blogs private.  I have heard some scary things from friends about keeping their blogs public.  I know we like to believe the world is okay for the most part...but to think someone might be using innocent photos of OUR children for their own will and pleasure is enough to force me to make the change.  I feel an obligation to protect the things I value the most.  Without going into detail, I do know for certain that my blog and the photos, thoughts, ideas and information posted HAS been 'abused' by someone I know.  I can't let this go on any further.  So, if you would like to still be an 'invited' guest to our family blog, please let me know via the comments option below or by emailing me at tanyas_stuff@comcast.net

Also, please know that I would love to have all of you (who are friends and family) to be included in that list if you are interested.  I still think it is a great way to keep in touch and see pics of your growing families and your adventures in life!  It sure makes the world a smaller and more lovely place!  I will be making the switch to PRIVATE in one week:)

A Perfect Weekend

A few weeks ago we blessed Tyler and visited lots of family!  It really was a perfect weekend. Here are some more photos from that trip.  Sadly, I forgot to take photos of the great family party at Grandma Fern's home.  Grandma Fern and Carolyn and many others pitched in to make it absolutely wonderful. 

 

Grandma Fern, who will be 92 this year and

Tyler, 2 months old.  If I remember right, he is the 37th great grandchild.

We were finally able to have Ben's family come up to my parents home in the mountains.  It was a beautiful day!  My parents made us some yummy food (Dad's homemade Fried Rice) and our visit was short but sweet.

My mom, Marge and Ben's mom, Carolyn.

Here are the cousins watching Josh's soccer game (actually I think they were mostly just eating snacks the whole time). 

Water fun with the cousins!

These two are so stinkin' cute together!  They really enjoy each other.

See what I mean?

Mr. Bigstuff Camden, who doesn't know he is only 18 months old.  So cute!

Cute cousins.

The girly swirlies loving Baby Tyler.

On the way home we stopped at Shoshone Falls.  Quite impressive!  These are called 'The Niagra of the West'.  They drop 50 feet further than Niagra Falls.  Huh...and to think we have passed these amazing waterfalls so many times and never took the time to see them until now. 

Tyler's Baby Blessing

We had Tyler blessed on Sunday May 16th. 

Since 90% of our family was traveling from Idaho for the blessing, we decided to go up there instead of having everyone come to us. It was a PERFECT weekend. I only wish I would have taken a few better photos.

We had lots of fun with our cousins and extended family all weekend.  The blessing was the icing on the cake.  I was able to visit with my Uncle Will and Aunt Barbie and cousin Vicki, who I hadn't seen for 10 years!  My sister, Danielle and her family were not able to attend due to the fact that she had a baby 2 days before...at home...in her bathroom!

Ben's mom, Carolyn flew in from Tennessee.  We were so lucky to have her here with us! We had a great luncheon after the blessing at Grandma Fern's home (which I have NO photos of).  She and many others cooked up some amazing food and everything was so Yummy!  What a wonderful day!  I have more fun photos from the weekend, but I thought I would give Tyler his own post for his blessing day.  What a wonderful reason to have a family get together.  Muchas Gracias to everyone for your help!  It was a perfect day for us!

Tyler's 2 Months Old

Is there anything more peaceful than looking at a sleeping baby?  Actually, snuggling a new little baby may be the only thing to beat that!  Here is Tyler lying on Ben's chest.  Daddy's are good for that!

This Mother's Day felt so incredibly good to hold another new little life in my arms.  I feel like I can't even wrap my brain around my feelings for this little guy.  I can't take it all in.  I guess the saying "My cup floweth over" has new meaning to me.  I could stare at this little face all day.  I know I already do most of the night too:)

The delay on my camera didn't capture the smile he was showing us-but this is quite cute too!

Yay-I finally captured him laughing...camera strap and all.  Two months old is so fun.  I love it when they start smiling and laughing.

I think he was laughing at us in these photos.  The kids and I were coming up with some pretty strange noises and actions to get him to smile for the camera.  Oh, I am soooo in love with this baby... and so is the rest of the family:)

Luke's 6th Birthday

We hope you had a fun birthday Luke!  We can't believe you are 6 years old already. 

To sum it up, Luke is:

-our 'Curious George'- always getting into something just out of pure curiosity. 

-our 'Energizer Bunny'- he never takes naps, never slows down, always has to be doing something productive, and only watches maybe '30' minutes of  TV per day because there is just too much to explore and do each day.

-an inventor.  He lies in bed every night for hours dreaming about all the rockets and robots he is going to build some day. He especially wants to build a robot that cleans his room for him.

-our Garbage Man.  He digs through our garbage everyday looking for items to salvage and reuse.  He says there is no such thing as garbage...only things that haven't been used or created yet.

-our magical rock finder.  He finds new 'magical rocks' almost every day and stores them in his pocket until Mommy finds them in the wash machine every time she does the laundry.
 

-a great detail-oriented artist, a great reader, a great learner in the classroom and a great big brother to Tyler and sometimes to Ashlynn:)  He wears us out, keeps us laughing, inspires us with his deep thinking, tests our patience, and warms our hearts. 

Happy Birthday Luke

Ashlynn's Birthday Present

Check out this gorgeous bike!  Ashlynn saved all her birthday money from friends and family (and a little extra from Mom and Dad) and this what she bought!  It even has a small attachable Barbie bike for her Barbie to ride with her.  It is the cutest thing!!!  She loves it and so do we.  It sure beats the $5 garage sale  bike we bought for her a few years ago.  Now she wants to ride her bike every day.  Ashlynn tells us how 'bewful' it is every time she jumps on it. 

Are Your Toenails This Long?

Luke never ceases to amuse me.  This is just too dang funny NOT to share.  Yesterday while I was clipping Luke's nails, he said, "I want to grow out my toenails to be as tall as Daddy so that I can lay in my bed and shut the light off without getting up."  I laughed so hard I thought I was going to have to make a bathroom run.  The image of him doing that is so gross but so hilarious.  It reminded me of an SNL act. 

Oh, Luke.  You are too funny.  Your Mama loves you.

Too Much Love???

"OK...so here's the deal!  I'm wearing this disguise in hopes that my crazy fans won't notice how cute and wonderful I am.  All day long I am smothered in kisses and sometimes it's just too much.  What's a guy to do?  I can't run away or even crawl away to escape.  Just take a look at these photos.  The proof is in the puddin'! "

"Here comes one of them now.  Ugh!"

"Oh no...the other one is coming too. He's got his lips all geared up and ready to go!"

"Ughhhhhhh, somebody help me!"

"Now they are fighting about who loves me more. I always hate this part".

"Here we go again!"

"UGH!  That's it!!!  TOO much love.  I can't take it anymore.  MOMMMMMY!!!"

Happy Birthday Ashlynn!

Ashlynn was born 4 years ago on an early Easter morning.  It was a beautiful day!  When I looked out the window of my hospital room I saw snow covered mountains and down throughout the valley I could see so many trees bursting with pink blossoms.  When we brought Ashlynn home from the hospital, our two trees out front were covered in pink blossoms also.  I felt like the earth had given me a beautiful pink bouquet to celebrate not only Easter, but the birth of my baby girl.  I LOVE spring time.  So many wonderful events to celebrate!  Every year Ashlynn and I look for these pink blossoms because they always arrive on or around her birthday.  The first 4 blossoms opened on her birthday this year! 

This year we decided to make her a princess castle cake.  In the beginning, I was going to assemble a 3-D style castle cake...but with a 5 week old baby and not much sleep and time...I decided to make this one instead.  Maybe next year I will attempt the 3-D version.

SHE LOVED IT!!!

This was Ashlynn's first birthday party.  She shared a party with Luke when she was 1, but this was her first party all by herself. She loved having her friends come over to be princesses with her.  They decorated crowns, colored princess pages and ate some cake.  It was pretty low key...just the way I wanted it.  These girls were all so adorable.  Ashlynn had so much fun with them.

We love this little girl!  We love her little sweet voice and all the funny & cute things she says on a daily basis.  We love her blue eyes.  We love her wonderful hugs and her concern for others.  She is very thoughtful and loving toward her family and friends.  We feel so blessed to have her in our family.

Crazy Birthday Family

Yes...we are the Crazy Birthday Family!  All of us celebrate our birthdays within 8 weeks of each other.  If Tyler had been born on his due date, we would have had all five of us celebrating birthdays within 6 weeks.  It's kind of exhausting, but atleast we get a whole year of birthday-free stress! The kids don't get jealous of each other being in the spotlight because they know their birthday is right around the corner. 

Ben and I both had pretty low key birthday celebrations.  Although I did buy Ben 2 giant cookies for his special day.  One to eat at home and one to share at work.  Happy Birthday Ben!  He has been such a big help to me with a new baby.  He has let me sleep-in whenever possible and yesterday for the first time, he made me breakfast AFTER sleeping in til 9:30 because I had had one hour of sleep all night!  Yahoo!

One Month Old!

I know I said I was going to create shorter posts for 2010...but how could I resist sharing more than enough pics of our little Ty guy??!!  There are so many changes and adjustments that happen in the first month, so why not celebrate a little?  Here's a quick overview of one month of life from Tyler's point of view.

A few members of my fan club displayed posters to welcome me home from the hospital.

Loves from Grandpa Ed.

Loves from Grandma Marge.

All of my clothes are too big for me and I can do a disappearing act in my carseat.

Abundant offerings of the best toys ever created as a token of acceptance from my fan club.  

I was one of Mommies best birthday presents ever.

I think I found my twin brother even though we were born almost 6 years apart.

I discovered my fan club may not love me as much as I thought.  They put me through some torture routine they call a 'bath'. 

One other thing I discovered...there can never be too many naps with Mommy!

Happy One Month Tyler! We are so happy to have you in our family.

Quote of the Day

The other day Ben and I overheard Luke talking to Tyler:

Luke:  "Tyler, when you get to be a little bigger, we will go to the Disney Castle.  That is a place where all your dreams come true!" 

(Someone has been paying close attention to the Disneyland commercials!)

The Story

Since I plan on printing my blog and keeping it as a journal, I wanted to write more about the day Tyler joined our family.  

On Wednesday, March 3rd, I went to my weekly appointment.   I was 37 weeks pregnant and the doctor told me I tested positive for GBS.  She also said I would have to be induced on the 15th of March so I could receive 4 hours of antibiotics before the baby would be born.  I was very upset because I do not like being induced for so many reasons.  I went home really ticked off until I read about all the difficulties babies can have from contracting GBS.  Who wants their baby to get meningitis???  Not me.  So I started making plans for the 15th.  The stress level in our home was kicked into high gear making plans and making Ben work harder on his 'Honey Do List'. 

Throughout the next 24 hours a few people commented that I looked like the baby had dropped and they teased me about having the baby over the weekend.  That made me stress even more.  Unlike many other pregnant women, I have never wished to be 'done' sooner than expected.  I get uncomfortable...but I don't think I have ever been miserable.  I enjoy feeling the baby move.  It is such a surreal experience.  I get more nervous knowing that I will be responsible for another little person, that I welcome discomfort in place of it.  I know that the first few months of the baby's life I will be a walking zombie and sore from breastfeeding and etc.  That is scarier to me than any discomfort I've had in pregnancy.

The next day, Thursday, March 4, my daughter threw up and then my son came home from school with a fever. This was not good. I was so worried about taking care of them and then bringing home a newborn to a germ infested home.  I had contractions all night, but when morning came, they disappeared.  Contractions (not Braxton Hicks) came and went throughout the day and continued throughout the night on the 5th.  On Saturday March 6th, both kids seemed to be doing better-whew! Such a relief!  Contractions showed up again while I was painting one of the bedrooms and continued throughout the night as Ben and I welcomed 8 babysitting group children into our home.  It was our turn to watch all the kids...so we did it....contractions and all.  Are we crazy or what???  I was in pain most of the time, so Ben ended up entertaining them.  Good job Ben!  The kids were all great too!  Whew!

Contractions continued throughout Saturday night and into Sunday morning and then stopped at 4am.  So I went to church with my family.  As soon as we sat down, I started having contractions 3-6 minutes apart again.  I called my doctor and she told me to come to the hospital.  Just as I was approaching Ben in the hallway, he looked scared when I told him we had to go to the hospital.  He informed me that the tire on the minivan was flat!  We jumped in the van and drove around looking for an open auto store.  Meanwhile, my contractions stopped.  Thank goodness!  I really didn't want to have a baby on the side of the road.  We skipped the rest of church and I laid on the couch ALL evening.  I knew this baby had to come soon!  I didn't know how many more days of on and off contractions I could take.  Ben's cell phone died on Saturday night too...so my anxiety of not being able to contact him throughout the upcoming week was growing by the second. 

Well, I prayed I would know the right time to head to the hospital because I was so confused at this point.  I talked on the phone with my friend Nell until midnight on Sunday, March 7th.  I went to bed right after that.  At 2:36am I was awakened by another set of contractions...but these were very intense and I knew it was time.  Ironically, with all 3 of my children, I have started those really intense contractions at 2:30 am each time!!!  Is that crazy or what?  When I woke up and looked at the clock at 2:36am, I thought to myself...is this really possible?  What are the chances of that?   My doctor says that happens with some women!  Anyway, I called my friend Susan at 4 am and she came over and watched my children while Ben and I headed to the hospital.  The nurse said I was dilated to a 5 and told me I definitely had enough time to get 4 hours of antibiotics intravenously before the baby would arrive.  YAY!!!  After such a crazy weekend, I am so thrilled and still amazed that everything actually turned out just perfect.  Tyler was born on Monday, March 8th at 10:20am.  Two weeks early and I didn't have to be induced!  We were so excited to have a little baby that we actually forgot to look down to see if he was a boy or girl.  We laughed about that!  I was so emotional at this point.  After a long and difficult year, I finally had my baby in my arms and he was so healthy and beautiful beyond words.  Our prayers were answered in so many ways!  I can't deny that.

'Natural' does not equal 'EASY'

Whew!  I am exhausted....all the time.  I love little Tyler and I wouldn't change a thing, but I have forgotten just how much work a newborn is. Even though I have successfully breastfed both Luke & Ashlynn for 1 whole year, I still think breastfeeding is such a feat!  It is definitely another labor of love.  I have to set day to day goals for doing it rather than setting the 1 year goal.  Otherwise it just seems too daunting.  I have read many books and literature about breastfeeding and hired many lactation specialists in the past...it is still a difficult task no matter what!  I have jokingly commented that I want to list it on my resume some day.  What employer wouldn't hire me if he/she really knew just how much blood, sweat, tears, pain, countless HOURS (& years!)  I have worked to accomplish such a task?  Although it sounds like I am complaining...I still think the benefits outweigh the difficulties.  I just have to remember that things will get better soon:)  
Note to self:....YOU...CAN...DO...THIS!

It's A Boy!

We are so in love with this little boy.  A little piece of heaven has entered our home, our family and our hearts.  After 4 days and nights of labor pains, Tyler was born on Monday, March 8.  He was 2 weeks early, which turned out to be great after the weekend we ended up having.  I can't even begin to describe how we are feeling right now, so I will just post a bunch of photos for the time being.