One Sad Little Girl

Well, after spending a fun day at the lake today we came home to find a tragedy. Our little Cloie (Kamz decided to spell her name like this)who we had left outside because we couldn't find her when we were leaving, had had a run in with the dog, and didn't make it out alive. It was so sad. Cloie was such a little sweetie, and when Iron Man would try to play with her she would just kind of lay there and not hiss or scratch at him like her brother Rookie would. So I guess this time he just got playing too rough or something. It was just so devastating for everyone, especially Kambrie. She cried hysterically and it broke my heart. I guess you can say we had a literal Memorial Day.




We made a little blanket out of some scrap fleece and wrapped her in it.




Then we burried her in the field across the street.




Don't let her smile fool ya...she was still so sad. She just wanted to do her best to give Cloie a nice grave and wanted to smile and tell her she loved her one last time.

Baseball Beauty Queen ;)

Kambrie had her end of the school year program and I took this picture before she left for school that morning. For her program she got to be a "mother." She had two parts and said them both so well. I was so glad that out of all the things the kids were gonna be when they grow up Kambrie got to be the mom. How blessed she will be if she gets to be a mom and have sweet little kids like I do :)





Kambrie just finished her first ever baseball season. She had a lot of fun and did so well too. She and her cousin were such good little players. All of the little boys' parents said that the girls were the best on the team. It was so fun to watch her play.

The Big 8

Kyler is 8. Wow. Where does the time go? Really, I can't believe how quickly the past eight years have flown by. Everyone always says to enjoy your kids cause they grow up so fast. Well, I definately believe that. I can remember holding my little 5 lb 12 oz baby just like it was yesterday. It all flashes before my eyes every time Kenzlie cries too because she looks just like Kyler looked when he cried. Anyway, the celebration for his big day was lots of fun for him and everyone. He chose to have his cousin, Taven, come down and stay with us for the weekend. We went swimming and went to Ky's baseball game on Friday, and on Saturday I took them to my favorite shopping place (TJ Max) and bought them matching hats and outfits. Then we went to lunch at Winger's (Ky's choice) and then came home and had ice cream cake and he got his present from his dad, a KTM dirt bike. After that they all went to the Blitz football game to watch Uncle Rod play. I think he had a pretty fun birthday, and now we anxiously await the big, big day...his baptism day.

Happy Birthday Kamz!

Kambire and her new kitty, Cloie. She has been asking for a kitten for over four years now. Finally, her dream came true :)

She had a way fun day. She got to go get her hair cut and styled at the salon by my good friend, Sommer. I think that made her smile even bigger than when she got her kitty. Kambrie loved picking out how she wanted it styled from a book.


We played a little game of "Pin the flower on Kambrie." I had to post this picture cause I thought it was a cute idea. Kamz wanted to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but when I asked her if she wanted to do this instead she got so, so excited. She thought it was a fun idea and talked about it for weeks before her party.




Look at these cute girls...and I get to claim all of them :) This is three of the four girl cousins all the same age. I wish my older sister lived closer so her little princess could've been here too.

Sweet Miracle

Our newborn baby is quickly becoming just a baby, and not so new anymore. Sure she's only four weeks old, but really that's getting up there already. It's amazing how quickly the time goes by. On one hand it seems like just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital after I had to be induced two weeks early because my fluid level was too low, and on the other hand it feels like she has been a part of our lives forever, perfectly, just like my delivery when she was born. All in all, we feel so blessed to have her. I couldn't have asked for things to go more smoothly at the hospital, and for the most part, things have gone so well since we've been home. She is a miracle, our sweet miracle, meant to be a part of our family. That's for sure. I think about how we could have lost her in the beginning of the pregnancy with the special circumstances back then, and then to have her come early because of the fluid level, NICU team in place, and not needing them at all, and also having her cord wrapped around her neck, not once, but twice. When I think of all these things it just makes me feel so amazingly blessed to have her here with me and healthy. I love my little miracle, I do.

These are some of the pictures from her newborn session when she was nine days old. If I could I would post them all. I love every single picture. Kellie with Elements Photography does such an amazing job capturing the beauty and innocence of a newborn baby. I'm glad she was able to get these priceless pictures. I think I'll have to post some more later.

Birthday Boy

It was Karsten's birthday yesterday. He is now officially in the terrible twos. I really think that starts a while before they officially hit two though. Don't you? Oh, he's a sweet little boy and we love him tons, but let me tell ya, as Danny was just saying a couple days ago, if he was our only child we'd be crazy busy just trying to keep up with him. Hmmm, the weird thing is that my mom said he reminds her of me when I was his age. Dang it. Oh well, my parents survived and I think we will too.

Karsten loved his caterpillar-worm-snake cake (or whatever you want to call it). When I finally got it done at 8 o'clock at night is when he really decided it was his birthday. What's a birthday without a cake?

His "bike" that he was so excited to get. Now we just have to teach him how to ride it. Happy Birthday little buddy! We love, love, love you...more than a million bucks ;)

Blue Eyed Girl?

I know that most babies start out with blue eyes, but none of mine ever have. So we're wondering if maybe Kenzlie is going to have blue eyes. Time will tell I guess, but for now Danny is enjoying finally having someone with his color of eyes.

I LOVE little baby features.

And I LOVE how little babies smell after a bath. Nothing compares to the original Johnson and Johnson baby wash, shampoo and lotion. Ahhhh, heavenly.

Maybe It's the Stairs

A couple nights ago this is how we found Kolter after thinking he had been asleep in his bed. First Karsten and now Kolter? I guess maybe our stairs are just really comfortable.

Our Sweet Kenzlie

She's Here!

A quick post because I know you're wondering. More of the details to come...

Special Moments

It's hard for me to believe that this pregnancy is coming to an end. It's kinda bitter sweet, really. My emotions are overflowing, and I don't know whether to be happy or sad. Happy to have a new baby almost here, or sad to have my pregnancy over. I guess I should just be grateful that I've been able to experience this special experience one more time. Pregnancy though tough, is also so sacred and spiritual. It's a miracle, no less. You love that which you sacrifice for, and perhaps that is why a mother's love is so great for her child even before she first lays eyes on her. I feel so blessed to be able to be here, 38 weeks pregnant, and expecting a baby girl any day. I'm excited, I really am.

My Baby...For Just a Bit Longer

I don't know how Karsten is going to handle not being the baby. He's growing up so much lately and I know as soon as the baby comes he will be forced to grow up even more. I love this little guy so much. He's so demanding, persuasive and persistent. I can just see him asking me for a "cookie" 50 times when I'm sitting down nursing the baby...he won't give up until you do. Maybe I'll have to keep a stash of them by the rocking chair, so I can give him one the first time he asks. ;)

A Good Day

Last Wednesday was a good day for me. First of all, I finished reading the Book of Mormon for our 60 day challenge and yes, I did it in 60 days! That was a big accomplishment for me. I am so glad that I did it. Next, the doctor told me I was dilated to a 3. Yipee! And last, I took Kambrie to Young Women's with me and the artist Julie Rogers (she's painting the mural at Santa Clara City Hall) was giving an art class there, and she sketched a profile of Kambrie as a demonstration, and then when it was over she asked if she could use Kamz as a model for one of her paintings. I was so happy, because I absolutely LOVE her art, and it would be a complete dream come true to have her paint Kambrie. Hmmm, not that I could afford to buy the painting, but hey, at least I could go look at it in her art gallery. lol

So anyway, all of these wonderful things happening to me in one day gave me the motivation to start the blanket for my baby girl that I have been wanting to sew since the first of the year. So the next day I started and finished it, and to make it even better, I totally love it! I'm not usually all that happy with my sewing projects when I finish them, but this one is an exception. I can't wait for baby K to get to use it.

Not Feeling Well

So I think the stress and busyness of trying to sell our house and having an open house during the Parade of Homes finally got to me. Yeah, I started getting sick on Kolter's birthday and it really hit me hard yesterday. I was wiped out and so was my little Karsten. We're both sick. So anyway, we stayed home from church yesterday to rest and not spread the germs. I was feeling terrible and was just laying on the couch trying to entertain Karsten cause somehow he wasn't acting so sick anymore. Well, the next thing I know I'm waking up in a panic hearing my front door open. Not really knowing what was going on I rushed downstairs to find Karsten asleep on the stairs. Yes, the stairs. It was so sad. I guess I must have fallen asleep on the couch and he left and went and did his own thing. When he tried to make it back up stairs his sickness finally kicked in again and he just couldn't make it and had to take a break...falling asleep on the second stair up. Poor little guy!

Oh and luckily the person at the door was just my neighbor, not someone who would turn me in for child neglect.

Pony Tails?

I just had to post this picture of Karsten last week before he got his haircut.

Happy 4th Birthday Kolter!

Well, Kolter is another year older. He doesn't understand why he doesn't feel any bigger though. He was a little disappointed about that, but he had a huge smile when I took him to the growth chart on the wall and he could actually see how much he'd grown in the last year. That's when he decided he really was "bigger."

For his birthday we took the kids to Jumpin Jacks and ate dinner at "Weiners" :) aka Wingers, Kolter's favorite place. We kept it simple this year and just tried to focus on Kolter. I think he had a good day, especially once Kyler got home from school and he FINALLY got to open his presents. Oh, and don't mind the cake. Yeah, it wasn't supposed to be monster trucks climbing in the mountains, jumping over the huge crack, but hey, I had Kolter convinced that it was really awesome. That's all that matters right?

Happy Birthday to my sweet, sensitive, loving and rowdy little Kolter.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's GIRL Time, Baby!

So I've been a little out of control gearing up for this lil' baby girl that we're expecting now in less than seven weeks! I'm getting really excited. It all started with the hot pink and black frames that I got from Elements Frame Co. Aren't they so cute?!?! Yeah, well I wasn't sure what I was going to do for the baby's room, but when I saw these frames I fell in love, and Danny said "Well, do her room in hot pink, black and white then." So, I got the frames, and the fun began. Next it was the stroller, (how did it happen to be in hot pink and black and be on sale too?)I can thank Danny and my parents for my Christmas gift card from Lil' Wee Kids Boutique and money for that. Then came picking fabrics for the car seat cover and for the crib bedding - of course all in hot pink and black and white. Then came the diaper bag. Yes, I splurged. BUT it was on sale at a semi-annual online outlet sale which doesn't offer all the Petunia products...somehow they happened to have the exact diaper bag that I was wanting (they only had two colors of about twenty from that line) and so I figured it was meant to be. ;) I couldn't resist. I still feel guilty about it, but I do love it. Now I'm just trying to figure out what I'm gonna do when it gets dirty? Dang it.

Anyway...as you can see I've been having fun. I got my maternity pictures taken too. I can't wait to see them. Yeah, I'm going all out for this last pregnancy. Now I just need to make a blanket and a few bracelets, get the room ready, get the clothes washed and pick a name. Any suggestions?