I stink at blogging

ok...so obviously I am not a very good blogger considering no posts in almost a year and we still have the Halloween backgrounds up.... so I am just consolidating into one blog that I can post my photos from photoshoots as well as my personal thoughts and happenings... www.shadesofhazel.blogspot.com visit me there...no promises that I will be any more efficient though!

Rylee...Thank You!

Rylee,

I just want to tell you thanks for all you do! You have been such a big help to me the last couple of weeks while you were off track and I just want you to know that it has not gone unnoticed and that I truly appreciate all that you have helped me with, especially with entertaining Avery and Jack! I love you so much and am so proud of the beautiful young woman you are becoming! I love the fun times we share and the fun memories we are creating ( wal-mart at midnight for Twilight, girls night out, etc. ) I hope that you always know that I am here for you no matter what and that I will always be your biggest cheerleader- you are the greatest blessing in my life! I will love you forever, thanks again for being not only my daughter but my friend! Love you, mom!

"Firsts"

So....I am obviously not very good at posting on my blog because it has been 4 weeks since the last post!! In the last month, Avery Lou lost her very first loose tooth ( say that 5 times fast! ) She lost it on Valentine's day and was so brave and wiggled it all day and then we helped her to actually pull it out! She had to go to the dentist aboout a week earlier and had 2 molars pulled but this was her first loose tooth that she got to wiggle and pull herself. She looks so cute and is already busy working on the next loose tooth, I have decided that her goal is to make the tooth fairy broke!!

Cooper also had his first taste of cereal and hated it!! I was surprised that he disliked it so much, he is such a little chunk and such a good eater that I thought he would gobble it up, but all he did was spit it out and make a face like it was the most awful stuff ever ( I had a little taste and I have to say, I agree!!) He is so cute... I am sure once he gets a taste for real food there will be no stopping him!

How Do I Love You???

How do I love you? Let me count the ways...
I love you on your very best...

...and very worst of days.

I love to hear your laughter...

...and watch you playing in the rain
and even when you throw a fit... ...I love you just the same.

I love to see you smile...

I love to hear you sing...

I even love it when you often......get into everything!

It makes me smile when you are happy...

...it makes me cry when you are sad...

and even though I may not show it... ...I love you when you are bad!

I love to watch you devour... ...all the things you like to eat, and everything you really like...ends up from head to feet!

I love to watch you playing...

...with your new found friends!
I love to watch you grow and change...

...and keep up with crazy trends.

I love the way you need a kiss... ...when a band-aid just won't do

I love to be the one who's there......when you've got the flu.

I love to watch you in the dirt... ...planting flowers in the ground.

I love to watch you in the tub... ...with bubbles all around.

I love to tuck you in at night...when it's time for bed

I love to watch you sleeping... ...dreaming of the day ahead.

How do I love you? It's impossible to say!! All that I can tell you is.......I love you more each day!!!

Happy late Valentine's Day to the best kids in the world! Sorry I didn't get this posted in time! I love you all so much!

Look How Much My Baby Has Grown...Big 4 Month Old!

Little Cooper is already 4 months old!!! Time has flown by and it is hard to believe that he is already that old and he is changing so much and getting SO big! We took him in for his 4 month check up and he already weighs 16 lbs. 9 oz. and is 26 inches long ( Jackson was only 14 lbs and 25 inches at this age ) So he is a big boy and in the 86% percentile on height and weight! He is getting so fun now and is smiling and giggling and even trying to roll over a little bit. I love him so much and I can't remember what life was like before we had him, he has blessed our lives so much!!

Call us crazy...but we love going to the dentist!!

My kids actually look forward to going to the dentist to get their teeth cleaned every 6 months. Rylee likes it because she thinks the dentist is "hot" and the other kids like it because they get a new toothbrush and a prize! We all go at the same time including Steve and I, and they get us in and out in about an hour which is so nice! Everyone did great this time, and Avery was the only one that had a couple cavities and her first loose tooth that she is working on so she can get some $$ from the tooth fairy! I love their beautiful smiles!

A new year...a new blog

After much harrassing from my sister-in laws... I am officially going to start this blog thing ( just kidding girls- you know I love you! ) And I figure what better time to start it -then in January, it is a new year, time to reflect on the past and move forward with the future. 2008 was a busy and exciting year for us and as I look back on it, I can't help but be humbled by the blessings we have received. We were blessed with our 4th baby in October and although I was sick with the pregnancy for most of the year, I would do it all over again to have my little Cooper. He is such a joy and such a momma's boy. I look at my kids everyday and am overwhelmed with the joy that they bring to our family and am so blessed that they are all healthy. Steve got a promotion which has also been such a blessing, he had applied for several different positions with several different companies and was getting really frustrated until he finally just decided to try and make the best of the job he had, and I can not tell you what a blessing it is now that he did not get any of the jobs he applied for. With the way the economy is right now, every one of the positions he applied for is now out of a job. Hindsight truly is 50/50 and at the time he was getting frustrated, but Heavenly Father knew what was best for him and for our family and he now has a new position and while he doesn't want to work there forever, right now we are just so blessed that his job is stable and secure. Then in December, the week before Christmas... Steve and the boys had an accident, Steve fell down the stairs by tripping on Jackson, while carrying Cooper. It was so scary and all three of my boys ended up in the hospital. We said a prayer before we went and Steve gave the boys a blessing and I can not tell you what a comfort that was to me. Everyone ended up being fine other than a little bruised and sore, but it could have been so much worse- we truly had someone watching over us and protecting us. So...going forward in 2009, of course I have made some resolutions, some of which I am sure I will not keep but I will give them a good try! Of course the usual....lose the baby weight! Work on my blog! Get organized! And my theme for the year is from President Monson... " Find Joy in the Journey...Now!" I need to really enjoy my kids and play with them and let them know that they are the greatest gift and cherish every moment I have with them and with Steve. And cherish it now, not after I get the house cleaned or I check my email...but right now! They are growing up and changing so fast and I don't want to have any guilt or regrets about time I could have had with them and chose to do something else. 2009 is all about finding joy in the journey!