6 Months Old

Eli turned 6 months old on the 18th. YAY! I am very excited for him to get bigger but I am also sad because he could very well be our last kid. He is a very clingy baby...which can be good and bad! I don't get much done throughout the day! He really likes his mommy. Any time I leave the room he cries and tries to follow me. He just wants to be held ALL day long which I find kind of exhausting and yet kind of gratifying. I am trying to cherish every day that he is a baby because I know that before long he will be all grown up and not need me anymore.
He had his 6 month check at the Dr's yesterday. He weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs 8 oz. He is 26 3/4 inches long. The doc gave him a clear bill of health. Now I just need to work on the issue of him being spoiled!!

Reader's Discretion is Advised

Ever since Cooper was born Taylor has been talking about how excited he was to take Cooper hunting with him. We even had discussions about what age we thought was appropriate. My response was NEVER but since I knew that was not going to work we compromised on age 7. Cooper has been waiting for this day, which for him feels like forever. Well, the time has come!

Tuesday at 3:00 in the morning Taylor and Cooper left to go turkey hunting. It was a bitter sweet moment. I don't know, maybe it is the image of 2 boys wandering around the wilderness with guns just waiting for something to shoot! Nothing good can come of that! They had a wonderful time together despite a couple of obstacles. The truck got stuck in some snow on the way up a mountain. Taylor said that for about an hour even he was concerned they were going to have to hike back to civilization. After some hard work and a faith driven prayer they made it out safely. The rest of the day went well. They saw some turkeys but could not get a good shot.
Cooper's favorite part of the whole day was when he got go to the bathroom outside. Well, Taylor did not pack any toilet paper so he suggested that Cooper take off his undershirt and use that to wipe. Cooper thought that was the coolest thing ever! It was the very first thing he told me when he got home. Naturally, I asked where the t-shirt was now and Taylor said, "It was left in the woods." There are a lot of other things I would love to ask about but after that story I think some things are better left unsaid! Taylor had a great time with his son and he keeps saying how proud of him he is. Cooper even got to carry his own gun, a BB gun, but still he felt pretty special. They walked and walked and walked all day and Taylor said that Cooper did not complain once! I guess Taylor has a new hunting partner!!

Dad is in Charge.......

Ok, so I went to AZ with just Eli this past weekend. I have been home for a couple of days now and Taylor keeps telling me funny stories of things that happened while I was gone. Here are my favorites!
1. Cooper had a baseball game Friday night. Taylor did not want to take the other kids by himself so I found some friends of ours that were willing to step in and help out. Taylor and the kids did not get home until late that night and they were all exhausted. Cooper had a game early Saturday morning so Taylor suggested that Cooper just sleep in his uniform. Cooper happily agreed. The next morning they got up and got ready for another game. Taylor asked Cooper where his "protective cup" was and Cooper said he was already wearing it. Cooper proceeded to tell him that he had slept in it last night. Taylor started hysterically laughing. There are so many things wrong with this story!!! And don't worry, everything has been thoroughly disinfected.
2. After the baseball game on Saturday Taylor took the kids to check out a pop-up trailer that he had found on craigslist. Then he had the kids call me and tell me that they bought a trailer. Hmmmm, I did not know we were in the market for a trailer??!!! I leave for a couple of days and come home to a new addition to our family!! He keeps trying to tell me that it is for me and that it makes my life easier.......
3. The kids had absolutely NOTHING healthy for them the whole weekend. They were fed but definitely not the food I would have given them. They were all dehydrated and malnourished by the time I got home Sunday night.
I am so grateful that Taylor was willing to watch the kids and even though things were not done MY way, the kids survived!!

Sweet Baby Reagan

Last Wednesday, April 9th, my sister had her baby. It about killed me to not be at the hospital with her when sweet little Reagan entered the world! Reagan weighed in at 6 lbs 6 oz. and was 19 inches long. Marlene was such a trooper through the nearly 22 hour labor. Bless her heart!
I convinced Taylor to let me fly out Friday morning to be with Marlene and my new niece for the weekend. When I held her for the first time it was such an awesome feeling to be holding my sister's daughter! Reagan will definitely be spoiled....not only by me but by her daddy. Ben loves her so much and has fully embraced fatherhood. He has been amazing with her from the very beginning!

I got to give Reagan her first bath at home, clip her nails, and change many poopy diapers. Those are the true joys of being an Aunt!! She is the sweetest thing ever!!



While I was in AZ we celebrated my dad's 60th birthday. WOW, I remember when he turned 45! Where has time gone? I am so grateful that I was able to be there with him. My dad means so much to me! He is so kind, loving, and selfless when it comes to his children. I appreciate his soft words of encouragement and I hope that I can make him proud of how I raise my family. He is also the best Grandpa ever, my kids absolutely adore him!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!
Dad on the Pogo Stick!!!!

Our lives

The last couple of weeks have not really been exciting but here are some tidbits of whats going on. Taylor went to the Endodontist (special dentist) for a long over due root canal. He had gone to the regular dentist a few months ago to get the root canal taken care of but during the procedure an instrument broke inside Taylor's tooth so they could not finish it. They told him he needed to see a specialist. We did the research and found that a specialist would cost us about $800.00 out of pocket!! We had no other option so we saved our money and he got it done last week. He now has to do the crown for that same tooth and another tooth that needs a root canal as well. I have no idea how much all of that is going to cost us but at least his teeth will be taken care of!!
Cooper started baseball last month. He has had only practice but the games will start this week. Taylor and Cooper went to Opening Day for Little League on Saturday, I stayed home and did some much needed Spring cleaning. When Taylor got home we started cleaning out the garage. I was really looking forward to getting it organized!! Our progress was interrupted when Blue, Taylor's brother, called and needed him to come to AZ to help him. I had no choice but to support Taylor in leaving to go help out!! Here is the story, I guess while Blue was on his way camping with his son he decided to do some 4 wheeling in his Buick La Sabre and cracked his oil pan. His car was stuck at the bottom of the trail and could not be driven out. Taylor was a hero and drove to AZ to pull out Blue's car while I stayed home with the kids. Taylor got home around 3 in the morning on Sunday.

We watched conference on Sunday. I am very impressed with my children. They sat and watched all of the morning session with Taylor and I. They even had a discussion with us about it afterwards. Cody was a little crazy but that is to be expected from a 2 year old. Later that afternoon we had some friends over for dinner.
Now a new week begins. Taylor is headed to Denver for a couple of days for "work"....I didn't know that going to a Rockies game was considered business!! Hopefully I am heading to AZ for the arrival of my new niece...if she ever decides to enter the world. I hope everyone has a great week!!