Plays

November was filled with lots of plays. By lots I really only mean two and a movie. Hubby took me to go and see Phantom of the Opera. It was so good. I have always loved the music from it and I love the movie. To see it in "real life" was awesome. I can't wait to go and see it again. Okay so I don't know when that will happen but I'm still excited. I also loved getting to dress up and leave the kids behind at my parents house. The second play I went to was pretty funny or at least it was to a mother. The kids did a Thanksgiving play about the first Thanksgiving. I really couldn't hear any of the kids but they had fun dressing up in the paper hats. After the play their class served soup and pumpkin pie that they had made. Then over Thanksgiving break I got to go to the theater and watch New Moon. Wow oh wow. Loved it. SO much better than the first and I'm not just saying that because Jacob doesn't wear a shirt for almost the entire movie. I could have stayed there and watched it again but Hubby was nice enough to watch the kids so I had to go back.

Sissys' Birthday

In November Sissy turned 7. Wow I can't believe that she is that old already. Time has gone by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday Hubby was taking care of her and rocking her to sleep. Yes, Hubby did a lot of the work with Sissy. She has always been daddys' little girl. This year she wanted to have a big birthday party with all of her friends. I decided that since I talked her out of it last year that this year I would go ahead and let her have a big party. After looking at different blogs(Okay mostly one) I thought that having a Fancy Nancy birthday party would be so much fun. I brought this idea up to Sissy and she said no that she wanted to have a pirate birthday party. I then said okay maybe a girl pirate with the pink and black, again she said no because she wanted to also invite the boys in her class. After thinking about it for a while and Hubby telling me it was a good idea I decided that she could have one with boys and girls. I'm glad I came to my senses because it turned out to be a lot of fun. With the help of my parent, brother, sisters family, and some friends we were able to make it into a carnival with a bunch of games. At each game the kids would win another part of a pirate costume. However, in order to play the games they had to search for buried coins and each game would then cost one coin. If they played each game then at the end they would have a bandana, eye patch, hook and necklaces. They could also win tattoos and stickers. The last game was with everyone all together, it was a big treasure hunt and at the end was a pinata treasure chest. The kids had a lot of fun. There ended up being about 17 kids at the party. Our boys loved it just as much as the school kids and played pirates for days.

Sissy and her pirate friends

The cake I made for her

Superheros ahead

I know that Halloween was well over a month ago but I am just now getting to it. This Halloween it was one of the boys again who got to pick what the theme for the family costumes. This year the family went as superheros. Hubby was Mr. Fantastic, I was Wasp (don't ask who she is because I still don't know), Sissy was Captain Americas daughter, Big Bro. was Ironman, Bubba was Wolverine and Little Bro. was The Hulk. Like last year we went to my parents house and had dinner and then went trick-or-treating around their neighborhood. The kids had a blast. I think going to my parents house is becoming a tradition, which is great with me because my dad really decks the house out.

Sissy flying off

Bubba as Wolverine

Big Bro. being so strong


Little Bro. confused at everyone dressed up

Apple Annies

Since moving here I have always wanted to go to the Pumpkin Patch. Every year something comes up and we are unable to go. This year I decided that we were going to go no matter what. I'm glad I made that decision because we had a lot of fun. At Apple Annies they make this huge corn maze to go through. Hubby and I took the kids through the hard one. The kids each took turns being in charge of leading the way. It was alot of fun and we only got lost a couple of times. The kids also liked playing in the corn and taking the hay ride to the pumpkins. It was a fun day and was enjoyed by the whole family.

My boys looking so serious

Bubba being silly in the maze

Sissy posing on some hay

Little Bro. loving the corn and not being in the stroller

Big Bro. swimming in the corn

1st Birthday

I have no idea where time has gone. Every year October, November and December seem to go by so quickly. I love the fall season but hate how busy it gets.
In October Little Bro. turned 1. I can't believe that he is already a year old. He is my little monster. I thought that Bubba was none stop but Little Bro. is busier than Bubba. He LOVES to climb. He is constantly pulling out the kitchen chairs and climbing onto the table. Although he gets into trouble and is loud he is also the sweetest boy in the world. He loves to cuddle and gives the biggest hugs. I don't know what I would do without him.

For his birthday we just had a small get together with my parents. When Sissy turned a year old it was a huge deal. We had a theme, invited everybody, bought a cake, and bought every present that we could. With Little Bro. being the 4th child I have realized that they don't really care about the birthday party at all. This time it was a stress free party.

Happy to get sippy cups

Playing with the frosting

I made the cake which didn't turn out to be very creative but he still loved it just the same.

First Haircut

Little bro. had his first haircut last Saturday. It was kind of sad to cut off the baby hair, but Hubby said people will think that he is a little girl. Big bro. and Bubba always get Star Wars haircuts. Big bro. gets a Yoda haircut and Bubba gets a Luke haircut. They look exactly the same but just different names. While cutting Little bros' hair, Bubba told me that Little bro. was getting an Obi Wan haircut. What else could I do except agree with him. To me it just makes him look a little older.

My Baby Boy before his haircut

My Boy Looking more like a toddler.

Bubba is growing

When Bubba was a year old the doctor was concerned because he had basically stopped growing. On the growth charts he was dropping percentiles and this made the doctor a little worried. At his 18 month check up the doctor was telling me that Bubba was now considered in the catagory of "Thriving to Survive" . That made me feel like the worse mother ever. I thought that I was doing everything that I could for my child and yet it just wasn't good enough. The doctor suggested that I take Bubba in too see an endocrinologist. I took him in and it was basically useless. The doctor there complained that too many kids were coming in when it could be a problem with allergies or intestines. She did some blood test and sent me to see a nutrionist. The nutrionist looked at what Bubba was eating and said that everything seemed to be just fine. She asked me to add more fat to his diet and come back in 6 weeks. We did as she asked and went back. She weighed and measured him again and said that he was gaining the right amount of weight for how old he was. That was the end of those appointments.
At his 2 year old well child check-up the doctor said that he was moving up in the chart and that he could be considered "small stature" instead of "thriving to survive". I was so happy. I felt that I had done something right and Bubba was on his way to being "big".
This last March I took Bubba in for his 3 year old well child check-up and once again he had dropped on the charts. The doctor again got after me saying that I need to have him looked at and that there must be something wrong with him. He also was trying to tell me that it looks like I am starving my son because his head circumference was different from his weight and height. I again left the office feeling like a horrible mother. I knew I wasn't starving Bubba but what if I was doing something wrong. Once again I made the phone call and got him an appointment. This time we were blessed to find out that the doctor he saw the first time didn't work there anymore and that he would be seen by someone else.
The new doctor we saw was great he explained a lot more than the last doctor had. They also had a better way to measure and weigh him. It turns out that Bubba was still really low on the charts but not nearly as low as the hometown doctor was saying. They also looked at how much he had weighed at 18 months and said that he was gaining in the 50th percentile for his age. This was good news. They had me take him in and do all the blood test again. They also had Bubba get his hand x-rayed.
With the x-ray of his hand they can see how old his bones are. Sometimes the bone age can be different than his birth age. If his bone age is still younger than he will still catch up to other kids it will just take a little bit longer.
About 2 months went by when the doctor called and told me that all the blood test came back normal. That was great news except now we weren't sure why he was still small. This last week I took Bubba back in and we met with the best doctor ever. He measured Bubba 3 time just to make sure he was getting the right measurements. Then he looked at the hand x-ray and said that his bones are measuring at the age of a 2 year old. He also said that in the last 6 months Bubba has gained 2 and half pounds and grown 2 inches. This to me is such a miracle. I have prayed and fasted for so long to know why Bubba was so small and why he just wasn't growing. I now have an answer. He is now growing in the 95th percentile and he should catch up to the other kids his age. The doctor said they don't know why some kids stop growing but sometimes they just do. It feels so great to know that it wasn't anything I did or didn't do but it is just something that happens. We will still have to see this doctor in another 6 months just to make sure all is going good, but for now I am just going to enjoy my growing boy.

Schools In

Last week Sissy and Big bro. started school. It has been wonderful. Sissy is in first grade and Big bro is in Kindergarten. They were both excited to go school shopping and get the things that they needed. Big bro bought a Star Wars backpack and Sissy bought a Supergirl one.
I love the school because it is a small school. Last year Sissy only had 11 in her kindergarten class. This year they decided to combine Kindergarten and 1st grade because there was only 11 in each grade. So they are in the same class. It has been pretty good so far. I guess we will just have to wait and see.
Big bro loves being in school. Just like Sissyhe loves to ride the bus and eat in the lunch room. For him going to school is an adventure he loves.
Sissy was upset that she would have the same teacher and the same classmates. I guess she was really looking forward to a change.

Dr. Seuss

When I was little I had an imaginary friend. His name was Johnny. Johnny was my best friend. We went everywhere and did everything together. My parents have told me that he would eat dinner with me and his parents would sometimes drive the car. To my siblings this was just weird. I was starting to agree with them because really who has an imaginary friend. And then the school year began. When Big bro. and Sissy started coming home with stories of what they did at school all of the sudden Bubba would bring up what he and Da Sus(aka. Dr. Seuss) did. He would explain that Dr. Seuss is spending the night,what toys they played with together and what stores I took them to. Yes, it looks like Bubba has an imaginary friend.
This is a picture of him and Dr. Seuss together. Don't worry I didn't see Dr. Seuss sitting with him.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Last week we went to Disneyland with my parents. It was so much fun. I love Disney. Everything about it is just so magical. Well all except the lines. But truthfully we really didn't have to wait that long any lines. I think the longest wait was about 20 minutes and for disney that isn't too bad.
Sissy and Big bro. were tall enough to go on just about every ride. We took them on Splash Mountain and Space Mountain. Big bro loved Splash Mountain. Sissy said she will never go on that ride again. I have to completely agree with her. That ride is just not fun. Sissy loved Space Mountain. Big bro. said that he didn't like it at all, but when he heard how much the rest of us liked it he said that he liked it also. Little bros favorite ride was "It's a small world". Bubba loved the Jungle ride although he was kind of upset that it didn't have any pigs. After all these years I still love Pirates of the Carribean and now that it has Jack Sparrow (or in other words Johnny Depp) it is just that much better.
Big bros favorite activity at Disney had nothing to do with normal Disney rides. He loved the Jedi Training. Yes my hubby is a Star Wars Nerd and he has turned my kids into being Star War nerds. We were so lucky that Big bro. and Sissy were picked to do the Jedi Training and fight Darthe Vader. We thought that Bubba would be sad because he was to young but as it turns out he is afraid of Darth Vader and didn't want to fight him.
On our off day we stayed at our hotel and went swimming and then went to my parents hotel to go swimming. Ours was just the basic hotel swimming pool. At my parents they had a huge water slide and a kiddie pool. Hubby took the kids down the slide only to find out at the top that they don't allow people to go down together. So Bubba went down by himself. He loved it.
It was such a fun vacation. We were so lucky to have my parents there to help out with the little kids and hang out with. Thanks mom and dad.

Brown Family Campout

This posting should have been done a month ago but I just never got around to it. In June The Brown side of the family had a camping trip in Williams. Our first outing was to the Grand Canyon. I was so nervous about taking the kids. Especially Bubba. He has a habit of climbing and not listening to rules. I bought him a little leash backpack to wear he actually loved it and it helped my nerves. I was so excited to take pictures there but unfortunatly I waited (so that I would have perfect ones) and it started raining like crazy. Which means I have no real pictures of the Grand Canyon.
On the other days we went to Sunset Crater, Oak Creek Canyon, and the Deer Farm. Out of all of them we had the most fun at Oak Creek Canyon. We stopped on the side of the road and hiked down a little ways to the creek to play in the water. Some of us decided to go ahead and swim. It was really deep in some spots. We guessed over 6ft. The kids loved playing in the water and hiking around. It was nice because there was nobody else around.
When Sissy was a year old we took her to the Deer Farm near Flagstaff. She screamed the entire time because the deer were chasing us. This time was much better. Nobody cried. All the cousins had fun feeding the deer and letting them follow us around. Although Bubba didn't like to feed the deer but he liked them following him.
All in all this was a great family reunion. The weather was nice and the cousins loved being with each other. We can't wait until the next one.

For my sister and sister-in-law

With having 4 kids I should know by now never to say "my kid will never do that", when other kids are making a mess or wearing cowboy boots with shorts or screaming at the store. So this is my apology to my sister and sister-in-law for laughing and saying that my kids will never climb in the dishwasher while I am trying to do them. I now get why you waited to do the dishes when the kids were sleeping. Guess thats what I will have to do from now on.

This was only 20 min. after he pulled my scentsy of the coffee table and broke it. Yes now i have to be scentsyless all weekend and we have people coming over. How am I suppose to make my house smell good? Light a candle or bake? I don't think that will work for me. Once you go scentsy you can never go back.

A happy Birthday to Logan

Just a warning there are a whole lot of pictures. I just couldn't decide on one so I put a whole bunch on.

Last week Big bro.turned 5. He now seems so old. It could be the fact that he will be in kindergarten this year or that he doesn't want to snuggle all the time or that he is skinny instead of my chubby baby or that he doesn't want to play with baby toys or that he tells me he is old enough to do lots of things. When they say time goes by so fast it's true. I can't believe he is already 5. He was the one who was always a mommys' boy and I loved every minute of it. I can't wait for him to go to school but I know that I will miss having him at home.

Big bro.on the day he was born. So small only 6lbs.

Big bro. at his birthday party. It wasn't anything big just a small get together at my parents house.

Big bro. at the Mesa Temple. He wanted a picture by the water.

Big bro with my sister. I think he was about 8 months old.

I'm not sure how old again it was around 8 or 9 months old.

Big bro being silly I'm going to say 8 months old.

Big bros' first birthday. He hardly wanted to touch the cake.

Good news and Bad News

The month of May has gone by so quickly that I thought I would just do a quick update on what we have been doing this last month.

The good news is Little bro. turned 7 months old this month and is finally getting his teeth. The bad news is that I am now dealing with him teething. He cries a lot and just wants held. That wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't so tired from staying up with him in the middle of the nights.



The good news Sissy graduated from Kindergarten. On the 22nd we went to the graduation it was so cute. Only 11 kids and they sang a couple of songs and received certificates. She is so happy that school is out and she can stay home with the boys. The bad news she gets bored real fast and so now I have a whole summer of finding activities for her to do. Also bad news I will now have a 1st grader I'm getting so old!!!



The good news Bubba learned to paint. The bad news it was his toenails and bathroom floor. Of course it was a bright pink color.



The good news Big bro.went on the Father-Son Campout. He loved it. Lately Big bro. has really enjoyed spending time with Hubby. I think he is in the stage where is brothers are just to young to play with so he tries to do things with Hubby. They had a really good time camping. The bad news it was only 1 night and they forgot the marshmallows.





The good news on Mothers Day Hubby and the kids made me breakfast in bed it was so sweet. The bad news Big bro. spilt the hot apple cider on me and Sissy dropped the breakfast on the floor. But really there was more good news than bad on Mohters Day. The kids and Hubby bought flowers and some gifts. In primary the kids made me gifts and cards. I love seeing the pictures they make for me I feel so loved when they make it themselves. Bubba came to me after nursery and gave me a flower he made. It was so sweet because the nursery leaders taught them to say Happy Mothers Day. The bad news as soon as we got to the car he took it back and has never given it back to me.

For Sale by Owner

For sale:
One blonde hair, blue eyed, very energetic 3 year old. Does well with older children and most babies. Very playful and cuddly. Eats very little so food cost is not much. Loves to be held and read to. Good in the bath if you like to have your bathroom cleaned with splashing. Almost potty trained. Has been that way for a while. Speaks well even when asked to stop talking. Comes with the same clothes he has worn for the last year and a dirty face. If your interested in him just let me know. We can even let you take him for a test run if you just want to try for a weekend or week or month or until he is 8. I'm also selling a 4 year old almost identical to the 3 year old just a little older. (Sorry baby in picture is not included)

Saturday morning the kids woke up and found their baskets from the Easter Bunny they were excited to get some new toys and such. We then traveled to Hubbys parents house and had Easter with Hubbys' family. The weather there was perfect. The kids got to look for Easter eggs and play with their cousins. For the past couple of years we have done an egg hunt where the kids hide the eggs and the adults look for them. I have to admit that I am not very good at this but it sure is a lot of fun. For lunch we had prime rib. I truely believe that I could live off of My father-n-laws prime rib it is the best. It was a nice day and we all had a lot of fun.

Grandma's Ducks

Grandma Boring loves ducks and the kids love grandmas ducks. For Easter she got all the kids chocolate ducks. And the kids really loved those. Bubba was the one in our family who ate the most on the first day that they got them and yet he doesn't gain the weight. I ate just a few nibbles of each and gained way more than I should have:) Oh to be a kid. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Boring for the ducks.