Random sampling

Just a short update on each of the kids. Laurel is potty training this week. She is doing alright. I think I am a fair weather potty trainer. I don't really like doing it, and would love to just quit. However with all the trouble I had with Cameron potty training, I am not willing to be wishy-washy. She is going do this. Besides I can't have her striping every time she goes in a diaper. It's getting embarassing!
Ethan got his first report card. Kind of funny to get a Kindergarten report card. He is doing well, and his teacher says he is a "joy" and that he "brightens her day." He can be the same at home, but he is not so everyday. Atleast he has one safe place at home to be his crazy self.



What a deceptive picture this is. Cameron has the most charming smile, but beneath it is a busy mind. Cameron is loving Christmas time this year. He is so excited about Santa and the presents.

I am becoming such an experienced mother that sometimes I find joy in a crying baby. Not that I think his distress is funny, but crying is just part of being a baby and it can be cute. Luke is growing! Up to 17 lbs. already! Yikes. I sure grow them big around here. He is just like the older 3, so I am not concerned. He will thin out a lot after he starts walking.

Ode to Luke (3 months)

Luke is now 3 months old. How time flies! He is playing with toys, giggles and laughs, has tickle spots, gets so excited he practically jumps! It is an exciting time as a mother. The first few weeks with a new baby is so special but so challenging. Then all of a sudden they start doing all this amazing developmental stuff, and the sleepless nights, poopy diapers, and spit-up seems to be worth it (well, most days!)
I think having children has turned me into a philosopher. I look at them sometimes and just marvel! There is such great potential. I have such great dreams and hopes for them. I hope that they can find their own true talents. I dream of them growing up being kind and loving. I wish for so much joy and happiness with just a hint of sorrow, so they will recognize and appreciate the joy.

I want all these amazing things for them, now all I have to do is try and help them see all that they are capable of and try not to interfere too much with their greatness. I look at this picture of Luke and there is only love staring back at me. Is all the trouble worth it? I look at this picture and shout YES!

Paging Dr. Cameron Williams

Yesterday, Cameron decided to play doctor with Luke. I thought it was so cute! He was so intent on "taking Luke's blood." I sure he meant blood pressure. Luke didn't seem to mind all the fuss Cameron was going through, because it meant that someone was paying attention to him. Cameron LOVES his baby brother, and you can tell by the picture that Luke adores Cameron. Everyday Cameron is hoovering over him making him giggle, smile, belly laugh, and yes, sometimes cry. Everyday is an adventure in this house! It's funny to see what these kids will come up with next.
We will see if this game continues. Cameron probably would make a good doctor I think. He is truly empathetic and caring and he isn't very squeemish.

YouTube

The mean parents we are. We extort our child at the expense of our sense of humor. If you would like to see a short video of our Luke singing Feliz Navidad check out this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb6uObu08Uc. Merry Christmas.

These are a few of my favorite things!

I have been decluttering and cleaning our house like a mad woman. Each day our house is a little more organized. It's such a great feeling. Well, I organized the bookshelf and I haven't been able to decide what to put here just yet. Though I wasn't too excited to see my children on the shelves, I thought it was slightly cute. So I seized the photo oportunity and took this picture. One day I will be sad that they aren't this little and that I can't put them on the book shelf for safe keeping. So I will do it with a picture.

Luke at 2 months

These pictures were taken when Luke was 2 months old. He is now closer to 3 months, but I still wanted to get these up. I am constantly amazed with each new child that we are able to have come to our family, that there is always so much love for each addition. Love is funny that way. It defies quantification and qualification. With my first child, Ethan, I never thought I could love another as much as I loved him. Then Cameron was born, and in an instant the fear of not loving him as much as Ethan was gone. The great love of a parent was born in my heart.
So too, it has been with Laurel, and now Luke. What an amazing journey it is with these beautiful, and spectacular children. They have reawakened the world to me. With new eyes I see things, because with the wonder and amazement my children are viewing the world for the first time, they teach me to awaken to the beauties and simplicity of so many things that surround me. As Luke grows I wonder what he will get bring into my life and further teach me. Bring it on little boy, there is room for growth in my heart!

Ghostly Halloween Fun!

I know, it's been almost a month since Halloween. I've been both too busy or too lazy to post these pictures.
It was a crazy day. Then at dinnertime a friend called saying she had a present for Luke, and could she bring it over right then. So she did and she brought this cute Luke Skywalker X-wing fighter costume. Walt loves Halloween, but he wasn't feeling in the mood this year until this outfit arrived. Then he said he had to dress up, Luke needed his Lord of the Sith father to complete the effect. So since we had recently been cleaning out our amazing dirty garge, it took some time to find the complete Darth Vader costume. Parts were in the garage, in our closet, outside (my fault!). The older kids didn't have time to go trick-or-treating
before our ward trunk-or-treat, but they didn't seem to mind too much.
Ethan wanted to be a dragon, or more precisely a witch-dragon, but we couldn't seem to get the witch's hat to

stay on top of the dragon costume head. Nor could I get the boy to let me get a picture of him with his eyes open. Originally, Cameron was going to be a fire-fighter, but a friend offered the use of this batman costume, and Cameron was so overjoyed at the thought of being a super hero that I didn't have the heart to say no. So although it is weird to look at the fake muscles and six-pack on my 4 year-old, he was beaming with joy to wear it.
Laurel, was a cute little witch. I picked up this costume for cheap last year, and though I was highly tempted to buy her a princess costume for her to wear, I didn't. Good thing she is so cute, that she would make the pricess or witch costume adorable. When we got to the church Laurel noticed a friend who was wearing a similar costume. They looked so cute together I had to make sure to snap a picture.

Family Photos

On Tuesday my good friend took our family picture. This is the third year she has done it. It is so nice to have friends willing to bless you with their talents. The first three pictures are of Cameron, Ethan, and Laurel, and though they were not smiling I like these pictures of them. Cameron was so wiggly during this shoot. We were by a river with rocks and logs. He was all over the place, climbing and throwing. So typical of Cameron. He stays busy. There are days when Cameron will be so shy, this picture seems to capture that, and other days that he has so much to say to everyone he meets.











Ethan is such a character these days. This is a face very often seen at our house. He tries to make a sour face, but he is mostly trying not to smile. Walt and I just had a parent-teacher conference where his teacher told us that he is just "perfect." He in Kindergarten, but he is reading on a second semester 1st grade level. His math skills are great too.
I adore this picture of Laurel! I'm not sure why she kept putting out her tongue throughout our photo shoot. Oh well, she is soooo cute. I know I am her mom, but she really is beautiful!

One of our nicer pictures.



























Our Christmas picture this year will be a composite of this picture of Laurel's head with the next picture of the rest of us. Isn't it wonderful what Photoshop can do. You can take 2 non-perfect pictures and make a great picture. Ahh, technology and a computer whiz husband. Isn't it lovely!!!! You will all have to wait to see the results at Christmas time.

Pumpkin Patch

We had our annual preschool group outing to our local pumpkin patch. Cameron and Laurel had a great time. Here are couple pictures of the two and their pumpkins.

Smiley Baby

I have a friend who says that I have the smiliest babies.

Little does everyone know that they have a dad who comes home at night and laughs with them for long periods of time. So of course they are happy and quick to smile! Luke is no exception. This picture was taken about 2 weeks ago. Now he not only smiles but is beginning to laugh. It's delightful to hear.

My shadow, my friend!

Lately Laurel has been playing with her shadow. If you've seen "Bear in the Big, Blue House" you'll know the song "Where, oh, where is shadow?" Laurel goes around the house singing that song, and then goes to the wall and talks and plays with her shadow. I think this is so funny. She ask everyone, "Where is shadow?" It is interesting to see her imagination take flight lately. Dream on little girl, the world needs more imagination and hope!

Ethan's Sixth Birthday Party

In our house, birthday parties are all about the cake. Since I decorate cakes, the kids come up with some interesting ideas for their birthdays. Ethan wanted a planet party this year. Originally he wanted a cake that what a sphere, like a ball. I told him it would be difficult to do so (mostly because the pans for that are really expensive, and I didn't want to buy it and use it once)! So he came up with the idea of doing a cupcake solar system. "Perfect," I said, "mom can handle that this year. So easy!

I tried to make some or most of these look like the pictures I could find on the internet. Ethan is particular that way. So particular, that he actually tried to assign planets to specific friends. Sometimes it worked, others rebelled and requested different planets. The cupcakes were mint cake (per request) and the Sun and Mercury (for dad) were just plain, for those who didn't like mint.
Ethan inhaling the planet Earth. He had first dibs, it being our planet. We had to tease him by saying, "Ahhh, don't eat us!"

Here the kids are making the one planned activity of the party. I had them color and put stickers on a paper plate for a flying saucer. Then I had them go outside and "fly" them frisbee style. Ethan especially enjoyed the Mr. Sketch smelly markers I bought for nostalgic reasons. I had been looking for some more since I was ten. Then when I found the markers casually at Staples I had to buy them. Come on, they were on sale, I couldn't resist.

Ethan's one present from Walt and I. He is so tall that he has outgrown his other bike, and Cameron has outgrown his. So new bike for Ethan, and Cameron gets to move up to Ethan's old bike.

Just a picture of the whole gang of boys who came to Ethan's party! So cute they all are.

Ethan was in the middle of opening presents when Walt said, "Look at Luke, he's smiling!" I just sat there adoring him saying how cute he was, when Walt replied in a sing-song voice, "You have a camera in your hands get a picture!" So here is our first picture of a smile from our baby Luke! It was a good day!

Four may be more, but what a blessing!

These pictures were all taken on Wednesday the 10th. Laurel fell asleep in Luke's car seat. I think the reality of having a new baby in the house has finally sunk in for Laurel. I think she is having a hard time not being the baby of the family. Most of the time she does well, but other times there is an awful lot of loud, high pitched screaming. She may not be the baby, but she sure thinks she is the princess (..and well, maybe she is).
Luke continues to grow at what seems an excessively fast pace. He is not growing any faster than the other three. I just get slightly sad that my babies never stay as little as other babies do. They seem to grow big so much quicker. However, I am sure grateful that my little Luke is happy and healthy. I couldn't ask for more.

Cameron is such a sweet child, but he can also be my most mischeaveous. I think this picture does him justice in that respect. He sure looks cute, but there's trouble behind those eyes!
Ethan will be 6 on the 18th this month! I can barely believe it. It seems just yesterday he was the baby, and he snuggled on me all day. Now he's the oldest of 4, reading, and becoming a very thoughtful and helpful kid.

Luke at 4 weeks/1month

It's been a couple of weeks here. Goodness, the weeks are going by quickly. I once heard that for parents the years are short but the days are long. That seems so true for me. Life has slowed down since last year. I am great enjoying that aspect of life. It is so nice not to be Primary President, homeschooling, and running myself ragged. I truly feel at peace, well most of the time. Until one of my 4 children starts screaming, but even then it's nice not to be worrying over so many other things.

The other children are still adjusting to life with a new sibling. It's going to be a few more months before we reach a new level of normal around here I think. Cameron is my daddy in training. He is constantly wanting to hold Luke, burp Luke, and he is usually the first one by his side when he cries. Today Cameron told me, "I want Luke to cry at me. So I handed him over to him, and he actually did a good job at soothing him. What a treasure Cameron is, most of the time. (Walt may disagree today seeing as how he had to uproot the toilet to unclog the plug Cameron created. Walt was not excited about that!)

Two weeks of Luke

Just a small collections of photos from Luke's first 2 weeks of life. Things are busy here, with sleepless nights and active days with 4 kids. I feel like I am having a harder time adjusting than I did with the last baby. I don't know, I can't remember. It's either the fuzziness of time or the blur of sleepiness that is currently overtaking my body. I hope to help Luke adjust better to life sooner than later, if not for his sake, for my sanity!

Walt recieves his Wood Badge

Wood Badge is the one of the highest trainings you can take in the Boy Scout program as a leader. It is six days of intense training that also has participants draft a ticket (contract) of 5 items that they plan to accomplish to recieve their Wood Badge. Walt has been working on this for around a year and a half to accomplish all his ticket items. The boys and I were able to help in this ceremony on September 12th (1 week after Luke was born). Though it was difficult for me to be there, I am so proud of him and didn't want to miss it. He truly works hard and loves the Boy Scouts. The first picture is of Walt and other members of his Wood Badge patrol who recieved their Wood Badge that night too. The second is of Walt with his eldest brother Ric who recieved his Wood Badge six days prior to Walt.