Sad...

I have taken soooo many pictures of my kids lately. However, I am never in any of them. The last time I took a picture with ANY of my kids was Thanksgiving I think.

Sad huh??

Well Teagen and Gage were asleep so I only have Kynlee and Kaysen for now. I really need one with all FOUR of them soon!!

My Cowboy / Three Muskateer

This boy wears this gun strapped on his right hip on his belt EVERY day. Regardless of if he's wearing his Wranglers or not. Although he wishes he had enough Wranglers to wear everyday.

He found a paint stick and decided it would be his sword. He said he needed a sheath to put it in. So Jerry and him rigged up some cardboard to make one.

Now this sheath is on his left hip EVERY day too.

He informed me that now he just needs a feather to put in his cowboy hat so he can look like D'artagnan from the 3 Muskateer's.

That boy can turn ANYTHING he finds into something fun.

Almost...

So. We are finally going to be moving into our new room and bathroom this week! Jerry took this week off so we could get it done. Carpet is getting installed on Tuesday, then we are ready!!! Yay.

Here's a little preview.

Jerry has done everything...and boy he does good.

The bathroom color was supposed to be an aqua color. It's a bit greener and brighter than I originally wanted but it's growing on me. Plus a lot of it is going to be covered. For now there isn't anything covering it up so it's very bright. I love my tile though for sure.

My bedroom is a dark plum/eggplant color. I love it!!! I have so many new decorating ideas that I can't wait to use.

Hoops...

We signed Kaysen up for a Youth Basketball League in Holbrook.  He is loving it.  He had his first game this week. He thinks he so big and tough...until one of the BIG boys on the team get the ball.  Then he backs off a bit and takes it easy.  Half the time we see him on the opposite end of the court from where the ball is...he doesn't really notice that the ball is on the other end because he's too busy striking a pose for the camera.

Here he is...the short one right in the middle. 

He's number 2.  The one in black on the right.  See his size compared to the rest of them??? 

The season lasts for about 6 more weeks. It's been fun for him and he's learning a lot.  We'll see if he loves basketball as much as the rest of the Miller's do.

Things They Say...

Already this morning my boys have made me laugh...


First.

Teagen pooped all over his clothes. And boy was it some green stuff. (sorry if I'm a bit too descriptive but it goes with the story).

Gage came over to "help" me. He said, "Whoa! That's a lotta green poop. Look Mom, it's your favorite color."

Yes. Green is my favorite color. But not that green.

Second.

Kaysen was in the bathroom messing around. I has asked him to brush his teeth. So after STILL not getting his teeth done I looked at him and said, "Kaysen. What have I asked you to do 5 times now?? BRUSH YOUR TEETH."

So he grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste and started singing a song. A song that went like this...

"I saw a face. A grumpy looking face that my mom made. And it was scary."

Haha. That grumpy looking face turned into a laughing face pretty quickly.

Lucky...

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. I'll be honest by saying that this holiday has never been a HUGE one in our household.  As the kids get older I am trying to make a bigger deal out of it. Simply for more fun and so that they understand just how much I DO love them.  Although, I need to be better about showing it everyday. 

This year I had special things planned for them.  Not anything grand but stuff that made them feel special nontheless.  I had balloons and candy delivered to them at school. My friend Rachelle delivered them.  She has a boy Kaysen's age so when she dropped them off he told here Thank you.  Then told me that Rachelle brought him a Valentine!!! I had to explain to him that it was from Jerry and I, not Rachelle. Haha. You should have seen Gage's face when he saw what Kaysen got.  He was a bit sad, thinking he wouldn't get one.  However, when it was his turn to go to school he got some too and his teachers tell me he was so excited. 

In return both of them made Jerry and I a card.  Here is Kaysen's...

 

 Here is Gage's...

I'd be lying if I told you that yesterday was a good day.  It started early. By that I mean at about 3:00am.  I was running on about 4 hours of completely interrupted sleep.  So I was a bit on edge no matter how hard I tried not to be.  Teagen was so fussy.  He's still trying to get that bottom tooth.  So I had a crying baby, no wait check that, TWO crying babies plus 2 boys that just wanedt to eat all of their candy NOW, and start to throw fits because I won't let them.  I was tired.  I was grouchy.  But I was REALLY trying so hard not to be.  I was starting to feel sorry for myself and started being really negative.  So what did I do??

At the last minute I put together a little something for Jerry.  (Like I said, Valentine's Day isn't big with us so usually we just do something homemade. I planed to do an alphabet book on reasons why I love him.  Never got to it. I was just swamped....and tired) 

Quickly. I mean very quickly my attitude changed. I became excited for this little surprise. And boy did that have the same effect on my boys.  Teagen and Kynlee were finally taking a nap so it was just Kaysen, Gage and Me.  We don't get to have moments like this very often anymore so this was special. 

We started by getting streamers and writing words tha described what we loved about Jerry or why we loved him.  Then we hung them from the ceiling above our dining room table.  Too bad I only had half a roll of that stuff.  We could have kept going...and it would have looked much better.  Then we blew up some ballons and wrote more reasons why we loved him, and a few little notes on them too. 

Then we spelt this out on our fridge.  ( Kaysen actually spelled out most of it on his own.  And it worked pretty good because I couldn't finde another E or an O to spell love the right way."

Then Dad walked in the door about 30 minutes later and boy was he surprised.  He was more surprised at my mood.  He had sent me a text earlier in the day asking how my day was. I told him to not be surprised if I was completely grouchy when he got home.  He replied, "Hag in there." I replied, "Yes, that is what I am acting like. HAHA"  He meant to put "Hang in there" but I think that his words were pretty fitting for the moment. 

Then we continued our tradition of pink heart pancakes covered in whip cream and strawberries.  We have done them for breakfast the past couple years, but Jerry has to leave too early now so we settled on it for dinner. MMMM....it was good. And the best part was that Jerry cooked them, as tradition states he should do. 

So it started out looking like a long, hard day.  And it was.  But as I got wrapped up in thinking about someone else, instead of pittying myself, my day did a complete 180 and I realized how lucky I am.  Lucky to have that guy as my Valentine. Lucky that we have 2 boys that throw fits but give us awesome, homemade cards.  Lucky that we have 2 babies that kept me up at night but cuddle into my neck and calm down as soon as I pick them up.  Lucky to have this life and this family....FOREVER.

Reach...

Just yesterday both of my babies looked at, reached and grabbed their toys. Yay! Now it will be easier to keep them entertained....I hope :)

Four Months...

Kynlee. You smile. Most of the time it's a little sideways smirk but sometimes we get a full open mouth smile too that makes your tiny nose crinkle. You laugh. I mean a whole body shaking, laugh that starts out deep in sound and gets higher and higher in pitch. You coo too. Your voice is so soft and quiet when you make these sweet noises.  You are an awesome sleeper. Usually going down about 9:00 and waking up about 4:30, but many times you'll go even longer. You are great at keeping yourself entertained, although your brothers are usually right by you. Gage sits by you and calls you beautiful girl over and over again.  Kaysen makes funny noises because each time he does we get to hear that adorable laugh.  He is the best at getting you to laugh. You always have your fingers or fist in your mouth and are making loud sucking sounds the entire time.  You are still a little guzzler when eating.  Which makes it pretty tricky to feed you discretely.  No matter how long it has been since you last ate you act like you are starving.  You love to lay under your play toy and look at all the colorful toys above you. You are trying to figure out how to get those toys and are almost there.  When your hands to grab one you are a bit surprised at first, then you try your hardest to get those toys into your mouth.   You are starting to move over so much.  Within a few moments of laying down you have done a 180. 

As soon as you are put on your belly you are rolling onto your back.  If your brother and you are laying by each other, one of you are getting kicked in the face within just a couple minutes because of how much you guys move.  At your doctors appointment on the 9th you weighed 11 lbs 15 oz (17%) and were 23 1/2" long (17%) while your head was 16" (45%).  They tell me you are a short little girl. It'll be fun to see how you grow.  I don't think you really have a chance at being short but I could be surprised.  You already have your Daddy wrapped around your finger.  He loves his boys, but there is something different about having a girl.  He's so protective of you and just thinks you are the most beautiful baby ever.  I could watch him interact with you all day long. He tells you to pick a good guy some day and to be smart. He tells you to listen to your mom and to be her friend.  My favorite thing about you right now is how much you smile and look around.  You are so observant and just love to watch what every one is doing.  As soon as you hear my voice your head is moving all over until you find me. Then I get to see the cutest little smirk there is. 

Teagen.  You smile too. But yours is a big, whole mouth smile that lights your whole face up.  You also laugh.  But your laugh is a high pitch squeal right from the start. You are so dang loud. It's hilarious.  There isn't a moment of quietness when you are awake.  It's not that you are crying all the time, it's just that you are constantly making noises.  You are also a great sleeper. Usually you go to sleep at 9:00 and waking up around 4:00.  Lately, you've been waking me up a bit earlier because you think that you are starving though.  I'm telling myself it's a growth spurt and I hope I'm right. Last night you did great and slept until 5:00am so let's make this a new trend huh??? You also drool like crazy. This caused me to look at your gums and sure enough, you have a little white dot on your bottom left.  I think it will be coming up any time now. You've gotten a tooth faster than any of my babies.  You love your bouncer.  Going through all of the pictures I've taken recently I've noticed that you are in that bouncer for 90% of those pictures.  You are completely content sitting in that bouncer...as long as you can see someone.  As I cook dinner you are on the kitchen floor, in your bouncer.  When I'm feeding Kynlee, you are being bounced at my feet. 

You do not like sudden, loud noises.  You startle so easy. It actually amazes me, because your brothers make so much noise I didn't think you'd notice.  You are used to their noises, it's just sudden ones that get you.  You startled easy when you were first born too. The nurses told me it was a sign of low blood sugar, I think it is just the way you are becuase your blood sugar is fine now You try and try to roll over from your back to your belly. You are almost there too. You hate being on your belly. Sometimes you'll roll over. Other times you'll just lay there and scream until someone helps you roll over.  At your doctors appointment on the 9th you weighed 12lbs 9oz (11%), you are 25" long (56%) and your head measured 15 43/4" (27%). So although you weigh more than your sister, you are small on the boy charts. Except the doctor tells me you are pretty long, especially for how small you started out.  You are a solid weight too.  When I carry both car seats I can tell that yours is heavier, even if it is just a few ounces different. Your brothers love to play with you and make you happy.  You tend to be a bit fussier, unless some one is giving you 100% attention.  Then you smile, laugh and squeal so much.  Gage calls you handsome boy and Kaysen makes you laugh the most by grabbing your hands and saying, "Here we go Wildcats. Here we go." You also like to lay under the toy and try to figure out how to get those dang things.  Just today you actually looked at one and touched it for the first time.  Other times you've just touched it on accident and then held it. You smiled so big when you did this.  You Dad loves you and thinks you are the biggest stud muffin.  He is learning to not hold you up by his ear when you are awake because you squeal so loud in it. But then you turn your face towards him and smile and that any grouchy feelings he may have had go away.  He talks to you about the cars you're going to help him restore and the basketball games you and your brothers are all going to play. My favorite thing about you right now is that as soon as you see me, your face lights up. No matter how tired or grouchy you are, that smile comes out so big and I LOVE IT!!

You two are amazing babies.  When you are tired you fuss for a couple minutes so I lay you down in your crib,cover you with a blanket and give you a binky. Then you are asleep within minutes.  Most times you never even make a sound when I lay you down. I love it.  You are starting to move so much now that you are both turned sideways and end up kicking each other.  Hopefully that addition gets done soon so you can get your own crib.  You guys love to look at each other.  As soon as eye contact is made you both start smiling and talking like crazy.  You stay awake much more during the day, which makes it pretty tricky to get anything done but I'm learning to just get it done anyways.  You rarely start and finish naps at the same time so I almost always have one baby awake during the day.  Each one of us have loved having you in our home.  You've taught me patience. You've taught me that I can do things I never thought I could.  You've made me realize that I need to slow down and enjoy the moment a bit more.  I love the chance I have to be your mom.

winslow, winslow, winslow....

Funny story about Gage....

This morning before church I needed to pump. So I went in the room and covered up just incase a curios boy (or two) walked in. Good thing because Gage came on over...

He said, "Mom, that saws Winslow." I had no clue what the boy was talking about so I just said, "Really?" to which he replied, "Yep."

Then I was done pumping and Gage said, "Mom, how come it doesn't say Winslow anymore?".

I was still perplexed at what the boy was talking about. So I asked him what said Winslow???

He pointed to the machine and said "That does. It goes winslow, winslow, winslow". And made his voice go up and down in pitch to match the sound of the machine.

Finally I understood...

Have you heard the sound that the really good electric double pumps makes when it's working???

Well to my 3 year old it sounds like the word winslow and after further investigation I'd have to agree.

That boy sure knows how to make me laugh...

Heart Attack...

We did our family heart attack this year.

I pictured it being a loving and spirit felt night.

In stead we had two babies that were tired and hungry which resulted in constant crying.

Gage was dancing around talking about everything but love. Mostly, bums and "Astro Boy".

Kaysen was really into the whole thing. Then started throwing a fit. I can't even remember why anymore.

So I quickly bore my testimony and told them I Ioved them.

Did they hear me???

Probably not.

But I had to do it quickly before I started losing my temper and then really making the Spirit absent from our FHE.

Hopefully next year goes a bit smoother.

Here's a peak at a few of our hearts.

4 Generations...

Here is Kynlee with her Great Grandma Roma Henrie, Grandma Karen Miller and me.  Although this is Jerry's grandma and mom...it is still 4 generations.  My maternal grandmother passed away nearly 6 years ago now. So I can't get one with my family. But these ladies right here are family and boy am I glad they are. 

I'm excited that we were able to get this picture.  I hope that this little girl gets something from each one of them.  They have good stories and experiences that will teach her alot some day.  

Hopefully soon I'll get a 4 generation picture of my boys....I can't believe I haven't done it yet.  Here's to getting it done.