My baby is 1

How did this happen??

This last year has gone by in a whirlwind!

I will never again have an infant to keep me awake at night.

This picture was taken on Monday after spending the day at the lake. It was 107 degrees outside, we were camping, so we improvised a bath for Bree. She was in heaven getting all dirty and eating watermelon.

Swinging at the park at play group in June.

This is Bree's Great-grandma Carley. They have a great bond...they share the same birthday
We are going to celebrate their birthdays together next week after the craziness of this week is over.
Picture taken at Thanksgiving 09. Bree was 5 months old


Family pictures in Oct. 09 She was and is still all eyes.

This is after she was born while I was in recovery. Was again not prepared for having a c-section early and had only a cell phone camera. Thank goodness we had that.
Born at 6 pounds even, and 19 inches long,

is now 16 pounds and 25 inches long.

Bree at 1:

1.She loves to eat and is my best eater I have ever had. Loves Bananas (fresh), mac and cheese, Ritz crackers, scrambled eggs, PB&J, and anything we are eating.

2. Playing anything. Peek-a-boo, cars with her brother, she even makes car noises, but she still loves her babies. When she is getting into something and I tell her no, she goes as fast as she can to finish the demolish before I get to her.

3. She thinks her name is "NO"

4.She is my first kid to walk before 1. That is with a lot of help from her sisters.

5. She is always happy, and everyone notices it, but I would gladly give her to you in the middle of the night when camping.

6. Still does not sleep through the night even though I quit nursing 3 weeks ago.

7.She loves her brother Jacob.
8. She hates sacrament meeting, not being able to move around is horrible to her.

9. Loves it when her sister takes her for walks.

10. Loves her brothers John Deere tractor almost as much as Jacob does.

11. We love Bree so much we can't imagine our life without her.

Happy anniversery tags

I'm doing this post a few days early, these next 2 weeks are going to be crazy. My niece is getting married, I'm so happy for her!
So here are some pictures from the past. There aren't too many of us together, cause I'm the one behind the camera 99% of the time. Here is to our 13th year.

Our engagement picture. Man those pants do not do any favors for me!!

Our family at the Portland Temple

He did have hair at one time.

Our 3rd anniversary. Wow, Bree does look like Lauren!

We'll see how well I know Tom. My answers are first, his are in Blue

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? Fishing and/or football, fishing, hunting, football

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch, Ranch

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Chicken, I made it way too much in the past. Chicken

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order? Diet Pepsi, Diet Pepsi

5. Where did he go to high school? south Medford, South Medford

6. What size shoe does he wear? 11, 11

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? guns, Money

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Roast beef from Stage Stop Store, pastrami from Stage Stop

9. What would this person eat every day if he could? Ribs, Steak

10. What is his favorite cereal? Does not eat cereal, don't eat

11. What would he never wear? pink, anything he thinks is too girly, skirt, bell bottoms

12. What is his favorite sports team? Seahawks, Seahawks

13. Who did he vote for? McCain, McCain

14. Who is his best friend? me of course! Now, me

15. What is something you do that HE wishes YOU wouldn't do? Spend money, when I ask when he is coming home.

16. What is his heritage? German and Indian, German

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? Just found out last year that he could care less for cake, so I would say Key Lime pie. Key lime pie

18. Did he play sports in high school? no, Football (freshman year does not count Tom!!!)

19. What could he spend hours doing? Spending time with me!~Hunting

20. What is one unique talent he has? Staying out in the cold for hours hunting. Humor

My Hubba Hubba Hubby Tag

1. What are your middle names? Cherie Lee, Thomas Eugene

2. How long have you been together? Married 13 years.

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? 10 years or so. Our families were in the same ward. I was even at the airport when Tom came home from his mission. He had 2 girls there waiting for him. Opps!

4. Who asked who out? Tom asked me out at his sister Wendy's urging.

5. How old are each of you? Tom is 38, I'm 33.

6. Whose siblings do/did you see the most? Pretty equal for both, we all live close together, but maybe his just a little more.

7. Do you have any children together? four

8. What about pets? Not at the moment

9. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Tom working in the Bay Area. He is only home every other weekend, sometimes less, sometimes more.

10. Did you go to the same school? Nope, not at the same time.

11. Are you from the same home town? Tom moved to Medford when he was 11, so yes.

12. Who is the smartest? That's a tough one, We are better than one another in different ways. I'll give him wideness survival.

13. Who is the most sensitive? That's another toughie. I don't like my emotions to show, Tom will sometimes.

14. Where do you eat out most as a couple? In Medford, Roadhouse, or Mexican. Haven't found one we love yet.

15. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Cancun and Alaska.

16. Who has the worst temper? Me, with the kids, Tom while driving.

17. Who does the cooking? Me, but I would pass anytime!

18. Who is more social? Me.

19. Who is the neat Freak? Me.

20. Who is the most stubborn? Tom by far!

21. Who hogs the bed? Tom

22. Who wakes up earlier? Tom, but only by default. If hes not going to work then he will stay in till I get mad at him.

23. Where was your first date? Tom took me for Chinese, then a walk in the park, ice cream, the movie Twister, and when he drooped me off, he shook my hand good night.

24. Who has the bigger family? I do. 6 kids in mine. Tom has 4.

25. Do you get flowers often? No

26. How do you spend the holidays? One families house to the next. That's the fun about living so close to each other.

27. How long did it take to get serious? 4 Months, right before I went back to Ricks.

28. Who does the laundry?Me

29. Who’s better with the computer? I learn what I what to do, and need o do, but Tom uses it for work, so I would say him.

30. Who drives when you are together? Depends on which car. I will drive sometimes my van, but Tom will to. If I don't want to pick where we are going to dinner, I'll let him drive. He drives his truck.

Look what I made!

I saw this wreath on another blog, and knew I needed to make it. It has over a thousand balloons, and lots of floral pins but I love how it turned out. I have 3 summer birthdays and it will be perfect to hang for those. I need to keep an eye on the weather when Laurens birthday comes along.

Jacobs 4th birthday

My little boy! You sure know how to put a smile on every ones faces! You say and do the funniest things, I don't know where you come up with them. From making your own car wash after Grandma has watered her flowers, To asking how everyone laughs, just to hear it. He loves his Grandpas laugh the best, and copies it down to the swinging arm. I think you would have been just fine with all the gifts you got from everyone, but your dad insisted that you have this tractor as well. You were so happy when you saw this and have been riding it everyday since.

I love this picture of you. There was a little ash pile at our house in Livermore, and sure enough you found it. Everyday you were so dirty, just like a little boy should be. And always found with cars.

This picture was taken just a week or so after Jacob came home from the hospital. You weighed a mere 4 pounds. Even now you sleep the same way, with your arm under your head. Right before I took this picture, dads head was the same way as yours, I wasn't fast enough.

This picture really puts in perspective just how little you were. Born at 31 week 3 days and you weighed 3pounds 3 ounces. You were just a little peanut. Who knew you would grow into the huge personality you have now.

Long overdue!!

These pictures will not be in order, and there are a lot of them. This is an ode to my oldest daughter. Sometimes she went by the name Rosie, but mostly she is Taryn. She is my oldest daughter who just turned 12. How did that happen? So many things have gone by so fast, and many more things are to come. As fun as it is to have a 4th of July baby, it's not fun to plan a party for that week. Her church friends were able to come, and a few cousins too.

Here is a picture of her new swimsuit. She loves Roxy brand. Her cabin at girls camp s named Roxy, very handy.
She got what she wished for: an Ipod touch. Her Grandparents played a trick on her, making her think she got an animal of some sort. It was so cute, and her reaction was priceless.

Here are some of her fellow beehives.

Some pictures form the past. I had pictures in mind that I wanted to post, that's why it took me so long, but pre-digital era I had thousands of prints to go through, and didn't find the ones I really wanted in a timely fashion, so these will do. They fit her personality. always fun and up for craziness.

Taryn age 6

Taryns 6th birthday at Marine world with dad.

Taryn age 2 building a tower with dad. She always tilted her head when posing for a picture!!

Around age 3. loved to dress up! I was one of those moms who would let her kids go to the store in a sleeping beauty dress.

There were so many "lasts" in this last year. Last year of elementary school, last primary program, last Sunday in primary, last year of being a child, last of the kids menus.

there are going to be so many "firsts". First year of middle school, first time in young women, first girls camp, first paying babysitting job.

Taryn has been such a joy to me. She is a great help with the younger kids, and is always willing to help me when I need it. I know she will always make good choices, and be a great inspiration to others. I love you Taryn!

10 months

I can't believe we have gotten this far and we are both still here to tell about it.
Bree, you have been such a joy, but at the same time a great challenge. Night time is the hardest. You still have yet to sleep 2 nights in a row. Right now you are up 4-5 time a night. You just love to snuggle with your mom. I don't. Your personality is awesome. You laugh at everything your brother does. I think you two are going to get into lots of trouble.
The difference between your first and last children are with your first you want them to do all the firsts: sitting up, rolling over, crawling, pulling themselves up, and walking. With the last, at least with me, I have been holding her back, but nature will take its course, and it didn't work. I held or had Bree in the jumperoo so she would not be on the ground learning to crawl. It didn't work. Not she is doing everything turbo speed. Within 2 weeks time she was crawling, crawling up steps, and pulling herself up to standing. I need a break!

This picture was taken at the Sf zoo. She loves to eat. As you can see this was at lunch time. Some of her favorite foods are carrots, applesauce, mashed potatoes, eggs, and anything that we are eating. If it can be mashed or cut into tiny pieces, Bree's going to eat it.
The next picture was taken at church. In the 2 minute car ride she was out!!
She is not a lot of fun to take to church. She is the very definition of hall baby.


I think I am going to have my hands full with this little one. She keeps me moving all day. If she is awake, she is busy. As Jacob would say: "A busy day is a good day". I guess.

I am still Alive....(For the 2 people who may read this)

So I start off this post by saying that I am still around and that I have not forgotten about my blog. In fact I am always thinking that I need to update, but time always gets away from me. These last few months have been so busy. I would find myself saying, "if I can just get through this week" or even "just get through this day" things will calm down. Between living at my parents house, sick kids, callings, and finishing our house, and finally moving, I have had little time to do anything else. I find I have more time now. I have 1 hour and 45 minuets back everyday now that I don't drive the kids to school. They now ride the bus. Oh how I love the bus! The picture above was taken in the hotel we stayed in in SF a couple of weeks ago. We needed to make a very short notice trip for Jacob. He was having some problems going to the bathroom, and had had a few bladder infections. There are no doctors to treat him here, so we were sent down to see his dr. in SF. That was a very stressful trip. I needed to find places for Taryn and Lauren to go, and my FIL stepped right in and took care of them. They even played hookie one day to go turkey hunting. The girls had so much fun they were disappointed when I came back. Even Lauren who hates when I not home at night.

A lot of work needs to be done on the house, but it is livable, if not a little small right now. Oh well, we will survive.

Some other things we have done in last few months are:

*FHE every Monday night since Jan. That is the longest stretch we have done. It helps we are held accountable because we do it with my dad and brother, and my SIL.

*Jacobs first primary activity. I did have to go. Sunbeams must have a parent there.

*Bree is moving all over the place. I kept her off the floor to try and keep her from crawling for as long as possible. Is that bad? After one week, she got up the step in the sunken living room. oh well.

*I mowed my first lawn. Nuff said.

*School is almost out, and I have signed the girls up for volleyball camp.

*Planning 2 birthday parties. I can't believe Taryn will be 12! And going to girls camp.

Now I know just looking at the few things I have written here might not seem like I have been so busy, but I do play volleyball 2x a week, take my mom to PT 2x a week, and at least one of my kids have dr. appointments a few times a month.
So that is all my scatter brain can think of right now. Maybe if I don't wait so long in between posts, they will seem more put together.