And then there were 10...

Toes... So in truth, I was a little sad about it!  Baby toes are so cute... even when there are too many of them!  :)  But it was time.  Better to do it now than wait.  And today was the day! She did great!  No complications.  Great doctors and staff!  A brand new giant bright pink cast...  and one less toe! 

This was post-op.  She woke up pretty mad!  They apologized to us when we went back to get her "for using her as a pin cushion".  :(  Sad!  Poor girl does not have good luck with IV's.  She has over 12 pokes in just one arm and hand.  And then they tried the other one... and then her neck... and then finally her leg!  She's a little bruised!  But luckily she wasn't awake for it! 

Dad makes the best lounge chair ever!  ;) 

Kids having surgery is so unnerving!  There is just something about handing your child over to someone and hoping for the best that is not so easy on your heart!  I'm so glad it is over with!  ....Now on with the healing and sponge bathing and... graffiti!  :)   

So... Stinkin'...Sweet!

We had a little photo shoot yesterday!  It has been a while.  (And honestly, I desperately need to have pics taken of my kids!) She wasn't really in the mood... but it was fun anyway!  :)  There is a sweetness in this little girl I wish I could bottle! 

 And pose!  :)

 The curls!

She could not figure out what the heck she was wearing!  hahaha.  Taste tests proved it was not eatable.... but it was stretchy!

"Where Reagan go?"

And the real reason for the photo op... that precious little extra!  We had to take one more picture of it!  Because as of noon today... it was no longer there!  :( 

GROSS

I have decided that pretty much everything that grows or lives in the desert is disgusting!  Creepy crawly slimy pinchy poky prickly....  YUCKY! But our latest visitor has taken its place at the top of my "Grossest Things EVER" list!  Meet the Centipede:

It was only 4" long... which is small here.  We had one in our back yard a couple weeks ago that was about 10"!  (I get goose-bumps and shivers just thinking about it!)  They are poisonous!  They are GROSS!  And it is was in my kitchen!

We had it in the jar until dad got home!  Partly to show him how awesome I was for catching it... and partly because I wasn't sure what to do with it! (Squishing something this big on my floor wasn't an option!  It was too big to flush and I wasn't setting it free!)  Dad's jr. high science education came in handy, and one cotton ball with alcohol later... it convulsed its way out of the world!  :P  Ewwww!

My BOYZ!

Goodness... they are a crazy trio!  And I LOVE them to pieces!  :)  They were checking out whatever was on the other side of the wall. 

Proof of Patrick's greatness!  :)  He's a week away from turning 31... and he's still got it!  hahaha ....He is SO useful! ;)  ...And it's kinda hot! hahaha.

And while most parents have been signing their kids up for sports and posting cute pics and videos of them hitting or kicking a ball... we were doing this... hahahahahaha!  They are wearing uniforms... ;) 

Hey, I don't care what anyone says... that is HARD to do!  hahaha.  So much fun they are! (I'm channeling my inner Yoda.)  :)  

18 Months

Of this little girl!  I would say it's hard to believe.... but that goes without saying!  She really doesn't seem like an 18 month old!  :)  Nursery age, seriously?!  No way!  She is still my cute, squishy little baby girl!  :)  I can't even begin to express the hope and love this little person has and shares and inspires!  She amazes us all the time! 

She has kind of hit a developmental growth spurt.  She has been rolling onto her tummy for a few months now.  But she has added rolling (as in: over and over), scooting and even getting up onto her knees!  She is also getting to a sitting position on her own too! 

She is getting better and better at using her hands and manipulating things! She plays peek-a-boo and covers her eyes!  :)  It's SO stinking cute!  She has even started feeding herself crackers!  (Eating normal food/self feeding is something we are working towards!)

And she is getting a mouthful of teeth!  Literally!  She has had 2 bottom teeth for a while, then 1 on the top for a couple months.  But in the last couple weeks she has gained 5 more!  Ouch!  But it's great!  ...And should help with the feeding thing too, chewing is a lot easier with teeth!  :)

She is a funny little girl!  She loves attention and is a ham when she gets it!  And she still has the best belly laugh ever!!  :) She is also pretty good at playing and entertaining herself!  Getting more and more independent every day! (Um... this pic is just for sweetness!)  :)

And the hair!  It's so out of control and it's getting so long and curly!  All the rolling around on the floor doesn't help, but I really do comb it!  :) 

She has been working really hard lately at repeating sounds.  She makes a lot of normal babbling sounds, but her biggest accomplishment yet... Dada.  And with intention, she knows who he is and she calls him that!  It's been the biggest area of question, whether or not she would ever be verbal.  And while this doesn't make it absolute, it's a VERY good sign!  ...I wish I had gotten a picture of Patrick's face the first time she said it to him!  We both got so excited she just kept saying it and smiling at him!  Amazing!  (No, development on "Mama" yet, but it's cool!  I already knew he was her favorite!)  :)

It's so exciting to watch her grow and change!  Endless are the possibilities and high are the hopes!  I feel that way about all 3 of them!  And I've learned to appreciate every stage and new thing so much more!  I got so used to "expecting" our kids to do or learn things.  She has taken expectation out of the equation... and in its place we have the joy of surprise!  I don't find sadness in the things she can't do... because truthfully, she is capable of doing anything, in her own time!  It's just overwhelmingly wonderful when she does do something!  They are the kind of surprises we love to get!  :)   

Beautiful Baby Girl... is getting so BIG!  :) 

InDePeNdEnCe DaY!

Oh, Happy 4th of July!  :)  I love this holiday!  Lots of friends, fun, food... and when we are lucky... fireworks!  :)  My stinker kids wouldn't do pictures, but I tried, here is my proof!  ...They were all looking in the right direction! :)

Ok, so Reagan is a bit of a distraction most of the time! hahaha.  And yes, she is about to bite Jackson's knee!

And not a single kid looking at me!  Reagan using her "look at me" strategy!  It's popular during prayer time too!  hahaha.

The best pic I got... and the flash didn't go off!  Seriously?!  But they were all looking at me... and smiling!  :)

But this one is my favorite!  Of all three of them! :)

We had a couple of families over to celebrate with us!  It was a LOT of fun!  There were 6 adults and 11 kids!  hahahaha.  So it was crazy too!  ;)  Getting our rockband on! ...We are some very enthusiastic rockers!  hahaha. 

This was the only pic I got of the kids playing... and it was about as close as I could get to their room!  hahaha.  They were busy little bees!  :) 

And miracle of miracles... it rained for a few minutes in the afternoon!  So we were shameless and did some fireworks too!  We went through 60 sparklers, had one minor explosion, one minor burn (it was sparkler related), and at one point there was at least 4 kids crying... all in less than 30 minutes!  hahahaha.  Good times! 

Truthfully, it was, a very great day!  We are lucky to have such great friends! We are also very lucky to be citizens of this great nation! I think about it a lot, especially now that I have kids.  How incredibly blessed I was to be born in this place.  At this time.  ...So much of it I take for granted everyday!  But when I stop and think about it... everything I have, everything I've done or can do!  I am so grateful!  And I'm especially grateful for the men and women who have or do make it possible for us to celebrate every year! 

111

111... is the average temperature this week.  I'm not going to complain, because the rest of the year here is awesome!  But it is really HOT right now!  So... what do you do in the summertime... When the world is all ablaze? 
We... have indoor picnics!  :) 

And play in the "sprinkles", as Harrison would say!  Thank heaven for the trampoline! 

We also do a lot of swimming!  And all things indoor/air condition oriented! ;) ...Like this.... hahaha. 

And what has Patrick been doing?  Moving yard after yard (15 to be exact) of rock!  Yep, we totally didn't plan that very well!  And he is loving it, if you can't tell!  ;)  My poor husband!  But it looks amazing! 

It's summer in the desert!  The creepy crawly things are out.  Half the state is on fire.  We haven't had rain in months.  And... we are loving it!  :)

Being the Dad!

For some reason being a dad means getting to be the kid again too!  :)  (At least at our house!)  But in all fairness, he works his butt off all the time for us, he should get to unwind and regress a little!  hahaha.  And we LOVE him SO much! 

I love that we can depend on him, no matter what!  He works so hard... at work and at home!  He is without limits when it comes to our family!  What a huge blessing that is!  And I am so grateful for it!!  My hope is that someday our kids will recognize how hard he works and how much he does and want to be just like him! 

I love that he is FUN!  He is so good about coming home from work (after 14 hours in the heat!) and jumping right in with the kids!  He is the master wrestler, dodge ball player, tag chaser... they LOVE it!  And so do I!  I love to watch them together!  And every once in a while, he becomes the tormenting teenager that gets a little too rambunctious... and then mama bear has to get involved!  But that is usually pretty fun too!  hahaha.

I love how he loves them!!!  There is this sort of camaraderie with the boys... like the three of them know something us girls don't.  hahaha.  They are rough and rowdy and crazy with each other.  They fight and butt heads. But they are also very tightly bonded.  Boys are so weird! :)  But man do they love each other!  And dad is their ever fearless leader... it's borderline crazy! ... And weirdly awesome at the same time! :) 

And dad and Miss Reagan!  You have to see it in person to understand it!  There is this part of Patrick I never thought I would see!  And that little girl found it!  It's soft and squishy and vulnerable.  She loves him! (Seriously, you should see the hugs and kisses he gets!)  And he needs her!  (While I am sure there are a million things we are/will learn from this sweet girl, she has had more positive effect of him than anyone!)  He hasn't been the same since the day she was born.  His little princess... the one who will always need him!  And he is her prince!...  the one who will always love and protect her!  He'll be the man her life!  For her whole life!  And there isn't a better one out there!  :)  

I don't know what the future holds for us as parents!  But I am SO glad he is my partner in crime!  (He is really good at the good cop/bad cop routine! I am usually the good cop by default! haha.)  But all joking aside, he is my everything! And our kids have all of the best parts of him!  (Except when they are rotten, some of that they get from him too!)  haha. Ok, but seriously.... He's AMAZING!  And we love him endlessly! 

Happy (late) Father's Day!