So long 2013!!! Happy New Year 2014!!!

It's been a great year for the Naylor family and since the last time I posted was for last Christmas I'm going to try to jam every single thing we did into our Christmas update to make up for it... Just Kidding!!! However, I doubt this will be super short.

The BIG events in our year:

We Moved!!! We made an offer on a finished house which was accepted and then fell through... after that it was slim pickings but we were determined to find something. We did. If you are interested to learn more about it go HERE. (just kidding, I'll add a link as soon as I write a post).

My baby brother Jonathan married his sweetheart Briana on May 18th and we are super excited to have her as a new member of our family!!!

In June I drove with all 4 kids to Maryland stopping off to visit friends in Kansas City and Indianapolis along the way (and beg a place to stay for the night). Abby especially loved our visit to the Indianapolis zoo where we got to pet sharks. In Maryland we celebrated my Grandmother's 90th Birthday. Brian met us in Maryland and we all drove to New Hampshire for our yearly visit and had fun visiting the ocean, getting soaked and freezing and a pancake house where we were chased by goats, watching the firework show in Wolfeboro Bay... but most of all we enjoyed playing at Lake Winnepesaukee.

In September Abby turned 8 and she was Baptized in November. We were grateful that my parents, Brian's mom, his sister Staci, nieces Alli & Ashley and their children were all able to make the journey here and be a part of it. 

We made two trips to the Denver zoo one with Grandpa Rudy, Emma & Carson and one with Abby's best friend Holly and her mom Annette. When Brian's mom came to visit we went to the Butterfly Pavilion where everyone but Daddy held a tarantula.  

We got a Beagle puppy from the Dumb Friends League, and we're fairly sure there is some dachshund mixed in there, in September. He came with the name "Ernie", which we liked but we like "Howie" better so he is officially named "Howitzer Ernie Naylor" and is now 5 mos. old. We add him to Simon the cat (6 yrs) and the 5 turtles that we inherited with our backyard pond.

Most of our free-time has been taken up with home renovations (see link above) and we're hoping to put all of that behind us by the end of 2014 so that we can get back to some adventuring... of course, we'll be sure to sneak a few adventures in...

Brian: got older, graduated from the pathways program and is now a student at BYU/I, no longer processes bone and similarly icky things as well as being on his feet all day and moved to the cushy business side of things (although he assures as that he is much busier than he used to be) which also has the perk of an increase in pay, and lastly usually spends about an hour putting the girls to bed because he is a pushover (my words, not his).

Sarah: Also got older (darnit!), stopped leading music and began teaching sunbeams (the 3-4 year olds in our church), painted every room in our new home excepting the master bathroom which is up next, painted a set of cupboards, 3 bookshelves, 2 step stools, 1 dresser turned entertainment center, 1 side table, 2 twin beds (bunk beds), 1 kids play table with 3 chairs, 1 curio cabinet,  1 hanging shelf and multiple picture frames, and I'm reading even more than ever now that I've discovered how to listen to books double time on my phone, I still prefer a book in my hands, however.

Abbigayle: turned 8, started the 3rd grade, was in her school's talent show last spring singing and dancing to "Despicable Me" and was super cute AND funny AND brave, She was one of the younger kids in the show,  Has taken 2 piano lessons and is already playing like a pro, is obsessed with sharks and wants to be a marine biologist when she grows up, and is already a big hit with the boys (scary) who she sits with at lunch.

Virginia: turned 6, started the 1st grade, is one of the funniest people I have ever known- has terrific timing,  lost her first teeth (within 48 hours),  started taking ballet/tap this year and had a performance just before Christmas, is still a girl scout (cookie orders, anyone?), loves Harry Potter legos and batman, still wants a job in pyrotechnics when she grows up and is becoming a terrific reader this year.

Taggart: turned 3, is pretty much an unstoppable force, has more energy than mom can keep up with and the resulting shenanigans keep us at wits end daily and sometimes hourly but keep the other kids in giggles, is too cute for anyone to stay mad at long, is talking up a storm,  and Mom can't wait until the weather is nice again so that he can don his firefighter rain boots and hit the backyard with the puppy again,  Tag wants to be a firefighter or Iron Man when he grows up.

Finnegan: turned 1, is deceptively sweet and quiet, he's a little thinker and loves trying to figure out how things work, I'm concerned that as he gets older he will be the mastermind to all of Tag's shenanigans, has become very talented at blowing kisses, loves to climb to high places and then dance (because getting up high isn't dangerous enough) and has everyone in this family wrapped around his little finger.

Our Favorite Things 

Favorite Saying... 

Brian: "I can't handle Tag anymore, you deal with him."

Sarah: It will be so great when the (fill in the blank with "kitchen" "front room", "basement"etc.) 

is finished." 

Abby: "Oh, I know..." (constantly coming up with great plans)

Ginny: Why does _____ sometimes always _______?" ex.= "Why does Finn sometimes always climb on the table?" (even though I repeatedly tell her that sometimes means NOT always).

Taggart: "I don't love it." and "I didn't make good choices."

Finn: "Owie" and "Help"

Favorite Book...

Brian: Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

Sarah: Peace Like A River by Leif Enger

Abby: Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Ginny: Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin, ill. by James Dean

Tag: Eight Silly Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Steve Haskamp

Finn: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Favorite Movie/Show...

Brian: Castle (It's secretly Downton Abbey but he'll deny it)

Sarah: It's between Sherlock or Modern Family... choices, choices.

Abby: Chasing Mavericks

Ginny:The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Tag: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Finn: The Pink Panther

Favorite Song...

Brian: Bangs Bricks + Mortar

Sarah: Dream Priscilla Ahn

Abby: Everything At Once Lenka

Ginny: Call Me Maybe Carly Rae Jepson

Tag: I Love to See the Temple  

Finn:Anything he can dance to (I'm hoping next year we'll be able to narrow it down)

Favorite Toy...

Brian: His phone and his laptop (duh)

Sarah: Jogging stroller

Abby: Sparkling Princesses

Ginny: Harry Potter legos

Tag: Mommy's make-up, baby powder, water, nutella, etc.

Finn: a push car that Aunt Jodi sent him & his new slide

Favorite YouTube Video... 

Brian: Animals Can Be Jerks

Sarah: I've been wasting a lot of time watching crash course videos

Abby: What Does the Fox Say? 

Ginny: The Muppets: Ode to Joy

Tag: The Muppets: Pöpcørn

Finn: Minions: Cow cup, the stars are brighter, evil minion animation

Favorite feature of our new house...

Brian: having our own house

Sarah: the oven/stove

Abby: the adobe fireplace (now gone)

Ginny: the playroom

Tag: the scary room in the basement (now gone)

Finn: the jetted tub

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

See you next December...

Okay, resolution (again) to post more this year.

Merry Christmas 2012!!!

 We hope that all of you had a marvelous 2012. We have had a roller coaster ride of a year. There have been moments of building anticipation, moments of plummeting stomachs (good and bad), moments that made us giggle with delight, tooth rattling moments (mainly due to Tag, Thank you!), and now that we are nearing the end of the year a little sadness that it's ending and a little relief as well.

We didn't do as much traveling or camping this year. This was mainly due to our new addition, Finn. We will gladly take him in exchange and plan to catch up on some adventuring in 2013. Highlights from our year include:

- A visit to the Denver Aquarium

- Visits to the Denver Natural History Museum and the NEW Natural History Museum in Salt Lake.

- on May 19th Finn was born.

-Abby's 3rd annual dance performance in June.

-A trip to New Hampshire in July for two weeks of Rudy family fun.

-Marched in the Wolfeboro 4th of July parade for Romney. Abby got to shake Mitt's hand, Abby and Ginny rode in the Romney family trolley and Tag met the inspiration for his name, Tagg Romney.

-Visited Utah family and friends in April, August and October.

-Ginny started kindergarten.

-Thanksgiving in Las Vegas with the Naylor side of the family.

- A fun-filled day at Disneyland with Brian's sister Staci and her family.

 Our Favorite Things for the year 2012. 

I'm going to steal an idea from a friend of mine and list some favorites for each family member. I think it will be a great way for us to look back and remember what we were like in 2012 and for some of you to learn more about us than you ever wanted to know.

Favorite Saying...

Brian: "Right Now???" or "It's so hot in here!"

Sarah: "Yes You Can! When we are in our own house."

Abby: "Kneel, like diamond" (leading into family prayer)

Ginny: "I can't find my pink blankie, it's gone forever!" (blanket is usually behind her)

Tag: "Why?", "What?" or "Cookie"

Finn: "Pbbbthh"

Favorite Book...

Brian: The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

Sarah: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Abby: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Ginny: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Tag: Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

Finn: Plush, chewable animal book

Favorite Movie...

Brian: Marvel's The Avengers

Sarah: is looking forward to seeing Lincoln, Les Miserables and The Hobbit

Abby: Brave and Wreck it Ralph

Ginny: The Dora and Diego 4D movie that we "rode" at the aquarium.

Tag: Toy Story 2

Finn: The live movie my sisters and brothers provide on a regular basis, I find it hilarious.

Favorite Song...

Brian: Evans Blue/Parabelle (fave new artist)

Sarah: "You See The Light In Me" Greg Laswell and Ingrid Michaelson (unrecorded) and the original works that Ginny regularly comes up with.

Abby: "Love Story" by Taylor Swift and "Firework" by Katy Perry

Ginny: The Gummy Bear Song

Tag: "Dynamite" Taio Cruz (he has a monkey that sings it and dances, Tag dances along)

Finn: "Teddy Bear Picnic". I may just love chewing on musical pooh bear as the music winds down.

Favorite YouTube video...

 Brian: Four Old Ladies (3:27)

Sarah: Dumb Ways to Die (3:02) Thanks Liz!

Abby: The Sneezing Baby Panda (0:17)

She also loves kid history but couldn't choose one and they are long.

Ginny: Kill the Wabbit (0:24)

Tag: Monsters Inc Bloopers Sped Up (2:47)

Finn: Emerson- Mommy's Nose is Scary!  (0:59) Not that he has watched this but he thinks bodily noises (sneezing, hiccuping, etc.) are HILARIOUS. So we're guessing he would like this.

Favorite Past Time...

Brian: Playing with the kids (Brian makes a great Zombie, Monster and mini trampoline).

Sarah: Finding furniture to slather in chalk paint and searching pinterest.com

Abby: Playing computer games and sports that involve a lot of running.

Ginny: Drawing etc. and playing with Finn.

Tag: Jumping, climbing, making noise, creating general mayhem.

Finn: Bounding in my jumper, scooting on my back and blowing raspberries.

Favorite Ride at Disneyland...

Brian: Space Mountain

Sarah: Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean

Abby: Splash Mountain and Roger Rabbit

Ginny: Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean

Tag: It's a Small World and the Buzz Light Year Ride

Finn: Peter Pan (our best guess)

Merry Christmas! 

We hope that all of you are happy and healthy and we're sending you wishes for an even better year to come!

Love, The Naylor Family

Brian (??), Sarah (??), Abbigayle (7, 2nd grade), Virginia (5, Kindergarten), Taggart (2), Finnegan (7 mos.)

Finn

Finnegan Eric Naylor was born May 19 @ 12:17 in the morning. He was 20 inches long and 8 lb. 3.5 oz.

His Name: It wasn't easy choosing a name for this child. Just to give you an idea these are some of the names that were still on "the list" the day he was born: Andrew, Abram, Bode, Caleb, Graham, Griffin, Jacob, Noah... and that's the narrowed down list. When I was pregnant with Tag (and we had already chosen his name) we were still talking about names just for fun. We both liked the name "Finn". However, all of our children have a given name that we use when they are in trouble or when we're feeling cheeky along with a nickname. We didn't want to stray from the trend on our fourth child (if it was a boy). Brainstorming I came up with Finnegan and to my surprise, and chagrin, Brian LOVED it.

When we talked about the name Finn this time around we both thought Finnegan was a little too different. We came up with "Griffin" with more brainstorming but it seemed like a stretch. Anyway, to make a long story shorter- it was the name that wouldn't go away. It was Abby's favorite and so she would chant it "Finnegan Eric" and I would say, "Abby, we are NOT going to name him that." Once he was born Brian had come back around and was liking it again. When we couldn't agree on any of the other names I gave in. It's still growing on me and I'm sure I'll like it more and more as he grows. I do think it goes with Eric better than any of the other names.

All of our children's middle names are chosen to honor someone (ancestor, parent, etc.) and his middle name "Eric" is for my older brother Eric who died at 2 weeks of S.I.D.S. I've always felt close to him and wanted to use it but our first boy's middle name had to be after Brian's dad so Eric went to our second son.

If anyone has any clever ideas for my header please let me know. Abracadabra/Abby, Ginger Snap/Ginny, Tag a Long/Tag, Mickey Finn? Tailfin? Huckleberry? Better ideas?

His Birth: On Friday the 18th I started having regular contractions around 5 pm. I tested positive for strep B for the first time during this pregnancy and since Tag came so quickly (2 1/2 hours) they had scheduled me to have my water broken on the 21st so that they could get some antibiotics in my system at least 4 hours before he came. When I noticed my contractions getting regular and increasing in strength I figured we better head to the hospital to get those antibiotics in case he was planning on coming. They gave me the antibiotics at 8:40.

I've decided that either I did a better job practicing my hypnobabies last time around (quite possible) or contractions hurt more when my water has not broken. At 12:15 my water broke while sitting on a birthing ball. I got onto the bed and the nurse checked me and let me know that I was dilated to an 8. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping for a 10... and then he came anyway. That's all I can say. He was there and ready and it didn't matter that I wasn't fully dilated. I can tell you that an 8 lb 3.5 oz baby coming out dilated to an 8 and laying in bed feels very different from a 7 lb. 13 oz. baby basically falling out when I stood up. This way was much less messy for the staff. The Dr. caught him instead of my husband but it was still a close call. He (the doctor) didn't have time to get gloves on and caught him bare-handed.

I was very happy that, since this time was less chaotic, they were able to immediately put Finn skin to skin with me instead of rushing him away. The saddest part, for Finn, was that he was so bruised! (See Above) His head and face were black and blue. They told us that if staff came in when he was all bundled up and were worried about him looking blue that we should let them know it was bruising. It took about 2 weeks for the bruising to be completely gone. He also came 20 minutes before the 4 hour mark for the antibiotics so they had us stay in the hospital an extra day. I was okay with that. With ten people at home (not counting Brian, Finn and I) I could stand an extra night in the hospital.

His Siblings: Abby, Ginny and Tag are loving their little brother. Abby was especially happy with his name. Sometimes they love him a little too much. Ginny wakes him up and then tells us, "I was just keeping him happy." Yeah, right. Tag is learning how to be "soft", most of the time. They all try to straighten out his limbs until I stop them and they fight over holding him. Honestly, I think it would be easier for me if they didn't want to hold him. But it's also very sweet to watch them holding him.

His Parents: We're settling in. There is no schedule yet and so we're both a little sleep deprived. Luckily the girls will entertain each other so if I can get the boys to sleep at the same time I can catch a nap. Brian wasn't too happy when I fell asleep at 8 o'clock on his birthday. He was nice enough to leave me sleeping and I'll have to make it up to him. Brian is happy that Finn looks more like him and Ginny. He doesn't have their nose, though. Which, to me, is their defining characteristic so the jury is still out on who he's going to look like. Probably himself.

Four months worth of funnies

So, I've been avoiding figuring out our new-ish camera and how to download pictures... which has led to a lack of posts for quite some time. Here's a little catch-up on the random things that have been going on day-to-day. These pictures move from most recent back to January:
This was today. Ginny was so tired she didn't care where she slept. Tag would not allow her to sleep, though. She moved to the couch after this and he still kept climbing on her. That's what brothers are for!
Tag helping daddy fix the truck so we can sell it and buy a vehicle that will accommodate a family of 6. Time to make room for baby brother!
Tag discovered some jello mix in the pantry while I was distracted by baking. Hooray! I set the ripped bag on the counter while I cleaned him up. As I began cleaning up the floor he pushed the stool to the counter and almost grabbed the bag a second time but mommy stopped him just in time.

Carson and Ginny had a little clash of personalities and had to take a time-out in the front room. When I went to let them out 5 min. later this is what I found. They slept for about an hour. Conclusion: Ginny+Carson+tired=fighting
Tag's newest trick. Brian held out each binky in order to let him choose. He looked at one, then the other and then grabbed both and stuck them in!
This is what my produce drawer looks like. The oranges look even worse! Thanks, Tag.
Running through the sprinklers after drawing with sidewalk chalk = blue hands (and swimsuits).
Tag tries so hard to cuddle with his sisters but it never seems to quite work out. At least Abby is a little more open to it.
Mmmmmm, strawberries in sugar!!!
Crazy Hair Day!!!
We got a little bit of snow. The ONE big snow storm of the year. Otherwise it was a pretty dry winter.
We have been OBSESSED with bubble baths this winter! For Tag's first time he was scared of the bubbles. It didn't take him long to love them as much as the girls.
Tag and his friend Grace would not let me enjoy my Green smoothie (I overdid it on the blueberries and it was more of a purple smoothie). You can see how big my cup was by the ring that makes it all the way to their foreheads. I was more than happy to share!
Ginny finally gives the green smoothie a try- first and last time. We'll try again next year. Since her diet consists of the 5 main food groups (bread, cheese, apples, bananas and peanut butter) this was an amazing feat.
Tag got stuck.
How annoying is it when you go to take a bite out of your banana and it falls off of the peel???
Just Dance. A weekly Friday afternoon tradition. I need to post video.