Nielson's

Ridge

2012-06-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

Ridge had his 4th Birthday back in January. Since I am a slacker and never posted anything about my sweet boy's special day I figured late is better than never. Here are a few reasons why we love this amazing boy.

This boy is always smiling and happy. He truly knows the meaning of making lemonade out of lemons. (Sure hope the teenage years don't change that.)

He is always so helpful and kind to his brother and sisters. (This picture was taken about 8 months ago hence why there is no Charly.)

We have called him our peacemaker for as long as I can remember. He always puts others before himself.

We adore his smile. His smile lights up his entire face.

Ridge loves to play with others. He is always asking Tytan or Paisley to play with him. Lately it has been a lot more of Paisley and Ridge off playing together.

Ridge has the best brown deer eyes. They are so dark brown. He is the only one in the family with brown eyes.

Ridge also has such a goofy personality. He loves to be the "family clown". He is always dancing around or making goofy faces trying to make us laugh. He loves making up his own jokes. Most of the time they make no sense which makes us laugh that much harder.

He is still in love with Thomas. He was more excited about his Thomas cake than any of his Thomas toys.

We had 12 boys over for a B-day party in our backyard. The ~~craziest~~ most creative part of his party was a pinata made entirely by Pete. When he told me his plan I said NO WAY. But since he usually gets his way this is how it worked. First put candy in balloons and blow them up. Then tape candy filled balloons onto a random carboard box. No need to paint it all cute..the more white trash lookimg the better. Hang the pinata from backyard monkey bars. The pinata is now done. To create the wacking stick you first find/buy a long thick stick.. A 2X4 works great. You then proceed to hammer a long nail through one end. Yes you read correctly a nail, preferably nonrusty. Walllah the stick is complete. The final step is to blindfold all the 3 to 5 year old children and hand them the nail stick to swing around blindly. Sounds super safe right? The good news is no one lost an eye and Ridge loved his "pinata". Man men are creative. If anyone is interested in this for your childs next B-day I am sure Peter will make one for you too.

The boys Tytan, Josh, Coehn, Callen, Crew, Jack, Ridge, Tate, Crew, Hunter (not pictured), Preston & Chandler had to leave early.

The kids each got to make their own pizza.

We then had a Thomas cake. A.K.A. lots of cupcakes with Thomas rings on them.

At the end we had a treasure hunt where the kids had to find their goody bags.
Over all it was a good day. We love you Ridgey Boo.

polar express

2012-06-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

I know I am about 7 months late posting this but I figured for documenting sake here it is. In December we headed up to Flagstaff/Williams to ride the Polar Express. Anyone who knows Ridge also knows he is a train fanatic. The night before we rode the train we gave each of the kids a new pair of Jammies to wear on the train.

The day after the Polar Express we hung out in Flag to play in the snow.

Paisley all decked out in her snow attire...Daddy in a T-shirt. Seriously? It was freezing and he doesn't even put on a jacket.

Tytan making snow angels

Paisley

Ridgey Boo

In front of the train

Checkin out the gift shop.

On the train

Ridge giving me a thumbs up. He was so stinkin excited it was adorable. Of course his jammies had to be Thomas.

Pais in her cheetah jammies.

Tyt was really into the little show they do on the train.

Pulling away from the station heading off to the North Pole.

They all got cookies and hot cocoa. Seriously the cookie was about the size of Paisley's head.

Family pic.

At the North Pole

Santa talking to Pais and Tyt. asking them each what they wanted for Christmas. All the kids got "the bell" from Santa.

Ridgey and St. Nick.

Showing off the bell

The next day we took the kids to the top of a mountain to go sledding. They adored it. We were all laughing so hard at each other. That was a blast.

Here is our snowman the kids named Otterpop.

Of course when we get in the car to go home they all pass out within seconds. Fantastic vacation we will have to do again. Unti next time Polar Express....

Paisley Sue

2012-05-21T16:21:00.000-07:00

Since it was Paisley's birthday in April I decided to do a quick post all about her.

My Paisley girl is so silly. She is always doing silly things trying to make us laugh. This was her latest act during breakfast. She first dumped the milk on her head. I asked her to get a wash cloth to clean it up. She then preoceeds to "clean" the milk off her head.

Paisley loves her sister. Her favorite thing is to push her sister around the house in her doll stroller. I don't let her push her around on the tile. Just every once in a while around on the carpet

A couple of weeks ago we were playing in the backyard on our giant waterslide. Paisley walked behind it and when she came back out on the other side her head was gushing blood. No crying just a lot of blood. I figured since it was a head wound it was probably just a little cut. Once I washed a way the blood I realized it was gashed wide open. Off we went to urgent care. She was bleeding too bad to wait in the waiting room so she got bandaged up and we waited in a side room for the doctor. When the doctor came in he got out his "staple gun" and stapled up her head. Three staples later we were done. Surprisingly enough she didn't shed a single tear. She did tell the Doctor "All Done Doctor" a few times though. Even though I was outside with her the entire time I still don't know what she hit her head on.

Last week while we were at church Paisley decided to shove a pretzel remnant up her nose. She kept telling me a pretzel was up her nose. It was during the sacrament so I kept telling her to be quiet. After she persisted a few more times I took a look up her nose and sure enough that little pretzel was wedged up there just out of reach. After the sacrament was over I took her home to rid her of her pretzel. After I saw this picture I realized she probably did it to get us to laugh since when I took this picture I was laughing.

While the boys played Tee Ball this spring, you could find Paisley being "the assistant" most games.

We love you our white haired beauty!

March

2012-05-19T13:42:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the highlights of March.

We took pictures of the kids the last Sunday before Charly was born. We wanted 1 last picture of just 3 kids.

Of course we always have to have at least one or five goofy faced pictures.

We went camping... Since I was nine months Prego we decided to make it "extra special" and camp in our backyard. We set up the tent & got out all the camping goodies. We had a BBQ of course eating it all outside then we roasted a few mellows for dessert. We all slept so soundly.... until the sun came up.

We took a trip to the train park in Scottsdale. It was extra fun because we went with a few cousins. The day we chose to go was EXTRA freezing. We all needed a little hot cocoa.

Riding the Train. Ridge of course had to sit in the very first train car.

Ridge Riding the carousal

Paisley

Tytan

Since Charly was due & born on Paisley's Birthday we celebrated a few days early.

She loves Barbie things. When I asked her if she wanted a barbie cake for her birthday she lit up and yelled YES! Her very own Barbie cake with her name on it. She wanted pink, pink, and pink everything.

The one thing she asked for every single day was a pink bike . We pulled through and made her Birthday wish come true. She was so happy when she opened her present. We got most of her birthday celebration on video camera instead of pictures. Sorry very few to share.

A few reasons why we love our big 2 year old Princess Paisley

She is such a good snuggler

She loves to play with her brothers

She is an amazing helper

She has the whitest/craziest hair

She speaks so well for her age and is always telling me everything on her mind.

She is an excellent cleaner. She is always cleaning up messes

She gives the best goofy faces

She is happy most of the time

She has always been an excellent sleeper

She will ask to take a nap

She thinks she is so big
She is so tuff. (She sliced her head open and had to get stapled up. Not one tear shed. more on that coming another post)

She loves all things girly but she is also the first one to jump into a mud puddle head first
She has a very kind heart. She is always surprising me by doing things to help me. (like changing Charly's diaper by herself when I was out of the room. A little poo on the carpet but the diaper was changed.)

I could list a million reasons why I love this amazing girl. We love you our Princess Pai Pai. XOXOXO

Our new addition

2012-05-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

A baby can't get any more new than this... (still attached and all)

Charly was by far the fastest delivery/labor ever. I went from a 5 to a 10 within 30-40 minutes. Charly and Paisley will have a special bond for life. Not just because they are sisters but also because they share the same B-day. She is now 5 weeks old and is so good/easy. She is an excellent sleeper and eater. She is ~~a lot~~ a little spoiled and loves to be held. The boys don't have a problem granting that wish. I can't imagine life without her. Of course like with all new babies it takes hours to get done something that usually takes minutes. I have to work my day around feedings and crying spouts. Would I trade it for anything?.....Never in a million years. We all adore her.

Gettin' the stats

I love how dark her eyebrows are. Will I finally get a baby with dark hair like mine?

Holding her for the first time after her bath.

Charly is now 5 weeks old and still loooves her binky. None of my other 3 have liked their binky. We'll see if it sticks.

Paisley holding her new best friend/sister for the first time. Every time she holds her she first says pretty Charly don't cry Paisley is here then immediately says ooooh Mama she is soo heavy.

Ridge holding Charly for the first time. Ridge is such a great helper. He is the best at putting in her binky every time it falls out...If she wants it or not.

Tytan was the most excited about her arrival. He loves to hold her the most. We now use holding Charly as a reward. (If you get your homework done fast you will get to hold Sister.)

My 4 Babes. I don't know who likes the binky more? Paisley or Charly?

Grandma (Pete's Mom) came to see her new Grandaughter. Behind us you can see the pretty view I got to look at.

Ridgey Boo taking his turn again.

Look how dark her hair is. I love it. Paisley is so blond and Charly will hopefully stay so dark.

My sister Natalie and my Mom a.k.a. Nana at the hospital.

My Dad a.k.a. Papa

Our Baby Girl is here!

2012-04-17T14:12:00.003-07:00

CHARLY CAPRI NIELSON

7 LBS. 10 OZ.

20 INCHES LONG I don't have time to post all about our little Charly today. I at least wanted to post one picture of our sweet baby girl. So far she has been amazing. She is 1.5 weeks old and sleeps so good at night. I promise I will make time soon to post about Ridge's 4th birthday, Paisley's 2nd birthday, & Charly's birth. Whats your vote? Who does she look like?

2012-02-24T17:05:00.007-08:00

The days between Disney Land and Lego Land we took a chill day and headed to the beach. It was beautiful out but the water was waaay to cold for my liking. The kids made sandcastle after sandcastle, raced up and down the beach, & barried each other up to their necks. We even tried the water a little but decided against swimming. We are all an AZ warm water family.Paisley is always making faces for the camera. It is so hard to get a "real" picture of her.

When you haven't had a nap and you are at the beach what do you do? Make yourself a sand pillow and take a nap of course. Making a sand castle. Tytan trying to imitate one of Paisley's many faces. See pic. below and you be the judge if he got even close.

Ridge building his sand castle. Mr. Independent had to make his very own.

The boys testing out the freezing water. Ridge and Dad voted cold but not too bad. Tytan's vote...they are both crazy and it was freezing. Mom was with Tytan.

Classic name on the beach picture. I heart this picture of Ridge. Pete sprained his foot the day before we left to California. If you look closely at his left foot you will see a fat purple foot. Buried alive. Hard to tell from this picture but Pete made him into a shark. Who doesn't love the backside shot on the beach.

Disney Land

2012-02-22T12:49:00.000-08:00

While we were in California in October we had to hit up Disneyland. This was our kiddos first experience with DisneyLand. All 3 of them loved it. Tytan is fearless and loved going on every ride he was tall enough to get on. Space Mountain and all. Ridge was sooo bummed he wasn't tall enough for Space mountain and a few of the other big ones. Maybe next time my boy. Just like at Lego Land Paisley and I were buddies most of the time. Pregnant women and little ones not allowed on a lot of rides. I am hopefully going to try to catch up with all of the posts I need to get done before "baby girl" arrives in a few weeks. Wish me luck. This is Pete's favorite face Paisley makes. We see it all too often. Tytan excited to go to DisneyLand. Ridge thinking he would like to sleep for a few more minutes. We were mean and didn't buy her the Minnie doll she wanted so bad. I am such a cheap skate and I knew I could get it way cheaper somewhere else. Ridge getting ready to ride the trolley. My monkey boys on the tea cups. It is crazy to see how much more hair Paisley has now then she did then. Ridge driving the ship.

TOON TOWN

Its a Small World ride Paisley and Daddy. The boys waiting in line so patiently As much as they tried they just could not get the sword out. A little blurry but you get the idea. Funniest part of the day is when Paisley peed on Peter not once but twice. I had just changed her diaper and Pete was holding her on his hip. Next thing he knows is he is getting a very warm sensation dripping down his side. All of 40 minutes later the exact same thing happened but on the other side. I was laughing so hard. We had a change of clothes for Paisley but not for Peter. The rest of the day Peter walked around with two sides of his shirt soggy from pee. Paisley's diaper has never leaked before or since. It must have just been Peter's lucky day.

Lego Land

2012-01-12T13:06:00.000-08:00

During October break we took a vacation to California. While there we enjoyed a few of California's "sweet" spots. Too many pictures to post all at once so here is a couple of our days in pictures. One of the days there we went to Lego Land. The kids actually like Lego Land more than Disney Land. Lego Land is catered to only younger kids so the boys could ride a ton of rides. Paisley and I got to hang out a lot together while the "big" kids got to play. They did have a lot for little kids (Paisley) to do also. We played with a whole lotta Legos and played in the many play areas. We are already planning our next trip to Lego Land before the boys get too big.

We were spoiled and our Hotel was right on the beach. We loved taking family walks at night down the beach. Here is one night when Paisley was super tired and didn't want to even sit up for a picture.

Quick family picture before the sun set. We had all just gotten out of the pool hence me in the hat and Paisley without her hair done.

My silly monkey boys,

Paisley with her messy hair.

I love this picture. This picture now hangs in the boys' room. I love Tytan's smile and Ridge's "I'm too tough" pose.

At Lego Land. Cheesing it up while showing off her belly. Playing in one of the play areas with the giant Legos On a ride with Daddy Paisley Ridge on a train ride. I bet you can't guess what one of his favorite rides was. This was both of the boys very favorite ride. They got to race these cars around and crash into stuff. Any boys dream. Pete's favorite part of Lego Land. He had to make sure we got a picture with Darth. Putting on our 3D glasses before the movie. Notice her funky hair. She will not keep anything in her hair more than a few minutes. Tytan trying on his glasses. You would think being a children's theme park they would make the glasses a tad smaller. The boys going down a giant slide Since we were there right before Halloween they had an entire Trick or' Treating area. Kids getting some loot. It was super cold while we were there and not very many kids were in the water park section. During one of the times Paisley and I were waiting for the boys she wanted to go in. I thought it would be fine to wade her feet a little. Before long she was doing a little more than getting her feet wet...(see pic. below) After about 5 minutes of water fun she looked like this. She LOVED IT. Didn't mind one bit that it was freezing. She screamd when I made her get out. After a change of clothes all was well. Boys & Paisley playing on the big tree house. Ridgey Boo Tytan and Paisley. Until next time Lego Land...We miss you already.

Halloween

2011-11-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

I am one of those people that does not love Halloween. I do not love getting bombarded with candy and the spooky feeling associated with this holiday. I do love the weather and the fun feeling in the air because we all know Christmas is right around the

corner. I also do love being able to see my children's smiles as they pick

out their costumes and the first time they try them on.

My Strawberry Fairy (what is that exactly couldn't tell you but it was too cute to pass up), Frightening werewolf, & Thomas the Train.

My Strawberry Fairy.

Werewolf & Thomas.

family pictures 2011

2011-11-11T12:57:00.001-08:00

Family pictures 2011... Do family pictures ever get easier? Picking out the clothes to praying the kids are on their best behavior it seems to always be a lot of work. This year it made it a lot easier/harder depending how you look at it. I had all of a few days to pick out clothes we were all to wear. Are they my favorite NO does it all work fine Yes. It was easier this year since I did only have a few days to stress and run to stores to find clothes instead of a month plus. The pictures came out great and will be hanging on our walls for the next year until we decide to do all of this crazy stress again. Here are just a very small few of the pictures taken that day. If I get around to it soon I will post more later...All 3 kids did surprising well. We did bribe them with a frosty if they were good and it seemed to work. Of course there has to be at least one kissing picture. Paisley Sue I love the background of this picture more then I love the faces we are all making. Again I love the background. The sun shinning through is my favorite. For some reason my mouth looks like it is all twisted when this picture is small but if you click on it then you get the real deal.

AZ Grand Resort

2011-09-24T11:01:00.001-07:00

During the summer we took a family trip to AZ Grand Resort. It was a blast for kids and parents. I don't have a lot of pictures since we were in the water for 2 days straight. We all came home with a nice tan and and a lot of good memories. Pete and I have already decided this will be a yearly trip. Enjoy the few pics. I have from the Resort.

Tytan enjoying the kiddy area. He didn't want to have to be in the area with all the babies but he knew he had to oblige his sister if he wanted to get to the bigger and better water fun. Tytan's favorites were the water slides and lazy river.

Ridge cutting a rug. Ridge was our little fish. He didn't ever want to get out of the water. Ridge's favorites were the lazy river and wave pool.

Paisley getting on her sunblock before she could enjoy any more sun. Paisley's favorite was the lazy river. She fell asleep on daddy during one of our many trips around.

Paisley and me in our hotel room right before heading out the door to the water park.

The boys anxious to get out to go swimming You know you had a good vacation when all 3 children fall asleep in random places while Pete and I are unloading the car. Until next year!

Paisley

2011-09-07T14:24:00.001-07:00

My favorite picture of the summer. My favorite part of this picture is when you look at Ridge in the back ground he doesn't have a speck of mud on him. Yet the little "princess" is covered head to toe. The rest of the pictures from our fun mud filled day coming later.Paisley @ 17 months

Tytan

2011-08-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

Since this is Tytan's birthday month I decided I would do a post just about him. My big 5 year old boy started kindergarten this year. I can hardly believe he is old enough to be out of the house for 7 hours a day. I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. I was so anxious for my first baby to be born. I was anticipating a dark haired little chubby guy. Instead I got a super blond super skinny but still adorable baby. He still to this day surprises me every day. I truly do adore my biggest boy. He has grown up sooo much in the last 6 weeks since school started. I had the opportunity to go and volunteer in his class the other day and he amazed me. He is such a great listener and very hard worker. He wants to make everyone else happy...not always his brother but I can't expect perfection. He has always been very smart and an excellent communicator. He tells me every detail about school when he gets home and I love that. Tytan is still a very small eater. He is not very picky any more just eats extremely small portions. He is about 35 pounds and very tall. A few of Tyt's favorite things are... Scooby Doo, dinosaurs, sharks, being outdoors, bike rides, camping, reading, and snuggling mama. He is very adventurous and can scale almost any wall. He is my little monkey. He makes some neighbors nervous as they watch him climb poles and climb on top of almost any play house. Here are a few recent pics. of my biggest boy.Opening presents on his b-day On the day of his birthday we brought in cupcakes and Scooby Doo pencils for his class. This s how he came home from school. They must have been good. Tytan blowing out all 5 candles on his birthday cupcakes.Birthday pic. at his party.

Since Tytan is in love with all things Scooby right now. According to Tyt it wouldn't be a party without a Scooby pinata.

Scavenging for the loot.

Opening presents from his friends. The boys at the party. He was a little bummed 3 of his besties couldn't make it. There is always next year. It ended up working well. 5 friends for his 5th birthday. Showing off his "fancy" Scooby Doo cupcakes. I was told no cake only cupcakes and they must be Scooby Doo. Thank you e-bay for the Scooby cupcake rings and larger Scooby cake/4 cupcakes topper. Her is a pic. from his first day of Kindergarten. We have all been so blessed to have gotten into an amazing school and to have gotten a fantastic teacher. Tytan loves school. He does extremely well and loves to tell me all about it. The morning before his first day when all of us mothers are trying to get that perfect first day of school picture, he was so excited for school most of his pictures are of him saluting. Seriously? One of the few with his hand off his face. Not the best but it is better than the rest. Back tracking a little and trying to fit in everything I can that I have missed over the past few months. Here is Tytan graduating from pre-k. His teachers were great and so super kind. He still asks me when he will be able to see Mrs. Nicole & Mrs. Diana again. Doesn't he look happy. He refused to smile for the camera but he was smiling constantly the rest of the graduation. Another goofy picture of Tytan showing off his personality. At the beginning of the Summer Tytan also had his soccer ceremony. He was so excited to get a trophy. Coach Eddie handing him his Trophy.Can you tell this is one of his most beloved possessions?

My boy working hard. Was he the best player on the team? Absolutely not. He tried his hardest and that's all that mattered. We heart #4. Chasing down the ball. We love you our big 5 year old. We are all so proud of you.

Preschool fieldtrip

2011-08-10T13:07:00.001-07:00

This is from Tytan's pre-k last year. This was his last field trip of the year. Shinning Stars Preschool went to a farm. Sad but true I totally don't remember the name of the farm. We all had a blast running a muck with the farm animals. Here are a few of our highlights. Paisley is in love with all animals but especially dogs. This poor nice dog got chased and "loved" on a little too much by this little girl. Here is a picture of Tytan's pre-k class. If you can't find Tytan look for the kid holding the chicken. Of course he insisted the chicken join the picture. Thats my boy! Paisley and cousin Presley. Tytan was lucky enough to have 2 of his cousins in his class. Tytan & Presley Pais holding a chicken and loving it. She is a girl after my own heart. Animal lover through and through. Presley with the chicken. Tytan and Ms. Chicken Hudson (cousin #2) Ridge, Presley & Rabbit. Growing up we had rabbits and our rabbits would NEVER sit perfectly still on a little table while child after child came around to pet it. My only guess is they must benadryl their rabbits. Pais again chasing that poor dog. Paisley Sue feeding the horse pellets. Ridge feeding the horse. Tytan & Mr. Horse Paisley wanted into the goat/sheep pen so badly. Checking out the sheep Ridge feeding the goat. Tytan Ridge & Paisley Tytan, Presley, & Hudson ran away from the group to go pet more horses. Paisley and cousin Graham We were able to watch this cow give birth. If you look closely you can see the placenta draped over the calf's neck and the mom chopping away on it....SICK. Ridge enjoying the hay ride. Tytan & friend running on the hay maze. Presley on the maze. I am slowly but surely trying to catch up on blogging. Only a couple more posts until I can get to our summer fun.

Easter

2011-07-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

On your mark get set GO!! And they are off! I didn't get any pictures of the kids at our own Easter egg hunt or from Easter morning finding their Easter baskets, but here are a few from our ward hunt.Paisley enjoying the candy before it is out of its wrapper. Successfully ate all of the wrapper off. Now onto the good stuff...SUGAR. Tasting the plastic eggs. Gathering the eggs with cousin Carlie. All 3 of my munchkins enjoying their spoils. Ridge on the hunt for the perfect blue egg. Only three blue eggs? Here is my happy boy. Showing off his Easter basket. Tytan showing off his Scooby Doo basket. My boy has a love for all things Scooby right now. The Easter Bunny was so nice to bring him a Scooby basket this year. My baby being a complete filthly mess and loving every minute of it. Until next Easter! Wow I was only 3 1/5 months late posting this.

Surgeries

2011-05-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

Yes the title of this post is surgeries...plural. But no not both of those surgeries were for Tytan. Thank goodness. He needed one break from a surgery right? First I had toe surgery in February then Tytan had his lazy eye surgery in April. We took turns helping the wounded. Tytan getting ready for surgery hanging out in the pre-surgery room.Playing games together and praying the wait isn't too long.One more close up of his eyes right before surgery.Close up of eyes about 36 hours after surgery. Even though only one of his eyes wandered they do surgery on both eyes so they can strengthen them both equally. How happy does he look here? He couldn't open his eyes for the first 24ish hours. They put these drops in his eyes they kinda glued his eyes closed for the first little while. He did not love that part of it. It has been about 8 weeks since his surgery and his eyes are still a little red. He has 2 straight eyes and no problems so far.I love the bruise above his eye. I can't even remember how that bruise got there.

**CAUTION THE PICTURES BELOW MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME VIEWERS. Ok onto surgery #2. I had broken several of my toes when I was younger and never had them fixed. As I have gotten older they began to look super "precious" and caused pain where the bones started to rub together. (I know too much info.) Any who I went to see the foot doctor and he said surgery right away. So 1 week after seeing the doc. I was in for surgery. Truthfully it really wasn't painful at all, just annoying...I had to wear a boot for 8 weeks. I was not allowed to remove it for anything. Sleep..with the boot. Baths only... no showers. The bath was the kind with the foot dangling over the side. The first day I could shower and wash my hair standing up was the greatest day ever... These pictures were both taken in the doctors office 1 week after surgery. I don't know how many stitches I had but it sure looked like a lot. It has been 3 months since surgery and my toes are still a little swollen but look waaay better and no more pain.

To straighten my toes they took out a nuckle out of my 2nd & third toes. Then on toes 4 & 5 they put rods in them.

Birthday festivities

2011-05-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

A few days before our big girl's day we had cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents from my side of the family over at my parents house. My dad's birthday is 2 days before Paisley's so we celebrated the two special people on the same day. We had dinner then a Giant pink cupcake for dessert. I wanted to know your vote. Who does she look more like? Momma or daddy?

A few cousins gathered around ready for Paisley to blow out the candles then eat some cake. Up close of her cupcake. The boys insisted on helping decorate. Not perfect but still tastes the same. De-lish!! On her actual Birthday we celebrated at home. Here she is enjoying round 2 of cupcakes. I don't think she is complaining.

If you had to guess if she loves her new baby and stroller what would you say? If you said YES you got it right.

O' BABY SHE IS 1

2011-04-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

(sorry picture is a little blurry. I was getting bounced on the tramp while taking pictures)

I cannot believe my baby is now One. Paisley was just a tiny 7lb. 13oz. newborn yesterday. She is still my little light weight peanut. Her 1 year check-up sats...

Height: 29.5 inches- 70%

Weight: 17lbs. 13 oz.- 5%

Head circumference: 17.5 -30%.

I feel so blessed to have a little princess. She is such a sweet girl. I love the amazing spirit that she brings into our home. We all adore this little girl. We love to see her smiling face first thing in the morning. My 10 favorite things about my 1 year old girl.

1. Her contagious laugh

2. Her hugs

3. Her open mouth/slobbery kisses

4. her little voice, her vocabulary is taking off like crazy

5. when she runs to me with open arms saying mama

6. how much she loves playing with her brothers

7. how she is 50% girly 50% tuff

8. her sparkly light blue eyes & white hair

9. how she is not afraid of animals

10. How little and petite she is...

I feel like I can list a million more things. When I think of my Paisley girl I can't help but smile. She really does bring so much happiness to us.

Paisley crawled at 5 1/2 months; walked at 10 months; first words mama, dada, dog, ty ty, blankie. Her favorite brakfast is eggs and blueberries I HEART LITTLE GIRL SHOES. They are even better in animal print. (Thanks Jenn) Paisley's Bff is her blankie

She is my first baby to be a thumb sucker. Good or bad thing? I haven't decided yet. Next post will be her Birthday party. Hopefully sooner than later.

January

2011-03-15T14:48:00.001-07:00

I know Its now March and I am barely posting about January. Wow I am behind. Life just seems so incredibly busy these days. Here are a few pictures from our January.Ridge went to the dentist for his third time. He was perfect as always. Ridge has the sweetest heart. He ALWAYS puts others before himself. He is always smiling or making silly faces at me. He asks me almost daily if he is my peacemaker. I can always say yes. He loves life and we love having him in our family. If you ask him who's boy are you he will always say mommas boy. Man I love this happy easy going kid. My 3 babes. It is so hard to get any pictures of all 3 of my kids together. They aren't lookin their best but at least all 3 are looking at the camera. I heard Ridge yelling for me so I ran down the stairs to find him in the Thomas game box. He said mom look I cleaned up the game all by myself. Man I love this kid. He keeps me laughing every day. My big Ridge turned 3 at the end of January. We of course had to have a Thomas the train party. instead of doing one big cake I gave each of the 8 boys their own train cake and then had them decorate it themselves. Most of the boys ate all the candy and frosting and barely touched the cake. Next year just frosting and candy. All the boys at the party. Left to right... Hunter, Tytan, Coehn, Sterling, Ridge, Josh, Tate, and Crew. How cute are all of these boys! Ridge holding his new Thomas. I think we have about 100 Thomas things in our house now. Seriously he loves every single one. Ridge opening up presents. My handsome Ridge boy. Surprised he wanted to wear his Thomas shirt for his B-day party? Ridge at the dentist... Please admire his outfit. Thomas snow boots, Thomas shirt, Thomas in his hand. Man this kid is an adict. Ridge is getting so big. He loves going to my parents and riding this quad. He begs me to let him go ride it. Having fun jumping on the tramp. Tytan Ridge Tytan and Ridge.. Tytan is so hard to take pictures of. He always makes a goofy face or looks away right when I go to take the picture. Tytan loves & adores his sister. He wants to be next to her all day long. Tytan has become such a great helper now that he is a little older. He will do anything I ask him to if it pertains to his sister. He has quite a few jobs he has to do now. He knows which jobs are his and he usually stays on top of them without being asked. Tytan has always been and I think will always be my snuggliest kid. He loves to have "holding time" every day. A few of his favorite things are Scooby Doo, sharks , and dinosaurs. We all love you our Tytan boy! Brothers Tytan snuggling his sister again. Sidenote: Tytan is getting his lazy eye fixed. Surgery is set for the beginning of April. I have known for years he would eventually need surgery but now the time has finally come. My silly boys. Of course we can't just walk past the bike rack we have to go through it. I cannot believe my baby will be one in April. She has grown up way too fast. She started walking at 10 months. My boys both walked right at 12 months. She surprised all of us when she got up and walked at 10 months. Paisley brings such a sweet spirit into our home. We love her deeply. All of my babes love our dog. The dog really is quite chill most of the time. All of them love to ride on her back. Here is Paisley enjoyong her nightly ride. It seems like overnight Paisley has gotten more busy. She climbs into everything and pulls everything out. Enjoying some holding from her brother. Maybe one of these days Pais will actually grow hair. My little girl loves to eat Toilet paper. She will sneak into the bathroom the second someone leaves the door open. She is so fast and sneaky. More mischeif Tytan took this picture of her. Paisley has the whitest white hair and the lightest blue eyes..

Family Pictures 2010

2010-12-02T14:08:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we had our family pictures taken by Amanda Crookston. She did a great job and kept the kids entertained the entire time. That does not mean the kids were always happy and cooperating but I can't complain if they are all looking at the camera. Here are a few shots from our photo shoot. Pete and I laugh at this picture because his lazy eye is making an apperance here. Tytan has been such a big helper with Paisley. He absolutely adores her and is always asking to hold her. Finally getting him to give the smile that I love. Paisley's bathroom is bright pink and zebra so I had her dress accordingly for some of the pictures. I now have "art" to hang in her bathroom. Ridge... Mr. Mellow of course cooperated the entire time and would do anything we asked him to do. Ridge is not the biggest fan of Paisley but he is still always nice and happy. Paisley... She is a mamas girl through and through. If anyone else holds her/looks at her the wrong way she cries and immediately wants me to hold her. This even rings true for dad too. No dada just mama. Check out her gold shoes....Man little girl clothes are so much fun The classic goofy face family picture. Tried to erase this one but for some reason I couldn't...just ignore and keep scrolling. True colors coming out. Tytan starting to throw a fit and Paisley already in one. Ridge on the end happy as can be. Paisley's toothless grin. Since these pictures were taken she has gotten 2 teeth. Her eyes are still as blue as ever. We took pictures next to this MASSIVE tree. Of course it would not be right if my boys didn't climb it. Love the coloring on this picture. Only picture we could get of all 3 kids sitting still. I love the light coming through the branches.

PAISLEY

2010-11-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

Paisley wanted to tell everyone.... Over a week ago we decided Paisley was big enough to get her ears pierced. We took her to Claire's at San Tan mall and did the deed. She did extremely well. I was really worried about hurting her but I realized there was no need to worry. She mad a sad face after the first ear and she cried for about 15 seconds after the second ear. The lady handed her a lollipop and all was well. No more tears. It was soooo much easier than I thought it would be. I know it has only been a week and a half but so far no problems. She never touches them and acts as if they aren't there at all. The funny thing is that Pete was the one that was urging me to get them pierced. He was even the one that picked out the pink earrings. The way guys change when they have a little girl.

I was trying to get a good picture of Paisley's newly pierced ears and Tytan had to jump in the picture and pose. I was shocked since he never wants his picture taken and he never will look at the camera.

July-August-September

2010-10-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

Since its been awhile since my last post I figured I would do just 1 long post that covers 3 months worth of stuff. We have been super busy this Summer which has been nice since the summer seemed to fly by. But now I am totally ready to hang up the swimsuits and pull out the hoodies. These pictures aren't in any order so bare with me and enjoy our last few months. Tytan started preschool. He is lucky enough to be in the same class as two of his cousins/best friends Presley and Hudson. He loves his teacher and the other kids in the class. He is just like me when it comes to getting pictures taken. He totally freezes and gives a fake smile. Hence the picture above. We spent A LOT of cousin time. We had my brother and his 4 boys come from Pennyslvania to hang out for a few weeks. My other brother and his 4 kids came from Cali. to play. Plus all the cousins that live right around us. Picture above is Presley, Brayden, & Tytan swimming it up. Tytan turned 4 in August. He wanted a shark party so bad. We had some friends/cousins over for a little fun. We had the kids drop a dart off the ledge and try to hit a balloon filled with candy. Bad picture but you get the idea. We played some other fun games like pin the fin on the shark and fishing for prizes. I won't bore you with all the b-day party pictures. His not so fancy shark cake. It was just a cake with a shark on it but he then had to add toy sharks all around it. It was my first and maybe only attempt at a shark cake so I thought it turned out ok. The cake looked a lot better before little helping hands started swipping at the frosting and the shark's mouth. Tyan is so eager to help out with his sister. I always catch him singing to her and giving her toys. He is such a good friend and always wants others to be happy. He is still a big Mommas boy. He always loves to be snuggled and have his face and back rubbed. Tytan has a gift when it comes to learning. He picks things up so quickly. He loves learning about the human body and how things work. I love this big boy. I am just so amazed how big he is getting every day. We weighed him on his 4th birthday. He hit 30 pounds. WhoooHooo! Blowing out his candles. In July we also had 2 and sometimes 3 foreign exchange students with us for 3 weeks. It was a HUGE learning experience. The girls were super nice and eager to learn about America. Left to Right...Ann, Tina, Lily. We went to Sea Life at AZ Mills Mall. The boys loved it and had tons of fun. I will probably never go back unless I get a major discount. It was fun but not worth the money. Tytan with Tina. Tina loved the kids so much and was always playing with them. Not in the last 3 months but blog worthy none the less. Ridge is potty trained. He has been dry day and night since he was 27 months old. Ann with Ridge on the tramp. Ann was in love with our dog Diesel. They aren't allowed to have large dogs in China so she thought Diesel was the most amazing thing. This Summer we had a lot of playing in the backyard/wrestling. We took a trip to get out of the heat and headed up to Flagstaff. While we were there we went to a deer farm. It was actually really fun. Just imagine 50 deer running free all around you. They had food to feed them and the deer were super friendly and would eat out of your hand. Ridge at the deer farm riding bambi. Ridge feeding the deer. My boys had no fear of any of the animals. I love that they feel so comfortable around animals. The 3 boys standing with the huge bison. Tytan feeding more deer. Paisley getting in on the action too. More deer feeding Ridge posing it up on the tractor. Ridge decided that he was dirty and couldn't wait for me to give him a bath. He stripped down and bathed himself. Just imagine water everywhere and the almost full bottle of soap now empty. Tytan at the dentist. Don't even worry he only had 9 cavaties. Yes you read that correctly NINE! I brush the boys teeth every night before bed. I consider us to eat pretty healthy and not a lot of sugar enters our home. But some how Tytan still inherited my teeth and gets cavities at the drop of a hat. Tytan did AWESOME at the dentist and still loves going even after 9 cavities being filled. BTW I LOVE the kids dentist so if anyone needs one Just let me know and I will pass on his name and #. Paisley started solids. She doesn't care too much for baby food but she loves all else....bread, bananas, cheerios, pasta..... Pais also started crawling at 51/2 months. All my babies have crawled early but then don't sit up until about 7 months. We took the family to the Temple for FHE and the boys were enthrawled with the statue of Christ. I loved our conversation in the car after we left. We talked about feeling the spirit and all that Jesus did for us. I am so flippin excited for the Gilbert Temple I can hardly wait. Tytan at the Temple Paisley in front of the Temple Pais playing in the swing and Tytan being a big brother and pushing her. We went bowling as a family for the first time. It was fun for the first 15 minutes but young kids and having to wait for everyone one else to have a turn got really boring. The bowling alley was all out of the ramps so it was a little challenging for the boys to have to roll the heavy ball all the way to the pins. Ridge showing off his favorite way to bowl. Tytan showing off his bowling skills. We also took trips to Prescott and ShowLow. Prescott was a little too warm for a vacation spot but Showlow was amazing weather when we were there. Picture of us in our hotel room in Prescott. The kids hanging out in the hotel room in Showlow. We bought a playset for the kids. It has been used every single day and we are loving every minute of it. Thanks Pete for all the hard work putting it together. He only broke 2 electric drills in the process. I can't make any promises but I hope my next post will be before January...

Lines Family Campout

2010-08-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

In July 10 of my 13 brothers and sisters, about 40ish grandkids and my mom and dad all got together for a big camping trip. We headed back up north for a little cool weather. We all had a blast spending a few days together. The kids and some adults were filthy to the bone. We played cards, played volleyball, went fishing and swimming, ate a lot of candy thanks to my sister Natalie, build forts, hit some baseballs around, and had some good ol' R&R. Thank you mom and dad for an awesome camping trip and all the good food. Until next year.

Claira, Presley, Tytan and Ridge kickin back enjoying some cousin time.

Ridge and BFF cousin Tate. They were born a week and a half apart and are destined to be best friends if they like it or not...(right Jenn?)

My niece Ellie showing off her can walking skills. The kids built a teeter toter. A little off balance but no one seemed to care. Even though we rented 2 porta pottys the girls decided the boys were stinky so they built them thier very own bathroom. Notice the clump of T.P. so carefully squished up for them to use. Lacey showing off how the boys should use the newly constructed bathroom. I was actually very surprised what a good job they did on building it. We were all grateful none of the boys decided to use it since it was too close to camp for comfort. The fort the kids loved almost to death. Ridge showing off Thomas for the 1 millionth time. Peter and I joke that you can play where's Thomas in all of the pictures of Ridge. I was just looking through all the camping pictures and was laughing as I spotted Thomas in every single one. Yes Thomas even goes camping. Paisley all snuggly ready for bed. She still has super blue eyes and I am hoping they will stay. Only time will tell. Pete getting rained on. It rained for a couple of hours, we had a few people slip in a mud puddle, and we enjoyed every laughing moment of it. Some of the "big boys" hanging out. left to right...Caleb, Rhett, Dillon, Arya(little girl), Talon, & Tyler. My oldest nephew Dillon is sending in his mission papers next week. I cannot believe he will be out on a mission in December. When you are tired you are just plain tired...Paisley had sacked out on me in the bjorn then Ridge came along and plopped down on my lap and fell asleep on top of his sister. This picture does not even come close to doing justice on his filthyness. He had dirt in every crevice. His hair was one giant dirt clod. Paisley hanging out with my sister Natalie. She is getting so big and still so bald. Ridge making a face and of course....holding onto Thomas for dear life.

Saddest day in history...A few days after camping Ridge lost Thomas. I know how horrific. Since Pete and I are cheap skates we weren't about to buy another $20 train so we ordered one off of e-bay for $5. We didn't realize it would take 3 weeks to get here from Australia. We had a lot of sad days but Thomas did finally arrive and life is back to normal as we know it.

Camping

2010-07-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

About a week ago we took the family camping in Clint's Wells. This was the first time we actually went as just our family. In the past we have always gone with family or friends. It was nice to have a little family alone time. We have the perfect little spot that is so nice and quiet. The boys were of course filthy and having a blast the entire time. Paisley got her first taste of camping at 2 months old. I truly love camping. It gives me a chance to relax and not think about cleaning one thing. The weather was perfect of course anything beats the 100 plus heat. We are heading back up to Clint's wells in about a week and a half to go camping again so you will get more camping pics. then. Paisley kicking back on a chair while I cooked dinner. Ridge posing for a picture Paisley all snuggly and ready for bed Enjoying extra gooey roasted marshmellows Daddy was nice enough to catch a lizard for them to play with. Poor lizard. He also made them a swing. You can tell Ridge is a little concerned since 2 seconds earlier Pete set him on the swing and pushed before Ridge was holding on. Gravity took effect and Ridge was in the dirt in no time. Tytan on the other hand couldn't get enough.Peter's grandparents live in Clint's wells during the summer. They were nice enough to come and enjoy a "hike" with us. As much of a hike you can get in with a 2 and 3 year old walking. Grandpa was also nice enough to give Ride a ride back to camp.

Tytan in his fort. Ridge walking the log The boys