Payton's 1 Year Well Visit

Today was Payton's well visit.  My biggest concern with my Payter is his eating.  He is so dang picky, gagey, and throws up really easy!  So it will be a work in progress, but hopefully we can make progress soon or he may be nursing for the rest of his life!  The Doctor said that he looked great and seemed like a happy little guy.  The shots never get easier, I think my heart gets tugged a little more each time!  It was a little strange just taking him to the Doctor today because the other 3 were in school, it was nice but we were able to get a little shopping when we were done.

Payton is getting his 3rd tooth (and it looks like it is a big one!).  He says momma, dadda, bubba, and he is starting to say nana.  He is quite the dancer.  He loves the tub.  He loves his big brothers and big sister.  He is very smiley. He has a very happy giggle.  He has learned to turn around to get off the couch (which is not to big of a drop) and the bed (which the drop is to big for him to be doing that).  He is walking around everywhere.  It is fun to watch him learn and grow daily!

Payton's 1 Year Stats....

Weight 20lb 1oz 12%

Height 28 1/3 inches 8%

Head Circ.??????

The FLU.....

Last week our little Eia got really sick, it was no fun.  I made her stay in her bedroom the whole time because I didn't not want it to spread all through the family.  As each day passed I was thinking, yes we contained it!  Well Monday morning (1 week after Olivia got it) Alec woke up sick.  By the time I got into bed (Tuesday at 2 am) it had gone through Alec, Payton, and Marcus!  It is nasty stuff I am telling you.  By yesterday morning it hit me.  Oh man this nasty flu needs to go away and not show its ugly face in our home for a really long time!!!

{LOVERS}

It is the big 9!  Happy Anniversary Big Daddy, lum....

I have loved this handsome, sweet, great Big Daddy, very stubborn, and hard working fellow of mine for half of my life!  Over 15 1/2 years ago I feel in love with him and 9 years ago we sealed the deal and are a family of 6 that will get to spend eternities with each other!

We are at a good spot.  We have four beautiful children that are the light of our lives.  We have had 4 baby blessings and 1 baptism thus far.  We have spent just over 6 months of this past year apart, but we have learned so much as a couple, a family, and as individual people.  I am proud of what we accomplished while being apart, what we have learned and the feelings we have felt are indescribable!  We have had our struggles, we have had heart ache, we still have disagreements and will continue to do so, but life is good.  We are at a good spot! I love you Big Daddy soooo much.....

Happy Anniversary too you!

Payton is 1!

{December 11, 2010}

I really wish I could find something to make time slow down just a little, my baby is 1!  It is hard to believe, but we are enjoying watching him grow and enjoy life!  In just the past month he has learned to walk, mastered it, and thinking that he should try running at times!  He is a tease and as someone said to me at Church, he is a flirt!

We had a wonderful day on Saturday.  I don't think he had a clue what was going on and I am pretty sure he thought we were weird the whole day singing to him and asking him if he was 1!  But the kids enjoyed celebrating his big 1st birthday.

We had orange cinnamon rolls for breakfast and he tried a glass of milk for the first time.  He drank it better then any of my other kids, but it did not take long for the reaction of what milk seems to do to my kids take place, so I think we will go slow with that.  He is not a very good eater, so he only enjoyed a few bites.  He is picky with what he will eat and how much of it!

We enjoyed lunch at Olive Garden.  Now that was something he enjoyed.  He really enjoyed eating noodles with me!

The kids are looking forward to him moving into a "big boy" car seat.  The first seven months of his life he screamed when he was in his car seat (pretty much the only time he would cry), although he has gotten better I really do think he will enjoy facing forward!

It is funny what you learn after having four children.  For Marcus 1st birthday we got him so many presents, now the 4th kid we didn't really need to get anything.  I realize he doesn't realize what he didn't get for his birthday and I also realized that we have most toys needed for this stage of life!

He did get a few things and just wasn't too sure what to think about un-wrapping presents, but he did enjoy playing with them (so did his older siblings!).

One of his favorite places to hang out!

Payton's Year in Review....

It is official, my baby, Payter-Roo is 1!  This year has gone by way to fast, but we have had a wonderful time getting know Payton and watching him grow and learn new things.

 It is crazy to think that a year ago we were just meeting our little guy.  He had the longest toes, he was beautiful, never made a sound, and the smell, oh the smell was wonderful!

 He has been my little cuddle bunny.  We have spent many, many hours cuddling!

 He is a very sweet, happy baby!

 Marcus, Alec, and Olivia love him so much.  They love to watch him do new things.  Payton also loves them so much.  I think the best thing is watching new siblings learn and love each other!

 His eyes are such a bright blue.  It is amazing that all four of my kids have different eye color!

 His hair grows like crazy!  It also likes to stick up in the back (more then what the Mohawk does).

 He has been a trooper being hauled from here to there during all of his older siblings activities!

He is our little Payter that we love so much!

The "Little" Things, It Doesn't Get Better Then This....

I love this time of year. 

 I love all the magic, memories, and peace that this time of year brings. 

 I am really big on remembering a lot of "little" details, I remember certain feelings during events that make me long for those same "little" detailed feelings.

There has been a lot of memorable moments that have happened during this time of year in my life.  Carson and I got married,

 my Grandpa passed away,

babies being born. 

My wedding day, it was such a magical day.

 I remember the peace of being in the Temple with my new husband,

watching it snow while we were in the hotel that night.

 I remember sitting in our room across from the SLC Temple that very first night and at that point that is when Carson and I started talking about how we wanted our family to be.

I was finally big,

 I was finally living what I had dreamed about for so long.

 It was the start of our lives together, a little bit more of a roller coaster ride then I thought,

but now 9 years later and couldn’t ask for anything more!

Seven years ago my Grandpa Carlson passed away early Christmas morning.

I remember the phone call bright and early from my Dad telling me what had happened.

I remember crying,

 I remember Carson hugging me and at the time 1 year old Marcus.

I remember feeling sad that Marcus and our baby #2 (I was 3 ½ months pregnant) wouldn’t know my Grandpa.

But I also remember the peace that our family had that day. My Grandpa was no longer uncomfortable; he was in a very peaceful place.

I remember the snow that we had, we truly believed that we had so much snow because my Grandpa wanted to give us something that he loved, which was a lot of snow!

It was a time to reflect on family, life, and death. The presents didn’t matter; it was family, our Savior, the gift of life, and the knowing of forever families.

Then there was Olivia’s birth, four years ago. The days leading up to Christmas didn’t seem really peaceful, we had all of her health issues we were dealing with, but the day of Christmas was a wonderful day.

It was the first year during my whole life of what I could remember that we were able to stay home and enjoy Christmas as a family.

There was no running around in the morning to hurry and get this done,

so we could run to the next place and hurry there,

so we could move on,

 and so on

and so on!

 At that point on Carson and I knew what tradition we wanted to set, Christmas day was for our little family!

Now December of ’09 is very fresh on my mind.

We had unexpected heart ache days before December began which could have made it a very upsetting month because Carson and I had no certainty of what life was to bring. But on the other hand we were getting ready to welcome Baby #4 into our home.

We focused on the latter and enjoyed ourselves to the fullest!

We had everything purchased by the first few days of the month.

The house was decorated.

The neighborhood and friends gifts were delivered.

The house was clean to perfection.

It was peaceful.

 It was relaxing.

 Then the 11 was here and we added little Payton James to our family!

I don’t know if you could ever ask for a better Christmas. It doesn’t become more magical then that, having a brand new baby on Christmas was such a wonderful feeling.

We flash forward to the present and we will try to do things that can bring us that peace and magic feeling.

The presents are bought,

 the house is decorated,

the house is a work in progress of being cleaned to perfection,

but I have done as much as I can to simplify my life so I can enjoy the holiday season to the fullest.

My heart is full for all of the blessings I have been blessed with.

 I am so thankful for my kids,

for their smiles,

for the chance that I have been given to hold them and kiss them daily.

We are enjoying our daily Christmas story before bedtime,

 for the chance of driving around looking at lights,

our daily piece of chocolate to count down on our Advent calendar,

and we look forward to crossing off our list of must do’s for the holiday season.

I look forward to talking about baby Jesus more and hoping that these are the things that my kids will always remember.

 Those “little”

feelings

 that will always help them to realize,

 how nice it is to be together as a family.

 The wonderful blessing that we have been given and to remember it truly doesn’t get any better then this!

Wordless Wednesday....

Eia Beans

Last night my little Eia got so sick!  I have never seen any of my kids get that sick.  It was horrible, I felt so bad or her.  It all started about 4 in the afternoon.  When she told me she didn't feel well I put her in  her bedroom to rest and then it went all down hill from there.  She threw up about 30 times from 5pm-12am.  We had her all set up in her room so she wouldn't get anyone else sick (we are still knocking on wood!).  I put the baby monitor in her room so I would be able to here her every move, it worked great!  The computer was also a lifesaver because she just laid there and watched her shows.  I was worried it was going to be a long night, but once midnight came she had one final spill and then luckily we were all able to sleep!  Man that was no fun to watch!

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I had to post this picture.  One day her and Molly made this cute little smore out of that foam stuff.  When I went to pick her up she showed it to me.  She said, "mom look at my snore!!"  So meet Olivia's "Snore"!!  You have got to love all the innocence of little 4 year olds....

Rhodes Christmas Party

{December 4, 2010}

We had our Annual Rhodes Christmas party.  It was nice to see those that we don't see often and the kids had a wonderful time playing with the cousins they see quite often.  One of my cousins Shar lives down the road from us so it is nice that our kids know each other so well!

The kids thought playing Bingo was a lot of fun and they even thought it was better that they got presents!

 Payter got bath toys

 Eia got a Barbie Car and Barbie

 Alec Mason got a Nerf Gun

 Marco also got a Nerf Gun

Like I said we can't ever get enough of this face!

Not My Best Mom Moment....

{December 3, 2010}

My Grandma Carlson is going out of town next week until January, she is becoming a world traveler!  The kids and I decided it would be fun to go visit her down in Bountiful.  After school we headed down and had dinner with her and played around for a few hours.  The kids love playing with her and they enjoy showing her all of their "cool" tricks!  Once we were done we had a couple of errands and I remember hearing the ding in my car letting me know that I need gas.  It was in my mind, but must of been pretty far back there!  We get on the freeway in Centerville and I am talking to Carson on the phone when all of the sudden I feel things quiting in the van.  So I get off the phone and quickly get over to the emergency lane.  Marcus was freaking out and I was feeling like the worlds worst mother.  Pretty soon he also got Alec all worked up.  After a little bit I was able to get both of them settled down.  My parents happened to be down in that area, so we waited for them to come check us out.  The thing that was confusing to me was I could turn my car on, I just couldn't go anywhere. 

I was amazed at how many cars were flying by us and not stopping to see if we needed any help and then on the other hand I was grateful no one stopped because I think I would have had a heart attack worrying if they were "Ted Bundy" type!  Long story short, I was out of gas and then my battery also died.  Thank heavens or my Dad and "E-Man" that was willing to help us out!

 My kids love driving on the Blvd looking for deer, so they can tell their dad all about it!

 Alec and Payton all snuggled up staying warm while we were waiting!

Marcus and Olivia ready to get going!

I am really hoping I have learned my lesson!  I need to remember what my Grandpa Carlson would always say, it is better to drive with the gas above the half way mark at all times!!! 

Ward Christmas Party....

Our Ward Christmas Party was pretty fun, the kids always enjoy going to this.  My parents were on the activity committee, so it was fun to see all their hard works outcome.  The best part was it was short and sweet!

 The Primary did a good job singing.  I don't think it matters if they know all the words or not, they just all look so cute up there that it was perfect!

They had a choir group come and sing.  They were amazing.  They had the Bishop come up so they could sing "Santa Baby" to him.  During the song Marcus came up to me and said, "I don't think Mrs. Claus would like this too much!"



Once again Payton was not a fan!



The kids asked questions about his Santa.  Why did he look so different, why was he waring those clothes.  So we came up with  the conclusion that he was either coming straight from the workshop making toys or he was out cutting wood right before he came!

Payton's New Look!

We love this little guy and his huge gummy smile (at 11 1/2 months he has 2 teeth with 1 on the way)!  This is his new look he is always doing.  It makes us giggly everytime we see it!

On a sidenote, Payton has done really well with all of the Christmas trees and decorations.  He hasn't touched my tree at all (knock on wood) and there is only one ornament on Olivia's tree that he loves to pull off.  He is really enjoying the Christmas train and Nativity under the boys tree though.  Lets hope the rest of the holidays can continue just like this!

Our First Santa Spotting....

 We had our first Santa spotting of the year!  I was a little nervous to see what Olivia would do because last year she had a melt down when she saw him, but she did great!  I think she could have sat on his lap all day if I would have let her!  Now Payton on the other hand, not to sure of good old Saint Nick!

 Alec asked for an Ipod Touch

 Marcus also asked for an Ipod Touch

 Olivia asked for a dog, a cat, an animal Doctor, babies, 2 belts, and a pink football!

Why is it somewhat funny to see your child freak out when it comes time to sit on Santa's lap?

A Thankful Thanksgiving.....

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  It started the Sunday before when Jaime's kids came to stay at my parents house and they were able to help our Primary in the Primary Program. {By the way our Primary Program turned out great!  My kids did a great job, I love that Olivia had no fear for her first year.  I was so proud of our Primary, they worked hard and their outcome was amazing.  The song, "I know my Savior loves me."  Is amazing, it really hits that spiritually spot!}

Back to the Holidays.  Monday the kids enjoyed swimming with cousins and friends.  Tuesday was the supposed to be the "big blizzard", to be honest they way they talked they made it sound like we were going to be buried in snow.  Everyone was frantic, the actual town was crazy, but the storm came and gone and I don't even think we got over an 1inch of snow.  It was cold and windy, but the snow was not bad at all!  That night was pretty laid back, but enjoyed because the kids loved being together.  Wednesday Jaime, Molly, me, and the 7 kids went to see Tangled.  We loved it!  It was a darling movie, I can't wait for it to come out on DVD.  Payton was a charm, he slept through the whole thing!

Thanksgiving day was wonderful, cold, relaxing, and delicious!  It is always such a relaxing time spending it at my parents house.  The kids do their thing while us adults sit back talk and relax.  Nana also had some crafts for the kids to do.  I think Thanksgiving always flies by, but it was a day to remember! 

 Our darling table with a darling baby!

 Our yummy dessert table!

Pre Thanksgiving Dinner Nap.  Two things funny with this picture 1) it is before dinner and 2)he has every Winnie the Pooh character by him! 

 Papa doing an excellent carving job!

 Hard at work making our yummy dinner

 Cute, cute girls!

 He is so dang cute, we could just eat him alive!

Payteroo's 1st Thanksgiving.  He is hard to know what to feed.  He gags on a lot of things.  He was enjoying the jello salad and then shortly before everyone was done eating he started throwing up a ton.  He certainly knows how to clear a table.  Everyone was done in a hurry after watching him! 

 Olivia's plate before we started eating.

After Thanksgiving Dinner.  He was getting all rested up for his first big "black friday" shopping!

 Roonie-cakes napping with Nana

 Nana had them do some cute crafts.  They made little snowman and decorated Christmas trees.  It is always a good laugh when we have Aunt Jaime help out!

The Finished Product!

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Black Friday or should I say Black Thursday night!  So I finally talked Carson into coming with me this year.  There were just somethings that needed to be bought.  Carson thought maybe it would be worth it to pay full price, but I am proud to say that most everything purchased was about 1/2 off!  So the plan was to go stand in line for few things before the big midnight sale.  We got there at 9:40pm!  And then after the toy sale we would go stand in line for the electronics for the 5 am sale.  Carson really wasn't too sure about my plan at all!  About 11 o'clock Jaime and Jayson were headed down to stand in line with us called me and let me know that Marcus was getting sick and wanted us to come get him.  So after the midnight sale Carson was able to go home with Jaime and Jayson, he totally lucked out!  We gave him a hard time and said that he told Marcus to act sick so he would get to come home, hehe!!!!  I thought it was going to be a long night, but my sweet cousin Mandee and her also sweet husband Johnny and three of my cousins stood in line with me so it really wasn't too bad.  We got what we needed at Walmart, while my Grandma Simmons went to Shopko and got what we needed there.  All in all it was a very successful, money saving day.  I felt like I got hit by a truck, but it was well worth it.  Will I do that every year?  It will just depend on what is on sale!!!