4 More Birthdays...

**WARNING** THIS POST IS REALLY LONG

So, I've officially written this post three times. This post is the reason I wanted to give up on blogging completely. I have written a novel for this post and had blogger give me an error message that deletes my writing and just leaves the pictures... twice. So, if it doesn't work this last time, I'm giving up. Poor Leah, Quinten, and Callie will have to remember their birthdays on their own from this year in their lives.

We have four birthdays in our house within a month of each other. We also add in the end of school, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, yadda, yadda, yadda. You get the picture. It's the busiest month of our year and by the time it's done, I'm done. I'm partied out, caked out, presented out, pictured out, and broke from spending so much money at one time. :)

Leah starts us out in May. She turned four this year and requested orange cupcakes. I was happy to oblige on that one. So easy, so quick, and less likely to leave a bunch of uneaten treats on my counter. We opened gifts, ate dinner as a family, and PopPop and Grandma came over for dessert.

Leah is... loud. So loud that sometimes by the end of the night I can't listen to her voice any longer. She has no volume control and never, never, NEVER stops talking. (Unless it's her preschool program at the end of the year and then she refuses to sing or say a single word. Go figure.) She is constanly making off the wall comments that have the whole house in hysterics- particularly at the dinner table. I'm not sure where she comes up with the stuff she thinks or says, but she really is hilarious.

The only gift Leah wanted was a DS. Both her older sisters have them and I think she was feeling left out. So, I couldn't justify spending that kind of money on a 4 year old when I wasn't even sure she could take care of the thing. However, someone suggested I check the local pawnshops to see if I could get a great deal. And I did. Such a great deal that Leah landed herself with a DSi for cheaper than either of the other girls' DS lites that are a couple years old. They were not happy to be upstaged by their younger sister. I actually took a video of her opening it just to see the big girls' faces- it was hilarious. Andrew and I still laugh about it. Leah also officially got the very first set of Legos to ever come into our house for her birthday. What can I say? We're a bunch of girls. However, they were the hit of the night (two pictures down from here you can see them all playing with them) and Callie and Alexa both requested some for Christmas.

They were all entertained for a long time- it was great!

Leah has the biggest personality and she just makes me smile (when she's not driving me crazy). She also packs a lot of attitude into that tiny body of hers. She gives the best hugs and kisses- tight hugs around the neck that leave you feeling so loved. She also likes to play with the back of your hair when you are holding her, or in Andrew's case, she loves to rub his head right after he's shaved it. Just last week when I was putting her to bed, she made me promise Andrew would come in so she could rub his head (he wasn't home at bedtime). She makes us laugh when she kisses Andrew goodbye in the mornings because she grabs his face with both hands and kisses him right on the lips. She still loves to be held and cuddled. Leah has hair that is seriously famous around here. It's huge. Really. She has all this natural curl that I have no idea how to tame (the rest of us have stick straight hair. Not sure where she came from). Just recently my friend, Selma, cut it into an A-line. It's absolutely cute and suits her crazy personality perfectly. She is a great big sister and works hard at playing with Quin. We call Leah our champion sleeper- she sleeps long and hard and is almost always the last one up in our house, by a longshot. It's great! We had a bit of a scare this summer with Leah and found ourselves in the children't hospital in Tacoma for a few days while we were visiting home. That is a whole other post to be made, but it made me grateful for who she is- crazy personality and all. I am so blessed to be her mom.

Quin's birthday is a week after Leah's. His life revolves around Cars. Everything he wants to have, to watch, to play, to eat off of, is Cars. We are sick of the Cars movie. I was hoping the new movie would give us some variety, so we took all the kids to see it this summer. It was his first movie in a theater. It just didn't hold his attention like the first one. So, we are back to square one...

Quinten got his first GeoTrax train for his birthday. We also got him the remote control McQueen, which was the true hit of the present. This was another present that entertained everyone. We had to pull the girls away to eat dinner and we couldn't pull Quin away for anything. That Lightning went around and around and around and every once in awhile you'd hear Quin say, "Ka-Chow!" in his loudest voice. It was really funny. He laughs hysterically when we play back the video of him doing this.

You wouldn't expect anything less than a Cars cake. He still talks about it, too. Just the other day he was telling someone about his cars cake and how the Mater and McQueen came off.

It also took a lot to keep him out of it all day. I'd see him eyeing the box on the counter and I'd have to run to save the cake. Quin is such a boy. He is so different from my girls that it's crazy. He climbs and jumps and runs and teases mercilessly. When he falls down, he just picks himself up and keeps going. The girls still don't do that! They need someone to listen to their story of how they got hurt and what someone else can do to make it feel better. Honestly. Such girls. Quin is the only child of mine who has ever pushed chairs up to the counter to get what he wanted. He has broken several kitchen garbage cans because he climbs up for one reason or another. He loves to take things from his sisters and then run away from them while they chase him. And he laughs the whole time. He still hates having his hair cut, he loves bubble baths, he doesn't want to be potty trained, he wants to play outside all day, everyday (as long as someone will play with him), he is always dirty (I can't seem to keep him clean!) and he loves to cuddle in the morning when he wakes up. He loves his Dad more than anything and his face lights up when he hears the garage door open because that means Dad is home. He talks like he is well over 3- I can sit and have conversations with him and we totally understand each other. I love that- I'm never guessing what is wrong or what he wants and I know he understands me and is just ignoring me when I tell him to do something. Quinten is my sweetie- forever my baby. And I just love him to pieces.

Ten days after Quinten's birthday is my birthday. Wahoo. (Said in a monotone voice). It's another day, another year. What's in a number, anyway? I say it's all in your head. I don't mind being 32- I've got four kids, for crying out loud! I should be 32! So, instead of more useless cake, I went to the cupcake store and got exactly 6 cupcakes- one for each of us... except I picked two for myself because I knew Andrew wouldn't eat one. It's the benefit of having a husband who's not big on dessert! Raspberry Mango and Raspberry Lemonade. Mmmm... heaven. I can't remember what the kids had, but I know everyone was happy. I think I'll do it every year.

This hasn't been my year for running. I was signed up for the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in Seattle in June, but ended up in the hospital with Leah and didn't get to run. I figured, no big deal- I'm signed up for the marathon in St. George in October. No dice, my friends. About three weeks ago I hurt my foot... still not running on it... so, last Saturday I should have run about 18 miles... didn't happen. Not going to happen. Don't want to talk about it anymore.

I suppose there's always next year...

Callie is the last birthday for our family for the whole year. Kind of weird, huh? I always feel bad for Cal because she has to wait through everyone else's celebrations before she gets her own. I'm probably always compensating because of it- I never want her to know that I'm out of steam by the time her birthday rolls around so I do stuff that I wouldn't normally do. Like celebrate three times. Because her birthday is always right by Father's Day, we try to celebrate with the extended family on Father's Day since we are all together. I figure none of the dads care- they've had plenty of Father's Day's. :) This year dinner was at our house. Callie, bless her sweet heart, wanted ice cream pie instead of cake. I was happy to oblige.

Mint chocolate chip ice cream with these yummy new Keebler cookies that were mint. It was good.

Callie wanted a camera for her birthday. She wanted pink; I found purple. Luckily, it was close enough.

Callie's birthday fell on a Monday this year. It just happenedto be the day were supposed to leave for Washington. Andrew planned on working that day, then we'd pack up and drive all night like we normally do. So, amid the last minute packing, cleaning, and gathering, I took Callie and three friends to see Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer. Up above we have Alexa Anderson, Meagan Sorenson, Callie and Jaide Bundy.

We were the only people in the entire theater. (Not surprising since the movie wasn't that great. I occupied my time by playing on my phone). The girls thought it was great. I filled them with popcorn, soda, candy, and then took them to the cupcake store to fill them with frosting... it's the best part, really.

They were lots of fun to hang out with. They thought they were so old sitting there. It's always fun for me to watch how my kids interact with their friends. I love that Callie isn't afraid to act silly and crazy around her friends with me there. She's not embarrassed by me yet, I guess. :) Callie never once complained about her birthday being last this year. She was excited for Quin and Leah when they had their days and patiently waited till hers came. I appreciate that so much. Callie is almost always happy. She has her moments, of course, but for the most part she is content. She is ready to help when I ask her to, she tries to please when she can, and she smiles a lot. I know I've said this before, but I never worry about Callie in the same way I worry about the others. Callie makes friends easily, she gets along with everyone, she does what will make her happy and isn't one who needs to follow the trends to be happy or fit in. She has a style that is all her own, thinks everything I buy for her is cute and beautiful and always thinks she looks great (which she does because she walks with confidence). She is great with Quinten and will play with him as long as he doesn't try to break anything of hers. This year we are working on reading with Callie- she can do it, she's just not that interested in it. It's such a stark contrast from Alexa, who reads with every spare minute she has. Callie would much rather do something social than sit alone and read. it's my challenge with her because I don't understand it! I'm like Alexa- I'd sit and read for hours and be content. Callie wants to be in motion. She loves to dance and sing, and I think we are going to find that dancing will be her calling in life. She's doing soccer again this fall, but sometimes I wonder if she's just doing it because Alexa is or because she knows her dad loves it. We'll see. Callie is amazing. She has a tender heart and I just have to smile when I think about her.

I Forgot to Mention...

So, anyone who knows me knows that I hate doing hair. I despise it. It is totally ironic that I ended up with three girls who need their hair done everyday... actually, I only do their hair if we are going somewhere. :) So, imagine my disappointment when Alexa tells me that for the first day of school she wants a french braid to travel around her head and end in a bun with a flower. SERIOUSLY?! I took several deep breaths and told her we'd have to practice the night before school started and see how it went. And, that we needed a backup plan... just in case. These pictures are proof that miracles do exist. I figured it out and made it look good enough that she was happy with it. And, it stayed in all day with not much hair spray! I took these pictures after dinner on the first day of school and it still looked decent. So, I just had to document my accomplishment to prove that I'm not a complete loser of a mom when it comes to hair.

First Day of School Pics

We are officially in the third full week of school- it's amazing that it happens so fast! The girls are doing great, as always, and Leah is anxiously awaiting her start in preschool next week. The first day of school always makes me laugh with these two girls. It's so typical what will happen and Andrew and I always laugh that it never changes. Alexa plays off that she is nervous; we get to the school and she hardly says goodbye to you, like she's already embarrassed of us or something. Callie holds my hand down the hallway, lets me come in her classroom, help her find her desk, gives me a big hug, and tells me she loves me. This year was no different.
The girls picked out these outfits with their Grandma before she left on her mission this summer. They were so excited to wear them for the first day of school.

Alexa's class is full of kids she already knows- two of her best friends from last year, two kids on our street, and piles of kids from our ward and her Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade classes. She got the teacher she wanted and was so excited for school to start. I wasn't worried about her because I knew she felt comfortable with what was going on. This is the first year she's felt that way and I'm so glad- it was her turn to feel good about starting school. She was kept with two kids in her class from last intentionally because all three have been so advanced in their work. I've been relieved that they have each other because I know the teacher will work with them on their level and she won't get bored. I knew there were other smarty pants kids around- it just took us a little while to find them. :) They have a journal writing assignment each Friday in their class where they write a letter to their parents to let them know what they have done throughout the week. The parents are then supposed to read and sign the letter and send it back to school. And, if they want they can write back to their kids. I'm excited for the chance to read what Alexa finds interesting in her class and even more excited to write back to her each week so she knows that I'm genuinely interested in what she is doing and knows that I'm so proud of what she accomplishes. I'm hoping this journal will be something she will want to keep because of the special meaning it will have to both of us.

Callie started school with a teacher she didn't know anything about and a class with no one she knew. Her best friend moved to a different school this year and her other best friend was put in the class with the teacher Callie wanted. The funny thing is that I never worry about Callie like I do Alexa when it comes to social situations. Callie makes friends easily and has no problem approaching people. I thought maybe she would be apprehensive on the first day of school, but when I dropped her off, we went in and put her backpack away, found her desk and she sat down to color a page. I asked her if she was OK and she looked up with a big smile on her face and said, "Yep. Bye Mommy; I love you." She has been fine ever since. Ahh... my sweet girl. We have since discovered that there is a little girl on our street that is in her class and they have become good friends. Like I said, I never worry about Callie. She makes the best of every situation and is constantly making me proud of her and who she is.

Leah will start school next week. I have no idea what to expect from her. :) I signed up to help in her class on the first day of school, just as I did last year, because I know it will make her feel more comfortable. We'll see how it goes!

Just a couple...

I've been having major issues with my blog lately. Actually, I was so angry with it after I spent two days writing a novel to catch up with the four birthdays I never posted, and it screamed ERROR at me and erased everything that I decided to give up entirely. Then, my sweet in-laws, who are on their mission in California, requested pictures of the kids and I felt I couldn't refuse just because I hated blogger. So, I'm trying again. We sort of had family pictures taken this weekend up North... sort of because Andrew wasn't with us so it wasn't really the whole family. Anyway, I grabbed these pictures from Ashely's Facebook site, so I know they are small and not great, but you'll get the idea till I get the CD and can post more.

We went to Wheeler Farms in Murray. I had no idea a farm existed in the middle of the city. It was fun- we walked around, climbed on tractors, saw animals, etc. The pictures I've seen so far turned out really great. I can't wait to see the rest!

8 Years Old!

Alexa turned 8 on March 16th. I can hardly believe she is that old! Her birthday happened to fall during Spring Break, so we celebrated on her birthday as a family, had a party with her friends the following week, and had her baptism on April 9th. What a lucky girl to celebrate so many times!
We started the day at IHOP with Grandma and PopPop. I'm not sure where Andrew and Quinten were when this picture was taken, but we were all there. Lucky for us, on a Wednesday morning IHOP is not crowded and breakfast was great.

Later that evening we had dinner and opened presents. This was her gift from Aunt Andrea- The Lost Hero (which she has read twice since then... and can't wait for the next book to come out) and a cookbook. Alexa had this long list of things she wanted for her birthday this year. We tried to accomodate as many of them as we could. Some were just plain ridiculous and were probably written down in the heat of the moment... such as, "a family who is nice to me." We also did not honor the "any kind of pet" request. Sorry. I just can't make every dream come true. We went the weekend before her birthday and got her ears pierced, which was a big one for her. She has been waiting forever because "all her friends have their ears pierced already." Cry me a river, Lex... I am not everyone's mother, just yours. :)

Grandma gave her a jewelry box to keep all her new earrings in.

We had cake with Grandma and PopPop.

And, this is my favorite picture. Alexa specifically told everyone to stay away and not blow on her candles... Callie is hilarious.

These were the girls who came to Alexa's party. We took nine girls to see Gnomeo and Juliet. Wow. Let's talk about hyper. They came to our house, we opened presents and then left for the movie. My good friend, Melissa, is a saint and came along with me. We filled them with popcorn, soda and candy and then dropped each of them at their houses on our way home. They were a fun bunch of girls, I think they had a great time, and I loved that there was no chaos at my house while I tried to entertain them. Best birthday party ever. :)

We were lucky enough to hit a theatre that had the official Gnomeo and Juliet poster. :)

This birthday is a special one, of course, because Alexa was baptized. Our stake held the baptism on April 9th. There were 15 other kids being baptized, so it was a big one. We were lucky enough to be one of the first on the list, which was nice because we didn't have to sit in the chapel for an hour to wait our turn. We were told they estimated about 600 people being there! It's the joys of living in an area with lots of families. :) Grandma Judie, Grandpa George and Uncle Damon came down from Washington. Aunt Siri and her boys came down from Salt Lake, as well. Andrew's familiy was all there, except for Aunt Andrea and Uncle Mike. It was a good day. If Alexa was nervous, she didn't show it. I'm hoping she was more excited than anything. I'm so proud of her for making the decision to be baptized. She is an amazing example to her younger sisters and brother. I know it is a decision that will affect the rest of her life in a positive way. My hope for her is that wherever she goes and whatever she does, she will remember the covenants she made with the Lord on this day; that she will live her life in a way that will make others question what makes her different and what gives her that light in her eyes, and that those people will want to ask her why. I hope when they ask, she will have the courage to tell them about the gospel and how important it is to her. I love Alexa so much. I'm so grateful I was given the chance to be her mom.

Andrew and Alexa getting ready to head to the font.

We got home from the baptism and Alexa changed her clothes so fast, I never got a chance to get any pictures with her. This picture was taken the next day after church.

Winter Visitors

It's always fun when we have friends come into town. Our kids love playing with their long lost friends. My dear, sweet, amazing friend Melissa (who devastated our house when their family moved a year and a half ago, I might add... :)) came down in March with her kids. She had a wedding reception in Las Vegas for her brother she needed to go to, so we were lucky enough to get her girls for the night. It was so much fun! Kinzlee and Alexa always seem to pick up right where they left off the last time they saw each other. They were destined to be friends, I believe. I've told Melissa before that if Kinzlee ever needs a place to live, she can live with us. :) And the twins have grown so much since they moved! They are two weeks younger than Leah and they all played so well together. It was just a blast having them here- we loved every minute of it!
When you put my three girls and Melissa's three girls together, it makes a whole mess of girls, huh??

We also had visits from the Spencers and the Blakes this winter... on the same weekend, which was so much fun! It is such a stark contrast from having the Garns come visit because there are only boys from both families! My girls are a little outnumbered in these pictures. I was impressed that my girls held their own, though. Benjamin and Callie are in the picture above. They share the same birthday, just three years apart. And, Callie has a little bit of a crush on Benjamin. She gets so excited and nervous and giggly when I tell her they are coming to visit. She is such a girl!

We also got to watch the Spencer boys while John and Rach went to a wedding on Saturday. It must be the difference between boys and girls or something, but I can honestly say we had the most pleasant day. There were no fights, no tattling, no crying, no nothing. Everyone had a great time and I was truly sad to see them leave. They all entertained each other so well!

This is the whole group. Alexa missed most of the evening because of a birthday party... I somehow think that was best. She gets a little weird around people she hasn't seen in awhile. It must be nerves or something, but in typical Alexa fashion, she plays it off as being "too cool" for anyone or anything. From left to right by family: Callie, Leah, Quinten, and Alexa Hench; Alex, Christian, Evan, and Benjamin Spencer; Travis, David, and Ryan Blake.

And this is how we entertained a houseful of boys in our world that is made up of girl things: the Wii. :)

We had such a great visit. It was fun getting together to catch up. I love that we had such great relationships with our friends in college that seven+ years later we can still get together and have a great time. It would have been a blast to have a bunch more there- Stinchfields, Stewarts, Butterfields, Allreds, and Brinkerhoffs, we missed you!

Random Shots

These are just a few pictures of random things that have happened in the last few months:
It is a rare thing for my kids to get up and not immediately wake me up. Typically on the weekends I am woken up by someone tapping my face, pulling on my feet, or some other obnoxious form of torture they choose to inflict upon me. Yes, they are rude. I just can't seem to break them of it. Well, the picture above was truly a remarkable morning. I got up and all four of my kids were in the living room watching The Food Network. Ahh... I have taught them well.

Quinten is doing really well in his new bed. He loves the bunk beds and loves, loves, loves his new Cars bedding. I'm not a fan of character bedding, I'll be honest with you. However, this has been the best idea I ever came up with. Every night he lays on his bed and smiles because he sleeps on Mack and McQueen. So, we will live with character bedding until I can't stand it anymore just because it makes my boy happy.

I would imagine everyone celebrates Dr. Seuss week at their school, right?? This happened to be hat day and I thought they were so cute that I took a picture. It's always fun to see my non-school kids get excited about what is going on at the elementary school. Poor Quinten wears more girlie things than he should. This hat was leopard print and was about 18 inches tall- it's just bent over in the picture.

Callie started soccer this year. I think this was before her first practice. You know the drill for this age: they travel in a herd on the field, sometimes someone gets a shot off, and typically you end with a losing record at the end of the season. Callie was no exception. There are always a couple girls who look like they know what they are doing, but everyone else just runs around. It will be intersting to see if she wants to stick with this or not.

Alexa is a different story: she's getting really good, her team was undefeated and they finally look like they know what they are doing. Her games are more exciting than Callie's. :) Alexa is small- usually the smallest on the team. However, she is faster than anyone out there and that is what makes her good. And, she has a killer power kick. She is also a bad loser and wants no critique from us EVER. We keep trying to tell her that is what a coach does- they tell you what you are doing wrong so you can get better. She doesn't believe us yet. It's been a lot of fun seeing her improve and enjoying it as she goes.

I am kind of glad to have the summer off before we start in with another fall season. With two girls playing, it really has eaten up our Saturdays. Their games were never at the same time, of course, so we were going back and forth. And Thursday practices for both of them were ridiculous: different times at different fields. We live in the car on Thursday evenings. It was always a relief when Andrew would call and say he was on his way home from work and would get one girl or the other.

One Year Older

Andrew's birthday is the week after Valentine's Day. I think one of the reasons we don't really celebrate Valentine's Day is because of this. We usually go out to dinner somewhere in between and call it good. (Yep, we're total romantics. :)) This year we had dinner as a family and then invited Andrew's parents over for dessert. Andrew isn't a big dessert person- definitely not a cake person- so we had ice cream pie. I suppose all the fuss is more for the girls' sake. They loved wrapping his presents and were so excited to see that we actually surprised him, which never happens.

Andrew and I turn 32 this year. It's kind of a crazy thought that we are moving farther and farther away from our "younger years". It also means we are getting closer and closer to having spent more of our lives together than apart. I like that thought.

Andrew is an amazing husband and father. We are very blessed to have him.

Latest Happenings

I am a total loser when it comes to blogging. I just can't manage to get it done. And I picked the lousiest time to start again. May and June are typically two of our busiest months- we've got end of the year programs and parties, field trips, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Leah, Quinten, Callie, and my birthdays, and we usually get ready to head to Washington for a few weeks towards the end of June. Soccer went a few weeks longer than normal this year, so we've just barely finished with that. I've just completely cut out swimming lessons till the end of the summer because I can't find the time... or maybe I just don't want to make the time. :) My final disclaimer is this: I'm feeling computer illiterate this week. I've started this post a few times and can't get my pictures to turn the right direction. Sorry. I'm just posting them anyway or I will never get anything on here. And, it make take several posts to catch up- I've just got to get these pictures on so I can stop hearing nagging voices in my head!!
These pictures are of Valentine's Day. Quinten's gift was a Thomas train that says wonderful phrases, such as: "I'm a really useful engine!" Yeah, it's gotten old since this picture was taken.

Don't you just love morning pictures?? Everyone has such tired eyes. :) We ate heart shaped donuts with pink frosting for breakfast- the girls were in heaven because we don't typically eat donuts for breakfast- at least not the kind with frosting....

The girls each got fleece balnkets with different heart patterns and a heart shaped fleece pillow. You'll notice Leah is wearing St. Patrick's Day pajamas... not sure how that happened.

I'm not typically a Valentine's Day fan. It's kind of a useless holiday, in my opinion. (Sorry to all you lovers of the infamous day.) However, I've recently decided that just because I'm not a fan doesn't mean I should push my opinions on my children. I'm trying to let them decide for themselves; and, in order to do that, I'm making the effort to celebrate all the "useless" holidays- even if it is with something simple. Donuts and gifts?? It works.

Changes

This picture above summarizes my life. The funny thing is that this was only half the laundry that I folded yesterday. By the time I was done, the couch was covered. What does this tell us?? My kids have too many clothes. End of story. BTW, the reason these piles aren't falling over is because there are piles behind them to keep them up...

On a happier note, Callie FINALLY learned how to ride her bike on Saturday. YAY!! Let me tell you, it was way easier teaching her than it was Alexa. The difference in personalities is amazing! She even fell off once and scraped her hands- I thought that would be the end of it. But, in typical Callie fashion, she went inside, got herself a bandaid, came back outside and hopped back on the bike. Now she loves it and wants to be outside all the time riding. We are still working on braking at the appropriate times, but it will come. I'm so proud of her!

These three were the onlookers as we practiced. Alexa was in charge of making sure Quinten didn't run away... which isn't an easy task. The kids is everywhere. Like his messy face?? I just can't manage to keep him clean, so I've given up. He's clean from about 8PM to 7AM... it's almost half the day, right?

My cute little Leah. She insisted one of the pictures be just of her. What a sweetheart.

So, our big news is this: Quinten's crib came down today. After 8 years of nearly constant use, I took the crib down and we replaced it with a bed. It's kind of an odd feeling; it makes my baby days really feel complete. My kids will continue to grow and we won't go back to these baby stages. Every time we've moved one of our kids out of this crib, it has been because we are moving another baby into it. Quinten is our only child who ever learned how to climb in and out... and it's driving me nuts, which is why we are done. The final straw was when he fell over the foot of it on Saturday and scared me to death. I'm still trying to decide what to do with the crib- do we store it for 15 years till we have grandchildren and then put it up again or do we just get rid of it?? I feel a little nostalgic as I see it lining my hallway today. I remember when we picked it out for Alexa- I was in love with it. I remember the first night we ever had her sleep in it- I was so paranoid that I got up to check on her every hour and had a baby monitor on, just in case I didn't hear her... in our 500 square foot house in Provo. :) I remember how she bit the heck out of one of the ends when we were in our "letting her cry it out" phase... the tiny little teeth marks are still there. (And then we decided against the crying it out method... the kids would have completely ruined that crib!) It's lived in four different houses with us and been through four different kids. It's had visitors form time to time- cousins and friends who come to stay with us. I've spent many nights cleaning puke from between the bars, have spent many more nights sitting at the foot waiting for kids to fall asleep; I've seen my kids climb in together and lay with whoever has happened to be the baby at the time. And, now we're moving on... and that's OK with me. It's been a good run, but it's time. :)

My sweet boy, in his last minutes as my baby in his bed. How did this happen so fast?!