Some Favorites From the Beach

Fall Pictures

For Halloween costumes we try to make do with what we have in our dress-up box. We probably should have made sure that Ryan's costume actually FIT him beforehand, but he survived. :)

Millie was a ladybug at Ryan's school parade, but was having none of it for our trunk or treat.

I Hardly Recognize This Girl

My Silly Millie is really growing up. Some of my favorite things about her:

She has a great sense of humor - makes us laugh all the time.

She has a very nurturing personality.

She talks non-stop in full sentences and does not have a "quiet" voice. I feel like she shouts at me all day long. (Probably a product of being baby #3)

She is a little bit scared of dogs - but only if they get close to her.

She's ALWAYS carrying a blanket and usually carrying a baby doll.

She recently moved to a toddler bed and is doing pretty well staying where she should.

She gives people some fun nicknames: Kay-kee (Katie), Ya-Ya (Ryan), Manca (Bianca), Lay-lee (Haylee), Baby Oh-no (Baby Owen), Jimmer or Chubba (James).

She thinks that poodles are sheep, and calls ponytails "horseys".

The Little Guy

Jammer is not a fan of baby food - he won't open up his mouth for the spoon. I think we might end up skipping pureed baby food altogether. He wants to USE those two little teeth.

We recently met my friend Veronica at a beach near her house and had a blast. Here's the boy in a hilarious outfit that makes him look like a trapeze artist. I'm trying to keep him protected from the sun (sunscreen is expensive!) and I didn't have many choices. Seriously, flames? He's cute though.

He's seven months now and crawls like a champ and pulls up and walks along the furniture. His balance still leaves much to be desired but he is starting to learn how to get down after he gets to a standing position. He's growing up too fast!

Are My Kids the Problem, or is it Just Me?

I am coming to realize more and more that my attitude as a parent has a huge effect on the way my child is behaving. I found this great parent/caregiver checklist that I refer to on our "off" days.

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Parent/Caregiver Self-Check

Sometimes when we are having problems with our children the problem is really with ourselves. Children are quick to pick up on our emotions and our inner state, and that often affects the way they behave. So next time when your child is acting up, being wild, or just plain naughty for “no reason” try to check yourself out before you check him into time out.


· What attitudes am I sending out?

· Am I thinking that my child is in my way/a nuisance rather than a contribution our family and me?

· Am I angry with my spouse or myself?

· Am I behaving in an addictive way (such as spending too much time on the computer or procrastinating or getting sidetracked), which tunes me out from my child’s signals?

· Am I uncomfortable with my child’s display of emotions?

· Am I being unfocused, indecisive, wishy-washy, asking too many questions (to child)?

· Am I being impatient with myself?

· Am I trying to accomplish too many things around the house and not taking time to smell the flowers, smile, laugh, dance?

· Am I being resistant of my child's love, respect and adoration of me?

· Have I kept us in the house all day (no fresh air, people contact, physical activity)?

· Is it a boring day?

· Am I not taking responsibility for my own happiness?

I can promise you that when my child is "acting up", the answers to at least one of these above questions is "YES!" Notice that none of the questions have *anything* to do with what my *child* is doing/saying/being.

“Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6

5 Months Old

A few new pictures of the boy. He can roll over now and puts everything in his mouth. My sister gave him a big fat pretzel to gnaw on last week and he was in heaven. I have a feeling he'll be a BIG eater. :)

He's too mellow - didn't even fuss when he was tired, just konked right out in his doorway jumper.

He has become quite the little thumb sucker.

Come on - I LOVE that sweet face!

Ten Fingers and Ten Toes

Katie wanted me to take a picture of her fingers and toes.

And since we were taking pictures - Millie (and her baby and her bed head) wanted in on the action.

The Trouble With Afghans

This Boy Loves His Dad

This is a simple note that Ryan made for Derek today, but I thought it was sweet.

I agree. Good job for good Dad. :)

How I Lost the "Mother of the Year" Award.... Again

Recently, our dear neighbor passed away unexpectedly. He was like another grandfather for my kids - they ADORED Bob. Tonight, his family had a party for him as a celebration of his life. It was at a local clubhouse and Ryan was SO excited to go to Bob's party - he'd been talking about it all week long.

During the part of the party where his family was telling stories they remembered about him, I was preoccupied with listening while my kids were running around with other children having fun. Ryan came over after a few minutes and said, "I found the chocolate cake!" Then he told me that he had gone looking for the dessert table and got a drink of "something that wasn't good for my body. But, when I could tell it wasn't good for me, I just stopped drinking it and put it down."

Oh, awesome. The 5 year old just had his first margarita! In his defense, it was in an Igloo and looked just like lemonade. I thought it was actually very interesting that he could tell by tasting that it was something he shouldn't be drinking. I don't think he had more than a sip and thankfully, it didn't seem to get him tipsy or anything. I was a little concerned since he's a KID and who knows how alcohol could affect such a small body. Turned into a learning experience though - for all of us.

Where was his mother???

**I'd like to add - it is at least saying SOMETHING that the boy knew he could tell me about it and not try to hide it from me.**

Beach with Aunt Jamie

In February, my sister Jamie came to visit us for the weekend. We enjoyed her being here so much, that I made a personal goal to go out and visit her family and Jodie's family all by myself to just be an aunt for a while, without being distracted by my children.

While she was here, we played at the beach.

James mostly spent his time snoozing.

Here is Katie looking like she belongs on Survivor.

Jamie mostly TOOK pictures or else I'd post one of her too. :)

RSV Season

Apparently the RSV season hit pretty hard a few weeks ago. James had a cold and when I noticed him wheezing a bit we decided to take him in because he was only 4 weeks old. He had a fever when we showed up to the ER so they ran a million tests on him (blood test, urine test, chest x-ray, spinal tap) and determined he had RSV. They admitted him (due to him being only a few weeks old) and we spent the next 3 days under observation to make sure no secondary infections developed.

They ended up giving him 2 rounds of antibiotics (silly, in my opinion) some IV fluids because he wasn't nursing too well, did a breathing treatment to try and help clear his lungs, vacuumed out his nose a million times, and gave him oxygen.

I was never too worried about him. It was really all precautionary and we're glad that it didn't turn into anything worse.

I'm grateful for all of the help I received for my other kids during those three days, and now he's as good as new. Chalk it up to our first hospitalization.

Vaccine Reaction

Millie had an 18 month checkup on Friday. She's 21 pounds (8%), 29 inches (27%)
She got two shots - Hib and Pneumoccocal. One of them (most likely Hib) gave her this reaction:

It's really ugly (as you can see) and super swollen. The weirdest part is how hard it feels when you touch it - like there is tons of pressure inside and it is also hot to the touch. I'm just glad this is her last dose of both of those vaccines. I'm really bugged by how her body reacted to it. This is listed as one of the "mild" side effects.

6 Weeks old

Just a little picture update to show you what the child looks like. He definitely looks familiar. I feel like I am raising Ryan all over again, except that James might have blue eyes like Millie.

He doesn't smile yet, but he's close. I see the dimples a lot more often. He is also filling out a bit. He weighs about 11.5 lbs.

Any BYU Basketball fans out there? It's hard to resist calling him Jimmer or Jammer. :)

Announcement

These three big kids...

Would like to introduce you to the newest little addition to our family.

James Franklin Bayles
8 lbs 7 oz
20"
born 1/16/10

He ended up arriving 12 days later than expected and definitely had us on our toes the last 2 months. In the weeks leading up to his due date, he flipped from head down to breech more times than I can count. He finally got into position (and stayed there) four days before he was due. Then began the two weeks of waiting - which really ended up being two weeks of trying to do everything possible to induce labor naturally so that I could avoid a hospital induction. Mercifully, two days before my scheduled induction, the little guy was born.

Labor began around 5pm on Saturday. At 10:00pm we arrived at the birthing center and I was dilated to 6cm. Things went pretty quickly and he was born about 90 minutes later. It was my first water birth and it was just as wonderful as I had hoped it would be. My recovery has been so quick - no tearing or excess bleeding and I feel fantastic! It has been such a blessing.

We were VERY surprised and incredibly pleased to have a BOY! Derek and I were so convinced that we were having a little girl - he even came home in a PINK carseat. :) He has been such a sweet baby (they all are) and I can't get enough of his little dimples.

Check my Mom's blog for more darling pictures. She is amazing!