Life as we know it...

Yesterday was Oliver's one month birthday... I can't believe it! Life with four kids is... interesting! I though the first two weeks were difficult with little sleep and adjusting etc... but I think the third and fourth weeks have been harder and I hope this is not a pattern of things to come :) It seems like those first few weeks babies are still so little they don't really know how life works...you know...CRY=ATTENTION... but he's definitely figured that out and wants to be held a lot more. I do love to hold him and try not to let my house, family and yard responsibilities scream at me from the rocking chair and playtime with Gabe... because I know it won't be long and they'll both be off to school...

Ollie is more fussy in the evening, just when it's time to make dinner :) And this week he's been staying awake in the night after eating... he spits up a gulps a lot and I am pretty certain that he has reflux... I talked to his doctor and he prescribed some medicine that I am hoping will give him some relief... I know how much heart burn hurts... If it weren't for his love of a binkie, I think he would cry all day long! So we shall see if he does better soon!

His pediatrician also said that if we want Oliver to take a bottle as well as nurse that we should introduce the bottle before he's five weeks old... after that babies have a harder time doing both. So he gets one bottle each night at bedtime which Glen feeds him... it's their bonding time. Poor Glen doesn't see much of Oliver as he is usually tending to the other boys, they LOVE him and when he gets home from work each night everything goes better!

We have been going to end of school programs for both Evan and Eli... Their last day of school was yesterday! Eli came home a little down in the dumps... he said he is going to miss his teacher. I am going to miss her too... she has been amazing! Both Evan and Eli have learned and accomplished so much this school year! they are excited for summer and had a big "school's out" party last night. They invited about 20 kids from the neighborhood over for smores and night games! They had a blast and it was a great way to kick off summer! I love summer and am excited to have the boys home! Gabe is loving Oliver and starting to get used to less of our attention. He watches too much TV and sucks his binkie more than he should... but he is happier, and what two year old wouldn't be with those two remedies? :) anyway I am learning to do things differently now, a new schedule! ... and reminding myself in those hard moments that parenting is about being selfless and these little boys of mine are so special!

Oliver nurses every three hours during the day, but as you may know it seems like it's more often than that, because it takes about 30-40 minutes to feed him, burp him, change him. I have said it before... even though so time consuming and tiring I wish this newborn time would just slow down, it is such a special time! It is so fun to know that he recognizes us. He loves to look at us and turns his head to find whoever is talking. He listens intently as we talk to him and I can't wait until he starts smiling and "talking" back! He loves bathing and usually shares the tub with Gabe. He is getting big fast and one of my favorite little outfits (labeled size "up to 8 lbs") doesn't fit him anymore! Oliver likes the swing and his bouncy chair off and on and especially loves being snuggled in the "baby bjorn" front carrier. He likes to be outside and sometimes when he's really fussy if I walk outside, he stops crying for awhile and just looks around. He is a little dream and I can't seem to get enough of him!

below are pictures of what we've been up to the past few weeks
and then I am finally caught up... whew!

feeding the ducks at first dam at the entrance of Logan canyon

we needed to get out of the house for the evening and this was the perfect place! the boys loved seeing the baby ducks, feeding them bread crumbs, running around,
and throwing rocks into the water

Gabe loves to be outside... there are lots of wide open spaces for him to explore here and we love it! There are tree's and bushes to hide behind, birds to chase, and bugs to inspect. He has been obsessed lately with pushing his lawn mower up and down the lane that leads form our
house to the barn

Eli had fun playing soccer. the season was just finishing up after I had Oliver. Eli especially liked playing forward and was able to score some goals. He watched a few you-tube video's of people playing soccer who had some pretty impressive foot work... he practiced a lot and the boy has got skills... he is pretty tricky with the ball and he is fast and aggressive! It was fun
to watch him play!

We love this house and the property it is on... beautiful views of the mountains, not too many houses near by, a quiet dead end road makes for very little traffic and there's
lots and lots of land... trouble is, that makes for LOTS of yard work... good thing we have boys! They are getting good at weeding there a lot of places to weed!:) At least riding the four wheeler makes the work a bit more exciting and a little easier too!

Gabe is just kickin' back listening to Evan's i-pod...

Evan had a GREAT soccer season! and a GREAT coach too... his dad! Their team was undefeated! One reason that Evan is good at sports is because he is a smart player... he understands strategy and "the game"... he is good at calculating and was a great defender! He always seemed to be in the right place keeping the other team from scoring! It was so much fun watch... FINALLY... he is getting to that age where they actually play instead of chase the ball around! I am glad that Glen got to coach... he loves sports, he relates well with kids... he is a big kid himself... He is patient and fun and a good teacher. He is totally in his element as a coach and did a great job! Every parent raved about how nice it was to have a coach who was positive and calm and NICE and I think that is one reason why the team won so much... because of the coach... my cute husband! I try to fight it... the fact that he's so good... because sometimes I hate to share him! when he coaches he is gone more. Practices a few times a week, games a few times a week where the coach must be early and leave late... It made for lots of "game nights" with our two boys playing... which meant lots of waddling around (10 months pregnant) after Gabe, for me. Now soccer is done yay!!... but baseball is upon us and once again Glen is coaching... FOUR BOYS... this is the story of my life and I just need to get used to sharing I guess?

Glen planned an end of season ice cream party for the team (see what I mean about being a good coach?) He made certificates for all of the boys and even ordered some trophy's engraved with the team name, the undefeated ranking, the year and the player's name... the boys LOVED them... whatever happened to trophy's? They don't give them out much anymore... and every boy has got to have a trophy, right?

One evening Eli was loving on Oliver and...

Gabe wanted in on it... He told Eli to put Ollie away and to hold him instead...

For memorial day we met my parents at the Logan cemetery... I hadn't been there since September, when my grandma passed away. I thought about her as I stood there holding my new baby and I remembered when.... I found out that I was pregnant and it was just before little grandma passed away. On one of my visits to her house I whispered in her ear to let her in on my secret. her eyes lit up and she told me how happy she was for us! We knew that she would not live much longer so I joked with her a little as I said to her "when you get to heaven grandma, see if you can pull some strings and send me a little girl..." She smiled so sweetly and in a whisper answered wisely. "I'll see what I can do Emmy, but you know, whoever you get, is going to be the one who is meant to be yours" and right then I was certain that she was right and at that moment I feel in love with my baby... girl or boy. I love my grandma... and oh,I miss her. I wish I would have spent more time with her when I had the chance but I know that she is watching out for me and I believe that she sent little Oliver off with lots of love! he has such a sweet spirit and is still so close to heaven. When he smiles in his sleep I think he must be dreaming of angels ... my grandma and many many others who are pulling for us and cheering us on!

speaking of angels... here is Gabe on a not so heavenly day...

Eli, like me cannot get enough of Oliver

we decided to plant a little garden... it's so fun to plant tiny seeds, water them, take care of them and then watch them grow into delicious food! The boys asked lots of questions as we planted and we pretended to know the answers... They are excited and every day they water the garden and look for signs of life...It will be fun to see what works and what doesn't. We are hoping to soon be eating fresh produce... peas, onions, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, crookneck and pumpkins!

My big helper somedays...

and other days are a rollercoaster... "boo hoo's"

and then grins...
talk about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde... what a kid!


have I mentioned that Eli can't get enough of Oliver? He CAN'T! Eli is a baby man... he loves babies and toddlers and is constantly asking if he can hold Oliver. Eli kisses him all day...I love to hear him talking and singing to Oliver... and I love to see Eli study all of his little parts

Evan is so responsible and I can count on him to help with anything. He likes to tease his little brothers but he loves them and he shows it . He is a good boy!

the first grade at Eli's school had a "drive in movie." The students were suppose to make cars to sit in as they watched the movie... and I forgot all about it over the weekend! I happened to be at my aunt Jolene's house Sunday night for my cousins ordination, he is going on a mission... anyway I suddenly remembered and my heart sunk... what was I going to do? It was 10:00 pm and we had nothing. Well my aunt is one of those on the ball mom's and she is a big resource of skill and knowledge. She happened to have a few car boxes from years past to choose from. This bus is actually my cousin Sara's. She used it at girls camp a few years ago. I brought it home, Eli was in bed but Glen and I spruced it up a little by painting on the stripes, the lights the tires, and all the little symbols. It was a late night but Eli was SO excited in the morning and he says that he had the coolest car in his class... not in his school though, there was some transformer diesel semi that stole the show, I guess... anyway I was just glad that he was able to show up with a car.... talk about it taking a village to raise a kid... I am so grateful that our extended family lives in our village... or something like that... It would have been a sad day for Eli without them!

have I mentioned that Eli loves babies... he loves Oliver
and I love these pictures that capture the love!

On Tuesday Glen home for lunch in the afternoon. I went upstairs to check on a napping Gabe and when I came downstairs I found Glen giving Oliver some "tummy time." He fell asleep right there on the carpet and looked so sweet, I had to take a picture...

Wow that post was long... I got everything in except for Evan's ballroom dancing pictures and video... they are going to take forever to upload... but believe me... it is the cutest thing ever! I will start working on it so that you can see what a heart throb he is.
Now it is officially summer. I am excited! I have been working on a summer schedule so that I don't go insane. it will include two outings a week, a craft/science day, some weeding, chores, workbooks and reading! The boys start swimming lessons next week too. So There should be plenty of events to document, but for today I'm done!!