My Little Ballerina

This weekend was Bailey's ballet recital. Mat and I have been going back and forth wondering if we should have her continue to take ballet. Before her dance even began you could see it in Mat's eyes. I asked him halfway through her dance if he wanted to stop the lessons. He very quietly replied I never do after I see her dance. Bailey has been in dance since she was first potty trained and we have loved watching her going from shaking her hiny to becoming a very graceful dancer. The picture above is from her 1st recital. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. She seems to be talented at anything she tries. We feel very fortunate to have this special little girl bless our home.

My Mother's Day

I really don't want to be a braggart but I'm going to be one anyways. I had such a wonderful Mother's Day. So much better than the first one after I had Bailey. That one ended in a big fight and Mat (of all people) running on the store on Sunday to appease his wife and get me a gift.

My morning started off fantasitc. Breakfast in bed. Not just any old breakfast because I'm not a breakfast person, but a platter of fruit and picked peas from the garden. Along with flowers and gifts from the dollar store from the kids. So sweet. I did get a little frustrated while getting the kids ready for church. Mat didn't want me to have to do much so he got all of the kids and himself bathed and let me sleep in. Of course that meant no hot water for me. :( Then, as I was looking for a shirt for Bailey I noticed Mat had done some laundry and washed Peyton's $68.00 dress that was dry clean only. BTW of course I didn't pay that much! It was one of my favorite though that I was planning on hanging onto regardless of the fact that we aren't having more kids. Then we went to church. I was tense from the dress incident and as we got to church on time I realized Peyton wasn't wearing shoes or socks. I drove like a madman home and realized her shoes were in the car so I went back to church and one had fallen out. I quickly got over it though hearing Mat speak in church about the tender moment that I became a mom and realized the other stuff just didn't matter. We had a fabulous lesson on motherhood in Relief Society, followed by massages from all the kids and Mat when we came home. The kids let me take a nap while they made an excellent and beautiful dinner. I was a little disappointed thinking Mat hadn't gotten me anything but a card. Inside the card however, was cold hard cash, with a note saying to have fun at the what women want expo. The day was complete with visiting our own wonderful mothers and talking to Mat's little sister in Argentina. Can't everyday be Mother's Day? I am so truly blessed. :)

We must be doing something right after all...

So the other night we were pulling into the driveway after Caleb's baseball game. Caleb looked quite mischievous when he told Mat and I we should go lay on the hammock and relax while Easton and he "played". Now, if this had been Easton concocting something we would have stayed close by but after all it was Caleb, and he did give us a free pass to relax undisturbed. We opted for going inside however. It was 50 degrees and very windy. After a while we figured we better go assess the damages. When we came out we were pleasantly surprised to see Caleb washing Mat's truck! He looked like he was freezing! He smiled and said it wasn't cold. We praised him for being such a sweet kid and that's when Easton (who was completely dry) chimed in that he helped too. My day before had certainly been a rough one so this was such a nice way to start the weekend off. Thank you Caleb for being such a great kid and example to others. We love you!

Way to go Bailey!

Bailey had her 2nd day of cheer tryouts today. I wasn't able to watch but she was in the same group as her cousin so I got to see the recorded tryout. I was so happy! She makes things look far too easy. Mat and I have been super stressed about these tryouts! She has worked very hard and we were worried she would be placed on a team that wouldn't push her. She was so calm about the whole thing. The teams were posted at 8:00 tonight and there were many anxious girls waiting at the window. When they finally posted the teams I couldn't even see Bailey. Finally the crowds cleared a little and Bailey emerged. The first thing she said was "Mom, they spelled my name wrong." I about burst! "Bailey, what team are you on!" She smiled "Senior level 2." Now, it's taken me a bit to understand the different teams. Last year Raglan had a Youth level 1, Juniors level 2, and Seniors level 3. The Senior part means that she'll be competing with and against girls under 16. The level 2 indicates the level of difficulty for the stunts. We are so very proud of her accomplishments over the past year that she can compete at this level. Way to go Bailey! You never cease to amaze me!

Happy Magic Birthday Easton!!!

Tomorrow is Easton's magic birthday. He turns 6 on the 6th! I can't believe he is 6 already. Every year on his birthday I get quite nostalgic. It was conference weekend (obviously since his birthday is on such a great day) and the ultrasound said he would be here on the 5th. Well, on April 5th we were in labor! I was having consistent, strong contractions, and apparently the rest of St. George was also. When we arrived to the nurses' station they were not all that friendly. I was told to put a gown on and they said I was at a 4 plus. Fabulous right? Wrong. They didn't have a room available to monitor me and they wouldn't admit me until they were able to do so. I was told to go wait...in my hospital gown...in the waiting room! Ugh! I was pretty okay because I knew as strong as my contractions were it wouldn't be long and thus I could escape to much embarrassment. 8 hours later after they had monitored me in some supply room I was sent home at a 4 1/2. No joke! I was devastated. They put my doctor on the phone to explain the situation to me, what that was going to help I don't know. As soon as I left the contractions stopped and I arrived back home extremely frustrated. The next morning, Mat's sister's came to pick up Bailey and Caleb because my contractions started again. After they left with the kids I was curling my hair and was almost ready to go. Then...I threw up! Not just a little...a lot! Of course then the contractions slowed. By this point I deemed that the baby boy inside me was dang stubborn (call it mother's intuition). I told Mat after my 2nd shower that I was going to lay down. As soon as I relaxed the phone rang. My hero, Dr. Staheli called informing us that he was leaving out of town for the day and didn't want me to go into labor without him there and He wondered if I could meet him at his clinic to be checked before he left. This was around 9:30 on conference Sunday. The Dr's sweet wife waited in the stairwell and I was all too happy to say that I was at a 5 and the hospital would admit me if I went directly there. By the time we drove the 3 blocks and were admitted I was at a 7 1/2. Easton was born 1 hour later. I guess he had finally made up his mind! We love Easton so much and feel very blessed to have his spunk in our house. He is one of the most difficult kids ever but also one of the sweetest. Just today Mat went into the backyard looking for him and there he was kneeling in prayer. Mat said he looked a little sheepish and Mat asked what he had been praying for and Easton just said he was thanking Heavenly Father for our nice house and our fun backyard. Happy Birthday Easton, we love you!

This is a picture of Easton's birthday cake. We had a party for him on Friday. It isn't one of "Aunt Amber's" cakes, but he liked it and I had fun making it for him.

This is Easton with the "Chief" that came and told the kids stories. They were all mesmerized. It was too fun.
It was really crummy weather for the birthday party. The boys didn't get a chance to ride the "Indian horse" or do some of the other outside activities we had planned, but we did have a lapse in the rain long enough to get some photos by the tee pee.

April 1st

Today is one of my favorite days! That isn't even an April Fool's joke, I really love it. I thought I would post some of my favorite pranks for everyone. One that didn't quite work out for Mat and I was the time we made "dinner" for his family. It was at night and they still didn't catch on. We made these nasty pizzas with everything out of the cupboards we could think to use. The joke was on us however, they liked the pizzas! Well, Mat and I were frustrated! We went to all that work to make a not so lovely meal and it backfired. We decided we couldn't end our night there. We went to the store and bought Hershey Kisses and put the name of the boy my little sis' was in love with in one of them. We then scattered them up the walkway to my house with a note that said "Now that I've kissed the ground you walk on, will you go to (whatever dance was coming up) with me". She was sooooo excited. She started doing cartwheels and one of her friends mentioned she already had a date and she said she didn't care! It was hilarious. So much so that when she finally came inside and saw Mat and I busted out laughing the jig was up!
My all time favorite prank though was when I was expecting Bailey. Mat had been out of town and I was certain that he had no clue what day it was. Bailey wasn't due until July but his sister was due anyday. He had been working late the night before, got up and did some more work and got home around noon. I was working at the flower shop and when he called I told him Kristi was in labor, no one could find Shane, everyone else was in the middle of something and Kristi was really upset. I told him I had made a bouquet of flowers and he needed to come get them and visit her to calm her down. Can you say "hook, line, and sinker?" He didn't even stop to take a shower or eat. he came right over and got the flowers with a lot of balloons for effect and went down to the hospital. Now I didn't wan't him walking into someone's room and disturbing them so I called down to the nurses station. They were sort of onry until they heard my plan. I told them to look for a guy with pink flowers going into room 364 and stop him. They laughed and said that room didn't exist. Perfect! He of course couldn't find the room and went to the nurses station and they said "you must be Mat...April Fool's!" The best part was that my sister actually was at the hospital getting an ultrasound and she asked Mat if he knew what day it was. I felt really bad after because he had to go right back to work and never got a shower or lunch but it was worth it!

Do you give your kid a cow?

So Easton's turning 6 in a week and for the last 3 months he's told pretty much everyone that he is getting a cow for his birthday. Ughh! Where did he get a thought like that??? Certainly not from his mother! Mat suggested a few months back that he should ask for one and it would be tons of fun. How is a cow going to be fun for anyone? Frustrated that I wasn't consulted on the matter I quickly interjected that we don't live on a farm and that city ordinances (thankfully) don't allow non-domesticated animals in our subdivision. Thus one of the big selling points for me when we purchased here. Now, I tease Mat that he grew up on a farm, which his family insists is not true, but he had his own pet pig, they had goats, chickens, rabbits (which they ate, yuck) and horses etc. Sounds like a farm to me but whatever. For Mat asking for a cow probably wouldn't be something his parents needed to discuss before they committed to one. I don't live on a farm people! Mat thinks it's ridiculous that I don't have to discuss my gifts (which I truly do anyway) but he has to ask my permission. This is a little bit different than say a board game. He has reassured Easton that the cow can be kept a block down the road at an actual farm and if that doesn't work out he had Easton call his Grandpa Holt and got permission to keep it at his house. Is this the weirdest birthday gift or what? I keep telling Easton that I will let him pick out the coolest, fastest bike at the store, but my ideas are nothing compared to the idea of his cow. The best part is that he has a name for his cow that we don't even have yet...Bullet. That is what Mat's pig was named because Mat knew what would happen to him and Easton is all for getting to raise this thing so he can kill it for food. Luckily Mat convinced him that he can take it to auction and make money on it. I really think this is an awful idea. I think it's a novelty that will wear off and I'll get stuck (as I have with other pets) taking care of Bullet. Seriously what do you do with a cow? A really cool bike however...