New Bikes

The twins have been ready for "big boy" bikes for a while now but wow are bikes expensive! One bike not bad but two bikes ouch. We have some great friends whose little boy grew out of his bike and it was still in perfect condition and they handed it down to us, yeah! So I only had to buy one bike and the twins couldn't be happier.

Vivin

Orrin

Now the trick is to keep them out of the road. Little buggers are fast and now they have wheels that make them faster. Maybe I should have rethought this a bit?

My Pooper Scoopers

One of Tallon's lovely chores for the summer is "picking up" after RBK. He recruited Orrin as bucket carrier and Vivin as poop finder. It has been wonderful to see the 3 of them working together instead of fighting. Who knew chores would turn out to be a brother bonding experience?!

One Month

I can't believe that it has already been one month since Van joined our family. I really can't believe that it has been a month without recovering from a C-Section and feeling oh soo good. Life truly has been so enjoyable these past few weeks. The twins and I took Van for his 1 month appointment today and were so pleased at the results.

Weight 8lbs 4oz Height 21"!!!

What a growing little boy.

It was "balloon day" at Dr. Pockat's office today. Fun right. Right. Not so much when you are trying to not look like a freak show herding twins and and carrying a baby seat. The nurse was kind enough to tie the balloons on the twins wrist, but trying to convince the boys that if they would walk the balloon would follow was a joke. They had to follow the balloon and that made for quite the show getting out of the building and into the car. I am sure that it was fun to watch for anyone that was and I didn't get a picture because I was a little busy keeping 2 3 year olds from running around in the parking lot like little monsters chasing balloons that were attached to their wrists. Next time I am going to ask what "day" it is at the doctors office before I make my appointment.

As for me, I have felt so good that I have already went back to work. Well only one day but still that should count for something. Next week is a different story. I will have extra kids all week and be back in full swing. It will be good to have a schedule again, but I am really going to miss sleeping in with the baby and letting my kids run a muck. Life can't be easy forever so here we go again.

What a difference a Month makes

Our little Van has went from this...

to this, in just 4 short weeks.

It is so hard to believe that he is 4 weeks old today. It has been a wonderful 4 weeks. He is such a good baby. I think he is growing on kisses and hugs! He is just adored by his big brothers. They fight over him constantly and all I hear is "he is everybody's baby, SHARE!!". How blessed this last month has been with this little one in our lives.

Love Him

We had a very quiet Fathers Day. After such a busy weekend we enjoyed sleeping in (thank you Van), playing outside in the sun, and spending time with our favorite guy.

The boys just love their daddy and wouldn't even let him cook dinner without their "help".

How grateful we are for Tyler. He is just an awesome daddy to all of his boys. I couldn't have ever picked a more perfect Father for my children. He left early this afternoon to spend a lonely night in a trailer and will be gone for another week in order to provide for his family. How thankful I am for his sacrifice and love. How we miss him through the week. But we should only have another 4 or 5 weeks of being apart. Happy Fathers Day my love! Oh how we miss you.

Our Friday in Pictures

Since fencing the backyard last fall, I have been wanting to get the kennel taken down and the area replanted in grass. Tyler woke early this morning and I was shocked to find him in the back yard doing that very thing. What a great husband. The 3 boys were soon put to work and before I knew it the kennel was down, the area was rototilled and leveled, and we are ready for grass seed.
Tyler and his helpers.

some were more motivated than others as the next 2 pictures show


By the end everyone helped and the job was done

I spent most of my time taking pictures and checking on this little cutie

Tallon has been doing swim lessons all week. He is just amazing so we all went to watch.

Vivin and Orrin spent their time playing cowboys and indians. They are good for entertainment if nothing else.

It was now time to play and play we did. We went out to ride the track and like any good day we started off with a good butt chewing.

Vivin chose to shade up with RBK and play in the dirt. The kid is smart I will give him that.

Tallon, Kellen, Aubrie and Orrin on the track

Tallon showing his mad skills. (he actually scared me to death with the landing but i missed it)

Only in Wyoming can you watch a good old cattle drive while riding motorbikes!

Tyler, Kellen, and Tallon racing

Aubrie, Orrin, and Vivin

Van enjoying being out of the house. (i am afraid this is what all his pictures this summer are going to look like)

Tyler trying to run over his little boy. I really lOvE this picture

By the end of the day Tallon was the only one with any energy left so we just sat and enjoyed the view.


What a way to spend a Friday.

Cheap Entertainment

I was looking through the pictures on the camera tonight and came across these from this afternoons nap. I just laughed. Poor Tallon is such a good sport these days. He helps me so much with the house, twins, and chores. And when we all crash he finds ways to entertain himself.
Here I am with Vivin and Van

Orrin was a victim as well.

Not even RBK could escape Tallon's boredom

And of course a beautiful self portrait

How thankful I am that this is what he did with his spare time! What a wonderful little man I have. Thanks for a good laugh Mr. Tal.

The worst part of having boys...

is having them circumcised. It is the part I dread the most. With Van's platelets being so low at birth we weren't able to circumcise him until his numbers were up. Well that happened last week so yesterday was the day. I have always made Tyler do this part of having babies, but of course he had to work so it fell on me. Van was a great sport and really handled everything well, I just hate the whole thing.

He is still growing before our eyes. He is up 6 more oz putting him at 7lbs 9oz and is 20 1/2" long. All this kid does is eat, sleep, and grow!

Here he is in all his cuteness with his brothers.



It is terrible that I have to document that this is Orrin. I have to stop and think every now and then which one is which and I know that in a few years I won't have a clue who is who in a picture!
Okay this is bad I just asked Tallon if this was Orrin or Vivin and he said Vivin. Yeah he is right, it is Vivin. So let me retype this. This is Vivin with Tallon and Van. Yeah I know I am a terrible mother.

He's growing!!

Today we went for another check up for Van. He weighs 7lbs 3oz, which means he has gained 9 oz in 7 days. He is now 20" long meaning he grew 3/4" in 7 days! No wonder it seems as if he is growing before our eyes. I am so pleased that he is growing. We have never had "chunky" babies and I don't think Van chunk out, but I love to know that I am doing my part as a mom to make my baby grow. It makes the long nights and all the soreness worth it.

I can't believe how well all the boys have adjusted to having a baby in the house. Tallon has proven to be the best helper. He is good to hold and rock Van while I am trying to get something done and is so patient and kind to him.

Orrin has really warmed up to his little brother. He is always wanting to know where Van is and trying to give him his binkie when he cries. He has loved holding him but would rather stroke his head and talk to him while someone else holds him.

Vivin has put dibs on Van. He tells everyone that Van is HIS baby. I think he is really liking being a big brother. He loves to hold Van. The other day Tyler literally had to pry the baby from Vivin so he could change him, who knew a 3 year old could be so strong.

Tyler is really missing being home with his baby. It has been hard for him to come home on the weekends and not know how to calm Van. He has always bonded so quickly with his babies and it is sad to see his frustration with not having the time to spend with Van.It will be nice to have Ty home every night so that they will be able to develop the same bond that he has with his other boys.

As for me I am loving life. I have never felt so good after having a baby. I even mowed the lawn on Saturday! I love having our little one on one time which falls from 10:30 pm to about 12:30 am. Van is so awake during this time. He looks around and seems to be taking everything in. He doesn't have a fussy time which has been really nice. He is plain and simple just a GOOD baby.

My Little RED Head

Each of our boys has been born with a tint of red hair but NOTHING like Van. Check out this head of hair!


Isn't it just beautiful! It is fun to have a red head mixed in with our little blondies. It makes me sad to know that it will fall out and come in completely different, so for now I am loving every minute of it.

9 days old

Van had his follow up appointment today. He weighed in at a whooping 6lb 10oz, is 19 1/4" long, and passed his lab work! His platelets were up to 120,000 which is a great improvement. We are going to do more labs in a week to see how things are going but it looks like we are in the clear! What a relief.

Tallon chose to spend the day with Van and I at doctor appointments. It was fun just having some one on one time with him. We had an hour between appointments and Tallon chose to go to the National Museum of Wildlife Art. He went here on a field trip 2 weeks ago but because I was on bed rest I didn't get to go with him. He fell in love with a picture called "In the Clouds", it is an artwork of 2 mountain sheep up in the cliffs. He has talked about it for weeks and wanted to take everyone to see it while we were in the hospital, but nobody was really up for visiting a museum. So he was really excited to get to see it again and to show me. It was a great little break from the day. There is no picture taking in the museum so I only got to a few outside by some of the great sculptures.



What a great day spent with 2 of my boys.