Gray's 1 year old appointment

Today we went for Gray's 1 year checkup. He is doing great! Dr. D referred to him as strapping! He is right on target as far as growth and development. Here are the stats:

Weight: 22.6 lbs (50%)
Height: 31 1/2 inches (95%)

He is kind of a runt compared to the other two boys. You understand why he is so thin because the boy never stops. He is always on the move, crawling faster than any baby I know. He is into everything and keeps us so busy. The doctor said that by the next appointment he should be walking and saying 3-5 words. He is getting close to letting go and just standing. Why walk though when you can get there faster by crawling. Gray you smart boy!

Gray turns 1!!!

Seriously?? Is it already Gray's birthday. I must admit that this has been the fastest year of my life. What a love he is!! We just feel so blessed to have him in our family. Since you can get away with less fanfare on a first birthday we kept it low key! We went to lunch at Carl's Jr and let the kiddos play on the toys. Then after his much needed nap, we celebrated with some cupcakes and presents. Happy Birthday Big Boy! We couldn't love you more!
*The first picture is how he woke up! Not sure he is super excited about the big day?
*Here are some more pics from the day.


*Nash was not liking all the attention on Gray. He insisted we light a candle for his cupcake so he could blow it out?

Ladies Weekend

Thanks to my super amazing hubby, I was able to go spend a few days in St. George with Serene and Janet. Ever since we were released from RS we have been talking about a little relaxing trip. So Thursday around 4:45pm we left to go to our condo. We had the best drive down just talking and enjoying the company. We stopped in Cedar City and had dinner at Chilis. After dinner we finished the drive and arrived at the condo around 10:30pm. We stayed up talking for a few hours and Janet surprised us with some cute jammies and body spray. We slept in until about 8:30am on Friday. Then after chatting for another few hours, we made our way to the pool. We spent about 3 hours there sunning and reading our people magazines. After some time by the pool, we got ready and went to Brick Oven for a late lunch/early dinner. After eating we shopped for a bit, got a treat and redbox and went home to relax some more! Saturday morning we went to a salon where Serene cut her hair and Janet and I got pedicures. Her hair turned out so cute. She liked it but of course found things to complain about! Just kidding- love you Serene!!
Serene Before:


Serene After:


After we left the salon, I called Joey who was not feeling well so we decided to grab a quick lunch and head home. It was such a much needed, relaxing little trip. I am truly blessed to have such good friends. Just being around Janet and Serene makes me want to be a better person. They are such great examples to me and I am so thankful for this fun time we got to spend together!

Harlee's Preschool Graduation

Today was Harlee's last day of preschool. Besides her struggles lately, she has loved going. The program was so cute. They sang songs and each had a speaking part. We were all given a DVD at the end full of pictures of the fun they all had this year. I am so grateful for Miss Keri and Miss Tiff for loving Harlee and making it such a great experience for her this year.

*Here is Harlee and her cute friend Brooke!

We wish this was true!

Last night was another run around to a few Walgreens to get some deals kind of night. The kids are so good to sit in the car as we take our turns running in. Last night I ran into Walmart and Joey was asking Nash what he saw out the window. He was so excited to say that he saw the mountain and the temple. Then Joey asked him what was on top of the mountain. The answer he was looking for was snow (snow in late May- awesome!) but Nash had his own theory about what it was. He told Joey it was frosting on top of the mountain. How cute! I love it! I think that would make me want to hike more if I was rewarded with the frosting at the top! I just love our little kiddos and their creative way of seeing the world!

Another one gone

Luke lost another tooth tonight. I cannot believe how many are gone already. He told me it was a total of 9 I think! Before he went to bed he told me that he hoped the tooth fairy would bring him $14 this time! He must not have wished enough because she brought the consistent $2! He was so brave to have Joey pull it out and I love his toothless grin!

$ 2.67

Deal time again! I just love couponing. The Cheap Childs have found another way to save money and we both love it! Tonight we went to Walgreens and got all this stuff for $2.67. I went in first and then Joey. So here is what we bought:
2 pantyliners
3 foil
2 Bayer aspirin
2 Advil
2 packs of ponytail holders
6 cans of tomato sauce
3 big boxes of candy
4 Ajax cleaners

Seriously so fun! I think I might go back tomorrow and do the deals again. Can't ever have too much medicine!

So long Justin Bieber....

BEFORE
Luke has been trying for quite some time to grow out his hair like Justin Bieber. His hair grows pretty fast and was getting quite long, especially on the sides. I am not sure why he decided he was ready for a haircut, maybe it was the sweaty hair during his last soccer game, but Saturday night Joey did the honors. I must admit that I like the shorter look better. Luke is so cute though, he could pull off any hairstyle.

AFTER
*Not sure what pose he is doing- such a funny kid!

Last Soccer Game of the Season

On Saturday, Luke had his last soccer game of the season. It is crazy to see the progress that he has made over the last few months. He is getting more aggressive and loves to go after the ball. He had the best coach, Chris Bennet, who encouraged them and created a really good team. We are so proud of you Luke!
Here are a few pictures from the game:

Following in the tradition

Gray is one busy kid. He has mastered the stairs and goes up them all day. He has also figured out that there is something in each cupboard. He loves to play with the pots and pans! It is fun to watch him do this. Each of the kiddos have spent their time playing in the cupboard. He is definitely one of the bunch!

Disney Dreams 2011

The dance recital was on Saturday and I am finally feeling up to blogging about it. WOW- so much work goes into it with teaching and getting Harlee ready. The theme for the recital was Disney Dreams so all of the music used was from a Disney movie/show. Harlee did her first dance, tap, to We're all in this Together from High School Musical. Her second dance was ballet to Beauty and the Beast Something More. She did such a good job. I love to watch her dance!


My class danced to Stupid Cupid from Princess Diaries 2, Gettin Good at being bad from 102 Dalmatians, and It's On from Camp Rock. They did a good job.

I also taught a private tap dance to my student Jessica.


She is so fun to teach because she is so good and can do just about anything I ask her to.
It was a fun year and great show. I must say though that I welcome the break! It will be so nice to have the summer off.

Lucky Lady

Yesterday was Mother's Day and a great day it was. Luke woke me up at 7am to show me what he had made me at school. I told him to just give me a few more minutes to sleep. Gray woke up shortly after and Joey took care of him so I could sleep in. I came downstairs around 7:40am and opened Luke's present. It was the cutest cookbook that his class had made. Luke said his favorite thing that I make is cupcakes and explained how he would make them. It was so sweet and so thoughtful. Then the kids led me to the table where they had put all of my presents. Joey had picked out three super cute tops, a tank top, and a funky skirt. I loved all of them. Then I also got a nice new water bottle, three of my favorite candy bars and a really nice card. Joey and the kids spent the day cleaning so that I would not have too much to do this coming week. We then went to church. Nash and Gray were not feeling so good so Joey brought them home after sacrament. I stayed to start my new calling as the Miamaid/Laurel advisor- so excited! I came home to a nice dinner- chicken fettuccine Alfredo. Then we went over to Jenna's for dessert and to see my mom. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a mom. I love these little ones so much and just feel such love and responsibility for them. They make me so happy and make me feel so loved. What a perfect day!
* Just gets harder and harder to get a picture with all of them smiling and looking at the camera! This was the best attempt!

Keeping up with the Jones!

What a fun night! Luke and Riley really wanted to go to this swim party their whole class was invited to. But we did not know the mom and I was worried that they would not be completely supervised with so many kids to watch. So Erika and I decided our families would go to the Mayan on Friday night. The Mayan is a restaurant that has a diving show for the kids to watch while you eat. The food was not the best but the entertainment and the company was worth it. It was so fun to spend time with their family. Our kiddos loved the diving show! We will need to do things like this more often.

Poor Nash

The little boys have not been feeling good this week. Luckily they are both on antibiotics so the future is looking bright! The day we got the medicine for Nash was not one of his finest! He was so sad and just wanted me to hold him. I tried my best to do so but I have three other kids and dinner had to be made. So he came and laid down by my feet in the kitchen and fell asleep. Poor little guy! It is a few days later though and they are feeling a lot better!

Gray is 11 months!

Where has the time gone? I know I say this too often but time is going by so fast. I feel like I just had him and he is almost a year old already! He is the busiest kid. He is super smart and has no fear. He will climb on the stairs and look at you tauntingly! He babbles all the time and it is music to my ears. He cruises on everything but has yet to take his first steps! He has decided that he no longer likes baby food but loves to eat anything his older siblings are eating. I was thinking back to how we had broken cheerios in half for Luke until about 18 months. Gray is much younger and eating toast and string cheese whole! Such the fourth child! We are loving having Gray in our family and it is hard to remember feeling complete without him!