Family in Town and Lyndsee's Blessing

The holidays seemed to have some bonus time added to it when my brother Tracey and his wife Emily and their 4 kids came to visit the week after Christmas. They live in Rock Springs, WY so it was a special treat for them to enjoy our "warm" weather. We took them hiking to a natural bridge in the Eldorado Hills and also to Valley of Fire and even a little hiking on The Strip. We all happen to get tickets from Santa Claus to see "The Lion King" and I was able to part with my baby to our babysitter to go see it with Will and Taylor. I love musical theater and it has been a while since we have treated ourselves to a show like this. I found myself tearing up in the beginning scene because of the emotions the music creates plus being able to see my kids sit on the edge of their seats in awe. That lasted until the hienas in the play started singing about the lack of food and my kids started whining about it as well (they had seen the concession stands before entering the theater). It was a great night. All week long my kids were entertained by having their cousins to play with.

Natural bridge hike with the cousins

Lyndsee's first hike

The kids wanted to see the M&M store on the Strip.
Our family with Tracey's family (except Emily who is taking the picture)

After getting home from seeing the Lion King, Will crashed on the family room floor. It was so funny to walk in and see this.

Valley of Fire
There is so much to see and explore here for kids.

Have you ever had a picnic outside on New Year's Day?

Reagan and Daddy coming down the rock stairs
The rest of these outdoor pictures are from the White Domes hike at Valley of Fire. It was only 1.25 miles long and took you through an old movie set, a short slot canyon and lots of rock stairs (which kids love!)

Tracey and Emily's family

Our family

Reagan loved playing with both of her girl cousins her age Hannah and in this picture Ava.

Slot canyon--gotta love'em!

Hannah was quite the poser for any picture we took but this one was one of my favorite. The short bangs and hair are due to a haircut she gave herself about a month prior.

Later in the week, my other brothers and their families came down as well as my parents to stay with us for the weekend because Lyndsee would be blessed on Sunday. We had a total housefull and this with only half my family here and some of Eric's family staying in hotels. Lyndsee was blessed on January 3rd with her Uncles Tracey, Christian, and Ethan and both her grandpas and Bishop Trout and her Daddy gathered around her.

We made sure the morning of Lyndsee's blessing to be to church on time (thank goodness we were now attending church at 11:00) and were seated by ten to the hour. Eric walked up to the stand to talk to the bishop and I went up there to very briefly ask a favor of the organist. When we came back down to our bench, Eric noticed Will wasn't sitting there anymore. It was 5 minutes before church started so he ran to check the bathroom to see if he could find him. Eric and the rest of the relatives spent the next 15 minutes looking for Will! The bishop called us up to bless our baby and Eric came to me to see what we should do. I told him to talk to the bishop. We had a missing child and I had started panicking inside when Eric couldn't find him before church started and now I was in tears. As Eric was talking to the bishop ( I by the way wanted to jump up and yell to the congregation to help us find our son), my brother Tracey had tracked down Will in the bathroom and brought him in. Apparently he had spent some time in the parking lot and the bathroom and probably every place in between but managed to evade us all since those places had all been checked a couple of times. Eric gave Lyndsee a wonderful blessing but I felt bad when he came back down to sit and had sweat dripping down his neck. Everybody can laugh about it now but it was terrifying at the time.

LYNDSEE'S BLESSING DAY

Daddy and Lyndsee

Nana and Papa with Lyndsee

Nana picked out this sweet dress for Lyndsee to wear on her blessing day.

Lyndsee with Grandma and Grandpa (Eric's parents would also attend the blessing of their great- granddaughter in St George this same day.)

December in Review

We have had fun this month establishing new Christmas traditions in our family and watching Lyndsee continue to grow. I'm still adjusting to having 4 kids and so Eric did a lot of the shopping for Christmas this year. I'm thankful for this and also thankful for the turkey Eric made Christmas Eve so that we could have a special dinner to celebrate this wonderful holiday.

Here are pictures of some of things we did during this past month.

Taylor marched/danced in the Boulder City Light Parade with her dance group.

Will and Mommy took advantage of the truck-pulled trailer that led the dancers down the parade route and rode in the parade.

Reagan and Lyndsee were pushed in the stroller by Daddy down the sidewalk as they followed us down the parade route.On the following Saturday, Taylor's dance group performed at the Winterfest in downtown Henderson on Water Street. She performed a dance number on the outdoor stage near the Convention Center.
Reagan, Will and Mommy waiting in the audience

Taylor dancing with her friend Abby.

Taking a bow Eric went out with the missionaries one night dressed as Santa so when he was done he came by to visit his naughty kids and give them warning. Of course, they recognized him instantly. No fooling them! They loved seeing their Daddy dressed like Santa.Nappy Nap Time - Lyndsee at 5 weeks

Eric got a free ticket to the "Gift of Lights" drive through light display at Sunset Park. The kids loved this and I was glad it was free.

The Saturday night before Christmas we went to Ethel M Chocolate Factory where they decorate their cactus garden in Christmas lights. It was really well done and I was so glad we went. It is the closest thing we have to temple square here in Las Vegas/Henderson.

Lyndsee looking at the lights

Waiting in line for Santa. Will decides to take a lick of the candy cane.

Taylor and Will were relieved to have a chance to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. Reagan was a little hesitant in approaching Santa but did sit on his lap. Lyndsee was just done for the night.
Nothing more beautiful than a sleeping baby (especially when you are making last minute Christmas preparations)!
Christmas Eve Dinner - Taylor wanted the turkey leg.

The little kids table.

Lynn and Nikki's family joined us for Christmas Eve dinner.

The kids always get to open a present on Christmas Eve giving them new pjs to wear to bed that night.

Mommy's favorite present this Christmas was Lyndsee's new smiles for me.
Trying to get a smile for the camera

Hooray! I caught one (even if it was off-centered)!
Santa brought Reagan a bike
Between Grandparents, Aunt Marcy and Santa, we have a closet full of new games!
Pretty "La la" (Cinderella)

Christmas day was spent playing new Wii games.

Taylor on her new sewing machine
Eric and I also had our first date night since the baby was born. We got to go to Olives Restaurant at the Belligio overlooking the water fountains there for Eric's work Christmas party. The food was incredible and it was nice to get out for an evening even if it was just for only a couple of hours. Thanks to his company for providing that lovely time!
I missed some old traditions of the past like singing in Handel's Messiah, lights at Temple Square, and Christmas Eve dinner with extended family, but I enjoyed finding new activites and traditions with friends. We didn't travel this year for Christmas but many of our family will be coming next week for Lyndsee's blessing.

Missing Brain Cells

It must be true! Pregnancy kills brain cells. After being pregnant 4 times, my brain is really missing some power. Case in point: My previous post speaks about "Reagan" and Bailey being 11 days apart when I should have said "Lyndsee". After all, that is what we named our most recent daughter. The really funny part about this is that my SIL Robin pointed it out to me on our family site saying "You did put that Reagan and Bailey were due at the same time. Just thought I would let you know." I questioned her saying that I didn't know what she was getting at and that Reagan and Bailey were due at the same time--right? SO I not only made the initial mistake of calling Lyndsee Reagan but a second mistake when I honestly couldn't see what Robin was trying to point out to me. Finally, I asked Eric what he thought Robin meant and it was at that moment that it all dawned on me and I couldn't stop laughing. I do call Lyndsee Reagan out loud all the time. I don't know if its because this is the first time I've had 2 girls in a row or because I have a cousin named Lindsay and so no one else in my brain can have that name except for her. Either way, I really wish a person could regrow brain cells.

Baby's First Month

Wow! Its been a month now since our baby Lyndsee was born. She's been an angel and a challenge all at once. We are still working on getting on some kind of schedule and she still gets me up at least a couple of times at night. We've been so blessed to be surrounded with lots of help from friends. We've been spoiled with lots of meals brought in as well as calls and visits from friends who really care. Grandparents came into town to see Lyndsee and play with their other grandkids. That was definitley a help as most days I feel like my older kids get neglected. Most of my time has been spent feeding a hungry newborn and taking care of 4 little kids. Eric had that first week off of work and he was great to keep the house under control as well as take care of all of us. I so appreciated his loving care during this first week. The house is out of control and I sometimes wonder if we'll get our Christmas tree up anytime before Christmas but I am starting to adjust and recover and things are definitley on the up and up.

Eric's parents spent a couple of days with us.

Eric and my dad took the kids to a Nellis air show while my mom and I hung out together with the baby. My parents came bearing gifts from family in Utah including these wall hangings that my SIL Nichole made to match the beautiful quilt my sister Dawn had already made. Aren't they so cute!
At the last minute, we decided to make a trip to Salt Lake for Thanksgiving. I was feeling well enough to do so plus we had our neice being baptized that same weekend and I didn't want to miss that. We also decided we wanted a minivan and there are a ton more of those on the market in Utah then there are here. It was nice for Lyndsee to meet her extended family as well.
Aunt Mary with Lyndsee

Cousin Anna with Lyndsee

Cousin Spencer with Lyndsee

Another really good reason we had to make the trip to Salt Lake was to see our new little neice Bailey. She was due the same time as Reagan but they ended up being 11 days apart. You can tell that Lyndsee is the bigger baby. It was so adorable to see these precious little babes together. I'm sure they will be good friends as they get older.

Uncle Mike holding both of his neices. Its hard to believe that he will be a grandpa to a new little baby girl in less than a month from now! Eric's parents will be great-grandparents soon!

Aunt Robin (the new mommy!) holding Lyndsee.

There is nothing more precious than a sleeping baby. Lyndsee is one month old now and in this picture. As challenging as this time is in our lives, I'm trying really hard to enjoy this time. I love snuggling with this little bundle! They grow so fast that I know this time is a rare opportunity.