Gabriel's birthday

OK, I have a TON of blogging to catch up on. So we will start with the most recent and work backward. Blake's best friend, Gabriel, turned 7 on Tuesday. That means my baby will be 7 in 6 short weeks. I can't believe these two boys are that old. It seems like just last week they were crawling around in diapers!! When we lived next door to each other, we would always have birthday breakfast for the kids on their birthdays. Now that the boys are older, we have to do birthday dinner. It is such a fun tradition we started when the boys were turning one. Lucky for us Double Daves lets kids eat free on Tuesday nights. So....off Michelle and I went with our 8 kids in tow!! And yes, we got some strange looks. One guy asked Michelle if we were babysitting. When she told him that they were all ours, he told her "Well good luck with all that."

Blake and the Birthday Boy, so happy to see each other!!

Lexi and Ethan having desert at their OWN table.
Kyle and Chase

Michelle and Gracie (she did NOT want to stop eating cake and take a picture)

The Gang

Kyle (13) holding Cami (7 mo)

Ethan (4) Lexi (5) Gabe (7) Blake (6) Gracie (2) Chase (2)

Boys will be boys!!

I must be doing something wrong because EVERY time I upload pics, they get all out of order...UGH!!! So, we will start with little sister. Cami is now 5 months old. Hard to believe isn't it? She can roll over back to belly in the blink of an eye (belly to back takes more effort, but she can do it.) She is still a mommy's girl and does not like it if mommy leaves for any length of time. She loves her brothers and thingks they are funny, especially when they are talking to her. Her latest trick is blowing bubbles, she really cracks herself up. It is so funny to watch.

Looking more like Daddy each and every day!!

Today we (the kids and I) went to Hawaiian Falls. This has become a weekly adventure of ours and is usually an uneventful one...this was NOT the case today however. For those who have been to Hawaiian Falls...Ethan was sliding down the little red slides in Keike Cove. He slipped and fell, hitting his chin. I thought he slipped while trying to get off though he later confessed that he was trying to climb up the slide. Mr. Greg saw him and asked if it hurt. Well, you know Ethan dosen't want anyone looking at him, so he froze and then ran over to me. I thought he had just bumped it but when I looked closer I saw blood, not a lot it just looked like he had scraped it. He showed Mr. Greg his injury and he thought I should take him to the First Aid center, so I looked at it again. OMG!! It was splitting open right before my eyes, I have never seen blood that dark before. So, off we went to the first aid station. Apparently this was the worst injury they have seen all week because little E drew quite a crowd. They got him all cleaned up and got the bleeding slowed down. The EMT that was there had me sign some paper work and as I was doing so I started to feel a little faint. (Anyone see where this is going??) I sat down for a minute and then decided to go splash some cold water on my face. As soon as I got in the bathroom everything went black and down I went. I never lost consciousness, just blacked out. I could hear people scrambling and I could hear Ethan just jabbering away about the big pineapple on the wall and how much he loved pineapple and strawberries and bananas and..... The same EMT that had just patched E up came and carried me back to the first aid station. They were asking Ethan what my name was and if anyone else was there with us. All they got was that my name was mommy and that we had some pineapple and strawberries and blueberries in our big big cooler and that Blakey was too little to ride the blue and green slides but he goes on them anyway because he is not scared because he is 6 and I am 4 and Chasey is 2 and Cami is not even one.... So glad my little man kept them entertained while I was "away." I finally got my land legs back and we finished the day with little excitement. We got home and our neighbor changed the bandage for us. E was such a trooper, he never cried....even with everyone looking at him. In fact, he almost seemed to enjoy all of the attention.

Daddy got him all taped up for bedtime.

Rewind 48 hours: Ethan loves to play in my curtains. He was playing peek-a-boo with Cami even though I had just asked him to leave the curtains alone. So, what happens? That's right, down come the curtains, rod and all, missing Cami by inches. I don't know how he did it, but he managed to break all three of the metal braces that were screwed into the wall. Luckily, we just happened to have a spare!! (I bought one for the dining room at the same time, but haven't gotton any curtains yet)

Little E has had quite a week....and it ain't over yet!!

Spring Is Here (and almost gone!!)

OK, soI am really behind with blogging. I have been a little busy. I can't believe that it has been 6 weeks since the last post, actually....yes I can. This post is full of pictures!! And, as always, blogger has put them in reverse order for your viewing pleasure.

Camryn's parent dedication was on Mother's Day weekend (just like each of her brothers.) I had hoped to do our baby girl's on Father's Day but they won't offer it on Father's Day until next year:( For those of you not familiar with Lake Pointe, parent dedication is a time when we, as parents, dedicate ourselves to the Christian upbringing of our children in the hopes that one day they will come to accept the Lord as their personal Savior. Lake Pointe has added a Parent Dedication Service that is much different from what we did with the boys. With the boys, we went before the congregation at one of the weekend services, had our names announced and a verse read for the baby and that was it. This time, we participated in the new Friday night service as well as the one on Sunday morning. The idea is to make it more intimate and really give the families time to pray together over their child. Instead of only the parents and baby walking across the stage (like usual) the whole family goes on stage....yes, the WHOLE family. Most families only had one kid, some had 2, and a few even had 3.....but only ONE family had 4!! Luckily we made it on and off without incident. Whew!! Family shot after Friday night's service: Nana (my mom), Barbara (Tony's aunt), Grandpa (Tony's dad), me holding Cami, Grandma (Tony's mom) holding Chase, Blake, Tony, and Ethan.

The picture is a little dark, but it is the only one we have! You can see that Chase is trying to get down so he can run and play. Good thing Daddy's has a good hold on him.

Nana and Cami all ready to go.

They recently opened a new park right across the street from our house. The boys LOVE it. There is a "Trail to Nowhere" that they boys like to tak. We are assuming that it will eventually be finished, but right now you go about half a mile and then get dumped out onto a street. Nice. And yes, we learned this the hard way....at dusk with 4 tired kids.

Chase playing in the creek trying to keep up with his brothers. You can'treally tell from this picture, but he is soaking wet because he followed Blake and Ethan. Problem is..his balance is not that great. Little man stepped into ankle deep water, lost his balance and fell on his tush.

Blake exploring. You can see Tony on the bridge with sis.

All the boys playing in the creek. Chasey is trying to decide if he should go after them or not.

Our climber.

Blake was so excited to have somewhere to climb. This kid is a monkey.

Sweet baby girl loves to sleep on her Daddy.

Chasey loves olives! I know he could (and would) eat an entire can if I would let him.

As soon as I pull out the can, he sticks those "pingers" up in the air!

If I haven't noted this already, Chase can't say "f" instead, he says "p." So he doesent have a face and fingers and feet, he has a pace and pingers and peet. His favorite phrases are "Not punny!!" and "No pair!!" We die laughing at him which only makes him angry, to which he screams "NOT PUNNY!!!"'

Anyway.....this is Peyton. Blake has a pen pal, Ethan, who lives in London. Ethan and his family relocated temporarily while his dad is working over there. So, Ethan's mom had this great idea for the boys to exhange animals and then they could write bout the adventures they have had. Blake sent Compass (yes, he has had that name for years) to London and Ethan sent Peyton to Blake.

Peyton swinging at the park.

Q & A continued....

I can't believe I left this on out...

"Have you gotton out with all 4 of them yet?" Um, that would be a big YES. Cami was born on Wednesday, we left the hospital on Friday, and by Monday I had her and one of the boys (I think Chase) with me and we went to the pediatrician for weight check. That trip alone is almost an hour each way. The boys had school the next day, so she was 6 days old when we hit the road. I have only taken all of them to Walmart once...won't do that agian. I have taken all of them to Chick Fil A, Mc Donalds, church, but nothing major. Cami would be fine, and if I have the double stroller Chase can be contained, but the other two think that they can wander and roam. We did travel to Ft Worth (three days in a row) when my Uncle Jack died in March, but I had Tony with me. Since Blake is homeschooling, we go have lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays while the little boys are at school. So, Miss Cami has been to tons of stores and restaurants. Right after Ethan was born, I had to go to Mesquite to pick up something for Tony. E was 3 weeks old and by the time I got both the kids loaded up and got to Mesquite, picked up the part, and got them back in the car it was lunch time. I remember sitting in Chick Fil A nursing a 3 week old baby, trying to keep a 2 year old from escaping the booth, trying to eat and thinking that I was WAY in over my head. Now if I only have 2 kids with me, I feel like I can do anything and go anywhere!!

Q & A

I get SO many questions from you people so I have decided to do a Q & A post.

"Are you guys done?" Wowsers I wish I had a dollar for every time we have been asked this one!! Yes, we are. Daddy sealed the deal a few weeks ago. Cami will stay the baby forever!

"How is it with 4 kids?" CRAZY! That is the long and short of it.

"Does she let you guys sleep?" Yes, she has been sleeping "through the night" (which is defined by 7 hours) since she was 4 weeks old. She usually sleeps for 9-10 hours at night. If she does get up, she just eats and goes back to sleep.

"Does she spit up like the boys?" NO!! She does spit up, but it is NOTHING like the brothers.

"Are you still in shock?" YES!!

"Who does she look like?" Herself. She dosen't really look like any of the boys, however we have found a picture of Blake and another one of Ethan and one of Chase and you can see some resemblence, but they don't really look alike. Does that make any sense?

"Is she a Daddy's girl?" Not really. She tolerates him, but she is a big mommy's girl.

24

This is the only picture I have from this year's race. Tony has some on his camera, but I don't have them on my computer. One of the sweet ladies that I work with at the church took this picture for Ethan (she and E are DIE HARD Gordon fans!!) He finished second in November and was able to get his first win in Texas last weekend. Anyone want to guess how long it takes for Blake to become a Gordon fan again??

Worth the Wait

So...you want to know what we have been up to? Hmmm, where do I begin....

Tony took all the boys to the race track last weekend. His original plan was to take the big boys and leave Chase and Cami with me. However, he did not make his plans known, so by Tuesday afternoon Blake and Ethan had little Chasey all fired up about going to the track. Luckily for Tony, Chad agreed to go with him so they could watch the boys and the race. Mom came up Friday night and we started getting ready for a garage sale while Tony packed for the track. Saturday was a long, long, LONG day. I started getting sick on Friday, so by Saturday I felt horrible. Blake had an 8:00 t-ball game, so Tony took him and Mom and I stayed at home with the 3 little kids and ran the garage sale. When they got back, we loaded up everything to go to the track and then headed to Ethan's soccer game. By the time I got home with Cami, Mom was finished with the sale and we headed into Dallas to do a little shopping. Needless to say we were exhausted from the day's events.....and then the phone rings...at midnight.

Tony: Hey honey, Chase is whining a lot. He was asleep but he woke up and wants me to hold him.

Me: OK....so hold him

Tony: He is really whiny.

Me: Goodnight.

Ten minutes later...phone rings again.

Tony: Now he has a fever....what should I do....I am afraid that if I give him Motrin, he will just run a fever higher and longer tomorrow.

Angela: Well, you are probably right.

Tony: I don't have any Motrin here with me.

Angela: Well, I think you are closer to Walmart than you are to the house. Go ahead and give him some Motrin and see if he will at least make it until you come home.

An hour later.....phone rings again. (Yes, it is now after 1:00 AM)

Tony: Gave him the Motrin...he puked all over me. He is crying for his mommy and says he wants to go home.

Angela: Where do you want me to meet you (keep in mind we are a good hour and a half from the track)

Tony: I will just bring him home so we don't have to move car seats on the side of the road.

So Tony gets him home around 2:30 and he has a fever of 101.5. Against our better judgement, we gave him more Motrin. He finally went to sleep, but when he woke up his fever was 103.5. He felt so bad. I was glad Tony had decided to bring him home, especially when his fever spiked to 105.9. Thankfully Nana was still here and could help out when both kiddos needed attention. Monday morning he woke up fever free and wanted to go back to the track with his Daddy. Uncle Chad brought the boys home that afternoon while Tony took the motor home and traier back. Then it was time for t-ball and soccer practice...and school the next day. Oh and lets not forget all of the dirty laundry that they brought back with them.

Feling better!! Chasey was back to his same silly self by Tuesday. He is wearing Blake's batting helmet, a t-ball and a screwdriver and sucking on a ring pop.

Here is the one and only picture I got of the kids yesterday. Sunday mornings are CRAZY. Man, I am so glad we go on Saturday nights. I have had my Sunday morning fix for the next year (I really do prefer to go on Sunday morning, but it is just too crazy with all the kids.) The chair Blake is sitting in spins, so about 2 seconds after this pic was taken, Chase and Ethan were both on the ground and I was diving for sister!!

Love that smile!! Such a happy little girl.

This shirt has a story behind it....one of my college roomies finally had a baby after years of infertility and I got this little onesie for her daughter, Caroline. So, when we had Camryn, Caroline had her mommy send it to Cami so she could wear it. You girls were definitely "worth the wait."

Love the baby legs!! Thanks Joella!!

Monkey Girl

Cami has so many friends that have let her borrow clothes and this outfit is one of my absolute FAVORITES. (Thanks Abby!) Cami's Grani made her a sock monkey when she was born and I just had to snap a few pics of her in her sock monkey outfit with her sock monkey!!

Spring Break

Tony took the day off on Wednesday and we headed to the Tyler Zoo. The boys had a blast and I wish I had gotton more pictures of them, but I was too busy trying to keep up with everyone!!

Group shot at the end of the day..Ethan did not want his picture taken.

Ethan, Chase, Cami, Gabriel and Blake.

Flamingos!!

Chasey picking some fish food.

Cami slept most of the trip (shocker) but did wake up for a bit.

Thank goodness Nana met us there to help keep up with everyone. We mistakingly thought that since Tyler's spring break was last week their zoo would not be as crowded...HA! There were people everywhere. The weather was PERFECT. All in all it was a fun day.

March pictures...........

Again, not sure why these are so scrambled...but oh well.

Cami (8 weeks) laughing at Ethan.
Ethan and Cami, having a chat. Ethan is so attentive to his little sister. He gets so excited when she acknowledges him.

Ok Aunt Amy...here is a pic of Chase's cauliflower ear. Do you see it? It is the same size as the other one, it just looks different.


Chasey playing basketball while mom cleaned out the attic....got rid of all those baby boy clothes!!
Sweet Cami girl with her purple face.

Cami did not do well on the thickened feeds that they had us start after her first swallow study in February. I pumped for 2 weeks (what a BEATING) and then got thrush, which turned into mastitis. So, I started nursing again. When I went to the doctor, they put Gentian Violet on me to clear up the thrush (it didn't work) and when Cami ate she got a little on her face!! We finally got the mastitis and thrush under control. Then went back for her repeat swallow study, she is still aspirating...not quite as bad as before but bad enough to still need thicker feeds. As of today, she is still nursing. We are sort of taking it one day at a time. She had 2 ounces of formula at two consecutive feedings after the first study and it upset her tummy really bad, so at this point we feel like formula would do more harm than good. She is much happier when she gets to nurse, she spits up less, and sleeps better. Pumping is really not a feasible option since I have 4 kids to keep up with so for now, she will continue nursing. She goes to the pedi tomorrow for her 2 month checkup, so I am sure I will get yelled at.

February update...

Wow, I can't believe that I have gotton so behind...actually I can. The past 8 weeks have been non stop. Cami is such a good baby, we have just had a lot going on!! I thought I'd clean out the camera to jog my memory, of course Blogger has scrambled them so I hope it isn't too out of sequence.

Tutu (my grandmother) meeting Cami (6 weeks) for the first time.

Cami (4 weeks) has her eyes open!! Blake insisted I take a picture since she sleeps so much.

Grani came and spent a week with us and Chase LOVED it! He is such a Grani's boy (just like his mommy.) Tony and I went out to dinner with some friends and Gran stayed with the boys. When we came home, these two were curled up in the rocker. Chasey took full advantage of having an extra lap for the week!!

Ruthless Toothless!!

Seriously do not know how the kid can eat anything!!