Wow, life has been a little crazy, but good. Here’s a few funny things the kids have said:

Random from Keaton and Berkley

Keaton: “Mom, when grandma was your son did you like qubo?” (Aug. 2010)

Berkley (while eating a banana): “Mom, I hate bananas, but I still like them.” (Aug 2010)

Keaton (while holding up a snail with a big crack in it’s shell…it was obviously dying): “Mom, I found he’s heart. I found the poop, too.” (Aug 2010)

Keaton: “Mom, I just killed a snail but it’s still alive, and I can see it’s poop. Come see it.” (Aug 2010)

A conversation with Jaxon:

Jaxon: “Mom, I’m getting really big….do you know how I know?”

Me: “How do you know?”

Jaxon: “Because, when I go pee the bubbles are really big.” (sep 2010)

As we were driving down the road the other day, the kids saw a log cabin:

Parker: “Wow, that house is made out of lincoln logs. If a car ran into it, it would just fall down.” (Sep 2010)

Between Keaton and Scott

Keaton: “Dad let’s pick a number between 1 and 20.”

Scott: “Okay, I’ll pick the number. You guess.”

Keaton: “40.” (Aug 2010)

Between Jaxon and Scott

Jaxon (wearing his white shirt and tie from church): “I’m going to wear my church clothes all day today, dad.”

Scott (thinking Jaxon was going to say a reason that is spiritual): “How come?”

Jaxon: “Because, I want to be a secret agent.” (sep 2010)

And now here are a few pictures from our summer:

For boys who claim to hate everything that is girlie, they sure love this barbie car.

Below are photos of how we spent most of our summer

And below we have Keaton who LOVES his baby sister, but before she was born, he kept saying he didn’t want a sister, and he was upset that we were having a girl. He wanted another boy, but to his surprise he has learned to love Swasey.

Parker/Keaton news:

*Parker had another eye appointment a while back and once again his eyes are all clear, and he’s doing great. So we are continuing with his meds and hoping it all keeps going good.

*Keaton went to see the OT/PT—whom when we went to these appointments both therapists said to me, “So why are you here?” Apparently he is doing so good that they don’t even know what to do with him when he comes in. However his leg continues to give him trouble. The more he grows, the stiffer his ankle is getting. So, we go back in this month to the physiotherapist to talk about a rhizotomy again and also the possibility of surgically lengthening his achilles tendon.

Also, Keaton broke yet another pair of glasses today. I guess we’ll be getting more glasses for him.

Other news:

Jaxon lost both his front teeth and Parker lost one of his front teeth. I will post pix later. The kids started school. Swasey had her 2 week appointment and cried and screamed. The doctor and the nurse both commented on her feisty temper. I’m tired and life is a blur right now.

My 3 oldest boys decided to wear white t-shirts one day. I can tell my kids apart, but Parker came walking by me with his white t-shirt on, and I just saw him out of the corner of my eye. I thought it was Jaxon, so I started talking to him like he was Jaxon. Keaton came running up and laughing and said, “That’s not Jaxon!” I looked up and there was Parker standing in front of me. Now Keaton is catching up to Parker in height, so it was funny when they all wore these white t-shirts. I felt like I had triplets.

I found these pictures yesterday when I downloaded the pictures of Keaton climbing the bunk beds.

Berkley loves food!!

1st pic: Berkley had eaten pancakes with apricot syrup. He really enjoyed them. I’m not sure how he got the syrup to spread so evenly over his nose.

Jaxon’s many inventions….

A rocket ship and I’m not sure what the 2nd one is….All I know is, you are supposed to look through the little ring thing he taped on it.

A castle and Jaxon made his very own compass

Here Jaxon has something made out of paperclips, and the last one is him showing off his lost teeth.

(Below)Halloween Pix:

Ninja Turtle, Ghost

Power Ranger and Bumblebee

4 cute little boys celebrating Jaxon’s bday….

And here is Jaxon with his globe he got for Christmas (pre broken collar bone). And, yes he really asked for a globe for christmas. Anyways, I was going to put a post on here about how he broke his collar bone. I don’t think we have pictures of him when he broke it, so I put this pic up. We went up the canyon with Scott’s family which we do this pretty much every year and we go sledding. Well, just to back up a little, we had also gone sledding in Beaver and I think I about had a heart attack. Kids were flying all over the place and by the time it was over, I was SO ornery, because I was so uptight that someone was going to get hurt. So as you can imagine I wasn’t too excited to take the kids sledding again, but we went and the kids usually have fun up there. The hills at this place are smaller than the ones in Beaver, so I thought it wouldn’t be so bad. I purposely tried not to watch what was going and let Scott take charge of the kids and help them sled. I knew if I watched them all I would be doing was hyperventilating and being extremely stressed out. Well, lo and behold not long after they were sledding I hear some of Scott’s cousins and family saying someone is hurt. We were sitting in a cabin where you could see outside the window where they were sledding and I looked out the window to see Jaxon lying on the ground and people huddling around him. This is so bad, but I didn’t even get up to go check on him. When I saw him laying on the ground and he wouldn’t get up, I totally knew something was wrong. When he gets hurt he usually gets right back up. For him to lay on the ground and not move was a very bad sign, and plus I didn’t think I could handle going out there and seeing him in pain. Well, I finally worked up the courage to go see what was wrong and he was grabbing his left shoulder area by his collar bone, and I thought for sure he broke it. Well, they gently loaded him on a tube and we took him to the van. When they were putting him in the van he started screaming and yelling and crying really loud. I felt bad for him. Every bump we went over was painful for him and we had to take him clear down the mountain and find an ER. When we were about 2 blocks from the hospital, Jaxon told us his arm was feeling better. He broke his arm just about 6 months earlier and really hated getting the x rays, because of how much it hurt. So, yeah he tells us, he’s okay, but I told him he really didn’t have a choice and he had to go see the doctor. His voice got all shakey and he said, “I don’t want to get x-rays.” Well, somehow he made it through the x-rays, and yes his collar bone was broken. He snapped it in two. The doc said they really don’t do much with collar bones, just put a sling on and let it heal. Most of the time it will go back to how it’s supposed to be without even setting it or anything. He’s doing much better now, but had some really rough days. I think the pain is finally starting to go away, so that is good. And, I’m just crossing my fingers and hoping my kids don’t have anymore accidents for a long time!

These 2 extremely cute little boys celebrated their birthdays this past week. Jaxon is 7 and Berkley is 2. After Jaxon’s birthday party, he came and told me, “Mom, now that I am 7, I can carry Berkley around.”

So, tonight I was sitting here wondering where the time goes. It seems like Jaxon was just born, and I loved becoming a mom. Nothing else even compared to it. From the moment Jaxon was born he was on the move. He crawled at 5 months old, and was walking by 7 months. At 10 months he spent a week in the PICU because he woke up one morning and couldn’t walk anymore, and not only could he not walk, but he couldn’t even hold himself up next to furniture. The doctors all suspected it was a virus called Guillan Barre virus, but the tests they ran on him weren’t conclusive enough to know for sure if that was really what he had. So, he was pretty much paralyzed for a week, and it was a horrible thing to watch. They put an IV in his head. He had 2 different spinal taps done, CT scans, MRI’s, and a bunch of other stuff. I can’t even remember all the stuff they did to him. They were about to start him on some gamma globulin (I think that’s what it was) treatments, but before they ended up starting that, he began to get the strength back in his legs and little by little he began to walk again. That was one of the most horrible weeks of my life. Jaxon became a big brother when he was only 14 months old (ha ha ha….I put 14 months old, but he was really 16 months old. I think I am going crazy), and ever since then he has had a huge responsibility. And the responsibility increased even more when we found out all the stuff that was wrong with Keaton and Parker. I remember sitting in my room on the floor crying and crying one day. I couldn’t stop crying, because I was so upset about Parker and Keaton’s health problems. It was so difficult to swallow all of that.  I was trying to accept the challenges that had been placed before our family, but that night, it all became too much for me and I just cried and cried. I didn’t know what to do, but after I had been crying for a while, little Jaxon came in my room. I think he was only 3 years old at the time, but he came over to me and put his arm around me and said, “it be okay mommy.” And he was right. Even though things weren’t turning out how I had imagined them, everything really was going to be okay. But, I remember being amazed at the huge responsibility he had. Not only was he trying to help his brothers out, but he had to take care of his extremely unstable mom.  He’s such a good boy. He can be crazy and wild like most little boys, but he really is just an amazing little boy. He can draw these amazing pictures. I think he’s going to be a little artist. He’s been such a good example for his younger brothers. I’m so glad we have him and that he’s the oldest. He helps me out a lot.

Then, we have Berkley. I got pregnant with Berkley right after we found out Parker had arthritis, and Keaton had cerebral palsy. I was sooooooooooo stressed out about everything with him. The tiniest little thing that didn’t seem right, I would pretty much panic. Mostly with Berkley I just remember being scared about everything. I think before he came down here to be with our family he was plotting against me in heaven. I think he thought it would be fun to scare me a little. Right after he was born he got an infection in his umbilical cord stump. It wasn’t bad, but I of course panicked. Wow, did I get stressed out about every little thing. Then, when he was 2 months old, he got sick with bronchiolitis, but I was so sure he had RSV. I kept taking him back into the doctor. I think I didn’t sleep at all for 2 whole days. I was so scared he was going to stop breathing in the night and I wouldn’t know, so I sat up with him and did what I could to help him. Then, when he was 4 months old I couldn’t get him to push on his legs or use his legs at all. After seeing what happened with Keaton, I totally convinced myself that he had cerebral palsy and couldn’t use his legs. He never did stand on his legs until he was 7 months old, and I can’t tell you how much I worried and panicked about that. I would take Berkley with me to Keaton’s PT appointments and have the PT look at him and see what she thought. And, the PT did think it was weird that he wouldn’t use his legs. I think he was just super laid back and was happy to lay on the floor. But, I would lay awake at night so convinced that there was something wrong with him, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep at all. And, on top of all of that, when we went in for his well child check-ups, his head began to start measuring unusually large. It just kept getting bigger and bigger and the doctor seemed pretty concerned, so I asked him to please tell me what it meant and why it was such a big concern. He mentioned things like hydrocephaly (I think that’s what it’s called) and that it might be a tumor, so they would need to do a CT scan to see if there was something wrong. So of course, once again I completely lost it and panicked. We got the CT scan done, and the results came back normal. I remember I didn’t even know how to react when the doctor called to tell me everything looked good. I thought for sure they were going to say something was wrong, and I kept waiting for them to call me back to tell me they got Berkley’s scan mixed up with someone else’s and there actually was something wrong. With each of my kids I have gotten pretty stressed out when they got sick or they got hurt, but Berkley was a whole new level. I’m surprised I didn’t have a heart attack. I took him into the doctor for EVERYTHING. After he turned 1, I think I finally started to calm down a little bit. But wow, that was all so stressful. Mostly that’s what I remember about him as a baby…..pretty sad, I know. There was one good thing about him as a baby though, and that was how cuddly he was (and still is). Sometimes he just wants me to hold him and he’ll sit and cuddle with me on the couch. He’s such a cutie. He’s already talking in sentences, and not just short 1 or 2 word sentences, but long sentences. Today he was playing with his brothers and cousins downstairs and for some reason they all decided to go upstairs, and Berkley stood up and said, “Hey guys, wait for me!” He also will come say to me, “I want to watch (a) TV show.” Anyways, even though I was extremely tense when Berkley was born, he was really good for me. It’s kind of ironic, but when I would get so upset and scared about everything, the only thing that could calm me down was to go pick up Berkley and just hold him in my arms. Here I was so stressed over this little baby, but at the same time holding him in my arms was exactly what I needed to keep me somewhat sane. I’m so glad we have him. I really can’t imagine our family without him.

For some reason the kids decided they wanted eggs for dinner the other day.

Me: “Which kind of eggs do you want?”

Jaxon: “I want the kind that’s cooked in water.”

Parker: “I want scribbled eggs.”

Pictures by: Parker–Top left: A komodo dragon….I think Parker is fascinated with komodo dragons. He loves drawing pictures of them. Top Right: A picture Parker came home with from church. I really like this picture of him and Jesus. Bottom: A pirate picture….He’s really starting to draw good. For a long time he wouldn’t draw anything. I think after we gave Jaxon so much praise for his pictures, Parker really felt like he couldn’t draw as good, so he would always insist that either Jaxon or I draw pictures for him. But, I thought his pirate picture was really good and cute.

By: Keaton–A horse. He’s finally starting to draw actual images. I’m not sure what’s below the horse, but at the top is his first picture of a horse.

Jaxon’s “invention”. Jaxon always tells me he’s going to invent something, then he disappears into a room for hours. The above picture is a bird house he invented. He even hung it in the tree and then put grapes in the bird house to try and get birds to come to it.

Here’s a Zebra Jaxon thought up all by himself. Another invention.

I’m not sure if there is a name for the bent up paperclip with the little shell on it, but Jaxon was quite proud of this invention. The picture next to it was my mother’s day gift.

Here are some more pictures drawn by Jaxon. In the first picture he was trying to write, “The hooj (huge) elephant.” He didn’t know how to spell elephant, so he only made it to the “e.” The second picture is a picture he drew for me, so I could use it in the preschool I have been doing. I am doing a preschool with some other moms and we each take turns teaching. Jaxon drew some Kangaroos, and wrote the letter “K”. But, he also wanted the preschool kids to know that the letter C makes the same sound as K.

Here are some more komodo dragons dragon by Parker.

Jaxon was reading his scriptures

Jaxon: “Dad, what does h-e-l-l spell?”

Dad: “That says hell, Jaxon.

Jaxon: “Oh like the little rocks what fall from the sky.”

Dad: “No that is hail.”

I LOVE this picture. This was Jaxon’s first day of school and he insisted on doing his own hair. I tried and tried to get him to let Scott comb it, but finally gave in and told him to comb away. Well, while he was combing his hair I went in to help Keaton get dressed. I heard him come into the room and he started playing with Berkley. I had my back turned to him and then I heard him say to Berkley, “Ah! Don’t mess up my hair Berkley.” So I turned around to see how his hair looked, and it looked a lot like the above picture, only the back part was spiked even higher. It fell down a little before Scott got his picture. I looked at his hair, and he stood there with the biggest grin on his face, like he was SO proud of himself. I had to choke back my laughs and tell him how good his hair looked. It was so funny, but cute. Jaxon has always been determined to do things by himself and this day was no different. This picture just describes Jaxon perfectly. He is so determined to do things on his own, and for the most part that has been a good thing.  And, as for the other post about Jaxon and how he’s been frustrated, he is actually doing much better now. He’s not so frustrated anymore. I think he just really needed some attention and so far he’s doing great. Oh and since school has started he has received two different rewards for having really good handwriting. Way to go Jaxon!

Here is Mr. Squinty Eyes. Parker’s eyes are extremely sensitive to the sun….partly because of genetics, but also partly because of his medicine. He had the hardest time trying to keep his eyes open for the picture. The poor kid still had his cast on when school started (which is now off…he got it off today, and I am super stressed he’s going to break it again, but that’s another story). I totally expected Parker to cry on his first day of school. He’s such a sweet kid, and he’s also super shy, too. I was so proud of him when I took him that first day and he was completely happy and excited to be there. There was a nice surprise when we got there. The school had ordered donuts and juice for the kids and the parents, so he got to eat before going in (I was too nervous to eat anything. ha ha.). Anyways, I kept taking pictures of him while he was waiting to be taken into his classroom, and after a while he said to me, “Please, stop taking pictures of me.” So anyways, he went right in with his teacher….I ended up being the one that cried….well not a big cry, but I may have shed a tear or two. I had been excited all summer for school to start because I thought I would be excited to have 2 kids in school, but when the day came, it was actually really hard to watch the kids go. But, so far they are both doing really good, so that’s good.

This is my super frustrated little Jaxon. I can’t figure him out lately. I don’t know what to do with him. He’s been teasing the other kids a lot and he’s been talking back to me, and just fighting me on pretty much everything. I can’t figure out if I am doing something wrong as his mom….maybe he needs more attention, I don’t know. Whenever I am frustrated with one of the kids, it always helps to sit and think of their good qualities. I know underneath all that frustration is a fun, happy little boy. And, usually he is a pretty good natured little kid. I guess I just need to help him the happy side of him again, and maybe I can try and figure out what I’m doing wrong. I think he might feel left out. We’ve been going to a lot of appointments for Parker and Keaton these last few weeks, and I think it’s pretty hard on him. He’s only 6 and he already has a lot of responsibility. He really watches out for Parker and Keaton and when they aren’t doing good he worries about them. But, I think sometimes it’s all such a huge burden on such little shoulders that it becomes too hard for him to handle, and he starts acting out. As for me, I am still learning how to be a mom. I wish I had all the answers, but I guess we are all in a learning process and learning doesn’t come all at once….just little bits at a time. I guess I need to try and balance my time between the kids better. So, I will work on that and hopefully it will help Jaxon a little. I also feel like I am constantly telling him, “No!” So if I could focus on the good things he does and compliment him for those that would be good, too. For the most part he really is a good boy. We’ve just hit a small bump in the road. I love all of his “inventions.” I really need to take pictures of the things he’s invented and put them up on the blog. But, honestly he really is a good kid….a really good kid.