The End Of The Beginning

I'm glad this month is over.It's been a pretty crappy start to a new year. Maybe February can be our real start of a new year? There are so many things that need to be done in our household right now. Like what you ask? Well....

-We've been working on potty training and I hope that we can be less busy and distracted and focus on that more. Savannah is doing pretty good so far.
-Cooper is still not consistently sleeping in his bed. This is a real struggle for us. He'll sleep in there for a few hours at night, while we're still awake it seems, and then he wakes between 1 and 2 a.m. Well, at that time of the morning neither of us really want to deal with his crying or trying to get him to go back to sleep, so he ends up in our bed. He loves our bed and sleeps great in it. But, this has got to stop.
-We have eaten like crap lately. Crap. So much eating out and on the run. Horrible for the waistline and not healthy whatsoever. So, we'll be eating at home more.
-We have had no kind of workout regime for awhile now and we are both suffering from this. I am never motivated and wonder when exactly I have time to work out. But, considering the fact that my favorite jeans don't really fit me too well right now, I need to get back in shape. Right now I think my plan is that I'm going to have to go to bed earlier and get up at 6:30 before the kids. That doesn't sound fun at all to me, but I'm hoping that the exercise will give me more energy and motivation. And get me back into those favorite jeans.
-There is one thing we are totally excited about come Tuesday. LOST!!! Tuesdays will be our special day where we have yummy food and dessert and were the kids will be in bed, whether asleep or not, when it comes on.
-I thrive on lists. And I can't live without my planner. I mean, I can remember most things going on, but I like to plan. I can't go to the grocery store and just buy stuff. I have to make a list and know what meals I'm planning on what day and how much I need. So, back to the "planning" we will go. It's so much easier for me, and I think Carter too, to plan what we need to do each day and check it off as we go. Otherwise, we'd just sit down and watch movies every night and get nothing accomplished. And sometimes that is what happens. But considering we didn't get everything done on our last list at Christmas time, it's time to get back to the grind. I just hate feeling so behind all the time.

So, wish us luck. Change is always hard, but I feel like we really need it.

11:39 PM

ya know, just when i thought i could sit down and write something, cooper starts crying in his bed. he's gonna have to cry. yesterday we took him to his 9 month appointment, a little after the fact, but we've been busy. he's doing great and forgive me, but i can't remember all his stats. i know he weighs 17 lbs. 11 oz. which is down to about the 10% now which is likely because he is moving all the time, and he is in the 75% for height. the doctor said he looked great and was doing all the things he should be and then he said, after seeing him walk, "well, maybe he's a little ahead in a few things." haha. all things physical for this one. he's been climbing the stairs all week. to the top. no worries, we're right behind him. he's also taken many more steps and is balancing himself a lot better. his hair is growing like a weed and needs to be cut....again. he doesn't like it when savannah takes things away from him and will scream when she does. he's still a big cuddle bug and wants to sleep with us. hence the "he's crying in his bed". is he really almost 10 months old?


on another note, savannah said the cutest thing today. she was playing with my "edward" bookmark and my mom asked her who that was and she said "edward". then she says, "he loves bella." awwwww. heart.


on another not so happy note, my sister lesli was admitted to the hospital today with extreme pain. turns out she had to have surgery to take her gallbladder out today. come on! seriously? i think she needs a break. like, a huge break. everything went well, but still, give that girl a break!


come on cooper, give up and go back to sleep.

She Will Be Missed

Friday was Aislinn's service up near Park City. She had a beautiful casket and was dressed so cute. What a beautiful baby. It was a small graveside service and the little girls put a little something in her casket for her and some put flowers on her casket. After, we went back to Lesli and Casey's new home, which we hadn't been to yet. It's the kind of home I'd love to have some day. We all visited and the church brought in some delicious food. The little girls wore these cute matching outfits, the sisters wore hot pink sweaters and the guys wore nice brown shirts to honor Aislinn. It really started to snow while we were there and thank goodness we drove with Taylor in his SUV cause our car wouldn't have done well. We decided to stay with Taylor another night because we weren't sure how the roads would be. We left by 10 am on Saturday and the roads weren't too bad. We came home and cleaned pretty much all Saturday because we were so behind.



Acacia (2), Savannah (3), Cooper (9M), Austin (15), Meredith (6), Catherine (9), Aislinn. All the Grandbabies.

Savannah likes to talk on the phone right now. When our phones ring she runs to get them before us.

Kangaroo Zoo

We went to Kangaroo Zoo last Wednesday with Catherine, Meredith and Caren. We let the girls just go and run run run. Savannah had such a blast, I could tell. She loved having someone to play with and being able to run around everywhere.


This was the first thing they went on and it was really high. Savannah was a little apprehensive at first but when the girls helped her just did really well.

We were there for about 5-6 hours. Endless fun! Savannah was crying on the way home saying she was so hungry, probably because she burned off her lunch, times 10. She ate 2 pieces of pizza that night! We'll definitely be going back there some time.

Somebody is getting better at this walking thing.

I Need My Sleep, So I Will Sleep

This little guy has been so sick for the past few days. Fever, cough, funky poo, lethargic, sleeping none stop. And those are only the symptoms we know about. I hate to think that he has a sore throat or a headache and he can't tell us. I mean, I guess a baby could have a headache? Finally yesterday he seemed to be almost back to his normal self and actually was playful and active. He's still not 100% yet, and I'm sure his cough will linger for awhile because it always does, but at least his fever seems to be gone, after having it for like 4 days. I really love that when I took him to the doctor on Monday that they didn't tell me what he had, but things to watch for if he got RSV. Ok, so he doesn't have RSV, but he's had a fever all weekend and nothing seems to be making it break, so what should I do? Uh...if it's not gone by Thursday then come back. That seems like quite a long time to have a fever. I'm just glad it broke and hope it doesn't come back. It kind of sucks to not know what he's got though. It sure has been fun though to hold him and cuddle with him. He's normally only like that at night or when he wants to go to sleep but he was literally wanting to be held all day, so there has been lots of cuddling. What I don't like is the fact that now I have a scratchy throat and a runny nose, and I never get sick. "She's a tank.", according to Carter.

Too Beautiful For Earth

Aislinn Siobhan Hinshaw ( Ashlynn Shevon is how you say it ) came into this world on the early morning of Saturday, January 9th, 2010, weighing 7 lbs. 1 oz. and 19 inches long. She was taken to Primary Childrens Hospital after birth. She brought our whole family together; to pray, to hope, to support each other. She is absolutely beautiful. We decided that the other babies in the NICU probably had hair envy because she had lots of beautiful brown hair with red undertones. The brown from her Mom, the red from her Dad. I wouldn't be surprised if they were jealous of her perfect button nose either. I mean, seriously, I've never seen a baby nose more perfect. These pictures don't even do it justice. Not even my kids noses were that cute. She had everyone in this family wrapped around her finger from day one, and we all would have done anything for her. She passed on the evening of Wednesday, January 13th, 2010, with all of her family near her. Carter and I felt so honored to have been there and to be able to hold and love her after she passed. There was understandably lots of tears and sadness, but also so much love. I was so glad that I could be there for my sister, with my other sisters, to help in such a sad time. That was very special to me and I want all of my sisters to know that I love them all very much. I feel very blessed to have married into such a wonderful family. I can't express the sadness that I feel for Lesli and Casey. They love their baby girl so much. And we do too. She will be so missed. Forever.

Holding Uncle Carter's finger.

She got her Mommy's long little toes.

"An Angel opened the book of life and wrote down my baby's birth. Then she whispered as she closed the book, "Too beautiful for Earth."- Unknown

What happens when you tickle this guys big beefy thighs?? This. (so excited I figured out how to do this with my NEW camera!!)

9M

This little guy will be 9 months tomorrow. I can't believe that we only have 3 more months until he's one. That seems so surreal. Better start the party planning. We might have to theme it, "All things physical" or something like that. Right now he is trying to walk. He's taken about 4 or 5 steps and is still working on the balance. He walks great with his walk & ride toy. He cruises along the couch pretty good. He tried climbing the stairs awhile back and got to the third one, but we've been trying to block them off because he doesn't understand that there is nothing behind him and he leans back, which will result in falling down the stairs unless we're right next to him. We're also working on getting him in his bed full time. He'll have good and bad nights. We haven't forced it yet and let him scream it out, but I think that's more us just wanting our sleep. Sleep is the main issue. So we're just trying to put him in there for naps more often and hopefully that will help. He is teething right now too. His little bottom gums look white and patchy all over, but nothing has come through just yet. He's working on it though by putting lots of things in his mouth all day. He's not a big fan of socks, or being dressed for that matter. It's getting harder and harder to change his diaper because he wiggles around everywhere. He'll straighten his back while I'm holding his legs trying to wipe him and the next thing you know he's almost in a handstand position, with his butt up in the air. He is so strong. Has been since the womb when he flexed his big muscles for us in the ultrasound. The other night he was just wearing a diaper around and all the sudden I look over and he had taken it off and crawled over to his walk toy and was walking around buck naked. Pretty hilarious. His buns are actually pretty tiny compared to his overpowering thighs. I mean it's like, "oh what a cute little bum, but WAPOOW!!, look at that kids thighs!!" I'm curious to see his stats at his checkup this week. He says Mama and Dada all the time. He takes a lot of crap from his sister who I'm sure in a few years will be taking crap from him. He loves taking baths with Savannah and splashing and what else, chewing on bath toys. He has pretty much destroyed his car seat visor/shade by grabbing and pulling on it all the time. He lets you know when he wants to be held now by crawling over to your leg, standing up and whining. He's eating more baby food now. He absolutely loves sucking on oranges and will not let you take it away from him. His hair is still growing like crazy and he's probably due for another haircut. He's been really good lately when we take him out. He loves to be out of the car seat and ride in a cart and see everything. He is growing and changing everyday and he is just so fun!

The Faces Of New Years Eve

During the day my parents watched Cooper and Carter and I took Savannah to lunch and to see Princess and the Frog. What an ordeal. We wanted to see an early showing and rushed to the theatre only for it to be sold out. Are you kidding me? This movie has been out for weeks! So we had to wait to go at 12:30 which meant we had to run and buy tickets at a different theatre and then run home so Carter could change into his work clothes. We wanted to grab a bite to eat before the movie and we had about 25 minutes so we went to this one place that I've been with my Mom and that Carter wanted to try. It's called JCW's. Probably the worst time of day to go though. It was insanely busy and we waited like 20 minutes for our food (this is a semi-fast food place, not sit down) and then when we got the food it was all messy and we pretty much had to scarf it down because we were already late to the movie at that point. About 15 minutes late in the end. The movie was cute. Daddy dosed off a little bit because he was so tired. haha. After the movie we had to take Carter to work and then we went back to my parents house. Some family friends were on there way up to help move their daughter to Idaho, so we got together for some fast dinner. The kids and I then went home and just hung out, and took these pictures. I love the first one of Savannah. We danced around and listened to music and eventually turned on the "New Years Rockin' Eve" hosted by Ryan Seacreast, and watched some of that until first Cooper feel asleep and then Savannah. I had to pack the kids up in the car at 10:30 and go pick Carter up. We got home around 11:30 and then popped in some "Lost". I made it through one episode, but when Carter wanted to watch a second, I passed out. I woke up at 2 am, on the couch, with Cooper in his car seat on the floor. haha. I wasn't about to wake Cooper and put him in his bed, or our bed, so I just stayed downstairs with him and slept on the couch. What a lame night huh? Whatever, I gave up on New Years Eve years ago when I would make plans and they'd always fall through or it just wasn't fun. Like going to lame church dances. ugh. I'd much rather stay home and watch "Lost" with my husband, while wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. Now, what can I resolve to change this year?

I've Been Having Fun With My New Camera

yeah, I know, he's 8.5 months. and he's climbing stairs. oh boy.

Before Christmas

Until Dec. 17th we were totally consumed with Carters school work and didn't get much of anything done, including anything Christmasee. So the week before Christmas we tried to fit some stuff in. A few days before Christmas we made a gingerbread house. Savannah and Daddy pretty much did all the decorating. Most of it got put on the roof!

Carter is so determined to get this kid to walk that he gave him the toy that helped Savannah learn to walk. It hasn't quite "taught" him to walk on his own yet, but he can push it around and walk with it. I think I can wait for him to walk a little longer. He's already into everything....

On the 17th we had our 2nd annual cookie baking and decorating party with the Cherry's. Steven made this masterpiece above. Too bad my old camera couldn't focus well enough on it to show all the detail. Savannah went to town with the sprinkles and had them everywhere.

We were able to spend some more time with my best friend Melissa and her kids and her sister Julie. They came out to our place and hung out. The girls went up stairs to play and found Savannah's snow globes and had fun playing with babies and giving them baths and stuff.

One day I went to church with my parents because Carter was working.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning we got up when we wanted and opened presents right away. Savannah was really sleepy so everything didn't really kick in for a little bit.

Cooper really had no interest in the presents or opening them. If you gave him something, he just put it in his mouth and was content with that.

The new boot slippers I got.

We got to my parents about 10 AM I think and started opening presents right away. Luckily Savannah was more awake at that point and was ready to open everyone's presents. I really didn't take many pictures throughout the day, sorry.

After opening presents and hanging out with the family we went and saw Alvin and the Chipmunks 2. It was cute, but I still liked the first one more. We went back and had some dessert at my family's and then headed home. It was a very chill day which was nice. And it didn't snow, thank goodness. Some might like a winter wonderland for Christmas. Not us.

Try not to let your mouth drop when you see all the loot we got. Spoiled Rotten are the words you're looking for.

Here is Savannah's loot, which includes: cute clothes, movies, a sit and spin, a Clickstart computer and games, strawberry shortcake toys, a princess castle and much more....

Cooper's loot, which included: cute clothes, LOTS of new toys that end up in his mouth, blankets, dishware and stuff animals.

Here is Carter and My's loot, although everything is not in this photo: a new camera (yahoo!!!) and picture card, slippers, Lost Season 5 (which has been consuming our evenings), a bread maker, a small vacuum, clothes, tools, the new Michael Buble Cd, all the Twilight books, 3 months of Netflix (which we're already using, yahoo too!!), movies, a shop vac and drum roll.......a double jogger stroller!! I forgot to take a picture of it so I'll have to do that later, but it's awesome! Now I can strap those little buggers in when I go out and actually accomplish something without chasing them around. There was much more too, but as you can see, we were spoiled!

We were happy to be able to spend the holidays with family and we're very grateful and thankful for all of our gifts. We hope everyone had a very nice Christmas as well.