Trenton's Baptism

 Trenton was baptized on October 8th, 2011 by his father.  It was such a special day we had been preparing for all year.  Trenton has been a sincere student of the scriptures.  We do not have to remind him to read.  We often find him falling asleep at night with the scriptures on his chest.  We have had many Family Home Evening lessons on baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost.  And the covenants and blessings that come with it.  I will say of this special day - he was READY.

I can't overemphasize how blessed we feel to have Trenton as our oldest child.  He has such a strong testimony and a natural desire for obedience.  He is a good leader & example to his brothers and sister.

 We had many family members who were able to come, including his Great Grandma Alley.  That was such a special treat.  The week leading up to the baptism was a difficult week.  My Grandma Poljanec (my Mom's mom) developed a lump in her throat, had it operated on and eventually diagnosed with advanced throat cancer the Monday prior to the baptism.  She was given 1-6 weeks left to live and passed away Thursday before the baptism.  I can't count how many times plans were changed for who was coming and not coming (as Emily said, it was about every 15 minutes at one point) and my head was spinning with logistics of hosting or not, baptism or not, traveling to a funeral or not all within the span of 4 days.  I talked to a dear, wise friend as I was in tears the morning Grandma passed away and she gave me such sound advice.  She told me to "Keep your own House in Order.  Take off your daughter hat and your grandaughter hat right now and put on your wife and mother hat.  That is where you will have the most influence this weekend.  Make your house a sanctuary for all who come there.  You can do it."  And that's exactly what we did.  My mom helped get affairs in order for Grandma, then drove from Pinedale, WY to Parker to attend the baptism.  It was a pretty amazing accomplishment.  We celebrated the living and cherished Grandma and her legacy.

We were blessed to have Emily and Johnny come for a few days prior to the baptism and I couldn't help but cry when sweet Mary surprised me by walking through the door with Luke.  I don't know what I would have done without her.  She was such an immense help in every way that weekend.

 The morning of the baptism we awoke to two surprises: Steve had pinched a nerve early that morning and was in so much pain he couldn't move.  After a hot shower, Ibuprofen, a muscle relaxant, and a lot of prayers he was able to function well enough to perform the sacred ordinances. We also awoke to 4 inches of snow.  Trenton came in our room and said, "You have got to see this."  He whipped open our blinds and said, "Look at this, Heavenly Father made the earth white for my special day." 

The baptism was absolutely beautiful and we felt very supported and loved by our dear family.  Some things I never want to forget about it include Emily's fabulous idea of writing down testimonies while Trenton and Steve got dressed, Mom pulling off a musical number after losing her mom only two days prior, Anna's talk that spoke so well to Trenton, Brittany & JD Gardiner helping cover strawberries in chocolate that morning, and our cousin Allison Anderton coming with her 4 little ones including her 5 week old all by herself to support us.

Other highlights of the week included...

 Special cousin time - they "bathed Cameron" for over an hour together.  Darn cute.

 The night before the baptism, we had a delicious dinner and really fun evening at White Fence Farm.  Oh my it was a blast and SOOOO delicious!  We went there as children growing up and it was neat to introduce it to our in-laws and children.

 We had a little birthday celebration for Johnny a week or so early.  I am finding I love being an Aunt and spoiling, teaching & loving my nephews as much as possible.  The kids really looked forward to celebrating this little man's 3rd birthday - OK, so did Steve and I.

It was a beautiful, bittersweet weekend, made all the more special having so much family love!!!

Trenton's 8th Brithday

My sweet Trenton boy turned 8 years old on September 26th this year.  I can't believe I have an 8 year old.  And how blessed I feel to have this one!  The day started with his favorite tradition - a big old breakfast in bed.

 Sandy and Art invited us over the Sunday before for a birthday dinner for this special boy.  They also saved the day of the birthday party by taking the kids for a few hours while I put the finishing touches on the party.

 Trenton chose a theme for his birthday months ago - EGYPT!  I was slightly intimidated by the choice, but with some help from friends and an awesome Aunt Anna it came together beautifully.  His request for a pyramid cake went something like this "Ya, it shouldn't be hard, Mom.  It's just layers and layers and then you just cut it."  Mmm-hmm.  It was certainly an experience making the cake (the shot above was at one in the morning :) ), but I did learn some things.  I thought it turned out great!

 Our good friend Riley let us borrow her Egypt Play Mobil pieces which put the finishing touches on the cake.  It was awesome.

 Anna dressed up as Cleopatra and led a treasure hunt, which included petting the live snake you see in her left hand.  Steve caught the snake for the kids a week prior on a hike.  We managed to keep Sara the snake alive and contained for a week prior to the party, despite multiple escape attempts at the hands of Blake!

 Anna also braided Kali's hair to turn her into Cleopatra.

Steve did some awesome hieroglyphics on the wall for decoration.

 We let him invite a few more friends than normal, so while it was a busy party, it was a great one.  He got to see some friends from our old ward he hasn't seen in a while, a lot of friends from school and friends from this ward.  It was a great celebration.

Please Don't Forget

All I want to do in the whole wide world is hold my baby in my arms and make all the growing up stop.  It's going too fast...

I found a poem that expresses how I feel albeit slightly cheesy in spots...he's only mine for a short while and quite frankly it's breaking my heart.

Sleep tight my little one, mama loves you so.

Take your time getting big, take your time to grow.

 Just be mine a little while, you're so warm to hold

Stay right here in my arms, till I'm very old.

 Yet I know you will grow, and leave my arms someday.

But for now just be mine, take your time to play.

 The seasons come, the seasons go, like birds upon the wind.

I love to kiss your tiny cheek and all your tiny things.

Please don't forget these precious hours when your were mine to love.

Watch out World

 That bittersweet time of year has come when summer has ended and structure, routine and alarm clocks rule once again.  I can't express how grateful we are we had 6 weeks of summer sleep ins to adjust to 'sleepless nights' with baby Cameron.  I am equally as grateful it is now time to send these kiddos off and have the occasional fighting and end-of-summer boredom come to an end.  Tis the bittersweet life of parenthood.

 They were both pretty excited to meet their teachers the week before.  Trenton loved going back to school and had a huge grin on his face walking from room to room and around 'his halls.'

 And Miss Kali was a bit nervous, but excited beyond belief to be starting Kindergarten!!!  This next picture sums it up!  She was dressed, ready to go knocking on our door to make sure we were up and at 'em.  That's my girl.

How did I feel sending her off?  I can't begin to express how much I will miss this little one and her never ending help.  She is a playmate and a teacher to Blake and an incredible help to me.  I understand why girls weren't educated back in the day - I wasn't sure what I was going to do without her!  But when the day came I felt so excited. It's as if I couldn't wait to share with the world what an amazing little girl she is and let someone else know the secret of all she has to offer.  All I could think was "Watch out World - Here She Comes!"

 She jumped right in line without a tear.  Steve was there sending off his little girl who he ADORES and snapping great shots every step of the way.  Her teacher is on the right in this next picture - and yes, she is as sweet a Southern Belle as she looks.

 It was precious to see how many tears there were from the parents - especially the dads.    One little girl was sobbing, which cued a few more to sob.  Well this broke the parents hearts outside so THEY started sobbing.  I'll never forget watching the teacher teaching the class to deep breathe after the fiasco.  Pretty sweet. 

No, Steve & I didn't shed any tears but I did have to get one last peek at my girl before I shared her with the world.  She's going to do great!!!

How did I forget?

 I thought after having four kids I would have things related to birth and recovery and babies down to a science.  And there are many things I remember well - how painful nursing is for the first few weeks and the zombie like exhaustion for a couple months (although Steve and I didn't really remember how BAD it is!).  The joy of introducing a new baby to his siblings and watching their relationships develop with the new little one.  The smell of a newborn's sweet, sweet breath.  All of those wonderful things...

 

But there are a few things I did forget...

 How I want nothing more in this world than to hold my baby.  How my arms ache for him to be in them and how complete I feel when he is.  How looking at him when he is sleeping makes me feel like I am absolutely in heaven.  How his smiles make my heart leap out of my chest.

 How I marvel at every little feature - and I just want to curl up with him and rock and hold him and kiss him and smell him every minute of every day.

I forgot how madly, madly in love I fall with my babies.

Our Fourth...

...was spent celebrating our freedom, in gratitude for those who make that freedom possible, and especially loving our newest angel.

I spent the day grateful for my mother's help, my husband grilling & putting on a great show for the kids, great neighbors we were able to spend the evening with, and especially grateful for Percocet!

Heaven

I am in Newborn Heaven...

Cameron Steven Allen

Born July 1st, 2001

12:17 am

9 lb 5 oz, 21" long

Parker Days

I love the idea of setting Summer Goals. Last year we made a 'summer fun list' and really did have a blast. This summer it's been neat to use the 'fun' as incentive for the goals.

Trenton and Kali are working on reading goals and doing a great job. The first incentive was an all you can ride pass to our carnival here - Parker Days. Trenton and Kali worked hard to earn their passes and were sooo excited for the big day.

Trenton was a trooper of a big brother and went on the rides with Blake - even putting his arm around his little brother so he wouldn't be scared. I love it :).

Kali wanted to go on all the rides she was too little for and Trenton was content going on the rides Blake loved. We finally convinced Trenton to go on the swings that Kali was begging to go on (that she turned out to be too short for, luckily one attendant let her on anyway). Kali loved every minute of it and bawled her little eyes out when the next attendant wouldn't let her on.. Trenton had fun at first as it shows in the first picture, but then he said he got worried the chains would break so he spent the rest of the ride holding on for dear life with his eyes squeezed shut.

Carnival rides and funnel cakes - does it get any better than that when you're little?

Swimming Lessons

One summer activity I wanted to make sure we got in before the baby came was swimming lessons for all the kiddos. Pool time is the best during the summer and I wanted the kiddos to be as safe as possible while having a blast. The only mistake I made was scheduling Blake's class first, so when he was done he had to wait for his brother and sister to finish their lessons. And what is more tempting than a wide open pool with a zero entry spot to splash and play even after multiple lifeguard warnings :). I know we humored all the watching parents as I attempted to chase my little 'master of disaster' all over the pool in my lovely state. It also made me feel justified when another pregnant mom said she almost fainted every time she set foot in the pool because it was SO hot and muggy in there. Yes, it was a miserable sauna that I bid a fond farewell on the last day of lessons.

The kids loved it, and loved watching each other and cheering each other on. I love the picture of Blake giving Kali a thumbs up. They made some excellent progress.

Babies at our house

This spring we were lucky enough to have some sweet little robin babies hatched on our front porch. The kids loved watching the mommy robin get worms for the babies and listening to them chirp away as she hunted and fed them. The mommy robin didn't like us watching so much and would sit not too far from her nest angrily chirping away whenever we approached. The first picture is a good example of her all puffed up and warning us to stay away from her babies. We didn't watch them too much, but on occasion would climb up to see their progress.

One day we had friends visiting and thought it would be fun to see the robins. I told the kids we could look at them and before I had a chance to regulate the viewing, the kids (5 boys and Kali) were out the front door. Well, little did I know it was the day the robins would leave the nest. I heard the kids yelling excitedly and as I started to waddle (being 9 months preggo) outside I heard cars honking away. I hurried out the front door and sure enough all the kids were in the street; the young ones were chasing these poor baby robins and the older ones were trying to get the young ones out of the street. Not to mention there were 3 cars stopped for the whole fiasco.

I waddled out to the street concerned about 1- the 6 children in the middle of the street 2 - the 3 poor baby robins hopping around trying to work their little wings, absolutely defenseless against Blake and company who found more excitement and thrill the closer they jumped by these baby birds. An observant neighbor walking by said, "boy, you've got your hands full!" Thank you very much, yes.

I rounded up the little ones and the mommy robin was LIVID! She was chirping away like I'd never heard. I hurried my little ones back in and left her to round up her little ones, hoping she'd figure out how to get them out of the driveway and across the street back to where she was going to feed them.

I went out about an hour later and she had managed to get them to safety, where I snapped a picture of one of the babies in the tree. She started hollering at me again so I wished them the best and hurried back in.

We loved our spring babies!