Lincoln 2 Months

This is a little past due, but being baby number 4 I think we are doing good that I'm even getting it done at all.
Weight: 11 lbs 15 oz. 
Height: 22 inches- but I think they didn't stretch him out very well
Sleep: Lincoln wins the prize in the sleep department. He is hands down my best sleeping baby. He pretty quickly settled into a longer sleep pattern and has kept it up. He was going to bed closer to ten but within the last week has started going to bed closer to eight at night. He always sleeps until around 2:30 before waking up-so that is a good stretch of time! Then he usually wakes up again around 5:30ish. He will wake up for the day around 6:30 most of the time, but sometimes will sleep in longer than that. He's not really on any sort of routine during the day but I feel like he has some days where is sleepy a lot and sleeps most of the day and then he will have days where he is awake most of the day. I have transitioned him this week to sleeping in his crib instead of the rock n' play. He falls asleep pretty easy and I am LOVING that I can function during the day because I am sleeping at night. It really makes a world of difference and I am enjoying this phase much more than I have with some other babies of mine.

Eat: Lincoln is still a great eater. He sometimes has his off days like all babies do. He tends to go more 3 hours between feedings instead of just 2 like my other boys have. And it's not uncommon for him to go 4 hours. Sometimes he still wants to eat every 2 if he has been awake a lot. But I am appreciating the flexibility of being able to go places easier and get a little more done between each feeding. When we feed him bottles at night (which is hit and miss) he never drinks very much. I think he is going to be my bird eater like Koyle was/is. But he is content and healthy so whatever. 
Social: Lincoln is such a happy baby. He LOVES to talk to you if you give him attention and is always full of smiles. He is pretty content to hang out when I need him to and is good at going along with the flow of life. I love that he wakes up happy and will just play in his bed for a minute before I get him out. He's such a sweet lovable little guy and I could just eat him up in all his cuteness and good temper. 
Motor Skills: He has discovered his hands and loves to chew on his fists.
He also has tried to blow raspberries at me the past couple days which is adorable because he can't really do it yet.
 I haven't done much with toys and such with him yet because he's just happy most of the time and hasn't needed extra stuff. He's a champ at tummy time and will go for a good amount of time before starting to fuss.

He loves his swing and I can always put him there if he is fussy and I need my hands for a few minutes. He likes to rock to go to sleep too. I wear him in my wrap a lot cause he likes it and will sleep well in it and I need my hands free more these days than in days past. He takes the binky moderately well, but is definitely doing better with it than a month ago. Those days of sitting on the couch with him sleeping on me are becoming fewer and farther between already and I already miss my newborn some days. But then he smiles and talks and sits in the bumbo so cute and I can't wait to see his little personality develop and learn more about him. More and more I find myself comparing him to Koyle. I think he looks like Koyle and he has more the temperament of Koyle and habits of him (in eating, sleeping, being more content, etc.) As long as he doesn't have poop problems like Koyle-we'll be okay! ; ) But I'm sure he will have his own quirks.

I am taking life one day at a time. Sometimes we are ahead, sometimes we are behind, mostly we are just hanging right in where we need to be. It's nice not having too many things pulling at my time outside of my kids because not only do I not have much extra time outside my basic house and mom duties, but I have been able to just go with the flow and enjoy this time with baby because I don't have responsibilities pulling me in other directions. The beginning was a little rough this go around but I finally feel like I have my feet on the ground again and am establishing a new normal and I am loving having a sweet baby boy in our home again.

This baby boy is LOVED by his brothers!

I love how fluffy his hair gets after he has a bath. He has the best baby mullet in the back too.

Koyle's Birthday

We had a lot of fun celebrating Koyle's birthday this year. He wanted a LeBron James cake-no surprise there- and that was something I could deliver. We had a minor food coloring dilemma, but it turned out okay. Kind of last minute we decided to do cake and presents on his actual birthday so there was some scrambling to get everything ready. It was just our family which felt a little weird and we were missing our Anderson and Clark birthday celebration crew for sure. Koyle got a LeBron James jersey from mom and dad and all his little boy dreams came true! He also got Cleveland Cavalier socks from his Koyle grandparents and some sports pennants and a book from his brothers. Grammie Tami broke the bank like always and got him a Boise State Jersey, a science kit, a LeBron James poster for his bedroom, and a basketball sign for his room. It was a special night. I love when a little effort goes a long way. 

  Grandma and Grandpa Koyle came down for the weekend to celebrate with us. Friday night Matthew and I went up to Rexburg with them to watch Brynnley cheer at a high school football game half time. It was pouring rain and very cold...but we survived. Saturday morning the guys went shooting and then we went to Koyle's soccer game. My parents were hoping to watch both the boys play but Matthew's game ended up getting canceled. My dad took all the boys to the ISU football game for Koyle's birthday. He was in sports heaven and had so much fun going to a real football game. That night the ladies went to the Women's Broadcast and then out to dinner afterwards. It was so fun to spend the weekend with my parents when things weren't crazy from moving or having a baby : ) 

Koyle has turned into such a fun and easy kid these days. He has finally mastered pooping on the potty-glory hallelujah!! He love sports more than anything else and knows more about them than I do already. He is definitely his father's son. His constant basketball playing/score keeping has made him a math expert. Seriously though he can do mental math faster than Matthew these days. (A fact which both speaks to Koyle's smarts and the downfall of public education in that Matthew regresses in his knowledge the longer he is in school.) He still loves the color orange and wants to be in charge of treats every week for Family Home Evening. 

We have been doing preschool together...slowly, and he is making some good progress in his reading and writing. We still have a ways to go but we have a whole year ahead of us. He's still my energizer bunny who bounces around the house all day. I have been trying to find him a friend who can match his energy and his desire to play sports. Sometimes it makes me sad when I watch him playing basketball or football all alone day after day. He doesn't mind it most of the time though. 

More and more when I look at Koyle he seems all grown up to me. Where did my little curly head toddler go? He is good at doing his chores and helping with his brothers. He still loves to pretend to read chapter books all the time and as soon as he takes off reading a whole world is going to open up for him. Koyle is so great and I love him to pieces; even his dramatic, over reacting, always has an owie that's going to kill him, one volume of loud pieces. Happy Birthday little boy.

This is what it looks like trying to get a good picture of Koyle:

Justin turns 30!!

What?! How did that happen? Thirty used to be so far away and we would joke about being thirty before ever getting a paycheck. It's hard to believe we have reached that distant mark. I always imagined myself throwing a big celebration party for Justin when he turned 30. But as life likes to do, it got in the way of our celebrating. It's hard to throw a big party when you have just moved and don't really have close friends to party with. And when your wife has a little baby and has no time or energy to try and pull together a big party. And when you have just started residency and work irregular and unpredictable hours that makes it difficult too. And that part about getting a paycheck...they have just started rolling in so paying for some grand adventure was also out of the question. But don't you worry. We still had a good time and made Justin feel special on his big day. The boys wanted to give him 30 things for his birthday so we bought 30 pieces of candy, stuffed them into 30 balloons and blew them all up and hid them. On the morning of his birthday when Justin got up to shower I snuck out and dumped all the balloons in his room! That night I planned a special surprise date and then crossed my fingers that he would get off of work in time to do it. He ended up working a little late so we scrapped the first part of the date, but were still able to do the second half. Jacque came and watched all 4 boys for me and I took Justin to the rodeo at the Eastern Idaho Fair.
We had SO much fun together. We ate some fair food, the rodeo was awesome (great clown and announcer guy). We even happened to run into my cousin John and Becky Koyle there. And we ran into an old acquaintance from high school and I found out she follows my blog! It's always nice to know that someone is reading : ) I (almost) felt young again as we walked around the fair, held hands, laughed, and just had a genuinely good time together.
And now I could write 30 cheesy things I love about Justin or do an update on his life like I do for the boys. But the thing about 30 is that life is busy. So I'll just say that Justin is loving his residency program and I love that he is happy. He is the best dad to our four boys and quite nearly the perfect husband. Some things have changed over the years but he is still the fit, good looking, hard working, loves to play, outgoing, social butterfly boy that I met oh so many years ago when we were really, actually young (12 to be exact). I love you babe!! Happy 30. I hope it meets up to all of your "prime of my life" expectations!

Justin turns 30!!

What?! How did that happen? Thirty used to be so far away and we would joke about being thirty before ever getting a paycheck. It's hard to believe we have reached that distant mark. I always imagined myself throwing a big celebration party for Justin when he turned 30. But as life likes to do, it got in the way of our celebrating. It's hard to throw a big party when you have just moved and don't really have close friends to party with. And when your wife has a little baby and has no time or energy to try and pull together a big party. And when you have just started residency and work irregular and unpredictable hours that makes it difficult too. And that part about getting a paycheck...they have just started rolling in so paying for some grand adventure was also out of the question. But don't you worry. We still had a good time and made Justin feel special on his big day. The boys wanted to give him 30 things for his birthday so we bought 30 pieces of candy, stuffed them into 30 balloons and blew them all up and hid them. On the morning of his birthday when Justin got up to shower I snuck out and dumped all the balloons in his room! That night I planned a special surprise date and then crossed my fingers that he would get off of work in time to do it. He ended up working a little late so we scrapped the first part of the date, but were still able to do the second half. Jacque came and watched all 4 boys for me and I took Justin to the rodeo at the Eastern Idaho Fair.
We had SO much fun together. We ate some fair food, the rodeo was awesome (great clown and announcer guy). We even happened to run into my cousin John and Becky Koyle there. And we ran into an old acquaintance from high school and I found out she follows my blog! It's always nice to know that someone is reading : ) I (almost) felt young again as we walked around the fair, held hands, laughed, and just had a genuinely good time together.
And now I could write 30 cheesy things I love about Justin or do an update on his life like I do for the boys. But the thing about 30 is that life is busy. So I'll just say that Justin is loving his residency program and I love that he is happy. He is the best dad to our four boys and quite nearly the perfect husband. Some things have changed over the years but he is still the fit, good looking, hard working, loves to play, outgoing, social butterfly boy that I met oh so many years ago when we were really, actually young (12 to be exact). I love you babe!! Happy 30. I hope it meets up to all of your "prime of my life" expectations!

Lincoln's Blessing

Lincoln's Blessing was low key, but that doesn't mean it wasn't special. We went back and forth a thousand times about when to bless him and finally we decided to do it up in Boise over Labor Day. We were planning on going up for that weekend anyway because my best friend Julie Harrison was getting married! And then our parents didn't have to travel again, and we didn't have to figure out how to host both families...cause I wasn't quite ready for that. But especially because we did it up in Boise we kept it super simple. I didn't do anything fancy on Sunday; we just went to church and he got blessed. Period, the end. And you know what? It was great. I don't remember a ton from his blessing, but it did talk about him going on a mission and I thought "Oh good, the world is not going to blow up before then." Haha! My inner doomsday prepper coming out on me. It was a lovely blessing. And Justin only slipped up and called him Landon once during it!! He does that all time so it was bound to happen. He got it right on the name part so that's all that matters.

He was just starting to get smiley! 

Oh, I just love his cute face!

 Aside from the blessing it was a fun, but quick weekend. We went up Friday night after work. Saturday morning Justin went golfing with his dad and brothers and then we went to the Jones' for Sarah's BSU kickoff party and to watch the game. We did a cute scarecrow/snowman craft while watching the game. It was fun to be around the cousins and all the blue and orange. Then my parents took our boys to the zoo with Mandi while Justin and I headed to Julie's wedding. The reception was simple and we didn't hang around too long cause we didn't really know anyone there. We drove over and looked at Troy and Sarah's new house real quick. Then we headed back to the wedding dinner that we had been invited to. That was the really fun part. I LOVE the Harrison family and it was a big dose of Chicken Soup for the Soul to be with them and take part of Julie's special day. They did something really neat that I would love to remember and do for my kids' weddings. (And since I get to be in charge of the luncheon for the boys I can!) But each sibling and parent gave a tribute to Julie, or to the groom. They shared a special memory or something they love about her and then they each made a little gift. Some of the gifts were funny and went along with the story, others were a little more serious and nice. But it was such a treasure to sit and listen to all the fun stories and feel the love towards Julie. She was is a true best friend and I love her and miss her dearly in my life. It made me want to reach out towards those special people in my life. Needless to say I walked away with tears in my eyes (for real, not just a saying) and my soul refreshed and ready to tackle being a mother to four boys. Cause let's be honest-I was on the edge before that. I wish I would have gotten a picture with Julie but I didn't think about it until after we had left : (

Then we drove right to the freeway entrance and met my parents. I jumped in the car with them and we drove to Mt. Home for my cousin's wedding reception. It was also so fun to visit with the Koyle family. Julene, Stephanie, and Gentry were all there and it's always a treat to visit with them. Sunday was the blessing and then we had dinner with my parents and then went and spent a couple hours with the Jones' and then we headed back home to Pocatello. It was tiring for sure. And I remembered why I didn't miss the drama of balancing two families living together when you come home to visit. But that will get better with time as we are around more, and mostly it was all a good time to have so much family around.

Jones cousins

Koyle cousins

Koyle and Troy were buddies. Koyle sat and watched the WHOLE game!

GO, GO, GO Big Blue!

Matthew's Birthday

Matthew's birthday was much anticipated this year. Because baby was still so little we kept things easy and low key. But the great thing about kids is that they don't care or know the difference. They just enjoy feeling special...and eating cake.
This year Matthew wanted an M&M birthday and had been planning it for months. His grandma has an M&M game he wanted to play and of course have an M&M cake. We let him invite a couple friends over and they played the game, eating LOTS of candy in the process. Then they just played for a while. No frills, just having fun playing with friends. About the time the friends left Mandi and the girls got here so the party kept going. Lindy was in town for the weekend and Jacque came over so we had a happy house full of family. Pizza for dinner, cake and ice cream, and lots more candy since the cake was full of M&M's, watching his birthday video, opening presents, and playing with cousins. He was happy and felt special all day, which made me glad since he had been a little neglected lately with everything else going on in our life.

 This was perhaps my best birthday cake yet. It even ALMOST looked like the pinterest picture when we cut it open and the M&M's spilled out!

 Landon really enjoyed the cupcakes we made for his friends.

 I told Justin to go to the store and grab some ice cream. This is what he came home with!

 Oh, this boy is so handsome and growing up so fast I can hardly stand it.

 We got Matthew a new BIG bike for his birthday. He loves to ride his bike. This one is going to take a little practice getting used to because its a mountain bike and its a hair too big for him. But he'll grow into it. This bike has since caused us more trouble then I could ever imagine and is literally breaking the bank. We took him to the church parking lot to practice one night and he ran into the only car there and bashed up their door. Now we are having to pay to get it fixed. Sigh. Stress. Sigh some more. Good thing we love him.

Justin also happened to run a Spartan race with Josh Wageman on Matthew's birthday. He didn't train for it (except for doing our concrete) and he rocked it!
Matthew also got from his family a bike helmet, the game of Life and Rummikub, some school supplies, and a special date night coupon from Jacque.

Six was a good year for Matthew. He breezed through Kindergarten and had a great attitude about it all despite the fact that he was bored with the work most of the time and never made any really great friends. That makes him sound like an outcast-he had friends just nobody that he loved if that makes sense. He mastered rollerblading, devoured the Harry Potter books (1-4), and was a star piano student. If there was an award for loving board games more than any other 6 year old-he would win it. He also took a liking to Star Wars this year. He loves to read and play outside with friends. Sometimes he thinks he's a smarty pants and gets a little feisty attitude going with mom and dad, but for the most part he is fun to have around. The kid can talk your ear off about anything and nothing. He likes being helpful with his younger siblings and loves having one on one time with his dad (or his mom, but especially his dad). While this kid of mine pushes my patience to the limits when it comes to certain things (like getting dressed, unloading the dishwasher, or just paying attention to what he's doing) he brings so much richness to our family and paves the way and sets the precedence for his younger brothers. I couldn't ask for a better big brother or example for my little boys. I love his sweet smile and that he still comes in to snuggle with my every morning. He has a sensitive spirit and he really desires to do what is right and follow God.