FIve years ago...

She didn't have a name for the first few hours since I was sick from the c-section. Finally my mom comes over and says she needs a name. We had two picked out Kena and Madisen. I told my mom I didn't care and to just pick one, all the while hoping not to barf in my hair from speaking. She said "I don't really like Kena so I choose Madisen" All I could say was fine.

This is Madisen at 8 weeks old.

Six months old

18 months old with an attitude!

I couldn't post about Madisen without including Piggy! This was the day Piggy and Madisen met and became best friends. Look how pink she use to be!

This was the first time Madisen split her head open and got stitches. This time she got 18 the second time it was only 5.

Dang she is cute!

I took these this afternoon before we went to her birthday party. I can't believe it she is a little girl not my baby anymore. And she is gorgeous!!!

Five years ago the nation settled down on their sofas and turned on the Super Bowl. Just another afternoon of friends, family, food and football...well for most. I don't know who was playong or who won just that Janet Jackson had a "wardrobe malfunction." While most of you were watching the game we were welcoming a new little angel into our family. Madisen Jeanne was born February 1, 2001. She weighed 8 pounds 15 ounces and was 18 inches long. And she came with a very strong lungs. When Tanner was born he didn't make a peep. I thought something was wrong with him. But no he was just a quiet kid. Madisen she was a whole different case. I knew that she was just fine from the screaming that started before they had her all the way out.  

Words could never begin to tell what a blessing she in to our family. When she was eight days old she got a really high fever. I took her to the doctor and he immediately sent us to the emergency room. They took a blood sample, urine sample and did a spinal tap on her to find out what was wrong. She had a UTI and was in the hospital for 48 hours on antibiotics. That was so scary. Then at about 6 months old she got another fever that we couldn't get down. It was so bad and so high that she started to have seizures. We called for Cristen to come and watch Tanner and headed over to the ER. On the way their she got better so we took her back home and watched her all night until we could take her to the doctor and have her checked out the next morning. Again she had a UTI. This happened about every 6 months until she was three. She has had stitches in her forehead twice. Thank you Dr. Ripplinger for the very small scars. She runs into walls and trips over nothing all to jump up and yell "I'm ok." and keep right on going. She loves to take care of her dolls. And to take care of anyone smaller than her. She is very nurturing. She says the funniest things and has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger. She is our sweet angel and love having here in our family.

Though the years Madisen has brought joy to our home. She is always smiling and laughing. She loves her brother more than anything else in the world. Above I have posted a few pictures of her that I have taken and love. Some of them have a story to go with them and others don't. I guess I just wanted to say Happy Birthday my sweet girl! I can't believe my baby is 5.

Toot my own horn! And get motivated again.

This picture was taken last March and I hate it. This is the first time anyone has seen it. 

This is  my before picture

I can't remember ever taking a picture in my swimsuit that I didn't delete from my camera! 

I do have to say my arms look great!

As most of you know I have been working really hard to loose wight and eat healthy so that I don't get all the diseses that go along with being over weight.   This really started when I was filling out paper work at the doctor for Madisen and realized how many things I had to check off that her relatives have. Things like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer! SCARY!! I decide that if I don't set the example and instill in my kids a love of exercising an eating healthy they could end up battling their weight along with all the things listed above. So here what I am doing.  I guess first I will spill my guts an tell you what I weighed when I started back in August....178 pounds. Now for some people this is nothing but being that I am all of about 5' 2" this is alot of extra fat on my body. My goal is to get down to a size 6 or 125 pounds. I have been doing Jazzercise since August and I LOVE IT! It is my new drug. I need my fix every week. I started out going two days a week and love it so much that I am also taking the night class two days a week.   If you are looking for something you can do and love this is my recommendation. I pay for it up front so that I feel like even if I am tired one day if I don't go I have just wasted that money. Most of our rec centers in Henderson have classes and though the other instructors are good we definently have the best one at Black Mountain. I am down to 135 pounds and have not been eating what I should through the holidays. But with working out I have been able to eat whatever and maintain my weight loss just by continuing to exercise.  So that is my plug to find a Jazzercise class and fall in love with it!

Routine

Ice staking for the first time. We should do that again it was way fun!

I am so happy my kids love each other.

Their is nothing better in the world than that face. He lights up my world!

What lucky kids to have come to the best grandma in all the world or eternity.

I remember posting something about Madisen falling asleep in strange places. Here she is sleeping across the barstools in the kitchen.

He is such a goofball! Last summer the kids came down stairs and had switched clothes. It was hilarious!

We love to visit Aunt Erin she has the best park right near her house that we went to two years ago when we visited. My kids still talk about it.

Who is that fatty on the right? Oh wait that is me 40 pounds ago!!!

SUPER CUTE KIDS!!!

Justin and Tanner love to go to  baseball games! They are trying to go to every baseball field by the time Tanner turns twelve.

Life has been so normal lately. The kids go to school. Justin goes to work. I go to Jazzercise and run errands. Pretty boring. But I find comfort in boring and routine. I like to have lists and rules and a plan so boring is good. I have posted some of my favorite pictures form over the past few years since blogging in still new for me. Hope you like them even though they are mostly for Erin. We love ya and miss you in our boring everyday life.

Growing up too fast

Tanner and Madisen in our backyard. Tanner is 7 and Madisen turns 5 in a couple of weeks.

My sweet princess in the backyard. Getting this picture was hard for us. She was so weird every time I turned the camera on her this day. Finally I literally shook her to get her to relax and this is what I got. She posed herself and everything.  

What more can I say than oh my heck he is handsome!!!

I remember when they were born thinking I can't wait until they can talk, walk, read do all the things that they do now. We spend about year of coaxing these types of things from them. Then on day they take a step without us, read their first book at school, or score their first soccer goal while our back is turned at soccer practice. All the while we beg them to stop growing which they of course laugh off and tell us no. They go from giggling at us as babies to belly laughing at the movies. I guess no matter what we do as parents this will never stop happening. The growing up I mean!  

I don't typically have an addictive personality accept for a few things in life. Rice crispy treats, my kids laughing, and GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR. I thought I had it bad for just Guitar Hero when I got it last year for Christmas. Apparently that was nothing compared to the obsession I have with getting it right on the drums. I play while my kids are at school and I play while they are sleeping and I play when they are home and we can all play together. It is crazy. Tanner of course picked it up without any trouble just picked up the sticks and after about 45 minutes he was playing through song after song. Madisen has sung Eye of the Tiger so many times in the last week she knows all the words which his totally adorable. But the great thing is that we can play all four of us together. And we all like doing it. Anyway two days ago we woke up to Tanner downstairs playing the drums and when I came down to check on him he informed we that the orange pad is not working . I just hope I don't have to fight with Target to exchange it since I already threw away the box. And heaven knows it may get ugly.

Above are pictures of my baby brother and his wife playing with us on Friday after they picked up the kids from school with me. 

My big boy

After seven years of being a mother I am still amazed at the things my kid says and does. Getting him here was fairly easy. No problems getting pregnant, pretty easy pregnancy except for a couple of things which were easily taken care of thanks to modern medicine. It's all the stuff that comes after that is hard. The sleepless nights, barfing all over me every time he ate, and did I mention sleepless nights. The kid never slept. The screaming for hours because he had colic. You mothers know, all the baby stuff, the taking care of them stuff. But then there are the really great things that make all the other stuff not really matter. Sleeping on your chest and the hugs and kisses. The high fives, and thumbs ups. The why's and the what's that we get to answer that are sometimes so funny. And then we have to make decisions for them. Do I send him to kindergarden this year because he barely makes the cut off to start or do I keep him home one more year. Will he ever learn to read?! Does he have a cold or an infection? Sleep it off or see a doctor? Let him ride his bike without training wheels and watch him fall or let him go? These are the hard things. But then we get to watch them learn. This was all leading up to his answer to my every Sunday question "what did you learn at church today?" He grabbed his scriptures and said "I learned about when Joseph Smith prayed about which church is true. It's right here in James chapter one verse 5 and 6. Then he read the scripture out loud to me and finished with. He got really scared when he was praying and Satan made it all dark around him. But he just kept on prayin' and then Jesus and Heavenly Father told him that none of the churches were true. Then we were done and we got the giggles because one of the boys burped." So it is true that through all of the crazy stuff they do and all the worry they may cause the important stuff get through. 

 

Take two

I tired this last week and It didn't work. SO hopefully I have worked out the kinks and it will be good. Below you will find a link to my website where I have posted all the pictures from the snow and Christmas Eve and Christmas day on it since there were so many. Christmas was great. The kids got up super early and came down the stairs where Grandma and Grandpa Demille where waiting with fall the presents that we bought and that Santa delivered.  Santa did not disappoint! Madisen got a Nintendo DS and Tanner got a kick n go scooter which they love. Madisen literally loved hers in one of the pictures. Tanner  also got a guitar and will start lessons in the next few weeks. I will probably take them too. Madisen got her cupcake maker and jungle in my pocket. We bought a fooseball table for the toy room which is so fun but it also sucks because who wants to lose to a seven year old all the time and then listen to him heckle you for the rest of the day. But it's bonding right? The kids have been riding their new bike and scooter while I run around our neighborhood. This way we all get fresh air and exercise. If I could only get Madisen to peddle faster. I seriously cannot run any SLOWER. 

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We had a great time on new years eve. We ordered Lucilles' BBQ and had over some friends and their kids. We borrowed a bounce house from my sis in law and the kids played outside the whole night dispite the cold. We grown up, if we qualified as that, played Wold Tour, Imagine if, and Taboo. We ate and laughed so much!!! So here's to a new year, friends, family and all our loved ones!