Look Who's Eight!

January is a busy month for us. We have another birthday to celebrate. Our third oldest is turning eight years old! We are so pleased with his to decision to be baptized at the end of this month.

This little guy had a rough start in life. He came 29 days early and weighed in at a whopping 6 pounds 12 ounzes (big for a preemie). His lungs were underdeveloped and required a ventilator to keep him breathing. He had more wires and tubing sticking out of him than I could bare. It was sobering to see him laying there in his tiny isolette with all that medical equipment keeping him alive. The ventilator was only needed for about 24 hours. He made small improvements over the next three days, and then he really started thriving. There were many trips back and forth to the hospital to nurse and hold my baby. 6 days later, he was ready to come home. We had to keep him on oxygen for another week, but I was so happy to be able to bring him home, I didn't care what he needed.

This picture was taken just before they whisked him off to put him on the ventilator.This picture was taken probably about 3 weeks after he was born.
He didn't stay little for long. He is probably only 5 weeks old in this picture. He was getting downright chunky!

At Rocky Mountain National Park - This is our family's favorite place to play. What a cutie!

This is G with his big brother at his uncle's wedding. Doesn't he look cute in that tuxedo? His last day of kindergarten with his friend (who's also getting baptized on the same day)Last summer at Bryce Canyon -
His loves to earn money and spend it on frivolous things. (Last week he spent $5 on rocks!) He is playing Junior Jazz Basketball right now and having a blast. He loves to spend time outdoors. It doesn't matter if it's summer or winter. He just loves to be hiking or sledding or biking. I think he will love skiing when we get around to teaching him.

We love you kiddo!

Look who's two!

Right now he's a "terrible two" but we love him so much anyway!
His first day here -
Here he is in his blessing outfit -

They grow so fast!He always has a smile -
Occasionally he acts shy, but he is mostly an outgoing, rowdy, sweet little boy. We are hoping that he starts talking soon. His favorite things are: his blanket and pillow, his cell phone, my cell phone, the camera, and anything else electronic that is off limits, playing outside, climbing on the counter, turning the water on and off, digging in the dirt, throwing things, tickling, and peeling bananas.

Happy Birthday Little Man!

Head injuries are bloody

For the first time in the history of our little family, we had to take one of our kids to get stitches. This happened on Tuesday when my youngest (S) sent a dump truck (huge and made of metal and plastic) careening down the stairs where my 4 year old (B) was waiting to catch it. Apparantly he "caught it" with his forehead. Fortunately, he was able to get only 5 stitches expertly sewn by our neighbor/home teacher/physician's assistant at our doctor's office. Afterwards we took him to get french fries and a root beer and somehow that made it all better. I don't have a picture because I'm a slacker.