Camrie turned 1

Camrie turned one this past Saturday. We can not believe she is already one and wanted to do something special for her. So we all got dressed and ready to go, but we did not know where to go. We thought and thought, but could not think of what she would want. Kyle suggested staying home and watching football, I suggested going shopping, and Dayton suggested Chuck E Cheese. But none of these were for Camrie. So after Camrie's nap we went to dinner and then came home for cake and presents.

We would like to thank all the grandparents for their sweet cards, calls and gifts. They were much needed, and have been loved and chewed on by Camrie.

Pretty as a princess for her birthday! Kyle and I wish she would stay like this forever. She already has such a fun personality and is such a joy to have in our family.

She would not blow out her candle, she just wanted to grab it. So after we sang to her, daddy and Dayton helped her blow it out.

She was not shy from the beginning and it is easy to tell that this is not her first piece of cake because she knew exactly what to do with it. My only regret was leaving her t-shirt on.

The hands were just not cutting it. She could not get a big enough piece so she went to plan "B"

You can not see clearly, but her face is covered with cake as well as the rest of her. But you can see that her tray is completely clean. She sat in her chair and ate every crumb she could pick up. I attempted to clean her up but she was such a mess I had to put her in the tub for a bath. As I took her out there was cake all down her tummy and on her legs. I think it is safe to say this was her favorite part of her birthday!

Chuck E Cheese

Went to Chuck E Cheese after Christmas with Nana and Papa and all the cousins that live out west. Dayton was so excited he could not stop jumping up and down. He collected tokens from both Kyle and I to make sure he did not run out. He played the whole time and only stopped to eat some pizza because we made him. Camrie enjoyed being held by Nana, the lights and music. Kyle and I took turns running around trying to keep up with Dayton, and of course he got lots of little prizes with all his tickets. (Dad helped him get a few extra). It was a fun filled evening and both kids were fast asleep before we made it home.
This is just after we got there and Dayton was not happy to have to take time out of playing for pictures, but Camrie is as happy as could be.

Shooting hoops with Dad, getting some pointers... Is it too early to practice?

This is Camrie towards the end of the night, though it does not look like it she did have a good time, but later that night was the beginning of a nasty cold.

After Camrie these two trouble makers wanted to take a ride. I am pretty sure they are too big by themselves, so I know they are together, but that did not stop them. The best part was that the ride was in slow motion, it could barley move with them in it, but they thought it was fun anyway.

Best Buds.We completed the night with a hug from Chucky himself. I thought Dayton would be a little shy, but he was not at all. He ran right over to him and threw his arms around him. Dayton told me he thinks Chucky is awesome!

Finally Christmas

All the candy count downs and Christmas cartoons could not bring Christmas fast enough for Dayton. He wrote several letters to Santa, and asked every day if it was time to open presents. Finally Papa and Nana arrived and the rest of the family followed. Christmas was at our house this year with most of my family, and that is no small number. It was crazy, but wonderful. We fit in all the family traditions and even had the bonus of a white Christmas. It came and went too fast, but we have great memories, and Dayton keeps telling me he is ready for Santa to come again.
Christmas Eve

Papa was a wonderful babysitter as we ran around getting last minute things. This is one of the things Papa is best at.

Every year growing up we made gingerbread houses so it was a must that we do it this year. It was a lot of work and quite messy, but the kids had a ton of fun and snuck candy for the next two days. Mom worked wonders with all the grand kids.

Also on Christmas Eve we all used to dress up and act out the Nativity scene, so this year our kids did it and were so cute. Dayton was Joseph and Gracy was Mary. We had a hard time getting Dayton to dress up but I just told him it was like Star Wars and he was sold.

Here he is holding baby Jesus. Mary disappeared for a little bit so Dayton took over.

Here are some wise men, Mary and Joseph with the donkey behind them, an angel, and a Shepard. It is always a highlight of the night.

Our next tradition is we get to open one present and it is always PJ's from Nana and Papa. We also through in a Spaulding tradition where we went youngest to oldest and clapped and chanted your name when it was your turn. It was loud and fun and the kids loved it.

Here is Camrie with her new polka dot pj's.

And what else for Dayton but Batman. The only problem is getting them off him, he tries to wear them outside.

To end the night my dad read The Night Before Christmas to all the grandkids, just like he did to my siblings and I when we were younger. All the kids even piled up on the couch the way we used to. It brought back such great memories for some of us.
Christmas Morning

Christmas morning came and the kids woke everybody up. We headed down at about 7 and Santa found our house. Presents were everywhere and Camrie was quick to find the M&M's. Her favorite gifts were her pink cell phone and necklaces.

Dayton's favorites seemed to be a Batman motorcycle, paints, and a spider man tent.
I could not help but add this one. Camrie got her first baby doll and every time she sees it she gives her kisses. So sweet.

Kyle and I also got presents, but nothing as fun as the kids, all we wanted was to go back to bed.

Kyle's Birthday

Poor Kyle gets a little jipped because his birthday is right around Christmas, but we partied all day. The night before I told Dayton, "go tell Daddy Happy Birthday". And from that point on every time he said happy birthday he sang the "Happy Birthday" song. We had a few laughs and learned that he knows the whole song.

Kyle came home from work and the kids had made him cards and Dayton and I made him a candy card, and we put balloons up. I'm not sure Kyle's thoughts, but Dayton was excited enough for all of us. He makes everything more fun! The only thing he didn't like was that it was not his birthday. He was fine with it being Daddy's birthday, but why not his too.

We went out to Dinner that night and took the kids with us. We thought about getting a sitter because it is so much more work with them, but it is boring without them, so we all went out and they were really good.

Kyle got a milkshake and had no choice but to share. I am not sure who enjoyed it the most...

When Kyle was not looking we told the waitress that it was his Birthday. Kyle was not happy about that, but Dayton thoroughly enjoyed it, he especially liked the ice cream.

Amy Came to Visit

Our Sister in law Amy came to visit just before Christmas so we all got together for a chance to catch up, any excuse for a family dinner. My sister came from Idaho with her family and the rest came up from Provo. We miss our family back in VA, and one by one, not planed, we all asked Amy when they are moving out here. We missed seeing Cache, Marae and Kaden, but it was great to see Amy and baby McKell.

Amy and McKell sitting with her sister Jen and her husband Chris. We are so glad they came to to dinner. It was great to see them again, they fit right in with our family.

Just the fam sitting around, and it is a safe bet that Sunday night football was on.

While we were together we celebrated Emery's Birthday. She turned 1 and brought a yummy cake to celebrate. (Emery is my older brothers daughter).

Here she is opening presents with lots of helpers

McKell, Tayla, Camrie, and Emery
We can not get together and not take a picture of the babies, especially because this time there were 4 with Mckell visiting from VA. The girls were not happy about it, and believe me when I tell you this was the best picture I got.

Bye Jared

We said good bye to Jared a few days ago. We tried to get him to stay longer, but he had things to get back to. So in the cold, at a very early hour I took him to the airport. We were all sad to see him go, but I think Dayton and his friends took it the hardest. Jared and Dayton were good buddies, wrestling or playing guns at some point every day. They even walked to Burger King one day for lunch. And the neighborhood kids always seemed to trap him into some game they made up. The day he left one of the little boys came over and asked, "hey, where is that big boy"?

Camrie, who was a little shy at first hardly left Jared alone. She would crawl over and pull the plug on his computer, or start pushing any button she could reach. But her favorite thing to do was try to get his food or drink. He learned real fast that anything on the ground was hers.

We tried to keep him entertained while he was here, and although there was a lot of down time he did get out some. He and Kyle played basketball, tennis, we went out to eat,(Cafe Rio our favorite place), and he and Kyle went to a Jazz game. We tried to take him sledding in the mountains, but there was no snow, so we went for a nice drive through them.

We are so glad he came to see us and hope he comes again soon. But next time Dayton wants you to bring presents for him like grandma does!

Oh Christmas Tree

I forgot to add these... The day after Thanksgiving we decorated the outside of our house and then did the inside. Well, I did the inside, but we all did the tree. Dayton has been really fun with Christmas this year. He has gotten into everything, (the lights, candy, Christmas movies, Santa, reindeer...), and it started with the tree. He loved putting the ornaments on and made sure every single one we have made it on the tree. If you look close you will see that there is nothing on the bottom two feet of the tree. That was in preparation of Camrie. She has been much better then we thought with it, but anything she can reach is pulled off. But so far so good on her pulling the tree over.

Outside Christmas Lights

We spent last weekend getting ready for Christmas. I could not wait any longer so I started on the inside Thanksgiving night. Friday, Kyle and Jared climbed up on the roof in the cold to put the lights up. This went much smoother than last year with a ladder and Jared's help.
I wanted to show how high they were. This was not even the highest spot, but you get the idea.

Dayton was a great assistant when he was around. He spent most of the day playing with his friends in the backyard and sneaking popsicles out of the freezer when mom was not looking.

Camrie was lots of help too. She would have been on the roof if her mom would have let her. She loves being in on the action.

This was about half way done until we decided to do the whole roof. They were such good sports. I told them what I wanted and they did it. You can't see me but I was a good gofer, running in and out to get what they needed.

Dayton was a great ladder holder. He thought this was a great job and took it very seriously. He kept trying to sneak up there, telling me that he would take them them the next set of lights. Good try buddy!

Not Already

Today I had to do something I never had to do before. I had to try to find the number for poison control. I was putting away the dishes and Camrie was playing on the dishwasher, like she always seems to do when it is open, when I found her with white hands and a white face. I screamed and grabbed the dish soap. I read what to do and followed their directions, except I called my mom instead of poison control which I figured would be faster. The dishes were clean so there was not much for her to eat and by her face I knew she did not like it. So all is well, but this is the first scare she has given me, and now I am going to look up the number for poison control.

She was not happy with me for throwing water in her face and mouth.

Happy Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was quiet and relaxing. We are used to lots of family around, but this year was a little different. Thankfully Jared was here so we had some family to eat our Turkey with. I really doubt that I would have made all that food for just us, but who knows I do love Thanksgiving leftovers. So I made all the traditional food for just us and we had a really nice time. Kyle and Jared even ate at the table, with the game on in the background, with the kids and I, so I consider that a success. It was my first time making a Turkey, and after lots of phone calls to the moms it turned out pretty good. We had a good day with food and football.


I am not the biggest fan of pie, but it is tradition, so I asked the guys what they wanted and they asked for Apple. So I bought one that looked good. A few hours after the turkey had settled and naps were over we ate our pie and ice cream. The ice cream was good, but the pie not so much. We ate it, but nobody had seconds and next year I'm making brownies.

Dreaded Dentist

Kyle and I kicked off our Thanksgiving holiday with a long over due trip to the dentist. I knew I had a few cavities from a previous appointment but had not gotten them filled because I was pregnant, yes almost a year ago. Kyle was looking forward to it less then me because he knew he had a bad tooth. Anyway, we went last Tuesday. Kyle went right before me so when I got there he was checking out. I noticed he had quite the goody bag and found out that he had to buy a special tooth brush, and on top of that he had to have a root canal the next day. I walked in hoping I would have a better experience then him. No wonder he was dreading it so bad.
I had just what I expected, several cavities that I completely blame on Camrie because I have not had a cavity since middle school. I got home and was talking to Jared asking him if he heard about Kyle and he said, "yeah his root canal, six cavities, and two wisdom teeth need to be pulled".
It seem Kyle forgot to tell me a few things. Now I really know why he was dreading it so bad. But he had his root canal last week, so 1 down and 2 to go.

Uncle Jared

This past Tuesday Uncle Jared, Kyle's brother, came to visit all the way from New York. He has never been out west and was pretty impressed with the mountains. We already have him trained by getting up with the kids each morning, if only he changed diapers.
We have not been doing too much, there has been a lot of football watching, a few dart gun fights, and some wrestling with Dayton, but other then that just a lot of hanging out. I have used him a few times to watch the kids, but who can blame me, free babysitter!

Saturday night we all sat around with some friends watching the BYU/Utah game. It was fun watching it out here because there are some die hard fans. Though we enjoyed the game it was nice not having to sweat through this one; I have enough of that with the Yankees, Giants and Syracuse.

So far we have had a great time with Jared and are glad he is here for a couple more weeks. We love having family for holidays.

Like Father Like Son

Last night we were hanging out in the family room watching the Giants beat the Eagles. Dayton, who was upstairs watching cartoons, came down and sat by me on the couch. Kyle who was on the other couch took the blanket he was using, wadded it up and threw it at Dayton. I was reading, and this happens pretty much every night so I did not even look up, but then I heard Dayton say, "thanks dad". I looked over and burst out laughing.

Blinded by the hit, the blanket nailed Dayton in the face, but stayed in a ball and Dayton just put it behind him and thanked his dad for the great pillow.

Halloween Get Together

Some of my family came and hung out on Saturday. It had been a while so it was fun to get together and hang out eat and play.

The weather could not have been better so we spent a lot of time out side. The guys made up some sort of wiffle ball game. It got quite competitive as it went into extra innings. They kept breaking balls or losing them over the fence, but I know they had a good time and I am pretty sure they all felt it the next day.

The girls just sat around watching the guys and the kids.
The kids spent a lot of time on our neighbors trampoline, thank goodness for great neighbors.
They jumped and played games and tried jumping over Aunt Jenny, but she kept getting kicked so that game ended. Good times.

We could not have the babies together and not get a picture. They are getting so big so fast. Wish the other 2 could have been here so they could all be together. We love having babies around. We put them in their costume one more time for a quick picture. Camrie was by far the hardest one to work with, but they are still cute. Tayla was a fairy, Emery was a cow, and Camrie was a ballerina.