Kids Photo Session

The very talented Kassie Crapo took my kids' pictures a few short days after we got Hayes home from the hospital.  He didn't cooperate as well as I was hoping, but they still turned out great.  I love how a professional picture can capture every little detail about a baby.  The next day I took the other kids and did their pictures. This actually counted as Kallie's baptism session as well.   I have a great shot of all four of them, but that will be my Christmas card so I can't spoil the surprise. 

Here is just a small glimpse at some of my favorites!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obsessed

Our whole family is a little obsessed with this boy.  Every squirm, grunt, cry, twitch or movement of bodily gases is noticed by all.  We spend our evenings surrounding Hayes and gawking at him.  Love is very abundant in our home right now. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork by a Six Year Old

I've always been able to point out my kids' individual personalities through their artwork.  Kallie is an old soul.  She is very realistic about everything, and always has been.  She draws things as they really are and there has never been a whole lot of room for make believe in her world.  She wants the truth about everything. 
Cole on the other hand has a very large imagination.  When he was little, like 2-3 years old he had no time or patience for coloring or artwork of any kind.  His very first piece of art that I kept in his safe box is a picture of the nativity that he got in nursery.  He scribbled with a green crayon all over baby Jesus's face but there wasn't an ounce of color on the rest of the page.  When he was questioned about this later his response was matter of fact and simple..."That's baby Jesus and he has boogers all over his face!" I have laughed for years over that. 
The last few weeks Cole has been bringing artwork home from school regularly.  These are some of my favorites:


Aparently he wants to be a pirate someday.  (That's an improvement from a few years ago when he wanted to be a robber, "The kind that steals children" he would say.) I think he got that from "Despicable Me" I hope!

This one is hard to see but I love it.  It say's my dad Westin Crapo macs me fil safe.  And his dad is shooting something in the heart to protect his family.  I was also told that Kallie is not very smart because she was standing in front of her dad while he shot his gun. 

Last is this priceless gem.  There are four boys in the neighborhood that are inseparable.  They do everything together and have so much fun, except for when it comes to snake hunting.  Bryson is terrified of snakes and refuses to join in on that game.  (Can't say that I blame him) It just cracks me up that Cole left him completely out of this picture.  I love me some kid art!

1 Month

The last month has been a blur.  It always is with a new baby.  As much as I want to freeze time and keep this little munchkin tiny for awhile, it just isn't happening! He is doing great and growing fast! It is alarming really how fast they grow. When we brought Hayes home at 12 days he weighed 5'11,  at 17 days Hayes weighed 6'2, another weight check at 28 days he was 7'5.  It is great that he is growing and gaining weight.  He is catching up on the charts quickly! However the more he grows the higher my level of anxiety becomes.  This is it for me, I know that and for the most part I am okay with this being my last baby but on some level it makes my heart ache. How did this phase of my life go so fast?

I am overjoyed with my little family though, and I feel like I am truly living each day to the fullest right now.  When we brought Hayes home he was on a fantastic schedule, thanks to the NICU! I have tried my hardest to ruin this kid.  He rarely gets layed down, I hold him all day until the kids get home then they fight over him.  He is abundantly loved and spoiled but still manages to keep his same eating/sleeping schedule.  Just this morning I was bragging to my sister about how well Hayes sleeps, why he only woke up three times last night!! She then crushed my spirits by telling me that that really wasn't that awesome for a baby of his age.  (Just goes to show what HORRIBLE sleepers my other kids were!)
Hayes eats like a horse and then sleeps and poops the rest of the day.  He isn't awake much still but I was warned he would act like a newborn much longer than normal.  I'm okay with that, I love the newborn stage!

Ridiculously spoiled or abundantly loved, either way we just hold him all day! We honestly couldn't be any happier with this boy.  He completes our family and brings so much love and joy into our home! I know I have said this before but newborns really are magic that way!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a side note: anytime me or another adult is holding Hayes, Hagen asks "Can you hold two boys?" and then climbs on your lap. Yes buddy there is always room for two boys on my lap! Adorable!

 

Halloween 2013

The days of choosing my kids' costumes for Halloween has long since passed.  Kallie is pretty particular about this holiday and spents weeks shopping online for just the right costume.  She's not into looking crazy or scary, she wants to be glamorous! When she found this gypsy costume she was thrilled. It was purple and sparkly which was a win win in her book.  For a "Costume Express" costume it turned out to be really cute. 

Cole wanted to be a pirate.  He has had his eye on a new sword at Wal Mart for awhile now and this seemed the perfect excuse to get it.  For the last three years the only thing about Halloween that excites Cole is the prospect of a new toy weapon.  I never buy the kid anything "just because" and I always cave when it comes to Halloween weapons.  Luckily for me the Rodericks had a whole bag full of pirate attire and Cole rummaged through that until he found just what he wanted.  (Let me note now that it is NOT what I would have picked out of that bag, there was some cool stuff in there.)  But alas it is HIS costume not mine. 


I went to the kids costume parade at the school, they were adorable and all their little friends looked so cute too.  The kids were pretty excited about this fun day.  I felt  a little like a loser mom, since I didn't dress up at all and was in the midst of a lot of "fun" moms.  Maybe next year I can quit being such a stick in the mud.  

 

 

 

 

 

Hagen has been planning to be Mickey Mouse for a  few weeks now.  He has worn his costume all around and was very proud of it.  A few days before Halloween I took the kids to KMart to get necessary things for the big holiday.  Weapons for Cole, fake eyelashes for Kallie and candy of course.  When Cole was picking out his weapons Hagen announced that he wanted to be a Mickey Mouse pirate.  (he wanted a toy sword too)  When it came right down to it he refused the Mickey costume altogether and went as a pirate with Cole.  (Good thing that bag of pirate junk had a toddler pirate costume in it!)

Little Hayes humored the kids with a quick picture in his cow costume.  I had that from when Cole was a baby but Hayes only kept it on long enough for a picture since it completely drowned him. 

After a stop at Grandma Dayton's house we went to Brett and Mindy's and turned the kids loose in her neighborhood.  It was perfect.  Hagen answered her door and passed out all the treats to the trick or treaters and consumed all the candy he could handle out of Mindy's bucket.   Kallie and Cole were back freezing cold and overloaded with candy within an hour.  Then we went to Grammy and Gra Gra's house for some pizza and hot chocolate.  I got too tired by the time we got to Mindy's and failed in my picture taking assignment from there on.