Our baby is 4!

It's hard to believe that 4 years have passed since the birth of our last little baby! On June 20th, 2012, we celebrated our sweet Jayden's 4th birthday. I can't remember any of our children ever being as excited about a birthday at this age as Jayden was. He would ask each day, "How many more darks?" and was counting down. He couldn't wait to turn 4!

In order to properly celebrate his awesomeness, I want to first talk a little about Jayden. Then, I'll give a rundown of how we spent the special day.

Jayden is the baby of our family in every way. Each member of our family does their part to take care of him and he eats it up. While Jaxon is fiercely independent, Jayden loves the attention of being the baby and is more likely to ask for help, even when he's perfectly capable of doing it himself. He loves to snuggle. He is quiet, shy and sweet as pie. He falls asleep in random places at random times. Almost every week, he sleeps through primary. At the beginning of class, he will climb on the lap of his teacher and fall asleep. They will lay him down in the corner and he sleeps through a good portion of class. It's so cute.

Jayden is a bit of a computer addict. He loves anything with a screen. He asked for a Nintendo DS for his birthday but that wasn't going to happen. We have to limit him as it is or he would play the Wii or computer all day long. He enjoys talking trash to his dad and brothers when they play games. It's quite humorous when the older boys in the family ask for his help getting past a difficult part of a game. It's not uncommon to hear him come out of his usual shell when he's playing Wii by saying things like, "Dat what you get suckaaaa!" We can't help but laugh since he is usually so quiet and sweet.

Jayden has his dad wrapped around his cute little finger. Dan has commented often about how he wishes Jayden would stay little, just like he is now. Jayden also tells me often how he loves me sooo much- but he loves Mason more :) Mason and Jayden share a special bond and are two peas in a pod. Unless Mason is at school, you will rarely find one of them without the other. We are so blessed to have our beautiful baby boy in this family. 

Now back to the festivities!  As I mentioned before, Jayden asked for a Nintendo DS for his birthday. Instead, he got a brand new bike. If he wants to be a part of this family, he's going to have to stay active ;-)

It's  16" of bright green (his favorite color) Hot Wheels goodness, fully equipped with a fake speedometer and a handle bar you can twist and pretend to rev, while making "vroom vroom" noises. Suh-weet! Now if we can only convince our timid little guy to ditch the training wheels so he can keep up with his dare devil brother!

After Jayden got his bike, we piled into the car and headed to Trafalga for a day of family fun. It was ridiculously hot outside, but we had a fantastic time. Here are some pics of our fun day:

At Trafalga, the kids climbed the rock wall, rode several rides, drove the bumper cars and played laser tag. They had such a great time. After we left, they started asking when we can go back- and since we have season passes, we were able to honestly say, "Soon."

Around 6pm, we headed home with a tired brood of kiddos, where we celebrated some more with cake and ice cream. Jayden requested a Spider-man cake and unlike the DS, this was a request we were happy to grant. Our cute neighbor, Carson Wycherly, came knocking at the door just as we were about to start cake and ice cream, so we invited him in to join the party. He is a good friend with both boys and they were happy to have him over to celebrate.

After we all had cake and ice cream, we rushed Jayden off to his very first Tball practice! It was such a busy day for our little guy! He enjoyed every second of it- which is fitting since we have enjoyed every second of him. Happy birthday little guy! We adore you!

Checkin' em out!

A couple of days ago, Jayden and Mason had their annual checkups. Both of them needed shots since Mason is due for his 7th grade booster(s) and Jayden was behind on his immunizations (bad mommy).

Mason went first. He measured above the 75th percentile in height (no surprise) and 50th percentile in weight (nope, not surprised there either). Tall and skinny. This was the exact opposite of Jaxon, who was 50th in height, but 75th in weight. He only needed one shot, his tetanus booster. Relieved that it was much less painful than a shot at the dentist, Mason said he had been picturing a giant needle that they stuck in and moved all around. A little poke was no problem :)

Now it was Jayden's turn. I was a little worried about how he would do with the shots. Jaxon is always so tough and has a really high pain tolerance, but Jayden is such a softie. He cries easily and gets scared. Typical baby of the family :) Jayden measured above the 75th percentile in height and in weight both.  He is barely 2 inches shorter than his big brother, but Jaxon has an additional 25% on him in weight! He was on track for all developmental milestones and enjoyed showing the doctor all the things he could do.

Jayden had to have 6 shots :( He started to cry as soon as they poked him but he stayed still and just got big tears in his eyes. After they were done, he threw his little arms around my neck, buried his face in my shoulder and cried. My poor little guy! The next day, he was very whiny all day and wanted me to carry him from room to room so he didn't have to walk on his sore legs. I tried to tell him that walking would help, but I think he just wanted me waiting on him hand and foot :)

All 3 boys are healthy as could be and Savannah has her checkup today. She's the only one who won't need any immunizations, so it should be a cake walk! It's anyone's guess who will be the tallest kid in the family. The only thing we know for sure is- it won't be Savannah!

Ya Big BABY!

You know that constant battle/dilemma we all have as parents? The one where you need to go out- you have things to do- but your child will inevitably fall asleep 5 minutes before you get home, then wake up when you carry them into the house and totally miss the rest of their nap?

My kids stopped napping very early. My first 3 that is. I was so sad when about their 2nd birthdays, they decided they no longer needed naps. Other parents would talk about their 4 year olds napping and I had no idea what that would be like. I just wanted them to take a nap! But they outgrew themso very early.

Then along came my Jayden. He is the baby of the family in so many ways. It's as if part of him knows that, and is perfectly content not growing up. While Jaxon came out of the womb ready to attack the world all on his own, Jayden loves being babied. He will insist he is BIG but he still wants to be carried, held, spoiled, waited on and snuggled.

So remember that dilemma I was talking about? We don't have that with our Jayden. That sweet little guy can sleep any time, anywhere. Afternoon hits, his little body just decides it's ready to sleep and out he goes- no matter where we are or what we are doing.

Jayden is 3 1/2 so in January, he went into primary. My other kids were so exited about this! But poor  Jayden was not so thrilled. He LOVED nursery. He loved his teachers. He looked forward to it all week. When we told him he was moving into primary, he was less than thrilled. He cried. He begged to go back to nursery. Lucky for us, they moved his 2 male nursery leaders into his Sunbeam class (not because of him), which made the adjustment so much easier. However, every week, his teachers come to tell me how he climbs up on one of their laps and falls asleep during junior primary, then they carry him to class, lay him down in the corner and he sleeps while they have their lesson :)

I find it so cute! I love that he's still my baby! I don't want him to grow up. I'll keep him sweet and little and sleepy like this for as long as possible. I just hope his primary teachers don't get tired of his loud snoring during their class :)

Must be Santa!

A few days before Christmas, there was a knock on our door. We answered it and who was standing there? Santa! We invited him in and he sat down for a little chat with the "believers" (The Js). Jaxon and Jayden had plenty to tell him about what they wanted for Christmas- starting off with MORE TRAINS! They promised him they would be on their best behavior! He rewarded them with a candy cane and was shortly on his way :)

Sweet Jayden turns 3 :)

On June 20th, 2011, our sweet baby boy, Jayden, turned 3. It's hard to believe that time has flown by so quickly since this beautiful spirit joined our family.

We had just relocated to Utah in the weeks prior to his birthday, and we hardly knew anyone. We were living in a tiny little condo and it was hardly the place to throw a party- so as usual, we headed to Grandma's in Idaho :) At the time of our move to Utah, Mason was the end of orthodontic treatment. It had been paid for in full and in order to complete his treatment, we had to come back to Idaho once a month until he got his braces off. So it worked out well to plan his appointment close to Jayden's birthday so that we could celebrate in Idaho with our family.

We had a little get together at Grandma Miller's, where we had cake and ice cream and Jayden opened his presents. He got a plethora of Lightning McQueen and Thomas the train stuff. In usual Jayden fashion, he had his big, shy grin on his face the entire time.

To celebrate Jayden, I want to talk about his sweet personality a little: Jayden is the baby of our family in every way. He is adored by all of us. He is shy and quiet and loves to snuggle more than any of the other kids. While Jaxon is fiercely independent and doesnt want anything done for him, Jayden wants his hand held through every task- not because he isnt capable, but because he wants someone loving him and caring for him every second of the day. And everyone in this family is happy to do that for our sweet boy.

Jayden has the most captivating smile. When someone he doesnt know talks to him, he gets that shy grin on his face, you see his darling dimples and he runs and hides, usually behind my legs. He lets Jaxon do most of the talking for him to people he doesn't know well.

Jayden spends a lot of his time following Jaxon's lead. Jaxon decides what they are playing and how, and Jayden complies. They are the best buddies. I'm either listening to them giggling or fighting all day- and which one depends on the moment :)

Jayden loves trains, Cars, wrestling with Daddy and snuggle time. If you ask him who he loves, he will tell you MASON every time. He worships Mason and cries sometimes when Mason goes to school. He waits anxiously for Mason to get home from school so they can play. At night, he would prefer to sleep with Mason than anyone else.

Not a day goes by that I am not thankful that we were blessed with this sweet little boy. He has been an angel in our family. I look forward to each and every day we get to share with him. Jayden, we love you baby boy!!

2010 in Review...

One of my many New Years Resolutions for 2011 is to keep up on my blog :) I didnt send out Christmas cards this year, which is very unlike me, but I thought I would post here what I would have put in a Christmas letter.

2010 was another wonderful year for our family. We continue to feel so blessed to have each other, our extended families, our friends, and the gospel in our lives. We cannot overlook all the blessings we are given each and every day.




Mason: Mason turned 11 in October. He is in 5th grade and still smart as ever. He played baseball this year, enjoyed a bit of golf this summer, and can't wait to start snowboarding now that the resorts are open. He gets to do ski club for the first time this season and he can't wait. He is also starting basketball in a couple of weeks. He has continued playing the piano (although I dont teach he and Savannah anymore, I now send them to someone else) and has progressed so well. I am so proud of him. Mason is such a graet help with the younger children. He is such a loving, caring boy and his siblings think he's amazing (as do we). He loves to help Jaxon build elaborate train tracks on his Thomas train table. Mason can build them so much better than anyone else. I have a feeling he'll be good at geometry!



Savannah: Savannah (7) is still our busy little bee. On Mondays, she gets home from school and heads straight to piano lessons. She is doing fantastic in piano as well. As soon as the kids are done with piano, we head into Idaho Falls for ballroom. She made the Pee- Wee gold team this year and has loved being a part of that. She recently took 2nd in the Cha-Cha and 3rd in the American Swing, at the Christmas Classic ballroom competition she competed in. She was very excited that she did so well. On Tuesdays, it's off to gymnastics. In typical Savannah fashion, she has excelled here as well. She started off the year at the top of her beginnner's class, and quickly moved into the intermediate class. Within a couple of months, she was moved into the advanced class. She can now do her backhandsprings, her roundoff backhandsprings, and almost has has aerials down as well. She is working on her back tucks, double back handsprings etc. She loves gymnastics more than just about anything. On Fridays, she has cheerleading. This is her first year in cheer and she is loving the heck out of it.




Savannah is the little mother of our house. I'm always amazed at what a little nurturer she is. She helps me with the little boys every day, and they follow her around the house. She is such a happy, lively little thing. She is still our itsy-bitsy girl and hasn't gotten much bigger. We like her that way :)



Jaxon: is still Jaxon :) He had his 4th birthday yesterday. Jaxon is still a big bundle of energy! He keeps me on my toes every day. He is old enough to crack jokes and say funny things and enjoy getting a reaction. Jaxon loves trains. He got a Thomas the train table this year with the wooden rail sets, and he has lived in the playroom since then. He spent half the year playing with the trains, and the other half dumping ketchup, yogurt, frosting, toothpaste and other various sticky things, over them, and running the trains through it all. He collects the Thomas train cars and that's pretty much all he asks for. He sleeps with them, takes them to church etc. He still hasn't outgrown the terrible Twos but I havent given up hope yet :) He is the life of the house and we love that kid! He makes us all laugh every day.




He is so smart and knows all his letters and their sounds. He loves to count, to spell and to learn new things. He also started preschool this year (he gets to be taught by Aunt Dana) and he looks forward to it every day.



Jayden: Jayden (2 1/2) is the little angel of our house. What a joy he is! Jayden walks around with a big grin on his face, always says please, and wants to hug and snuggle everyone, all the time.



He truly is the baby of the family in every way. With his big dimples, blonde locks, and adorable grin, he has all of us wrapped around his finger!




The little boys love playing and fighting with each other. They get pretty rough and beat the heck out of each other regularly. This is a new concept for me as my other kids never tended to do that :) But each of them holds their own, so hey, I guess that's what brothers do, much to their mother's chagrin ;)

Daniel: Dan continues to work for Docutech as the Vice President of Product Engineering. He has been there for almost 7 years now. He loves his job and the people he works for and with. We feel so blessed that he gets to provide for us by doing something he loves every day and working with such great people. We were able to enjoy a few fun vacations this year thanks to his job. In September, as a thank you to their management team, Docutech flew us to San Diego for a few days of fun. We stayed in a beautiful hotel, ate some delicious food and enjoyed touring the USS Midway, taking a Harbor cruise and relaxing and enjoying time with coworkers, away from work. It was so nice of them to do that for us. We recently returned from a 3 day trip to San Francisco. Dan was invited to the year end party for a client of his, so we decided to use a few frequent flyer miles to fly me out as well and enjoy a little getaway. We flew in on Friday, and then got up early on Saturday morning to do a 10-mile run over the Golden Gate bridge and around the Crissy Field area and marina. The run was gorgeous and we both enjoyed the sea level elevation benefit ;) We attended the party that evening and then spent time just not being in a hurry! Daniel also got back to the gym this year after taking a few...err...a few few...months off. He has loved becoming active again and lost 20 lbs. You can find him at work or at the gym pretty much any time of day. He didn't race with us much this year but I think that will be different next year. He has recently found his own love for running and now understands what all my raving was about. It's been nice for us to be able to take long runs together.

AnnaMarie: I've had another busy year as well. I continued to build my photography business and found myself busier than ever. Senior season was a blast and kept me running like crazy, August-October. Seniors are my favorite sessions though so I enjoyed every second of it. And then we went straight into families, so things never really did slow down. I am so thankful for the chance I get to meet and get to know a little about so many awesome people. I also returned to school for the fall semester. I took spanish, college algebra and consumer health. Grades have yet to be posted but going into finals, it looked like straight As. But it would be typical me to work hard all semester and then bomb a final and blow what would have been a 4.0 for the semester. Either way, I enjoyed putting my brain to work.



I continue to do triathlons and running races. I think I did 4 tris this year and maybe 6 running races. It really is a passion of mine and Im so thankful for a healthy, strong body that is capable of doing these things. In the off season, I've been enjoying some time in the gym. I am working with a trainer and focusing on strength training and body composition changes. I'm hoping it'll make me a faster triathlete. I am hoping that 2011 will be the year I complete my first half-ironman. The majority of my time, however, is spent with my amazing kids. I am so thankful to Daniel for providing for us so I can stay home with them and enjoy raising them. I can't imagine my life without that. They are each such a huge blessing to us.




As a family, we are headed to Disneyworld on the 31st. We though it would be a great way to finish off this year and start the new one. It will be the first time we have taken the whole family on a big vacation. The last 2 times, when we went to Disneyland in CA, we left the boys and took only the older 2 kids. This time, we are heading to FL and taking all of them. We can't wait.

Looking back on the year, it's just amazing how blessed we have been. We are thankful for all of you and the part you play in our lives.

Love, The Miller Family
Daniel, AnnaMarie, Mason, Savannah, Jaxon and Jayden.

Well hello strange Blogging world!

I haven't seen you for so long-again. And unfortunately I dont have time to do all the pics etc that I would love to, so here is just a brief update.

Mason and Savannah are finishing up school tomorrow. Mason is in the middle of baseball season. It's his first year of Cal Ripkin and it's been fun! Dan is his coach and they have a great team. They are 6-1 so far and only lost that game by 1 point. Mason got all advanced on his ISATS this year which he was thrilled about. He is growing like a weed and wears the same size shoes as I do!

Savannah is also doing great! She had ballroom tryouts a few weeks ago and made the GOLD team! She was so excited to make the highest team for her age! She can't wait for next year. She is also loving gymnastics and has her back walkovers down and almost has her back handsprings as well. She just had her 1st grade play, in which she was a penguin named Neatly and she did a wonderful job!

Jaxon is busy as ever! He is in primary and gets along well with the other kids. He and Jayden fight and play all day long, sometimes both at the same time. He loves to have one on one time with mom and snuggle a lot. He still loves his blankey and wants to be outside all the time (in Idaho, that's not really practical!).

Jayden will be 2 in a couple of weeks. He is the snuggliest, sweetest boy around! He really is the darling of the family. He love me to sing songs to him and he loves being held and loved. He loves kisses and is all smiles, unless he's fighting with his brother. I am so thankful that we have our baby boy!

I just did my first triathlon of the season on May 15th. It was Irongirl Vegas. I will do a separate blog for that to give you the details but it went well and I had a great time. Our next one is in 10 days in Utah. We (Daniel and I) are both excited for that as well.

Dan is staying crazy busy at work. He is still at Docutech, where he has been for 6 years now. He is always moving up and is lucky to have his head above water right now with all his responsibilities, but he loves his job and we are thankful that in times like these, he has such a secure job.

That's all for now!

Always sleep with one eye open!

When you have two toddlers...

I got up this morning ready to get a lot done, and was well on my way when Jaxon said he wanted "snuggle time". This is part of our daily routine. We get his blankey, lay on my bed and watch Super Why together. And so it was. Jayden was just playing on the floor and I laid down by Jaxon. Problem was, I was really tired and I dozed off for a minute. When I woke up...

I WAS COVERED IN SHAVING CREAM!!!! As was the dog and the bed and the dresser and the carpet and the clean laundry....

LOL

Seriously funny.

Sickies

It's been a fun week or two!

It started a couple of weeks ago when Savannah started complaining about not feeling well and started coughing. She is so healthy so she didnt say much and it wasn't bad the first few days. On Friday (10 days ago), Mason started complaining of the same symptoms. By Sunday, Mason and Savannah were both running high fevers and coughing like crazy! Monday it was Jaxon's turn. By Thursday it was Jayden, and as of yesterday, Daniel. It's obviously some strain of influenza (swine flu is rampant around here it seems!) so we all stayed quarantined for most of the week. Daniel left for a business trip yesterday and he's feeling terrible. As of today, Mason and Savannah are back to school and doing well, with the exception of that nasty cough. Jaxon is no longer running a fever but he still doesn't seem 100%. And poor little Jayden is just miserable! It seems to be taking each person about a week or so to kick this. I am praying I dont get sick because I need to be able to take care of everyone else.

Savannah also broke out in a terrible rash today. I am watching it overnight to decide if it needs looked at. It's all over her entire body, even her face. She is itching but not running a fever. Im guessing it's some sort of hives, but figure I'll watch it and see.

So here's to health-wherever it may be ;)

Jayden's cake smash

These photos are from Jayden's first birthday. We did a cake smash. He had no qualms (unlike Savannah when she turned 1) about getting in there and getting dirty. The trickiest part was getting Jaxon to stay out of the photos, and the cake. He kept saying, "Jayden steal my cake!" It really was a fun thing to shoot. I can't believe my baby is already 1!

A few more family pics

So I was having serious uploading issues yesterday when I posted the first blog and couldn't get all the pics on there. And when I try to edit, half of what I have uploaded disappears. So rather than fix the original blog- over and over- I figured I would just add these babies to a new one.

Thanks to April Farnsworth of April F Photography who took these for us.

Family pics May 2009

This Week's Fave's- Kiddie Style

As I was cleaning my house, I was thinking about each of my kids and how seriously awesome they are. I decided to do a blog about my favorite thing this week about each of them.



Mason- This week I have noticed so much how Mason loves his little brother Jaxon and how good he is to him. Sometimes when I go to put Jax down for a nap, Mason will say, "Nooo! I want him to stay up!" It warms my heart that he loves spending time with Jaxon so much. He thinks Jaxon is the funniest person in our family (he's right).




Savannah- This week, Savannah has been the most incredible helper! She is volunteering to do all sorts of work, and doing such a great job! When someone else complains, "I dont want to...", I keep hearing her say, "I'll do it!" and jump right in. From wiping off counters to folding laundry to helping with the babies, she has been such a great help. She also told me this week that she loves organizing! She has been helping my organize my scrapbook room and has been going through her own drawers and closet and organizing them just right. Such a sweet little girl!




Jaxon- Jaxon has been learning all sorts of new words and phrases this week. His favorites right now are "couple times" and "few minutes" although he says, "Cupa tibes" and "Bew minutes". He puts those on the end of almost every other phrase. "I take out Murphy cupa tibes!", "I eat dinner bew minutes." It's so cute. He also yells out the names of letters as he watches Super Why. So cute! He is such a fun little boy!

Jayden- Jayden has learned several new tricks this week. He shakes his head, blows raspberries, and claps his hands. Clapping is his favorite and if you try to get him to do one of the others, he will usually clap instead :) If you say, "YAY!" he will start clapping and he is so proud of himself! I love watching all the things he is learning.

I feel so blessed to have my 4 amazing children. Every day I get to spend with them is wonderful. While I have many enjoyable things in my life, nothing compares to the joy of being a mommy!

So much....

yeah I swear I have a million blogs I need to do but Im too busy. So I will get to the fun ones as soon as I can, and in the meantime, here is life in a nutshell.

- Mason and Savannah had another ballroom performance of which I have video, as soon as the hubbs rips it off the CD. Mason has a ballroom competition this weekend so you can watch for that one too.

-I am all registered for my first triathlon of the season- Salem Springs, on May 30th. Better get busy.

- Back has healed well and I am once again able to run, and have started running outdoors when I can.

-Loving my ballroom class but I kid not when I say I look like I'm doing the pee pee dance when I do the samba. It's sad really.

- The remodel is moving along. The hardwood has been done for a while. The tile in the entryway and both bathrooms starts on Monday. Savannah's new room had the window cut in and trimmed out, the closet framed, drywalled, taped and textured etc. The trim/wainscoting starts on that today. Carpet can go in as soon as the tile is done. Except that I haven't ordered it yet. And much painting has yet to be done.

-Jaxon is talking up a storm and keeps the whole family laughing. He was making the baby laugh today on purpose, which was endless entertainment for me.

-Jayden is 8 months and trying to crawl, although he moves backwards more than forward. He's getting it. He is growing so much so he's sleeping and eating a ton.

- We did another FHE with a fun project that I need to blog about as well. I'll try, I'll try.

- Kids did another ski lesson and they love it. We've been wanting to take them again but have had other commitments, so maybe next week? maybe? I dunno.

That's about it I think. I'll try to catch up on the other things. I promise.

Jayden- 7 month pics and stats

Jayden had his 6 months visit a month late :) Here is the rundown.

Jayden weighs 19 lbs 11 oz.
He is 28 3/4 inches long.
His head is 18 1/2 inches

He is in the 61% in weight
He is in the 91% in height (that's a Miller for you)

He had an ear infection, a cold, 2 teeth breaking through and a fever of 101.7 when I took him in. No immunizations for him that day! They called in some antibiotics and I have to take him back in a week to get his shots.

There you have it, Jayden in a nutshell :)

Nothing Sweeter...

...to a mother, than when her baby looks up at her face, lights the room with his beautiful smile, and all is right with the world simply because she is there.

Halloween, Halloween, Trick-Or- Treat

We had a great Halloween- amazing weather, which is rare here. We usually trudge through snow, sleet, ice and hail on Halloween ;) Thought I'd throw up some pics.


My wonderful neighborhood did a fun thing. We had a dinner party at Betsy's house at 4:30, and then loaded the kids on a hay-filled trailer. We took them up our road (about 30-40-kids were on it) and stopped at each house. They would come out to the trailer and give each child their candy. The kids didn't have to get off. The neighbors only had to answer the door once. And everyone could go visit grandma, or family, later in the evening. It was so much fun.



Did I mention that I looked hot? Check us all out. Try not to drool too much ;)

Here I am with my blue eye shadow, my dark blush, my side pony tail, huge, belted shirt over leggings, layered sock and high tops, as well as radical earrings :)




Baby Jayden in his Kangaroo costume.
Savannah was a kitty. And yes, this is the same costume I wore to Hidee's party. Except I didnt wear her leotard or leggings :)


Jaxon was a lion. The hood stayed on just long enough for me to snap this. You can see his hands are already on it, and off it came about 1/3 second later.




Mason was a skeleton. He's trying to hold Jayden but pooe Jayden wasn't loving it.




Here is a pic of all the neighborhood kids on the hayride, going from house to house. Why didnt our parents think of this all those years ago? What an efficient way to get some snackage!

Jaxon got tired and was dragging around his blankey, sucking on the fringe, as he does when he is tired. So cute.