Christmas Update

I don't know that anyone even reads this, but just in case, I wanted to let you know we are still alive. :) We have been busy with life the last few months. Here is a little update about each of us.

Tade is plugging along in 2nd grade. He loves his friends, recess, football, and reading Diary of the Wimpy Kid books. He pretends he doesn't like the other parts of school, but I am pretty sure he is at least okay with the other stuff since he is doing so well in school. He is super excited for Christmas and is asking Santa for a football and Lego's.

Ashlynn has become my big helper. Sometimes she is a helper with a BIG attitude, but lately she has been a big helper with a sweet attitude, which is so nice and refreshing. She loves preschool and can't wait until next year when she can FINALLY go to Kindergarten. I think she just wants to get out of quite time in the afternoon however she can. I keep trying to tell her that one day she will wish she could have an hour of quite time every afternoon, but so far she doesn't believe me. She is asking for Squiknies and Barbies from Santa.

Carter is seeming like a really big kid lately. He is talking really well, which is really fun. Sometimes I still think of him as a baby, but he is my big boy now and it is kind of sad. Lucky for him, he still gets away with alot of things, since I see him as a baby, but I am starting to figure him out and try not to let him play me so easily. His smile is contagious and he is always making us laugh.

Easton is getting so big. He is almost 10 months old!!!! We just found out yesterday that he has for sure been diagnosed with congenital CMV, which means when I was pregnant I contracted the virus CMV and it caused some hearing loss and brain damage as Easton was developing. How has this effected him, you may ask. Well, his hearing is a moderate to severe loss, meaning he can hear sound, but can't necessarily recognize the sound. He has hearing aides that he is wearing as much as possible and with those in he is hearing pretty much normally. Yea! The virus has also caused some developmental delays. He is pretty much behind in almost every aspect of his physical development. We were lucky enough to have caught this all really early though so we have been blessed with physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and hearing therapy all through wonderful state programs that have been so amazing. So what can Easton do, you might ask. Right now we are working on better head control (which is getting better all the time), grasping toys and bringing them to his mouth, sitting (hoping to get accomplish this by a year old), eating solids, and babbling. His little life has been filled with lots of ups and downs, but we are so grateful to have him in our family and feel blessed to have the opportunity to be his parents.

Eric has been working so hard not only at his job, but also in trying to finish our basement and helping his mom work on hers. He never has any free time. He is always doing something for me, the kids, his calling, his job, whatever. We love him and are so happy that he is our husband and dad!

I have been busy just trying to keep things organized. Easton has lots of appointments, luckily most in our home, but if not then I am always begging babysitting off of someone. We are blessed to have left a wonderful ward where we still have many good friends and to have moved into a equally wonderful ward where we have been able to make friends too. Everyone has been super helpful with helping with my kids. I owe many people LOTS of THANKS!!! I am still working once a week and I am also activity days leader, which both keep me busy as well.

We are truly blessed and are grateful for this Christmas time. I love reflecting on my Savior's birth and have really felt the Atonement in my life this year as I have leaned on my Savior more for the peace and comfort that come through His sacrifice. We hope that life is treating you well and that you too feel PEACE and LOVE at this Christmas time!

Halloween

Thanks to Grandma Gappmayer, we were able to carve pumpkins this year. The kids loved it and were so proud of their pumpkins!

We had an awesome Halloween. Eric took the day off so we had lots of family time and made so great memories. My favorite part was probably Carter answering the door for the trick or treaters. He loved opening the door and giving out handfuls of candy and then was so good to say "welcome" (your welcome) after the kids left. It was a really great day!

Super Fun Summer FHE

There is nothing like feeding the ducks and then picking raspberries on a warm summer evening as a family. We actually did this activity way more than once. We were addicted to raspberry picking especially. I can't wait until next August, September, October when we can go again!Carter really loved feeding the ducks. He even knows how to get there so if we are driving in the general direction of the ducks and then don't go there he has a little meltdown in the car.I think we usually ate more raspberries before we weighed them, but the little grandpa that ran the farm was so nice he didn't care. All of us LOVED RASPBERRY PICKIN'!!

The Big Kid on Campus

Tade is a super special kid. He is so thoughtful and smart and kind. I cannot say enough good things about him. Apparently, I don't take enough pictures of just him so I will have to work on that. He is the best big brother! I always wanted a big brother. I am grateful to have to amazing big sisters and lots of great younger brothers and sisters, but I always thought a big brother would be awesome. I am so glad that my other kids get to have Tade as a big brother. He is such a great example for them (and me and Eric).
He is growing up so fast. This year they had a 2nd grade Halloween program and he loved being a part of it. (Yes, he has dressed as this pumpkin for like the last 3-4 years, but he wants to so I'm not encouraging anything different.)

Tade's "Taste the Rainbow" picture. He loved trying to get it just right! In less than a year he will be turning eight and getting baptized. Time is flying aroung here! I need to remember to slow down and enjoy the moment.

Carter: What Have You Done Now?

This kid makes me laugh more than anyone else. He is really starting to talk now and has such a fun personality. He is crazy busy though! Always in to something, but that is what I love about him! He just finished sitting on a chair after biting Ashlynn. (Notice his tear.) I swear he is a super nice kid, but he bites, pulls hair, hits, and bugs Ashlynn all the time. I tell her to move away from him, but she doesn't. Maybe, they will both learn soon.
This is after he ate the markers. I was sitting right by him, but I was distracted by the computer. Apparently, I need to pay more attention to him. This is how he looks after almost every meal. I swear he just likes to take baths/showers cause that is usually where he ends up after mealtime.

My Ashlynn Girl

Ashlynn is my princess. We have our moments when we butt heads, but she is such a great girl that they are easily forgotten.

Last month we had this awesome rainbow in our back yard so we tried to copy the Skittles commercials. :) Not the best picture, but we had fun trying. This is a picture from the Jr. Drill Clinic at MMHS (aka: Dance Class). We love doing this every Fall and Spring because it doesn't cost too much and it is only a week long. Maybe one of these days we will do a real dance class.
Ashlynn turned five in September. She is getting so big. Her birthday was on a Sunday so she was lucky enough to get to see lots of cousins and aunts and uncles on her special day.

Ashlynn started preschool at the beginning of September. She just missed the cut off for Kindergarten, so we are glad that she has been able to go to preschool cause she definitely needs something to do besides hang out with mom and younger brothers all day!

Ashlynn HATES getting her hair done (washing, brushing, curling, braiding, ANYTHING)! So I usually have her brush through it first and then it is my turn. This time she thought it would be fun to twirl the comb. She found out it was fun twirling, but the untwirling isn't so much fun. Luckily, she has a super patient and handy dad, who took his wire cutters to the comb and got it out without harming her hair. My comb didn't fair as well. :(

Easton's Helmet

Easton has always favored looking to his right side since he was born and because such he developed a flat spot on the back of his head. We tried stretching and positioning, but he still liked that right side. So we decided to get a helmet to help even out the flat spot and have continued with the stretching and positioning to help strengthen his neck muscles for when the helmet gets to come off. He got it on the end of September and we were told it usually needs to be on for about three to four months. Easton's helmet experience has kind of been troublesome since the start (not fitting right, causing little sores, interfering with hearing aides), but we are doing the best we can and he has been a trooper. Hopefully, we will be done with it in a month or so.First they have to do a casting. He HATED this, but he looked really cute!

This is the first day. It looks to me like he is thinking, "What did they get me into this time!"The first week he could barely hold his head up because the helmet was so heavy. Now it is just an added bonus to his physical therapy cause the extra weight is making him so much stronger.He is such a happy baby. We love having him in our family and have been blessed to experience life with him!

The Things I Love

We have been doing lots of fun things this summer! Here are just a few pictures of the kids from the last couple of months.

Jace, Issac and Easton. The three cousins born within five and a half weeks of each other. They are going to be best buddies and great protectors for their girl cousin coming any day now! :) How can you not smile when you see this kid? He is still crazy and super busy, but within the last couple of weeks he has really found his voice. It took longer than I thought it should, but now that he is talking I can't get him to stop sometimes. I love it though! It is fun to hear his ideas and thoughts, even if they are only two or three words long.

Easton is still the best baby ever. I really need to do a whole LONG post on just him and what is going on and I will, but it really will be a super LONG post and I just haven't found the energy to do that yet. For right now, just know he is a great baby and we all love him TONS!!!

Ashlynn and I are lovin' us some curlers. Every Saturday night we either put them in or two French braids so that she can have beautiful hair for church. So far she doesn't complain too much which is amazing cause most days she won't even let me brush her hair.

I love these kids. They are trying to teach me patience and humility and kindness and all sorts of things, but they have already taught me LOVE!

Sooooooooo Busy (Just Like Everyone Else, I Know)

Our life has been crazy lately, just like everyone else. I know it is not a good excuse, but it is the only one I have. So here are a bunch of pictures of what we have been doing lately.Baby Easton is such a sweetheart. All of his pictures show him with his "aids" on, but in reality he doesn't wear them much yet. We are still doing some testing and ALOT of doctors visits to figure stuff out, but he is such a perfect baby and I am so grateful to have him in our family.
Carter: Need I say more? It was a mess. Let's just say that is is a good thing he is such a cutie pie!

Tade and Ash+Rain and Dirt= Another Mess! (Day after Carter's mess.)

They got sprayed off with the hose and it wasn't so much fun after that. :) Tade finished up First Grade. His cute teacher made each student (27 total) one of these little pillows. He is learning so much. Too bad I think we've lost a good portion of it already this summer. Oops! That's my fault for not making him do anything. I think I was more excited for school to be over than he was cause I just needed a break from HOMEWORK.

Just so cute! I say it all the time, but I really love the kid!

Carter loves his daddy.

Sometimes I have to "lock" him in his high chair so he can't get into anything. He was sitting really patiently this time just resting his chin on his little hands. It was so cute that I had to take a picture.

Tade turned seven! His cake request was that it have his face on it. This was the best I could do. If you know me you'd just be proud that I made an attempt and didn't just go buy something. He was happy with it so that's all that counts! He is getting so big. Next year we will have a baptism.

Fun presents. He got quite a few. Lucky kid.

We've been to Lehi Trafalga and also Seven Peaks to use our Pass of All Passes (along with the rest of Utah County).

Carter was locked out of Tade and Ashlynn's room and he way using his "key" to try and open the door. What a clever kid. Too bad it didn't work.

Waiting for the Opthamologist. His eyes checked out and the doctor didn't find any problems! Yay!!!

Easton and his dad have special bond. I LOVE watching Eric interact with him. Eric has spent more time with Easton as a baby than any of the other kids and it is such a sweet relationship that they have already formed.

Prepping for the MRI. Best buddies. At least Carter thinks so. Easton's not so sure.

This is the gift that Tade gave me for Mother's Day. I especially love the words "Sits" and "Jumps". So funny!

This and That

We (Mom, Tade and Ash) hiked the Y with Grandpa C and the Andersons on Monday. It was harder than I remember, but not so bad that the kids weren't just running up it. Carter had his 2nd birthday last week and it was a super FUN, SPECIAL day. He is such a ball of energy. You'd think I would be 20 pounds lighter just from trying to keep up with him! His smile is so sweet, mischievous, and contagious. I love this kid!
Mother's Day was a very nice day. I got these beautiful roses thanks to Ashlynn. Apparently, she saw them at the store and just had to get them for me. Thanks Ash! They made my day. :) We have had lots of things going on the last month or so. We met with the ENT and have had more tests. Easton's hearing loss is definitely sensorineural (permanent), which means while it will never be "fixable" hearing aids should help to amplify sound so with the use of hearing aids he should be able to hear close to "normal." We still have to do some other testing and see a few different doctors, but he did get his hearing aids today so we are excited for that. He cried for ten or more minutes after they were put in because he just wasn't used to the noise. It was really sad and almost made me want to say never mind take them back, but I know in the long run it will be worth it. I am also looking into doing some signing with him. I did a little bit with the other kids, but I will try to do a little more with E, just to add any communication tools we can. He is such a blessing in our family and we love him to pieces.