Hot dogs and S'mores

We had our first Memorial BBQ in our very own fire pit. The kids were so excited. Heck, I was excited to see the kids roast hot dogs and marshmallows for S'mores. Uncle Kelvin came and helped man the fire.







Uncle Kelvin put on a little performance for the kids before they went to bed.

the worst one

Sometimes I wonder at this handsome man of mine. He says he just doesn't know where our kids get their wild, rambunctious spirit. Hhhhmmmm! I wonder.... He's the worst one of them all at times. But that's what we love about him.

Puppy Tug-Of-War

Grandpa Zirker got a new puppy.

A little Redbox

I know the picture isn't all that great, but long line and in a rush.

We're just going to relax a little tonight. Got a movie from Walmart's new, blue Redbox. No worries for now.

White Car

We are home once again. And it feels just as great as the first time when we brought Lainey home. They did two more tests for RSV yesterday and they both came back negative. They thought to retest because they do not typically see RSV in a baby so young and Lainey did not have any of the other symptoms-cough, fever, congestion, etc. So no RSV. Phew! They did send us home with an apnea machine to monitor her breathing as she sleeps over the weekend. The respiratory therapist thought he noticed that she might have apnea as he checked her out. So far no scare there and hopefully none for the rest of the weekend. She is eating and sleeping well.

My photo today is of two things. First Emma in the grand downpour of rain we had today. She thought it so fun to go out and get soaked. The second thing, if you look again at the photo is the white car behind Emma, my mom's white car.

I have never been so astonished or so relieved to see that car in all my life. When we couldn't clear Lainey's throat, Jason said to call 911. I would like to say that I calmly carried out my part in the whole ordeal, but I must admit that I was getting quite frantic as I couldn't find the phones anywhere. How can I not find a phone? I thought. Jason pulled his phone out of his pocket, he always has his phone, and called. I then used his phone to try and call a neighbor to come and sit with the kids. I tried the three people my mind would allow me to think about, but could locate no one. I did have the thought to call my mom, but knew she wouldn't arrive in time. I pulled the kids together-me crying, Emma crying, twins crying-and offered a prayer for Lainey and us all. I went back outside because the ambulance had arrived and that's when I looked across the street to see this white car pull up and park. I literally did a double take and thought, there's no way that that could be my mom. But indeed it was! I knew at that moment that Heavenly Father was watching over us even in this scary time because my mom had shown up right when we needed her.

Just a few blessings I thought of as I was in the hospital with Lainey...
1. The white car and a mom who came because she felt like things weren't right.
2. A husband who remained calm, directed me, cradled our baby protectively over his arm even as she struggled to breath, and safely saw her to the ER.
3. The priesthood that my husband holds and uses to bless our family.
4. Prayer-our own and, now as I've returned home and seen all of your comments, yours too.
5. The people (dear friends from our church Relief Society, our friends Kurt and Shela-thank you twice :), and my two wonderful Laurels and Young Woman leader) that have brought us dinner this past week. It was such a relief to not have that to worry about.
6. The presence of a new baby in our home. Lainey has helped us all to be kinder, cleaner (we're constantly reminding the kids to wash their hands), more soft spoken, and generally more at rest.

Looking back....

Lainey is doing much better today. Cindy and Lainey are supposed to come home from the hospital tomorrow.

Situations like the one Cindy and I had yesterday has caused me to reflect and think about my children and how much they have grown. Cindy's mom Linda and I have been looking through pictures of Emma, Paul, Benjamin, and Claire. It is remarkable how much they have all grown. In an effort to help Cindy meet her goal of a post a day I have uploaded some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Emma's first day of preschool. She was so
excited and nervous that day. We loved Teacher Terri.

Paul wearing his famous "My Name is Trouble" T-shirt.

He loved to get into the cupboards at grandma and grandpa's house.

Claire and Ben have changed so much. They both walk and talk now!
Cindy and I laughed a lot when they were infants.
Had we not laughed we probably would have been committed.

Little Lainey....I can't believe she is already here!
She used to be a bump in Cindy's tummy.

Where has the time gone????

Lainey

At about 7:00 PM Lainey gave us a scare. Cindy and I heard Lainey cough and cry. Cindy checked on Lainey, who was sleeping in her cradle. Cindy told me that it appeared Lainey was struggling to breathe. I performed the infant Heimlich on Lainey. She would cry and gasp for a breath of air and then stop breathing again. We called 911. I met the ambulance at the curb.

As I was getting into the ambulance to give Lainey to the EMTs Cindy's mother Linda arrived at our house unexpectedly. Linda later told us that she felt like she needed to come to our house tonight rather than in the morning. Cindy and I left the four children with Linda and left to the hospital.

After the doctors and the respiratory therapist checked Lainey they told us she had Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). They suctioned mucus from her nose and throat and had it tested. The tests came back positive for RSV. Lainey's doctor advised she wanted Lainey kept at the hospital over night to be monitored.

Lainey appears to be improving since the doctor had her put in the bubble bed. Medication and oxygen are blown into the bubble for Lainey to breath.

If you have a moment, could you say a little prayer for Lainey? Thanks...

Train Time

Bed time rarely means bed time at our house. It most often means get a drink time or book time, or even play time. It means get-out-of-bed-and-pester-mom-and-dad time quite often. Tonight it was just train time.

Noise!

This is what Lainey thinks of our noisy home.

Gather Round

This is our new gathering place-around Lainey. Can anyone guess why Paul has his nose plugged? I guess he was the only one bothered by her stinky diaper.

These were just cute.

ssssshhhhhhh...

...baby sleeping!

Holding Lainey

I'm home! It feels so good. The kids have been sssssssssoooooooooo helpful. If I could feed the baby, keep all the other kids at bay, and take a picture I would just to show you. The kids get so mad when their turn isn't long enough, they don't get to be the holder (of anything baby), or the retriever (of anything baby).

Benjamin has absolutely loved holding Lainey. He's the one that throws a fit when we take her away from him.

Claire did not want to hold baby Lainey at the hospital at all. It kind of looks like she's trying not to let the baby touch her in the photo. Paul is interested...from afar. He'll hold her, but not for long, and he asks a lot of questions. And what can I say about Emma? I think her smile says it all. She loves holding Lainey and does it for long stretches at a time. Her complaint: I said she couldn't stay up with us adults and tend baby; she had to go to bed. And tomorrow she'll be mad that she has to go to school and miss out on all the baby fun.

We're all just having so much fun!

Thank you to Jason for manning my photo a day - even though he didn't really want to in the beginning and he had so much fun doing it in the end. :)

It's a GIRL!

Lainey Anne Erickson - May 18, 2010

Cindy had our little Lainey last night at approximately 2349 hours. Lainey was 8 pounds 8 ounces and 19.5 inches long. She was our largest baby. Cindy is recovering well. She has fantastic nurses that are giving her the spa treatment, which Cindy deserves.

Club Kennewick General

Cindy looking GOOD at Club Kennewick General!!
 

Cindy has asked me, her stud, to man the blog while she is at the hospital. I left her side, at her request, to post her photo of the day.

While at the hospital I was a little bored so I pulled out the camera and started snapping photos while we were waiting in the triage room. Cindy told me to stop, but I had to do something. This was the picture she approved of. She did tell me that she would probably change the picture when she gets home. =) We both laughed.

I have to tell you that we felt like we were on vacation while we are waiting for her doctor. They moved us from the triage room to Cindy's Presidential Suite. Cindy and I both pulled out our books and began to read. It was quiet!!! If you know us (our children) our house is never quiet. It was heavenly. I joked and told Cindy that we could have one more child for a trip to "Club Kennewick General." Of course I was just joking, I am done!! =)

red rover, red rover

After dinner, Jason took the kids outside and played some games with them on the front lawn. It was nice for them and me-they got to play and I got some quiet time. Their favorite was Red Rover.

We're off in the morning at 7:30 am We're so excited!

Perfectly Pomegranate, Perfectly Painful

We did just recently clean the chair
it looks bad even without this new huge stain I know

Maybe I'm just jinxed where Scentsy room sprays are concerned. I purchased one about three years ago that actually still has quite a bit left. Last year I purchased a replacement because the first one was getting low. Well, Benjamin got a hold of it just after I bought it and sprayed the whole thing out. So I recently bought another one, Perfectly Pomegranate. I was so excited to use it and this time made sure I stored it up high in the cupboard. Well, Benjamin once again got his hands on it and yes, dumped the whole thing out. I did not take it well and to write this still pains me. That's just about $18 and over six years of sweet smelling rooms wasted.

rubberband face & swimsuit picnic

I was not having the best of days on Friday and feeling not a little bit irritated with my children. Paul decided to give me a little laugh and save my day. When I looked up and saw this I laughed out loud. It makes me smile just looking at him now.

Swimsuit Picnic

We were at Grandma's today and the kids got to have their first fun in the pool for the summer. Yes, I know I said summer. The first official day isn't until June 21, but we're thinking positively that it is upon us already.

Off with her head!

Remember these cute little doll sets that we did for our Craft the Night Away? Well, Benjamin had Claire's box this morning and was looking at the dolls and clothes. When I looked a second time I noticed that each doll had been decapitated and he was discarding them on the floor. I guess they weren't very responsive after that and he was through. No more cute little doll set - exasperated sigh.

Biker Ben

Benjamin has finally taken an interest in riding a bike.

The Mount

The Start

The Bend

The Final Stretch

Maintenance Check
Biker Ben is on the loose!

a whole tube

Benjamin and Claire love to squirt out the toothpaste into the sink. It drives me crazy! Not just because it wastes the toothpaste, but it makes the BIGGEST, STICKIEST MESS. Well, just last week I went and bought this new tube of toothpaste. You can't know how excited I was to hold a new, full tube of toothpaste in my hands. We stored it in the cupboard, only taking it down at brushing time...until tonight. Claire got a hold of it and now there's maybe a quarter of the tube left. Yeah, I wasn't too happy.

Ear Infection

Mr. Paul has an ear infection. We've been putting drops in his ear and he just dropped out at 5:00 pm after I put the drops in. Life isn't too fun around the house when they have ear infections.

On the Couch

This has become my base camp of sorts over the last week and a half. And it will be for another week and a half more. I go in on the 18th to have this baby! While the couch is not ideal, it helps reduce my back and pelvic pain while sleeping. It also reduces the carpal tunnel symptoms that I have in my wrists and hands by A LOT. They aren't nearly as numb or swollen.

So let's see if you can find the essential things that I keep by me. Scriptures, journal, book to read, lesson manual- to review the upcoming lesson, water-for refreshment, pillows-for propping, my red bag-for easy access to lip replenishment and out bound calling (my cell phone :) ), basket-full of odd things I might need-the Ensign, book club book, whatever. I'm all set to relax and go to bed. See ya!

Happy Mother's Day!

Emma was so excited for Mother's Day to come. For a week or so before today she was working on different crafts to give to me and hiding them away in this huge box. She made some things at school and kept telling me that I couldn't look when she brought them home. Jason helped her wrap the box last night and she had the biggest smile on her face this morning as I opened the box and pulled out each item. It was a great start to my Mother's Day.

The Pizza Shop

My Dad's birthday is tomorrow. To celebrate we went to Chico's Pizza Parlor in Moses Lake tonight. This is one of two places that we make it a family tradition to visit (the other being Miner's Burgers in Yakima). The kids loved the pizza and then they loved playing the video games even more. The birthday boy on the left. Emma digging in on the right. My Mom, brother Corey, sister Shelly, and nephew Jordan in the background.

Benjamin and Claire loved the pop, games, and pizza in that order. As you can see, Benjamin is sporting his cousin Warren's pajamas. He woke up cranky from his nap and those are the only clothes he would put on. He has become a pajama boy all day. I guess who doesn't want to be comfortable?

Mmm-mmm! Paul kept asking if we were going to the pizza shop throughout the week. Benjamin and Claire picked up on that too. It was really cute to hear them all say.

This is the famous viewing window where you can observe them making the pizzas. And of course they flip the corn meal up on the window much to the surprise and laughs of everyone. I remember watching at this window when I was a kid.


Once my kids figured out that these things ran on quarters and then where to get the quarters (Aunt Cherice), the whack a crab and the roller coaster ride were the favorites of the night.

Nephew Brennan helped his little brother Keaton play the games.

Nephew Ethan is Nephew Jordan's little buddy at all of the family functions. Here they race cars together.