Well loved

I can't believe how fast time flies! Tanner is 4 months and had his check up today. He weighed in at 15.2lbs (48%) and 26.5" (90%). He also had rice cereal for the first time today, and didn't think it was too bad. He is a super good baby and only cries when he is hungry or tired. He is such a good sport and puts up with all the smothering and loving he gets. He definitely doesn't lack attention. Even at church, he gets stolen (literally, if they asked, they couldn't pry him away from his five very possessive older siblings=) and passed around. I guess my only complaint is that he still is not sleeping through the night. I think it's too quiet for him, and he just doesn't know how to handle it.

Talie could hardly wait for nine months for Tanner to join us, and as soon as he did, she had a great plan of convincing him that she was his mother, until she discovered that babies recognize their mom's voice and smell. She was a little disappointed, but he still thinks she's great.

Dallin has been talking about and waiting for Tanner ever since Kennedi's ultra sound, when we found out she was going to be a girl. Dallin, the next baby you can plan on will have to be your own- sorry.

One evening, Tanner was crying and Ashlynn went and snuggled with him and they fell asleep together.

Peyton just loves being a big brother! And never gets tired of Tanner.














Kennedi likes to hold him, but now he literally weighs almost as much as she does.
I always say there is nothing else like having a baby in your home. And we sure are grateful for Tanner!

Musical Beds

The other night, Benson & I put the kiddos to bed, and this is what we found. They like to play what I call musical beds - only we don't play music (besides Talie's Ipod that she plays to go to sleep), and we don't take away beds. But every night we tuck them in their bed, but when we go check on them before we go to sleep . . .

Sometimes I wonder why we don't just live in a two bedroom home with two great big beds. One for us and one for the kiddos.

Talie Turns Teenager

If you haven't already guessed from the title, yes, Talie turned 13!!! And if you haven't already guessed from the picture, she's a lot of fun to hang out with - even the Colonel thinks so=).
She is 5'5" (86%) - (today, Peyton asked me, "Mom, why is Talie taller than you when she's 13 and you're 34?") and she is 107.1lbs. (60) - (shh, you didn't hear it from me=). She is great at making friends, and especially looking out for those who maybe feel a little left out. She loves music, face book, taking pictures of herself, blond jokes, babysitting, Brian Reagan, volleyball, basketball, and doesn't want to miss out on anything social.
She loves to play practical jokes on people. Sometimes it gets her in trouble, like at girls' camp, when some leaders tied her up to a tree as bear bait, and filled her pockets with candy - to get her back for her pranks. Her new favorite thing to do is to convince me that I am getting "Old Mam Syndrome" or losing my mind. She likes to hide eggs from me when I get them out, or move pitchers after I have set them out for dinner - to make me think I am losing my mind, and she tried to convince her leaders at Girls' Camp that I'm like 50.
Talie is a great babysitter, and is in high demand. One weekend, when we were out of town, she had to turn down 11 babysitting jobs - but now Dallin is starting to get some when she is busy - which he loves, but she hates. She is also super cute, and with her fun personality, a lot of boys have been noticing her lately.
Oh, and lastly, she is officially embarrassed of me. She told me that I could absolutely NOT come eat lunch with her at school - so I guess it's true: she is a teenager.

Talie & her BFF Megan (since the first day of school in the 4th grade after we moved here) on their first day of the 8th grade.

Talie, we love you!

1st trip to the dentist

Today we took Kennedi to the dentist for the first time. Sometimes I forget how tiny she is=). They laid the seat all the way back and had to pull her up so they could work on her teeth. Her feet were barely on the bottom part of the chair. She did great, and the best part was, she got a princess wand from the treasure box.