It's been awhile..

I'm sitting here, exhausted, waiting for John to call and started wondering about my blog.   When was the last time I posted?  Could I even remember the password?   So my curiosity got to me and I found myself on my blog reading all of my old posts.  Now I am wishing I would have never stopped updating.  So many things have happened.  Poor Carter is already one and yet his birth is the only thing mentioned.  Needless to say I have a new dedication to keeping my blog current.

So now I have 4 kids...Kynadi is 7, Brooklyn is 5, Linken is 4 and Carter just turned 1.  John is currently working at Halliburton (in the oil field), which means he is gone a lot, which also means, I am a "single" parent a lot, and therefore am tired alot (ie tonight).

I love my kids, they are so unique, and I love their differences. 

Kynadi is nothing like me.  She is a social butterfly, which I admire.  It was someone I always wanted to be like when I was here age.  I especially love it now because I feel like she will open up to me and tell me things.  She has a funny little sense of humor.  I love that she is to the age where her humor comes out.  She is very intelligent and catches on to concepts so quickly.  She is also the best little mother ever.  One of my favorite things is to watch her comfort and help her siblings.  I wouldn't know what to do without her.  I trust her more than most babysitters (other than she loses her focus).  She also loves to sing and perform and is good at such a young age.  This year in the school Christmas concert she had a solo in fact.  I was such a proud mom.  She did great and it is something I never would have had the guts to do.   

Brooklyn reminds me of myself in so many ways.  I relate to her quiet shyness and can see so quickly when she gets hurt by something someone says.  Her look just tells me, and I remember being like her.  She has a fire to her as well though.  When she is in a comfort zone her personality shines through.  She loves to laugh and dance around.  She is also determined to do things.  She has an eagerness to learn and I love helping her.  She rarely complains when we are working on her school work.   I think she is my athlete.  I hope she finds the confidence in herself to realize how good she is.  I know I was always timid around others with team sports and I think I held myself back.  I love her red hair, and hope it gives her confidence as well, as she gets so many compliments on it.

Linken is my momma's boy and I can't help but love it.  Any time he is hurt or sad he wants his mom.  He loves John, no question, and is always asking about daddy, but he wants comforted by his mom.  He is a little social bug as well.   People just seem to be drawn to him.  Of course it helps being little and cute.  The only problem is he knows he's cute.  He always smiles and tries to bargain with me when he knows he's in trouble.  Also, I have never met a kid that likes movies/show's so much.  He must get that from John.  I am constantly fighting him on watching shows.   He loves his cars and trucks too though.   He is definitely a boy and is constantly digging and zooming away. 

Carter is my go-getter right now.  At the ripe old age of 1 he is letting us see his personality more and more.  He has the highest, shrillest scream.  It reminds me so much of Brooklyn.  He is not afraid to show when he is upset about something.  Many times he arches his back, throws himself on the floor, and screeches.  It is funny right now, but I'm sure that won't last.  He is just starting to talk some, but he is not clear enough that I'm convinced of what he is saying.  I believe he knows, mom, dad, Kynadi (I think) stop, down, and more.  He's probably behind in speaking but he seems ahead in getting into things.   Every time I turn around he's into something he shouldn't be.  Usually it is the sandwich bags, and foil in the kitchen drawer or the soap and toilet paper in the bathroom.  He loves climbing on things as well, but seems to have the worst balance and is constantly falling.  He is such a funny little thing and for the most part is a happy little boy.   He has crazy little red hair that you can't help but love. 

 

It's a BOY!!!

I was never so ready to have one of my kids come out of me as I was with our fourth.  I felt sooo much pressure from him and was so tired of being pregnant.  At about 7 months pregnant I decided to paint the outside of the house, which was crazy.  Allisa Nathan helped so much.  But what we thought would be a few day project turned into weeks.   I will never paint brick again.  What a pain.  Anyway, that whole project made wanting this baby out of me even worse.    So finally my doctor gave me the ok to be induced.   He was due November 9th (I think) but with John's schedule we decided November 4th would work out great.  It was a Friday and my mom had the day off of work so she was able to help with the other kids and then continued to help throughout the weekend.

So Friday morning at 5:30ish we headed to the hospital.  They checked me in and sent us to the delivery rooms.  By now it was around 7:00.  They prepped me and got me hooked up to the IV's and such.  Around 8:30 my doctor (Starla) came to check on me.  I wasn't doing much so she said she'd come check on me during her lunch.

Well, I was most excited to see the anesthesiologist.   I get nervous about the huge needle in my back but think it's better than feeling birth.  Anyway, this was the only tricky part of the day.  My one side was not numbing.  Which I wasn't too worried about until the anesthesiologist explained to me that this would only intensify the pain on that side.  So after positioning me in different ways they finally were able to get both legs numb.  After that birth was a breeze.

Anyway, they checked to see how dilated I was a few times, but there really was not much progress.  So John and I sat and watched TV for awhile.  Then around noon, my doctor came back to check on me.  She said I was dilated to a 9!  I couldn't believe it, I didn't realize I was progressing at all -- the beauty of the epidural.  She said she'd come back in a bit and then before leaving just decided she'd go change and see if we could get this baby out.  I was shocked it was all happening so fast.  So a few minutes later she came back in, and three pushes later our little Carter Douglas Fairchild was born.  He weighed in at 7lbs 6oz. and 19.5 inches long.   We hadn't found out if we were having a boy or a girl, but I kinda just thought a boy so it wasn't as shocking/exciting as I thought it would be.  But still fun.   The other problem with not knowing the gender was not having a name.  We didn't decide on one for sure until the next day.  Carter was really the only name we both liked...so Carter it was.

We could see his little red hair right away and there is no arguing now.  He is definitely a red head, although I am still not sure what color of eyes he has (he's almost 6 months old).

Well Kynadi, Brooklyn and Linken love their new little brother now, but Linken was not so keen on him at first.  I don't think he really understood that this baby was OURs now.   When mom first brought the kids to the hospital the girls were excited.  Kynadi loved it, and Brooklyn was happy but still seemed a bit confused by this new baby stuff.  Linken on the other hand was afraid of Carter.  When Linken realized the baby moved and was real, it was just like he is when he sees a dog, he was afraid.  He got upset at first when we put Carter near him and wanted him  to go back.  It was funny.   John finally convinced him to touch Carter, but he was ready to get out of that hospital room.  It took him a bit to warm up in the hospital, but now he is the proudest big brother and wants to "help" with Carter too much.

He is such a cute little guy and is really a great baby.  He still doesn't sleep through the night, but that is my only complaint.    He is so mellow and happy, just as Linken started out, but is now a busy, rambunctious  little three year old.  Life is good though.

We are definitely blessed.  Four healthy, happy children!  Who could ask for more?   (Not John; he says it's the fourth and final)

We have finally moved to our dream house on the ranch and are raising llama!we hAve adopted a chip name Emma! What a perfect life.... Whos could be any better...?!? No one!!!!!!!!!!$!!!!!!!$!$!$

Kyndai's Talent Show

Kynadi Talent Show

Linken Going to Bed

We had Caitlin staying at our house for a few nights while her mom was out of town. So I told the girls they could all sleep upstairs and have a movie night. Well, apparently Link wanted to join in the fun (not that I can blame him). This is how he responded when I wanted to take him downstairs to go to bed in his crib. It was a nice try but he didn't get his way.

My Sweet Grandma Walker

These are some of my favorite pictures right now. They were taken about a month or two ago, and are the last pictures I have with my Grandma Walker. I'm so grateful I got to see her this day. She has had a long battle with cancer and wasn't doing well. We had gone down just to visit her, but because of her doctors appointment that day, the visit was short. John took the kids so they weren't running around like maniacs and I got to visit with her for about an hour and a half. It was nice. This was the last time I saw my Grandma in a somewhat normal way. She was completely coherent and we had a normal conversation just about everyday life. The next and last time I saw her after this trip, she was not as coherent and did not get out of bed...she was very frail and ready to be done with this earthly life.

I'm so glad I took the time to see her this day...even if it was for just a short while. Grandma was funny....when John came to pick me up, I hesitated to let the kids come in since Brooklyn hadn't been feeling that well. Grandma insisted it was fine. So they came in and I asked if we could all get a picture. Grandma had just had a treatment and had to stay lying down for the day, but she got up to take the pictures with all of us. I was trying to be a bit selective with Brooklyn and her sickness, and Grandma said, "it's fine, what's the worste that could happen", then scooped Brooklyn right up on her lap. John and I had a good chuckle at this. I guess if your on your last leg of life, she made a good point.

Anyway, Grandma passed away on May 20th and I miss her lots, but I also know she's happy. She was an incredible woman, and I feel blessed to be as old as I am and to have had her in my life for so long.

I'll post more about her and her funeral later, but I was looking at these pics and just thinking about her now.

The brighter side of life.

Not sure why this picture is turned this way, but I'm too tired to care right now.

I don't know what it is about pictures at the park, but I have always loved them. Whether they are of my kids or someone Else's, park pictures just seem to be so bright and cheery. So this is our first trip to the park this spring. It was pretty chilly but the kids still loved being outdoors finally. Our trips to the park have been few though since we have had snow multiple times since then.

Kynadi looks so determined to stand on the swing..I'm pretty sure she got it.

Linken didn't want to let his sandwich go while he was playing...here he is rescuing it.

My girls LOVE the swings, which is unfortuneate since all I hear is , "mom, push me".

I LOVE bed time

As much as I love my kids, by the end of the day I'm sure glad it's bed time. I'd like to say I got them to bed and then worked on that HUGE pile of laundry you can see in the background(picture below)...but let's be honest, I probably laid on my bed and turned on a show.

These pictures are how Linken can often be found...snuggling a blanket. I think it's so cute. He often hands me his blanket first when I go to get him out of the crib in the morning. Throughout the day if he spots a little blanket of his, he will usually go grab it and hand it to me to wrap around him, or he just carries it around, as in the second picture. My one complaint about this is his new "trick". He knows all the blankets are kept in the armoir in his room, so he'll go in there and start pulling them all out until he gets the one he wants, and even after he gets the one he wants I think he continues to pull more down just to test my patience.

Easter...Finally posting

Easter this year was a bit different for us. We celebrated just as our little family. Usually we spend it with Grandma, Grandpa and Kelsey is here a lot too. This year I think my Mom was in Utah with Grandma Walker and Kelsey was with her Mom (go figure). So anyway, we still had Grandpa and he had just gotten back from his re-hab stay and was all excited about life. So we picked him up Saturday to go to the egg hunt at the convalesent center. We go there just in time to line up and spend two minutes scrounging for eggs. Then we were done. What excitement. I'm sure my dad was thrilled to have gotten all dressed and ready for that!

Anyway, I am not used to doing easter on my own and had forgotten that we didn't have easter baskets. I believe they're at my parents house somewhere. So we improvised and came up with these little hand-made baskets(in picture above), that worked just great. Plus I threw them away when we were done and I didn't have to worry about storage. Perfect. I felt a bit like Martha Stewart.

Well we did the traditionally painting of eggs, and of course the Easter Bunny came and hid everything in the morning. Since it was General Conference that weekend, we stayed in our PJ's and just had a relaxing Easter Sunday! It was nice.

These first pictures were taken before church the next Sunday...all dressed up in their Easter clothes.

I love this picture of John helping Linken with his jacket...I don't know why, it's just a cool picture to me.

What a little stud.

That Saturday night as the girls were getting their baskets out with the eggs in them, Linken learned how to climb on the cofee table. He was sure proud of himself. He also discovered when he stood up on it he could see out the window, which he thought was a good time.

Miss Kynadi

No real reason to post, I just like this picture of Kyandi. What a cutie. I love her!

What a Round Head

I just found these pictures. I had taken them right after Linken was done with his helmet to show how round his head is now. It's like a perfect little head. I'm grateful for technology! You can kinda see his scar on the back of his head, but the one on top is not noticeable at all. :)

This was the day Link had his surgery. You can see his head is kind of a funny shape.

This was just after he was done wearing the helmet.