Halloween

Pumpkin Patch

Party at the Park

Rigby had a preschool Halloween party at the park but was MIA most of the time-so there are no pictures of him.  Scott did capture some good pictures of Adeline showing us her daredevil moves on the roller slide though.

She also loves the swings at this park.

 Here is Reuben hanging out in the stroller with his piercing blue eyes.

Carving Pumpkins

We did not have time to carve pumpkins on Halloween night because we went over to a friend's house to have dinner and go trick-or-treating with them.  We ended up carving pumpkins about a week later.  Life gets crazier each year and we have less energy, so we did not do anything fancy this year.  The most important thing is that the kids had fun though!

Backyard Photo Shoot 

Reuben was very unsure of his Mickey Mouse costume . . . 

. . . and started to get upset . . .

. . . more . . . 

. . . and more . . .

. . . until he completely lost it!

Adeline made the cutest little Minnie Mouse!

Rigby dressed up as the pirate Jake from the show Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

 He is really into making awkward faces for pictures these days.

He has told me about 100 times that he loves me because I made him "Jake boots."  So worth it to hear those words!

Peter was "duck-u-la"--a duck/vampire--which is a villain from
a duck-themed video game he likes to play.

He really got into character!

The kids had a blast trick-or-treating and Scott and I had fun watching them.  Scott hung back with Rigby and Adeline, while I literally ran ahead (while carrying Reuben) trying to keep up with a very excited and sugar-high Peter.  He probably could have continued on for another hour, but we had to get the younger kids to bed so we called it quits.  I love finding and putting together their costumes!  I honestly have more fun now as an adult with kids than I did when I was a kid.  I am so excited to see what the next year brings!  

Reuben's Surgery

When Reuben was born he had a little birth defect on his little boy parts that needed to be fixed.  We decided that September would be a good month to have it because summer trips would be done.  Grandma Flamm was wonderful to come and help watch the other kids during the surgery and assist while Reuben was recovering.

The Hospital

The nurses gave Reuben something they call "goofy juice" that helps with separation anxiety and administering the anesthetic.  He was so slow and loopy that Scott and I just laughed and laughed because he is usually so fast and rough.  I HATED giving him up for the surgery; I did not realize it would bug me so much.  I am just thankful that it was not a more serious surgery.

While Scott and I were with Reuben at the hospital, Little Miss Adeline tripped and bit through her lip.  Kristine had to end up taking her to the emergency room to get 3 stitches.

At Home

Her is Adeline getting her stitches removed while she was sleeping.

 

 Reuben was fabulous during recovery.  We had to give him medicine every 8 hours and double diaper him to keep stool and urine separate for 2 weeks.  He had minimal swelling and was so happy the entire time.  He even sat on his knees and bounced up and down; I thought for sure that would hurt, but he seemed to be just fine.  He only had bladder spasms a few times.  I wish my kids were that great as newborns too! 

Peter wrote Grandma Flamm a letter when she and Adeline turned on a princess movie.  He wrote that both he and Rigby HATED princess movies and that they wanted it turned off NOW!

The kids also loved going to the book store with grandma and reading books too.

My Happy Rigby

Starting the beginning of August, Rigby has made almost an instant transformation from being very frustrated and upset to being so pleasant and happy.  I am LOVING this new phase.  Over the past year the poor boy went through a long phase of allergies, exzema, potty training, daily potty accidents, communication difficulties, missing daddy at work, a new baby in the family, etc.  He finally reached a point where all of those things are now under control or resolved so he can start enjoying life again (and by extension me too!).  Here are some fun and cute things he has been up to lately:   

He told me, "Mom, look!  I made a friend!"

Jake and the Neverland Pirates is his favorite show to watch, so when we found this Jake costume at the consignment shop for $10, he was ecstatic.  Scott will say to him, "Hey, Jake," and then Rigby will say, "I not Jake!  I am Rigby!"

The boots for the costume were missing when we bought it, so I made him some little boot covers.  Now he says, "Mom, I love you so much because you made me boots for my Jake costume."

His first official drawing--a robot.  It took a little practicing, . . .

. . . but he has it down now.

He also likes to draw trees with tree houses and ladders.

He use to hate coloring, but now he will finish a coloring job before he will go watch a show!

Rigby - Preschool

Rigby LOVES preschool.  He got upset with me because Peter gets to go to school more days than him.  He goes to a gymnastics place that has incorporated a preschool.  They have a time for math/science, language arts/reading, gym, and then lunch.  It is a perfect set-up for him because he really needs that extra physical activity.   

Peter - First Grade

Peter on his first day of 1st grade! 

(Technically the 3rd week, but hey it still counts if it is within the first month, right?!)

He told me he would let me take a nice picture if I would also let him take a silly one too!

Peter loves learning and generally enjoys school, but the beginning of 1st grade has been a little bit of a struggle for him.  He is having to write sentences and figure out how to spell things on his own, but he is gradually figuring it out and getting less frustrated.  He loves math and is eager to start doing multiplication and division.  He also enjoys music; he remembers words and melodies well, and usually always sings in tune.  His favorite songs, not from school but primary: "God Gave Us Families" and "Families are Forever."  He told me the other day, "I love our family, Mom.  I am glad I chose this family."  I am glad you chose us too, Peter!      

Crawling!

My baby is crawling! I love it when my kids learn to crawl because they are so much happier.  He officially started crawling on the day he turned 7 months old.  Love my cute baby boy!  I tell him that I love him so much that I could eat him like a Reuben sandwich (he he; way too cheesy, I know).

"Your Hands are Full!"

"Your hands are full!"

Since I do not live in Utah where families with 4 kids in 6 years is common, this is probably the comment I get the most when I go somewhere with all 4 kids.  I am getting use to it, but sometimes I still feel so judged.  Are they saying that I have too many kids or do they see it as a wonderful blessing?  Do they think I am crazy or are they impressed with my juggling act? Really I should not care what they think, but I still try to make sure the kids are all dressed well, their hair is done, and they are on their best behavior.  I want to show people and myself that I can do this mom thing.

It has been a long last couple of years as I have struggled with feeling like I am doing a "good job" at this mom thing.  Scott and I have always said that we might have our kids closer in age because of my infertility issues, but saying it was so much easier than doing it!  However, even if I had to do it over again, I would do it the same way because I know it was the right choice for us to have them when we did.

They have built in best friends and they love each other so much!  I love seeing the Adeline and the boys make Reuben give a big-belly laugh, I love seeing Rigby and Peter wrestle together, I love seeing Adeline grin while she runs after her big brothers, I love seeing the millions of little golden moments that my kids share.  It really makes the challenge of motherhood/parenthood worth it for me.

I have found that there are three things that help me have a happy day and feel like I am doing okay at this mom thing:

1) Prayer and Scripture Study
This one has been hard because I am not a morning person; the kids are my alarm clock!  By the time night hits, my brain feels like mush and all I want to do is something mindless or sleep. I know it makes a huge positive impact on each day, so improving prayer and scripture study have been my goal lately.  

2) Let It Go! Let the unimportant things go.
I have learned to let the house be a little bit messier.  Now, I cannot live in a super messy or unorganized house, but I have tried to lower my standards so I am not cleaning as often.  I have also found that letting go of my responsibility as a mother for a few hours and getting a break makes a HUGE difference. 

3) Hugs & Kisses! 
I always try to give the kids a hug/kiss and say I love you or something positive.  I want them to leave the house and go to bed knowing that they are loved. I am also trying harder to seize the little moments when I can spend quality time with them because my "to do list" has a tendency to take over my life (oops:).  I love what Sister Hinckley said, "the most important thing you can spend on your kids is TIME."  Time equals love right!

Seems like a simple list but I like to make things complicated, so it is still a work in progress.  Hopefully writing this down will help me in the future and maybe my kids as they look back at our blog books!

          

Rigby & Adeline

Rigby and Adeline fight much of the time.  Rigby sees Adeline as an annoying and bossy little sister who messes his stuff up.  Adeline sees Rigby as another brother for her to be a mother to.  It is rare to see them get along but when they do, it melts my heart!

Little Mama

Since Reuben was born, one of Adeline's favorite things to do is follow me around and help me be the mommy.  She thinks that she is in charge of ALL her brothers.  She is always pulling Reuben's hands out of his mouth, she helps bring them their clothes to get dressed, she disciplines them, she even chased Rigby across the house the other day to help him wipe his bum after he had pooped! The boys absolutely hate this and tell her, "Adeline, you cannot tell me what to do because you are not the BIG Mama.  You are a little Mama."  Thus, she has gained the nickname of "Little Mama."  Here is the Little Mama in action with her "Baby Jenna" and "Big Minnie."

These days I think the more appropriate nickname for her is "Little Sassy Mama."  This girl has so much sass in her; we really need to get it under control!   She is one dang cute, Little Sassy Mama with pigtails though.

Unfortunately, Scott and the boys think my nickname should be "Big Mama."  I hate it because it makes me sound like a big, fat cow!

Family Pictures at the Beach

All seven of Scott's siblings were able to come and most of his Grandma & Grandpa Freeman's children & spouses, grandchildren and spouses and great-grandchildren were there as well for a total of 72 people!

All of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Ralph and Claudia Freeman.

All of the children, spouses and grandchildren of Doug and Kristine Flamm.

Kris, Doug, Kathryn, Melissa, Stephen, Eric, Jason, Scott, Ryan

Good family pictures are a thing of the past with this many young children.  Better luck next year!

Everybody in their tie-dye shirts.

This picture was a train wreck, but a very cute and funny train wreck!  

This is what happens late at night on the last night of vacation.

Josh (2), Doug, Luke (6m), Kris, Reuben (7m), Adeline (2), 

Daniel (4), Gabriel (4), Rigby (4), Peter (6)

Adeline, Rigby, Grandma Flamm, Reuben, Grandpa Flamm, Peter

 

I saved my favorite pictures for last!  Love you my sweet boy!