Allie - 4 Months Old

Allie turned 4 months old on the 28th.  She had her well child visit yesterday with Dr. Eyre.  The doctor said that she is looking great.  She still has some issues with dry skin, but we have some stuff that we have been putting on her that helps.  We just need to be better about putting it on her everyday.  Here are her stats:

Height: 25.5 in (90%)

Weight: 14 lbs 9 oz (60%)

Head: 41.5 cm (75%)

BMI: 25%

So she is a big healthy girl.  I don't think that we have had a baby that has been this tall before.  Megan was super petite so it only makes sense that Allie would be a big girl, right.  She is quite the talker and gabs all the time.  Tyler always thinks that she is saying real words and gets all excited when she talks.  She hasn't rolled over yet, but is starting to move a lot more.  She has quite the bald spot on the back of her head where the hair has rubbed off from moving it back and forth.  Luckily she really didn't have much to begin with, so you can't really tell.  Allie wakes once a night to eat, so that is really nice.  It'll be even nicer when she sleeps just an hour or two longer.  She is a great baby and we all love her so much.  Even her siblings still think she's great and love to give her hugs and kisses.  It is so nice having older kids that can help me with Allie and she loves them for it.  The time is going by fast, but we are all enjoying it.  We love our Allie and I am pretty sure she loves us too!

Snow Day Fun

It finally snowed enough snow for the kids to play in.  They didn't stay out in it very long, but liked playing in it.  They liked having a snow ball fight.  Megan didn't last very long in that fight.  We all love the snow and hope that it snows a lot more this winter.

Christmas Afternoon

After we left my parents house we headed to the Steenbliks.  We hung out and waited for the Grandma and Grandpa to get back from Great Grandpa Steenbliks house and for Suzanne and her family to come.
Once they were all there Grandma passed out the presents and let the kids open them.  They all got really fun, cute stuff and they were all very happy about it. 

Allie got a fun toy and a play mat for her to lay on.  Megan got some books and a Doc McStuffins play set that included lots of fun doctor tools.  Josh and Tyler both got some legos and Skylanders and Tyler got a nice Sunday outfit.  We all got some gift certificates for the movies and Tony and I got some money and lots of treats for everyone.  We were all very spoiled and felt very loved.

After hanging out there for a couple of hours we then went back to my parents for dinner and to talk to Aunt Teagan in Japan.
We thought that we would eat dinner first and then have everything cleaned up before we Skyped with Teagan.  Turned out that my mom messed up the time difference again and so Teagan was trying to Skype two hours earlier then we had thought. 

It all worked out and we got her on the big TV talking to all of us.  She seems super happy and doesn't want to come home.  That's pretty normal for most missionaries.
So after we talked with Teagan we finished putting dinner together and then ate.  It was super yummy and we all ate our fill.  Then it was finally time to go home.  It was a long busy day, but it was really nice to spend it with family.

Christmas Morning

Megan's main gift was a little kitchen.  She loved it.

The kids opening their stockings.  Allie was still sleeping.

Josh was excited to get a new toothbrush and bubble bath.

Megan liked getting her very own soccer ball.

Josh loved getting a Spiderman mask and gloves.

Tyler really wanted a BeyBlade stadium and was very happy to get a new one.

Megan even got a play toaster to go with her kitchen.

Josh's preschool teachers got him a book.

Tyler got a really cool new BeyBlade.

Megan playing with her play food and dishes.

Josh got a new Bateman jacket.

Another BeyBlade for Tyler.

Josh REALLY loved his Batman mask, gloves, and cape.  "I am Batman."

I got a new tablet, yeah!

Christmas Eve Kresser Party

Megan loved her jammies from Grandpa. 

Josh was so excited to get Batman and Spiderman jammies.

Tyler thought his jammies were pretty cool too.

Allie liked her jammies too.  Grandma is so great.

Our 4 cuties is their new jammies on Christmas Even.

We chose the cute reindeer jammies for Allie to wear.

All the grand kids that were in town in their new jammies from Grandma.  I love seeing all of them in their matching jammies.

Christmas Eve Clark Party

Cousin gift exchange after our yummy breakfast feast.

Me and Allie watching the kids open their presents.

Megan got a super cute puppy.

Josh got a Spiderman.

Tyler got a transformer.  He was really excited to put it together.

Santa 2014

Megan and Santa

Santa and Josh (after his soccer game)

Santa and Tyler (after his soccer game too)

Allie and Santa.  She did super good with Santa.

Santa with the 3 trouble makers.  Allie woke up right after this picture was taken and the kids left to go get some breakfast.

Megans First French Braid

I was finally able to put french braids in Megan's hair this morning.  It was pretty exciting for me.  Megan does pretty good for the most part while I do her hair so it wasn't too hard.  The hardest part is getting my big fingers to manipulate her fine hair.  It is so fun to do Megan's hair and I look forward to being able to more fun things in the future.

Tyler's School Sing-a-Long

Tyler had his Holiday sign-a-long this morning.  This is where each grade sing two holiday songs each.  Some sang very traditional songs and others were songs that I have never heard.
Tyler has been practicing his songs for weeks now.  He would sing them all the time at home and was excited for the "program."  Tyler really loves to sing and does a pretty good job.  Even Josh has started singing Christmas songs with Tyler.

Tyler was very specific about where he wanted me to sit so that I could see him the best.  The program started at 9:30 and I got there at like 9:05 and lots of the seats were already occupied.  I found two seats near the front on the side that Tyler told me to sit.  Megan, Allie, and I waited for Grandma Margie to join our party.  We all enjoyed listening to the kids and we think that Tyler did a great job.  Tyler is an amazing kid and I am so lucky to have him.  We sure do love him so much!

Tony's Fun Visit to the ER

Tony has had some health issues for a while.  It all started back in July when he got some major pain in his chest during sacrament and left church to go to the Instacare.  After some test they concluded that he had strained his pectoral muscle and needed to take it easy for a while to it could repair itself.
He tried to be careful and not lift heavy things for weeks, but like a week before we had Allie he started feeling really bad on his way to work and stopped at the ER to be looked at.  After more tests and lots of money they said he was still suffering from the effects of the strained pec.  Well, fast forward to last night (over 5 months from the initial pain) and you have Tony in bed trying to sleep and having a very hard time.  A little after 10:30 pm he told me his arm was tingling and he was light headed (felt like he might pass out), his heart was beating fast and he just felt off.  His head and chest/shoulder hurt off and on and he knew he needed to do something.
When you don't know what to do then it is time for a blessing.  I texted my neighbor, Max, and he came over and looked Tony over.  He did the blood pressure (which was all over the place), listened to his heart and lungs, etc.  Tony started totally shaking at this point and couldn't control how he was feeling.  Max gave him a blessing and we knew we needed to go to the ER.
I called Tony's mom, Margie and asked if she would come sit with the kids so we could go to the ER.  She said yes and was on her way.  After we got Tony dressed we headed to the ER.  They got him in pretty fast and started asking all the questions and started doing test on him.  They did an EKG, drew blood to be tested, they did a chest x-ray, and an CT scan of his head.  They were looking for possible blood clots, signs of stroke, anything that could be causing these symptoms (that have come and gone and the most random of times during the past 5 months...it really really sucks for everyone).  They also gave him some drugs through an IV to help with the headaches.  I made him sleepy so he was able to sleep off and on  while we waited for the test results.
The doctor said that all the test looked good the only thing he "maybe" could see is a little something on the EKG that should be followed up with a heart doctor to get a stress test and then he wanted Tony to see a Heart and Rhythm doctor.  He said that he didn't really know why he was having all these random problem (gee, that's awesome).  By the time we were discharged it was about 1:45 am.  We got home about 2:00 am and Tony's super awesome mom went home (it is so nice having people you know you can call at anytime and they will be there for you).  Tony was able to zonk right out but it took me a while to settle in.  Before I could get to sleep Allie was awake wanting a bottle.  I fed her and put her to bed and then was able to finally get to sleep around 3:00 am.  Allie then woke up at 7:00 am poopy and ready to start the day.  4 hours of sleep just isn't enough, but sweet blessings of the Lord have helped me get through the day.
I got Tony an appointment to see a heart doctor today and the Rhythm doctor on the 19th (their earliest available appointment of course).  The heart doctor today said that he doesn't think his issues are heart related but that he did want Tony to do a stress test just to make sure everything is looking good.  We got an appointment for tomorrow to do that stress test.
Tony and I don't really think that this has anything to do with his heart, but want the peace of mind.  He has an appointment on the 22nd with a doctor about his shoulder (which he thinks might be the cause of a lot of his pain and issue, but who really knows at this point).  We are trying to see if we can move that date up at all.  We really just want to get to the bottom of this so we can fix it and we can go back to being normal and doing normal things.
So here's to a good nights sleep and some answers tomorrow with the stress test!

Ginger Bread House FHE

Tony's mom got us one of those pre-made gingerbread houses that is assembled but not decorated.  They are perfect for little kids to decorate.  She has given us one of these gingerbread houses the last couple of years and it has made for a fun family tradition for us to do for a family home evening.





The kits get a little fancier each year.  This year they had a small green and red squirt bottles of frosting.  They made frosting little things much easier.  They also had a large bag of white sticky frosting that I ended up putting in a ziploc bag and cut the corner off and iced the house that way.  It was much easier then trying to use that large bag they provided.






The kids did pretty good to decorate their gingerbread men and help decorate the house before eating the candy.  I told them they could eat their gingerbread men after they were done and they were very happy about that.  The actual gingerbread is really hard so I don't know how they ate it, but they did...and enjoyed it.
Megan loved decorating the gingerbread.  She liked working with Tony and myself and using lots of frosting and lots of candy, lots and lots of candy.  

I pretty much just put the white frosting onto the house and then let the kids put on the candy.  Josh lost interest first and then just sat and ate the frosting (okay really Tony lost interest first, it's just not his type of thing).  Tyler and Megan were going strong until they used all the candy on the house.  It was fun crafting with them.

Allie was such a good spectator while we decorated.  She watched from her bouncer for a good while and then Tony got her out for a closer look.  She is such a cutie and a good baby too.  I love this picture!

This is the finished product.  It's not decorated to be the prettiest, but the kids sure had a good time putting candy all over it.  What cute kids I have!

After I took the picture of the finished product I told the kids that they could eat the house.  Tyler and Megan didn't waist anytime taking a big old bite.  Josh was still busy eating frosting.  We all had a good time and are thankful to Grandma for providing us with this fun tradition each year.