Quality Family Time

Last week was our annual family snowmobiling trip to Island Park......and aside from Ben and I getting sick, it was FANTASTIC! Good times I tell ya! There was good snow, good food and good friends to enjoy it with. My brother and his family even came up one night to go swimming with us! We only had one "wreck"......Mike was going a little too fast out in the meadow and didn't notice a dip. When he hit it, he flew off his snowmobile. It scared him to death but recovered nicely and was back at it the next day! This was the first year Josh and Mike rode their own sleds on a longer ride, which was great! I was so proud of them! Here are some photo highlights:

Yes....He Is That Cute!!!

Only one of my sons would think that something like this is so funny..... I could listen to that laugh ALL day and never be sick of it!

Benjamania

We all have a little bit of Benjamania in this house. We think Ben is better than sliced bread with butter and jam! So when he got his first two teeth this last week, we jumped for joy! No more toothless grins!!! And then, the smarty pants, learned to crawl......well, we were ecstatic! He is a moving cutie! Here is a shot of Ben in action, but watch cautiously, or you may get Benjamania too!

6 month (+ 1 month) pictures

I am a horrible mother......how could I forget to get Ben's 6 month pictures done.  I got them done just last week (hence, the title of this blog) so he was actually 7 months old!

Josh, Mike, Luke.....all had 6 months pictures done.  But not Ben.  Poor kid.  This may scar him for life.  He may have to go to counseling about this someday.  Oh, the inhumanity of it all.......

But, they did turn out FANTASTIC.....

He is FREAKING adorable........

Maybe he will survive my oversight.

What do you think?

Time Flies

I never thought too much about the saying "time flies" until I had children.... and it seemed like in the blink of an eye Josh went from being a loud, stubborn 1 year old to a loud, stubborn almost 12 year old.

And then, after Luke passed, the saying "time stands still" came into play, or maybe I just wanted it to stand still.  I didn't want anything to change.  I wanted to hold onto what we had.......

This past month, I think I have had time standing still while flying by (yea, figure that one out).

We got to celebrate Ben's first Christmas.  We enjoyed playing Creationary (the boys got it for Christmas) and sipping hot chocolate.  We watched movies and ate popcorn.  And the time really flew.

And then by week two of Christmas vacation, time slowed down, trickling ever so slowly, until it eventually came to a screeching halt, and I didn't think I would make it until they went back to school (isn't sending them to school heavenly?  I think we should go year round.....who's with me?!?!). 

Here are some of our most memorable times:

Okay, now let's talk about this cuteness:

Ben is over 22 lbs. and is in 9-12 month clothes already.  He is sitting up wonderfully well.  He is almost crawling......he can go scoot backwards as far as the room will allow, so we are working on his forward motion.  He is LOUD and proud.  If you don't pay enough attention to him, he will yell until you do.  He has found his toes and loves to try to suck on them!!!  He still wakes up 2-3 times a night, but we are going to start curbing that!  His favorite foods are sweet potatoes and peach cobbler, but he is starting to want our food more than his own.  He loves his brothers, something I hope will last a lifetime.  He finds them just hilarious.  And he is stinkin' adorable!!!

Breaking News

I have some Breaking News here at the Taylor Chronicle.....a 6 month old baby named Benjamin can answer questions when asked directly.

Impossible you say......it has never been seen before......you just can't believe it......

Well, we have video proof......



He is a baby GENIUS!!!!  And he is SUPER cute.  Just as an added update, at his 6 month appointment, Benjamin weighed 20 lbs. 8 oz. and was 27.5 inches long.  He is a tank and we love it (maybe his weight has something to do with his ginormous brain?!?!).

As Plain As The Nose On My Face

I have ALWAYS been, shall we say, aware of my nose.  Let's be honest....it is, well, of a more portly nature.....it is vertically challenged.....it is stoutly built........it has more cushion for the pushin'.....it is BIG.

I was made fun of my entire childhood because of it, but as I got older, the jokes stopped, not because my nose got smaller, but because adults don't make fun.  I kind of forgot my nose was big......until.......

My all time favorite comment on my nose was made just 6 years ago by a young boy in our ward.  We were practicing for the primary program and I was sitting with my son's class.  A boy in his class turned around and looked at me and said "Your nose looks like a witch's!"  How do you respond to something like that?

Ah, what was a girl to do?  My husband seeing my unhappiness decided to talk to a surgeon at work who suggested I come in for a consult.

So, 6 years ago he and I went and talked to the ENT doc about my nose.  I found out there was more wrong with it than I thought.....a horrible deviated septum, big turbinates, and a high bridge (i.e. one heck of a big hump). 

The solution to those problems.......A NOSE JOB.  But, shortly after talking to him, I got pregnant with Luke and by the time I had him and met our deductible, there was no time to have the surgery.

Until this year.......

But before I reveal the NEW nose, let's review the OLD one.  Let's go back.....

Okay, maybe this is too far back, but seriously, I had a cute nose!

Crusin' forward.....and.....STOP!

Not bad from the front, but look out......BAM.....from the side!!!!

So here are the pictures in succession of the AFTER:

Day 1



 

 

Day 2  Post Op

 

Day 3 Post Op

    

Day 4 Post Op

Day 5 Post Op





Today- Day 6 Post Op Front

Day 6 Post Op Side

NO MORE BUMP!!!!!

The recovery hasn't been as bad as I expected. The pain is minimal, it is more just uncomfortable. But I do have a great support system--great husband, and great friends who have helped me so much!!!!! I am still pretty swollen, but don't worry......I will post more pictures when the swelling goes down some more and maybe I will even put on a little make-up!!!