End of Season Soccer Party!

Well, soccer season is over, and it was so great this year. We absolutely loved having our friend, Coach Ball, as our coach, and Blake responded really well to his awesome coaching. He really grew a ton this season! We had a little end of season party with cupcakes, trophies, and gold medals last Saturday, and it was so fun! Coach Ball said a little something to each player as he gave them their trophy which made it really personal. He said he calls Blake his "thunderfoot" and he could seem him as a punter for some NFL team one day! Blake was quietly beaming with pride as he received his trophy!

Coach and Blake aka thunderfoot!

Blake and Anna

The Blackhawks!

Sean and I brought the cupcakes, and I must admit....these babies were frosted by my amazing hubby, Sean aka Marty Stewart (love the free hand blackhawk helicopters to incorporate the team name!)

Action shot

I love that Blake's tongue is sticking out in this pic as he focused on the ball!

More Fall Fun

I have been working on turning my blog into a Blurb book and as a result I have completely neglected to update on here! I think I am going to love the way the book turns out and I highly recommend using Blurb to everyone! It is so fun to see these pics and stories of our fam turn into a book! Since I've logged a million hours on the computer working on it, I think I'll keep this post short and simply update pictures of our fall fun!

The boys love to play soccer in the back yard with their daddy! It was so fun to watch him get Izzy in on the game too!

My favorite bunch of soccer stars!

Too cute!

Here's Izzy in her second Halloween costume which she wore on the real Halloween night! She was so cute!

Love my little girl

My ninjas and their baby sis

Before trick or treating

We met up with the Williams to trick or treat together!

Stacy and I helped give a shower for our friend Lisa who is expecting twin boys!

We made party favors with double mint gum to play up the twins theme!

My Grandma and Izzy really bonded while she played with Grandma's necklace! That girl already loves jewelry!

So sweet

Lots of love

Izzy wearing the necklace

We went to November Fest at my Uncle Jeffrey's farm and it was a blast

The kiddos enjoyed cotton candy and cousin Gavin

This is one of Uncle Jeffrey's fellow residents, Mark! I love him, he always has a hug for me. He was truly grooving to some karaoke in this pic!

The fam waiting for the hayride

The boys practicing their lasso skills

The relaxing drive home!

Catch up!

Lots of pics to catch up on! For once, I think I'll not write a novel on here and just tell stories as I go through the pictures! So here's soccer, the Oil Ranch, Braden's preschool, trunk or treat, and Isabelle.....

Blake is doing great in soccer this year, it is amazing how much can change on one years time. He loves to play, barely sits still during his rest times, and can't wait to get back in the game after his breaks! He is so into the game!

He is totally a defender and spends most of his time making sure the other team does not SCORE! It amazes us how fast he will hustle to the other side of the field to make sure the opponents don't sink it in the net! He hustles past all the kids on both teams just to get to the other side of them and get ready to BLOCK!

Getting ready to block these two blue guys!

Blake has had plenty of fans visit the games including his siblings at every game, both sets of grandparents, his Auntie all the way from Dallas, and some cousins! On one special Saturday my aunt Dori drove all the way out to make sure I didn't lose my mind (or Braden) at a game Sean was out of town for! We had a blast with her and she and Izzy were great cheerleaders!

Blake loves his pep talks with his daddy!

Check out the smug look after scoring one of his 3 goals today!

Izzy and Dori!

The boys with their cousins at the annual oil ranch trip! We love that place!

Not a great shot, but it was all I could get with the pumpkins!

Blake riding his horse

Cute cowboys!

I could not believe this guy this year! He is usually so afraid and cries when we ask him if he wants to ride the horse and this year, he was hoping on before I could even ask if he wanted to! Looks happy to me!

Also this year, he loved feeding the cows on the hayride! He usually clings to my neck for dear life as their giant tongues invade our space looking for food!

Stacy, April, Laney, and I decided to do a at home preschool for these guys! We rotate houses on Wednesdays, so we each have it at our house once a month! My theme this month was O is for Opposites, and it was a blast! We went in the closet and I gave them each a flashlight and told them when they could turn it on which taught them light/dark, we dipped one hand in a cup of water while keeping the other dry to teach wet/dry, we sang ABCS really loud then really quiet, we jumped up high and then down low, and we ran in place really fast then slow! They really payed attention! It was so fun! For our craft, we made fruit loop and fruit cheerio bracelets to reinforce the O shape and to teach big/small since the fruit loops were bigger than the cheerios! Too bad I made most of the bracelets since those guys ate the cereal the whole time! It was so fun though!

Frank, Peyton, and Braden. We missed Saryn!

Isabelle is miss busy nosy lady and loves Nonna's necklace!

Blakers and little pumpkin Izzy!

Love it!

Ninja brothers ready for the ward trunk or treat!

Grandma and Grandpa met us at the ward trunk or treat and it was a blast to have them there! Grandma kept laughing at how much Isabelle looked like Blake with her pumpkin head on! Isabelle with no headband=Blake!

So cute! Grandma was a trooper holding her in this puffy costume!

My ninjas and their princesses!

Cousin Shayla was a pumpkin too!

Grandpa and Izzy! Love this pic!

Braden and Peyton!

Can you guess the next subject?!!

Little lady in her bed!

I love my toy Aunt Wendy!

Dimples that I love

Ok Aunt Ashlee, am I cute in the outfit you sent me or what?!

Love my tights!

My girl loves to Jump!

Neither of the boys jumped in the johnny jumper at all! They liked it, but they just kinda hung there! So I haven't been too fast to put Isabelle in there since we haven't had a ton of success in the past. Well, lately she has become quite the little kicker! Her feet are going a mile a minute, especially when she is excited to see someone. It is amazing how fast she can get going, Sean says she looks like a little River Dancer! So, we put her in the jumper, and she LOVED it! Here's the first Monson to love the jumper! Man I love this little girl!

My 1950's Greaser!

Blake's school had a 50's day at school today, so we dressed him like a little greaser! We used gobs of gel in his hair, rolled his sleeves and pants, and tucked in his shirt with a belt! I thought he looked so cute, and I can't believe how much it really changed his look to dress from this time! I got off lucky dressing a boy for this occasion because my friends Nicole and April were up sewing poodle skirts late last night! Yeah, their school didn't give us any notice on this! I was so impressed with Halli and Brooklyn's poodle skirts, they looked darling, and we just had to get a pic of these three all ready to flashback to 1950! Nicole and April, don't be surprised if I am calling you in 4 years for your poodle skirt sewing skills when it is time to make one for Isabelle! Yall are amazing!

This is our little carpool group, and they have officially decided they are like an oreo. Brooklyn and Halli as the cookie and Blake as the cream filling!

Are they too cute or what!

Getting silly

Brooklyn stayed over to play and I laughed at them playing the Wii in their 1950's clothing!

Cute boy!

Braden Turns Three!!!

We had a super fun birthday week here for Braden's third birthday! I say birthday week because the festivities really did last a week, and he was one happy boy! His birthday was on a Saturday, so we were able to have the whole day as a family filled birthday, and he loved it! Especially having his daddy home all day on his special day! We started off with the traditional birthday song as he headed downstairs to presents and doughnuts for breakfast! Then, we headed to Blake's soccer game and played with friends the rest of the day! Nonna and Pops came by with cupcakes and a present along with some more singing, and then we ate at Chili's with the Williams for birthday dinner! Then we came back home with the Williams to eat more of the cupcakes and sing Happy Birthday again! What a fun day!

His party was the following Friday, so he was just able to stretch the fun out almost an entire week! We had fun friends, fun family, and a fun bounce house to celebrate this amazing boy! I really can't believe he is 3! Where has the time gone? There are so many things I love about this boy of mine, and I just want to squeeze him all the time! Here are just a few of the things about Braden that melt my heart:

1) He goes about most of his day busy, independent, and playing until he gets one of his surges of love and has to stop what he is doing, come over to you, lay his head on your leg, and say, "Oh, I love you, mom". It's so cute and usually unexpected since he was busy playing the second before and then suddenly at your side enamored with love!
2) He is so inquisitive and has to know where everything came from, why you are giving it to him, how it got there, etc!
3) Braden is Mr Verbal and he talks, talks, talks in the car. I love his questions as well as his many informative statements. He is quite the informer. Nothing gets passed him, and he does not keep anything he has noticed to himself, he shares EVERY detail with EVERYONE! I love it!

4) When Braden talks, his face and voice are so animated and expressive it's as if even the most mundane, common topics are the most exciting in the world! I love how this Bradenism adds so much joy to our house.

5) Braden is such an adoring little brother and a doting big brother! For the most part, he makes being the middle child look enjoyable! I love watching him try to emulate everything his big brother does, it's adorable

6) He has excellent manners and is quick to remind any of us if we forget to say thank you or bless you when someone sneezes!

7) Braden has his personal pronouns totally flipped around, and I love it. Here's an example from today, "Mommy, Isabelle not talkin to me, her can't hear me. Why her not talkin to me?" Why is incorrect grammar so cute when it is Braden who says it?

8) He loves shoes, pack packs (backpacks), serperhero (superhero) capes, his stuffed Shamu, ruseling (wresting) with his daddy, playing soccer with Blake, riding bikes, playing football, playing basketball, driving the truck at Grandma's house, vrooming cars with Blake, and playing with cousins and friends.

9) I love Braden's bubba lips, huge blue eyes, ginormous hands and feet, and most of all the hugs that come with all those features!

10) Braden is such a sweet, happy boy and always has been. He is a peacemaker, a people pleaser, and just a little lovey all in all. There have been many times he has done something helpful or nice and quickly asks me afterwards, "Does that make you happy mom?" Having Braden in our home makes everything more fun, more intense, more anticipated, more hilarious, more entertaining. I seriously want to give this boy a million kisses a day, he is just so lovable. What a blessed mommy am I to call Braden my own!

Braden's Presents Birthday Morning! The only thing he specified about his birthday wishes was that everything be B-lue, so we had B-lue balloons for him!

Happy to open up these babies!

Getting geared up with his new helmet, knee, and elbow pads

This boy loves these new boots and has not taken them off since he got them!

Cute brothers

Playing with the new hot wheels track

Little Miss Priss

I love this moment with Izzy and her adoring Pops

Pops was getting the cutest smiles from his grandbaby

Thanks for the cupcakes Nonna and Pops

Happy Birthday my cute little man

Why do my kids always just eat the icing off and leave the rest!

The house decorated for the party!

Izzy waiting for all the guests to arrive!

Happy girl!

Blake and Braden waiting in the bounce house for the guests to arrive! Thanks for letting us borrow this, Lisa and Lance!

The kids were lovin all the bouncing

Izzy giving loves to her silly Grandma

Too cute

The fun kiddos enjoying the food

Waiting for the cake!

Blowing out the candles

This was the response when we asked who wants cake!

Cute PawPaw moment

The big brother loved the party too

She just looked so cute, I had to take a pic!

Love that dimply smile!

Isabelle at Six Months

I am in love with this little girl! I can't believe she is actually six months old! The first four months went by kind of slow seeing as she screamed a whole lot of the time, but as soon as she turned 4 months, she became a complete angel. Now it seems time is going too fast and I don't want her to grow up too fast! She has the most engaging eyes I have ever seen. Of course, they are huge and blue like the boys' are, but this little lady captures your attention with one little look. She looks so deeply and meaningfully into your eyes and maintains the connection for minutes. Even if you glance away and look back to her, she is there, waiting with her huge blue eyes, looking for yours to make contact with hers. It is so sweet. Sean is completely smitten by this distinctively Izzy characteristic. He literally can't look away as she stares in his eyes and OWNS him, it is too cute. The boys are pretty much putty in her hands as well. Now that she can be entertained and loves to hold things, they are always trying to do whatever trick it takes to get a giggle out of her cute little mouth! It's so fun to watch them perform for her. She loves to hold things, roll over, sit in her exersaucer and bumbo, and grab things with her feet like a little monkey. She definitely prefers to be sitting upright so she can make sure to not miss out on any action Blake or Braden might be up to! She is a super nosy little one, I pretty much have to nurse her in a dark quiet room now because if she hears anything fun going on while eating, she pulls off and never goes back on! It's amazing how different it feels to love a little girl. She brings out a soft, protective, nurturing side in everyone in our family. We love having this little princess in our family!

Isabelle has been a light weight and just tiny from the beginning, but with adding solids at about 4 and a half months, I was sure she would be more solid at her 6 month check up! She has definitely filled out a little, but when we got her on the scale, the nurse and I laughed at the number we saw! My six month old weighed 14 pounds and 1 ounce! That's less than the boys weighed at their 4 month check ups! She is just a little bit! I should mentioned she had grown 2 inches in length in a little less than 2 months, so it would be hard to pack on too many pounds with all that growth in length! She is in the 20th percentile for weight, 80th for height, and her noggin is in the 95th! If you read those stats and didn't get a chance to see this little girl, you would be imagining a big orange on a toothpick! Good thing you get to see her to see how gorgeous she is, all 14 pounds of her! Here's some new Izzy pics!

Ready for Church

Happy Lady!

Playing under the piano at Nonna's house!

See what I mean about the eyes!

My Kindergartner and My Navy Seal

Hard to believe it is true, but yes, I have a son in kindergarten. He's definitely smart enough, old enough, and ready enough for this big step in life. Too bad I wasn't! No surprise there though! He was pretty excited about a few things at his new school....bigger cafeteria, cool playground, and a bunch of new school supplies! I was hoping those new things would keep the excitement ramped up over the emotions of being left somewhere he had never been before for 7+ hours with a bunch of people he'd never met.

The night before school, Sean gave Blake a wonderful father's blessing. As he listed all the attributes both we and Heavenly Father love so much about Blake, I was filled with peace knowing anyone could love this boy and hope that his teacher would see these characteristics and he would make good friends. It also made me acutely aware of how much I was going to miss him all day. Not that I needed to be any more aware of that! We asked him about how the blessing made him feel, it really seemed he was absorbing how proud we are of him and all his gifts and the promises Heavenly Father made to help him anytime he felt alone. I was grateful for Sean once again for bringing comfort and peace by being able to give a blessing. After the blessing, Sean and I decided to keep a tradition we started last year with happy faces drawn on Blake's hands by us for him to look at if he ever misses us. Of course for Sean, happy faces weren't good enough anymore, so he asked Blake if he wanted a symbol and of course got a big YES! So he just whipped up a CTR (choose the right) shield with swords of courage and strength going through it. He added a S and a B for Super Blake. Blake ate it up. He and his daddy speak the same language a lot! I read on a friend's blog about giving her son's hand a kiss, so I decided to copy that. I didn't want his new teacher to think his parents were tattoo artists! I simply kissed the inside of Blake's hand and told him to place it on his cheek whenever he needed to feel me close by. I get a lump in my throat just remembering the butterflies of that day.

When we left Blake, his head was on his desk and his shoulders trembling a little with sadness. I almost died. It was so hard to leave. I just wanted to bring him home with me! I knew he would get better, but it killed me to leave. He actually loved school last year, but there was no denying how different and new this place was and how he didn't recognize a face. Luckily when I went to pick him up after a long day waiting to see him, he had a huge smile! I was so blessed to have a friend who went up to the school at lunch time and reported to me that he was doing great at lunch. That definitely helped me get through the day! Thanks Stephenie! So far, he is doing great. He does say that he doesn't want to wake up in the morning, but he is just like his mommy in that department, so I am not surprised. He has a big smile when he gets home everyday, so I am happy. He does say he wishes they did more math! Gotta love that! I'm happy if he's happy!

The main man in my life also had a big week and practically became a Navy Seal! My brother in law Jeff started a fitness competition that turned into 42 guys! It was called the Summer of SEALS because they followed some SEALS training criteria. On Saturday, they had the end of the 12 week competition where they all got together and did a swim, push ups, pull ups, sit ups, and a run! Our whole fam went to cheer them on! It was so fun to watch and man I was proud of my hubby. He blew all his previous personal bests out of the water! Literally! He decreased
his swim time by 3 min and added 4 pull ups! It was so fun to watch the pride in Blake's face watching his daddy. He definitely has a die hard fan in his son!

Sean drawing Blake's back to school symbol, I love Blake's face, pure admiration for his daddy's work

Braden was entertained while Blake got a whole lot of attention

CTR shield and Sword of Strength and Courage

Ready for Kindergarten, he is so handsome

This hall seems huge to me, hopefully I hid it well!

Sean giving the last pep talk. Blake was about to cry right about here. My heart was bleeding.

While Sean was certainly my hero at the competition, his mom was my lifesaver keeping Braden entertained! Here she is with Braden and Saryn!

Proud men!

The group

Kevin helping Braden do pull ups! Aren't those pull up bars cool! Our friend Lance designed them! You know you are in TEXAS when your truck has a pull up bar coming from the trailer hitch!

Blake literally followed Sean and watched his every move

Blake holding a GO DAD sign we borrowed from a friend! The rest of the pics are small because I got them from Stacy. Does anyone know how to fix that?

Sean's team took second place! He loved being on a team with his dad and brother in law, talk about male bonding!

After the race all the kids got in the pool and when Sean hopped back in, he kind of got attacked!

HOTTIE!

Grandma and some grandkiddos walking the end of Grandpa's run with him

My Favorite father in law quite buff indeed!

Cute cousins!

#1 Fan!

My Six Year Old

I definitely should have posted about Blake's birthday right afterwards instead of being a blog slacker because now that we are at the weekend before he heads off to kindergarten, I am pretty emotional about this guy of mine. Hopefully I won't be a big blubbering baby writing about my six year old! Blake's birthday fell on a Saturday this year which was so fun. We were able to start the day kind of like Christmas morning and bring him downstairs to balloons, presents, and family breakfast of his choice. He loved having his dad all day on his birthday. After breakfast, we spent time getting ready for his birthday party that afternoon and then we went to Chick Fil A for his birthday lunch! We had a great time just being together as a family and celebrating Blake. For his party, Blake wanted to keep tradition and have the annual swim party at his Nonna and Pop's neighborhood pool. We always have a great time there! We had a great turn out with lots of family and lots of great friends who made Blake feel very special on his day. It was a blast.

It's hard to even express how incredibly proud I am to be the mom of this amazing boy. He is so very good. He has such a caring, tender, sensitive heart that I feel so deeply connected to. He is so conscientious and aware of others and their feelings as well, and I love that about him. I am especially grateful for this characteristic since it makes him an awesome big brother. He is very in tune with his family and truly looks out for all of us. He has really grown up and become more independent this year, and as a result of that, I can really count on him for help around the house and with Braden and Isabelle. I see a genuine sense of pride on his face whenever I thank him for helping in anyway. I love that you can literally see his desire to be good and to make us happy. We definitely don't have to put any pressure on him, he puts it all on himself. He is truly a responsible and trustworthy boy. Blake's imagination knows no bounds. He is smart and super fun to play with. He has become a pro at getting giggles out of little Isabelle and he truly lights up when he succeeds at doing so! I love Blake's relationship with his Heavenly Father, he knows when he needs to say a prayer and is quick to do so when he needs help. Ever since Bear and my Saba died, he has prayed for them every single time he says a prayer and if someone else says the prayer and forgets to mention them, he is fast to offer to pray again and include their names. Sean's grandma "GiGi" passed away a couple of weeks ago, and she is now on that list as well. That is so Blake to be thoughtful, habitual, methodical, and sweet all in one. I feel so blessed that our first is so incrediby amazing. I couldn't imagine a better role model or example for our other little ones to follow. I love being Blake's mom. He sure know how to make me feel loved and special. I am so glad he's mine.

Opening presents on his b-day morning

Pretty pleased!

Love this toothless smile

Izzy at Blake's party

Just chillin

Playing with dad

Braden and Pops at Blake's party

During adult swim we tried to organize the kids to aim water balls into these rings with Sean and Uncle Jeff as the catchers. It didn't last too long since pizza and cake were waiting in the room!

Izzy with Silly Grandma

Braden and Papa being goofy

How can that be the number on this cake? This guy is growing up too fast!

Waiting to blow out the candles

I love this pic of Isabelle with her grandma, it is precious

Silly man

Some of the crowd!

A sweet moment with three generations

Isabelle loves her Sabta

Love this pic! It is amazing to think how close these two have been for so long. This is the 4th party I have a pic like this from. I am so grateful for their friendship. Thanks to everyone who came and made Blake's birthday soooo special.

Rice Cereal, Princess Style

The princess in the house has officially enjoyed her first solid meal! She truly dined like a princess, and what I mean by that is she was waited on hand and foot! Her brothers were ecstatic for her first spoon fed meal because that meant they got a turn to help! And boy did they help! Most of their bites ended up on her clothes and not in her mouth, but they were all full of smiles! It was so cute to hear them fight over whose turn it was to give Izzy a bite of the sloppy glue called Rice Cereal! I've always hoped that the "firsts" in each of their lives doesn't get less exciting with each little one. I want them each to get to have these milestones be an exciting event in our house even if they are the 2nd or 3rd to reach these fun times. I will say, Blake and Braden made this first meal such an exciting night for our family. It may be the 3rd time Sean and I have fed a first meal, but it is the FIRST time Blake and Braden have fed their baby sis, and their excitement is sooooo contagious!

Isabelle eating with a Smile!

Big grins for big brother Blake

She was absolutely staring at Blake, waiting for each bite

Surrounded by doting brothers


I love how Blake was instinctively smiling and talking to her as he fed her each bite!

Team Work!

Braden's Turn!

Sea World 2009

We just got back from the most fun weekend ever! Our family loves loves loves Sea World, and we try to go at least once a year. This year we went with our really fun friends, the Allens and the Williams, and we all had a blast! We feel so lucky and blessed to have awesome friends with amazing kids for our kids to play with. It is so fun to plan these things with people who have the same goals for their families as we do... to have a ball as a family! My boys were surrounded by girls with Halli, Anna, Peyton, and Rachel as their Sea World buddies! Blake, Halli, and Anna were loving being tall enough to venture on most of the rides available, especially the water slides at the water park. I have so many more pictures of Braden and Isabelle than I do of Blake because he was always off being a big kid with Sean! There were a few times the littler kiddos got pretty sad not being able to go on some of the bigger slides, but they sure loved the lazy river, wave pool, and the little slides. Of course everyone loved the shows! I still cry every time I see the Shamu show!

This was our first time to take little miss Isabelle on a trip, and she really did great! She loved being in the Bjorn and dipping her little feet in the water! I walked the lazy river with her sleeping in my arms, and we were both in heaven. Too bad the life guards had to kick me out because they say she it too small to be in there!

Yesterday, as we drove back home, I was in the back keeping Izzy happy, and I had the best view of the van filled with the people I love. I could see Sean's eyes in the rear view mirror, Blake was next to me, and Izzy and Braden were right in front of me. I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude that these people are all mine. I felt so blessed looking at my healthy, beautiful children, all worn out from a weekend full of family fun, and as I looked at Sean, I was so filled with joy that he married me and gave me all of these blessings. What a lucky girl I am.

Blake, Halli, and Anna getting ready to watch Viva!

Braden and Rachel

Braden and his daddy! He was stuck like glue to him all weekend!

Little Izzy fast asleep in my arms, her favorite place to be! Can you tell how sweaty her little hair is?!

Braden loving up his daddy. I love his little hand on Sean in this pic!

Braden and Peyton exploring

What a pair

Blake, Halli, Peyton, and Braden floating the lazy river! Maybe it is good I got kicked out because I was able to get some cute pics of these guys!

Like I said, stuck like glue!

I am putting this on here to document the princess set up Isabelle had! Her Nonna bought her this battery operated fan so she wouldn't get too hot at the park! Sean rigged it to be aimed perfectly at little miss priss! She is well taken care of!

Happy girl in her swimsuit!

Hanging out in the car seat

Daddy wearing Isabelle!

Me, Braden, and Isabelle waiting for Shamu!

She loves those fingers

These eyes just melt my heart

Is it the Griswalds? Nope, just us Monsons! Can we load a stroller or what!

These two crack me up

Say cheese!

I also had to add in some pics I have taken around the house lately! I am having so much fun having all three at home all the time. I will be really sad when summer is over!

Braden lights up when he holds his baby sis

Two big pairs of baby blues

Grandpa came over one night to visit, and Isabelle had a lot to tell him!

I caught these three all watching TV together and had to get it! Can't believe Isabelle has joined in now!

Fourth of July!

We had an awesome 4th! Sean's become a pro at grilling fajita meat that he gets from some guys at work, so we decided to have a little fajita get together at our house. Sean's whole side of the family is out of town which was a bummer, so we had my parents and our good friends the Williams come over. The plan was to grill, eat, light our own fireworks in our driveway, and then head to town for a firework show. My cousin Kat is in town, so we were lucky and she came to spend the 4th with us too. Our other friends, the Allens, were supposed to join in for dessert, but poor Lisa was having a night of nausea being preggers with twins! So, they met us later for fireworks and we sent her hubby home with pie for her! Since we had a little less people then we were planning for, we had a ton of food, mostly desserts, and it was a ball! The kids ran around happy as ever waiting patiently for us to light fireworks. It was so cute to see them all in their red, white, and blue festive clothes. We tried to talk to them a little about what this holiday is all about, and I hope it instilled a little gratitude in them for this amazing country and the freedoms we enjoy.

I love this pic of my sweet little ones!

My dad and his first princess granddaughter

Yay for 4th of July treats!

MMMMMMM, and I really mean mmmmmm! Just looking at this makes me want to cry as I have decided to only eat treats one day a week from now on! Whoa is me.

April made her girls the cutest shirts with sayings like "Little Miss Independence", "America's sweetheart" and "What a firecracker".....if Isabelle were to wear one, it would definitely say "What a Firecracker". I love her ability to go straight from smiling to screaming and vice versa!

Oh boy, we are in trouble with these two, but secretly, I really really do want them to get married one day!

Chillin and waiting to light fireworks

Blake and Halli waiting patiently as their dads discuss their plan for the firework show!

Braden was not happy with the loud noise!

My cousin Kat, my mommy and Isabelle. My little girl is the first girl to be born since Kat on my mom's side!

Love this pic

You gotta love grandparents! I love how this pic captures my mom consoling Braden while my dad entertains Isabelle. What would we do without them!

I love this one

How cute is Blake trying to make Braden feel safe, he really is such an amazing big brother

I caught my mom giving Braden a pep talk about the fireworks

Cute Monson and Williams kiddos

On the way to the show, Isabelle was screaming in the car like she loves to do, and Sean was in the back which he rarely is since he is usually the driver. He did an amazing job calming her down and this was how intensely she was looking in his eyes listening to his calming song. She loves her daddy.

At the show we met up with more friends! Blake had to divide his attention between Anna and Halli! What am I gonna do with this boy!

Braden and his Popsie! He liked these fireworks much more since they were so high in the sky!

Blake claimed every single firework was his favorite!

Love the toothless smile

Summer Fun

I love, love, love summer! I saw a commercial about summer saying it is when our kids are all ours, and it is soooo true! I love having Blake home all day. You'd think it would be harder to have 3 kids home instead of 2, but life is so much more fun now. Braden is so happy with his brother to follow around and I have a huge helper with Isabelle! Every morning Blake asks me what day it is thinking it might be a school day and I keep telling him everyday but Sunday is a playday now! He gets the biggest smile on his face and I love it. He actually really loved school, but I think he really really loves being able to go from pj's to swimsuits everyday. Those are his two favorite things to wear for sure! I love not rushing these guys out the door every morning, it's the best! We have been swimming almost daily, taking family bike rides at night, eating lots of Popsicles in the back yard, and spending tons of time with friends and cousins. It has been a blast and it has made me nostalgic remembering the summers of my childhood as we fill the boys' days with the same fun my parents filled our days with in the summer! I LOVE SUMMER!

No one can get Isabelle to smile like Blake can! What I love most is how often he tries! He is always trying to decipher the words she says as she babbles to him and he gets so excited when he thinks he hears a real word!

Playing with Isabelle

Getting her to smile by clapping her hands together, he is a pro at this!

Anyone think these two look like twins?

Love those lips and eyes!

Yay for dimples!

I've been waiting for these smiles!

My little princess

We went berry picking with Sean's fam one day and even though it was a scorcher of a day, we had so much fun together! We picked blackberries and blueberries and the kids absolutely loved pulling their wagons!

Braden getting a blackberry

Blake showing off his pick

The boy cousins with wagons, so cute!

What a cute group all ready to go pick!

Love these boys, and man they have fun together

So cute

Blake loved this!

Braden was pumped

Cousins in the pool! We do this together as much as we can

Happy boy

Blake with his dolphin tattoo after taking first place in his heat in divisionals and second place for his relay! He was so proud and so were we!

This cracks me up and had to be added! Jeff started a fitness competition and like 38 guys are doing it. Sean is on his team, so while we were up at the pool enjoying family time, they snuck off to make sure they were excelling at the push ups! Yes, they were doing this at a public pool! Stacy and I were so proud of our manly men!

The Ups and Downs of Parenthood

We'll start with the downers so we can end on a high note! Man, we have had a doozy of a week. Easily one of the hardest yet for our little family of five. There has been a nasty stomach bug going around, and this was our week to catch it. So poor Braden started with it on Monday night. We went through all our crib sheets and once we ran out of those, we started wrapping his mattress in blankets, then we ran out of big blankets, and he was sleeping on tiny blankets barely covering his mattress. I felt so bad for him. He just is too young to give us enough warning to make it to the toilet or a bowl for that matter. He just throws up on everything. I spent the next day doing mounds of laundry, even the bumper pads on his crib. I went through tons of Clorox to keep the rest of us from getting it. Cleaned every surface I could think of. I changed my shirt when I would go from taking care of Braden to taking care of Isabelle so she wouldn't catch it. She was the one I was the most worried about by far. I washed my hands up to my elbows a million times a day. If I thought I had OCD before, I definitely had it this week! I just really didn't want the baby to catch it. Well, she did. On Thursday, her poor tiny body was throwing up every 20 minutes. She couldn't keep breast milk down at all, so my doc said to try one teaspoon of pedialyte at a time. She couldn't even keep a half a teaspoon down. Everything made her throw up. It was so sad. My doc said to watch for wet diapers and not let her go more than 8 hours dry without coming in. I called them back when it had been about 6 and a half hours and they said to come in. They watched her for an hour and decided to admit us to the hospital for IV fluids. Good thing we went because when they went to give her the IV they had to try 3 times because she was so dehydrated they had a hard time getting a vein. The whole time they were trying to find a vein, she was screaming and throwing up and I was bawling. It was awful. My mom had the boys and Sean was at work, and I could not believe I was all alone with my poor little baby checking into a hospital room for my almost 3 month old. Luckily I brought my pump, because they wouldn't let me feed her for 4 hours so her stomach could rest. Everything in me just wanted to feed her to comfort her, all my instincts were telling me to do that, but instead I was sitting in a hospital chair plugged into a pump. I was miserable and so was my baby girl.

Even though it was beyond rough times for us, Heavenly Father blessed me with moments of gratitude at the pediatric floor of a hospital. I saw rooms with kids who are there for an indefinite amount of time. I saw moms and dads juggling visiting shifts so their kid was not alone too much. Even though it had been a rough week for me, I can't imagine what those people go through. I wanted to just hug them. Yes, my little one was really sick, but I also got to know that she was going to get better and fast too. It made me really think about how blessed I am to have three amazingly healthy children who just happen to catch bugs every now and then. I was also so grateful for the gift Heavenly Father has given me of mothers intuition. I just really knew in my gut that I needed to take her in, and I am so glad I did. Her first blood test showed low CO2 levels which indicates she was really dehydrated when we got there. I am so glad I listened to my gut and the Spirit. When Sean came up that night, he gave his daughter a blessing. I am so grateful for the Priesthood. It was so reassuring to listen to Isabelle's sweet daddy bless her. I am so blessed to have that sweet hubby of mine.

Isabelle in her hospital crib. The Child Life Specialist (what my sis Natalie used to do) brought in some toys to make Isabelle's stay more comfy. Here she is under the fisher price piano in her crib. She was much happier with something to look at besides her stressed out mommy. I love child life specialty, and I cried with her in the room telling her how grateful I was for her and it made me so proud of all the hard work Natalie has done. Feeling the comfort that specialist brought to me and Isabelle made me think of all the families Nat has done that for and then I could not stop crying!

A little pale but loving the piano

Just so you can see how little she looked in that crib

Isabelle's IV in her little foot. Something a mommy doesn't love to see, but man it helped my little girl turn the corner and get better.

So onto the fun stuff! Blake has started a swim team, and we love it! We've got fun friends on there with us and our cousins too! Blake it thriving on this team and loves to go to practice. He truly loves this and we love watching him. He improved his time by ten seconds in between the two meets he has been in, and it is so fun to watch him be proud of himself for his accomplishments! He got three ribbons from his last meet and you would have thought they were Olympic medals with his excitement level. I love it!

After the relay! He was the first leg, and did great!

Mr Fish

Love this boy

On the starting blocks! I get such butterflies for this guy!

Heading to his heat with the other boys!

With his good friend Anna

Okay, one of my favorite things is his Speedo jammers! His skinny self is just too cute in these! He thinks he looks like Michael Phelps!

Just in case you were wondering, this guy is still really cute!

And full of personality!

Ham!

Monson Family Reunion!

I have been meaning to post about our family reunion for weeks now! One of the reasons I haven't done it until now is I knew I had a ton of pics and it would take me forever, so consider yourself warned...this post has a lot of pics! To those of you who have been wondering if I have fallen off the face of the earth, you need to come meet Isabelle! While she is super sweet and I absolutely adore her....that girl is a tad high maintenance! Let's just say I am holding her pretty much all the time! She knows what she likes, and being put down is not on that list! Needless to say, that doesn't allow for a lot of blogging time. I really have missed it though, and I am excited to post about our fun family reunion.

We had the reunion here in Houston since we have two newborns and an eight months preggo lady! Kristi and Noah came with their crew from NY, and Kelly and Aly came from Guam. It was so fun to have everyone together! We all stayed at the Monsons for the first two nights so we could have adult time after kids were in bed. We let them camp in a tent in Grandma's back yard the first night, and they had a blast, finally falling asleep around 11:30! It was worth the memories!

The first night was a barbecue and we played a super fun game. Kristi and Noah had everyone email them their favorite song of the year and they put them all on CD's. Then we all listened to the songs one by one and had to guess who's fav they each were. It was so fun to see different sides of people's personalities come out through their song choice!

The next day we went to the Oil Ranch which is a super fun place with trains, Indian swings, hay rides, petting zoo, and fun picnic areas! The kids had a blast! Later that day we had family pics and then Aly and I were in charge of dinner! Let's just say that day was jam packed! I think we ate dinner at 8!

The next day, we took the kiddos to Disney on Ice which was pretty cute, and they definitely loved it. That night Stacy and Jeff planned a family talent show which we had up at the church so we would have a stage! It was by far my favorite memory from the reunion! The kids got so into it and everyone's talents were so entertaining! The whole family was cracking up the whole time! It was too fun.

On Saturday, we were supposed to go to Brenham to run the Blue Bell fun run 5K as a family! We borrowed double and single jog strollers for those that had come into town and I think we arrived in Brenham with 5 double joggers and one single! That's a lot of strollers! Too bad we never used them! There was a torrential downpour that day and it was too stormy to run with the kiddos. Jeff, Noah, and Kristi ran it, and the rest of us headed back home. I was grateful for the DVD player in our van that day for sure! We literally drove to Brenham, talked to the fam about what we wanted to do about the weather, and then we turned around and drove back home! That night was adult night and we all went out for some yummy Thai food. Sean's parents both turn 60 this year (not that you'd ever know by looking at them) so we had a little plan to roast them at dinner. Each couple listed 15 things they loved about each one of them so each got a total list of 60 favorite things we love about them. We read them out loud at the table and had so much fun enjoying those two incredibly special people!

It was so wonderful to get everyone together and see the cousins enjoy each other so much. I definitely nursed more in public in those few days than I think I ever have, but luckily I had a hooter hider and a nursing buddy, Stacy. At one point, we were each sitting in the front seat of our double strollers nursing our babies! I wish I had a pic of that, we must have looked pretty funny, but I love some of the talks we get to have while we are "stuck" sitting down and toddlers are running all around us! I am so blessed to have such fun in-laws who I love to be with.

Eating hot dogs at the first night barbecue

Playing in the dirt at the Oil Ranch

This was hilarious....Blake was running laps around this baseball field, and Sydney was standing there telling him how many he had to run until he could be done! He didn't mind at all, he ran as much as she wanted him to!

Braden trying to keep up!

Cousins on the train!

So happy!

Braden and McKay on the train

These are the Indian Swings, and they are SO fun! We had so much fun riding these and having the men push us around!

Hold on tight Blake!

SO FUN!

Braden tried it for a minute!

The cute little "Indian" lady who taught the kids about Indians. Braden didn't want to get very close at first!

He slowly warmed up and the kids loved listening to her stories

She bried Braden by letting him hold her shaker thingy

Blake and Sydney doing a rain dance with the rain stick!

Blake trying on some antlers

Braden and Arie at the petting zoo

Fun feeding the animals

Blake and a billy goat

Riding horses

Silly cousins

Silly grandma and grandpa

Sean getting dog piled by a bunch of boys in matching pj's

He is always the human jungle gym for these guys

Eating pizza at the church before the talent show

The audience

More of the audience

My boys were rock stars with Blake as a DJ and Braden on the guitar

Blake did "speed cups" as his talent

The kids were so entertained

Sean and I did a magic trick where he made me levitate

See how amazing he is...David Copperfield watch out!

We also did a synchronized swimming bit!

Jeff jammed on the guitar and the kids danced all over the place!

Here's the little beauty that has kept me from blogging for weeks! She may have some serious lungs on her, but man she melts my heart. I am in love with this little girl.

She is such a little princess! Stay tuned for a post about her blessing which was Sunday and was amazing!

Passover and Full Circle Moments

This week has been a great one. My little girl has begun to really open her eyes and look into our eyes which is so rewarding and fulfilling. I am thinking she is already a daddy's girl for sure. When Sean gets home from work and comes over to say hi to me, she really looks around to find him when she hears his voice, it is so sweet. He is so whupped over this little one. He came home one day this week, and was just staring at her sleeping. Blake asked him to come play a few times, and he just kept staring at Isabelle. I mentioned that she was sleeping and didn't even know he was there while his little boy was begging him to play, and he quickly responded, "But I haven't seen my daughter ALL day!" Yep, he's in love with his little girl, and I LOVE IT! Don't worry that he is neglecting the boys though, they are still all very involved in the rough and tough wrestling, Mario Kart racing, transformer watching, monster truck talking, soccer ball kicking, t-ball hitting fun! It's so amazing to see the different bond with sons and daughters.

Also this week, we had the great privilege of celebrating Passover with my family. We had an amazing night with both sides enjoying amazing food, awesome traditions, and meaningful relationships. It was hard to not have Saba there, but as I looked around at everyone participating in these traditions, it is so obvious that his legacy of love is being carried on. It is so full circle for me to watch my boys with my daddy at these holidays. I can see them soaking in his love for both them and for his heritage. As I watch him in this light, it fills me with memories of my Saba with me and Natalie at such occasions. How grateful I am to see my boys getting to experience the power of that kind of love and dedication.

Everyone knows one of the most fun things about having a little girl (especially after 2 boys) is getting to dress her up. Sometimes I just stare at Isabelle's closet! Of course I wanted her to wear something really cute on Passover, but she is still too small for almost all her dresses. I was thinking of buying something, and then I remembered my mom had given me the dress I was blessed and named in a long time ago. As I slipped it over my little girl's head, I could see right away it was going to fit her perfectly. I got teary eyed looking at her in it and knowing I had worn it too. It made me pause to think about my life and where I am at now and feel oh so blessed. It was a tender moment bonding with my sweet little one. I was so excited for my mom to see her in it, I knew it would be a full circle moment for her too. My grandma had actually bought that dress for me and she just couldn't get over it when she realized that was what dress it was. What a fun experience, four generations of women all touched by the meaning of a little dress on Passover night.

The next day my cute Grandma took me and Isabelle shopping for her blessing dress. What a treat that was. As I drove to meet her, I was thinking back to all the times she took me and Natalie shopping for shoes. She always took us to the nicest places and showed us how to be a lady and enjoy it! Most of all, we just loved the time with her, boy were we lucky girls on these shopping trips! Grandma, Isabelle, and I must have spent 45 minutes in the dressing room of this amazing store she took me and my daughter to. We had a blast trying dresses on this doll. We laughed as we tried to find her little arms and pull them through inches and inches of beautiful white fabric. We laughed as she pooped in two diapers during the trying on session! We laughed as Isabelle screamed her little head off until I nursed her whether we were planning on doing that in the dressing room or not! I will never forget laughing like that with my grandma, but more than anything I will never forget how amazing it felt to have her take my daughter on a Grandma shopping trip just like I used to go on with her.

This week definitely gave me opportunities to stop and count my blessings. How blessed am I to have this family surrounding me and my young family to watch my children get this love showered on them. The love that shaped me into who I am. It makes my heart so full.

This is Isabelle in the dress that was her mommy's long ago

Love seeing these little eyes open so much more now!

My sweet Sabta on Passover

Braden and Paw Paw getting ready to start the meal

Blake and Gavin

My mom and Grandma in the kitchen where they make magic happen!

My cousin Taylor (how did he get this old?)

My mom and her sis Tracey (does anybody think she looks like the new judge on Idol?)

The best Nonna ever and one of the boys who adore her

The "adult" table at dinner

The "kids" table

Braden and his favorite Pops! This is the traditional hiding of the Afikoman. My dad hides matzoh (unleavened bread) and the kids go look for it for a reward! This was Saba's job when I was growing up, and I love watching my dad in this role.

Bringing the Matzoh to Pops for the reward

Matzoh

Love love love this goofball

I am continually amazed and grateful for my hubby and his love for these Jewish holidays. He is so involved and supportive, and man does he love that food!

Sean captured this moment with Blake and his Pops. I think the pic says it all, those two have quite the bond.

Taylor and one of his many fans. I love the look of sheer adoration on Braden's face.

Both my boys and their Tay Tay.

At Home With Isabelle

The boys in my house are completely smitten and I am in heaven with this new little girl in our lives. She has added a new level of love to our family, and we are so grateful she is here enriching our lives already. I have been pretty emotional since the arrival of our princess... who knows if it is hormones, reading the post Sean wrote about her birth, or just being so overwhelmed with my blessings. I've spent some time reflecting on my feelings and wanted to write them down for Isabelle to read one day. I love that she is going to read what her daddy wrote the day after she was born, and I know that reading his love for her will certainly be a huge blessing for her.

My Sweet Isabelle,

When I was 19 weeks pregnant with you, we had an ultrasound, and they told us you were a girl. Words cannot describe the emotions that overtook me as that amazing news sunk in. My first daughter, my own little girl, my best friend for life. I almost couldn't believe that I could be so lucky to have been able to experience the bond between mother and son and now I was going to get to experience the bond between mother and daughter. On that day, I could feel my Heavenly Father's love for me so strongly.

Right around that time, you started really moving around in my tummy. It was amazing to feel your little life moving around and know you were my little girl. I felt so close to you already and loved learning about you as you moved around in there. I loved being pregnant with you. I loved how much your big brothers would ask me about you and talk to me about my belly. They were so excited about you from the very beginning. Their excitement made me and your daddy more excited too. One of my favorite times when I was pregnant with you was night time. As the day would quiet down, you would start moving a lot and your daddy and I would love to feel all your movements and talk about our little girl and how we couldn't wait to meet her. It was a magical time for me and daddy, and I fell even more in love with him as we shared the nine months leading up to your arrival together.

The day you were born was one of the best days of my life. We were surrounded by loved ones and everyone was so excited to meet you. Your daddy was so attentive and sweet and never left my side as we waited for you to arrive. He took such good care of me and made me feel so loved. He and I had so much fun talking about how we couldn't wait to see what you looked like and hold you in our arms. We were so ecstatic to meet our first little girl. When you did arrive, and they put you on my tummy, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I looked at your daddy as he looked at you, and it was obvious he was already in love with you. It was so fun to look at all your sweet, girly features. Everyone in the room was talking about how much you look like a girly version of your brothers. We instantly fell in love with your sweet dimples. Shortly after you were born, I got to feed you for the first time. This was my first chance to really look you over. I looked at your sweet little hands, all your features on your beautiful face, and just took the time to soak in my Isabelle. I honestly couldn't believe you were mine. I felt so blessed as I held my little girl and knew you would be with our family forever. As I fed you and looked at you, all I could think about over and over was what a miracle you are. You are here as a result of the deep love your daddy and I have for each other and the mutual love he and I have for our Father in Heaven. What a gift.

One of the best experiences I have ever had was introducing you to your two big brothers. I could not wait for them to come meet you at the hospital. As the door opened, and they walked in the room, I saw their little faces light up like I had never seen them before. They were truly beaming with joy to be big brothers to their little sister. Blake could not wait to hold you, and he truly glowed when you were in his arms the first time. Braden was so excited to look you over and hold you too. You are the best addition to our family we could ever ask for.

Since we've been home with you, life has just continued to get better and better. Right before bed time, you love to lay on your daddy's chest as the boys cuddle with us and watch a movie. Every night as we do this, I look around at my cute boys and you snuggling contently with your daddy, and I count my blessings. I feel like such a loved daughter of God as I know all of you are gifts from Him.

I am so grateful for eternal families. It is the greatest blessing in my life to know I will be with your daddy, your brothers, and you forever. Having you join our family has grown my appreciation for this even more. Isabelle, you are such gift and blessing to our family. You are already bringing out the best in all of us as we work together to try to make you happy and comfortable in your new surroundings. Know that your daddy, brothers, and I love you with all of our hearts. This family is so beyond thrilled to have you here with us. Know that you are a special daughter of God and He loves you and knows you. I love you with all my heart my sweet daughter, Love, Mommy

On our last night in the hospital, they let the boys put their hand prints on the wall since they were the big brothers!

These big brothers were excited to have their names with their hand prints to announce their little sister's arrival.

Right when we got home! They were so excited!

You can find Isabelle here nightly. It is so sweet, and she loves it. There's nothing quite like watching my hubby sweetly adore his little girl.

The boys are still doing what they do best.....being boys!!!!

He looks tough, but he is sweet as candy around his sis and demands that she cuddles with him in his bed every night when we tuck him in.

Watching these boys love their sister literally melts my heart.

I can't believe this guy is a big brother!

Blake is a pro!

Sweet boy

Little miss Isabelle

Check out the dimple!

What a sweetie

Two dimples!

I love this little girl

Isabelle Danae Monson

Wow, where do you begin after such a miraculous, life changing day. Our little princess has arrived and I am so in love with my little daughter. She already lights up the room just like her mother, and I can tell that she has already stolen my heart.

So here goes the play by play.... Allie had an appt. with her Doc at 11:20 on Thursday March 5, 2009, I tagged along (thankfully) and it was the fastest OB appt. I have ever been to. We barely had time to sit down before they called us back to see the Doc and that just seemed to set the pace for the rest of the day. We were in and out within 20 minutes and were sent over to the hospital where the Doc had just scheduled a room for us since she knew that today would be the day.

.....Before we went I took Allie over to James Coney for some pre-birth chilli-dogs (YUM-YUM) what a tolerant, loving wife I have......

Allie had started contracting in the Doctors office and they just kept coming. We were brought into our room, Allie got dressed (or undressed actually) and our favorite nurse Ruth came in to get the monitors and IV going. This was all happening at about 1:00pm. Pitocin was introduced at 1:48 to keep things progressing, Allie was quickly a 4 so the epidural came at 2:30. By about 3:00 my gut told me that with Allie's track record with fast birthing, I had better get the camera/labor team up here fast (Both mom's and my sister Stacy). I am so glad that I did because by 4:00 Allie was an 8, Allie's mom had just arrived, at 4:15 she was a 10 and ready to go, just waiting on the Doc and my Fam. 4:20 my mom and Stac had arrived, at 4:35 the Doc was in the room getting set up. All the while Allie was being a champ just smiling, enjoying the moment, and looking gorgeous as always. Around 4:50 She started pushing with the first contraction, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10...repeated three times, a short breather before the next contraction, and 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10...three more times but with a lot of crowning involved. another short breather, and 1,2,3,4,5,6, holy cow, 8,9,10.... 1,2,3,4,5, SHE IS HERE!!!!!!!! The world stops for that brief moment as you look at your new child, you look at your beautiful wife, and you are overcome with every great emotion imaginable knowing that you have just been given the most precious gift. Your can feel your heart grow a little bigger knowing that there will be a new place just for this precious little girl, my first girl, my little baby Isabelle. As the world starts moving again it gets hard to keep up with the pace, Isabelle is being cleaned and checked and weighed, measured, dressed, prepped for this new life and you just want to witness it all, while at the same time your soul mate, the mother who just bore your child is still being checked, cleaned, stitched...how do you leave her side. It is a moment that you feel torn but thankfully we have been blessed with VIDEO CAMERAS. The camera crew attacked Isabelle not missing a single moment, while I got to tend to my angel, to tell her how amazed I was at her strength, her love, her ability to make me the happiest man alive. The rest of the day was a whirlwind filled with blessings of family surrounding us and supporting us during this awesome experience. I can keep writing about every other little moment for the rest of the day but could never fully describe the feelings that were felt, the emotions that come from seeing your family grow another 19". I love my little baby girl. I can't stop telling her. I am so excited to be a father of 3 beautiful children, and am overcome with how my Father in Heaven has blessed my life with so much love and happiness. Isabelle Danae Monson welcome to the family!

One last little bit of info about Isabelle is her name. Blake "Thomas" is named after his Father and late Great-Grandfather Thomas Henry Naylor, Braden "Scott" is named after his Grandfather Scott Anthony Monson, and Isabelle was originally going to be named Isabelle Maryn just because we like the name but last October with the passing of Allie's grandfather (Saba), we knew that we needed to honor this great man as we have these other great men in our family with the names of our two boys. Now Saba's name is Dave Singer or his Romanian birth name Dezso Schulzinger, both great names but not exactly "Princess" material, so we began brainstorming other options for a feminine name that could still honor and represent our Saba, Dave. The result was turning the "V" around to an "N" adding an "A" for our sAbA, the result was Isabelle "Danae" named after her Great-Grandfather.

Allie is properly dressed for the occasion and beautiful as ever


I could not resist

Allie's first time to hold her new princess



6 lbs 3 ozs, a whole lot of love

She is already walking all over me.

The Camera/Labor crew

Awe, so precious

Her first bad hair day.

That's better, I like the spa treatment!

I've had my first bath, now I can relax.

who stole my cucumbers?!?

The big brothers are on their way to meet their new baby sis.

They definitely approve

A very happy crew with their Auntie

Sabta's first great-granddaughter.

Already a protective big-brother

Our first New Family Picture

Good job Mom.

The 11th grandchild for the Monson Clan

That's what was in your belly mom?!?

Already best friends.

The Cutest Cowboy I Know

Blake had a line dancing performance at his school today! The PE department taught them all these dances, and it was so fun. He was such a cute cowboy and quite a good little dancer too! The best part for me was how happy he was to be doing it! I don't know if it was the pregnancy hormones or just me being a proud mom, but I totally had tears streaming down my face watching my little man. He just has the best light in his eyes, and I love him to pieces.

The first dance was Blake's class galloping around with these horses they made. It was so cute.

Getting ready to gallop!

And they're off!

Love this boy and his cowboy dimples!

What a proud Texan

Getting in position to line dance

How low can you go?!

This is called the "snake" move!

Totally into it!

So cute

Those two fingers are used for the "longhorn" move.

Blake's adorable class of cowboys!

Braden was so proud of his big brother and really really wanted to go dance with him!

Cute brothers

Check out that cowboy belt! He was pretty excited to be a cowboy today instead of wearing his uniform!

Love that smile

What a fun class and fun school!

The Ultimate Baby Shower!

It's official...Isabelle and her mom are the most spoiled gals around! This past weekend my amazing friend April gave me the best shower in the world. She put custom, personal touches on every last detail of this shower. It was so fun for me to see Isabelle's name all over everything. It made her seem even more real, and I can't wait to meet this little girl. Hopefully she'll like girly things because we now have lots of fun accessories thanks to all the wonderful people who came to celebrate Isabelle! Saturday was one of those days when I felt so special and cared for. I felt so lucky to have the family and friends that I do and so glad to be surrounded by such remarkable, giving people as I am bringing this little girl into the world. She will have lots of wonderful women around her to be examples to her. Not only did April make this shower so special for me, but also there were so many people who cared enough to come on their Saturday and take time for us. I was also amazed and grateful for all the gals who cared enough to beg April to give them a job so they could help with the shower. They brought some yummy food and made me feel so loved. I know my mom had a blast talking to April on the phone several times a day for the last little while as they planned out all the details. Every time I would hear that they were up to planning something fun, I felt so loved. I am a blessed girl indeed.

So, one of the things April and I have in common is our love, okay obsession, for treats! She had a candy bar at the shower, and I loved it! Definitely a personal touch!

Check out the custom Isabelle sign made by the champion of Photo shop!

Oh so yummy! Cutest presentation ever too! Every cupcake had a tag in it that said "Think Pink", every candy container had a sign hanging from it with ribbon, and it was all pink and red! So girly and SO SWEET!

These are candy bars with custom labels wrapped around them that say Isabelle. Does it get any cuter?

Oh I loved this....it is 8 picture frames, with each letter from Isabelle's name, spelling it out over her mantle.

The hostess with the mostest for sure!

Me and my tiny Grandma!

Spoiled!

These cupcakes were so yummy and darling. The best part is that Sean cut out the wood for April to make this cupcake stand. After he cut the circles and routed the edges, she painted the edges pink and put pink and white wrapping paper on top. It cracks me up that my husband does craft projects with my friend!

While I was enjoying all the girlyness at my shower, my hubby and Blake were flying to Dallas to check out a minivan for our growing family! A couple of hours after I got home, I was looking through my presents for the millionth time, and this pulled in my driveway:

Mr Blakers in a Minivan!

They had a blast together, just the two of them, for the flight to Dallas, checking out the van at the dealership, and then the 4 hour drive home. It was male bonding for them while I was doing all the girly stuff! Blake did tell me that there was a Corvette at the dealership he wanted more, but the minivan does have a DVD player, so it will do for now!

Thanks babe for making the drive and making me an official soccer mom with my awesome new ride!

Happy Birthday Pops!

My wonderful dad's birthday was last week, and I had to take the time to express how grateful I am that he is my daddy and my boys' Pops! My dad is seriously one of the most remarkable people I know. I admire him and respect him more than I can express. He is the most selfless man alive. He ALWAYS puts his family and loved ones above himself, and all those who are loved by him know how very important to him they are. We all feel like we are his number one priority. He has the strongest moral character of almost anyone I have ever known. It is rare find someone with integrity like his and I am so proud to be his daughter.

Growing up with a man like that as my daddy has been one of the biggest blessings of my life. I have always felt like someone is proud of me, someone loves me for who I am, someone would do anything for me, and someone is always there for me. He is a sensitive and expressive man and has always taken the time to tell me verbally and through his sweet notes that I am so special to him and he is so proud of me. His unconditional love and acceptance has absolutely shaped me into who I am and has taught me one of the most important life lessons, how to love. I believe I am a better daughter, sister, wife, friend, and especially mother because of his example.

My daddy has selflessly put his own desires and agendas aside countless times in my life as I have maybe taken a slightly different path than he had planned for me from time to time. It wasn't always easy for him, but his love and support for me has never wavered. He has always put my happiness above his. He truly defines selfless love.

Even though all of these blessings my daddy has given me as his daughter are amazing, absolutely none of them compare to the blessing of seeing him pour his love onto my children. He is completely in his element as Pops, and he glows in this role more than he ever has. When he is in the room with my boys, they all light up just to be together. You can see how much his love blesses them, and in return, how much he eats up their love for him. They adore him. How lucky am I to have had such an amazing man in my life and even luckier to see my little ones reap the same reward I have had by having the world's best Pops. Happy Birthday Daddy, I love you!

Getting ready to sing to Pops!

Happy boys to be with their Pops!

Can you feel the love!?

This is what I mean about the lighting up around Pops!

Selfless as always, Pops gave out massages on his own birthday!

Too funny!

He even gave out foot massages! We love you Pops!

Fun Times

So part of the fun we've been having has been just playing with my new camera, and the other part has been fun things we have been up to! My boys are getting pretty used to me taking pictures of them doing basically nothing just to see how good it will look on the camera! Sometimes they ham it up and other times they seem pretty annoyed! I am sure they are hoping the novelty will wear off soon and mom will stop playing with her new toy! What can I say though, I think I have pretty cute subjects to take pictures of, so I am lovin it!

Mr Blue Eyes

Silly bath time!

Very silly bath time!

Hammin it up!

This past weekend, the Williams invited us over to Kevin's parents house for hot tubing and movie watching in their super fun movie theatre! It was a blast and the kids loved getting in their pj's and eating popcorn in the big theatre!

Cracking each other up

Such a cute foursome in their coordinating jammies!

Braden and Peyton pretty much camped out on Sean as usual! They sure love him!

They have an awesome gameroom outside their media room with air hockey, ping pong table, and Fooze (sp?) ball. My boys were in heaven to say the least!

I love the focus on Blake's face as he tried to beat Halli at a little air hockey!

Happy boy!

All my boys enjoying air hockey together! Halli was doing an awesome job holding her own at the other end of the table against all these boys!

Thanks Kevin and April for yet another fun night!

Blessings

So, tomorrow my sweet little Braden is headed for surgery for a hernia repair. Combine pregnancy hormones with my normal personality and that makes for one worried mama. I know there are far more complicated surgeries than this one, I know that my baby is in perfect health so he is strong enough to handle this, I know we have done our homework and chosen the best surgeon at the best hospital, I know we have been through this before with Blake and everything turned out fine......if I REALLY know all these things, then why am I so uneasy and concerned for my little man? I guess it doesn't really matter what you logically KNOW in your head when it comes down to surgery on your child. Emotion takes over and logic goes out the window. At least that is how it is for me. I have been struggling the past few days in anticipation of tomorrow. I have tried so hard to force the logical thoughts to over ride the emotions. I have repeatedly called my sister who knows a lot about this kind of thing and really knows how to talk to parents who are anxious. I called my amazing friend Ashlee who has had to send her little ones to surgery too. I have talked Sean's ear off about it. Poor guy.

Here's what I know for sure. There is only one way to find peace when you're feeling emotional turmoil that can't be squelched by logic. There is only one source to go to for answers, comfort, and guidance when you truly need it. Don't get me wrong, all the conversations with my sister and Sean and all the others have helped a ton. But tonight, as Sean and his Dad layed their hands on Braden's head and gave him a blessing, I felt true peace. Not momentary peace, true lasting peace. I know whose hands this is in, and I know He loves me and He loves my Braden. I know that as Sean blessed Braden for tomorrow, the promises he gave him were directly from our loving Heavenly Father. As I listened to the blessing, I was so aware that my Father in Heaven knows exactly how I am feeling right now. I am not alone. I am not asked to worry about my son all alone without a source to go to for help. What greater blessing is there than to know that we have a Father in Heaven who loves us and knows our hearts? I am beyond grateful for this knowledge in my life. I am also so grateful for a husband who honors his priesthood. I am married to an amazing man.

Super Long Christmas Post!

Okay, so this is officially the longest post ever! I apologize to all of you who probably don't want to see ALL of these pics, but I think this is my last post before I turn all of the posts I have done so far into a Blurb book! So, I wanted to make sure to get all the memories in! Also, my sweet hubby got me my dream camera for Christmas, so I have been having a blast taking pictures! We had a great Christmas break, despite the part where we were all four sick with a stomach virus for 5 days! We were literally on lock down in our house trying not to spread our germs to anyone, and you will be able to tell by how many pics on this post have my kiddos in jammies! Thank goodness we had some new toys and the new Wii to entertain us in between runs to the bathroom.

We started off the Christmas festivities with a get together at the Williams' house. It was pajamas required attire and Christmas stories for the little ones. We had cookies and hot chocolate and great company. April, this was yet another one of your great ideas, I say we do this every year! The kids loved it! I must admit, I loved the jammie party too!

I love how well they were listening at this point!

The older kids definitely had a longer attention span!

Peyton going in for some Braden cuddle time! I think he is irresistible too!

The boys and I picked out Christmas suckers to bring for all the kids! As you can tell, they were a hit!

Braden loved his sucker!

The next night was Tuesday, the 23rd, and we had an early Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Monson's house. We all went over to have a yummy dinner, decorate gingerbread houses, get a early visit from Santa, and have a big sleepover there. My mother in law made this such a special night for everyone and had thought of every detail to make it so fun. In the morning, the kids opened the presents from Grandma and Grandpa and had a big breakfast! Oh yeah, and Braden decided to add to the excitement with lots of vomit. That's when it all began. Poor little guy.

Santa talking to the cousins

Santa brought some presents in his bag, and the kids were ecstatic to have him literally hand them gifts! What a great idea Grandma!

Blake and his daddy created a masterpiece with their gingerbread house.

Grandma read stories to the kids before bed. She also gave them all matching PJ's!

One of the Christmas surprises at their house was a motorized truck for the kids! I love this pics of Grandma covering their eyes before the big reveal!

I think they liked it! Can you tell!

My boys going for a spin!

This was Braden by the time we got home. He had thrown up three times by this point and was exhausted. I have decided that the single hardest part of motherhood is feeling helpless and like you can't fix it when your kids are sick. This virus really wiped all of us out, but the hardest part was watching the kids. We are so used to them buzzing around full of energy, especially during the holidays, but they were so lethargic and sad with yucky tummies. There was one night when Braden threw up after he hadn't in a few days, and I just broke down crying. I just wanted him to feel better so badly. I am so glad it is over.

This is our tree after Santa brought all the presents! Notice Sean's huge surround sound box that was too big to even attempt to wrap!

Happy but pale on Christmas day. His vomiting would begin that night.

Sean and his boys playing with the new Hot Wheels racetrack!

Poor little sick boy, but man he still smiles for the camera. If you look at the pics, you can see his shirt doesn't match his bottoms. That's because we had already had to change it from him getting sick in bed.

Blake playing with the new Geo Trax! This is when the pics with my new camera begin! I love it!

The boys playing Geo Trax together.

Sean and his new Surround Sound Remote!

I love this boy

I love this boy too!

Braden and his favorite person ever

He gives Sean the best hugs ever. No fair!

By the time my Birthday rolled around, we were so ready to leave the house. My boys took me to the Woodlands and to dinner. It was so fun! They loved the carousel at the mall!

I got so dizzy on the carousel, it was ridiculous! What a wuss!

Still pale, but glad to be out of the house!

Also so happy to be out of the house

We went to dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants Papacitos. It was so fun to be together as a family.

Me and my boys

While we were waiting for a table, Sean started playing with the camera and he fell in love too!

Ready for some chips!

Ham!

MMMM tres leches!

We had a couple of families over for New Year's eve, and it was a blast! We had lots and lots of food and little did I know I was planning my own little birthday party because in walked April with a cake and cupcakes and Nicole walked in bringing gifts. Sean and Stacy were planning the whole thing so I wouldn't know it wasn't just a New Years celebration. Thanks guys, yall made me feel so special! After we ate a lot of food and they sang to me, we went outside and did fireworks with the kids! They loved it. It was quite the show. Then we came in and put the kids in jammies and in front of a movie and the adults played games. That's my idea of a fun night!

Braden and his noise maker!

Blake loved the fireworks

He had so much fun helping his daddy get all set up

Even though we stayed away from my mom while we had the virus, she still managed to catch it too. Poor lady had it on her birthday which is New Years Eve. That is no fun. So, my dad stopped by to see the kids for a bit before he went home to the sick birthday girl.

So fun!

Getting ready to race the tanks!

These daddies put on a great show!

Blake and Sean with a roman candle

The kids all comfy and ready to watch a movie!

Braden and Peyton weren't about to go to bed early just because they are little! They wanted to watch a movie too!

You should of seen Sean bringing these guys all a drink of water! It was so cute! I am so glad we have such fun friends and family to bring in the New Year with. We are very blessed.

Christmas Break...Let the Fun Begin!!!

Yay for Christmas break! I am so excited to have two weeks of not having to rush Blake (not a morning person at all) out the door every morning! It will be so fun to do whatever we want everyday and to have a ton of family time! We have some really fun things planned and can't wait to share the holidays with those we love.

We wrapped up Blake's school week with his Christmas Program at school. It was so fun to see him sing the songs up there. He really knew the words this year and all the cute signs they had to go along with the songs too! It's so fun to see him in his little world at school and see the way he interacts with the other boys. They are such a cute group of boys and are cute friends to each other.

He also had a Christmas Party at school this week and I went up to help with that. They did a gift exchange with each other, and one of the moms had suggested they all get each other the same thing so there wouldn't be jealousy. So, they all got Hot Wheels cars, and it is a good thing because even with the playing field being that even, there were still boys who were pouting about the car they got. My sweet Blake was so concerned that one of the boys really didn't like the car he got. I could tell Blake really liked the one he got, but he came up to me and told me about this boy who was disappointed in his. Blake was about to trade with him to make him happy, and I asked him if he really wanted to trade or if he liked his more. He told me that he really wanted the one he got, but he didn't want the other boy to be sad. Here he was happy with his car, but he couldn't even fully enjoy it because he was so concerned about someone else. That is the tender hearted boy I love. He makes me proud and filled with love in moments like that at our house all the time with the way he treats his baby brother, but to see him maintain the same character in a room full of five year old, competitive boys made me melt with love and admiration for his sweet spirit. I love that little man.

We started off the break with some family fun on Saturday and headed to go bowling with the Kirkhams and Sean's parents! The kids had a blast! Blake scored even higher than me (yes, he had bumper lanes, but still)! The cousins had a ball together, and it was so fun to watch them cheer each other on.

Blake's cute boys in his class!

Lined up ready to go sing!

Mr Bowling!

This is the position Blake falls into after he bowls and watches the ball go all the way to the pins! At 3 miles per hour, that took a while!

My happy Braden!

My happy Blake!

Braden and daddy bowling together! Sean, being the best daddy that he is, let Braden bowl once during each of his turns. It definitely lowered his score, but he has a blast with his little guy!

Braden was so happy everytime he bowled, and he would clap for himself even for the gutter balls saying, "Yay Braden"!

Ready to join a bowling league!

Braden giving loves to Sydney

The cousins and their bowling balls! What a cute league these guys make!

Family Pictures 2008

I have the most talented friends! This is a good thing because when it comes to creativity and artistic ability, I am slightly void of talent! I am good at appreciating though, and man do I appreciate these girls who are willing to share their talents with me! I am so blessed! Our friend Ginger is so talented at taking pictures and is always willing to take family shots for us! She does a great job capturing our family! As I look at the pics she takes of my boys, I am so overwhelmed by how blessed I am to have these guys. She truly captures their little personalities and the light in their eyes in the pictures! I also have my good friend, the most creative girl in the world, April, to help me make the pictures come together and make Holiday Cards! I always try to watch and learn what she is doing so maybe I won't have to bug her next year, but she is TOO good! I can't even begin to keep up with her! Thank you Ginger and April for sharing your talents and blessing us with them! Sorry there are so many pics on here, but my sis really wanted to see a lot of them! Y'all will be getting this card in the mail, but I am too excited about the way it turned out to not post it! Here's the fabulous work of Ginger and April!

April whipped up this custom card in no time!

Poor Sean had to lift pregnant me into this tree, but it was fun!

My sweet Braden

My sweet Blake

Monson Fam

Cutest brothers ever!

Oh, I could eat this boy up!

This pic is the perfect example of Ginger capturing the real Braden

Handsome Boy

I adore those dimples

More fam

My boys kissing their baby sister!

Double Trouble

If you are ever babysitting for Braden and Saryn, and you don't hear them for a minute.......run as fast as you can and GO FIND THEM! These two are partners in crime! It was only a week ago we found them putting brand new rolls of toilet paper in my mother in law's toilet (they ruined about 5 rolls before we caught them), and just the other day we found them in her bathroom looking like two little clowns! They decided to have a make up party with Grandma's make-up! They also decided to put her nice shoes in her shower! Good thing they can't turn that on! After they were all cleaned up from the make-up party and we had moved on to other things, they made it back to Grandma's bathroom and splashed each other with her bath water until they were soaked from head to toe! I just wish I could be a fly on the wall as they are conjuring up these ideas! I just wonder if one of them starts doing it and the other one watches in amazement and then joins in! It would be hilarious to see them interacting without them knowing we are watching! Good thing they are so dang cute!

Proudly saying cheese with their makeovers!

How can you be too mad at those faces!

It Snowed!

I know, it sounds like something normal to be happening in December, but let's just say it was Blake's first time to see snow falling in his whole life! He has seen old snow that was left at the top of Timp in April, but he has never seen it fall from the sky! He is actually the one who noticed it out the window and started screaming, "It's snowing, it's snowing, I can't believe it is snowing!" I couldn't believe it either. His excitement was precious! He had to call Halli and make sure she could see it from her house! He ended up running down there to play in her backyard with her! Poor Braden napped through the whole thing! It didn't last too long!

Blake and Halli!

Trying to catch it with their tongues!

Can't you just see his excitement!

Thanksgiving 2008...Traditions old and new!

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend! I love this holiday and the opportunity it gives us to reflect on how many things we have to be grateful for. I was filled with gratitude this year as we were able to spend time as a family, focusing on the most important things in our life. We spent a lot of the time enjoying the traditions we usually do on Thanksgiving weekend and also some time starting up some new traditions that were a ton of fun as well.

We ate with family, decorated our house for Christmas, shopped a little, and ate a little more. Those were staple traditions that we've been doing for years. The new fun that we added to the weekend involved a family camping trip in our backyard and going to a football game! Blake and Braden were both very happy with those additions to the festivities.

I've been thinking a lot about what I am especially grateful for this year, and I am filled with happiness as I do so. I am grateful for a personal relationship with my Heavenly Father and the peace that relationship blesses my life with. I am so thankful for the knowledge that I am His daughter and He knows my heart and loves me. I am grateful for my amazing husband and any chance to spend time with him. He makes me feel fulfilled, understood, appreciated, adored, and just makes my life better. I am so grateful for motherhood. I love being Blake and Braden's mommy so much, I feel like I am completely in my element in this divine role. Being with my boys is my favorite thing to do in this world. They are amazing boys and each add such blessings to my each and everyday. I am in awe of and so so grateful for the miracle of feeling a baby move in my belly. It is so amazing and I love this sweet experience. It is the beginning of one of the deepest connections in this world, mommy and baby. I am thankful for the excitement and anticipation that comes with looking forward to meeting our first little girl. I can't wait to experience the new bond that will be in my life when Isabelle gets here...mother and daughter. Oh, and I can't wait to see how cute Sean is as she wraps him around her little finger! I am so grateful for the strength and closeness of our entire family. We always feel so blessed to have both our families so close to us. I can't imagine it any other way. Sean and I get to constantly watch our loved ones give love to our little ones. Their lives are so blessed by having family all around them. We love it. I love the gospel, I love my family, I love this time of year....I love my life!

I got to go to Blake's school to volunteer for their Thanksgiving Feast! It was so fun to have a little one on one time with my sweet boy.

What a cute Indian!

Blake's cute class of all boys!

Blake and daddy putting the star on top of the tree. My cute little 5 year old was Mr. Sentimental this year as we got out all the ornaments. He remembered what most of them were from and was constantly telling us to look at each one because it was such a special one!

For Sean's birthday, he got a bunch of camping gear so our family can start going on camping trips! We decided to have a night in our backyard sleeping in the new tent! The boys were in heaven! I love making fun memories like this!

I didn't even have to tell him to say cheese, he just had this perma-grin on!

Happy brothers!

This is our tent's front door complete with a door mat!

These are the two doggie doors! Those are some cute doggies if you ask me!

Blake on his own air mattress!

Braden on his own air mattress! So, this little man and I ended up having to go in the house after trying to get him to sleep on this comfy air mattress for an hour and a half. He has never slept out of a crib or pack and play and just could not figure out how to calm down! He was keeping us all awake telling us about every noise he heard, every car that passed, every time the train went by, and he also spent a lot of time counting the cars on his pillow out loud! It was actually so cute to listen to him deliriously chitter chatter, but after a while, we had to head inside! Sean and Blake stayed out the rest of the night and slept great!

We went to the Rice vs. University of Houston football game with Sean's mom and dad, the Kirkhams, and the Williams. It was so fun to watch the boys enjoy the game, their cousins, and their friends. Braden mostly enjoyed his daddy as always!

Besides daddy, Braden's other favorite part of the game was the popcorn! He has a huge mouthful behind this grin!

Shoveling it in!

Blakers and Halli!

The kids had a blast with the popcorn bucket! The Houston Chronicle photographer even came by and told us she got a funny shot of Halli with it on her head and asked permission to put it in the paper!

Funny popcorn bucket head Blakers!

Braden and Peyton getting in some cuddle time!

We had so much fun as a family at this fun game! The Williams were heading to the Galleria afterwards to eat at the Cheescake Factory and check out the huge tree and ice skaters there! They didn't really have to work to hard to convince us to join, and we had a blast! The food was great, the company was better, and the kids loved looking at all the Christmas wonder at the Galleria. April and Kevin, we have to make that one of the new traditions and do it again!

More Blake and Halli!

Imitating the marching band during half time!

We are so lucky to be surrounded by such fun people during the holidays and always!

Happy Birthday Sean!

Well, I am officially married to an older man for the next month and a half until I catch up to him! We have been having a great time celebrating Sean's birthday for the last few days! I guess that is how we do birthdays around here...long and drawn out! He is a fun man to celebrate, so he deserves it, and the kids love giving their daddy extra attention!

We started out the celebrations on the night before his birthday with Sean's side of the family over at his parent's house. It was a combined b-day party for Sean, Kelly, and Saryn! We had take out Chinese food (one of Sean's favs) and sang to all three of them with yummy cupcakes! It was so fun to get the fam together and to start the partying early! On his actual birthday, the boys and I woke him with cards and presents in bed! Then we hurried to go get a healthy breakfast of doughnuts and kolaches so we would still make it in time for Blake's soccer game! It was a gorgeous day and Sean had a blast watching his soccer super star as one of his b-day activities. Nonna and Pops had come to watch the game, so we all went out for b-day lunch afterwards at one of our favorite places, Hido. It is a hibachi/sushi restaurant that we love! The kids love watching their food cooked in front of them except this time, Braden was definitely not a fan of the huge flames! The highlight of the lunch for the kiddos had to be watching daddy catch flying food in his mouth! He is remarkably good at that! We ended the day with a little date to eat and go to a movie! I love being with my hubby!

I hope we made him feel special on his birthday because we sure all feel lucky he is ours! I am going to continue my tradition of listing my favorite things about the birthday boy even if most of it will sound cheesy! Here it goes:

1. Sean has such a strong belief in God and lives his life with that as his center.
2. Sean is the most attentive and sensitive husband and daddy in this world. He is very in tune with all of our needs. Sharing parenthood with him is so gratifying because he is just as emotionally attached to our little ones as I am. I love it.
3. He knows me better than anyone in this world, usually even better than I know myself, and he loves me anyway!
4. He will do whatever it takes to take care of his family in every way. We all feel safe, protected, and provided for with him around.
5. He is humble, patient, tolerant, empathetic, and a great listener.
6. He misses us just as much as we miss him when he is traveling.
7. He always puts his family first.
8. He is a great fort builder, wrestler, superhero impersonator, train track assembler, and monster truck ramp builder!
9. His vocabulary has become filled with words like love language, love currency, and many other relationship analyzing terms! We have an equal love for talking about deep subjects, analyzing life and relationships, and our loved ones. There is no one I would rather have a heart to heart with, our conversations are so fulfilling.
10. He is my best friend. I love being with him, even when we are doing absolutely nothing. After being married for almost 8 years, we have morphed into a place where I can't really separate Sean from Allie. I don't know me without him, and I don't want to. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be his!

This is our fam at Novemberfest which is a fall festival put on by my Uncle Jeff's school. We had a blast!

Getting ready to run with lightening speed!

Another action shot of the soccer boy!

Check out that kick!

Goin' for it!

The little brother who can't wait to be on a team himself! He loves to go on the field during breaks and take advantage of the kids being gone!

I love watching this boy in action!

This was such a cute daddy son chat. I didn't know what they were talking about at the time, but learned in the car after the game that it went something like this:

Blake: Daddy I haven't scored any goals today (disappointed)

Daddy: Well buddy, you've been playing amazing defense and you have blocked a ton of goals! Did you know when I played I was a defensive player and I stayed by the other teams goal to block their balls.

After this conversation, Blake never left the other teams' net. He was immovable and ready to block anything! After Sean told me this is what they had talked about it all made more since. I really wasn't sure why he was so stuck there at the net! It's easy to tell who he wants to be like when he grows up!

A brotherly congrats hug after the game!

These two are so cute together. Braden thinks Blake is the coolest person ever and Blake is the sweetest older brother to him. I love watching them play.

Blake and daddy with chopsticks at Hido!

Pops and Braden

The fam!

And finally, last night, Sean got sung to one last time at my Sabta's house with my family there! There sure are a lot of people who want to celebrate my hubby!

Halloween 2008

Halloween was a blast this year! We started out the night at the Kirkhams' house for some pizza and pictures of the cousins together in their costumes. It has become a tradition to get together like this before we trick or treat so we can get some good pics in and Grandma and Grandpa can see the kiddos all dressed up. It is super fun. It was even better this year since Gi Gi was in town and could be there too!

Then it was time to head back to our neighborhood to make sure we had candy out for the trick or treaters and to meet up with the Williams and my mom and dad. As we were heading down our street to find the Williams fam, we ran into the Humpherys fam and the Black fam. Both are friends from our ward who I am in the Primary Presidency with, so naturally our kids wanted to stick together! Right after that we found the Williams and our other good friends the Nichol family! It was like little Utah! Our group was huge, mostly due to the insane amount of children, but it was a blast! When my mom and dad met up with us, I could see the look of shock on their faces when they saw the size of the group of our kids that went to knock on each door together in one big clan! I wonder what people thought as they opened the door to such a crowd all at once! It made it so fun for the kids to be running around with their friends all in their costumes! That is what we love the most about this neighborhood! There are so many amazing families from our ward that we love to be with, it makes times like Halloween even more fun!

Once the candy buckets were full to the brim, we decided to start heading home because Nonna had one of her surprises to make the night even more fun for the kids. She had bought loads of cans of silly string to add a little excitement to an already fun filled night! Luckily there is still a vacant lot on our street, so we didn't have to worry about getting it everywhere at our house. The Williams headed with us to the empty lot and we let the kids go to town spraying! Braden and Peyton wanted nothing to do with it, so Blake and Halli got as many cans as they wanted! It was a ton of fun to watch!

Blake and Spencer striking up some transformer moves while eating pizza!

Pilot Braden with his Hula Girl Saryn!

Mr Bumblebee!

Cute Gi Gi with her great grandbabies!

Grandma and Grandpa with the cousins!

Cousins!

Blake and his friend Jacob Trick or Treating!

Braden and Peyton are so cute together!

This was the massive group of dressed up kiddos we were trick or treating with!

Bumblebee and his daddy

Daddy and his boys

Peyton still loves Seanny more than anyone! Braden isn't too willing to share his daddy though, so this is the compromise! Too cute!

Silly string fun with Bumblebee, Dafne, and Nonna and Pops!

More fun

I love Halli aiming at Blake in this pic! Get him Halli!

What a fun Nonna! Thanks for making Halloween even more memorable!

Braden is Two!

How can my baby be two! I can't believe how fast time flies as our little ones grow up before our eyes. It truly feels like yesterday that this little guy came into our world and changed everything for the better. Just like Blake's last birthday, we managed to spread this one out over several occasions, so I apologize in advance for the multiple pictures and videos on this post that will have singing happy birthday, cake, and frosting on Braden's cute face!

On his official birthday, Sean, Blake and I woke Braden up by singing happy birthday and filling his room with balloons! He loved it! It was so fun to have Blake in on the planning of this little surprise. He couldn't wait to wake his baby brother up. Most of that day was pretty normal with Blake at school and Sean at work, but later that night we had my parents and sis, Sean's parents, and the Kirkhams over for some cupcakes and cousin playtime. I think he had a blast that night and would've been perfectly content with just that, but Sean and I still felt like he needed a real party!

With everything that was going on with my Saba, the party got pushed into October, but Braden didn't mind! We had family and friends and lots of hot dogs! My mom made chili to put on the hot dogs, and it was so good! Everyone loved it. As a bonus, Aunt Kristi and Gi Gi were in town, so Braden even had family from a far to celebrate! How fun! It was a fun night and we felt very loved as we looked around and thought about how many people care that our baby turned two!

Thinking about my favorite things about Braden brings a huge smile to my face. He is such an adorable little man, I can hardly get enough of him! So here it goes:

1. Braden's smile is huge and his laugh is completely infectious. The best thing about both of these is that he is so quick to smile and to laugh. It doesn't take much at all to get a full on belly laugh out of this guy and he has always been that way. I love how happy he is and his joy is contagious.
2. Braden is Mr. Friendly. He loves to say hi to everyone. This goes as far as him having a favorite check out person at Wal Mart. He even knows his name and asks for him as we head to check out. After we get home with our stuff, he walks around telling everyone that Robert (that's the checker's name) bought it for him.
3. Braden has big huge paws for hands and is going to be a big boy, but he is usually so so tender and soft with others. My in laws call him the gentle giant because even when someone smaller than him takes something from him, he usually just lets them have it and doesn't fight back. His brother really likes this characteristic.
4. Braden is an amazing sleeper. He would sleep in until 9:30-10:00 if he could. Of course, I have to wake him every morning to take Blake to school, and even though he would prefer to sleep more, he always sits right up and says, "Hi mom, how you doin".
5. Braden is 100% a daddy's boy, he lights up when he sees his daddy. This is also true for both his Pops and his Papa, he loves those guys.
6. I love watching the admiration Braden has for his big brother. He just watches every move Blake makes and tries to be just like him, it is adorable.
7. I love Braden's big kissable lips and sweet huge eyes.
8. I love cuddling with Braden, he always leans his head so sweetly on me.
9. When you ask Braden for a hug, he usually just gives you his head, it is so funny.
10. Braden has the natural ability to make others just feel so good. He has a gift for making people laugh and smile whenever he is around. He can make you feel so loved and special just by flashing one of his smiles at you. I love the sweet and funny spirit that my little boy has, and I am so glad he is mine.

This is Braden with the balloons in his room on birthday morning. Don't you love the bed head.

Brother hugs are the best!

This is Braden loving the cupcakes on his birthday night.

Here's the Happy Birthday song on his Birthday night!

All the cousins and big brother loved Braden's present from Nonna and Pops. Notice Braden isn't even playing with it. What a good sharer.

Oh I love this boy!

Blake with the remotes from the airport! Thanks Nonna and Pops!

Once everyone was gone, the boys took the new toys up to the playroom and had some brother time.

This is at the birthday party we had later. We set up soccer goals with cones and let the kids play in the backyard.

Braden and his big cousin Gavin on the slide!

Mr Soccer himself getting a good kick in!

That's one cute birthday boy!

The Cake!

Here's the Happy Birthday song from his Birthday Party! He's getting pretty used to being sung to!

Braden sure can open wide!

This is Gi Gi, Sean's grandma, feeding Braden some yummy cake. It was such a treat to have her in town for this.

Braden and Peyton were loving getting ice out of the drink coolers.

Braden decided to feed some ice to Pops!

He also crammed some in his mouth!

We had a lot of fun decorating for this! I love you birthday boy!

Trunk or Treat

Last night we had our annual ward trunk or treat party! It was a ton of fun! Blake went as Bumblebee, his favorite transformer, and Braden went as a fighter pilot! They both looked so cute and had a ton of fun! So, I am super lucky to have my great friend April who happens to be one of the most creative people I have ever met! Since I am completely void of creativity, she helped me think of a costume for me and Sean. We played off the fact that I have quite the pregnant belly going on, and I was an oven with a bun in it and Sean was the baker! It was a blast!

Here's the fam in our costumes! If you click on the pic you can get a closer look at how well Sean wrote the GE symbol on my oven! I was impressed!

Halli was Dafne from Scooby Doo, and she looked adorable! April made her whole outfit! These two are always too cute together now matter what character they are for the day!

This is me with April and her sweet baby, Lexie. She made the Bjorn into a Bumblebee and she was the flower. Then she made her hubby, Kevin, into a bee keeper! See what I mean about the creativity!

Braden the fighter pilot and Peyton the kitty! How cute are they!

Here they are in the costume parade!

What a cute fighter pilot!

Spencer was Optimus Prime which is so fitting since these two always pretend they are Optimus and Bumblebee! It was cute to see them in costume to match the imaginations they use every time they play together!

Blake and Spencer breaking out some Autobot moves!

Blakers can really get into character!

It's A.....

You'll have to watch these videos to find out! Don't forget to pause the music so you can hear the sound!

Do we look excited enough?

Here is what Braden has to say!

This is Blake finding out!

We went to Pop's work to tell him the good news!

Needless to say, we are beside ourselves with excitement around here! We can't wait to meet this little girl! She will be watched over and protected by her two big brothers! They are so excited about her!

More Soccer and The Oil Ranch!

Sean's sister, Kristi, has been in town, so we have been filling our time with family fun! On Saturday, Blake and Spencer had back to back soccer games, so we had Sean's entire family there to support both boys! It was so cute to watch cousins be cheerleaders for each other!

One of my favorite parts of soccer is the warm up right before the game! I love watching Blake stretch, it is hilarious! Here is a video for you, so you can enjoy a little laugh too!

Braden can't wait to be a soccer player too!

After one of our soccer games, Blake helped Daddy with a fence!

Good thing he had stretched so much before the game, he sure was working hard with daddy!

On water breaks, Blake chose to stay on the field with his cousins while everyone else had a little rest!

Blake loved watching Spencer's game and cheering him on! He even pointed to the goal for Spencer to aim for to help him out!

So, a group of gals from our ward got together to head for the Oil Ranch today. Stacy brought Kristi with her, so we had a little family get together within the group! It is such a fun place for the kiddos to go to, that I felt really weird going without Blake. Plus I didn't want him to miss out on cousin fun since Kristi isn't here that often, so I was a rebel mommy and pulled him out of school today! I am so glad I did because it was a blast. They have a pumpkin patch, hay maze, hay rides, train rides, snow cones, petting zoo, and much more!

Here's the group! That's a lot of strollers!

Me and my cutie boys at the pumpkin patch!

Cousins at the Pumpkin Patch! Braden and Saryn were super happy you can tell!

The boys on the train ride!

Blake loved riding the horse! He got back on for a couple of repeat rides around! What a cute cowboy he is! Braden had absolutely no desire to get on a horse! Maybe next year!

Braden was having so much fun running around, he lost his pants!

Yep, that's Blakers milking a cow!

Braden didn't really want to milk the cow either, but he had fun hanging out!

So, who knew when a cow poops it can be projectile! These boys got covered in the yucky stuff! Blake had to go shirtless the rest of the day! He looked like a real cowboy at that point!

On the hay ride, they give you food to feed the cows! Blake got licked several times and was lovin it!

My shirtless cowboy loved these cows!

I love this tractor shot! The no shirt look makes it even more authentic!

Mr. Braden hopped on to join his big brother!

Standing on a huge stack of hay!

Blake flashed me a focused face before he tried to conquer the hay maze!

Braden was one happy camper when he got his snow cone!

Just in case you were wondering what Cubby has been up to besides chewing everything in sight....here he is enjoying a leisurely dip in my mother in law's fountain!

What's Your Guess?

So, Tuesday is the big day! We will finally find out the gender of our number 3 baby! We are so excited and time can not go fast enough! Hurry up Tuesday! So, what's your guess? Will it be another adorable Monson boy for us, or will we be adding a little girl to this family? We are on pins and needles!

My Beloved Saba

Unforgettable, full of unconditional love, mischievous, adoring, expressive, emotional, dynamic, survivor, centered his life around family, generous, open, someone who loved to dance...most of all, someone who loved to love. These are many of the descriptions that were used at my sweet Saba's funeral to portray the amazing life he led.

This isn't the first time I have blogged about this amazing man in my life, and even though he may be gone, it most definitely is not the last. The type of love he gave me is undying. I can still feel it to my very core, and I know I always will. His love is his legacy, and it will be passed on for generations to come. Passing it on will come very naturally to all those whom he loved. Once you have been loved like Saba loved you, it is the only way you know how to love from that point on. What a gift he gave me as he exemplified unconditional love by his every act and deed. My dad spoke at the funeral and said it perfectly as he mentioned that Saba didn't teach or preach these values, he simply lived them. He was truly the ultimate example.

Throughout the last couple of weeks, as Saba was in critical condition, my parents would give me updates each time they spoke to one of his doctors. All I could hear was the positive news. They would tell me all of the stats and things that were going well as well as things that weren't going so well. My Saba is a survivor. He survived multiple camps in the Holocaust, escaping twice just to get caught and put back in, he survived the pain and anxiety left by the memories of the Holocaust which plagued his thoughts, he survived lung cancer and major lung surgery at 84 years old and , and just this last year, he had a very serious gall bladder infection and just chatted my ear off as I visited him in the hospital after he had his gall bladder removed. None of these obstacles kept him from dancing at the next wedding, loving with all the vitality that he always did, taking trips to the diamond building, or making it out to our house for every single event in our lives. He was always there. So, when I would hear about how he was doing, I was sure he was going to pull through and survive yet again. I was certain he would be out of the hospital and maybe even at Braden's birthday party next week. I was certain he would answer the phone when I called in a few weeks to tell them what their next great grandchild was going to be. I just knew that in March, I was going to be able to see my Saba cradling another one of my babies in his arms. Watching him love my children has been one of the greatest full circle blessings in my life, and I couldn't wait to give him another one.

When my mom told me it was his time to go and the difficult decision had been reached to end life support, I was truly unprepared. Even though he had been sick for 12 days, I had not let myself believe this was going to be the outcome. They arranged for a Rabbi to come give him a final blessing and for the entire family to meet up there and say our good-byes. Natalie drove into town, and Sean and I drove to the hospital with her. Sean held both of our hands as we walked down the hospital hall towards Saba's room where his wife and children were already there, telling him how much they loved him. We all surrounded his bed and poured our love onto him together. As we were waiting for the Rabbi, my Sabta asked Sean to give Saba a blessing. What a sweet experience that was. With my entire family and all their tears, we listened as Heavenly Father poured His love onto Saba through his adoring grandson. Sean blessed him with comfort and peace as he passes onto meeting his Heavenly Father who awaits him with outstretched arms. He blessed him to know that his legacy will carry on and we will love each other as Saba has taught us to love. He blessed him to rest peacefully knowing the love he shared with his family was unlike any love he had ever seen. He said he will always be OUR Saba and he will always be Blake and Braden's "Buty". We all just held onto each other as we listened to Sean bless him to know Heavenly Father was so proud of the way he had lived his life. It was amazing. What a tender mercy to have that experience.

As I went to sit down at the funeral, my dad handed me one of Saba's handkerchiefs. I held onto that physical piece of my Saba's and couldn't resist the urge to smell it and take in a little of his essence. There is a lot of mascara on it now, but I will never wash it. It is something he would have taken out of his pocket and handed to me if he were there, and I missed him so deeply as I clenched it in my hand. My baby sis held another one in her hand too, and I looked down at it in her lap knowing he was glad we had those. The words at Saba's funeral were beautiful and so so personal. My dad, mom, aunt Kim, and a close family friend all spoke as well as the Rabbi. All of their talks were such vivid descriptions of my Saba, and although it was impossible not to miss him and want to hug him as I listened, there were also many times I couldn't help but smile. How grateful I am to have been loved by that man, there truly is no one like him in this world.

It is no secret that my Saba and I had quite the love affair. Even with all the love he shared with SO many people, everyone knew the love he had for his two granddaughters was something beyond measure. Many people have told us about the twinkle that was in his eye as he told his countless stories about me and Natalie. Knowing I was loved by my Saba this way has absolutely shaped me into who I am today. He was quick to express his love and concern for me in every conversation we ever had. He was always expressing how proud he was of who I was. He made me feel like the single most adored and treasured person alive. What a blessed girl I am to have been given the gift of security that kind of love offers. It has taught me how to pour this kind of love onto those in my life as well.

One of my favorite "Saba" traits was how much he embraced and loved anyone we loved. If he knew someone loved us and treated us well, he was happy to become their adopted Saba. And many, many people have adopted my Saba. Of course, the person who was the most loved by Saba this way was my hubby. Oh, how Saba loved his Seanny. It didn't take long for Saba to see how Sean loved me, he had a pretty great radar for things like that. He very quickly could see how Sean took care of me and was his biggest fan from then on. He once told Sean's mom that he loved Sean more than she does! He also once had a conversation with Natalie, telling her to find someone exactly like Seanny to marry. He was on a Seanny soapbox listing all the endearing qualities that he loved about Seanny. He told her he loved his Seanny so much he could just eat him! Seanny, he said, is like Chocolate! No one was more proud of Sean when he got hired at Continental and he sure could brag about him too! He was constantly bragging about Sean being the best dad, the best husband, pretty much the best everything. I loved their relationship. At the end of our family meals, everyone would start getting up, clearing the table, doing dishes, and going to talk in another room. Everyone knew that Sean and Saba would remain at the table and have a lengthy heart to heart after each meal. All the family used to joke that Sean was "stuck" at the table and he was so nice to listen time after time. The truth is, after each of these talks, when Sean and I would get home, he would say, "guess what I learned from Saba tonight". He wasn't just being nice at all, he was soaking in as much Saba as he could. I know he is so grateful he did and he already misses those talks now.

When Sean and I had Blake, Saba's love was taken to a whole new level. They instantly had a bond and a deep connection. Saba always had a little game he played with little kids called "Buty mama". Blake decided that his name was "Buty", and so began the era of "Buty". He lit up when he was holding my children, and they lit up around him too. I was overwhelmed with gratitude as I watched them respond to his love the way I have all my life. How amazing that my own babies got to experience this kind of love. Knowing how much his love had influenced my life, I would watch from the sidelines as he blessed Blake and Braden with the same experience of security that only "Buty's" love can give. I could see Blake feeling like he was the most special boy in the world when he was with his "Buty", and I know Braden was starting to pick up on it too. It was a miracle to watch them together, they were such kindred spirits.

I have always heard that whenever people reach the end of their life, they never wish they worked more, stressed more, or counted their money more. They just wish they had spent more time doing what matters, loving their family. My Saba doesn't have to have that regret. His life was completely prioritized with his family placed so far above anything else. We all knew it. We all knew that we were the most important thing in the world to him. He often said he was the richest man in the world because he had us. The night after he passed, in a moment of self-inflicted heartache, I went into my Saba's room by myself for a minute. I sat on his side of the bed and mourned his loss. I let myself sob and wish that he were right there with me so we could have one of our talks. Then I started to look around at the things he looked at every night before he went to bed and every morning when he woke up. Directly behind his pillow there was a picture of him talking to Sean and me at our wedding, a couple of pictures of Natalie and me growing up, a picture of Blake and Braden, and the photo book Sean had given him two Hanukkah's ago full of pictures of him with his great grandsons. I thought to myself that sums it up perfectly. It isn't hard to tell what was the most important to my Saba. His family was his world and every single one of us is better for it.

So that is your legacy my precious Saba. The love you gave us will live on and everyone it touches will be made better by it. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I will see you again one day. A day won't pass when I won't think about how sweet it will be to reunite and to hug you once again. I love you.

Dancing with the true love of his life, my Sabta. Together these two were the ultimate example of lasting love, they were together for 63 years.

Loving his Blakey.

Hi fives with Braden!

I love this picture! This is Saba riding the plasma car they got for Blake at one of his birthday parties. They never missed one.

You could often find Saba and Blake having one of these "Buty" moments.

Talking with baby Braden.

Can't you just feel the love when you look at this picture.

I love this picture too! They look like two ole' buddies on a cruise enjoying some leisure time.

Does it get much sweeter than that?

Telling Blake that Saba had passed away was so hard He was very upset and expressed that he just wanted Buty to be better and still here. We told him to focus on all his good memories. He was looking at some of these pictures and came across this one. A smile spread on his little face and he told us about his memory from this precious picture. He told us all about how this was the time Buty was tickling him and they were laughing and laughing together. I am so glad he will have those memories of his Buty.

Aunt Kim's bday bash! This was such a fun night dancing with Saba!

You can just see the joy on his face when he was surrounded by those he loved.

Cousin Fun and the Newest Soccer Star

We have been having a great time here with cousins lately! Aly and Kelly came in town to visit from Guam, and the kids had a ball getting together with each other. My in-laws as well as Aly's mom were still without power when the Guam crew got here, so we were lucky enough to have a sleepover with them at our house! Stacy and Jeff came over with their troops too and stayed for some late night boys against girls game playing! We put all the kids to bed and played Cranium. This is usually one of my favs since we usually beat the guys, but I guess the combo of our pregnant brains put us at quite the disadvantage! They killed us! But we had a blast laughing at ourselves in the process!

Braden, Saryn, and Arie! He doesn't mind being surrounded by women!

Grandma with Braden and Saryn. Neither one of them can stand it if she is giving loves to the other one. She usually has a pretty full lap!

Blake, Spencer, and Liam taking a bath! These boys have a blast together!

The inflatable mattress that was Stacy and Jeff's bed during the hurricane became Aly and Kelly's when they stayed over. To the kids, it was a big trampoline regardless of whose bed it was!

Another fun thing here is that we signed Blake up for soccer for this fall! We weren't sure when to start team sports back up again after we tried it prematurely last year with a kickball team he was on. Kickball was an absolute disaster and he spent most practices and games crying and asking when it was time to go home. In hindsight, it was definitely not the ideal first sport. There is a lot of standing around waiting your turn time, and when it was finally his turn he was so scared to go up there after listening to all the crazy parents yell at their 3 year olds when they did it wrong. I love Texas as you all know, but some Texans can get a little to heated at these games for little ones! Well, yesterday was our first soccer practice, and I am convinced it is the perfect team sport for these guys to get started on. He absolutely loved it! I loved the look of pride he had on his face the minute he had his uniform on. He was so excited. He started looking himself up and down and then asked if he could go show Halli! He wanted to impress her with his soccer uniform! How cute is that. One of our friends from our ward is the coach so Blake was really happy about that! I can't wait to go to his first game tomorrow. If it is anything like practice, I will have a smile planted on my face the whole time!

This was Blake's smile right after he finished getting his uniform on!

Stretching!

Focus!

This is what Braden was up to! I took him in the stroller and brought suckers, shmarties, and a million fruit snacks to keep him in there, but he could not stand that there were balls and running all around him! He HAD to get out of that stroller!

Time for a water break!

I will be bringing an extra ball for this guy for all games and practices!

The after practice chat with the coach was awesome! The kids were coming up with some hilarious names for their team! Blake's suggestion was 424. Not the tigers or something tough like that, just 424! I love the things these guys come up with! Braden just couldn't hold back any longer at this point and had to sit with the team!

I love this happy boy! I can't wait for the rest of the season! This will be so fun!

The OBGYN from the Perspective of a 5 year old Boy!

Today was such a fun day for me. After our last ultrasound, Sean and I came home, showed Blake the pictures and told him all about the baby's heartbeat. Since then, Blake has been saying he wants to hear his baby's heartbeat next time I go to the doctor. So today Blake was my date to the OBGYN! We talked the whole way there all about what it would sound like and how once we hear the baby's strong heartbeat, we will know our prayers are being answered and our baby is healthy. He was so excited! After we hung out in the waiting room for a little bit, Blake accompanied me to leave my special gift for the nurse in the bathroom and then onto the exam room! The nurse let him hear the heartbeat for a while and she even moved it around a few times until she got it to be really loud and clear. I was watching Blake the whole time, and his eyes were lit up and huge. It was so fun to be looking at the joy on my first baby's face with the background noise of my new baby's heartbeat. It was one of those moments when you just feel so blessed to be a mommy, you could just burst.

After the nurse left and we were waiting for the doctor, I gave Blake a notepad and a pen to color. I noticed at first that he was drawing a picture of himself and me. Then I kept seeing him look around the room and go back to drawing. The first thing he showed me was his drawing of the doctor's stool on wheels. It was pretty good! Then he showed me his picture of the drawers in the room and the magazine basket! It was so fun to watch him look at something for a minute, concentrate on its features, then put the pen to the pad! What a budding little artist, I thought. He will be just like his dad! Then I noticed he was looking at the ever dreaded stirrups and the lamp right next to them used to shine light in the place where the sun don't shine! Oh boy, my son is about to draw a picture of stirrups! When my doctor came in and saw his beautiful drawing, she joked that he probably shouldn't bring that to show at school! So, we won't be bringing it to school for sure, but we will post it on here!


Blake and mommy at the top. He told me he drew the flower in my hand because he knows girls like flowers! There is a sun and some cars up there with us and the rest is the stuff from the exam room! See if you can tell which drawings are the following items: magazine basket, rolling dr chair, stack of drawers, lamp, and the famous STIRRUPS!

Surviving Ike....what it looked like from our house

To all of our loved ones who aren't here in powerless Houston, we are doing great and feeling extremely blessed by how much we were spared during our visit from the monster, Ike. It has been such a surreal experience to see the devastation that can come so quickly to such a large area. We are amazed at the protection we felt and the answered prayers that kept us safe as we sat in bed and listened to the loudest howling wind and rain you could ever imagine.

We knew Ike was due to hit us late Friday night, so we spent a few days getting ready. We were blessed to be pretty much set on food storage, so we didn't have to scrounge at the store with the rest of the people as the shelves were becoming bare by Wednesday. We did make a few trips to the store during the week as the hurricane approached for some things that we thought might make the time go by faster, but since we really weren't there for food, it wasn't nearly as stressful as it could have been. The bread shelves were completely bare, all the ice was sold out at several places, and the lines at the gas station were getting long starting on Wednesday. We are so grateful for our leaders who have urged us to be prepared for such events. People were looking everywhere for batteries, flashlights, and other survival needs. It felt so good not to have to frantically look with them.

On Friday morning, our phone rang, and it was Sean's dad saying he was going to board up his windows. So Sean went to help him and decided to board ours too. They spent the entire day sawing and boarding up with wood. Towards the end of the day, Sean was up on the ladder boarding our master bedroom, and the wind was already starting to kick up quite a bit. At this point, the eye of the storm was still about 100 miles away from the coast, but the wind was already getting fierce. I watched as several times the board Sean was working on would get picked up by the wind and he would have to balance himself on the ladder while slamming the board back onto the house. At that point, this storm started to seem really real to me.

That night, we hunkered (I love this funny word that we usually never use but have now heard used in every other sentence) down in our bedroom with our boys. We had Braden in the pack and play and Blake in our bed. We shut all the doors to the bedroom and felt safe knowing the windows were boarded. The boys slept like angels. Never even woke up once. We did get to hear Braden doing some funny talking in his sleep! It was so cute, I heard him saying, "Hi whale, hi puppy!" I was so tickled. Sean and I were up most of the night. Every time we would drift off to sleep, we were woken by another huge gust of wind. It was so loud, I was sure there were tornadoes just circling around our house. Even with the windows boarded, it sounded like the glass was just going to break and fly into our room. The electricity flickered on and off all night until about 4 am when it went out for good. At about 5, we got a text from Kevin asking how our trees were because he thought one of his was down. It was unbelievable to try to look outside to check on the trees. It was absolutely pitch black. You could not see a thing. Sean said when he opened the door to look, the wind almost tried to take the door too, so he quickly closed it! What a night.

Once the sun was out, we could check things out around us. Even though the power was out, we had bought old plug in phones and they still worked for about a day until we lost the phone lines as well. At least we could call all our family that morning and find out that they were okay. What a blessing to have all of our family members in the best shape you could hope for after such a huge storm. Both of our parents have huge trees in their neighborhoods, but neither had one land on their house or cars. Many many people were not as lucky. When the rain calmed down a little bit, we drove around and checked on family at their houses. It just took your breath away to see all the trees and fences down and the the huge mess left behind by Ike.

No power in Houston, Texas means one hot house! Saturday night, trying to sleep with no A/C or the ceiling fans that we are accustomed to was quite interesting! We were reminded how much we love power! It is such a weird feeling because even though you know you have no power, by habit, you still turn on light switches when you walk in a room. Then you think to yourself, why didn't the light go on, followed very quickly by HELLO, you have no power. You also try to put food in the sink and turn on the disposal to soon realize that doesn't work either! How about all the wet towels used for the rain, can you run those through the washing machine? NO! You very quickly miss all the luxuries power provides. I will say the boys loved using flashlights everywhere they went. Blake was using his even when it was still daylight, just for the fun of it! It was like camping inside.

By mid Saturday, we were throwing any food we could salvage into a cooler with ice and having to come to grips with all the rest that we would be throwing away after this was over. Luckily, Sean's parents had their fridge and freezer on a generator, so we took some stuff over there. I felt so bad for my mom, who was stuck in Dallas watching the news and worrying about all of us here. My dad had their house full with Saba, Sabta, Dori, and Robert, and I am sure my mom wanted to be there, being the amazing hostess she is. I was worried about her when our phones went out and cell phone coverage was really patchy. We could text, but it would go through hours after you sent it, so I knew she wasn't getting up to date info on us. Poor Nonna.

On Sunday, we were just hanging out at the house when we heard our power flicker on. We looked at each other in surprise and then it went off again. So, we went on playing with the kids, and then we heard it again.....this time it stayed on! After it was one for about a minute and we thought it might be permanent, we all started dancing and singing and running around! Yay for A/C and a cold fridge! We tried to call all our family to see if they had it and tell them to come right over if they don't! We couldn't get any phones to call out, so we had to go find people the old fashioned way...go to their house! You'd think we were telling them they'd won that Publisher's Clearing House thing when we knocked on their door and told them the good news! We soon found out we were the only ones with this wonderful power. At first, I felt really guilty that we had it and our family didn't, but then I soon realized it meant that everyone was coming to our house! Yay, I love that. We were so excited to have a party at our place. We picked up coolers filled with food from my dad and from the Kirkhams and brought it back to our cold fridge and freezers! We cooked up all the food we could from all of our combined freezers and barbecued tons of meat and hot dogs! It was so fun.

My favorite part of Ike would have to be having a big fun sleepover at our house with the Kirkhams! It was a blast. My boys absolutely loved having their cousins move in! The kids were having the time of their lives. During the day, Sean, Jeff, my dad, and Sean's dad would be gone almost all day meeting up with others from our ward to clean up the debris at our houses, take down our boards, and to go help out at houses that were in worse shape then ours. They took chainsaws and worked away at removing trees and any debris they could for people. Stacy and I would stay with the kiddos and work as a team to help each other with kids and prepare meals for our hungry men. It was such good bonding. I love that girl. When their power came back on around 7 Monday night, I was so sad they might go home! We decided that since it just came back on, the house wouldn't be cooled off enough by bedtime, so they should just stay one more night! I think none of us wanted the fun to end. I am so glad we decided that because that night, Sean, Stacy, Jeff and I stayed up until 3 am having such a good heart to heart. It was a night I will never forget. We all grew even closer than before.

I am amazed at the helping hand and concern people have for each other during times like this. Even before the storm as we were boarding up, neighbors would walk over or yell across to each other to ask if everyone had everything they needed for the storm. Home teachers called to see if you were set or if you needed anything from them. People from the ward all drove around checking on each other after the storm. Family stuck together to help each other in any way they could and make a few days without power seem like a fun adventure. We are overwhelmed by the blessings we have at this time and for the people in our lives we have to share them with.

Papa, Blake and Braden boarding up our master bedroom window!

Nice work Sean and Papa!

Kitchen windows

The front view

Mr. Flashlight himself ready for Ike!

Fences were completely knocked down.

This may be one reason for no power!

This is the street we take to get from our house to Stacy and Jeff's! Needless to say, we had to find another way there!

More trees on power lines

Can you believe this tree through these poor peoples' roof!

This tree completely uprooted bringing lots of grass with it. Unbelievable.

My mom took this pic on her drive back to Houston. She said there were a ton of power company trucks coming into Houston to lend a helping hand! We are so glad they are coming! Many of our friends and family still don't have power and it has been almost a week. We are hopeful it won't be much longer for them.

Sea World and some other Fun things!

Stacy and Jeff have been planning a day trip to Sea World for a couple of weeks now, and we didn't know if we were going to be able to join, but at the last minute it worked out! We are so glad it did because we had an amazing time. We love taking these trips together as a family! We caravaned with the Kirkhams and rode with Sean's mom and dad in their car. That was such a treat for Blake and Braden. They love riding in Grandma's car. Braden's car seat was all the way in the way back of her car, but you could always hear him checking on her in the front seat. He would be back riding in his chair saying, "Grandma house" to make sure she was still there. Too cute. On the way back, Grandma and Grandpa rode in the back and watched Backyardigans with the boys. It was hilarious to listen to Blake telling them all about the characters of the show and filling them in on all the episodes they were watching since Grandma and Grandpa had never seen it before! He really gave them a Backyardigans 101 course!

The boys had such a blast at Sea World with their cousins, it was so fun to watch them all be so care free and lovin life. Braden really soaked it in more this time than he ever has. He loved Shamu so much. Every time he could see him swimming towards us he would say "Here he comes!" and as he would swim away, he would say "More, more". It was so cute to see him really loving it there. Blake had a blast riding Atlantis and he had Sean take him on it three times in a row! Sean said he was even trying to convince Sydney to ride it again and again! Blake and Spencer were pretty much attached at the hip the entire day. They would just walk around chatting in their own little world. It is really fun to watch the bond those two have!

The tour guide! He was pretty serious about consulting the map for all the options for the day!

These boys were ready to hit the park!

Braden and Saryn were chatting about their plans for the day too!

The Shamu roller coaster!

Braden and Saryn were pretty stuck to Grandma while their older siblings played in the water at first.

Blake and Spencer splashin it up!

That is one happy boy!

Braden and his daddy checking out the water!

Having a blast!

Daddy and his boys waiting for the Dolphin show, Viva!

Having so much fun together!

Blake and Syd after the Shamu show!

Braden and his favorite person in the world!

The annual family pic after the Shamu show. That show always makes me cry! Being pregnant doesn't help either! This time it made me really miss Bear. I know that sounds weird, but the bond between the trainer and Shamu is so strong, it just reminded me of how close we were with Bear. Cubby is definitely trying too though!

Blake, Spence and Syd getting splashed by Atlantis! This may have been one of their favorite parts of the day!

Waiting for the big splash!

That should cool them off!

Braden holding on tight to his daddy!

All the kids were having a blast holding onto the railing and waiting for these huge waves. So, Braden thought he would enjoy it too. There he was holding on and waiting for the splash with his brother and cousins and mother's intuition kicked in and I realized that he may not enjoy it too much once it happens. So without thinking about it, the next thing I knew I was running over to hold him and got a little wet myself! Is there anything we won't do for our little ones!?

We got pretty soaked!



This was Braden's description of all the splashing!

We went to the park the other day to drive the boat Blake got for his birthday and the kids had a ball! I think Cubby may have had the most fun though since we let him swim. He was lovin it! Blake loved throwing things in for him to go retrieve out of the water. He was diligently looking all over the park for any stick he could find to throw in!

Braden was so into the boat. He wasn't too happy when the boat had to go "night night" when the battery ran out!

Blake and Cubby enjoying a day at the park!

Blake and his puppy becoming best friends!

Spencer had a birthday party the night before we went to Sea World, and the theme was Star Wars. They had some really creative games for the kids and my boys had a blast!

Jedi Braden!

Jedi Braden and Jedi Saryn!

Receiving some Jedi training!

Braden was ready for a battle!

After a while, Braden traded his Jedi gear for Sydney's high heels! It made Sean really proud!

We have an Announcement!

Many of you already know this, but we are so excited to share the fun news that our number 3 is on the way! We are ecstatic to meet another little Monson. Sean is beside himself with excitement and has been wanting me to try for number 3 for a while now! Blake is very happy as well, and Braden just says, "baby tummy" over and over whenever we talk about it! Maybe he is not sure if he wants to be the middle child! Blake has told us he wants this baby to be a sister which I totally did not make him say! He really said it all on his own! Braden adores babies, so I know he will love it when this baby gets here.

So far this pregnancy has been very similar to Blake and Braden. Vomit, vomit, and a little more vomit! Yep, that's what I do, as I know many of you do as well. I've been taking the wonderful Zofran to try to at least function, but it hasn't proven to be as miraculous as last time. It definitely does take the edge off though. I must say, Sean is amazing during this phase of pregnancy and I am so grateful for his willingness to eat frozen pizzas when I can't defrost chicken. He takes such good care of me and tries diligently to help me find any type of food I may be able to keep down. My kids are really ready for the old me to come back. Blake really doesn't like it when I am leaning over the potty. He worries about me a lot and repeatedly asks if I am okay, which I try to answer in between heaves! Braden always pops his head in and says, "Mommy, ucky". I think that sentence from my 23 month old sums it up perfectly. That's exactly how I feel, ucky. Somehow though, even with how incredibly ucky I get when I am pregnant, I always feel so aware of the miracle of this pregnancy. I think about it all the time even as I am laying on the bathroom floor. Even though I physically feel bad, I am emotionally and spiritually elated. This time has been even easier to feel that way because usually when I feel my worst, I lay on the bed with my two boys and look at them knowing how worth it this all is. If Blake and Braden are the end result of all this uckiness, then I will more than gladly do it again!

Thursday, Sean and I were able to go see our little one on ultrasound together. I love sharing those moments with my sweet hubby. I always fall a little more in love with him when I see that glow he gets looking at our babies. Here is a pic of the newest love of our lives!

Transition!

Yesterday was a big day in our house! Blake had his first day of non-preschool school. We decided to put him in a class called Transition which is for kids who have summer birthdays and just turned 5. It's kindergarten curriculum just taken a little slower for these barely 5's. We've given this topic a ton of thought and prayer and had many, many conversations with people we consider to be experts. We feel that as a boy, being the oldest in class will be a lot better than being the youngest his whole life. We hope this advantage will give him all the confidence and self-esteem that many people have advised us it will. So, Blake loves the name Transition because it reminds him of Transformers! He thinks he is the coolest! The entire class is boys, which he also thinks is cool.

Even though it isn't kindergarten, it is five days a week, which is a big change for us here, so of course I got a little emotional anticipating my sweet boy going to school 5 days a week. Basically this is the first year he will be gone this much for many years to come. For two nights before Monday, I layed in bed with tears in my eyes thinking about how fast 5 years goes by. Did I cherish every moment I could? Does he know how much I love being with him? How can he be going to school in a uniform with his own desk and school supplies when I just held him and looked in his eyes for the first time what seems like yesterday? Will he be sad when he gets there and realizes he doesn't know one kid there? Who will comfort him when he gets his feelings hurt?

My cute mother in law told Sean about someone she had heard of that drew a little heart on their child's hand their first day of school and told them to look at it if they ever get lonely or sad and it will remind them that mom and dad love them. We thought that was a cute idea, and each made our own smiley face on Blake's wrists because hearts are too girly. Sean's was cooler than mine, but Blake loved them both, and I think he really understood the concept. We also tied it into telling him that if he ever feels those feelings he can say a prayer and Heavenly Father will help him. It comforts me to know that he knows he can pray and not feel alone. What a blessing prayer is.

Sunday night, we were all my in-laws, and Sean and Jeff gave fathers blessings to Blake and Sydney. It was neat to do it that way because I think they really listened to each others' blessings. I am so glad Blake has his cousins around him for these growing experiences. Priesthood Blessings are so amazing. I loved listening as the blessing listed the special gifts Blake has that Heavenly Father loves him for just like I do. I felt so much peace as Sean blessed him to feel of his Heavenly Father's love for him as well as his mom and dad's. I know if he knows these things he will do great.

Blake eating breakfast before his first day!

What cute brothers. Notice Blake's yawn....this boy is going to have an interesting time waking up every morning. He was enjoying a 9:30 wake up time this summer!

I love these boys! It was so great to have Sean home for Blake's first day.

Happy boy pointing to his name amongst all the other boy names!

How can he be old enough to have his own desk with school supplies! He loves it though, and I am so glad he is so happy about it.

I thought these boys all looked so cute in their uniforms.

I took this pic from the window after he went in. I just couldn't help peeking at my big guy. How cute that he is getting out his school supplies and starting to work on his worksheet. I am one proud mommy.

Update!

Well, it has been quite a while since my last post for various reasons, but I am here to update! This will be a pretty random update from Dave and Terrell's wedding to Blake's birthday! It's hard to believe this summer is coming to a close and school begins on Monday. I am going to miss having my Blake with me all the time, and I know Braden will miss him so much too.

Sean's cousin Dave married Terrell in June and Blake was my date. Pretty handsome date I must say, I felt pretty lucky. This is him waiting for me to get ready in my room!

Blake with Sydney at the wedding!

Since Sean has been flying a ton lately, we have been joining him on any trips that make since to meet him on. Most of the time, it is to Dallas, and we love flying in the back of Daddy's plane. The kids just melt seeing him up front as we load on the plane and knowing he is flying us there! It's pretty cute. Braden always says, "Daddy wee!"

My cute boys reading as Daddy safetly flies us around!

Lovin it with Daddy up front! There is no doubt who their hero is!

The boys in my life had a big project this summer finishing off the playset area. They helped Sean cover the grass to prepare for mulch in the entire area. Then they got to go with him to a mulch yard several times to watch a big digger scoop a ton of mulch into the back of Sean's truck. Talk about boy heaven!

Daddy and his helpers covering the grass! They love doing projects with daddy.

What's better than a bunch of shovels and lots and lots of dirt!

We have been pretty busy here in the Monson household since we added a puppy to our family. We did it for Blake more than anyone since Sean and I weren't and still aren't done healing from Bear, but Blakers was really ready to enjoy that bond in his life again. We had been looking at some picures of Lab puppies online, and there was a chocolate lab on one of the sites named Bear. The breeder has to give them a temporary name for registration and they had chosen Bear for this guy. He was only 15 miles away from us, so we decided to go just look at him. I really didn't think we'd be bringing him home, but Sean and Blake had different ideas!

Meet Cubby! So, we had a really hard time with his name. My friend Amy mentioned we should name him Cub, like a baby bear to try to incorporate Bear into it somehow. I thought that was so cute and Sean liked it too. Well, Blake turned it into Cubby which is really cute, but we have a really good friend named Cubby, so it was really throwing us off to call him Cubby. We tried to change it several times, but Blake wasn't going for it, so Cubby it is! Our friend Cubby introduced us even though he really didn't mean to, so we figure it's okay to name a puppy after him! We'll make sure he stays true to the name Cubby!

Blake's new love. Braden is a little less sure of his love for Cubby. You can often hear him saying, "No goggy, no!"

Yes, Sean put the puppy in the bath with the boys!

He may look sweet, but he's still a little crazy! I must admit, I am not enjoying the puppy stage like I did with Bear. Let's just say there are a lot of temptations on the floor left by my children for this guy to chew to oblivion. It will be so nice when the chewing is over.

Cuddle time.

We also had a very big birthday here! Blake turned five! I can't believe my baby is so big! We kind of had to drag his birthday out this year to work with Sean's schedule, but I don't think he minded having several different celebrations. We had a family birthday with a quick song and cake as Sean headed on a trip on his actual birthday, and then we had a big party with friends a little after! I am so proud of my five year old, and there are so many things I love about this boy. I thought I would take the chance to share a few of the things that make Blake so special.

1. Blake is such a sensitive boy. He is so in tune with other people's feelings and is truly caring. This trait makes him a sweet brother, a wonderful son, and a great friend. He is truly thoughtful and considerate. We were at the store together the other day letting him pick out something with his birthday money, and he wanted to buy something for his brother.

2. Blake is a blast to be with. He is so smart and imaginative, I love to hear what he has to say.

3. Blake truly wants to do what is right. He is constantly asking Sean and me if a choice is choosing the right or not.

4. Blake is the best little cuddler in the world. If you ever need to feel loved, he's the guy to cuddle with.

5. Blake has really good manners.

6. Blake is really observant and is quick to give a sweet compliment about anything and everything he notices.

7. He is mister responsible and sure to ask us before doing most things!

8. Blake doesn't do anything halfway! If he loves it, he is going all out and doing it! He told us as he was diving in the pool the other day that he is going to swim like Michael Phelps!

9. He sure knows how to pick a role model. This guy wants to be exactly like his dad, and I couldn't be happier about it.

10. He hums when he is happy, busy playing, or eating something yummy. I love this because it is proof that he is happy.

11. I love Blake's dimples, eye lashes, and infectious smile.

12. Blake has such a light in his eyes that I absolutely adore and can't get enough of. I am so glad he's mine.

Icing boy!

I guess mom likes icing too!

At Blake's Swim party! When the lifeguards took breaks, we let Blake use his new remote control boat in the pool. He did a great job sharing the remote with many friends!

This was the crew waiting for a turn to drive the boat!

Happy about Pizza at the party.

Yay for more icing!

Nonna with Braden and Peyton

Me and my cute boys!

Halli was so happy to give this to her Blake!