Things I love about my family

*the way Noah always wants to help his brother, and me with Lexie

*how big of a help Colby is - he always takes care of the kids when he gets home from work, and bathes them every night.

*the way Cutler says "I la-lew(love you) mama!"

*how good Noah is getting at reading. He actually sounds out the words and loves to learn

*the way Colby takes care of our yard. I have to say it's one of the nicest ones on our street

*how funny Cutler is - and thinks he is. he tells knock-knock jokes, plays rock/paper/scissors, counts to 10 (eight,nine,ten) then kicks your butt, and loves to tease Noah

*how good Lexie is. Seriously. she sleeps through the night. 'nuff said!

*I absolutely love watching Noah play soccer. He is so good, loves it so much, and this week he even made a goal!!!!

*how hard Colby works to provide us with whatever we need (or want).

I just have to say that I absolutely love being a wife and mom. I'm not gonna lie, it's the hardest job I've ever had, and ever will have. But also the most rewarding. At the end of the day, after all the yelling, the repeating myself over and over and over, the spanks (yes, I spank - so turn me in), the threats, you name it - hearing my boys tell me they love me means more to me than anything in the world.

Tonight, I just had to say

I love my family!

(not the best picture but it will have to do)

I'm 3 months

*still smiling*

*I've finally grown into my long toes and feet*

*my dad seems to be the only person who can get me to talk - there's something about a little girl and her dad*

*my mom doesn't really have any stats on me right now(no dr. appt. this month)*

*still sleeping through the night*

* I love my binki!!*

*still don't really love the bath, but I'm getting used to it*

*I love playing with my tongue*

*my eyes are getting blue-er, my head is getting stronger, and my family still can't seem to get enough of me*

*oh, and I haven't lost any of my hair - yipee!!*

This one's for Makayla

I thought this picture was funny because Cutler is cheesing it and Lex looks like she's being cheesy. Funny kids.

Soccer

We've got Noah playing soccer and he absolutely loves it!! And I know we're the parents, so we are a little biased, but we think he's the best player on the team. (Although, there are some pretty amazing kids on the team: jackson, tyler, just to name a couple) He does so good at trying to not use his hands, he's not afraid to get in there and kick that ball, and he's just so fun to watch. If you ask me, this is Noah's sport!

All the kids on the team are from our neighborhood, so it's a blast even for us to just visit with the other parents.

Update on my dad

He had to be to the hospital at 5:45 a.m., they took him back at around 7:30 a.m., and said that it would be anywhere from 3 to 5 hours. My mom came back to the hotel and got Lexie and I, and we headed back to the Hospital. At about 10:00 we started thinking they could be coming out at any time. But nobody...until 11:55. The longer we sat there the more nervous we got. Then someone came and told us that there were 3 electrodes that they were trying to get, but had to chase around. They hadn't gotten any of them at this point, and if the dr. felt like he couldn't get them then he would call the surgery. But that so far my dad was doing great and they hadn't had any problems with him.

We went to the cafeteria and got some lunch. Brought it back to the waiting room and while we were gone the dr. had come in. He came back after we had only been back for a couple of minutes. They had gotten all of the electrodes, and he felt like the surgery was a success. What a relief. We waited for about another hour while they got him in a room, then went and saw him for a minute. He was so tired, we left him to rest. (besides, lexie couldn't go back there because they had him in ICU)

We are home now, and as far as we know the surgery was a success. They did try to make his heart go into defib, and it wouldn't so the dr. said that was good. (too much for me to understand) My dad said that the dr. told him it would actually take about 9 months before we really know if it worked or not.

Thank you for the comments, and for the prayers.

Colby & Natalie...

9 years ago

Because of the time of night, and everything going through my head right now, I'm pretty much at a loss for great words(like I really ever have anything great to say). So I'll tell my story about this day.

On this day, 9 years ago, my roommate and I were working for Labrum Ins. (colby's dad). We got an invitation to the reception, and because Doug was our boss, felt like we should go. We bought a gift, and went on our way. Having lived in St. George almost my whole life you'd think I should know where every golf course was. Well, we left the invitation home because I thought I knew right where we were going. The reception was at Green Spring G.C., and I was thinking in my mind where the old Twin Lakes course was, that that was Green Spring. Anyway, obviously we didn't go to the right place, and we weren't about to trapse all over town trying to find it. Needless to say, we never made it to the reception that night. That next Monday I took our gift to work and told Doug we just couldn't make it, and asked him to give our gift to them. Funny story.
After Colby and I were married, one night we were watching their wedding video. It was fun seeing lots of people that we both know. I told him that story and said, "wouldn't it be sort of funny/weird now if I would have made it there and I was in this video?"

I know things happen for a reason. And I'm thankful for the things that have happened in Colby's life because of this day...9 years ago.

Prayers please

My dad would kill me if he knew I was putting this on here. And he will kill me when he finds out. He isn't one for much attention.

About a year and a half ago he went in for some surgery on his heart. When they got in there, the surgeon punctured the sack around his heart and couldn't finish the surgery. If anything has ever scared my dad, this was it. He didn't really let us know it, but he was nervous. The dr. told him that he really needed this surgery, but that he would need to go up north to have it done.

He has put it off until now, because the dr.'s have told him he will have a heart attack. The time has come, and we are taking him up north tomorrow to have the surgery on Thursday. They say that if everything goes well, he will be able to come home on Friday. Sounds pretty quick to me, but I guess they know what they're talking about.

This is what he has: Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach). A rapid heart rhythm originating from the lower chambers (or ventricles) of the heart. The rapid rate prevents the heart from filling adequately with blood; therefore, less blood is able to pump through the body. This can be a serious arrhythmia, especially in people with heart disease.

Basically, he will just be sitting around, or even asleep in the middle of the night, and his heart will start racing. Like he just got done running a marathon. And sometimes it takes hours to slow down. Can you imagine how tired he is all the time? They say this surgery will help that.

Like I said before, he doesn't like attention, and he doesn't like to let us know when he is sick, or scared, or nervous. The other night we had him come over to help Colby fix something and he sat and talked with us for a little while and let us know he is nervous. For me, having him actually admit that scared me. I know he's got to be worried about things, and he likes to put on a 'tuff front', so when he lets me know he's scared, it freaks me out. Both of my parents feel really good about this dr., so that helps, but I'm still a little nervous.

Please, for those of you who know my dad, keep him in your prayers. He needs them right now.

WOW! 5 years

I cannot believe it has been 5 years already. You know they say if you can make it through the first 5 years, you can make it to forever. Honey, it looks like you're stuck with me forever!

We've hit a lot of bumps and we've had tons of smooth sailing. I wouldn't change anything because every single day is worth everything we go through.

From this...

...to this

Marriage is like life, a journey to be savored every step of the way.

Sometimes there are sink holes where you need to hold hands to cross.

Other times there are beautiful fields where you'll hold hands and dance across.

Sometimes you'll just need to stop and hold hands.

Today you held hands and promised this would be so.

Remember always you are in each others' hands.

Sarge has a bath

In case you're confused, we call our boys the same name as their stuffed dogs. Weird, but whatever.

Last week on wash day I had pulled Cutler's bed apart and decided his dog, Sarge, needed to be washed. Well, I can't do it if he sees. I had put him in the pile, but hadn't gotten to that pile yet before Cutler saw him. He wasn't about to let me wash him. But I told him he was stinky and needed a bath. He didn't like that. So after a few minutes of argueing I told him to just take him back in his room. I just figured I would go get him right before I was ready to wash him. A couple of minutes later I could hear him in his room saying, "you dinky, sharsh. bath you" Lo and behold only a minute later he brought him back into me and said he was stinky and needed a bath. Luckily I was ready to do that load and I had him throw him in the washer. He just had to watch him for a while to know that he was ok.

Kambree Miller

...arrived February 12, at 4:44 p.m.

She weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. and was 20 inches

I feel bad that I haven't posted this yet but I forgot my camera at the hospital when she was born and then we didn't see her again until last Sunday. With everyone being sick we just didn't want to go around her.

Anyway, here she is! I see some of Carson and Blake. The girl version, of course.

I'm pretty sure this little girl will turn out to be pretty tuff! With 3 older brothers, she's gonna have to.

lesson learned?

You've all heard how Cutler loves to throw things over our wall. Well, he got used to it being ok because nobody lived next door and we could just go over there and retrieve everything. The house has now been bought and the neighbors are super nice, but they have some huge, and I mean huge dogs who will chew up anything that gets thrown over. Here's the proof...



Cutler was so sad to see that his cup had been demolished. I guess we'll see if he learned his lesson.

F.H.E.

A few weeks ago we took the kids bowling for fhe. We had so much fun. The boys loved it until about the 7th frame, then they were more interested in the video games. I forgot my camera so the pictures are from my phone which explains the quality.

Noah did so good. He actually was ahead at first, and even bowled a couple of spares.

The boys waiting for their ball.
This is how Cutler bowled.

There were these older people bowling by us and they would clap and cheer everytime the boys bowled. They even got Cutler cheering. It was cute!

She's 2 months already...

and I so can't believe it! Here is what's going on now...

*last week you were sick and we had to visit the dr., you weigh 9 lb. 5 oz. you had this horrible cough where you would cough for so long and so hard it would completely wear you out. You would usually throw up after so long, and sometimes choke on whatever was coming up. We got a pass to go to the bronchiolitis clinic at the hospital where they suctioned your nose. I didn't really see the benefit of it, but they say it works. We took you 4 times and they never really got very much so I quit taking you. 2 days later you were fine.

*I think you are going to be blessed to have your dad's skin color. Your face is darker than the rest of your body, but if it stays that way, you'll love it. Oh, and I think you're going to have dark blue eyes.

*you still have your birthmark on your forehead. It is getting lighter, but it's still there. And it gets dark when you cry hard. I don't care what anyone says, I think it's adorable. You'll hate it if it stays, but I secretly hope it never goes totally away.

*you pretty much sleep through the night waking up only once to eat and it's usually around 5:00 a.m. (you go to sleep between 8:00 & 9:00)

*I don't have a picture of it, but Cutler loves to 'hold you' as he puts it. But really, he loves to carry you. Twice now we've walked in on him 'holding' you. Once he got you out of the vibrating chair and was just standing there. The other time he got you off my bed and carried you around it over to the chair he watches movies in. Both times he scared me to death but I was afraid to react, for fear that he might drop you because he thought he would be in trouble. So I calmly tell him to "Hold her tight" until I can get to you and save you. We try really hard to never leave you alone in a room where he can pick you up.

*Your nicknames so far are... little girl, missy, little miss, sis, sister, and my favorite lulu (or just lu). And Cutler calls you Letsie.

*THIS is how you fall asleep at night...

and you both love it!

*the day you turned 6 weeks old (Feb. 7) you started doing THIS...

*you still do a lot of THIS...

*at least once a day we see THIS...

*and we love seeing THIS...

THIS is our 2 month old. She is pretty chill. I keep saying the Lord knew I needed a calm child, and so he sent her. I'm pretty sure she's very well aware of the craziness around her all day every day, therefore she just hangs out. Seriously the only time she really cries is when she's hungry, really tired, or just wants to be held. I can handle that.

Lexie, you are such a blessing to our family. Your brothers can't get enough of you, your dad absolutely adores you, and I, well I love having this beautiful little girl to take care of. Please stop growing. Or at least slow down.

Cutler's speech

(this really is for me)
After doing the post you will read next, I decided I needed to post about this. And I also remembered that I never did a post on it back when we were worried about it.
For what felt like forever Cutler didn't say much, other than 'na', and the usual baby jibber jabber. When I took him to the dr. for his 2 yr. check up he asked me how his speech was. I told him he said about 10-15 words. The dr. told me he should be saying about 50 words and putting 2-3 words together. He gave me a referral to have some speech therapy done. I went home and talked to Colby about it. After hearing the dr. tell me that I realized Cutler was way behind and it started to really worry me. Later that week I called and set up a speech therapist to come to the house and 'test' him. Literally the next week, before she came, Cutler started saying about 10 new understandable words. I thought about cancelling the therapy but decided that since it was free we would still do it just to see what they said. The whole time she was here I kept thinking the things she were doing were pointless. And she kept telling me to quit asking him questions, but to tell him what he wanted. For example, I would ask him what he wanted to drink, milk or juice? He would say 'na' and point. She told me to say, you want juice to drink. And get him the juice. That way he can say yes or no. But I was frustrated because he could tell me yes or no, I wanted him to say milk or juice.
So needless to say I didn't take her up on any more sessions. I didn't like her way of teaching.

Now Cutler is a little jabber-mouth. And we love it! He cracks me up every day. And it's not really the words he says, but the way he says them that just makes us all laugh. He really has a funny personality. Here are some of the things he says that crack us up: (don't forget he has a lisp)

after a burp - "uuuuuh, wha ya say? xuse me."
he calls noah and himself 'beday' - (buddy)
When you say his name he used to answer - yes? Now he just says - what!? what mama? (remember it's how he says things that is so funny)
he sings (tries) the songs to all the cartoons he watches.

Ok, so now that I'm writing this I realize I can't really remember all the things he says, and what I did write you'll all think are so stupid. I'm going to have to be better about writing them down. But the part that I love the most is that he tries to say words. Before if you asked him to say something and he didn't know how he wouldn't even try. Or he would just say 'na'.

So keep in mind when you read my next post, the things he says are a major milestone for us. All of our family will tell you he has come such a long way and can talk really well compared to 3 months ago.