He's Here!!!

Don't fall off of your computer chair-I figure every year or so I should post on my blog. How does that much time pass so fast. It makes me annoyed. Anyway, on with the excitement....

Announcing Brady Odell Peck!

Born January 4th, 2010
5lbs 8oz 18in

(4 1/2 weeks early....)

In the hospital.....

So he surprised us just a tich! Water breaking in the middle of the night, heart rate problems during labor, knots in the cord, and a few days in the NICU. Luckily he didn't have any serious problem and as soon as the doctors thought he was eating well and gaining a little weight, he was able to come home. Funny how a few days of driving back and forth to the hospital every 3 hours to feed the baby can seem like an eternity. I can't believe Emily's babies were in the NICU for 7 weeks! And she had to drive 30 min. And her babies were about 1/3 Brady's size! You are amazing Em!

Brady comes home...

(by the way, I put some of these pics. in just to show how scrawny the little guy was)

Some more pics.

Cami took some of those-the good ones. I think she took them to fix some up or turn black and white etc. so they may be re-posted later! It looks like Brady better like sports-or else!!!!

So anyway, yesterday was Brady's actual due date, so he is officially supposed to be born now. I got on the scale with him, scary I know, to estimate how much he weighs, and it said 8.3 lbs! So give or take some 10ths of pounds, the little man seems to be growing up to be a real baby!!! This next slide show is some pics I took yesterday to compare and contrast. Look how chubby his face is getting and even his legs are getting some meat on them. I put him in the same onsie and the baseball outfit is finally fitting a little bit better.

Brady's due date!

So there you have it! A blog of my newest pride and joy. So far everyone is still fighting over who's turn it is to hold him. I highly suggest having a baby when you have teenagers-it's the best! We are all loving our little brother!

Party, Party, Party!

Well, Jordan turned 14, Katy turned 11, and Jillian turned 8 all in the last 2 weeks! Every other year the kids get to have a "friend party". You may think we are crazy to let all the kids have their big parties in the same year, but what is a person to do? Tell one kid they get their party next year when the other one is having all the big fun? Oh, the joys of these lovely December b-days all in a row! On the bright side, all the thinking and planning is done all at once and I can relax for the rest of the year! Anyway, here are the results of the parties!


#1-Katy: She could only narrow her invitees down to 14 friends/cousins. What on earth? Last year we went ice skating with Lili and Jeff, and since that day she has wanted to do that for her birthday. It was great except I didn't anticipate the girls changing skates a hundred times to find ones that didn't completely kill their feet. Once we got past that fiasco they had a great time, and we even got them home in time to see most of the BYU/Utah game (I had no idea that was something to consider when planning my 11 year old daughter's party....)



#2-Jordan: This was, I must say, my favorite party since all I had to do was provide a buffet of junk food and a rented xbox game! Oh, and this was a "birthday thing" not a party. I didn't even have to do an invitation. Apparently, boys just call their friends the night before and they are all set. I just relaxed upstairs while they partied well into the night downstairs with Todd's supervision (you know, he was playing a computer game in his office and "listening in" to make sure all was going well)

#3-Jillian: She and her friends were totally excited to go rock climbing at the Legacy center. This was also great because I didn't even have to help put on the ropes etc. The people do it all for you! I was free to take pictures and videos all night, at least that was my plan until all the batteries on my stuff died. I guess that is what happens on the third party! After the rock wall, we had just enough time for cake and presents and we were done! I love parties that don't involve me organizing any games etc. Jillian and the kids had a blast and she was so excited that she made it to the top!

So, the birthday fun is over for another year, and now we are on to the Christmas festivities! Also, Jillian can't wait for her baptism in January. She has been talking about getting her own scriptures for months! It looks like the fun times aren't over yet!

Halloween!

I'm sure no one even looks at my blog anymore, and that's ok-I deserve it! Nonetheless, here are some Halloween pics. Jordan is noticeably absent, he didn't dress up as his usual football player this year. The girls costumes were finalized and gathered the night before (thank goodness for mom's constume boxes, Lili's stuff, and dance costumes from last year's recital!). You will notice that Allyson had an especially tough time making a decision on her costume. She was Raggedy Ann for the morning preschool party, Belle for the afternoon party, and then finally decided on Belle for the trick or treating. I stole away after the trick-or-treating to Logan with Lili and Jeff, Mom and Dad, Drew, Melody, Jonny and Baby Ju Ju. Most of us ran the "First Dam Run." The weather was perfect and we got awesome dry release shirts. I think everyone also improved their personal record! I personally did it to get a shirt with a swear on it!! Anyway, Melody probably posted pics. on that if you are interested. It was fun to see G-ma and G-pa and even do a little shopping during our short visit.

The reason for the lack of blogs....

So, May was crazy with Preschool graduation,

baseball and softball almost everyday,

the girls dance recital,

Emily and Cami visiting,

and Lili's wedding.



I thought that things would calm down after that, but as it turns out, June seemed worse than May! I just couldn't seem to catch up on the house and yard that had been terribly neglected, get the garden planted, keep up with the kids activities, do my races, and find time to blog, so thus it's been a while! I'm finally feeling like I have time to relax a little and go to the pool etc. Maybe it just take until summer half over before it starts to feel like summer!

Moab in May

Wow! I think it's time for a new something to look at on this blog! I'm going to get to the summer festivities, but I didn't want to neglect the trip we took to Moab to play with G-ma and G-pa. We had a great time watching Todd and Uncle Mike play in the golf tournament, taking a walk to see the petryogliphs, having yummy dinners and swimming in the pool. The older kids had "other engagements" so we just took the younger 2. Thanks Lili and Jeff for holding down the fort with the kiddies! Anyway, here are a few of the pics. Moab is such an awesome backdrop for photos. You really can't screw it up there!

Three Recent Successes!

#1 The mother daughter ever loving cake decorating activity!!!!! Last year if you will recall we had quite a time with our cake. First I made the chocolate disaster and then we moved along to the frosting flowers motif. Ouch! This year I tried to get out of it all together by telling the ladies they should postpone their activity for 2 weeks until Emily was here and she could teach us some real skills. My plan didn't quite work out and so I called Emily for some over-the-phone cake counseling. I also needed the cake to double as Katy's "edible book report" that was due the next day. I figured we could muster up some sort of flower so I made Katy hurry and read Little House on the Prairie. Emily suggested a sunflower made out of a bunt cake with yellow frosting and chocolate chips for the seeds. Perfect! And below is the finished product. Very low stress and Katy loved making it! Thank you Aunt Emily!

#2 Maisy had kitties! Last Thursday we were watching Katy's softball game when we got a call from Jordan, who we left at home to get ready for his game. I answered the phone to hear "Mom! The cat is giving birth!" He had gone out to the garage to get his baseball stuff and low and behold he caught the kitty in the act! He said it was all bloody and slimy, but luckily by the time I saw her in the morning she had eaten up all the placenta and licked those cute little babies clean! I think it is amazing how animals just know what to do. Maisy successfully birthed out 5 kitties, and as far as we can tell (they are all still in a mass and she won't let us get too close) there is one calico and several black and white ones. I have never seen such excited kids! They have all used a lot of restraint and left maisy to her babies, but they can't wait to play with them ASAP!

#3 Todd and the kids successfully covered the whole kitchen table with puzzles! I woke up later than usual one Sunday morning to find them finishing up the last pieces of their latest masterpiece. I know I have previously done several other puzzle posts, but nevertheless, I thought this was worth a picture! Just by way of information, we did locate the missing piece to the bus puzzle, however the homemade one is still very special and is place right on top of the real piece.

Spring Break!

I know this a little anticlimactic since Melody already did her post, but I had a couple different pictures so I will put those in. Also, you can see her blog for the Disneyland/beach description, and I will continue about the parts when we separated. We stayed at the beach for a long time with Nana, Papa, Lili and Drew. My kids love the beach and dive right in the water even when it is colder than the ice water that I drink! After the beach, Drew, Todd and I went to get some Jack in the Box and videos while the others went to swim at the hotel. I was in serious need of some carrots and celery, so we also stopped by the grocery to get that! We had dinner, put the kids to bed, and hunkerd in for a couple movies. I only lasted through the first one! The next morning, we had breakfast and headed to San Diego to meet up with Todd's sister Missy and her family. On the way, we stopped in Carlsbad to visit with some friends at their beach condo. We played at their awesome private beach and had a great game of beach baseball. We left Jordan there to sleep over and went to Missy's. She lives in a really nice area and the kids loved her pool! They provided a lovely bb-que and even gave us their bed to sleep in! Missy and her daughter Nikki made Todd a yummy birthday cake. We ate the whole thing before the night was over which I think may have surprised them a little. A family of six is a lot to spring on someone and they were really good sports. Todd played golf at Torri Pines the next morning while Missy and I took the kids to the beach and a little carnivally type park near the beach. Then when the fog came in so fast and thick that we couldn't see the water, we packed up and headed back to Missy's pool. When Todd got back from his golfing, it was time to pack up and head to the airport. It was so fun to see Missy and Jeff's kids and play with them in their element for once. I could really get used to living in that weather and so close to the beach. The pool doesn't hurt either. Anyway, everyone had a great time. We got back on Monday night so we still had time to get some little jobbies done around the house while the kids and I were out of school. So there it is in a nutshell.
Also here are a couple funny things the kids said:
*As the plane was landing Allyson said "Daddy, when do we go on the slides?" What do you mean, there aren't any slides on the plane. She pulled out the plane info card and pointed to the page with the emergency puffy slide and said "But....."

*Katy and Jill made up a game with the waves. Every wave had a name: jump-overs, back turns, or run-for-its!