4 of 1141

So, I've been a little disappointed that every time I show off pictures of my family to people at work, they, of course, want to see pictures of my wife as well.  We haven't posted very many pictures of my wife.  So, I decided to look through our pictures to find a few to post.  Over the past couple years, we have taken 1141 pictures (at least, that's how many we have downloaded to our computer).  Of those 1141 pictures, I found Shelly in 4 of them.  Four!  How is that even possible?  I guess there were a few more pictures of her, but some of them were pictures of her with a bike helmet on, etc (not her favorite pics).  Anyway, the point is, we have probably about 20 pictures or fewer that have my wife in them--and it's not because she's camera-shy.  That's the bad news.  The good news is that there aren't too many more of me in there (maybe around 40), which means the other 1000 or so are pics of our beautiful children.  Shelly's excuse for not being in pictures is that she's taking the pics.  My excuse is that I'm not around when the pics are being taken. 

Anyway, more for me than for anyone else, here are some pics of my wife, so I can at least show people at work how my kids turned out so cute.

Shelly and kids (with the Wells' kids) at a parade last winter.

Christmas pic 2 years ago (Christmas 06)

Shelly concentrating (love it when she sticks out her tongue when she's working on something/concentrating)

Happy Birthday Kailyn!!

Today Kailyn turns 5 years old. We actually celebrated her birthday yesterday. She had a great party with family and loved it. Here are a few facts about our Kailyn.

Favorite color? Pink and red
Favorite food? Macaroni and Cheese, German Pancakes
What do you want to be when you grow up? A mommy and a dentist
Favorite thing to do? Do snow angels in the winter and in spring and summer in the leaves
Who are your friends? Rachel,Shawn,Alyssa,Rebecca,Olivia Wells,Ella,Cassy and Anna McNaughton
What is your favorite toy? My new polly pockets and dolls
Favorite Story/Book? My new Kindergarten book
Where do you want to live when you get big? Arizona
How many kids are you going to have? 11
Favorite Primary song? Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam
Favorite movie? Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus
What makes you happy? When I see Daddy after he comes home from work and when I see him after I have been gone.
What makes you sad? When I get cuts that bleed and when people hurt me.
How do you know mom and dad love you? If they tell me, and cause I already know.

Pictures...finally

OK, so here are the pictures. I am using my sisters old camera and have had some problems downloading and accessing the pictures (thus the reason none of the pictures are edited). We have also been very busy. These pictures are actually from our first week here, hopefully I can get the rest posted soon.

We went to a spray park, the girls loved it. In the first picture Kailyn is playing with a water gun in the middle of the picture (light pink suit). Second picture is of Jordan having fun. Notice the last picture. Yes, Caden is dry and standing on the grass. This was his status the whole time we were there.

We also celebrated my moms birthday. The kids loved the blue frosting on the cake. Just look at their tongue to see why.

The kids have had fun playing with their cousin Hailey and Aunt Ashley's pet snake. They love when Ashley takes the snake out to slither around on the coffee table. Caden for days was telling me about the snake that crawled round and round on the table. Kailyn was very excited to fed the snake too. Which really surprised me. She helped get the frozen mice from the pet store and helped thaw it in a bowl of hot water (I was really quite grossed out by it personally, especially being pregnant), and they all watched the snake eat it.

We also went on a ward camp out with my family. The kids loved it! The first picture is of Kailyn helping blow on the fire to make it bigger. The kids also loved making and eating s'mores. Just before heading back to our tents from making S'mores, Jordan came up to Aunt Ashley and asked to be carried and within a matter of minutes was asleep. Unfortunately, Caden didn't fall asleep quite so easily. It was very late by the time we got back to our tent from making S'mores and Caden was past the point of tired. He was crying and inconsolable. Luckily, once everyone was settled, he went to sleep without much of a fight. Even going to bed super late he was still up at the crack of dawn. He tried to fool us into thinking he was going to be a happy boy (see picture of him smiling with Kailyn) but this lasted all of a minute and we were left for the rest of the day with an attitude that matched the last picture posted.

Like I said we are having so much fun here and I can't believe we only have a week and a half left. It is going so fast!

It seems she has forgotten

Some of you may have noticed that it has been awhile since our last post. It seems Shelly must have forgotten our username or password or forgot how to type. Maybe she has no computer access. Who knows? At any rate, I have decided to step up and give a short update in her behalf.

Shelly and the kids have taken a vacation from me. They left OH for Montana July 22 and will return August 26. Therefore, I have been checking for posts more often than anyone else, hoping for a fresh new picture of my kids or other news of their well-being. No such luck. Since arriving in Montana, Shelly and the kids have gone camping, hiking, and canoeing in those beautiful Rocky Mountains. Shelly made a trip to Utah for "Mommy vacation" with all of my sisters and sisters-in-law on the Bassett side. She assures me that she still loves the kids but sure enjoyed getting away for a little bit. 3 days after returning from Utah, she made another trip to Colorado, where I met up with her to attend my brother's wedding. We stayed at my Uncle's home just outside of Colorado Springs. On arriving, I stepped out of the vehicle and smelled the pine trees and the fresh air after a small rainstorm and decided I would not be finishing my residency after all. Of course, I decided that was foolish and ended up returning to Ohio a couple days later. Anyway, it was a very nice trip, and Austin and Mindy did get married as planned. They are a good-looking couple and will be a great addition to our family.

In other news, I have been picking up as many extra shifts as I can to get things done now so I won't have to do them later. It has been busy, I feel as sleep-deprived as usual, but at least I won't be cutting into family time later to do it. Of course, I still have many more things to do before residency is done, but it's a start.

Well, that's all for now. I'll send Shelly an email or give her a call to let her know our username and password so you won't have to listen to my ramblings any more. No promises that will work, either, since I have been bugging her since the day after she left, begging for pictures of their activities.

Kids Say & Do the Cutest Things

Just a few stories of what our kids are doing/thinking:

Kailyn:
Asking questions about how big the baby is, how the baby gets food, how the baby stays healthy, etc. The answers I gave had to do with Mommy helping with this and Mommy doing that. So she asks, "So, why do we need dads?"

(Kailyn's prayer when there were green beans for dinner.) "Please bless the yucky green beans that they will make us healthy and strong anyway."

Kailyn stated, "Mom, if you don't know if the new baby is a boy or a girl, you can change its diaper and look at its bum." Kailyn has always referred to her body parts as "the big bum and the little bum."

Ken asked Kailyn if she was going to be sad that he wouldn't be there for her birthday (since we would be in Montana). She said, "yes, but I won't show my sad face."

Kailyn woke up before me and went downstairs to find Ken in the kitchen. Kailyn says, "Where's Mom?" Ken answered that Mom was still in bed. Kailyn said, "Good, because I want to make her breakfast in bed." She then helped Ken get cereal, juice, a banana, yogurt, toast, and eggs "and a big tray to carry it all up on." She wanted to make breakfast in bed for me since I hadn't been feeling well. (So cute! Where did she get the idea to do such a thing? Ken says it was all absolutely Kailyn's idea.)

Jordan:
Jordan's cuteness often comes from her facial expressions and laugh. Like the other day she found a sandal that we have been looking everywhere for. The look of excitement and pride on her face was priceless.

She told Ken's Aunt Sandy, "I know why Mom and Dad sleep together. It's because their bed has 2 pillows."

She is so brave. We went swimming with Ken's Aunt Sandy and Uncle Dave on Friday. We asked Kailyn if she wanted to jump in off the diving board, her response "can I touch the bottom?" "No but Daddy will be there to catch you and you know how to swim." "But can I touch the bottom?" Kailyn obviously didn't want to so we asked Jordan if she would like to try. I was utterly amazed! She went with little hesitation and jumped in without help. She even did it again. The pool was 10 feet deep at that part and the diving board was about 4 feet off the water (plus her height of about 2 feet--she was looking at jumping into something 6 feet below her, knowing she couldn't touch the bottom).

Caden:
Has learned to push the chair over to the counter and climb up and look for something to eat. Also, if the fridge gets open he will go looking for yogurt (the only form of dairy he likes--besides ice cream, obviously).

Caden has become very polite. The other day, Ken asked Caden if he wanted to be tickled. Caden said, "Yes, please." Other times, we have asked him to share his balloon or put away his clothes or do something else and he'll say, "no, thank you"--as if it's an option. "Caden, share the balloon with Jordan." "No, thank you."

Little Person

Yes, we are expecting baby number 4. We are very excited. The little one will be joining us on February 4 (hopefully sooner). The kids are very excited. The first thing Jordan said was "Mommy, you have a girl baby in your tummy." So, I guess we already know the gender. I already had my first doctor's appointment and even got an ultrasound. The Little person was even kicking and moving his/her arms during it. In the picture the head is on the left side and the arm is the little bump next to the head and the leg is on the right sticking out.

Kailyn now tells everyone that I have a baby in my tummy, even people at the park. I had a friend watch the kids for my first ultrasound and when I went to pick up the kids Jordan asked me "did you get the baby out?" I was a bit confused at first thinking she was talking about her doll she had brought. I quickly realized that she was asking if the baby in my tummy was out. Poor Jordan this is going to be a really long pregnancy for her. Caden...has no clue about his soon to be competition for baby of the family.

Haircut

So Jordan discovered the scissors the other day. The victim was Caden's hair. Luckily, Caden is a boy and can get away with a short haircut to cover up the bald spot. I'm glad that she didn't cut her own hair, now that wouldn't be so easy to cover up. (Sorry no picture. Still no camera)