Christmas Newsletter

I don't really send out a Christmas newsletter but I would like to journal one for myself to remember what we are all doing this year.

The majority of our year has been dealing with the building of our new house.  It is just about done, with touch up paint and final inspections happening the day after Christmas.  We are very excited and anxious to get into our new house.

Casey has been working hard in everything he does.  He recently switched departments at Idaho Central so now he is a Mortgage Loan Officer.  He really likes the new job.  It keeps him pretty busy but he likes that.  He is still the 2nd counselor in the Young Men and is over and teacher of the Deacons.  He was able to go to Boy Scout Camp for two nights this summer.  He was really dreading going but he ended up having fun.  He also got a truck this year, which he has been wanting since we were married.  It is an older one, 1998 Chevy Silverado, but he loves it.

 

I am still able to stay home with the kids, which is great.  Sometimes I need some adult conversation and am tired of changing diapers and doing dishes all day but I wouldn't change it for the world.  Since I get to stay home, I have had to deal with a lot of the building process stuff. Luckily, things with our builder have been pretty great; Indian Health (getting a well and septic) is a different story.  I am still the Achievement Day leader for my ward and the Fort Hall Branch.  The girls I have are great and we try to do some fun things.

 

Olivia is 4 years old and in Preschool.  She is doing great there! She is such a smart girl, so I wasn't worried in that aspect, but she is so shy and anxious with others that I was worried for that.  But she has some good friends and pretty set on having a Valentine's Day party with her classmates at our new house in February.  She can count to 100; write her name, all her letters, Mom, Dad, and Callen; some addition; and is able to figure out what letter different words start with when she hears them. Smart little cookie. She has had some funny saying lately.  She told her Papa "You are a ridiculous man" and asked me the other day if I wanted to go into her tent and "pretend we are hibernating."  Last night, she looked at the star on top of our tree and exclaimed "The Shining Star!!! We must follow it to find Baby Jesus."  She then proceeded to put on an entire Nativity, including her as Mary and riding a donkey (our rocking horse) and Callen being Joseph.  Carson and I got to be angels. She told me I had to go find the wise men (Grandma) and the shepherds (Casey and Papa) and tell them Jesus was born this night. We all had to come see him and bring him gifts. I went to see baby Jesus and told her "He is adorable, He is going to grow up and be the Savior of the world."  She looks at me and says "Yep he is."  Kinda love her.

Callen is 2 years old and is straight boy.  He is constantly jumping off things and making messes.  He likes to make his animals fight and pushes a dump truck all over our house.  He plays basketball in his room and has a bit of an obsession with horses.  He likes to eat chips and salsa with Daddy.  He still loves fruit and chocolate.  A guy at church, Marty, knows how much Callen loves chocolate so he brings some almost every week for him.  He still adores his Mama and lets me snuggle him multiple times a day.  He got his cast off today (thank goodness) but I wouldn't be surprised if he breaks something else in the next few years.  He is talking a bit more and he can say some funny stuff.  He hates being called a baby and if you call him that, he will holler at you "NO! Me big boy, Car-Car baby!"

 

 

 

Carson is almost 9 months old and is a good baby.  This month, a switch must have went off because he is sleeping like a champ.  All we have to do is give him a kiss and lay him in his crib and he does to sleep for naps and bedtime.  And he sleeps all night now! It has been great.  He is a wiggle wiggle worm, more than either of my other kids.  He makes getting him dressed or changing his diaper quite the task.  He is still not crawling but he rolls and turns himself so he can get into a lot.  He still has no teeth.  He entertains himself really well but loves the rare moments his brother and sister play with him.  He has an incredible laugh and beautiful blue eyes.  He still has his helmet for a bit but hopefully soon we will be completely done with it.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

 It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Payne house. 

Hold your babies tight and remember His special birth many years ago.

 

Merry Christmas everyone.

Uh oh

We always knew he would be the first to break something...

Callen broke his arm Saturday night, December 8th.  He was playing on a blanket chest we have in our living room when he fell/jumped off.  I caught his head but he still managed to land on his arm.  He cried and cried and held his arm but we didn't think it was broke so we gave him some Tylenol and he went to bed.  

He woke up every half hour crying.

 Still, in the morning he was fine.  Wasn't crying and was jumping all around and using his arm.  Okay, we thought, it must not be broke.  

Playing in nursery he fell and caught himself with his arm and started to cry.  Is it broke??  But then he was done and went on with life. 

Sunday night he was playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house when he fell again and again cried and cried and held his arm.  Okay, we better take him in.

We took him in and yep, it was broke. It isn't a major break more like one of his little bones got compressed together causing a little crack.  He gets to wear his cool little cast for 2 to 3 weeks.

So now I have one boy in a cast and one boy in a helmet.  

Yep, we are that cool.

Somethings never change

I guess Mom and Dad's bed is the coolest place in the house.

January 2011

February 2012

November 2012

Somethings never change.

A baby story- Carson

I did this same little survey with Olivia and Callen when they turned 8 months so I figured it would be good to do one for Carson at 8 months too.

1-Where were you when you found out? I was at home.  I kinda knew I was pregnant (by the third child you get to know your body's prego signs pretty good) so I was not surprised when I got my positive test.

2-Who did you first tell? Casey was with me when I took it so he knew first.  Then I sent a picture of the positive test to my friend Mallory Humpherys.  We were both wanting to get pregnant so I knew she would be excited for me (she got pregnant one month later, our babies are 5 weeks apart).  Then we told my parents.  We had just bought a new microwave so I put a hamburger bun in it, so their was "a bun in the oven." My dad got it right away but it took my mom a minutes.  She would not believe me so she made me go take a pregnancy test to prove it to her.  After she saw the test for herself, she finally believed me and was excited.

3-Did you find out the sex of the baby? Yep

4-Did you have morning sickness? I did.  I had taken Zofran with Callen to help with morning sickness so I started taking it with Carson pretty early but it did not help.  So I was pretty sick for about 20-25 weeks.

5-How much weight did you gain? 25 pounds

6-Did you get stretch marks? Nope, 3 out of 3, I am a lucky lady.

7-Did you have any cravings? With Carson, we joked that he was going to be a stinky kid because I would want garlicky things and sauteed onions.  I also ate an apple almost every afternoon when the other two went down for naps.   

8- Were there any complications? I didn't get very big with any of my kids.  I was getting extra ultrasounds just to check on him but things were just fine.

9-When and where did you go into labor?  I went into labor at around 4:30 am at my house.  I didn't think I was in labor since I was expecting an April baby and it was still March.  I thought I was just cramping a bit but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep so I got up.  I eventually got in the shower, just in case it was labor I would at least be clean.  In the shower, the cramps got harder and I realized they really were contractions and I might be in labor.  I finally went and woke Casey up and told him.  I thought we had time so Casey showered too.  When we finally made it to the hospital, it was around 7 am.  I was still doubting if I really was in labor but then the nurse checked me and I was at a 7.  Definitively in labor. 


10-Did your water break? Not on its own

11-Who drove you to the hospital? Casey

12-Who was in the room for the birth? Casey and my mom.  My mom barely made it, I had already started pushing so she was there for the last 3 or 4 minutes. 

13- Was the baby born early or late? 10 days early.

14-How long were you in labor? From when I woke up at 4:30ish until I had him, it was about 5 hours.  I got to the hospital at a 7 so I didn't have too far to go but I had back labor so those last couple of hours were horrible.  But I was lucky and only had to push for about 5 minutes. 

15-Did you have any drugs? Yes, an intrathecal.  However, it did not work.  I still felt everything from the thighs up.  So not only did I get to feel all the contractions, I couldn't move my legs.  It was great.

16- Natural or C-section? Natural

17-What was your first reaction after birth? I did it!

18-How big was the Baby? 6 lbs. 11 oz., 19 in. long. Same length as his siblings, but my biggest baby by one ounce.

19-Date and time of birth? March 29, 2012 at 9:45 am

20- Baby's Name? Carson Duane

21-Does the name have any significant meaning? This was the only child that we did not have a struggle naming.  Carson is my great-grandfather's name and Duane is his son's, so my grandfather's, name.  I have always loved the two names together and he is a perfect little Carson Duane. 

22-Did the baby have any complications? Nope, he was and is a healthy little guy. 

23-How old is the baby today? 8 months today!!

24-What kind of temperament has the baby had so far? Carson is a goofy kid.  He is a sweet boy but a horrible sleeper.  He also has an amazing scream/cry.  He loves to be tickled and loved on and watch his brother and sister.  And even though he doesn't sleep great, he still always happy and smiling.  We sure love our Car-Car.

25- Would you change anything about it? Besides having a pinched Sciatic nerve again, and drugs that did not work during delivery, everything was great. I have a healthy, beautiful little boy which is all I can ask for. 

Halloween 2012

We had a lot of fun on Halloween.  We had one princess, one cowboy, and one football player.

Olivia had been saying for months that she wanted to be a pirate, so we went out looking for pirate costumes.  Then she found all the princess stuff and I guess she just couldn't resist. 

Callen was the cutest cowboy ever.  He would even take his hat off and say "Yee-haw!" Dang, that boy is cute.  

Since Carson had just gotten his helmet, we decided he should be a football player.  We are not big Charger fans but their colors go with his helmet and I could find a jersey in his size.  When we went to our ward party, people thought I had made his helmet and that it was a great costume.  They were a bit surprised when he was still wearing part of his costume at church on Sunday.

Olivia had a Halloween party at her school too.  They got to wear their costumes and put on a little program for the parents.  They were so cute. 

Later, we were able to go trick or treating at Daddy's work.  We love that Idaho Central does this! It is great to get to go trick or treat throughout the whole building and it is nice and warm.  The kids had fun and got SO. MUCH. CANDY.  However, I think I need to work on them and their candy choices (why would anybody pick smarties or a sucker when a snickers is RIGHT THERE??).

We also love going to Daddy's work because he gets to leave his little area and go trick or treating with us!  But it did tucker the little football player out.

Look at those cute, kissable lips!

My Mom and I then took the kids to a couple of houses then called it a night.  We were lucky that it was such a warm night so the kids were able to walk around without coats and had a lot of fun!

seven months

Our Carson is such a sweet little boy.  He is so happy all the time, even when he is so tired (which is often because the kid still DOES. NOT. NAP.).  He has been sleeping pretty good at night except for these last few days.  I think he is going through a growth spurt.

  

 

 

Carson had his first sippy on October 7th.  He rolls onto his tummy a lot now.  He has developed a great scream, which he does because he thinks it is funny.  He is also sitting pretty good now.  We still put pillows around him because he still takes some good spills but he's getting there!  He has also re-found his tongue this month.  He thinks it is great to stick out his tongue and/or chew on it.  So right now, his tongue is always out of his mouth. It is pretty cute. 

Carson also got a helmet this month.  It is a reshaping helmet because his head was really flat on his right side.  So for the next 6 months or so, he gets to be super cool and were that thing 23 hours a day.  It makes his head really stinky but he doesn't seem to mind the helmet.  He is such a good, easy going kid not too much bothers him!

Angel Ann

August, 2001

On October 16th, we lost our wonderful family dog, Angel Ann. 

2002

We got Angel going into my junior year of high school.  She was a bit of a rebound dog.  My family had just lost our two dogs, Whiskey and Shadow, to poisoning.  My parents swore up and down they were not getting another dog and then one night I came home and a gangly, furry, loving, little (okay, she was never too little) Saint Bernard puppy came walking over to me.  She stole all of our hearts pretty quickly.    

Graduation, June 2003

Camping in Island Park, August 2004

 She went everywhere, did everything with us.  She was another member of our family.  She was my furry sister.  She even had birthday parties.  On her birthday one year, I was getting ice cream at the store and my aunt asked what we were doing.  I told her it was my sister's birthday so I had to pick up ice cream for her birthday.  She looked at my like I was crazy and then realized I was talking about Angel.  My parents even joked with my Grandpa and would tell him Angel must be his granddaughter because she had his eyes.  

December 2005

Because she was a rebound puppy, and a very sweet one at that, she was spoiled.  A lot.  There was a special way of preparing her food and if you did it wrong, she didn't eat.  Half a cup of dry food, half a cup of wet, mushed all together, with a marrow bone treat and a dog bone treat on top; take the bowl outside to the bottom step for her; have two more treats ready for her inside on the floor for when she was done.  As she got older, it got a bit more complicated, like adding and hiding pills, mixing in Old Roy because she didn't like the taste of her special food for joint pain, etc.  She liked frech fries but only if they were dipped in fry sauce.  She also loved Chinese food.  See? Spoiled.  Towards the end, she even had her own queen mattress on the floor in my parents room so it didn't hurt her as much when she slept.  

 

She was also our little celebrity.  Someone saw her in my parents car one day and it led to her being the "Big Dog" for Big Dog Satellite.  She had multiple photo shoots, commercials, ads, and billboards.  Yep, she was cool like that.  We still have a magnet of her that came with the phone book on our fridge. 

Outside playing the day Olivia was born, July 20, 2008

We all loved her but out of everyone, my Dad really loved her.  And she loved him.  He called her his girlfriend or Soupy and she would follow him around everywhere he went.  And if he was out of town, she made life miserable for whoever was watching her.  She would get depressed and sulk the entire time he was gone.  She wouldn't even eat.  She would wait outside for him as long as possible until someone made her come in.  And she knew his truck.  We would all know he was close because she would hear his truck and get really excited to see him. 

Easter 2010

September 2010

When Angel was younger, she would give hugs by jumping up and putting her front paws up on your shoulder.  She also liked to run between people's legs.  Not too easy when you are a 120 lb dog.  She loved Christmas and presents and would know which presents were hers.  She would dig them out from under the tree and love on them.  She would gently work on them until she opened them.  Stuffed animals were a big hit with her.  

Christmas 2010

January 2011

She was always around; finding Easter eggs, playing in the snow, chasing the snowmobiles.  My kids, especially Olivia, loved her.  It took Angel a bit to get used to them (or not scared of them) but I think she liked them too. 

Camping, July 2011

Camping, July 2011

She loved running around with sticks in her mouth and chasing off the neighbor's dogs and talking long walks through the field.  

July 2011

As she got older, it got hard for her to get around.  Her hips were stiff and she sometimes struggled to get up.  Then one day on one of her walks through the field, something happened where she tripped or fell or something, causing her break her back leg pretty badly.  The only thing the vet could have done was amputate it.  Angel struggled to get up with two legs, having one would nave been impossible for her.  Their was also a possibility she had bone cancer.  So, we had to say goodbye to our pretty girl.  It has been weird, sad, and for my parents, a bit lonely not having her around. 

Callen's birthday, September 2012

October 2012

She was a very loved dog.  You couldn't meet Angel and not be awed by her.  

We will miss you Angel Ann

June 24, 2001-October 16, 2012