New Family Pictures!

So I haven't posted in a while, but I am so excited about our new family pictures I had to get back to it. Of course all the credit goes to Lindsay as usual! She did a great job making us look good and keeping the kids focused. The summer has just zipped by and we've been so busy. We had a Haycock family reunion at Silver Falls, swimming lessons, and of course all the kids home everyday making extra messes. I'm not very good at taking the time to grab the camera. So its nice to know we have a few shots of all of us together from the summer.

Phoebe at 6 months!

So time is flying and my baby is just growing so fast! Her hair seems to be the only thing left behind although I hope to see some growth there soon! I am not sure if you can tell in these pictures but we are pretty sure its red, so that is exciting. I am also loving how chubby Phoebe is these days- ya gotta love those rolls! And speaking of rolls she has finally figured out how to roll over and is quite proud of herself. She is also accepting food now and loves her cereal and applesauce. I can officially say she no longer has colic and is really a happy kid. I was a little worried about her for a while. I feel like I have to record that last week I slept through the night for the first time since she was born. It was only one night but I gotta say it gave me hope for the future.

Sister's Weekend 2011

So its that time of year again, and the Haycock ladies had their weekend out. We had a great view this year although none of my pictures of it turned out. You'll just have to take my word for it, it was amazing! It's supposed to be a weekend away from kids, but we always bring nursing babies and this year there were three.

So we had fun lining them up for pictures. This happens to be my favorite. Once again we were short on sleep but long on good food and conversation. I am only now recovering. And I think that the dads were all glad to have us home in the end and appreciate us more, which of course is our ulterior motive. Thanks to Laura for sharing her hairbow making skills with the rest of us.

We sure had fun! I have been walking around in my new jeans this week and thinking how much more fun it is to shop with my mom and sisters than screaming children who like to run away and hide in clothes racks. I look forward to it all year and it always seems to go way too fast. I am looking forward to next year already.

I just had to throw in this picture of my kids in their Easter clothes. They are just too cute. Although they do drive me crazy at times, going away for a day or two once in a while really reminds me just how nice it is to come home to them.

Dylan turns 6!

Dylan finally turned 6! It's always a little hard on him that his is the last of the spring birthdays. He watches Paige in February and Courtney in March have their birthdays and so when his turn comes it always feels like it was a long time coming. He has been on a major Lego Star Wars kick, thanks to the Wii game that we have, so I knew for a while that was going to be our theme for the birthday. The cake was a real challenge and several times I felt like I just wanted to give up on this one. It seemed that everything was just going wrong. However, in the end it was ok and he was happy with it. His only complaint was that the little figures didn't have their lightsabors crashing together, but he understood when I told him I just couldn't figure out how to make it work.
Dylan came off the bus with a birthday crown on his head and told me all about how the kids at school sang Happy Birthday to him. The day before his primary class sang to him and his teachers brought him cupcakes. Clint got off work early on Monday to take him to a nickelcade and he was in heaven. Then we went out for pizza and he was really feeling special. So by the time we got to grandma's for cake and presents he was having a great day. He was excited to have his cousins there to help him celebrate.
I am just grateful to have my Dylan. Before he was born I was so worried about having a boy. I was afraid I wouldn't know how to relate to him. But he, of all my kids reminds me of myself. He is so emotional and intense with things. He is a perfectionist and likes things to be just a certain way. He is such a great brother to the girls as well. He and Courtney are best friends and he is very patient with Paige and loves to show her how to do things. She sometimes resists the instruction but its obvious how much she looks up to him. Phoebe loves it when he entertains her and smiles at him all the time. Happy Birthday Dylan!

It's Great to be Eight!

Courtney turned eight about a week ago, but I put off posting the pictures because I knew the baptism was coming up and I thought I'd do them together. Now I have so many pictures I don't know which ones to post! So I started with the birthday. Here she is with her mermaid cake. I told her that mermaids don't have short hair, but she was determined that was how she wanted it. She was excited to have her friends and cousins for a party. We painted our nails and added stickers to make them beautiful. We made bracelets and ate cake; in short we had fun. I was grateful that Phoebe slept and stayed pretty happy so that mom could be my extra pair of hands with the girls and their projects. I don't know what I'd have done without her help! Courtney even got to have Leanne and Chantel stay the night before the party. Her first slumber party was a success. Despite the lack of sleep, they were all smiles. Poor Dylan was a little overwhelmed with the sheer number of females in the home, but he was a good sport and gave them advice in playing the Wii.Last night was the baptism. All went fairly smoothly. She did have to get dunked twice because she let her toes float to the surface, but I don't think she minded. She was so excited to wear her new white dress she would have put up with almost anything. Once again I was just overwhelmed with the support of family and friends. Thanks to all who came.

Nearly all of my family was there, even though it was a weeknight and they are busy people. A friend from my ward said, "Are ALL these kids your nieces and nephews?" I proudly said YES! The grandfathers gave the talks, and it was a family affair from start to finish. I've been making cookies for the past couple days for the baptism and the kids just swarmed them after the prayer. I hope they didn't overdo it but I'm afraid no one was really monitoring just how many they ate. Thanks again to everyone.

Phoebe at 4 months!

So I guess I am lazy or this 4 month milestone just got here before I knew it. I didn't plan any professional pictures so I just dressed her up and broke out the new camera. She is such a cutie it wasn't hard to get a few fun shots. I even thought of getting a couple with Paige. I have this picture of Steph and I when I was about 6 six months. It is a favorite of mine and I was going for that but maybe it will work better when she is able to sit up. I also got a few fun shots of the three cousins together the other day at Steph's house. The three of them hardly look related but each is so cute in their own way. Can't wait to compare these shots to a picture when they are all grown up!

Sleeping Beauty turns 3!

Please ignore the mess behind her, but isn't she too cute! Paige has been our smallest baby since the beginning, so it has been hard to realize she is not a baby anymore. I have always had a soft spot for the sleeping beauty story, so I admit to being secretly happy that Paige feels the same way. So when she asked for a sleeping beauty cake for her birthday I was excited to give it a try.
The hardest part was the hands. I just couldn't get them to look as good as I wanted. I have a new idea to try for next time though.
I looked at several options of other similar cakes online and this was my version. It came out pretty well.

Paige has been talking about her birthday for weeks, she has been pretty excited. We were able to go to my parents house and have her cousins and both sets of grandparents there to help her celebrate. Of course she was spoiled with presents and it was like Christmas all over again.

I'm just grateful to have Paige around the house these days. She is always full of so much enthusiasm for everything. Usually she is bright and happy, but if she is upset she expresses that with the same intensity. She loves to play make-believe and is often acting out these long monologues, most of which I can't understand, but I still find interesting because her face is so expressive. I haven't been able to get her interested in going potty yet, but that is our new project. She recently moved from the crib to the bottom bunk in the bunkbed we got for the girls. She loves it.