A few more pictures

So Crystal has been bugging me almost daily to post a few more pictures.  It's probably good for me to post a few more for history's sake.  So, Crystal - a few more pictures of Eric.  These are mostly 3-4 weeks old....

So I haven't actually taken many pictures of Eric, because every time I turn around, Caitlyn or Jeffrey are taking a picture of him.  I guess I took for granted that they were actually good pictures of him.  Here's a few of the not so great pics....

The Magic Drawer

I've never been very good at including my children in the chore of laundry.  For now, I prefer to just do it all on my own.  So after I do laundry, I usually put the clothes back in the drawers when the kids aren't around - either when they're playing in another room or at night after they are asleep.

Tonight I was putting Jeffrey's clothes away when he was still awake laying in bed.  He said, "Mom, what are you doing?"  I said, "Just taking care of the magic drawers, Jeffrey."  He didn't respond, so I turned around and said, "Do you think the drawers are really magical, Jeffrey?"  He said, "No."  And I'm sure at this point that he's coming to realize that the only reason he has clean clothes to wear everyday is because his dear mother labors so hard to constantly wash and fold and put away all the dirty clothes that are produced by a household of 6 individuals.  My dreams that he was finally coming to appreciate me came to a quick halt when he responded, "We have a washing machine."

Maybe next time....

Our newest addition

After a little drama around 29 weeks (a night in the hospital and a week on bedrest), the due date finally approached for our new baby.  I was due on March 30, but was a little worried I'd have a baby when Dan went out of town to interview at BYU.  But, Dan went out of town, returned, and 3 days later we woke up and immediately headed to the hospital after some unexpected bleeding.  We arrived at the hospital at 8:00 am and at 8 cm.  At 10:34, our little guy was born.  I had been trying to mentally prepare myself to have a totally natural birth with no pain killers and was so happy to accomplish my goal.  I don't know that I would try it again, but at least I can check it off of my list of things to do in my lifetime.  He's an absolutely perfect and beautiful baby.  We're so thrilled to have him in our family.

 Carbon copy of his 2 older brothers!

 Meeting older brother, Jeffrey.

 Meeting older sister, Caitlyn.

 Sweet little boy!

 Aunt Latisha came over from Panama City for a few hours to meet the new little guy.

 Eric and daddy.

 Jeffrey has turned into the baby photographer - don't know why he took a picture of Eric's head.

 My parents brought some very welcomed help...what would we do without family??

Jeffrey's pictures....

 Lots of love for the little guy.

Camping at the Florida Caverns

During Dan's spring break, we decided to go camping at the Florida Cavern's State Park. We figured March was the perfect time in Florida for the weather to not be too hot or too cold - but we were wrong.  The lows were in the 30's the night that we camped and we were all VERY cold. But despite the cold, we had a really fun time with two families who came with us.  

 Dan and Brady enjoying the fire.

 Andrew feeding Logan some cheetos.  Logan doesn't need the help, but Andrew doesn't seem to care.  They are so cute together.

 Caitlyn and Jeffrey sitting in front of the space heater in the tent.  They stayed the warmest in their sleeping bags, but it was awfully cold getting up in the morning.

 Cold Andrew trying to get into the tent.

 The next morning we went into the caverns (Dan stayed out with Andrew).  Here are some of the stalactites we saw.

 Caitlyn wasn't so impressed with the caves.  The novelty quickly wore off and she was ready to head out.

 Jeffrey and his friend Annika touching the only surface that the public is allowed to feel.

Jeffrey, Logan, Brady, Quinter, Annika and Caitlyn.  It was a fun trip with really fun people!

Riding horses

Last year the kids went to a birthday party where they got to ride horses and feed farm animals and 'paint a pony.' They had a blast last year, so when the same family gave us an invitation to the same place, we were really excited to go. Last year Jeffrey apprehensively rode the pony. Caitlyn wouldn’t have anything to do with it. This year she was convinced that she would ride the pony IF she could ride the tiny pony. When the time came to actually ride, she wasn’t happy about it, but she did give it a try. By the end she was really glad that she had gone through with it. Other than the “terrifying” dog that wandered around the farm (the oldest and calmest dog I’ve ever seen, yet managed to elicit extreme terror in both of my older children), it was a really fun party!

Jeffrey riding his pony.

Caitlyn – not really excited about getting on the pony!

Starting out around the field.

She finally decided that it really was okay.

Coming back in from her lap around the field.

At least she didn’t look scared any more!

Some firsts for Jeffrey

The past few months have been an exciting time for Jeffrey. He started Kindergarten at the local public school and has LOVED his teacher and friends in his class. It has been a really good experience so far for all of our family.

Jeffrey on the morning of his first day of school.

He also started playing soccer with the YMCA. He got hooked on soccer after watching a couple of games during the World Cup.

Jeffrey with his team and coaches during their first practice (Jeffrey's in the yellow shorts).

Stretching at the start of practice.

Two of Jeffrey's good friends who are also in the class at school, Annika (in the orange) and Hyrum (standing in the back).

They've had 4 games so far this season, and have done a good job. It’s quite entertaining to watch a bunch of 5 year olds chase a ball around. Jeffrey isn’t the quickest runner on his team, and he’s pretty apprehensive about getting knocked over by all the other kids. So we’re working on helping him go after the ball a little more. He really loves being goalie – and he does a good job at that. It’s been a fun season so far.

Camping in Jacksonville

Last week my parents let us tag along with them while they went camping at the beach. They were kind enough to meet MUCH closer to us, instead of making me drive up to SC with the 3 kids. Dan had classes to teach, so on Monday I headed over with the kids to Little Talbot State Park in Jacksonville. We all stayed in a pop up camper, which might sound cramped with 4 adults and 3 kids, but we actually had plenty of space, especially since my kids chose to cram themselves into tiny spaces to sleep. Andrew took up the most space in his pack and play, but Caitlyn just folded right up...

Andrew hanging out in the camper.


Jeffrey & Grandpa Leckie out in the waves.

Mom & Andrew kicking back on the beach.

The reason that we got invited, and the reason that we wanted to go with Grandpa: grandpa plays with the kids on the beach and they keep each other occupied! For as long as I can remember, my dad has brought a shovel to the beach....and built really big 'sand castles.' The kids loved it!

The kids getting buried in the sand. It turned into more of a slide than a castle, but it was fun either way!

The only real casulty....Jeffrey was pushing a truck along on the hard sand and fell. It looked pretty rough for a long time!

An inverted castle - a few days later Grandpa dug a hole instead of mounding up sand for a castle. Never a dull moment!

Grandpa also brought rope and a swing. Another big hit!


One day Jeffrey & Grandpa went out with hotdogs tied to strings and tried to catch a crab. Within about 2 minutes they caught this guy.

Andrew out watching the crabbing action.

All the kids were excited by the novelty. Aunt Sara was trying to get another sting ready and lost several pieces of hot dog in the marsh. A few minutes later we saw another crab prancing by carrying our hot dog pieces. Lucky day for him!

Jeffrey & Grandpa heading back after searching for who knows what. They often wandered off together.

Grandpa & Jeffrey racing cars. I think there was some major cheating going on, but Jeffrey's cars managed to win the 'race.'

I would have taken a few more pictures of the camper and the nature walk and another unsuccessful fishing trip, but I dropped the camera in the sand and haven't been able to get it to work ever since. Don't know if it's repairable, or if another camera purchase is in the near future. Even with the loss of the camera, it was a great trip! Thanks, mom and dad, for letting us crash the beach party!