Jake 3 Years 10 Months

Jake Oliver you are such an amazing little boy and if I never have a baby boy again that's okay because you are as perfect as little boys come. I love everything about you my handsome! Jake at 3 years 10 months...

1. Jake loves to help cook. Jake has been obsessed lately that whenever Mom or Dad have to make food Jake has to go and help. I hope this cooking love sticks around long enough for when it will be useful in our future ;)

2. Jake celebrated Christmas. Jake thought Christmas was fantastic! Santa Claus made Jake a bit hesitant but the countdown activities are always so much fun. Christmas morning Jake was in complete heaven but what was funny was after awhile he got too tired to continue opening presents haha. Jake loved all holiday celebrations and now we await his birthday and I know he will love every moment it.

3. Jake is a Sunbeam. My boy is growing up so quickly that I blinked and now he is out of nursery and on to sunbeams in primary. How is it even possible that my boy is that old? I was nervous about Jake being in sunbeams because he doesn't like to sit still but apparently he really loves the singing time and is doing somewhat okay.

4. Jake loves swimming. We have been having swimming Fridays and of course Jake is loving every moment of it. Jake is getting more and more comfortable in the water, almost to comfortable for Moms liking. We will have to sign him up for swimming lessons sometime soon but we will focus on one thing at a time so preschool is next.

5. Jake loves Mr. Bean. Jake has discovered the cartoon Mr. Bean episodes on his iPad and he is loving them so much. I have to be cautious because sometimes I am not comfortable with them but have been able to get around those ones.

6. Jake an another ear infection. This poor little boy got Mommas ears for sure and he had to go to the doctor for ear infection and placed on antibiotics. Eventually I will probably have to look into tubes for this boy and getting his tonsils out because it sure helped me. I'm sorry Jake that you have my genetics with your ears. In the meantime something that helped Mom a lot with her ear pain was having them covered so I have a headband that I am constantly having on him and he loves how it helps relieve some pain.

7. Jake says "BOO" to scare people. Whenever anyone is in the same room as Jake he will randomly say "BOO" to try and scare them. He will also do this when anyone is going to be coming into the same room that Jake is in and its pretty fun. I love my jokester boy!

8. Jake wants friends that are boys. At each and every playground we got to if there is boys playing Jake will do anything possible to go and play with them, whether they be younger then him or 10 years old haha. Jake is so desperate for a brother and I would do anything to make that possible, but until then I will continue to hope the boys on the playgrounds want to play with my energetic boy as he is tired of only sisters.

9. Jake says the funniest things! I have remembered some of the things he stated this month. We were getting ready for nursery one Sunday and I asked Jake what was in his pockets of his coat (his hands were in his coat pockets and I knew something was up, moms always know)? He then told me, "My hands are just sleeping." HAHA. Jake had some spinners in his pocket he wanted to take to church with him, silly kid.

One morning Jake told me, "Mom, my mouth is really hot!" So I ask Jake why? Jake then states, "Because I'm pretty sure it needs juice." Wow kid wow haha.

"Daddy you have a belly and glasses just like Daddy Pig (from Peppa Pig)". HAHA

Jake you are the silliest loving kid ever. You speak your mind but also have a heart of gold and sometimes people don't give you the benefit of the doubt because of your high energy. You have the kindest sweetest heart that I have ever known. I love you so much my handsome, always and forever!

Brooklyn 2 Years 2 Months

Brooklyn Riley each month you surprise us with your humor because oh my goodness your a very funny little girl. Brooklyn you have the sweetest little smile and laugh, I truly love everything there is about you! Brooklyn at 2 years 2 months old...

1. Brooklyn is loving hats. Brooklyn has always hated things on her head, for example the headbands were a no go for the longest time. As it is freezing cold outside and Brooklyn freezes more then anyone else I know, literally this poor girl freezes so quickly. Toques/Beanies have been a favorite for this cute princess!

2. Brooklyn is talking more. Brooklyn is talking more which results in the funniest things being said by this girl. Brooklyn was eating candy that I gave her so Daddy asks her, "Eating Candy?" and Brooklyn states "No Papa" but she did it jokingly because of the song and it was so funny. Brooklyn is always cracking little jokes like this and her little cheesy grin after can make anyone smile and laugh themselves. I lucked out in the daughter department!

3. Brooklyn went to Zoo Lights. Brooklyn froze her butt off at Zoo Lights but still loved all the different colors. Brooklyn wasn't a fan of seeing Santa Claus though which resulted in a typical fashion toddler picture. At least when it came to the carousel Brooklyn seemed to enjoy her time once again haha.

4. Brooklyn is candy obsessed. Brooklyn is constantly asking for more candy and would eat it all day long, I think this girl must be related to me a bit to much haha. Brooklyn seems to like all the candies and so far I don't think there is a certain one she hates but I definitely think chocolate is one of the favorites.

5. Brooklyn loves slippers. Once again have you noticed a trend with Brooklyn? Brooklyn loves all things that keep her toasty warm such as sweaters, toques/beanies, leggings and of course slippers. Brooklyn is my little November baby and freezes in the cold but loves it because she can bundle up wearing all her favorite articles of clothing.

6. Brooklyn loves Olaf Adventures. Brooklyn loves Elsa so need I really say more what her favorite new movie is at this time? Olaf Adventures is such a cute little Christmas show and Brooklyn watches it I swear about 10 times a day. We love it!

7. Brooklyn plays well with her siblings. Brooklyn is the perfect sibling to be so close with both her sister and brother. Brooklyn plays well with Andie on her own and also with Jake on their own. Brooklyn is also a perfect little mediator and plays well with them both together. I don't know what we would do with out our little Brooklyn.

8. Brooklyn celebrated Christmas. Brooklyn was a little bit confused when it came to Christmas time as she was still on a Halloween kick. The only holiday that Brooklyn knows and remembers celebrating with decorations and a lot of hype is Halloween. Every Christmas tree Brooklyn would see she would point to it and say, "Halloween". We eventually taught her the Christmas swing of things with the activity countdown and such but Brooklyn still gets a little confused. Christmas was a great success though and Brooklyn was in heaven with all her presents, new babies, elsas and puppies can always make a girl smile.

Brooklyn your such a perfect little girl and we love you oh so much. Brooklyn you have a love for life that we all soak in as we learn this same love from you. Brooklyn you my girl have so much going for you in this world and I know you will succeed in all that you put your mind too. I love you!

Andie 5 Years 7 Months

Andie is another month closer to being six years old and I am sorta in a panic that I have been a parent that long and still don't know what I am doing. Who am I kidding you never know what your doing as a parent but Andie is very patient with helping me learn. Andie is 5 years 7 months...

1. Andie loved the Zoo Lights. Andie loves our Christmas traditions and was so excited to be able to go to the Zoo. We froze our butts off but I think that seeing Santa made up for it! Andie loved being able to ask Santa for a hatchimal and so many other toys. Christmas this year with Andie I knew would be great as she remembers everything from last year.

2. Andie loves the Christmas countdown. One of our favorite traditions for December is our countdown activities to Christmas. Each day we do a craft which is right up Andie's alley or we make a treat of some sort which included the cookie cutters which are Andie's favorites. Countdown activities are a hit!

3. Andie loves Evil Bratt. Andie has loved Evil Bratt from the moment she saw Despicable Me 3. Each day while we are out she is looking for Evil Bratt. When Andie is drawing pictures it is of Evil Bratt, etc. Evil Bratt is in this girls dreams, literally!

4. Andie loves traditions. End of the year we take over in all our traditions for the holidays and Andie loves them all. Andie loved our giant New Years Eve pizza and kept telling the younger siblings of how big of a pizza we will be getting. It's fun that we have created these traditions that the kids can look forward too and really love.

5. Andie LOVED Christmas. Andie was so excited this year to explain all of the Christmas excitement with the siblings. Andie explained who Santa was and how he comes down the chimney to bring us presents. Andie was so thrilled and I don't think she was disappointed one bit, even if she didn't get her Spanish speaking Santa Claus she asked for haha.

6. Andie has a red obsession. Jake has always been obsessed with red so it's in our life ALOT. Andie has now fell into the red loving obsession and always wants all things the color red. What can I say one of my least favorite colors is now a favorite because how can I hate it when all my kids love it.

7. Andie loves doing chores. Andie thinks chores are fun and how come I can't get that same love for them. Andie will constantly ask Mom and Dad what she can do, whether its making the bed or cleaning her desk. Andie loves doing chores and of course the all time favorite is Laundry, Cooking and anything else she can do right beside Mom.

8. Andie's best friend is Brooklyn. Andie and Brooklyn are two peas in a pod and I am so happy they get each other for life. Sisters really are the best thing ever and I am so happy that my two girls are the best of the best. 

Andie Noelle you are such a talented loving girl. You have a love for life that is very contagious! Andie you make each day worth waking up for because of your smiles, laughter and sweet words I get to see and hear all day. I love you so much my princess!

2017 Year In Review

When 2017 started we were in the middle of dealing with a flood which forced us to move out. We were desperately searching for a job for Zach as he had lost his jobs and we kinda need money for bills so we were a bit stressed to say the least. We were really crossing our fingers that 2017 would improve and be SO MUCH BETTER! We had some good and bad just like any other year but it definitely wasn't the year I thought it was going to be...

• We started out the year with Zachary submitting his radiology tech application for school to see if he could get in the program. We were so anxious to hear the results but knew a long wait would be ahead of us as we wouldn't hear until April or May. Of course we did hear back right before we went to Disneyland AND.....he was wait listed! Can you believe that? We were shocked and saddened by that news but I didn't want to give up hope. When we got back from our vacation guess what phone call we got? Zach was ACCEPTED into the program, WOOT WOOT! Zachary finished his first semester.

• Snow was horrid. Zach got stuck in the van which resulted in so many people trying to help him but it just wasn't working. We finally had to call a tow truck and the first one couldn't even fix the problem so after waiting for 3 hours another tow truck came and was finally able to pull O'Malley Jr. free. Wow! We also had the basement flood two times in our new place we are living. WHY? We have such bad luck.

• Zach got a new job. We only had Zach apply for one job as we were debating what we should do with his school schedule and such. Well that ONE job that Zach applied for he ended up getting and it is such a great job for him to have especially while he is in the program as it is in the Radiology Department of a Hospital so he learns there and at school about his career field.

• We needed to get away with all the stress so we decided to make it to Idaho to see family. The kids loved the time with cousins and we loved that we could breath for a couple days before coming back to real life.

• Jake turned 3 years old and had a McQueen birthday!

• Andie had dental surgery to fix the hole in her tooth plus of course a few extra cavities as we were delayed in taking her to the dentist, plus she has Moms horrid teeth!

• We made our annal Disneyland vacation and of course had a BLAST! We love Disneyland! Andie was a trooper and let Mom and Dad ride some of the bigger rides with her with a rider swap, she hated it but also loved it. Jake made it on the McQueen ride so his whole childhood was made right then and there. Brooklyn was very hesitant at first and didn't think rides were a good idea but by the end of the trip she was in heaven.

• I had problems with my wrist arise. X-rays, MRI's, Ultrasounds and of course surgery and my wrist was feeling better (that is until we built the bunkbeds and I messed it up again gah). I also had spotting for 5 months since 2nd miscarriage in December so we had to have testing to see what was going on for that too. Basically I made us meet our out of pocket for the year and it was the worst thing ever, bills never end.

• Zachary turned 28 years old, we are getting old, and had a pinecone birthday!

• Andie graduated from Preschool and is moving on to Kindergarten and she can't be more excited.

• Andie turned 5 years old and celebrated with a Trolls birthday!

• I had a job switch to try and help with the babysitting problem we were going to have once Zach was in the program. I changed from my front desk job which I LOVED and had for 4 1/2 years to a night tech job to perform sleep studies. This was such a big change on me as my sleeping schedule would be MAJORLY affected but so would my pay (in a good way).

• We painted my parents basement to try to make it feel more like we had a little place to call home. We also got a new couch that would actually fit our whole family. We have loved making our house feel like a home. Bunkbeds were an additional fun add the kids love!

• Our 2nd miscarriage due date rolled around and we were so ecstatic to find out we were expecting once again. I knew from that positive test though that it wouldn't last, I just had that feeling. It sucked so badly because I was right. We had our 3rd miscarriage in a row and my heart literally shattered in a million pieces. We found a new doctor and were started up on Femara. We were also started on Metformin because we found out I'm insulin hesitant. I am really hoping that is the cause of the miscarriages so that we have an answer and can have more children.

• Halloween the kids were so excited for and of course became one of their most favorite holidays, right next to Christmas that is. Andie was Ariel, Jake was McQueen and Brooklyn was Elsa.

• Brooklyn turned 2 years old and of course had an Elsa birthday!

• This winter has been a nasty one and the kids have seemed to catch so many ear infections, especially Jake and Brooklyn, plus colds. Andie even caught Croup and went into the ER to be seen for breathing treatment and they accidentally overdosed her on medicine. Croup is contagious so of course the other kids got it too but we were able to keep them medicated so it didn't get as bad. I can't wait for winter sickness to be over with this year.

• Knock on wood we haven't had much vehicle problems. The van (O'Malley Jr.) brake lights keep coming on and if you know why that is (we think its just the cold) we would enjoy any input. We paid off our red car (Fireball McQueen) and he also had a recall we got fixed because apparently there was glass in the airbag so if that had ever gone off it just could of resulted in death is all.

• Mom turned 27 years old and had her golden birthday!

• Last but not least we celebrated so many holidays and Mom is trying to do more for them to get out of the depression I am in from multiple miscarriages (it really messes with people guys). Each holiday is so fun to be able to celebrate with the kids and there happiness never fails. Christmas is always a great way to end the year off.

We had a pretty up and down year if you can't tell but we really think that 2018 is going to turn out better. We also thought this about 2017 so don't hold us to anything though haha.

New Years Eve 2017

New Years Eve happened to land on a Sunday this year which makes for a great start with goals into the New Year. We always do our traditional giant pizza which made it a bit difficult due to us having to preorder and such. The kids loved it! By far this is one of our favorite traditions to end off the year. Of course our only other traditions to celebrate are board games and watching a countdown (usually an early one from Netflix haha). Bring on 2018 :)