four months and mostly healthy

So, it's been a while. Mostly because I've been on a streak lately - a sickness streak. It's been almost four weeks staight now. First the flu, the night my husband leaves out of town of course:)

Then a freakish eye virus (still thinking it was a funky version of pink eye - but worse) for two weeks. Two weeks of red, leaky, gunky, aching eyes. After a week and a half and feeling pretty much half blind I went into the ER. They gave me anti-viril drops and after about 3-4 days I was in a lot better shape.

Then, as my eyes recovered, I got a nasty cold. Middle of January, coughing attack, loose your voice kind of cold. So... even though I'm coughing as I type I'm mostly healed. Here's hoping to my streak coming to an end!

Despite the set-backs I think we've still packed in a lot of fun. Here's what we've mostly been up to:

#1 by far has been backyard swimming. It happens frequently. I love watching the tricks my kids come up with and watching them play the day away in the sun with water.

#2 Playgrounds and smore campouts. We've visited all kinds of playgrounds since at some point during the winter Whitney turned into a monkey and Travis got a little more brave. At this paticular "campout" Travis commented on all the smoke going into the sky and then added as he looked up "Jesus isn't going to be very happy."

A common scene on a hot afternoon:

Add in a Rodeo, campout, splash show, magic show, rafting, and a reunion - I'd say we've done all right so far.

For the 4th we went up to my Parents house to celebrate (on the 3rd). Amy and Bryan and fam were there as well as Jeff and Selly. They were nice enough to all0w an eye infested woman come and celebrate with them. My kids were in heaven with all the cousins, aunts and uncles, grandma and grandpa. We went to the parade, did some mega-super sliding, and of course, after a great bbque went to see the fireworks. It was quite the fun day.

My mom and dad took Hailey on her usual evening walk to get her to sleep. This scene was to much of a kodak moment for me - pictures didn't do justice though.

Everyone chilling before fireworks.

Jeff, Selly, and Avery.

My kids in their fourth of July get-up

After the 4th we had a Rasmussen Reunion in Park City. Due to my eyes and my slacking ability I have a total of zero pictures. I'll have to post about it and hopfully steal some pics from family. All I can say is I love my family and we loved every minute.

AND FINALLY - TODAY HAILEY IS 4 MONTHS!!!

She continues to be my happy girl, who loves being held (surprisingly even lets others hold her sometimes!), watching kids, and taking baths. She is very observant and doesn't want to miss a thing that happens around her. She continues to be my best baby sleeper at night
- probably since she sleeps little during the day. Everyday with her is an adventure. I love watching every bit of her personality and enthusiasm come out of her!

3 months!

Alright, we made it to 3 months! This is a big milestone for me, since I usually count down the first 6 months - year. But since Hailey has been a great sleeper at night, I find myself really enjoying the baby stage. Who knew sleep deprevation was such a factor. Thanks Hailey for lighting up our home! I can't imagine life without you.

many faces of Hailey

Yes, I know this is a minute and a half of a baby sitting in a chair. Perhaps it shows how easily entertained I am these days. But it cracked me up to see that my daughters facial expressions changed every two seconds. The noise isn't me drilling into the floor either - it's a vibrating chair. So there you have it, for those of you who haven't met Hailey yet, this is pretty much her in a nutshell.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

nature hike/walks

After the memorial day weekend adventures Grandma and Grandpa Hoopes (and Neal:)) were nice enough to take Whitney and Travis on a little hike. I was so grateful! I got a great nap in, enjoyed the quite, and even snuck in a little cleaning. The kids had a blast. They love every second of exploring bugs, rocks, dirt, and sticks. What great grandparents my kids are blessed to have!

Travis with his walking sticks.

The first thing travis told me when he got home was "I got to hold a monarch!" wow - didn't expect that to come out of his mouth, and for him to actually know what it was.
Love that Neal's hood became the bouquet vase

Whitney's bouquet. She would pick weeds everyday and do this!

Whitney was pretty excited to show me this picture. She thought it was cool that Grandpa let her do this. She's our acrobat - this is just a warm up :)

Whitney with the monarch

Blessing day/Weekend

Memorial Day weekend we blessed Hailey. The fun began Friday - Whit and Trav were pretty excited for the cousins to come and for the party to start. I was glad it was good weather all weekend so the party could be held outside :)

We started out painting our rubber fishies (no rubber ducks to be found) Friday night.

Then Saturday after playing at the park we started the fishie race.

Here's the kids lined up watching their ducks. It was fun to see the excitement on their faces.

Our fishermen.

Poor Neal - he ended up in the water when his support branch broke while attempting to save a stuck fishie. Although, I thought this was the best entertainment of the race.

Saturday afternoon we tried a new hike called the Payson Grotto. This hike was definitely short and sweet. Perfect for a bunch of kids.

At the grotto

Hiking above for a view down on the waterfall

The crew coming down, the kids had a blast with playing "follow the leader"

The trooper - doesn't she looked thrilled.

Hailey is probably my easiest baby yet. But easiest blessing day yet - definitely not. Of course she usually falls asleep right in time for church - so I figured she'd be nice and asleep for her blessing. Not even close. She was so tired that she slept in, and instead of being refreshed was overtired. Despite her crying/screaming through the blessing -and the rest of church - and the rest of the day we managed. While trying to keep her happy at church I laid her down in the seminary portion attached to our building. She was happy for maybe ten minutes and we got to talk. Tears came to my eyes as we talked and I was filled with such an appreciation for this girl. When I was pregnant I remember going to her room, all set up for her. It was quiet and vacant. I pictured what it would be like when she came. I could feel how excited she was to come. Now that she is here there have been several nights when I've paused by her room, watching her sleep and enjoying the joy she has brought to our house. Every smile she gives me reminds me how blessed I am to have her as a daughter.

My dad was so good - so willing to put up with a fussy girl so that I could enjoy company. Thanks Dad!

Bethany made these awesome floral arrangements for us from her floral design class. These kids were in heaven all weekend. They were pretty disappointed that company had to leave Monday.

All in all it was a great weekend. I really had a great time with family - thanks everyone who came to support us! Monday we played some more, but between taking care of everything the last 3 weeks (Aaron herniated a disk in his back), getting ready for company, callings, yard work, Hailey not feeling good =crying, and the weekend activities - all the while nursing and night feedings- Monday I hit the wall. My body was done.

Now, a week later, things are back to norm. Me and Hailey are recovered, the kids are still partying with neighbors, and summer is in full swing! Thanks again to everyone who made Hailey's day special.

more us

Uncle Neal came down for a visit since returning from his mission. Whitney and Travis found a way to keep themselves entertained while we chatted. Yes, that is every shoe in the house. Luckily they are becoming decent cleaners too ;)

Here is my smiling Hailey. She definately has lungs when she cries . . . thank goodness she's happy most of the time! I love when she gives me a big grin. She's a whopping 12.5 pounds - accourding to her 2 month check-up. Way to pack in on woman= more sleep time for me at night!

Whitney discovered she could decorate her hair with markers.

Kids all dressed up and ready for church. I think its so funny that they love getting all dressed up - are these really my kids?

Kisses

2 months

Well, apparently Hailey really wanted me to post. I was going to last night, but chose to go to bed instead . . . so here I am at 3 in the morning with a baby wide awake. At least she gives me a huge grin every time I tell her to go to sleep. This is her second time doing this in the last month. But honestly, I can't complain, because she has been an amazing sleeper compared to my other to children at this age. And if your wondering why I don't make her cry it out - I attempted, but after 1 1/2 hours, it looks like this kid would cry all night. It reminds me of when I couldn't sleep at 3 in the morning when I was pregnant. At least I have a kid to show for sleeplessness now.

Here is an attempt to get a picture of all the kids. Hailey is 2 months now!

Here is how most of the pictures turned out.

Last Saturday Aaron hurt himself playing basketball - pretty bad this time. We think he has a herniated disk = mucho pain and discomfort. The positive side - I got to have him home all week. The negative side - watching him go nuts not being able to do anything without hurting. He was such an amazing husband despite his pain, still trying to help with Hailey as much as possible. My favorite thing he did = he let me sleep in almost everyday this week. Oh, how happy that makes me.

Travis got some new pajamas this week that I'm in love with. They make me smile every time I look at him. Here is buzz:

And here is woody:

It's too cute to hear him say "to infinity and beyond" or "there's a snake in my boot." Love this kid.

In other random news, I finally played soccer again and it felt fantastic. There is something about playing sports that makes my life complete :) How nice it is to move, workout, and run again!

Whitney and Travis spent the entire Saturday playing outside with friends. They were in heaven. Travis looks forward to Saturday all week because nobody has school and he can stay up all day to play with everyone. I love having amazing neighbors with great kids! Here's Whitney all set for Sunday - curlers in place and having one last Popsicle before bed.

It's a miracle! I think Hailey is drifting to sleep! She is too cute, how lucky I feel to have her. She is now smiling, almost laughing, and talking more than ever. She melts my heart with her huge grin. Some day I hope to capture it on camera. Guess that means I'm done. Happy Sunday everyone. Here's hoping for more sleep!