May days....

Grandma Howard came home for a visit from her mission in Oklahoma to attend my brother, Ed, and Brina's wedding. It was so fun having her for a few days!

Rachael learned how to ride a 2 wheel bike. Apparently, she learned a long time ago, because Daddy took off the training wheels, and off she went. Like a pro!

Rachael graduated from Kindergarten. Unbelievable. Here's a song they sang to the tune of New York, New York....

Start spreading the news

We're leaving today

We want to be a part of it

First Grade, First Grade

We've worked very hard

We're ready to go

We want to be a part of it

First Grade, First Grade

We know our ABC's and our 1,2,3's so well

We've worked at sounding out words

and stories to tell

Just asked us to rhyme

We can all count by tens

We've learned to share and get along

with all our friends

So now we made it there

We'll make it anywhere

We're on our way

First Grade, First Grade

Rachael and Carrie figured out some gymnastics tricks that their daddy used to do with his brothers.

Carrie performed a jump rope routine in front of the entire school. She's been doing jump rope club once a week all year!

Kaden and Emma had preschool graduation, although Kaden has 1 more year and Emma has 2, so I guess it shouldn't be called graduation! Here's Kaden with his teacher, Miss Angie.

And Emma with her teacher, Miss Santha.

We took Amy swimming in our subdivion pool for the first time. She loves it!

May 14, 2009 Rachael turns 6!

Six? Where has the time gone? Rachael was JUST a sweet little baby the other day! Honestly!

And the first time I ever really "did" her hair, I set her in this huge pot so she could sit up. Who needs a bumbo chair? Then Ammon decided to bathe her in it. LOL

Six things I love about Rachael...

1. Her sweetness....she's always ready to give hugs, cuddles, and kisses.
2. Her sense of humor...she's always goofing off, trying to make everyone laugh. She's the family comedienne!
3. Her dance moves...if you haven't seen her dance in person, you should seriously make a point to do so. She's got dancing in her blood, and none of the rest of us can move like she can!
4. Her helpful nature...she will always run and get me anything I need, a diaper, wipes, clothes, anything I need, she cheerfully runs off and gets it for me.
5. Her imagination...she's always playing with the little kids and keeping them entertained for me.
6. Her heart. She's tender hearted. She loves big, and I love that about her!

She wanted a purse cake for her birthday....I did my best!

One word.....JOY

That's what Amy brings to my life and to our family. She turned one on April 28, 2009. The past year has flown by. I've enjoyed every second of her.....and look forward to every future second. Amy is our miracle of miracles. Our baby we thought we could never have.

The theme for Amy for the months of April and May have been climbing. Here are a few of the places I've found her.

Here she is helping me make bread. LOL.

The Plain White T's wrote a song for me about Amy....here are the lyrics.

1 2, 1 2 3 4-
Give me more lovin' than I've ever had,
Make it all better when I'm feelin' sad,
Tell me that I'm special even when I know I'm not,
Make it feel good when I hurt so bad, Barely gettin' mad,
I'm so glad I found you; I love bein' around you.
You make it easy, it's easy as 1,2- 1,2,3,4
There's only 1 thing 2 do 3 words 4 you- I love you
There's only 1 way 2 say those 3 words and that's what I'll do-I love you.
Give me more lovin' from the very start,
Piece me back together when I fall apart,
Tell me things you never even tell your closest friends-
Make it feel good when I hurt so bad, Best that I've had,
I'm so glad I found you, I love bein' around you.
You make it easy, it's easy as 1,2- 1,2,3,4
There's only 1 thing 2 do 3 words 4 you- I love you
There's only 1 way 2 say those 3 words and that's what I'll do- I love you.

Maybe those words are considered romantic.....but Ammon hates that song, so it makes me think of Amy, instead!

Easter 2009

We attended the second annual Campbell's Easter Egg hunt that our best friends put on....the kids all had a blast! Here are Emma, Kaden, and Remley waiting to go outside and HUNT!

We realized at bedtime Saturday night that we didn't have any plastic eggs to leave out for the Easter Bunny! (OH MY!) So we quickly dyed some. The girls were concerned that the Easter Bunny couldn't fill real eggs with candy, but we assured them that he'd leave the candy in their baskets.....it took some convincing....they did not want to be jipped!

Headed to church

Ten kinds of wonderful!

My baby turned 10 on April 8, 2009. I can't believe how quickly these 10 years have flown by. I remember so clearly when I was pregnant with her, and then when she was born, what a miracle she was/is! She is an In-vitro baby....and she was our first miracle!

Carrie is...

1. A cuddler. She doesn't cuddle as much as she used to, but we can still squeeze them in!
2. A great big sister. She helps all four of her younger siblings so much.
3. Compassionate. She is often thinking of other's feelings.
4. A good friend. She is kind to everyone.
5. A fantastic swimmer. We love to watch her compete in swim meets.
6. Beautiful. See for yourself.
7. Spiritual. Carrie often reminds us to do family scripture study and family prayer.
8. Kind. She strives to be kind to her family and friends.
9. Smart...in more ways than one!
10. Pancake chef. She makes the BEST pancakes! (Her dad taught her!!)

March Moments

Amy mastered drinking through a straw while we watched her sisters ice skate.

Daddy and Amy played balancing games....she's pretty good!
She even uses her toes to help counter balance!
Daddy carried all four kids in from the car when it was raining...they thought it was hilarious!

Grandpa Covino had a birthday. Grandma and the girls made a Giant Four Leaf Clover icecream sculpture for his cake!

We took our first trip to the park in our new subdivision. Kaden rode his bike, and I couldn't keep up with him! Luckily he ocassionally gets distracted by rocks or something and that slows him down!

Carrie and her best friend Riley brought a picnic to share.

Amy made her first ginormous mess in the bathroom. Time to start keeping the bathroom doors closed AT ALL TIMES. (Good luck with that....with a 3 year old and 4 year old!) Suddenly we're going through a LOT of toilet paper.

Amy wore Daddy's had and was just CUTE as a button!

Ammon wore Grandma Covino's glasses for a few minutes (until it gave him a headache). I like the way they bring out his eyes.

I love to see the temple....

We took Kaden and Emma to the temple to be sealed as part of our forever family on March 14, 2009. It was a wonderful day. Carrie had been extremely sick the two days prior with a really high fever....but miraculously she was better for our trip to the temple. We blessed Kaden, Emma, and Amy the following day and Vince & Kim blessed their new baby, Isaac, also! It was a wonderful weekend for our entire family!

Inside the temple, when they brought the kids in, and Emma looked around and saw Uncle Vince, she nodded to him and said "Hey, Uncle Vince." Then she saw her babysitter on the other side of the room, and kept saying to me "Mom, look, it's Amanda!" It was so funny and cute!

Cousins-In-Crime

Heidi and Coby came for a visit in March. Amy and Coby had so much fun! They are only about 5 weeks apart, and it was fun to have them together. Although poor Coby (and Heidi!) ended up getting sick, so that wasn't so fun. But I'm still selfishly glad that they were able to visit, and the time FLEW by! It wasn't long enough for me!

Helping with the dishes....two helpers are even better than the one I normally have!
I could hear Coby, but I couldn't find her......she got stuck under this bench!

The Penny 2.26.09

So, I was cleaning the house, vacuuming the entire 1st floor. And I sat down at the computer for a minute....Amy was next to me, playing on the floor. After a few seconds, she was gagging. Somehow, I KNEW that she had swallowed a penny (not sure how, since I had just vacuumed the floor and hadn't seen a penny!) I tried flipping her over and doing the four forceful blows on her back a couple times and it didn't work. She was breathing, when she wasn't gagging, so I knew it wasn't blocking her airway. But she was gagging and vomiting saliva and just couldn't catch her breath entirely. So I called 911 and they came (several firemen) and paramedics and confirmed that it wasn't in her airway. They checked her pulse ox, which was fine, and suggested I take her into the ER. While I was on the phone with 911, I called my mother in law on my cell phone and said, "Amy is choking, I need you NOW." She got here just after the EMS! (IMPRESSIVE!) So I didn't want Amy to lay down and somehow shift the penny to her airway, so mom drove us in to the ER and then she came back here with all the other kids.

Once they did the x-ray and could see that the coin was lodged in her esophogus, I was informed that they'd have to call a pediatric GI doc to scope it out. We had to be transported downtown to another hospital. When Ammon arrived, the doctor took us to the computer to see the x-ray and the nurse informed the doctor that the ped GI on call was "Dr. Jason Ellison." Well, he just happens to be Ammon's cousin! We immediately felt good about him doing the procedure. While we rode in the ambulance, we got more and more nervous about her going under general anesthesia and the procedure itself (but NOT nervous about the Dr. performing it!)

While we were waiting for the transport, Amy kept saying "uh-oh" over and over.

From the looks of the x-ray, we all thought it was a nickel or a quarter! Doesn't it look huge?

When we arrived at St. Lukes, they knew we were coming, but somehow the ER directed us to go up to the pediatric floor, who directed us back down to the ER. So after our tour of the hospital, we arrived in a room in the ER, and Jason came in. I can't describe to you the immediate relief that washed over us. But we knew our baby would be okay, and we knew he was the right man for the job. Ever humble, Jason listed all of his qualifications, and explained to us that even though he is a fairly "new" doctor, that he did this sort of thing ALL THE TIME during his residency. We had to laugh a little, because we weren't nervous or apprehensive about him AT ALL. Another funny is that somehow the hospital didn't send over the x-ray, so Ammon showed him the above photo on his cell phone.

A couple of hours later, we were on our way home with our precious girl. Jason successfully retrieved the penny, and then decided to go and check out her stomach (which he normally doesn't do) and he found a dime partially corroded from stomach acid. Meaning, she swallowed it on an earlier day. So he retrieved that as well! She must think she's a piggy bank!

Here they are in the recovery room (Jason pulled some strings and we were allowed to go back earlier than they normally allow). With the light shining behind him, he looks like an angel! We're so grateful that Dr. Ellison was on call! What a blessing!

A few days later Jason came over to our house for my father in law's birthday party, so I had to get a photo of them together! Our hero, Dr. Ellison!

Here's a video of Emma telling you where the penny got stuck, in Amy's "fosogat."

February Fun

Amy really started climbing up the stairs in February. And every time I would talk to her, or go to get her, she would bounce up and down so fast I thought for sure she'd fall! She really enjoyed the chase me up the stairs game!

I had a birthday in February....bleh...another year older.

Amy started helping me with the dishes. She loves to hand me dishes and is absolutely thrilled when I take it from her and say thank you. Unfortunately, she likes to be right IN the dishwasher. Not safe, not safe!

Happy Birthday, Kaden!

Kaden turned FOUR in January. Four words that describe Kaden....
1. Sweet
2. Gentleman
3. Energy
4. Imaginative
He's so much fun to have in our family! Bless his heart, he's outnumbered by girls....poor kid. He's sweet because he always tells me I'm his best friend. He's a gentelman because he always always always holds the doors open for me, and I've NEVER had to ask him or teach him to do that, he just does it! He obviously has lots of energy and is always bouncing around, and he plays very detailed imaginary games. He's so funny!

The cake was a colaborative effort. Grandma and Grandpa Covino baked and cut and shaped the cake. Mommy, Carrie, and Rachael decorated it. He LOVED it. It's been 5 months and he still talks about it! His super fast race car cake.

Brace yourselves...

I finally bought a new card reader and uploaded all my pics.....here come the posts! January to May in 1 day! LOL

P.S. NO ONE commented on my last post. What are you, chicken? Come on!

Feedjit

So I was looking at my feedjit reader, and found some interesting "places" have visited my blog recently.....to name a few,

Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Hephzibah, Georgia
Chatswood, New South Wales
East Taunton, Massachusetts

How about a roll call? Introduce yourself to me! I like to meet new people!

Birthday Marathon....

I'm so glad my friend Kris made a birthday background! Carrie's birthday was Aril 8th, Amy's birthday is April 28th, and Rachael's birthday is May 14th. I have sorely negleted my blog, lately, but I have OODLES of pictures to upload and post.....so stay tuned!

Little Funnies

We are taking Emma and Kaden to the temple to be sealed to our family on March 14th. We've been talking about this with Emma (turned 3 in November) and Kaden (turned 4 in January). The other day, I asked Emma what we were going to do at the temple, and she said "we'll wear white dresses......and we'll get stuck together forever and ever."

Every time I turn around, Kaden is on the computer playing games. I've been wondering how he gets the website up, because it's not book marked or anything. I asked him to show me. He sat down and highlighted the address bar, and then typed "a" and then "n" and then scrolled down the list and chose the andkon arcade. Hmmmm....he might be smarter than I thought.

Happy Birthday to Me!

For my birthday my kids (along with an awesome Grandma) made me some music videos! Enjoy....

Happy Walentine's Day

Last year we had a foreign exchange student from Thailand, and we will forever say Happy Walentine's Day. LOL.

It's only February 11th and the kids are all at the kitchen table doing their walentines for their classmates. There's no school Friday so the school walentine parties are tomorrow. Yahoo. Bring home some good candy kids!

I'd better go supervise before Kaden and Emma EAT all of the walentine candy intended for their classmates.