All The Rage

From reading other blogs and posts, etc. it seems that going to the ER was all the rage so we decided to join in. Words of advice . . . do not let your little ones try to cook pancakes when they are only 5 months old. As excited as they might get and however much they want to help (cook or eat), this is definitely not a good idea. The result? A sad baby with a burned hand, a trip to the ER, and wound treatment for several days. Once Dacey got over the initial pain and received a blessing, she has been great! Her poor little chubby hand that I love - it is getting special treatment everyday and she gets to have a mitt for a hand to hit me with. Dacey has been amazing. By the time the doctor at the ER saw her, she was laughing and talking. The only time she seems bothered by her hand is when the therapist is cleaning it, even then she doesn't cry every time. Today she entertained herself during the process by gnawing on her helper's hand. I'm just thankful it wasn't worse and that it doesn't hurt her.

After the ER

After a couple days of treatment. We still have about a week to go, maybe.Not so happy to be here.

We spent the day with cousins in Nashville to watch the BYU game. The exciting part for all the girls? Touchdown chocolate! Although the thrill was gone once the reeses cups were. It's just fun that we can drive a little and be able to have fun with family.

Hangin' with Uncle Stan

Camden seems to lose a tooth each time we visit. She now has what Greg calls an "Alabama Smile" She is so excited and has informed me that until she has teeth again, she needs her apples sliced. And not just one slice like I like to do.

Ashlen would probably do just about anything for a "sucka"!

Meet the Flintstones

For the 8 years that we've been married, Greg has wanted us to dress up for Halloween as a family. This year he finally had an idea early enough that we could try to work with. I am not the seamstress, but I managed to make everyone's costumes (except my own). I even made a hat for Bam-Bam. The girls loved their costumes and being a part of their own pretend families. So. . . meet the Flintstones and the Rubbles.

Bam-Bam
Betty

Barney

The Rubbles in full gear on Halloween.

Fred

Pebbles

The Flintstones (Camden practiced her photography skills for this one!)

Since the Young Men didn't do a haunted house or spook alley for the Trunk-or-Treat this year, Greg finally got to decorate our "trunk" like he has wanted to. Here is the final result. Notice the deceased . . . Troy and Gabriella won't be around for a HSM 4 at our house!


Brynn was not too sure about subjecting Troy to this display. She could've cared less about Gabriella!

We took full advantage of Halloween festivities this year, but it was too much effort to use our "real" costumes every time. Here is our cowgirl rounding up her cattle, the bumblebee and our knight in shining armor for the fall festival at the YMCA.






Dacey playing dress up!

GOT MILK?

MEOW!

Is there a better way to say Happy Halloween than with a rice crispy treat pumpkin? I didn't get to carve a real one with the rest of the family, so here is my contribution.

These are the few pictures I tried to post last week and did not succeed. But they were too cute to forget about. One, or a few of my favorite things about Dacey are her chubby little fingers and toes. Can you tell which is which?

I tried holding off on the cereal so that Greg could be home to take the "first time eating" pictures. Well, Dacey was hungry! So here are the pictures I took of me feeding her for the first time! Not too bad for either one of us.

That's a lot for one time, but since I never do anything with the hundreds of pictures that I take, I'm finally taking advantage of the opportunity to share them with others. Now if I only let others know that these pictures are here.

Assorted Poses

Dacey's standard sleeping position.
We wonder if she is trying to figure out why she ended up in our family. Maybe it's just better to hide. They say we're sisters . . .
It wasn't for another two weeks before Dacey really tried to get herself over again. All the inbetween was spent practicing and napping.
The joy of success! I think the smile was more for me than excitement of rolling over. The bigger girls get more excited when she rolls over than she does. Now I can't leave her on the couch anymore.

Annual Fun Run

Every year the hospital hosts a Fun Run for school age kids. Camden started running it 3 years ago and we've added in a kid each year. This time we added Greg to help Brynn Camden is not much of a walker or a quitter. Even when there was a pile up in front of her that took her down, she got right back up and kept going. Dad couldn't keep up with her. Of course, he had just run the course with Brynn.
Brynn was ready for the run in her brand new basketball outfit. We got two of them and we couldn't keep her out of them for a few days. I tried to convince her that they were dirty, but she wouldn't hear of it. I believe her exact words were "Mom, real basketball shirts smell like pee when they're clean!" Needless to say, she had to wear another outfit until I did laundry.
Ashlen was not about to miss out on the action (or t-shirt)! She joined the run near the end - right where parents had to leave their kids to let them finish on their own. She had to cross the finish line whether she wanted to or not! She was proud of her ribbon.
We had some sweaty girls when it was all over!
Dacey has decided that it would be beneficial to spend some time upright these days, so I pulled out the exersaucer to see how she fit. We still have some growing to do, but the bigger girls enjoy playing with it in the mean time!

Mission Accomplished

Tonight was the night for dear Dacey. I've been wondering when she was going to roll over, or even get the thought. But after teetering on her side every now and then, she did it! Of course it was right after I said, "Look Greg, she's going to roll over." And of course right after I said that, I took two steps into the kitchen and pretty much missed the whole thing! But I was right, she rolled over! Roll on, Dacey! Pictures will have to come later. We didn't have our camera, so it's all captured on Grandpa's.

Hondo

We've been without Daddy for almost 4 days! The first night I almost went insane. I don't know why, I'm the one usually with the kids. Greg went to Utah to bring home the "Hondo" as Brynn calls it; Aunt Lo's car that is helping in our efforts to reduce costs in our household. I think Hondo will have to be its new name. Sorry Ivy, you're a man's car now!
I just have to say how great it is to live near family, especially the grandparents! Especially grandparents who really like to spend time with the grandkids! Having Greg gone wasn't so bad since we spent half the time hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa. We didn't have to be home and they bought us food. I love that my kids get to spend so much time with them. Maybe we take advantage of them at times, but they love it! They say no when they want to.

The Girls

We're lucky to have four beautiful girls! It's amazing how different each one is in looks and personality!

Camden - 7 years old

She loves to dance, sing, read and ask questions. She is definitely our "sensitive" one. She's the one who looks the most like Daddy.

Brynn - 4 1/2 years old

She loves to sing and dance and play with boy stuff, whether it's the boy version or actual toys for boys! She's our "independent" one. She's the one who looks most like Mommy.

Ashlen - 2 1/2 years old

She loves to do whatever any of her sisters are doing - sing, dance, gymnastics, make a mess... She is the most stubborn one. She looks the most like a mix of Camden and Brynn.Dacey - 3 months old

She loves to eat, sleep, swing, lay, and smile. She is our "easy-going" one at the moment. They all were at this age. She doesn't really look like any of the rest of us! Maybe she's the true Hollingshead?