Ellie's Birth Story

 First I'll tell about the pregnancy. It was by far the hardest one yet. Hormonal wise, sick, wise, and painful. The 1st trimester was horrible. I could hardly keep my eyes open, I needed multiple naps a day. On top of that I was depressed (for no reason, just hormone change, I didn't want to be because I was super excited, I was just sad and couldn't control it.) and so so so sick. I only threw up maybe 2 times-but the nausea never went away. Food gave me the worst after taste. I hated eating because the taste would never leave my mouth, I kept mint tums and mints by the side of my bed because it bothers me mostly as night. Unlike my other pregnancy I craved more salty food, and lots of meat. I ate a bunch of steak and hamburgers-which I rarely eat not pregnant. I loved fast food and ate it all the time-including lots of fried food, which I don't normally eat either. I was happy to eat pizza a couple times a week-which is super strange as well, because I am pretty much good just to have pizza once a month. In the first trimester I always wanted brisket. Rudy's, Spring Creek, Hutchins-any BBQ really. One night I was so so sick and so hungry because I had been to sick to eat all day, so Ty went out and got me some brisket and I felt much better. My skin was amazing, and all the way through it was still good, the best it has ever been- with the boys i broke out first trimester. In the 1st trimester I started to developed varicose veins on the back sides of my legs from ankle to above the knew. I never knew how painful those were. I could not stand long, needed lots of breaks (well if I had to I could) and it felt best to have them propped up, so at night when I could finally relax I would lay on the couch and prop my legs up on the ottoman. Tyler massaged them many times for me-which helps too. The pain did minimize during the 3rd trimester.

We decided not to find out if it was a boy or girl. We figured it was probably another boy, which we were VERY happy about but knew no one else would be, so we thought it would be more exciting to wait. If it had been a boy and we found out earlier-we would have never heard the end of it, and no one would be near as excited at the hospital! And they were all super excited come D-day!

Second Trimester. The sickness didn't leave till about 17 weeks in. After that it was still there but so so so much better and tolerable. The second trimester is where I really ate. I loved fast food the most (with the boys I hated fast food), all the good hearty stuff. I liked sweets, but they did make me a little sick which was totally opposite from the boys. My veins were still hurting and more now that there was more weight on them. I started feeling baby move around 16 weeks-but just barely. All my doctor appointments went smoothly. The sadness went completely away which was a huge relief. Braxton hicks contractions started about 18th week I think-which is an improvement from the boys where I started having them at 16 weeks. My energy levels went up and I was feeling good again, for the most part from about 22 weeks to maybe about 28 weeks. 

Third Trimester. It was rough as it always is. I could no longer sleep at night, even if I got comfortable I just couldn't fall asleep, left me to be so tired all day long. The pains in my stomach and upper abdomen started. Bladder pains started hurting more and more when I went pee. BH contractions were more often and they really did hurt, I think they hurt because of the scar tissue from the last babies. I had intense gallbladder pain constantly but mainly just after I ate greasy, fried food-so I had to quit eat all the crap I had been eating, which helped till the end when it was just constant pain.That pain was so bad, it bothered me more than any of the baby pains, but because I was so far into the pregnancy there was nothing they could do. I was so swollen. My feet were huge and hurt and my hands were swollen too-my calves were huggge-I couldn't even wear my knee high boots anymore.  My legs still hurt, my upper right side was killing me-which is the same place it has hurt with all the babies-right by the rib cage. Sitting was almost unbearable, driving hurt-pretty much everything hurt. I had so many internal pains that I can not describe. But through it all it was fine and I was happy and excited for the baby-but OK to wait till the end! All in all,  I would still say the 1st trimester was the absolute worst.

Delivery day! January 31st. Rewind to the weekend before. I'm pretty sure I was in labor. I had contractions every 2 minutes for most of the day on Friday night and Saturday. Every contraction hurt so bad-BUT not in the normal way a contraction hurts-I literally felt like my insides were going to pop-but I had hardly in pressure below. I decided to wait it out I was only 37 weeks. The next week I was still in so much pain. I had a doctor appointment that Thursday, they checked me and I was just a 1-which is typical for me I don't usually dilate and I think my cervix was 50% effaced. I went home and after that appointment- Friday the contractions started back up (well they never stopped, but just more frequent). Saturday we did lots of fun family things knowing it was pretty close to our last outings as a family of 5. I debated whether or not to go in Saturday, but decided my contractions were not enough, so I waited (like I always do). Sunday we finally decided to go and get checked out. We packed our bags, cleaned the house, and all headed to the hospital with high hopes but with a little fear that we would get sent home. We got checked in, got my gown on and started the whole question/paper process as they hooked up the belly machine to monitor the contractions. They were about every 3-4 minutes, ya! And as they pumped fluids through the IV, they only got stronger and harder and more frequent. At first the nurses were pretty sure I was going to get sent home because I was still only about a 2. They figured the doctor would just want to wait till I was more in labor. After the doctor called them back they came in and said, "You are having a baby today!" The doctor did not want me to progress anymore-having already had 3 c-sections it would be to dangerous. We went in about 3 and didn't get back to the OR till about 6:45ish I think. All of our parents were there, Megan and Kyle and G-mom and Pop. They had to wait for hours!!

Finally it was time. I was on the table, numbed up, arms out, sheet up. This was the worst c-section ever for me. The other ones I just could feel a lot of pressure-but they went quick (except Gavin's because he cut my bladder on accident) and I felt good for the most part, for as good as you can feel during a c-section. They had a hard time because of all the scar tissue, then another hard time because my uterus was see through, they could literally see the baby-which meant my uterus was very close to rupturing. That is why I was having so much internal pain with my contractions. They had to be very careful and wise on where they make the cut to ensure it wouldn't just bust. So that took a little longer. During I got so sick, I was seconds away from puking. I could smell my own flesh burning and it was so gross. The CRNA quickly pushed anti nausea meds and I had Tyler put a towel over my nose-it was bad. Because I was in surgery for so long (almost an hour-felt like a life time) they had to push more meds and I just felt weak tired and sick. 

Finally, they get sweet baby out-we had decided before hand that they would show me the baby and no one would say anything till I saw. But as soon as she came out, Tyler was so shocked and excited that he said, "It's a girl!"-to which everyone said, "It is, it is, it's a gir!!". The whole room was so excited. I didn't believe them, I said, "No its not, are y'all joking?" And then by that time they put her up in the air so I could see real quick then took her to begin doing all the new born stuff they do. Turns out she had a knot in the umbilical, and because my uterus was so thin-if I had waited any longer there was a good chance that she wouldn't have made it-or myself for the matter. 

Stitching up took forever as well. At this point I am SO excited, but so completely worn out. The nurse wanted her to have skin time with me and she even had me nurse her right there on the table-it was the most horrible thing. I was sick-my guts were out, I am in a super weird position-I finally told Tyler I was to sick and weak to hold her and felt like I was going to drop her, and he took her, thank goodness. The nurse that helped with the delivery is the same nurse I had several times with Zach and she was my nurse during Zach's delivery too, we love her so much-I give much of the credit to her for the reason that Zach is alive today! 

Finally, after who knows how long I get wheeled to a recovery room-no one was aloud in for 30 minutes I think it was. Which was pure torture for them. I was still so sick and tired, but better. Tyler was able to go see the family and update them on me and the baby and reveal what the baby was. We decided to prank them and he told them it was another boy. They all believed him. At this point it is about 9:30-10ish. G-mom and pop needed to go- so the nurse aloud them to come in alone. We told them the truth and they were shocked and surprised and so so so happy. As they left they didn't tell anyone else. Then the nurse finally let everyone else in. They were so sweet-passing the little "boy" around, asking what we were going to name him-that's when Tyler said, "well probably something girly." To which everyone either laughed or were confused and said something like , " a girl name? no!" And Tyler said , "Yeah a girl name because it's a girl!" They didn't believe us at all. I think they all literally went into a moment of shock, hahaha. It was the best moment! Beth undid her diaper to check and show everyone else (sorry Ellie). They were all so excited, the boys were over the moon (and super duper tired too). Soon after everyone left. I got wheeled to a room and Ellie was crying. She pretty much cried ever since she came out and at this point it was non-stop. The hospital doesn't give passies out so I had to have Tyler run home and get some. And from this point forward miss little Ellie did not stop screaming her head off, by Tuesday with no sleep-I was getting delirious. I had constant visitors (which was really nice that they could hold her-and she did sleep Monday while she was passed around, but then not again), constant cries, sick from pain meds, and in pain. My mom did sleep with me Tuesday night and Ty went home with the boys. She was up all night with me, neither of us could get her to sleep, and she would only stop screaming for very short periods (like no longer than 10 minutes). It was the hardest hospital time, but the food was fantastic. The hospital didn't have a nursery, but I had to have the nurses take her a couple of times so I could shower or eat in the moments I was alone. We came home and wonderful friends and family took care of us-the first few weeks the visitors were still non-stop (which was so nice and made me feel very very loved, but I was getting pretty tired, bc I tried to keep the house clean incase someone came over) . I had dinners brought to me for 2 weeks!! It was amazing, and I am forever grateful to all those the sacrificed there time to help us, and to my sweet neighbor who set it all up for me. 

So that about wraps it up! We are so glad Ellie joined our family and love her so much, her brothers adore her like no one else. Ellie you are the light of all of our lives and we love you more than you will even know!

Ellie Jane Foust is Born!

Ellie was born January 31, 2016 at 7:34 PM 

Weighing in at 6lbs 14oz and 19 inches long
And a cute little head at 13inches. 

Dad and Ellie together at last

Ellie Jane Foust

Tyler's Progress

Tyler has been working in the ICU for over 3 years now, almost 4. He started out at TMC in Dennison and is now at Baylor in Mckinney and has been there for a bout 2 years. He works night shifts and it is very hard on his body to have to go back and forth like that. He is exhausted from it all and ready for a change. He studies for test on his days off and will be taking his GRE very soon. When he gets those results back he will start applying to CRNA schools.

He doesn't love what he does and it is only a stepping stone to get to where he wants to be, but regardless he is an amazing nurse. He knows what he is doing and he is really spectacular at it. From saving your life to making you or the patients family laugh, he has got it all. He really is great at it and it is no easy job, mentally or phsyically!

He is always actively involved in our youtube channel from thinking of pranks to pull on me or the kids to making sure we are getting views, because that extra income really helps us stay afloat.

He loves to play and wrestle with the boys whenever he has extra time and energy-which we both wish was more of.

He is so patient with me especially as I am pregnant and never feeling well. He is always taking great care of me and will drop everything for me!

He loves wood work and wood spend so much more time in the garage creating things if he had more time and money to do so. Hopefully in the future he will be able to pursue that a little more!

He is tired and worn out and wishes his school life was over with, but it is only beggging!

He is a great daddy, hubby and caregiver and we are so greatful to have him in our lives!!

Gavin at 3 1/2

Gavin is a spunky little spitfire! Oh how I love that kid so so much! We spend everyday together running errands, doing chores and playing. We love our alone time together and he is a pretty easy going guy. He doesn't throw fits and if he does they a small, manageable and quick to get over-only when he is tired or sick. He learns and picks up every good and bad thing from his brothers, which I don't love but is just enevitable at this point. He is my best eater by far, he eats more than both boys weighing in at 38.4 lbs just 3-4 lbs below BOTH of his older brothers.

His favorite food right now is hamburgers.
His favorite candy bar is a kit kat and everytime we go to the grocery store he gets one for being the best little shopper.
His favorite show right now is Odd squad-but he pretty much watches anything the boys do.
He said he wants to be a police when he grows up-but that changes by the hour, he is actaully kind of scared of police. oops.

He loves to dance and sing at the top of his lungs but often gets mad if you sing with him if you were not invited to. He likes the music loud in the car and he knows which songs he likes and doesn't.

He still loves to play outside with his sand table and loves to ziggle in the front. He loves the trampoline and can even do a flip in the air which is terrifying but kinda of awesome! He is sporty and lazy all together! He can play hard and rest hard. He is very good at following directions and listening, very few times do I have to raise my voice to get his attention. He is helpful in that he doesn't forget what he is doing for you and doesn't have a problem helping out.

He is full of giggles and loves to laugh and have a good time. He really doesn't get mad easily and is pretty good and self entertaining when he needs too. He doesn't get in trouble much but when he does he is good at sitting against the wall (with a pouty face) for time out. He is quick to forgive and usually pretty good at saying sorry but still caught some of mine and Tyler's stubborn bone and at times does not want to. He has learned WAY to quick and early the art of lying from his lovely brothers. He pretty much blames everything on Connor even if Connor isn't home!

He has no interest in being potty trained. He likes to pee in the back yard and has weeks where he will poop in the toilet then goes back to be lazy and doing it all in his pants, so we are still in diapers! I am sure by the time baby gets here we will have it under control, but until he is ready I have no desire to make this a long hard drawn out process!

He still loves to pretend to be a kitty and always ask premission. "Mom can I be kitty?" Kitty is super sweet and cuddly and loves to give super wet kitty kisses (licks). So we welcome kitty a lot.

He loves playing with nerf guns or any pretend guns. He loves running around pretend shooting us or Zombies. He especially loves it now that he is strong enough to caulk back the nerf guns so now he does that all the time!

He doesn't like to leave the house with out his orange ball cap, his white skeleton sun glasses, and my old flip phone which is now his. Anytime we go somewhere, he needs those three things!

He is a super great shopper and goes with me everywhere! I don't have any problems shopping with him, but because he is so good-stays with me if not in a cart or stroller, I usually spoil him too much and by him one thing. Either a small cheap toy, gum, or candy bar! It's to hard not too when he is such a good little helper!

While he can talk just fine he is probably are worst slowest talker yet! He is very lazy with his words. Like he sometimes just does not want to take the time to anunciate every vowel and sylable. He can't say V's or F's or J's or S's so he can't even say his own name! He says "Gayen" to which every person looks at me like, "what?".

He is really good with friends and just really started taking a liking to friends. He gets along with everyone really well and is great at sharing. His realm of understanding for his age is really pretty good.

He doesn't know Abc's or how to count past 3 (1,2,3,6,8,10-thats how he likes to count!) but we just started a joy school with 3 other moms so we will see if that helps him! He knows his colors and shapes-and still gets confused but a few of them.

He has always been a fantastic sleeper (besides the horrible nights of vomit and bloody noses which are both pretty much over with, we have his nose coteraized and that solved that problem!). Up until recent when he got an awful cold than turned into bronchitus. We were up doing breathing treatments, on 3 different medicines and he was MISERABLE. It was a bad couple of nights and it ruined him! Since then (about a month ago) he has been coming to our bed everynight and been wanting to go to bed in our bed every night! It has been wearing me out for sure. We put out queen bed in his room, got rid of his crib about 2 months ago. He didn't like the new big bed so we put the pack in play up too and he liked that just fine. We also, now how the toddler bed at the foot of our bed in our room, bc Brandon has been with us for a week and staying in Gavin's room. Gavin likes his toddler bed, but still would come in our bed during the night. Well I finally broke him of sleeping in my bed this last week. He loves to sleep in the top bunk bed alone, he will go to sleep no problem and stay alseep till 5 or 7 on a good day! Last night he slept in his big bed in his room all night, so I think we are seeing some good progress, we just have to leave his door open and the hall light on because he is now scared of the dark (probably learned from Connor! he used you always sleep in pitch black with no problem). He still, pretty much ever since summer, does not go straight to bed at night anymore-which is so hard. He used to go straight to bed at 630 or 7 with his milk no problem. Now he drinks his milk and gets up and is ready to party! If he naps during the day (which he will if I run any errands he falls asleep in the car everytime) then usually he will not be in bed before 10. If he doesn't nap-he gets pretty cranky between 3-6 then catches a second wind and still doesn't go to sleep before 9! So it's really a lose lose, but it isn't horrible-bc he is always happy and pretty easy. I just put a show on in my room for him usually. Playing or reading books to him actaully gets him wound up too much.

He is starting to have more fears, but like I said, they are from his brothers. He is scared of ghost and zombies and snakes and talks about them often.

He really wants to be a big boy and sit in a booster in the car like his brothers-but is pretty understanding when I tell him he can't.

He sometimes likes to give me a real pouty face and some attitude but it is pretty cute and funny more than anything. And even then super easy to make him laugh and get over what ever he is mad about!

He loves his Zach and wants to be with him a lot but is still independent too. He loves Connor a ton too but they have a harder time getting along (mainly bc of Connor, not Gavin).

He has moments of frustration when he cant get something to work. He goes a little crazy and will throw whatever it is that is ticking him off. That is probably the biggest thing we are working on with him. He doesn't like to wear shoes and rarely does (hardly any shoes fit his fat feet anyway) but he does love his boots. He has a lot to say and it is all pretty funny. He makes hilarious facial expressions all the time and always keeps us laughing. He likes to say things and then say "just kidding!!" even when he gets hurt and cries for a minute he will start smiling and say, "im just keeding!!".

He makes all of us smile and laugh on a daily basis and we couldn't live without him! He is sweet and loving and has his very own personality! He for sure thinks me and him will be married one day so I am a little worried about his jealousy when the baby comes, but he will be almost 4 by then and even right now he is pretty happy about a baby! Only time will tell! We love our super awesome, funny, loving Gavin!

Zach Turned 8!

Zach turned 8 in March and had his baptism a few weeks later. Connor Stayed up late the night before decorating for Zach's birthday-making sure it was extra special. The thought of someone waking up to no decorations on their birthday is just devastating to Connor-so he stayed up late and made sure it was perfect! Super sweet and I know Zach appreciated it. Zach picked a fun candy cake and Connor helped me with that too. He had a pretty easy low key birthday. Woke up opened presents and wanted to play with them for a little while. A little later picked up his friend Blaze to go ice skating and we did that for a couple hours, then of course had to bring his friend back to the house to see his new presents (mostly pokemon) then he just wanted to hang out and play and invite another friend over. We got some pizzas, they had cake and played outside for a couple hours and he enjoyed it all. Later (after spring break was over) we threw him a fun party (he hasn't had one in years). We did a fear factor theme and it was a huge hit-all the boys loved it!

Zach's baptism was filled with so many loved ones with tons of family, friends and his sweet sweet teacher Mrs. Gross. We did it on a Saturday morning and went to spring creek to celebrate with family after. Cade and Grandma gave wonderful talks and Carly and Ashna sang a pretty song for us. It was all so perfect and I know he felt the spirit with his beaming smile! 

He got to start the scout program and is really really enjoying it and I am really happy he likes it so much and is excited to work on it.

Now onto about Zach! Zach's attitude starting getting worse and the months went by. His teacher noticed a difference and he really didn't care to do sports. He feel left out and has a hard time at school-mainly reading. I think his size is playing a big factor in his confidence and personality and it makes me so sad. He gets discouraged easily, gets his feelings hurt easily and has low self esteem. It's hard to see this once very confident leader, become almost shy and stay to himself. He still struggles with falling asleep and throws the worlds biggest tantrums-where he just can not think straight. he is the most defiant child you will ever meet-in every single way possible. We just signed him up for track because we really want him to be involved in something and he is really fast and has endless energy! After being super nervous and having major anxiety about it, he has made great friends and is really enjoying it. He is really good at it too. We have track meetings every Saturday and they are tiring (with the 2 little ones) but lots of fun.

Him and Connor still don't get along great (but Connor is pretty hard to get along with) and he is still the best big brother to Gavin and they are still besties.

Fast forward to now Sept. 20th.

We finally found a doctor and took Zach in to see about ADD and other possible problems. We are still waiting on test results and go back this week for the ADD BUT, he was very concerned about his sleep habits and put him on medicine for that right away (some type of a blood pressure medicine that helps kids fall asleep) and it has been nothing short of a miracle. It's like we have our sweet helpful kind Zach back. It works like a charm and he to is soo happy that he can fall asleep with out a problem. Before he would try for a good 2-3 hours of laying there without falling asleep. Now him and his little mind don't fight it and he is out like a light bulb. It was changed his personality in such a positive way-rather brought back the personality that we knew was hidden deep in him. He is happy, patient, more obedient-hasn't thrown one tantrum (been 3 weeks). If he gets worked up-upset-sad-he is quick to get over it or can calm down and listen to reasoning a lot better. Home work isn't as much of a fight (still a little one-still hates to read with a passion). He is just so polite and really our biggest helper. It is night and day and I can not thank Heavely Father enough for this answer and our struggles with him were really hurting our family and making us all so tired and frustrated. We are just so happy to see his true self back where as before it was just like something came over him and we didn't even know who he is. He is such a great kid with a great heart. He puts up with a lot being the oldest and he deserves so much for all he does. We love our Zach attack through thick and thin-but it sure makes our lifes more happy when he is more happy!

He is not a great eater-he just can't eat much in one sitting and probably snacks too much-we go and check on his growth this Friday.

He is no longer in the Pokémon phase and is ready to sale all his cards!

He still likes to play with toys and has a great imagination-he especially likes to play with toys with out with little brothers bugging him.

He loves movie night and popcorn and LOVES movie dates at the theatre!

He also loves loves game and board games. He loves to play with grandpa whenever he gets the chance.

He loves snakes right now and is constantly wanting to go looking for snakes-like all the time!

He loves to still watch documentaries on snakes and other wildlife and his favorite show at the moment is WildKratts-which is about wildlife!

His good friends are Blaze Boren, Jaxen Mccuistion, and Rigley Dababaneh and a couple friends from school Kyle ?? and Jake Brown.

He still loves to play outside whether it looking for/catching bugs or riding bikes or playing dodgeball with all the neighborhood kids.

He is going to be such a great help when baby number 4 comes in February. He is very excited, as he loves babies, and always has. He is excited to help me out and I am excited to have a good little helper with me!

We are so proud of Zach and what a good little boy he is. He makes good choices and his teachers always love him. We are so happy to have found an answer for his sleep and hope things can only continue to go from here. We love you Zach attack!!!

All About 6 Year old Connor

Connor is a special little dude! Just as cute as can be with his blond shaggy hair!

Connor is in piano and is doing a really great job, doesn't love practicing (but what kid does), but does love to play and accomplish things. He remembers songs he is taught and loves to learn songs that he loves. He does pretty good for his teacher (my really good friend Sonae Bailey who I adore). He really wants to be in a cooking class and always ask if I have signed him up for one yet-but I can't find any affordable ones. Hopefully soon I can. He does really great in school. His teachers love him and he doesn't (or hasn't yet) get in trouble at all. He has problems focusing, but tries hard to be a rule follower.

He has a good heart and loves hard. He likes to hug and take care of little kids. He is tender and sweet and sensitive but at the same time isn't phased when he is in trouble at home. He thinks he wants to play sports but gets tired very easily and often ask me to carry him just on the way home from walks to the park! He has done summer sports camps but gets tired from those too. I will let him try a sport-but haven't felt like it was quiet the right time for him yet.

He has some major anxiety issues and still comes to our room every single night. He thinks sleeping with an adult is absolutely necessary. I think a lot of his issues probably come from never getting a full nights sleep mixed with some ADD issues. We just recently got him to just lay on the floor next to the bed and that has helped me get better sleep at night tremendously. He pees like a race horse (all the dang time) and potty training at night has been a big fail.

He still doesn't know how to tie his shoes or ride a bike, but he doesn't have a bike (hopefully for Christmas!!) and his shoes are velcro. Him and Zach are such opposites its as if everything Zach excels in Connor does not and vise versa! He may not know those things but he can cook and bake and measure and is really pretty great at it!

He is a pretty good reader and doesn't get bugged by homework, he actually kind of likes it (I just have to sit with him or he gets distracted, but he doesn't mind that it may take him all night to do a simple work sheet)!

He is a ticking time bomb and you never know when he is going to go off. He still really struggles with knowing how to react to situations, problems and certain emotions he is having. He will go from 0-100 in no time but will also from 100-0 in no time too. He tends to be violent and throw things at whoever he is mad at if we don't catch him in time and remind him to take a deep breath. Just the other day he thew a toy and Zach's head and busted it up! Lovely. His sorry's are just as empty as they have always been. Sometimes it feels like nothing is processing in his head and that he has no feeling, it is hard to explain.

He can never stay on task and never remembers what he was doing or what he was going to do...ever.
His newest interest in Minecraft! He loves it and it is the ONE AND ONLY thing that can keep his attention. Although, maybe slightly too obsessed and I am really happy for him that he found something he really enjoys-because this is pretty huge for Connor or has really never had an interest in anything. He plays on the ipad and xbox and loves to watch youtube videos of it. We do set limits for him, but it does also help motivate him to be good and do what he needs to get to play.

Like I said above he is really good at school and his teachers adore him. I think he must try so very hard at school, that by the time he is home he just lets it all lose. Typically after school he is wrecking ball. From emotional, to outright rude, to inappropriate and more. It is very hard. He isn't cuddly and doesn't like lovey attention which is hard for me because I really wish I could just hug and kiss on him and tell him how much I love him and help him feel better-but he doesn't like that stuff. He is only a cuddler when he comes in in the middle of the night, other than that he really doesn't like to be touched-he has always kind of been like that since he was a baby!

I couldn't tell you what his favorite food is. He isn't a great eater. Well I guess his favorite food actaully is Ramen! He always begs for Ramen! Goofball. He likes vanilla and strawberry ice cream the best. He isn't a huge chocolate fan. He doesn't love meat. He will eat hamburgers. hot dogs and chicken nuggets sometimes, but other than that he really doesn't eat much meat at all-which makes it hard because we are huge meat eaters! He eats his tacos with just lettuce and cheese!

He absolutely loves surprises and rewards! He still loves and lives for each and every Holiday! He wants every event in life to be bigger than life! He wants every holiday to be decked out including everyone's birthday! He is very thoughtful when he wants to be and often makes sure I am happy with him. "Mom you are happy with me, right?"

He absorbs things really well. He remembers scripture stories like no other and loves to look at the pictures while we read. He loves to bear his testimony on the pulpit in sacrament meeting all by himself and does a really great job everytime. He had a talk in primary a couple of weeks ago and the topic was on Jesus' miracles and when I told him he picked out a story he remember of Jesus calming a storm while they were on the boat in the ocean, he told me it and it was perfect. He went up and gave the whole talk by himself, told the whole story and did a really great job. It just made my heart melt.

Connor sure makes us happy and we love him so much and the boy he is becoming. I already miss his being little and sucking on his little passy! If he keeps his confidence and he will probably become a great teacher one day. He really still wants to grow up to be a police officer! Everytime we see a cop he makes sure to ask for a sticker!

Foust Baby # 4

We found out in June that Foust baby #4 is on it's way! We are so excited for this addition to our family! Here is how the pregnancy has been thus far...

The first 3 months were nothing short of awful. From intense naseau, horrible depression, stomach aches extreme fatigue and no appetite nor motivation it was a rough 3 months-which means a horrible summer for the kids. I feel awful bc I was so hard to just function day to day. I still managed to take them swimming as much as they wanted but pretty much anything else was a no go. I was so so sick. I only threw up a couple times but wish it were more because the naseau was just numbing. I couldn't ever eat. I had horrible after taste after EVERYTHING and for hours if I didn't pop in some gum or brush my teeth. Every once in a blue moon I could crave one thing-like brisket-and that would be the only thing I could eat. From cereal to sandwhiches, chicken to even drinking water-it all made me dog sick. The only thing I wanted to eat, or could eat was CANDY. Sugary candy...not even chocolate bars just the sugary stuff like sweet hearts and life savors, sour worms-anything like that. I made a couple gas station runs just to make sure I had a stock of candy for me! I could do chocolate sometimes but the sugary stuff was my safer option. I finally around 12 weeks or so decided to stop taking my prenatals, that did help alot-not all the way, but def. helped.

The tiredness was insane (and at 20 weeks isn't too much better unfortunately). I mean just heavy eye lids all the time-just down right hard to live life and get out of bed and take care of my other 3 precious babies. My depression is hard to even speak of. It was almost as if another person was in my head. I knew the thoughts were not mine-I knew they were not true. I tried and tried to push them out, I tried to force myself to happyness, I prayed and prayed. I was never once mad at the baby-always so so happy about that-but just did not like myself and life was too hard (just a brain disconnect of course). At some point of not being able to function in longer (maybe 10-11 week along) I finally told the doctor I couldn't do it any longer, I needed the awful voices in my head gone, I wanted so badly to be a good mommy and wife again and it just wasn't going to happen on my head. He put me on Zolft, awe the feeling of having some relief was so great until I took them. I had a horrible reaction-I was EVEN more tired-couldn't get out of bed-could not eat anything and was puking!! It made me MORE sick! ugh! So frustrating. I thought maybe it was just a bad day so I tried the medicine again about a week later with the same result so of course I had to stop taking them. By this time I was around 12 weeks and decided to wait it out and hope the 2nd trimester would just make most the problems go away, and for the most part they did-but not until about 16 weeks. I had one really great week of really feeling alive and awake and well again-but soon after the tiredness and sickness struck me again but the depression was gone and that was a huge relief.

Probably just about a week ago (19 weeks) I stopped feeling pregnancy sick and gained an appetite finally (I hadn't had one at all until this point, and had only gained 8lbs). Funny thing is that is about the time I got strep and an awful awful cold that I still am suffereing from. It is making me so tired but it is nice to have an appetite and actually want to eat! My sugar cravings are pretty much gone and I am back to loving my chocolate!

Also, at my 18 week sono the baby looked perfect and healthy doing lots of flips! He/She measured 1 week and 1 day bigger which is always awesome to hear, putting my due date at Feb 10, 2016!

Some different things with this pregnancy is I never got bad acne the first trimester like I did with the other 3 and I got varicose veins and super sore legs around 14 weeks-and I have never had that. Right when I wake up in the mornng my legs feel as if I ran a marathon all night-they are sore all day and throbbing by the evening. It's hard to not want to sit all day long and put my legs up to releive some of the pain-and sometimes I just have to. Tyler has been so wonderful as massagine my legs and that has been a HUGE help. I went through about 2 weeks of just awful leg pain (its all concentrated in the back of my knees and runs down my ankles and up to my bum, completely different pain than sciatica, this is a sore pain that makes it hard to straighten out my legs.) I just have one bad busted varicose vein behind my left knee-which hurts the most...but both legs hurt. Now that Tyler massages them about twice a week they really are manageable and feel much better! He is the best care taker ever!!

I feel pretty small for the most part-but I don't remember how big I was with the boys at this stage-I'll have to compare pictures.

All the boys are very excited even Gavin who I was most worried about, since he thinks he is my boyfriend and we are best friends. They ask and talk about the baby often and are all helping think of names! We aren't finding out the gender and I am super excited to be surprised! I am really not sure if it is a boy or girl-but am truely excited for either-just want a healthy baby! Tyler really wants a girl and I think the boy aren't really sure, I think Zach wants a girl as well. Zach still lovessss babies and is super excited and is going to be my best little helper, I am soo excited for that!


Here is the video of us telling the boys they were going to be big brothers again! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdmQxDNce3g

Our Gaver-doodle-doo

Gavin will be 3 in just a little over a month! Crazy to think about. He is still our baby though and we will probably call him our baby until we have another baby! He is very funny just like the other 2 at this stage. He says phrases that typical 2 year olds wouldn't say. He knows how to tease you and loves to do it-he is good at keeping a straight face and then saying "I just kidding, I just kidding." It is really cute and funny. He says phrases like, "what the heck?" "oh my gosh" "oh crap"-totally horrible phrases that we are all working on NOT saying-but pretty darn funny coming out of his mouth with his expressions.

If you answer to him when he wasn't talking to you he will be sure to let you know. "I wasn't talking to you dad, I talking to mom!!" In a pretty irritated tone. He has no problem telling people to stop or be quite-he is a little parrot to a T. Also, a little "parent." At times at the dinner table he will say, "eat yo food Connor!" haha He definitely rules our house, and we all have a hard time not laughing.

He is not in a good eating stage. Picky and just doesn't eat much-not sure if there is a reason-or if it is just a stage-either way-it is annoying.  He LOVES brownies and could eat a full 8x8 pan all by himself in a day no problem. He likes pizza and hot dogs, noodles and bananas and goldfish. He is also my only child that will eat a sand which-well at least at this age. He likes Pbjs and turkey sandwiches. It is a life savor. Of course his most favorite of all is still his chocolate milk. Can't wait to break that habit! His throwing up has calmed WAY down. I think he has figured out how to control it a little better himself. We are down to about once a month-if that-so we have come a LONG way and are so so so so grateful. We were soooo tired of cleaning up throw up everywhere alll the time. Our newest problem is horrible horrible bloody noses. during the day, at the store and in the middle of the night. He has come to me just balling covered and I mean covered in blood in the middle of the night. During the day it kind of starts and stops on and off. It is really annoying, Another problem that I am not sure if something is wrong or it he just has a real dry nose up there? We will see how many he has this week then decide if we should go to the doctor. This last week he had 4 bad ones-all at exactly 11pm! Very weird. Now when his nose is running he will run to me and say, "oh no! Is my nose bweeding????" So sad.

He is my first child to not really care about babies or children younger than him. Both Zach and Connor were always in awe of younger children/babies and would just cuddle/love/and take care of them best they could. Gavin on the other hand is rather annoyed by them. He has figured out how to tolerate them and ignore them, but by no means loves them. He is good with other children. He plays pretty well and besides normal kid problems he isn't mean and doesn't hurt anyone (yet). If someone takes something from them he typically just has his feelings hurts and just starts balling-which I prefer over him trying to hurt them or grab it back.

He doesn't have much patience for himself trying to figure things out. He gets angry quickly but usually can be calmed down pretty quickly too. he has throw a couple tantrums but nothing long or crazy. He wants to sit in a big boy seat in the car like the boys SO bad-so he hates sitting in his car seat and usually puts up a small fight each time. Once he is buckled and we are on the road he is already fine-unlike Zach who would continue to throw a fit at that age. He is good at the store-runs aways from me sometimes-but is pretty good at staying with me if he isn't in his stroller or a cart. He is a good shopper buddy, pretty patient with me as we go store to store. It is hard to do much with him during the day because he ALWAYS falls asleep in the car no matter what time of day it is! I try to bring my ipad and let him play games bc that will help him stay away-but even then-sometimes that doesn't work. I haven't spent many hours shopping with him sleeping on one shoulder while I am pushing the cart with the other arm and let me tell you-it is HARD. He is 30 something pounds of dead weight with only one are holding him while trying to shop and steer a cart with the other-it is no walk in the park-but I like to try to look at it like a good work out!

He still has crazy good balance-more of a dare devil than Connor probably ever will be. Likes to do the hardest obstacles at the park all by him self and give the other mothers heart attacks-but he is good at them and has yet to fall. Last summer he loved the water and even at the end of the summer he figured out how to hold his breath and go under the water. Probably doesn't have enough fear of the water-so this summer I will have to keep a close eye. He is super fast on his ziggle, can scooter and do his tricycle.  Loves to jump and climb and go to open gym. It really is a miracle he hasn't had an accident of some sort! He hates his shoes and socks- I can't keep them on him for the life of me- even when it si 20 degrees outside and we are running errands those shoes and socks will not stay on!

He is obsessed and addicted to gaming and I hate it. It just happened after Christmas break. He loves x-box-computer and ipad. He loves to play Sky Landers, Infiniti, angry Birds and Friv. He is pretty good at them but still gets frustrated when he can't figure something out. I don't like his addiction and don't know how I am going to break it. Maybe cross my fingers and hope its a stage and he will get over it? He loves to be chased, to be tickled to play with fake guns and shoot you. He is a little actor and can change into a ghost, monster, zombie, puppy or kitty at any given time. He understands pretend and make believe and is just so good at acting for a 2 year old it is stunning, cute and hilarious, He still loves to fake throwing up or gagging to see our reactions-and he gets good reactions for us every time because it sounds so real! Funny boy!

He doesn't hate people like he used to and it is so nice. He absolutely loves and adores Tyler and Grandma-2 people he really didn't like a year ago. Him and daddy are buddies and it has made things so much easier for me. He still at times prefers me, but for the most part doesn't care which is a huge turn around! He is friendly to people now and doesn't think every person is going to tackle him or take his toys like his brothers! He wants more than anything in the world to sleep with his big brothers. I have let him try a couple of times but he just loves to play in the sheets and keep them up. Maybe another 6 months or year and he will be ready. He loves Zach so so much and misses him when he is at school. Zach is a good big brother to him but at times does get annoyed with him when he messes up his games or toys or whatever it maybe. He loves Connor too of course-but Connor annoys the crap out of him so they aren't as close. Connor loves him to death and loves when Gavin gives him attention or hugs or kisses or cuddles.

He seems a little bit closer to being potty trained but nothing yet. I have caught him using the toilet by himself maybe 2 times-but he just likes to do it on his own agenda. The minute I try or push it-he has no interest. I am waiting a little longer when he is really ready so it is an easy transition and not months of accidents! He isn't going to be in diapers forever so I am in no hurry.

We love Gavin and can't believe we don't really have a baby anymore. He still looks like a baby to us.  He has the funniest personality a mix of baby and adult. Tyler and I have so much fun with him during the week while the boys are in school. He is easy to take out to eat and fun to be wiith. He is a good combination of needy and independent. He is a sweet heart-he likes to cuddle-he likes to sleep with us (although we don't let him, but occasional he comes in in the middle of the night to sleep with us-and I can't say no to that!) He hugs and kisses and likes to be held-honestly we probably hold him to much (like when we are out places, he gets distracted-easier to hold him). He is actually really good at following a direction and doesn't seem to be as ADD as the other boys so far! We love him so much!

Our Creative Connor

Connor is so unpredictable. You never know what he is going to say or do or how he may react to things. His mind is so different. So complex-but in other ways so simple. We love Connors unique personality and trying to figure his interesting little brain out!

Connor is doing great in school. Honestly we weren't quite sure how well or not he would do. He is one of the youngest ones in there. He turned 5 in August and the cut off is the last day of August so he is definitley a younger one in his grade. He doesn't have to try as hard as Zach. They teach it, he practices it once or twice and then he's got it down. He doesn't hate reading, but he does have a hard time focusing-but nothing like Zach. Also, he likes to joke around as he reads and say things that it doesn't really say to be funny-which makes it last so much longer than it has to! Once you tell him to quit and just read he can fly through all of his books from his book bags. He loves words, he loves spelling, he loves trying to figure out new words. He constantly looks at lables, signs,tags-anything and everything that has a word on it-he either sounds it out and figures it out himself or spells it for us and ask us what it says. Usually he will remember that word after that. He is right where he should be in school. He learns really good by songs. He is constantly singing songs from school. He knows his Months in order and how to spell each one. He remembers every song they sing word for word and you can tell they are often stuck in his head because he will just start singing without realizing. He also loves his music teacher Mrs. Fortner-she is very sweet-everyone loves her. Connor doesn't want to break any rules at school. He is a very strict rule follower and doesn't like when others break the rules. He tells us about those ones-although he does think it is pretty funny when they do something funny and he is ok with that because he isn't the one to get in trouble. His teacher is Mrs. Jones, she is so cute and super sweet. She has twins in kinder as well. All through our Christmas break the only friend Connor wanted to have over was Mrs. Jones.

Connors biggest interest right now is art. He calls himself an artist. He makes you messes all over the table with markers, crayons, papers and what not and tells us that artist are just dirty. He has never been much of a toy player and always has just tagged along side of others but now that he colors and draws that can keep his attention for hours.

Connor doesn't like to see other people get in trouble-especially at his expense. If Zach does something mean to him and we put Zach in time out 95% of the time Connor will beg us to not put him in time out and tell us that "it's ok." He does the same with Gavin. Gavin can be a bully. He likes to pinch and bite and throw things at the boys-Connor doesn't like it when we discipline him or even say "no" sternly to him because "he is just a baby mom! you have to be nice!" He has a big heart although at times he makes bad snap decisions. He has still has a hard time understanding accidents (like if someone were to accidently bump into him he would should the person was for sure just pushing him). He does not like when people talk mean or stern. It hurts his feelings very bad and makes him sad/ defensive immediately. He will be the first one to tell you are are talking mean to talk to nicer.

Connor wants to play basketball very bad. He is not sporty at all and has little to no endurance. He tires quickly-but he insist he wants to play, so hopefully we can sign him up this year and let him try it out and get it out of his system. Who knows, maybe he will surprise us. He loves his ziggle still. He isn't into bikes or scooter or skateboards. Most the time when we are playing out front with all the neighbors he is usually just walking around doing this own thing, talking to the adults or just fididling around. Sometimes he even just stays inside and does his own thing.

Connor is at the age where everything that comes out of his mouth is usually hilarious. His prayers are long-cute and pretty funny most the time. He insist on saying almost every prayer. He has decided this year that Santa is probably Heavenly Father. Instead of saying believe in he says "know in," for example he will say "I know I Heavenly Father so I know in Santa!"

Connor loves to give things to people. Any sort of gift or card-or anything. He loves to see how happy it makes people to give them something and is always looking for things to be able to give to others. If he finds something of mine that I may have left out (earings or whatever) he will pick them up and say, "mom I got these for you!" Usually he will add. "all by myself" haha. In return, Connor has loves to receive things. There isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't ask both Tyler and I if we have a surprise for him. Even the day after Christmas! Anytime ANY guest come over, whether it be a hair client or a grandparent the first thing he ask is if they have a surprise for him. He LOVES his surprises.

Connor is super independent in the way of getting and doing things for himself. He always wants to do things that he is way to little to do and sometimes that causes a problem or he has to learn his lesson the hard way. He really wanted to open a new package of knifes I got and slit his finger. He likes to poor things that are too heavy-make his own food and heat it up in the microwave and other random things like that. The good thing about Connor is that he DOES learn from his lessons most of the time. He is a good but interesting memory. He remembers exact things that people said or did from over a year ago-but he has no short term memory. On his way to use the bathroom he forgets what he is doing. He is a horrible cleaner (pick up toys), it is always "too hard" BUT recently he has gotten surprisingly better AND does it the first time we ask, which is huge bc no one in our family knows how to do that it seems. He loves people to be proud of him and he loves seeing others happy. He loves to clean anything that includs spraying cleaner-but sprays way to much every single time.

Connor still has some major anxieties. They are triggered by random things at random times. He insist on sleeping with us EVERY night. He goes to sleep in his own bed (as long as we are in there with him) but always comes to a room usually by 1 or 2 in the morning. We can't move him back because he wakes and freaks out and he will not sleep on the floor in our room either-it has to be in our bed right next to us. He has very vivid nightmares and to him they are very real and it is sad to see him so scared. He still falls asleep usually with in minutes and is pretty easy at bed time unless Zach is stirring him up. He appreciates his sleeps and doesn't fight it. He just has a hard time staying asleep or in a deep sleep in the middle of the night.

He doesn't have any close friends but would love to be invited over to someones house. He is sad that Zach gets to go to friends but he doesn't. The neighbors have him over occasionally and that just makes his week. He has a cute little friend named Lauren that goes to church with us and just lives a couple streets in front of us. He is very good with names and tells us all about the kids in his school class. He tends to be better friends with the girls than the boys-or at least he tells us more about the girls than the boys!

By the end of this last Summer Connor was very very brave in the water and was super close to swimming. He can hold his breath underwater and stay under for several minutes. He taught himself how to swim and could a little bit-but just in the places he could reach. He still has anxiety with water but is 100 times more comfortable with it and has learned his boundaries. Bath time is much easier now because he doesn't mind getting his head wet which is huge. In the beginning of 2014 water on his head was unspeakable! You can tell he is very proud of himself.

Connor is still very asymptomatic when it comes to sickness. This last November he has has phnemonia and strep for 2 weeks before we realized. He doesn't complain or whine. One day he had 104.6 fever and said he felt "good" as he was laying on the couch looking just miserable. He is an easy sick kid to take care of and we love the extra snuggles since he is our least snugly child.

We love Connor so much. He is growing and learning and changing everyday and we are sad to see him growing up and not being our baby anymore.

Our little Zach Attack

Zach may be little but he packs a lot of punch! He turns 8 in just a little over 2 months and we are so excited for him.

Zach is doing great in 2nd grade. His teacher is Mrs. Gross, she is an older teacher and is just great for him. At first she seemed a little intimidating, not quite as friendly, warm and outgoing as his 1st grade teacher Mrs. Feagin, but she is very sweet and great for Zach. I have been making sure he does his 20 minutes of reading every night and it has really helped. Zach has the hardest time falling asleep at night. He can't calm down his brain or body. After Connor and Gavin fall asleep I have been letting him read. He started really liking Captain Underwear Pants which was great because it made him start to actually like to read and it wasn't so much of a chore anymore! Sometimes he would read for 30+ minutes without knowing, so I was so proud and happy for him. A few weeks late I got a note from his teacher that he had jumped up not one but TWO reading levels, and for Zach that is huge. I was proud, his teacher was thrilled and Zach was so proud of himself! Since he has finished the book I have had a hard time getting him interested in another book and over Christmas break he hasn't wanted to read at all. Hopefully I can find a book for him to really enjoy and he can continue to excel in reading! He is doing great in math as well. He doe.s very well in school-never gets in trouble and his teachers seem to love him. He doesn't want to disappoint his teachers and does want to do well.

He finally actually has an opinion about his looks now. He no longer wants his hair shaved-Ive always liked it either way and always let it be his choice. The rule was either shaved or he has to let me style it everyday if he grows it out. In the past, as much as he HATES haircuts he just wanted it shaved so we didn't ever have to fix it. Well this year, he has decided it is worth having to get it fixed everyday. He thinks he looks "bald" when we shave it and the last time we did he was embarrassed to go to school, he thought people would think he looked funny. I felt bad for him, but he is pretty confident and was fine by the next day. His hair grows fast anyway. It looks cute long and styled-but is so dark I could cry! : (.  He hates jeans and always prefers to wear sport pants and sweats every chance he gets. He loves t-shirts and hates button ups. He has a plethora of shoes but will ONLY wear his blue and orange tennis shoes they are just about to small. He says he can run fastest in those. He doesn't complain when I dress him for school, and I let him wear "comfy" pants to school once a week. As soon as he gets home he usually changes into comfortable shorts or pants or PJS. He would live in Pjs if I let him.

Zach is obsessed with money. He wants to sale things all the time. He is always trying to find things to sale and is always asking who he can sale things too. He is a saver. He loves to save his money and has a hard time spending it even if he really wants something. We are trying to teach him a good work ethis and how to work hard to earn money-but it isn't an easy thing to learn-or for me to teach anyway-but I hope that eventually it will be ingrained in him.

Zach is still the same boy-loves the outdoors, loves bike riding, scootering, skate boarding with dad and really would like some roller blades to try to learn how to do those next. He always wants to play outside but usually only in the front. I definitely miss the days that he would play in the back yard for hours on end-but i am afraid those are in the past. He still loves animals and bugs. He got an awesome aunt farm for Christmas and loves it. He loves reading and learning all about animals and insects and anything living! He still would love to watch a documentary on animals over watching cartoons. He also still loves to collect things.I find rocks all over the house and in the carpet all the time. He loves fossils on rocks. He loves shells and clams and crystals. He still loves his shark teeth he got 2 years ago and takes them out of his shadow box and they are not fun to find by stepping on them! Booger!

Zach's newest interest is Pokemon. Pokemon has gotten really big. They have trading cards and a boy on the boys would give his cards to Zach and some of the other cards. Zach loved it. He decided to spend some of his money to get more cards and asked for 1000 cards for Christmas. He said that that is the #1 thing that he wanted for Christmas. He now has over 300 cards and a lime green binder they are organized it. He likes to take them to friends houses and tries to sneak them to school to trade with friends. They have to sneak it so they don't get caught trading. They used to love to do it on the bus but got a new bus driver that wont let them get them out of their back packs so that bummed them out-but they try to sneak it there too. He has made up all different games with his cards and begs us to play with him often.

Zach is still Zach. He is stubborn, so stubborn. He does everything his way on his time frame. He rarely can follow a direction and if he does it takes a few times to ask him  before he does it. If we say one things he says another. If we do one thing, he does the opposite. He struggles with needing attention. I feel like we give him a fair amount but will strive to give him more this year. he struggles with telling the truth and stealing (from his family members, not stores). He isn't trust worthy right now but will hopefully earn our trust back. He still throws tantrums like no other. When he doesn't get his way he is not a happy camper. We are definitely trying to work on that. Tyler and Zach's relationship is rocky. It's either one extreme or the other with no in between. Zach test the boundaries with everything. He will always do that one thing one more time, every time. We hope to work on lots of these behaviors this year and be able to uncover the sweet good boy he is.

Zach has SO much energy and I don't know that there is anything that wares him out. He is my energizer bunny-he just keeps going and going and going. He didnt want to do soccer this season, but I am hoping to find something sporty he wants to do to sign him up for to try to help get some of that energy out. He is and always has been a super fast runner. He is awesome at monkey bars-he is quite the monkey himself. He really wants to do an obstacle course and I think he could really win or be close-he is really good at those kind of things. We signed him up for one and he was soo excited-counting down the days-only to end up being really sick the day of the race. He was pretty disapointed, but we hope to find another one to sign him up for.

Zach is really a good big brother. He has the hardest job in the house. It is tough to be the oldest. He never gets time to himself. He rarely gets time with us to himself. He can't do so many things he would love to do because his little brothers ruin it or break it (games or whatever it may be). He actually probably has the most patience in teh house and we should give him more credit for that. he builds a tower out of blocks they know it down. he draws a picture they tear it up, he leaves something-anything-out the next minute it's broke. I am trying to teach him responsibility and organizational skills through these times, and hopefully eventually he will be able to remember to take care of his stuff by always putting it away where his brothers can't get to it. His temper has gotten worse-understandably so-but we will continue to work on that-although tyler and myself need to be better example of that. He helps his brothers, but at times is jealous of them. It is hard to give Gavin or Connor a compliment because Zach takes it as a personal dis on himself. I try to explain that it's impressive for them because they are younger but for Zach he already accomplished that (whatever it maybe) when he was thier age too. We try to make sure we over compliment him, but he still thinks its a competition.

While he is a good brother, this last year he has struggled more in the department than ever before. I think it is just because he has always loved the baby stage and now there are no more babies. Gavin is bossy and a bully and that is hard. Connor worships Zach's feet, but at the same time has a completely different personality than Zach that totallly clashes with Zach. Zach still manipulates like crazy, but in some way I can understand why he does it with the little boys. Connor and Zach fight all day long and I mean fight-with words and stones! They kick, punch, scratch and Gavin bites! They both wrestle on the ground till they are both too hurt to go on anymore. These days they rarely play together happily, but when they do it is so nice. It last maybe an hour-maybe a few times a week. Hopefully they will be best friends in the future, it is just a hard time right now.

Zach weighs:     and is       tall. He is still pretty small for his stage-but i don't think it bothers him and since he has a big personality I think he will always be able to stand up for himself! We sure love our Zach!

The Boys Personality at 7, 4, and 2!

Zach 7 41lbs

Zach is growing so much. He did great in 1st grade. He was a little slower in reading-so he got to go to a special reading group at 715 every Tuesday and Thursday morning. By the end of the school year he was right where he needed to be! He doesn't like school that much-but I think that is mainly due to the fact that he isn't an early bird. Once at school I think he had a good time. Mrs. Amanda Feagin was his 1st grade teacher. We both loved her, she was a great teacher and very sweet. Zach probably got "written up" 10 times the whole year-and everytime it was for talking. That boy sure knows how to talk! Being "written up" just means they write it in his daily folder-so nothing too serious.

He loves skateboarding and is getting better all the time. He is great on his bike-which he taught himself how to ride last fall 2013. I was helping him for about a minute then got a phone call-of course Z didn't want to wait on me-so he just figured it out by himself. I was shocked. He was trying to do bike stunts the same day he learned how to ride his bike! Ha, he still has his adventerous side to him-but does have more fear in him than he ever has had. He loved playing soccer in the fall of 2013 and is a real fast runner-but needs to work on aggression. He can scale anything, including the fences-which he does all the time. He has always been a monkey-that's for sure!

He loves games of all sorts. Board, computer, iPad, x-box, and wii. Unfortunatly he rarely gets to play because Gavin tends to always mess everything up. He is a good sport about it though. He is still really good at playing with toys-like he always has been. His main interest is catching bugs-and he is a master at it! He can catch anything, ANYTHING. He has caught, wasp, bees, flys, grasshoppers, all kinds of spiders, cow killers, moths, butterflies and even wild baby bunnies! He is also the fly killer of the house! He is very good a killing flies for us, and can even catch/kill them with his hand (gross, I know). He loves all books and shows about snake, insects, and sea life. Really about any living creature, and he is pretty knowledgable in that area.

He still is stubborn. Does everything in his own time, but is getting a little better. We struggled alot this past winter with tantrum fits, talking back, being disrespectful and not following directions. Thankfully he is doing much better, because it was getting out of control. He is following directions better, more polite and a lot less crying (unless he is tired, ugh!). He is very good with Gavin. They are buddies, and he helps and takes care of him all the time. Gavin is a booger and prevents Zach from doing lots of things-but Zach never gets mad or frustrated with him. Zach is very good with Connor as well, BUT Connor doesn't put up with Zach's bossyness and has caught on to some of Zach's manipulations. They play well together until Connor wants to do something his way instead of Zach's. Zach is fine with playing by himself (and doing things his way) but Connor is not. They fight on and off through out the day, but always quickly get over it and usually have eachothers back.

Zach is caring and a good helper but still struggles with following directions-which could just be ADD. He puts up with a lot being the oldest brother and most the time sets a good example for them, but we are still working on that!

Connor 4 1/2 36lbs

Connor-hmmm-where to start? Connor is a precious soul. He is so unique. So innocent. So naive. Connor's brain does not work like the average brain. He is by far my most cautious child. He has many fears and lots of anxiety. He loves adults and most adults love him. There are no such things as strangers with Connor (although-he may ask you if you are a "bad guy" before continuing a conversation with you!) He doesn't have much friends-and he is good with that. He prefers girls over boys and usually all older girls. He looks up to and admires older kids-even when they aren't nice to him. His realm of understanding is low-or different I should say. He has come a long way in the past year-but still doesn't really understand how the world works so to speak. After going to Red Lobster in June 2014-and seeing the real lobsters-he has probably asked us at least 15 times a day-very seriously and frantically if there is a "Lomster" on his head or back. He seriously thinks that may be a possibility no matter how many times we explain its impossible! He loves to catch (or mainly watch) bugs with Zach, BUT is usually deathly afraid of bugs. He is very curious and ask alot of questions all day long. He wants to understand so much-but he can't make since of most things. His short term memory is basically nothing-but his long term memory is OUTSTANDING. Just incredible really. He has very heightened senses. Mainly just with smell and seeing (althought he is suppose to get his eyes checked). He can pick up any smell from a mile away and tell you what it is! He is the most forgiving person you will ever meet. Although-that doesn't mean that he doesn't get revenge on you first. He doesn't understand accidents. He truely thinks most things are on purpose. He has bad automatic "reflexes" that go straight to kill mode if you wronged him in some way (mainly just towards Zach). But at the same time, if I put Zach in time out for hitting Connor (or whatever), Connor will beg and plead to us to let Zach out and tell us that he is sorry. He doesn't like other people being in trouble and will try to help them out. He is very nice and protective of Gavin. Gavin is a rather hard and mean little brother-that doesn't usually show a lot of love for Connor-but no matter what Connor will trying 15 times a day to earn his love. Connor would love nothing more than if Gavin would just let him cuddle with him-or even just share a blanky as they watch cartoons, but Gavin won't budge. Connor helps him and protects him and will even get onto me if I use tone with Gavin (like saying "no" if he is doing something bad) and tell me he is just a baby. Gavin ruins anything Connor has, and at times as much as he would like to hurt him he holds himself back. His only crime against Gavin is hugging him to hard or too much!

He is in the lying stage, but mainly just to not get in trouble. Like "Connor did you do that?" "No!". And he is a huge story teller as of late. He insist that they are real though. He talks and talks and talks non-stop. He ask about 1 million questions per day. He loves to spell, or at least try to spell. He has become quiet the artist. He takes his time and does a good job. He loves holidays and wants them to always be a big full blown event. He has probably asked everysingle day since his last birthday when his birthday is. He is always waiting for the next Holiday. He loves parties. Any and every kind. He learns a lot from his primary teachers and in all his prayers says, "and please help God to sacrifice Jesus." One time Tyler was whispering and Connor asked if he was trying to be the Holy Ghost : )! His attention span is very small. He likes TV but doesn't usually last for even one show. He constantly forgets what he is doing and has to be reminded. He is very bored and has to/needs to be instructed on what to do all the time. He loves plants and watering them and getting the mail is the highlight of his day-although he is always let down when there is nothing for him. He truely believes in magic and loves it like no other. He wants people to do magic tricks all the time (especially daddy and popeye) but also wants them to make huge things appear like bounce houses and such. He is very easy to please and pretty easy going. He still loves to help cook and bake. He makes a few bad choices-but they are so sporadic and out of nowhere-he just doesn't think about what he is doing. He does most things out of curiosity. He loves to rip things up but now usually ask us before hand if it is ok to rip or break things. He has a big heart and is truely a sweet little boy.

He usually just wants to do whatever Zach is doing. He wonders around the house aimlessly most the day. He isn't big into sports or bikes but loves his ziggle. He is terrified of pools but is getting better and braver each day we go. He still uses the puddle jumper and as of recent will get in and go around the pool by himself. Connor is clumsy. Always falling and getting hurt. Always. He still loves dogs like no other and has made friends with some of the neighbor dogs. He has probably been bit (not bad) by 4 dogs-he has learned his lesson and approaches with caution and ask every owner, "Is your dog nice? Can I rub him?" Notice "rub" not pet. haha

Connor was recently diagnosed with SVT. We may do surgery to burn that part of his heart this coming fall.

Gavin 2years 30lbs

Gavin is a booger! He is mean, mean, mean! We all give in to him, it's horrible. We all just try all day long to make or keep him happy. He doesn't understand sharing yet and has recently realized hitting is very fun. He likes to pick his "boogas" and say "ewww, booga". He doesn't like to be dirty at all. He is constantly defending himself when he has no need to. He doesn't like many people at all, and nobody (except mom) if he is tired. His puking has calmed down, so that has been nice for us all. His diet is very slim pickens though, some days I am pretty sure he just drinks milk. He loves both of his brothers. He loves Connor from and distant and loves Zach up close. He loves sympathy. When he gets hurt, most the time he wont stop crying till I acknowledge him and give him a hug. He believes in the power of kisses and will always ask me to kiss his boo boos. Out of no where he will say "hug" and just give me the best hug ever. He does love to cuddle with me but is usually a busy body.

His motor skills are next to none. He is very strong, balanced and coordinated. He does the balance bike, scooters (2 wheeler and 2 wheeler) and is a professional on his ziggle and has no fear. He loves the pool and will jump in with out anyone around. He doesn't mind his head going under and will swim the whole pool all by himself (in his puddle jumper). He wants every toy that everyother kid has at the pool and throws a screaming fit (doesn't last long) when he doesn't get it. He is good at following directions but recently has been testing his limits. He has always been a huge mama's boy and would never leave my side. Just recently he has become a "runner" and I am alwasy chasing after him and he is fast, it's awful! Just like when Zach was a baby!

His talking skills are poor. He wants to say everything-and surely does try but he can't enunciate for the life of him. He is great at saying hop, no, stop, mom, dad, Zach, Cawner (connor), Ty-yer, help, please, thank you, your welcome, sorry, baby and other small words like that. Unfortunatley screaming is his main method because he cant communicate what he wants. We are working on that.

His favorite foods are hot dogs, pizza, grapes, cake, cookies, gogurts, graham crackers, ritz crackers, and oatmeal.

He loves dogs and loves to act like a dog or kitty. Infact he follows directions better if you refer to him as "puppy" or "kitty". He has a huge personality and makes about 100 different facial expression half of them are just with his eyes!

He likes to take naps from 11-2 or 1-3, but if he does he will not go to sleep till 9 or later! So we do skip nap a lot for an earlier bed time which results in a very cranky mean Gavin from 3-630.

He too loves to help me bake, he even cracked open his first egg today and attempted to pour it into a cup. Unfortunately, it spilled right next to the cup.

If you say no to him in the wrong time, he gets very offended and hurt. He curls that little lip down like no other and breaks out into a shreaking scream! After longs hugs from mom he usually recovers. If he hurts someone and they fake (or real) cry he will immediately say sorry and kiss there boo boo. He loves to fake sneeze and get good reactions. He also loves to fake gag or dry heave so we think he is going to vomit. He is a real pro at that and thinks it is hilarious.

He is a stinker, but we all made him that way. All 4 of us are just smitten by him despite his behaior. Whenever he is sad, Zach gives him his (Zach's) special blanky and it usually makes it all better (unless he is really mad, in which case it just makes him more mad that you are trying to make him happy : )). Both boys are always trying to help him and cuddle and love on him no matter how many times he shuts them out. We love our little Gavin to pieces!