Zachary 4 Month

16.2 lb 66%
26 in long

Loves to look in the mirror at me and smile
Loves the changing table
Loves to sleep in until 9 am and then lay for a little while just talking while in bed
Loves to sleep with me (and does all night)
Loves to be nice
Smiley little easy man
Likes to stand on your lap

Wyatt Oh Wyatt

So Wyatt continues to make us laugh everyday.  His face is one that when you look at it you just laugh. Today Wyatt was climbing on a chair to see what treasures were on top of the dresser.  I told him to get down and then went into the other room because I was in a hurry and then I was going to go back to check on him to make sure he got down.  About 30 sec. after I left I heard him say, "Ya down get down mom."  So I figured he got something that he could take with him and so there was not any interest in being up there anymore.  When he walked out I was right there and he had a very funny face and was patting his pocket.  I asked him what he had and he patted his pocket again and said, "Just Wyatt's," in a whisper kinda hunched over.  I told him no and that he needed to show me.  He got in his pocket and pulled out a pin that is used to package new shirts.  I told him it could poke him and hurt him and so we needed to throw it away.  He told me it was just Wyatt's, I told him it wasn't and then he said, "Oh ya just daddy's."  I really wish I could record all of our conversations with Wyatt.  Like for instant today when Tanner got home Wyatt asked, "How was day Tanner, good, Ok."  All one sentence without a breath.

Zachary 1 Month

We went to Zachary's one month visit today and Jackson was a little nervous because I could not remember if he had to get shots today and Jackson really did not want to hear him cry.  Lucky for us the shots are at the 2 month appt.  Zachary is about as sweet as they come.  He rarely cries and still is a good little sleeper.  At night he doesn't even cry he will just grunt around for as long as he needs until I wake up and feed him.  That is about all he does during the day.  If I cannot get to him after grunting he will start to cry and then I have all hands on deck.  The boys are so good about calming him down even though they don't have to do it very often.  Jackson will put his head right next to Zachary's and will shush him and it works every time.  Tanner will get him a binky and will stay with him until he takes it and calms down.  Wyatt will turn off his swing if he is in it and will start to try to pick him up.  His help is a little less helpful, but he doesn't know that.
 Zachary loves to be swaddled and hates to have a bath.  If it requires any undressing he is not a fan.  He has such a peaceful demeanor and it is such a good addition to our family.  He likes to sleep with us, but would sleep alone but when they are so sweet it is hard not to keep them in with me.  Especially because I know how fast they grow up and so I want to savor every last bit, the boys are the same.  Tanner cannot stop smelling him.  He LOVES the way new babies smell.  Jackson will sneak into bed with him in the morning while I am getting Tanners lunch ready and breakfast.  I leave Zachary in my bed and without fail when I go to check on him Jackson is there eyes closed snuggling that little baby.  It is hard to tell who is loving it more.  Zachary is a snuggly little thing and will just melt into whoever is holding him.  Wyatt is a hilarious brother and loves to keep track of Zachary and help in any way he can think to.  Oh Zachary was 22 in long and weighed 9lb 15.8 oz....they apparently round down and said it was 9.15.

Zachary Douglas

We can hardly believe that our 4th boy is here.  It really is a dream come true for all of us.  The past 5 months Tanner and Jackson have been waking up and asking how many months, days, and weeks until this sweet little guy would get here.  We would talk about how big he was in my tummy and how big he would be when he was born.  It has been so fun to have others just as excited as me and Bradley.
  Little Zachary's timing was not what we had expected.  With all the other boys being 10-15 days early we definitely expected the same for this baby.  We planned an inducement date of Aug 7th, just as a precautionary measure but both Dr. Layton and I were sure that I would not make it to the 7th.  Well I did!  Despite all my walking, swimming, and determination to have him before the 7th I didn't.  He was just cozy cozy in there and I would have waited for his timing, except Brad had to be back at work on Monday and Tanner and Jacks had to start school on the 13th.  So on the 7th I had to call to see when I could go in to start being induced.  I finally went in at 1:00.  From that point things went really fast.  It is always such an exciting time in the hospital knowing that in a few hours you are going to meet a member of your family that you have been carrying around for 9 months.  Just walking into the hospital brought back all the wonderful memories of each of my children's births.  Each one was so different and so special and this was just the same.  It was nice to have a few hours waiting with Brad to have that time with just him talking about everything.  Then at about 5:00 I got my epidual and they had me lay on my side.  About 20 min later they decided to have me roll to the other side and when I did I immediately felt like he was ready to come and he was.  So Zachary was born at 5:30 pm.  20 Inches long 6 lb 11oz and lots of fuzzy brown hair.
    Since then we have all been taking turns holding him and he is a wonderful addition to the family.  He is mellow and really only cries if he is cold.  When he is hungry he smacks his lips for a while and waits.  It is perfect because I know that if he were to cry a lot Wyatt would be "helping" with everything.  The boys are so funny about holding him and will keep him for about 20 min at a time.  I keep checking to see if they are ready for a break, but they insist that they keep holding him.  I couldn't have asked for better boys or a better baby.  If I could freeze time I would to keep this newborn spirit in our home with the sweetest 6, 4, and 2 yr old.  We are very blessed to say the least. And although I don't write as much about everything as I did with the first it is because I have little time and I choose to spend it with them rather than writing about them.  What a wonderful family I have and I cannot help but feel extremely blessed!  f only we could decide who Zachary looks like.....

Words of Wyatt

Hearing babies talk is one of my favorite things.  Wyatt has pretty good pronunciation and is at the stage where he is just exploding with new words and we can ask him to say anything.  A couple of weeks ago Rachel was watching him for us and he was on the other side of her bed and she asked him what he had and he said "flashlight."  She said it was clear as clear and that he was right.  I had no idea he could say that or that he even knew what a flashlight was.  Here are some of my favorite things that he says besides SHOUTING bye anytime we are leaving or he thinks someone is leaving.
Tanner: Nanner
Jackson: dak dak
Leche: Deche
Phone: Moe

Wyatt 15 Month

Here are some highlights of Wyatt at this age....
1.  Every time he goes outside he finds a little rock and carries it around.  If there is anything else that he wants he tries to fit it in his hand with the rock or he will leave the other thing, not the rock.  Occasionally he will give me his rock to hold and then will come back for it.

2.  "Talks" and "Talks

3.  Will come to me and say,"hi mom" waving his hands up at me...that is how he asks to have me hold him.

4.  Gets into the bath and turns it on, the problem is that he will be fully dressed when I hear that it is on....obviously he loves baths.

5.  Will turn on anything that plays music and will walk around holding it doing his little shake.

6.  Possessive of mom.

7.  Loves to blow on skin.  If I pick him up he immediately will blow on my neck.  If he sees a tummy it is almost too much temptation for him.

8.  Loves to carry things around his neck.  When I am folding laundry he will steal socks and put them around his neck.  He is not partial to clothing either, he will hang just about anything that he can around his neck.

He really is the cutest little baby!  We all have so much fun with him and laugh and laugh at what he does.  It is so fun to see how excited Tanner and Jacks get when they see that he has learned something new.

Wyatt 11 Months

Just a little Wyatt update.....
He now has 3 teeth, one on bottom, and two on top....it really is hilarious.  He has been walking for about 2 weeks now and has decided that I do not have to hold him all day...only about 70%....as I write this he is tugging on my shirt crying to get me to hold him.  He loves to toddle around the house holding whatever he can find, back and forth, back and forth.  If there is music playing he runs to it, or if one of his brothers is crying he runs and pats their back.

Walking Wyatt

Wyatt has been taking steps for a couple of weeks, but has never gone more than 5 and would fall or grab what ever was available.  I was starting to think that I would get to keep my little crawler for awhile because he never really changed form what he would do until this weekend.  He started to actually walk with intention and yesterday he was cruising around walking more than crawling.  Today he is standing up where he is without grabbing something and will walk where he wants to go.  I love watching him walk and keep reminding myself that he is still a baby no matter what anyone else says!

Walking Wyatt

He is officially walking!!  He has been taking steps for a couple of weeks now, but not walking longer than 5 steps and now he is cruising.  It is funny because I was wondering how long he would stay like that and then all of a sudden this weekend he started to walk

Jackson 3 Years

Jackson, Jackson, Jackson.... he is so funny!  He is a very happy little boy that loves to make people laugh.  Most things he says make me laugh just because of how he says them.  He is such a snuggly little boy that does his own thing.  Jacks does not care to stay with the crowd.  He will play for a little bit and then he will come find me and play with me, or he will go off on his own doing who knows what.  This is good because i never have to worry that he will be a follower, but also bad because I have to watch him and know what he is doing.  Jacks is not opposed to getting into things or  wondering off alone.  Jackson loves shows and will ask to watch them at the funniest times. I will be putting him to bed and he will ask, "Mom, can I watch a show?"  I have to laugh every time.  Jackson also LOVES babies.  He will sit and play with them and is so cute with them.  Wyatt and him still have their go arounds because Jacks loves him and LOVES holding him....Wyatt loves him being by him not holding him...this leads to a lot of crying.  Jackson still lovest o be held and will come to me throughout the day and ask me to hold him.  I LOVE IT!  It is especially nice when we go visit someone.  Tanner does not remember that I even exist and so I love that Jacks does not care to stay with the boys and he will need some holding time at some point.  On the other hand he does not love to be held or snuggled in bed (the complete opposite of Tanner).  Jacks is an early riser and then will come in our bed and will lay by me rubbing my face, sticking his finger in my nose, putting my ear, none of which he is doing to be naughty, he is just laying there and thinks this is OK to do.  So, Brad and I are not too sad that he doesn't need to be snuggled in bed and likes to sleep alone.  Jackson loves the color yellow.   He also loves "Rubys"  i.e. nursery.  He is so funny in there and loves to help and take care of the kids.  He doesn't enforce rules as much as he used to by takeling kids that were running (after I had Wyatt he thought he was a nursery worker and was in charge of putting a stop to the running).  Jackson is a little more reserved and quiet at first but then will be snuggled on your lap once the introductions are over.  I have to let people know this about him so that they are OK when he is on their lap snuggled in (his gymnastics teacher, Brads assistant, nursery leaders, etc.).  Jackson is very kind to others and only fights with Tanner because I think that is just what brothers do.  He is the best little side kick Tanner could have ever asked for.  He thinks that everything is Tanners and he loves to do what Tanner wants, but is also fine playing by himself.  Tanner loves to dress him up in his clothes and I will hear him telling Jacks that today is a special day and so he gets to wear Tanners clothes.  The other day when Jacks was getting ready he asked if today was a special day.  Tanner said, "no but all of April will be special."  Jacks just said OK.  He will often refer to Tanner to verify what I have said.  If I tell him it is cold outside he will turn to Tanner and ask if it really is cold outside.  Luck for me Tanner thinks that I know everything and so he usually goes with what I have already said.  Jacks definitely is the sweetness in our family and has a smile that can melt anyone.  We are lucky to have him and love him!

Tanner 5 years

Tanner is so happy and full of life and energy.  I know why he was sent to me and why he is my first child that I make the most mistakes with.  He is so forgiving and even when I get frustrated and mad over silly things he does not let it even phase him or his mood.  He stays happy and lets my lack of patience run right off his shoulder and he is always patient with me.  He always does things with reasoned purpose and they are always very though out.  Tanner is a very good friend and good big brother.  He is very responsible and minds so well even when others are doing something.  Tanner still has the funniest imagination and comes up with the funniest games.  He is not big on toys because he is his own best toy.  He loves to play school or store or supper hero or anything else where he has some alternate age (he is usually 6).  He comes up with scripts for us to play with him.  Tanner still loves to ride bikes and is extremely talented at balance.  He learned to ride a bike a year ago in October (I am not sure if I wrote a post about it so I am including it now October 2011).   Tanner is very outgoing and loves to talk to everyone and tell them as much as he can before the conversation is over.  He loves drawing which surprises me because it requires him to sit.  He will wake up in the morning and as soon as he sees a pen or pencil he will sit and concentrate and write cards to everyone.  He loves to spell and is very good.  The other day he wrote all of us cards and had our names on them, Bad (Brad), Jes, Jaxsen.  I was so proud of him!  He loves school and love to learn about letters and really anything.  Tanner remembers EVERYTHING!  This is good and bad because sometimes he is listening when i don;t realize it.

Tanner Bradley Darth Vader Smith 4 yrs

Tanner is so funny and kind and loving.  He keeps us on our toes and rolling with laughter.  We love the joy Tanner brings into everyday life.  He is a perfect fit for the oldest and I do not know how I could be a mother without him.

 I guess it is a little obvious that his name is subject to change at anytime.  Right now it has Darth vader in it as well as Ironman sometimes.  Darth vader is his favorite  naughty guy and Ironman is his favorite good guy.

- Spiderman costume:  This is a  daily costume and there are always bad guys lurking around our house- sometimes it is his dad.  Other times  Spidey just comes out to take pictures with us.  He used to announce himself and  ask if there was anyone who wanted a picture with somebody. We of course were  so excited to meet Spiderman and get our picture with him. (This was learned from   Disneyland). One day while wearing his spiderman costume I told him he needed to clean up.  He said, "Mom super heroes doen't clean up." I told him that I should probably throw all the toys that were out away and  after a few min thinking it over he said, "Well I could turn back into your son."

- His first prayer as a  4 yr old (ie. that night): "Please bless that I can be five in just a min."

-The day after his birthday and since he keeps asking me, "Mom do you remember when i used to do this/wear this when I was  3?"  It is usually not hard to do since it was just a day ago.

-  Tanner is very excitable:  This makes it so fun to take him  places and give him things- it can be a little dangerous because I want to give him surprises all the time.

-  Tanner is a good big brother and will help me take care Jackson when ever I need him to.

- Ready for school- Tanner has me pack him a lunch just about everyday so that he can go to "school" He walks outside comes back in and I turn into his teacher.

- Always up for any game and loves to play with anyone anywhere.  Definitely an extrovert that loves people.

Wyatt 9 Months

Our little Wyatt is so funny and keeps joy and peace in our house.  The boys love playing with him and it is so funny to see what a big part a little 9 month old can make in everyones day.  We all feel so blessed to have him in our family.  We love him and love seeing everything he learns each day.  Everything is a huge milestone to us and the boys love to tell everyone we meet about what Wyatt can do.  He is so fun and full of personality and drive.  He knows just what he wants and is not afraid to let you know.  Who knew 9 month olds had so many opinions.  Oh how we all love our little Wy Wy!  Here are some things about Wyatt right now...

Height:  29.3 in 55%
Weight:  18 lb 9 oz 23%

- Loves to breath out of his nose, even if it is stuffy.  He just breaths as hard as he can and blows buggers everywhere...if he would only let us wipe them we would have a good thing going...

- Hates baby food and will only eat what we are eating.  His favorites are turkey and bananas.

- When he wakes up he will sit and stare at each one of his brothers with a huge smile until the recognize him and tell him good morning.

- He now has started to see how funny Jacks is and as long as he doesn't wrestle him he will watch him and laugh and laugh.

-  If someone is making him laugh and then leaves he will start to cry....he figures there is nothing so important as making him laugh.

-  Loves to pull hair!  He will chase after babies that have hair that he can pull and his other prime target it Jacks.  If I have them in the shopping cart I have to move Jacks away because Wy will pull his hair the entire time.  Tanner on the other hand wants him to pull his hair, but Wy is not too interested in his because it is shorter and he doesn't give as good of a reaction.

- If there is anything in the middle of the floor Wyatt likes to climb over it even if he doesn't need to get to the other side.  He just likes to practice his 4x4 crawling.

-  Loves the bathroom!  I cannot emphasise this enough.  He cries when he is taken out, if the door is closed he will sit with his back to it cry and bang his head on the door, he is always checking to see if by chance the door was left open.  Once in there he stands at the toilet and will pull toiletpaper....he is never left longer to see what else he would do.

- Grunts and yells when he is happy or mad.  He makes hilarious noises.

-  Love the bath...I think he would stay in there for over and hour if we let him.

-Loves the outside.  If the boys go out and he is in my arms he will scream until I take him out.  If I am holding him and I walk by an open door he will break down if not taken out.  We also have the same break down if he drops a toy that he is playing with.

-We named him correct bacause he does soem thing that my dad "Douglas" does all the time.  He crawls around and sticks his lips under his nose and breaths in and out fast.

-  Eats everything on the floor, paper is his favorite.  We have to watch him very closely.

Wyatt 6 Month

Wyatt is such a joy in our family and was such a smooth transition that it is hard to believe there was ever a time when he wasn't here.  He is a very happy baby and so easy to pack around.  That is how my babies are majority of their days, being packed around facing out on my hip.  Wyatt is as content as content and could be in that position all day every day, with the exception of Sunday.  Sunday he becomes a different baby and never lets me sit for more that 15 min in any class. Naughty, naughty!  Here are some of the things about Wyatt that we love (really I cannot even start to list all of them especially now that we have 3 boys, but I want to get some of them).

1.  Bath time- when he hears the bath turn on he gets SO excited and cannot hold still.  He smiles and kicks and is wild.  Once he is in the bath he doesn't stop splashing the entire time.

2.  Solid foods- not a fan!  He keeps his lips pursed most of the time.

3.  Crawling- he can scoot and rock but not quite there, soon very soon.

4.  Outside- loves to be outside at any time.  If Brad has his and is trying to calm him down he will take him outside and immediately he stops fussing and is fine.

5.  Brothers- Tanner makes him laugh and will sit and play with him for long periods of time.  Jackson likes to hold him and will "play" with him, but it isn't received well.  Wyatt usually crys when he sees Jacks coming even if he just sits by him without touching him.  This doesn't discourage Jacks in the least.

6.  Balls- loves to play with balls.  Of course he does!

7.  Loves everyone and other then if he is tired or hungry is just as happy with anyone as he is with me.

8.  Loves to be thrown around.  At our family pictures we had to throw him in the air because for the first time in his life he decided he didn't want to smile.  It is funny because Tanner loved to be thrown as well and Jacks hated to even be lifted in the air- I love seeing how my babies are the same and different.

9.  things over his face- I know it doesn't make sense, but he thinks it is so funny to just let things sit over his face.  He will pull something over his face and then just lay there or if we put something on there he will just sit until we pull it off.

Wyatt 4 Month

Height:  26 in 88%
Weight 14 lb. 14 oz 55%

Oh our sweet little Wyatt.  He is seriously the happiest little baby that you have ever seen.  It seems like he is either smiling, or sleeping and if he does fuss a little there are only 3 reasons (tired, messy pants, or hungry).  He is so much fun to have and I cannot believe that it has already been 4 months.  Here are some of the things that he is now doing.

1.  Holds his feet while rolling around on the floor.
2.  Rolls.  The first time was a little over a week ago and I thought to myself, "I bet if I put him down he could roll," (he is usually in arms).  So I put him on his tummy and within 1 min he rolled over.  Tanner and I were dying (jackson was playing in dirt outside so he missed the whole thing).  Since then he rolls over onto his tummy all the time.  He will be OK for about 2-5 min in that position and then he is pretty sure that he cannot take anymore and needs help immediately.  He has forgotten that he can roll over at that point.
3.  He is starting to grab for toys and will move them with his hands if they are hanging in front of him.  He can also roll one of his toys on the jumper.
4.  He is still trying to become some sort of finger sucker.  He is just not able to identify which one he likes.  The is very stressful for Brad and so he has been trying to push the binky.  We will see who wins the battle.
5.  He loves to spit.  It is hilarious because he seems too little and he has been doing this for a month now.
6.  He is still a little grunter.  While I hold him there are times when it is just one constant grunt.  Nothing is wrong and he isn't trying to fuss or anything he just likes the noise.
7.  Loves his bath!!!  He is excited just by getting naked because he knows what is coming.  The reverse of this is also true when he gets dressed after his bath he is very sad and crys every time.  But only when he gets dressed after his bath, and no it is not because he is cold because there are times when he will get to be naked for some time after his bath.
8.  His crys are a little funny because they are more of a yell than a cry.  It is hard to take his sadness seriously.
9.  Now there is one thing that he has started to dislike and that is being held by kids.  The problem with this is he has 2 brothers that feel the opposite.  They still LOVE holding him although lucky for them he does love to have them talk to him and make him laugh while he is laying down.

Wyatt 2 Month

Weight 11.13 lb 50%
Height 22 3/4 in 40%

Smiles
talks oo, ah
good sleeper
hates messy pants

Wyatt 1 Month

Our new pediatrician, Dr. Keith,  has 1 month appointments and so we were able to see how Wyatt was doing.  He is now 9 lb 3 oz. and no longer has a tied tongue.  I was a little nervous about getting it clipped, but Dr. Keith was so good and nice to do it that it was surprisingly not a big deal AT ALL.  He cried because they were holding his mouth open, but as soon as they finished he was done and it didn't even bleed.  It is so  fun to start to have him awake a little more, but always sad to see the newborn stage closing.  I always have to look at Tanner and Jacks and think about how I love the stages they are at and so it is OK for him to get bigger because each stage and age is so fun and special.  He is particularly sweet and still has all the same loves, but now that he can have a bath he loves it (he is almost too big for our little sink).  He is better about getting undressed, but still hates to be cold and loves to be swaddled.  If he is a little agitated he will start to calm down once I swaddle him.  He still grunts a lot and it is sooo very funny.  He has done this since he was born and I still think that it is just  as funny.  We are still all enjoying passin g him around and talking to him when he is awake.  The boys  talk so cute to him and I can see the phrases they get from me and my tone of voice in them.  They are the best mirrors of me -I have to watch myself.

Wyatt Douglas

We are all thrilled to have our little bundle of joy here!!  To say that the boys love him is an understatement.  We are all in heaven.  His arrival was a little bit of a surprise, but I had the feeling like it was going to go similar to this....

On May 21st I had an appt with Dr. Layton (the best OBGYN evver) and he told me that I was progressed more than expected since Wyatt's due date wasn't until the 13th of June.  He told us that if we didn't have anything going on that we should spend the weekend in the valley just to be careful and that he figured the next week I would have my baby.  This was a little earlier than we expected and Rach (my sister and go-to babysitter) was going to be in Cali with her family.  We ended up staying at her house and had a little vacation and then I had my appt on Tues morning. While getting ready I decided to get everything ready to go because I felt like Dr. Layton was going to tell me that I was in labor and just didn't know it and that I should go right to the hospital.  Crazy thought because how can one not know if they are in labor, but I still couldn't shake the thought.  So off we went to the appt with all of our stuff.

I went in and Dr. Layton decided to do and ultrasound.  I am not sure if it is just because I hadn't gained weight that week or what, but I am sure there is some inspiration here.  When he looked he found that my fluids had dropped off and that they were at a 6.  He looked at me and said, "It is a good day to have a baby, I am going to send  you in to be induced right now."  Had I gone any longer I would have been at a higher risk of a C-section.  So Brad and I tool the boys to  Jeck's house (Brad's sister).  said we would see them in a little while and headed to the hospital.  It was so strange to go without feeling contractions and in the middle of the day.  We checked in at 11:00am and I got hooked up at about 12:00.  I was a little sad  because I love the excitement of going into labor, but this was so much calmer for the boys and I knew it was the right time. I waited to get my epidural until my pain was HIGH and so it helped me feel like it was time.  It was a very peaceful afternoon knowing that the boys were having fun with one of their  favorite aunts and that our baby was safe.    At 4:50 or so I started to push, I had to push 2 times and he was born at 4:58.   5 lb 14 oz, 19 in lots of brown hair and perfect!!!  I could not have asked for a better delivery, or a more peaceful feeling about where my boys were.    I feel so blessed and know that this was all an answer to my prayers.

After the boys finished swimming they came to see him and just like us they were in love at first sight.  Jackson has never paid any attention to any babies, but the first thing he wanted to do was to hold Wyatt and give him kisses.  He was so sweet and soft to him and  was very serious while holding him.  Tanner we knew would be smitten and we were right.  He  could not believe that he could hold him as long as he wanted and that we would  get to take him home.

Since we have been home the excitement has not worn off even in the least.  Someone is always wanting to hold him and he is a good sport about being passed around all day.  Wyatt rarely cries, really only if he is not fed within a reasonable time, has a dirty diaper that has been overlooked, or during his bath (except for when he gets his hair washed- he loves it and will stop crying and relaxes).  He is a good little sleeper and brings such a sweet spirit into our home.  I wish that I could freeze time!!  He loves to be snuggled, loves to be swaddled, loves to sleep, loves to get his hair washed (not the rest of his body), and loves to eat.  He does not like to have messy pants, to be undressed at all, or to be cold at all.  Here are some pictures of his arrival....