October & November

-Since it is November and everyone has been writing what they are thankful for it is hard for me not to express my gratitude for my little miracle, Kalijah. I was rocking him to sleep last night and just started crying , they were tears of joy. I can't believe how big he has gotten and how strong he is now, he is my little fighter. It was hard to believe that just 7 months ago we didn't know if he would make it. Every day I have him is a miracle to me and a constant reminder that my Father in Heaven is watching over me and my family. Every time I hold him in my arms I feel so close to Heaven. I cannot imagine my life without him. He has brought our family very close together and is our little ray of sunshine, I love him so much. I am thankful for all of my boys and the opportunity I have to be a mom to them and I am thankful for my Heavenly Father who hears and answers my prayers and knows what my heart can handle. I am very blessed in all that I have.

-The boys enjoy helping me in the kitchen. They were excited to make smiley face pizzas and they tasted very good. They are such good little helpers.

-This week we enjoyed a special dinner. I busted out my good china and a nice tablecloth and let the boys have rootbeer in fancy glasses. The boys were so excited for their special dinner. Krehl asked me why we were having a special dinner and I told him because they were so special. I decided that each day is a gift and I need to cherish my boys everyday and show them how special they are, so why only use my china for a special occasion? Every day we have together is special. Krehl asked me if we could have special dinners every night. :)

-Fall brought many leaves in our yard and the boys enjoyed coloring them and Krehl traced the perfect leaf and did a great job coloring inside the lines. Kayson is my little artist and very talented with crayons and paper. Krehl is so smart while they were coloring I asked him if he could count to 20 and he counted to 30. He can read and sound out words and knows how to spell a lot of words.

-Halloween was a very busy day this year. Krehl was Bumblebee (a transformer), Kayson was Tigger, Kalijah was Tigger, and mommy was a Witch. We started the day with a big breakfast then headed off to Boise to go to the Temple Open House. Both the boys knew what the Temple was and pointed out Jesus in all of the pictures. Krehl told me he couldn't wait until was old enough to be able to go back to the Temple and talk to Jesus. That boy is so smart he amazes me sometimes. After that we went back to Lisa's for some lunch and got the kids changed into their costumes. We went to the Boise Outlets with their cousins then hit a few big subdivisions in Eagle. The kids had more than enough candy and a very eventful day.

-I can't believe how quickly my little boys are growing up, they are so handsome :) They love going to church learning about Jesus. A few weeks ago the boys were sick so we didn't want to take them to church and get everyone else sick and the boys were so sad that they couldn't go. Krehl counted down the days until next Sunday when he could go again and made sure to take his vitamins everyday so he could get better by next Sunday.

3 months of updates!

*Where does the time go. So I need to do a little catching up on the past few months. We will start with June. JUNE: In June we blessed our sweet baby boy Kalijah. It was a very special day and we had lots of family & friends there to celebrate with us. Here are some pictures from that day...

-Kalijah & Grandma

-Maddi & Kayson

-Fricke Family on Kalijah's Special Day

-Thank you to all of our family and friends who came to celebrate this day with us, we love you!


JULY: The highlights of July were pretty much the fourth of July and all of the July birthdays in our family, including my parents turning the big 50. Here are some pictures from the 4th...


-Kalijah was a pretty happy boy all day.

-Then we went to my parent's in Middleton for a BBQ, here are the deviled eggs I made.

-The boys loved getting candy at the parade...

But they did not like the noise lol

-Kayson was pretty much scared of all the fireworks, maybe next year he'll enjoy it more :)

*The next big event in July was the surprise (kind of) 50th birthday party we threw for my mom and dad. Thanks to all their wonderful friends & family who came to celebrate is was a very special celebration.

-Thanks Jeremy & Stacy for being great host & Anne & Jason for all your help

My Grandma made their very special b-day cake, thanks grandma!

-My Great Grandma Shorty came all the way from Redmond to share their special day.

-My parents were crowned Queen & King and got to share their cake just like on their wedding day...

-Daisha holding Kalijah at the end of the very eventful day

*Then there was Jillian's swimming birthday party. The boys were both chicken to even get in the water then they loved it so much they were the last ones to get out of the pool. Kayson advanced from the float toy to just the arm floaties :) Maddi was a little scared at first too but she found Ariel to play with and finally got in the water.

AUGUST: So far August has been a very busy and long month. 

We started juicing and changed most of the foods we eat. It has been an adventure but the boys surprisingly want to eat healthy like mommy & daddy, and Russ has already lost 20 lbs so it has been a good thing.

 I started working a little doing a coupon kiosk for the Press Tribune. It is weird to be away from the boys for more than a few hours at a time but the boys love their time with daddy and Russ has a lot more appreciation for what I do. He decided that I make being a mom look easy lol The boys are both good little helpers when they want to be and love their brother Kalijah.

Spring Cleaning & Yard Work

Kayson has been going potty on his own :) Grandma just got him some Spiderman underwear so we will see how the potty training goes.

   

Kalijah in his St. Patty's day outfit. He is such a good baby and loves to smile. So happy to have him healthy and at home with us. He is use to being held all the time and sleeps best when he is being held. He loves to snuggle. We are spoiling him and enjoying every minute since he is our last baby. We are treasuring every minute because we know how he won't stay little for very long. Babies are so precious and Kalijah's sweet spirit is a constant reminder of how much our Heavenly Father loves us and that Heaven isn't very far. If babies could talk I think we'd be blown away by the things they would tell us. 

Kayson has been my little trouble maker lately, him and Krehl have seem to switch roles lately. When I fix his hair for church I put a little Vaseline in it to make it spiky. Kayson decided he was going to try to fix his hair. He was taking a nap and I could hear him getting in to something when I opened the door he was covered in Vaseline and Vicks. I have hid it from him several times but apparently I didn't hide it good enough this time. lol He was so funny when he walked out. I gave him yet another bath and scrubbed his hair several times. His face and hair were still very shiny when he got out and he could barely keep his eyes open. He asked to go night night and sure enough he took a nap, silly boy. He is already going through the terrible two stage even though he's got a few more weeks until his birthday. He is so sweet and so cute though it's hard to stay mad for very long.

We have been working on Spring cleaning in the house and in the yard. All we have left in the house to get organized is the laundry room. Then we will be able to finish little projects inside before we add on our playroom in July. Our garage and barn are almost completely cleaned out and organized. We have sprayed most of the weeds and have tilled most of  the property. We are going to plant grass seed on the left side of the house, do a big garden, a big flower garden, and then gravel the rest. Eventually we want to put in an Orchard by where the garden will be but that will be a project for next year. If we have extra money left over we are going to paint our house, we are not very fond of the bright lime green color. :) Krehl had fun riding on the tractor with daddy, Kayson on the other hand was scared of the tractor. He would hide inside the fence and peak his head out every now and then to see what Krehl and daddy were doing. When I asked him if he wanted to ride on the tractor he said no scary and ran the other way.

April Update

Kalijah is already one month old. He is growing good and so far has not got the sickness we've all had. He is a smiley baby and loves when his brothers talk or sing to him. His brothers love having him home try to be very helpful. He is a good baby and has such a sweet spirit, we are blessed to have him. 

Kayson is going through the terrible 2 stage a little early ;) His two favorite words are no and uh-uh. He has figured out how to get out of his crib. The other night I saw his light come on and heard him playing with his toys and when I opened the door there he was out of the crib playing with his toys. We will be changing him into his toddler bed this week. He loves to read books, play with trains, and anything that his older brother does. He is learning his ABC's and can already sing/say all of the alphabet. He loves Blue's Clues, Caillou, Elmo, and Thomas. Krehl was nice enough to give Kayson his Thomas sheets, blanket, and pillow which Kayson was very excited about. He likes to stretch and attempts to break dance. He loves to try to help with the baby, I have to watch him very closely because any chance he gets he wants to give the baby his binkie or bottle. He is growing up so fast.

Krehl is a very smart boy. He loves learning about everything and is at the why stage. He can write every letter in the alphabet and can count to 20. He likes to read, dress up like super Batman and Spiderman, cooking, and to help take care of his brothers. He learned how to spell his name this week and has been spelling it using magnets, foam letters, chalk, crayons, and his drawing pad. We've started doing so workbooks and he likes to find words in the word searches and write down as many words as he can. He has been getting better at sharing and has been a good little helper. Him and Kayson are both very good about saying their prayers and Krehl always reminds us to read our scriptures before bed. One of his favorite activities is playing the Wii Fit and he is very good at it. He is excited to be able to start kindergarten next year.

We have been trying to catch up on our spring cleaning. I've been going through closets, bedrooms, clothes, toys, etc. trying to get rid of everything we don't use or need anymore. I've been packing up my maternity clothes and any baby items we no longer need since Kalijah is our last. It has been nice to have a few days of good weather so the boys can play outside. We have lots of catching up to do on yard work but our garage and barn are almost cleaned out. It's been weird not doing my coupon site but it has been so nice to take a break from it and just enjoy my family this month. It has been an adventure learning how to adjust to 3 boys ages 4 and under but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I cherish every minute of it because I know it will go by so fast.

Kayson loves his brother

Brothers

Kayson the Fireman

Riding on Thomas to put out a fire

I was taking a pic of my chicken deal and Kayson wanted me to take a pic of him with the chicken

I gave the boys some sidewalk chalk to play with and when I came back out Krehl showed me he wrote all of his ABC's :)

Krehl just learned how to spell his name :)