Fun at the Park

April 25, 2008 It was Robbie's last day of the semester and so he got off early and we all went to the park. Alex had so much fun going through the tunnels, he even went down the big slide with Jared. We thought it was pretty cute when he then tried to start crawling up it.

Let's Go Fly a Kite meets Let's Go to the E.R.

On Saturday May 17 we were about to go fly a kite and Jared, having just learned how to unbolt our front door, opened the door and Alex raced out so excited. I hopped up and was 5 feet behind him, his little legs were getting faster and faster as he was so excited to be outside and I knew he wasn't going to be able to stay up. I saw him go down. His forehead hit the corner of the cement stop. I finally got to him and and picked him up and his head was spurting blood. I started crying and Robbie came out and took him and I ran inside to get a rag to put pressure on it. Robbie said he couldn't see where the hole ended. Alex was screaming. This was so not good. Jared started crying, and was worried about Alex. When we told him he was going to be ok, then he started crying because he wanted to go fly his kite. So, it was bad enough that we needed to have it looked it, but I didn't know if we should have a plastic surgeon sew it up or not. We had to take Jared to the ER three weeks before this because he woke up just before midnight, barely able to breathe because he had a severe case of the croup. He had gone to bed perfectly healthy. It is frustrating, because I knew what he had and all he needed was some steroids, but since it is after hours it ended up costing us $150, what would have cost us $15 if he would have gotten sick during the day. We were like we can't afford to go to the ER twice in one month. So I call my dad, no answer, my mom, no answer, my aunt (whose kids have had a few visits to the ER), no answer. We got a hold of Robbie's mom and she thought we would be ok to just go to urgent care. My dad called me when I was on the phone with her and he said since it was less than a cm in length they would just glue it, since he is so young. So we took him to urgent care, and by the time we got there he had stopped crying and when we walked in there was a big train set and all he wanted to do was play with that. Surprisingly, the bleeding had almost stopped. And can you believe that before we are seen we have to spend 10 minutes filling out paperwork? I just feel like it is so ridiculous that I have to call around and figure out where we can afford to get care for our son? Healthcare is just really screwed up and very frustrating. Anyways, they were thinking they would put 2 stitches in, but I asked about the glue, since my Dad said that is what they usually do, and the doctor was able to do that since it was straight and had almost stopped bleeding. So they glued it shut and put the tape on it and he was as good as new. We went to the park after that and we all had a good time flying the kite. Aunt Rebecca even came along for the fun.

Family Fun Day

Robbie left early this morning for a conference in Ohio and I needed to take Robbie and Dan, another student in his lab, to the airport. So Grandma and Grandpa took Jared and Alex the night before so that the kids could go to their Stake Family Fun Day.

Aimee took Alex in the stroller over to the festivities.

Jared got a new bike this week, because he was getting too small for his tricycle. He was so excited about his bike that is "just like Benjamin's". He keeps saying it over and over again. Benjamin is a kid that lives here in our complex that is a year old than Jared and they have fun riding their bikes together. His bike is the exact same as Benjamin's. We didn't try to do that, it just so happens that it is the cheapest bike at Walmart and met his needs. He thought it was so cool that he got to ride his bike in the parade. All day long and for a few days afterward he kept talking about. It was his favorite part of the whole day.

Go Fish!

They had a huge water slide that Jared was a little scared to go down at first, but he eventually went down with Aimee. The water even took them off of the slide once and they were sliding down the grass. Aimee took Alex down once and he did not like it at all. He kept giving her nasty looks after that, whereas before he was giving his cousin Mylah nasty look for stealing away his Aunt Aimee.

Jared and Aimee enjoying snow cones.

Grandpa cuddling with Mylah and Alex.

Jared was very excited about the "Y" painted on his face. He kept saying "Go BYU"! We have trained him well. He didn't want to take a bath because he didn't want the "Y" to wash off. So we told him we would paint on another one if he wanted. As things would have it, he never asked. Doesn't he look like a tough little football player?

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a very fun Family Fun Day!

Ear Fetish to Foot Fetish?

So Alex likes to cuddle with his burp cloth when he is tired. If he doesn't have it he grabs his ear. Well, this time he grabbed my foot. Can you think of anything better to cuddle up next to?

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?

Alex stole the cookies from the cookie jar. I had made cookies the night before and they were in a plastic ziploc bag on the counter. I was sitting in the family room using my laptop when Jared comes and tells me Alex is eating a cookie. I was like, "how in the world would he have a cookie?" I go in the kitchen to find several cookies on the floor and the bag open, hanging off the counter, and the stool right up against the counter. He had stood on the stool and gotten into the bag himself. Can you tell he likes chocolate chip cookies? On Monday at my cousin Garret's wedding dinner Brett couldn't wait for Alex to say please before giving him a bite of his cookie because of the sweet, happy face that you just can't resist. He loves cookies. And yes, I let him finish the cookie.

I have a nephew!

Dallin Max Starkie was born on March 10, 2008 to my sister Rachel. He is so cute and we are so excited that Jared and Alex finally have a boy cousin.

Dallin was blessed on May 4.

Here is Aunt Rebecca with all of her nieces and nephews. What a cute family we have!

Teach them while they are young

5.3.08 This morning when we stopped to have family prayer before Robbie left for school, Alex knelt down and clasped his hands together. It was so awesome! How sweet is that?

Our kids watch everything we do and learn and copy our behavior. If we want them to pray then we need to pray, and pray in front of them. Last night when we helping the kids with their individual prayers, I helped Jared say his prayer and then it was Alex's turn. Jared asked if he could help him and he did. He whispered to Alex what he should say. Since Alex doesn't really talk yet, it was just Jared and then Alex said "Amen" at the end. So precious!

Walking...oh no, here comes trouble

3.13.08 Alex loves walking around with his push cart and squeals the whole time.

3.14.08 Wow, Jared's got it good. Alex had so much fun pushing Jared around.

3.16.08 Alex loves walking with help.

3.16.08 Alex pushing Jared again around Grandma's kitchen.

3.29.08 This was a daily occurence in my kitchen. Alex would grab on to the back of my pant leg and we would walk around the kitchen like that as I prepared meals.

4.18.08 Alex pushes this shopping cart all over. It is light weight so it doesn't provide any support for him. He turns it every which way, so I know he has the balance to walk around without holding on to anything, if he would just do it.

4.18.08 Look! No hands!



4.30.08 Alex has started walking. He still doesn't care to do it as you can tell from this video He walked like 8 feet. The most he had done before this was just a few steps.



5.4.08 Alex has just taken off today. He hasn't walked until today and now he walks everywhere. It's like he just decided he wanted to do it and now he does it. I can't believe my baby is walking. He is so curious and since then he is into everything.

My baby is 1!

So I know he turned 1 three months ago, but I still can't believe how fast his first year flew by. Here are some pictures from the celebration. It was nice that my mom was in town (she was helping my sister who just had a baby) and could come to the little family party we had for him.





So I was pretty pleased with how the cake turned out since I only had like 10 minutes to decorate it. I did the car with cream cheese frosting, so the cake was so great with the chocolate frosting and cream cheese frosting. Really, the only reason I eat cake is for the frosting. If there isn't good frosting, cake just isn't worth eating.

I had to hold Alex's hand down because he wanted to touch the flame.

Alex did not hesitate when we put a piece of cake in front of him. He was very excited to finally be able to eat something sweet, which I had been keeping from him for a whole year, even though Grandpa tried many times. Now, sweets are all he wants.



Robbie put some ice cream on his plate and he picked it up. After a few seconds he started to cry, I imagine because his hand was beginning to freeze.

Can you believe my child pulled that face after getting a spoonful of ice cream? Could this be my child? I think he didn't like how cold it was. Since then, he has gotten over it and is now his mother's son with respect to ice cream.

Alex liked playing with the wrapping paper and boxes mostly, but Jared loved opening the presents and showing everyone what Alex received for his birthday. We are so grateful for the nice gifts our family gave Alex. They are so generous.

Ear Fetish

Alex has an ear fetish. Whenever he is tired he will suck his thumb and grab his ear.


If he is being held so that he can't grab his own, then he will go after yours. We think it is pretty funny and cute.