Hiccups & 1st Bath

Wow...this seems like ages ago. Ryler looks so different. He's gotten so much BIGGER and more mature in these 2 short months. It has really flown by as I look back, although a lot of the days and nights seemed so long. I just wish I could go back in that crazy time and have more quiet moments with my precious newborn.

While Pregnant, this is what I felt him doing every night at this same time...

And now here he was looking in my eyes as I watched him with the hiccups.

updates on kaylea's adventures

~I've been asked to mention that kaylea posted on her blog~

check here...

My 2 Babies...

I wonder how many diapers I change a day....
I wonder how many hours of the day (and night) there is someone crying...
I wonder how many dirty dishes there are in my sink at any given time...
I wonder how many real meals I have made in the last few months...
I wonder how many days can we go with wearing the same clothes...
I wonder how many staples I still have under my skin that haven't dissolved yet...

I wonder how many times I will ever have 2 in diapers again. 

I probably won't. So I realize I will relish the moment.

2 diapered babies boys just happy to be alive
& happy to be brothers.

As hectic as life can be right now,
I am trying to take deep breaths & ENJOY these moments.

I am trying to realize that I am not in a "Who's House is Cleanest" Contest.
I am trying to Embrace the Chaos & not freak out.
I am trying to not take things so seriously.
I am trying to not take things so personally.
I am trying to be a good Mom, Wife, Daughter, Sister and Person
I am trying....and that's all that matters.

Birthday Wishes from Kaylea...

except it's not Kaylea!

 Sara sent me this photo today to wish me a Happy Birthday. We were all confused wondering who took this random internet photo of Kaylea. Even Kaylea thought it was herself for a moment.

Funny huh!?

Thank you to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday so far...

 & it's barely noon! 

*There's nothing better than:

*Getting a birthday card sent all the way from Hawaii from your brother & sister n law.

*Your sister waiting till 12:00am on the dot to wish you a Happy Birthday.

*Waking up to a Birthday texts from other sisters & sister n laws.

 *Receiving breakfast in bed made with love by your daughter.

*Hearing your 6 year old's morning voice say: "Happy Birthday Mommy."

*Seeing your oldest son scrounge his room looking for a gift

...ends up finding & giving Hershey kisses. *Real kisses from Jax & Ryler.

*My piano lessons canceled today so I went to Target ALONE in my p.j.s.

*Checking your email to see you have over 50 Facebook Birthday messages...& they keep coming.

*Having your husband surprise you by taking you to the Apple Store to get a new computer.

*Knowing that Mom is cooking me a Sunday Birthday Dinner & I don't have to cook tomorrow.

Aww....32 is feelin' good.

☆America's Birthday Party☆

For the 4th of July this year, we celebrated all weekend long. 

☆Saturday we had fun swimming & having a BBQ with the Curtis Clan. Grandma Kathy always has the most scrumptious food.

☆Sunday of course were Ryler's Blessing Festivities & then Spence spent the night at the Simas' & Kaylea was off to the Arizona Grande Resort with the Check's. 

☆Then Monday began with seeing the add in the paper for $9000 off of a Truck! Having had gone 6months or so with only 1 vehicle we hopped on this offer. We spent the afternoon picking out a truck & getting the deal done. We had the 3 little boys with us &...

Tim chose RED since that's all his boys favorite color. Daylan thought he had the coolest Dad in town. Plus it showed our Patriotism being that it was the 4th!

Then we rewarded the boys for good behavior by going to the Dollar Theatre & seeing "Rio", a movie about a BLUE bird. (was feeling so festive) It was surprisingly very entertaining!

☆That evening we met up with Lonnie, Lace & Ash to watch some good ol' Queen Creek fireworks. We all piled in to the new RED truck! These Californians had to admit they were impressed & pleasantly surprised with the show. I caught this pic of a firework & didn't notice the detail of each star in the flame till later.

Jax was blown away by the fireworks show & would let out a squeal with each one.

After the show we drove a whole 3 minutes (I ♥ our little town!) back to the McCleve's & did our own fireworks. The 1st ones my kids had ever done here in AZ since it's now legal. They loved it! 

look at the Stars in Spence's eyes...

TIm & Lonnie put on some much bigger fireworks in the yard that were loud & a little on the crazy side. The kids loved it!!...but not as much as Tim. :)

Lucky Kaylea got to spend the day swimming at the Arizona Grande Resort with cousins Ava, Sophie & Elsie. She had a blast swimming & even got to watch fireworks show out the window as they ate dinner. She got dropped off late that night & we did a couple more little fireworks in the backyard that we had saved for her.

☆WE LOVE AMERICA!☆

*Blessed*

 Ryler was given a name & a blessing on July 3, 2011. 

~RYLER THOMAS CAMPBELL~

Some of the wonderful things he was blessed with were:

* Having the desire to serve others & to be an Example

*Have a shield of protection from wickedness

*The blessing of holding the Priesthood
*Have the ability & desire to say "Yes" to church callings

* Be able to live in the World but avoid things harmful to the Spirit

* Find a choice spirit to marry in God's house & raise a righteous family

In the circle to bless him stood Tim, Grandpa Tom, Uncles Danny & Phylip, Grandpa Lonnie, Uncles Mason, Jason, Scott & Great Uncle Terry. {Unable to attend were Uncles Tommy, Brian, Marcus} In the congregation were about 40 more family members & loved ones. 

I got up and bore my testimony to the ward after the blessing. My heart was so full after going through such the emotional roller coaster that we have in the last few months & year. This has been a record year for me getting up to do that...I think 4 times. 

I determined why: Trials bring blessings.
Blessings bring us closer to God...thus the humility and testimony bearing..

I mentioned the fact that everyone had witnessed a miracle that morning whether they recognized it or not. That miracle being that lil' Ryler had not been colicky that entire morning. We have experienced extreme colic at our house & we were literally blessed that morning to be free of it. I said that I figured Ryler must've known it was his blessing day.

The true miracle is that his colic has decreased so substantially since that day, that I would not even call it colic anymore...just gas bubbles here and there.


*After Sacrament Meeting we had family over for a little Lunch at our rental house. {We realized once again how much family we really do have between us & hoped for the miracle of the bread and fishes.} :)...And to think that a good number of family were not even there!} I didn't think to get pictures of any of the family because Ryler slept peacefully for hours after his blessing!! 

{If you look closely you'll notice Ry in two different blessing outfits. The actual day of he wore Spencer's lil' tux onesie because his hadn't yet arrived in the mail. That's just how my life usually goes...There was a big mix up in the mail-so almost 2 weeks later when it arrived we did another little photoshoot. You can see a difference in the amount of chub on his cheeks too.}

~Now more than ever, I am so grateful for this sweet little boy that Father in Heaven has sent to us. He always knows the bigger picture and knows the end from the beginning. I can't imagine my life before or without our precious Ryler. 
Funny how that happens...

Ryler's First Photo Shoot

{Ryler didn't exactly cooperate for these pics, but we still managed to get a few good ones of the lil' guy.}

*There's nothing sweeter than a father's strong hands holding his fragile newborn baby. I love how it's as almost as if Ryler is looking up to his Dad as to say..."Take good care of me", "Teach me all that I must do..."

{Notice the wedding ring that is now gone...And the extra skin that seems to fall off my baby.}

I wanted pics of US ALL on our bed cuz that's our story...our kids jump & gather on our bed. Day & Night. They want to snuggle and be by us. 

Does it get any cuter?

My favorite part of Motherhood=Witnessing my Children loving each other

All the pain, the hardships...It was all worth it.

{A Nipple on his nipple... :) & Hat made by Grandma}

Ryler we are so glad you came to our family. 
We Love You.
Your smile makes us smile.

...Yeah, I think he's glad to be here.

Spence turns 11...

June 9th the moment finally came....

Wait for it...

Wait for it....

SPeNcE said that ALL he wanted for his birthday was a: DSI-XL & so that's what he got.

Earlier in the day he woke up to the traditional donuts & balloons,
& had a few of his buddies over to swim. (Pierce & Jarrett)
& swam again later with the fun Aunt Sara.
He went on a Scavenger Hunt to discover his gift his D.S.
and then we had cake & ice cream.
Spence was one content kid.

(watch jax at the end...)

Some things that we'll want to Remember about Spence at this age:

*Takes on a lot as the Big Brother.

*Picks up the slack & is much appreciated by his parents.
Easy going; Gets along with most everybody!
*Gets upset when he thinks somebody doesn't like him.
*Is the designated Pooper Scooper" around here.
*Knows what he's doing EVERY Friday Night...=Boys HIP HOP
*Is excited to go to Church Dances where he can show off his skillz.
*Converted Daylan to be a "Jackie Chan" show watcher. I think they've seen all the episodes.

*Talks too much in his Church class-His teacher said that if HE didn't talk for the whole class time, they'd all get treats...still waiting on that.

*His last 3 sets of church teachers would come up to us periodically & say how Spencer would always know all the right answers.
*Missed the ELP trip to San Diego to be here when Ryler was born.
*Writes so fast that his handwriting is not legible.
*Has an AMAZING memory that actually scares me.
..Will quote movies like it's no big deal.

*Has a good sense of humor (although his pre-teen ways take it overboard at times)

*Can put his contacts both in under 1 minute flat & is proud of that since it used to take 20.
*Has an ever-so-little crush on a girl...I'd could tell you who but then I'd have to kill you.
*Makes his classic "Origami cards" to give out for people's birthdays or special occasions.
*Can't be dishonest even if he tries...(gets a guilty look in his eyes)
*Favorite Food= Sausage Pizza  Treat= Chocolate Chip Cookies/Brownies
Drink= Blue Raspberry Crush  Scripture Story= Samuel the Lamanite 
*Thought recently that he could "teach" his newborn brother to sit up.
I explained it didn't quite work that way.
*Enjoys making flip-note cartoons & Has already made one on his new D.S. (pretty good & comical)
*Is in a competing Hip Hop Boys Dance Crew & loves it. Is fantastic as it strengthens his muscles, confidence, friendships & life experiences.
*Only sees very blurry images without his glasses/contacts...inherited from his Father.

*Him & Kaylea like to "Picto-Chat" (text each other) on their D.S's from room to room. (The other night they bore their souls & told each other who they "liked.")

*Is & has always been a climber...likes to climb trees & walls.

*Is the go-to guy when any of us have problem with the remotes/computers.
*Likes to read from his "Gross Fact Book" & gross us out!
*Might be going to a new school this year...? (we'll see)
*Beat-boxing is a hidden talent of his. (wants to try out the drums)
*Loves diving & doing flips off the diving board. (freaks me out!)

*In the Summer his skin turns brown & his hair bright blonde

*Babysits on occasion for us (all kids minus ryler)

*Has collected & Read all the Harry Potter & Diary of A Wimpy Kid Books
*Learning to play/sing "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" on guitar

Daylan The 6 Year Old

The day before Dude's 6th Birthday, he said to me with his sweet grin... "Mom, I am SO excited for my party tomorrow!!" I couldn't bear to tell him that there was NO party. I try and do the Friend Party every other year thing & this year was the off year (thank goodness w/ the craziness.) We were going to of course still have our little family party as planned, but I knew he'd be devastated upon finding out his buddies were not showing up..Obviously I hadn't communicated this very well to him.

So that evening about dinner time I quickly called up some of his closest buddies Crew, Riggs, Jett & Kian to come over the next morning.  

The big day, June 17th, we swam, had popsicles, gatorades, frozen corn dogs & called it a party. Thanks to Gma Kathy & Aunt Sara they brought these YUMMY homemade frosting-ed brownie bites. They were delectable. This "party" might have even been funner than last year's...(and a lot cheaper.)

RYLER even celebrated by getting in his "swimsuit" for the 1st time.

Later in the day the party continued...

as Tim got home from work, we had dinner, cupcakes & presents.

& cousins came to swim.

It was a good "Day."

Some things we want to Remember about Daylan at 6 years old:

*Is learning to cross his eyes...I'm so proud (not)

*Has a beautiful voice that melts my heart 

..Has perfect pitch and a soothing tone.

*Tender hearted. It kills him to see his siblings sad. He is oftentimes sadder than them.

* Kisses Jaxson's cheeks all the time.-so much so that Jax gets bugged.

*Still occasionally calls his parents "Mommy & Daddy"

*Favorite Color= RED, *Food= macaroni *Treat=ice cream cones

*Has the Campbell-Pout down pat.

*Can give a dirty look that would scare a bad guy. 

*His big grin makes his eyes squinty-like his Mom's.

*Does not enjoy reading books as much as Kay & Spence but Reads very well.

*Has played video games since he could sit up...& is a little too good at it.

*Impresses Grandpa Tom with his "Angry Birds" & Ball throwing skills.

*His cheeks are so squeezy you could eat 'em.

*Is a big-time snuggler which his Mom & Dad love!

*Makes his friends jealous that he can SNAP!

*Wishes he would hurry & lose a tooth!

*Not the most patient child....

*Throws a tantrum like nobody's business.

*His friends' Mothers think he's the perfect angel & laugh at the above comment.

*Has yet to conquer the task of riding a 2 wheeler bike (will last about 5 seconds- then falls)

*Watches "Jackie Chan"episodes on Netflix all the time with Spencer.

*Will ask me randomly..."Mom are you mad about anything?"

*Has a face full of perfectly sun-kissed freckles.

*Can get under Kaylea's skin in 2.2 seconds &  vice versa.

*Misses playing Soccer games every Saturday.

*Still gets an occasional awful ear infection. (Had tubes in years ago, fell out but never got another set.)

*Is terrified about getting more shots in 5 years when he's 11.

*This is his first summer swimming completely comfortably across pool.

*Loves to do cannon-balls, is learning to Snorkel.

*When his older siblings are around he can hardly get a word in edgewise, 

...But when he does it's usually a funny one liner. 

*...Classic middle child syndrome-just like his Dad.

*Sleeps in a Queen bed w/ Jax. They love watching movies together as they fall asleep.

*Wanted to be a Police Man until Spence told him you have to get tasered & sprayed with mace!! Now he is in turmoil trying to decide on a new career!

*All his Teachers (& the ladies at church) are in love with him.

...Not to mention his Mom who would not be complete without her "Day-Day."