Road Trip

Don't worry, all the wonderful pictures of Christmas are coming soon (only 500 to go through), but first the fun of getting to Denver . . .

Snowy roads + One small jeep + 3 kids + Lots of presents, etc =Loads of fun for mom and dad

The day before we left

So much fun to be so close to brothers

taking a break from the road

Colton's first road trip! He actually did great!

Party, Party, Party

Church parties, work parties, family parties, book club parties, birthday parties and even a wedding - all in the first half of December.

Corbin and his buddy Jimmy waiting to see Santa at the ward party

The kids table at the Mendenhall Christmas Party

Playing games with second cousins

Colton had plenty of kids to watch

Telling Santa what he wants for Christmas the the Fire Dept Party

Colton's first time meeting Santa
Cody refused to sit on Santa's lap, and Santa insisted that mom should just come too.

Maybelline and Marcus

My date for the wedding
Just part of the awesome wedding entertainment, we left at 10:30 and the party was just getting started

Sorry, no pictures of the two book clubs I hosted at my house or the super fun party at Jungle Jims playland (my camera died!). Thanks to all our friends and family for making this such a fun and busy holiday season!

Highlights of 2008 - Misadventures of a 2 yr old boy

One of the great memories of this year will definitely be cleaning, lots and lots of cleaning. Cleaning toothpaste out of the carpet, cleaning a vaseline-coated stuffed monkey, cleaning baby powder out the bed at 10pm, cleaning marker out of the curtains . . . I could go on and on. Yes, this has been the year of exploring for Cody. It is cute to say that my kid's favorite thing to do is to make a mess, but it is quite another to have to clean it up. It's a good thing I am not a fussy housekeeper - I do not make my kids eat in the kitchen, there are pen and crayon circles on several walls in my house, and when my kids spill, I generally just tell them to get a towel and we move on. But right after I had Colton, I started to wonder if I would ever be able to leave Cody in a room alone without coming back to a little (or big) surprise. Some of his favorites included rinsing my wall with an entire bottle of spray and wash, cleaning the infant carseat with toothpaste, putting lotion all over his body (without bothering to take his church clothes off first), feeding salt to all of my plants and any other surface where it might look cool, putting a sandwich in his bed to "save it for later", dumping entire boxes of cereal onto the pantry floor, seeing how bum cream tastes and then deciding it was better rubbed on the skin and clothes, washing his hair with the water from the fish tank, and . . . I'm pretty sure I blocked the rest out. It's been fun, but I do hope we are out of that stage (at least until Colton starts discovering fun things too).

Christmas Elf

Corbin had a "Little Elf" party today for their last day before break. I remembered at about 11pm last night that he was supposed to dress up like an elf today and all I could think of while I was at Wal mart at that time of night was bells. So I had to get my butt out of bed this morning and get creative. So here's what we came up with. Corbin was pretty happy and I thought he was a pretty dang cute little elf.

Everyday, really?

What on earth was I thinking when I said I would post something everyday for the month of December? I can barely do once a week sometimes and that's not even when I have a hundred other things on my plate and something going on every night! Really, my husband has only been home one night this month when he was not working or we had some party or something. That was back on the 9th. Luckily we decided to take the boys to the light festival that night or we probably would have missed it this year! And now, my husband is gone at work for three days while I try to finish Christmas cards, neighbor treats, shopping, wrapping everything, laundry and packing for Denver. He will get home Monday morning when we will host his parents for breakfast/Christmas presents, etc. and then we will pack the car and leave for Denver the next morning. It seems like everything I need to do is something that is much better done when my boys are sleeping, so needless to say I have had alot of late nights. Anyway, long story short I have given up on the "everyday" thing and you will just get what you get. (It was really more for myself anyway, since I never scrapbook anymore and I just want to keep track of everything before I forget!) Hope everyone else's holiday preparations are going smashingly . . .

Highlights of 2008 - so many "firsts"

Of course since we have a new baby, this year is all about "firsts", but the other boys had a few as well. So here's the rundown with a few pics, too. :)

First time holding their new brother

Colton's first bath

Colton's first rice cereal. Yum

Corbin's first lost teeth (yes, they were already growing back by the time I took the picture)

Cody's first stitches (see the whole story here)

My first child in elementary school

Colton's first time in the pool

Our first slip n slide

Corbin's first time in baseball and soccer

Colton discovers the Christmas tree

The other day while I was washing the dishes, Colton was cruising around the kitchen in his walker. Next thing I know, I'm looking for him and realize he has made it out of the kitchen, through the living room, past the computer to the front room where our Christmas tree is. He was totally enthralled. Luckily its fake so he didn't get too poked, and since I already have to worry about a two year old, I don't really have ornaments that I can't live without. For a few minutes, Colton was totally intent on getting this little santa snowman . . .

getting closer . . . "If I grab the tree, then maybe I can get him."

"Ah-ha. got it!"
"Now for the taste test . . ."
"Oh, no. I've been caught!"

I figured it out!

So I finally found the right cord to hook up my video camera to the computer, but then, since I've only done it like one time - I couldn't figure out how to get it to compress to the right size so I could actually post it. Ahhh! But alas, I think I have figured it out. It's not the best quality, but you get the picture. So enjoy. (If you missed this post a couple days ago on Corbin's Rodeo Debut, click here.)

Star Student

Corbin was the "Star Student" in Kindergarten last week. He (and his mom) made this awesome poster that told things he likes to do etc. Actually he picked most of the pictures and what he wanted to say and then his procrastinating mom stayed up until 1:30am putting it on the board. Don't worry, I am not setting any precedents here, I will not be doing this for the rest of his school career - really, I promise.
The Star Student gets to be the teachers helper all week. They also get to choose whatever else they want to do. Corbin had me come in and read a Christmas story, his dad went and did a firefighter thing, and on Friday he took treats for the whole class. He loved telling every one about his poster and certainly felt special when his parents came in. Love you, Corbin!

Highlights of 2008 - Bear Lake

There's not much to explain about this, since I already posted a good amount of pics when we went back in July. Click here to see. But if anyone is interested in learning more about Bear Lake itself you can check out this site. It really is absolutely gorgeous and the lake is huge. I think it is something like 1mile wide by 11 miles long. If you are into boating, etc it is great because you can go out and have your own little part of the lake without others bugging you. We usually camp, but one year we went with the Maxwell fam and stayed in a big condo and that was awesome too. Bear Lake is as close to "going to the beach" as my kids get and they think its great (plus no salt water!).

So I wanna know, anyone else have experiences at Bear Lake?

Highlights of 2008 - Corbin's Rodeo Debut

For about the last year, Corbin has been set on this thing that he wants to be "everything" when he grows up. At the rodeo in Denver in January, when we were watching the bare-back bronc riding, he leaned over to me and said, "I want to be everything except that". I couldn't agree more. Fun to watch, but no way I want my kid being thrown around like that. Fast forward six months to a warm summer night where I sit in the stands getting ready to video tape my kid as he bolts out holding on for dear life to a fuzzy little sheep. I was so proud of him! I'm still not sure whether he liked it or not, but at least he can say he did it.

I have been trying to find the cord to my video camera, so I can post the little cowboy in action, but its still missing, so you'll have to live with pictures for now. Hopefully I can post the video sometime soon. Check out the pics from the original post here.

(Yes, I missed a day of posting our "Highlights", but I have to stop cheating and going back. I already did that once. Plus I kind of have an excuse, besides hosting both of my book clubs the last two nights, my mouse was broken! I still used my computer, but it was such a pain!! I was trying to finish our Christmas cards and got so frustrated I could not do anything else. Oh well, I'm sure you all will understand.)

Highlights of 2008 - School

I feel like somehow I have advanced as a parent now because I have a child in elementary school. It is like a whole new phase in our lives. Corbin was so excited and talked about it for months and months. I was sad though because I loved his preschool and just hoped that he would like kindergarten just as much. Corbin was lucky enough to go to the BYU preschool and he LOVED it! It was such a good environment, with very caring teachers. I also liked the fact that they had observation booths so I could wach him without him knowing. It was really fun to see him interact without mom hovering over him. It was a small challenge, because it was about a thirty minute drive each way, but I think it was worth it. I am already debating whether or not to send Cody there. It is hard for me to go anywhere else when I know it is so good!Corbin in the "treehouse"; they have the awesomest classroom and outdoor play area

Corbin and his head teacher, Mr. Brad

Corbin and Dorie, the other head teacher, our long time friend, and our "in" at the BYU Preschool

It turns out that Corbin does love Kindergarten, so far anyway. This week he is the "star student", which means he gets to be the teacher's helper all week. We made a poster all about him, I got to go read to his class, and he got to have his dad come and do a little firefighter gig. Tomorrow I am taking treats for him to give to all of his friends. He has a fantastic teacher - I just hope we get this lucky every year! For pics of Corbin's big first day of kindergarten, click here.

I should also mention, while I am talking about school, that Russ has loved going to school this year as well. He is studying computer programming and his fire dept is paying for it! Doesn't get much better than that! He has been taking just one class at a time (since he does have two jobs as well), so finishing the actual degree will take f-o-r-e-v-e-r, but soon he will have enough skills to start doing some work and some real projects (and hopefully someone will pay him for that.) But the important thing is that he loves it. And he is lucky because he can do alot of his homework at work.

Grad school for me is still floating around, but probably not next semester like I had hoped. What's one more year, right? Maybe by then I will actually be getting more sleep and have my brain back.

HELP Story of the Month

Remember the organization I work with - HELP International? Well, here's our little PR story for this month. I don't know if this story will have he same meaning for you as it does for me, but after having worked at this orphanage several times over a few years, I feel like I have seen some of these kids grow up and it just drives it home that they really will spend their entire lives in this institution. I am so glad that we have volunteers there year-round now. I have seen the difference it makes! Enjoy this little feel good story . . .

While most newlyweds are saving up for their first house or spending money on extravagant honeymoons, just four months into their marriage Sam and Laura Webb spent their summer volunteering at Hogar del Niño, an orphanage for disabled children in El Salvador with approximately 140 residents. Not only were they not paid for their work, but they also funded their own travel and living expenses. “It was worth the money,” Sam says. “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and this was the perfect time to make that sacrifice.”

Sam and Laura spent three months living in a small house on the orphanage property, teaching classes and playing with the children. Every day was filled with planning and activities. Though the activities may seem simple, Sam and Laura put thought and effort into every activity. “The hardest and most stressful part was the planning,” Laura says. “We had to come up with new and fun activities all the time.”

They planned multiple activities each day. In the mornings they played games with children with severe disabilities, afternoons were spent teaching classes to children with only moderate disabilities and every night was play time. While working at Hogar del Niño, Sam and Laura organized talent shows, glamour shots, a trash bag fashion show, a hunt for Bigfoot and pirate day—just to name a few. At first Sam and Laura were worried about coming up with new ideas, but soon realized the children did not care if they repeated activities. They were happy to have people to play with them. As Sam and Laura soon learned, a little love and attention went a long way at Hogar del Niño. For instance, something as simple as a hand-me-down bicycle is all it takes to make the dreams of a child come true.

For Roberto, a resident of Hogar del Niño, the nuns found him a bike for his 16th birthday. Although he did not know how to ride the bike and it was pink and purple, he immediately named his it the Speed Racer 6,000 and refused to let it out of his sight. He spent all day walking his bike around the grounds. Eventually training wheels were added to his bike so he could ride. He announced to everyone before pedaling away, “Watch out, I'm going to increase my speed!”

“You'll never meet more fun kids,” Laura says. “They are well cared for, but the orphanage is understaffed so the children rarely get personal attention.”

The Hogar del Nino Orphanage in El Salvador was founded in 1986 by a Catholic priest named Padre Vito Guarato. It currently serves as a home for 138 persons with physical and mental disabilities. Residents of Hogar come as babies or young children and stay there for the rest of their lives. Unlike many orphanages in Central and South America, the Hogar is a safe, clean, and loving environment for the residents. However, the orphanage caregivers have their hands so full caring for the physical needs of the residents, that they cannot plan activities or spend time with individual children. Before HELP International partnered with Hogar, many of the residents spent all day every day sitting in their wheelchairs. For this reason, HELP International teamed up with Hogar del Niño in 2006 to send volunteers to live and serve in the orphanage.

“I gained a love for people with disabilities and more understanding of a whole different culture and had fun doing it,” Sam says.

To read more about our work at Hogar del Niño visit their blog at http://hogarproject.blogspot.com/ or click here to learn more about the program and how to get involved.

Highlights of 2008 - Birthdays

Besides Colton's actual birth-day, Corbin and Cody had fun birthdays this year as well. Because I was feeling way pregnant and not inclined to spending alot of time planning and preparing to be frazzled by a bunch of small children running around, I went the easy route. Cody had his party at Chuck E. Cheese's, which of course he loved, and it was perfect for inviting families with different ages. Corbin had his party at this place called Jumpin' Jacks. It has all those blow up type bouncers, slides, etc. The kids disappeared and it was all I could do to get them to come in for food and cake. It was great! All in all, kids were happy, parents were happy - I'd call that successful birthdays.

Oh, and of course I had a big one this year . . .check it out here and here. It was actually really great and I am so glad not to be a "twenty-something" anymore. I have definitely moved on in my life and am much more mature than that. :)

Highlights of 2008 - The Elk Hunt

Obviously this was a highlight for my husband, but I can't leave him out, now can I? You can click here to see what I posted before. I just asked Russ what the best part of this year was and he said "bow-hunting with my dad." I pretty much already knew that, but I just wanted to check. I think for him there is alot more to it than just going out and trying to shoot an animal. It's about sharing something with his dad, including the months of planning, staring at maps for hours, packing and preparing the horses and all the other stuff they get to do together. It is a way for him to bond. Kind of like us girls going for lunch and pedis - only alot colder and much more work. :) I am glad Russ is such good friends with his Dad and that they can share these times together and look forward to it every year.

This year they went bow-hunting in August (above). Last year they went on the rifle hunt in October (below). Brrr.

Highlights of 2008 - babysitting my neice and nephew

In January of this year I got a free trip out to Denver, only there was a catch - I had to babysit my niece and nephew for five days. My sister and her husband were off to a red carpet event in LA. Of course I was totally willing, and it turns out it wasn't so bad. Although I was pregnant, and I'm sure they would say pretty ornery, we all had a great time. I took Corbin and Cody with me and of course for them it was like one big sleep over (though they didn't really do much of that.) It was late nights and early mornings, and busy days, but we loved it! What I liked the most was being able to get to know Lexi and Levi a little better and getting to feel their love. They are so sweet and kind! I wish we got to see them more!

going "sledding" in the living room

coloring and making many, many pictures

Corbin and Lexi at the Rodeo (thanks to Grandpa Dave for watching the other two!)

Trying to get a picture of the four of them at the Buttefly Pavilion proved to be quite tricky

good thing Grandma Jill was there to help!

Other highlights of this trip included getting to see Uncle Matt. I don't remember why he was in town, but lucky us! And taking the four kids to see their great, great grandparents. This was the last time we saw Grandpa Likely, who passed away the day Colton was born.

The other highlight was that my sister is going to pay me back this year when I leave my kids to go to . . . Africa? (wink, wink Megan) :)

Highlights of 2008 - Conference with Yunus

One of the highlights of my year was getting to attend the Social Business and Microeconomic Opportunities for Youth Conference in Denver in March. It was great for so many reasons. I got to go on a short trip without my kids, fly and hang with two of my good friends, stay in my Dad's hotel, see my brother Matt from Chicago, be there for my Dad's 50th birthday celebration and of course, the conference was awesome. The keynote speaker was Muhammed Yunus who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in creating micro loans for the poor. He started in Bangladesh, where he is from, over 25 years ago and it has now become a worldwide movement with thousands of organizations providing microcredit and microbusiness training to the poorest of the poor (mostly people living on less than a dollar or two a day). I am so glad that he won this award, although he has revolutionized international development, he is such a humble and kind person - he deserves every bit of recognition! I enjoyed hearing him speak and the many others at the conference that really inspired me to continue on my path of finding ways to contribute to alleviating poverty around the world. (And yes, I was very pregnant in these pictures, ugh.)

I was privileged to get to have breakfast with Yunus one morning (me and 300 others). :)

Yunus, Me, and my friends, Jen Boehme Kumar and Genevieve Brown

Highlights of 2008 - organized sports

Corbin got to play baseball and soccer for the first time this year. It was an interesting experience. He did "Smart Start Baseball", which is one of those things where they don't really divide up into teams - it's more of a parent/child learning thing. Too bad they had the parents pitch for part of it, poor Corbin never had a chance with me getting like 1 out of every five in any remotely close area for him to even try and hit. He had fun, but I don't think he is going to be a baseball kid. Too boring for him (good for me, because I tend to agree.) The funnest part was seeing the kids running randomly around after they hit the ball, trying to figure out what this whole thing was about.

Soccer was the usual 5 year old bunch ball. For monst kids it was their first year playing, but a few of them were quite natural. Corbin was a little timid and too nice to take the ball away from anyone - even the other team. He was really good at letting everyone have a turn. he told me he did like practices way more than the games though. In his words, "why would anyway want to just fight over one ball the whole time?" In practice they all got their own ball and they played all different kinds of fun games. He had a great coach - Thanks Jennifer! We had fun watching him. Who knows if he will do it again next year, but you have to let them try it all, right?

Highlights of 2008 - the election

Shhh, don't tell anyone, but I am 30 years old and this is the first time I have voted. I have never really been into politics and I think I felt like many people do, that my vote didn't really matter - especially in such a red state. But I was so intrigued this time - and I have learned so much. I have truly been interested and engaged in those news shows that I used to find totally boring and meaningless. Maybe it is because of the turn in the economy and how it is effecting me and my family. Or maybe I am just maturing and moving beyond just getting my news from Jay Leno and Staurday Night Live. This is an interesting time for our country and I am glad to be a part of it. I don't want this to be a political statement or to get into a debate with anyone, but I am excited about our new president and the change that is coming. I know I have friends and family on both sides of the political arena, but just so you know - I voted for Obama and we won! Yeah! It has been very interesting to see what he has done with his cabinet already and I am very intrigued to see what happens next year. I know there are many of you who have been critical - so here's a link to check out where he stands on the issues. http://www.barackobama.com/issues/. Obviously I don't agree with everything, but it is done and he is our president - come what may. . .

So to make a sort of uncoherent posting brief, this has been a highlight for me this year - following the political debates, learning more about our country's government, and electing a new president that I actually believe in and am excited about.

Highlights of 2008 - Maxwell Family Reunion

I am really getting off easy on this one because I already did a post on this event back in July (click here to view), but I have to add it because it really was one of the great highlights of the year. The last reunion we had with this side of my family (my dad's fam) was the year Russ and I got married. It was right after we got back from our honeymoon and included our second reception - needless to say, I wasn't totally involved in the reunion. The reunion before that I was a delinquent teenager and was not totally engaged then either. So this one was significant and memorable in many ways. It was really fun to see so many of the next generation getting to know each other and allowing them to see that they are really a part of something bigger. They all have alot of people that love and care about them. I love my family!

PS If you do check out the last posting, just realize that this was when I first started using blogger and it was a learning experience. . .

Highlights of 2008 - Grass!

Strange, I know. In comparison to having a baby, getting grass may seem like a small detail. But after two winters and one summer of dirt and mud, I was so grateful! We put it in less than two weeks afte I had Colton, so I wasn't much help, but a big THANK YOU to my sister, my in-laws and all our neighbors who came over unsolicited on a Saturday morning and got it done in just over an hour. It made me love my neighborhood even more! We have sure been enjoying our grass since that wonderful day . . .

Playing on the slip n slide with their friend Jimmy

Playing in the sprinklers

playing firefighter
playing with old Halloween costumes

playing on their Little Tikes slide

Colton's first time in the grass!

Highlights of 2008 - Visits from Family

I think it is very interesting how it works with family when you have kids . . . there are these people that they see three or four times a year (or less), every now and then they look at pictures of them, sometimes they get cards from them and yet somehow they are just supposed to love them. But you know the crazy thing is that they do! My family all live in Denver, so a couple times a year we get to go there and every now then some of them come here. My boys LOVE having them come visit! Of course, this year I think we got spoiled with a few extra visits because we had a baby. :) Thanks to everyone for making the effort - We love you!

Grandma and Grandpa Jensen (Russ's dad's parents) came down from Oregon in April and we are so glad they could make the trip. This was the last time we saw Grandma, she passed away just a few weeks ago.

Our Jensen cousins came down from Idaho and got to go to Corbin's birthday party at Jumpin Jacks. What a great surprise!
Aunt Megan got to come shortly after Colton was born. What a great help that was! (Grandma Jill came before that, but some of us ended up sick and we didn't get a single picture!)

Uncle Mason came to help too. Or maybe he just came for the fishing and boating . . .
Grandpa Dave came for Colton's baby blessing. It turned out to be a short trip, but we are SO grateful he came!

Finally, a picture with Grandma Jill! Grandma can never stay away long. She came for my birthday in October. That was a nice treat!
Uncle Matt decided that he wanted to come to Utah for HIS birthday. We are so glad that Matt and Layna are in Denver now instead of Chicago so they can come visit much more often! (I'm pretty sure my brother would want me to tell you that his awesome 'stache was for a charity thing - I think he was just feeling nostalgic for the 80's).

Uncle Mason came again and spent his entire fall break with us and we loved it! I hope he felt the same. We can't run around everyday like we used to when he would come. Three kids (one being a small baby) makes a big difference, but I hope he had a little fun. Thank you Mason!

For Thanksgiving, we got to see our Idaho Jensen cousins again. Corbin misses them so much! He got to spend alot of time playing with his best friend, Oaklie. They are just two months apart and he talks about her all the time and all the things they are going to do (including going on the Amazing Race)

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." -Jane Howard

Two Thanksgivings

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. Russ had to work at the fire station, so we did the Jensen family thing and then the fire family thing. It was hectic, but fun. We had Thanksgiving lunch at my in-laws with all the cousins, etc. We played and let the food settle a little and then we headed to Murray (about 45min) for an awesome dinner cooked entirely by the firemen. Several of our friends were there, so it was a good time. The boys always love going to see dad, especially when there are other kids to play with and the adults are pre-occupied with eating and visiting.

Colton's first Thanksgiving! He actually loved his mom's orange jello and the potatoes. (this is a kid who eats maybe 2 bites of food a day) The boys had fun making little turkeys with Grandma and the cousins.

The kids table at the station. They waited so patiently!

Playing in the firetruck is a must.


Laying with their "blankets" (aka white towels use dry the fire truck) watching Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving . . .

until Cody crashed the party!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jessica, Josh, Cody, Rosemary, Corbin

Highlights of 2008- Colton joined our Family!

I decided to do something this month to recover from my guilt of hardly posting at all last month and to recap the year, since I didn't start blogging until half way through . . . so every day in December you will get "Highlights of 2008". Not in any particular order, chronologically or significantly, but this will be our year in a nutshell. Hope you enjoy!

So although I said that these weren't in order, this one probably is the most significant and the first that came to my mind. Plus, I feel bad about not posting pictures or anything when he hit the six month mark last month.

Colton Doyle Jensen joined us on Saturday, May 17, 2008 in the evening (horrible, I know, I really can't remember the time). I will spare you the gory details, but share a little, because who doesn't love a good birth story, right? He was due on May 25, but since both of my other boys were a week early, I was kind of planning him to be that way too. But when that weekend started to roll closer and NOTHING was happening, I decided I better make some plans so I didn't just sit around waiting for a week. On Friday (the 16th), my friend Dorie and I went to the spa and lunch at the cheesecake factory (thanks to an awesome, unsolicited Mother's day present from my hubby). Got home that night and talked to my friend Amber on the phone in Denver, who was expecting a baby day before me. She was seriously wanting to have her baby on the 17th, so she called me to tell me some herbal thing she was trying to go into labor and was trying to get me to do it too. My philosophy with babies is that no matter how much pregnancy sucks at the end, they are always easier in than out - so I was in no rush. About an hour later, I realized I was either continually peeing my pants or my water had broke. My husband thought it was funny. I assured him that it was not funny, because peeing your pants is not that unusual at this stage. Anyway - I am dragging this out. Turns out my water did break, I tried to convince my husband that I could sleep at home and go in in the morning, because at this point I was still not contracting or anything. Didn't work. We checked in at midnight (after a stop at the gas station for some last minute snacks), they put me on pitocin about 3am and by 3pm they were talking c-section because nothing was happening. My mother-in-law and my other two boys came to visit around 4 because they were tired of waiting and when my husband went to walk them out of the car Colton decided it was time to come out. Russ came back, got the nurse and he was already crowning. A short time later, there he was, 7lbs 7oz and only 19 1/2 inches - my smallest baby yet. (See I told you I would spare the gory, painful details).

It took us a few hours to decide on Colton's name. We had obviously debated for months and not decided on anything. His middle name comes from my great grandfather, Doyle Porter Likely. Saturday morning I got a call that he had gone into the hospital the night before. A few hours later I got the call that he had passed away. He was 101 years old, he was still living at home with his wife Betty. They are both amazing. I am really happy about the legacy of his name. As a side note, my brother is also named after him, Matthew Doyle, and growing up I always thought he had a weird middle name and felt sorry for him. Now I love it! Strange how things change, eh?

His brothers love him (most of the time) and we are really happy that he is in our family! This was definitely the biggest event of 2008.