The First Year

All of us at Dad's Institute Graduation. You are right under the Diploma.

3 more months and you'll be here!

Less than 1 month left and you'll be here!

You arrived!

We loved you before you were even born.

Daddy was so tired, but very proud.

In Labor waiting for you to come.

This is your first picture. You were screaming!

We were trying to get a whole family photo, but Ben didn't want his picture taken.

Freshly bathed.

Right after your first bath, you were cold. So we snuggled for the first time.

Our most recent family photo.

Christmas Morning.
(We left that afternoon for Primary Children's. You were so sick.)

Finally Home, but still struggling.

Ben loves you!

4 Generations
Grandma JoDee, G-G (Grandma Hunter), Symi, and Mommy (Brittany)

Sleepy Baby.

Sitting up

Not happy in the basket.

Sleepy baby again.

Just cute as a cupcake!

Bright eyes!

(This is one of my favorites, you were starting to feel better. This picture you had just finished smiling when the flash went off and Ben suddenly snuck into the photo. You 2 were so cute I just couldn't resist.)

Side by side.

Ready for a winter Drive!

I sat you in the bouncer and turned around for just a moment. When I turned back around you were fast asleep, holding onto a toy.

Giggling with Ben.
(This is when your hair started to fall out from all the trauma.)

We would smoosh you into the couch for Family Prayers.
Dad loved to leave you in there and let you watch everyone else getting ready for bed.

Learning to sit.

Big Beautiful Blue Eyes

Crawling and into many things!

Hugs from Ben.

Another sleeping baby.

Happy Halloween!

Sitting with Ben.

Smile!

Hold her arms Ben she's trying to get the camera.
Ben: Ok Mommy we're ready!

Love you two!

Kisses!

Easter Egg!

Kisses!

Mommy and Symi

Another picture with you and Ben.

At an indoor archery shoot. You slept almost the whole time.

My #1 and #2.

Starting to crawl backwards.

Pulling yourself up onto everything and your tongue was always sticking out!
Concentration!

Snuggling with Mommy.

Very Happy Baby Girl!
(You hair started to grow back in and get long!)

Proud to be a climber!

Baby girl our lives will never be the same without you! We love you so much. Despite all that we've been through in the last year, it's one that has been cherished and loved.

Ben's Birthday

Blowing out the candles!

Opening gifts.

Grandma JoDee, Kylee, Karylle, and baby Xyla

Grandma and Grandpa Hepworth

Handmade Stick horse from Grand- Hepworth's.

It wouldn't be a party without Dad falling through another chair.
I asked him how many this is now and he said he thinks it's #7.

Little Gracie said the water was Cold!

Tyson playing in the smaller pool.

Some of the neighborhood kids, playing with squirt guns in the larger pool.
Addi, Lexi, Ben, Eli, and Bailey.

Mom's and Dad's visiting and later playing in the water too.

Tyson again.

And again. He was so cute playing in the water!

Grandma Hepworth and Symi

Ben opening his gifts. He was spoiled!

His beloved pistol's that he constantly has attached to his hips.
He told me he's getting really good at shootin'.

He was so excited about his telescope, binoculars, and clock (compass).

Smiles!

He was THRILLED when he opened his shotgun!
Now he and Dad can go shootin' and huntin' together.

Ben wanted an Alligator cake. I started and the frosting was so warm and gooey it was all I could do to keep up and not make a huge mess. It wasn't what I was hoping for, but Ben was very happy! As long as we please the "Birthday Boy" we're good!

Happy Birthday to my little boy! I hope you had a wonderful day full of fun and friends!

Cookies

We have been buying different foods for Symi to try. And to see if we can get a variety of solids for her to eat. We finally found some sandwich cookies she can eat and brought them home. She doesn't like them very much. So lately Ben has been asking to have the "forbidden cookies" and because she's not eating them I give in.

So today he asked for some. I told him sure. He collects 3 of the cookies and goes back to watching his movie.

Symi spies the cookies and quietly crawls up next to him. Silently she watches both him and cookies. Ben is so engrossed into his movie that he doesn't notice her quietly sneaking his cookies out of his lap. She pulls them apart and picks out the inside eating the cookies one by one. Ben notices that Symi is smacking and turns to her.

"What are you eating baby girl?"
"MOM!!!!! MY COOKIES!!!!!!!"

Symi's sitting there smacking her lips, scrunched up in a proud sort of fashion and giggling to herself. She couldn't have been more happy.

Ben's bawling.

I'm laughing!

Then I inform Ben there are plenty more cookies in the pantry and he can go and get some more.

Life is so good!

Piggy Tails

My Pride and Joy! Not many babies can do this with their hair at 11 months old! She was so wiggly, squirmy, and grumpy about me doing her hair. I had to restrain her, hold her down, and cause many tears for 20 minutes to get this result. And alas it only lasted about an hour. I was tricky and entertained her with a napkin. Which she promptly tore into tiny pieces! I can't believe how grown up it made her look! She is growing and doing so well! We are very happy that both our kids are so healthy and happy!

Hawaii in Utah

What do you do when it's cold outside and you want the sun to come out to play?
Wear colorful Hawaiian lays and do the classic Sunshine Dance.
(Ok we just wore the lays and let Ben dance.)

Ben dancing.

He was mad when we dressed him up like this.
He just wanted 1 and to dance with the other one.

Dane wearing one too.

Hoping the Sunshine Dance worked for you too! Have a fun summer!

A little bit of Us

Duck lips. Ben's sticks his way out!

This is Symi disgusted look. She was mad at Ben for something.
I always laugh when she pulls this face!

Every month I take a picture of these 2 together.
Anymore Symi fights sitting on his lap and grabs at his hands.
Our latest ones were no good.
I'll post them later.

We like to pull faces.

His face got stuck!

Ben made a fort and asked for a picture.
He than knocked it down and stood on it like this.
"Ok, Mom I'm ready!"

Just a little smile before saying

The End

"The Call"

Our little household has had some BIG and MAJOR changes these last few months. This year we've been in the last leg of the CES (Church Education System) with Dane "Student Teaching". He will finish the last week in May. We received "the call" that we would not be hire but that we might. So a big maybe. We've been waiting patiently about where we are going, what we are going to do, and if we were going to move again. This last week we finally received our answer. No we will not be hire with the CES program. When we got the news we were pretty heartbroken. It's been a long 5 year process to only be told no. But we quickly started to move on looking at our different options with Dane's degree which is our "Plan B". All the job options that we looked at wanted a Master's Degree and at least 5 years of experience. We don't have either. So we are pursuing "Plan C" now. Returning to school for Dane's masters. Teaching has sparked an interest in Dane and he is looking into what needs to be done to receive a teaching degree along with his masters. We did just find out that we missed the Dead Line which was like March 15th. But that there is still a small chance that he might be accepted for this coming Fall Semester. But it's a LOT of work in a VERY short amount of time. Most graduate students have a full year to work on all the requirements. We'll only have about 2 weeks. But if this is to be than things will fall into place. If not than we'll keep working and try again for next year.

Ben: Has LOVED the sunshine and being outside all the time! He is just so happy playing with all the kids and running around our little playground and field. It's so nice to have room for him to go and be. We are looking into a preschool for this fall as now we know where we are staying. I just hope I can get him into something we can afford!!! He keeps asking when he gets to go to school. It's hard to live across the street from and Elementary and see kids walking and going to school everyday and than be told you can't go because you're not old enough. So we're looking for him. He's also looking forward to his birthday this year! He wants a treasure chest birthday cake and we're hoping for a "Splash Party" with friends.

Symi: Where do I begin. She started around the beginning of May to have fevers. At first they were small. Like around 99-100. She was miserable and I just thought she was teething. But not sign of teeth coming. So we've kept her on Tylenol. The fevers have continued to get higher and higher. This last Friday night she started to scream and would not STOP!! I tried to hold her and she would claw and scratch, meaning she wanted down. I would lay her in her bed and she would reach for me. I tried feeding her, changing her diaper, singing to her, reading to her, Tylenol, teething tablets, and even orajel. Nothing. She screamed, no joke, all night long and would not sleep. I kept thinking she'll scream herself to exhaustion and fall asleep. No. She screamed until 5 am. I finally gave up and took her out of her bed and brought her down stairs. We cuddled on the couch for a few minutes and than she wanted down to play. Sunday she was at 102.9 and increasing. Tylenol wasn't cutting it. So we took her into the local Instacare. They told us that she "might" have an ear infection and started her on some antibiotics on Sunday. Monday her fever dropped a little and she started to eat something. Tuesday we had a followup with her Dr and as we were getting ready that morning I noticed that she'd broken out into a horrible rash. It was in her hair, ears, neck, chest, belly, and back. She was even more miserable than we started and still had a fever. Well the Dr confirmed that she is also allergic to Amoxicillan and that she never had an ear infection. Our Dr was pretty upset with the instacare. So we took her off the medicine. We are now monitoring EVERYTHING she is eating and seeing if the fevers are linked to food allergies. Possibly to wheat gluten, and eggs too. Oh boy. Here we go again. So far she hasn't had an appetite and her fever is down to around 99-100 again. She's still pretty grumpy and very, very clingy. She just wants to be held all the time. The only relief my arms get is when we go for a walk. Then she'll finally go to sleep too. These last few days have been rough because it's been raining hard. No walks. Nights have been pretty rough again too. She's sleeping 20 min here. Screaming for an hour. Resting for 10. Screaming for 2 hours. etc. And then the sun rises and the new day begins. Without much sleep. Last night was our first "really good night". Meaning she got up several times but was easy to get back to sleep. She also took a small 30 min nap this morning and it always helps her a ton!!

Well that's our small update for now. I hope you enjoy some older pictures of the kids.

Ben trying to give Symi kisses.

Ben holding her arms down so that she'll hold still for the picture. This girl is always on the go!

Many Moods

Hi Mom!

Oh yeah!

I'll show you!

Would you like some too?

Symi loves to share. She is so funny about it too. She won't stop until you take the item, food, or whatever she is trying to share with you. We love this sweet girl and how busy she is ALL the time!!

Over the River & Through the Woods

To Grandparent's house we'll go!

We spent a few days up in SV for a while. It was so much fun for Ben to play in the snow EVERYDAY because Grandpa was always outside and would take Ben with him! So much fun! Grandpa also gave him a bucket and shovel and he went to town playing and playing and playing. He bawled almost every time he had to come inside. He also got to play with his favorite toy there. Oodles of buttons! He wanted me to write his name with them and then left it there all day because it meant so much to him. So cute! Symi took to Grandpa right away, but really had to warm up to Grandma. (Sorry Grandma I know she wasn't trying to hurt your feelings. Just a little shy.) My parents have been applying for different jobs and my Dad wanted me to come home and get everything here that's mine incase if they needed to move. Well that was the whole reason why I went. It didn't take me too long and I was able to enjoy spending some relaxing time visiting with my parents. Here are a few pictures. ;)

Let me eat your toes!

Ben kept reading Symi the books.

Symi & Grandpa sitting at the table.

Ben's favorite toy at Grandma JoDee's house.

Showing off his name in buttons!

Ben with Grandma JoDee playing computer games.
(yes he was mining. Don't know if it was successful or not.)

Another one of Symi and Grandpa. She was starting to get sleepy.

Spring

Hello Everyone,

I realized today it's been well over a month since I've last posted. Here's a quick review.

Ben: Is struggling with being kind. It's been a long road trying to help him understand that what someone else does isn't nice and that we shouldn't do it. Even if they've done it to us. He's still learning. Back in December Ben mastered the art of going potty. He's only had 3 accidents at nights and a few during the day back in early January. He hasn't had any since and LOVES standing up to the toilet with Dad going potting together. Must be a "Male-Bonding" thing I don't understand. He is counting up a storm and loves to find any of the alphabets where ever he goes. He had his first talk in Primary, just after General Conference and asks us every week when he can do it again! He did such a good job and was SOOO cute! He loves to pray and ask for EVERYTHING. Kind of hard to explain that we can't have anything we want. But his 3 year old mind is slowly trying to comprehend. He loves to sing any kind of song and makes them up all day long. He also LOVES to sing the Primary songs and enjoys when we join him in song. We are hoping to get him into swimming lessons this year and find a preschool that we can afford. If not than we'll continue to try working with him on our own.

Symi: Is growing faster and faster all the time!! She's been crawling around for a while now and we can't seem to keep her out of anything. She is very determined and will not detour from what she wants. She's our little bull dozer. If Symi wants something she muscles her way through all of her toys to get the item. Symi LOVES to eat!!! She can't get it into her mouth fast enough and usually swallows food whole. She wants to eat off our plates all the time. It's SOO hard not to feed her!! She can't have milk in anything she eats or anything that can be acidic like tomatoes, oranges, pineapple, etc. It's hard to change our diet to meet hers. We're still working on it. It's also hard to find crackers, breads, finger foods, snack stuff without milk. So that she can feed herself, which she loves to do. She loves to bounce to any kind of music. It she's playing she'll stop whatever she's doing wiggle like she's got a boogie in her bum! It's SOOO CUTE!!!! She jabbers, squeals, squwacks, and growls all the time. Yes my daughter growls at everything and for anything. It's funny. She got her front 2 teeth several weeks ago and has been working on some more. She's sleeping better and better at nights all the time. Naps are starting to become consistant and more predictable! Finally after almost 9 months! She is now trying to stand up on things and loves to hang onto our fingers and walk everywhere. Busy, Busy, BUSY little girl!

Dane and I: We're both doing well. Trying to keep going and hoping and praying that he'll become hired. We'll know for sure at the end of May when the school year is over. If we're not hired we'll start applying for jobs and see where we end up. We've spent some time going to the temple lately and love the peace and solace it brings to us right now. The sunshine has been contagious and I've taken the kids outside a lot and for many walks with our new stroller! I love it and look forward to walking everwhere with it this summer. Maybe it I become anxious I'll even go jogging!

Going Green

So just thought I'd update everyone.

Ben:
Well he's starting to talk back a little, and becoming bossy. I guess his Mom bossing him around all day is starting to wear on him and he's grateful for a little sister to take it out on. Poor girl! At least she's patient with him. We also call Ben our "Walking Musical". Everywhere he goes he's singing and boppin to some kind of internal beat! But I guess he's been watching me too much. He also has been Potty Trained since Christmas! WOW!!! It's been a fight to even start!! Once he decided though he only had about 8 accidents and none were poopie! Miracle?! No I deserved it after all he's put me through with his health!! This I consider my Christmas Bonus!! Ben also LOVES puzzles and reading, reading, reading!! We've missed going to the Library this winter because of Symi's health. I just couldn't bring myself to getting "mini-peetree dishes" into our home and risk Symi getting sick. Nope it wasn't worth it. But hopefully soon we'll go back for more. Ben also is totally absorbed in Dinosaurs right now. He loves any kind of movie, book, or plastic toy that is associated with them. He received dinosaurs for Christmas and plays with them all the time! He LOVES primary! Ben is so obedient and very reverent. He is such a mellow kid and loves to sit and listen and hold onto every word they say. He comes home and loves to have us sit down while he teached us what he learned. He thinks I'm amazing because I know all the Primary songs he's singing. Just about everynight he askes me to sing him to sleep with his favorite, "I Am A Child of God". I just can't resist.

Symi:
WOW!! This girl is on the GO!!!! Now that she is feeling better she is WILD!!! She is constantly moving and if she isn't she screams and SCREAMS!!! She is trying to hard to crawl, but just has no coordination. Hopefully it will come soon. She loves to jump in the jumper for hours each day. Now that she's eating better, she's sleeping better too! In fact she started to struggle one night. Then the whole week she was a little grumpy. Well I noticed while I was feeding her that 2 teeth had popped through!? When did this happen!? With Ben he had swollen gums for months and slobbered like a St. Bernard! All she did was get a little fussy. Teeth!? Yeah I can handle a baby teething compared to what we've been through. She loves to scooch everywhere and play with everything that Ben has. She's loosing interest in all the "Baby Toys" that we have for her. But hopefully getting outside soon will help calm her down. She also LOVES books and having someone read to her. That's about the only time she'll hold still. Another thing she loves is balls! She goes NUTS!!!! CRAZY!!!! Shaking and squealing at the top of her lungs when she sees a ball and then raises the knotch when she get's a hold of it!!!! Symi has loved growing up and eating real food now. We just have to be super careful of everything she eats. Nothing with milk in it. Makes her REALLY grumpy and then makes for very messy diapers! Ewe! Anyways, she is growing and gaining weight. The other day Dane was changing her diaper and said,"Wow, Girlie!!! So there is where you've been hiding all your rolls!" She is starting to finally chunk out! Oh I love it! My babies have been skinny until now!

Dane is almost finished with his first year of student teaching and is learning and loving it. We are excited to hear if we will be hired at the beginning of May! There are so many major changes coming our way! I just hope we are prepared for all of them!

Today

Today we are loving life. I made some homemade green playdough and be went to town!! He played with it for 2 hours. I finally convinced him that we needed to put it away because it was starting to dry out and crumble! He is so funny to watch! He loves to pretend and is very serious about it! The other day he was telling me how excited he was about going to see Grandpa.
He told me this:

B: Mommy, I'm going with Grandpa. We're going to find some horses and go riding. Then we'll go huntin deers with our big guns. Then we'll find some water that isn't hard and go fishin too!

(he then stops. Worry washes over his face and then he started to bawl.)

I was concerned and didn't know what was going on!

M: Ben what's the matter?

B: Oh Mommy. I can't go fishin!! I don't have a fishing pole!! (more sobs)

(followed by my laugher)

M: I'm sure that someone in our family has one that you can borrow.

B: Ok. But Mommy, it has to be a small one because I'm just little and I want to carry it all by myself.

Too much fun!


Symi is doing so well!! Improving everyday and making us so proud!!! She has been eating solid foods since January and LOVES it!! She HATES to be on the floor playing while we are eating! Even if she's just been fed. She'll sit down with us and want to eat whatever is on our plates! She get frustrated when it's not coming fast enough and will lean over and start knawing on the table edge and growl until she's fed again. Silly girly!

Naps are starting to become more consistant! Sad to say now that she's just turned 7 months old! She used to get up at nights about every 30 minutes. LONG NIGHTS!!! Then be up for the day around 5ish. Well lately she's been starting to go from eating 3 oz. every 2 hours to 5 oz ever 3-4 hours!! HEAVEN!!!! (Can you hear the angels singing? Because I sure can!) Anyways, that means that she is starting to sleep SOOOOOO much better at nights!!! I will wake up 4-5 times to give her the "Mee-Mee" and then she'll fall back asleep. Then she'll be up about 1 and is hungry for a bottle. Then she'll fall back asleep until 4 or 5 in the morning! I know that's early for some but it's AMAZING TO BE GETTING MORE SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't feel or quite look like a Zombie anymore!! Horray for living! Symi has also been sitting up since the middle of February and loving it!! She is so much more happy to be up and looking around! She also loves to reach for all she's worth and scoot her little bum wherever she wants to go. Which right now is starting to be everywhere! She wants to crawl, but her arms just are not strong enough to hold her up. Her legs are though and she'll stick her little bum clear up in the air. She has strong legs from the jumper. We started putting her in it when she was only 2 months old because she just wanted to stand. Well now she'll jump way forward and then let her legs go limp and she slides backwards. Then she'll jump way forward and do it all over again! She LOVES to be on the move!! We call her our "Go-Go-Go Girl"!!! The harder . . . the faster . . . THE BETTER!!!!! She gets very jealous when the boys wrestle around on the floor and she is not involved!! She just wants to be everywhere at once! Someday she'll slow down. Maybe.

Well we'd just thought that we share a written picture of our days lately. I know it's not the same as those cute smiling faces but hopefully we'll get some more pictures up soon!!