The Finlayson's

Halloween!!

2011-11-17T07:23:00.000-08:00

Hadley loved to hold the pumpkin and even tried to eat it. Got to love those rolls.

KaileeJo with her pumpkin.

Taydom working hard on hers.

My little Lions. Which one is Hadley and which one is Taydom??

My angel and my princess.

Taydom was a witch for the trunk or treat put on by our ward. Of coarse I did not get a single picture from this event. But this is from September when we were playing dress up.

Got to love the wigs.

Catching up

2011-11-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

I just love my Hadley.

Adam had to work ALL day for his birthday so we took the party to him. He had parent teacher conferences until 8 (which is when the kids go to bed). The kids thought that it was really fun to take daddy his presents to school.

A look at the cake. It was chocolate with peanut butter frosting. After I wrote on it in the peanut butter candies I let the kids go crazy and put them all over it.

KaileeJo's last soccer game. She had a lot of fun this season and (depending on her mood) played really well. I lover her smug little smile in this picture. It is just so KaileeJo.

She is pretty proud of her medal and pin that she got. Over all it was a great experience that we will do again next year.

2011-11-17T07:07:00.000-08:00

Back in October we went to a corn maze with the girls. They all had so much fun. Even Hadley did even though it doesn't look like it. Her sisters had a great time taking turns pushing her around.

They both loved to pick which way we were going. They had questions at the intersections that would lead you one way for one answer and and another for the other answer. If you got it wrong you would find a dead end. It was nice to know that we weren't going to get that lost.

This is KaileeJo's turkey that she made all by herself. I put the glue on the eyes and she put them where she wanted them. It turned out really cute. Taydom wasn't interested in making one and I didn't mind since we were using hot glue.

She is 4

2011-09-29T14:32:00.001-07:00

Well it happened. KaileeJo turned 4!!!

She was soo excited for her birthday. She has been talking about it for months. A few things about KaileeJo

Favorite Food: Quesadilla

Favorite Drink: Soda or Sparry milk (strawberry milk)

Favorite Color: Red

Favorite Movie: Cat in the Hat

Favorite Game: Candy Land

Favorite Shape: Star

Shoe Size: 12

Clothes Size 6-7 T

We sure do love our KaileeJo. She is such a good helper and big sister. Her favorite chore to do is putting away her laundry and she is always willing to help get something for mom. She is a very special girl and we LOVE having her in our family.

Oh Hadley

2011-06-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

I can't really tell what is going on with this one.

I she crying or needed to go?

2011-06-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

"Why is it that I always have ketchup on my face?"

"That is cold water!!!"

Hadley has been our only thumb sucker so far.

How can you not just love that smile!!!

KaileeJo and Taydom had a blast at the Burdick's playing in the water. Unfortunately I do not have any pics of Hadley in her swimsuit since she was doing what she normally does all day, eat and sleep. Mostly just eating. That would explain the huge cheeks :)

Hadley and friends

2011-06-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hadley is now 3 months old. Where has the time gone? She is getting so big and has the sweetest smile ever. She already loves her big sisters even though Taydom some times tries to kill her by feeding smarties and Doritos or by laying on top of her. Hadley still smiles every time she sees Taydom coming.KaileeJo is a great big sister to Hadley and often asks to hold her and is very good at keeping her happy. Hadley loves to coo and babble and has even tried to sing with Taydom. Hadley was weighed and measured on May 26th for her two month check up and weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs 3 oz. Which put her in the 99 percentile for weight. She measured 23 3/4 inches long which put her in the 95 percentile for height. Since then I don't think that she has slowed down much in either category. It doesn't look like she is going to be the runt of the family. Hadley loves to sleep on her side and will off and on sleep through the night. It depends on what kind of growth spurt she is going through. The kind where she wants to sleep all the time or the kind where she wants to eat all the time. We sure do love our little Hadley.

2011-04-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

KaileeJo had so much fun at her first soccer game. It took her a while to figure out what to do but at least she looked cute doing it. In the first video it was half time so she was practicing. It is hard to hear because of the wind but she said "I kicked it". The second video is pretty much how the whole game went. A few good players kicking the ball with everyone else running behind. Hopefully next week it won't be so cold and windy.

Christina and Spencer's Visit

2011-04-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Christina and Spencer were able to come and visit us the week before Hadley was born. As you can tell they warmed up to Spencer rather nicely and loved to play with him. It helped that he got down on the floor and played with them.

They also had a blast with the finger nail polish that Aunt Lizzy sent for Tatter's birthday. It is from Del Sol. It changes colors in the sun's UV rays. They thought it was so much fun that Aunt Christina would do that for them and act like little princesses.

The previous post was also from their visit. They loved to perform for the both of them.

Potty Training

2011-04-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

KaileeJo has been fighting the whole potty training thing. We have tried many tactics, but this one seems to work the best. She loves to sing as she goes. I may be able to quit grad school before I even start with all the money Steph will be making off of her song writing. My favorite part is that she actually bows at the end. I had never seen her do that before.

Hadley Christina Finlayson

2011-03-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

She is here. We are soo happy to have our little girl. She is soo sweet even if she took her sweet time getting here. I was scheduled to be induced Thursday morning. We came in and they started me and things looked good. After contracting for 6 hours I was making little progress.It was a good thing it was the first day of the NCAA tournament so we had something to do. We decided it would be good to break my water so I got my epidural and we went for it. From there things progressed rapidly and after a pushing a few times she was here. She has the most beautiful red blond hair. She was born at 6:21 pm and was 9 lbs 11 oz and 22" long. She barely fits in newborn clothes. Her sisters were so excited to meet their sister. They love to hold her and give her kisses. We are so glad that Hadley is apart of our family.

Taydom is TWO!!

2011-03-02T12:39:00.000-08:00

For Taydom's birthday party we thought we would keep it pretty simple. First we did water paints. It was a lot of fun for the kids. They really like dipping their brushes in the water.

For the other activities Adam made a fort in the living room for the kids and we got out the dress-up stuff and turned on some music and let the kids dance.

This is all the friends a that came to the party minus Carter. They all play really well together and there were very few tears.

Cake!! We kept it simple with cupcakes with yellow frosting and sprinkles.

Here is a video of the dance party. It was fun and Taydom keeps asking if she can have another birthday.

Now She's TWO!!

2011-03-01T11:44:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the big day we went out to dinner. Taydom got her very own special birthday treat. She really enjoyed the whipped cream on top!

Look I'm such a mess! She even shared a bit with her sister who also made a mess.

Valentines and Princesses

2011-02-14T13:27:00.000-08:00

For Valentines day we went to Adam's school for their class party. The girls thought it was great. The students kept giving them candy and treats. They were in heaven. I thought that I would try something new with KaileeJo's hair after seeing it on one of my friends girls. It turned out pretty well for a first attempt. The other teachers at Adam's school thought that it was soo cute and it was a big hit. Thanks Emmalee

This was Taydom's hair. The clips have little hearts on them. We really got into the Valentines spirit this year.

This is KaileeJo before the princess tea party that was put on by the local library. She was very excited to go. Taydom was pretty sad when she had to stay home for a nap but it was nice to have some KaileeJo mama time. And daddy got a lot done around the house while we were away.

Taydom dressed herself in hopes to make it to the party but it was still a no-go.

What Hadley Has Been Up to.

2011-02-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

If you can't tell this is me trying to video my own stomach.

I thought you all might like to see our Hadley. She is pretty good most of the time but then sometimes she does this.

Snow with Daddy

2011-02-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

Getting ready to go! They were practicing how to catch snowflakes on their tongues.

KaileeJo is such a good big sister. She loves to play with Taydom. She enjoyed pulling her around even more than Taydom enjoyed the ride. The girls love to play in the snow even though it is freezing outside and can't stay out for long.

Well It's A........

2010-11-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

G I R L!! We are really excited to have girl #3 come to out home. She should be arriving about the 22nd of March. I only say about because the kids have a reccord for coming early 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. We are also happy to announce that after doing a little math we figured out that these three girls will all be in High School together. We will be keeping this in mind when we buy our next house!

Oregon Trip

2010-11-09T12:57:00.001-08:00

We went to Oregon last month to greet Adam's sister Christina as she returned home from her mission. Her flight didn't get in until after bed time but the kid were still amazingly happy.

We couldn't go to Oregon without going to the coast. It was cold and windy but the girls didn't seem to mind too much. They are just like their daddy in that way.

It was even Christina's birthday so we had to celebrate with friends and food.

Making cookies with Dad

2010-10-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

Taydom was having a great time helping daddy make cookies. It is soo much fun!

KaileeJo's 3rd Birthday

2010-10-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

KaileeJo loves her Tickle Me Elmo hands. She was dancing and playing for quite some time. There was even a video that came with them and her and Taydom were dancing the night away. Thanks a lot Grandma and Grandpa Finlayson:)

One of the activities that kids did was to make pictures with their Toy Story stamps. The kids thought it was a blast! We are just glad that it comes off of the table and chairs really easy. Go figure a bunch of 2-6 year olds would make such a mess.

KaileeJo opening her presents from all of her friends. As you can see they were all trying to join in. Apparently she is not fast enough at opening, because they were getting very anxious. She loves her Buzz Light Year that she got. She was so excited to get all of her presents, but she won't put Buzz down to eat or to sleep. Most little girls are into princesses, but our little KaileeJo loves her Buzz.

Stephanie did a wonderful job of doing the cake. Actually, Grandma Ostler and KaileeJo made the actual cake. I don't know if you can see it very well, but there are clouds and then some Toy Story figurines in the cake. KaileeJo loved it. When she was trying to blow out the candles, none of them were going out so she just kept blowing. You will be able to see it on the video attached below. She was running out of breath. It was pretty cute.

More Stamps.

KaileeJo trying to blow out her candles. She was talking about her birthday for about two months before it happened. She was getting so excited to have her Toy Story Birthday.

Pioneer adventures

2010-07-25T17:41:00.001-07:00

My parents' ward here in Wyoming had a primary activity to celebrate the 24th of July, the date that commemorates the pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley. The kids enjoyed some fun activities. Like the handcart pull.

KaileeJo really enjoyed pushing the cart and Taydom didn't seem to mind riding.

They also got to make home made ice cream.

It was Delicious!

We also got to make fry bread. KaileeJo thought that her bread couldn't have enough flour on it.

Or powder sugar. She dumped the whole sifter full on top.

They also were going to have a watermelon seed spitting contest but couldn't find a watermelon with seeds in it. Over all it was a good day even though Taydom took a good spill and bit her tongue almost all the way through and KaileeJo fell in the parking lot and scraped her knee pretty good. We still came home with smiles on our faces and fun things to talk about.

Ducks

2010-07-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

On our way home from Jackson we decided to stop by Idaho Falls and feed the ducks. They kids thought it was great and can't wait to go back and do it again.

These are the ducks that enjoyed our bread.

Jackson Hole

2010-07-02T07:36:00.001-07:00

Adam had a teaching conference in Jackson Hole Wyoming for four days so the girls and I thought that we would tag a long for the ride.

The swimming pool was fun but the girls were really whiny when ever we went so the trips were short. KaileeJo will need some type of floating devise if we plan on doing any more pool swimming even though she loved just walking around. Yes my two and a half year old can easily walk around in the three foot section of the pool.

One of the girls favorite things was to play at the park in downtown Jackson. They had some squirrel like creatures that had made tunnels throughout the park and the girls loved chasing them around.

This is the view of the Tetons from our hotel room. The room wasn't huge but it was still a fun get a way that we didn't have to pay for. Over all it was a good trip and we are glad we got to go have a fun adventure.

How many monkeys swing in the trees?

2010-06-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

The answer is TWO according to KaileeJo. This is her favorite song. She learned it in nursery and loves to sing it. Oh and a little fact, this is our 100th post. :)

This is a mothers day video that was recorded on fathers day so look for the fathers day video sometime in September. Happy Mothers Day!

Visits

2010-06-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

We have recently had Grandpa Ostler come and visit for a few days. It was nice to have him here and the girls really enjoyed it. KaileeJo's favorite thing is to ride in Papa's truck. She gets really excited anytime we went to go anywhere and asked if she could ride in his truck and was sometimes very disappointed when we had to ride in our car. Taydom also became quite the Papa's girl. She loved to snuggle to sleep with him, and often choose him over mom.

The same day that he left to go home (like an hour later) Aunt Lizzy came for a surprise visit. The girls were thrilled to see her. She got to stay for a few days and had a lot of fun with the girls.

Last Days Of School

2010-06-02T21:46:00.000-07:00

KaileeJo has really been enjoying coloring outside. She is getting very creative with her drawings but her favorite thing to draw is circles. She will tell me that she is writing my name or tell me that it says happy mothers day.

These next few pics are from a BBQ that we had at our house for the kids in Adam's 5th grade class. KaileeJo really enjoyed having them over and her favorite part was roasting marshmallows.

His students really liked the rope swing and playing football and basketball with Mr. F

A group shot of all the kids and parents that came for the event. In this picture it looks like they are doing the famous "Shark Bait" "OOh Ha Ha" that Adam uses in his class as an attention getter.

This is the next to last day of school. As one of the rewards for the kids doing so well on their tests they earned going to the park for a fun day. They played baseball and football and had a great time.

This is a class photo from the park.

It is great for me when they have these activities because his students love KaileeJo and Taydom and take them from me and watch them. The girls just love Adam's students.

This is the last day of school. They had what they called a "pig out" with a lot of different foods brought in and the kids just ate and ate.

Taydom enjoyed the pig out to the fullest.

Another reward for doing good on their standard testing Adam let them put "pies" in his face. It was just whipped cream on a paper plate but the kids still really enjoyed it.

The after. It was such a mess but I'm sure it will be something that the kids will look back at for years to come. We all had such a good time with Adam's class this year. It is great that he works in a place where the kids and I feel welcome to come in and visit and participate in some of the fun activities.

Taydom and the horse

2010-05-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

The kids were watching cartoons and playing and I noticed that Taydom was ridding the sick horse and making horse noises. It was too cute I had to get a video. Of coarse they never want to perform on comand but she did pretty well.

Easter Fun

2010-04-08T08:55:00.001-07:00

This year for Easter we got to go to Stephanie's Grandma's house in Idaho Falls. It was great to spend time with family. All of Stephanie's family was able to be there, except for Dan of coarse cause he is on his mission. We all got together on Saturday afternoon. It was great for the girls to get to spend sometime with their cousin Benjamin. They really love him and think it is great to have a new playmate. They also loved spending time with Grandma and Papa Ostler. They came early to spend more time with the kids. KaileeJo loves going for rides in Papa's truck. Especially when the go to get a soda. Taydom was really excited to see Grandma. They got in early Friday morning, about 4 am, and Taydom was up being unhappy so Grandma came down to see if she could take Taydom so mom could sleep. When Taydom saw Grandma it was priceless. Her eyes got really big and she even did a double take. She was soo excited to see Grandma. It was really great to have them here and we can't wait for the next visit.

Easter morning the kids got to find the Easter eggs that were all over Great Grandma's living room. KaileeJo had such a good time. It was really interesting to watch her find the eggs. She gets distracted really easily. Taydom also had a good time with the eggs and she really enjoyed putting them in the cartons after we were done.

We had an amazing Easter being with family and listening to the words of living Prophets. Conference was wonderful. It was a special experience having it on Easter.

Sorry no videos

2010-03-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

I have been trying for a while to get videos to load on our blog and they will say that they are loading for over and hour and then I just give up. They aren't even that big. I don't know what the deal is but I hope it get solved fast. In the mean time here are a few pics of what has been going on lately.

Taydom has been into climbing into things and getting stuck. KaileeJo has been doing everything Taydom is doing that we think is funny.

These were all separate occasions.

On Friday night we had a snow storm come through that left about 2 inches of snow. We knew that Saturday was going to get warm so we decided to let the kids stay up late and play in the snow. It was after 10 pm before they went to bed. I was telling Adam that it is too bad that the kids don't appreciate how cool of a parent we are being cause they won't remember this. Oh well we still had a lot of fun.

Peek-a-Boo

2010-03-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

One of Taydom's favorite games is Peek-a-Boo. This time she thought she would take the game to a new level and use her clothing instead of just her hands to hide behind. She could play this all day long if her parents were able to endure it.

The Play Room

2010-03-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

This is one of our favorite features in our new house. We made the bedroom right off of the living room into a play room. The kids love it there and we love them in there. It is great to have a place for all the toys where the kids can just play.

What happens when Mom is in the shower.

2010-03-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

I came out of the shower on Friday and found Taydom trying to get books from the next shelf up. Apparently the English and the Spanish dictionaries weren't interesting enough for her. KaileeJo was quick to join in the fun when the camera came out. Too bad this isn't an isolated incidence. Earlier in the week I came out to the kids watching a different video then the one they were when I went into the shower. That mystery was later solved when KaileeJo, very proud of herself, showed me how she can change the videos "myself". This was surprising to me since the DVD player is more than five feet from the ground.

Taydom turns 1!!!

2010-03-03T08:55:00.001-08:00

Taydom turned one on the 24th. Since that was a Wednesday (the busiest day of the week for us) we decided to celebrate on Saturday. We had lots of fun! Aunt Lizzy was able to come and spend the weekend with us which was great. Taydom had soo much fun opening her presents. KaileeJo had fun helping too.

This one is from Aunt Liz. Thanks Liz!!

Reading some books Taydom got and wearing the shirts from Grandma and Grandpa Ostler.

More presents!! Taydom got the swing from Adam and I for her birthday. She loves it and we can't wait until it gets warm enough to spend some quality swinging time.

Yummy Yummy cake. She had a great time eating the cake. She really like the frosting and loved squishing her hands in the cake.

We are so blessed to have Taydom in our lives. She is an absolute joy.

Once there was a snow man

2010-02-08T07:43:00.000-08:00

We recently had enough snow to go out and make snow men. KaileeJo was really good at rolling the the ball in the snow!

Taydom found that she like to eat snow.

Here we are with our matching snow men. We had such a great time building them. KaileeJo was really good at helping. You can see her work if you look closely at Taydom's snowmans head.
This is a short video to give you an idea of the fun.

The weekend

2010-01-25T14:20:00.000-08:00

Sisters! We all got together this weekend to celebrate Dad's 50th birthday. We didn't know that Rachel was able to make it. It was a great surprise.

One happy Papa with all of his grandkids. From the left its Taydom, Benjamin, and KaileeJo.

They had so much fun playing with eachother. We love cousins!!

Taydom is giving Benjamin a kiss. I think she really enjoyed having someone her age to play with.

Here are the girls ready to go to church on Sunday. I love this picture.

It was really great to have the family together even without Daniel. Can't wait for the next get together!!

Riding the bike!

2010-01-15T18:16:00.000-08:00

Bike

2010-01-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

It was finally nice enough to go outside and KaileeJo was so excited to go outside and ride her new bike. Grandpa and Grandma Ostler got her this bike for Christmas. She doesn't like to use the pedals yet but she sure gets around. She even gave Taydom a ride on the back with daddy's help.

Gingerbread houses

2009-12-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

KaileeJo had her friends Carter, and Kaden over to make gingerbread (grahmcracker) houses. They all turned out really cute. KaileeJo had a hard time not eating a lot of the candy, but was really excited to put some on the house. They did such a good job. The only way I could convince KaileeJo not to eat it was to tell her that she needed to show daddy when he got home.

The side of the house with some snow men.

The back of the house

The other side of the house.

The front of the house with a few missing candy corn.

Snow Angels

2009-12-11T19:38:00.000-08:00

More playing outside with daddy!

We pulled a heart shape with the sled in the snow!

Taydom making snow Angels

Going for a ride in the sled.

Today wan't bitter cold so we took the girls out in the snow. Taydom got to come because it got up to 15 today and we found the snowsuit. Taydom had a lot of fun making the snow angels as you can see. She also loved being pulled in the sled with her big sister. I figure it takes just about as long to get ready to go outside as we are outside but it is still fun.

Pics of the House

2009-12-09T22:06:00.000-08:00

This is the outside of our house (don't mind the snow).

The front view from the street.

Our cars in our large driveway. Note the basketball hoop.

The back of the house.

Our backyard from our house looking back. We love the 5 1/2 foot fence that fully encloses the yard. It is a little hard to tell but it is about 1/2 an acre with 3 apple trees, 2 apricot trees, 2 plum trees, 2 cherry trees (that don't produce yet) a grape vine, a peach tree (that doesn't produce yet) and a swing set with swings and a slide. The shed in the back is lined with shelves and is great for storage. We love our house and maybe some day we will post pictures of the inside. Inside there are three rooms we uses as bedrooms, an office, a toy room, two bathrooms, kitchen, living room, laundry area, and storage under the stairs. It is plenty big for our family. We feel so blessed to have such a nice place to live.

Fun in the Snow!!

2009-12-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

We had a fairly good snow storm come through and since Adam was home, he thought he would take advantage of the time with KaileeJo and play in the snow. They both had a great time. It was way to cold for Taydom. Maybe she can play if the temperature gets out of the teens. KaileeJo loves to play in the snow. She loves to eat it as you can see. She also loves to through snow balls and has been practicing inside with other balls. I ask her to through the ball to me and she says "no mama no ball". She is now starting to realize that it is cold and that it might not always be the best idea to stick her bare hands in it but she usually doesn't remember this until her hands are already covered in snow.

Taydom

2009-11-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

Taydom has been really busy lately. She is getting really fast at crawling and is very interested in everything KaileeJo is doing. Some of her favorite things to do are to giggle, play peek-a-boo, blow kisses, wave hi, shake her head no, and giggle!!

She fell asleep eating dinner. What a cutie!

Taydom was plaing one morning and some how she got turned around in our entertainment center. Before I took the picture she was whining because she would try to sit up straight and she would hit her head. I pulled out the camera and all I got was smiles!!

How can you not love this kid?

Crawling can be so exhausting!!

Taydom is just a bundle of joy and we really couldn't ask for a better baby.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-08T18:38:00.001-08:00

This is KaileeJo our little elephant. She thought that it was fun to jump around in her costume.

This is our little Lion Taydom. We even got her to roar at us. She is too cute.

This is at our wards Halloween party. KaileeJo is showing off her costume.

This is KaileeJo and Taydom with some of their friends at the ward Halloween party. They all looked soo cute in their costumes.

Fall is here!!

2009-11-08T18:25:00.000-08:00

We have been enjoying the fall leaves this year. KaileeJo loves to make piles and jump in them and Taydom loves to eat them. What a great time of year!!

KaileeJo didn't want to have her picture taken so it was all Taydom.

And she likes it that way!!

2009-10-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

We carved pumpkins for Family Home Evening on monday. KaileeJo had a great time. She thought the insides were slimy and had a good time coloring on the outside. I just cut out the holes where her lines connected. Taydom thought the tops looked like food and tried to eat them only to be disapointed when it didn't taste very good.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY KAILEEJO!!!

2009-10-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

KaileeJo turned two on September 27th. We had a little party with Grandma and Grandpa Finlayson, Great Grandma West, and some friends. We had a great time! The cake was made by Grandma and Great Grandma. They did such a good job. KaileeJo got a ton of great gifts and has a hard time choosing what to play with first. It was wonderful to have the family together for such a happy occasion. Even aunt Lizzy made an appearance later that day.

Snow!!

2009-10-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

We had our first snow since we moved to Pocatello. KaileeJo thought it was great. She loves to play outside and loves to eat ice so you put those two together and she is in heaven. Taydom wasn't to impressed. She thought it was cold and would much rather be inside, especially if the wind is blowing. It has since melted away but we know there is much more where that came from.

2009-09-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Taydom just learned her first word!! And it is...."dada"!! Even with all the practice of mama it still came out dada. She also likes to say "yeah", so I guess I shouldn't be surprised with dada. She is growing soo fast!! She loves to scoot around and gets to where ever she wants. She likes to stand with a lot of support cause she thinks she is soo big. We just love having Taydom in our lives. She is such a joy with her smiley personality and giggles that never stop. WE LOVE YOU TAYDOM!!

She is learning soo much!!

2009-08-30T16:26:00.001-07:00

KaileeJo is learning soo much. Her vocabulary is getting bigger every day. She loves to read stories. She loves to be read to, to read to her sister or even by herself. I hope that this isn't just a phase that she is going through because it is wonderful!!

Family pics

2009-08-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

We were able to go to Utah a few weeks ago for Stephanie's sister, Rachel's, baby blessing. Benjamin Michael is adorable. We had soo much fun!! We took advantage of the extra hands around to get some family pictures taken. It was such a nice day we decided to take them outside. Too bad all KaileeJo wanted to do was run around and play. Taydom was more of a captive audience and we took advantage!! We are soo grateful for out little girls and the sweet spirits that they are.

Random pics from the past month or so...

2009-08-05T13:47:00.000-07:00

These are some pics that are too cute not to share but don't have enough with them to make them their own post.
Here is a picture of Taydom with her cousin Benjamin. They are 3 and a half months apart. Taydom was very interested in the little baby.

Say CHEESE!!!

She has been carrying around chapstick. She is such a girly girl.

Taydom is getting soo BIG. She was weighed the other day and she has broke the 20 lbs mark. She was 20 pounds 2 oz. She is super smiley and love attention from her big sister. Even when it may be painful she still loves it.

We took a trip out to Stephanie's aunt Donette's house. They have a dairy farm in Idaho. KaileeJo loved the cows and wasn't afraid of them at all. She had a good time playing with her second cousins.

This is KaileeJo with her uncle Dan's turtle Sam. She loves how he tries to bite her finger through the class. She just loves animals.

This is KaileeJo with her great-grandpa Thompson. She let him comb her hair. She loves her papa!!

Oh look at that smile. Taydom loves her uncle Dan! What a sweetie.

Helping daddy

2009-08-05T09:39:00.000-07:00

We have been redoing the entry way at my parents house while we have been here. There wasn't any insilation in the walls!! This is Adam and KaileeJo putting up some new sheetrock. She loves to be by her dad's side doing everything he does. I don't think that Adam was using the wrench but KaileeJo thought that it would get the job done.

Afternoon with Grandma Finlayson

2009-07-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

KaileeJo had soo much fun with Grandma Finlayson. They got to play in the splash pad, ride the carousel, and play on the slides. What more could a little girl ask for.

KaileeJo riding a horse

2009-07-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

We met up with some friends in Idaho, the Beardalls and they had a horse and were kind enough to let KaileeJo and their little boy Braxton go for a ride. KaileeJo loved it. Thanks for the fun friends!!

Fun in Wyoming

2009-07-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

We are currently staying in Wyoming until we can move in to our new house in Pocatello. We have been having a great time and got to spend some quality time with Stephanie's brother Daniel before he left on his mission to the Las Vegas Nevada West Mission. We are so proud of him and know he will be a great missionary.

The girl's cousin Benjamin was also there to bid farewell to Uncle Dan.

It has been great weather and KaileeJo has played outside in the water almost every day we have been here. Grandma and Grandpa's house is soo much fun!!

2009-07-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

So, anyways, I was just thinking that I should update this blog. It has been a really long time, and I am way behind. Here is a quick clip.

More Beach Bums

2009-06-09T08:07:00.001-07:00

Beach Bums

2009-06-09T08:07:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach and had soo much fun. The water was very warm and the weather was great.

2009-06-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

These are some older videos that I am posting upon request. They are soo cute I can't beleive I didn't post them earlier.

We went to the Zoo

2009-05-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo for Memorial Day. We had a great time and it didn't even storm like it was supposed to. KaileeJo was had a cough and didn't sleep well the night before so it was a quick trip but we still had a good time.

Check out those horns!!

Taydom being so sweet.

We love crackers.

I looked out the window and what did I see???

2009-05-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

She was singing this song with me for about 20 minutes. Just over and over and over. She would mix it up with the occasional Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam. Maybe we will be able to get that on video later.

Water fun

2009-05-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

This is Grandmother's Purse. A water fountain area up in the Woodlands. We had a good with our friends as you can see. The mothers even got to have a little fun with the kids.

If you look close the sign says NO ENTRY

If its not broken KaileeJo can fix it

2009-05-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

The bouncer was getting a little loose so I tightend it up and then KaileeJo thought that she could do a better job.

Sorry its been so long

2009-05-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

We lost the battery charger to our camera. And what a horrible time for it to happen. With KaileeJo learning and doing new things every day and Taydom growing like a weed. Well we ordered a new charger and we got it yesterday so here are some pics.

KaileeJo is getting really good at telling us what she wants. Usually you have to guess what she wants but when you say what she is thinking about she will say the word and say YAA. Like the cracker kinda sounds like kaka YAA.

She is getting so big and often askes for her dad throughout the day.

I put Taydom on the floor this morning while I went to wake up KaileeJo and she held her head up like this. I have put her on the floor before but always on a nice blanket so she would nuggle her head on the blanket but with the less than desireable carpet she held up her head for quite a while.

Me and my girls having a good time.

A video of Taydom

2009-05-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

Taydom is getting so big. Here is a video of her being her happy self.

Taydom

2009-04-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

Taydom is getting soo big. She went in for her two month visit this week. She is 14 lbs 2 oz and 23 1/4 inches. This puts her in the 97th percentile for weight and 90th for height. She has a little thrush so we got her some meds to go along with the antibiotic that she takes everyday to prevent any more urinary tract infections. She is such a happy baby. She smiles all the time and is a fairly good sleeper, 6 hours most nights. She is more tolerant of KaileeJo and her "love" then I thought that she would be.

Easter BBQ

2009-04-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our Easter dinner. We had a BBQ at our friends, the Briscoe's, house.

KaileeJo and Eliza were very entertaining.

The girls would hide and re hide the eggs. This entertained them for about 15 minuets.

We had an adult Easter egg hunt after the kids. I found lots of eggs. I forgot how much fun it is to look for eggs.

Yea for Easter grass. At least we were outside where we could just sweep it up and not worry if you miss a few pieces.

Daddy had a good time helping KaileeJo look for eggs. She didn't need very much help finding the eggs it was more not opening them all before she put them in the bucket.

KaileeJo walked over to the food table and grabbed some sliced tomatoes and started shoving them in her face. Apparently she more than just likes tomatoes.

Easter Fun

2009-04-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

KaileeJo says BUNNY.

Coloring Easter eggs.

The hunt is on.

KaileeJo taking care of her baby

2009-04-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

Blessing pics finally

2009-04-08T12:09:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from Taydom's blessing in Idaho

Aunt Wendy Uncle Mark and Aunt Christina

Great Grandma Ostler with Taydom

Great Aunt Donnette

The Ostler Family(without Rachel and Dennis)

Proud Grandparents

Aunt Wendy
We all had a good time. It was so good to be in Idaho and see family again.

An update.

2009-03-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

Life has been so busy I haven't had time to catch up on the blog. Well here we go. Taydom was born on Tuesday and my mom made it here on Thursday just after we got home from the hospital. My Dad joined us later that week and life was nice. I could focus on getting used to having a little one again with KaileeJo staying busy with Grandma and Grandpa. They were both here for a week and then had to go home. That next Monday I took Taydom to the doctor for her check up and she was looking good. She was gaining weight and checked out great. The next day I noticed that she felt a little warm and so I took her temperature. The last thing that the nurse told me before we left the office the day before was if she has a temp of 100.5 or higher to either bring her in or give them a call. So when I took her temp she was 101. So I called in and the nurse said to strip her down and to take her temp in 10 minuets. So I did and it dropped to 98. She said to just watch her and take it every once in a while. She didn't seem sick so Adam and I loaded up the kids to take a trip to Target. On the way there the nurse called and said that we should take her to the emergency room to get checked out just in case. So reluctantly we went in. They took her temp and she was 102. They admitted us and started trying to get an IV started. 3 hours a spinal tap a urine sample and 6 tries later they got an IV started and we were up in our room. We had to stay over night so they could let the cultures grow to see what was wrong with her. 2 days later we found out that she had a urinary tract infection with a bacteria of Ecoli. So they found what it responded to and got her on anti-biotics. This whole ordeal was incredibly bad timing since we were supposed to get on a plane and go to Idaho to bless Taydom Saturday. Taydom and I ended up being in the hospital for a total of 8 days. So as soon as they released us from the hospital we got on a plane and flew to Idaho. Taydom is doing well and is still on oral anti-biotics. We still have tests to do to see what could have caused a baby so small to have an infection like that. We are so happy that she gets to be at home now and that we were able to see our family in Idaho.

Taydom and KaileeJo

2009-02-28T10:54:00.000-08:00

KaileeJo loves her sister. She is always wanting to look at Taydom and hold her hands. She gets concerned when she is crying and tries to do things to make her happier. It is soo cute to see them together.

Taydom loves snuggling with daddy. If you look close you can see her red hair in this one.

It's a Girl!!!

2009-02-24T10:10:00.000-08:00

Taydom Elizabeth Finlayson was born on February 24, 2009 at 1:27 a.m. She was two weeks early, but still a very good size baby. She was 8 lbs. 8 oz. and 22 inches long. She has red hair just like her big sister, KaileeJo. She is very healthy and strong so far.

Stephanie started to have contractions yesterday at about 9 a.m. and by about 3 p.m. she had called Adam at work to come and get her. Unlike the pregnancy with KaileeJo, Taydom was giving her poor mother a lot strong contractions for about a week and a half or so. Needless to say, Stephanie was very ready to get her out. We went to the hospital at about 6 p.m. and Stephanie was dialated to 6 cm and efaced at 90%. They admitted us into the hospital, but for several hours nothing was really happening, until the doctor came and broke her water at about 10:30 or so. From there everything progressed well, and before we knew it, Taydom was here. Stephanie only pushed for about 10-15 minutes. All of the nurses were amazed with how easy she made it look. Thankfully both Taydom and Stephanie are healthy and doing well. We will keep everyone updated on the upcoming events. KaileeJo still has not met her baby sister, so we will post a video of that soon.

2009-02-05T16:18:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post one more eating video. This time it is something a little bit more healthy. KaileeJo likes to eat yogurt but now insists on eating it by herself with a spoon.

2009-02-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

This is KaileeJo in her Valentines Day dress. She looked so good. Thanks Grandma Finlayson for sending it.

2009-02-01T12:41:00.000-08:00

KaileeJo loves to eat food that she can dip in sauce. She is really good at it and doesn't usually make a mess which is a big deal for her.

KaileeJo eating ice cream

2009-01-31T15:10:00.000-08:00

This was KaileeJo's first ice cream cone. I think she liked it.

2009-01-25T15:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been a while since we have posted pics or video of KaileeJo. We will try to be better since it is her you really want to see. In this video KaileeJo shows off her sign language skills with a little help from the sugary candy. She really is getting so big and loves to be independent with eating using utensils and walking in parking lots and refusing to hold mom's hand.

Rockets Date

2009-01-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

Adam and I got to go to a Houston Rockets game on Monday since it was Martin Luther King day and Adam had the day off. We had such a great time. We first went to the Martin Luther King Parade that they had in downtown Houston then we walked over to the game. This was my fist professional basketball game. It was kind of weird with all the media timeouts they had to take. They put on a show for us and the game was close all the way to the end. They beat the Denver Nuggets in the end and both teams had scored over 100 points. It was soo nice to go on a date with Adam and give KaileeJo to a sitter.

The Toyota Center

Yao Ming posting up. His is sooo large.

Babies Babies and More BABIES

2009-01-14T14:35:00.001-08:00

This month we have been welcoming babies into this life left and right. We were able to go to Adam's cousins baby blessing. They had a little girl Rachelle Johanson. We had a nice visit and it was good to see Adam's aunt and uncle too. KaileeJo thought that it was fun to see the baby but got a little jealous when she wanted to sit on mommy's lap and the baby was already there.

The men in the baby blessing.

The whole family.

The next baby adventure we had was with our friends the Briscoes. First it was the baby shower. It was fun to plan and get everything ready. We knew we were cutting it close but we didn't know how close. She ended up going into labor just a few hours after getting home from the shower. Heidi had a little boy, Samuel Briscoe. It was good to go and visit and spend some time with them, especially since I will be delivering in the same hospital in just over a month.

Heidi, James, Eliza, Charity, and Samuel Briscoe

We got to watch their two little girls for a night and KaileeJo had a good time having her friends over. They were so cute with all three of them in the bath together.

KaileeJo, Charity, and Eliza in the bath

2009-01-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

KaileeJo loves to listen to the iPod with dad.

This is the Alamo Dome.

This is the San Fernando cathedral. It is the oldest one in Texas. It had some remains of heros of the Alamo.

The River Walk in the day.

These next pictures are from the Alamo. We had a great time and the weather was beautiful.

2008-12-30T18:57:00.000-08:00

KaileeJo playing at the beach. She was so fun to watch as she explored.

Fun in Galveston

2008-12-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

We went to Galveston on Friday and had a great time. KaileeJo loved the beach and the Gulf. We were in awe of the damage that there is from hurricane Ike. We went to East Beach first where there is still a lot of clean up left to do. We actually found a slide that came from who knows where. KaileeJo had a good time playing with that. There were a lot of sea shells and KaileeJo would hold them up to her ear to hear the ocean. It was so cute. We then went to the sea wall where there wasn't as much garbage. Then the fog started to roll in and we figured it was time to go.

Christmas morning

2008-12-26T20:24:00.000-08:00

KaileeJo loved Christmas morning this year. She loved opening presents even though she wasn't interested in them at all before Christmas, which was nice. She is loving having grandma, grandpa, aunt lizzy and uncle dan here to visit. They take her for walks, give her baths and read her stories. Aren't relatives great.

2008-12-26T19:53:00.000-08:00

KaileeJo had a great time opening presents this year. By the end she was ready to just play with all of her new things. We ended up opening up some of her presents but she didn't seem to mind.

2008-12-25T13:31:00.000-08:00

2008-12-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

We went and had family Christmas pictures taken. These are a few that were so cute and really show KaileeJo at her best. Happy Holidays!

2008-12-13T15:56:00.000-08:00

Adam and KaileeJo decorated the tree this year. There wasn't much to put on since all of our Christmas stuff is still in Wyoming. It didn't make the cut of things to move to Las Vegas when we moved, and therefore didn't make it to Texas. It is all on its way in just a week!! Then our tree will have a little more spunk. KaileeJo has actually been really good about having the tree. Every once in a while she will touch it but hasn't been fascinated enough to do any real damage.

Last night was our ward Christmas party. We were lucky enough to get to have Santa there and KaileeJo wasn't quite sure what to think of him. She was content but not excited to see him. Now I am really glad that we didn't end up taking those really expensive pictures in the mall since she wasn't really into it anyways.
We are all really excited to have Grandma and Grandpa Ostler and Liz and Dan come to visit for Christmas. The holidays are always better when you get to spend them with family even if it isn't all of the family. They will be here for about two weeks. We are most looking forward to the good cooking and free babysitters.

Frozen Precipitation!!

2008-12-10T20:26:00.000-08:00

I was listening to the forcast last night and they kept using that term, frozen precipitation. I guess the people down here in Houston have a hard time with the four letter S word. SNOW. So far we have gotten about 1/2 an inch on the ground. We are all so glad to see this white stuff we were thinking we wouldn't get any at all this winter since the last time that they had snow here was about 5 years ago. Now with any luck at all tomorrow Adam will have a "snow" day and get out of school. So for us "Its beging to look a lot like Christmas"!!!

Ice Skating!!!

2008-12-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun. KaileeJo didn't want to get off the ice. Don't worry there were no major bumps or bruises. Just a good time had by all.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

One of the perks of having the only grandchild and niece in the family is that we get to tell the family where to go for the holidays. The past several years everyone came to Rexburg, but this year Grandma and Grandpa Finlayson, Wendy, Matt, and Christina all came to Houston for Thanksgiving. Becca and Mikey Johanson were also able to make it with their two boys. It was a little strange not having the Ostler Grandparents there, but at least they get to come for Christmas.
As you can see from the pictures we had a blast and KaileeJo was of course the center of attention. She loved every minute of it.
It was interesting fitting all of those people into our small apartment. We had one table with six chairs on loan and then a set that we just bought as well. We filled every single chair and we were definitely nice and cozy. Although we were a little cramped, it was a wonderful holiday and we absolutely loved having everyone there.

Baths are so fun

2008-12-05T11:53:00.001-08:00

Did anyone say TURKEYBOWL?!?!?!

2008-12-03T05:46:00.000-08:00

This year was a new experience for us. For the past three years we have been in Rexburg Idaho where on Thanksgiving morning you may be playing the Turkeybowl in snow, ice, frost or a mixture of all three. This year there was no white in sight. It was about 60 degrees and extreemly humid. Everyone had a good time and amazingly no major injuries occured. Nothing gets you in the mood for eating turkey like playing football.

2008-11-23T20:12:00.000-08:00

As promised here are the ultrasound pictures of Taydom. I think that they turned out great. She is starting to become more and more active especially at night. I am starting to get the aches and pains (I don't remember them this early with the last one) We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

College Football Fun

2008-11-17T06:10:00.001-08:00

Weekend of Fun

2008-11-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

We went to Bryan for the weekend to visit Adam's cousin, Becca Johanson. KaileeJo had a blast playing with their boys and we had a nice visit eventhough we didn't take any pictures of that. They had a nice big back yard to play in with a basketball hoop just KaileeJo size. Adam got to play in their elders quorm football game. They just happened to play on one of the coldest days that we have had since we have been here. We are now ready for the Turkey Bowl in a week!!

Daddy Daughter Date

2008-11-15T06:50:00.000-08:00

Stephanie had a night out with the girls, so KaileeJo and I decided they were going to go hit the town. We decided to make it a Daddy Daughter Date with another daddy with his two girls. First we went on the carousel, KaileeJo loved it, but it started to make me feel a little woozy. In the picture above is a picture of KaileeJo's best friend Liza. She can actually, almost, say her name. They are so cute together. They get so excited when they see each other and play so well together. Which is a very good thing because they are together almost every week day. KaileeJo at the end of the night started to get a little tired, but as soon as we pulled into the Sonic Restaurant to get some ice cream she seemed to perk up a little. She is definitely my daughter, she loves her ice cream. The picture below I am not sure if she is pushing me away, or if she is patting my face.

Another fun activity that we did is crawl around on the play equipment in the mall. There is a big play area that has really thick foam material for kids to run around on and climb on. I just barely fit under the bridge. We played there for most of the night and had a ball. My favorite part is when KaileeJo would climb to the top of something and then not know how to get down. Another reason I can tell that she is definitely my daughter, she is terrified of heights.

After crawling under the bridge she spotted the beaver, as you can see in the picture above. She was trying real hard to communicate with him, but he just wouldn't talk back. Our last visit was to the Disney store. She thought the giant Pooh bear and Tigger too, were great. We had so much fun on our Daddy Daughter Date that we are going to do it once a month.

2008-11-09T19:53:00.000-08:00

Daddy made the mistake of teaching KaileeJo how to splash in the bath tub and then gave her a cup. She figured out how to dip the cup in the tub and then throw it all over the bathroom floor.

2008-11-09T19:35:00.000-08:00

KaileeJo loves bath time. Right now it is cute but it might not be for much longer.

Sweet things

2008-11-06T17:12:00.000-08:00

IT'S A GIRL! We had an ultrasound on Tuesday and we got to see our baby girl. We are positive that she is a she. Hopefully we can get the pictures from the ultrasound scanned soon so you will be able to see for yourself. Her name will be Taydom. We still havn't decided on any middle names so if you have any sugestions feel free to pass them on.