Just because...

they are so dang cute and I know there are grandmas out there who want to see pictures, here are my kiddos!

 Blake said, "Mom, why are some of the leaves holding on so tight to the trees?" 

"Can we watch Daniel and the Lion's Pits?

 Tyler said " I'm a diamond in the rough." What? 

During an FHE discussion on being grateful, "I am grateful for Lacey crying."

This girl has mastered rolling over.

FYI- I am so glad I shaved her head. Her hair is growing back great and she looks so cute!

Bored?

Try this! You won't be sorry. :)

Miss Clean

 Don't you think she looks like she could be his granddaughter?

Here is a before shot of Lacey.

To tell you the truth my intention was NOT to shave her head. Lacey's hair was getting a little crazy. It was growing long in some place while in others, balds spots where increasing in size and invading her head. Plus she was sporting a pretty awesome mullet. I had bought some clippers that day and had just cut the boys hair and I thought I would cut Lacey's hair shorter so that her bald spots wouldn't look so obvious. That was a mistake because when I finished she looked like a little boy with a buzz cut! I obviously don't know what I am doing. Not knowing what to do, I remembered talking to a friend early that week who mentioned her mom had shaved her head when she was a baby. So I thought A bald head on a baby girl probably looks better than a buzzed head. I got out Matt's razor and began shaving the poor defenseless girl, who did not get a say in the matter. While I was shaving her head I was feeling SO guilty and thinking irrational thoughts like, what if I ruin my daughter's life. What if that was all the hair she was going to get and now she will be bald the rest of her life and the kids at school will call her Baldy Backus. However, when the job was done I thought hair or no hair she is still pretty dang cute. Oh, and don't worry about her not being able to have a say. She has this guy 

to take out her revenge for her. Because while I was being a barber in the bathroom Tyler was doing this

Sugar in the flour, flour in the sugar, both in the fruit bowl and both had to be thrown in the garbage. Awesome. 

However, on a happier note. Before Lacey's scalping happened I asked Blake and Tyler to go down stairs and to pick up their toys. I knew that would never happen, but it was my way of getting them out of the way and I figured they would just play with their toys instead. That is what usually happens. But when I went down stairs I found that Blake had picked up most of his toys. It was a miracle. 

Other things worth mentioning:

The week of conference I got out pictures of the apostles and prophets and taped them on the refrigerator. My plan was to just teach the boys a couple of the apostles names and to prepare them a little for conference. Every time they could remember one of their names I would give them a cheerio. By the end of the week both Tyler and Blake could name the first presidency and all of the apostles. Wow, who knew Cheerios could be a powerful motivator. I only taught them their last names, but Blake must have been paying a little attention to conference and heard when some of the apostles were being introduced. When I would ask Blake who the apostle was that was speaking he said, "Oh, that is Richary Scott." or "That's "O. Tom Perry" not their real names of course, but pretty close. Tyler can't pronounce all of their names very well either.  "Oofdorf" and "Cooksy" are my favorites. 

Labor Day weekend we had a Wyeth family reunion in Vail, CO. Of course I was horrible at taking pictures and I only brought my camera out for the treasure hunt at Pirate ship park.

 Here are my handsome pirates.

Aunt Naomi helping the grandkids follow the treasure map.

Hardcore Uncle Brad

 The reunion was a lot of fun! 

Blake

Blake amazes me with how much he absorbs and learns every day. He loves preschool and he has quite the imagination. The other day he was telling me about his friend Sida the Wizard (I'm not sure he even knows what a wizard is) who has purple hair and wears purple clothes . Sida took Blake to the park at the museum with Sida's mommy. He spent about 15minutes telling me about Sida and the museum. Sometimes Blake also has a pet dog named Pleeto. Blake gave us a good scare the day we got home from the Wyeth Reunion. When Blake was about to go to bed he had a seizure on the kitchen floor. It scared Matt and I pretty bad. We had no idea what was going on with him. Matt gave him a blessing and I called 911. It was an experience I hope that NEVER happens again. In the emergency room they did blood work and a CT scan. Everything came back normal so we went home. A couple days later he had an EEG. Came back normal. The doctors concluded that it was a febrile seizure even though he technically didn't have a fever. My doctor told me that little kids can sometimes have a seizure even if their body temp. only went up a 1/2 a degree. 

Tyler

This boy is Busy! He and his brother both just gave up their naps a couple of weeks ago. He just turned two! Once while on vacation Tyler was having a hard time staying in bed. So I decided to lay down by him to help him calm down. I thought he was never going to go to sleep, because he kept wiggling and playing "Do as I am doing." He never slowed down until he crashed. There was no laying still and thinking, just moving then bam! He was asleep. Even though Tyler is busy he is a sweetheart. He still will give me kisses and hugs without a fight, and he can't stand it when you get angry with him. He will come up and just hug you until you assure him everything is okay. When Blake is at school. Lacey is taking her nap, so Tyler and I get to be good buddies. He also loves hats. He was really excited when his cousin Carter gave him a hat. Now he won't go anywhere without it.

Lacey (notice the hair)

I already told you about what's happening in Lacey's life. She also has had a taste of rice cereal. She's not sure about it. She is very sweet but is pretty stingy about laughing. You've got to be pretty funny to get her to giggle. So far only Tyler and Blake have had the honor of making her laugh.

 Not much is new with me. I just fill my days with these three wonderful people.

I love this picture. You can see a little of their personalities.

Matt ran a triathlon with his dad and they both loved it and can't wait to do another one. Matt continues to work hard with his job and school. Of course he is the best husband and father.

Snippets from our life.

Blake just had a birthday and is now 3! I can't believe how fast he is growing up. Blake loves puzzles, play dough, and books. His favorite color is blue. He is a great older brother and when he wants to be he is a great help to his mommy. 

I have learned from Blake to think things through and to make time for contemplation. To take time to read a good book and that it is okay to make up the lyrics to a song you can't remember the words to. Having clean hands are important. Talk to anyone near by, whether you know them are not, it helps them to feel loved. Always try to include others. Be quick to forgive.

Tyler is almost two and is becoming more independent. He is quite the talker and will repeat almost anything you say. He loves his "big boy bed" but I can't ever seem to get him to stay in it. He also love trains, cars, elephants, and running (non stop). Tyler can always make me laugh and can lighten up a tense situation. 

I have learned from Tyler to not stress the little things. Ears are wonderful. Singing happy birthday even when it isn't anybody's birthday can lighten your mood. Smile. Explore the world around you even if it means getting dirty. Be content with what you have and don't be too upset if it is taken away from you. Be tender hearted.

Lacey is will be 11 weeks on Monday. She is always smiling and is starting to coo. She is very patient with her older brothers. She has beautiful blue eyes that melt my heart. She loves her Daddy. There will be times I will try and try to get her to smile, but she won't. Then her daddy comes in and all the sudden she can't stop smiling. Of course this makes Matt so proud. That girl already has her daddy tied around her finger. She is sleeping through the night! I put her to bed at 7pm and she doesn't wake up again until 7am. 

I have learned from Lacey that when your hungry eat and when your full stop. When your tired take a nap. Baths are great and smiling at someone can make their day. 

Matt also had a birthday and is now 30. He has been busy with school, and taking good care of his family. He is training for a triathlon in September. There is a beautiful trail about a 10min. walk from our place, where he runs and bikes. He also just got offered a temporary job after he takes the bar. We are hoping for something a little more permanent, but we are very grateful for this opportunity he will have.

I am slowly adjusting to life with three children. They know how to keep me busy and out of trouble ;). I recently got a sewing machine and now that life is getting a little more under control I think I might start on some sewing projects.

Backus Reunion

When Matt was little it was a  family favorite trip to go camping at the beach.  Now several years later we went there for the first official Backus Family Reunion. Everyone was able to come and it was so much fun. The boys LOVED the beach. It was also their first time to go camping and they were excited about the tent and having their own sleeping bag. Thanks Mom and Dad Backus for the wonderful time in CA!

Tyler was in heaven with all the sand and dirt. I don't think he stayed clean longer the 2 minutes.

Blake trying to be brave and test out the water with Uncle Scott and cousin Dallin.

Lacey spent most of the time at the beach in her car seat under a pop up tent.

Sand...

sand...

and more sand!

Tyler, Courtney and under the red hat is Uncle Phil. 

For Aunt Nellie

My sister Nellie has been asking and asking me since Lacey has been born to post pictures of Lacey. So here ya go Nells. Isn't she cute?!

(With a wink and a Smile) I love her chubby rolls!

Of course I had to post some pictures of Blake and Tyler too.

This is the face Blake makes when I ask him to smile big.

Tyler pretending to be Mary and Joseph. It changed by minute who he was wanting to be. 

We may have gone mad...

but we have survived! The past 7 weeks have been a whirlwind. Here is what we have been up to:

As stated in my last post Lacey Nicole Backus was born May 31st. I went in at 8:00am to be induced. 10:00am they started the pitocin by 12:00pm I was in full labor, 2:40pm I was fully dilated and 2:43pm Lacey made her arrival.

The next day, June 1st, Matt and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary by of course adoring our new baby girl, and getting take out at Texas roadhouse (so much tastier than hospital food).The day I was released from the hospital Matt, baby, and I drove to Mesa, where the boys were staying with their Grandma. We picked them up and then the kids and I stayed with my parents while Matt went back to Tucson and loaded up the moving truck.
The next day he and his dad drove the truck to Colorado. When they got there on Saturday they learned that the apartment was not ready for them to move in, but would be ready soon. Soon became later and by Monday night the apartment was finally ready to be moved into. Matt finished unloading the truck by 11:30pm. Whew! The next day my mom, the kids, and I flew into Denver. Thank goodness my mom was there to help out or else the apartment would still be filled with unpacked moving boxes. That same Tuesday Matt started the tax law program. A week later my mom left and I wanted to cry. I was now left alone for the first time with three kids ages two and under! I was very nervous.
A couple weeks later we made our first family trip to Grand Junction to meet up with Matt's sister Cami and her family. They live in Canada and we don't get to see them as much as we would like to . We spent a great day at the park and had a picnic, then had to say good bye too soon.

That following Monday Matt's Mom came to be with us for the week. I wanted to cry again, but this time for joy. Lacey has acid reflux (that's 3 for 3), I was tired, the boys had been acting out because of all the changes, and I was not handling things as well as I would have liked. I felt a lot of relief while she was here.
That Saturday Matt's Dad, my parents, and two of my sisters flew in to be with us for Lacey's baby blessing and to help us celebrate the fourth of July. Sunday was a great day. Our church doesn't start until 1pm so we took our families to the Colorado temple grounds. At church Matt gave Lacey a beautiful baby blessing, I just didn't hear any of it because Blake was upset that his Daddy had left him. I made Matt write the blessing as  soon as he sat back down. That night we went and saw the fireworks. It was the coldest 4th of July  I have ever had! Monday we went to the park and had a picnic then that evening everybody went back home and again I wanted to cry (not from joy).

Having three kids has been a real adjustment, in fact you could say we are still adjusting, but we love being the parents to the three greatest, and cutest kids on earth! We also LOVE Colorado. It is beautiful here and we love our ward. We also really like our new apartment that has a big basement and a back yard for the boys to run around in. I keep planing to post pictures of the apartment, but it has never been clean enough for me to take pictures of it, but I will...someday...maybe. :)