Emma's Imagination!

I was in the living room folding laundry and Emma brings me the camera and asks me to take a picture of her and her baby. Okay, fine! (I love that I don't have to worry about things like that with a digital camera!) I take the picture and she "lays her down for a nap" and then she is asking me to take a picture of her and Chip. For those of you who don't know Chip is her imaginary husband! No worries, they were married in the temple!I was about to argue with her when she says, "Mom I need you to take a picture of me and Chip for my blog!" At that point I lost it and HAD to take the picture! My kids are so funny! Everything is all about the blog and I love it! I hope it helps them learn what a journal is and how important it is. I love this, because I am so much better at logging on and doing a blog entry then I have ever been about doing my scrapbook pages or writing in all the kids journals. And now this way I have it all down and can go back and update things when I can!

Please excuse the hangers off to the side! Isn't this the cutest picture of Emma and Chip! He looks so handsome in his bow tie! (She is holding his hand with her right hand! Just in case you were having a hard time seeing him!)

My Life as I Know It is OVER!

My life is over! I feel as if summer has just begun and is already quickly coming to an end. But wait, you say. We have a whole month before "summer" is over. But no! Jaxon has decided to play football this year and Emma's preschool is starting next week, so my summer is over! We thought we were going to be able to sneak one last camping trip in this weekend before all the craziness started, but no such luck! Jaxon has football camp Monday and Tuesday this week (fine not leaving until Thursday) and tryouts I thought were just Wednesday. But no they are Thursday and Friday too! Luckily we don't leave until Thursday and instead of leaving as soon as dad got home from work we will leave as soon as Jaxon is done! And we are just going to Crystal Hot Springs up by Tremonton so Jaxon and dad will be coming down for football Friday night and then head back up as soon as they are done! Is this my life for the next three months? And Porter wants to play too! I am so glad we talked him into waiting so I can ease myself into this!

And yes you read that right, Emma is starting preschool! There is a lady in our ward who does a preschool from her home and Emma is soooo... ready so we decided to put her in this year. She is going to be able to be in the same class as some of her friends from the ward! We just got our packet with beginning of the year info! She started the preschool when our school was year round and has just kept the same schedule. I can't believe we are here already! It is hard for me to believe my babies are all getting so big.

So my summer is only kind of over!

Baby Girl Holdaway!

For those of you that don't know I am the oldest of three girls and one boy. In fact on my mom's side of the family there are alot more girls then boys. Even Jeron comes from a family of mostly girls. So when I had Jaxon I was kind of surprised! And then I went on to have two more boys it was kind of like a miracle! I had all three boys before my sister Abby had any kids so it wasn't as big of a surprise when she started out with a boy and then went on to have two more! What is really funny to me is that Abby didn't have any faith in the pattern that had been set forth before her and was just sure she was having baby boy number four. At her ultra sound they had to tell her like a million times that it really was a girl! I don't think she believed it until Daryl came home with a really cute dress for the baby! She is even coming around to the idea of PINK EVERY THING!

Baby Girl Holdaway joined the family Friday July 17 at about 1:30 in the afternoon. She weighed in at 7lbs 2oz and is adorable! It took a little longer to come up with her name then it has ever taken them before but when they did they knew it was right! She is Kami Jane Holdaway!

Easton has been so excited for his baby sister to get here. From the moment they told him he was going to be a big brother he would ask Abby, "The baby coming yet?" And when Abby would say not yet he would always come back with, "Too long mommy, too long!" I'm not sure I have ever seen any of Abby's boys as excited as they were on Friday! Their bodies were not big enough to hold it and they were bouncing off the walls! It was so cute and fun to see them so excited for their baby sister to be here!

When Jeron's sister Ashley had her baby in February we were all sick and didn't want to take that to a brand new baby so we didn't get to see Thomas until he made a trip to Salt Lake. When Jeron's other sister Alicia had her baby in April I was feeling a little off and so I didn't get to hold her when we went to the hospital to see her and I didn't even remember my camera to take pictures! So when I realized Jeron was going to be as Scout Camp with my van when Abby had the baby I was a little upset! I really didn't want to have to wait to see her! I had done enough waiting and we all know patients is not one of my strong points! But my sweet sister Megan made sure I got down to American Fork.

You look wonderful Abby and she is beautiful! Oh, and good luck with the pepto explosion!

4th of July Fun!

Over the 4th of July we went camping with Jeron's family. We had a blast and plan on doing it every year now! Camping was how we went on vacations when I was a kid and so I love it! I love going with my kids and am so excited to get to share these fun time with them and all our family!

We found this wonderful group spot that had plenty of room for all of us! I can't tell you where is was. We swore not to tell so that it doesn't get busy and stolen from us!

Connor quickly found a tree and did some climbing. The only problem was that he had a green shirt on! He kept calling to me and wanted me to take a picture.

It took me a minute to find him to be able to take the picture!

See if you can find him!

Oh, there he is!

Maycie had been having some problems with her helmet right before we went. She was getting a couple of red heat rash spots on the sides of her head. I wouldn't have worried too much but that is how the problem with the back of her head started. So I thought we would just leave the helmet off during the day. Then I remembered that we couldn't leave the helmet in the car which also means we couldn't leave it in the tent. So we decided to leave it home! Fun times! We got a whole weekend (well half of Friday and most of Saturday!) without the helmet! The only problem with that is that it made me that much more ready to be done!

She had tons of fun trying on daddy's hat, frontwards...

and backwards!

She thought the sunglasses were a nice touch too!

Emma had some issues with her hair. Aunt Alicia did her hair while mommy and daddy made breakfast (it was the meal we were in charge of)! She then got her hair caught in a zipper of a tent. So mommy did her hair. Then she got her hair caught in a tent zipper again!






This is zipper hair number three! I think we got a count up to about 4 or 5! The first time she screamed and screamed! The second time she only cried "a little bit" (and when she tells you this she holds up two fingers just a little apart!). After that she would calmly stand there and wait until someone noticed and helped her out! So we call this the zipper do!

Connor and Zac doing bunny ears!

The grand kids! All 21 of them! Not all of them happy but all of them none the less! It isn't very often that we actually have all of them in one place! It was so much fun and we are very excited to make this new family tradition! We had the whole family there except Melissa and it just wasn't the same without her! Make sure to plan for next year 'cause we missed you Aunt Missa!

Fire Station Slide Show!

I couldn't get all the pictures of our fire station field trip in and so I decided to try my first slide show! Hope you enjoy!

Walking in Each Other's Shoes

Okay, Stacy and Taylor gave me the book "I Am a Mother" when I had Maycie, and yes, I am still trying to finish reading this wonderful book! Anyway, I was just reading and finished a part titled "We are all Sisters." As I read this part I was amazed at some of the mean things she had been told that sisters in the gospel had said to each other! And then I started thinking about some of the things that I had probably said to others not realizing what it sounded like coming out of my mouth. Or even maybe things that I had said in frustration or yes even anger! I felt true sorrow and regret in my heart for the things I remembered saying knowing that there had to be at least 1,000 more I don't even realize that hurt someone.
I want to say to anyone reading this that if I have ever said anything that hurt you I AM SORRY! We are so hard on our selves we do not need to judge one another. I am sorry if I have ever made you feel judged or less of a daughter of God. I am amazed at the women I come in contact with everyday. I am blessed with two wonderful sisters who are two of the most amazing women I know and I am grateful to call them friends as well as sisters. Thank you both for putting up with me. We are so lucky that my brother married a sweet and wonderful women who I am proud to call sister. I hope I have made her feel a part of our family. I hope she knows how grateful I am to now be able to call her sister. I was lucky enough to marry into a family that I got an instant 5 sisters and then after Jeron and I had been married for 3 years we got another, and then just more then 3 years ago Jeron's brother Josh got married and we expanded the circle yet again! I have watched each one of these women with things they have been faced with that I am quite sure I could not have done. They are all amazing and wonderful women who have taken me into their circle and love me, and for them I also thank my Father in Heaven. I have wonderful ward sisters who made me feel at home before we had even moved into our home. They have taken me under their wings and have lifted me up. And believe it or not, I am not done. I also have a wonderful mother-in-law! From the day Jeron and I got married I was not a daughter-in-law I was another daughter. And what would this be without my mom. I would not be who I am today without my mom. She knew things about me before I did. When I was a teenager she could tell when I was reading my scriptures! The woman can read minds! She is not just my mom she is one of my best friends.
But I guess what I am trying to say is I know that at one time or another I have said something to everyone of these women that hurt them. Instead of lifting them I brought them down. I know my Father in Heaven must have wept over the things that I said. I am sorry and I ask for your forgiveness. I want you all to know that I am so grateful to have all of you in my life and I hope in the future I am able to help lift you up as you all do me! Thank you for all your love and patients! Love, Brook!

9 Months Already!

It is so hard for me to believe that just 9 months ago we had just welcomed our little Maycie into this world. My labor with her was defiantly different then any of the others. There were a few complications but everything was fine. Now we joke that she just had to be born on Friday. All of the boys were born on a Wednesday and Emma had been born on a Friday, so she just had to be like her sister and hang in there until it was Friday!

Emma and Maycie are already good buddies! I am so glad they have each other. I know my sisters and I didn't always get along, but I always had a built in friend growing up, and now I am lucky enough to have best friends who have known me my whole life! I hope my girls get to have the same thing! Plus she has 3 big brothers who think she is wonderful! I love to watch the boys with her! It really does amaze me to see her face light up when they walk in the room. Now if we can just get them to understand the middle ground between giving their sisters what ever they want and torturing them to the point of tears! They have perfected that with Emma so Maycie just doesn't stand a chance!

Maycie has learned the art of being able to sleep anywhere doing anything! The other day she was fussy so I gave her her sippy cup with some apple juice. I went back to check on her a minute later and this is what I found! I think she was still drinking in her sleep! Now if we could just get her to sleep at church!

We are so grateful to have our little Maycie Jayne! I just don't know what we would do without her. Things have defiantly been different with her then they have any of the others, but is it ever the same?! We had her well visit today and I love our doctor! She always makes me feel so good. She was pleased as punch with how well Maycie is doing. You know you are at the doctors office alot when they know you on sight and with 5 kids we are there enough! We walked out to do her weight and height and the nurse says to me, "Oh my goodness the back of her head looks so much better!" I love visiting an office that takes the time to know who we are. Anyway it was a wonderful visit. I took the time to tell our doctor how much we appreciate her and how wonderful we think she is! She apparently had been having a week and seemed to really need to hear it. So I say take the time to tell those in your life how much they mean to you, even doctors need a pick-me-up some times!

Anyway, take the time to enjoy the moments that come your way because they are all too often gone faster then they should be! It seems like just yesterday we didn't even know what we were going to call our little baby and now she is making sure we all know she is our little Maycie Jayne!

Fire Station Fun!

I have a sister that lives in Lehi and they have a new fire station opening and they did an open house. We were able to go and tour the fire house and see where the fire fighters live while they are at work. It was all very interesting! But the best part was they got to climb all over the fire truck! They had a blast.

Jaxon strapping in and Easton watching.

Porter strapping in.

Connor is ready to take off!

Emma says girls can fight fires too!

Maycie spent the time being packed around by mom! She thought it was quite fun!

All the kids!

Being a fire fighter is so cool!

6 More Weeks of Winter

This is Maycie when we very first got started the end of February the beginning of March. To be honest I totally could not see this at the time. I can now, but I couldn't then.

This is Maycie 6 weeks ago the night before we got the second helmet. You can still see a slight flat spot over her left eye and she was still tilting her head some.

This is Maycie now. Her head tilt is gone and her forehead is almost even! The keyword there is almost. We went in for her check-up with the Plastic Surgeon today and he was very pleased with how much progress she has made. But we aren't quite there yet. The good news is that in 6 weeks we will most likely be done! He said that he would like her to where it 6 more weeks then we can take the helmet off. He would still like to see her to be sure.

I know that saying 6 more weeks of winter sounds funny, but that is what I thought of. It was kind of like the ground hog saw his shadow today. It's not so bad really. 6 weeks isn't really that long at all!

So now we are down to Physical Therapy once a month, and there is a good chance that our next visit may be the last! We will have a visit with Fit Well in three weeks to check the helmet and then three weeks after that we should be in for our last visit with the Plastic Surgeon! It is hard to believe that after 5 months it really may be almost over! After 5 months 6 weeks is nothing!

Another Blog!

Okay, I know you all must be thinking "Is she crazy?!" I think maybe I am! Like I don't have enough going on in my life! But this isn't just any other blog. I have started a blog about helmets. I am hoping that it will find other people who would like the help and support of being able to talk to others it can bring.
I know how helpful it has been to be able to talk to the few people I have who have done the helmet. I ran into them by chance at the grocery store and a school function. Jeron and I ran into a lady at the library who's grandson just got his helmet yesterday. Jeron started telling her how we were going to start this blog because we hadn't been able to find anything else like it. She asked for the blog address and I didn't have one yet! I came home and told Jeron that he had to help me get this started! Enough thinking, time to do!
So anyway, the blog address is: helmettherapy.blogspot.com. We gave it the title of: The Shaping of Innocence - There is Life After The Helmet. We could not have done this without the help and support of our family so I again turned to our family and talked to my mom and Jeron's mom. My mom kept coming back to that when it comes right down to it this is only a short period of time and there will be a life when it is over. My mother-in-law said that the three words that came to mind for her was shaping, innocence, and beauty. So we came up with the title. So we are helping our baby with the shaping of her head and it has to happen now, while she is so tiny and innocent straight from our Heavenly Father. But it doesn't take away from her beauty, and when you come right down to it we will make it through this and have a wonderful life when it is all over!
So there you go! I would really appreciate all of your help with getting this out there. If you know anyone who has had a child that did helmet therapy, who is now currently undergoing helmet therapy, or who is wondering if they might have to do helmet therapy let them know about this blog. Or even the neck problem torticollis (when the tip their head to the one side like Maycie did) or just a little flat spot that isn't quite bad enough for a helmet. I really feel like we could all benefit from each other!
Thank you again for everything you all do for us. I defiantly could not have made it through all of this without so much support from so many wonderful people.