The Sola Family

Jaxten's 3rd Birthday

2012-01-24T12:55:00.000-08:00

From way back in September. September 26th to be exact. Jaxy had a few friends over for his spiderman/buzz lightyear party. He had a blast on got way too many toys.

The theme was Buzz lightyear but he insisted on a Spiderman cake. Kids!
Enjoying all the love and attention

Best Buds for life! (hopefully)

It was a perfect day and Jaxy was on cloud 9. Thats all that matters to me. Weird to think he's already 3 and a half. Time sure does fly!!! Soaking in every minutes with these kids cause they are growing up way too fast. We love you Jaxten Carter and we are sooo happy you loved your party. Love- Mom Mom and Dad!

Playing Catch up!

2012-01-24T12:26:00.000-08:00

Things have been INSANE here in the Sola home since we've returned from our Cali vacation. I started doing day care 3 days a week for 3 extra kids and still have to run my kids to and from school so those days make for very interesting ones. The daycare kids dont get picked up till 6:00 so those are long long days for me. Thank God I have managed to get them all on a similar routine so I have an hour or two to clean, do laundry, go over the kids homework folders, eat something and then they are all up again. Then at the end of the day I am just too exausted to do anything let alone blog. I always said to myself that if blogging isn't fun for me anymore and Im doing to for the wrong reasons then I would take a break. In my attempts to blog recently my mind just hasn't been in it. I wasnt enjoying it like I was used to and I think its cause I have a million other important things I should be taking care of first. So on that note I am shooting to have at least one post a week. Baby steps. I have lots to catch up on so sorry for any confusion on when these happenings actually occured.

In other news JJ passed the board and he will be pinned Sergeant (by me) next Friday. Im so proud of him. He seriosuly worked his butt off for this for months and months and was doing school at the same time. He finished his Bachelor's degree in Sociology which opens alot of doors in the Army world. I couldn't be a happier wife and am just so thankful for all of his hardwork and dedication. He also started playing on two basketball teams which is awesome for him. He loves it and although we see less of him these days, he is enjoying the Game and deserves to do something for himself that he Loves so much. Plus he's playing in Denver in the game right before the Nuggets vs. Laker game so we got a killer deal on some good hoops tickets for that game.

Other then that, the kids are doing awesome. The boys are loving school and want to go everyday of the week, and Taytum is turning 2 here in a few days : / Makes me a little sad. More on that later.

Hope everyone is doing great and feeling blessed!!!

2011 Family Photo

2012-01-08T11:55:00.000-08:00

My favorite family photo from 2011.

Christmas Morning in Cali

2012-01-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

Our family was in California for 8 days for our Christmas vacation and we only made it to the beach one time. Christmas morning. It was PERFECT and the kids were in heaven.

I love love love Colorado but it's moments like the ones made on this day that really make me miss California and reminds me how amazing it was to grow up with the ocean less then 20 minutes away.

Especially when I see how happy and carefree my kids are running on the sand and watching the waves in awe.

Such a fun morning and definitely a Christmas we won't ever forget.

Daddy and Tator-tot. These two can't get enough of one another. Love the sweet bond they have. Crazy that last Christmas JJ was deployed. So incredibly happy he's home with us. Life is just so much sweeter when he's around.

Taytum was just taking it all in. She looked so beautiful and her expressions and reactions to things make me want to freeze time and keep her this age forever. Love watching my baby girl.

It was a perfect Christmas!!!

Rango Biking

2011-11-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

This was taken a few months back but I forgot to share it. Braylon is on his way to biking like a big boy. Now we just need to get him a bigger bike.

The Kids-Fall 2011

2011-10-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

Mr. & Mrs. Kirkpatrick

2011-10-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

This past wednesday one of my bestest friends got married in Arizona. I was lucky enough to not only be there but be able to photograph and capture this special day for her.

I have known Abby since I was 4 years old. That's 23 freaking years. Crazy crazy. I love her and her family so much and enjoyed every minute with them these past couple days.

This was mine and JJ's first real getaway since we've had Braylon. It was so weird flying without the kids and waking up next to JJ without three kids hopping all over us. It was such an amazing trip and just reminded me how lucky I am to have this man.

This was one of the most beautiful wedding locations I have ever seen. When you think of Arizona you don't normally thing of green, lush mountains. Well Payson Arizona is all of that and more. Breathtaking!!!

So happy for my best friend to become a Mrs. Her and her man Joel are such an awesome couple and I'm so thakful she met someone who loves her for her and adores her as much as we all do : ) Love you two!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Jaxten

2011-09-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

Jaxten turned 3!!! Let me tell you a little about this crazy kid at 3 years old. He is such a smart little guy and keeps us on our toes daily. He has the sweetest little voice I have ever heard but is one of the toughest little guys ever. He loves to wrestle and pretend like he's some kind of scary animal. Rarely is he not in character. He eats just about anything, is always up for an adventure and is so excited to be starting school in a couple weeks. He has his middle child moments that are very hard to handle and I think it's just cause he is so easy going most of the time that we forget he still wants lots of attention too : ) We love this little guy to pieces and can't wait to see what this next year with Jaxy will be like. We had a spider man birthday party for him this year and will be posting pictures soon.

Bray's 1st Day of Pre-K

2011-09-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

Our little man is gettin' so big. Kinda crazy he's in school 4 days a week (even if it is just part-day) I'm happy he is loving it though cause it makes it a little easier having him gone in the mornings knowing that he is happy where he is.

My stomach was in knots when I dropped him off. Seriosuly I was having flashbacks from my first day of school, remembering how nervous and scared I was to leave my mom. He did so great though and said he wanted to stay there "all all day"

Our mornings just aren't the same without him. It is a lot quieter but Jaxy sure misses his partner in crime. They are kind of lost without eachother. Here they all are saying goodbye.

I think Braylon is a little more comfortable going to school knowing that his GF Abby is there even though they aren't in the same class. Love these two. I'm so proud of my sweet boy and how great he is doing in school. Only negative feedback we've had is that he talks about Rango alot...could be worse ; )

Kade+Alyssa

2011-07-27T04:53:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago we headed to California for one of my best friends weddings. It was one of the best weddings I've ever been to. JJ and I had the BEST time and didn't want the night to end. Plus I was in the wedding with most of my best friends since childhood. Alyssa was such a beautiful bride and was the happiest I have ever seen her. Makes me happy to see this lady so in love and with such a wonderful man. They are an amazing couple and are sooo meant to be... it's crazy... in a good way. This wedding brought lots of festivities and I enjoyed every one of them. Especially the bachlorette party : ) I have sooo many pictures from all these wedding events so there is a slideshow in the works that I'll be posting soon. Love you Alyssa and Kade and miss you both so much. I think Colorado is calling your name : )

4th of July Block Party

2011-07-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

This year my neightbor accross the street asked me if I wanted to help her throw a block party. I agreed to help and am glad I did cause it was a great turn out and we met all of our neighbors and have now made some great friends.

Taytum and her boyfriend Kasey. We ended up inviting all our friends and JJ's work buddies so it was a great little mix of people. The hot mama with the cute little baby above is my best friend here in Colorado. Sadly in a few months she will be moving to Korea with her hubby and family. That's the military for ya. We are enjoying as much time as we can with them now before they leave.

We set up the kiddie pool, the water table and had the sprinklers runnin'for a good part of the day. The kids were in heaven and us parents loved that the bounce house was right accross the street too.

This cute couple to the left is my neighbor Janelle and her husband who live directly accross the street from us. She is an amazing Boudoir photographer. We have had many BBQs with these two. Dan, her husband reminds us alot of our brother-in-law, Chris so we like hanging out with them. Feels like we are hangin' with family.

The bounce house right across the street from our house

The boys playing the bean bag game. Not sure what it's really called but whatever it is, it's super fun.

Jen and I

Jayla and Krissy. These are the cute daughter's of one of JJ's friend from work.

Taytum checkin out the yard before the party to make sure it would be fun for all the kids

JJ's niece Elysia and her boyfriend Randy who is actually stationed at Petersen Airforce base, which is 3 minutes from our house. Elysia lives in PA so it was awesome having her in town and hanging with these two. They are pretty dang fun.

Such an awesome day and everyone had a blast. I was kind of on hostess mode and was also busy keeping tabs on all the kids but it was still great and so awesome to meet some nice neighbors and eat great food with over 50 people. I sooo love our neighborhood and was happy to help host the first annual Cuchares Ranch Block Party : )

My Melting Pot Birthday Dinner

2011-07-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, the Melting Pot is my most favorite restaurant EVER. So of course JJ knew that is what I would want to do for this years birthday. However JJ was in a 2 week training class that would go from about 4 in the morning till anywhere from 6-8 at night. Including weekends. Just so happen that this training fell on my birthday so we decided we'd celebrate the next weekend. To my surprise the day after my birthday JJ sent me a quick text telling me to try and find a sitter so we could go to the Melting Pot that night. I found a sitter fast and called to make our reservation. That night we get to the Melting Pot and we both gave our names for the reservation. JJ insisted we use his reservation (didn't even know he knew we needed one). We walk back to our cozy little table that was barely lit and very secluded with a curtain and roses on the table for me. I wasn't sure what was going on but I was liking JJ's little surprise. He made this night so perfect. They even took our picture and put it in a Melting Pot frame haha. He knows he doesn't need to go all out for me and I would've been fine sitting at a normal table in the bright lights eating just cheese but it makes me smile knowing I have a hubby who still wants to go all out for me and loves to see the look on my face when he surprises me. I feel super blessed and I was the happiest lady ever that night and I stuffed my freaking face sitting next to my best friend stuffing his freaking face. It was awesome and so is he and so was my 27th birthday.

Irvine Park-2011

2011-06-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

My most favortie thing to do during our California visits is hanging out with my sisters and watching our kids play together. This last visit was pretty busy so we didn't get to hang as much as I would have liked but the times we did spend together were amazing.

I love seeing their smiling faces when they are together and all the love and hugs they share with one another.

I wish we all lived closer so the kids could play with their best friends everyday.

Taytum cruisin with her cheese roll and drink. She's the happiest when she has food in hand.

It was so sweet watching Jaxy and Gamma stroll around together. These are the pictures that I will save forever.

Ella on the BIG horse. Love this girl. Can't believe how big she is getting.

Two peas in a pod. These two are always laughing and gettin into trouble together. I love the bond they have. Both little goofballs.
The memories we make with my nieces and nephews will be the one's the kids and I will remember forever.

F's that make our HOUSE our HOME

2011-06-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

Flowers: There's something about flowers that just makes you feel happy and can brighten any room. So I try and have flowers in my home on a normal basis, even if it's just $5.00 flowers from wal-mart (which these ones are)

Family: My family is my everything and it's only natural to have some decor that represents the most important things in your life.

Faith: JJ and I are both Christians and reading together and praying in our home with our children is something we do and will always do. Although we have so many blessings we still live in the real world which is not always easy and having God as the center of this family helps us get back to what really matters.

Fun: Lucky for the kids furnishing a new house is not something that we could afford up front. So right now the whole upstairs loft is devoted to their toys and games. I am actually loving this arrangement cause we have some of our best times up there playing together and dancing and it's just a fun place to be for all of us.

Frames: Anyone that knows me knows that I'm kind of obsessed with taking pictures. Having pictures of my family and things that we love reflects my decorating style. (I'm no decorator but these cute kids in all my frames sure help make it look like I know what I'm doing )

I decided to focus on the the things which all happened to be F's that really reflect who we are as a family. I feel very blessed to be a stay at home mom but when I'm home all day with three wondeful but needy kids under the age of 4 it can be a bit overwhelming and having a house that has flowers, pictures of our blessings, bibles out in the open and a place where we can just have fun, helps me get through my days with a postive attitude.

Braylon's 4th Birthday

2011-05-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

JJ and I spent the night before putting his new bike together and getting all the presents ready for the morning. It felt like Christmas. We were so excited for him to wake up and see his new bike and presents.

The older this kid gets the more fun it is to watch him open his presents. He's a riot and he's very appreciative of all his gifts and gets equally excited for all of them. Even the little things.

Gamma and Poppy got him the buzz wings "that go up and down." For Christmas we got him the normal buzz wings. Then he went to his friends house who had buzz wings that moved up and down. For the last 3 months I've been hearing about these wings. Gamma and Poppy are the BEST and he LOVES his new buzz wings "that go up and down" and now I don't have to hear about it : )

Braylon cruisin' on his new bike. He actually looks like a beast on this thing. I'm thinkin this will be Jaxy's bike before we know it.

After playing outside for a bit the boys headed in to start the sword fight. These two sure keep eachother occupied. I love it!

Then we ate yummy donuts in honor of Braylon's birthday : ) Although we get them every weekend whether there's a birthday or not.

Taytum gettin' ready for the birthday festivities to begin.

Braylon would not go downstairs even after people already started to arrive to his party. He wanted to watch Abigail (his girlfriend) walk up the driveway. So sure enough he stayed there until that pretty girl came strollin in with her family.

Enjoying the party with great friends and great food.

Present time!!!

Braylon got hooked up this year. Not only did he get tons of presents from his friends but all of daddy's friends who were at the party spoiled this kid like no other. It was very sweet that they put so much thought into our little guy and they were soo happy to be there and enjoyed playing with all of the crazy kids. All of these guys have been in Iraq for the past year and you can just tell that they appreciate the simple things in life. Very refreshing to see.

Braylon blowing out his "wave"cake. I asked Braylon what kind of party he wanted and he said "a wave party." Thank goodness for amazon where you can actually find everything you need for a wave party.

He was pretty happy when daddy brought the cake out and so were his buddies.

Josh sittin' with the kids watching Tangled. Perfect way to get the kids to settle down after all that sugar.

We had such a great day celebrating our little boys 4th birthday. I still can't believe I have a 4 year old. Very crazy I must say. We are soo proud of Braylon and the little boy he has become. He is such a kind hearted kid who is also very silly and keeps us laughing daily. I'm such a happy mom-mom and feel incredibly blessed to have Braylon as my son. He's my world. We love you buddy!!! xoxo

2011-05-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday-2011
Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness. ~Floyd W. Tomkins

We went to church the night before and celebrated our Savior and all he has done for us. It was an amazing service and I was so thankful to have my love by myside this Easter.

Our boys were so handsome but of course it was next to impossible to get a picture with both of them smiling.

Braylon and I gettin' ready to bake bake bake. Well we actually all baked and ate way too much. Cookies, cake, strawberry yogurt cream pie and tacos were on our Easter menu. Just in case you haven't noticed, everyone in our family has a sweet tooth : )

My little loves. Jaxy cracks me up with his angry little face. He's not as up for picture time as the other two.

The kids lovin' making cookies. Braylon's pretty into it. He enjoys food the way his mama does. I savor ever bite. It's kind of a problem my love for food.

We did alot of playing this day. Only had the TV on for the Laker Game. I love these kinds of days.

My mom got Taytum this rocking horse for her 1st birthday and she freaking loves it. She's in heaven on this thing but only if the ear is pressed and it's singing it's little song.

When Taytum took her afternoon nap JJ and I took the boys to see Hop since his mom was in town. I'm so glad we went cause the boys loved it and lasted the whole time with nothing but smiles and laughs and JJ and I both got a little cat nap : )

We ended the day with a backyard egg hunt. It was so much fun. I might have enjoed it more then the kids although they all had their own little strategy and goal for this game. Taytum was on a mission. She actually got more eggs then the boys. JJ held her basket and she would go fetch an egg then bring it to him with the biggest smile on her face. The boys on the other hand would race to an egg and then sit there and open it and eat the candy. This was a special day for our family and we enjoyed our first Easter together in our new home. Brought back happy childhood memories and got me excited for all the Holidays to come.

2011-04-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

Easter Egg Coloring

This was the first year that the boys actually enjoyed coloring the Easter Eggs and understood what they were doing. They were very intrigued and it kept their attention and good behavior for way longer then I expected. It was so fun watching them and it really brought back some fun childhood memories. I sooo love these kinds of things and having these little experiences with my family and can't wait till Taytum can join in on the fun next year. (she was napping)

2011-04-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

A.M. Girl

This little girl is happiest in the mornin just like her mama. I've always been a morning person and then been the narcoleptic friend who crashes early at every sleepover or movie growing up once the evening rolls around. Looks like this one is following in my footsteps. She is sooo happy and cheerful in the morning. She energizes the room which is exactly what we need to get things rollin' here in the mornin. P.M. is another story. Before the clock strikes 7:00P.M. she's cranky and beyond ready for bed. I love my little morning girl and the joy she brings to the start of everyday.

2011-04-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

Family Photos-Spring 2011

It's always nice to have a friend who's a photographer. My friend Brittany and I did a family photoshoot exchange. We figured since we had new Easter outfits we might as well get some cute family pics. (yes I know I am probably the only person in the history of the world to choose black and white Easter outfits.) It's who I am and people who know me are probably not surprised by this.) Anyways enjoy our photos from our first family shoot since JJ's return from his deployment : )

2011-04-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Home
Est. April 12,2011

After living in Colorado for 2 years JJ and I decided we were ready to make this our permanent home. We feel like this is where our family was meant to be. I just feel so at peace and enjoy our life here. I'm able to stay home with my babies while my honey brings home the bacon and the kids LOVE living in Colorado and having snow showers a few months out of the year followed by fun spring thunderstorms and HOT HOT summers shorty after. I'm a California surfer girl at heart and I do miss the ocean once in a while but lucky for us my wonderful family is still in California and it's just an hour and 45 minute plane ride away : ) The Army brought us here and the happiness we've experienced while living here has won our hearts. The only thing that makes me sad is being so far away from my family. I miss my family and neices and nephew sooooooo much and so do the kids but it makes those times we are together that much more special. So here we are finally moved in and settled into our new home and enjoying every second of it. (except for the whole unpacking thing and running from the shower to the closet cause we don't have blinds yet) So this was the reason for the slacking of the good ol' blog. I promise to be back in the game from here on out. Hope I didn't lose too many readers : ) See y'all soon!

2011-04-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

The Gummy Bears

Well my little man is on to bigger and better things these days. Sports!!! And so far it has been a pretty fun experience with a few melt downs here and there. Braylon's only 3 so when he's out there and someone takes the ball away from him he gets sad. But then when he gets the ball he stops what he's doing, shouts with excitment that he got the ball and then moves on to chattin with Abigail (his girlfriend.) He doesn't quite get the concept but it's still the cutest thing ever to see these 3 and 4 year olds out there in their own little world scoring in eachothers goal and picking the ball up like it's a football game. They are so innocent and confused out there. It's entertaining to say the least and I'm enjoying being Braylon's assistant coach and getting that little extra time with him. JJ and I have been waiting a long time for weekend sports with our kids. We LOVE it!!! (except for when I'm trying to coach and Jaxten and Taytum are running in opposite directons and I look over and see the overwhelmed look on JJ's face and feel bad I can't help him. Oh the joys of multiple children)

2011-03-09T12:04:00.000-08:00

Downtown Denver

Jaxy snuggled up with daddy in the hotel.

We ate dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and then found a yummy Gelato Shop we couldn't turn down. Our kids loved it just as much as we do. When JJ and I lived in italy we would get Gelato every night so this brought back some fun memories for us.

Love this pic. Daddy cleaning all the kids ears before a night out on the town. I'm soo happy my honey is home.

Watchin' TV with Daddy. They are sooo happy and content when he's around.

We took the kids to the Children's Museum and they had a ball. Taytum was soo cute exploring. The boys would've stayed all day but it was crowded and there's only so much you can do so we left after a couple hours.

My little fireman and I : )

The bubble section was a hit. JJ and Braylon didn't care to do anything else. They were happy making giant bubbles.

We had a couple hours before we could check into our hotel and the kids needed naps so JJ and I decided to drive to Golden where the Coors Tour is so the kids could nap and we could take turns on the tour. Of course when JJ finished the tour and it was my turn the kids decided to wake up.

Here we are at the Denver Aquarium. It was awesome. Obviously all the kids LOVED it there.

JJ's cousin Niki and her husband JJ and daughter Lilly met up with us which was a special treat. It's been a while since we've seen them so it was fun getting to hang out with them all day long.

The boys and Lilly trying to pet the Stingray. Braylon actually managed to pet this thing. Jaxy was cute trying to reach it even though he was never even close to it, ha.

We had such a great weekend. It started out in Highland Ranch where we had dinner with the O'Malley and Conner's Family. We had so much fun with all of them. Fun group I must say and Kym loves to spoil my kids so it's always nice getting a little break while she's entertaining the little ones. After we woke up the next morning our adventure began. Childrens Museum, Coors tour, Hotel Check in, Dinner, hide and go seek in the hotel with the kids, sleep and the Aquarium the next morning. Busy busy weekend but sooo much fun. Love my family so much and am so thankful I get to spend these crazy days with them.

2011-03-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

Taytum's Dance Party

This little girl loves to dance. It is soo fun watching her when we have our nightly dance parties. I can't believe my little girl just turned one and she's already shakin' it like a pro.

2011-02-15T18:13:00.000-08:00

The End!!!

That's right. I'm reuniting with my man tonight and I don't think I have ever been this happy in my entire life. This was the longest freaking year EVER and although it has made me a stronger and more thankful woman I am soooo happy he will be sleepin in my bed tonight and not going anywhere for a long long time. I am sooo proud of my husband and feel honored and blessed to be married to such a brave/sexy soldier. I'll be MIA for a while.
P.S.One year deployments are wayyyyy to long!!!!

2011-02-09T18:48:00.000-08:00

January 29th
was all about this sweet girl

we started the morning off opening presents. She was actually really into and didn't need help ripping the paper (although her brothers still insist they help)

She was spoiled by mama with toys and by Gamma with clothes. The girls taken care of for a while now.

This was a special morning and the kids all had a blast. Jaxy was lovin on the birthday girl and made sure to announce it was her birthday every 30 seconds.

Can't believe my baby girl is already 1

Here we are gettin ready for cake. Notice JJ there with us. (on skype) This is how a military family does birthdays.

My kitchen floor looked like it was made of cake. When Taytum started throwing cake the boys decided to join in and once I realized what was happening it was already too late so I let them all go to town. It only took an hour to clean up. No big deal. Pshhh.

After cake and presents I dropped the boys of at day care for a couple hours so my girl and I could have a girly day all to ourselves. It was awesome!!! First time I've ever done that. We went and got ice cream and then headed to the mall where my big girl got her ears pierced. She did so great and she looks so beauuuutiful.

We picked up the boys on our way home, got some pizzas and ended the night with a pizza party. I think you can tell by the smile on her face that this was one happy birthday girl. It was a perfect day with my angel and I'm sooooo excited her daddy will be here for her next year and to see what a fun little toddler his baby girl has turned into. We love you sooo much sweet Taytum and mommy had the best day with you on your first birthday.

2011-01-29T20:07:00.000-08:00

Happy 1st Birthday
to our sweet baby girl Taytum Faith Dear Taytum-You are an AMAZING little girl. You are constantly blowing my mind with the things you are capable of at such a young age. (I think your brother's might have something to do with that.) Here are some fun facts about you at a year old.

-You have already been walking for over 2 months

-Your favorite food is macaroni and cheese, bananas and turkey. Oh and apparently cake after today.

-You sleep through the night finally with an occasional night where you wake up once for a quick bottle.

-You Love giving kisses
-You love tickle matches with mommy and your brothers
-You love our nightly dance parties at the end of our long days
-You love getting into the cupboards
-If you aren't drinking your baba in your bed you always tip it over and like to watch the milk drip out of it (Not one of my favorite things)
-You love when Braylon comes in and wakes you up in the morning. You seriously giggle and scream with excitiment and joy. It's the cutest thing EVER.

-You wave bye bye

-You love to clap
-You love your daddy sooo much and know him just as well as if he was home for the whole year.
-You know his voice and run over to the computer when mommy skypes with him.
-Your favorite word to say is dada
-You already know how to bug your brothers and you truly get a kick out of it
-You have the loudest voice I've ever heard come out of a baby.
-You love to scream. Not cause you're mad but just to hear your loud voice and drive me a little crazy sometimes : )
-You are not much of a cuddler but when you do they are the sweetest little cuddles

-You are called Tater-tot more then Taytum. In fact 95% of the time thats what people call you
There are many other wonderful things about your sweet little self but mommy is ready for bed and I will do your birthday photos on another day and give more info on what kind of little girl you are. Mommy, daddy and your brothers love you soooo much and we are all so thankful God gave us such a fun addition to our family. You complete us. xoxoxo

2011-01-25T18:28:00.000-08:00

Braylon's 1st day of preschool

So my first born started preschool a couple weeks ago. Holy cow! Where has the time gone?? He looked like such a big boy and was all smiles to start school. Bray's a little shy around people he doesn't know so of course I was super nervous about the idea. Happy to say that I was nervous for nothing cause he is loving every second of it and his teacher has nothing but positive things to say about Bray and what a good listener he is and how sweet he is. (Now we just need to work on him being a good listener for mommy too.) This makes me one happy mama and even happier that he is enjoying himself with other kids.

Cute story: I take Jaxy to the daycare for 3 hours while Bray is at school and it's at the same place as Bray's school. Apparently they go to the playground with their classes at the same time and they cry cause they want to play together but can't cause they are in different classes. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing but I love how close they are. When I pick them up from school they give eachother big hugs and they play together so nicely on those days.

Funny story: So Braylon has been on the waiting list for preschool for months now so I literally found out the day before he started that he would be starting school the next day. At this point he had bieber bangs that hung in his eyes and we didn't have time for a hair cute so I decided to wet his hair to the side and spray it with "hair spray" to keep the bangs out of his eyes. Realized the next day that is wasn't hairspray...It was freaking febreeze! A little travel size bottle that looked exactly like hairspray. Poor kid went to his first day of school with febreeze in his hair. At least he was smelling nice : ) I'm sure I will have thousands of these kinds of stories by the time these kids hit 18. So proud of my big boy!

2011-01-24T18:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010

Christmas morning with the kids. They were already enjoying all thier new toys at this point.

They were spoiled this year. If I knew how much Poppy and Gamma got them I would have chilled a bit on the Christmas shopping. Oh well. Lots of smiling faces in the Holderman home.

My three little love bugs. Taytum sure enjoyed her 1st Christmas.

My ROCK STAR

I love seeing my kids faces light up over the little things. Braylon was in heaven over an umbrella. Really?? I hope they keep this appreciation forever.

The kids enjoying Christmas morning with Gamma.

Every Christmas morning my mom makes her famous cinnamon rolls. I guess you could say they won Taytum over : )

Soon after we did presents the whole family joined in for some fun/chaos.

When my brother and Niki bring their dogs over Jaxy usually goes missing. You can most likely find him playing fetch in the yard with them.

Presents with the gang

My beautiful sister Becca who refuses to look normal in a picture. Ahh I miss this girl.

My handsome little ones wearing their new clothes from Aunt Leah and Unlce Bill.

The end of the night and all ready for bed. Taytum played with her toys all day and night.

Playin' with Gamma

The boys ended their day snuggled on the couch with Poppy watching The Wizard of Oz. Love my family and will always remember this Christmas. Can't wait till next year when we can have Christmas with JJ. Soooo many wonderful things to look forward to.

2011-01-16T20:58:00.000-08:00

Cade Michael Heiner

born on 12-19-2010

The proud mama and daddy

Tiny Toes

I love love love the whole birth experience. Sooo glad I got to be there to welcome my first nephew baby Cade. He is such a handsome little guy and is one of the best babies I've ever been around. So far he seems mellow but ask me again in two years: ) I couldn't be more proud of my big sis Nicole and happy for her and her growing family. Love you Heiner's with all my heart. xoxo

PS. I'd share her birth story but there would be alot of angry woman out there. Pushed like 3 times and he was out. That's all I'm gonna say.

2011-01-10T12:44:00.000-08:00

The gang visits Santa

Tatyum had the same reaction to Santa that I did at that age

Braylon couldn't believe he was talking to Santa. It was pretty darn funny.

Miss Hadlee and Santa

All the cousins on my side of the fam. Baby Cade was born a week later.

The DeCasas Girls. Sadie is classic.
Santa was probably happy to see our group go, haha.

2011-01-10T12:26:00.001-08:00

A Special Visit

from Aunt Leah & Uncle Bill

Taytum lovin on Aunt Leah

The whole gang. Jaxy was pretty comfy on unlce Bill.

Aunt Leah and Buzz

Jaxy sportin his new hoodie they brought for him.

While we were in California JJ's Aunt Leah and Uncle Bill drove from Palm Springs for a special visit with the kids. Everytime we are in town they drive down to see us and we all have a ball. Aunt Leah's the Aunt who gets on the floor and rolls around with the kids and will dance as long as the kids will dance. Jaxy snuggled right up with Bill. It's always fun having them visit and the kids are always spoiled with the cutest clothes. We are very blessed to have them in our lives and I know JJ is very thankful too cause these two send the greatest care packages for him and his buddies.

2010-12-26T20:24:00.000-08:00

The Aquarium with Poppy

Jaxy feeding the birds

Poppy and Taytum having a little visit from a little birdy

Braylon wasn't too sure about this bird

Jaxy thought he was gonna catch a Sea Lion

The kids petting the Stingrays

My dad (the kids poppy) treated all of us to a day at the Long Beach Aquarium. They had so much fun running around having poppy show them all the cool exhibits. Everyone's favorite animal was the Sea Lions. The kids could have stayed there all day. The funniest part for my dad and I was watching the kids faces as they fed the birds. Poppy made this day a fun one for all of us and the kids are pretty dang lucky to have a poppy like theirs who takes them on fun little adventures.

2010-12-24T21:21:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

We wish everyone a blessed Christmas...

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Much LOVE from our family to yours

2010-12-23T19:59:00.000-08:00

R&R

R&R with JJ was surreal. Nothing in this world can describe the emotions we felt during this 14 days period. The kids were seriously in heaven. They were all over JJ as if they were making up for the previous 7 months they spent without him. There was no awkardness or warming up to do. Daddy was back from the freaking long long helicopter ride and they were happy as could be. (Love how kids have no concept of time).

After a few days of him being home we were coming back from the mall and I walked in my house and saw my mom standing in my living room. I was scared. I thought something bad happened and she was there in person to break the news and comfort me. Nope. She was there cause JJ had big surprises up his sleeves and my mom flew out and watched the kids overnight for us. Sooo we had the best 2 day get away EVER. Not gonna go into complete detail about the best 2 days of my life but in a nutshell we drove to Denver...ate at The Melting Pot...Went to a Comedy Club...Stayed up till 2 a.m (that's huge for me haha)...Slept in till 7:30 a.m. (also huge for me)...ate a great breakfast...Ended the trip with a couples massage...And then we were missing our kids like crazy and drove home to see them : )

The last couple days of R&R were a little rough for me. Still having the best visit but in my mind I knew we were about to say bye again for another 4 months and a visit was exactly what this was. We said our goodbye's, I cried, then I drove my butt to California right from dropping JJ off at the airport. There was no way I could go back to our house without him after such an amazing 2 weeks with him.

Here we are down to the last 2 and a half months of this deployment and then JJ's home for good and our family can feel complete again.

Picture time!!!

The boys watching for daddy to come off the plane

Taytum was 7 weeks old the last time JJ saw her and here they are 7 months later getting to know eachother again in real life...not through a computer screen

The kids loved having mommy and daddy around during bathtime

Taytum loved being attatched to her daddy in the Bjourn

The park is so much more fun when dad's around

JJ was on the floor with these kids from the minute he walked in our front door in his camos till the last night of R&R in his PJs.

The kids and I are so blessed to have such an awesome man to lead this family.

2010-12-10T12:32:00.000-08:00

10 Months Old
It's been FOREVVVERR since I've updated the good ol' blog. I have lots to blog about but don't have the time so I thought I'd start with a little video of Taytum dancin' to hold you over till I get around to posting pictures from JJ's R&R.

Taytum is 10 months old now and is walkin' like a champ. She has even tried to run. Crazy girl. She took her first steps when daddy was home for 2 weeks. It's crazy to me cause both the boys didn't walk till they were almost a year old and JJ only gets to be home with us for 2 weeks out of a year and she took her first steps at 9 months old with him home and there to see it in real life. It was really special and I know how much it meant to him that he didn't miss one of the biggest milestones in her first year of life. Taytum is such a happy girl when she's fed and has had enough rest but if one of those isn't taken care of she's a cranky girl and she has the loudest voice EVERRRR. So the goal is to keep her happy at all times otherwise her loud voice literally hurts your ears. She's always cute but man this girl has got some lungs. She loves her brothers and loves to get right in there with them and wrestle. Jaxy is gonna make her one tough chick with his aggressive ways. She loves music and dances at the first sound of a beat. She's such a sweet girl and we are so blessed to have such a fun addition to our family. We love you baby girl!!

2010-11-25T20:34:00.000-08:00

Thankful
today and every other day of my life.

{Every good and perfect gift comes from above. James 1:17}

2010-11-22T19:23:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2010

This halloween was a fun one was cause the boys are now old enough to really pick out their costumes and act out the part as well. In fact one month later and Braylon is still acting out the part. The kid lives in his buzz costume. He freaks out if I make him take it off to wash it and the only way he settles down is if I put his buzz light year PJs on during that hour and a half. Not sure how we are gonna break this habit : / Anyways, halloween was super fun this year. We went to our friends halloween party and played lots of games and ate yummy food. About a week before halloween we went to Boo at the Zoo and trick or treated with the animals. The kids were in heaven. Taytum was our little skunk stinker and she sure lived up to her name. She had a major blow out before we even arrived to the party. It was a great halloween and I must say that the best part about it was that daddy came home for R&R the next morning : )

2010-10-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch 2010

Gamma and Jaxy

The boys pickin' out their pumpkins. Jaxy couldn't decide. He probably had ten different pumpkins in his hands before he finally picked one.
Me and my boys enjoying the amazing view from the hay stack

The kids loved this train thing but I was just prayin' the whole time that I wasn't the woman who broke the train at the pumpkin patch.

Watchin' the cow eat a pumpkin. The kids really got a kick out of that.

My little cowboy

Me and my sick little girl. Taytum was such a trooper. She was so sick with a cold and runny nose but she made the best out of the two and a half hours we were there.

Feeding the animals. This was my favorite part. The boys were hilarious and the animals were so pushy but the kids loved it.

The HUGE slide that we all survived. This thing was way bigger then these pictures show. I thought Braylon was gonna have a heart attack. He wanted to cry so bad but looked up and saw Grandma's face and was instantly okay.

We had such a great time with my mom at the pumpkin patch. We live a few states away now so it was so wonderful to share these special little moments with Grandma.

2010-10-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

Jaxy's 2nd Birthday

For Jaxy's 2nd birthday we just hung at home with our family and celebrated with Jaxten's favorite...CAKE!!!

He was pretty much in heaven. I mean seriously there is no better face then the one of a kid with a smile and cake all over it.

Jaxy thought mama needed a little cake on her face too

Me and my girl

I love thier faces. So ready for cake.

Jaxy got to many gifts to mention. Grandparents can spoil from afar too.

Our friends across the street came to celebrate with us. Feels like we were just celebrating Jaxy and Lyla's first birthday's and now they are both two.

It was a wonderful day filled with lots of love and food. Two hours after the festivities ended all three of the kids and I came down with the flu. I mean the full on flu. It was aweful cause I felt like I was gonna die and I really needed someone to take care of me and instead I was having to take care of three sick kids and washing sheets and clothes like crazy. Not a fun way to end the day but it will be a day we will never forget that's for sure.

It wasn't the same without daddy but it's nice knowing this will be the only birthday he will miss. Love you Jaxten Carter. You are the funniest kid I've ever known and everyone who gets to know you falls just as in love with you as we do. Stay sweet you crazy kid. xoxo

2010-10-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

8 Months Old...

Taytum is filled with more joy and laughter then I ever thought was possible

She is pretty independent and loves to just sit on the living room floor and play with her toys. She'll crawl on over to the next thing once she's bored with what she's got. If the boys are in the room she usually makes her way over to whatever they are doing and will get right on in there with them. Even if it's something aggressive. She's a tough chica.

Baby girl loves the swings. I've never seen a smile as big as hers when I'm pushing her on the swings. Pure happiness.

She loves her naps and bed time. She cracks me up cause when she is ready for sleep she will sure let you know it. She goes from 0 to 10 in about .5 seconds and needs a bottle ASAP. I will be walking her upstairs with her baba in my hand and she will take my hand, tilt her head back and put the bottle in her mouth... she can't wait 10 more seconds till I can lay her down in her crib with her bottle.

Taytum's favorite food at the moment is velveeta macaroni & cheese and cold bananas. She pretty much eats anything as long as it is in tiny tiny pieces. She loves her brothers and lights up as soon as either one walks in the room. The same goes for them. They love thier baby sister and they are always making sure she is taken care of. If she's crying Braylon will tell me that Taytum's hungry and needs a bottle or that she's sleepy. He even tries to carry her now. (scary) Taytum has made our family soo complete and every month with her gets sweeter and sweeter. She is such a happy, easy, independent baby who loves to explore everything around her. She also likes to eat everything around her. We love you sooo much sweet baby girl and we can't wait to see what month 9 has in store for us.

2010-09-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday
to the funniest, randomest, hungriest, most precious little man.

Your one year old picture with daddy. You've always been a daddy's boy and you need to know that daddy wishes more then anything else that he could be here to see his little man turn 2. We will have another celebration for you when daddy comes home.

One of the sweetest moments of my life was looking into your little eyes and watching you as you reached up to me with your tiny hand. It was love at first sight and you still melt my heart the way you did on that day and I'm thinking that ain't ever gonna change.

Here you are. Our joyful little 2 year old. Thank you for keeping us laughing everyday of our lives. You truly are a gift from God and you are constantly blowing our minds with how funny and smart you are. Mommy, Daddy, Braylon and Taytum love you more then you will ever know. You are an amazing little boy and wonderful brother to Braylon and Taytum. Thank you for being such an easy going middle child. It ain't always easy but you do it so well. We love you buddy and hope you have the best 2nd birthday ever.

2010-09-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

Happy 29th Birthday

to the man who's hand I always wanna hold. Who's voice I always wanna hear. Who's face I always wanna see. The man I continue to fall more in love with as the days go by.

I know we can't be with you to spoil you on turning another year older but just know you are always in our hearts and always on our minds. The kids and I love you more then words can explain. Thank you for all that you do for this family. Love-{Your biggest fans} Kboog, Bray, Jaxy and Tater-tot

2010-09-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

7 months

Crazy to think that JJ deployed when Taytum was just 7 weeks old...Now she's 7 months. Crazy!

Taytum is the happiest little girl and usually has a smile on her face or is laughing. She officially started crawling about a week ago and she doesn't seem to be slowin' down. Her new thing is to crawl over things ex. her brothers, the scooter, pillows and myself. I think she likes a bit of a challenge. She eats every type of baby food and is starting to stare down my food. She loves sitting on the living room floor and playing with her toys. She is finally sleeping from 9-5 which has been wonderful. Its only been 5 days of this but im keeping my fingers crossed that this becomes the norm. She loves to watch her brothers wrestle and laughs out loud when it starts to get a little intense. No matter how many headbands and dresses I put this girl in I still won't be sursprised if she turns out a tom boy.

Taytum is such a sweet addition to our family. She has made it feel so complete. We love you baby girl and can't wait to see what tricks you have in store for us this next month.

Our baby girl Crawling

2010-08-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

Missin' the GeeGee

One of my best friends came for a visit this weekend and it was awesome. Gigi is 10 weeks pregnant with her first little baby due at the end of march. I was so thankful and excited when she annouced a few weeks ago that she was buying a ticket to come and spend some time with me and the kids. The kids loved having Gigi in our home and little Miss Taytum and her became best friends instantly. Gigi is going to make a great mommy and I'm praying that her weekend visit didn't make her afraid of motherhood. Having three kids under the age of three with a husband who is deployed isn't really the norm so I'm a bad person to observe when thinking about the number of children you may want to have haha. No but really Gigi was such a big help for me with the kids and for me as a woman needing some good adult coversation with a best friend. I'm blessed to have the friends I have and can't wait to see what the future holds for all of my amazing girlfriends. Thanks Gigi for a weekend I won't ever forget and for being patient with me during Sex and The City when I would fall asleep and then ask if we could rewind it and make you watch it all over again. Good Times with a Good Friend.

2010-08-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

The Heiner's come to CO

I am super busy and really shouldn't be blogging so I'm gonna make this quick. My sis and her family came for a visit a couple weeks ago and it was soooo amazing. We had such a fun time. The pictures are pretty self explanatory but Ill tell you quick about what we did all week. We visited Garden of the Gods, the Denver aquarium, walked through tons of model homes, made rice Krispy treats, played with water balloons, sat on the porch, Braylon got hives, Hadlee got the flu, ate a ton of Sonic, wathced lots of Sex and the City and drank our "Kade special coffee every morning. " Oh and we saw a few crazy lighting storms. Fun times!!! I'm ready for them to come back : )

2010-08-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

My little love bugs...

Within the last couple days Taytum has learned how to kiss. She does it like most babies, mouth open and just goes at her target with full force. Today her and Bray were playin' on the floor and anytime his face would get close to hers, she was goin' in for the kiss. It was soo adorable and I'm glad she did it enough times to let me catch a shot of it. Bray loves it and is so sweet and gentle with her. Jaxy is a little more rough. He's laid on her a few times and I caught him pulling on her arms. I learned fast that I can't keep my eyes off of those two. Bray and Taytum look so much alike. I'm seein' it more and more everyday.

2010-08-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

One week

is how long these two have been sick with the flu

Thursday morning all heck broke loose in the Sola home. Jaxy had gotten sick in his bed wednesday night which I didn't know until that next morning. After that I was washing sheets, pants, shirts, PJs, towels, you name it multiple times a day for 6 days straight. I used my washer more times this week then probably the last 6 months, no joke. Jaxy has seemed better the last few days but poor Bray is still recovering. I feel so bad for these little guys. Having the flu is the worst. Especially when you are a kid and are newly potty trained. That was fun for me ; ) I think this has been my hardest week since JJ has been gone. There were a couple nights when Bray was so sick, throwing up one minute and running to the toilet the next. We were both up all night. Jaxy was crying cause he wanted to be in my bed too. And then there's Taytum in the mix who sleeps in my room and gets up for a couple night time feedings still. I honeslty didn't know what to do and how I could survive these nights cause I was beyond tired. Here I am writing about it so I obviously survived it but man was it a rough week. I always want JJ home with me but this week I needed him home with me for selfish reasons. I NEEDED HELP. Plain and simple. Today was the first day with no throw up since last wednesday. Yay!!! And it's a good thing cause my sis and her family are gonna be here on saturday for a week : ) Now it's time to disinfect every inch of this house. Some how Taytum and I didn't catch whatever it is they had and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way. After this week I feel like things can only go up : ) I'm ready for that...so bring it on.

2010-08-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

Cell Phone Photo Shoot

Miss Taytum was such a happy little girl in her crib before nap time today. The only camera I had handy was my phone and I'm sure glad I did cause these pics are some of my faves. A little photoshop and you'd never know it was an impromptu cell phone shoot.

2010-07-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

Bray & Mom-Mom

Every good and perfect gift is from above James 1:17

2010-07-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

Brothers...

Since little miss Taytum was born I feel like she's pretty much taken over the blog. Time to focus in on the boys who make my world the crazy, fun, stressful, happy place that it is.

Braylon has become his own little man these past few months. He's always been a mama's boy and still is to an extent but his independence is really starting to take over starting with gettin' outta those diapers. Finally. I seriously was thinkin he might be the kid in 1st grade in diapers. He just showed no interest until the day he became potty trained.

He is the sweetest little boy I've ever met. Seriously. He is such a sensitive little love bug but since Jaxten has come into his own Braylon has toughened up quite a bit and I love it. So now I have a silly, sweet, handsome, loving little tough boy.

These two are best friends one minute and UFC fighting on my living room floor the next. No matter what brawl takes place they always end up laughing in the end. I hope that they stay best friends forever. My prayer for these boys as their mom is that they remain close like this through all the years ahead.

Braylon is in Gymnastics now and is about to start Karate too. He loves it!!! Poor Jax doesn't understand why he can't go with Bray. Kinda sad but he ain't 3 yet so there's nothin' I can do. Jax makes me stand in front of the tiny window the whole time so he can watch what big brother Bray is doing.

Jaxten is talking up a storm. He pretty much says everything Braylon does just not in clear sentences. Bray was kind of a late talker so it's funny to see my little man walking around talking like he owns the place. Love his confident little tough guy attitude. THis kid is not afraid of anything. It's kinda scary actually haha.

These kids are all boy from head to toe. They climb everything, hang on anything, pick up bugs, splash in mud, eat things off the floor (Jaxy), wrestle, act like dinosaurs, growl like lions at girls, eat their food with no hands like puppys any chance they get, laugh when they toot and announce it to the world...The list goes on and on.

I've never experienced anything like watching my boys become best friends. Since Taytum was born they have really gotten close and when I'm sittin there on the couch feeding the baby and they are either playing trains on the floor together or beating eachother up I can'thelp but smile cause no matter what they are doing, they are doin it together and always keepin' eachother entertained.

As you can see in this last picture Bray and Jax are looking more and more alike as they get older. Jaxy is a little more stocky but they share the same handsome little face. I Feel so blessed to be these crazy boys mama.

2010-07-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

6 Months...

and you couldn't be more sweet Taytum

Baby girl you are half a year old already. You are becoming cuter, sweeter, and happier by the day and I know you're personality is gonna melt daddy's heart when he sees you. Seeing you through web cam can't compare to seeing you in action 24/7. I'm fully aware that you will be his number one girl when he returns home from duty but I'm completely okay with that and I don't blame him. You mean the world to me, your daddy and your big stinky brothers. Thanks for keeping us smiling simply by the sight of your smile...and that face...and those rolls. By the way you have the eating skills of your brother Jax.

2010-07-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

Prayer is Powerful

So I'm asking anyone who prays to pray for this sweet little girl Daisy Love and her family. Please take the time to read her story here: http://brittmerrick.com/

"…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective"

(James 5:16)

2010-07-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

Sky Sox Baseball Game

So the kids and I went with some friend to our first baseball game of the season. It was awesome!!! Even Taytum enjoyed it.

The boys were hilarious. They were so serious about the game. Jaxten never cracked a smile. He was there to clap and cheer and that was it.

Don't ask me what Jaxy was doin' here. I'm tellin you this child is the most random child ever. Apparently he wanted to show off his full belly.

The kids were out of control. I couldn't even snap a picture of them that's not blurry cause they were so intense with their cheering.

The kids and I at our first baseball game. Angie, Andrew and Andrews G-ma. We all had a blast and were honored to be at this game. It was military appreciation night so they had alot of fun things geared towards us military fams. Glad I will have this memory of me taking my three kids to a baseball game and everyone lovin' every minute of the crazyness.

2010-07-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

Finally...
We have a kid out of diapers

It only took 3 years and 2 months but Braylon is officially out of diapers. Thank God cause diapers for three kids is ridiculously expensive. He insists he wears big boy undies to bed and nap time and lucky for me he hasn't wet the bed yet. Jaxy is lookin a little interested in the potty now that big brother is doin' it. We'll see though, you never know with that kid.

2010-07-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

5 1/2 Months

So little miss Taytum here is eager to learn new things. One being sittin' up to play with her toys. She can't stay for very long but she sure likes to try.

at 5 1/2 months Taytum is trying to sit. Rolling too fast for her own good. Eating rice cereal, squash and bananas. Getting her first tooth. Sleeps horribly at night. She doesn't like being left alone now. When we leave the room she cries. She wants to be involoved in whatever we are doing, even if it's just sitting in the same room in her bouncer seat while i'm playing with the boys. She loves her brothers and watching the crazy things they do which is wrestling these days. She does great in her sunday school class as long as someone is holding her. She loves our walks in the morning and riding in the baby Bjourn. I'm trying to hold onto each moment cause the days are going by way too fast with these kids. As crazy as my days are I wouldn't change a thing. Well maybe I would have my kids listen to me a little more. That might make things a bit easier haha.

2010-07-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

Missin' Daddy

The boys talk about daddy everyday. They still think he is in a helicopter at work. Everytime a helicopter flys over us the boys point and say "my dada, my dada" I just smile and say "yes, your dada." When dads or moms deploy kids can go one way or the other. Luckily my kids are still young enough to understand that daddy is gone but they think he's really in a helicopter working 24/7. Even when we skype they think he's on the helicopter. I can't wait to share these stories with them when they are older.

Taytum was soo young when JJ left and she has turned into a new little person during these past 4 months. JJ and her talk on skype everyday and she totally knows his voice and smiles when she sees him. I know when she sees her daddy in real life again it will be as if he never left.

A few months ago when we were at my parents house the boys were begging me for a Dora balloon. I kept saying I would get them and then one day I actually did. I dragged all 3 kids into Party City, they picked out there balloons which were 9 dollars a piece. (Would have never agreed to get them if I knew they were that much.) Anyways so I get them their balloons, we get in the car, drive to my parents, get the kids out of the car and they both lose their 9 dollar balloons. So there they are both crying in the drive way cause they are crushed their Dora and Spongebob ballons are flying away. I'm thinkin to myself, Crap, what the heck am I gonna do now? JJ pops in my head and I say "you guys it's okay, the balloons are gonna go to daddy. Daddy's gonna get your balloon. That's so cool, he's gonna be so happy." They both start to quiet down a little and think about what I just said and it's actually working. They calm down and we go inside the house. I call my mom and have her go buy two balloons cause I just felt really bad but they were alright with the idea that daddy would get their balloons. Anyways so this past friday was my birthday so instead of making it about me I wanted to do some fun stuff with the kids. So we went to the mall and they rode the train and helicopter ride and they both got balloons after. The whole time we are walking I'm reminding them not to let go or it's gonna fly away. As soon as we got outside Braylon says, " Mom-mom, balloon go to daddy? " and I said, "yeah you want to let it go to daddy? " and he smiles and lets his balloon go. Two seconds later Jaxten lets his go and there they are both waving goodbye and smiling cause they think daddy will be so happy to get the two balloons. It's moments like this I am so thankful for the love that my boys share with their daddy and it just makes me wish he could be home with us faster. 4 months down, 8 to go.

2010-07-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

Sadie turns "1"

I just have to start off by saying that I am one lucky woman to be blessed with so many nieces. They are all so unique in their own way and they are what I miss the most when I come home to Colorado. This little beauty is one of the sweetest little girls out there. My sister Becca was pregnant with her last year and was due to have her right around the time our family was moving to Colorado. I couldn't miss this angel arriving and I insisted we wait till the day after she was born. JJ agreed and we were able to meet our new niece before we made our big move. It was bitter sweet cause although I was able to meet her I was sad to have to leave so fast. I was in CO the majority of the first half of her life but I was lucky enough to spend months 8.5-12 with her and they were awesome. She went from sitting up to crawling to rollin with the big kids during the time we were there. She's such a sweet girl and on her first birthday she looked more precious then ever so I insisted I take a few photos of her and man am I glad I did. There were too many to choose from. Love you Sadie and all of my beautiful nieces out there.

2010-07-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Road Trip with Poppy

A couple weeks ago it was time for the kids and I to make our way back home. My dad being the wonderful man he is voluntered himself to make this road trip with us so we wouldn't have to do it alone. It's a looooonnngggg drive and with 3 kids in the car for 17 hours total it makes it even longer. I was a little worried how the trip might go just cause I sometimes dont even have enough patients with my own kids and I'm used to having them with me 24/7. I just wasn't sure if Poppy could handle it.

I was worried for nothing. The kids did amazing and my dad was even more amazing. He drove the whole way and his driving was actually really good. We made a couple food stops and took a few bathroom breaks but made really good time. After our smooth ride home we finally made it to our house and it was such a great feeling. I missed my home so much and the kids were so happy to have all their stuff back.

My dad spent a few days with us and helped me take care of a few things before he headed home and we just had a great time together. The kids were sad to see poppy go. Bray actually cried when we left the airport which made me cry so it was kind of an emotional ride home. We are so thankful for that week with my dad and I still can't believe all the hard work he did around my house to make my place a little more comfortable for me until JJ gets back.

Taytum and Poppy have a little special bond and I know she was lookin' around for poppy for the first few days he was gone wondering when they were gonna have their tickle time. They were so sweet together. My dads the best and I'm so blessed to have him in my life.

2010-07-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Interesting moves

Taytum has really been wanting to move these days. Everytime I put her down I know now that within a minute she will be on the other side of the room, under the swing or somewhere she shouldn't be. She has a little routine she does. Butt up. Legs stretched out. Knees under. Arms in. Then she moves a foot.

Then she's up again. Rolls over which moves her another foot. Hands and knees position. Moves a foot....and so on. It cracks me up cause she can barely sit up and she is seriously trying to go and I just don't think she's ready which makes it really funny to watch. I love my little persistent girl.

2010-07-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

Real Love

My mom has always had a way with kids but when it comes to her grandkids she has got the touch. She can put a screaming baby to sleep in 3 minutes just by singing in her sweet little voice. If one of the boys falls down and gets hurt she's there to make them laugh and help them forget why they were crying in the first place. I love this picture cause it really captures the love between a Grandchild and Grandma.

2010-07-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

4th of July

This year's 4th was pretty fun. Longest 4th of July I've ever had but the kids enjoyed every minute of it.

We started the day off at the street fair near the MV lake. Kym's mom and Grandma met up with us which was a nice surprise and then we got to hang with one of my BFFs and her new fiance. That's right Alyssa and Kade are gettin' hitched and JJ and I could not be more happy for them. He was so happy when I told him. I told him in an email and he wrote back wanting to know details and telling me to make sure she waits to have her wedding till he gets home.

Kym and Taytum & Kade and Bray. The boys had fun with Kade and Alyssa. Especially when they were running around in the misters.

Although my other half was missing this fourth of July I was lucky enough to be surrounded by good friends and family all day long.

My family did a little early birthday celebration for me that day. It was sweet and Bray sure enjoyed the cake.

Thanks to his crazy aunts who thought it'd be funny to smash his face in the cake before I even got sung to. It was actually pretty funny.

Between swimming, friends, family, birthday celebrations and good food I'd have to rate this fourth of July a 9. If JJ were here it would've been a 10 : )

Kym was a trooper and hung out with the kids and I ALL day and night. It was awesome though cause we had alot of good times this trip with Kym so it was a perfect way to say goodbye.

The End. (After watching fireworks with Kym and Andrew in Ladera)

2010-07-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

5 Months

My little busy girl is growing by the minute. I thought she had chubby cheeks a month ago...you should see her now. Love it! Taytum is such a doll and her easy going personality and smile she flashes everytime you look her way makes you wanna eat her up.

She is all over the place. She wants to crawl but still has a little ways to go. She still gets around though rolling from back to tummy and ends on the complete opposite side of the room. She constantly has a foot in her mouth and if it's not a foot it's a hand or some sort of toy. She has a couple teeth about to poke through so this poor girl hasn't been sleeping too great at night. But she takes one 3 hour nap in the day and a ton of little cat naps so she gives me time to catch up on my sleep.

Taytum is such a little angel and makes me such a happy mommy along with her brother's who think she's a funny little girl. Especially when she makes her grunting noises before she falls asleep and when she laughs at something funny they do. I love seeing our babes interact with one another and making eachother smile...there's nothing sweeter.

2010-07-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

Coming Soon...

I've been way too busy to blog but these posts will be up soon...I think : )

Taytum-5 Months

Sadie's 1st Birthday

4th of July

Road trip to CO with Poppy

Taytum-5 1/2 Months

2010-06-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

My Soldier...My Love

I'm not gonna say too much just cause we aren't supposed to give out too much info for security reasons but I had to post some pictures JJ sent me of his recent transport from his last camp to his new one. I am soooo proud of him and the man he is today. I got teary eyed looking at these pictures cause it's just so surreal to see my husband, the love of my life, my children's daddy, over there with so much courage, facing his fears and protecting our Country. It kills him to be away from the kids and I but overall he has done wonderful. Thank God for skype that's all I have to say. We get to see him at least once a day. He doesn't complain very often and that's just another reason why I love this guy. He's in one of the worst places you could be right now, working 7 days a week and as long as I keep the Sweet Factory rollin' his way and we get to skype once a day he's a happy camper haha. God love him. Thank you to my amazing husband for being such a brave man for our Country and for our fam. We adore you!!! xoxo

2010-06-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Big Bear 2010

Braylon in his swim gear. This kid loves swimming. Everytime he wakes up from nap, he says " Go swimming now?? Go swimming now?" Can't wait till he can do it on his own. We are so close but still not there. Hopefully by the end of the summer.

Love these candid shots of the kids. Especially the angry one of Bray. I think he was on a time out.

My mama and baby girl

The kids playin in the pool. We had some new company this weekend. Some of the kids cousins from JJ's side came up and visited while we were in town and the kids had way too much fun. Bray actually had a boy cousin to play with. He's 6 years older but that didn't seem to bother either one of them.

We also played with Dakota and Rylee, my cousin Brian and his wife Cristen's cute lil' twin girls. It was pretty fun watching all these kids interact. Especially when we were by the lake and tried to keep them out of the water. Yeah that lasted about 2 minutes.

My sister Nicole and her cute lil fam. Hadlee was so fun to watch explore the lake.

The kids gettin their groove on. I'm pretty sure Braylon got his interesting dancing skills from his daddy, cause mama don't dance like that, haha. (Although my sisters would probably say I do
)

My lil' charismatic child

My cousin Brian and his sweet fam. The Walker's.

Great weekend filled with relaxation, swimming, chasing kids, bubbles, chalk, sleepless nights, good food and great company. Good times!

2010-06-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day

Daddy you're amazing

and your always so much fun

Have we told you lately

that you're our number one

You always make us laugh

from near or far away

When we are sad you wipe our tears

and make everything okay

Daddy you're the bravest dad

three kids have ever known

You sacrafise so much for us

to have a happy home

Although you're far away right now

and we miss you everyday

We won't forget our days with you

filled with laughter, love and play

You're always in our hearts

and you're always on our mind

the loving dad you've been to us

always gentle, sweet and kind

Even when you discipline

you do it out of love

You must've been an angel

who was sent from up above

We love you to the stars and back

that's why we want to say

thanks for being our daddy

Happy Father's Day!!!

-Kristy Sola

Love-Braylon, Jaxten and Taytum

2010-06-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

My Dad

hmmm...where do I even begin?? The older I get the more I realize how much my dad and I are alike. I've never really realized it until now. We can both be feisty at times but we are always quick to say sorry. We have big hearts and want to do the right thing but it doesn't always come off that way and sometimes we end up with our foot in our mouth. My dad may not admit to this but he's kinda sensitive at times and if you know me well then you know I'm the queen of sensitive. My dad may look like a rough and tough kinda guy but he really is just a sweet man with a rough edge. My dad is newly retired and he has had the privelage of having me and my three perfect little angels who dont do anything wrong living in his home during this special time(wink wink).God love him. Between chasing the kids out of the fountain (that they ended up breaking), him graciously giving up his retirement chair so I can rock and feed the baby in it, having Dora on his big screen 90 % of the time and having his coffee and paper routine in the morning turn into a mess hall filled with kids, food and alot of noise I am quickly realizing that he is pretty much a saint. I really don't give him enough credit and as I sit here thinking about what to write about my dad I am beginning to see even more clearly why I've always loved him sooo much and why I always will. He does all these things and sacrafises his everyday life for us. For his kids. For his grandkids. Yeah he may be a little grumpy from time to time but honestly what man wouldn't be if they were surrounded by chaos 24/7. Funny thing is that I get a little grumpy too and it's just one more thing I'm proud to get from my dad. He is a trooper and he has always been there for me no matter what. It doesn't matter what decision I make, if he thinks it will make me happy, he supports me 100% of the time. He loves my kids and has helped me raise them these past few months since we've been here in Cali. My kids are lucky to have a poppy like him and I'm so blessed he is MY dad. An honest, wise, loving, strong man who loves the Lord. That's my dad. If anyone needs a good example of what a dad should be well here you have it. This guys it.

Sooo...with that said.
Happy Father's Day to my awesome Dad Mike.
#1 Dad

Love-Topher

2010-06-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

6 little monkeys

swingin' in a row

every mornin' my sister Becca and I meet at a park. Lately it seems like our new mission in life is to find cool parks.

We found one we both love...the six kids are big fans too. Especially Ella.

Taytum had her first experience on the swings today. She LOVED every second of it. I tried to get her chubby cheek smiling face but the girls teething so she has her hands in her mouth pretty much the whole time.

....The six little monkeys

The first day we came to this park Ella insisted we put all 6 kids on the swings at the same time and get a picture of it. I never had my camera on me until today...and boy am I glad I did.

2010-06-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

Oh my cuteness

So this past weekend I went to Big Bear with my family and we all had a blast. It was alot of work but well worth it. I have tons of Big Bear pics to post but until I get more time I think this picture will do. This is my little niece Hadlee. I LOVE this picture. The funny part about this is that she totally looked posed but really she was just trying to get away from Jaxy cause he was bugging her at the moment and she managed to escape to the pool gate. Thanks Jaxy for being annoying so this precious pic could be captured.

2010-06-08T06:11:00.000-07:00

June 4

my big sis Nicole celebrated her 27th Birthday.

For those of you who know Nicole you know what a cool person she is. Great qualities this woman has. Always the life of the party, such a hard worker and she would do anything for her family. The list goes on and on but for me personally my sister Nicole has been someone I can call at anytime of the night if I just need to talk to someone. If I need to vent she's there too and vice-versa. The greatest part about all of this is that we usually end up laughing or making a joke about the topic and our mood completely shifts from bad to sooo much better. I love my sister and the person she is and even though her and I both have busy lives that don't leave too much play time for the two of us, there will always be a special connection between us that will never go away. Such a great feeling knowing that in any situation my sisters got my back and I'll always have hers. Best friends for life haha. Love you sis and hope you had a great birthday. You sooooo deserve it!!!

2010-06-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

This memorial day was a little different this year. I have always been a supporter of our troops and been a patriotic person but I never spent the whole day thinking about our heroes. I mean really this is what the day is for. Yeah it's a day off work, first day of summer, great day for the beach but it's also the one day out of the year to remember and focus on the men and woman who lost their lives to defend our Country and our freedom.

I can't completely relate but I do understand now how heartbreaking it must be for those who have lost a family member in the war and I will forever be thankful to the families who love, support, and encourage their loved ones every step of the way.

My family and I spent the day remembering our heroes. It was an amazing day attending the Mission Viejo Memorial ceremony, sharing War stories, eating burgers, lighting our candle and stopping everything we were doing a couple times to pray for these men and woman who have more courage then most can even come close to.

The kids were so cute in their " Daddys my hero" shirts

I love this Country and am so thankful for our heroes.

We will always Remember

2010-06-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

Holderman Mess Hall So today was quite a day in the kitchen. I mean really everyday is but today was Taytum's first day of rice cereal. She loved it and from the way things went today I have a feeling we have a mini Jax on our hands when it comes to her appetite. She would get soo mad and grunt at me if I wasn't going fast enough. Towards the end she put her hand on the spoon cause apparently I was lagging. I Can't believe my baby is eating baby food already. Where has the time gone??

Miss Hadlee brought some yummy colorful cupcakes over this morning. After dinner I let the boys have at it. Bray actually wasn't too bad but Jax was out of control. I mean the kid still had rice on top of his head from dinner so by the time he was through I knew I had my work cut out for me and had to get this kid to the bath without touching anything. Tonights bath was fun cause the water was green and their toothbrush bristles are now green. Those are some amazing cupcakes.

2010-05-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

Braylon's 3rd Birthday

So I somehow forgot to post Braylon's birthday pictures. Better late then never I guess

We started the morning off opening presents. His expressions and reactions to gifts were pretty hilarious. {Third picture, bottom row} He was soo happy about his new Fraggle Rock Video he showed Frank, our dog. Jaxy patiently waited to see what gifts big brother scored for the two of them.

After presents I got my big 3 year old boy all ready and handsome for our little train date. We went down to Oceanside on the Amtrak cause Bray LOVES trains. We had the best time. I love one on one time with my kids. You really get to see their little personalities shine through.

Love the top picture. Braylon wanted to show all the surfers how old he turned.

My precious little man and I waiting for the train to pick us up

Lunch break

After the train ride we walked over to Zoomars and Bray rode a horse and played with some rabbits. He was loving feeding the animals. He thought he was bigtime.

After our little outing we came home and Gramma and Poppy had a couple fun gifts waiting for him. He was sooo happy and excited. Love seeing this kids face light up.

Jaxy and Bray are always switching from Brays scooter to the firetruck. Thanks Gamma and Poppy for the awesome gifts for the boys.

Bray ended his special day with his favorite kids. All of his cousins came over and baked and decorated cookies with him. It was an awesome day and Braylon sure knew it was his birthday. He reminded us every chance he got.

The older this boy gets the sweeter he gets. His little personality is really starting to blossom and I can see what an amazing little man JJ and I have here. I'm so thankful for Braylon and all the joy he brings me and so many others everyday. He puts his arms around mama everyday and tells me he loves me. Love this kid more then words can explain.

2010-05-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

4 Months

of heaven with this girl. She's a dream. That's all I have to say.

2010-05-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

Packin on the lbs

and I'm lovin every inch of it. This kid keeps getting wider my the day. I mean what do I expect,he eats EVERYTHING. It's kinda weird to be honest what this kid would eat if I let him. He has rolls on his tummy now. JJ couldn't believe it when I showed him these pictures. Lovin' my little big guy.

2010-05-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

5-24-2006

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

Can't believe 4 years has come and gone since we became husband and wife. Crrraazzzyyy!!!It's been an amazing journey though. I'm not gonna sit here and say that marriage is nothing but bliss. Marriage can be hard at times and you face trials you never thought you would encounter on that day you said " I Do." But at the end of the day your strength and love for one another is what gets you through your everyday life. (Nobody said life would be perfect but true love can survive the good times, the bad, sickness, health, money, or broke.)

I'm thankful for everyday I've been married to JJ. The best moments of my life have been shared with him by myside. He still makes me laugh more then anyone in this world. We have grown to share the same beliefs, values, and interests. (I actually enjoy watching Jim Rome now even when he's not here to watch it with me.) We have learned so much from one another and we have grown through the tough times. I'm thankful you're the man I get to share this life with. 4 years down baby, 70 to go, haha. Can you imagine. I love you with all my heart JJ and I'm so proud of the man you are today. You're amazing. Be Safe!!

Funny story. As I'm sitting here about to publish this post. My mom comes in and say's " Kristy, someone's here for you." I said. "who?" she said, "I don't know, come look." I seriously thought it was JJ.(I've been watching too much Army Wives.) Wasn't JJ but it was the flower man delivering beautiful flower's from JJ. I'll take what I can get. You're the sweetest babe. Thank you soooo much!! (Watery eyes)

2010-05-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday

to the boy who stole my heart on day one

Braylon you are such an amazing little boy and we are so blessed to be your mom-mom and Da-da. Everyday with you is a blessing and an adventure and no matter how crazy our days can get, one look at that smile of yours and all our worries disappear. Thanks for being the sweet boy that you are.

We Love you sooooo much buddy!!!

2010-05-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day 2010

This Mother's Day was a special one for me. It was my first Mother's Day as a mommy of 3. Having all my angels by myside made this day and every other day beautiful.

JJ obviously wasn't here to help celebrate this day with our family but he made sure I was taken care of. He started my day off with an email with a beautiful poem he wrote about me as a mom. It was so sweet and came from the heart and for that it will be something I cherish forever.

My sister's and I decided to create a photo wall of all the grandchildren for my mom this mother's day. We hung it up in the living room while she was at church and when she walked in the door and saw it, it took her breath away. That was our goal. My mom deserves more then we could ever give her so to see how much this meant to her made all of us girls sooo happy. We all know how blessed we are to have a mother like her.

A mother who stands by us and supports us even if we may not always be right. A mother who reaches out her hand when one of life's trials knocks us to our feet. A mother who's smart, beautiful, funny and the woman resposible for shaping the woman and mothers we are today. You can always count on my mom. She goes above and beyond for not just her family but a perfect stranger too. She loves my kids as if they were her own and for that I love her even more. My mom is my best friend and although we both lead crazy hectic lives at the end of the day we have a special bond that will never be broken. When it's just the two of us without all the chaos her and I always have some of our best laughs together. Everytime we are in the car together we have a laughing attack to the point where it might be best if we pull over. She has been my partner in raising these kids for part of the time while JJ is gone and she does amazing. I know it is probably hard to be a grandma and then all of a sudden having to step into that parent role but she balances the two really well. Without her I'd be lost and as I sit here and really think about how much she has sacrafised for my family I am reminded how much I really do need her. For me and for my kids. They are so lucky to have her to love on them and care enough about them to want the best for them. I'm so happy I was here in California to share this special day with my mom. She's so sweet. Her and my dad surprised me with a hand print picture they had the kids do for me for mother's day. Even little Taytum's hand got painted for the picture. I love it, it'll be framed and in my house as soon as I get home.

So I am in love with my gym. It's nothing spectacular but it's awesome when you have three kids and need to get your bod back. 50 bucks a month for unlimited childcare for three kids. Are you kidding me?? So last week I started bringing all the kids with me to the gym and they LOVE it. They paint, color, play with other kids and they make Mother's Day gifts. They got to pick out their own color paint to paint the flower pot, then painted it, put the soil in, planted the flower and topped it off with a little sign. They were so excited to give them to me and I almost cried right there in the gym childcare room. Such a sweet surprise. The next morning two of my good friends Gigi and Kym surprised me with a happy nails certificate for mothers day. I'm feeling pretty spoiled at this point.

I am a pretty lucky woman to have a family filled with amazing moms. We have moms who do it all here in this family. My sister Becca is one of the greatest moms I've ever known. She is younger then me but has taught me so much. She is a young stay at home mom with three beautiful girls who keep her busy all day long. She is always doing something fun and creative with her kids and she does it with such grace. Even if she's having one of those days you wouldn't know it cause she is so layed back and easy going. She makes being a mom look beautiful and easy and I'm so proud of the woman she has become.

My sister Nicole is the hardest working woman I know next to my mom. She works full time and them some. You can see the love she has for her daughter Hadlee from a million miles away and no matter how tired she is after a long day at work she always has enough energy to make her baby girl feel incredibly loved and special. She spends every free second she has with her girl and she is an amazing mom from head to toe .

I love being a mom and I feel so blessed to have these 3 angels to raise and spend my days with. They make me a better woman and have gotten me through some hard times just by being the sweet precious little people they are. Even though they make my days CRAZY and keep me on my toes constantly I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world. My life began the day I found out I was pregnant with Braylon almost four years ago and I have been blessed with another child every year since then. I am sad these years go by so fast and I am really going to focus on enjoying every second with my kids and not letting the stressful mommy moments take away any precious memories I could be making with my babies.

Mother's Day dance party. This was one of the highlights of the day. I mean this is what being a mom is all about. Watching your childrens face light up with joy and happiness. There's not a better view in this world then those happy little smiling faces.

My brother Wes and his wifey Niki. Chris and little Miss Hadlee

Bray and I having a special mother-son dance. I love this little man more then words can explain.

Picture of the day. When I see this picture I see a house filled with love, happiness, laughter and joy. Nothings changed since I was a child and it's why I'm so thankful to have such an amazing family. Thanks to all my friends, family and my amazing husband who made my mothers day so special. Especially to Braylon, Jaxten and Taytum for giving me the gift of motherhood. There is no better gift out there and being your mom and seeing your smiling faces everyday is what I live for. I also wanted to say thank you to my mother-in-law Kathleen for being such a great mom to JJ. She worked hard to keep her son happy and did all she had to do to give him what he needed in life. She gave him unconditional love through good times and hard times and to this day he knows how lucky he is to have a mom who has worked so hard and sacrifised so much to make sure he was happy. When I see old photos of the two of them from when he was a little boy it always makes me teary eyed. You can see the love she has for her son in every picture they have together. Moms are the best and without them this world would be lost so I hope all you moms out there had a fabulous day.

2010-05-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

Beach Day

Today was our first real beach day. By that I mean we actually wore bathing suits and played in the water. The kids were loving every minute of it.

My sister Becca and my nieces met us down there. That always adds double the fun for myself and the kids.

This beach is awesome cause it's not very deep so the kids can just run around like wild animals and we can actually lay down and relax for a few minutes without stressing.

Mama and her Boyzz

Such a fun day. We decided to make this a weekly routine for the kids sake and our sanity. You would think it'd be stressful going to the beach with 6 kids under the age of 4 but it was one of the most relaxing days I've had in a long time. Always a good time with the DeCasas crew.

2010-04-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

3 Months
I am blown away at how fast time has gone by since Taytum was born. So much has happened and so many changes have taken place since this little angel entered this world. She is a trooper. I'm not just saying that cause she's my baby and I think she's the sweetest thing I've ever layed my eyes on but because she has been in the hospital or doctors office for over half of her life. She has been on oxygen and breathing treatments for over a month now. Just when I think little sweet buns is getting better she decides she's not done being sick yet. Tommorow we will go to her 4th doctors appointment in two weeks. I know things could be so much worse so I'm definitely not complaining, that was just my lead in for the good stuff. Through all her coughing, weezing, runny noses, struggling to breath at times, exorcist throw up, etc, etc, she is soooooooooo flippin happy most of the time. She smiles and coos and sits in the swing for hours just watching all the chaos her brothers make. Everytime I enter the room her face lights up (just like JJ's everytime he sees me, haha jk) She cries on occasion but usually cause she is hungry. I think we have another eating machine like Jaxy on our hands.

Since I had two boys before princess arrived I have become quite fond of everything girly. Especially flowers and headbands. Even I have been wearing pink on occasion and if you know me you know I wear black 95 % of the time.

Taytum gets more beautiful by the day. She still has her dark brown hair with these piercing blue eyes. Bray started out with blue eyes though and they turned hazel and Jax came out with black hair and now he is a blondie so I am aware that this look may eventually end but either way she's a beauty and has a smile that could melt your heart.

One of my best friends Banks gave Taytum this adorable skirt. I could only keep it on her for like 45 seconds cause she wanted to eat it. This girl means the world to me and I'm soo happy God gave me a precious baby girl. I feel so blessed to have three amazing kids who make my world so beautiful. Crazy, but beautiful. Sorry if this was a little detailed and overboard for some of you but when I'm writing I imagine JJ reading it and I want him to know everything about his baby girl and how amazing she is.

2010-04-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

Water Babies

Running in the sprinklers is the new thing around the Holderman house. The kids are always so timid the first time they approach the water and then after that first hit they become wild, like scary wild.

They can't just run through the sprinklers like we adults have in mind they need to spice it up and drive cars through it and maybe throw on their cowboy boots to make it a little more exciting.

Jaxy's smile gets me everytime. Love this little eating machine. He makes me laugh everyday. Not just cause he's funny but because he is just so weird and random and makes these funny noises and faces. I honestly just don't get him sometimes but that's part of why I love him soooo much. He keeps me on my toes at all times.

So the boys have been getting into their girl cousins dress up high heels. To them they are just high shoes that make lots of noise and drive mommy crazy but Poppy can't stand to see his only Grandsons in high heels. Next thing I know my dad comes home with two pairs of cowboy boots and made it clear that the boys will be wearing these from now on. Funny Poppy.

Crazy kids just loving life

I love warm days with my kids and I love watching the boys play with their cousins. They all have their own little relationship with one another and each time we come home for a visit they are on a new level with eachother. It's pretty awesome to see them all grow together.

2010-04-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

Sibling Rivalry

My boys are pretty young for sibling rivalry to already be taking place but it looks like they are crushin' on the same girl

The boy's love my friends and when I say one of their names this one lights up. Especially when I say the "K" word. Kym loves my kids and treats then like her own. So when I was in the hospital with Taytum while JJ was deploying this girl was there for me and took great care of my boys. I think she was the best distraction for them. They always have a ball with her and Braylon is in LOVE.

I think Bray has stolen her heart. Sorry Andrew!!

Now that this one is getting older he is realizing that he likes Kym too and that just cause big brother is in love doesn't mean he can't be too. Even if it's the same girl. Yikes, I hope this isn't an ongoing problem, haha.

2010-04-05T06:40:00.000-07:00

Easter 2010 We started our morning checking out what the Easter bunny brought the boys. I didn't get pictures of that cause I was video taping it for JJ but the boys couldn't get over the fact that a bunny hopped into Gamma and Poppy's house and left them a bunch of toys and candy. Lets just say the Easter bunny is their new best friend.

After that we headed outside for bubble time. They had a ball but Jaxy of course spent most of his time trying to eat the bubbles. Like I said before this kid tries to eat everything.

The boys looked so handsome in their little button up shirts. Mini JJ's.

Mommy and Tater tot. She looked so sweet in her little easter hat. Oh how I love all the little girl accesories.

Sweet Sadie Bette

Sadie girl and Ella dressed and ready for easter

After the whole family arrived to my parents house we began the easter egg hunt with the kids

Bray didn't get too many eggs cause everytime he got one he would sit and eat the candy right then. He's definitely my child.

My brother Wes and his Wife Niki

Group shots

Becca and I got a crazy idea to see if I could get carried in the baby Bjourn. Dont ask me why. So it is possible. We couldnt hook both sides but we made it happen.
Easter at my parents was super fun for the kids and obviously fun for us adults as well. It wasn't the same without JJ but it just makes me appreciate the times we will have together in the future and how much more I will cherish those moments with him. Happy Easter!!!

2010-03-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

Saying Bye to Daddy

JJ first came by the hospital to visit Taytum and I for an hour or so this morning. I think that was his hardest goodbye of the day. It breaks his heart that he has to leave us knowing she's still sick and in the hospital. He is so sweet with her and I know when he gets back she will be right back in her daddy's arms.

I couldn't be more proud of JJ. What he is doing for our family and this country speaks volumes about who he is. I'm already missing him like crazy so I know it's gonna be a long year for me.

Jaxy and daddy saying their goodbyes. Jaxy is such a daddy's boy. I've never seen anything like it. Melts my heart to see them together.

Daddy saying bye to his big boy Bray. These two are so fun together. Makes me one happy mom to see the relationship my boys have with their daddy.

Family picture. Just missing our little Taytum but she got her special one on one goodbye this morning so I feel good about that.

Jaxy checkin out daddy's weapon. The boys thought that was pretty cool.

My handsome boys.

Kym chillin with Tator-Tot in the hospital. They were actually both knocked out when I first walked in. Pretty cute. So today was quite an emotional day for me to say the least. A lot harder then I anticipated. The boys luckily don't have a clue whats going on yet. I on the other hand am just a little torn up. I think having Taytum still in the hopital kind of made this day a little more hectic and overwhelming but we know that God has a plan for everything and if this was his will then we have to just trust that he know's whats best for us even if we don't understand it. With that being said it's time for me to put on my game face and approach this new chapter in my life head on. Prayers for my love as he heads across the world today.

2010-03-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

Update
So I've kinda been out of the blogging loop lately. Things here have just been kinda crazy. JJ's leaving in a few days and I wanna spend every free moment with him. Last week we all got sick. The flu hit us all hard. It was fun, let me tell you. Taytum was the only one who didn't get it but now she is sick with a really bad cold and cough. (so sad to see little babies so sick they can barely breath) Yesterday was quite the day. One of my highlights was spending thirty minutes pumping only 4 ounces of milk and then going to pour it into the bottle and watching it spill all over the counter. ALL of it. I freakin forgot to put a bottle liner in the bottle. I was angry to say the least. Now I am about to attempt to take Taytum to the doctors with all of my lovely well-behaved children. (wink wink) Hopefully if I stock my purse with enough food we can survive this outing. My good friend Kym will be arriving here saturday and JJ and I will have our final date night before he heads out on sunday. (P.S. a one year deployment is way to long.) Kym leaves wednsday and my mom gets here thursday. Once she gets here we will hop in the car and make our 16 hour trip with three little ones back to Cali. (It's gonna be amazing. Probably more exciting then our road trip from Cali to Georgia. Seriously what is wrong with us?) I decided to stay in California every couple months with my family and friends while JJ is gone. I think it will keep me sane and keep the kids a little more distracted from the fact that daddy still didn't come home from work. Probably won't be blogging for a week or two so prayers for JJ's safety and my sanity would be much appreciated : )

2010-03-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

6 Weeks
Our baby girl is already 6 weeks old. It has been one heck of a ride so far. Things have gotten a bit crazier since she is awake alot more now but we wouldn't trade this crazyness for anything.

She is pretty much on a schedule now. She likes to fuss till about 8 or 9 p.m. but then will sleep till around 3 then she'll eat and go back down till the boys wake up. No complaints here.

For a minute there I thought she had colic cause she tends to get pretty cranky at night but it doesn't last too long and it's only at night so I'm thinking I lucked out on that one.

She's getting bigger and bigger everyday. I am really starting to see the changes in her face. I already had to go through the NB-3 mos. clothes and pack em up for my sisters : ( She is such a sweet little blessing and we all just love her to pieces. The only thing I regret is not nursing her through my soreness cause now I have to pump every three hours and give her my milk in a bottle. It's pretty much twice the work but I'm still working on getting her to nurse so hopefully she learns to like it. We love you sweet girl!!

2010-03-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

Praise you in this storm

JJ's deployment is quickly approaching. This song is amazing and it has given us hope for the future and for this next year apart. To know that no matter what circumstances we are in or what life decides to throw our way we are never alone.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Thessalonians 5:16-18

2010-03-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

Nonna's Visit

Nonna (JJ's mom) has been visiting the past 6 days. She had two big reasons for this visit. One was to meet her first granddaughter and the other was to say goodbye to her son before he leaves for his deployment. I'm sure today will be an emotional day for her after saying goodbye but at least now she has a honey to keep her happy when she returns home to PA. The boys had a great time with Nonna and were a little surprised to see me get them out of bed this morning and not Nonna : (

2010-02-21T21:10:00.000-08:00

Tiny Hands
It's been snowing the past few days so I decided I'd let the boys do some finger painting

They had way to much fun. Jaxten was so funny cause he didn't know where to start. It's like he couldn't believe I was letting him get super messy on purpose. Once he saw Braylon dig in to the paints he just went for it. He even tried to eat it a couple times. (I'm tellin you this kid will eat anything)

Seeing these happy smiling faces made the crazy mess and 20 minute clean up time worth it

Here's Jax showing Braylon his dirty hand. He seems pretty proud of the mess he's making for mommy.

I love these tiny hands. They just remind me how I need to cherish every minute with these kids cause before I know it these tiny hands aren't gonna be so tiny anymore.

2010-02-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

Comfy Girl
was lovin her sleep last night. I feel like a new woman today cause she actually slept from 8pm to 2am, then ate and went back down till almost 7am. I really needed this and she looks pretty happy too.

2010-02-15T20:38:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Blogger Award

The Wilson Family http://thewilsons714.blogspot.com/ gave me a beautiful blogger award today. Thank you for that and I'll try my best to follow the rules. It's strange for me to blog about something that doesn't have to do with my kids but I kind of like it for a change.

Here are the rules:
-Thank the blogger who gave you the award and make sure to link back to them
-Pass it on to 7 other beautiful bloggers who you've recently discovered.
-Link them and notify them of their award
-Share 7 interesting facts about yourself

1. I was born and raised in Southern California but I love living in Colorado and plan on spending the rest of my life here.

2. My sisters and mom are my best girlfriends.

3. I was on the Surf Team all four years of highschool

4. I have been pregnant 30 months out of the 45 months I've been married.

5. I love being a stay at home mom but I am looking forward to one day being a working woman again once my kids are all in school.

6. I love food and am a little bummed I can't eat whatever I want anymore now that I'm not pregnant.

7. I love camping!!!

I'd like to share this award with

The Heiner Family- http://heinerlove.blogspot.com/
The DeCasas Family- http://decasasfamily.blogspot.com/
The Connors Family- http://kimberlyandandrew.blogspot.com/
The Johnson Family- http://joshandangelica.blogspot.com/
The Stowell Family- http://mikecandi.blogspot.com/
The Boyaner Family- http://theboyaners.blogspot.com/
The Danielson Family- http://gandt729.blogspot.com/

2010-02-13T05:50:00.000-08:00

Snow Buddies

Namma, Bray and Jax would go on daily walks in the snow. This was our snowiest day yet.

I think Bray was a little cold in this picture

Braylon's mouth is blue from his sucker not from the cold, I promise

Braylon looked hilarious cause I put him in a pair of JJ's socks so he wouldn't get snow in his pants. I think the next day Namma bought him a pair of spider man snow boots.

2010-02-13T03:56:00.000-08:00

Tater Tot

is 2 weeks old and we just can't get enough of her. She's perfect and we are loving every minute spent with our angel. I even love our night time feedings when I'm so tired I could cry.

Her belly button finally healed so we gave Taytum her first bath yesterday. She loved it so much she was on the verge of falling asleep. Having three kids is an adjustment as far as time and convenience goes but other then that it has been an easy transition. I can still do all the things I did with the boys it just takes an extra 5 minutes to get us out the door, in the car and out of the car. She loves the bjourn so I have been able to make a few trips out to the grocery store and the park with all the kiddos in tow. Taytum got a new nickname from daddy. JJ just started calling her Tater-Tot one day. He is so in love with his little Tater-Tot. He holds her for hours and insists he gets up with her in the night on the weekends when he doesn't have to be at work the next day. I am so thankful for JJ and how amazing he has been. I really don't know how I would stay sane and put together if he weren't so helpful and supportive. He's made being a mom of three much easier for me.

{5 days old}

2010-02-11T15:24:00.000-08:00

Snow Showers

During my mom's 5 day visit we had three days of intense snow showers. My mom loves the snow so she was loving every second of it. JJ and I kept cracking up cause before it started snowing she would go outside every 5 minutes to see if it was snowing yet. JJ being the guy he is decided to pretend to get something from the car and as soon as he opened the door, he says " It's snowing" I thought my mom was gonna pee her pants she was so excited. But of course he was joking and thought it'd be funny just to see her reaction. (which was priceless) Anyways the next day it started snowing and it didn't stop for a few days. We watched the superbowl all snuggled in with the blinds open watching the snow fall. We even ventured out to the mall in the snow storm. I'm so glad it snowed for my mom. I would have been really mad if it didn't.

2010-02-11T07:59:00.000-08:00

My Mom

As I sit across the couch from my mom watching her hold my baby girl, my third child, a million things run through my mind. How did I get so blessed with a mom like this?? What will I do when she has to go back home?? How will the kids handle Namma leaving on the airplane?? Will my kids love me the way I love her?? Etc. Etc. Etc. I think of my life growing up as a kid and what a selfless woman she was and how everything she did was for her kids and for her family. It's too bad sometimes it takes a long time to realize this. When you are a child and a teenager the world revolves around you. When your parents say you have to be home before 11:30 when you are a 17 year old girl you think that is absolutely ridiculous. Looking back I can't believe what a hard time I gave my parents sometimes over their rules, which were rules to keep me safe and protected from this crazy world. Now that I am a parent of three I can't even imagine letting my kids go out past 9:00 when they are teenagers let alone 11:30. My point is that I've always loved my mom and we've always been close but as a stubborn teenage girl I didn't always show my appreciation or make life easy for my parents. My mom is my best friend. I am thankful for the relationship we have and the gifts and time we get to share. I just wish as a child I would have known the reasons behind things and been more appreciative of the things my parents did for me but I feel like you don't really get it until you are a parent yourself. Here I am a 25 year old mom of three kids under the age of three, a wife of a soldier about to be deployed for 365 days, living thousands of miles away from my family, hormones overflowing from just giving birth 12 days ago and imagining my life without my husband here for a year. It's all a bit overwhelming to say the least. Then I think of my mom and she inspires me to be the best mom and person I can be no matter what the circumstance may be. Life could be alot harder then what this upcoming year has in store for me and I need to remind myself that everyday. I am blessed with three healthy children, a husband who I love more now then I ever have since we've known eachother. We can pay our bills and feed our children. We have a comfortable home filled with lots of love. And last but not least.... I have a mom who will be there for me no matter what. If I was ever having a bad day or feeling like I was gonna lose it, my mom would be here in a heartbeat and knowing that I sleep much better at night.

Sister Tayum

2010-02-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

Braylon is in LOVE with his new baby sister "Tayum" as he calls her. He is just the most precious thing to watch when he is looking at her or holding her. The faces he makes and the smile he gets when she sneezes or makes a noise is priceless. We feel so blessed to see that he loves her like we do and JJ and I won't be the only ones keeping an eye on her as she reaches those teenage years, haha. This first week at home with her has been amazing for our whole family. I've never had so much joy and happiness in my heart and I am so thankful for my family.