Caleb is one month old

Caleb and I...Austin took the picture, that is why my head is cut off at the top

Austin with her little brother!  She sure loves him

Caleb and Samuel, Caleb adores his big brother, and has started smiling a little at him

Doesn't Caleb look cute in this hat, Daddy picked it out for him

Caleb wasn't too happy

Daddy and his newest little boy

Caleb is one month old now, it's amazing how fast they grow.  He has just barely started making little coo's and goo's and smiling a little bit now.  He is working on tummy time, and strengthening those neck muscles.  The kids continue to love their little brother and always want to hold him and get his attention.  Travis has continued to be a wonderful husband and father by taking the baby at night whenever I'm done feeding him and taking care of him so I can sleep.  That is the best thing he could possibly do for me, because I just do not function well without sleep, and I can't nap during the day.  Caleb is sleeping usually 3-4 hours at a time at night, but only if he is sleeping with Travis.  Also during the day, he likes to be held while he is sleeping, and usually wakes up when we set him down, but he will sleep in his car seat for a while after we've gone somewhere.  The kids had parent teacher conferences this past week, and Austin and Betsy are both doing really well, and Joseph is doing okay, he's got to work on a doing his assignments, but does well on his tests.  St. Patrick's Day was fun, we had green eggs, made with spinach, and bacon for breakfast.  We had green jello, green smoothies, green salad, and green tortellinis with a creamy green pesto sauce, it was delicious.  Travis has gotten very busy with school work, and will continue to be extremely busy until the end of the semester, he has been slacking off since the baby was born, and not getting very much homework done, and now everything is coming due and he is scrambling to get it all done in time.  I have several papers due in the next few weeks as well, and find myself much more interested in cuddling my newborn baby, than doing homework, but I don't have nearly as much to do, homework wise, as Travis does.  I love the fresh air, and exercise I get while walking to and from class, it is invigorating and so far Caleb has done well and I've made it back to him before he is too hungry.  Travis' sister has been having a lot of problems with her mental health, and has ended up in a mental hospital in Montana, and since Travis is the only priesthood holder in his family, everyone turns to him to help, and he has been occupied with many long telephone conversations lately, and I know it is a burden that weighs heavily upon his mind, but in the end all we can do is trust in the Lord to help us, and put our faith in him.  I know I would not wish mental health problems upon anyone or their loved one's, it is very difficult for all involved.  Travis' Dad is also getting married to his long-time girlfriend next month, the weekend of finals week, and Travis is trying to figure out how he can get to the wedding, and do finals at the same time.  We've also had some car trouble lately, and was without a car for a few days, but we finally got it fixed, but I really prefer walking to driving.  I wish everything were close enough that I could walk everywhere, but at least school and church are close enough.  On a positive note, and nice lady in the ward helped me get all my mending done, it was so very nice to get it done, and all the kids were ecstatic to get some of their clothes back, especially Samuel.

Baptism, Baby Blessing, Midterms, and Company

This is the outfit that Samuel picked out for Caleb at a clothing exchange we went to a couple months ago, it fits him pretty good

This is the baby blessing outfit my Mom bought for Caleb

The kids at Austin's Baptism

The kids at the baptism, and being a little silly becuase they are on a sugar high!

Austin and I at her baptism

Austin on her special Baptism day

Another picture of Caleb in his baby blessing clothes



I just can't get enough pictures of this cute little baby boy

 I think I just barely survived last week by the skin of my teeth.  We sure had a lot going on, and I don't know what I was thinking, having the baptism and baby blessing the same weekend, only 2 weeks after the baby was born.  I will never ever do that again, and I don't know what possessed me to do it that way to begin with.  By the time I realized what I had done, it was too late to change it. Anyway I had midterms last week, and that was crazy just by itself.  I only had 2 midterms, but I hadn't done much studying since the baby was born, so I had some catch up work to do, and get ready for the tests.  I ended up doing pretty good on my tests.  Caleb still isn't sleeping as well as I would like and Friday night was one of the worst nights I had had since he was born and that day was the day of the baptism, and also a big birthday party that Travis' Mom wanted to have with us, and Travis' sister's family, her sister, and mother, and other daughter.  Also Travis had to go to SLC to train with his unit all day Saturday.  Luckily Travis' Mother was there to help me get the house ready for company, and I had made most of the dinner ahead of time.  It was a crazy day, and I had a headache and was exhausted all day long.  When everyone started arriving, and I went in my room with the baby, so he wouldn't be around all the germs.  It's still RSV season, and Caleb is still too small to be around many people, so he and I hid out in my bedroom, although Travis relieved me once, so I could eat dinner.  After the cake and birthday singing and present opening, we caravaned over to the stake center for Austin's baptism.  I helped her change into her white clothes then started playing prelude music.  Austin had me playing the piano, and Sister Bowman leading the music.  We sang "When I am Baptised" for the opening song and then Travis' mom gave the opening prayer.  Bro. Schneck welcomed everyone, and then Jaime Caldwell, Travis' brother-in-law gave the talk for the baptism, he did a really good job.  Then Austin was Baptised, it was really nice, and the spirit was strong.  I passed out paper for everyone there to write down their testimony and a note for Austin while she and Travis were changing, and I played prelude music.  I realized that when Austin came running over to me at the piano, with her dress unbuttoned and untied, that I had forgotten I was supposed to be there to help her change.  Oh, well I'll remember that for Betsy, and Austin didn't seem to upset by it.  After she and Travis were out, Joseph gave the talk on the Holy Ghost.  It was really short, but very heartfelt and he did a good job.  Then we sang "I belong the the Church" and then Travis confirmed Austin and she received the Holy Ghost, again the spirit was very strong, and Travis got choked up as he was giving her the blessing.  The primary president welcomed Austin and then we sang "When Jesus Christ was baptized" and then Betsy said the closing prayer, she did a really good job, pausing and thinking about what to say, and was very sincere.  Afterwards the kids had had enough sitting still and were on a sugar high from all the cake, and candy they had had at the party, but we eventually got them home and into bed.  Everyone went home, and it took me another 2 hours to clean up, and then I finally got to bed.  Thankfully Caleb slept better that night, and his baby blessing went beautifully and he slept through the whole thing.  Travis' Aunt Nora and her husband Nick were able to be there for the blessing, and then I took Caleb home after sacrament meeting.  Also last week I had to deal with Army people, and the army withholding Travis paycheck, and saying we owe them over $3,000, hopefully I got it all figured out, and they will give us our money back.  Unfortunately the stresses of the past week and weekend was too much for me, and I was sick the rest of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and missed my Monday classes.  But I was feeling well enough Wednesday to go to class, and I'm feeling much better today, although still tired.  On the way home from the grocery store today, the car started dying on me every few minutes, but would start right back up again.  I made it home okay, but now I need to have the car looked at, and just hope it isn't something too expensive.

Austin's Birthday and other pictures

Austin loves to try clothes on in the dressing room.  I think she would have fun modeling clothes!

Samuel holding his baby brother for the 1st time in the hospital

Caleb

I love this picture of Caleb with his eyes open

This picture is actually in Texas of Samuel and I on our hike to Hueco Tanks

Here is all the kids at our hike in Hueco Tanks

This is my Mom in a wagon at Thanksgiving Point

My Dad having fun pulling my Mom in the wagon

Samuel playing in a large pile of leaves we found on a walk

Austin's Birthday presents, and having fun opening them

Cute little Caleb

Austin trying on more clothes, this is the outfit she picked out from her Grandma Kirkman (Stevens)

Austin had a fun birthday, even though we didn't do too much for it, since I just had the baby.  My mom was still here, so she opened her presents in the morning before school, and she had German pancake and bacon for breakfast.  Then we picked her up early from school and took her out to lunch at the mall food court, where she got pretzels and an orange julius.  She also had a heart-shaped cake, and rainbow colored ice cream after dinner, which I didn't get a picture of, because I can't find my camera.  All these pictures are from my phone, and from my Mom.  I love Austin, I can't believe she is already 8 years old.  She is really excited to be baptized this weekend, and received her own set of scriptures and carrying case, which she loves.  Austin has always been one of my biggest helpers, and is very sweet and giving.  She loves to sing, but has lately been shy about singing in front of other people.  She has been a big help with Caleb, and is very willing to help, even with diapers! 
Caleb is now almost 2 weeks old, and is growing well.  At his Dr. appointment last week he weighed 6lb 5 oz, and I anticipate that tomorrow at his 2 weeks appointment it will be even more.  Caleb is a sweet little baby, who has captured all of our hearts.  The kids love to take turns holding him, and all do a good job being careful, except maybe Samuel who still needs to be a little more careful.  So far, things have worked out well, for me to continue my classes, and Travis watches Caleb while I'm gone.  We're struggling a bit with the sleep deprivation that comes with a newborn, but we're working hard to get Caleb to have his "days and nights" not mixed up.  Caleb sleeps best, when he is with his Daddy, so he usually ends up sleeping with him part of the night.  Travis and I have both been fighting colds off, and unfortunately Caleb seems to have caught our cold, and has been a little stuffy.  Hopefully he can fight it off quickly before it gets very bad.  My Mom came to help out last week, and it was so nice to have her here helping with the cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids, and running errands.  Travis' Mom and Karina were here Monday and Tuesday, and it was nice for their help as well.  I'm very blessed to have a Mother and a Mother-in-law who can come help out when a baby is born.  We are adjusting to having a new baby in our home. 

Caleb Peter Kirkman

Caleb Peter Kirkman was born at 8:20am Febuary 17th, 2011 after 12 hours of labor.  He weighed 6 lb. 1 oz. and was 18 inches long.  He is a sweet little boy, who has captured our hearts.  

Valentine's Day

We had a good Valentine's Day today.  I hadn't really planned on anything, because I was expecting to have just had a baby, but I'm still pregnant, so we tried to make it a nice day.  Travis picked me up from my class, and we went and got pretzels from the mall, and yummy frozen yogurt with fruit.  It was delicious, and I was stuffed.  Samuel fell asleep in the car while we were driving around, so it was like we were on a date.  We took turns staying in the car, while the other one went and got the food, and then we listened to our book on CD in the car.  We are listening to "Fablehaven", I've already read all the books, but it's still fun to listen to the books.  After the kids got home from school we went to Trafalga, and went miniature golfing.  It was nice enough outside that we did the outdoor course, and had a lot of fun.  At one point I told Samuel "nice hit" and he got a bit upset and said "but, I didn't hit anything".  I realized that he probably thought it was a bad thing, since we've been trying to teach him not to hit.  I explained that I meant how well he hit his ball with the club, and then he said "oh, thanks!"  All of the kids were really excited, and were really good at cheering each other on.  It was a fun family activity that we will probably do many times, since we bought passes to do it all year long.  We had our FHE lesson on love, and then put the kids to bed.  During Betsy's prayer she said "and help Mommy to have the baby tonight, but that she will have time to get to the hospital", afterwards I told her, I would prefer to have the baby during the day, so as not to interrupt every one's sleep.  She is sweet, and keeps praying for the baby to come, so hopefully with enough of us praying, the baby will make his appearance soon.  Although for some reason, Travis wants the baby to wait until Saturday or later.  Maybe he just wants to be able to tease me about going past my due date for once.  But, I'm hoping the kids and my prayers will counteract his, I'm ready for the baby to come now!!!

Valentine's Dance

 Travis was watching Samuel when I was in class, and I guess Samuel cuddled Travis while he was working on his homework, and fell asleep

Joseph, Betsy, and Samuel with their Grandpa Jimmy, they had a good time looking at his Mountain Man videos.

Betsy with her Grandma

Samuel decided he was going to be an alien for about 30 minutes today, and walked around like this pretending to be an alien, but since he couldn't see where he was going, he stopped after he got tired of running into things and getting hurt.



Travis and I ready for our Valentine's Dance!



Samuel's still being an alien

I have silly girls!

The kids were being silly and dancing around

This is Joseph's Christmas concert video, notice he is the only one wearing red.  He forgot about the dress code, and that he was supposed to be their early. 

This week, Travis and I went to a Stake Valentine's Dance on Friday night.  I've been really wanted the baby to come, since I'm almost to my due date, so I had done my Pregnancy workout, walked to and from my BYU class, and was determined to dance my way into labor.  I only succeeded in making myself really dizzy, and making my back hurt, and my feet sore.  So I guess this baby is determined to wait until he is ready to come out.  I don't blame him, if I heard all the noise going on outside my Mom's belly, that he probably hears, I wouldn't want to come out either.  I did have a really good time with Travis on our Valentine's Date, so it was worth it, even if it didn't produce any contractions.  They had a live band, that played good music, and the decorations were amazing.  They had some yummy food, and and floor show put on by BYU that was amazing.  We also had dance instruction for the first hour, which was fun.  We also got to talk with some other couples in our ward, and we were telling each other all how we met, and our courtships with each other.  It was fun to hear other people's stories, and to share ours as well.  I now only have 6 days until my due date, so I really hope the baby is born soon.  Saturday, the kids and I got all our chores done, and disinfecting the house with Clorox wipes, to get rid or germs from the girl's colds, before the baby comes.  The girl's colds are mostly gone, so I don't think they're contagious anymore.   I was craving Mexican food, so we went to a nice Mexican restaurant called Milagros, it was really yummy, and we had enough leftovers to use for dinner today as well.  Austin had her baptism interview today with the bishop, and she passed!  She is really excited.  We're going to try and have her baptism the same weekend as the new baby's blessing in March.  Today in Church in Relief Society the lesson was on sacrifice, and I had the thought that the more you sacrifice your time, talents, energies, for someone or something else, your love and bond with that person grows.  We are given so much more than we could ever sacrifice.  No matter how much we give, we will always get more in return from our Heavenly Father.  Maybe that is why we feel so much love for our family, because we sacrifice so much for them.

almost there

This past week, Joseph has been home from school every day except Friday with pink eye.  We had a good time for the first two days, then I went and picked up his homework from his teacher.   After that it took two days to get him to do his homework, and that wasn't very fun, but thankfully his eyes are finally better, and he can go to school again.  Samuel and Joseph were getting pretty frustrated with one another.  Samuel doesn't like to share me (or my attention) with anyone.  I know this will be a problem when the baby is born, but we'll cross that road when it comes.  Speaking of the baby, I have just under 2 weeks until my due date, and I'm ready for the baby to come anytime now.  Although I know the longer he waits the better, because he'll be bigger, and it will be harder to get to my classes, and do my homework once he comes.  But physically my body is ready to be done with the pregnancy.  I've been busy cleaning the house really good, and making sure it stays that way, so it will be clean when I go into labor.  I just have two more things on my checklist left to do, and then I'll be completely ready, well as ready as I can get anyway.  The family and I have been trying to drink a green smoothie every day, and I love it.  I have a lot more energy, and feel healthier too, the kids for the most part like them too, as long as I have straws for them to drink them with.  Both Austin and Betsy have colds with quite a nasty cough with them, and I'm trying really hard to get them better before the baby comes.  I got my first chemistry test back, and missed 3 questions out of 25, not bad for my first college test in about 9 years.  I really enjoy going to my classes, and learning, it is a great break from everyday housewife chores.  The highlight of the week was having Travis' mom and her husband, spending the night, while they were driving back home to Montana.  It was fun to see them, for the short amount of time they were here, and the kids loved to see them too.