Merry Christmas 2012!!!

 We hope that all of you had a marvelous 2012. We have had a roller coaster ride of a year. There have been moments of building anticipation, moments of plummeting stomachs (good and bad), moments that made us giggle with delight, tooth rattling moments (mainly due to Tag, Thank you!), and now that we are nearing the end of the year a little sadness that it's ending and a little relief as well.

We didn't do as much traveling or camping this year. This was mainly due to our new addition, Finn. We will gladly take him in exchange and plan to catch up on some adventuring in 2013. Highlights from our year include:

- A visit to the Denver Aquarium

- Visits to the Denver Natural History Museum and the NEW Natural History Museum in Salt Lake.

- on May 19th Finn was born.

-Abby's 3rd annual dance performance in June.

-A trip to New Hampshire in July for two weeks of Rudy family fun.

-Marched in the Wolfeboro 4th of July parade for Romney. Abby got to shake Mitt's hand, Abby and Ginny rode in the Romney family trolley and Tag met the inspiration for his name, Tagg Romney.

-Visited Utah family and friends in April, August and October.

-Ginny started kindergarten.

-Thanksgiving in Las Vegas with the Naylor side of the family.

- A fun-filled day at Disneyland with Brian's sister Staci and her family.

 Our Favorite Things for the year 2012. 

I'm going to steal an idea from a friend of mine and list some favorites for each family member. I think it will be a great way for us to look back and remember what we were like in 2012 and for some of you to learn more about us than you ever wanted to know.

Favorite Saying...

Brian: "Right Now???" or "It's so hot in here!"

Sarah: "Yes You Can! When we are in our own house."

Abby: "Kneel, like diamond" (leading into family prayer)

Ginny: "I can't find my pink blankie, it's gone forever!" (blanket is usually behind her)

Tag: "Why?", "What?" or "Cookie"

Finn: "Pbbbthh"

Favorite Book...

Brian: The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

Sarah: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Abby: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Ginny: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Tag: Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

Finn: Plush, chewable animal book

Favorite Movie...

Brian: Marvel's The Avengers

Sarah: is looking forward to seeing Lincoln, Les Miserables and The Hobbit

Abby: Brave and Wreck it Ralph

Ginny: The Dora and Diego 4D movie that we "rode" at the aquarium.

Tag: Toy Story 2

Finn: The live movie my sisters and brothers provide on a regular basis, I find it hilarious.

Favorite Song...

Brian: Evans Blue/Parabelle (fave new artist)

Sarah: "You See The Light In Me" Greg Laswell and Ingrid Michaelson (unrecorded) and the original works that Ginny regularly comes up with.

Abby: "Love Story" by Taylor Swift and "Firework" by Katy Perry

Ginny: The Gummy Bear Song

Tag: "Dynamite" Taio Cruz (he has a monkey that sings it and dances, Tag dances along)

Finn: "Teddy Bear Picnic". I may just love chewing on musical pooh bear as the music winds down.

Favorite YouTube video...

 Brian: Four Old Ladies (3:27)

Sarah: Dumb Ways to Die (3:02) Thanks Liz!

Abby: The Sneezing Baby Panda (0:17)

She also loves kid history but couldn't choose one and they are long.

Ginny: Kill the Wabbit (0:24)

Tag: Monsters Inc Bloopers Sped Up (2:47)

Finn: Emerson- Mommy's Nose is Scary!  (0:59) Not that he has watched this but he thinks bodily noises (sneezing, hiccuping, etc.) are HILARIOUS. So we're guessing he would like this.

Favorite Past Time...

Brian: Playing with the kids (Brian makes a great Zombie, Monster and mini trampoline).

Sarah: Finding furniture to slather in chalk paint and searching pinterest.com

Abby: Playing computer games and sports that involve a lot of running.

Ginny: Drawing etc. and playing with Finn.

Tag: Jumping, climbing, making noise, creating general mayhem.

Finn: Bounding in my jumper, scooting on my back and blowing raspberries.

Favorite Ride at Disneyland...

Brian: Space Mountain

Sarah: Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean

Abby: Splash Mountain and Roger Rabbit

Ginny: Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean

Tag: It's a Small World and the Buzz Light Year Ride

Finn: Peter Pan (our best guess)

Merry Christmas! 

We hope that all of you are happy and healthy and we're sending you wishes for an even better year to come!

Love, The Naylor Family

Brian (??), Sarah (??), Abbigayle (7, 2nd grade), Virginia (5, Kindergarten), Taggart (2), Finnegan (7 mos.)

Finn

Finnegan Eric Naylor was born May 19 @ 12:17 in the morning. He was 20 inches long and 8 lb. 3.5 oz.

His Name: It wasn't easy choosing a name for this child. Just to give you an idea these are some of the names that were still on "the list" the day he was born: Andrew, Abram, Bode, Caleb, Graham, Griffin, Jacob, Noah... and that's the narrowed down list. When I was pregnant with Tag (and we had already chosen his name) we were still talking about names just for fun. We both liked the name "Finn". However, all of our children have a given name that we use when they are in trouble or when we're feeling cheeky along with a nickname. We didn't want to stray from the trend on our fourth child (if it was a boy). Brainstorming I came up with Finnegan and to my surprise, and chagrin, Brian LOVED it.

When we talked about the name Finn this time around we both thought Finnegan was a little too different. We came up with "Griffin" with more brainstorming but it seemed like a stretch. Anyway, to make a long story shorter- it was the name that wouldn't go away. It was Abby's favorite and so she would chant it "Finnegan Eric" and I would say, "Abby, we are NOT going to name him that." Once he was born Brian had come back around and was liking it again. When we couldn't agree on any of the other names I gave in. It's still growing on me and I'm sure I'll like it more and more as he grows. I do think it goes with Eric better than any of the other names.

All of our children's middle names are chosen to honor someone (ancestor, parent, etc.) and his middle name "Eric" is for my older brother Eric who died at 2 weeks of S.I.D.S. I've always felt close to him and wanted to use it but our first boy's middle name had to be after Brian's dad so Eric went to our second son.

If anyone has any clever ideas for my header please let me know. Abracadabra/Abby, Ginger Snap/Ginny, Tag a Long/Tag, Mickey Finn? Tailfin? Huckleberry? Better ideas?

His Birth: On Friday the 18th I started having regular contractions around 5 pm. I tested positive for strep B for the first time during this pregnancy and since Tag came so quickly (2 1/2 hours) they had scheduled me to have my water broken on the 21st so that they could get some antibiotics in my system at least 4 hours before he came. When I noticed my contractions getting regular and increasing in strength I figured we better head to the hospital to get those antibiotics in case he was planning on coming. They gave me the antibiotics at 8:40.

I've decided that either I did a better job practicing my hypnobabies last time around (quite possible) or contractions hurt more when my water has not broken. At 12:15 my water broke while sitting on a birthing ball. I got onto the bed and the nurse checked me and let me know that I was dilated to an 8. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping for a 10... and then he came anyway. That's all I can say. He was there and ready and it didn't matter that I wasn't fully dilated. I can tell you that an 8 lb 3.5 oz baby coming out dilated to an 8 and laying in bed feels very different from a 7 lb. 13 oz. baby basically falling out when I stood up. This way was much less messy for the staff. The Dr. caught him instead of my husband but it was still a close call. He (the doctor) didn't have time to get gloves on and caught him bare-handed.

I was very happy that, since this time was less chaotic, they were able to immediately put Finn skin to skin with me instead of rushing him away. The saddest part, for Finn, was that he was so bruised! (See Above) His head and face were black and blue. They told us that if staff came in when he was all bundled up and were worried about him looking blue that we should let them know it was bruising. It took about 2 weeks for the bruising to be completely gone. He also came 20 minutes before the 4 hour mark for the antibiotics so they had us stay in the hospital an extra day. I was okay with that. With ten people at home (not counting Brian, Finn and I) I could stand an extra night in the hospital.

His Siblings: Abby, Ginny and Tag are loving their little brother. Abby was especially happy with his name. Sometimes they love him a little too much. Ginny wakes him up and then tells us, "I was just keeping him happy." Yeah, right. Tag is learning how to be "soft", most of the time. They all try to straighten out his limbs until I stop them and they fight over holding him. Honestly, I think it would be easier for me if they didn't want to hold him. But it's also very sweet to watch them holding him.

His Parents: We're settling in. There is no schedule yet and so we're both a little sleep deprived. Luckily the girls will entertain each other so if I can get the boys to sleep at the same time I can catch a nap. Brian wasn't too happy when I fell asleep at 8 o'clock on his birthday. He was nice enough to leave me sleeping and I'll have to make it up to him. Brian is happy that Finn looks more like him and Ginny. He doesn't have their nose, though. Which, to me, is their defining characteristic so the jury is still out on who he's going to look like. Probably himself.

Four months worth of funnies

So, I've been avoiding figuring out our new-ish camera and how to download pictures... which has led to a lack of posts for quite some time. Here's a little catch-up on the random things that have been going on day-to-day. These pictures move from most recent back to January:
This was today. Ginny was so tired she didn't care where she slept. Tag would not allow her to sleep, though. She moved to the couch after this and he still kept climbing on her. That's what brothers are for!
Tag helping daddy fix the truck so we can sell it and buy a vehicle that will accommodate a family of 6. Time to make room for baby brother!
Tag discovered some jello mix in the pantry while I was distracted by baking. Hooray! I set the ripped bag on the counter while I cleaned him up. As I began cleaning up the floor he pushed the stool to the counter and almost grabbed the bag a second time but mommy stopped him just in time.

Carson and Ginny had a little clash of personalities and had to take a time-out in the front room. When I went to let them out 5 min. later this is what I found. They slept for about an hour. Conclusion: Ginny+Carson+tired=fighting
Tag's newest trick. Brian held out each binky in order to let him choose. He looked at one, then the other and then grabbed both and stuck them in!
This is what my produce drawer looks like. The oranges look even worse! Thanks, Tag.
Running through the sprinklers after drawing with sidewalk chalk = blue hands (and swimsuits).
Tag tries so hard to cuddle with his sisters but it never seems to quite work out. At least Abby is a little more open to it.
Mmmmmm, strawberries in sugar!!!
Crazy Hair Day!!!
We got a little bit of snow. The ONE big snow storm of the year. Otherwise it was a pretty dry winter.
We have been OBSESSED with bubble baths this winter! For Tag's first time he was scared of the bubbles. It didn't take him long to love them as much as the girls.
Tag and his friend Grace would not let me enjoy my Green smoothie (I overdid it on the blueberries and it was more of a purple smoothie). You can see how big my cup was by the ring that makes it all the way to their foreheads. I was more than happy to share!
Ginny finally gives the green smoothie a try- first and last time. We'll try again next year. Since her diet consists of the 5 main food groups (bread, cheese, apples, bananas and peanut butter) this was an amazing feat.
Tag got stuck.
How annoying is it when you go to take a bite out of your banana and it falls off of the peel???
Just Dance. A weekly Friday afternoon tradition. I need to post video.

Welcome to a new day!!!

The real names of this post are "therapy" and "avoidance". It is only 8:30 and I'm ready to go back to bed and call this day a total loss. Please, if you are not a parent read no further. Also, if you have a susceptible gag reflex. If you don't like complaining read no further- I just need to get a few things out (therapy). With pregnancy I have been averaging 5 hours of sleep a night and that doesn't take into account the tossing and turning. I wake up every morning with a massive headache that goes away between 11-12. I've actually been grateful for this. For a while the headaches would return around 2 pm and last until bedtime or longer. In other words I'd have a headache for all but 2-3 hours of the day. Morning only headaches I can handle.

Moving on... I get through the time BEFORE school by sticking Tag in his chair swing (baby version of straight jacket) in front of the TV. This is the only way I am able to get the other kids out of the door. This morning Tag had diarrhea. BAD. As in, something was dripping from his chair swing onto the floor. Carson, curious kid that he is, smelled it to see if it was pee. It wasn't. Until I picked him up I thought his bottle had been upended in the bottom of his chair and was dripping everywhere. Nope. While I was changing Tag (clothes, diaper, cleaning out the chair, starting laundry, changing a second diarrhea diaper, somewhere in there) Carson threw up... on the carpet... do you blame him? I was dry heaving a little. Through all of this Ginny was bugging me for cereal. I kept asking her to wait until I could get the messes cleaned up and the kids to school. Did she wait? No. The result was that my kitchen looked like someone dive-bombed it with a gallon of milk.

I was inspired yesterday by a lovely RS lesson to be more organized and especially more calm. I woke up this morning and said a prayer asking for help to be able to separate the important things from the unimportant... in other words to do with my day what my Father in Heaven would have me do instead of my priority list. At the end of this I asked for help in being patient with the kids and not losing it. With the headaches and lack of sleep this is something I've been struggling with in the mornings. I remember hearing that you should never pray for patience... but I'll probably do it again tomorrow.

Enough avoidance. I'm off to do some more laundry, cleaning, sanitizing, mopping etc. You know, what Heavenly Father had planned out for my day. It's hard to feel the spirit in a home that smells like poop and puke. I'm just waiting for the R.S. Presidency to decide this would be the perfect moment to stop by for a visit... I have to say that even though my morning was less than ideal I have so much to be grateful for. Tag's bum is so sore that he can't sit down. This diarrhea is toxic. But he is so smiley and happy in spite of his pain. So, among other things, I'm glad for happy kids and I'm glad it's not my bum! (Okay I had said enough avoidance, right? Liar.)

Interested?!?!

If you want to check out my New Year's Resolutions you can find them here. (the ones I am willing to share, any way)

2011 in Facebook Status Updates

January
-10 minute power nap (unscheduled). Ahhhhh, that's better.
-Snow Day! Happy kids.... not sure about myself yet.
-I can't believe it's been 25 years since the Space shuttle Challenger disaster. I remember watching it in my classroom. They made a really big deal about it since Christa McAuliffe was from our state (New Hampshire). I think I still have my laminated book mark saying "Reach for the Stars".
-No school tomorrow! The kids are really excited. We'll be staying inside. The forecast is a high of Neg. 2 and a low of Neg. 15.
February
- Thank you for the birthday wishes everyone! I DID have fun plans- dinner and a movie with Brian. We haven't been out alone in months. It was wonderful. Thanks for watching the kids, mom!
March
-Damien: Today was really scary.
Me: Why?
Damien: All the girls were wearing Justin Beiber (sp?) shirts because it's his birthday.
-Preferred way of eating apples today: whole with a tunnel cut through the center so that there are no "spiders" or seeds, courtesy Ginny.
-Me: Abby, When are you going to learn to be patient?
Abby: When I'm a mom and I have a baby and then when it comes out I won't be a patient anymore.
April
-Abby posted a sign on her door, "Zoo Open Today, $5".
-Me to the girls: Who wants ladybugs and who wants ducks?
Abby: Ladybugs
Ginny: Ducks... and ladybugs.
Me: You can have one or the other.
Ginny: OTHER!!!
-Tag's first tooth made an appearance today!
-Tag has had a big week this week: first tooth, first time scaling the stairs, first time saying "dada" (he's been saying "mama" for months), first time REAL crawling not spider or army crawling, and FIRST black eye. Yep, he pulled a chair on top of himself.
-Three dozen hard boiled eggs. Deviled. Egg salad sandwiched. Gone in less than 12 hours.
May
-"How do you afford your rock'n roll lifestyle?"
-Me: Ginny, what were you eating that turned your lips purple?
Ginny: I was pretending.
Me: You were pretending something that turned your lips purple?
Ginny: I was pretending the crayons were make-up.
-latest Ginnyism: don't step on that, it's hot lama.
-my 4 year-old informed me this morning that her hair was not "fabulous".
June
-Me: Do you like yogurt?
Brian: Not unless it's chocolate or butterscotch.
Me: That's pudding.
Brian: Oh, yeah.
August
-Just found my cat playing with a bird that he caught, killed and brought into my living room. Ugh. Did I mention that he has been de-clawed? He has some mad skills.
-My sons new fave thing to do at church: rip pages out of hymnals.... great.
-"There are kidneys failing as we speak." -Captain Awesome.
-Taking a shower after camping is the best feeling EVER! (much better than waking up to my 4 y/o having peed in her sleeping bag and having her hike 3 mi. going commando.
September
-How out of it am I today? While attempting to put my baby down for a nap I stood over the tub for at least 15 seconds feeling really confused before I re-routed to the crib. Yeah.
-figured out what the big difference between girls and boys is. Headbutting.
-Book Club Friends: (everyone else can ignore this update) Watching the Utah/USC game and Louis Zamperini came on- it was so astonishing after discussing him last night. He looks exactly the same as that 1998 Nagano video. At least if we lose it will make an old man happy, ha ha. That's what I'll tell myself anyway.
- I was going to leave out all mass updates but thought I should make mention that I posted a call for update silence for the morning of 9/11. Ten years.
- I love my daughter's new and improved lyrics. "It wasn't really so, but it seemed to be, popcorn jumped off the old cow." Ingenuity makes up for what it lacks in metre, in my opinion.
-Abby came home from school today and informed me that now she wants to be a geologist when she grows up (before she wanted to be a Girl Scout Leader. I think for the cookie benefits?!?!?) Her grandpa will be so proud.
- Current least favorite thing: cleaning PB off of silverware.
-So, I see all of the Halloween stuff has been out in the stores and honestly, who buys candy this early? They must have much stronger will power than I do because candy would so not last until Halloween. Unless I bought stuff that I don't like and why, why would I do that?
-Ahhh, football, salsa and chips... 16 little girls have gone home. Birthday party over. It feels so good. Let's complete this day... GO UTES!!!
-"I've got to admit it's getting better, a little better all the time." 'Course that depends a lot on which side of the fence you're sitting on.
- This is embarrassing. I'm going to have to refrain from mentioning my Ute fan status for at least a month if I want to keep any friends here in Colorado.
-Game over. Competition stomped on. Good Night.
- A very long and boring update concerning my dislike for the new facebook layout.
October
-Baseball or debate??? Hmmmm.
-Stupid angry birds... time for bed.
- I think Tag may have broken a couple of my toes this morning.
November
-I just cut gum out of Ginny's hair. I love Halloween. Luckily she's due for a haircut, I didn't want to deal with PB, etc.
-Tag, armed with a 12 inch zucchini, surprise attacked Brian. I am so glad that he can open the fridge by himself (sarcasm intended). Luckily my toes and Brian's pride are the only casualties so far.
-Ginny does not understand the concept of death due to natural causes. She asked how Grandpa Naylor died and Brian said he just got old. She looked confused and asked, "He just got old and then someone shot him?" Where is this coming from? It's not like I let my 4 y/o watch violent T.V. Must be that all of the other sunbeams are boys.
December
-Abby: What was your password for typing pal?

Me: We didn't have computers when I was in first grade.

Abby: Oh yeah, and you didn't have electricity.
!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
-According to Ginny the girl's room is being haunted by Michael Jackson.
-Best Christmas vacation ever (sarcasm) 5 out of 7 kids have puked, some multiple times. Now Brian has it too. It can only go up from here, right? On the bright side our dryer was fixed just in time to deal with all of the extra laundry!
- We left gorgeous snow-covered Colorado for a relatively brown Salt Lake City. Still.... Being with family makes it a beautiful Christmas no matter what it looks like outside. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas!!!

It has been a great year for the Naylor family. Of course, that is always true. No matter what we may be going through it's all part of the journey and we are loving the journey! Before I get started: if you blog and your name (or blog's name) is not in my sidebar please let me know. My e-mail is shoelessmama@gmail.com.
Brian has had the opportunity to teach Abby's primary class at church this year which has been "fun" and very entertaining for him. I believe Abby has enjoyed it too. Brian is still working at Allosource but recently instead of working on spinal bone grafts he has been working on joint replacements.
I (Sarah) am still enjoying being a stay at home mom. I stay busy with play groups, book clubs, blogging (sorta), trying to get Ginny ready for Kindergarten next year and trying to keep my very busy Tag safe from injury. I've been the ward chorister since March. I really like picking out the music for sacrament meeting, it gives me a level of control that I love. I'll get back to you on how I feel about the actual conducting part....
Abby is 6, is in First grade and is such a little smarty pants. She is reading short chapter books and still loves to be read too. She got a book order from school and circled every other item. She believes that she's going to get all of it for Christmas despite my telling her otherwise. Abby is still taking dance this year but decided to take a break from ballet and is doing "mini-poms" don't ask me what that is- it doesn't look like cheer leading. She has also developed an interest in science. She has informed us that she wants to be a geologist when she grows up and she asked for a telescope for her birthday (I know she's aiming for the stars and the dirt, weird).
Ginny is 4 and is the family clown which I'm sure will translate into class clown once she's in a classroom. She keeps us laughing whether on purpose or not and definitely has way too much attitude. Ginny is very expressive, often it's not so much what she says as the face she is making while she says it. She is the only girl in her sunbeam class (at church) and I'm pretty sure that's the way she likes it. She is a girl of simple tastes- all she asked for for Christmas is a really big stuffed animal snake. Okey-dokey. We can do that. She wants to take karate so we're looking into getting her started with that.
Tag is 1 and will be entering nursery (our churches version of day care during meetings) in February and I can't wait. He is so busy! His favorite things are to throw objects into the toilet or down the stairs, open the fridge and throw heavy items out of it and climbing anything and everything. He found a snake in the backyard and stepped on a Rocky Mountain Tick in the same day. He also loves music and is quite the little dancer. He does not understand when we are upset with him (usually for throwing things) and just smiles all the more.
We've also had some fun adventures this year. We are still living with my brother Michael and his 4 children (Damien (almost 12), Tailynn (10), Emma (7) & Carson (5). The kids love it. I am so glad that we can have this experience. I hope that my kids can look back on it and feel how lucky they were to live with their cousins for a time. We are learning a lot about ourselves, about patience and about communication too.
We all went to South Dakota over Spring Break and visited Mt. Rushmore. There are also two caves in the area (Wind Cave and Jewel Cave) which are National sites and we visited each of them as well. On the way home we drove through Wyoming and stopped by Devil's Tower (of "Close Encounters" fame). I think this may have been everyone's favorite stop. There were large boulders every where and we all climbed around and had a blast.
In July all of us went to New Hampshire to visit my parents and my sister Elizabeth and her 4 boys who moved there this past year. We had so much fun, as always, swimming at Lake Winnipesauke. My parents live right on the lake and it is one of the most beautiful spots in the world. Our kids had swimming lessons at Gilford beach just like I did as a child... memories! We went on our traditional hike up Mt. Major gathering enough blueberries to make a pie. It was great to have Brian's cousin Jeremy and his cute family stop by and visit us for a couple of days too. We went to the ocean for a day and my sister took bunches of cute pictures.
My dad's family was having a reunion in Maryland this summer so all 18 of us packed up and drove down. We stopped at Gettysburg and Antietam and made a stop in Washington D.C. as well. Our day in D.C. (we walked everywhere) was so hot- it was 105 with a heat index of 120 (due to the humidity) we were all dying. I was very grateful for air conditioning in Ford's Theater (where Lincoln was shot) and the Smithsonian. But the highlight of the trip was visiting family in Maryland. There were people that I hadn't seen in many years and it was great to see all of them. We also visited the farm my dad grew up on and the ancestral Rudy farm which is now owned by a relative of my mom's, go figure! (pictured below with all of the grand kids except Tag who was asleep in the car)
My kids and I stopped in Utah on the way home and visited our friends and family that we've been missing so much while in Colorado. We are truly blessed with so many good friends and the best families in the world (in our opinion)! We hope you are all healthy and happy and that you have a wonderful Christmas Season. We have a lot to look forward to this coming year...
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Including a new addition due May 28!!!