Now That's Not What I Expected To See!

Oh boy, where does time go? It’s been just over three weeks since Ammon was born, and I haven’t updated the blog since. A lot has happened over these past three weeks, so here we go, time to catch up. We had a fun Fourth of July weekend. On Friday, the kids and I slept in the tent in the back yard.

On Saturday, we wad a BBQ at Carol’s parents with them, and her Brother Chul and his two teenage boys who are still at home. The kids enjoyed playing with their older cousins and I think they (Brian and David) liked playing with their younger cousins, too. Caden really liked the fireworks, and when he held the sparklers, he just laughed like he was an evil scientist or something. It was pretty funny. Later that night, we went down the street to some neighbors from our ward, the Collins and Bird’s, and watched them put on a huge fireworks display, as well as everyone else within a several mile radius. It was really good.

This past week, those same neighbors, the Collins, graciously invited us to come down and pick raspberries from their bushes. Carol and the kids love the little red devils, so we all went over after a trip to the park, and picked an entire flat. Too bad I don’t like them. But I still helped, anyways. So after a while the adults got to talking, and the kids, as kids do, kind of got bored, so they decided to start entertaining themselves. The sprinklers were on, and by the time we left, the three older ones were drenched. I walked home with them, and when we got here, I stripped them down to their underwear and sent them inside to get dried off and changed. I grabbed Caden and set him on the bathroom counter to wash his feet, because they were filthy. Carol was feeding Ammon, and I was trying to do several other things at once. I left the bathroom and when I returned a couple minutes later, this is what I found.


He had underwear on when I sent him in there, but I guess he felt like right then was as good a time as any to try his hand at being a nudist. It was quite a funny site to see him washing his and his brother’s feet, and the sink was completely full of bubbles. Caden just sat there and let him scrub. There was actually a funnier picture than this one, but it wasn’t quite as discreet, so I had to go with this one for Trevin’s sake. Ahh, good times.

The next day, the Tyler and Bailey started their baseball seasons. Bailey is doing coach pitch and Tyler is doing machine pitch. Their games happened to be at the exact same time the first week, so Carol and I, as well as my parents, went back and forth between both games trying to see all the “action.” They both played well and Tyler’s team looks like they are a pretty good team. Bailey’s level is still just a learning level, but Tyler’s will become somewhat competitive after the first three games. It should be a fun season. After their games, we headed to the Collins again. They invited our kids over for a party with their grandkids, the Birds. It was so nice of them to just throw a party and invite us. All the kids had a great time, and I think I speak for all the adults when I say we all had a good time, too. We missed Daniel though, who is off in Utah trying out for the BYU football team, or something (just joking for those gullible, or unknowledgeable readers out there). Anyways, it was a lot of fun and just another example of how the Lord has blessed our family; and more particularly, blessed us because of our kids. Well that’s a brief recap of the past three weeks. Here are a few funnies, but not as many as usual. But after the funnies I’ve added a bunch of photos of the past three weeks as well. So enjoy the pics.

Bailey has always had her weather patterns a little mixed up. When she was three or four, it was January and it had actually snowed a little bit that particular day, but she was running around the house in her bathing suit. More recently, she has been in pants and a long sleeve shirt on 75-80 degree days. So the other day she had a little jacket on and I said, Bailey what are you wearing that for? She said “it’s cold.” I said “No it’s not. Who said it was cold?” She replied: “The weather.”

I think we’re about to have a new blog star on the way, as Caden is getting more funny all the time. He is so talkative and says many things you would never expect from a 2-year-old. The other day he was on the potty, as I am trying to get him trained, quite unsuccessfully, I must add. Anyways, I was using the old “are you a baby or a big boy” line with him, and he said no. I re-explained myself, asking “you’re not a baby?” He said no. I then asked “are you a big boy?” he answered: “I guy.” I said “you’re a guy?” “Yeah,” came the response. So I tried again with my line of questioning, but before I got to the second part, he interrupted me, and said in a tone of --Dad, did you not hear me the first time--: “I just guy.”

We were on our way home from church, and out of nowhere Caden says laughing: “Bailey is pee pee.” Carol said: “Caden, that’s not nice.” He then said in a somewhat repentant voice: “Bailey not pee pee.”

So we were reading in 2 Nephi, the Isaiah chapters, 15:4 to be exact, which says: “What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes it brought forth wild grapes.” Bailey burst out: “Wild Grapes?!!!! Grapes can’t run around and go wild and crazy.”

As the fireworks were going off on July third, the kids were kind of getting both scared and excited at the same time. They kept asking each other: “Did you see that one?” or “did you hear that one?” Bailey asked Tyler again, and he said: “No, I turned them off.” Carol asked: “You turned what off?” He replied: “My ears.”
Ammon was in his bassinette and doing one of the things babies do best; crying. Bailey, apparently not enjoying his singing, declared: “We didn’t ask for this. Why couldn’t we just have a girl?”

Let's Party!



All Partied Out!

Really wanting to be a part of the action

Somebody said something funny, or was that just gas?
Ahh, that's the life...

Which one is real and which one is a doll?

The two baseball junkies watching "highlights"



Sparkler Time!



Mmm, Good Stuff.



Ammon and Aunt Sue
Me and the boys
Tent time!

Just one cute kid posing for the camera...

They are their brother's keeper...

Big sister doing her motherly thing. What a gift!

Five beautiful kids, and I'm so blessed that they are mine.

What's In A Name?

Well, this might seem a little strange to some of you, or maybe all of you, but it is what is. The naming of our new baby boy has brought much angst for me. It has been bothering me at every turn, and especially in every prayer I offer. I do not know all the reasons why now (although I have some good ideas -- I expect he will be a great missionary throughout his life), but the Lord has a personal vested interest in the naming of this child. Of course, there is certainly scriptural precedence of the Lord having a say in people's names. And, although we call these special spirits "our children," indeed they were, and are, his children first. We are just their caretakers here on the earth.

Personally, I love the name Maddox Ammon, and I really do not want to change it. The rest of the family liked it, too. Even the kids have finally got it down, and they didn't want a change. Also, the legal aspects will probably be a pain, too, since the paperwork has already been submitted as Maddox Ammon. But the Lord has made it clear by the whisperings of the spirit that this son of his needs to go by Ammon. So, he will. If the legal process is too expensive or difficult, then he will remain Maddox Ammon, and go by his middle name. However, as one who has had to live with going by his middle name all his life (and it is a big pain), we will do all we can to legally change it to Ammon Maddox. But if we do ever have another boy, as of now, I would plan on using Maddox as the first name for that kid. That's how much I like it. Anyways, sorry to anyone who has already begun sewing a "cute" little sweater with the name Maddox on it, but again, the Lord has made it significantly clear that he wants the name of this child to be Ammon. And I know from experience that when we align our will with the Lord's, we can't go wrong.

Introducing Maddox Ammon Livingston

So what has happened lately? Oh yeah, the new kid. I guess the blog needs to be changed now, since it’s five instead of four, but oh well. Anyways, his name was a last-minute entry and squeezed out the other contenders just a few hours before he left the hospital. I found it on a baby name web site late last night after the kids went to sleep. I told Carol this morning and she liked it, so that’s what it ended up being. Now, let me get to all the details.
Some of you have heard some of them (or all of these, maybe), but many have not, so here is the whole story. It started Friday evening the 19th. We did our family baby pool. The days were June 20 – July 4 (due date was July 1). The last two dates available were 20 and 21. I had the last pick so I went ahead and put my name down on 20 figuring Carol would want the 21st. She said, “that’s OK, I’ll take the 20th. I said: “I can just see it, you’ll have the baby tomorrow, just so you can win.” So at 4:00 am on Saturday the 20th Carol woke up with a strong contraction. Again, at about 5:15, another one woke her up. I was planning to go to the temple that morning with Daniel Bird. She assured me that she was Ok, and that she didn’t really think it was anything. So off we went at 6:45 to make the 7:30 session. I called when we got out and she sounded fine. So everything was fine, I thought. No baby today.

We got home at 10:15 and the Bird’s two young boys were at our house, and we find Carol on the chair in the fetal position in the middle of a contraction. Trevin had a sports class at 11:00, and Carol again assured me that we should go and she would be fine. But by 10 to 11:00 she is having the contractions fast and furious. So we load the kids up and take them to the Bird’s at 11:15. I told Daniel: “About two hours.” He said: “Right, yeah whatever.” I said: “Seriously, we’ll have a baby in about two hours.” So we get to the hospital at 11:30 and 20 minutes later, when they finally check her, she was completely effaced and the nurse accidentally broke her water while she was checking for her cervix. They got her to the room and then things stopped for a little while. But this is Carol, so it didn’t take too long.
He was born at 12:58 PM on June 20th (so Carol won the pool). She did have to push for 28 minutes, which was about 23 longer than normal. He was face up, so it took him longer to get through the birth canal. He came out looking really good, though, and looks a lot like his brother Trevin.
Funny side story to that; when we had Caden, Bailey was the only one who wanted a boy and she got one that looked just like her. This time, Trevin was the only one who wanted a boy and he got one that looks just like him. But he still won’t hold him.

Tyler and Bailey were disappointed to hear it was another boy, but they got over it. And everyone but Trevin has been excited to hold him and touch him and look at him.

Trevin will take a little more time. Caden, on the other hand, just loves the new addition. When we got home, today (Monday) he got his blanket, which he is quite attached to, now, and ran to the car seat, saying: “blanky for baby.”

It has been a busy couple of days for me, but I’ve managed to keep my head above water. However, Saturday night was entertaining (or will be for those of you who are about to read about it). I made a big mistake when I put the kids down to bed. They were all bawling cuz they missed their mom. Bailey kept saying: “It seems really strange with just you here, dad.” So after baths and everything else, they got to bed at 10:45. I had a lot of other things to catch up on after they fell asleep, so I was up till 12:45. Then, at about 2:45 Trevin comes in to my room crying. I picked him up to comfort him, but felt that he was extremely wet. At that moment, the Motherly instinct was out the window, and my fatherly instinct immediately kicked in as I set him back down on the ground as fast I could. I got him into their bathroom and discovered that I had forgotten to put a diaper on him (he still wears them over night). He was soaked from chest to toe, so at 3:00 o’clock in the morning I gave him another bath, by the light of a flashlight. I got him into my bed, and then went to take apart his bedding and find him some dry clothes, in the dark. I don’t know what time it was when I went back to sleep, but at 6:00 Caden cried out. I ran into their room and he yells: “I wet!” And he sure was. I hadn’t forgotten his diaper, but he peed right through it and his bed was soaked, too. I changed him, then pushed Trevin over and laid Caden in my bed, too. At one point I woke up and Trevin was laying on top of Caden, and both were still sound asleep. I pushed him off, then I went back to sleep again.

At about 9:00 in the morning, Caden was still asleep and Trevin came out. We were going to go change his clothes and I noticed he felt wet again. I asked him if he peed again. Sure enough, he peed right through the diaper and got his clothes wet and our bed wet, too. I said: “Man, you’re a peeing machine.” I told him he had made our bed wet, too, and Caden was still sleeping in our bed. He said, with a big smile: “Ha ha, Caden sleeping in a pee pee bed.” Oh, that boy, never misses a chance to add another “funny” to the blog. Well, that’s our birth story for number five. Mom and Maddox are both doing well. Thank you everyone who helped us out one way or another throughout these past couple of days. We appreciate all of you and all that you did. Now, enjoy some more funnies…

The kids have certain things they have to do each day before they get certain privileges. So Trevin was talking about playing the Wii. Bailey was still at the piano unfinished with daily 15 minutes of practice. She responded to him, and said: “I don’t care about the Wii. I like playing school and drawing and things like that. I like doing girly things, not boyly things!”

Bailey was having toast with butter one morning and Trevin asked: “Are you having jam?” She replied: “Nope, I’m just having grease.”

A couple more from Bailey, recently: She was practicing the piano and the song was just on a single piece of paper. The ceiling fan was on and the paper kept getting blown to the ground. I told her to put it behind her books, but she said she needed to look at it cuz that was the song she was practicing. She complained about the fan, so I said: “Then just turn the fan off.” Her reply: “I never would have thought of that.” The very next morning I came out from my room all dressed and ready for the day (instead of in my lounge-around-the-house-all-morning-shorts), and she asked: “Dad, did you already take a shower?” I said, “Yep, last night when I got home from work.” She replied: “I just don’t think I can believe that.”

Grandma Shirts watched the kids one night while I was at work and Carol was at enrichment. They were racing around our “track” inside our living room and kitchen and if they took a short cut and skipped the kitchen, grandma said they got disqualified. So the next day Trevin was explaining the game to me and said: “If we took a short cut we got crucified. Bailey got crucified twice, and I didn’t get crucified.” I was thinking “what kind of game was Grandma playing, anyways?” I asked Bailey and she cleared it up for me.

Carol and Bailey were out together and they saw a Ford Expedition stretch limo. Bailey said, “Wow, look at that huge car!” Carol said: “That’s called a limousine.” Bailey said: “That’s the biggest car I’ve ever seen in the world. That must mean they have a lot of kids.”

So we’re trying to get Caden interested in potty-training and we broke out the training underwear. Some the pairs have big trucks on them, so I was showing them to him and trying to get him excited about it. I called Trevin into the room to show Caden that he wears underwear and not a diaper. I told him that Trevin wears underwear and not a diaper. Trevin then said to Caden: “I don’t pee in my underwear.” Caden then said, while rolling his head back: “Ohhhh” (kind like Ohhh, now I understand). Then he added: “Nice!” (kind of like saying cool, or sweeeet).

So we were saying family prayer and Caden was sitting with me. I was the voice for this prayer so I wasn’t paying close attention to what he was doing during the prayer. As the prayer ended Carol was looking at him as he kept rubbing his finger on my arm. Carol asked me: “What is that?” So I looked down and there was something little on my arm that kind of looked like a crumb. He kept pointing at it and pushing it around on my arm. I asked him: “What is that?” Without hesitation, he replied: “Boogie.” And upon further review, he wasn’t kidding.

Carol told us all that Braden Erickson (a kid in our ward) had broken his thumb while doing a blocking drill at football practice. Bailey said in a very serious tone: “So he doesn’t have his thumb anymore?”