Party of Five

Kylee is 2

2010-10-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Kylee!
Her day started by waking up to a room filled with balloons. Don't worry we didn't fill her bed while she was asleep. We did it later while playing in them.

Doesn't she look so big?? What happened to my baby?

I am not sure what Peyton is doing in this photo but the other two look cute.

I actually make this cake for her. It was one of those funfetti cake mixes. Then I made a pink strawberry layer of frosting in the middle. Then I covered the whole thing with a lot of chocolate frosting and sprinkles. It was really good!

You might be wondering about the outfit? It was a present. Her very own dress up dress with wings. (not one of Peyton's) and she couldn't wait to put it on once she opened it.

Here she is opening a few presents. She sized up the dress and then immediately took her clothes off to try it on.

A Barbie motorized 4 wheeler!

First Day of school

2010-10-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

So I know it has been a few weeks...ok months since I have updated my blog. But I figure better late than never. Here are Landen and Peyton on their first day of school. Landen is in 2nd grade and Peyton is in preschool for one more year. They were both very excited to start at new schools this fall. I wish I could say I felt the same. I was very anxious for both of them. But of course they both did fine and have made lots of new friends. But don't worry they haven't forgotten their friends from Michigan. They talk about them often.

The Hooding Ceremony

2010-05-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

Receiving his Hood

Hooding Ceremony Pictures

2010-05-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

Aric with the Dean and Dr. Walling after receiving his Doctoral Hood.

Aric and Coleman Anderson

Kelly, Aric, Brian and Coleman

Aric's Hooding Ceremony

2010-05-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

It isn't a long video but I thought you would like to see a little of the graduation. This is at the end of the ceremony.

End of the Year Concert

2010-05-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of the year Landen's school puts on a short production. Here is a small video clip. I took pictures of everything else. I just happen to catch him and our friend Brooke taking bows after their singing.

Just a little of our chaos

2010-04-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!

2010-03-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

Trip to the Dentist

2010-03-10T14:03:00.001-08:00

Landen felt he needed to help with "Mr. Thirsty" and assist the hygienist.

Happy to say both kids left cavity free!

Pigtails

2010-03-03T11:48:00.001-08:00

Kylee's hair is finally long enough to put into two pigtails. I couldn't help but try and get a few pictures before she started pulling out the rubber bands. She loves playing with these babies...that is why it is in every picture. And she is getting real good at giving kisses!

Eye exams with Dad

2010-02-18T08:35:00.001-08:00

Ice Skating

2010-01-01T18:36:00.000-08:00

I decided to take Landen ice skating the other day...and he loved it. Half of the way around the rink he was getting frustrated because he wanted to skate as well as all the other kids. I told him we had to come again so he could practice more. Although by the end of the 2 hours he was doing pretty well. He only fell a "few" times, and only made me fall once.

So the next time we went ice skating I decided to take Peyton. The rink had these neat metal "trainers" that the kids can skate with while they are learning. Peyton used this the first time around then she decided she didn't need it. She did amazing! She didn't want the trainer, didn't want to hold my hand and at times didn't want me to even skate next to her. This was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed it. We went one more time on New Year's Day. It is amazing how much the kids improve each time we go. Maybe lessons someday...

Kylee and Aric hung out in the bleachers and watched. Actually Aric spent most of his time chasing Kylee around the bleachers.

Peyton feeling the Christmas spirit

2009-12-16T13:38:00.000-08:00

Santa Train

2009-12-16T11:41:00.000-08:00

This last Saturday we went on a train ride. Here is Aric and the kids waiting in Santa's sleigh for the train to arrive. We rode the train for about an hour, the kids got to see Santa and a Princess read the story "The Polar Express". Besides being a little cold, it was pretty fun.

Santa did a great job. He was definitely jolly and had real beard. The kids seem to really like him. Landen told him he wanted a train for Christmas(surprise, surprise) and Peyton told him she wanted a new Barbie. Kylee doesn't seem to care yet. He handed out Teddy bear stuffed animals to all the kids. The kids are quite attached to those bears. They won't go to bed without them.

Landen with our train conductor, Tom.

Happy Birthday Grandpa

2009-12-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

Kylee's favorite thing to do (press play to watch video)

2009-12-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

The many faces of Peyton

2009-11-22T15:10:00.001-08:00

I was playing with the camera and decided to try and take some candid pictures of Peyton and I. I was holding the camera so I couldn't see her face. I think these pictures really show a little of Peyton's personality. These were the pictures I got.

Oh Peyton

2009-11-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

Lately Peyton has been waking up in the morning in just her underwear. She has told me she gets too hot when she sleeps and has to take off her pajamas. So the other night, I went in to check on her before I went to bed..... this is what I saw. LOL

I just couldn't resist taking a picture.

Halloween Costumes

2009-11-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

Just a few photos from the Branch Trunk or Treat. Landen was Superman again. Peyton was Cinderella and Kylee was an angel. It only took a few loving taps to her hand to keep her from taking the Halo off. By the time we got to the church she had forgotten it was there and left it on all night. This was the first of many Halloween activities for us, so by the time Halloween came around...we were about Halloweened out!

Peyton's friend Whitney was Snow white. Although this might look like my costume...I had just gotten off work and didn't have time to change.

I laugh out loud every time I look at this picture. Peyton's giving us a little "what, what". Charlotte is just chillin in the background and I don't know what Whitney is doing. :)

She won this cupcake in the cake walk. Next you will see that black frosting was a bad idea...

...And the delicious black frosting

Landen picking out his black frosting cupcake

They had pumpkin bowling outside. Landen loved it. He was out doing this most of the time.

My dad so kindly handed out the candy at the trunk, while I took Peyton around to all the other cars. Landen just ran from car to car. And Grandma took Kylee around to get her own little stash.

Pumpkin Carving

2009-11-01T17:46:00.001-08:00

And now it is Kylee's turn to get in on the action.

The end result...not too shabby. Landen and I cut out the big pumpkin. Peyton dug out the guts on the little one and Grandpa carved it.

Carving Pumpkins with Grandma & Grandpa

2009-11-01T14:24:00.001-08:00

Carving Pumpkins

Peyton had to draw a sketch of what she wanted her Jack O Lantern face to look like. "Then Grandpa would know how to carve it right".

Halloween with Grandma & Grandpa

2009-11-01T14:13:00.000-08:00

Halloween Gingerbread Houses

Notre Dame vs Washington Huskies

2009-10-13T18:07:00.001-07:00

So Mike flew into Detroit last week to visit. He and Aric had the opportunity to go to the Notre Dame verses Washington Huskies football game. Apparently it was quite the game to watch. The game went into overtime with Notre Dame finally winning. Aric said actually being there was better than he ever imagined it would be! Here is a photo of them in the Stadium with the score board and "touch down Jesus" in the background. Landen and Peyton were at home impatiently awaiting uncle Mika Mike's arrival. So whenever they would ask how much longer until they got home...I would have them check the game on TV to see if it was done yet. Then they would watch for a few minutes to see if they could find them in the stands. Finally when the game was over they new it was just the three hour drive until Dad and Mike would be there. Unfortunately, it took longer than we thought so the kids had to go to bed before they got home. They were not very happy with me. Needless to say, because of the children's excitement to see Uncle Mike, he had a very early wake up call the next morning!

Cake!

2009-10-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

This is one of Kylee's presents. A cute bear hat with gloves.

Kylee did not get messy enough for Aric...so he helped her with the cake.

She was just taking little pinches of cake. Being very neat. We had to mush her hand in it a bit then cut her a little piece from her cake to eat.

Finally done and ready for a bath!

More Birthday Party

2009-10-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of Kylee opening presents.

And then playing with a present.

Kylee is ONE!

2009-10-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

Kylee is officially one year old. We had a small birthday party with some of our friends the Saturday before her birthday so Aric could be there to celebrate. We had an icecream cake from DQ and opened presents. Kylee had her very own cake to dig into(more pictures to come). I thought she would be more into tearing open the presents but she wasn't all that interested. Although she had lots of help by siblings and friends trying to help open presents too. And once one toy was opened she just wanted to play. Which makes pleasing a 12 month old very easy! So my baby is one...this year went fast. The years seem to be going by a lot faster than they used to. Kylee has been walking for a month now and babbling all kinds of sentences. However at 12 months she only has three teeth! She is pretty much over baby food and just wants the real stuff. But with only her three teeth it makes difficult to eat all the food she wants. I am quite surprised at all the items she manages to gum to death so she can swallow it. Here are just a few photos. I will post more soon...there were so many I have to space them out!

Our friends at the party: Dawson, Brooke, Landen, Whitney, Peyton, Charlotte and of course Kylee!

Peyton's 1st day of Preschool

2009-09-10T19:35:00.001-07:00

Peyton started preschool today! Well...yesterday but that was just an orientation. She seems to really like it. It is the same preschool that Landen went to. Her two best friends are also in her class, Whitney and Charlotte. Today she got to ride the bus to and from preschool and thought that was so cool. The bus she rides is quite small and each seat even has a five point seat belt for the kids. She told Landen and I tonight that "she has to ride the little bus because she is little. And when she gets big she will ride the big bus like Landen's". She is just so sweet! I can't believe she is in "school". Where does the time go?

1st Day of 1st Grade!

2009-09-08T19:09:00.001-07:00

Nothing like mom trying to take pictures at 7:15 in the morning. Today was Landen's first day of 1st grade. He said he had a good day...but it was only a half day. Hopefully he remembers how much he enjoyed it, at 6:50 tomorrow morning.

Landen's Night at the Fair

2009-08-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

My friend and I took our sons for a boys night out at the fair. We bought them wristbands so they could go on all the rides as many times as they wanted. Landen's favorite ride is the swings. He went on those over and over again.

The kids love this ride. It is a small track that goes around and around but they get to pick their own car and "steer". The "carnie" said Kylee could go too. So I let her.

Landen really liked this little monkey. If you gave him a quarter, the monkey would give you a high five.

Kylee's 1st Oreo

2009-08-15T19:45:00.001-07:00

Not even Kylee can resist the delicious taste of an Oreo.

More fair....

2009-08-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

Here is some proof that we did take the other two kids with us to the fair. Kylee had an exciting time sitting in her stroller....although she loved watching the animals. She really liked petting the bunnies. Landen didn't ride any rides this time. My friend Amanda and I took Landen and her son, Dawson, for a boys outing to the fair a different night(pictures to come).

FAIR cont....

2009-08-09T18:07:00.001-07:00

Aric and I have decided that Peyton must have some kind of quiet aggression that occasionally she lets out. And she definitely took it out on these poor baby goats. She kept grabbing them, pulling on their necks and little goatee hairs, holding their mouths closed while they "baaa" at her. It was hilarious. Aric and I couldn't stop from laughing. It was almost as though she was taunting them just to see what they would do. Even the ones with huge horns didn't stop her. She even tried messing with a huge llama but Aric and I stopped that one from going too far. She is this cute little angel with big blue eyes but I'm afraid there is a little beastie trapped inside. In the above picture she is pulling the goats head up so he could be in the picture. Look at the determination/anger on her face!

Again pulling on this one so he couldn't get away from her.

She is holding this one's mouth closed.

And this one holding it up against the fence so he also could not run away.

FAIR cont....

2009-08-09T18:00:00.001-07:00

We ran into some people at the fair that Aric worked with in his optometry clinics. They were showing their pig at the fair so we went to check it out. Peyton got to ride it. She was a little nervous but quickly warmed up to it. She loved to petting them and playing with their nasty feet, as you will see in the next pictures. Landen didn't want anything to do with it. He was too concerned about finding the cotton candy.

Big Rapids Fair

2009-08-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

The Big Rapids Fair was in July...so of course we had to go(Not much else going on).We went as a family and let Peyton go on a few rides. The fair doesn't offer too much besides animals, rides and food. So we had to see all the animals.

Peyton's New Hair-Do

2009-07-14T19:28:00.001-07:00

For all of you sick people who want pictures of my daughter's recent hair cut, here you are. This was a very sad day! This is what happens when you teach your child to cut out the rubber bands when they get stuck in your hair. You might get more than just the rubber band! So how long does it take for hair cut an inch from the scalp to grow back?? :(

Holey SMILE!

2009-07-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

And...there goes the other one. Once again I managed to trick Landen into letting me "wiggle" his loose tooth. It was just getting too ridiculous. It had practically moved to the other side of his mouth. So I again layed him on the couch to "wiggle" it. This one didn't come out as easily. He groaned in pain for just a minute then was fine. Am I a mean Mom or what? So here are a few pictures. Some a little more graphic than others. You can actually see his permanent teeth coming in already!

HAPPY 9 MONTHS KYLEE

2009-06-30T18:03:00.000-07:00

Kylee is officially 9 months old today. Where does the time go? The way she has been moving...I'm afraid she will be walking long before I am ready. She has been such a blessing in our lives and is always so happy. We couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. We love you Kylee!

Sleepy Time

2009-06-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

These are those quiet moments that make the rest of the crazy day worth it!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY ARIC

2009-06-24T10:20:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day! Hopefully Aric was able to having a relaxing day. Even though he had to stay after church for "church business". He came home to lunch, ready and waiting, then got to take a nap. I made his requested crab legs and sauteed mushrooms for dinner. As a family we went to the park and played on the toys and took a short walk. When we got home the kids and I made him his favorite dessert- chocolate chips cookies. And I am pretty sure he didn't have to change a single diaper today. Sounds like a good day to me.

Just some cute pictures of Peyton and Landen posing for the camera.

Wiggly Tooth

2009-06-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

Landen has had a very wiggly front tooth for sometime now. Two days ago he finally let me pull it. When I say "let me", I mean I layed him on the couch and told him I was just going to "wiggle" it. The little thing just popped right out. The first day he looked so cute with his missing tooth. However, now the remaining tooth has moved towards the new space and has become quite loose too. One side is more loose than the other, making one side droop down. So when he smiles nice and big it almost looks like he has one of those halloween fake billy bob set of teeth in! I can't wait until this one falls out too!

T-Ball

2009-06-17T17:15:00.001-07:00

Hey batter, batter! Landen is loving T-ball. This is his first year playing and does pretty well. These games are very entertaining to watch. The kids are all over the place. My favorite is when a ball is hit almost every child runs to get the ball and some will fight over it.

Here he is playing first base.

And then throwing home

Runners on third...

Taking it home!

The rest of us just enjoying the game. Kylee thinks she is so big. She pulls herself up and stands against EVERTHING!

Peyton's Birthday

2009-05-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here is my baby! Already three years old. We had a Birthday party before all of her friends went out of town for the summer. So it wasn't actually on her birthday. We went to our apartment community center. We grilled food, had the traditional pinata, presents and a Princess cake. The kids mostly mostly played on the toys outside and the adults played the Wii. Fun was had by all!

FRIENDS: Dawson, Whitney, Peyton, Landen, Charlotte and Brooke

Sleeping Beauty Barbie with fairies

A new baby that coos, and talks. Peyton loves the interaction. When the baby senses movement, it talks. The baby's carrier changes into 5 different things too.

New Car

2009-05-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

Well I guess she is about a month old now but here is our new car. 2004 Dodge Durango. We bought it Easter weekend and we love it. It has a third row and so much more room than our car. We recently took it on our first vacation. We packed it full and still had room for Aric to sit in the back seat to stretch out and attend to the children. It has plenty of cup holders(a huge necessity) and each seat has it's own air vent (my favorite feature). This is my kind of "minivan".

MUD!

2009-05-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

One minute she can be pretty pretty princess...the next she is getting down and dirty with the best of them. Landen loves to make mud puddles in the flower bed next to our apartment. And then drive his trains and cars through it. Peyton just wanted to get in the mud.

Easter

2009-04-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

Easter morning. No candy on the outfits...yet.

We decorated this Easter Bunny house with some friends. It is like a gingerbread house, except this one is made with sugar cookies.

It is amazing how the older the kids get, the less mess we have when decorating eggs.

Kylee's first attempt at baby food!

2009-04-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

I couldn't narrow down which pictures to use...so I chose all of them. We tried some delicious squash for her first meal. As suspected, she wasn't a big fan. She is still working on the concept of swallowing instead of having her tongue push it all back out. So needless to say we got a little messy and needed a bath afterwards.

I am pretty sure she is gagging in this shot.

Slowly recovering...

I don't think I want anymore
Yep, I am sure I don't want anymore!

Kylee's Blessing Day

2009-03-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

When my parents were here we blessed Kylee. Apparently is was still too early in the morning because we all still look half alseep. Well...except for my mom.

100 Days of Kindergarten

2009-03-04T14:54:00.000-08:00

Landen celebrated his 100th day of school last week. He made these hats in his class. He was so proud of it. He even wore it all the way home on the school bus.

Grandma and Grandpa's Visit

2009-02-23T13:38:00.000-08:00

My Mom and Dad came to visit at the end of January. This was the first time my Dad has been able to come out to Michigan to see us. There was a lot of snow on the ground. I think it got down to -11 and never above freezing while they were here...Welcome to a Michigan Winter. But we made the best of all the snow!

CranHill Ranch

2009-02-23T12:57:00.000-08:00

We got to play in the snow quite a bit. On Saturday we went to CranHill Ranch. They had pony rides, 3 different sledding hills, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, wagon rides, ice rock wall you could climb and a hotdog and chili dinner. The best part was it was all FREE! It was a lot of fun. It was fun seeing Grams and Gramps take over the sledding hills.

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Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-26T12:48:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Unfortunately it started a little earlier in the day than Aric and I would have liked. Landen woke up at 3am and wanted to go see if Santa had come yet. I sent him back to bed for a few hours. He came back in at 7am ready to go open presents. He crawled into bed with us and about every half hour asked if we could get up. So we finally gave in about 8:15, woke up Peyton and went downstairs. Needless to say we all took naps later that day.

2008-12-26T12:43:00.000-08:00

As you will tell from the next few photos, Peyton has really started to love all the "princess" and dress up stuff. So guess what most of her presents were this year?!

2008-12-26T12:32:00.000-08:00

Branch Christmas Party December 19, 2008

2008-12-26T12:20:00.000-08:00

Playing with our friends in the snow. Dawson, Landen, Whitney, Brooke, Peyton and Charlotte.

HELLO....Winter!!

2008-12-09T13:58:00.000-08:00

So it started snowing Monday night and hasn't stopped as of 5pm Tuesday night. According to the weatherman it isn't supposed to stop until midnight. And I am pretty sure winter doesn't officially start until December 20th. Of course, school was cancelled today so we headed out to go sledding. However the snow was too deep and powdery to actual sled. So we just played outside with our friends.

Isn't she the cutest?!

Peyton could hardly walk. The snow was almost as deep as she is tall.

Landen is standing is this picture.

Landen on his sled with his friend Keaton.

Peyton with our neighbor Brooke.

Our car is under there somewhere.

Dinner on the grill anyone?

This is the picnic
table
outside our
apartment.

This is what Kylee does while the rest of us are out in the snow. And yes that is a bottle she is drinking!!! She finally started taking a bottle last week. And of course it is the expensive kind with expensive accessories. Thanks for the bottle advice...Playtex drop-ins worked great!

2008-11-30T20:09:00.000-08:00

On Labor Day we took a trip to Lake Michigan. I think it ended up being the hottest day of the summer. But it was perfect beach weather. It was almost hot enough to make the cold lake feel good. The kids had a blast. We probably built three different sand castles. When I say we, I mean Aric and the kids. I dug a big hole in the sand for my 9 month prego belly to fit in and layed on my stomach. A luxury I had been missing for a few months. This was such a fun and relaxing day. Unfortunatley Aric and Landen had to start school the next day, bye bye summer!

2008-11-29T15:39:00.000-08:00

It has been rather cold here in Michigan lately. We have already had a few inches of snow. However the kids have loved playing in it already. All of this cold weather has made us reminisce of warmer days. Grandma Janet and Grandpa came to visit us in August. We went miniature golfing, to the zoo, the children's museum and lots of fun stuff. Here are a few pictures from their stay.

2008-11-25T08:18:00.000-08:00

Big brother and sister can't get enough of Kylee. They each love to hold her and smother her. Kylee does well with all of the "loving" attention she gets from her siblings. However she won't take a bottle or pacifer which is very frustrating. I have tried a couple of different bottle types and she takes them for a minute then gets very mad. If any one has any advice on getting her to take a bottle or bottle type please let me know!

2008-11-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

Ahhh! Our newest addition that officially makes us a family of five. Scary! Kylee Sue Robertson born September 30th 2008. She was 8 lbs. 6 ounces and 21 inches.

Mom and Kylee doing very well after only 4 hours of labor.

Kylee was having her first photo shoot with Grandma Doris and the beautiful blanket that Grandma crocheted for her.

The Robertson family. This was the fastest labor I have ever had. My water was broken and 1pm and Kylee was here at 5pm. Unfortunately my epidural did not take and then I had to have another short term type of epidural. This one worked and was wonderful. However the following day I got a really bad headache. Which later I found out is a side effect of an epidural, a spinal headache. I can't even explain how painful this headache is. So I had to have a spinal blood patch to replace the lost spinal fluid. It worked for a day then the headaches came back. Fortunately my mom was here because I was pretty much flat on my back for about a week until my body replenished the spinal fluid on its own. Worst headache ever but I would do an epidural again. Labor pain was much worse!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-24T11:17:00.001-08:00

Landen hates touching the pumkin insides but Peyton loved digging it out. Landen used one of those special pumkin cutters and cut out his pumkin face all by himself.

We went trick or treating around the apartments where we live. However had the trick or treating door to door on Thursday the 30th. So of course we had to go out again on Friday, since that was actually Halloween. We went to our friends house and trick or treated in their neighbor hood then stayed and played games and ate lots of food. Needless to say we got more than enough candy this year.