Doxey Family Photos

While we were in St. George for our family staycation, we had my friend McKenzi Felt take some family photos for us.  She is amazing and did such a great job, as usual. She took some of just our little family back in 2012 shortly after Oliver was born and we loved how they turned out so much that we were dying for us to do more. I just got them back today and am so happy with them that I wanted to share them on this little blog for posterity.

I can't believe how much our family has grown since we were the original Doxey 6! And I'm sure in a few more years, we will be even bigger. I can't wait for this family to take over the world!!! ;)

Doxey Family Staycation

My side of the family was supposed to get together for a vacation in Newport Beach this summer, but it turned out that we didn't get into the Marriott even though we had requested it a whole year in advance. Plan B was to stay in Palm Desert, but when we really thought about it, we realized that it was going to be way too crazy with 5 grand kids barely 3 and under.  Between coordination all of their naps, we realized that we were barely going to be able to go out and do anything anyway, so instead of driving all the way to California to sit around together, we opted to sit around together at my parent's house in St. George instead. There is plenty of room for all of us there and it was going to be a lot cheaper and a heck of a lot more convenient. We are so glad we went with this option! We had so much fun!

The best part is that we got babysitters to come over 4 or 5 times to take care of our kids while the adults did a few activities together and went out to eat. It was awesome to have some grown up time together without the stress of the kids around. We all took a night to cook dinner so that way, the responsibility was kept at a minimum. 

Here are a few photos from our time together, if you care to take a look.

 After 7 weeks, we finally got to meet our new niece London Jane. She is a doll! She sleeps constantly and when she's not sleeping, she's smiling. I love her to pieces and wish I could snuggle her every day.

Oliver put these sunglasses on himself and insisted on wearing them for a good 20 minutes.  He thinks he's pretty fly.

 This kid is so squishy! I like him best naked so that I can squeeze his soft skin and fat rolls constantly.

Coordinating the outfits for the family picture turned out to be quite the ordeal. The girls spent over an hour going through every outfit and detail.

My parents bought a slip n' slide for the kids. They have a hill in their backyard, so it was perfect for them to slide down and gave it an extra thrill factor. It took a few minutes for them to warm up to it, but they ended up loving it.

 My cute mom planned a family home evening lesson for the kids. She did an "iron rod" activity and strung yarn around the entire basement. They had to follow the yarn and not let go. There was a prize at the end. Eli was really the only one that "got it," but it was fun anyway.

All the kids did an art project together.

 My parents got matching t-shirts made with a different color for each family. It was awesome and even awesomer was the fact that we got a photo where everyone was smiling and looked cute!  Miracle of all miracles!

One of the activities that the adults did without the kids was go target shooting at a shooting range. I was embarrassingly horrible but had fun nonetheless. I had a big bruise on my shoulder the next day to prove it!

 Our neighbor offered her pool to us and we took her up on it a few times. She has an awesome slide.

 Here's Oliver's classic pointing and grunting. 

 All three of my boys are fish. They sure love to swim! We have to be extra careful with Eli this summer because of his ear tubes. He's not allowed to be completely submerged in water. 

Family shot!

The kids weren't the only ones having a great time at the pool!

 Oliver learned how to walk while we were on the trip! I think he did it because he didn't want to feel left out as his brother and all of his cousins were running around the house without him. As soon as he got the courage to do it, he took off and was quick! He had the cutest new confidence and would walk around the house with a mischievous little look in his eye.

I wakeboarded! And got up on my first try! The water was smooth and gorgeous.

Eli loved holding his new cousin London. He was very gentle with her. He loved to go in and watch her while she was taking a nap in her swing. He'd even change the music and the pace for her. It was very helpful, I'm sure. 

My parents had some leftover fireworks from Pioneer Day, so we set them off in the cul-de-sac. Eli wanted so badly to be brave but would take off running as soon as one was lit.

 Here is our attempt to get a picture of our boys with my parents. Haha.

Here is the best shot of my parents with all of their grand kids. Ridiculous, I know, but what do you expect?

On the last day of the trip, we went bowling. My dad was the first to go, and on his first frame, he stepped slightly over the foul line and slipped and fell on the oily lane. He went down pretty hard and hit his head. He was out of it for a second but then got up. As soon as he got up though, he realized he had shooting pain through his back and knew it wasn't good. He laid on the floor of the bowling alley for an hour while we bowled and tried to evaluate how he felt. 

Adam and my brother-in-law helped him out to the car when we were done. The poor guy could hardly walk. After a lot of pain and stiffness, he went in for some x-rays the next day and found out that he had hairline fractures on two of his vertebrae. We all couldn't believe it! A broken back! We're so worried about him, but as far as back injuries go, I guess it could have been a lot worse. He shouldn't have any permanent damage and will hopefully just be out of work for a few weeks. 

We had a great trip and can't wait for the next one! I always cherish the time that we get to spend together because it certainly doesn't happen nearly enough. I love those crazy Doxey's!!!

Oliver: 15 Months Old

Dear Oliver,

Your big accomplishment of the month is that you finally started walking! Just yesterday, the day before your 15 month birthday, it finally clicked. I think you decided to do it because we are in St. George visiting family and you were feeling left out watching all of your cousins run around without you.  You've been trying to keep up with them but since you're still so unsure on your feet, you're always a little behind.  They'll run into one room to play but by the time you get there to join in on the fun, they'll have moved to another.  It's so sad! You walk like a little zombie with your arms straight out for balance and you hardly bend your knees.  It's the cutest thing ever. I have to admit that over the past few weeks, I was starting to get a little worried about you not walking.  I was going to talk to your pediatrician about it and I'm glad I don't have to have that conversation anymore.

You're still not talking much.  You point and grunt at what you want, but other than that, you don't say much.  I know that you understand a lot of what I say though because you can follow a lot of commands.  I can ask you to hand something to me and you will. I can ask you where something is and you'll turn and point to it. You're smart but you just don't like to talk yet. It's okay.  I'm sure you will someday, and until then, I'll just be eagerly waiting to hear what you have to say. ;)

You're still nursing 3 times a day but I've at least stopped pumping morning and night. I feel a lot of pressure from people to stop nursing you, but the truth is, I love it. I want to keep doing it. There's really no reason to stop.  There is nothing better than having your warm, squishy little body curled around my mine while you're eating.  I love having you fall asleep in my arms.  I love watching your fat cheeks and your dark eyelashes. I love that time that we get to spend together.  I cherish it.  I know we can't nurse much longer, so I'm trying to soak up every moment with you that I can.

Let me tell you, you do not like to sit still.  You hate being strapped into a car seat or stroller. All you want to do is walk around and explore. Every time we have gone to St. George lately, you have hysterically bawled for hours in the car. I feel bad that you are being forced to sit still, but if you want to go have fun with your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, you've got to deal with it!

You have 11 teeth - 4 on the top, 4 on the bottom, and 3 of your 4 molars.  The past few molars that have broken through haven't really seemed to bother you much, thankfully.  Your teeth are tiny little chiclets.  They are totally adorable and totally goofy-looking at the same time.  When you grin really big and your teeth show a lot, I can't help but laugh.  You are so dang cute.

You're still sleeping really well when we're home. You still take 2 naps a day and sleep about 11 hours at night.  Eli wakes you up with his annoying yelling at the door every morning and you never seem quite ready to get up when you do.  I'd like to apologize on Eli's behalf for being such a rude, insensitive pig sometimes.  You NEVER fall asleep in the car. Ever.  You haven't done it since you were a newborn. Even if you missed a nap and we have to go somewhere, you won't just doze off in the car on the way.  Hopefully you'll learn that art someday.

Oliver, I freaking love you.  I love your personality.  It is getting so big lately, I can hardly even handle it. You love to dance, laugh, sing, and be silly.  You love your brother and love to do what he's doing.  You're still a mama's boy and are very snuggly.  I simply can't get enough of you.  Thanks for being such a ray of sunshine in our family.  You rock.

Lots of love,
Mama

15 month Stats: 
Weight: 24.4 lbs (46th percentile) 
Height: 31 1/2 inches (57th percentile) 
Head Circumference: 19 inches (77th percentile)

Eli's Current Struggles

We're going through another rough patch with Eli right now.  Man, it seems like it's always something with that kid! I feel like he's completely out of control in three areas: sleeping, pooping, and eating.

Over the past few months, we've been letting him get away with more and more when it's time to go to sleep and it's all accumulated into one hellish mess.  Putting him to sleep for both naps and bedtime takes at least 45 minutes, sometimes even over an hour.  We go through the whole routine with him of reading books, singing songs, saying a prayer, giving him milk, tucking him in, and blowing kisses, but he always wants more.  He stalls, begs, yells, and screams until we give in.  In desperation, we've been giving in because we always think, "Okay, fine.  He'll probably go to sleep with just one more __________." But it's never just one more.  His screaming at his door frequently wakes up Oliver, whose room is right next to him.  I've tried being really strict with him, but then he'll throw things around his room and break them. He's broken multiple sound machines and fans and has even dented the walls. He is a little hellion!

Potty training is not going very well. We've been at it for 6 weeks now and he has yet to poop on the toilet. He will pee on the toilet if we remind him and rarely has accidents, but he has some strong, irrational fear of pooping on the toilet.  I don't know why.  He will literally hold his poop in for days and make himself sick.  He'll lay in bed for days until we're finally forced to give him a glycerin suppository or laxative that will make him go.  Then he poops on the floor.  We're to the point where we lay down newspaper on the bathroom floor and allow him to go on it like a dog.  It's so gross and embarrassing, but we don't know what else to do.  We've tried forcing him on the toilet and holding him down, but he will kick us and thrash around and scream until we let him go.

His eating is the same as always.  He refuses to try new foods.  He will only eat pancakes, waffles, toast, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, yogurt, cold cereal, strawberries, craisins, apples, grapes, string cheese, shredded cheese, crackers, and candy. Getting him to eat these foods is a struggle, it's not like he really eats them willingly on his own. I try doing what I learned at feeding therapy with him, but he will not give in.

I'm not trying to complain, I'm just trying to make a record of what we're struggling with right now with him.  Sometimes I feel like it's all too much to handle but then I have to remind myself that Heavenly Father sent Eli to us for a reason.  There's a reason that he's in our family and not someone else's.  I need to be a patient mom and love him for who he is, quirks and all.