Has it been a month?

I'm back!!! Yes, I know it has been a long time and you are all getting sick of seeing "Happy Birthday, baby girl!" But, it has been a very busy and eventful month for the Tueller Family. Let's start at the beginning....
We found out the Blake has a peanut, nut, and egg allergy. I realized that he might be allergic to peanuts when I gave him his first peanut butter sandwich. His eyes started to get puffy and he kept itching them. He had only had 3 small bites. I took him to the allergist and they confirmed my suspicions. They also let me know that he is allergic to all tree nuts and eggs. Lovely!!! I am not sure I am mature enough to have a child with allergies of this nature. But, I am trying to be on top of it so that he doesn't go into anaphylaxic shock.

On Nicole's birthday, we took her to get her ears pieced. She has been asking us, wait, BEGGING us to get her ears "pursed" since she could barely talk. I am not sure where she gets this girly girly attitude. Definitely not her mother. Anyway, as she was sitting in the chair waiting for them to poke a hole through her flesh, she was cool as a cucumber. I on the other hand was getting hot and sweaty. Good thing it was her and not me.

Football has started! Usually this is a major imposition for our family, because Brendon has to be at practice everyday at 6pm. Which means, that either one or all of us have to drive him to practice and either wait for it to be over or come back and pick him up. None of this is convenient when you have three other children, one being a baby. But, this year, this Momma got smart! I merely suggested to the coach that there is a large park in our neighborhood that would be perfect for a practice location. He agreed, and Brendon rides his bike to practice every day! It is fabulous. He had his first game on Saturday, and they lost! :(
We swam a lot towards the end of summer. Blake even got in the pool.
Nicole had a swim party for her birthday at the pool.
We went boating with our friends and had a great time. Here is my first attempt at surfing. I did let go of the rope, but was only able to stay up a few seconds.
Thought I would throw in this picture of my baby. He is getting so close to walking. He walks around furniture, and will occasionally let go and stand before he drops to his knees. He is so fun right now and we are head over heels for him!
School started on Aug. 25th. Everyone take a collective sigh!!! It was a wonderful day. Brendon and Nicole started a brand new school in our neighborhood. They can walk to school in about 3 min. Brendon is in 5th grade and Nicole is in 3rd grade. Both kids really like their teacher and are enjoying not having to deal with Martha the bus driver!

Hayden started preschool this year. He could not have been more excited. He goes to school on Monday and Wednesday mornings. On the first day of school, he kept saying "Bye, Mom" before we even got to the parking lot. Then as we drove in, he tried to open the door and jump out while the car was still moving. He was definitely not one of those kids missing their mom on the first day!
Brendon was thrilled when he found out that he would have a locker this year. Too cool!
Over Labor Day, we drove up to Redfish Lake near Stanley, Idaho! We recently bought a small pop up trailer that is a major fixer upper! The tent needs to be replaced, but there wasn't enough time before the camping trip. So, like the white trash people that we are, we took a nice roll of duct tape and went to work on the tent. It really looked cool! :) We camped with 5 other families and had a great time. Three of the other families took their boats and the kids had a great time playing on the beach and tubing. This picture was taken at the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery. Notice that a family member is missing? We decided to leave our little Blakey home with a babysitter. When we realized that the overnight temperatures would be in the 30's, we thought Blake might be more comfortable in his warm bed at home. OK, who am I kidding, I really just wanted to enjoy myself and be able to eat s'mores without a 1 year old crawling in the dirt and being cranky because he didn't get a nap. I didn't want to deal with diapers, bottles, pack and plays, high chairs, baby food and crying. It turned out to be a great decision. I think we were all happier. The last night we were there, rain was in the forecast. Joey did a little extra duct taping and we hoped for the best. I woke up at 3am to pouring rain and realized that I was still dry. I was thrilled. The kids woke us up in the morning and said that they were wet. I went to their side of the trailer, and their whole bed was soaking. I have no idea how they slept, because Brendon's pillow was so wet, we could have wrung it out. I opened the door, and saw snow dropping from the sky and snow on the ground. Are you kidding me? August in Idaho and it is snowing! The kids were cold and crying and I was right there with them. Not the crying part, but the cold part. We packed up everything and left. Everything that we had was soaking wet. I guess we will always remember that camping trip.


Finally, we are getting close to the end. Hang in there with me. We are almost done. Last weekend, Nicole was baptized. It was a great weekend. Tom, Jodi and their family drove up from St. George. What a sacrifice. Ten hours in the car with 3 kids under the age of 4. I don't know how you did it, but you guys are awesome. Thanks for coming and sharing.

My parents also flew up for the weekend, and we had a great time with them. It is so fun to have supportive families. Karl and Mary Ann, Mike, Aubrey and Family, and Snyders and George Huff also attended the baptism. Joey baptized and confirmed her and she felt very special. This is her good friend Brooklyn Hunt. She was also baptized on September 6th.
For some reason, my camera setting must have gotten switched between these pictures, because all of the individual pictures of Nicole are really grainy. Lovely!
Well, that is it. Why I haven't blogged in so long. We have been super busy and having a great time. Everyone is healthy and happy. Joey and I feel very blessed to have such great friends and a wonderful family.