Ashton ~ 1 day old

Renee called us last night while we were at the park to say she had a fever and an infection, and the baby had been taken for x-rays on his lungs. She asked if my dad and Scott could give her and baby Ashton a blessing in the morning. She was pretty anxious about the x-rays and Ashton's lungs.

We met my parents at the hospital at 10 this morning to see Renee and the baby. Ashton is so tiny that dad and Scott could only put their finger tips on his head instead of their hands. I held him in my hands while dad and Scott gave him a blessing.

Renee is doing better today, but poor little Ashton has an IV in his hand. For as small as he is, he has a good grip already and is able to hold his head up for a bit. Yesterday, as soon as he was born, and the cord cut, they put him under the lights as they cleaned him up. Somehow he had gotten a hold of the cap for the Zinc Oxide they put in the babies eyes, and he wouldn't let go!

Mom and Dad were thrilled to see the baby after all Renee had gone through to have him. They still get excited, though Ashton is like their 26th or so great grand child!

Grandpa and Grandma Great see Ashton for the first time. Grandpa Scott finally holds his new grandson. Scott was afraid to hold him at first for fear he would break because he is so small. Renee and Ashton. Isn't he a doll!

Ashton gets a Blessing.

Baby Ashton, 1 day old.

July 4, 2008 ~ Waiting for the Fireworks

Happy Birthday ~ America!!!!!

We went to the park by my parents house to watch the Fireworks from the Stadium of Fire. This is a great spot as we park at mom and dad's and walk down to the park, and it only takes about 10 minutes to get home as we miss most of the traffic. It is a great view of the fireworks too, and we do not hurt our necks by having to look far up since we are uphill more from the stadium.

We gathered our things, stopped at KFC and got some chicken and stuff, and met at the park. This time I lucked out and found a parking spot right next to the park. It made it a lot easier to get the stuff to where we were sitting, and Scott was able to walk that little distance and carry one of the chairs. It was nice and a bit cloudy and a little windy, so it was pretty comfortable after being 100+ degrees all week.

We love to watch the kids run aroung and play. The cousins all get along pretty well and like to play together. It reminds me a lot of when my kids were small and we would come back to visit inbetween assignments or for the holidays and our kids were close to their cousins.

Poor Jordan was so tired that he climbed up my recliner and into my arms to give me a hug, and he fell asleep on my shoulder. I loved it as he is shy and doesn't come to me much. He slept through all the Fireworks, even the finale, which is an awesome display of fireworks.

After we got home, Joey lit off a few firecrackers he still had. Spence had come over with the kids and they enjoyed watching them set off. Pyper gets excited about the Fireworks. After Joey was done, we just sat on the front porch. Pyper and Jordan kept hearing firecrackers set off in the distance, and would try to see where they were. They were pretty tired though as they had a pretty eventful weekend as well with being with Jon, Bri and the kids while Renee was in labor. They are really anxious to see their mommy and baby brother today.

Kaisa kept running off or getting into things so Jon would chase her and pull her back. After quite a few times, he put her over his shoulders upside down to keep her from running off. Kaitlyn, Pyper, Kaisa and Isaac have fun playing with glow sticks.
Gage was quite content to just play with a cup and straw! Gage is 18 1/2 months old now.
Pyper takes over my chair while I am taking pictures.

Our picnic in the park while waiting for the fireworks to start.Joe and Briezie Spencer has Jordan in a stroller so he doesn't have to chase him that much!
Jon, Brie, Kaitlyn, Kaisa, Gage and Pyper watch Joe lighting off some firecrackers. Great Grandpa and Grandma Sykes watch the great grandkids run around and play.

Great Grandpa Sykes had his 4th of July hat on that has a flag that lights up. Pyper was so entrigued with it and asked Grampa Great where the "button" was. My dad pointed to his nose and said "It's right here!"

That was his first mistake! Then he showed Pyper and Kaitlyn how the hat went on and off when they "tweaked" his nose. He held the hat in his hand and every time they tweaked his nose he turned it on and then off. They were so enthralled with it that poor Granpa Great had a pretty sore nose after a while. Well, after all, there were 6 great grandchildren there that had to see the hat go on and off!

I bet he thinks twice before saying that again!