Patrick Family

Christmas Letter

2011-12-19T21:21:00.001-08:00

This year we are only sending out our letter digitally.

Visiting with Santa

2011-12-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving there is always a very short parade in Parowan with the highlight being Santa. Katie and Abbie both got to ride in the Fire Truck and throw candy then visit with Santa. For the first time ever Abigail was not afraid of Santa Claus and actually sat on his lap and asked for "a dolly with brown hair" to go with Katie's "doll with yellow hair and a pony with yellow hair."

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

We had a fun filled day. First getting the girls dressed, it took me about a half hour to do Abigail's hair- she doesn't hold still very well. Then we went and visited Grammie and Aunt Tia at their schools. We carved our pumpkin, which is named Pumpkin Lucy this year, grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed out to gather candy. We first went to the ward Trunk or Treat where I stayed with the car and the Patrick's took the girls around. I was surprised when Abbie came back with more candy than Kate. Apparently Katie was a little picky with her choices of candy. Afterward we drove around to a couple friend's and Richie's parents. We tried to Trick or Treat on our own block, but no one was home. After putting the tired girls to be we finished off the day with making the traditional Rice Krispy Treats.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-31T10:49:00.000-07:00

We went with our friends to a pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkin for this year. The one we planted in our garden got eaten before it could grow very big. The girls enjoyed the things they had set up for pictures more than they liked picking a pumpkin. It was a chilly day so we got to bundle up in our cute hats and scarves. Now we need to actually carve that pumpkin.

Deer Hunt

2011-10-31T10:45:00.000-07:00

Carrie, Katie and Abbie were able to go with the Barton's up to the cabin for the opening of the Deer Hunt. After a couple of days at the cabin Katelynn decided that she liked it there, but still missed her house. The girl's favorite thing to do was swing, of course, and Grandma spent many hours out pushing them.

It's Official

2011-09-15T15:06:00.001-07:00

We had our ultrasound today and were able to take a peek at our little one. After checking out so many things we found out that we are having a very healthy little GIRL. Katie and Abbie have been saying that we are having a little sister since we told them we were pregnant, and of course they are right. This also marks our 20th week, meaning we have made it to the half way point in the pregnancy. Now I guess Jed will buckle down and help me with a name and we better start getting things ready. The ultrasound tech said that according to the numbers our due date is closer to February 3rd, but I think I will stick with the due date of January 31st.

Swimming Lessons

2011-09-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

So after we got back from a week in Lake Powell then we had out swimming lessons. Abigail and I took a Mommy and Me class and Katelynn took her very first class. They learned to put their face in the water and blow bubbles. Practiced floating on their back, moving their arms and legs and tried to look under water (that didn't happen for my girls). They both did not like going off of the slide or jumping off of the diving board, both had to be coaxed/helped off.

Lake Powell 2011

2011-08-29T09:53:00.001-07:00

We went to Lake Powell with our Barton family and my Uncle Eric Staley's family the first week in August.

Katie's Dance Recital

2011-05-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

Katie had her very first dance recital. She looked beautiful and danced okay. Jed had very low expectations so he thought she did fabulous, I had a little higher so wasn't quite as impressed with my 4 year-old's attention span.

This is her in her costume and with her friend Elsa Huff.

Easter 2011

2011-04-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

I just had to share some of our fun Easter pictures. We went to the ward Easter Egg Hunt, colored eggs with the family and have to show off the girl's cute Easter dresses, the benefit of being a little girl.

Medical Maladies

2011-04-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Katie has been having problems with her tonsils for a little over two years now and when she was 2 we removed her adenoids, but she was too little to remove her tonsils. So after a couple years of slow growth, she is still a little girl, we decided to remove the tonsils. The surgery went well and they ended up removing a portion of her adenoids again, the recovery was not the funnest event though. After many years of taking her medicine beautifully and often just having to hand her the syringe we had to hold her down and force her to take her medicine every few hours. Only a couple days after Katie's surgery Abbie got into the dishwasher, got out a steak knife and cut her finger open. So we had to take her to the doctor and get three stitches. Luckily Katie was doing quite well after a week.

April Birthdays

2011-04-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

April is always a busy month for us with Abbie, Jed and Katie's birthdays being so close together. This year we added another fun birthday to the mix, our first niece and cousin, Kaisley Nicole Isaacson, was born.

For Jed's 30th Birthday I pulled out my cake making skills and made him a candied pecan cake. Which I then turned into an I-pad, one of his new tech obsessions.

The girls are in love with the Disney movie Tangled. It is so much fun to watch them watch the movie as they have to sing and act it out as well. So for their birthday cake I decided to make them a Rapunzel tower and I was determined to make it all out of cake. It probably could have been taller, etc if I had made it out of Rice Krispies, but I really enjoyed the challenge of getting it as tall as I could with cake.

Kids & Phots, arg

2011-03-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to get my 3 favorite girls on the planet in photographs together. Lets just say that it hasn't been going well.

Individually they take pictures fine, except for Carrie who does not like me taking her picture, but when you put them together both Katelynn and Abigail tend to move all over the place.

I love having kids so very much, it is such a great experience.

The Two Mess Makers

2011-02-21T20:20:00.001-08:00

Our two sweet children have discovered a brand new hobby, they make messes.

It does not take them long to make the mess, which is good for them and bad for us.
A funny side note to their mess making is that Katelynn tends to blame Abigail for all of the messes. As you see here, Katelynn is not so innocent as she seems to be.

Having Children is such an adventure.

Old Halloween

2010-12-22T09:32:00.001-08:00

I was sure that we had posted Halloween, but apparently not. We had the great blessing to be able to go to Disneyland with all our Patrick family the week before Halloween. So Kate and Abbie got to dress up (with Aunt Tia) and trick-or-treat in Disneyland. Then we came back to Paragonah and they got to trick-or-treat with the Barton family. We were not lacking in candy for a while. Katie went as Jessie the yodeling cowgirl (thanks to Grammy and all the costume fixes) and Abba was Tinkerbell. Before we left we made sure that we carved the pumpkin we grew in our very own garden. Katie named him Rudolph (she seems to like that name) because he had a nose that glowed.

Katie & Abbie isms Day 2 (DisneyLand)

2010-11-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a family trip to Disney. Today is Disney themed Katie and Abbie Isims

Katieisim
After seeing Jack Skelington during the Halloween fireworks
"I don't Like him"......"I like Cinderella".
I didn't know the two were comparable.

Abbieism
After seeing Disneys carousel Abbie repeated over and over "Horse, horse, horse" So we took her on it. Sat her down on the horse, she bounced, and said "Horse" with a sound of satisfaction.

Katie & Abbie isms Day 1

2010-11-03T07:09:00.001-07:00

Since our blog is called the "Patrickisims" I thought I would start a new blog idea. My children are growing up very very fast and they say the cutest things. So for the next few months I will be posting the Katie and Abbie isms.

Katie Isim 1

When I grow up I want to be as big as you daddy, while placing her finger on my stomach. Innocent yes, but very very funny.

AbbieIsim 1

Abbie shakes her head for everything, especially when she doesn't want to eat something. Last night I, her father, thought I would be sneaky and hide some food she didn't want to eat inside of the pudding she did. OF course without thought as to taste
Abbie Shook her head, stuck out her tongue, and gave me the look of "DAD THAT WAS DUMB!"

Katie & Abba

2010-09-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

I finally arranged for our good friend and hairdresser to take the girls yearly pictures. Here is a preview.

Lake Powell

2010-08-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures of our trip to Lake Powell. My uncle Matt won a trip on a 70 foot house boat and so generously he invited some of our family. Our family was able to come and Jed and the girls experienced their first time sleeping under the stars on the top of the house boat. Kate liked the water, except for when she actually went under. Abbie liked it in very short stints. But Katie absolutely loved riding on the kayaks and would sit there while anyone would paddle her around. She also liked playing in Abbie's ladybug floaty because it kept her out of the water a little more. We had a lot of fun watching everyone else ski and wake board but the hit was the slide and almost EVERYONE on the trip went down it. The last night we made fruit pina coladas and margaritas and danced, the girls taking center stage a lot of the time.

Owwie

2010-08-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

While we were at the Staley Family reunion at Bear Lake (which was fabulous) Abbie tumbled out of the 5th Wheel and managed to cut her head open. Thank goodness Grandma was prepared, as always, and was able to suture tape her head closed.

Paragonah

2010-08-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

Jed and I went down to Tuchan to see Tarzan and while we did that my family watched the girls. I don't think they felt left out of anything as they helped on the farm and played.

Rodeo Champ

2010-08-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

On July 22nd the girls and I went to the Days of 47 Rodeo with my family, while Jed was performing in The Music Man. Unbeknown to us that it was "Fiesta Night" so the whole "Intermission entertainment" was some people dancing, poorly to Spanish music. Not exactly up to the jumping motorcycles of previous years. Besides that it was one of the best rodeos we have ever been to. The stock was amazing, we have never seen horses buck so well, and they stayed on!
Us sitting in our seats. Which were pretty amazing, right close to the chutes.

Figured I better put in a picture of the actual rodeo.

Uncle Travis and the girls.

Katie quite enjoyed the rodeo, it just needed to be about an hour shorter for her. She has a book about a rodeo and spent the whole time talking about the "Rodeo Champ".

Abbie's favorite part was the food and she made friends all around us and begged them for food too. This is her "cheese" for the camera, there were random people taking pictures of her, guess that is a compliment.

We have food

2010-07-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

It is official we have picked our first vegetable from our garden! Of course it is a zucchini. Steamed half of it last night and it was great!

Come to my Garden. . .

2010-07-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

For one of our summer projects we decided we wanted to plant a garden but of course we couldn't just plant in the space already behind our house. This is the starting space and Katie and Abbie out ready to help us.
So first we pulled all the weeds and then Jed and I lugged the heavy rail road ties and set them in place then filled them with "bought dirt".
Katie wanted to plant carrots and so for quite a while every plant was "carrots". We planted green peppers, tomatoes, green beans, onions, 2 types of squash, zucchini, a pumpkin, potatoes, corn and of course carrots.
This is the boxes today. Looking pretty good-- I can see a green pepper, 3 tomatoes and 4 zucchini. Yea for us!

The Music Man

2010-07-15T12:10:00.001-07:00

I figured I should say something about our musical this year. It has been a little more busy with me being the President-Elect and Jed in the show as Charlie Cowell. But as always it is so much fun to help (Jed even painted set) and see it all come together, well we hope, tonight is opening night.

The show is at Maple Mountain High School, Spanish Fork and it is running July 15-17, 22-23 & 26 at 7:30pm, with a matinee on July 24 at 4:00pm.
Come and see the amazing talent, especially JED!

Crazy summer

2010-07-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

So life has been a little crazy lately. Abigail has learned to walk and is getting into EVERYTHING especially if I get out the computer. And it also is time for our yearly Spanish Fork Community Theater production. Which usually keeps us very busy; but this year Jed is also in the show, The Music Man, as Charlie Cowell. This has been fun because Katie absolutely LOVES musicals and will sing a lot of the songs from the show and asks almost every night to "go see Daddy's show".

Dancing Kate

2010-06-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

I failed to mention that in June Katie took her very first dance class with the Spanish Fork Youth Arts Festival. They had class every day for two weeks. The first week she did okay, the second I had to dance with her almost every day. But she came away knowing how to stretch, leap, hop, twirl (of course), dancing feet, dancing arms and worked on following instructions. This is a picture of Katie and her Aunt Tia dancing.

Girls Birthday

2010-05-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

What with Katelynn and Abigail's birthdays being exactly a week apart we had a combined family party. It is amazing that they are growing so fast. Katelynn turning 3 and Abigail 1.

Every piece of clothing Katie got she had to put on, so here she is with about three layers of clothing on.

Abbie got the exciting gift from her parents of a new car seat, so this is her trying it out while "reading" her new book. I think Katie enjoyed playing in the box more that Abbie did the actual gift.
This is them with their cakes. Mom made Abbie's and Aunt Tia made Katie's request--an Elmo cake.

Jed's Birthday

2010-04-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

Jed turned 29 this year.
For his birthday I made him a candied pecan, Sherlock Holmes birthday cake.

The night before Abbie turns 1

2010-04-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

April 25th 2010. At the Younger Patrick's home.
Katelynn fell asleep in the car, making the transition from car to bed in her mothers arms without waking. She is almost 3.

Abigail on the other hand, is just getting started with playing. This photo was taken at about 9:45 pm. Does she look tired to any of you? Among posing in the warm comfort of Mom's sweeter Abbie began moving forward her little bouncy chair. I suppose she got tired of not seeing where she was going while traveling backwards.

Tomorrow she turns 1 and to be honest it is freaking me out. I know what everyone reading this is thinking "what a woos....." Your right I am, but if you came to date a teenage daughter of mine would you be intimidated by me?

Not one of Dad's better ideas

2010-04-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

I am not sure how many of you out there in digi land are like me and hate seeing cute little kids cry. Well I absolutely hate it, which Abbie has probably figured out.

There I was eating a thin mint, my version of crack, and Abbie starts to cry. Its obvious after a few moments that she is crying because she wants my cookie. Silly me actually goes into the pantry and gets one just for her. Suffice it to say, Abbie fingers melt chocolate quickly.

Egg Mania

2010-04-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Our ward primary set up an Easter egg hunt for all the young children of our ward.
Of course they were smart enough to separate the children by ages. The younger ones got to go into the gym and hunt for eggs.

As the process began Katie ran, with Grandma in tow, to get the eggs she wanted.

Abbie on the other hand, after finding out candy was in the eggs, settled on just 1 Easter egg

Lucky for us, Grandma talked Katie into helping Abbie get the rest of her eggs.

The Amazing Abbie

2010-02-25T16:13:00.000-08:00

It seems like we just blinked and now Aba is crawling and getting into everything. Just today she managed to fall down the stairs, hit her head trying to pull books off of the bookshelf and hit her head again trying to stand and reach for something else. Luckily Katie is trying to help and be a watchful sister. But she normally just ends up taking away a toy Abbie wanted to play with and makes her cry.

Scuba Katie

2010-02-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, not a cloud in the sky, but little Katie is ready for the rain to come down.

It began with my friend Dave coming over to visit / help me check out my car after it was making a very funny noise. His two children stayed around and played with us for a while along with Dave.

We went outside, after running into our neighbors began to play outside.

The mask my dear Katie is wearing comes from our neighbor Kirsten Quist (That might be the right spelling). She brought a large bag of toys outside to let the kids play through them and Katie decided on the mask. It was very funny to see her try to put it on herself, even more humorous for me to attempt it, then finally a neighbor successfully navigated her hair accessories and got the goggles on.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed HORSE???

2010-01-15T17:12:00.001-08:00

For Christmas the Barton Grandparents gave the girls a horse. Not a real horse, but a bouncy horse, that sings (much to the parent's dismay). Abbie and Katie both really like the horse and enjoy bouncing and singing along with him. When she is sad, Katelynn has started running to and cuddling with him. The other day we asked Katie what the name of the was and she responded, very resolute, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER has a very shiny nose. We tried to dissuade her and tried to get her to name it something more . . . horsey. But she is resolved the horses name is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Growing up is hard on Dad

2010-01-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

As most of you know I am a very emotional father when it comes to my two girls. Well lately, I have been watching them grow up so quickly that it simply amazes me how fast they are doing the who growing up thing.

Something very amazing, and very grown up. happened with dear little Abigail Mae the other day. I was sitting with her by me watching some non Sponge Bob cartoon (I hate him with a passion, his pants are RECTANGLES not SQUARE) anyway, Abbie pushed herself forward and did this spin twist move ending up in the position you see.

I at first thought she was going to begin the little, soon to go away and be replaced by a much louder, cry. However, my dear little princess Laughed at me and started scooting towards my bare toes. (She was trying to tickle them like Katie does)

It is truly amazing when I witness my dear little ones doing these small acts of growth. I wonder if I am the only weird one who thinks such things are so amazing and this blog worthy?

Christmas Morning

2010-01-02T21:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning at the Patrick's brought a new thing for our family, Carrie awoke early excited about Christmas and Jed wanted to sleep. Finally when Abbie made a noise Carrie pulled Jed out of bed and went to get Katie up.

Katie did not want to get out of bed at first and then she would not leave her room. It took a Christmas story and then we had to walk her down. Santa brought a Kitchen for Katie which she didn't want to see, but she wanted to go open her presents.

During the present opening Katie got out her trusty Minny Mouse phone and started taking pictures and mom and dad took pictures of them.

Before Christmas

2009-12-23T20:49:00.000-08:00

The girls received these beautiful dresses not to long ago and Carrie, being the wonderful family picture taking lady she is, decided that we would all sit down and take a photo. For those of you who have children, you know what we had to go through. For those of you that do not, it is a very large production to get a family photo with children.
There are two things that Katie does very well when taking a photo.
1. She says and does a nice Cheese when we ask her to take a photograph.
2. She holds Abbie's hand very well lately.
I think that it is amazingly cute that Katie loves to hold her sisters hand and is so sweet with her baby sister. I hope that will continue for a while.

Christmas letter 2009

2009-12-22T17:05:00.001-08:00

Monumental achievement in the Patrick household, we wrote our Christmas letter before the actual day.

The Kids meet Santa and Mrs Claus

2009-12-15T20:40:00.000-08:00

Attending the Leland ward party Carrie and Tia sat our girls down in the lap of Santa and Mrs Claus.

Don't let the photo fool you, right after Abbie sat down she started to scream.

While waiting in line Katie was very excited to see the big Mr C, but then when she actually sat down in his lap she wouldn't say a word. We probably need to teach Katie what it means to want things for Christmas.

Christmas at the Patrick's

2009-12-09T21:38:00.000-08:00

As many of you are aware, its almost Christmas time and although it has taken me way to long to get in the Christmas mood I am now totally here.

My wife, who never ceases to amaze me, has spent some time decorating our mantel. I think it looks amazing, especially considering that we didn't have one last year.

**Please note: Our tree does not really glow like its a ghost, I personally think that it would be really cool if it did but that would probably be a very large fire hazard.

Goodwood and Heavenly Lemonade

2009-12-09T21:32:00.000-08:00

I have been hearing for a long time that the restaurant Goodwood has the most heavenly lemonade and I had the opportunity to try some when Riche, Tia, Carrie, Katelynn, Abigail, and I went to Goodwood on the way to get Richie's Christmas present.

Well, I have to agree that Goodwood has some of the best lemonade that I have ever had the privilege of tasting. Katelynn as always loved playing with her BFF Tia, only pausing to take a photo with a cheese.

Thanksgiving in Gonah

2009-12-09T21:07:00.000-08:00

Over the river and through the woods to Paragonah we went. Well, to be honest Carrie and the girls went first and then I followed behind after the work week was through. So on the way down I decided to send photos to Carrie telling her where I was (which she didn't find funny).

Now, each one of you will know that the thriving town of Paragonah is to the LEFT of the freeway. We will let the Barton Family know to expect visits from all the bloggers. :-)

After Dinner, Parker took out some toy cars that had to be the tiniest remote control cars I have ever seen. Katie took a liking to it and this video clip is of our dear sweet Katie "driving" the car. (I am afraid for the day that she can actually drive a real life car.)

In the Hood, well sort of.

2009-11-17T09:13:00.000-08:00

The first storm of the winter season, at least the first one I can remember, brought out the coats for our dear little 2/20 year old Katie.

Once the warming coat was on, we headed towards the store. The one of choice was Macy's due to the cost savings on those lovely packaged baby foods. (Which I think taste nasty). Katie started getting a little bored with the whole walking around the aisle's thing and so I put up her hood and snapped a photo.

Blackberry storm = $200
Macey's visit =$68
Making my daughter laugh = Priceless.

Halloween Time

2009-10-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

Trick or Treat time brought a cute Mini mouse and our little princess Cinderella. We had to teach our little Cinderella how to say "Trick or Treat" for about a week before. Now she always wants to say it.
It took her a while to get into the whole trick or treat thing but after that she was so very excited to go to each door. Tia went with us and was Katie's buddy the whole time.

Here is Tia dancing with Katelynn before we went out tricker treating, we call it the two princesses dancing.

Friends

2009-10-24T14:58:00.001-07:00

Katelynn's trip to the cabin was enhanced when her "new friend" (her 2nd cousin Ellie) arrived at the cabin. The first night Katie latched right on to her and started following her around. They enjoyed dressing up, doing everyone's hair and playing with the dolls. They definitely are ALL girl. Here they are looking at Grandma through the stairs.

Talk about ORANGE

2009-10-24T14:49:00.001-07:00

We were able to go down to the cabin this weekend for the opening of the rifle deer hunt. We all gathered at the family cabin to participate in the annual chili feast, Grandma-made doughnuts and of course the end dinner which includes some of Grandma's famous rolls! The girls loved all of the attention they received from the Barton family and Mom enjoyed the extra help.

Cabin Fever

2009-10-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

Katie went to the cabin with the Barton's over conference weekend. From what I hear she had a wonderful time. She made herself useful by helping out around the cabin. See below how she is "helping" Stephanie with her hair? Katelynn just couldn't let poor aunt Bephers go with "crazy hair"

Great Grandma Barton read Katie stories while they were up at the Cabin. Katie loves to read stories and will love anyone that reads to her.

Magic Carpet Ride

2009-10-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

At the end of August we went with the Barton's to Lake Powell. The sun was warm and the girls loved the boat. Katie cried when we tried to get her in the water until we pulled out the blue floaty. She called it her Magic Carpet, which she didn't share with anyone.
Abbie loved to chill in the boat and Katie loved to walk from the front to the back. Occasionally she would do ballet for us.
Somehow they convinced me to get on the tube behind the boat. Someone safely on the boat took this shot of us enduring through a turn..... Truth be told, I had a blast riding on the tube.

Good Morning Baby Sister

2009-09-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

Katelynn has learned how to climb into Abbie's crib. We didn't know that she could do it and then one morning, hello Katie and Abbie.

The cutest thing about it is that she doesn't do anything to hurt Abbie, she just sits there and talks to her.

Abigail seems to like her sister pretty well and tend to laugh when she plays rough with her.

Singing

2009-09-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

It is so much fun to sit and listen to Katie singing different parts of songs throughout the day. This was the breakfast songs (hence the pretty hair=).

2009-09-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

Abbie is growing up so fast and she is definitely a cute chunk, weighing 15 and 1/2 pounds at her last doctors visit. But next to my big head she is looking pretty small. I still can't decide who she looks like but I have had quite a few people tell me she looks just like me. What do you think?

Smile

2009-09-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

This is Abbie who is wearing Aunt Jamie's flower, which is about as big as her head. We have been especially blessed by this sweet girl. She is so easy going and loves to laugh and smile all the time and sleeps so well (which I am especially grateful for).

Chillin'

2009-09-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Katie chillin' with with Daddy in the car.

Singin' in the Rain

2009-09-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

This is Katie quite literally singing in the rain. This summer she has loved singing and dancing with Aunt Tia and so she knows parts of multiple songs from "Singin' in the Rain". So Grandma Barton brought Katie a "'brella" and when it rained she had to go out and dance.

Sisters

2009-09-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

So these are the cutest girls. I was able to quickly catch a picture of Katie holding Abbie. Katelynn loves her sister but only wants to hold her for a few seconds and she normally does NOT want to take a picture with her. Hopefully this stage wears off and we can get some more cute sister pictures.

Moving

2009-09-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

So I just had to put this out there. Yes, that is Katie in the cupboard under the TV. After I emptied it to move she just thought that it was the best place to be. Katie only had one issue when it came to the move. When Grandpa and Stacie started taking apart her bed she was very unhappy. Subsequently that was the first thing to be put together in the new house and once she saw her bed and books she was okay. Actually the next day when we had to finish moving and we pulled up to our "old" house she said "no, new house."

SORRY

2009-09-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have totally sucked at updating our blog, but I do have a few excuses. We moved, very quickly, over the 24th of July. (Thank you , thank you, thank you to those of you who helped especially family who were sore for a month and Dan Jensen, who is my new best friend, because he boxed up my whole kitchen!) Then once we were in our new home we didn't get working internet for almost a month. Yes it has been weeks since then, but I'm a busy mom and only can update during naps. So please forgive me for the lack of info. I will try to catch everyone up. First of all I am now on Facebook. After my 10 year class reunion, yikes, where everyone was asking why I wasn't on I decided to just jump in. I will update the rest of the past two months with some fun pictures of my cute girls. Thanks for the patience.

Swingin' Time

2009-07-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

Abbie likes her older sister, despite how rough Katie is with her.

Where Jed Lives

2009-07-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking lately that I spend way to much time at work. So since it is a big part of my life I thought I would share where I love at work. The Cannon Building as a cubical farm with not a lot of living space.
Note the large bottle of Hand Sanitizer, the Crock pot I keep forgetting to take home, and the corner of my 24 inch monitor. Sadly I must confess that it is cleaner then it has been in the past as I am getting ready to move to a different building to head up the new DTS campus service center.

Chubby Baby

2009-06-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

We went to the doctor for Abbie's 2 month visit and shots. We found out that she is in the 50% for height and 80% for weight. Quite a different experience from Katie who was, and still is, in the 5%. Our baby is not so small anymore.

For Sale . . . SOLD!?!

2009-06-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

This past week has been very crazy. On Monday night our house went on the market and by Tuesday evening it was under contract, much to my shock and amazement. So with the prospect of becoming homeless we quickly began searching for a home. At first we thought we would buy land and then build, but land is still so pricey we discovered we could get a completed home with landscaping for cheaper. So we searched all over Utah county and found a place we like in Salem and put an offer in on it. So within a week we basically sold our home and bought another.
This is a picture of our new home, with stucco the color of Paragonah dirt:-).

Katie's Owie

2009-06-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

On June 11th Katelynn had to have her Adenoids removed. Here she is coloring with Daddy waiting to go back. Katie did very well with the whole procedure and has recovered very quickly

Abigail's Blessing

2009-06-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

On May 30th we were lucky to have a lot of family come for Abigail's blessing. It was a fun day, Jed did a great job and we had a fun lunch in our backyard.

Abbie and her (2nd) cousin Peyton

2009-06-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

Abbie made her first trip to Paragonah and was able to meet a lot of the extended family. Payton was born about 4 weeks before Abbie, but they are about the same size.

Abba Daba Doo

2009-06-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

Abbie is such a good baby. She is quite understanding when her big sister tries to share her food or hug her a little too tight. She still likes to sleep a lot during the day, but from about 8:oo-10:30pm she needs to be held and paid attention to.

Cute Girls

2009-06-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

Katie has done quite well with the new addition of Abigail to our family. Most of the time she ignores her, but at least once a day she has to hold Abbie. In the car Katie always makes sure that Abbie is buckled in and will tell her "shhh, don't cry" if she is sad.

Daddy and the Girls

2009-06-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

It is so cute to watch Jed with the girls. Katelynn and Daddy have become quite close since Abbie's birth. Katie has to have Daddy give her, her bath and put her to bed.

Happy Birthday

2009-06-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

On May 3rd Katelynn turned two. Mom worked hard and made Katie's cake. But Katelynn's favorite part was the candles. We had to let her blow them out at least ten times, and we had to sing before each blow. We started to shorten the song by the third time.

I want to mow daddy

2009-05-15T15:47:00.000-07:00

This morning I was going about my business mowing our actually green lawn. Upon turning back towards the house I saw my little Katelynn looking at me.
She tapped and asked what I was doing. I yelled through the window that I was mowing the lawn. My too smart for her own good child replied "ME MOW." Which later my sister gave me the idea I should have replied Finding Nemo is in the house. I guess I was not that creative this morning.

Kissin Kate

2009-05-06T19:15:00.001-07:00

We have found that Katelynn is getting used to her baby sister, she loves to give her kisses.

Sometimes she wants to kiss her a little harder then we, her parents, like.

Abbie

2009-05-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

Announcing the birth of Abigail Mae
April 26, 2009 at 5:00PM
7 pounds 10 ounces
19 1/2 inches

Disney Playhouse Live

2009-03-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

A few months ago we went with my parents to playhouse Disney. She was so very happy to see all of her favorite characters on the stage. However, I think that my parents might have been more excited to see Katie's face then Katie was to see the characters.

After the show, my parents bought Katie Handy Manny and all of his accessories. She is still happy with her Manny toys to this day.

O Boy

2009-03-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

Katie has some of the cutest faces, this one I think of as Katie saying O boy my head mommy. This photo was taken in our kitchen/dining area.

Looking back graduation day

2009-03-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

After a long time attempting to get through school I finally finished. My wife had to convince me to walk in graduation, but after I walked I was glad Carrie had convinced me to walk.

You may notice my daughter's tongue sticking out of her mouth, that would be an inherited trait from me when I am really smiling my tongue pops out of my mouth.

Eating Mickey

2009-03-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

My parents went to disneyland recently, when they returned they had a gift for us. They brought us a pancake outline in the shape of Mickey Mouse.

For those of you who don't know, Katie loves Mickey Mouse. So naturally, my parents knew she would love Mickey shaped pancakes.

When she saw the pancake shaped like Mickey she screamed with excitement. The problem happened when we attempted to have her eat the pancake.

Running Baby

2009-02-25T14:09:00.000-08:00

When we went to see Tia and Richie and there house Katie noticed the treadmill and had to hop on it.

Her aunt Tia was more then happy to introduce Katie to the Treadmill. After she ran on it for a few minutes she wanted to see what her Uncle Richie could do. Richie out ran the treadmill much to Katie's excitement.

Diaper Queen

2009-02-21T14:02:00.000-08:00

Once again we found ourselves in Costco shopping for bulk items and I found myself trying to entertain my daughter. We were passing the large boxes of diapers when I thought to put Katie on the diapers and take a photo.

Captain Katie to the Rescue

2009-01-19T19:58:00.000-08:00

Today we went to Walmart as a family, which for us is always fun when Katie comes along. We start off with her in the seat like a good little child.

Then we progress to her throwing all of the stuff out of the cart that she can get her little hands on. Followed by trying to throw herself out of the cart.

We then progress to the phase you see here of her having to stand in the actual basket. Which is ok, and entertains her until she steps on something fragile like the eggs. ... OOPS my bad on that one.

Once she gets tired of stepping on everything we intend to buy, if you don't believe me I can show you foot prints in food, she again attempts to throw overboard food and other products.

Finally, she again attempts to bail overboard usually by the front of the cart. This follows by either her mom or I picking her up and carrying her through the rest of the store.

Any of you who know the layout of the Springville Walmart know from the photo above that we are not doing so well with the process and had to haul our dear Katelynn through most of the food section.........At leat the eggs survived.

Bubble Bubble Water Trouble

2009-01-19T19:11:00.000-08:00

Today I learned a very important lesson for the future health of my carpet pad. I was filling the humidifier in my daughters room, and placed it on the bottom of the unit when all of the sudden it began to bubble over and over again. I stood there very perplex by the new noise my humidifier was making.

It took my dear wife, Carrie, telling me that the seal was not on the cap so the humidifier was leaking out the back for me to realize that there was a problem with the unit. This proved two things.
1. Carrie is so much smarter than me.
2. I get very perplexed by bubbling sounds.

Christmas Morning

2008-12-25T19:47:00.000-08:00

This year was exceptionally fun for us parents as we got to witness Katelynn opening her presents. Well, the opening was not the fun part because we got to do that. The fun part was watching how excited she was to play with her new toys.

Her Grandma and Grandpa Patrick bought her a doll set this year, complete with cradle and all. I think that Katie enjoyed sitting on the cradle more then she will ever enjoy putting her new doll into the cradle. Lets hope she grows out of it before the cradle breaks.

2008 "Christmas" Letter

2008-12-20T12:42:00.000-08:00

After 2 months of not mailing out our Christmas Letter here it is on the blog.

December 20, 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

This year has had a lot of firsts for our daughter Katelynn. She had her first birthday, first time rolling over, first and second plane rides, first time in the ocean, first steps, first time in Disneyland, first time on Lake Powell, first haircut, first time Trick-or-Treating, first time playing in the snow, first time in a big-girl bed, first time in Nursery, and not to forget the first time with marker on her face.

The year welcomed us with Jed being diagnosed with Chrons disease. Once again our little family spent more time in the Emergency Department with test after test being run on Jed but after months of testing and pills Jed's Chrons is now under control.

Katelynn celebrated her first birthday this year. We had a party with our parents and some friends. Katelynn seemed to be more excited about the boxes and her little first birthday cake then she did with the actual presents. We couldn't bring ourselves to let Katie tear through the entire cake so we just gave her a piece to eat. All would have gone fine until her Grandfather Patrick gave her an orange frosting balloon; it is amazing how far that frosting can go to mess up a cute little girl's face.

We went to Hawaii with the Barton family where we participated in many of the Barton Hawaii traditions. Jed's personal favorite was the daily haupia pie from Ted's bakery. We stayed in a beach house with all the Barton's, including the newly married Stephanie and Travis as well as Matt, Nicole and Parker. Katelynn learned to walk in Hawaii, which Jed thinks she did just so she could hang loose with the rest of the family. We went to visit the temple while we were there which was the chance of a lifetime. The hardest part of the trip for our dear sweet daughter was take off and landing of the airplane, with her Aunt Stacie taking care of her, the actual trip was very smooth.

This year seems to be our year of trips, where we also went with the Patrick family to Disneyland to visit Mickey and Jed's sister Tia. It was a fun experience to take little Katelynn down to see Disney, Jed however was very glad to have one of those child leashes to keep Katelynn close to the family. Katelynn really enjoyed taking pictures with Mickey and Minnie along with other Disney guests who enjoyed taking pictures of our cute Katie. We stayed close to the park so that we could get Katelynn to bed on time while maximizing her Disney time. It was great to go with Jed's parents due to the great help they were in taking care of our little Katie.

In September we found out that we are expecting another baby, which we of course had to double check before we were sure. We recently found out we are expecting another baby girl, Abigail Mae, due April 27,2009.

We went to the Deer Hunt this year with the Barton family, yes even Jed. It was an interesting experience; Jed went out on the hunt one day much to Carrie's surprise and actually spotted the deer that Royce shot.

We began the long, and ever increasing in length, process of building a new home for our family. It will be the house that we raise our children in and make our permanent home. After months of thinking we would be moving out of our current home it now looks like we will begin breaking ground at the beginning of next year.

Jed did it! Despite a ton of problems, setbacks, and other issues preventing him from finishing he has finally finished school. He now has a Bachelors of Science degree in Information Technology Management. He had thought about this moment for so long, what he would feel, do, how he would act. His first thought... “Gee should I go back and get my masters degree.” Thanks to Carrie, who basically sacrificed her world with Jed in order to let him get finished, and we would like to thank Jed's parents for the time they let us hang out with them so Carrie and Kate would not be alone

On the work front, Jed has become the resident fix it man around the area he works. All of the information technology staff in the State of Utah has been centralized into one department along with Jed. So although he hasn't moved buildings he now works for a completely different department being there go to guy on cell phones, computer specification, and software recommendations.

Carrie is one of the greatest stay at home moms around. She and Katelynn are the tightest two people in the world. Whenever you ask Katelynn who she loves it is always Momma.

The year has come to a close with a few more medical problems for Jed. We are currently scheduling appointments to check on Jed's enlarged spleen. Carrie had the opportunity to substitute for Jed's mother for the whole week before Christmas, including her Christmas program, which proved to Jed how completely attached Katie is to her mother.

We would like to wish all of our friends and family a Happy Holiday season. Although we are late at sending this letter, realize that we care about each and every one of you.

Love,

Jed, Carrie, and Katelynn

P.S. We have jumped on the Blog bandwagon and wanted to include our address in this letter.

http://patrickisims.blogspot.com/

Baby Abigail

2008-12-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

After many months of calling Abigail a boy we went to the ultrasound appointment to discover that he was actually a girl. In my mind, this was her way of telling us to please stop calling her a boy because she is most certainly a girl.

Since that date, I have not called my daughter a boy once although I have been tempted many times, despite the overwhelming evidence seen above to call her a boy. This may seem like I am bragging at my ability to catch my self, it is.

We are very excited to have our new little one join our family and I for one am very excited that she is a girl. I suppose you could say that I have become used to having a baby girl around and was nervous about a little boy.

Making and feasting on Cookies

2008-12-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

We made cookies at my parents house, with lovely Christmas shapes. After frosting them, we handed one to Katelynn. She proceeded to lick the frosting off the cookie without eating the cookie.

Stuck between a wall and the bench

2008-12-14T06:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday during church Katelynn went exploring. The bench behind her, come to find out, is not that far away from the wall. My dear little child attempted to walk between the two getting the left side of her face stuck between the bench and the wall.
On one hand I was concerned for my daughters welfare, and on the other it was a very funny image. I suppose you had to have been there to understand the humor in it. Huh.....She got out without any lasting damage or issues, and with some momma time she was right as rain.

A Third Eyebrow would Look LOVELY

2008-12-11T06:48:00.000-08:00

My dear Daughter has now discovered how to take the lids off of markers, which to my surprise she proved she could draw a straight line. Doesn't she just have the most satisfied look on her face?

2 hours in Costco, of course you will be tired

2008-12-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

After visiting Carrie's Family we were told to get new tires for our Highlander. The best prices around are from our friends at Costco. Well, I suppose you pay for the price by the wait time.
Carrie, Katelynn, and I spent two hours waiting for our tires to be replaced. So, me being the intelligent person that I am decided it would be funny to stick Katelynn on top of some tires. First problem, the hole was too big. So I found a stack of tires about her size and Katelynn went in the tires. She cried when I took her out of the tires, much to my surprise, but I guess its all worth it for a cute shot. O and then there is the 30 seconds it took off the wait time.

Katie Dancing to the Mechanical Santa

2008-12-01T06:31:00.000-08:00

The Barton Family has a mechanical Santa that they bring out each year. We wanted to introduce Katelynn to Santa and so we decided to start with the Santa. We may have rushed it a bit when they had to remove the head from Santa to get him to work right. He has a little remote sensor on the front that if you walk close to him he starts singing, well you guessed it, someone tripped the sensor and headless Santa started singing and dancing.
They fixed his head and after a little coxing, Katelynn started to Dance to him. I may be biased but I think she is a good dancer.

Dancing happy

2008-11-24T12:13:00.000-08:00

This video was sent to me by Carrie. Her sisters are taking care of Katelynn down in Paragonah and they are rocking out.

CHEEESSSSSSSEEEEEEEE!!!!!

2008-11-23T20:45:00.000-08:00

Carrie was showing me pictures she had taken over the past several months when she came upon this one. She and I are teaching Katelynn to smile.
Here we actually have her captured in digital film that smiling can happen with our daughter. I for one think that she is a very cute kid.

*Note the cute little chair behind her right shoulder. Since mom had a rocking chair I guess that Grandma Barton thought Katelynn should have one too. The amazing part is it seems that Katelynn actually enjoys sitting in it.

A new one for the family

2008-11-19T17:55:00.000-08:00

Announcing the all to soon arrival of Little Baby Otis Patrick. You get to be one of the first few people who see this debut photo. We don't know the Gender yet, but we will next month. Right now we know that we have a baby with a very strong heartbeat. If he/she is anything like Katelynn they will be impatient to join the world...

Carrie has installed a counter to the left that will count down till our due date.

First snow of the year and time to Play

2008-11-09T17:05:00.000-08:00

It snowed in our little neck of the woods today, so Carrie took Katelynn outside to play. Bundling her up so she would stay worm, putting gloves on her, and visiting the neighbors Katelynn played on the swingset in the neighbors back yard.

That happy face let me, her father, know that she would be an outdoors lady for the rest of her life. I know if I went out in the snow like that I would not be the happiest person in the world........Maybe that's why I work with computers?

I do beleive in Fairies

2008-10-30T16:50:00.000-07:00

When we went to Disneyland to visit Tia & Richie my parents bought Katelynn an entire tinkerbell costume. Note the wand in her hand. At first I thought that her mother would not be able to keep the costume on her. I was mistaken when Katelynn left the costume on all night, and loved it. She even left fairy dust, glitter, behind her wherever she walked. I still have some on the floor of my house if anyone is interested.

Chalk one up to Carrie and her ingenuity, after we received Katelynn's costume she went about figuring out what we would be. Her dress was made by my mother to match the rest of us as Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinker Bell. Do you think Peter Pan looks great with facial hair?

Katie gets enough hair to cut

2008-10-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

Katie's grandmother noticed that her hair had grown enough that it was time for an "even me up" trim. I, her father, did not notice that it was not even. So we went to our favorite hairstylist for katie's first haircut. Do you think Katie looks happy about this?

Finally, Another Graduate in the House

2008-10-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

I did it, despite a ton of problems, setbacks, and other issues preventing me from finishing I have finally finished with school. I had thought about this moment for so long, what I would feel, what I would do, how I would act. My first thought...Gee I should go back and get my masters degree. I must be an insane man, should I not be happy for a moment.

Thanks to Carrie, who basically sacrificed her world with me in order to let me get finished, and I would like to thank my parents for the time they let us hang out with them so Carrie and Kate would not be alone.

Boppa and me

2008-09-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

Katelynn loves snuggling with her grandpa who she refers to as boppa. In this photo they are watching the disney playhouse show "my friends Tigger and Pooh." Carrie is substituting for my mother today and so Katelynn gets to hang out with the boys. O yah, and lets not forget Her blanket.

I wanna be a big Girl

2008-09-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

Katelynn has decided it was time for her to be a big girl and eat at the bar instead of in her own chair. Carrie tied her to the chair with an old belt of mine commenting that at least my ugly gray and blue belt was good for something.

Katelynn now eats breakfast from the bar every morning, until she sees her moms breakfast shake. I think that our little daughter is a one year old going on twenty.

**The food she has on her plate is banana bread made by Carrie the fantastic chief.

Disneyland Scrapbook

2008-08-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

I finally started scrapbooking so I decided that I would share the pages that I have done so far.

Oven's aren't play things

2008-08-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

Katelynn decided she wanted to investigate the inside of the oven, so while mom wasn't looking our little curious child put her hands on the inside of the oven door.

Carrie took our little one to the doctor who bandaged her up. Not very timely since Katelynn has begun grabbing everything with her little hands.

I don't think that Katelynn will touch the Oven for a very long time.

Don't looks say it all

2008-08-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

Mom decided to play dress up with Katelynn to see how her Halloween costume worked. She sent the photo to the whole family including me. Doesn't Katelynn look just happy to be dressed up like that?