taylor in a bucket

If anything I think my 3rd child is getting more photos of her than my other kids. Maybe I didn't realize how baby hungry I was because I can't get enough of her. We went strawberry picking again and while the kids picked I took some pictures.

track star!

I've been trying to find something for the kids to be involved in this summer and I found out about the Knoxville Track Club the day before it started. It was meant to be - it's cheap, practices are at night when it's cooler and it's not dance. Not that I'm against dance, I just want her to see there are other options too! I'm hoping they will let Cody participate even though he's not 5, it seemed to me there were a lot of little kids at the meet.

Yesterday was the first meet. She was nervous but excited. Her first race was the 4x100. She told me as she was standing in her spot she was thinking, "I'm not glad my mom signed me up for this." But at the end of the day she couldn't wait for next week. Her favorite part is collecting the ribbons after each event.




This makes me so excited to watch her grow up, find her talents and figure out that she can do hard things!

1 min and 45 seconds of fame

We have a friend, Jeanette Jolly, that we met on the set of Extreme Home Makeover six years ago. She was a producer on the show and through Facebook we've kept in touch. She now is a free lance producer living in Nashville and was assigned to film the footage for a Red Cross fundraiser to be aired on CMT for the tornado victims. She had seen our FB updates the night we had Taylor which was also the night of all the huge tornadoes that ripped across Alabama and the surrounding states, including Tennessee. She called us on Mother's Day and asked if they could come film our new little addition the next day and have us talk about having a baby during the storm. Then they put together a cute little clip about us being in the hospital with no power (the generators were on) and watching the tornadoes come towards us on the TV. They wanted to show good things were still happening during so much destruction. Ellie and Cody were on holding and feeding Tay. It will be so fun to have (if we can figure out how to get it off DVR) as part of Taylor's birth story.

a new toy

Elle and Code are so cute with their new little sister. I really don't know what I would do without Ellie to help me. A lot of her help is with Cody. Cody is not the most independent kid yet. Ellie is so good with him, she comes up with some great child psychology techniques with him - much better than my old standby threats that never work. Here are some pictures of the morning on the bed (there's something kids love about a bed with no sheets) when Taylor was three days old.

Untitled from courtney bankhead on Vimeo.

Showing Taylor her ultrasound pictures and one of her many crowns - this one made out of a wet wipe. She has others made of tin foil and twist ties.


Abandoned by her playmates after about 15 minutes.

cool like that

I love that Jess captured Cody lifting his hat to scratch his head. He's picked that up from Justin and I think it's the cutest thing ever. And how cool are Walker's sunglasses? This red wall in downtown Knoxville is a place we will visit again for more photo ops...and we hear rumors of a purple wall.

one month

My plan is to take a picture of her each month with this blanket to document her growth.

tea time!

Here's a good example of why my kids are adjusting to having a new sister just fine. Jessica is right around the corner scheming up some new activity every day for our kids, or coming home from garage selling with cars, princesses and bikes for my kids! I must tell her to stop soon because my kids are starting to figure out that Kelty and Walker's mom is WAY more fun than their mom. Ellie has a traumatized face because Jess told her she had to eat her egg salad sandwich before desert. I remember gagging on boiled eggs when I was 5 so while Jess wasn't looking I ate it for her. See Ellie, I am a cool mom after all! Please don't be mad Jess. :)

salon taylor

We named our impromtu salon after our newest addition and invited cute McKaye over to makeover Ellie and Kelty. The girls were in heaven!

mothers day

It seems each mother's day we end up relaxing in nature. Since Taylor was only a little over a week old it was a good excuse to miss church and get some spiritual enlightenment in the Smokey Mountains. After driving along Foothills Pkwy where we had great views of the valley on one side and the mountains on the other we stopped for lunch near the entrance to the park. From our table we could see a big grassy field with a perfect shade tree. Needless to say we didn't make it into the park but the nap under the tree was perfect.


Ellie made me a necklace first thing in the morning, it matched my outfit perfectly! Taylor and I had thrush for about a week. Her lips are purple in this picture from the gentian violet I was putting in her mouth. The kids thought she had been eating purple Popsicles.

knoxville zoo

Every summer the zoo is one of the first things we visit, not that I am a big fan of zoos or anything - more like it's a great way to ensure a long afternoon nap.

strawberries!

Now this is one of my favorite summer activities. The taste of a freshly picked perfectly ripe strawberry comes in second only to a freshly picked peach. This time I had my own little strawberry to carry around in a bucket.

homestead

I wanted to have a little getaway with my mom and dad and the kids before we left for the summer. Justin was out out of town so he wasn't there - it was just like old times, plus two kids! We stayed just one night in Midway at the homestead. We ate mexican for dinner and then read stories in the hotel room. The next morning we ate breakfast at the Homestead and then suited up for a swim in the crater. The kids didn't know what to think. Cody thought it was going to erupt at any moment. But they ended up thinking it was lots of fun. For lunch we went to The Store, a grocery store in Midway with the best salad bar of ALL TIME. It was a great little trip!

red rock shizzle - lake to lake relay

This was one of the most fun girls trips I've had in a long time. I love getting outside with a bunch of girls! Our job was to promote the Red Rock and I think we did a swell job. We ran a 50 mile relay and Red Rock Relay paid for everything! Each girl did two 5 mile legs. As there were six of us it worked out nicely that I only had to run one leg and Alissa ran the other.


1. All the girls, Liz, Emilie, Alissa, Kaycee, me and Heidi. 2. Kaycee and her megaphone, most likely yelling something like, "My grandma runs faster than you!" or "You okay in the porta potty Liz? Need some help?" Or she would just have a normal conversation with someone from 1 foot away but she used that megaphone regardless. She ran with it, brought it to the banquet, and generally made other girls hate her because their boyfriends fell in love. 3.Alissa and Emilie 4. Heidi working her camera skills, she made us a great video.


1. Heidi running like a paparazzi. 2. My pregnant belly (might be the only shot I get). 3. Us girls again 4. Alissa

ski dates

This winter I was able to take Cody skiing about 5 times. It was our special little Thursday afternoon date, sometimes with friends, sometimes just us two. Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons are "boring" for Cody with Ellie in school so we usually did something fun on Thursday afternoons together. Below are some photos of a ski day with Courage, Molly and Ethan. They are getting good! It was much easier than last year. Cody likes to pretend he is Lightning McQueen and is in a race. When he crashes I have to check his oil and grease his fittings and change his tires (aka tickle him).

bear river

I'm slowing trying to catch up. Every year we go to Bear River to snowmobile, ride the razor, snowshoe and eat lots of food. The three little boys are so cute to watch on their little missions.

cody is 4!

My little squishy is getting less squishy every day...I don't like this growing up business one bit. It has been "taking foreber" for Cody's birthday to come, waiting an entire month after Ellie's has been tough. The week before his birthday we had an impromptu party since our friends Ethan and Molly were in town. It made for an easy party! Cody and I went to the party store together and he picked out a truck party. We got the cake at Costco and decorated it with his construction toys. After cake and opening presents we went to the playroom for some balloon popping and an obstacle course that I had to demonstrate in my pregnant state. I didn't do so well.


On Cody's actual birthday he opened his presents first thing. He actually chose them the day before. He got an upgraded Mack trailer and a Ford F150 like dad's that pulls a trailer with a motorcycle and 4-wheeler. We searched all over town for a "digger that has two sides." It's something he's obsessed with getting and we just can't find it. I assume he's thinking of a truck with a crane and a claw type thing? If anyone know's where to get one let me know! Some neighbor friends Beau and Noah came over before preschool to play for a little while and Justin took the kids that night to Provo Beach and they had a blast while I did some much needed homework.

Love you little squishy!

ellie is 6!

I remember turning 6. It was a big deal because now I had to use both hands to show people how old I was. It's fun to have Ellie get a little older and have her experience things that I have clear memories of, and know that she will remember them too.

For her birthday, we did the same thing as last year. Ellie wanted a Hello Kitty party so we mixed that in as well. The girls came to our house afterwards for an hour (that's all I could take). We have some really cute little girls in our ward.

The invites. Of course my most favorite part of any party.


Breakfast at Magleby's Fresh in our PJ's. Pictured are Baily, Sierra, Brielle, Cody (sad face b/c he wants it to be his birthday), Ellie Pie, Ellie, Charisse, and Brielle. We ordered French toast and Pancakes! I was sick all day from it.


Ellie and Bryton, our 2nd cousin.


Opening presents and our little party favors.


The Millers. Brenan is Justin's cousin. Awesome of them for coming so bright and early on a Saturday.

And of course the party ended with a dance party in the car!

I won't gush too much about how cool my Ellie Peach is but let me just say there is something so sweet and special about her that I just can't describe. She lights up a room and is more articulate and animated than I am. I absolutely love being her mom, and I know Justin feels the same way. Except he likes being her dad, not her mom. Happy Birthday Ellie!

costa rica

In January we went to Costa Rica with some of our good friends, Matt and Alissa and Tim and Angie. We rented a condo from our neighbors and had a blast just staying close to home and eating great food.


1. crocodile bridge 2,3. zip line. I didn't tell them I was almost 6 months pregnant because I didn't think they would let me go. That harness did not feel good! 4. Alissa and I at Manuel Antonio, a national park


1. angie putting her muscles to good use 2. tim's catch (we made the best lunches with his fish) 3. Alissa and Angie 4. Justin drinking one of Matt's signature smoothies - seriously the best smoothies I've ever had.


1. dinner in the town we stayed in, Estriello Oeste with Havee and his friend (Havee was the property manager of the condo's we stayed at) 2. the beach to ourselves 3. goats along the run i did a few times 4. fresh fish at the taco bar in Jaco


1. baptisms by the river reminded me of what it might have been like in Book of Mormon times. they were singing a really neat song too. 2. cute house 3. we stayed on the second floor of this house 4. our view from the deck