~2016 Came and Went~

I am ashamed to say I did not write one thing on this blog in the year 2016.  So here is a recap!

Some of the fun things we did in 2016 in NO SORT of chronological order: 

• Traveled to see Mckinley play to Vegas
• Traveled to see Mckinley play all over Utah
• Hayes played city soccer for the first time and it was a riot! He scored a goal the very first game and then never scored again.  He would run sideways and look at all the fans more than anything it was hilarious.  He was a hell of a goalie!  He would dive on the ball and run out and tackle it before kids had a chance to score.  
• Soph turned 2 and started talking in full sentences really early.  She was potty trained in 3 days and then had a relapse.  I'm not sure if it was due to me having little baby Murphy, or that I didn't want to risk her having an accident in my new home, but nonetheless she is in pull up for a bit now.
• We moved out of our home into a storage shed, then flew to South Carolina!  That was so fun and not as hard as I thought it'd be.  My kids did excellent on the long plane rides.  We went to see Charlie the alligator and went swimming and it was so fun to see Randee Trevin and Russell.
• Once we got back from South Carolina we moved into Tricia's rented apartment!  Then we moved everyone into her new home she built.  THEN 4 months later we moved into our new home we built!  Building a home was one of the highlights of 2016 for me.  I enjoyed the entire process.  I want to do it again soon.  
• We did lots of fireworks this last summer and spent most of our days playing in the dirt hills (which are now house lots) Hayes loves playing with Chesney and Cabrie.  
• Murphy was born October 20th!  He was 7.11 and 19.5 inches.  My biggest baby yet.  He has a hard time pooping, but we got him on a probiotic and it seems to be helping a lot. 
• My sister had her twin girls Joy and Layne I think 8 weeks early!  My mom flew out there to be with her for a couple months which was hard, but oh so needed.  While she was gone Chels and I got together as often as we could and she came to help me when I had Murphy.  
• We went to Gardener Village and ate Thanksgiving at Trish's house with just our close family.  
• This year we've taken the kids to see Moana, Trolls, Kung Fu Panda 3, Sing and a few more; but these were the highlights!  
• We went to Kangaroo Zoo and Lowe's Extreme Airsports and my kids had a blast!  
• We've gone tubing in the snow a lot and Hayes loves it! He is a riot.  
• Hayes did and continues to do well in preschool.  He loves little readers academy!  He is learning letters, sounds, numbers, shapes, and colors.  He comes home almost every day with a new song.  
• My friend Lauren has helped A TON with picking up and dropping off while I've had a new babe.  I'm so grateful!! Kylee my sister in law has helped a ton too.  
• Hayes is still obsessed with the Ninja Turtles and could sing the entire Shell Shocked song by Wiz Kalifa!  We have TONS of dance parties and he and Soph just go nuts I love it!  Her favorite song is Can't Stop the Feeling by none other than JT!!!
• Sophee has the biggest lisp ever and is super smart.  She loves to get a rise out of her brother and steals his toys and runs because no-one can catch her and she knows it.  She walks around with a phone, baby, and purse and I think she is imitating me!  She loves to put on "pretties" which is lipgloss.  She will ask me every single day to "pain ma nailssss" and "do ma her".  So we paint nails and do her hair.  She loves getting all dolled up, but then the next minute she is right there hanging with the boys like the best of them!
• Murphy is a little chatter box and is starting to giggle.  We blessed him January 1st and it was a special day.  Jace always does a good job!    
• Over the summer the Brinkerhoff girls went to the Dixie Chicks concert which was a BLAST!  Holy cow it was awesome.  We bought tickets a year prior so that was fun to look forward to.
• After 0-6 with school counseling interviews I got a job at 4 weeks post baby.  It didn't seem like a blessing then, but with the help of family and friends it has been such a blessing. 
• Jace and I celebrated 6 years together!  Wow does time fly.  Especially when you are having fun.  We've come a long way as a couple!  We've been through so many high's and low's and there is no-one else I'd rather do it with.  
• Gram and Pop came to sleep over and we went to build a bear for the first time ever!  Soph did a Poppy the Troll and of course Hayes did Leonardo.  
• East and Eryn and Chels slept over for the first time too when I had Murph.  It was so fun!
• Hayes was the only sunbeam to remember his entire part during the sacrament program.  We worked so hard to memorize it and he nailed it!  "This year we have learned to prepare now to be worthy to go to the temple by living the gospel standards" yeah it was a hard one!  Some kids got up there and were like "Jesus loves everyone" and they were older kids!  Hayes got this one and completely killed it. Everyone loves him at church and preschool because he is such a sweet heart and such a good kid.
• Soph is warming up to nursery.  It depends on the day, but most days I am in there with her.  I know this won't last forever and one day she will be off and running with her free spirit and wild at heart attitude and I'll miss these days, so I try to really be in the moment with her.  Sassy, spit fire, independent, confident, Sophee Jo (sodee doooe as she would say).
• Jace had ankle surgery right before we had Murph.  It was super stressful and his recovery was a little rough, but we got through it.
• Jace also picked up a ton of home health!  He is killing it at work right now.  I hope that always stays the same.  He works so hard and is so exhausted by the end of the day, but we love him for it. 
• We bought a lot of fun new furniture and decorations for our new home!  It finally feels like home.  It is so exciting to just have a place to call our own that we did and paid for all by ourselves.  
• We also paid off our car and bought a 2011 Ford Explorer through an auction that could not have worked out any better!  We got it for half it's going rate, with a little hail damage, and it is fully loaded with only 50,000 miles on it. STEAL.  We fixed some of the hail damage, you can still see some, but it is as the saying goes "it's what's on the inside that counts!"
• We have yet to take our kids anywhere super cool, mainly because we don't have a ton of free time or time to take off, and also it's so expensive!! Hopefully 2017 can bring about a fun trip or two.  Even if it's just camping.
• Hayes went on his first hunt with Jace.  He woke up at 4 am and everything! He sang songs on the radio the entire ride to Filmore and then ate an entire bag of twix with Uncle Gene while he told him all about his life.  
• Soph dislocated her arm so many times, the doc finally taught us how to pop it back in place!!
• All the kids are where they need to be with their milestones and nothing makes me happier.  

Life is great and this is a pretty messy update, but rightfully so.  The last year was crazy!  Lots of fun, lots of change, lots of love.  Bring it on 2017.  We are ready for you!

Kids Update

Holy Cow it has literally been a year since I last blogged.... that's embarrassing.  I've been so busy, but it might be time to get every memory off of my phone that I've typed in as they've come.  I have a little more access to a computer lately, so perhaps I will start up this blog again.  I never feel motivated to blog because I don't think anyone reads it, but I have to remember this is my only version of a journal for my kiddos to have when they are older.  

HAYES LATELY:

LAST YEAR when Hayes was 2 (that's embarrassing) he would read entire books to me that he had memorized like Olaf the Snowman and Little Blue Truck.  He would just start reading them out of nowhere and I thought it was amaze-balls!  

he was also really good at memorizing and reciting movie quotes like "wisten to MEEE smalls, it's a matter of wife and death, where did you old man get that ball?!" cutest thing ever.

He was also really in to growling Frosty the Snowman everywhere we went while there was snow on the ground and I died laughing every. time.

Some of his most common replies are "uh huh, sure" and "sure, why not" or "okay, sure!" or "oh alright!"  Like a big boy and so optimistic with the sure's (pronounced just like it is spelled without the h sound).  He also went up to Soph when she was a baby and said "so much I love you Soap!" Like Yoda.  Awesomeness.

He also waited up for me one school night just to get a kiss goodnight.  melt.

His night routine has changed over the years, but I use to "say goodnight, sleep good, have good dreams, sleep tight, love you," and he'd repeat it ALL back and laugh and then he added "wake up play baseball!"

This night was HILARIOUS.  
me: you're the best brother
Hayes: i'm the best baseball player
me: you're the best baseball player who ever lived
Hayes: OH MY GOSH YOU MEAN THAT'S THE SAME GUY? (sandlot quote.... without hesitation)  He sat and quoted that movie for 20 minutes that night.  "I said sut up.... lot of tings on my mind."

When Hayes gets mad he says "mom don't say dat to me right dis!  Don't say shhh right dis!"  And he copies everything I say.  Which has sometimes gotten me in trouble (like when I said Jace you are kind of being an asshole.... :0)

He introduces himself as Hayes Barber Brinkerhoff the Baseball Player everywhere we go!

After Hayes turned 3 he was still super funny, but we will save that for next time!

SOPHEE LATELY:

Soph just turned 1 in September and MAN SHE IS A HANDFUL!!!!

she claps whenever we say yay or whenever she sees anyone else clap
she can say wow, hi, mama, dada, Hayes, what's that (all with the cutest lisp ever)
she knows what a cow, dog, snake, and duck say!  But chooses when she wants to participate.
she will give high fives, say "ot oh" and drop things on purpose, and she will fake cough with you for hours!  

she also plays this game where she'll make a big loud noise and if you repeat it she will bust a gut!  We play this game over and over and her belly laugh is so cute!

she loves to throw golf balls, dance when she hears music, and she climbs onto or into EVERYTHING!

one thing she does right now that I don't ever want to forget is she will come between me and the counter or just come grab onto my legs and hug them because she wants to be picked up.  She loves to be held and see what you are doing up there on those high counter tops!  

Sophee Jo

 Sophee Jo was born on September 10, 2014 at 7:48 a.m.  She was 7.1 lbs and 19 in. She came out with slightly red hair which quickly turned brown and it there was a ton!  She was completely healthy and didn't have to be in the NICU so we were so grateful.  Her birth story is quite simple, but for documenting purposes I'll share it.

I knew I advance again the exact day is deliver because of my need to have c sections.  It was a Wednesday and the Tuesday before I was a nervous wreck.  My mom slept over to help with Hayes the next day while I delivered, and that was so helpful to get my mind off things.  I was mostly nervous about the epidural and worried if our new baby girl would have breathing problems because Hayes did.  We went to bed Tuesday night and woke up at 4:45 Wednesday morning.  Driving to the hospital with Hayes the song motor boating came on and it got me in a zone that I couldn't shake, so this time I scanned the radio to find a song that I could sing whenever I felt nervous.  OBVIOUSLY Taylor Swifts shake it off came on and whenever I was nervous I'd sing "I never miss a beat, I'm lightning on my feet!!" It helped until my epidural...... My nurses were awesome, the IV went well, we talked sports with the nurse which is right up our ally because her daughter played at UVU as well, but then the anesthesiologist came in and the great birth story demolished.  He was so rough and  had me lay on my side instead of sitting, which I much rather prefer, and he just didn't give me time to catch my breath before each dose of medicine and before I knew it I was out of breath and bawling.  This is not like me so Jace was so caught off guard and when he asked what was going on I made it a point to say the guy was being way too rough.  I will personally request that he does not do it for my next kid.  It was that bad.

After that I was wheeled into surgery and this c section was somewhat different (because of the anesthesiologist).  He wasn't going to let Jace watch or film until he told him that's what he did with Hayes, I had terrible chest pains for the duration of the surgery and after that is pretty common with c sections, and this time I could hear them cutting my skin. Barf.  There was a student there and I felt just like the patients on Greys Anatomy, except for most of those patients die so I had to quickly change that train of thought.  Last time they forgot to stretch my cervix so that all the fluids could pass and I started contracting AFTER delivery, so I made sure that mistake wasn't made again.  Ya, that's how much I don't dilate... The doctor has to manually go in and stretch my cervix so that all the after birth can pass.... Too much?  Too much, too much.  Thanks car accident!!!!!

Then soon after the cutting, Jace was allowed to film and a few tugs and boom baby girl was here!  She was screaming her lungs out which was awesome!  Often times c section babies are surprised with their own arrival, Ya know they didn't decide to come through the birth canal and what no, so their lungs take some time to get going; but not my Sophee!  Clearly this is a sign of how stubborn and independent she is going to be as she ages.  I'm in for it if she is anything like me!!!  I was able to see her right away and Jace just brought her over and held her in front of me (still strapped down).  It was awesome.

Then he left with her to go get bathed and I was stitched up and taken to my recovery room.  On the way I passed my little Hayeser with my parents and mother in law and I was so excited to see them all!  Especially Hayes, I was so excited for him to see his baby sister.  I wasn't able to be with them for a bit, they had to monitor me for a while, then I was taken to a room that allowed visitors and it was quite a reunion with Sophee and Hayes and Jace and I.  Her name was undecided for quite some time because we couldn't decide on one we both loved, but I think she looked like a Sophee so Jace caved.  Plus the nurses were bugging us for a name so they could decorate her cute little bin she slept in, so we finally made a decision.

Now Sophee is about 6 1/2 weeks old, she struggled a lot with reflux at first, we went through gripe water, colic calm, and then back to kidecol before she was finally feeling relief.  She wasn't having very many poopy diapers, she was screaming and pulling her knees up a ton, and only sleeping 2-3 hours.  Once we got her on kidecol she slept 5 hours twice in a row and has been pretty consistent with that ever since.  I shouldn't have gone straight to kidecol because it worked for Hayes, but we were advised to try these other ones first.  I also cut out some big dairy products and I think that is helping her.  She is a little chunk now!  I can't wait for her 2 month appointment to see what her stats are.

Love our family of four! Baby number 2.  Nailed it.

Love,

Reilee

Summer Lovin, Hayes turns 2

It has been a few months since I've blogged, so I've got some catching up to do!  This is more for journaling purposes, so do not feel obligated to read along; but if you'd like to know how my summer went, how pregnancy went, how my little Hayes' birthday went, and about my new baby girl please feel free to read along!


Summer was dreamy considering I was pregnant. I really stayed on top of my weight gain with this baby and only gained 26 pounds (as opposed to a whopping 50 pounds last time).  Over the summer Hayes vocabulary grew a ton!  He learned so much before he turned two it was mind blowing how much he was beginning to pick up on.  Over the summer we went to Lava and he LOVED it.  They had an awesome kiddie pool and Hayes lived there with grandma.  We also went to San Diego for a tournament I was coaching in and took Hayes to Sea World, which I wasn't too happy about considering my love for Black Fish.  Hopefully that place goes out of business soon.  We took Hayes to the beach and he hated how the waves would roll in it was pretty funny!!  The only crappy part about summer was that Jace was so busy with school he couldn't come with us anywhere :(.  My twin was here for the end of May and she stayed with me for a bit it was so fun!  I miss her a ton.  I don't have any pictures from our summer on this device, so you are just going to have to believe me that it was AWESOME!  I also coached this summer, the Renegades, but it wasnt as fun as I'd hoped.  The girls were kind of faking their friendships, some stuff was kind of catty, and I would go into detail further but I just don't feel like it.  I love them all so much, but it is just clear that they need to all move on to their own schools with new girls; which most of them did!

For Hayes birthday we had a little party for him in Lava with my family and he got so many fun things including ice cream, his favorite, a Cars four wheel toy, and a 3 little pigs play set that he still loves!!!  Then we had a fun little swim party with his buddies in Spanish Fork and that was fun too.  Man is he growing up so fast.  I have sooo many funny things written down that he has said or done lately, but I'll save that for a later post to keep you on your seat.

Jace and I are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel with our Grad Programs!  We both only have a year and a half left and we are more than anxious to be done.  Jace finished his first clinical and LOVED it.  He was sad to have to go back to school.  I start my practicum in January and cannot wait to get in a school setting.  The end is near everyone!!  In a good way.

Here are some fun pictures from my phone of What we've been up to lately:

Hayes is big now!!

My little Hayes isn't so little anymore!  We've been so busy with school, coaching, and me being prego again I haven't has time to blog!  A few updates on life at the Hoff house:

Jace is a year into his program!! One more to go

I am two months from the year mark in my program!  Masters degrees and so much more here we come!

Hayes is 21 months old.  Where did the time go.

We moved again.  Into a three bedroom town home that is so cute!!

Jace and I bought new couches! Our first really big purchase together haha.

I am 24 weeks pregnant with a little baby girl!

I also wanted to give some updates on sweet little Hayeser.  He loves baseball,  he hits, runs, slides, has a helmet, bat, ball, glove everywhere we go.  He says " he da ball he da ball go go go go!" It is so.much.fun.  He likes basketball too but nothing compares to baseball.  I guess he did t have a choice really haha.

He is almost putting sentences together! Some words he has learned lately are: circle, sweet, sucks, more, no, yes, bye, love you, amen, baseball, truck, and so many more!

He loves Mickey Mouse and loves to say toddles and "ha dog" he is an excellent little dancer too.  Holy cow he gets that elbow going and doesn't stop for the hot dog dance!! He has been recorded at public places by absolute strangers, so awesome.

There are certain things he let's dad do and certain things he let's mom do.  Our bedtime routine is probably the most critical.  Dad has to sit in the chair with Hayes, mom stand by the crib, we read a story, say prayers, then he gives loves and kisses to dad, then comes to me for a little cuddle before bed.  He lays his head on my shoulder and he must have picked up on me patting his back and rubbing it because he does it back to me and I melt every time.  Then I lay him down and give him all his animals (Molly the monkey, puppy, and other puppy that sings) and tell him I love him and rub his head.  I love it.

There is so much more I could say, I will blog soon again, but for now enjoy!!

Fall Fun

It has been a while since I posted anything about my sweet, silly Hayes!  He is hilarious and constantly on the move.  Right now he is enjoying:

• Putting a ball on a t and hitting it off.
• Dancing and moving his arm really crazy.  Super funny.
• Chasing Dot.  BEST ENTERTAINMENT!!
• Saying Ot-Oh, Mama, Dada, Gama, OT (Dot)
• Imitating the sound of a snake, dog, cow, bear, lion, the Hulk (you'll understand later), dinosaur.
• Loves Mickey Mouse.  He is obsessed.
• Sleeping with Mickey or Goofy.
• Waving, blowing kisses, giving kisses, crushing spiders.
• Running everywhere (especially away from mommy when a diaper changing is in order).
• He loves strawberries, pineapples, grapes.
• Otherwise is a picky eater and it is DIFFICULT!
• Loves books, animals, and carving pumpkins.

I have some fun pictures to post from his birthday (even though it was in August) to Halloween!  Enjoy!

At Hayes' 1st birthday with Grandpa Dan.

Carving pumpkins with cousins.

Pumpkin walk!  Super cool.

Cute cousins.

He loved getting the goo out!

Eryns, Hayes', Easton's

Little Hulk!

Hulk Smile haha He was really green all over but was running everywhere and it all game off!

Hiding from mom!

"throwing the baseball" face.

Hayes Dancing!  Not sure if this video will work.

Jace and I are trying to get ahead for our deathly finals that are soon to come!  It has been a rough fall, but come December I feel that the light at the end of the tunnel will be visible!  Come May, Jace will be a year into his program, and I'll be just shy of that.  It is going to be a rough 2 years, but we can do it!  I hope haha.

Thanks for reading!

Jacob 7

I don't usually post about what scriptures I've been reading, but I just had to share this time!  Jace and I are reading the Book of Mormon together and we just finished Jacob last week.  The last chapter in Jacob, chapter 7 is awesome and I recommend you read it.  It talks about a man named Sherem who declares that there isn't a God.  He  goes around the city "that he might lead away the hearts of the people"  and Jacob mentions that Sherem is really good with words and is able to lead people away from Christ with ease.  My favorite part is when Jacob stands up to him in front of the people bearing his testimony:

9 And I said unto him: Deniest thou the Christ who shall come?  And he said: If there should be a Christ, I would not deny him; but I know that there is no Christ, neither has been, nor ever will be.
10 And I said unto him:  Believest thou the scriptures?  And he said, Yea.
11 And I said unto him: Then ye do not understand them: for they truly testify of Christ.  Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ. 
12 And this is not all-- it has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen; and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, I know if there should be no atonement made all mankind must be lost.

Then Sherem says well then, if there is a God show me a sign!  And Jacob answers in such a way that should be the answer to anyone, even now, who asks for us to make God show them a sign:

14 And I said unto him:   What am I that I should tempt God to show unto thee a sign in the thing which thou knowest to be true?  Yet thou wilt deny it, because thou art of the devil.  Nevertheless, not my will be done; but if God shall smite thee, let that be a sign unto thee that he has power, both in heaven and in earth; and also, that Christ shall come.  And thy will, O Lord, be done, and not mine.  

Sure enough the power of the Lord did come upon Sherem and he fell to the earth!  He tells everyone to gather the next day because he is going to die, and he wants to talk with them one last time:

17 And it came to pass that on the morrow the multitude were gathered together; and he spake plainly unto them and denied the things which he had taught them, and confessed the Christ, and the power of the Holy Ghost, and the ministering of angels.
18 And he spake plainly unto them, that he had been deceived by the power of the devil.  And he spake of hell, and of eternity, and of eternal punishment.
19 And he said: I fear lest I have committed the unpardonable sin, for I have lied unto God; for I denied the Christ, and said that I believed the scriptures and they truly testify of him.  And because I have thus lied unto God I greatly fear lest my case shall be awful; but I confess unto God.

Sherem died right after this speech.  The people were astonished and Jacob's testimony was solidified that God does answer prayers.  My testimony grew so much after I read this chapter.  I cannot even tell you how many times I have had a run in with a "Sherem" and did not know what to say.  They were not smitten, they did not humble themselves before God and "undeny" him, and I didn't want to say too much and offend.  What is most important to note I think, is that if you deny Christ when you know that he is, it is unpardonable.  This is not for me to judge of another;  but it is extremely something that needs to be understood.  I know a lot of people who "deny Christ" so to speak, and I hurt for them when Christ comes again.  I hope that they can find a testimony in the gospel of Jesus Christ again soon.

Thanks for reading,