Merry Christmas to All

Dave 

Culminated 10 years of higher education with his graduation from University of Louisville School of Dentistry Orthodontic Residency.

Took a job as an associate outside of Austin, Texas

Has taken on the philosophy that happiness is a choice and blesses the family with constant positivity

Developed a taste for some of the finer or at least healthier foods in life  . .chooses wheat bread all on his own now.   . . still working on those vegetables.

Took a trip back to Kentucky to drive an all women running team along the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky.

Bri

Birthed another girl .. this time without the help of an epidural

Decided that there was no better time than an Austin summer with record breaking heat and drought to train for and complete her first marathon.

She was pretty sure she wanted to die during her final leg of the Bourbon Chase relay(and may have, had her loving and supportive husband not gotten out of the van and run alongside her for the final  3 miles- despite his hate for running),but it was worth it in the end to be part of the first place women’s team and spend two days with 11 amazing women in the beautiful Kentucky Countryside

Blessed with the most amazing mother who, not once but twice, came out to Texas to watch all 5 grandkids so that she could run that relay race and accompany Dave on an office cruise down to Cozumel. 

Trenton (8 1/2)

Gets an A++ for  citizenship.

Wishes soccer was year round with nothing but games.

Never leaves home without a book.

Saved his money and made his first big purchase. .a Nintendo DS

Is often heard saying while in the car, “Move my seat for Christmas, please move my seat for Christmas, I’ll even pay you” in the most dramatic pleading voice imaginable as his  “seat” is currently in the middle of the back seat  in the minivan between two younger siblings still in car seats

Dallas (6 1/2)

Got sent to the principal’s office for the first time after he left his lunch at home and took matters into his own hands (and mouth) by eating another child’s snack.

Learned the strategy associated with being in the right place at the right time allowing him to score many goals with very little running during his soccer games

Everyone knows his name wherever we go . . .never one to slip under the radar.

Loves to show off his intelligence by spouting off random facts, reading long words, and questioning everything.

Brooklyn (4 1/2)
Always coloring, unfortunely this still includes the occasional mural on a wall, table , pillow or doll.

Is rather independent in her learning to write many words and read right along with it

Nicknamed “ fashion police” by her soccer coach for her always unique choice of clothing

Often commenting on how much she misses her school and friends and teachers in California (we’re guessing she means Kentucky since she’s never lived in California)

Lexi (3)

The instigator of laughs from many . .always followed by “that not funny” as she doesn’t realize how comical we all find her

Was nice enough to be potty trained for about a month before the baby was born giving us our first diaper free time in over 7 years.

In a very serious yet sweet voice, will often tell us to close our eyes or not go into a certain room before she does something naughty (like sneak a snack out of the pantry)  I wonder if we could get her to still do this as a teen?

Ali (8 months)
Tested our patience initially by arriving a week past due but has brought nothing but joy since.
Smiles, smiles and more smiles.

Multiple rolls can be counted on each leg.

Can pull of a one tooth grin perfectlly.

It's been another full year filled with changes and blessings.  We are grateful to all of you-our friends and family-who continually enrich our lives and remind us of what is most important.  And we are grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and his birth that we remember and celebrate this time of year.  Happy Holidays!

What a Difference a Thumb Makes

Recent Photos

 Day before delivery, she's still as beautiful as ever

 Final picture as a family of 6

 Relaxing on mommy

 The older brothers and sisters waiting their turn at the hospital to hold their new baby sister Ali

 Such a gentle big sis!

 First bath!

 Thanks to severe rain, tornados and flooding we had an indoor easter egg hunt with some neighbors

Lexi's favorite silly face

iPhone Photo Fun :)

Happier after a few more hours outside the womb

She's here!

Alexandria (Ali) Veronica Butler
8 lbs 1 oz
22 inches
Born 12:57 pm au natural (which Bri said she would never do again,
though since we're done that won't be an issue). Mom and baby are
doing awesome. Pictures to come.

Get Er Done

Well it's official that Bri's body is really good at getting pregnant
and not so good at getting unpregnant. She will now be 5 for 5 on
getting induced as we have left for the hospital this morning for a
little pitocin push. Here's the last belly shot from this morning, 1
week overdue.

Yes, I am still pregnant

I never intended this pregnancy to be a real secret, but apparently we either didn't send a new years card to very many, or Dave signing everyone's names and adding a question mark at the end was a little too subtle.  Either way, I am still pregnant and I love how the little ticker is now just adding days as I continue to go past my due date.  I promise I will make Dave update the blog when there is any news to share.  (Like Briana just birthed a 10 lb girl!)

Taken about 38 weeks pregnant (yes I chose this one cause I fee like it actually makes me look small . . .wish I  could say that was still the case.

February and March

Dave attended a leadership and orthodontics conference in San Diego at the end of February . .I got to be single mom for a while and the kids got t-shirts upon his return.  

I've continued running during this pregnancy . .well up until this week when I finally vowed not to run in an attempt to  actually let my body relax and go into labor or something.  . .which obviously hasn't worked.
On March 12 at 8 months pregnant I ran in the rodes city 10K, a race that is part of the triple crown.  The 3 older kids did the fun run that followed.  I was bummed not to do all the races again this year, but this helped me to feel a part.  Not to mention the looks and comments I got to be amused by while running.
Here were the stats:

Briana Butler #1819

Pewee Valley, KY

Age: 28 Gender: F

Distance	10K
Clock Time	59:50
Chip Time	52:44
Overall Place	1554 / 7958
Gender Place	358 / 4435
Division Place	90 / 702

Distance

10K

Clock Time

59:50

Chip Time

52:44

Overall Place

1554 / 7958

Gender Place

358 / 4435

Division Place

90 / 702

Brooklyn doing a little pre-race stretching

I gave up on having them smile and snapped this before bed on Saint Patricks Day

Diaper Leak

Whether it was an intended leak by Bri or not,  yes diaper freedom will be short lived in the Butler house.  Very short lived.

Potty Training . . .almost flawless

Originally written the week of February 13, 2011

I let Lexi run around our house bottomless for several weeks after I discovered that when pantless, she was essentially potty trained- wouldn't even tell anyone she needed to go  . .would just go to the toilet and do her thing.  It was great, except that she had to be naked.  If she was wearing any sort of bottoms. .pants, panties, diapers . . .she had no issue going in them.  So I was stuck with how to make the transition to panties so that she could be potty trained in public and not just at home (figured I couldn't drop off my half naked child of  at the gym daycare or in nursery).  Well eventually, at the beginning of last week to be exact, I decided I just had to pull the trigger and deal with some accidents while she transitioned into panties.  So, away went the diapers and to church she went like a big girl.  A big girl that later peed a little in her pants in nursery, but we were on our way to success hopefully.  The week progressed well-very few accidents and no poop incidents.

Then came Thursday . . .a  day I would like to take back and redo if I could.
I had a visiting teaching appointment and I am a firm believer in not switching from panties back to diapers so away we went with Lexi in her big girl pants. . .allbeit a little nervous as it was the time of day that she normally had a BM and she also hadn't peed in several hours.  Well I kept a close eye on her for a while knowing that sometimes she would just start taking her pants off when she was ready to go. . . but eventually we ladies got chatting and Lexi wandered upstairs to go play in my friend's twin girls' room.  Shortly thereafter Lexi comes wandering back to us . .naked and saying "poop".
Panic hits me as I grab my bag and go upstairs to see what has happened.  Well, I find Lexi's little pile in the carpeted closet and she shows me her underwear that she had placed in the nearby garbage can.  Why can't she just poop her pants like a normal toddler?  No, she has to know she is going to poop and take her pants off first and then do it.  And why can't she have nice formed poop instead of being queen of loose stools?  Well, I miraculously get it all up and really you can't even tell where she went-although I am so embarassed and some got on little purse that my friend just told me to throw away.  I put new panties on her and she runs away again before I even get pants on her.  (Looking  back this was a big mistake as I know her and they way she does things in groupings)

So a few minutes later she is back naked again saying she needs to go poop.  I take her to the potty and she does pee and poop and then I got upstairs only to find her panties in the bathroom (which she didn't use) and another runny pile in the middle of the girls' room instead.  I am thinking "this isn't really happening" and run back downstairs to grab my "supplies" again.  It only got worse as while I was grabbing my bag, Lexi then stepped in this runny pooh and proceeded to walk around the room forming nice little poop footprints all over the carpet and on a blanket!  I vigorously start scrubbing with diaper wipes but soon come to the reality that it isn't going to clean up all nicely this time and yell to my friend asking her if she still has her steam cleaner.  I wanted to die!  I  was seriously just mortified and told her I was never coming back.  She sprayed it with carpet cleaner and said she would just run the steamer over it when she got back.  She was so nice about it (even if she wanted to kill me deep down) and assured me it was nothing compared to her daughters who were "poop painters", but nonetheless, it wasn't her daughters and she had already been there and done that and shouldn't have to do it again with someone else's kid!  So I left her girls' room looking and smelling like an outhouse completely wanting to erase the last 20 minutes of my life!

It is said that visiting teaching blesses the lives of those we visit. . .pretty sure this doesn't count!
My only saving grace is that while typing this Lexi just told me and went poop in the potty just like she has done ever since that horrible day!

And now here we are at the end of March and I haven't had a child in diapers day or night for 7 weeks for the first time in over 7 1/2 years.  It will be short lived, but enjoyed nonetheless.