Well, I think sufficient times has past since the last time I wrote. I have noticed a dramatic decline in comments on our blog which I attribute to all of our friends and family giving up on us. I hope that the word spreads that we are back in business!

Emmie is now one month old and her jaundice has disappeared. She is sleeping better and eating like her father. She is now over 10 pounds and filling out nicely.

We have some pictures of easter morning but since we live in south Texas which is one of the citrus capitals of the US, we substituted eggs for grapefruit. I think it was a great success since they picked up all the old rotted fruit off the grass so I didn't have to.

We apologize...

We haven't posted in so long that I'v decided to put up a few months worth of notes and pictures. Sorry for the sideways pictures, Shayla likes to turn the camera in all sorts of directions and even after trying to correct them, they still came out like this.

To explain some of these pictures: Shayla decided for some reason to put my son's hair into ponytails and make him to do some weird faces. I can't stop all this type of nonsense that happens while I'm at work so this is the result. I think I need to do an intervention with Shayla. 

The picture of me on the plane looking so stupid is a result of us being placed into business class on our flight to California. The seats reclined into beds and each seat had little cubbies for our shoes and TVs for every passenger. We tried to look like we belonged but when we were taking pictures and the flash was lighting up the cabin and our uncontrollable giggling gave us away as poor common folk with no dignity.  

Christmas has past and the birthdays are rolling through. Ian had his fifth birthday and we celebrated it at Peter Piper Pizza. He got a lot of great gifts and he is now looking forward to kindergarten. He also got his first bike.

Katie celebrated her third Birthday this month with an old fashioned birthday at the house. We made it an animal barn theme since she loves all animals to death. We built a small barn out back and corralled all the kids in there so they could look and play with all manner of animals (they were stuffed animals but the kids didn't know any better). 

School ends soon for me and I'm preparing to enter the adult world and start to take responsibility for my family. Shayla has not had much respect for me since we moved into her parents house over 2 1/2 years ago. Maybe I can prove to her that I can be the man of the house and provide for her needs. I applied for US Customs and I am awaiting a phone call informing me of a job. In anticipation of a long wait, I applied for Border Patrol on the Washington State border. I did well on my written test and oral interview so the chances of me being called by them before Customs is a good bet. 

The horrible thing is is that one week ago we had a baby and my family has yet to see any pictures of her! I give all the blame to Shayla since she has nothing to do but stay up all night with the baby and be an on-demand feeding machine. She should really stop thinking of herself and pay attention to all of our adoring fans out there!

March 17th at 2:11 am we welcomed little baby Emmie Madeline Thomas into the fold. She weighed 7 lbs. 6.8 ounces and was measured at 19.5 inches long. She was officially our short and stout baby since she was the heaviest and shortest of them all. We later found out through more exact and professional measuring that she was really 21 inches long. It was either an amazing growth spurt or a correction on the scorecard. 

Shayla was once again the queen of push as she pushed that little thing out with little problem. In fact, the nurses asked Shayla to give a little practice push not realizing that she can do it in 3 pushes or less. The simultaneous scream of "STOP!" from the five nurses present made me puff out my chest in pride as Emmie was ready to come no matter what.

With one day of recuperation in the hospital, they kicked us out and sent Shayla and Emmie home to fend for themselves. In classic Thomas fashion, Emmie became jaundice and she spent the next 48 hours under what our other kids call "the ghost light", or bili-light. Still yellow, Emmie looks much better and to my great relief, she sleeps all the time! I think we are going to have a great relationship. 

Katie giggles every time she sees Emmie and she wants to hold and touch her. She has informed us that it is not our baby but actually Emmie is her baby. I look at it the same as if we gave her a puppy. If she wants it then she has to feed and clean up after it, but we always know that after the first few weeks they lose interest in it and the parents are left doing all the work.   

After one month we are finally getting around to publishing pictures from Christmas. We were able to enjoy a long relaxing vacation at the Thomas household in California where the cousins were able to play without much supervision. I think our kids really enjoyed this freedom and the nonstop action. This was an exciting year for us as Ian and Katie were able to fully comprehend the Christmas season and take advantage of the gifts. Ian's favorite gift was hands-down the WALL-E toy from Lacey. Katie was thrilled by her many stuffed animals.

With the whole Thomas clan in town, we thought it would be the best opportunity to take family pictures. Surprisingly we had some success and cooperation from all the kids, me included. I have to say, my patience for this type of thing is lacking. Shayla is always pressuring me to take family pictures but I would rather get my back waxed. Was that too much information? Not that I have any hair on my back...

School has now started once again and I find myself looking forward to graduation in May. I hope that I can make it that far since I can receive a call any day now from Homeland Security assigning me my first post. Life is still hectic as I work full time, go to school full time and serve in the bishopric but I have been able to find time to start running.

Shayla got right back into running her business. She is still very excited about it and they continue to get new clients. Her pregnancy is going well with little sickness. The only lingering problem are occasional contractions. She's a trooper as she juggles the kids, the business, and the pregnancy.

Ian and Katie are still the same happy rowdy kids. They have a great friendship and they make life enjoyable.