Pics of the boys...

Snack time!

Still have on their "morning faces"
Mustache Man

You never know when disaster might strike!

Here are some random pictures of the boys from the last month or so. I don't want them to get missed but I don't have a certain theme. I guess the theme is "Cute Bucher Boys"!

Kade's Big "One"

Okay, I like this stuff.
Where's the cake?

Present time!

My walker gives me mobility and keeps me out of trouble!

Family of Three for the first time!

A walk down memory lane...

Dreamy smile!

First time getting to hold him in NICU at 3 days old.

NICU

Brand spankin' new!

Our baby finally reached the year mark on February 6th. I am amazed, year after year, at how fast a year goes by and our kids get older and older. It is a good reminder to take time more often to snuggle, hug, and tell them how special they are to me.

This little boy has been such a joy! He may be a little bit more serious than our other two but he readily gives us smiles and is such a love-bug! It's fun to have one that actually likes to snuggle and comes up to us and hugs our leg and lays his head down on our laps. SO SWEET! He is a big boy, just like his brothers. His one year stats are: 25 lbs, 30 3/4 in, and head circ of 18 3/4 in., which makes him the biggest at 1 year! Healthy boys are what we grow around here!

Kade started walking around furniture around 11 months and really took off at a year. He was crawling everywhere before that, unlike his brothers who didn't crawl. He is a great eater, very vocal, and calls to his brothers with a yell/grunt. His first word was... "Elk". His daddy was pretty proud! He has also said mama, dada, dog, and a few other unintelligable things that I know he knows perfectly well what he's saying. He loves Sadie, our dog, and takes any chance he can to lay on her and pat her. He also adores his brothers who love playing chase with him. He's a great dancer and loves music. He has his bottom 2 teeth and is working on all four across the top, which makes for a very drooly baby!

I can't say enough how much I love this little boy! He is such a blessing and all the turmoil of the NICU in the beginning is all but forgotten. He is a reminder of how incredible our Creator is and what amazing things He gives us! Happy Birthday Kade!!!

Family Heritage

I LOVE the fact that I have a rich family heritage! I come from two very strong families, with strong bonds, traditions, and values. Along with the strong faith our family shares, there are many other things that have been passed down the line. Fly fishing is definitley one of those things. My Grandpa is, I think, the Grandfather of fly fishing. He then passed it to my dad, who in turn passed it to my siblings and I. When Adam and I started dating, I was able to give him a fly rod as a gift and he has learned to love it as well. Cole has started to catch on as well. Though he's not quite big enough to fly fish, he is learning how to become prepared by tying his own flies. My Grandpa got him started one weekend at the cabin and since then he has had lessons from Adam, Auntie Kim, and Uncle Casey. He has a whole styrofoam pad with his own creations! He loves it and can often be found sitting at the kitchen table in the evenings, tying flies... he really is an "old soul".

Duck Hunting with Daddy

There really isn't a question whether my boys will be hunters. Not because we will force it on them or anything, but because they are surrounded by multiple generations of hunters who LOVE the sport! Cole got his first real taste of hunting this fall during duck season with his dad and Uncle Keith. I have to say, he's hooked!

Snow Day

"Fresh" snow cones
Yummmm

Don't even think about it!

Hey, that looks like fun!

We had kind of a late first big snow. The boys went out and made use of it before it all melted away. Big fluffy snowflakes to catch on the tongue, snowmen to build, and snowballs to throw at mom! What could be better? Oh, I know, snow cones when you're all done playing!!!

Christmas 2011

We had a great Christmas season for 2011! It's so much fun to celebrate Christmas as the kids get older and are understanding more of what Christmas is all about. The excitement on their faces at seeing all the decorations everywhere we go and having lots of fun activities to go to is great. Of course it's also really fun to have them begin to realize that those things are not the best part of Christmas. Cole and Mason were both really excited to celebrate Jesus' birthday and are able to start to understand and appreciate the Christmas Story.

Here are some fun things we did over the holidays:- Started things off with cutting down our Christmas tree in High Valley Thanksgiving weekend, after a fun Thanksgiving at the Bucher cabin.

- Had a fun visit to Santa and one of his reindeer, Prancer.

- Made and decorated Christmas cookies

- Went to the Botanical Gardens "Winter Garden a Glow" for Adam's office Christmas party.

- Celebrated Christmas with the Bunn crew and a fun white elephant gift exchange.

- Had a fun dinner out and Christmas celebration with Adam's family!

- Went to the cabin with the Johnson fam for Christmas!

I slacked on writing a Christmas letter this year for fear that I wouldn't get them out until Valentine's Day! So I'll write a summary of our year here.

We've had a wonderful year this year. The biggest blessing was the joining of our youngest son to our family. Kade Phillip Bucher was born on February 6th, 2011, weighing in at 8 lbs and 20 1/2 inches. He is now 11 months and is absolutely wonderful! He is crawling and pulling himself up everywhere and is taking a few steps on his own. He just needs to braven up a bit and decide to venture out on his own, then I'll really be in for it! He has 2 bottom teeth and I think has more to come soon, for all the drooling he is doing. He has a sweet cuddly personality and pretends to be a shy guy to new people. He is our blonde baby and is just a sweet little angel!

Mason turned 3 (as seen in earlier post) this month. He is such a fun guy! He absolutely LOVES sports and spends hours playing football with Cole and letting his big brother "coach" him. When he has a frowny face, it can easily be turned into a smile with a little coaxing from his daddy. What a good big brother he has become to Kade. He likes to make sure he is not playing with something he shouldn't have and loves to make him laugh and smile. Whenever he wakes up from his nap, he says "Good morning!" and comes to give me a snuggle. I love this kid!

Cole is our big 5 year old! As the oldest he has asked me lately, "Why do you still treat me like a kid?". I tell him he'll always be my baby and I'm never going to let him grown up! Too bad for me though, he is well on his way! He is such a good reader, speller, and writer. He loves to write books and cards to people. He also has a very giving heart, he wants to earn money so that he can buy something special for the kids in Kenya, who don't have much of anything. I'm excited for him to be in kindergarten next year, it will be quite an adventure!

Adam is still working for Idaho Power as a project scheduler, going on 2 years. He enjoys his work and is thinking he'd like to settle in and see where Idaho Power can take him. He was able to do a little elk hunting and a deer hunt with his dad and brothers in North Idaho this fall. We now have venison in the freezer and Adam has another notch in his hunting belt! He is playing in a basketball league this winter with some guys from work and takes Cole with him to many of his games. He is the BEST dad and the boys can't get enough of paying football, doing projects, and just hanging out with their dad.

I'm still on the oncology unit at St. Luke's 2 evenings a week and am home with the boys the rest of the time, which I love! I love being able to see first hand my kids growing up and be their teacher for this short time that I have them at home. I love being a nurse and get to do that as well, but my priority is at home right now. The boys keep me busy and besides adding a new baby, my year has been pretty low key. I was in a women's Bible Study at church, studying the major and minor prophets this past fall, which was awesome to get into the word a little more in depth. I am excited to see what God has in store for my life and my family in 2012 and trust that He will guide us.

I become more thankful each year for the blessings I've been given. A husband who is my best friend, partner, an incredible dad, and all around awesome guy! Three beautiful sons who are so healthy and full of life. An incredible extended family who supports us and loves us unconditionally. Wonderful friends who encourage and help us, and whom we have so much fun with! And a Savior who was born one December night in a lowly manger. A God who loves us so much that he gave his one and only son, so we can be wiped clean of all the mistakes and blunders we make and can live with Him in heaven one day. What more could I ask for!

Mason's 3rd Birthday!

Wow, have some work to do on the blog here:-)

Anyhow, Mason turned 3 on December 14th! How did those three years fly by so fast? It's amazing how clearly I can remember going into the hospital to have him, the anxiety and fear of him being in the NICU, the joy of taking him home, and how incredible it was to add a second son to our family! He has added such life and energy to our home and has been SO much fun! He has been the 2 year old that gets into everything you hoped he wouldn't, that runs away as fast as he can in a store or parking lot, and laughs at getting in trouble! I don't know how 3 is going to be, but I'm buckling down for a good ride:-) He is fun loving and has a great sense of humor! He loves to cuddle with mommy after his nap and climb up on his daddy's lap to read a good book.

As of 3 years old, Mason is 36 lbs and 38 inches tall. He got a perfectly clean bill of health at his check up and found out that flu shots are NO FUN!!!

For his birthday party we went to Chuck E. Cheese with some friends and family. He had a blast and the party was lots of fun! We're looking forward to a great new year in Mason's life and I can't wait to see what God has in store for my wonderful 3 year old boy!