5 Months

Today my baby boy is 5 months old! I can't believe how fast time goes by these days. It seems like only a few weeks ago that we were bringing him home from the hospital. Although he still seems so little to me, he is definitely growing BIG! I think he's about 20lbs right now, which is making it very difficult to haul him around in his infant carrier. The really fun part of getting older is how interactive he has become. He is quite ticklish, and it's hilarious to listen to him laugh when you tickle his sides and belly. He smiles at lots of people, and has started making lots of noise. The best is the way he looks at me...as if he is saying with his eyes how much he loves me. I can tell that he is a happy baby and loves to be near his family. We are so lucky to have such a sweet boy!

Award Dinner

Last night Chris and I got to get all dressed up to attend the Nike Maxim Awards Banquet. The Maxim Awards are given to groups and individuals who are nominated and selected for exemplifying the different Nike "Maxims". It's a pretty big deal. Hundreds of people are nominated, three are chosen as finalists from each category, and then the winner is announced at the fancy party. This year it was held at the Portland Art Museum. Out of 11 Maxim categories, Chris was a finalist for 2 of them! We got to have a yummy chicken and potato dinner complete with salad, bread, and dessert. It was nice to have an excuse for dressing up for our date.

We had a great time, especially since Chris won in the category Maxim 5: The Consumer Decides! He won for creating the iPhone GPS App for tracking runs for Nike+. Apparently it has been a huge hit in the market. Way to go honey!!

Snow Dance

Claire came home from school on Monday and said, "Mom, i learned at school how to make it snow tonight!" She then described in great detail the snow dance. Apparently, if you put on your pajamas inside out, skip around the house, and make falling snow motions with your hands...the snow is sure to fall. After trying to explain to her that even if we do the snow dance, it's possible that it still won't snow, she told me that I was wrong and we changed the subject.

Later that night after family home evening, she was really upset. When I asked her what was wrong she said, " no one is doing the snow dance with me. We all have to do it." So Chris, Grace, and Claire (I was holding the baby :) ) put their jammies on inside out and starting skipping around the house. It was hilarious! Afterwards I tried my explanation again, to no avail, and then put them to bed.

In the morning when Claire woke up and saw the dusting of snow outside, she starting screaming with excitement, "I did it, I did it, I made it snow!!" It was pretty cute, although now she is really convinced of the powers of the snow dance.

It was a tiny bit of snow, but there was some ice too, so school was cancelled. We had a fun day drinking hot chocolate and playing in the "snow".

Once Upon a Dream

We watch a lot of Sleeping Beauty at our house, and lately it has been almost daily. The girls love, love, love the music and the princess and all things girly. Don't get me wrong, Aurora was always my favorite Disney princess when I was a kid, but still I can only take so much. Not only do they watch the movie, but then insist on watching the music video of "Once upon a dream" over and over and over again. It's kinda funny because it's some teenage rocker chick in the video, and the girls just think it's amazing. They could dance to that for hours.

Today, as the movie was ending and the princess came walking down the stairs with her prince, I just happened to glance over at Grace. She was sitting perfectly still with the biggest grin on her face. She looked mesmerized. I couldn't help but smile and be thankful for having little girls who dream about being princesses and living happily ever after.

Checkup

Today I took the younger kids to the Doc for well child visits. Here are the stats:

Grace 3 years old, 38 lbs, and 39 inches!
Neil 4 months, 17lbs 14oz., 25 1/2 inches!

Yikes, these two are really great eaters. They also had a few shots between them, so it was a little hectic trying to get out of there with my sanity intact, but it is all over now!

Day of Rest

Today was an adventure...and it's only 2pm.

The clocks went back an hour last night, which for most people means that they get to enjoy an extra hour of sleep. For everyone with kids, it means we all have to get up at 6am instead of 7am now for the next week. Yay! Can't wait...

So, I was trying to be positive this morning and decided I would make my family pancakes for breakfast. (Keep in mind we are strictly cereal in the morning type people) It turned out super yummy, and then we were able to take our time in getting ready for stake conference at 11am.
We decided that we'd go early in hopes of getting cushioned chairs to sit on for the 2 hour conference. So we were there in our soft seats at 10:30. All was going well, and then they announced, "oops, we made a mistake, conference was really supposed to be at 10, so now we need to wait for it to stop recording and then we'll show it at noon." Yikes! So, we got ourselves prepared for the long haul with our kids...thinking it's a good thing we packed some fruit snacks and an extra bottle.

Our kids are generally very well behaved at Church, but around the hour and a half mark, they were getting antsy. Chris had the baby out in the hall, and I let Claire take Grace to get a drink of water. When they came back, Grace refused to come back to our seats. I stepped out to coerce her, and as she was pulling away from me, she slipped from my grasp and hit her head on the corner of a wall. She of course started balling, but we didn't think much of it until Chris noticed blood all over his shirt. Yep, she split her head open. I ran her to the bathroom to take a better look. Aside from all the blood, she had a nice little gash that was open pretty far. It looked worse than the time Claire had split her head, so we decided to take her to urgent care. Thankfully by the time she was seen, it had clotted up really well, and all they had to do was wash it out quite vigorously, but no stitches or staples. Whew! She was pretty dramatic about the whole thing, so if she tells you some horror story of her bloody head, you will know the real story.

Halloween

This last weekend was super busy for us. Friday was Grace's birthday, Saturday was our Church Halloween party that we were in charge of, and then Sunday was of course Church with meetings and then Halloween night.

The kids really got into it this year. I think they've finally figured it out. Claire decided that she was going to be a witch this year, and was really excited when she heard that 2 of her friends were also going to be witches. Grace was a bumble bee, and it was adorable! I found Neil a puppy dog suit that was really warm, although he hated wearing the hood. Overall, this was the easiest year for costumes. I was able to find costumes that didn't need any altering or extra accessories. It was so nice!

At the party we filled up on chili and cornbread and then all of the kids got to parade through the gym and load up on candy. Afterwards there were fun carnival type games to play and a cake walk. Claire spent the entire time at the cake walk. Eventually I went to check up on her, and I saw that she was eating a cupcake. I said, "Oh wow, Claire, that's great that you won one!" Claire responded, "Mom...this is my fourth cupcake." Yikes! I guess she was really enjoying herself. Grace was pretty content to relax at the table and eat her candy.

We decided to take the kids out for a little trick or treating at grandma's houses as well as some neighbors. We had a really good time! The weather also cooperated which was nice. It was a pretty mild evening. Now to do something with all of this candy that is laying around the house....I really don't want to eat it all!

My Grace

It's hard to believe that 3 years ago my little Gracie pants was born. Time has gone by way too fast! She's such a big girl now. She talks nonstop, even to complete strangers. She is daring, and has very little fear. Her favorite thing to do is play with her big sister. Everyday she asks me if we can go pick up Claire from school, starting at 9am. She is just so eager for her to come home and play with her.

Grace is also my most stubborn child. When she gets something in her head, it's very difficult to change her mind. Instead of whining, mostly she will just yell...really loud. It's almost a growl at times. This stubbornness has made potty training super frustrating for me. On days that she feels like it, she can do it. It's just a matter of hoping that she will feel like it more often than not. :)

Grace is also very sweet. She loves her siblings so much, and will often help me take care of the baby. She likes to tickle him, and dangle toys inches from his face. It's pretty funny to watch actually. She's become quite motherly, and I can see that poor Neil will have 3 mothers to deal with soon enough.

I'm so glad to have Grace! The last 3 years have been so fun to watch her little personality grow. I also think she has become a very pretty little girl. Her smile is contagious, and she has gorgeous eyes. Happy Birthday my little Gracie-pants!

For her party, we invited over our family and had pizza, cake, and ice-cream. Grace really wanted a rainbow cake, so we made it ourselves. She helped with everything! Let me just say, it was really hard to make the red frosting. I used all of the food coloring, and it still was pretty pink. Oh, well. She liked it a lot! She had a hard time blowing out the candles, but Claire was willing to step in and help her out. Grace got lots of fun presents including: coloring books, buzz lightyear, zhu zhu pet, vtech laptop, toy story legos, a tea set, cool clothes, new undies, and stickers. Overall, she had a great time!

Technology

This is my adorable baby boy. Just by looking at this first picture you would never think that anything was different about him. He's just the sweetest looking baby boy with gorgeous blue eyes. He is, however, wearing hearing aids. They are quite small, and blend in really well with his skin and light hair, so they are hard to see in pictures.

As most of you know, he has a moderate hearing loss. No, he is not deaf. With his hearing aids he should be able to hear everything around him just fine. He should develop normal speech and be like any other child his age.

We are very grateful for the newborn hearing screening that was done in the hospital. Without it we would have no idea that there were any issues. We are also thankful for the technology being advanced enough to fit a tiny baby with aids that will let him hear his world.

We can't predict life's challenges, all we can do is live with what we've been dealt. There is comfort in knowing that God will not test us above that which we can handle. (1 Corinth 10:13)

“All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” (D&C 122:7.)

We are so glad to have this new baby in our home. He is very sweet, and his sisters adore him!

Destructo

The other day we were out and about as a family, and we decided it would be fun to buy the "How to Train your Dragon" DVD that just came out. We had all gone to see it in the theater, and had really loved it.

So yesterday was the day that we had told the kids that we would watch it. Everyone was super excited and ran downstairs to get it set up. Apparently, Grace was extra excited because before I could stop her, she had opened the case and managed to rip the dvd out with a loud crack! I just sat there. I was shocked at her speed, angry with her disobedience, and amazed that the disc was literally broken in two. So much for fun family movie night. The kids ultimately settled on a different movie, but it was kinda a downer. With Grace's birthday next week...I now have a great idea for a present. :)

Pumpkins and Sun!

Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous day, so we seized the moment and took the kids to the pumpkin patch. We had a great time! The girls loved riding the train out to the pumpkins, although Grace didn't understand why we couldn't just keep going. She could have ridden for a long time. This year they had a bunch of nice pumpkins that were already pulled out of the patch, so choosing one wasn't too difficult (or time consuming). After choosing our pumpkins and playing in the hay maze, we rode the boat back to the barn. The girls loved the pop up monsters that were in the lake. After checking out the animals, they rode "the caterpillar". Overall, it was a really fun adventure!

Blessing Day

Neil was blessed by his daddy in Church yesterday. Lots of our family came for the occasion, and everything went well. He cooperated and even stayed quiet for the prayer.

The family...
The men...

The ladies...

My handsome men... :)

Busy Day

Yesterday was a very long and exciting day for Claire. After coming home from her first day of school, she rested up to go play in her first soccer game. The whole family was there to cheer her on. The girls played 3 on 3 without goalies. I was quite surprised at how entertaining it was to watch. I had so much fun! Everyone on the sidelines really got into the game, and we were all shouting and cheering the entire time! Claire even got a goal! It was great to see their faces when they would score. They were sooo happy! They had great team camaraderie too! Every time someone would score they would all high five each other and get really excited. I'm not really sure who "won" the game, although it was really close. I just know that the girls had a blast, and so did we! And the post game treat??...??? krispy creme donuts! Happy girls indeed!

First Day of Kindergarten

Today marked the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. From now on we will always have kids in school. Our lives will be ruled by the school schedule. This day came so fast!
Claire is ready though. She woke up on time, had her breakfast, and excitedly walked to school with her dad. When I picked her up this afternoon she told me about her day, and said that she had a really fun day, except for only going to recess one time. Ahh, Claire...so many new adventures await you. I'm excited to be a part of your journey and watch you grow and learn!

Camping Adventures

Camping, you may say, with a new baby??? Yep, it can be done. This year we went to Stub Stewart State Park for a 4 night adventure. The baby was actually the most well behaved of the group. He barely cried, and overall slept really well. The weather was a bit obnoxious while we were there. The first day was super hot, then just hot, then freezing by Sat/Sun, and then warmed up again on Monday. Although there were a few sprinkles in the night, we stayed dry the entire time. Thank heavens for that!

The kids had a blast! There was dirt everywhere to play in, woods to explore, bikes to ride, bubbles to blow, craft projects to make, and plenty of other kids to play with. On Friday we drove them into Vernonia to check out the local swimming hole, which was just a dammed off portion of the Nehalem River. It didn't look very appealing, but fortunately they had a kiddie area too, which was a hit. They really liked walking through the river and exploring the banks. The other activity that the kids really enjoyed was our trip to the trout playground. There is this pond with tons of trout and steelhead in it. You can catch up to 2 fish each. It seemed like a great plan, until we saw the pricing. There was no catch and release. You had to buy what you caught. You pay by the inch of the fish. It was the one time we were hoping for some small ones. All of the kids loved it though! They all were able to catch their fish, and we paid about $30 for 6 fish. A few of them were really big. I couldn't snap many pictures because I was too busy trying to keep kids from falling in the pond, baiting hooks, and helping net the fish. It was worth it though. We all had a lot of fun. There was a really fun treehouse playground as well.

The most popular activity for the adults was biking. The park is located along the Banks-Vernonia trail, and I never realized how great this was. Chris and I borrowed some bikes and rode the trail all the way to banks, which I believe was about 10 miles. It was gorgeous! Thankfully, it was downhill for most of the way, and we called someone to come drive us back to camp at the end. Others in our group made the long ride to Vernonia on another day, but I am too novice for this. I recommend the trail though for a great hike/ride. It was really nice.

Overall, this camping trip turned out really well with lots of good food and fun conversations. I also need to make note that Chris finally achieved his goal of making sure that I was warm while sleeping. He bought me a new goose down 4 season sleeping bag...and it made a world of difference. I was actually hot! I looked forward to bedtime to crawl into the comfy warmness. I can no longer complain about freezing while camping. :) Thanks honey!

Silly Time

Today I am thankful for having family who live close by. They help us out in so many ways, but probably the best part is that the kids have a great relationship with everyone.

The girls have had so much fun these last couple of years with their Aunt Keara. She is a good sport and will be silly with them. The other day she came over and took bunches of pictures with them making funny faces. We will all miss you when you leave to college this fall Kee...

New Addition

On July 10th at 2:12 pm we welcomed our new baby, Neil Edward, into our family. Everything about that day went perfectly...which was a welcome surprise after how the pregnancy had gone.

I knew things were going to be different this time around when we went for our routine 20 week ultrasound and the technician announced, "It's a BOY!" We were shocked. I had figured that we would never have a boy.

The next major shock came at around 28 weeks when I failed my glucose test and was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. That was a doosy! I had to change my diet, count carbs, turn down yummy desserts, and indulge my pregnancy cravings by eating cottage cheese and lots of peanut butter. It was hard to say the least, but I did survive!

As the weeks went by, I started having my "usual" contractions. There were just a lot less of them. There was no bedrest, no drugs to stop them, no trips to the hospital for preterm labor...nothing. This gave me an inkling that perhaps he wouldn't be making an early appearance like his sisters did.

My exams at the doctors only added weight to this theory. My cervix, although changing, wasn't nearly as dilated as it had been in the past. I resigned myself to the idea of an induction at 39 weeks. It turned out so well!

We dropped off the girls at my parent's house on Friday night, and then Chris and I went to a movie. It was fun to get in one last date. Early the next morning we left for the hospital. It was so strange to walk in without pain, and know that I wasn't leaving without having had a baby. It was great to be with all the people I knew and worked with. They saved me the corner room, and I was able to choose my nurse and my CRNA.

They started my pitocin at 7am, and by 9am I was contracting quite painfully. My epidural was placed around 10am. Once that was in, Chris and I enjoyed some quiet time and a few naps. It was great! So relaxing and laid back. We had to wait for my doctor to come break my water. He had told us 11am, but he didn't make it in until 1pm. At that point I was only 4cm/90%. I was a little discouraged. I thought I would have been much more dilated.

It didn't matter in the end, because about 45 minutes later I was feeling tons of pressure, and I asked to be checked. Sure enough, I was complete and ready to push. I waited until my doctor showed up and everything was ready. It all went really well, and after about 10 minutes, little Neil was born at 2:12pm.

He came out healthy and strong. Chris cut the cord making certain not to cut any other appendages. It was so surreal. In that instant it was all over...the pregnancy, the blood sugar testing, the carb counting, and the giant belly. Now he is here with us, and we can all enjoy him. It was a perfect day!

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Happy Independence Day

The 4th of July was a really great event this year! It fell on a Sunday so we were able to attend Church and remember to be grateful for the freedoms that we enjoy. We had a relaxing afternoon to ourselves before heading over to grandma's house for a family BBQ. There was great food, great company, and good times had by all. Even though the weather was a bit chilly for it being July, we had tons of fun being outside and lighting off fireworks. Each of us had bought a few small packs of fireworks; which the kids absolutely loved! Someone even had several of the "larger" ie less than legal ones. Those were awesome! I had never been that close to fireworks like that, and it was well worth keeping the kids up til 10:45 to see! Happy 4th of July to everyone!

Happy Birthday Claire!

Claire turns 5 on July 1st, but we decided that we had better celebrate early because of the new baby. We kept it pretty simple this year. On Saturday we went bowling and let Claire invite a friend, and then on Sunday evening we had a family dinner/party. She had a great weekend, and loves all of her new presents. She received tons of things to color on/with. Thank you to everyone! It has been nonstop coloring at our house.
On a side note...it turns out that Grace is an amazing bowler. Not only could she lug around a 15 lb. ball, but she managed to score a 141! Granted we were using bumpers, but it was a good 40+ points higher than anyone else. :) Way to go Grace!

My little catfish

Last year I signed Claire up for swim lessons. She started out in the entry level preschool class, Catfish 1. She had a lot of fun, but she was still timid around the water. She wouldn't put her face in, not that I really blame her, but she wasn't progressing. After each session we would practice skills in the bathtub, and she would tell me that she was ready to try again. She took that class 3 times! Finally she was onto Catfish 2. I think I was more excited than her.

The first day of the new class made me think, "here we go...we'll be doing this class at least 3 times too..." By the second day, Claire was all of a sudden doing everything the teacher asked her to do. It was such an amazing turnaround. She even started swimming a few yards on her own! She's having so much fun in the water now, and seems to feel comfortable. I'm super excited for her! Good job Claire! Bring on Catfish 3!

Preschool Graduation

It's hard to believe that the school year is already over. It's even harder for me to believe that Claire will be moving on to elementary school this fall! She has come such a long way over the last 2 years of preschool. She can write her name, several words, read short stories, and recognize most large numbers. I am so proud of her! She is more than ready to learn much more in the coming year. I'm excited to see her grow and develop, and to see what she will be able to do next June!

Priceless

We have been trying to get the girls to actually go to bed at bedtime lately. I know, it doesn't seem like too much to ask...but seriously, we have had a really hard time with it. All was well and good when we first put them in the same room, that is until Grace discovered the light switch. Why sleep when you can flip on the light and play for hours?

Solution #5,465 maybe if Grace can't turn on the light, they will actually sleep

Trip to Home Depot= 4 miles
White ceiling fan= $59

Little girls that stay in their room, and fall asleep before 9pm.... priceless

Yes, it was a success...we'll see if the trend continues. This morning when Grace came into my room, the first thing she said was, "mommy, my light's broken." Ahhh yes, I think this will be a good thing. :)

The Sun Came Out

Yesterday was gorgeous! When we woke up and looked outside at the clear blue skies, I wanted more than anything to take a trip to the beach. It has been so rainy the last few weeks, so I was ready to celebrate the sun!

We left first thing in the morning after breakfast. It turned out to be the perfect time to go. We missed much of the traffic that I was expecting to see for such a rare nice day. About halfway there, Claire started complaining of an upset stomach. This is pretty common for her to say, so I didn't think too much of it, besides to tell her to keep her eyes on the road instead of looking down...just in case. Well, as we neared Seaside and turned onto 101, she threw up all over herself. We were shocked! This was only the 2nd time in her entire life (besides baby spit up) that she had ever puked. We pulled over, cleaned her and the van up, and continued on our way. Luckily I had packed extra clothes since we were headed to the beach. Thankfully she felt much better afterwards and was still able to enjoy herself.

Other than that drama, the rest of the day was perfect! We decided to go to a drive on beach in Gearhardt, which was perfect considering my current state. We were able to drive right up to where we played and didn't have to carry anything to/from the van. The beach was clean, the sky was clear, the sun was warm, and the wind wasn't bad at all. Overall, it doesn't get much better at the coast. The girls had a great time playing and even spent lots of time in the water.

After a few hours we packed up and drove down to Cannon Beach where we ate lunch at Moe's. It was pretty busy down there, but we were able to get in and out pretty fast. The girls really liked being able to watch the flying kites, seagulls, and ocean from the table. We headed home after eating, but we had a great time! I'm so glad we were able to go, especially since today it is pouring rain again. Such is Oregon. :)

Mt. Tabor

Memorial Day this year was pretty uneventful for me...I had to work. Chris, however, took it upon himself to seize the day. He began the morning by cleaning bathrooms, our shower, and laundry room! To say that I was pleasantly surprised would be a huge understatement! Thanks honey! It was really great to see when I came home from work.

In the afternoon he took the girls on another outdoor adventure/hike at Mt. Tabor park in Portland. It has a nice trail that goes around a reservoir and loops back to a playground. The kids had a great time of course. They are really enjoying going for hikes with dad. If you know of other kid friendly trails, please let us know.

We finished up the day with a classic Memorial Day BBQ with family. There was quite the spread of good looking food. It was challenging for me to look at all the options and have to choose only 1 extra thing to eat besides my burger. Oh well, overall I'm doing really good on my diet. Hopefully it will all be over soon!

When Mommy's Away...

It's May in Oregon, and that means it's finally warm enough for some outdoor fun. This last weekend was no exception. Unfortunately I had to spend the day at work, but Daddy decided to make the most of the sunshine and take the girls hiking! They drove out to Latourell Falls in the Columbia River Gorge for a nice 2 mile loop. When I came home that afternoon, the girls told me all about the waterfalls, bugs, and mud that they saw. They had walked the entire trail without needing to be carried, and they loved it! They are still talking about how much fun they had. Claire even said, "I want to go on 100 more hikes this summer!" They are lucky to have such a great dad who is ready and willing to go on such an adventure. He is braver than I!