Busy day...

Yet another one out of the mouth of Andrew.  We were discussing his day at preschool while we were eating dinner tonight.  I asked him who his favorite preschool friend right now is.  "Abby."  Then he leans over and says in a whisper, "You want to know a secret, Mom?  I love her!"  And so it begins!

Of course, then there is Luke.  He needed a diaper change at church on Sunday.  We left the diapers in the car and Clayton had the key so I was looking for him.  I found him talking to another guy from the ward in a room.  So I waited outside.  Next door was one of the Young Women's classes and they had the door open.  Luke kept going over to the door, peeking around the corner, smiling, waving, saying "hi".  Back and forth, flirting like you wouldn't believe.  And of course the girls loved it.  Though I'm sure their teacher, who was trying to talk to them about the importance of finances, didn't appreciate the distraction and disturbance. 

Am I sure I want another boy?!  Guess it's a little late now!

Kids say the darndest things!

Clayton is off work today.  I guess he was wandering around the house with his head and shoulders hunched over.  Andrew said, "Dad, you shouldn't walk like the guy on Hunchback of Notre Dame.  You walk like that and you'll end up living alone in Paris." 

I laughed so hard when Clayton told me that I was crying. 

Baby Boy #3

Today was the big day.  We had our ultrasound and we also found out the gender of the baby.  I was very relieved to find out that everything is okay with the baby.  I've been really worried that the baby wasn't growing right because both of my other boys carried way out in front and I was in maternity clothes by 2-2 1/2 months.  I'm 19 1/2 weeks pregnant and I've been in maternity clothes for a little over a week.  I still have some of my regular clothes that I can wear.  It freaked me out.  Of course, when I told people that, they all assumed I was having a girl.  I have never thought we were having a girl.  I just knew it was another boy.  I learned when I was pregnant with Luke that you can't base it on how different your pregnancies are.  I wasn't sick at all with Andrew and I was nauseous all the time with Luke.

So all is well with the baby. 

A couple of pics of our cute little guy:

He's so excited we know he's a boy.  We even got video of him pulling his arm down as if to say, "Yes!!!"

Looks like we've got another little button nose!

Two months...really?!

Where does the time go?  I knew it had been a while since I posted last, but had no idea it had been almost three months!  Good grief!  It's been a little crazy around here, that's for sure.  Shortly after my last post, my grandma passed away, somewhat unexpectedly.  She was 92 years old and had lived a good life, but hadn't really had any terminal health problems.  She went to sleep one night and the next morning the staff at her care center couldn't wake her up.  They think she may have had a brain hemmorage or something during the night.  She passed away two days later.  I know a lot of my family had a hard time with her passing, and I admit I shed a few tears, but it was such a relief to me.  She was a farmer and lived a very hard, but active life.  She grew beautiful flowers and amazing gardens.  I don't remember a time going to her house as a little girl that we didn't find her tending her gardens or out shoveling the snow off her sidewalk.  In recent years she had lost nearly all of her sight and hearing and had such bad knees she could barely walk.  She had suffered through some depression.  I know she must have felt like she was trapped in an old body with a very young spirit.  I was relieved to know she no longer had to suffer with those maladies.  She was also reunited with my grandpa who died 14 years ago.

We talked back and forth about going to the funeral, which was not scheduled at a very convenient time for my dad or any of his family (the only ones coming from out of town), but decided I would regret not going since I had missed my grandpa's funeral.  He died during the middle of finals my freshman year in college.  Through some miracle from above, both of my dad's kids who live out of state were able to make it.  I was so glad we did.  My dad really needed the support of his family because of some ugly drama that was occuring among his siblings.  It was fun to get to see my brother and his family for a few days and for him to meet Luke.  Living so far apart, me in AZ and him in Washington and now Arkansas, has made getting together hard.  My boys loved that their uncle Vance would get down and wrestle with them and play with them.

By the time we got home, I was completely exhausted.  It's been nearly 6 weeks and I still don't feel like I've recovered from it all.  This pregnancy is wiping me out far worse than my last two.  I get winded really quickly and have no energy to do anything.  On a happier note though, I'm nearly 17 weeks along and I'm still in my regular clothes.  Sometimes I wonder if I'm really still pregnant - I am, no worries. 

Halloween was fun for Andrew, not so much for Luke who was sick and missed out on a lot of the festivities.

Luke was Superbaby and Andrew was a pit crew worker for Lightning McQueen.  He even corrected some guy at my mom's trunk-or-treat who dared to call him a Nascar driver.  That kid is funny!

We also put up a new play area for the kids and they LOVE it!

Now we are preparing for Thanksgiving and I'm finishing up my Christmas shopping.  I bottled some pickles, which wasn't smart.  The lingering smell made me want to vomit just being in my house.  Next time the pickles will wait until I'm not pregnant anymore.  :o)

Okay, I think I'm caught up for now.  I'm hoping to do a better job of staying caught up.  But I'm not making any promises!

Down and out...but hopefully not for the count

Pregnancy is whooping my behind this time around.  I don't remember being this tired and out of it with either of my past two pregnancies.  Maybe it's because I'm trying to keep up with more kids.  I sleep pretty well at night, even if I do have some very strange dreams (that's not really anything new for me).  But I have to just drag myself out of bed by 8am to get Andrew to preschool on the days he goes.  By the time I get myself showered and dressed, I'm sick to my stomach and need to eat something.  And then I'm pretty well wiped out.  Yet, I have to drag myself through until Luke naps in the afternoon.  Most of the time, I take a nap when he does, but Andrew always finds a reason to come in and wake me up no matter how well I plan.  My house has been a disaster.  I finally forced myself to deal with the three weeks worth of clean laundry that needed to be ironed and put away.  I feel like I've succeeded when I get me and the kids dressed in clothes and fed three meals a day.

It hasn't helped too much that I'm having a "Luke" pregnancy, rather than an "Andrew" pregnancy.  Other than being a little tired, I felt great with Andrew.  No morning sickness.  Toward the end, I had heartburn every night, but I just kept a bottle of Tums by the bed and I was able to deal.  Luke was a different story.  I started to get nauseous early on and it lasted at least the first half of my pregnancy.  No sacrifices to the porcelain king, but just a general gross feeling all day.  It's that way this time also.  I start feeling really sick about 2 hours after I eat and it's at its worst right before bed.

And to make matters worse, add to that the fact that I had a bout of vertigo kick in Saturday night that just about took me out for good yesterday and it's been pretty rough going.  The vertigo is a little better today, but I have a headache that just won't seem to go away for long.

It's days like I've had lately that make me wonder why it is we women go through all of this to bring kids into the world.  I guess it's a good thing our brains block out the "trauma" of it all so we'll do it again.

Kids say the darndest things....

Here are some of Andrew's latest quips:

After being told to get dressed and brush his teeth to go to preschool:  "Mom, I can't handle you telling me what to do anymore!"

After asking to ride his bike to preschool, which is about 3-4 miles away, and being told it's too far:  "Mom!  It's not that far.  It's in Arizona!  It's not like it's in Nevada or Idaho!"

In response to being told he needed to rest because he wasn't feeling well and it would help him get better:  "That will help me, but Heavenly Father and Jesus can make me better, too.  I think I'll just let them make me better.  I don't want to rest."

"I shouldn't have to clean up the toys."  "Who should?  Should I have to pick up your mess?"  "No, let's just not clean it up."

"I'm going to have a blue neatbot and a yellow neatbot when I'm a grown up and I live in this house."  "When you are a grown up, I think you'll move out and live somewhere else."  "But, Mom, I love you!"

And Luke is finally starting to form words: 

Last night after Daddy left to go on Elders' Quorum visits, he went to the front door and said, "Dada bye bye!" 

After talking to Daddy on the phone at lunch time today, "Dada bye bye!  Ome!" waving and then pointing at the garage door where Clayton usually comes home.

Overcoming Fears

I have been afraid of the water from birth.  My mom has told me many times how even as a baby, I hated being in the water.  I would fight her just to take a bath.  Like any good mom, she signed me up for swimming lessons, hoping that would help me overcome my fears.  Unfortunately, that's not how it worked out.  I ended up in a class with a swim instructor that didn't work with me on getting my face wet...she just pushed my face in the water.  And she did it on a day my mom was there watching.  Needless to say my mom, a former swim teacher, yanked me out of lessons so fast I probably got whiplash.  I never went back.

My fear of water never receeded and has followed me well into adulthood.  I've always wanted to be able to swim, but have always hated getting my face wet.  In fact, it wasn't until after giving birth that I was even able to get my face wet in the shower.  I guess I figured if I survived labor and delivery, I could handle putting my face in the running water of the shower.  Pools are a totally different story. 

Andrew seems to have inherited my fear of getting his face wet.  I was hoping swimming lessons would help him, but they just let him kick on a kickboard and when he would jump into the pool, catch him before he got his face wet.  So, we went to my mom's today to see if we could work with him a little bit.  I decided that I couldn't expect him to get his face wet if I wasn't willing to get mine wet.  So we would both go underwater.  That's quite an accomplishment for me.  I'm still not up to proper swim breathing, but it's a start.

Feeling rather confident after a couple of hours in the pool, I decided to do something that I never imagined I would ever do.  I jumped into the pool from the side.  Now, keep in mind that when I get nervous, I laugh.  Yes, I was nervous jumping into the pool.  Mid-jump, I started laughing and about drown myself.  But I came up and survived.  I can't even begin to tell you how scared I was standing on the side of the pool.  Clayton was awesome and encouraged me to do it.

So, I did something today that completely terrified me.  And I feel GREAT!!  I may actually be able to swim laps one of these days.  I am capable of swimming...just as long as my face is out of the water and I don't have to swim very far.  My goal is to someday have a pool and get up every morning and swim laps.  Who knows, if I can get my running up to snuff and my biking up to par, I may just try out a triathalon with Heidi!  But probably not for a year or two.  ;o)

Mean Mommy...I mean Toy Fairy

For those who haven't been to our house as of late, we made one of the bedrooms into a play room.  I did this thinking it would keep the toys out of my livingroom and give the kids a room of their own to have fun in.  Andrew is notorious for getting out a million toys and then complaining when he has to put them away. We have tried everything to get him to pick up...up to and including taking away the toys that are still left out. Nothing has worked. So, I decided to try something pretty drastic. It's either going to work or blow up in my face. Let's hope it's the former and not the latter.

After spending over 30 minutes in the play room "picking up", nothing had been done.  In fact, I think it was a bigger mess than when he went to pick it up.  So I sent him to bed and we had a visit from the Toy Fairy.  The Toy Fairy is much like the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.  He, however, is in charge of the welfare of kids' toys.  He watches to make sure they are being properly cared for, played with and put away.  When he sees that these things aren't happening as they should, he comes and takes away the toys to a safe place for proper keeping.  In order for kids to earn back their toys, they must prove they will take care of the toys when asked by their mommies and daddies.  This is done by them proving they can listen and follow directions given by said mommies and daddies.  When this is done, the toys will slowly find their way back into the playrooms and toyboxes around the world.  If this doesn't happen, the toys will find their way to a new, more loving home.  The Toy Fairy left a letter for Andrew explaining where his toys went.  We had already talked about him starting to do chores this next week.  If he does his chores when he's asked, and does the best job he can in doing them, he will get a toy or two back.

I guess I should be thankful this happened during the summer because my back patio is full of black trash bags filled to the brim with toys.  I don't know what I would have done with them if it was cool enough for the kids to play outside. 

I know it sounds a little harsh, but I didn't know what to do.  We'll see if it works.  Like I said, it may blow up in my face and I'll be looking for a new home for hundreds of dollars worth of toys.  But in the long run, if he's not really going to use them or play with them, there is no point in them taking up an entire room of our house.

So, we'll see what kind of hysterics I awaken to in the morning...  But until then, I take some comfort in the fact that the playroom is cleaner than it has been since we moved all the toys in there.  :o)

Vacation

Not that I have been super faithful about posting, but we'll be going on vacation for the next couple of weeks.  I doubt I'll have time to post anything.  But when I get home, I'll have all kinds of updates and pictures.  So stay tuned!

Summer Adventure

I'm not trying to brag, but I have a very intelligent 4-year old.  He was talking in full sentences by the time he was 2 and can remember things that I have completely forgotten about that happened months ago.  He's been in Primary for 5 months now and already has the first 5 Articles of Faith memorized.  We are using an Ice Cream Party as incentive for him to memorize all 13.  He's so excited he may have them all down by the end of the year.

I was looking for something to do that would increase his desire to read scriptures and also help him continue to learn to read.  I found the perfect thing!  The Summer Scripture Reading Challenge from Scriptures 4 Kids.  A bonus is that it's being sponsored by DeseretBook.com and if the kids complete 30 days they get a $5 online gift card and if they read for 60 days, it's $10.  We introduced it last night during FHE.  As an added incentive, we are going to have a party at the end of the summer if Andrew completes the 60-day challenge.  I'm not sure the details, but that got him super excited!  So today will be our first day.  I'm hoping that it goes well.  He doesn't have the longest attention span.  But I'm hoping the struggles that will come will be worth it and lead to a love of the scriptures and also a stronger foundation for reading!

Why not join the adventure with your kids?  For my friends that live in my area, let me know if you decide to take on the challenge and we'll make sure you're on the invitation list to our party!

End of Preschool

Andrew finished his first year of preschool today.  I can't believe how fast it has gone by.  He's kind of sad because most of his classmates will be going on to kindergarten next year and he doesn't really understand why he can't go.  But I know he'll have fun again next year.  They had their party at a park and had a little program at the beginning where the kids sang a few songs for the mommies and daddies and then they handed out certificates for the kids.  While the kids were singing, they were being really quiet.  Miss Amber asked them to do it again louder.  Another parent said, "Are you even singing?  We can't hear you."  Andrew responded, "Our mouths are moving, aren't they?!"  What a little smarty mouth. 

He'll also be finishing up soccer and is looking forward to swimming lessons this summer.  He doesn't know it yet, but we'll also be doing the Summer Movie program.  What a deal.  10 movies for $7.  And he has only seen half of the movies.  I'm not sure how Luke's going to do, but I'm sure he'll think it's fun.  So much summer fun to look forward to!

Catch up...

I feel like that's all I've been doing lately...catching up.  It's been a pretty crazy month around here.  It started with Clayton transitioning to his new job at Intel.  He's working Monday-Friday now instead of Thursday-Saturday and every other Wednesday.  It's nice to have him home on Saturdays and to get to do things with other people, but I sure do miss having him home that extra day or two a week.  In fact I haven't been grocery shopping in nearly three weeks because I hate taking the kids alone and our Saturdays have been super busy.

This is the first time since Clayton and I got married that he was able to watch all of General Conference.  It was nice to have him around to help with the kids.  I really enjoyed Conference and downloaded all the talks almost immediately.  So many things that I needed to hear...over and over again.  Easter was a lot of fun.  We had the Easter Bunny come Friday night so that we could spend Sunday focusing on the true meaning of Easter.  He sure left a mess this year.  There were Easter Bunny droppings all over the floor.

Did YOU know that the Easter Bunny poops jelly beans?  That's what all of those little dots are all over the carpet.  They are kind of hard to see.  The kids had a lot of fun with their stuff and it kept them occupied for about the first 15 minutes of the Saturday morning session of Conference.  We also had our own little egg hunt in our backyard.  Andrew was going so fast that Luke didn't stand a chance.  We tried leaving one egg empty and were hoping to explain it to Andrew, but he started opening eggs with my grandma and got the empty one and just tossed it to the side and moved on since I hadn't filled in the grandparents on the plan.  Whoops!

Andrew started soccer and has had a great time.  It's been good for him to learn how to play with others and that winning isn't everything.  He already knew all of the kids on his team except two so he's really had fun with that.

I finally caved in and got Luke's hair cut.  I didn't want to cut off all the curls, but his aunt put his hair in pig tails and I decided it was time.  He's still cute, but I feel like I left my baby in the salon and brought home someone else's little boy.  He did really well.  The only things he didn't like were the squirt bottle and the trimmers.

He's still pretty darn cute, don't you think?

I've been preparing for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Florence.  I'm looking forward to the even tomorrow night, but it's been a little stressful.  I thought it was going to be raising a little money and doing my share of the walking.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I'm happy I've done it and next year I'll be better prepared!

And to top it all off, both of the boys have been sick this past week.  Luke still isn't feeling great.  And all three of my boys have been fighting allergies all month.  So we've been pretty busy around here.  Hopefully it won't be another month before I post.

Stalled...

So I thought this early morning thing would be great.  What I didn't count on was the fact that the kids would decide they need to get up early, too.  So instead of getting in exercise, I'm having to get them ready to go for the day.  And for Luke especially, it hasn't been good.  He normally sleeps until 8:30am so waking up at 7am, when he's not going to bed any earlier, has made for a very temperamental little boy.  And Andrew seems to be crankier than usual, too.  Hopefully, in a week or two, we'll all adjust and it will work out the way I want.  I think dad used to leave early enough that they were still in a deep sleep.  Now he's late enough that they are hearing him and deciding it's time to rise and shine.  Oh, well.  At least Clayton's alarm isn't waking me up at 4:30am, and 4:37am, and 4:43am.... 

Engines Revved

So Clayton's schedule changed this week.  Since we got married, he's been working Th, F, S and every other W, 6a-6p.  Yesterday he started M-F, 8a-5p.  I've decided to start getting up when he gets up to exercise and get my day going.  We've been a little later than we planned getting up, but it's been so nice to have some time in the morning before the kids wake up for me.  Today, I got in my exercise, sprayed weeds, did the huge pile of dishes we had in the sink, and cleaned the kitchen all before the kids got up.  And I feel revved up and ready to tear through the rest of the day.  Tomorrow, I'm definitely getting up on time so I can get in my exercise and all again.  I think this may just be a good thing.  Even if I'm not a morning person!

“All children need a laptop.  Not a computer, but a human laptop. Moms, Dads, Grannies and Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles— someone to hold them, read to them, teach them.  Loved ones who will embrace them and pass on the experience, rituals and knowledge of a hundred previous generations.  Loved ones who will pass to the next generation their expectations of them, their hopes, and their dreams.”

General Colin L. Powell

A little behind...

And I'm not talking about what I sit on.  ;o)  The past few weeks have been just crazy, hectic.  Clayton's transitioning into a new position at Intel that will change his schedule to M-F.  We have been trying to take full advantage of his few remaining long weekends to get as much done as possible.   Here is some of the fun we've been having though....

Nothing like a little family time to really make a day better.  We've been enjoying the awesome weather in the evenings and eating on the patio and building a fire in the fire pit to roast marshmallows over.

We've also done the marshmallow roasting in pajamas.  The kids love it and we enjoy the time together.

The kiddos decided to dig in the dirt in my planters.  They made a huge mess, but had so much fun that I couldn't get mad.  Needless to say, they went straight into the bathtub when they were done.

Andrew found a hibernating lizard in the sandbox.  He screamed, jumped, then decided it was pretty cool once Grandpa Max washed it off and set it on the blocks to warm up.  The poor thing couldn't move for hours so it just had to deal with all of us staring and poking at it.

So we've been having fun and we are looking for a lot more fun to happen in the future!  Here's hoping I can stay on top of the posting.

Fit Girls' Challenge

So some ladies I know from church put together this challenge - exercise 40 hours in 16 weeks.  It's basically 30 minutes 5 days a week.  Not really that big of a deal.  We all put in $10 and the two with the most time get a prize with additional prizes going to pretty much everyone.  It started Monday and it had been fabulous.  On the days I haven't felt like exercising, I remember that all those women who are doing it and it gives me the added push to get it done.

Now, admittedly, I'm probably at the bottom of the totem pole for physical fitness of the women participating, but that's part of what keeps me going.  No offense to you lovely ladies, but I'd love to be able to prove that I can do it, too.  And I also have a lot more in the long run to gain that those who are just trying to become more physically fit rather than trying to do that and lose weight. 

I think it's a great thing to have a support system to help keep you moving.  So I want to thank Laura and Amber for putting this thing together!  Can't wait to see us all at the end!  I"m sure we'll all be even more fabulous than we already are!

Second Child

I'm a little frustrated right now.  I don't know if this is normal, but it seems like my second child isn't as special as the first and therefore doesn't get half of what the first one did.

When I had my first, I had two baby showers thrown for me.  For my second, no one even offered.  When my first was born, everyone came to the hospital and family flew in from out of state, bringing flowers, balloons, and a giant Winnie the Pooh that he loves.  With my second, half the people came, none from out of state, and he has not one stuffed animal for him to love.  When my first turned 1, everyone came to his party.  When my second turned 1, there was a quickly planned wedding that could have been scheduled for pretty much anytime, but "had" to be scheduled the weekend after his birthday, pushing off the party...that no one seems to be able to make.

I don't feel like I can scrapbook the first's baby showers because I don't want to have to try to explain to the second why there aren't any pictures because there weren't any baby showers for him.  Or even the pictures from the hospital because I'll have to explain why there are no flowers, balloons or anything celebrating his birth.  And now it's the 1st birthdays that will have to be left out.

My second, even if he is my second boy, should be treated as if he's just as special as the first was, but for some reason, he's not.  It's as if him being the second boy makes him not as unique or special or deserving.

Okay, enough of my rantings. 

Luke's 1 year check up

Luke went in yesterday for his 1 year wellness check.  I still can't believe it's been a year and neither can his doctor.  He checked out perfectly healthy.  His weight is a little low, but we figured that's because he does nothing but go, go, go all day long.  I'm so excited to officially move him from formula to whole milk and to be able to put him in a forward-facing car seat...as soon as we get one.  :o)

The only part of yesterday that I didn't like was that I had to take him by myself so that Clayton could take Andrew to preschool and meet the delivery guys who were bringing the boys' new beds.  So I had the enviable job of holding down Luke while he got a shot in the back of each arm, one shot in one leg and two shots in the other.  It is heartbreaking to know that you are causing your child pain, even for something that could keep him from getting sick later on!

I know you are all dying to know how Luke measured!  So, without further ado:  Height:  31 1/4 inches, Weight:  22lbs, 1 oz., Head 18 1/2 inches in circumference.  He's in the 90th percentile for his height, and the 50th or so for weight and head measurements.  He's my tall, skinny kid!  And he's just cute as can be...except the temper tantrums he's throwing, thanks to big brother showing him how it's done!

Love you kiddo!  Here's to another year of health and happiness!

My baby is 1!

I can't believe it has been a year since Luke was born.  It seems like it has just flown by.  The first few months after he arrived were hectic with Clayton finishing his Masters degree and gone or busy with school work a lot. 

He's such a happy baby...except for when he's not.  He has learned from the best (his big brother) how to throw a three-year old size temper tantrum when he doesn't get what he wants.  But when he does get it, he's all smiles.  His face just lights up a room.  Even his eyes smile.

And where he got it, we really don't know, but he's got the curliest hair.  Blonde curls all over his head.  It's funny to look back at pictures before it turned curly.  He doesn't look like the same little man.

He's walking like a crazy man now.  Almost running.  He started taking steps around Thanksgiving and by Christmas was moving around pretty well.  Now he's all over the place.  He only crawls to get to something to use to help him stand up, then away he goes.  And he's my climber!  He climbed into Andrew's rocking chair months ago.  A couple of weeks ago, I caught him climbing into the chair and up over the arm of the couch.  Man, I'm going to be in trouble.  He climbs on anything and everything he can.  I'm sure one of these days I'll find him on the fridge or something crazy. 

So, Happy Birthday, Little Luke!   We love having you in our home and in our family.  We are so blessed by you each and every day.  We Love You!