Emily…15 months

My Emily started out as the GRUMPIEST kid ever!  She cried ALL THE TIME!  All. The. Time.  I always wanted to pull my hair out.  And then when we found out we were pregnant with Jack?  Yeah…that was like the height of colic season.  I kind of wanted to die. 

What’s awesome about Emily?  Now she’s the exact opposite.  She’s the sweetest, most fun and loving little kid.  I can hardly stand it.  She loves to play with her big sister and give her little brother kisses. 

Emily is weighing in at 23 lbs. and is 30 1/2 in. tall. 

Her grumpy face.  Makes me want to giggle every time she does it, but I know she means business!:)

The Big 3

My Annie girl just turned 3! I can’t believe how big she is. Not just big as in size, but big, no, HUGE personality. She’s dripping with it. I feel so lucky that she is in our family.

Annie is in the 95th percentile for her height…46 1/2 in. She’s in the 75th percentile for her weight, 36 lbs. She is so tall…she’s taller than most of the sunbeams, and definitely taller than the other kids in nursery. She’s going to be a dancer. Or a basketball player. Or something else delightful. Maybe a doctor, then she can support our retirement.:)

We kept her birthday pretty low-key this year. We had one of her favorites (Hawaiian Haystacks) for dinner and then cake and ice cream. Thankfully, she’s only 3 and doesn’t need a fancy cake.

Emily also loves cake.:)

Annie’s 3 year pictures…I can’t believe how beautiful my girl is. Love her.

2 Months...and so much more!

My baby boy is 2 months old. Where is the time going!? I feel like I've said that with all the kids, every time they reach a milestone (P.S. My Annie is turning 3 this week...WHERE IS THE TIME GOING!?!). He is now weighing in at 12 lbs. 15 oz. and is 23 inches long. He's growing like CRAZY!! And seriously...LOVE THIS BOY! He is super sweet and cuddly. Loves to snuggle and just hang out in your lap. And he smiles All. The. Time. I cannot believe how happy he is. He is truly a little blessing to our family. Love him.

This last week we had Uncle David at our house. We had some crazy fun playing Settlers of Catan, eating things we weren't supposed to (we were all SUPPOSED to be on a diet!) and laughing and playing. We loved having him here and pretty much already miss him.
The girls latched onto him right away, which made it even more special.

AND, even more special that he got to be here for Jack's blessing. Kris blessed Jack on Sunday in church. It was really nice. Grandpa W., Uncle David, my Uncle Dan and our neighbor Dave G. stood in the circle with Kris. I feel so blessed to have a husband who honors his Priesthood and was able to bless our son.


Love my little family.:)

Sunday

1 o'clock church is so hard on kiddos...(yes, she's asleep!)

I seriously didn't realize all the difference one more adult makes in church. Kris switched crews at work and hasn't been to church with me for awhile. Today, I couldn't believe everything I got out of sacrament meeting. I actually got to listen to things today. It helped. It was our Ward Conference today, so the Bishop and his wife spoke, along with our Stake President.
The Bishop's wife talked about perspective. She used Carol B. Olsen's article "A Sense of Perspective". In the talk she talks about sense of humor, sense of time, sense of faith, sense of vision, and sense of love. Our Bishop's wife is amazing...she's always very composed, all their children are very well behaved...I am under the impression that motherhood comes easy to her. In talking about sense of humor, she related an experience she had where her kids had accidentally set frogs loose in the house. While looking for them, dinner was burning on the stove, the doorbell rang, her husband came home, her kids needed her, etc. She talked about sitting in the middle of the floor and trying to decide if she should laugh or cry. I was so glad to relate to her...I have ALOT of those moments!
Our Bishop (who is equally as amazing as his wife) related a story about his childhood (he grew up on a farm in Ft. Thomas, youngest of 11 kids) where he was always attacked by a chicken (he gathered the eggs every day). He compared it with David & Goliath. He talked about our trials, and how we pray for help and it doesn't always come, or sometimes it comes and we question if its coming from Heavenly Father or if its just "coincidence".
One of my favorite parts of the meeting? Special number. They sang "More Holiness Give Me". The third verse touched my heart.
More purity give me,
More strength to o'ercome
More freedom from earth stains,
More longing for home.
More fit for the kingdom,
More used would I be,
More blessed and holy -
More Savior like thee.

I just needed that little reminder. With dieting and exercising and trying harder to be better in general...I sometimes forget about all the things I can't do by myself.

And on that note...who's coming to our house in 4 days!?! Kris's brother, David. We are SO excited. And next Sunday we bless Jack. We're lucky kids.

Cutest. Smile. EVER.

I am so in love.

Hello 2012

I tried to get my New Year blogging done on the 1st...but I had grumpy kids. My New Year's Resolution? No babies this year!:) When I fill out forms and have to list my kids birth dates and I see: 2009, 2010, 2011...I shudder. So, no babies this year. We'll talk about it again in 2013!:)

This year I am resolving to be a little better. Okay, a lot better.

To my kids, a better mother, a better playmate, a better example and a better cook (Annie has called my cooking "yucky" for 2 days now!).
To my husband, a better wife, a better friend, and a better listener.
To my family, a better daughter, sister, cousin, and niece.
To my friends & neighbors, a better friend and neighbor.

And for me...this year I am going to be nicer to myself. I am going to just be happy and not worry so much about things I don't have any control over. And I'm going to change the things I can control. Like the arrangement of my living room furniture, my inability to sew, my weight, the colors of my walls, how I spend my time, and my attitude.

I am going to be better to myself.

Here's to 2012...

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books, kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art - write or draw or sing or build and live only as you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself."
Neil Gaiman

Christmas

If there's anything I regret about Christmas this year, its that we didn't put up a tree. We couldn't get much for the kids, not to mention Emily puts EVERYTHING in her mouth and Annie gets into anything that looks a little interesting...so putting a tree up just seemed like a stupid idea. Unfortunately, we never got into any kind of Christmas spirit, so the whole holiday seemed pretty lame. Thankfully, my kids aren't old enough to realize that it was a tough time of year and that they didn't get much. Little people think the smallest things are AMAZING. I wish I could be like that! Next year, no matter what...tree!
Our ward party was the 22nd, and I trekked down to the church alone (Kris was working) with all 3 kids. Stupid. Who in their right mind would do such a stupid thing? Thankfully, a sweet sister in our ward came and took Emily out of my arms and invited us to sit with her family. They helped us get food and get through the program. Kris got to come late, so he was there at the end when the girls got to sit with Santa. And...we made it through this year with NO TEARS! Success!


She was SO exhausted!
On Christmas Eve our neighbors came delivering gifts from our friends, Jeremy & Danielle, in Mesa. And I bawled like a baby. With the holidays just not going like I wanted and feeling a little bit forgotten, this gift seriously lifted my spirits! It meant so much, especially because I know it took alot of time and work.


Kris worked Christmas day, so we didn't celebrate until the next day. But on Christmas morning, I opened our front door (to make sure my bench was still there, of course!) and...presents. I bawled like a baby again. Someone left gifts for our kids on the doorstep. If I ever believed in the Spirit of Christmas, it was this year! How amazing it was, and how grateful I felt to live in such a wonderful neighborhood that somebody would do something so kind for my little family.
The only gift we could get for the kids was a play kitchen. Annie was hysterical. She saw the presents in front of it and looked at them and then said, "Oh my gosh!" Kris asked her what Santa had brought her. She said, "Its....a...KITCHEN!" She was so excited. Needless to say, she and Emily spent the entire day (and pretty much every day since) playing with it.


Clearly very unimpressed...