Happy 4th birthday James!

James had a great birthday. We started off with a party in the park with a few friends. They had fun getting wet in the splash pad, eating sandwiches and cupcakes and just running around. For dinner we went to Brick Oven for pizza and then had family over for cake in the evening. He got lots of fun presents, transformers, cars, and a bike. I can't believe how big our little man has gotten. He is the sweetest little one. He loves his stuffed animals, especially his little dog which he calls Paigy. He has a great imagination and loves making up games with his cars. He loves art, especially water painting. He likes to dig and play at the park and going swimming. He is now enjoying primary and has worked so hard to participate in class. He loves to sing. His favorite songs are the theme songs from Mighty Machines and Thomas. He also has strong opinions on what he likes to listen to. His favorites are kids songs, Disney songs and songs from artists like Rihanna, Katy Perry, Lifehouse etc. He does such a great job at doing his chore list and getting himself ready in the morning and likes to keep things in order and clean.  He is curious and energetic and super excited to start preschool in a few weeks.  Love you Jimmy Bean! 

I just love this video, he was so so happy!

18 months

 This little pumpkin went to her first day of nursery today. I am so excited for her as she is sooo ready. A couple of times over the past few weeks we have gone and stayed with her because honestly she was just so busy in class and I would rather be in the nursery with her than wondering the hallway. She was super cute as she played toys, sat at the table for snacks and tried to color. She followed the other kids and say by the wall for singing and loved the bubbles.

 Technically she won't be 18 months for another three days but somehow I messed that up and thought today was the first day. Close enough right? She is so spunky and full of attitude. She is sweet and caring and loves to help others.

She has started speaking a little more. Her favorite word is baby and just loves her dolls. She also says mama, dada, muma for Emma, up, uh-oh (she sticks her lips out when she says this, cutest thing ever and will let you know if anything is out of place or has fallen down), dah! for her brothers. If she can't see them or thinks they are too far away she calls out Dah! Dah! until they are back. She also can moo and say woof but pretty much for any animal she makes a quacking sound. Did I mention she loves ducks! She likes to blow raspberries and will make a 'ithck' sound if anything is gross like a stinky diaper or ritz crackers which she apparently doesn't like anymore. She loves her food and says 'nana' and more. She says muh for milk and does the sign to go along with it.

She is brave and likes to go down the slide at the park and climb as high as I will let her. She is ok with swings but would rather wander around, climb stairs and dig. She likes to rough house, be chased and play hide n seek. If you sit down and open your arms wide she runs into them giggling, gives a hug and then runs to the other side of the room to do it over again. She loves to be outside and to look for rocks. We went hiking the other day and tried a hiking back back for the first time. She was so excited! She kept hugging my neck and peeking around to see my face and saying 'hiya!' We go on lots of bike rides and she likes being in both the trailer and the bike seat. We planted some veggies a few weeks ago and she had a blast putting the starters into bigger pots.

Love you Ems! What a sweet and wonderful little one you are!

Mother's Day

Mothers day was wonderful! Quinn brought me breakfast in bed not just this morning but yesterday too. Raisin bran, OJ and three pink tulips which Quinn proudly said represented him, James and Emma. The boys sang in sacrament meeting and did a wonderful job. James kept telling me happy mothers day randomly throughout the day along with a hug and a kiss. I got to speak with my mum and visit with my mother in law. Truly a fabulous day. I am so grateful for my munchkins and for how much joy they bring into my life. I'm so grateful for a husband who is supportive of me as a mother and who is a fantastic father, I couldn't raise these little ones without him.

Right now...

Cooking: Zuppa Toscana. Yum!
Drinking: Orange and Pineapple juice, this is my coffee. I don't think I could make it through the morning without a shot of juice :-)
Reading: Uncle Tom's Cabin and My Promised Land.
Wanting: A nap
Looking: At a very messy house
Wishing: for trivial things
Enjoying: listening to Quinn play the piano
Liking: playing with the kids
Wondering: when we will be able to get outside and play
Loving: sweet snuggles from my baby
Hoping: to travel....Oregon, Austria, England, Thailand, Italy.....
Needing: something yummy to eat
Smelling: My favorite perfume (Amber Romance)
Wearing: yummy warm black sweater and jeans
Noticing: the wind is still blowing
Knowing: this summer is going to be fantastic!
Thinking: my to do list
Feeling: overwhelmed
Bookmarking: more books to read :-)

Recently...

 Love love love watching the kids play with Dad. They sure love him and he loves them right back and I can't get enough of it

 We got to go down to the BYU spring game. It was a blast!

 Love this girl!

And how cool is this little guy!

Winter

I really do love the winter. Snow is so beautiful, the world can be so quiet and still and there is a cold, pristine beauty that can be breathtaking. I love the crunch of the snow under boots and hearing the drips from melting icicles. I love watching my children explore in the snow, to grasp cold fistfuls of it, to dig and shovel, make foot prints, and use sticks to trace patterns and letters into a blank canvas. I love watching my baby girl eagerly walk with one foot on the path and the other on the crunchy bank of snow. I love the rosy cheeks and the excitement in their eyes. And then I love coming inside to get warm and drink hot cocoa

Recently....

....I have been so grateful for these two wonderful boys. They are best friends! I love to see them reading, working and playing together. I love hearing their sweet conversations with each other. I often catch them reading each other a story, or one helping the other put on a coat, getting breakfast for each other and making up after a fight.

 ....I have come to realize just how much I love having a daughter. Boys I knew I could handle but a girl? But she is the most amazing little one and now I can't even remember why I was so worried. I definitely see a little more drama and can't help but smile at this little face she makes when she doesn't get what she wants

 ...we have been doing lots of playing in the water and everyone loves it. Em loves holding objects filled with water up in the air and watching the water pour out. She loves seeing bubbles float down into the tub from the bubble maker and can soak the floor in two seconds flat with her enthusiasm.

 ...we have been able to get outside. Its been a pretty mild winter, and even though its been cold the sun has been out enough that we have been enjoying going on walks and watching beautiful sunsets.
                                     
 ...I have been soaking in as much of this face as I can

 ...and this face

 ...there have been lots of snuggles and stories with dad. The kids are so excited when Daddy comes home and wait for him anxiously each night.

 .... We have been busy building walls and knocking them down has become a favorite

 ....Quinn has been such a helpful big brother. Here he is helping James figure out the right answer for one of their math games.

 ...Emma has been taking in the world around her and watching everyone and everything outside

Emma's Birth Story

I can't believe Emma is 6 months old and I still haven't written down her birth story!

On Tuesday around 4pm I suddenly felt very strange, pretty sick and uncomfortable, I was also having pretty consistent contractions about 3 minutes apart. I had been having tons of contractions before so I didn't think too much of it but along with the strange feeling and a slight increase in intensity I was getting nervous that this was the real thing. I called Peter at work. He said he would come home right away but I really didn't want him to come for a false alarm so I said I would call him back in about 15 minutes too let him know if things were still the same. They were, so Peter headed home and my mother in law came over to help watch the kids. The contractions were getting stronger and still consistently about 3 minutes apart. We started getting a few last minute things ready for the hospital. Peter's Dad was concerned that we were not headed to he hospital straight away but I just didn't feel that we needed to go just yet and I wanted to labor as much as possible at home.

And then everything stopped! I was feel so foolish for getting everyone worked up for nothing. We decided to go on a walk around the neighbourhood and I had some very painful contractions while we were walking but that was it! I went to bed so frustrated and confused about what was going on. Peters mom stayed the night just in case. The next morning Lyn went home and I started having some contractions again! So I ended up calling my doctors office. I kept feeling like this was labor but couldn't figure out why things weren't progressing. They told me to come in and be checked. We went to my doctors office but they told us we needed to go to the other office up at Mckay Dee hospital. So we dropped the boys off at Peter's parents and headed up to the hospital. When we got there they hooked me up to a monitor for 20 minutes. I was really frustrated with this because it wasn't really reading what was going on and the nurse and I could see and feel how tight my stomach was getting and knew I was having serious contractions. I really wanted to be checked to see what was going on. Finally we were done with the monitor and the nurse checked me. I was only at a 3. She told us to go and walk around for a while and then come back.

We went over to the mall and walked around for a while then went to Chili's for lunch. I ordered steak, its always the right time to eat steak, and it was amazing. Then we headed back to the hospital. This time I was at a 4 and officially in labor, so we were finally admitted. I called my mom at this point and she said she was going to fly in the next day. I was really nervous about that plan because even though we were admitted I still didn't feel like this baby was really going to come. We hung out and things were pretty mild. We started talking about breaking my water when I was at a 5 because things had stopped again! Our Dr was about to go do a C-section so we decided to wait until after that to do anything. Right after we decided that things started to pick and get pretty intense. I was really nervous. I hadn't had an epidural with the boys and didn't regret that at all but this time i just didn't feel strong enough. The whole pregnancy I had been practicing relaxation techniques, reading books on hypnobirthing etc. I still felt like trying to have a natural birth was the right thing to do but my head wasn't quite there. I just felt so exhausted it was hard to muster up the energy physically and mentally that I needed. Things started getting hard and I was handling it, better than I had before with previous labors but I just kept thinking about how bad it could get and decided to get an epidural. Once I made that decision I felt so much better.

The anesthesiologist was amazing and the whole experience was much less uncomfortable than I had anticipated. My left side went numb super fast and with a little maneuvering I was completely comfortable. It was such a strange sensation. I was a 7 at this point. About an hour later we noticed Emma's heart rate drop down to the 60's. I tried adjusting the monitor but that didn't help so we called the nurse. We were so anxious when our Dr walked inr all decked out for a delivery a couple nurses and a tray of equipment. We thought something was really wrong. My doctor checked me and said, ok she is coming right now. Peter and I looked at each other...really?! It was so strange to be at a point where I knew I should be in a lot of pain but to feel nothing. I double checked with the dr that nothing was wrong and she said that the heart rate can drop when the baby starts to crown. I only had to push 3 times and our baby girl was born.

 Getting to hold her for the first time was so wonderful, I felt like I had known her forever. We had struggled coming up with a middle name for her and had a few ideas in mind but as I was holding her I knew that we should name her Emma Rachel. We had never even thought of the name Rachel but it fit her perfectly. Though I have to admit, it took me a while to finally make it official because I had been really set on some of the other middle names but nothing fit her as well. We are so glad everything went so well and that we have such a beautiful and healthy little girl :-)

All the pictures from the hospital I took on my phone and I can't get them off since I can't find my memory card. Anyways here are a few we took right after we got home :-)

 Quinn and his new baby sister

 Big stretch!

 Me and my little girl. She was all over the place so the pic is a little blurry, sorry.

 Grandma and Lil' Em

 Another blurry pic...Me, Quinn and Emma

Taking a nap with a newborn is seriously the best. I love snuggling with such a tiny little person :-)

6 months

 This sweet beautiful girl is 6 months old today! Its gone by so fast but at the same time it feels like she has always been a part of our family. She is our sunshine and I love how happy she makes everyone around her.

 Em loves to see what is going on. She loves to watch people and I often see her straining to get a better look. She also loves to stand and will take some steps when you are holding her hands. Her favorite toys are her keys, a stuffed pig, taggy blanket and balls. She loves to pass a ball back and forth and of course chew on it. Whenever I try to read she hits the pages and starts talking so loudly its a struggle to keep reading so mostly we just look at the pictures and she tells me the story :-) She loves to 'sing' especially in church and when I sing to her. When I put her down for naps she will sing and coo so sweetly as I sing to her, even when she has her binky (which she pretty much just chews on and doesn't suck), she lets it just sit in her mouth so she can sing. I love it! She gives the best snuggles, gets sad when I leave the room and has lots big smiles especially first thing in the morning. She loves her toes and sucking on them and rolling all over the floor. She rarely will sleep on her back and usually rolls onto her side but still likes to be swaddled. She sticks her legs straight into the air and then flips over, its so funny to watch. She doesn't laugh a whole lot, even with all her smiles but when she does it is awesome! Quinn is the best getting her to laugh, apparently him jumping up and down is funny :-) She also chuckles a lot when tickle her belly. We started giving her oatmeal last week and this girl can not get enough! She was grabbing the spoon out of my hand in an attempt to get more, ate everything I made and barely dribbled. Clearly eating is fun!

We love you Em!

random pics

So definitely way behind on blogging but thought I would share a few pictures  :-)

 My 3 cuties. Quinn is so good at playing with Emma and was playing ball with her here :-)

 James ate all of the muffin tops...yep they really are the best part

 I really wanted a picture with me and all the kids...two out of three looking isn't bad right?

 James is very intense about firetrucks. He makes the best siren noises and always has us kiss them goodnight

This little girl loves baths! Can you believe she is almost 6 months already?!

For the Grandparents

37 week update

At my 37 week appointment I am still measuring at 32 weeks, same as last week. I am very curious to see how much this little one will weigh. At this point I am 2cm dilated and 70% effaced. Glad things are moving along and all these contractions aren't for nothing. I know those numbers don't really mean anything, I could be pregnant for another 4 weeks, but something tells me we are going to meet this little girl soon!

My hopes for having a clean house all ready for a new baby are being slowly but surely diminished. The moment I get one thing all cleaned another part of the house is a disaster. I'm trying to focus on the important things. We finally have a bag packed for the hospital, bedding in her crib and newborn diapers. Sweet :-)

37 Weeks

I'm officially full term. I love reaching this point, it just feels so nice to know that if she were to come that things would most likely be ok. 

We've had some concerns that she was too small. At my 32 weeks appointment I was only measuring at 27 weeks, 5 weeks behind! My OB decided to do an ultrasound and as she was so small they immediately hooked me up to monitor her for a few minutes. Even though I wasn't overly concerned, it did make me anxious, especially since I hadn't taken the stroller in with me that day and I had both boys with me. It also sent all sorts of worries through my head...she was measuring at 2.3lbs/ 10% which is considered the beginning of the danger zone, so thoughts of having to have her early because she was not growing well were mixed with the concerns of had I done everything I could to help her grow and develop like she should. My Ob suggested another ultrasound at the hospital to get some more details. At this one she was measuring at just over 3lbs and was in the 15%. Everything pointed to her being just a small little one, not small because she was having a problem growing but just to be sure we had another last Friday. She is now around 5.3lbs and in the 20% and I am only measuring 4 weeks behind. So just a little peanut.

Her room is coming together and I hope I can get it all ready before she arrives. Its so fun sewing and decorating for a little girl. It was much easier to decide on things with the boys but I am definitely having more fun picking out cute fabrics and my feminine side is making more of an appearance, pink is definitely becoming more appealing.

I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable. She is really low and walking has become a chore and rolling over in bed kills, there is so much pressure on my pubic bone. 

Other exciting things this week? I finally got a  new pajamas. I think I had my last ones since junior high?! Its the little things in life :-)

31 Weeks

I'm not sure what it is about Carls Jr's spicy chicken sandwiches and chocolate orange sticks but I could probably live on those two food items right now and be just fine.

I have discovered leggings! When skinny jeans first came out I wasn't really sure i liked the look but its really grown on me and leggings? that took a little longer but its a cute look, especially for pregnant ladies and so comfy! I won't go into my woes about maternity pants but I am glad to find some alternatives.

This baby shudders a lot...I wonder if that is a common thing? I have noticed that she has started waking up when she feels me moving first thing in the morning. I love laying there and feeling her scoot and wiggle in there.

Nesting is starting to kick in but more in the form of cooking, the same thing happened when I was pregnant with Quinn. I did however clean out the fridge today, it looks so nice and clean now. I wonder how long that will last?

Being pregnant reminds me what a great husband I have, seriously he is the best! I'm so glad I have him to help me through everything, especially these last few weeks.

The fall really is the best time to be pregnant

Yum!

Me and the kids made this for lunch today, because it was rainy, because I was super hungry and wanted more of a meal and because the munchkins requested pasta. It. Is. So. Good! Go make it now!

http://thecheesepusher.tumblr.com/post/2719857351/creamy-garlic-pasta

Creamy Garlic Pasta

2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
¼  tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
3 cups chicken stock
½ lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
¾ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

In a pot, bring the olive oil to medium-low heat. Add the garlic and stir, allowing it to cook for 1-2 minutes. Mix in the butter until melted. Add the salt, pepper and chicken stock. Raise the heat to high and let it come to a boil. 

Once it is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook for as long as the box’s directions indicate. Reduce the stove to medium heat and mix in the parmesan until completely melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream and parsley. Serve immediately.

28 weeks

When I was pregnant with Quinn a lot of people told me I was so little and didn't show that much. I did not really believe them. I felt big and uncomfortable and couldn't see my toes. When I looked back on some maternity pictures I realized I was smaller than a lot of women but it still didn't seem to me that I was that much smaller. With James, I didn't get too many comments about it, I suppose everyone by then knew that I looked smaller. With this pregnancy though everyone has said something about it. I felt like I started showing really fast and but then things seemed to slow down a lot. At my 24 week appointment I was measuring at 22 weeks. Nothing to worry about, my doctor said, these measurements can be a little inaccurate at this point, we will be able to tell better at your next appointment. But that combined with all the comments made me start really looking at my belly, wow where was this baby? maybe she was too small and wasn't growing and I started to worry. At my appointment yesterday I was measuring at 24 weeks when I am 28 weeks along, a whole month behind! So the doctor did an ultrasound...this little one is just fine! I am so relieved. She is in the 36% and approx. 2.5lbs. She said from ear to ear her head is slightly smaller than average but it was nothing to worry about. I'm not quite sure where she is hiding in there but I am so happy she is growing well. Her kicks are getting stronger and more solid and she hiccups all the time! For some reason I have worried a lot with this pregnancy. 1st baby, no worries, I knew everything would be just fine. 2nd baby my worries were more about how having two would be and how I would handle it. But with this one I worry about all the things that might go wrong, like we won't make it to the hospital in time, she isn't growing right, I will end up with gestational diabetes, wondering whether the decision to have an OB instead of a midwife was a mistake etc. When a friend was having her third she told me that she worried a lot too and that her midwife told her it was really common. That somehow having two children that have been healthy makes some women feel like that luck won't hold and something will go wrong. My biggest worry has been that she will be breach. And then in both the ultrasounds we have had she has been breach. I know that at this point she is all over the place and turning around all the time. She still has plenty of time and room to turn. So for now, I am telling her to please make sure she turns around in time and trying to stop worrying. Everything will be just fine.
 Sometimes 12 weeks seems like such a short time to do get everything done I want to before she comes, to enjoy full nights of sleep and the flexibility that has come with the boys getting older and more independent. But sometimes it seems like forever and that she will never come. I can't wait to meet our sweet baby girl!

Summer 2012

This has been such a fun summer. We didn't really go anywhere or doing anything out of the ordinary but had lots of fun being outside and enjoying the simple everyday things.

 We went to lots and lots of parks. We climbed trees (well the boys did), fed the ducks, explored and pretended lots and lots. At one park Quinn thought that one part where you climb looked like a tornado and so he kept getting "sucked up". At another he always would try to sell me pies but would inform me that the roof was leaking and being fixed and so he didn't have any pies just then. He loved pushing the roundabout rather than ridding on it. James preferred to jump around on it and so I tried to keep him away as much as possible. He spent a lot of time on the swings and both boys love learning how to swing on the rings.

 Hey look, a picture of me with a munchkin. I'm pretty sure he does NOT want to take a picture with me.

 At the end of spring Peter and I left the kids with my mum and headed down to St George for a few days. We had to change our plans a little as it rained the first two days and I was feeling pretty sick with the pregnancy. We hung out, rented a movie, went out to dinner, shopped at the strip mall and relaxed! It was heavenly. On Sunday the sun decided to make an appearance so we walked around the St George temple and then decided that we could make it to Zions after all. I am so glad we decided to go! It was beautiful and I only wished we would have had more time for hiking. We hiked emerald pools and the weeping rock. The bus driver informed us that because of all the rain there were gushing waterfalls that hadn't been there the day before. Everything was stunning!

 We rode our bikes, lots!

 We also went up to the treehouse museum a lot to escape the heat. The boys' favorite things were definitely the train and fire engine as well as the health section. They have microscopes that Quinn spent a lot of time looking through and they both liked taking care of the babies,weighing them and giving them shots

 One of our favorite things to do is to go hiking, The boys are seriously amazing, we must hike at least 1.5 to 2 miles and they hold up so well. Most of the time we are able to hike to where the trail crosses a stream. We never crossed but had fun throwing rocks into the stream and feeling how cold the water was.

 The boys were such great helpers with our garden. Though our garden was not that successful this year I'm glad we tried and will make a lot of changes next year. We finally got some strawberries this past week though that have been so fun to eat.

 Sometimes ideas on pinterest work out. This was a fun one...we got a plastic sheet and taped it all around, then we filled it with water and sealed up the hole. The boys had a blast jumping and rolling on it feeling the water swish around. We ended up with a few holes in it, but I think part of that was due to the fact that I put it on a hill and so there was much more pressure on one side than the other. All in all a super fun, different activity to cool off.

 I don't know if you can tell but this picture is a flour hand print on my belly. James loves saying hi to the baby, even in the middle of baking.We spent a lot of time baking goodies in the kitchen. Both boys love to help use the mixer and James has really started to take an interest in helping get dinner ready. He is super good at breaking mushrooms into bite sized pieces and has a slight obsession with knives, pointing out one when ever I am using one saying "knife knife!"

 Eating some lemon crinkle cookies they made

 We tried so hard to go camping this summer. Our first plans kept getting postponed because of all the fires. Then, we tried to scout out a place and realized the road was closed so that pushed our plans back as we tried to figure out a place that would be good to take the kids. We finally found an alternate route to the camp site we want to go to and then had to cancel plans again because a storm blew in. Then, we finally got to go. We started up the trail and quickly realized that this was going to be quite the trek. The path was SO bumpy. When we finally found the campsite we were so disappointed to find out that there was no where to pitch a tent so we headed back down that same crazy road. Quinn kept saying it was scary  and he didn't want to fall. Best part of the whole thing were the views, they were gorgeous. After getting some recommendations from friends we decided on a new campsite but then Peter had to work. Maybe we will have better luck next year.

 A picture with munchkin #2

 Hanging out with Daddy was the best part of the week

 The boys discovered dandelions and had fun blowing off the seeds. James can not go by one without picking it, but likes to rub the seeds on his or mine pants to get them to come off, silly man

 Love this picture. Quinn loves this sweater and wanted to wear it all the time, even though it was so hot out! Backpacks were a hot item this summer and of course swim goggles are a must. We did get to go swimming a few times. I took the boys twice on mine own, which actually worked out really well. I was pretty worried about being able to make sure they were both ok, but they stayed together and were super good.

We tried to go on the trail by our house for bike rides and a few walks. James loved spotting the trains that would run past the trail

 And Quinn found some pretty neat rocks.

 He also loved picking up snails and having an ant crawl on his arm

1st day of preschool! So far he is having a blast and is doing a super good job learning the letters and how to write his name. Its so neat to see him making friends, learning and discovering new things. I'm so proud of the way he is kind to the other kids, takes an interested in his work and tries to do a good job.

Look at that goofy face! Since we are doing preschool  at our house this month, James gets to join in. Using scissors is probably his favorite thing to do along with using the dry erase markers and playing with the other kids