Madeleine - "That would be great if we had a million boys and a million girls!" (She paused to think for a moment, then stated very matter of factly.) "That would be a lot of kids to get doing."
We got bank statements in the mail, and all the kids were comparing their savings and noticed the interest. They've been joking about those getting a penny every month, and weeping and wailing about those getting more (like a nickel - LUCKY!). We talked about interest and how that works (Khan Academy has videos about it!), then Sammy made this very insightful statement: "There's interest, and pinterest. Satan has sinterest." What a clever, funny boy.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
And Then There Were 7!
(Here I go again - wrote most of this up 3 weeks ago!)
When we walked into the hospital room this is the first thing we saw. Jamie said his heart melted, so he had to take a picture. His first ever diaper! :)
This was just a bit before bringing him home.
When we walked into the hospital room this is the first thing we saw. Jamie said his heart melted, so he had to take a picture. His first ever diaper! :)
But there's a funny story about that picture. Jamie went to take it and the camera turned off. I told him that's why I brought extra batteries, so he put in the new and tossed the old. Went to take a picture again, and the camera turned off. I then got told that I apparently grabbed already used batteries, but I told him I pulled them straight out of a pack of batteries. He handed me the camera so I could mess with it while he headed off to do something for a minute. Took pictures just fine for me. ??? When he walked back in the room he sheepishly admitted that he figured out what the problem was - he was pressing the on/off switch to take the picture instead of the take-a-picture button. Oops! Made for a great laugh. He posted something on facebook, a note to self to push the correct button. "Screamed the batteries in the garbage can!" I added. We were laughing so hard about it all we were both wiping tears away.
We were ready for a boy or girl!
It was our doc's day off, so she popped in multiple times and hung out with us quite a bit. This is our 5th baby that she's delivered. We're lucky that our doctor is also a friend.
I brought a couple movies we could watch, the main one being "Pure Luck," our standard labor movie (it's quite the experience trying to laugh while having contractions), but this time around we didn't ever turn it on. Jamie and I both had books and sat in there reading the whole time. The nurse kept coming in and commenting about how calm I was and how quiet the room was. She would crank the pitocin a bit more and come back expecting something different, but I was still reading away. Not saying I'm tough or anything. Guess it was a really engaging book? ("The Seer and the Sword," and yes, I do recommend it. Similar to "Goose Girl" in some ways. I finished just before baby was born.) Eventually the doc got involved and started cranking the pitocin even higher, but things still weren't affecting me as roughly as she thought they should be. "I AM having a contraction! Right now!" Not long after that it was time to call for the epidural which does move everything faster for me. The doc left for just over an hour, and right before she came back I had the nurse check and we were definitely ready.
The proud dad! What a blessing to have had this experience with him 7 times now. All those babies don't remember those days, but I do. For the record, my second favorite moment (second only to finally getting to hold the sweet little person we've been waiting and waiting to meet) is always just before each baby makes their entrance. I look up and dad has tears in his eyes, and I know then that the time is very close. Love that moment.
A few pushes later, and our 8 lb. 4 oz., 21 inch long bundle of sweetness was there!
It was so fun calling up the kids to let them know. Before the evening before, the only one besides us that knew it was going to be baby day was the doctor. Just before Adam went to bed we told him, since he would be in charge the next day. In the morning before leaving for the hospital Madeleine was awake (she's an early riser), so we woke up Melanie to be with her and told her where we were going.
The kids were all home together, hanging out since that morning waiting to hear the news. Jamie handed me the phone, and when I told them they have a new baby brother they cheered and cheered. Madeleine, who was the biggest "it's a girl!" team member, but she very happily told me multiple times during the next few days that "It's okay that our baby is a boy." She looooooves him. When he was 4 weeks old she told me, "I thought our baby was a girl! But I looked in the window (hospital nursery window?) and he was laying there." She flopped onto her back, then continued, "He was saying, 'It's so hot in here. Why is it so hot in here?" :)
That night he was born while I alone cuddling our new baby boy (I love and cherish my quiet time the first night when I can soak my new baby in), I pulled up Jamie's facebook page to see what he had said about the baby, and noticed a family picture. Almost startled me - it wasn't right! It had suddenly and sweetly become so outdated. Wonderful how quickly someone so new and little can become so big and important.
Crazy children (Sammy loves to pose) :)
Crazier children
At over two weeks old he started to get left alone for a *little* while.
But early on, he always had a friend right with him.
I'm glad that even my big toughy enjoys his cuddle time. He was having a rough time on some of his schoolwork one day and I offered to see what I could do to help him out. He finally obliged, but I told him he needed to hold the baby while I did it. Immediately, the stress was gone and he melted.
Dad usually has to wait his turn with all the other hands clamoring to hold him.
I love seeing him get his cuddle time too.
I feel so incredibly blessed! Many times the craziness and difficulties get the better of me, but many many more times I can hardly stand how wonderful my life is. I have excellent, intelligent, creative, crazy children. Every day I do my best to not ruin them by getting in their way too much.
I'm also married to a great man who loves me and blesses our home. I deeply appreciate his patience (yes, that's not a typo) and his ability to take one-on-one time with our kids doing things like going to the store and involving them with cooking (two activities I should be better at but am always in the "let's get 'er done!" mode instead of the "let's have fun together!" mode). I love it when he tells me about a great book or a great talk he knows I would enjoy.
Especially right now it's such a special blessing to have another baby in our home. Trying, trying every day to soak in his priceless babyhood. I know from 6 other experiences that it will be gone far too quickly. Love you sweet boy!
Monday, November 11, 2013
My Guys
What starts out as a simple dish washing partnership . . .
. . . can so quickly turn.
Not sure what he was doing with the Nestle Quik container.
I love moments like this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And seeing them doing cool things.
They have a great example.
Even when he doesn't want me to take pictures for proof. :)
But those things lead to incredible pictures like this, probably my new favorite.
I sure love all my guys.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
August Zoo Day
Adam has stopped being compliant when I'm trying to take fun pictures of the kids.
But hey, I got his back!
Lunchtime
They have a new water area put in this summer, but since we don't like fighting the crowds during that busy season, we didn't have any idea. The kids had a blast with the jumping water fountain.
Sam was the best at catching it right in the chest.
And the face.
The little girls spent most of their time on the slide and tip toeing through a little wading area.
And yay! I was officially there! :)
Dice, Biking, Walking, School, and such
I was chastised in a roundabout way the other day for not keeping this updated, so here's a few latest.
Rolling the Dice
You'd think with a 12 passenger van, 8 people could find seats they were happy with. You'd think. After a brief honeymoon of seat happiness, it got to the point that the coveted seat was the one right behind the front passenger (closest to the door for the kids in back to get out). Since it was always the same one or two that ended up getting it and that always involved arguing, I declared that they would have to ask for special permission to sit there so others would get the chance. Apparently this seat is so important, that after a much longer time of that working, I would have people (the same couple that were always fighting in the first place), racing each other to ask me, sometimes 20 minutes before the bus was even leaving. I know I should be understanding, but is the place you occupy for 3 minutes to church so important that you have to think that far ahead to try to secure prime real estate? They were (usually) fine when I told them it was someone else's turn, but in a moment of frustration (and cleverness), I changed methods. I found a 12-sided dice in my dice stash, assigned a number to most seats (driver, front passenger, and Madeleine's car seat spot don't count), and they roll the dice and sit where it tells them. And so far so good! We'll see how long this one lasts. It's been a couple months, and I really like it. Funny, though. The one who still stresses about it the most first thought it would be best to roll first, but now goes to the end of the line. Again, probably my mistake, but I've been known to allow the last person to spread things out instead of having four people packed on the back seat when the other two benches are almost empty. He picked up on it very quickly.
Madeleine and the Baby
A couple weeks ago Madeleine was sitting next to be when the baby really started moving, to the break dancing belly point. I pointed and asked her if she could see the baby moving in my tummy. She looked over and grinned. She would hug and kiss my tummy before then, but now it's even more. One day after she kissed it, she put her hand on the back of my head, told me to kiss the baby, and pushed. I challenge you to kiss your tummy, even 7 1/2 months pregnant when it's closer than normal.
BYU-I
Adam is positively rocking his BYU-I concurrent enrollment classes. He's gone from telling me two classes plus everything else he's doing is way too much, to really enjoying all that he's learning. I encouraged him to go easy this first semester, so he's taking an English class and American Foundations. He's gotten a lot of great feedback on his English assignments, and the A.F. class has been connecting well with things we're studying in our homeschool group. It's been fun hearing what he's learning, and he's been a blessing to our class by sharing it. I can definitely see the effects our homeschooling has had on him too. It's not something he's doing just to get the grade and move on like I know I did, but really thinking through and internalizing the material. While I've been working on this he's been watching a video for a class, and when I asked him about it, I got a whole lot of response, not just from the video, but his own thoughts too. Love it.
50 Mile Bike Ride
Sammy did a 50 mile bike ride a couple weekends ago with some of the other scouts. It took most of the day, and 10 miles away from the finish he got two flat tires, one that had been fixed over and over already, and had to pull out. But he and Adam rode around the neighborhood later that evening to finish the last 10. He was pretty beat, but he did it!
This picture was showing off his cool bike helmet hair.
Walking and Walking
Jamie and I have both been walking a lot lately. He got a free FitBit through work but wanted one with more features, so he bought himself a better one and gave me the free one. It's pretty fun to track and compare your daily step count with friends, and is definitely a motivator to get out when you see someone is just a couple thousand steps away from you. My time and preggo body don't get me out as much as Jamie, (he has goals he's working on to be in weekly contests through work), but my preggo body hasn't had some of the normal achiness that it has with other pregnancies.
On Fridays during choir Madeleine and I will walk to a nearby park so she can play there for a while. When Erin and Carolyn are done and we're waiting for the big kids to finish, we'll walk back to the church and get them, and let them all play together while I walk around the outside of the playground. There are some great climbing trees there too.
Rolling the Dice
You'd think with a 12 passenger van, 8 people could find seats they were happy with. You'd think. After a brief honeymoon of seat happiness, it got to the point that the coveted seat was the one right behind the front passenger (closest to the door for the kids in back to get out). Since it was always the same one or two that ended up getting it and that always involved arguing, I declared that they would have to ask for special permission to sit there so others would get the chance. Apparently this seat is so important, that after a much longer time of that working, I would have people (the same couple that were always fighting in the first place), racing each other to ask me, sometimes 20 minutes before the bus was even leaving. I know I should be understanding, but is the place you occupy for 3 minutes to church so important that you have to think that far ahead to try to secure prime real estate? They were (usually) fine when I told them it was someone else's turn, but in a moment of frustration (and cleverness), I changed methods. I found a 12-sided dice in my dice stash, assigned a number to most seats (driver, front passenger, and Madeleine's car seat spot don't count), and they roll the dice and sit where it tells them. And so far so good! We'll see how long this one lasts. It's been a couple months, and I really like it. Funny, though. The one who still stresses about it the most first thought it would be best to roll first, but now goes to the end of the line. Again, probably my mistake, but I've been known to allow the last person to spread things out instead of having four people packed on the back seat when the other two benches are almost empty. He picked up on it very quickly.
Madeleine and the Baby
A couple weeks ago Madeleine was sitting next to be when the baby really started moving, to the break dancing belly point. I pointed and asked her if she could see the baby moving in my tummy. She looked over and grinned. She would hug and kiss my tummy before then, but now it's even more. One day after she kissed it, she put her hand on the back of my head, told me to kiss the baby, and pushed. I challenge you to kiss your tummy, even 7 1/2 months pregnant when it's closer than normal.
BYU-I
Adam is positively rocking his BYU-I concurrent enrollment classes. He's gone from telling me two classes plus everything else he's doing is way too much, to really enjoying all that he's learning. I encouraged him to go easy this first semester, so he's taking an English class and American Foundations. He's gotten a lot of great feedback on his English assignments, and the A.F. class has been connecting well with things we're studying in our homeschool group. It's been fun hearing what he's learning, and he's been a blessing to our class by sharing it. I can definitely see the effects our homeschooling has had on him too. It's not something he's doing just to get the grade and move on like I know I did, but really thinking through and internalizing the material. While I've been working on this he's been watching a video for a class, and when I asked him about it, I got a whole lot of response, not just from the video, but his own thoughts too. Love it.
50 Mile Bike Ride
Sammy did a 50 mile bike ride a couple weekends ago with some of the other scouts. It took most of the day, and 10 miles away from the finish he got two flat tires, one that had been fixed over and over already, and had to pull out. But he and Adam rode around the neighborhood later that evening to finish the last 10. He was pretty beat, but he did it!
This picture was showing off his cool bike helmet hair.
We drove out to the ranch at Antelope Island to have lunch with Jamie who was driving as part of the support team, and when my parents heard we were headed out there, they called and asked if we had room for them. The girls and I had fun with them out there, although we didn't really see Jamie much. Support team was a busy job.
Walking and Walking
Jamie and I have both been walking a lot lately. He got a free FitBit through work but wanted one with more features, so he bought himself a better one and gave me the free one. It's pretty fun to track and compare your daily step count with friends, and is definitely a motivator to get out when you see someone is just a couple thousand steps away from you. My time and preggo body don't get me out as much as Jamie, (he has goals he's working on to be in weekly contests through work), but my preggo body hasn't had some of the normal achiness that it has with other pregnancies.
On Fridays during choir Madeleine and I will walk to a nearby park so she can play there for a while. When Erin and Carolyn are done and we're waiting for the big kids to finish, we'll walk back to the church and get them, and let them all play together while I walk around the outside of the playground. There are some great climbing trees there too.
Melanie is loving young women's. She has great leaders there and is working away at her personal progress. She's also taken on some of our harder homeschool classes, including an art and lit class. I wasn't sure if she would be ready for it, but she's been keeping up with the assignments really well. Awesome to have my 12 year old reading things like Cyrano de Bergerac and Henry V. Definitely a lot different than what I was reading in 7th grade.
Just Overheard Madeleine saying in that sing-song tattletale voice, "Adam just put me in the garbage." Followed by lots of giggling from Sammy and Melanie. Just after that he was putting her somewhere (apparently on a shelf in the closet) and I heard her say, "Adam, I'm going to fall all the way down." After he got her down, she told him, "Adam, that wasn't a good idea." Woe is me.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Awesome Adventures
(Just found most of this in my drafts. Oops! Finished it up to post.)
Adam had a great summer working at camp again and serving as an NYLT senior patrol leader for a week (I need to get on writing about those).
But since he's been home he's had some much more extreme adventures. My brother and brother-in-law have been training to do the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim, and they invited Adam to join them in some prep hikes.
A few weeks ago they did 21.6 miles to Ben Lomond Peak in 7 1/2 hours.
On the way up they saw a herd of mountain goats (those little white things).
Adam is a tough kid, so it was pretty telling to me when he walked in the door and flopped on the couch.
Over Labor Day weekend they took on King's Peak. The plan was to leave at 3am, arrive at the area at 6am, and get on the trail. They figured they would get home sometime between 9 and 10pm. Jamie offered to drive them so the extreme hikers could get more rest and be safer, especially on their way home after they would be so completely worn out.
Here's a picture from along the way:
A view getting close to the top - about 1100 feet to go!
Adam had a great summer working at camp again and serving as an NYLT senior patrol leader for a week (I need to get on writing about those).
But since he's been home he's had some much more extreme adventures. My brother and brother-in-law have been training to do the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim, and they invited Adam to join them in some prep hikes.
A few weeks ago they did 21.6 miles to Ben Lomond Peak in 7 1/2 hours.
On the way up they saw a herd of mountain goats (those little white things).
And here they are at the top!
Adam is a tough kid, so it was pretty telling to me when he walked in the door and flopped on the couch.
Over Labor Day weekend they took on King's Peak. The plan was to leave at 3am, arrive at the area at 6am, and get on the trail. They figured they would get home sometime between 9 and 10pm. Jamie offered to drive them so the extreme hikers could get more rest and be safer, especially on their way home after they would be so completely worn out.
Here's a picture from along the way:
A view getting close to the top - about 1100 feet to go!
I couldn't find one from the top, but if I do, I'll get it added.
For a class Adam is taking he had to create a "This I Believe" statement and from that, create a video/slideshow. Since it totally fits with this, here it is.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Flabbergasted
I was attempting to repent of one of my many delinquent wifely duties this morning by ironing Jamie's white shirts (case in point - I don't even own an ironing board. Got rid of it several years ago because it was just something else hanging around here).
Madeleine walked in and started watching me. "What are you doing, mommy?" She thought it was funny to touch the fabric after I had run the iron over it. She was surprised when I squirted it, then offered to help with that. She kept asking about what I was doing, and I guess in my concentration to do a decent job (this is not one of my talents), I wasn't providing her good enough answers. Finally in utter confusion she asked,
"What the heck is going on here!?!"
Three year olds are so fun.
A bit before then she was talking to Jamie about different little scabs on her legs. He pointed out a bruise and asked her how she got it. "That's a rock stain." Yes, she's still a rock lover, so I guess it was a pretty good answer.
Madeleine walked in and started watching me. "What are you doing, mommy?" She thought it was funny to touch the fabric after I had run the iron over it. She was surprised when I squirted it, then offered to help with that. She kept asking about what I was doing, and I guess in my concentration to do a decent job (this is not one of my talents), I wasn't providing her good enough answers. Finally in utter confusion she asked,
"What the heck is going on here!?!"
Three year olds are so fun.
A bit before then she was talking to Jamie about different little scabs on her legs. He pointed out a bruise and asked her how she got it. "That's a rock stain." Yes, she's still a rock lover, so I guess it was a pretty good answer.
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