Eight Weeks Old

Gavin always makes these arms when lying down and is content. It reminds me of little muscle arms (that or marshmallows!) I just love it!!!

What else do I love about my new baby???

-I love the way he smells just after a bath.

-I love his big bright eyes. I hope they stay blue.

-I love his smile and laughter that comes from the back of his throat.

-I love the new cooing noises he is starting to make.

-I love that he can track me with his eyes around the room.

-I love the way it feels like he is holding and hugging me when I hold him over my shoulder.

-I love dressing him up, even if doesn't fit into any of his cute 0-3 month clothes anymore.

-I love his peaceful countenance.

-I just love how sinking cute he is.

-I love that he sleeps at least 8 hours in a span at night now. If only I could too...

My Life Mysteries

Thanks JaNece. From the first sentence of your post I started thinking about my life too.

-Why does my baby cry every time I sit down to eat, even if I just fed him?
-Why do I put wrappers and other small pieces of garbage in my pocket when there is a trash can in almost every room in the house?
-Why do I NEVER check my messages?
-Why can I read hundreds of pages in any given book, but when it comes to reading my scriptures I can never get past a couple pages at one time?
-Why am I the only one who knows how to push in a chair at the table after I get up?
-Why do all the clocks read a different time?
-Why do I worry about cleaning my house all day long, and then do nothing about it?
-Where do all the hours in the day go? Is someone out there stealing them from me? Because I swear I come up short almost every day...
-Why do I get ready for the day when I don't leave the house, and no one comes over?
-Why does it seem like at least one of my children are crying, whining or fighting all day long?
-Why am I afraid to call a friend and invite them over for lunch on those days when I am lonely and really needing good adult conversations?
-Actually, why is it hard for me to call anyone I know about anything, but I have no problem calling perfect strangers?
-Why do I feel guilty about buying anything that is just for me(even deodorant), but don't think twice about it when it is for someone else in my family?
-Why do I sit on the computer reading strangers blogs or googling unimportant things rather than do my chores?
-Why can I NOT get to bed before 11pm every night?
-Why do I let my mail pile up to the point of it falling all over the floor before I do anything about it?
-Honestly, why do I torture myself by occasionally taking ALL 4 kids to the store or run errands with me?
-Why can I never stay caught up on laundry?
-Why does it drive me crazy when the toys get put away in the wrong box/bucket when they will all get dumped out again tomorrow anyway?
-How do my kids know the difference between real and fake keys or cell phones?
-Why do people care about their age or weight? It's all just numbers. Isn't it how you feel inside that really matters?
-Why is it that when mom is home with the kids she does things that need to be done around the house, and then when dad is home with the kids he doesn't?
-Why is Max sitting on top of Gavin right now as if he were a chair? (I guess I am procrastinating my motherly duties by blogging right now)
-How is it possible for Sophie to be an exact clone of me? And why can't I help her get past those certain characteristics and habits I had growing up that I see her falling into?
-Why do I feel like everything has to be perfect all the time?
-Why does the grass always seem greener on the other side?
-Why does my day always go better if I make the bed as soon as I get out of it?
-Why do hugs feel so good, no matter who is giving them?


I think I could go on and on, my life is full of the unexplainable...

The Gingerbread Man

Attention one and all...

Especially those of you from out of the state of Utah.

I love that Sophie is in Kindergarten. She is doing all sorts of fun things and loving learning and making new friends. She is even at the age where she LOVES homework. So to keep the love alive I am asking for help with this homework assignment. They are doing a gingerbread man unit in her class. And they are going on hunts around the school looking for gingerbread men to introduce different parts of the school, and to intrtoduce maps too, they are asking for postcards to be sent directly to the school with different gingerbread man sightings from around the state of Utah, and the country (Canada too!!!). So, if you could please take a minute out of your day and send a letter or postcard on its way you would truely make Sophie's day at school...

(You can be as creative, or not, as you want)

Thank you, thank you. We love you.

Pictures

Gavin is blowing bubbles!!!
Peter is crazy dancing to Tarzan music
Peter says "take a picture of my guy mom!!!" - so I do.
Sophie is sharing her moth with Peter that she found on our walk home from school.

We take random pictures that could turn into posts, but instead it is one big post taking the highlights of these great moments...

Canning

Well, our 2 peach trees have been trees of plenty this year. So we have been busy canning away. Come to find out I really love canning. I have great memories from being a kid and helping my mom and grandma, standing in the kitchen canning for what seemed like all summer long. Now it is my turn to be the grown up and do this by myself. Not really by myself - I've been doing it all with Rich, and then his sister Holly today. And surprisingly, Rich's dad has helped out with it too. We did a total of 90 jars of peaches, 24 jars of strawberry jam, 10 jars of strawberry-peach jam and 10 jars of spiced-peach jam. A dozen jars of salsa, 6 jars of tomatoes, and a dozen jars of pickles. I still have yet to make 2 batches of plain peach jam and I'll also try my hand at peach fruit leather this week. WE LOVE PEACHES!!

(I'd love to do pears too if there is anyone out there that knows where we could buy/pick cheap pears.)

Seven Weeks Old

Gavin is seven weeks old now and we thought it was time to move him into his own room. Tonight will be the first night in his crib - in the other room!! I can't wait for him to sleep through the night. I know we're not quiet there yet but at least this way I won't hear all of his grunts and wiggles. And he won't hear our tossing and turning. So maybe we will all sleep better now. He is getting more predictable at night and so I am ready for the change. And yes, he LOVES to be wrapped up tight like a butterfly in a cocoon. He is our first one who likes that. The other kids have all liked to be free and flap around like a bird. He looks so tiny in the crib! My little baby.

My Boys

I just love my boys. And I'm sure they'll all be best friends in life. Peter and Max are really starting to play together, wrestling and playing guys!!! Gavin is only 1 1/2 yrs behind them and so I know he'll jump on the band wagon soon enough... Aren't they so cute and handsome in their matching Sunday duds?.... (Don't mind the binki or tears)

To be honest, I was always nervous to have boys. And now they outnumber the girls in our family 2:1. But I wouldn't trade them for the moon. They are all so perfect and funny. (At least some of the time) Peter has a deep love for bugs and animals that only a little boy can have. Digging in the dirt and reaching far back in the bush to find them. The other day he saw a beetle on the sidewalk, bent down to smell it and got squirted with bug juice. He said it smelled like banana (he got squirted in the eye and cried, he won't be doing that again). Max LOVES cars and balls with a passion. He can make those vroom vroom noises better than I can. And will chase after a ball like a puppy does. And he is all boy, having not a care in the world. There is no doubt in my mind that Gavin will follow the examples set by his older brothers. And let's not forget their collective and immense love of CANDY!!! I love my boys.

Picasa

I guess I'm behind the times, but I just learned how to use Picasa and make cool collages!

Yeah me!!!

The First Hour

Instead of being awaken by the slow sunrise leaking into my room, it was nudges and grunts from my bouncing baby boy. He was hungry. Again. He actually slept well, seven hours!!!! (from 10:30pm to 5:30am). It was just down hill after that first waking. I was able to hold him off for an hour with the binki. He would spit it out every 15 minutes and I would force it back in stealing every last minute of sleep I could manage. This lasted for an hour or so, so I didn't really gain any of that beauty sleep I was seeking. I knew that was how the story would play, I was just hoping for a miracle. Still sleepy, but finally accepting the sun, Rich and I both noticed the usual. Sophie and Peter had both made their way into our room sometime during the dark hours of the night. I don't know why they have their own rooms. We should probably make the two chairs in our room their new official beds... Rich and I hear the faint cry of Maxwell over the roaring fan next to our bed and Rich gets out of bed to fetch Max. Max wanted nothing more than to go straight downstairs. That isn't what he got. He was put into bed with me while I fought the need to get up and tend to Gavin, and Rich left the scene to jump into the shower to get ready for his day. This was my day, ready or not... Max smelled up the whole room with his dirty diaper. It was too much for me so he got thrown into the shower with Richard. I finally got out of bed and was met with a storm. It was necessary to sit down at that moment and feed Gavin. As he noisily nurses and gulps the milk down Peter started his day by crying about wanting to take a shower with dad. I didn't object because I was busy and I knew that if he took a shower he would stop crying and that would be one less thing for me to deal with at the moment. It sure turned his frown upside down and Rich somehow successfully showered with Peter and Max in there too. I really didn't think about it much. During this conversation with Peter Sophie quietly left the room and in the chair where she was sleeping was a dark and wet spot. Yep, she had an accident on our chair! All I could think of was how in the world was I going to have time to clean that up before it dried all the way. Just one more thing. I finished feeding Gavin and I went to change his diaper. Can anyone say blowout? I cleaned him up best I could, but he still stunk like diapers and sour milk so I made Rich get back in the shower to wash him off. He had just gotten out and was still in his towel. Just as I'm done my two naked boys come out of the bathroom dripping wet. I dry them off and search for something decent for them to put on. Yes, I'm behind on laundry. And that meant that I first checked their drawers, then the laundry room and back to their room and dressers again before I had assembled two outfits that I was satisfied with. Peter dressed himself - complaining the whole time that he wanted someone to help him. Yeah, not going to happen. Max likes his birthday suit more than anything else so I held him down in combat style while he cries at the top of his lungs and twists his torso and contorts his legs so as to not let me dress him. He was fighting a loosing battle. I win every time! Doesn't he know that by now. Submission would be so much easier and faster. I finally take a breath - two down, two to go. I catch Sophie in the hall and tell her she needs to take a shower now to clean herself off. OK!!! She is excited, a little too much and I can already foresee the battle to get her out of the shower. I'll deal with that when the time comes. At least she can find her own clothes, brush out her wet hair - mostly and that much independence is a blessing this morning. Then I go and get my clean baby, lotion and dress him while his lip quivers because he is always cold after a bath or shower and - Oh great, Gavin is crying again. He is going through a growth spurt and thinks he is starving every hour or two. Somehow he made it through the night and I try to remember the elation I felt when I realized I had slept longer than I had in months. Nope, not enough. So I do my motherly duty and sit down and feed him, again. While feeding him I was reminded of the pee yet to be cleaned on the opposing chair. Thankfully it was a quick feeding and the chair got a good scrub down. Everyone is finally settled and I am hoping for a really good hot breakfast, after I selfishly shower, that Rich almost always makes and Peter comes upstairs and asks me what kind of cereal I want. What? Not today, cereal is the last thing I wanted for breakfast. But he has the cutest face as he asks me so I don't disappoint him and give him my order. (Come to find out he got breakfast ready all by himself, getting all the cereal out and lined it up on the counter along with another line up of all of our fruit. So it wasn't Rich's idea or fault. Just my cute boy.) Not knowing why and a little stressed at the morning I was looking forward to my shower and shaving my legs, since I skipped that yesterday. As I was about to step into the shower Rich comes in with a look on his face when he saw me Not ready at all and says "you haven't taken a shower yet?" NO. When was I supposed to fit that in? Between poopy diapers or cleaning pee off of our chair? Oh yeah, this was all in the first hour of my day. So you can imagine how the rest of it went. At least I had bunko to look forward to tonight...

Six Weeks Old

Today Gavin turned 6 weeks old. It was his first Sunday at church, our first Sunday to church together as a family. And he was perfect. He looked so beautiful in his blessing tuxedo. And Richard gave him such a beauiful blessing. A wonderful day. He has started to smile a little. I am sad to say I was one of the last people he smiled at. How is that fair? I am the one who holds him most, feeds him always, and changes him all the time... Yet he displays his advances and tricks for others before me. Oh well, I know he loves me. And I love him.

How could I choose just one picture today? They are all so cute! I love my Gavin...

Baby Blessing

Gavin was 6 weeks old today and we had his baby blessing at church. We had a lot of Rich's family come - even though our church started at 8:30am!! Even his Grandpa came - we all call him Grandpa Great. Gavin wore the same blessing tux that our other boys have worn, but it barely fit Gavin! He is such a big boy. It was such a nice Sunday. After church we had a nice and yummy lunch with the family and relaxed and naped the rest of the day. That's what you get to do when church is so early. You have the whole day to hang out.
To explain the blue baby booties above, Rich's Grammy made them (his dad's mom). She made them for all her grandkids, all their babies, and even sent them with the boys on their missions to share around the world. They are extra special now that she is gone and there can never be any more just the same - made with her love. All our babies have been blessed with them on their tiny feet. And we have enough to pass one pair onto our children when they marry. Grammy gave us a pink and blue pair when we got married with a note that said 'may all your cares be little ones'. It was a beautiful blessing, and Gavin is such a special baby. It is wonderful to have a righteous husband who honors his priesthood and is able to bless our family in so many ways. He blesses us when we are sick, gave the children blessings before school started and has blessed all of our children with beautiful baby blessings - like today. Thank you Richard.

FALL

Fall is such an amazing season and it is coming in full force. I am starting to notice a tree here and there that are changing colors. But the best thing is the weather. I LOVE IT! It is still warm enough to wear short sleeves and be SO comfortable outside. Not too cold or hot, just perfect. It is the best weather for walking and going to the park - like today. We played for 2 hours today. Max is amazing and adventurous. He would crawl up the playground stairs alone and head down the big slides on his own - head first. And then do it all over again. There was a group of girls that were 12 or 13yrs old and Sophie was following them around a little - hoping they would notice her. So cute. Gavin slept the whole time in his car seat. And Peter made buddies with the boy in the red shirt as he kept calling him. I hope this weather lasts a little longer. I want to enjoy every minute of it. On the drive home we saw a rainbow in the sky - even though we didn't have any rain where we were. It was beautiful and I think it's the first time the kids have seen a real rainbow. We had to stop and get out of the car. We watched it till it faded away.

A sad, sad day...

We had a little storm roll through. Not too bad, some needed rain and a lot of wind. But it was more than our heavy peach tree could handle. The best producing branch took the brunt end of the storm and cracked. The peaches on the end are all almost touching the ground. They will ripen, but at the end of the season we will have to chop the branch off and next year we will have to do without that branch - that means less peaches... Sad, sad day...

That's what it's all about

Instead of lazily sitting and watching TV while I made dinner (which was our normal routine) the kids had fun and used their creative imaginations tonight. They made a shoe train around the table, into the family room and back into the kitchen. They spent an hour building and having fun. The only upset words were when Maxwell would try to take shoes out of the train. He loves shoes, he thinks they mean "go go". And Max loves to 'go', anywhere. Sophie counted them and there were 136 individual shoes that came out of our mud room - from 6 cubbies and 1 box of shoes that are too small for my kids now. (how did we fit all of those shoes in there!!)What a fun night. The no TV watching is already a great success.

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What a Week

Monday
Labor day. And boy did we labor!! We had found strawberries on sale by the flat and bought 3 flats! We made 4 batches of strawberry jam for our food storage. About 24 jars. Yummy! We froze the rest. We also canned some pickles. And then we cleaned the house together in preparation for guests! A first for us in the 3 years we've lived here. We had friends over!!! We used to be so social and party animals, but things have just been different in every part of our lives since we moved here. It was so nice to feel like the old us again... Rich has a buddy who is now an independent contractor in his office. We knew Mindy and Lucas at Chiropractic school, and I knew Mindy long before that. She was one of my first roommates at Ricks College 10 years ago!!! They have 2 kids Sophie and Peter's age and we all had a great night. I hope we will be able to do this more often - having friends over. So watch out friends...




Tuesday

Sophie started school all by herself. She was SO EXCITED!! No tears or fears from her today!!! And after school she also started tumbling class. It was a big day for Sophie! And a big day for me. The first of shuffling and toting around to the various activities for my kids.






















Wednesday
What a fun day it was on Wednesday! Peter started preschool and couldn't have had more fun! I wanted to say goodbye after we got into his classroom, but he was too busy playing with toys and new friends. I had to force him to stop so I could get a hug and kiss! He really is a social butterfly. Today was also Gavin's ONE MONTH BIRTHDAY! This time last month I was in the hospital...






Thursday
Just your typical day. But Peter had his neighbor friend, Josh, walk with us to take Sophie to kindergarten. On the way home Josh smashed a bug on the sidewalk. Typical boy, right? Well out of nowhere Peter lectures Josh. "Josh, that bug is one of Heavenly Father's creations. If you kill it then you are killing Heavenly Father's creations and that makes you not have the Holy Ghost with you, and you don't want that - do you?" I kind of stopped and looked around for Peter because those words were not the words of my bug catching, wing pulling, snail smashing boy. Come to find out later that Grandpa had given this very lecture to Peter the day before when he was caught in the act of bug killing himself. I was surprised at how well Peter listened!




Friday
A fun day for sure. Sophie came home and was a little bummed because on Friday's she doesn't have recess at school. She has already decided that recess is her favorite part of school. Smart girl!!
But after school she got to start ballet/tap dance class. I am going to be honest and tell you that I am living out my dreams in my daughter when it comes to ballet. I ALWAYS wanted to be a ballerina, but by the time my mom could put me in dance I was too old. So it was so important to me to have Sophie in ballet NOW. And my mom always wishes I could have been in ballet too, so she decided she wanted to help put Sophie in ballet. THANK YOU MOM!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!! I hope she loves it! And how couldn't she?? She is adorable in her little outfit!
Today was also a grand day because Rich took Peter and Maxwell on a father's and son's camping trip over night!! Oh yeah!! Grandma took us girls out to dinner! And then Sophie played at a friends before the two of us watched a little TV together and wrote in our journals. I taught her how to draw stars. And she got to have a sleepover in my bed! It was a great girls night!!






Saturday
Sophie had a cute idea this morning to make the boys cinnamon rolls for a surprise when they came home from camping. I said yes, but that we should get ourselves ready for the day first. They came home just as I was blow drying my hair! NO FAIR!! Sophie was disappointed. Later in the day we caught Max sitting on the table eating the remaining fruit in our fruit bowl. 2 nectarines at the same time. One for each hand of course! We tried to get him down, but he popped right back up again! So the fruit bowl is moved - and Max is officially our earliest climber at 19 months old. I went to get Peter some shoes today and found out that he wears a size 11. Sophie, who is 16 months older, wears a size 10. She also thought this was unfair.






Sunday
After having a 6 week hibernation from church I made a reappearance. Gavin had a little bit of a cough and we wanted to keep him home so I sent Rich with the rest of the kids and he came home and we traded places during sunday school. I made it for Relief Society. It was so good to be back. I was really lacking in the spirituality department. This was just what I needed. My friend Holly gave a great lesson on Standing for Truth and Righteousness. The whole lesson was good, but it is what I felt impressed to do, that is why I am mentioning it here. I have been noticing and thinking for a couple weeks now that TV is too much for my little family. No matter what the amount or content I feel like it has been bringing contention into my home. Cartoons are not what they used to be when I was a kid. Just because it is cartoon does not mean it is appropriate for kids of any age - or any kids for that matter. I will not name shows, but there are so many that tease, lie, call names, are rude, etc. And I think that influence has been rubbing off on my kids and I don't like it. I get sucked in too. My shows are better, but I find that I leave chores undone and parent a little lazier when the TV is on. One show leads to another and Rich and I have been staying up way too late doing nothing but lying in bed staring at the tube. My impression was very distinct. UNPLUG THE TV FOR ONE WEEK. Not just turn it off or monitor the shows and time better, but actually make it inaccessible to all of us for the week. So here goes nothing. We had a little lesson with the kids before we did it and made it feel like a family decision. I am so excited to see the changes in all of us, and in our home. Wish us luck!

Five Weeks Old

Yes, he does cry sometimes. But not very often. He is BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS my easiest baby. Sophie was the hardest. They have all gotten easier and easier. But I don't think it's possible to beat this, so I don't think we'll try. Gavin is a super baby. He sleeps like a bear in winter and is content to be awake and look around without anyone being near him. When he cries he really only wants to be fed or changed or maybe held. Although life with 4 kids is a harder adjustment than I thought, it has nothing to do with the temperment of this little angel. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful baby.