One Month

Adele- Adele is one month old today- We love her!!! She is so fun. She loves, loves, loves to be held and lucky for her we all love holding her. She is starting to smile. Just little ones but it's so cute. She is adored by all! I was so worried about going out with three but it hasn't been bad at all- so the little lady gets out quite a bit. She has a lovely case of baby acne right now. She also has the strongest neck I have seen on a one month old. Even the doctor was amazed. She can also push herself up quite a bit when on her tummy. It's pretty cute but it makes me nervous. I was kind of hoping for a slow mover (it could still happen). She likes her swing, some of the time. She takes a pacifier, she is a good nurser. She enjoys her baths and likes sneaking in the shower with us. She sleeps in her bed- sometimes. She is in size two diapers and growing like a weed. After one month with Adele we are all convinced we got the cutest little lady ever!

Spencer- Spencer has lost his "baby" title and seems to be adjusting pretty well. He throws more tantrums now then he used to but nothing to major. He has always been a bit feisty. I think it will serve him well later in life. He has become quite the character. He says the funniest things. For example-

He got some "scary" teeth at the ward party. He puts them in and shows Adele. Then immediately takes them out and says "don't cry sweetie pie, they are just pretend".

When we walk by the halloween section at Target he says "be brave baby sister- it's just pretend".

When asked what he is going to grow up and be he usually says "I grow up be a Daddy, Adele be a Mommy". The other day just to throw us off he said "I grow up be a bad guy"- not sure where that came from.

He woke up the other day and said "I dream a bad dream about Grandpa and a BIG bear".

When I ask him how long he will love me he says "forever and ever", today he said "for two days".

I need to record his funny things more- he really is a character- Spencer is great!!!

Garret- Garret has been the big brother of two for a month now and he loves it. He would hold Adele all day if I would let him. He thinks he can do everything for her (and in general) by himself. It's cute (most of the time) except when he says "I can do whatever I want...". He gets cabin fever easy when we stay at home. He has been practicing writing a lot and is getting pretty good at writing his letters. He wants to read so bad. He has a great little memory and is always reminding me of things that happened a couple years ago. He has big plans for the future. He has a little bit of my sentimental side and already talks about the move and the things he is going to miss. He is just getting so big. He is a gem and even on the days when I want to scream at him if I hear "what do you want to do now" again, I just can't get enough of him.

Tyler and I- We have been parents of three for a month now and definitely have moments of "what have we done" but overall we love it. We have both been pretty chiller this time around. The crying and poop and lack of sleep are taken more in stride and mostly we just look at our kids and think "why does it have to go by so fast". We find ourselves singing songs like "just another day in paradise" a lot. There is always noise and someone needing something. But there are a million fun little, sweet moments that are worth it all. Plus we know there will be a day in the future when they won't want to be held and rocked and wrestled and talked to anymore or at least not as often. When I start to feel overwhelmed I try to remember that I only get this day with them once.

After a month I think we are all just glad we have each other and I know a night doesn't go by that I don't thank my Father in Heaven for the blessing this crazy family is.

A Wonderful Weekend

We started off our weekend Friday night with a quick date. Kandis was good enough to watch our kids while Tyler and I snuck away for a couple hours. We really didn't do much but we enjoyed being together.

Then Saturday was Halloween. We had already done the church party and the boys dressed up to visited our friends Rick and Cindy on Thursday so we kept it pretty low key. We had a spooky dinner ( I didn't get a good picture of the drink but it had large tapioca and food coloring in it and looked pretty spooky!)

After our dinner we lit candles and read a bunch of Halloween books from the library. The kids thought it was a great night.

In these pictures our cute little Adele gave her mom and dad just a glimpse of what could be her temperamental nature as far as fashion goes, but doesn't she look soooooo adorable.

We were well over an hour early for church- we didn't remember it was day light savings time- WHOOPS!!!

After Church and naps we went for a lovely fall walk around Forest Lawn Cemetery. It's so pretty there with bridges, water and beautiful monuments and fall leaves of course! It might sound weird to walk around the cemetery but we all enjoyed it. It was crazy thinking about all the people that had lived and passed on already. They all had lives of their own and families and goals just like us. I wonder what they would think of our world today. I love history and thinking about all of their lives and how in an indirect way they influence us.

Garret wanted to be the photographer and had fun taking a few pictures himself.

There are a lot of significant memorials at the cemetery. This statue in the lake was a small girl and was a memorial to children that passed. I can handle the idea of all the adult deaths but I hate thinking about children dying.

It was a great fall Sunday afternoon. The whole weekend was nice. Time for another week.

Christmas Preview

I know it is Halloween today but I have been working on Christmas the past few weeks. I am a planner, it's like I can't help it- I buy my kids clothes for a year or two in advance, I buy Halloween costumes the year before when they are on sale, I have had some Christmas presents put away since last January when they were on sale after Christmas- I should have been a boy scout- "Be Prepared". (Disclaimer- there are still way to many things I should plan/prepare for better that I don't!)

Anyway I have gotten a few projects done lately (most I can't put pictures of because they are for people that might look at this). Recently, I made matching jammies for the kids for Christmas Eve and this road blanket. Our Christmas is going to be a little different this year. We are doing Christmas just like normal on the 23 and 24 (Our kids won't know). Then the 25th we are flying to spend a week with Tyler's family. I think it is going to work out great. We will get to do our family traditions here and have our special Christmas morning together and still get to spend part of the holiday with family. Plus we won't have to bring all of the kids Christmas with us!

Back to my Road blanket- I wanted to make a blanket they could use as a backdrop for their toys. I kept thinking of all these things I could put on it to make it looks so cute but in the end I wanted it to be really simple so that one day it could be the backdrop for a zoo and the next for a farm or racetrack or whatever they wanted. I kept looking at the road rugs and such at the store but they were always so busy I decided to attempt to make one. There are things I would do different if I were to make it again but I think the kids will enjoy it. I wanted to put something on the back so I ended up doing islands. I thought they might have fun using boats on the back or the water animals.

It was a fun little project to work on. I love Christmas and love thinking all year how I can make it special. I don't expect the kids to jump for joy over this present but I think they will enjoy it. I think the kids are going to have a hard time waiting for Christmas this year. They already talk about it all the time. Christmas with kids is the best!!!

Matching!!!

Baths, Naps and Cowboys

Adele took a quick bath with the boys the other day. They thought that was so exciting. For months they have been talking about where she would fit in the tub! Our little lady doesn't like being swaddled. This is foreign territory for us (the boys were swaddled like burritos for months). This girl is in desperate need of a schedule but it's hard to commit to it so she gets spoiled often and held a lot.

She was not a very happy cowgirl tonight (we had the ward Halloween party), then she was a sleeping cowgirl (not sure which I like better since her late nap means she is still up- it's 9:30).

The boys have been anxious to wear their costumes ever since I picked them up after Halloween last year. They loved them!!!

We took two of our neighbor kids with us tonight (it was a full time job just keeping an eye on them all- Not sure I could ever manage that many).

We had to have a picture of Daddy and his girl!!!

I never put a picture of Tyler's pumpkin up- here it is (the pirate). This afternoon we went for a nice long walk with the kids. Fall here is so beautiful. Maybe it's the post baby hormones or the reality that this is our last fall here but the fact that we are going to miss this place is starting to hit. Who knew we would love Buffalo like we do? (many nostalgic post to come in the next 6 months!)

Adele went to church for the first time today. (I think she looks bigger in pictures then real life). I felt like I was playing with a doll when I got her ready today. It was so fun! We love her so much!!! Just for memory keeping sake, her current nicknames include, but are not limited to- Smelly Deli (she poops a lot), Deli Bean, Sweetie Pie (so cute when the boys call her things like this), Del, Della, Deli Beli etc. Usually she is still BABY SISTER!!!

Tyler started doing a workout called P90X on Friday. Garret loves doing it with him. He takes it surprisingly serious. I think he makes a better workout partner then I ever have!

I think life is starting to settle down a little (its great don't get me wrong) but with the new baby, Tyler being gone for five days, boards and residency's it has felt a bit crazy. So crazy that we just kicked it at home as much as possible this weekend (we even missed a Halloween party we really wanted to go to because we just couldn't get it together in time).

A Big Day for All of Us

Garret and Spencer- It was a big day for Garret and Spencer because they finally got to carve pumpkins. They have been looking forward to this for a long time. They made funny faces while getting the "guts" out. Their pumpkins started out being a face and a witch but ended up just being pumpkins with big holes in them. They got a little carried away with the knife- but had fun.

Adele- It was a big day for Adele because she got to go to the zoo for the first time. The boys had fun showing her everything. She didn't really see anything though because she slept the whole time.

Tyler and I- It was a big day for us because we committed to a residency in Grandview Washington (near Yakima) for after graduation. It will just be for one year. We feel good about it and it's nice knowing what is next. There are things I am not excited about but I am sure it will be a good year and hopefully it will be a year that gets us closer to where we want to "settle" down at.