Saturday, November 29, 2008

All I want for Christmas...

The kids made their Christmas lists to Santa today.
The only thing Garen could come up with is trains and cars and more trains and cars. So hopefully that is what Santa brings.



Maddie on the other hand had many things in mind. I told her to just pick 5 so we're not being greedy. If you can't read what she wrote it says,
Dear Santa,
For Christmas I want
*baby lion (one of those purring come alive toys)
*train track
*doll house
*pony
*reindeer (Good Luck with the last two Santa!)
(she also wanted to put a dog on there, but I really don't want Santa to bring one so I convinced her to leave that one off)
On the back she wrote:
I help my mom do the laundry (that was all her idea to write and try to get some brownie points)
I love you
-Maddie



I'm pretty easy this year. The only things I want on my Christmas list are a happy family, a healthy baby girl, and the ability to bend over or run up the stairs again!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving. This was the first year Andy and I have spent the holiday away from family. I missed my parents and siblings and the 50 or 60 cousins that are always there! I missed the talent show and basketball games. And we missed Andy's family and the card game playing!

But we are blessed to have some wonderful neighbors that we got to spend the day with. Crystal did an amazing job on all the delicious food!

Andy worked all morning, came home for a few hours to eat and then he had to head back for awhile. Then tomorrow (black Friday) he will be gone from 4AM-9:30PM! A few more days like that and the kids and I are really going to need a break from each other.

And in honor of Thanksgiving here a just a few of the things I am truly grateful for:

-The gospel and the fact that it is the same whether I am in Idaho, Utah, or Rock Springs, Wyoming! And for the happiness and knowledge it brings me.

-My hard working, very caring husband!

-For Maddie who notices when I am super tired and have had enough; then takes it upon herself to get Garen ready for bed or to clean her room.

-For Garen who always does or says something to make us all laugh. By the way this Thanksgiving he is thankful for "hiccups."

-For the miracle of life and the chance to have another sweet spirit in our home in a couple weeks.

-For a warm and cozy house to sit in as it snows and freezes outside (we had a bit of snow this morning).

-For the constant love and support of my mom, dad, sisters, brothers, and in-laws! Where would we be without family.

-And I have to add in that I am thankful for all the yummy food especially the desserts! ;)

I guess the kids weren't in the mood to give Thanksgiving a shout out, but Happy Thanksgiving anyway!!!-

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Maddie's Thanksgiving Party

I've been able to help in Maddie's class the last 2 days. It was so much fun and I was hoping it would put me into labor (it didn't). Today the kids had a feast and they got to do all their Thanksgiving songs in their pilgram vests and indian hats. It was so cute!!!

Maddie and her friend Elizabeth waiting for their food-

Maddie playing her drum-


Maddie and her class-

Here are some of their songs. I know, not to interesting to some of you, but I posted them for grandmas and other family members that we don't see to often-

Friday, November 21, 2008

Going Private!

I guess it's time to turn my blog private. With a cute little 5 year old girl on here all the time and the world we live in these days, I guess it is what's best.
So if you would like to still see our blog leave your email and I will add you in. I will be turning the blog private on Monday or Tuesday next week!

Week at a glance-

Monday
Andy put up our Christmas lights and brought up all our boxes of Christmas stuff. Now we have everything out for Christmas minus the tree. We always get a real tree and it's still a little early for that. I love the way the Christmas decorations and lights make everything seem so festive and cozy!
Garen helping Andy hang the lights-


He thought he was pretty cool up on that ladder-

I can't believe we will have 5 stockings hung this Christmas, I still need one for baby-

That night we got to have the missionaries over for dinner. The kids loved them and it was neat to hear about their experiences in Rock Springs.

Tuesday
Maddie got to wear her Pajamas to school. She thought this was awesome! And Maddie had a blast with her friends at gymnastics. I took the five 5-year olds from the ward over to the gym and they were so hyper, I felt bad for the gymnastics coach who had to try and teach these crazy girls!
Maddie couldn't stop laughing long enough for a normal picture so you get a laughing pj picture-



Wednesday
Clifford the big red dog visited Maddie's school.
After school I helped at Maddie's primary activity. They made thank yous for their moms and dads and played some Thanksgiving games. While they were waiting for the parents to come the kids were playing red rover. They called on Maddie like every time. I think the older kids thought it was fun to watch her run so fast and try so hard but end up being caught everytime. She's just to little to break through.

Thursday
The theme at school today was "business day" so Maddie got to wear a dress.

Garen and I went to play group at the indoor playground. He had a great time playing with the other 25 kids!



After school we went to the library. I think it's really neat that the library coordinates with the school and has after school activities. The kids love picking out books and movies and Maddie liked making her little scarecrow.

Maddie taking on 2 dinosaurs-

Garen spent the entire hour and a half that we were there playing quietly with this-

When we got home it was almost dinnertime and I just didn't feel like cooking so I told Andy to meet us at McDonald's (Maddie's choice). The only reason I like McDonald's is because I get to talk to Andy while we eat and I don't have to tell the kids to be quiet or to sit down.


After we got the kids to bed Andy got to go play basketball with some people in our stake. He was excited to finally find a place to play. The city leagues here only have games on Sundays so I'm glad he found another group to play with.

Friday

I went to the doctor this morning for my 36 week checkup. Everything looks perfect, I'm measuring at 37 weeks, and I'm dilated to a tiny 1 centimeter. We'll see where it goes from here!We got to have my neighbors 6 month old baby for a couple hours this evening too. The kids love him and it was fun to have a little baby here. It helps that he is a super good baby!

My goal is to have all my Christmas shopping done by next week, wish me luck!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Vote for Maddie!!!

Madelyn entered a Turkey coloring contest on Raspberry Lemonade. They pick the winner by the number of comments she gets! If she wins she gets $10 to toys-r-us.
So go over there and vote for Maddie.
They messed up and put her as Megan-age 5, but they hopefully will be changing the name to Madelyn. Either way vote for this turkey-

The one with one orange shoe and one pink shoe!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit.

The kids were super excited to see Andy's parents this weekend. They came Saturday evening and left Sunday afternoon. It was fun to have them even if it was just a short trip. Maddie loved having them play games, do puzzles, and read stories with her.
Reading bedtime stories with grandma and grandpa-
Maddie and the grandparents (Garen refused to have his picture taken)-
Just a cute picture of Maddie right before we left to church-

Daddy and the kids- (Garen was doing everything possible not to smile)

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Some Family Time

Andy had Thursday and Friday off work, which was so nice to have him around! He helped me a ton with things I've been putting off, like scrubbing the bathtubs and bathroom floors and getting the boxes of Christmas stuff out. Also we were able to go do a few things with the kids that I've been avoiding because it is just to tiring to take them some places by myself.


Thursday night we went to Pizza Hut so Maddie could redeem her book-it certificate for a free pizza. She was very proud of the badge they gave her for reading 20 books.

Then we did a little Christmas browsing and let the kids point out some things they would like to ask Santa for.
Maddie was so sweet to not forget her baby sister that will be here before Christmas. She made sure and picked some things to put on babies list for Christmas.
Then we went home and had banana splits, put the kids to bed, and Andy and I watched a movie.
Friday we took the kids swimming as soon as Maddie got out of school.
Maddie has been wanting to go for awhile, but Garen is kind of a hard one to take-he runs away, he cries at the cold water and its hard to get me and 2 kids dried and dressed in this huge slow state I'm in.
So we were glad Andy could come with us. We had a left over water camera from Andy's fishing trip that we took. I was excited to see the pictures since we were getting some good ones of the kids under water, but when I went to pick it up at the photo place they said the film was to damaged-I was bummed.
But we had a great time swimming. Garen preferred the hot tub over the big pool that was a bit chilly. But Maddie was having a blast! After swimming we let the kids go to the play area for a little while where Andy helped them build a big block house.
Garen is trying to so hard to help, but just knocking it all over, pretty funny-
Of course a big block house is no fun without knocking it over-
Then we headed to our neighbors house for dinner. She made us some very yummy ribs and twice backed potatoes followed by a double chocolate cake. It was super good and I didn't have to cook! Of course while we were there Garen made a huge mess of his cake and managed to pull a ton of popcorn seeds out of their movie popcorn maker and throw them all over their carpet.
So Andy went back to work this morning and I am missing having him around already! At least he'll get some time off when we have the baby! It was definitely a nice two days having him around not just for all the help with the kids and cleaning either! ;)

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Family Update...

Garen
Garen and I have been enjoying our alone time together during the day! He is so much fun and very entertaining! He can now name all his colors, shapes, and letters and he's about got his counting down. He plays with cars and trains all day long and if he has a toy that isn't a car or train he turns it into one.
One of Garen's favorite places to play is inside this storage Ottoman. He hides in there and makes beds in there-
We go to storytime at the library on Mondays, which Garen loves but still will not participate in the games. And we meet his playgroup at the rec. center on Thursdays. He loves going there except when the other kids touch his giant blocks.
It's been over a month since Garen has taken a nap so I have pretty much given up hope that naptime will resume.
We've tried introducing potty training to him, but he is terrified of the toilet and refuses to go near it even with the little potty on top. I am so not ready for 2 kids in diapers, but it looks like that is what's going to happen unless by some miracle Garen looses his fear of the toilet in the next couple weeks!
He's growing like crazy! He's big enough and strong enough now to take down his sister. Maddie hasn't had a growth spurt in awhile so he's almost as tall as her! Sometimes when I'm doing laundry I get their jeans mixed up!


Madelyn
I cannot believe how grownup this girl is getting!!! She was making a turkey the other day and we didn't have what she needed so she says, "oh well, I guess I'll have to improvise." When did she turn into an adult?
Maddie is loving school so much! She has so many friends and the nicest teacher. Her reading and writing are really coming along!!!
I have recently discovered she has a little worry bug like her dad did. She will complain about a stomach ache every so often and I will give her some tums, make her drink more water, or have her soak in the tub. Then after a few hours of complaining about her stomach she will bring up some topic that has her worried.
We went through this a couple weeks ago with fire drills and school fire safety.
It came again last night. Last night after I tended to her tummy she said she was afraid of the dark at school. After talking with her I learned they have been practicing 'lock-down' drills. They turn off the lights and all the kids have to huddle in the little kitchen area. Obviously the teacher explained that we do this if a bad guy comes to the school. Maddie thought bad guys weren't real and now we've had to discuss that not all people are good. I try to reassure her that no bad guys will come to school and her teachers will keep her safe, but she now worries about a fire starting and a bad guy coming to school.
Maddie can't wait for her baby sister to get here. She always wants to know exactly what day of the week the baby will arrive. She doesn't get that the baby comes when it's ready.
Maddie has been so helpful with clean up time and with preparing things for baby. She loves folding and hanging the tiny baby clothes and loves to ask if she used to wear it. We put up the bassinet and Maddie has put it to good use with her dolls and animals.
I don't know what I would do without my Maddie!
She is so good at taking care of Garen. She gets him his blanket when he's sad, she gets him a snack or drink when he's hungry. She plays cars and hide and go seek with him. And she even puts him in timeout when he's naughty (that one isn't quite so helpful).

Baby Girl
35 Weeks and counting-

I know, I"m huge! I have now surpassed my ending weight with Garen-dang it! But everything looks great. My blood pressure hasn't changed a bit from the beginning and I'm measuring just a touch big (so hopefully she'll come early). The baby's heart rate is perfect and she is head down and ready to come out!
I go to the doctor every week now, so it's just a matter of time.
While we wait I've been trying to get a few things ready like Christmas shopping and going through all the baby stuff I already have and deciding what else I need.
Getting ready-
Well, that's what we have been up to. I can't leave out Andy. He's been helping me around the house a ton and he works all the time-that's about it!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

I'm a winner!!!!

Alisha had this amazing giveaway at AJ's Bow-tique and of course I took advantage of it and commented my little heart out. And it payed off! I won 7 out of the 12 bows she was giving away! You're the best Alisha, I am so excited for the beautiful new bows and headbands for Maddie and the new baby. You really are so very talented!!!
Here are the ones I won!-