Please don't feed the animals!

The weather last week felt like Spring so we took advantage of it by doing some fun outdoor activities in the warmth of the sun. We went to the zoo on Friday (since the kids were out of school) with some neighbor friends. I am pleased to say that I was actually able to take all of my children by myself and have a good time!It was my first big outing with all the kids without having Gavin to help. I carried Mia in the Baby Bjorn, put Griffin in the stroller and Morgan had a harness backpack thing on. They all did really well, in fact Mia slept the entire three hours in the carrier. Morgan was such a trooper--walking all over the grounds, up and down all the hills but when it was time to walk back to the car she decided she was too worn out to take another step and sat down in the middle of the walkway with everyone trying to get around us. I think it was a combination of tired legs and too small of tennis shoes. So we took off her shoes and put her in the stroller. Griffin was more than happy to be able to run around. Morgan keeps talking about the zoo and says, "Do you want to?" which really means "I want to" go to the zoo again! Hopefully I will be brave enough to try it again soon since I bought the season pass.

I gave Griffin a water bottle full of lemonade to see if he was thirsty and he was kind enough to share it with those poor thirsty penguins! (Yes, Griffin was the one that threw it over the fence . . . not Morgan!)

Taking a break for lunch

Jack and Ryan spent their own hard-earned money on these silly hats from the gift shop

Morgan and Griffin also had fun playing in the backyard--playing in the dirty sandbox, jumping on the trampoline and having picnics. Unfortunately we got snow a few days later. I guess we will just have to wait a little longer to really enjoy Spring!

Cafeteria food

We were lucky to have the opportunity to eat school lunch with Ryan. Actually we are very lucky because we have three kids at this elementary school and get to enjoy school lunches 3 times a year (even my parents get in on the deal 3 times a year on 'grandparents day' ). Our food choices were between cafeteria hamburgers or navajo taco -- no outside food is allowed--apparently that would alter the experience too much! (or the money the school is making on our lunches). It is always hard to enjoy this quality time when I am chasing Griffin and Morgan all around the lunchroom. There is a cute girl (whom has Down syndrome)l that works in the lunchroom that adores Morgan and tries her best to help me with her. Morgan started to run and she quickly said, "Don't worry I've got her. . . Morgan, stop running!!" I've decided next time to check my child out of school for lunch and go somewhere where we'll enjoy not only the company but the food, too!

Guilty!

I wonder who could have made this mess -- plant pulled out of the pot, dirt all over the bathroom, dirt smashed into my 'pretty soaps' that no one can use, etc. Oh wait . . . is that Morgan cleaning it all up with toilet water and toilet paper? :) This was another picture taken with the hopes that later on we would think it was funny.

Hitting the slopes

Gavin, Jack and Ryan had a great time skiing with their friends a few weeks ago! We got the boys some skis this year and decided it was time to get them up on the slopes. Ryan had only been skiing one time before (a few years ago) but did great and learned very quickly. Jack has skiied for a few years with his school's ski camp and thinks he is a little pro skiing the black diamond runs! All that matters is they had lots of fun and beautiful weather!

Big man on campus

I guess I should have seen it coming! I was talking to a mom yesterday that has a girl in Jack's class. She told me that her daughter was telling her she had a crush on someone in her class. Her mom responded, "I bet it is Jack or Matt." Her daughter quickly replied, "It's not Jack. He's not available. And besides every single girl in the class has a crush on him!"

Every girl has a crush on my little Jack? Well I guess he does have those big, beautiful brown eyes, great sense of humor, outgoing personality (parent teacher conferences always consist of "he's very talkative, maybe a little too talkative. I don't know where I can move his desk because he is friends with everyone!"), responsible, self motivated (I never have to remind him to do homework, clean his room, practice piano, etc.), athletic, great student, etc. Really, can I blame them?! :)

Ice Princess

Hadley has been busy with dance, gymnastics and (the recent addition of) ice skating. She took six classes at our local rec center and loved it! We all went up as a family last night to ice skate with her. I ended up not skating and watched with Morgan, Griffin and Mia. I don't even know if I know how to ice skate! I remember going a few times in jr. high school with mutual and my sunday school class but I just remember my ankles hurting the whole time! It was fun to see Jack and Hadley skating around the rink with their dad. It was Jack's first time to try it out. It's amazing how quickly kids pick up on new sports! Hadley looked great showing off her new talent. We had some hot chocolate and donuts with all her friends that were in the class with her. Morgan even got to 'skate' (in her shoes) around the rink with her dad!

Tagged to tell you about my husband . . .

What is his name? Gavin (Ryan got Gavin for his middle name and Hadley got his middle name and I got his last name! :)
How long have you been married? 11 years
How long did you date? We started to do stuff together with a group of friends (with some flirting) about a month before I left for my mission. We wrote a little bit to eachother during my mission and then Gavin was at the airport when I got home. I was afraid that he had 'waited' for me and started to avoid him. (I later found out that he had a girlfriend the whole time I was gone). I even hid from him when I saw him while I was shopping at ZCMI. Well about 3 months after I got home from my mission, I called him and we started to do stuff together again. After 2 years of dating, we were finally engaged and then married 2 months after that.
How old is he? He will be 37 next month
Who eats more? I probably do! :) But he eats more often.
Who said I love you first? I did; and then I remember he made some weird comment like, "Are you okay with that?" (which wasn't "I love you, too". )
Who is smarter? He is
Whose temper is worse? Probably mine
Who does the laundry? Mostly me but he does help fold it
Who does the dishes? Both of us
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me
Who pays the bills? Me
Who cooks dinner? Depends on which restaurant we go to that night! :)
Who drives when you are together? Gavin
Who is more stubborn? It's definitely a tie!!
Who's parents do you see the most? Mine because they live only 5 minutes away and have us all over for dinner every Sunday

Who proposed? Gavin
Who has more friends? Most of our friends have now become mutual friends that we have made together. It is also nice that we went to the same high school so we both already knew eachother's friends.
Who has more siblings? Gavin beats me by one. (He has 6 siblings; I have 5)
Who wears the pants in the family? I would have to say Gavin (although I know he would disagree). If he agrees to something it happens. If he disagrees, it doesn't happen.

P.S. As I am typing, Jack commented, "Dad is a cute dad, huh?" Yes he is!!

I am tagging Collette, Karol and Tara

Tag, You're It!

Blogging Keepsake

I know . . . I blog a lot. It is something I enjoy. I have some free time in the afternoon when all the three little ones are napping and I spend a lot of it on the computer. The whole reason I decided to start keeping a blog was to help me keep a record of my life. I wasn't doing well at journaling and wasn't able to remember alot of the cute things my children were doing. I just wasn't sure how I was going to turn my blog into a journal until I found this website. I am very excited that I can turn all my ramblings into a nice book. I thought I would share the site incase some of you bloggers out there might be interested. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I thought this picture was so cute of Morgan and Griffin loving their new baby sister.

We got a lot of snow yesterday and last night. So much snow that the schools were closed this morning. My kids were so excited that they didn't have to be to school until 10:30. I just wish we would have known before we woke them all up nice and early. It would have been great to have had a little bit of a sleep in on Valentine's morning. Gavin made us a nice breakfast of pink waffles and pink cupcakes (I know...cupcakes for breakfast? but isn't Valentine's all about the sugar?) He also got me beautiful pearl earrings, necklace and bracelet. I told him that I would look great wearing all of them with my t-shirts and sweatpants. :) I am sure I will get dressed in real clothes again someday. We are going to go out to dinner tonight to celebrate and hopefully I will at least have a card put together by then for Gavin. I feel like I am still very 'unfunctional' (is that a word?) after adding Mia to the family. I do great with all the kids as long as I don't have to get ready or go anywhere. But I can only do that for so long. Anyway... Gavin, I do LOVE you so very much! Thanks for being my Valentine!

My Ballerina Girl

I tried something new today with Morgan. It's something that we all take for granted with our other daughters. It's something we actually look forward to-- shopping for cute leotards and tutus, trying on ballet slippers to find the right size. This is something I haven't ever done with Morgan and finally decided to see if there are any opportunities out there for her. I called the ballet studio where Hadley has taken dance for the past two years.

"Do you have any openings in your 5 old year dance class?"

"Great! Would it be okay if my daughter with Down syndrome came to that class?"

Morgan was so excited to get dressed in a leotard, tights and ballet slippers. She never complained that the shoes were too tight for her little fat feet. She started to dance around in our living room doing the most beautiful, perfect twirls.

I took Morgan to her first ballet class today and she LOVED it! I 'm not sure why I always get so nervous with trying to include Morgan in regular activities with her peers. Maybe I am scared of the possible disappointment if it doesn't work out. Maybe I am scared she will be too much work for the teacher. Or maybe I am scared the teacher will tell me not to bring her back.

Her teacher was absolutely darling with her. I walked into the class with Morgan and asked the teacher if she was up for the challenge of having Morgan in her class today. She quickly replied that she was more than up for it and would LOVE to have her in her class. She just asked that I stay in the studio area in case she needed me. That was not the easiest task with both Mia and Griffin but somehow we made it. I peeked in on the class several times to see how Morgan was doing. The first time I looked, I saw my cute little girl in a big circle with all the class practicing their toe points. I was so overwhelmed with happiness in that moment. Seeing my daughter doing something completely 'normal' for a 5 year old. The next few times I went to peek on her were more typical findings for Morgan--going away from the group to look at herself in the mirror, playing with the girl's hair sitting next to her, trying to 'taste' the paper flower props she was dancing with, etc.

I wasn't sure what the teacher would say at the end of the class. Would it be too much extra work to have Morgan in her class? But her teacher told me how impressed she was with Morgan. Saying that Morgan was able to follow the dancing moves better than most kids do on their first day. She also felt that it was important for her to stay in this age group rather than a younger group. They wouldn't be distracted as easily and would be more patient with Morgan. Her only concern was that Morgan kept copying everything she said during the class which was distracting for the other kids. (Her speech therapist would have been so proud! :) Hopefully it will continue to be a positive experience for Morgan!

Look who's one month old!

My sweet little Mia,

It is hard for me to believe you have already been here for one month! The time is passing so quickly and you have already grown so much! I hope you will always know how blessed we are to have you in our family. We thought that Griffin would be our last little one . . . and feel SO lucky to have YOU! Our beautiful little girl. You already have such a cute personality. You started smiling at 3 weeks (with one to two smiles each day), but this morning when you woke up and I wished you a 'Happy one month Birthday' you were so full of big smiles for me! I am glad you are feeling better now but unfortunately while you were sick you did not nurse well for me. You were breathing so fast that it made it hard to nurse and you also just wanted to sleep all the time. I should have been better at pumping, but I wasn't and now I am battling to get my milk supply back up. I hope it works . . . it would make me sad to have to stop nursing you so early.

Your brothers and sisters love you so much! The first thing Morgan asks when she wakes up in the morning is, "Where'd Mia go?" and she searches the house until she finds you. Griffin is still trying to figure out exactly what you are doing here but loves to touch your face and give you kisses. And of course Jack, Ryan and Hadley absolutely adore you and think you are just the cutest baby! And your dad is loving having a newborn to cuddle and love again! We all love you so much, Mia!

I love you!

Mom

Morgan's been tagged...
for the love/hate meme by Lauren at Scarehaircare

Morgan loves . . .

Barney!
Playing in the snow
Going to the park to swing and slide
Lemonade in sippy cups
Cheeseburgers and fries with sauce (ketchup)
Singing and Dancing
Cake and ice cream at grandma's house
Jumping on the trampoline
Speech therapy with Maria
Her baby sister ("I hold her?")
Pestering her little brother
Eating chips in a bowl while she watches Barney
Grandma and Grandpa Stewart, Uncle Blake and Buster
Nan and Papa Seal
Movies with popcorn
Noodles
Bathtime
Her blankets just right
Corn on the cob
Her thumb

Morgan hates . . .

Mom brushing and fixing her hair (big tears and screams)
Things that are hard for her to do
Being reprimended
Milk (unless it is chocolate)
When Barney sings his "I love you" song (the show is over) "Go away Barney!!"
Sharing with Griffin

Morgan tags her cousins Grace at The Pruden Family, Cameron at The Stewart Family , Will at Rushing Review and Ryder at Pug Dog House.

The Office Quiz

Which Character From The Office Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

We love to watch The Office at our house! Unfortunately there haven't been any new ones for quite awhile...at least the reruns are just as funny. And Just for the record--I may be the same as Jim but we all know that Gavin is Michael Scott! We don't need a quiz to figure that one out!

Anyone seen the tooth fairy?

Hadley was very excited to lose her two front teeth. She even asked me to pull out her tooth when it was just starting to wiggle. She was so excited to say, "Merry Christmas (Merry Chrithmath)" without her teeth. Unfortunately she was still able to say Merry Christmas just fine and the tooth fairy took 3 nights to finally come and claim her tooth and leave some money. Apparently the tooth fairy was a little busy and forgetful this week!

Sick, sick and even more sick

I am not sure what happened to last week. All I really remember is spending way too much time in the doctor's office. It all started on Tuesday when Morgan got home from preschool and I noticed yellow/orange drainage in her right ear (she has a tube in that eardrum), apparently an ear infection after a week of having a yucky cold. I took her to see her pediatrician who diagnosed her with an ear infection and sinusitis. We got her started on antibiotics that night. Then the next day, Wednesday, Griffin was acting more sick than he had been. He also had been sick with a cold for about a week --not eating or sleeping well--but by Wednesday he had a fever of 101 degrees, so it was back to the doctor's office. He had fluid in both ears and a sinus infection. Once again it was time to go to the pharmacy for more antibiotics. Meanwhile, Morgan was kind enough to share her cold with Mia which made it difficult for her to nurse and gave her a croupy cough. Thursday morning Ryan woke up with a headache, stomachache and fever. He stayed home from school and ended up helping me more with his three sick younger siblings than getting the rest he needed. By that night his fever was up to 104 degrees, so I had Gavin take him to the Kid's Instacare to see if he had strep throat. His strep test was negative. Oh, didI forget to mention that I also got sick with a cold and sore throat? Gavin was sweet enough to take the afternoon off of work so that I could take a bath and nap while he took care of the kids, did the laundry, changed the linens on our bed, etc. (all the things I had not felt up to doing). On Friday it was Mia's turn to go to the doctor's office. Luckily, her oxygen saturations were good and her lungs sounded good, but the doctor was still concerned that it was RSV and wanted us to go back today. We went this morning and she was struggling more to breathe (retractions around her ribs and rapid breathing) but really improved after deep suctioning. So we are hoping we can keep her out of the hospital. We are supposed to take her in if she goes more than 5 hours without being able to nurse or take a bottle, develops a fever, or shows signs of difficulty breathing. It is so sad to see Mia sick at such a young age. I am hoping that I can start passing her some antibodies in her milk and get her better soon! Here's hoping for a better week next week!

Two Week Check-Up

It is hard for me to believe that Mia Kate is already two weeks old! (The last 2 weeks of my pregnancy definitely did not go by this quickly!) She is such a little doll! All of her brothers and sisters adore her. She is such a great baby for us. She loves to be held and will sleep and sleep, as long as she is in loving arms. She has been a great nurser and by her weight today it seems she is getting enough to eat. The recovery was very easy with her, too. As far as weight loss-- I always wonder how after the baby is born it is possible to lose less weight than what the baby weighed. My first day home I decided to weigh myself and shouldn't have been surprised to see a total loss of 5 lbs. Two weeks later I am down 20 lbs. --which would be GREAT if I only gained the average 20-25 lbs. but no ... I still have another 30 lbs. to go! It is so fun to have Mia in our family. I just wish I could slow down time! Instead I will just have to try and cherish each moment with her and all my other little munchkins!

Two Weeks Old

She had a perfect exam today!

Weight 8lb. 11 oz (60%)

Height 20 3/4 " (62%)

Head 14" (36%)

Block of Wood

Busy, busy, busy! That seems to be the feeling in our home right now. It just feels like there is not enough time to get done all that needs to be done with six kids. Like last week when I forgot there was no school on Friday and didn't study any Spelling Lists in time for the test on Thursday. Hadley brought her test home on Monday, a little sad, as she took it out of her backpack. "Mom, I am doing really bad at school!" I looked at her spelling test--8 correct out of 20 possible with some writing on it from her teacher, "Nice try, Hadley"! I hope her teacher, the piano teacher, the cub scout master, the carpool drivers, the bus driver, the school teachers, etc. all realize we just had a baby and life is still a little crazy around here. Hopefully we will be able to get our children to school on time again before summer arrives!

Well it was time for the annual Pinewood Derby last night. Gavin had been asking the boys to draw their designs on their cars for a few days but somehow nothing really got done on them and then it just got too late to do much with them or get them painted. Gavin showed the boys their cars right before he took them over to the cub master's house for the final weigh in. The boys LOVED their cars!! "Dad, those look awesome!!"

The cub master had fun calling Jack's and Ryan's car a "block of wood". i.e., "And the block of wood comes in 2nd place, once again!" Ryan's car ended up taking 4th place overall! Jack's did well but did not qualify for the finals.

Let it snow!

We had a snow-filled MLK holiday on Monday. We awoke to more than a foot of snow in the valley and in our yard. Unfortunately, I haven't done much playing in the snow with the kids this winter season and Griffin and Morgan hadn't played in the snow at all before yesterday. All the kids got on all their winter gear and ran outside to play. Griffin was left behind and watched from the window.

He finally escaped, unprepared for the winter conditions, bare feet and all. He was determined to try out this new concept so I found him some girl snow boots that were a little too big for him, mittens, coat and hat. He had the time of his life playing in the snow. I finally had to force him back into the house (kicking and screaming) for a bath when his hands and face were turning purple.

Everyone had a great time playing in the freshly fallen snow

Life goes on

The day after we brought Mia home from the hospital, all the kids decided to have a nice Sunday afternoon of painting and making different crafts downstairs.


This is what Gavin found when he went downstairs to check on how things were going. Apparently Morgan had found an ink pad for my scrapbook stamps and miraculously only got it on her. Gavin brought her upstairs and said, "Get the camera out. It may not be funny now, but hopefully it will be later."

The winning word

And the 5th grade Spelling Bee winner is...

We didn't have much time for Jack to practice his list of spelling words for the Spelling Bee this year with the birth of Mia. I checked the calendar on Monday and saw that the spelling bee was this Wednesday and told Jack he would only have a few nights to review his words. He commented, "Well, I guess there is always next year." Turns out he doesn't need next year-- he walked away a winner (after about ten words) with the word 'suppress'. Great Job, Jack!

The Arrival of Mia Kate Seal

Mia Kate Seal

It is so amazing to have this beautiful, little girl, Mia Kate in our home. It is going to be crazy with Griffin and Morgan and a newborn, but SO worth it!! It is easy to forget what a blessing a new baby is to the whole family and home. All of the kids are so excited to have a new sister to hold and to love! They anxiously await her naps to end so they can be the first to hold her. The newborn stage is so precious and I wasn't able to enjoy it very much with Griffin (COLIC!!) but am trying to enjoy every minute with Mia knowing I will never have a little newborn of my own again. We feel so grateful to have her in our family and with that gratitude comes an overwhelming comfort knowing that our family is complete!

First Haircut

Before the haircut

I have been putting off getting Griffin's haircut for about 6 months. At first it didn't get done because I didn't want to do it myself and never made an appointment. But then as time passed, he kept getting so many compliments on his cute curls and long hair that I decided to wait a little longer. Well it was ridiculously long and was looking more like my girl's hair than his brothers. So today was the big day --- We went to his Aunt Jill's and she cut it shorter but still left some length and curls. It always makes them looks so much older to me but I guess it is time for my little boy to become a big boy now that he is going to be a big brother soon. (Hopefully sooner than later!)

And, of course, the after shot...how cute is my little Griffers?!

Happy New Year!!

We had a New Year's Eve celebration at Brittany & Jamie's house this year. We first went out to dinner at a pizza place (which always seems challenging to do with Morgan and Griffin) and then to their home. We had a fun night with playing board games, singing Karaoke, letting the kids all go wild, eating lots of yummy appetizers (homemade California rolls, crackers with lots of different toppings, chips and salsa, and, of course, Martinelli's sparkling cider at midnight) and watching the ball drop in NYC.

I haven't had time to think about any new year's resolutions or set any new goals. My focus seems to be kind of narrow right now ... I am just trying to get through these next few weeks and not be pregnant anymore. Here's wishing everyone a very Happy 2008 from the Seals!

Jack and Ryan went to the Jazz game with grandma and grandpa and then joined us for the party after the game.

Morgan had fun playing with all the new toys at her cousins, Grace & Sarah

Jack and Ryan with Gavin

Hadley had fun banging pots and pans at midnight with her cousins Rilee and Grace. Even Griffin wanted in on the action and grabbed a pan and wanted to go outside with it in the freezing cold!