A hard habit to break

Mia loves her thumb and seems to be doing this more and more!! I keep sticking the binky in her mouth in an attempt to keep this from becoming a new habit!! Even though I think it is the sweetest thing to see a baby suck her thumb . . . I just don't seem to find it so endearing five years later !

Happy Easter!

Happy 1st Easter, Mia!!

The Easter celebrating began on Saturday -- dying Easter eggs

I wanted to get a cute picture of all the kids together in their Easter clothes. It was a great idea but not realistic. I am not sure when we will be able to get a good family picture again with all these kids!! :) Griffin is way too busy to ever stop and look at a camera and only wanted to hop on the trampoline and not stand still for a picture. Then there's Morgan--she just wanted to touch Mia and wouldn't put her hands down and look at me long enough for a picture . . . so this is the best shot I got after about 10 minutes of trying.

Here are my 3 sons...and Griffin is even smiling (not looking at the camera, but smiling!!)

Gavin and me with Mia




After dinner we went to visit Grandma in the hospital. She had double knee replacements and will be going home tomorrow. Little kids and hospitals don't seem to go together very well so we only lasted a few minutes but I think my mom (and the kids) enjoyed the visit even with all the chaos. She is doing great and I am sure she will be up to doing the St. George Marathon this fall with those new knees! :)

We watched "Finding Faith in CHRIST" for our Easter evening activity. The kids all enjoyed watching it together and made lots of comments about it. They already know most of the stories and miracles from reading the scriptures and Primary lessons, but enjoyed the video version. We discussed what the resurrection means to our family and that we will all be able to see Uncle Jason again because of this wonderful gift from our Savior.

The Birthday Festivities

This week has been a crazy one for me with Hadley's party, a Primary Easter party that I was in charge of, Gavin's birthday, Easter, Sharing Time on Sunday and trying to get ready to go to Australia for 10 days. But through it all we managed to have a fun Birthday celebration for Gavin. He opened his presents this morning --some CDs, book and sunglasses.

The Birthday cake is a big deal for Gavin and he feels like it should be a Bundt cake since that is what he had growing up. So he was happy to see his Birthday (Bundt) cake on the table this morning when he woke up. We didn't have 37 individual candles so he got stuck with the 9 from Ryan's last party. (Ryan couldn't resist eating a slice of the cake before we got the picture taken).

We had a great Birthday dinner with our friends at the Tiburon. Thanks for coming and making his 'surprise party' so much fun. And thanks for the great gifts--both the crown and water ski gloves will come in handy! :)

Happy Birthday Gavin!

You're the reason our babies are so beautiful!

We love your silly sense of humor!

You're the reason our children are so athletic and coordinated!

You've always chosen high-powered women to date (even in high school--pictured with the '2008 Utah business woman of the year'.)http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,655191313,00.html

You make the most handsome groom--12 years ago and today!

Happy 37th Birthday Gavin!! We love you so very much!

So lucky to have you!

My cute Leprechaun baby!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Unfortunately I forgot all about this green day until 30 mins. after all the kids left for school and was unable to remember what they had chosen to wear. Hoping they had something green to save them from lots of friendly pinches. Amazingly enough they all had some green in their outfits except for Morgan. Even 'our leprechaun' forgot about the holiday and didn't leave the usual green donuts on our porch for breakfast. Maybe next year we'll be more on the ball! We made up for it in the evening with a fun FHE at the Classic Fun Center. All the kids were able to have fun in the bounce zone and arcade. I love seeing Griffin and Morgan doing the same things as the 'big kids' and having a great time. Griffin is at such a cute age (even if he is my own 'human tornado'!!) and growing up so quickly!

Happy Birthday, Hadley!

Hadley has been so excited for her birthday and talking about it for weeks. She was worried she wouldn't be able to sleep last night with all the excitement and anticipation. She started her birthday morning with waffles and opening presents. She loves American Girl dolls and was very surprised (until she noticed she was getting the ice skates that go to the Mia doll) to get the new '2008 Girl of the Year', Mia. (I couldn't resist with having our own Mia). She also got some Disney Fairy books, swimsuits, clothes, and an American Girl mini doll, Julie. She went to school with a big smile on her face!

She chose to have ice cream sandwiches for her Birthday treat at school. Here she is with some of her friends in her classroom.

She had a "Horton hears a Who" party right after school. All of her friends came over and opened presents and sang Happy Birthday to Hadley. Unfortunately we ran out of time to actually eat any cake because we had to make the 3pm showtime. We were even a few minutes late for the movie with skipping the cake event. It definitely isn't an easy task getting 13 little girls and 1 boy to a movie theater in time! They all enjoyed the movie and treats, but were still disappointed about not getting any cake and ice cream.

Hadley got to pick her favorite restaurant for dinner--The Training Table. We all had some yummy, greasy cheese fries and sandwiches for dinner. She got lots of fun presents from her friends and is now enjoying playing with all of it!

In honor of Hadley's 7th Birthday . . . here are seven things you should know about her.
1. She loves to read. She will spend hours in her room reading fairy books, American Girl books and magazines, the scripture readers, The Friend, Magic Tree house, etc.
2. She loves dance and gymnastics. She can do a great back bend, splits, cartwheel, and front handspring. She quickly moved from Level 1 to Level 2 in gymnastics.
3. She is a great friend. She has lots of friends and is always asking if she can play with someone.
4. She can't wait to turn 8. She is very excited for her Baptism Day and birthday party at the Lion House.
5. She loves the Naked Brothers Band. She has their poster hanging in her room and wrote "I love . . ." on the top. She is not shy about sharing her crushes with the family (very different from her brothers).

6. She claims to be a Vegetarian. Ever since she realized that meat comes from animals, she won't eat it (unless it is nicely disguised in chicken nuggets or processed lunch meats). She needs reminders on how to say the word 'vegetarian' so that she is able to let her friends know.

7. She is a beautiful girl. She has a very kind and loving spirit. She is (for the most part) patient with Morgan and enjoys playing school with her and reading to her. She is a good helper to her mom.

Happy 7th Birthday, Hadley! We all love you so very much and can't believe you are already SO big!

2 months old

Dear Mia
It's hard to believe that you are already two months old! You have really grown a lot this past month and have lost the 'newborn look' now :(. It's hard for me to see the newborn stage leave so quickly knowing that you are my last little one. It is definitely about cherishing each little moment. You seem to be getting bigger and bigger each day. The other morning Hadley ran into the room to see you and said, "Wow! She really got big last night! She looks like she is one or something!" Well you are definitely growing but not quite a one year old yet!

You are such a happy and content little girl! You smile ALL the time and make cute little cooing sounds too. I had a neighbor watch you for a few hours yesterday while I volunteered at the school and she commented on how 'animated' you are! It's so true. I love all your big, open mouthed smiles. You seem to be especially full of smiles when you first wake up and are all rested. Hopefully your happy disposition will continue with our upcoming BIG adventure--a trip to Australia--we are hoping you'll get lots of sleep (and not much fussing) on the 20+ hour plane ride. We all love you so much. And Griffin and Morgan still can't seem to get enough of you!
I love you,
Mom

Two month Check up

Weight 11 lb. 13 oz. (73 %)

Height 23 inches (76%)

Head 15 inches (33 %)

Everything went well at her two month check up but her pediatrician did hear a heart murmur so we are going to take her to Morgan's Cardiologist for further evaluation. Unfortunately we can't get in to the cardio appointment until the end of May. I'll keep you posted.

Matchbox Twenty

My little sister Brittany called and asked me if I would like to go see Alanis Morissette and Matchbox Twenty in concert. She had an extra ticket (her husband had an important church ball tournament that night :) and was inviting me! I, of course, was extremely excited at the opportunity of going out and having some fun! It also was a compliment that she would even want go with me since I am 10 years older! I was worried I might feel old going to a concert, but turns out most the crowd looked in their thirties and one guy sitting behind us even slept through the whole thing but the opening song. It really was so much fun to be able to get out for a minute, dance a little, and enjoy some GREAT tunes (And we had great seats on the second row off the floor)! Sometimes as a stay at home mom ( a little too 'stay at home') I feel like all I do is clean the house and take care of my kids so it was nice to escape for a few hours and have a little me time. Thanks Brittany!!

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