Will at 2 Months

So this is the part of the blog that takes on a "left for posterity" direction. I have never been much of a journal writer, but have always prided myself on being able to remember what I need to. Sadly, as my kids have gotten older, all of the unique things they did or were as wee ones have blended together. So with Will, I'm going to really make an attempt to write them down.

Will got off to a rough start. In addition to the normal feeding and sleeping difficulties that come along with any newborn, he was born in the dead of winter and has been sick since he was three weeks old. We have been to the hospital for deep suctioning, listened to him coughing throughout the nights, and he has rolled over repeatedly to get away from the dreaded "blue bulb." All things considered, he has been an excellent baby. I took him in for his 2 month check last week, and the doctor finally diagnosed him with a double ear infection.... not great news, but at least now the boy is on antibiotics and has a chance to get better. I'm looking forward to the added benefits of nicer spring weather (fingers crossed) to help keep my other kids germs outside and away from my baby!

At his 2 month check, he weighed 12.5 pounds and was 23 inches long. He is eating six ounces every 2-3 hours and although he is not a great napper, as of yet, he has been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks now. Yay for me!

The kids love him, and all of them, including Jack, love to help take care of him. The other morning while I was trying to get a bottle made to feed him, and Will was screaming, Jack woke up from a dead sleep and sat in bed with the baby trying to hold and bounce him to soothe him. It was amazing to me that my little five-year-old guy, half-conscious, still remembered to support his head and neck, and was actually able to calm him down. I think when Will gets a bit older, these boys are going to be great buddies.

Now that he is finally on the mend, he has started to smile more and he has the cutest dimples. He hasn't lost too much of his hair and he is generally a very happy baby. He has a very calm demeanor; which is nice because life at our house can be a bit hectic at times. Will is great at going with the flow.

We blessed Will last week in my parents ward, and had lots of friends and family around to help us celebrate. It is so nice to have such supportive people in our lives. Will heads to church in our ward for the first time tomorrow. It will be nice to finally be back to normal. Because he has been so sick, he and I have stayed home much longer than I ever thought I would tolerate.

I love being Will's mom. I love that this wonderful gift from my Heavenly Father has strengthened my family. I love to watch Matt take care of Will and I love the tender moments I observe between my children when they think no one is watching. Most of all, I love holding a sleeping baby, the smell of baby's breath, little piggy toes and all the cute little sounds he makes. He is so sweet and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to experience all of this again. Thank you Will, for coming to us.

The Ghost Post

Here it is, all of the random things I have thought of blogging about, but haven't, and yet, still can't let them go unmentioned. I have spent the last few weeks trying to figure out how to get my kids pictures posted in slideshow form on my blog, with music, and can't figure it out. Obviously, I have been messing with things a bit, and as a result, my posts have been a little sparse. So without further ado, here are a few things that have happened lately.

* We went to San Diego. In December, Matt got invited to speak at a conference and one of the perks is that we all got to go along. This is an event that my parents typically go to, so it's lots of fun to be there. Most of the group couldn't believe that we would show up with all four kids in tow, but I told them that since they asked five weeks before Will was born, and I was suffering a major case of cabin fever, there was no way we were going to turn them down.

While we were in California, we went to Legoland (which the kids loved) and Disneyland (which we all loved.) There was quite a bit of rain, but my motto is that a bad day on vacation is better than a good day at home, especially in February. We also spent some time at "The New Children's Museum" which honestly sucked, so if you head to San Diego, don't go. I guess that the folks in California have spent so much time trying to make things interesting for their kids, that the novelty of their museums features things like wood boxes, clay and chalk. I don't know why I should pay to do things that we have at home. That was going to be a whole post in and of itself, but suffice it to say that the paste-eaters of the world are reproducing nicely in Southern California.

*I got a new elliptical! Three years ago, if you told me I would ask for one of these machines, I would have told you to quit smokin' the mushrooms you found in the backyard. However, after some really good experiences a couple of years ago, it has become my exercise equipment of choice. I know that some of you may find it intriguing that I have a preferred method of exercise, given that I more closely resemble the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man than Jane Fonda, but we've all got to start somewhere, right? Anyway, when I have babies, I tend to lose weight. The little suckers literally "suck" the fat out of me. Why don't I have 10 kids you might ask? Well it's a trade off, because part of the weight I lose is in the brain cell category. Anyway.... since I delivered Will, I am down about 35 pounds, and I need to do something that keeps the weight from coming back on, at the very least. I've had it for a week and a half and have only missed two days. Not to bad for an exercise-phobe such as myself.

*I have discovered a new cookbook, and for the first time in my life, I can say that I am actually enjoying cooking. The book is called "Our Best Bites, Mormon Moms in the Kitchen." I am loving it! Everything is from scratch, but surprisingly simple. My husband thinks I am a rockstar and my kids, well, they haven't hated everything! We are trying some new flavors and I am really enjoying my new found domesticity. The best part??? I think I may have finally found my motivation for cleaning out my cupboards and my pantry. Now if I could only feel the same way about my closet.

http://www.ourbestbites.com

*My new nightstand! Okay, it's ugly as sin, but for the first time, I have a nightstand that holds everything that I want to have within arms reach. I got it at DI, and refinished it with mod-podged paper and ric-rac trim. I thought it looked rather bohemian and funky, but Matt thinks it looks "craptastic." Oh well, who cares what he thinks?

*St. Patrick's Day.... leprechauns came to our house, caused mischief and left some fun treats. I took photos, but figured that the world doesn't really need to see the green water in my toilet.

Bottom line is this.... life is good. I am loving where I am right now and really enjoying my kids and my life. I am so thankful to be who I am, where I am, and am looking forward to what the future holds.

Wrapped in Love

To say that we are blanket fans at our house would be the understatement of the year. I confess that I still sleep with a baby blanket every night. Mind you, it isn't the one that I used as an actual baby (that was lost in an unfortunate accident at a La Quinta in Mesa, Arizona in 1998.) But I digress..... I have replaced my blanket several times and I have made my kids multiple blankets. Some folks collect thimbles, spoons, magnets.... I collect blankets. I love quilts (not so much the quilting process) and love to snuggle under the finished product.

Some of my most treasured keepsakes are blankets. I have a quilt that my Grandma Jones gave me for my wedding that was pieced together in the late 1800's by my great-great-great Grandmother. I love baby blankets! I love the softness and "snuggle-bility" of blankets. Which brings me to the impetus for this post.

I loved my Grandma Homer. I grew up next door to her. I spent a lot of time with her. I can only hope that my children develop as good a relationship with their grandmothers as I had with my Grandma Homer. Sadly, she died unexpectedly in 2009. I cherish the fact that I have in my possession, pictures of my children as newborns with my Grandma. I have been so sad to not be able to watch my Grandma with Will. I know that they know each other.... I had several instances during my pregnancy where I felt a confirmation of love and support from both my dad's parents who have recently passed away. Well, the other day, I had an awesome experience that made me smile.

With every baby, my grandma would get me a sweet blanket for them from Pottery Barn Kids. These are the most wonderful blankets.... soft, snuggly and in Allie's case, dry-clean only. These blankets have had a place of honor when we have blessed the babies in church. Will is going to be on March 20th. I have been trying to get things together for this special day, and Monday, I decided to go to Pottery Barn Kids to get Will his own special blanket for his special day. As I was standing in the store surveying the options, a song came over the speaker system that we featured on the video we made for my grandparents' 50th Wedding Anniversary. Awww, sweet, I thought. As I continued shopping, another song, "All Around the Mulberry Bush" started playing.. and then "You Are My Sunshine" and "Mairzy Doats".... all songs my grandma used to sing to me. I rushed to the checkout, and asked the girl working there if they had a CD with all of these songs on them; wouldn't that be awesome? Her reply? All of the music in their stores is totally random, and they didn't have a CD. I hate to say it, but I got quite emotional. Once again, my grandma was letting me know that she loves me. I left the store feeling a little bit sad, but happy to know that even though she's gone, she's not really gone.

I love you Grandma!

That's How We Roll

So, bikes. Pretty important to a kid, huh? I used to spend hours riding bikes as a kid, despite the fact that I didn't learn to ride a two-wheeler until I was nearly seven. It all stemmed from an unfortunate incident involving a hard asphalt driveway, a bunch of rosebushes, a banana seat and my mother's "encouragement." But, that's a story for another day. I did love to ride my bike as a kid. So, it should come as no surprise to me that my kids love their bikes; some more than others.

My girls were fairly average as far as bike-riders go. They learned to ride them at about six-years-old, and enjoyed the freedom that they found from having to go everywhere with mom and dad. But Jack... oh, Jack.... he loves his bike. At barely five-years-old, he is on his third two-wheeler. He outgrew one, and ran the next into the ground, wearing the tread off of the tires and scratching up the paint job (besides leaving it unbeknownst to me behind the van.) There is no convincing this boy that he isn't one of the big kids. He will take any jump that the neighborhood boys take, nevermind they are teenagers.

A couple of years ago, Matt and I decided to invest the money and head towards becoming a bike-riding family. Matt bought a cool mountain bike and I got myself an adorable pink beach cruiser bike, with a basket. We were all set. Erin had just gotten herself a new, bigger bike, and Allie had happily given up her Princess bike for Erin's old one. Well, fast-forward a year or so and Jack's bike is wearing out, Allie is no longer satisfied with her "hand-me-down," and Erin, well, she's not sure what happened to her bike. As near as we can tell, she rode it to school, forgot she had it there, left it and then it was taken by someone before she realized what had happened. If it sounds like Erin's situation happened quickly, rest assured, it didn't. No one knows for sure how long it had been gone by the time we realized it. Sad state of affairs. Needless to say, we were all a little disillusioned with our bike situation.

So, at the beginning of the year, Matt and I decided that we needed to get the kids new bikes. Matt wanted to get them for the girls birthdays later in the spring, but after trying to run kids around while trying to accommodate a newborn's feeding and sleeping schedule, I made an executive decision and decided that they needed them sooner, rather than later.

Last Friday was the day! Matt and spent the morning while the kids were at school putting the three new bikes together. When the kids got home from school, they were in for a real surprise.



The kids loved them!



Thankfully, it was decent weather last weekend.... at least for a bit. The kids were so excited that they planned a fun bike ride with a picnic lunch to a nearby park on Saturday. We put Will in the bike trailer and went for a ride. I think Jack was feeling a little neglected because for some reason he didn't want to ride his bike, but wanted to ride in the trailer with Will. After the ride to the park, he told us that he was squished and wished he had ridden his new bike. Well, duh son, you missed out on that opportunity. It started to rain, so we hopped back on the bikes and headed for home. It was a great time... the kids had a blast, and I think everyone, including myself, was amazed that I decided to join them. Hopefully, it was the first of many bike rides to come.