Oh, Baby!

This girl and her clothes... doesn’t that look just say it all? She comes downstairs so pleased with her outfit choices and I couldn’t help but just capture this one for when she’s older. I love it Megan! Thank goodness you are not super attached to your picks and still let me ‘adjust’ if we’re going out.

Holy, moly... how many kids do we have? I always love doing these 'All about you' posts. I never do them on special milestone days, just whenever I can fit it in, which this time happened to be because of a 3 hour uninterrupted airplane ride. It gives good insight into who our kids are and what they are all about. I pulled in each of the kids and read them their list before posting them. They all smiled and nodded their head in agreement. Ryan said, "You sure do know me." He was impressed that he only needed to make one correction... 'he was not the shortest in his class. He was the 3rd shortest.'

All about Ryan

10 1/2 years old
Loves pokemon - Loves to read (Eragon series and the Lord of the Rings series are his new favorites) - Reads hours every night - Loves to stay up late and sneak in private bonding moments with Mom or Dad - Loves all Dad's favorite movies (Star wars movies (the old ones) and Lord of the Rings trilogy, Iron Man etc.) - Loves spaghetti, jello and pretty much everything I make - He has a big appetite - Loves to learn new things - Likes making brownies and anything he can try by himself - Loves talks with Mom - Loves powerpoint and making presentations - Wants to learn all about Photoshop - Loves surfing the Internet looking for Pokemon facts, or Pokemon music or Videogame cheats - Loves to write in his journal - Loves to blog (preferably with Mom typing) - Such a smart kid... Straight A's in school - Best reader in his class - Is fascinated with stories of when he was younger or when Chris and I were little - Has horrible handwriting unless he really consentrates - Doesn't make his bed or keep his room clean - Likes to build things using directions and uses his own creativity - Loves Legos - Loves the Wii - Loves jumping on the trampoline with Katie - Motivated to get Faith in God and Scout badges done - Always complains that there is never enough time in the day to do everything he wants to do - Plays soccer and loves to practice with Dad outside - Loves FHE and teaching lessons - Wants to eat all the time - Loves Basketball - Is interested in playing baseball even though he's never played - Much prefers a t-shirt to a 'button-up' shirt - Doesn't like any girls at school even though girls like him - Is the third shortest kid in his class - Enjoys the piano and practices a little even though he's not in lessons right now - Adores Luke - Is bugged when Megan sucks her thumb - Is sensitive - Is a good example - Gets distracted very easily - Hates to sleep with a shirt on - Hates to get his hair cut - Has a hard time picking favorite anything because he has 'too many favorites' - Happy all the time - Loves to play with Luke - Can't wait for Luke to grow up so he can play video games with him - Happy when Luke is excited to see him get home from school

All about Katie

8 1/2 years old

Loves gymnastics - Strong legs and good flexibility - Loves to be the big sister and play with 'the girls' although sometimes feels like she is too old for them - Is sensitive - Loves words of affirmation and praise (who doesn't?) - Loves to play with Ryan - Likes the idea of being organized and neat - Wishes she had her own room so she could be organized and neat - Likes to be artistic and creative - Draws pictures, makes posters, designs scrapbook pages, and writes in her spiral notebook as her journal - Wants to stay up late - Wants to be 'tucked in' - Smartie... straight A's in school - Likes Ballet - Loves Achievement Day Activities - Loves friends but doesn't feel like she has many here - Misses her friends from Washington - Wishes for more playdates - So good with Luke and will be such a great helper with the new baby - Loves to listen to music... High School Musical songs, Coldplay, David Cook, 3 Doors Down, The Fray (she found our iTunes and can't get enough) - Can't wait to babysit - Likes to wear cute clothes - Loves horses and horse back riding - Wishes she could try many things... tennis, cheerleading (not soccer) - Keeps getting mad at Dad that he hasn't ordered her lefty golf clubs yet - Favorite foods are waffles, mashed potatoes and gravy and fruit - Doesn't like spaghetti - Loves Spelling and PE - Wants to go to BYU - Loves special Mommy time... blogging or just 'talking on the bed' - Loves family time - Loves having her hair down with swoopy bangs - Has a really great memory - Gets sulky quickly if she feels she's being reprimanded or misunderstood - Loves to watch 'Extreme Home Makeover' - Wants to be a teacher, or a scrapbooker like Amy, or an artist, or a kids author - Loves watching chick flicks (Just like Heaven) - Favorite movies are all Harry Potter movies, all Narnia movies, all High School Musical movies - Wants 6 kids

All about Emily

6 years old

Loves to play with Megan and be the 'big sister with all the great ideas' - Gets frustrated easily - Tolerates me doing her hair but almost always ends up in tears - Loves ballet and gymnastics - Never asks for friends over since she always has Katie and Megan to play with - Doesn't want Lukey to play because 'he messes stuff up' - Likes princesses and dress up - Loves to play school - Loves her American girl doll and Bitty baby - Likes to draw pictures and write letters and make cards - Loves to give hugs - Smiles adoringly at us if we smile at her - Says 'I love you' with great feeling - Is great at unloading the dishwasher - Doesn't like bananas - Has bright blue eyes - Super smart - Straight 3's (A's) - Best reader in her class (just got a diagnostic report back saying she reads at a 4th grade level - Holy cow!) - Loves Kindergarten - Likes to eat most things - Loves to be twins with Megan - Is kind of a tattle tail and loses her temper easily - Has the cutest big cheeks and smile you ever saw - Loves to be tickled - Is the easiest of my kids to photograph

All about Megan

3 years, 10 months old
Loves going to preschool - Loves activities like playdoh, practicing letters and any kind of game - Writes her name so cute - Loves playing anything Katie and Emily think up - Likes playing with Ryan's Pokemon figurines - Favorite movie is 'High School Musical' (all 3) - Doesn't like doing jobs - Wants to eat snacks all day long - Wants to go places every day (even errands) - Too bored at home with me - Likes to watch Dora, Backyardigans, Max & Ruby, Diego, Wonder Pets or Kai Lan - Sucks her thumb and plays with her hair if watching TV or going to sleep - Falls asleep on the couch or in the van most afternoons - Really cute playmate for Luke - Doesn't like dogs very much - Loves to be twins with Emily - Loves her friends and going to Primary - Not nearly as tantrumy (is that a word?) as she used to be - Turning into a sweetheart - LOVES gymnastics - So excited and bouncy - Colors well - Good letter writing skills - Knows all letters of the alphabet - Counts to 20 with a few mistakes - Dresses herself, comes up with some crazy outfits and changes her clothes three times a day - Favorite food is 'scabetti' and 'pink lemolade'

All about Luke

15 months
Loves his toy cars - Loves animals... carries them around the house one in each hand - Can growl - Walks well and is starting to run, especially if he's excited, which is most of the time - Just started to walk backwards - Loves his bottle still - Uses his soother for bed and goes to bed SO EASY! - Wants to hold his blanket for awhile when you get him out of his crib in the morning and after his nap - 'Runs' to the pantry if you say 'cracker' - Loves cereal, oatmeal, vanilla wafers, crackers, yogurt (except the chunks of strawberries), grapes, eggo waffles... - Prefers bottle to sippy cup and milk to juice (we are slowly weaning him of bottle but he is stubborn and we are getting soft in our old age) - Loves to play peekaboo around the dresser in the closet - Is super ticklish - Loves to read books - Watches shows with Megan pretty good lately... like Dora, Diego, Backyardigans... not as interested in his baby einstein movies - Fascinated by dogs and animals - Stops and listens carefully if he hears a new sound (or a dog) - Content in his stroller - Says 'Dad, cracker, all gone, hi, water, hair (hay), eyes, nose, no, yes (if you know what to listen for) - Communicates well without saying much - Understands so many words - Loves to be outside - Heads straight for the container of basketballs in the garage - Knows where his hair, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, belly button and toes are - Likes the trampoline - Can climb up the ladder to the play set - Loves the slide - Opens the gate to the stairs and climbs up the stairs - Loves to be upstairs with the kids - Can come down by himself now - Can climb up the bunk bed ladder (not good!) - Likes to give hugs and kisses - Likes his finger puppets for Church - Loves to play chase - Doesn't like to lay still when we change his pants - loves to splash in the bathtub - Loves to throw things like books and clothes into the bathtub - Loves to turn on the bathtub by himself - Looks exactly like Ryan did at this age - Is so stinkin' cute!

Katie's cast

Chris had a great weekend with the kids... with only one minor accident. Katie, while climbing up to reach her ballet leotard and tights on the highest shelf by the back door, tumbled down and landed on her wrist. Ouch! Just by the way she was gingerly holding it Chris could tell it was a buckle fracture.

After ballet and before soccer practice, Chris ran with Katie, Emily, Megan and Luke to get her hand scanned, diagnosed it himself and over to the ER to get a splint... all in the record time of 30 minutes. (So many perks of having a husband in Radiology.) Boy, am I glad it happened while I was out of town instead of while Chris was out of town. He's a pro at handling the kids, especially during emergencies. After the ER they drove back up to get Ryan at soccer practice and straight up to the airport to pick up me.

Two days later Chris took Katie in to work with him to get her cast. This marks the first cast any of our kids have had! She picked blue. Ryan said, "Katie, I'm so proud to be your brother. You're going to be famous at school now." She'll have the cast for two to three weeks.

Chris sent me the x-rays from work because he thought they would be fun to post... Can anyone see the fracture? I sure couldn't! I think the bone has to be actually sticking outside of the skin for me to see a problem.

A sneak peek...

Girls Weekend in Utah

I just got back from a fabulous girls weekend. Amy and I had our 'every other year scrapbook event' and invited Mom, Elisha and Sarah to join us.

My itinerary included...

• A quiet nonstop flight to Salt Lake City (although my back killed me and my feet were twice the size when I got off!)
• A tour of Scott and Elisha's new home in Kaysville, Utah.
• A fabulous but chilly trip up to the Park City Outlets... great deals at
• BabyGAP and Gymboree (and Ann Taylor for those who were skinny)
• A girls trip to the beautiful Bountiful Temple.
• Comfy jammies, chips and fresh salsa and a chick flick... Mamma Mia.
• Sleeping in (none of my kids to make me get out of bed)
• Lunch with Shelley, Lindsey and Haylee at Cafe Rio - my favorite.
• Scrapbook store browsing (and buying) at Archivers.
• Tour of Amy's apartment and cute cute bedroom.
• Yummy dinner at Aunt Jennifer's while visiting with cousins and sweet new babies.
• Friday night scrapbook marathon from 6:00pm to midnight for Amy and I at Amy's work croproom.
• 11 hour scrapbook day on Saturday at Amy's croproom. (Pages will be posted soon.)
• PF Changs 'Lemon Chicken' take out (thanks to Scott) to eat while we scrapbooked.
• 8:30 church at Amy's ward on Sunday... so easy to get up and just get myself ready. Sacrament was so quiet!
• Snacks for the pregnant lady back at Amy's apartment
• Hanging out and delicious dinner back up at Scott and Elisha's house.
• Visiting with Kyle and Ashlyn in Farmington and seeing their new nursery all ready for baby's arrival.
• Visiting with Mike and Brian who couldn't help but come down for the weekend to hang out.
• Saying goodbye to Brian for the last time before he heads out for his mission... (Mission call coming soon.)
• An eventful flight back to Atlanta with no luggage. So happy to see my sweet hubby and cute kiddos. (In the airport they called me up to bump me off my LA flight and got me on one straight to Atlanta. It gave me 4 hrs to hang out in the airport but at least they gave me $21 worth of food vouchors. Once finally on my plane one of the cargo doors was loose so they had to take it off while we waited on board for 1hr 45m before we could take off. Finally back in Atlanta I realized they had taken my luggage off the LA flight but now they were just sitting lonely in Salt Lake. I got them two days later.)

Ah-ha!

At dinner tonight Emily asked, "When I have kids what will my grandpa be?" I said "Your Grandpa will still be your Grandpa but your kids will call him 'Great Grandpa.' Then before I could say anymore she blurted out excitedly, "Oh Mom, I don't even have kids yet and I already know who their grandpa will be!!!"

A successful day.

I count my days successful if I can accomplish just one thing. On today's big list was grocery shopping. I typically put it off as long as possible... and this time was no exception. My kids were practically begging me to buy more food. Ok, I'll buy some food!

Today I dropped Megan off at preschool and from there all the way to the Commissary was about a 35/40 minute drive. That means speed shopping to get it all done in time to pick her up again. I was surprised really at how fast I could get it all done. With one happy strapped in toddler (and no 'trying to be so helpful' 3 year old) I was flying through the isles... Well, as fast as a pregnant lady can fly. My hands were reaching out on both sides instinctively grabbing everything I needed. And it occurred to me... I get the same things every time I go and it's almost like I can only see those things. So here's my list of 20 things I get (almost) EVERY time I grocery shop...

1. Yoplait yogurt
2. Two bunches of bananas (that last two days)
3. Two containers of fresh strawberries (for my cereal and that I sometimes share with my kiddos)
4. Apples
5. Breakfast cereal (Must have Oatmeal crisp cereal for Chris and I. Chris fills up a big red bowl and takes it with him on his drive to work EVERY morning.) (For the kids: Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Strawberry Mini Wheats...)
6. Calrose White Rice (Geneva got me hooked on this. Love it)
7. Frozen corn
8. Fresh zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower
9. Lipton chicken Noodle Soup
10. Del Monte 'MEAT' Spaghetti sauce (Yep, the cheap stuff. It's a staple.)
11. One pack Huggies diapers and wipes (just about time to double that!)
12. Big baking potatoes
13. Vine grown tomatoes
14. Frozen chicken breasts
15. Snackwell Devil Cake Cookies (also known as: Mommy cookies)
16. Marshmallows (surprised?)
17. Macaroni and Cheese spirals (has to be spirals!)
18. Eggo waffles (my kids favorite breakfast - they can down a package of 16 in one morning)
19. Some kind of frozen stir fry
20. Arnolds 100% whole wheat bread (sometimes Oatnut Bread, sometimes Rye bread)

And this is what I got today too... plus a few other things. I even got out of there without hitting $200. ($196) Seriously, amazing!

Another day of ballet