Happy Birthday Kelsey

I don't know who decided to have Kelsey when we did, but it is too darn close to Halloween. (Oops that was me. I didn't want to wait another week for my due date and at that point in my life Halloween was a breeze.) Every year I prep for Halloween and a birthday. This year was worse because she got to have a party this year. We made it worse on ourselves because we decided to throw it ourselves instead of going somewhere. The reasoning behind the madness was Macy had never gone outside the home for her party, she wanted to invite a lot of people and we could do it cheaper (only slightly). Next time I will push for it to be else where and make sure I have budgeted appropriately.

It did turn out to be a blast and all the work paid off. I received several comments from parents about how much fun their daughter had. Kelsey chose a science theme because at one point in the decision making process she wanted to go to the Natural History museum. The party there was science based.

So we did science experiments with the help from a special guest, Professor Von Kartchner, and her assistant, Stefanie Tallwoman. I think I shocked Brian and Kelsey when I walked out wearing goofy glasses, a pink mustache (Stefanie brought them not knowing the plan which was perfect) and a funny accent. I didn't tell them what I was going to do and I know Brian didn't ever expect me to do anything like that. The girls at the party loved it and thought it was hilarious. The glasses made it hard to see things clearly so I would take them off sometimes. The girls would quickly remind me that I couldn't see without them and I would have to put them back on. They would also remind me when I stopped talking in the silly accent.

It was a lot of work but I was happy to do it for my sweet Kelsey. I hope she enjoyed it.

Just in case you can't tell it is a flask with bubbles (the m&ms are bubbles along with the 2 circles at the top). Just before lighting the candles I put dry ice in a cup at the top.

The experiments we did were

•  elephant toothpaste
• exploding bags
• exploding colorful milk
• lava bottles
• slime
• mentos in soda

Happy Halloween

So I do know that in 3 days time it will be Thanksgiving but I had to share our Halloween pictures.  This year we had a ninja, vampire and a Hershey's kiss. Macy's costume was homemade because I suggested the costume idea thinking I could easily buy something like that. Her previous ideas were a little out there so I thought this would be perfect. I learned my lesson, always do an internet search before suggesting anything. I could only find adult Hershey kiss costumes or toddler sized costumes. She kindly offered to be something else like a sewing machine. I knew we wouldn't find a sewing machine costume so a kiss was a lot easier to make. It actually wasn't too bad (it took maybe 4 hours). It was perfect for her because it came off easily (she isn't in to wearing costumes for a long time) and it didn't require a lot of extra touches. I could have found a silver/grey shirt and she could have worn colored leggings but that is just not her so I didn't bother. And she was still happy with it.

I was also the hit of 2 classroom Halloween parties. I brought homemade slim (thanks Alacey for the the idea). The kids loved it, but they somehow managed to make a mess with the slim I intentionally made not as sticky. Maybe it was the way they dug their fingers into it or wrapped their hands in it or just all the hot little hands playing with it that made it really sticky and stringy by the end of the first party. I had to keep adding a little more borax solution during the second party so the damage was very minimal to the second classroom.

I couldn't get a picture with all the kids together. They were in too big of a hurry to be with friends and wouldn't stand together. Looking through the pictures I realized I didn't get a picture of Macy's painted pumpkin yet (it is still on the front porch).

Kelsey's pumpkin/mom's. She picked the design and mom did all the work.

Braden's pumpkin. Cleaned out by mom, designed by Braden, drawn by mom and carved by dad.

So Where Do I Begin

I have taken a break from the computer. Not completely, but I have spent less time on it and more time doing other things like: feeding a baby, reading books, doing off-track things, blessing a baby, doing Halloween things, joining a gym, planning a birthday party and planning a baptism. In fact there has been so much craziness that I am groaning that Thanksgiving is here already. And Thanksgiving means decorating the house and lots of shopping (not that I hate shopping). It is just more work. I want to relax. I was able to do that last week but I don't think that will be the case this week, maybe the first couple of days so I plan to live it up.

Tanner has been growing like a weed, literally. At his 2 month check up he was 12 lbs 14 oz and 24.5 inches long meaning he fit 3 to 6 month clothes. His 4 month check up is coming up and he still appears to be ahead of the charts. I even think he has 2 bottom teeth on the way. It is hard to get a good look because a tongue and drool always gets in the way. He is an awesome kid, a bit of a cat napper in the day but a wonderful sleeper at night. He goes to bed between 8 and 9. Some nights he wakes up around 4:30 for a quick snack but last week he had several days in a row of waking up at 7:30 (there have also been a few other scattered all nighters in the past 2 months). I am hoping for a all night sleeper soon. Please knock on wood now that I have shared that piece of news.

He is quite the talker. He loves to jabber anyone's ear off. Kelsey can really get him going. He grunts and strains a lot when he needs to relieve his bowels or is unhappy with the situation, such as he wants to sleep or eat. The kids still can't get enough of him and Braden has shared 2 colds with him already. The boy cannot not stop kissing his brother or lightly rubbing his lips across Tanner's head. Braden does that same rubbing thing with his blanket. If Jeff is reading this, it is similar to the way you would sniff your shirt. Macy and Kelsey rush home from school and ask where Tanner is. Macy still acts like his mother. She likes to comfort him and rock/bounce him to sleep. Kelsey is true to her nature and likes to play, talk, and tickle him. He is quite ticklish.

Tanner is a drooler. He is a diaper Houdini meaning he seems to always manage to get pee out of his diaper. He still likes a clean diaper to poop in and because of the nature of the situation he has peed in his eye a couple of times. I have to always remember to throw a wipe or cloth over his boy parts when he is relieving himself. Like Kelsey and Braden, this week he had to have some prune juice in his formula. I hope it was a fluke thing and in a couple of days we won't have to worry about it. It appears to Brian and me that he may have some neck weakness so I will have to talk to the doctor about that. He also has eczema pretty bad on his head. I think I get it all cleared up and then the rash comes right back. The bad part is he is starting to figure out his hands and started scratching at it last night.

In his Ute gear at the Young Alumni Homecoming 5K - Brian was in charge this year (mid-Sept)

Braden is showing him how to play with the baby toys. (end of Sept)

 

I don't make my girls match but I made my boys match. Tanner's blessing day. (mid-Oct)

Glad someone forgot to tell me to stand straighter.

How I like to pass out.

"Will they ever get out of my face?" I am pretty sure that is what Tanner asks all the time. (mid-Oct)

The beginning of sibling torture. Kelsey dressed him in glasses and leg warmers. (mid-Oct)

He is a TV addict. He will crane his neck trying to watch the TV. (late Oct)

A little big for the baby bath. (late Oct)

The drool monster. (mid-Nov)

The Best PB and Jelly Sandwich

Last week as I was preparing lunches I caught a whiff of a fermenting type of smell. The girls could too. Kelsey thought it smelled really good. I looked all over in the fridge and pantry to see what might be rotting. I found nothing. I smelled the jelly and it smelled like grape jelly. There was nothing I could see. Over the next day or two I would catch whiffs of the same smell. I still found nothing. Then Kelsey comes home and says to me "You know that smell, I could taste it on my sandwich today. It was so good. It was the best sandwich. I want PB and jelly everyday." I didn't think too much on this because I had already checked out the jelly and PB wouldn't smell that way and I have smelled moldy bread before. Actually I thought I better keep her away from wines. The very next day I am making Braden a jelly sandwich and the smell comes back. I check out the jelly again and still a negative. Then the bread bag passed my nose. I opened it wide and took a good breath in. I found the culprit. It must have been a different type of mold because it was tiny white dots that blended in with the bread. Not sure how it got a different mold or why it went bad so fast. It was a fairly new loaf. All I know is Kelsey hopefully won't be getting the best sandwich ever again. But you never know it is the second time I have served her moldy bread and she never noticed.

Since I am on Kelsey stories here is a little insight into her personality. She is a shopper. She was upset the other day because she didn't get to go to the outlets with me, really upset. I had to pacify her with the promise to take her shopping for winter clothes when it gets cooler. I have been on 2 other clothes shopping trips in which I came home with bags. After the first trip it killed her that I wouldn't let her look at all the shoes purchased. I had a pair of shoes in the bags for her that I wanted to surprise her with (and I hadn't decided to keep them because she didn't really need them). She bugged me incessantly for hours to look at all the shoes (I had purchased way too many). I finally got tired of it and let her look. It was like Christmas for her even though only one pair was for her. She was so happy just looking. After the second trip I had the bags in the car when I picked her up. As soon as she was buckled she was grabbing and tearing open the sacks to see what new clothes I had. Again she was as happy as if it were Christmas morning. I think I might be in trouble in the near future. I hope she is ready to work to earn her spending money.

Braden's Big Day

 Little man started preschool 3 weeks ago. He seems to really enjoy it. He has a wonderful teacher and he has been waiting so long to be like his sisters and all his buddies. I only signed him up for 1 year of preschool so next year it is kindergarten with all his friends.

Leaving school I noticed he put his backpack on upside down. It made me smile.

Just because he is in school doesn't mean there isn't play time. It makes his sisters mad that we do things while they are in school. A couple of weeks ago my parents, sister and I went to the county fair. It was the right size for Braden and Ellie. We also went opening day first thing so no one was really there. They had the pony ride all to themselves and the petting zoo was not overly crowded. We also rode in a monster truck. Ellie giggled the whole time and Braden seemed a little unsure.

Good thing the kids have an awesome aunt. Stef and JT took them all back to the fair on Saturday so the girls could go. Stef let them do the walk on water thing where you get in a big ball and move it like a hamster. The videos were pretty funny. She also bought the girls umbrellas. Like I said they have a good aunt.

Besides the fair, Braden went swimming with my parents at Grandma Bonnie's and we went to the outlets. I am in need of some new shorts. Kelsey was really upset about not getting to go to the outlets. She is such a shopaholic. Again it is not poor Macy and Kelsey. Grandma and grandpa took all the kids to see the movie Planes one Friday because they couldn't make it to the lake. This will be the first year in a long time in which we never made it to the lake. Doesn't hurt my feelings because I can't do anything yet. Maybe September.

One last funny story. So Braden has decided he doesn't like being alone in the basement. Actually it is anywhere in the house because he follows me all over creating messes in whatever room I sit down in. I wish he was comfortable in the basement so everything could stay there. Today I finished exercising downstairs and was heading upstairs to shower. He asked if Tanner could stay with him. I guess any warm body will do.

Anyways that is not the real funny story. The other night Macy was at a late over so Braden had to go to bed in the basement by himself. He was not comfortable with this and kept trying to come upstairs. Brian and I thought we had him convinced to stay downstairs and fall asleep. This is how Macy found him when she came home.

She almost stepped on him which could have been really bad news. If he had moved slightly or rolled it could have sent him tumbling. Needless to say, now when he has to go to bed without Macy in her room someone stays downstairs to watch TV until he falls asleep.

Things I am Thankful for

On Sunday the topic of the lesson I taught was on the importance of keeping a journal. I challenged the youth to go home that day and write about how they saw the hand of God in their life the past week. Since this is my journal and I should follow my own advice and so my posterity knows I see God in my life, I thought I better do the challenge myself. I don't do a lot of sharing of spiritual stuff on blog, but probably should add a little more.

For me there is something about adding a member to your family that brings about more spiritual awareness. Last week there was a night in which I made a poor choice and did not go to bed early enough once Tanner was finally asleep for the night. I did not get enough sleep and the next day I felt it. I was determined to do better the next night. Well Tanner didn't want to cooperate. His second time awake he didn't seem to want to go back to bed. I was so tired. I began to cry because I just wanted to go back to sleep. That was when I prayed/begged Heavenly Father to help him sleep. Soon after the prayer I was calmer and Tanner went to sleep. I was so grateful to crawl back into bed. The next night Heavenly Father continued to answer my prayer. I did as I should and went to sleep at a better time. Tanner then slept 5 hours the first leg of the night and 3 more after that. Also he didn't give me any trouble about going to bed right after eating. I felt amazing the following morning. I was so grateful he answered my prayer so that I could be a happier, more patient mom.

Another answer to a prayer came yesterday. Over the weekend Braden played with my wedding ring while I was getting dressed. I asked him to stop when I found out. Instead of putting the ring back where he found it, he placed it elsewhere. I didn't notice this until Monday. Of course when I asked him he couldn't remember where it was. Brian suggested praying for help to find it. Monday night in Braden's personal prayer he asked that we would find my ring. I am sure you can guess what happened. Tuesday after school Macy found it in her jewelry box. Not sure why it was there but I would never have looked in her jewelry. The neat part of this story was on Monday night for FHE Macy gave a lesson on prayer. I was able to share my story with Tanner and then on Tuesday I was able to follow up her lesson with another example of prayers being answered. I hope this helped Macy and Kelsey have a little more faith in answers. They both are a little negative about that topic thinking that they never receive answers. Part of it may be they don't really pray for a lot and if they do they don't put much effort into finding things or answers. Hopefully they will have experiences that change that.

Recently I have seen God's love for me while sitting back and watching my kids play. I have been able to be in the moment and have felt overwhelming joy and love for the gift of my children. Several times this past week I have watched as they interacted with each other. These were times when they were really getting along with each other or so excited to show me their magic tricks. When they were getting along with each other they were outside by our little play pool. I was watching from the window. Kelsey was being the big tease and pretending/possibly going to throw water on Macy. Luckily she controlled herself and just kept teasing otherwise I might not have had the magical moment I did because there would have been a fight. Macy then shared her water bottle with Braden and Kelsey, however, they were not allowed to put their mouths on the bottle so they looked like little birds. Macy then teased and dumped some water on Braden. He took it in stride and there was much laughter and happiness with a little more teasing. My heart just swelled. I am sure Heavenly Father looks on us much the same way and has much joy when we find the moments of pure happiness. The joy I felt during the magic tricks was because I gave Braden and Kelsey my full attention. I did what they asked and cheered when was appropriate. They were so happy and proud of themselves. There was such an innocence that surrounded them. It was such a peaceful, joyous moment. I normally let too many of these times fly by me. Again something about a new baby causes me to slow down. Maybe because I do so much sitting to feed the hungry little guy.

3 Weeks

I can't believe 3 weeks has gone by since Tanner was born. He has grown so much. At his 2 week check-up, which was 3 days past the actual 2 week mark, his measurements came in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 22 in. long. That means he gained almost a pound and grew 2 inches since his birth. The nurse was in awe at how big he was. His height measurement may have been off in the hospital but I am sure it was not off by 2 inches. I can even see how he has filled out and any newborn clothing is definitely too small now.

Brian keeps calling Tanner Braden. I keep using Braden's nicknames for Tanner. I will use Little Man, Buddy, and buddy. But Braden wants to keep those (and I don't blame him because he has had those since he was born) so we need some new ones. Brian has suggested T-Money and T-Rex. There was one other silly one I can't remember. I think we will have to keep thinking.

I thought no baby could be as smothered as Braden. I was wrong. Tanner gets it worse because there are 3 siblings to bug him. I am constantly telling Braden to stop kissing him and to quit touching him. The girls fight over who gets to hold him and feed him. They just can't stay away. Macy has changed his diaper twice now and is begging to babysit him. They get home from school or wake up in the morning and the first thing they have to do is find Tanner. He seems to do okay with it.

Tanner is a good baby. He sleeps at night as well as anyone can expect a brand new baby to. He is up about every 3 hours at night maybe 4 during the first leg. He eats and goes right back to sleep. He has definite awake times during the day so no night and day confusion. He has this uncanny ability to pee through diapers and to pee without us knowing while changing his diaper. It is quite annoying.

2 weeks

2 weeks

3 weeks - Kelsey giving him bunny ears

*Don't go any further if you want to avoid poop stories.

Peeing isn't the most bothersome talent. He may be our first child that isn't more on the constipation side. He likes to go through 3 or 4 diapers when he goes number 2. He will poop and then while changing him he will decide that he has to go some more. Braden was so thrilled when he got to watch all this happen one day. Braden used phrases like "Let me know when he starts to poop again" (Tanner did his best when the diaper wasn't on him so Braden could see the whole thing) and "that was a big one". Not sure why my kids have such a fascination with anything potty related. Now Tanner is into blowing out his diaper. I am not used to this so I did not change him within 2 minutes the other day. I ended up with it all over my pants. But that is not the worst experience.

Last night I had Tanner all ready for bed. All the other kids were in bed and Brian was at the temple. Tanner had finished his bottle and I was starting to rock him when he let loose an explosive fart. I checked him and sure enough he needed a change. As I was cleaning him up another explosion happened. This time it was like a cork popping and there was carnage every where. It flew like 3 feet and splattered all over my couch, floor and rug. It ruined my pants (which I only have 2 that fit right now so I may be down to 1 pair), got on my arm and shirt. His clean diaper was not clean anymore and I had to move it to start to clean him up. That is when he found a little more and messed up the clothes underneath him. I was in a bad position. I couldn't put his legs down to get a new diaper because then he would be rolling in it. I couldn't call Brian was unavailable and the phone was not nearby. Luckily I could count on Macy. She came to my rescue and handed me items I needed to start the long, disgusting clean up. Good thing Tanner is cute and good otherwise he would be on my bad list. The next morning Macy filled her siblings in and of course Kelsey and Braden wanted to know if I took pictures of it.