Monday, September 15, 2008

Balloons+feet+sitting=fun

BALLOONS
The other day G1 brought me a blue balloon and asked me to blow it up and "make it tight"(tie the knot) for him. I did just that. He played with it for a little while and then it popped. I'm not sure what happened. He was within a few feet of me when it happened. I think it was just old and weak. Poor little boy and the saddest look on his face. It made me have tears in my eyes. He just couldn't understand how that could have happened when he didn't mean for it to happen. I hugged him and tried to console him the best I could. Then I remembered that I still had balloons left from G2 and G3's birthday party. I only had to remember where I had put them. So, I looked through the dining room closet and found them.
I blew up 8 or 9 of them suckers. I drew on them and the Gs had a blast playing with them. Sometimes I forget how fun the simple things can be. I get too caught up in everything else and I forget to see things through the eyes of my babies. It was fun to watch them all play and laugh and just have a great time.
I wish I could always have fun with them like that. Some days (most days it seems) I get too stressed out and can't enjoy the Gs like I wish I did. I've been trying to let things just roll off my back and have fun. I hope when my children look back on their childhood they remember the days that I am down on the floor playing with them, instead of the days when I am yelling and stressed.


FEET

G4 has "found" her feet. She is really starting to play with things and people. When she found her feet she seemed to think that was the greatest thing ever. She held onto them so tight and laughed and talked to them. I thought to myself I need to get a picture and/or video of this. I got up to get the camera. As I sat back down to turn the camera on she lost her feet. Poor little girl was devastated. I tried helping her grab hold again but it just wasn't the same. I finally managed to get pictures of her playing with her feet a couple days later.


SITTING
G4 can almost sit on her own. She has sat for a few seconds at a time without me holding on. Sometimes she thinks it's great and gets so excited she falls over because she's laughing; other times it is the worst thing in the world. She is totally female, not being able to make up her mind. :-P
This morning we tried to get a picture of her sitting by herself. We managed to get a few good pictures of all the Gs. The "big" Gs think it is absolutely great that I let them hold G4 sometimes (as you will notice in the pictures).


G2 and G3 are 21 months today. They will be 2-years old in 3 months. It's amazing how fast the time has gone. They are so big and so smart. They are still on the smaller side (but so is G1). Other than that you would never be able to tell they were preemies.
Today they were stink pots though... G1 came downstairs from nap-time and says to me "The girls don't have their diapers on." I head up the stairs and sure enough they have their diapers (which were duct taped by the way) in their hands and are headed down to me. I go into their room to see if they had gone potty anywhere. While in there I could smell poop but could not find it anywhere. I figured it was just my mind playing tricks on me so I go back downstairs. I get the girls and put new diapers on them. Sure enough G3 had pooped. I went back upstairs to look for it and still can't find it. I will have Matt look when he gets home. Pretty gross story huh?? My children pooping in mystery places is my life though. This is just the first time I haven't been able to locate it.

G1 has quite the imagination now. It's fun to watch him. The other morning, must have been Saturday morning, he was picking up "snails" and putting them in a can. He would bring me a can that he was pretending to put stuff in and tell me it's snails. It took me a minute or two to figure out what he was saying. I did not know this boy knew the word snails. So, I pretended to be grossed out and said "Eww icky-slimy-snails." He just thought that was great. I then told him that some people eat snails and actually like them, he thought that was funny. He showed them to Daddy too. Daddy reacted to G1's liking and G1 kept playing. G3 was observing all this and thought this looked like a good game. She went over and somehow ended up with the can. She would put the snails in and bring it over to me. Most of the time she was cracking up before I ever pretended to be grossed out. Then G1 and G3 started "dumping" the snails into their hands to "eat" them, just so Mommy would say "EEEWWWW!" It was a good time.

I had mastitis end of last week/over the weekend. I am feeling pretty good now but man that was not fun. I learned that breastfeeding (especially on that side even though it is EXTREMELY painful) really is the best way to get rid of it.
G4's eye was a little cruddy for a couple days but seems to be fine now. Maybe it was because of the mastitis and she got some of the "germs"??? Matt finished the light/vent in the bathroom upstairs (YAY MATT!!) and managed to slice open his finger at the knuckle. Pretty sure that wasn't fun for him.
G3 keeps conking her head on things.
G2 trips over everything. I joke that she walks like she's drunk.
G1 is G1, not really anything to say about him--he's been pretty normal for him.

**To all of you out there reading: PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT. I love to hear from everyone that reads about our lives. It doesn't have to be much of a comment. Anything is greatly appreciated.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Blast from the past

Last Thursday Mom, the Gs and I headed down to Marcia and Jacob's house. There we had the opportunity to visit with a member of a family that we knew in Texas. Right now Elder (Peter) Reeve is on his mission. He will be headed home in a couple months. It was a good time. It's amazing to me how grown up he seems. Although he is only a couple years younger than I am, to me he should still be the little boy (4 or 5-ish year old) he was when we moved away. It's crazy that everyone--not just me--grows up too. :-P Elder Reeve was a good sport (so was the other Elder that was there) and put up with my children.
I was friends with his sister Amanda. I do think about her from time to time, but seeing him made me miss when I was little and would "hang out" with Amanda and Tara. I know I had other friends while we lived down there, but they are the ones that meant the most to me. I will always keep them in my heart and think of them often.
Anyway, here are a few pictures from our visit (he's the one not wearing the jacket):



I just thought this was a good picture of Jacob (thanks for letting me take your picture Jacob!). That's G2 with him (she really loves her Uncle Jacob!).
The other day we brought the exersaucer up from the basement. G4 loves to stand and has really been trying to play so we thought it was time to bring it back out. We washed it up and I put the seat back in yesterday. She seemed to enjoy it. The older Gs I know are enjoying it.



Here G2 is putting her leg behind her head. She can get both behind her head.

Here's a video of G2 (purple) and G3 (pink) playing with the fridge magnets at Marcia's.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

I am stop behaving!





We had a pretty fun Labor Day weekend. Saturday night Marcia and Jacob came and stayed with us for a family reunion on Sunday. On the drive we had some interesting conversations with G1.



Conversation #1:
Me: Gavyn take a nap with Jacob
G1: No
Me: Then go to sleep and take a nap next to Jacob
G1: No
Marcia: Then stay awake
G1: Mommy telled me go to sleep

Conversation #2:
Me: Gavyn get your foot out of Giuliana's car seat.

Me: You know, we can have fun until you stop behaving.
G1: I AM stop behaving
Me and Marcia: I know!

Conversation #3:
Me: Say "negotiation"
G1: I can't

Me: Say "awesome possum"
G1: I can't

Me: Say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (completely butchered the spelling I'm sure)
G1: I can't

Marcia: Say "I love Marcia"
G1: I can't...love Marcia, I love Mommy
After just a little bit
G1: I can't say "awesome possum"

Conversation #4--this conversation was all G1 and happened when we saw some cows:
G1: Gavyn scares cows.
...
G1: I need to scare cows.

Monday we had the ward pancake breakfast. Marcia, Jacob, Rick, Ginny, Skyler, Mom, Dean and the 6 of us all went. They had fun playing. G4 got to swing for the first time. After the pancake breakfast Marcia and Jacob had to get back to the train station. We then walked to Main Street to watch the parade.



Monday night I got a couple videos of G1 and G4 talking.



Here are a couple more random conversations I have had with G1 lately:

Conversation #5--seeing an Amtrak:
G1: Marcia lives on that train
Me: No she doesn't
G1: Yes she does (in a sing-songy voice)

Conversation #6--while chewing on the inside of his cheek:
G1: I've got a nipple in my mouth (the skin flappy thing from chewing on his cheek)

Conversation #7:
G1: Mommy, you're a train
Me: No, you're a train
G1: You're a train
Me: You're a train
That went on for a little while. :-)

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Birthday cake

Sunday was my birthday. Mom and Dean got me a pretty cake. The older 3 Gs helped put the candles in. G1 even helped me blow the candles out. It was kind of fun to blow out birthday candles for myself. It's been like 6-7 years since I had.



Thanks for the cake, Mom and Dean.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Fun Times

Tuesday we went to Iowa to visit and have dinner with Leah and Tyler (Matt's aunt and uncle). Our first stop was to Rick and Ginny's (and Skyler's too of course). We always have a blast when we visit them (or when they visit us). Surprisingly though I did not get any pictures while we were there. Very strange I think...

The next place we went was to visit Matt's great-aunt Lolly and Peggy. If was nice to visit with them and catch up. I think it had been since Thanksgiving since we had seen Lolly. Hopefully we will be back to visit before too much time passes again.

We then went to the mall to see Grandma Fairlie (she works at the mall) and to pick up Matt's wedding ring. There were a few stones loose so they were fixing it. We have a blast at the mall. The women in the jewelry store are wonderful and my kids love them.

Our final stop for the day was to Leah and Tyler's. They fed us a delicious meal. Thank you so much for that. G1 and G3 loved the cats. G2 isn't much into animals (she gets that from me). We also went out to see the horses. G1 and G3 threw apples to them. G2 got down after a while and picked up apples for Matt to throw to them to the horses. G1 got to get in with the horses with Uncle Tyler. He really enjoyed it. He did get spooked when a horse jumped from getting bit by a horse-fly and bumped G1's head.

The drive home was nice. The moon was absolutely beautiful. I wish I could have gotten a better picture of it than I did.



Wednesday we decided to go visit Marcia and Jacob. While there we got to spend time with Jessie and Aiden. We walked to the park and of course had a blast. On the way back Aiden and G1 held hands. It was absolutely adorable.

We went to Jacob's parents' house for dinner. I love spending time with his mom (his dad's great too, I've just never really spent any time with him). The piano was a big hit with the Gs. It was fun watching them play.

We decided to stay the night and continue having fun longer (which actually that happens most any time we go visit them--so I wasn't surprised).



Thursday morning Aiden came back over for Marcia to watch her. We made bread and the kids all played. It was a lot of fun. Hopefully we will get to see Jessie and Aiden again before they move. Thanks for hanging out with us Jessie and Aiden; thanks for letting us crash at your house Marcia and Jacob.

After we got back home the kids were all pooped. They ended up taking a 3.5 to 4 hour nap! It was wonderful. I was able to get most of my book read in that amount of time.



Friday afternoon I took G3 to get her stitches out. She didn't like it but she did really well. I tried to get a picture of how she looks but she didn't cooperate very well. I also included another picture of G4 just because I wanted to.



Wednesday, August 20, 2008

My pretty princess...

Monday afternoon G3 got hurt (a toy-ish thing attacked her face--not on purpose by any of her siblings; I promise). We were at Mom's. Mom and I loaded all the Gs up and headed to the hospital. G3 had to get 3 stitches; 2 in her lip and 1 above (or the other way around). They brought in a plastic surgeon to do it, so it would look better. She seems to be doing well now. They don't bother her too much. I see her rub them every so often. I am guessing they itch--which is good; means it's healing. I will take her to hopefully get the stitches out Friday afternoon.

G2 gave her 2 big hugs and a kiss Monday night to make her feel better.

She wiggled out of the restraint they put her in so I had to hold down her arms and legs, while the nurse held her head for the doc to do his work.

Hopefully now we won't have any more drama. A car accident and stitches are plenty for me to handle. Oh, by the way, I went and got my wrist checked out and it is just a sprain.




Yesterday we went to Iowa to visit people. We got some fun pictures. I will try to post them later.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

I got into an accident

The Gs and I were headed to the ATM and then down to Mom's. On the way to the ATM a car ran a stop sign and hit me. We are all okay. The kids got scared when I yelled (which I actually stayed pretty calm; at first) and then started crying.

I called Matt as I was climbing out; conversation went like this: "I just got hit, I'm calling the cops now" and then I hung up. The cops were there less than 5 minutes after I called 911. I was pretty shaken up at that point. I was so worried about the kids and about them over-heating.

To look at my car you wouldn't think there was much damage, but I know that at least the tie-rod is busted. Her car looks pitiful. I know I hit my head a little from the jerk and have a headache, my wrist hurts too. My mom came to get the kids and I home. Matt came from work to make sure we were all okay.

We can't pick up a rental (covered on insurance--thank goodness!) until Monday. sad.gif

*Note--MAKE SURE YOUR CURRENT INSURANCE CARDS ARE IN YOUR VEHICLE! I didn't have my current insurance cards in the truck and the web-page was down so Matt couldn't get them printed out (I had him stop home on his way so he could get the cards). So, it took a lot longer than it should have to get the okay to leave. The officer called the insurance company and talked to them.

Oh, and the girl doesn't have insurance!!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

¡Hola Luna!


G1: Hi Luna!
Matt: ¡Hola Luna!
G1: ¡Hola Luna!
Me: Say, ¿Cómo estás?
G1: I can't say that.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Misc.

Silly girl did this to herself. That's her burp rag on her head.

I'm not sure if she was putting them on or taking them off. But it's a fun face.
G2 "nursing" her baby.
G1 "nursing" the baby.
He is such a great big brother. He loves G4 to pieces and says that she is only his baby; nobody else's.
G3 is pushing on G4's belly button. G4 has a hernia so it sticks out a bit. It doesn't hurt her at all.


G4 is such a happy baby. She is starting to laugh a lot more--at least for me. Here is a short video of her laughing at me tonight.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Just rambling...

We don't have too much going on right now. Just trying to stay cool.
We have a new cousin (well the Gs have a new cousin). Rob and Katilyn welcomed a little boy into their family on July 31st. He looks absolutely perfect (I've only seen pictures). Lydia is going to be a great big sister. Congrats again to all of you!
Matt is working 12-hour shifts all week (11A-11P). It will make for a nice paycheck but it sure does make me tired when he works this much.
G1 is talking so much now and we can understand almost all of it. A year ago I didn't think he would ever get to this point! We are still working on potty training. I'm pretty sure if I could dedicate a day or two just to him we could get him out of diapers. But I don't have the time or energy for that. He is so smart--always amazing me with what he knows.
G2 is talking a lot now too. Everyday I can understand a little bit more. I think she's going to talk as much as her mommy does (just a warning to all!). She loves to mimic what G1 does; which doesn't always make Mommy very happy.
G3 is still my more quiet one. But I understand more of what she says than I do of what G2 says. Probably because she doesn't ramble as much. She just gets down to business and says what she needs.
G4 is so much fun. She trys to "talk" to me all the time. She loves her big brother and sisters. She's still not laughing much but she smiles all the time. I can't believe how big she is getting. She is almost completely out of 0-3 month outifts (only the really big ones fit her). She has a few 6-9 month outfits that fit her really well. It's crazy.
I am trying to come up with what the Gs will be for Halloween. I have no clue. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to share.
I am also working on things for G2 and G3's birthday. Yes, I know their birthday isn't for 4+ months, but if I don't get started now then I will feel too stress later. I know the theme (which is normally the hardest thing for me) but I can't figure out what decorations and stuff I want. Since I make most things I need to get that figured out...
Anyway, that sums us up right now. I hope everyone is doing well.
Oh, and some pictures just because.