Dresses

     When Grant and I got married we had 9 nieces between the two of us.  I had my mom make pink princessey dresses for all of them to wear to my reception (I know, she's amazing!)  Anyway, 2 of my nieces couldn't make it and my mom never finished their dresses.  I found them one day and took them for future use.  As I was going through things the beginning of December I came upon them and Grace is finally big enough to wear the smaller one.  Also, my sister-in-law kept the dress our niece who was 9 months old wore and it fits Madelyn.  So, you can see where this story is going :)

 

It is terribly wonderful to be so biased because I think those two are THE cutest girls in the WHOLE world.  So for church they wore those dresses and I made Grant wear the tie I bought him (that is pink and brown) and I wore a pink cardigan.  Poor Thaddeus didn't match at all :(

Merry Christmas!

Dear Friends and Family,  

         Our 2012 was filled with many firsts.  We welcomed a new baby, Madelyn Elaine, into our lives.  She is growing and now crawling, pulling herself up to anything she can get to, waving, clapping and even imitating us praying. J   She is 9 months old.

          Grace (5) started Kindergarten in August.  She loves it.  Every day she comes home with more information to share with all of us.  She can read a lot of words and sound out even more.  There are some beginning reader books at her library and she has read one of them, all by herself!  Next semester they start reading groups.  We are excited to see what she can do next!

          Thaddeus(3) is growing as well.  Seems like he never fits into his clothes.  Something is too short, to long, or too tight.  He loved nursery this year with Mom and Dad.  When we were released he wasn’t quite sure but he never cried!  He says he is excited for sunbeams next year, we’ll see if he is all talk though.

          Grant and Christine are still working on the house.  We replaced a window this year, replaced the flooring in the kitchen, painted the living/dining rooms, the entry way and part of the hallway.  Grant is without a calling as of right now and Christine was called into the Young Womens as 2^nd counselor.  She is enjoying getting to know the girls.

          We look forward to a new year with new discoveries!  We know we have been blessed in more ways than we know this past year, and that isn’t even counting the obvious ones of family, home, food, clothes J  Grant received an unexpected raise this year just a few days after Madelyn was born, coincidence? We think not J  Merry Christmas to all!  And a prosperous and Happy New Year!

Love- Grant, Christine, Grace, Thaddeus and Madelyn

“Before we can successfully undertake a personal search for Jesus, we must first prepare time for Him in our lives and room for Him in our hearts.  In these busy days, there are many who have time for gold, time for shopping, time for work, time for play- but no time for Christ.  Lovely homes dot the land and provide rooms for eating, rooms for sleeping, playrooms, sewing rooms, television rooms, but no room for Christ.” President Thomas S. Monson Dec 1990

Thankful

I know Thanksgiving is long past.  Sorry to revert you back when Christmas is such a wonderful celebration!  But, I was thinking while making dinner tonight.  My kitchen is kinda dark and in the winter it is even darker so I reached up to turn on the light on the exhaust for my stove.  What a great idea someone had!  I am thankful for whoever decided to put those there, and above sinks too!  I am serious.  I am thankful for the person who thought of Toilet Paper.  I am thankful for the person who thought up music players (if it was up to me to make the music in my house, my kids would be sorely disappointed!)  I am thankful for whoever invented those blue nose syringes, we've been using it a lot on our sick baby lately.  I am thankful for kindergarten teachers.  I am thankful for other peoples talents, to sing and play beautiful music on any instrument.  I am thankful for nursery leaders.  I am thankful for friends who are still friends even though we haven't spoken in a while.  I am thankful for whoever is dropping gifts at our door.  I am thankful for a good mattress.  I am thankful for a roof that doesn't leak.  I am extra thankful for my furnace.  I am thankful for my husband.  I am thankful for trials.  I am thankful for the Savior. 

Uplifting

I was studying for Young Womens and came across this scripture.  How I have never read it before I do not know, I love it!  Isaiah 41: 13 "For I the Lord God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."  It conjours up an image in my mind of a strong big brother holding the hand of a little sister/brother in the dark or in a scary place. 

*GASP*

After Family Home Evening tonight we were enjoying some nice, warm, fresh from the oven cinnamon rolls dripping with yummy cream cheese frosting.  Then, gasp, Grace told me this, "Next time could you make them without the frosting, I don't like it."  Did you gasp too?  She had better watch herself, she might get kicked out of the family if she keeps talking like that!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

We continue on updating our kitchen (still needs work).  We bought a remnant piece of vinyl from a friend in the flooring business and then he was nice enough to help us install it.  So, there is the old brown.  So dirty with this weird black stuff in some places that never cleaned up and I tried everything!  And here is the new! 

It is a big difference.  I keep thinking I'm in the wrong house.  It is clean!  (my favorite part!)  Now we have to put up bead board and the floor moulding and paint the ceiling :)

Firsts

This was Madelyn's first Halloween.  She went trick or treating with the kids, and fell asleep :)  People kept offering us candy for her, ummm, she is 7 months old, no thank-you!  Grace was a princess, Madelyn a candy corn and TD was a superhero, with a one of a kind cape! (courtesy of mom)

 Grace lost her FIRST tooth.  She told us it was loose on Halloween, or the day before and on Friday she complained while eating so I looked at it, she walked away and then turned around with her tooth in her hand, she had pulled it out.  Wow, she is getting old! 

New Living/Dining Room!

We FINALLY got around to painting the living room and dining room!  Here it is:

Before (living room- looked like someone painted the whole thing in Kilz, bleh!)

After (entry way, Behr color winter lake, walls kilim beige, I forget whose, at 75% strength, looks a little yellow, it isn't)

After (doorway into hall)

Before (dining room, not pretty in pink)

After

After

 We love it, and now I need something new to hang on my walls because all of our old pictures went really well with sorta ugly paint since that is all we ever lived in :)  But now that I have beautiful paint, I need beautiful decor!  Don't hold your breath though, it may take a while!

My daughter made bread

Grace started bread on Saturday and finished it Sunday after church and we ate it last night with dinner!  She is amazing!  Okay, HERE is the recipe :)  It was super good, we will definitely make it again.  It was really crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.  The cool part is, you probably have all the ingredients on hand to start it right now! 

Why I have children

 

One of the reasons I had children :) is so I could brag about them shamelessly, so here goes!  You may wonder why I let my daughter have a HUGE candy bar, at church?  Well, the little 5 year old memorized all 13 Articles of Faith and the primary president gave it to her.  Amazing huh?  All 13!!

Our little baby has outgrown her baby-ness, she is officially crawling, and thinks she is so smart because of it!  Poor Grace and Thaddeus don't yet understand what this means, i.e. her getting EVERYTHING they leave out and crawling all over EVERYTHING they are doing on the floor!  I have to baby proof my house again.

 

 

And last, but not least, Thaddeus.  His accomplishement is his first ear infection of the winter!  bleh!!  But, he loves lightning McQueen, so much he makes me draw him one at least twice a week.  No comments on the quality of the drawing please!

Stains, stains go away!

Just wanted to share with you a picture of my favorite stain fighter.  A bar of soap that lasts and lasts.  A friend of mine told me about it a while back and I didn't believe her, how sad for me because it works wonders and cost me a grand total of $.97 plus tax at my local WinCo foods store!  Get some today!!  Grace has a pair of white leggings that are still white (they had grass stains and all sorts of brown who knows what on them) plus a bunch of white shirts that are still white thanks to this bar of soap!!  Trust me on this one.

More Mobile Madelyn

She is getting up on her hands and knees and can even do push ups (the manly way on her toes) but she only moves backwards!  Even while she is trying to fall asleep!

Cheap chicken

Hello everyone.  I think I have posted about this before but it is worth mentioning again.  Zaycon Foods is a company that deals in meat.  They have 2 chicken sales a year and one is going on right now.  You can get boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.69lb.  Even when other stores have a sale this good they limit you to only 10lbs, these come in 40lb boxes, easily split into 10lb options if you choose to split it with someone.  I freeze some and can some in pint jars.  This stuff is fresh and it has never been frozen.  I have never been disappointed.  So, visit their webpage today and see if they are delivering to your area.  They have limited quantities so check it out quick!

Inside a toddler's brain

My sister sent me this picture.  I love how things are even funnier when they are true to life.  I can imagine this exact thing inside my childrens' brains!! 

Kindergarten

Here is our Kindergartner!!  She was pretty excited the first day.  Especially when she found out the night before that I would be staying with her and then taking her home after only 1 hour.  They had a parent meeting/overview of paperwork and the kids got to go and do something fun in another room.  Then Thursday, her real first day, she walked right in and didn't even turn around to wave!  And I didn't cry either, good news for us both I guess.  She loves everything about school and comes home teaching us how to sit "criss-cross-applesauce" and where she got to go that day and her "homework".  I couldn't ask for a better child!  She already loves her teacher because "she teaches me lots of stuff".  We already have some friends, but we don't know their names :) 

Back in the saddle again....

I took a vacation, better yet my brain and my creativity (the VERY little I have) took a vacation.  They are back though.  People asked me what I thought about having 3 kids after Madelyn was  born, I told them it was pretty easy because Grace and Thaddeus are so old and can take care of themselves.  After about 4 1/2 months of sleep deprivation, I am singing a different tune :)  Madelyn is sleeping better, although crying as I write this because she is too tired to realize she is tired, he, he, he.  We started "sleep training" a couple weeks ago.  Makes for a happier momma and she is actually happier too.  (used ideas from a book here, used it with TD as well and he is a SUPER sleeper!!)

Madelyn is 5 months old tomorrow.  I have begun to give her large pieces of raw fruits and vegetables to gum while I am busy cooking or doing dishes.  She likes them.  Except this apple.  I can imagine her threatening something and the apple begging for mercy :)

Thaddeus needs a haircut.  We combed his hair forward so he would look like Joseph Smith :)

My hippie daughters.  We went to the track to ride bikes and I made them flower crowns. 

 

Grace starts kindergarten next week.  I am excited to have one less child running around for a couple hours a day, I am not looking forward to all the anxiety of wondering everything from whether or not she'll be kidnapped to whether or not she'll have any friends!  Woe is me!

  

Life

 Life goes by too quickly!  Grant and the two older kids slept outside in a tent!  The kiddos loved it!  We are going camping soon so they got a little practice :)

 Madelyn is 3 months old.  She weighed about 12 1/2 pounds, more now.  She LOVES sucking on her hands, I don't remember my other two having their hand in their mouth so much.  She is also starting to reach for things, getting pretty good really.  She likes to grab at her own toes and she even caught Grace's hair once!  (I've been warning Grace about this since Madelyn was born, I don't think she quite understood what I meant, now she does!)  She is trying to sit up as well, you can only guess how well that is going, FACE PLANT!

 A picture of us girls all pretty for church.  Grace and I did our hair the same and both had flowers in the back.

And I just love this picture so I threw it in.  I caught Madelyn just right, she wasn't laughing, it just looks like she is.  And I love Grace's face.

There is only one picture of Thaddeus, he has been in his own world lately, off doing and exploring on his own a lot.  Grace has passed off the 1st 9 articles of faith!  She is working on #10.  Her goal (I didn't start this, she came home from church one Sunday and told me she wanted to memorize them) is to have them all passed off before her Aunt Kamille gets home from her mission (may/june of 2013) I think she will make it.

Some Pictures

 Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen?! (except your own children of course!)

 Madelyn joins the ranks of being able to look out the window at the cars.

 Bug bite gone wrong, we think, we thought he had a goose egg but it kept swelling over a 24hr period, it is almost gone now.

This is not an illusion, she really is holding on by herself and I did not put her in that position, she did it all by herself.

No more diapers!

Now we only have one child in diapers!!  I thought thaddeus never would learn because he would throw a fit if we tried to sit him on his little potty.  Grant took Friday off and they did it.  We didn't do anything special.  I think he just needed a little push, for us to put our foot down and get rid of his diapers for real.  He was certainly ready, he only had 2 accidents with #1 and none with #2.  I'm so excited to only have one little bum to change!!

A few of my favorite things....

We've had a busy week here.  This is my new piano.  Some very kind people gave it to me.  Now I can start re-learning how to play :)  We also bought a new-to-us van.  A dodge grand caravan.  Silver in color.  It has all the bells and whistles and the best part is, it was made within the last decade!!  We sold our old van, good old girl, just couldn't be trusted to go far and long without prayer!

 Madelyn has begun to smile.  They aren't quite social smiles, sometimes she just smiles at the angels all around us I guess because she isn't looking at anyone, but it still brings joy to my heart!  Plus, it makes all those nightly feedings a little easier!!  (can you see her dimples!!)

 For Grace's Birthday we made flower head bands.  Then we had to take pictures of everyone of course!

We are well around here.  Trying to get into a routine, Madelyn trying to keep us out of one :)  Last night before getting into bed I was stretching and realized that I could actually stretch.  Lifting my hands above my head and arching my back.  When I was pregnant I couldn't get a good stretch because pregnant bellies don't stretch very well!  I have to find little joys in life because lately we've been in a very tired/exhausted state.  I had forgotten how tiring babies are! 

Happy Birthday Grace

Grace turned 5 last week.  She was so excited to turn 5 because that means she goes to kindergarten!  She got to invite a friend over and they made flower clips for their hair and played and did a 100 piece princess puzzle!  (With mom's help)  Grace is super excited to go to kindergarten this fall and we even know what Elementary school she will go to and it is the same one we go to play at all the time.  (there are a lot of elementary schools here, 8 I think, and each have 2 classes for each age group)  Anyway, here are some fun facts about our baby:

1. She knows 5 articles of faith from memory.
2. She knows more than a dozen mother goose rhymes from memory.
3. She has a great memory :)
4. She loves princesses and got to buy her own princess carriage with her birthday money, so exciting.
5. She plays with Thaddeus and loves him.
6. She loves to help in the kitchen.
7. She loves her best friend, Lauren, and thinks it would be so cool if she lived with us.
8. She makes up stories and songs to sing to us.
9. She 'babysits' Madelyn for me when I have to take a shower or run downstairs.
10. Her hair is getting slightly redder as she gets older!  (I didn't used to actually believe people when they told me she had red hair, now I do!)

Funny Babies

 Grace got to "sleep" with Madelyn.  She loved it.  The funny thing is, she sorta did fall asleep on her.

You know how parents of bottle fed babies talk about slow and fast nipples and you over hear them talk about needing to change nipples.  Well, these poor breast fed babies get one speed.  I love how she latches on and then the first let-down she has to gulp as fast as she can to keep it under control.  She ends up losing some out of the corner of her mouth.  Then, when it lets up a little she has to let go and breathe before she starts again.  I love it!

More Pictures

More pictures for your viewing pleasure. This is Madelyn in her first week. She is a lot like Thaddeus, a cute newborn. And I am not biased. Everyone at church today said the same :)

Grace loves holding Madelyn and she can even pick her up under her arms, very carefully of course! Notice my house is clean, my mom was here for a week after she was born, I LOVE my mother!!!

Our plum tree is blooming, beautiful tree, handsome boy!

Beautiful tree, beautiful girl!

Thaddeus asks to hold her all the time, especially when she is crying or eating or fussing and he can't :)

We are doing well here. Healing and growing and getting into somewhat of a routine. The kids are adjusting. Grace is very protective of our family time and is feeling the brunt of being most ignored because she is the most independent.

Like Grant posted, we had her naturally. I prepared for 9 months but none of it helped come the time I transitioned. It scared me half to death and I lost it. Grant did great to pull me back to earth and my midwife was super nice despite my panic. The thing that amazed me the most was how painful it wasn't once I got past the transition. The other thing that amazed me was how alert she was compared to my kids born with epidurals. She wouldn't nurse for over an hour because she was so busy looking around and stretching and squirming. Her color was beautiful shortly after birth and she just seemed more alive than my other two. I don't know how future labors will be but I will definitely try my best to do it again.

I had an appt. on Friday, my due date and I finally let my midwife check me. (there is no point in knowing that I am dilated to a 1 and effaced to whatever because it just gets me all worked up so I hadn't let her check me before that) I was dilated to a 3 so I let her strip my membranes, then I was at a 4 :) We had contractions from about 3:30pm on Friday to about 8pm, then they stopped. I woke up at 1am with harder ones. We had them on and off in the morning and by 10 they were bad. We got to the hospital at 11 and I was at a 7, by 2:30pm we had her. It was cool when my midwife lifted her up and showed her to us and right there we found out she was a girl. I was exhausted and looked it, hence no picture of me :)

My First Blog Post Ever!

Yuuupppp! This is my (Grant) first post ever. I just want to say that my wife, Christine, is awesome!!! We have been through a lot these last 6 years, but nothing has impressed me more than her determination to go all natural on the labor and delivery of Madelyn. I had my doubts but she showed me up. I just had to take some time and gloat about my wife and her wonderful, kind, loving, etc... abilities of being a wonderful mother to our children.

Madelyn Elaine

March 24, 2012, 2:29pm. 8lbs 5 1/2oz, 21 inches long

Sympathy Pains

My children are having sympathy pains for me with this pregnancy. They frequently ask for help getting up, from the couch, chair, floor after a diaper change. I just laugh! Or, they say they can't do something because ------- hurts. I guess I complain too much! They also love to ask you to do things they can easily do themselves. Bring them their cup to get a drink, pick up their toy off the floor (I am constantly asking them to pick something up for me because it is very difficult after the baby drops to do any bending) Anyway, I hope that after the baby comes we can get rid of our sympathy pains!!!

Thaddeus is 3!

Here is a picture of his new toys. I love this kid, two new hot wheels vehicles and the kid is on cloud nine. I won't even tell you how much those two did not cost! I hope his tastes are always so simple :)

Here is his cake. He loved it and wanted to look at it all day (even before I put the truck on it) but only took one bite! Silly boy!

We love our Thaddeus a lot! Here are some fun facts:

1. He can button his church shirt all by himself (you know, the tiny buttons with buttonholes barely large enough for the button to pass, yeah, we are impressed!)

2. He loves his big sister. They play together every day and he is always asking, "Wanna play Gracie?"

3. He can count to 10. (and more but 10 is pretty standard)

4. He knows about 1/2 the letters and their sounds.

5. He loves his daddy.

6. He speaks in full sentences, including those tiny words like it, and, you know the ones they leave out at first.

7. He loves cars, planes, trains- normal boy favorites.

8. He attempted to be potty trained, that is progress right?

9. He loves being outside and has no problem being out there by himself.

10. He is the best behaved kid in nursery, and I should know!

11. He loves his little baby brother/sister already and wants to "hug" him/her on a daily basis, even in public! (he has to lift my shirt to do this, he catches me off gaurd and I have to explain that we don't lift our shirts in public)

That is our little man. I can't believe he is this big and can do all the things he does. We are blessed to have him in our family. He is quite the funny man lately (at least he thinks he is :)) and keeps us on our toes.

Grant had his birthday earlier this week as well. Their b-days are only 2 days apart, no wonder TD loves his dad so much! He is getting old, 30 is what he turned. I can't believe I am married to a 30 year old! (let's not mention the mere 5 months till I turn 30 :)) He is busy as ever and always working on a project around the house or for the house or on the house. He is handy!!