Phone Dump

I have some random pictures on my phone that haven't found their way into a blog post, but are still so fun to share.

So here they are, being dumped into one.

 Our Thanksgiving thankful turkeys. Should have checked the picture first, its a little blurry.

 Close up of my Christmas Tree. 

 Baby stretches. My favorite.

 Self portrait.

 Tayden drew this heart and placed it over his own and said, "Look Mom! Now you can see my heart!"

 Even the oldest needs cuddles.

 Beckett picks out his own clothes and walks up the big kid toys. Thinks he's growing up or something.

 Growing my hair out. My high pony is getting so long!

 Tayden caught a dead earwig and put it in jar. He thought it was awesome. Boys are so gross.

 Getting a good picture of a Christmas tree it so hard.

Not sure about the weird line down the middle of the picture, but would you take a look at that dimple?! Yum, I could eat him up.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We've been preparing with all sorts of Turkey crafts and a Thanksgiving Family Home Evening.

It was our first Thanksgiving away from home, but we were able to spend it with some of our closet friends, so it was still full of love and family. Having them in our home today reminded me how blessed we are to live here and how lucky we are to be surrounded by amazing people. I am so grateful for their love and support. They are the biggest blessing of our Las Vegas adventure. I don't know what I would do without them. 

 Sheena and her 9 day old baby, Audra. Can you believe she just had a baby? She looks phenominal!

 Beautiful Melissa and her sweet little Paigey.

I adore these girls and am so glad they have these gorgeous daughters for me to love!

Dinner was delicious! Complete with some of the best turkey I have ever had, (Thank you Melissa Turney) and the most amazing rolls and copy cat Texas Roadhouse cimmamon butter ever (Sheena Perry...it was magical)! We split up food assignments between the three families that were able to attend, and I was in charge of mashed potatoes and pies. 

My mom and I always laugh that when we take on something new, we don't start with the easy stuff, we go all out. I get it from her. For example, the first time I ever really sewed I wanted to make curtains. Simple enough, until I had to add stripes to the bottom and a scrunched hem at the top. I didn't even know how to thread a sewing machine, but by golly, I was going to sew me some curtains! Same with the pies. I've never made pies and instead of just making one easy one--I decided to make four! My mother in law taught me how to make pumpkin pie when she was here a few weeks back, so I felt pretty good about cooking those. I made a chocolate pudding pie that was cake to make. And I also made an apple pie. I've never made an apple pie in my life or really ever eaten apple pie, but it looked fun so I gave it a go. I made a lattice top, which didn't end up in disaster, so I'll count it as a success. One minor, kind of major, problem was the amount of apples. I didn't realize they cooked down so much, so my pie kind of deflated. But other than that it looked okay and tasted fantastic!

Scott and Adam didn't know how to carve the turkey, but with a little help from you tube they figured it out. And I am so glad, because as I mentioned before...the turkey was yummy!

The kids also enjoy each others company, most of the time. Haha. We have some of the cutest kids around and we have the pictures to prove it!

My favorite part of the day came after dinner.

Today is also my husbands birthday. It was a special day to share with him and was a great reminder just how lucky I am to have him in my life. I know we tease a lot and don't always see eye to eye, but he is my best friend. I love him more than words can explain. He's my rock and brings me more happiness than I knew was possible. I love him. So much.

His kids love him so much too!  Tayden picked out a special firetruck and card for Scotts birthday and was so excited to give it to him this morning. He is such a great and fun dad. He spent the morning playing racing the new firetruck and playing basketball with the boys. I am so blessed.

I couldn't have asked for a better day. It was awesome and full of happiness. I'm so grateful for all of my many blessings and even more grateful I have wonderful people in my life to share them with. 

I love to see the Temple

Scott was going through his phone and found some pictures I forgot to post. When his mom was here a few weeks ago and we spent one evening at the Las Vegas temple. Its about 30-40 minutes away, so we don't get there with the kids as much as I'd like. I don't know what it was about that day, whether it was having Grandma in town or the newness of the baby, but the two older boys were wild. We tried to take some nice pictures, but as you can tell by most of the shots...they were being crazy and way to busy to smile nicely.

I was getting frustrated with the whole experience and we decided it was time to pack it up and head to dinner. As we were walking to the car, Tayden announced he had to go potty. I took him over to the visitor center, but they didn't have a bathroom. They directed me to the lobby of the temple, where they had a restroom. I was totally nervous because of how he was acting outside and felt odd walking into the temple in street clothes. As we walked up to the door I talked to him about reverence, respect and how we need to be quiet in the House of the Lord. And here comes one the most precious moments I have ever shared with my sweet little Tayden.

We walked in the door hand in hand and were immediately overcome with the spirit. I looked down at Tayden and smiled. He smiled back and squeezed my hand. We walked, well I walked and he tip toed, to the bathroom. When he was finished we passed a huge painting of Christ teaching the people. Tayden stopped and stared at it, so I knelt down and whispered in his ear about Jesus and how he was teaching the people. I explained how we can learn things while we are at the temple and how we feel the spirit. I asked him if it felt good to be inside the temple and he said, "Yes. It feels good in my heart." and he put his hand to his chest. Tears filled my eyes and I was completely overcome with emotion. I knew he was feeling the influence of the spirit. I could see in that moment why we are instructed to be as little children. As I stood by him I saw purity, love, hope and all things good. I thought about the eternity of families and how grateful I am for that knowledge. I could have stayed in that lobby with Tayden forever, soaking up his sweet spirit. 

I'll cherish that memory forever. 

I am so grateful for temples and the ordinances that take place there. 

I am so grateful for the everlasting peace and spirit they have.

And I am so grateful I was able to share that with Tayden.

Potty Talk

 I love this sweet little sleeping face...

...but don't let it fool you.

Beckett is the sweetest little boy. Really, he is. He is a challenge for sure, always getting in stuff, climbing everywhere, fighting with his brother and so on--but none the less is so sweet. However, this sweet boy has taken on a not so sweet habit. 

Beckett hates being in a dirty diaper. Really hates it. He despises it so much, he has taken it upon himself to take it off. He'll tell you he is stinky and you have about .7 seconds to get to him and if you don't then the mess gets a whole lot worse. Lately, he has been doing his business during nap. Then, he takes his diaper off and the poo gets everywhere. I have done no less than 5 loads of dirty laundry this week because of this nasty little habit. 

I was super fed up with it and when it happened again yesterday, I drew the line. I know he's not trying to be naughty, but he needs to know that it is naughty, so I put him in a cold shower. He has never showered before, so that in itself freaked him out. But the cold water, that sent him over the top. He did not enjoy it one bit and it broke my heart to see him in such anguish. I am really hoping that it sunk in, because I don't think I can handle another cold shower episode. 

After the shower he finished his nap on our bed. All the crying really wore him out.

As well as taking off his diaper after he poos, he has been taking off his diaper before he pees. He'll take it off and potty where ever he happens to be. I feel like I am cleaning up after him all day long.  Its exhausting. I know he is ready to potty train, but with Scotts schedule and a newborn--the thought of it really is daunting. I know he can do it though, because my mom worked with him while she was here and he caught on quick. I am just going to have to buck it up and do it. 

But this sweet little cheeser should make it a little easier. 

Wish me luck.

Month One

Today marks one month since Cache was born. 

And we couldn't be happier. Little mister had a check up today. He is growing nicely and weights in at 9 lbs 10 oz. and is 21 inches long. He looks great. Right on track and healthy. That's my favorite part. Hearing he's healthy just doesn't get old.

So, how have we fared the first month? I'd say rather well. It helps that Cache is a pretty chill baby. He sleeps wonderfully and is on a fantastic schedule. I have managed to get the two youngers napping at the same time, so I have about 2 hours a day of quiet rest time, which helps with my sanity and energy level. Getting out the door is still a challenge, but not anything that has proved impossible. Just a bit longer and little bit more planning. Its almost starting to seem normal.

The boys are completely enamored by baby C. Beckett is really starting to take an interest in 'his baby'. He loves to kiss him and pat his belly. When he's crying, Beckett rushes over to SHH and loves to hold him. Tayden fills the big brother shoes perfectly. He loves 'Cachee Boy'. He tells me on a daily basis that he just loves his new baby brother. Or how cute he is. Or how happy he is that Cachee boy is here. And so on and so on. Its warms my heart. Tayden has definitely picked up on my comforting. He tells Cache, in my exact cadence, "I know, Cache, I know. Its okay. You're just hungry." It's pretty funny.

We love Cache so much. Having a house full of boys is an amazing blessing and I could not be happier. It's been such a fun month. Can't wait to see what the next month holds. 

Painting Spiderman

Preschool was canceled today due to some sick kids. That teamed with the yucky weather and the fact that my children are waking up with the sun, which is now an hour earlier than usual--I was not looking forward to today. I was feeling a little trunky and really dragging my mom feet. I shrugged it off and decided to change my attitude. We were going to have a fun day at home. 

I asked Tayden what he wanted to do. He settled on painting. 

My brother and his wife sent the kids a goodie package a few ago and inside were some spiderman masks that Tayden was been wanting to paint.

So, painting it was.

The older boys sure had fun and sweet baby Cache just hung out in his swing. 

He sure is chunking up quick.

The end product made for hours of fun today.

At least until Dad surprised us and came home 6 hours early!

Today actually turned out to be an okay day.

3w1d

Yesterday marks 3 weeks since the birth of our sweet baby Cache.

Its been great having him home. He is so sweet and content. Baby C is leaving the super sleepy newborn stage and is spending more time awake. Its fun, but now we are readjusting schedules to try to make things work for everyone. We're making it though. Much better than I anticipated. I have the two nappers, B and C, napping at the same time and bedtime is getting easier. Cache is sleeping great. He wakes up twice a night to eat and then goes right back down. Last night he gave me a solid 5 hours. Honestly, now that he is out of my belly I am sleeping much better. 

He is growing like a weed, too! We redneck weighed him today. You know when you stand on the scale with him and then stand on it without him and do the math. Anyway, he weighed in at 9 lbs. We'll see how true that stands at the doctor next week, but I think its pretty close. I've already had to put away a fair share of newborn clothes and bought size 1 diapers for the little pooper. 

He really is fantastic. I love him so much. It blows my mind. 

So, in honor of him (or the fact that I haven't been grocery shopping all week) we hit In-N-Out for dinner. 

A funny story about dinner. I have yet to pack a diaper bag. I know, I know. He is 3 weeks old and I don't have a diaper bag. Lame mom. Anyway, this means I don't have a nursing cover, a change of clothes, a pacifier, diapers and wipes, and so on, ready to go. When I leave the house, instead of grabbing a bag and going, I have to grab the things I think we'll need depending on how long we'll be gone and the time we are going.

Last night, I didn't anticipate on being gone so long. It was rather warm and all I grabbed was a thin receiving blanket, some diapers and wipes (that we keep in the car) and a pacifier. It was dinner time and we decided to grab a burger on the way home. I was going to feed C real quick in the car since it was his dinner time too and then we would go in to eat. Here lays the first problem. No nursing cover. No big deal, I'd use his blanket. I use blankets all the time. Full size blankets though, not an itty bitty receiving blanket the size of a dish towel. Oh well, I made it work with a little adjusting. Until Cache messed through his diaper. Clear through his clothes and blanket and onto my pants. Fantastic. Now, the only blanket we had for him was wet and we didn't have a change of clothes. Nice. We told Tayden that we were going to have to get the food to go and he was heart broken. We decided we would just have to make things work, so we could keep our promise to the boys and go out to eat. Thankfully the blanket dried rather quickly and we folded his onsie up so the wet wasn't touching Cache's skin. We got him in a clean diaper and bundled him up. Half way through dinner he wasn't having his carseat anymore, so I pulled him out and tucked him in my cardigan and finished my dinner. It was awesome..ish.

I had to laugh. 3rd time parents are much less prepared, but much more relaxed. At least for us. Moral of this long winded story...Pack a stinking diaper bag! 

We love this little man. I am grateful for him and grateful the two older boys have taken to him so well. Every time he cries, they come running. They can't wait to hold him and are eager to help. Life with 3 boys has been easier than I imagined. We still aren't to normal yet, but we are getting there. 

Feeling blessed.