First Snow of the year.

We absolutely love playing in the snow. It's fun having two crazy snow lovers! Now if I could get my baby monitor to work a little better we will be set! Love these two fun kiddos so much!

 Exactly how I feel looking at her doing this...

 Absolutely love this kid!

Painted Pumpkins

We painted our pumpkins first this year. Sooooo much easier than keeping kids away from the carving knife.  Yet, it wouldn't be Halloween without carved pumpkins so we decided to do both. We have carved them now, so the after picture will be coming in another post. Can you guess who painted which pumpkins?

First Snow

Yesterday, it snowed for the first time. Not enough to stick to the ground, but enough to be magical. I thought, hmm I'll get some hot chocolate today and maybe update the blog. Then, Eden had a major melt down (poor sick girl and cranky mom), and it didn't happen. My magical day was over. Then, I wanted to blog about how difficult Eden was being and I'm glad I didn't. Today is magical. I like to remember more magical moments. I did it. I got up 4 days in a row and dropped Kael off at school (on time) with the 2 girls in tow. And we woke up to snow stuck on the ground. Magical yes. I had to scrape the car of snow and leave earlier, but you know what, it was still magical. The kids were so happy to see snow and wanted to make snow men and throw snow balls. I got that cup of hot chocolate. I did something hard this week and I'm going to keep it up for the rest of my life. I got up early and took care of my kids. They are happy and so am I! That is magic to me.

I always thought I wouldn't like living in a place that snowed. I really thought I wouldn't like having snow and driving the kids to school, and having a baby with snow... Boy was I wrong. I know I'll be sick of it by January, but right now, it's magical and puts a smile on my face.

First snow = magical good day.

The End.

Elara 4 weeks!

Dear Elara,

I can't believe it has been a month. It has flown by it seems and it has been hard, yet really really wonderful! You add so much to our family. You make us stronger and better. It seems we all have had to start doing hard things in our family and you have made it so we see how strong we are. Getting you here has been one of the hardest things I have done yet. Ask your Dad, he knows how much I complained and whined. However, he has loved you from the moment we knew you were coming and put up with me to get you here. I thought for certain I would throw in the towel about a week ago. You cried after every time you ate. You cried a lot for some reason. You did not like sleeping at night. I was so for certain you had reflux, and you probably did. I was scared because I had to start taking Kael to school this week. Kael was sick and now Eden. However, you have finally been letting me sleep a little at night. Almost for a week now you have been able to start sleeping in your crib! It is a miracle! I thought you would never want to leave my side, which I love holding you, but all day and night was getting rough. But, you have done it. You sleep at night and eat, and go back to sleep. It is still every 2 to 4 hours, but you are so much more happy. Oh, you make me so happy. You make your brother and sister happy. You make your Dad sing! I've always asked him to sing for me, and he refuses, yet at night time when I'm putting Kael and Eden to bed I hear him singing to you. He always sings for his babies. He did it for Kael and Eden, and now for you. You have brought so much happiness to our family. We are all better because of you. Keep growing strong and healthy. Every day you get bigger. You were so so small and I know you have grown. I will always remember the first thought in my head when I saw you was how small you were. You already are bigger and stronger, but you will be my special tiny baby. I love you so much Elara. Thank you for coming to us! We love you our precious gift from God!

Love you always,
Mom

Kael update

Dear Kael,
I'm so proud of you! You are doing great in school! You love learning, you love friends, you love impressing your teacher! You are such a happy, enthusiastic, fun person! You are the best brother to your sisters. You take such good care of them and you are the best helper! You held Elara's binky the other day and she actually stopped crying. You get me diapers, put stuff in the trash, and help me with so much! I feel so blessed that you are my son and I love you so much! You don't like to do something unless you can do it right the first time. I have tried forever to get you to write your name without tracing it and even tracing you get upset if you go off the dots. Well look what you can do now! You have been practicing writing your name at school and it has paid off! You are so smart and fun! You always say, "I can't do it Mom", well you can and I'm proud! Thanks for putting up with a cranky tired mom and still loving me. You are such a joy and even though when you are sick you whine a lot I still love ya! I'm glad you are feeling better and I do love taking care of you. Thanks for letting me be your mom!
I love you so much! Keep up the hard, good work! You can do hard things bud!
Love you always,
Mom

Eden's Favorite Thing To Say

I a big girl! I can do it myyyyyself! Don't help me!

Eden,
I was right... This new sister has rocked your world. You love Elara sooo much. You are so happy she is here. I have a feeling that you feel a bit neglected and you are probably right. It is a good thing Kael has school 4 days a week now so that we get some us time in. On top of the new baby you are sick. Kael was sick last week and this week it is your turn. You handle being sick over all so much better than Kael. He whines. A lot. All day. You on the other hand, play and have fun, but you have melt downs. And I feel horrible making you help me take Kael to school. And because I have to carry Elara in the car seat I can't carry you, so I make you walk, sick, not feeling good to do something you don't want to do... You are a trooper though. And even though I'm short tempered because of my lack of sleep you put up with me and I put up with you. You have started telling me I'm your best friend. I love it. Kael says it all the time and I know he loves me, but for some reason hearing you say you like me and I'm your friend melts my heart. I hope you still like me when you are a teenager even though I know at times I'll make you mad, or you won't like me or what I say. I'm going to treasure right now where I'm your best friend. Thanks for the snuggles in the morning and always know you are MY best friend and I love your guts little "big"girl!
Keep up the good work potty training. You still have accidents, but I know you are trying. You can do hard things and I'm proud of you!

Love you always,
Mom

So long Fishy, Hello Seymore

So a while ago I posted we got a fish right before we left for Europe in June. Kael named him Fishy. We grew attached to Fishy the Fish. We revived him several times and brought him back to the living. Only just sometimes, but live he did. Then, one day I walked into Kael's room and Fishy was stuck head down in his castle. I thought for sure he was dead. He wasn't moving and it was weird and gross actually. I didn't know what to do, so I left him like that until Derek got home from the hospital. Derek used his man skills and got Fishy unstuck and low and behold he was alive! He got really scratched up and was not looking so good. We couldn't decide if we should end his poor life to save him grief. However, Fishy lived on. He is one tough fish.

Well, that was about two weeks before Elara came. Elara came and poor Fishy got neglected again... His tank got gross and he wasn't being fed a whole lot. Yet, live again he did. I got home from the hospital and decided his tank needed a little TLC and that it was time to take better care of Fishy. Well I got the cleaning stuff in the kitchen and started emptying the tank and my drugged up self forgot to take Fishy out of the tank before I dumped the water. Yes... I flushed Fishy down the sink...

So, after panicking because I told the kids what I was doing I decided we needed an emergency trip to petco. Thankfully Derek got home around 3, thank you psych rotation and I made him explain the situation to the kids and off we went. Kael's interpretation: "Fishy went to live with Heavenly Father, and Heavenly Father is going to take care of him and give him medicine. Now, I get to go get a new fish!"

He insisted on a red fish, so we got another Beta. Derek listed several names of what to name him, and Kael insisted on "Seymore". So, that's the story.

I'm still in shock about what I did, and still feel horrible. Thankfully the kids didn't seem to mind. They were just excited for a trip to petco. Probably not the first time I do something stupid like this and probably not the last... Anyway, I will miss Fishy even though he made me so mad about his health situation and I just wanted to flush him so many times, I just felt horrible that I was the one to end his life with HOT water down a drain... Oh well. Life goes on. 

AND, Seymore is such a more lively fish and I don't want to curse at him, so I think if I can get over killing my kids first pet, it was actually a fun and good thing.

Ok, I'll stop now.

Goodbye Fishy, Welcome Seymore!

Elara at 2 1/2 Weeks

Elara has been such a good baby so far! She came out crying, which made me know she would be alright and has been a champ at eating. Things to remember about this sweet girl. She spits up as much as Kael... She has started burping really good for me, but she still will spit up after a while. I think it is because she came early, but who knows she could just be a baby that spits up a lot. She goes anywhere from 2 to 4 hours between eating. Usually it is right around 3 though, and does this through the night. She is finally eating and going back to sleep fairly well at night. There were a couple days where she just wanted to be up at night after she ate. She is still super super tiny. At her two week check up she was 19.5 inches and 6 lbs 8 oz. She gained about 10 oz in a little over a week! She loves eating. She is already giving me blow out diapers! I thought I had a while before this happened, but nope, she is a good pooper too. She is definitely her own person just like Kael and Eden were. Kael had blonde hair when he was born and Eden had dark brown... Well, at least the tiny amount of hair they had. Elara's tiny bit of hair is in between. It is kind of blonde on top and darker on the back. She is a mixture of Kael and Eden. Most people say she looks more like Kael. I just say each of my kids have come looking exactly like them. She has been a joy! Kael and Eden love her so much. They ask to hold her and don't pester her too much. They might touch her head softly or put a blanket on her, but they always ask when they want to hold her. She fits right in with our crazy little family and we are all in love with her. It is hard imagining life without her now even though she has only been here 2 1/2 short weeks. We are so grateful she is here and safe and healthy! We all love you Elara! Thanks for joining our family!

Playing with Grammy

Kael and Eden sure loved playing with Grammy while Mommy was indisposed. They did a lot of dress up games, tea parties, and lots and lots of fun games and activities to keep them busy. We were sure glad to have our Grammy around to help take care of the kiddos and play with them!

 A policeman and a dinosaur!

 A Princess and Iron Man! 

 Little chefs eating pudding.

What We Did Before Elara Came

So, I had mentioned that we went to This is the place Heritage Park before Elara came. We tried to do as much together as a family of 4 that we could. We have been venturing out besides the horse rides and petting animals. We found a small train to ride, panned for gold, traded the gold for candy at the bank, AND the kids got their first shave. It was too funny. They thought it was pretty neat and loved talking to this old man. He was so nice to the kids and it was just a fun time. I'm glad we got season passes because we will be back again and again when Elara and the weather permit it.

We also got discounted tickets to a dinosaur park in Ogden. It was totally worth the drive. The kids love dinosaurs and we got to see them life size! They were huge and I would totally not want to see one in real life. It was fun to walk around and see all the different dinosaurs and the kids had a blast. We then went to McDonald's for lunch and the kids got ice cream cones for the first real time. They always let them melt usually so I never let them actually get a cone. Eden knew exactly what to do and loved it, and Kael loved it, but he never finishes his ice cream, he just can't be left out though. :) 

October 9, 2012 Elara's First Bath and a Bike Ride

 My Helpers.

 Don't let her face fool you, she LOVED her bath. Not a single tear shed, nor whimper or anything. Mostly just cooing noises. All hands were on deck because big brother and big sister were super excited to help out. Elara is loved soooo much at our home!

Kael and Eden got bikes for becoming big brother and big sister. They love riding around outside and are really good at it. I haven't mentioned the two big kids a whole lot lately. Elara has been taking up a lot of my time. They have been the best helpers and have loved having their Grammy here to take care of them. Grammy left yesterday and we were sad to see her go. Getting to go outside and ride bikes helped make them a little happier. Kael is starting at a new preschool next week and I hope I can keep up with it. It is 8 to 11 Monday through Thursday and I hope I can get up and going, get all 3 kids and myself ready in time to get him there. It's a big change and 4 days a week instead of 2 will be a hard adjustment for us all, but it will be good for the boy. Eden is stuck in the middle and I'm trying like crazy to make sure her needs are met. She is my emotional child and is craving attention. She loves her sister and has been doing amazing with her. I'm so grateful for the two big kids. They make having a baby more fun. We are hoping to get back in our groove over this next week. We will see how it goes. Derek is working as hard as ever at his psych rotation. It has been sooooo helpful that he is on psych and has somewhat decent hours. We couldn't have been more blessed. We all our loving our Elara and the life changes that have come with her. 

Lots of pictures of Elara's first days

I just want to write about how much I love my Derek! He has been the best husband and father we could have ever asked for. He has been there for us every step! And by golly he looks good as a doctor! We are so lucky to have him and we all love him so much!

 Mom meets Elara. Can I just say holding a baby while you are on an operating table is actually quite nerve wracking... It was a precious moment though.

 All cleaned up.

 In recovery now.

 Dad and his 3 kiddos!

 Derek is the best Dad!

 Eden enjoying the first moments of being a big sister. Hopefully it lasts a lifetime. :)

 Elara's hair was a fuzz ball the first day. She had to wait 24 hours to have a bath. She did love getting that hair washed. Not the rest of the bath though.

 Dad loving his new baby girl.

 First family photo of 5!

 Grammy and Grampster meet Elara.

We are so grateful for all the help they have given us over the last plus week! It has been a roller coaster and we couldn't have done it without them!

 Kael meets Elara. It has been so precious because he used to hug my belly and say, "I love baby Elara so much!" Now he keeps telling us how she isn't in my tummy and has to hug her and tell her the same thing. He is the best big brother and his sisters are lucky to have him!

 Eden is loving being a big sister and is so good with Elara already.

We are so in love with Elara! We love having her in our family! She really has rocked our world and we wouldn't have it any other way! Love you so much Elara!