Ten on Tuesday

1. Henry turned 2 months on Sunday. I know it is not a huge moment but he actually looks bigger to me. We will find out true statistics tomorrow at his check up.
                    Height - 21 1/4 inches
                    Weight - 10 lbs

 I think this is my favorite photo ever!

2. today I turned in the rest of the paper work to officially enroll Jeffrey in Kindergarten. So crazy that I will have 3 in school next year.

3. Soccer. this past weekend we got our equipment for our soccer teams (Chris is coaching U8 and I am coaching U6). Practice starts tonight. my kids are so excited. I'm hoping that the practices go a lot fast being a coach than as a parent wrestling kids on the sideline.

4. Friday night my wonderful visiting teacher brought over the new Muppet movie for us to watch. We loved it!! oh why can't they make more wonderful movies like that.

5. Another thing I learned this week is that Spring break is long :) We had a good time and tried to keep the kids busy with cleaning and then rewarded with some activity. like the Library, swimming at the Y, Daddy dates. It was a great week but I must say everyone was ready for things to go back to normal on Monday.

6. Saturday morning after Chris and I went to an exercise class we got the older 4 out of the child watch and then played some basketball with them. What a great time. Needless to say later that day we went and bought our own ball and Will is in heaven.

7. Jeffrey's birthday was Wednesday. We had dinner of his choice stakes and mashed potatoes. then Thursday we were supposed to play at the park with some of his friends but thanks to the rain that didn't happen. He was a great sport and we are so happy he has been in our family for 5 years!

8. Friday morning we scored!!!! while driving to the Y we saw 2 bikes on the side of the road that said free. I stopped of course being the scavenger I am. one is for me and the other is for Annmarie. All they need are new tubes. Plus we got a bike trailer. so excited for all the new possibilities.

9. I might have help this summer while Chris is gone!! yeah so excited for that!

10. Last night during Family Home Evening Annmarie and Will bore their testimonies of the gospel. Such a great memory.

Happy Birthday Jeffrey!

Jeffrey is such a Happy kid, except when he decides to not be :). I cannot believe it has been 5 years. One of Chris's favorite stories of him is when we went to Seattle to visit the Allen's. Kris my sister kicked us out of the house for 24 hours (without kids) when Jeffrey was about 3-4 months. It was great to get out.  Jeffrey had been a bit of a fussy, crying baby the last few weeks. When we got back it was quiet. Jeffrey had eaten an entire big jar of Apple sauce. Apparently I was not feeding him enough. Since that day he has been our eater. When he is full he is a very happy boy.
I love to see Jeffrey with babies. He loves them and turns into a sweet boy. He loves to sing I am a child of God to any crying baby. He loves to hold Henry. He loves to help sweep the floor, mop (with a sponge), and do dishes (or play in the water). Jeffrey is truly a sweet child. When he prays he truly prays for what is on his mind. It may range from let us play to Wii today to bless Henry to sleep so mom will not be grumpy. He gives wonderful hugs, and his smile is so wonderful! I love Jeffrey and am so happy he is in our family


Some of Jeffrey's favorites (as told to me this morning)
Food - Chicken nuggets (cold or hot) Stake, Popcorn chicken
Songs - Happy Birthday, twinkle twinkle
Games - Life, Candyland
Wii - Harry Potter, Mario Cart, Wii sports, Wii play, Wii, resorts, Lego batman
Computer - PBS, Lego, Disney
Things to do - Daddy dates the most!

Ten on Tuesday

 1. This is a carry over from last week. Here is Jed refusing to eat. He is getting better. Thank goodness.

 2. I know that it is fuzzy but you can tell that Henry is smiling! I love his smile. he has a huge dimple on his left cheek and another smaller one on his right. Such a cute cute baby

3. The weather has been absolutely beautiful this past week or so. So this has been happening lots. play out side. Love this neighborhood. Love that my kids all have people here they love to play with.

4. I am not a very festive person with most holidays. So When I busted out the green food coloring for the pancakes the kids were excited. Happy St Patrick's day. Jeffrey kept asking me if we could celebrate Will's middle name. love that kid.

5. Chris and I got to go do sealings on Saturday. it was so nice to go to the temple together! Love being in the temple and love it even more with Chris.

6. Spring break started on Friday. We have been doing chores, playing outside, playing inside, playing with friends, and going to the Y. Hopefully the rain lets us play outside for Jeffrey's birthday.

7. I have never been able to get Will to really enjoy reading (like the way Annmarie does). I have figured out what he likes to read (at least for now). He is all about the Non-Fiction books. He loves hard facts and learning new things. Hope this continues for a long time!

8. I took a break from this post to take the kids to a new park. They love to pose for photos. . .

9. Jeffrey and Annmarie found the mud. . . I really  didn't care since we had no place to be

He had just fallen here. I think he was trying to see how far his legs would go.

 Jed thought he was so dirty. from the moment he go his feet muddy he kept asking to go home. 

10. We are almost certain that Chris will be spending the summer working ( well I guess interning would be a better word since there is no pay). in Arizona. We have not yet told the kids since there is no need to get them sad until we know for absolute certain. we are so thankful for the opportunity he has to work, but we will miss him lots.

Ten on Tuesday

1. trying to think of what happened this past week. . . oh yeah the weather has been beautiful the last few days. we have spent so much time out doors. I think I have a little sun burn on my nose.

2. Mud puddle - we have this massive mud puddle behind our house. I hate it! the kids cannot keep away from it. you would think it would have dried up with no rain for a few days but nope. I think it is just getting bigger! argh.

3. Tonight was a Kindergarten info meeting. I cannot believe that Jeffrey will soon be in Kindergarten. when did I get old enough to have 3 kids in school!

4. Thursday I had parent teacher conference's with Will and Annmarie's teachers. I am so proud of my kids and all their hard work.

5. Friday and Saturday turned into massive cleaning days. For those who truly know me you know I cannot stand to clean. I must say things looked great Saturday. they still look good now too. I have actually enjoyed spending 5 - 10 min each night cleaning to have a clean kitchen and family room. Hopefully I stay this way.

6. We had new home teachers ( 2 men from our church that are supposed to come monthly and share a gospel message, and make sure we are doing ok) come over Sunday night. I am so happy to have Home teachers. We have always been so blessed to have great home teachers.

7. We have a had a rough few days with Jed this past week. I always knew he was stubborn but he is way too stubborn! He has issues eating food he doesn't like. To the point that 3 times now he has not eaten dinner and was sent to bed, then woke up and was offered what he didn't eat for dinner for breakfast. Let's just say 1 of those times it took him way way way too long to eat it. Hopefully 3rd time is a charm and he will now realize that eating dinner at night is much better than eating it for breakfast.

8. So thankful I have a husband who recognized that I need a break and kicked me out of the house for an hour tonight.

9. We filled out our brackets and are getting ready for march madness. love this time of year.

10. I have been going to the gym for a full week now and am soooo out of shape. I am happy to be back and hope some "progress" will be seen.

Ten on Tuesday

 1. Have I mentioned how much my kids love Henry? They cannot get enough of him.

2. the other day I was searching for library books and I went into Annmarie's room. Here is her lovely decorated bed.

 

 here is what is underneath and to the side of it.

 I think she likes to read :)

3. speaking of Annmarie she wants to have hair like Rapunzel.  She has longer hair now than I think I ever did in my life. (sorry it is crooked)

4. Henry is in 0-3 month clothes!!! 6 weeks in NB clothes. I never thought that was possible.

 

5. our first family photo. I cannot believe I have 5 kids! I still feel like I'm 20. oh well someday I better realize that I am not a newlywed couple anymore :)

 

6. Sunday was a very special day. Chris had the opportunity to give Henry a name and a blessing during church. I am so thankful that I have a worthy priesthood holder in my house that can do this. Words truly cannot express how thankful I am for him and his goodness.

7, We had a fun visit from Grandpa Scott. The kids loved having him around. Henry really enjoyed "talking" to him.

 

 

8. I was able to start going back to working out yesterday. oh man it will be a long road back. I am so sore after 2 classes. I can tell the difference and am so happy to be exercising and getting the "high" that comes from that.

9. We tried a new soup this past week and we all love it!! I think this will be a weekly meal for a while. 

10. We have spent most of today outside because it is 71 out there!!! it is crazy windy but still it is 71. I love love love spring. It is such a beautiful season.

Ten on Tuesday

1. I love this photo. Mostly because you can still see how small Henry is. But also because it has Chris in it too. :)

 

2. Friday I seemed to have energy, not sure why but this is what I did.

 Can't tell what I did? well I cleaned my kitchen. There is usually "stuff" all over the counters etc. It was great it stayed clean until Sunday afternoon. Apparently the energy has left me and I have not gotten it back to that state yet.

3. Henry became a whole month old on Saturday. here are some photos of him at 1 month.

 I weighed him on the scale at the Y today (super accurate I'm sure) and he came in at 7.5 lbs. So he is actually growing. despite still being in newborn clothes.

4. Jeffrey has his super sweet moments. I think he only shows them to me and babies. He keeps telling me when he grows up he will . . . it ranges each day and mostly it includes something that we have now (ie Wii) he will play then too. Love his logic.

5. I taught my first lesson on Sunday in gospel doctrine. It was a tad bit scary but hopefully I will get better at it.

6. This past week the youngest 3 and I went to the Hill's house. it was so nice to see them and play there. My kids had a blast and I realized how much I missed them!

7. 3 of my siblings and some friends ran a Ragnar this past weekend. It really made me miss running. I can't believe that I said that. I have 1 more week than exercise is back in my life!!! I can't wait.

8. on Sunday night Henry slept from 9:30 to 5:30!!!! oh it was wonderful, I awoke at 4:38 panicking but was soon calmed when I went to his room. Needless to say I wish this would last but I know it will not. But 1 night is great right.

9. It seems like we are all back into the normal swing of things here. life is going as we think it should be. The only different thing is I am struggling to get out of bed in the mornings.

10. continuing with #9 Chris has been so wonderful. He gets up at 5 to exercise. then because he knows I'm so tired makes the kids breakfast (those that are up), makes sure prayers are said then heads to school. At night he will come home do the dishes, clean up, put the kids to bed and help with Henry until our very late bedtime of 8:30/9pm. that is right we are party animals. I don't know how I would be able to do it without him. I don't think I would and I am so thankful for him and the wonderful man that he is and how much he spoils me. Thanks Chris you are the best!

Ten on Tuesday

So I can't get photos to upload. . . bummer

1. the first full week of reality (no outside help) was not as terrible as I thought. Chris has turned a blind eye to my terrible housekeeping skills and has stepped up to help me out. Thanks Chris you are amazing!

2. I still cannot get over the kindness that we have been shown by the wonderful people in our new ward. People keep giving us clothes, diapers, etc. Such a wonderful blessing

3. I started walking around the track at the Y. Henry is riding in the baby carrier and loves it. I am happy to be moving again, and I love it. 2 more weeks than I can actually go to my classes again!

4. While I was feeding Henry one day Jed decided he couldn't wait for me to get him food. He got out the bag of Marshmallow maties and dumped a bunch on the floor. He proceeded to eat only the marshmallow's. Love that kid.

5. Chris has started playing basketball one night a week with the men from our ward. I'm pretty sure he enjoys it. I'm happy he gets a chance to go out exercise and meet new people.

6. My new calling is the Gospel Doctrine teacher. (teaching the adults about the scriptures). yeah trying to figure out why I got this one. Hopefully I learn enough to teach those in the ward.

7. Chris took the kids upstairs for a game after Family Home Evening last night. They played steal the bacon. I loved hearing the cries of laughter and the cries on "that's not fair" coming down the stairs.

8. Saturday night we went swimming at the Y. well Chris and the older 4. I watched from the side with Henry. It is so nice to have a place for them to go. Plus the kids had a blast.

9. Henry has been great. he has moved to feeding every 4 hours during the day and occasionally gives me a 5 hour stretch at night. I'm so lucky. Thanks Henry for being such a great baby.

10. I have been trying to spend more time with the kids. A few nights this week I have been able to read them stories in their bedroom at night. Love it and it makes them going to bed so much easier.

Ten on Tuesday

1. my mom!!! she left yesterday morning. Life is somewhat normal, as normal can be after a new baby, but I would be no where close to where I am without her help the last 1 1/2 weeks. I got more sleep than I can ever remember and I was told to do nothing to I could recover quicker. So thankful for her and her willingness to help me out!

2. Daddy Daughter Valentines tea party. Our neighbor across the street set up this way cute date. Annmarie was so excited! she asked for hours before if it was time to go. I even busted out my curling iron and curled her hair (it made me wish I kept my hot rollers). They had a blast. Love that we have friends that do cute things like this.

I love her crazy smile!

this photo will be one of my favorites forever!

3. Henry is weighing about 7lbs. clothed. I cannot believe that he is getting so big, although he still seems tiny tiny tiny.

Love his face

4. YMCA- I have been taking the boys to their classes and today I walked for a bit around the track. It is amazing how good you feel after just walking. I was good and did not walk fast, or for too long. I am so glad we have a place where the kids can go a run crazy for a little while and get out there craziness.

5. Today a friend from the YMCA gave me 4 target bags filled with newborn and 0-3 month clothes. Love this, since Henry is so tiny that he still fits into those

6. Chris and I were able to do a session in the temple together! My mom watched the older 4 at home while we swapped Henry for 4 kids. Their parents did sealing's and we did a session. I love the temple and love the feeling I feel while I am there.

7. I was extended a new calling on Sunday. It seems that whenever I tell my mom what the calling is she laughs. I guess that I am being stretched in ways I didn't think I would.

8. I am so blessed with such kind friends. They come pick up my kids to play, they shovel my walk, and they let me kids pay with theirs. just so I can have a break. So lucky.

9. Upcoming dates - we will be blessing Henry on March 4th. and Will will be getting baptized on November 3rd. Just in case you happen to be in town on those days we'd love to have you join us. (right who wants to come to Iowa when it is cold).

10. I have realized lately that we are truly blessed. sometimes I think we over look how blessed we are, and I am so glad I can see some of it.