The Hopkins Family

Funny, Funny

2012-01-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

I have been saving some of the funny things my kids have been doing/saying over the couple months. There have been tons more that I wish I had saved, but forgot to write down in time. Oh well, this is at least a few.

Samantha to Paul: "Hey Paul, can I tell you a secret? You're a boy, I'm a girl. Boys get drinks for girls."
Paul had to fill out what he was thankful for for preschool. I couldn't undertsand the word he said (I thought he said teachers) so he started describing the person. "He is a guy with a blue hat. He took care of the dinosaurs. No, he's not on t.v. He lives REALLY, REALLY, REALLY far away. No we can't visit him. No we don't know him. Yes I've met him, he took care of me before you were my mom. I finally figured out he was talking about Jesus (blue hat?). It was sweet that that was what he wanted to put down that he was thankful for. Only Jesus and Lily. No the rest of our family was not included.
We were doing a family home evening on gratitude and Samantha was in charge. I helped her make a turkey with a lot of feathers. The feathers were to write things we were grateful for on. When asked what the lesson was on Sammi responded, "finding feathers to put on turkeys." I think she missed the point a little.
Paul was not listening the other day when it was time to eat lunch. He kept getting off his chair and messing around. I finally got frustrated and said "Paul, for the love, would you get on your chair and eat your lunch?" He responded..."I WILL eat my lunch you mean mom."
On my birthday Paul told me "Mom, Lily's really cute, and I'm cute but you're not cute. You're old. You're like thousand, but I still love ya." Nice.

Back in the Game

2012-01-24T18:46:00.005-07:00

Ever since the new year I have finally felt like my life is smooth enough that I can start getting into more crafts/doing more than just trying to keep up with the laundry. All of my Christmas crafts felt like a lot of work and were things that I felt I needed to get done rather than things that I just decided to make. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that just before that Lily started sleeping through the night. That means I don't feel like I need to nap during nap time anymore and basically just have a lot more energy. One thing I'm trying to do in addition to just making more is having 1-2 fun, out of the ordinary, activities a week. One this past week was "frog night." We had frog apples, PB&J on frog bread, and frog treats. The kids loved the apples and treats but I think the bread kind of freaked them out so they wouldn't eat it! Oh well, at least they had fun.

The apples

The bread, yes it is totally deformed, but that is only partially my fault. The tutorial that I saw MONTHS ago that I wanted to try was taken down the day I decided to make this, so I just had to make it up as I went along. I needed the instructions.

The frog treat. I think it looks a lot more like an alien than a frog, but you get the idea.

A dress/headband I made Lily out of an old shirt of mine that had a hole in it.

A black version of the same dress (I had two of the same t-shirts both with holes).

One of the many bows/flowers I have recently made for Lily...there was no way I was paying someone else $10.50 to make that. It only cost me $0.37

93

2012-01-24T18:28:00.001-07:00

We had my grandfather up last weekend to celebrate his birthday...93! He is amazing and I can only hope that I am in half the shape he's in when I'm 50. He went out to California recently to visit his daughter and her children/grandchildren. My cousin remarked that he went on rides at Knotts Berry Farm that even she wouldn't go on. His goal is to live to be 100 and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he makes it. In fact, he is part of a program at his church (similar to home teaching/visiting teaching) where you are assigned to visit some elderly people who are in need of company. He is not one of those that is visited, but rather the one giving the service (to an "elderly gentleman of 87" he tells me). Anyway, he has always been enthralled by my kids, especially Samantha. When we would visit when she was a baby he would tell me over and over "she is so alert!" Paul has also taken a shine to him and even when he was shy of EVERYONE..to the point where he would lie on the floor and scream in the grocery store if anyone tried to talk to him. When we would go down for lunch he would take Granddad's hand without any prompting and would sit and talk to him. Well, he has recently taken quite a shine to the newest addition to the family. He adores Lily. Every time she would smile he would talk about how he couldn't believe she would keep smiling at him, and how she was just the happiest baby. It is always nice when someone loves your kids as much as you do, so it was fun to watch him interact with her. Here are a couple pictures from the night (as well as one old one thrown in of he and Samantha playing at his house about 2 years ago).

Sammi and Granddad playing on his porch.

The picture doesn't do it justice

Lily at 4 1/2 Months

2012-01-06T08:58:00.002-07:00

She is still SO very happy. I get at least 5 comments a day from people about how she is the happiest baby they've seen. She will smile at people all the time. In fact, at King Soopers a couple days ago, they forgot to ring up half my order because they were so busy talking to Lily.
She is VERY loved by Samantha. From the moment Sammi wakes up she is asking to hold/kiss/be with Lily. Samantha is probably the one that Lily will smile at the most.
She is rolling over from her tummy to her back. She is close to doing it the other way, but hasn't quite figured it out yet.
She doesn't laugh much. We've only gotten those deep belly laughs a couple times.
She likes to talk. She will coo at anyone who will sit and talk to her.
She doesn't seem to have any teeth anywhere near coming in.
She sleeps 12 hours through the night! Woo hoo!
She is really consistent at her 1-3 or 1-4 nap, but the rest of the day is a little more hit or miss on timing.
She can easily get herself to sleep now.
She can hold on to her own toys now, which makes playing with her a little easier.
She no longer uses her swing, she has just gotten too big.
At her 4 month check she weighed 12 lbs 11 oz (30%). To give a comparison, Paul was almost 17 lbs.
She remains as sweet and loved as she was the day she was born.

Oh Canada!

2012-01-03T12:55:00.002-07:00

My parents are currently serving a mission for our church in Vancouver, B.C. For Christmas they sent the kids some Canada jerseys. Paul keeps walking around the house saying "Oh Canana! Oh Canana!"

A Very Merry Christmas

2011-12-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

This year's Christmas was a little different with my parents being gone on their mission. It was the first time I haven't spent Christmas (even if it was a fake Christmas a day before) with them. Luckily Kate and Jonathan were able to come out and so we were able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the majority of Adam's family. The main activities were presents and eating. Christmas Eve was primarily spent making and eating gyoza, a delicious Japanese food. The kids also got to open their traditional pj's on Christmas Eve. Samantha was especially excited that she and Lily matched. Christmas morning we opened our stockings, presents from Santa, and our presents from Stacy with the Lee's. Then we had to hustle and get ready for church where we were able to focus a little more on the real meaning of Christmas (only a little because the rest of the focus was on not killing our sweet kids who were all hopped up on Christmas candy). After church we headed down to the Hopkins' to finish opening presents. After lunch we headed back up to our house for naps and dinner. The day was also apparently filled with not the best pictures. Either my kids weren't looking or they wouldn't smile normally. Also, the camera was on the wrong setting for our pictures before church so they are blurry. Oh well!

PJ's with a freaky looking Lily

Samantha looking goofy with her favorite present

Paul sporting his new safety goggles that came with his tool set.

The best of the bunch

A Homemade Christmas

2011-12-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

Last year I decided that I was tired of buying presents for my kids that would break or get lost within days. So, the past two years I have handmade all my gifts for my kids as well as for everyone else on my list. Although it took A LOT of time and the week before Christmas I swore this was the last year I am happy with the way everything turned out. I think I will still do it next year, but aim to have everything made before Thanksgiving. That way I can enjoy the holidays without so many projects on my list. I failed to take pictures of many of the things that I made, but here are a few...

This was actually pre Christmas, but I made it so I'm counting it :)

A more delicious version (a caramel, chocolate, toffee version) of an apple for the teacher.

These were a big hit.

A calendar/menu planner that I copied from "A Girl and a Glue Gun." I actually made four, but this is the only picture I have. By the way, I want be Kim from that blog, she is amazing.

The chocolates (this is only the bottom layer of the box)

A desk for the car. Paul's is blue. To be fair, only the idea of this (and not even this final version) was mine. The majority of the credit goes to my amazing father-in-law who built these for the kids. It is already a huge hit with Samantha.

There were also a variety of small toys that were quick and simple, other smaller gifts that I cannot remember at the moment, calendars (with the help of snapfish.com and mixbook.com), and a book for my mom and dad with letters and pictures from each of their kids and grand kids. All the work paid off and I felt like the presents were a success and definitely more meaningful.

The 25 Days of Christmas

2011-12-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

Two years ago we decided to add activities to our advent calendar. I know a lot of people do this, but I had never heard of it before so I was pretty excited. It turned out to be one of our favorite parts of Christmas that year so we have continued to do it. Many of the activities were things that we would do anyway, but somehow having it in the calendar made it more fun for them. I was really bad at remembering to take pictures but I thought I'd still jot down a few of the ones that were a little different and that the kids especially enjoyed...

Getting a new REALLY soft blanket to watch movies in and then watching a Christmas movie as a family. I got a really good deal on the blankets during my black Friday shopping. It was fun to give that gift early since it spread things out a bit. The kids were excited to open something and I know having the blankets that early made them more special since they weren't competing with Barbies and Legos.
Getting a new board game to play as a family. Paul is really getting into board games so it was a great activity and one we have done many times since.
Making graham cracker houses. Although not too original, my kids had a great time. The last few years I have bought kits right after Christmas to use the following year. That has meant that my kids had to share. They both preferred the graham crackers since they each got to do their own. (The pictures are not great)

On a side note, notice the shirt? It was Adam's when he was little and is now Paul's favorite. Also, Paul insists on having ALL his buttons buttoned on every shirt. Nice huh?

One thing we didn't actually get around to doing but I thought sounded like a lot of fun was writing a Christmas story as a family. Each person would say a sentence or two and then "pass" it to someone else. I was planning on writing it down, having the kids illustrate it and then adding it to our Christmas book collection. Oh well, there's always next year.
Making candy. My great Aunt Shirley taught me how to make DELICIOUS chocolates. They are a lot of work and each time I do them I swear that I am not doing it again, but they turn out so great that I seem to keep doing it the next year. The kids had fun helping with the centers, but I wouldn't let them help dip.

There were a lot of other activities (like hot chocolate bar, making cookies for Santa, etc.) but these were our favorites of 2011.

All Smiles

2011-11-23T08:34:00.001-07:00

I am not quite sure how we survived before Lily. There is just something so sweet and wonderful about having a baby at home, especially this baby. The kids absolutely love her and want to spend as much time as they can with her. That is especially nice since it feels like they can't go 15 min without fighting with each other. It doesn't hurt that Lily almost never cries unless she's hungry or tired and that she smiles ALL the time. All she has to do is hear one of us talking and she'll start grinning. It' s sweet when I go in for the middle of the night feeding (which she's starting to phase out), as soon as I come in the room and turn on the light she'll start grinning at me. In fact, sometimes it's difficult to feed her because she won't stop smiling. If I knew that I could have more babies exactly like this, and that they would never grow into teenagers, I'd have 20 more kids. I remember Paul being very similar. He was a sweet, sweet baby and then at around 7 months when he started teething he turned into a devil child. I guess the 7 months of sweetness was to make sure I really loved him before he became so difficult. Hopefully Lily doesn't follow the same pattern. Lily has also started cooing and likes to respond when you talk to her. I haven't taken too many pictures of her smiling, but I thought I'd share a few...

The First Real Snow of the Year

2011-11-08T12:43:00.003-07:00

Last Wednesday we got about a foot of snow. The kids had a great time playing outside. Unfortunately we weren't quick enough on the snow blowing and the driveway ended up a sheet of ice. It was a royal pain getting out. Luckily it melted pretty quickly and we are now ready for the next storm.

A Witch, Spider-man, and a Cow

2011-11-08T12:39:00.002-07:00

I love Halloween. I didn't used to like it at all...the creepy decorations, the spiders and skeletons, basically the whole idea of Halloween just wasn't my thing. Now that I have kids though, I love it. I still don't like the creepy aspect of the holiday, but I love seeing my kids in cute costumes having a great time with all the festivities. It also signifies the beginning of the holiday season. I know once we are getting close to Halloween that Thanksgiving and Christmas aren't too far behind.

This year Paul and Samantha both wanted to be spider-man. Then Samantha wanted to be a black cat, then a purple cat, then spider-man again, then...you get the idea. I found a witch costume at a garage sale so that's what she ended up being. I pushed her a little into it because otherwise I knew that on Halloween she would change her mind again and we'd be left without a costume. Luckily she was happy with it in the end. Paul never wavered from wanting to be spider-man and has already decided to be the same thing next year. We'll see. Lily fit into the same cow costume that both Samantha and Paul used. She was darling and looked a lot like Samantha. Here are all three kids in the same costume...

Lily

Samantha

Paul

We also carved pumpkins on Sunday and went trick or treating around Kevin and Holly's neighborhood with the kids' cousins.

The "boy team"

Samantha drawing her face. I helped, but since I am taking the picture, I'm not in it.

When I asked Paul, "what does spider-man do?" This was what he showed me

This was after it was explained that he shoots webs from his wrists

Interviews

2011-10-26T10:31:00.001-06:00

I've decided to "interview" the kids every so often so I can remember what they sound like at certain ages. I wish I had started sooner, it's fun to see how cute they are.

Great Granddad

2011-10-26T10:13:00.003-06:00

We went down to have dinner with my grandfather earlier this week. He was excited to see Lily and it was fun to watch him with her.

Granddad and Lily

The kids in a cool old barber's chair. I remember playing in this when I was little.

He's so OLD!

2011-10-26T10:09:00.001-06:00

I am officially married to an old man, Adam turned 30! Okay, it's not old at all but I remember being in college and thinking that 30 sounded forever away and that when Adam and I got there we'd have life all figured out. HA! Little did I know Adam would still be in school we'd be living in my parents' house with my sister, and we would still be living on student loans. The only thing that's changed is we have 3 kids. Man, on paper our life doesn't look so hot. Adam's birthday was pretty low key, but it was nice. I think the kids were more excited than he was about celebrating. They wanted to make him a chocolate cake (he bought a key lime pie for himself) that they decorated. After we sang and had a piece of cake we put the kids to bed and had a couple good friends over for dinner. We are actually celebrating this weekend...Adam and I are leaving the kids while we go to an Avs game and stay up in Denver for the night. It will be great to get away, we haven't had a date without Lily since she came home from the hospital.

Just Life and Lily's Stats

2011-10-26T09:56:00.002-06:00

I have had many requests to post some updated pictures of our little Lily bean. Samantha and I have taken to calling her bean more often than Lily, we'll see how long that lasts. These are just some fun pictures we've taken over the last few weeks. I also thought I'd post Lily's stats from her last two doctors appointments.

1 month stats:

20 1/2 in (38th percentile)

8 lb 4 oz (23rd percentile)

2 month stats:

22 1/8 in (51st percentile)

10 lbs 3 oz (34th percentile)

We have the greatest kids. I am amazed at how easy the transition (so far) to three kids has been. Lily is wonderful and the other two are really helpful and wonderful with her. It isn't to say there hasn't been problems...I still get stressed when Lily wakes up in the middle of the night more than once and wonder if that is going to become a regular occurrence. It still bothers me that she takes her main nap in her swing every day (I wonder if she'll be able to transition to her crib okay) but I'm willing to let her because it means she'll sleep for a solid 2-3 hours at the same time as Paul. It was a rough decision to bottle feed because at two weeks she was only 6 lbs 10oz and wasn't getting enough to eat. It's also been a challenge finding a routine with both Samantha and Paul in school and Lily, but I think we've got it figured out. For the most part, these things have been minor and I've just been so happy to have Lily in our home. As you can tell from the pictures, Paul and Samantha are equally happy to have her here.

Paul showing Lily all the features of her baby gym

Paul was more excited than Lily to be so close

Just one Sunday after church

Samantha wants to hold/kiss/love Lily ALL the time. All the time. Luckily she does a pretty good job and is able to pick Lily up from the ground and put her back down safely. She's not allowed to stand up with her though.

Grammie with Lily

Newborn Pictures

2011-10-03T18:23:00.001-06:00

My friend Kelly took these AMAZING pictures of Lily and the kids. I am so, so glad that we had them done.

Lily at Six Weeks

2011-10-03T18:20:00.002-06:00

Since Lily is changing so fast I figure I'd better document what she's like now before I forget.

She typically goes to bed at 8:00, wakes up at 3:30 to eat, and then is up for the day around 7:00. She isn't as consistent as either of my other kids were by 6 weeks, but is still doing well.
Takes one or two naps in the morning (short ones), a long nap from about 1:00-4:00, and one more short nap in the evening.
I can put her in her bed awake and she'll usually get herself to sleep. Sometimes she cries as she's falling asleep, but usually she's quiet.
She's a happy baby and doesn't cry too often but when she does it goes from zero to sixty instantly. She doesn't ever fuss, she is either screaming or quiet.
She started smiling one day before she turned 1 month.
At her one month check up she weighed 8 lbs 4 oz and was 20 1/2 in long.
She smiles more at me and Samantha, probably because of our high voices. The only times she smiles at Adam is when he talks in an unusually high pitched voice.
She is getting much better at controlling her head and can hold it up for few seconds when she's on her tummy.
She is happy and very loved by everyone in our family!

Butterflies

2011-10-03T17:07:00.001-06:00

One day this summer Paul came inside with a caterpillar on his shirt. Since then the kids were obsessed with caterpillars and trying to find more. Of course we couldn't find any...I have no idea where that first one came from. So, we decided to buy a butterfly habitat that included a certificate to order caterpillars. They were not nearly as cute as the green one that we found on our own, but the kids had a great time watching them turn into butterflies. Last week we were finally ready to release them. They are already asking to start the whole process over, but I think we'll wait until next summer to do it again. Paul wasn't really interested in the release, but he did love watching them the rest of the time.

First Day of School

2011-10-03T17:02:00.000-06:00

Lily's Blessing

2011-10-03T16:52:00.000-06:00

We did Lily's blessing the Sunday after we came home since my mom was there. Adam's parents were also there, Lauren and Caity, and my Aunt Nanette. Adam's dad was the one that performed the blessing. Unfortunately Paul was talking to me during a good portion of the blessing so I missed some of what was said. Lily was perfect though and didn't cry a bit. I did get a lot of comments about how quickly I'd come back to church. We didn't really have a choice if we wanted my mom there...otherwise I would have been home in bed!

She looks thrilled about being held by Paul

Lily and I, unfortunately I didn't get one of her and Adam

Little Miss Lily

2011-10-03T16:46:00.000-06:00

Well, I think we are finally getting into a routine with our newest member of the family. It's definitely been an adjustment but she's been such a sweet baby and it's already hard to imagine life without her. It's easy to forget just how tiny babies are as newborns.

The first week and a half were crazy. She was born on a Friday and we came home from the hospital Sunday. Sunday night my mom came to help, Monday was back to school night (crazy, 100's of people), Tuesday was Samantha's first day of Kindergarten and Paul's first day of preschool, and Thursday was Adam's first day of school. Lily was up at night since she hadn't figured out days and nights yet but luckily that only lasted a few days. I think by the time she was a week or so old she had stopped.

It was really hard having my mom leave after that first week and a half but luckily I had my sister Kelle coming out shortly after that. She came out with Alyssa for a long weekend and it was so fun to have her here. The only bummer was that she couldn't stay longer. When she left my kids kept saying "bummer in the summer, bummer in the fall." They are already asking when they get to see Alyssa and Kelle again. I told Samantha maybe we could drive to Chicago soon and she was mad we wouldn't fly.

Samantha and Paul have had a pretty seamless transition. They both love Lily and the only time they complain is when she's asleep and they can't hold or feed her. Paul was shy with her at first and was embarrassed to kiss her or give her hugs. That didn't last too long and now he kisses her all the time (or"all the time long" as he likes to say). Samantha isn't as possessive of her as she was of Paul, but still wants to take care of her and do more for her than I'm comfortable with. I caught her carrying Lily around the other day and it about gave me a heart attack. Especially since she decided to lay her down on the couch with her legs hanging off when she was done. We've had to have a few talks about what she's able to do and what she needs help with.

Meeting Lily for the first time at the hospital

Sisters

He is SO proud to be a big brother

Coming Home

Just getting home, Samantha and Paul are very excited to have Lily here

First family picture as a family of 5 (we didn't realize until after we'd taken the pictures that we all matched...imagine that)

Lily Suzanne Hopkins

2011-08-20T09:02:00.001-06:00

I'm not sure how many people actually want to read this post it's more for my records, but I wanted to write about Lily's labor/birth before I forget all the details. I will put pictures at the end. Adam and I had the kids go to Kevin and Holly's last night so that we could have a good sleep and be ready for the big day. My induction was scheduled for 7:30 yesterday morning and we got to the hospital at about 7:15. I was nervous, but not as nervous as I was with the other kids, and not as nervous as I thought I'd be. It came more in waves and most of the time I felt okay. It took until about 8:00 to get checked in and get everything started. They checked me sometime after 8 and I wasn't even dilated to a 2 yet. I started getting worried that either the induction wouldn't work or that they wouldn't even try and they'd just send me home. They decided to give me a medicine that would start things progressing without actually using pitocin. They gave that to me at 9:00 and not long after I started having pretty regular contractions. The contractions weren't painful but at least they were every 3 min and so I was hoping they were doing their job. When I got checked at 1:00 I had dilated to a 3 so they decided to start the pitocin. That got the contractions stronger, but they still weren't too painful. They hurt, but it wasn't too bad. The worst part was just how long it was taking to get things moving and how sick I was of being tethered to monitors. By 5:15 I hadn't made any progress (still at a 3) but they decided to go ahead and break my water. With Samantha and Paul that got things moving much more quickly and I was hopeful that it would be the same this time. Almost immediately the contractions became much more painful and I quickly asked for the eipdural. I got the epidural around 6:15 or so. My blood pressure dropped so I was feeling pretty sick for a few minutes. Right at 7:00 I started feeling better and the nurse checked to see if I'd made any progress. I was at a 4. I was starting to get discouraged since I had been in labor for about 10 hours and had only made 2 cm of progress. Granted, most of the time the contractions weren't painful but I was still worried about how long things were taking. Right after 7 a new nurse came on shift and was checking my vitals. I was worried because I was starting to feel the contractions and a little pain on my left side and I didn't want the epidural to not work when it came time to push (that happened with Paul, I felt EVERYTHING). After pushing the booster and having the pain only get more intense the nurse decided to check me and then call the anesthesiologist to get the epidural working. When she checked it was 7:50 and I was at a 10 and ready to push. I decided to go ahead and try to wait for the anesthesiologist to give me a little booster before pushing, which also gave my doctor time to get to the hospital. All of that happened in about 15-20 min and I was ready to go.

One push later and Lily was born! I couldn't believe that I went from a 4 at 7:00 to a baby at 8:16. Since I only pushed through one contraction Lily was born looking perfect, the nurses keep saying she looks like a c-section baby since her head isn't misshapen at all. She got a 9 Apgar (both times) and has been an absolute angel. I have been feeling pretty good and have recovered fairly quickly. It took a couple hours for the epidural to completely wear off, but right after that I've been able to move around pretty well and am not in terrible pain. I certainly hurt, but it's not unbearable and I am hopeful that the recovery won't be too bad.

Lily Suzanne Hopkins
Born Aug. 19, 2011 at 8:16 pm
6 lbs 13 oz
20 in

Grammie Camp

2011-08-07T18:26:00.000-06:00

We were lucky enough to have Kim's kids out to visit for the last two weeks. The first week Kim was at girls camp back in Chicago handling all the food, then she got to come out and hang out with us. Holly told the kids it was Grammie Camp while she was in charge and was nice enough to invite us to join in the fun. My kids just love their cousins, all of them. Absolutely love them. Samantha has always been attached to her cousins, but I was surprised by how much Paul wanted to be with everyone. Samantha played with all of them, but she still asked for Max the most...he has just always been so nice to her. Paul worshiped Spencer and every morning would ask "See 'Pencer today?" He played with Blythe quite a bit too. I was so impressed with how nice all of Kim's kids were to Samantha and Paul, even when my sweet angles were being complete boogers. We kept pretty busy and had a lot of activities. Unfortunately I was really hit and miss with remembering my camera.

The first day they were here we went up to Cripple Creek and rode a little train. After the train ride we went over by the Crags and had lunch/played in a stream. We ended the day with a trip to McDonalds for ice cream. The kids were exhausted, but had A LOT of fun. It is so fun for me as a mom to watch my kids have a great time. It's worth all the headache getting them places when I hear them laughing and telling each other that "this was just the best day ever." Luckily that was one of those days.

Adam, Spencer, and Grant

Samantha, very excited about having her own camera

Grammie and Blythe

Paul is a bit goofy

Max looking thrilled to have Samantha all over him

All the kids minus Lauren who wouldn't get in the picture

At the stream

It's hard to tell just how filthy Paul was but he was a complete mess

The rest of the week consisted of playing in the back yard, painting pots for Bailey swimming (which I am super bummed I didn't get pictures of), a garage sale, and a lemonade stand. Samantha rocked the lemonade stand. She was the only kid out there the whole time and she was absolutely dedicated to selling that lemonade. I was glad she made some money because that has been one of the activities she wanted to do all summer. She and Blythe were waving at all the cars, yelling "lemonade and cookies for sale, come and get them!" and dancing. It was super cute.

After Kim got here there was a lot more playing, going to the mall, pizza and fun. The best day for the kids (other than Cripple Creek) was Santa's Workshop. I wasn't sure if we would be able to make it this year, and we were so excited that Kim was able to go with us. Max told me a couple times "this place is better than Six Flags, this is the best place ever." It was another day that the kids were just exhausted but thrilled to be alive. None of the kids wanted to leave, they would have lasted another couple hours but the adults were worn out.

Thanks Kim & crew for coming out and spending time with us, it was great and we miss you already!

Oh Baby

2011-08-04T10:33:00.000-06:00

I have reached that point where I am huge. Approximately the size of a small whale. Maybe a large one. When people tell me I look great all I can think is that they are liars. Liars. I am hoping when I look back I'll realize that I m not in fact that huge, I just feel big. I felt pretty good until about 2-3 weeks ago, and then I started getting uncomfortable. I think part of my problem with this pregnancy is that my back is KILLING me. It started really hurting 4 or 5 days ago. It's getting to the point where it's making me sick to my stomach and making me sleep only 4 or 5 hours at night. It didn't feel anywhere close to this painful with the other kids. Luckily Adam is a huge, huge, HUGE help and I only have 2 weeks to go (I'm being induced on the 19th). Hopefully I can hang on until then!

Me at 35 weeks

Sky Sox Game

2011-08-04T10:21:00.000-06:00

We took the kids to a Sky Sox game a couple weeks ago. We went on $2 Tuesday so we were able to go for about $10 including parking which was nice because it took the pressure off of staying the whole time to get our moneys worth. Paul had a lot of fun and was really enjoying watching the game as well as the planes that were on their way to land at the airport. Samantha didn't like it quite as well (at all). We did luck out that it was a double header and started at 5:00. That meant a lot of people didn't start coming until later so we weren't fighting crowds and worrying about the kids bothering people. I was especially glad when Samantha started howling and telling everyone she was a coyote. We ended up leaving after about 5 innings, too long for Samantha and too short for Paul. The funniest part was as we were leaving Adam was telling Paul that they could go again just the boys and Samantha started crying and asking why she couldn't go. She said "why can't I come, I was just bored the whole time!?" I told her she and I could go to a movie while Paul and Adam went to a game, that seemed to work for everyone.

Paul having fun

Samantha's position

Camping Part II

2011-08-04T10:04:00.000-06:00

The kids had so much fun camping the first time that we decided to take them one more time this summer. We went up with Adam's best friend and his family. The kids had a great time again and now are asking to do it in the backyard (I've told them I can't take them up in the mountains again, it's too hard). One nice thing about this site was that there were rocks to climb. Samantha had a great time climbing and actually did a good job of getting up and down on her own. She did a good enough job getting up high that Adam told her she wasn't allowed to climb anymore because it made him nervous.

The cute kids (as you can tell Samantha wasn't thrilled about stopping her exploring so I could take a picture)

Bowling

2011-08-04T09:48:00.000-06:00

One thing we tried this summer was bowling. We went last summer and while we had a good time, it was super chaotic. I think Paul was just a little too small. This year Holly took the kids a couple times and Paul LOVED it and kept asking to go again so I finally broke down and took him. It was a little difficult with 4 kids (Samantha, Paul, Alex, and Caity) but we still had a great time. I was using my old camera so the pictures didn't turn out too great, but I love the video of Paul's technique.

The bowling ball under my shirt :)

The Fourth

2011-07-14T09:48:00.000-06:00

As Adam and I were talking about the last few years and what we've done over the Fourth of July I realized that we had never taken the kids to see fireworks. Last year I was gone, the year before that it was raining, and before that they were just too little to take to a big show. So we decided this was the year we'd do it all.

We started out at the parade and it was super hot. Luckily we ran into my friend from high school and her family. They were nice enough to let us crash their party and share their canopy so we had a bit of shade. Even with the shade I was uncomfortable and we left before everything was over. Samantha had a great time taking pictures of all the animals in the parade, and the people, and her feet. Some of them were actually pretty good.

Samantha loved all the horses

They have a renaissance festival right near our town, so they brought up some of their animals for the parade. Samantha and Paul both liked the elephant the best

After the parade we went home, took naps and then had some friends over for a BBQ. It's funny how much happier my kids are when they have friends around. I don't think I saw either of them the whole time we were home. After eating we headed over to Palmer Lake for the fireworks. Before the fireworks started they had some live music and Paul was having such a great time dancing. He was obviously getting tired and he was starting to get a little crazy. His dancing was all over the place and it quickly turned into wrestling with Adam. Samantha wasn't interested in dancing, she was to busy making a house for herself out of the chair and blankets so she could be a dog. Figures. It ended up being a great show and the kids were amazed at how big the fireworks actually are when you see them up close. Luckily we had an easy time getting home too, so the whole process was fairly painless. I am sure we'll end up doing it again next year!

Movie Night

2011-07-14T09:32:00.000-06:00

The kids had so much fun camping that they keep asking to do it again. Every day. With the fourth of July and Adam's school schedule we knew that wouldn't really be an option for at least a few weeks. I decided it would be fun to set up a tent in the living room and watch a movie. To make it even more fun Adam set up a projector so the movie was playing really big on the wall in the living room. It turned out really fun...now the kids are asking to go camping every day but they are also asking to set up the tent for a movie night every night.

Camping

2011-07-14T09:26:00.000-06:00

Every year I have wanted to take Samantha and Paul out camping. It was always so fun for me as a kid and I want them to have some of those same experiences. We tried once last year and it did not turn out too great. Paul had a really hard time sleeping (not surprising since he was only two) and that meant that the rest of us had a really hard time sleeping. We woke up the next day exhausted and went home as soon as we could pack up. Even though it was rough I think the kids had fun and so we decided to try again this year.

Luckily our ward was having a camp out so a lot of the planning was done, we just had to show up. It turned out SO fun. The kids had friends to play with and they ended up sleeping really well. They actually got more sleep than Adam and I because we kept waking up to check on them and make sure they were warm enough. Samantha played with a friend and her dog the whole time and just sobbed when it was time to leave. Paul also had a little friend that he spent the whole day with.

We mostly stuck around the campsite and let the kids play, but we did venture out for a few minutes to go fishing in a nearby lake. Samantha was having fun making "flower boats" (basically flower blossoms that would float) and Paul was helping Adam fish. Unfortunately our trip was rather short because Paul fell in the lake and ended up soaking wet. He was not too happy and we had to head back to the tent to change. Hopefully we'll get to go camping at least one more time this summer before this baby comes!

Father's Day

2011-07-10T16:46:00.000-06:00

These kids have the best dad in the world. The. Best.

Samantha At 5

2011-07-10T16:42:00.000-06:00

I remember thinking when Samantha was a couple months old that I only had to make it until she was 5 and then she'd go to kindergarten. By the time she got a little bigger and was more interactive I wasn't in such a hurry for her to reach this milestone. Now I look back and cannot believe how fast the last five years have gone. It's been fun to watch Samantha grow into such a smart, sweet girl. Here's a look at who she is at 5:

She loves animals...they can be stuffed or real, it doesn't matter.
She is developing ~~a bit of~~ an attitude.
She loves to swim, and is actually pretty good for not having swimming lessons. She can currently swim about 15 ft without assistance (although it resembles a cross between a dog and actual swimming)
She is willing to share with anyone except Paul. This probably is because he is always taking things from her.
She LOVES to go to garage sales. Every Saturday this summer has been spent in search of a deal. She saves her money so she can buy what she wants.
She hasn't shown too much interest in learning to read or learning her letters so it may be awhile before she is able. She does know all the letter names and many letter sounds, but she really has ZERO interest in learning more.
She loves having people over and playing with friends.
She is really excited for her sister to get here. We talk a lot about babies and what they can do. We also talk about what she'll be able to do and how she can help.
She likes to help Paul with his speech, but it frustrates him to have her involved.
Her favorite shows/movies are Phineas and Ferb, anything Barbie, Godzilla, and Strawberry Shortcake.
She likes to play with Polly Pockets, Barbie, small pretend animals, and Littlest Petshop.
She can't ride a two wheeler yet because we haven't had a chance to teach her. Monument is just too hilly so we'll need to take her to a parking lot. Since I can't even see my toes anymore, bending down to hold on to her bike isn't an option so we're waiting for Adam to have some time.
She loves to wear skirts/dresses. She won't fight me on wearing shorts but she really dislikes jeans.
Her favorite color is purple.
She is always very complimentary to people. She tells me every day that I am the best mom of all the moms and that she loves me more than anything.
She is finally getting into arts/crafts and is enjoying coloring. It is definitely nice at church that she likes to work in her coloring books.

The Party

2011-07-10T16:12:00.000-06:00

Last year I really wanted to do a party for both Paul and Samantha. I spent a lot of time, especially on Samantha's and by the end I was a little tired of planning. Granted, Mother's Day and Father's Day were both crammed into those same weekends so I had to not only plan two parties, but make presents for everyone as well. I also decided to make Samantha a felt playhouse which took a ton of time. I was pleased with the results, but just wasn't feeling up to that much work this year.

This year the kids agreed to have a combined party at a park. I didn't want to plan so much, and I was also unwilling to fork out the $150+ it would cost to have it somewhere else. We invited Paul's friends from nursery and all the girls in Samantha's class. Unfortunately, since school was out most of their friends were out of town and not able to make it. Plus it was really windy and cold that day so the party didn't last too long. I walked away worrying that the kids would be disappointed in how things had turned out, but I was wrong. It was a lesson to me that my expectations are not the same as my kids. Just because I have an idea that something will be fun/exciting/dumb/whatever does not mean that my kids feel the same way. I am trying hard to remember that and to ask them what they think and feel about certain things so that I know what they want and not what I think they want.

Anyway, the one thing they both did really want was for me to make them a cake. Samantha really wanted a Barbie cake, and while I'm not a huge fan of the doll stuck in the cake idea, I thought hers turned out fairly well. Paul wanted a monster cake, but his was one problem after another. The idea was simple enough but since I tried to make both of the cakes in the same day and neglected to keep Paul's in the fridge while I worked on Samantha's his just ended up falling apart. I was actually going to make his be a set of three smaller monsters, but we only ended up with one large one. Luckily, although it is far from my best cake, Paul LOVED it, and talked about it for days after. In fact, when we were at the park I asked the kids if they were ready for cake and didn't get much of a response. I was going to wait until I looked around and saw Paul running to the table. He sat down and was waiting all by himself, ready for cake. Even if it didn't look perfect, it was fun to see Paul so happy.

Overall, despite the weather and vacation plans of friends, the party was definitely a success. I doubt I'll do a combined one next year but I'm glad this one was a little more low key!

Paul's Cake (don't look too close)

Samantha's Cake

Paul excited to eat his monster cake

Meet Our Pets

2011-07-10T15:37:00.000-06:00

Samantha is desperate for a pet. Her first choice is a dog or a cat, but neither of those are workable options right now. When Adam went fishing a few weeks ago he brought home a few worms he didn't use. Samantha decided these would be her new pets. See, desperate. She named them Wormy, Mala, Julia, Piratey, and a bunch of others that I can't remember. They were all girl worms and she let them go in the potted plants around our house. It was at least an hour before she lost interest and moved on to another activity. Since then she has asked multiple times if we can go buy more worms or if Adam is going fishing again so she can have the ones that are left. I never would have guessed.

The Trampoline

2011-07-10T15:16:00.000-06:00

Oh, the trampoline. This has been the best purchase of the year. By far. I am SO glad that we decided to combined birthday presents for the kids because they have spent hours (and by hours I mean hours, and hours, and hours) playing out there. They have made up games where they jump in/through hula hoops, jumped over the sprinkler, chased each other, etc. It's also nice that every time we've had friends over the kids have something to do. I have noticed that the more time they spend out there, the longer they sleep at night...I am going to have a rude awakening in the winter when they are no longer wearing themselves out every day playing outside.

Paul at Three

2011-06-02T07:15:00.050-06:00

I can't believe my little boy is three! He and Samantha had a combined present of a trampoline this year and are also having a combined birthday party in about a week so his actual birthday was pretty uneventful. We started the day with chocolate cereal and chocolate milk. After playing at the mall with his friend Alex and naps we came down to dog-sit Bailey and went to McDonalds for dinner with his friend Caeven. We finished off the day with a few small presents just so he had something to open and chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting (can you guess what he likes?). So, in a nutshell here is what Paul is like at three:

He still loves trucks and trains.
He LOVES swimming and would stay in the water all day if I'd let him.
He copies anything Samantha does, which usually means he'll be found playing kitty with her.
He is affectionate. He wants everyone in the house to tuck him in and he is very willing to give hugs and kisses to family.
He is protective of his sister. If Adam is wrestling Samantha, Paul will run up and start kicking Adam so Sammi can get away.
He still naps every day and gets crazy if he doesn't get enough sleep.
He is ready to potty train, but hasn't yet because I am not ready to deal with it. :)
He is a picky eater and it's hard to get him to eat healthy foods. Usually he'll have 1 fruit/vegetable that he'll like at the moment and he'll eat that with every meal. Anything else he'll refuse.
He is talking SO well now and we are able to understand him almost all of the time. Even if we can't get every single word, it's rare that we miss what he's trying to tell us.
He has some good little friends. I was always worried about his social development since he has Apraxia, but he's able to speak well enough that he can play with others.
He was attached to me for awhile and wouldn't let anyone else do anything for him. Lately that's diminished and he'll let Adam help.
He's still really shy, but it seems to be getting better. He has a hard time leaving me and will be sad for a couple minutes, but gets over it pretty quickly. He doesn't scream at strangers in the store anymore, but will cover his eyes if they try to talk to him.
He is fairly good at playing independently. If I'm busy he'll get toys and play near me, but not need me to constantly interact with him.
He doesn't like TV very much. Whenever we turn a movie on, he'll watch for a few minutes and then wander off to play something else.
He is getting easier to reason with. If he's upset it's getting easier to talk him down and explain why we're doing what we're doing. It doesn't always work, but it's getting better.
He doesn't throw temper tantrums, never has. He'll cry, but he doesn't kick and scream and throw himself on the ground.
If he's really upset we'll send him up to his room and he'll come out 10-15 min later happy.
He is very determined. If there is something he wants or wants to do he will keep asking/trying/etc until it happens. I'm sure that's a big part of the reason he's been successful in speech.

He is such a wonderful son and I truly couldn't ask for a better little boy. We love you Paul!!

Miss Cheri

2011-05-31T16:54:00.000-06:00

Since Paul turned 3 he is no longer eligible for Early Intervention (speech) though the state. He has been passed off to the school district. That meant we had to lose our WONDERFUL SLP, Cheri. She has been such a blessing in our lives and truly and answer to prayers. When she started working with Paul he had no words and only a few vowel sounds that he could make. He is now talking up a storm and I know it's because of her help. She told us in the last session that he has progressed beyond any other 3 year old that she's seen with Apraxia. Paul truly loved her and we will miss her as we move on to a new speech pathologist.

Caught

2011-05-31T16:50:00.000-06:00

My kids have decided that it's okay to sneak snacks/candy/etc as long as they are hiding behind the couch. Paul was mad the night of Mother's Day because he didn't like what we were having for dinner. He ran off crying and it was awhile before we noticed that it had gotten quiet. Adam went looking for him and Paul ran out from behind the couch and tells Adam, "go in kitchen." Adam thought Paul was right behind him and started heading back. By the time he got there he realized Paul wasn't coming. He went back into the living room and found that Paul had managed to find and unwrap the candy bar I had gotten at church. He was about to start enjoying the treat when Adam came back in. Paul immediately started yelling "STOP, stop looking, STOP!!!!" The only reason Adam got a picture is because he told him he could have one bite. Ever since then I am constantly finding crumbs/wrappers back there....I guess we need to have a little talk about sneaking candy.

Mother's Day

2011-05-31T16:43:00.000-06:00

This was the first year Samantha understood the idea of Mother's Day. We had a mother's day "brunch" at her preschool where she and I got to sit down and have some yogurt together. She also painted a canvas bag and gave me a plant. She was SO excited to give them to me and kept telling me, "Mom, I just love you so much. You are the best mom." It was sweet and made me so happy to have her. Then in primary she drew on a canvas poster that I can hang on my wall. It was so sweet because I could tell how much time and effort she put into both presents. She also wrote me numerous cards and kept telling me that I was the best mom in the UNIVERSE. How could it get any better than that?

My sweet Paul didn't get it at all...However, I knew I was loved because he cried every time he had to leave my side. Oh how I love those two little people!

Samantha and I before our brunch. She REALLY wanted to wear her very, most nicest dress, and wanted me to dress up as well.

Easter

2011-05-31T16:29:00.000-06:00

Easter was different this year than we've done in the past. I have always wanted to do Easter baskets, egg hunts, etc. on Saturday and then have Sunday focus on the Savior. Not only does it help us focus on why we actually have the holiday without taking away some of the fun traditions, but it allows for things to be a little more relaxed. This year that didn't work out. It was still pretty low key and we didn't do a lot but we did fit it all in on Sunday. Hopefully next year we won't have such a busy weekend and we can do it the way I planned.

I was pretty proud of my Easter baskets. I have just started couponing and so I was able to do their entire basket for $4 each. That included bags of M&M's and a stuffed rabbit for Samantha (extra chocolate for Paul). It was a really nice day, although we all commented that it wasn't the same without Mom and Dad around.

Samantha in her new Easter dress (thanks Stacy!)

Paul with his new tie

The best picture I have of them together, you can actually see both of their faces...that is about all it has going for it though.

What the rest of the pictures look like...

Fairy Wings

2011-05-31T16:17:00.000-06:00

Paul fell asleep with Samantha's fairy wings on awhile back. He had been wearing them all day and we made him take them off before bed. When we went in to check on him, this is what we found...

Adam figures this will be great bribery in a few years.

Just Because

2011-05-31T16:08:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd post a couple cute pictures of the kids. Samantha LOVES wearing skirts or dresses. Every day. It doesn't matter what we're doing or what the weather is like, she wants to be in a skirt. It usually doesn't matter, but if it's freezing or we're going to play somewhere where she'll be climbing and jumping I try to talk her into pants. Usually the only way I'm successful is if I make some type of deal. This is just one day where she was wearing a skirt and wanted me to take her picture. What a cute girl!

Paul is my "tough guy" and likes to show me his muscles. For awhile almost every picture I took had him making these faces. If you look close, you can tell he is trying not to smile. Despite being a boy, he wants to do everything Samantha is doing, but in his own way. If she is playing kitty, he plays too. The only difference is that he'll be tackling you while he is meowing. He doesn't seem to appreciate it going the other way. If you tackle or hit him, he is the first try cry. Adam's trying to teach him to "play with your muscles and not with your feelings."

Baby Girl

2011-05-11T11:19:00.000-06:00

I am so late in posting this that I am sure everyone knows that in August a little girl will be joining our family. Samantha is SO excited to have a little sister and even Paul will kiss me and say "love you baby." They have had fun looking through the clothes and Samantha loves it that a lot of the clothes used to be hers. Paul has tried to donate some of his outfits as well, but that won't work quite as well, especially since they are size 3T. When we were looking at the clothes Paul would hold up different dresses and say "Oh, cute baby." We can't wait!

Chicago Part II

2011-05-11T10:02:00.000-06:00

Our second week in Chicago was a little busier than the first. We had Adam there and so we went and did a little more. The first stop was the Naperville Children's Museum. The kids and I had been there a couple times over the years visiting Kelle and they had just as much fun this time as they have in the past. I think their favorite part was the water play area, but they all ended up SOAKED. Poor Alyssa was absolutely drenched. My kids spend a fair amount of time playing in the water and being wet after so they weren't too bothered.

Paul in the music area

My sweet girl

It's typical that she found whatever animals were present and turned them into a family.

Paul was pouring water all over himself (like I said, they were soaked)

We were lucky to have a few warm days while we were out there so the kids were able to play outside. One of those days we went to the park and then over to a river to throw rocks. There was a little play thing at the park that was a dolphin. Samantha thought this was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. We have at least 10 pictures that she took of the dolphin. Every time she sees the picture she'll tell me, "remember that dolphin, wasn't it beautiful?" Throwing rocks in the river was a lot of fun for the kids too. The part we stopped at happened to have some shells in the water. Since Kelle and I told the kids they weren't allowed to go into the river they spent the majority of the time trying to fish out the shells with sticks. It proved to be quite the experience. Andrew told us after that he thought the shells meant more because he'd taken the time and effort to fish them out.

All the cousins before church

One of our favorite places that we ended up going was to the zoo. The Lincoln Park Zoo is really nice, especially for being free. Adam kept telling me that he thought the animals were actually robots since they were all so active. I have never seen all the big cats move as much as they were. The male lion was pacing right in front of the viewing window. It was really incredible. We also heard the male and female lion roaring at each other. I couldn't believe how loud they were. Paul's favorite animals were the otters. They were super playful and kept doing back flips off the glass. He was AMAZED and thought they were putting on a show just for him. I think he would have stayed all day if we'd let him.

Paul "sleeping" on a play structure at the zoo

Samantha and Grant smiling for their lunch. Kelle told Samantha she actually had to smile and look at the camera (two difficult things for her to manage) if she wanted lunch.

Our family with the Chicago skyline in the background, the sun is in our eyes so Paul wouldn't look.

After the zoo we were able to walk to see Lake Michigan. The kids had never seen it so we wanted to give them the chance. They were only there for a couple minutes when Paul threw a handful of sand in Samantha's eyes. Luckily Adam was there and was able to take her back to the car. She didn't seem too disappointed that she didn't get to spend more time at the lake either which was nice.

He sure does make me laugh

One of the kids' favorite activities was jumping on the trampoline. They were SO excited because one night while Carter and Andrew were gone Adam took the kids out to jump after they were all ready for bed. It was fun to watch them having such a good time together.

On our last day in Chicago we decided to go the "tank park." They had 15 or so tanks that were actually used in battle that the kids can climb all over and see up close. It was really cool. They also had a really neat museum that I would have loved to see without kids. Even with the kids I really enjoyed it. My favorite part was actually on the way home. As we were driving Samantha was trying to talk to Grant and every time she would start talking he would say "I don't care." Kelle tried to tell him not to be rude so he started whispering "I don't care" every time she'd start to talk. We were laughing too hard to get him to stop. The kids noticed we were laughing so Kelle told them that I had told her a funny joke. Of course the kids wanted to know what it was. The only thing I could come up with was, "why did the chicken cross the road? To sit on an egg." Dumb. Now Samantha tells me that joke at least once a day and can never figure out why it's not making me laugh that hard. She will also remind me, "remember how funny that was when you told that joke to Aunt Kelle?"

Paul listening to one of the presentations. All the kids had to have two phones, one for each ear.

I am so glad we drove out there and can't wait to see everyone again. My kids already ask if we have enough money to go again, and if we have enough, could we go on a plane?

Chicago Part I

2011-04-11T16:22:00.000-06:00

Over spring break the kids and I decided to drive to Chicago. I even asked them if they would rather go to Disney World or Chicago and they chose seeing their cousins. Good thing they didn't choose Disney World since we wouldn't have gone there! Not sure what I was thinking when I brought up that conversation. Before leaving we had the option of waiting for Adam and only going for 1 week, or leaving earlier but I'd have to drive out by myself. I really wanted to stay longer, but wasn't sure if I could do the entire 16 hours with the kids without any help. Luckily I have a saint for a mother-in-law and she drove out with me and then flew back. The kids did AWESOME on the drive out and we made it all the way to Iowa City to stay with Kate and Jonathan (13 hours) before stopping for the night.

We started out our trip at the Field Museum.

Samantha "smiling" - she insisted that she was smiling and when I showed her the picture she kept saying that I must just be missing it. It wasn't just for this picture either, it was the whole day.

Paul in front of "Sue" the T-Rex. He still talks about the huge dino bones.

Cute Grant

The rest of the week we let the kids play and then we went down to Kim's house. My kids had such a great time with so many friends to play with. I think their favorite activity both at Kim's and Kelle's was the trampoline.

Paul and Blythe

I love the matching crystal light mustaches

The picture right above is one of my favorites from the whole trip. Kim was nice enough to babysit overnight while Adam surprised me with a date. This was one of the pictures she took while we were gone. I guess Paul had a hard time while we were out and Spencer stepped up and became Paul's buddy. You can tell from the picture how Paul felt about that. The kids are so lucky to have such great cousins. I only wish they all lived closer!!

Paul's Apraxia

2011-03-09T07:33:00.001-07:00

I know I haven't put up pictures in awhile (I haven't taken ANY pictures since December) but I thought I would take the time to give an update on Paul's apraxia and how his speech is developing. When we started speech a year ago he only had three SOUNDS and no words. I still hoped that it would be a relatively easy fix and that after a few months of speech that he'd catch up. You hear so many stories about kids that are late to talk and do just fine. Well, we only had one speech session in March and then started again in April after we got back from a trip. After Cheri, his speech teacher, spent a few weeks with him she told me she thought he was a lot more severe than just a speech delay. She mentioned apraxia as a possibility. It was around the middle or end of April that she gave him a suspected dx of Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). The more we've worked with him we've discovered that he not only has CAS but that he is severe. Speaking is extremely difficult for Paul and probably will be for a long time. We are really hopeful that he'll get to the point where he can speak normally but we probably won't know for sure until he's there. Along with speech there are some other areas in language (reading, writing, spelling, comprehension, overall language development, etc) that he may struggle with. Most of these we won't know until he's older and starts reading. So far we've been lucky in that he has had no other problems. Many kids with CAS have fine motor, oral, or sensory issues that they are dealing with.

With all that said, Paul has made great progress. It has defiantly not been easy for him or us, but we can see HUGE improvements. He now has more words than I can count. I lost track at 80 and he's continued to gain almost daily. I would say about 90% of the words that I understand can be understood by others in our family and about 75% can be understood by anyone who stops to listen. He has added a lot of new word shapes and can make most sounds that you encounter in English. He still really struggles with /s/ /v/ and /g/ but can get most others either as an initial or ending sound. Don't get me wrong, he's still way way behind his peers, but we are at a point where he is able to communicate and that is huge. There isn't a typical path of development for kids with apraxia so it's not like I can expect that at 3 he'll have hit this benchmark and at 4 he'll be here. That's what you learn to expect with your kids, you know about when they'll be able to do things. It's difficult not knowing what's ahead but in some ways it is really nice. I am able to just look at what he's doing and what gains he is making rather than worrying about whether they are enough. I do still worry though...all the time :)

We just has his IEP for preschool and it looks like he'll be getting two 30 min sessions a week at school. At least that's the hope. It's not enough so we are trying to figure out a private SLP for at least one more session a week. Hopefully insurance will cover it, but if not it'll be between $75-100 an hour. Can you believe it? We're just lucky we have gotten as much as we have up to this point.

We have really appreciated everyone's support and prayers this last year, I am not sure what we would have done without such wonderful family and friends.

February

2011-02-26T07:22:00.015-07:00

Well, February has been another uneventful month. My morning sickness is starting to let up a little, but it's still enough that we've spent a lot of time not doing much this month. I think my kids are going a little crazy and hoping that we get back to a busier schedule soon. Luckily we've started a little preschool for Paul. It's only once a week for a couple hours but he LOVES it. He asks me every morning if he has school and is devestated whenver I say no. I think it's fun for him to feel like his sister and older cousins. It's also nice for me to have two hours a week with no kids! Samantha is also doing GREAT in school. She still goes four days a week for 2 1/2 hours each day. Her teacher keeps telling me how great she's doing. It's always nice to hear positive comments about your kids since it's easy (at least for me) to spend a fair amount of time worrying about them. When I pick Sammi up from school I still have her asking me if she can stay just a few minutes longer and why I always have to come get her.

Winter Park

2011-01-30T07:15:00.013-07:00

Adam and I were lucky enough to be able to get away for a weekend and head up to Winter Park. We didn't really do much and it was PERFECT. It was so nice to be able to just sleep in, eat when I wanted, and be able to take a nap without getting woken up by little voices. Adam brought a bunch of movies for us so we made the condo our little cave and didn't venture out much. Usually when we go somewhere I am the one pushing us to get out and do all that the town has to offer. I wasn't sure if I'd like just hanging out watching movies, but it turned out great.

Other than going to Winter Park January was really uneventful. We did a lot of hanging around the house and taking it easy.

Ice Skating

2010-12-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

After Christmas we decided to take the kids ice skating for a fun family activity. Samantha did pretty well and had a fun time. Paul couldn't keep his legs under him and wasn't a fan.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving was a really lowkey event this year with just my parents, my Aunt Nanette and Uncle Jeff, and Kevin and Holly. So, we decided to make Christmas a little more of a big deal. We had an advent calendar with an activity for each day of the month. Some days it was small stuff like playing Christmas BINGO, and other days it was a little more involved. It turned out to be one of the best things we've done. The kids had so much fun with each of the activities, even the small ones, and they were SO excited every morning to see what we had in store for the day. It was a great way to make the whole month of December fun instead of just a long countdown to Christmas. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were also really nice. Kevin and Holly went to California so we spent Christmas with my parents and Stacy, Lauren, and Caity.

Our family (Adam, the kids, and I) decided to do a handmade only Christmas. We handmade all of our gifts for everyone. The only exception was the kids' Santa gifts and stockings. I also caved and bought their pj's because it was easier and cost about the same as making them myself. I was really pleased with how everything turned out. It took a LOT of time to make everything but my mom told me it looked like everything was purchased and wasn't "homemade looking." For the kids I made felt quiet books for church which have already had half the pieces lost because they've been played with so much. I also made Paul a fishing set and Samantha a family of frogs. Adam made me an AMAZING sewing cabinet with room for all my notions and that have doors so when I'm done I can close away the mess. Although I will need to start earlier next year I was so happy with how everything came together that I think we will do this every year. It also didn't hurt that we spent a total of $100 on Christmas this year and ended up with some amazing things to give.

Samantha at her preschool party

The Barbie she got from Grammie and Ji-chan (probably her favorite present)

The train from Grammie and Ji-chan (another favorite)

Decorating cookies for Santa. My Dad is his absolute favorite person. Ever.

Opening a present Christmas Eve

New PJ's

Paul playing with his new kitchen

Halloween

2010-11-01T07:46:00.011-06:00

Halloween lasted for awhile for us this year. In addition to the school and church parties we wore our costumes almost every day for 2 weeks before Halloween. Every morning Paul would wake up and yell at me that he wanted his "roar" costume. If I said no he'd run after me yelling "Me roar! Me roar! Me ROAR!" Until I'd relent and let him wear his costume. It was fun to have him be so excited. He was also super nervous trick-or-treating around the school until he found out if he would just hold up his bag they would put in candy. That helped him get over his shyness a little. Samantha and Paul LOVED the maze made out of boxes they had at Liberty (the high school where Adam's mom works). They went through that at least 10 times. I was just glad the kids had things to do since Halloween fell on a Sunday and we couldn't trick-or-treat.

Cute Paul

2010-10-30T07:46:00.000-06:00

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-30T07:39:00.011-06:00

We went to a pumpkin patch with Samantha's preschool this year. We were lucky enough to have my parents come along and we had such a fun time. They had a slide, a hay ride, a maze, and some other fun activities for the kids. It was super expensive if you went on your own but wasn't bad at all as part of a group so I'm glad we went with her class.

Dad and Paul getting ready for the slide

This is my new favorite picture

At the petting zoo

Sammi with her pumpkin

Samantha with her two best friends from class

Camping

2010-09-30T07:31:00.008-06:00

We finally went camping this year. Every year since we've had the kids it's something that we've wanted to do but it never seems to work out. So, we finally went up Mt. Herman and the kids had a great time. Sleeping didn't really happen, but it went well enough that we'll try again next year when the weather warms up again.

The kids helping Adam start a fire

Paul found a tree trunk with an ant hill in it and spent a good chunk of time hitting it over and over and over

Smores

Black Eye

2010-09-30T07:30:00.002-06:00

Paul ran into the corner of a cabinet and ended up with a black eye the other day. Why is it that he ALWAYS has some kind of bruise on his face/head?

First Day of School

2010-09-30T07:26:00.003-06:00

Samantha started preschool again this year. She is at a different school, but with the same teacher and a lot of the same kids from last year. She is super excited and has been having a ton of fun. She has so much fun in fact that she cries when I come to pick her up and often tells me, "I don't want to go home with you." Makes me feel like a good mom. Hey, at least she's happy there.

Kelle's Visit

2010-09-05T11:00:00.000-06:00

Luckily the day after Kim left Kelle and her kids came out for two weeks. All 16 people on my side of the family stayed at the house the whole time. It worked out a lot better than I would have anticipated. The kids got along great and we had A LOT of activities. I was surprised how little any of the kids fought. Sammi and Grant would play for hours without us seeing or hearing from them. Here are some of the activities...

All the cousins at Water World

Fox Run Park

Paul in his bee boots

Just another day at the park

Watching the train go by

Lauren doing her victory dance after scoring a run in baseball

Santa's Workshop

A lemonade stand...the older cousins were calling the little kids "cute boosts" and were using them to increase sales. The little guys' payoff? A quarter.

The pond at Fox Run. It was gross that they were swimming in the pond, but the last time we went they got in with their clothes on, so this time we let them get in in their bathing suits. We bathed them the second we got home.

Garden of the Gods, where we had breakfast with my uncles, grandfather, and all the cousins

Kelle and cute, cute Alyssa. I was tempted to hide her so Kelle would have to leave her here forever :)

Adam stuck Paul in the basketball hoop at Monkey Bizness. He thought it was pretty funny.

Hailey, Grant, and Sammi in their new pj's

I figured that was enough pictures, but we also played capture the flag a few of the nights, went shopping with the little kids (the older kids went to a Rocky's game), went to Fargo's, and played around the house. It was a great time and we can't wait to see everyone again.

Hopkins' Cousins

2010-09-05T10:39:00.000-06:00

Josh and Angella came out for a week and then shortly after Kim and her kids came out. Samantha was LOVING having all these cousins out to play with. We went to Monkey Bizness and did a lot of swimming with Angella and her kids. We went ot the YMCA and did the Slip 'n Slide. The kids had a GREAT time.

When Kim was here we went swimming and also took her boys fishing. Sammi was in seventh heaven with so many fun things going on.

My Boys

2010-09-05T10:32:00.001-06:00

Me & The Kids

2010-09-05T10:30:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we took a picture of me and the kids that I thought turned out fairly cute...

Sisters Trip

2010-09-05T10:27:00.000-06:00

Over the fourth of July weekend my sisters and I went on a trip together to Florida. It was SO fun. It was the first time since being married that I had gone on a vacation without Adam or the kids. It was a totally different experience and was WAY fun. We got there on Saturday the 3rd and decided to go to downtown Disney and see the new Twilight movie. It was a little rainy which made it not quite so hot. Sunday, the 4th, we decided to go to sacrament meeting at a nearby chapel. It was interesting driving through some of the neighborhoods. Almost every home had a screened in porch and quite a few had pools. It was just different than tourist ville. After church we went back to the hotel and relaxed for awhile before heading out and going to downtown Orlando to watch the fireworks. We decided to stop at Denny's before getting downtown to grab a quick bite to eat. Our waitresses name was ToPrecious. Seriously? ToPrcious? Kelle thought the funniest part was that it was To not TooPrecious. It was fun to go downtown since I hadn't been there on our previous trip. Monday we decided to head down to the coast and go to the beach. It was practically deserted when we got there. We got to spend the better part of the day hanging out at the beach. There were some cool crabs that would come out if we didn't move for awhile and...we saw dolphins! It was pretty cool to watch, plus we saved $60 by not going to Sea World. Tuesday and Wednesday we went to Universal Studios. Our favorite part, by far, was the Harry Potter area.

For one of the rides you waited in line inside the castle and it was almost as cool as the ride. They had the moving pictures and holograms with the characters talking to you. It was nice to go on all the thrill rides with people who actually appreciated them and without worrying about kids. We also went to Cirque de Soleil which was really cool and a dinner/comedy show that was okay. The best part of the trip was just being able to hang out with my sisters and talk without kids interrupting every 5 minutes. I hope we'll be able to do it again soon!

Four!

2010-06-27T18:27:00.000-06:00

Samantha's fourth birthday was one of the best we've had. On her actual birthday we went to the Children's Museum and to see Toy Story 3. Everything we did that day she was thrilled for because she thought it was for her birthday, even if it was stuff we normally do. It was just so fun to see her that excited about everything.

Adam bought her flowers for her, it was cute how grown up she felt

Getting ready to leave (she changed right after so she could wear this outfit to her party the next day)

Playing in the sand, it looks funny because it was inside a big inflatable yellow dome

The day of her party she woke up throwing up and sick. She was devastated to think that she wouldn't be able to have her party. She was laying on the couch crying and saying, "I'm not sick, I'm not sick, I'm not sick." Luckily she stated feeling better by about 10:30 and woke up feeling fine after her nap. I am so glad because the party turned out to be such a success. I am blogging more about the decorations/favors/etc here soon. The kids had a lot of activities, including decorating crowns, play dough, a pinata, and painting their nails. Samantha helped me with almost all of the prep work for all of those projects. I think that was what made the whole thing so fun. She had such a good time thinking of what she wanted for her guests and was excited to show them off. Here are some pictures to enjoy...

The "Beauty Salon"

The homemade pinata

The aftermath

Blowing out the candles

Oh Girls

2010-06-27T11:16:00.000-06:00

If you were wondering what Lauren and Caity are up to this summer, here's a little peek...

No, I didn't get pictures of them sticking marshmallows up their nose or many of the other fun adventures we've had. Yes, I did tell them I was posting these.

She Stopped!

2010-06-27T11:11:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Samantha stopped sucking her thumb. I was worried that she would be one of those kids who sucked her thumb until she was 15. We went to the dentist and he told her that she would have to get something put in her mouth (eventually) if she kept sucking her thumb to spread her teeth out. That did it. It took a couple of nights of saying it was hard and only sucking it once and then she was done. I was ready for this to be a long difficult process so I was ready to promise her the world if she'd stop. Well... she decided on getting a "skater dog" as she called it from Build-A-Bear. It's basically a stuffed dog that has roller skates. They had one on display and she was sold. She has named it Suzy and we have since not spent a moment without Suzy by our side. She is in love. Totally.

School

2010-06-14T08:16:00.000-06:00

Adam starts school today! I am excited for him but also dreading all the additional time this is going to require. I know this career shift is going to be great for our family and I can't wait to see how it all turns out. I am SO proud of him and all he's accomplished. Good Luck Adam!

Summer Is Here!

2010-06-07T08:28:00.000-06:00

We LOVE Colorado in the summer. Especially when we get to spend our days...

Playing at the park

Swimming

Talking to the wildlife

And fishing with friends

Craft Blog

2010-06-04T08:45:00.001-06:00

I have started a blog to keep up with all the things I've been making. I want a record of things that I've created, but I'm not sure everyone on here really cares. So, if you have any desire to see what I'm making (and selling in the not to distant future) check it out. When I do start selling I'll let all of you (okay, the 3 of you that read this) know so you can pass along information to anyone that might be interested.

My Blueberry Baby

A Little Late

2010-06-01T07:38:00.018-06:00

Okay, it's a lot late. I was looking at my blog today and realized how many pictures/events have happened that I haven't posted. So everything I'm writing about happened at least a month ago, but hey...at least I'm getting to them now.

Easter

It was difficult having Easter on the same weekend as Conference. We do Easter baskets/eggs/etc on Saturday so on Sunday we can focus on the Savior. It's been nice the past few years we've done it, but it wasn't the same since we were watching sessions both days. It was still nice and the kids still had a lot of fun, but it was just different. Sammi and Paul were excited by their baskets, but they were even more excited to find the eggs. In fact, we kept hiding the eggs over and over for days after. Paul lost interest after a couple days when he realized the plastic eggs were empty. No surprise there. (On a side note, the nursery teacher told me the only reason they have to lock the snacks is because of Paul...special uh?)

Dying Eggs

The glasses were a big hit

Finding Eggs

Mother's Day

I wanted a nice picture of the kids for Mother's Day. I wanted to frame one for myself and give one to my Mom and Holly. It took A LOT of attempts on multiple days to get one that worked...or even get a decent one of the kids individually here are some of the failed tries...

We finally got one that we could use

Mother's Day itself was really nice. Adam was wonderful and played with the crazies while I had some time to sleep in and relax. After church we had Kevin and Holly and my parents over for dinner. It was a nice way to celebrate.

6 Year Anniversary

May 22 marked 6 years for Adam and I. We were lucky enough to spend the weekend in Denver while Stacy watched the kids. It was SO nice to have some time to just sit and talk. We didn't do too much, just hung out together, but it was still amazing to be on our own schedule. It was fun to look back at the last 6 years and talk about what we remember. It's always surprising to me that his memories, even of the same events, are often very different from mine. I'm lucky to have Adam in my life, he's amazing!

Well, those are the events that have happened over the last several weeks that I haven't been keeping up on. I have other activities/pictures from picnics and such that I need to post but at least I'm caught up on the biggies.

Oh How I Love Them

2010-05-17T16:53:00.000-06:00

The weather here has been crazy. Sunny, snow, sunny, rain, snow, sunny. Sammi and Paul had fun in the snow we got a couple weeks ago. They got themselves ready and I thought the result was rather fun...

He's Two

2010-05-13T14:32:00.001-06:00

Okay, I cannot believe my little Paul is two! It too quickly went from this...

To this...

I decided to have a themed party for him. I saw a ton of parties that were done really cute and wanted to see if I could create something fun for Paul. I don't think he cared about most of it, but he was SO excited about the cake. It was an effort to get him to wait until after naps to start.

He ended up only getting cars and trucks, which he was totally fine with him. He wanted to sleep with so many that night that there wouldn't have been room for him. It is fun to see him getting bigger and able to do so many things. He loves to clean and is a big help (he was appropriately named). We had such a fun day celebrating our little Chancho!

*I posted more pictures of the decorations on my other blog, here

Childhood Apraxia of Speech

2010-04-23T17:59:00.000-06:00

Well, we have a probable diagnosis for Paul. It is likely that he has childhood apraxia of speech. They don't typically settle on this for sure until closer to age 3...but this is most likely what it will turn out to be. I'd give more information, but it's easier if I just give you a link to a website that does a much better job. Basically it's a severe speech problem that will, more than likely, lead to problems with language for a significant amount of time. Each child is different and it's difficult to say what the long term implications are, but it will be a long road for our wonderful little boy. Here's a website for those of you interested in learning more...

http://www.apraxia-kids.org/

There is more going on in our lives that I need to update, but it's almost time for dinner and this was all I had time for :)

2010-04-13T17:46:00.002-06:00

Sammi- Lauren, do you miss your Daddy?

Lauren - Yeah Sammi, I do

Sammi - Even though he's not with you, he's still in your heart. Heavenly Father loves you and will take care of you.

I hope she never forgets.

2010-03-30T07:01:00.000-06:00

I haven't been posting pictures (again it was the lack of camera cord), but I have been completing projects. I haven't done one this week, but here are my previous three.

An awesome necklace (I made one in green too, but it broke)

A tile with a picture of the temple on it. These were super easy and I actually made 16 (one for all of my laurels). Even with making that many it only took me a little over 2 hours (about 10 minutes for each one). Not bad.

Cake balls. I am thinking about making these at Sammi's birthday. They are cake in the middle and chocolate/sprinkles on the outside. My chocolate wasn't cooperating so they aren't as nice looking as they could be, but I was still pleased with the overall affect.

Chicago

2010-03-29T12:32:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of March the kids and I went out to visit my sister in Chicago. It was so great to see her and her family and my kids had SUCH a great time. I don't think either of them were ready to come home. One day while we were out there I asked Samantha if I could play with her. She told me no, she was just to busy playing with her cousins. I was surprised how much she wanted to play with Carter and Andrew. I guess since they're older and boys I figured she wouldn't have much interest. They were both awesome with her and it was fun to watch her interact with them. Carter played ball with her quite a bit and even took a bike ride with her. He was a little surprised that the bike ride involved more talking than riding and was done after one trip around the block. Andrew went out to ice cream with us and the whole time Sammi was holding his hand and kept saying, "we sure do love each other, right Andrew?" Paul also had fun chasing everyone and learned how fun it is to wrestle.

They both loved baby Alyssa. I was surprised how gentle Paul was with her. I guess since he hits me over the head with something on a daily basis, I figured I'd have to be careful. He would get down right next to her and "talk" to her then jump up and run away. He also wanted to get under her baby gym thing. It was a tight squeeze, but they both managed in there. I took a ton of pictures, but didn't realize until later that I got very few (if any) of the older kids. It's probably because they were at school while we were doing a lot of the activities. Plus, when all 7 kids were there I was not thinking about getting my camera.

We went to the Shedd Aquarium. We were so lucky that Kelle's friend got us tickets so we were able to go for free when it wasn't a free day. That meant it was way less crowded and we got to see the whales, dolphins, and penguins. They had a show where the dolphins were jumping, etc. Sammi called it a "dolphin talent show" (pretty accurate) and since then has been putting on talent shows.

Sammi using her map to tell us where to go next (they loved their maps)

Playing in the water with all the things to touch

We also went to the Children's museum in Naperville and Burger King (a big hit). Other than that we just played in the beautiful weather we were lucky enough to enjoy and hang out with all the kids.

Sammi rocking out (I love the suit coat she chose)

Paul had fun in the water before this

After visiting Kelle we got to spend the night down at Kim and Chris' house for a quick visit. Sammi keeps asking when they're coming out here to visit. Apparently she didn't get enough time playing with them. I guess everyone needs to come out here soon!

No Diggity, No Doubt

2010-03-28T11:15:00.000-06:00

Samantha was playing "dance class" a few weeks ago...right before we left for Chicago. She found a hat and a lei in the dress-up box, and this is what we ended up with. It was rather comical.

Love. It.

No Camera Cord

2010-03-24T07:48:00.000-06:00

Our camera cord isn't working right now so I can't upload any pictures. I Am planning on posting a whole bunch a soon as I can get pictures up so stay tuned!

Week 2

2010-03-08T06:16:00.000-07:00

I am out at my sisters and don't know how to upload pictures on her computer...so I'll just describe what we did. Yesterday I realized we needed to make a craft if I was going to keep up with doing one a week. So, we made leprechaun catchers. We just painted boxes (cereal boxes, Ritz boxes, etc) green. Then we cut a trap door in the top for the "leprechaun" to fall through. Finally, we finished of with some very sparkly gold glitter to use as bait. It started kind of lame, but I was surprised how into it the kids became. It turned out fun, although not the cutest thing we've ever produced. At least I am still on track (it's only week 2, it'd be sad if I couldn't even keep it up that long).

Week One

2010-02-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so for the first week I decided to make Sammi's dress. It started out as a plain white men's dress shirt. I replaced the buttons, added a tie, and made the owl. I love the way it turned out, but I hated it yesterday. Everything that could go wrong, did. It was a pain and if you look closely there are still some signs of how rough it was, but with how much Sammi moves, I doubt anyone will be able to get a good look. I'll add a picture of her in it later if I can get her to model it for me.

Great Expectations

2010-02-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

I keep finding myself in awe of what other people are making and wishing I could do the same thing. So, I'm going to. Once a week for the remainder of the year, I am going to make one project...no excuses. Then I'll blog about it so that all of you wonderful souls can keep me on track. If you have any cute projects that you'd like to send my way I'd love it. Here's the list I've started of projects that I'd like to do.

Dress for Sammi out of a men's dress shirt (same one I've made but big enough to fit her now)
Fabric wreath with spring colors http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/11/fabric-wreath.html#more
Bibs/burp cloths to have on hand for baby showers
Christmas stockings (yes, this will probably happen later on in the year)
A canopy to go over Sammi's bed. I'm not sure exactly how I'll do this, but I'm imagining something simple like ribbon and sheer fabric around a hula hoop.
Make a nightlight out of one of the kids’ artwork http://salsapie.blogspot.com/2009/11/transform-childs-artwork-into.html
Make a chore chart http://bobbicamacho.blogspot.com/2010/01/chore-chart.html
Some skirts & dresses for me. I'm not sure if I'll try to find a pattern or just try to copy one of my favorite skirts.
A chair for Sammi and one for Paul http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36087723
Clipboard frames http://lindseyscraftlist.blogspot.com/2010/01/mini-clipboard-frames-with-tutorial.html
Advent Christmas tree (again, probably won’t do this until later, but I don’t want to lose the link) http://lindseyscraftlist.blogspot.com/2009/10/advent-christmas-tree-tutorial.html
Photo tiles http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/12/easy-photo-blocks-tiles.htm

I am sure I could list more things that I want to make, but looking at all those blogs and all of these AMAZING people who whip projects like it was no big deal was starting to make me doubt myself. So I’m going to quit looking and start doing. Wish me luck.

Paul at 21 Months

2010-02-08T10:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a look at Paul at 21 months....

He is just cute. Period.
The best way to describe him is all boy. He loves cars, trucks, trains, and Bob the Builder. (In fact he has a car in each hand as I'm typing and he's trying to figure out a way to hold a couple more). His "all boyness" also translates into temper tantrums, yelling, and hitting when he's mad...although the hitting is getting MUCH better and only happens rarely now.
He doesn't walk. He is either climbing or running.
He's still "stout" and his cheeks jiggle when he runs.
His biggest challenge is that he's still not talking. I know he understands what we're talking about because he's able to follow directions very well. I can tell him to put the lid on his water bottle and go put it in the sink and he'll do it. Sometimes yelling while he's doing it because he doesn't want to, but he'll still do it. Not being able to tell us what he wants often leads to him being frustrated. He's getting evaluated for speech therapy in a couple weeks and hopefully that will get him started.

According to the doctors surveys he is ahead in every other developmental area, especially fine motor.
He is the door police. If he's anywhere close, he is the only one allowed to open or close doors.
He is a total ham and loves to be the center of attention. He gets a big kick out of making people laugh and does it as often as he can.
He LOVES Sammi. When she's gone (at school or wherever) he runs around looking for her and then laughs and runs to her when she gets home.

He'll give hugs and kisses but is not NEARLY as affectionate as Samantha. He's very picky on when he'll give you love.
He doesn't suck a thumb or pacifier (never did) but is very attached to his blanket. It doesn't happen so much during the day, but at night or if people are gone for an extended period he won't let it go.
He loves swimming and isn't afraid AT ALL of the water. It's great, but makes me very nervous and I have to watch him EVERY second.
He is a cleaner. I think living with Dad Dad has rubbed off on him. If he spills water he runs over to get a towel and clean it up. He is also happy to pick up his toys and will sometimes do it without being prompted.
He makes the best faces.
His favorite foods are cereal and PB&J and his favorite dessert is anything.
He will dance whenever music comes on. Often this is with his tongue out and eyes looking toward the sky. Then he'll stop to check and see if we're watching/laughing. If we are, he'll keep going. If we're not, he'll yell until we are.
He is such a sweet and fun kid to have around the house.

Sammi at 3 1/2

2010-02-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

It's been quite awhile since I've updated what the kids are like these days...so here's a look at Sammi at 3 1/2:

She prefers to play with others. Anytime we are at the mall play area or McDonalds, or anywhere she will ask every little girl in the place if they want to play with her. She'll even ask babies that are barely learning to walk if they want to play house and be her daughter.
She's super kind and loving. That's probably the best quality she has. She tells everyone in the family at least 3-4 times a day that she "super" loves them. She is also sure to include anyone in playing with her.
She is almost always happy. She whines when she gets tired, but for the most part she's got a smile on her face.
She is stubborn. It doesn't come out very often, but when she gets her mind set on something, there is no way she'll bend from it.
She has no interest in learning her letters. I have tried to sit down with her, but we don't get very far because the pencils soon become "guys" and it turns into playing family.
She loves playing pretend. We are always playing baby/doggy/child/family/etc. She doesn't have much of an interest in board/card games, it's only fun if she can use her imagination.
She gets into bed at 7:30 but lately has been playing on her bed until 9:30 or so. At least she doesn't get off her bed.
She is a total TV head and would spend all day watching shows if I'd let her. Currently Care Bears are her favorite, followed closely by Clifford.
She talks to herself. I'll find her singing to her babies or saying "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Care Bear....STARE!!" quite often. Especially at night when she's playing by herself.
Her favorite food is pizza and her favorite dessert is no bake cookies.
Her favorite song is "Gracie" by Ben Folds Five and she tells us every time she hears it that it makes her think of Daddy.
She's a great listener. Most of the time she'll do what I ask without me needing to ask over and over and over. Unfortunately there are times when this is also accompanied by whining, but hey, I'll take what I can get.
Caitlin is her best friend. She LOVES playing with her and tells her all the time, "Caity I love you, you're my best friend." Caity is 8 so this doesn't always turn out since she's not always interested in playing with a 3 1/2 year old.
Sammi is SO proud that she's 3 1/2. If I tell anyone she's 3, it's not long before she pipes up. "I am not. I am three and A HALF!!"
She loves swimming and could play in the pool all day every day. We try to go to the YMCA once or twice a week.
She still loves Paul and almost always wants him with her. She does get frustrated with him more often now since he commonly grabs her toys.
She still sucks her thumb and sleeps with her "yellow" blanket, although I think if I took the blanket she'd be okay with it.
She likes preschool now. There are days she still cries for a second because she wants me to stay (she doesn't want to leave, she just doesn't want me to leave either).
She's just a wonderful girl and it's so fun watching her grow up!

Funny

2010-01-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to forget these things...

Samantha and I went to dinner with my 91 year old Grandfather. I've told her a couple times that she has to be careful and not jump all over him since he's older. As we were leaving the restraunt this was our conversation:

Sammi - "Mommy, I'm going to be REALLY careful with Granddad."
Me- "Great."
Sammi - (in a very motherly voice) "Granddad, are you doing okay?"
Granddad- "Yes. Are you doing okay?"
Sammi - (while laughing) "Yes, but I'm not OLD!"

The next conversation was on the phone with me while she was in California visiting Adam's grandparents.

S- "Mommy, are you taking care of Paul."
Me - "Of course."
S- "Are you taking care of Lauren and Caity too?"
Me - "Yup I'm taking care of everyone."
S-"You sure you're taking care of Paul? And you are taking care of Stacy too. Grammie is doing just fine but she is old. We had to take her to her doctors impointment."

Nice.

Florida!

2010-01-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to blogging about Flordia. We had a FANTASTIC time. It was a little chilly, but luckily the pool was heated and we went in almost every day. The kids were better than I would have anticipated and had a lot of fun. Samantha LOVED the kiddie coaster and we went on that ride more than anything else. Paul really liked most of the rides and did surprisingly well in lines. It didn't hurt that we hardly had to wait for anything so most of our time was spent on rides rather than in line. We liked Magic Kingdom the best and spent two (almost) full days there. It was nice that on those two days we had the best weather. Epcot was a lot of fun for the adults although the little guys got a little bored and were sick of being in the stroller by the end.

Another great thing was our hotel. I was surprised that we were able to get such a nice place for a really great rate. We had two bedrooms, a full kitchen, a wahser dryer, and a HUGE tub. It is amazing how much better having a nice hotel can make the vacation. It was wonderful having our own space to get a few minutes alone at the end of some long days.

We had so much fun that we've already started talking about how we'd like to go again in a couple years when Paul will be able to remember something. Anyway...I realize there are a lot of pictures. I have given up scrapbooking and have figured out how to print my blog each year into a nice hard cover book. Since you can't print out slideshows I'm just putting all the pictures on here.

Hooray for Magic Kingdom!

Adam and Paul on the Dumbo ride

Caity and Lauren

Sammi was so cute with Paul all week. Always sharing, this time it happend to be her soda.

Wearing Caity's Minnie Hat

I know his face is dirty but this is the look he had on his face

for a good portion of the trip...pure excitement

Just one day out in the pool

This was Sammi's FAVORITE ride, we rode it at least 8 or 9 times.

I just love this, she was really into the ice cream

Adam wasn't to sure about the kiss right after

In the tub. You can't tell, but Paul is standing up.

Merry Christmas (warning...picture overload)

2009-12-31T15:44:00.000-07:00

We have had a wonderful last few weeks. I love, love, love Christmas and the days leading up to it. This year we decided to have an activity for every day in December. Life got busy and there were a couple days we missed, but all in all it was a fun way to enjoy the whole month. Christmas itself was filled with way more presents than the kids needed and lots of food. I still can't figure out why it is so important to ME to buy the kids lots of things. Honestly, they needed probably 1/2 the stuff they got. Luckily we got everything on sale (major sale) or off craigslist so we were able to get quite a bit without taking out a loan. Samantha's favorite toy was her "crawl baby" (a baby that crawls by itself) and these magnetic dolls that Holly got her. No surprises there, anything that has to do with babies is sure to be a hit. Paul's favorite was Samantha's tent/fort combo. Luckily she's willing to share. The day after Christmas we went to the Avs game. Adam found us great seats for a decent price and it was great to get out without the kids all night. The Avalanche won which was a definite plus. All in all we have had a great month and are now looking forward to the sun in Florida!

Sammi's preschool class singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"

Samantha in her Christmas dress

My Boys

Decorating cookies

Gingerbread Houses

Yes, Paul is eating in every picture I have of him this season.

Tracking Santa on Norad...She was so worried that he'd come that she was going "Mommy, HURRY I have to go to sleep. Mommy...Hurry, he is ALMOST HERE!!!" She was asleep in less than 5 minutes. That was a Christmas miracle.

Cookies for Santa

Christmas Eve (yes, that is a cookie in his hand)

Samantha playing with her magnetic dolls at Grammie's house.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy 2010!

Guess Where We're Going?!?

2009-12-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

So...we told the kids on Sunday that we were going. We thought it woudl be fun to have a treasure hunt with their new luggage and the brochure as prizes at the end. Lauren was NOT into it (she didn't realize the prize would be so awesome) but we finally got them to the end. It took a few minutes for them to figure out we were going to Disney World, but once they did they were pretty excited. Samantha and Paul don't really understand, but Sammi is still SO excited and already has her bag packed (we don't leave until Jan. 6).

Florida here we come!

Visitors

2009-12-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

Kim and her family came out for Thanksgiving. It was SO fun for Samantha to have her cousins. She keeps asking why they aren't here any more and if we can go have a sleepover at their house (she doesn't get that it's a 3 hour plane ride, not just around the block).

Sammi and the boys

We went back to Monkey Bizness and had a lot of fun with all the kids there. It was fun to see the adults getting in on the action and jumping too. I think Adam had more fun watching his mom participate than he did watching the kids. It was great to have them out here and we can't wait to see them again!

Oh My

2009-11-13T21:08:00.001-07:00

She got herself dressed for bed. Enough said.

Halloween (a little late)

2009-11-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween this year. We went over to Liberty High School first and they had trick-or-treating down the hallways, plus games. Samantha was nervous to say "trick-or-treat" so she asked the people handing out the candy "will you say trick-or-treat for me. Thanks." Then we went around Kevin & Holly's neighborhood for a little while. Paul figured out that if you bang on doors they give you candy so he was banging with all his little might then yelling. As soon as he got the candy he'd dump his pumpkin upside down to look at all his loot. He had fun but it was a little tiring chasing after him all night. I also couldn't get a picture of Sammi and Paul together, but oh well.

Sammi saying arrgh with her "hook" (aka her finger)

Playing putt putt for one of the games

Paul hugging a pine cone (??)

This was how he looked most of the night, trying to get into more candy

D'oh!

2009-10-16T14:41:00.000-06:00

Okay, I realize I have become one of those bloggers who never actually blogs (so can I still call myself a "blogger"...is that even a word?) Anyway. I am making it a not so new year's resolution to get back on track and update all two of you who still read this. You know who you are.

Since September (yes it has been that long) Samantha has started preschool, Adam turned 28, it snowed, we went to the zoo, and probably a lot of other things that I can't remember. Let's be honest, I'm lucky if I remember what happened this morning, let alone 3 weeks ago. So, I will tell you about yesterday. It was a fun day.

Lauren and Caity had school off so we decided to go up to Denver and go to Monkey Bizness. It's one of those places that has inflatables as well as some other fun things to climb on. We stayed for awhile and the kids had a great time. Sammi wore herself out and was ready to take a nap there. After getting home and taking naps Adam and I decided to head up Mt. Herman with his dad, Stacy, and the kids to have dinner. We hadn't been out as much as I would have liked this summer so it was really fun to get up there and have hot dogs and s'mores (first you take the ghram...). Paul was in heaven eating Cheetos and marshmallows to his little heart's content. It was one of the most fun days we'd had in awhile so I'll put up some pictures for you so you can live vicariously thorough me (yes there are a lot). Can you handle it?

The look on Adam's face is priceless

Even my Mom went

He couldn't quite get up by himself, so he's just watching all the fun

So tired

She was a litle nervous to blow out the fire on her stick

Still Around

2009-09-12T17:48:00.000-06:00

Not a lot of major things have been happening with our family...thus the lack of posts. We're still doing well and just trying to keep up with life. Adam's Grandfather passed away a couple of days ago, so now we're planning a trip to Utah for the funeral. Other than this, life is pretty much the same. Just wanted everyone to know that we're still around. And, as a bonus, here are a couple old pictures that I saw the other day that just made me smile.

Update

2009-08-27T12:40:00.001-06:00

Well, things around here have been busy/crazy. After Malcolm passed away, Stacy and her girls decided to move in with my parents. That makes 9 of us living in their house. It's been adjustment, but so far has been working out better than I would have thought.Adam and I are planning on staying with my parents as well, as long as things continue to work well. We're able to move out, but right now we need everyone here to keep things moving. Lauren and Caity started school down here and seem to be handling everything very well and getting into school. Samantha and Paul LOVE having them here all the time but I'm waiting to see how long they all get along. Things are changing since now they're in more of a brother/sisters roll than cousins.

As if that wasn't enough, we all got sick...with the swine flu. Gross. Luckily, that's over and we're all (almost) back to normal. Hopefully we'll be able to settle into a rhythm and things will feel less hectic soon.

Anyway, that's what has been going on in our lives. We have realized how grateful we are for all of the blessings we continue to receive and all the support we've been given over the last few weeks.

2009 Reunion

2009-08-27T12:36:00.000-06:00

I am finally getting around to posting pictures from the 3 weeks my sister spent out here. We had SUCH a fun time with her and her kids...Sammi was in seventh heaven with all the friends. She and Grant got along really well and it was fun to watch them play together. We did a lot of fun things like going to Santa's Workshop, Prospect Lake, the park, hiking, Mr. Biggs, Pirate's Cove (a water park), and probably more that I'm leaving out. I took SO many pictures, so here are a few (and by a few, I mean a lot) from this summer.

For Lauren and Caitlin

2009-08-12T10:57:00.000-06:00

For those of you who are not aware, my brother-in-law, Malcolm, passed away Sunday afternoon. He is leaving his wife and two daughters, Lauren (11) and Caitlin (8). I am not sure who reads this that wouldn't get an e-mail, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway.

For those friends and family wishing to make a contribution in memoriam of Malcolm, a trust has been set up for Lauren and Caity. To make a donation, go to any Wells Fargo Bank and give to account number 6453471267.

Thanks.

A conversation between two 3 year olds...

2009-07-20T14:04:00.001-06:00

This is what I heard the other night while Samantha and her cousin Grant were having a sleepover. It only lasted until 9:00 and we had to send Grant upstairs or they would NEVER have gone to sleep.

Sammi - "No, no, yes, yes...GO!"
Grant - "No, no, yes, yes...GO!"
Sammi - (while laughing hysterically) "No, no, yes, yes...GO!"
Grant - "Hey, where's my soldier guy?"
Sammi - "I don't know, I will go ask my Mommy"
Me- (from the other room) -"Stay on your bed!"
Sammi - "My Mommy said stay on my bed."
Grant - "Okay"
Sammi - "Hey I'm sayin somthin. Hey Grant! Hey! Take your thumb out of your mouth so we can talk."
Grant - "Okay"

*and now my favorite part*

Sammi - "Hey Grant, do you pick your nose?"
Grant - (while laughing) - "Yeah."
Sammi - (while laughing REALLY hard) "Are you picking it right now!?!"

Ahh...so that's what goes on when I'm not around

The Fourth

2009-07-09T07:32:00.001-06:00

It stunk. Really. It was rainy most of the day and the kids and I were all sick. The kids had a pretty good time at the parade in Monument until the rain came and we had to leave. Other than that we just ate, went to get ice cream, and went to bed. It was too rainy and wet to have fireworks so I was glad my kids are still little enough that they didn't miss them. I wouldn't have blogged about it except for the one bright spot...Samantha had a darling little dress to wear. YEAH! Too bad she ruined it with watermelon juice. :)

The watermelon on the right is actually jello, cool uh?

I sure did take a lot of pictures of a not so fabulous day!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-07-06T13:19:00.000-06:00

Life never seems to slow down, but these last few weeks have been even busier than normal. The kids and I went on a quick trip to Utah to check on our rentals. They did great, but I was still wiped out by the time we got home. It didn't help that we all ended up with colds. In July? Seriously? The drive out went fine, but our way home took almost 9 1/2 hours (versus 8 on the way out) because of accidents, rain, and rush hour traffic. The kids hardly cried, but I still about lost it. Thank goodness we live in the age of DVD players. We had a great time seeing friends and staying with Kim and Brad. I brought my camera but only remembered to take pictures on our last night there (after Adam gave me a hard time) so I only have pictures of Sammi, Paul, and Talmage. Samantha had SO much fun and keeps telling me we need to move back to "Moo-tah" I am not sure that she understands that means she wouldn't see her cousins, grandparents, etc that live in Colorado.

I also decided it was finally time to potty train Samantha. She still wasn't crazy about the idea, but quickly got on board when my mom told her it would be great (luckily my mom is still cool and can influence her. I clearly am already a total loser and have no idea what I'm talking about). One nice thing is that it only took 3 accidents and 2 days (really 1 1/2) to have her done. She still wears a diaper at night, but I'm okay with that for awhile.

The biggest news is probably that Paul started walking...YEAH! He's still a little unsteady and will usually take 5-6 steps, fall, and then crawl the rest of the way. It's fun to see him on his fat little legs wobble around. He is definitely seeming more like a toddler than a baby to me. Sad.

These last pictures are probably my favorite. We go down to my grandfather's house once a week so I can write down his history and eat lunch (it's taking awhile because my kids don't always cooperate). When he and I aren't talking, he's playing with the kids. The last time we were down there Samantha conned him into playing "night night" on the porch. It was funny/cute to see him lying on the ground covered with a chair cushion. What a great guy!

Yes, her blanket is a place mat, and his is a chair cushion

My New Favorite

2009-06-21T13:51:00.000-06:00

This is my new favorite picture of Paul. He was laughing so hard at Elmo that he fell over...twice. Notice the Superman pajamas and cape...love it!

The Cake

2009-06-21T13:49:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to put a picture of the castle cake I made for Samantha. She REALLY wanted a castle cake for her birthday so I decided to try to do it myself. It's not a great picture, but you get the idea. I am rather proud of the way it turned out...

She's Three!

2009-06-21T13:25:00.001-06:00

This is now what I hear daily..."I'm three ya know." Yeah, I didn't know that, thanks for the update. Sammi turned 3 on Thursday and had SUCH a fun time. She told me she wanted to: go to the pool, go to Mr. Biggs, go to Chuck E. Cheese, have a picnic, play in our little pool, go to the library for singing time, and have a date with Daddy. She got to pick two (plus the date). We went swimming in the morning and after naps she got to go to Build A Bear with Grammie. The cute bear bear she made has a skirt, pink bows, pink shoes, a pink backpack, and a pink shirt. She decided to name her Adam. Lovely. After that we went to Chuck E Cheese with my mom, Chris, Brittney, and Caeven. Her day ended by having a "slumber party" with Daddy and watching Horton Hears a Who. She was SO excited about this that she talked aobut it the whole way home from dinner (35 min). Non-stop talking. Non-stop.

As if that wasn't enough, we had a party for her yesterday at Fox Run Park. Some of her friends and thier families came by as well as both sets of grandparents and my sister and her family. We just got a new camera and were trying to test it out so we took way too many pictures. We got almost 200 (I know, woah) so I'm going to just put in a slideshow with SOME of those.

Slip 'n Slide

2009-06-12T15:57:00.001-06:00

We broke out the slip 'n slide today for the first time this summer. Samantha (as always) LOVES anything that has to do with water. Paul wasn't too sure. I don't think he was too fond of the water being freezing. Puls it wasn't that hot today, so it wasn't exactly refreshing. Here are some pictures....

This is the goofy "smile" he always gives me now