Change of Plans

Right now I should be posting pictures of the fun we had at Bruneau Sand Dunes with the kids. Pictures of the kids climbing and sliding down the dunes. Maybe a few shots of kids covered in sand or playing with their friends. Perhaps a family picture. Maybe a shot of the yummy food we packed for a picnic.

But instead I'll spare you and not post a picture of what we did instead today. Poor Ains woke up at 6:30 throwing up and didn't stop until 2:30. I think we were all a little disappointed that we were home bound with sickness instead of out on a fun day trip.


But we'll have to take a rain check and head out to the dunes another day. And next time I might not invite anyone to go with us so I don't feel so lame when we have to cancel. And I'll post the pictures then.


On the other hand, we have managed to cram A LOT of wii and 2 movies into the day so far. Just as fun, right?

For Documentation Sake

Last night John noticed Emmie had 2 little teeth poking through on the bottom of her mouth. I would say that this officially makes her a third child whose milestones go unnoticed. However, I remember the same thing happening with Ainsley when she was about 10 or 11 months. All the sudden one day I looked in her mouth and there was a tooth. At least I was the one to notice Ainsley's first tooth. Instead of having someone else point it out to me.

The funny thing is that in the past 2 weeks I've had two complete strangers look at Emmie drooling and chewing away who said, "Oh, she must be teething!" I dismissed them immediately in my head thinking, "Whatever, my kids don't get teeth this young." And what do ya know? They were right!

I would post a cute picture of Emmie's new teeth, but I'm lazy, and I'm sure even if I did try I wouldn't get a picture of them anyways.

Ains has yet to see the teeth due to Emmie's gift for keeping them hidden. So she just likes to feel them. In fact, tonight as Ains was putting off going to bed she asked if she could feel Emmie's teeth one more time. Kind of weird.

And since I'm too lazy to take and post a new picture, here's an old one that was sitting in our picture folder....

Maybe in this picture she's thinking, "Hey Mom! Why won't you just feel the teeth in my mouth already?!"

Conversation in the car

Owen: "Mom, I'm in charge of myself."

Me: "Well guess who I'm in charge of?"

Owen: "Who?"

Me: "You!"

Owen: "No, I'm in charge of myself!"

Me: "How about I'll be in charge of you until you're 18, and then you can be in charge of yourself? Does that sound fair?"

Owen: "Ya! How old is 18?"

Me: "Too late Owen, the deal's already been made."



*****I just had to add to this that 2 days later while Owen was doing his best at avoiding going to bed he informed us that we weren't in charge of him, Jesus was. Because Jesus made him. Clever kid...

Emmie's Quirks

1. She's a bit like a bird...in that she flaps her arms a lot. A LOT. She flaps when she's tired, hungry, happy, or any other emotion. This has proven to be a bit frustrating when feeding her food. She flaps so much she has, on more than one occasion, hit the spoon and sent it flying. It's getting to the point where I need to wrap myself in plastic when I feed her, because somehow I'm always the one that ends up covered in food.

2. She spits. A LOT. She's always drooly and wet, but now she spits when she eats. Kind of like an excited spit. And once again, it's me that ends up covered in food. Once again making me think I need to invest in some sort of plastic covering for myself.

3. She is proving to be the blow out queen (and no she isn't ready for the next size of diapers). She only poops every few days. And when she does, there is no diaper on earth that could hold the explosion. Today her blow out went up the back and out the arm. We just threw the pj's she was wearing away...they had a hole in them anyways. And it was late at night. One of those moments where you just aren't sure where to begin, so we didn't.

4. Emmie is super talkative. She has recently discovered her upper register. So now she talks in cute little screams.

5. Emmies drool smells like yeast (although this has faded a bit lately). And somehow the drool turns her clothing yellow. Like really yellow. I have soaked her shirts in all sorts of cleaners and haven't found one that gets rid of the yellow. If I were made of money we would just be throwing these out as well.

6. And this one might sound a little crazy, but the other night John and I swear she was dancing. There was music on and John was patting something on his leg. When he would pat she would bounce and flap one arm. When he would stop she would stop and wouldn't start again until he patted again. It was weird. But I remember Ains dancing before she could walk. She would bounce excitedly to an Elmo toy. But she was like 11 months, not 6!

Ice Skating and Ribs

The newest game at our house is ice skating. It looks a little painful to me, but the kids don't seem to mind.

(I think the lego blocks have been the best toys in our house. They have been everything from ice skates, to a wii (John made me feel guilty when the kids were playing on their block wii), to houses, musical instruments, and tons of other random things under the sun. I guess that means it's a good toy!)

Also, John wanted me to do a post dedicated to the ribs he made on Sunday. He's been wanting to make them since he brought home special rub and bbq sauce from Memphis.

Ains and Owen were scared to eat them at first because of the bone, but after they manned up and tried it, they both decided they were awesome! Check out Ainsley with her pinky all proper and popped up, while the grease and sauce runs down her hands and face.

The rub and bbq sauce were great, but I thought the ribs were a little fatty. But that's my bad. Maybe there is some trick to buying good ribs that I am not familiar with.

My NEW most truamatizing moment of my life....

This past week, as Owen, Emmie, and I were on our way to Emmie's 6 month check-up I had another terrifying moment with Emmie. And because of that, I will now forever be fearful for Emmie's life.

So here's the story....

While were driving (getting on the freeway to be exact) I noticed that things didn't sound right in the back seat. Emmie was flailing around and making choking sounds. I asked Owen what was wrong and he said Emmie had thrown up. I started panicking and simultaneously swiping her mouth and pulling to the side of the road. I had the car in park before we had stopped. I was desperately trying to get back to Emmie, because it was very apparent to me at this point that she was choking, and not getting any air. I couldn't feel anything in her mouth. I couldn't get out of my door because cars were flying by at 50 mph. I got between the two front seats and was trying to get her unbuckled when Owen reached in her mouth and pulled out a water bottle lid. Way to go Owen! I don't know how I didn't feel it in her mouth. I'm thinking that I bumped it one of the times I swiped her mouth and then Owen could see it to grab it out.

She started coughing and crying and I got her out of her seat. Then I started crying and asked Owen why he had given her the lid to his water bottle. His reply was that she had dropped all of her toys and so he gave her that to hold on to. Poor kid. His intentions were good. And I think Owen was a little scared too. He was sitting in his carseat with his hands over his ears (he does that when he knows he in trouble and going to get yelled at). But I think he and I were both too scared for him to be in too much trouble. So, after a long discussion about objects that can and can't go in Emmie's mouth, we finally made our way to the doctors office where we got to share our story. I really like my doctor because she is so laid back. Her response was just to say that Emmie looked fine and that things like that happen while raising kids and then recounted a couple of stories from when her children had either choked or nearly choked.

I just can't wait until Emmie is no longer in her infant carrier and is in a front facing car seat, because those seem a lot safer choking wise. And then I can see her face and know if something is wrong, instead of her being completely hidden from me.

And here's why I'm grateful...
I had tried to call a friend who was in the middle of a move on our way there just to check in and see how things were going. I'm so grateful that she didn't answer the phone so that I was more alert and aware of what was going on in the back seat.

I'm also grateful that Heavenly Father has been aware of and a protector of my children. I know that it's due to divine intervention that my children are all alive and well.

Mother's Day/Emmie's 6 month birthday!

What a great mother's day!

John worked really hard to make my day easy. I woke up to stuffed french toast, and some great gifts. Ains made me a mouse pad at school...it's a black and white photo of her sitting in an old fashioned desk wearing a bonnet. I still don't quite get it, but it's adorable. John and the kids got me a bike seat cover. I have been begging for a new seat because my old one kills me!!!! Now I can go on bike rides a little more comfortably. And John also got these awesome pictures of the kids and framed them in a cool collage frame. I love it!!!!

The kids sang at church and it was adorable. I wish I could have gotten a picture of Owen. He has been so excited to go up in front and sing and today he got to for the first time. He was very proud and excited!

After church John made me lettuce wraps, and did all the dishes, and even yelled at the kids for me when they needed "encouraging." And isn't Mother's Day truly about the food, the laziness, and the gifts?

Honestly though, I'm grateful to be a mother. I'm so happy I get to stay home with my kids because I'd way rather be at home having fun with them than actually 'working'. And the older I get the more grateful I am for my own mother...because like I've said before...being a parent is hard. And I'm guessing it's always hard, because I still call my mom often asking for advice or help. So apparently, the fun never ends!

And also today Emmie is officially 6 months old. We go to the doctor this week to get her stats, but I'm pretty sure she's growing beautifully. Check out those cheeks?!

She is as adorable and happy as ever.

I love that she thinks I am hilarious.

She is a rolly baby, which is a new thing for me. Ains and Owen both rolled over when encouraged, but never just for fun. Emmie rolls to her stomach almost the minute she is laid on the floor, and while she has the ability to roll the other way, she usually get frustrated and cries until someone rescues her and rolls her back over.

She loves to dance...dance parties are her favorite.

She loves her older brother and sister.

Ains can always make her laugh. In fact Ains had her laughing so hard while I was being set apart last month that I have no idea what he bishop was said. (We had a talk afterward about reverence during prayers...for Ains, not Emmie.)

I have been hoping that she would be a late crawler, just to make our summer easier. But based on her interest in moving, I'm guessing that wish just might not come true.

She is still a terrible sleeper......*sigh*

But even though I get mad at her at night, it's all forgotten when she gives me a huge smile first thing in the morning!

Fun Fair

Ainsley's school's end of year Fun Fair doesn't disappoint. We had fun there with the kids on Friday night. It seems they had everything!

There were 3 bounce houses.

Crazy hair salon... (I just love how Owen looks like he is in pain :)

Face painting (Ainsley got a blue lady bug with red spots and Owen chose a snake after the face painter told him she didn't know how to paint the roly poly he had originally requested.)
A fire truck to sit in and tour.

Plenty of photo opps. Here are the kids with some friends and some creepy guy that jumped in the picture (just kidding we know him :) posing with the Boise Hawks mascot. There was also smokey bear, Darth Vader, Cinderella, McGruff, and Buster Bronco, the Boise State mascot. (For those of you from Utah, that would be like having Cosmo at an elementary school party.) Pretty impressive!

A train ride for the kiddo's.

Tons of carnival games. (I liked this picture because it showed the "fish" being put on the line.)

And Emmie was pleasant the entire evening. She just sat in her stroller and giggled and laughed.

There was also a cake walk, live band, cotton candy machine, tons of food, prize booth, lots of carnival type games, and lots and lots of people. The kids had a great time...and I'm sure the school made a lot of money, which is the point! :)

White Box

We had some fun hanging out at a friends house the other night...and had a little fun putting the kids in their white box.

Can you believe Emmie is already sitting!??? (With a bit of help:)

Buyers Remorse?

Well, I think my shopping spree is over...because now I feel especially poor! I spent Saturday morning at the RC Willey sale with my sister. Neither of us found anything...so we went shopping. I found a nice black, solid wood TV stand at TJ Max and got a little excited. So I had them hold it for me and went home and got John. By the time we got there 2 hours later, some woman had come in and claimed to be Jessica and bought my stand!!! Who does that????? Seriously!!!!!

So after some complaining and some thought, and some worrying that everything in my living room is black and I need to add some other tones, I decided on this stand. Which is the same as the black one. It's just a dark walnut color instead. It was also more expensive, so after some arguing, the grumpy lady at TJ Max agreed to lower the price enough that I felt okay buying it. I'm going to put black knobs on it to tie it into my room better, but I really like how it looks.

So after we had the stand, John drove straight to Costco and bought his dream TV. Well, probably not actually his dream TV, but a flat screen that is big enough to keep him happy for a few years. I'm sure his dream TV is much larger...but I still have limits even on a spending spree!

And now I'm scared to balance the checkbook and pay the bills. But I'm trying hard not to have buyers remorse. Because there are still some things I want to buy. Like new lamps (since mine are either spray painted or purchased from the DI when I was in college), a new end table (since mine is a table that we stole from my in-laws basement years ago and then painted), and a new car :).

Ahhh, why does the list never seem to end?

And I'll end by posing a question, cause that would be fun.

After studying the above picture, do you think I should

a) leave the space above the TV blank

b) put a shelf with tons of different sizes of frames on it above the TV

c) hang 3-4 framed pictures in a row above the TV