The Good and the Bad

Here is what we are up to lately.

Devin
Devin ran his first marathon in February. He is a regular athlete now and can bust out 8 mile runs like nobody's business. Speaking of nobody's business, ours is still pretty slow. Barry Fresh is still relatively alive and kicking, although Devin does not have as many carpet jobs as he would like. He has been working for his Dad at good old GB Contracting to fill in the gaps in his time and our income. We are grateful for every hour of work that he has. We know that our Heavenly Father is providing for us.

Me
I am keeping busy with the kids as usual. I am trying to find the balance between taking care of the kids, the house, and myself. I feel like I am cleaning all day long and still have the messiest house on the street. I know this is typical of my stage in life. I am trying to focus on spending quality time with my kids and being in the moment. I am not good at this but I am trying. My goal is to make each day more prayerful so that HF can guide my hours and help me to make each one as meaningful as possible.

Sam

Sam is maturing every day. He is in the "why?" phase and asks questions repeatedly. A popular one lately is, "Mommy, what because tornadoes have so much power?" He is doing so well with his violence issues and usually only hits Mollie after she has hit him first (this is quite an improvement). He now does chores and it is my least favorite task of the day to do them with him. It takes a lot of motivation to get him going. I need motivation to do chores myself, so it really is not fun. He is a social boy and is constantly making new friends at the park. He is sweet and affectionate. He loves rules and routine.

Mollie

Mollie is our passionate girl. She cries on average 10 times per day. We are trying to figure out how to do this girl thing. You'd think I would know since I am one, but I think I was more of a grumpy girl growing up than an emotional one. Mollie is funny. She has killer dance moves. She has an attitude. She is compassionate and nurturing. She loves to be a helper and gets very upset (queue the crying episode) if we do a job that is usually hers (for example opening Taylor's door when it is time to get her up from a nap). She still screams every Sunday when we drop her off at nursery, but then when we pick her up at the end she says, "Nursery fun!!!"

Taylor

I am in the honeymoon phase with Taylor. She is so so sweet and so so happy. Her little eyes disappear when she smiles (which is all the time). She is chubby and sturdy. She is 8 months old now, crawling, and has her 2 bottom teeth. She and Devin have now bonded. I asked him today how he can possibly not want any more kids after having one as sweet as she is?? She is still constantly puking (even her baby food. Our carpet is lots of different colors now). She naps terribly (Usually two 45 minute naps) but goes to bed for the night at 5 p.m. until about 7 the next morning (waking up once or twice to eat). She is pure sugar.


-other news-
Devin's sweet Grandma Barry passed away last month. For the first few years of our marriage I wasn't aware that you only called her "Grandma Barry" when she wasn't around, and that when you were actually in her presence you just called her "Grandma." One thing I will always remember from our interactions is from when I was pregnant with Mollie. I told her of my concern that I could never love a second child as much as I loved Sam. Grandma said that she felt the same way when she was pregnant with her second, and that I shouldn't worry. "Your heart just grows," she said. It wasn't until after I had bonded with Mollie and now Taylor that I understand what she meant.

12 Days of Christmas

Someone is doing "The 12 Days of Christmas" for our family. It is day 5 and we are anxiously awaiting the knock on the door.

Yesterday, our secret Santas dropped off a Christmas tree gingerbread kit. Tonight we made it for family night. The kids were the most quiet they have been in months as they were sampling the frosting while Devin and I decorated the tree. Devin was quite bossy when it came to the application of the frosting. I never knew he wanted to be an interior designer. When I told him he was being too controlling, Devin responded with, "What would Greg King think?" For those of you that know my dad you will find that joke funny.

Thank you to our secret Santas for making our Christmas extra jolly!

Hooray for Pee!

When Taylor was less than a month old I decided to start potty training Mollie. If it sounds terrible, it was. Trying to deal with newborn Taylor (whom I was still nursing) and following around Mollie to make sure she didn't pee her pants was more than I could handle. Most days I ended up crying, and I started to doubt my beloved "Potty Training in 3 Days" method. Mollie would use going potty for attention. One night she pee'd her bed three times in 30 minutes just so I would go in and check on her (my theory at least). She would wake up in the night just as often as Taylor would because she had wet the bed. No one was getting sleep around here. After a week of misery I gave up and put her back in diapers.

2 weeks ago Mollie decided she wanted to give it another go. She started asking for her "big girl potty" and said she was all done with diapers. I was hesitant at first and even tried to talk her into wearing diapers again. I know that is terrible but I really was not interested in dealing with the pee drama again just yet. Anyhoo, here we are 2 weeks later and diapers are just a thing of the past! Mollie did it all on her own. I am so proud of my girl!

Taylor is 4 months old.

Love this girl. Love her chubby cheeks and her easy-going personality. Sam and Mollie already had a plethora of videos by the time they were 4 months old, and this is Taylor's first. Yeah, life is a little busier these days.

I'm Going to Describe Sam's Poo

I love my Sam. He just turned 4 this past Saturday. I can't believe how fast his little years are flying by.

Tonight we decided to walk to the park. Walking to any park from our (relatively) new house is quite a trek, at least 1 mile each way. I packed up the double stroller and had Sam beside me on his scooter. About 1/4 mile into the walk, Sam told me he had to go poo. I asked him if he could make it to the park and he told me yes. About a block down the road Sam alerted me again that he was feeling the urge. I told him he could try to hold it until the park or we could find a bush somewhere to go in. He assured me he could make it to the park. A few seconds later he changed his mind and told me it was time!

We walked to a big stucco sign that says the name of our neighborhood, surrounded by cactuses (It feels too weird saying cacti even though I know it's the right thing to do) and bushes. I positioned the stroller so that it would block Sam's bum from the oncoming traffic and dog-walkers. It was a very funny thing to me to hold onto his little arms while he squatted and pushed with all his might. The poor thing must have been constipated (this is the part where I describe Sam's poo) because not much was happening. After a while I asked him if he was done and he told me, "I just have a little one left." What came out of him was definitely not little. Way to go, buddy.


After a great time at the park, including running into the Boden triplets (those kids are always at the park), having a little missionary experience (I had to shout out loudly and proudly that I'm a Mormie when some cute ladies offered me coffee. It was all of 65 degrees outside. I could have frozen to death due to my convictions), and having a reunion with my beloved Jessica McDowell, we headed home.

Of course Sam wanted to stop and admire his poo on the walk back. By this time it was dark, so finding the treasure was hard at first. When we spotted it, Sam got so excited that he ran up and down the sidewalk, kicked a cactus, and immediately started screaming. The cactus had poked him through his shoe.


Only a boy would kick a cactus.

Mollie's 2 Year Video

3 Months Old

I am so excited that Taylor is 3 months old. I feel like we are on the downward slope as far as hard newborn things go.

Taylor is laid-back. She is a vomit machine. She is smiley. She prefers me to hold her. She still sleeps in the swing. She is not as portable as she used to be and likes her conditions perfect if she is expected to take a nap (wonder where she gets that from?).

She is so so sweet.

I Hate Snakes.

Devin is training for a marathon. He has been running at night along the main road behind our street. He has been seeing snakes. RATTLESNAKES.

I've looked out the car window at the desert sometimes over the many years I've lived in Arizona and had the thought, "I'm sure there are a lot of terrible things out there." I'm fine with there being scorpions and snakes out in the wild, but when they come onto my turf I am NOT ok with it. Don't tell me about the scorpion you found in your bedroom. You are talking to a girl who sleeps on the floor.

Tonight Becky, Marci and I went for a walk. Marci's neighborhood doesn't have street lights in a lot of sections, so she was shining her light along the street as we were walking. We were convinced at least 3 times that we had either seen a snake, heard something in the bushes, or seen a bat fly overhead. When I came home from walking and walked in through the garage, I almost stepped on this:

Thank goodness it was just Sam's beloved Sally the Snake.


Since seeing all the rattlesnakes Devin has changed his running route. If he continues to post pictures of snakes on Facebook, he will no longer be my friend.

Bless Her Heart!

Yesterday Taylor was blessed at church. I just love this little baby so much. She is 10 weeks old and so so sweet. Devin blessed her with health and that she will realize how much she is loved by our Heavenly Father and by her family.

Sometimes my blog posts have told about the rough patches our little family is going through. I was just thinking today as I was doing the dishes, that currently, life is good. We are healthy and happy. We know where to turn to for help. Our kids are so stinking precious. Yes, Sam still has violent outbursts, Mollie refuses to nap, and thanks to Taylor I am sleep deprived, but we are blessed. Devin is Mr. Motivation lately and is training for a marathon in addition to taking a wood-working class. I am loving this side of him. He is such a help to me as I am trying to get the hang of this 3 kid thing. I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It truly is the happiest way to live.

And now for pictures of my precious girl.

My 27th year

Tomorrow I turn 28.

I spent the majority of my 27th year grumpy and pregnant. Looking back, I remember vomiting through Christmas, sleeping through the spring, and eating through the summer. I do not love being pregnant but I sure am grateful that my body is able to carry babies. I love Taylor and I am so happy I got to have her in the 27th year of my life!

In my 27th year we became a family of 5. This is weird to me because this is how big my family was growing up. This is how big my big sister's family is. Now, I am the grown-up one with the 3 kids. It is very stressful at times and I am still in the zombie phase of motherhood, what with Taylor waking up every few hours, but I am slowly getting used to it.

In my 28th year I want to try and live in the present. I want to cherish my husband more and focus on all he does for me and the kids. I want to have meaningful moments with each of my children each day. I want to have meaningful scripture study and feel the Holy Spirit influencing my life.

I am a blessed girl (I guess I should say woman, I will be 28 tomorrow). I have a knowledge of the restored gospel and the priesthood in my home. My children are stinking cute and more importantly the sweetest things ever (even if one of them is only sweet to me when he's sleeping. I'm not mentioning any names but it rhymes with Ham).

Here's to 28!

Taylor Sue, the highlight of the year