Our Super Mario's

Who knew how many hours of fun can come from a plastic nose and mustache! Luke found this in his room and they each took turns being Super Mario! Here are the results:
Luke Mario


Harlee Mario


Nash Mario


I love watching them be creative and play so well together!

True Love

If you have not heard already Joey and I are so not feet people. We both do not like our feet to be touched and prefer not to touch each other's feet! Today Joey was clipping all the fingernails and toes for the kids. Since my belly is growing by the minute I have not been able to clip my growing toe nails. So I asked Joey to do it and he did! What a great husband. He finished with only a couple dry heaves! Thanks Joey for helping me in every way! Love you bud!
*Someone definitely needs a pedicure!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

So Thanksgiving is over and it is time to get ready for Christmas. Joey is always ready to get the tree up quickly and so ready to take it down on Christmas night! So last night while I got Gray to sleep Joey put all of the lights on with Nash's help. This morning we woke up and decorated the tree. I love this time. It is so fun to work on something as a family and then enjoy the finished product. I LOVE this time of year and look forward to many more moments of cherished family time!

*Gray loved helping and being one of the big kids!



*The finished product! I LOVE the clumps of ornaments. That is "Nash's" side and only he was allowed to work on it! Just ask him! Too cute!

Is Griddle Back?

Last night we got out the Christmas decorations and I am afraid with the decorations came the ghost of Christmas past! While Joey was putting the lights on the tree Nash kept saying "Look Dad! I see a person." I guess he said this several times and Joey thought that since it was dark he was seeing a reflection from the TV in the window. Well this morning when the kids were all awake, we decorated the tree. Nash said again. "Look! I see a person!" Where I asked? Right there he pointed. I asked him some questions and it is a boy that is happy. Could Luke's red-headed friend Griddle be back? Luke use to swear that "Griddle" was hanging around and wanting to be a part of whatever we were doing. Whatever it is it creeps me out! I am going to try to think that we are being visited by Poppie or Pa or Grandpa Gordon or maybe the new little one coming to this family is checking out the place. Hopefully the new friend does not stick around for too long. Makes it a little bit harder to get up in the middle of the night!

Thanksgiving Eve

Every year we switch off between Joey's family and mine. This year it was the Lovelace year. Tara had come into town to spend this holiday with us. We were so excited to see her and her family. She had to work on Friday in Oregon so we decided to do Thanksgiving on Wednesday night. We spent the whole day together and then when Joey, Cory, and Charity got off work we had dinner. The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins and the food was delicious. I cannot believe how much the family has grown. With what started with 2 has turned into 26.5! What a nice night that was! Since we did the dinner on Wednesday night we had our own little Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. Nothing beats a yummy dinner in our pjs! We had ham, mashed potatoes, corn and rolls. The great meal was followed by naps and then games with Joey's family. What a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am overwhelmed with all of our many many blessings.

It's a .....BOY

Well looks like Gray and Nash were the winners! I should have known that we are more prone to a certain gender in our family! That is right, we are having another BOY! So the Childs family will consist of four boys and one girl! Good thing Harlee loves her brothers. We are so excited for this little guy to join our family!
*So sad about how large I look in this picture. I guess I am just supporting the "you get bigger/faster which each one" statement.

Movie Night

Last night we rented Cars 2! We all got our pillows and blankets and settled in to watch the movie. I was trying to rock Gray to sleep but he insisted on laying on the ground like the big kids. He cracks me up! It was not too long before Harlee was out for the count. Luke joined her a few minutes later. Gray was next and our little Nash made it through the whole show. That does not surprise me since he is our night owl! I seriously LOVE these family nights! I feel so blessed to have all these little ones! I LOVE my family and feel so lucky to have them.

Party like a rock star

On Saturday Harlee was invited to her friend Grace's rock star party. As she walked in they gave her some hip glasses and a microphone. She had so much fun. She came home with some new hair and a bag full of treats. I love that she will just go to these parties and is having so much fun. Love you cute girl!

It is about time for a haircut

BEFORE


AFTER


On Saturday I finally took Nash to get his haircut. His hair grows like a weed. I love the longer look but it was getting past the point of cute. So the two of us went to Great Clips on Saturday afternoon. It was so fun to spend a little one on one time with my Nash! He loves to just chat away. He was sure to inform me that he needs a dark blue Ipad. Perfect toy for a 2 year old. He makes me laugh. What a cute boy he is and I am so grateful he is mine!
*His hair does not look a ton different but they took over an inch off the back and about an inch on the sides. Love that I can see that cute face again!

I guess....

Monday is our ultrasound to find out if this little one is a boy or a girl. I asked everyone to wager their guess. Here are the results:

Joey - girl
Jamie - girl
Luke - girl
Harlee- girl
Nash- boy
Gray - He patted head which we think means "Boy"

So the decision seems to be split! We will have to see what Monday will bring. Ultimately I am just praying for a healthy little baby. It is crazy to think how my outlook on ultrasounds has changed over the last 7 I have had. With Luke we could not wait to see the gender. With the 2 after Luke we were just praying that their was a baby. Unfortunantely, both times we had lost the little one. With Harlee we were just so excited that the pregnancy had lasted and really wanted a girl. With Nash and Gray I was just praying for a healthy baby. That is where I am at this time. I just feel completely blessed to add to our family and to enjoy this last ultrasound!

Love these moments

The other morning things were running unusually smooth. Most of the kids were ready for the day and we had about an hour before school. So I sat on the couch to watch a cartoon with Nash and Gray. They both climbed up on my lap to snuggle. Then Harlee came and claimed her spot. It was so nice to feel so loved! The only thing that would have made this moment better is if Luke did not need to take the picture and could have been snuggling too! Boy do I love these kids! Each time we add another to our family I am worried if I will love them as much as the rest. All of those worries disappear the second they are born and I realize that I don't know how I felt our family was complete without them. Excited to see what this little new one will add to the bunch but I have no doubt that I will love it just as much!

"My April"

April is Nash's speech therapist that comes a couple times a month. She is wonderful. She has helped Nash's speech progress so quickly and to say Nash loves her is an understatement. Usually once a day Nash will say "My April come today?" If you ask who his best friend is he says "My April!" He just loves her! She has been so good to work with Harlee too and has helped her speech progress also. I seriously do not know what Nash will do when he turns 3 and his April cannot come anymore. He will be so sad. We will just have to meet her for lunch once a month so he can still see his best friend!

Just another day....

Just another day in the life of Gray. This kid is CRAZY! This picture illustrates perfectly all the fun I get to experience on a daily basis. In this picture he has climbed up into a vase that is on top of a table and he is trying to lose himself in the fake tree. How does he come up with these things? I have to admit that I am a little nervous as to what the terrible two's will bring since he already tires me out so much. I am sure there will be many more posts of Gray's creativity to come.

Such a Happy Birthday

Sunday was my birthday and my family sure out did themselves. Joey let me sleep in until around 8am. I could have stopped there. That alone is the best present. Then when all the kids were up they gave me my presents. I got a beautiful card, a new shirt, Romance perfume, and an IPAD 2. Seriously?? I was so excited but felt so bad that Joey did not get the same over the top treatment! The morning was so relaxing. I made some new cinnamon muffins and just enjoyed the non-stress time before church. We went to church as a family and then off to Jenna's for the family birthday dinner. It was such a great day and I am so grateful to my family for making me feel so loved. I was so overcome with joy that I hardly focused on the fact that I am not that young anymore. 35- Really?
Here is the pic of the yummy muffins.

Snow Day

It has snowed one other time this season but this was the first time it really stuck to the ground. So we got Luke, Harlee, and Nash bundled in their snow clothes and they could not get out the door fast enough. Poor Gray wanted to go out so bad but he has had a cold. So instead he stood at the door crying and banging his head on the window. Kind of typical Gray these days. Poor Nash because we could not find any snow clothes in his size. So our little toe head wore Harlee's old snow bibs. He kept saying "Me want blue ones!" So sorry Nash. We will get you some blue ones in your size, we promise! I cannot believe it is already snow season but the kids are loving it! When they came in freezing Joey made them all hot chocolate to warm them up. What a great day!

Birthday Breakfast

This morning we (Jenna and I) met my Dad at One Man Band for our annual birthday breakfast. Our birthday is not actually until tomorrow but since it falls on a Sunday we celebrated today. It was really fun to spend that time together and a perfect way to start the day!

Birthday Date

I have been hinting to Joey for a while that he surprise me for my birthday. He did not let me down! He took the day off and took me out! When we got in the car he told me of the three options for lunch- Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, or this little Italian place. I chose Cheesecake Factory and it was so good. We enjoyed a wonderful kid free lunch and then he said we were going shopping. It was so nice to just browse and not feel rushed for time. I ended up getting a pair of flannel pants which is just about all this pregnant lady wants! It was such a fun afternoon and a great way to start off my birthday weekend. Love you bud!
*Forgive me for the not so recent picture. We all know how Joey is about picture taking and I am so not in the mood to push since I am as big as a house!

Crazy Busy Halloween

What a busy day it was yesterday but I am sure the kids would not change one minute of it. It started out with Luke's parade. Then we ran to Costco, quick naps, dressed in costumes, and headed down to Orem to show them off. We first went to Mimi and GP's. It was fun to see a lot of the cousins in their costumes. Mimi made some yummy pumpkin cake pops for the kids. I accused her of being such a grandma when she was trying to give them to the kids while they were dressed in their costumes. Thankfully we put them in a baggy to save until the costume's cleanliness was not a concern. Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's for a treat and some pictures.



We came home and ate some warm soup to get them ready for some serious trick or treating. We left around 5:45pm. Gray and I went up and down our street with the fam but then they set out without us. Gray and I had so much fun passing out candy. Gray would just get so excited when they would come to the door. He also insisted on getting candy each time he would give on away. It was so cute. Joey finally tired out around 8pm. Over two hours of trick or treating and they definitely have the candy to prove it!



Such a fun night!! I must admit though that I am excited to put the costumes away until next year.