Sweet Moment

Last night I was trying to get the kitchen cleaned up from dinner and Joey took the kids in the front room to read. He had Luke read to the others a Dora book and Nash could not have been more excited. I just had to take a picture of all of these cute kids snuggling up to their cute Dad. I am so blessed.

Another tough experience

Did I really sign up for this mom thing? Sometimes I wonder if I knew it would be so emotionally hard. I have been wondering for a while if there was something going on with Luke because he has been acting a little different. If we are not there to get him right when the bus arrives, he starts to cry. The explanation came on Monday. He was picked up by Ben's mom and as soon as he walked in I knew something was wrong. Luke said Kalab hit him on the side of his head and then pointed and laughed. He was so scared and so embarrassed. I so wanted to go and hurt this kid. Who does he think he is to harass my sweet Luke?? Luke then went on to say that he is so mean and wears a chain! He also said he always yells "Kiss my ASP!" I told Luke that we do not say words like that and that Kalab was making bad choices. We talked with Kalab's teacher and she was so great to step in and make the situation better. She made Kalab apologize to Luke and even reminded Kalab that if he hits Luke again, Luke will hit back and Luke is much bigger than him so it will hurt! Then I talked to the bus driver and he already had experienced difficulties with this kid and gave him a permanent seat right by him. He also said he would watch out for Luke. I am so grateful for these people who help to make Luke's hard time a little easier. It has been 2 days and already he is getting back to normal. I know that I will have to face these hard times of watching my children hurt and grow but I wish I did not have to. Be tough my Luke! I am so proud of you for being the one to make the good choices.

*On a ligther note, Luke asked me this morning what I was going to name the baby. I told him that we were thinking Grey. He said "I like John" Then he thought for a minute and said "Mom, Grey is a color!" So smart. Hopefully he will not tease Little Grey about being a color.

It's that time again

On Saturday we took the kids to Target to have their pictures taken. I bought them some matching outfits for Easter and decided it would be a perfect time to get them done. One more photo shoot before there are four little ones! So we got them ready and surprisingly I did not turn into Crazy Picture Mom. I really let them move and breathe on the way to Target! Luke and Harlee were dreams and I wanted to buy every single one of their pictures. If anyone knows of Joey's love for photos, that did not happen! But Nash on the other hand was not having the best time. He pretty much cried the entire time. We did manage to get a few good shots and I am so grateful for the inexpensive way to make memories!

Nash's 15 Month appointment

I cannot believe this little guy is already 15 months old. I guess he better hurry up and grow up since there is a new baby on his way!! He is doing great. Here are the stats:

Weight- 26 lb 10 oz- 50%

Height- no luck

Nash HATES to be weighed, maybe he is like his pregnant mom, but he fights it the whole time. She tried to measure his height and looks like he shrunk an inch since the last appt. So not true. Dr. D said it is like trying to measure an alley cat- perfect analogy. He is on target for development and should learn another 5-10 words over the next 3 months. He had to get 2 shots and was not happy about that. So hard as a mom to put him through that but it is so necessary. Since last Monday Nash has decided to walk. He walks all over the place and truly appreciates the praise! He is such a blessing in our family and cannot imagine our family without him.

PS- So in love with that smile!!

White Out

Yesterday I was blogging while Nash was napping and Luke and Harlee were keeping themselves busy. Harlee came to me with white all over her hands. I wondered if she had touched paint at the condo that had not come off. Then I saw some white on her skirt. I immediately knew she had gotten into the white out. We attempted to clean her up and that was it. Well today I went into the office and found out what she really did with the white out. What a disaster! She is truly a sneaky one. I have been saying prayers of gratitude for the magic eraser that will take that beautiful artwork off the office walls. Harlee should be so grateful also because her mom was a lot less upset knowing that special eraser would help.

*This picture just shows one part of the the paint job, the white out extends to the whole wall. Oh Harlee, what are we going to do with you.

Saint Patrick's Day 2010

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! All of the kids got dressed in their green this morning and requested green eggs like we had last year. Looks like it is a tradition! This morning as I was getting ready I overheard a conversation that Luke and Harlee were having. Luke told Harlee "I will say Happy Saint Patrick's Day because I am a boy and you can say Happy Saint Patty's Day because you are a girl!" So cute and very clever. I love these little holidays to remind me to be fun mom and make the day special for them.

*Everyone finished their green eggs and even asked for seconds! Maybe I should make other foods green??

L*O*V*E

I had to post this picture. I took it this weekend while we were down in St. George. They both just look so cute but what I love more is how close they look. They have started to become such good friends. Luke just looks out for Harlee and makes sure that she is taken care of. Aside from the occasional fighting, they are really enjoying playing together. It has made my life so much easier. I just pray that their relationship will just continue to get stronger. I had always wanted an older brother and this picture reminds me of what I was missing.

Condo Adventure Part Two

This weekend was the follow-up to make sure that the condo was ready to rent out. Good thing we worked hard because the person renting our place came a few days early! We loaded the moving truck and made it to St. George around 6:30pm on Friday night. I don't think we stopped working until Monday at 1pm! Thank goodness grandma and grandpa were down there to keep the kiddos busy. They had so much fun and a much better time than the last weekend. It was so nice to know they were safe and to focus on what needed to be done. We cleaned, finished cabinets, painted the bedroom, painted doors, put contact paper in the cupboards, painted baseboards, hung tvs, unpacked all the stuff, and did not have a minute to spare. We are so happy with the results and hope that it will be a good investment for our family. We might even get a weekend or two to enjoy it!!

*Here are a few pics of the place. Also a fun family one that reminds me why not to be in pictures when I am big and pregnant!

Nash's new look?

Tonight Nash was making us laugh when he insisted on wearing Harlee's headbands. Quite a good look? I blame it on the fact that he has an older sister who loves to dress him up- not a sign of things to come?? He is so funny and is constantly cracking us up with all of the silly things he does. We love you Nash!

Condo Adventure Part One

We officially closed on the condo on February 26th and we are super excited. We decided to try to rent it out and hopefully make a little money. We talked to St. George Resort Rentals and they are excited to work with us. They are so excited that they have already found someone to rent it for a month or more. Our original plan was to go down next weekend and get it set up. With the pressure of someone coming March 17th, we decided we needed to spend a little more time down there. So we took off Friday after work to get some things done. We anticipated craziness, three little kids stuck in a one bedroom condo that is being worked on! Not so much a vacation! We arrived and were excited to see it since this would be the first time. Kind of feeling crazy for buying something we had not seen but Joey's parents had seen it so we felt good about it. It was a little bit of a disaster with gross carpet and cat hair but we can definitely see the potential. We spent the weekend pulling up carpet, staining the 1970's cabinets, changing light plates, and cleaning. It was a very tiring weekend but was so worth it. We are hoping to get someone in to do the floors this week and then go down on Friday with all of the furniture. Joey's parents will be down next weekend and we will totally appreciate the help with the kiddos. We felt so bad, they were quite bored in the one bedroom space. Here are some pics and more to come next weekend!

*The last two pics show some of the before and afters! Hopefully it is easy to tell which is before and which is after!!

Her Big First Day

I know I have mentioned in previous blogs that Harlee is starting speech class. She could not have been more excited. She had to wear her shirt with the butterflies and even took a backpack. She did so well. It brought tears to my eyes to hear her say the words correctly. She was truly proud of herself and I was so proud of her. I am grateful for her teacher and the blessing of this class. I can already hear a difference after one 20 minute session. Way to go Harlee!!