3 Months

Jonas turned 3 months old on the 22nd. Sometimes I can hardly believe it's been three months already and other times I feel like I can't believe it's ONLY been three months. =) Here's some things we're learning about our Buster boy:

-He is a people person. He is so smiley and friendly to anyone. My first baby to be this way and I love it! Forget the toys...give him people to watch and he is a happy camper.

-He is easy going when he's with his mama but can be kind of high maintenance with others. Only because his mama knows all his different cries and what he wants to have happen when he cries or fusses a certain way. =)

-He loves his hands. Loves them. He can suck on them so loud it's ridiculous. And adorable. And if you clap his hands together or put his hands above his head he will giggle for you. Every. Time. He sleeps with his hands clasped a lot too.

-He loves the bath. We switched to the big bath and he stays there and kicks until the water gets cold.

-He loves having his bum wiped. It's hilarious how quickly he'll calm down when you change him. He hates being poopy.

-He's gotten used to having someone in his face all the time. If Saydi and Weston aren't mauling him then mommy is smothering him in kisses or daddy is tickling him with his chin. Like it or not, it's his life.

-He weighs about 13 pounds and is outgrowing clothes because he's too tall, not too big.

-He is still figuring out how to sleep good at night. He went six hours in between a feeding for the first time two nights in a row but then last night we were back to being awake every three hours and not going back to sleep very easily after feedings.

-And of course, we have ourselves another blue-eyed baby. Love it. Love him.

A Little Honesty Never Hurt

Right now I'm reading this book:

Which is fabulous and I am loving it. It really is strengthening my testimony that Thomas S. Monson was foreordained to be a prophet of God and I'm looking forward to General Conference that much more. However, I have to say, the downside of this book is that is also makes me feel like this:

Now, let me be clear - this has NOTHING to do with how the book is written or anything about President Monson. It has to do with my own insecurities and need to be perfect. He mentions that his wife has always been a huge support and has "never complained". Say what?! No complaining? I mean, you take that away from me and what's left? I'm practically a professional complainer. But that is exactly the kind of wife I always wanted to be. I kind of had something like this in mind:

And what you don't see are my ten perfectly polished, polite, and quiet children who I have never once raised my voice to. Not to mention my sparkling clean house. Unrealistic expectations you say? Psssh.

Ok, maybe. But somebody should have given me more details on this parenting thing before I got started! I mean, for crying out loud, why did I never know that it was going to be entirely up to ME (and Mark) to teach them to be respectable people?! Shouldn't someone else share the load here? Or at the very least be responsible for them in the middle of the night. I KNOW I didn't sign up for that.

But as I was laying in my bed last night at 1:30 wondering if I should just abandon the illusion that I was going to get any sleep at all I realized that I am definitely not the only mom out there who feels this way. (...right?) And while a prophet of God is a good example to follow, Heavenly Father certainly doesn't expect me to live the same life he has; just to do my very best to try to emulate those same Christlike qualities.

Sometimes when I read other people's blogs I have to remind myself that people tend to only post about the very best in their lives. I mean, who would want to read the blog of a whining fool? Well, I do! That's who! Then I would know I'm not the only one who feels like they have no idea what they're doing. Or who does something they regret that you just know is going to end up being your child's very first memory of you. Or who lets their kids play outside in their underwear in the dirt because they're not fighting for once! Not that every post should be a Debby Downer, but occasionally it would be refreshing to read. Am I right ladies?

So, here's to real life and all it's imperfections. One day my kids will all sleep all night long. One day my kids will all dress themselves and wipe their own bums. One day my house will be clean all the time and I'll have lots of time to keep it that way. And let's face it folks - as much as I enjoy each day for what it is - there are days that I live for "one day".

First Day of Preschool

Weston's first day of preschool was yesterday. And he almost missed it! Long story short, there was a typo in the email from his teacher which led me to believe that his first day was on Monday. Luckily, about two hours before school my friend called me to see if I could keep her little girl afterwards and we straightened out my confusion! I feel like the worst mom ever though because I had to send him to his first day without a backpack and that is ALL this little boy has been talking about since he found out about school. My plan was to get one on Friday and have it ready for Monday. Thank goodness Wes is such a sweet boy and didn't mind or cry when I told him we would get it another day. He was so excited that I couldn't snag a decent picture. But his excitement was contagious!

Poor Saydi jumped in there and said, "My turn! I go to school!"

So I took him to school and there were tears. They weren't his. And they weren't mine. (I cried the day before at the open house. =D) They were Saydi's!! Poor baby girl wanted to go to school SO bad! I had to drag her out, literally. When we got home I tried to make it fun for her to be with mama but she would randomly whine that she wanted to go to school or ask me where Weston was. She'll get the hang of it!

Weston had a fabulous day. He made a hat that he was so proud of and started learning how to use scissors better. He ran to me after he got out and gave me the biggest bear hug (in front of all his classmates even!) and it melted my heart. I don't know if it makes me a terrible mom but I'm not sad that he's in school now. Ok, maybe just a little. Mostly though, I'm just so excited for him to see him experiencing new things and having so much fun. This is truly the beginning of his own little life and he will be in school for MANY more years to come so I'm glad he is starting out his learning years with so much enthusiasm!

Jonas' Blessing Day

Daddy and Jonas were hard at work preparing for Jonas' big day yesterday.

And Jonas wasn't happy about it when he had to quit "working". (Would you believe this is the best picture I got of him in his outfit? Oh well. It didn't look like a particularly comfortable outfit to me either.)

I've been so grateful to have a son named after my dad. He has been through so much grief in his life and I hope Jonas will look to him as an example of strength.

It only took 2 1/2 months but we finally snagged a picture as a family of five!

Jonas did so good during his blessing and didn't make a peep. Mark did a fabulous job as well and I'm grateful, as always, to have a husband who honors his priesthood. My favorite things he was blessed with were to know the sanctity and sacredness of womanhood and to remember that it is more important to do what is right then to be right. I'm so grateful for my little family!

Is It Fall Yet?

Summer is wearing me out! I looked at my hands yesterday and realized they told quite an interesting story of how busy we've been the last couple days: a stamp on one hand from my nephew's football game, a stamp on the other hand from going to the fair with my hubby - if for no other reason then to stare at the absolute weirdos, a wrist band from going to Downata, and my favorite, the ever present tissue because my nose is apparently sidelining as a faucet. It's been a weird, fun, and difficult couple of days!

And as a side note - can I just say it is both sickening and heart warming to see your nephew playing football on the same field you cheered alongside? Like, yesterday I was cheering there. I'm pretty sure. But I digress...

So here are some pictures from our recent fun. I didn't take a lot but want to post what I do have. We were actually supposed to be camping in Downata with Mark's family for a few days but Mark had to go in to work today to do some training so we just went yesterday for the day. The kids all loved this little splash area.

I could not for the life of me get Weston to look at the camera but I had to post this because I love how Austin is looking so adoringly at Wes. Austin is the happiest baby on the planet. For real.

Saydi is becoming quite the monkey and loved hanging on this!

I won't even attempt to list who all is in this floaty. There are two layers of humans in there. It was pretty cute.

A couple of my favorite things from yesterday that I didn't get pictures of include Weston diving under the water. Literally. He figured out how to hold his breath and dive in the bath and when we got to the pool we couldn't keep the kid above the water. He had the time of his life yesterday! I also got in with Jonas since the water was the same temperature as bath water and he loved, loved it. He stayed in the pool for a good 15-20 minutes before starting to get fussy.

Some not so favorite moments that still are worth mentioning include losing Weston for a minute and a half. The longest of my life. I had Jonas and Saydi so I was focusing on them and Weston had been in the floaty with Austin. I look up and he's not in it anymore. So of course I search the water first - completely frantic. Nothing. I went running over to the other areas of the park. Nothing. Sean went to check the dressing rooms and sure enough, Weston is standing there going potty. We had a BIG talk about how you have to get mommy or daddy first. I mean, good grief, the kid still asks permission at home when he's outside! But then we go out in public and it's everyone for themselves?! Another not so favorite would be when Mark chucked Weston across the pool into Jakob's arms, and Jakob wasn't ready. Good thing the guy has fast reflexes! And whenever Weston would come up from the water sputtering you know what he was saying? "Again!" Between him and Mark I'm going to have a heart attack before I'm 30! Little daredevils!

We had a great time though and even though everyone is sick today from this cold or allergies or whatever garbage it is, it was super fun. My next post will be Jonas' blessing since that is tomorrow! But in the mean time...here's a picture of a daily occurrence at our house. And yes, Saydi is usually only sporting a diaper. Not sure why she won't keep her clothes on!

Life Lately...

And the Nickname is...

Mark has given all of our kids their nicknames. If you frequent my blog you know that "Fussy" is Weston. (Also known as Fussy Britches, Fuss, and Fussy Guy.) "Precious" is Saydi. And now Jonas has his...

It looks like "Buster" likes his new name!

Keeping Me On My Toes

Oh, Saydi, Saydi, Saydi. What would I do without this sweet little girl? I just had to write about her because she has been doing things lately that I know I will want to remember to tell her when she is older.

A couple days ago she was telling me ALL DAY "I wanna help mama". So I was giving her bills to file as I was going through the pile. I turned around to give her more and she wasn't there. Then I hear the clanking of silverware as she's apparently opening the dishwasher. I booked it upstairs since there were knives in there and sure enough - she had taken it upon herself to start unloading the dishwasher. So she helped me do that but wouldn't let me quit until I had put all the dirty ones in and washed off the counter too.

She also loves to "help" fold laundry. She will get something out and throw it at me and while I am frantically folding it she searches for whatever item her little heart desires and then gets it out and throws it at me whether I'm ready or not! If she's ever upset or throwing a fit all I have to do is ask her, "do you want to help mama?" and she will quit and give her adorable little "yeah" as she follows me to do whatever chore I can create. (Who am I kidding, they create themselves around here!)

This morning however, she was definitely TOO helpful. I had Jonas sitting up in the corner of the couch. He loves to sit there and it helps to put him there after he eats and keep him upright because he has reflux. So I had him there and the kids were keeping an eye on him (they always tell me if he falls over) while I quickly ran to put something away in my closet. I hear Saydi come in my room and she's saying, "I got it, I got it" and I turn around and to my surprise I find her AND Jonas! She was holding him around his belly facing outward and had carried him all the way from the couch to my room. His bright blue, beady eyes were so wide. Shock is not even the right word to describe what I felt! I hurried to take him before he fell or something and had a LONG conversation with Saydi about how she can't do that and has to come get mama to carry Jonas. Neither one of the kids has ever even tried to pick him up but now I have learned my lesson and to prevent further heart attacks I will definitely not take my eyes off of him, ever. Well, at least when my "helper" is around.

I sure am grateful to have such a sweet little spitfire in my life! I know that Saydi will be such a wonderful wife and mother one day because she is already cultivating such wonderful qualities. And even if she does give me stress and wear me out emotionally (this girl definitely has all the colors of emotion!) I wouldn't trade it for anything. Love you Saydi bug!