Hair Do's

I have always had long hair. The shortest it has ever been is just below my shoulders. The longest that it has been is past my hips. I loved it being long but, with little kids, it wasn't practical.

My mom never let me look like a Rag-a-muffin. My hair was ALWAYS perfect. When I was young, I remember my mom taking me to a relief society activity where all the mom's brought their daughters to learn to french braid. That was the height of style at the time and everyone needed to know how to do it. While I was in grade school, mom still did my hair every day and nearly every day it was in a braid. She did them very tightly so that they would stay all day. At the start of each day, I had very slanted eyes from my hair being pulled so tightly and by the end of the day I had a splitting headache.

While in Jr. and Sr. High school, I had to put my hair up in curlers before I went to bed. That was just how it was done. As a result, my hair looked like a bunny bum for my entire high school career. I will post a pict once I get my scanner working. I look at those pictures now and cringe.

Since that time however, my hair has taken a serious overdose of chill pills and is nearly always straight now. In fact, lots of days, I don't even get my hair done until noon. I have just very recently begun to appreciate the natural curl that I have acquired thanks to pregnancy and its hormones.

I am still about 10 years behind the times with my hairstyles. But, what can I do. I am now opting for more simple styles that I can handle with a blow dryer, flat iron and my large curling iron. I have to stop with the ponytails for a while though. I lost a lot of hair after Kelton was born and it is just barely growing back....in LARGE patches, making it impossible for a cute ponytail.

Since I have just one chance with doing hair with little girls, I have decided to do the most with her little short A-line cute that I can. As I was blog surfing, I ran across a friend of a friend of a friend's blog and she has darling hairstyles and how to do them. Then I noticed that there were several.

To save you the trouble of searching for darling styles, I have listed the posts in my buddy list for you to take a look at. Hope that you enjoy them. Let me know if you do.

Anyway, the point of this random post is to let you know

Gag Gifts or are they????

40 Things About Harvey

In celebration of Harvey's 40th Birthday I have decided to put up 40 things about Harvey. Some of you know Harvey really well and know a lot of these things. For those of you who don't know him as well, let me introduce you to the greatest guy in the world, my hubby Harvey.

1. Harvey was born in Bogota, Colombia. He lived there until he was 12.

2. Harvey is an avid runner and was the alternate for the Olympic team for the Barcelona Olympics.

3. Harvey's family sold nearly everything they owned so that they could come to the States on a mini vacation and be sealed in the temple when he was 10.

4. Harvey is an AMAZING dancer.

5. He has one younger brother named John. John lives in Texas.

6. His dream car is either and Audi A4 or BMW.

7. Harvey became a citizen of the U.S. when he was on his mission. He had to fly home, be sworn as a citizen with his famiy and fly back the same day.

8. He is intensely interested in mood lighting, area rugs and lamps. We call him Metro.

9. He turned down scholarships to Harvard and Yale to go to BYU.

10. He is a Mechanical/ Process Engineer and LOVES what he does...whatever that may be.

11. He is a closet watcher of Ghost Hunters, Project Runway and Jon and Kate plus 8.

12. He loves to eat at Wendy's, Rodizzio Grille and Red Lobster.

13. His favorite movie of all time is "Chariots of Fire."

14. His most memorable toy growing up was a plastic armadillo bank on wheels. He and his brother tied strings to it and would run around the neighborhood pulling it listing to the coins clink.

15. He drank BOTH of my contacts on our wedding night. I forgot my case and had to put them in little cups.

16. He loves to travel and has been to Europe, Bahamas, Mexico, Virgin Islands, South America, Canada, and all over the US.

17. He really wants to run the Boston Marathon this year.

18. He grew up with a gourmet cook as a mother but claims to love my variations on Macaroni and Cheese.

19. He LOVES to golf but would rather spend time with his kids.

20. Has a super high metabolism and can eat whatever he wants and not gain weight.

21. Met me while dating a girl from my mission. He had even bought her a ring but took it back once he met me. :)

22. Speaks Fluent Spanish and Portugese. English is his second language but he has no accent whatsoever. Only when he says Snickers late at night.

23. He wants to invent something someday and get a patent.

24. Is a closet entrepenuer. He started several businesses in his 20's and had a successful dance club running until Kyra was born and decided to close it down and spend time with her.

25. He gives one awesome sports massage.

26. He has a fantastic sense of humor and keeps my family in stitches.

27. Ran over my mother with the car the night before my brother got married. She thanks him for it now.

28. Made it to the final cut when he tried out for the Blitz indoor soccer team two years ago.

29. Gets really excited when he gets a good deal on something that he has bought.

30. Thinks that the State Fair is a "white trash" activity but never misses going to it with the family.

31. He loves his mom and dad and would do nearly anything to help them out now that they are empty nesters and need help.

32. Loves the water and goes swimming any chance he can.

33. He is absolutely adored by his children and he adores them. They love being with their dad and can't wait for him to come home every day.

34. His favorite foods are popcorn, gingerale, seafood, M&M's.

35. Has a strong testimony and is very diligent is teaching our children all that is good, true, uplifting and everlasting.

36. LOVES music. He has nearly every 80's song that you can imagine and loves to spend time downloading songs. At night, I have caught him cleaning up, hooked up to his IPod and dancing around the kitchen.

37. He is a good cook and makes awesome potstickers. He can't bake to save his life though.

38. Still kicks himself that he didn't market Jamba Juice. He claims to have had the idea long before they did.

39. He is hard working, diligent, loving, kind, understanding and calm.

40. After 3 years of dating, 2 engagements, and finally getting me to marry him, I find myself the lucky one to have such an amazing man as my husband.

I love you tons Harvey. Happy 40th Birthday. I hope that your next 40 years will be even better. I will make sure of it.

Harvey hits the big 4-0 !!!!

I did it! I did it! I pulled it off. For years, I have teased Harvey that I was going to throw a huge party for him for his 40th birthday. He claimed that he didn't want it but, what do you do. You have to work with it and make it memorable.

Harvey has had a particuarly hard time with this birthday. He is so young at heart and looks no where near 40 so the actual number has hit him like a Mack Truck. I wanted to make this birthday fun so that he would always look at this birthday with fond memories.

I started planning this party over a month ago with the help of several of my good friends. We bought party supplies a little bit at a time. I had the party "catered" meaning that I pre-ordered food and picked it up. We had signs, balloons, tons of crepe paper, the ever lasting bounce house (so glad that we bought that a few years back) and several other reminders that Harvey is getting up there. Sherrie made two of her famous sheet cakes for birthday cakes. That is the best sheet that you will ever eat.

I had sent Harvey off to a movie with his friend James. I had timed this perfectly with the length of the movie to ensure that we could pull this off flawlessly. I called the theater and found out that the movie let out 20 mintues earlier than I had anticipated and had to call Harvey and James to the store for some last minute necessities. Needing an extra 10 mintues, I called him once again and insisted that we needed socks, something that I knew he would have a hard time finding. After a few minutes of distraction, he came home and was blown away. We had pulled it off and he had had no idea.

We had several obstacles in keeping it a secret 1) Kyra caught on and had a really hard time not talking about it. 2) My mom called and left a message about the party on our home answering machine and had to quickly call me and tell me to erase it. 3) We had a family party with the Franco family last week and nearly every person asked me a question about it in front of Harvey. 4) I had stuff hidden in parts of the house that Harvey never goes into and he for some reason found all of those spots this past month. 5) I had to be super careful talking infront of other people or on the phone.

About 30 minutes into the party, a huge storm cloud come over head and absolutely poured rain. What luck is that. Not a drop of rain all summer and a huge downpour on our outdoor party. So, the party moved inside. Thank heavens that house was semi clean. Dad and Kelty rode out the storm under the tables that we had set up outside. They loved every minute of the rain. The fence suffered though. The cheap black crepe paper that we had used completely stained my fence. My brothers, my dad and James spend nearly 2 hours outside with bottles of clorox cleaning off my fence.

All in all, it was a great party. We really surprised him and he was excited to see old friends and family. Thank you to all of you for coming and fitting us into your schedule. I know that it meant a lot to Harvey and it meant the world to me. Thank you Sherrie, James, Kristin and Dave for helping me set up, take down and organize the whole thing. Dad, Derek, Dustin, James and Dave, Thanks for scrubbing our fence and making it look better than it has ever looked. We are so grateful for such great family and friends. We love you all and are blessed to know you

I've Been Tagged

While reading my pal Heather's blog, I realized that I had been tagged. Thanks Heather!

4 Places I visit frequently....
1) Hobby Lobby 2) DI 3) Swimming Pool 4) The Pediatrician.

4 People who Call/Text/Email me frequently.....
1) My mom 2) Leigh 3) Sherrie 4) Harvey

4 Favorite Foods....
1) Salad 2) Corn and Bean Salsa 3) Seafood 4) Colombian Beans and Rice

4 Places I'd Rather Be......
1) San Diego 2) Dominican Republic 3) Disney 4) Anywhere with a beach and warm weather

4 Movies I'd Watch Over and Over
1) Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly 2) When Harry Met Sally 3) Dan in Real Life 4) Love Actually

4 Bands/ Groups I like to listen to
1) Selena 2) Laura Pausini 3) Christian Castro 4) Enya

4 People I am tagging
1) Sherrie 2) Sally 3) Emmy 4) Leigh

Family Fun

Every year on the Fourth of July, our family gets together with our "adopted cousins," the Collins, for a BBQ and swimming. The Collins live up Provo Canyon and have an amazing house with an amazing pool. This year, my dad was in Panama over the 4th, so we changed our get together to the 24th.

This year we brought arm floaties for the kiddos so that they could swim around unassited (they are learning, just not proficient yet.) They were a hit. For 75 cents, it bought an ENTIRE day of pool fun. The kids only got out of the pool to eat and potty a couple of times. They were complete water babies. Even Kelty loved it and cried when we took him out.

Kaeson has been terrified of the water for the past 4 years. He would flip out every time we would wash his hair and swimming was out of the question. He has been taking swimming lessons for the past several weeks and loving every mintue of it. When we took him to the Collins pool he would jump off the diving board and then swim to the edge as fast as he could to get out and do it again. He was even doing tricks by the end of the day: jumping in backwards, spinning around in the air, belly flopping, everything.

I got into the action too. I was only planning on wading around a bit. I had done my hair in a style that I liked and didn't want to mess up my make up too much. I got in the pool and my two, still teenaged, brothers pummelled me with water. It was out of control. I don't think that I have ever been dunked so much in my life. After that monsoon water invasion, I stuck it out and enjoyed a less glamourous yet relaxing afternoon.

What a great time. Thanks Collins Clan.

Parade of Floats

This year, for the second year in a row, we have trekked down to the South Towne Expo Center to see the Days of 47 Parade Floats on display. What a fun activity to do with kiddos. You are given a ballot as you walk in and are asked to vote for the float that you like the best.

There were so many fun ones. Kaeson's favorites were the pirate and the dragon. Kyra's favorite was the Macy's (go figure) and the fairy. I loved them all and was in complete awe as to the work that goes into them.

Harvey was working on the 24th and there is no way in the world that I am going to take all three kids down to battle the crowds to sit in a hot sunny spot to watch the parade. We did watch it on TV however and the kids loved every minute of it. They would jump up and down when they saw a float that they recognized.

We did have a scary moment at the float parade. We were looking at a float and I turned to pull a binkey from my purse. I stood up and looked around. Kaeson was gone. He was no where to be seen. I left my other kids with Leigh and ran to find Kaeson. Bryan came with me. Thanks Bryan. After several long mintues, a woman told me that she had seen a very distraught little boy crying and running. He wouldn't let anyone touch him and the security was trying to get him to settle down to get his name. I finally found him, crying uncontrollably at the main entrance with security.

I lost my wits and started crying right along with Kaeson. What a good lesson for both of us to learn. I need to keep him on an iron chain and he needs to stick next to me. This is what we will be working on for the next little while.

A Moment of EWWWW!!

After posting my last posting (only yesterday) I have been diligently reminded that there are so many little touching stories in our household that require attention and publicity. I thought that I should take a moment and share a couple of these choice mom moments with you since I am constantly being reminded of them.

It was bedtime last summer and Kaeson had once again slipped from sight. The race was on to find the rascal and wrestle him to bed. Actual, he was very easy to put to bed at the time, we just liked to wrestle for the fun of it.

After hearing a faint giggle, I raced up the stairs to nab the laughing monkey when I stopped dead in my tracks. As I turned the corner in my bedroom I saw Kaeson, cute as can be sitting on my bathroom floor. He had found his way out of his pajamas and pull up and was completely nude and...... holding my toothbrush.

"What are you doing with my toothbrush bear?" I didn't even want to know the answer because I knew that when you mix a naked 3 year old and mom's toothbrush the result is never good. "I'm cleaning mom." At first my mind jumped to when he sees me clean grout with a toothbrush, not too bad. "See Momma." He then proceeded to brush his BUM. Without going into more detail, I was aghast and quickly swiped the toothbrush from him. We had a firm talk about staying away from mommy's toothbrush and that we ONLY use the tooth brushes on our TEETH.

I was sufficiently soothed as I put him to bed. Not believing what had just happened I quickly called a friend. After waiting for her roaring laughter to cease, she threw me into an even bigger panic. "I really hope that that was the FIRST tim that he has ever done that."

Just thought that you might enjoy that one.

Hard to Believe But True

I received an email from a friend yesterday about a story that most people would believe could not possibly be true. However, after reading the email, I realized that not only was it true, but someone must have heard our story and sent it out to everyone. So, though most of you know the story, I am putting it out there for everyone else to enjoy.

Two years ago, I was having a great night out with the girls. We had gone for ice cream leaving our hubbies home to hopefully put the kiddos to bed and keep an eye on them until we got home. Though Harvey hates it when the kids ask "Is Daddy going to babysit us?" that is a very accurate way to perceive it.

This particular evening, I was surprised to come home at 10:30 to a bright eyed and bushy tailed little Kyra. She sat on the floor in our bedroom with an elaborate tea setting set out on our little wooden footstool. She and her daddy were having a nice evening tea party. Well, atleast Kyra was. Daddy was thoroughly engrossed in the Jazz game and was only paying moderate attention to Kyra when a commercial came on.

At first I was touch at the cute little sight but quickly became annoyed that she was not in bed and that he was not paying complete attention to her. After a moment of contemplation, I asked Harvey where she was getting the tea from (as Kyra is quite petite and at the time could not reach the bathroom counters.) He, hardly looking away from the game, told me that she had been getting it from the sink. I asked how. "She is using the little wooden footstool," was his reply. "You mean the footstool that she is using as the tea table." came my retort. A look of concern came over his face as I asked Kyra to show me where she had been getting her water for the tea. She walked me to the toilet and said, "From here mama. And it's even cold." She was beaming from ear to ear, so proud of how resourceful she was.

Harvey started choking and gagging at the thought that he had been drinking toilet water. I asked him how long the tea party had been going on for. "Since the game started, about 2 hours ago." I don't know which came faster, the reply or the green color on his face.

He did learn a valuable lesson that day. That when I ask him to BABYSIT the kids, he had better do it the right way or he will end up paying in the most unique of ways. Toilet water may be one thing but, I am sure that the kids can think up much worse.

And to answer the question that I get asked everytime I tell this story. Yes, the toilet had been cleaned earlier that day. Saved by the flush.

Life Is Too Short

I am sure that most of you have read this short thought. I received it as an email today and forwarded it immediately. However, this email really hit my heart and brought me to tears today. I don't know if it was because of my severe lack of sleep, my frustration with the fact that I had to put Kyra in an hour long time out or simply because I needed it. I think that it deserves a spot on a blog.


Too many people put off the things that bring them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming, or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Law and Order' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said ,'How about going to lunch in a half hour?'She would stammer,'I can't. I have clothes in the washer. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast,'And my personal favorite:' It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives,we tend to schedule our headaches.. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained.We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older.The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes,and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an ice-berg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you W ANT to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say, and why are you waiting?

Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow. 'And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi'?

When you worry and hurry through your day,it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower, hear the music before the song is over.

My Vision Board

Back in February, I was watching an episode of Oprah (don't roll your eyes...just keep reading) and they were duscussing the highly talked about book, "The Secret." I had know about the book and the DVD for some time but thought that it was a bit kooky so I didn't give it much of a shot.


On this particular episode, they kept mentioning a thing called a "Vision Board" and how it had changed the lives of all of these people. After implementing it into their lives, they were more focused, driven and were able to acheive their goals. I was intrigued with the idea. Even though I don't play into the whole idea that Faith - Works = Phenominal Results, I liked the idea of putting your goals in visible, graphical view.





I sat down with a posterboard, the internet, magazines, scissors and a glue stick. I thought about all of the things that I want to accomplish in my life and I found pictures to match it. I love having the board where I see it every day and it helps me concentrate my efforts on the things that I want to accomplish. It has been pretty effective in helping me focus and I have already completed a couple of things on that board.


Harvey and I were sitting at McDonalds with the kids a couple of weeks ago and he asked me if I could have 5 things in life no matter what the cost what would they be. After thinking, I came up with my 5:


1. Have my home and yard completely organized, clean and looking nice.

2. Being comfortable with our finance level. Not rich per say, just able to get our needs covered and have left over for fun stuff and travel without being stressed.

3. Being in better shape and happy with how I look.

4. Having my sewing ideas take off and become something much more.

5. Be able to feel relaxed, calm and at peace knowing that my life is all together and be able to spend time with my kids, especially while they are young.

He was surprised that I didn't have loftier goals but when it came down to brass tacks, these are my dreams. When I came home, I saw the vision board and realized everything on the board could be summed up in my 5 major goals.

On the board are: pictures of what I want rooms to look like in my home, the yard I would like, places I would like to go, sewing designs that I am working on. Etc. Just having my goals in visual form has helped a lot. Since the board, we have gone to Disneyland, I ran the race that I wanted to run, my sewing room is cute and organized (or atleast it was until today) and I am listing a doll tomorrow.

The power of your mind and determination mixed with real righteous desires is very invigorating. I love putting my mind to something and watching it grow. Try it. You will like it.

Life is a Love Hate Relationship

Have you ever noticed how much of life is a love hate relationship. I have decided that my life is a double edged sword.

1. I hate that I am now getting wrinkles around my eyes but.... I love being 30 something.
2. I hate my wider hips and my muffin top but.... I love having 3 kiddos.
3. I hate being a mini van mom but.... I love the conifiguation of my Toyota Sienna.
4. I hate washing and folding clothes but.... I love my brand new washing machine.
5. I hate to spend a ton of money at once but.... I love finding bargains.
6. I hate waking up 4 times a night but.... I love that my kiddos want me after a nightmare.
7. I hate "having" to do a project but.... I love finding a project to do.
8. I hate squeezing into a swimsuit but.... I love splashing in the pool like when I was 5.
9. I hate having to budget but.... I love it when I end up with "extra" money.
10. I don't like taking time to teach flute but.... I love that I have a marketable skill.
11. I hated to study but.... I love that I have a masters degree.
12. I hate to have a work in progress but.... I love the finished product.
13. I hate never having free time but.... I love hanging out with my kids.
14. I hate that I am not able to buy every hearts desire but.... I am glad that we are out of debt.
15. I hate constantly cleaning up the same mess daily but... I am glad I am a stay at home mom.
16. I hate waking up early but.... I love the high I get from all I get done early in the morning.
17. I hate to exercise but.... I love fitting into my skinny jeans again...YEAH!!!
18. I hate hanging out in the basement but.... I love spending time with hubby.
19. I hate this hot summer weather but.... I love it more than I do the snow.
20. I hate saying the word hate but.... I had to stay consistant with the theme of the blog entry.

The Money Pit

Do you remember the 1986 movie "The Money Pit" starring Tom Hanks and Shelly Long. As quoted from indb.com, it is a story about "a young couple that struggles to repair a hopelessly dilapidated house." If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. If you know us, then you already know the basic concept of the movie. Let me tell you a story.

In October of 2003, we were at the top of the real estate game. We had just found out that we were having Kaeson, we had sold our old house in Sandy and were ready to close on a beautiful house in South Jordan. At the closing table, the sale fell through (by no fault of our own) and we were forced to move our belongings to storage and our then small family to the in-laws spare bedroom.

After two months of rigorous searching, to the point of driving our real estate agent insane, we found our house. It was gorgeous: 5 year old, 3865 sq ft, 9-13 foot ceilings throughout, 4 bedrooms up, huge walk in closets, children's bathroom with double sinks and a door separating the tub, 1/3 acre lot, two open area bedrooms downstairs and a HUGE media room. To boot, it was priced much less than the house we had originally fallen in love with. We jumped at the chance at this gem. At the time, we had no reason to believe that this house wouldn't be perfect in every way.

Our first glimpse of gray clouds happened in the Spring of the following year when I was very pregnant walking around our newly thawed back yard, hit one of the many divots and broke my very swollen ankle (I gave birth wearing a huge brace and on crutches.) It was at that point that we realized what a shambles the yard was. We had bought the house during the snowy winter and had no clue as to the poor condition of the grass and soon to find out, sprinkler system.

The following year, we put up a vinyl fence. 1/3 acre + corner lot = a lot of fencing. We had expected that when we bought the house. The following year we FOUND an extra space in our basement. A huge 200 sq ft room that had electricity and a ladder in it. We lovingly called it the time out room. We finished that space off and although it was pricey, it did add additional storage room and footage to our house.

I was looking at the amount of money that we have put into this house over the past four years and I just about passed out. This is what we have done: put up a new vinyl fence, put nearly 70 gallons of paint on the walls, finished out the time out room, replaced nearly all of the carpets with hardwood floor for our asthmatic daughter, replaced the stove, dishwasher, dryer and the washing machine has been replaced twice. Every light fixture was traded out and ceiling fans installed in the kids rooms. We had to knock down a wall in the basement to allow furniture to go down the stairs. Now, to book and to add the straw to break the camel's back we had our central air conditioners go kaput last week, the wiring in our basement has been deemed not up to code and we have already hired a company to demolish and redo the backyard. The yesterday, I got up to get a glass of ice water only to find that the icemaker on the fridge had malfunctioned, flooded the entire freezer and fridge area, spilled water ALL over the kitchen floor and that the water had already found its way into my sewing room directly below the kitchen.

When is enough enough. My dad told me when we bought the house, "Congratulations, right now you own a house but it will be owning you before too long. " I guess on the bright side of things, we love our house, we love our relatively low house payment, we love our area so we are in now immediate hurry to move. Someday, like in the movie "Money Pit," we hope to have the immaculate, beautiful detailed house that Tom Hanks ended up with. For now though, that seems like a very distant and far off dream.

Toad is no Polywog

My cute smiley toad has hit the 9 month mark. He has now spent more time outside my tummy than he did in (well, he that a few weeks ago.) I am in awe and shock. How come he is growing up so much faster than the other two. That is not what is supposed to happen. They are supposed to grow slower and hit the milestones later so that we are able to enjoy it forever.

Aside from being kicked out of the hospital nursery when he was a few hours old, he has been the easiest of all of the kiddos so far. He has made the most out of every moment of his little life. He has smiled through 7 ear infections (tubes coming in August.) He was calm and peaceful throughout his long stay at Primary Children's. He LOVES his brother and sister and lets them drag him around the house squealing with delight the whole time.

Today we took him to the doctor for his check up. He came out with a clean bill of health. He is right on track with head size and height, at the 10th and 15th percentile respectively. As for weight, well, he will eventually get on the charts someday. I am not concerned because he eats like there is no tomorrow and has those awesome chubby cheeks. He has to have his Dad's metabolism... lucky guy. To boot, he didn't even wince when they gave him his vaccination. When they went to prick his toe for his iron test, he giggled and looked at his bleeding toe in utter amazement.

He is crawling, pulling himself up on furniture and trying his hardest to walk. He loves his Johnny Jump Up and his Exersaucer. He is an amazing sleeper and just ahs to be put in the crib with a binkey and his blankie and he is gone.

Isn't it amazing that when we are carrying these darling creatures, the time can't go by fast enough. We count down every day and are grateful when delivery comes a day or two early. Everyone knows that with all of the problems I had with this last pregnancy, delivery seemed like it would never come. The first nine months of their little lives seems to fly by in comparison to the nine months that they are being created. It makes me want to spend every single moment enjoying every last delight of my cute little ones.

I love you Toad and I am so glad that you are part of our family.

Relatively Speaking

Just a cute little Kyraism. Tonight as we were putting the kids to bed, I turned to them and said, "I love your daddy." Kyra quickly piped up, "I know why you love daddy. Because he is your husband." She was beaming with pride. "If daddy is my husband," I reasoned with her, "then what am I to him." After several long thinking moments she replied, "Your'e his nephew!!!"

After explaining the words husband and wife, Harvey grabbed me, dipped me and gave me a kiss in front of the kids. "EEEEWWWW, Daddy. Don't make it gross."

As romatic as I thought it was, I do understand Kyra's point of view. Anyone who dips and and kisses their nephew is on the gross side. Don't you agree?