One Year Older

A year ago today I was an emotional, sleep-deprived wreck with four kids, one of which was less than a week old and another with head lice. We were talking about it this morning over breakfast, and I made the statement that there have been 3 really HUGE trials in my life: my brother's death, Joe losing his job, and what we will call the head-lice incident. Knock on wood, but I (we) are in a much better place in life right now!!

Grant's birthday: we woke up early and he opened his presents before breakfast, which was Captain Crunch cereal (Grant's choice). We had a daytime party, and Grant invited 4 four-year-old boys over for a pirate party. We read "How I Became a Pirate," walked the plank, looked for treasure, and beat the pirate pinata. For lunch we ate traditional pirate food. . . fish sticks, gold fish, chocolate milk, apple slices, and chocolate cupcakes. We continued the partying when dad got home with some pizza, salad, apple juice, and more chocolate cake. 

I bet you don't remember what a milestone "4" is. According to Grant, when you are four you become a superhero, you can kill bad guys, break out of jail, and make your own sandwiches. Grant was very sad, though, when he realized that being four does not mean you get to go to preschool the next day. We are working on getting him into preschool in the fall--but that sounds forever away for him.

It was stormy on his birthday, and the picture below is a friend's mom showing her bravery while holding the pinata (and talking pirate) for all those 4-year olds with a wooden bat. 

oops, I guess this picture didn't get turned the right way.

I'm pretty sure Grant took this picture. 

Ammon turned one on Thursday, but we took advantage of his innocence and didn't do a thing to celebrate until Saturday. OK, we sang him "happy birthday" at least a dozen times. He smiled. 

On Saturday we had cinnamon rolls and eggs for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and chili for supper. Chili, believe it or not, is Ammon's favorite food. He growls at us if we don't feed it to him fast enough. The other kids whine and complain that it is too spicy or too tomatoey. But Ammon loves it. 

Joe's family came on Saturday to help us to celebrate. This picture had the most people in it, so that's why I put it on. 

I love this picture because the three big kids were so thoughtful and helpful (lol) while Ammon attempted to open presents. PAHAHA! I just looked at the pictures and realized that is me sitting by Grant. . . I thought it was Madison. Madi is on the left in the fluorescent yellow uniform. 

I actually think he got the hang of it faster than the other kids on their first birthdays. He started ripping that paper off! 

Here he is with his stash! 

I did not feel like making him his very own cake like I did with the other kids on their first birthdays. We just ate cupcakes and cake a week ago for Grant's birthday, so I felt caked-out. Instead I made a berry-poke cake with whipping cream and berries on top. I know it's still not healthy, but it seems a little lighter somehow than chocolate and frosting. He got the biggest piece, though. 

As you can see, we stripped him down to his diaper and let him go. He ate about 1/3 of it, then he threw the cake on the ground and started licking his plate. I think Joe got a picture of that on his phone, but I don't have it right now. I'm not sure if a few silly pictures are worth the huge mess (which, actually, I didn't have to clean up because Joe's mom cleaned the kitchen while I bathed the boy. Thank You!). 

Here he is enjoying his second bath of the day. 

Happy Birthday Boys! 

S

Ammon's last day to be 0.

What a difference a year makes!! 

For some reason I have this idea with each baby that 

he (or she) is going to stay a baby forever. 

And then--BLINK! 

Tomorrow Ammon turns one. I look at him and wonder how he ever fit inside of me.

Just like I look at Logan, Madison, and Grant and wonder the same thing.

Ammon is walking almost everywhere. 

He's figured out how to stand without holding on to anything.

He is nursing twice a day. I think we could easily go down to one, or maybe none at all.

But for all I know this will be the last time I will ever nurse a baby.

And call me crazy, but the thought is really sad. 

So I'm hanging on to that last feeding. 

Ammon can wave, clap, blow kisses, say "MOM" and "DA" and "HI."

He looks really cute when he pulls his head down to the side to get your attention.

It's not so cute when he screams to get your attention.

His hair is wild. It's got the electrocuted, static-cling look all the time.

It's actually pretty cute.

So here he is on his last day to be 0. See the blue on his hands and the books missing on the shelf? Some of his favorite things to do include finding markers, pulling the tops off, and writing all over himself. And pulling books out of the shelves. Lucky boy's got lots of book to pull out and some brothers and sisters who spoil him by hiding markers all over the house. 

March=Birthday Madness!

Or: Trying to get ahead before I fall behind.


Do you remember last year's Grant's Birthday post?! I was 9 months pregnant and too tired to plan anything for his birthday. Add that to some pregnancy hormones and I was a crying mess.

This year I am determined to do something!! Too bad his birthday is only 4 days away. . . So I talked to him and we made some plans and are inviting a few boys over to party like pirates. I will include pictures and details (hopefully) in about a week, but I wanted to talk about my two March babies for a few minutes before it just didn't happen.

 First of all, I LOVE having some space between #3 and #4. Don't get me wrong, I loved having Logan and Madi close together (21 months), and then there was a nice 2 1/2 year gap between Madi and Grant. . . but I feel bad for Madison. She never got me to herself! I was always tired and worn out chasing two toddlers around and then adding another baby to the mix. I think I have kind of forgotten that, but when I think about it I remember that it was kind of hard sometimes. :) But now. . . Logan and Madi head to school and it's just Grant and Ammon. Two! And the older two can do so much! I could write a long, long time about this.

Most of all I'm happy for Grant because he finally has some one-on-one time with me. And it's so good!! I have found that when he has my undivided attention for even 30 minutes in the morning he is so helpful and cheerful the rest of the day (and if not. . . life is harder for both of us). And he finally knows his letters, his speech has improved leaps and bounds, and we have a good time!

So here's how we do things: Dad takes the kids to school at 7:30. Ammon wakes up at 6:00, so he is ready for a nap soon after the kids leave, and Grant and I have the next hour all to ourselves.
We clean up breakfast. Then we hop on the wii to do "just dance for kids" for some exercise. And then we do something fun/educational for about 30 minutes.

After our time together we clean, cook, run errands, etc. It is so functional!

So about Grant: He LOVES to help. Lately, if I am cooking, he gets his apron on and asks to help. He also likes to wash dishes and help me clean whatever room we are working on. I love it! His speech, as I said, has improved SO MUCH. We are working on "sh" and "ch" sounds right now, and I'm so proud of him!! He loves to dress up--especially as Darth Vader, Superman, and a pirate. He is just so very fun! Also, he LOVES the headlamp dad gave him for Christmas.

And Ammon. This year we will have a small family party to celebrate his first birthday. And every year after. . . sadly. . . if there is a birthday party, they will probably get to party together, as their birthdays are 9 days apart, and I'm just not sure I will every be up to planning 2 parties so close together. Even getting one in is a feat for me.

Ammon is my baby. He is so easy-going, wanting to get into everything, loving his big brothers and sister, just a good boy. He is almost ready to walk! He gets a lot of love and attention. Sometimes I wonder if the older kids feel jealous that he gets so much of me, but I think they adore him as much as I do. Today Madison was holding his hand and helping him walk around the house, and he just looked up at her with happy eyes. And it was SO CUTE to look over and see Grantee sharing his precious apple (seriously loves apples) with Ammon, and look at Ammon looking at Grant with awe! I just wish that the clock would slow down a little bit. I'm not ready for him to be a big boy! (Also, I have had a lot of people asking me if we are done. Like the ladies on Madison's soccer team. . . I think they have a morbid fascination with someone who already has FOUR kids and might possibly want more? Anyway, you know, when the baby turns one I start wondering too!)

I tell you what, it is a beautiful thing to be a mother and to see your children talk and play and help each other. Yes, there is fighting. And I certainly have my share of mom time-outs. But it IS wonderful!

Bittersweet

Thinking Thursday, and something truly frightful (but downright funny)

1. My brother Brent just got his mission call to somewhere is Brazil (never heard of the mission and can't remember what it is). 

2. Last night I put a pound of spinach in the lasagna. I was either finding a good way to get my kids to eat spinach, OR, I was ruining an entire pan of lasagna. Even Joe said it was good, so that means I have another way to hide veggies. Actually, my kids love veggies, just not spinach.

3. Signed the kids up for soccer, which means the next 10 weeks are booked--specifically Saturdays. After paying a good amount of money to register and to buy shoes, shin guards, socks, balls, and some sportsy clothes, I think we are good to go. Madi had her first practice Tues (I think she's going to do well) and Logan's is tonight.

4. Ammon is almost one!! He wants so badly to be a big kid (see pic below). He's close to walking, and he just figured out (not mastered) how to get down the stairs. In all fairness, he rarely wants to get down, but always wants to get up. 

4a. We've encouraged something naughty. . . when we say "no" he smiles and starts shaking his head. It's pretty cute, so we let him get away with telling us "no" and laugh instead. I see trouble in our future.

5. Grant and I have been working each morning on our letters and numbers. I know a lot of your children the same age already know these things--but he's baby number three, which means he is interested in other things, I have other things going on, and quite honestly I'm not overly worried about it--he's going to be in school for the next 13+ years of his life! OK, so I actually feel like a bad mom that he hasn't quite mastered writing his first name (among other things). But you know what? Logan knew all of his letters and numbers before Madison was born (at 21 months, so there). Anyway, my point is that Grant and I finally have time together to play games and learn, it is going well, and we are having fun. 

6. Since Joe started teaching seminary, he has been getting up at 4:30 a.m., which means I wake up at 4:30 a.m. (not to be confused with getting up). We don't go to bed early enough to avoid being tired during the day. But on Tuesday we went to bed at 9:00 and I didn't need a nap the next day! I'm actually considering getting up early and doing something constructive in the morning. It really would require getting to bed earlier, which is hard because when the kids go to bed I feel like I'm finally free. 

7. Truly frightening but funny at the same time: Madison took this picture a while ago (my crazy face). I laughed so hard when I saw it, and I have been debating whether or not I should show anyone. Because come on, it's FUNNY! But it's also kind of embarrassing. So I don't know how long I will leave this on here, and if you see it, please don't think any less of me, just laugh.

ear infection/a dr. visit i haven't forgotten

I've only taken a child to the doctor for an ear infection once. When Logan was a year old (plus or minus some months) I asked the dr. to take a look at his ears because he was unusually cranky and had been playing with his ear. The dr. looked at me and said something very similar to, "You just have a cranky baby." When I re-mentioned the ear-touching he said something like, "He is discovering something fun and flappy on his body."

For this reason I have never taken a child to the dr. for displaying ear-infection symptoms (and I wait until I know they are really sick to take them in for any other reason, as well). Good thing our dr. friends have told us just to give babies tylenol and wait the ear infection out. So far it has worked.

Today Ammon is unusually cranky and he keeps tugging on his ears.

The Symptoms

On Friday (Joe's birthday, no less), I got out of the shower at 8:30 a.m. (yah, I 'm lazy) and noticed I had 7--SEVEN--missed calls. My showers aren't that long, so I knew someone was really trying to get hold of me. I had two messages--one from the school nurse telling me that Madison was sick, and one from Joe telling me that Madison threw up at school.

I felt kind of bad, because that morning she had been whining about being tired and not wanting to go to school, but I brushed it off and told her she'd have fun once she got there. She normally loves school, so I should have listened and thought to myself, "Something must be wrong. She doesn't normally act this way."

I loaded the kids up in the van and went to pick her up at school. When we got home I told her to get her jammies on and to lay down and watch a movie in the play room. Her words: "Yay! Being sick is kind of fun." She watched a few movies (and Grant got to profit form her sickness, too). I made macaroni and cheese for lunch, and Madison begged to eat it. "Girl, you just threw up! You can't eat mac and cheese!" The rest of the day I gave her the BRAT diet--applesauce, dry toast, apple juice. She was running around and playing and laughing. Definitely not sick symptoms.

The next morning she was lethargic and begged to eat some cold cereal. I think she was just weak from not eating much the day before. She gobbled up 3 bowls of cereal, an apple, apple juice, and toast. 

Yesterday Logan started saying he didn't feel well, so we kept him in and let him watch movies and read books all day. This morning we figured he had somehow skipped the throwing up part and told him to start getting ready for church. All of a sudden, he said, "I'm gonna' throw up!" We grabbed the bowl and let him do his thing, and then told him to go watch some church movies. I stayed home with him and Ammon (who now has his first fever, poor baby). That was about 11:00. I started warming up leftover (homemade) mac and cheese for lunch and Logan begged me to let him eat some. 

Logan has been feeling fine the rest of the day. For dinner I made some chili. I asked Logan what sounded good to him, and he said cold cereal. The other kids were wildly jealous and wishing they had been sick today while they ate chili and salivated over Logan's rice crispies. 

Apparently this illness includes 1 throwing up incident, and cravings for mac and cheese and cold cereal. Very interesting. I'm not complaining, though.

As I mentioned, Ammon woke up from his afternoon nap with a 102. 5 fever--his first illness. We gave him some infant tylenol and he is now happily crawling around. He is still eating fine (I gave him a freeze-pop--another first, and he loved it). It is so hard to hold your little baby and feel him burning up. As a parent, I would happily feel sick for him (except that then it would be hard to take care of him, so I am glad I'm not sick). The other kids did not have a fever, so I don't know if he has it because his body is smaller or if it is a different sick germ. 

I am sure Grant will be feeling sick soon. That's the way it goes when you have kids. 

In honor of Thanksgiving, we've been making feathers with blessings to put on Mr. Tom Turkey (I'll include a pic someday). Today I am thankful for good health, and for living in this time period; I know that not too long ago a sick child with a high fever or vomiting could be something very dangerous and uncertain. While I definitely wish we could avoid the sick germs, I am grateful for good doctors and medicine. 

Jedi in training / My padawan

He would have made a beautiful girl. . .

What the heck is going on in my home when I'm not there??? You're dressing up my man baby to look like a girl? If he ends up fashionable and with a lisp, we'll know why. 

Looks like I need to implement some quality control measures next FHE. 

10:00 a.m.

6 Month-a-roos

Now I normally wait until 6 months to even think about giving the baby solids. . . but this boy is growing up faster than the others did. He's got 2 teeth (and another one can't decide), he's crawling and pulling himself up (although he hasn't mastered a stand yet). And the boy gets mad if we don't share food with him! So at about 5 1/2 months we started introducing a little bit of food. We've let him taste too many things to make an exclusive list, but these are main foods he has tried so far:

• rice cereal
• oatmeal cereal
• peas
• bananas
• apple sauce
• pumpkin

Ammon also likes to chew on our pizza crusts, brownie crumbs, and other miscellaneous taste-tests of whatever we are willing to give him.

We started feeding him solids at dinner-time every other day, but the last few days he has been eating a small bowl of solids at pretty much every meal. The kids think it is fun to feed him--even if it does mean a little extra mess to clean up.

He's also been getting extra giggly and smiley. Maybe because he is getting into everything. He especially likes Grant's flip flops (don't worry, I take them away) and paper (mainly in the form of books). He likes to play peek-a-boo, and our newest tradition is a round or two of peek-a-book with the blanket when he gets put in his bed. This also seems to help to keep him from crying when he realizes that he is getting put into bed. :)

On another note, the Fall and Halloween decorations are up, hooray! Logan informed me that he was worried I wouldn't keep my promise (I've been telling him for the past few days that we would put them up), so whew! I am a lady of my word. Grant stuffed a huge brownie in his mouth when I wasn't looking, and before he had eaten his food, so I actually stuck my hand in his mouth full of teeth and pulled it out and threw it away. It isn't my most pleasant memory. Grant's finger also warrants a picture because it looks pretty spooky. You can see under half his fingernail, which is all black and gruesome, and it will surely fall of in the next little while. Joe went out to dinner with a guy from UT, so I made a teriyaki-chicken stir-fry with ramen noodles. It wasn't that bad, but the thought of it makes me shudder. Also, I was really faithful in doing couch to 5k for 2 weeks, but then I missed 2 weeks. Oops.

a week in review

a little crawl

a push-up or two

and now I will sit down for you!

Sadly, I never got the gorilla/tri-pod I'm-sitting-but-gonna'-fall-over picture. :( Seriously, I can't keep up with the boy! He's also been awesome about taking a long nap for me after lunch--the same time Grant does. It's wonderful.

Ammon is entertaining himself for longer periods of time. Today he crawled/scooted all over the bedroom for an hour looking for things to gnaw on. The kids have been pretty good at keep little toys off of the floor. . . although he did get hold of a Star Wars coloring book and chewed the cover off.

I should mention that last Sunday Joe took Grant to the E.R. for a smashed finger. It looked really bad, and we'd had some experience with smashed fingers (Madi smashed hers off), so we decided to be safe. They took some x-rays and said he was fine. . . and we felt kind of dumb because by the time we got home it was looking a ton better. It still looks bad. . . his fingernail will definitely fall off, and an inch of his finger is horribly bruised and scabbed over, but not E.R. worthy, for sure. He did, for the first time in his life, ask for a band-aid. Ah well. I'm trying not to think about it.

What else. . . do you want to help me come up with ideas for the fire mantel? We had fire places in the last 2 places we've lived, and I thought we did ok, but this one has a curved recessed area above the fire place, and I hate it! Even if I could fit a small picture/mirror in there I wouldn't want to because I think it looks dumb. Every other room in the house looks somewhat put together and ok, but I have been avoiding this room because of the lack of furniture and the fire mantel! So right now the whole room looks crummy, but I am itching to get it put together because I want to pull out my fall decorations (like the one on the left of the mantel in the pic). I need help!!

*I think Grant got the camera and smudged the lens because all of the pictures are coming out blurry. Or it could be because I spent 30 minutes pushing buttons on the camera and wondering just what those buttons did. . .and now I don't know how to undo everything. Oops. Also, do you see how you can see Ammon's reflection on the floor. . .pretty cool. Maybe my floor is cleaner than I thought. ;)

No Not Yet!

Yesterday Ammon started practicing his crawl. He's not fast yet, but I know that in a very short time he will be faster than I am. I'm cheering him on, "You can do it! Yay!" and saying, "just wait another month!" all at the same time.

I'm not ready for it. . . emotionally! It really does seem like time goes faster with each baby. When Logan was this age we would go to the playground and I would put him on my lap while we went down the slides. I would watch the big kids and get excited for the day that he could actually play and be more excited about going down the slide than I was. I thought I had all this time ahead of me--not just for Logan, but to be pregnant and to go through all the stages many times over. Now, I can't see into the future, but I don't see many more babies, if any, in ours. Definitely not four more. . . so I'd be content if time could slow down and I could just savor what time I have--with each of my children.

So yesterday I saw Ammon scooting around, and then I found the book, What to Expect the First Year while I was unpacking. I haven't looked at that book for a good while because I think I kind of already know what to expect. But just for fun I decided to check out the 5 and 6 month section. I *almost* started crying because for some reason reading it made me think my baby wasn't a baby any more but a kid. . . and then those kids grow up to be adults. My mom would say I'm being like the three sillies and thinking about things I don't need to worry about.

Here is what is good about growing up:

Ammon (5 mos)--Sleeps through the night. Usually goes to sleep on his own. Can entertain himself for 10-20 minutes. Smiles and giggles.

Grant (3)--Pure joy to talk to. Says cute things. Can go to the bathroom by himself (minus a little help wiping). Can get dressed by himself (although it might be backwards). Has some reasoning skills, but is a little stubborn. Eats pretty well, but not always. Plays well with older children and children his own age (struggles with younger children and children who don't follow the rules--bossy pants).

Madison (6)--can get up by herself, get dressed, make beds--she can do a lot by herself. She helps around the house. She can follow directions (if she chooses to). Her reasoning skills are ok. Can carry an interesting conversation. Plays well with others.

Logan (almost 8)--can do almost everything for himself. Even better, he can do an awful lot for me. He helps a lot. His reasoning skills are awesome. He doesn't complain about what he has to eat. He can come up with solutions to problems. He doesn't need a lot of help to do his homework. Very good at conversing and playing with others.

I don't know what I'm scared of. Growing up is good. Can you imagine having a newborn every day of your life? We want them to become independent--we'd all be miserable if they didn't. And five months--he's still a baby, right? I have many more baby days to enjoy!

Oh. . .and two more reasons I LOVE this new house: bathtubs and CARPET! Much better for the new crawler.

Just like you were always here. . .

Dear Ammon,

Happy 3 month birthday!! It seems like you have always been here. In fact, sometimes I forget that you are only 3 months and when I start doing a head count (like at the store) I count three kids and then have to remind myself that you aren't going to be running away from me. Yet.

As you can see, the other kids think you are a fun toy to play with. Happily, you don't seem to mind (unless you are hungry or sleepy). It is hot, hot, hot here this week. So when you get older and see all these nakey pictures. . . I'm trying to keep you comfortable. Although, truthfully, you seem to handle the heat much better than I.

Two days ago you started rolling from your back to your tummy. I think this is pretty impressive. At first I thought the kids were rolling you over and I kept telling them to leave you alone. And then I saw you do it and realized they were telling the truth. Oops.

You are so fun to listen to. You squeal when you are happy and make little shrieks when you are mad. Even your cries sometimes sound kind of fake. . . unless we wait too long and then you let us know that you're serious.

Today you came with me to Young Women's and all the girls pinched your thighs and wanted to hold you. When it was time to go you started whimpering and they all said that you were sad that we were moving away from these beautiful girls. The truth is you won't remember any of it at all. I am a little sad to be moving because we just started growing roots here in Garland. But I am excited because the next house has soft carpet that will be better for you when you start crawling (and falling down). It also has a bathtub, so you will get to grow up knowing what it is like to take a bath. So I think we'll all be ok.

You've been sleeping until about 7:30 in the morning, except this morning you woke up at 5:30. I'm tired today, but that's ok. You're worth it.

I'm excited to see you learn and grow and sad that it is happening so quickly.

I love you,

Mommy

growing like a weed!

Ammon had his 2 month appointment last Monday.

Weight: 13 lb 4 oz--90%

Length: 24 in--90%

Ammon, you:

*are starting to coo and smile more and more.

*enjoy laying on the floor and watching everyone play.

* eat about every 2-3 hours (and I'm apparently feeding you cream).

*sleep until 4ish every night... once you let us sleep until 5!

*are starting to fall asleep on your own and I love when you wake up and just look around.

*although we don't have a hard-core schedule yet, you usually wake up, eat, stay awake for a while (30-60 min), take a nap, and repeat this throughout the day.

*you and Grant usually nap at the same time after lunch, which makes mom very, very happy.

As a mom:

I am savoring every moment with you. I don't know if you will always be the baby, but for right now I am trying to soak it all in, just in case. That said, I have forgotten how demanding it is to have a newborn--even though you are a very, very good baby! You only really cry when you are hungry, but I look at the clock and can't believe it's already been 2-3 hours... it seems like I am constantly feeding you. You like to be held and to interact with us...if you can say that a 2 month-old baby can interact. You seem pretty serious, and make us really work to get you to smile! I think because of our experience with Logan, we are constantly worried about making sure you learn how to go to sleep by yourself and that you are content to be by yourself instead of wanting to be constantly held. I think our awareness is paying off! At night we put you in this Halo sleep wrap thingy that is AMAZING! I wish we had had it for the other kids. I've been very happy with how well the other kids have adjusted to your arrival. Madison is especially helpful while I try to get supper ready/homework done/kids ready for bed. She will hold you, sing to you, and give you the pacifier.

Basically, we all love you!

30 minutes of after-school social skills

Logan (7): plays tag, Star Wars/Transformers, jumps off of the swing

Madison (5): walks around holding hands with her friend, hugs every friend and teacher who leaves the school

Grant (3): swings, goes down the slide, runs 10 feet behind Logan and his friends

Ammon (7 weeks): sits in the stroller, looks around, breathes deeply every time a gust of wind blows in his face, looks pretty darn cute

*note: Logan, who is reading this over my shoulder, says, "Looks pretty dam(n) cute." Had to show him that it's daRn, and that the other word is actually a bad word.

Four Weeks??!!

Seriously, where does the time go?

A few things about Ammon at 4 weeks:

• He's a baby. He cries sometimes.
• But, luckily, we've always been able to soothe him by holding him and
• He loves his pacifier. What a blessing!
• He's a pretty good napper.
• He just started sleeping pretty well in his crib.
• He will sleep about 5-6 hours at night, eat, and go back to sleep.
• If I need him to nap, I buckle him in the car seat, set him on top of the dryer, and turn it on. Wah-lah. It's magic.
• Instead of blow-outs, Ammon leaves little poops for me pretty much every diaper change. I'll take it. :)
• He can sleep through anything. In fact, I'm pretty sure that kids playing, vacuums running, and loud noises in general are his thing.
• He's the first of my babies that hasn't had a major pimple break-out. Knock on wood.
• He likes tummy-time more than my other kids did. Maybe because when he gets tired of it he just sets his big head to the side and the rest of his body rolls over. Or he's just the smartest baby ever, right? ;)
• He's got some big brothers and a big sister who adore him.
• Ammon was blessed 2 Sundays ago. Both Joe's parents and my parents were able to come, which was so wonderful! What stuck out: He is going to be a peacemaker in our family, a good example to his brothers and sisters, and he will live his life as a missionary. This last part really stuck out to me, because he has already become a missionary! We have found, and my parents have also commented, that people have never heard of the name "Ammon." We've had many ask us where it came from, and I know that Ammon is going to be explaining his name for the rest of his life. I hope he doesn't mind. :)

And the other kids?

• I just finalized this: Logan and Madison will be attending the Watson Science and Technology Center next year. We received a letter in the mail last fall telling us that Logan's grades and test scores qualified him for the Tech. and Classical schools in Dallas. I went to a meeting to see what it was all about and decided that if Madison could get in then we would send them both to the S&T Center. She went through 2 rounds of testing and was also accepted. What does this mean? Well, besides riding a bus, wearing uniforms, and doing extra homework, they will be in a pretty awesome school program. I'm a little nervous because I've enjoyed having them so close to home, but I think in the long run this will be a great thing for them.
• Logan just finished the 3rd Harry Potter. He's 7. I don't know how I feel about this. He understands it and really likes the series. As an English teacher (well, I have the degree), I never thought I would be for book censoring, but I just don't know that he is old enough to read Harry Potter. We told him he could watch the movies after he read the books, but he will have to wait with movie #4 because it is pg-13. Any thoughts on this topic?
• Madison is such a cute girl. She is just getting into the social scene. She and her little friends have been sending each other cute pictures with notes that go something like this, "Der Vivi, You are my best frend. Lov, Madi."
• Grant failed his last hearing test (he can hear fine, but this one sent tiny air-waves or something, that got stuck in his ear canal and didn't bounce back??? Something like that--it has to do with pressure in his ear). The last test he had he also had pressure in his ears, so now he's on an anti-biotic and allergy medicine to see if that clears it up, but if it doesn't clear up by his next visit then we will talk about what to do next. I am hopeful that this will help to improve his speech even more.

Ammon Douglas McGregor

A friend in our ward is a professional photographer. She offered to take some pictures of him modeling some "clothes" that she needed to take pictures of for one of her clients (a hat and a diaper cover). Of course I said "YES!" Unfortunately, he cried pretty much any time I set him down--we spent over an hour trying. These are the pictures she managed to get in the 5 minutes he didn't cry. :) I like the pictures, but wish that we had gotten some that showed his hair.

Anyway, go to: http://blossomportraitureart.com/viewing

Click on "Portrait Work," Choose Baby McGregor, and the password is mbb01.

Part II: Life Lessons

*Sorry, I'm going to write in a different point of view than Part 1.

I had a pretty easy pregnancy. Experience led me to believe that recovery would not be too bad. And babies are babies... I figured that I knew what I was doing and things would go pretty smoothly with baby #4.

And it would have. Until I found the bugs. Yep. In Madison's hair. On Sunday, during General Conference, two days after we got home from the hospital. I won't go into details, but through all of the trials I have had, this is the one I have had the hardest time with. When Joe lost his job, when my brother died, when things have gotten tough... I've never asked "why," felt like I couldn't do it, or asked for Heavenly Father to just step in and change things/take it away. Until this happened. I felt so upset that I couldn't sit down and rest and enjoy my new baby. I felt like this "thing" couldn't have come at a worse time. I was emotional/hormonal, exhausted and probably somewhat neglectful of my family while I tried to figure out what to do.

I tried to handle it on my own for a few days.... but I was so exhausted from not sleeping (we'd put everyone to bed and then stay up until after midnight trying to get things under control, and of course I was up every other hour feeding the baby, and then I'd have to get up at 6:00 to help get everyone off to school), having a baby, taking care of everyone, and trying to figure out how to get rid of the horrible, horrible practically invisible pests that had invaded our home, that after 2 days I called my mom in the middle of the night and cried to her that I needed help. She had a flight planned for a week later, but she changed all of her plans and flew out the next day to rescue me (and my family from me). Maybe I will have a chance later to go into more detail, but for now I just want to remember the things I have learned from this experience.

1. Heavenly Father has a sense of humor. Remember my (answered) prayers to get Grant to poop on the toilet? To have the baby early, go into labor on my own, and at a convenient time? Yeah...

2. We just finished the book of Mosiah in our family scripture reading. I need to be more like the Nephites and pray to have help getting through my trials instead of complaining that I can't handle it or to just take away my trials.

3. I need to make sure that I am aware/spiritually in-tune with the needs of others around me. I was too afraid to ask anyone in our ward for help--even if it was meals, which would have really helped out those first few days.

4. It's ok to ask for help. As soon as my Beehive advisor found out what was going on a few days later (she called Joe to see if she could pick up Grant, and he told her a little about what was going on), she called the compassionate service lady to arrange meals, and then she and a few other sisters in the ward came over to help clean my house, which was a disaster from trying to wash 30 loads of clothes/sheets/blankets, bag up toys, vacuum furniture daily, etc.

5. It's not necessarily the service (which was wonderful), but knowing that there are people who care about you and are happy to help. I was at the point where I felt like I had to hide from the world--I didn't want to open the curtains or answer the phone. These wonderful women helped to make me feel human again.

6. Parents are awesome. It was so, so wonderful to have my mom here to help me, to support me, and to know that she loves us and was willing to change her plans (and so many people needed her that week, too) to take care of me/my family.

7. I need to be less selfish and more selfless. My mother flew out about a week later to meet my father in AZ, where they picked up my grandmother and drove back the next day to see us. My grandmother has Alzheimer's and some other health issues and needs a lot of help right now. My mother was very sweet and tender with her, and I could just see/feel the love they had for each other. I have recommitted to being more tender with my children and husband and really trying each day to show through my actions how much I care for and love them.

8. A little mess is o.k. If you know me, I HATE clutter and mess. Well, my house is a mess right now. And while I don't love the mess, I've been ok with it. I hope to slowly, over the next few weeks, get things back to normal. In the meantime, there are much more important things to take care of... like reading with Grant, and helping the kids with their homework, and taking a nap so that I am emotionally o.k.

9. Lice... there I said it... is not the end of the world. Or any other trial that we have. We get through it, because we have to and there is no other option. Everyone I've told has shared with me their own experiences with lice, and they all say it's not a big deal. Well, I am glad to hear that it's not uncommon, or that we aren't going to be labeled as "that family," but it is sure a lot of work and a PAIN!! But we did it, we survived, and I have learned a lot through this experience. Oh... and it sure helps to have a sense of humor while you are getting through those trials.

Well, until next time....

p.s. pictures and blessing details to come...

A Story. Part I.

Once upon a time there was a woman who was pregnant with her fourth child, a boy.

One day she woke her husband, told him her water had broken, and together they prepared lunches and made plans for their three other children. The oldest two would go to school, and the youngest, a 3-year old, would spend the day with his nursery teacher. The father's mother, Lola, would come the next day.

The baby was born at 12:39 p.m. (The mother decided, for the first time, to try an epidural.... but that is a story for a different day.) He was a hefty 8 lb 13 oz. and 20 inches long, and had plenty of hair. After counting fingers and toes, the mother nursed the baby, and then sent him off with the nurses to get his first bath and needle pokes. When it took longer for him to return (they said an hour), the mother got worried and frustrated. After several inquiries, she discovered that he was taking longer than expected to warm up. When they finally brought the baby back to the mother, he would not wake up to eat. The nurses became concerned with his fast breathing, and the sounds he made while breathing. So they took him away and wouldn't let the mother nurse him. After many hours, countless inquiries, and some tears, the mother learned that her child had had some X-rays and blood tests that raised some concerns; the dr.'s believed that the baby boy could have Strep B (the mother had only received antibiotics for 3 1/2 hours instead of 4). They whisked the baby to the NICU, and let the mother and father visit every few hours. 3 days of antibiotics later, the baby passed all his tests and was able to come home to his family.

The baby's name is Ammon. It was not originally on the list his father and mother made (those names were Ezra Benjamin or Chase Benjamin). But on day 3, in the middle of the night (the hospital was very, very loud at night, so the mother could not sleep), the mother knew that her baby looked like Ammon. When she suggested the name to the father (who had previously turned down the name "Ammon"), he said that seconds before she shared the name, he knew what she would say, and that it was the right name. The mother and father decided that Douglas would be a wonderful way to honor the mother's father and deceased brother; so that baby's name became Ammon Douglas.