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2009/11/20 We missed youAs if I didn’t already have heaps of respect for single mothers everywhere. This past week I had the slightest glimpse into that realm and have decided I’m a little too weak for this. In short it’s Friday and I’m exhausted! Hurry home honey! If this was your plan to make me appreciate allll you do it worked! Dean left on Sunday and I think after a nice long Sunday nap things were going well. It hit me on Monday morning though (as Dean takes maddy or Maddy and Logan to school in the morning) Almost like it suddenly dawned on me out of nowhere. Yikes it’s after 7 and i need to get all of us ready to drop of Maddy. So here is a few of our activities this week that you missed. The beach, the park, the zoo, the outlets, toys r us :) and everything in between. Yeah, we had to go on lots of outings for mom’s sanity. Just so that those precious children got to see their dad with every beautiful hair on their heads. :) We had some very fun moments and then those that I was definitely ready to pummel them. (like it’s some internal instinct to kick it up a notch when Dad is gone?) And now today I am crazy enough to try and get the kids pictures taken to top off the week. But grandma is here today which always seems to make the impossible possible. :) Through it all I did come out of this week much more appreciative of my husband, grateful for his limited travel, and even more in awe of single mothers. (or women with seriously deadbeat hubbys as well.
The beach Getting in some reading The seagull chase A delish sandy snack Is this seriously November? Maybe if I make this face mom will stop taking pix Let the wish list begin My baby with her baby Monkeys checking out the monkeys What’s keeping me up at night The park Peek a boo Beautiful Koi 4 going on???? Dinner + entertainment
Peace at last
2009/11/11 HalloweenHalloween 2009……. Ariel, Buzz Light year and a very busy ladybug. Thought I would finally get on and post some pictures of all the Halloween festivities. I think Halloween on Saturday meant twice as many activities. On Friday the kids had their school parades and parties and then off to trick or treat on Linden to all the little shops.Then Saturday was the church trunk or treat and more trick or treating in the neighborhood. Not to mention finding time to fit in a few pumpkin patches here and there .As of recently I am realizing that getting a good picture of 3 kids is near impossible. Trying to get them all to smile, look the same way, and the biggest challenge is to get Chantel to sit still. She is soooo busy. I have pretty much relinquished the idea of being able to get a good pix of Chantel for the next year. 90 percent of them are of her backside or her sprinting to put her face into the camera. Oy. Oh well these are some pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes and a few pumpkin patches we went to.
Making them laugh to sit still Ariel Buzz Lightyear and the ladybug Chantel providing the real entertainment Trying to escape Wagon ride at the Pumpkin Patch Cinderella's pumpkin Terrified after the corn maze Just her size Take 1 Take 2 Grabbin a Pumpkin At least all looking in the same direction My little Ladybug Loved the big tush grrrrrr Waiting for her Daddy Logan's school parade Guess Tink and Ariel were pretty popular 2009/10/3 School begins againToday I find myself trying to decide what’s more crazy. Summertime, with lots of free time and running all over the place playing and entertaining the kids or once the school year starts and then all the craziness of school schedules and activities start up. Hmmm….. having this sinking feeling that’s just how life is going to continue with 3 kids. That just maybe it has nothing to do with the seasons. Yikes. Maybe I’ll stick with thinking any second now life is going to slow down again. Oh wait, we have the holidays coming up and the last 3 months of the year always seem to fly by. So maybe no luck with that one. Anyhow craziness aside this year has been exciting with Maddy starting 1st grade and Logan back at preschool. Sureal for me to think back a year ago right as Maddy was just starting Kindergarten. So many changes, such an exciting time, just days until our little one made her debut. What a difference a year makes. They grow so much. They both are lucky enough this year to once again have great teachers and are really enjoying school. Logan is continually asking when he can start kindergarten so he can be big like Maddy. I'm in denial that it's only a year away. The biggest change this year has been Maddy in first grade. First grade is the real deal..Somehow it seems like real school. I’m sure that sounds funny but it seems like they are really hitting the big time now. Sitting at their own desks, the teacher is teaching right at 8 on the dot,homework is due each day, a longer school day, the half a second goodbye to mom starting on day one as she ran in the door, there’s more work, structure and expectations in school. You know real school. :) It was kind of funny when Maddy was telling me about her first day. Talking about this fun thing and that exciting thing and who she saw, and at the end she let out an exhausted sigh and said, and mom it was a really long day. Lol. Logan is back at the same preschool he was at last year with the same teachers that he and I both adore. The other day he told me he wants to go to his school everyday and he wants to stay as long as Maddy stays. Ha-ha. So he is enjoying school as well. He just can’t seem to decide if he wants to go to his school everyday or just wants to go straight to kindergarten to be big like Maddy. We have also been busy with soccer starting, ( which I can’t even contain my enthusiasm over how cute kids playing soccer are) And then to have your own kids playing a sport you loved… I can’t help but smile. And no not in any trying to relive my past kind of way. :) So the kids are doing that and we just finished the primary program and Maddy’s school jog a thon. We also managed to fit in 3 birthdays. Maddy, Chantel and I’s birthday’s are all within a 2 week span. Also in the mix is me trying to keep the mornings as stress free as possible. Thanks to a saint of a husband for taking the kids to school it has been pretty good.( Although I think Maddy secretly likes the frazzled mornings because then she gets cafeteria lunch which she loves. So with a deep breath, a lot of smiles, and a little craziness it looks like the new school year is well underway! School Jog-a-thon with a little help from Logan Daddy getting a huge hug Ouch my neck hurts already Wild!
Love the swings The super squeeze hug First day of first grade What she calls her fiesta skirt My chew toy Male bonding :) I'm Six! Chantel's wow face More pictures mom? Dean and Dean jr. 2009/8/17 Only half a yearOk so it’s only been about 6 months since I blogged. Not too bad right? How much happens in half a year with 3 kids? Burdean celebrated his 33rd birthday in may, and in June we celebrated 8 years of wedded bliss. Maybe a little more bliss on my end then on yours honey. Thanks for putting up with me for 8 years and pretending that you are loving every minute though. :) Dean has been very busy at work lately with some big changes that have been made. Last month he spent a week in New Jersey to begin managing an office there as well. But hey we aren’t actually moving to New jersey so no complaints here. :) He has also been busy with his calling, rec softball, volleyball, and enjoying lots of summer hanging out with the family. Maddy is almost a first grader. (As she likes to often remind me) She absolutely loved her first year of school and her sweet teacher Mrs. Riggs. I even cried my eyes out on her last day of school. I guess a lot of feelings of overwhelming gratitude for a fantastic teacher, all she did for Maddy, and proud of our little one for how much she grew and accomplished this year(Funny enough I was pretty strong on the first day).So for now she is living it up and loving the summer weather. The girl could spend hours outside trying to catch insects. And her favorite of course are the butterflies. The other day she caught a monarch butterfly. My heart sank for the poor little unsuspecting creature that’s probably traumatized. She did however let it go after taking some time to study it intently. She has also been busy riding her bike(now that there are no training wheels she loves it) and with reaching her goal of reading 100 books this summer. She’s been enjoying lots of time with family her favorite cousins and lots of late bedtimes that unfortunately are coming to a screeching halt . Logan turned 4 last month. I can’t believe my little man is already 4. I have to laugh at how much Logan is still Logan. Every year I am just waiting for him to turn into this completely wild boy. But not quite yet. Maybe he’s waiting till he’s a teenager. For now he’s easygoing, and just a lot of fun to be around. He has been going with the flow this summer. Still loving his cars, and now finally loving to ride his bike as well.(and has finally conceded that the barney rubble style is not faster than pedaling)He spends lots of time outdoors as well, playing baseball with Maddy and trying to get into some occasional mischief with the garden hose. He has really been happy to have his little playmate out of school for the summer.He will be back at preschool next week and is very excited to see his teachers and all the kids again. Chantel is growing so fast. I can’t begin to describe how much she has changed in half a year. In only a few short weeks she will be one. I love this age and seeing their little personalities really come out. This girl puts absolutely everything in her mouth. She has a special liking for remotes, keys, cords, paper, Logan's cars, and outlet plugs if I’d let her. She also loves to eat sand. Either handfuls of it or face planting into the sand to eat it that way.(it’s kind of funny unless you end up changing that diaper.) So basically she would like to bite everything I would rather her not. Her favorite song is twinkle twinkle little star. Still calms her instantly. The last few months she has been a fantastic sleeper. Super easy to go down for naps and bedtime and has been sleeping about 12 hours at night which mom has been waiting for. She loves to clap and already has a funny little sense of humor when she is getting into things (like trying to unplug the vacuum) she knows she in not supposed to. Her first words are still debatable but I guess it was dada. Which she still says more often then mama. My new favorite thing she does is her clapping. I love this little girl so much. She has been a very fun baby that has brought us tremendous joy. She has a very sweet little bond with her sister and brother. Maddy makes her laugh a lot and Logan is very sweet and loving with her. I often find myself laughing at how totally entertained she is by them. Dropped in the middle of the 3 ring circus. And then there is me. I have been faring pretty well this summer. My first summer with 3 kids. I must say I was quite unsure how it was going to go down with me having all 3 home everyday. I envisioned the worst with them hanging from the ceiling and surprisingly it has been a lot of fun. There for sure have been days where I would like to pull my hair out or it seems as though the house is not quiet for 5 minutes to hear myself think. For the most part though the kids have had fun and spend a lot of time with family which makes me more happy than anything. We went beach camping a few week ago, and last week we had a great time with the whole family at a beach house. I also have been pretty surprised how well Maddy and Logan have gotten along. They are absolute angels with Chantel so that is the hugest relief but I wondered if sooo much more time together would be a constant battle. While they definitely have their days and moments where I feel like I am the boxing referee breaking up fights they really have spent most of the summer by each others side playing together from morning to night. The summer has also included lots of late bedtimes and more naps then they took all year. So I am thinking that maybe the trick is to prepare for the worst and then you’ll be very pleasantly surprised. Collectively the last 6 months has mostly been about family. Getting used to a family of five and getting to know and love our little Chantel. I think with each child comes new changes, challenges, and more joy. We were finding our groove as a family. Getting used to new routines and ways of doing things. Each person being important and valued in this new dynamic. Mom still busy trying to tackle her biggest challenge-the always present laundry. So as summer winds down we are getting ready for a new season and a new chapter to begin. Although I’m not quite sure I’m really ready to let summer go I suppose we’ll continue to love all the fresh strawberries, our beach trips, and enjoy my favorite season while it’s still around because in a week it’s back to school! Yikes! Mastering the clap Still our food connoisseur pigtails turned horns Leaving a trail in the sand Last day of Kindergarten with Mrs. Riggs playing with Logan’s hat Mom’s least favorite chore of the summer :( Ready to hang ten The summer of “family naps” Accident prone Our Chantey My little helper Our favorite place Lovin on her blankie Enjoying summer weather 2009/2/23 A few new pixThought I would just post a few new pictures. We've spent the past month slowly passing this sick bug around to each other. I suppose it would've been to fortunate to have everyone sick at once. I think we're all finally healthy again though. At the moment I'm in the middle of waging a losing battle against the ants in the kitchen and thinking about sleep training Chantel. I need to reread a few things before I start though. Any helpful advice on sleep training? Or how to keep your 3 year old in bed anytime after 5 AM? Maybe it's Logan in need of sleep training these days. The last few weeks he has decided that anytime after 5 is fair game to get out of bed and start the day with a bang. Glad you have such a zest for life Logan but would it be too much to ask for all that energy and joy to start after 7?
Using the sick excuse to catch some zzz's All smiles in the bumbo. Thanks Es.
Logan letting Chantel pinch his face Rockin the apron Sisterly love How did she grow so fast? 2009/2/2 losing itOkay I've conceded. I've finally come to the realization that I'm absolutely losing my mind! Is this what happens when you have kids? They deplete all your brain cells? This third child has taken the short supply I had left. There's a quote that used to hang at my mom's house that read,"Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most." My sentiments exactly. In only a weeks span I had thought of some pretty stupid things I 'd done. This week I did a load of laundry without soap. I found a freshly washed disposable diaper in the dryer. I stepped away from the stove to grab Chantel and burned caramel popcorn. While reciting to myself the things I needed to grab before walking out the door I put deodorant on the outside of my black shirt. With car seat in one hand and keys in the other I rushed to the front door repeatedly clicking my keyless remote. After a few frustrating tries I finally realized why the front door was not opening. :) Once in the house I had 10 minutes to grab a few things and head out to pick up Maddy. In those 10 minutes I lost my keys. One of Logan's bedtime pull ups somehow made it through the washer (actually twice).....And yes I'm starting to realize I have laundry issues. I think I've burned more dinners in the last few months then in the last few years. To top it off the other day might have been one of the dumbest things I've ever done. After pressing the ignite button on the BBQ a second time I decided to stick my face over the grill to see why it hadn't started . Uh luckily I only singed off my eyelashes....At the moment my keys have been lost for 2 weeks and search and rescue is about to throw in the towel. I am desperately hoping that there's some miracle cure to stop this process. I'm going to have Alzheimer's in my 30's. Or maybe once the kids are grown and out of the house you get those brain cells back and that's how you become wise. Or at least seem wise to the rest of us. Yes, I think I'm going to hold out hope for that one and we'll see how it goes in about 18 years. Little man in a suit on his first day of Primary Getting in as many fingers as possible Dad and Maddy say cheese My favorite color! Thanks Lauren!
Oh the many fun hours with tape! Our little chunk 2009/1/6 Christmas And a New YearYou mean 2008 is over? Guess I should put up pictures of the last month so I can eventually move on to the New year. :) December was super busy this year. It seems like there was something going on almost everyday. There were Christmas parties, school parties, Christmas programs, get together's, decorating the tree, making gingerbread houses, lots of shopping, baking and lots and lots of excuses to get together with family.We even decided to start 2 new traditions. The parade of lights at the harbor and ding dong ditching goodies. We went to the parade of lights with my parents where all the boats in the harbor are decorated in lights and then they have fireworks after. Very fun. Before Christmas the kids and I were baking some treats to deliver to a few families and I thought maybe it'd be fun for them to leave the goodies, ring the bell and run. I am laughing just thinking of it. The kids loved it. Maddy wanted to be SO fast. It was hilarious. She loved the thrill so much that we let her do it again the next night. Christmas Eve and Christmas night were spent in the joyful company of family. Christmas morning was spent at our house with the kids. Can't think of anything better than the look on little children's faces on Christmas morning. Happiness & pure excitement. Wish they woke up like that every morning. :) After all the excitement of the month, lots of great memories made with family and friends, and way too many late nights, we decided to get away for a few days. We went to St. George for a few days where my parents have a house for some R & R. The kids even got to play in the snow. (And yes those are pretty redneck toboggan's) After going to 8 different stores with no luck Dean bought plastic containers. Thanks again honey for the pep talk about how this was building character as I watch the other kids with real sleds go by. Haha.Yes it was pretty funny. Although we had a great time I think one of my favorite moments was on the way home. I had taken Chantel out of the car for 10 minutes to feed her and then put her back. She didn't really want to go back in her car seat yet. She was crying and I heard Madelyn talking to her and calming her down. A few minutes later the backseat was quiet (which obviously prompted me wonder if they were all still breathing) When I turned around I saw that Madelyn and Chantel were asleep. As I went to cover up Chantel I could see that the girls were still holding hands. Definitely one of life's tender moments. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and are a little more on top of getting into the New Year than I am. :) Only pictures with Santa this year. Sorry kids!
Gingerbread houses. Yummm! After Maddy's Kindergarten Christmas program Pretty cute reindeer Parade of Lights
watching the boats was pretty exhausting Cousins Logan's Christmas party Chantel and her cousin Mackenzie
Christmas Eve Frosted cookies anyone?
Christmas morning Teaching her little sis to color A day in the snow with our sweet sleds :) Not so much a fan of the cold :) Bubble Bath Loving sisters 2008/12/2 Giving ThanksTis the season. Ah. Sometimes I wish we could just do November and December all year round. I love this season. A time to remember all our blessings and give thanks for all that we have. People are (usually) joyful, happy, and nice. A time to shop, eat good food, do service for others, and most importantly remember the reason for the season. Yes, I love this season. Although I probably couldn't do it all yearlong because I would miss spring, summer and a little more summer.This Thanksgiving as I looked around at our family, and the chaos of all the little kids running around, I couldn't help but be grateful for all my blessings. I am sure each of us could fill volumes with the things we are grateful for. Our families, our friends, our faith, the gift of life and freedom, and all the experiences we have had along our journey here. I am very grateful to know so many good people who have had a positive influence on my life even when they have not known it. I am grateful for the little everyday things as well. Like super hot showers, Sunday walks with the family, children's laughter, a good song, and a good DP :) I had been thinking a lot about the gratitude I have for my family with our new little addition, but had an experience this past week that has made me all the more grateful for each on of them. Last week I lost Logan. Not to be over dramatic but probably the worst 5 minutes of my life. My family was at the mall having all 9 grand kids picture taken. Yes we are CRAZY! From 18 years to 2 months. After the pictures were taken I was talking to my sister Tammy and my sister-in -law Stefanie about who was going to take the kids for ice cream and who was going home. Maddy, Logan and their cousin Kaleigh were all playing pretty close to us. All of a sudden I didn't see Logan anymore. Maddy said something about he is gone. (We were at the JC penny's in the mall) I walk around the corner and figure he must be right there. He isn't. I start to call for him. Nothing. We walk a little further to the elevator and the bathrooms. I start to feel that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I can't even begin to describe. Somewhat like the feeling when Logan hit his head only times 10. I check the bathrooms and Maddy says something about Logan maybe going on the elevator. We start calling for him and asking anyone in the area if they have seen him. Tammy stays with the kids and Stefanie heads through the store to look for him. I take the longest elevator ride up to the 2nd floor and ask a worker if she has seen a little boy. She gets on her walkie talkie and a minute or so later I hear Tammy yelling they had found him. Once I got off the elevator I gave him a huge hug and started crying.I was pretty shaken up. When I told him he'd really scared me he responded in a very sad voice, "I was looking for the transformer cars." I didn't know weather I wanted to hug and kiss him forever,to ring his neck or both. He was not frightened or looking for me, just sad he couldn't find those cars.I am so grateful that Tammy and Stef were there. Thank you a million. The only thing that made the whole frightening experience a little easier was not being there alone. Having your help and support. I love you guys. It was a pretty emotional night. Maddy asked me several times why my eyes were watering. And just as my sister knew I would, I broke down crying on the way home and then again when I got home and told Dean the story about how I must be the worst mother ever. As unfortunate as the experience was I have a new gratitude for my family and my little ones. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving,is giving their loved ones a few extra hugs and kisses and is enjoying this wonderful season of thanks. One of Dad's favorite past times Such hams
Thanksgiving feast at Maddy's school Maddy and her BFF cousin Kaleigh
Thanks for the adorable outfit Karli! Too cute.
Bug (or snail) hunting 2008/11/3 HalloweenJust thought I'd post a few pictures of the kids for Halloween. Tinkerbell, the race car driver, and the pumpkin. It was a very good Halloween. Really a great week. Last weekend we were able to have some of our favorite people come and stay the weekend with us. We love seeing Chris and Karli. The time is always too short but it was great fun hanging out with them and getting to know their adorable little Kai. Logan is still talking about how cute she is. Later in the week we took the kids to the pumpkin patch and on Friday Logan and Maddy had Halloween parades and parties at school. We went trick or treating down linden(a street leading to the beach here) with all the little shops handing out candy. It's really cute. After we had our fill of candy we had dinner with friends and came home to crash. Logan was on such a sugar high he didn't fall asleep until almost 10pm. Unfortunately, I now have either less hands or less memory so I didn't get too many pictures of the kids. I have been kicking myself for not taking more pictures over the last few months. Oh well, maybe I'll do better with the upcoming holidays.Now I just need to throw away the Halloween candy so I don't continue to eat it all.(Although the kids are really helping me out with that.) Yesterday Dean and I decided to attempt a rare nap. When we awoke the kids had eaten almost all of Logan's Halloween candy. His very helpful big sister climbed up and got his bucket out of the cupboard. They were hand over fisting the candy. I think they ate enough candy to last them until next Halloween. Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Chantel's first Halloween Two looking terrified and one mad after corn maze?
The biggest pumpkins they could find
We love you guys! Maddy's Kindergarten class And you thought in never rained in Cali Our little Pumpkin Calling it a day(with candy still in Logan's mouth)
A beautiful halloween sunset
2008/10/25 7 WeeksWow! Our sweet baby girl is already 7 weeks old. I continue to be amazed at how much babies change and grow in just a matter of weeks.It's been very fun seeing Chantel become more alert and getting to know her little personality. Here are a few things she has been enjoying lately.She LOVES to be snuggled and to be swaddled tight like a little burrito. She loves the sound of running water, bath time, lots of sleeping, and lots of eating. :) She loves the attention from her big brother and sister......... or perhaps she's contemplating how she ended up in the circus. :)It has been such a blessing to have this one here. I love her tiny hands and feet and that she has her dad's long fingers and toes. I love that when she nurses she rests her little hand on my chest and looks up at me with those sweet and innocent eyes. I love that as soon as she hears her dad's voice she gets a huge smile on her face and her little eyes start to sparkle.I love the way she stretches and how peaceful she looks when she's asleep.I love watching Logan and Maddy talk to her, sing to her and hold her hand when she cries.Yes, I think we've all fallen in love with our little Chantel. Since her arrival I have felt such an overwhelming gratitude for my family . I can't help but wake up and be grateful for my blessings. I think about how blessed I am to be with a husband I love and children who bring me such joy. I can't think of a better way to begin the day then with this precious little one snuggled up next to me. I have been laughing a lot lately when I think of the extreme change from the past 9 months of fat, sassy, and not quite the best attitude. Although the chubbiness has stayed I now seem to awake in the middle of a musical wearing rose colored glasses. :) I guess going through a few of life's unpleasant moments makes you so much more grateful for the blessings you have at the end. Here are a few pictures of the kids. Maddy schools had there yearly jog-a-thon as their school fundraiser. It was adorable to see all these little kids running laps around the field. (They ran more than a mile, haha, I think that's more than I could do right now)And of course Logan had to join in for a few laps too.
A look BackThis was something I forgot to post a while back. In the spirit of keeping this as a journal (or a sad attempt at one) I thought I should take a quick moment to sum up my thoughts on the last 9 months. As anyone who knows me already knows, pregnancy is not really my thing. As much as I would've loved to be radiant and adorably round that's just not the hand I was dealt. So I thought I would mention the highlight and the low lights for me to remember. First we have the low lights. :) Umm.... it probably started with the first month of disbelief. We knew we wanted more children but had planned on waiting one more year. Then there was the morning..errr all day sickness. Many times I tried to talk myself out of vomiting or feeling sick. Another lovely was always knowing your proximity from a bathroom, toilet or bucket. Gagging while coughing and brushing my teeth. I seemed to catch every germ that came through the door and had a permanent 9 month cold. Exhausted. I remember trying to bribe Maddy and Logan to attempt a nap or just to lie down and rest. Insomnia. It was extremely tough to get up each morning after only a couple hours of sleep a night. Pregnancy is 9 months that I just don't quite feel like myself. Probably my hormones going crazy, the sickness, and no sleep has something to do with it. Also a low point was my mortifying doctors appointment where I gained 11 pounds in 2 weeks. I wanted to hide when the doctor (in disbelief) is double checking the numbers with the nurse thinking she must have wrote it wrong. Then she turns to me and asks what happened. I had no idea what to say except that I guess my vacation was a pretty good one. I do however think that this was the easiest pregnancy so far. And I think a huge reason for that was my family. Even though it was tough, there definitely were some highlights that I will remember fondly. Like when we told the kids we were having a baby. Maddy was so excited she was beaming. She told all the family, and everyone at church and school that her mom was having a baby. Logan liked talking about all the toys he was going to share with our baby. I remember one night he took out some of his very favorite toys and cars and set each on my bed telling me that he was going to share these things with the baby and how much she was going to like them. Of course another perk of pregnancy was to be able to eating anything I wanted without guilt since the baby needed it. :) The ultrasound of Chantel was another special moment. To see our little baby and to have the kids see her and be excited about having a sister was priceless. I loved when Maddy told the doctor," A sister, that's just what I wanted." Logan cried when we left because he wanted to bring his sister home right now. :) Seeing how excited the kids were throughout the pregnancy really helped. All things considered I think what I really loved and will miss about the experience is probably just 3 simple things.Feeling the baby move. Sharing all those little moments just her and I and knowing that she was always with me. The second would be seeing the kids so excited about their little sister.They loved to talk to the baby through the hole(my belly button.) They thought it was hilarious to give zerberts on my belly to the baby as well. Their laughter was contagious. The last thing I loved and will miss is going to sleep every night knowing that no matter what happened that day I had done something that was truly important beyond measure. I'd been entrusted to be carrying a precious little miracle. 2008/10/12 Loving our family of 5This is just a few highlights from the last few weeks. Two weeks ago was Chantel's Baby blessing. It was a very special day. I felt so blessed to be surrounded by such a supportive and loving family. Thanks to all our family that made the day so memorable. Last week Logan had his first day of preschool.... well sort of. Logan had spent a few days at a differnt preschool, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't the right school for him. The experience was a good reminder to me that as mothers we are blessed with mother's intuition. That you need to follow your gut feeling. Fortunately he is really liking his new school and I feel very comfortable with him there. His teacher is great and he loves telling Maddy about the tarantula in the school library. I think he sees how much his sister loves school and it has made him that much more excited to be big enough to go to school. Maddy celebrated her 5th birthday(yes a few weeks late) with a birthday party on the only day it has rained in the last year. :) The party ended up very fun and all worked itself out but I couldn't believe it only rained on that Saturday. Maddy has also been loving school and her teacher very much. At the end of September her school had their very first assembly. Madelyn received the scholar of the month award for her Kindergarten class. It was so incredibly cute. Dean and I were beaming. We were so proud of her.
Playing peek a boo with Chantel Any similarities? Gotta love cousins Logan and Ry ticking each other with cattails Logan's first day at new preschool Loves her bath time
Snuggles with mom All for me? Our little Scholar of the month Kisses from her big bro
All the kids waiting for the candy Madelyn's Princess party 2008/10/6 Talking about Chantel Shay Oliverson2008/9/27 3 weeksWow 3 weeks already.Okay well I said I would get on here and post more details of our little one but it has taken me a lot longer than I thought. It has been an amazing (and a little crazy) last 3 weeks so I will try my best to give a quick synopsis of what has gone down. Chantel's arrival.... Tuesday September 2nd we arrived at the hospital as planned for my induction after dropping Maddy off at school. By 9:30 the pictocin was flowing and I was super ready to have this baby. The first 4 hours were very serene and relaxing. I was having contractions but none were painful so all was well. At 1:30 my doctor broke my water and by 2:00 I was starting to feel some real contractions. By 3:15 we were into intense pain. The nurse gave me a shot of something (already forgot the name, but basically worked as a muscle relaxant. )It didn't take the pain away but it helped your whole body to feel completely relaxed. I remember saying something to Dean about why would women do this with no drugs at all :) Lol I had the first 2 kids with no drugs but this time I was not feeling like trying to be supermom. Maybe if there's another I'll go for the really good stuff.:)The nurse walked out for a moment and Dean said when she came back I was out cold. I fell asleep for about 3 contractions and was snoring. In the next 15 minutes I went from a 7 to a 10. At 3:35 the doctor arrived and Chantel was born at 3:45. She came into this world already with her own little personality and spirit. Although my doctor tried several times to convince Chantel otherwise, she decide to be born with her back arm out first. She was a persistent little one. She has shown us many times that she was indeed very ready to be here with our family now. She was born very alert, hands and feet were red, and one healthy set of lungs. Even a first for our doctor and our nurse who gave Chantel 2 perfect 10's for her apgar test . Yes, she and I were both ready for her to be here. The first moment I got to hold her was priceless. She was wailing and yet I felt as though it was the most precious sound. I had waited a long nine months to hear that sound. We love you Chantel!
Friday...So how would you like to spend your 2nd day home from the hospital? How about by making a trip back to the hospital to take a tour of the ER? Yeah, it wasn't exactly how I was dreaming of spending my first full day at home. On Friday evening Logan was climbing up the couch, fell backwards and hit his head on the corner of the desk. Instant fear as I see blood gushing from Logan's head. My mom and I started to control the bleeding while Dean raced home. He was here in only a minute or two. We hopped in the car and after seeing that our urgent care was closed raced up to the ER in Santa Barbara. It was a pretty scary feeling holding Logan on my lap in the front seat feeling his little body so heavy and still. His little eyes were fluttering as I tried to keep him awake. We reached the ER to find ourselves assessed and then waiting with a lot of other people already there. Oh and through all this I forgot to mention I was BAREFOOT! So incredibly gross. I feel queasy just thinking about standing on that emergency room floor with the lady next to me dry heaving over her barf basket. Truly nothing like a mother's love right? Anyhow the wait was going to be forever so we took Logan to an urgent care close that had no wait. (After we left I can understand why there was no wait) The doctor who greeted us was extremely nice but unfortunately not so competent. I knew it was a bad sign when the doctor was asking the 3 year old if he wanted staples or stitches? It was kind of downhill from there. Her showing him the equipment, then starting with 1 staple, he didn't like that so she went for the stiches,didn't care for that, and then back to the staples. The doctor told Logan to tell her to stop if it hurt (he's 3, of course he is going to tell you to stop, It DOES hurt )So after a very long time we were finally done. He had 6 staples and a lot of stickers to take home. I actually felt really bad for the doctor. Afterwards she told us that Logan was the first child she had worked with. By the time we got home several hours later I had blood streaked across the front of my shirt, was completely emotionally drained and was dying to get in the shower and scrub my feet off. Logan's first trip to the ER Aside from our frequent trips to the hospital,the last 3 weeks have been pretty busy. :) The 3rd time around you have to be up on your feet pretty fast. I think this has really been Heavenly Father's gift to me though. I had a rough pregnancy but the recovery has been fantastic. Maybe just 2 days I was sore, otherwise I have felt really good. The first week and a half it was hugely helpful to have my mom here. She's fun to have around and is amazing to be able to fit in all the cleaning, cooking, laundry, shopping, organizing, and playing with the kids. Even if you are only 45 minutes away I miss having you here mom! You are incredible. Thanks for everything. I just need you to come back and show me how you got all that laundry done. :) We have also been getting into the Kindergarten routine(I must say I love it, it's pretty adorable to have a kindergartner) Logan started preschool, which entailed paperwork, several meetings, and registration. Then we pulled him from that preschool (just had to go with our gut feeling) and then do the work to find another preschool after that. I have had my own doctor's appointments, Chantel has been to 3 doctors appointments, Logan had his 6 staples out, (crying while I held him down) Maddy turned 5, planning a birthday party and a baby blessing, getting ready for the primary program, both kids getting sick, Chantel and I both have Thrush and the list could most defiantly continue. We have also had our first successful outing as a family of 5 and I have conquered my fear of taking all 3 kids to the doctor by myself.(anywhere but the grocery store or the doctor's office please) Although we have had a lot going on in the last 3 weeks the best part has been getting to know our sweet little baby. Here's a little bit of life lately... Logan's first day of preschool Still best buds Maddy turn's 5 Grandma and Logan First family outing Playing Peek-a-boo with Chantel 2008/9/26 All in a days work
One of Logans favorite things to do is visit his Dads work. In every case he gets to sit and play on his "special" computer while eating good snacks. Logan Hard At Work 2008/9/6 Chantel Shay OliversonShe's finally here! Our precious little baby Chantel came into this world on Tuesday September 2nd at 3:45 PM. She weighed 7lbs. 13oz. and was 20 inches long. I promise to post more about our new little family in the next few days but for now I am going to try to get some sleep. :)
Madelyn starts KindergartenOops forgot to post this a few weeks ago. It was a pretty monumental week at the Oliverson's this week. On Monday Madelyn had her first day of Kindergarten. Monday will for sure go down as one of my favorite days ever. Maddy was beaming as she got ready for school. All 4 of us loaded up in the car and took Maddy to school. Maddy has been so excited to start school. She has been loving it. She loves her teacher, her new school and all the new rules. :) The other day she told her dad she didn't need his help getting something because she was a kindergartner now. I couldn't be more excited for her. I must say I was a little bit choked up but most of all I was really proud of her. She sat right down and was excited to be a big kindergartner. To add to the greatness of the day it was my birthday as well. I went to the doctor and when I came home dean and the kids were here to surprise me with cards and cake and flowers. Thanks honey. You know my favorite thing are the small sentimental things. The cards the kids wrote for me were priceless. Translated word for word. I loved it. Then as the cherry on the top I saw my doctor today and things went great. Since I am already at a 3 and 80 percent effaced my doctor agreed to induce me on Tuesday. Well she is going to induce me because my blood pressure just started to rise. Yeah, it was a great day.
2008/8/19 final days of freedomOk so maybe not completely my final days of freedom but kind of. All of our trips and vacations are finally coming to a halt. Looks like we are pretty much parked here for the rest of the summer. Of course I do love it here but being on vacation or out of town definitely has made the summer go by quicker. August has been fun. I was able to spend a girls weekend with my mom and my sisters a few weeks back. We had a great time chatting,eating good food, shopping, and just bonding. On Saturday night we went to see Sara Evans at the fair. I think we were all surprised how good she was. By the end of the night we were all exhausted but it was very much worth it. Can't wait to do it again. Thanks for such a fun weekend mom. Oh and thanks to the men who watched the kids so the girls could have a few minutes of sanity. :) The next week the kids and I went to see a really good friend of mine who moved away this past year. It was a lot of fun to catch up and the kids were ecstatic to see their little BFF Ryley. Thanks so much for having us Es. You know the kids are already asking when we are going back.Then it was on to our final moments of freedom this past weekend. The kids and I went to my moms for a couple days. My mom and I have been absolutely loving the Olympics so we spent a night staying up until 1am watching swimming, volleyball, and women's gymnastics. Loved it! I have such fond memories growing up of my mom and I glued to the T.V. cheering on team USA, and going to see women's gymnastics when the Olympics were held in L.A. Any chance Los Angeles could host the Olympics here one more time? Aside from that we are now getting ready for the next few weeks to come. Great news is that Maddy was given a transfer to the school we were wanting and even the teacher we requested. A huge sigh of relief. So now it's on to my lists of things to get done in the coming weeks. At moments it seems doable and at times a bit overwhelming. I can't believe Madelyn will be starting kindergarten on Monday. A day sooner(actually on my birthday) than I thought and a whole 15 minutes earlier. Who decided on 8 am to start school? Someone without kids? Yeah, should be interesting to see how I fair with the 8 am schedule for Maddy, a preschooler and a newborn.
Girls weekend & Sara Evans Playing in the pool and Maddy and Ryley looking for the perfect berries
Bedtime stories and best buddies 2008/8/1 The beach house and a birthday boyIs July really over? I guess July was busy running here and there and fitting in as many vacations as we could.Last week we had a family vacation at a beach house in Ventura. It was way too much fun. Logan fell asleep on the way home and the first thing he told his dad when he woke up was to get in the driver seat and drive back to the beach house. Seems we all felt the same way. We had a lot of fun spending the week with family. It was great to have Mark and stefanie and little Megan there too. It was really nice to have the older nephews and niece there too. They are very fun kids. Maddy and Logan loved playing with them all week. It is nice to have the time to just bond with the family all together. I am sure to some that must sound like madness to have everyone under one roof for the week. It worked out great though because everyone is very easy to get along. Next year let's do 2 weeks guys. :) Lol I can't imagine how sleep deprived all would be by the end of 2 weeks.Thanks a million mom for ALL the work you did to make it so much fun for everyone. I know it was a ton of work even if you make it seem like no big deal. :) The week was also a nice reality check for me to remember what is in my near future. I think I have become accustomed to how lovely it is that my kids are a little older and need slightly less supervision. Watching Megan and Nathan that are a year and year and a half was a good reminder of how you have to be on your A game all the time with that age. From taking a header down the stairs to chocking on small toys or food. Thanks for the heads up kids. :) On Saturday we celebrated Logan's 3rd birthday and my nephew Quinn's 11th birthday! Complete with a cars cake and cars piñata. I can't believe my baby is 3. He is absolutely loving all his new cars. As if he wasn't a cars fanatic before I think now he has all but a few cars of the whole pixar cars set. He is funny. He's not into his hot wheels right now. He says he just wants the cars with the eyes and faces. We sure do love you Logan.You are truly a character. We love your funny personality, your sweet little voice, your cute mannerisms, and your easy going demeanor. I am grateful and humbled each day to be your mom.Thanks for bringing such joy and happiness to your whole family. Happy Birthday Logan!
2008/7/9 Montana VacationThe last week and a half we had our yearly summer vacation in Montana. It was a lot of fun to see Family and some of our favorite friends. It was shocking to see how big all of the nephews and nieces looked and how crazy it is to see your friends with kids that are growing so fast. We flew into SLC and met up with some friends and got to meet their newest additions. Noah and Griffyn were adorable. The next day we all drove through Yellowstone National park together which was a lot of fun for all the kids to see the animals.The park was beautiful. Then it was on to dean's parents house where we spent the first few days of our trip enjoying catching up with good friends and Dean's parents. We even managed to fit in a girls day of shopping leaving the kids with the dad's all day. I am sure it was eventful for them. :)Thanks to the men for being so willing to let the girls have a very fun day out. It was so fun to catch up with them and play with their kids. After Cort and Em and Troy and Jen headed home we spent the rest of the week just enjoying the company of family.
Yellowstone Dad and the kids A spring that smelled like rotten eggs
We spent the 3rd, 4th, and 5th at firework shows with the last one being put on by our brother and sister-in-law. Yes those huge fireworks are legal in Montana so that was pretty fun. Dave and Britta always put on a good show. On Saturday we had the Oliverson family reunion which was perfect. I know Dean's mom Ivy went to a lot of trouble to make it fun for everyone and it turned out lovely. Lunch, swimming, a BBQ, a fireworks show and being in the company of family. The only downside to the week were those darn mosquitos. The kids got eaten alive. Guess they loved that out of state blood. We ended the trip getting in a few family pictures, thanks to my father in law being very patient and stayed our last night with Chris and Karli on our way back to SLC. Thanks so much, we love you guys. I think we could have stayed and chatted for a hundred more hours. By 1:30 am they had probably heard enough from us though. Logan is still dreaming about the room with a gazillion cars too. As we were ready to catch our flight home I was thinking about how incredibly smooth the whole trip had gone. And of course that is why we have kids to put us in our place right? As we were boarding the plane I had to tell the kids that we had to split up because all four seats were not together. Uh yeah. Both kids decided they wanted to sit by Dad (of course). So after a minute of mayhem and I am sure a plane full of people wondering how awful it must be to sit by mom we all took our seats and then enjoyed the plane ride home. We arrived safely and exhausted home and think I now need a vacation from our vacation. Hopefully a few good nights sleep will do the trick. Thanks to all the family and friends that made it such an enjoyable And memorable trip. We so much enjoying seeing and catching up everyone. (I left my digital and video camera in the rental car so hopefully I will get that back soon to post a few pictures of the reunion.)
Our family Watching the fireworks Loving the look on Logan's face
Our botanist My boys |
) Now hurry up and get home! We love you, miss you, and Mama’s got her bags packed for a day of R&R. 
While I probably could just say busy, I think at some time I may want to flip back through this journal and have a slight recollection of what was happening. So I suppose I will just highlight a little bit of what each of us has done this summer. 
Afterwards her principal came over to congratulate her. She said she could see that Madelyn was very proud of herself and her hard work.The smile on her little face is priceless when she knows she has really accomplished something. As for Dean, he has been pretty busy with work, family, his calling, and now he has joined a volleyball team. Hopefully we'll make it to see a few of his games even though they start a little late. Me? I am starting to see a slight piece of how this whole 3 kids and very busy is starting to come together. Yes, very busy but very fulfilling. Are we all sleep deprived? Absolutely, but I can't complain, I am just thrilled to have our little one here. She is such a sweetie. I think there is just something about newborns that help you to remember the things that are really important in life. So tiny and precious. With no words at all I have already seen her bring this family closer together. The kids adore her. Maddy says,"She is just so cute I can hardly stand it". Logan is very gentle with her. 100 times a day he will say I think she needs a kiss. Then I will hold her down to his height and he will give her a gentle kiss on the head. It's precious to see the love and the bonds of siblings. In short, after nine months of highs and lows, LIFE IS VERY VERY GOOD!
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