Cute Things

Today I came up to see what Kayla was doing in her room. She was changing her babies diaper. She had out the wipes and everything. Girls are so different than boys.

Don made me a CD for Valentine's because he is awesome like that. One of the song talks about Superman. The first time Landon heard it he was really excited about Superman being mentioned in a song. I just briefly told him what the song was saying and that Daddy is our Superman. Now every time he hears the song he says, "It's talking about Dad!" and then proceeds to sing at the top of his lungs. He now requests Superman in addition to Melynda's favorite song (Human). It's nice to have some variety.

Eldon's cute thing? If I only choose one it would be his dancing. He has done awesome moves, and I don't mean that sarcastically. When asked a question he sometimes will answer me with a side step and jazz hands.

Bryson is the most tender hearted of the boys towards me. He is always trying hard to help me with cooking, deep cleaning, or just by being empathetic when I talk.

I think it is really cute when a brother tells a story about something that made them feel sad and he responds, "I know just how you feel," he then continues to tell how he can relate to them. He is growing up too much. He can carry on adult conversations and while that is awesome it makes me a little sad.

Don is the cutest of them all. He always kisses me before he leaves in the morning, if it wakes me I even get an I love you. It's the little things that make life great.

Jaron is 10

We had lots of fun celebrating Jaron.  This year we are allowing the children a certain amount of money to use for their birthday.  I also asked for no large friend parties.  With the restrictions given Jaron decided to purchase the Good Dinosaur, candy, and a book series that he wanted.  

The day started with room decorations. Don was on a business trip so he wasn't able to help me with the room decorations.  I think I did okay without him.  The boys love the surprise of waking up to decorations.  Don had taken Jaron to get the things for his birthday before he left so that he could be a part of the day. In the evening Jaron invited his best friend Wyatt from school to come join us for dinner and the movie.  Of course there was cake which he designed and loved.  The cake was wedding cake which is more dense. It uses almond extract and vanilla extract.  This is his favorite kind of cake I would say.  I added sprinkles to the batter to make it confetti.  The movie he actually didn't love.  He said it was too sad. But aside from that I think the day was a real success.

Jaron loves rigatoni and other tomato and pasta based dinners.

Jaron loves all things sports.  He loves to play video games and play actual sports.  The sport he is practicing most right now is soccer.  He plays it every day at recess.

Jaron is very responsible and able to take care of himself pretty much.  It's kind of odd to have children that are able to do this.

Jaron still has his young side though.  I notice in comparison to other children his age he is still really young at heart.  He doesn't like sad or suspenseful movies, but is able to handle them better than when he was young. He calls me mommy still and isn't embarrassed to give me a huge hug in front of others.

Pregancy # 6

Baby boy is healthy and growing as he should. No problems or complications at all.

Physically I am doing good. I am taking it easy.  Doing what I can and then not doing any more.  This is hard on me since I love to help others and do a lot of extra things around the house.  But for now I will have to just swallow my pride and accept the fact that I can't do as much as I want to.
I can't sleep much.  I just can't get comfy.  I have bad leg cramps and nightmares a lot. This is wearing, but Don lets me nap a lot.  We also have wonderful neighbors that let the kids come play so I can rest.
Baby boy drops down some now and that is all kinds of fun.  And by fun I mean painful.  At least he isn't engaged so when I rest I he will come back up some.
I am nauseous a lot and have been throwing up a lot since my stomach is so high up.  I have to be really careful about my diet or I will have stomach pain in top of this.  These things aren't pregnancy related though, they just are more intense when pregnant. 

I was just reading about when I was pregnant with Kayla.  There are several reoccurring patterns that I see, such as my mental patterns.  I think I might be slightly negative, but at least I am willing to admit it, because that is the first step to recovery, lol.  Seriously though.  I struggle a lot when I am not perfect (as we all know) and pregnancy tends to make me the worst form of myself.  My worst form often shines through in the form insecurities, illness, and a lot of down moments.  These struggles if left unchecked lead to  . . . angry mommy/wife.  This years goal is to work on being more positive in thought, which will result in more joy.  So far not so good.  But I am happy to report last week I stopped myself several times a day before I let my negativity get the best of me.  Little steps towards becoming better is good. 
I have to praise the main man of the house here, because he has been a rock star at dealing with me. Don has really been awesome at helping me and when I yell at him for something he tries to fix it.  Half the time it is me that needs to just stop being so demanding, but Don is taking care of me so well and I think that he is amazing.  He talks to me about everything I need and offers help and suggestions.

Valentine's Day 2016

 

Valentine's Day at our house was really great. Don always buys me beautiful flowers. And this year I made him a bouquet of treats.  No picture put it was kind of fun for me to do and I learned that I need to feel the vase with weight so that the treats aren't too heavy.  It was a balancing act.  Also hot glue came off the candy wrappers easily.  So next year I need to either impala the treat or find a better working adhesive for the wrappers. The boys and I visited Don at work on Saturday to give him his bouquet.

Actual Valentine's Day was Sunday and we had French toast and heart shaped eggs. 

After church Don turned on the new CD he made for me of love songs and we danced in the kitchen.  Landon and Kayla were there watching us dance. From this Landon now says that when he gets married he is going to hug his wife, kiss her, and dance.  Don and I aren't perfect at loving each other all the time, but I hope these moments will have an affect on what our children expect in a healthy relationship.

At dinner we gave out all our valentines. I give the boys valentines and Don now has his little princess to give one to.  He gave her a rose.  She was a little confused at first as to what she should do with the flower, but then we put it by mom's flowers and she understood.  Every day following when she would look at it she would say, "Mine, Daddy."  So she honestly knew what was going on. 

Dinner was ok, I always think I can cook this amazing steak, but I just never can.  Anyone want to teach me for next time?  Everything else was great though.  

I am grateful to have so many valentines in my life.  Love is a great way to overcome the hardships that come with family life.

Miss KK

 

In Dec. she lost both her pacifier and her crib.  It was surprisingly a much easier transition than we thought it would be.  

She likes to hide

The nightgown that all of Tricia's girls wore

This little girl is in the phase of life that she gets into everything.  I have to make sure to close the flour really tight or else this happens...

How she scooped the flour

The aftermath

Her most favorite thing to get into however is not the flour, it is makeup.  My concealer stick seems to be her favorite.  She puts it on the right way, but then can't resist the urge to eat it too. I use Vaseline for my lips, which she also things is really fun.  Jaron and Bryson leave their room door open sometimes and she helps herself to their chap stick and markers (she bites the ends off).  Shutting the door used to work but as of late she has started opening doors.

No photos for this one, but she can't seem to stop putting things up her nose.  Anything really.  The largest we had to remove was a piece of a Styrofoam cup. She lays perfectly still so Don and I are able to remove them without going to the Dr.

She is the little mother of the house.  Bossing the boys around, cleaning up messes, and cooking in the kitchen. She is at such a fun age.

Provo City Center Temple Open House

 

I just love these opportunities for the children to view inside the temple and ask questions they may have about what is done inside the temple. It was a great morning!