First Visit to the ER

While getting into bed last night, Avri got a little overexcited and jumped face first into her headboard. She split her face open right between her top lip and nose. The gash was deep enough that I thought it would probably need stitches. Kendall had left about 5 minutes earlier to go to Scout Round Table, so I had to call him to come home and put the other two to bed while I took Avri in. Of course, this all happened at 7:15, because the InstaCare closes at 7:00, so I had to drive her all the way downtown to the Emergency Room. This was our first visit with one of our kids. Avri had so many questions about what was going to happen, but she stayed so calm I was completely amazed. They gave her a coloring book and crayons which we read together while we waited. It answered most of the questions that she had and gave her something to do. The nurses all thought she was the cutest and sweetest little thing. She had so much to tell them and she acts so much more grown-up than 4 (and a half!). Finally, by about 10:00 she got 4 stitches in the wound. She cried a little during the second stitch, so they gave her some more numbing medicine, which made her cry much worse. That was when I started to cry too. My poor little baby. Here she is waiting for the Doctor to come in.
When it was all done she said "Mom, I don't like stitches because they make me look like I have a mustache." I couldn't help it, I laughed so hard. She really does look like Pedro. :)
Mom Tip #359: When you keep a child up half of the night in the Emergency room, they will be very tired the next day. She had so many melt downs today over the dumbest things. I could tell she was exhausted, and I could feel it too.
She asked me today how they take the stitches out, and when I told her she cried again. "I don't LIKE stitches!" she told me. We've tried to keep her happy about them, but she isn't convinced. And I must admit that I'm a little worried that she could have a big nasty scar for the rest of her life. I just hope it is minimal, but I guess there is nothing we can do about it now. She is still living up to the nickname that she earned as a one-year-old: Bonky. Always bonking that pretty little head of hers.

Bangs!

Sadie has had so many little baby hairs that were beginning to look like bangs that I decided on a whim to just make it official. I think she looks darling. We'll see if I regret it as I try to keep up on the trimming, but for now I just love them!
What do you think?

An Update...Finally

This pregnancy hasn't been the easiest. I've been pretty sick but had to keep up on all of the things that a mom of 3 has to do. So the blog has gone unattended. But here is a little update.

Avri is still just loving preschool. The past couple of weeks they have been doing a unit on Castles. They had a "Royal Tea Party" and then they built this great castle and spent two days painting it and practicing "patterns" on it. So I had to go up and see the castle and get a picture of my little princess with it.
Valentine's Day was great! We celebrated all weekend. The ward provided free babysitting Friday night, so we doubled with some friends and went to dinner. It was so fun to get out with another couple! We haven't done that in years! We took the kids to Culver's on Saturday to celebrate with them, and that evening Kendall and I exchanged gifts. Then on Sunday we got out all of the candy and had a sugar-fest. We had the missionaries over for dinner that night and Kendall took care of all the cooking, which I LOVE! Here is the heart that we did in Avri's hair, which looked cute for all of half an hour. Oh well. I tried.
Wednesday was my birthday, so we've been celebrating all week long! I got together with some cute friends in the ward on Tuesday for lunch and they threw a little party and surprised me with cake and ice cream and all that. It was very thoughtful of them and lots of fun!

For my birthday Kendall arranged to work from home, and since he doesn't actually do that much "work" while he's working he took care of all the dirty diapers and fed the kids and put them down for naps so that I could just enjoy the day. We went out for a late lunch once Avri got home from school and then we opened presents and had cake. I was totally spoiled. Kendall always goes way overboard and then says things like "You only got exactly what you deserve. I only wish I could do more." He knows I wouldn't let him though. :) The kids were so excited about the presents and they each helped me open theirs.
That night we went and bought a new desktop, which we have been watching for a great deal on. So I guess it was sort of a birthday present! While we were at the store the kids were getting a bit rowdy and very tired. We were fighting them, trying to get them in the car, when out of the blue, Santa pulled up in a car right next to us! He must have been the real Santa because he had a full beard, a big belly, and was wearing a red coat and everything. The kids were angels all the way home! ;) It really was a perfect day. Thanks for all of your birthday wishes, the cards and the facebook notes and everything else! Welcome to my 27th year of life!

As a side note, many of you know that I had a sister who was born and died on my 11th birthday. It was a hard year that year, my mom really had a hard time coping with it all and we had some great friends who tried to make my birthday not quite so tragic. But since that year, my birthday has always been a time to reflect and think about Maria. She would have been 16 now. It's amazing to think how different life would be with a 16-yr old sister running around, worried about dating and driving and all that. Especially now that my parents are empty nesters. Happy Birthday Maria. I can't wait to meet you again.

Kendall's at it again!

And look what he made this time...

















We are due September 2010! Hooray!

Shedd Aquarium

Yesterday was my Mom's 50th birthday!! Happy Birthday Mom/Grandma!! She insisted that she did not want any parties or anything that was going to be embarrassing. My Dad got her a Caribbean Cruise which they will be going on in about a month. But as for yesterday everyone took the day off work and we all headed up to Chicago to go to the... Shedd Aquarium! I've never been here but it was AMAZING! It was a community discount day, so still expensive but totally worth it!
This was hilarious. The fish loved Sadie! There were two different fish that swam right up to where she was standing and they would face her and sit there looking like they were talking to her. One did this for probably 5 minutes!
This tank had a diver in it and he was feeding the fish. He came right up to the glass and waved to Avri and fed the fish right in front of us.
Enjoying some jello at lunch.
My mom and dad enjoying a nice birthday lunch.
Talmage taking in the dolphins. They are so people-friendly. Great show animals.
Petting the starfish and sea urchins!
Enjoying the penguins. One came right up to the glass and waved at Sadie. Maybe she is just the right size for all these aquarium animals.
This is us waiting for the "Fantasea" show. It was AWESOME! The kids were totally thrilled. Next time though we are going to go and sit front and center. That's where all the action is!
These spider crabs were disgusting!! Totally looked like gigantic spiders. But I bet their legs are yummy.
When we went to see the sharks we got to see the sawfish. They said that she rarely comes out, but she was quite showy yesterday. Did you know that sawfish have bellybuttons because they have live births? My little babies with nice round heads sound much nicer than giving birth to a saw!
In the Polar Play Zone the kids could put on these cute little penguin suits and slide down the "ice" slides and play.
One the way home we were right in the middle of rush hour traffic is downtown Chicago. Not fun. It reminded me of how much I don't miss Salt Lake traffic. And then it started snowing and the wind was rushing through. It made for a not pleasant drive home. But this was what the back seat looked like.
After we'd been on the road for about an hour and a half we stopped at Red Lobster and got a delicious dinner and then finished out our trip home. It was a long day, but so much fun! The kids each had their own favorites. Avri liked the Clownfish, Talmage's favorite was the sharks and Mercedes said she loved the penguins. She does a darling impression of them, too! Happy Birthday Mom!

Birthday Wishes!

Today marks the 15th day after Kendall's birthday. So I am officially half a month late publishing this. Kendall had a quiet but fun 27th birthday. The kids helped me decorate the house for him and we had his favorite dinner, steak, french fries, a veggie of some sort (can't remember) and jello. Kendall doesn't like cake and the pie was a little too much for me in one day, but jello is way up there on his favorite things list. I made it layered and fancy to show him how much I love him. :) He still had to work on his birthday, but I sent him a little Birthday card in his lunch.

I just want to take a minute to tell Kendall how special he is to me. Kendall is amazing. He is the best supportive husband and father I have ever met. He is patient and loving and playful. In fact, I would even venture to say that he will probably never really grow up. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Kendall has so many talents. I have yet to find something that he CAN'T do and I am always amazed about this. Kendall is stubborn about all the right things and lets me have free reign of the things that are important to me. We really are a perfect match. Kendall always jokes that he can fix anything but a broken heart. But I think it's the truth.

Kendall was born January 11, 1983. Here he is telling me that he loved me already.
And who can resist this handsome guy?
Kendall loves holidays and Halloween is one of his favorites. He made this costume himself and even won an award for it!
This is Kendall's Court of Honor. He was very motivated and earned his Eagle at 14!
Kendall and I met in High School and started dating. This is Senior Prom and I was just crazy about him! A feeling that keeps growing every day that I know him.
After High School Kendall served in the Nagoya, Japan mission. Japan was not nice to him. He lost 40 pounds off his already very skinny body and had many health problems. But it was a growing experience for him which he loved. His testimony grew in leaps and bounds and he will never forget the experiences he had there.
A few months after Kendall got home a proposed to me, on the 3 year anniversary of our first date! He's so thoughtful! Here's my knight in shining armor.
Seven months later we were married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. The first day of the rest of my eternal life with this wonderful man. This was totally a candid shot that my Uncle took. I love it because Kendall is playing with his ring. :)
As the years go on and we celebrate holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and new additions to our family I thank my Heavenly Father for giving me such a choice son of His. Kendall, I love you so much and I hope that you had a wonderful birthday and many more to follow!

For Jeff and Colette

Kendall reminded me tonight that we have certain family members who check our blog every Sunday and that I haven't been posting much lately. :) When I went to look and see what pictures I have, they are very few. :( So here is what I have. This is what we've been up to.

Dutch oven cooking...Cutting up and drying 6 whole pineapples...And struggling with nap time...I still see Mercedes as my little baby, but she is far from it these days. She has very definite opinions on things and if she does not want to take a nap she empties every drawer and shelf that she can get to!!! I don't mind this once, it gives me a chance to get everything reorganized. But daily it gets pretty old. She's so stinking cute though, that you can't stay mad at her for too long.

Oh yeah, we set up bunk beds in the girls' room and those have been quite the hit. Talmage calls them "bump" beds. He is insistent that this is their proper name. Since the girls had lots of extra floor space I moved the "Book Nook" into their room so that Talmage could set up his race car track on his floor. But if Mercedes can't control her book throwing urges it may end up back in Talmage's room.

One other funny thing that I just thought of, a quick story about Talmage. Kendall and I have been going on dates every Friday night. Sometimes Grandma and Grandpa watch the kids for us, and other times we get a babysitter. A couple of weeks ago we got a great babysitter named John. The kids love John and were so excited to see him and they talked his ear off and had a great night. But when we got home we found out that Talmage spent the whole night calling him Scott. I told him "Talmage, his name is John." He then told me very matter of factly, "I know Mom, but I call him Scott." Okay...whatever. All week they would talk about John/Scott and Talmage would call him Scott and then turn to me and tell me "His name is John, but I call him Scott." I guess as long as John doesn't mind.

I'll have much better pictures this next week. I promise... :)