Sweet Bree

GRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

Oh! . . . and I forgot . . .

a few more for the previous post

19. 2 trips to the E.R. (one for "nurses-maid" elbow and the other for taking a bunch of allergy meds).

20. climbing onto her dresser and jumping off onto her bed (she hasn't missed . . . yet!)

21. she has chewed on or eaten dog poo, goat poo, and her own poo.

22. banging on the window of her room with the handle once used to open it.

Just what's on my mind!

The Terrible, Terrible Twos!

Gracie has definitely redefined what it is to be a two-year-old for me. I can count on just one hand the times that Rylee and Cole got into things and made messes that were either nearly impossible to clean, or destructive. And that's combined! Gracie on the other hand, it's pretty much a daily event. Here are just a few examples of some of the things she has gotten into:

1. diaper rash ream

2. laundry detergent

3. Oriental oils (more times than I can count)

4. lotion

5. hand soap (she rubbed it on her face because she thought it was lotion and it got into her eyes. That made for a very unhappy toddler).

6. black magic marker (all over my mother-in-law's white cabinets)

7. make-up (of all kinds)

8. markers, highlighters, pens and pencils (all over walls)

9. hormone cream (hopefully she doesn't start developing too early!)

10. ripped pages in books, notebooks, and many of the kids books.

11. sidewalk chalk on the fence, house, and windows (luckily, that's easy to clean)

12. Beans

13. dog food and water

14. she likes to eat the dogs snacks

15. ashes from the fireplace that were left in the backyard (snow! snow!)

16. She has ripped and colored all over Rylee's homework

17. She loves to take all her clothes off (and her diaper) and run through the living room, rubbing her bum, dancing, and squealing "nakey! nakey! nakey!" She even has what we call her "nakey dance."

18. and on, and on, and on.

Keep in mind, these are just the things that I can think of right away. I'm sure if I put more thought into it, the list would easily double, possibly triple. You would think that I would be able to get it under control, this being my 3rd child, but Gracie has proved be determined. I think she possible lays in bed at night thinking, "what can I do tomorrow to make my mom want to pull her hair out?" Grrrrrrr!

But probably the most frustrating thing about it is, she's sooo cute doing it! Whenever we find her doing something, her reactions to getting caught are so hard not to laugh at, or the way she looks with diaper rash cream all over her body! What does a mother do!

Baby Bree

Thank you, Taryn! You did a beautiful job on these announcements!

Back to Photography

Now that I'm beginning to get things under control around here (at least to some degree), I'm trying to get back into some of the things I used to enjoy, such as reading, exercising, blogging, and taking pictures. This morning I got to take some pics of Baby River. He was a super easy subject and ultra cute! You can see more photos of him HERE.

I'm still here

It's been such a long time since I've felt like getting to my blog on a regular basis. Don't get me wrong, I love blog-stalking and I stalk every one of my friends/family that you see in my list to the right, but alas, whenever I come to blog I get so caught up in everyone else's blogs that I either A) run out of time, or B) don't feel like it! But, we are still here enjoying life.

Life in California has been an adjustment, but a good one. We love spending time with family and now we have so much of them around us (at least on Justin's side). I love that my kids get to grow up around their grandparents, especially as they get older and stop regarding my little tidbits of wisdom as something important.

Bree is growing far too quickly and still struggling to figure out her days and nights. Hopefully we'll be able to get that under control soon. Rylee is loving everything about school (reading, bus rides, lunch time, recess, and even math) and excelling at it all. Cole has a good time at preschool and can't wait for each new day at school. He finds the long wait between school days obnoxious and can't wait to go back. Gracie is developing into quite the little trouble maker but what's worse is she's hilarious! So sometimes it's hard to discipline her when you can't stop yourself from laughing, only encouraging further destructive behavior!

Justin finally got a new job and has his first day tomorrow. He is working for the county as an appraiser and is really excited to get his foot in the door of a new adventure. I go back to work tomorrow as well. I have mixed feelings about that. Even though I only work 5-6 hours a week, leaving Bree behind is still hard. But I'm excited to help contribute to my family.

That's the down-low on our family lately. I'll try to get more motivated about my blogging again and post some new pics of Bree (which you may see above this post).

More Photos of Bree!

Baby Bree is here and we are both on the mend. (You can see more pics of her HERE) I've noticed that I haven't posted a single thing about my pregnancy other than to announce that she was coming, and that she was a "she." And even worse than that, we completely forgot to take any photos of me pregnant, even the day she was born (which was our tradition) and so I have maybe one or two photos where you can see that I'm pregnant. How sad! Poor Bree will think I never thought of her! But, in fact, I did all the time. We were so excited for her to get here and just love having her here now. All the other kids absolutley adore her, Gracie maybe a little too much, and we're all adjusting well.

Bree has a completly different look than our other kids. I'm hopeful that she might look like me! Her hair is dark and EXISTS! Hopefully it will stay dark as she starts to lose it and it grows back. So far, she does not sleep very well at night and Justin and I are often left very tired during the day. Luckily I have a husband who is willing to suffer with me with the "up all nights." But, even through our tired eyes, she is beautiful and wonderful and everything we ever wanted! Just like the others! Thanks so much for all the well wishing and congrats from friends and family. We appreciate so much all the help and support we have received both from those around us and those from afar. We miss our Arizona friends terribly, but are excited for our new life here in California and the new friends we have made here.

Lots of love to all!

(Now that I'm not so pregnant anymore, I'm hopeful that I will have more desire to get back to my blogging.)

Cole's 1st Day of Preschool

Lucky for us, the popular preschool in town had a spot open up over the holidays and Cole got to start school today. He was so excited and we were so excited for him. He wanted to wear a faux-hawk in his hair for his first day so his hair will be crunchy. What a funny kid! He made a few friends that he got to play with and is excited to go back on wednesday.

This is what happens . . .

. . . when you forget to cover the baby's bum with a diaper while changing a dirty one!