Happy Birthday My Sweet Son

10 years.....wow.  How has a decade gone by since my first child came into this world?  I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  I have 3 girls because Davis took ALL the boy we had to offer.  One in a million, this one is.  Just when I think I can't take any more of his sassing or arguing or backtalking, I will hear his infectious laugh when his Dad is tickling him and it's the same laugh I've been hearing since the day he was born.  And I love him so much.  And he is so much like me, but has absorbed every ounce of sports love and competitiveness possible from his Dad.  And then I catch him being the most thoughtful big brother.  Or I hear him say, "Oh, Mom, I just love a t-shirt baby!" when Charlotte is just in her onesie.  What a shot of fun and adrenaline this little man brought into our lives.  I am so glad I have been home with him from the day he was born and that I had 3 years to soak him all in while he was like this. 

Happy Birthday, Davis Baby

(And is it just me, or does this picture look an awful lot like Sadie?  Especially considering they have about the same amount of hair!  I think Davis had just turned 4 in this picture, so maybe the age similarity is helping, but Man, I'm starting to think Claire is the only deviation we have from a strong mold.)

Number Four is 4!

4 months old that is.  What a cutie, huh!  Too bad she is my most confusing baby.  I just can't figure her out.  She has spent her entire life up to this point sleeping like an angel at night, not making a peep.  Now, in the last two weeks, she wakes up at least once, usually several times at night...and she's wide awake and talking and sometimes hungry, but sometimes not.  And sometimes the binky puts her back to sleep, and sometimes not.  And her daily schedule is no schedule at all, really, it is different every day.  And she is still only nursing, but only poops once or twice a week.  And she has goob in the folds of her neck that appears spontaneously no matter how much I wash under there.....darn those Vellinga genes that give my kids NO neck.  And she has decided that her carseat is the devil reincarnate and screams bloody murder. 

But, oh what a bundle of fun.  And she's growing up way too fast. And we love her to pieces.  And I suppose she'll just keep me on my toes.

Brigham City Temple Open House

Take One, Take Two, Take Three

First Day of School....times 3

Davis goes to school on the Actual First Day of School....He is in 4th grade and is starting to look suspiciously like a "Big Kid".  I had a moment where I realized that next year is his last year in Elementary School.....AAUUGGH!  Enjoy it while you can, I suppose.  

 

Claire makes is to school 5 days later, thanks to a horrific stomach bug that made her miss the first two days of school; poor thing.  And since we don't have school on Fridays here, it was clear until the next Monday that she made it.  She is in first grade and gone all day, and it makes me a little sad.  It makes Sadie even more sad.  We miss her being here to play with.  But she LOVES her teacher and seems to be in her social element there.

And then came Sadie's first day of Preschool, right after Labor Day.  Oh my goodness, has she been excited about this.  Especially after two weeks of Davis and Claire in school.  My shy little Sadie is quickly going the wayside.  I thought she would be nervous and want me to go in with her; WRONG.  She hopped out of the van and said, "See ya, Mom!" and never looked back.  It is wonderful for her to have something to look forward to.  And I might have to add that I have been trying all summer to teach her to write her name.  She had no interest, no desire, and I thought she couldn't even learn how to write letters and how far behind she is.  In the last couple of weeks, I had finally got her to TRY to write the letters, but they were all over the page and backwards and such.  Well, the second day of preschool, she came home and said, "Mom, I need to do my homework, now."  Cute, I thought, she wants to be like Claire.  And then she got out a piece of paper, drew a line across it, and wrote her entire name straight on the line, every letter in place and in order.  I was shocked!  "Who taught you that, Sadie?"  "My teacher, Celeste."  

Well....I'm glad she'll listen to someone.  That is one of the moments that you question why on earth you stay home with these hooligans since they don't listen or learn anything from you, but they'll do it for others.  I'm sure I'm planting seeds, right?   Right?  Just someone else gets the harvest!  Just a little vent....okay, I'm good now.

Fun Summer Pics

Lagoon Day

For the first time in 5 years, we took the kids to Lagoon.  I love Lagoon; I love rides.  Always have, always will.  Dave does not like rides or heights; never has, never will.  But we still had a ball.  There were several new rides that we enjoyed.  And even though we were there from open to close, we STILL didn't get to ride everything.  But the kids had a great time, Charlotte did VERY well, and although it was a steep price to pay for one day of fun, I'm glad we went.  To hear my Davis and Claire laugh hysterically on the Space Scrambler just like Kelly and I used to many years ago was priceless.  To ride the Sky Ride and tell them that "When I was little, I couldn't even touch the tops of the trees with my toes and now they're above our heads" made me feel old.  To watch my fearless Davis get spooked on the new Air Race and not ride any other big rides was surprising; even more surprising was dare-devil Sadie.  She wasn't afraid of anything!  She is our silent ninja.  You never know when she's going to open her mouth and surprise you.  I only got a couple of pics, because we were too busy having fun!  Thanks to the Beachells for going with us and sharing your Grandma with us to help ease the pain of pleasing 7 kids at once.

Girl Power

Sadie and Addison cruising through Lagoon

The Grass is Always Greener....after 5 months

WE HAVE GRASS!!!!!!!!  I can't hardly believe it.  After 7 weeks of Dave working every spare minute on the sprinkler system and grading and composting and grading and raking and raking and raking, we have lovely sod.  And even though it was torture, we appeased Dave and stayed off it for 2 full weeks so as not to ruin it.  And it feels WONDERFUL!!!!  Try not to look at the weed infested flower beds.  Next year they'll look better.

My Sweet Baby Girl

Here are some shots from Charlotte's first photo shoot...what a sweetheart she has become.  The first 6 weeks of her life, she was a little miserable, but she has grown into her skin and really is a pleasant baby.  It doesn't hurt that she loves me enough to sleep through the night every night, without a single peep.  Knock on wood it stays that way!

And there went June...

Well, I think June 2012 is going to go down in the books as one of the craziest, but marvelous months for our family.  Buckle up for a long post!

1 - When the month began, we were in the midst of Davis and baseball, trying to get our sprinkling system in and Sadie's Birthday on June 2nd.  Watching Davis play in self-pitch has been fun, and interesting, and sometimes frustrating, and great to see how they have improved.  Davis likes pitching, but he's at the bottom of the list, playing 1st base, and trying for at least a double every game.  As for Sadie's Birthday, she received a much needed bicycle; now she won't be left behind by Claire and Davis.  What a fabulous find; a Strawberry Shortcake bike.  She LOVES IT!  (Never mind that it's the same size that Claire rides; it's pretty funny to watch them both on their bikes; Claire almost too big, Sadie a little too small.  But we aim for longevity at this house, not a perfect fit!)  Sadie's birthday cake was NOT my finest moment.  It was supposed to be a castle; it ended up being a runny pile of goo that we called the pink "sandcastle" that must be going out with the tide.  Good thing Sadie didn't notice!

 

2 - Sprinkling System....what a pain.  This is why I was never going to build.  Next year it will be a long forgotten memory; except maybe for Dave.  He is out there every night digging, digging, digging.  If his arms don't fall off, we might actually get some grass in July.   Maybe.

3 - Charlotte joins our family.  What a sweet little Sadie look-a-like.  She is still proving to be my fussiest baby when she's awake.  But she eats and sleeps well, so we're counting those blessings.  I'm not sure if it's diet related or not; we keep experimenting with little change.  Let's hope it gets a little better as she gets older.  

4 - One week after Charlotte is born, my parents have their Mission Farewell.  Because I am feeling so well, we head to Clinton and just keep the baby covered and away while we enjoy the day.  My parents and Jared and Kristen did a great job.  It is so hard to believe they will be gone for 3 years; but they will be fabulous.

5 - My sister Jana and little Sophie come stay with us for a few days; that was marvelous.  My girls loved chasing Sophie around and Jana was the perfect nanny. She did everything I didn't feel like doing; what a slave! I was so very sad when she left.

6 - We decide last-minute to bless Charlotte before my parents leave.  So back down to Clinton we go and we blessed her in Dave's parents' ward.  It went pretty smooth.  Some of our family didn't get to be there because of Father's Day or other things, but we were glad for those that could come and share it with us.  And it made me so happy to have both Grandpas be there with us.

 

For the next 3 days, the kids and I stayed in Utah so we could get in all the family time we could while everyone was around.  My 3 aunties were all in town, so we went to a picnic and walking trail and we tried to catch up on 2 years in 2 days  I was also able to go see my nephews in the play Les Mis down in South Jordan, which was AWESOME!   For a play put on by teenagers, I was super impressed with their talent and the show.  I am so glad I got to see it.  The trip ended with the greatest part; going with my parents to Salt Lake to be set apart by Elder Neal L. Andersen and Elder Jay Jensen of the Seventy. What a great experience.  To hear my parents be set apart and blessed by these men was so powerful.  I know my dad will be a great mission president and my mom will be a marvelous mission mom.  They were promised some wonderful blessings, and I hope we live worthy for them to receive them.  Afterwards, we all went to City Creek and ate at the Cheesecake Factory.  YUMM.  But sheer torture for someone who is off dairy.  I had to watch all that cheesecake disappear around me.

And as of today, my parents and baby sister Kristen are flying to Cleveland, Ohio...ready to begin the next 3 years of their life looking after missionaries.  We hope it's not too long before we get out there to see them.  LOVE YOU!!!