HUGS! KISSES!

My cousin Chris' daughter Hattie and Addysin. I couldn't get a good picture because they were so hyper and running all over. My cousin-in-law Susan, her two kids, Amy, me, and my kids went to Paradise bakery for lunch while Amy was in town. Her and Jessica helped so much with my kids while Chris was in Oklahoma and Texas.

Addysin's new thing is yelling "hugs! kisses!" when people (mostly family) leave. Amy was leaving to go back to Washington and we said our goodbyes. As Amy was driving away Addysin started yelling "hugs! kisses!" as if Amy forgot to say goodbye. Then she started crying and throwing a huge fit. I called her to tell her and she turned around to come say goodbye again. can you see how distraught she was?
Addysin never liked affection or cuddling, even when asleep, as a baby and now she cant get enough... especially from her daddy.

wash wash wash

Imagine this going on super fast paced and over and over again.

Shampoo/condition, THROW on the ground, scrub, scrub, pick em up, repeat.What's she doing to me, mom?

She is so motherly... dont want any dirty bear ears in this house.

Chris holding down the fort

This is what Chris did one day while staying home with the kids while I recovered from surgery...

Addysin loved the door that was perfectly her size

Yes, it is built off the tv. "Its so you can watch tv from the inside. Trust me its cool... we used to do this when we were kids." ~Chris

Even Caiden loved it

Twilight Series

Yes, I finally gave in and I'm currently reading the third book "Eclipse". Ask anyone, I dont like to read. Well I didn't. I just need to get into the book and I LOVE READING! I cant believe I just admitted that. I hate the time it takes to get through a book, but when a book is good who cares? I thought I didn't have time and somehow time is magically being made for me. Actually I am just neglecting everything else. After years of every girl I've ever met raving about "Twilight", I watched the movie (of course because thats the quick and lazy way to read) and I just had to know what happened next. I have to say that the movie does no justice for the book. How could they skip so much detail? The movie should have been at least three hours for the first book alone. I'm VERY disappointed in the movie now that I read the book. OK OK, I cant lie! I listened to the first two books on CD! I'm such a loser. But I am READING the third :) I listened to them on my long drive to and from Washington and I have been reading during my recovery from the nose job. If I ever get to leave the house when my headaches finally subside and I come in contact with you, DONT TALK TO ME ABOUT TWILIGHT UNTIL IM FINISHED! I have lasted this long without knowing the ending, and if someone ruins it for me, consider that the end of our friendship. Ok, just kidding... kinda.

Also, I read "Hunger Games" and I thought it was super good. So for a picky reader, I recommend it. Chris listened to it his drive down to Oklahoma and he liked it too. We have that on our computer if anyone wants it for a long drive. Its 11 hours.

My surgery and the nose bra

I had a surgery done on my sinuses last Thursday. I had it done because I was always sick with an un-curable sinus infection and I had headaches constatnly from all the pressure. It was really hard to get out of bed in the morning and I was always exhausted. A Dr. brought it to my attention shortly after I had Caiden and I took 4 different anti-biotics since then but nothing worked. I'm pretty sure I have had sinus infections for longer than the past 9 months, i just didn't realize it. I was just used to the pain and the exhaustion. So, I got it done and I thought the recovery would be a lot quicker, but 8 days later and I feel like junk still. The first 4 days were definitly a lot worse but Chris took care of the kids so it worked out. But now I have full responsibility since Chris had to go to Texas for work. So what do I feel like? Pounding headaches, swollen sinuses, dizzy like you wouldn't believe, and NO patience for whiney children. Life isn't too fun right now. I'm perfectly happy, just in pain and waiting for the next month to pass so i can feel like a new woman. It was such a blessing though that my sister Amy came for a friends wedding the day after Chris Left so she has been a huge help. Also, Jessica is moving back to Utah to Life gaurd at seven peaks again this summer so she will be here soon to help out as well. Its hard not having our parents nearby when things like this happen, but I am sooooo thankful for my sisters. I went to a check up today and the Dr. said that the way I am feeling is totally normal and it will just take about 3 more weeks to feel great, or at least good.

On a happier note... this is the "nose bra" I had to wear for a couple of days after the surgery. It held the gauze that caught the blood from my nose. Addysin has no idea how dorky that thing actually is. She is the one that came up with the idea to put it on, not me! Kids love to do what the grown ups are doing, even if its strange.

Washington pictures

Although we didn't have a whole lot of fun on our trip up to Washington, it was still enjoyable when my kids weren't driving me nuts. (If you're are confused then read a couple of posts down) Caiden got better about a week and a half after we got back to Utah and I'm not sure if Addysin was sick the whole time or just an ultra grouchy 2 year old. We only got out of the house a few times in the 8 days we were there, but I'm glad we got to see my grandparents and Chris' family. After getting most of my family sick, and both of my nephews we watched all week, I was relieved we got to see my grandparents without giving them our sickness.

Emily and Caiden

Addysin, Ashley, and Nova

Addysin was talking up a storm to this dead calf that she didn't realize was dead. Then it clicked and she started saying "oh dang it!"

Being a farm girl

Caiden loved it too.

We went to the park one day after Ashley's tennis match.

Austin and Sara

Scott McGary and my mom refinished my parents indoor pool ceiling the week I was there. The white is the old falling ceiling and the new cedar looks great! My mom was really busy with that.

We went to spend some time with Chris' parents and sister's family. It was Matthews 9th birthday.

As we were about to leave Melissa's house I heard Addysin crying in the basement so I ran down. She was laying on the bean bag, after jumping off the couch onto it, and had blood on her forehead. The other two kids down there were just staring at her like "uh oh". She had jumped straight into the corner of an end table. We took her to a Dr. in Connell (a city of 3,500) and she recommended I take her to the emergency room in Tri-cities, which is a 50 minute drive to the hospital. Addysin hardly cryed though so it wasn't a big deal. My mom picked up Caiden. We didn't have to wait at all so that was nice, but the whole ordeal took up our entire Saturday evening.

This was a few minutes after it happened. It didn't bleed as much as I though it would for how deep it was.

This was before she got it glued shut. Happy as ever and loving her pink bracelet!

Gluing is the way to go!

On the drive back we stayed with my friend Terrica in Boise, which is half way, so it worked out perfect since I had no help in the car with Addysin and Caiden. Here is her cute daughter thats 11 months younger than Addysin.

We made it back and I took caiden straight to the doctor that day. He just got over the sickness a couple days ago thanks to amoxicillin. He was sick for about a month.

Goodbye Veronica

Veronica and I lived together for a couple months right before Chris came home from his mission. then I got married a couple months later and we never really hung out anymore. We saw each other just enough to know we were still alive (once a year). Then one day she invited me to start walking with her at the mall and we reunited. she got me going with excercising and I'm so grateful to her. Because of her I re-opened my gym membership and started going again. So much thanks to her for motivating me because thats about when my post pardom depression completely went away. Excercising does wonders for your mental health as well as physical. Well, her husband graduated from BYU and they moved to California :( this was our last day at the mall. Thanks for your friendship and enthusiasm Veronica!

Its hard living in a college town when friends move away for good once they're done with school.

First swimsuit day

We got our swim suits on and went outside for some water toys with the neighbors April 22. It was 6 days after this picture was taken! Spring weather is so unpredictable.

Addysin came out of her shell that day. She loves water and was the first to climb into this miniture pool. Soon, the other kids all wanted in and it clearly couldn't hold them all so Janeia went and got a bigger miniture pool. They all loved it!

That is Addysin in the far right running through the sprinkler/ball. For some reason the kids weren't into it so Addysin went alone.

Caiden Finally learned how to sit at 8 1/2 months! Yay!

Washington getaway

First of all I want to clarify that Chris and I are from the Tri-Cities area in Washington (Chris from Connell, and me from Pasco). Not anywhere near Seattle. Its in the lower right corner (southeast) where it is a desert; similar to Utah... minus the mountains and snow. It does not rain like Seattle and is actually warmer than Utah. Spring comes at least a month sooner here and it is really green already, even with it being a desert. Not like Arizona desert, like sage brush. Grass and trees grow. Its farm land so things grow really well here. My parents own a dairy, organic apple orchard, and some crop land that is usually corn or alfalfa (hay). This is where I lived my whole life, until I graduated high school.

Ok, so I have been wanting to make a trip up here to visit my family for at least a month, but its a 10 hour drive and I was going to go alone so I never did. Two of my sisters and my dad came to Utah for my brother in-law's graduation from BYU MBA program so Amy rode with me on the way home to Washington. My little neighbor boys, practically Addysin's best friends, both had the flu on Friday and Addysin didn't get it.... until I am filling up at the gas station a few blocks from my house at 5:30 am Saturday morning on my way out! It was just a tiny tiny bit so I thought about it and decided it wouldn't be a huge deal since I had Amy to help (and Jack and Drew- the little boys with the flu only threw up a couple times and then it was over). Also I had been preparing for this trip the whole week. So Addysin threw up like 5 times in the next three hours. It really wasn't bad though since she had hardly eaten the day before. It was just like the boys, short lived. But that was the least of our problems. Caiden and Addysin had very mild colds for the week before and I warned my mom of it, but she didn't think it was a big deal and I thought they were getting over them. OOOOOH NO! Sunday, Monday, and Today have been awful! Caiden is miserable and has Croup. Caiden threw up Sunday night once before bed, and Addysin randomly threw up again monday night. They both wake up soooo much during the night, go to bed late and wake up early. And we're staying in the same room together so there's no letting them cry it out.

Oh wait, one more complaint. Its been raining so we're stuck inside and we are too sick to visit anyone. So yes, this is an AWESOME trip! Its nice to be with my family, but I am not happy that we drove so far to sit around and get everyone else sick. Nobody has gotten it, and I will be very surprised and relieved if they don't. Well, hopefully they will start getting better soon so we can get out and see people or do something fun. On the bright side, the weather is supposed to be nicer Thursday- Saturday, up to 75 degrees! YAY!

Our children's sleeping habits

Let me give an extended background on Addysin's aweful sleep habits... (feel free to skip over this, its more of a journal entry)
We'll start from day 3. Home from the hospital and up all night. The next few months consisted of me and Addysin hanging out AWAKE seriously most of the night a few times each month because she was so mixed up and I wanted to spend every waking moment (of hers) with her. I couldn't just leave her in her crib because I was an obsessive mother. She never cried. She was just happy and didn't want to sleep so I kept her company. Would I do that now? NO! At 5 months old, we moved to a single bedroom apartment in Minnesota for summer sales. She went to bed when we did at 3 am due to Chris' work schedule! And she slept with us! She has always gone to bed when we do (around midnight, at the earliest). I gave my honest effort from 13 months-24 months but failed time after time at getting her to bed earlier. Sometimes I would get her to bed around 10 and I would feel like super mom. She would do it for 3 nights and I would think "this is my big break! Thank you Heavenly Father!" Then she would snap back into her regular routine. Failure. I just couldn't handle it anymore. Seriuosly couldn't. So I devoted all my energy (which wasn't a whole lot due to lack of sleep with two terrible sleepers) in January to "fixing my children". Caiden wasn't too bad since he was only 5 months, but Addysin was work. By about the middle March (27 months old) she was going to bed at 9 and sleeping untill 7 or 8 in the morning!!!! I did it! (With a lot of help from Chris.) But that was short lived. She now wants to stay up untill 10 or later and when we put her to bed she screams out any reason she can think of to get out of it. "MOM!" "DAD!" "HUNKRY!" "TURSTY!" "SCARED!" "NO, NO, NO!" After we get her calmed down and she sings some songs, she is just wide awake and not tired. Who wants to go to bed not tired? I hate that. So I decided she might be getting too much sleep. If she does take a nap from now on, which I'm positive she still will pretty often, it wont be her usual 2 hours.

This is a special note to first time parents. DONT LET YOUR CHILD DECIDE WHEN HE/SHE WANTS TO SLEEP. AFTER A YEAR, YOU'LL BE SICK OF IT AND THEY ARE HARD TO FIX AT THAT AGE. ENJOY EVERY SECOND WITH THEM DURING THE DAY AND PUT THEM TO BED AT 8.

And a HUGE thanks to a friend for suggesting the book "Twelve Hours Sleep By Twelve Weeks Old" by Suzy Giordano. Its the best and I want every mother to read it before your baby turns 8 weeks. Caiden still wakes up every four hours so obviously I didn't do it right but it taught me a lot and made his sleep habits better than if I let him do whatever he wanted. Also another really interesting sleep book for any age baby/child is "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Richard Ferber.

Today was Addysin's first day of NO NAP for the first time in her life! She has almost completed this feat a few times, but then falls dead asleep too early for the night so it becomes a nap and then she goes to bed REALLY late. I always get nervous that that is going to happen (because it always has) but today she stayed awake untill she was eating a waffle for dinner at 7:45. I saw her head slowly falling and her eyes closed as she chewed so I began singing "the wheels on the bus". She, with her eyes literally half shut, tried with all the energy she had to do the motions. When I finished singing, she passed out. I carried her up to her bed, put her jamies on, and that was it. So easy and sooooo nice. I am sad she doesn't need naps, but I would rather have her awake from 8 am-8 pm and sleep from 8 pm-8 am than have a nap and go to bed at 10:00. She is so easy during the day and I desperatly NEED a break at the end of the day.

As for Caiden, he is in bed 12-13 hours (about 8 am-8 pm) at night, but wakes up 2 times to eat. He goes right back to sleep so its not too bad. Its not great though, but soooo much better then Addysin ever was. He takes 1 or 2 naps totalling about 3 hours of napping. He loves his fuzzy blanket and his binky, but only for sleeping- thank goodness!

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter! I got a bunch of dollar zone stuff at Target. You can get great board books there, and they're sooo cheap! Chris and the Easter bunny got Goofy and Eeyore to add to our collection of Disney characters. Addysin loves the Disney Channel.

In this picture she was saying "Oooo!"

"Cainen and Goopy"- Addysin's language
For Breakfast Addysin ate gum and Twix.

We went to David and Kira's for Easter dinner. Addysin had just woken up from her nap so she didn't do the egg hunt.

Caiden's first tie

He rolled under the coffee table and was so excited. It was cute. I've never seen him get so excited about being in a new place.

Addysin was still in a daze from her nap.

Addysin's first time bowling!

On March 10 (Friday), it was Braxton's birthday and Rachel (my friend from hairschool) had his party at the BYU bowling alley. Braxton LOVES bowling so everything was bowling themed. Addysin loved bowling and I'm sure we will start going more now. Its so fun to have a toddler that has likes and favorites. Wait for it....

"YAY!!!" she clapped after every turn. She got a stike once, but I was really mad i lined it up so well because she only got one turn, instead of two.


"Here, have a sticker"

Every since she was 18 months, she has loved stickers on her hands. Thats the only place a sticker belongs. They paralize her arms and hands for a few minutes- untill she forgets they are there.

Look what a cute cake Rachel made! The ball holes are tea light candles.

Three dramatic haircuts

I gave Caiden his second haircut March 25 (7 1/2 months old). I just cant stand bald spots and I'm so glad I can cut his hair short because he's a boy. I sat him in his bumbo seat in front of the mirror and it worked really well.

Before

Ewww...

After. Ahhh, much better.
And I gave Addysin her gazillionth haircut February 18. This was a dramatic haircut with more length taken off then ever before. I Love her long hair but it never evened out from her bald spot. Hers was worse than Caiden's. You have to look closely because the next picture is so far away, but see that chunk of hair that looks like a shorter layer? That shorter chunk was always sticking up. I wish I had taken a picture of her bed head. Her long hair would be matted and straight up. So I just cut it. It'll grow back...

Evened out...

And goodbye shaggy Chris. Its a toss up. I like his hair both ways. See Easter post for the "after" picture.