Lydia...

...My precious baby is four months old and starting solids!!!

She went in for her well-baby check yesterday and weighs 17.6 lbs. and is 26 inches long being in the 98-100% for her age!! That's a one inch and four pound increase since ger two month check!!! She really fits into the family :D My kids usually wear the size of clothing that's double their age, but she is so tall she's in 9-12 month clothing!! AGHH! I didn't plan for that...good thing they will last a longer time than a few months, HA!



**Updated: her two bottom teeth broke through today, Thursday, 11/20!!!!!!!!!!! She has been so crabby, but I though it was because of the shots and it still very well could be, sort of...she is by far my worst teether yet-and it's only the first two, I really don't think I want to know what the others will be like..well, yeah, I guess I don't want a gummy child, that would just be awkward :)

Tagged...the sevens

I've been tagged a few times with this, so I figure it's time I do it...I did add two of my own, but they are fun to keep filling in (I think). Enjoy learning a little more about me in a slightly different way.

Seven...


...things I was doing 10 years ago
1. in the middle of my Senior year in High school
2. serving as Student Body Secretary
3. going by the nickname "T1"
4. being a social butterfly
5. working at Albertson's
6. being a Student Trainer for Sports Medicine, therefore attending 85% of all sports events
7. wondering where to go to college


...things On my to-do list:
1. dishes (they always are..since I am the dishwasher)
2. make a yummy be-lated anniversary dinner
3. remembering to speak in softer/kinder tones
4. potty train Sarah
5. finish Christmas shopping by Black Friday
6. up date my recipe blog
7. make my house look lived in, not like I just moved in


...Books I want to read/reread
1. Book of Mormon
2. Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley
3. Chris Stewart series
4. If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn't Be Hard by Sheri Dew
5. Gables Face East series, by Anita Stansfield
6. Strangling Your Husband Is Not an Option by Merrilee Boyack
7. 9 Be's by Gordon B. Hinckley

...7 Places I want to visit
1. Australia
2. England
3. Prince Edward Island
4. Alaska
5. Walt Disney World/Land (either)
6. Church History sites
7. an ocean

...Places I've lived
1. Meridian
2. Nauvoo House (Ricks)
3. Baronnessa (Ricks)
4. Main St. (after married)
5. Camden (managed)
6. Birch (managed)
7. Somerset (managed)


...Things I would do if i were a millionaire
1. pay off all debts
2. build dream home
3. invest 1/4 of it
4. pay off parents debts
5. quickly put jake through nursing school
6. donate some to the student legacy fund at local university
7. build a sho for jake to do all his car detailing/fixing and wood craftmanship in


...Snacks I enjoy
1. apples
2. ants on a log (aka celery with peanut butter and raisins)
3. beef jerkey
4. trail mix
5. grapes
6. frozen cookies
7. chips-they are a weakness


...Things I can do
1. menu plan
2. throw a party
3. bake
4. be outgoing
5. scrapbook
6. remember names, details of events, etc.
7. teach


...Things I can't do
1. cook
2. diet
3. hide my feelings
4. keep a clean house, aghhh!
5. not be a perfectionist
6. lie-this is a good thing, but no matter how hard I try-even with the smallest things, I just can't do it
7. sew, even though I'm trying to teach myself


...Things that attracted me to Jake
1. his confidence, although at first this is what I ran from :)
2. his off-the-wall humor
3. his knowledge (jack of all trades)
4. his dimples
5. his gentle/senstive heart
6. his simplicity
7. his love for people


...Favorite foods
1. tacos/nachos/mexican
2. brownies
3. caramel popcorn
4. anything jake makes
5. BBQ cheese burgers
6. steak
7. mom's homemade bread/rolls


...Things I say most
1. Bryant
2. Kayelynn
3. Sarah
4. quiet voices
5. holy crap
6. I'm going crazy
7. "clean up, clean up...everybody everywhere...clean up, clean up...everybody do your share"


...People I admire most
1. Grandma and Grandpa B.
2. Jake
3. Sister Hinckley
4. My parents
5. Kimberly E.
6. Mary H.
7. anyone who's overcome a trial and discovered a lesson from it


...People I tag
1. Lanae
2. Eloisa
3. Lali
4. Stephanie E.
5. Kelly (used to be Blake)
6. Kimberly P.
7. any one else that would enjoy doing this, pretty much all of you :)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

It's Jake's weekend to work and I won't see him until really late as he has a scheduled patient that will arrive at the time the clinic closes...

It's been a roller coaster ride the last 7 years and I look forward to the MANY, MANY more we have! I love you Jake!

Happy Anniversary... (blogger is retarded and I can't load any pictures now, maybe later)

As a side note, Lydia is FOUR months old today!!! She's almost rolling over (90%), has found how well her lungs can carry across the house, is getting two teeth on the bottom, loves to play and is finally getting more giggly, and smiley with everyone. She still seems to think she can get by on 2-3 10-minute naps in the day, but I suppose I'm getting used to it as well...it's really hard to get anything done though and she thinks it's so funny ;) She's a delight and the kids love her, sometimes too much!!

Explanation

I'm not sure I'm going to handle "Wordless Wednesday" with out an explanation. :D

Although Sarah is VERY into "tattoo"ing herself...this was actually an act of her brother. He thought it would be fun to put makeup on her-too bad it was a marker...this is the best we got after immediately washing...it stayed for a few days

Wordless Wednesday

You no longer need "Hallmark"...

...these are AMAZING! Just in time for the holidays!!! My aunt makes the best handmade greeting cards for any and all occassions! All orders will be completed within one week of ordering and will be shipped directly to your door! She will also put a personalized message in the inside of your greeting cards, if you choose ;)

Christmas/Holiday
Birthday
Anniversary
Special Event
Baby/Wedding shower
Congratulations
**Custom orders

Pricing:
$18/dozen ($1.50 each)
$30/25 ($1.20 each)
$1.75 for singles

Check out her website to see samples...Eat Cake-she's awesome!
You won't be disappointed with her quality. Let her know I sent you...she would love your business!!

Fourth...

I just realized I've been tagged with this same one (4th picture in the fourth folder) a few times...so here goes...

At our family reunion this summer in my parents backyard. My mom is holding Lydia and my brothers are lounging and dad is finally relaxing...my parents were in charge of the reunion...this must have been during a lull-everyone else was probably chillin' too ;)

You're it! Anyone who's reading this...I'll be checking ;)

Updates...

I just posted a series of posts to get myself caught up...feel free to scroll down and see the images of the kids and read of the happenings in our life!

Utah trip-a little late...

...A few weeks ago, we were able to visit Jake's siblings in Utah-we don't get to go down that often, I know it's terrible, but really not fun to do with 4 small kids-and finding a hotel is just not that easy or fun these days (although we do hope to make it down during the holidays to see the lights on Temple Square and hopefully meet up with family while we're there).

His brother attends grad school in North Carolina and made the trek across the country with his small family for a few weeks...we were lucky enough to get to go down and visit for a couple days...We had so much fun, eating, talking, lounging, playing, eating, talking, etc! We already miss them immensely-everyone-Utahans and North Carolinians (sp?) alike...

the guys played football...

the wives (Danielle and Jill) watched the men play...

the kids dug in the sand...

some peed on a tree, out of necessity and convenience...why bother mom to use the restroom?

we tried to get the little ones to smile at one camera...I think I got the worst image...if someone got better please email it to me... :)

Ana played ball with Sarah-my tomboy at heart

Lydia was grouchy and too cute to resist

Halloween

This is our first year to experience anything with the public schools, since Bryant is just in kindergarten. I feel badly that we really have to experiment with him, but I suppose I wouldn't figure it out if I didn't try and I might as well make mistakes now, eh?

Anyway, the PTO hosted a Halloween carnival the week before Halloween, it was quite fun! This kids enjoyed going to all the different "booths" (aka classrooms) to play games and earn tokens for prizes in the end. It was an experience...the school was a little small for how many people they were trying to accommodate, but it worked out. Even though it was crazy chaos, we'll probably go again next year!! As I'm writing this, I am realizing that I did not get a single picture of the carnival, but it was all fun-no arguments or anything-success!

There is always a Halloween parade at the school after lunch (or for the Kindergarteners, in the last hour and a half of class)...I was able to watch Bryant and his class move from room to room showing off their costumes...it totally took me back to the days when I was in Elementary school, whoa! Bryant ultimately wanted to be Iron Man, but we could not find a costume locally (go figure) and decided to make it, but that never happened...so Halloween morning we jumped in the car and sped to KMart for the 50% off sale and luckily found something he liked...it was ripped by Saturday morning ;)

hiding from the bus...

his AMAZING teacher was Cinderella

my handsome army man

after the parade...waiting for the party to begin

While Bryant was in school we took the girls to get their pictures taken at Walgreens...they were doing a free 5x7 and putting the pictures on CD for small price...Lydia decided to have an explosion just before we got inside, so we had the two older girls get their picture taken (thinking they had to be in the same photo)-the lady had no idea what she was doing...she didn't even center the photo!! oh well, it was free! After we got Lydia all changed, luckily the explosion didn't soak onto the dress, we got her photo taken and she wouldn't smile long enough for the camera to catch it, but again, it was free and that's the memory we have!!!

Princess #1 and #2

Princess #3 (her tiara got left at home)

After school, the local Motorsports shop had a public mini-party with a cake walk, bean bag toss and mini-trick-or-treating...we had fun, as you can tell from the cheeses!!! We then went trick-or-treating to the neighbors and to Great-grandma's and got stashes of candy that should last til Easter, if I can keep them from climbing to get into their buckets!!!

during the cake walk...they all won (eventually)

We had a great Halloween! With the kids getting older, it's just getting more and more fun to be a part of the holiday's (even though a few weeks ago, I told Jake I was boycotting all holiday's this year-he knew the threat wouldn't last long). I hope you all enjoyed your day as much as we did!

Halloween Party

As most of you know, or have figured out, I LOVE to host parties!!! A few years ago I suggested that since almost all of Jake's family lives around here that we should have more themed parties, including Halloween. I, of course, took charge and made it a dinner and party...it has become an anticipated and expected party-which I am grateful for...it gives me something to do. Each year the party evolves differently depending on the date and availability of people and, like this year, if there are any extras attending-the more the merrier!

These past few years I have made invitations and invited family members to bring a scary appetizer...it's always fun to see what others think of and create. This year I made beef stew, bread "bones", skeleton dip and witch "cakes"...it was fun! I will post the recipes and explanations to all of these on my recipe blog this week...check it out here.

skeleton dip

bread "bones"

witch cakes

This year we had 14 children, so the games were more directed at them and then I realized that I did not take any pictures of the games, darn it. We played a matching game-where you match a candy bar to a Halloween topic (very fun, I got the idea from a baby shower); operation-they had to feel the body parts (but it ended up not so organized as that, they just felt what the objects were in the bags); guess the candies in the jar (I had two different ones); skeleton wrap (I got this idea from Vanilla Joy).

We had a blast, as always, and ate too much food, but it is always great to be together as family.

baby princess

ballerina, pirate, and "belle" (sort of)

Heritage Makers

Okay, so I am totally new to the digital scrapbooking world...mostly because I still don't own a digital camera, but I do print all my film onto CD's so I'm not that far behind. My goal is to finish the pictures that were not developed with CD's in the "old fashioned" hand crafted scrapbooking style and then begin with the digital scrapbooks when I figured out the CD option...I'm really slow sometimes.
Anyway, so I attended the local craft fair today and found a consultant of Heritage Makers. I have heard a lot about them and decided I would create a profile-totally free (I am a sucker for free) and try them out. I have just created that account and am so far impressed-I still get to do the tutorial and such, but because I know that all photos of Lydia are digital I am going to start a book for her and see how it goes! I'm actually pretty excited, I LOVE doing this sort of thing. When you create your FREE profile, here, leave me a comment so that I can let Kymberly know you all are my friends, she stated I may get a deal ;) She even has local workshops to help the poor unfortunate souls like me understand what and how to do this simple and FUN, FUN, FUN version of scrapbooking. I can't wait to get something like that done...it's been FOUR incredibly long years since I've used those creative juices...I hope I still have some :)
Let me know what you all think...can't wait to see/hear of your digital scrapbooks!

New Background

I figured out how to use the Leelou FREE blog backgrounds...they are really cute and fun! If you go to their site you can sign up to receive emails when they post new backgrounds...this one is from their Christmas line...I know I jumped the gun, but I couldn't find fall...when I do I will change it, these are so cute! I just have to get used to the new layout ;D
Go check it out, if you like it as much as I do...she's got some great buttons I'll be posting closer to the Christmas season!!!