caught with his pants down

Our little Zack is obsessed with the camera. Every time I download pictures on my computer, I find an extra 400 that Zack has taken. It's annoying, but he has captured a few gems. I love his self-portraits (especially the one with the baby.) And the picture of Ben carrying Simon around the house is exactly what happens-- all day long. The weird (scary) picture of Luke is so.... Luke. And I love those dirty feet hiding in the hallway closet.

If ever I've lost my camera, all I have to do is ask Zack where it is. He always knows (that's because he's run off with it and hidden it in a secret spot.) A couple of times, I've seen the flash go off behind the couches, under the Christmas tree, or inside a closet and I know exactly where Zack is playing. We've even talked about getting him his own camera for Christmas... because he's hogging mine.

A couple of days ago, my mom saw the flash going off in the bathroom. She walked in to find Zack- with his pants down- reaching the camera around his back trying to get a few good shots of his bum. And he did. We laughed so hard when we found these two pictures on the camera...



This morning, Daddy was in the bathroom with the little perve.
This is the narration Zack gave while he peed:

"Get 'em, get 'em. Kill those pirates!"
Aaron: Who are the pirates?
"The bubbles. After I kill 'em, I can always make more."
"Oh man! I already ran out of bullets!"
"Hurry, I better pull up my shield!"
His shield is his underwear, of course.
Lucky for all of us, he was wearing it today.

What was life like without him? Not as entertaining, that's for dang sure.

curvaceous aunties

For Thanksgiving, Ben drew Aaron and I pictures. The kid thinks that every holiday needs some kind of "gift" and since homemade gifts are the BEST kind, he usually writes us notes or draws up pictures. Love it. (a message he used to put on the back of his pictures... it was more like a command. Aaron and I still use the phrase all the time.)

Anyway, back to what he drew for us this Thanksgiving... a picture of each of our siblings, in order from the oldest to youngest. He made it very clear that MY siblings were harder to draw because there are twice as many as Daddy's family. After we compared the two drawings, we realized that he must love Aaron's family more.... or at least favor his Aunts on that side.

I think it might be time to have another "mature talk" with our little Benny Boy...

do you believe?

Tonight Aaron and I sat down with our little 8 year old believer and broke the news to him. Santa isn't real. I think it was time, but it was really hard.. for all of us. Ben is such a pure little thing and wants so badly to believe. He was sad and his eyes were a little moist, but I think it was harder for me than anyone. Having a conversation like this means my kids are growing up. I can't believe this will be our 9th Christmas with Benny. He always makes every holiday so special and I hope this year will still be just as exciting.

I am not sure why we felt it was the right time to tell him. I think other 3rd graders around the world probably know that Santa isn't real, but Ben doesn't go to public school and he was still such a believer. I've seen a big change in him since Simon has joined our family. He is more mature and more of like an adult than he is one of the "little boys". I guess it just felt right.. but part of me feels like I took away some of his childhood. How is it possible that he's so old already?

After we broke the news, he had a flood of questions.. more like realizations.

"So, I guess you do our stocking too?"
"That's how Santa always knew exactly what I wanted!"
"What did you do with all those letters I wrote to the North Pole?"
"I knew he didn't go down chimneys. He would get all dirty."
"Do you stay up late on Christmas Eve or get up early on Christmas morning?"

and this was my favorite..

"Can I eat some of the cookies we leave out for Santa?"

I said OF COURSE.

He is going to be a big help for me this year, especially considering the fact that I have to hide a silly little ELF every night. I know Ben will find the joy in seeing his little brothers believe. He pinky-promised he wouldn't tell them before I mentioned anything about keeping it a secret. And he is going to wake up with me at 5 am and be my shopping buddy tomorrow.. so I best be going to sleep.

*update: Ben and I left bright and early to go shopping. As soon as we got in the car, I asked Ben how he slept last night. He paused for a minute and said, "Everything just makes more sense now." I still feel a little sad about it. Part of me wishes we had waited another year.. I really hope the MAGIC of the season isn't gone. We did have a great time shopping and Ben seems excited about what "Santa" is bringing his brothers. But I am not sure I am ready for him to grow up yet. In other words, I am not sure I am ready to grow up myself...

Thanksgiving VACATION

Having my parents here is even better than I thought it would be.. I haven't been blogging because I haven't seen my kids in a few days and can't record the funny things they're saying. It's been wonderfully quiet in my sanctuary of a bedroom :) Simon and I are sleeping a lot. He is out for 6-8 hour blocks during the night-- suh-weet! I am not counting my chickens or anything, but I am really enjoying the unexpected rest.

During the day we nap, take bubble baths and eat yummy food made by my Dad "the Chef". My mom is busy with the older boys and cuddles Simon as much as I will let her. I am trying not to think about the fact that they will eventually leave....

Besides the Tootsie drama, we've only had one other blog-worthy event. Zack drew on the dining room wall yesterday. Now we have a big, permanent marker masterpiece. Daddy scolded him when he got home from work and it didn't phase Zack. Nothing does. Aaron asked him WHY he drew on the wall with a marker, Zack matter of factly responded, "Because I didn't know you were going to see it." Sounds like our little trouble maker, alright. He's only sorry because he got caught...

At the end of the night, when the boys were in bed and Zack finally stopped crying because he couldn't sleep in his sleeping bag, I checked my email. I felt terrible when I saw this darling picture sent by Aaron's mom-- taken last September..

I found myself asking these two questions:
"How can I ever stay mad at that cute little face?"

and

"How is Aaron possibly the father of this albino child?"
maybe we should do a little blood work, just to be sure.

Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving....

She's FOUND!!

The prayers of little boys really do work!


As much as my kids love Toots, this is just another reason why I
NEVER want to get a dog...

Am I heartless?

LOST DOG!!

I hate the fact that I am even writing such a post..

My parents are visiting from Utah and brought their beloved dog, Tootsie. My boys adore this dog and she is my parents' little baby. Tonight while we went bowling for FHE, Tootsie (who was in my backyard) squeezed through our gate and ran away. We've been looking for her all night and don't know what else to do. If you happen to live close by, keep your eyes out for a cute little Dachshund dog. She answers to "Toosie" and has a pink UT collar...

Here are a few pictures that Zack took of her earlier today--

sneak peek...

One of my wonderful friends here in Vegas (hey Kashina!) gave Simon a free photo session for a baby gift (honestly-- the best possible thing she could have given me..) She came to our house a week ago and did a fabulous job. Simon was only a week old and basically cried the whole time. But she was awesome and I am so happy with how they turned out!

I am saving the best pictures for his birth announcement. Hopefully I can get them in the mail this week (or next.....) but for now, you can see a few others. Isn't he cute?? (and furry?) I am so in love.

yes, he has dimples, but you can only see them when he smiles...
And he only smiles when he's asleep.

I love that she took one (above) of him in his crib. It's one of my favorites..


i'm so excited.. and I just can't hide it...

MY PARENTS ARRIVE TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

auntie coco

Cody is officially Simon's favorite aunt.
She was the first family member to meet him.
Sorry to disappoint everyone else who thought they were in the running.

(Cindy, you might still qualify for fave aunt on the other side. key word=might)

Cody is a doer of all good things.
She goofed around with the boys (even taught them how to play speed)
She vacuumed my house.
She finally shared her most embarrassing moment.
and it was MOST embarrassing.


The first thing Ben said when he heard Auntie Cody was coming was,
"YES! She will be able to go to PACK MEETING with us!"
and she did.

Aaron and his sis at pack meeting.
Simon is wrapped Aaron's baby blanket.
what a tender picture...

The wee babe and I went along too because Ben earned his first bead.
(no, not a badge, a bead.)
Believe it or not, I didn't even cry when it was presented to him.
(if anything I wanted to cry knowing that these scout meetings are my penance.)


Pack meeting did prove to be rather entertaining, though.
The kids learned about Veterans and made posters thanking those who serve our country.
When the Scout Master asked what a Veteran was, a little boy raised his hand and said,

"They are the guys who fight the Germans!"
Indeed.

Before the next question could be asked,
another little boy in the back row waved his hand in the air and announced,

"OBAMA DOESN'T BELIEVE OUR VETERANS!"

Food for thought.

simon meets GUS

Azy and I had our babies only ONE DAY apart.
We couldn't have planned it any better.
We're basically going to force them to be BFFs.
On their first meeting, they even put their arms around each other.


We love Gus-Gus already. Especially his awesome chin and wrinkly knees.

btw, Simon was awake and crying the whole time.
but we happened to take pictures only after Simon fell asleep and Gus got fussy. Not fair.

oh, and even though they weighed the same when they were born,
we're pretty sure Gus has doubled Simon on the scale after 10 days.
It may not look like it in these pictures, but Simon is a light-weight.
He doesn't get that from my genes, that's for sure. He's all daddy.




ps we LOVE when Hillary comes to town!
She cooks yummy food and keeps us laughing.
Aunt Cody is visiting too (when it rains, it pours!)
more pictures later..... we are really enjoying our company!!

ten days old

Our little Simon is ten days old. It seems like he's been around a lot longer than that. Not because our family wouldn't feel complete without him (although I am sure that's true) but because these ten days have dragged on forever. ONLY ten days, huh? Apparently the lack of sleep makes time stand still.

So, we are thrilled with our little baby. But the past ten days have been really difficult. I am not going to complain a lot (because I did enough of that on my private blog) but honestly, I am so glad to have made it through this far..

Having a newborn is rough! I thought I was prepared. My house was spotless, my kids were caught up in their schooling, meals were ready to go... but it just wasn't enough. Aaron was super busy at work (one of his cases went to trial and he was working around the clock) and I felt completely useless. Nursing almost kills me, people. I should be a pro at this point, but I kept asking myself why I felt like such a beginner. Why has this been such a hard transition? And then I realized that I have never been a mother of FOUR. This IS new to me.. and I am learning and growing everyday.

Anyway, glad to have the first week+ behind us. I have more energy, I believe I am healing nicely, my milk is better regulated (where's that cow costume when you need it?) and we are on our way to feeling adjusted. I am still counting down the days until my parents arrive. I seriously get tears in my eyes just thinking about it!! Only 4 more days......... only 4 more days.

Okay, back to Simon. We love him. We kiss him all day and laugh at his silly faces. He must have had a pacifier in the womb because he is such a pro-- never loses it. His days and nights are still mixed up (seriously, as SOON as we turn off the lights to go to bed, he's wide awake.) He poops like a champ. His cord is off. He loves to be held- especially by Ben. He hates baths. He chows and burps as soon as he's full. He gets the hiccups about every hour (just like when he was in my tummy, btw.) He hates to be wrapped up like a burrito-- he wants his arms free. He sleeps with both of his hands next to his face. He smiles when he's dreaming. He has great dimples. He makes all kinds of cute sounds. He smells delicious.

and one last picture that ALWAYS gets my boys giggling...
you have to wait for it..

It's that good...


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laffy taffy, here we come...

Every day, an average of 600 made-up jokes are told in our house. About 599 of those jokes are simply terrible. Every once in a while, there's a great one. Today it was made-up by Zack.

The boys were putting on their white shirts and ties for church. Simon and I were getting ready for a nap in my bed. All three boys run into my bedroom giggling and Zack tells his joke:

Q: What guy loves to go to the bathroom?

A: Harry Potty.

A few hours later, he realized there was another possible answer to the question (Pee-Wee Herman) but I like the original best.

Save me, Simon!

Date:

This morning, Friday the 13th

Time:
9:30 am

Place:
our kitchen/living room area

Characters in action:
Ben on the couch cuddled up to a sleeping Simon
Mom peeling an orange in the kitchen, trying to clean up the breakfast mess
Luke and Zack wrestling on the floor

Luke has Zack in a headlock and Zack screams while his face is planted in the ground,

"SAVE ME, SIMON!
I'VE NEVER BEEN TO EUROPE!"

I literally peed my pants in the kitchen while trying not to laugh too hard
(it was just a little... thank goodness for maxi pads)

Many people have asked how Zack is coping with the new baby.
He is just his happy, normal, entertaining self.
And he is GINORMOUS.
Somehow he grew 17 inches overnight.

Zack is usually found making silly faces or taking pictures.
Sometimes doing both at the same time.

Here are a few of his photos.
( I'm noy including the 998 pictures of me nursing the baby :)
We love our Zacky, chocolate chip cookie face and all!

**PS
Luke and Ben have since informed me
that Zack stole the Europe line from one of their cartoons.
I figured as much (I don't think he even knows what EUROPE is)
but it was totally awesome, plagiarized or not.

It warms my heart to know that Simon is already one of the gang.

Dear Grandparents,

(and Aunts, Uncles, Cousins)


I wish you lived closer.

Sincerely Sad,

Simon

a post from the archives....

I happened to come across an old post a few days ago. Just a simple conversation before bedtime that I recorded. Since reading it again, I keep thinking back to that time. I literally get tears in my eyes just remembering how badly I wanted a baby. The feelings are still fresh. It's amazing to know that I was already pregnant. Probably 3 along weeks or so. Little did I know what was coming our way. My cup runneth over.




Title: babies... and dogs
Posted: March 12, 2009

last weekend, our family huddled around the computer and watched old home videos. most of them were of Zack as a little tyke. I cannot believe HOW CUTE he used to be!!! What happened??

we all cheered him on as he crawled up the stairs, emptied the tupperware drawer and laughed when he spit at the camera. After 20+ videos, I told the kids it was time for bed. As I tucked them in, Ben said, "I wish we had another baby now that Zack is big." I tried to fight back tears because that's my wish, too. (second to WORLD PEACE, of course.)

Then Ben asked Zack, "Don't you want to have a baby?"

Zack pulled a growl face and said, "NO! I am not a grill!"

Ben laughed and Luke clarified, "But don't you want Mom to have a baby?"

Zack sat there for a minute and then quietly said, "Um--- I just like dogs."

we may just have to settle for one.
but you better believe it will be a GIRL!

Labels: babies, kids say the darnedest things, should we get a puppy?, Zack

a timeline of Simon's birth

November 7

4:00 am-- wake up to contractions. I'd been having them throughout the night, but now I was awake. no real pain, just steady contractions.

4:30 am-- out of bed. Can't lay down and take it any longer. pain level around 1-2.

5:00 am-- deep clean the kitchen. It was the only place in the house I wouldn't wake anyone.. and the only place in the house that needed a good cleaning.

8:00 am-- wake up the husband and tell him we're having a baby today. His response: "How do you know?" typical man.

8:30 am-- text my doula and midwife to give them an update. Steady contractions, 4-5 minutes apart. Pain level about a 3-4. All the pain is in my back. I stay in my bedroom from this point on. I was basically pacing the floor, dealing with each contraction as they came and watching The Devil Wears Prada in between. I had to re-wind the SAME chapter at least 5 times because I kept missing it during a contraction. funny.

9:30 am-- text Natalie.. (aka, my good friend and doula) with a change of plans. "I NEED YOU NOW!" Pain level about a 5... maybe 6. She immediately texted back "I am on my way."

9:35 am-- Natalie arrives. (a doula does what every husband should do but doesn't need to be told.) She gave Aaron a break. Aaron went downstairs to feed the kids breakfast.

10:00 am-- I fall asleep on my bed for about 10 minutes. Crazy that this happened considering how close together my contractions were... but Natalie had hot rags on my back and was putting pressure in all the right places. I relax and wake up to the baby turning! No more pressure in my back. No more posterior baby. This was a miracle in itself. I am still in awe it happened. I knew the minute I stood up that the baby had turned. And now labor was serious business.

11:00 am-- tell Natalie to call the midwife and let her know I am feeling a lot of pressure. I move to the bathroom and straddle the back of the toilet. I knew I was in transition phase. My pain level wasn't too bad (maybe a 7) but I was feeling a ton of pressure and I wanted to push.

11:20 am-- my midwife, Sherry, arrives. She checks to see how far along I am. This is the FIRST time my entire pregnancy I was checked. I loved not having a NUMBER to confuse me or stress me out. I wasn't surprised to hear her say that I was fully dilated. She could feel hair on the baby's head. Somewhere along the way, Tiffanie arrives, but I don't think I realized she was there for a while.

11:30 am-- I get in the bathtub. I waited to get in until I was in the worst pain possible. All along, I figured I would have a water birth, but I just couldn't get comfortable in the bath tub. I did NOT want to be on my back. No wonder my other labors were so hard on me! I was strapped to a bed and had to lay on my back... While in the transition phase, I got really hot. So the bathtub wasn't ideal anymore. Natalie switched from placing warm rags to ice cold rags on my forehead and neck. She also took out her own hair clips to pin mine back. Did I mention how much I love Natalie?

11:45 pm-- I move from the bathtub to the side of my bed. Aaron gets behind me and tries to prop me up while I push. But again, I didn't want to be on my back. Before I move, my midwife checks my water.. still intact. She says it will break on the next contraction or two, but I tell her to break it to see if it makes things easier. She does-- it sprayed her like a hose! Her shirt was completely wet. We all laugh and Aaron says something about how it could have been on a movie. (Too bad we didn't catch it on video!) She laughs and says she's glad she dressed up for the occasion. I was thoroughly enjoying the conversation (in between contractions, of course.)

12:00 pm-- Aaron was on the bed holding my hands. I had pillows propped on the bed and I was kneeling on the floor (facing the bed) during the pushing phase. My widwife, doula and nurse were behind me encouraging me during every contraction. Pushing was BY FAR the most difficult part of the entire process. [Not so with my other kids, but then again, I was drugged..] This was INTENSE and so flipping exhausting. Everyone kept telling me that he was almost here. After a while, I didn't believe them. And then I reached down and felt his head. He WAS almost here! The last three pushes almost did me in. Not as much pain as complete fatigue. I didn't know if I had anything left.

12:48 pm-- After 48 minutes (or so) of pushing, Simon arrives. When he was born, I picked him up (he was wrapped in a towel) and climbed up in my bed. Everyone was so awesome... they just followed me around and moved shop. You would NEVER guess that I had a baby on my bedroom floor. It was all cleaned up and spotless before my kids came up to see the baby. When the boys came up, the nurse kept saying how SHOCKED she was that three young kids were in the house the whole time. I basically have totally awesome kids.

1:00 pm-- I was FREEZING. My hair and tank top were wet from the bathtub, but I didn't realize how cold I was until after Simon was born. I stripped down and got into one of Aaron's hoodies. I warmed up quickly and was able to walk around without any problems. Aaron made me some toast and brought up a cold glass of orange juice. I was elated! My baby was gorgeous, my older boys were there to experience it (without seeing anything that would scar them for life) and I was HOME! It was the best feeling ever.

1:30 pm-- weighing the baby.. getting him dressed in his first pj's. We saved the bath for later. I made sure to take a picture of the "team" but I only got one... and my midwife's eyes are closed. Oh well.

2:00 pm-- an hour after delivery, Aaron looked around our bedroom and laughed while saying, "What just happened? That was so quick!" We had clean sheets on the bed, my bathroom was spotless, a load of laundry was going and everyone was headed home. My boys were all in bed with us begging to hold the baby. They brought in pillows from their beds and together we finished watching The Devil Wears Prada except no one really watched :)

3:00 pm-- Aaron took the kids to get some lunch. I was hungry and wanted Subway. He came home with yummy subs, three excited boys and gorgeous flowers. Ben let me know several times HOW MUCH the flowers cost! and I was worth every penny..

4:00 pm-- we texted and called our families. No one knew I was in labor. I knew how nervous the Grandparents were about me having a home delivery, so I decided not to freak them out. It was so much fun to call everyone and let them know he'd arrived safely.

6:00 pm-- we gave Simon his first bath, still in our bedroom.

8:00 pm-- Everyone was tired. The older boys got in their pajamas and crawled in bed with us. We read scriptures together and laughed at the baby's silly faces. Before the boys went to their bedroom, Ben said "I wish we could all sleep in here, but I know we can't." He was right. He also made several comments about how glad he was that I wasn't at the hospital. I didn't know that he would recognize how nice it was for all of us to be home.

9:00 pm-- Simon and I slept like there was no tomorrow! He woke up once around 2 am for a quick feeding. The next thing I knew, it was 9 am and I was feeling excited, energetic and so very blessed.

Here are a few random pictures of the big event. Most of them are dark because my bedroom was dark and cold-- just the way I like it! (The picture titles say what is going on.) There is no explanation for the shot of me with my hand on my chin except that I was SO exhausted that I couldn't even lift my head. I was not trying to GQ it :)