Utah trip--part 1

I think this is the longest I've ever gone without blogging since I started two years ago. No, my computer didn't crash. I haven't entered the witness protection program. I can't even blame it on Caroline occupying all my time. So why the delay? We've been way too busy having FUN! That's a good excuse, right?

We took an extended vacation to Utah and have LOVED seeing so many of our family members and celebrating a couple of big events, too. I have too many pics, so decided I better break this up into a couple of posts. First stop: Andrew's side of the fam. All of Andrew's siblings were in town (along with all thirteen cousins--with one more on the way!) We had lots of good times. Here are some of the highlights.

Caroline's blessing
Since we were going to be out west with so many relatives around, we decided to go ahead and do Caroline's blessing.

My mom got this beautiful dress for her.
I loved it.

It was really nice to not have to worry about the
stress of getting ready for church and getting there
on time, etc. We held the blessing at Andrew's parents' home.

Four generations

Look at all these great men who got to participate.
You are loved, little girl!

Grandma Rose got to meet her namesake,
Caroline Rose

Our niece, Vivian, was blessed earlier the same day.
She was pretty laid back about the whole thing, too. :)

Fourth of July
We had a pretty low-key 4th. Wait--is that possible with 13 kids and 10 adults? We all hung out at Andrew's parents house and had a great time--snow cones, new games involving wooden sticks(can't remember that weird name), and of course fireworks. Whitney was very hesitant about those, but we still enjoyed them.

Tony and Andrew played the most hard-fought game of
badminton EVER! Several shuttlecocks were harmed
in the filming of this game.

Caroline and Vivian hung out together while
their daddies played pool. These cousins are only
two weeks apart. We see lots of fun visits for them
in the future.

Wee! I lined up most of the older cousins for this fun
picture. It took several tries. Only minor injuries were sustained.

Check out these buff boys.
Don't mess with them!

Patriotic family photo

Picnic up the canyon
We took a gorgeous drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon for a picnic. We celebrated Brandon's birthday (slightly belated) while we were up there.

He is such a cutie, especially when he's
the center of attention. What a big seven year old!
I can't believe next year at this time we'll
be planning his baptism!

North Carolina is beautiful, but I do miss the mountains.
You don't see anything like these out there.

One of the fun things about having so many cousins
is that there is always someone to hang out with.
Reagan and B had fun racing through obstacle
courses and timing each other.

Random pics
Ready. Set. Jump!

We went swimming one morning and I loved this pic
of the older cousins jumping in. Cowabunga!

Cutie Caroline at six weeks old.

This girl is easily my most high-maintenance child. Poor thing. I think she has some digestive issues and/or colic. There are times when she just cries so hard like she's in a lot of pain and nothing that I do will soothe her. Thankfully, those moments are getting to be less frequent as she gets older. In her pain-free moments, she is a very smiley, happy girl. The other great thing about her: she is a good sleeper. She hardly ever cries at night. When she does wake up hungry, I just hear her grunting and gurgling in her crib. And after I feed her she goes right back to sleep 90% of the time. That's a HUGE blessing. Plus, the last two nights she has only woken up ONCE. That is awesome. I hope it's the start of a long-lasting trend.

Stay tuned for more pics and updates. Hopefully the next one won't take two weeks.

Out of the mouths of babes--June

When I'm holed up in my room nursing a newborn for (what feels like) the majority of the day, I'm sure I miss out on some good sayings from the two older kids. Here are the ones I caught this month.

6/2--We were blessed to receive several floral arrangements and potted plants when Caroline was born. Here is one of them:



It was sitting on the dining room table and at dinner tonight Whit said, "That's fake, right?" And I said, "No, honey. That's real." She asked, "That bird is real???" Oh, well, not THAT part.

6/3--Since my mom is staying with us, she was trying to help reinforce my rules and having the kids do their normal jobs. Whit was upstairs with me and my mom called up, "Whitney, can you wash your hands and put away the silverware?"
Whit yelled back down, "At the same time???"
I guess we need to be a little more specific with our requests.

6/9--I heard something I never thought I'd hear from the kitchen table today. Whitney yelled, "Mom, I spilled lasagna in my pocket!" And you know what? She was telling the truth. Don't know exactly how that happened.

6/12--Now that summer temperatures are here to stay, we've had plenty of popsicles to keep us cool. The topic of "brain freeze" has come up a few times. But today Whit was eating some dinner that must've been a little on the warm side for her because after taking a bite she said, "Ouch! I have brain hot!"

6/16--Whit has reached that stage where she remembers specific words from stories that we read and can go back and "read" them herself. One of her princess books uses the phrase "Dear Diary" several times throughout the book. W is "reading" it in the next room and I just heard her say (in her most dramatic princess voice), "Dear Diarrhea." Ewww.

6/20--Whit told me: I just feel a little nervous every day.
Me: Why?
W: Because it's just so hard.
Me: What's so hard?
W: Going up into the sky and stuff.
Hmmm...

Brandon came up with a riddle today:
Q: Where do you eat ice cream on Sunday?
A: At ice cream sundae school.

6/21--Grandma goes walking most mornings and when she got home today she told us that there were lots of garage sales today.
I said, "Yea. Our neighborhood is popular for garage sales."
Brandon added: "Yea, because almost everybody has a garage."

B can't wait to grow up. He told us, "Adults are so lucky! They get to stay up late every night watching movies and eating candy." Ahhh, the life!

6/22--Even though Caroline can't contribute much to these posts yet, she still manages to crack up B and W. Check out the funny face we caught with the camera:

Silly

Sometimes her clothes do the talking for her.
SOOO true.

6/23--Andrew and I like the movie Nacho Libre. It is one of those shows that is so dumb that it cracks us up. One of our favorite line is when Nacho says, "Get that corn out of my face!" We've found ourselves quoting that a lot lately. The kids have overheard us and even though they've never seen the show, they repeat that line. I caught Brandon baiting Whit at the table today:

So she could tell him, "Get that corn out of my face!"
You probably only find this one funny if you've seen that movie.

6/24--When we walked into the eye doctor's office today, B said, "This place smells like Grandma Sweat's house!" Is that a compliment?

6/26--On two different occasions, Caroline has been baby-babbling and it sounds like she says words. Mainly HI, OH, and AH. B and W were both SOOO impressed. Brandon said, "She's the amazing talking baby! And she's not even a robot!"

Does she look like a robot to you?

6/29--Grandma Cuca often speaks to Caroline in Spanish. Whitney overheard her today and said(in a very surprised tone), "YOU speak Spanish??"
Grandma said, "Si."
Whit's next question: "Is it because you're old?"
Ouch.

Here are the two self-portraits I found of B on the camera this month.

And I'll close with these two cute pics of my boys
catching little cat naps with Miss Caroline Rose.

Like father, like son.
(Only I think Brandon was faking!)

Updates

Creativity...stunted...by...sleep deprivation.

Here's what we've been up to:

Brandon played his last baseball game of the season with the Gators.
His team did well and ended up tied with two others for second place.
Brandon had the distinction of never striking out the whole season.
Way to go, buddy!

His team celebrated with a pool party after the game.
Woo hoo! Fun for all!

Grandma Cuca and I chose to forgo the swimsuits
and watch from the sidelines.
Caroline slept happily in the Baby Bjorn the WHOLE time.
Sweet.

We LOVE to play cards when Grandma Cuca visits...
and eat candy...
and ice cream.

My first Sunday at church with the three kids was a comedy of errors.
Caroline passed gas in the middle of the sacrament prayer.
That had both older kids laughing out loud.
Then when we were taking the water, Brandon spilled his
all over Caroline's face. That called for more laughter.
But Caroline was not amused.
I spent most of the meeting in the hall and mother's lounge.
Sunday School was no better. Caroline is SO loud.
You wouldn't think a body this small could make that much noise.
Thankfully, she cooperated for most of Young Women's and
let me teach my lesson.

It may have been the first rough Sunday of many to come,
but she sure looked adorable.

SO fun to dress little girls for church. :)

Even if they scream bloody murder through
most of the meeting. C's already gaining a
reputation for being the loud one at church.
Those who knew Whitney as a baby know that
it can actually get much louder.

Remember how I joked around about Caroline
learning Rex Kwan Do in utero? I think she
did have some sort of martial arts training.
Check out her moves!

Brandon got glasses today!
How do you think he looks?
He was all excited to get them and LOVES
the way they help him see better.
He likes comparing how well he can see with
them on and without them.

Let's see....Whit's had three eye surgeries,
Andrew wears glasses, I wear contacts, and now
B-train wears glasses???
Hate to tell Caroline, but I think it's in the genes.

Elder Ballard nailed it

Does Elder Ballard know what he's talking about or what?

In the April General Conference, he said,

"Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments.

There will be hard times

and frustrating times.

But amid the challenges, there are shining moments

of joy and satisfaction."

Amen, Elder Ballard.
Amen.

Reality Hits

After having Caroline home for a week, I was thinking I had this third baby thing down. She was sleeping well. I was feeling great. This was going to be a piece of cake!

And then my parents left.

And Caroline stopped sleeping.

And Brandon finished school.

Agh! I'm sufficiently humbled. I swear! After a rough couple of days filled with sleep deprivation, I'm pulling through again.

Due in large part to Grandma Cuca coming to the rescue!
She'll be staying with us for the next couple of weeks.
Lucky me!

I haven't had much to blog about. I mean, how can I make diaper changes, mounds of spit-up soaked laundry, and round-the-clock nursings exciting? Here are a few random thoughts.

*My friend, Marlena, shared THIS BLOG

with me. It has all kinds of funky, cute hair styles for little girls.

It has been the inspiration for a couple of fun hair days for Whit.

Braid buns

Can she get any closer to Princess Leia hair?

*Now that school is over,
B and W have decided that they like to
"camp out" every night.

It is too cute.
I'm glad they have each other and
are getting along well.

*Poor Andrew.
I feel like he got juked on Father's Day.
He spoiled me on Mother's Day and I hardly did
anything for him on his special day. :(
I had planned on at least getting him a steak, which
is normally a twice-yearly happening around here.
But I was so tired by the time I could run to the
store that he told me not to worry about.
We made do with whatever canned goods
we could find in the cupboard.
(And Grandma saved the day again, with
her yummy homemade tortillas.)

Such a great dad...
so little recognition for it.
Maybe next year.

For your reading pleasure

Ever since I finished my Physical Science class, I've been doing A LOT of reading. SO fun. Here are some of the books I've enjoyed and I thought I'd pass them along.

*Invasive Procedures by Orson Scott Card
Not your typical OSC sci-fi book. This was more of a medical thriller. Reminded me of Robin Cook a bit, though a little more "out there" with futuristic genetic manipulation. It was a fast-paced adventure and I enjoyed the ride.

*Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
This is book is marketed as juvenile fiction and was a Newbery Award winner. It's definitely an easy read. It's about a teenage girl going through some difficult trials. I loved the characters (though the Grandma seemed a little over the top for me) and was interested to see what would happen next.

*The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
This is a short collection of memoirs written by a man who had a massive stroke and was left completely paralyzed except for the use of one eye. His mind remained active, creative, and thoughtful. The entire book was written by someone reading the alphabet out loud and Bauby would blink when they got to the letter he wanted. Amazing.

*Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
This is also marketed to teens, but for an easy read, I really liked it. There are three books in this series out now and I read the first two. I didn't like the ending of the first one. It seemed to wrap up a little too easily. The second one was better. Looking forward to reading the third one soon.

*Nordie's at Noon by Patti Balwanz, Kim Carlos, Jennifer Johnson, and Jana Peters
This book is the personal stories of these four women who were "too young" to be diagnosed with breast cancer. (All four of them were in their late twenties/early thirties.) They share their ups and downs through treatments, tough decisions, and lessons learned from dealing with this disease. They are candid about their experiences and all have amazing attitudes and perspectives.

*Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
This was the latest selection from my book club and it is a great book. It is written in first person from the perspective of an 11 year old boy growing up in the 1960's. There is a lot of poetry infused into the story, which was refreshing. (I never read poetry--does anyone else?) I don't know if it was just my post-baby hormones, but it was a very emotional story for me. And toward the end, I got really mad at the turn the story took, but then it recovered. Phew.

*Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by by Mary Roach
This was the book club choice a couple of months ago. I've always liked science and studied on cadavers during anatomy class at BYU, but there were parts of this book that tested even my strong stomach. The author is very humorous and light-hearted without being disrespectful to the dead. I learned some really interesting things and have had second thoughts about being embalmed and buried. Freeze-drying anyone? If you have a little morbid curiosity, I totally recommend this book...just don't try to read it on your lunch break. Ewww.

There you go. Since I plan to continue reading at a frantic pace during these all-day-spent-nursing-Caroline marathons, feel free to share any good books you've read lately. I'll add them to my list.

Speaking of Caroline, here are a couple updated photos.

Cute two week old girl.
She had been sleeping well the whole time we've been home....
until last night. She woke up three times, which is very normal
for a baby her age, but I'd gotten spoiled by her five-hour stretches!
I'm hoping last night was a fluke.
PLEASE sleep tonight, Caroline. Please?
One of the adorable things about her, though, is she doesn't
cry when she wakes up in the night. I just hear her in her
little bassinet trying to suck on her hands and making cute
little grunting sounds until I come and pick her up.
What a sweetie.

She can do the Billy Idol lip.
Pretty talented, huh?

Peek a boo!

A year ago....

...we were a carefree couple cruising the Caribbean.

Today we're the parents of THREE cute kids.

A lot can change in a year....but I wouldn't change a thing.

Brandon's perspective

Here was Brandon's journal entry at school the day I went into labor with Caroline.

"My mom might hav a baby today! Gigi and gpa are going to wach us. It will be so fun the babys name Is caroline. But its boring not having a brother to play with but I feel like I have one. My freind adam treats me like one. We play whith him everyday pretty much. I love my famly."

I thought that was neat to get a little glimpse into his inner feelings.

And here are some bonus pics of Caroline:

We had her first dr's appt today.
It was the first time she has left the house
since we brought her home from the hospital.
She looks so TEENY in that seat!

The doc said she looks perfect and she's
already back to her birth weight. Woo hoo!

She eats every 2 hours or so during the day.
I feel like my whole day is spent feeding her.
Luckily, B and W have been good about letting
me read to them while I nurse her, so I feel
like I'm still getting some quality time with them.

The AWESOME part about feeding her ALL DAY LONG is
that she sleeps at night. LOVE that. I'm not getting used to it,
in case this is just a short phase, but the last three nights
she has given me a good stretch of five of more hours
of sleep. Amazing what that can do. I'm feeling great.