Note to self . . .

. . . I MUST know where Jonah is and what he's doing at ALL times! While we had some friends visiting from out of town, I heard little Nathan crying. "Oh, he's awake from his nap and ready to eat," I thought to myself. After 10 minutes or so of visiting I finally decided I shouldn't completely ignore him, and went to retrieve him. From underneath the door I saw that the bedroom light was on and I immediately knew that Jonah was already in Nathan's room doing who knows what. I saw little Nathan in his bed flailing and fighting for his life under every blanket and article of clothing from his dresser that Jonah had piled on top of his head. As I fished him out of the clothing I found this:

Apparently, before Jonah tried to smother him with blankets and clothes, he lathered Nathan's head in Desitin. Boy, that oily gunk was fun to try and scrub off a screaming baby! It really is amazing that our babies survive their siblings! I mean, stuff like this happens to the rest of you, right? Or am I that neglectful of a mom? Poor Nathan!

Happy Birthday Sarah!!!

Sarah turned 5 years old last week! I can't believe it! She is our only girl, our little princess, and Daddy's "Sweatpea." She is quick to share, very loving, affectionate, girly, and a great helper. Sarah LOVES to give kisses (which I kind of hope she outgrows in the next 10 years), but we love them now! Happy Birthday, Sarah! We love you!

Sarah got a princess laptop from Mom & Dad. She loves it! I usually know exactly what I'm getting the kids for gifts weeks before their birthdays. But I've been so focused on planning her 1st friend party and just plain surviving life that I found myself wandering around Toys R Us in a complete fog of exhaustion the night before her birthday, calling Brandon on my cell phone, and asking him what to get her for a gift. Great call, Daddy! She loves it!

Sarah got baby clothes from Grandma & Grandpa, and baby accessories from Nanny and Papa. Now that we have our own baby, Sarah really wants to do what Mommy does with her baby.

Here is Sarah with her purse cake!

Sarah had her 1st friend party! She chose to have a purse party. Honestly, Sarah is SO easy to please that she didn't care what kind of party we had. She was just happy to get a party. Jacob, on the other hand, is a totally opposite story! I just called my sister-in-law up, asked her what parties she's done, copied her outline, and I was done! It's so great to have such an organized sister-in-law! Thanks, Shauna! We kept the party small and simple for my own sanity. There were lots of girls we could have invited, but due to my level of exhaustion and the emotional scarring that Brandon and I endured from Jacob's last party 2 years ago when he turned 5, we kept things VERY simple. I have to say, these girls were a delight and Brandon and I have recovered significantly from our past nightmarish experience!

I don't know what it is about parties, but I say party and my kids say pinata! I ran off with Sarah to a couple of stores the night before her party in a desperate, last minute attempt to find a pinata. Wouldn't you know they had Spider man, jeeps, balls of all kinds, pirates, ships, and all manner of pinatas for boys? But NOTHING for girls! So, yes, we got a Mexican burro! That's the great thing about Sarah! She's happy with anything. It's a pinata, and that's all she wanted. "We'll just call it a pony, Mommy," is what she said. And a pony it was! None of the girls even cared. Normally, "Uptight Amanda" would have search store after store for the perfect pinata. But I just don' t have the energy to do it, so I let it go and bought our rainbow pony pinata! Isn't my niece, Emma cute? She's the one that finally put a little muscle into it and busted the pinata open.

July Fun!

In an effort to try and catch up a little on my blog, I'm combining some of our July activities!

We started off the month with the 4th of July festivities. I only participated in the barbecue at my house later, since little Nathan wasn't even a week old yet. But Brandon took the kids to the regular family fun. This game is called "How many grandkids can Papa squeeze into his Model A for our small town parade?"

My mom was in charge of her family's reunion this year. She did a fabulous job planning "An Amazing Race!" She put us in teams and we raced around to Grandpa's favorite places, ending in a picnic and visiting at a park. We hit Grandpa's favorite candy store, the ice cream shop (there were prepaid samples at both!), bowling, the temple where he's a sealer, and other fun locations. Here's Jacob & Jonah at the beginning of the race weeding a row in Grandpa's garden to get our first clue! It was so fun! Great job, Mom!

One clue led us to Grandma's sister's house where we had to dress up! Isn't Brandon pretty?

Our team was the last to finish (our kids kinda slowed us down, but we sure had fun)! Here we are at the park with Grandpa for our finale picture!

For Pioneer Day we, again, participated in all the fun, regular activities! I missed the community breakfast because being anywhere at 7 a.m. is practically impossible for me right now, but, again, Brandon took the kids and went to the breakfast. I was ready for the parade, then lunch, naps for me and the 2 little one's while Brandon took the 2 older one's to Fort Buenaventura, a barbecue, and fireworks by Papa! Here is Sarah, Ruth, Jacob, Emma & Bethany at the parade. All 27 of us wear our matching Old Navy t-shirts! What fun traditions! Thanks, Nanny & Papa for such a fabulous day!

And I felt it my duty to squeeze in some swimming lessons too! That's 2 weeks I'm always glad to be done with! Here's Jacob trying to gather the courage to jump off the box.

And Sarah in her favorite spot: the steps where she feels safe and comfortable. I know I've failed miserably as a mother trying to get my kids comfortable with the water. I'll work on that another year . . .

Our Baby Is Born!!!

On Monday, June 28th we brought our new little boy into the world! I was induced that morning so that he would be born into a controlled environment and not in the car! Whew! Thank goodness we didn't do that again! The doctor watched me very carefully once I hit 38 weeks. And once I hit 39 weeks she felt like the baby was big enough and developed enough it was safe to induce me. After that she felt like we were "playing with fire" and I could possibly have a very fast labor and delivery. It was a little weird being induced, waking up that morning, showering and showing up to have a baby without having any contractions. But, I have to say, a near painless delivery was pretty nice.

Here I am right before leaving for the hospital. Yes, I was HUGE and big enough to be having twins!

Nathan Kent is 8 lbs. 11 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long! He's been a wonderful baby so far, very content and sleeps a lot! Yeah!

Nathan didn't like getting his picture taken!

Sarah and Jacob holding Nathan!

Sarah loves little Nathan almost to death sometimes! She loves to help and give him kisses!

Jonah loves to point out Nathan's eyes! Hmmm . . . I hope Nathan can keep his eyes!

Jacob is so excited to have another brother!

Here's is our little family all together!

Isn't our daddy handsome? He's so happy to have another son!

We feel so blessed to have this little spirit in our home. He's so fresh from Heavenly Father. I love to look into his eyes and wonder what he remembers from heaven and what he's thinking. I can't wait to see what personality emerges from this darling little one.

One Room Down . . .

While we're thrilled with our new house, we're on a mission to repaint just about everything. The rooms need a good freshening up because I don't think anything's been painted in 10+ years, and there are maintenance issues to address everywhere. And it just helps to make the home our own! I know some of us feeling this way is because we tend to be picky, but every little project we get done makes me feel so happy! Brandon does such perfect work, which takes a little longer but is worth it in the end! Jacob and Sarah FINALLY got their bunk beds they've been wanting for years! I went ahead and got new boys' bedding because Jacob will share this room with Jonah once Jonah is ready for a big bed. More decorating will have to come later. So one room down and a whole bunch more to go!New bunk beds in slate blue room. This room (AND ceiling) were electric blue!

2 happy kids anxious for their first night's sleep in bunk beds!

My Dad

My dad is in the middle receiving his Eagle Scout award.

This week my dad received the Silver Beaver Award from the Boy Scouts of America! I'm so proud of him! His life is a great example of service in the church and to his family. It's nice to see him recognized publicly for being as wonderful as I already knew he was! My dad has always been a great source of wisdom that all of us kids tap into when in need. He studies the gospel of Christ diligently, and has become our walking encyclopedia for church talks and lessons. Because of his example of being a good husband, all of us girls in the family (except for Kristen, but her time will come) have married wonderful men as we have grown to expect a high standard. I feel so blessed to have been raised by such a Christ-like man. Thanks, Dad, for everything. And Happy Father's Day!

Vacation at the Hospital?

Wow! Reading my last post I can tell I'm 8 1/2 months pregnant! What a grouch I am! You've gotta feel badly for my poor husband and kids that have to put up with me daily! I know and remember how miserable that last month of pregnancy is, afterall, I've already done this 3 other times. Is it too much to ask to be able to see my ankle bones again? To be able to bend my ankles? They've been swollen for 3 months now. Is it too much to ask to want to sleep on my stomach or even my back would be nice? And, what does it say that I'm looking forward to going to the hospital because at this point it sounds like a vacation? I don't have to cook, clean, watch kids, or change diapers. The nurses are there to take care of the baby, bring me food ON a tray IN bed, and I can nap WHENEVER I want! If I were expecting my 1st or 2nd baby I'd probably be anxious about having a baby and all that comes with it. Maybe I should be more nervous because I know so much can go wrong. But right now, I can't wait to not be pregnant anymore and be waited on hand and foot. It sounds heavenly! Sad, huh?