Lake Days

Living in Montpelier totally has it's advantages- we live about a half an hour away from the beach at Bear Lake and we moms take the kids regularly during the summer. It's what makes living through Montpelier winters bearable! The boys LOVE it when I tell them it's going to be a lake day- we'll pack snacks and drinks, sand toys, an umbrella and chairs and there is NO stopping us!

If you've never been to Bear Lake- the water gets deep very gradually so there is plenty of shallow water for the kids to play in. They search for shells, dig holes, build sandcastles and go swimming. It's so much fun!

Raspberry Days

Every year, Bear Lake holds what is called "Raspberry Days" over in Garden City (about a half an hour away from Montpelier). It's not much- a few food booths and a bunch of crafters- but it is pretty fun. Up until this point I have not had a lot to do with it- but I went over this year with a girlfriend (Clover), Ty and Kate (Shaun would only take one kid today). I bought a new cookbook and a hat for Kate. Then Ty and I shared a snow cone- have you ever tried the ones where they put ice cream in the bottom of it!? It's awesome!

Kate slept the whole time. Except to get up and eat a bottle when we had our snow cones. She's such a hard baby...

Kate

It seems odd to me that you can add a new person to your family and that you can love them all at once and so completely. It seems like we have always had Kate- because I can't imagine life without her anymore.

Kate is a month old in these pictures and is the sweetest little baby girl there ever was. I don't mean to brag or anything- it's just true. She loves to sleep on dad's chest (not that he's complaining- he loves his babies) and she is so content when her brothers are holding her. She sleeps well. She eats well. She doesn't fuss and I haven't heard her cry yet. I'm sure it's coming- maybe she's just saving it for something that really bugs her.
Kate also has a zillion nick-names. Katie-pie, Katie-bug, Cake, Cakearoons, Kate, Katie... The list goes on. She may never really know her name.
And I have to admit- I love having a baby that is small enough to fit into the Newborn size clothes. My boys were both such monster sized babies that they started off in 3-6 month clothes. This one has room in the newborn size! It's nuts!! Do you think there is any way that I can just keep her this way for a couple of years? Is there a request form that I need to fill out?

Hot Hot Hot

The late days of summer in Bear Lake are always HOT! So in an effort to keep my boys cool- I bought them a little swimming pool for the backyard. They love it and have so much fun splashing around- it keeps them entertained for hours!!

Ryan's Birthday

Ryan is officially two (both on paper and in spirit if you know what I mean). His birthday fell on a Sunday this year and we decided to spend it up at grandma and grandpa's house up in Declo. Jacki was gracious enough to let me take over her kitchen so I could make a birthday cake and have a small party on Sunday evening for Ryan. Ryan's most favorite thing lately is baseball. He loves to watch it on TV, he likes to play it in the yard, he likes to play it in the house and all of his clothes have to have a ball on it. So it made sense to give him a baseball themed birthday cake. And while I am a decent cook when it comes to baking- I am not overly skilled in the decorating department- so I had to get a little creative.

It wasn't much, but Ryan was pretty excited. He kept reaching for the ball and didn't want to waste time with a candle.

Of course- once he figured out that it was cake there on the counter- he went a little hog wild. Ryan is the best eater in the world, and that's with actual food. Give the kid some cake and he didn't stop until the plate was entirely cleaned off!

Naturally- we gave him a baseball mitt and he was so excited to have one of his very own. He keeps stealing Ty's- so to in an effort to keep what little peace we do get in our house- it just made good sense. He wouldn't take it off either- so his brother had to help him open up the rest of his presents.
We are so lucky to have Ryan in our family and in our home. We took for granted how much he means to us and how much we really do love him- until recently that is. Ryan is good natured and sweet. He loves to help Mama- he is the first to bring me Kate's binky or throw a diaper in the garbage. He saves me a million steps each day. He loves his brother. He loves his sister. He loves to talk and to run. We've had to come up with our own little Ryan dictionary so that we can understand what he's saying.

Bucket = Grandma

Jooo = Binky

Towel = Blanket

GaGaaa = Mickey Mouse

Cake = Kate

Voom = Car

Pick = Chocolate Milk

So many of these things have become second nature to the way we talk- it's a wonder that anybody can even understand us anymore!!

Anyway- we love you Ryan and hope you had a very happy birthday!!

Fishin'

Our boys have never been fishing before- sad thought to some of you I'm sure. I guess we just haven't made the time to go and do it. Mostly because I'm terrified that the boys' true nature will show itself once again and they'll both end up in the water with the fish rather than the fish ending up on dry land with us. Call me crazy.

But this summer, Shaun's uncle Kent was determined to help out our deprived boys and let them come fishing in his backyard in Declo. They had so much fun! It took a couple of days and some serious fishing artillery- but in the end it paid off- and Ty caught a fish. He was so excited- until he had to hold it. Then the braveness started to wear off.

Ryan never would hold still long enough to do anything other than throw his pole into the water. He was more interested in throwing rocks and getting his toes wet than anything else. Still though- I think he had fun. Thanks Kent for your help!!

4th of July

We spent the 4th of July down in Utah this year. We kept things pretty low key and just lit fireworks off at my parents house. Ty is a total pyromaniac and kept trying to talk Grandpa into letting him set things off all by himself. I'm not totally surprised to say that it worked- he did indeed let off a lot of fireworks by himself. It's like an ad for the fire department... on what NOT to do. Luckily all was well and Ty had a lot of fun. It was kind of a toss up- who was enjoying themselves more- Ty or grandpa.

Ryan on the other hand- hated the whole thing. He sat in Grandma's lap and held a blanket over his head the whole time. When we did manage to talk him into watching a tank- he burst into tears and quickly covered his head again. He did not like the "hot" (his word for firework).

Kate was a champ- she just snuggled up in my arms and slept through the whole thing.

Great-Grandma and Grandpa

We went over to my grandparents house the other night, and thought that since it was such a nice night outside- that we would snap a few pictures.

This is my grandma, Marjorie, and is the woman that we named our little Kate after.

And this is my grandpa- I can't believe how little she looks in his arms!

The Pirates

I forgot to post a picture of the mighty Pirates. Preposterous, I know- who could forget something so vital???

Just Keep Swimming

Ty loves to swim. Ryan... is thinking about it. So, because I'm a mean mom- I made him go swimming last week. A lot. Thankfully my parents are along the same wavelength as I am. I figure the more exposure Ryan has to the water the better chance he has of liking it. So. Off to the pool.

Again- it was a good thing my parents agreed with me. I can't get in the water yet because of my incision and Shaun wasn't around to help out (he was at his parent's house helping his dad). Yes, I know- I totally abuse the situation with my parents. Thankfully- they don't seem to mind.

And... it totally worked. By the end of the week- Ryan was kicking and splashing right along next to Ty. He wasn't as crazy as Ty- who liked to play with the big kids in the pool, but he did make his way around the shallow end.

Like I said- Ty is totally crazy in the pool. His favorite is to run and do a cannonball on grandma. Lucky thing. He has swimming lessons that start next week at home and he is so excited. I think grandma is too- maybe he'll show something else off besides his ability to empty half a swimming pool on her head.

Bald is Beautiful

Okay- I will forewarn you. The subject of this post has been the object of much ridicule and drama- so if you will please keep your opinions to yourself, I would appreciate it. You would have thought that I painted my daughter purple with the outrage this caused.

My daughter, Kate (bless her), was born with a mullet. It was pretty hair- nice and soft and brown. But she had a mullet. So I cut it off. All of it. And now she is bald. I didn't think this was such a big deal- aren't most babies bald?!?! Apparently not. Anyway. Mine is... now. But when my daughter has the most beautiful hair in the world here in a few months- you all remember this.

T-Ball

That's right people. T-Ball. Our Ty Kidd is finally old enough to be entering the wide world of recreational sports. He was drafted to the "Pirates" in early June and eagerly awaited his turn on the field.

He did really well throughout all of his games. During the first one however, he got a little confused once he got on base. He ran to first. Then he ran to second. Then he ran to the pitcher's mound. Yeah... We had to review where third base was when we got home. Ty also had a hard time remembering to run when the ball was hit. He'd continue to stand on the base until his teammate joined him. Then they'd stand there and look at each other until the coach took pity on them and would go and send Ty onto the next base. In an effort to help him out- my dad worked on this with him the next time we were down in Salt Lake- explaining how important it was to go to the next base. At his next game- Ty hit the ball and ran to first, second, third and all the way home. He stomped on home plate and declared, "Home Run!" He was extremely put out when he had to go back to first.

Ty is also quite the fielder- more interested in the sand than actually paying attention to what the ball is doing. I have to admit- it is nice sand. Very soft. Just the perfect consistency for throwing up in the air and pretending it's snowing.

Unfortunately the season is now over- but we are eagerly awaiting next spring for the next go round. We do however, have soccer to look forward to in the fall... Stay posted for more on our little All Star.

Bath Time

I love it when babies can have baths in the sink. They just sit in there so cute- and I have to admit (even though it might make me sound old), it's way easier on my back than leaning over the tub. Kate likes her baths well enough- not necessarily the getting in part- however once she's there- she just sits so contentedly. And she loves having her head scrubbed. I hate even the idea of my babies having cradle-cap, so they always get a good scrubbing when they are in the water.

She does NOT however, like lotion. It doesn't matter what kind or where I start applying it- it is a NO GO. She screams like she has the lungs of a three year old. The boys always come running in when she starts screaming just to make sure she's okay.

Baby Kate

Before the Baby...

I had to go down to Salt Lake a little bit earlier than we had planned on- so rather than just sitting around doing nothing- we got to work. My mom helped me make a car-seat cover. And I'm telling you- it's so cute! My sister in law, Nat also helped me figure out how to make some cute bows- so I was feeling a little bit better about a little girl coming. I never really had to worry about accessories with the boys.

Here's a before picture of me... And while I felt HUGE- technically I was smaller with this one than the other two. Makes me wonder what I looked like back then. I'm thinking walking pumpkin.
We also had Ryan's tooth fixed while we were there. The Dentist was good and sat through all of the flip-outs. And it looked so good!! Though three days later we went to dinner and Ryan had a grilled cheese sandwich. He started dinner with his tooth in tact- but by the end of the meal- it was gone. He ate his fake tooth. And now he looks the same. Sigh. The dentist said that he'd try again for us though. Maybe before pictures...

The Boys

The boys were another part of the equation during my hospital stay. Obviously we wanted them down in Salt Lake with us- but we needed someone to help us out. Enter Grandma and Grandpa...

My parents were so sweet while we were in Salt Lake! They took the boys for us and kept them soo busy! My mom signed Ty up for swimming lessons which he totally loved. Anytime that is spent in the water is time well spent according to Ty. And mom said that Ryan didn't mind going and watching. He'd cheer Ty on from the sides.

And my parents were so good to sit down and play with them. One night Grandpa took Ty and Ryan on in a game of Twister. I think Grandpa ended up with a twisted back by the end of the night- but it was good to help Ty with his left and right. I think Ryan just liked being in the middle of it all.

The Hospital

Okay- I had more pictures that I wanted posted of us in the hospital... so you get to see another post on exactly the same thing as the last for no good reason other than I liked the pictures. Let's see if I can remember some other details...

My surgery was scheduled for 7 AM- so we had to get there at about 5:30. I was so excited about having my baby that I know I didn't get much sleep- silly since my sleep quota was about to be cut in half for the next few months- but I was getting my baby!! Shaun thought I was nuts. I got changed once I got there and the nurse started my IV and started running a few tests and I was informed that there might be something wrong with one of my blood tests and that the surgery would have to be pushed back several hours. ??? I was so upset! And Shaun started staring longingly at the McDonald's across the parking lot- I couldn't eat so Shaun thought he was being nice by fasting too- not thinking that it would last all that long since I was going in first thing in the morning. About an hour later- the nurse came back in and said that everything was a go and they had called my Dr to come in. Yay!

I walked into the Operating Room around 8 AM and the anesthesiologist gave me my spinal. The nurse in there was so cute- she sat in front of me and tried to distract me by asking about Ty and Ryan. I don't have a clue as to what I told her- I don't know that the distraction worked all that well. :) Anyway- it's crazy to me how quickly the numbing medicine kicks in. Almost immediately my legs started getting warm and I had to lay down. The nurse helped me get situated- it was nice this time- they didn't strap my arms down to the table like they did the other two times. I hate being behind the little blue curtain though- I wish I could see what they are doing. I only get the play by play and the smell...

Here's our baby girl right after she was born- she was being weighed and measured.
Here's a picture of my Dr finishing things up... Wish he'd done a tummy tuck while he was down there...
Here's a picture of the proud papa with his baby girl. Shaun loves his babies and he's sooo good with them!
My mom was also good to come and keep me company in the evenings and one night I got both her and Melissa and the nurse was sweet enough to snap a picture for us. I'm wishing at this point that I had makeup on... But it is a cute picture of the girls- we're only missing Natalie!!

Meet... Kate

No I haven't forgotten that we have a blog. But things have been... well- let's call it "busy" since I don't think there is a word in the English language that aptly describes having three children under the age of 5- one of them being a newborn.

Our hospital stay was absolutely wonderful- I love St. Mark's hospital- and my OB- Daren Watts was so worth our three hour drive. He has delivered all three of our children and if we ever do have another one- he'll deliver that one too. I was discharged after four days, and our baby with me. It took us a few days to finally decide on what to call her- she is absolutely beautiful and we had a hard time. We went back and forth for a few days between Katelyn and Hadley and finally settled on Katelyn.

Kate was born around eight on June 7th and weighed 7 pounds and 1 ounce. She was 19 inches long and had a mullet. The anesthesiologist (sp?) was nice too- he snagged our camera from Shaun and took a few pictures of all of us and the operating room. Shaun prefers to stay behind the curtain with me- claiming that he doesn't need to see all the blood and guts involved so it was nice to see a few pictures of what else was going on while I was staring at the ceiling.

Shaun and I have always held with the idea that kids should have middle names- so, next we worked on picking out Kate's middle name. This actually wasn't much of a discussion. We chose Marjorie, after my grandma. When Ryan was in the hospital back in March, I was 6 months pregnant, with a very active baby in utero. But the day that we were life-flighted to Salt Lake, my baby stopped moving. Not all the time- once in a while I would get little kicks so that I knew she was okay, but she remained extremely calm throughout Ryan's stay in the hospital. I know that part of that was because she was feeding off my stress- but instead of feeling that way- it felt like she was reassuring me that things were going to be okay. When she stayed calm, it helped me stay calm. It was such a big job for someone that wasn't even born yet. How could someone so tiny help her mom in such a big way? I don't know how or even why she did it- maybe that's why Heavenly Father sent her to us. But the fact remained that she was strong. And she needed a name to match that strength. My grandma Newren has been another source of strength and love to me throughout my life and it seemed silly to entertain any other ideas about a name. We are certainly honored to have our own little Marjorie.

I know that four days anywhere can seem like a long time- but I actually enjoyed my stay in the hospital. It was nice to have a few days to sit with my daughter and get a chance to get to know her before life started again.

I had totally planned on being the mom that sent the baby back to the nursery to sleep so that I could clock some time behind closed eye-lids- but she was so good that it wasn't even necessary!! She slept right next to me and barely made a peep when she was hungry. It was like she was squeaking at me. It was also fun because my sister would come and spell Shaun in the evenings and sit with me until it was time to go to bed- we sat and talked and watched TV together- I miss her and it's been fun to spend time with her for a little bit.

It was so funny as we got ready to leave on Thursday- both of my boys were pretty darn big babies- Ty was 10 pounds and Ryan was 9, so when we bought an outfit for them to go home in that was a size 0-3... it barely fit. I think Ty was all but bursting out of his. I remember Ryan's fitting a little better since his stay in the NICU made him lose a little bit of weight. But when I put this little 7 pounder into a 0-3 outfit... I had to roll the sleeves and the pants came up to her armpits. She looked so funny! I still can't believe how little she is or that she is mine.

But I am most grateful for the fact that she is healthy and (seemingly) happy. We have had so much chaos in the last few months that it is such a relief to sit back with our three kids- each beautiful and each healthy. We are so blessed.