Merry Christmas

Six Months Old

Look at this cutie pie. He just melts my heart. Except that he still isn't sleeping through the night. Seriously! I'm dying over here! Shouldn't he be doing that by now? I try the crying thing sometimes, but I can't stand it. I just can't stand it!

Henry is growing up too fast. He is still so skinny, which is so different from Max. I took him for his check up last week and he weighs 15 1/2 pounds. He is only 15th percentile for weight! His head is off the charts and his height is 75th percentile. He spits up on basically everything. When will he outgrow that, too?

Mark surprised me with a new camera. We've been hard on my D40, so we upgraded to the D3000. I love it! My old camera still works, but the battery doesn't stay in due to the fact that Ben kicked it out of the car and the battery door and camera case cracked. I guess I could have duct taped it together....

Just in the Nick of Time

I shut my mouth just in time...



All of my kids have been a little spitty and Henry isn't any different.

He is growing up way too fast. He loves his finger, as you can see in this picture. None of my kids have been thumb suckers, but Henry is partial to his pointer. He loves his binky, too. So, whenever I can, I replace his finger with the binky. After all, you can take away a binky!

A big milestone happened at our house today! I layed Henry on a blanket in our family room. I set him on his back, because he doesn't like his tummy. (I do give him tummy time daily.) When I came back to get him this is what I saw...



He was on his tummy and no one turned him over! I missed it! I tried to get him to do it again, but to no avail. He's growing up too fast! I am enjoying him so much. Even when he spits on my face. I was just holding him above my head, trying to get him to laugh. I was asking for it!

Tonight we had a little event in our neighborhood. For emergency preparedness, our area is divided into small groups with a group leader. Tonight we had a block party with special guests. The mayor of our city, the big command motorhome, the swat team, and multiple other police/emergency vehicles. They drove up with their sirens blazing and the kids were in heaven. It took place right in front of our house. I love our neighborhood. There are so many kids, they run in herds. We have such great neighbors and everyone loves each other. We are so lucky!

Max 3 years

I've been such a slacker at getting Max's pictures professionally taken. I think that always happens to the 3rd and 4th children. Our cute friend Mindy was taking his picture and had him sit on this suitcase. She was trying to get him to laugh by telling him that he was breaking the suitcase. He didn't think it was funny and got his feelings hurt. He is so tender hearted. We love Max! He is a joy in our family! If only his older brothers would stop teasing him.

Baby Henry 6 Weeks

Henry is such a darling baby boy. We all love him very much and are so happy that he is in our family. He is just starting to "talk" to us. He is always happy and will always smile, except for when he thinks he is starving to death. I can't wait for him to laugh!

He is a joy!

Four Weeks

It's hard to believe it's already been four weeks.
He still mostly eats, sleeps and poops!
We love him and are so blessed!

Henry Oliver

On Saturday, May 23rd, our little baby Henry Oliver joined our little family. He weighed 7 lbs. 11 ozs. and was 20 1/2 inches long. He has so much black hair! One of the nurses asked how much earlier his hair was born! He seems tiny. Tiny bird legs and a tiny little bum. We love him!

The labor went very fast. I was scheduled to be induced on the 20th. As we were sitting at home waiting, the hospital called and told me that the didn't have room for us, and that the doctor couldn't do it again until Saturday. I was devastated!

Saturday finally came and they called about nine o'clock, letting us know to come on in. Well, I got dressed in my gown and sat and waited and waited and waited - for THREE hours! I'm GBS positive, so I need two bags of Penicillin before I should deliver. Well, she finally started my first bag at one o'clock that afternoon. My next bag couldn't be until five o'clock. Dr. Froerer didn't want to break my water until the first bag was finished. They started me on Pitocin at the same time. By 3:45 my contractions were getting pretty bad and I felt like my water had broken. Sure enough, it had, and I was to a dilated to a seven. I finally asked for my Epidural and things went really fast after that. Henry was born at 5:45 after only three pushes. He is perfect and everything went so great! I cried while getting ready to push. It was emotional knowing that this is my last baby. That is a hard chapter in my life to close.

He is such a well mannered baby. He doesn't love the bath and getting his diaper or clothes changed. I am adjusting to having a baby around again, which is a huge adjustment. Trying to time everything. Running the older kids around while trying to time feedings and having to pump sometimes in the car while on our way somewhere.


(Mark's favorite is when the babies sleep on his chest. Why doesn't he let them do it at 2 o'clock in the morning!)

The boys love baby Henry! When we brought him home from the hospital, Max couldn't say Henry - he called him baby "Angry". He is finally starting to say his name correctly. They want to hold him constantly and it is nice to have the extra hands.

I've tried to take pictures of him, but he doesn't cooperate. Time to call a professional!

At Henry's two week appointment he was 7 lbs. 13 ozs. He is growing so fast everyday. I need to slow down and enjoy it. Before I know it he'll be married and gone.

Three Boys in the Tub

Soon after our downstairs bathroom was finished, actually, the DAY the installed the glass for the shower, I started ripping out our master bathroom. It must have been the nesting, because I had all of the tile back splash around our tub removed and in the garbage. That weekend we made such a mess! As soon as Mark got home from work, we finished the tear out. We had to replace the entire sub floor under and around our shower. Our shower had been repaired once before, about five years ago, replacing the sub floor, but it still leaked. Luckily the room below our master is a storage room, because there would be a large puddle after anyone used the shower.

Our tilers were awesome and Mark's parents helped us frame a new tub surround for our new bathtub. I previously had a jetted garden tub, which was all great and wonderful at first, but got disgusting throughout the years. I haven't been able to have a bath this entire pregnancy because the tub grossed me out. I tried everything to clean it, and eventually the motor broke.

Without further adieu.........



I can't believe I let them use it first, before me. I think it just might be the last time, too. They got water everywhere! We aren't quite finished with the project. The new sinks, toilet and counter top are all installed. I actually had my existing cabinet refinished, so we are waiting on that and the glass. Can't wait to have it back! We did it really fast, in about three weeks! I have a little painting touch up, but it turned out great. I was just so excited to have a bath again, and the tub is gigantic! I actually had a bath this morning while waiting for the hospital to call. We are still waiting, but I know for sure it will be today. They are just waiting for some deliveries to finish and they'll call us. It will be soon and I'm so nervous!

Joy of Homeownership

We've been preparing for the baby. We moved Ben downstairs a few weeks ago, to join his brother Will in the basement. We had a bathroom down there that we never finished and decided to get going on it. With 2 kids downstairs and a leaky shower in our master (that needs to be completely gutted), we need that bathroom! So, for the past month we've been finishing that lovely room. Seriously, I don't know how people build homes on their own (ANGIE). It has been the biggest pain getting bids and figuring out who I like best and if we've made the right decision in our contractors.

Mark isn't handy. He'd much rather hire everything out. When we finished our basement a few years ago, he actually framed and wired the entire place. So, he is handy, he'd just rather pay someone else to do it! Well, last weekend, we installed our shower head. We should have know then that something was wrong. Google was and is our friend. You can figure anything out online. The hot and cold was switched, so I googled it, and figure out how to switch it.

Yesterday, they installed our cabinets/counter and sink. So, last night we tried installing our toilet. The kids were so excited to be able to relieve themselves there this morning. After installing the toilet, we found that the water was HOT in the toilet. Nice! You should have heard the jokes that were coming out of our mouths, and a few expletives from Mark. I wanted to cry. If it's not one thing, it's another! Well, it turns out that the plumber we hired, switched the hot and cold, so everything was switched.

Luckily, the plumber, when I called him this morning, was so nice and stands behind his work. He came this afternoon and is currently fixing the problem. (Notice the rather large hole in our freshly painted ceiling.)

Here are some pics of our semi-finished bathroom. Is the brown/white checkerboard too much? I love it!







We are almost ready to take a sledge hammer to the master bath! I can't wait for that!!!

A Little Bribery

I've resorted to bribery. I'll do whatever it takes to get Max potty trained before the baby comes. We took advantage of the cold weather this past week and really focused on training Max. He's done a great job with the concept, peeing is no problem for him. I just can't get him to poop in the potty. I basically sit on his lap all day, waiting for the poop to come. The second I let him out of my sight, he sneaks away and hides and POOPS in his underpants. We've gone through so many pair of underwear with weekly visits to Target to re-stock. I'm done. I've told him that I would buy him anything that he wanted at the toy store if he'd just poop in the potty. Watching cartoons he'd see a toy and mention that he wanted that toy. I would just say, "I'll buy it for you as soon as you poop in the potty"!

It wasn't working!

So, today Max and I ventured to the nearest Toys-R-Us. We spent nearly an hour deciding what to purchase. I ended up buying him one small toy as a reward for doing such a great job thus far, and saved the biggie for the first movement.

What do you think?

I'm thinking it just might work. HOPEFULLY!

**Yes, he is cuddling and crying into his Baby Bjorn potty insert. I know, Gross!**

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We had a great St. Patrick's Day.

The weather was perfect today.

The kids were all decked out in their green, making sure to not be pinched. Will even wore his green shamrock boxers - I hope he didn't show those to anyone at school today! I got pinched because I am lacking in the green maternity clothes department. Nothing I have that is green fits over my ever expanding belly.

At their school, the leprechaun left golden rocks out on the playground. After school, we walked back to the school to make sure none of the gold had been missed. It was all gone.

While Max and I were out running errands today, the leprechaun apparently left gold coins all over the boys' bedrooms.

Will was a little suspicious - I think my days of surprises are numbered for him. He is starting to figure things out.

For dinner we had potatoes, corned beef and rainbow jello and for dessert, we had shamrock shakes!

Thanks to Kami for all the fun ideas!

Will and Max have been sick lately. Apparently it's going around.

Colds and fevers = no fun!

On Saturday, Will was complaining that his ears were bothering him, so I took him to Instacare, and sure enough, he had an ear infection. Thank goodness for antibiotics! Will is doing much better, but Max is still sick. He's taken naps these past few days, which is so unlike him. He stopped napping during Christmas break. I can't decide if I miss them or not. It's kind of nice to not have to be home for naps!

Yesterday we took advantage of the weather and flew Max's new Buzz Lightyear kite. Mark bought it for Max a few days ago. It basically flies itself because you blow it up with air.

I love this picture of Max. He loves being outside!

I especially love it because you can't see both of his nostrils, one is filled with SNOT!

Spring time is my favorite time!

It's a BOY - AGAIN!!!

I've been such a slacker lately and have severely neglected my blog. Obviously, I never announced on here that we are having another boy. Facebook is my new obsession, but I really want to keep a family history. I will try and be better, I promise. I'm just lazy and feel huge lately. I have about 10 weeks to go until we meet this new little guy. I'm getting really excited!

We are all having such a hard time figuring out another BOY name. Seriously, we've used all the cute family names. My other options of family names are Kenneth or Lester, both or our dad's names. Yeah, no thanks!

So, Will and Ben are calling the baby "Oliver". What does everyone think? I don't even know if anyone reads this blog anymore.

Ollie is kinda cute! HELP!

What Would You Do?

Tonight I had to get out of the house. I've been sick since Tuesday night and been homebound with Max. We needed a treat so we headed to a new yogurt spot in Draper. (I'm not going to name any names, but it is new and near Great Harvest). It's the kind of place where you serve yourself the yogurt and the toppings. I got Max's ready before mine, and I spilled some sprinkles on the counter. After we were all paid up and sitting there, enjoying our treat, I noticed something horrible. The guy, who had just taken our cash and change with his bare hands, was sweeping those sprinkles into his bare hands. The same bare hands that had just handled our money. That's not what was bad. What happened next was disgusting and I can bet you can guess what he did. Yip, he dumped those sprinkles right back into the container for the next unassuming diners. I couldn't believe my eyes!

What would you do?

I sat there and contemplated my next move with Mark. He knows me all too well and just thought I should call the manager in the morning. Well, I couldn't just sit there. Once Mark and the kids were basically running away from me, into the car, I confronted the guy. And he wasn't just some dumb teenager. He had to be at least twenty-something.

I casually mentioned to him that I saw what he had done. He told me that he had just washed his hands. I didn't care! I said that I wouldn't serve food that had fallen onto my own kitchen counter. He apologized, but you bet I'm calling there in the morning. On my way out the door, I told him I wouldn't be back.

Okay, I am a bit of a picky eater. Well, I just like cleanliness. It's next to godliness, right? If I'm somewhere eating out and I happen to see the kitchen, I get grossed out. Gross bathrooms - I can't finish my meal.

Yep, I won't be back!

Enough Already

It's only the beginning of January and I can't believe how much snow we've already received. It is so cold and I'm ready for spring. I always get like this in January, but this time it is worse. I'm pregnant and if it were spring, the baby would almost be here. But, it's not, and I feel it's going to be a long winter. The storms just keep on coming, they are relentless!

Our street has been an ice sheet since before Christmas. Our lovely city never made it in time to plow and now it is complete ice. My brother came over yesterday and couldn't believe how bad it was. You bounce and bounce the entire way to our house.





Mark and I keep joking that if Merrill/Bank of America asks us to move, especially if it is to somewhere warm, we are gone! I'm up for the adventure, and right now I'm so sick of the cold.

Brace Face

A couple of weeks before Christmas, Will got braces! He only got them on his four front teeth and top back molars. He's always had what we referred to as the "David Letterman space" between his two front teeth, and the teeth next to those came in completely sideways! He's only going to have to wear them for hopefully nine months. Then we'll wait until the rest of his permanent teeth are in to do the final phase. They really bothered him the first couple of days and now he's doing great. We even have a list of foods that he's not allowed to have posted on our fridge. He's been such a trooper about what he can't eat.



I've had to constantly remind him that he needs to do a really good job at brushing his teeth. I just keep reminding him how pretty his teeth are going to be. Just wait until the 19th of January, when he gets HEADGEAR!