Princess Myths...

When people ask my about my baby,I always reply "She is PERFECT" and I truly believe that. BUT I have discovered a few little facts about baby Princesses.
First baby girls POOP (a lot)...even at the risk of ruining their outfits!
(although she lets me know immediately if this has happened so I can take care of it)

Second: Girls of all ages LOVE their bubble baths.
(I guess that love relationship starts early)

Third: She maybe doing this to ensure that she gets her bubble bath AT LEAST once a day!

She seems so happy about it :)

Fourth: Tiny little Baby Girls can make as much laundry as her big boy brothers! t Whats up with that ?

DISCLAIMER: Taleah has been on antibiotics and the effects may not be all her fault :) Although 3-4 times a day seems a little excessive!

Little Valley...

A Hurricane in Southern Utah, and I'm not talking about the city!!! We noticed last year when we moved in that the wind is always blowing, and seems to be blowing harder than anywhere else in town! I guess it is because of the bluffs around us, or because the neighborhood isn't mature yet with trees...I don't know but it is CRAZY here! Today was no exception, we had rain and wind on and off all day. Then this afternoon as we were leaving for Jordan's basketball game, we noticed that the wind was really picking up. River Road was full of tumble weeds and leaves blowing. Then we got a call from our neighbor saying the wind was really blowing and our trampoline was moving...well we thought she meant the net had come off and we told her we would be home soon and check it out.
THIS IS WHAT WE CAME HOME TO !!!

Who knew that the wind could pick up a trampoline out of a 4 foot hole (AND the legs were buried under rocks) and throw it over! Our neighbors said it almost went over the fence into the other neighbors pool. Well, Ryan and I braved the mud and risked our lives (I nearly fell/slipped into the hole) flipping the tramp right side up to discover this...

The net is shredded, but that is okay because the poles to hole it are snapped in two. The legs were pulled off and bent (remember they were buried in rock) but we got them back together. Parker and Jordan were horrified at what had happened, and Parker said "well I guess that's what happens when you have a parachute on it" For now, the trampoline has been put into quarantine until we figure out what to do ;)
So the lessons learned, don't underestimate the power of Mother Nature...and to watch out for flying trampolines on a windy day in Little Valley !

Our Fabulous Four Month Flirt

I know, I can't believe that another month has flown by! Taleah has tackled many milestones this month, as well. She has doubled her birth weight (actually she is 13.6 lbs!) and has gone from 0% to 44% in weight and from 15% in height to 74%! Now she is starting to look like a Schudde...one of my chunky-monkey babies! Taleah celebrated her first Christmas and New Years, and has already been on 12 flights ( she is a pro at traveling!) As I look at these pictures, I cant' believe that she was so tiny...and how much she has changed! The first few pictures were of a monkey with her toy baby doll (look monkey's legs are bigger than hers) NOW the pictures look like a beautiful baby with her toy monkey. Taleah's legs are now twice as big as her monkeys, no more stick (frog) legs for her!

Taleah has also began to smile ( I mean REALLY) smile, and she loves to show off her beautiful smile for all to see. I really love how her smile starts at her toes and involves all her body, and when she is really excited her little tongue sticks out. This month I painted her toes (why haven't done THIS before!) I have discovered leg warmers (not the ugly 80's) and love the fun "pop" they bring to her outfits! Taleah has really started to laugh, but the laugh is mostly reserved for her brothers...she thinks their antics are HILARIOUS ! She definitely has her brothers and Daddy wrapped around her tiny little finger! She has also discovered that there is more to life than sleeping and has began to explore...she started to reach for and bat at things (and really loves the "old school" Sesame Street toy from Grandma Kathy). Taleah has learned a new trick of blowing bubbles, a unfortunate thing when someone comes to look at my beautiful baby and she is "frothing" at the mouth :) She has also really started to talk (and sing I think) and has a LOT to say...I hope this isn't a indicator of whats to come. Taleah is trying to sit up and loves to be in her BUMBO, she loves watching the world around her and the happenings of her crazy family :) AND the best of all, Taleah has started sleeping 6-7 hours a night...let's hope she kepts it up !!!

If I've said it once I've said it a million times...I LOVE THIS PRECIOUS LITTLE GIRL!!!

Here is a cute video of Parker and Taleah laughing. The boys love making Taleah laugh and smile, getting to play with Taleah is a reward that they will do anything for! I hope that will last all of thier lives :)

I Love to See The Temple

The other day my mom called to tell me that she was putting together a book of temples, she was getting pictures of our family at all the temples that we had been to throughout the years. As she got working on it, the project expanded and she began finding pictures of my Grandparents on their mission at the D.C. temple and pictures of us as little children at various temples. She also had a picture of her family when she was young at the temple. Then she started calling cousins and Aunts to find pictures of their temple experiences and then son-in-laws and their mission temples. The final project looks amazing with pictures from the 50's on and from all around the world, including South America,South Africa,the Philippines and England (Ryan and I visited the Preston temple). I am so grateful for temples in my life, for the covenants made and the promise of an Eternal Family. I am grateful for my amazing family (seriously how many families could/would put together a book like this in a matter of days!) I could not think of any other people I would want to spend eternity with! The only problem was, with all the pictures and all the people...we didn't have a picture of baby Taleah in the book. We couldn't leave her out so I grabbed the kids off their bikes and raced to the temple to get a picture before the sun went down (she HAD to finish the book that night) I absolutely love how they turned out! Such sweet innocence, what a lucky Mommy to be blessed with these three for eternity! I love the look on their faces as the look at each other and at the temple. Taleah LOVES her brothers , they are truly her heroes and knights in shining armor...Parker and Jordan cherish their little sister, nothing is more precious to them (not even their LEGOS!)
Thank you Heavenly Father for my family, for the Gospel and for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and Eternal Families!

Merry Christmas

I forgot to post our Christmas Card Picture. For those of you saying..."wait we didn't get a Christmas Card", well it is a long story of strollers, rental cars with mysterious powers, credit card receipts and Sea World Christmas Elves. Needless to say, the cards didn't get out, but the picture was so awesome I wanted you all to see it. The answer to your question..."YES, we are IN a REAL snow globe"!

I also found the original picture that Santa gave us in our stocking, they boys were so excited to see what Santa had left for them!

Ringing in the New Year in New Mexico

This year we decided to try something different ,and we traveled down to Albuquerque to visit the Packs (who couldn't make it up for the holidays). It was so fun to be with the cousins and to see their new home. Laura picked us up from the airport and we went straight to a birthday party for one of their friends, it was a swimming party and we had so much fun. It was a great surprise for Ethan and Austin to find us at the airport, they didn't know we were coming. Taleah tried out her swimming legs...I don't think she is a fan of swimming yet!

We could have spent the entire time just playing at the Pack Palace. They have an entire room of Legos, and after a brief orientation and rules update the boys were released into Lego Heaven. So much time was spent building and make-believing. One evening there was a lengthy Nerf Gun battle (father vs sons), with such a huge arsenal it was a spectacular sight. Laura,Taleah and I made yummy caramel and tried to duck the flying "bullets". It was so much fun to watch. Taleah discovered the Bumbo and loved the freedom and the sights she could see sitting up. (Thanks Laura for letting us borrow it!) There was never a dull moment :)

We had to stop at the famous FUZZY'S taco shop, it was so good we went back again on the way out of town. Yummy

What more do you need than four cute boys cousins and a HUGE pile of leaves? The boys spent45 minutes playing in , rolling in, jumping in and throwing leaves they discovered at the Zoo. We could hardly pull them away to look at the animals. Even Jason got in and rolled around, he looked like he was in pure manly heaven. We made it look so fun several other groups came to play. Parker and Jordan are still talking about how much fun they had in the pile of leaves.

The Albuquerque Zoo, we had lots of fun looking at the animals and exploring a new zoo. We were able to watch them feeding the Polar Bears, it was super cool to see them diving for the fish, one even went down the water slide to get a fish! The boys just ran, jumped, climbed , wrestled and just enjoyed being boys and being together. Wow, they were tired when we got home!

After three fun and exhausting days, we traveled home. This was Taleah's 12th flight...pretty good for a 14 weeker! She was the perfect flier again, she has the record of 100% perfect no crying traveling baby. How did I get so lucky? Parker got to sit next to a little girl who was traveling alone. He started talking to her, and made her instantly feel comfortable about flying. They chatted, laughed and shared all the treats she got from the flight attendant. She even started giving him her toys from her bag! You have to love this guy, what a charmer!

2011 was an amazing year for us... a new house, new ward, new friends, starting kindergarten, and the best a beautiful healthy baby girl! What more could a girl ask for ?
Happy New Year, May 2012 be the best year ever.

Christmas Is Finally Here

I Love Christmas! It has always been my favorite, and it gets even better with children to share it with! I love the excitement and the anticipation, the wonder and all the "what ifs" and of course the Magic that comes along with every Christmas. This year was no different! One day we were sitting around the table eating dinner and when Jordan wouldn't finish his veggies I said something to the like of "I'll have to tell Santa when we see him tonight" ( we were going to a party that night) well that lead to quite a discussion (and Jordan cleaning his plate). I said Santa is watching and that Santa also calls Mommy's and Daddy's to check up on things as well. Parker was listening on the side lines and then I saw him crying. When I asked him what was wrong he said "Now I'll get NOTHING for Christmas!" I guess he thought he could hide from Santa but Mommy knows everything...I guess self assessment is hard at any age! Then a few days before Christmas Jordan piped up out of now where "Christmas time is SO hard" when I asked him what he meant he said "It is SO HARD to be GOOD all the time!" I guess Santa watching is a good motivator, to bad as children Santa watching is much more concerning than Jesus watching :)
Well, Santa was so good to us...the boys are such wonderful boys! Christmas was full of Legos, Iron Man/Super Heros with a Sprinkle of Princess and Butterflies!

More presents ?! Unwrapping gifts with cousins is always a fun and crazy time!

This year we had the chance to Skype with our Uncles that couldn't be with us. Uncle Nate is serving as the Navy Doctor on a Ship, he was in Singapore in port so we spent a lot of time on with him. He was able to watch his boys and then our boys open Santa. It was so good to talk to him, my boys think he is a super hero just like SuperMan. One of his ships jobs are to hunt down pirates...Parker and Jordan are in heaven dreaming about the adventures he will have :)We also got to Skype with Uncle Jon (I mean Elder Smith), what a wonderful time we live in, to be able to see and talk to him. He looks wonderful and I'm sure he was surprised how everyone has grown! Taleah was glad to meet her Uncle and I'm sure she looks forward to snuggling with him and wrapping him around her little finger like everyone else :)

Santa really came through this year. The boys saw some Power Wheels in a magazine this year and knew they MUST have them. They have asked for a year for some, but to no avail. Mommy and Daddy were not buying them, so the boys cut out the pictures and made a letter for Santa. They also took the pictures with them to see Santa, so that he would know EXACTLY which ones they wanted. The only problem was, Santa had already filled their wish list! Thank goodness, some were found in Santa's workshop at the last moment! Santa left a wonderful note at Grandma's house for the boys. He told them he had been watching and had talked to Mommy and Daddy AND school teachers...and because they were such great boys he had left a special present under the tree at home (because he knew that they couldn't take them home on the airplane) and then the boys found a picture of the "BEST PRESENT EVER"! They were so excited and showed everyone (at the house, on skype and anywhere else we went) When we got home they were out and riding them even though it was late, and haven't gotten off since!

Santa also brought helmets...hopefully we can keep from incurring any major injuries!

Over The River And Thru The Woods...

Another fabulous Christmas Eve Party at Grandma G.G.'s house, a family tradition that I cherish. I love the feeling of nostalgia, of being surrounded by family and knowing that IT IS CHRISTMAS and that YOUR ARE LOVED. As long as I can remember we have had a family get together at my Grandma's house Christmas Eve, everyone is there (unless they are serving missions) and we have "one heck of a good time"! The activities have changed and morphed as we have. I remember early childhood (being the oldest) after the presents were unwrapped being put to bed so the adults could play games. We have reenacted the Christmas story (many cousins have starred as Jesus, although I was ALWAYS Mary :), have had a pinata (until that proved TOO dangerous-ask Craig and Jessica) had talents shows and races sliding down Grandma's stairs ( a tradition my kids love-thanks Eric for showing them:) We have acted out "Twelve Days of Christmas" (humorous to say the least!) and laughed at our selves as we look at pictures and videos of Christmas' gone past.

This year the kids made fun Ginger Bread Men (thanks Grandma Kathy) and spent the rest of the time running the basement (best not to know what happened!) We opened the Huge Pile of presents and enjoyed each others company ( as we are spread out over the nation, we cherish this time together) Taleah loved being passed around and was awake all day and evening so that she didn't miss a thing :) Jordan and Parker loved helping pass out the presents and were really excited for their awesome gifts. Thanks everyone!

Starring... Jordan Schudde

Jordan's little preschool put on an amazing Christmas Program. We were so lucky to attend, and hear all that these little ones had prepared. They did several songs with actions and dance moves (although Jordan insisted on sitting and being very serious as he sang) Then they presented us with beautiful glass ornaments that they had made, ours had Jordan's little hand prints and a cute letter saying what he wanted for Christmas. I'm sure as he grows this will become even MORE precious than it already is. After the program we had a surprise visit from Santa, the kids got to talk to him and Jordan had one more time to make sure Santa knew exactly what to bring ( a Power Wheels Police Car and Legos) I sure hope he listened!

Jordan surprised me one day knowing all the words to "Wishing on a Star" from Polar Express, I can't believe that they could teach all these little ones all the words...but they did. Although Jordan was they only one singing the whole time, ya I know HE IS AWESOME! I wanted to always remember his cute little voice as he sang this ( he has brought me to tears several times this month) so I recorded it for all of you to enjoy!

I love this little guy, he brings such a special spirit into our family. I don't know what I would do with out my best little helper, sweetest brother and funniest little comedian!

Our Awesome Christmas Trip to San Diego

I wanted to do a few quick catch-up posts of our fun packed month of December, before getting into the new year.
First we started the month off with a whirl-wind trip to San Diego. My sister Chandra's husband is deployed as a Doctor on a Navy ship for 7 months. She is in San Diego alone with her two cute, and fun filled little two year old boys. So we decided to visit them and help her out for the weekend. We started the trip with a early morning flight, and then on to a wonderful day at Sea World. It was decorated so cute, and we really loved the Christmas themed shows. The 4-D version of "Polar Express" was awesome, it even snowed on us! We loved the new exhibit for the sea turtles, Taleah liked this exhibit the most because you could walk under the glass and see them swimming over you...she loved to watch the turtles swimming and the beautiful colors of the exhibit. They also have some fun interactive "computer" games that the boys really loved, and were surprisingly good at them. Mommy loved watching everyone run and have fun, the wonderful weather and stopping at the beautiful displays trying to get THE PERFECT family picture :)

There was a really fun Snow Land, the boys had a blast sleigh riding and playing in the snow. (a novelty for us St Georgians :) Taleah saw her first snow, but I don't think she was really impressed!

The next day, was the day the boys had been looking forward to since last spring...our return to LEGOLAND! Chandra had free tickets for us (THANKS CHANDRA) and we took the park by storm! It wasn't very crowed and we got to experience everything and have a blast. What made this trip the best was
1: Ryan was NOT in a wheelchair (see last April for a comparison)
2: I was NOT pregnant and vomiting
3: We had our amazing Grandma Kathy with us, who always takes things to the next level of fun!
4: We had our sweet baby sister, and she is THE PERFECT TRAVELING BABY!!!!
Legoland was also decorated for Christmas, and really loved exploring the new displays. At the end of the day we found Lego Advent Calenders, the boys thought this was THE best things ever and enjoyed them all month long.

Random pictures of our Lego adventure! What a blast!

Parker and Jordan really enjoyed getting their Lego Drivers Licences, Parker got to go to the "BIG KID" tract!

Taleah really enjoyed her first rides...well actually she slept through them :) Check out the picture on the top left hand side. We found this huge room full of Legos all organized in row and rows of bins. (a dream of mine to have all the Legos organized like that) There were work benches with people working, they had computers they would program and an arm would go and get the piece they needed...it was awesome to see how things were done!

Then we got to go to the Christmas Party on the Navy Base with Chandra and the boys, we had lots of fun getting SWAG and riding the rides. Then we had a visit with SANTA and were SO lucky...he gave us FREE TICKETS to LEGOLAND!!! I guess we will be back to Legoland again before April :) Thanks Santa and Chandra!

After the fun Christmas Party, we decided to go back to Sea World. We found cool Lamps dressed like snowmen ( but Jordan informed us they were NOT Frosty because they had "carrots for noses and FROSTY has a BUTTON nose!) Parker loved the new ride and talked all the adults into riding it with him (multiple times) until he made a friend his age that would go with him :) We took a fun family picture in a Snow Globe, that was our cute family Christmas Card.

We meet some fun Christmas characters... Jack-In-The-Box, a Toy Soldier and a beautiful Ballerina (that may have gone unnoticed until this year) Another fun day in Sea World!

On the way home we had a little bit on difficulty getting out (got to love stand-by) but we were lucky to have Grandma Kathy with us this time! At the airport they had these instructions...(look carefully at the pictures)

We were laughing all day about them! Above is a picture of Grandma demonstrating one of the moves! What a great trip!

Another successful Schudde journey, our first with Baby Taleah.

Taleah was a amazing traveler and really loves being outdoors and watching all the going ons.

Hot Wheels and A Princess

Even a Princess can appreciate a good "BIONIC BATTLE" :) Taleah loves watching her brothers...no matter what they are doing.