Happy Happy Birthday

Soo, we have celebrated a few birthdays since I last posted. Thought I would bring you all up to speed.

I turned 30. I got BOOMWHACKERS for my birthday! I love them! I especially love using them in Primary. I think the kids love them too!

Winston turned 1! I don't know how that happened! A little update on Winston. He was a big baby at birth. And he put on weight at a good pace for the first 4 months. In fact at 4 months he weighed 20 pounds! Unfortunately, that is when he quit gaining weight.  Winston was an EXTREMELY fussy baby. He cried ALL the time. We decided that maybe he had reflux. At his 6 month check up, he still weighed 20 pounds. Since he was just starting solids, we were told to try lots of high fat foods. Use cream instead of milk and to put butter in everything he ate. We also switched his medicine.

 At 8 months, Winston came down with pneumonia, and refused to eat for 4 days. At that point, I lost my mild supply. At the doctors office, he was weighed again, and was down to 18 pounds. Again, we switched his reflux medicine, and put him on formula. At nine months, he was only 18 pounds 8 ounces. I was thrilled. He'd put on weight!! The doctor however was not pleased with his progress. We switched his medicine again. And were referred to a GI doctor.  The GI doctor referred us to the Failure to Thrive specialist at the hospital. We also had to meet with a nutrionist. At that point we had to start a high calorie formula, and had to count calories for 5 days.  After a couple of weeks on his new medicine, Winston started being more content. He wasn't ALWAYS screaming. Even other people noticed a difference in his demeanor.
Life went on. I had to take him every few weeks for weight checks, and every time I took him in, he met his goal! We just had a weight check on Tuesday. He weighed 24 pounds!!!! We get to give him whole milk now. And we don't have to fortify it with half and half. He is doing really well.
A couple of "Happy" things about Winston. He loves playing peek a boo and patty cake. He absolutely adores his brothers, and loves to do anything outside. He also has no fear. We took the kids to the lake the other day and Winston just crawled right into the water. When it started getting too deep from him to crawl, he would just stick his head in the water, crawl forward and then sit up on his knees to breath. Then go back under to crawl some more! CRAZY KID! (And I know that you  think I am a crazy mom for allowing such behavior to take place.)

Anyway, back to June birthdays. William turned 5!! He had kinda a big deal birthday. My mom and dad were in town. He had a couple of friends over. And we did a pinata. (He had been asking to do one for MONTHS!)  Some things we love about William: He gives the best hugs.And is always willing to give a hug. He also gives the sweetest little prayers. William is quick to want to please, and always so sad when someone is displeased with him. He is super competitive. Sometimes too much so. I love that boy so much and so glad that he came to our family!!

Living the Dream

Ever since junior high, I have had a dream. I wanted to be an actress. (Just like every other little girl.) But I didn't want to be famous and in movies. I wanted to be on a stage. I light up in front of an audience. But lets face it. Real life happened. I got married at 19, and started my family. I haven't had a moments regret. I love my life!

Well, a couple of months ago, I was "friended" by an old friend from junior high. This friend is living the life we always talked about wanting. Acting and performing with a small dinner theater. For just a few moments I was jealous. But then Oliver came running in screaming that a monster was chasing him.

 "Quick mom, save me! Here's your sword. No wait mom, that monster is nice! Don't kill him. He is just running from the hot lava.Hurry mom, come get in the space ship. It will take us to the moon, and the lava can't reach us there. Oh no!! There is a meteor!" 

After we were finally safe on the couch under Ollies blanket reading stories (with all the voices) it occurred to me that I am living my dream. I get "cast"  to be a super hero, scientist, astronaut, baby, fireman, dog catcher, train conductor, and many other roles on a weekly basis. And let me tell you, my children are a much more particular about how I do things than any director I have ever had.

I love being a mom. It is the greatest role ever!!

Our New Home

Sooo, in case you missed the exciting news,

PHILIP AND I BOUGHT A HOUSE!!! 

We closed on Jan. 31. And moved the weekend of Feb. 1. It was cold and snowy. But we got to move into OUR house!
I've been putting off blogging about this and putting up pictures until after I had everything unpacked and beautiful. But I've had some complaints that I haven't posted any thing yet. So just ignore the mess, and imagine my house all decorated and clean. :)

Just a few things we love about our new home:
 1. My kitchen is large. :)
 2. It is right across the street from the elementary school. Like I can look out my front window and see the  front door of the school.
 3. It has a good sized deck and back yard. I am super excited to put in some berry bushes this year!
 4. It has a two car garage!

There are MANY other things that we love, but instead of listing them all, you will just have to come out to visit and then I can show them to you. :)

So, without further ado, here are some pictures.

Kitchen

Dining Area

Living Room

Kids/ Main Floor Bathroom

William and Olivers room

Orion and Winstons room

Laundry / Storage room

Family Room

 Office

Play Room

Deck

(If you make the picture big, and look closely, you will see a green electrical box. That marks the corner of our property.)

Master bedroom

 Master Bath

Once there was a Snowman

Philip was so kind to help the older kids build a snowman.

Christmas

Christmas was pretty low key this year. Since we are buying a house very soon Phil and I opted to just get a few things for the kids. And thanks to Black Friday and some other killer deals, we stayed in our budget! So this year, we got a couple of big family gifts. We got a new Kindle Fire HD and new camera. The kids all got legos from Santa then a few other gifts from mom and dad. We also got Skylander Swapforce from the Husteds, and I think that was the kids (Orions at least) favorite. Over all, everyone was happy. So, here are a few pictures.

 Making and eating cookies on Christmas Eve. The one on top was left for Santa.

 Christmas Jammies!

 Santa left us a few 1 POUND candy bars . . .

 Oliver LOVES his tent . . .

Happy Birthday Oliver

Can you believe that this little guy turned 3!!  How did that happen?

For weeks before his birthday Ollie was talking about what kind of cake he wanted. He wanted a brown one with "My Big Big Friend" on top. Then he wanted a brown one with "Justin Time". Then, a brown one with Mator. A brown one with Thomas. A brown one with candles. Finally a couple of days before his birthday, he made up his mind. A brown cake with Dora and Diego. And boots. And baby Jaguar. And candles. So the Sunday night before his birthday I went to my pantry to grab a chocolate (aka BROWN) cake mix. I didn't have one. All I had was a yellow and a strawberry. So first thing Monday morning, Oliver and I went to the store to pick out a brown cake mix. Wouldn't you know it. We get in front of a wall full of cake mixes, and he decides he wants a pink cake!!

And then, I tried coloring a picture of Dora and Diego with frosting, but I didn't have the right colors of food coloring, and didn't want to drive clear into Madison to get some. So I just had Phil bring home some cake toppers.

For his birthday, Oliver got a bouncy ball and some bath toys.

And finally 3 things that we love about our little Oliver:

1. He loves to snuggle. Often times he asks in his so sweet voice if I will snuggle him. As soon as I say yes, he smiles big, runs to his room, finds his blanket and lays down on his bed.

2. Oliver has a super imagination. I spend a lot of my days flying in  rocket ships, jumping over lava pits, climbing volcanoes, fighting bad guys with swords, running from dinosaurs and scareing away scary monsters.

3. He still scowls at strangers. (And I love his scowl!)

Jake and the Neverland Pirate Game

So, here is the game that William got for his birthday. The kids all LOVE it. It lets them do super silly things. I highly recommend it for young kiddos. (Except for the fact that the "vines" don't ever stay up.)