Updated pictures

Also got an updated family picture that I like. Look at those cute kids!!

Baby Katelyn

My talented sister-in-law took these pictures of Katelyn. I LOVE how they turned out!!

Thanks Kayla!! If anyone is looking for a photographer in the Blackfoot area check this out http://www.paisleystudios.com/.

Baby Katelyn

Baby Katelyn made her arrival yesterday afternoon. 8 lbs. 2 oz. 21 inches long.
We didn't know what we were going to have. The surprise was fun, but Luke was disappointed. What little boy doesn't want a brother?
He had his heart set on naming the baby Buzz Lightyear.

Abby was just so excited to meet "Mommy's Baby."

I am sure she will be quite the little helper with the baby.

Poor Katelyn was pretty bruised and swollen from coming out facing the wrong direction, but we are so blessed to have her here.

A few pictures you might be interested in

I told myself I would post during harvest. The great news is that we are done with harvest, but the bad news is I never did post. So I thought I would do it this morning. Typed a big long explanation of the past couple of months, had some computer issues and lost it. Now I am too lazy to type it again so you get a couple of pictures instead.

The kids:

My fridge:
Look closely.
Twenty weeks!!

The post you've all been waiting for

I know that I do not post often. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is pictures. I like to read posts with pictures, but by the time I hook up my camera and upload the pictures that I have taken the last two months, I feel like I should go through and pick out which ones to print. This takes me forever and since I haven't printed pictures since July, it could take all day. By the time I get all of this done and get around to posting I have already talked to most of the five people that even read my blog so it is old news. So today I have decided to post without pictures to please those people that keep reminding me how long it has been since I posted.

Our favorite time of year is over. The weather has warmed up and the ground has dried out. Doug is back to being busy and I find myself getting excited at the thought of November. I've never been an outside person. I would be much more content to stay inside with a good book, but my kids love to go outside and I feel guilty if I don't take them outside several times a day. When I am outside I see all of the things that I need to do. Paint the porch, mow the lawn, plant the garden, clean out the flower beds, etc. None of these are things I enjoy. Needless to say--Spring is not my favorite time of year.

Now I am done whining and I can share my exciting news.There is a task that I have been dreading for the last three and a half years--putting it off because I didn't want to face it--POTTY TRAINING. Doug thinks that my conversations on this topic are weird so if you don't want to hear the details, stop reading now. I have talked to a lot of Mom's about this, asking advice and tips. The funniest thing for me has been how Mom's that have potty trained one child have all of the answers while the seasoned Mom's with six-eight-or even ten kids say 'every kid is different, what worked for one kid didn't work for another and every kid was ready at a different time.' It is as if those Mom's who have done a lot of potty training don't have to sound like experts, while those who haven't done much feel like they have to sound like they have all of the answers to prove themselves or something. Anyway, Luke had his birthday 3 weeks ago and it seemed the perfect opportunity to tell him he was a big boy and we were done with diapers. Up until this point he had only gone on the potty one time ever, but quite honestly I got sick of the amount I was spending having two kids in diapers. The first week we went without diapers we had zero success. I mean none. I would make him sit on the potty every 30 minutes all day long and he never went. It was so frustrating because I knew he needed to go, in fact he would go up to five hours dry and he would just sit and sit and sit on the potty. It was like he was afraid to go. After a week with no headway at all, I called my mom, she suggested I put marshmallows in the toilet and have him try to hit them. This worked, not for that reason, but because he wanted marshmallows. The next day we started using marshmallows as a reward if he would go and he went the first time. It was like all he needed was the right motivation. We had been using M&M's before. What kind of a kid likes marshmallows better than M&M's? At any rate it worked.
Now when I say he went I mean he was sitting on the potty but absolutely none got in the toilet. I still made a huge deal about it and he went the whole day sitting on the potty but never getting it in the toilet. He would start crying if I suggested he try to get it in the toilet, but that only lasted a day. Now he is doing really well and has filled up his sticker chart and earned a toy and I can join the ranks of Mom's that have potty trained one child and have all of the answers.

One final story. I am a Twilight fan. Not a crazy fan that goes and waits in line at midnight to buy the book or dresses up to go see the movie, but a fan that has seen the movies once and read the books a couple of times. Two weeks ago Abby came down with pink eye. The next day it moved to her other eye. A few days later Luke came down with it in one eye and then it moved to the next. Saturday Doug came home from work with one pink eye. Although Luke and Abby are over it now, I feel like I have my own little family of red-eyed Vampires. I should have taken pictures.

Enjoying our favorite time of year!!

Winter is the favorite time of year at our house. We love that we get to spend more time with Doug and more time together as a family. We had a great Christmas. It seemed to last for days, by the time we did stuff with both sides of the family. However, when it came time to take down the tree, Luke started crying and told me that he hadn't gotten a 'great big Lightning McQueen' yet. Good thing his birthday isn't too far away. I love this picture, but it is very deceptive. It makes it look like Abby didn't like Santa when really she sat there for quite awhile, while I tried to get Luke to sit on Santa's lap with her. He was throwing a fit and she got tired of it and that is when I took this picture.

She had a great birthday, but had just eaten and so she wasn't as in to her cake as I had hoped.

After Christmas we went bowling with my family. They had these great ramps that made it so easy for kids to bowl. He called it 'rolling balls'. Between that and the bumper pads Luke had a higher score than me.

For Christmas I bought Doug Jazz tickets to a couple of games. My mom kept the kids and we got to go to Utah and play for a couple of days. It was a great break.

And now we are back to playing in the snow and enjoying the winter. If only winter did not come with so many germs and sicknesses.

I hope they call me on a mission. . .and a new baby

We had a way exciting week in my family. Last Friday my little brother received a mission call to the Brasilia Brazil mission. We are very excited for you Mitchell (or 'biggest one' as Luke calls him) and know you will be a great missionary and a great example to Luke.

You will however, have to leave the girls alone for awhile.
Then, my little sister had her baby on Tuesday. We are so excited for her and her husband. They will be great parents.