hilarious family pictures!

We went to Michigan for a few days before Christmas. While there we had Carson blessed by his dad. We also took family pictures. As you can see with the progression of Addie's face, ours just get better and better better with each one. Try and click on the last picture to see it enlarged, you'll get the full effect of Addie's awesome smile!

Here is a snippet of a conversation tonight at dinner--

Dad: Addie, if you eat all your food you can have some Ginger Ale.

Addie: I want some Gingerella!

As you can see, the princesses are going in full force around here.

four weeks, three kids, two days, one tongue

FOUR WEEKS. Carson is four weeks old today! He is such a good baby. He usually goes four hours in between feedings, can sleep through almost anything, and is gaining weight like a champ. Will I have my first chubby baby after all? Unlikely. But he IS getting heavy! He is so handsome, too. He definitely looks like a boy, but not like an old man boy baby. He is just small and sweet and handsome! The pictures honestly don't do him justice.

THREE KIDS. Everyone seems to want to know "how is life with three kids?" Honestly, not too bad. More hectic, more crying, more mess...but (now to the cheesy part) more giggles, more kisses, more love. The girls just LOVE their brother, they would love him to death if we'd let them, and I just love seeing how much they love him. He is constantly being kissed, hugged, patted, tickled, held. He is brought endless blankets, pacifiers, burp rags, toys, and socks. They can be bribed to do ANYTHING as long as their reward has something to do with Carson. The only thing that I really hate about having three kids is trying to go anywhere with all of them. It's ridiculous how long it takes to get out the door!

TWO DAYS. We are all going to pile into our Nissan Maxima (yes, three car seats jammed in the back seat) and drive for 12 hours to Michigan in just TWO DAYS! I can't wait! Getting there and back may be rough, but I am thrilled to see my family and show off my adorable children. We'll be back here on the 23rd for our own Christmas, but get to share the before-Christmas festivities with my family. My sister Kari had a little girl, Lucy, on Dec 1st, so there will be two cute little babies around to snuggle. The bonus? Carson and Lucy are both going to receive their baby blessings from their daddies this Sunday. What a great day to share with a cousin! Oh yeah...Anyone want to let us borrow their van? Pleeeeeease??? :)


ONE TONGUE. Carson was born tongue-tied. I didn't even know that was something other than an expression until he was two weeks old. That means the connective tissue from his tongue to the bottom of his mouth (the frenulum linguae) connected at the tip of his tongue, preventing him from sticking his tongue out or touching his tongue to the roof of his mouth. In some people this doesn't ever cause a problem, but in others it can affect speech and teeth growing in properly. We opted to get his clipped. On Tuesday I took him to the ENT, they took out some scissors and *snip snap* clipped his frenulum. Good thing he won't remember any of it, it was so sad to watch. They did numb the area and put on silver nitrate to cauterize it, but he wasn't very happy. It took him a little while to figure out how to latch properly again, but he seems to be just fine now.


A pre-clipping picture. Can you spot my frenulum? (I hope you all enjoy your new vocab word.)

deck the halls with christmas cards, fa la la la la la

It's that time of year again *fa la la la la la la la la* Christmas Card Time! Have you seen Shutterfly's holiday card collection? I've been sent a few from my friends already this year and they are gorgeous! There are many styles to choose from, and the quality and clarity of the pictures are excellent! I love the bold colors of this one, and can see my cute kiddos smiling out at all my loved ones!



Last year I made up a photo book for Jason's birthday on Shutterfly. It was an awesome gift! It contained our entire dating story, now written down for our children to read and *hopefully* enjoy! He loved it, and I loved how simple it was to create! Not only that, Shutterfly has great promotions and every once in a while you can get a FREE photobook, and who doesn't love that? The site is also so easy to use! I have since made up one more book, waiting to be printed. I also love their calendars, and am considering making one or two for our great grandparents for Christmas gifts.

And now, to anyone who hasn't heard yet, Shutterfly is offering 50 free Christmas cards to anyone who blogs about their awesome site. Not only do I love Shutterfly's website, easy to create creations, and their products, I also LOVE that they're getting in the Christmas spirit this year and GIVING us all free gifts! Thank you, Shutterfly!

a busy couple of weeks

new baby Carson

new loving big sisters who LOVE to help

Cousins Chaela and Joci, Aunt Caitlyn and Uncle Willy all come to visit

Grandpa and Grandma visit (My mother-in-law is amazing, by the way. She stayed for an entire week to help me exclusively. My kitchen sparkled! I was so spoiled.)

We put up TWO Christmas trees. haha.

And Macie is just, well, simply awesome. Her personality is really coming out now.

We even managed to squeeze in a visit to Santa. Too bad he was the grouchiest Santa in the entire world--look at him glaring at us! Macie could obviously sense his disdain for children.

As for me, on my own with three kids, I'm doing pretty well. Hopefully soon I won't just feel like I'm surviving, but I'll be thriving! Besides my shock and dismay when it took almost two hours yesterday to just get three kids ready and out the door, I'm doing great. My "to do" lists have remained purposely small, and I'm enjoying watching the girls love their baby brother. Yay for families! I sure love mine, my husband and kids just bring me so much joy. And I am especially thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ this time of year, and the knowledge that we can live together forever as a family. Ah, I have so many blessings...

Carson!!

A few days before his arrival.First time with Mom.

Group photo!

Let's see, what to write, what to write? Carson is one week old today, and was able to enjoy his first Thanksgiving with family. We've been blessed to have Jason's family in town this past week, and his mom is staying another week to help me out. It's been great to have others around to clean the kitchen (yay!), cook dinner (double yay!) and rake the leaves in our backyard (super triple yay!). I will be sad to see them leave--as will Addie and Macie. They have loved playing with their grandparents and cousins.

Carson is a very easy baby. He eats well, sleeps well, and puts up with endless sisterly kisses well. The girls can't get enough of him. Macie has learned a new word, "bubba," which is either brother or baby and Addie insists on taking her naps in the same room where he sleeps. They adore our new addition.

I am recovering fairly well. It hasn't been quite as easy a recovery as the first two, but I suppose that is to be expected. Now I just have to focus on eating better and going to bed at a decent hour. Those two things always help me feel better about myself as a mother, wife, and person in general.

Well, it's late and Carson is calling. I want everyone to know how much we have appreciated the phone calls, texts, emails, prayers, dinners, and offers of help you have been sending our way. We are so blessed to have fantastic friends and family. We love you!

Baby Carson

Baby number 3 has arrived! Not positive on the name yet, but we're thinking Carson...he was born November 18, 2010 at 2:41 pm. He weighed 7 lbs. even, and was 20 3/4 inches long. He stayed awake for the first 4 hours he was born and only cried for the first 5 min. he was born...I think he's going to be pretty laid back, which Jana and I are excited about. More pictures to come...

milk

Today I bought milk that expires on 11/26. My due date is 11/24. The thought that went through my head? I expire sooner than this gallon of milk!

cooks in the kitchen

Addie and Macie both love to be in the kitchen when I'm cooking. I finally pulled our play kitchen into our kitchen so Macie could be more involved. Here are some cute pictures from this last week.

Don't you just LOVE the chef hat and matching apron? My friend Corrine made them for Addie's third birthday and she always has to wear them whenever she's helping me. The cute apron on Macie was Addie's present for her second birthday from my mom. Adorable! (And, in case you wondered what pink concoction Addie was whisking, they are our specialty...colored pancakes!)

fun in the yard

On Saturday Jason and I spent over three hours raking our backyard. It was a huge undertaking, but we all had a blast! Addie LOVED playing in the leaves and Macie simply loved being outside. We ended up with three GIGANTIC piles of leaves when we were through.

We had so much fun simply spending time together, outdoors, working and playing. And, I know I'm biased, but our kids are so cute.

And the last one, just to prove I was there too!

haircut? whaddya think?

On Tuesday I have an appointment to get my hair cut...or trimmed. I am torn. Tonight I was looking through some old pictures and am now undecided what to do. Should I cut it all off again? Or should I let it grow, baby grow? I need your advice. I'm not saying I'll definitely take it, of course, but I will take it into consideration.

SHORT:

Pros- My hair gets done much more often, it's quick to blow dry and style, my face looks skinnier (or, actually, I was skinnier at that time, so maybe that doesn't count), I actually have a hair style

Cons- My hair basically has to be done every day so it's higher maintenance, not as many ways to do it (no braiding, and man, I love braids in long hair), must be cut more often=more expensive

LONG:

Pros- Can easily be put in a pony tail for those days when I don't want to do it, braids!!, feels great when Jason brushes it for me, is pretty when cascading down my shoulders and back...haha...

Cons- Is basically put in a pony tail every day because I'm lazy (I had a tough time finding just three pictures of my hair down because it is UP in every picture I have!)

And, just for fun, I thought I'd introduce everyone to my older sister, Hillary. This is the best I've ever seen her.