a very hairy game

Ok, so I was looking through some old pics and thought this might be fun. Here are pictures of each of my kids the month they were born. Now YOU get to guess which one is which! Take the poll on the side. In a few days I'll reveal the winning combination!

I know the pictures aren't the greatest, but it was hard finding pictures without any gender/timeline indicators.

And here is a picture that made me smile. We really miss Hailey! They were the cutest little bestfriends.

mommy moment: THE BOWL

After a particularly stressful/tiring day and night, I've decided to focus on the funny moments that make up a mother's life. So, whenever you see a "mommy moment" post on my blog you'll know I've needed a little redirection in my thinking!

The Bowl

Carson is less than two weeks old and I am enjoying a rare, quiet moment bonding with my newborn son. As I nurse him on the couch, Macie sits cuddled next to us. She has a slight fever and I can tell she isn't feeling very well. Addie, as usual, runs wildly.

After several, nearly blissful, moments, Macie starts throwing up. Mommy reflexes kick in (you know, the kind that wipe snot without a thought, that clean dirty fingers with your tongue when the wipes aren't handy). My hands shoot out, gladly catching the putrid interloper, just to save myself the trouble from cleaning the couch later.

"Addie, please run into the kitchen and get me a bowl!"

"Where, Mom?"

"The bowls on the bottom shelf, the ones you and Macie always pull out and play with on the floor!"

With the aggravating innocence that only three-year-olds posses, she calls out, "Which ones, Mom? Where?"

While still holding the puke, still nursing, still laughing to myself that I'm even in this position and think I can handle three children, I continue to holler, "A bowl! A bowl! ANY BOWL YOU CAN FIND!"

All I hear is a bunch of rustling kitchen-type noises. Rattling metal pans, dropped utensils, the blender flung on the ground. And then, ah, triumph! "Mom, I got it! I'm coming, Mom!" Addie runs around the counter, dodges the love seat, and finally hands me my salvation...

...the colander.

2 months!

My friend Keri used to post pictures of her son with homemade month signs. As her son grew older and more mobile the pictures became funnier and funnier. Here is our first of many!

It's hard to believe Carson is already two months. This was taken on the 18th, his actual two month mark. He wasn't in a particularly smiley mood, but oh well.

FHE Missionaries

Last night for Family Home Evening we talked about what missionaries do (they teach people about Jesus), what missionaries wear (ties, white shirts, badges, and girls wear dresses), and then dressed them up like Dad on his mission.

Jason hid behind a bedroom door, and they had to knock on all the doors in our hallway until they found him. Addie then said she was there to tell him about Jesus, and he let her in! It was a fun FHE. This entire month we're learning about missionaries. Last week we showed them pictures from Jason's mission to Houston and wrote their Uncle Danny while he's on his mission. I love FHE and making time to spend time with our family. It truly is inspired.

crazy thumb

Saturday night, during an intense game of Candyland, we noticed Addie's thumb looked odd. Take a look yourself.

Turns out she can't straighten it. It doesn't hurt, though. Today she loved showing her preschool class her "crazy thumb."

It turns out, after a trip to a pediatric orthopedic, that Addie has "trigger finger." It usually occurs in older people when they have accidents that cause their joints to pop, such as ski accidents. It also occurs in children, but our doctor told us it's more common in newborns. He was pretty surprised that it didn't manifest itself until now. An X-ray showed she has a nodule on her joint which is inhibiting the tendon from moving. Unfortunately, she now has to have surgery to get it repaired. It's outpatient surgery, fairly routine, and we have it tentatively scheduled for later in the month.

Surgery! TWO THUMBS UP!

a few Christmas miracles

After driving 12 hours to MI, we hit a deer twenty minutes from my parent's house. It was scary, but we were able to make it there ok and everyone was fine...except the deer. We had to console Addie, she was worried it was one of Santa's. Ha.

Because of the deer, we were able to get THIS! A MIRACLE! I absolutely LOVE having a bigger, newer and all around better vehicle to tote my tots.

Miracle #2: It snowed in Memphis on Christmas Day! I realize it's a crummy picture. As you can tell it wasn't much, but it was snow!

And the last Christmas miracle? Carson smiled a few days before Christmas! That was one of my favorite gifts! We didn't get a picture of the first smile, so a cute snapshot from today will have to do. My kids are adorable!