Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving week was so busy and fun and exhausting, all at the same time!  David got done with school on Tuesday, so we were debating on whether to drive to Idaho that night or wait until Wednesday.  I thought it would be better to drive during the day because I thought it might be snowing in Idaho and didn't want to drive in the snow in the dark.  It's a good thing we decided that because after school on Tuesday David had to drive all over to various music stores so he could get instruments fixed before the holiday weekend!  He left at 6:30 that morning to go to school and didn't get home until 7 that night.  David's brother Brian had asked us if we could drive them to the airport at 6:30 that night and I thought it would be fine because one of us could get the kids to bed and the other drive them.  Well since David was getting home so late, I ended up driving them.  But I couldn't leave my kids home alone and it was too short of notice to get someone to come over to watch them, so they came with us!  So squished in our van was me, Brian, Brittany, Natalie (Brittany's sister), 3 babies in carseats, and Asher in his carseat!  I am very amazed we all fit.

Wednesday we got everything packed up and drove to Idaho.  We only had to stop twice and Mia only screamed for the last hour and a half. ;)  But we got there all in one piece!  Thanksgiving was hosted by my older brother and his family.  They recently moved about 30 minutes away from my mom into this super cute little farmhouse. We got there around noon and had fun talking and all the kids had fun running around their yard together.  We had a fantastic meal and by 4:30, my little girls were totally pooped and we headed back to my parents house.  My sisters and brother ended up at my parents house and we hung out after all our kids went to bed.  David and I went to a movie that night (we only go to the movies when we have free babysitters...) and just had a relaxing day.

Friday we spent lots of time hanging out with family.  We went to Joni's house so Asher could play with Ledger and London and Joni let me go through her baby girl clothes!  David and I went to another movie that night too. :)

Saturday was so much fun.  My sister-in-law Keny had a great idea to throw my mom a surprise birthday party!  She planned the whole thing and it was amazing.  She is our new party planner because everything she does is so much fun!  She gave us all assignments of things to bring and she made all the food, had games and prizes, and she always makes a piñata for the party!  It was so fun and really wore my kids out.  After the party we drove back home, completely tired.  Can't wait for Christmas!

My mom and dad got a 4-wheeler so she could check on her bees and chickens.  David decided he would graciously help out and check on them for her and took Asher on a little ride!

While we waited for Thanksgiving dinner, Asher and David tried out my brother's trampoline.

David tends to get restless if we sit around too long, so he started taking kids on  rides with my brother's 3-wheeler!  They loved it!  And Millie loved tagging along.

After dinner.  Mia was so so tired!

I don't have many pictures from my mom's surprise party, but I do have some of the piñata!  Chade (Joni's husband) was designated piñata pole holder, a bit of a dangerous job!

Asher's turn to take a swing!

After they broke it open - candy!

On Sunday after we got back, we were all so tired and my girls were just getting over a cold (that they had the whole time we were in Idaho....yuck) so we didn't go to church.  Ava had a hard time settling down enough to take a nap so David took one with her!

My Mia!  She loves to grab faces.

This girl has been a bit of a trial the last couple of weeks. Growth spurt + being sick + teething = neither of us get much sleep.  Like for 2 weeks I was getting about 4.5 hours of sleep a night.  It's a good thing she's so cute!  And she loves her feet.

These two.  They make me feel all the feelings. :)

6 Months!

We have officially made it 6 months as a family of 5!  It's been quite the whirlwind adventure and there were times I didn't think we would make it out, but we did!  Life is crazy, I hardly get a chance to sit down and relax, and my house is always a mess.  But most of the time it doesn't bother me because I know I'm enjoying my kids!  Here's a little bit about the two newest additions to our family:

Mia:

• Stats - Height 26.75 in (82%), weight 16lb 1.5oz (48%), head circumference 45 cm (98%)
• I was worried about this doctor visit for Mia.  At her 4 month appointment, the doctor noticed her head had an odd shape and worried that her skull may have started fusing too early.  If that was the case, she would need to have surgery to make an incision on the skull to allow the brain to develop normally.  I was trying very hard not to cry in front of the doctor as he was telling me this.  But he said to wait until her 6 month appointment before he took any further steps.  But at this appointment he gave her a clean bill of health!  He compared her head to Ava's and Asher's and said they have a similar shape, just not as pronounced.  So basically all my kids of weird shaped heads.  But I was so relieved it wasn't anything else!
• Just recently started rolling from back to stomach and now whenever I put her on the floor she rolls over and gets stuck.  She also has been trying to pull her knees under her.  She'll be crawling soon enough!
• When she gets excited she flaps her arms around like a little bird.  It's so cute!
• Sucks her thumb when she gets tired.  And usually sleeps with her thumb in her mouth.  It must be genetic because I used to suck my thumb and my grandma said that my mom was born with her thumb in her mouth!
• Her hair is growing back in, but mostly right on top so it looks like she has a mohawk!
• Still a very relaxed baby.  Doesn't cry too much and is fine just hanging out on her own.  She also doesn't laugh very much, but that just makes the times she does laugh that much more special.
• Very grabby baby.  She is always reaching for people's faces and hair and will clench anything into her little fist.  She has quite a strong grip and I have gotten my skin pinched many times!

I love her cute little smile!

I love this outfit on her!

Both girls love Millie, but Mia also likes to pull her hair.  Millie is so patient and just sits there and takes it!

Sucking her thumb while taking a nap.

Keny is amazing at putting babies to sleep!  I love this of her and Mia!

• Stats - Height 26.25 in (64%), weight 16lb 15oz (65%), head circumference 43 cm (71%)
• She has a spot on the back of her head that the doctor thought may have been caused by the spine not closing up, but we took her to a dermatologist that told us it was just a birth mark.  So I thought after that scare we were done with medical things, but I guess not.  She has a bump on her arm that has been there since she was born.  When we asked the doctor before about it he said it was probably just fatty tissue, but we'll keep an eye on it.  At her 6 month appointment I asked him about it again and he said that we should probably get an ultrasound of it.  So yesterday I took her (and Asher and Mia...) to the Primary Children's outpatient services in Riverton to do that.  Let me say, I just love taking all three kids to a million doctor appointments! But we did the ultrasound (which she hated because I had to hold her down so they could get a good look) and went home to wait until I got a call with the results.  When I did get the call it was pretty good news.  It wasn't just fatty tissue, but it wasn't anything too serious.  It looks like it's lymphatic tissue.  So they don't need to remove it, but once a year for the next few years we'll redo the ultrasound to just keep checking on it.  So it could've been a lot worse!
• Such a smiley little girl!  Most of the time.  Unless she's in a bad mood, then look out! When she's smiling, she somehow manages to smile with her whole body.  It's amazing!
• Loves to make gargling noises.  
• Has 2 teeth!  Both on the bottom.  Teething with her is so much easier than it was with Asher!  She gets a little more drooly and congested, but that's about it.  Not any more grumpy or anything!  Mia is still pretty far away from getting any teeth.
• Still hasn't managed to roll front to back.  And doesn't like to roll back to front.  She does love sitting in the bumbo or in the jumper!  David and I think she may skip crawling and go to straight to walking. Or maybe do what Asher used to and just scooch around on her back!
• My chubbiest baby.  And I squish her all the time.  My sister said it's kind of like having a stress ball to squeeze.  And she was very right.
• Definitely a Mama's girl.

I love it when she's concentrating on something and looks down at what she's doing.  It makes her cheeks puff up even more and they are just so scrumptious!

Look at that cute baby!  This dress is soon cute on her, but she was a little too chubby for it. Oh well, at least I have this adorable picture of her in it!

With Asher, her favorite person. ;)

We had a lot of other things going on this past month as well.  My sister adopted a baby 6 weeks after I had the girls.  They got the adoption finalized and this past weekend they got sealed to her!  I have been fortunate enough to attend all the sealings to her children and it's very special every time.  We are so happy to have Clara in the family and it will be fun to have her so close in age to my girls!

Their family outside the temple!

Baby Clara.  She has lots of hair and big brown eyes!

While we were in Idaho we stayed with my parents.  My dad made sure the babies were taken care of. 

Zach (in the white shirt) was very brave and tried to teach a 5 year old, 4 year old, and 3 year old how to play Life!

5 Month picture

I think I am 6 or 8 months old in this picture.  Just for a little comparison.

Hanging out with Henry!  He's about 2.5 months younger than my girls and is getting so talkative!

I thought this was super cute.  Every once in awhile Asher takes a teddy bear to bed.  This particular night he tucked him in before going to sleep. ;)

Finally breaking out the jumpers David's sisters bought us for a baby shower present!  I use them every day!

6 month doctor visit.  I like to document this so in 20 years I can look back and think "How did I manage two babies getting shots on my own?"

I'd always heard about David's dog Pudge when he was growing up.  I pictured this fat little bulldog that could hardly move.  I found this picture in some stuff David's mom passed on to us and now I see why his whole family says Millie looks just like her!  Also, it was so fun to see all the pictures of the Clay's growing up!

Halloween!  I made all their costumes.  I probably could've found cheap costumes someone was selling on Facebook, but I had so much fun making them!  I haven't been able to make things in awhile.  While I was pregnant my joints hurt so bad I could hardly use my hands and I've been so busy with the babies.  So I took a weekend, ignored all the cleaning, my house looked like a disaster, but it was worth it!

At Asher's preschool program.  It was super cute.

Trick or Treating!  The girls last about 10 minutes.  David took them home and Asher and I walked around for another hour or so knocking doors.

 All of my family is now back in Idaho, so we are the odd ones out.  So when we make it back to Idaho the whole family gets to hang out again!  My mom wanted some updated family pictures so while we were in Idaho for the sealing we also did pictures.  I think they all turned out so great!  These were taken the day the girls turned 6 months old.

I just love these people so much.

The boys

The girls

Look at those big beautiful eyes!

Those cheeks!

My sister Joni and her crazy kids.  Asher absolutely loves Ledger and London!

My sister Lisa and her family.  Her boys are 4 months apart, so it's almost like having twins!

My brother David and his bunch of boys.  I'm always amazed at how Emily can keep her sanity in that crazy house!

My brother Andy with his wife and son Milan.  They have almost been married a year, which seems crazy!  Life goes by so fast!  Keny is so kind and I feel like every time I see her she has some gift for my kids!

My parents.  I love them.

It can get a little crazy when we're all together, but I love it so much.  Family really is my most favorite thing!

My Babies

The last month I've been thinking a lot about each of my kids and how thankful I am that they are in my life.  They all have such distinct personalities and are so fun, each in their own way!

Ava Jane:

• Such a smiley baby!  Well, at least now she is.  She cried for the first few months of her life, but now she smiles with her whole body whenever she finds someone who will play with her!
• Has turned into a pretty good sleeper.  When she goes down for bed at night, she won't wake up at all (expect to eat) even if Mia is screaming.  
• VERY ticklish, something we exploit a lot so we can hear her adorable squeal-laugh!
• Has a birthmark on the back of her head right where her second soft spot is.  The doctor thought it may have been that her spine hadn't closed up all the way (which she would've had to have a surgery to correct), but when I took her to the dermatologist he said it was just a birthmark.  And it's not super pretty so I'm glad it's in a place her hair will cover up.
• Thinks Asher is just the funniest person ever.
• Tends to run hot and cold.  Either super happy or super not!  Usually when she's not happy it's because she's hungry.
• Won't take a bottle.  I did start a little rice cereal yesterday and she seems to like it, so maybe that will inspire her to accept different kinds of food including from bottles!
• Still spits up all the time.
• My chunkiest baby!  I squish her all the time and bury my face in her neck rolls. ;)
• My only child that actually looks like me!  She has my same eye shape (David calls them our disappearing eyes) but David's brown eye color.

Mia Elizabeth:

• Such a chill baby!  Likes to just sit and observe everyone around her.
• Doesn't laugh a lot but does like to smile!  Very pleasant.
• Loves her older brother.  Asher is just about the only person who can regularly get laughs from her.
• Has rolled over (front to back)!  Ava has yet to catch up in that respect, but she has such a chunky body that I think it's a little more difficult.  Mia figured it out pretty fast!
• Taken a little backslide on sleeping. She sleeps for longer stretches at night, but it's harder to get her to fall asleep for naps.  And at bedtime sometimes she'll sleep for 20 minutes and then want to be awake for 2 more hours before she'll go down for the night.
• Still has a milk sensitivity.  The doctor said it might be until she's 6-9 months before that goes away.  So no ice cream for me. :(
• Takes after her dad and brother in looks! She reminds me so much of Asher.  The only thing I think she got from me was her eye color.  Ava has my eye shape and her dad's eye color, but Mia has her dad's eye shape and my eye color (hazel).
• Her dark hair is coming in pretty good!  I think she'll have a pretty thick head of hair.
• Turned into quite a thumb sucker, just like her mama.  It's so adorable!  I know it's probably a bad thing but it helps her calm down and it's just so dang cute that I just let it go.  I'll deal with breaking her of that habit at a later date. ;)

Asher David:

• This boy is so sweet.  He can throw tantrums like none other, but most of the time he is helpful and kind and loving.  I was picking him up from school the other day when his teacher stopped me.  When she said she had something to tell me, I was worried it was about fighting or something, but she told me he said the sweetest thing to her.  He came up to her and very quietly said, "Miss Jaime, I love you..." She said he said it so quiet that she could barely hear, but quickly told him that she loves him too and that he was so nice.  He loves going to school and loves meeting new friends!  This is one aspect of his personality that I love, but makes me sad because I don't want him to ever lose it or have other kids make fun of him for it.  
• Loves to help with the babies!  He loves to tickle them, make them laugh, and even helps with diaper changes.  He will help me take off their clothes, likes to guess if they're poopy or not (he tells me "Mom, I hope she has poopies!"), and will throw away the diapers for me.  He also likes to help me pick out their clothes and decide who wears what.  He really loves having 2 new buddies to live with.
• Still hates to eat.  He is getting better at trying foods and I can usually get him to eat at least one bite of something new, and he has a few foods he'll eat pretty well, but every meal feels like a battle.  All the tips everyone else tells me just don't work for him!  I've been told to give him things to dip his food in to make it fun, but he hates all kinds of dips.  I've been told to help him get excited about food and have him help me make the meal.  He loves to help make food! But he has no interest in eating it after that.  I've talked to about 5 doctors about it and they all say that since he has a steady growth and doesn't act sick at all to just keep doing what I'm doing.  At his last appointment, his doctor said that he was getting enough calories but if I was worried about him getting enough nutrients to give him a multivitamin every day.  So I guess he'll just keep living off of ambient energy and I'll keep trying to get him to eat his tiny portions.
• He loves school!  I was so nervous before he started, but his teachers have been great and his class is so well organized that he has a lot of fun.  He always tells me things he has learned, points out letters he recognizes, and even sings songs he has learned!
• Has started calling people "humans".  He loves Transformers and on the cartoon he watches, that's how they refer to people.  So he will tell me "When the human comes back, then we can play in the dirt!" or "When it's dark then it's time for humans to go to bed."  It cracks me up every time.
• I have really started to admire him.  He gets very nervous about new things, but he tries them (with a lot of encouragement) and ends up embracing it!  He tries so hard to keep those around him happy and is just so full of love.  He loves to help me and goes all out with whatever task I put to him.  I'm so very thankful for this little boy.

Busy, Busy August!

August has been so crazy! One of my previous posts was about Asher's birthday, which was on the 5th.  It was such a fun day and I'm so happy Asher could be in our family.  He is such a crazy boy!  He loves to get his picture taken and whenever I take a picture of the babies, he likes to jump in until I take a picture of him too.

I sure love this smile!

For his birthday, Asher got a bike.  He loved it that first day!  But since then we've had a hard time getting him to ride it.  He doesn't like going too fast and gets nervous he's going to run into things.  So we have to take him out into the parking lot and walk next to him while he rides it, somewhat forcefully encouraging him to work the pedals.  I hope he gets over that fear soon and learns to enjoy riding it!

Notice the boots...

The girls have grown so much this month!  Their personalities are coming through so strong now.  Mia is still sweet and quiet and mild.  She's been sucking on her thumb a lot recently (something she got from her mother).  I think it's super cute, but also know how hard it will be to break her of that in the future!

One night she didn't want to sleep so we had some bonding time.  My little Mia!

They are finally starting to notice each other!

While talking to David's brother and his wife the other night, I said that sometimes I feel like I'm really getting the hang of having twins and like I'm doing a pretty good job! (like when I took all three to the grocery store - Mia in the front carrier, Ava in her carseat in the cart, and Asher walking, all with almost no crying!)  Well a few weeks ago I did not have one of those days.  Two of my children cried themselves to sleep that night.  It's days like that that make me grateful for tomorrows.

I don't remember why he was crying, but I do know it took a good 30-45 minutes before he finally fell asleep.

She fell asleep in the chair crying while I was trying to put Ava to bed.

One of my favorite outfits we were gifted (I'm pretty sure from David's aunt Linda).
Born together, friends forever.  I sure hope so!

A week after Asher's birthday we did something crazy and went camping with my family!  My parents, brothers, sisters, and all their family's go camping every summer.  It's one of my favorite traditions and I look forward to it every year!  This year we went to Downata, Idaho.  It's a campground right next to a pool/hot springs.  My parents were even super nice and paid for everyone's camping spot!  We all bought 2 day swimming passes to the pool so it was nice to have something so close for entertainment.  I was worried about how the girls would sleep, but they did amazing!  They fell asleep fine and got up the same number of times as always so I felt like it was a success!  Asher had a harder time falling asleep, so he had many grumpy moments where I know he was just really tired.  Our first camping trip as a family of 5 was great!

Happy Daddy

We had to move their Pack n Play outside during the day because it was too hot for them in our tent.  I thought she looked to peaceful sleeping there!

After an impromptu nap.  Still waking up.

Asher thinks that sleeping in a tent in a sleeping bag is just about the coolest thing ever.  Especially when Dad is there to make him laugh!

The Clay girls!

My sister adopted Clara about 6 weeks after my girls were born.  Hopefully they'll all be best friends!

Grandma's hammock was Asher's favorite thing about this trip.  And he cried anytime he didn't have friends to hang out in it with him!  Here he is with his 3 cousins. 

Hanging with Grandma!  I wish we all lived closer together so you could see all my babies more often!

Three sisters with three babies.  These kiddos are all less than a year apart!

Grandpa and Mia.  They're going to be friends. :)

The whole group!  12 adults, 13 children (ages 2 months to 11 years) and 2 dogs!

My favorite picture of our family.  It was so fun!  I can't wait for next year!

You would think after a big camping trip that we wouldn't be leaving the house for another month, but the next weekend the kids and I drove back to Rexburg for my nephew's birthday and to see my aunt and uncle that I haven't seen in probably 15 years!  

Grandma was such a good sport and played marbles with Asher for about 3 hours straight!

Keny (Andy's wife) made this awesome Spiderman piñata! I guess she had made a couple other piñata's for other kids' birthday parties and they were all just as amazing.

Some of the kids at the party! (not Asher because he was having a meltdown at that time)  Keny is probably the best party thrower I know.  She made amazing food, had such fun decorations, and all the kids had a great time!

Poor baby Cache fell asleep with the bottle in his mouth!  Being held by his favorite person (Grandpa).

After that trip we started to settle into our new routine.  David started school and I was nervous to have all three kids by myself all day, but it's been going pretty smooth.  We are all up around 7, I go through my rotation of taking care of kids, I usually try to clean and make sure everyone has food.  David is really busy during the fall because he likes to help out with marching band and he also starts his after school orchestra, so it makes for long days for both of us.  But when he gets home he goes through and greets everyone, we try to have a meal together, and then from 6-7 I work on giving all the kids baths (which I have come to realize is not normal, but it really helps me keep a good bedtime routine), the girls are in bed around 7:30 and Asher is in bed by 8. 

One last thing to finish off our crazy month is we are watching David's sisters dog!  They are spending 2 weeks in Hawaii (of which I am very jealous) and so we have had 2 dogs for a little while!  It's actually not as crazy as I would've thought.  Milo and Millie entertain each other a lot and are always playing and chasing each other around.  He's a pretty good dog, just definitely still a puppy with tons of energy and wears Millie out really fast!  He's a funny little thing, but I will be glad to bring the level of chaos back down to our normal level once they get back.

They love each other.

Milo is kind of a punk, and Millie was too nice to kick him off her nice big bed!

I had so much fun with August and I can't wait to see what September brings!  Asher starts Preschool tomorrow, the girls turn 4 months old next week and David's brother is blessing their new baby next Sunday, so I know we'll stay busy!  Look for more posts about our crazy, fun life!