Life's Little Spills

This is a video of Uriah's first "spill" on his first camping trip. It makes me sad but also makes me laugh at the same time...

Trying to Recoup

Yesterday was a ME day. I was still in a hard battle with this nasty cold. When I woke up Sunday morning I could barely talk. I had so much gunk in my throat that all day long every other syllable was high pitched or low pitched, or you could barely hear what I was saying at all. I was still stuffed up and fighting a fever. I got up with the kids at 7 to take care of them and feed them. At 9 Jordyn was ready for her first nap and Uriah was grouchy, so I had to go wake up Jared. I had to get right close to him on his side of the bed and, even though I felt like I was yelling, he could barely hear me. After he got up and got dressed I went back to bed...for 5 hours! Yeah, that's right...5 hours! I have never felt so good after such a long nap. I know my body really needed it. I am still fighting some stuffiness and throat gunk, but I'm definitely better.

We have started feeding Jordyn baby food. We could tell she was ready because every time we ate in front of her she would stare at us and kick her legs and flail her arms all around. She took to it like a fish to water. She has already tried Sweet Potatoes, Applesauce, Carrots and Pears.

In these pictures, she is working on jar of pears. She thought they were scrumptious.

This was great timing on Daddy's part. I love her face!

Believe it or not, she ate the whole jar of pears! I was surprised. And afterwards, she had 3 oz. of formula. She is turning into a little piglet! I am glad that feeding her is going so well. I can't wait to see what happens when we try the green veggies...

Yesterday was a very hot day, so we let the kids run and roll around without clothes. I think naked babies are cute, so I just had to take some pictures.

Uriah being his little camera-hog self again. He can't help but want to be right there in front of the camera.

Happy little girl!

Uriah decided he wanted to lay by Jordyn on the floor and she was all smiles. She loves it when Uriah gets close to her.

All in all, the weekend was actually very good. One of the better ones that I can remember for a long time. Incredibly, it didn't zoom by like most weekends, at least, it didn't feel like it. Even though I was sick, we had enough good memories to make it all worth it.

Scouting It Out

This last weekend was Uriah's and Jordyn's first camping trip ever to Scout Mountain. We got up there Friday night and stayed until Saturday night. We would have been there until Sunday but I was sick with a bad cold and didn't think I could stand another sleepless night. We camped with my parents and sisters and brother and included family. I love being in the mountains. They bring me so much peace and it's a great place for the kids to wear themselves down!

Jordyn took her naps in the car seat. This is the first time she has worn her Idaho State jacket, and she looked super cute in it (^_^)

The kids watching The Princess and the Frog on my iPad. I know it kind of takes away from the camping experience, but when you've got 5 kids to try to calm down at 8 at night, I couldn't think of a better way...and it worked!

Jordyn in her favorite saucer again. This comes in very handy when you are trying to get a meal made or chase after another little boy who is trying to run down the road.

Jordyn got her first camping bath. The whole fun of taking a baby bath while you are camping is how the parents improvise. This bath was taken in a plastic tote that once had silverware and other necessities in it.

I love her face in this picture, and her cute little baby boobies!

Jordyn and daddy spending time together when we first got to the camp spot. Jordyn was taking in the surroundings, unsure of where she really was.

Uriah doing some exploring. He seemed to be just as happy playing in a car or truck as he was wandering around.

The three little ones relaxing. This was just after Uriah's nasty spill on a trike. He was going downhill so fast that he got scared, put his feet down and went head over heels over the handlebars. The result, his first scrapes: one on his elbow, one on his knee and one on the top of his hand. You can kind of see the one on his knee in this picture. Grandpa got a video of the crash that I am hoping to get up on here soon. I think Uriah was pretty lucky, considering!

If I hadn't been so sick, I would have enjoyed myself so much more, but it was still lots of fun. The really hard part was that night. I couldn't sleep because my nose was 100% plugged, no air getting through at all, so I had to breathe through my mouth. I also had been fighting a fever so I had the chills and was trying to scrunch myself up in my sleeping bag, and I had to go to the bathroom but I was too chicken to get out of the tent and make the walk to the out house. Eventually I had to do it, and once I went to the bathroom, had taken some tylenol and put on a jacket, I finally starting dozing off. Then about an hour later I woke up sweating all over and too hot, and then about an hour later Jordyn had woken up and decided she didn't want to sleep in the car seat anymore. Needless to say, I didn't actually start sleeping well until the sun started to come up, but a little sleep is better than none at all. We have another camping trip coming up in the middle of July, and I'm hoping that one will be much better.

June Bugs

Part of me wants to say, is it July yet?? and part of me wants to say, June has gone by too fast! We all know that once July comes, the summer is over before we know it! That's usually the month when all the fun stuff happens. Although July has a lot in store for us this summer, June was fun-filled as well. On the 19th we had Uriah's 2nd birthday party. It was lots of fun. The weather was nice...kind of. It was a beautiful, sunny day while I was putting up the decorations and getting everything set up. When people showed up and started eating the weather was even more beautiful. But as soon as everyone got settled it started to rain, so we moved everything under the awning and the rain continued...for 5 minutes. Then we all shuffled back to the lawn for about half an hour, and it started to rain again, and it rained for 10 minutes. By that time we had moved inside to have cake and ice cream, but after the dessert and presents we went back outside and it was sunny again. Uriah had some really good support from his family and he had a good time playing with his cousins.

Uriah got a xylophone for his birthday. At first, he didn't really know what it was...

...but as soon as he realized what it did, he got very excited!

This is Uriah's freakin' AWESOME cake! A friend made it for me and I was completely taken back by the quality. When she said she could make a train, I thought she meant she could cut a sheet cake into the shape of a train, and then when she showed up at my door with this I fell in love with it. I almost didn't want to eat it! The car had chopped up Reeses cups in it and the cake under the frosting was chocolate, and it was soooo soft and delicious! Yum yum. I will definitely call on my friend for Uriah's 3rd birthday!

New shirt from grandma. It had a cute pair of brown shorts with white stripes that matched.

A cool spider man ball from Aunt & Uncle Stearns. Uriah loves to throw, and it was perfect.

Jordyn loved being outside during the party. Grandma got this saucer at a yard sale for $5 and it has been absolutely perfect for Jordyn. She loves to play in it and the toys on it keep her entertained for long periods of time.

I decided last minute that there would be a little train theme for the party, so I found this balloon at the $1 store. I thought it was very cute.

Uriah was having a great time until mommy put a party hat on his head and accidentally snapped the strap around his neck...it hurt, and he didn't like it at all!

Mommy couldn't afford to go buy birthday wrapping paper, but luckily I still had this huge roll of Christmas paper that I bought at Costco a few years ago, and that works perfectly for any kind of present.

Daddy's gift to Uriah. Even though he is only 2, Daddy can't wait for Uriah to play catch with him!

More presents. This one was baby bubble bath and it had $3 in quarters taped to it. Uriah actually got so much money this year for his birthday that we started putting it in a little piggy bank for him. He has more money than mommy and daddy! (^_^)

He looks easy, but he's not. The kids couldn't break him open no matter how hard they tried. Luckily, you weren't actually supposed to break him open. The instructions said that you were to pull one ribbon at a time (hooked to his pants) and only one ribbon would open him up and let the candy fall out. I thought that was boring and let the kids beat on him, but eventually we had to pull his square pants down.

Just some decorating I did.

Uriah's cake, before I put the candles in.

I can't believe that my little man is two. It feels like it wasn't that long ago, but at the same time I feel like he's always been a part of my life. I love him so much and I feel truly blessed to be his mother. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for such a wonderful blessing!

Forgotten But Not Lost

I forgot to add a few things to my last post before I stopped writing. A little while ago I got Jordyn a little bath chair to put in the tub because #1) I got tired of having to take a bath every time she needed one #2) Our sinks are way too small to bathe her in and #3) It really put a strain on my back and shoulders and legs to hang over the tub to bathe her. This cute little pink chair really helps because it elevates her high enough to where it isn't a strain for me to reach in the tub and wash her, plus she really likes it and I think it's cute.

Uriah is a big ham and loves to smile for the camera. In fact, the other day when grandpa wasn't paying attention, Uriah picked up grandpa's camera, stuck it right up to a dog's wet nose and said "smile!" It was so cute, I wish I could have gotten it on video. So whenever Uriah sees someone holding a camera or sees one lying around, he picks it up and says "smile!"

Whenever I sweep the floor, Uriah gets really mad if I don't let him help. I usually don't let him hold the broom because a lot of things get hurt when he swings it around, but I decided to let him hold it just once and what does he do? He starts sweeping the floor. So cute!

I love my little children. I wouldn't replace them with anything in the whole world!

So Far, So June

It has almost been a month since I've written. Naughty me! Although I can't really remember anything really fantastic happening in the past month, I guess I should look at every day as fantastic, because I am alive, breathing, my family is alive and well and I am very blessed.When the weather is nice I have been taking the kids to the park to play, usually after I would walk for 2 or 3 miles. Sometimes we will go visit grandma and grandpa because they have a fenced in back yard. G&G have a small swing set and the park by our house has a lot of toys. Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying good weather.

The kids are just growing, growing, growing! Jordyn will be 6 months on the 23 and Uriah will be 2 on the 21. I can't believe that it was two years ago that I was ready to pop little Uriah out and that he would soon be a part of our lives. He makes me so happy. He loves to give hugs and kisses and even though it kind of annoys me when he pulls on my shirt or hugs my legs, I know it is because he loves his mommy. Jordyn just rolls and rolls and rolls and rolls anywhere she wants to. When she is on her tummy she lifts herself up with her arms and then shoves herself backwards. Then when she can't go anymore she starts to get fussy. It's so cute to see her scoot backwards instead of forwards. She is really close to getting her knees up under her and then before we know it she will be crawling. She can also sit up really well. She is still a little tipsy but she can sit up straight for about 30 seconds or more. Uriah loves sharing a room with his baby sister, although we frequently find him in the crib laying by her or on top of her, giving her hugs and kisses and saying "night night". We have to teach him that it's not okay to lay on top of her, but she just smiles and coos at him when he does.

When Jared started his summer classes we got a little bit of financial aid, which I went and splurged (partially) on a new stroller. What we really dreamed for was a charriot, but those run just under $1000, so there was no way we were going to buy one of those. Anyway, I settled for a two kid Jeep stroller. It can even hold a car seat if you have one to use, so that is what we do when we put Jordyn in it. Ever since I got it I've taken the kids for walks almost every week day and it has really been worth the money. It is a little heavy of course, but that just adds to my workout. Jordyn loves that she can see mommy the whole time and Uriah really likes that he has his own steering wheel and cup holder for snacks or for his sippy cup.

The weather has been on and off nice and not so nice. The week of Memorial Day it rained pretty much every day until the weekend, which is odd for our area. I love it when it rains, but when it's 5 straight days in a row I figure I might as well move to Seattle (^_^)

My brother and sis-in-law had a house warming party because they moved into a new apartment and we had a good time eating food and chatting. The kids had some fun too, and we sneaked Jordyn her first taste of whipped cream.