NOSMO KING

Did you ever read that Beverly Cleary book where Ramona tries to get her dad to quit smoking. She makes a big sign that says "No Smoking", except she doesn't have enough room so she writes, "NO SMO" on one line and "KING" on the next and her dad makes a joke about it and asks her who the "Nosmo King" is.

And for some reason, that has stuck with me for all these years. I don't even remember if her dad quit or not. So many important things I can't remember, but I remember the Nosmo King.

Can you believe those eyes? I will never be ready for her to start dating.

Kayli and I had this conversation a few weeks ago:

K: Jesa's mom (our next door neighbors) is going to quit smoking.

Me: Really? How do you know that?

K: She said so.

M: Really? What exactly did she say? (Don't get me wrong, I'd love for her to quit--it's just that something about where this conversation was going made me a little suspicious).

K: She was outside smoking and I said, "You shouldn't smoke. It's bad for you." And she said, "You're right, I really should quit."

I'm proud of her for standing up for what's right and trying to make a positive difference. But I'll be honest, I'm glad I wasn't there.

Flyin'

That's what time is doing around here. Somehow, Treyton turned one-month old on Saturday!

(Sigh).

He is still adorable

See?

We don't really have stats for him. He's somewhere around 10 pounds. He's pretty good at grabbing onto things--hair, the railing on his changing table--and looking totally bewildered by something being in his hand. He's very content. He pretty much only cries when he's hungry, and we try to avoid him getting to that point, so he almost never cries. Except when his brother or sister touches him. Yeah, he's not their biggest fan. I'm sure that will come. And at least they are completely oblivious to this. They just keep commenting on how cute he is. Just like everyone who lays eyes on him.

Here's Bryce at the same age--Can you tell they're brothers?

And here's how big he is now. Ever since Treyton was born, Bryce seems HUGE!

I love when babies sleep like this. So peaceful and precious.

Excuses, Excuses

My kids try everything they can think of to have an excuse to get back out of bed after being tucked in at night.

I'm pretty sure most kids do this. I know I did.

"But I need a drink!"

"But I need to go potty!"

"But my bedspread is falling off!"

"But I can't find my special blankie!"

"But you forgot to turn on my songs!"

"But I have itchies!" (We have eczema around here, requiring frequent applications of lotion)

But last night Bryce came up with a pretty original excuse, after exhausting all of the above and still finding himself being sent to bed.

"But I have a weally big booger and I can't get it out!"

I did a poor job of containing my laughter while I helped him blow his nose--and then I sent him off to bed.

At least he's creative.

Random Update

Since time seems to fly whether we're having fun, or not (but, of course, we are having fun), I'm just going to give you a quick post on what everyone is up to these days:

Blake--busy wearing 40 billion different hats (i.e. Daddy, business man, Elder's Quorum Pres, basketball champ, etc.). Doing a great job at all of them. And looking pretty sexy in all those hats, too.

Me--trying to wash my hair at least once a week.

Kayli--has a loose tooth. A loose tooth! How did that happen?! And why am I having a harder time with this than with her Kindergarten physical scheduled for next week? She is SUPER excited to lose a tooth. I'm happy for her in her excitement, but for me--I'm just not ready for that much growing up.

Bryce--is officially I.N.S.A.N.E. I'm ready to throw him out the window. He frequently says things like, "I'm going to eat you up!" and "I'm going to smash you!" and "I'll smack your face!" We're afraid. At least he hasn't taken any of this aggression out on the baby. Keep your fingers crossed. As hard as you can.

Treyton--had his unofficial (as in, I'm not sure) smile last Friday. Had his first official smile yesterday. First two, actually. One for me and then one for his daddy. Such a good baby! He still hasn't made it to 10 lbs. That is unheard of for our babies. He'll be one month old tomorrow. I'm even less okay with that than I am with the loose tooth. Stop growing up!

Zima--enrolled in her first training course and is already advanced. And she hasn't gotten into the garden at all since we finally finished planting on Monday. We're so proud of her. The birds keep eating her food and she just calmly stares at them through the sliding glass door. Does anyone else think this is weird, on all sides? Kayli is concerned that the birds are going to die from it. Is dog food poisonous to other animals?

Girl's Night

This morning we ventured out to the dog run for our poor neglected Zima. I carried Treyton in the Moby Wrap (love love LOVE this!) while Kayli, Bryce, and Zima took off running. And I just prayed that the kids didn't end up in the creek. I wasn't sure how I could jump in to save them with Treton tied to my chest. And then I would have to choose between two of my children, and what's a mom to do?

Yes, I really went through this thought process. Yes, I'm still a little crazy from the hormones and sleep deprivation.

After giving the dog her dues, we headed over to the park so the kids could romp and play as well. As I stood there holding a whining dog on a leash with a baby strapped to my body, while trying to talk to my five and three year olds, I noticed the other women at the park look up and stare at me. Like I was crazy. And they didn't even try to hide their stares or their comments about how I had my hands full. Umm... thanks.

But really, it all went pretty well. The kids didn't fall into the creek at the dog run, they only got moderately muddy, the baby only cried for a couple minutes at the park and then went back to sleep, Zima only terrified one poor little girl when she suddenly barked while the little girl was petting her (in her defense, she was barking out of frustration at not being allowed to run and play with all the kids on the playscape--she was not barking at the little girl), and no one peed their pants.

Take that, all you people who looked at me this morning like I'd gone mental! It doesn't get much more successful than that.

Anyway, moving on.

Lest you feel bad thinking that Kayli and I had a lame weekend while the boys were out having fun and getting dirty--

We didn't. We had an AWESOME time ourselves. And we stayed clean.

First we had to help the boys get out the door, so we could meet a friend for dinner. Then we got ice cream sundaes. Kayli was pretty pleased because I let her have her own. Our friend had to leave early, so it was just the two of us by this time. And Kayli was talking a mile a minute. It was really fun to listen to her.

Then we headed home and watched "Scooby Doo on Zombie Island". Grandma Cindy got it for her while she was visiting and Kayli has REALLY been wanting me to see it. So, we all cuddled on the couch and indulged her recent Scooby-craze.

The next morning we entertained ourselves with this awesome feature of our sweet iMac:

Only, I didn't feel like committing to any photos, so you get this one that Blake (foolishly) documented

The photo booth is a recent discovery, but we have passed away a lot of time giggling at our funny faces.

Back to our AWESOME girls' weekend--then we walked/rode our scooter/rode in our stroller down to the park and beyond. So fun.

We missed our guys, but it was really good to have some time together just us (plus a little baby, but he slept most of the time).

And then it was fun to all be together again.

Kayli had another violin recital on Saturday, but in our rush to get her there on time, the camera stayed home on the couch. So, no pictures. I did record it on the video camera. It wasn't her best effort ever, but she sure did look adorable up on that stage.

And Sunday we spent relaxing after church

And Kayli and Bryce practiced perfecting these weird goofy smiles.

The End.

Boys, Tents, & Dirt

A.K.A. Fathers & Sons Camp Out.

Really, Blake should be writing this post because he was there and I wasn't. But at the rate his to-do list is growing, I'll just improvise. Feel free to add your own commentary, Honey.

Bryce proudly showing off their tent, which almost wasn't. Blake had the great idea to practice setting it up the night before to make sure he could. That really is a great idea. Losing one of the main tent poles under the couch, however, is NOT. Fortunately for him, marrying me was another one of his great ideas (the best, really) and I discovered said tent pole before they left for their fun night out.

Since he is walking away from the pavilion/fire pit, I thought he was holding some dinner in his hand.

Skittles. What a nutritious dinner.

And I'm told they didn't brush their teeth. Not that I expected them too. While I was packing their toothbrushes, Blake was grabbing a pack of gum saying it would do the job.

And, of course, they took along all of our official and essential camping gear:

What? You didn't bring along your Blackberry when you went camping?

This is Blake thinking of me

This is when he remembered that I wasn't there and he'd have to spend the night without me

And here they are the morning after. See Bryce's pants? I'm not sure how they got wet because I was told that he was only wearing his skivvies when he was playing in the creek.

They had a great time eating hot dogs and s'mores, staying up late, playing with the flashlight, hiking, and playing in the aforementioned creek. Bryce was so cute and excited when he came home and told me all about it.

But they did come home dirty and smelly. Apparently, the creek had been fairly muddy. This led to me saying to my little boy, "You've got mud on your face." Which of course, led to me saying, "You big disgrace."

And he just looked at me like I was weird.

Then I sent them both off to the shower.

Yay for Cuteness!

I have some friends who are fabulous photographers. I would love to have that skill--and one of their beautiful cameras to go with it. But I don't--not yet, anyway.

So, two of these friends offered (actually, they requested, as if I was doing them the favor) to take newborn pics of Trey.

And they turned out SO DANG CUTE!!!

I got them to take a few of all of the kids. Little did I know how well they would capture each of the kids' attitudes these days.

Bryce and Kayli were SO happy to be getting photographed while their friends played downstairs

I couldn't think of anywhere better to be

Can you believe he's tiny enough to fit in a bowl?

Things I love about newborns: Hairy shoulders, uncontrollable tongues,

Furrowed brows, and wrinkly skin

Thanks, Anna & Jesa! Sorry again about the blanket!

Busy Taking it Easy

That's why you didn't hear from us last week.

Blake's mom came out to help us and it was great. I spent the week sleeping in and taking naps while the kids kept Grandma busy and they loved every minute of it.

But first, Kayli got to go to a Princess Party at her friend's house.

Can you tell how excited our pretty little princess was? She got to spend the afternoon jumping in a bouncy house and eating hot dogs and Cheetos. A princess's dream come true.

And then she had a little run in with a sharp stone and ripped off a toenail.

It was really bad until she was reminded of the play date with another friend who was about to move away--and suddenly her toe didn't hurt so bad. I dropped her off and then made a quick trip to the grocery store (with just the baby, how could I resist an outing?!). When I got back she was running around barefoot in the sand as if nothing had happened. That's the best treatment for a ripped off toenail, I'm pretty sure.

Fortunately, Grandma Cindy arrived later that night and kept her to toe-friendly activities.

Like sidewalk chalk art--thanks to their cousins Ella and Christian for the great gift!

Serious concentration required here

Have my kids ever looked better?

Still focused--and completely covered in chalk from head to toe by the time it was over

And here is Blake sporting our new everyday attire

Grandma was pretty difficult to catch on camera--mostly because I kept forgetting to break out the camera

Grandma gave the kids this cute picnic table and they want to eat at it every meal--they love it!

So, we didn't really do anything exciting, but we're really grateful to Blake's mom for coming out and helping us get some much needed rest and the kids get some much needed attention and playtime. Thanks again!

Happy Mommy's Day!

Last year's Mother's Day was not so great. We'd just completed our loooong journey moving here the day before and everyone but me was suuuuuuuuuuuper sick. So, we were all exhausted from the long drive and then the kids waking up all night long and we were surrounded by all of our belongings in about a billion boxes.

So, I went to church by myself and then came home and took care of everyone and unpacked.

And nobody felt up to do anything for me for Mother's Day. And I had a little pity party.

Hurray for living here for one year!!!

This year's Mother's Day was... AWESOME!!

But first, I stole this idea from my little sister's blog. I did a little quiz with the kids about me. You can tell who is the helpful one and who is the ridiculous one.

My Mom looks prettiest when:

Kayli--My dad says she looks smoking fire hot

Bryce--With her eyes out

My mom's favorite food is:

Kayli--Peppers

Bryce--Shrimp

(Kayli hates peppers, so whenever we eat them, I always say, "I LOVE peppers!" to try to encourage her to try them. I am NOT a shrimp fan.)

My mom's eyes are:

Kayli--Beautiful

Bryce--Boogers are in them

(Treyton has a clogged duct and it looks like he has boogers in his eye. I'm guessing that's where this one came from?)

My mom likes to:

Kayli--Play with me

Bryce--Do nothing

My mom is happy when:

Kayli--I tickle her neck

Bryce--When I turn on the light at night when I'm sleeping

My mom is __ years old:

Kayli--12

Bryce--5

If my mom could go anywhere, she would go:

Kayli--To a haunted house

Bryce--Into a haunted house where a skeleton lives

My mom's best friend is:

Kayli--Daddy

Bryce--Anna

My mom's job is:

Kayli--To play with us

Bryce--Driving a car

I love my mom because:

Kayli--It's Mother's Day and I give her presents

Bryce--Because she gives us baths

And I'm sure this one would have had only sweet things to say, if he only could

In the beautiful blanket my mom sent

From the moment she woke up, Kayli couldn't wait to open presents

Blake gave me some jelly roll pans that I've been wanting for forever (thanks to some help from his mom!)

Kayli picked this one out all by herself and could not wait to give it to me

I kind of guessed what Blake got me beforehand (I just know how to read him way too well), but I never would have guessed what Kayli got me--even with her clues of "It's reusable and colorful!"

They're ice cubes. And they're colorful and reusable. And she's so cute!

And he was supposed to give me these bubbles I guess, but he decided to open them and keep them for himself. It's a good thing he's so cute.

These are the cute cards my cute kids made for me. Kayli was so excited to give me hers, she woke me up to present me with it. Bryce asked if we could mail his to his Aunt Melanie. Sorry Mel, I refused.

In addition to all these fabulous gifts, they let me sleep in (after the cute card and an early morning date with Treyton, of course), and take a nap, and Blake made me dinner. And Treyton gave me a belated gift of his best night of sleep ever.

Thanks wonderful family!!!

And Happy Mother's Day again to our two wonderful moms!

Addiction

I can't get enough of this:

He is seriously like a drug for me. Life is far from perfect right now, but somehow this little guy has a way of making me forget all of the garbage.

I just get kind of lost in his adorable sweetness

Not to mention that fuzzy head

I LOVE his fuzzy head

And these tiny toes are almost too cute to cover up

This is one addiction I hope to never recover from.