Good Night

I was up reading to Wesley while Brady put Aubrey to bed and when I went in to check on them, this is what I found...............

If I could laugh with out hurting, I would have burst out hysterically and woke them up. Isn't this a priceless picture? He usually puts her in HER bed and lays down by her. This is the first time I have caught them in Cali's crib. I guess since Cali is in our bedroom for a while, the crib is still up for grabs.

Every night Brady goes in with the kids to read to them. Wesley always looks forward to this time. 99.9% of the time, Brady falls asleep reading and then wakes up and staggers down the stairs and falls into our bed. Gotta love those bedtime stories.

Cali spends a lot of her time, sleeping on me. She is such a sweet little thing; I don't mind at all. She is starting to open her eyes more and looks around, just taking in the world around her. Wesley was holding her last night and he said to her, as he gently brushed her cheek with his fingertips, "Cali, you are so beautiful." And then he kissed her on the forehead. What a tender little guy he can be! Both Wes and Aubrey adore this sweet baby. But can you blame them?

More Pics...

Cali and I got to come home yesterday! Hooray! We are doing well. Cali is a bit gassy....especially at night between 1 am and 4 am, or so. She cries and cries. I gave her some of Peter Gillhams Baby Calm today........so hopefully she will do better. I am happy to have her here though. I feel so much better!

The classic car seat picture....I am pretty sure we have one just like this of each of our kids. This picture was taken at the hospital.

Can you believe we actually fit all 3 kids (2 car seats and a booster) in the back of our little Honda???

Cali hasn't opened her eyes much since she was born. So, when she does, it is a big deal! She has opened them a lot more today. So, this is a rare picture. I think she looks more and more like Aubrey did.

We decided to name her Cali a while ago. I debate on how to spell it. But I like the shorter CALI vs CALLIE. One week, on our way to church, I noticed a Cali Dr; and wouldn't you know it is the street that the hospital is on! If you look out of the window of the room I was in, Cali Dr is one of the 2 streets you see. Pretty funny. But, I like the name and I like how it is spelled. So, we kept it Cali. Our little good luck charm, Cali, born on Cali Dr.

Brady and Dr. Hulme. I am glad he made it in time. :) He did a great job.

Our 3 wonderful children! Wes and Aubrey are so sweet with their little sister. Wesley is very tender with her. Aubrey is very helpful. :)

The kids got to go for a little ride in the security car one day when they came to visit. They really liked that.

Diego and Dora were at Chik Fil A the evening after Cali was born. So, Brady took them to dinner and to see them. Aubrey loves Dora. Brady said she didn't know what to think of this Dora though. He also said that Wesley thought it was cool to meet Diego.

Aubrey and Dora. I personally think that is a goofy looking Dora.

Happy Birthday Cali!!! She Has Arrived!!!

Well, Debbie finally got to the end. Cali has come to the world. What a wonderful day. We went to the hospital around 5-5:30 am. Cali was born March 17th 8:12 am weighing 8 lbs 2 oz. and measuring 20.5 inches long.
Mother and Baby are doing great. Here are some pictures to introduce Cali to everyone.


30 minutes old


About 2 hrs old


Debbie is doing good and there were no complications. Also, Brady made it through the delivery without passing out.

Wesley really loves his new baby sister. He likes to pet her head softly. Cali didn't open her eyes much until Wesley and Aubrey came to visit. She wanted to see her brother and sister.

Aubrey too loves her baby sister. She likes to give hugs and kisses. Aubrey was also really excited to see Debbie and is a little sad that mom won't be home for a couple of days.

Thanks for all the love and support from our family and friends.

Humph! Well....

It was a looonnnggg day today. I honestly thought we were going to have a baby by this morning. But, nope. Here I am. Feeling like I am trapped in some pregnancy dream that will never end. I contracted from late afternoon until about 1:30 am every 7-15 minutes....occasionally we went 20 minutes, yesterday. So, of course we just waited and waited for them to start coming more regular and harder. Never happened. I was getting myself so excited to meet our new little girl. Then morning came, and NOTHING. I was a little worried because at my appointment yesterday I was dilated to ALMOST a 4. I went so fast with Aubrey I was worried that maybe last night did dilate me more, even though I never went into full labor. So, Brady finally convinced me to call and talk to my doctors nurse. She advised me to go to OB Observation and get checked, just for the peace of mind. So, we did. (thank you Ellen for taking Aubrey even though she isn't feeling well! And Rebecca for taking Wes). Thankfully, for the sake of my peace of mind, there were no changes. I only had 3 contractions in the hour I was monitored. So, I got to come home and we are holding out a while longer. Maybe she really is going to hold out for the 18th? I have this fear she may hold out longer!! Ahhh!! Anyway, it has ended up to be a HUGE blessing in disguise that she really didn't come last night. Both of the kids have colds and as the day has gone on, Aubrey has gotten worse. I would have felt terrible if we had this baby and then the kids couldn't even come see her. So, as anxious as I am, I am grateful I didn't get my way last night.
Wesley was sooo excited thinking we had gone to the hospital to get the baby. I told him we had to wait a bit longer for Cali and he said, "But she needs to come now so that she can be with her friends." or something to that effect. It was very cute. He is so excited. And the poison ivy thing.....99% better. He still gets a bit itchy, but the rash is pretty much gone.

I was looking through some pics and found this one of Brady and I at the Oakland temple. This was taken the June before Wesley was born in August, at his sisters wedding. Brady was in Illinois doing an internship and I stayed behind in Provo. We met in CA for the wedding and got to see each other for a few days. I am glad he is not gone now.......I'd make it because sometimes you just have to. But, it sure is nice to have him around. I cannot tell you how much I love this man! He is amazing to me.


This next picture is a little glance into our last Family Home Evening. We sang a song, and then the kids drug out some of my kitchen supplies and "made food" for us. I think we threw in a line or two about how blessed we are to have food and we should thank Heavenly Father for all we have. Wesley is so cute lately; Well he is always, but his mealtime prayers have been especially cute. He always says, "and bless the people in this world who don't have food...". Quite the step up from, "Bless this day, amen.". I love kids. I love to hear them pray. It is so sweet.

Poor, Poor, Wesley

We had to journal Wesley's first experience with poison oak/ivy (we aren't sure which he got into). He is covered in this rash from head to toe. I wish the pics showed it better. It is all red and welted. For those who live in the Houston area, the Mercer Arboretum does indeed have a few shrubs of poison oak and ivy growing on the Arboretum side of the park. So, beware of leaving the path :) Which is to bad because there are so many pretty things to see off the path. *sigh*

Wesley is in good spirits though. He got his feet eaten up by a couple of fire ants tonight also....so he just thinks the rash is really from the fire ants. He is such a crack up; He walked into our bedroom tonight and said, "I am hungry for something black and yummy with brown chunks in it." He was referring to a pan of brownies I made the other night, of which he has eaten practically the whole darn pan!!! I said to him, "Oh, you want some spinach?" and he said, "Noooo! Brownies!". This morning he was frustrated with Aubrey and said to me, "I don't like 2 year olds and I don't like girls!!". I really need to start carrying a note book around so I can write all the funny things he says down because I don't always remember them all. Before dinner he was in to the brownies and I told him to stay out of the brownies until after dinner. I had to physically remove him from the brownie pan because he just ignored me and kept eating. He got really frustrated about that and yelled at me, "I hate moms because they never let kids eat brownies!" Oh my goodness! It is so hard not to just laugh at things like that. I held my laugh and told him not to talk ugly to me. He just stomped away. Little stinker. So, the rash has not phased him to much........he's quite itchy, but still his spunky, funny self.

I love our kids!!!!

What a Good Sport!!

Little Miss Aubrey has been a pill lately; she squirms around and cries, "ouch, ouch mom!" while I am trying to fix her hair. Now, I know it is all fake because as soon as I say, "sit still and let me fix your hair and you can have some candy" I have immediate cooperation and the cries of "ouch" stop. She is a smart girl, eh?? Well, this afternoon I was trying to get her ready so we could take a family pic to send to Brady's cousin, so I got her to hold still and cooperate by getting her super cool daddy to come in and paint her fingernails and toenails for her. But that was not enough for her, she then wanted to paint his toes and fingers. So, after he was done with her she said, "okay dad, my turn paint yours toes". So, he propped his feet up on the counter and let her go to town. I heard him mumble a couple of times, "this better come off", but otherwise he sat there like a good daddy while she literally painted, not just the nails, but the whole upper half of his toes. He did draw the line when she wanted to paint his fingers too. It was very cute to watch, and I got her hair fixed all cute for the family pic. HOORAY! Thanks for being such a good sport daddy!!

I LOVE her curls!! They are so sweet.

What a professional!!

Lovely, hu? I know, you are all anxious to come over and let her at your toes too.

Such concentration.

And here is our family picture. Shell, Cass....do you see how DARK my roots are?? Can't one of y'all take a business trip and come help me out???

And a better view of my big belly at 36 weeks and 4 days. We're still hangin' in here....BARELY!! We went to Lupe Tortilla today for dinner.......it is all a lie; Mexican food does not put this pregnant woman into labor. But it sure tastes good. :) I didn't finish my meal, I brought it home because it was killing me to sit there in those darn chairs. Uhggg!!! The kids had fun and played in the sandbox just about the whole time.

Brady and the kids did some work in the yard, washed the car, and cleaned the garage today. So, it was a nice and eventful Saturday.

Gardening: I Have a Question???

I don't know that we will get around to doing much gardening in the next few months. But I have a question: If I prune my tomato plant will it come back and produce this spring??? Can anybody answer that for me??

Here is a couple of pics of the poor guy, taken in December. We were shocked to see, at the end of its poor shriveled and dead looking limbs, TWO small tomatoes struggling for dear life. Isn't that funny??

Here is a close up.

Here is our poor little plant. It grew very tall. If I do prune it, how far do I go??? Or do I just throw this guy away and start over??? The fact that it produced in December makes me think there is life to it and that there is a good chance it will revitalize. But I am no gardener for sure. So, any advice is welcome.

CRAFT IT FORWARD

I am giving in...........so here goes:


Craft It Forward Exchange is based on the concept of the movie "Pay it forward". I will send a hand made gift to the first three people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join the CIF exchange. All the gifts will be made and sent out 'sometime within the next year'. How exciting to not know when your surprise package will arrive! What you need to do in return, is craft it forward by making the same promise on your blog. This exchange is only open to those with active websites or blogs. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PROMISE TO POST THIS SAME 'CRAFT IT FORWARD' MESSAGE ONTO YOUR BLOG, WHICH MUST BE ACTIVE IN ORDER TO PLAY. YOU WILL CRAFT IT FORWARD TO THREE PEOPLE WHO COMMENT ON YOUR BLOG. I'd love for you to join me! Will you? Other comments are welcome, but only the first three will be my Craft It Forward recipients. Come and join me who doesn't love a gift or giving gifts???This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!2- What I create will be just for you.3- It'll be done this year.4- You have no clue what it's going to be or when.5- The catch is that you must post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog

A Whole Lotta Fluffin' Goin' On Here

NO! Not that kind of "fluff", Granny Ann. Sheesh!

This kind of fluff.............

It started out as a nice little bubble bath. I left the kids for a moment to get their dinner in the oven (corn dogs! mmmm). Then sat down to take a little rest; And when I returned.....

This is what I found! For those who may not know, this is what happens when you have bubble bath in the tub and turn on the jets:)

Fun, hu? I really wanted to join them; But I am just to large at this time. I wouldn't have fit in the tub with them. I was lucky I got the 'before' picture so you can see just how fluffy the jets make things. I thought it was so cute to see the kids making themselves look like Santa. I remember doing that same thing. I was never fortunate enough to have jets though, dang it. But now.....hmmmmmmmmm. LOL

And here..........

Is more fluff. My latest creation for the front door. I am lovin' the fluffy, tulle wreathes. They are so fun. AND easy!!!