Only 2 More Days...

I have just spent the last 2 hourse reading up on everything I can about being prepared for my first sprint triathlon (which will take place this Saturday morning.) Little tricks, the transitions, products I NEED to have, etc. etc. I have all of the sudden become very nervous. Part of me thinks, "What was I thinking? I am going to look so silly and come in last place." And the other part of me thinks, "You will do awesome! Go out and give it your best!" I had a training schedule I followed loosly. I feel ready (for the most part), but there's just that part of me that knows I'm going to make a fool out of myself. Why do I think this? Because there was that one day I didn't make it to the gym because my son was sick and home from school. And that other day I just couldn't get out of the house because my baby seemed hungry every hour and fussy every minute in between. And that other day I didn't even make it out of my pajamas because I was so exhausted from being up all night with a daughter who had tummy trouble. And that one day where the laundry just seemed to literally explode out of the hampers and begged to be washed. I have to remind myself that I am a wife and mother first. Everything else in life has to come after that. I have to believe I will be blessed for my efforts, right? At this point, I am just looking forward to it being over so I can say I did it and I worried for nothing and it all turned out great and I loved every minute. Wish me luck!

Getting My Jollies From a Few Silly Boys

As a mother I get several good, hearty laughs each and every day. Especially from those crazy boys of mine. Now, don't get me wrong. My girls are absolutely hilarious, and oh-so-witty. But there is just something about those funny, silly boys and the blatent things they do. Even Magnus gives me a few laughs here and there. And he doesn't even know it :)


One day Andy called me in to come see Bear.... he had set this up to make it look like Bear was really holding Magnus on his shoulders (even though Andy is really behind the wall holding M up ;) It cracked me up!

Look at this kid! I laid him on his stomach for tummy time, came back a few minutes later and saw him like this. Face-planted in the couch. Asleep. Made me laugh. Doesn't that look so uncomfortable?!

Here's this kid thinking he's all that after he found my shoes and click-clacked around in them for at least 1/2 hour. Pretty cute. And pretty funny.

What is it with kids and laundry baskets? This kid will sit and play with an empty laundry basket for over an hour.

This is what happens numerous times a day after I nurse Mr. M. The first time it happened I laughed so loud I startled him and made him cry. His ear will just stick like that until I peel it off his face!

I don't know why I thought this was so funny. Andy put Magnus in the swing at the park and he just looked like he was peeking out of an egg or something. He looked so funny. And he loved the swing. Funny kid.And here we have another uncomfortable sleeping spot. In the bumbo. One minute watching me do the dishes, the next minute, out! So cute.

This was too hilarious. I was doing laundry and when I picked up a pair of Jonah's pants, they were extra heavy and extra jingly. I started emptying pockets and the stuff just kept coming! The kid is obsessed with STUFF. Literally. He finds it on the ground, he sticks it in his pocket. Silly kid.A nice little collection of bottlecaps.... I'll give you one guess what most people drink around here.... ;) Don't worry-these went straight to the trashcan afterwards.

The erasur collection

The random stuff collection

And about 100 sillybandz.

All that stuff in 2 little pockets.

I have no idea where these funny boys get their silliness....

Certainly not this guy:

Hmmmm.... what do you think? Could they be related?

Get Outta My Kitchen!

Um, that pot is supposed to be ROUND.... not flat on one side. I asked Laylah how it happened because Andy just kept laughing and couldn't get it out. She said he was joking around and tossing the pot from one hand to the other and the he missed it and it fell on the ground. It made that big dent in it! I couldn't believe he had ruined my pot! We got this set of pots and pans for our wedding and they are awesome. I love them and they are still in great shape. Well, they were....



Andy's not allowed to cook anymore, in case you were wondering :)

No Leprechaun's Allowed

Ohhhhh, St. Patrick's Day. Kind of fun, but mostly silly. It's not my favorite holiday, but the kids love it. I can't believe how "into" it some people get. Leprechaun's coming into houses, turning toilet water green, making mischief and messes and the like.

Not in my house. I'm no fun.... and I'm kind of lazy :) At school, the teachers do a lot of fun and exciting things for the kids, so I have always told my kids that the Leprechaun's make mischief at school and then they decide to be nice and bring us a treat afterwards at home.

We always do our traditional green pancakes and milk.Everyone wears their green too, of course :) (oh, Bear hadn't gotten dressed for the day yet.) He was begging me to help him after we all kept giving him little pinches and giggling. He should have worn green jammies to bed like everyone else did! He can't say I didn't warn him...!

The yummy treat the Leprechaun's brought us after they were done causing mischief at school!!

Happy St. Paddy's everyone!

And Then He Left Us to Go Have Some Fun...

A few weeks ago Andy went to Utah for a visit. I surprised him with help from my wonderful friend Joanie (thanks again Joanie!) who gave me a buddy pass for him. He was ecstatic. I knew he was needing a break from life. He had been wanting to go see his awesome little brother, David, play basketball in the state playoffs. David is a senior in highschool and is an amazing basketball player. He has a scholarship to Utah State University and the week he was playing would be his last for 3 years. He will be red-shirting at Utah State his first year, and then going on his mission, and then he'll come back to play for 4 years.

Anyway, Andy had a great time. I told him to take lots of pictures for me and the following 6 are what I got. And they're blurry, so..... yeah.This is Evan, my adorable nephew. He was a tiny baby when we moved. And now he walks and talks and is cute as ever. He and Magnus are twins born a year apart. That's right, they share the same birthday. Kind of fun :)

Here's cute Bella. She and Baron are about the same age. I can't believe how big she is. They grow up too fast. Cliche. I sound like a grannie.

Not quite sure what's going on here. But aren't they cute? Mmm hmmm. They sure are :)

Here's Ryan, Andy's other brother. I'm assuming that Andy told him to take a picture and Ryan went ahead and took one. Of himself..... so now it gets posted for all to see :)

Andy was super lucky because a few days before he went for his visit was when our cute twin nephews I posted about were born. He got to visit them, and like I said before, I was super jealous. Still am. By the way, doesn't Sarah look A-mazing?! She had just given birth to TWO babies less than 2 weeks before. By C-section. Really?! Those jealousy feelings are coming back...

And here's the whole reason for the visit.... Mr. Basketball, David Collette himself. He's the one holding the ball and by holding it, I mean he's not dribbling or shooting. Just holding. I realized after I wrote that sentance that there were about 5 guys with basketballs. Hahaha.

Here's the tip-off. David's in the white on the right (#34)..... and that is the last of the pictures. I guess the game got too good after that!

They did play really well. The won their first game (Monday) and their second (Wednesday). The semi-finals were Friday and the state game was Saturday. David played awesome in the semi-finals, but I guess the rest of the team kind of gave up. David had over half of their total points, and they lost :(

Andy had a great time nonetheless. He said it was relaxing and fun and besides all of his family, he got to see my family and also some friends. Good times. I was glad he had fun.

And don't you worry. While he was away, the kids and I had lots of fun too. I had planned a bunch of stuff and it made the week fly by.


My kids sure are fun. I love 'em.

Everyone loves to hold and have some snuggle time with baby M. He's fun to snug with :)



One morning I heard all of the kids giggling and found them like this playing "sleepover" on the staircase landing. It's times like these when I love my kids more than ever and realize how grateful I am that I had them so close together. They play so well together and are such great friends.

One day we whipped out the Easy-Bake Oven and made pink cake. Even though it took forever, we made them each their own and they frosted and decorated them. It ended up taking so long that the cake was part of our dinner. Fun times when Dad is out of town :)
Yum (except, not really) I took a bite and it was pretty gross. It had the consistancy of play-dough.

The last night before Andy came home, we had a movie night with shakes and popcorn and a sleepover in the family room all together. I was so exhausted from the week of "single parenting" and I fell asleep quickly during the first movie. Apparently, they were all still awake after it was over and Laylah turned on another movie after the first one ended. I kind of woke up halfway through that one and couldn't believe it was midnight and they were all still awake watching movies. I fell back asleep and then woke up a little later again, and they were finally all asleep. So of course, I started taking pictures at 2 AM :)
I moved Bear up to my spot (rather than the hard floor) and then went to my own bed. The next day I found out that Daphne had woken up around 3:30 AM and tried to wake everyone up to start playing. Only Bear would participate and Laylah finally got mad and they went back to sleep. Little stinkers.

It was a fun week overall. Like I said, exhausting, but fun :)

Baby M at 4 Months

Magnus is nearly 4 1/2 months now, but better late than never :)



At Magnus' doctor appointment he weighed 18 pounds (97%) and was 26.5 inches long (95%). I don't remember his head measurement, but it was in the 50%. He just keeps growing and is nearly out of his infant carseat. I can hardly lift it and my hand starts going numb if I have to carry it for any length of time. He is the sweetest little thing. I adore him. He is still on the more serious side...

...But he definitely smiles and laughs and it is music to my ears. He has the funniest little laugh and he is also very ticklish and just giggles over and over.

Around 3 months old he decided that he hated the binky, much to my disappointment. I thought I had had it made and honestly thought people just weren't trying hard enough when they said their babies didn't like binky's and refused to take them. Now I know I was SO wrong and I cannot for the life of me get this boy to suck on a binky. He screams, thrashes around, and has an absolute tantrum if I put that binky anywhere near his mouth. Instead, he decided he likes his thumb.... yikes. I have never wanted a thumb-sucker, but it looks like this kid just might be my one and only. He looooves his thumb and sucks it all the time. It's kind of cute now, but I know in 3 years it sure won't be :)

His hair has also started really falling out. I will run my hand through it and about 10-20 hairs come with it. His crib sheet is covered in tiny, fine, baby hairs. He is nearly bald now.

I also started him on rice cereal. He is not a fan. I hate babyfood. It's such a chore. I just keep trying and he still does not enjoy it. One bit.

Magnus is a great sleeper.... when he doesn't have ear infections, of which he has already had 3. The pediatrician told me that if this trend continues, he'll definitely need tubes by 12 months. I'm counting on it. Jonah had tubes and another of my kids nearly needed them (I can't even remember who.... sad). He goes to bed at 7 PM, sleeps at least 9-10 hours at night, wakes to eat around 4 or 5, and then goes back to bed until about 8 AM. When I go into get him in the morning, I am rewarded with a giant grin and happy baby sounds. I love his talking and baby babble, it is such a sweet little sound. Anyway, hopefully soon he'll be able to go from 7-7 without waking. That will be great.

We all just love this kid. He still has a fussy period starting at 5 PM and usually lasts until he goes to bed. Luckily I have lots of little helpers that hold him or keep him entertained while I make dinner. He loves all of his siblings and especially loves his dad. He will talk and talk and talk to Andy, like they are having their own conversation. It's quite hilarious.

We all love our Mr. Magnus. He's our sweet little lovebug!

Two Tiny Miracles

That turned into mighty miracles.

I wanted to share the story of my brother and sister-in-law, Ryan and Sarah because it was, and continues to be an amazing and miraculous story. It was a faith-building experience for our family as a whole and I'm amazed at both Sarah and Ryan for their strength and testimonies and obvious faith. Ryan is Andy's brother. He and Sarah were married last May (you can find that post HERE). Sarah was (and still is) an incredible vollyball player with a full ride scholarship at the University of Utah. Ryan was a full-time student and full time employee. You can imagine that they were not planning on starting a family for at least a few years. But, as fate would have it, after only a few months of marital bliss, they found out that Sarah was expecting. A few weeks after that, they found out there was not only one little bundle of joy coming to them, but TWO! Two identical twins. It was quit a surprise, but of course, Ry and Sarah were thrilled.

Several weeks into the pregnancy, there were some complications. Sarah started bleeding very heavily and it wouldn't stop. After an ultrasound in the emergency room, 2 little heartbeats were found. The doctors were worried about Sarah and told her that if the bleeding wouldn't stop, it may not be safe to continue with the pregnancy. She was given a priesthood blessing. What an amazing thing, the priesthood. The bleeding came under control and the pregnancy continued.

A few weeks later, another complication arose. Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. If nothing was done about it, the babies had a mere 5% chance of survival. They made the decision to travel to California to have the surgery performed that would hopefully save their babies lives. Their situation was especially precarious as they had several factors working against them. The surgery was a miraculous success! The next 24 hours after surgery are crucial. If both babies had heartbeats after that, their chance of survival was greatly increased. They did, and it was :)

Sarah was on strict bedrest until week 29 when her doctor told her that everything was looking so good that she could come off of bedrest. Sarah was ecstatic, as I'm sure all of you bedrest mama's can imagine!

About a week later, Sarah's water broke at 30 weeks. In the hospital, she was given steriod shots to help the babies lungs develop. She had a 48 hour window they wanted her to get through to receive more steriod shots for the babies lungs to fully develop. She was also given antibiotics to help prevent infection. The doctors goal was to get her to 34 weeks and then they would get those babies outta there!

Those 2 little boys had other plans. Sarah went into labor after only 4 days in the hospital and they decided against stopping the labor and did an emergency c-section. Sweet little Weston Glenn was born first at 4 lbs. 4.5 oz. and 18 inches long. Precious Carter Ryan was born a mere 2 minutes later at 2 lbs. 9.5 oz. and 15.5 inches long. Everything went as well as can be and mama, daddy and babies were happy and healthy! Darling Weston and Ryan

The proud parents and Weston

But again, another challenge came their way. Weston started having bacteria show-up in his blood. They found that he had the beginning stages of necrotizing enterocolitis. Again, the priesthood was used to administer to these innocent baby boys. Weston was transported up to Primary Children's where a doctor decided to perform surgery to see how bad it was. They ended up removing 75% of Weston's small intestine. He had a mere 27 cm left and was only a few centimeters away from being taken off of life support. They had found e-coli in his blood which is what likely started the whole chain of events. Long story short(er), he will have a PICC line for a few years before his intestines grow and develop enough for him to receive enough nutrients from eating regular food. It really was a miracle that this little baby survived. All the while, Carter was still doing amazing and had no signs of infection. Hooray :)

Weston after surgery with 2 holes in his abdomen.

Both sides of Ryan and Sarah's families had a special fast for the boys. They are doing remarkebly well. The goal for Carter is to have him gain, gain, gain weight. He is exclusively on breastmilk now, which is terrific. Weston is doing so well also. There is no sign of infection, he is slowly being weaned off the ventilator (in fact, he may be off it by now), he hasn't needed any more blood products, his jaundice is under control, and the only slight worry is a level 2 brain bleed which should correct itself. They have also started him on a teeny, tiny, amount of breastmilk. It's incredible what he has overcome.

Cute mama Sarah and itty-bitty Carter

Sweet baby Carter

Andy was lucky enough to visit Utah last week and got to see Carter and hold the precious little man. I was green with envy :)

Of course, every baby that comes to earth is incredibly special and an amazing miracle. But when it is your own family, your own flesh and blood, it's different. Your love and will for those babies who have conquered incredible obstacles, each and every one placed in front of them, is intensified and stronger than ever and it is that much more joyous when they succeed. I know these babies are here for a reason and I know Ryan and Sarah were meant to be their parents. These things are not left up to chance. I have a testimony of it, and I know it is true.

Congrats on Weston and Carter, Ryan and Sarah. I love them to pieces already and I cannot wait to meet those cute little stinkers :)