12/7/14

Off to See the Wizard

If you don't see Pam's plays (my mother directs children's musical theater) you are disowned.  So we flew out the week before Thanksgiving to enjoy The Wizard of Oz.
I am a terrible parent who doesn't allow Legos at my house, so the boys get their Lego fix at Grandma Pam's house.
As soon as we arrived most of my siblings descended on Pam and Jim's house to meet Bettylou.  
My sister Ellie and SIL Aubrey both brough their babies to meet their new best friend LouLou.  Babies look good, we do not. 
The only way I'm able to snuggle Ellie's Abe is by switching babies with her.  Abe is 5 months here and we are pals.

Of course we needed to put all of our precious naked babies together for maximum cuteness.
Mornings in the big red chair.  It's pretty rad introducing BL to all of the normal traditional things that the big kids already are so familiar with.
LouLou and Grandma Pam. Yes they both look this good all the time.  Praying I age like Pam.

At the play, which Mimi saw three times.  Bea and Griffin's first show.
Mark in baby bliss.
LouLou was a perfect baby on the airplane and the other kids were excellent. I'm much better at going places with my kids than I am staying home.

New House Orders of Business


We bought a house!


We are thrilled to have bought our first house in SLC.  Why didn't anybody tell us what a grueling process buying a house is?  Thankfully we did it while we were new baby sleep deprived so it's likely we won't remember anything about it and now we have the best house ever! Our home is directly across the street from the school our kids went to last year.  Like I can watch them walk into their school from my bed.  It's a whole new level of amazing.
We got all of our friends back, but none of them knew where we lived. So first order of business, 
Throw a Party!
Rather than invite kids over one by one I sent Mimi, Jude and Silas to school with invites for all of their friends over one day after school.  It was the play date to end all play dates.
It was pretty fun rounding up 25 kids and marching all of them across the street.
Parties mean dancing, of course.

Second order of business:
Paint it Pink!

Thank the good lord for a husband who not only condoned but picked out and assisted the painting of our new pink wall.  It's a manly pink, is it not?
Hi from Loulou, 11 weeks.

Next order of business, decor. 
 Of course everybody sinks every dime into buying a house so we're doing one room at a time.
Front room, shot at night.
Just come over and see it. 
When you have a new house having a handy husband around who knows how to do the hard stuff is a relief.  I "installed" that chandelier the day before and we'd still be living in the dark without Hush.

The snow waited until we were somewhat settled and we've been able to start our lives again.  Teaching, catching up on sleep, getting into a regular daily schedule have all been on our agenda the last two weeks.  
And at last this little girl is sleeping ok, fussing a whole lot less and finally allows me to put her down once in a while.
And she's finally fitting into 0-3 month clothes! The babe is getting mass!

You'd think that life would be slowing down, right? Nope. On to the next life events!

11/16/14

Bettylou Newborn Pictures

Baby Bettylou
One week old newborn pics by Mary Clark Photography
http://photographybydmc.com

My baby my baby!!

11/3/14

Baby Lou, 7 weeks and Hello my House!

We've been listening to lots of Lou Reed around here lately.  Bettylou is called alternately Betty, LouLou, BL, Beelzebub, and BOB.  Although officially her name is Betty Lou, we usually write it Bettylou. Whatevs. A rose by any other.
One of my arms, the other is Jude I think.


This little rosebud had some major weight gain problems in her first month.  By the end of month one she had not regained her birthweight.  Cause you know, having four kids wasn't enough, I had to have feeding problems.  She was nursing, I was pumping, she seemed satisfied but she just wasn't growing.  My doctor determined that my milk was low calorie.  Apparently I make fat free milk.  So we had to go to the doctor a lot for weight checks and our doctor happened to be in my old neighborhood.


When BL was two weeks old I was heading to her doctor appointment and drove by the kid's old school.  Across the street was a house for sale. I knew as soon as I saw it God had put that house for sale just for us.  There was our home.  Don't care how many hoops we have to jump through, like meeting a child or a husband you see the place and your heart just says, "Oh, that's mine.  Hello, my house."
Maybe more pictures when we're more settled. 

After three weeks of completely annoying and unnecessarily stressful home buying, we suddenly packed up our house in Utah County and tada! dumped off our stuff in our new house.  Now we are in our forever home.  It is three blocks away from our sewage house and literally across the street from the elementary, I wave the kids to school and can watch them go inside from my porch.  My friends, all the amazing women I've met through neighborhood, school and ward are all just a few streets away.  My kids got into the original programs I planned for them, though they had given up coveted spots (we have all day kindergarten AND pre-K for Silas!). I got my entire life back, just better. Thank you for praying!

Now I've said this before, but here I am again feeling a lot like Job.  All that I lose I regain, but better. I am tried and tried, confirmably more acutely than is generally reasonable, but then my life doubles in perfection in ways I'd never have imagined. Had a good house, lost it, got a better one. Had an eternal husband and family, lost it, got a better one and I get to have my kids 100% of the time.  It's like God just has his foot on the trials accelerator and then lets up all of the sudden.  I'm too nervous to be this happy. I walk around marveling.

Now we are 2/3 moved in and our sweet baby girl is gaining weight.  She just had a growth spurt (7 weeks) and is now transitioning out of the newborn phase and into infant.  She grew out of newborn size diapers last week. 6 weeks in newborn size!  See, that's a little tiny baby.
First smiles and starting to coo!

Oh, and I also started teaching a class at the community college right in the middle of all this.  It's only two days a week and it's a half semester class, but that means I have to leave all my people for four hours in the afternoon.  I love it but it's hard.  I may need to retire.  
7 weeks Bettylou, finally getting some mass.

My life has big highs and big lows, it's exciting but hellish to live through.  Right now I feel like we're cresting, but I hope it's a permanent plateau.  Thankfully we have so many wonderfully supportive people in our lives, including in the blogosphere.

11/2/14

Bubs, age 7.

Oh the Mims.
She has shot straight up the ladder into primo position.  7 year old girls were meant to have little baby sisters.
Mimi is helpful, long suffering and patient, compassionate, and clever.
She can change a diaper on a screaming baby and make a bottle the perfect temperature.  She's fully in charge in the backseat and never panics when BL cries. 
I was fascinated by Mimi's flexibility with Halloween costumes.  At first she wanted to be the indian but when we couldn't find her size she was just as happy to be any other member of the Village People.  Originally she didn't want to do a group costume but then hopped right onboard when I showed her the video of the real dudes.  She was even willing to wear a recycled toddler police costume, just adding a tutu to make it a female police officer. With a mustache.
As Bettylou has gotten stronger and more durable Mimi has taken on more responsibility with her.  She loves feeling like the little mama, but she's realistic.  Tonight she said, "Mama, I'm not ready to have Bettylou in my room.  I'm tired and I don't want to get up all the time when she cries.  I want to read my book, I'm at a really interesting part."
Truer words, my girl.
Mimi is Johnny Cash's number one fan.  She started taking piano lessons a few weeks back and has been learning Cash songs exclusively.  The other day she and Hush had a jam session with her singing right at the correct rhythm to Hush's guitar playing.
Mimi is also back at her old school.  She feels like a celebrity and has transitioned really confidently, as per usual.
This girl is doing great, that is for sure.  So glad to have my little interesting sidekick.