Mercedes Escapes

Kellie and I enjoy our children. Mostly we enjoy watching them attempt to do the
impossible. That's where this picture comes in... Mercedes is one of the cutest little things ever, and we love watching her.

It seems that much of our life revolves around the dinner table. First thing in the morning, the kids demand food. Inevitably, pretty much the first thing that happens when I get home from work is that we start on dinner. It takes threats and extreme persuassion to get Ian to eat his meal. He'd rather spend the time telling us about his latest Transformer battle, or what one of his said at school, or why he doesn't like what's on his plate in front of him, or, or, or.... you get the idea.

Barrels of . . . Rocks

I am currently taking a break from my backyard. We're getting grass and working hard to do all the prep work. I was raking all the rocks from where the grass is going to be & moved on to taking the hoe to the weeds. It's hot here in the desert of Tucson & so I decided to come in until Paul comes back with the new pins for the tiller. I managed to get a whole wheel barrow full of rocks. The plan is to get the ground tilled, re-tilled with soil mixed in, put in a water system, lay out the sod, & then put a trim around it. Later we will get the rocks for around the grass area, & even later a patio & gazebo! But at least for now we will be getting grass!

Paul & I are finally on the same page about finances after 4 yrs! We are excited & doing well! Ian says all sorts of crazy, silly things and likes to be a super hero. Isaac is breaking out the words and thinking he's in charge. He wants out of the booster seat, out of the car seat, move over Mom because he's going to cook, and don't even tell him he can't vacuum! Yesterday I spent the day cleaning Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning and Nutmeg out of the carpet, TV, couch, & a little bit of kitchen because he'd decided to cook while Mommy put Mercedes to bed. Amazing how five minutes leads to an hour of cleanup! Ian just watched his show while he did it and calmly told me that Isaac did a no-no & needed a timeout. Mercedes is all over the place! She crawls, walks as long an she's holding something, & knows how to climb up stairs. Sadly she doesn't realize that she can't do down well & our gate is having issues. She talks up a storm & knows how to put up a fight for a toy. She also hates getting her hair done. Ian loves to take care of her & play with her. He also asks when we're getting our next baby. He wants another Mercedes only bigger. I told him that we'd have to talk about it. Now he's got Isaac on his side and poor Daddy thinks that Mommy started it. Oh well! Well, Paul is back, so it's back to the grind . . . I'll do more next time & hopefully we'll have some great pictures!

We are alive- Promise!

This is Ian on Conference Sunday. He was licking the brown sugar muffin batter off the beater & eating Kix at the same time. I turn around to a cute little face as he says," Look at my Christmas tree, Mommy! Isn't it cool?!"

This is Isaac after he discovered our first apple on our apple tree. He came in the house eating an apple. We still don't know if he pulled it off or if it fell, either way he loved it & wouldn't let it go. It was an apple & he didn't have to beg for it- get real, Mom!

This is what happens when I put Mercedes on the floor to play with her toy: Isaac comes over to share the toy & then Ian decides that he doesn't want left out & joins. I was lucky to get this shot, usually they bolt!

Here is one of my all time faves of Mercedes! She's in her blessing dress (that I was blessed in as well) and couldn't be happier! We have some that show her face but this is too cute! My other all time fave will be in the next post- hopefully!

So, it has been quite a while since we've posted anything. What can I say, we're slackers! Ian is potty trained, Isaac is starting to talk more, & Mercedes is rolling around until she runs into something & cries. Ian is really getting into heros, badguys, "robotses", school, holidays, & growing way to big. I was taken aback by the fact I was buying boy clothes instead of toddler clothes for him. Isaac's into trying to take care of Mercedes, do dishes, and cook all by himself. Too bad for him I don't let him do any of that on his own. All he says all day is," Want help you" or "Want up". We will be formally begging Santa to give him his own kitchen to play with. He's only happy when he has a cell phone, formula container, or kitchen utensil of some sort. Merceded started making a very boy noise today that I can only describe as a deep & demanding scream that matches Isaac's. She's already been growling & biting her brothers when they start to "tackle" baby. She started that talent at 2 months old. So far the boys are the only ones to get a full out laugh from her. Mommy & Daddy can make her squeal, but that's it! We also learned to be careful what you wish for. Daddy got a 12hr stomach virus that took about 2 weeks to get through everybody. We complained and said that we should all get sick at the same time . . . well, we did! Right after the stomach bug finally left we all started to get a cold. A week and a half later it was 5 sinus infections, 3 ear infections, 2 pink eye outbreaks, & 1 crazy family left behind. The kids had the ear infections & Paul & I had pink eye. We're still trying to get rid of it & it's been 3 weeks! At least pink eye is gone! We are also very sad that we can't go to Idaho for Christmas. We were looking forward to it but will have to make the best of the situation & enjoy our time together as our own family. It looks like we will be joining the Jones's for Thanksgiving which means that Shiloh & I will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for everybody- heaven help us! One oven and I have to travel 3 hrs to get there. It'll be a great memory & a great feast- we hope :). I'm hoping someone can tell me how to put music in with a post. I REALLY want to do somthing but I need the music also. Somebody school me! Until next time!

Mercedes Aurora

Well, we have just had a new addition to our quickly growing family. She arrived right on her due date (June 3) at 9:35pm. She was 7lbs 10oz and 19 1/2in long. It all started when Kellie started having really hard contractions for 3hrs at a time & then it would stop for a couple of days. One night (May 31) they were extra harsh. On the first, she thought that maybe her water was leaking, but maybe not! June 2nd she called her doctor & set up an appointment for early the 3rd to get checked. That night her contractions didn't stop & were really strong. At the doctor's office they decided not to check her & sent her off to the hospital. Knowing that they wouldn't let her eat & that it would take a while, they all decided to go search for a book & a snack. The gas station didn't have much but Safeway provided a moderately well done mystery & a Reese's. (Later Kellie decided that Paul's suggestion to go out to eat would have been better.)

Not very confident that the baby would come, Kellie sent Paul home with the kids to eat & take a nap while she had multiple tests done. After three tests they decided to keep Kellie. Her water was indeed BARELY leaking. But the contractions had slowed to four an hour. They had to wait for the doctor on call to decide what to do. After all, they don't like to use Pitocin on VBAC's. Kellie assured Paul that there would be plenty of time to have a nap with the boys & then take them to Cami's house before anything exciting would happen. 2nd mistake - 1st being the candy bar instead of meal. After a little while Dr. Chin came in to say that they would do a very low Pitocin drip to get her going. They inquired about when she'd want the epidural & she said that she could wait until dear hubby arrived (3rd mistake).

Reading her book & counting contractions, she noticed that she might be wanting her epidural & hubby soon. Therefore she called dear hubby to learn that they were awake but couldn't get a hold of Cami (awesome friend willing to watch kids while Gma Hansen busted her buns getting to Tucson by that night). Kellie sternly told them to go there & ring the doorbell, knowing full well that her friend was home & probably just not near the phone ( 1st non-mistake -Thanks Cami for being amazing!) and to get his rear to the hospital right away! Just before Paul got there Kellie hit the point where she had the nurse come in to tell her to breath because she wouldn't during contractions ( which were every 2 minutes & about a minute long). About 2 seconds after panicking Paul came in. The nurse- an amazing girl named Paula- said she'd add her to the list of epidurals & that she was about #3. So Paul bravely distracted Kellie as best as possible & forced her to breath while the contractions increased in strength. #3 is tougher than #1!

Finally, the epidural was in & working so Paul & Kellie resumed the book reading with the knowledge that she was only at a 5cm dilation. They were a little concerned that she wasn't dilating for a little while & trying to determine if they should add more Pitocin. 45 minutes after this discussion Kellie told Paul that something felt weird & to make sure that they told the nurse when she came in. 5 minutes later Kellie called the nurse in. The nurse thought that something was wrong with the epidural but wanted to check me first. 2 seconds later the nurse jumped back telling Kellie not to move or even sneeze because the baby was coming NOW! Within 10minutes Mercedes was born very purple ( because she came out too fast, she was bruised). It took a couple of hours before Kellie got over the fact that she was out because she didn't expect a baby for hours.

So, that went well. The boys love her and we're enjoying family helping out. We'll see how we do when all the family's gone! Love you all!

We're moving!- oh wait- Never mind!

Paul received this really random phone call from a recruiter in Houston that had 2 interviews for space systems jobs set up for him. He thought," What the heck, I might as well test the waters!" And both companies gave him job offers. We turned both down because we would have had to move before baby was born. Then, a week later, one of them said they'd wait until mid-June. So we took the job. Two weeks of going crazy later, we decided that the housing market wasn't making it worth the stress to take said job. Therefore, everyone has been on a roller coaster ride provided by the Tonks Family. But it is now official, we are staying in Tucson! Suddenly having to deal with just being a mom of three under three seems so much easier than what it would have been.

Paul's missile flew wonderfully at it's last test, I am still very pregnant but very relaxed all the sudden, and the boys are being boys. Isaac now walks around and says some words. He's even learning how to drink from a cup (ie: 5 t-shirts a day). Ian has days where he's a big boy & uses the toilet while other days he speaks Isaac's language. He says some pretty funny things now. While praying he said," Please bless that we'll be able to go outside to play, but with our shoes on." And another time he tried to coach me praying. But at least he gets what prayer is for!
We are happy to be where we are & that we get to enjoy the new baby without trying to move.

Dirt...

Finally. The day has come. I can declare the boys' play area complete! I finally finished off the mortar between the capstones and raked the sand evenly (if you're blind) around the play area.

So far the play area has only taken one major sunburn, a few blisters on the hands, and a little annoyance with Ian to complete. Somehow, it seems cheap compared to the hours that I am now required to put in pushing Ian and Isaac in their swings...Not that I don't enjoy pushing the boys. I love it when Isaac squawks at me whenever I pull him out, even if he's been in the swing for hours...asleep (see picture). I can't wait for Ian to pull on my hand and asked for me to go outside and push him the second I walk through the door.

Actually, I really do love spending time with the boys. And the weather has been absolutely beautiful! Still cool enough to want to spend time outside but warm enough to stay outside even when it gets dark. So what is there to complain about? Just a few long days at work. Nothing major.

Catch Up

So, it's been quite a while since we've let anyone know what's up with us. From youngest to oldest . . . baby three is supposed to be a girl and hopefully come by June 3rd. She is slightly like her eldest brother in being very active when she wants to be. Isaac can walk along or with things but still remains a little chicken about going it solo. He has also found a binky while Mommy was going through baby stuff & decided he likes it. If he finds one it stays in his mouth until the next mealtime or sippy cup intervention. Ian has taken to saying really cute things and a whole lot of complicated stories that make absolutely no sense. He is potty training & can't decide whether or not he wants another baby. Both boys are in a really fun part of development and we just get to laugh the whole time. Mommy is really noticing that she's pregnant & that she has a limited time left with just the boys. She also craves just about anything that she sees, hears of, or smells that she normally would like. She also has a shopping urge that she has mostly held back, but oddly comes with urges to listen to Creed or Collective Soul. An odd mix, I'd say. Daddy has been busy with the back yard, work, Scouts, and getting attacked by two restless little boys. We are pretty much just trying to finish the yard, stay ahead of the boys, & enjoy life while we're at it. Ain't life great?