Father's Day 2008

We had a nice Father's Day yesterday. The weather was beautiful (a nice change from the snow). We celebrated with Doug by having breakfast together, opening gifts and going for a drive/coffee. Doug played in a golf tournament with friends during the afternoon. We finished up the day with a barbecue at Stef and Scott's house. Below, Doug's soaking his legs and the boys went for a swim in the Larkin hot tub.

Visit from Sarah Spindle

Sarah Spindle (aka Spinderella as the boys were calling her) came to visit last week. She was here for Heather's wedding, but stayed the whole week. She split time staying with us and the Larkins. It was so fun to have her here! There was lots of eating, drinking and visiting this past week. The boys adore Sarah and whenever she wasn't playing with them they were asking when she'd be back. We miss you Sarah!

LEGOS!

Doug's mom Chris was recently here for a visit and brought the boys half of Doug and Steve's lego collection from when they were kids. The legos have been a huge hit - especially with Will. Chris even had some of the the instruction booklets and the boys love finding something they like and then ask Doug to build it for them. Above is the entire collection (I couldn't even fit them all in the picture) and below is the firehouse Doug (oh, and Will) built.

In other news Jack has started making his bed in the morning. You can imagine my sheer delight when I come to get him up and he's sitting on an already made bed. I had to take a picture just to show everyone what a big job this is for a three-year-old...

He even puts all the pillows on, I don't even do that unless we're expecting company. (You may also be wondering why the bed is all pink and girly - it's actually the bed in Annemarie's room, but the boys do much better sleeping in seperate rooms and Annemarie is still sleeping in our room.)

Annemarie's First Snow

It snowed today...a lot. From the moment we woke up it was raining a bit, then it turned to snow.

Here's a picture of the lilacs around 9a...

Here's a picture of the lilacs after I dropped the boys off at their activities, around 9:30a. It has continued to snow off and on all day.

Tummy Time

Just recently Annemarie stayed on her tummy without crying. She's even holding her head up pretty well - well enough to let me take a couple of pictures. She turned 8 weeks last Friday and seems to be growing at such a fast pace. Her two month check up is in another week so we'll find out just how much she's grown. Biggest difference between her and the boys is her cry. When she's unhappy she lets you know it and not only that, if you let her go a minute or two (which happen with three children) she has this very upset look on her face like "how could you do that to me?" She's also starting to smile which is so fun. She definitely recognizes her brothers and they love to try and take care of her. It's very common for Will to say, "would you like me to hold her?" (don't worry he doesn't hold her unsupervised).

June Wedding

Our friend Heather Fager was married this weekend in Whitefish (Montana). The event was held at this cute location out in the woods called Gaynor's Cabins. Unfortunately it rained, almost for the entire thing. Thankfully the weather held off during the ceremony which was held outside. It was so great to see friends from college we haven't seen in years. It was fun to catch up and hear what was new. The boys stayed with a sitter, but we took Annemarie with us. She was very well behaved. Maybe it was because I was holding a baby or because it was raining but I didn't take any pictures. All I have is the one above (which doesn't really count because we had just returned home) and one of Stef feeding Annemarie - nothing too exciting. Congratulations to Heather and Aaron!

How to Entertain a Baby

This is one of the ways we keep Annemarie entertained and try to wear out Jack.

Also, for the grandmas a quick video of Annemarie.

School's Out!

Jack enjoying his ice cream sundae
participating in parachute play
Will climbing the rock wall

Riley, Will and Luna

The end of the school year was last week for both Will and Jack. I cannot believe another year has passed so quickly. This summer Jack will be attending a summer school program at the preschool and Will will be participating in music, soccer and tennis camps. This will be a fun filled summer for all of us - aside from the programs for the kids we have multiple visitors coming to visit and a trip to Oregon planned for early August. We've even seen a few warm summer like days. Thankfully this year the basement is complete so if it gets too hot, Doug and I will be headed down there.

"More pictures?"

"This is so boring"

and "I'm done"

The Biggest Brother

Pictures from today of Will holding Annemarie. Will LOVES to interact with his baby sister. He's very interested in entertaining her and loves to hold her. She's become so much more alert and isn't so scrawny and newborn-like, so I've started to give in and let him hold her (with overbearing and constant supervision). Even today when she started to fuss, it didn't bother him. I went to pick her up and he said he really wanted to continue holding her. Jack on the the other hand, though he likes to hold her (especially if he sees Will doing it) is only interested for so long and once she starts squirming or fussing he's done. What a lucky girl to have such loving siblings.

Sleeping Baby

There's nothing more sweet than a sleeping baby. We had a couple of really warm days and the upstairs of our house has begun to feel like an oven. Not sure if Annemarie was just tired or exhausted from the heat.

A Day in the Life...

I usually try and post new pictures of the kids and keep things light, but I also rely on this outlet to record what is going on in our lives. Right now I cannot keep my days straight, I have to use the computer just to confirm the date and keep the boys' busy schedules straight. So I thought I take this opportunity to pour out what we've been up to the last few weeks. According to my trusty Outlook calendar it has been six days since Corey left and it will be another nine days until Chris (Doug's mom) comes to visit.

So here are our highlights - Will cut a classmate's hair at school. Of course he was using scissors during craft time and apparently wasn't being closely monitored when the incident occurred. I of course was mortified at the time (I'm over it now) and was dreading running into the girl's mother. It turns out the mother is a hair stylist and thankfully the damage wasn't too noticeable. Next, Jack recently covered the bathroom with shaving cream. Actually it was soap that looks like shaving cream, part of a faux shaving kit. When we told Doug what he had done, the first thing he asked was, "did you take a picture?" Unfortunately at the time I was not amused so there are no pictures to share. I cannot wait for the day when all my children go to the bathroom and using the toilet is all they do while they're in there. Jack also filled the toilet with an entire roll of paper today.

What else? Will's room has almost been stripped of all decorations. There are few pictures on the walls and the "treasures" have been removed from his shelf. At this rate, soon he'll only have a mattress on the floor. He really likes to pull things down or throw toys or balls at the walls. So until we get that under control there's not much left in his room he can damage. Also, the boys have been taking swim lessons and the other day Will pulled Jack off of the wall he was holding onto, into water that was too deep for Jack and scared him to death. I wasn't there, but thankfully another parent was in the pool and came to Jack's rescue. Jack has also completely regressed when it comes to being potty trained. I've heard this is very common when a new baby comes into the home, but it's driving me nuts. Lately he doesn't completely wet himself, his underwear is just damp and he tries to say he's dry and get away with it.

Annemarie, my little angel is growing like mad, which also means her schedule is all over the place. Some days she wants to sleep for hours other days she wants to eat constantly. I'm sure Doug would like me to mention how often she toots (quite frequently) and that they are pretty loud for such a small girl.

Lately I find myself looking forward to the future but also wanting to hang onto the present. Will is at the stage where he's constantly asking questions (most which I cannot answer, Doug says I get a deer in the headlight look). Also if he's learned something new he'll repeat it to you almost verbatim. He also really wants to please and help. Jack is giving out hugs and kisses like there is no tomorrow. There's nothing like a three year old telling you he loves you to lift your (my) spirits. Both boys are in love with Annemarie. They're always kissing her, talking to her and singing to her. Annemarie (usually) smells amazing and is cuddly and sweet. At times when I'm holding her and she's asleep I really cannot believe there's anything thing better than experiencing that moment. As challenging and crazy as my life is now I cannot help but be extremely grateful for the three tremendously healthy, brilliant and beautiful children in my life.

*As I finish this posting Annemarie, who's asleep next to me just let out a loud toot.

One Month & One Day

Annemarie is a month and a day, today. We all really like her and are such big fans. She appears to be growing, lengthwise and is filling out, though I don't have a scale that's accurate enough to tell us how many ounces she's gained. She eats a lot, usually every two to three hours. She's starting to grow out of the newborn clothes, but is still a little small for the 0-3 month size. She's alert and even starting to smile. She seems very interested in peoples faces - she looks like she's trying to focus and sometimes has a funny inquisitive look. I went back and looked at pictures of the boys at this stage, I think right now she looks more like Jack. We'll see if that holds true. She is not sleeping through the night (as mentioned she eats every 2-3 hours), but I'm confident as she gets bigger she'll hopefully start sleeping longer. She has the smallest, most narrow feet (pictured above) I can barely get socks to stay on her they are so small.

Mother's Day 2008

What a great day! We started off with brunch at one of my favorite places. Plus we timed it right and didn't have to wait for a table. The boys were great and Annemarie slept through the whole thing. The rest of the day was very relaxed. We stayed around the house, took naps, watched TV, a very nice day over all. Check out my excellent mother's day gift below...the much missed Ruby Ale from McMenimums (only to be purchased in the Pacific Northwest) and shipped in especially for me. Thank you Doug, Corey, Will, Jack and Annemarie for such a nice day!

Wide Awake

I haven't posted many pictures of Annemarie with her eyes open. Here's a great one. I usually see this look in the middle of the night around 3a or so. She is starting to stay awake for longer periods of time during the day and really likes to be held and talked to. She's so sweet.

Here's a great picture of the kids with Tutu before she left for the airport. Today was our first day without help since Annemarie was born. It's almost 5p and I'm happy to say it went pretty well. I even got a shower in while everyone was napping. Doug and I have a small Cinco de Mayo celebration planned - it includes taco salad, margaritas and TV. Wow, we are quite the exciting duo.

Stomp Rockets

My mom took this video of the boys while she was visiting. This toy is one of Jack's birthday gifts. The boys love it, it's great for outdoors and provides lots of entertainment. If you can make it through the whole video, may favorite part is the end where Doug takes a turn and launches the rocket onto the roof of the carport. Too bad we don't have a video of him retrieving it. Enjoy!

What About Gus?

Annemarie giving Gus some love

Tutu with her hands full

More pictues...this time with Gus. For those of you who know, Will is not a big fan of Gus. He doesn't mind him, he just isn't interested in petting him or playing with him. Unfortunately Jack kind of follows Will's lead and also isn't very interested. I always hoped they'd be big fans, want to play with him all the time and even let Gus sleep on their beds. This just isn't the way it is. However, this evening while I was sitting with Annemarie, I noticed she had her hand on Gus - so maybe there's hope for him yet. Maybe when she's big she'll let him sleep on her bed.

Annemarie will be three weeks this Friday. On Monday we had her 2 week check up. She's doing great. She's gained just over 8 ounces since she was born (now weighing 7 lbs 1 oz) and because she was small to begin with she's currently in the 25% for weight. Next she's grown an inch (now 20 inches) which puts her in the 50% for height. She's becoming more alert which is lots of fun.

Mom has been with us for almost two weeks. Feeding us and taking great care of all of us, but especially the boys. I'm going to have a bit of a reality check when all the guests (and their help) go home and I attempt to manage on my own. Thankfully I'm getting lots of rest and some down time now which I hope will help me get ready to tackle taking care of three children 4 and under on my own. I know I can do it - I just want to do a REALLY good job.

Baby Aerobics

I think these pictures are so funny. The other day I was trying to get some pictures of Annemarie with her eyes open and all of a sudden she started doing these funny stretches. Of course after being all squished up in a ball for quite sometime I can understand the need to stretch out. I love her face in a couple of these pictures and especially her arms.

Bath Time!

Jack working on his "smooth" shave - as he likes to call it

The boys enjoying the faux shaving kits Tutu brought

Annemarie having her hair washed

All clean!

What a Week

One week old Annemarie

We made it through our first week. And what a week it has been. Aside from bringing Annemarie home I also turned 31 this week. Birthdays have always been a time of reflection for me, even more so than the New Year. We've been in Montana almost a year (mid May was when we moved). We've completed tons of house projects and have really started to become familiar with the community and surrounding areas. Doug is enjoying his job and more important really enjoying everything the area has to offer (skiing, golf, etc.). I actually know many moms and run into people I know daily. The boys are well know too, especially at the Wave and have made lots of friends at school. On top of all this we have added to our family - all in under a year!

The other day I stopped at the gas station to get a drink and as I was walking into the store and an older gentleman asked me if I was expecting my first child (which I always appreciate). I told him no, this was my third. I was expecting him to make the usual comment about how busy I'm going to be, but instead he said the nicest thing and I repeat it to myself often, he said, "That's great. You must have a really nice family." What a great thing to say - and yes, I do have a really nice family. We have been very blessed and have so much to be thankful for.