The Call Bunch

Little Eater

2012-01-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

At 6 months, we decided to start Nolan on some solid foods (I usually just skip right over rice or oatmeal and go straight to the veggies and fruits since I wait until 6 months to introduce solids.) He didn't seem to care for it too much at first, but after a few attempts he is now starting to get the hang of things. Of course, some things he likes better than others (he gags and acts like I'm trying to kill him with peas or green beans but LOVES bananas and pears!) After his first experience with prunes, I couldn't help but get a few pictures of the aftermath. I think more of it ended up around his mouth and on his bib than ever made it down into his belly!

Shining Star

2012-01-07T13:00:00.000-05:00

To say that this little boy is loved would be a huge understatement! He is just so sweet and cuddly that we can never get enough of him!

He gives the best little smiles and is so happy during the day...

I tell him that I need to get in my "thousand kiss quota" everyday...as does everyone else. He doesn't seem to mind all the smooches!!

Ahhhhh...life doesn't get much better than this!

Nolan had his 6 month check-up this week and weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs even (10th percentile) and was 27 inches long (50th percentile.) We're not used to such a small baby but we love it because it makes it feel like he is still little even though he is growing up much too fast.

I have been reading a book recently that talks about finding your purpose and making something beautiful out of your life. There is not a doubt in my mind that the most beautiful things that Jason and I have created with our lives are these three beautiful children. I feel very blessed to have them call me "Mom."

Discovery Station

2012-01-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

Jason was able to take time off between Christmas and New Years so we took advantage of our family time together. We watched movies, went shopping, painted our kitchen and played lots and lots of games!!

One of the highlights of the week was visiting the Discovery Station in downtown Hagerstown. We had driven by this place numerous times during our 4+ years of living here but finally decided to venture in this last week and we LOVED it!!

The kids really enjoyed learning about all kinds of different things including Japanese culture...

And things like the solar system, weather patterns, our bodies, the Titanic, airplanes, dinosaurs, etc. We only hit the bottom floor and then let them play in the enclosed child's learning center and they probably would have stayed there all day if we had let them.

The Discovery Station was built in an old bank building and here they are in front of the old money vault...

Nolan enjoyed the experience too from his perch next to mom...

The kids were very disappointed when it was time to leave and we all decided that we need to visit again very soon!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

We reminded the kids on Christmas Eve that they were not to come down the stairs until we were all ready to come down together. The thought of locking their doors crossed our minds (yes, we have their locks on the outside of their doors!) but we decided not to in case they needed to use the bathroom during the night. Jason and I woke up at about 7 a.m. to some pretty excited children in their bedrooms and discovered that they had already been downstairs without us!! (I guess we needed to be more specific because they thought they just couldn't come all the way down so they peeked at their presents from the landing.) Needless to say, we missed their initial excitement at seeing what Santa had brought, but since only one gift was unwrapped, we still got to see the enthusiasm about everything else!

They were super thrilled about their stocking presents...

And Landon loved his new present from Santa...Superhero costumes!! (He will often run around the house in these cute little costumes while insisting that I sing the "Batman" song for him while he does it...you know the one. "Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na....BATMAN!" from the old TV show!)

Then it was time to open the gifts that they played with the most that day...their new cameras!!

Abby was also thrilled with her new jewelry box!

We let them open and play with all their presents from Santa while we waited for Nolan to wake up. Finally I went to wake him up around 8:30 so that he could join in on the fun festivities of the day. We took turns opening presents then had a wonderful breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes and OJ before heading to church and enjoying a wonderful Sacrament meeting at 1 p.m.

Breakfast ending up being our only real meal of the day. When we called grandparents later in the evening, the kids excitedly declared..."We didn't eat lunch or dinner grandma..just breakfast and candy!" Yes, that pretty much sums up our eating on Christmas day.

It was a nice and relaxing day. We missed being around family, but it is sure nice to be able to spend Christmas day in our own home!

T'was the Night Before...

2011-12-31T14:31:00.000-05:00

Christmas!!

We started the day by making yummy goodies and delivering them to several neighbors and friends. I had this grand idea that we would spend all this time baking together as a family but it didn't really pan out that way. Abby and Landon seemed to be more interested in watching where Santa was on NORAD instead. I at least had fun in the kitchen!!

That evening we had our traditional pizza for dinner and then headed down to Williamsport to see their holiday light display. We came back home and after reading and watching Luke 2, we reenacted our own version of that first Christmas complete with Nolan as Baby Jesus, Abby as Mary and Landon playing duel roles as Joseph and a Wise Man (per his request!)

Then it was time for the first gifts of Christmas...

Nolan seemed to be quite enthralled with his gift (or at least the wrapping paper part!)...

While Landon and Abby tore open their matching pajamas...

And new family game!!

They loved their new pajamas and especially liked how they all matched!! (It isn't easy finding the same pajama set for 6 months-5T but thanks to Amazon, I was able to make it happen. Actually Amazon is where most of our Christmas came from this year!!)

After sending the kidlets off to bed, it was time for Santa and Mrs. Claus to get to work for the next morning's festivities. For the first time ever, none of the gifts required any assembly which means that we merely had to set them out and then got to enjoy the rest of our evening!!

Landon and his requested "Superhero" costumes...

Nolan and his new tool set (not really requested but enjoyed nonetheless!)...

And Abby's much requested art kit...

Next up...Christmas Morning!!!

Gingerbread in the House!

2011-12-30T14:27:00.000-05:00

We spent Nolan's nap time on Christmas Eve building our gingerbread house. I actually found a "pre-built" house on clearance at the grocery store that day so all we had to do was add the candy. SWEEEEEET!!!

Landon tried the "lying on the table" vantage point to add his candy onto the house!

And Abby was very careful about which candies would go where!

The finished product...

It only lasted about two days before it was so picked over that I finally chucked it in the trash. It sure was fun while it lasted though!!

Temple Lights

2011-12-29T14:26:00.000-05:00

On Friday, December 23 we visited the Washington DC Visitor's Center to see all the Christmas lights. I think everyone else had the same idea because it was PACKED, but we still had a great time...

Nolan was utterly amazed by the beauty of all the lights...

Landon didn't love waiting in line in order to see the nativities from around the world...

But finally decided that is was well worth the wait!

Abby loved this purple-lighted tree because it matched her coat!

It was like walking through a winter wonderland for the kids!

I still wish they did the live nativity (the mannequin dolls always creep me out just a little) but I probably wouldn't ever volunteer to sit out there night after night so I guess I can't complain!

The lights on the hundreds of trees still can't compare to the beauty of the temple though!!

It was a fun way to spend "the Eve of Christmas Eve!"

Growing Up

2011-12-29T12:00:00.001-05:00

You don't always notice the day-to-day changes in your baby...but then you see some pictures from a few months before and you realize how much they have grown!

Here is Nolan in the newborn outfit at 1 month...

And here he is in the same outfit at 6 months...

Here is Nolan in the 12 month outfit at 1 month...

And again at 6 months...

My how this boy has grown!!

Half Birthday!

2011-12-28T14:35:00.001-05:00

I'll be posting some Christmas pictures soon, but before we get to that, there's a certain special little man who is celebrating his half birthday today...

I cannot believe Nolan is 6 months old already. I wish there was a "pause" or at the very least a "slow down" button to push because he is growing up way too fast!

Nolan continues to be a pure joy in our lives. We get comments all the time about what a happy little baby he is and they are right. As long as he's fed and not too sleepy, he's as happy as can be!

He is now rolling all over the place (no more leaving him on beds or couches while I do something else!) and has recently starting putting EVERYTHING in his little mouth (including his toes...I think he just likes to show off his flexibility for us all!

We have tried a few solid foods so far, but he only seems to really like one food...mommy's milk! He is actually enjoying bananas somewhat too but everything else gets blown right out when he prefers to blow "blueberries" with it.

For a few months now he has been sleeping from 8 p.m. to about 4 a.m. at night, eating and then going back to bed until about 8 a.m. I was pretty happy with this schedule, but now he seems to be extending his night until about 6:30-7:00 a.m. which really makes me happy!!

He's definitely our smallest baby, but is super tall and still growing like a champ. He can sit by himself for a bit and I know it won't be too long until he can do it for longer periods of time.

He loves bouncing up and down in his exercauser or lying on the floor with all of his many toys. Of course between the four of us who want to be squeezing him, he ends up in somebody's arms for most of the day. I think between us all he also ends up with about a thousand kisses on those little cheeks everyday!

We just love this little man so much...I mean look at him!! How could you not fall instantly in love with this sweet boy?!?!

Christmas Outtakes

2011-12-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

I was amazed that I was able to get such good Christmas pictures of all three kids on the last post. Trying to get three young children to all look at the camera at the same time(and not look too weird) is always a challenge.

These two pictures didn't quite make the cut though...

(Nolan and Abby aren't too bad, although Nolan looks a bit squished. Landon on the other hand....)

This pictures just cracks me up...

Abby looks drunk and apparently Nolan just punched Landon in the face (and I think Landon liked it!)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T08:00:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!!!

(We had grand plans of lining all of our gables with lights this year, but after lining just the garage, we decided that was enough and concentrated on areas a bit lower to the ground!.)

We hope you all have a very happy, fun and peaceful Christmas day!!

Old St. Nick

2011-12-24T16:00:00.000-05:00

We were able to get in a visit with Santa himself just before Christmas this year. Landon wasn't about to sit on his lap, but at least he was okay with standing nearby. He also told Santa what he wanted for Christmas this year...a transformer (just like his cousin Tyler got at Thanksgiving), a camera and a remote control car. We'll soon see if Santa was able to fulfill his requests...

Nolan was pretty fascinated with Santa, especially his beard. He kept pulling on it, probably trying to determine if this guy was the real deal or not. The white hair and beard were all real on this Santa Nolan!

Abby loves Santa and wasn't at all shy to tell him what was on her Christmas wish list...

A camera, a craft jewelry box (like her cousin Paige got at Thanksgiving), and an art kit!

For some odd reason, Landon was more wary about posing with the real Santa than this fake one (I thought the fake one was a bit creepy myself!)

Merry Christmas Eve...
the most magical night of year!!

Our Santa Comes on a Firetruck!

2011-12-24T14:19:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday night, we were just about ready to start our bedtime routine when we heard sirens in our neighborhood and knew who it must be. We eagerly waited with anticipation...

We were all super excited!!

He was coming closer...

And there he is!!

Santa Claus himself paid us a visit courtesy of our local volunteer fire department!

The kids even got some candy canes to go with this special visit...

I know I've said it time and time again, but I sure do love living in small town America!

Kindergarten Superstar

2011-12-23T14:17:00.001-05:00

Abby had her very first school Christmas concert last Thursday night and to say that she was excited to perform on a stage would be an understatement. I'm still not sure what she has been more excited about, Christmas or this concert! She did a great job and was quite comfortable performing for everyone on her "big stage."

Here are all the Kindergartners this year (there are two classes of about 20 kids each in her school.) Her teacher, Ms. Austin, is the one sitting on the far right in this picture. We LOVE her and she is doing a great job with Abby!

They did a lot of singing...

A little music playing...

Some dancing...

And even role playing (they were all snowmen here!)

It was such a cute little concert and Abby definitely enjoyed her 15 minutes of fame on that stage. It brought back a lot of memories for me of the many Christmas concerts that I was a part of at Nisley Elementary those many years ago!

Ward Christmas Party

2011-12-22T14:25:00.001-05:00

On Saturday December 10, we had our Ward Christmas Party. The Primary and Young Women were in charge this year and did a stellar job putting it together. (I was released as Primary President in September so I was able to just sit back and enjoy the whole thing!!) We had over 250 people show up and still had plenty of food to go around (the ward provided a ham, baked potato, salad and roll dinner for everyone.) After we ate, the Primary put on a live Nativity as we sang Christmas carols....

Then the big red man himself showed up to greet all the kids and hand out candy canes! (There was an email that went out a little earlier in the week saying that Santa was probably not going to be able to make it to the party, but alas, his plans were able to change and he made it after all. Abby was thrilled with this change of events. Landon kept his distance but admired him from afar!)

This little man was quite the hit in his "Santa's Little Helper" outfit!

Afterward, we were all treated to the original production of "How Mr. Grimm Saved Christmas" written by our Young Women president. The youth did an amazing job putting this together and it was enjoyed by everyone!

(Do you see that handsome man standing behind Cinderella? No use swooning ladies, he's already taken!)

We finished the evening with some yummy deserts. This ward is so fun and one of the main reasons why we want to stay in this area!

Come Let Us Adore Him

2011-12-09T15:55:00.000-05:00

This nativity set gets played with daily in our home. I passed by it one day and noticed the way Landon had set it all up...

I thought it very appropriate and imagined this is just what it must have been like that sacred, starry night! O come let us adore Him!

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-08T15:54:00.000-05:00

The Sunday after returning from Virginia, we decided we had better get to work on putting up our own Christmas tree. Abby and Landon were super excited about hanging up the ornaments. We let them hang all the ornaments, thinking that later we would redistribute them so that they weren't in just one big glob on the tree, but they're still hanging right where they put them!!

They did decide that the tree needed a few decorations a bit higher than 4 feet so out came their trusty little chairs to aid in the effort...

And then Jason added the finishing touch by placing the star on top!

Of course none of this would have been accomplished without the help from this tiny little foreman who watched and gurgled his approval from time to time!

(What...don't all good foremen think best with their fingers in their mouths?!?!)

We are loving this special time of year and trying to take advantage of all that it has to offer!

Our Virginia Thanksgiving

2011-12-07T16:15:00.000-05:00

We headed down to northern Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with my sisters Tasha and Lara and their families. Tasha and Jeff recently purchased a home so this was their first time hosting our annual Turkey get-together. Their home is beautiful and we enjoyed great company, conversation, laughs and of course oodles and oodles of food. We didn't get any pictures of our feast, partly due to this little guy...

This is Milton...also known as the cat that almost ruined Thanksgiving!!

Right before sitting down to dinner on Thanksgiving day, Tasha was going to feed Milton and their dog Riley so that they wouldn't be so antsy during our meal. That's when we discovered that Milton was nowhere to be found. Tasha and Jeff searched the entire house and then concluded that he must have gotten out somehow while the men and kids were tossing footballs around earlier in the day. This began a multi-person "search and rescue" crew trying to find the missing cat. We searched high, low and everywhere in between and Milton was nowhere to be found. Finally after multiple searches through the house and the neighborhood by 8 adults and a few kids, I decided to try one more search attempt in Tasha and Jeff's bedroom upstairs. Landon decided to come with me and as we're both searching the area, I hear Landon exclaim "There's Milton!" Turns out he had somehow gotten into a clothes armoire which had later been shut, locking him in! Thanks to Landon, our Thanksgiving was saved and we all sat down to a nice dinner just a bit delayed!!

The weather over the entire Thanksgiving weekend was gorgeous so we spent most of Friday enjoying the great outdoors at a local park.

Then we headed back to the house, set up a quick Christmas tree, and began the part that all the kids had been looking forward to all weekend...our Christmas celebration! (We each stay home now for Christmas so for the last few years we have been doing an early Christmas on the days following Thanksgiving when we are all together.)

All the kids were super excited about opening up some early gifts (These are all the grandchildren on my side of the family...minus two babies who were napping!)

Landon was super excited about each and every gift that he received...

Abby, on the other hand, seemed to ponder each gift for a while...

Before declaring it a winner!!

It is so nice to be able to get together with some of my family during the holidays and we had a great time down in Virginia. Tasha and Jeff were great hosts in their new and very spacious home and we all had fun enjoying the Thanksgiving/early Christmas holiday together.

Little Big Guy

2011-11-24T13:00:00.000-05:00

On this Thanksgiving holiday, I am deeply humbled by the many blessings that our family has been recipients of during this past year.

But without a doubt, the greatest blessing our family received during 2011 was the arrival of a 7 lb, 10 oz bundle of complete joy that made his grand and speedy debut into our lives during the early hours of June 28th.

We love our little Nolan man beyond belief and we are so very grateful for him during this season of Thanksgiving.

Abby often asks me "What would we do without our little Nolan?" and I really don't know. We could not imagine our lives without him!!

Little Mermaid

2011-11-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

We found Abby wiggling around the floor like this one day and we asked her what she was doing.

"I'm a mermaid," she replied,
like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

What an imagination!!

Little Donald Trump Gets the Snip!

2011-11-22T13:00:00.000-05:00

We've been calling Nolan our "little Donald Trump" for a while because of the sweet looking combover look that he's been sporting lately. I really didn't want to cut his baby locks at only four months but it was definitely time. So last Saturday we pulled out the clippers to get the dirty job done.

"What are you doing with those things?!?!?"

"I don't think my hair is really THAT out of control..."

"On second thought..."

Jason got to work on cutting off all those cute but way too long baby locks while Nolan examined all the hair that was falling around him.

The finished look!!

Most of the dark hair is gone now so he's definitely more of a blondie which makes him fit right in with Abby and Landon. He looks super cute with his new "do" and it was definitely time to get rid of "The Donald!"

Another Marathoner in the Family!

2011-11-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, November 12th, Jason ran in and completed his first marathon in Richmond, VA. He had a really good experience training and running with his friend, Jon and despite a few injuries and setbacks along the way, they both finished those long 26.2 miles!! This makes the second marathoner in our little family now (the third if you count Landon who ran the Richmond Marathon with me in the womb!!) Jason finished in just under 5 hours and is already talking about how he can improve with the next one. Oh boy, I think he's caught the bug of racing now. We may have to take turns with our different races now!!

I was so proud of him for accomplishing this lifelong goal of his. I have to admit though, that it was hard for me to be a spectator. I can't wait to get back out and do my own races again!!

And I'm not sure who was more tired by the end of the day...Jason who ran 26.2 miles or me who ran around with three kids trying to see him at different points along the way, battling road closures in an unknown city. Okay, okay I shouldn't complain...but I will anyway because here's how MY day went down...

6:30 a.m.: Get up and get all three kids ready, nurse the littlest one and head out the hotel door by 7 a.m. to drive Jason and Jon to the starting line

7:30 a.m.: Back to the hotel to pick up Jon's wife and their kids (they also have three kids, all very close in age to ours), feed all SIX kids their breakfast and head out to cheering spot #1 at the 10K mark in two different vehicles since two adults and SIX kids can't all fit into one!!

9:00 a.m.: Get lost in Richmond for the first of about a million times that day...have a GPS but it's not very helpful considering all of the road closures. Finally find the first cheering zone about 15 minutes after our husbands had already passed (FAIL #1)

9:30 a.m.: Head to the next cheering zone at the halfway point (13.1 miles) with what we think is PLENTY of time to get there. Get lost again and Landon starts his potty dance and whine in the backseat. We quickly find a grocery store, run to the bathroom at the back of the store and get Landon on the toilet just in time for him to pee all over the bathroom floor, his underpants and only pair of jeans that I have on me!! (Fortunately I did have a pull-up and pair of shorts in the diaper bag which is what he wore for the rest of the day. At least nobody called me a bad mother for having my child wear shorts on a cold day!!)

10:20 a.m.: Finally arrive at cheering zone #2 and after it takes us what seems like a million years to get six kids and all the cheering gear out of the car, we are about 100 feet away when we see our husbands run by (FAIL #2) I started screaming "JASON, JASON, Do you need anything" and fortunately they heard us and turned around so that they could dump all their cold weather gear off to us. (It was a miracle that we were at least able to see them before they completely passed us by so maybe I should call this FAIL #1.5!)

10:30 a.m.: Jon's wife and I make the executive decision based on what has occurred thus far to not try to see them at mile 20 but instead grab some lunch and head straight to the finish area. After nursing both of our babies, we head back out in a desperate attempt to find a place we could eat lunch and never find anything (FAIL #3). We finally give up and just head straight to the finish. Again we THOUGHT we had plenty of time to reach our destination but with all the one way streets, road closures and traffic in downtown Richmond, it was a complete nightmare. I heard the word "Recalculating" way too many times from my GPS but with the huge mess that was downtown, I couldn't follow it's innocent directions for the life of me!!

12:15 p.m.: In panic mode now, I say a quick prayer to help us find a parking garage near the finish so that we can finally end this traffic nightmare. Another little miracle happened and we finally found a place to park both vehicles!! We weren't sure exactly when they would be finishing but were so glad that we could finally exit the cars and start our wait for them at the finish line.

12:55 p.m.: We wait for about 45 minutes and cheer on lots of different runners as they near the finish line. The kids were really into it for the first 30 minutes or so and then they started to get a bit restless. Landon started to wander off down the street so I quickly walked over to reign him in. And in the 10 seconds that my back was turned trying to prevent a lost child, Jason passed us (FAIL #4...the biggest one of the day!!) ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?! When Jon's wife told me what had happened, it took everything I had to hold in all the tears of frustration from that entire morning. I grabbed all three kids and we walked the quarter of a mile to meet Jason after he came out from the finish area. I tried to be happy and supportive when I saw him but that lasted about 3 seconds before I broke down into tears and told him about our experiences that morning.

I definitely learned some very valuable lessons that day about what not to do when trying to spectate a marathon in a new city with three kids by yourself. I decided I needed to record the events of that morning to remind me why I can never do this to myself again!! By the end of it all, I definitely decided I would rather run the 26.2 miles than spectate in the chaos that we experienced that morning!!

Sleeping Beauty

2011-11-20T20:33:00.001-05:00

If you were expecting a picture of Abby from the title of this post, you are sadly mistaken (although she is quite the sleeping beauty too!)

Sleeping babies are the best...especially when you are the one who gets to snuggle with them while they snooze!

Sure do love this little man!!

Trick-or-Treat!

2011-11-08T15:00:00.000-05:00

All day long these two little kids were so hyped up about going trick-or-treating. (Abby had the day off from school so the excitement was palpable literally ALL DAY LONG!!) Right before heading out the door, we had a little photo-shoot...

Abby as the Witch!!
(I think the main reason that she decided on this costume was because of the wig. She thought it was pretty cool to be sporting black hair that night!!)

The crazy twosome together...

And the cutest little Dumbo that you'll ever see...

Complete with flapping ears and all!!

And of course we can't forget about our little "BAT-MAN!"

We ended up hitting just about every house in our neighborhood which took us about 90 minutes. The weather was actually warmer than we thought it would be so we took advantage of it!!

This was how Nolan spent the majority of the evening!!

Just a portion of our candy haul that night!! They got REALLY good candy in my opinion (mostly chocolate candy bars!!) But Abby did complain that she didn't get more gum and suckers!! (Someday she'll learn about what the good stuff really is!!)

Little Monster

2011-11-07T13:50:00.000-05:00

I found this cute little monster outfit at Target and knew who it was perfect for...

Our little Nolan Monster!!

Actually, he's about as polar opposite from a monster as a baby could be, but he still looked adorable!! (Target is a dangerous place for me. It seems like every time I go, my one or two items that I'm there to pick up turn into 10-15!!...Does anyone else have this problem???)

I just love his expressions in these pictures!!

"Hey, too much flash from my paparazzi mom..."

"See, I'm not really a monster. I've already learned how to fold my hands!"

"Uhhh...not so sure about this!"

"I love to do the "touchdown" dance for my daddy's entertainment!"

Oc-"SNOW"-ber

2011-11-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

It's beginning to look a lot like....Halloween!!!

On the Saturday before Halloween, much of the East Coast was pelted with a very early fluke snowstorm. In the five winters that we have lived here, we have never seen snow before December so this was certainly strange to have snow before Halloween. The day before I mowed the lawn and we all enjoyed a typical fall day, then we had snow fall ALL DAY LONG on Saturday. When all was said and done, we ended up getting about 3 inches of snow!

Just enough to make a snow man!!

I am not a huge fan of winter so I admit I wasn't thrilled about having snow this early, but it was fun to see the kids enjoying it so much!! At least it all melted by the next day and we are back to enjoying some normal fall weather again.

Pumpkin Painting

2011-11-05T16:15:00.000-04:00

On the Monday before Halloween, our FHE activity was to paint our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. We have insanely tried carving our pumpkins in years past, but I have to admit that with small children, painting is definitely the way to go (Plus our pumpkins still look nice sitting on our front porch, unlike the rotting carved pumpkins seen everywhere else!!)

Abby and Landon both enjoyed creating their pumpkin masterpieces and really got into the whole experience. Landon painted a nice picture of....who knows, but he had fun which was the most important part. Abby drew a nice face on hers and 10 minutes from start to finish we were done with very little clean-up involved.

I still love the look of carved pumpkins so I know that someday we'll get out those knives, but for this year at least, paint was a great alternative!

Our First Garden...From Beginning to End

2011-11-04T16:40:00.000-04:00

Last May, we planted our first "real" garden. We had done some previous container gardening in the homes that we rented before this one, but this was our first official, raised-bed garden. We weren't quite sure how everything would turn out, but we planted with faith, hoping that we would reap some benefits in the form of yummy vegetables throughout the summer...

It started off small in the beginning...

But within just a month, we started to see some major progress...

And all of the effort that Jason put into keeping our garden this summer paid off big time. It was wonderful to have fresh tomatoes, zucchini, peppers and even a few onions for the last four months. We ate a ton, canned a bunch and gave a whole lot away!!

But alas, all good things must come to an end and so it was with our garden. Our fluke snowstorm last weekend (more on that later) officially ended our bounteous garden production this year.

It was kind of sad taking down these beautiful plants, but at least Abby enjoyed catching some air while jumping on the remnants.

We definitely learned a lot about gardening this year and we'll be anxious to put our green thumbs to work again come Spring!!

Park in the Dark

2011-10-26T15:37:00.000-04:00

The Washington County Recreation Department put on a fun night for kids called "The Park in the Dark" last Friday night. Everyone was encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes and there were lots of different activities for the kids to do.

Abby will be a witch for Halloween this year but decided she wanted to be Princess Jasmine that night. And in the background you can see a very grumpy looking Dumbo (this costume makes me chuckle every time I see him in it!) Landon actually loves this costume too, but he was obviously upset about something or other at this moment!

And Nolan is our little "Bat-man" this year! He spent most of the night looking just like this!!

Landon especially enjoyed all the hit/roll/throw the ball games they had to offer...

And Abby did pretty well at them too!

The favorite activity of the night were the jump houses and obstacle course...

Our "frightful" threesome...

The Rec Department does such a great job with these kid events. We are lucky to live in an area that offers so many fun family activities!!

Growing up in the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-25T15:41:00.000-04:00

I had never, ever set foot in a pumpkin patch before I had children. I never went growing up but it seemed like as soon as Abby was born, it was something that I looked forward to doing each year with her and later with Landon and Nolan now too. When Abby was about 8 months old, we went to one in Texas. We forgot our camera that day but we haven't made that mistake since. Here are our pumpkin patch adventures since 2007...

Reynolds Farm, PA (2007) -- Abby (20 months)

Summers Farm, MD (2008) -- Abby (2 1/2), Landon (4 months old)

Reynolds Farm, PA (2009) -- Abby (3), Landon (16 months)

Reynolds Farm, PA (2010) -- Abby (4), Landon (2)

Reynolds Farm, PA (2011) -- Abby (5), Landon (3), Nolan (almost 4 months)

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-24T15:35:00.001-04:00

Abby had last Friday off from school so we took advantage of it by hitting up Reynolds Farm in Pennsylvania. We have been almost every year since we moved here and the kids always have a great time. The weather was a bit chilly that day but it didn't stop us from enjoying our pumpkin experience.

All three kids at the front sign (After this Nolan spent the rest of the time asleep in his Beco carrier since we went right during his nap time!)

Abby almost to the "4!"

With Landon quickly catching up!!

They loved exploring all of the different boxes full of different-sized pumpkins...

But the real fun came from the slides and playground nearby (I think Landon liked this slide although you wouldn't guess it from the look of this picture!)

Abby really liked this caterpillar slide too!

I think their favorite part in the playground was this pile of hay that they could jump in. We spent most of our playground time here...

(Don't worry, no child was hurt in any of these pictures!)

Abby really liked these tractor bikes, but alas, Landon was still a bit too short to ride them again this year!

Then it was time to go on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch to find our Halloween pumpkins. My only requirement was that each child find a pumpkin that they could carry (I had my hands full with Nolan!) This proved to be harder than I though since most of the pumpkins in the patch were HUGE!! After much searching though, we finally found some that were the perfect size!

Abby was a bit grossed out when she accidentally stuck her gloved hand into a rotting pumpkin. She wasn't such a huge fan of the pumpkin guts!!

Another successful visit to the pumpkin patch!!

Dancing Diva

2011-10-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

Abby has been taking dance lessons since the end of August through the Washington County Recreation Department. Their lessons were a fraction of the cost of some other places that I had checked out so I thought this would be a good chance for Abby to try them out (she's been begging for a while) without forking over a ton of money. It's a good thing too...she has decided that she's done with dance lessons after December so we'll try out something different then. I think she thought that dance lessons would be something like performing on a stage every week and not just the same movements that they perform over and over again!!

Regardless of her current feelings about dance, she was excited about "Parent Night" so that she could show us all of the things that she has learned (She is quite the little performer!!) It was really cute to see her perform both her little tap and ballet routines for us. She's a good little dancer so maybe she'll change her mind about dance lessons someday!!

Looking Good

2011-10-22T15:49:00.000-04:00

I find that it's better when I don't set foot in the outlets located just minutes from our house. Every time I go, I can't resist picking up some cute things for the kiddos. Our visit last Saturday produced these adorable matching ties and hats for Landon and Nolan. I love me some cute church clothes!!

Abby didn't want to be left out of the picture loop either (I just love Nolan's look in this one!!)

All dressed up and ready for Stake Conference. They all made quite the hit!!

Puzzle Boy

2011-10-16T13:44:00.001-04:00

Landon has officially gained the title of "puzzle-maker" in our family. I am amazed at how this little boy can put together puzzles. He loves them and does at least a few everyday. He has now graduated to 100+ piece puzzles and does them quite well.

This Spider Man puzzle is his current favorite. He will often sit next to Nolan's bouncy seat and do these puzzles on the floor next to him so "Nolan can watch me" (in Landon's words.) I can't believe how big and grown up my "first little man" is becoming!!

Three Months!!

2011-10-14T13:46:00.000-04:00

Nolan has now officially reached the "magical age" for me. The first three months are always kind of a blur between nonstop feedings, sleepless nights and a newborn who really doesn't interact much with the family. But it seems like a little switch goes off at 3 months and suddenly feedings are less frequent, sleep is improved and best of all, we get to see lots of personality, smiles and giggles. It makes the first three months so worthwhile!!

So here is the man of the hour in the 12-month outfit...

And then the 3-month outfit...

We sure do love our little Nolan man. He is such a good little guy and is so content for much of the day. We all love to make him smile and laugh and he seems to be thoroughly entertained by all of us. I probably kiss him over a hundred times each day but I just can't get enough of his lovable chunky cheeks!! I have been receiving lots of comments lately about how much he looks like me and I'm really starting to see it now too, especially in the eyes.

We sure do love our little 3-month old!!

Princess for a Day

2011-10-13T13:24:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, September 17th, Abby and I attended a "Princess for a Day" party put on by the county recreation department. Abby looked just like a princess in her Sleeping Beauty gown and curly blonde hair!

Each girl got some tokens that they got to spend on some fun princess treats and prizes of their choosing. Abby chose a wand, some bracelets, a necklace and some stickers.

Next on to the Princess "Fairy Dust" table...

And a picture with a painted princess!

She was also treated to a little princess "makeover" complete with glitter for her hair and a jeweled heart on her cheek!

They had some "real princesses" in attendance too (Miss Teen Washington County and Miss Washington County!!)

And what princess party would be complete without a fun little obstacle course to enjoy?!?!?

At the end of the party, we all enjoyed a little dancing...

And Abby demonstrated her own "princess groove!"

It was a very fun afternoon and I'm glad that we were able to share this day together. She said over and over again "Thank you mom for taking me to this princess party." It was definitely a big hit. We'll be attending a similar event this winter with Landon based on Superheroes. He'll love it I'm sure!!

New Runner in the Family

2011-10-12T15:55:00.000-04:00

So while I was busy making and having a baby, Jason decided to become the official "runner" of the family. He and a friend have been training since last Spring together and they have really kept each other motivated. After a few months of training, they decided to sign up for the Richmond Marathon in November along with the half-marathon they had already decided to run.

On Saturday, September 10th Jason ran and completed the Western Maryland Half Marathon (the same one I did last year.) Here he is with about 3 miles to go...still looking strong. (This is a pretty small race and the kids and I were the only spectators/cheerleaders at this point of the race. It was kind of bittersweet to be on this end of racing. It was fun to cheer all the runners on, but a part of me really wished I was out there with them. Give me a bit more time, and I will be!!)

Here he is racing the finish. He completed the course in 2:06 and felt pretty good about his efforts. Now on to the full marathon in November!!

Little Man

2011-09-30T14:00:00.000-04:00

Yes, you can all be jealous that I get to squeeze this little boy all day long!! He is just such a sweet little man and we all love him so much! It has been fun to see his personality showing through more and more and have him respond to our efforts to make him laugh and smile.

Landon has A LOT of love for this little brother...sometimes a bit too much love. We definitely have to rein him in sometimes, but I think they will be great friends once Nolan gets a bit older.

Oh, little Nolan, you are too cute for words!!

My Boys

2011-09-29T14:00:00.001-04:00

I thought I would do some comparison shots of Landon and Nolan on their respective blessing days.

Here is Nolan on Labor Day Weekend 2011 (2 months old.)

And here is Landon on Labor Day Weekend 2008 (3 months old.)

Definitely some similarities there, but they also each have their own unique look to them. It will be fun to see what Nolan will look like as he grows a bit older!!

Labor Day

2011-09-28T12:50:00.000-04:00

So this is almost a month overdue, but better late than never!!

We were lucky to be able to spend Labor Day with both of our grandparents and despite the rain, we had a great time!

Abby and Landon loved being pulled and chased by Grandpa Call...

And the tickling was lots of fun too!

Landon was in heaven playing baseball with Grandpa Don...

And Jason was in heaven on the grill (despite the rainy conditions he endured to do it!!)

Abby and Landon loved putting together their own chicken shish-kabobs....

And they were yummy to eat too!!

The rain prevented us from doing s'mores on the firepit, but we made them in the oven and they still turned out into a gooey and yummy desert.

It was sad to see everyone leave us the next day (Grandma Julie did get to stay one extra day with us though which helped to ease the sadness a bit.) We sure had a fun time having everyone at our house that weekend!!

Blessing Day

2011-09-21T15:00:00.000-04:00

The main event for everyone's visit occurred on Sunday, September 4th...

Nolan's Blessing Day!!

He looked so adorable in his little white outfit and everything went very smoothly with his blessing experience...until about 10 minutes after his blessing when he completely exploded in his pants and a complete outfit change was in order!! I was just happy it happened after the blessing rather than before!

Family Portraits

2011-09-20T15:00:00.000-04:00

One of the biggest priorities for my mom while she was here was to get some good shots of her and my dad with all of their grandchildren. She had her ideas all drawn out on paper and amazingly, the kids actually cooperated and we got some really nice pictures...

And a nice group shot of everyone right after Nolan's blessing!

Cousin Lovin'

2011-09-19T15:00:00.001-04:00

We loved having the Torgesen's come and spend the night with us on the night before Nolan's blessing. Abby and Landon love playing with their cousins and they all had a great time enjoying our latest purchase...a trampoline!

After wearing themselves out by playing all day long, they all slept comfortably in the playroom and amazingly were all asleep by around 10 p.m. We often have VERY late nights when all the kids are in the same room together!

The next morning, Landon and Tyler were looking pretty spiffy in their church suits...

Most of the cousins all ready for church on Sunday...

We sure do love when our cousins come to visit!!

BYU Fight Song

2011-09-18T15:00:00.001-04:00

While everyone was here visiting us, we had Abby and Landon perform their newest song together...the BYU Fight Song (we thought it was an appropriate song to learn as we approached the start of the college football season!) They were quite the little performers and we really got a kick out of it!!

I imagine someday Nolan will be joining them in their singing performances, but for now he's content with just looking cute!!

Doggie Operation

2011-09-17T15:00:00.001-04:00

One of the first things that my mom did when she visited was to repair Abby's beloved stuffed animal "Doggie." This animal has really been through the ringer over the last four years and when Abby was two years old and we weaned her from her pacifier, she decided to chew on "Doggie's" eyes and nose until they eventually fell off! Needless to say, "Doggie" was looking a bit scary!!

So Grandma Julie came to the rescue with her wonderful sewing skills...

And "Doggie" was looking pretty good again!!

Thank you Grandma Julie for performing this much needed "Doggie Operation!"

Grandparents

2011-09-16T15:00:00.001-04:00

We had planned to bless Nolan over Labor Day weekend and we were very lucky to have both sets of grandparents as well as two of my sisters and their families come out for it. For most of them, it was their first time seeing our newest little man and he delighted everyone with his little baby smiles!!

Grandma and Grandpa Call with their newest grandson...

It was fun to have Grandma Call back out just 6 weeks after being here right after Nolan was born. We could definitely get used to having her visit more often!!

This was my parents' first visit with little Nolan and they really enjoyed meeting him. Nolan quickly adapted to the green light of Grandma Julie's camera that was always snapping pictures of him!

Two BYU fans before the Mississippi State game...

Landon and Abby also enjoyed all of the grandparent attention that they received during their visit. They especially enjoyed getting stories read to them by their grandmas and grandpas...

And they also enjoyed reading stories to grandma and grandpa!!

We sure wish that we lived closer to both of our grandmas and grandpas, but we sure do have fun with them when they come to visit!!

Rapunzel Abby

2011-09-15T15:00:00.004-04:00

Ever since seeing the movie "Tangled," Abby has been pretty obsessed with the story of Rapunzel, especially her long, long hair. Since Abby's hair doesn't seem to grow as long or as fast as she would like it to, she has improvised by making her own "hair" with a paper chain. Her goal was to make it 70 feet (no idea where that number came from.) Although it's not quite that long, it is quite the chain at this point. She loves to drape it over the upstairs balcony and throw it down to all of us down below!!

She is quite the creative little girl!!

Two Months -- August 28th

2011-09-14T22:40:00.000-04:00

I'm a bit behind on this one, but just pretend we're back on August 28th to celebrate my little man's 2nd "monthday!!"

So here he is in all his glory at two months...

Here he is at one month old in the same outfit...

The 0-3 month outfits are definitely fitting better at this point and he has even outgrown a few things because he is so long. He had his 2-month checkup and weighed in at 11 lbs (25th percentile) and 24 inches (75th percentile). He is long and lean but super healthy and eats like a champ! He didn't care for his first round of vaccinations too much but only cried for a minute or so before calming down again.

I know I've said it before, but Nolan is a very good baby. He is sleeping for 7-8 hour stretches at night now (hallelujah) and has even slept through the night on occasion. He eats about every 2.5-3 hours during the day but increases his feedings in the evening which I don't mind if it means he can sleep longer at night!

This month he really started smiling and even chuckling at us which has been so rewarding. I love this phase when they can finally interact with you a bit and we get those big gummy grins!

He started to go to the gym with me at 7 weeks and spends most of his time there either sleeping or being cuddled by the wonderful women who work there. We are starting to get into a little routine now that school has started and he fits into our little lives so well.

There are definitely times when it gets a bit hairy-scary with three kids (especially when they all need something at the same time) but overall I think we are adjusting well. I still think the hardest adjustment for me was from no kids to having Abby since it was such a complete change in lifestyle and habits. I actually think three children has been the easiest transition so far.

I keep telling people that if I could guarantee another pregnancy, delivery and baby just like Nolan, I would have a lot more of them. Too bad I can't get that in writing though!!

First Day of Kingergarten!!

2011-09-10T13:00:00.001-04:00

Abby started school on Thursday, August 25th. She was super excited about her first day and woke up nice and early, bursting with enthusiasm.

She had picked out her first day of school outfit a few weeks before and I curled her hair for the special occasion...

She looked so adorable and grown-up!!

After breakfast, we loaded the whole family into the car to take her to school that day...

It was a rainy day, but she was really happy that her outfit included a built-in hoodie to keep her dry!!

She was now an official kindergartner at Paramount Elementary School!

Here she is in front of her classroom. Her teacher is Ms. Austin which we were really excited about. We were told she was a great teacher and Abby really loves her!!

At this point I started to get a bit weepy but I tried to hold it together long enough to show her to her cubby and get her all settled in. Abby was anxious and excited for this day and had no problems saying goodbye. As soon as I walked out her door though, I really lost it. It was hard to see my baby girl leaving me for the first time and heading off to school. But seeing her excitement each day and knowing how much she is learning and growing makes it all worth it.

We sure do love our little Kindergartner!!

Father's Blessing

2011-09-02T14:00:00.000-04:00

The night before Abby's first day of school, Jason gave her a beautiful Father's blessing. He first explained what he would be doing...that he would bless her with a good school year, that she would learn and grow and make good friends, that she would be blessed with good health and an open mind.

After the blessing, there were some big hugs given to her special Daddy.

Then we packed up her backpack and lunch and sent her off to bed!! Next up...the BIG DAY!!

Our Little Girl is Growing Up!!

2011-09-01T14:00:00.000-04:00

Where oh where does the time go!! Some days seem to drag on and on and on, but the years just pass by way too fast.

When we moved to Hagerstown, Abby was only 17 months old. Here she is it that tender age playing on the swings at City Park (we discovered this park soon after moving here and we have loved it ever since!)

Don't you just love this expression of pure joy on her little chubby face!!

And here she is on that exact same swing four years later!!

She still has that same sweet face, but oh how she has grown over these last four years!!

I can't believe my baby is now old enough to head off by herself to school each day. It breaks my heart to let her go, but I know this is just a part of growing up. She is so READY and EXCITED about starting kindergarten. She has a great teacher, I know she will make some great friends and this year will be so fun and exciting for her.

I'll just miss her sooooo much. (Why can't they stay young just a bit longer?!?!?)

I LOVE YOU ABBY, far more than words could ever say!!

'Twas the day before school starts...

2011-08-31T14:00:00.000-04:00

Everybody in Washington County started school on Wednesday, August 24th. They do a staggered start to Kindergarten though, where only half the kids attend school on the first day, the other half attends on the second day and then everyone finally meets together for the third day. This gives the teachers a chance to work more closely with each student for those first few days since they only have about 10-12 each day. Abby was assigned to start school on the second staggered day (Thursday, August 25th.) Since Wednesday was her last day of "summer vacation," I let her choose any three things that she would like to do that day to help celebrate her last day of "freedom."

The first thing she chose to do was hit up "Chuck E. Cheese." It was a perfect day to go since most of the other kids in the area were back in school. Abby and Landon both had a great time playing all the games and rides and winning some cheap prizes!!

After Jason came home from work, Abby decided that the second thing she wanted to do was play at "City Park." It was a perfect evening to play and enjoy ourselves before heading off to the third and final event of the day, Maugansville Creamery for some yummy ice cream.

It was hard for me to imagine that my baby girl would be heading off to school for the first time the next day. She was super excited though and we were all glad that we had fun celebrating her last day with us!!

The Last Hurrah...Lakemont

2011-08-30T14:00:00.000-04:00

On Friday, August 19th we headed up north a bit to Lakemont, a small amusement park in Altoona, Pennsylvania. This was our last little adventure of the summer before Abby would start school the following week. The best part about this amusement park is the price....for $5 each we got all day "Ride and Slide" passes good for all the rides as well as the water park. Can't beat that!!

Abby's favorite ride of the day were these giant swings. She got to go on it twice, once with me and once with her daddy.

They had about 8-10 different kiddie rides and we hit most of them up. There were hardly any lines so we got to go on a lot of the rides in just a short amount of time!! Here they are trying out their monster truck skills!

Landon also enjoyed shooting "monsters" in the airplane ride (How is it that despite the fact that we have never bought a toy gun for Landon to use, he still manages to make "guns" out of just about every building block set we have. I think it must be in their nature!!)

Landon, Abby and I took a little train ride around the park while Jason and Nolan watched us from afar. (Nolan was a perfect angel the entire day...but that really wasn't any different than any other day. We count our blessings each day that we were blessed with such a great third child!!)

Landon's favorite ride were the bumper cars. We probably rode them about 4-5 times. Abby was excited that next year she will probably be able to go on a lot more rides like the bumper cars all by herself since she was just a few inches shy of the mark this year.

After hitting up the rides for a few hours, we headed over to the arcade to wait out a short thunder and rainstorm. After it all cleared, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the waterpark. The kids were too small to go on any of the slides but they had a super fun pirate pool that they had a great time in. Abby also practiced some of her new swimming skills in the bigger pool nearby.

We had so much fun all day long that we would really like to make this an annual tradition.Thank you Lakemont for providing us a great last day of summer family fun!!

Superheroes!!

2011-08-29T13:45:00.001-04:00

After a bit of cutting, taping, tying and A LOT of imagination, Abby and Landon created their own superhero costumes...

They then preceded to take turns flying around the house and jumping off the stairs to show off their superhuman abilities. I just love how creative these two little buddies are! (And yes, those are giant green leaves being used for masks!!)

Lazy Days of Summer

2011-08-09T12:10:00.001-04:00

Ahhhh, the joys of sleeping like a baby!!

Nolan had his one month check-up last week (August 2nd). He measured just about 50th percentile in everything and the doctor said he looked perfect. At exactly 5 weeks old, we weighed in at 9 lb, 9 oz and was 22.5 inches long. The crazy thing is that Nolan at 5 weeks still hasn't reached the size that Landon was at birth (9 lb 14 oz!!) We sure do love our "perfect" little boy

Kidfest

2011-08-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday we attended another free event at the church down the street from our house. It was a fun "Kid's Fest" complete with a moonbounce, crafts and some fun water games. The people who put on these activities are always so nice and since they open it up to the public, I don't feel bad taking advantage of all their free activities with no intention of actually joining their church.

Abby and Landon really got a kick out of the slip-n-slide. Abby finally caught on how to really go down it, but Landon would just basically run down the length of the slide and then jump into the little pool of water at the end. He had a blast though, so that's what matters most!

Sunday Best

2011-08-07T10:00:00.001-04:00

Dare I say it, but I really think we have the cutest kids in the world!! Here they are looking mighty fine in their Sunday best...

Since Nolan was completely out during our little "pre-church" photo shoot, I decided to use the opportunity to get some cute solo shots of Nolan in this handsome little get-up. I actually bought this outfit a few months ago before we knew what we were having. I just couldn't resist how cute it was!!

My Sweet Little Man!!

2011 Ag Expo

2011-08-06T12:08:00.000-04:00

Last week we hit up the Washington County Ag Expo on Thursday night. We attended last year as part of our family reunion and this year it was even bigger and better with the addition of some fun amusement park rides.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening were the pig races again. They are pretty entertaining to watch!!

Then we hit up all the animal stalls and gave a few pets to some of our favorite ones...

Landon would have probably spent several hours playing with the corn kernel table if we had let him. You can see in the background that Nolan was enthralled with everything too, behind his closed little eyes of course!!

It was fun to see all of the little baby animals that had just recently been born too. Like these baby chicks...

And the baby pigs (they were only 5 days old!!)...

Abby enjoyed riding around in her own little tractor...

And we finished off the evening with one ride on the carousel and some yummy cotton candy!

It was definitely a fun evening and we can't wait to attend again next year!

Royal Couple

2011-08-05T15:40:00.000-04:00

Our local mall has been having a fun activity each week for young kids. It's like story time, singing time and craft time all rolled into one. And because it's free, you know we've taken full advantage of it each week.

Last week's theme was all about "fairy tales" and the craft project at the end was making these yellow crowns. Abby and Landon loved their artwork so much that when they came home they decided to act out the story of "Sleeping Beauty." At one point, Abby told Landon to wait downstairs as she "got ready" upstairs. (Getting ready turned out to be lying in her bed pretending to be asleep.) When she yelled "ready," Landon raced upstairs to wake his "sleeping beauty" and the royal couple then walked downstairs, arm-in-arm.

I just love their imagination and I hope they can always remain such close friends!!

Newborn Outtakes!!

2011-07-29T13:00:00.000-04:00

I had been wanting to take some cute newborn pictures of Nolan to use for his birth announcements but somehow it just never seemed to happen. Finally one day last week the stars seemed to align (Abby and Landon were having "quiet time", it was a nice hot day so I could do some diaper-only photos and the sky was a bit overcast to make for some good pictures.) Within about 5 minutes of going outside, I started to hear some thunder rumblings and a few minutes later I decided to head back inside. It was a good think I did too because within 30 seconds it started to pour!

I ended up getting a bunch of "outtakes" and really thought that I had taken nothing that I could use for Nolan's announcements. Fortunately after going through them all, I was able to find a few usable ones and his announcements should be arriving soon. In the meantime, you can enjoy the ones that didn't make the cut!!

(For a few days I tried taking a few more with different outfits, but none seemed to look as cute as the little "naked man" pics I took the first day!!)

One Month Birthday!!

2011-07-28T15:50:00.000-04:00

Today marks Nolan's "One Month Birthday!" It's really crazy how fast time seems to be flying. I can't believe it's already been a month since he was born.

I was trying to think of something I could do to keep track of how much he grows, and I finally thought of buying the same outfit, one in a 3-month size and the other in a 12-month size and then take pictures with each outfit every month to mark his monthly birthdays.

So here is Nolan at 1 month in the 3-month outfit (definitely still baggy and the shorts won't stay up!!)...

And here he is in the 12-month outfit (alas his legs don't even show through the shorts!!)

I think it will be fun to measure his growth each month and watch how the 3-month outfit begins to get too small and the 12-month outift start to fit him more and more.

Some facts about Nolan at 1 month:

* He's still wearing newborn diapers but as soon as the current pack runs out, we'll be moving on up to size 1.

*He still fits snugly into the Newborn size of clothes, but is mostly wearing the 0-3 month size now (it is crazy for me to have a normal sized newborn this time around, with two 9 pounders before him!!)

*He isn't sleeping quite as well as his first week at home, but he still gives me a good 7-8 hours at night and only wakes up to eat 2-3 times and then goes right back to sleep.

*He likes his pacifier at times, but never sleeps with it at night.

*He loves both the Baby Bjorn and the Baby K'tan carriers that we have and will usually fall asleep in them within about 5 minutes.

*He loves getting his diaper changed but seems to just tolerate bathtime!

*He does not like to be left alone and really prefers to be snuggled up tight next to someone.

*He LOVES being swaddled at night!

*He still has a full head of brown hair (with a slightly receding hairline though!)

*He is just becoming more aware of his surroundings and has even given us a smile or two when we talk to him.

We are crazy-in-love with our little Nolan Boy and we are so glad that he is ours!!

Grandma Loves

2011-07-27T13:45:00.000-04:00

Somehow or other we have survived since Grandma left. We've actually stayed pretty busy with Library story and craft times, activities at the mall, free summer movies, and trips to the lake. I am definitely not one to sit around, especially with just a month left before Abby starts Kindergarten!! We've got to pack in the fun while we still have the chance!!

Here are some pictures of Grandma with her newest grandson the day that she left. It sure was nice having her here!!

Splish Splash

2011-07-16T13:00:00.001-04:00

Nolan's cord fell off last Sunday (hallelujah!!) Abby was thrilled with this news as she had a really hard time looking at the little piece of rotting flesh when I would get him dressed in the mornings! I was excited too since it meant my little man could finally take a real bath!!

He seemed to love the water and just stared in wide-eyed amazement the entire time. Abby and Landon were a bit disappointed that he didn't splash more, but I assured them both that I am sure he will with a little time. He just needs to learn how to control all those limbs a bit more!!

Dad and his Boys!

2011-07-15T13:00:00.000-04:00

I love seeing all of my boys having some bonding time together! Landon has been so good with Nolan. He is infatuated with him and once Nolan really starts to interact with him, I think it will throw Landon into a state of complete joy. I just know that these two will become the best of buds before too long!

My "big" and "littlest" men in their Sunday best last week!!

Grandma's Visit

2011-07-14T13:00:00.001-04:00

We have been very lucky to have had Jason's mom here for the last week. Not only has she been a wonderful help when it comes to doing all the cooking and cleaning, but she has also spent many hours playing games with Abby and Landon. I'm not sure who will have a harder time when she leaves today, me or the kids!!

She also took our first official "family of five" picture last Sunday before heading to church.

Tomorrow will be my first official day all by myself with three kiddos. Let's hope I survive!! (At least it's a Friday so I only have to survive one day before the weekend arrives!!)

Cuteness

2011-07-13T17:30:00.000-04:00

I know I am totally biased, but I just love holding and cuddling with this cute little man!! He is just so sweet and adorable!

I love these sweet little sleepy smiles!!

Unfortunately, Nolan is no longer sleeping as well as he did last week. Instead of going for 6-8 hour stretches, we are now lucky to get 2-3 hours between feedings (and when I say "we", I really mean just "me!") Fortunately he only wakes up to eat and goes right back to sleep. I'm hoping he's just going through a growth spurt right now!!

Holy Moly!!

2011-07-10T13:39:00.001-04:00

I seriously cannot believe how much our garden has grown in just the last month. As a reminder, this is where we started from around the middle of May...

And this is where we are now (These pictures were actually taken at the end of June, the night before we had Nolan!)

This was the biggest zucchini that we have picked thus far...can't wait until everything starts to ripen (although I think we will end up having way more tomatoes than we will know what to do with!!)

Shoemaker

2011-07-09T13:37:00.001-04:00

Abby seems to have the greatest imagination when it comes to creating things. Here she is making her own style of high-heels using tape and building blocks. She spends most of the day creating things like this and drawing pictures. She is definitely becoming quite the little artist!!

Brothers

2011-07-08T13:44:00.000-04:00

After going through all the little boy clothes that we have, Landon declared that he wanted to match Nolan when he saw this little baseball outfit (he remembered that he had a similar shirt in his closet!) I thought they looked so cute together with their "matching outfits."

Landon is such a great big brother to Nolan and we couldn't be more pleased with how he is adjusting so far. I know that these two little boys will become the best of friends in the years to come!!

First Bath

2011-07-07T13:43:00.001-04:00

When it was time to give Nolan his first little sponge bath at home, I had lots of help!! Abby is still completely grossed out by his umbilical cord stump and she'll only look at it like this (somehow the hands like binoculars over her eyes makes the stump a bit less scary looking!!)...

Abby and Landon both picked out their favorite color of washcloth and helped me wipe Nolan down with them...

I think I will have more than enough help with this new baby with these two little munchkins around!!

Flowers

2011-07-06T17:00:00.002-04:00

People were so generous to us during our brief stay in the hospital. It seemed like every few hours we received some new flowers or balloons. They are all so pretty but since I know they won't last forever, I wanted to be sure to document the ones we received. We felt so loved!!

Coming Home

2011-07-06T13:42:00.000-04:00

After much debate back and forth, we finally decided on the name "Nolan Thomas" just hours before leaving the hospital and signing his birth certificate document. We were debating between "Eli Thomas" (Jason's favorite) and "Nolan Thomas" (my favorite) and eventually I won out!! Of course it didn't hurt that the kids were already calling him Nolan since that was the name that they liked too!! I just love his little name and it fits him just right. His middle name is Thomas after my Grandpa Henry Thomas and also after the current prophet of our church...Thomas S. Monson.

After coming home, we put him in his swing to see how he would like it...you can obviously tell from the picture below that he absolutely hated it (Just kidding!!) We are so not used to having a baby this small!! He just looks so tiny in this swing...

Mom, Dad and Baby Nolan with our hospital tags before cutting them off...

Big brother Landon loving on his little brother...

Going in for this kiss (he gives him about a thousand of these each day!!)...

Going in for the "kill"?!?!?

My two little men...

Hospital...Day 2

2011-07-05T13:40:00.000-04:00

It was really hard for me to watch my little family leave that night to sleep at home. Nolan and I had a rough night with lots of interruptions by different nurses so when I was given the option to go home on Wednesday rather then Thursday, I decided to go for it. I was feeling great (amazing what a difference delivering a 7 lb baby vs. an almost 10 lb. baby can make!!) and once Nolan received a clean bill of health, we were ready to make our way home that afternoon.

I did get a chance to try out my new carrier while we were still in the hospital waiting for our discharge to go through. It's a Baby K'Tan and I LOVE it (so does Nolan!!)

Some final moments of rest before leaving the hospital...

I felt really good about my decision to leave the hospital early. It was nice to come home and have everyone together again. That night both Nolan and I got some much needed rest. He slept from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. when I finally woke him up to eat. He's been consistently sleeping for a good 5-6 hour stretch, eating, and then going back to sleep for 3-4 more hours. Can't ask for much better than that!!

Big Brother/Big Sister

2011-07-04T13:00:00.000-04:00

I had been telling Abby and Landon for a few weeks that if they ever woke up in the morning and Amy was there instead of me, it meant that I was at the hospital having our baby. Well that morning finally arrived last Tuesday and they were both very excited. I waited until about 7:30 a.m. to call them and share with them the news that they now had a new baby brother!!

After spending the morning at Greenbrier State Park with our playgroup, Jason went to pick them up that afternoon so that they could meet the newest little addition to our family. They both immediately wanted to hold him!

Abby was just enthralled with her new baby brother and eagerly exclaimed that she wanted to have a baby someday just like him!

Landon was a little unsure of his new brother at first but he has taken on his new role of big brother very nicely!

How could you not fall in love with this sweet little face?!?!

After becoming acquainted with their new brother, they stole my hospital bed away from me and enjoyed watching an episode of Scooby-Doo!

Introducing...Nolan Thomas Call!!!

2011-07-03T14:15:00.002-04:00

Just minutes old...

My little man and I get acquainted for the first time...

Proud Daddy (and perfect labor partner!!)

The Birth Story of Nolan Thomas Call

On Monday, June 27th I had an OB appointment at 3 p.m. Jason went with me and we left Abby and Landon with a neighbor since I knew they would be doing a cervical check (I hadn’t had one done up to this point.) I was exactly 40 weeks and 1 day at this appointment. The baby looked good and although he/she measured small (about 38 weeks), I was a bit concerned about going too far over my due date due to the size of my last two children (Abby was 9 lbs, 4oz at birth and Landon was 9 lbs, 14 oz). They decided to schedule an induction but my options were limited due to the approaching holiday weekend and the fact that they already had inductions scheduled at the hospital for the end of the week. I could either choose from June 28th (the next day!!), June 29th or July 5th. Since I was really hoping to avoid an induction, I chose to go with the latest date, July 5th. I was really hoping for a natural birth this time around. I had had a natural birth with Landon, but it wasn’t by choice. I had requested an epidural as soon as I arrived at the hospital, but he came too fast to have any pain relief in place. I really wasn’t prepared for an un-medicated birth, but my recovery was so good with Landon that I really wanted to try for another natural birth, this time by choice though. I also knew that a natural birth was going to be almost impossible with an induction (I hear those pitocin contractions are really hard because there’s no gradual build-up to them, so I really wanted to avoid that.) I also didn’t want to have a 10 lb baby though, so June 5th was planned although I was REALLY hoping to go on my own before then.

At the appointment, I found out that I was 2 cm dilated, 75% effaced and that the baby was very low. Since things seemed to be progressing, I went ahead and had the midwife (Jessica) strip my membranes in hopes that it might throw my body into labor sooner rather than later. I knew it would be uncomfortable, but I was willing to try it if it would help to jumpstart labor. She told me that her mentor told her that with a proper membrane sweep, she should end up with blood on her glove, and that she did!! Thank goodness it only lasted about 15-20 seconds or so!!

We came back home, picked up the kids, and ran a few errands. I was definitely a bit crampy by this point and about 5 p.m. I lost my mucous plug. Around 7 p.m. the cramps seemed to be coming in regular intervals, but they were staying pretty low in my abdomen and I didn’t feel like they were true contractions since I didn’t feel it throughout the entire uterus like I had felt when I was in labor with both Landon and Abby. We put the kids to bed and finally around 9:30 p.m. I started to have Jason time these “crampy” contractions. Some were pretty mild, but some were starting to become a bit intense. They ranged from about 3-6 minutes apart so I went ahead and called the midwife on call that night (Donna). She thought the same thing that I did, that since they weren’t spreading throughout the entire uterus, they may just be a result of the membrane sweep done earlier. She told me that if things started to change, to go ahead and come on in and that she would put the hospital on notice that I may be heading in that night. Jason and I headed to bed around 11 p.m. and Jason was fortunate enough to get a couple of hours of sleep. The “crampy” contractions continued though about every 3-4 minutes so sleep was pretty much impossible for me. Finally around 1 a.m. I felt the baby “drop” and fluid start to run out. I told Jason “My water just broke” and headed to the toilet where fluid gushed out of me. It was a brownish-yellow color so I knew that there was meconium in there (the same thing happened with both Abby and Landon…they broke my water in the hospital with Abby and my water broke on its own while lying in bed with Landon.) I put on a diaper (the nurses got a pretty good chuckle out of this one…but hey, those things are super absorbent!!), we called our “on-call-middle-of-the-night” person to come and stay with the kids and quickly headed to the hospital. I had about 7-8 contraction at home and then about 4-5 more in the car on the way to the hospital. As soon as my water broke, the contractions became far more intense and were now coming about every 2-3 minutes. I remember telling Jason at one point that it was definitely okay for him to speed to the hospital!! (I usually am the one to tell him to slow down a bit, but I really didn’t want to spend one second more in the car than I had to!!

It took us about 15 minutes to get to the hospital, about 10 minutes in registration and another few minutes to get Jason through security. I got to my room about 1:45 a.m. and I took one look at the bed and knew that I would not be leaving that room until I had given birth on that very same bed (always a bit of a sobering thought!!) Jason helped me to change into one of these oh-so-sexy hospital gowns, the baby monitor was put on my abdomen and the nurse checked my cervix (I was 4-5 cm dilated at this point). She asked me what type of pain relief I would like and I very hesitatingly stated that I would like a natural birth. I was officially admitted at this point (2 a.m.) A few contractions later and I turned to Jason to exclaim “I don’t think I can do this!” The contractions by this point were so intense at times that they would literally take my breath away. I remember having the distinct impression that I would really just like to crawl out of my skin and walk away at this point because the pain was almost more than I could bear. If I was lucky, I would get about a minute to rest in between them, but soon they started to come one on top of the other and there seemed to be no relief in sight. I started to question whether I should just get the epidural, but I also knew that it wasn’t going to be an instant pain-relief option. It would have probably taken at least an hour to get the IV hooked up, the entire bag of fluid drained into me, the anesthesiologist called and the actual drug administered. So I just hung on for dear life and tried to endure each wave of contraction the best way that I knew how.

Jason was a complete saint during the whole experience. I was blazing hot in that hospital room and he fanned me with this paper fan the entire time (I think both of his hands were about to fall off by the time we were through!!) He also did a great job of encouraging me and telling me what a great job I was doing. At one point he kept saying “Just breathe” and I finally had to tell him to stop saying that. Breathing was getting really difficult at this point and I did my best to breathe (and sometimes even moan) through each contraction, but I really didn’t want anyone to tell me to breathe for some reason!! I was able to sit up and stand and rock which really helped to get through the tough contractions. In the past I always labored laying down which is just the worst way to labor in my opinion.

About an hour later (3 a.m.) the midwife (Donna) entered the room and started to monitor the situation. She saw from the contractions that I was probably dilating further and since there was meconium in my amniotic fluid, she knew she would have to call in the neonatologist to take care of the baby once he/she was born. I told her that I was starting to feel pressure at this point so she decided to check me to determine how far along I was. As soon as she opened up my hospital gown, she exclaimed “There’s the head!!” Obviously I was fully dilated at this point and they frantically started to get everything ready for the arrival of this little baby. They called in the neonatologist and his assistant so there were a total of 6 people in the room when I delivered (me, Jason, nurse, midwife, neonatologist and his assistant.) I was so relieved when I found out that I was fully dilated and the contractions seemed so much easier to bear now that I knew that I was in the home stretch!! They were also much better once I could bear down with each one. I felt like I was actually doing something productive rather than just endure each one as it came. At about 3:20 a.m., I started to push and three pushes later, the baby was out!!! Official birth time was 3:28 a.m., almost 90 minutes from the time I was admitted to the time the baby was born! There was an instant wave of endorphins and relief that hit me as soon as the baby was out and I literally laughed and cried with complete joy. The midwife quickly raised the baby up, Jason declared “It’s a BOY!” and then they whisked him off to let the neonatologist do his work. I delivered the placenta about 5 minutes later and about 10 minutes after that I was able to hold my little man for the very first time. We bonded very quickly and he latched on and nursed for a good 20 minutes before they took him away to bathe him. Nolan Thomas Call was born at 3:28 a.m. on Tuesday, June 28th. He weighed in at 7 lbs, 10 oz and was 20.5 inches long. He is a pure delight and we are all in love!!

Our First Nursery!

2011-06-25T13:00:00.001-04:00

Despite the fact that this will be our third baby, this is actually the first "nursery" that we've been able to decorate due to the fact that we were renting before this. This is the first time we've been in our own home with a new baby and could do just exactly want we wanted to do with a room. So here's our "first baby nursery" (sorry the pictures are so dark but at least you get the idea!)...

Jason and my brother-in-law Jeff spent a Saturday last Spring putting up the bead-board and chair-rail around the room. We LOVE how it turned out!!

The "new and improved" changing table (it's actually just our old light oak-colored one that I painted a nice chocolate brown to match our new crib.) I was amazed at how well it turned out!!

This is actually the second largest bedroom in our home, but due to two closets in the room, it lacks a bit of wall space. I was really hoping to get a recliner for this room like we have in Landon's, but I also wanted to keep the futon in here so we would still have space for guests. We ended up compromising by keeping the futon and just getting this nice glider chair. It's not quite as comfortable as a recliner/rocker, but it will definitely be used a lot for all of those nursing sessions ahead of us!

My favorite part of the room is this new crib and bedding set. Our old crib was cheap, broken (when both Abby and Landon decided to use it for a trampoline), and recalled (due to the drop-down sides) so it was definitely it need of replacement. I really LOVE this new crib and hope we can get many years of use from it!!

These are the only wall decoration we currently have for the room. I am hoping to add more after the baby comes and we pick out a name!!

Jason and I were both really happy with how the room came together. It has a nice relaxing feel to it and I will often go in and just sit in there to imagine what this new little baby will look and be like. Now he/she just needs to get here already!!

Pregnancy at a Glance!!

2011-06-24T12:45:00.000-04:00

Well after 40 weeks, this pregnancy journey is about to come to an end. It has been a completely different pregnancy from my other two. After a rocky first trimester, the last 24 weeks or so have flown by and I have felt really good for the most part. Now we are just so excited to meet this little baby!! So here's how it all went down...

12 weeks...(Can't believe how flat my tummy used to be!!)

16 weeks...

20 weeks...

24 weeks...

28 weeks...

32 weeks...

40 weeks...

I've actually had two due dates with this pregnancy. June 19th was based off of my last menstrual cycle and June 26th was based off of an early ultrasound. So in that last picture I am either five days past my due date or two days before it. Either way, I am calling it "full-term" and it will be the last pregnancy picture I take this time around!

I actually had about 3 hours of mild contractions last night and was pretty sure I was starting to go into labor. But alas I woke up this morning and was pretty sad that I wasn't quite ready to go to the hospital yet!! I really can't complain too much...I'm still working out, I haven't gained too much weight with this pregnancy (actually I haven't gained any weight in the last month or so), I'm not swollen in the slightest and no real aches or pains to think of. I've been really amazed at how good this pregnancy has been, but I'm just really ready to hold this little one in my arms instead of my belly. Plus I'm getting a bit anxious to see how labor and delivery will go so it will be nice to finally be done with that part.

Having the gender be a surprise this time around has actually been a lot of fun. Everyone now is so excited to find out what we are having and my midwives have told me that it gets really exciting in the delivery room when the family doesn't know the gender. I loved finding out the gender with both Abby and Landon, but I'll be the first to admit that this surprise has added a little something extra special to this pregnancy.

Here's to hoping that this baby decides it's time to leave soon!!

Father's Day

2011-06-19T09:13:00.001-04:00

This picture was taken in 2008, Jason's first Father's Day as a father of two!! (Abby was 2 1/2 and Landon was just weeks old!!)

This picture was taken this morning, Jason's last Father's Day as a father of two (with baby #3 expected to arrive any day!!)

Jason is a wonderful father and it is so fun for me to see him play and interact with the children that he loves so much. According to Abby and Landon (in their own words), here's what makes Jason such a great Daddy...

Abby:
1. He tickles me.
2. He makes us breakfast sometimes.
3. We like to chase Daddy!
4. Sometimes I like to read to Daddy
5. He likes to spin us around.
6. He gives us piggy-back rides to bed.

Landon:
1. Chases us with the monster.
2. Plays catch with me with my football.
3. We play with his iPod/iPad.

We love you so much....Happy Father's Day!!!

Throwing the Pitch

2011-06-18T13:00:00.001-04:00

The highlight of Landon's birthday was throwing out a ceremonial first pitch at the local Hagerstown Suns game. This boy has so much natural athletic talent and since playing catch is one of his favorite things to do, we decided a little birthday party at the ballpark would be a perfect way to end his special day.

First, the windup...

Then the mighty arm goes into throw-back mode...

Releasing the ball...

And ending with a perfect follow-through!

A very happy little boy walking off the field with his proud mommy!!

He got a huge cheer from the crowd after his debut performance and we received several comments throughout the night on just how adorable he was to watch.

It was a perfect way to end a great birthday for this little sports fan.

We love you little Landon. Thanks for giving us so much laughter and fun during these last three years. We look forward to many more years of family fun and baseball games together!!

Blowing Out the Candles

2011-06-17T13:00:00.000-04:00

After opening presents, it was time for some cake!! Landon was eagerly awaiting the yummy deliciousness of this little cake...

After a round of "Happy Birthday"...

Landon blew out his three candles like a champ!!

The New Three-Year-Old

2011-06-16T13:00:00.000-04:00

Landon was quite excited about his birthday this year. All week long we would count how many days until he would turn three and he loved seeing the number of days go down!!

The cute little birthday man himself...

Abby was very excited about Landon's birthday too and amazingly didn't seem to get jealous at all with the attention on Landon that day. They really are good little buddies!

After lunch, we opened up some fun presents from family including a fun Scooby-Doo basket and pajamas from Grandma Julie and Grandpa Don...

And this super-fun sand baking kit from his Aunt Tasha and Uncle Jeff...

Abby bought him some matchbox cars with her own money and he got a puzzle, some Lincoln Logs and a shovel/rake set from mommy and daddy. Abby and Landon were entertained for the rest of the day just playing with all of his fun new toys!!

Birthday Boy -- Breakfast in Bed

2011-06-15T12:53:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, June 4th, our little man turned three years old!!

That morning I heard some commotion in the kitchen around 6:30 a.m. or so but went back to sleep for a bit longer. Then around 7 a.m. I walked into Landon's room and discovered this sight...

Abby decided all on her own to make Landon "breakfast in bed" for his birthday. (Jason and the kids had done the same for me for Mother's Day and I thought it was so sweet of her to do something like this for her brother's special day too!)

Breakfast consisted of toast, dry cereal and some juice, all of which was carried in on some cookie sheets!

What a fun and exciting way to begin Landon's special day!!

First Trip to Greenbrier

2011-06-10T14:32:00.000-04:00

Each Tuesday morning during the summer, we get together with a bunch of other families and head down to Greenbrier State Park. They have a really fun lake and beach area that all the kids just love (and the moms have fun talking and playing games too!) We went for the first time on Tuesday, May 31 and it was a great day to go for two reasons...

1. School wasn't out yet so the lake was practically empty

and

2. Jason took the day off so he could see why we love this place so much!!

This year we purchased a new beach tent so that I can continue to go even when the baby arrives. This thing is so nice and pops up and down really easily. It also stays in place much better than our beach umbrellas have done in past years! (I hope I don't blind you all with my super white body and big belly poking out!! I refuse to buy a maternity swimsuit for these last couple of weeks so shorts and tank tops will have to do!!)

Landon loves the sand but eventually he ventured out into the water and had fun splashing around with Abby too!

Goggles are their new favorite accessory!!

We can't wait to spend many more fun-filled days with you Greenbrier!!

Memorial Day Fun

2011-06-09T14:24:00.000-04:00

For Memorial Day, we got together with two other families to take our kids to the "big slide" in Rocky Ridge, MD. On the way, the kids showed off their "cool" riding style...

The slide was like a big bowling alley on a downward slope. The kids LOVED going down it again and again and even some pretty nasty road rash didn't stop them from continuing the fun all morning long.

At first Landon would only go down with either Jason and I, but by the end he was an old pro and would go down all by himself on his tummy!

We finished up the activity by eating some well-deserved snow cones (the temperature was in the high 90's that day!) We also had a fun time that night playing in the pool and enjoyed a nice BBQ with some great friends. It was a great way to kick off the summer season!!

Father Son Camp-Out

2011-06-08T14:14:00.001-04:00

On May 27-28, Jason and Landon went on their first father-son camp-out with our church. They were both really excited about going and Landon kept telling me all day that I wasn't allowed to go...it was just for him and daddy!!

Landon's favorite part of the whole night was playing baseball and catch with everyone. He is quite the little sports nut!

He also really liked setting up the tent with daddy...

Jason really enjoyed the pig roast (Landon a.k.a "our lil' vegetarian" did not...instead he filled up on hot dog buns. My sister Lara would be proud!)

They ended up having some rain and thunder while they were out which was a bit frightening for Landon. He also had a hard time going to sleep when there were still people awake outside. At one point he turned to Jason and asked "Daddy, why don't those boys go to bed?"

The next morning most of the group went canoeing but Landon was ready to come home. He insisted that he really missed his mommy and Abby!! (Abby and I had fun eating ice cream and watching a movie that night but by the next morning Abby was heard saying several times "I sure do miss my Landon boy.")

We are now looking forward to a whole family camp-out soon although that may have to wait until Call #3 makes their debut!!

Splish Splash

2011-06-07T14:09:00.001-04:00

It seems like we skipped right over Spring this year and headed right into the hot stuff. Of course I seem to run about 10 degrees hotter than everyone else so that probably doesn't help matters!!

We decided to buy a little kids pool to help beat the heat on these hot summer days. It's a pretty tiny pool but it doesn't prevent these kiddos from having a blast.

They would take turns running into the pool and bouncing on their bottoms inside...

Don't mind this little "wild-woman"...she really was having a fun time although her face looks a bit scary in this picture!

Best of Friends!!

How Our Garden Grows

2011-06-06T14:04:00.001-04:00

Last year we got into this home just a tad too late to plant a garden. Making a raised bed garden was on our "spring-to-do" list this year. We decided to plant tomatoes, peppers, onions and zucchini. Here's to hoping we get some good garden food this year!!

Harper Fever!!

2011-06-02T08:37:00.001-04:00

Our town of Hagerstown has been caught up in "Harper Fever" this year. The local minor league baseball team (Hagerstown Suns) are lucky enough to have last year's number one draft pick play for them this year. His name is Bryce Harper and he has ignited a lot of baseball fans around here. We attended opening night on April 15th and have attended one other game since then. We also plan on attending the game this Saturday night for Landon's birthday. He is very excited about throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to honor the occasion!!

Ahhhhhh, the joys of living in small-town America!!

32 Weeks

2011-05-04T09:30:00.000-04:00

Well, here I am starting my 8th month of pregnancy...

I'm still feeling really good and have few complaints. Most people are pretty surprised when I tell them how far along I am (due next month...CRAZY!!!) I still work out 4-5 times each week at the gym and I hope to be able to do this until delivery. I'm a bit worn out by the end of each day but I guess that's to be expected at this point. This baby seems to be sitting perfectly inside though. With Abby I carried high, making it difficult to breathe at times and giving me terrible heartburn. I carried a lot lower with Landon which put a lot of pressure on my bladder and made running impossible by this point. I seem to be carrying this baby right in the middle which makes for a really nice pregnancy. This is my first pregnancy in my 30's and has definitely been my easiest pregnancy so far. I guess some things do get better with age (or I'm just incredibly lucky!!) Less than 8 weeks to go!!!

Easter Best

2011-04-29T14:00:00.000-04:00

I loved Abby and Landon's Easter outfits this year. They both looked adorable!!

Landon doing his very best "GQ" look...

Abby, beautiful as always...

The best thing about Easter is seeing it all through the eyes of children. Abby and Landon had such a fun time celebrating Easter this year which means Jason and I did too. We sure do love these little munchkins!!

Finding Eggs

2011-04-28T14:00:00.000-04:00

After finding eggs at home, we headed over to an egg hunt put on by the local recreation department. The original hunt had been scheduled for last week but was rescheduled for Saturday due to rain and flooding. The skies were overcast that morning, but the temperature was actually really nice for "hunting." They had set up numerous fields and marked them off for the different ages (0-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10.) This was actually a great idea and helped so that the older kids didn't take off with all the loot. I stayed with Landon at the 0-2 field and Jason joined Abby in the 5-6 field.

Landon made an early friend before the hunt began...

On your mark, get set, GO!!!

There were eggs everywhere and both Abby and Landon ended up with very full baskets. We emptied out the eggs to recycle them for next year and the kids have been devouring their mounds of candy ever since!

The hunt is on!

2011-04-27T14:00:00.000-04:00

On Saturday morning, the kids made quick work of finding their Easter baskets filled with goodies from the Easter bunny and then searched the house high and low looking for candy-filled eggs.

They each filled their baskets with some yummy candy and then spent the rest of the weekend on a super-sugar-high!!

"Dye-ing" to do it!

2011-04-26T14:56:00.000-04:00

We started our Easter festivities on Friday night by dying Easter eggs. Both Abby and Landon really enjoying this tradition and were amazed to see all the brightly colored eggs that they created.

The final product!!! Jason hid these eggs the next day outside and the kids enjoyed finding them and then eating them via some yummy egg salad!!

Spring is here...Maybe?!?!?

2011-04-19T13:43:00.001-04:00

We have officially entered spring now, but we're never quite sure what the weather will be like each day. It can be warm and sunny one day and stormy and cold the next. We've tried to take advantage of those nice days by playing outside as much as possible. Abby and Landon both love playing in the backyard and it's fun to watch them use their imagination with our little fort and swing-set.

Abby has gotten really good at using her own "pumping abilities" to get her swing going pretty high!!

Winter is definitely my least favorite season, but I'll take it so that I can thoroughly enjoy Spring, Summer and Fall!!

Artists at work

2011-04-18T14:06:00.002-04:00

Grandma endeared these two to her by buying them each a coloring book and a HUGE box of crayons to share. I think my mom was a bit disappointed with our meager crayon supply so she took matters into her own hands and bought them the biggest crayon set she could find. (Note: It's hard to keep our crayon supply going when kids like to snap them in half and our dog likes to chew them to bits...just sayin'!)

Abby and Landon have spent hours drawing and coloring in their new books. Thanks Grandma for the fun entertainment!!

Fabulous Foursome!

2011-04-17T13:43:00.001-04:00

We got to meet little Miss Reygan for the first time when she was about 10 days old. Both Abby and Landon were quite enamored with her and have been talking a lot about having our own little baby soon. It will be fun to see how they respond to our own little bundle of joy who will be arriving here in about two more months!!

(Please excuse the devilish look in Abby's eyes in these pictures. Something exciting must have been occurring off screen!)

Beauty Queen

2011-04-16T13:42:00.002-04:00

Abby loves all thing "girly" which definitely includes make-up. I am certainly not ready for my five-year-old to have any of the real stuff quite yet, but she makes do with what she can find around the house. I would put money on the fact that she will probably learn how to do her own make-up perfectly when the time comes, and will far surpass the meager abilities of her mom (just like she has already accomplished when it comes to wearing high-heels.) This little girl is sooooo different from me in many ways, but she sure is fun to watch!

A Talented Duo

2011-04-15T13:41:00.001-04:00

While Grandma was visiting, the kids really wanted to put on a concert for her. A few weeks ago we attended a fireside put on by Jenny Oaks Baker and her family. Ever since this fireside, Abby and Landon have been obsessed with performing concerts of their own, complete with song, violin, and piano performances. They both love "playing" their violins (the amount of screeching involved however usually makes us cut this part pretty short!)

Then we get to witness my favorite part...both kids singing together. They do a pretty awesome rendition of "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus" and it totally melts my heart every time!

Abby and Landon both seem to take after Jason when it comes to their musical abilities. Thank goodness for that!!

Family Pics

2011-04-14T13:00:00.001-04:00

I think that these are the first "family" pictures that we have had taken of all of us together since Christmas. And without my mom in town, they very well may be the last pictures of our little family of four!

When did these two little munchkins get so big????

Grandma Comes to Town!

2011-04-13T13:29:00.001-04:00

My mom was able to come out to Maryland/Virginia over the last few weeks and we were lucky enough to be able to have her out to visit our new home. The kids loved being spoiled by their Grandma and all the extra attention that they received while she was here. My mom is doing really well and recovering from the cancer and radiation/chemotherapy treatments that she has endured over the last year. It was fun to be able to show off our new neighborhood and my growing belly!

Of course no trip would be complete without Grandma Julie taking a bazillion pictures. I'll be posting some of these over the next few days...

Of course the main reason for my mom's visit was due to the arrival of the newest addition to our extended family...

Tasha, Jeff and Coldon welcomed Reygan Alaesha into their little family on Saturday, March 26th. My sister had a c-section scheduled for March 29th (Reygan was breech, just like her big brother!) but Reygan decided to come on her own terms when Tasha' water broke early Saturday morning and the c-section was done a few days early!! Both mom and baby are doing terrific and we are excited about our newest cousin/niece!