Compare! What Do You Think?!

Here are my three boys all at around 1 month -what do you think? Crazy little clone babies huh!

Carter at 1 1/2 months

Kade at 1 month (yep! -same jammies -funny coincidence!)

Carter-again- at 1 1/2 months.

Ben at 1 month.

Pictures Of Carter!

I have been horrible about posting pictures lately -especially of my new little guy. Well, here's a few. He's a great baby -really happy and so sweet. We all just love him! (oh, and his face is a little broken out lately.)

My Ben.

Today, my first born turns five. How can this be? He was just born and just barely made me a mom. From that first moment, only seconds ago, my heart burst as I looked at this perfect baby boy. How could those seconds really be years? How could the time fly this quickly and change my toothless, chubby thigh-ed, baldy into this big boy who is so capable, independent, bright and amazing?

Ben is such a blessing, such an example, and has been one of my very best friends. He is just more than I could have imagined or wished for. He's been my teacher, my helper, my entertainment and my comforter. And, he only seems to grow more and more incredible everyday.

I could never thank the Lord enough for my Ben; he made me a mom and introduced me to the toughest, and most precious, joyful job and experience I have ever known. I am so grateful.

I am so not perfect, and have so many things I need to improve in myself. I am not always the mom Ben, or my other boys, deserve, but am working on it, and pray every night to be the mom worthy of such remarkable children.

I love you Ben! Thank you for everything! Happy Birthday!

Three Weeks In....

Carter is now three weeks old. Crazy! And, though Joe's been home most of these weeks, I've had a few days alone to get an idea of what life is like Me vs. Three. It has been a mix of good and totally do-able, to a little hectic and unnerving. But, all in all I think we'll all survive this change.

The night time feedings are still hard to get use too. But, Carter is pretty consistent on when he wakes up to eat, and he's pretty good to go right back to sleep -so far. There have been a few nights where he's stayed up visiting with me for a while though. ;) But, I don't mind that too much.

Carter is a pretty happy little guy; although, lately I've eaten a combination of acidic foods, dairy and veggies, so he's had some gassy, sad days. I've had to be reminded of just all the foods you shouldn't eat for a while -there are so many. Still, he's pretty calm.

Ben and Kade are still liking the new addition. They kiss him and get excited when he's awake, and they'll talk to him. It's nice.

Kade potty trained himself which was EXTREMELY unexpected, so the week Carter came home Kade was in undies, accident free, and using the potty like he's been trained for years. Joe can't stop saying, "That kid is amazing.", 'cause Kade just waltz's in and goes (he's even changed the tissue roll when it ran out.) Crazy -but really nice.
Ben has been the same reliable little man he always has been. He helps me with everything and has been pretty low maintenance since Carter came home. He's doing great in school and is having his first "friend" birthday party next week. Crazy -he'll be five.

This has been a long journal type post, but I want to remember a few highlights of our first weeks as a new family of five.

Just funny...

I asked Ben if he had a girlfriend (i can't remember now why, but anyway) he said, "Yeah, it's Abby (this older girl in primary who helped him during a primary event). I said, "Is she the one with brown hair and glasses?" He said, "Yeah. And, she has a bracelet on her teeth." Me: "You mean braces?" Ben: "Oh yeah, yeah, braces." Ha ha ha.

Today Ben asked for something that he couldn't have, and I told him no. He started to get upset, to which I told him, "Having a cow it's gonna help you get what you want, so please don't have a cow."

Kade said, "I'm gonna go tell dad Ben's acting like a cow." And he did. Joe was in the other room and hadn't heard the conversation, so when Kade said, "Ben's acting like a cow." Joe asked, "He is? What, did he Moo?" Kade said, "yeah." Oh, funny boys.

He Can Do Anything!

This kid is amazing! For a while now, Joe has been urging me to start potty training Kade. (Kade had used the potty several times and was ready-go to a few post previous.) However, potty training a child while pregnant -no matter how far along -is not my idea of a good time. I concluded that, unless Joe could take off two weeks to fully train Kade, we'd have to wait till the baby was born to start the "Potty Training Adventure".
Anyway, almost immediately after we brought Carter home, Kade decided he wasn't wearing diapers and was going to be a full time potty user. Joe bought him some awesome Superhero Squad undies and Kade's never looked back. This kid fully potty trained himself!! I'm not exaggerating! He has had no accidents so far and doesn't even ask for Joe or I to help. It's crazy -but SOOO nice.
I thought that I'd be mopping up messes and cleaning out undies. I cannot express how thrilled I am that some how we skipped past all that. It's like Kade's been trained for a year -seriously. Kade has always been a boy who can figure things out for himself. He's Mr. Independant, for sure, and he never ceases to amaze me. Thank you Kade for training yourself! You have no idea how grateful I am to you! I love you!

....And More Pics.

So cute. His eye isn't normally squinty, but i love the shape of his mouth.

Kade loved the idea of taking pictures. I think he's feeling so big these days.

Kade kept moving around -so most of his pics are blurry.

My mellow baby. He will just sit and visit with ya; he's a great listener. ;) (This picture actually reminda me of my baby picture -our eyes are the same and are heads are round melons. Still, he's a good mix of me and joe.)

A Couple More Pics...

Having a hard time...

Ben wants to be "with his new friend Carter" all the time -he's very good with his new brother.

So sweet -To me, he's a good middle ground between Ben and Kade. I'll work on getting a picture with his eyes open.

He's just precious. He's a great sleeper -so far- and a great eater!(p.s. this is the hat the hospital gave him -it's so cute, and beats out their regular standard hats. I'm thinking someone knitted a whole bunch of hats as a service project and gave them to the hospital -cause this is a totally homemade adorable hat.)

Just Pics! (The story is below.)

Beautiful! Little bruised from delivery, but perfect!

They are crazy! And...now we have three!

I love being surrounded by four great guys!

Ben said, over and over, "This is my new friend Carter. I love him." And, he really, really does.

Wow -kind of a goofy eye picture -but good enough to show me, lovin' my new little guy. (It also looks like a cut my hair -i didn't.) Yay! I was finally finished!

He's Here!!!!

Carter James Harris is here! He is beautiful and amazing. How did the world ever exist without him?

Here are a few highlights -pictures will come soon.

--We checked into the hospital at 7:30am and things progressed slowly until they broke my water at 3pm. I got an epidural -(Thank you sooo much to whom ever invented the epidural, it's heaven sent.) and, things moved quickly. The whole labor and delivery was a little over ten hours. (Ben and Kade were both 12 hrs.)
--Once I was ready to push, I only pushed for 15 min., which is way faster than with either of the other boys (I pushed for an hour with both Ben and Kade.) He came out facing up and peed on the doctor. (Which is just what Kade had done.)
--They put him instantly up to my chest, and I held him while Joe cut the cord and the nurses cleaned him off. He was perfect in every way. He was 8lbs 2oz and 20 1/2 inches long. His head was a beautiful, perfect shape.
--He never had to leave the room- all of the equipment was in my room, which was wonderful too. His APCARR (?) score was 8 then 9 -which is perfect!
The nurses and doctor were wonderful, and I am thankful to have had great people taking care of me and little Carter. I am expecting to heal much quicker this time; delivery was easier on my body this time around. Whoo.
-- Aunt Nattie was able to hear Carter be born from the hallway. And held him before heading out of town.
--Grandma Lana, who babysat the boys all day, brought Ben and Kade in to meet Carter. They LOVED him. Thanks Mom!!!!
I have to find the camera and upload pics -then you'll all get to see him! We are so glad he's here!

Simon Says....

Tonight for Family Home Evening we played Simon Says -a game both boys have come to love, but don't fully understand. It's funny what they have us all do. Well, nothing was funnier than tonight when Kade said, "Simon Says....Everybody Fart!" Hmmmm. Quickly after, Kade started making fart noises, so that's what we all did. He's two, it was his turn, do we did what Simon said. :)

Cute Things Said and Amazing Accomplishments.

Kade: "Hey Dada, thanks for paying for the house." (He's said this at least once a day the last four days.) This comes from him asking me, "Why does Dada go to work?" I answered, "He works so he can pay for the house, and pay for food etc, etc." Kade thought to thank Joe, all on his own. Love him!

Ben: "You're a cute little mama." This compliment came early one morning when I was not at all looking cute. Thanks Ben.

A couple days ago, Ben was sounding out a book, and when Joe walked by he heard him and sat down with him to help guide this attempt at reading. Now, over the past three days, Ben has been trying to "read"....he sounds out words, but also guesses, and sometimes he's looses patience, but we're starting the real reading process. Cool!!

Two days ago, Kade comes up to me -half naked- and announces that he "peed and pooped in the potty". I went to the potty -it was empty; I checked his bum (he had pooped) and when seeing a diaper on the floor, I feared it was dirty. But, there was nothing in the diaper....which meant he had in fact pooped in the potty, and since he's peed a million times in the potty I had no doubt he had done that as well. He's practically trained himself!

I have been waiting to potty train till after this baby comes (which is 8 days away -at most) when I won't mind, half as much, bending down to clean up accidents. So, potty training for real will start soon. (There's still obvious practice and teaching we need to do yet.)

Love these Boys.

Kade just old me, "You're so pretty." Just out of nowhere. Sweet.

Last night Kade was sick, and in the dark and after I had laid him in my bed, and given him his medicine and rubbed Vics on his chest, he thought to say "Thanks mama.", and then fall asleep. It never ceases to amaze me how thought my boys can be.

Ben has been telling a lot lately that I'm a good mom, and that I'm his friend. Which is always nice to hear, and Kade too has said a couple times, "You're a good mama, not a bad mama." Thanks Kade.

With Joe being gone lately, and both boys being sick -almost the entire time, and me not sleeping well, it's been tough to be my best self -but I am thankful for forgiving boys who see the best in me and compliment me regularly -it helps me a lot and makes my day.

Croup Attacks!

About five days ago, Ben woke up in the middle of the night crying, coughing and wheezing. The sound of everything (the barking cough mainly) freaked him out, and I had to help him calm down and focus on breathing. It was sad. I looked up all the info I could on croup to figure out what I was in for -croup is scary. He slept with me for the next two nights. (Joe is out of town for two weeks.)
Well, Kade's been hit with croup now -i expected nothing less. Last night was rough. But, I pulled him into bed with me and stayed up almost all night listening to his breathing and adjusting him to help him sleep. Croup wont affect me being pregnant so there's no concern there.
There have been so many times when the boys get really sick when Joe's out of town. It's not easy, but any time it's happened, the Lord blesses me to remain calm, and I constantly feel inspired on how I should take care of them. He gives me the energy I need -even when pregnant- to handle big situations alone, and that is probably the greatest blessing. I would always rather have Joe here to help and to lean on, but I am grateful that the Lord is mindful of me, so that I know I can always lean on Him.

My Very Own Buzz Lightyear!

So, I got out Ben's Buzz Lightyear costume from a couple years ago -it's now Kade's turn to wear it. When Kade saw it he got so excited and begged me to let him wear it around the house. Halloween is over a month away, but hey, I couldn't make him wait that long. Here are a few pictures of Kade getting dressed up. It's awesome to see a kid believe he's actually transformed into a superhero. Kade flew around the house dressed this way for hours. Very cute!

Apples and Ice Cream

The picking fruit adventures continue! I have mentioned before the times I've taken the boys out to pick cherries and peaches, well I finally took them out to pick apples! There is a huge apple orchard in Springdale, which is close to Zions National Park. They have a few different varieties of apples to pick, but the green apples were the best ones when we went. Grandma Lana, Aunt Nattie the boys and I all drove out to pick our fill. It was so fun! And, being by Zions, we were surrounded by gorgeous scenery.

I didn't get any pics of the apple picking, but I remembered the camera for the ice cream afterwards. There was a store at the orchard where you'd pay for your apples and where you could buy other organic treats. We all sat on the lawn and ate ice cream. It was a beautiful Fall day! I love these opportunities to get out with the boys and enjoy nature. Ben might be old enough to remember this experience, but Kade probably isn't, so I am determined to make these fruit picking adventures a yearly tradition -and maybe get Joe out there too. What better way to make memories, get outdoors, and get great food for great prices? Plus, I just love picking fruit. :)

Perfect Timing!!

I still have this urge to "get stuff done" and prepare more and more before the baby comes. One things I've really wanted to do was prepare great "freezer friendly" meals and stock up my freezer to serve as our dinners afterwards. Freezer meals can be kept frozen for up to three months. (According the recipes I've found.) I'll be in heaven if I don't have to worry about every meal for awhile.

Well a couple days ago, I had searched the Internet for some freezer meals and wasn't able to find too many that were .....what I was looking for. (Some were too time consuming, or had no picture for reference, or were too complicated/expensive ingredient wise, etc.) So, I quit looking. I figured I'd look another day.

While shopping today, I found the Sept./Oct. issues of Taste of Home -a little recipe book. (I love recipes!) The title is Fall Freezer Meals: includes 28 EASY casseroles!! HELLO! This is exactly what I was looking for!!! Plus the book gives me advice on freezing and instructions, which I hadn't found online. Sweet!

I read through some of the pages and saw that they were easy, normal real life ingredients -most I already use or buy or have on hand. Perfect! It also gives some hearty soup and stew recipes that will feel so comforting during the Fall and Winter.

I have always believed that Heavenly Father loves us and helps us in all things.....even little things that aren't hugely worrisome, bothersome or stressful. He helps us with ALL THINGS! And, truly is there to make our lives better and happy. I am grateful for Him and now this chance to get even more prepared for the baby. WHOO!!

A Nice Surprise

Today there was a knock at the door, on the doorstep was a box, inside the box was a bunch of flowers! (I didn't take a picture, but they were beautiful pale orangey flowers.)
Joe had them delivered to me, and he's not out of town or anything. It was a nice surprise. A few days ago I got an email that said "wife appreciation day, send her flowers"; I forwarded it to Joe as a joke, but he actually ordered them and had them sent to me. It was more than a nice surprise -it made me week.
I have been more than preoccupied with my job as a mom, and being pregnant. I know I don't always show Joe how much I appreciate and love him. Especially when I'm pregnant, I am not the nicest person to be around, so I am grateful for Joe's constant forgiveness of my shortcomings and ornery attitude. I am very grateful to have the husband I do. He takes great care of me and the boys. He makes every decision with what is best for all of us in mind. He doesn't do things for himself. Thanks Joe for all your love, help, and support. I wish there were "manly" flowers I could send to you to show you, more often, how much I .love you. Thanks for the flowers Baby

Millions of Peaches

Saturday, the Church orchards were asking for people to come and glean their peach trees. (They had reached the quota and needed to have the trees picked, so the trees would keep producing next year.) So, my sister, the two boys and I went to pick peaches! Each family could pick up to 200lbs -we didn't pick that many, but it seems like we picked that much. We have a ton! And, we're giving most away to neighbors and friends, of course. And, I have a few recipes I'm anxious to try!

It was so fun. Originally, I was going to wait for Joe to get home from his 23 mile run, and let him watch the boys, and just go with Nat. But, picking cherries was such a great experience for them, that I wanted them to have that experience again. This opportunity to pick fruit was even better. I had no idea that peach trees are so low to the ground and little (like a Christmas tree size) -both boys could reach most of the fruit on their own. We picked for about 45 mins. and came away feeling great! We had done service for the church, as well as serving those we're giving the peaches too, and we got out of the house bright and early and worked together and did something!

I totally love doing this with my kids. I am still debating if we'll go pick apples tomorrow. (It's a drive and I'm not sure the price etc. We'll see.) But I intend -now that I know about the cherry field and where the church orchards are, I am picking fruit with all my kids every year!! And, I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for other opportunities. If you haven't done it -DO IT!! It's awesome. I love it, because I feel the spirit of peace and fun the whole time. I highly recommend picking fruit!!

Back To School!

Ben picked his clothes out, even the perfect pair of undies. He wore the new light up shoes which Grandma bought and had his same old favorite back pack. He was feeling pretty good and confident. He looks so big, but so little. (His shirt is a 5t and a little big, but it's new and he picked it.)

Ben started back at preschool today! For a couple days it wasn't a sure thing that Ben's preschool would be running this year -they didn't know if they would have enough students. But it did open, and I am more than thrilled. I love this preschool and love the teachers!! They moved locations and the preschool is closer to our home and literally a block from Joe's office! LOVE THAT!

Ben had no problem, at all, just walking in. Miss Kate was the first person we saw when we walked in-which was awesome, since she's the best. And, Ben's best little friend Parker came running over to see Ben. It was a great welcome. Ben had missed Parker. (we've only seen him a few times over the summer.) Kade stated several times that he wanted to go to preschool too, or "stay with Ben". It's hard to feel so big and not be allowed to do the same things. But, Kade was fine when I had to tell him he couldn't stay.

All in all, it was a no drama, easy move back into a school year. I am so glad he's back having social experiences and learning new things -this year the kids will learn a little violin basics, voice lessons, gymnastics and tumbling!!! Love this school!! So , glad we're back!

Ben....more stories.

Again, this blog is mostly a journal, and I have to write these things down.

The other day, Joe brought home a forest hat for Ben. (I guess someone ordered a "youth" size by mistake, so it had been sitting there for awhile. Well, a guy -Micah- suggested that Joe take it home, 'cause it might fit Ben.) Ben thanked Joe, and Joe told him how Micah thought it might fit him (Ben) and suggested he (Joe) take it home. Ben said, "That was nice of him. What can we do for a 'thank you' gift, for him?" I had just made cookie dough and suggested we make cookies; Ben liked that idea.

Also, about a month ago, a fire fighter Joe works with got dehydrated while out on a fire, and Joe had told Ben how a guy at work had to go to the hospital 'cause he got sick. So, after suggesting we make cookies for Micah, Ben added, "Maybe we can make some for Chris too." (as a 'get well' sort of thing.) Sweet kid.

Yesterday, Grandma came up to visit just for the day. She thought up a word game for Ben to play with her, where, if he made words, he could earn money. He earned two dollars, and we told him we'd go to the store, and he could look for something to buy.

When we got to the store, Grandma said, "Remember Ben, you have two dollars. That means you can buy something that is two dollars."
He said, TOTALLY on his own, "OR!, I can give one of my dollars to Kade, and then he can have one and I can have one!"

Grandma and I both said what a wonderful, thoughtful, nice idea that was. He blows me away!!! Love this guy!

Good and Muddy!

The boys have never had the chance to just get good and dirty! I mean really good and dirty! And, today Grandma and Aunt Nattie took the boys to a little river to ride in a raft, there they found the best mud known to man! It was awesome. (I, originally, was just gonna stay home and wash the long day off of me, but after a nice shower I felt great and decided I'd go join the boys. I was very glad I did.)
Hmm, just a few rocks, nothing amazing, but......

just a few feet away, "the mud"!! Nat said it was just like pudding, thick and smooth.

A mess always starts out small and simple enough......

but it very quickly, and EASILY can escalate in to something bigger....and funner!

A good college try at washing some of the dirt off in the river.....

also, a first for the boys.

The cutest end result to a great experience!

Two boys came and conquered and had the best time of their lives! What a fun time!

Cove Fort with Grandma

On her way down from northern Utah, my mom heard something on the radio about Cove Fort Days and all the activites that go along with it -it sounded like fun so we went! Cove Fort is about two hours from St. G. The boys are always cute together!

Some of the missionaries there were dressed as the pioneers, the boys thought they were "real" pioneers.

Kade hugging on Ben while looking at bees making honey. Cute boys.

Cove Fort, a really cool place. We'll have to go there again.

We took a wagon ride, and Kade jumped up front to ride with the driver. He loved it.

Ben, Grandma and I sat in the covered wagon -it was really nice.

The boys played the games the pioneers played. Stilts!

At the top of the fort looking down.

I love these guys. We had a lot of fun. We heard historical facts, we watched a man make pottery -and even brought a little pot home. We rode in a covered wagon and a stage coach. We atre hotdogs and climbed trees. It was a great day.