Merry Christmas!

It seems like the month of December gets shorter and shorter each year. I refuse to do anything Christmasy before Thanksgiving because I want to be able to enjoy all of the other holidays too, but then it seems like there just isn't enough time to get it all done. Somehow we managed to pack everything into the short three weeks....getting the decorations up, doing ALL the shopping, wrapping presents, decorating cookies, sendind out Christmas cards, making treats for the neighbors, sending off packages, getting presents for the teachers, Christmas parties at school and with neighbors and we even found some time sip hot chocolate while watching Christmas movies and reading Christmast stories. It's kind of depressing to start taking down the decorations and turn off the Christmas music that has been playing non-stop, but it was definately a fun Christmas season while it lasted. Christmas eve we did the traditional "open first" present, which was (surprise!) pajamas and the nativity scene. Then we had hot chocolate and popcorn while we snuggled up and watched my all time favorite movie, "Elf". I think that's the only movie I can watch over and over and never get sick of. Jayden fell asleep during the movie and I was sad that he missed the rest of the Christmas eve stuff. Kylie helped me get Santa's plate ready then we went outside and looked for Rudolph's nose. Every year we luck out to see an airplane with a flashing red light and she was so excited and a nervous wreck to get in bed before Santa came. She had a hard time going to sleep, so I layed with her for a little bit and lo and behold we heard Santa on the roof (Jason told Kylie he was going to sleep, then climbed out our bedroom window and did a little dance on the roof). The look on her face was priceless. Santa even left a stocking on the porch for her and Jayden. I think we just bought a couple more years of believing in Santa. Jason's sister, Jessica, drove down from Utah and got here around midnight on Christmas eve, so it was fun to have her here to join the party. The kids woke up at 3:30, but after climbing into bed with us they fell back asleep until 7:30. They were so excited when it was finally time to go open presents. Santa scored this year when Jason won a Wii at a raffle during a company party. I'm not sure who plays it more, Jason or the kids. Poor Jayden has been counting down the days until Christmas for the past 3 months and when the day finally comes he gets sick. He spent all morning throwing up in between opening presents. It was so sad and so unfair, of all the days! He fell asleep for a couple of hours and felt much better when he woke up. We spent all day playing with toys in our pj's and finally got showered just in time for our big Christmas eve dinner. If only every day could be Christmas...

pedicures and makeovers with aunt Jessie (Kylie said that she wants to be Jessica when she grows up because she has probably the most make-up owned by any one person. Oh, and she's pretty cool too)

how Maddox spent his first Christmas:and:

but he did love the lights....

Two Months



I just love his eyes, they are so piercing black, you can hardly see his pupils. It's one of my favorite features on him (and that cute nose). He definately has Jayden's eyes and I wonder if they'll have the same squinty smile that I love. When we were taking family pictures Jayden kept doing his fake smile and I kept telling him to open his eyes and smile normal, finally he got frustrated and said, "but mom, my eyes ARE open!" Ha! Love my cute little Chinese rugrats. I promise I'm not going to go on and on each month about how sad I am to see him grow up, but something just seems different this time around. It's not that I love him any more than the other kids, but I think it's just that I'm getting closer to being done having kids and it makes me sad to think of the day when there will never be a sweet little newborn in our home again. I don't want

to have a lot of kids, but I also don't want to stop having babies. It was different with the other ones, I was excited to watch them grow up and reach the milestones and I didn't even want to think about getting pregnant again for a long time. My biological clock just must be ticking or something. It was so nice having my other kids older and independant and my life definately was easier, but I also didn't realize what I was missing. Okay, enough of the sappy talk, on to the stats: 12lbs 3 oz (50%), 24 1/2 inches (90%) and his head is 15 3/4 in (50%). Our big accomplishment for this month was that I finally got him to take naps in his crib. I credit it to the sound machine, and shame on you moms for not telling me about that wonderful invention earlier! It was supposed to be a Christmas present, but I decided to give myself an early present and let him use it now. The first day I used it was the first day he napped in there and he's been taking 3 hour naps ever since. We're still working on the night time issue, he usually goes about 6 hours, but he's gone 8 a few times and it was heavenly. I'm also trying to convince him that he can't live without the binky, but he's not buying it. The novelty of a new baby still hasn't worn off with Kylie and Jayden. They both have their own special way of calming him down and they are beaming with pride each time they do (Kylie bounces him on her shoulder and Jayden bounces him in the bouncy chair, although I have this fear that he's going to catapult him out of it one day). Jayden cracked me up the other day....I was nursing Maddox and Jayden said that he wanted to feed him, so after I was finished I let him hold Maddox while I went to get his bottle. When I came back he had his shirt lifted up, ready for Maddox to latch on. Nursing your own brother has definately got to be a sign of true brotherly love.

Love Notes

Kylie loves writing notes for all occasions--birthdays, apologies, get well soon...I love any note she writes me, but it's the random just because notes that totally make my day. I've got a whole stack that I've been saving in my night stand drawer and here are a few of my favorites:

(she had made me a scarf out of some toole that was used for gift wrapping and decorated it with some butterfly stickers. This was the note she attached to it.)

(she had made me breakfast in bed and this note was on the tray along with her favorite stuffed animal)

( I let her draw in bed at night and sometimes she writes letters for me to find when I tuck her in, then I write a letter for her to find in the morning. Love the random corn comment.)

(a song that she wrote for me)

Miracles

They say you are strengthened through trials, so that must be why our ward is so strong. There have been so many heartbreaking trials that people in our ward have gone through (I hope you don't mind me sharing, but each one of these stories have really touched me). From my friend's sweet little girl who had a severe head injury resulting in a skull fracture, to the eight year old boy who was complaining of a stomach ache and they discovered that he had a tumor the size of a cantalope in his abdomen. There is also my friend who was on bedrest her entire pregnancy due to complications and delivered her baby just over 2 pounds at 28 weeks. Then there is the little toddler who was ran over by a car that was backing out of the driveway and there is also our Young Women president's husband who was diagnosed with bone cancer. You can imagine the heart ache experienced by each one of these families, but the true miracle is that although at times it seems that they were barely hanging on by a thread, through fasting and prayer each one of them have made miraculous recoveries. During this Christmas season my testimony has really been strengthened and there's no way that anyone could deny that Christ lives today and that miracles still happen. I also have several friends who have experienced trials that haven't always ended the way they would like and that's not to say that they didn't have enough faith. Infact, I believe that it takes an even greater faith to submit yourself to the Lord and say "not my will, but thine be done" and allow his comforting arms to get you through those unbearable times. I have another friend in the ward, Heidi that is in need of prayers right now. We were both so baby hungry and were trying to get pregnant at the same time. It's probably weird, but we both knew when the other person's "time of the month" was and would call each other around that time to see if the other person was pregnant. She was one of the first people I told when I found out that I was pregnant and I was so so excited when she found out that she was pregnant a couple of months later. During one of her routine ultrasounds they discovered that the baby has some serious heart complications. She was born 2 weeks ago today and has already undergone open heart surgery. It's so hard for me to look at my completely healthy baby and think of everything she is going through, needless to say, she's on my mind ALOT. I know that alot of you don't know her, but as a fellow mother I'm sure you can imagine the heartache she's experiencing so if you could, please keep baby Jersey in your prayers and during this Christmas season recognize all the little miracles in your own life.

Maddox's Baby Blessing

I have this fear that one of these times we won't have family visiting for a baby blessing and it will only be Jason and the bishop standing in the circle, thankfully that wasn't the case this time. We were excited to have family here to celebrate this special day. Unfortunately they all had to leave right after sacrament meeting since they were driving back to Vegas and Utah, but we still had fun with some friends who came over for a luncheon. I think we ended up with around 35 people, which was a little crazy at times with kids running everywhere, but we loved having so many great friends and family to share the day with. Maddox pretty much slept the day away. The only time he was awake was during the blessing, Jason said he was so cute as he was just looking all around. Oh yeah, and he was awake during the pictures, which he cried the entire time. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. We're just so happy to have this little man in our family, we love you Maddox!
The Jolleys (yes, Jason is still wearing his church socks. Don't ask.)

The Youngs

He just started smiling and it totally melts my heart every time. Love the little tongue sticking out. Love the little wink. Love the little dimple. Love this little guy.

Turkey Day

Without any family here, we've had to spend a few Thanksgiving holidays alone. It feels more like a glorified Sunday dinner than a holiday, so we were so excited to have family coming down this year. My bro Troy, his wife and baby, and my other brother Tyson, along with Jason's brother Allen, his wife and 2 kids all came down to party. I wasn't sure if it would be uncomfortable with both sides of the family all under the same roof, but everyone clicked so I was glad. We spent Thursday cooking up a storm, but I was ticked that I wasn't able to enjoy it much because I was feeling so sick all day. It was cruel. The one day a year where you can stuff yourself guilt free and I could barely eat. Friday the boys played basketball while the girls went shopping, nothing hard core, just a couple of stores. That night we grilled steaks then went on our infamous hayless hay ride to look at lights and ended the night with some hot chocolate. Saturday we went for a hike then that night we went to Tempe's annual Christmas parade and then to see the lights at the temple. Sunday was Maddox's baby blessing (more on that later), we were so glad to have family here for such a special event. It was such a fun weekend and we loved having everyone here, but I have to admit that it is kind of nice to have a break from all the cooking, enjoy a quiet house and finally be able to walk around without a bra on.

No Thanksgiving feast is complete without a classy 2-liter bottle of Sprite

The kid's table

how Maddox spent his Thanksgiving

A 60 degree pool and too much testosterone are a deadly combination

I loved watching Tyson with Maddox, he was so cute with him

My brother brought down his Wii and the kids were addicted. Check out the sweat this kid worked up!

Riding around to look at Christmas lights-yeah it's a little borderline redneck, but hey, it was fun.

The hike--Maddox lives in his sling and I feel like I'm pregnant again.

The parade. Jayden really did have fun, you just can't tell by looking at him.

Awwww, how cute.

Finally!

In kindergarten they had this poster where kids got to write their name each time they lost a tooth. Kylie was convinced her name would make the list before the end of the school year and she was pretty disappointed when she never joined the elite club. She wiggled her teeth everyday and thought for sure it would happen during the summer before 1st grade. Once that never happened I think she gave up hope of ever losing any teeth. Then last week she discovered that she had a tooth that was barely hanging on a thread. I'm not quite sure why it took so long for her to figure out that it was loose, but she was pretty excited once she did. Kylie is all about the drama, so you can imagine all the tears every time she ate anything (personally, I couldn't wait for it to come out). About a week later when I picked her up from school she had a big toothless grin and proudly told me that she pulled it out by herself at lunch. This is the same girl who told me that she could no longer eat her sandwich at lunch because it hurt her tooth and now she goes and pops that baby out all by herself, go figure. Her cousins were coming the next day so she wrote the tooth fairy a note and asked her to come back the next night so that she could show her tooth to her cousins. The next night the tooth fairy was almost asleep and realized she hadn't done her duty, so she recruited her male helper to do the job. The next morning Kylie was so excited to find a dollar under her pillow, but she couldn't figure out why the tooth fairy didn't take the tooth. I guess the tooth fairy needs to conduct a how-to seminar for her helper.

Twilight

(Edward wasn't available, so we settled for the next best thing)

I was half tempted to camp out for the midnight showing, considering I'm pretty used to being up half the night these days, but thought better of it. A friend of a friend had rented out a theater for a later showing today (thanks Pam!) so pretty much our whole ward was there fantasizing about Edward (I'm pretty sure the bishop wasn't fantasizing, but isn't he a good husband to come and watch too?) I didn't want to have high expectations, so I ended up really liking it. Sure, Edward wasn't what I had imagined, but he grew on me. I thought they had the perfect Bella, I liked the movie version of her better than the book. She kinda bugged by the last book. Alice was just what I had pictured, but Rosalie not so much. But seriously, who can be as beautiful as she, or the rest of the vampires, are described in the book? Those are some mighty big shoes to fill. The house wasn't what I had imagined, but whose being picky? You can't go wrong with a good old fashioned vampire love story and a theater full of girls (and the bishop)(and this random vampire guy).

Payback

Not only does she change poopy diapers, make bottles and feed the baby....she's now mastered the art of exfoliating foot scrubs. Oh yeah, all those nights of pacing the floor when she was a colicy baby are finally paying off.

One Month

Sniff, sniff. I can't believe my itty-bitty boy is already a month old. Highlights from this past month include: eating all the time, pooping all the time and sleeping some of the time. He's not too bad at night (he's usually asleep between 8-9:00 and goes for 4-5 hr. stretches. It's made a difference moving him out of the cradle in our room and into the crib because I don't wake up with every little noise he makes), it's just the naps that are killing me. He only falls asleep in the bouncy chair with the vibrator on, the car, or if I'm carrying him in the sling. If I try laying him down then he wakes up after 5 minutes. He also loves taking cat naps instead of good solid naps. I've never read Babywise and you would think by my 3rd kid I would know what I was doing, but I think I'm going to have to bust it out this time. He is pretty happy, though and there's nothing that a bottle or nursing can't fix. So far he hasn't had the fussy period in the evenings that my other kids had, so that makes me a happy momma. He is still as cute as ever, although he's broken out with the dreaded baby acne. It always makes me sad to see their perfect, soft newborn skin break out. I overheard Kylie tell her friend "don't worry, it's not a disease on his face so you won't get it". Sad. She also gave me my reality check the other day. Just as I started running again and trying to get back to my pre-prego weight, she informs me that my arms and thighs are "puffy". But apparently it's okay because she "likes the way they jiggle". Gotta love that brutal honesty. I'm not sure how much he weighs now, but at 3 weeks he weighed 8 lb 8 oz and his cute little chicken legs are starting to plump up. When I took him for his weight check, he totally peed all over the nurse, the scale and inside my diaper bag. I forget what those little guys are capable of. We're all still totally in love with this guy and the novelty of a new baby hasn't come close to wearing off. My favorite things about Maddox are when he snuggles up on my shoulder with his mouth close to my ear and I can hear all his little grunts, lip smacking, breathing and squeaks; or when he smiles and sighs in his sleep; or when he purses his little lips and his mouth makes this tiny little circle; or the little shiver he makes when I tickle his neck or back; or the way he looks at me out of the corner of his eye when he's nursing; or the way he arches his tiny back and curls in his little arms and legs when he stretches; or when I try to kiss those irresistable lips and he opens his mouth wide and moves his little head all over trying to find food; or when he burps or passes gas--it's music to my ears because I know that it makes him feel better; or when he stares at me with those intense eyes, I just wonder what's going on in his little head....who am I kidding, I love absolutely everything about this little guy!

Romance Is In The Air

Before we got married, my idea of romance was when Jason would surprise me with roses or take me to a fancy restraunt. Now that we have been married for 9 1/2 years, my preferences have changed. Yeah, all the fluffy stuff is still nice, but now days it's not just a box of chocolates that gets me going....

-there's nothing more romantic than my man waking up with the kids while I sleep in
-there isn't anything sexier than the site of my man changing a dirty diaper
-there's never been a serenade quite as beautiful as the sound of my man pacing the floor while soothing a crying baby
-I've never received a solicitation quite as enticing as the offer to go grocery shopping for me after work so that I won't have to take all 3 kids
-my man gets me all twitterpated like no other each time he offers to take the kids with him to run errands or go for a bike ride or even take them to the school carnival so that I can enjoy a quiet house
-my man has never looked hotter than when he's standing behind a sink of dirty dishes
-nothing says "I love you" more than the offer to wake up with the baby in the middle of the night
-I've never received a compliment that melts my heart quite like when my man tells me that my stomach is looking flatter each day
-nothing puts stars in my eyes quite like the site of my man bringing home take-out so that I don't have to cook dinner when I've had a rough day

So you can keep your flowers that will die after a week, I'll take my man that will drive carpool for me five mornings a week!

One Proud Dad

Kylie was telling Jayden that he could ride as fast as Speed Racer if he had his training wheels off, so after some good old fashioned peer pressure he was convinced. After Jason took the wheels off I went to get the camera and by the time I came back he was already riding solo. Jason said that he started holding his bike but Jayden immediately told him to let go and he was off. We've had several crashes into curbs and parked cars but each time he just hops right back up. It was definately a proud dad moment.

Playing Hookey

My two week grace period with Maddox is over. I make the same mistake with every kid, I think that they are the perfect baby....and then they hit two weeks and it's all down hill. He doesn't sleep all day anymore, instead he takes 15 min. cat naps because he wakes up the second I lay him down. And when he's awake he definately cries alot more. But atleast he's cute, so he's still got that going for him. Anyways, with Jason working down in Tucson for the week I was a little nervous to handle all three by myself so instead we pulled Kylie out of school and surprised the kids with an overnight trip. It was seriously one of the funnest trips we've had down there. I feel like we've been cooped up for the past 3 weeks since Maddox has been born. Jayden has probably watched more TV in the past 3 weeks than he has in the past 3 years, so we definately took advantage of our chance to get out of the house. I was nervous since Maddox has been so naughty, but he was a dream and slept the whole time (that's why he's not in a single picture, poor kid).

When we got there that evening we walked around the U of A campus and strolled through the shops and restraunts, then settled on the ever classy Johnny Rockets for dinner. Afterwards we watched the election results and it was funny to see the kids getting so into it. There was a huge democratic convention going on at the hotel we were staying at and the kids got pretty ticked at all the cheering going on since they were voting for the pretty lady and Jesus :). I wasn't sure how Maddox would do that night, but he had a 6 1/2 hr. stretch, which is the longest he's ever gone. My favorite thing about staying in a hotel is the room darkening shades. The kids and I didn't wake up until almost 10am, I seriously got more sleep that night than I have since before getting pregnant. We took our time getting ready that morning and layed around watching cartoons until we met Jason for lunch. It's funny because every time we go outside of Gilbert I always feel alot more self consicous because everyone is staring at me and thinking I'm crazy for having so many kids. It was bad when I had two and it's even worse now that I have 3. I feel really old and really young at the same time. Really old because I have so many kids and too young to have as many kids as I do. So with that said, we're trying our best to not draw attention to ourselves as we're eating lunch with all the college kids at the restraunt. We've only managed a few stares and comments, and then it happens. Kylie is leaning on the table and the entire thing tips, all of our drinks that were just filled up go everywhere--on the carseat with the sleeping baby, in the diaper bag, on our food, in our laps, on the floor....kids are crying, we are drenched, everyone is staring and all Jason and I could do was look at eachother and laugh. After our lunch experience I took the kids to our favorite zoo. We go everytime we're down there and it never gets old. Here are the highlights:

We got there just in time to watch them feed pumpkins to the elephants. It was really cool to see them smash them up then use their trunks to eat.

With so many cool animals to see, why is it that the roaming peacocks are always the favorite?

Next to the peacocks, these monkeys are a favorite too. They are always doing the coolest tricks. It's nice to see some zoo animals that actually do more than just sit in their cages.

The little monkey moved away before I could figure out how to turn off my dang flash, but you can kind of see it.

At this little waterpark you can push the buttons to make water spray at different parts, here Kylie surprised Jayden and soaked him. It's November and instead of stopping her, I take a picture. I'm a good mom.

After the zoo we went to the park to play. The kids really wanted to do the spider thing on the swing, but did they listen to mom when I said they were too big and would get stuck? No, and it turns out that they were too big and got stuck. Once again I get mom of the year award for taking pictures of my screaming child before rescuing him. After the park we went to a museum on campus then out for ice cream sundaes before Jason got off work and brought take out for dinner.

Before heading home we stopped by for some go-kart racing. Jayden smoked Kylie, I don't think he took his foot off the gas the entire time. Kylie on the other hand came to almost a complete stop each time she came to a turn in the road. We decided she will be allowed to get her license, whereas Jayden may never see the drivers seat of a car before he's 25. The kids all slept the entire 1 1/2 hour drive home, it was the perfect ending to a perfect getaway.

Politically Correct??

The conversation on the way home from school on election day:

Kylie: we voted in the election today, I voted for the girl, she's pretty.
Jayden: we got a new president at our school too.
Kylie: who did you vote for?
Jayden: Jesus. But Nicholas voted for Rock-a-bye Baby. No wait, Rock-a-bye Bama.

After trying to correct him, the closest we got was "Rock-a-bum-bum". Yeah, still trying to figure out the whole Jesus thing...

Six

Yes she can be a little (okay alot) emotional, yes I have a hard time letting her go to school with 5 crazy ponytails in her hair that she has so proudly done herself, yes I also have a hard time keeping my mouth shut when she's so excited to wear the bright fusia eye shadow from her Barbie make-up kit to church, because she says that it makes her look like a princess, and yes she can give me attitude like no other, but there is so much I love about this age. I love her innocence and I wish I could keep it that way forever. In her little six year old world....

-"Stupid" is pretty much the worst swear word ever
-you are only allowed to kiss if you're married (there is an occasional exception if you're engaged)
-the world as she knows it is over if someone sees your underwear
-she has no hesitations to ask the principal, her teacher and her whole class if they're Mormon (I think people are beginning to wonder if we're breeding religious fanatics over here)
-she writes me love notes on a daily basis
-"Spongebob" is the worst show she's ever seen
-it's still cool to have your mom eat lunch with you at school
-wishes on cakes and stars come true, as long as you don't tell anyone your wish
-the safest place in the world is snuggled up between mom and dad when you've had a bad dream
-she makes me little presents, like the most recent ring holder she made for me by taping two sea shells together--love it!
-she thinks babies come from when you say really good prayers
-even the worst owies can still be made better with a hug and a kiss
-she still believes in Santa, although the tooth fairy and Easter Bunny are a little questionable
-she actually thinks it's fun to help me cook and clean
-a big night out consists of happy meals at McDonalds
-she loves having girl talks and telling me everything about her day
-she's in bed by 8 pm
-she wants to marry her dad when she's older, but if he's not available then she'll settle for her brother
-a dirty joke to her means that it has the word "pee" or "potty" somewhere in the punch line
-if you have a $1 bill then you are considered rich
-words like "abduction", "murder", "economic crisis", etc. aren't a part of her vocabulary and her biggest fear in life is going upstairs by herself when it's dark

It makes me sad to think how soon all of these are going to change, but for now I'm enjoying it a day at a time. So the next time she asks me to lay by her in bed to have girl talk, instead of thinking about the dinner dishes that need to be done or the TV show I've been dying to watch, I'll think about how soon the day will come when she will no longer want to talk to me and I'll take advantage of moments like those for as long as they'll last.