Reflecting on numbers

Today I've been reflecting on numbers. Yesterday Bret turned 37 years old. He says he feels old, but I don't think he looks or acts old. I sometimes forget he's 7 years older than me. For his birthday we had a nice, relaxing day. He says it's exactly how he was hoping for. Just the kids, and he, and I. We watched the movie "Enchanted" and then had cake and ice cream. We "snuggled under the purple blanket". This is a new favorite of the whole family. Watching a movie in our family room and snuggling under an old comforter of mine. All 3 kids look forward to it and love it. So do Bret and I.
3 kids. Another number going through my head. I'd definately like to have another, but when... and is it possible to lose 50-60 lbs (another number) before getting pregnant. I think that weight loss is crucial to me not having so many problems late in my pregnancies. I've been stuck in the same 10lb range since Darci was born. I'll diet and lose 10 lbs and then get sick or just get derailed a little bit and eventually gain most or all of it back. I don't feel like I can even think about planning a pregnancy until I can lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off. That's why I'm looking ahead right now. It could be a good12-24 months before I feel like I can even attempt pregnancy (more numbers).
We measured and weighed our kids today... just for fun. Christopher recently had a growth spurt and all his pants got short. Christopher is 44 inches tall and weighs 41 lbs. I think he'll always be a little on the srawny side, but I think it's possible for him to be pretty tall eventually.
Xander is 40 inches tall and weighs 35 lbs. We get a lot of comments on how big he is. He's the youngest Sunbeam in primary, but he's by far the tallest.
Darci is 30 inches tall and weighs 22 lbs. She's right on track for her weight and a little on the tall side. Kind of funny to me because she does not look tall and skinny. She has quit the appetite on her.
Anyway, thanks for putting up with my wandering thoughts.

What a way to spend a...

This year Easter and my birthday fell on the same day. I recieved an email a couple of weeks ago that said that Easter coming this early is very rare. It hasn't happened in 95 years and isn't supposed to happen again for, like, 220 years. Add on that this was kind of a milestone birthday for me (30 years) and I guess it was supposed to be a pretty special day.
Then, life happens!
I got seriously ill the Friday before. I won't go into the gorey details, but let's just say I lived in the bathroom for the better part of 3 days. My birthday became an afterthought as I tried to figure out how NOT to spoil my children's Easter. Originally we were going to drop the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa Pingel's house on Saturday while we went on a double date with some neighbors to a play at BYU and dinner and then spend the night with the Pingel's and have grand Easter celebrations the next morning. After church Easter day was going to be a scrumptious birthday dinner and cake. We sadly cancelled on our friends. Bret took the kids to the ward Primary Easter egg hunt on Saturday morning and then we loaded up and headed down to Salem. I slept the better part of the day (man that phenergan stays with you). That night as I was starting to feel "on the mend" Bret started to complain that he didn't feel really great. Yep, you guess it! He spent the entire night in and out of the bathroom. As hard as he tried to be a part of things he slept through most of Sunday morning. The kids enjoyed a great egg hunt and looking through their baskets. I did my best to look like I had some energy and also to explain the REAL reason we have Easter. Thankfully Christopher "got" it and retained the story. Xander knew that we had Easter because of Jesus, but didn't really retain the reason. Darci just liked the eggs and treats. We got the kids all dressed up and did Sacrament Meeting in Salem and then went home and slept some more. Bret and I nibbled on birthday dinner and expressed our deepest gratitude to Karen and Jerry for helping the kids have a fun weekend (REALLY, thank you so, so ,SO much Mom and Dad). We looked at my baby book and pictures a little. I had a special moment with my dad feeding the horses some apples. And then we headed home to get the kids to bed and crash into our own.
Thanks to everyone who left birthday wishes on the voice mail and computer. It will definately be one that I'll never forget.

Just some photos...

1 of 3 "Easter" dresses.
She's getting so BIG!

Xander will sleep ANYWHERE!
Walking around
Loves her tutu and purse.

Where is Christopher. He's never in the pics.

World's Greatest Dad!!

There is nothing I enjoy more than seeing Bret enjoy our children. He truly knows how to connect with each one's individual personalities. Our favorite things to do as a family is snuggle on our couch and watch a movie. Believe it or not, only Bret knew I was going to take this picture.

Our kids especially love when Bret can be a part of the nighttime routine. He always blows bubbles for bath time and then it's jammies, brush teeth, story (which he reads), pray, song, and loves good night.

Darci's First Birthday

Has it truly been a year that Darci has been blessing our lives!!! She is truly a joy for our entire family. I never thought that having a little girl could be soooooo much fun. I enjoy every minute of it. She is already such a mix of girly girl and tom boy. She loves gadgets; cell phones, computers, remote controls, all the audio/video components. She gets excited when she hears a revving motorcycle or a helicopter. But she also loves to snuggle any stuffed animal or carry around a purse. She also loves to give her family hugs and kisses.

We had Darci's birthday party on Sunday, January 13th for convenience and I'll admit that the several days before I was in an awful mood and wasn't looking forward to it. But once I got decorating and saw her excitement that something fun was happening (and I think on some level she knew it was for her), I started to get excited myself. We decorated in pink princess ballons and she wore a pink tu-tu and carried a little wand.

Darci loves having her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins around her. Add on the fact that they were here for HER and she was in 7th Heaven. Lots of food and cousins running around playing. Ballons flying everywhere and presents for HER!!! Her cousins excitedly helped her open presents and then sat on the ground with her to pull things out of boxes and play with everything new.

Then the coup de gras!!! A cake!! The sparkler #1 candle was a mystery to her. She wasn't sure what to think of it. Then the cake got put in front of her and everyone watched her expectantly. She looked from face to face and wondered, "what are they waiting for?". Mommy took her hand and put it in the cake. She looked up at me shocked. Then I put her frosting smeared hand in her mouth. WOW!! She dove right in after that and savored every bite.

All this activity makes for one sleepy girl. Everyone left and jammies were put on. While Mommy and Daddy cleaned up Darci, Xander, and Christopher played with the spoils. She went to bed very happy :)

The 14th was more a day of personal reflection for me. I vividly remember her birth. I remember how excited I was when I realized that she was coming on my sister's birthday. I remember the rooms and my labor and delivery nurse. I remember seeing her for the first time and being so worried for her well being. I remember the spirit in the room. Bret was there, my mom and dad were there, and my best girlfriend was there. You could also tangibly feel how thin the veil was. I truly feel like my Grandma Pingel was there and so was my sister. It was a precious day that I will always treasure.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We have had a wonderful Christmas. Sunday, Dec. 23 we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas program at church and Darci was gorgeous in her dress from "Aunt" Janet.

Christmas Eve Bret had to work until the afternoon, but Marissa spent the day cleaning, cooking, and wrapping. That evening we went to Grandma and Grandpa Armstrong's house and enjoyed pizza and visiting. We had to leave early, though. The kids needed to get into bed and asleep so that Santa could come.

Christmas morning the most exciting gift was a little dog named Yoshi. The kids just love him and Bret and Marissa are happy that he is really a very good dog. He'll be a wonderful addition to our family.

Darci's first Christmas has been really fun. She's loved the lights and the trees and the music. She enjoyed ripping wrapping paper and playing in it, and she seems to like her new toys. Mostly she just LOVES Yoshi. She follows him around making funny noises and loving on him.

Xander got the Pirate Ship he asked Santa for and can't wait to try out his new Cars racers.

Christopher is happy with his "Plug N Play" game. And, even though they arenn't Legos, he likes his Spiderman Mega Blocks.

Brett and Shendi Pingel joined us this morning to celebrate and we love having them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY XANDER!!

Yesterday was Xander's 3rd birthday. He chose a Buzz Lightyear theme and we invited all of the family. Last year his birthday was a bit of disaster in that he got really overwhelmed and by the time we opened presents he was in full meltdown mode. We were afraid we would have a repeat of that this year. He was a brand new (older & wiser perhaps?) kid this year. He truly enjoyed being the center of attention. He sang "Happy Birthday to ME" and enjoyed blowing out his candles. He had fun with his cousins and liked having helpers for opening presents.




Thanks to all that attended for making it such a special day for him.
Our only downer to the day was that Christopher wasn't feeling 100%, but even he was able to enjoy the time spent with family.

Starting The Holidays

I haven't posted since Halloween, but it was mostly an uneventful November. Thanksgiving was nice. We spent the days with the Armstrong's and the next day with the Pingel's.

Yesterday we went to the Festival of Trees. We didn't go last year because I was on bed rest. This year being able to go and having it be Darci's first Christmas made it a special event. The kids saw Santa and we saw all the decorated trees, wreaths, gingerbread houses, etc. Christopher loved the "Nightmare Before Christmas" tree and Xander loved the "Star Wars" tree. Darci liked Mrs Claus and LOVED her candy cane. Xander was all ready to visit with Santa and then decided against it at the last minute. Afterwards we went to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch and the boys enjoyed the novelty of picking out what they wanted to eat and putting it on their very own trays.

Today we got our first real snow and the boys started playing in it early. It seemed like an appropriate way to welcome in December.

Happy Halloween

We celebrated Halloween today for the first time with a school age child. Christopher had a parade at school and then Marissa was a "room mom" for his Halloween party. She read halloween stories as they finished their crafts.
Marissa took all 3 kids trick-or-treating while Bret stayed home and passed out treats. The kids did more homes than we expected them to and even Darci was a trooper. Everyone enjoyed our little Disney characters. Christopher was Dash from the Incredibles. Xander was Buzz Lightyear. Darci was Tinkerbell. Marissa was a witch. Please no comments from the Peanut gallery that it's fitting.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!