Some random things

 Cecily had her two month check up yesterday.  She's doing great!  The doc says she's nice and big.  She's in the 97% for weight and 100% for height.  Of course, I'm sure it helps starting out large. :)  She's a good/happy baby for the most part.  She still doesn't sleep very well at night though.  It's been quite hard trying to keep her awake during the day because I'm always on the go and every time I get in the car, she falls asleep.  She'll also stay asleep as I transfer her to the stroller.  She can sleep through any noise.  It's good and bad at the same time.  Trying to keep her awake during the day has proven to be harder than I expected.

 On another note, it was Hans' 31st birthday on the 3rd of Dec.  We had a nice evening.  We got a babysitter and Hans and I went out to a great Greek restaurant.  We had cake in the afternoon so we could celebrate with the kids.  This German cake is fantastic!  It's a chocolate/raspberry cake with cream filling.

The kids all got shots yesterday.  I had a very proud moment.  Cecily had to get three shots and the other two kids got their flu shots (better late than never right?).  Gabe and Eva didn't make one peep.  They didn't complain or fuss at all!  The nurse was floored at how tough they were.  The baby only let out one little yelp and then she stopped too.  At the end of it, the nurse asked what was wrong with my kids.  She wanted to know why they didn't cry and Gabe just looked up at her and said "my daddy teaches us to be brave".  I thought that was so adorable!  Very proud mommy moment.

I just posted a video and pictures of Eva's dance class on Facebook.  Today was the first day parents were allowed to attend the class.  She's been taking ballet since September and she really loves it.  If you want to see those pictures and video, go check out my facebook profile.  I don't want to repost them here because it took too long.

Blessing Day

 We blessed the baby in church today.  Hans gave a very beautiful blessing.  It's always so touching to see the Priesthood in action.  The things that were said in the blessing were very special and different than the other two kids' blessings.

 I actually enjoy getting the kids ready for church on Sundays.  It's the one day they actually look clean and put together. :)  Normally I let them have a little more independence and give them more choices.  Sundays however, are my days.  I think they clean up pretty nice, don't you?  Of course, I'm definitely bias.  

 This was the same dress that Eva was blessed in.  Aunt Jen sent this to us.  Thanks Jen!

Happy Halloween!

 Happy Halloween!  We had our ward Trunk-or-Treat party on Saturday.  We all had a great time.  Cecily wore the same ladybug outfit that Eva wore when she was just a month old.  I posted the picture of Eva in the costume and Cecily so you can see the similarities between the two of them.  The picture of Eva isn't very good, but they sure do look a lot alike.  Eva's picture is at the bottom.

 This was taken today before heading off to church.  Cecily at 4 weeks old.  It looks like she'll end up with blue eyes!

 I love how Ceci is looking at Eva.  Cracks me up.  Of course, Eva just had to come be in the picture.  She's such a cheezer.  Today was the primary program in sacrament meeting.  That's always my favorite Sunday.  Eva did awesome!  She had her part completely memorized.  She quoted D&C 1:38.  I'm so proud of her!

Eva, Halloween 2006.

Cecily's first bath

 Cecily loves the bath.  Her cord fell off after only 4 days, so we've been having fun giving her baths.

 I absolutely love the expression on her face here.  She looks so annoyed to be having her picture taken.  We discovered after her first bath that she's just way too big to be giving her a bath in the sink.  She barely fit in there. :)

 I had to throw in these last two pics.  I love having our little family complete.  Eva and Gabe love their baby sister to pieces!

Happy birthday to one adorable 5 year old.

 Eva was one happy camper this morning.  She even told us last night that she couldn't wait to go to bed so she could wake up and it would be her birthday. :)  She loved the gifts from Oma and Opa this morning.  They were every 5 year old girl's dream...sparkles and color!

 This is Gabe's begging face.  He wanted to open up some of the gifts.  Eva was kind enough to let him help her.  How could you resist that face anyway?

 This was the first pose Eva gave me when I took the camera out.  This girl is hilarious.  This is one of the outfits from Oma and Opa.  We let her wear it to German kindergarten this morning.

 She's saying she's Five today!

 Gabe's almost as tall as she is.  He's been a trooper lately.  It's been kind of hard on him lately with a new baby to get used to and then Eva's birthday.  He's going to need a special day with just mommy soon.

 I found Eva daydreaming before we left for school this morning.  She's already looking so grown-up.

 When she got home from school, this is what she found.  We've been meaning to get her a bike for so long and never have until now.  She was so excited.  The school made her this crown too.  It's has been a very good day for her.  Sometimes it makes me wish I was five again.

She has arrived!

 Our Cecily has arrived and has completely captured our hearts.  She arrived on Oct. 1, 2011 at 12:35 pm. My water broke at 7am and she was born 5 and a half hours later.  Much shorter than the other two!  She weighed in at 10 pounds 5 oz and 22 1/2 inches long.  I have to admit I totally didn't expect her to weigh that much, but at least it makes perfect sense why for the last two or three weeks of pregnancy I would get at least two comments a day asking if I was having twins. :)

 Pushing was quite difficult with her.  Her shoulder got stuck and she just wasn't wanting to help in the process of coming.  They had to have one lady push down from the top of my belly and another pulling the baby out.  Her shoulder came out a little sore, but the doctor says it will be just fine.  She wasn't breathing when she arrived, so they had to immediately cut the cord and rush her out of the room.  It scared me a bit because I didn't hear her crying and I didn't know what was going on.  They didn't communicate what the issue was because they were in such a hurry.  However, shortly after, they got her breathing and I heard a nice healthy scream from the other room.  She was pretty purple when I was first able to see her but her color as greatly improved and she's got a nice healthy glow.  She looks exactly like Eva did when she was born, just a bit chubbier. :)

 How do you like the big flowers on the top of Eva's head?  She's got quite a sense of style huh? :)

 On another note, Jess and Jen arrived on Friday and then had to leave on Monday.  So, I got to spend at least all of Friday with them (even if they were totally jet lagged) and half of Monday before dropping them off at a hotel to catch a really early flight the next day.  I was released from the hospital on Monday around noon.  After we got home, we all had lunch together (thanks to Renee for providing it) and then headed down to the Mosel River.  I had never really driven down there.  I was definitely pleasantly surprised.  We'll have to do that again.  Jen suggested this because she used to live in that area for about a year when she was 14.  We spent the afternoon and evening down there and then dropped them off at a hotel near the Hahn airport.  Gabe has a huge crush on Jen.  He even played with her hair.  He would also follow Jess around like he was some kind of super hero or something.

 Ok, I completely looked hammered, but I did just have a baby two days ago.  I guess make-up would have helped but that would mean I would have had to try. :)  In the picture below, Gabe looks like he's wearing a skirt, when in fact, it's one of Jen's shirts.  Along the drive, both Eva and Gabe needed to use the bathroom so we pulled over on the side of a small little road.  As soon as Gabe got out, he announced he had to poop and didn't bother waiting for help.  He just did it right there, forgetting to bend his bottom back.  Yep, the poop got all over his shorts and underwear.  It would have been stressful if it hadn't have been hilarious.  Jen, the genius that she is, used a shirt of her own (because I never carry extra clothes for him any more) and Gabe's belt from his pants to make some kind of coverage for his bare bottom.  It turned out great!

It was so wonderful to see Jess and Jen.  We just wish they could have stayed longer.  Have a great rest of your trip guys and now it's time for me to take it easy and just relax...with three kids in tow.

Random happenings in August/Sept.

 The USO sponsored a special Sesame Street program for the children of the military.  It was a free event and there were free give-aways.  I thought the kids would really enjoy it, but they didn't seem to care one way or the other.  They were too busy playing with the free toys to really pay attention much to the program.  However, they were good and enjoyed being there.  Below is my amazing neighbor Jazmine.  She is 12 and the most amazing girl ever.  Eva worships the ground she walks on.  Every night that Eva says her prayers, they consist mostly of Jazmine and her family.  Gabe is in love with her too.  We are very lucky to have such a great family living next to us.

 These next pictures were from the summerfest that the kids German Kindergarten puts on every year.  Gabe just started going to the german kindergarten (equivalent to an American preschool) in August and seems to like it.  He's in the Penguin class and Eva is in the Panda Bear class.  Each class had a special song they sang.  It was pretty dang cute!  Gabe didn't sing.  He just stood there poking the kid next to him with his paper beak, but at least he was having a good time right? :)  Eva sang her little heart out.

 I forgot to grab Eva's sunglasses, so she had to borrow mine...just a little too big huh?

 After the program of songs, the kids were free to run around outside while parents socialized.  They had a special slide set up.

 This is just a random picture of my very random girl.  She's quite the fashion diva.  She was having a "swimming suit parade".  She put a little train whistle into a purse, carried a flag around and wore her panda bear ears around the house while marching.  My kids sure keep me entertained.

Does it even matter?

Okay, if you're German, don't take offense by this.  It's a generalization...

Why oh why do German's feel it their duty to try and "teach" me how to parent?  Especially those who don't even have kids of their own?  And over the most insignificant things too?  I dropped Eva off to school today.  Almost every day, Eva wears her pink cowgirl boots to school.  She loves them.  I love them.  She plays outside our house with them every day too.  Even in the dead heat of summer, she'll wear them.  She never complains of how hot her feet get, and seems to not be bothered by it, so I don't care if she wears them.  Why would I fight her on this?  It doesn't bother me, doesn't bother her, so why disrupt something good right?

Well, one of her teachers at school started getting after Eva this morning for wearing her boots again.  Then she turns to me and informs me that all of Eva's teachers (3 of them) told her she was not allowed to wear those boots outside anymore because they are too hot.  She was upset with Eva because she apparently didn't listen to them and wore them anyway.  However, they never informed me that she couldn't wear them.  I asked if Eva had been complaining of her feet being hot outside and her teacher said no, but they all thought it was best for her not to wear them.  I told her it didn't bother me if she wore them outside and if Eva wasn't complaining about them, it was fine.  She then proceeded to give me a lecture on the fact that apparently Eva is the boss in my house.  She said Eva was just playing a game with me and showing me who's boss by not listening to me as to what shoes to wear.  I told her I never said she couldn't wear the shoes because I don't care if she wears them.  I also said if I told Eva not to wear them, she wouldn't.  However, the teacher just continued to "give me pointers" on how to show Eva I was in control and not her and that she can't wear the boots.

It really gets under my skin when someone else feels it's their duty to teach me how to parent my child.  It especially bugs me when it's coming from someone who doesn't have kids of their own.  And, why does it seem so much more annoying coming from a German?  Maybe because they are the only ones that seem to feel it their duty to correct any kind of behavior that's not up to their standards.   Aka...remember the German woman who threw piping hot fries at Eva's face when she was three years old?  Or the German doctor who screamed at Gabriel on the top of his lungs because Gabe was trying to reach for another gummy bear, even though he didn't touch anything!?

Okay, now I'm just ranting and raving.  Let's just blame it on the pregnancy and being overly hot with no A/C right now.  I promise I really do like it here and I've met some really awesome Germans along the way.  This is just a stereotype.

Lindsey

Family

 Well, I didn't get as many pictures as I thought, but what I did get, I'll treasure.  I don't know where Gillian was in this first picture.  I think she actually hadn't showed up yet.  But look how pretty all my sisters are.

 I'm so glad Jason and Michelle decided to bring some of their kids.  I haven't seen Alysa since she was about three years old.  I have also discovered that I totally love Jared.  How could someone who belongs to Jason be so cool? :)

 My three favorite boys in the whole wide world...with the exception of Gabriel of course. :)  Adrianne and Mike have done such an amazing job raising three very incredible kids.

 Ella is such a beautiful, sweet little girl.  She sure is growing up fast.  Eva saw this picture and said that Ella is prettier than she is, which says a lot since Eva thinks very highly of herself. :)

 "what you lookin' at?  You got a problem?"  I have nothing to say except that I am totally in love with this ball of fire!

 Aren't my brothers so cute?

Here we are all together, which never happens since we all live so far apart.  I just wish it was under better circumstances.  We all came together for the funeral of sweet baby Laila Richards.  She is the daughter of my sister Adrianne.  Laila was three months old when she passed away in her sleep.  It was a very emotional week full of tears, hugs, and lots of love.  I am so amazing at the outpour of love Adrianne and Mike have been shown.  And by people they don't even know well.  I hope they will continue to feel the arms of the Savior around them during these next hard, long months, years, ahead without their beautiful little girl.  They are a very strong family and have set an amazing example to me of how to have a Christ centered home.  I love you both and your three amazing boys.  You will always be in my thoughts and prayers.  I love you all.