Summer :)

So yeah, it's the last day of July and I am just getting around to blogging this summer! :) Things around here are busy/crazy which seems to be the normal anymore. We have enjoyed some down time this summer and took time off of school to just 'hang out'. We have played with some friends, done the zoo and museum some, lots of parks and duck feeding, walks and frozen yogurt runs (my favorite) a trip to Holiday World and just playing around our place. I am the worst photographer in the world...I guess technically, not a photographer of any sorts since I always forget to take pictures at these fun trips! Lily is obsessing over American Girls and already planning her December birthday party all around which doll she is planning to get :) She is a smart cookie and is reading very well now and loves to read her own books or have me read her an American Girl book. We have been planning to get her in swim lessons all summer, but things keep popping up and we are hoping to get her swimming at the end of summer/early fall (although she is already protesting...did you know you have to get your face wet when you swim??? This is apparently news to Lily). Lily also gave a talk recently in Primary that she wrote herself. She walked right up by herself and did amazing! She is such a sweet girl and told the kids all about Nephi and why he is such a good example to her. (She is amazing!) Sam....Oh Sam. Sam is a WILD guy!!! He is a complete nut. When he isn't bouncing off the walls and he working hard to keep us laughing. A total class clown in the making :) He reminds me of Jim Carry so much the way he contorts his face! He is totally into super heros and went with Daddy and Lily to see The Avengers earlier this summer. He always has something in hands that has magically turned into a gun and always saving us from 'bad guys' (which we totally appreciate...honestly never knew the amount of 'bad guys' that were hanging around our house until Sam started pointing them out! Glad we decided to have more than one kid!) He has trouble deciding if Spiderman or Iron Man is his favorite, so he rotates between them (sometimes Batman gets thrown in the mix). And since Lily is planning out her birthday party, Sam is working on his too. Super Hero it is! Which will actually be pretty fun to do! :) Sam loves his nursery and recently when we missed 2 weeks in a row, the nursery leader came up and told me they really missed him while we were away...I wasn't sure if she thought another kid was mine, surely she was confused right?? Nope, she says Sam is amazing during nursery!! Not that Sam is bad, he just has a lot of energy, I'm glad he knows when it is time to tone it down and listen though! Yay Sam!!! Miss Emma is the busiest of us all!! Holy Moly this girl is ready to move! I don't know if it has something to do with watching older siblings or what, but she is a full blown crawler and pulls herself up on everything (glad I decided to get the coffee table out of here last week) and today started pushing a diaper box around the living room like a walker. Crazy! I think she is going to try to beat Sam's walking age (8 months). She loves her food (prunes are her fav). She is also a fan of the dog :) She loves when Roscoe decides to sit or lay down beside her! She grabs handfulls of hair and gives a good tug and Roscoe just sits and takes it (what a good doggie!) Roger and I are just having a great time watching the kids learn/explore the world around them!! Well, if you just read all of that, you must really love my children! :) For some reason, I can't get pictures to load up...I'll try again later!!

Emma

So I promised an "Emma blog" so here it is! Emma Elizabeth White made her grand entrance on Januuary 12,2012. She was 7 lbs 8 oz and was 21 inches long. She came a week early and was my favorite (lack of a better word) pregnancy. I was a little less sick with her and just felt a little better. With Emma, I never had 'false labor', which was sooo nice! I woke up that Thursday Morning (sorry Mom) and I knew something was up. I knew I was in labor and had been up sick all night. I called Roger and told him to come get me that afternoon after I picked up the house a bit, but it was pretty difficult to clean house while having contractions 5 mins apart, so I didn't get much done. Roger came and got me and my water broke as they were prepping me for my c-section, this little girl was ready to come! She was a great infant the first 4ish weeks and then the crying started! We up her zantac and that helped maybe a day and the crying continued along with a diaper rash we fought for 6 weeks and then I decided to cut dairy from my diet and happy Emma returned! :) Emma is a silly, happy little girl. She love, love, loves her big sister and big brother! (except when they get in her face and maul her!) She loves when people talk to her...any attention she gets and the smile magically apears on her face! She is kind of a Mommy's girl, but is much better than the other two at going to other people. We did just get past her 4 month b-day and she is now 13 lbs 3 oz and is 23 inches. It seems the time is going much faster this time around. I don't know if it's taking care of a baby and keeping 2 kids happy, but I wish things would slow down a little! I love being a mommy and having the greatest kids ever! They bring so much fun and happiness and laughter to our family! So there is Emma's first four months all wrapped up in one post :)

Why I'm "Mom Enough"

So everyone has been talking about the Time magazine cover...and I mean Everyone! Some loved it and others hated it. I hated it! The picture was offensive and makes it harder for breastfeeding mothers, but the part I hated the most was the caption, "Are You Mom Enough?" As if moms dont put enough pressure on each otheer, Time thought they would jump in the Mom debate. Apparently Time believes that breastfeeding your preschooler somehow makes you a great mom. Let me clarify, I don't care how long you breastfeed your child, it's none of my business and to each his own. But please don't tell me that I'm less of a mom if I make a different choice. I have caught throw up with my bare hands, kissed boo boos, and wiped tears off of sad faces, been spidermans sidekick, played hours of Barbies, had 3 c-sections, put something back on a shelve for myself because my kids wanted something, shed tears of worry for my kids, have 3 happy/healthy kids...So please, don't tell me that I am not Mom enough, because I am, and it has nothing to do with the way I am choosing to feed my child. Rant over! :)

(The kids finger painting with the home made finger paint we just made) We have been sooo super busy, blogging is the last thing I think to do. Even when I have a spare moment, things like laundry and dishes always seem to top the list, but I have forced myself to sit down and catch up just a little! First, we have a new addition to our family! Emma Elizabeth White was born January 12, 2012. And I feel a little weird just squezing her birth in with other things, so the next post will be completley dedicated to sweet little Emma :) We have been adjusting to life as a family of 5, and then decided to be a little wild and crazy and throw a dog into the mix. Roscoe is a fun little guy who joined our family when he was 6 months and the kids LOVE him! He is a good dog and was mostly potty trained when we got him (yay!). We have been enjoying Spring and the warmer weather that comes with that. Lots of time outside and at parks. The kids have really liked getting out after being cooped up all winter. And when I am pregnant I am so sick and feel so tired, my poor children get neglected! So we have been doing a lot of little fun things around here, finding new parks, visiting the zoo, visiting Emily (and new baby Sophie), visiting Nana and Pappy and Granny and Aunt Jill, trying new experiments and just playing. Hopefully I can keep up alittle better now and not try to shove everyting into one blog posting :)

Today my sweet little Lily turns 6....I am of course excited for her, and at the same time trying to not have a complete breakdown. All day yesterday, everything she did, I thought to myself, well thats the last time she will (fill in the blank) as a 5 year old. I think this pregnancy is making me crazy! It has been a busy year for us. We have moved into our house, switched wards, so she is in a new Primary, found out we are having another baby and started homeschooling! Lily is an amazing girl and such a blessing to our family! She loves her family and is sure to tell us everyday. She and Sam are BEST friends! They will on somedays go hours without leaving on of thier bedrooms because they are just having too much fun! She loves being the big sister and teaching her little brother all he needs to know to make it in this world :) She is also very excited to have baby Emma here soon. I don't think she could have smiled any bigger when we found out it was a girl! She has already promised me she was waking up with the baby at night to feed her, she just doesn't do diapers ;) Between Lily and Sam, I don't think there is ever a time we aren't laughing in our house! Although she is quiet and pretty shy, at home she loves to make us laugh and loves to be goofy! I can't imagine my life without her!

Just a box?

Ok, so we bought a new vacuum yesterday. I was pretty excited about that (pretty pathetic the things I get excited over). My kids on the other hand, before we left Wal-Mart, were asking to play with the box. We feel the need to spend tons of money on toys that light up and sing and dance and provide mindless entertainment for our children...and trust me, I am not anti-electronics...the t.v. has babysat my children, but when I see the hours of imaginative play this box has brought my children it makes me wonder, how much of that other stuff do they really need? So far this afternoon, my kids have been to space, been on a submarine, rode a ride at disney world, started a secret Lily and Sam club, been to the beach, played house, and been super heros. All this from an empty, not that large box. No buttons to push, no light up screens or songs playing....just a box. They played TOGETHER for hours... I am thinking about hanging out at Aldis and snapping up boxes. With boxes of all shapes and sizes, the possibilities are endless :)