Molly

Yesterday Kinlee and I had a little photo shoot with Molly. I thought I would wait until she was a month old, but I just couldn't wait any longer. She is getting so darn big and I can hardly believe she is already cooing. Every time she makes a sound Kinlee says something like, "Mom, Molly just said what" or "mom, Molly just said how." She is so good at interpreting.

Jared loves his little sister so much. He likes to get really close to her face and sing really loud. He also loves to give kisses, but it's more like a head butt than a kiss. He likes to pull on her arms and lay his big head on her tiny tummy. We are constantly reminding him to be soft. He has no intentions of hurting, but he has yet to learn the meaning of SOFT! This morning Jared sat on the couch next to me while I was feeding Molly, he pulled up his shirt and said, "Mom, I want to feed baby Molly!" I expected that to come from Kinlee, not Jared.

We have already come up with a number of nicknames for Molly: Mo-chan, Molly-dolly, baby Molly and Mollster. We love to hear Jared say Mollster, he says "monster" instead. It's so cute!

Our "monster" has brought so much joy into our home and has definitely made things more challenging. However, she is the best baby ever. I am crossing my fingers that it will stay that way.....

Grandma's Are The Greatest

We have been very blessed with the GREATEST Grandma's ever! We love and miss you both!

Grandma Kennington

Grandma Cook

Knitting with Grandma Cook


Sewing with Grandma Kennington

I can hardly believe all the things my mom and mother in-law were able to accomplish while they were here. Knitting, sewing, swimming, cooking, cleaning, decorating, organizing, shopping, playing, singing, dancing, and of course loving! "Our Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting!"

Fairy-Cowboy-Caterpiller

As good as it gets!

Name That Tune?

Batman Sings

Jared just loves to sing. He gets so frustrated when we all sing together and he can't keep up with us. Lately he has adapted to our speed by mumbling, at least he gets the tune right! He has us laughing all day long.

On My Own Again

For the first two weeks of Molly's life we were blessed to have my mom and Clayton's mom here to help us adjust. We miss them so much.

Recently I have been spending the majority of my days like this. That's right, I have turned into a human jungle gym. I had no idea how much fun my kids could have crawling all over me. They have used my legs for a bridge, a tunnel, a lounge chair, a horse, a limbo stick, and Kinlee has even attempted to hurdle them (that ended real quick). Oh the joys!

This is what happens when you leave the sprinkles on the table and turn your back for two minutes to change a diaper. Kinlee was so proud of her green ghost and Jared even attempted to eat his orange ghost. I guess you could say that my kids really know how to make a SUGAR cookie:).

Molly's Story

Compared to my first two experiences giving birth I can honestly say that getting Molly here was a breeze. We ended up scheduling an induction for a couple of reasons. One, neither of us wanted to wait until Molly was 9+ lbs. Two, because I am a v-back patient, my doctor has to be present when I go into labor, or I would be forced to have another c-section. So we decided on October 12th!

At 5:00 am Clayton and I woke up and sat down to a bowl of granola and yogurt together. We packed our bags and left the house at 5:30 am. By 7:00 am I was at the hospital, dilated to a 4, monitors on, IV in and ready to have a baby. Crazy! At 9:00 my doctor broke my water and within two hours I was at a 6. I decided not to do the pitocin and so we ended up waiting another two and a half hours before I dilated to the big 10! My doctor made it into the room around 1:45 and Molly was here by 2:15 pm. I can't even begin to explain how wonderful it was to only push for 20 minutes as opposed to 3 hours. Although Clayton never mentioned it, I am sure he was relieved that he didn't have to hear me say, "I think I'm going to die" or "Don't tell me to calm down" or "Be quiet, stop talking and just hold my hand".

Not only was the delivery a "dream" but Molly has been a dream. She is such a good baby and hardly ever makes a peep. She is so patient with her siblings, who are in her face from sun up to sun down. Kinlee would sit on the couch with the boppy and hold Molly all day if I let her. Jared loves to get in Molly's face and kiss her cheeks and rub her little head with his chubby little hand. Jared is quick to inform me of any sound that comes from Molly, and he's certain that every sound is a "cry", and that means we must pick Molly up and hold and kiss her.

Clayton and I have had so much fun watching the kids interact together. We have decided that truly the third time is the charm! Of course things are bound to get more complicated, but we have learned how to enjoy the moments more fully. We remember all too well how quickly the time passes and the baby grows up. We have tried to soak up every ounce of peace and joy that Molly has brought into our home. It's hard to describe the calmness and peace that a spirit fresh from heaven brings.

I have learned how to enjoy the late night feedings only because I know they won't last very long. I love getting up when the rest of the house is sleeping and cradling Molly in my arms, just the two of us. Exhaustion is of course, inevitable. With each baby the exhaustion increases, but I have also felt that my ability to function in an exhausted state also increases. I have been so thankful for the strength and support that the Lord has given me and I know that He truly does lighten our burdens as we come to Him in faith. We have felt His love in our home in abundance the last few weeks and we have seen his hand touch our lives in countless ways.

We love Molly so much and are so thankful to finally have her here. Welcome home Molly.

Sent From Heaven

When Will It End?

Why is it that the last month of pregnancy always feels like ETERNITY!

A weed?

Who wouldn't be proud of pulling such a huge weed out of the ground? I just can't believe it only took three of them. This guy has been hiding in the back corner of our yard for some time now (who knows how long). Kinlee found him yesterday (it took a lot of searching) and couldn't wait to show her dad.

So it's evident that we really haven't spent much time in our "backyard" because the heat has been unbearable. Thank goodness it is cooling down and we can start pulling weeds.

First Day of School

A sweet sister in our ward teaches preschool and happens to live right up the street from us. A few weeks ago Kinlee started her first day of school. She loves every minute of it and cries when I come to pick her up. (I thought they were supposed to cry when you left them?) Jared loves to get in the car and pick "sissy" up from school. We have so much fun listening to her as she tells us about her day. Most of the time she says, "I didn't do anything today...you'll have to guess what I did." Typical.

Every morning Kinlee asks, "what day is it mom, Tuesday or Thursday." I love how she assumes that everyday is either Tuesday or Thursday. Of course she hopes everyday is "school day", and when she finds out it isn't, we go through a series of breakdowns and pep talks together.

I can hardly believe that my little girl is going to school and learning things even I didn't know. Yesterday she told me that her "throat has two uvulas." Although she said she learned this information at school, I'm pretty sure her dad had something to do with it.

I thought I should also post a picture of Clayton's first days of school! He wears the same blue scrubs everyday, we wash them now and then. School hasn't been as hard as we anticipated, thank goodness we were expecting the worst.

Our schedule goes something like this. Clayton leaves the house between 6:30 and 7:00 and the kids are usually up by 6:00, they would hate to miss saying goodbye to dad. We all sit down for breakfast around 6:15 and then we watch dad run around the house like a mad man stuffing his back pack, brushing his teeth, shaving his face and running out the door. I take the kids outside around 7:00 and sit on the porch and watch them ride their bikes around the cul-de-sac. By 10:00 the kids and I are hungry for lunch. Clayton gets home between 5:00 and 6:00 everyday and we all sit around the table and snarf down dinner as fast as we can. Then we take a walk to the park just down the street. While the kids play at the playground Clayton runs football routes and I play All-Star-Quarterback. Once we get home it's bath, books and bed. The kid are usually in bed by 7:00 or 7:30 and then the quite evening begins. Clayton studies and I clean or read. Now and then I go to bed at 7:30 too!

We have been so blessed to live next to a number of Midwestern students and their families. We spend a lot of our days playing with and visiting with families in the same boat!