Naming Sickness

We are living in the sick house right now. I think for the past month, someone has been sick. But now finally this last week I have been sick and it has been completely miserable. I'm sure not only for me and my 8 month pregnant body, because I know we have been, but also for my poor kids getting a grouchy non-responsive mom and for Zack who comes home to a disaster everyday followed by kids needing some serious attention, followed by no dinner even started yet, and then a night full of me coughing in bed. Not to mention the seriously HUGE pile of laundry that is taking over our bedroom. Hey at least there are clean clothes right? I think that's a least something.....I think the count is up to like 7 loads all sitting there piled up. Yikes. Summary: Pregnancy and sickness should not be mixed. The poor baby is probably wondering (if they can wonder at this point) what in the world is going on, what's all the shaking during his nap time. I sort of feel like Santa Claus when I cough, which is constantly, my belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly! sigh. Sickness please GO AWAY!! Ugh.

But otherwise on my mind is the fact that we have no name for our child that will be here in 1 month. I mean this isn't really unusual for us, we are not thus far pre-birth namers, nor are we in a hurry post birth but with the first 2 we at least had it narrowed down to 2 names before going to the hospital that we liked and wanted to pick from. This kid? We got NOTHING. I'm afraid baby #3 is going to be a no name for awhile if we don't figure something out! We don't even really have a list of possibilities. It's kind of sad. I mean we have written a few down, but there is nothing on there that either of us is really attached to, I think most of them are on there because we don't want the paper to be blank. SIGH. Boy names stink. Any suggestions?

Well no one has come up with anything yet except for Oliver. His votes are either "Mr. G" or "City Kid." For no apparent reason, those are his picks. So there you have it. I think we will go with City Kid since Mr. G just sounds like some sort of thug or rapper. Won't the nurses be surprised when we tell them that City Kid has arrived! ha, ha. Well I guess here's to hoping we come up with another alternative!

A New Nephew!

I forgot to mention the most important news of November except my birthday of course! And that is that we have a new nephew and cousin!! My brother Greg and Kris Tina had their baby boy at long last on Nov. 19th! That's a pretty big deal for me since he's my only sibling, of course Zack has a big family, but I don't, so it's fun to have a new addition on my side. Now I get to share my birthday month with a cute little guy. His name is Henry and in true family fashion he's got some wild hair but unlike our kids it is blonde. It will be fun to have our 2 boys so close in age. So welcome little guy, we look forward to meeting you someday! And congrats Greg and Kris Tina!

(And I promise I will get your baby gift sent off before Christmas......what can I say? I'm 8 months pregnant! :) )

Today is THE day!!!

Today is the day that SCHOOLS.....OUT.....FOR......EVER!!!! (for Zack that is!) Today he is defending his dissertation and that is it. Done. Finito. No more school. How exciting is that?! It's only 200 pages long if anyone wants a copy! Who knew you could say so much about dirt! ha, ha. We have been married for almost 9 years and he has been in school for the whole of it and now today Zack becomes a man. Okay, just kidding he was already a man, but today he becomes a Doctor! Dr. Zack, how about that. (Well technically graduation isn't until spring time, but that's just a formality.) So I'm sure he would like it if all of you would start referring to him as Dr. Zack! ha, ha.

So:

Congratulations Zack!!! We love you!!! We are so proud of you!

And good luck on the job hunt!

And of course what's a 2 month absense of posting without a few pics of the kids. And apparently we have no photos in Nov, so here is Halloween time. Oli the pirate and Ruby the pumpkin!

Some treats that grandparents sent for the kiddies were a hit.....
Me preggy at the ward party in the costume parade with Ruby stealing someone's gun in the background!

Balloon Boy!
Kids had fun carving the pumkin

Trip to the Bershire's

A couple of weeks ago, we took a little trip to the Berkshires. It was just a little over night trip to a place that we had been wanting to see since we moved to Mass and since it could be our last fall here (job options unknown) we thought this fall would be a good time to check it out. The Berkshires are only about 2 hours from where we live, so it wasn't far to go, but it was really beautiful and since the leaves were starting to turn it was fun to drive around all the little towns. We did some apple picking at a farm and of course some apple cider donuts to go with them and Oliver and I went on a tractor ride around the orchard. Then we went on a "Scenic" train ride. We thought the kids would really like that. It was fun to go on the train, but unfortunately the scenery wasn't quite what we had been hoping for! On the 1st half of the ride (40 min) we were only going at 10mph which was seriously slow considering that we were basically riding through the underbelly of some podunk towns. You know, where the train tracks usually run-- not through the pretty part of town. And then at the very end we broke out into some countryside for about 10 min. The we had a short break at a station and then got back on to some home. Thankfully on the ride back we were going about 20 mph so it passed much more quickly and seemed more enjoyable. But Oliver seemed to think it was fun for the most part. I just don't think it should be marketed as "scenic" but hey, who asked me?!

The next day we went to a fun pumpkin farm and the kids had fun looking around and doing some of the various activities there like a pumpkin car race and a hay ride. We also drove up to the top of Mount Greylock. Doesn't that just sound cool? And kind of spooky? It did to me. It was pretty at the top and they had a large memorial up there you could climb up. The leaves were pretty and it was a fun drive. We also went to a neat college in Williamstown that was a really cool college town with a neat old downtown where we ate lunch and then went to their art museum which had a really amazing collection despite the fact that it was a pretty small museum. But we made it through without the kids breaking anything, so it was a success!

All in all it was a great trip and fun for us to get out as a family.

(By the way- for parents- I think if you click on the individual pictures you can see them larger.)

Growing Up

Do you ever have those days when you realize your kids are getting big?! I mean suddenly you look at them and they aren't babies anymore, they are just growing up! This has happened a lot to me lately. Oliver and Ruby are doing so many new things and changing all the time and as people always tell you when you have little kids, it's happening all too fast. (Excpet on those days when they are driving me crazy, and then I wish they could grow up a little faster! ha, ha.) So I thought I would do a little update on what they are both doing.

Oliver: He is getting SO tall and he is just looking like a big kid. Since starting Kindergarten he has learned so many new things SO fast. It's kind of amazing. In the last few weeks he is really getting good at writing his alphabet letters and he is even starting to spell some words on his own. His words he "knows" how to spell and write on his own according to him are: I and See. But he actually knows a few more since he likes to ask me how to spell things and then write them down. His favorite topic to do this with is superheros of course. I can't tell you how many times I have spelled S-P-I-D-E-R-M-A-N. He also likes to make Christmas lists a plenty!

He is also working on counting. Wow, there is a lot of counting going on at our house. A common scene going on around here is either Zack or me walking around the house doing something being followed closely behind by Oliver as he, "31-32-33-34-35-36-37-38-39- what comes after 39?" One of us, "40." Oliver, "40. 41-42-....." He is up in the hundreds now with a little help here and there. I can't say that it's not cute, because it is, but after a couple of hundreds following you around it can get on your nerves a little! So usually we have to impose a cut-off limit. Which is usually followed by Oliver saying, "but I just CAN'T stop! I just love to count!" How can you say no to that?

He also loves to have us make up "books" where we do pictures and make our own story. It ususally consists of a story about alien brothers and Christmas somehow. It's pretty cute. He loves to do crafts and art projects, too bad I'm not a more kid craft minded mom, I'll have to work on that! :) He love to play with other kids and is getting a lot less shy about making friends at the playground and places like that. All in all he is just a sweet, loving, sensitive child that loves his stuffed animals and has a real love of learning.

(These pictures were taken at Sturbridge Village near our town. Basically an Old village with all kinds of fun homes, blacksmith shops, general stores, etc....from back in the day. Anyway, Oliver I think had the most fun trying out one the the Children's games rolling the hoop with a stick. He did pretty good with some practice!)

Ruby: Oh Ruby, Ruby, Ruby....sigh. So adorable and yet such a menace! Wow, how 2 kids could be such opposites is kind of mind boggling! She is in many ways the complete opposite of Oliver. She is so snuggly and affectionate and yet she can find or make trouble faster than I can usually keep up with! She too is getting to be so tall, and of course she's always been a little chunky, so we are glad that is sticking around! :)

She loves to sing. Often in the car she will just start singing back there making up her own tunes and she usually sings herself to sleep in her crib. She can sing the alphabet song which is pretty adorable. (I need to get some video of that.) She also loves Twinkle Twinkle and Popcorn Popping.

She LOVES Oliver. Anything he does, she wants to do, anything he says she wants to say. She just loves him. She even loves the cartoons he likes just I think just because he likes them! Unfortunately the feelings aren't mutual with Oliver, but we are hoping that comes with time! ha, ha.

She loves to play hide and seek and of course she loves stuffed animals just like her big brother! She really likes to take off and put on clothes. She can do most things by herself and I often come in the room to find her dressed in Oliver's clothes! Recently she has been trying to jump, stand upside down, and she is such a funny runner which is pretty adorable since she just screams and throws her arms out!

And with all the writing and counting Oliver has been doing, she often has to do her "work" as well with markers and crayons, pens and pencils. She also loves Sesame Street which makes me happy and randomly The Gumby Movie on netflix, she loves that movie?! I don't get it, but that's kids.

She is quick to forgive and even quicker to tell you she loves you. Now if we could only get her to stop being naughty!

Soon to be outnumbered

Well it looks like Ruby and I will soon be officially outnumbered in our house! Come January we will be welcoming a new baby boy to our house! Boys will rule the roost! Those for toilet seats left up as apposed to those for toilet seats left down will be out voted. (Well not really, I think Mom always gets the biggest vote in this right?)

Yes that's right, for those of you who didn't know I was expecting again, well, surprise! I'm expecting again. And for those of you who I haven't told the sex of the baby yet, well, surprise, IT'S A BOY!

We just found out last week. To be completely honest, Zack and I both had a twinge of disappointment that it wasn't another girl, but that quickly passed. (Don't feel bad kid, that has happened both times with the other kids too.) Now we are excited for a new addition and a baby brother! Oliver was VERY excited it was a boy. Not really that we are having a baby in general, but that it will be a boy. I think so far having a sister hasn't seemed to cool for him. Someday, someday! (we hope.)

So now we are starting to process of name picking. Is it me or are boy names WAY harder than girl names to pick out?!

Anyway, that's our news! Wish us luck as we approach going from a family of 4 to a family of 5!

First Day of School and Update!

Yesterday was Oliver's first day of School! I can't believe he's old enough to start kindergarten! When did he get so big? This wasn't the greatest picture, but in true family fashion we were of course running late and were hustling to get us all in the car so we didn't miss the first day of school! (Trying to start the year out right you see....) So far we haven't gotten to much out of him about how it was, Oliver is not a sharing kind when it comes to things like this, he likes to keep some things to himself. SIGH....parents want to know everything, doesn't he get that?! Anyway, he said he didn't think he was actually at school for 6 hours, he said it seemed shorter, so I guessed from that that it must have been okay! But I did get a big hug when I picked him up and he continued to hug my leg the whole way to the car. So I guess it was fun, but familiar is always good too! ha, ha.
Also yesterday we got 2 packages for Ruby's birthday. One from each grandparent! My parents sent her a little set of stroller, baby swing, and crib for dolls (or stuffed animals!) and Zack's parents sent some stuffed animals for each of the kids. All the gifts were well loved and played with immediately as you can see from this picture. A perfect gift pair! Even Oliver thought the doll stuff was pretty cool and wanted to play with it too. Thanks grandparents!!
Also, this weekend (Labor Day) we went with our ward on a camp out to Camp Joseph in Vermont. It is right next to the birth place of Joseph Smith. Above is a picture of the Monument.
Surprisingly and thankfully both the kids had a blast camping and both slept really well. I was really worried about that before heading out. Plus it is a 3 hr. drive to get there, but the kids did great!
We don't actually have a tent, so we opted for the luxurious cabin option. Don't get to excited, it's just big enough to fit 2 bunkbeds and a folding chair in between! No big, but it did the job. The pack and play fit just between the beds so we were all snug in there like little bugs.
Oliver was always looking for the perfect marshmallow stick for roasting and he and the other kids had fun, and A LOT of sugar! We camped 2 nights and 3 days and had a blast. It was fun to spend time with some people in the ward and also the camp was really beautiful. We didn't get to many pictures, I kept forgetting to carry around the camera with me. Oh well. On Sat. afternoon they put out a huge slip and slide for everyone to dive down. Oliver actually went on it! He's kind of wimp in that department, so I was surprised to look over from the playground to see him going down! He went down several times and thought it was a total blast! If it had been warmer, I may have gone myself! It was tempting! ;)
Also last week was Ruby's birthday! She turned the big 2! We didn't do much for her birthday except bake a cake because it was Sunday and there was a hurricane warning all day, so not too exciting, but look at those faces! Are they just the cutest or what?! Oliver was helping her blow out her candles.
And I couldn't help but put this picture in because I thought it was just cute. Oliver is talking to Grammie and Grandpa on the phone and I think they were telling jokes. It's hard to have family far away, but it's nice that he is getting old enough to talk on the phone!

Well that's my little update. Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!

Sickness and Boredom

Not much is going on at our house these days except for the past week Ruby has been extremely sick. Therefore, our past week was ruled by a baby terroriest that was very grumpy. She started throwing up last week and then started in with a really high fever. This coupled with something going on every time she went to the bathroom made for many a sleepless night for Zack and me. She was waking up every time she went to the bathroom and sometimes in between that. Well the throwing up ended but the fever and diaper problems kept on. Then finally on Sunday night the fever seemed to go away but something was still bothering her when she went to the bathroom and she was getting so upset. Luckily I had just read a scary article in my Parents Magazine about Urinary Tract Infections which said all the symptoms of a UTI are fever, throwing up, and loss of appetite. It got me thinking, and 3 doctors visits and a urine baggy later we had confirmation that it was a UTI. So she has been on antibiotics for 2 days now and we have a much happier baby on our hands. She is almost back to normal that fast! WHEW! Who would have thought? I sure am glad I read that article the other day. I mean a lot of the time the article just freak me out because you realize how many things can go wrong with a baby/child, but this time it actually helped!!

So last night we all got a whole nights rest and it was glorious! We sure are glad our little cutie is feeling better.

On the other hand, since Ruby has been sick for a week, the rest of us (mainly Oliver) have been super bored since we couldn't leave the house. This is no way to spend the last weeks of summer. So hopefully we will be back on track now and ready for some fun come the weekend!

That's why I finally changed the background on our blog! It's only been like 3 years or something. Well I just picked one because I'm kind of slow when it comes to computer stuff, but I did manage this one. So for now it will stay, hopefully I can learn some new tricks and spice it up a little!

Anyway, hope everyone is enjoying summer's last hoorah!

Fun in Utah!

We are back from Utah, our vacation sadly over. Sniff.....but I guess don't feel too bad for us since it was a 5 week stay! It's good to be home and back in our own beds and able to get back to our usual routine. With that said, we are missing our family and friends already. It was a LONG flight, but eventually we made it home safe and sound. Utah, you were a good time!the kids had fun playing with all the "new" toys at Grammie and Grandpa's house.
We also took a fun, but rainy trip to the Hogle Zoo where we met Maggie and Porter once the rain let up. It was good to see them, even if it was short!
The kids took a ride on the carosel and of course Oliver chose.....
the PANDA! Big surprise. ( Ruby, was too scared to ride.)
Mostly we had fun just hanging out with family doing everyday things. I think my mom is explaining the war in Iraq here to Ruby. (Good luck with that Mom.)


The kids both loved seeing their cousin Gage, they had a lot of fun playing together.



Oliver and Uncle Greg both have a love of Star Wars and Legos making them a great pair, and a perfect birthday gift!! Oliver turned 5 while we were there and we had a fun party in Provo Canyon, pinata and all. Fun was had by all. We miss you all!

Oops......revisiting Easter and Mother's Day!

Ok, we all know I'm slow and I would have just skipped some of these pictures and moved on since it is WAY past but some of them are cute and deserve a little recap!!! Indulge me.....

Grammie and Grandpa sent us an Easter package that had some funny bunny ears that we had a lot of fun wearing around

And they sent a new back pack for Oliver filled with fun easter things! Plus candy for us all to share! Yum. Thanks!
Oliver at the ward Easter Egg Hunt

It was rainy so it had to be moved inside at the last minute. Bummer. But it was still a hit.

Moving on to Mother's Day, we had the Wulf's over for dinner and Maggi brought a tasty ice cream cake.
Here Phil is feeding some cake to a very eager Ruby! If you think this is bad, you should have seen her attacking the steak that he shared with her! This girl loves to eat, and apparently loves steak! Sorry Phil, I think he may have only gotten 1/2 of his steak after sharing with Ruby!
That's the price you pay for sitting by Ruby.....food WILL be shared!
This is a dress I made for a baby shower for my friend Amber, I thought it turned out cute, but my model wasn't really working with me! How do people on blogs get their kids to do all those perfect pictures???

Well that's my old picture update. I'm catching up, we are on vacation in Utah and so hopefully I will get us back on track for current events! Stay tuned!