October

Big news from October...A and N both celebrated birthdays! A is no longer a terrible two, and N is the big 1. There birthdays are 6 days apart and luckily they are young enough that we just combined their parties this year and had one big celebration.

Here's the two birthday boys enjoying N's present. We got this baby at a yard sale in July and managed to keep it hidden for 3 whole months. Aren't we so stinkin' sneaky?

And the cake! Poor Nelson actually didn't get any of this because of his allergy. He blew out his candle atop of a poppy seed muffin.

Of course we also had Halloween to celebrate. And celebrate we did. The boys and I hit a pumkin patch early on in the month with the preschool group. Boyd and I attended an adult only costume party (so fun!). We all enjoyed "Desk or Treating" at Daddy's work and the ward Chili Cook-off and Trunk or Treat.

Some of the gang at Linder Farms

Mommy and N waiting for the hay ride.

The whole family in our costumes. I love that the lion has two pairs of ears prominently sticking out. His wiskers were not on at this point either. But man check out that Indie!

Picture Highlights

I've got some serious catching up to do. Really I'm just posting the few pictures I've taken or received from others over the past five months with a few anecdotes.

My three handsome boys in the backyard sometime in May.
Don't let those faces fool you...

...here their true character shines through.

A dear friend from college who has lived in Chicago for the past five years was in Utah for a wedding this past June. Since Utah is a whole lot closer than Illinois, the boys and I loaded the van and spent a day with her and her family in Salt Lake. We took in the Gateway Planetarium, Temple Square, and rode the Trax (definitely the high point for J and A). Then we spent the afternoon at Kangaroo Zoo--a crazy bouncy house dreamland. It was so good to see Miss Ashley even if it was somewhat daunting to travel with the three kids all by myself. By the end of the trip I got pretty good at throwing food to the back seat for J to hand out to his brothers. That seemed to keep them all happy. Sorry about that juice box to the lip though bud. We could both benefit from a little more catch in the backyard.


The big boys in front of the temple, and the whole group at Kangaroo Zoo.





We've been in our home for just over a year now and though it definitely feels like home it is definitely still a home in progress. We broke our backs this spring putting in a sprinkler system, a garden, some rock and wood chips to get the yard in shape. Now it's high time I do something with the inside. Not by any stretch of the imagination am I a decorator, but I am trying. Here are a few projects I managed to finish.


A shelf made out of an old pallet (Boyd just shakes his head at this one).

Our inherited bedroom set with a face lift, one of the nightstands.

And the dresser. Obviously I've not finished the dresser. A streak of rainy weather has inhibited me, but I'm hoping Thursday will be the day. Then maybe I can rest better at night. At least you can kind of see the before and after look here. Does anyone have any pretty white dishes they'd love to give me to spruce this thing up?


The 2009/2010 school year I joined with five other Mom's to do a co-op preschool. It was the best thing I ever did! J made some of his favorite friends in this group and so here are a few pictures documenting the fun they had.

Making gingerbread houses at Christmas time.

A fieldtrip to the MK Nature Center.

A visit to the firehouse



The whole gang and some siblings with the Fire Dudes.

All I have to say for these next few pictures is "Brother's gotta hug!"

Early June we played a mean trick on J. We took the training wheels off his bike. He cried, he stomped around the house, he swore never to ride a bike again and then 2 days later he taught himself how to ride a two-wheeler.

See his little brother watching closely? Well it took some close watching and a few months later he hopped on the two-wheeler and started riding it himself.

That's our "Man-drew". From day one he's been in a hurry to grow up and do whatever big brother could do. The learning curve is sure faster for younger siblings.

Early August J celebrated the big 5. He spent the afternoon helping me make this "superhero" cake. Then enjoyed having family over to help him celebrate and open presents.

Where has the time gone? I can't believe I have a five-year old. He made the kindergarten cutoff, but after much deliberation and thought we decided to delay sending him to school. One more year of freedom and innocence. We're doing our best to enjoy it.

These final photos look closely at the mop on our baby boys head.

If I owned a little dress I would have put him in it with a pretty bow in his hair. Really he was starting to be mistaken for a girl so it was high time for a trim.

Two haircuts later this is what he looks like today.

No mistaking that. He's definitely all boy inside and out.

The piano

So about a week ago my visiting teacher and friend Tylene called and said, "Are you interested in getting a piano?" My response, "Well...Yes and No." Then she excitedly unraveled the story of how she checks Craigslist frequently for free pianos, and some piano repair place is giving away 20+ antique uprights, and that she was going to (in her pregnant state) hook up her husbands trailer, and if we hurry there might be some left. The price was about right so next thing I know the boys and I are standing in a large shed surrounded by dusty old pianos trying to decide which one to take home and fix up. And the winner is...

It definitely needs some tender, loving, care. Boyd feels pretty confident that with replacement parts, we can get the few broken keys to work. We've got some things to glue back together, the front cover to repair, sand, refinish, and then just maybe we'll have a beatiful piano. So here's the before picture. My hope is by the end of the summer I'll have a fabulous after picture to share.

Of course pulling the camera out means the boys will beg for a turn. Andrew was already napping so here' just a few of James's better shots.

A purple iris

The lilac bush

Momma & Nelson

Now lets talk about this Nelson baby, shall we? This time around more people are saying he looks like me. What do you think? And check out that hair. It has a mind of it's own. I can't get it to lay flat so it is always just sticking up like he has a faux hawk. I'm kind of looking forward to how wild it will get before we give him a trim. Here's some more pictures of him we took Sunday just because Boyd and I can't get over how giant he is compared to our others. He's 7-months old and has just about reached the size James and Andrew both were at 12-months.

Muscle man

Where's my neck?

He sure is a lot of fun! Just for the record he's got three teeth, and is moving around everywhere. I think that pretty soon he'll be a good little army crawler.

I really should be ironing

It's a rare moment, but Nelson is asleep, Andrew is asleep, and James is in quiet time! I can hear James building something with blocks, but other than that all is still. I have a list of things I need to do, but sat down on the computer to check my e-mail and obviously got sidetracked. Anyways, today is our 6th Anniversary! I wish I could tell you about all our fun plans, but Boyd has to go out of town early, early tomorrow morning and Nelson is still just a little too dependent on Mommy for me to leave for very long. This being the case, we're postponing celebration till I can think of something really great to do. Any suggestions? I am making fondue for dinner and strawberry shortcake for dessert (what we served at our reception) so the boys can help us celebrate a little. Here's the catch...I won't be dipping my bread or sausage in no cheese. I am currently on a non-dairy diet. We finally determined Nelson's problems (constant green bowel movements for those who are curious) are an allergic reaction, and since dairy products are the most likely culprit we're starting there. It's only been a few days so too early to see much imporvement, but here's hoping. For an avid milk drinker this is somewhat of a sacrifice. I didn't realize how often we eat cheese until now, and I had headaches for the first 2 days I think from chocolate withdrawls (horrible I know). Wish me luck. Well, here's just some fun pictures of the kids. Again, I have to give photography credit to the amazing Bethany (who by the way may be joining the 3 little boys club soon through the miracle of adoption, we're all on pins and needles for her).

This is a classic James grin

Can you tell they're brothers?

Nelson is my chubbiest baby by far

Andrew is always close by to clean the spoon for me

Just want to lick him

You know you're a mom when...

…you are writing instructions for the babysitter and have to stop and look up the word raisin to make sure you spelled it right.

…you let dirty little hands rub lotion all over your legs, gel in your hair, and "makeup" on your face because if feels so good to just sit there (yes, boys like to play beauty parlor too).

…you're reading the newspaper and come across a word only to think, "I use to know what that means."

…the song running over and over in your head as you drift off to sleep is "Baby Beluga".

…you can walk in a room and in 2 seconds find exactly what your child has "looked everywhere for".

…your intelligence might be slipping, but your hearing is only growing more acute. You can hear little feet sneaking out of bed a mile away, or your baby stirring even before you're awake.

…you act like a clown half the day in hopes to score a few toothless grins.

Just a few things I noticed about myself this week. I'm sure many of you can relate and add to the list.

And here's just another little somethin' somethin'. Andrew was feeling rather snuggly last night at dinner and kept trying to give me kisses . I kept dodging them since he had lasagna all over his face. Well, he managed to get me right on the ear, and left some of his dinner there as well. But that's okay he picked it off and then ate it. Definitely not the grossest thing that has ever happened to me though.

Thank goodness for dual vanities

Nelson has reached that stage where he would he'd just as soon be strapped to my body than be set down or out of my sight. It's kind of cute to see him immediately search the room for me when I hand him off to Daddy, but it can make a few things difficult when Boyd's not around. I'm having to get creative to keep him happy and still get a few things done. Thank goodness he loves to hang out in the extra sink in the bathroom when I'm getting ready in the mornings. It cracks me up because he kind of looks like an old man chilling in a hot tub, but whatever works, right?

Also, with Spring upon us (Hallelujah!) it's time to start taming this yard of ours. As some friends of ours so aptly put it, "It must stink to live next to the only people in the neighborhood with a perfect lawn." It's true that their yard is immaculate, and we could never compete (they mow it like 3 times a week in the summer, come on!), but they're actually really great neighbors. It does motivate us to step up our game a bit, however. Thus, this past weekend we aerated, thatched, raked for hours, and then mowed the lawn. I was telling Boyd I hoped it survived the beating it took and he replied, "Honey, lawns like children are only better after a sound beating." (Please don't believe we really hold with that philosophy). The fun part of all that work were the piles of dead grass we raked up (like 12 trash bags worth). The kids couldn't help but jump in them.

James diving in...

...and Andrew joining him (looks like he's just sneezing though).

And can you tell where one yard ends and the other yard begins? It's only March,

how can their grass already be so green?!!

Story Time

One of our favorite things to do, the boys and I, is snuggle up and read some stories. I love children's literature! I think my all time favorite children's book is Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber. It's a classic and so well done. I often get online to read book reviews or find lists of books that are age appropriate for my kids. There are so many great ones out there, but here's a little list from off the top of my head of some of our favorites.

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear, Audrey Wood

From Head to Toe, Eric Carle
Click, Clack, Moo Cows that Type, Doreen Cronin

Harry the Dirty Dog, Gene Zion
Llama Llama Red Pajama, Anna Dewdney
Berenstains' B Book, Stan & Jan Berenstain
Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss
Pete's a Pizza, William Steig
Caps for Sale, Esphyr Slobodkina
Curious George (all his adventures), Margaret & H.A. Rey
Mister Brown Can Moo, Can You?, Dr. Seuss

If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, Laura Numeroff

Please, let me know what some of your families' favorites are so we can check them out!

Cha-cha-cha-chia

Just a few random musings. I haven't done a good job keeping a journal since... oh, James was born so I justify this blog as a "book of remembrance". Here's a few things I want to remember.

The other night James was saying the prayer over dinner. Here's how it went, "Please Jesus save us from the food...and from the bad people...the bad people are Lamanites." I guess maybe I should work to improve my culinary arts and teach James about the Anti-Nephi-Lehis.

Speaking of food, Nelson popped out a tooth at 4 1/2 months. He'll be five months this week and still isn't rolling over completely. I think that's his way of telling us where his priorities lie.

We are currently in the beginning (and I mean just barely squeaking in there) stages of potty training Andrew. He started the ball rolling by insisting on wearing underwear over his diaper. Not just normal underwear, but thick trainer pants underwear. All that padding on his derriere leaves him looking quite disproportioned and makes him waddle a bit. Doesn't slow him down though.

Boyd is the motivating force behind our garden every year, and he gets a little over zealous at times (read we often replant everything because he had us all out there way too early). I think he's learned his lesson, and now channels that early enthusiasm into planting starts. He planted some pepper seeds the other day using soil from our garden. We went out of town for the weekend and came home to find not pepper sprouts but pots full of new grown grass. They looked like chia pets. Maybe we'll have a sod farm this year.



Girl vs Boy

People always ask, now that we have three boys, if we'll keep trying for a girl. Lately, I am of a mind to think that maybe we should just count ourselves lucky. I hear girls are no picnic. I also have to be honest with myself. I don't really sew, scrapbook, or do hair so me raising a girl just doesn't add up. I've been mentally making a list of the pros and cons of having all boys.

Pros:
1. Low maintenance. Getting ready for church Sunday morning is a breeze. No curling irons, or cute barrettes. Just some water, a comb, three little heads, and a minute later we can be out the door.
2. The love. They think I'm the most beautiful woman in the world (because I'm the only woman in their life). James likes to look at my wedding pictures and say, "Mom you're a princess!" Andrew likes to play with my hair and give me kisses. Nelson just thinks I'm the best thing in the world...period.
3. Man time. On the weekends the boys love to help Daddy. I can zip up their jackets and send them outside for hours at a time. Oh, the things I can get done! I can't wait for Fathers and Sons and priesthood sessions in the future. No Moms allowed!
4. The appetite. This may get out of hand in the future, but it sure makes a mom feel good when her kids ravenously clean their plate and ask for seconds.
5. The energy. These boys are constantly on the go and quite frankly it keeps me young. Bike rides, playing ball, running races, they're my personal trainers.

Cons:
1. The smell. Already I'll walk into my boys room at night to tuck them in or something and think, "Man you guys stink!"
2. The toilet. Mothers of boys, need I say more. Really I could wipe the toilet down every hour of the day and still not keep up with the "surprises" they leave.
3. All the noise, noise, noise, though I don't really have anything to compare it with.
4. The mess. I am having some success at training the boys that if they have been rolling around in mud they had better go in the garage and strip down before stepping foot inside.
5. The destruction. I often wonder if anything will survive them.

Flash flood

Watch out! Here comes a serious downpour of pictures and a flood of memories. I have a lot of catching up to do. Starting in chronological order...

My Grandparents are downsizing and moving from Overton, NV to just blocks away from the St. George temple. In November they called and asked if my boys might be interested in a set of bunk beds from their basement. Boy howdy would they! Andrew graduated from the crib to the bottom bunk and has only fallen off a few times. James thankfully has not fallen off the top, and we're relieved to find out, can climb down the ladder and make it to the bathroom in the night without major incident.

Though I have no pictures, Thanksgiving was delectable, delicious, delightful. We stayed in the area and joined my parents, Brett & Lori, and Barrett & Kendra's families for the big occasion. Grandma Bushman traveled up for all the festivities as well and made it extra special.

That weekend we trekked to the mountains to cut down our Christmas tree with Barrett & Kendra's crew & my dad. We got, in my opinion, the perfect tree, but really paid a price for it. There was much more snow than we anticipated and it was like 25 degrees. We couldn't drive the vehicles back to where the good trees were so parked and hiked a ways. The kids were done about 20 minutes into the hike so Kendra & I sent the brethren on while we tried to entertain the troops. They were frozen to the core and miserable. At one point I think we were all crying (except Nelson who slept through it all). Kendra and I decided we would be better off back in the trucks so dragged, carried, prodded all 7 kids down the mountain only to realize the trucks were locked and the keys were in pockets wandering around looking for trees. Well, we all survived and for sure made a memory. That is not an experience my boys will soon forget.

I let the boys have a go at decorating the tree before we put them to bed and I pulled out the nice ornaments.

Andrew had a favorite limb. Here's a close up shot of it. I counted 7 ornaments clustered there.

December was a magical month...the goodies, the decorations, the service, the parties. Since it was my parents first Christmas back from Kenya it was kind of a big deal and all my family (except one brother) were able to make it back sometime during the holiday. Thus, we had quite the cast for our live nativity Christmas Eve.

A group shot of most of the act

James was a shepherd

Andrew a cow

And Nelson had the honor of being baby Jesus

Enthusiastic does not even begin to describe how hyped up the kids were for Christmas morning. They awoke at their regular time, we all ventured downstairs, stockings, breakfast...open presents!

Here's the big boys with their twinner race car suitcases

And Nelson with a few gifts of his own

We blessed Nelson that Sunday, December 27th since so much family was in the area. With great regret I confess we completely forgot to take pictures of him in his blessing outfit. (How horrible is that. We probably have like 30 pictures of the other two on their blessing day.) But here's a picture of him just a week later. At least he's lying on a white blanket.

By the time New Years rolled around we were a little partied out and under the weather so we just had a "pajama party" with the boys. We had finger foods, popped popcorn, watched a movie, played Lucky Duck, then counted down the hour so we could blow our noise makers and throw confetti (who cares if it was only 8 o'clock). Happy New Year!

Now because I failed to get the kids in anywhere for a professional shot this year, here's their home glamour shots with some stats.

James age 4

Favorite foods: corn & pizza

Favorite color: pink (yikes!)

Best friend: Andrew & Owen

Favorite past times: Coloring, cutting, gluing,

making roads in the sand box, running, helping Dad in the garage or yard

Future aspiration: ride his bike without training wheels

Andrew age 2

Favorite foods: chocolate milk, blueberries, yogurt

Favorite color: changes daily

Best friend: James

Favorite past times: rrrrring as he drives a car, looking at his reflection in

the sliding glass door at the dinner table, doing everything himself

Future aspiration: using the potty (at least I hope so)

Nelson age 4 months

Favorite food: milk

Favorite color: maybe mustard yellow

Best friend: anyone who will give him some face time

Favorite past times: drooling, sitting in the Bumbo, waving his arms and legs

Future aspirations: roll, crawl, walk, talk