Merry Christmas!

Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas!

Two Months

Nash is all smiles at two months old.  He had his check-up last week and is continuing to grow at a rapid pace.  He weighed 12 lbs 12 oz and falls in about the 75th percentile for height and weight.  We'll see if he can keep this up and be bigger than his "big" brothers.  I never know what the day holds as far as when (or even if) Nash will nap, but he continues to sleep long stretches at night so I'm grateful for that.  I've also never had a baby that won't take a pacifier so it's been an adjustment when it comes time to try and get him to sleep.  He likes to be rocked, but you have to pace around and keep moving.  No sitting or standing in one place--he really makes you work for it.  He continues to light up when he hears his brothers enter a room and is content to watch them play and be a part of the action.

He of course still loves to eat and eat and even started the lovely habit of puking afterward, which doesn't seem to bother him one bit.  I'm laying off the dairy for a little while to see if that helps, but we're not too worried since he's not bothered by it.  I just need to remember to keep a bib on him or be ready for it--I don't need any more reasons to constantly be doing laundry.

It looks like his eyes are going to stay blue so Jack may be our only brown-eyed boy, but lucky for us, they're all very cute!

Month in Photos: November

I don't have many pictures to choose from for November.  We've still been laying low around the house and not doing a whole lot since the weather turned cold.  On 11/11/11 I celebrated my 33rd birthday and Nash turned one month old.  JP spoiled me with a fancy new camera (that I'm still figuring out how to use) and arranged a surprise party at the Brickoven with his family. My mom wrapped 33 presents for me to open and it was definitely a fun celebration.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Gibb's house this year and while I don't have a picture from that day, I did get a photo of Jack's Lego turkey!  Speaking of Jack, he's doing great in school and loves his class.  I met with his teacher for his first evaluation and she said, "he's so smart...and he's so shy!"  He's learning to read and brings home a book every day that he reads to me or JP.  I can't believe how big both Jack and Ryan seem since having Nash.  Time flies.

One Month

So much has changed already since Nash turned one month old on 11/11. In keeping with the tradition my Mom started with Ryan, I'll take his picture every month with the stuffed animal she gave him and track how he grows in pictures. As expected, he's not a fan of posing for me yet but still looks cute even when he's making faces.

It has been quite an adjustment going from two to three kids even though Nash is a pretty good baby.  There is just a lot more going on during the day than when the other two boys were little so I've had to get used to juggling everything all while feeling a lot less productive.  I know he won't stay this little for long though so I keep reminding myself to just enjoy the time it takes to feed him or rock him to sleep.

Speaking of feeding, this baby is a piggy!  I've never had to nurse so much and and I even supplemented with bottles early on.  Luckily he's starting to go longer stretches now and then, but the first half of the day he wants to eat every two hours at least.

Nash loves hearing his big brothers playing around him and it's usually easier to get him to fall asleep when they're being noisy compared to when the house is quiet.  He loves the attention they give him first thing in the morning and he's starting to smile more and more.  We survived the first month!

Month in Photos: October

* October was obviously a very exciting month as we welcomed the newest addition to our family.  Nash David DeWitt was born 10/11/11.  He was the biggest of our boys (barely) at 7 lbs. 10 oz even though he arrived almost two weeks early.

* I was at the hospital just less than 24 hours, but it was nice to have visitors even if they were more interested in the iPad than keeping me company.

* Can't forget Halloween and all the dressing up the boys got to do for different outings.  I think they make a cute cool pirate and cowboy!

* Nash is a sweet baby and loves to eat and eat and eat. Like most newborns, he's also good at sleeping and pooping.  We love to snuggle with him and try to make him smile.

* Ryan has made quite the change this month and went from whining and having tantrums while Jack was at school to playing so well and keeping busy with Legos and other toys.  Go figure now that I'm busy with the baby and he gets even less attention that he is doing so much better.  Or maybe it's because he passed the "terrible two's"!?

Fall Photos

This year the boys both picked a Halloween costume that I thought I could handle making.  Ryan wanted to be a cowboy like Jack was when he was younger and Jack chose a pirate.  I made them both a simple vest out of felt and put the rest together with things from the dollar store or what we already had on hand--minus Jack's pirate pants which were courtesy of his talented aunt Hayley!

Here they are before the ward Trunk-or-Treat where they got their first round of some candy and fun games.

And on Halloween night where we met up with the cousins in Katie's neighborhood.

You know you're a tough cowboy when you have an actual cut over your eye to complete the look.

No costume fun for Nash this year, but I finally got some pictures of the boys holding their baby brother--which they love to do.  In the bottom shot of Ryan, he was watching his morning cartoon and not really loving the distraction of my picture taking so he told me to take Nash and "feed him his lunch."

The other day the boys came running inside and told me to come take a picture of the praying mantis on their play set so they could show it to Dad later.  When JP got home, Ryan told him all about the "green lantis" they found outside!

And the boys are already figuring out what they want to be for Halloween next year...as if it won't change a hundred times before then.

Month in Photos: September

Time to play a little catch up. Don't worry, I've included a baby picture with this post too since who knows when I'll have more time and Nash is changing so much already. He had already gained a pound at his two-week checkup. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time feeding him.

In September, we enjoyed lots of company--a visit from each of my sisters throughout the month, but I didn't take many pictures.  Here is a gem off JP's phone I had to share.  We definitely got our quarter's worth off this ride at the shoe store!

Another exciting event that happened this month was Jack learning to ride his bike!  He'd wanted to practice all summer but it was so hot and we never made much time for it.  Then over Labor Day weekend, we headed to the school and JP gave him some instructions and he pretty much just took off.  It was the perfect place to learn because he could turn toward the grass and fall on something soft when he lost his balance.

We also celebrated Ryan's 3rd birthday and fed into his super hero/costume obsession.  He also got his own big-boy bike that Jack was kind enough to drag him around on since he's still trying to figure out the whole pedaling thing.

It's a blurry phone picture, but Jack started a gym class over the summer with his cousins and is loving a place to run around and learn new tumbling moves.

And I entered my last month of pregnancy and still felt great up until the last week when my belly dropped and I felt like I was in labor for days.  It all turned out great though and now I'm just looking forward to a little more of a routine--say, less nursing, more sleeping if that could happen sooner than later!?



One week

I can't believe it's already been one week since he was born.

Nash David DeWitt

10/11/11 11:54 p.m.

7 lbs. 10 oz.

This is the picture JP sent to family to share the news!

He was about 10 days early but still took his sweet time getting here after two full nights of painful contractions that would disappear during the day!? 

His brothers are excited to have him home even though they haven't been able to hold him much yet.  Both need to get rid of their annoying coughs and hopefully we can avoid anyone else getting sick.  Nash is a good baby so far--eating good and sleeping good, but it's taken me two days now to get this post up and I have my mom here helping me for the week so life is going to be pretty busy for a while.  It will take some getting used to for sure, but all worth it.



Birthday Boy

On Sept. 29th, our Ry-boy turned three years old!  I can't believe he's so big and the time has flown since I remember bringing him home from the hospital not so long ago.  He's so different from his big brother and has thrown me for a loop on many a parenting issue, but I love his stubborn personality and how silly and smart he is.

Ryan takes his morning cartoons pretty seriously and ever since Jack started school, he has a meltdown once I make him turn off the TV and he realizes he's just got me for the next couple hours.  I offer to play Legos and all the other fun things he does with his brother, but I guess it's just not the same. Besides Legos, he loves Star Wars "guys", Super Heroes and really anything his brother likes.

(on this day they both insisted on wearing the same color from head to toe)

Lately Ryan has an obsession with dressing up and pretending he's someone else.  He's very excited about being a cowboy for Halloween but has many other options he likes to try out in the meantime.  He got a Wolverine costume for his birthday, a Thor helmet, and a Captain America t-shirt.  He also loves Jack's old costumes and creating new dress-ups like black socks and shoes to be a basketball player like Dad.

His gift from Mom and Dad was his own bike--also something to help in keeping up with his big brother.  He was pretty excited even though he's yet to master the whole pedaling part of it.  And yes, I either get scowls or cheesy smiles in most pictures with him!

We continue to battle on the whole sleep issue, but he's much better at staying in his own room all night now that we set up his bed on the floor.  He prefers a sleeping bag to the bottom bunk and that's fine with me so long as he's not cuddled up to me in my bed--it stopped being sweet a long time ago.

He's also been pretty stubborn on the whole potty-training issue, but I'm pleased with how long we've been out of diapers for as strong-willed as he is.  He turned into a puppy a few weeks ago and just starting leaving puddles on the carpet for no reason other than he was too busy playing, but knock-on-wood that phase has passed.  I have to be really clever when it's time to leave the house or go to bed and make it seem like using the bathroom is all his idea or some kind of contest with Jack; otherwise he's not interested.  He drives me crazy when he dances in place and thinks he can go hours on end without a bathroom break, but there's no forcing this kid to do anything--I've tried.

For all his stubborn antics, he's pretty smart and tries to rationalize his way out of a lot of things like how he can't help clean up a mess because "it's not his problem" or "it's too dangerous."  I crack up daily at the things he says and have tried catching his funny conversations on video more than once.  Some things we hear on a regular basis are, "It wasn't me...it did it by itself", "NO, NEVER", "I want to do it all day", and "I'm big, right?"

I think he'll make an excellent big brother after having some practice with his little cousins that have visited over the past month.  He loves babies and helping take care of them like holding Owen's bottle and alerting someone the second he started crying since something needed to be done ASAP.  Little does he know he's got some crying to get used to with a newborn coming home soon, but covering his ears seemed to do the trick if the noise didn't stop fast enough.

We sure love Ryan and all that he brings to our little family.

Month in Photos: August

During the month of August, we took one last trip before school started and headed to Lake Powell for the weekend.  We went with our St. George cousins and all managed to squeeze into Dana and Todd's house--with a couple people even sleeping outside.  We enjoyed time at the lake boating, fishing, snacking, making sandcastles and creating weapons out of sticks.

This month Ryan became a little obsessed with dressing up and creating some interesting costumes.  His favorite is a pirate and both boys decided that's what they wanted to be for Halloween.  Then Ryan discovered Jack's old cowboy costume and now he's dead-set on that once we find him a "new hat and a horse to ride."

Not a bad way to end the summer.  Now we're excited for fall, cooler weather, and only a few more weeks until we bring home baby brother!

1st Day!

Jack was soo excited to start school on Monday that it took him forever to fall asleep Sunday night. He had a great first day and loves going back each morning.



He's in the AM kindergarten class with Miss Jacobson and a few of his friends from the neighborhood. He really wants to walk to school since it's just down the street and I say when I'm not so heavy and it's not so hot.

Just for fun, here's a look back at his first day of preschool last year. Not a huge change, but he has outgrown that shirt he was wearing at least.

Month in Photos: July

After spending lots of time on the computer during the day, I never feel like getting on my laptop at night which is where all photos are downloaded to. Even with the lack of posting, we've been having a great summer and July was another month of fun in the sun and trying to keep cool at the pool.

*The boys play so well together half the time, then pick plenty of fights with each other throughout the day. I can't tell you how many times I hear them say back and forth, "I told you so." I had to catch a photo of this new game they were playing where Jack was the Dad and Ryan was our new baby! They're going to love having a baby brother in a couple short months.

*We had a low-key 4th of July with a family BBQ and a few sparklers at home. That's more than enough nervous excitement for these two. Ryan waited inside while Jack watched a few city fireworks from the backyard before they both headed to bed.

*Ryan has officially given up naps despite my best effort on the days I know he could really use one. We're going through that awkward phase of trying to keep him from falling asleep at dinner time so he'll go to bed good. Every now and then, this almost 3-year-old just can't fight how tired he is in the afternoon.

*Both boys still love swimming at the hotel every chance we get. They were excited to get goggles and continue to practice all their tricks when jumping in.

*We've come a long way since last month's photo of Jack nervously jumping in the deep end of the pool at swim lessons. I signed him up for one more week of swim with a new class where a lady and her son teach from their home pool. He was joining a session that was half over (the last spot of the season) with some kids who could already swim and he had to literally dive right in! He was swimming on his own at the end of the first day and I could tell he was both terrified and thrilled to be doing so much on his own. He couldn't wait to show his Dad and even though his technique is more of a nervous looking dog-paddle most the time, he loves swimming without help.

Our summer is officially winding down. We just got back from a weekend in Lake Powell and tomorrow we meet Jack's kindergarten teacher. His first day of school is in one week and I'm sure he'll love it.

Month in Photos: June

Summer was in full swing for us during the month of June with a road trip to visit grandparents, along with lots of fun at home too.

*We got Dad a tent for Father's Day which we pitched in the backyard and played around in, but didn't sleep in yet (dark too late; light too early!). We also roasted smores and ate breakfast outside the next morning.

*Jack had his first official slumber party and spent the night at his cousin Dewy's house. Dewy later stayed with us and here the boys are all ready for battle with their "helmets and weapons"...when they're done watching cartoons of course.

*We headed north for a few days and stayed first with Grandma and Grandpa Chambers. The boys love playing with Grandma's toys, getting wild with all their cousins, going on walks with Grandpa, and enjoying this fun swing in the neighbor's tree.

*Next we stayed with Grandma and Grandpa DeWitt and got to go to a fun carnival and parade in Springville. The boys also built train tracks, read nursery rhymes with Grandma, helped Grandpa feed the fish, ate yummy food, and told annoying Star Wars knock-knock jokes the rest the weekend.

*I signed both boys up for swimming lessons and later pulled Ryan out for a refund. He loves the water and wasn't afraid to go the first day, but he doesn't care so much for strangers and decided he was done after one dunk. Jack did well and even though his little knees knocked for several seconds, he was brave enough to jump off the diving board with just his noodle to hold onto. Since this picture, he's a maniac at the pool and constantly does cannonballs and tricks. Ryan also loves jumping in and is a little too fearless for my likes, but has lots of fun as long as you watch him close. Besides swimming at Dad's work, we've also been to the water park in Kanab with cousins and Dana & Todd, and set up our own wipe-out course in the backyard with kiddie pools, slip 'n slide, and water balloons.

I can't believe there's just over a month of summer left before Jack starts school. We've been lucky it hasn't been blistering hot so far this season, but I'm sure that will come as I no doubt get bigger and more uncomfortable. Thank heavens for air conditioning!

boys of summer

I just downloaded over 100 pictures off my camera of our summer adventures so far. Needless to say it will take me a little while to sort through and share some, but in the meantime I don't want to keep my handful of readers waiting for an update! This photo sums up a lot...the boys have been playing so well together and having lots of fun at home. They also refuse to wear shirts saying they're going to "be in boobies all day." And they do. I'm sure it will be one of the highlights of their summer.

Month in Photos: May

I realize May was forever ago, but looking back on the photos I took, this is the month we fed Ryan's obsession with going fishing. First we hit a local fish pond and the boys loved watching and helping JP. We went back again and brought a kid's pole so Ryan could continually reel it in and drive JP less crazy than when they shared a pole. Both boys would get very excited with any chance of a bite and Jack even held the fish he caught before promptly dropping it. We've only made it out to Sand Hollow twice so far this summer, but I'm sure more fishing is in our future. (It's a pretty boring sport for Mom, but I always bring a book). Other outdoor activities include swimming at the hotel pool and playing in the water at home. The last picture of the boys in the pool is a typical scene around home lately. Jack is busting up laughing at something silly Ryan did, and Ryan enjoys being the comdedian so he'll continue to do whatever was funny over and over. I love when they play well together and have so much fun.

Oh Boy!

We've been spreading the news so it's no secret we're having another boy! I've been thinking/hoping girl for so much of this pregnancy, but the day before my ultrasound I was at the fabric store and I decided to pick up half a yard of this cute print that was better suited for a boy than a girl because I figured I should accept the reality that I will only be a mother to boys! I'm fine with this. In fact a few people asked me if I was disappointed, but I'm not at all. Sure, I had hopes for shopping for cute headbands, frilly skirts and little Mary Jane shoes, but I'll have to buy those things for nieces and stick with the [boring] t-shirt and shorts wardrobe I'm used to.

I'm just thrilled everything looks good and we have a healthy baby boy to look forward to. I was so nervous before the ultrasound that something would be wrong, but thankfully it was all good and how can you be disappointed with that. The boys are thrilled and JP was grinning non-stop during the appointment. We have a name we all like so hopefully that sticks for the next few months and everything continues to go well. In the meantime, we'll continue getting ready and while there will be less shopping and less decorating to be concerned with, there's still lots to do...including enjoy the summer with these two busy boys.

A day to remember...

On Wednesday last week we attended Jack's preschool graduation where they had a little singing program and were presented with a book of some of their work from the year. Despite the cold, rainy weather--it was cute and I was happy to see Jack singing even though he didn't have the best morning up to that point.


Here he is with his teacher Ms. Kami. He attended this preschool for two years and we'll miss both teachers he had.

So I mentioned Jack's rough morning and I'll try to explain how we went from the pictures above in the morning to this in the afternoon...

When I woke Jack up to get ready for preschool, he was kind of grouchy and still tired from being up too late the night before. He wouldn't come out for breakfast and I kept getting after him to hurry up even though he told me his leg hurt and he couldn't walk. We had been to a ward dinner in our neighborhood park the night before and he was fine when he went to bed and seemed fine the two times he got up to use the bathroom in the night, so I didn't think too much of his leg. We somehow made it to the graduation on time between me lugging Jack around and him limping. We met JP there who immediately thought it was more serious than I first thought and tried to figure out what he could have done in the night. Jack said the pain was in his knee and it looked a little swollen. The only thing we could come up with is maybe he got hurt when he jumped from the tailgate of JP's truck when we were unloading tables from the dinner the night before. It's not that high of a jump and he continued to play and run around afterward, but maybe it took a while for this injury to manifest itself?!

We went to our pediatrician's office in the afternoon and had some x-rays done. Nothing obvious showed up, but like with Ryan's injury from a few months prior, they said a hairline fracture might not appear at first and could take a few days to show up on the x-ray. There was concern over a lump behind his knee that felt like fluid, but the doctor wasn't sure if it was blood or maybe some kind of infection so we were just instructed to keep an eye on it. They made Jack a splint to help immobilize his knee, but still allow us to unwrap it and ice the knee to reduce the swelling.

By the next morning there was already a huge improvement and we concluded pretty quick there was no fracture since he was moving around so much better. In fact I had to keep getting after him for not taking it easy enough and putting too much weight on his leg. On the third day, the lump was gone and by today, Jack's not even wearing the brace anymore. I still don't fully know what caused his mystery injury and why he went from harldy walking one day to wanting to run the next. All I know is while I will love this baby in my belly no matter what the gender, I'm really hoping for a sweet girl! Raising boys is proving to be stressful work. They're not even that adventurous, but manage to find danger and make me feel like we spend a little too much time at the doctor's office. At our appointment last week, the lady we saw wasn't our regular doctor, but when she walked in she commented that she remembered stapling Jack's head a couple years ago!

Luckily all was well in time for our weekend of visitors. The boys were in heaven playing with Brody and meeting their newest cousin Owen. There was plenty of video gaming and Lego buiding and it was fun for me too visiting with my sisters and parents.

Now that we've kicked off summer break with a bang, here's to hoping we have more fun and less drama these next few months. Oh, and my big ultrasound appointment is in less than two weeks!!!!

Month in Photos: April

1. We got to spend a weekend at the Dixie cabin in Pine Valley with lots of family. The kids loved running the halls inside and four-wheeling outside. Ryan has a nice scar between his eyes now from running right into the open bed of JP's truck. We thought we'd have to drive into town for stitches, but ended up using some liquid bandaid instead!?

2. We celebrated Easter and sort of managed to get a picture of the boys in their Sunday best.

3. and 4. We had an egg hunt and delicious dinner with the Gibb's, despite the wind and rain that crashed our party.

5. We're all very excited to find out in a few short weeks if this baby will be a boy or girl. Here's a sort of slouched belly shot at around 14 weeks, courtesy of Jack.

A losing battle...

As with most (I assume) two-year-olds, I have to pick and choose my battles with Ryan. What is worth putting up a fight for or what should I not even waste time on because I can't win? Some days this includes what he wears. Often I can distract him or convince him to wear the outfit of my choosing, but this was not one of those days. He was very particular, right down to the socks.

The other day we went to the grocery store and he wore pajamas. He prefers Jack's shoes to his own even though they constantly fall off. The following picture sums up several other battles I'm losing.

I can't get him to give up the binky/blanket yet, can't get him to wear a bib when he eats, can't get him to take a nap in his own bed...you get the idea! Not to make him sound completely difficult though--he can be a very good boy, just very opinionated! We have some work to do before he's no longer the baby of the house. Wish me luck!

Month in Photos: March

*During this month the weather started warming up and we've been spending more time outside. We've made it to the hotel pool a couple times to swim and both boys are looking forward to taking lessons this summer.

*When we're not outside, the boys are making messes inside or having Dad help build an ultimate fort complete with movie player. (It's good to see pictures like that and be reminded of when they play good and get along because they sure love to fight lately!)

*Another current outdoor obsession is blowing bubbles. Lola can be very annoying about it since she loves to chase and eat the bubbles, so I liked Ryan's solution of getting out of her reach but still teasing her.

*This is the month we're thrilled that Ryan decided he was willing to be potty-trained. I was about ready to give up for a month and try again, but he suddenly decided to start telling me when he needed to go and we haven't looked back. I made him a sticker chart with a picture of his reward at the end--a set of Lego guys I planned on ordering online. Jack was always encouraging and helped with the sticker selection, but other than those efforts--it was all Ryan and waiting for him to come around. Since the photo was taken, that chart now has three times the stickers. I haven't got around to taking it down yet...or ordering his reward! Nice mom, I know, but that boy has more than enough Legos!