Crazy Days

Ah, Summer. It is a madhouse around here! Jeff's kids came to stay for June and July, and they just left a few weeks ago to head back to Colorado. Cousin Hayden also came to stay for 3 weeks, which made Sam's summer since they're such good buddies. Sam was happy to have playmates, and James was happy to just follow the big kids around. James loves his "Baba" (Grandpa), and he is just getting more and more busy. Sam is bored to tears now that everyone is gone. So far this Summer we have swam to our hearts content at Grandma Becky's house (minimum of 1X/week), attended a handful of family reunions, thrown a few parties, took a trip to Roaring Springs, took MANY trips to the park, and attended cousin Josh's baptism and cousin Meagan's blessing. Oh. And I turned 30. So, it has been a CRAZY Summer. The above photos are the most recent, and below are some from throughout the Summer.

Halloween...a Little Late.

Ah, Halloween. One of my favorite holidays. And this year I managed the matching costumes that I had been dreaming of since Sam was born. I also managed to get a HUGE pumpkin from my mother-in-law's garden and decided it was perfect to put a baby in, and since I happened to have a baby available, voila!! And, yes, Sam's shirt is on inside out and backwards in one photo...he dressed himself so I just went with it. And, no, James is not Toto, he is the Cowardly Lion. Not bad for making 50% of the costumes, eh?

Also in October, Brian started a new job working in the customer service department for Idaho Power Company. He is contracted to work through June, and then we'll have to see where we are at. But he is employed, and that is always good!!

Ahem.

Look what Sammy did! We were sitting in the same room and in the time it took me to make a phone call and consult a letter during the course of said phone call (maybe 5 min?), this is what happened. It just goes to show that kids can get into all kinds of mischief right under your nose!

Stuff

Sam and James are getting so BIG! Sam is officially 4 years old, and when I took him shoe shopping 2 weeks ago, he had gone up 3 shoe sizes since the start of summer!! Good thing he has been wearing sandals! He also started "preschool" as a part of a co-op that some of the other mothers and I from our stake have started up. He really enjoys it. James thinks he needs to do anything Sam does. He wants to play with Sam's toys, eat Sam's food, and be anywhere Sam is. We have had to start putting Sam in his room to play and putting the gate up so James can't get in. This satisfies our "doors open" rule, but keeps James from getting in. On the plus side, it also keep Sam from getting out and he does a much better job playing independently when he isn't comeing out every 2 minutes to see if I will play with him. James is also pulling himself up on everything and walking himself around the furniture. He has proven to be much more strong-willed than Sam was at this age, and he lets you know if he wants something and that his desire will not be denied! The last time we weighed him he was 22 lbs, and that was a month ago! Here are some recent pictures (and, yes, Sam now has a bow and arrows...he has fun shooting arrows with dad):

The Good, The Bad, and What We Thought Was Bad But Isn't...

It has been seven months since my last post. A few things have happened in our lives, so here is an update: ~Bad news first~ -We didn't get any of the 5 houses we put offers on. This was initially a bad thing, but turned out to be a very good thing because.... -Brian got laid off from his job at Brown Mackie College 2 weeks ago. ~On to the good news~ -Because Brian got laid off, they will allow both he and I to attend any of their sister schools free of charge. So, Brian is going to get his master's in organizational leadership, and I am going to do mine in higher and postsecondary education, both online. -James is CRAWLING and has been since shortly after he turned 6 months old. -Today, James pulled himself up to a standing position. Here are some updated photos of the boys:

James

Introducing James Fletcher
Born Dec. 15, 2011 via VBAC
6 lb 10 oz
20" Long
13 1/4" Head



James needed a little extra help to enter this world because he was completely face-up. The vacuum that was used caused the bruising (and some initial swelling that went away pretty quickly). Sam is so excited to be a big brother and wants to "hold" James all the time. He especially likes to touch his head and rub his hair. Mom and Dad are thrilled with how good of a baby he is and how smoothly things are going. There is definitely a pleasant difference in recovery from a c-section and a VBAC, and I'm so glad things worked out so well and that I was able to have my own doctor deliver James.

13 weeks and counting

Brian just texted me from work to inform me that our newest addition will be joining us in no more than 13 weeks (I have a c-section scheduled for Dec. 22 and will possibly try a VBAC if I go into labor before then). My initial reaction? PANIC!!!! I knew I was getting close to my 3rd trimester, and I knew that I only had about 3 months left, but 13 weeks just makes it seem so much closer! With Sam I was counting down in anticipation by this time in my pregnancy, wanting it to get here sooner. But this time around, all I can think is, "Wait! Slow down a minute! I am nowhere near ready for a baby...I haven't done ANYTHING to get ready for this kid! EEEEEEEK!!" Is that normal for a second pregnancy? Brian assures me that we will be ready when it gets here, but I'm still freaking out a bit. And guess what else this means? The blood glucose test in a little over a week. Not my favorite thing in the world. Hope I pass it this time around :)