Summer day fun with Super Dave

The weather here in Utah is, to say the least, a bit strange. The past week it's been SO hot! Dave was still super ambitious and mowed and trimmed the lawn, not to mention weeded the entire yard! Go Super Dave!

After the "work" was done Dave decided to be a kid again and join the kids in their water play. Attached are a few pictures of their fun! It's so cute to see him involved with the kids. He has been so good with the two of them. Yesterday he took them on a few errands and even got them each some new panties. Unfortunatly, he got women's sizes rather than girls sizes... Oops. I totally appreciated the attempt. :) The girls had a great day with him. Even Chloé has decided she wants to have "power up" birthday party where each of her friends get to take turns "powering up dad". (in our house that means wrestle)

Thanks for being a great dad!

I love you!

First Dr. appointment

Today was Jaylee's first official Dr.'s appointment. Since I'm now dealing with Thrush, Mastitis and some other bacterial infection I was a little worried about her. She did GREAT! She is now 8 pounds 2 ounces and 21 inches tall (still 3 ounces smaller than Chlo when she was born...) They had to do the whole heel prick this time which was terrible. The poor kid wouldn't bleed. She sat there screaming as the nurse tried to squeeze enough to get what she needed. I felt pretty bad for them both.

Before we went to the appointment I decided to take a few quick pictures of all three girls together since I haven't done that yet. Attached are the results. My girls are all so beautiful! I feel so lucky.

The past few weeks the girls have decided they won't go to sleep until around 10-11pm. They are in bed by 8 every night. If anyone has any suggestions on how to put that to an end, I'm more than ready to hear. I think the new baby - lack of attention thing is kicking in too because last night Carlee scratched Chlo across the face and this morning I found Chlo sitting on top of Carlee slapping her... HOLY COW! Drama, drama! Hopefully this is just a phase :) They really are great big sisters and love interacting with Jaylee. Chlo just made a good point that she and Carlee each need some "personal time" without the other. Thanks for the suggestion Chlo, consider it done :)

And then there was poop...

Jaylee continues to be a great baby even though I think she's figuring out the whole crying thing. It's still not too often and she seems to be getting close to smiling (I'm sure it's the constant gas she has though... :) ) Anyway, the one thing with Jaylee that I haven't experienced before is the whole bathroom thing. I've never been pooped or peed on until this one. Almost every time I change her diaper that's when she decides she needs to go. A few mornings ago I was on my bed changing her diaper and as I went to grab the fresh one poop projected out of her, across my bed and onto her port-a-crib. I honestly didn't know a kid could do that! Needless to say after getting a handful of poop and having poop all over my bed I was quite leery to change her again. That same afternoon, she did it again! (You'd think I'd learned...) I was on the family room floor this time when the "explosion came". Fortunately I was a little more prepared so it just took my clothes and hands down with very minimal on the carpet. As I watched in horror she decided to top it all off by peeing as well. Nice... She's such a stinker (no pun intended) :) Because of these few situations I've been super careful when I change her and , knock on wood, it hasn't happened since. Although, it usually still takes at least 2 diapers every time I change her because as soon as I get a fresh diaper on her she seems to think that means it's time to poop. :)

Jaylee grunts and groans a lot when she's sleeping or trying to sleep, Dave and I decided it was time to move her out of our bedroom so we could both get more, much needed sleep. So as of last night she's officially in the "Bella" room. If you haven't heard that story it's also a long and frustrating one. :) Just for laughs I'm going to leave the Bella pillow in her room. My sister, Julie says she thinks it means beautiful in Portuguese, so that works :) Attached are a few pictures of her nursery. I really love that room and I don't mind spending some midnight hours there. It's so fun to have it done and someone to actually use it!

Julie's Shower

Last night was SO much fun! It was great to see so many family and friends gather to celebrate such an exciting thing. I should have taken better pictures of the whole group. Dang. I was so flattered to be able to be part of Julie's shower last night too. She is such an amazing sister and it's been so fun to be able to be pregnant with her and to enjoy the "blessings" of it together :)

The girls had a great time too. I decided to get Jaylee a little bouncy chair so it would be easier to have us in the room with us without her having to be on the floor. She loved it. With Becca's help I was able to put it together and Jaylee loved it. She spent most of the night sleeping in it. It actually took 3 different ladies to wake her up. Must be a magical chair :) Carlee and Chloé LOVED the chocolate fountain. I don't know how many treats they had... Chlo loved showing off to all her new admirers as well. She was doing cartwheels and dancing for them. Like Dave says, she's destined to be in the next big "teen movie" . Sometimes I swear she's 5 going on 13. Carlee just followed Chlo around and also enjoyed the treats. She loved helping me with Jaylee as well.

My parents have this neighbor who, can I say, is honestly so amazing. (lots of them are!) but this one in particular has taken a special place in my girls hearts. She is so over the top and fun, she's such a spaz!!! Anyway, when she saw the girls last night she called them over and said she had something for them. She always has them choose a hand. Chlo got blue cotton candy lip gloss and Carlee got Green, watermelon. Sister Duffy was freaking out, "look how cool that is, it even has a brush inside!" Then she told them to choose a hand again and they each got a really cute silver High school Musical bracelet. She is truly a giving, wonderful person. The girls love her and have asked if we could bring her some fresh flowers the next time we see her so they can say thank you. Thank you Sister Duffy for teaching my girls to be kind and giving!

All in all it was a wonderful night that I'm so glad I was able to take part in.

Life with Jaylee

Jaylee has been such a great baby! I honestly couldn't ask for more. She's pretty content and loves to be held and snuggled. If she does start to fuss, which isn't too often, a binki does the trick. The girls love to help out all they can, especially picking out outfits and bows for her to wear. It's a good thing her sisters have good fashion sense :) I guess the downside is I got mastitis and had a fever of 103.7. Not a fun thing for anyone. I'm on medication now and I'm already feeling better. Thank goodness!

The girls have really enjoyed spending more time with Grandma, Julie and Aunt Becca as well. The other day the girls were spoiled and got to go to the zoo. They had so much fun. Thanks mom, Julie and Becca for taking the girls on such a fun adventure!

Tonight is Julie's baby shower so it's my first adventure out of the house with all 3 girls. It should be fun and it will be great to get out! I'm excited to celebrate Julie tonight too!

Jaylee Lynne

Well, she's finally here! It took me a few days to post because I'm trying to be smart about taking it easy... Not as easy as it seems :)

Things went really well for us and we feel SO blessed to have Jaylee here! We went into the hospital at about 9am on Thursday. Things started off slow but ended in a bang! I went from a 4 to a 10 in less than an hour and the doctor had to run to the hospital to even be there to catch her. I guess when she was ready she was ready. She has TONS of blonde - blonde- hair which made her the talk of the nursery. When the nurses would come to check on us they'd make comments like, "Oh, the cute blonde baby is yours", or "She's the cutest baby we've ever seen!". Even her pediatrician said he hasn't seen a blonde baby like ours in years and even then they're usually boys. Go Jaylee! I guess all the heartburn was worth it. She was 7 pounds 1 ounce and 19 1/2 inches long. My smallest baby!

Chloé and Carlee are SO excited and haven't stopped talking about her since we've all been home together. Because we decided to change her name the girls have had a hard time remembering it. I've heard everything from Bella, JJ, and Jocelyn even baby. :) After a few days practice they've got it down. We decided to take a name we got from Jaylee's aunt Shannon! Thanks Shan. I guess Case has a cute little girl in his Kindergarten class with that name. It worked out SO great because I always wanted to name one of my kids after my dad. Mission accomplished! My dad's middle name is Jay! Perfect! We wanted to also tie in our mothers, so Lynne is my mom and Dave's mom's middle name. Can't get much better than that! The name seems to fit her well too.

We have had so much help and support from family and friends. I just want to say thank you to everyone for the phone calls, visits, food and especially watching our kids. This experience has been so memorable for me and Dave so thank you!

My parents have been awesome to take the girls for the weekend. My mom is such an amazing lady and is a celestial grandmother to say the least. I guess the other day when she took Carlee out of the tub she was hugging her and Carlee said, "Grandma, you make my tummy warm!". Grandma's truly have an amazing gift to touch the lives of our children. Mom, thanks for warming my kids tummies! :)

As a side note, grandpa's are just as great! Happy Father's day to all you amazing Grandpa's and fathers in my life, especially Dave. Dave, thanks so much for this amazing weekend! You have been so much fun to watch with our two older girls and especially Jaylee. She totally has you wrapped around her little finger! Our girls are truly lucky to have such a wonderful dad. Thank you for taking care of me as well even though it is your weekend. I honestly couldn't ask for more! I love you Dave!

Crying over Spilled apple sauce

You know, the farther into pregnancy I get the more I realize what a sacrifice it can be. It is for a worthy cause and I'd never change the outcome! After all the pills, morning sickness, emotional breakdowns, large weight gain, cramps, limited movement, tiredness, heart burn, moodiness, and all the other fun things associated with being pregnant, when they put that baby in your arms it all becomes worth it :) I have been super lucky this pregnancy to have a sister be pregnant with me. It's been fun because this is her first. It's great to talk to her about all her "first time pregnancy questions and stories". This last week she told me the cutest story that I just had to post. Julie is a very grounded, steady person. She's super sweet and mellow. Her pregnancy has been pretty easy going besides the fact that her baby is measuring a bit small. Anyway, she told me the other day she was going to get herself a snack out of the fridge. She decided to grab some apple sauce. As she took the bottle from the fridge to put it on the counter she dropped it and the bottle shattered on the floor spilling apple sauce and glass all over the kitchen. I guess Julie just stood there and looked at the mess with a blank stare. Her husband came running in to see if everything was okay. She looked up and him and burst out bawling. Being the guy that he is he immediately went over to hold her and tell her it was all going to be okay. Julie laughs that through all her pregnancy the thing that makes her cry was a broken bottle of apple sauce. In her own words she says, "I cried over spilled apple sauce". Go Jules, no big deal, wait a few more weeks and you'll be crying over a commercial on TV or an add you see in the newspaper :)

Thanks Julie for being such a great sister and for all the fun phone calls! I am so blessed to have the family I do. Just a quick shout out to my sister-in-law who just found out she's pregnant too! CONGRATULATIONS BECKY!!! Bring on the babies :)

Girl's night out

Last night I was so lucky and got to spend a night on the town with a few close friends! (Thanks Dave for watching the girls!!!) We went to dinner at Applebee’s, which was really good, then headed off to a new spa for a massage pedicure and "sparkle toes". I guess these sparkle toes are a new thing. They actually use acrylic to seal in the color. It's SO fun! I'm taking my girls in August to get them done for Chloé's birthday. I know they'll love it. The place we went is called La Villa Salon and they’re in American Fork by the new Lowes and Costco. Everyone needs to try them out, they're fantastic! Be sure to mention my name so I can get a referral discount next time too :) Anyway, I feel SO lucky to have such awesome friends. Thanks Mindy and Shaleen, I can't wait to do it again!!!
As per my sister's request (who lives in TX and is expecting as well) here is the last picture that will be taken of me being pregnant! Eat your heart out :)

Fathers

Seeing the birth of our 3rd child coming and Father's day just around the corner I've been thinking about the importance of "Dad's". I've been so blessed to have the dad that I have and to grow up in such a loving family. In the same regard I think my girls are lucky to grow up with the loving father they have as well. How lucky we are to have the men we do in our lives. I got a little LDS Gems email this morning that has to do with mothers, but I think it goes both ways. Just wanted to give a quick, "I love you" to the Father's who are in my life!

"As fathers we should have love unbounded for the mothers of ourchildren. We should accord to them the gratitude, respect, and praise thatthey deserve. Husbands, to keep alive the spirit of romance in yourmarriage, be considerate and kind in the tender intimacies of your marriedlife. Let your thoughts and actions inspire confidence and trust. Let yourwords be wholesome and your time together be uplifting. Let nothing in lifetake priority over your wife--neither work, recreation, norhobby."
(Russell M. Nelson, ""Our Sacred Duty to Honor Women,"" Ensign, May 1999, 39)