Feeling Blue at our SMURF Party!

I remember watching cartoons as a kid. I know I watched quite a few, but I only remember specifically watching a few: He-Man, Thundercats, and Smurfs.

So you can imagine how excited I was when my kids discovered Smurfs playing on one of their cartoon channels, and of course I didn't mind sitting down and watching it with them. I LOVE the Smurfs! I love how they use the word "Smurf" interchangeably, I love that they live in mushrooms, and I love how Grumpy Smurf "hates" everything. Really, whenever one of my kids says something like "I hate cleaning my room!" I think of Grumpy.

So you can imagine how awesome it was when I saw that there was a new Smurf movie coming out, and even more excited when Crowdtap invited me to throw a Smurf Movie Party! Really, I love any excuse to party, but give me a theme to go off of and it's even better. And the theme for our party?? Fun, kids and BLUE!

Crowdtap also invited Carissa to throw a Smurf party, so we combined our meager budget and our creative skills (and of course our kids) to have a party to celebrate the release of The Smurf Movie on DVD and to do other fun Smurf-related activities.

First we let the kids color and design their own Smurf hat. It looks a little "Pope-ish" but you get the idea. They were really excited about this and had a great time coming up with things to put on their hats. Rix has a picture of Gargamel with the words "I Hate Gargamel" written on it. I'm sure this would be a bestseller hat in the Smurf village.

There were lots of color pages and games for the kids to do as well, you know, to get into the Smurf Spirit!! These were found at "Smurf Happens" - check it out! You could throw a Smurfs party as well!

The kids wanted it to feel like a sleepover so they pulled out blankets and we turned out the lights. It was so fun to see the young and the older kids laughing and having a good time!

We served blue cupcakes with blue frosting (they were Smurf-alicious!!) and blue Smurfberry Lemonade to the kids as well. Even Jacob got in on the blue frosting action!

I really loved this idea of throwing a "DVD release" party. So many good movies have come out lately for kids that are good clean movies, but are also funny and interesting enough to keep my attention as well. What better way to celebrate that than throwing a party! And it's something I think my kids really enjoyed and would love to do again. I can't wait for the next good cartoon to come out so we can party all over again! Any good ideas of what movies are coming out that we could celebrate?

Getting your Jacob Fix!! (This is for YOU Kelli!!)

Jakers is almost six months old and still by far the most popular person in our household. I try not to get offended when I go pick up the boys from school and prep myself for a hug or something because they have missed me sooo much, only to have them bypass my open arms and give Jacob a big kiss and coo at him and whatever. Really, so trying not to be offended! But my older three boys are not at all jealous of their little brother. Which is something I worried about when I was pregnant, especially with Cole, but all of my boys are like running political campaigns trying to be Jacob's favorite! It's crazy but I love it. It's really cute.

Jacob teased us and slept through the night for like two nights. Two blissful nights. Since then I still deal with him around 11pm or so, and then around 4 or 5am, but some nights he has a rough night and is up for a couple hours. I really think he has some stomach issues and I hope when we see the doctor in a couple weeks for his checkup that we can get something figured out! This momma is tired! Other than that he is a normal-ish baby. He loves to be held, and is seriously the smiliest baby I have ever met. He smiles at anyone who is looking his way. He tolerates his jumper and Exersaucer so that I can get things done around the house, but I have become pretty talented at preparing dinners with only one hand!

Anyway, here are some more recent pictures of Jacob. (So now Kelli can't say she hasn't seen recent pictures!!)

Fat-dogging at the fair

I know I've posted this pic before but it's one of my favorites

Love this smile!

Jake loves bath time too.

Eating his feet. He usually starts the day with socks, but within a couple hours they are so gross from him sucking on his piggies!

Jake liked solids for about 5 minutes, and he hasn't liked them since. All my kids were eating solids by five months. Jake is so not interested. Too bad since I made a ton of baby food and it's just hanging out in the freezer...

That smile is going to help him get away with a lot in the future!

We Have Way Too Much Candy is another way of saying Halloween!

It's after Thanksgiving, so what better time than to {finally} post about Halloween!
Like always, we went to the Lakewood Fire Departments annual Halloween event. They had lots of games for the kids to play, a bounce house (because no kid function is complete without one!), and free pumpkins (which really is the reason I go). They always come home with lots of toys (i.e. crap) that "mysteriously" disappears over the next couple of days, but we love to go and crawl through the fire trucks, and they let the kids use the fire hose to put out a "fire" - which is really a wooden sign painted, but it's always fun for them!

Doing the fishing game. This set was a Fisher Price or something, and I should totally find it and buy it. They were so into the whole fishing thing! The deal is to learn about life jackets on boats - hence the life jackets.

Another fishing game. The boys LOVE this one!

Jacob was such a good baby! He just sat and looked around.

Rix with his pumpkin. We were so brave to go in the rain!

LOVE this picture of Cole!

My three firemen. Love a guy in uniform (especially these three!)

Bryce getting ready to put out the fire.

The firemen are always so nice and patient with the kids!

This year we got to go trick-or-treating twice! Carissa and Adam invited us to their ward's trunk-or-treat on Saturday night. Since they were combining with another ward we took them up on their offer - more cars=more candy, right? So right. My boys came home with a riduculous amount of candy, and they still had another night of trick-or-treating to go!

On Halloween we got ready for our ward's Trunk-or-Treat. The boys chose a new costume (because we can't be the same thing twice!) and we set out for more candy. My kids know all about Trunk-or-Treats because they have gone to them since birth, but their favorite thing is to go door-to-door. We did that last year because Rix missed the Trunk-or-Treat because he was sick, and now they love it! So after the Trunk-or-Treat we went to some houses around my mom's house and got even more candy! Yikes!

Rusty checking out Monster Jake. Such a cute pic!

The scariest thing? Those cheeks!

Rix without his Ironman mask. Because really, with the mask, you wouldn't know it was him.

Cole, the cutest cowboy ever. Ever.

Bryce is my real American hero. Sorry, I know that's cheesy.

Adam and I got to man the car and pass out treats at our trunk or treat because Carissa and Bryan passed out treats at the other trunk or treat. But really Adam got put on Jake patrol!

Cole and Jack sneaking some treats!

My mom and Cole. We visited her house after the trunk or treat and he was all smiles! Maybe he thought she would share some Milky Ways?

And here are Bryan's pumpkins. Every year the kids pick out a design and Bryan gets his Rotozip out and makes their pumpkins. Someday they will carve their own, but for now they enjoy seeing their pumpkins done by dad!

Cole chose Jack Skellington (from Nightmare before Christmas)

Rix chose Sonic, which survived a tumble off the top of the minivan.

Bryce chose Mario. Pretty impressive, right?

And, just an FYI, it's been almost a month, and even with me, Bryan, and three boys (and guests who come to our house) we still have TONS of candy left over. I'm thinking I may slowly start throwing it away. Like we need all that sugar in our house!

Surviving Jacob

Jacob is a.dor.a.ble. Seriously. This kid has the cutest smile and can charm even the most grumpy of people. His brother adore him. Like really adore him. They run in every morning to see him, fight over who gets to sit by him at breakfast, and run to give him hugs and kisses after school. They give him his pacifier when he's fussing and play with him when he's in his bouncer chair. And Rix and Jake are best buds - no one can get Jake laughing like Rix can!

But things have not been easy with this kid. I feel like he's my first child! Did I forget everything I learned raising three other kids? To start things out, he is a picky eater. And when I say that, I mean I have a list of things I can't or shouldn't eat while nursing him. If I eat dairy he cries and cries for hours. Remember my tale from Friday Harbor? I had a blond moment and ate a garlic butter sauce on pasta (forgetting that butter is dairy) and Jake was up literally - literally - all night long, fussing and crying and squirming. It was horrible. So good-bye milk, hot chocolate, cream cheese, cheesecake, cheese, and sour cream. I've learned to like soy milk and I actually prefer my pizza cheese-less now, but when I'm done nursing I'm getting the biggest plate of cheesy nachos and a large slab of cheesecake!! I also can't have garlic, caffeine (so do-able, really, I know most of you don't believe it, but it hasn't been hard) and chocolate (that one is killing me). If I abstain from most of these things, he does pretty good.

He also is the worst sleeper. The worst. My other kids were sleeping soundly through the night by two or three months. Or getting up around 4am or so, and then sleeping until a glorious 8am. Jake? Not so much. He had a few weeks where he would sleep three or four hours and then want to eat. With Jake being my first nursed baby I thought this was normal, even at four months old I thought it was normal for breastfed babies to get up every three hours to eat. Then my friend Tessa, who had Jake's future wife like a month after Jake was born, said her daughter was sleeping from like 7pm to 6am without getting up to eat. Uh...really? I totally got screwed in the "my baby sleeps" department.

Around three months Jake would start waking up like every hour. I would feed him, rock him, bounce him, and swaddle him, and he'd finally sleep for an hour or two, and then wake up screaming again. I would nudge (or kick) Bryan who would then bounce, rock, and sing to Jacob to calm him down. He did this for over a month. We felt so bad for Jacob because we knew something was wrong, but we didn't know how to fix it. Bryan and I would dread night time because we never knew what it held in store for us. We got Jake on baby Zantac because he had reflux, and that helped a lot with the screaming fits he would have at night, but he still didn't sleep well.

Finally, about a week ago we put him in the playroom and had the other three boys sleep in the same room (which is so not working out for them, but that's another blog post). He sleeps in this bassinet that is for babies with reflux (click here for picture) and it's been nice because it keeps him elevated. Now I only hear him when he is seriously mad and crying. I think before, being in my room, he would fuss a little and cry, but could have put himself back to sleep, but I didn't know that so I would pick him up and maybe that made him mad because he was still so tired. Being in his own room he was waking up just once at night to eat, and last night (insert angels singing here) he slept all night long. He didn't wake up until 7:30am. It was awesome! I hadn't had a good night's sleep in 5 months!!

He is getting better at taking naps too. He usually sleeps for an hour or so, but little by little his naps are getting longer too. When he was in our room we would have him sleep in the swing because he slept twice as long if he was swinging, and we quickly burned out the motor! But I still have him sleep in the swing (even though it's not swinging) because it keeps him elevated and he can snuggle his face into his blankie. He is getting so big too! He is starting to love his jumper and exersaucer and he has opinions too - he lets us know when he is mad or tired or irritated or happy. We are loving this little guy to pieces and wish everyone lived closer so you could watch him grow!

Friday Harbor

Last month Bryan and I got to go to Friday Harbor with Dave and Lindsay. It just happened to fall on the weekend before our 9-year anniversary, so we considered it our anniversary trip! We always love going to Friday Harbor. It's gorgeous up there, and peaceful. And it would've been so much more peaceful if Jacob hadn't been with up! I love that kid to death, but he was horrible! He has a lactose problem, and if I eat something dairy he is really fussy. Well I forgot that butter is dairy (hey, I'm still learning!) and ate a pasta dish with lots of butter. I'm not even exaggerating when I say he was up all night long. Bryan, being the amazing dad he is, stayed up with him most of the night while I tried to sleep, but it was hard.

This time when we went we just hung out and relaxed. We went on a hike on the property, watching movies, and played lots of games. It was nice to not have a lot of responsibilities, and nice to play a game without having to stop and referee a fight or help someone in the bathroom! We seriously love it up there and look forward to our visits and a chance to hang out with Dave and Lindsay (and Rusty!). Oh, and just FYI, Jacob is in every picture we took at Friday Harbor! How can we not take pictures of such a cute kid!?!

Jake and Dave on the ferry

Daddy and Jake getting a nap in

Jacob just hanging out while we played games

This kid gets a lot of kisses!

Even from Rusty!

Jacob fell asleep while we were hiking. The constant walking motion combined with the peaceful scenery and adding in a sleepless night put him right to sleep!

We all LOVED the hot tub!

A family picture before we left. See Jake smiling? What a great picture!

On the drive home Rusty kept guard over Jake, and Jake kept his eye on Rusty!

Thanks Dave and Lindsay for having us come! We love being in Friday Harbor and appreciate you sharing it with us!

Thanks Carissa and Adam, Mom and Dad, Sandy Behm, and Ron and Jodi for watching our other kiddos so we could go! (You know you have lots of kids when your "thank you" list gets long!)

And thanks Ani and Jerry for sharing your home with us! We appreciate your hospitality!

First Day of School

I finally got Rix and Bryce's first day of school pictures! I temporarily lost my camera and used Carissa's, so it took a while to get them, but better late then never, right? We continued our tradition of "The Week of Fun" where we try to do something fun every day before school starts. This year we went to McDonalds, Pump it Up, the park, and let them go to Target and pick out their first day of school shirt (which is something we have done every year). Rix chose Star Wars and Bryce chose a monster shirt. I can't believe Rix is already in 2nd grade and Bryce is in kindergarten! I feel so OLD!

Rix on the first day of school

This year Rix has Mrs. Brown for his teacher. He had her last year for reading and really liked her. She's older and very experienced and she's really good for Rix. She keeps him challenged in his school work, but also knows how to keep him motivated. She has a rewards system that allows them to get priveleges and treats if they do what they are supposed to do, which I like because it gives Rix some accountability. Olivia (his cousin) is in his class this year and it's been fun to see them together. And it's been nice when I have homework questions to be able to call Carissa!



Bryce on the first day of Kindergarten

Bryce was so excited to start kindergarten this year! He has Ms. Faughender (Rix had her too) and we love her! She is so patient with the kids and Bryce is learning so much! He is starting to read simple words and loves coming home with new songs and chants that she teaches them to help them remember letters and stuff. He is making friends and is getting more confident in his writing and drawing abilities. His first few homework assignments required him to draw pictures, and he turned them in blank because he thought he was a bad drawer, but he is getting better at drawing and thinking he can do things.

We are excited for school at Park Lodge this year! With Carissa and my mom and me on PTA we have helped plan lots of fun activities for the kids! I'm really looking forward to watching them participate in everything we have planned!

Have I Ever Told You I LOVE The Puyallup Fair??

I love love the Puyallup Fair. It brings back all sorts of childhood memories of rides and the smell of the fair food and the screaming people. Ahhh....I love it. I LOVE the smell of onion burgers and scones and the sound of rides and screams and seeing all the booths and animals and weird people. And I want my children to have memories of that too. So every year, even though it's dang expensive (!!!), I will take my kids to the fair!! And luckily, they have the "fair" genes in their blood.

This year we went on a half day of school and got the boys "bracelets" which meant they could go on as many rides as they wanted to, instead of buying tickets for each ride. Last year we did that and they only got to go on like five rides. So this year we made sure we went on every ride they wanted to go on! Sadly (even though he didn't think so) Rix went with his friend Ethan and Ethan's dad Paul so I didn't see him almost the whole day! Only once in passing, so the pictures below are of the younger three boys. But not sadly we got to go to the fair with Carissa and her brood and my mom, who was a lifesaver in helping with the kids since Bryan and Adam couldn't come. The kids had a blast, the weather was perfect, and we can't wait to go again next year (and I seriously can NOT wait another year for fair scones!!)!

Cole and Madelynn on a ride. They were ride buddies since they rode the same kinds of rides and didn't want to go on anything "scary".

Bryce on his ride. The people who work at the fair aren't allowed to buckle and unbuckle the little kids (I think this is a new rule?) so we had to do it every time!

LOVE that smile!!

Jacob was a trooper and was amazing the whole day - he even took a nap amidst all the screams and noise.

Okay, this is my ONLY picture of Rix - you can only see the top of his head! But he had so much fun with Ethan that it makes up for it!

The boys love this ride and getting all wet.

I don't want to imagine all the germs that are surrounding my child right now.

Running out of the fun house.

Ahhhh! He is soooo cute!

The four kids on the train.