Anna at 4 Months.

Really? It feels like she is still such a new member of our family.  However, when you pick her up and see how strong she is, it is clear that she is no longer a newborn.  She is still a tiny thing - we haven't had her check-up yet, but I brought her in on Friday to check on a little cough she has and she weighed 10 pounds, 5 ounces.  That seems to be right on target ... although it still puts her in the 3rd percentile. I don't mind; I love having small babies.

Anna is definitely our most particular baby.  The biggest difference between her and Sam or Ellen is that she doesn't take a pacifier!!!  It is killing me.  I am so used to just popping that thing in their mouths when they get fussy or tired.  It is a whole new ball game now.  Also, she hates to be on her stomach.  Sam and Ellen spent almost all of their time on their tummies.  Anna cannot stand it.  She will immediately push off and roll onto her back, which immediately freaks her out, so she starts crying.  Tummy time = pure torture.  

Other than those strange differences, she is a sweet and happy baby.  She would prefer to be held, but as long as her belly is full, she can stand to be in her room using her play gym for a few minutes at a time.  She also loves to hold the end of her blanket up to her mouth and just have it nearby.  She is fascinated with her Daddy, and if he is in the room, her eyes are glued to him.  It is awfully sweet.  We love her so very much and just can't believe that we have been so fortunate to have such beautiful and wonderful children.

Casted

We finally got Ellen's leg casted. Huzzah! You wouldn't think it was so exciting, but oh it was. Apparently when her leg was splinted, she moved too much and it wasn't really splinted correctly. The back of her heel had been rubbed raw and looked just awful! No wonder she couldn't sleep. Ellen was all smiles and giggles upon meeting Dr. Schow (apparently one of the best orthopedists around, but quite the gruff man). Of course, the color of choice for this new fashion accessory was purple. She also received a little walking boot to strap onto the bottom of her cast. After just a few days, she is already getting around like a pro. Actually, she is so good at using it that it has now become a weapon and Sam is fearful for his life. We have a 2 week checkup, but I suspect it will be on for 2 more weeks after that. I am guessing it wont have to be on too long because it was a pretty clean break.

The only tricky part??  It is winter and she can't wear pants.

How Valentine's Day was supposed to be...

We started the day off right at least...

Kid Lesson #7493

Kid Lesson #7493: Don't use your windowsill as a launch pad for bedroom flight. You will end up with a broken leg. 

Awesome, huh? A few days ago, she discovered that she she could climb into her windowsill. The first time we saw her do it, she was immediately reprimanded for such a bad decision. Yeah..... have you met her? Some kids just don't learn until they experience things for themselves. Well, she ' s learned. :) She jumped right over her bed, and smacked her shin across her footboard.

She broke it right before I had class - no Scandinavian history for me. Fortunately, it was also right before the pediatricians office closed, so they were able to squeeze her in as the last appointment. Because she refused to put weight on it and there was swelling, the NP referred us to the outpatient lab around the corner for x-rays. Typically, the x-ray tech isn't supposed to let you see the x-rays, but Ellen was so upset that he let her see her "bone pictures". I commented that it didn't look like there was an obvious break, but then he told me to look higher. Yup. Right at the top of her tibia is a break all the way across the bone in a zig-zag shape. We are lucky in that the bone didn't shift out of place. Waiting for the NP to call me back and confirm what we saw, we ran through the drive-through and brought some food home for the rest of the family. We got the call just as we got home, so turned around and hopped in the van. The NP was awesome. She stayed late (working on charts) so that she could do the splint, even though the Orem office was the one for after-hours tonight. So grateful for her kindness - it saved me a 20 minute drive. For now, it is only splinted. We are giving it 24-48 hours to make sure the swelling has stopped before we cast it.

Ellen is planning on a purple cast and I plan to mod-podge some Hello Kitty stickers to it. 

By the way...she weighs a ton and can't walk. This is going to be an interesting 6-8 weeks.

Cuz she is so darned cute!

Anna is a baby of extremes.  When she's fussy, boy is she fussy!  When she's happy, her grin is infectious!

It's that time again...

(h-key is still broken...shoot me)

This happens every semester, but luckily Graham caught it in time and let me take a nap while taking care of the kids. About 1-2 months into the semester, I have a bad day. It is usually never one big event that causes it, but an accumulation of little frustrations that overwhelm me and turn me into a heaping mess. In semesters past, I ended up sobbing, whining, and questioning why I am doing school in the first place. This week has been okay, but not great. I went out on Wednesday night for Bingo (yes, I am that cool) and ended up staying up late (rough night with Anna too). On Thursday, BYU whooped Gonzaga and Graham was out at a movie so I stayed up late that night too. Last night, Graham went out with another friend, so I hung out with Beth....up too late again. This morning, I was able to go to a student family clothing exchange, but had to be there by 8. I got home around 9, napped until 10, but it just wasn't enough. I am TIRED. Partly my fault, partly not, but either way, I am just so sleep deprived.

Then the overwhelmingness of it all hits. Graham went to help clean the Church building and the second he closes the door (I swear the kids have a sixth sense for this), the kids run out of their room and just start bugging. "We want a snack," "we want a movie," "she hit me," "can we go outside," "Mom, mom, mom." Of course, they do all the yelling right outside of Anna's door, so I am freaking out the whole time because if she wakes up, I will have a cranky newborn to calm down. I was supposed to take a test today, but didn't, which leaves me behind in my schedule. The living room isn't actually that bad, but being tired it just looks so much worse. I KNOW the sink is full of dishes (so I avoided going into the kitchen at all costs today). I go into my bedroom and it just feels crowded. So essentially, I am tired, the kids are loud, the walls are closing in, and I am about to lose it. Oh, did I mention we started potty-training today? (She actually did awesome today...it is easy to remember when you get a iced, hot-pink animal cracker every time).

Sometime around 4, right when the idea of making dinner sounded as challenging as scaling Kilimanjaro, I went into get Anna from our room and was trying to soothe her into a calmer state. I must have shot Graham some type of evil glare because he said: "You go to bed NOW and I will get the kids fed, in bed, and then get you up." Usually I protest because I am such a martyr-wannabe, but it sounded too good to pass up. Under the covers I went and I passed out into a dreamless sleep. Graham woke me up a little after 8 and sent me to the grocery store for the few things we needed before Sunday.

I asked Graham what I did specifically to make him urge me to go to bed and his response? "You had been a cranky pants for 2 hours straight and I couldn't take it anymore." Well, he was right. Thank goodness he sent me to bed. I would have been a mess and it wouldn't have been fair to anyone. Graham got me a gift certificate for a massage for Christmas and I have been saving it, just for this purpose. I will find a time to use it this week. This little mental breakdown happens every semester and I am determined to not let it blow up again.

Thanks to my awesome and annoyed husband, crisis averted.

Remember...

There are moments throughout my day that I forget how lucky I am to have such a wonderful little family. One of the kids interrupts my phone call after I've been on hold for 20 minutes. One sassy little girl has, yet again, broken into my purse and used my lip gloss as a snack-time alternative. A little baby wakes up from her nap just minutes after falling asleep. All of these during days where I am carefully trying to balance my responsibilities of mother, wife, student, neighbor, teacher, etc. These moments are unimportant, but sometimes, frustrating and bring out qualities in me that I am not exactly proud of. I need to remember. These moments are fleeting. This time with them is so short. Soon, they won't bother me at all and I will pine for the days of children afoot.

These moments help me remember: