Family Fun

Baby Petunia and I had the opportunity to spend a week up in northern California with my family. My dad drove halfway down to pick us up so I wouldn't have to drive all the way up with the baby. The boys dropped us off in Chowchilla and we enjoyed a peaceful drive the rest of the way back with Grandpa. Our first evening home Uncle Bobby, Aunt Lindsay and the cousins came over for dinner and met Petunia for the first time.






My mom babysits my 7 month old nephew 3 days a week so Petunia had someone to talk to and play with.




We enjoyed dressing up Holden with Petunia's hair accessories...and he didn't seem to mind! :)

We really enjoyed the week. We did some shopping and I have to tell you that my favorite places to shop are in Roseville. I do think their Galleria mall has EVERYTHING I would ever desire to wear. (But the Nordstrom Rack across the street is a VERY close second)
I also had the opportunity help put together a scrapbook for my grandma Strickland's 90th birthday party. My grandma lives in San Diego and she flew in Thursday afternoon with my Aunt Thelma and Uncle Dennis.


It was like a scrapbook "sweat shop" for 3 days straight! :) I would scrapbook during the day when Petunia was sleeping or being held by grandma or grandpa. One evening my sister and sister-in-law came over to help put everything together. Grandpa made his famous "breakfast dinner" and I was in heaven.



My grandma's birthday party was the pinnacle event of the week and it was a lot of fun. All of my parents' 10 grand children were there and the only immediate family that was missing was my brother Dari and my brother-in-law Eddy. My grandma's nieces/nephews also made the party, along with her sister-in-law. I really enjoyed myself and I was thankful to be able to spend the time with everyone I love so much.










Luke's sister, Jenny, even drove over for the day from Petaluma and brought the kids some Halloween gifts. What a nice surprise.

Flying solo!

This week Katie and Jiggs are up in Sacramento to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Baer. As a result, the boys and I are flying solo. While I always enjoy my time with the boys, we are missing Kate and Jiggs. Typically, when we sit down at dinner as a family we will discuss or share about our days. This week, however, dinner conversation has focused around guy talk...wrestling, football and more importantly Jeeps. Tonight's conversation was funny in that the boys starting asking me questions such as, "daddy, when you were a little boy did you..." It made me think about how quickly life can fly by and how we grow from experiences. I discussed how upset I was when I crashed on my bikes, sold my dirt bike for a loss, wreaked my parents car, got dumped by a girlfriend etc. The boys just stared at me and asked questions. We talked about how I try and learn from each experience and how at the time, I thought it was the end of the world. This conversation made me sad as I thought about the boys growing up and how mean and unfair life can be. In my job I see sad things daily, yet I try not to get desensitized, and make every effort to protect my kids from those experiences. But there are things you just cant protect them from because those are experiences that help define them as adults. It is hard to see a boy picked on for the first time, a boy left out, a boy not fitting in, etc, all of which we experience some time in life, but to think of your own child in these situations is rough. I have yet figured out how to tell kids that this is just a "rite of passage" in a manner they understand. As we talked about things, I looked into thier little eyes and was reminded just how innocent they are and how those little things can really hurt. While I am glad to report that the boys have not yet faced these issues, the time will come. Sawyer recently had a little bout with a "mean 3rd grader" at school and it took everything in daddy not to advise his bigger, and I mean bigger brother, to lay down a little playground justice for his little brother! I would have done this but I could feel Katies big heart in the room telling me not to do such a thing. Kate and I often discuss what WE want for the boys and smile. For me, I just want them to be good men with a heart that is not calloused like their fathers! The entire night made me think o a song Katie and I recently rediscovered:

I don't know if that look on her face has anything to do with the shirt she has on...or the fact that we had to wait over 2 hours to see my doctor for my 8 week check up. I think I had the same look on my face.
This was her first time wearing this onesie and it might be her last. Sadly, my "little" doll is all ready starting to wear 3/6 month clothes and size 2 diapers. I wish I could keep her this age forever. Luke says no way...he likes it when the kids can run around and play.
Not me....I prefer the age where they can't talk. This means no whining or sniveling....or arguing. Yes, I will take the smiles and cooing (and non-stop diaper changes) everyday for the rest of my life!

Bed Head

Good thing Petunia only has peach fuzz (or as i call it "Monkey hair")

"Ahahahaha...tell that joke again brother!"

"Mama---how could you leave me here with them?!"

Is it Big Enough?

Am I talking about the smile or the flower on her head?

Daddy can't get enough of the cheeks!

A friend I know from church has an Etsy shop and makes these headbands. I love them! Check them out at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6107933

Spanish Stucco....check. Deflated balloons....check. Hormones...check.

This video clip is from Sunday night's premiere. Luke and I were both watching while I was feeding Scout. I was laughing....too hard.

Six Weeks

We have made it.
I should say we are alive....and doing well most of the time.
We have survived the past three weeks as a family of five. Some of you who are reading this might chuckle at me, because you are surviving a family of six, seven, eight...or more. (If its more than that, I will pray for you if you pray for me) :)
The boys have embraced their sister and can't really seem to leave her alone. When I am not comatose from lack of sleep I can be heard saying "Get out of her face" over and over and over. The boys like to make sure Petunia can see them. Bubba likes to hold and play with her hands. Big surprise. Tubbs has taken on the role of "pacifier holder" when we are in the car and she starts crying. When she begins to cry he gets upset. When he heard her cry hysterically for the first time she was in her car seat. Next thing I know there are tears coming from his eyes. He asks me "mommy...is she going to die?" My dad was in the car with me and it was so sweet, we didn't know if we should laugh or cry with him. Tubbs really loves being a big brother. Tubbs asked me yesterday on the way home from school: "Did Heavenly Father send Jiggs down on a cloud to our family?" Like most questions these days I was trying to think of the right thing to say because I just thought his sincerity was so adorable. Especially when he looks at me with his big brown eyes and long eyelashes. I wish Tubbs (and Bubba) would stay this size forever. Bubba's adorable question took place last week: "Do you think we will toot in Heaven?" I think we probably will! :)
Last week the boys were asking questions about Jiggs and her facial expressions. I told them that Heavenly Father talks to her. Jiggs was smiling and Tubbs said "I think Heavenly Father just told her a joke."
As for me (mom) I have been taking it easy. Petunia (Jiggs) had a rough time getting on a sleeping schedule at night. She was waking up every 1-2 hours for the first three weeks. We were both beyond exhausted. We finally decided to give her formula before bedtime and she sleeps for 3-4 hours the first stretch. This makes us all very, very happy. Amazingly, she hasn't woken the boys up yet during the night. Of course Bubba sleeps like a rock. So...I guess I am surprised Tubbs sleeps through it. In the morning before school the boys try really hard (I am exaggerating) to try and be quiet while they get ready for school. Sister is always sleeping in the living room in the swing since she never seems to want to get back in her cradle after her 4am or 5 am feeding. I sleep that last 1-2 hours on the couch next to her and wait until 6:30am to get up and help get everyone ready for work/school. Being home on maternity leave has given me the opportunity to be a "full-fledged" mom. I get to take the boys to school, pick them up when school gets out and do homework with them. The homework part has been a little bit of a challenge with Bubba when he reaches the whiny stage, but we seem to survive. I have been spoiled the past 2 years since Luke really did 99% of the homework with Bubba. Now Luke has more time after work to play with the boys...and hold Petunia when she lets him. She really is a mama's girl. But she does let daddy give her a bath at night---so Luke enjoys letting her soak and play in her bath tub. I gladly let him have that time with her since she is so mellow.

Petunia waking up from a nap

A conversation with Bubba

A conversation with Tubbs