A question

Why can't

be more like

???

SERENITY NOW.

One monumentally long post

I'm back. Jake has been bugging me a lot lately. "Erin, you haven't posted since JANUARY?" he says with disappointment. Nope, I haven't. I have lots of excuses. The most important ones being a) my camera is broken, and b) three kids keeps me busy. Okay, those are actually the only excuses.

So how have we been? Well, I'll tell you. This three kids thing is no joke. While it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be, it ain't no picnic, either. Its just busy. And I miss having time to sit on my butt and eat girl scout cookies and watch endless hours of quality programming on Bravo. Those days are over. I've had to pare down my shows to the essentials (sayonara ladies of NY, Miami, OC and Atlanta), and my DVR is still overflowing. But enough about my fascinating tv-watching habits. Back to how busy I am. I can't really figure out what all I am busy with, since nothing really seems to get accomplished. The life of a (real) housewife is filled with laundry, making meals, doing dishes, and changing diapers. Oh, and nursing. Lots and lots of nursing. On bad days I feel like a rat on the wheel, running and running and never getting anywhere (and that's when I hit the treadmill, ironically). But most days I love it. Even though I feel like I have nothing to show for my hard work. The laundry is never done, the kitchen gets clean just in time for the next meal to be prepared, and there is always another diaper to be changed. I'm not complaining, just giving you a glimpse into my glamorous life. I'm not sure how I got started on this train of thought, but its time to get off and move on to something a liiiittle more interesting...

OK, so there is a lot to say, but since I haven't blogged in months, I feel a little rusty. Usually, I do a million catch-up posts, but I don't feel like doing that today. You just get one monumentally long post. In fact, I am changing the title right now. You'll never know what the original title was. And, since the camera is broken, you get iPhone pictures. Edited with a free app. Prepare to be amazed by the quality of the photography you are about to see.

Here's what's on the list. Feel free to skip ahead and read only the topics that interest you.

1. Update from the previous post

2. Micah is walking and now my back can start to heal

3. Georgia's baby blessing

4. Update on Micah

5. Wyatt stuff

6. Pictures of Georgia and lots of nauseating description about how adorable and perfect she is

7. Easter

1. I know you are dying to know what happened after I posted last time. "Did she or didn't she?" I'm sure you are all wondering. Well, feast your eyes on THIS:

Oh, yeah. I am a minivan mom. And I love it.

About a week after I posted, I nearly lost my mind with annoyance at my children who could not for the love of Pete stop bugging each other in the car. We were on our way to meet Jake at work, and when I finally got there, the first words out of my mouth were "We are getting a van NOW." And I haven't looked back since. It has been all I ever dreamed and more. Am I cool? Heck, no. Am I happy? You better believe it.

2. Miracle in Moss Beach

Do you know what is happening in this picture?

Micah is walking. I can hear your thoughts. You are thinking, "Big whoop. The kid is 20 months. All 20 month old kids can walk." And you are right. All 20 month old kids can walk now that Micah has joined their ranks. Yes, at 20 freaking months, Micah finally decided to walk. Two and a half months after Georgia was born, he started walking. I no longer have to carry my 30 pound son everywhere we go. He would still prefer that I do, but he is finally capable of getting himself where he needs to go. Let me tell you a little something about Micah. He is the most stubborn child on the planet. And the most dramatic. And the loudest. It is quite a fun little combination of personality traits. Micah has been able to walk since about 15 months. When he didn't think anyone was watching, he would toddle around, taking steps, walking across the room. But when we showed any desire for him to walk, he would just flat out refuse, and act like someone killed his mom when we wouldn't carry him where he wanted to go. About a month or two before Georgia was born, we started forcing him to walk everywhere by holding his hand. Several months later, he finally decided that HE wanted to walk, so now he does. Hip hip hooray and hallelujah.

3. Georgia's baby blessing

On March 6, Georgia was blessed at church. My parents were able to come out, and last minute, my sister Susie and her family were able to come out as well. We had such a fun weekend together. Jake blessed Georgia in church. During the blessing, SOMEONE (Micah) was being loud and squirmy and terrible, so I really didn't hear a word. I was feeling really sad, but then one of the women in my ward gave me something. She had written down the blessing as it was being given, so that I would have a record of it. I hadn't asked her to do it, she was simply being thoughtful, and following the prompting of the Spirit. Her act really touched me, and I am so thankful for her for doing that. It meant so much to me. The part of the blessing that stood out to me the most was that Georgia will use her talents to serve others and will be full of charity. I have no doubt of this. Georgia has such a sweet spirit, she is quiet and calm and observant, and I know that the Lord will work through her to bless the lives of others.

(My camera broke the day before the blessing. Somebody (not me) dropped it on a rock, and we found out that Sunday morning that it didn't work. Our other camera had no battery and I couldn't find the charger. So Susie took pictures with her iPhone. And iPhone pictures are better than nothing.)

Here is my dad with G. Jake's mother made the most beautiful dress I have ever seen for Georgia's blessing. I think I started to cry when I first saw G in it.

Here is my niece Whitley with Gigi. I love this picture. Whit was so sweet with G. It made my heart feel super happy.

Family picture after the blessing. And yes, I do like to dress my boys alike as often as I can get away with it. Roll your eyes all you want. I love it, and I'm the mom.

4. The Micah Bean

Oh, Micah, Micah, Micah. How I love this little stinker face. Micah is my baby. He was only 17 months when Georgia was born. More than one person expressed concern (lovingly, not obnoxiously) for Micah that as the middle child, he would get "lost" when his baby sister was born. These people clearly had never met Micah. Micah couldn't get lost if I tried. Like I said before, he has personality in spades. He is spicy. He keeps me on my toes. He makes our life at home interesting every single day. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen. He has this enormous head with thick hair that grows straight out. He has chubby cheeks and huge thighs and sometimes I can't resist biting him because of his chunky deliciousness. He is the giggliest kid on the planet, and the littlest thing will set him off and get him belly laughing, which always makes me laugh. He sweats like a pig. One super funny thing about Micah is that he is half puppy. He loves to have his head scratched. Whenever I am sitting on the couch, he will come bump up against my knees with his head, and won't give up until I start to scratch the back of his head. Then he goes absolutely still and practically starts to drool. He loves it. When I snuggle him at night, he will position his head right next to my hand so that I will start the head scratching. It is hilarious. Micah is also very tough. He is a big kid, and much heavier than he looks. He takes major spills several times a day, and doesn't even seem to notice. We were at the park the other day and he kept falling off the slide, purposely, so that he would land straight on his head. Then he would start laughing and do it again. I can't even imagine what a good mother I appeared to be, watching my son fall off the slide onto his head, without even batting an eye. One more thing to know about Micah, he loves to eat. And eat. And eat. And eat. This is what he is known for at church and in my circle of friends. The kid eats more than I do. Whenever there is food, you will find Micah. Shoving his face until he can't close his lips to chew. That's my boy.

Micah's "cheese" face:

Another cheese face:

Doing his favorite thing, at Grandma and Grandpa's house:

Isn't he adorable??

5. Wyatt and funny stuff

Wyatt is at a stage that I find so funny. His language has really come a long way, and he talk talk talk talk talks. He loves to make up characters and stories and situations and act them all out. I love to eavesdrop. All of the characters have their own voices and little problems that get resolved. My favorite is to hear his mommy characters. It gives me a good insight as to how Wyatt perceives me and my role. Generally its pretty positive, so that's a relief.

Wyatt has a little bear that he has had forever. He recently decided the bear is his best friend/son/playmate. Bear goes everywhere with Wyatt. Bear wears underpants because he is a big boy. Bear has to eat all of his food and take naps. But my favorite thing is when Wyatt gives his bear "Wyatt water," (like Mommy milk, but... you get the idea) which Bear gets by nursing Wyatt's belly button. I love it.

Wyatt is a very good boy (except when he is throwing tantrums that result in security being called on me in Target. See facebook for details). He is very polite and generally quite obedient. He is so affectionate and loving with his parents, his brother, and his sister. He loves to tell us "I love you," and is quick to give hugs and kisses. He is protective of his sister, and loves to play with her. He loves to play outside and has a wonderful imagination.

The beach is favorite place to be:

Wyatt has been insistent on dressing himself. I don't quite know how to define his personal style. But a picture is worth a thousand words, so here you go:

6. The little princess

Georgia, Gigi, Georgie, G, Sis, Princess. She has a lot of nicknames, but we sure do love our little girl. She is the sweetest, happiest, and cutest little baby. As pretty much everyone knows, Georgia came about 3 years earlier than planned. I was a little nervous, to put it mildly, to have three kids so close in age. But Heavenly Father knows what I need better than I do. And so he sent us Georgia. From the day she arrived, she has brought nothing but happiness and peace into our home. She is quiet, content, observant and gentle. She really has brought balance to our home. I have never been happier than I am now that I have Georgia. Georgia means "gift from God*," and that is truly what she is.

So what can I tell you about Georgia? She loves to smile and laugh and drool and do push-ups. She is very social and likes to have people around to look at. She doesn't need constant attention, but seems to like having a lot of action going on around her. Which is a good thing, because there is always a lot going on in our house. I adore Georgia, as does everyone else in the house. She is even winning over Micah, who at Georgia's arrival, swore in his wrath that he would destroy her. But now he is warming up to the "beh-beeee," and likes to give her kisses. While he is head-butting her. Hey, its a step in the right direction.

*Not really. It means "farmer" or something boring like that.

7. Easter

Easter was fine. We dyed eggs, did easter baskets, went to church, the usual. (I'm getting sick of writing, can you tell? You are probably relieved. If anyone is actually still reading this.)

Here is Wyatt at his preschool easter egg hunt. He made his easter hat at school.

These are pictures of the easter egg hunt at our house after church. Micah only wanted to ride the "motorcycle" and refused to touch any eggs. He also refuses to eat eggs. Maybe that's the real reason he wasn't interested in the egg hunt.

The princess in her Easter dress. She looks so much like Wyatt in this picture.

My happy little girl!

Congratulations! You finished reading the longest post ever! You finally reached the end. Thanks for reading!

PS Your comments make my day.

So I guess this is growing up

We're in the market for a new car. While we have three cars, two of them are old and break-down prone. Jake has this theory that we should have three cars because if one of them breaks down, there is a back-up. I have a theory that we should just have two cars that actually work. The only problem with Jake's theory is that occasionally, both of his cars aren't working. I have been trying to convince him for some time now to get rid of the two crappy cars and get one decent car, and I finally got him to see the light. The only problem is, now he wants my car. And he wants me to get a...

Ugh. I can't even type the dirty word.

Minivan.

Barf.

To be clear, I don't have anything against minivans for other people. I totally understand their usefulness and practicality. I've always said that someday we will get a minivan. I mean, after a certain number of children and associated gear, its kind of the only option, right? The sliding doors that open at a push of a button, the built in tv, the non-cramped seating...oh, there are so many features that make me sigh and drool. Right now I spend most of the time in the car yelling "Micah! Don't touch your sister! Stop stealing her blanket!" or "Wyatt! Stop pulling on her feet! No more kissing the baby!" I have fantasies of all my children spread out, unable to touch or bug a sibling. Mmmm. Wouldn't that be nice? Soooooo nice.

But then my pride and ego show up. Here's the thing. I KNOW, logically, that there is no part of me that is cool or hip (as evidenced by the fact that I use the word "hip"). I just have to run a few errands at the mall to be reminded of how out of touch I am. And I get reminded of my oldness every day when I look in the mirror and see the growing number of "fine" (hah!) lines on my face, the bags and dark circles under my eyes, and the saggy-jiggly bits that don't perk up post-pregnancy. I turned 30 last year. I have three children and an obnoxious dog. I have regular conversations about retirement accounts and college funds. I know all this and yet, there is still a part of me that pretends otherwise. There is a part of me that is clinging to my youth. There is a part of me that is in denial of who I actually am. This part of me says that even though I'm a MOM, I can still be a young and cool mom. Right? Then the image of me driving a minivan interrupts, like a big fat needle popping my little fantasy bubble. See, a minivan is part of my someday. Like, someday I will be able to stay on top of my laundry. Someday I will stop eating cheetos for breakfast. Someday I will do a pull-up. Someday I will stop letting my kids wear the same pair of underwear two days in a row. Someday I will get the garage organized. And someday I will drive a minivan. But when I get a minivan, then I am totally acknowledging the fact that my youth and carefree-ness are gone baby gone. Gone and not coming back. Gone like the days of not having to wear under-eye concealer are gone. I'm not happy about it. I can stay in denial all I want, but time marches on anyway. And time is marching me straight towards a minivan.

Jake keeps trying to get me excited about it. He tells me I can get the most tricked out minivan out there. He points out all the cool features. When I complain about the kids bugging each other in the car or how the car seats don't fit in the back row, he reminds of all the space in a minivan. He tells me that road trips will be so much more enjoyable (well, less miserable anyway). The car doors open at the push of button. I won't have to worry about hitting neighboring cars every time I open a door. The storage. The gas mileage. So many plusses. (Does anyone else think its weird that my husband is the one pushing the issue? Shouldn't these roles be reversed?) But it is still a minivan. I've tried to tell Jake we just need a bigger SUV. But then he brings up the gas-guzzling nature of such vehicles. And I REALLY don't like driving or parking big cars. And three car seats is really hard to do in an SUV. I know its hard in a van too, but its not as bad.

Now to be clear, I don't think other people who drive minivans are stodgy old farts. Just more in touch with their reality. And I'm not quite ready to accept my reality.

The Change is coming soon. Jake really does need a better and more reliable car (mine). I really do need more space. I can't avoid it forever. I'm sure once I start driving the minivan I will love it and wonder why I put it off for so long. Sigh. Growing up is hard.

And here are some gratuitous baby shots. I know that's why you're all reading this anyway. There is more to come soon. Promise.

And yes, she really is that cute. :)

Home for Christmas

As I mentioned in my previous post, Georgia and I were able to come home from the hospital on Christmas Eve. My parents were here helping us out. I was so excited for Christmas this year. Not only because I knew that by Christmas I would no longer be pregnant, but mostly because Wyatt was beyond pumped up. This is the first year he really understood what Christmas is all about (both spiritually and secularly). And as cliched as it is, I'll say it again. Christmas is magical with children. Talking about Santa Claus and reindeer and elves and stockings is so much fun when you have a 3-year-old hardcore fanatic hanging on your every word.

Wyatt loved every minute. But Micah, poor Micah, was sick. It ain't Christmas if you don't have a sick kid, right? He got a really bad fever the day before, and was still pretty wiped out on Christmas day. Just kind of listless and pathetic. He only wanted to sit on Grandma's lap and watch everyone else. In 99% of the pictures of him he is sitting on my mom's lap looking at the toys that Wyatt so helpfully unwrapped for him. My mom was not happy with the fact that I have so many pictures of her in her jammies and morning hair, so out of respect to her, there's only the one picture of Micah. We forced him to sit on his toy and act happy. This is the best he could do:

Wyatt got a new bike. He was all excited about the bike in the store and for the two months leading up to Christmas, but now he won't touch it. Micah has had more seat time with the bike than Wyatt has. I'm so glad that Santa spent the time and money to get it for him. Sigh. So it sits in our garage for now.
But Wyatt WAS excited about his new Lightning McQueen garage. Note to Santa: Just stick with anything Cars related, and the kid will be happy. Stop trying to get him to branch out with his interests.

This is Wyatt's excited face:
Um, and that's all there is. I was in charge of pictures, and since I was a little, shall we say, jet-lagged (by which I mean, heavily medicated and veeeeery tired), I kept forgetting to snap pictures of the process. And I was distracted by a baby who wanted to eat. So there aren't many pictures. Sorry, future Wyatt and future Micah. I hope if ever one day you are reading this, you won't hold it against me. Fortunately, you're male, so you probably won't care.

So, yes, moving on. We had dinner with my uncle and family, as well as my grandma, who live nearby. It was delicious. Waaay better than that hospital crap I had been eating all week. And it was nice to spend the holiday with family. I'm so glad I was able to be home and with my family and have our newest little angel with us. It was a wonderful Christmas.

Georgia on my mind

She's here! My sweet little precious angel princess of a baby girl is here. Georgia Grace was born on December 21, at 1:12 pm. She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 20 inches long. She came out screaming, pooping, and "crawling out" according to the doctors performing the c-section. I was worried these were all signs of things to come, but she has the sweetest, quietest, calmest personality. Yes, I know she is only one week, so there is still lots of time for things to change (drastically), but I am really enjoying having such an easy baby, even if only for the time being.

The surgery went fine, the hospital stay was painful and long (as usual), and I came home on Christmas Eve. My recovery has been a little more painful than expected, but I am just so glad to be home and not pregnant anymore.

Georgia has been such a blessing. Its only been a week but I can't imagine our family without her. I feel like she was missing for so long, and our family is more complete now that she is here (although at the same time, I keep thinking "Holy crap! Where did all these kids come from?!?). Like all my babies, I am so obsessed with her. I can't stop staring, and smelling, and holding, and cuddling her. I love her dark hair and big eyes. I love the fur that covers her ears and shoulders. I love her long, skinny toes and fingers. I love her tiny eyelashes and fingernails. She is so perfect and I just can't get enough of her! This sleepy, teeny baby stage goes by painfully fast, so I am trying to get it all in while I have the chance.

She has been sleeping really well and eating a lot. She has been sleeping 5-6 hours at night (after 4-5 hours of non-stop, back and forth nursing), which is AWESOME. I keep waiting for the night when she turns into a normal baby and wakes up every two hours, but so far, my luck is holding out.

The boys have had very different reactions to her. Micah is kind of indifferent towards her, but has been more needy and cuddly with me since she arrived. He has smacked her a few times, and there has been a lot of poking. Not aggressively or maliciously, I think he is just curious. But Wyatt is in love. He loves to kiss her and stare at her and thinks she is so cute and "teeny tiny." He always wants to bring her toys and blankets. Her bassinet is sometimes overflowing with his "gifts" to his sleeping sister. The only thing he doesn't like is her umbilical stump, which he insists is "poop," and when I try to explain what it really is, I get "no mom, its POOP." He is not a fan of the stump. Well, neither am I, for that matter.

My parents have both been here, and are doing a great job entertaining the boys, and distracting them from the fact that I can't be a very good mom to them right now. Not to mention cleaning and cooking and taking care of everything else I can think of. It has been so nice to just be able to focus on my little Georgia.

I simply adore this baby girl. We are so happy she is a part of our family now!

***********

Georgia on her birth day:

Getting kisses from mommy:

She's got Jake totally wrapped around her little finger:

I LOVE this picture:

Jakes's mom made this cute hat:

Merry Christmas!

Angel baby:

Wyatt loves to kiss on Georgia:

One week old, sleeping like a baby:

And finally, to balance out all that sweet cuteness, a little picture of the other goings on at our house. Micah found his nostrils. And he loves them.

Thanksgiving

I was so excited when my sister Heather sent me a text a few months ago and asked to be invited to our house for Thanksgiving. I hadn't really made any plans, and absolutely didn't want to drive anywhere. But now, hooray! We would have a real Thanksgiving!

And then she said she wasn't coming. It's a long drive from Utah, you know, and such a short trip...I understood. I certainly wouldn't have made the trek. But I was still really sad.

But minds were changed again! And they were coming! Yippee! They had to drive south (which tacks on another 8 hours of driving), to avoid a storm through Tahoe, but they arrived safe and sound on the Tuesday before T-day.

That's when the cooking began. This was my first year hosting Thanksgiving, and I was a little nervous about everything. I had never made a turkey before. Usually I am strictly pies. We spent two days cooking, and made ham (ok, the Honey Baked Ham company made the ham. I set it on the counter to come to room temperature), a turkey (breast), parmesan-artichoke-sourdough stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, rolls (mmm, and honey butter, mmmmmm), green salad, gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, apple pie, banana cream pie, and a pumpkin cheesecake. There were four adults. And six kids who don't eat. Yes, we had oodles of leftovers. After the meal, it looked like the food hadn't even been touched. We could have fed 18 more people. People who eat. But it was fun to make everything and it was all very tasty. Heather and I were quite proud of ourselves for making it all come together, without any help from, you know, adults (i.e., my mom).

Anyway, it was so fun to have my sister and her family here. I wish they could have stayed longer. We always love having people over, and it was especially nice to have family around for the holiday. It was great for me to be able to stay at home, since traveling is kind of hard these days. Not just physically, but I've found the closer I get to my due date, the closer to home I want to stay. Some form of nesting instinct, maybe?

Thank you Millers for coming! It was wonderful to have you!

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Me attempting to carve the turkey. Heather looking pretty while watching. Lucy looking on hungrily, praying that I will mess up and the bird will fly off the cutting board onto the floor, so she can scarf it down in two chomps and a lick.

The whole spread. This picture is hilarious. If you look closely, you can barely see Heather behind me and my belly. I almost completely eclipse my tiny little (but older!) sister. ;)

Heather and I are very proud! It all turned out delicious!

I asked Heather to take a family picture for our Christmas card. Uhh, it didn't go so well. Getting our kids to smile at the same time was a feat that proved to be impossible, and in most of the pictures Jake and I are making some bizarre face because we were trying to tell the kids to smile, while keeping smiles on our faces. I really need to learn how to photoshop other faces into a picture. I think that's the only way we are ever going to get another decent family picture.

We hope your Thanksgiving was great too!