Let’s Review…

Let’s review the last three months or so…

I completely failed at blogging. On the rare occasion that I had any spare time I was too exhausted to do anything other than veg out in front of ridiculous reality TV and stuff my face with popcorn and diet Coke. And then promptly fall asleep during the last 10 minutes of Project Runway. Every time. Life is just so BUSY these days. And I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon. :/ But quick! let’s hurry with this post before I get side tracked.

I hit my pre-baby weight at around 8 months postpartum, and then lost an additional nine pounds. I gained 42 pounds with Josh – so that means I lost 51 pounds this year. I now weigh about 135 pounds which is a few pounds lighter than I have ever been. After four kids and 11 years of marriage… that is not a small accomplishment. And it’s my blog – so I can brag. 🙂 But really though – the fact that I am too busy to eat and chasing after little kids all the time has been the main contributor. I’m sure if my life ever slows down again, a bunch of those pounds will be right back on.

Danny turned 7 in September. He is a foot taller than anyone else his age and outweighs his brother by 10 pounds. He is loud and obnoxious but also enthusiastic! and has the funniest sense of humor and is ever the peacemaker in our home. He will do just about anything for his big brother, and loves his little brother to pieces. Whenever Danny comes home from school Josh gets SO excited. It is adorable. They share a love for balls, chase, eating lots of food, and making lots of noise.They are best little friends.

Jake turned 9 in October. He got to have a little monster movie party with his best friends. It was perfect! Jake is tall and cute and skinny. Got that from his dad. He has a book permanently attached to his face with a book list/reading pace that could put any adult to shame. Also got that from his dad. He is smart and creative. He writes stories and comic books and newsletters just for fun. He builds things out of nothing and is an engineer at heart. He entertains himself for hours on end. Jake is also very diligent. Twice this semester he forgot his math homework worksheet, and so asked me to create a similar one so he wouldn’t miss. On that note – he is also VERY forgetful. We joke that he is our absent-minded professor. Extremely intelligent, but would leave his head out at the lunch tables if it weren’t glued on — or throw it away with the rest of his half eaten lunch. Or leave it in the lost and found for an eternity. Or squish it down in the bottom of his backpack and then complain and blame everyone else when he can’t find it for a week. Jake earned all 5’s (equivalent of A’s) on his report card this semester. Way to go Jake!

Lindsay is in full blown little girl diva mode. Her mood swings are off the charts. She is boy crazy. Especially over Moseley. She never stops talking about him. She has girl drama at preschool. She has full blown melt downs over her wardrobe almost daily. She changes her outfit at least twice a day. She refuses naps and insists on doing EVERYTHING herself, but at the same time wants to be treated like a baby and gets jealous of the attention we give her little brother. 3 is a doozy. It has been with all my kids. Luckily she turns 4 in February. And she can’t wait – I have never met anyone who loves all things birthday as much as Lindsay. She is sweet and uber affectionate (she mauls her poor baby brother DAILY) and is one of the friendliest children I have ever met. She is also one of the loudest children I have ever met. Are all three year olds missing their volume control?? Or is it just because she is a third child? That girl YELLS everything she speaks.

Joshy is the chubbiest cutest little chunk around and I have such a crush on him right now. He is so good natured and easy. As long as he’s got food in his belly, a few toys and a sibling or two – he is happy as a clam. Hard to believe he just turned 1. Where did my baby go? He is walking, crawling, climbing, eating, drinking from a cup, and has a couple cute little teeth. He “dadas” and “mamas” and “babas” and grunts and growls and claps and gives high fives. I just love him. He is my sweet little buddy and brightens my every day.

Halloween was had. We were the Neferland pirates. Our costumes were epic. And the pictures were even more epic. We saved that Neferland Pirates sign and hung it above our garage door. Pretty sure it will be a recurring theme over the years.

In November the boys frosh flag football team made it to the frosh championship bowl game this year (where they had a heartbreaking loss by only 2 points in the last 2 minutes) and really had a great experience for their first year of play. They made great friends, loved their coaches, and even scored a touchdown or two. They also learned what it means to be part of a team, how to keep their commitments, and even how to loose gracefully. Their team really gained momentum and came together. We were very proud of them and thoroughly enjoyed the season. They plan to return next year. As Danny said – getting to play on a “real football court” was SO cool. As for their first time on a basketball team… the jury is still out. But they enjoy practices and their team is doing really well.

We spent a week in Alpine, Utah with my parents for Thanksgiving which was a much needed escape and a really great vacation. They take great care of us and everyone comes home happy and relaxed. We played with cousins, met up with friends, saw Wreck It Ralph, and did lots of fun stuff at Thanksgiving Point. We took all the kids to their first BYU basketball game, spent way too much money in the BYU bookstore, toured the BYU library, and ate at all the good restaurants in town. We thoroughly brainwashed the kids into thinking BYU is the coolest school around. (Which it is.) Go Cougs!

December was crazy (as always) with birthdays, holiday parties, family vacations, Christmas, and our anniversary. Recap and pictures coming next…