Hannah's 6th Birthday

First of all, how did my baby girl become six years old? Augh!

Ever since Chance had his 6th birthday party at Toad's Fun Zone, Hannah has been dying to have her party there too. So this was the year. She invited 13 of her closest friends (ha!) and we had a great time! This was actually the first year that she had enough friends to have a real party because she's now going to school.

Jade * Chelsea Scott * Brooke Burns * Gabriella Trujillo * Gracie Longhurst * Dad * Chance * Percy Brown * Hailey Toole * Ilie Redd

Rachel Ward * Eliza * Maren * Esi LeeMaster * Hannah * Mylee * Ginny Slack

We had a Barbie-themed party and I decided to try my hand at the good ol' Barbie cake. I guess these cakes have been around for ages! I looked all over the internet for instructions, suggestions, do's and dont's, etc. I bought all sorts of fondant and other decorating tools, but wimped out at the last minute. I was honestly scared of that fondant. I ended up just using a plain buttercream frosting recipe and then dyed the frosting pink. Little did I know that the food coloring I bought was SUPER concentrated so the pink became very pink! Then my butter wasn't softened enough so I had little flakes of butter...I won't go into any more detail about how bad I messed it up, but Hannah thought it was very beautiful and was so flattered that I made it just for her. That's all that matters, right?

Alice in Wonderland

This year, I enrolled Hannah in a little acting group called "Up With Kids". It is not a big deal, just a little, low-key group that is meant for fun and self-esteem. The group happens to be putting on Alice in Wonderland this year! I put Hannah in because she brought the flyer home from school and could not stop talking about how she wanted to be in Alice in Wonderland. I told her she probably wouldn't be Alice, but she didn't care. This little acting group has classes for each age range, and everyone gets a speaking part in the play. As we looked through the parts that she could choose, we noticed there was "Small Alice". Oooh, she really wanted to be Small Alice. The script combines Alice in Wonderland with Toy Story (sounds weird, but it really is cute!). To "try out", she had to memorize and give a little part.

"I don't know if an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but I do know an apple a day makes a great snack. Especially if it has peanut butter on it. Hey, do you think peanut butter keeps the doctor away too?"

We practiced, practiced, and practiced! She loved saying it over and over. We worked on her expression, hand actions, etc. Anyway, Hannah did not end up getting the part of Small Alice, but instead ended up with the part of Bo Peep from Toy Story. She was sooo excited. We got home, looked through the script, and found the part. It's a short little part, so I knew she could memorize it easily. Then I noticed that right after her part, she sings a SOLO! Hannah is such a little actress-singer-dancer, but just around the house! I guess we'll see if she can pull it off and sing a solo in front of a bunch of people! She's sure excited to try!

West, Valentines Day, etc.

I've been seeing a lot of this lately from West...

We've never had a thumb-sucking baby before! Sure, it's kinda cute now, but what happens when he's in fifth grade doing the same thing? Hopefully the novelty will wear off. He only does it when he's really tired.

We blessed West on Sunday the 13th. We waited awhile to bless him so Shawn's grandma and grandpa could be there for it. Shawn gave such a nice blessing. I noticed how loud the congregation was during the beginning of the meeting, and how super quiet it was when the blessing was given. I really think the Spirit was there during his blessing. I should have written down everything Shawn said, it was such a beautiful blessing, but I remember he blessed West that he would stay as happy as he was now. He is seriously the happiest baby. Especially when he sees Shawn, Chance and Hannah - he gets the BIGGEST smiles! He is so sweet. Shawn also mentioned the he would look to his mother as his best friend. That was so touching to me because my patriarchal blessing actually says that I should be my childrens' best friends. So far, I am not doing so well!! Hopefully that blessing will help West, at least... After the blessing we went to Shawn's parents for dinner. Shawn whipped up a batch of his famous meatballs and there were appetizers and salads galore. Shawn's grandma made her chocolate cake that I'm obsessed with. It was so nice of Shawn's parents to let us have the "after party" over there. I feel bad for even asking, but our house is small and I turn into a basket case when I have to have people over. It was so much less stress to have it over there because April enjoys entertaining and doesn't stress out about it. They are very generous that way. West slept the majority of the day, but Shawn said he woke up in the middle of his blessing. I can just picture his big, blue eyes looking at all of those faces encircling him! He probably smiled at all of them, too.

Grammy, Grandpa Ted, and the guest of honor

West loving to look at all of his cousins!!

We had a not-so-eventful Valentine's Day. The Saturday before, Shawn and I went to dinner ALONE (that was a first in a long time!) at Sonora Grill. I love that place! On Valentine's Day we just had steaks on the grill (that were EXCELLENT, I must say!) and hung out at home with the kiddos.

This is a picture of Chance's Valentine's Day box he had to make. I've never had to help make a Valentine Box before. I got the idea off of the internet, then sort of improvised to make it. The kids were supposed to put their Valentines through the hoop - Chance thought it was pretty awesome. But I guess I got a little carried away and ended up gluing Chance's name on the front by myself. He got mad at me. I guess I must've forgotten whose project it was...oops!

Then, our little Hannah, who I have worried about spiritually because she has refused to say a prayer for years, made this Valentine:

What is cuter than a Valentine for Heavenly Father and Jesus? I loved it. And here's her Valentine for me.

Three Months

smiling at sister

West is the sweetest boy. He has a mellow, laid back personality right now. Hopefully he'll stay that way! He is growing so much! He is getting taller/longer by the day, I swear! He will coo and talk when he is in a good mood, especially right before bed. We just love him to death. He is getting blessed tomorrow, so I took a few, quick pictures of him in his little blessing outfit. I had to try it on him today, hoping it wasn't too small since he is getting so big!! But it's a perfect fit. I think West was born with that red birthmark on his forehead so I would be able to tell which baby is which when his baby pictures and Chance's baby pictures are together. They look SOOO much alike. I'll post them together soon.

Art

Around Christmas time, Hannah drew this adorable picture of our family. I have it saved as my computer desktop background because I love to look at it.

I seemed to remember that Chance had drawn a picture of our family for Kindergarten as well (it was an assignment). So I went through Chance's old Kindergarten stuff and found the one he drew when he was the same age as Hannah.

Poor Chance, he has my art skills and Shawn's art skills combined! I laughed for days over this!

Two Months

Height - 23.5 inches (75%) * Weight - 12.0 pounds (50%) * Head - 39 cm. (25%)

At almost exactly eight weeks, West started to smile! He smiles a lot at Hannah, Chance, and Shawn. He doesn't particularly like to smile at Rags. I don't know what he thinks of Rags! Rags thinks he's a baby, so he sits in the bouncy seat when West isn't in it, and also has his own binky! It is the weirdest thing. At ten weeks, West started to giggle! He giggled at me when I was taking off his shirt. He hasn't done a deep, belly laugh yet but I know it's coming. Also at ten weeks, West slept through the night. How he went from sleeping three and a half hours one night to nine hours the next night I will never know! But he has consistently been sleeping through the night for about ten days now, with the exception of only a few nights. It is sooooooo nice! He is such a good baby, very mellow and sweet. He hardly cries, just fusses a little.

Based on a true story...

I rhythmically rocked my newborn baby boy to sleep in the quiet of the night. It was his first night time feeding, meaning there was another to anticipate. Most evenings I enjoyed the night hours alone with my son; just the two of us quietly sitting together to relax. I gazed at his soft skin and little nose and began to feel my eyelids close.

I was abruptly yanked out of my peaceful state by the sound of a honking, horn-like sound. "ANGH! ANGH! ANGH! ANGH!" The sound bellowed through the walls of my once quiet home. My heart began to pound rapidly against the interior of my chest. I waited patiently to hear any reaction to the noise from my other family members who were sound asleep. Nothing. I waited. "ANGH! ANGH! ANGH! ANGH! ANGH! ANGH!" The noise was louder this time. Was it moving toward me? Was it inside the house? Outside? I couldn't tell. The sound resembled a combination of an alarm clock and a sputtering motorcycle without a muffler. Or maybe an electrical malfunction of some sort of household appliance. After the noise quieted, I again intently listened for someone else in the house to wiggle or rustle their covers in reaction to the noise. Nothing. "ANGH! ANGH! ANGH! ANGH!" Was it a bomb? Why was it so loud and why wasn't anyone doing anything about it?

I quickly put the baby down into his bouncy chair, silently praying he would stay asleep while I left his side for a minute. "ANGH! ANGH!" As I ran down the stairs, I determined that the sound was definitely coming from outside. So much for blaming the noise on an obnoxious alarm on my husband's cell phone! "ANGH! ANGH! ANGH! ANGH! ANGH!" Ugh! Annoying! Enough already! I flipped on the light switch for our back porch light and flung open the back door.

The January snow had an icy crust and was glistening white under the reflection of the glow from the porch. The bright orange feet and bill stood out in shocking contrast to the snow. Yes, I said orange feet and bill. A giant white duck was standing smack in the middle of my back yard. It was as still as a statue, and silent at that particular moment. It looked huge, not like your regular little duck in the neighborhood pond. I couldn't believe my eyes. A duck? In the winter? Aren't ducks supposed to migrate or hibernate or fly south or ... be somewhere other than standing in my backyard?

I closed the door so the freezing cold air would not penetrate the warmth of our little house, and ran back up the stairs to awaken my husband. I didn't know what to do! The bird was standing so still, it looked like it was frozen solid. Maybe it was frozen solid. Should I try to scare it away? Should I politely invite it inside? Was I being filmed for Candid Camera?

"Shawn! Wake up!" I nudged my sleeping husband. He had only been asleep for a little over an hour and had to wake up in less than five more. "What is it?" he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes. "There's a duck in our backyard." I started to giggle. It sounded so silly when spoken aloud. "What?" he asked. "There's a big, white duck in our backyard and it is quacking so loud!" I laughed a little harder. "Should I bring it inside?" I asked. "Are you kidding me?" Shawn asked. "That thing will tear this place up!" "Oh, you're right. Well, what should I do?" "Nothing." Shawn replied. He rolled over and went back to sleep.

Now what. I had a sinking feeling he didn't believe me. Not that I cry wolf all of the time, but maybe I have exaggerated a little bit in the past... I slowly walked back down the stairs, trying to figure out what to do. I saw my cell phone on the kitchen counter and decided I needed evidence. Hard, fast evidence of the creature lurking in my backyard. I slowly opened the back door, careful not to scare the duck away. I held the phone out in my hand and took a picture of the frozen duck. The phone flashed and the evidence was captured! I quickly took a look at my phone screen and was disappointed to see a black square without any sign of the white duck. I guess cell phones were not created to take pictures in the dark. Were cell phones created to take pictures at all? Hmm.

As I was squinting to see any sign of the duck within the dark photograph, I felt something furry graze my ankles. My little black and white Shihtzu, Rags, had darted through my legs and out the back door. "Rags!" I yelled. "Rags! Come!" It was too late. Rags had spotted the duck. He stared at the duck, slowly taking in the unusual sight just as I had moments before. Then Rags darted directly at it. The duck frantically flapped its large wings and began to fly. It was too large to lift more than five inches off of the ground, but it swiftly headed toward the front yard. Rags took off, determined to catch the strange being that had invaded his territory. "Oh, great," I thought to myself. I envisioned white feathers flying everywhere if Rags was to actually catch the poor animal.

Rags wears a collar that deters him from running too far away from the house, so I knew he could not chase the duck forever. And Rags was a Shihtzu, not a Retriever, so I probably should have been more worried about Rags getting eaten alive rather than the duck. But I couldn't help but worry about that darn duck. Was he cold? Lost? Sick? I worried for a minute, let the dog back inside, then walked upstairs to go to bed. It was no use losing sleep over the feathered fowl.

As I climbed in bed, I again enjoyed the silence and stillness of my home. Yet in the distance, I heard a faint "ANGH! ANGH! ANGH!" and I wondered if the ghost duck had succeeded in haunting yet another house. Or if someone captured a photo of it. Or if someone invited it in from the cold to stay the night.

Christmas, birthday, and everything in between...

--Christmas Eve
One of my favorite celebrations of the entire year is Christmas Eve night with my sisters and parents. We get together, have great food, and laugh a lot! Our parents literally spoil all of us rotten. The kids can hardly wait to open presents, and I can't wait for the mint dessert! It was no different this year. My mom has become an impressive cook. She somehow gets all of the food, perfectly cooked, out on the table at the same time. It's really quite amazing. We needed to take family pictures to put on an iPad that we bought for my grandparents, so here are the results of our attempt:

My mom & dad are the cutest! Mom lost 60 pounds in 2010! She gave her chubby daughter (me, obviously!) all of her old clothes! She looks amazing!

Last year with Shawn's family we decided to exchange "homemade" gifts with one another. I thought it would be fun to try that with my family. There were many grumbles and groans but I think it was sort of fun! Homemade gifts just mean a little more than buying a gift card.

Sabrina - Me, Steph, Lindsay - homemade, beaded bracelets. soooo cute.
Mom - Steph - Apron with cleaning supplies
Dad - Lindsay - Note on parchment paper (how creative! he was very proud of that...) and a gift card to Hobby Lobby so she could make her own gift. (cheater?)
Nat - Mike - Soft, jumbo size blanket
Shawn - Mom - Magnet board made out of metal with "Warburton" and an elk at the top
Steph - Jason - Movie gift basket (cheater!!)
Mike - Dad - "Homemade" salsa and chips from El Matador (another cheater!!)
Lindsay - Me - CUTE framed picture that says "Redd Family" and one for West with his date of birth and name
Jason - Shawn - Recessed lighting in our house

Yes, one of these gifts is not like the others! My brother-in-law Jason came over and helped us remove our outdated florescent lighting in our kitchen and replaced it with recessed lighting! Jason had already done this little project in my mom & dad's house. I was so jealous and somehow my mom talked Jason into doing it for our house! My mom & dad bought the materials for it as our Christmas gift and Jason donated his time to get it all finished. Isn't that awesome? Best Christmas ever, in my opinion. Except for cleaning up afterward. But I'm not complaining!

Shawn gave me a classic homemade gift as well. Engraved metal stars. He outdid himself yet again. Not to mention the "hoodie-footie" pajamas in Pepto Bismol pink! ha!! I actually have a picture of me in them that is never to be viewed by the outside world.

Shawn's attempt at gift wrapping. I laughed forever at this sight!

--Christmas

We had such a fun Christmas this year! Santa sent letters to the kids mid-way through December to encourage them to be good. I don't know if those letters did any good, because Hannah was testing our patience up to and including Christmas Eve! Little stinker. On Christmas morning, Hannah was soooo relieved to see that Santa actually brought her gifts. "See Mom! I was good!" The main gifts this year were Nintendo Dsi's, which are basically Nintendo DS's with internet capability and cameras. Shawn and I gave Chance Jazz v. Bulls Jazz tickets and an Al Jefferson Jazz jersey. Shawn put them into a basketball-like scripture case. His face upon opening that scripture case was priceless!

I actually entered this picture into a contest for free Jazz tickets and a free jersey on www.jazz360.com. We'll see if he wins! Hannah received "Go Go My Walking Pup" which Rags promptly decided to make the moves on. Rags got a Snuggie. In Camo.We had Shawn's parents, Sarah, and John over for breakfast casserole on Christmas morning, then we went over to the Redds later that night for dinner and opening MORE presents. Shawn's mom had already provided our family with another wonderful 12-days of Christmas, so we had presents for weeks before now! --New Year's Eve
We celebrated New Year's Eve by going to the movies - Hannah, Mylee, and I went to see Tangled and Shawn and Chance went to see Gulliver's Travels. Gulliver's Travels has Jack Black in it and it looked pretty funny. Chance came out of the show laughing his head off and Shawn came out of the show rolling his eyes, if that tells you anything about it. Now Tangled, on the other hand, was SOOOO cute! I loved it. Just a cute, feel good movie. West had a change of scenery and spent a few hours with Grandma Debbie. After I picked West up from Grandma's and was driving down my street, I noticed fireworks in the sky. They looked awfully close to my house. Come to find out, while I was at Grandma's, Shawn had produced illegal (Wyoming) fireworks out of nowhere and began to light them in the backyard, making everyone run inside after they went off so the police wouldn't know who was lighting them! That's the extent of our exciting New Year's Eve. When you're old and you don't drink, New Year's is pretty lame. Lighting illegal fireworks was pretty rebellious, though! The kids sure had fun by having Mylee sleep over.

--New Year's Day
Shawn, Chance, Hannah and Mylee all took a trip down to the Redds for a New Years Day feast of London Broil, twice-baked potatoes, and appetizers. Much football watching, as well. I stayed home with West and cleaned this messy house. It really looked like a tornado had hit.

--Day After New Year's Day
After church, my husband the chef prepared an early birthday dinner for me featuring crab legs and Rib Eye steaks! Heaven on earth. I attempted to make cheesy cauliflower but was corrected by the master chef because I did not thicken the sauce enough. It turned out okay, but I really just need to leave the cooking to the master! Lindsay made chocolate parfaits that were to die for. I wish my birthday was more than once a year just for the food!

--Birthday
Since we had basically celebrated my birthday the night before, I wasn't planning on doing anything for my actual birthday. All I wanted was a nap! Mr. West likes to get up every three hours NO MATTER WHAT. I think half of the time he is full and just likes to wake up to see if I'll go get him. So I did get about a half-hour power nap, which was all I wanted. But later that night we went to dinner to Texas Roadhouse as a family. They are famous for making people with a birthday sit on a saddle and embarrass them to death! I know I'm a party pooper, but I couldn't bear it so I refused the saddle treatment. Shawn and the kids gave me the FUNNIEST cards, one of them entitling me to a Kindle and case. It was a very nice birthday. I'm 34 now, but it wasn't a birthday I was dreading. "Age is just a number" is my new philosophy.

Life with a baby

Wow! My life (I should say "our lives") have been turned upside down! West likes to be up all night and sleep all day. Why do I not remember my other two kids doing that? There's a lot I don't remember! I think it would be fine but I have again contracted my weird, post-partum sickness that involves chills, aches, and fevers. Poor Shawn had to stay up with the baby the other night because I literally could not move! A 2:00 a.m. bedtime and a 5:00 a.m. alarm clock do not go together well, I felt so bad for him. It's been an adjustment for us, needless to say. I am continuing to take ibuprofen and other meds to keep my fevers away, but I'm also on an antibiotic that will hopefully get rid of any other weirdness. I was allergic to my first antibiotic - my right eye swelled up HUGE! I actually took a picture of it but I don't dare show anyone. It is hideous, it looks like I was punched in the eye. Maybe someday I'll be normal again. Then again, maybe not! It feels like it's been forever since I've been without some sort of ailment. Then, if it's not me feeling like I'm going to die, my car either won't start or move out of "Park." Or Rags runs away. Or Hannah doesn't make it home after school and I think she's been kidnapped. Augh! So I just cry and eventually move on.

On the bright side, I took West to the doctor yesterday and he'd gained one full pound! He was born 6 lbs. 9 oz. and now he is 7 lbs. 10 oz., which is what Chance weighed when he was born! He's in the 20% for height, weight and head. I've never had a kid that small. I'm sure he'll catch up though, he's quite an eater! Things could be worse - luckily West is a healthy, happy kid. We love him to death. He looks nothing like me, but a lot like his dad. Which is just fine with me.

Another bright side moment - Hannah lost her first tooth! It has been loose for a long time. The other day I looked in her mouth and saw that her new tooth was actually growing in behind her loose one! I had to pull "tough love" and yank her loose one out while she cried and fought me! I know, I'm so mean!! But afterward she was so happy and proud to have lost her first tooth!

And I can't forget to mention Thanksgiving - I wasn't too excited to go because I didn't feel good and was so tired, but once I got there I was so happy to be there!! We went to my mom's house this year, who again outdid herself by cooking the entire Thanksgiving feast on her own. She wouldn't let me bring anything. It was THE BEST!! The turkey was so moist and my favorites (yams, shrimp dip, cheesy cauliflower) were cooked to perfection. I love Thanksgiving - no worry about gifts, just fun and family. We were so happy to have Jason, Lindsay and Lily there - they haven't been to a Utah Thanksgiving dinner for a few years! After dinner we played Scrabble, and even though I was drugged I took second place -- LUCKY for me. The self-proclaimed Scrabble queens (my mom and sisters) love to play me because I am so easy to beat!!

West

Our little guy finally arrived! He was born on Friday, November 12, 2010 at 12:10 a.m. He was 6 pounds 9 ounces and 19.5 inches long. We are so happy to finally have him here!

I had been having contractions since last Friday. I actually stopped at the hospital the Friday before on my way home from work because my contractions were regular (3-4 minutes apart), but not very intense. The nurse told me that I should go home and lie down and they would go away. Which they did. For awhile.

On Tuesday, I had an emotional breakdown! I was crying over everything! I think my hormones were out of control. Then the following Wednesday I was supposed to go to work (my last day) but I did NOT feel good. I called in and said I wouldn't be there. I had a doctor appointment that day anyway, so we made an appointment for induction on Friday, November 19. It seemed like an eternity away, but at least there was an end in sight! The contractions were continuous, but not too intense at this point.

On Thursday morning around 4:00 a.m. I started keeping track of the contractions. Shawn had to go to Salt Lake not only for work, but also to take his grandparents to the airport. I figured I'd be fine for awhile, but around 6:00 a.m. I called him and told him he'd better come home! I did NOT feel good, the contractions were regular, and I really felt like I should go to the hospital. I called my mom and asked if the kids could come over, and we headed for the hospital around 7:30 a.m. For some reason, Shawn decided to take a very odd route to the hospital. We were in a residential area and got pulled over by a cop for speeding and not having our license/registration. It was so weird, like you see in the movies with the wife in labor and speeding to get the hospital! The cop said he didn't want to deliver a baby so he let us go without a ticket.

I checked in to the hospital, was asked like five billion questions, and was hooked up to the contraction machine. They were regular, and I was at a "4." Things were moving along nicely, I thought! But, not everyone thought the same way because the doctor said that things needed to be moving along faster or I would need to go home. So the nurses told me to walk around for 45 MINUTES. Ugh. I walked laps around the labor/delivery for that long with no real problem, just occasional pains. When I went back to the evil nurses, I hadn't progressed much so they told me that I needed to come back later. I was upset because how could I be having painful contractions and be told to go home!?! I was so mad. I wanted this baby out. Shawn tried to cheer me up so we went to a craft fair and then had lunch at Union Grill to kill time. Then I went home and laid there. There was no way I was going to walk more, I was a sight because my tummy was huge!! I did not look like I was in any condition to be walking!

Around 5:00 p.m. I couldn't stand it anymore; I was in a lot of pain. I called the hospital and asked if I could take anything for the pain because I was miserable. The nurse told me that if I was in that much pain, I should probably come in. So, we again loaded up the kids to take them to my mom's and hauled down to the hospital. Little did I know that my poor brother-in-law was sick as a dog, lying down on the bathroom floor because he couldn't move!! I felt so bad dropping them off there but I was ready to be lying down on the bathroom floor myself.

When we got to the hospital I was having a hard time talking between contractions. I was at a "5" so the nurse again called the doctor. The doctor told her, "If she (me) is not at a 5, I am holding you personally responsible." What?! I guess he was concerned because I was only 38 weeks and so I couldn't be induced or helped along in my labor in any way. You have to be at least 39 weeks for any artificial "help." The other nurse confirmed that I was a "5, almost 6" so they got the okay to take me back and schedule my epidural. I could not wait for that epidural! Yes, it's painful to have it but it is NOTHING compared to the pain of the contractions! I have no idea how people give birth without drugs. I think I would pass out.

Anyway, things started moving along after the epidural! I was kind of shaky and cold, so I had to keep my eyes closed and just rest so I didn't throw up or anything. But it beat having contractions! I laid there while Shawn and his mom watched Top Gun on TV. It was so nice to just be able to listen to the movie instead of be concerned about when the pain was going to begin again.

I was kind of hoping the baby would be born at 11:11 p.m. on 11/11 but I was too slow. After I was fully dialated I only had to push four times and then the baby popped out! It was so awesome. It is the craziest thing to witness a human life come into the world. He was the cutest thing I had ever seen. I could tell he was small; he looked teeny to me! He felt so huge in my stomach but he was just teeny. I was so happy he was finally here! So was Shawn, he was just beaming. The baby was wide, wide awake and only cried for a second! He was just looking around at everything! I can't imagine what a weird feeling it must've been for him!

Shawn decided to name the baby West Dale Redd -- West is his great, grandfather's middle name (Hugh West Jacob) and Dale is my dad's and grandpa's first name (Dale Bradford Warburton; Dale LeRoy Warburton). I think it's a good name -- not common, but not weirdly unique. Just right!

West has been a good baby so far -- he wakes up about every three and a half hours to eat. When he was first born, he always had this mad face with his eyebrows together. He's sort of stopping the mad face now. He's also starting to open his eyes more and more. I love when he's half-asleep, half-awake and gives little smiles and other facial expressions! We think he's adorable.

The kids have loved having the baby around, although the other day Chance told me the baby was boring. Maybe I should start waking him up to see how exciting the baby is in the middle of the night! We are calling Hannah "Little Mama" because she is my right-hand gal. She loves helping me take care of the baby. I put her in charge of the baby monitor so she stares very intently at it to see if West is moving in any way! It is so cute.

I am so grateful to have such a healthy baby. I wish I knew why we have been blessed with three healthy babies, it is so humbling to think about. I am trying to get used to the schedule but no matter how tired or upset or emotional I get, I always try to remember how lucky I am to have this baby in our lives. He has been a blessing to all of us and we love him to death!!

A failure as a mother...

Really, how did 2 of 2 become BYU fans? I am doing something wrong.

HALLOWEEN CELEBRATIONS

Courtnie had a fun party at her house for Family Home Evening on the Monday before Halloween. She had the table decorated SO CUTE and of course, my camera was in the car. By the time I got it out, the table was destroyed! (In a good way! The kids had a blast with it!) But she had dry ice, spiderwebs, these freaky looking goblets with gummy worms - it was SO cute and the kids thought it was sooo cool! We carved pumpkins and the kids played Bingo. We'll have to make it a tradition, it was really fun! (of course I can say that, it wasn't my house that was hit by a hurricane of pumpkin guts and everything else Halloween!!)

I was cleaning off the top of the fridge and found this fake money that I had bought for some random reason. I wanted to do something with it for my pumpkin for the neighborhood pumpkin contest this year. Shawn and I started talking, and don't ask me how, but Shawn came up with the idea of President Obama stealing money out of a working man's pants. Here's how it turned out:

Oh yeah, first place baby!! Yet again!!

Other Random Happenings

Chance had a Toys-R-Us gift card and birthday money that he was DYING to spend, so I decided to be "fun mom" for once instead of "mean pregnant mom" and take the kids down to Layton. After wandering around that store for what seemed like FOREVER (hoping it would put me into labor! no such luck...) Chance decided to buy the game Mind Flex. Supposedly you can move these little foam balls around an obstacle course by using only your mind. Ooooh, eerie, I know. I made SURE we could return the game in case it didn't work. I just had a feeling that it was going to be a piece of $80.00 junk. Anyway, we took it home and played it for Family Home Evening the next Monday. It really worked!! You have to concentrate but somehow that freaky ball moves around the obstacle course! You have to try it to believe it. It was so funny to watch everyone concentrating so hard. Shawn had a dream that night that he was moving cement panels out of our backyard by using only his mind. We all think we have the "Force" now. Is this a look of determination on Shawn's face or what!?

If you look carefully, you can see the ball in the air - a little fan blows it up in the air and then you can change its direction with your "mind." I have no idea how it works.

I also wanted to post what Miss Hannah has been doing lately. Since the school year has started, she has been taking piano lessons from Bravo Arts Academy in Washington Terrace. She is going to a class called "piano team", which means there are 4-5 kids in her class that all take the lessons together. She really likes it, but I think this is going to be her last month down there. The piano method they use down there is... weird. To me. I think I'll just try to teach her at home for awhile and then put her in with a different teacher in a year or so. I guess I'm a piano snob. I had such an AWESOME teacher (my mommy) who actually taught me my notes rather than simply "where to put my hands." I want Hannah to learn the same way. I just hope I'll have time to focus on her piano with the new baby. I really want her to learn.

Hannah has also been taking tumbling at The Edge in Pleasant View. She LOVES it. She was so proud of herself to be able to do a backbend all by herself, and she is now working on her cartwheel. I can tell she's getting stronger and more confident. I figure if she starts young enough, maybe she'll not be scared to do back-handsprings like her mother was! I always HATED doing anything that made me go backwards. Hopefully Hannah will be a little braver.

The Cabin

We took a quick trip up to the cabin over Fall Break. Shawn went up on Thursday to go fishing with Brett, and the kids and I (and Rags) drove up the next day. Chance was invited to go with Brett and Shawn, but he is still traumatized from the last time those two took him fishing - he about froze to death!! It was such a pretty drive to Star Valley- I love driving to the cabin during the fall in the daytime. I did not take as many pictures as I should have, but I just had to grab a picture of Hannah with her slingshot sitting on the four-wheeler. "The boy we never had" as Shawn calls her. At the cabin, Laura taught Courtnie and I how to crochet and use knitting looms. It was fun! We made beanie hats and scarves. Then we took a trip to the Afton fabric store to buy some more yarn and check out the fabrics. I'M GETTING OLD!! While we were at the store, Shawn took the kids to Lance's pond for some fishing. I showed up just in time to grab a picture. The fish were jumping like crazy, and they are good sized! We took our trailer to the cabin as we have been doing for a few years now. It is nice to have our own space, plus to give everyone else more space within the cabin. Our family is getting too big for it, but it is so much fun to go! The kids put on a circus and another play for all of us. This is what I mean by not taking as many pictures as I should have! I have no pictures of it, but it was pretty cute. Everything seems to be extra fun when it happens at the cabin! Even cutting wood - I took this picture of Shawn so he could show his Crossfit buddies that he was a lumberjack Crossfitter.

Homework

It seems like the only person I have blogged about is Chance. But what do you do when he is always doing something so goofy? I had to post a couple of his homework papers. The first one is gross, you have been warned.

He had to write the last two sentences on his own by using as many spelling words as he could. Please forgive the poor English in the first sentence. But seriously, "My dad does not want his fungus fixed?" I won't go into detail about how he came up with that sentence! I was so embarrassed!

This pink one has a little explaining to go with it. I guess the "correct" answer was that the blue team should have given one of its players to the red team. But I thought he answered it wonderfully! You can tell we've been involved in sports a lot lately... It must've struck Mrs. Filiaga funny because Chance said she photocopied his paper to show to her family!

The second explanation has to do with the teacher addressing Chance as "Mr. Redd." A few weeks ago, Chance was asked to come to the front of the class to explain something that had to do with math (I'm still not sure what it was.) So when he got to the front of the class, he introduced himself as the teacher, "Mr. Redd." I didn't know about this story until he brought home a birthday book with notes from his class members. They were all addressing him as "Mr. Redd" in the book so I asked him, um, why? So now I guess that's what kids call him at school! He also told me that sometimes the teacher will ask Mr. Redd to come to the front of the class and ask the class to be quiet. The class, for some reason, always obeys Mr. Redd. What a character!