Family Update

OK so Now having three kids under the age of 3 I am finding it hard to keep up with my blog not that I was really good at it before. Things have started to slow down since my last post. although the poop on the wall has not stop in its entirety the duck tape and packaging tape around the diaper seem to be slowing it down. Tyson has figured out how to get it off a few times. Also Gavin has always slept 4 to 5 hour nights since he was born but now he is going 6 to 6 1/2 he went 7 hours one night but I don't ever count on that. It is just nice to get a little more rest. although between the boys, Clint's 3:30 am alarm and Gavin's cooing himself back to sleep I never get the full amount that I wish for. Well some things have happened since my last blog. First my dad came down to get my mom after she stayed with me to help with the boys while I recovered from the c-section. We went to the park and played a few times. Then we taught the boys how to stack their cups and hit a ball off of that instead of out of each others hand( which always ended in tears) Here is a few pictures of that


We decided even though we take picture of Gavin at certain ages we couldn't tell how much he has grown so we used a Tickle Me Elmo to keep track of how fast he is growing. The first picture is of him at 4 weeks and the one of him in a white onesie is at 6 weeks he is growing so fast.






Also over that weekend we had the opportunity to give Gavin his baby blessing. It was nice to have so many family and friends here for that. We are thankful for the family that we have and are so glad so many people could make it down for it.

This is a picture of Ty wearing daddy's new headphones he got with his birthday money. They are really nice when you put them on you can hardly hear anything on the outside and the sound is amazing.

During conference something great happened. we were watching the Saturday afternoon session and Gavin was in the swing, Tyson was over there making faces and talking to him and I looked over and I asked Clint if it looked like Gavin was smiling at Ty. Now only being 5 1/2 weeks I didn't think he was so later that evening I came and sat in front of him and he started smiling at me as I was talking to him. a real smile not the gassy type. I have tried to get many pictures but every time I go to get the camera he stops, The camera seems to mesmerize I finally got one on my cell phone but I had to hold it out cause if he stopped looking at my face he would stop smiling. so I couldn't put the cell phone directly in front of him. Here is the cell picture sorry not great quality.

This second one was taken with our camera but the flash kind of blotted out his face and smile and his head was tilted backwards.



Today the boys and I have been just lounging around I remembered a alphabet carpet that we bought a long time a go. one of those made of foam so I decided to go get it out of the closet we spent the morning building blocks and stuff with it, the boys love it. Owen is so obsessed with the ABC and numbers it is the perfect toy. Here is a tower we built. and a cage for Ty!!

Well that is it. I will try to be better at updating I am sure you have noticed if you have a facebook or myspace account too that I have been a terrible slacker on that too.

The Joys of Toddlers!

Well, we will have been home from the hospital for two weeks tomorrow and the boys have made it the most interesting two weeks. I just thought I would share a glimpse of what our two weeks home have been like. Now I don't know if the boys are just doing this because they are two or if they are doing it to rebel after we brought home their brother. Our boys have always been clever at figuring out everything we don't want them to, but not so many things in a row.

First - Tyson and his new thing of taking off his DIAPER!!!
Tyson takes off his diaper every time we put him in his room to go to sleep. Nap time is the worst and he has peed on the floor many times this week. He doesn't seem quite ready to potty train but this has got to stop. We put him in onesies and that doesn't work. We then put underwear over his diaper and put on overalls but he has figured those out now too. One day they were just in there room tearing it apart like normal instead of napping like they are supposed to and when we came up to get them this is what we found, and no it isn't chocolate. the worst part is that Ty took off his diaper then pooped on the floor then painted the walls and Owen got in on it. Its gross enough that he was playing with someone else's poop! but when I got in there Owen had fallen asleep but his hands and clothes were covered in poop! If you have any suggestions on how to keep my kid in his diaper let me know!

Second- Struggling nap time!
So like I mentioned the boys have been tearing up their room for nap time. Here are some examples of what our nap times are like right now.
They take their cardboard off the window every time we put it up.

They took apart their side rail and they were banging the wall with the metal bar

Today when I heard tape I thought they were taking the cardboard off the window again. Well when I went upstairs this is what I found. They figured out how to climb, and get on top of the bunk bed. so we had to take apart and store the top bunk tonight.

Other things they do are take their sheets and mattress cover off, they tore up their mattress cover. They unplug their monitor and CD player. We have had to take everything out of their room including pillows and covers to keep them from stacking them and getting into things.

Third- Tyson disappearing!
This one I thought was kind of funny. I went to the dentist on Monday and my mom stayed home with all three boys. She was just getting done feeding them lunch when I got home. she had just put Ty in the living room right before I walked in. But he wasn't in the living room when I came in. we just figured he went upstairs to play in his room. She went up to get him while I went in to say hi to Owen in the kitchen she then yelled down "are you sure Ty isn't down there" I said No and then the panic started we couldn't find him anywhere. and for anyone that has been to my apartment knows its not that big. we were yelling his name checking outside but no answer. Finally I was upstairs and I heard a faint yes after I yelled his name. I found him in his room locked in the closet. It has a child proof lock on the closets sliding door so we didn't think he could get in it but it must have been left open and he went in and locked himself in it.

Fourth- Cooking their toys!
This morning Grandpa and Grandma Karlinsey came to visit and bring us all types of goodies. The boys were going from the living to the kitchen over and over again. I went out to get a bottle for Gavin and I smelled something kind of funny but couldn't place it. It was pretty strong. Later my mom went out to heat up a couple of Cinnamon rolls and that is when we discovered what they had done. They had put a couple of little electronic toys into the microwave and started it. It reeks. The pictures don't show much, but if you could smell my house you would understand, if you look closely you can see the black on the glass plate.. I guess it is time for a new microwave. So we went out and bought a new microwave with a child proof lock system tonight. I dont have a picture of the new one cause it is still in the box.


Fifth- Fruit Cup!
Tyson has learned to take the tops off his fruit cup so we just found out. Tyson was in the kitchen being very quiet and now I know why. He had gotten into the pantry and gotten out his fruit cups out and he opened one. It was all over the floor and gate and Ty! Oh what to do. This is just a picture so you know what kind of cup I was talking about



And Sixth- Still Cute!
Even though they have made our past couple weeks hard they are still cute. Clint's sister Cody got them a bubble machine and they were so excited to use it. Even when we are not playing with it, they walk around saying bubbles bubbles. It is really cute.
They are also being really sweet with Gavin. They love him so much. Owen does this fake laugh all the time that is so cute and every time Gavin makes a noise or he wakes up for a min. Owen will point at him and giggle. It is the funniest laugh ever. I am so blessed to have such wonderful boys. They are so smart. Like I said, they figure out everything. Give Ty three minutes with something and he will know how it works and how to take it apart. ( the problem is getting it back together:) He also knows most of the letters and the sounds they make. Owen know all of his capital and lower case letters already and he knows what sounds they make. He loves the letter factory and his alphabet book. He also plays with his little laptop that says all the letters and the sounds they make. I love having three boys and I love watching them learn and grow. It makes weeks like this worth it!

Gavin
We didnt want gavin to feel left out so here is his two week old picture 8lb 15 oz and 21 1/2 inches long.

Being Home

Sorry about not posting for a while. The past week has been interesting. We are still getting used to having three (well, four including me) little boys in the house. Tiffany is feeling much better now, although she was in a lot of pain for quite a while. The boys have been pretty good. They seemed to enjoy having mom and dad home, and they seem to be adjusting well to having Gavin in the house. Although they still dont like to give hugs and kisses, they will try to give him his binky, or put a blanket over him, or try to push him in the swing. Here is a picture of Owen trying to give him his binky.
Here is Tyson holding him with me. He wasnt really happy with it, but he tolerated it. One step at a time
I started school last week. Well, technically the week week before, but I only went to one class. Luckily I had work off last week, so we could start to get into some sort of groove. Although I am taking more classes than i usually do, it feels like a pretty easy-going schedule. Probably because I am fully into my degree now. I love being able to have classes that I'm mostly interested in. Hopefully these next two years go by quickly.
This week we were able to spend some time outside with all the boys, and it was pretty fun. The boys have been really energetic, so its nice to see them get out and run around. here are some pictures of them at the park.
Tyson going across the monkey bars, he thought it was pretty funny
Owens hair is so funny when he goes down slides. I love it.
We have also had some time to just run around and play outside. Since its been somewhat decent weather, we can take Gavin out and sit on the step while we watch Tyson and Owen play, which is fun. They really like to run around, especially if the neighbors are around, or if they have their favorite toys.
here is Owen reluctantly posing.
Tyson is harder to get, but i eventually got him. He has so much energy.
Gavin even likes being outside, but he doesn't do too much. He sleeps a lot.
Owen has such a cute grumpy face, its hard for me not to smile
Tyson is always busy, I don't get many shots of him just sitting around
He looks so confused.
Tyson on his bike
I know i haven't touched much on it, but Gavin is doing very well. He had his first checkup and we found out that overall he is in the 90th percentile overall, so hes a big boy. He is sleeping a ton, and even at night most of the time! And, of course, we have some pictures of him as well.

Here he is relaxing on his blanket. We worry when he is on the floor that the boys with harass him, but they don't take much interest in him.
here he is lounging in his bouncer. The boys think this is a fun toy for themselves, so we have to fend it off for Gavin sometimes.
This is Gavins hostage position - "Stick 'em up!"

Here he is very concerned about something.Here is his glamor shot. We tried to get some cute ones of him all bundled up, we took a lot of pictures. I think it turned out pretty cute.

The Arrival

He's here!! He came on Thusday the 28th of August, at 7:55 AM. He was born at 8 lbs, 11 oz, quite a big boy. He is 20 inches long, and perfectly healthy. Tiffany is doing well. She's still pretty sore at times, but she is doing much better than the last pregnancy. Her blood pressure stayed in the normal range the entire time. We have decided to name him Gavin. He just had that look. He has been really good while in the hospital. The only times i heard him cry was when he was born, and when he gets his bum changed. Other than that, he's a very mellow child (thank goodness). He slept almost the entire time we were in the hospital. It was nice, but he even tried to sleep while eating, and i feel so bad trying to wake up a baby. We do have quite a few pictures, so bear with us. Here is a link for the picture they took of him at the hospital. It was cute.
Here is me holding him when he was first born.
This is me showing him to Tiffany as the doctor were stitching her up on the other side of the curtain
Here he is in the hospital. The homemade nametag from the hospital was a nice touch
Here he is relaxing after a nice meal.
Tiffany got him to look very sweet. Babys make such cute faces
He actually has hair! The twins had no hair for quite a while, so we were surprised
This was one of the first pictures of him. The blue hat was given to us by the nursery. They were so nice. We really came to appreciate the nights because of them.
This was Gavin locking his fingers together.
Here we are getting ready to go home.
All ready to go in the car seat.

Here he is just relaxing at home. It feels good to be home.Tiffany is trying to show the baby to the boys. I don't think they quite understand, but they have already tried to give him toys and stuff. It was way cute.
So the boys wouldn't feel like second class children, we bought some toys to give them when the baby came home. They each got their own tickle me Elmo (which may not have been our most intelligent decision). They love them. Owen went crazy with it.
Tyson got into it too
When Owen was done playing with it, he thought it would be funny to put it in a box, making it like a bed for him. Then he put his blanket over it and said night night. This is the end result.
Gavins coming home outfit. We can be mean parents.

This was my favorite thing i was able to acomplish in the hospital with a lot of my down time. Tiffany had downloaded the format, but i had to photoshop all the images and info for Gavin. It turned out pretty well though. Enjoy
We will have more updates later. We are just so happy to be home. Although Tiffany still hurts, and we don't know what our schedule will be like, it feels good to be home and have our family all together. We really missed Tyson and Owen.

Getting ready for the baby

Tiffany had her last doctor appointment today, and everything is looking excellent. Her blood pressure (which was a point or so high last time), has actually dropped, and her levels seem to be much better than the last pregnancy. We were also able to hear the heartbeat, which is always reassuring. Tiffany is measuring about a week bigger then she is so the doctor doesn't think the baby will be in his words "dainty." The baby seems to be doing well, so the doctor called the hospital after our appointment to set up a time for the c-section. I can't believe the baby is coming in 8 days. It seems unreal. Although Tiffany has felt miserable lately, and I'm sure she is ready to burst, it seems like its much too soon.

In preparing for the baby, we have been getting the baby's room ready. We set up the large things (crib, swing, bouncer, etc...) Our friends, Falawn and Jake, came over a while ago with James, their 1 month old baby. We brought down our swing for him to swing in, and the boys seemed to do pretty well with him, not being mean or yelling at him, so that gives us hope. We forgot to put the swing away that night, so the next morning when the boys woke up, they found a new toy. Owen was so cute. He was playing with some animal finger puppets, and had a clever idea. He took the elephant puppet, and set it on top of a t-shirt that was laying around. He put the shirt and the elephant in the swing, the covered up the elephant with a blanket. He then started to push the swing back and forth, acting like he was rocking it to sleep, then proceeded to say night night baby. Tyson came over and thought it was funny, so he helped Owen rock it. We tried to get pictures of it, but this was the best we could do.

Another fun thing the boys have enjoyed recently is their new toy. Last weekend Tiffany went with Stacey and my mom to go yard selling in Orem. Although she didn't buy much, she found a 5 dollar whale teeter-totter. Its a little dirty, and i think the eyes are a little broken, but for 5 dollars, it was a great deal, and it works just fine. The boys love it. They played on it for a long time when we brought it out, and they cried when they had to go to bed and had to put it away. Here is a picture of them using it.

And finally, the boys have had so much fun riding the whale, that now they seem to be riding on all of their toys. We got a picture of them riding their little toy train. They are kind of goofy, but they are pretty darn cute. Here ya go.

Church with the boys

Every Sunday we face the challenge of getting the boys through church. Although they are pretty well behaved in most instances, church has its own set of problems. Sacrament is the only meeting we generally cannot get through, as they have a great time in nursery (or at least that's what the nursery leaders tell us). It's probably a combination of having to be pretty quite for over an hour, being unable to get all the wiggles out before church, and that our sacrament is right before their typical nap time. Last week we were lucky enough to get through all of sacrament, and we were amazed. I can't think of the last time that had happened (I now think that its probably been since they were only a few months old, and they slept a good portion of the day). This week was about the opposite. We were only in sacrament for about 5 minutes before it began. They started to whine and get grumpy, and before we could take the sacrament, it was time to take them out of the meeting. They cried and whined out there too, and fighting them was a true battle. Thank goodness that there is nursery for them, or we would get almost nothing out of church lessons. Even though they are very good boys, with the way church is, and with the nap time conflict, it can be a real pain sometimes.

I do have to say they are pretty cute, which helps when we are angry at them. Before we left, I was able to take some pictures of them in their church clothes. We were sad when their suits got too small, but these are still pretty cute outfits. We have tried to find suits for this size, but ever since we bought the old ones, we haven't seen any for sale (at a reasonable price).

We tried to get them to be reverent before we went to church. They started out doing a pretty good job.
I couldn't get a picture of it, but before this "pose" of Tysons, it looked like he was scolding me. Owen kind of looks embarrassed.

And the baby is coming on....

Tiffany had a Dr. appointment last week, which went very well. She is carrying the baby very well, and she has been feeling relatively good (much better than the last pregnancy, but i should hope so since its only one this time). She had slightly high blood pressure (only a point or two over the norm), but other than that everything looks perfect. We did find out that because she had toxemia during her last pregnancy, and since she had already had a c-section, that it was very likely we would have another planned c-section. Although we didn't set a specific date, we did talk about doing the procedure on August 28th, which is a Thursday. It may be earlier if her blood pressure increases, or it might (heaven forbid, for Tiffanys sake), be later than that time. We are just excited that the Tiffany and the baby are doing so well.

As you may or may not have heard, we believe we have a name for the baby, although we are leaving it kind of open. The name we like is Gavin, but we recently have thought about using the name Bridger. We like both of them, so we are thinking about just taking both names to the hospital and seeing how we feel when we see him. I cant believe that we can have the baby this month, time sure does fly.