3 Months

Lacey is a major "talker" now, especially to her big brother and sister. She gives them lots of smiles, coos and happy squeals. She's laughed out-loud just twice about a week ago, and we look forward to that being a regular thing. She can easily get her hands to her mouth and makes a royal mess drooling on them. Lacey has been rolling onto her side since she was just brand new, but several times she's gotten on her tummy from her back, which she doesn't care for. Her eyes are starting to look more brown than hazel, but I think it will still be a while before we'll know their color for sure. She's finally got that cute baby chunk on her thighs. I LOVE IT! (Wish it was that cute on me . . .)

Some things haven't changed. She still doesn't sleep well. I'm up every 2-3 hours on a GOOD night.

She's still literally suffocated by love from her big sister.

And she's still cute as ever. :)

For Future Reference

Dear Koreena of the future,

Just a little reminder here as to why you don't want to workout in the morning when the kids are up. Yes, you might think it's okay because your husband is home and he might keep them in line, but that doesn't happen when he's busy trying to keep his side of the bed warm (i.e. sleeping in.) And yes, you may think you can keep them out of trouble by having them nearby. After all, it's just a 30 minute workout, right? Please don't fall for such foolish thinking in the future or Jossy may choose to remind you as she did me why you only workout when they're asleep at night. Here's just a small sampling:


Sure, a magic eraser took it off pretty quickly for the most part. But don't forget that your bathroom wall has that stupid sandpaper texture to it that eats a magic eraser and makes a horrible mess. You may still be finding blue streaks on that wall, future Koreena.

Sincerly,
Yourself

P.S.
Please put down that plate of brownies I know you have. You don't want to go through all this work to lose weight again!

Dancing in the Rain

I've never wanted this blog to be anything but real and honest, so here comes some honesty about a flaw of mine.

When I went in for my postpartum checkup about a month ago, I was asked to fill out a questionnaire. It wasn't hard to figure out that all the questions were to help the midwife determine if I was showing signs of postpartum depression. The one question that I found odd was "Do you feel like you're the mom you want to be?" Seriously? Can anyone answer that with a resounding "YES"? I certainly can't!

I have my moments where I feel like I'm a pretty good mom, but I am definitely NOT all that I want to be as a mother. Not even close frankly. One thing I really have a hard time with (confession time here) is letting my kids be kids, especially when that means they make a mess or get dirty. I definitely have a reverence and appreciation for childhood, I just hate things that make a mess. Sure, I've put up blog posts with cooking and playdough creations, but honestly I really don't like dealing with the mess of playdough and cooking is so much easier without their "help." But occasionally the guilt gets to me and I think about the fun childhood I had digging in the backyard for worms and making mud pies. ( I lived in Oregon after all. There certainly was enough rain for it.) And I feel grateful in those nostalgic moments for a mom who realized that clothes can be thrown in the wash and renewed, but childhood is a one-time deal. . . Either that or she had 6 kids and couldn't keep up with all of us. :)

So the other day the kids and I were sitting on the front porch watching a rain downpour. (That IS something I'm good at as a mom; I'm good at pointing out the little wonders of nature and such and giving them the chance to observe and enjoy those things.) As we were watching the rain, Matty asked if they could go stand in it. I said no at first. I didn't want to deal with dripping wet kids walking inside on my wood floor or the hassle of changing their clothes. Then I said, "Well, I guess you can step in it for a second, but come RIGHT BACK." They laughed and giggled a little as they got a few drops on them. Then I thought to myself, "What's wrong with me? Why can't I just let my kids go out there? It's not cold, it's like 80 degrees out here. It's just some water for Pete's sake! They can change into dry clothes right after." So I let them go. The smiles and laughter and fun that I saw in them had me smiling and now has me in tears to be honest as I think about that little bit of childhood joy I almost kept from them.

They quickly discovered "water painting" as Matty called it.

I think the passing cars probably thought we were nuts.


"Hi, Mom!"

Though invited out to play with them, Lacey and I were perfectly happy with the dry porch.


Wet hairdos are the best.

After playing out there for about 20 minutes, they came back inside to get changed into dry clothes and Matty said, "Mom, that was so fun! I'm never ever going to forget this day!" Wet footprints on my wood floor is so worth that. How could I ever possibly think otherwise?

July 2nd

Early fireworks at the golf course means

Playing in the sand traps


Time with family


Wearing patriotic hand-me-downs to convince others that we have a secret fountain of youth


Fun with glow sticks


Watching fireworks

And, my personal favorite, watching a first-timer watch fireworks

Run, Run As Fast As You Can . . .

. . . But we caught YOU little gingerbread man!


I had never made gingerbread cookies before, but while trying to think of something fun to do with the kids one day I remembered we had a recipe for some on the back of our gingerbread man book the kids had been asking to make since Christmas. We went to the store for supplies (did you know a tiny thing of ground cloves is almost $5 at Walmart???) and got to work. They were a pain to roll out and cut because of how sticky they are, but adding a ton of flour helped with that. To quote Jossy, they were "Delicious!"

Lone Peak Dental Pictures

I had the chance again this year to take the picture for Lone Peak Dental to be put in Utah Valley Magazine's women's issue. You can see the picture and article online by clicking here. I was very close to delivering Lacey when my sister asked me to take these. We got several cute pictures that day despite my feeling ready to pop, and they chose to go with this one:

Here are a couple more that were close to getting used and may be used in the office.

Sunday Afternoon on Temple Square

After listening to Brandon's homecoming report, we went with my brother Tymon and his family to visit Temple Square. I can't express how hot it was or how badly I wished we had brought along the big stroller that our carseat fits into, but we all still had a good time together.

Matty got a piggyback ride from his cousin Jared almost everywhere.

Dan ran into a college roommate he hadn't seen in 9 years, so the kids entertained themselves spinning pennies while Dan chatted for a moment.

If there were cameras in Sacrament meeting, I'm sure many pictures would look like this.

This may be a new favorite of mine. Angela caught this one of Matty making a wish on his penny before throwing it into the fountain.

Dan and I competing to see whose penny could be flipped farthest into the fountain.

I am literally holding my niece Lindsay down here to get a picture with her.
Crazy teenager doesn't like her picture taken.

After visiting Temple Square, we went across the street to quickly see the Conference Center,
only when you're stuck with a guide in a group there's no quick about it.
We had never been on the roof before though. Very cool.

I love that this picture looks like we could be holding hands . . .

. . . when in fact Dan's holding a heavy carseat and I'm getting the life
pulled out of my arm by an angry 3-year-old. Such is our life.




I think we all felt like this in the end.

Jossy's Secret Talent

You may recall the talented Mr. Matty's ability to make his eyebrows dance. But did you know Jossy can do this?

Yes, 'tis a true skill to be able to clean your nose without the use of your finger.

Together Again

Sick of all my recent posts yet? I warned I was behind. I still have several more backed up.

The day of Brandon's homecoming report was the first time in 2-3 years that nearly the whole family has been together. Sadly, we were missing Monica's husband Micheal but everyone else was able to come.

My parents with all 6 of their children.
(I'm 4th, for those who don't know.)

Grandpa and Grandma Martindale with all 8 grandkids
(including a few grumpy ones)