4 Month Stats

I wanted to post Freddie's 4 month stats now before I forgot too...I will post some more pictures (hopefully tomorrow) of the progress the guys made on the shed and of the kids.

Weight: 19 pounds 2 ounces
Height: 25 inches

That's right, that's 19 pounds!! I checked, and at this age Karyl was already above average and she was 16 pounds 9 ounces!!! He is officially off the charts with his weight and according to the doctor and every astonished nurse he is the size of a 9 month old, which would explain why people always guess he is at least 6 months old!!

Luckily, his height and general size is above average, so the weight is perfectly healthy and I have been told to keep doing EXACTLY what I've been doing...I was also applauded for the fact that he sleeps through the night. There is nothing better than hearing your Pediatrician tell you sincerely, "Good Job!!"

We are excited that he is so big and super strong (YAY!!) and can't wait to see how much bigger he gets. Although, I am about 2-3 weeks away from losing the convenience of the car carrier since his weight will put him over the limit...but we only used it for Karyl until about 5 months because her feet started sticking over, and his are too....oh well...a fair trade for healthy kids!!

This is What You Ought To Know

I am not a salesman...I could never hold a job that was dependent on me selling a product, no matter what it was. I never forward bulk emails to people, and quite honestly I hate it when people put me on their list when they forward some dumb email about rainbows or kittens or anything "inspirational" (sorry to be so blunt, but it's true!).

That being said, I want to preface this post by saying that I am not receiving any kind of compensation, points or other positive reward by posting this. Greg and I LOVE this website and their shows and because we really enjoy their webcast and we really like the guys involved, and we would hate to see them fail if there was anything we could do.

Please check out their website and watch a few of the videos...if you want some recommendations of which ones to watch please ask, I will tell you which ones are our favorites. Then, if you like them and they make you laugh, pre-order their DVD for $15 with shipping. They have to have 150 pre-orders to make the DVD and 650 to keep the show going through the summer. We are pre-ordering at least one copy, possibly more.

The guys that run the website are 2 brothers, the Brothers Winn....the camera guy and the guy in front of the camera. They live in the San Diego area and I think both are BYU graduates (at least one of them is).

So, please click on the link below and at least watch a video or two...they are only a few minutes long and I give you my personal guarantee that you won't be wasting your time.

http://www.whatyououghttoknow.com/

Thanks for reading, and remember that I wouldn't be promoting this unless I felt strongly about it and truly enjoyed it and wanted it to succeed!!

My kids are cuter than yours

Yeah, sorry, but it's true. Most of these pictures were taken yesterday in the middle of a whirlwind of snot and whining (some of that from me!!) and you'd never know they had colds (or whatever this is...). I am so blessed to have such great kids!!

In fact, Karyl was an ANGEL yesterday. I got practically NO sleep the night before so I was dead tired...on top of that I am getting over whatever cold mutation we all caught so I was tired from that. I was sitting in our recliner with Freddie on my lap and he had fallen asleep finally and wasn't snorting or wheezing or anything, just peaceful, and I didn't dare move...so I got tired and wanted to sleep. Karyl, being the big girl she is, agreed to stay in the family room where I was and I took a few short naps (every 15 minutes or so she would notice I was asleep and very gently come over, pat my arm, and ask if I was feeling better). She was so sweet and she stayed in the room, watched cartoons and played with her toys. I got some much needed recovery napping done and she had fun playing doctor and trying to fix me.

Now, here are a few cute pictures from the last week...can you believe how big Freddie is getting? He is about 3-1/2 months and about 17 pounds!!

Seriously, he is the cutest little man there ever was...and his giggle is just infectious. When he giggles and smiles you can't help but do it too. Honestly, there is something about when he smiles that just makes me feel like everything in the world will be OK.

And here's the big girl...we were in the other room getting Freddie ready for bed and we heard her walking down the hall, but louder than usual...this was what we saw. She had a HUGE smile on her face and was so excited she got to wear mommy's shoes. Little does she know that as she gets older those clown shoes will probably end up being just the right size.

Which leads me to a note for Karyl...that's not all mommy's fault...you can thank Aunties Christine and Carri for the foot size gene too!!

Oh, and on a side note....I want to thank my friend Nancy for cutting my hair on Thursday!! I LOVE it!! It was fun to have an excuse to chat with Nancy and to see her adorable little girl Sasha. This little girl is all feminine cuteness with her blue eyes and adorable face!! I cut my hair again to my shoulders and she did an awesome job with the layering, I actually would feel cute wearing it down and think I might on Sunday....

When I talk in Sacrament meeting....which also means I have to get a new outfit and pair of shoes to wear, right?? I just assumed that was one of the perks of agreeing to talk, especially on a Holiday (Father's Day). Besides, I don't have to feel guilty because I still have a gift certificate I won from work a few weeks ago that I still need to use.

Oh, and another side note...my brother came over this morning to help out with the shed again and he brought with him his new Nikkon digital SLR camera!! This thing is amazing!! I don't understand all the stuff about photography (shutter speed, filters....) but he took a few pics of Karyl just goofing off and it was awesome!! Now we can take family pictures =) For those of you who don't know, when David was in High School he won many awards for his photography and I can't wait to see what he does with this awesome new camera, I am definitely preparing for some amazing pictures to come from him!!

Slow night

Well, last night was not the best night....but I've had worse! Karyl got up kind of early yesterday and with all the fun she never took a nap. When Karyl gets over tired, it messes with her sleeping and she ends up waking up in the middle of the night screaming because she's just too tired to deal with going back to sleep. So after I had been asleep for maybe 45 minutes, she started in....then after getting her calmed down and back in bed after threats if she woke up Freddie I got back in to bed. Then listened to her whine for about 10 minutes before she finally went back to sleep. Then right as I had reached the edge of sleep Freddie started whining and snorting. He has his first "cold" and since his nose is kinda stuffy he can't suck his thumb, which frustrates him to no end!!

So he whined for a while and went back to sleep...then as I was getting closer to going back to sleep poor Greg moved around and jolted me awake, he kinda got the wrath of the tired mom at that point. Unfortunately he just happened to be the one to take the blow for everyone else keeping me awake. Luckily earlier that evening when we got home his Father's Day present had arrived, so I'm hoping that the gift softened him and he wasn't cursing me too much this morning.

Then as I got up to start working this morning Freddie decided to snort himself awake. And he screamed and screamed....no binky worked, he couldn't suck his thumb...and I attempted to threaten him if he woke up his sister but then realized that would do no good so I decided to try feeding him. That actually worked, sitting up he started to breath better and was able to eat. Then I put him in his swing and he whined for a little while but started reaching up and playing with the toys and at some point lost consciousness and is asleep, so I logged on and furiously started working as fast as possible to get as much done as possible while he is asleep. Now I'm out of work and just spent the past 20 minutes trying to find where they might sell refill filters for the humidifier we have. I had just about lost hope when Walgreen's came through, and there is one right down the street!! I ruined the last one by leaving it in the machine with water...I had no idea it would get all gross...

So, I'm tired....very, very tired...but that is all masked by the joy I realized this morning when Freddie was able to drink from his bottle, that's my fear with young kids and bottles, they get such a bad cold that they can't even eat. Luckily we're not at that point. If this is a cold...3 days coming, 3 days here and 3 days going...it's been coming for about 3 days, so now we have the whole weekend to let it hang around which is great because Greg has Monday off, then it should head back to the depths of viral hell sometime next week. He is definitely not quite as good as Karyl with sick, but better than most kids so he gets points for that!!

Now I am going to just putz around until more work shows up and the kids wake up...I don't dare leave my office for fear that I'll wake up Freddie, and that would be a tragedy!!

Saturday...Part III

Well, we ended our Saturday at home with the men getting all the wood on the roof and cutting out the hole for the skylight. Even though they were getting tired, that didn't stop them from having a few good laughs before they wrapped things up for the day.

No, he wasn't holding on to the power line for support....

Uncle David conquering a fear of heights...or maybe it's just a fear of being

10 feet up in the air handling power tools??

The end result for Saturday...from the outside and the inside. I think they are doing an awesome job and are getting close to finishing!!

And, since we're talking about all the testosterone that has been flowing here today, it seemed only fair that Freddie get in on this post since he falls into that category...so here is a super cute video of him talking to me while Karyl was taking a nap and the men were outside cutting stuff up.

And of course, I have to do something to add a feminine edge to this post...so here is another Twilight quote:

"You're awfully small to be so hugely irritating."

Lowe's Putting Green

On to the second adventure for our Saturday...we headed over to the local Lowe's and Karyl made a putting green. It was super easy to make so it didn't take long but she had fun and she is getting REALLY good at hammering with the hammer and nails!! Here are a few pictures and a video of her trying to put the ball in the hole...

Uncle David came with us and Karyl even let him walk her across the street!!

She'll be building these on her own in no time!!

Daddy really needs to work on her golf swing...

And last but not least, here is Karyl trying to get the ball in the hole...obviously she hasn't learned how to use a golf club yet!!

Oh, and we need a Twilight quote for today...

This one is more of a conversation, but it's great nonetheless!!

Alice: "I'll play you for it. Rock, paper, scissors."

Edward: "Why don't you just tell me who wins?"

Alice: "I do. Excellent."

More Manly Bonding...

Right now, as I type, Greg and David are out on top of the shed nailing the wood for the roof on. Here are the most recent pictures of them working...

I wasn't terribly nervous about them being up there, being that they are grown men and know their limitations....but Greg being Greg had to mention that they had already discussed it and if one of them was going to fall they were either going to aim for the pool or I could knock on the neighbor's door to collect the body.

May your Saturday be less stressful than mine!!

A few favorite Bella quotes

"I already know how strong you are. You don't have to break the furniture"

"I can't imagine how awful that must feel. Being normal? Ugh."

And a cute, quick conversation between Alice and Bella:

Alice: "No one will dare to call you plain when I'm through with you."
Bella: "Only because they're afrrain you'll suck their blood."

Oh Twilight...when will my addiction end??

Disney fun

We don't take nearly as many pictures of Freddie as we should...I guess with the second child you have less and less time to follow them around with your camera!! Here are 2 cute pics from the past week of our little man!!

Wednesday we headed to Disneyland to meet Greg's cousin, Jennifer, and her friends. We also wanted to meet up with John and Kelsi, but we just missed them before they went to dinner...hopefully next time we can get together! Here are a few pictures of us at Disneyland...let me tell you, taking a toddler and an infant to Disneyland is no easy task, especially when mixed with sun, a heavy stroller and a serious lack of sleep the night before!!

Thanks Jennifer and friends for hanging out with the old married lady and cute kids for a while, Karyl had a BLAST!!

Saturday Part II

Saturday after the Kid's Clinic David and Greg got down to business and worked on the shed some more. After lots of hammering and sawing and the use of many, many other loud power tools they got most of the framing for the roof up. Here are a few pics to show their progress, and to show that they were having a good time too!

Ah, boys and their "male bonding"...nothing else encourages manly bonding more than a yard full of power tools and building something.

And to avoid this post being filled with too much testosterone, here is another random Twilight quote...

"This hostage stuff is fun" - Eclipse, Alice talking to Bella

Kid's Clinic - Home Depot

Well, today is the first Saturday of the month and that means HOME DEPOT!!! Uncle David was over here to help Greg with the shed so he came with us and we headed down to our favorite store...Home Depot. Today they were making Hardware Sorters for Father's Day. Don't get too excited, it was a wooden box with a few thin pieces of wood inside that made 6 compartments to put nuts and bolts and nails in. I think we're going to use it for Karyl's hair clips and stuff...Happy Father's Day, Greg now gets that drawer in our bathroom back where we are currently housing all her hair goodies!!

Next week is Lowe's...we can't wait to go!!

Oh, and I know it's the same day, but since it's another post, here is another Twilight quote:

"I prefer brunettes." - Eclipse (Edward speaking to Bella)

Twilight...

So, for anyone who doesn't know I am a Twilight critic turned fanatic!! I refused to read the books and see the movies in the theaters, and at the time it was justified I felt...I just kept hearing that it was a vampire love story, and that to me sounded terribly dumb. Well, after the movie came out on DVD I was coerced into watching it and while I sat down to "watch" it I had brought stuff to do so I wouldn't have to be bored while it played....I didn't even make it past the first part before I was begging for the book to read!! Since then I have become a Twilight fanatic and have already re-read all the books (I read them all this past week after seeing the trailer for New Moon, it made me want to read them all again!!). So, this morning I was thinking about the books and realized that there are SO many great quotes in the books and as I was checking out the author's website, http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/, I realized that before the release of the books she would put a quote every day until the book was released.

So, in that spirit I have decided to post a quote a day (at least every weekday) on the blog and on Facebook. Why on the blog you ask?? Because then when I make the blog a journal in print I will have a great reference of Twilight quotes that I can giggle at for years to come!!

Oh, and if you're not a Twilight fan...stop resisting, you will be glad you gave in to the pressure!!

Feel free to comment on the quotes...some of the times I may even put them up and let you guess who said it! And feel free to share some of your favorite quotes or what you love about the quote I post for the day!!

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"He looks at you like...like you're something to eat"

Aunt Carri's back and back to Disneyland

This week, Greg's sister is down visiting and we had so much fun seeing her on Tuesday! Freddie made himself at home snuggling with her, and made a lot of us super jealous!!

And this is just a totally random picture Greg took while we were having dinner the same night with Carri...leave it to Greg to be the only one who can get me on camera and not make me mad!!

Then, on Wednesday, things were slow at FedEx so they gave Greg the option to go home early, and he did!! So, we decided to head to Disneyland despite the ominous weather and ride a few rides. It did start raining just a little while we were there, but it was on and off and never enough to really make it uncomfortable. Here are a few cute pictures...

Oh Freddie, such a great sport! He loves being snuggled in his sling, although he is almost too big for the thing!! It amazes me that he enjoys it in there considering he is so long and he gets SO hot...the poor boy is always soaked in sweat by the time I pull him out!

Greg, Freddie and I on Dumbo...Karyl and Grandpa were right behind us.

Three generations of the family on the teacups...they don't allow babies in slings on the ride...gee, I wonder why??

All in all it was a fun few hours at Disneyland, it wasn't too hot, and Karyl loved it! The kids and I are headed back on Tuesday to meet Greg's cousin so if you're interested in coming let me know, we always love to have company!!

Back To Work

Today was my first actual working day back at work (yesterday there was some problems with getting me logged back in...working from home is great, but no one in the company answers their phones!!). I was working for all of about 2 minutes when I suddenly realized that I missed my job. Don't get me wrong, I loved having the time off to bond with Freddie and play with Karyl, but I LOVE my job!! And since I've gotten so fast over the past year or so, I get my quota done early in the day so I have plenty of time to stop to read Karyl a book when she asks, or to feed Freddie...or just to stop, take a break and tickle Karyl until she can't stand it anymore!

It is such a blessing to be able to work from home, and it's even better now that I have a comfortable "office" with a nice desk and chair!!

Oh, and in case some of you don't know what I do, I am a Medical Transcriptionist. In a nutshell, doctors record what they have done with a patient (the visit, a procedure...) and I type it out. Sounds easy, right? Well, have you ever noticed how bad doctors' handwriting is...imaging having to translate that same thing in verbal form...Apparently, dictating is the thing most doctors hate the most, and they make it known when they slur their words, eat while they are talking, and even make up words!! And, even more fun, beyond trying to decipher what they are saying, I also had to learn all the medical terminology that any medical job would need...and I have to be able to recall it all and spell it right!! I even have to be able to catch when they make a mistake (like they make up a word that doesn't exist), and believe me, they do it all the time!!

Regardless, I love the challenge my job brings and the fact that no 2 days are alike!! Every day is different and I never know what I will see or hear! And the best part of my job...I get to stay at home with the kidlets, and I can even work in my PJs (although I don't do that as often as you'd think!!).

And because I've had lots of people ask me about my job, I have put the website below for the school that I took my course through. It came highly recommended to me and I am glad I used them, I felt totally prepared when it came time to start working!

http://www.careerstep.com/

Shed update....

This weekend Greg and David have made amazing progress on this shed. After they got the base down Saturday morning they really picked up speed and by last night they had all 4 walls up!! Here are some pictures showing just how much work they did and the stages as they progressed!!

The first wall...after moving this well Greg stated that this shed not only stays put when we move, but that we aren't moving for a VERY long time!!

Greg and David building the second wall...

This shot gives you a GREAT perspective on just how large this thing is...Keep in mind Greg is 6 feet tall...

And here they are working on the third wall...yes, that is David using a large and powerful saw...and no, no one was sent to the ER!!

Yay, the third wall is up and you can now see where the door will be going....

Here they are moving the last wall into place...you can see that this is not an easy task, and my mom was just there to roll the furniture dollies underneath, they didn't have her lifting anything! This time they used furniture dollies to help hold some of the weight while they wheeled the wall, but trying to turn the corner around the pool proved to be a little bit of a challenge. Of course, they worked it out and got it where it needed to go...and notice the open square of wood in the middle of the wall, that is where the window will go. They cut that out later on once the wall was up in place.

Here are all 4 walls nailed together in place, never to be moved again!! They cut the window out after I took the picture...sorry...They will be putting the window, door and roof on next weekend. Now we're just hoping the neighborhood cats don't take up residence in there until it's closed off.

And here are David and Greg just "hanging around" after getting it all nailed together.

Next weekend I will take more pictures as they put the door and window in, heck, Greg may even do that stuff this week, but the roof will be going up this weekend. The roof will have a skylight, a vent (one of the round twirly kind you have over attics) and shingles. Also, in case you're wondering, that white pipe sticking up in front of the shed in the picture above near the pool is where the kid's drinking fountain is going after the shed is all done!

A note to Grandma B...I think I figured out what to do to allow you to click on the pictures to make them bigger...it should work for the pictures above!! I'll try this method again next time too and see if it works again!!