Here we go, thirties!

Michael:

survived a week of call this week, he's on every 5 weeks right now. But luckily this weekend he was home pretty early after rounds on both Saturday and Sunday. He did have to go in late Friday night to help the first year resident with a little two-year-old girl who was bit in the face by a pit bull. You guys, it's always a pit bull. And it's always a pit bull who has never shown aggressive behavior before. That's the PSA for the week. He also saved us this week when our car battery died after Bennett's speech therapy appointment. I was so grateful that happened on a day that he was able to get away for a bit and give us a ride. The car has a new battery and honestly I'm happy that it also has an oil change and tire rotation that didn't involve me sitting at the shop with my kiddos during all that, so... no complaints. Thanks Michael! He had some really, really long work days this week and I had some first year flashbacks. There's a light at the end of this tunnel that makes those late nights even more annoying right now -- he's so ready for a change of pace :)

Maddie:

is another year older! And 31 is sounding a lot older than 30 to me. My sister said "we've never been more the same age than now" and I feel the very same way. My favorite part of birthdays are hearing from so many people that I love and catching up a little with friends from all different life stages. Michael had to work in the morning and we had kind of a rough morning (toddler emotions) but things cheered up a lot when he got home. He took the boys to pick out some flowers and treats for me and they were so cute to color birthday cards. We went to my friend Emily's for dinner and her family just feels like being with family for us. I just love her. She made my favorite chocolate cake and sent it all home with us -- true friendship. This week was also the first time I did the Clean Simple Eats meal plan for all meals and snacks the entire week, and it felt great! I really loved it.

Westin:

is enjoying school more than we realized, because on the day our car broke down I thought we wouldn't make it to school in time for him. When he found that out he broke down in tears and was SO sad, and then he was so excited when Michael came and took him to school. So his neutral attitude is all a toddler facade. So Westin. He helped me clean a lot this weekend and is so much fun during his super good attitude good helper moments. I wish we didn't have our low moments and fights but we're figuring it out. I'm not sure how to balance giving him the attention he needs and being a fun mom while also involving him in work and getting the things done that I need to. His current frequent response to me when I'm getting things done is "Well I just want to do something fun." And it kills me because I feel like we spend so much time giving them a fun life and I want him to learn to work hard and play hard. But then I also feel guilty when I remember he's 4 and there are things he shouldn't have to worry about. Anyways. Thoughts.

Bennett:

went through almost all of two without being terrible, but there's a storm brewing... He has had attitude for the first time in his life this past week. He also colored all over my house this weekend which I feel like came out of no where -- pretty sure he learned not to do that a year ago and hasn't done it since? And he's been fighting naps and saying no and not eating unless we feed him... what is happening to my Benny boy! But he still gives the best hugs, says "oh-kuh" in the cutest way, wipes his tears away so sweetly when he wants to be done being sad, and fake laughs to cheer you up whenever the mood feels a little too tense for his liking. He also super loves sharing a room with his older brother and loves doing whatever Westin is doing. It's feeling like all the hard work of having them close together is finally paying off in the relationship they're developing. Oh Benny, stay sweet! He's also catching on to the fact that speech therapy appointments are to help him talk, not just to play, so he's putting up some walls there when I try to practice with him. I'm just so ready to understand that cute boy more than I am!

Camden:

is such a sweetheart and I'm obsessed with him. He'll often sleep 6-7 hours and I am so grateful for that. Some days he's tough and never takes a solid nap, and those days always leave me feeling pretty spent. But some days he sleeps four hours in a row and we feel on top of the world when we get caught up! He took a great long nap on Friday and I counted it as his birthday present to me, because I was able to make pizza with the boys and really enjoy some time with them. I feed him while laying down way more than I did with my other two boys and waking up to him right by me in the morning is the sweetest thing. I can't believe he'll be two months this week! Three cute boys. Still surreal.

Making protein power balls! He loves being in charge of the scooping.

The party starts first thing around here.

One eating, one whispering stories to me, and one showing me his magnet creations.

Sometimes I feel like I feed this boy all day every day. But I know this will pass.

This dog... she's a sweet ollllld golden retriever and she kind of broke Bennett's heart,
she was too old and grumpy for his antics and let him know it with some barks that just made him so sad.

We tried to take her for a walk because her owner said she'd love it, but...

We didn't get a block away before...

She let us know she was not at all interested.

But we made it out for another walk for school drop-off.

 I got a fruit roll-up from a Relief Society ministering interview
and Westin thought that was pretty much the coolest treat ever.

Some mornings Camden is up before anyone,
and some mornings he sleeps in way past the rest of us.
Kitty prefers spending her time with whoever is having the laziest moment.

Pizza Pinwheels night!

This dough is just wheat flour, greek yogurt, eggs, and some seasoning.
Bennett loved it but Westin wasn't too sure.
He was here for the turkey pepperonis though.

Looking so much bigger lately!

Do I look 31 instead of 30 now?
The boys are aging me, you guys.
It's happening.

Emily's cute girls couldn't get enough of baby Camden.

It's crazy to see our six kids all together,
our BYU freshmen days don't seem long ago at all!
And also they really do. You know.

Angel boy.

Sometimes I ride in the back with the boys to help Camden figure out this binky thing,
and Bennett thinks that's just pretty funny to have mom back there.

Clean Simple Eats fall harvest cobb salad. It was fun trying new recipes all week.

Things are Moving

We have three kids.

That's my takeaway for the week! This was the first week I really feel like I felt the three-kid chaos. Some combination of getting back into some of our old routines (dog-sitting, paying attention to my primary calling at church, still adjusting to the everyday school life, etc.) and of just realizing what's new normal and not just a phase. 

Michael:

Took Westin to the vineyard on Saturday -- our church owns its only member-run vineyard here in the Central Valley and throughout the year church members go and do various steps of the grape-growing raising-making process. Saturday was the day they picked hundreds and hundreds of bunches of grapes and laid them out to dry. I asked Westin if he was a big helper and he said, "Well, I ate a lot of grapes." I love that he and Michael were able to go together. Michael also took three kids to church by himself on Sunday -- I haven't even done that yet! I had two different meetings before church, so I left him a bottle and kissed all four boys goodbye and then met them there in the parking lot before church to help unload the crew. Let it be known that Michael was even on time, with three well-dressed cute kids in tow and the baby was asleep in the carseat. Dad win.

Maddie:

is wondering where my time went! I feel like I used to have a solid routine with some solid me-time each day to get stuff done, whereas lately I'm just turning around to someone else needing me from the time I get up to the time I put my kids down. It won't always be like this and some days Bennett and Camden overlap naps a bit while Westin is at school, but those moments are fleeting and usually spent keeping my head above water in our house. But I feel happy to be coming up on two months postpartum! That's two months I'm always happy to have accomplished. Sunday was my first day back at church and back at meetings and it felt mostly good but a little bit deflating, haha. Those baby days at home with just Camden were sweet.

Westin:

is star of the week at school! He's mostly excited that he gets to be Wednesday's chef of the week because of that, so he's looking forward to helping make the snack on Wednesday. They're making graham cracker flags. His poster was fun to make with him. I had no idea he wanted to be a police officer in San Francisco. We're going to need to revisit that. He was so funny at church today. Direct quotes heard included: "Bennett, just eat the bread, you're supposed to be remembering Jesus right now. That bread is for his body. ... Bennett, listen more, this is Jesus' house, you're not supposed to be crazy. ... Bennett, do you need time out or can you pay attention?" Apparently someone seriously stepped into my shoes while I've been on my church leave the last few weeks. I'm sure he'll be back to Bennett's team as time goes on :)

Bennett:

was a little bit of a stinker at church, and honestly I do not know how to parent Bennett when he's a stinker. He has been so incredibly easy to parent up until this point. In his fleeting stinker moments lately I am just laughing inside and thinking, well this is new. I LOVE that those boys are in the same room now. I kept waiting for school to start to move them together and they had one week of transitioning to the school year changes before we put them in their same room. They go to bed really well and laugh together in the mornings. It takes me back to sharing a room with my sister so much. You guys, I was so annoying to her. She loves me though. And I cried when she moved into my brother's room when he went on his mission. Sharing a room is so fun!

Camden:

Sweet boy! He had a couple nights this week where he was just so fussy and crying and wouldn't go back to sleep after eating. And the other nights he sleeps a 5 to 7 hour stretch. He's not super happy during the day unless eating or sleeping, but he is never screaming or crying too hard. Just a little, uncomfortable I think. He wears white onesies every day. We just started cloth diapering again. I love that this will be the third round for that set of diapers -- they now cost 1/3 of the price! Kind of. These are the ways that I "budget". 

First day back to the dog sitting life! Palmer is as easy as they come, and a frequent day care pup.

Westin got to bring home his classroom's "Huggy Bear" for a day and drawer a picture of what they did together.
He immediately changed him into his Captain America outfit and wanted me to read them a story.
"Make sure you show Huggy Bear the pictures."

If he lies down on his back after eating he immediately wakes up gagging, even after waiting 20+ minutes.
If he stays on his side, he's a happy camper. I've started nursing him while laying down for his early morning feeding so that he'll then just stay asleep after on his side. I never nursed my other boys laying down or slept by them much at all,
but this kid's reflux is cramping our style.

Breakfast burritos at the vineyard!

Star of the Week

LA Labor Day

Our weekend totally overshadowed our week! It was so much fun. We went down to LA for Labor Day weekend to go to Rachna's wedding, a coresident of Michael. She did her VA rotation during the same months that Michael did, so they had a good time working together for four months. Westin still remembers her well from the night we took pizza to the hospital and ate dinner with both of them. He was bummed to not go to her wedding :) But happy to play with cousins while Michael and I went to celebrate Rachna and Dylan on Sunday night!

We went down to Shelley's on Friday night, had a beach day on Saturday and pizza night with the cousins, church on Sunday, then the wedding on Sunday night, park time Monday morning and visiting with our Jerusalem friend Christian, then back home. It was seriously so fun. And there's something about the first big outing post-baby that reminds you that your life can still be what it was. Camden actually slept great all three nights we were down there, took two bottles from Shelley and Tony just fine during our wedding time, and pumping in a bathroom wasn't as miserable as I pictured it haha. Babies take planning and expectations-adjusting, but it's manageable. 

Michael wasn't able to come home before we left on Friday (we picked him up at work and went straight to LA), and had to go to work on Monday straight from our drive to work on some presentations for the week. Leaving with the boys on my own and coming back on my own, and all the prep that's involved in that, is just one of those things that feels like such a residency moment. I know I'll look back at how I felt at those times when I'm remembering how tiring residency was, but I'm also glad that we still made it out the door even though I thought it sounded so hard. Camden does not love his car seat and is my first baby to not just sleep so well in it and stay asleep in it when we get somewhere. But we spent the drive trying to get him used to the binky and I always feel like a boss when I nurse a baby while they're strapped in their carseat. And I always remember the time I almost flipped off our good friend when he yelled at me for getting out of my car in stand still traffic after Thunder Over Louisville to nurse Westin in the backseat, not knowing it was him. Good times.

Moments to remember from this week:

-Loving our first Indian wedding experience -- particularly their sweet vows, the promises they made to each other in the ceremony, the super touching toasts from Rachna's sister and dad, the hilarious toast from the best man, being with Michael all night, eating such delicious food, and feeling so grateful that Michael is in a program full of wonderful people.

-Catching up with Christian and remembering how much love we have for all our Jerusalem friends! I love that he is living close to Shelley so that we can see him sometimes.

-Accidentally getting rid of Bennett's binky when I remembered to pack it but didn't remember to put it in his pack n play at Shelley's. He asked for it the second night but since he didn't use it the first night I just said, oh we don't use that anymore. "Uh-Kay". I love how that sweet boy says ok. And I laugh thinking back to when I first tried to get rid of his binky and we had a miserable three days until I gave it back to him for naps/nights only. And compare that to how easy it was to get rid of it now. All kids are different, and expectations are the source of all stress!

-Westin always eating all the food on his plate in order from least favorite to most favorite item, and talking to us about food constantly while we eat. "Is this good for you? Do you like peaches more than raspberries mama? Does this have protein? Is a smoothie better for you than water? Is there butter on this toast if I can't see it?"

-Camden sleeping so many hours each night even though I'd prepared myself for awful babies-on-vacation sleep.

-Getting to know Shelley and Tony's cute new dog! And loving our time with their awesome kids. I love them all so, so much.

-Feeling so grateful to Shelley and Tony for putting our kids to bed Sunday night and watching our six-week old. That's kindness. We love them so much and we always leave their house feeling so grateful they're in California too! And wishing we could live by family.

-Watching Michael laugh and laugh with our nephews while boogie boarding. I was having flashbacks to when I first met Shelley's family and their kiddos were just little, and now Anthon is a tall 14-year-old who we just love. I can't believe how much our families are growing.

Bennett as a big brother. He was our baby for so long but he is still our Benny boy, and LOVES being a big bro!

Speech therapy in a little room with three kiddos!

Making new routines.
We don't have time to go home between speech and school on Tuesday mornings,
so I pack a picnic and we play outside the center for a little bit. This train went by and the boys were thrilled.
I'm so happy they have each other and that they are just so happy outside together.

New routines again.
Wednesday is early release from school, the only day that it matters that Bennett now naps in the boys' room.
So Westin chose a few things for quiet time in our guest room, and this is how I found him after an hour.
Sweet, tired boy!

Walking/biking to school with the crew. We're really looking forward to lower temps.

Looking so big

Westin has come home with these in his backpack on two different days and the pride he has when showing them to me is so, so sweet. And he wanted me to send a picture of them to daddy to show that he worked hard at school.
This sweet, sweet boy. He is so perceptive and smart and that can come with frustrating behavior,
but there is also a pure desire to please his parents in him. He loves knowing what's right and doing what's right.

Beach day! Westin loves running from waves with Shelley or Mama.
Bennett loves playing with sand toys the whole time.
Michael loves boogie boarding with nephews.
Camden loves nursing and sleeping. Which means Mama better love nursing and holding the baby.
Someday I'll have all my kiddos on the move again and I'll force myself to get back in the water!

That tired out drive home from the beach.

The boys love going up and down Shelley's driveway on scooters and little cars all day long.

Sweet Camden.

Beautiful Rachna! It was so fun to see her right before her wedding!

The groom getting ready for the procession

Dylan on the horse

Hype before the ceremony! It was so fun to see.

Rachna carried to her ceremony by her maternal uncles

Exchanging the sweetest vows

I love their hashtag so much :)

They met at Mammoth, and their cake is so cute!

Those chief resident studs

When at a wedding...

My forever wedding date!

Some of the UCFS Residents

Residents + Staff

You know this pic is going in the roast.

Those elephant name markers! This wedding made me miss my event planning job SO much.

I love Michael.

A lizard friend at the park!

Clayton was so good at catching lizards and sweet to share with Bennett.

Home through our regular LA-Fresno traffic. It's only bad for the first hour or so.
These sweet boys... Bennett woke up soon after this and so did Camden,
and I went back to binky training. We'll get there :)

They play together so well lately. They've been best friends since Camden was born.
I love them!!