Time for Privatizing!!

Matt and I have debated for a looooooooooong time whether or not to make our blog private and have decided now's the time.

Please leave your e-mail if you'd like to keep up with our fam! Family, friends and blog-stalkers welcome! :) All comments are being moderated so your e-mail address will not show. I'll likely make the switch after this week is over.

Thanks,
Mgmt.

We don't call him Pretsy-Pooper for nothin'!!

Welp, Huggies aren't cutting it. We're about 2/3 of the way through the massive box of dipes and then we'll be on to something else.

Poor kid was sitting on the family room floor, just being a good boy, playing with his toys. I saw the I'm-working-on-"something" face going on, so I let him go about his business. When I came back to change him, I picked him up off the floor and THIS is what I found.....

don't look if you're squeamish! scroll fast!
this is by far the most disgusting thing I've put on my blog to date!
but this is what I'm living with E.V.E.R.Y day people!!!!!

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(the white spots are barf, which I'm constantly cleaning up off the carpet too!)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me tell you, this was a beauty to clean up!!! We've tried moving up a size. That's always my first step when we start having blowouts. But it never stops with this kid!!! Short of buying 6 different brands of diapers and using a few out of each package ($$$$$), I'm at a loss here. Stuff the back and legs with toilet paper? Use sanitary pads as "bumpers??" Vinyl diaper covers??? Duct tape around the whole thing???? All I can say is thank heavens I'm a master at getting stains out of clothing or Preston would be nekkid!! I guess the only thing that will come of this is some awfully good stories to tell his first girlfriend! LOL!

While he's not pooping his brains out, he's generally cute as can be!!! He's often found STUCK in this position after reaching faaaaaaaaaar out in front of him to reach a toy. :)Here he is going to town on a nectarine. Couldn't get enough! :)Who ya textin', baby? He loves my phone! :)We have ONE top tooth through and the other one is *right* there!!! I'm sure toofers #5 and 6 won't be far behind! Motrin has been our friend! :)

I think this just about wraps things up for this time! There's more to blog about, but we'll have to save it for another day.

True Confessions

I used to be one of those moms that willingly took my kids where ever I went - to the grocery store, Target, the mall, a restaurant, etc. They were remarkably well behaved (I thought) which made it easy on me. Those days have apparently come to an end. Four kids has sent me over the edge. When I take all the kids on a much needed errand run, they are terrors. Horrible. I don't know what changed. But it's not Preston that's causing the problems!

Case & Point: We just got home from Target. I always, always, always let my kids know how I expect them to behave while we are in a public place. Their automatic response: best behavior. Well "best behavior" is nowhere to be found. Blake, who is SIX and a HALF years old, need I remind you, is RUNNING up and down aisles. Then Gavin follows. I grab an ear and escort Blake back to the cart, letting him know, FIRMLY that that is not acceptable EVER and to keep his hand on the cart. Must have gone in one ear and right out the other because not more than two minutes pass before he's pulling some other antic. If I let go of the cart for a second to get something off the shelf, Blake is pulling the cart down the aisle. I got to the point that I didn't even care and went on gathering items on my [short] list. I was secretly hoping that either Gavin or Blake would get LOST. So they could learn a freaking lesson. Please don't call CPS on me. My eyes were stinging with tears of embarrassment as I walked out of the store, Gavin running far behind me. Other mothers are probably raising their eyebrows and whispering about me to their friends. I can't even CONTROL my own children in a public place! I know some would/will probably say just pack up and leave the store. When am I supposed to get these things accomplished????! Maybe this is a sign from heaven above that we are done???!?

I don't know where I went wrong. I have become a mean mom. My kids remind me frequently. I don't know who's kids these are because they certainly aren't acting like the children I know. I feel like I have three toddlers. I thought this was supposed to get easier?? *sigh* :(

Mr. & Mrs. Larson!

Yesterday, my youngest sister Brittney and Jesse tied the knot!!! We're so glad to officially have Jesse as a part of our family. It's been a looooooooooooong time coming!

--> Side Note: I debated what to do - take my little point & shoot camera, my big DSLR camera or take nothing at all. I ended up taking my little camera and once again, I completely regret my decision not to take my big camera!! Too much lag in shutter speed and not good enough flash power. Grrr....

Just married!!!

Smooches between bride and groom
Brooklyn requested to be at the temple because she
wanted to "see Brittney and Jesse kiss" LOL!

Luncheoning
The 3 stooges (a.k.a. the brothers) - Heston, Joshua and CodyMatt and the little dude
I put this guy down in the pack n play when the reception started and we didn't hear a peep outta him all night!!! Good boy. I had to wake him up so we could leave!

Our family :)

Cute posterityJesse ♥ BrittneyThe candy table, where my kids couldn't get enough!!!! First dance as husband & wifeThe vets' turn!Gavin (obviously a little hyped up on candy) and my niece TaylynMe (holding "Preston") and my MomThe cakeThey were nice.Looky, looky who just happened to catch the bouquet!! For reals! She was ecstatic!Digging for gold... um, I mean the garter!Blake and Coderiferous, playing with {illegal} sparklers as we say farewell to the newlyweds



















The getaway!

The couple are off on their honeymoon in beautiful Puerto Rico! I'm jealous! Love you two and we can't wait to see you guys grow together as your own family! Congrats!

Back to School!

What? Seriously? It's that time of the year again!!!! I can't believe our summer just flew right by! I survived! Barely.

Today was Brooklyn and Blake's first day of 1st grade!! They are attending the neighborhood public school while we are on the waiting list for a nearby charter school. You could feel the exhilaration in the air this morning as we were getting new clothes on, having a yummy breakfast and packing the first of hundreds of lunches this school year.























Let me tell you how ecstatic they were to ride the BUS!!!!! I feel like I'm letting loose a little bit, by allowing them to ride the bus to and from school, since I'm a carseat nazi and all, but seriously the school is literally 5 minutes up the road and their bus driver is in our ward!!

Of course I had to follow the bus to school on the first day ;)

Storytime: I parked the car and unloaded the little boys to go meet Brooklyn and Blake on the playground and walk them into their classroom. Well, I couldn't see them anywhere on the playground and was a bit freaked for a bit. I checked their classrooms, just to make sure they didn't go there. When it was time to line up, still no Blake & Brooklyn. Eventually, some teacher/admin brought Brooklyn around the corner, then another with Blake. Apparently they joined together on the BIG kids' playground!! We clarified where they are supposed to go directly from the bus so I trust it won't happen again. ;)


Blake and Brooklyn are in different classes this year. Brooklyn was ecstatic. Blake was heartbroken. Which is why they NEED to be in separate classes. Blake relies heavily on Brooklyn socially. He wants/needs to be by her alllllll the time and she doesn't like it. It got so bad last year that in the cafeteria, they had to assign Blake days he could sit by Brooklyn (Tues/Thurs) and she could sit by her friends the other days. It makes my heart sad, but he needs to learn to hold his own. He had no problem making friends last year, but it's obvious he's still very attached to his sister. We won't tolerate Brooklyn being mean or rude to her brother, she just needs a little space. I do not regret keeping them together for kindergarten and I know they'll do just fine in their own classrooms.

Then I got to hang out with just these two dudes all day!! :)
(Retarded pic of Gavin, but it's the best I got. It was bright outside!)

Boy was it quiet around here! Gav enjoyed roaming the house in peace. I played {the non-glamorous} Cinderella and started back up on my Monday laundry routine. I'm flat out exhausted after the first day of school! Better head up to the shower then off to bed. It's a school night! ;)

Diaper Crisis @ 7 months old

Another month has sped by and we're on the downhill slide to Preston's 1st birthday! Wahhh!

I swear, he'll smile a million smiles for me, but as soon as I put that big black thing
in front of my face, he goes stone cold on me!!I'm done with this photo shoot, will you just put me down for a nap already??!?!

So glad he'll take a binky and sooooo glad he can put this thing in himself!!!

Onto the crisis portion.....

I'll admit it -- I'm a diaper SNOB! Pampers please!! {and Huggies wipes!} No cheapo generics for me!! (****disclaimer - I do not think any less of you if you choose to diaper your baby with the generic variety!!) I've been a Pampers user since Brooklyn and Blake were approx 9 months old. That's all Gavin ever wore from the day he was born til the day he was potty trained. I love those soft, sweet Pampers Swaddlers on my soft, sweet babies! Then it's onto to Pampers Baby Dry with the suuuuuuper streeeetchy tabs. Love 'em! Preston has been a Pampers-only baby..................... up until this week. For whatever reason, we have had poop explosions left and right, up and down, morning and night with my beloved Pampers dipes! I'm so dang sick of scrubbing poop stains out of clothes that something HAD to change. Like yesterday. So I borrowed a few Huggies diapers from my sis to try on the Presty-bum. They seemed to do alright so I went out and bought a honkin' huge box of Huggies dipes. First time Preston wore one overnight, poop up the back upon retrieving him from his bed in the morn. Did I mention the box has 126 diapers in it?!??!? Did I just waste $25?? I dunno, but I'm outta my mind about this diaper thing!!

Here's his cute little Huggies-clad bum anyhow :)

In other Preston news, he's such a happy little fella! Sometimes he's so nice and quiet I forget he's even here! He has become Mr. McGrabby, reaching out for glasses, jewelry, face parts, remotes, cell phones, etc. He also does this scratching thing that I absolutely love!! Especially when he does it to me while he's nursing. He's teething badly right now and we're just waiting for those top two teeth to bust through! It'll be any day now! We're still moving slowly in the baby food department. We've done oatmeal cereal, peas, butternut squash and bananas. I still get giddy every time I open my freezer and see all those little cubes of baby food!!

Brooklyn has taken to the big-sister-to-brother-#3 role quite nicely. She asks to hold him immediately upon me bringing him downstairs after naps. She loves just holding him on her lap or picking him up and carrying him around. *yikes* I had to get over myself and just allow her to mother him. She's actually made comments about how he's the perfect baby brother, etc. Far cry (no pun intended) from the wailing we heard back when we announced we were having a baby boy!! LOL!

He's like a little koala baby here!

For the longest time (what, like two months??), Preston has been playing peek-a-boo with us. I've been meaning to get it on video and post it here, so FINALLY here it is!! And I love that he's so stinkin' ticklish!!!

I {heart} WICKED!!

Shortly after we saw Wicked in LA two years ago, I told Matt that I wanted to see it again. When I found out it was coming to the valley, I reminded Matt that I *would* be going, no exceptions. LOL! The plan was originally to take Brooklyn (all the kids are fanatics, just like their mama!), but we decided that my mom and I would be going instead. That was her Mother's Day gift from us this year. :)

Last night was the night!! I'll admit that I wasn't AS excited as my very first time, but I still got butterflies in my stomach as soon as we walked in and saw that stage!
I seriously had to refrain from belting out the lyrics right along with the actors/actresses! I think I may have actually hummed out loud a time or two. ;) And I may or may not have felt a swelling of emotion when it was time for the curtain call at the end of the show. I'm such a baby!!! I had to get myself an overpriced souvenir t-shirt too. My mom was trying to convince me to get the witch hat. "If the hat fits....." hahaha