Picture Dump!

(4/28) Hudson found this lizard outside after a rain storm ...

... the boys had a great time holding the poor cold thing!

(5/3/15) 36 Weeks Pregnant

Hannah arrived 12 days after taking this picture!

(5/3) We turned around after church and found Beau in this getup ...

No pants ...

No diaper ...

A necklace he made in nursery ...  

Daddies shoes and his ninja turtle gear! That is so Beau!

(5/15/15) Fresh new baby! Look at Hannah's umbilical cord wrapped around her toes!

My handsome, happy new papa!

I sure love this man of mine!

In love with his daughter

Cute little nugget - she sure looks Japanese in this one!

Hudson taking a first peek at his new sister

Look how sweet and new that little baby is! Oh! Just makes me want to squeeze her!

Doting on little sissy

Beau's excited to finally be the big brother!

The boys were pretty excited to hold their sister

Can't believe we've got three kiddos!

Kangaroo time with daddy!

Our sweet pea after her first bath

Love this little face

(5/17) First day at home with all three kids (the boys stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a couple nights after Hannah was born)

I LOVE how the boys dote on their sister

They like to cuddle and snuggle her

Oops - that bow is sliding into her eyes - we're new at the whole bow thing!

Looks like Beau is going to kick his sister in the face!

Floppy little newborn

Hudson LOVES his new sissy

She is so tiny!

Beau doing some more ninja kicks! Not around the baby, silly!

Beau loves Hannah - he calls her "Babes"

Hudson adores Hannah - he said "Hannah" is his new favorite animal

Oh man - our baby's turning into a big boy!

I'm so proud of how well Beau has adjusted - he's mainly just become more snuggly

Look at his sweet face

Hudson's so tender with his sister

Proud big bro!

Woo - starting to have my hands full!

So happy!

(5/19) Four days old - what a tiny little lump!

(5/20) Snoozing in the pack-n-play

(5/24) Love this shot - she looks more like a doll than a human!

(5/25) My two babies

(5/30) Goofy boys

These two LOVE playing dress up - this week they were ninjas!

(6/5) It's magic time when I can get all the kids napping at once!

(6/10) Hudson adores his baby sister

I love this cute little outfit on her!

There's our animated little woman!

Hannah fell asleep while Hudson and I were making silly slime in the kitchen!

(6/15) Wow! Has it already been a month!?

This little sweetheart is NOT happy to be getting her picture taken!

(6/16) One of our favorite spots this summer has been the spray park!

The boys can go wild ...

It's only $1 to get in ...

Hannah can sit on the sidelines and sleep ...

And Mommy can sit in the shade and watch the boys use up all their energy!

These brothers have so much fun together!

I love this almost kindergartener!!!

(6/19) My best friend, Andrea, had her first boy (and second child)! He's a cutie pie!

Summer is quickly sliding by filled with the usual trips to the pool, the library, Grandma's house, the splash pad, the zoo, and the botanic gardens. I can't believe it's our last summer together before Hudson starts the long march of public education - yikes!

Some fun things we've done this summer include the annual firm night at the Isotopes (we pigged out on stadium food including BBQ nachos, cotton candy, hot dogs, and pizza!). We celebrated my uncle Vernon's birthday at Golden Corral with the rest of the family who live in town - my kids LOVE the endless cotton candy! We've had some fun play dates with friends - one including a really great poop story starring Hannah. (To sum it up, I changed Hannah's diaper in my friend's kitchen and when I lifted Hannah's legs to wipe, she sprayed an uncommonly big puddle of mustard poo all over the floor, my crotch, and my butt! One really fun thing I learned this summer was how to make home made crescent rolls and home made pasta from some talented women in my ward. Oh my heavens was it good!!! I really want to get a pasta attachment for my Kitchenaid now. We were also able to visit Shauna and her kids before they headed down to Brazil for the summer. I brought over ingredients to make breakfast and we let the kiddos play!

I'm trying my hardest to "let my hair down" and just enjoy my kids. And to really enjoy all of them - messes, potty mouths, tantrums and all! Children are so little and inherently good and are learning so much each day, and my main job is to be their helper and cheerleader - not their critic. I'm coming to realize that when they know I am making time for them, trying to understand them, and being on their side - everything seems to go so much smoother! I have a tendency to get upset with my kids too easily and it feels like we are at war with each other. That's just not how I want to spend my precious time with my kiddos. I want them to know that I am their biggest fan and that home will always be a place they feel unconditionally loved, cared for, and guided. Here's to motherhood! It's so dang hard, but oh so rewarding!

As far as kid updates go, here's a brief summary:

Hudson's been walking around practically naked all summer - he's taken a liking to wearing only his tighty whities around the house. He's a wonderful big brother to Beau (they laugh and play together all day) but he still has his occasional (or almost daily) meltdowns about one strange thing or the other. For instance, last night he washed some of his dinosaur toys and couldn't dry them off completely so, naturally, he went ballistic. Hudson LOVES taking showers with me (is that bizarre??? is he getting too old to see me naked???) - he probably loves it because I let him take the shower head down and spray me in the face. And today, I let him pee in the shower - what a thrill!

Beau is truly a delight - he's a ray of sunshine that brightens our whole house! He's extremely smart, verbal, upbeat, and hilarious. Beau is very particular about what he wears (his shirts have to either be red or have spiderman or batman on them) and he just LOVES combing his "handsome hair." He drenches his hair with a spray bottle I keep in their bathroom cupboard and he combs his hair into a wild spiky do. When his hair dries he asks, "Where'd my handsome hair go?" Beau is very independent and doesn't like me to help him into or out of the car or into his high chair. Other things he insists on doing himself include getting his shoes on, getting his pants on, brushing his hair and teeth, and so on and so forth! His favorite word these days is "actually" which makes him sound like a little smarty pants. His nursery teacher was reading him a book about a "purple and blue bug" but Beau corrected her: "Actually, that is an ant." Tonight, Beau kissed me goodnight right on the lips with some full-on make-out moves! I really wish I could stop time and keep Beau just the way he is forever and ever. He's my sweet little baby boy!

And what shall I say about my tiny Hannah - oh boy does she have my heart! She's a little wild thing with the most fussy, agitated, angry personality! But to her mama, she couldn't be more perfect! She's usually bright red - either because her tummy's upset and she's trying to work something out or she's screaming her lungs out. If you ignore her screams, she gets louder and more dramatic until she's crying so hard that her whole body is deep purple, she's stopped breathing, and she's burst some blood vessels in her cheeks. Seriously, people, my little girl knows how to freak me out! If she were my first baby, I'd be pretty stressed, but because we've done this before, I think her demanding personality is pretty comical. I do think that some of her discontent stems from tummy issues, so we're trying to figure that out. Hopefully once we do, she'll calm down a bit. I really do adore her despite the screaming and can't get enough of her. When she does flash one of her rare smiles, she melts me! She's got a very serious demeanor and looks more like a little woman than a little girl. I feel like she's going to be the boss of all of us one day.