I know, I'm impressed too!

Testing Testing.

Does this thing still work?

We've only had Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentines...I think that is all. But really all that matters is I'm back...and it's St. Patrick's Day too. Even better! But sorry I don't have any pictures of my kids dressed in green, and showing off all of their green painted fingernails on their chubby little fingers.

What do you say after hiding for sooo many months?

I'll begin by saying that I'm super happy. So that is a good thing. My baby will be 1 in a week. ONE. Seriously, it makes me cry to even think about. I love that little girl.

And the boys? Oh yes. They are great too. Growing like weeds and still staying cute and making me and Ike laugh, and maybe me cry a teeny bit once in a while. Still love 'em.

Ike says I've gotten too far behind on here to catch up now...I agree, but I can't just forget about all that has happened. So I'm still gonna try to catch up. Briefly.

Here are the top things I think about when I remember the last 4 months.

On Christmas Eve I was having some major chest pains, so we went to the ER. After an EKG, Xrays, and I don't really know what else..they said I was fine and just stressed out. It was Christmas Eve after all. Then on Christmas night I began to feel very dizzy and light headed. Then my left side of my face went numb. A little freaked out, we went straight for the ER once again. More tests...4 hours later...everything looked great and they sent me home with no answers. Very frustrating and scary, but glad I was alright. I had an MRI the next week and again it looked great. I'm very grateful I am good and healthy, but I'm still sitting here with a numb cheek and left wondering what is wrong. At least I know it isn't anything life threatening.
Despite the health troubles, Christmas was still magical. We did the Nativity with Ike's family and all of the grand-kids put on a terrific show.

- We celebrated Ike's Birthday...actually he did. He took off to Cali with some friends for a few days. We were gonna make a cake and eat it for him while he was gone, but I didn't even do that. Pretty easy birthday this year. Which is nice with Christmas and our Anniversary a few weeks later. Oh, and can you believe we will have our 10 year anniversary this year? Now that is crazy in a happy way.

-We are having some minor issues with Max. He potty trained quick and easy, as I told you before. Then a few months later it got terrible. Like really terrible. Like pee all over my (and friends) walls, shower curtain, floor and toilet terrible. I'll stop there. He is sure a stubborn little boy, but he melts my heart with his smile when I get angry at him.

-Ike's sweet Grandma passed away. We miss seeing her smile and hearing her "hellllo". We miss seeing her eyes light up when she saw our kids. She was an amazing lady, and it was hard to say goodbye. We love to think of her and Grandpa being together again, and that makes us happier.

- Pictures Pictures Pictures. Me and my friend Katie took TONS of family pictures last fall for friends and family, and friends of friends. It was crazy, but fun. This totally consumed my October and November though...so those months are kind of a blur. I'm taking a much needed break for a bit.

- Me and Ike hit a few concerts. Blind Pilot and Matt Costa. Ike actually bought me these tickets (this is huge! they weren't free!) and gave them to me for my birthday. They were awesome, and up close and personal. Loved them. At Matt Costa the concert started and he actually walked through the crowd to get to the stage. And...he walked right by me and I touched his arm while he stopped and sang by my side. Can you say awesome? I think awesome is the right word! Here is proof:




- Halloween was fun this year. I was a good mommy and made super cute costumes for my boys. Mario and Luigi. The thing that made the costume complete was the little black mustaches. L for Luke and M for Max! Perfect!

-For Christmas my fab sister came and organized my kitchen. Here are a few before and after picture. The pictures say it all.

BEFORE and AFTER

BEFORE and AFTER

-I hit a pole with my van. Fun times, huh Katie? I'm still sporting that big dent. It wasn't a terrible day though as my husband still loved me. I called Ike and started with..."I'm so sorry Ike, I've done something terrible". Of course he says. "Oh no, did you drop your phone?". Glad I didn't drop the new iphone. That would have been very, very bad.

-I made these cute silhouettes of the grandkids on Ike's side of the family for his Mom. This shows how little Clara's head is compared to her two younger boy cousins. Those 2 boys better protect her, as she is teeny.


- Clara finally sits up. Rolls all over the place. And now scoots around the house. It took a good 9 months to get all those things under her belt, but she is everywhere and just in time to turn one.

Yes, my baby wears big bows and I love it.

More updates to come...and hopefully sooner than last time. My goodness.

what a month -- what a month

A nasty stomach bug visited each and everyone of my little family...even our Clara. Our house smelled...uh, gross. I've never cleaned up so much throw-up in my life and it just kept coming from all directions. 3 throw-up bowls were being used at all times.

Today I am feeling better, and was able to clean and sanitize our germ filled home. I finally got a second to myself. The kids had been in bed for an hour...and then Luke starts crying and yelling from his room. Apparently he had a nightmare about big mean alphabet letters and is scared of all of the letters in his room. We thought he was crazy as he yelled at the "max" on his bedroom wall saying "stay away!" "get them out". Did he bonk his head or was he seeing things? Finally it clicked. Phew!

It has been quite the month. Good. Bad. But mostly good. A month of blessings, celebrating, and growth. We had a little scare with my sweet daddy, but now he is doing better. We lost a dear Uncle. I turned 29, how weird is that. I'm almost 30. I missed my 10 year reunion because I'm still shy and never know what to say...and these last 15 lbs won't go away.

I'm loving every single second of being a mom and being lucky enough to stay home with my babies....

Clara is now 6 months old! We finally decided to feed her rice cereal, because I guess that is what you do when they are 4 months old. I'm a little behind. Oh well. She didn't really like it, and I haven't tried it again.
I scored some free peaches and decided to learn how to can them. With some help from a friend I was able to can 21 jars. Yum. I'm a little nervous to eat the ones I canned by myself after my friend left me on my own. At least they look pretty, and I kinda feel domestic!
Max is now a big boy! It took two days and lots or treats and prizes to get him potty trained. I loaded him up on bottomless juice...I think he peed about 25 times the first day. 15 times in the toilet and 10 on his little towel. We had quite the potty party!
We made it to the fair! And it wouldn't be the same without a pronto pup and the giant yellow slide. Too bad the pronto pup was a disappointment this year.
The bunk-beds are now bunked! If that is what you would call it! These two boys do so good sharing a room. When it's time for bed they go right to sleep. Occasionally we hear them talking with each other after we shut the door, but it is sweet to listen to them. Max loves that his bed is now a house.
Luke turned 5 on September 14th. He also got to start preschool on his birthday! He is so happy to be in preschool with some of his good neighbor friends. Also on his birthday we went out to dinner and bowling with both grandparents. It was a perfect, small party. I decided to keep things simple this year and oh my goodness it was so nice. He still had a fantastic day!

Then Max turned 3 on the 20th. We invited a few cousins and a friend to Arctic Circle for lunch. Later that day our little family went to Boondocks. Another low key day which ended up being tons of fun.
Now it is fall and I'm thinking, heck with this stupid "lifestyle change" aka "diet"! Bring on the pumpkin shakes & pumpkin cookies. Oh, and the Halloween candy. Oh boy!

Here is to another eventful month!

Bear Lake 2010

{The Layton Crew}

Summer 2010 + trip to Bear Lake = Fantastic. Refreshing. Lots of Laundry.

Really, it was so much fun, and I always love spending time with the family. This year the weather was just perfect and we spent lots of time at the beach.

Luke even learned how to ride his bike without training wheels....or I should say, Max's bike without training wheels. His cousin Zion learned how and Luke didn't want her to get all of the attention. So they rode in circles together.

Grandma gave all the kids a donut seed {shhhh...they were really cheerios} to plant into dirt {cookie crumbs} and over night they grew into....well, donuts!

Pretty dang cute.

The last day on the beach the "kids" fed the dad's chocolate pudding from behind them. Both were blindfolded which made it quite messy. It got worse and worse with each one as everyone got involved and got creative.

Pudding, smashed chips and soda pop make for one big hilarious mess. Did I mention it was messy? Yes it was.

Oh Clara... my sweet little camper baby.

And Max. He could've stayed on the beach for a week and not asked for a thing from us. He is my little beach dude.

So sad the trip is done, but as usual it is always nice to come home. Packing for a camping trip with 3 little kids is like packing to move.

Sad to see summer go. Happy for the memories.

we blessed her

We had a beautiful Sunday with our families celebrating Clara. Ike gave Clara a special blessing and she looked so sweet in her white blessing dress. We enjoyed turkey sandwiches with yummy sides and yummy desserts. It ended up being an absolutely perfect day.

And here is the birth announcement I made. I printed lots of them, but did I send any out to my favorite friends and family? Nope...sorry! They are still sitting here in the Costco envelope. I did manage to hand a few out in person.

I don't want to forget

I just want to freeze time. My kids are getting too big too fast. It makes me sad, kinda. It is fun to watch them grow and learn...but seriously. Luke will be 5 and that is just too old. At times, some things might get old, especially when they do something all day long over and over again. Then one day they wake up and don't do it anymore and you sort of realize you miss it. I don't want to forget these little things that I know I will cherish, because at the rate life is going they will be all grown-up tomorrow.

Luke is always winking. I will look at him through the rear view mirror as I am driving and he will be back there on the back row of the van practicing his winking skills.

Anytime he sees a mountain, he will ask if we are by the mountains. I don't know why he cares so much about the mountains...but he just needs us to confirm that we are by or on the mountains! EVERYtime we drive he mentions them at least once or twice.

He can do an amazing handstand. I was shocked the other day when he was doing them in the family room and he stood there on his hands for like 5 seconds...which seemed like forever.

Bathtime is a tough one for me. It always seems like so much work so I put it off, but once we do it, it always is fun and I love it. I crank up my ipod and clean my babies. Max has to sit on the right, and Luke has to sit on the left. Max has to dump the water on his own head, and freaks out if any water gets in his eyes. I love Clara's naked squishy bum I get a glimpse of in the mirror as I am putting her in the tub. I love the way they look and smell after, all clean in their jammies. So yummy.


Max has 2 personalities...which I am sure most 2 year olds do. He has 10 tantrums a day, but when he is happy he is the sweetest little kid. He is talking so much and his latest thing is to say "say yea mama" after he says anything. He won't even give me time to say "yea". Like..."give me chicken, say yea mama".

He looks so cute when he folds his little arms and closes his eyes so tight during a prayer trying so hard not to peek. He won't say amen, he just opens his arms big and smiles.

He has caught on to Luke's flattering words and says that I am pretty and I love you all day long. What a wonderful thing to learn from a big brother, right?!

He has to always hold my hand when we go anywhere. Picture me trying to hold the diaper bag, Clara's big heavy carseat and having Max freak out because he wants to hold my hand right then and not wait for me to be ready.

I don't want to forget how Clara smiles with her mouth wide open.

I love finding her un-swaddled in her crib with her arms opened wide and up above her head.

How at her 4 month check-up she was in the 50th percentile for everything but her little head...which is in the 5th percentile. She still seems pretty bright though :)

How much fun and new it is buying and making girly things.

The other night we had some good times with some friends we never get to see. Jen taught us how to croquet this cute flower. Look how cute it is on her head Jen! I just love it.

I don't want to forget how to make it....so I keep on practicing.

I love being a mom. I know I spend way to much time playing on my laptop and talking on the phone when I should be reading books and playing hide and seek. But when I do spend time with them and care for them I am in heaven. They are precious and I am loving this phase of life and maybe that is why I want them to stay little and innocent forever.

this little boy

still needs naps

but he won't take one...unless he's in the car, or if he doesn't get his way and decides to throw a fit on the floor, then he might just fall asleep. He is a stubborn little (I mean big) boy.

This day it was 9 am and he wanted candy for breakfast. Being the sort of good mom I am I said no. 10 minutes of crying on the floor turned into an hour nap. on the floor. I didn't move him as I knew it would result in yet, another fit.

The same day, just later.
Another fit means time-out in bed. Another nap.

with his cute pants on backwards

I really like it when he throws fits right after lunch. That is a great nap-time. If he could just do that everyday at that time, and not at 5 that would be super.

And this picture made me laugh for a few reasons.

1.Luke made Clara look like Minnie Mouse with 2 bows for ears.
2. My nephew Walter's cute face.

And of course the other 3 kids are cute too :) Sorry to expose her diaper Lindsey

my favorite things about her

eyelashes
I love that they are getting darker and longer. My boys have beautiful lashes, and I always hoped my girl would too...

chubby little feet
I love to hold and squeeze them and watch them kick in and out as I feed her.

Round little face
All of our babies kind of look alike. some say she looks like Luke, others say she looks like Max. They both had the round chubby face and big eyes...they are pretty much all made from the same perfect mold. I can say that right? I am the mama!

Pudgy hands
which are always in her mouth. I pull them out to feed her, to swaddle her, to make her smile. to wipe away all of the drool and spit-up. Love this.

Sweet Personality
Just look at her face. So far she is sweet without too much drama. I know...it will come, but for now we are loving the peace she brings to our home.

Rolls and Rolls
She has the chubbiest short legs. She always gets marks on her thighs from the elastic in her clothes.

Squeals
It was cute the first time, for a second. I admit it, I kind of get annoyed with them. She squeals so loud and high-pitched, and it kind of gives me a headache. But I guess that is what little girlys do.

she is LOVED
She is so loved by us and her brothers. Kisses and hugs 100 times a day. Lucky girl.

Her smile
She smiles all of the time, at anyone who will give her attention. My favorite smile of all is when I put her down for a nap during the day. I lay her in her bed and wrap her arms to her side with a blanket, and then she looks up at me and grins from ear to ear and falls asleep.



Big Blue Eyes
We seriously love everything about her. But my favorite part is her big blue eyes. They are always looking around and taking everything in. They sparkle when she smiles and they sparkle when she cries...which isn't very often.

We love our Clare-Bear.
every little inch of her.


{4 months old}