There's a First Time for Everything

On Friday night we had some great fun taking the boys bowling for the first time. The Poteet's called wanting to get together, so we decided bowling would be fun for a change! We ate some dinner together, I fed Winston and we were off! The boys were so excited to play the "game" even though they had no idea what we were really going to do. They ended up enjoying it very much and have since asked to do it again. I love bowling too...but I am the worst bowler ever. So this is how we ended up scoring highest to lowest: Mandy, George, Quinn, Matt, Shaila, Georgey and Malcolm. Mandy smoked us, she must have been practicing at home prior to this! Mandy comforted me of my lack of skill by informing me that Quinn was cheating. All the little boys had bumpers...so how I did so amazingly bad...I'm just talented! Here are the boys hanging out waiting for their next turn.
They turned on the black light and strobes while were were there and the boys thought it was amazing! Quinn just couldn't wait until his next turn. I guess he's just a natural bowler!While we bowled, Winston snoozed away in his car seat. I think this is the first picture of him with a binkie. His little face is healing, but he scratched his forehead so bad!
A few other cute pictures of the boys from earlier in the day. They really love Guitar Hero!
Malcolm is actually pretty good at it! He can play "Slow Ride" and get over 50% of the notes...a true rocker...or gamer!
Both Malcolm and Quinn have a blanket they love to suck their thumbs with. On Saturday I pointed out to Quinn a small tear in his blanket. He immediately jumped saying, "ah oh, it's broken", and threw his blanket in the garbage. He said that he needed to go to the store and buy a new one, so he puts shoes on and is ready to go. He didn't mind that he was only in underwear, but we told him we would go after his nap. (No he's not potty trained, but we were trying underwear for the day, so he was running around in only underwear so that he didn't dirty pants too. This is a story all in it's self!) Needless to say, when he was napping I pulled his blanket out of the garbage just in case. We did go to Walmart and let him pick out a new blanket. He likes the minky fabric and luckily he had a couple to choose from. We didn't have time to wash the blanket before he went to bed, but we gave it to him anyways. Shortly after putting him to bed, he started yelling, Matt went in there and he says "This blanket is yucky, it smells stinky. (Quinn loves the clean laundry smell. He'll pull out the warm, clean laundry and suck his thumb. I hope this is an indication of how often his blanket is washed!) I washed the blanket, and the next morning he loved it. Here he is enjoying it.
We had a sweet moment with Malcolm on Sunday. Before church Matt had put on The Restoration for the boys. When we got to church, Malcolm was drawing in his notebook. He first drew a picture of Jesus Christ, then he drew a picture of two trees and himself kneeling on the ground. He showed it to Matt and was telling him how he wanted to see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It fast and testimony meeting in our ward, so Matt told Malcolm he should go and tell everyone about Jesus Christ and how he died and became back alive for him. Malcolm was scared and told him no. After a while Malcolm was standing at the end of the pew with his notebook. When the person speaking was done, Malcolm ran up to the front, so Matt had to go up after him. He got to the microphone, but then froze. So Matt coached him through his first testimony ever! It was so cute and Malcolm was so excited. Matt stayed up to bear his testimony since he was up there, and Malcolm started coming back down to our seat. When he got to the aisle Quinn ran down the aisle to him yelling, "Good job Malcolm", really loud. Everyone around us of course laughed. The guy sitting behind us told both Matt and I that when Quinn did that it was the sweetest thing and brought a tear to his eye. What a sweet first experience to see Malcolm wanting to share his testimony with others. The simple faith of a child is so endearing. Here's his drawing, though it didn't scan very well.

On Another Note

I ALWAYS swaddle Winston when it's time for him to sleep. Sometimes when he's waking up he can get his arms out. So this morning when he woke up to eat at 7am he had this huge scratch across his forehead. No wonder why he was crying so hard. I felt so bad, and he looks like such a sad little sight. I didn't realize his fingernails were that long until I started to trim them.On another note, Malcolm didn't potty train until just after his 3rd birthday. Our Dr said not push it, he'll do it when he was ready, so we never did. He potty trained really fast and easy. He's probably had less then 10 accidents...seriously. In the beginning we would put him to bed in a pull up, but he woke up several times without wetting it. Wow that was easy, and he's probably only had 5 or less accidents while sleeping.This morning while I was nursing Winston, Malcolm started calling for me. Since I couldn't get up I called for Matt, who didn't respond until Malcolm said "Mommy, come here, I peed my bed!" The poor kid. Matt put him in the bath and striped his bed. When he came out I asked him why he peed his bed. He said that he had a dream, this is how it went, "I went into another thing and lifted it up (hand motions like he's lifting the toilet seat), I went into anther thing and lifted it up (his voice accelerating) and then I went to another thing and lifted it up again. Then it's not the toilet, it's only my bed. That's a funny dream"

Another one about Malcolm.

Today at lunch Malcolm said the blessing on the food. This is part of what he said, "that I can think about Jesus' blood and Jesus' body. Jesus died on Easter and became alive again." I'm so glad to know that he is retaining a little bit of what we try teaching him.

Since I'm blogging about the other boys, I feel like I can't leave Quinn out. I was trying to get a picture of him doing his grumpy face. He wouldn't do it for me...I guess he can't do it on demand. He has quite the mad face though...I hope I can capture it on camera someday. Since I couldn't get it, I'll share a few of Quinn's obsessions: chocolate milk, cheese, pancakes and waffles. All food of course, not that he eats much!

Six Years Today

Six years ago today was the happiest day of my life!! I married the man that makes everyday worth living. I have the most wonderful husband! There have been times that he absolutely drives me nuts with all his little "habits", but I've learned to love them too. For example, almost every Sunday I make a roast (Matt's favorite) and as soon as we walk in the door he starts picking at it. It used to drive me insane...but if I want to remain sane, I just have to laugh it off. He always tells me, "When I die, you're going to wish I would pick at the roast!" That is so true! I can't believe we've been married for six years already, but in reality, it really doesn't seem like that long at all. (Matt says it feels like forever.) The longer we're married, the better husband Matt is, so I can't wait for these next six years to come.

We've had a lot of changes in these short years, like the birth of three wonderful sons! (I still can't believe I'm the mother of three sons!) We've bought and sold our first home, down graded to an apartment and have been living the dream of students! (Not that we weren't students prior to that, just not so poor!) We've gained some weight, lost some hair (not just Matt, I loss it after every birth, it just grows back!) We might not be as young and cute as when we first fell in love, but our love sure is stronger!

We don't get to do much celebrating since this is Matt's longest school day. He goes to lab from 6-9pm. It kinda stinks! So instead of having a nice meal together, Matt had left overs, while the boys and I had chocolate chip pancakes and eggs. Someday we can actually celebrate, for that matter, maybe someday we can actually go on a honeymoon! That'll be the day...that'll be the day!

(A picture Laura took of us at the temple. Matt's so hot!!)

Matt found this picture of us a while ago. I'm assuming it's when we were first married. I just think we look so cute and we're driving in one of the corrados! Matt with his classic sleepy eyes.
We don't have any recent pictures of just us together, So I tried doing a self portrait of us today...it didn't work so well. I guess that's what happens when you're not the same height. Matt really wasn't into perfecting it either.
Happy Anniversary Matthew! You really are the love of my life...or eternity! I'm so thankful for our wonderful marriage. We really are blessed! I love you Baby!


On a side note, I looked out the window this morning to find it snowing. By 10am it looked like this. Isn't suppose to be spring!?! I was pretty down about it, but then it all melted away. Phew! Matt just got home and asked if I had looked out the window lately. Go figure it's all back again. Crazy weather! Laura, I think we are in need of a trip to Arizona. Do you have room for a family of five!?!

Easter Weekend

We started out our Easter weekend doing an Easter egg hunt. It was so cold!! Last year the boys were in shorts and a t-shirt. Crazy weather! They separate the kids by ages, so Quinn and Malcolm went at the same time. When they said "go" Quinn was really timid and I was trying to get him to hurry and get eggs. I wondered what the problem was, until he told me "pants fall down." Matt didn't put a belt on him, and these pants just fall right off him. After that he picked up 10-15 eggs then looked in his basket and said, "that's enough" and walked off. What a funny kid. Here he is waiting to start.Matt went and watched Malcolm do his. Matt tried to explain to him that it's kind of a "race" and you pick up eggs as fast as you can. Well Malcolm had other plans and only picked up the colors he wanted...red and orange. He did the same thing last year. Both Quinn and Malcolm ended up with about the same amount.
Matt with the boys after it was all said and done. Apparently the boys are more interested in what they got then in taking a picture.
Luckily we only had to be in the cold for 10-15 mins. Winston was all bundled up in the sling under a blanket and my coat. He was quite content. He is so dang cute in his little outfit!
After the Easter egg hunt, we were able to go home for my nephew Grayson's baby blessing. I was so glad that I was able to be there. Unfortunately I was only able to see him for just a little bit Saturday night. He was sleeping when I got there and I held him for just a little bit before Winston wanted to eat. Therefore no pictures of him, or the babies together. Too bad...hopefully we can get some the next time!

We were able to spend Easter with our families which was fun. Here Quinn is enjoying finding what the Easter Bunny left him.
I captured such a sweet smile from Winston. I love this sweet boy!
With just about everything Malcolm pulled out of his basket, he posed for me with. He's really getting the hang of being my "model" for photo shoots!
My Mom bought the boys matching ties for Easter. I wanted to capture a picture of Winston in it before church, just in case he decided to spit up all over himself. Too bad he was just wanting to go to sleep instead.
After church we were able to take a few pictures of the boys all together. How sad is it that this is the first picture of all of them together. I have not been up on things. In fact, we still haven't taken any pictures of the five of us. Ugh...it makes me so sad! If I had a tripod I could attempt it myself.
After Grayson's blessing we went to Mom's for Easter dinner. It was a great dinner with yummy food and great company!! I love when I capture the moments that Grandpa holds my boys. Winston was very content the whole time. I sure do love my "Grandpa Quinn".
After we stayed at my Mom's for a while, we went over and did dinner all over again with Matt's family. Well I actually fed Winston during dinner, and decided to pass on stuffing myself a second time. Quinn didn't get a nap and after a while he disappeared. This is where Ryan found him. Passed out with his guitar still around him. He is a real "guitar hero"!! Oh and you might notice the marker on his nose and eyelids. He decided to mark himself. He's really been into coloring on himself within the last little while and I can't let him use pens or markers anymore.
Then Matt walked upstairs to find Winston and his dad snoozing. Too bad he woke them up by taking pictures.
Thanks for the good weekend family. We're so glad to live close enough to spend time with them often!

My Poor Sweet Boy

On Tuesday was our wards birthday dinner, so Matt put the boys to bed without me. When I came home he said that Malcolm was really scratching at his legs and had bumps that looked like mosquito bites. I forgot about it, until the next morning when Malcolm asked me to help him get his shirt on. I was trying to get out the door to go walking and was in a hurry, but then I noticed he had huge bumps all over his arms, then I checked his legs and they were there too. Well I had to skip my walk (ugh, I haven't been able to walk all week for various reasons) and took Malcolm into walk-in instead. At the beginning of spring break he got an ear infection and has been on amoxicillin since. They said he must be allergic to the antibiotics (which means he's allergic to penicillin too) and to stop giving them to him. That thought had occurred to me, since Matt is allergic to them too, and I thought about not giving him his dose that morning, but I still did! They gave me some clarinex for the itching that he could take only once a day. He woke up this morning and his hives were even worse. I took these first two pictures this morning while he was getting dressed. He's got the hives all over now. On his face, ears, back, tummy...everywhere. I called "my doctor" this morning and he said to give him benadryl every 4-6 hours instead.
My poor baby whenever I ask him how he's feeling he tells me "Not good!" When I ask him where he's itchy he says "all over my body!" It makes me feel so bad. He really didn't want to miss school today because they were going on a field trip to the science center, but he was such a sad sight. Notice in this picture how swollen his little hands are!
His feet are also really swollen. He started walking funny this afternoon, and by bedtime he was crying if he had to walk because his feet hurt so bad. It makes me so nervous, but the Dr said that this stuff stays in the system for quite a while, and it will get worse before it gets better.
If it's worse tomorrow, I'm going to call again. Don't you think they could give him some type of shot to stop the reaction?

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!!

This last weekend I was able to go to Spokane with my Mom, Aunt LaVoy, Brianne and Melanie for a little girls outing. (And of course Reed and Winston came along.) We went to go to Time Out for Women. If you have never heard of it or gone...it's definitely something worth checking out! This is the third time they have come to Spokane, and I have gone every time. It's been a great experience each time. This time they had three different events. During the day of Friday there was a "Life Seminar" that Mel and I couldn't go to since we have infants. We were able to do a little shopping before the Friday night event. I had a gift card from Macy's and found some great deals. I was so excited to get a new outfit to wear!!

There were so many great speakers at the Friday night and Saturday events; Chieko N. Okazaki, Elia Gourgouris, Merrilee Boyack, Doug Brinley, Carolyn Rasmus, Jane Clayson Johnson and Mary Ellen Edmunds. The musical performers were Michael McLean, Mercy River (a great new trio!) and my favorite Hilary Weeks. I left feeling so happy and wonderful. I haven't felt the spirit that strong for a while. (It helps not having the older kids to distract me!) I left with a greater determination to live closer to the spirit and a greater knowledge of the love Heavenly Father has for me personally! I always end up forgetting the great things I learned, even though I take notes, but I hope I can remember the way that I left feeling!

(Me, my sis Brianne, my beautiful Mom, my sil Melanie and my beautiful Aunt LaVoy)

(Mom, Winston and I at the Old Spaghetti Factory Thursday night)

The highlight of my weekend would definitely be Hilary Weeks!! If anybody knows me, they know how much a I love music and I love to sing! I really, seriously love to perform in front of people. I may not be that entertaining, or even a great singer, but I love the thrill of it all! I started singing Hilary Weeks songs when I was in high school right after her first CD came out! I have loved her since and love all her music. She writes her own songs and all of them have such a great message or story. Her music can bring the spirit into the room in seconds! On Saturday when the music came on for "He Hears Me", I instantly felt the spirit and I started bawling. (Because of course I know all the music and words to her music!)She didn't perform until Saturday, but she was at the Friday night event watching. It seemed that not many people noticed her. (I did of course!) During one of the breaks Mel was trying to get me to go up there and talk with her. I was so scared to, I knew I would make a fool of myself. Well Mel didn't give me much choice and pretty much told me that I was going up there. Well we went and talked with her, and just like I knew I would, I felt like I made a fool of myself. I didn't know what to say to her...there's so much I wanted to say to her, but I just couldn't. We did get a picture with her which I was so excited!! Mel didn't like the way she looked though. During one of the breaks Saturday I was out with Winston. Mel saw people getting autographs and told my mom she wished she had one of her Cd's so that she could get it signed for me. Well she got creative and took my "free tote bag" and a card and asked Hilary Weeks to sign them for me! What a sweet sister in law huh!?! When I got back and she showed it to me, I had to fight the tears! (I know I'm sounding so stupid!!)
After the event was over, Mel thought we should go up there again and talk to her and do a retake on the picture. Hilary Weeks was funny and totally remembered us coming up the last night, and Mel getting her autograph for me. This time I was able to tell her how much her music meant to me and how much I love to sing it. I even cried a little, which I was so scared of doing the night before! (Man she must think I'm something else huh!?!)
She is really such a sweet, sincere person. I'm so amazed at her talent. She must of some incredible knowledge of the scriptures and live very close to the spirit to be inspired to write her music!! I haven't sang to often lately. (I can't remember the last time I sang in church, maybe when Malcolm was a baby.) Hearing her sing again, (she came the first time it was in Spokane), has inspired me to make an effort to sing more often. I really feel I have lost some of my "talent" if you can call it that. What an amazing experience. Thank you Mel for "forcing" me to go and talk to her! I will never forget that. I can't wait for her next album to come out this fall.
I took one picture Thursday night at dinner when my battery died. When I went to charge it later, I realized I left the charger at home! I was so disappointed!! The weekend pictures are all courtesy of Melanie!! Thanks for sharing them!!


While us girls were in Spokane, the guys stayed with the kids. These pictures say it all!!
I guess Quinnie wasn't to happy that Jayni painted his face too!

Spring Break

We went home this last week for Spring Break. It was so nice to have Matt around the whole time! I was able to "sleep in" everyday. That still means I went to bed around midnight, but didn't have to wake up until Winston ate around 9-9:30. That was so nice and I felt so rested. The only problem with that is, I wasn't really ready until noon everyday. At home I'm usually ready for the day by 9:30-10am. So needless to say we didn't do much. We mostly just sat around "relaxing", if you can do that with 3 kids. I did get my haircut...I was in desperate need of one! Besides that, it just seemed like there wasn't enough time in the day to do much of anything. Here's a few pictures that I took during the week. Milo and Melanie gave this outfit to Winston, and since Reed had the same one, we thought they needed to wear them on the same day, and get pictures together. Can't you tell they're cousins...they have the same crazy hair! They are 6 weeks apart in case you are wondering.
I love how they are both looking at the camera. Reed looks so cute resting his head on Winston's shoulder. So a few days before we went home, Winston's face started breaking out. Go figure, when he's going to meet everyone. I think he might have eczema now too.
Don't mind Mel's arm, but I just love how Winston is smiling as he's falling over. He's starting to coo and smile so much more!
Gramimi with the sweet boys.I made time to go and visit Grammie and Grandpa one night. I just love them so much! They are so funny and I always enjoy visiting with them. Isn't Grammie just the cutest thing ever!?! She loves babies...I guess I know where I get it from!
A blurry picture of Grandpa. This is who Quinn is named after. I just love him so much!!I also had a chance to visit with my beautiful friend Tami and her husband Kyle. I'm so glad that they came over for the weekend and could see Winston. Tami is such a great friend! I just love and miss her! It's always fun to get together and think of all the dumb things we did in high school...I'm glad we've got past that stage!! I love you Tam Bam Slam Jam!
We even talked Kyle into holding Winston...it really didn't take too much convincing. Doesn't he look cute with a baby!! Kyle is a great guy, I'm glad Tami has such a great husband. He was so funny, as he was holding Winston he said, "I'm so not ready for one of you!" Come on Kyle...you're never "ready"!! Ha ha! Just had to add these last few pictures. This one is from a couple of weeks ago. Winston kissing Matt...he has lost so much hair since then! Winston...not Matt.
Finally my crib bedding came!! Cynthia ordered this for me weeks before Winston was born! We didn't think it would ever come, and after much confusion with the whole thing, it finally did!
I just love it!! It looks so great with the crib! Thank you so much Cynthia!! Now I just need to do window treatments and figure out some wall decor!! How fun!
So as Matt was loading up the car today he heard a noise and looked over to see Malcolm doing this. At first it scared him...but as you can see, Malcolm loved it!