I should blog....

I know I should blog more often. I made the blog to be a way to keep us with our family, sort of like a journal and so I don't have to repeat myself to everyone when they want to know about what's going on with us. I could have been saying for weeks now "Just check out the blog! It's all there!" But obviously it's not. I still have Christmas to do before Evelynn's birthday NEXT WEEK! I will have a five year old NEXT WEEK! That's so strange. Kindergarten starts in the fall for her too. I'm debating whether or not to have a friends party for her. We haven't had one yet, mostly because our house is just too small to accommodate a large party, and it still is too small, and it's too cold to spread out outside, and it's expensive to rent a place... it's just a dilemma. Hopefully you'll see on my blog what I figure out. :)

Since so much has been going on, I think I'll just run through each family member and give a short update. Please enjoy, and hopefully I'll be back on top of things soon...

DougDoug got Lego's for Christmas. To those of you who know him well, this seems like a "well duh" statement. But it's significant for the following reasons. 1) He has every set minus one for his Lego City Fire set collection, which makes a grand total of like 20 sets for it (I don't actually know the real number so I'll correct it later). He put them all together after Christmas and it was a lot of Legos. 2) He now has so many Legos that our big storage bin is full, and we have two sets assembled and not in the bin because they are too big. 3) As he puts together the Lego sets he wishes more and more that he could give up everything and become a Lego designer. He's even gone so far to research how to apply and everything like that. If I tell you we've uprooted to Denmark to become Lego designers, don't be too surprised.

GeneenI am running and running and running and running.... did I mention I love running? Let me clarify, I love running outside! It's been really really cold lately and also really icy and so my running has been done inside the BYU track, which, pardon my French, SUCKS! Unfortunately I have also has a runny nose, and a cough, and ear aches, and a sore throat, aka a nasty nasty cold. This is the first time in a long time I've gotten sick like this, and it stinks. Hopefully it'll pass soon. In other updates, I'm 7 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight, and 12 away from my final goal! Go me! Oh, and I FINALLY bought some boots! I've been looking for like 4 years. The package arrived after aerobics, so I but them on with my new dress right then so I could send Doug a picture.

EvelynnAside from the fact that she's turning the big 5 in a week, she has fallen in love with barbies and Disney princesses. For Christmas she and Eloise got 10 Disney Princess barbies between them, and in addition to that a set of mini Ariel and Belle dolls that BJ and Kristen got them from Disneyland. They have been played with everyday since Christmas, and we've already had some wardrobe and doll casualties. But it's hours and hours of entertainment everyday, and lots and lots of tears when things get lost. Thanks BJ and Kristen and my parents for giving my kids toys they CAN'T live without now, even if it means searching the house high and low before bedtime to find the "right" Ariel doll, since there are now four different ones in my house.

EloiseEloise is also enjoying princess mania, but she also has her own tastes. She like to be the "mommy" in the games she and Evelynn play, and it's scary how accurately she portrays me! She also started the next level of nursery this month (our nursery is split and she's moved to the pre-sunbeams class) and she loves it. It's been such a huge relief because for whatever reason when we were in the other church building during the remodel she hated nursery! It was the same teachers, the same kids and everything, but she went from a model nursery participant to a screaming psychopath for 5 months. But now she's back to being a nursery champ. Go figure.

MichaelYou might have noticed a distinct lack of Michael updates on the blog since he's been born. This is due to a combination of factors. First, I'm busier with three than I was with two kids. Second, so far he hasn't done too much that his sister's have not done before, so I forget to mark the milestones. I don't know if that makes me a bad mother or not, but that's how it is. And third, he's just so cute I don't know what else to say! He's super super smiley and we love him to death. His 4 month stats are:

Weight: 10lbs 7 oz--1st percentile
Height: 24 inches--17th percentile
Head: I forget....

Anyway, you may be looking at that weight and thinking ummm...that's not cool. Well, before you judge too harshly, I have a disclaimer. All my kids were skinny in the beginning, and 4 months was when they were the skinniest and then they started to climb the charts. This time though, Michael was at the 4th percentile and riding that curve pretty consistently, and then he dropped off to the 1st percentile.... and so my doctor said he needed to gain some weight. Operation Make Michael a Fatty is underway! We nurse, and pump, and nurse and pump at the same time (getting rid of the fore milk so all he eats is the hind milk) and he's on solids that have been mixed liberally with formula. He seems to be enjoying himself immensely. :) Besides that, he's a pretty cool kid. He can roll back front and front to back, he can hold himself up very well on his tummy, he never stays in the same place on the floor for more than a minute, and he's super strong all around. I guess if you don't have a lot of weight to move around, you get adept at movin' and shakin'!

In other family news, my sister Lori has moved from the house to do an internship in Washington DC for the semester and we miss her lots. My kids ask almost everyday if Lori will come home tomorrow. But on the other side I gained a brother! My "little" brother Mark has graduated from high school early and started college at UVU. He seems to be enjoying himself a lot, and the girls think it's pretty funny to get Mark to play tea party with them.


Ok, more news later... most likely.