Wesley’s First Birthday

What story is more iconic for children than The Very Hungry Caterpillar?  After searching the web and Pinterest for some ideas, this is what we came up with to celebrate Wesley’s First Birthday party. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m pretty sure a fun time was had by all

Fun Fall

Happy Fall everyone!

Here's our bug family - I found a fun pattern on Martha Stewart for my butterfly wings and adapted it to make a smaller pair for Em,  Jane was a lady bug for I think the third year in a row.  Wesley was a Spider and we decided Kevin could be the bug collector:)

For our ward party, I painted E's and my faces with this cool teal face paint and it took a REALLY long time to take off, so it only happened once:)

 This is a chair that I re-finished for my mom for her birthday.  It was brown and had a tacky striped cushion.  I haven't done much of this, but it was really fun to see the final project!

 And just some fun close-ups of my adorable little friends.  I just love them to death!

Taking the Plunge

I just dropped my oldest off for her first day of Kindergarten. And it's hard to describe all my feelings.  I've always thought I would be so happy and excited for her and I am, but I never expected to feel anxious, worried, nervous and a little apprehensive about the whole thing.  The happy and excited part is the teacher in me and the rest is the mother, I guess.  Last week we went in for her "testing" day and I got to listen to her answer the teacher's questions. Sometimes I was pleasantly surprised by her response and other times I felt like I wanted to say, "Come on - you know the answer to that!"  What I was most happy about was hearing her little voice almost sing the answers -- she's got the cute/pleasant thing down, even if she doesn't know/remember what the number thirteen looks like. 

As I was dropping her off this morning, I watched as a good percentage of her classmates said something like, "hasta luego mi amor" to their parents. And that put my little heart at ease a little - at least she speaks English!!!:)  What I really wasn't prepared for was how badly Jane wanted to go into the classroom with her.  She was sure that's what we were there for.  I think it was a blessing, because while tackling Jane, there wasn't a chance to cry or worry - I just had to convince Jane (and probably myself) that she was going to be OK without her.

And I think we will be, it will just take some getting used to.  Jane starts Joy School next week, so that will help a lot.  So here's to a new year and the beginning of the rest of my life as a taxi-driving, homework-helping, PTA-ing mom.  YAY!

Wesley

I’ve decided I REALLY need to work on the blog now – my dear, beautiful and amazing sister Kourtne has left to live in Chicago for a few years, so I need to keep this updated for her.  She is keeping a super blog here and I love and miss her!  

 

So – here are some of my favorite pictures of Wes --

     Bath Time                                                2 Weeks

               Blessing Day – March 27th – 6.5 Weeks

 

He’s already getting so big – at my 6 week appointment the nurses all asked how big he was when he was born – only 7 lbs 4 oz – but his adorable full face and often-occuring dimples imply otherwise! (we’ll find out next week how much he does weigh and I do feel like he’s gotten big fast!!)

And here they all are – adorable as ever!!!

Wes Is On His Way!!!

I'm not much of a blogger.  Obviously, neither is Erin...hence the huge gaps in between posts.  Since we've got internet here at the hospital, I thought I'd throw a few occasional photos up for your viewing pleasure.  I'm still trying to get Erin to let me webcast the whole blessed event, but so far no success.

Here's a shot of Erin in her lovely gown, and a view of the room.  She's hooked up to an IV, but that's about as exciting as it gets for now...

When we're not giving all our personal info to the nurse, we're killing time by watching the X-Files (you can probably guess whose idea that was).  More to come...

Well, after less than ONE HOUR of being hooked to the IV, Erin gets checked and is already at 5 centimeters and 80% effaced ...she certainly doesn't waste any time.  I just hope we can finish our episode of X-Files first!

Epidural is in place...Erin's feeling much better now.  She's having regular contractions...

Kinda chilly now, but Erin's lookin' good with the hospital blanket:

The Dr. said that the baby hadn't come down far enough, so Erin spent the last hour laying on her side (I guess this encourages the baby to want to move).  The nurse checked her again and now she's fully dilated!

...and we're done!  Well, Erin did most of the work.  Wesley Lundgreen was born at 1:12 pm.  7 lbs 4 oz.  19 1/2 inches.  And he shoots 75% from the free throw line.  Baby and mom are well!  We're so excited he's here.  He's definitely a keeper!  He's got those trademark dimples, too!

New Family Pics

 

We are doing well and anxiously awaiting baby boy in February

Remembering…

I am so excited.  In just a month I get to sing with a beautiful Relief Society choir for the General RS Meeting at the end of September.  At each rehearsal we not only sing a whole bunch and laugh a whole bunch, we get edified with inspirational words of wisdom by our choir director, Sister Jolley.   Last week teary-eyed she said, “Oh, you sisters with young kids --  I would give ANYTHING to have my children little again.” and then to make the mood a little lighter said, “And then they’d still do what I tell them to do!”  It was funny, but the first part really hit me.  I have heard so many women with older kids tell me, “Enjoy it now, ‘cause they don’t stay little forever!”  Usually I’ve thought to myself, “Thank goodness!  If I could just get Jane to stop emptying out all her drawers at naptime and if Emery would just chew her meat and swallow it!!!??? Man!”  But I’ve had enough people say that that I really have thought a lot lately about how to “enjoy” the moment and not let it go too fast, ‘cause I know it will whether I’m enjoying it or not.

So this article gave me a different perspective. The author of it is a mom of 5 kids 4 and under (two sets of twins!)  and she seems like one of those “wonderwomen” we all kill ourselves to become…but I’m sure she has her moments like the rest of us, right?  She suggested writing down small, simple moments that will help us enjoy the moment and remember the sweet joys of motherhood.  Here are a few things she wrote about her kids:

“While washing Sami’s hands, I noticed her dented knuckles, the pudgy softness. The way she lets me slap her paws together - blowing suds onto our faces and shirts. I wondered how long her hands will keep that three-year old look, how long she’ll let me hold them under warm water, my body bent over hers, before she wants to do it herself.”

“I smelled Eliza’s hair at bedtime. The scent of gritty playground. Wind and dirt all tangled up in fraying ringlets. I felt the heat rise from her body as I tucked my arms around her and sang. She snuggled into her favorite blanket and quickly fell asleep. I kissed her cheek, wishing she could know how much I loved her in that instant. My oldest. My first.”

Two very familiar moments for me.  I’m not as good a writer as she, but I’m REALLY good at making lists.  So I just started the list, “What we Love and want to Remember” and it’s taped to my kitchen wall.  Hopefully, this will help me notice the tender moments I want to enjoy and remember among the eating battles and messy rooms.

Here are a few happy moments as of late…

Emery’s birthday: I want to remember those fat cheeks:)…

…and perfect joy…

…and how old she looks at 4!

And something about little Jane just makes me want to eat her up!

(This was her idea!) 

And thank goodness for video – it helps me remember a lot!