a day at the fair

It's Springtime, so you know what that means...off to the fair! We went with our friends, the McCartney's who also have three girls. Between the six little girls, baby animals, fairy floss (cotton candy), kiddie rides & perfect weather, it was a fantastic day!

Haylee, Sienna, Ava, Lily, Isabella & Grace

Bruce was more than happy to "have to" ride all the rides with the girls :)

The favorite ride of the day...the Fun Slide (not to be confused with the boring slide). Don't know just how much money we spent buying tickets for this. Totally worth it!
The girls were in heaven holding all of the baby animals!

Seriously in heaven....their faces say it all

Back at the slide....the girls couldn't get enough :) And, clearly, Bruce had a good time, too!

Bruce, Ava, Tim & Isabella....Just say no to strollers in crowded areas! It was great.

I really enjoyed the tiny lamb....it actually smelled similar to my kids :)

LOVE these! How cute are these girls?!

Loved all the sheep and lambs. Just so sweet.

And there's the black sheep of the family ;)

And, we're back at the slide....Me, Grace, Lily & Lauren

Isabella Grace & Ava Ruby

Lauren & me

Haylee was just in love with the animals and wasn't at all afraid of them, which is a very big step for our cautious little fairy!

toothie!!

Ava has a toothie!! Yay! A cute little tiny tooth finally broke its way through yesterday. Poor little girl is really struggling with teething - Grace and Haylee didn't even skip a beat when they teethed. Ava is a miserable little cupcake ;(

I went to the pharmacy and asked the pharmacist what he could recommend for teething. (Very different medicines in Australia vs. the US.) I was so annoyed at him when he snapped at me and said, "Teething doesn't hurt babies. Research has shown it doesn't hurt." Oh, really?? So is that what babies tell the researchers? If any part of MY body was purple, swollen & flaming hot red, - like her gums are - I'm pretty sure I would be in pain! Argh...I was so annoyed at him. It also annoyed me because he was telling the wrong false information to the wrong person....I just happen to know just a smidgen about pediatrics.....

I am probably over-reacting.....maybe I'll go toilet paper the pharmacy tonight....

Anyhow, we are proud of our big girl and her tiny toothie :)

strawberry girls

Haylee calls these dresses their "strawberry girl dresses." It's super cute. My girls are cute. Really cute. This first picture makes me laugh because Ava is a bit concerned about her sisters attacking her with kisses. Ah, I love these girls!

painting in the shower

This afternoon Gracie & Haylee made some beautiful artwork in the shower! They started off painting with the brushes and ended smearing paint everywhere with their hands. They had a ball & it didn't matter how messy it got :) I used Crayola finger paints because they wash super easy. I actually left all the paint on the shower walls and just rinsed it off in my shower tonight. So easy and it kept them busy for a long time.

Haylee's face cracks me up here...

I loved that they painted the knobs....even the appropriate colors!

yes, that is a granny shower cap above grace's head. i'm a granny. hey, sometimes i don't want my hair to get wet....bruce always teases me

undies girl

Haylee is our undies girl! Hooray! She has gone 3 weeks with only 1 accident (and that happened in the cheese asile at Costco...oops!)
I think we can officially say she's potty trained. Yippee for undies and no diapees!

This picture cracks me up. No, she's not watching tv.....just posing.

She told me, "Mommy, I not look at the camera. I just show you my undies." Okay, Haylee.

New Zealand!

New Zealand here we come!! We are going to Queenstown the second week in October and we can't wait!!!!

Afterall, it's only a 3 hour flight, so why not?!

Want to know the best part??....we are going without our kids!!!! WooHoo!!

We will be celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary.

Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown, NZ
The lodge we will be staying in....ahhh, I can't wait!

I'm actually considering taking the Lord of the Rings senic tour -- visiting all the sites where the movies were shot just outside Queenstown. Yeah. I'm a nerd. Do ya wanna come with us??

snow play

Yesterday we took the girls sledding at one of the ski resorts nearby. Grace LOVED it...Haylee and Ava, well, not so much :)

All in all it was a really fun family day!

Just outside Lake Mountain Lodge.

And, yes, that is Ava sitting over there on the sled all by herself. Good thing she didn't sled off,off, and away.

Helping Daddy with his big snowman.
Bruce helped the girls make a "princess-castle-snowman", as they called it.

snow falling...
This picture cracks me up! What would she say if she could talk?!

Daddy and Grace getting ready to sled down the mountain.

Haylee wanted NOTHING to do with those sleds!

What a great day! Lets go home....

bathing beauties

Winter Date Night

Bruce and I got to sneak away to the temple for a date. I love the temple. I love the overwhelming feelings of peace and comfort I have when I'm there.

It was especially romantic because the weather was Wintry in every way outside, but inside the temple was warm, beautiful and cozy.

I thought I'd get warmer by hunching over into Bruce....not so much ;)
my new skirt :)

crazy!

Bruce and I had a laugh last night....

Ava is exactly 10 months and 2 weks old right now....

That's how old Grace was when Haylee was born. How am I still alive?!?!

This picture was taken at Grace's Halloween party - just two weeks before I had Haylee

This is a bad picture of me, but do you think I should cut my hair short again??

Just had brought Haylee home from the hospital...Grace checking her out


Seriously, how did I survive having two babies - no, two c-sections! - in 10 1/2 months?? Sorry to all my family & friends who had to endure all the crying I did.....I don't remember much of that, but I do remember crying a lot :)
(oh, and should i cut my hair short again?? hummm....)

10 1/2 months later....

10 1/2 months ago I had my third little daughter. Now, 10 1/2 months later, I still can't believe I am a mom to three little girls. Every day I am overwhelmed with gratitude to the Lord for letting me take care of three of his most precious and beautiful children. How did I ever get so lucky??

Ava Ruby is such a little lover! She loves cuddles and kisses. She loves to giggle and flirt.

We are so in love with this baby!

It's a funny thing - love. It just grows and grows.

I can remember a conversation Bruce and I had after having Grace...we asked each other, "How can we ever love another child as much as we love Grace?!" But you do. And I would even say as you become more confident in your parenting abilities, you can love (and relax!) even more than before.

Ava has now finally decided to start crawling! It's now 3 for 3...all of our girls have been late crawlers. That's okay. I say take your time, little one. She growls when you ask her, "Ava, what does a tiger say?" Yeah, it's just about the cutest thing ever! We can thank her big sisters for teaching her that one :)

I love this picture of Bruce and Ava. I think they look so much alike. They have the same eyes. The same expressions. I love it.

surgery

Grace's surgery was this past Tuesday - 4 days ago. She had it done at SouthEastern Private Hospital just outside Melbourne. The operation went well and I am extremely glad it's all over with.

Grace was very brave. Bruce and I were so impressed with her. Way to go, Gracie-Loo!

Daddy took a picture of us in the hospital lobby...waiting to get called back for the surgery.

This was just after they brought her in her room from recovery. She was still very groggy from the anesthesia. I hated seeing her like this ;(

She did get sick on her purple kitty cat shirt the doctor let her wear into surgery. She was SO SAD about getting throw-up on that shirt! It was pathetically adorable. I assured her mommy would wash it and it would get all clean....good thing it did!

The dr kept her overnight and she continued to improve. *Sigh of relief*. She began keeping bits of food and drink down so her tiny IV got to come out and we all got to come home! Hooray! And hooray for a healthy little girl!

poor little princess

life is crazy! we have been so busy lately....just a quick update though. gracie is having surgery this coming tuesday august 10th. she has terrible sleep apnea (stops breathing in her sleep) and it's because her tonsils and adnoids are about 3x bigger than they should be. bruce and i were in shock - and actually the doctor was, too - when we saw how enormous her tonsils are. anyhow, her airway is partially blocked not only when she's sleeping, but also when she's awake. she tires quite easily - doesn't get enough oxygen when she plays. i feel so, so, so bad for her and i wish i could go through the surgery for her. the doctor actually said the words "grace's case is frighteningly bad.." yeah, not exactly what you want to hear the surgeon say! i'm not looking forward to my baby having surgery, but i know it needs to happen.