welcome gwen!

Our sweet little Gwen arrived two days late via c-section. I'll be honest I was a little worried I wouldn't love her as much as Alta and Jayden, but it was so easy. She is the sweetest little thing ever. Before we got to the hospital we had her name narrowed down between two and finally decided once we saw her. If we ever have another girl we will use the other name. She breast feeds like a champ which makes my life so much easier. I can't believe I pumped with the twins. 

The c-section was very similar to my last one. If I keep the same Dr. I will always have my babies around 8:00 on Thursday. I was really sick the first day. I can barely remember people visiting I was so out of it. Luckily though I felt pretty much back to normal after a week. The one thing I forgot about the twins was how itchy I was after the surgery. Sometimes it was so bad it would keep me up at night. 

While I was pregnant everyone told me one is going to seem like a breeze. I didn't really think so because I was still going to have two toddlers running around, but only having one newborn is so much easier then two. The fact that I am able to breast feed too makes a huge difference. Life with three littles definitely has it challenges, but it isn't nearly as exhausting as I thought it would be. 

Alta and Jayden are the cutest big brother and sister. They always bring her binkies and blankies when she is crying. They love to give her kisses and hugs. It is so cute watching them. I'm so excited to watch them all grow up together.  I love being a family of five! 

11 questions

Back in the day when I only had two children  I was awarded the prestigious 'liebster award' by my friend Lindsey , which really is just code for 'answer these 11 questions and pass it on! I thought I had no time then to get this accomplished well I was wrong I had a ton of time back in those day. I am greatly missing my blog though and  so I'm putting off a nap, cleaning my house, and putting makeup on to say hello again. 

So here goes!

First, the rules:
1. Answer 11 questions
2. Nominate 11 bloggers for this distinguished award

1. Who/What inspires you? So many people I don't even know where I would start.  One person that comes to mind is Marjorie Hinckley. I read Gordon B. Hinckley's  biography a long time ago and remember thinking I wanted to emulate her, the way she raised her children and supported her husband. 

2. What is something you can't live without? Besides my family of course I would have to say my iphone. It has everything on it. Emergency apps for when my kids are screaming at my feet while I'm nursing Gwen. White noise to help Gwen sleep. The beloved calendar app that has all our doctor appointments and reminders for peoples birthdays. My contacts, sadly I don't even know my husbands phone number. And of course instagram which even though I own an awesome camera I find myself taking more pictures with my phone because it is so much more convenient when you already have three kids to cart around. 

3. What is something you have to do everyday but wish you didn't? Get out of bed before 8 am. I'm in love with sleeping and my bed. But no matter how late I put my little munchkins to bed they always wake up at 7am. I think I can recall them sleeping in until 8am twice and I thought they might not be alive when I went in there to get them. Also I don't have to do this everyday, but when I do I hate it... putting on makeup and blow drying my hair. Men have it so easy. 

4. Best piece of advice you ever received? When the twins were first born I went into renew my temple recommend. Although I never mentioned a thing about the struggles I was going through at the time the presidency member I was talking to knew exactly what I needed to hear. He told me to remember that this point in my life was a phase and that although I might feel like I'm not doing all the things I normally am capable and asked to do that is was ok. But that I needed to focus on raising my children and nourishing their minds and the time would come where I would have more time to do all those others things. I needed to be proud of the things I was accomplishing. Sometimes that is what gets me through the day. That this point in my life is just a phase. I love my life and I try and enjoy each moment cause I know I'm going to miss these days, but sometimes the fact that it won't always be this hard to go grocery shopping in the middle of the day or that I haven't been to the temple in forever or that fact that I can't do a lot of things other people can because I have three little munchkins makes it easier to endure. 

5. Best piece of advice you've ever given? It would have to be the same as the best piece of advice I've ever received. To add I would have to say BabyWise. People ask me how Gwen is sleeping and I say great I wake her up yadda yadda yadda. And they always say NEVER WAKE A SLEEPING BABY! oh but if you read baby wise it makes complete sense. It doesn't work for every baby, but it has worked for three out of three of mine so its worth a try. I already get a seven hour stretch every night. ( k I wrote this a couple days ago and the past two nights Gwen has woken up every four hours. I still believe it works though).

6. What is your most prized possession? My computer with all my pictures on it. I love looking back at old pictures, brings back so many great memories. 

7. What are you most pleased about in your life right now? My family. This is what I have always dreamed about. Having a big family, being able to make a house a home, and being active in the gospel. 

8. Best book you've ever read? Recently.. She walks in Beauty. I couldn't put it down, which is rare for me. 

9. What color is your personality based on this free test? Blue. Motivated by intimacy. Blues are dependable, thoughtful, and analytical, but can also be self-righteous, worry-prone, moody, overly sensitive, and perfectionists. They love to serve and give of themselves freely in order to nurture others' lives. They are loyal friends, employers, and employees.

10. What is one thing you love about yourself? I'm very organized. I could tell you where everything I own is located and/or where it is suppose to be located, that includes the boxes in our basement. I always thought it would be fun to be on one of those shows where they go organize peoples houses and throw stuff away. 

11. What age/year would you love to relive/hate to relive? I would love to relive the year my family lived in Costa Rica. We had so much fun! We were home schooled which meant reading books in a hammock outside and writing papers while overlooking the ocean. We got to go the beach everyday, we saw a big leatherback turtle lay her eggs in the sand....it was just one big adventure. I would hate to relive middle school. 

To the following lovely ladies, I award the prestigious liebster award! Now you have to answer these same 11 questions  on your blog. Ready, set, go!
1. Becky Rust
2. Amy Blackham
3. Jolee Heitman
4. Gina Conover
5. Kelsey Conover
6. Mallory Withers
7. Angela Hoach 
8. Meghan Posner 
10. Lisa Nelson
11. Annie Hadlock

easter

Our Easter was wonderful. I couldn't get over how cute my little munchkins were. We decided to forgo Easter baskets for one more year and just enjoyed getting all dressed up for church. After church we headed to Grandmas and Grandpas and had our traditional competitive easter egg hunt. I told Greg he wasn't going to be able to really participate this year cause he needed to help one of the kids and he was like heck no they are on their own. Yep, COMPETITIVE easter egg wasn't an exaggeration. Although to be fair Grandma spoils us and puts gift cards and money in the eggs. Luckily Grandma thought ahead and had a separate kid easter egg hunt this year. They absolutely loved it. Jayden clapped for himself every time he found something and put it into his bucket. 

Hope you enjoyed your Easter! 

the zoo

We took the kids to the zoo saturday. It was a gorgeous day, but turns out everyone else had the same idea. The kids had smiles on their faces which made it so worth it though. They are really into animals lately and learning the noises they make. The first animal we saw was an elephant. It took Alta a little while to find it at first, but once she did she was so excited. Of course between managing two toddlers and the stroller I didn't get as my many pictures as I had hoped. In fact I only took two. Doesn't that always happen. So this picture will have to do. 

Yay for weekends in the sun!! So happy to not be stuck inside all day everyday. 

obsession with shoes

If you leave your shoes out, they are bound to be snatched by the little Jaydster.  You can pretty much always guarantee they will end up on his hands while he crawls around. Shoes are by far is favorite thing to play with. 

california part 2

On Sunday we went to The Getty and the Santa Monica Pier. Jayden enjoyed a bite of sand until he realized it was disgusting so he used his sandy hand to get the sand out of his mouth and just got more sand in his mouth. Poor little guy was a little confused. Alta on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the sand and instead enjoyed stealing Grandma's sucker. The weather and the time with family was glorious. It was a sad day when we had to come back home to the freezing cold and the work week. 

first visit to disneyland

A few years ago we started a new tradition in Greg's family. Instead of getting each other birthday gifts each year we put money in a pot and save up for a trip. Our first trip was to Disneyland! We had a lot of fun. I'll be honest I wasn't looking forward to the trip and was thinking I was going to be miserable, 30 weeks pregnant and two potentially cranky toddlers at disneyland all day.  The first few hours we were in disneyland my fears were coming true. It started pouring down rain and then hailing!! Luckily that only lasted for less than an hour. And we had so much fun. My feet were killing me from walking around so much, but it was so fun creating memories as a family. Which is tons more fun than getting gifts each year. 

Our attempt to get a picture of Alta and Jayden together :)....

The girls minus Valerie :(....

memorizing the details

This past week I took photos of my college roomies adorable newborn Sam. He is going to be a little heartbreaker when he grows up. To see more of his pictures click the link to my photography site on the sidebar  ----------->

He sure got me excited to welcome our baby girl in a few weeks and made me rush home to capture the details of my two little munchkins before they change. I keep forgetting how fast they grow up. I feel like physically they haven't changed much, but then I go back and look at old pictures and realize a ton has changed. I don't want to forget that wisp of hair, those thighs, those eyes, that cheesy smile, those two little teeth, that little curl on the back of Jayden's neck. I sure think my little boy looks handsome with his new hairstyle, but oh my gosh I already miss that long hair.