The Rotter Family

Our Little Picasso

2011-02-02T22:06:00.000-08:00

Faith had her art work chosen and displayed at Gallery One for the month of December. She was soooooo excited!!!! We were all VERY proud of her, especially Jensen! Our little family of five got to go see it on "opening night" during our town's First Friday Artwalk! It was quite the affair in there with live piano music, appetizers, wine, LOTS of people and our VERY excited children. This is also were Jensen informed a room full of people that I call him, "Stupid!" Nice. Real nice, son. Story to follow...and JUST for the record, I DON'T call him stupid.

A Note for Jensen's Wife

2010-03-07T12:48:00.001-08:00

FYI...when Jensen makes comments that may easily be offensive, he truly doesn't mean it. He's just a man. He can't help it. Men don't come wired the same as women. Please don't get upset when he says things like, "Mommy, you look so beautiful. You look just like a hippo!" Really. He truly meant this as a compliment. He was so excited and sincere as I know he will be in your marriage, too.

A Word, or Two, on Our "Duperhero"

2010-02-27T15:14:00.000-08:00

The "Duperhero" in our house:
-Runs the fastest
-Shouts the loudest
-Taunts the most
-Flies the highest
-Sneaks the best
-Pushes the hardest
-"Un-nerves" like you wouldn't believe
-Loves to be rough and tumble
-"Gackles" (tackles) the greatest
-Bounces the best on the furniture
-Climbs to the highest of places to rescue a binky or piece of cake

But with, or without, his "Duperhero" outfit loves the deepest, helps the most, cuddles the sweetest, compliments like no other and gives the very BEST Eskimo kisses.

Oh, how blessed we are to have a "Duperhero" like Jensen in our lives! We love him greater then any Superhero strength!

Pictured here with his "Duperhero" bat costume, princess wand, and binky. I guess I owe a post on the reintroduction of the binky...

Faith's Snow Shoot

2010-02-27T13:50:00.000-08:00

Love, LOVE, LOVE these sweet pictures of Faith in our first big snow if the year! The pure joy on her face is priceless and what childhood should be filled with. Jensen opted to stay inside, it was too "coady" for him outside that day.

Just Jacob...

2010-02-10T20:25:00.002-08:00

A post devoted SOLELY to our Sweet Baby Boy Jacob. Who is ONE!!!! Just how did that happen? What a complete and utter blessing he is in our lives. A perfect addition to our little family. All of us Rotter's would agree that life wouldn't be the same without him. Jacob is just all around sweetness...with a bit of determination thrown in to complete the perfect package. Let's be honest, to survive with big brother Jensen...determination is needed for sure! :)

At ONE, Jacob...
-weighs 20lbs 13 ounces
-has 8 teeth
-is on the RUN (started walking at 10.5 months)
-says about 18 words including mama, dada, baba, papa, nana, up, more, ball, cat, dog, hi, bye, this, yea
-loves to give kisses and has progressed from his "African" tongue clicking to actual kissing noises to let us know he wants a kiss!
-Loves to "pet" mama when he's eating
-Still not sleeping through the night, but is getting better
-loves his blanket at night and rubs the satin edge while he falls asleep
-has mastered opening cupboards, finding toothbrushes, and eating out of the trash...all very desirable traits to have
-LOVES being in the mix with Faith and Jensen
-laughs at all the right times

Here are a few pictures from Jacob's Birthday. On his actually birthday we had cake at home which he loved. He picked up the entire plate and ate the cupcake that way. The next weekend, we had a swimming party/Haiti fundraiser for Jacob! What fun we had and what generous friends to donate to Haiti in honor of Jacob's birthday!

Create a photo slideshow

Christmas

2010-02-10T20:25:00.001-08:00

Christmas in Photos:

Greetings From Our Family to Yours!

2009-12-21T20:46:00.000-08:00

All things considered "tacky," this is our Christmas card for 2009. I could claim it's due to us being more environmentally friendly seeing as how 2009 was a big year for us environmentally. We potty trained Jensen AND signed up for recycling. Yes, both in the same year. I could claim it's to be gentle on the pocketbook, because last time I checked there were no coupons for stamps...you know me and my coupons. I could claim that even though I LOVE getting and giving Holiday cards, it's because Christmas cards really don't have much to due with the actual origin and meaning of Christmas, but don't tell Hallmark. But truthfully, I ran out of time. Somewhere between teaching, mothering, wifing (is that a word), being an accountant, personal shopper, elf, and spreading holiday cheer...I simply did not get to cards. I'm hoping for Valentine's cards, but don't don't hold your breath. My CPR card expired in the spring and I'm feeling a little shaky on my first aid skills.

For a small glimpse into our lives, feel free to scroll through the blog. If you'd like to be a regular "reader" on the blog, leave a note w/your email address in the comments. I usually keep it locked as private. Something a bit creepy about random blog stalkers (like myself) reading about the kids. BUT, you too, can gain membership for FREE...no coupons needed!

2009 has been a great year for our family from the birth of Jacob in January all the way through December it's proved to be a wonderful year for our family. Joe and I are loving each and every minute with the kids (okay, some are a bit more hairy then others) and are trying to treasure them, as we are already witnessing just how fast time flies.

Jacob (10 1/2 months) started WALKING this week. He looks a bit like a drunken sailor, but he's officially on the move! He is such a sweet, sweet boy who just takes "it all in" day in and day out. Still not a sleeper, but I'll take the middle of the night cuddles any day! He can't get enough of Faith and Jensen and is starting to interact with them more and more.

Jensen is our little "Joy Boy!" He can turn the saddest of situations into pure joy. Last week, I found him cutting the beard on my prized antique (it was my dad's-sorry I just called you an antique, dad) plush Santa. After a stern lecture and time out he was crying these HUGE walrus tears, and calling mommy a "Bad boy!" At my wits end I was saying (yelling), "Why, WHY would you cut Santa's beard?" He whimpered back, "My couldn't see his mouth!" All I could do was laugh. Luckily, I caught him just one snip in and Santa's beard was saved. If anyone is sad, he is the first to notice and cheer you up.

Faith is still creative and determined (gets that from her father) to the ends of the earth. She is on a bunny phase lately. As in, she's convinced she's getting a bunny. She writes letters about when she has a bunny, goes to the pet store to check them out, creates special bunny food, created a bunny trap in the back yard (in which a very large, brown-haired, brown-eyed, three year old "bunny" actually ate the carrots in the trap). On top of all of this she is the BEST big sister. She loves her brothers to pieces and goes to no end to be sure they are happy. We've even caught her in a few "white-lies" protecting Jensen.

Joe just rounded out his hunting season with a cougar. Whatever happened to bringing home a Christmas goose???? And WHEN is chicken season?!? All joking aside, we are really proud of him. He loves back country hunting and we love that it makes him happy.

I'm still busy teaching and loving being able to spend half of the day home with our kids and the kids of my teaching partner (we job-share, kid-share). The kids keep me busy and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Moments to Remember

2009-11-27T21:09:00.000-08:00

Faith started Kinder Dance the first week of November and today she had her debut Performance, as a "Snowflake," and I had my debut as a stage mom. Let me tell you...LOTS of work. No clue how those moms on "Tots to Tiaras," or whatever the name of that TLC show is, do it. "Costume" for The Moments to Remember performance included the cute little outfit you see, blue eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, lip liner, lipstick, blush, a high pony tail with long tight curls and LOTS of hairspray.

You want the dirty truth? I don't own hair spray, a curling iron or blue eye shadow. Thank heavens for the Dollar Tree. I just knew I would need aerosol spray (we're after beauty tonight and not saving the environment) to hold that girls curls. Where is Aqua Net when you need it? The Dollar Tree saved the day, with classy "White Rain" aerosol hairspray. After 45 minutes, Faith's hair and make up were done and I used so much hair spray that she claimed she was tasting it through the air.

Being new to the "stage mom" scene, I went a bit overboard with the lip liner and lipstick. No biggie. Joe told her she looked like a real famous lady on T.V. named Blanche...you know, from the Golden Girls. Luckily she has no clue who Blanche Devereaux is, because if my "Old Maid" victory dance, complete with hunkering down like I was walking with a cane and saying my name was "Faith Old Maid Rotter," threw her into a tantrum last week, being referred to as Blanche might simply put her over the five and a half year old edge. Thinking she wouldn't want to be know as Blanche, the vain, man-hungry, Southern Belle, and KNOWING I'd rather her be more like, Rose or Dorthy (definitely NOT Sophia), I quickly fixed her lipstick into more suitable "snowflake" fashion.

Faith looked beautiful, twirled perfectly, LOVED the evening, and reiterated as we were leaving that she's NEVER playing soccer again (she previous post), because she only wants to do one activity at a time...and she's choosing dance! I couldn't be more proud of her!

Side Note: Wikipedia has some great facts on The Golden Girls. Now, I thought I was a fan of the show back in my younger days, but I never knew that Dorthy's brother, Phil, was a cross dresser. The things you learn on a Friday night around our house.

And just for the records, after reading all the character bios, I'm real conflicted over which Golden Girl I'd most like Faith to be like. Who would you choose for your daughter?

Reason #1,245...

2009-11-26T23:12:00.000-08:00

...why we are cutting back on T.V. in our house; "We are attempting to preserve the vision of our children. Keeping our fingers crossed they have eyesight for things like, say reading!" Right below reason #1,244: "We watched SIX straight days of television during the supposed Swine Flu outbreak at our house, and we haven't been the same mentally since then and are hoping to correct the toon-headedness in our brains." Jensen would seriously be thrilled if he could actually climb IN the T.V.

"Jake"-O-Lantern

2009-11-26T21:22:00.001-08:00

Yes...I KNOW he's chewing on a piece of plastic, but it was a great shot of his two lil' teeth. Isn't our "Jake"-O-Lantern so cute?!? Currently working on SIX new teeth. I think we'll all be happier around here when those bad boys show their faces around here.

Jensen Carl Rotter Boy is THREE!!!!

2009-11-26T21:19:00.001-08:00

Much to his dismay, Jensen turned three on the 19th. You see, what he really wanted was to be "dibe" (five). For WEEKS he's been telling us, and anyone else who would listen, "My go-knee be dibe. Dibe like Daith. My dibe. My go cool. My sit in dooster seat." Translated to: "I am going to be five. Five like Faith. I'm five. I will go to school. I will sit in a booster seat. Sounds much cuter in his words, huh?

Now, we could have played along with this, but being the mean spirited family we are, we kept telling him that someday he'd be five, but he needed to be three and four first. This usually evoked a two-year old meltdown/screaming fit with words like, "No! My 8 then. My 10. My 6!" We didn't really think anyone would believe our 25ish pound son, that comes with his own personal translator, was ACTUALLY five. Maybe we're wrong, but we went out on a limb and celebrated his THIRD birthday in style with a Doggy Themed "Pawty!" He kept requesting a "green" birthday, but my creative juices weren't coming up with much for that theme. So doggy it was.

Jensen has come around to the fact that he's three (except for when (in his words) he's a baby and wants a binky) and had a great time at his party. He was so cute opening presents. He'd open one and all he'd want to do was play with THAT present and not open the others. Good thing he had Faith there to help him! :)

His most prized gift was a set of binoculars from Papa Rick and Grandma Beth. He loves his "nockers" and tells EVERYONE he sees, friends and foes alike, that he loves to play with his "nockers." Perfectly fine in CONTEXT, but things get a little uncomfortable when this is proclaimed to the random checker at Fred Meyer. And his "nockers" are no where in sight. Lovely.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-26T21:18:00.001-08:00

Pumpkin carving 2009 was a blast! Momma got smart this year and we scooped our pumpkins outside. Notice the difference in warmth of clothing Faith and Jensen chose to wear. In typical "I'm too hot" fashion, Faith is sparsely dressed, sporting a cotton sundress and her new glitter Christmas shoes. Jensen on the other hand is always "coedy" (cold) and is bundled up like he's headed to the North Pole to whip up some toys for the Salvation Army toy drive. This particular day, I sided with Jensen...lots of layers for me!

This year it was FREEZING during trick or treating. I have some "great" pictures (which I am not posting) of the kids out trick-or-treating dressed as "Children of the Winter," staring coats, hats, mittens, etc. Believe it or not...those were indeed NOT their original costumes. I know. I know. Should have started with "Children of the Winter" but it just didn't seem quite original enough.

According to Jensen he was a Pirate this year. That is what he wanted to be and what we went shopping for. What we left the store with was a Power Ranger suit, which he still refered to as a pirate. Even after multiple attempts, by his sister, to help him understand what his costume it. It was really important to this said sister that he KNEW he was a Power Ranger. You know. The sister who change her mind about her costume FIVE times. On the day of Halloween. Costumes included bunny, cat, butterfly, butterfly princess and fairy. All revolving around a black leotard and black tutu. LOVE the creativity and imagination of both Faith and Jensen.

Below you see the cutest spider EVER! Don't think I've ever called a spider cute before. Those of you who know me well, know I'm not a fan of real life arachnids, but I feel in love with this Pottery Barn spider costume for our little guy! He was adorable and warm! Although getting him and all eight legs into the car seat was a bit of a challenge.

Because Some Days This is How it Feels...

2009-11-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

You've gotta read my friend, Amy's, letter to Santa! So funny. Personally, I'm banking on Mrs. Clause, but I think there's a market in store for Amy's request. Sign me up!

http://amylmurray01.blogspot.com/2009/11/dear-santa.html

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-10-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

What perfect weather for a day at the Pumpkin Patch! All of our lil' pumpkins found pumpkins that met their hearts desire.

Daddy-Daughter Date

2009-09-27T11:00:00.001-07:00

Faith and Joe got to go to the Rodeo for a special night out. Jensen got to go to Winegars with mommy and Jacob for blue ice cream with sprinkles on top! An all around perfect night for everyone!

Thanks for the Rodeo tickets Uncle Neal and Aunt Janice! Our little cowgirl and her daddy had a blast watching the show and eating cotton candy!

Big Girls Don't Cry

2009-09-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

Joe is out of the woods from hunting for a few days and I've been keeping him busy. In less then 16 hours he's done laundry, emptied the dishwasher, a round of baths and bedtime, vacuumed, watered plants, made a LARGE pot of coffee, made pancakes for breakfast, straightened the garage, and taken Faith and Jensen in for flu shots. See why things fall apart around here when he's gone? He's ALWAYS this helpful. Although, I've noticed during hunting season, he's a bit more eager to help. You know, less heavy sighs, and other signs of being completely irritated by chores.

When Daddy and the kids got home from flu shots this morning Faith bounds in the house and says, "I didn't even cry for my shot! We'll actually just a little at first." Apparently, she has a bit of an inflated sense of what ACTUALLY went down at the Valley Clinic this morning.

As the story goes from Joe: The whole ride down there she laughed and giggled and was EXCITED to get a shot. She was even going to go first so Jensen would see it didn't hurt and he wouldn't be afraid. THEN when the nurse walked in she was singing a different tune. Long story shortened into bullet format:

-Jensen had to go first and cried because he was being held down by Joe.
-Faith's turn resulted in being restrained by Joe (sitting behind her pinning her arms down, two nurses holding her down, one nurse administering her shot, SCREAMING like Joe has never heard before out of her during the preparations, and our Doctor (who hates being present for shots...he likes to be the "good-guy") rushing in to be sure everything was alright.
-THEN as soon as she looked down and saw the needle in her arm, all mayhem ceased and she declared, "oh...I didn't even cry!" Apparently all adults in the room were doubled over in stitches from fits of laughter.

Joe said on the way out she was strutting her stuff with a swanky little walk, flitting her sticker in the air with a HUGE smile on her face saying "That didn't even hurt one little bit!" The halls of the clinic were lined with people watching her leave like this after they'd all heard her in the exam room! That's our girl!!!! Never without "spirit" and drama!

And this my friends...would be why she got her Kindergarten shots at age 4 versus age 5. Dr. Larson knew she'd only get stronger and stronger and harder to hold down.

Dyson Update

2009-09-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

If you recall in a previous post, I really like my Dyson vacuum. Okay, I LOVE my Dyson. I've already told Joe, if we are ever to divorce, I get the vacuum. He looked at me with a bit of a blank stare. Not sure if that's because he knows me well enough to know that the vacuum IS one of my favorite things or because it's the only thing I mentioned. No mention of the house, the debt, or even the kids. I just wanted to be sure I get to take my vacuum! And NO, divorce is not in our future. Anyways, back to my post one thing I love about my vacuum is THIS (taken straight from their website):
All Dyson upright and canister vacuums have:
No loss of suction
Root Cyclone™ technology means Dyson vacuums don’t lose suction power as you clean.

Wow! I love the fact that my precious Dyson is so powerful. Yet, for the past few months, it just hasn't been working up to speed. When working in "normal" mode it runs like a dream. When I'd attempt to use the hose, it made a terrible noise, lost all suction, and didn't pick up even the tiniest of Polly Pocket parts. I'm sure Faith has sabotaged it, after seeing numerous Polly shoes,whirling around in that cyclonic tank.

One of the deciding factors in splurging for the Dyson Animal was their fabulous 5 year warranty. This week, I had "Call Dyson" on my to-do list. Let me tell you how thankful I am that I did NOT get that done. Yesterday, I decided to attempt to unearth the problem myself. After a few minutes, I discovered just how easy it was to take off a few parts, even with the help of a five year old, a 2 1/2 year old, and a 7 month old. Yes. They love the "Animal" as much as I do.

Now, once again, Dyson advertises

All Dyson upright and canister vacuums have:
No loss of suction
Root Cyclone™ technology means Dyson vacuums don’t lose suction power as you clean.

Anywhere up there does it read: "Dyson suggests using the hose devise to suck up household objects like a knife?" Huh? Yes, I pulled a plastic baggie full of YUCK (a full hair cut full of hair, toys, rubber bands, food, stickers, etc.), you know all the "normal" things you'd suck up with a household vacuum, out of a 4 inch section of my precious. Including...a plastic knife. Really. I'm a bit confused why it couldn't make the hairpin turn, up the pipe into the canister. With all that Dyson power and all. Are you kidding me?!? A knife?! Now I'm not 100% certain how this happened, but for the record THIS IS NOT A SHOP VAC!

I AM happy to report that my vacuum is fixed and can't wait to tell Joe all about it when he gets home. He has been complaining lately how "YOUR Dyson doesn't seem to be all it's cut out to be!" Hmmmm....sabotage?!?

Jensen's Prayers

2009-09-11T18:22:00.003-07:00

Every night (or at least most nights) when we put the kids to bed we "pray on them" (they call it) and then they say their own prayers. It is so, so sweet to hear what they pray about. Faith has the sweetest most innocent prayers and I love hearing her heart in work. Jensen on the other hand, prayers the same EXACT thing every night. It's touches my heart to hear him talk to God and also makes me giggle a little:

Chank-chew (thank you) for my mommy.Chank-chew for my daddy. Chank-chew for my Daith (Faith). Chank-chew for my Gake (Jake). Chank-chew for the hic-ups. We're assuming that one night he had the hic-ups and has just said it ever since!

The picture has nothing to do with his prayers, but isn't he the cutest?!?

"I'll Always Be Your Baby!"

2009-09-11T18:21:00.004-07:00

Those are the words Faith said to me seconds before the last picture was snapped. Exactly 5 minutes and 18 seconds before we loaded her in the car for her first day of Kindergarten. Was she trying to make me cry? Is there some sort of competition at school for the kid with the most hysterical mother? Is THAT how she got to be "teacher's helper" on her first day. Way to go Faith! You made me bawl and won my heart over once again!

Today was such a bitter-sweet day for me. Faith is more then ready for school, but I'm just not ready to hand her over to the "world." I didn't sleep a wink last night, but I did manage to hold it together when dropping her off at school. Until...I walked away. Then I bawled like a baby. Baby? Wasn't SHE just a baby?!?

Anyways, Faith LOVED school and I loved that it was only half day. I think half-time is a perfect fit for her (and me). She gets one last year at home with me in the mornings, but gets to learn all about school!

Jensen's Big Boy Summer

2009-09-11T18:21:00.003-07:00

There's not much "baby" left in Jensen these days. Two major milestones have happened over the past three months. First off, the day after school got out, I tackled potty-training Jens. It went MUCH better then I had expected, considering when ever I'd mention it he'd literally FREAK out and shout things like, "Mommy, yikes (likes) to change my poop!" Guess I learn something new about myself every day, because I simply was not aware that I even remotely liked to change stinky, 2 1/2 year old boy poop! Anyhow, we had a big countdown, went and bought "big boy" underwear the day before, and completely went diaper free, except for nap and bed time. The first morning, he cried the better part of two hours and was MORTIFIED to be wearing underwear. He had a couple of full-on accidents that first day, but by day three was pretty much trained. Refused to use the little kid potty (THANK HEAVENS!) and has been a dream ever since. A few funny things about him being in underwear now:

-He calls them "my wonderwears"
-He's so stinking skinny that even the smallest ones are baggy
-Jensen prefers the boxer-briefs, like daddy, which again are too loose
-He INSIST on wearing them all backwards, so he can see the picture on them

The other big news in our house IS (insert DRUM ROLL) he's kicked the habit and is now binky-free!!! Actually, I should give a more accurate description of what really went down in our house, because that sounds a bit like Jensen woke up one morning, cheerfully threw out all of his binkies, and declared himself "clean and sober." Beautiful picture I just painted there, but not so much how it happened.

What REALLY happened was one exhausted, sleep-deprived mother found herself up nightly dealing with the binky-woes of her two precious boys. Binkies were disappearing and falling out of little mouths left and right, leaving this hear said mommy blindly searching the corners of the crib (Jacob), inside pillow cases, under the cavern of the bed (Jensen) multiple times each night, seeking out the precious, prized binkies that could be shoved in the mouths of her children and allow her to steal a few precious minutes of sleep. Running on severe sleep deprivation and loads of coffee, mommy formed herself a MAB (Mother's- Against - Binkies) group, consisting of a whopping one whole member...yes herself. When dear sweet daddy left for his hunting trip, mommy decided the time was right. See, she knew had both mommy and daddy been there they would have talked themselves into giving in. Here is how the first meeting of MAB went down.

The following events took place on September 7th 2009:

-6pm: Kelly is exhausted from the previous nights shenanigans of binky searching decided tonight Jensen is done with binkies and breaks the news to him that they are all gone. Jensen says, "we buy more morrow (tomorrow) at Meyers (Fred Meyer)." Mommy insist they are all gone. Jensen insist Jacob will share his. Mommy insist we are done with binkies. Jensen insist there has got to be one last, remaining artificial nipple in this house that he can get his hands on.
-6:17pm: Mommy realizes if the binkies are going for Jens, they've got to go for Jacob at the same time.
-6:40: Kelly finishes collecting any binky she can find, shoves them all into a plastic bag while no one is looking, and throws them high and deep onto the top shelf in the garage. Just in case. You never know what may happen at 3:00am. She just knew she'd have to be pretty desperate to get out the later, move all the junk from the ground below the shelf, rummage through God-only-knows-what on the top shelf to retrieve the binkies.
-7:30 Bedtime rolls around. Jensen cries. A lot. Really a lot. Kelly feels VERY guilty, but holds strong. Jacob goes down like a dream (and sleeps much better then the previous months).
-Fast Forward to 10:00pm. Jensen is STILL awake. Anytime mommy goes in his room, he's out of bed rummaging around and says, "go away. my yooking for sumfing."
-Jensen woke up twice in the middle of the night, but has had no problems ever since.

For being such a big boy he got to go to the store and pick out any toy he wanted. Of coarse he wanted the 12 foot long, bazooka water gun. Really. What 2 1/2 year old boy wouldn't. Luckily he was persuaded into the Light Saber. I did learn something new about Star Wars (seeing as how I'm not a fan), after 31 years of calling them Light Savers, apparently they are Light SABERS.

I do miss his sweet binky kisses every night at bed time, but am loving his new "real" kisses just as much! :)

"Who Stole Our Baby?"

2009-09-11T18:21:00.001-07:00

Yep. Another unhappy Rotter kid! Look at that smile! Seven months old and really coming into his own. Jacob's favorite activities include: eating puzzle pieces, unraveling the toilet paper, teething (he's determined to show those teeth whose boss yet), climbing on top of Jensen and Faith (I'm thinking the tackling has already begun), holding his own bottle when mommy is away, moving from crawling to sitting and back again, feeding him self finger food, crawling all over the house, army crawling, pulling himself to standing-followed by falling down and hitting his head, playing with his toys, laughing at the cat, eating toilet paper, chasing the vacuum (our kids all love the vacuum), smiling like crazy, babbling and "shouting" along with the other two, attempting to keep up with his brother and sister and simply melting our hearts one smile at a time!

Reflections of Summer

2009-09-11T18:20:00.001-07:00

WE'REEEEE BAAAACK! After a long summer break from blogging, we are back and at it. Be rest assured, the lack of updates wasn't due to a lack of happenings! We simply were busy and having so much fun just being a family. Our blogging break was actually quite intentional. Reflecting back, we actually squeezed lots into summer. Here are a few of our favorites:

-6 weeks of swimming for Faith and a new friend for Jensen to play with there
-Long walks in the morning
-riding bikes and scooters
-play dates at the park
-pajamas as long as we liked!
-Pat and Kat's wedding at Hood Canal with the Thorson side of the family
-Camping with Grandma and Grandpa Rotter
-Swimming at the new lodge at Red's
-play dates with our many, many friends
-planting our first garden: radishes, lettuce, carrots, basil, tomatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, beans, peas
-visiting cousins Harry and Arden in Walla Wall at their fun, fun Bed and Breakfast, Nine Trees Inn
-Ephrata Water park with Grandma Beth and then again with friends later
-Fourth of July festivities at Reds and West Ellensburg Park
-Face painting almost every Saturday at the market
-Ellensburg Rodeo and Fair
-school clothes shopping for our big kinder kid
-visiting Auntie Shayne in Wenatchee (and allergy testing for Jensen)
-making pesto with the kids- THEY LOVE PESTO!
-trip to Small Woods Farm (LOVE it there)
-drinking my morning coffee on the deck while the sun rises
-playing board games with the kids
-family walks in the evening
-story time and cuddles
-many milestones for Jensen (potty training and kicking the binky habit)
-watching Jacob grow before our very eyes
-Faith learning so many new things

I simply loved the lazy days of summer this year. We were always busy and hoppin', but it was so nice to be on a "family" schedule versus work schedule! Can't wait for June to roll around again! :)

A B C's Of Me

2009-06-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

Just for fun!

A - Age: 31

B - Bed size: Queen...although with three kids who like to snuggle in the morning a King sounds VERY appealing!

C - Chore you hate: Anything to do with the laundry...washing, folding, ironing, hanging, putting it away.

D - Dog's name: No dogs, but a cat named Bentley

E - Essential start your day item: A nice hot shower to wake my sleepy eyes up. Then a cup of coffee.

F - Favorite color: Red

G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: I like wearing both silver and platinum

H - Height: 5'6"

I - Instruments you play: Ummm...does the whistle count when I have recess duty?

J - Job title: Teacher, mother, house keeper, laundress, accountant, nose wipper, puke cleaner, owie fixer, hug giver etc. etc.

K - Kid(s): The three greatest EVER: Faith, Jensen and Jacob.

L - Living arrangements: My sweet man and my three babies.

M - Mom's name: Beth

N - Nicknames: Kel, Kell-Bell (when I was little)

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: The births of my kids.

P - Pet Peeve: decietfulness, unwiped splilled coffee on the counter, tardiness.

Q - Quote from a movie: Can't think of any "adult" movie quotes.

R - Right handed or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: 1 sister

T - Time you wake up: No later then 6:00 am.

U- Underwear: Yes please, I don't particularly like going commando!

V - Vegetable you dislike: I pretty much like them all, except the wierd ones like brussle sprouts.

W - Ways you run late: Pushing the snooze button one too many times, kids, picking up the house on my way out the door.

X - X-rays you've had: head, stomach, legs.

Y - Yummy food you make: Not sure if it's all yummy, but I do love to cook!

Z - Zoo favorite: I like it all.

Oh Happy Day...

2009-05-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

This is what I get to stare at most of the day!

Isn't he the happiest, cutest, most smiley baby? I love him to pieces and can't believe all he's already doing. Rolling is his new thing. Front to back has been mastered for a long time, but now he's got it going on both ways and can even do a series of rolls. Watch out world, another Rotter is on the loose!

Raising Boys

2009-05-26T22:08:00.000-07:00

Below is Jensen's latest weapon.
Enter...my $80.00 straightening iron. Yes, the 4th one I've owned (don't ask why I keep spending so much. If you've ever seen my hair you get it), and the one I've only had 2 months.

As I'm feeding the baby tonight, "J-Bird" delicately carried this down the hall by the cord shouting "Ot (hot) Mom! Ot (hot) Mom!" To which I replied "J-Bird, yes that is mommy's hot iron. It's only for mommy. Can I please have it back?"

"No!" Shouts Jensen and then proceeds to make ferocious growling noises and shouts, "I go to bite you! I go to eat you!" All the while aggressively opening and closing the straightening iron and thrusting it back and forth at all parts of my body.

Yes...briefly, I was actually frightened of my 26lb, 2.5 year old.

For the record, it was not hot, but at least I know he's been listening when I'm doing my hair. He had helped himself to the iron out of the drawer, when he was finished eating toothpaste in my bathroom. Can't get him to eat "traditional" foods, but give the kid a tube of toothpaste or some bouillon cubes and he's good to go!

Savings

2009-05-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

So...here are my recent deals at Albertsons!

I really think my adjusted age may be 85with the way I like to coupon shop. I seriously get a thrill out of it!

Here's what I got and what the regular prices are:

Two tubs of Crystal Light @ 4.99 each
Individual Crystal Light @ 3.99
Two Kraft Dressings @ 2.69 each
Ritz Crackers @ 2.89
Two Kraft BBQ Sauces @ 2.49 each
Bertolli Dinner @ 8.99
2 Wheat Thins @ 3.79 each
2 Triscuts @ 3.79 each
Kraft Mayonnaise @ 4.29 each
Wacky Mac @ 1.89
Three Bagelfuls @ 3.59 each

The Total Price Would have been 68.32

What I Paid.....2.89!!!! Can you believe it?!?!

*The funny thing is some of this stuff I would never buy, because I wouldn't FATHOM paying 3.79 for a dinky box of crackers or 3.59 for 4 small bagels with cream cheese. I love that some of the good deals I got were "special treats" for the family and some things we actually needed.

Okay...so I went back this evening and added to my savings (not pictured):

3 boxes of Tricuts @ 3.79 each
1 box of Wheat Thins @ 3.79
1 box of Bagelfuls @ 3.59
2 bags of Wacky Mac @ 1.89each
2 Kraft Salad Dressing @ 2.69 each
1 Kraft BBQ Sauce @ 2.49
1 Box of Ritz @ 2.89

Total Retail would have been 33.29 and I only paid 1.27

Basically I've gotten 101.61 worth of groceries for the bargain price of $4.16!!!

BTW, I technically would have gotten money back today (not that that was my plan), but I guess that's not allowed. The six not-so-pleased-with-my-stack-of-coupons-people in line behind me were looking a bit less then friendly, so I grabbed the closest box of crackers (Triscuts for 1.47) and high-tailed it out of Albertson's as fast as I could.

Warning!!! Do NOT try this level of bargaining at home. It may lead to serious risks to your health. Side effects may include, loss of ability to pay full price for anything, loss of self-pride from going through the line multiple times, loss of "coolness" from the fact that you posted this on the World Wide Web, and loss of friends your age when you enjoy talking budgets while out for drinks.

May Storms

2009-05-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

This month (and maybe in April, too, but my memory is failing me here), we've had some really unusualy weather for Eastern Washington. We had a great thunder and hail storm one night and the kids (not baby Jacob) and I even got out for a few, VERY BRIEF seconds to dance in the hail. They were giggling like crazy and their giggles are something Joe and I will never forget. This picture is from a different storm. Faith and Jensen are sitting inside the dining room, with the french doors wide open, watching the rain fall. They were absolutly silent and loving watching the rain pour down and patter off the deck.

Mother's Day...a PERFECT day

2009-05-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day was FANTASTIC. Before I woke up (at 6:30am), Joe and the kids had already gone and washed and cleaned out the van and brought me a latte in bed. Faith, Jensen and Joe made breakfast which we all ate in bed...all five of us. It was quite cozy. I was treated to lots of homemade gifts from the kids, painted pots, cards, paper crafts, a homemade telescope. All very sweet, sweet things they did for me. I got LOTS of plants for the garden and a WHOLE DAY of yardwork. You may laugh, but that's exactly what I said I wanted. The weather was gorgous and the kids played outside all day. We topped the day off with dinner at Road House Grill. Thanks for everything kiddos and hubby. How blessed I am to be called "mommy" by these three amazing, wonderful, loving, unique children. My heart is so full of thankfulness.

BUBBLES

2009-05-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

Joe and I LOVE these pictures of Jensen. This was the first time he was able to blow bubbles himself and he was so concentrated. The first one was his reaction when one popped in his mouth..."Gucky! Gucky!" he kept saying! Such a sweet, rough boy he is!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

2009-05-15T14:05:00.002-07:00

Haven't posted lately. Just getting back into the "swing" of working, watching Stacie's kiddos, and spending every free minute with our amazing kiddos. Will try to update later, but for now here are a few pictures.

Faith's Fantastic Five Years

2009-05-15T14:05:00.001-07:00

Dear Faith,

As you turn five daddy and I would like to share some of our favorite memories of you over this past year. We love you so much and are so proud of all that you do. Here is a very rough, incomplete list of some of the things that make up you our Fabulous, Awesome, Individual,Talented, Heaven Sent daughter:

-You are "spirited" beyond belief. From the moment you wake up in the morning, until the moment you close your eyes at night you do everything with an irreplaceable zest and spirt. You are passionate about everything you do from your play to getting your socks on JUST right so they don't "bug" you.
-You are an AMAZING big sister to Jensen and Jacob. So kind and caring with both boys and so patient with Jensen, even when he's "wrecking your setup."
-You are such an inquisitive girl. Nothing gets by you! :)
-You love your friends and are always up for a playdate.
-You have such a great imagination and love pretend play
-You know all of your letters, numbers, and letter sounds and are wanting to start to put them together.
-One of your favorite things to do lately, is draw. You spend hours sitting at the little desk in the entry way drawing and drawing. We go through REEMS of paper around here, but don't mind at all!
-You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE preschool and can't wait for Kindergarten.
-You have gotten to be so affectionate lately. No one goes to bed around here with out a hug and a kiss from you!
-One of the weekly activites you enjoy is going to Cubbies. You are learning a lot and making some GREAT friends there!
-If you had your way, you'd always be right at my side doing whatever it is that I am doing. You are always eager to help and love to be in the kitchen cooking and baking.

Love you sissy! Can't wait to see what changes this next year brings for you!

My "Baby" is Five

2009-04-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

More to come later, but here is a quick picture from Faith on her Birthday. Amazes Joe and I that Faith Elizabeth Rotter turned 5 on Wednesday. The picture is from her celebration at preschool. She'll get to have a few friends over next week to celebrate with then as well!

Any Guesses????

2009-04-12T21:16:00.001-07:00

Interview with Faith

2009-03-20T20:18:00.001-07:00

Yes...these were her real answers!

1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you!
2. What makes mom happy? Doing good things
3. What makes mom sad? Doing bad things, like Jensen throwing his hot dog onto the floor.
4. How does your mom make you laugh? Tickles me
5. What was your mom like as a child? Played Barbies
6. How old is your mom? 30
7. How tall is your mom? 33 inches
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Spend time with me and Jensen and Jacob and dad
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? goes on dates
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? a Superstar-a star that is really good at playing the guitar and singing
11. What is your mom really good at? Cooking Mac and cheese
12. What is your mom not very good at? Climbing Trees
13. What does your mom do for a job? Teach
14.What is your mom's favorite food? Lasagna
15.What makes you proud of your mom? When you do what I want you to do
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Hannah Montana
17. What do you and your mom do together? Make cookies
18. How are you and your mom the same? We both have brown hair
19. How are you and your mom different? We talk different
20. How do you know your mom loves you? She cuddles with me
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? That he loves you
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Where ever I want to go

Happy First Birthday Isabella

2009-03-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

Another sweet, sweet baby who pulled at our hearts this past year. Isabella was born weighing 1 lb. 2 oz a year ago. A miracle in the works!!!! I grew up as "family" with Isabella's dad and have spent many, many days praying for this beautiful baby girl!

Happy First Birthday Maddie Grace

2009-03-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

Those of you who haven't read about Madison Grace yet, take a moment to read about hr and her sweet family here http://allredbabygirl.blogspot.com/. This past weekend she celebrated her first Birthday!!! Way to go Maddie we are so proud of you and are blessed to be considered part of your journey. We love reading about you and your family.

I worked with Katie, Maddie's mom, when I taught in Royal City. Katie is an AMAZING person and has blessed the lives of so many people!

She's Baaack..."Koupon Kelly"

2009-03-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

Look what I got today for a grand total of...(drum roll, please) TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTEEN CENTS!!!!

Can't even by a latte for that price!

This morning was a perfect day to be out and about on foot. Dropped Faith off at Preschool and then Jensen, Jacob and I parked downtown for some on-foot errand running. Put the new Sit and Stand Stroller to use with stops at The Dollar Tree, The County Building, The UPS Store, Albertsons, Jerrols and back to the Dollar Tree.

BTW...speaking of deals. I scored the Sit-and-Stand for $30.00 at Target right before Jacob was born. They are usually 130.00 so I was THRILLED!!! Always wanted one, but not for full-price!

Jacob Had the Hiccups...

2009-03-09T10:38:00.001-07:00

Jacob frequently has the hiccups...always has, even when I was pregnant with him. Faith loves the song "Hannah Has the Hiccups" and sings it to him all the time. Here is the version she made for her baby brother.

"Jacob has the hiccups.
Hic, hic, hic, hic, hic, hic.
All that hic, hic, hicing, makes Jacob feel quite sick.
His sissy (usually it says Mommy) doesn't worry.
She knows just what to do.
To scare away the hiccups, she simply whisper (usually it says yells) BOO!"

So sweet she is with him. Always offering to help hold him, give him his daily bottle, bring diapers, wipes, protect him, etc. But her favorite thing is to sing to him and tell him stories. She always has been quite the little "Mommy!"

Smiley Boy

2009-03-09T10:37:00.003-07:00

Right Mom?

2009-03-09T10:37:00.001-07:00

When she was two it was "Not yet." At age four, it's "Right Mom?" So cute. Everything Faith says (and she sure says a lot) ends with, "right mom?" Love that girl and everything about her!!!

Another Use for a Not-So-Common Product

2009-03-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

If you read my previous pictureless entry, you know that today I'm running on four hours of INTERRUPTED sleep. I really tend to make the best out of any situation. As I'm awake, albeit groggy, but awake at 4:00am, I was doing my best to thank God that I have these three precious children to be up with.

Yes...all three children are currently sleeping at the same time. Yes, it is after 5:00pm, meaning bedtime tonight will be a real challenge, but I'm not complaining.

Why am I not complaining that bedtime will be a real treat tonight? Because they are ALL sleeping. At. The. Same. Time. Here is how our day has gone.

By 10:00am Faith and Jensen had both had more than one time out. All three kids were crying at the same time and I was on the verge of tears. Instead of loosing my cool (okay...I did loose it just a tiny bit, but I'm entitled, right?) I decided a change of pace was needed. I loaded all three up for an outing consisting of Happy Meals (and free Iced Vanilla Coffee for me...coupon), a drive through the car wash, a trip to KIttitas to drop off some Pampered Chef goodies, and a walk through the dollar tree. Faith chose a "beautiful" jewelry set and Jensen a Spiderman gun/launcher thingy...how at two he already understands guns is beyond me.

By the time we got home they were in better spirits and ready for nap time. I'm peacefully feeding the baby and reading him the 3rd Twilight book. Maybe not his choice of literature, but I'm making an attempt here. I was enjoying my moment with Jacob when I hear, "Poopy. Sock. Pooy. Sock" Which actually sounded more like "Poody. Gawk. Poody. Gawk." I look up to see Jensen walking across the cream colored carpet with "Pood" covered "Gawks." How this happened, I have no idea, BUT there was a Hansel and Gretel trail of poop to be followed back to the source. Good thing, because the smell wasn't enough to lead me to the mess. I track the trail of poop across the cream colored living room carpet, up the hallway, through the baby's room (cream carpet) and into Faith and Jensen's room (cream carpet) straight to the area where the rocking horse is located. Upon fist inspection, one might assume that the rocking horse had a bit of an "accident" on the carpet.

Much to my dismay, it wasn't the horse. My darling son had poop up his back, up his front and all over his socks (still unclear how that happened), there was a large area of poop near the rear of the inanimate horse, as well as "track marks" from the rockers on the horse, where he had been ridden through the poop. I'm assuming the horse would have prefered to have made the mess himself, versus being riden through it.

Jensen received a bath and I cleaned up the mess all the while trying to convince myself that it was not indeed poop that I was seeing and smelling. Clearly people, I knew it was poop, but I was trying to prevent vomiting...it was THAT bad!!!!

I got out my handy Dyson carpet spot remover, sprayed the "spots" (used loosely...better describe as large areas) and began to read the directions. All the while the baby is SCREAMING. "Blot with absorbent white cloth from the outside in." Jacob's screaming is becoming louder which spikes my hormones and emotions and I begin to sweat profusely and shake (always do when my "babies" are in distress). Frantically I start to look around for the above said cloth, panic and do what any good breastfeeding mom does. Reach down my shirt, grab my breast pads, and blot away. There you have it, sleep deprivation at it's best and a new use for Breast Pads!

It's a darn good thing Jensen wasn't where he was supposed to be, in his bed, during this time. Then the mess would have been confined to his bed. Resulting in a simple change of sheets, washing of the clothes and bath for him. Darn good thing he was up out of bed.

Time Change

2009-03-08T10:32:00.001-07:00

As I blog about this, my two dear eldest children have been awake for exactly 5 hours and 34 minutes. Yes...they woke up at 5:00am per the new time change or for all of you brains 4:00am "old" time. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't we supposed to sleep in an extra hour. So, with our usual 6:00am wake up, shouldn't they have slept until 7:00am?

Here's a replay of our night/early morning. Joe is out of town at a fly fishing show with his friend and coworker Johnny. I had Erinn and JT (Johnny's wife and almost two year old) over for dinner.

7:15 Faith fell asleep on the couch.
8:30 JT and Erinn leave.
8:45 Jensen into bed (really late for him).
9:00 put a Pull-Up on the still sleeping Faith and carry her to my bed as I was not going to try to hoist my 44lb 5 year old to her top bunk. Get baby ready for bed. Feed baby. Change baby's poopy diaper. Feed baby. Change baby's poopy diaper. Feed baby. Change baby's poopy diaper and put baby down for the night at 10:45pm.
10:45 pm Clean up the house, make the guest bed, do a little blog stalking.
11:30 hop into a soaking wet bed...Faith had apparently soaked through her pull-up. Wake Faith up to change all of her clothes and strip the sheets off of my bed.
12:00am By this point, it's almost midnight so we slept with no sheets on the bed (cozy).
2:00am baby wakes to be fed.
3:00am baby wakes to be fed.
3:35am Faith has a bad dream (and is screaming) that a dinosaur ate her...could be a problem since the theme at preschool for the upcoming two weeks is DINOSAURS!
3:55am baby wakes to eat.
4:00 Jensen crawls in bed with Faith and I and is wide awake. As is Faith, whom as been poked and prodded by baby brother.
4:30am, put Jensen back in his bed with two binkies, his blanket, and a HUGE cup of warm milk. ALWAYS WORKS IN OUR HOUSE!
5:00am Jensen is back in my room wide awake and Faith is still awake, too. At this point, I give up and put on a movie in my room hoping to catch some more sleep. No such luck...they are now hungry and ready to play for the day.

For the record...for the baby's entire life, he has typically only woken up 1-2 times at night. Was there a full-moon last night????

Oh how I pray they all take naps today. At. The. Same. Time.

Hawaiian Luau-Starwars-Horsey Party

2009-03-07T09:51:00.000-08:00

No pictures for this one. Just the lastest theme Faith has come up with for her 5th Birthday Party. BTW...she's been planing her party since last year. We've gone through all sorts of ideas, but this was surely the most creative. Hopefully we come up with a new one between now and then, because I'm not sure how I could pull this one off.

Birth Announcements

2009-03-05T12:13:00.001-08:00

Since I'm on a posting roll here, I thought I'd post a picture of Jacob's birth announcements. I LOVE how they turned out!

The Bow and the Ewow

2009-03-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

The objects of Jensen's affection these days are his Bow and "Ewow." They are currently outside toys after he shot Faith in the head...He LOVES his bow and "Ewow" and had a great shot, too. According to his dad he's a real natural with great aim and form. Whatever that means. His bow and "ewow" have been known to go to bed with him. In the middle of the night, once, he was whimpering in his sleep, "Bow, bow, my bow."

Isn't he just the cutest little guy? Note the Dora Rollerskates in the picture...and the yogurt smeared all over his shirt. I believe that was the day he ate five "blue" (vanilla) yogurts. Apparently he was just as excited about my good grocery deals as I was. :)

Thankful Thursday

2009-03-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

Thankful for many things today, but today am going to emphasize our amazing family, friends and community. Love, love, love all three of those. We have three of the most precious children ever (may be biased, but it's my blog). Faith and Jensen are so sweet with the new baby and Jacob is just a little cuddle bug.

Our families support us in all we do with visits, emails, phone calls and advice. My mom has been here for two weeks from Arizona and the kids have loved having her here to visit...and I haven't exactly minded her doing all of my laundry. Thanks Mom! Today Faith and Jensen are up painting pottery at Interactive Toys in Cle Elum with one brave Grandma and her dear friend Adrianne!

Thankful for Ellensburg and the great community it is. Can I share that I've cooked dinner no more than five times since Jacob has been born. What a wonderful gift this has been for our family and it came at exactly the right time. When I came home from the hospital (with a bit of hitch in my giddy-up), hormonal and to a houseful of vomiting children, I was feel a bit "down" to say the least. I sat down few hours later to check my emails and to my surprise my dear friend Cori had set up meals for us, every other night, for and entire MONTH. At that point I broke down in tears of gratitude. PLUS, I must add, that other dear friends, coworkers, etc. also showed up with food during this month, adding to dates that were already spoken for! Thank you EVERYONE who has done this for our family. What a blessing to focus more on our children and becoming a family of five then meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Ariel Sarah Fishy Rotter

2009-03-02T13:45:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, my mom asked where "Ariel Sarah Fishy Rotter" was and I remembered that I never shared the story of Ariel Sarah Fishy Rotter...and YES that was the given name of our 1.35 goldfish. Last spring my sister (Sarah) took Faith into the pet store to pick out a Beta fish, while we were walking around the Farmers Market. After about 45 minutes of "Tantie" (Faith's name for Sarah when she was learning to talk) patiently letting Faith inspect each of the 7 Beta's attempting to determine which one she'd like to take home, Faith looked up at her and with her cute little wrinkled nose, and pig-tail adorned head, and said "Tantie, can I get a REAL fish?" as she glanced longingly at the tank full of THOUSANDS of gold fish. Of coarse Auntie obliged, but we were all a little surprised that she would choose an ordinary goldfish over a Beta...quite frankly I'm glad she just didn't request the real objects of her desire on that day rats, guinea pigs, and Komodo Dragons. I'm pretty sure Sarah would have consented and we'd currently be housing the city zoo.

After another 10 minutes, and 27 cents (tax included) later. Faith was the proud owner of a goldfish in a plastic bag. Her thinking it's the exact one she choose, but luckily the gal at the pet store must have had lots of experience in children "choosing" fish because she dramatically dipped the net into the tank, asked again which one Faith wanted, swatted at a few pretending to miss the chosen one, and then frantically shouting "I got her! I got her!" Producing a fish that looked nothing like the chosen one, but Faith had no clue. The remainder of the money spent came from the bowl purchased at the Dollar Tree.

Anyways, rambling now, fast forward, fast forward. Faith named the fish Ariel Sarah Fishy Rotter. She WAS a well loved member of our family and always called by her full given name, but not because she was in trouble (as when my children are called by their full given names), but because Faith insisted. She was a perfect pet. Not a lot of work and entertained Faith who loved to stare at her bowl and talk to her.

That was until Jenszilla discovered his love of Ariel Sarah Fishy Rotter. Faith was less then thrilled to share her chair in front of the fish bowl, but eventually decided two loving fish owners may be better than just one. Jensen, however, was content with speaking with Ariel for only the first day.

I came home from work and asked Joe (the parenting father that day) why our house smelled like fish and what the filmy stuff on the floor was. Well...he explained the following story. Apparently, Joe was working on the computer, Faith was playing in the bathroom sink, and Jensen was "parenting" Ariel when he decided he'd really like to be more "hands-on" with Ariel...resulting in her untimely death and a MORTIFIED Faith. To calm her down, Joe finally promised Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner and a proper burial for Ariel.

In the mean-time, Ariel rested in her empty bowl, on our back deck waiting for her burial (and me to arrive home). Faith was making a special "box" for Ariel, complete with holes so she could breath and was practicing her final prayers for her fish. Jensen had a different idea to lay Ariel in her resting place. As a very distraught Faith watched from the other side of the French Doors, Jensen reached into the smelly fish bowl, removed the rigid, stinky fish, flopped her on the deck, produced a Sh%$-eating grin for Faith's benefit, and began to reenact the episode of "I Love Lucy" where they are stomping the grapes, until there was nothing' left of Ariel Sarah Fishy Rotter except some...juice.

So that my friends, is the very long story of Ariel Sarah Fishy Rotter, but I'm glad it's documented now.

R.I.P Ariel Sarah Fishy Rotter...you are missed by some, but not the one whom washed your stinky bowl...

As a side note, Faith called my sister "Tantie." Jesen calls her "Teetee." So we're thinking that keeping with the vowel changing, Jacob is either going to call her "Titie" or "Tootie!"

Valentine's Day

2009-02-24T07:46:00.000-08:00

One of the five nights I've actually cooked dinner was Valentine's Day. I made Alaskan Salmon (caught by Joe) which is a favorite with our kids. Faith's job was to make name tags and set the table. We even got out the fancy china. This has become a Valentine's Day tradition for our family.

Earlier in the day, we shared our GIANT Valentine's Day treat that Papa Rick sent the kids, with Layne, Quinn, Dillon, and Jamison. What a fun day it was!

New Photos

2009-02-23T19:26:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

I'm amazed that three weeks has already gone by with our sweet, sweet boy. We feel so blessed to have him here with us. He is an AMAZING baby only upset when he's hungry or gassy...I've discovered he doesn't share my love of chocolate and boy is that a bummer since I consider it a large part of the food guide pyramid. Oh well...I'll make it through! :) Faith and Jensen have adjusted well to having their brother arrive. Faith is totally in LOVE with him and helps all the time. She suddenly seems so grown up as she's taken on the roll of big sister to two brothers. Jensen likes to be sure that everyone knows Jacob is ours with phrases such as, "No! Mom's baby!" Which was said when Auntie Sarah went to pick him up one day. Or "My baby! My baby! My baby!" When he thought grandma was leaving with him. His favorite ways to help include force giving the binky (we think he's worried that if Jacob decides to not take a binky then his will get taken away sooner...have no fear Jensen, we don't enjoy listening to you scream for your "inky.")He also loves to dip his entire hand into the jar of Vaseline to help in the diaper change (good thing for baby wipes!).

Here are a few new pictures of the baby. Hopefully I'll update again soon...or at least in another three weeks!

This Man...

2009-02-23T19:25:00.000-08:00

Over the past 11 months this man has held my head while I vomited for the first 15 weeks of pregnancy, rubbed my back at night, ran to the store at 10pm to get more Prilosec, because I was sure I couldn't make it through the night, sped to the hospital (pulling over during contractions, because I couldn't take the movement), held my hand in labor, cleaned up a weeks worth of vomit from our sick kids when we got home from the hospital, taken over many tasks I normally would do, loved our family to no end, and has done it all with a smile on his face. Oh...and went to Motherhood Maternity to purchase me to HUGE nursing bras. What would I do without him. Love you to pieces Joe!

Pictures of Jacob

2009-02-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

He's Here...pictures to come

2009-02-01T16:26:00.001-08:00

He's here!!!!

Jacob Patrick Rotter arrived (on his own...no induction :)) Saturday, January 31st at 4:00am. Baby is healthy and we are home. Sorry no pictures for now...we'll add them soon, but we are very busy taking care of the baby and Faith and Jensen. Sadly, both Faith and Jensen have the stomach flu. We are doing everything possible to keep the baby healthy. Lots of prayers for a healthy family please. Jacob and I are camping out in the bedroom, which has been totally Lysoled and Joe is taking care of our two little sickies.

Pictures and more details to come soon.

Kelly, Joe, Faith, Jensen and Jacob

Jensen's Cuisine

2009-01-26T20:19:00.001-08:00

Any of you have been around Jensen realize that he's kind of a "bird" when it comes to eating. Sort of choosy about what he eats, when he eats, etc. Don't get me wrong...give him something of his liking and watch out. Take avocado for instance. He can easily eat a whole one within minutes. Yogurt...LOVES vanilla ("blue") and ate 5 in a row one night for dinner. The other night though Joe and I were laughing because our "picky" eater has really odd likings when it comes to food. Items such as balsamic vinegar, mustard and bouillon cubes (don't ask). We had a whole list and now I can't remember them, but will add on later!

Fishing With Wade and Ladd

2009-01-19T08:56:00.000-08:00

Okay...it was over Thanksgiving Weekend, but I just had to post some of these sweet pictures. Papa Rotter and Joe took Wade, Ladd, and Faith fishing at Alder Lake (favorite fishing spot of Joe's when he was a kid). While, Jensen, Grandma Val, Aunt Teckla, and Mommy hit up some Thanksgiving weekend Sales. Faith loved fishing and Jensen loved all the treats (popcorn, mini M & M's, etc.) that he got to eat while sitting snugly in the cart! I Loved all the deals!

Waiting For Baby

2009-01-19T07:36:00.003-08:00

No baby yet to report...but we are patiently waiting. The "official" due date has been anywhere between January 26th and February 2nd. So...since today is the 19th of January we could have a long-haul ahead of us. Although we can't wait to meet this newest little bundle of love, we are enjoying our last few days as a family of four, and our last few nights of sleep! :)

While we wait here are some of the things that have been keeping us (mainly me) busy:

-Finishing Faith and Jensen's cowboy/cowgirl room...LOVE it!
-Setting up the nursery and new bed, washing all the baby clothes, sorting through Faith's baby clothes...man the girl stuff is so stinking cute!
-Painting the living room wall (Joe)
-Cleaning out every closet, under beds, garage, etc. and making endless trips to drop off goods at the GoodWill and the Community Clothing Bank.
-Sewing Burp cloths and blankets...hey I'm no Betsy Ross, but at least I remembered how to thread the bobbin...AFTER AN HOUR!
-Hanging out with friends.
-Making meals for the freezer
-Washing every article of fabric in our house (clothes, sheets, curtains, shower curtains, rugs, etc.).
-Organizing file cabinets...fun job let me tell you!
-Organizing the laundry room.

Ahhhh...the things that I think are FUN!!!!

The kids on the other hand have been busy, too. They love playing with their toys, espcially all their animals and Jensen's tractors and can set up quite the "farm" with Faith's barn and the wooden blocks we have. Both kids LOVE thier new easle from Auntie Sarah and have spent endless hours creating various masterpieces for mommy, daddy, and Faith's friends. Jensen has enjoyed washing dishes and playing with the bubbles. Faith has moved on from her water fasination and has now become quite the artist and creator. Yesterday she made perfume (vanilla, water, apple juice, orange slices and flowers), a robot (cereal box, paper, tape, markers), a terarium (tupperware, grass, sticks) for her "pet" lizzard Spiket (Spiket is a rubber lizzard by the way), and a trophy for her bow shooting skills. She's a busy, creative girl! Both kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the High School Muiscal movies and music. We have the first DVD, but need to get the second and the soundtracks. Plug here for High School Musical...they are ACTUALLY, TRULY G Rated which we think is great. Aside from one kiss at the end of the 3rd movie, I've had trouble finding anything not kid appropriate. Joe and I actually like them, too!

Funny Faithisms (and a few from Jensen, too):

-Grandma Val was telling a story about how Ladd was on the verge of making her late for school (she's a teacher) one morning and Faith said, "Well, when you're retired, you don't have to worry about being late. Right Papa?"

-"Is there an Ellensburg in heaven, Mommy? Cause I sure like it here."

-"Some people have bigger house then us, but I know ours is just perfect for us!"

-Jensen is in real denial about Mommy having a baby, and a little confused, too. He lifts up his own shirt and says, "Baby." We are beginning to think that he thinks a tummy is called a baby. Anyways, he pointed at Papa's tummy and said, "Baby." Papa said, "yep...Twins!"

-Jensen "Yucky! Yucky! Mommy it (get) it." Over the towel fuzz in the shower, from our new towels. He said this with quite the hysterically undertone.

Christmas

2009-01-19T07:35:00.001-08:00

Christmas was a blast! We spent the holidays with the Rotter side of the family. Due to weather forecasts we headed to Eatonville on the 23rd and came home the 26th. We had four fun-filled days with grandparents and cousins. Fun included sledding with Wade and Ladd, decorating sugar cookies for Santa, watching holiday movies, trying out new toys (bow and arrow for Jensen and Horse barn for Faith), playing endless hours with the boys and just being a family.

We opened gifts as a family on the night of the 22nd, but Santa found his way to Eatonville to leave lots more loot. Faith was really worried that Santa wouldn't know where to find her and her brother. When we arrived in Eatonville, Santa's elves had already delivered (straight from REI) two brand new sleeping bags for the kids. Faith was reassured then that Santa knew where they were and knew exactly what she liked since hers was pink!

Christmas morning, the parents and grandparents were up bright and early waiting for our little ones to wake. Finally about 7:45 Faith and Jensen came wondering down the stairs wide-eyed. Faith's horse barn was in plain sight, while Jensen's John Deere push lawnmower was a bit more obscure. We couldn't figure out why she wasn't running to her barn until she looked at us with her little lip quivering and said, "Mommy, Santa forgot about my little brother!" Once we showed her Jensen's gifts the squeals of delight set it. What a tender heart she has for her brother. She makes us so proud.

The kids loved EVERYTHING they got and were so sweet with all of their thank yous. They played ALL DAY with their gifts and their cousins and had such a great time just being kids. What a great day to celebrate the birth of Jesus...which was complete with Faith singing him Happy Birthday.

The next day we even got a quick visit (and more gifts) in with Uncle Dave and Aunt Karen before heading back over the snowy pass to Ellensburg.

Yoda...

2008-12-20T21:28:00.001-08:00

...is the name Faith suggested for the baby today. I think I like Jensen's suggestion of "UGGHHH" better.

Funny Faithism

2008-12-14T16:15:00.000-08:00

Early yesterday morning I went and did some power shopping at Fred Meyer (they were having great sales until noon). When I came home, Jensen's bed was all made. I told Faith "Thank you for making Jensen's bed. What a nice thing to do." Her response, "I didn't do it." Then with a very surprised/shocked look on her face, "Mommy, daddy must have learned how to make the bed!"

Santa

2008-12-10T08:51:00.000-08:00

No picture to go with the post, but Faith ACTUALLY sat on Santa's lap this year. In the past, she literally hits the floor screaming if she knows he's anywhere near. Joe and I were super excited that she so willing hopped up on his lap (actually we had to pry her off). That is until we heard what she told Santa she'd like...a real horse bridle. The problem....WE DON'T HAVE A HORSE. She says that's okay, she'll just use it as decoration until she get's one soon. Great. She did mention some other things she'd like that she plans to send in a letter. A real cowgirl outfit, a stage for singing and dancing on, anything horse related, and more Christmas ornaments. Jensen...he just wants tractors.

Picaso In The Making

2008-12-09T21:14:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine from work offered her easle for us to try for a bit. I thought about getting the kids one for Christmas, so this is a perfect way for us to try it out first. Well, it's been a big hit. Especially with Jensen. He's been hard at work making art with dry erase markers all day. He only needed one reminder to ONLY color on the white board...we consider that a success! :) The picture below shows Jensen working away right before bathtime. And the one below...shows what happens when mom turns her back just long enough to change the laundry. Ahem...yes...he did also color on his "private parts."

Faith's Hair Cut

2008-12-09T21:13:00.002-08:00

Anyone see Jensen's Dumb And Dumber hair cut last spring? You know, the one where he looked like Lloyd from the movie? The hair cut that I specifically asked the lady NOT to cut his "bangs" (do you call them that on a boy?) straight across, NOT to make it look like a bowl cut and NOT to use shavers on him? Apparently NOT was like that sarcastic "Not" people did back in the 90's, because she did them ALL.

Anyways, check out Faith's hair cut. What do you think? Does it top the Lloyd look of last spring? When I told my friend Cori to go check out Faith's hair she came back and said, "Oh my gosh...she cut her OWN hair!" Wrong. I paid for that cut. Good money, too. SEVENTEEN DOLLARS TO BE EXACT! What a disaster. Why? Why would I consider taking my daughter to some "hole in the wall" on a whim? We are strictly a Mango's family from now on. Unless I can convince Delanah to cut kids hair, too.

Poor girl. The good thing is she's oblivious and LOVES her new look. Another good thing...she has no idea that I came home and hid in the bathroom and cried.

Oh, Christmas Tree

2008-12-09T21:13:00.001-08:00

We had a great time getting our tree this last weekend. However, it was really weird searching for our annual Charlie Brown tree without any snow. The past 6 years our search typically consists of heading up in the mountains, hitting snow really soon, and me picking out the first tree I see that actually has multiple branches for fear of going any further and either a)getting stuck or b) sliding off the hillside into some deep dark ravin where and no one ever finding us buried in all that snow in our white pick up truck. Ah...the fond memories of Christmas past.

This year it was a different story. Like years past, Joe and I were up bright and early packing up snow pants, long underwear, extra clothes, hats, mittens, scarves, sleds, hand warmers, etc. I was sneaking in overnight survival gear (blankets, flashlights, matches, food, can opener) "just in case." We headed up hopeful at finding at least a decent tree and finding some snow for the kids to sled in while we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows with the Clasen Family. We drove and drove and drove as we admired all of the great trees. Soon we were to the top with only a drift of snow in sight. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I must say... So is our tree! We don't have a Charlie Brown tree this year!!!! The branches are actually strong enough to hold ornaments further out than 2 inches from the trunk. AND we didn't have to "shape it" into a Christmas tree shape before bringing it into the house. It's a GREAT tree.

After finding our perfect tree (and we really got to be very picky this year) we met up with the Clasen's. The hot dogs, cocoa, and SMORES were delicious. Before we knew it the kids were stripping off layers down to their t-shirts. So much for Joe and I's packing efforts...and no we didn't need my survival gear either! :)

As much as I sound like I'm complaining about our trees in the past, I really wouldn't trade the experience and tradition for anything!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Twelve Good Men...

2008-12-04T16:30:00.001-08:00

Faith, Kylie, Jensen and I had a great time making gingerbread men cookies this morning. The kids were so helpful rolling the dough and stamping the cookies out. They played so nicely waiting for the oven timer to beep letting them know it was time to decorate their gingerbread men. However, when the timer went off...there were no cookies to be found in the oven. Only 2 empty cookie sheets!!! Faith ran around scream "Bad, bad girls!" While Kylie said, "Bad, bad boys!" Jensen just ran around shreeking. Eventually all 19 gingerbread men were found and lovingly decorated. Some as boys, some as girls and some as something unrecognizable. Each of the kids ate a cookie and Joe had 4. The rest of the men were relaxing peacefully on their plate. What a fun time we had!

I had a staff meeting at school that day. Around 4 pm Joe called with some sad, sad news. The news was given with a hysterically crying Faith in the background. Apparently, Jensen had takent the lives of the remaining Twelve Good Men. Yes, our sweet, cuddly, loveable boy drowned each of the remaining men in the kitchen sink. I guess you could say that Twelve Good Men were lost at Sea that day.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-12-04T16:29:00.003-08:00

Lots of fun with ALL of the cousins in Vancouver at Grandma Becky's. Not many pictures to go with the post, but wanted to document that this is the first time since our wedding, almost 7 years ago exactly, that all 5 siblings from Joe's side of the family have been together. The story's were hilarious, the laughs endless, and the memories forever! We missed Michelle's husband Nick, but it was a blast seeing all 11 kids together again...soon to be 12 when we add ours! :) (In Order from oldest to youngest:) Hunter, Tanner, Caitlin, Brenna, Wade, Alyssa, Harry, Ladd, Faith, Jensen and Arden had a great time! The photo above was our adult attempt to get them all to take a photo break from clowning around in Grandma Becky's studio. As you can see we weren't very successful!

Jensen Turns Two

2008-12-04T16:29:00.001-08:00

In honor of our "Baby" Boy...how can he already be two? It has gone by so fast. The day of his birth story started out like many other winter Saturdays in our family of then three. Joe, Faith and I had a great day together riding around in our new mini-van that we had purchased on Thursday (yes...I did hyperventilate in the parking lot before going in to look at them, but fitting another child in my Toyota Tercel just wasn't going to happen, despite the 35-40 mpg that it got). We visited the Thorp fruit stand, drove around out in the country, went for a couple of walks (there wasn't any snow yet) and then settled in for the evening to watch a movie together. We let Faith decide what we would do that evening. She chose to watch Pirate's of the Caribbean (why we let our 2 year old watch this I don't know) and do a foot soak with mom (hey...I wasn't going to argue this one).

I'd been having braxton hicks contractions for a few days and was already dilated to a 3 at this point (November 18Th). During the movie my contractions began to be quite regular and my water began to leak. After putting Faith to bed and monitoring things for a bit we decided to call my sister and head to the hospital. They admitted me, but after a hot bath my contractions were non-existent by the next morning. Our fabulous Dr. decided that since we were already there it would be best to just go ahead and induce me and not confuse Faith by coming home with no baby.

Things went really quickly and smoothly, minus the pain (later had an epidural) and Joe's stinky fish breath (I strongly suggested brushing his teeth) from eating fish and chips in the cafeteria. With little complications, Jensen Carl Rotter Boy (Faith's name for him) entered the world, in two pushes, at 3:18pm weighing 7lbs 5oz. He was so darn cute from the moment he was born. His cord was around his neck, but it didn't cause any complications...Praise the Lord!

We were so worried about how Faith would take to her new little brother, but she came bounding into the room, little pig-tails in, dolly in hand and said in the most excited voice, "It's my brother! Get up mommy. Let's play!" She's been this excited to be his brother ever since. Earlier in the day she told Auntie Sarah, "my mommy's water broke, but it's okay because Daddy can fix it."

Since Jensen is 24 months old here are 24 current things about him:

1) He's a little guy, weighing in at 23lbs fully clothed. He's in the 10th percentile for weight and 90th for height.
2)Not a big eater (hence #1), but some of his favorite foods are vanilla yogurt, avocado, noodles, bananas, and anything packaged or processed.
3) Loves his binky...only at bedtime these days.
4) Wakes up happy everyday. Every morning he comes running down the hallway, laughing with is binky, his blue blankie.
5) Loves to cuddle...especially in the morning before he revs up for the day!
6) OBSESSED with tractors. Anything big with big wheels (tractors, diggers, plows, etc.) is automatically a TRACTOR and he SCREAMS this word!
7) Very coordinated and agile. There's nothing he can't climb to the top of or master...gives his mother a heart-attack on a daily basis.
8) Can't resist tacking Faith if she is anywhere near the ground.
9) Loves to shoot bows with his daddy.
10) Enjoys building with Duplo blocks and wooden blocks.
11) Hilarious boy...he makes us laugh all the time and knows just what to do to get out of trouble.
12) Takes pride in harassing the cat...poor thing, but then again the cat isn't smart enough to run away either.
13) LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his sister and the feeling is mutual. Any time he gets a snack or special treat he has to be sure to ask for one for sissy, too.
14) Has to have something in his bed with him every night. Not always the same thing, but just something. Things have included my cell phone, one of his camo boots, tractors, doll house toys, stuffed animals, etc.
15) He's taken after his mother and is obsessed with the vacuum...sometimes he even gets it out himself.
16)Says "owie" for anything he doesn't like...like going night, night.
17) Great sleeper. Takes a 2-4 hour nap daily (unless he's with daddy...he's got his "number") and usually sleeps about 11 hours at night. PLUS he goes to bed easily.
18) LOVES Thomas the train and all things train. "Choo-Choo" movies are a BIG hit in our house these days.
19) Obsessed with his Papa's. He talks about them all the time and always wants to talk to them on the "oone."
20) Not great with words, but sure knows how to let us know what he wants.
21) Likes to tell "secrets." He pulls us in close and whispers a bunch of mumbles in our ear and then laughs hysterically!
22) Sits on the coffee table to watch TV. Usually cuddled up with his blankie.
23)Prefers to wear only boots. Good thing we have lots of pairs...three pairs of rubber boots, one pair of cowboy boots and one pair of snow boots. Also really loves his train conductor hat!
24) Has a "lip" like you wouldn't believe...watch out if he doesn't get his way. It's heartbreaking when that thing comes out!
24) The SWEETEST little boy in the world!!!!
24) Loved by everyone.

I know that was 3 24's but I could go on and on about this little guy!

I Got Tagged

2008-11-11T07:15:00.000-08:00

I got tagged......

My friend Gina tagged me and I am supposed to list 6 random things about myself so here goes! Not sure I actually have 6 "random" things, but I'll do my best.

1.) I LOVE a clean house. One of my favorite smells in Pine-Sol. In my "perfect" world, I can get up to my spotless, Pine-sol smelling house and sit on my couch enjoying a cup of coffee all the while noticing the vacuum lines on my carpet. I can't stand leaving the house if the beds are unmade. I've even been known to come home at lunch and double-check to be sure Joe made them, if he's the last one up. Is this a sign of OCD???? I guess I could have split that up into almost 6 post.

2.) I am not a big TV watcher. Not that I don't like it, I'd just rather be doing something else. The only show I really look forward to (and I don't even always watch it) is Grey's Anatomy.

3.) If it were practical I'd have 10 kids...LOVE having kids and being a mom!

4.) I am a big chicken. When Joe is gone, I sleep with the bathroom light on. Double check to be sure all the doors/windows are locked, keep Faith in bed with me (Jensen doesn't sleep well with anyone else), and have both my cell phone and the home phone in the room with me.

5.) I enjoy cooking and baking. I like to try new recipes (usually do one a week) and plan my meals out each week. Guess I just enjoy food. Along with this, I love a bargain on food...in case you didn't notice in previous posts. :)

6.) One of my biggest fears is that my children will get some sort of life-altering illness. Even though I truly believe God has already laid out the destiny of each and every one of us. I often wonder if I get so "attached" to blogs/caring bridge kids with illness (heart disease, cancer, etc.) because I'm preparing myself for something like this. Or, is it just my personality? It pains me to no end to hear of a child suffering. On the other hand, I easily cry when they have successes (like Baby Mia's new heart yesterday)!

I tag anyone who's willing to hop on board!

This Boy

2008-11-11T06:58:00.000-08:00

This Boy is about to turn 2! How can it be? He's sitting here cuddling on my lap as I write this. He starts each morning by running down the hall, giggling, binkie in one hand, blue blankie in the other. He is a "lover" through and through. Lots of hugs. Lots of kisses. Lots of cuddles. If he ever gets a treat (i.e. a cookie) he has to be sure that Faith get's one, too. Don't get me wrong...his sweetness is completed by his 100% "ALL BOY" personality. A true climber, wrestler, truck-"driving", dirt lovin' kind of kid. He's current obsessions are tractors and trains. He also LOVES wearing hats, especially his train conductor hat. And let's not forget his favorite camo-rubber boots. Apparently they go with EVERYTHING!

Still More...

2008-11-11T06:49:00.001-08:00

More September and October Pictures

2008-11-11T06:41:00.000-08:00

September & October Catch Up

2008-11-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

September and October have been CRAZY around our house. I've had the pleasure of "trying out" working full-time, while my friend who I team-teach with is on maternity leave. It's been a LONG time since I've been full-time. Even LONGER since I've been full-time, with two kids at home, pregnant, and had Joe out of town LOTS. Okay...that last part has never actually happened until this year. Joe is always gone lots this time of year, but that's about the only truth. It's been a great experience working full-time, because I've gotten to know the students really well and I'm reaffirmed in our decisions for me to be half-time. It's always felt right personally, but I have kind of questioned it professionally. Now I know for sure...half-time it is for me! I'm looking forward to many things in the next few weeks; Thanksgiving, teaching half-time AND my husband being home more! Yippee!!!

Anyways, as you can see, I'm way behind on blogging. Here is a quick post with some pictures from the past few months. Included are Halloween, Our "trip" to the North Bend Train Station (Jensen's OBSESSED with trains and tractors right now), fall baking with Faith, and just some other random pictures. I have no idea how to put lables under the actual pictures. Any suggestions?

For Halloween Faith was a 50's Girl and Jensen was a last minute Train Conductor. He was supposed to be a bat, but there was no way he was leaving the house with THAT thing on!

Flying, Zion, and The Flower Girl-October 2-5th

2008-11-11T05:59:00.000-08:00

We had LOTS of first in our family for this trip. We all flew on an airplane. Yep, 12 hours from the time we left our house to the time we got to the hotel, but we did it! The kids did an amazing job all things considered. I got all worked up and anxious for nothing. Faith's ears were fine. Packed enough snacks. Bought/brought enough new toys. Jensen didn't totally annoy any of our "neighbors" on the plane! It's a really small space to contain a 22 month old!!!

We flew into Las Vegas and drove from there to Zion National Park for Uncle Peter's wedding!!! Zion was beautiful and Jacqueline and Peter's wedding was even more beautiful...especially the Flower Girl!

It's A Boy!!!!

2008-09-19T06:05:00.000-07:00

We can now start thinking of more original names then "Number 3!" And no...his name will not be "Uggghhh," as Jensen has previously said.

We had the ultrasound tech. print out a picture of the baby and attach to a gender appropriate scrapbook page and wrap up in a gift bag, without reveling it to us. (Side note: we were both so sure it was a girl, that I didn't even make a cute boy page.) Faith and Jensen then got to open it at home. Faith was sure it was a girl because "that's what I prayed for," (her words) and even though pulled out the "boy" page told us it was a girl. She said, "B is for Baby. Not Boy!" She's thrilled now though. Jensen wanted nothing to do with the whole process and ripped the page out of Faith's hands and stomped on it...let's hope he turns around a bit before baby arrives.

Here is a picture from the day. And yes...Faith WAS wearing a very adorable "girl" outfit, but changed into her "baby finding out outfit" just before opening the present. Who knew that Daddy's fishing hat was part of a "baby finding out outfit..."

AMAZING!!!!

2008-09-09T06:09:00.001-07:00

Faith's description of her first day of preschool at Jack and Jill's House, "It was AMAZING! When do I get to go back?!?" So glad she loves school.

"Oone" (Phone)

2008-08-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

For some reason, last night, Jensen would not go to bed unless he got to take my cell phone (the "One" in his words) with him. So being the great parents we are, we conceded. Yes, our son slept with his binky, his blanky, an empty cup (he cuddles it after he drinks his warm milk), and my cell phone. About an hour after he had fallen asleep, I walked by and heard this muffled half-asleep, half-awake "one?" "One?" I go in there and he's searching for it in a stupor. I re tuck him in with the "one" in hand and he's a happy little camper. This happened a couple more times throughout the night. Joe and I couldn't help, but laugh. Now the question...does anyone have an extra un-used cell phone??? I'd like mine back at some point!

Little Stinker

2008-08-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

Jensen has turned into a bit of a "Stinker" lately. Always climbing-yesterday it was on the kitchen counter. Still not sure how he managed to get up there since there was not a chair/stool/etc. in sight. Into everything, including my make-up, lotion, brown sugar. The bad thing is...he's just to darn cute to get mad at. If we tell him "NO" in a firm voice, he turns his head to look over his shoulder and looks at us with these devilish little eyes, from the corner of his eyes.

Today, we were playing in the backyard, I had stepped inside to refill water bottles, when Faith starts screaming at the top of her lungs, "YOU'RE A BAD BOY! A BAD, BAD BOY!" I run outside to find Jensen laughing hysterically at about 10 of Faith's stuffed animals that are now floating in the pool. You see, the problem is, Faith thinks these animals are "real." And her "friends" don't know how to swim. Uh-oh! Faith and I did manage to rescue and resuscitate each and every one of her friends. I did manage to snap a picture of a few of the last victims when Faith wasn't looking. They are currently lounging in the sun with a cold beverage in hand, while the "BAD BOY" is napping. Oh wait. That's my day dream sneaking in there. At one time or another each of Faith "friends" have gone somewhere with us. At this time, there are 4 buckled into the back of the van. She dresses them up, names them, plays with them, changes their clothes, changes their names, takes them on walks, etc. I was never a "stuffed animal kid," so it's not something I can relate to, but I do think it's really cute. And hey, these "friends" give me one more excuse when we are running late. Oh, and waiting on those little buggers to all be buckled in has made us late before!

Different topic. Remember in my last post (just yesterday) about the poop issue. Well, it happened AGAIN today. This time thankfully we were outside. Jensen's came walking over with dog poop on his bare foot. Problem is we don't have a dog! Apparently, his waterlogged diaper fell off, he pooped, and then stepped in it. Thank goodness we were outside. I sent Faith in for soap and scrubbed him down in the hose. Not his favorite shower, but it worked!

Funny Faithism: "Daddy, there's a giant spider in my room! Don't worry it's just little. It's a mama short legs!"

Fun Day

2008-08-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those perfect days, with just a slight "bump" in the road. Faith and I were up bright and early and enjoyed breakfast outside in the crisp temperature. After breakfast Faith was working on painting on the deck and I got some housework done while Jensen was still asleep. I love mornings like this. Then...Jensen woke up. In less then 3 minutes he managed to wreck havoc on our peaceful morning. I got him out of crib and took his anchor-like diaper off. He went screeching down the hall, bare buns, to see what Faith was up to. Upon coming out of his room with a fresh diaper I notice a GIANT turd on the living room floor. Faith didn't think this was so cool and her "foot soak" (in the living room) was upset at this time. While I'm cleaning up the artifact left by the little one, he proceeds to dump the bucket of water all over the coffee table and carpet. I manage to get him in a fresh diaper and send him outside with Faith. Look out the window and he's painted himself and finished off his morning work by dumping the paint water (black) over his head. Lovely Jens. A morning bath is a great idea, but let's work on the quality of the water. All I could do was laugh at this point.

However, the "bump" passed quickly and we had a great day complete with haircuts for the kids, lunch with grandma, a trip to Louie's U-pick corn, and ended the day at a concert in the park. Great day!!! I've included a few pictures, but didn't manage to capture our morning on film.

Funny Faithisms lately:

Yesterday, as were passing DQ: "Phew. I sure am hot! Why don't you swing on into Dairy Queen and pick me up an ice cream."

While Watching Olympics: "I'm going to win a medal for Gym-Nasinecs." (our friends last name is Nasinec)

Watching the Sunset: "Look everyone! That's God smiling at us. He's telling us he loves us!"

"People get old and their hair gets short and then they go to heaven."

"I'm going to wear my dukini (bikini) today."

(Almost) Camping

2008-08-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

Don't know why, but we have yet to brave camping this year. Possibly the ongoing morning/all day sickness I've had. It's so much more fun to lay around on the couch and feel sorry for yourself for weeks on end. Nothing like it.

The first weekend in August, Joe's cousin was home (Tacoma) visiting from Wyoming. The family was all getting together at Alder Lake, near Eatonville for a camping trip. Joe couldn't go, but I had actually resolved to camping by myself with the two kids. Must have been some sort of psychotic moment or something. I figured it couldn't be too bad with grandparents and other relatives there. Plus, I didn't want his family to think I'm a total whimp.

So, I packed the kids up and headed to Eatonville. Only to discover that grandma and grandpa had no intention of actually camping at the lake. Yeah me!!! We were just going to drive up for the day/evening since it was less then 20 minutes away. None the less, the kids and I got the whole camping experience minus sleeping in a tent and attempting to get two kids to sleep while in the great outdoors. We swam, had a campfire, played in a camper, dug in the dirt and came home plenty dirty and stinky. What a fun day we had with the cousins!!!

Water Slide Fun

2008-08-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

Our good friend is on bed rest with their third little one. We had their kids to play for the day and borrowed their water slide to add some variety to our water toys. The kids LOVED it!!! I always thought these things would be such a pain, but it was super easy to set up. I'm hooked and could totally buy one now! I seriously, had to drag the kids off of this thing for lunch, and later for a break from the 95 degree sun. Faith has loved having the girls over often this summer. She's always asking for "little people" to play with. Guess I'm not that fun!

Ephrata Water Park

2008-08-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

We finally ventured the the Ephrata Water Park this summer. It's one of our favorite places to go with little kids. It's cheap (5 and under free), not crowded during the week, fully fenced, has a playground/big toy, and has the perfect water activities for little kids.

My friend Andi and I were trying to dodge the Ellensburg wind so we checked the weather forecast, which looked great (78 and 3 mile winds), packed up the kiddos and lunch and headed on over to Ephrata. Get there. Freezing and windy. Oh well, the kids had a great time, which is what really matters. Their lips didn't stay blue for too long after! :)

The Flu

2008-08-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

May seem like an "odd" thing to ask for prayers for, but the flu has been going around our house since Wednesday night. Wednesday night, after going to be (of coarse) Jensen threw up all over and continued through the night. He was fine by the next afternoon. I was next to follow Thursday-Saturday. I thought we were all in the clear and have totally disinfected EVERYTHING. However, after going to bed tonight, Jensen has once again thrown up EVERYWHERE (down the wall, on the carpet, all over his bedding and crib, in the crack of the baseboards) you get the picture. Please pray that our family is healthy soon and that Faith and Joe remain unaffected. Between morning sickness (which is still going on at 14 plus weeks) and the flu, we have had our fair share of vomit for awhile.

Faith's Fashions

2008-07-29T07:33:00.000-07:00

In January she's wearing her bathing suit...in July (98 degrees) she's dressed like this..

This was her "look" about 30 minutes into being outside. To begin with she was wearing snow boots, a winter hat, and her scarf. What's a mother to do????

Shaving Cream Fun

2008-07-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

Great way to have the kids help with cleaning. Yesterday we did the outside toys. I also have them do this with the high chair, car seats, strollers, etc. They have a blast and it gets everything nice and clean!

Faith and her friend, Kylie, scrubbing the deck of their "pirate ship!"

Family Reunion 2008

2008-07-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Every other summer, my mom's side of the family gets together at Priest Lake, ID. This year we had almost 80+ people. Some are there the entire week and some just for a few days. The kids and I were fortunate to go for the entire time and Joe joined us for a few days in the middle. Faith loved playing with all of her cousins (15ish kids under 6 and 6 more under 13). "Cousins" (easier just to go by plain old cousin instead of first, second, third, etc.) come from all over for this event. Guatemala, Germany, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Texas, Montana.

Highlights of the week included Faith's first jet-ski ride. In the picture she's riding with my "cousin" John. She loved the jet-ski and went on numerous rides until Joe threw me off riding with him. Then she was sure the thing was the devil reincarnated. Every night one family is responsible for dinner. This year we had a "Wedding shower" for three of the cousins getting married soon. Complete with goofy hats/veils, decorations, etc. For our dinner night we had Mexican food and topped off the fiesta with a Pinata.

Here are a few pictures from our fun week at the lake.

The Third is Coming

2008-07-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

Nope, not some sequel to some exciting book I've written or movie I've produced. The third child!!! (Although, The Life of Joe, Kelly and the Kids would make a killer movie-watch out Jon and Kate). We're very excited to be adding to our family. "The Third," who will hopefully have another name by arrival, is due February 2nd.

I love my children beyond words and am thrilled to have another one, but to be honest, I do totally have my moments of panic at having three. Like yesterday, when I thought I was raising two demons. Or, this morning, when Faith hit Jensen on the back and tried to kick him in the head because she didn't "win" at getting dressed first. I can thank my husband for that fun game. Don't get me wrong, my kids are normally fantastic. However, moments like above leave me near tears, wondering what I did wrong.

Anyways, I have my first official appointment tomorrow. With Faith I was in there at conception. Jensen by 6 weeks. Number 3...I'm already 12 weeks. By waiting, I'm hoping for two things. One to avoid the pelvic exam...not possible, I know, but a hormonal girl can hope. Two, that my weight tracking begins tomorrow. Hence, leaving off the weight I've already gained.

It's so funny how different each pregnancy is in many ways. Take for example maternity clothes. I didn't show forever with Faith, yet I couldn't wait to wear those oversized tents and elastic pants that come up to your neck. I think when I first started wearing maternity clothes with Faith, I actually had to safety pin them to keep them up. With Jensen, I waited until about 9 weeks. I gained 9 pounds with him before I even knew I was pregnant. AND I found out at 4 weeks. So it was either buy a new waredrobe in a size bigger or wear maternity clothes. I'm cheap. Enough said. Now, here I am, 12+ weeks with the third. Noticably showing. Trying to cram myself into my current clothes. If only I can make it until fall I keep telling myself (fat chance).

Faith has decided that if the baby is a girl she will name it. Jensen will name it if it's a boy. Ella is her current girl's name of choice. When she questioned Jensen on his name of choice he said, "Ugh." You know. The grunting noise little kids make when they are going number "2." So, there you have it: Ella or "ugh." I could do Ella, but I'm thinking we may have to tweak the boy name a bit.

My New Hobby

2008-06-24T08:17:00.001-07:00

Yep...to add to the coolness of driving a minivan I also am BIG into coupon clipping these days. It's kind of become a came. Here was some of my latest bargains. I got all of the pictured items for under 10.00. Those of you who know me well, know these aren't my typical purchases (I'm not big into all the "junk" food), but thought with summer coming up and being at the park, water park, lake, etc. It would be nice to have some quick and easy snacks to take along. Other great deals lately...10 boxes of cereal for a total of 1.85. Not each. TOTAL. Yep, 18.5 cents per box. Pull-Ups 3.99. So what if my daughter is wearing boys pull-ups...they're usually 14.00. Huggies spray-on sunscreen for 1.99. Now, the problem with coupon clipping is that I'm having a REALLY hard time paying full price for anything. Just makes me sick. Just another glimpse into the exciting life of Kelly.

We're still here...

2008-06-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

After our LONG break from blogging, we're back...but without a camera. Joe is in Alaska on his "dream" fishing trip for a week and took ALL THREE of our cameras. I had a talk with the kids and told them not to do anything amazing, cute, sweet, or funny since I couldn't take pictures. Figures that there have been countless times since Friday that I've ran to get my camera only to remember I don't have it.

Life has been good here. Busy, but good. I'm on summer vacation...yea!!!! The kids have been so cute together lately. They play together all the time and it just melts my heart. Yesterday, they loaded up all the stuffed animals in the doll stroller and were pushing it around the house together. Then Faith, being the little mother hen, got pillows and blankets out on the couch and says, "Jensy, come cuddle with sissy. I'm your good big sister." So cute.

As I type this, Jensen is affectionatly laying on top of our cat listening to him purr. This is a first on many levels. One being that Jensen is actually being nice to the cat. The second being the cat is actually enjoying Jensen. We have the most patient cat ever. He lets Faith dress him up in doll clothes and be pushed in the stroller. You can pull his tail and he barely even makes a sound. But, Jensen is a bit demonic when it comes to the cat.

Do you ever wonder what people are thinking as they observe you being a parent? This crossed my mind last night as my mom, sister, the kids and I were having dinner at the Olive Garden. Here I am diggin (with my finger) in my glass of water for a piece of ice for Jensen. Which then I put it in my mouth, chew it into "smaller" pieces, spit it back in to my hand, and place it on Jensen's plate. Really??? What was I thinking and what are other people thinking about me? I can tell you exactly what I was thinking...I'll do anything to get this kid to stop screaming so myself and everyone around us can enjoy our dinner. Jensen is a 19 month old of very few words so screaming has become his way of letting us know what he wants. Terrible, I know. Somedays, (like yesterday) I just can't handle the scream and give in to him. Hence, him eating canteloupe and 4 dum-dum suckers for lunch. He call's them "da-da's," which I find quite funny. Faith would have (and still would not) NEVER been allowed to do this. He's only my second child. So, what's it like for all these large families by the time they get to kid number 11 or 12? They have probably trained their children much better then I have.

Well, I've pretty much just rambled a bunch. I'll sign off for now, but want to leave you all with a site to check out. It's the most heart warming and heart wrenching thing I've read all bundled up into one. This mother is truly amazing. Everytime I get on her site I cry. Go back to the beginninng and read about their journey. You won't be sorry you did. Totally has changed my outlook on many things, and my walk with God. http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

Potential Career Change

2008-04-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

So, I'm considering a new career as a Spokeswoman for Dyson vacuum cleaners.

You see, most normal people take their hard earned tax refund that they slaved over the documents for days, and do something really fun, pay off bills, invest or save the money. Nope. Not us Rotters. We bought a new vacuum. Not just any vacuum. A Dyson. Being the budget conscious consumer that I am, I searched and searched for the best deal. Costco.com saved me 149.00 and had FREE shipping.

The Dyson was to be delivered on Friday. All day, I kept checking the porch for the "package" and refused to leave home for fear they would require a signature. Around 5:00 I had to go deliver dinner to a gal who just had a baby. My heart was racing with worry that I would miss the man in the brown shorts, brown short-sleeve button up, brown socks and black shoes (really...who thought up those outfits, anyways??), driving the big brown truck. I speed the half-mile to deliver dinner, basically threw the lasagna at the grandmother and raced home to see the big brown truck pulling away from my house. My heart sank. The kids and I pulled into the driveway and to our surprise the man in the brown shorts, brown short-sleeve button up, brown socks and black shoes had left the treasured package on the porch. Yippeeee!!! I haven't been this excited since both of my kids slept through the night on the same night (it's a rarity around here)!

I have totally been researching my "new" vacuum for months. I love to vacuum and I'm tired of going through various models and brands. In the 6.5 years we've been married, we have had 4 or 5 vacuum cleaners. I wanted to be sure that the vacuum I choose this time would last. I could go on and on about the fantastic features of my new Dyson. To name a few: it's purple (I didn't have a choice, but it's really fantastic), extra long cord-I plug it in the hallway and it reaches everywhere but my kitchen, extra special attachments that I still have no clue how to use (better get reading), 5 year warranty and best of all it sucks up EVERYTHING. For the record, I vacuum everyday (rarely do I skip a day). The picture below shows how full the canister was upon completion of the Dyson's "maiden-voyage." This was just a "normal" pass through my house. No moving furniture, no doing the edges, no extra duty my friends. Can you believe all of that was in my carpet!?!!!! I think I tasted a little bit of vomit in my mouth I was so disgusted.

If you're considering a vacuum change or need a good way to spend money during a mid-life crisis, I highly recommend the DYSON!!! Who wouldn't want to take advice from an OCD vacuumer. Vacuumer is not really a word, but I like it anyway.

Future Plumber for Hire

2008-04-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Anyone who goes to CMA church here in Ellensburg may rest easy tonight. Jensen took one for the team this morning at church and inspected ALL of the drinking fountains in the building. Hey... somebody has got to do it. Water is a sign of life people!!! Jensen's preliminary report is that all specimins tested function properly, are cooled to just the perfect refreshing temperature, and have the essential blend of metallic taste. He'll post later in the week to let you know what sorts of bacterial, fungal and viral microbes were found based on what illnesses may or may not arrise within the next few incubation days.

It's a good thing that we spent extra time this morning making sure everyone was out of bed, fed, washed and dressed in our Sunday best. No one likes a slobby plumber.

The "Price" of Four Year Old Imunnizations

2008-04-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

Well Child Check Up: 108.00

Polly Pocket Cinderella horse/carriage play set: 19.99

Starbucks Stop Post Shots (had to calm my nerves & treats for kids): 6.65

Box of New Band-Aides (they fix everything): 2.25

Hearing Faith say to a stranger "I was a big girl and got my Kindergarten shots. Now I'm all ready to register!": Priceless

Okay...can you tell I totally "positive reinforced" my child into getting her shots???? We do NOT believe in bribery in our house...strictly positive reinforcement. By the way...what's the difference? There is none you say. EXACTLY! I must tell you though, this was a conversation I overheard at Fred Meyer.

Faith had her 4 year check up on Thursday with Dr. Larson (plug here for him being the BEST doctor ever)! He's a fantastic doctor and gets right down with the kids and talks with them, instead of around them. She got to help him set up his lap top for her check-up, help him take all of her vitals, etc. On his laptop there was a whole list of questions he was asking her and checking off. He'd read them to her and then let her talk about them with him. Very funny and detailed answers she gave. All except for number 7: Child dresses himself/herself. He just skipped right over that one and checked yes without even discussing. Not sure if you've seen some of the fashionable outfits that Faith puts together. Watch out Tyra, Faith may be taking over America's Next Top Model!

A Tribute to Sinead O'connor

2008-04-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

In a "spin off" of a Blog posted by Abby...

These toys were NOT made by a mother! This is just a sampling of the hairless Polly Pockets that reside in our house. The first Polly Pocket she got broke the first day she played with it. I returned it thinking it was "defective." Hmmm....maybe they're all defective?!? Faith LOVES them though and they must be good for hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Of coarse in our house we don't own any toys that don't foster development. Barbies are good for...anatomy lessons???

2 Truths and a Lie

2008-04-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

Okay...here is a "game" a fellow blogger has started. I'm posting 2 truths and a lie about myself. Try to figure out which one it the lie and post your guess in my comments. I'll disclose the correct lie (is that possible) by the end of the week.

Have fun!!!

1. In High School I had multiple run-ins with the law in one weekend. Luckily, I was not arrested and actually made it to see my graduation day.

2. I had two "near death" experiences that both involved unpredictable waters. The first was at Big Beach on my honeymoon (not too many people can actually say they almost died on their honeymoon) and the second one was on the Smith River.

3. During my first week at Central, I got bit in my sleep by a Brown Recluse (spelling) spider. My roomate and I had to be evacuated from our dorm room for a week while they fumigated our room, and others surrounding ours. The plus side...it was an "overflow" year and there were no extra rooms available so we got to stay at the Inn at Goose Creek for a whole week!!!

New Perspective

2008-04-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

Okay...so, I'm not exactly what you'd call a "bug lover." To be more exact...I can't stand them. The problem arises in the fact that Faith has a new found fondness for insects. We can no longer squish them. In fact we collect them. I'm really torn in deciding the root of her insect fascination. Does she love bugs or does she simply love to torment me? Rest assured, I'm doing what every well meaning, well intentioned mother should do. I'm "nurturing" her interest in bugs. We're reading books, going on bug hunts, etc. I do have to share a bit of dialogue from today.

So here I am sitting on the couch watching the TV Guide channel for the last 15 minutes. Why I didn't get up and change the channel? I have no clue. Anyways, Faith is in the dining room playing and attempting to catch bugs. For the record, we don't have bugs in our house. It was too windy to go outside so she was pretending. All of a sudden Faith comes in crying. The real tear kind of cry.

K: "Faith sweetie. What is wrong?"

F: "She's just not getting any better. I need to help her feel better."

K: "Who's not feeling better? Is one of your babies sick?"

F: "No mom, Lemon Juice (displaying a plastic baggie containing a lifeless fly) is very, very sick. Can she please rest next to you? I got her an ice pack." / Faith lays the most gigantic ice pack we have (about 12" by 18") out on the couch, lovingly lays a dishtowel over it so Lemon Juice doesn't get too cold, and lays the fly containing plastic bag on top of the stack.

K: "I'd be happy to watch her Faith, but I'm a little worried that she's not going to fully recover. Do you think we should put her outside to get some fresh air? Sometimes fresh air is just what the doctor ordered"

F: "No, Mommy. She just needs to have a little rest and then she'll feel better."

K: "Actually Faith. Lemon Juice is dead."

F: "She is not dead! She is going to take a nap with me and then I'll check her out with my doctor set and then she'll feel better."

So...yes. I did tuck my daughter, pinkie (her blanket) and Lemon Juice into bed for a bit of a nap. We'll just have to wait and see how she feels after a little nap.

Jensen's 1st Crush...

2008-04-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry girls, but I think Jensen may be taken. He's in love. You see, we visit Baby Maddie multiple times throughout the day on her web site. Typically, it's Faith and I checking it. She is even figuring out how to find it by herself on our "favorites." Anyways, Jensen was on my lap last week while I was checking sweet Maddie. That boy was totally infatuated with her! If I scrolled down away from her picture he cried. He is a man (boy) of (VERY) few words, but he did continually tell her "Hi!" for about 15 minutes...not joking. He only took breaks to climb up on the desk and give her little fishy kisses. You know the ones I'm talking about...cheeks sucked in, slobbery, lots of noise. I must have said "Baby" 200 times, thinking that maybe, just maybe, Maddie could get him to add another word to his vocab., but nope he was just too smitten and speechless.

If you have a moment, check out Maddie's web page. She is a sweet, beautiful one month old heart baby. Her and her family would love extra prayers. (check out her web page http://allredbabygirl.blogspot.com/

Faith's Censored Birth Story

2008-04-09T21:56:00.000-07:00

Every year on her birthday, we snuggle up with Faith and tell her about the day she was born. This year, I decided to also write it down...definitely a day I NEVER want to forget. One of the BEST days of my life. Actually, I think I'll start at the beginning...when we found out we were expecting her.

Joe and I had been badly wanting to have a baby, after having had a miscarriage at the end of May. July 27th 2003 we were going to go to Jazz in the Valley with our friends Steve and Natalie Joyce. Since wine tasting was to be involved, I decided I should take a pregnancy test just to be sure it was safe to drink. The first test immediately showed "pregnant." As did the second, third and fourth test (just a bit OCD there). I was so excited and could hardly wait to tell Joe. I wrapped up one of the test and gave it to him when he got home from work. After a brief questioning of if I was sure and me pulling the other three test from behind my back, he broke into the biggest grin I have ever seen, picked me up and twirled me around the living room. Pure bliss. The due date of our baby was to be April 1st!

Being apprehensive about having had a miscarriage, we decided to wait to tell people until we were through the first trimester. Talk about a tough secret to keep...especially considering how terribly ill I was feeling. Between the Ellensburg summer heat with no air conditioning, certain smells (coffee, chocolate, cigarette smoke, meat, etc.) and constant nausea I was in BAD shape.

Both of our families came to town for the Ellensburg Rodeo. After the ever exciting (sarcasm) Rodeo parade we all came back to our house to have lunch and see Joe's latest fishing video that he was so proud of. To every ones surprise, the video was actually of our first ultrasound!!! I will never forget watching everyone try to figure it out.

Grandma Beth: "What is it? What is it?"

Grandpa Rick: "It's some kind of fish."

Grandma Beth: "What is it?"

Grandma Valerie "Oh! I know what it is! I know what it is!"

So fun to hear and see them all react like this. What a great day and just one of many to come leading up to Faith's birth.

We decided to wait to find out the sex of the baby. We just wanted the ultimate thrill of surprise at the end. So glad we did. Throughout our 10 months of pregnancy it was so fun to think, wonder and dream about the baby, come up with lists of boy and girl names, shop for special things for the baby, etc.

The months past very quickly, the nausea soon left and was replaced by common pregnancy aches and pains...you know stretching ligaments, sciatica nerve, low baby, etc. At the time, I was teaching 4th grade on the second story of Red Rock Elementary in Royal City. By the end, climbing the stairs 20 plus times a day was painful and something I dreaded dearly.

April 1st came and went. The spring was beautiful that year in Ellensburg. Joe and I, and anyone else I could recruit, spent hours each day walking trying to induce labor to no avail. Baby Rotter just wasn't coming out. The phone was ringing off the hook, with well-meaning family members and friends curious if we'd a)had the baby or b) felt anything. Yep...had the baby. Just figured we'd let everyone know later...????

HERE'S WHERE WE BEGIN WITH THE STORY WE SHARE WITH FAITH:

Daddy and Mommy had been enjoying the beautiful, warm, non windy (yes it does happen) spring weather in Ellensburg. We'd been spending DAYS walking around and patiently waiting for the new baby to be born. We were both so excited to meet our new baby, find out if the baby was a boy or a girl, and see what our little one would look like.

April 7th was much the same as the previous 10 days. We took a nice long walk all over town, visited D & M coffee and Fred Meyer. We then decided to take advantage of the great sunshine and head down to the river for a bit. Daddy threw a few casts into the river and caught some nice fish, while mommy read a book in the warm car. Mommy sat in the little green Toyota Tercel with her feet up on the dash reading and enjoying feeling the baby move around. On the way home from fishing, mommy and daddy decided to get some McDonald's for a late lunch/early dinner before going to see Dr. Larson at 5:30pm.

Dr. Larson listened to the baby's heart beat (leave out the rest of the details for Faith's sake) and then announced, "It's time to have a baby. Head on over to the hospital." (No I was NOT dilated or ANYTHING, but I had NOT slept more than a total of 4 hours combined the past 5 nights and he had pity on me. I truly had not complained at all, but I think seeing me 7 days overdue was more than the poor man could handle). On the way to the hospital, we called everyone we knew to tell them that baby Rotter would soon be there.

A few hours later, at 12:45am on April 8th, Baby Faith Elizabeth Rotter came into the world. She weighed 6lbs 14oz and was 20 inches long. She had the most beautiful big, brown eyes and lots of dark hair. She was perfect in every way and Mommy and Daddy were so thrilled to finally meet their baby. Mommy and Daddy began to call family members (yes...in the middle of the night) and tell them the exciting news. Grandma Beth and Auntie Sarah were staying at our house. Daddy called and told them it was time to come to the hospital (he didn't give them any other details or even say the baby had arrived). When they got there, Grandma said, "Oh! What is it?" Daddy said, "It's a Baby!"

Faith's favorite part of the story is the last sentences up there. That and the part that she was originally named Sydney (for about a 1/2 hour), but we decided to change her name to Faith. The part I left out/leave out for Faith, was that there were a few "scary" (for us anyways) parts during labor. I was induced and my body reacted terribly to the cervadel (spelling). Once administered it's supposed to take many hours before contractions start. My contractions began very intensely within 10 minutes and were right on top of another. Having been told that contractions/labor wouldn't start until early the next day (5-6am) I was in total shock that the "unlabor" caused this much pain. I swore this would be my only child (which it wasn't) numerous times to both Joe and my sister Sarah (who I later told had to leave...yes, I was a real peach). Even with all of the contractions I wasn't progressing. The baby's heart rate was drastically going from over 200 to not even being seen on the monitor. I was flipped and flopped, etc. Joe and I began to panic when numerous hospital staff began coming into our room. Baby was in distress, but I wasn't progressing. Our wonderful doctor was actually on the phone attempting to get both the epidural guy and a c-section team to the hospital, when he was able to turn the baby a bit of a different angle. In about 15 minutes I dilated from a 2 to a 10 and had a baby. Leaving out a few of the other "not so pleasant" details...we just thought Faith was a more fitting name...faith definitely helped us through.

Faith's Fabulous Four Years

2008-04-08T14:17:00.001-07:00

Four! Four? Four!? How in the world did my baby get to be four years old? What a fantastic four years it has been. Indescribable is a more fitting word. She has changed so much over the past four years. It amazes me the conversations we have and the things she is now capable of doing all on her own...her independence is bitter-sweet for me. Just this past week we had two incredible conversations together. One about mammals. She is into sorting everything as either a mammal or non-mammal. In her words, "mammals drink their mommy's milk and come from their mommy's tummy. I am a mammal. Jensen is a mammal. Cats are mammals. Birds not mammals. They come from eggs, etc." I've still managed to tiptoe around the subject of how mammals (aka Faith) get out of their mommy's tummy. So far, "The Doctor takes them out with God's help," is working, but I can tell not for long. Suggestions? Secret door? A stork? Really...help me out here!!!!

The second conversation was about Easter, while we were on the way to Yakima.

Faith: "Mommy, do you know why we celebrate Easter?"

Mommy: (acting totally uneducated despite the fact that we read the Children's Bible with her almost nightly, attend church, teach Sunday school, etc.) "No. Why?"

Faith: (very proud of herself) "Well, actually Easter is to celebrate Jesus dieing and then coming back to life for us."

Mommy: (Surprised) "What? How did Jesus die? How did he come back?"

Faith: The enemies and bad people, didn't believe that Jesus was Jesus so they nailed him to a cross and then buried him in a cave. Then he came alive again with NO holes in his hands or feet just to make us happy. Then the enemies HAD to believe him. Can you believe it?"

Mommy: "Oh, my! Who taught you that?" (totally expecting it to be me)

Faith: "Mrs. Wallace my preschool teacher. She knows LOTS about God and Jesus!"

It has been a busy few days for the Birthday Girl. Sunday, we had a Princess Party for Faith and all of her friends, complete with "royal" invitations, an Ariel cake (I did my best...), wands, tiaras, and clothing fit for a princess (or prince in a couple of cases). Faith was SOOOO excited for this special day. It's all she's talked about since Jensen's birthday in November...I'm being serious. She got LOTS of gifts fit for a princess; movies, dolls, stickers, art things, Disney princesses with horses, etc. A perfect day for our princess.

Today, at Preschool, Faith got to make a crown, share her birthday journal, and bring pink (of coarse) cupcakes for all of her friends. She then got to choose what to do the rest of the day. She picked eat Pizza at Pizza Hut with Grandma and us and then go play at the Purple Pelican (favorite store in town). The Purple Pelican is having a great sale so I told her she could choose one special thing for her birthday. Thank heavens I was able to talk her out of the stuffed, 3 foot tall, Rottweiler. I was not into that so much.

Anyways, very long post here. I've attached (hopefully) a picture from this morning before school and one from her party as well.

Introduction

2008-02-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

This may be a crazy idea considering half the time I already feel like I'm going crazy trying to keep up on "all of it" (household, teaching, parenting, etc.), but we're starting this blog in hopes of keeping our friends and family updated on the lives of our two amazing children and as a keepsake for our family. Both Joe and I have tried unsuccessfully to take time to actually sit down and write about some of the many funny, quirky events in our life. Both kids have a few (very limited) entries in their journals. We always enjoy flipping through and reading them, but they are too few and far between. It just seems that at the end of a long day, we're too dang tired to pick up the pen and journal and write it down. So...here's our attempt, whatever it may become, of "journal" our life as a family.

I'd love to add a photo, but we are sort of between two hard drives and don't have the photos transferred over yet. Let me rephrase that. The only photos transferred over are the hunting and fishing pictures. Hmmm...