I was thinking today about a phenomenon I have noticed.

When I go out with my kids–all three of them–I get a lot of looks and a fair number of comments about my situation. I’m young to have three kids, I know, and I look even younger than I am, so I understand that I might stand out; but since we added the third actual person to the mix–as opposed to when I just had the two older ones and a baby bump–I feel like a lot of people don’t know what to do with me. People will, not infrequently, look at us and just stare for a while, before snapping out of their momentary stupor and moving on with their shopping or walking or whatever. And people say things to me like “Wow! You’ve got quite the crew there!” And it isn’t like the way you’d say “Wow! You just knocked out that awesome research paper in one weekend!” It’s more like the way you’d say “Wow! You just ate an entire pizza in 8 minutes!”

So, after our trip to the grocery store today, I got to thinking about why people don’t seem to know what to do with me and the kids. Those who have actually articulated opinions on the subject seem to think that somebody so young is not truly prepared for the responsibility and work of appropriately raising three children. Therefore–this is my assumption based on a few statements–it seems irresponsible for someone so young to choose to have said children, or rather choose not to prevent their births in one way or another.  But I thought of that principle–a very young person taking on large amounts of important work and responsibility–and applied it to another situation.

If I were to mention to somebody that I was currently working on my third graduate degree from Princeton University–this while I appear to be a teenager–I feel like the response would be very different.  I think they still might not know quite what to do with me, but it would be out of awe and respect rather than condescension and concern. Why is that? Graduate degrees from highly respected universities are a huge amount of work, and a big responsibility. Why could a 25 year old who looks like a 19 year old be able to do those things and be considered not just in her right mind, but apparently prodigious for doing it, while said 25 year old who has three Oxford quality children–or any other person who has more children than is expected–must be irresponsible?

I don’t really have the answer–though I’m quite certain that Satan is somewhere within it–but, in any case, I’ve decided to change the way I think about things just a little.

 

I would like to consider myself a prodigious mother. After all, not just anyone could handle three kids under the age of 5 at the age of 25 (as is evidenced by the great minority of people fitting that description)! And not just anyone can do it full time, day in, day out and not only remain sane, but even enjoy it most of the time! So anyone who does do those things, or similar things,· is prodigious in my book.

I’ll admit that somedays I’m more prodigious than others. Somedays I very greatly resemble that 19 year old people believe me to be in my whining and frustration. But other days, I even impress myself with just how well I manage things and even love them!

So here’s to all the prodigious mothers in the world! We are all raising Stanford, Harvard, Oxford quality children (because Heavenly Father doesn’t make anything less)! And even if nobody else knows what to do with us, we know we “are laying the foundation of a great work” that is far more important than all the graduate degrees the world could ever offer us!

This year, Josh’s birthday fell on Fathers’ Day. That meant that there was only one day to celebrate him as a person and as a father. Well, we couldn’t have that, now could we? 🙂

We started celebrating Josh’s birthday last Monday, June 13. My goal was to have a gift every day and some kind of party every day. (Yes, it was exhausting, but also fun, and totally worth it!)

Monday, Josh got a non-neutral/blue t-shirt because he keeps talking about how he doesn’t have any. He wanted it to say something cool on it.

Our party that night was a bbq with Josh’s favorite things–that means we had chips and donuts with our bbq.

Tuesday, we had his family over for cake and ice-cream, and he got a new tool he has been wanting for a while.

Wednesday, Josh got a gift in the morning, but since he had a church meeting in the evening, we did less of a party. I made the chicken and rice that he requested, and we put his candle in it to sing to him.

Thursday, gift in the morning, and fiesta for the party that evening! Josh picked everything he wanted for tacos for dinner, then we had a piñata with his favorite candies afterwards. There was even some mariachi music that night!

Friday’s “party” was a date! My sister Mary watched the kids (all three of them!!) while we went on a date! We were originally going to go get burgers at this famous place in SLC; but it turned out to be a bar, and I hadn’t brought any ID. So, instead, we went to a french cafe! It was totes delish!

Saturday was Josh’s little brother Aaron’s birthday, so we went to his party. It was fun!

For Fathers’ Day, Josh requested a special breakfast in lieu of lunch (we did dinner at his parents’ house). He picked home-made-biscuit, sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches! They were so good! Josh made the biscuits even though it was his day off, because he is the pro biscuitier. His request was, however, to be able to make them with no small helpers.

Josh asks for the same gift every year for Fathers’ Day. He wants an updated picture of me with the kids for his desk at work.

So, as of Sunday, Josh is officially 28 years old! I’m so glad that he has been mine for 5 of those years, and that he will be mine for infinity more!

Happy Birthday, Josh!

 

This past Sunday, Josh was able to give Portia an official name and blessing! It was so special to have him bless her–just like it always is. I am so grateful for a husband who worthily holds the Priesthood and uses it to bless our family and others! I am also grateful for Portia and for how she adds joy to our lives!

From the time Fay was only a few months old, I decided that if we ever had another girl, she was going to be blessed in a tutu. And I made sure it happened! I made everything she wore. I also made her some matching booties, but they were MIA during the picture. The onesie is a funny story. I didn’t think about the fact that she would need one until about a week before we blessed her, and then I couldn’t find one ANYWHERE! A white onesie would have been a cinch to locate; but the outfit is cream-colored, and nobody seems to think small babies should wear solid cream.  So, I dug through Fay’s baby clothes and found an old long-sleeved 24 month onesie that had stains on the collar. I decided that it would serve better as a blessing onesie than its original self, so I turned it into a flutter sleeve 3 month onesie with no stain on the collar. 🙂  And just like half of my sewing projects, it turned out WAY better than it should have! Divine Intervention!

Some fun facts about Portia include:

• She is a super happy baby. Josh, and others who were in the circle, mentioned how she just beamed through her entire blessing. She is especially smiley to new faces. So if you want your life totally made, just stop by and hold Portia for a while. She will smile at you like you are the best thing that ever happened!
• She has torticollis (left torticollis, to be exact), which means the muscles on the left side of her neck are shortened, forcing her to look to the right. This caused her to develop plagiocephally or a flat head. She is in physical therapy in an effort to correct the issue, and the torticollis is being corrected quite well. However, if her head doesn’t shape up (oh yes I did!), she may have to get a helmet.
• She has a giraffe tongue! Her tongue is seriously so long, and she sticks it out and chews on it all the time. It’s rather adorable.
• She loves tummy time. Both Fay and Carter detested being put on their tummies. But Portia thrives there! She can lift her head to fully forward (as opposed to looking at the ground), and turn it either side–though she prefers to turn right, believe it or not. She also loves to roll off her tummy and onto her back.

Portia and the siblings get along very well. She is a patient baby, and will let Fay hold her without fussing, and just coos at Carter when he sticks his face in hers. Both kids love her, too! Fay loves to call her “bebe” and cuddle up with her. Carter will frequently plop down next to her and just talk to her in his own little toddler way, saying her name over and over. It is so special to watch them be so good to her, and to see how they all three love each other so much!

I’ll be honest. Having three kids has thrown me for multiple loops in the past three months. I definitely feel less in-control than I did before Portia was born, and I often wonder what we were thinking having three kids so close together. But when I take a step back and think about this beautiful family that Heavenly Father has blessed me with, I can’t help but be grateful that we were insane enough to do it the way we did. Portia has helped our family grow closer together, and realize another level of what we can handle. And we are happy! Just don’t expect to ever find the dishes and the laundry done at the same time. 🙂

I composed a whole different post about how we’ve been sick this month. But I decided that sickness is not how I want to remember this month forever, so instead I will just share some pictures.

Let’s talk about Fay! Today is Fay’s 4th birthday! She has been declaring for about two months how she is “almost ready to be 4” because she is brave, or because she can climb the swing-set, or because she obeyed really well.  And now her day has come, and she truly is 4! And I would say that she is decidedly ready!

Fay is probably tired of me telling her this, because I do multiple times a day, but it is so true. Fay is my biggest helper! She is so willing to watch Portia for me if Carter is in need of attention. She LOVES helping in the kitchen, and will do just about any job I give her. She has recently started responding with a cheerful “Of course!” every time I ask her to run grab something for me or do another similar task. She is such a motherly big-sister to both Carter and Portia, and I honestly don’t know how I could handle my current situation if she wasn’t such a gem of a helper!

Fay has a very favorite toy–a little stuffed bear named Gary–who is her ultimate scapegoat. If she has just bullied Carter in some way, she will often respond with “Gary pushed Carter.” She also makes Gary cry a lot as well as say some pretty rude things to people, and then will accept absolutely no responsibility for what he has done. She just says, “Gary says he doesn’t like you.” or “Gary is just sad.” We have explained to her that she is the one who is in charge of Gary, and as such, she is responsible to make sure he acts nicely. I have even reminded her that Gary is actually mine, and that I have the power to make him disappear. She is working on some character reform for him.

 

Two weeks ago (on Carter’s birthday), Fay declared that she wanted to go swimming on her birthday. We told her that she could, and have been planning on it ever since. However, this week we have been through just about every sickness available (coughs, runny noses, fevers, ear infections, pink eye, and sleep deprivation) and therefore didn’t think it was a very good idea for the kids to be at a public pool.  So, we got an inflatable pool for the back yard.  Fay loved it and played in it for over an hour today, even though it wasn’t particularly warm. She told me that it was cooler to have a pool at home than to go to the public pool once. I agree.

The other day, the kids and I were talking about what we were going to be when we grow up. Fay told me that she wanted to be a ballerina and a fairy princess. I told her that she can be absolutely anything she wants to be, so long as she can be like Jesus while she does it. Then we talked about how one can be a ballerina and be like Jesus. It was a fun, and sweet conversation with my sweet little girl.

I don’t know what Fay will ultimately decide to be when she grows up; but I love the beautiful, helpful, fun, and perfectly unique girl that she is today, and I am forever grateful for the privilege I have to be her mother!

I was praying today after reading a conference talk on humility. My heart and mind were torn. I have been struggling a lot recently to feel my own worth as a person, and being reminded of how everything I am or ever hope to be was given to me through the grace of Jesus Christ gave Satan the perfect opportunity to remind me that I am nothing, and will never amount to anything. I started crying as I prayed. I knew it was Satan. I have learned enough times how “The worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” to know that God saw me differently.  I prayed “Heavenly Father, please let me just see myself as Thou seest me for just one moment. I just want to understand how things truly are.” A thought came to me. “Think of your children.” I kind of ignored it, because they are all I ever think about, and I was looking for answers right then. The thought came again. “Think of your children.” I did. I thought of Fay and how sometimes she is a gem, and sometimes I don’t know what to do with her. I thought of Carter and how he loves balls and loves yelling “NO!” as long and loud as he can. I thought of Portia and how she really doesn’t do much, and yet is pure sweetness. I thought about how much I love them–with my whole being. They are infinitely important to me, and always will be, even if they never accomplish a single thing in their lives. I will love them forever. And all I really ever want from them is for them to love me and be happy.

That was my answer.

This handsome boy has turned two years old! I realized today that for some reason turning two years old and having been around for two years doesn’t add up in my mind. It seems so crazy that my boy is a big two-year-old; but it seems like so much more than 2 years that he has been my boy. Funny how my brain doesn’t work like that. 🙂

We decided that on your birthday you get whatever you want (within reason, of course). And I feel like the things that Carter wanted today are a good way of explaining him at this stage of his life.

Carter’s favorite article of clothing is his ball pajamas. This boy loves balls! He loves playing with balls, looking at balls, wearing balls, thinking about balls, everything balls! He didn’t want to take off his ball pajamas this morning (just like every morning) and so he wore them all day, and even though they were filthy, he put them right back on after his bath tonight, because it is his birthday and he gets what he wants.

Another of Carter’s favorite things is his “monster coat.” And when we started talking about what kind of cake he might want, he latched onto the idea of “monster cake!” He has been exclaiming “monster cake!” every time somebody mentions his birthday for at least 3 weeks.

Another thing that Carter loves is shoes. (This boy likes the stuff he wears!) He got some new light-up shark sandals today, and wore them all day long, even during his nap.

Carter also has some fun food preferences. He will usually eat most of what we eat. But there are some things that he REALLY loves. Carter loves cereal! He especially loves rice crispies (he calls them “crispies” which comes out sounding something like “Yappies” and is every kind of adorable). He also really likes junk food. Check out his breakfast this morning.

For dinner he wanted meatballs–we added some pasta and fruit in there for good measure–of which he ate all he wanted!

After dinner and monster cake, Carter selected a favorite park to play at. His birthday pretty much sums him up. He loves to play, wear just the right things, and eat just the right things (in just the right quantities)!

We love our boy more every single day, and we are so grateful that he has been ours for two whole years!

I thought I would mix things up and post a bunch of videos this time! The kids’ interactions together are so much fun to watch, especially as they are getting used to another member!

This is a video that I took a few days before Portia was born. I probably watch it at least twice every day, because it just makes me SO happy! It just shows the kids being perfectly themselves, and perfectly adorable!

This is a video of Portia when she was about two weeks old being adorably grumpy about her hiccups.

 

And here is a video taken the same day of Carter loving on Portia. He does love her a lot; though sometimes he resents the attention that has been moved from him as the baby to her. Fay is in the background of this video asking for gum. It’s kind of cute too.

This video is not the highest quality; but it is just so cute! Portia usually has socks on her hands to keep her from scratching her face. Carter noticed that her hands were bare and REALLY wanted to help her get a sock on her hand.

Fay is pretty hilarious sometimes with her little imagination. Today at lunch she started squawking about something. I turned around to see her doing the following:

 

Also, here is a picture of the older kids on Easter. I didn’t post anything for Easter; but we did celebrate it and relished the opportunity to rejoice in the resurrection of the Savior and the new life of springtime!

For those of you who don’t know, I love St. Patrick’s Day! “Why?” you may ask. Well, that’s a very valid question. My best response is simply “Why not?”  I don’t really have Irish heritage, I have been to Ireland; but that happened probably BECAUSE I love St. Patrick’s Day.  I really don’t have a reason to love it, but I think any reason to make a day special is good!

Here’s a glimpse of what our St. Patrick’s Day was like this year. We owe everything to Mother who has been taking care of us this week, and making sure that everyday has been fun, especially today.

Mother gave the kids shamrock antennae and bracelets to wear! They got played with more than they actually got worn; but we managed to get a picture with them on! They looked so cute with their St. Patrick’s Day shirts!

Here’s all of us dressed in green!

Portia’s outfit is thanks to Mariel Boone and Jessica Johnson 4 years ago. They got this dress for Fay. They said they knew it wouldn’t be her size at St. Patrick’s time; but my daughter needed to have the dress! Little did we all know it would be perfect for girl #2! The headband is one that I made for Fay on her first St. Patrick’s Day. Good thing we kept it all!

Josh is the best ever! He got me the most beautiful St. Patrick’s Day flowers!

Mother made us a delicious Irish themed dinner! We had corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes! I don’t know if Irish people eat funeral potatoes; but if they don’t they should start! We also had green pistachio pudding! So yummy!

Fay really wanted to make a leprechaun trap. We didn’t think to do it last night, so no leprechauns came to our house today. But she still wanted to do it tonight. It’s pretty simple (as simple as you can make it, I’m pretty sure). But it was apparently enough for Fay.  I tried to get her to look at the camera. But she said she wanted to “look straight.”

See! With all that fun, what reason is there NOT to love St. Patrick’s Day?!

We have had such lovely weather the past couple weeks! Last week, all of us had some sort of cold or cough, and we felt the need to get out of the house. We spent all last weekend going to parks and on walks outside! It was healing, not just for our bodies, but for our winter-weary souls!

On Friday (Feb 26), we went to a new park in West Jordan. It was really fun, and the kids had a good time there. But I don’t know if they had as much fun at that park as Josh and I did! There was a little scavenger hunt associated with the playground, and Josh and I couldn’t leave until we had found everything!

On Saturday, we found another new park–actually in Sandy, though still west of I-15–that is attached to a fishery!!!!!! It has a decent playground, but the kids love it because they can walk around the water and chase ducks! I am super excited to go fishing there sometime this summer! Here are some pictures at the fishery park.

Another springy thing is St. Patrick’s Day! I decorated the mantel! (Have I mentioned how much I love my mantel?!)

The “Kiss Me” sign was a family effort. Fay helped me to paint the shamrock on, and she really did do it mostly on her own. Josh was the one who fixed the blemishes that were a result of a 3 year old doing the painting. He also did the letters. Basically all I can get credit for is the basic design and painting the background and cutting out the stencils we used.

Today I did my nails for St. Patrick’s Day! They’re not perfect; but they are definitely festive!

 

We have continued to prepare for our new arrival (due on St. Patrick’s Day). This week, I broke down and bought the item I have been on the fence about for a while. I got the infant insert for our baby carrier. I’m excited about wearing this baby! Hopefully she’ll like it as well. 🙂  Fay got kind of excited about the idea of a baby carrier, so I made her one for her dolls. She wore it for a few minutes and then got bored, and hasn’t wanted much to do with it since. ha ha! I think that when I’m carrying new baby around all the time, she’ll be more interested in it. I hope so, anyway.

Hopefully the next blog post I do will be about a new baby, and hopefully it will be sooner than St. Patrick’s Day!