Halloween Pics

This Halloween I wanted Brett to be a lion, but it's very hard to find a lion costume. So I got brave, and under instruction from my Mom, I made his costume.




Kaylee was too small for any costumes I have, so we just stuck with the jack'o latern onsie.

Breanna was able to wear her costume from last year. We went all out this year and made her hair pink too.

The kids got to go to our ward Trunk-or-Treat Friday night, and then out again through the neighborhood Saturday night. They got quite the loot.

Somehow, our Saturday afternoon got so busy that we didn't have time to feed the kids dinner before trick-or-treating. I figured they would be out for half an hour and then we could eat our pizza. An hour and a half later, they got back and they kids were tired and grumpy and wanted nothing but to get out of their costumes and eat.
Brett fell asleep while eating his pizza, and Breanna kept asking when it was time for bed. After struggling with dinner, baths, and pajamas, John rocked Kaylee in our room while I rocked the other two in the family room, and we got all three down at the same time. Then it felt like we could breath again. Holidays. :)

Renovations P.S.

I finally got my shelf two weekends ago.

Quick Trip

John had some business to take care of in Austin yesterday, so we decided to make it a fun family trip. Austin is only three hours from here, so we packed up the kids with an overnight bag and snacks, and headed out Monday morning.

The kids were so excited to take a trip in the car, they were up at 5:30 A.M. That didn't make me too happy, but kids will be kids. Brett kept telling us he was ready to leave, and he had his backpack on ready to go before I had even taken a shower. A little later, I found him on the floor in Breanna's room crying. He was just so excited to go he was going crazy. I was glad at that point that I hadn't fed them breakfast yet, because I was sure he would have lost it by then. John and I laughed and laughed at all the excitement.

We got into Austin at about noon. We decided to first see the state Capital. It is a very beautiful building.



Kids watching a movie on the way there.


Texas State Capital Taken from several floors up, looking down

Top of the dome

The kids were tired and hungry at this point

Found on the State Capital Grounds

Lunch time!!!


After we ate lunch, we headed over to our hotel. We stayed at an Embassy Suites. I highly recommend them to anyone. It was great. We swam (but forgot the camera in the car), and got cleaned up and hung out in our room for a while.

The kids were tired from the day, but we ate dinner and then drove around Austin to see Uncle Scott's house, and to see all the different areas around Austin. It is really quite beautiful.

That night, everyone seemed to sleep well, except Kaylee and me. Kaylee didn't want to sleep for more than half an hour at a time. Then, Brett decided to wake up at 4:30. I tried to put him back into bed, but he would have nothing of it. So then, that of course woke of Breanna. The kids were awake by 5:30...again. John took them down to breakfast at 6 while I tried to get Kaylee to go back to sleep. I was unsuccessful.

A couple hours later, John and Breanna went swimming again, while I was cleaning up Brett, who had the runs. NOT fun. Then, after we all got cleaned up and ready for the day, John went to do his business while I took the kids to eat lunch and hang out at some stores for three hours. When I got to McDonalds, I turned around to get the kids out and they were all sound asleep. I didn't know what to do, so we just sat in the car, while it was running, in the parking lot and I let them sleep. I rested too, but I also got to talk to my brother for a while to catch up.
Twenty minutes later, the kids woke up and we did our thing.

When John was done, we decided it was time to head home. About an hour and a half out, Brett threw up. Ah yes, the fun of car trips and too much junk food. He got it all over himself, his blanket, and the car seat. We had to pull over, strip him down, wipe down the car seat buckles, grab grocery sacks to put his clothes, car seat cover, and blanket in, put a new shirt on him, and put him back in the car. About five minutes later down the road, he did it again. So we pulled over and did it all over again. Then again about half an our later. Then again a half hour after that, and finally we made it home. The poor kid was sick two more times, but he got it all out of his system, got a quick bath, and then got a really good night sleep. Thank goodness that's over.

This morning we are doing lots of laundry.

Overall, it was very fun to get out with our family and do something fun and different.


Have a hoppin' great day!

Renovations

I asked John to build a shelf to replace the bottom of the cabinet under the kitchen sink. When the day was done, we ended up with this...





I couldn't find any before pictures with the wall there. That used to be a big wall that separated the eating area from the cooking area.
There was dry wall dust all over the kitchen and living room. It took me a long time to clean it all up.
This is also just a temporary remodel. We will eventually cut the wall down to the countertop level and pull the countertop around to make more counter space. That will be when we can afford new countertops.
Oh ya...I never did get my shelf.

For you CHOCOLATE LOVERS

I heard about this two months ago, and it is wonderful. Who doesn't love chocolate, especially FREE CHOCOLATE!!! Just go to http://realchocolate.com this Friday and you can get a candy bar for free. It's called the MARS Real Chocolate Relief Act. They are giving away free chocolate August 14th, and every Friday in September. Enjoy!

Playing Catch-Up

We have now had our kitchen treated for those nasty roaches four times. They are persistent little buggers. I wouldn't see them for a day or two, and then I would see one on the floor, or in my dishwasher or sink. YUCK!!! They make my skin crawl just thinking about them. But they seem to be gone now. I haven't seen one for three weeks and no more follow-up appointments. I am very slowly putting my kitchen back together. VERY slowly. I have to vacuum out the cabinet, wipe it down with lysol water, and then I can put things back in the cabinet. May you never be infested with german roaches.



Now to play catch up:

We had John's parents and Grandpa stay with us over the Fourth of July weekend. It was so much fun for the kids. They got to go on walks with their grandpa, play hide and seek, stay up late, eat junk, and be spoiled rotten.
Ann, Bruce, and Sam had to all stay in Breanna's room on air mattresses, while Breanna slept in Brett's room. It worked out all right...I think. That was the only way to keep them cool and out of traffic's way.
We also had Kaylee's baby blessing that Sunday. But amongst all the fun and family, Brett was sick. He had horrible intestinal issues and had to go on the BRATT diet. He was not a happy camper. But we finally got him over it and haven't had a problem since.



During the past month or so, we have experienced:

-my birthday
-Sean leaving for Utah
-James coming home
-my dad going thru surgery
-our kitchen being emptied
-our kitchen going through small renovations
-"Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" (which Kaylee kept me from half of)
-many other advetures

July felt like the longest month ever, and yet I can't figure out where August has already gone.

Keepin' it Busy

We have had so much going on lately, we just won't know what to do with ourselves if we have a moment to breath.

I think it all started several weeks ago when we had severe thunderstorms and tornadoes come through the area. I still remember sitting in the hallway, nursing a baby and trying to keep myself calm enough as to not scare the kids. We had our emergency radio going and a mattress to cover us, just in case . John wasn't home.
Later that night, the sever storms rolled in with amazing winds and we lost our power for eight hours. It came back on the next day for a short time, and then went out again until the next morning. We spent the night at my parents because you don't want to sleep through a night without air-conditioning here.
After that night, everything was fine, but we just seemed to constantly be busy.

This week, my niece had to go to the hospital and stay there for a few days, so we had her older sister here with us so she wouldn't be bored. That was fun for Breanna and Brett. We also had John's parents and grandpa come stay the night Monday night, and they are going to be back tonight to spend the holiday weekend with us. We are going to a ward party in the morning, and then are having a family party in the evening.
Amongst all this, we found out we have german roaches in our kitchen, so today we have spent most of the day washing all our dishes, pots, pans, and anything else that's washable, and clearing out the kitchen completely. Tomorrow, between parties, we are having our kitchen sprayed down and treated to get rid of all the little buggers. YUCK!!! First termites, and now this. AHH!!

Potty Potential

Brett has been doing this thing where the moment he gets wet, he takes his diaper off. It doesn't matter if it's just a tiny bit wet or super wet either. When we first had Kaylee, I would forget to change Brett's diaper. He would go a very long time with a saggy wet diaper. Then all of the sudden he starting doing this, and we were going through 12 diapers a day. AHH!! Too expensive for my blood. So I decided he needs to potty train.

He took to the potty very quickly, but hasn't taken to using it on his own cues yet. It's been three weeks now, I think. He will wear training underwear during the day, but I end up washing six pairs of underwear by the end of the day. He realizes that he's going, but not that he has to go. Anyway, it's very similar to Breanna's potty training. It took her about a year of off and on training to catch on. I wish Brett would just pick up no problem so I didn't have to keep buying diapers for two kids, but oh well. He really likes his froggy potty though. That helps.



Kaylee is finally taking naps. Hooray! I was starting to think she was going to be just like Breanna was and not take naps until who knows how old. Breanna was 7-9 months before she started to let me put her down for naps. So thank goodness Kaylee has been taking a solid afternoon nap for the past five days (minus Sunday, cause who keeps a kid on schedule on Sunday).

The kids had there check-up's this month.
Kaylee weighs 9lbs 11oz and is 21 in
Bretton weighs 24 lbs and is 32.5 in
Breanna weighs 30 lbs and is 38.5 in

I have small children.

Just an excuse

I just wanted to post some cute pictures of the kids.

Transition

I wasn't sure how having three kids would be, but I think it's really great. I admit it's much harder to get out with three kids, but I think it' more that it's harder to get out with a new baby than the fact that there's another kid.

Breanna thinks Kaylee is really great. She was not happy at first. She cried and cried when she came to see us at the hospital. It took a day or two for her to accept her new sister. Brett has really seemed to remain oblivious to the change most of the time. He has gotten more aggressive, but not towards the baby. I think it's just that he's two years old now.

The first two weeks of recovery were very hard. I had to sleep in the recliner, because it was too painful to get in and out of bed, and I was on pain meds that made me very dizzy and drowsy. That, on top of being exhausted from a new baby, made taking care of the kids very difficult.

Luckily, my mom was very very helpful. She took the kids for several afternoons, including taking them to the zoo, along with Sean and James. James was in town for about 10 ten days, and he was a big help too. He drove me around, and babysat the kids when I had baby appointments. It was great.




Now I'm off the pain meds, and life is getting back to normal...somewhat. I still have three weeks of recovery time to go, but at least I can take care of my family now. Plus, it helps that Kaylee pretty much sleeps through the night, so I get a lot of rest. (She goes to bed between 9&10, and sleeps until 3 or 4, then sleeps until 7 or 8). I am enjoying having all three little ones.

Home and All is Well

Kaylee Brielle Van Horn was born at 12:52 PM Friday. She weighed in at 6lbs 9oz, and was 19.25 inches long. She is healthy and happy--at least when she's eating. She likes to eat a lot. She also likes to be held a lot. My girls are very needy. Brett was happy all the time. He really liked to sit in his swing, but Kaylee thinks I've abandoned her as soon as I put her down anywhere.

I got to come home a little early from the hospital. Everyone kept asking me if I wanted to stay one more day, but I really missed my family and I wanted to be home. It's hard to not pick up the kids, but they are pretty used to that by now. I was so huge by the end of the pregnancy that is was just impossible to carry anyone, or anything. But I'm glad to be home and able to sleep in my own recliner. Yes, recliner. I can't sleep in bed. It's just too difficult to get out of bed. I'm keeping up on my pain meds, but there are still a few things that just are impossible to do without pain.

Well, let's get on with the pictures: