5 months and going strong

This baby boy rolled over today for the first time. Baby number 3 sure seems to sprout a lot faster than the other two! We've been having so much fun watching Klive do a few new things, I figured I'd better write this stuff down before I forget it.

He had a check up this week and he's a 15 and 1/2 pounder. Sadly, he's put on enough chub that we can no longer find his wiener - so embarrassing! And he hasn't forgotten the nurse that gave him his first batch of shots. He was as cool as a cucumber while the Doctor looked him over, but the minute that nurse set foot in the room, he let her have it! She gave him a second dose of reminder why he hated her in the first place.

At home, he's been sleeping like a little angel - right through the night. He's also been telling big stories, chewing on anything he can guide into his mouth, laughing at his sisters, and planning his escape as soon as he can get his arms and legs to cooperate. He's not much of a fan of the tummy time, and shrieks to let us know it, but I think he'll be a man on the move by February.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

We had a thoroughly enjoyable Christmas 2010. As usual, the season flew by too fast, but we tried to do all the traditions, make a few new ones, and take as many pictures as we could to capture the memories.

Klive got to open his present early so that he could get as much bounce time as possible. They grow so fast, you know. Thanks Mom, Dad, Nana and Papa - these babies are pricey!

But Santa didn't forget the little guy either. He got one of those awesomely-simple ball poppers - the ones that you see at your friends' houses, enthralling all the kids from 2 to 10. It is sure to create hours of fun!

Winn and June were bouncing off the walls on Christmas Eve. They couldn't wait to dive into the presents. So, like the good parents that we are, we made them sit beside the tempting mountain of wrapped goodies and quietly listen to the story of Baby Jesus. Then we let them open one and head to bed!

Klive kicked and flailed all morning as he watched the paper fly. Isn't he cute in his new sock monkey hat? It's nice to know people who crochet!

June gave mom the best present of all - A Chinese throwing star, a letter inducting me into the Mickey Mouse Club, and a promise that she would be good forever. Glad I got it in writing. She also made us a beautiful calendar at school.

June spent the morning as a unicorn, and Winnie as a hippo. They are now wearing these hats everywhere. And Winnie couldn't fight the urge to measure every new treasure with her best new buddy - Mr. Measuring Tape!

These kids are so loved, and so, so, so spoiled! We had a room full of great new stuff from all the Nanas, Papas, Grandpas, Grandmas, Yayas, Aunts and Uncles (Buck!). Don't worry, the homemade thank-yous are on their way!

The face says it all.

Daddy got some manly movies, a manly tool box and tools, and some, um, kind-of manly running shoes that look like toe socks. His feet were cramping immediately, but he sure thought he looked cool.

Mom got lots of treats (which were promptly eaten before the new year weight loss goal setting) and this wicked awesome Michael Jackson game for the Wii. It is soooo hard! Makes me wish I was still a good dancer, and not a chunky monkey.

Klive did his best to be a part of the action, but it turned out to be too much for him. He had to take a little cat-nap in the wrapping paper mess.

June is totally into arts and crafts. Santa brought her a real sewing machine, and she got lots of beads, knitting supplies, drawing tools, and some math games to help her in school.
Winnie asked Santa for "real-live hair-do stuff" and that's exactly what she got - a beauty salon complete with hair cutting and coloring tools. I'm going to take some good pictures of her in action when we get it all set up. Knowing her, she'll be charging her sister for a haircut in no time.

In the afternoon, we bundled up and headed to Nana and Papa's for more presents, some shrimp and some prime rib. I think Nana's pillow pets were the biggest hit! The day was totally fun, and I'm sad to see the holiday go. You know it's a good day when Winnie asks on December 26, "How many days until Christmas?"

You better not pout, you better not cry . . .

Klive was obviously new to the Santa scene this year. He assumed that the more he cried, the more Santa would take pity on him and bring him the good stuff.

June and Winnie, on the other hand, are seasoned pros. Their Santa letters were promptly written and sent out in mid-November so that the big guy would have time to order it all from Amazon and load it on his sleigh.

Imagine their surprise when they were greeted with an e-mail message from ol' St. Nick at the beginning of December. If they had any doubts about his realness at all, they were immediately put to rest. Santa knew everything! He knew about their birthday parties, their Halloween costumes, he knew that they got a new baby brother in August. And yes, he even knew exactly what they asked for for Christmas!

To mom's delight, he also gave them a big reminder that if they wanted him to make his visit with toys and treats, they had better be helpful to their parents and be kind to each other.

And so the kissing-up began.

About a week later, we were enjoying a Christmas cookie party at the Marler's house when all magic broke loose.

The kids were in mid-frost when we heard an unexpected knock on the door . . .

Look who showed up!

Santa dropped by with some amazing tree ornaments for all of the flabbergasted kids! He took each one on his knee, spoke to them by name, talked about the great things they had done this past year and made sure that his list of their present requests was accurate.

He read "The Night Before Christmas" and shared the story of the baby Jesus and the first Christmas with us. He even let the grown-ups climb up on his lap and be part of the fun.

These kids had smiles from ear to ear. What a special night! What a guy - excellent!

And we heard him exclaim as he rode out of sight, "Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!"

Giving Some Thanks

A Thanksgiving post in January you say? Well, that pretty much sums up my life right now - about a month behind with everything I need to get done. You're lucky it's being documented at all! We had a great Thanksgiving (last year). It was so nice to have my parents in Oklahoma and celebrate with them. God really blessed us this year by sending them to Oklahoma. They have really helped our little family through some rough spots this past year and it is so nice knowing they are just down the street! Unfortunately, I only took pictures of the kids that day, so you'll have to imagine the rest of us.

June was quite the little chef this year. She whipped up this awesome relish tray with froggy avocado dip. I think she's in charge of relish trays from here on out!

Here's Klive celebrating his first day of thanks. He totally loved the Macy's Parade. I think it had something to do with the enormous posters of the Victoria's Secret models plastered all over the buildings in the background. He really gave thanks a few days later when he started eating solid foods for the first time. Sweet potatoes are now the true love of his life!

And this year we had the special treat of visiting June's first grade class for her first dramatic performance. They put on a wonderful play and shared with us all that they were thankful for. June danced like a turkey, sang and even stepped up to deliver the longest speaking part. That's great for a girl who has become painfully shy at school.

We were so proud!

I really felt that I had so much to be thankful for this year. We were blessed with a beautiful new baby boy, and after several months of struggling to regain my health after the delivery, I feel so blessed to just feel well and enjoy my days as a mom and wife. Plus, we can finally see a light at the end of the med-school tunnel and I am so thankful for a hard-working husband who is a super-man of a dad and always the love of my life. So thankful!

A sad good-bye

It seems like just yesterday that our dear friends, the other Johnsons, were on their way to Oklahoma to be our neighbors. And now they are all grown up - graduated from orthodontics and off to Colorado. I know it was truly an answer to my prayers that brought this great family to us for a little while. Who else could have brought two best high-school buddies back together.

We had a scrumptious girls' night out at the Melting Pot to send Steph off right. I definitely filled the cracks of my broken heart with bread smothered in cheddar cheese.

And these cute girls had one last play date. A night at the ballet just seemed right.

It has been a total blessing to watch our girls grow up together. Sofie is more like a sister to June and Winnie, and we are going to miss that sweet girl like crazy. In fact, Winnie has since named all of her dolls "Sofie" in her honor. We will miss you Steph, Spencer, Sofie and Luke!

Klive's Blessing Day

We finally got around to blessing Klive this month. It's a good thing Kolby was home this fast-Sunday, because I'm pretty sure chunky here would have outgrown his blessing sweater by December.

This sweater and booties are very special to me. They were made by my great grandmother, Nana Louise. She made some precious stuff, including several more sweaters, booties, hats and even Winnie's coveted owl blanket. I love seeing the kids use these family heirlooms. It takes me right back to Nana's little apartment where we played concentration, ate fruit-filled cookies and drank mini-glasses of Pepsi.

I had my mom take a quick picture of our fam at church (not sure why Kolby decided to squat down for it). Kolby gave Klive a sweet blessing with the help of Papa Lee, Uncle Curt and "Uncle" Spencer. A nice gal in our ward even transcribed it for me, so I can share some of it with our family back home and save it for posterity:

We would like to bless you that you will continue to grow and develop normally. We bless you to be a great joy to your family.

We bless you to surround yourself with good friends and that your testimony will grow and develop as you grow older; that when the time is right you will go to the temple and serve an honorable mission.

We bless you to always be a force for good in the world.

Halloween in Wonderland . . .

I may be biased, but I think my kids' costumes put all others to shame this year. We've had some good ones in the past - who could forget Winn and June as the courageous duo of Sloth and Chunk from the Goonies. And our Scooby Doo crew last year was pretty sweet. But our adventure in Wonderland this year was by far our best work.

June made a lovely Alice, complete with ultra-goldy locks. She even wore black light-up heals to keep us trick-or-treaters safe from the crazy Halloween motorists on sugar-highs.

Winn was on the top of her game, strutting her stuff as the ultra-villainous Red Queen. She rocked that giant red hair poof better than Snooki.

Here she is ready to do some head chopping.

Klive definitely won for the precious factor in his White Rabbit sleep-sack. Ironically, sewing those ears on almost made us late for the very important date!

Mom went as the Cheshire cat, but her costume failed in comparison to the kiddos. I think I just ended up looking like I was suffering from a cold and tried to remedy it with powdered donuts. Also, I forgot about the fluffy tail I was wearing and gave myself a heart-attack when I reached back to tuck in my shirt. There's nothing like being attacked from behind by a furry creature on Halloween. It was definitely a trick, not a treat.

The kids had a ball at Aunt Becky's, as usual. She is the best! Her house is a Halloween masterpiece, she feeds us like kings, and she lets us trick-or-treat in her ritzy neighborhood. Definitely better candy out there!

And the icing on the cake after the long neighborhood raid was Ella's baby goats. The kids were in heaven giving loves to these little guys.

Too bad it wasn't a pig. You know the Red Queen loves a warm pig belly for her aching feet. Happy Halloween 2010!