Dad

My dad passed away a little over 3 weeks ago. I was so blessed to have him as a father. He is one of the most generous men I will ever know. He gave me so much. He was always prepared. He taught me much about being a good parent and raising children. I miss him so much everyday. I am comforted knowing that I will see him again, and that the bonds made in this life will not be broken by death. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ for making it possible to be together with family forever.

Prunes!

I gave Adam some prunes last night for dinner, because I thought he might be a little backed up. I don't know why I didn't put a bib on him. My head must have been somewhere else. But he really liked them, he ate the whole container. He was blowing rasberries, and spitting them all over the place so I grabbed the camera for the last few bites. Don't worry, he went directly to the tub afterward. Oh, and he likes to bite the spoon when its in his mouth, that's why I had to wiggle the spoon to get it out of his mouth. You'll hear Lucy and Isaac in the background being silly.

Adam: O how he's grown!

Sorry it's taken so long to post pictures of Adam. So here you go! He is 9 months now and into everything! Let's see, in the 2 weeks he broke a bottle of soy sauce from the fridge (my house stunk for a few hours). A few days later he pulled out my large crockput and broke it to pieces. After that, he pulled a glass pyrex pan from the cupboard and shattered it. I've never had to child proof my home, until now! He is a crawling, hair pulling, biting, grabbing, cruising, teething, screaming, laughing, talking, clapping, adorable, happy, nine month old baby boy! I love him to bits!

Friends

IT'S POSSIBLE: SIBLINGS CAN GET ALONG WITH EACHOTHER! I had to take this picture to remind myself that they can be nice to eachother occasionally.

Lucy

Lucy is my Super Star! Do you think she loves the camera?

Humpty Dumpty

Well here's our Humpty Dumpty. Isaac was HD in his first grade program. He had speaking and singing parts. He was soooo GOOD! (I know what you're thinking, "she's slightly partial and biased", and well, I am!). I loved seeing him up there in costume. I wish we has recorded it for all to see!

The Elves and the Bad Mommy!

Yes, I'm a BAD mommy. Adam is 7 months old, and the last time I posted pictures of him he was 2 months! Oh dear. The past few months have been crazy. I returned to work, YEAH! Isaac started baseball and starred as Humpty Dumpty in the first grade play. Lucy started ballet (which later turned into ballet/tap) and preschool and turned 4 years old! And Adam started eating solid foods and then he started crawling! Yikes!

Anyway, I'm tired. But I am awake at 11:30 pm because everyone is sleeping and I am enjoying a little quiet time (I'm actually trying to build up the courage to go clean up downstairs, so that when I wake up my house will be tidy). I wish those little elves would pay my house a visit like they did the shoe maker.

Adam's Blessing Day

Adam in his blessing suit.

The blanket that Adam is laying on is a blanket that my Grandma Olson crocheted for me,

and each of my children have been blessed in it. Thankyou Grandma!

Adam smiling.

The suit that he is wearing is the same suit that Isaac was blessed in as well.

Family and friends after the blessing.

Here are the men who assisted Duane in the blessing.

Sunday, December 6, 2009, Adam was given his baby blessing from his father, who was assisted by his father, father-in-law, brothers and brothers-in-law. We really missed having Duane's brother Doug and his family there with us, but we can't wait to see them here for Christmas! The blessing circle was smaller than usual, only 7 out of the usual 12 men. We missed Doug, Todd, Aaron, Greg and Ben.

We also celebrated the December birthdays in the Land family (Duane, Dawnie, Luke and Nora). Great company, great food, it doesn't get better than that!

And then there were 3!

Here are my three knuckle-heads in their jammies.

Brothers.

Adam, just being cute (as always).

Photo shoot with Adam.

The Look.

Well, we are still alive, even Adam. My kids haven't killed him with kindness yet. They both love their little bro so much. Sometimes I have to tell them to back off.

Adam is such a wonderful, sweet little guy. He has a dimple on each cheek, that are very apparent when he smiles and laughs. And boy-oh-boy, is he filling out! He is just over 2 month old now and growing like a weed. He is such a sweet-tempered little boy, I just love him so much!

He's Here!

Our little Adam is finally here! He was born last Tuesday night and is doing well.

He came out a-screamin', and it was music to my ears. I know every mother thinks this, but, he was the most beautiful little person I've ever seen (along with my other two children, of course).
I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has entrusted his safe-keeping to me. He is a most welcome addition to our family.

He was 7 lbs 8 ozs and 21 inches long. And the kids are so in love with him!

I will post more pictures later!

Still here, still pregnant!

Yup! still pregnant. I am 39 weeks now (but who's counting? ...I am!). According to my latest ultrasound, my due date is today, so I guess this little guy could come anyday now. So here I am, waiting. Everything is ready, Isaac's old baby clothes are washed and clean, the bassinet is cleaned and set up, even the car seat is clean and ready to go! Now, all we need is a baby!

Natural Water Slide at Bryce Canyon

Here are some pictures of our time at Bryce Canyon where we found a waterfall and a natural water slide for the kids to play in. And boy, did they have fun! See for yourself:

Summer Vacation

This summer our family drove up to Idaho and had a family reunion with my grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins and their kids. But having pregnant brain, my camera was not charged for that part, and I forgot to bring it the other part of the time. So, sorry I don't have any pictures to share from that part of our trip. It was lots of fun though. We all had a great time visiting, eating, playing, swimming, and eating. It was great to see everyone and renew all of those relationships.
After Idaho we drove to Salt Lake City and stayed there for a couple of nights. We went to Temple Square and Lagoon. It was my first time to Lagoon (I know, shocking right? I lived in Utah for 2.5 years and never went there). I am pregnant, so I was unable to ride any of the rides. I did take Lucy on the Merry-g0-round several times though. The kids had a great time.
After Salt Lake we drove to Bryce Canyon in southern Utah. And boy, if you haven't been there, you've got to go! It is so beautiful! I even went on a hike all the way down into the canyon and all the way back out! I was pretty proud of myself (even though I had to take several breaks). We camped (in tents) for 3 nights there, which was also very fun, except for the wind storms that nearly blew our tent over 2 nights in a row). On our last day there we went to see Mossy Cave and the Water fall and the kids had tons ov fun riding down a natural slide. They were soaked, but had so much fun! The kids also earned their Junior Ranger badges, which they were super-proud of.
After Bryce Canyon we drove farther south and visited Zion's National Park. And it ended up being their Centennial Celebration (and so everyone got in free that day!). We took another hike there and saw deer and other wildlife. And because of the kids Jr. Ranger training, they were able to identify various "scat", which is another word for animal poop.
When we finished our Zion's experience, we drove home. The kids were ready to be back in California, and back in their own beds, and so were we!
It was a really fun trip, but we ready to get back to normal life. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Ice Cream Fun

So it has been pretty hot this summer and you know that I am pregnant. So I took the kids to get some Thrifty ice cream occaisionally. And well ... Lucy loves chocolate, and Thrifty's was having a sale on the double scoops...so this was her after enjoying (very thoroughly) her double scoop chocolate ice cream cone. She loved it ... and then she got in the tub.

Spring Training at the Land's

So after FHE on Monday, Duane decided that it was high-time to teach Isaac how to do a proper baseball slide. So here is what happened: (the piece of paper represents the base)

Duane had to first, show them how it is done:

Here is Lucy (in her princess dress) showing her skills:

This is Isaac showing what he learned:

Our house has this really long hallway, that at first, I thought was odd, but I love it now, when I come home, the kids come racing down the hallway to the front door to give me big hugs. I love it! They do the same for Duane every day, when he comes home. And it has proven to be very useful in training for baseball.

It's a BOY!

Well, we had our ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and we saw our new little Land. It was fun because after the tech got all of the pictures that she needed, the kids and Duane got to come in and we all got to find out whether we would be having a boy or a girl. Isaac has been rooting for a boy and Lucy for a girl for a while now. So it was lucky that Lucy fell asleep and missed the unveiling. So while she snoozed we saw that we are having a boy. And it was pretty clear. Immediately, Isaac said, "YESSSS! I knew it!". He was so excited. Although when Lucy woke, she was not so thrilled. She is actually still in denial. She is sure this baby is a sister!

So, anyway, here is a picture of our little guy, it's his head (face) and abdomen.

Baseball Fun

Well, the season is over and the kids were all triumphant! They all got their trophies and some pizza too! They were all so cute after thier last game we had a team pizza party. Here are some pics of the event:
Isaac and his teammates were taking votes. "If you like pizza, raise your hand!" "If you like baseball raise your hand!" "If you like dirt, raise your hand!" Isaac has been so excited about our new baby that he yelled out. "If your mom has a baby in her tummy, raise your hand!"

This is Isaac after he received his trophy. A little excited, don't you think?

This is Lucy at the party, she found a lady bug. I thought that the light was so pretty on her face I took a picture of her too.

Pregnancy Update

18 weeks and couning!

So far, so good. My tummy is starting to grow, but not to the point where I look pregnant, just to the point where I look fat. My pants and skirts are too small, but I am not big enough for my maternity clothes yet. Fun times! Oh well, small price to pay. But I am really starting to feel this critter move! It is so much fun! Life keeps us pretty busy, so when I get to sit still for a moment, like right now, I get to feel little kicks and rolls. This is my favorite part of being pregnant. I have such a wonderful husband! He is so patient with me during the "tired-moody-cranky" phases that I go through. I really could not have asked for a better man. He takes such good care of our family. I love him!

We still don't know whether this baby is a girl or a boy, the ultrasound isn't till the end of May. I tend to call the baby "she" or "her", but I think that is just because my last baby was a girl. Isaac wants a brother so that he can get a bunk bed in his room. And Lucy wants a sister, probably for the same reason. I don't care which this baby is, as long as he/she is healthy.

Easter!

Well, we had a great Easter and I am finally getting around to posting pictures of the day. The first few are of the kids after church, but before the egg hunt.

Don't they look sweet?

Isaac, was so ready to change into his play clothes, I let him take off his tie early.

Lucy, well Lucy wasn't really in the mood for pictures, but she's still cute, right?

Isaac was trying to get Lucy to smile.

Duane got in on a few shots too.

This is Lucy on the egg hunt. She was very determined on the hunt.

Isaac had his year to shine as winner of the egg hunt, he found the most this year and he was so proud. (Of course, we had egg salad sandwiches for a solid week, I hope he doesn't do as well next year).

We had a great time at the Land's that day. Lot's of fun, family and food. And strawberry shortcake to finish it off, yummy! (be still my hungry-pregnant stomach!)

Check this out: Susan Boyle

I saw this via email. I am a sucker for anything Les Miserables. It was such a fun thing to watch. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Lesson learned: Never underestimate anyone.