The magic of Silver

In case any of you haven't seen this yet. A commercial that Jed and I made.

iris is 4 months old

She had her check-up today. She's 16 pounds 7 ounces and 26 inches long. She's only in the 93rd percentile, making her my smallest child yet. Woo hoo, Iris! She's healthy and happy and only had to cry for about 15 seconds after her immunizations. She's been playing with toys for about a month now, but just in the last few days she has started trying to get whatever is in my hands. As soon as I pick up something, she gasps in excitement and goes for it. She spilled my cereal for the first time on Saturday.

Here she is.
Playing with her turtle:

Chatting up the camera-man:


Smiling at Henry:

Wearing the paper guitar Elsa made for her:

it was halloween a while ago . . .

And here are some pictures of the festivities.
Elsa and Henry were allowed to use the sharp knives and carve their own pumpkins for the first time.

We went trick-or-treating with cousins Sadie, Brenna, and Myles (not pictured because the camera battery died, sorry Myles).

blessings

2 weeks ago today, Iris was blessed. I don't remember much about the blessing. It was a lot of the usual, wonderful stuff. But the one thing that I remember was that it said she would bring joy to others through her presence. It seems like this already happens all the time. Everywhere I go, people just see her and smile. A lot of that is her insanely spiky hair and rolls of chub. But, there is something very joyful about her presence.

My life is now a chaotic mess. I really think my mind is going. At Henry's last football game, I didn't recognize a mom that I had talked to for about 30 minutes 3 weeks before. I felt like such a moron. I mix up dates and forget when I tell people I'll do things. I can't remember anyone's name anymore, and it seems like the days are much too short with so much remaining undone. I swear I used to be smart; I used to think about things deeply and have a really good memory and enjoy pondering things of eternal consequence. Now I just crave mind-numbing TV and sleep.

More frequently, I need to take a deep breath, ignore the mess in my house, and enjoy my blessings. Really. Things are very, very good. Maybe all I need is an hour more sleep a night and a good planner and then I'll feel in control. Or not. Maybe the point is realizing that I'm not in control. But, if it weren't for me, car doors would not ever be shut, teeth would never get brushed, homework would never be signed off, shoes would never be put away.

I have 4 great kids who try hard to be good. I have a good husband. I have everything I need, and a lot of things I want. I have so many blessings. I guess I'm just starting to realize that blessings are responsibilities, like the parable of the talents. I've been given so much and that means I have so much to do. So for now, I think I have enough blessings. I just need to relax and enjoy them while I can.

elsa is 7

Sweet, sweet Elsa. I don't know how I would live without you. You keep the whole family happy. You are the best friend to both of your brothers and the most attentive baby-tender. You have endless amounts of imagination and love. You constantly make life easier. You help me notice the wonderful world around me. You are quietly and sweetly strong. And, now you are 7. Happy birthday, Loie Lou!

one month down, many more to go . . .

Iris is five weeks old now, and I thought it was time for a little update. I'm pleased to say that she fulfills all of our wishes and dreams. She's a girl, which is what Brandon and I both wanted. She has an impressive amount of dark hair, which is what Brandon has always dreamed of. And, she is not colicky, which is a relief and a delight.

Iris is doing well enough that it gives me a strange sense of foreboding. I feel like something really wrong is bound to happen soon. Garrison Keillor once said that Minnesotans like bad weather because it gives us a sense of security--that good weather makes us nervous because it means something bad will need to happen to restore balance. (Except that he said it a lot better than that, but I can't find an actual quote.) I really am a Minnesotan even though I've spent almost as much of my life here in Utah. In fact, it even seems as if writing that Iris is doing well will jinx it.

Iris can raise one eyebrow, just like her dad. She has just started to make darling cooing noises. She smiles at stuffed animals and humans. She still slumps and sleeps and eats a lot.

I'm exhausted. But, we seem to have gotten through the worst of the recovery period. Hopefully no more trips to the ER, swelling, incredibly high fevers for me and the kids, etc. Now if I could just get a little more sleep. Ha. Maybe in a year.

p.s. It's a day later now, and I think I already jinxed myself. Iris was really cranky this afternoon.

In the darling kimono my friend Shauna made:




Right after pooping all over her clothes and blanket (unbeknownst to me):

Furrowing her brow (her most frequent expression):


With Grandpa Kim at Elsa's birthday party:

watercolor of iris

Check out what my niece Aubrynne did:

Hello, Iris!

We just got back from the hospital with our new baby, Iris Grace Arnold. She was born on monday night, weighed 10 lbs 1 ounce, 20 inches long, and is a pure delight. She's excited to meet you!

nesting for kara

I am officially the mother bird now. I have been working way more than I probably should this last month trying to get everything ready. I needed to make up for 6 months of morning sickness and 2 more months when I was so exhausted I felt like I couldn't do anything. I'm still exhausted, but I finally got panicky about nothing being done and had no choice but to work through the exhaustion.

I'm finally feeling on top of everything. The papers are all organized, every surface of my house has been cleared off and cleaned up, I have all the essential baby things out and in their proper place; my long to do list is as done as it needs to be. Things are seeming in order just in time for chaos to take over in 2 days.

I even got some grown-up furniture. The couch and love seat are my first pieces of furniture that I didn't buy used or have to assemble. As much as I love Ikea, it feels like I'm finally an adult.

So, three cheers for a clean and orderly house, and three cheers for only 2 more days of pregnancy!

p.s. This picture is only to document my truly huge belly and truly puffy pregnant face, for those of you who didn't believe me. Please don't click on it and make it any bigger than it needs to be.

it's birthday will!

(Will--almost one year old)

Will is now 4 years old, and he couldn't be prouder. I can't even count how many people he has told his new age. He was the last one to wake up on the morning of his birthday. Henry, Elsa and I were all sitting on the couch when we heard his footsteps running upstairs and through the kitchen. When he got in the living room he jumped up with his arms in the air and struck a pose, yelling, "It's birthday Will!"

It was a pretty low-key celebration. We had the family over for pizza and cake that night and gave the kids water guns so they could have a water fight. But, Will was very happy. (Please excuse the lack of pictures. We finally have a new camera, but we didn't get it in time.)

I am constantly amazed by that kid. He has so much energy and passion; he's very loving and social; and he's even starting to be obedient and sensible sometimes.

He's a singer. He frequently makes up songs about how much he loves me, he's the kid in primary who belts out every word he knows, and he gets mad when we try to sing along with him when he's singing one of his favorite songs.

He frequently lives in an imaginary world of video game characters. When it's just the two of us in the car, he makes up screenplays with his favorite characters. If I ask him what he's saying, he acts really put out and says, "I'm not talking to you. I'm thinking about 'puters (computers)."

He's constantly making us laugh (and sometimes yell:)). He is the life of our party, and I don't know what we'd do without him (besides have a lot more peace and quiet). I love my Will. He makes me incredibly happy.

i. am. huge.

Tonight my back hurts, my belly is stretched to its limit, and I'm swollen and exhausted. But, I don't feel like I'm going to throw up, and the headaches have died down. So I try not to complain, except for when I do.

I'm officially huge. Today a 1-year-old boy was mesmerized by my enormous belly. He couldn't take his eyes off of it and reached his little pointer finger out to touch it about ten times. Then tonight, a 5-year-old boy looked at me and said, "What's that great big thing?" I said, "It's my belly." He still didn't believe it and said, "No, I mean that," pointing at my belly.

Will has taken to lovingly calling me his "big, fat mama."

How can I possibly grow for 2 more months?

easter retrospective

I know it was a while ago, but I needed to post a little bit about it. We had the annual Easter egg hunt in the cold this year. But, the kids always love it anyway.




Make this next picture bigger and check out Will's facial expression when he saw the egg in the grass:



We decorated eggs and made a peep tree. I didn't take pictures. The camera I know how to operate is not working. So, I'm at Brandon's mercy for a little while. You'll just have to trust me that they were amazingly cute. Ha ha.

We watched General Conference, colored, did puzzles, and folded origami. And, we had Brandon's whole family over for dinner. Once again, no pictures.

The Easter bunny found his way in the snow. Elsa asked a few days before Easter if the Easter bunny was a real bunny or just a person dressed up like a bunny. I like to defer tough questions, so I asked her what she thought. She thinks it's a person dressed up like a bunny.

Enjoying the Easter bunny's gifts:



My favorite Easter conversation:
Henry: What do eggs have to do with Easter?
Me: Eggs are a symbol of life because life comes from eggs, and at Easter we celebrate the resurrection and that we'll live again. Blah blah blah.
Henry: What does candy have to do with Easter?
Me: I think the candy's just for fun.
Elsa: I know what candy has to do with Easter. When you eat a lot of candy, you get sick. And sometimes when you get sick, you die. So that helps us think about the resurrection.

Happy late Easter!