It's a boy

My little sister had her baby today.  She wanted the sex to be a surprise but during one of her recent doctor visits, her doctor commented, "So... your having another baby girl???" She responded that she didn't know but she was certain the doctor had slipped.  Today's biggest surprise... it's a boy.  She said, Tod's face lit up and they were both shocked.  Ethan Peirce Egelund 8lbs 13 ounces, 20.5" long.

Great Grandma T

Before Sara and I got married, Sara lived with her Grandparents, Bonnie and Chuck.  Whenever I was visiting, I stayed in one of their guest rooms.  I really enjoyed those moments chatting with Chuck and Bonnie in background correcting his stories or filling in little details.  They were both generous and kind to me.  But what I love most about Great Grandma Torgerson is that she has always remembered Taya's birthday and anytime we talked she asks me how she is doing.  It is impossible for me express what that act of consideration means to me.  Needless to say I adore her for that generous and simple act of kindness.

Tyler rolls

Paige rocks

Sisters

There is something dangerous when the oldest and youngest siblings get together.

Chasing down childhood

 

Maggie and Henry had so much fun running around with their cousins.  It was the quintessential moment of childhood endless play.

First baptism

Tanner's baptism was last weekend.  It was a great trip to California.  It is hard to explain the importance of baptism and the feelings that follow.  I remember my baptism very well.  It don't recall all the details but I remember the powerful feelings.  Feelings that have faded over time but have returned with amazing clarity as I have turned my life more and more towards the Lord.  I don't think everyone experiences the same thing but for me it was a feeling of extreme cleanliness and peace. I remember being completely overwhelmed at the time because being only eight it didn't seem like that big of deal until afterwards.  It is something has given me the desire to utilize the fullness of the atonement in my life.  And even though I have felt similar feelings like that since, it has never been with that same force.  Congratulations Tanner, I hope you can always keep the memory alive.

Pictures of the new house

Entry / Stairs

Living room

Living room

Kitchen

Master bedroom

Henry's Room

Maggie's Room

Backyard

Apple

Maggie loves apples.  She refused to eat apple slices, she wants the whole apple.  She eat all the skin off first and then eats it down to the core if she is really hungry.  Henry happened to get the remains of her half eaten apple and refused to give it up.  Needless to say, we now have two apple eaters.

What a mess!!!

Okay, I started out my day excited to document all the messes I clean up everyday but after the second mess I was already exhausted.  I thought I could prove to Sara and to myself that I actually do things during the course of the day.  The funny thing is... while cleaning up one mess... another mess is being created in the other room... pausing to take pictures only begins to compound the problem.  Pretty soon, there are two or three messes to cleanup and photograph.  Needless to say... I gave up rather quickly.

Cousins at Calico

This morning we went to Calico Basin for the first time.  It was hot and I was happy to have remembered sunscreen.  Aunt Jenna (my cousin), Uncle Mark and Cooper were in town visiting.  Mark actually took most of the pictures above.  Later at the house Jenna took Maggie to the market.  Later, they returned with a balloon labeled "Happy Assistant's Day!" apparently, that is the one she wanted.  Later Sara got home and we had an amazing meal, courtesy of Jenna.  More later, Mom (Cindy), Aunt Tasha and Paige arrived, just in time to join in the meal.  Late, later our guest went back to LA and we were left alone to reminisce

Easter dress

Smocking and dress provided by her Grandma Torgerson.

When the family gets together

Who knew taking a picture with the children could be so difficult and fun... and this is the edited version.

Pretty in Pink

Strange traditions

This is the first Easter Maggie encountered a strange story about how the Easter bunny bringing eggs and candy to children.  As a child, I could always count on finding an egg in each my shoes.  I also remember taking an empty basket around searching for hidden eggs.  Our search started inside the house but continued out in the yard.  The eggs were so well hidden that inevitably one or two eggs would be discovered weeks after our search ended.

I guess in some parts of California, the Easter bunny doesn't hide eggs but just scatters them about in broad day light.  I also discovered that instead of hiding each egg, some bunnies just stuff a hidden basket with goodies.  This is strange way of doing things.  I was also surprised when Payton discovered her basket, but instead of finding it full of candy, it was full of toys. 

It never occurred to me before, but I guess no Easter bunny is the same.

Henry's first suit vest

Henry's first suit vest, courtesy of Grandma Richins

The hunt

This story begins with a basket and a few happy children...

The hunt begins

Cool tree swing

I think this is the first time I have seen Maggie and Chase play together.  I thought Chase's strategy for pushing Maggie was quite ingenious.

Windy day

Monday we visited to the bird preserve... again... but this time we brought a stroller and Mom.  It was uncomfortably windy.  We should have taken our kite... next time.

Peas

One of my favorite moments of the day is watching Maggie and Henry playing nice with each other.  Nobody can get a bigger smile and laugh out of Henry than his big sister.  Maggie enjoys stealing frozen peas off his plate and it always seems to get a big smile out of him. 

Maggie's fever

Maggie threw up all over me yesterday.  She has been running a fever the last few days. We had plans to go fly our homemade kite but we scaled back on our field-trip ideas.  Although Maggie was sick she still wanted to go on an adventure.  She got hooked on the idea of going to the library.  The Paseo Verde Library has a cool play area for kids that she loves.  I was impressed because she picked up every single book and toy that was  left out by the other kids.  I didn't want her to pick up every single item but she insisted, even Henry helped put  toys away.

Afterwards, we walked around the Farmers Market adjacent to the library... but let's be honest... there aren't any local farms in Vegas.  I highly recommend the farmer's market if you like paying more for your produce and enjoy the walking around in the heat.  Still, it was still fun to look at all the overpriced items.  Henry was asleep by then and all that walking around wore the kids out.  I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and picked up popsicles for the kids to consume after they awoke from their nap.

Eggs in a nest

Hmmm... my favorite breakfast, one-eyed-jack or toad in the hole... the perfect blend of egg meets toast.  This is what we had for breakfast today to help gear up for our big adventure.  I tried to make a rhombus and a square but they are indistinguishable.

Maggie made Valentines

If your have been the recipient of one of our handmade cards, I hope you have taken note of the beautiful paper.  I bought this wonderful two-hundred-pound-one-hundred-percent cotton paper for a project but I soon discovered it doesn't feed through my printer or any printer for that matter... so we use it for our card business.  Don't worry if you haven't gotten a card, we still have over 80 sheets left.

First Disneyland

It was Maggie and Henry's first time at Disneyland back in February.  I am glad they got to share it with family. We had a huge group that materialized as if we had been planning it for months.  I am so glad everyone came out.  My only regret is that we didn't take a group picture.

I am not crazy about Disneyland but maybe that's because it's not linked to my childhood.  Sara loves Disneyland and I am sure if we lived in California we would have a season pass.  Maggie was an inch shy of some of the rides like Splash Mountain but I think she enjoyed chasing Tanner and Chase around more than any of the rides.

Catching up

Last time we were in the hood was for Tyler's blessing.  Good times!

Henry's first steps

While our friends were visiting on Saturday, Henry took his first few steps.

Henry's fall

Last week while I was reaching over the shopping cart to get some cabbage, Henry leaned forward while simultaneously Maggie gave the cart a push forward, catapulting little Henry out of the shopping cart.  I watched it in slow motion as he free fell to the concrete floor several feet below. He landed perfectly flat on his back, while his head never touch the ground.

It was horrifying to watch but I knew it could have been fatal.  The fact that he didn't even get a bruise or scratch on his head is nothing short of a miracle.  Only a few hours later he was playing with his sister like nothing had happened.  The grocery store attendant was very helpful.  I had to file a report, which felt like an application for the worst-parent-of-the-year-award, but at least I wasn't rushing off to the hospital.  We are all very grateful Henry is still alive and healthy.

PS. Yesterday, I shot pictures of him falling onto the bed.  In light of this story in might not seem like fun but unlike the event at the grocery store, Henry was contagiously laughing which put a big smile on my face.

Wrestling with Mom

At some point in our life, I hope Sara gets the opportunity to do this all day long.  Being a stay-at-home parent is a lot like WWF wrestling.  It's nice that Sara comes home everyday at 5 pm so that I can tag her into the arena.  I don't know how single parents manage.

Bird Viewing Preserve

Maggie refers to today as No-TV-Friday.  Yesterday our friend, Adam Hebdon, paid us a visit.  He told us about an interesting study with children and TV.  According the study, for every hour of TV a child watches their chances of getting Attention Deficient Disorder increase by ten percent.  Okay, that's just another reason we have No-TV-Friday.  It's actually harder for me to get through Fridays than for the kids.

But rather than focus on what we don't do on Fridays... I am turning it into Field-Trip-Friday.  Today we went to the Bird Viewing Preserve.  It was fun.  I felt like a speed walker coaxing a turtle along. Henry crawls faster than Maggie walks.  I try to turn everything into a race, so that we can actually cover some ground.  She is a good runner but when she is walking everything becomes a detour.  Anyway, we had a nice picnic with the birds... or as Maggie calls it a "nic-nic".

Some of Henry's favorite things

Some of Henry's favorite things are: climbing over people, crawling up stairs, pulling cans out of the pantry or pulling bottles out of the refrigerator, playing with spoons, and pushing the off button on the stereo.  He also likes to grab anything that spills and has a fascination with mechanical things.  Yesterday he pulled our printer apart, breaking the ink cartridge and getting ink everywhere.  He likes to playing with the vacuum and electrical outlets.  Of course, I am always pleasantly surprised when I find him playing with with his toys.

Apples

Since Mom goes to work late on Tuesday we can enjoy a longer breakfast together.  Some of our favorite cereal mixes include: Chocolate Cheerios, Chex, Fiber One, Rice Krispies and Oatmeal Squares.  Maggie's favorite thing is an apple everyday.  Henry likes to eat a Trader Joe's yogurt.  Sara like green smoothies with spinach and avocado.  And I like my eggs!

Eating things

Henry prefers to feed himself, while Maggie still asks to us to spoon feed her.  Baby food is almost out of the question since nobody wants to clean up that mess and Henry refuses to be spoon feed.  Occasionally he will let me feed him yogurt but in general he would rather be eating grapes and frozen peas and anything else he can wrap his small fingers around.

No more pull-ups

 

It has now been a few months of no pull-ups for Maggie.  I never thought I would be so happy; it's one less major expense and one less cleaning project.  She really enjoys her new independents and often refuses any help unless its a difficult button.  Okay, there are still a few cleaning projects but to have only one baby's diaper to change is like being in heaven.

My favorite letter

Most people have a favorite number or color but what about a letter?  Why not, I always assumed that everyone's favorite letter was the same letter their name started with.  Mine has always been "S" but Maggie favorite letter is "J", that made me start to thinking... what's your favorite letter?

Maggie's Dora Pink Party

birthday mail

Turning three was fun. I got this awesome bandage from wrestling with my Dad the night before. My plan was to wear it my entire Birthday but Dad pulled it off while I wasn't looking.

Bandages

For Christmas Maggie got Dora the Explorer bandages.  They certainly didn't last long.  Unfortunately, she did a similar thing with a role of postage stamps. 

Henry climbed in the toy box

These days we have Henry sleeping in our room.  I hooked up the Ipod to our stereo so we could play white noise at the night.  Henry is such a light sleeper and it helps him sleep longer.

Happy New Years!

A New Years goal: Spend more time with family!

Our New Years Party was uneventful. We could hear the fireworks from Las Vegas outside but we were too lazy to walk outside to see them, instead we watched them from our TV inside. Which seems really strange and kinda funny to me.

I am still brainstorming for goals... but I do plan on writing down some small and accomplish-able goals. I also decided to factor reality into my process, since in I know in a week or two week at best there will be lack of desire and complacency. Maybe I will post some of my goals to hold myself more accountable:)