Alejandro Feature

Sometimes, I think this adorable little boy is still my baby and then at other times I realize that he is growing up as quickly as the rest of my boys. I want to grab him and hold him a little tighter. He is as rough and tough as any footbally player, but he is also very sweet and will come and put his arm around and say, "I luv you, mommy!" He sometimes has a temper, but it is usually provoked by his brother. If he is by himself, he is a very easy going kid!
I luv my Alejandro!

It's 2011?

Last year I had made some goals. Some, for example family prayer and scripture study we did a lot better on. But my goal of blogging and record keeping more did not happen :( So, once again I am going to work hard at achieving this, because it is something that generations could enjoy!
So if possible, I will try to do a special feature each week. Hopefully, at least one of each child! ;-)

THOMAS FEATURE

I can't believe it is 2011! And to prove to me that the boys are growing so fast, Mr. Thomas lost his tooth today!!!!We were at a friends house when I noticed that he had a HOLE in his mouth. I asked Thomas, "where is your tooth? Did you notice your tooth fell out?" My friend said he probably swallowed it when he was eating his cookie. I asked him if he had noticed any hard pieces. He said that his cookie had a seed and he had thrown it away. I looked in the garbage for a little bit, but then decided to give up :( But then I looked down and found it on the ground!

He is a cutie! I love Thomas and his desire and ability to laugh. (unfortunately, he also can scream and throw fits with the best of them) This is something I fear will continue for the rest of his life (as I have seen his grandfather, father, and uncles) ;-) They don't grow out of it, just the frequency decreases :)

It has been fun to watch him learn new things in kindergarten and I look forward to the new things we will encounter with him this year!

He's Finally Here!

(well, almost two weeks ago) :(

It felt like time was moving sooooo slow at the end. I thought my due date would never come. I even feared that he would come late :(, but sure enough, I delivered on my due date again. Now, it seems like time is flying by so rapidly, there is just not enough time to get anything done besides the absolute necessities!

It has been wonderful to have my sister and mom here these past two weeks and I am quite afraid of how these next two weeks will go. Damond's last exams before finals start next Thursday, so most likely we will see him even less then he's been around since Jacob was born and I didn't think that was possible! So if possible, don't come visit in two weeks, because the house may have exploded from not getting anything done :D j/k, but do pray that we will survive :)

INTRODUCING

JACOB JACKSON FARAR

Born October 25, 2010

7 lbs .5 oz 20 in. long

We say that Thomas picked his name, since on two separate occasions he told us we should name him Jacob before we had mentioned it to him and then did the same with Jackson.

Thomas absolutely adores Jacob and is very sweet to him. He loves to call him Jacob Macob (because that rhymes) :) He is always trying to make sure we include Jacob.

Alex has been a little more skeptical about Jacob. I think the hospital situation weirded him out a bit. He seems to be having a harder time, because he has been acting a little more off the wall when Jacob is around. I think the three's are going to be much harder than the two's with Alex. But he loves to see Jacob and kiss him (I just don't think Alex realizes how strong he is) :)

The delivery went well, only 11 hrs long. Jacob and I are still recovering, but I think we are figuring life out every day. There is something about this third one that has somewhat thrown me. I guess, it just gets harder with more little ones to take care of.

Things about Jacob...

Has much lighter colored hair than the other boys

has huge hands and feet

only seems to cry when hungry and even then he usually gives me three squawks as warnings :)

likes to give me a good three hour stretch and then wake up every hour after until about 6 or 7

I think he is a mix of the two boys, in looks and in personality

though some say he looks more like Thomas

is already very observant

is too precious and I am so glad to be holding him in my arms!

Anderson's Apple Orchard Fall Festival

I must say that this is one of our favorite places in Indy. The boys love to pick apples and raspberries. Well, last year we went to their fall festival, but it was rainy (muddy!) and Damond was in a rush to get to school to study, so it wasn't as enjoyable as I had thought. I have waited a whole year to attend again. It was awesome! The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed a lot of yummy food. Mainly their apple cider slushes. Yum!

Saturday's are usually huge studying days for Damond. That leaves Saturday as a long day for me and the boys, if I don't find something to do. Feeling so sick, and huge, and uncomfortable I am never very excited to take them out by myself, but I know we will just drive each other crazy if we stay inside. ( we have already done a little too much of that those first six months!)

Anyways, I am glad that I took them, because they had a blast playing in the play area.

Thomas loves swinging and then jumping off. He did this for the longest time!

"Hey, mom watch this!"

I guess it must be more fun to land in straw than in hard gravel :D

Alex also loved the hay! They had several hay bales stacked together that he would climb and then land in a pile of it. and he would just get the biggest grin :D

He, also, liked to put it at the bottom of the slide, except sometimes he'd prep the slide only to have some other kid go down it first. So then, he'd have to race back and put more on and try again. It was quite comical. He would never get mad (unlike a certain brother of his would have) he'd just try again.

We always miss Damond on our adventures, but I am glad that I can manage to get us out part of the time :D

Enduring to the End

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to give a talk. I almost started crying and then I was told the topic, Enduring to the End. :) very fitting. I thought, for sure all of my trails and tribulations could fill up 10 to 15 min :) so Heavenly Father sent me some more. It was a tough week! But, that talk has blessed me week after week since then. No, I did not stand up and recite all the many trials I've faced these last nine months, but in preparing for the talk I learned how to Endure to the End "well". I can't say that I have perfected it, but in the last month when I have felt that I could not take another day, another hour or minute of this, the words of my talk have seeped back into mind and reminded me what I need to do. So one more week! All I know, is that one week from tomorrow, I better, at least be in the hospital delivering this baby!

My feelings are generally, just that I want this baby out, but I occasionally start to feel anxious about having #3. What is it going to be like to have a newborn again? How am I going to manage three? Alex has been acting up a little bit lately and I think it's due to hearing, "no, it's for the baby," as I have cleaned and put together all of the baby stuff. For the most part he likes to rub my belly or kiss it and say, "I love baby", but I worry about his adjustment. Thomas, on the other hand, continues to be so excited and asks when are we going to go "pick up the baby"? He even said that whenever somebody babysits them, he will give the baby the bottle. (which is funny, because they rarely, ever, have babysitters. So, I know that he will be helpful.

We have had many wonderful offers of help, so I know we will be taken care of, but I still get anxious. but then I remind myself that I won't be sick anymore and, therefore, will be ready to take on the world :D

Fall is finally here! I love the changing of the leaves and the cooler weather. It hasn't been too cool, but anything is better than hot. I, realized that I had maybe one pregnant picture of Alex, so this time I tried a little harder. So, instead of one, maybe with this one I have five :)

This will probably be the last. Enjoy the beautiful trees and not so much my hugeness! :D

Grandpa!

When Grandpa Comes!

It's always fun when Grandpa comes,

When Grandpa comes, hooray!

He always says the "silliest" things,

and in the silliest way.

He has a funny, twinkly smile;

He's happy all the day.

It's always fun for everyone

When Grandpa comes!

By Marian Major

I changed the words a little bit, but this is exactly what my boys think!

We would love more than anything to have Grandpa come

or at least us go to him on this Special day.

We want to wish Grandpa a...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Grandpa and Thomas

Grandpa and Alex

These boys could not be any luckier to have a grandpa that LOVES them so much!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa! We love you :D

When I asked them what they liked about Grandpa, Thomas answered," that he's silly" :)

When I asked what they liked to do with Grandpa, Thomas said "play hide and seek"

I must say they always have tons of fun playing hide and seek.

It's hilarious to watch!

Alex answered, "go swimming." :)

He is just one very fun GRANDPA!

We had a fun video, but it's not working so I will try again later.

Independence, Liberty Jail

After Colorado, we decided to stop and stay in Kansas City, well actually Independence. We decided to visit the Independence Visitor Center and Liberty Jail. They are quite close.

The Independence Visitor Center is HUGE! It has two full levels of different and wonderful exhibits. Obviously, not all the exhibits are super captivating for a 3 and 5 year old that have been stuck in a car for so many hours, but they have really nice Sister Missionaries that know the right things to show you in the right amount of time! My favorite exhibit was a little pioneer cabin that was all set up and then the windows did a little presentation. Even the boys sat still for this one :) The boys' favorite exhibit was this one below. It was a mini cabin area, where they could pretend to be pioneers. They pretended to cook, eat, clean up dinner at the well, play pioneer children games, and even drive a wagon. They loved it!

We then headed over to Liberty Jail, before starting the final leg of our month long adventure. Damond really loved the presentation given at Liberty Jail. It also was captivating enough to keep my boys quiet :D I would recommend both :)

We were really glad that we decided to incorporate this into our itinerary. I was a little nervous with the boys, but Damond and I both feel strongly that we should continue to see as many church history sights while we are out here.