Christmas Morning

What a fun morning!

A fun Tradition

It's always a fun tradition at Christmastime to make cookies together. Today we made gingerbread cookies with Grandma. We had a lot of fun, thanks Grandma! Megan really enjoyed rolling out and cutting the cookies, licking the frosting and eating the candy. Anna of course loved to be creative and decorate her cookies with all the fixins!

David is 1 month

I can't believe its been a month already. David is doing good and growing. He still fits in Newborn size clothes, but he's starting to wear some 0-3 month stuff too. He was back at his birth weight at 2 weeks, then at 3 and 1/2 weeks he was 8 lbs. So he is small but gaining and growing. He is doing well with a bottle and it's nice that we can all take care of him. Anna and Megan shower him with attention and love. He is tracking toys with his eyes. I showed Anna how to 'play' with him she really got a kick out of it! He is such a sweetie and we all love him so much. Our favorite nickname for him is "lil' buddy".

What matters most

 

The last couple of weeks have been a lot different than I had planned. I knew of course with a new baby that December and Christmas would be a little different. But I still planned on enjoying a lot of our Christmas traditions. But instead I have been brought to remember what matters most in my life. After 2 weeks of not really being able to take care of my family in my role as a mother and wife I realize what a privelage that those roles are. I am so blessed to have these special people trusted in my care. It is of course a constant challenge and I have a lot to learn and grow from. But when I am tired and my paitence is wearing thin I hope I will remember what a blessing it is to be able to be a mother and wife.
Often at this time of year I am so easily caught up in the excitement of surprises and gifts. But I am also brought to remember the priceless gifts I already enjoy. I am so thankful for good health, for doctors, nurses and modern medicene. I am thankful for the many family and friends who give so selflessly to me and my family. I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father whose hand is in all things, and whose son offers the ultimate gift to us all. Thanks to all those family and friends whose help and kind encouraging words and prayers have been with me. May you all have a very Merry Christmas and feel of the Savior's love.

David Wayne Clayburn

 

What a beautiful baby boy. He was born Nov. 20, 2008 at 4:50 pm. He weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 18.5 inches long. He has lots of hair like his sisters, a light brown color. He looks like Wayne's baby pictures to me, and also much like Anna and Megan. Of course we all fell in love at first sight!

All Boy

 

How much fun to have a cute baby boy! He's already got his camo to go huntin' with Dad. We have had him home for a day and a half now. He is sleeping and eating lots and we are resting and doing well. Wayne was so great to clean the house up before we came home, take care of the girls and help fix meals. He's super Dad! The grandparents have also been a big help taking care of the girls and keeping us fed.

He's Here!

 

We are all so excited to add this little brother to our family. Anna and Megan are full of oh's and ah's and questions. Megan especially wants to hold and 'pet' everything.

Visitors

 

We had a lot of nice visitors see us in the hospital: both Grandmas and Grandpas, Anna and Megan, Uncle Adam, Aunt Stacey and Uncle Ryan and of course Daddy was there a lot. Anna and Megan celebrated David's "birthday" with ice cream and brownies, and the hospital brought a special dinner for Mommy and Daddy.

Ready to Go Home

 

Mom and Baby are all ready to go home from the hospital. We had a nice time in the newly built OB wing. The nurses and Doctors took great care of us and everything went well. I was only in labor about 2 and a half hours, pretty quick!

Big Sisters

 

Anna and Megan love their new brother. They want to hold him and take care of him. They worry when he cries.

Blessings

We have had a rough week. Anna has been pretty miserable and running a high fever for about 9 days. At first it was more off and on but by last Thursday afternoon it was pretty constant. I just suspected the flu, it has been going around with some friends. But by Monday morning with no improvements I started to get a little worried. I called the pediatrition and they suggested waiting a couple more days. Anna gets pretty upset and says things like "I'm never going to get better" and "I wish I could be not sick like Megan". It is really hard to not be able to do anything but give pain medication and wait. Well yesterday I finally took her in to see the Nurse Practitioner. I was stumped because no one else was getting sick and Anna didn't complaing about anything hurting (ear, throat, stomach ect.) After looking her over the NP couldn't see anything either, but decided to take a urine sample. After that he was pretty sure she had a bladder infection and prescribed antibiotics. We are waiting on lab results and taking the meds. But it feels like there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Anna has perked up today and is laughing and playing with Megan.
On Sunday the girls helped make this turkey on our door, adding handprint 'feathers' of the things that they are thankful for. Right now I am really thankful for Doctors, nurses, and medicine. Also I am so blessed with caring family and friends! Thanks everyone for all your help, support and love.

 

REAL Makeup

Anna has been obsessed with having her own real makeup. We have been a little more cooped up lately with her illness so I broke out some old makeup for them. They had so much fun playing beauty salon. At first Anna was putting it on Megan and Mommy. Then Megan got the hang of it and really went to town! What a fun mess! After scrubbing for a while with little success I was glad I found some eye makeup remover.

 

Anna's Pictures

Anna has really been into taking pictures lately. She loves to walk all around the house with my camera and take pictures of everything. It is surprising that she actually has taken some pretty good ones. It is also very intersting to see a new perspective on things. Of course she fills up the memory card pretty quickly. We have a smaller 128 KB card that I told her could be her memory card. For the longest time she kept saying she had her own 'credit card'! Hah! that would be scary. Here are some fun ones she took of things around our house this fall.

 

Pancake Fun

Recently I came across an idea for making fun pancakes. Just mix your pancake batter then pour into a squeeze bottle so you can draw with it. Make the outline of a shape first then fill it in. I bought an inexpensive ketchup bottle from Walmart. Here are some fun creations that we have been making. Anna and Megan really get a kick out of it.

 

Happy Halloween

 

We had a fun Halloween. On Thursday night we went out to Gma and Gpa Clayburns to go to their ward Halloween party. Anna and Megan had fun. They were excited to see all the costumes. Megan was a little witch, she liked riding her broomstick around. I also dressed up as a witch with the word "Brewing" on my stomach. Anna dressed up as a black cat. Some of the costumes at the party were a little scary. Megan got scared and cried several times. But she wanted to be right in on all the action. They had a cupcake walk, beanbag toss, fish pond, and a costume contest where everyone won. The kids had to say their name and what they were dressed as. Anna was really cute, "I'm Anna, and I'm a Black cat" she said very matter of factly. Megan just said "I'm a witch". They had fun with their cousins, and we also visited Wayne's grandma and Aunt and cousin.
On Friday Megan decided she was not a witch, but a black cat like Anna. Anna's cousin had borrowed her a cat costume, after we already had bought a set of ears and tail, so it worked out. We went trunk or treating at our church house. Megan really got a kick out of it. She told everyone "Trick or Treat" at least once or twice. "We're so lucky mom!" Anna said. We didn't plan for enough candy there were two wards there and a lot of kids! So we started giving away the girls' candy, there is no way we would be able to eat it all! Anna was a little worried about this. But soon she realized that giving out the candy was just about as fun as getting it, and she had a lot of fun.

 

Nice weekend

We are having beautiful weather this weekend. The girls all got their hair cut on Friday. It is amazing what difference a good haircut can make. Here are Anna and Megan's before and after pics.


I had a very nice time with my mom this weekend. We drove out to Salt Lake on Friday night and went to Into the woods at the Hale center theatre. It was entertaining and fun! We stayed in the Residence Inn by Marriot, also very nice. On Saturday we had fun shopping, eating at the Olive Garden and just enjoying ourselves. Thanks Mom for being my best girl friend! Thanks to my wonderful husband and dad for taking care of Anna and Megan.

I've been bitten! I decided to see what all the fuss was about, so I checked out Twilight from the library on Monday. Well I am more than half way through, and can see why people can't put it down. It is great writing!

Some October Fun

 

I decided to have some fun this month and do a simple activity every day with Anna and Megan. I made a list of things: baking cookies, making crafts, picking pumpkins, dressing up, ect. Every day they get to add a decoration (window cling) to the refridgerator and we do the activity together. It has been fun, it makes a difference to just spend 10-20mins. with them. We both look forward to it. Today we had a dress up parade, trying on lots of costumes/dress ups. Then they tried on their Halloween costumes. Pretty cute huh? Yesterday we picked the four pumpkins from our garden and put them on the front porch.

 

One day we made pink cookies with sprinkles, yummy and easy. 1 white cake mix with 2 eggs and 1/3 c. oil. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 mins. Frost with a can of Funfetti pink frosting with sprinkles to add on top.

 

Another day we had fun making playdough monsters. Silly monster faces!

A beautiful Fall

It has been a beautiful fall here in Roosevelt. We have been having fun doing simple activities every day this month. Today we went on a Nature walk and collected things to make a little collection. It is amazing how much fun simple things can be. Because we were 'searching' we noticed lots of things that we don't usually notice. It is wonderful what we can see when we look for it. Some things we found: flowers, pine needles, mushrooms, leaves, choke cherries, rocks, feathers, bark, grasshopper wings, ant hills and a wasp nest.
We have been busy with preschool, our primary program, and life. Anna started Dance last week, she has a couple of friends and her cousin Baylee in her class. She enjoys it and its going to be just right for her. Megan is quite upset that she can't be part of it though. We are getting a lot more one on one time with Anna involved in preschool and dance. It is good for us both. Megan is so imaginative. She can really play well by herself, but enjoys having someone to play with and give her attention too.

 

Megan loves to be outside! We have been working on potty training. She is doing great! Mommy is learning to stay positive and be consistent. We are trying a new approach where Megan is more in control. It fits her personality. We just remind her to keep dry and tell us when she has to go. The first couple of days are spent watching her really close and helping her learn to run to the bathroom.

Some cute things to remember:
Anna: "Mommy did you marry Daddy?" Me: "Yes" Anna "Who will I marry?" Me: "Someone who loves you and you love them" Anna "Maybe I can marry Daddy too."

Anna and Megan are getting better at sharing. They like the control of someone asking them nicely for something. The new thing is they have to say "Pretty please with a cherry on top." so cute!

Megan says that her pink tricycle is a motorcycle and she pretends to put on a helmet and be in a race. She also has a pretend friend "twinkers" that she takes care of.

 

Wayment Reunion

From wayment reunion2008

This weekend we enjoyed spending time with the Wayments. We went to a cabin on the Mirror Lake Highway near the Wyoming border. It was very beautiful and the weather was perfect. Friday morning we saw three moose only about 100 feet from us. Wayne enjoyed four wheeling with the cousins. Anna and Megan had a lot of fun exploring the 'forest', swinging on the rope swing, playing with their cousins, making sand art bottles, playdough, coloring and playing go fish. Thanks to the Davis family for all their hard work!

Rainy Day Fun

We have been blessed with some rain the last couple of days. This morning Anna asked if she could put on her rain coat and play in the rain. I got the girls ready and we all went outside to enjoy the novelty. Anna said "We've never been in the rain before huh, Mom? Have you ever been in the rain?" Megan had a lot of fun, she loves splashing in puddles and getting wet. We walked down to Grandma and Grandpa's house and they had fun stomping on the worms and jumping on the trampoline. Afterwards Anna insisted that they needed hot chocolate. A fun rainy day!

Back to School

A few weeks into this summer Anna asks "Mom, when am I going to preschool again?" I explained that we didn't go to school during the summer. She was a little bummed. Anna and Megan also asked if they could go swimming again this week. I explained that the lifegaurds had to go back to school, so the pool wasn't open during the day anymore. "But mom it's still summertime outside, and we don't go to school in the summer!" Anna reminded me. This last week we started up our little Mommy Swap preschool. I have been working this summer on organizing and planning for it. I was more excited than Anna. We had a great time, the kids and moms involved are really great! Megan even thinks she's a big girl, and packed her Diego backpack with supplies to take with her while she went to another mom's house while we had preschool. Anna talks about her new friends at preschool, and misses some of the ones from last year. I can't believe only one more year and she will be starting kindergarten!

Adventures of Tyler and Maddi

Today Anna and Megan have renamed themselves. Anna is Tyler and Megan is Maddi. Several times when I have asked them to do something they respond "I'm not Megan I'm Maddi" or "Mom call me Tyler now okay." They also wake up begging to go swimming. Anna says "at the town pool, Mom". We have had a fun summer!

Swimming: They enjoy swimming (on there own terms). Anna is pretty nervous and doesn't want to "fall under". She wades around and floats in a tube most of the time. I tried to get her to float out where she can't touch and she threw a fit! Megan loves jumping off the sides, but says "that's scary" if she goes under. She never wants to leave and is often crying and kicking when she does.

Playing with kittens: They sure love packing them around! Yesterday I woke up to meowing sounds outside my back door. Sure enough all 5 kittens were waiting there with their mom. What a good Mom to take care of all of them and her "toddler" kitten.

Riding Bikes: Yesterday Anna got a new bike, paid for with Mommy's money from selling bows in Vernal. She does really well with it. Megan has taken over the trike, she says "big bike is too scary". They sure like riding around on our big pad of cement we poured this summer for our pavilion. It is a work in progress, but already has been a lot of fun. Anna decorated her trike at a Primary Activity and followed a bike course (chalk line drawn around the parking lot.) Now her and Megan keep adding stickers and whatever they can find to decorate their bikes. Today they put screws in holes on the handlebars. Anna also draws her own chalk line to follow. Kids sure can entertain themselves!
Just Pretending: They also love to pretend they are dancers, doctors, Mommies, Daddies, little kids, the list keeps growing! Megan's favorites are "baby bird". She pretends to be a baby bird that blew away, and wants someone to be the Mommy bird to come take care of her; she also loves to be the Daddy or Baby brother. Anna loves pretending she is a teacher or ballerina or the Mommy and wants someone to be her "son daughter".

Decorating crocs/clogs: We call them clogs. Anna has seen all the cute decorations on other's. We found some at a store and bought one for each of the girls. These got lost and broken though. So we found some jewel decorations and hot glued them on. A fun activity and cheaper than the real ones!
They sure keep me busy, but I love little everyday things like these!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Family Trip to Salt Lake

I have been wanting to take a little trip with our girls before we add another one in the mix. After looking at what Phoenix, AZ or Las Vegas, NV had to offer and adding in the airfare I decided we could have enough fun in Salt Lake.
We have been fortunate enough to tag along with Grandma to Salt Lake several times. Anna gets really excited when I tell her we are going. She asks "Do we get to stay in a fancy hotel?" and "How many nights can we stay?" It seems like she never wants to come back home. But Wayne never gets to go with us, so this little family trip was specail.
We stayed Thursday and Friday night at a nice Marriot hotel. On Thursday night we went swimming at the hotel. The girls are getting a little better in the water, and Wayne has lots of fun playing with them.
Then on friday we went shopping and later at 5pm went to Lagoon (for Date night discount). The girls were so excited to go on the rides. We had been talking about it all week and Megan kept saying "Go to Lagoon!" It was a little cooler and got kind of breezy, but we didn't mind. We rode the kiddie rides and went to Lagoona beach. After we ate some dinner we thought we'd go on the ferris wheel to give our stomachs some time to digest. Anna was insistent that she didn't want to, but we talked her into it. She didn't do to well though, crying most of the time. After that she kept saying she just wanted to go back to the hotel. Unfortunately she didn't get a nap and was pretty tired. Our favorite rides were: Oddesy (octopus ride), Puff the magic dragon rollercoaster and baby boats. After some cotton candy and a couple more rides we headed back to the hotel around 10pm. We were all ready for our beds.
On Saturday we went to the Hogle Zoo. Wayne couldn't remember ever going and it was the girls first visit too. When I told Anna that we were going to the zoo she said, "But Mom the zoo is in Kentucky" (We went in March) I said that there was also a zoo in Salt Lake. She wasn't so sure "With real animals mom?". It was also nice and cool at the zoo, and we had a fun time seeing all the animals. Anna was nervous about the white crocidile, but she liked the frogs and snakes! Silly girl! The favorites were: monkeys, elephants, girrafes, leopards and penguins.
We had a fun little adventure, and a great time making memories together.

Our Kittens

 

In late April our cat Jade had a litter of kittens. Only one of them survived. Anna and Megan have loved playing with it. It's their "baby", they pack it around, find new houses for it and sometimes are a little too rough. In July Jade had another litter of kittens. We were a little surprised! Especially because Anna and Megan's "baby" is still nursing her. A week or so after the new litter was born we went camping, and when we came back the kittens were no where to be found. We were a little sad. Then this last week Anna was saying our family prayer. She prayed that the baby kittys would come back. The very next morning she was playing outside and she came running in. "Mommy, I heard some meows in the white freezer!" Sure enough we found all five kittens inside our old deep freezer. (The lid doesn't close, we use it for storage) What a coincidence?! We took them all out and they wandered around for a couple of days. I wanted to take a picture, but alas, they are once again missing. This time though, I am not so fast to say they are gone for good.

Family Reunions

We had a very nice week/weekend with both our families. We were able to stay with our families at Six Lakes Lodge, near Altamont, UT. The first two days were with the Mechams, then the next two were with the Clayburns, how lucky were we. The girls really enjoyed playing with their cousins, riding in the boat, catching crawdads and eating lots of yummy food! Wayne had fun fishing and I was able to get a couple of craft projects done. What a great time for everyone!

Some Exciting News to share

Today we went to the hospital for an ultrasound. We took Anna and Megan with us, for a new experience for them. Megan was pretty oblivious, she did say "baby". But Anna got very excited. "Theres a new baby in Mommys Tummy!" she said. We had a fun time sharing this news with them. We were also very happy to learn that it is a boy! Yeah!

On Saturday Ryan, Wayne's brother, invited us to go boating on Flaming Gorge. We really had a fun day! It was hot, so the cold water didn't feel too bad. Wayne had fun kneeboarding and wakeboarding. He also daredeviled on a rope swing someone has made in the cool hollowed out rocks.

 

Anna and Megan had a first time type of experience on the boat. Anna has been on a boat, but she was a little too young to remember. They were very excited, and a little nervous. They liked going fast and riding over bumpy wakes.

 

We drove from Sheep Creek Bridge Marina to the bridge. It was quite a ways, but we broke it up with lunch, and pulling kneeboarders/wakeboarders. The girls thought the bridge was pretty cool.

 

What a fun day!

 

Ready to ride the waves!