Baby Benjamin's Photo's

My Friend did a photo shoot of Benjamin last Saturday. He was only two and a half weeks old. I love the way the pictures turned out. My friend did a great job capturing the sweet little cuddly stage that he's in right now. Benjamin is my little snuggle puppy. He is so sweet and just molds into you. He loves sleeping in our bed, and is totally spoiled. They grow up so fast that I find myself never wanting to set him down. I love this stage of development right now. He is such a little sweetie! And as you can see from the pictures that he is totally gorgeous.

On a humorous note, I got home from enrichment night tonight and found Dan watching the Jazz playoff game with the kids. I guess the game was a little boring............

We've discovered the easiest way to get our kids down at night.... You just wait until their soooo tired they just drop over and sleep were ever they happen to be! Just kidding we actually try to get our children to bed at decent times.

Easter Fun, and more Benjamin pictures

Well the last few weeks have just past so quickly. I can't believe Benjamin will be three weeks tomorrow. So just a quick update on what we've been up to lately. When we were in the hospital after having the baby a nurse noticed that Benjamin had a heart murmur. I knew that a heart murmur wasn't uncommon in newborns so I didn't worry to much about it. We followed up with our pediatrician, he was concerned enough that he sent us down to Primary's children's hospital for an echo cardiogram. It turned out that he has a heart murmur, as well as a very small hole between the two ventricles of his heart. Fortunately the doctor said that neither of these conditions should effect his hearts ability to circulate his blood. We are hoping that the hole will close by it's self, in most cases it does. We are so thankful that Benjamin is okay. We also celebrated Easter with our families. The kids went on three egg hunts the Saturday before Easter. They found tons of candy, and had a blast. It was the first time we took the baby out. It was nice to get out and visit with family. Easter morning the kids loved looking for their Easter baskets. I heard Kate from upstairs squeal, and say "he got me just what I wanted". Kate got a my little pony, and Kirk got a toy gun. (I don't love the idea of kids playing with guns, but it's better than having him pretend that the markers are guns, and getting marker all over the house)! Here are some fun pictures of the kids.

Benjamin getting an EKG. Poor Baby, even though he was getting tests done he was so good.

Primary's had volunteers giving stuffed bunnies away to everybody. The hospital was so great!

Kate and Kirk collecting eggs at their grandma's house.

We had little Benjamin

The past two days have been so wonderful. We feel so blessed and happy to have such a sweet, and darling addition to our family. At 12:36 Monday night I delivered baby Benjamin. He weighed 8lbs. 12oz. This little guy was excited to get here, once I was complete, he came very quickly. He also wanted to make a big entrance. As soon as his head was out he started to cry. The Doctor said that babies rarely do that. He said he's only seen it happen maybe once in a thousand babies. We think he is one in a million. He is a very good baby, and so cute. The kids came up yesterday to meet him. Kirk and Kate were both so excited when they saw him. They both were able to hold him. Kirk really wanted to take him home with him yesterday. I think our new little guy is not going to be lacking in love and attention. He is very much loved and his whole family is so excited to welcome him to our home.

This week's fun

Well the count down is on. I've only got about two weeks to go before I'll have the baby and boy am I ready! I've found that I feel like I'm back into my first trimester again. I just feel tired, and yucky. I went into the doctor this week, he said that baby looks good, and he's growing like a weed. The ultra sound reads that he's already in the low 8's for weight. I think he's going to be a big one. I guess it's good if he's going to be able to keep up with Kirk. I'm not sure how Kirk is going to react to the the baby being born. He seems to think that the baby will stay in my tummy forever. I took the kids with me into the doctors appointment, and Kirk just incessantly repeated, "don't get the baby out mom, don't get the baby out, the baby doesn't come out." Yesterday I tried to explain to him that in a couple of weeks the baby will be here (kids don't understand time so I didn't get far). He was pretty upset and insisted that the baby stay inside my tummy. I'm sure once the baby's here and he has sometime to adjust, he'll love it. Dan just started on the garden today. We are really gun ho on it this year. Last year we never got it in, and I dearly missed the fresh produce in the fall. It's a little early to do everything, but he got it tilled up, and were starting peas, carrots, onions, and lettuce. In the past the lettuce hasn't turned out that great (okay really it made my tongue sting, it was terrible), but were giving it another shot. Yesterday was Kirk's official Birthday, although we celebrated it last week. I got a coupon in my e-mail for free tokens at chuck E Cheese's. We took the kids last night and they had a ball. That place is perfect for this age group. The games were very kid friendly. It was fun. The weather is warming up, and I just can't wait for spring! The kids have been able to play out on the swing set, and ride their scooters around. Kirk got a new cars scooter for his Birthday from his grandma Mower. He has picked up on it really well. He zoomed down our driveway and didn't even get scared. In fact Kate was in the lead, and their were a few times Kirk was bumping into the back of her, he was definitely tailing her. Well tonight it's off to Stake Conference. It's at 9:00 tomorrow, that will be a nice break for Dan, I'm really looking forward to sitting by him. So hopefully the next time I blog it will be from the hospital letting you know that I'm finally through with my pregnancy, and the baby is healthy and strong.

Kate and Kirk on their scooters. Thank heaven it's starting to warm up, the kids love playing outside. One snowy cold day a few weeks ago Kate wanted to go to the park. I told her we couldn't go until the snow melted some more. She then dramatcally responded "the snow is never going to melt, it will be winter forever"! At times that's precicely the way I felt about the snow to. But I'm glad to see that this wasn't the case, and though it felt long spring is on it's way.

Kirk and Kate playing at Chuck E. Cheese's. They had a blast there. They also got a hundred and fifty tickets. That was enough to buy two tiny suckers, a little ring, and a tiny lizzard. So affter buying fourty tokens the loot's worth maybe totaled 0.75, I'd say that chuck e. cheese's is doing okay.

Weddings, Parties, so much fun packed into a weekend

Well, I'm exhausted. But it's definitely a good kind of exhaustion. The kind that means I've had a busy, but fabulous weekend. It was crammed with family, friends, and alot of fun. We started the week off with my sister Karyn flying in from Hawaii. She flew all night long with her 18 month old little girl Annika. Then my other sister Kristen was able to drive with her husband, and three kids from California. They unfortunately ran into some bad weather in the mountains. This prolonged their trip by a few hours. It was so much fun to be all together with my sisters. Then I had Kirk's birthday party on Friday. We actually celebrated it a week early so that my sister's little boy could attend. Kirk is going through this huge Star Wars phase. He is especially obsessed with Darth Vader. Naturally I couldn't resist throwing a huge Star Wars party. I really worked hard to get ready for this. I made light sabers, and Jedi robes for the kids to wear. At first they didn't really want to wear them, but after Dan said that they had to in order to get the light saber, they all complied. We played a few games, and ate some pizza, and cake. Then they ran around playing with their light sabers until we had a special guest arrive. Dan's brother Shaun is a huge Star Wars fan. He has an awesome costume. He came at the end. I tried to get Kirk to stand by him for a picture, but Kirk wanted to keep some distance from this villain. He wasn't afraid however to fight him. The kids all ganged up on him and were hitting him with their light sabers. I think he made it out okay, the costume had a lot of protection in it. I think Kirk enjoyed it. He is quite young to be doing the birthday party thing already, but I love just love birthdays. This Star Wars theme had so many fun options that I couldn't help myself.

Kirk and the other party kids learning to become Jedi Knights. Dan did a good job and teaching them how to handle their weapons. Fortunately there were no major casualties. Giving a bunch of three and four year olds wrapping paper tubes, covered in duct tape is just asking for it! I'm sure many of you are thinking that I'm totally crazy! What lengths will a go too, to please her kids.

Kirk with his much anticipated Darth Vader Birthday cake. He had been talking about this for weeks. I found the idea online, I made the huge mistake of showing it to him a month ago. Every time I'd be on the Internet He'd say "I want to see my Darth Vader Cake", then I'd have to pull up the cake web site to show him.

Darth Vader, and all of the little Jedi knights. They had a blast attacking him with their homemade light sabers.



Kyle and Sarah just after the sealing, they had just gotten out of the Logan Temple. It was freezing, but I don't think she felt it, they were just on cloud nine.

Then Saturday March 7, my little brother made the big jump. He was married in the Logan temple and 2:15. The Sealing was wonderful. I could feel the spirit so strongly. They are an adorable couple. The day was wonderful, I love weddings. I love how everyone gets dressed up, and seeing old friends and family. It was strange to see my little brother getting married. I still think of him as the cute little red headed boy of our childhood. I can still remember building forts with him in our basement. As we got older he was the only one of my siblings to attend Jr. high and High school with me. When I was in ninth grade he was a seventh grader. I remember how shy he was. I'd purposefully say hi to him really loudly in the halls just to embarrass him. I also remember putting little treats and soda pops in his locker just to surprise him. Then after I got my license (I was a pretty scary driver as a teen), I'd drive us both to high school. My favorite memory of Kyle was one particularly rainy day, "Lisa your going plenty fast for the conditions". Kyle always was the more responsible child. My mom would always leave him with the most important chores when they'd leave town, because she knew she could depend on him to do them. I was so flighty in high school, I'd always leave mine undone until last minute. But yesterday really was a perfect day, I love my little brother. It's so wonderful to see him so happy.

Kirk and Dan at the wedding reception.

Sarah and Kyle at the wedding luncheon

Kate, Caroline, and Alexandra. The three girl cousins.

My Dad and Kyle in front of the temple.

Mom and Caroline Allred posing in their pretty wedding attire.

Annika eating a cinnamon roll at the wedding breakfast. She gets those gorgeous brown eyes from her mother.

Kids helping me make a cake

No Kirk didn't grow a beard, this is cake batter. I always let the kids lick the beaters when I'm through mixing.

Well, I can't believe it's already March. February just flew. The countdown is on for the baby's arrival. I'm only about a month away from my due date. Today has become a surprisingly laid back morning. I got up and did my daily routine, and was about to get Kate dressed for dance, but I couldn't find her leotard anywhere. This is the third one we've lost. It's so frustrating. She likes to wear them around the house, but then takes them off, and I have no idea where they end up. I swear there's a black hole in our home because I don't know were so many things go to! Since I couldn't find her leotard, and we were going to be late anyways, I just decided to bag dance, we stayed home made Kirk a birthday cake. I'll just freeze it until Friday. As you can see from the picture the kids really enjoyed this activity!

The latest news

Kate posing with our attempt at making a snow sculpture. We got so much snow that day that I couldn't resist!

Kate and Kirk making sugar cookies (don't worry the dough they were playing with did not become cookies)

Well, I was just sitting down getting ready to steal a few minutes on the computer to update my blog, when the kids who were up in the kitchen discovered my scriptures that were hanging out on the table. I stopped and listened to them. Kate was pretending to read the scriptures into Kirks ear, and he was repeating what she was saying like he was giving a talk in primary. It was so darling. I think she said something about Jesus, and being nice. Then she just came down and asked me to read her a scripture. I was amazed that a 4 year old would be interested in reading a book with no pictures. Anyways I thought it was sweet. We've had a busy week, I can't believe we are approaching the end of February. Valentines day was fun. It was nice that it fell on a Saturday. We sort of made it into a family day. I played out in the snow with the kids, and then almost burned the house down broiling some steaks. I think our oven got a little too toasty, some grease from the steaks flew up, and the next thing I new, the oven was flaming! Talk about flame broiled. I immediately pulled the steaks out. They were really rare, but that's how I order mine so I didn't mind. Then Dan and I planned to put the kids down, and watch a romantic movie. Ha ha, that was a really ambitious plan. The kids cried and cried so we gave and let them watch it with us. The sappy romance soon put them to sleep so in the end it all worked out. The night before Valentines we made sugar cookies. The kids had a blast frosting them. Kate said "This is just like painting". They turned out really good, we gave them to grandparents, and neighbors. Well I think that's the most recent events going on with the mower gang. Good news, I only have 45 days until my due date. I can't believe it, I've got such a long ways to go, and I'm already so miserably uncomfortable. I just keep telling myself, I'm only going to get bigger, so just brace yourself for a long month and a half. It's really not that bad, but being able to bend over is kinda important when your a Mom, and it's becoming more and more of a challenge. Well that's all for now.

Kate showing her the Valentines she got at school. This year I paid $2.50 for a box of valentines, I thought it was outrageous (come on it's only card stock)! So I went to two other stores in search of something cheaper. To make a long story short, we ended up going back to walmart to purchase the $2.50 ones. Being the cheap mom that I am; I picked up some valentines a few days after valentines day for $0.60. Hopefully that will prevent another valentine's fiasco!

Our traditional Valentines breakfast complete with Pink heart shaped pancakes, sausages, and juice.