Bookcase

Here is a picture, as requested:

Let Mortal Kombat Begin

Competition is getting fierce in the Morgan household. L managed to grab the lead in a surprise move on the couch yesterday. By slamming his face into the arm of the couch with a resulting dental intrusion of his upper incisors, he has shown the world of extreme sports what can really be accomplished.

Seriously though... We had no clue how bad it was for a few hours. He had a pretty bloody mouth, but I just assumed he had cut his lip or gums. Later J noticed that his top, front teeth looked a little farther up in the gum than they used to be. I called our dentist and ran L over to his house for a quick checkup. Dr. Alexander said that there wasn't really much to be done about it. If they damaged his permanent teeth, c'est la vie. Hopefully it won't be too bad. Apparently this is the most common dental injury in kids between 1-3 years, with a slighter predominance of injury in boys (surprise, surprise). L has been a very brave boy through the whole ordeal. The Dr. did prescribe popsicles so that made him pretty happy. The swelling should go down in a few days and the teeth might re-erupt over the next few months.

The saddest thing, is L no longer smiles like Mater. J is pretty depressed at the loss of his little boy's buck tooth smile.

This picture shows how swollen his upper lip is:

The DS Revolution

The kiddos had their first enforced break from the nintendo this week. J got tired of them arguing and crying on Saturday, so he told them they couldn't have it for 3 weeks. At first I thought that was a little long until I realized he didn't actually plan on keeping it from them for that long. They have it back now, but, since their cousin is over playing today, I took it away temporarily. I took all 5 kids to Winco today and it really wasn't bad. I'm an ubermom :)

I haven't been so happy with my makup skills the last little while so my friend and I went to the mall Saturday to visit the makeup counter. I did learn a couple of tricks (I only had them do my eyes) that I think have made a big difference. Whenever I've worn makeup in the past I thought it made me look funny and now I think it looks pretty decent. After the mall we stopped by one of my absolute favorite restaurants, The Mad Greek. I wish I knew how to make Gyros that good.

L is still doing great with his potty training. He's even insisting on peeing standing up. J wasn't too sure about it at first, but I think he makes less of a mess that way than sitting down. He's also dropped his afternoon nap completely. This means he goes to bed earlier than the other 2, which works out well since it prevents him from trying to play with them while they are trying to go to sleep.

Nagging is really working out well for me lately. J caved and we bought a bookcase to replace the cinderblocks in the back room. It makes me happy to look at it. I'll be so glad when we replace the carpet in the house though. That is the number one thing I hate. We'll be replacing it this summer and putting laminate through the hall and kitchen.

P has her second cold right now. I've started moving her over to regular formula again. Last night she woke in the middle of the night (completely atypical) and when I saw the runny nose I was worried she was reacting to the formula. When L woke up he had a runny nose too so I was pretty relieved that it is just a cold. She's not too happy about it since she is not used to having a clogged nose. I'm humidifying the whole house right now since it has been bone dry the last few days.

E has her first admirer. A boy at school has been giving her gifts and telling her that he loves her. I told her she is not allowed to like him right now. She told me that she is allowed to, but she doesn't like him anyway.

I'm really enjoying this presidential primary season. It is so much more exciting than usual. I feel like I'm watching a sport's competition in some ways. I've never been into sports, but it gives me somewhat of a sense for what it must be like to have a sport's team you root for. I'm so amazed that Romney has made it this far. I'm trying to not get my hopes up. McCain and Huckabee drive me crazy so I'm definitely rooting against them. I bought J a subscription to Rush 24/7 for Christmas, and it has been really nice to listen to.

I hope you all have seen Stardust. If you haven't, you are really missing out.

Happy Birthday, Marv!

Happy birthday to my beloved older sister. She has been my personal trailblazer and made my trials all the easier. Wish I could be out there to celebrate with you.

Fefe

The little inchworm is just growing and growing. I had to put up a post about her because I am just amazed watching her grow and develop. She is so close to sitting up on her own. It won't be as early as E, but close. A couple weeks ago she started grabbing our faces and trying to eat them. Today she grabbed my glasses for the first time. When I hold her at the computer she will keep looking up at me over and over until I look at her and smile. It is very interactive. She has also been rolling over in bed most sleep times. Sometimes it bothers her, sometimes it doesn't. She can get her thumb in either way so it is not a huge deal. I stayed and watched her moved around at her last nap. If she had volitional control that child could probably scoot all over the floor. E really enjoys letting her suck on her hand, although she spends most of the time grossing out about all the slobber. L tries to share with her, but we have to put our foot down about some of the stuff. B is very good at being calm and keeping her happy. I love being a mom!

Still Life

After several months of nagging, J let me buy a Canon Rebel XTi. It's a digital SLR camera, not top of the line, but still sweet. There's going to be a bit of a learning curve and we'll need to invest in some pricey lenses, but I'm very happy with the pictures we've taken so far.

We are back to 9-12 church finally. Although we have to rush to get ready in the morning I love coming home and having Sunday nap. Plus I don't feel so drowsy at church. P does much better with the morning time too. L had his first day of primary as the youngest Sunbeam. I was a little nervous because of the potty training, but he did very well. B had a talk and managed to blow the one joke that J threw in there.

The kids went back to school on Monday and promptly had a day off Tuesday, when it snowed. I don't think they needed to cancel school that day, but the next day it was super icy without even a late arrival. J had to take an alternate route to work because of a fatal accident. I love the fact that he can get to work faster on the farm roads, but I do worry a little bit about what can happen on those roads.

I discovered two things yesterday. 1. Do not nap and leave L unsupervised. 2. I prefer Lasagna with cottage cheese instead of ricotta.

L painted nail polish all over the bathroom, drew all over his bedroom door with dry erase marker and smeared poop in various locations. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but that certainly didn't hold him back. He'll be lucky if he makes it to his fourth birthday. At least he is doing well with his potty training. When I tell him not to do something he says "But I like to."

When I told J I prefer the cottage cheese he looked devastated. He told me that he has always been so happy that I used ricotta. I told him I'd continue to use the ricotta, but I'm glad to know cottage cheese is what I was looking for.

Poor E has inherited my doggie phobia. She encountered a dog while walking home from the bus yesterday and was pretty freaked out. I'll admit I've not been very happy with the amount of times we see loose dogs in our cul de sac. I sent the walkie talkie with her today so she could call me if she needs help. I'd walk her home, but P is usually eating then.

Here are some of the better pictures we've taken recently:

This one made me realize how big our family is getting.

"Stop taking my picture!"

"Leave me alone!"

Hooch....

Happy New Year

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful holiday season. My hopes for a Christmas letter have gone down the tube, but I thought I'd put up a quick blurb here.

We started out the year with a pretty awesome snow storm. The kids were able to go sledding for the first time ever, but we forgot to make snow cream.

J and I both received new church callings at the beginning of the year. J was called to be the 11 year old scout leader and was disappointed to leave primary chorister behind. I was given the calling of ward historian. I'm the first one for this ward so it has been interesting figuring out what I want to do with it. I also still had the relief society publicity calling. In November they added on ward newsletter, so I have 3 callings. They all dovetail perfectly and I love doing them.

I started out the year pregnant, but didn't tell anyone till February. I had been running for about six months before that, but gave it up pretty quickly. Sleep seemed so much more important suddenly. I was also the PTO president at E's school. That kept me pretty busy since we had few members and a lot of framework still to put in place. My crowning achievement was establishing 501c(3) status. That allows an organization to receive tax free contributions.

The end of March, not long after E turned 7, I was put on bedrest due to a subchorionic hematoma. This continued for two months. I did get used to sitting around all day, but it was very hard to let go of certain things. There were so many times in the past when I wondered how women with multiple children handled bedrest. I learned it is possible, but not easy. We certainly could not have done it without all the help we received.

In April we had the happy news that we were having another girl. I'd been wanting another girl for several years so I went a tad overboard on the pink theme. P's carseat is pink and the blankets I use with it are also pink. Hard to believe I used to hate pink so much.

In May B graduated from preschool. He had a bit of a traumatic spring and missed about a month of preschool, but did very well. We worried a bit about how well he would do since he is not as outgoing as E. In April he came down with a kidney infection. It took his pediatrician about a month to figure out what it was. Since I was still on bedrest then we both spent alot of time laying on the couch together. It made me very sad just to look at him. He lost so much weight, barely ate and didn't smile. When we finally got some antibiotics for him it was such a relief to see him smiling and eating again. We now have a different pediatrician.

The beginning of June I was finally released from bedrest. I was so happy to be able to pick up L again, drive the kids to school, go shopping and clean my house.

July was our big trip to Utah. We spent a few days with my family and a few days with J's parents since they are now living in Bountiful. The kid's favorite part of the trip was the jumping water park at the Gateway center. J's parents gave us a couch and piano and my parents gave us a twin bed frame so we pulled a Uhaul trailer on the way back. There is a sign on the back that says not to drive faster than 45mph. Ha! That's ridiculous.

P was born a few days before her due date on August 25th. I went to the local hospital this time and was very happy with my choice. I was a little nervous because it is a much smaller hospital, but it all went smoothly. I'm starting to feel like an old pro. The other three love their new little sister. She has been a wonderful addition to our family and we feel very blessed. Now if we could just figure out a medical application for all her drool we'll be set for life.

E and B started school in September. B in Kindergarten and E in 2nd grade. B has really loved his class. E not so much, but she finds plenty to love anyway. Both of them absolutely love learning and are constantly pushing us to teach them more at home. J made them addition and multiplication flash cards to practice. They have also started playing wall ball a ton. It is the big thing at school right now so they play it in the garage constantly. If the weather is nice then they do it at the park.

P was blessed in October and B turned 6. Since it was an even age he was able to have a friend b-day party this year. He chose the bowling alley for his party. He was very excited to have Grandma C and Alex there as well.

J has been continuing to update and improve the house. In July we had it resided and in September it was painted. J bought a planer and jointer in November so he can reface the bathroom cabinets. He was considering redoing the kitchen, but since I told him I want to move in 2-3 years he decided that is too big of a project.

We had a nice quiet Christmas at the home this year. It was a relief not to have to drive in bad weather and haul around Christmas and winter gear. E and B are pretty set on the fact that Santa is not real, but that did not prevent them from enjoying their Christmas presents. The biggest hit is the Nintendo DS with Super Mario brothers. We've all enjoyed playing on it. I don't think E and B have played wall ball since Christmas.

L's big achievement for the end of the year is potty training. We had to coax him into it, but he's taken to it very quickly. I think it really helps having older siblings to imitate. He makes us laugh constantly with his silly way of talking. I never thought I could laugh so much at someone calling me stupid mama. He is so small and yet so big at the same time.

It's late at night and I'm sure I've forgotten something. Here's hoping 2008 is slightly less eventful in certain areas.