Just a little

Blog Throw up in the form of Pictures:

 David and I were able to go to our first Saints game

 Great Grandma came to play for a week

 Noah enjoys his bath time

 We hosted Thanksgiving 

 little kids table before the feast

 Little kids table after the feast

 our spread

 David entertaining all the kids while the adults played a game

Everybody

We Love FaceTime

 Car racing

 Melting Pot/Saying good bye to great friends

 Official first mess

 Cute little faces

 1st letter to Santa

 Gold glitter shoes love

 Cottage cheese buns

 she does her own make up

 Happy 

 Saying good bye to a best friend

 super heros

 waiting in line to see these lights

More facetiming

Sick boy for Christmas 

 1st Christmas

We survived our first (and hopefully last) Christmas alone.

Tis the Season

To be Jolly FALALALALALALALALA!!!!
Well It's Christmas time and so much is happening. Its been far too long since I last updated and I don't want to overwhelm you but here is just a point by point update of our lives.

Noah 

• 7 months
• Has 3 almost 4 teeth
• Army Crawls all over the place
• Smiles from ear to ear
• Loves his blankie
• Loves his binkie
• Loves his older brother
• Isn't quite sure of his older sister (she's a firecracker)
• Has started giving wide open mouth kisses
• Genuinely happy
• At 6 months weighed in at 22.9 lbs and 28 inches long still off the charts

Maggie

• 2 1/2 years old
• Loves her new gold glitter shoes so much she sleeps in them
• Loves to wear my clothes (true story she cried because I wouldn't let her wear the shirt I had picked out for myself to wear.)
• Loves Jewelry
• Loves Makeup and loves to do her own
• Strong willed and spirited
• Starting to talk back
• Giggles at everything
• Is a super happy little girl even when she is in trouble
• Oh and her best friends are my friends

Daniel 

• 4 years and 11 months old
• Sweetest older brother in the world
• totally into Christmas
• Loved soccer but glad its over (he had a beastly coach)
• Wants a Bike for Christmas or a Skateboard and armor "cause you have to have armor with a skateboard" or Thor's Magic hammer, or a baseball glove or a drum set or a baseball shirt.
• Loves his siblings. 
• Is loving fighting with any weapon
• Loves his friends
• Loves playing games
• Still loves Dinosaurs

David

• Super handsome
• Elders Quorum Pres
• Super Busy
• Started a new improv group called Hug Life 
• Performing at Comedy Sportz
• Excited about new games for Christmas
• Best Spin instructor at The Parks Fitness 
• Grateful for an amazing job that supports his family

Me

• Tired 
• happy
• fitting into smaller pants
• getting a sense of style in a very small way (I love bright colored skinny jeans)
• Growing through daily trials
• Loving/enduring Motherhood
• Grateful for my blessings
• Sad to be spending Christmas away from family but excited for a new chance to start traditions as our own little family unit.
• Totally in Love with our little family unit

New Orleans is good for this little family of ours. We are learning and growing and stretching and gaining stronger testimonies and being tested and coming together and really enjoying each other. We are truly blessed and happy to have this experiences in our lives. 

Just a sneak peak at our family Pictures:

(The raw unedited ones that is)

Sinking

Lately I feel like I'm sinking underneath all the responsibilities that I have. My house sadly comes after everything. If you walked in you would be able to tell that at one glance. There is always a pile of unfolded clean laundry somewhere and more piles waiting to be put into the wash. The floor always has stuff on it. Stuff could be anything, toys, clothes, food droppings from my darling little ones, whatever "it" is, it's just stuff. I'd really like to cut back on the amount of stuff we have. I'd love to be a minimalist but I fall more a long the lines of pack rat/hoarder. The windows all have fingerprints or face prints on them. The walls are colored on and bare the remains of thrown food/drinks (which I've tried with no luck to remove). The kitchen counters are always cluttered and the dishes are waiting to be loaded in the dishwasher that is waiting to be unloaded. This is my life. I know that something needs to change. I know that I have this really great schedule hanging on my fridge and if I actually kept to it my house would look amazing. I have a problem sticking to schedules though. I'd much rather be out enjoying the sunshine at a park then scrubbing my kitchen floors or looking at the animals at the zoo then folding laundry. I've become lazy. I blame most of this on my lack of sleep. I can't remember the last time I slept all night, without having one of my children wake up or without me having to get up to pee (pregnancy). I honestly think its been over a year. I'm tired, exhausted most days and when I get a spare moment all I want to do is lay on the couch and do NOTHING. I also blame it on my priority list. My kids are just more important to me then this dirty old house. I love them and I love spending time with them and I can't do everything right now. So I choose them over everything else. Which I don't think is bad but I've got to get back to a more balanced life. I'm ranting and this probably makes no sense to anyone but I need to put it down. 

Big baby gets bigger

 Noah is 4 months old and let's just say he's big. Well off the charts actually. The Dr informed me he is the size of an average 8 month old baby. Oh and yes he does have teeth, 2 actually, to go with his large size. He is full of smiles that melt my heart. I sure do love my big baby boy. 

 

(He's actually 19lbs 7 ounces not .07)

God Loves his Children

Last night I was filling my car up with gas. I was flustered because there was a man sitting watching me the whole time. I hurried and cleaned my car out and after I filled up drove away. Minutes later I was at the drive through ordering some treats for our girls night out and couldn't find my wallet. My friend was with me and paid and we started searching the car for my wallet. We went through everything and no luck. We decided to go back to the gas station to look in the garbage thinking I'd thrown it away. Nothing. I retraced my route and couldn't find it anywhere. All that kept going through my head was that creepy man saw it and stole it. I was so upset because I had $50 cash and gift cards in it and of course my drivers license, debit cards and temple recommend. The thought of having to deal with all the loss and canceling my credit cards was really overwhelming. I called the credit card company only to have them tell me it was after hours for my bank and I'd have to call back in the morning. David called while I was on hold with them and I told him I'd call him back but he said no wait its here and I said what? Emily your wallet is here at the house.  My first thought was No way I just paid for gas I couldn't have left it at home. Then he explained. I guess in my hurry I had left my wallet on top of my car. A very kind man found it and all the contents scattered across the road. He picked it all up and called the police. The police, the man and his son all showed up at my door with my wallet. There was nothing missing. Nothing. No cash, no gift card, and no credit card, not even my dumb receipts, NOTHING. David handed the man some money in thanks for his honesty and kindness. The man in turned thanked David telling him he didn't even have enough money to fill up his own car with gas.
I was hysterically crying, I seriously couldn't stop.The man was broke he had no money and there was my wallet with "free" cash spread across the road. He could have taken it and no one would have known but he chose to do the right thing and in return he was blessed. I can't thank him enough for returning my wallet. God knows his children he knows there needs and I needed to loose my wallet in order to bless this man and for him to bless me. He showed me that there are still so many good people out there willing to do the right thing. He showed me that Heavenly Father loves me and knows me. He answers prayers. I am grateful for this tender moment in my life. I never thought loosing something could be so amazing. 

Big Baby

He is getting so big.

Today he weighs 16 lbs. 14ozs.

He is 26 inches long.

He is in the 97 percentile for both height and weight. 

He is the size of the average 6 month old baby. 

He also has an ear infection, poor big baby.

David being David

2

she is 2

she is all girl

she is Fancy Nancy's biggest rival 

she has beautiful big brown eyes

she had lovely long blonde locks but now a short spunky bob

she is feisty

she is loving

she looks out for others

she has a loud scream

she changes voice tones from super high to super low

she loves her brothers

she loves her blankets 

she loves to go anywhere

she loves babies

she loves purses

she loves shoes

she loves dresses

she loves clothes

she loves swim suits

she LOVES candy

she loves anything that sparkles

she is my little buddy

We Love her!

Happy Birthday Miss Maggie

july in a nutshell

These last few weeks have flown by! We have had lots of visitors and a lot of fun! 


Pop Pop came to visit first. He flew in late on the 3rd and spent a whole week just hanging out with us. D loved just snuggling up next to him playing games for hours on end. 


We celebrated the 4Th of July with a big bang, literally a BIG BANG. One of the fireworks that we lit was an M80 and man alive that thing was powerful. 


Mike (Pop Pop) was able to visit with 3 missionaries he had in his district while serving at the MTC as a counselor in a branch presidency. They are all three serving in our ward. Those missionaries hold him in very high regard and love him so much. 


We hung out at home on Thursday and on Friday made our way downtown taking the scenic route past downtown over the bridge to the West Bank and back again. (I always get lost downtown). 


Friday was also Miss Maggie's Birthday!!!! She turned 2. Pop Pop took her to the toy store and let her pick out whatever she wanted. We had cake on Sunday when all the family was there. She loved being sung to and we made sure to sing at every opportunity. 


David, Mike, and Daniel all went to a premier showing of Ice Age 4 in 3D. Fun little boy trip. 


My parents and Lindsie joined the party after driving 2 days from Utah very early on Saturday morning. 


We blessed baby Noah on Sunday the 8th and it was so great to have so many family members there to support us. His blessing was amazing. I love hearing what each child has in store for them. David mentioned being worried that Noah would  cry because he is a crier. Well true to his character he did, the whole blessing my little man cried. Ironically in the blessing he was told he would have a happy countenance. He really is so sweet and I adore him but he has his moments. 


All our visitors and D went to the WWII museum which they loved. I didn't go because I wasn't feeling well and ended up sleeping the whole time they were gone. 


Pop Pop left on Wednesday and for the rest of the week everyone just hung out. 


We had a few lazy days (I had a lot).


The kids got to go downtown to a plantation and to see gators. 


We also had a surprise visit from uncle Jake. 


We spent three days at the beach in Pensacola Florida with everyone and it was such a blast! We loved relaxing and playing on the beach. 


Lindsie went home Thursday morning and everyone else left Saturday morning. 


We love having family visit! Seriously we love it. Thanks to everyone who has come and spent time with us. Family is so important and we are blessed to have one that loves and supports us in all we do. Now its time to clean the house and get back into our "regular" routine. Happy July Everyone!!!

.

Summer 2012 Pensacola Florida

 These are some of my favorite pictures of my little man. 

 I LOVE HIM!

The kids were playing so well together. I was so proud that they weren't fighting or screaming. I was just getting ready to brag about them on Facebook when I overheard Daniel telling Maggie how to cut his hair. I panicked and ran into the other room only to find her hair like this,

He butchered it. I cried and then laughed and then cried some more. To give him credit he did put all the lovely locks in the dust pan and garbage.

We got it fixed and it looks so cute! Daniel has been grounded from all scissors and Maggie has been told not to let him touch her hair EVER.

My friend wanted to practice her photography skills on Noah. Here are some of my favorites

she did a great job didn't she?

Noah Benchly

Well he is here and he has been for 6 weeks. The delivery was the longest of all 3. I went into the hospital at 4am and didn't have him until 11:46 pm. It was a LONG and boring day. There were no contractions that I could feel until around 7pm when they finally started me on pitocin and I was only at 4cm. Everything went faster when the pitocin set in and I only had to push 2 times and he was out. I was so tired! I couldn't sleep at all during the day and the night before I decided that David and I should go to the midnight showing of the Avengers. So I literally got 2 hours of sleep total. Not the best idea but it was so fun! Anyway little man weighed in at 8lbs 0.09oz 21 1/2 inches. He has big man hands and super long feet.Here are pictures of him over the last 6 weeks

at his 4 week appointment He weighed in at 11 lbs 12 oz . He is perfectly healthy and a "big man" according to the Doctor.


Adjusting to 3 kids hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. The hardest thing is not getting any sleep. Noah doesn't sleep at night so if I have big bags under my eyes you now know why. His fussy time just happens to me from around 5am to 6 am. 

Daniel and Maggie love him. They love to give him kisses and hugs and push him in his swing and bounce him in his rocker and pull him over to their laps. Let's just say Noah is going to be one tough boy.  I'm just waiting for the day Maggie brings him into me by the neck. Sorry this has been so late coming.  

Just a little update:

Daniel is growing like a weed. I feel he is struggling with being a "big" boy and is wanting to hold on to his little boyness for as long as he can. He still loves to have me put on his shoes and socks and help him get dressed or put his blanket like a "square" (he is ocd about how his blanket needs to be lined up with his bed at night), all are things he is perfectly capable of doing on his own. He has asked me if I will still love him when the new baby comes. I said of course I will. He has a tender heart and his new favorite book is I'll Love you Forever I think it's because he

wants to know that is us. He is running and jumping and kicking and being a boy. He is perfectly healthy (thankfully) and hitting all his mile stones. We had a yearly check up and he is 41 lbs which is 75th percentile and 42 inches tall which puts him in the 90th percentile, his eyesight is great and so is his hearing. He is FULL of questions. I really get frustrated with the amount of questions he asks daily, hourly by the minute. I realize he is curious and wants to know so much but its hard to constantly answer a chain of 50 questions knowing full well that whatever answer I give will lead to another question. He is getting better with playing pretend and entertaining himself. I love the games he comes up with or the objects that turn into talking things that he can have conversations with. He has a great imagination. I love him so much!

Maggie is also growing so fast. She is 34 inches and 27 lbs both 75th percentile. She too is healthy and hitting her milestones. Just recently I've noticed that she has really caught on to talking. She's using sentences like "I want water" or "I want to see". My current favorite is "I don't know" with a very cute shoulder shrug. She loves candy. If she could that is all she would eat. Poptarts, m&m's, chocolate, jellybeans, gum, cookies the list goes on and on. She is all girl. She has a new pair of sunglasses that she loves to wear in the car, and she loves LOVES shoes. Any and all. She got a pair of rain boots for Easter and the girl has not gone a day without wearing them. Monday morning the first thing she said was "A boots". She insisted on wearing them to church and not her cute new sandals. They are a little too big but she will grow into them. She is the opposite of Daniel and is very independent almost to much so. She loves to do things on her own and often throws a tantrum if I do it for her before she has tried. Tantrums are a new added joy also. Man can that girl go from perfectly happy to full on screaming fit on the floor fast. She of course has that high pitched lovely scream that adds extra volume to our home. She is a little sassy and if she doesn't like something she lets you know with a high pitched "No!" Time out hasn't been the most effective form of punishment but I'm trying. She melts my heart. David says that she's got me wrapped around her little finger and it's true. I hate it when she is sad and crying. She is my shadow. She is always following me and watching me. If I shower she needs to shower, if I put on deodorant she needs it, if I brush my teeth she asks for her toothbrush. Tonight I put on a sweater and she scrunched up her shoulders and said "Brr, a jacket mom?" So we went to her closet and got her a sweater too. She really is such a sweet little girl. I love her.

Maggie and Daniel play so well together. No they are not perfect. She hits him and yells at him and he pushes her over and teases her endlessly. When it really comes down to it I have no doubt that they love each other. He is so sweet to her and she is so sweet back. They love helping each other out. Maggie always asks for a snack for Daniel if I give her one. Daniel helps her all the time. I'm so interested to see how this third little baby will add and change our family. I hope that he will always feel as loved and feel like his siblings love him and are his best friends.

As for me I've got 23 more days before this little baby joins our family. I feel like he is so much more active then my last two babies which kind of scares me. I keep thinking about all I have/want to do before he comes and I know that the really important stuff will get done and everything else won't.

I have a lot of anxiety lately. I can't sleep at night unless I'm heavily drugged. I think this transition is going to be hard for all of us for different reasons. For me its 3 kids, the thought of loading 3 kids into my car and totting them around where ever I go stresses me out. The thought of taking care of the there daily needs and wants is even more stressful. The added laundry. The sleep deprivation. Living so very far away from my family who has always been my support and help.

The one thing that brings me great comfort and joy, is I will have a new little spirit in my home. One sent straight to me from my Father in Heaven. One to cuddle and squeeze and nurse and have all to myself (and the other 3 people in our family) A new person full of endless potential and surprises.

I've haven't been myself for most of this pregnancy, I've been so unbalanced. I feel so different, more angry and tired and short tempered, so quick to yell and then cry, I'm just not myself. It's so hard to enjoy my kids when I feel this way. I'm trying to be positive. I'm trying to focus on my strengths and talents and not compare myself to others, and really focus on what I am good at. I'm trying to let the small stuff go and focus on what really matters my family. I'm trying to be more faithful to trust in my Heavenly Father and know that he knows what I am going through and truly loves me. I just want to be happy and I hope and pray that when this baby is born my hormones will go back to normal and I will feel like Emily again. Only time will tell. I know there is plenty of room for improvement but maybe right now is a bad time to try that. Maybe right now I just need to be ok with who I am and realize that things will get better and will get easier.

Sorry this post was just supposed to be a little update and ended up being a Journal entry. I just needed to get my feelings out.

It's all about perspective

David's cousins have a Cousins Blog. It's exclusive for the girls and we each take a week and post about whatever we want to. It's my week to post and this was my original post for today:

Let me explain the "importance" of these treats. I LOVE the seasonal Reese's, i.e. eggs at Easter, pumpkins at Halloween, trees at Christmas and hearts for Valentines. They have the PERFECT ratio of chocolate/peanut butter and I mean PERFECT! I treat them like gold and rarely ever share them. They are hidden in the highest cupboard. At the end of a long day they really make me feel so much better with a nice glass of milk. Only draw back they are chocolate which gives me very bad acid reflex during pregnancy. That being said to have 4 of them in one sitting is a big deal. 1. they are my "GOLD" and 2. I chanced acid reflex for them. I even thought as I pulled out the 4th "is it worth it?". Now it would be an even bigger deal if these were eggs because after Easter there aren't any till Halloween, so the worth of my gold goes up, way up. It wasn't the worst day ever but it was long!

-kids woke up 30 mins earlier than they normally do

-Maggie took her morning "nap" in the car on the way to drop D off at Joy School

-I got lost in the "Ghetto" trying to find an auto parts store to buy new light bulbs for my brake lights (seriously GPS systems should post the crime rate in the areas you have to drive through so you can drive through the safer ones. I hate getting lost here)

-After installing said brake lights I shut the trunk with my keys inside and because I was in the Ghetto my car was locked. The lady that was helping me asked me "well are any of your windows cracked?" Yeah right! I want my car to be there when I return.

-Maggie had on no shoes because I was just "running" in to buy the bulbs and was sick of putting them back on her feet

-I waited at Pep Boys with a bare foot child for another 45 mins before someone could come unlock my car (we didn't get a spare when we bought it).

This all happened before 11 in the morning. My afternoon was a little more mild with only one mess party as Daniel put it. You can look at my Facebook for pictures of that party. I had (before all this happened) told David that I didn't mind him going on splits with the missionaries that night which meant he wasn't going to be home until after 8.

I enjoyed every single bite of those Reese's Hearts(not the tums I had to take 30 mins later) Hopefully I never have to post a picture of a 4 egg day.

I just needed to get that off my chest so that I could have a better day today. My kids have already been up for an hour and I've just made them stay in their beds because 5:30 is not an acceptable time to wake up.

Today is going to be better because I'm going to be better. I'm going to be more patient and kinder and laugh at the things that happen.

Thanks for letting me complain a little.

HERE'S TO A BETTER DAY FOR ALL OF US.

After I went back and read through it I felt a little silly complaining about the events that took place yesterday morning. So I added this to my post:

***Update(5 mins after original post):

Now that I write this down it doesn't seem all that bad. I was taken care of and there are hidden blessings in each of those "trials" like

-Maggie took a nap so she was happy for that 45 mins.

-I had a GPS to get me to my destination

-I didn't get shot while in the ghetto and my car didn't get stolen.

-I was stuck at a place where people were nice to me and didn't mind my crazy barefoot child running around.

-My insurance covered the cost of the Pop a Lock services.

I guess there are always two ways to look at your day. A 4 Reese's day should turn into a celebration for all the blessings I've been given, not just surviving the crazy.

It's all about perspective. I have been told countless times through out my life and by a countless number of people that I need to focus on the good in life. It even says that in my Patriarchal blessing. This is probably the hardest thing for me. It is so natural to look at the bad because it's everywhere. It's so easy to feel sorry for myself when I've had a bad day and complain. It's so easy to miss all the little blessings that come daily from my Father in Heaven.

So I am making a goal for myself to change my perspective. Instead of looking at my day and all the things that went wrong and how hard it was, I'm going to focus on all that went right. All the good that happened. That also goes for the good that I've done. I'm imperfect, we all are and I really am good at focusing on my imperfections. I tried to write a list the other day about my strengths, something I've been told I need to focus on, and I couldn't come up with anything. I know I have talents and strengths but I rarely think of them. I could list off all the things I'm really bad at easy.

I let Satan take over far too much. I want to be closer to my Father in Heaven and My Savoir. I want to be a better wife for David and mom for my children. I want to be a better person for myself.

Beach

In NOLA we hibernate in the Summer. It is so miserably hot and the humidity is killer. Luckily we are blessed with days like today before that horrible ones. We spent the morning at the beach, just the kids and I and it was so much fun! I really am a lucky mom to have these two in my life.

If Maggie only knew how vulnerable D was...

Temple

Today we were able to make a family trip up to the Baton Rouge Temple. Its a nice 1 hour drive over the swamp and through a beautiful neighborhood with dreamy house and property. The temple is TINY! Our ward provided babysitting which means we were able to do a session together while our kids were well taken care of at the church across the parking lot. Its so nice to be able to go to the Temple and refresh. We left our house at 7:30 and didn't get home till 1:3o. Nothing like driving 3/4 blocks and dropping the kids off at Grandma and Grandpas.