Kaitlyn Elizabeth Chisholm

On April 7th we headed into the hospital to have this little girl.  Doug and I arrived at the hospital at about 7am and for some reason expected a quick delivery.  She decided to take her sweet time and wasn't born until 9:15 that evening.  Kaitlyn was 6lbs 14oz and 20 inches long (my biggest baby).  Her delivery was similar to Dallin's, so I will have a lot of recovering to do.  We are so thankful for this little girl and happy to have a healthy baby.  Dallin leaned over to me this morning and said while looking at Kaitlyn, "It's fun having a baby isn't it?"  It really is and we have enjoyed her so much.  The kids both love to hold her the only difference is my trust level with each.  Dallin I can completely trust.  Every time I turn around Brooke is trying to pick Kaitlyn up or is hugging a little to tight or giving her kisses all over her tiny face.  She loves her a bit too much at times.  In fact this morning Brooke asked me if she could hold her, but not the normal way...on her back! 

She looks a lot like Brooke...definitely a Chisholm.

We survived the first week thanks to Grandma.

I wasn't expecting her to enjoy her first bath, but she loved it.  At one point I thought she was going to fall asleep she looked so relaxed.

Dallin thinks that he is an expert on babies and we have laughed over many of the conversations that we have overheard between Dallin and Brooke.  This new baby is fun, but a little confusing at times.

Dallin: "Brooke, just make sure you don't touch the babies eyes.  They pop out real easy."

During my pregnancy I was sitting at the table with the kids.  We each had a cookie and I said, "Wow...the baby sure likes these cookies, she's moving everywhere."  Brooke: "Oh, she gets the crumbs of your cookie?"  Dallin: "No, she has a really long tongue!"

Dallin came in while I was feeding the baby and as I attempted to cover up a bit he said, "Oh, so that's how the baby eats now?  She just bites your stomach and sucks out some of your food?"  And the terrible mom that I am just nodded my head and sent him on his way.

Brooke: "Dallin told me that he knows a secret way to talk to babies.  I tried it, but it didn't work.  He says 'goo goo ga ga'."

Dallin to his cousin Mason:  "Our baby has long legs.  They are 10 inches."

Dallin: "Brooke, didn't you know babies don't have brains."

Dallin and Brooke were both upset that I wasn't going to church on Sunday.  I tried to explain that the baby was only born a few days before and I didn't want her to get sick.  I said that Moms usually stay home for the first few weeks. I thought he got it, but then he said, "Yeah, I get it mom...you just don't want her to get stage fright."

Love these kids!!

Aquarium

We decided to make one last trip to the aquarium and gardens before baby number 3.  It was actually an attempt to get things moving while giving the kids some entertainment.  The last few weeks of this pregnancy have not been fun and I have been in quite a bit of pain.  Walking usually seems to help, but this trip to the aquarium proved to be a mistake for me...I hobbled to the car after a ton of walking.  Doug was probably completely embarrassed, but the kids had tons of fun and wanted their picture taken with everything!!  So....lots of pictures.

The kids love the train!  They could watch it for hours.

I love their little conversations and jokes.  They love each other so much!

Cookie!

I can't get enough of this girl.  She has her own little language and such a fun personality.  She always introduces herself as "Brookie Cookie" and loves playing with Dallin and friends.  This past week she has been dancing and wrestling like crazy!  I have to get in on video before she stops.  Below is one of her dancing outfits...she insisted on having "Dallin's cool glasses" to dance.  She has some great moves!!

Brooke found a slip in a bag of clothes a friend had given us.  She loves it and thinks that it is the most beautiful dress she has ever seen.  I let her wear it around the house, but when we go out she has to change into regular clothes.  This is what I saw when we got back from the store...she had tucked it into her skirt and put a shirt over it, but couldn't bring herself to take it off.  Unfortunately the whole slip didn't make it into her skirt! This slip has been her main outfit at home for weeks now!

Fun quotes to remember:  Brooke: "This DVD has an itch on it." (it was scratched)
             Brooke: "What animals make apples?"

The Office

Doug has been waiting for about 6 months for his new dental office to open.  Everytime I tried to ask what he wanted for Christmas, he always said that all he wanted was his office.  He was finally able to open the doors on December 13th.  It was a great day and for the first week or so I couldn't get him to work normal hours.  He was always going in early or staying late.  It was so exciting for him and we are so proud of all the hard work that he has done to get to this point.  He loves his job...in fact it's hard for him to understand why anyone would do anything else.  Congratulations Dr. Chisholm!!

Is she really 4?

Brooke turned 4 this month!  Doug and I can't believe how quickly she is growing up.  We love that girl so much and are so thankful to have her fun personality in our family.  She wanted to see Tangled for her birthday so we took her that afternoon and then had cake and icecream that night.  It was a great day for her and she was so excited to turn 4.

Christmas 2011

I was so excited this year for Christmas!  My entire family was together for the first time in quite a while and I didn't even have to travel to see them!  My parents flew down with James, and Amanda and Kurt drove over from Phoenix.  I think it helped to have both Julie and I living in the same city.  I hope we can get them down here more often since we have double the pull. 

Dallin and Brooke love Uncle James and Uncle Kurt!  Those two watched my kids all morning while Doug worked and I went shopping with my mom and sisters.  When I came home the dishes were done, floor swept, and they had played in the backyard with the kids and made gingerbread houses.  The best babysitters I have ever had!!!

My parents were slightly addicted to the Wii during Christmas.  My mom shocked us all with her baseball skills and even her interest in all the games.  James took the high score in basketball and Doug has been spending all of his free time trying to get back on top.  It was a blast and I know Doug was glad to have someone in my family wanting the TV on so that I wouldn't stop him from playing so much.  It was a great break for us all.

Mary and a wise man.

We spent Christmas Eve at Julie's house.  She made a wonderful dinner and Russ prepared a great Nativity for the kids.  It was a lot of fun and very entertaining.

That night my parents gave the kids their Christmas presents.  The sleeping bags were a huge hit and they were so excited to be able to sleep in them that night.

This year for Christmas we tried to focus our gifts on emergency preparedness.  We tried to use a lot of our food storage before moving and since we've spent every year of our marriage paying for school, we just haven't been able to get prepared the way we need to be.  Doug and I tried to get a few things to get us going, but both of our parents helped by getting us things that we could use as well.  Really....it was the Christmas of Doug's dreams.  We got sleeping bags, a tent, camping tools, and Doug's favorite- a camp stove.  My mom and dad have a Volcano stove in their emergency stuff and thought we could use one.  Doug was thrilled!  He opened it up Christmas afternoon and was grilling up everything in the kitchen.  The kids had fun making eggs, marshmallows, and hot chocolate. Since Christmas Doug has used his new grill a couple of times a week!

We had so much fun with family and it was hard to send everyone off.  I hope we can have more of these fun get togethers now that we are all a little bit closer.  It was a perfect holiday!!

Holiday Cooking

My kids and I were very excited for the holidays so that we could start making some of our favorite recipies.  We had tons of fun trying lots of new dishes this year and loved keeping some traditions from past seasons.  One of our favorite this year was Rocky Mountain bars and Cinnamon Bread.  I probably made these on a weekly basis to take places and enjoy at home.  By the time Christmas came Dallin and Brooke new the recipies by heart! I'm so thankful to kids that love being in the kitchen with me.

Kids

Doug made the kids mango shakes and as they were drinking them I overheard Dallin say to Brooke, "Dad gave us these to freeze our brains!"

We got our first phone call on our home phone after moving and Dallin said, "Who was that?" I replied that it was just a lady about our insurance.  Dallin leaned over to Brooke and said, "Looks like we have our first customer."

Dallin: "Which tooth is my sweet tooth?"

Brooke: "Why do all really old people talk quiet? Will I talk quiet when I get old?"

Mom: "What have you been up to Dallin?" Dallin: "Oh, I was just upstairs inventing growbots.  They help things grow faster."

Dallin was telling us a story today and I couldn't help but laugh.  He said, "There once was a little boy and girl who dreamed of being the king and queen.  Their dream came true and they were the king and queen and could do whatever they wanted.  The old king and queen became kids and couldn't do anything."

We were on a walk and heard an icecream truck.  I didn't remember ever having them in Florida, but Dallin seemed to know what it was.  He said, "Look Brooke...an icecream truck."  I thought she would be really excited but instead she started to cover her ears and said, "Is it broken?"

Dallin: "Is it the North of July?"

Brooke loves to rub my belly at night and talk to her baby sister.  After laying on my stomach for a while she got up and said, "I think the baby is sleeping...or maybe making dinner."

Our First Snow!!

It snowed this week and the kids were so excited!!!  It was their first snow storm and they couldn't wait to get outside.  I missed the seasons in Florida, but I thought it was mostly Fall that I missed and I could do without all the snow.  I realized today that I have missed all the seasons.  The snow made it feel like the start to the season and really helped us all get in the Christmas spirit.  The only problem that I'm having is keeping warm clothes on my kids.  I keep catching them outside in flip flops and shorts.  I was able to convince them into warm clothes the first time because they were new, but now the novelty has warn off and they have gone back to what they are used to...their Florida gear.  I'm going to have to hide all the summer stuff!

 

After Doug came back inside the kids stayed out building more little snowmen.  Off course we had to have a family with a dad, mom, brother, sister, and baby!

A Little Music

Dallin and Brooke love to sing and a ward member has a little singing group that she does out of her home.  We signed the kids up and they have had fun learning Christmas songs and performing over the last several weeks.  Doug and I were very entertained!  My favorite performance was at an elderly home.  It was fun to see the kids interact with the residence and Doug was swarmed at the end by all the old ladies.  They loved him just as much as the kids!!

Turkey in Albuquerque

This year for Thanksgiving Doug was able to convince his parents and little sister to come down.  We were so excited to have company and enjoy the holidays with family.  Everyone flew in Thanksgiving morning and we ate a great feast.  It was my first full Thanksgiving dinner and I was excited and nervous to see the outcome.  It turned out great.  I was especially proud of the turkey.  I can't believe that I didn't get a picture of everyone at dinner, but it was great!

We spent the next few days hiking around albuquerque.  We started with a short hike up the volcanoes behind our house.  It was perfect weather and great to be outside. The next day we were a bit more ambitious and headed about an hour north to Tent Rocks.  It was a great hike with so many beautiful views.

 

 

Later that weekend we were able to enjoy time at home resting, going to movies, playing games, and having a poor mans bon fire in the backyard.  It was a great Thanksgiving and we are so thankful that we were able to share it with family.

We also made a quick trip to the aquarium with Grandma Maggie and Papa Richie before they had to leave.