Fun Weekend!

This weekend my sister-in-law Cammie had her sweet little baby and almost all the Wright's came to Seattle to visit and get their baby fill. Rob & Jaynee and their kids; Logan, 7 Hailey 4 and Hudson 1 (he's one week older than Quinn) stayed the weekend with us. We had so much fun. Their kids are SO cute! Hudson is SUCH a little cuddle bug. When he woke up saturday morning he sat on my lap and loved me for probably ten minutes. My kids would NEVER do that! I ate it up. I'm so glad that our kids play so well together and that we live close enough that they will know and love each other. My kids all have a special bond with all their cousins and I'm so thankful for their friendships and for the examples that the older ones set.

Here are most of them. Hailey, Gracie, Logan, Collin & Hudson in the back

This is Hudson doing a Barbie's hair :)

Blog Burnout?

Anyone else ever experience this? It's good to be back.

Fer Cuuuute

Seriously, are these the cutest things that you have ever seen? They are hand made by my friend Desiree, she is so talented. You can get them here: http://www.kylerskozies.blogspot.com/ I love the christmas ones! I think I will be getting both my girls a pair right away!

Gracie Girl

Last tuesday I was sitting in the living room dusting while the kids were playing behind me. The slider was open but I was just not paying that much attention to what the kids were doing. Collin walked up to me and said, "Gracie just fell off there," and pointed to the deck. I looked out there, saw the chair pushed up to the edge and my stomach dropped. I ran over and looked over the edge and sure enough Gracie was laying in a little heap 15 feet below. By the time I sprinted down to her she was getting up onto her knees so I grabbed her and ran back upstairs. I called 911 and in the mean time she was screaming and rolling around on the couch. The fire department got there in less than three minutes and the emt got there in less then ten. After they told me which hospital they were taking her to I called Mark who raced to meet us there. They put a neck brace on her and strapped her onto a board and loaded her into the ambulance.

My neighbor watched Collin and Quinn while I rode with Gracie down to Harborview. I was SO scared because the emt told me that her stomach felt rigid and that she might have internal bleeding. My dad walked up to the hospital from the jail and met me there, and I'm so grateful that he was there to support me because I felt like I was going to pass out. My mom got off work early and went and took the kid's to my friend Carly's, and then she headed down. Cammie, Owen, Scott and Danny also went down to the hospital to support us. I am so grateful for good family and friends who love us and who really came through in our time of need.

After a few hours of tests and MRI's and x-rays they determined that she had no broken bones or anything. They did keep her overnight as a precaution. We got to the hospital at about 2:30, she was cleared around 5:30 and then they reeled us into a little room where Mark and I took turns sitting on a swivel stool and then standing until 11:30 until a room in pediatrics became available. When we finally got upstairs I could barely hold my head up, and then dr's and nurses came in every few hours and woke us up to run more tests. Poor Gracie had to sleep with a neck brace on which was really bugging her plus she had two IV's in, one on her arm and one on her hand which were causing her a lot of pain.

The cute girls in our apartment complex made Gracie cards and gave her some of their toys, which was so cute! Gracie loved them and they definitely cheered her up. While in the hospital she would wake up and immediately ask "where's my card?" Gracie is doing great now. She just has a little bruising and soreness on her back, which breaks my heart! Our family is so thankful to family and friends for all of their love and support. We are espescially grateful to our Heavenly Father for protecting Gracie, that she wasn't seriously hurt and for the knowledge that He loves and cares for us and that his hand is present in our lives.

Q IS FOR QUILT

My mother-in-law is so talented and makes the most gorgeous quilts. She has made a beautiful baby quilt for each one of my kids and I LOVE them all. I know she wants me to let the kids use them but I just can't bring myself to do it, so I've hung them all above their beds. I just got Quinn's in the mail. Isn't it sweet? I love the little bits of yellow.

Collin's quilt has 21 star patches! That is something like 16 pieces cut and fit together perfectly for each star!

Gracie's quilt has probably been the most time consuming of all the quilts Joy has made for the grandkids, but oooh how I love it! I feel a little bit guilty because I told her that I wanted a Sunbonnet Sue quilt for Gracie, but I didn't know how much work it was going to be. I don't think Joy knew either or else she would have told me "no way"! Each Sunbonnet Sue was hand appliqued on. There are little buttons and bows on each square. It is really my favorite.

These pictures really do not do the quilts justice but they give you some idea of how beautiful they really are. I know that they "technically" aren't mine but they are some of the very few material things that I actually care about.

I Love you, Stinky Face

One of my absolute favorite children's books is I Love You, Stinky Face. It is so sweet. Here is my version.

Mama said, "I love you, my wonderful child." But Quinn had a question.

Mama, what if you cleaned the car out for an hour with me inside. I had the keys but you left the tail gate open the entire time just in case. Then when you got all done you shut the tail gate and I locked the doors before you could walk to the side door to let Gracie in. Would you still love me then?

"If you locked yourself in the car with the car keys, then I would call the police to come and get you out. And in the mean time I would play peek-a-boo and blow funny faces onto the window so that you wouldn't get scared. And then an hour later, when they finally got the door unlocked, I would take you in my arms and give you lots of hugs and kisses and tell you, 'I love you, Stinky Face.'"

But Mama, but Mama, what if everytime you turned around I had climbed up on top of the table or what if everytime the bathroom door got left open I climbed up into the sink? What if every time you didn't get me down from the high chair fast enough I climbed out and stood on top of the tray?

"Then I would run over to you (after I took a picture) and get you down. I would tell you 'NO, NO' and I might even give you a spanking because I would be scared to death that one day you would fall and crack your head open. And then I would tell you in my serious, low toned, Super Nanny voice that you cannot climb up on things because it's dangerous, and then I would say 'I love you Stinky Face.'"

But Mama, what if I screamed at the top of my lungs if I couldn't have everything my brother and sister have. What if I threw myself down on the floor if you told me no?

"Then I would walk away from you, and I would deffinitely not give you what you wanted. I would not hug or kiss you. I would not tell you and I would probably not even be thinking, 'I love you Stinky Face', although I would know that you deffinitely ARE a Stinky Face.

"But even when I don't tell you, please know that I do and will always love you. There is nothing you could ever do to change that. My happiness is innertwined with yours and your joy is mine and your tears are mine. I can't imagine my life without you in it and I am so grateful to be your mama. I love you Stinky Face!"

Close call for Polly Pocket

As I was picking up toys the other day I noticed this round hard thing in a dinosaurs mouth. I started getting curious wondering what the heck it could be.

So, after taking a knife and prying it out it ended up being a Polly Pocket doll. I'm glad that Collin is making sure his toy dinosaurs are well fed!