8 Months and 6 Kids

My baby is 8 months. He is still the happiest little guy. He has the cutest smile with his two teeth and he scoots backwards to get places - sort of silly, but very cute. He is still on the small side for my kids. He is in the 11th percentile for weight and the 12th percentile for height. He loves to play and talk and eat. He is wonderful. WE LOVE YOU, G-BABY!

G-Baby at 8 months!

Spunky at 8 months!

Bubba at 8 months!

A quick funny Bubba story:
We played Candy Land and Hungry Hungry Hippos this morning. When Bubba drew one Candy Land card and saw the gumdrop, his eyes got HUGE and in a hushed voice, he said, "Oh, mommy! Look! I want to eat that for dinner." We'll see. :-)

We had a busy 4 days - we had three extra kiddos while my friends went to Mesa to interview for PA school. So, we had the following ages: 7, 5, 4, 3 (almost), 2, and 8 months! It was very loud, very messy, and very busy, but very fun. We played at the rec center, went to lunch, made cupcakes for Mrs. Wrhel, played with lots of toys, went shopping, dressed up, played with the dog, and more. I was grateful for very well behaved children, and I was a little bit tired yesterday! Here are a few pictures:

Quote of the Day: "Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling snow during a blizzard". -Author Unknown-

Christmas Bells Are Ringing...

It has been a fun couple of weeks. My 27th birthday, tree decorating, playing at Grandma's house, and more. I have had a crazy two days or so - I had a really big project for work and I have been working on it for about 90% of my days...my poor neglected children. Luckily, they have had their friends over to keep them busy. I am getting so excited for Christmas. I love this time of year...

Quote of the Day: "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." -Charles Dickens-

Thanksgiving Break 2

One story I nearly forgot to tell: The Getting Stuck Story.

When we went sledding, we saw some smoke, so my husband being an investigative person, thought we should check it out. Sounded fine to me. We got to the smoke and realized it was not a bad thing - the Forest Service was burning slash. So we discovered the cause of the smoke, let's head out, yes? Except my dear hubby drove a little further. And I said, "Don't drive any further! We will get stuck." He said, "We won't get stuck." We had already watched our friends, the Robertsons, drive away and I didn't want to be there all day...anyway, we drove a little further. And I said, "Don't drive any further! We will get stuck." He said, "We won't get stuck."Then we got stuck. Not because the snow was too deep, but it was pure ice and we couldn't get the traction we needed to move. Luckily, Robertsons came looking for us and helped us get unstuck. Of course, then THEY got stuck after helping US get UNSTUCK. So we helped them get unstuck. Thank you, Robertsons, for still being friends with us after that...and thank you hubby for promising to LISTEN TO YOUR WIFE. :-) Hee hee...

Thanksgiving Break

We had a fun Thanksgiving Break that included sledding with the Robertsons, Thanksgiving at Papa and Grandma Donna's house, and Christmas tree cutting. It was wonderful spending time with friends and family. We had a great time!Daddy and Bubba

Jenna and Spunky

The pheasant hunters victorious!

Watching the parade...

Throwing snowballs at Mom...

Base camp

Pretty in pink!

Cutting a tree...

Cold and happy boy!

I am grateful for so many things: my wonderful husband, my healthy and happy children, my supportive and loving family, fantastic friends, the gospel of Jesus Christ, our free country, our warm home and clothing, food, jobs, vehicles, and countless other blessings.

Quote of the Day: "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Midnight Madness

Well, I actually don't think it was madness...it was pure fun! After this last week, we decided that it was time to get out for a little while! My mom, best friend, and I had a girls night last night and went to "New Moon". We put the kids down at my parent's house and went to dinner at Red Lobster and then to the movie. Dinner was wonderful - I ate several cheese biscuits, of course. We got to the theater at 10:00 pm and they were already seating for the movie! We got some great seats, and proceeded to wait for the next two hours. It was frightening for about 5 minutes because they couldn't get the movie to work! I was getting a little feisty...and my mom was going to go and FIX IT, but luckily they got it going. It was a fun movie - just like the books. Believe me, I didn't go to see Oscar-winning performances and I don't read the books for an intense literary experience. I will borrow a line from Oprah - "It is 'delicious' reading." Just a little treat - not a heavy meal. I read it like I am 14 and watch the movie the same way. It is just fun. Thanks Mom and Sarah! And also, thanks to my Dad who stayed at home with my kiddos and got to hang out with a crying baby for a while. I really appreciate it!

Before the show...

Yummy dinner!

Waiting in anticipation!

After the show, by the poster.
We were trying to show the time on the cell phone - 2:27 am!
We are such rock stars...

Grammy

Grace Georgia Gasson
1-27-1919 to 11-15-2009

We love you and will miss you.
We are glad that you are with Grandpa Gus again!

Emotions

Spunky and Bubba were deciding what movie they got to watch for the day. It is a very involved process and Spunky really wanted WALL-E because she got to watch it at Grandma's house and thinks it is awesome. Bubba wanted to watch something else, so Spunky said, "Bubba, here are your choices. You can either hide or you can watch it." (I wonder where she has heard that phrase - (Insert name), here are your choices. AND, they both worked out in her favor, which is something I always do!)

Also, I was washing her hair and she said, "MOM! I am trying to use my imagination and when you wash my hair, my imagination moves up and down!"

Lately, I have been a bit emotional. If you have read my work blog, The Home Place, you may know that my Dad's mom (Grammy) is dying. She is pretty much living on borrowed time and I've been expecting "the call" since Tuesday. Also, hubby has been working A LOT of overtime - and though I know this will look great in the bank account, it has been just me and the kids together. Consequently, I have been a little more emotional lately - actually, it has mostly translated into crankiness. My poor family. Yesterday, it sort of came to a head when I was outside shoveling our driveway. I shoveled our neighbors and then I did ours, so I had been going for a while. The snow was piling up faster than I could shovel it. I was getting a bit tired and I had two kiddos inside and I could hear an argument heating up. I also had one watching me from the garage in his exersaucer and he was screaming. Not because he was cold, but because I wasn't holding him. I was in the middle of a BIG snowpile and lifted my shovel - it didn't work. All the snow fell off and the shovel handle came up and wacked me in the face. That was it - the straw that broke the camel's back (and by camel's back, I mean me). I started bawling. Bubba came outside and for the first time in his almost three years saw Mommy crying. He asked, "Mommy? Are you crying?" I replied,"Yes, sweetie, I am. Mom hurts right now." He didn't say anything, but walked back inside. A few minutes later, my sweet little boy came outside in his boots, coat and hat, picked up the other shovel and began shoveling. He didn't say a word, he just shoveled. Another minute later, Spunky came out in her gear, picked up a broom and started sweeping. I cried a little more because of the pure sweetness of these little people. Then, I dried my tears and hugged my children. Bubba said, "Mom? Are you not sad anymore?" It was a great moment in the history of the Bade house. I think I needed that cry. It was more of a release of pent up something than anything else. And if you are wondering, my lip has returned to its normal size.

Spunky had a pajama/popcorn/movie day at school because they filled their marble jar. (They get marbles for doing what they are asked, being good citizens, etc.) G-baby hung out while hubby and I raked and he also had some solid food for the first time.

Quote of the Day: "Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see life with a clearer view again." -Alex Tan-