Wishing for Spring!

I can't believe I haven't posted since the beginning of March! I just uploaded all the pictures from our camera and it had been about 4 weeks since I had done it so there were a lot and they were so much fun to see!

Those of you in the more normal part of the United States are enjoying the arrival of spring-in Wisconsin however, we just pretend that it is spring. For example, last week when it was 38 degrees and sunny out, me and Nathan decided to go outside and wash the car! Every day if it reaches 40 we are wearing short sleeves and head out to ride our bikes (with jackets on of course). This is just sick and wrong. But talk to me next January when I am living in a wonderful place where the average LOW in JANUARY is in the 40s. The LOW and we are enjoying it as our highs in March! Don't get me wrong though, I am going to miss Madison so much. And anyway, who could be sad in this weather when they have that cute smile to look at each day. <----------------------

Dallen is a smiling and cooing machine lately. He is a really happy and mellow guy when his tummy is feeling good. I have cut dairy out of my diet as much as possible and it makes a big difference for him. I still eat some dairy but avoid ice cream, milk or meals that are heavy on dairy-oh and tomato sauce too-and he spits up and fusses much less. I think chocolate may be giving him gas but he may just have to deal with that one. I don't know if I can give up chocolate!

By the way, I do in fact love my other boys, I just haven't taken any pictures of them lately. And I figure that is ok because look at me! I have pictures of the THIRD kid. I am determined to not have way less pictures of him than the others.

Things have been good lately. It really is nice to be able to go out and ride bikes in the afternoons. They are so much happier when they can get outside. We will really love it when we can start going to parks-hopefully in the next few weeks.

Josh will start writing his thesis in about a week. I am looking forward to that because he will just go to the library each day to write meaning a 5 minute commute instead of 45 or so.

I am trying to think of what else we have been up to in March. We had a fun Easter-me and the boys threw an Easter party at our house. Twenty some odd kids and about 9 moms (and that was with 3-4 moms unable to come). I think I got a little carried away on the inviting but it was fun. We also had a cookie dough eggroll party for my birthday-that was really fun-and yummy!

Oh and great news-this past week Dallen finally learned how to put himself to sleep without help (he doesn't do it every time but does it frequently) and is sleeping pretty well at night! Yay!

A friend of mine posted a picture of each of her kiddos on her blog with a little bit about each kid and I thought it was a great idea, so here you go:

NATHAN:

Nathan is our little imagination boy-he is never just Nathan-he is Larry Boy, he is a king, he is a bulldozer or racecar. He has a whole wardrobe of costumes to help with his characters but if he has no costume he just creates one himself. I have given up on folding the clothes in his drawer because he just sifts through them to find what he needs anyway. In the picture he is a "space guy" driving his space ship. He is a thinker and loves to learn and ask questions. He loves to help around the house. He is very musical-he can memorize a song after hearing it just a few times and can even sing harmony sometimes! I love to just sit and talk with Nathan-sometimes we sit and color together and just talk and talk.

JACK:

If I don't say the words "loves trains" in the first sentence I won't be describing Jack. Jack LOVES trains. All he thinks about is Thomas the Tank Engine, the Polar Express, Bullet Trains and any other kind of train he has ever seen. If you ask him what his favorite thing to do with mom is-"play trains." How about with Nathan? "Play trains." With daddy? You guessed it-"play trains." He is also a little ball of fun. The kid has a temper and a strong opinion that he is not afraid to use, but if he is happy, he is nothing but fun! He gets so excited about things and has a ton of enthusiasm for life. Our home wouldn't be the same without his fun energy!


DALLEN:

Today was Dallen's blessing day-he looked so handsome in his little Tuxedo and he was so good during the blessing. I can't say that I know too much about Dallen yet. I can't wait to get to know him better and better as time passes and his personality emerges. Josh bless him that he would be strong and have courage to face challenges (his middle name-Andrew-means strong and courageous). I think he is going to be a tender hearted little guy who will bring peace and love to our home. But only time will tell. At this point we know he is happy (learned to smile by about 3.5 weeks) and patient (his brothers are all over him and he doesn't seem to mind). He has had-we think-a sensitivity to dairy since he was born and yet he is rarely fussy. I love the little guy so much already!

So those are my three boys. Happy day-Dallen has learned to sleep! It took 6 weeks but we are finally getting some decent sleep. He is still up fairly frequently in the night but then he eats quickly and goes back to sleep. We are in heaven! Especially Josh since he doesn't even have to get up at all. We aren't sure what has made the difference. I have cut dairy out (bummer-no ice cream!) and we moved him from his cradle to the crib mattress to see if he might like that better and all of a sudden he is sleeping well. That is wonderful!

Everything else is going pretty well here. I took a beading class yesterday and made my own bracelet and I just love it! Maybe I have found a new hobby. The weather still stinks. Today was in the 40s and that was fantastic, but it is supposed to snow several times this coming week. Have I mentioned we are moving to San Diego? :) But at least it has been warm enough to let Nathan and Jack play outside sometimes (in the 30s). I will end with a cute picture of Nathan out in the snow!