Atwood's Adventures

My baby is one!!

2009-03-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

One year ago - my kids all together finally!
My sweet baby!

Lindsey - one year old! She is still just as sweet and happy as the day I had her. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. Not a day goes by when I don't smile and think about how lucky I am to have her as a daughter. This year has totally flown by, I think it is because we have enjoyed every second!

Lindsey loves...

2009-03-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

to take all the DVD's off the shelves

eat Pizza

and have books read to her!

Clear Creek

2009-03-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

Lauren doing one of the activities at Clear Creek

Lauren and her friends

Lauren outside our cabin

Lauren had her 5th grade school camp at Clear Creek the beginning of March. She really wanted me to go and so since I LOVE the snow, I volunteered to go. I made sure to NOT bring an snow clothes so that I wouldn't have to help outside. I was able to stay inside and help with math games for 4 hours as the girls rotated stations. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Lauren and see her interact with her friends. I also got to know some of the other moms. Which eventually led me to be an assistant Stake Girls Camp Director, this June. (The director was there with her daughter and in a conversation mentioned how much I LOVE (which I really do) Girls Camp. We also got school food - corn dogs, frozen burritos and much more "yummy" food. Bryan held down the fort while I was gone and came home to a clean home and happy kids and husband! He would stay home and do that anyday then go to work!

What we have been up to...

2009-03-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

Lindsey enjoying the nice warm weather - at least for that day! March 2nd

Tyler started piano lessons with Kelly in March. He loves it and is doing well.

Not surprised...

2009-01-23T20:58:00.001-08:00

This is what happens when Lindsey plays in her crib after her nap...

The brown "blanket" in her crib is actually the canopy from the crib.

She pulled it down. Now it just stays down unless we are showing the
house and then we put it up. I wondered how long it was going to last. Oh well.

2009-01-23T20:32:00.000-08:00

Bryan and Matthew with David Bonetto. Bryan and Matthew's

middle name is David, after this David. He is Bryan's dad good

friend. They live in Fresno and we wanted Matthew to meet his

namesake. We hope Matthew realizes the wonderful man

he is named after.

Bryan's brother Mike, in Fresno

Bryan with his nephew Mike in Fresno

Lindsey with her cousin Lincoln. He is 6 months

older than her.

Bryan and the kids playing Rock Band. It was a gift from Santa.

2009-01-23T20:23:00.000-08:00

The kids opening their DS's

Lindsey trying to figure out this wrapping paper thing!

Enjoying her 1st Christmas

The 3 kids showing their new PJ's.
Lindsey fell alseep on the way home from Grandma's on

Christmas Eve and I wasn't waking her up to open PJ's.

Lindsey on Christmas Eve

Catch Up...

2009-01-23T20:10:00.000-08:00

I figured I better post something since it has been awhile. We had a great Christmas and enjoyed having Bryan home for most of the kids vacation. The day after Christmas we left for California. I was dreading the drive for 2 reasons - Lindsey in the car for 12 hours plus stops and then the weather. It was snowing when we left Friday morning but stopped soon after. The roads weren't that great till after Cedar City. The kids were GREAT. Not sure if it was the new Christmas presents ( the three older kids got Nintendo DS's ) and new DVD's to watch or they were just easy going that day. Lindsey had her 9 month check the week before and got the go ahead to go front facing in her car seat!! Yea! I am not exaggerating when I say she was fussy for about 5 minutes TOTAL all the way to Fresno. It took us 13 1/2 hours to get there. It was one of our best drives yet! We had fun in Fresno visiting with family. Bryan's brother, nephew and aunt and cousins live there. My parents, sister and her family and brother and his family all still live there. We took the kids to Christmas Tree Lane to see where Mom and Dad met for the first time back in 1991, and visited our favorite eating places! We left for home on Friday Jan 2nd. We didn't' get out of town till 1:30pm California time, 2:30 Utah time. We made it to St. George and stayed the night there. Lindsey was getting FOUR more teeth in and it made for a long drive. It also gave Bryan an excuse to have In and Out one more time, since we only had it ONCE in Fresno. We made it home late afternoon on Saturday. It was nice to be home in our owns beds! The kids also had fun playing with their new toys.

It isn't letting me add pictures, I will do it later.

More pictures...

2008-12-21T15:07:00.000-08:00

Lauren and Lindsey in their Christmas dresses

This is what Matt did with his fries, istead of eating them!

Matt and Lindsey hanging out

Lauren and Tyler with Santa at the ward Christmas party
(Matt wanted NOTHING to do with him)

This is what Lindsey thought of Santa...

Christmas 2008

2008-12-21T14:49:00.000-08:00

Decorating the tree

Tyler and the boy cousins having a sleepover and playing Wii

Lindsey with one of her favorite cousins, Kierstin

We have had a busy December! It doesn't help that the house is still on the market and we have showed it a few times this month. That is really stressful for me. It will be a fun Christmas since it is Lindsey's FIRST! She turns 9 months on Christmas Eve. We can't believe how big she is! She is so much fun to have around. She is getting her 4th tooth. She can crawl and pull herself up to things. She loves Ritz crackers and fruity Cheerios! She can say Da - Da really well and waves and claps. She loves all the attention from the family.

Pictures from Lauren's recital...

2008-11-24T20:59:00.000-08:00

Lauren with her dance teachers :Lexi and Erika

Lindsey's surgery/Lauren's dance recital

2008-11-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

The Dr. marking her belly button before surgery.

We had a busy day today. Lindsey had her surgery to remove a little growth (papule) from the inside of her belly button. We went up to Primary Children's Hospital this morning for a 1:00pm surgery time. She couldn't have formula or solids after midnight and clear liquids up till 10:00am. She cried just about the whole way up to the hospital (40 minutes) and by the end I was crying too. She would look over at me in the car and reach for me. I am sure wondering why I wasn't giving her a bottle. I did ok till we got to the registration desk then I lost it again. Then did ok while we got her in her gown and slippers. They actually got her in a little early, which was nice. So at about 12:25 the anesthesiologist took her back. They let Bryan hold her as far as we could go and then he took her back. She didn't want to go to him and wouldn't let go of Bryan's jacket. Once again, I lost it. I am sure the people there were thinking wow - that baby must be having major surgery by looking at me! We waited till about 12:55 when the Dr. came in the waiting room and told us everything went well. We then had to wait till about 1:30 when they called us back to the recovery room. She already had 4 oz of glucose water and then they brought her 4 ozs of apple juice. She was fussy and we finally got her comfortable holding her and she fell asleep. They discharged her at 2:30 and we were on our way home. She was pretty alert as we were walking out the recovery room and all the nurses were telling us how cute she is. She fell asleep on the way home and slept for about another hour. Once she woke up you really couldn't tell she had surgery. She was standing and acting totally normal. Then later we had Lauren's dance recital. We were glad Lindsey was feeling ok. (Besides it being bed time)

Lauren did an AWESOME job along with the other girls her group. It was fun to watch them all perform together after watching Lauren dance around the house non stop for the past few months!!

For Grandma Devlin...

2008-11-23T18:23:00.000-08:00

Lindsey is wearing a dress that my mom bought for Lauren and we saved it in case we had another girl. Although it is a size 12 months... Lindsey is wearing it at 8 months!

More pictures...

2008-11-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

Here are the two more of the bedrooms. I still have one more to take and will get to that soon.

For sale...

2008-11-04T19:31:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are selling our house. I know we are crazy to do it in this market, but we feel like we need to try. Our offer was accepted for a house up the street from us. So we will stay in the same neighborhood, school and ward. We love the area too much to leave. To save on making tons of color copies, I will post the pictures from the flyer in the next day or so. We are asking $277,000. It is 3030 sq. feet. 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. The total square footage for the lot is 8000.

I hate this part...

2008-10-07T07:34:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I decided that I was going to make Lindsey cry it out at night. I have helped her form some bad habits, and now we had to break them. She used to sleep through the night and we needed to get her back to it. She was getting up every 3 hours the last few weeks. So, I made sure she had enough to eat and put her to bed at 8:45. I thought it would be easy because I put her down for her naps while she is still awake and she does just fine falling asleep on her own. So right as Bryan turned out the light at 11pm she started crying. I went in, gave her her binkie and went out. 55 minutes later she stopped. I checked on her twice to make sure she was ok. Throughout the night she woke up two more times, but only fussed off and on for 5 minutes. When Bryan went and got her out of bed this morning and brought her over to me, she juts starred at me! No smiles. Once she had her bottle, she was much happier and started smiling and talking. Hopefully night will be much better! I hate this, but know that it is for her good. (And mine!)

Interiors Redefined...

2008-09-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

Some of you have asked who it was the decorated some of the rooms in my house. Her name is Katie Christensen. She actually lives in Idaho, but is from Utah. Her blog is http://interiorsredefined.blogspot.com. You can see some of the cute rooms that she has done. She is awesome. She comes to Utah often since her family lives here, so if you are interested, let me know. She charges $35 an hour which is great!

Lindsey 6 months!

2008-09-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Lindsey turns 6 months this week. We decided to go to Thanksgiving Point and take some pictures of her. She is always so happy so it was easy to take these.

Lindsey at the Park!

2008-09-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Lindsey has been to the park behind our house several times. But this is the first time we put her on the swing. She LOVED it! - As you can see! After the swings, Lauren took her on the slide.

Tyler's first Pack Meeting

2008-09-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

Tyler started Cub Scouts when he turned 8. He had his first Pack Meeting on the 18th of September. The pictures are of him getting "branded" a Cub. He had seen this done before so unfortunately it was too surprised. Still he had lots of fun! He has really enjoyed scouts.

Matthew turns 5!

2008-09-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

Matty turned 5 on September 17th. He had preschool that day so he took cupcakes for all the kids. After preschool was over I took him to McDonald's and he got a kids meal. We picked up his Indiana Jones birthday cake and then went to Maggie Moo's. It is hard to be 5 and have to wait all day to celebrate, so I tried to do little things throughout the day to make it go faster. Matt wanted to have Dino Chicken and corn on the cob for his birthday dinner. I got off easy. The older kids either pick a restaurant or something that requires more time to make. He said he wanted corn on the cob because it is easier to eat - cause all the corn stays in one place! After dinner he opened presents and had cake and ice cream!

Trip to Cali!

2008-09-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

The beach at Laguna Hills
Bryan and I waiting in line at California Adventures

I tagged along with Bryan on his trip to Anaheim for work. We had a airline ticket that we had to use up so I was free! Bryan worked and I relaxed. I read my magazines by the pool and in our hotel room. Then when Bryan was done we would hang out. On Friday, my friend Heather Wallin picked me up and we went to Laguna Hills where she lives. We went shopping and had lunch. Afterwards we went to her house to see the kids and Zach. Years ago when they lived in Utah and Lauren and her daughter Madison were babies we hung out with them. Now both of us have 4 kids! It was lots of fun to see her kids and husband and spend the day with her. I totally forgot to get a picture of her and her family! After she dropped me off that night I went to a dinner with Bryan and his work at California Adventures. We had about 1 1/2 hours to go on the rides. We went on 2 rides and then went shopping for the kids. On Saturday after Bryan was done working at about 5:30pm we went to Disneyland. It was fun to go by ourselves, but I must admit, we missed having the kids! We went on all the rides we wanted to and did more shopping for the kids, ate dinner and came home at about midnight. The nice part of it was we didn't have kids to put to bed or to wake us up early! We slept in the next day and checked out Downtown Disney. That is a fun place! After that we headed to the airport at Long Beach. Our flight left at 6 pm. We were excited to see the kids. I was hoping that Lindsey would remember me. It took her a second and then she started smiling! I had never left one of our kids that young, but she was in good hands. Bryan's sister Cindy took care of her. Along with her 5 kids. Cindy's youngest is 8, so it has been awhile since she has had to get up in the middle of the night. I had complete trust in her. She is a wonderful mom! My sister Kim watched my kids and did a great job too! My kids love Aunt Kimmie. She is lots of fun and spoils them!

More baptism pics

2008-09-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Tyler with Aunt Kim

Bryan fell asleep listening to the post game show. Poor guy!

Tyler's Baptism

2008-09-06T07:54:00.000-07:00

Typical Tyler
Bryan's Grandparents
Bryan's parents
My parents

Tyler was baptized by his dad on September 6th. Papa and Grandma Devlin flew in the night before to be there. Grandma Devlin spoke at his baptism. Aunt Kim also came from Arizona. He had lots of family there to support him. We are thankful that we are surrounded by lots of family. After the baptism we came home for BBQ Tri Tip and watched the BYU game.

Tyler turns 8!!

2008-08-31T07:50:00.000-07:00

Tyler turned 8 years old on August 31st. It was his even year birthday which means he gets to have a friend party. I gave him the option of cash or a party. He opted for the cash! Easy for me. A trip to the store and several Pokemon cards later, the money was gone!

1st day of School!

2008-08-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

The kids before they left for the bus stop

Their 1st day after school snack waiting for them!

Lindsey...

2008-08-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

Lindsey has an eventful few weeks... She has learned to roll over... Got 2 bottom teeth (4 1/2 months!), and had her first prescription for a double ear infection. In addtion to the ear infection she has a "summer version" of RSV (great - winter isn't even here yet!) and broncilitis. Poor thing. She has been a tad fussy, but totally fine when being held or sitting out on the front steps!

Bike riding

2008-07-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

Bryan took the training wheels off Matt's bike. He has practiced 2 times with Bryan. He is getting pretty good.

Thanksgiving Point with friends...

2008-07-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

The week after we got back from Bear Lake we met up with my friend Susan and her family. They live in Centerville and we only see them once or twice a year. Susan and I have known each other since we were 2 years old. Our kids are all the same age which makes it fun!

Lindsey and Camryn

2008-07-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Lindsey and her cousin Camryn. Camryn is 8 weeks younger than Lindsey and lives in Draper. She is my sister Christa's daughter.

What we came home to...

2008-07-12T18:56:00.001-07:00

Lindsey's room

Katie (the girl that helps me decorate) came over on Saturday before we left and I showed her everything that I wanted done. All we had done with Lindsey's room is painted and put up the moulding, so I wanted to have that done. Also, Bryan and I finally got new furniture in our bedroom after 12 years of being married. I had found some pillows that I liked and she worked with that. We gave her our key and came home to two beautiful rooms and bathroom! Katie is so good at what she does. I LOVE everything she does. She totally worked with our "Target budget" and did a wonderful job.

Our room

2008-07-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

Our bathroom

more bathroom
Bedroom...

Here are pics from our room. We aren't totally done. We need to paint the walls and do the finishing touches.

Bear Lake Vacation

2008-07-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

The kids swimming in the pool at the townhouse where we stayed.

Matty eating lunch at the lake

The whole family (20 of us!) eating dinner at Lakeside Pizza
Lindsey in the lake with Bryan (the water was warm)

Our place on the lake

Since the bears have come out the last few years we haven't done our annual family camp. Last year we went to the beach in California, this year we went to Bear Lake. We had tons of fun! We got there on Monday afternoon and came home Saturday. We stayed an extra day along with Bryan's sisters family.

4th of July!

2008-07-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

Lindsey's first 4th of July!

Ali (cousin), Lindsey and Lauren

Lindsey watching the fireworks with Aunt Sheri (Bryan's sister)

We had a great 4th of July. Bryan's family came over for ribs that we BBQed. They were so yummy. Then we headed over to see the fireworks by Thanksgiving Point. We go to a grass area that is next to a church, lay out our blankets and we have a great view! Lindsey did great and loved looking at the fireworks.

Lehi Round Up Days 2008

2008-06-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

The mascot from the Utah Flash spraying Tyler with

Silly String

Jessica (Bryan's niece) in the parade. Colorguard for Lone Peak.

We went to all three parades this year for Round Up Days. Matthew came down with strep throat and missed the kids parade and the rodeo but was better (thanks to a shot in the bum) the next day for the big parade. The kids came home with tons of candy!

Blog it forward!

2008-06-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

I was part of Kandace's Blog It Forward (She made me 2 beautiful 12x12 digital scrapbook pages for Lindseys book!!) and so FINALLY I am getting around to doing it. (Truth is I haven't felt very crafty since having the baby) Here's how it works: the first three people to leave a comment saying they want to participate will receive a handmade gift from me within the next three months. The only stipulation is that you have to have a blog, so you can do the same, and you have to pay it forward by sending a handmade gift to three other people. So, who out there wants to pay it forward with me???

12 years!!

2008-06-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

Bryan and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary on Sunday the 22nd! We went to The Roof on Saturday night. We were going off of 2 hours of sleep from the night before, so we were tired! (We had gone to Girls Camp on Friday and got home at 3:30am Saturday morning, then had a yard sale at our house and Ty's baseball game) We were so tired driving home after dinner. Then on Sunday we took the kids up to temple square to see the temple we were married in, and walk around the grounds. We had a great time. I can't believe it has been 12 years! It has been the BEST years of my life!!

Trying out her swimsuit

2008-06-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

We went to the Children's Discovery Garden at Thanksgiving Point today. We decided we would bring Lindsey's swimsuit (Thanks to The Northrup's!) and see how she would like the water. She didn't like all the splashing, so we hung out on the blanket instead.

Matching Dresses

2008-06-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

I bought these dresses for the girls before Lindsey was born. Since they are 10 years apart, I am not sure how often I will find matching dresses. Lauren loves it now, but she may not in a few years!

Lindsey's Stroller Ride

2008-06-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

Lauren took Lindsey for a ride in her stroller this last week. We put her in without her carseat. I can't believe how big she is getting!

Lucky Husband = Lucky Me!!

2008-06-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Bryan went to his company's annual Vendor Golf Tournment in Midway. He has gone several years in the past and has loved it. They feed them really well and since he loves to golf it works out to be a great day off work! I had no idea that they have prizes to give away because he has never come home with them in the past. Well, that all changed yesterday. His group won of the smaller drawings which was a $30 Visa gift card for each of them. Then after they did all the smaller drawings, they put all the names back into the pot and drew for the big prize, which was a silver iPod Nano for everyone in your group ( 4 people) Well... Bryan's group won that too! So, lucky for me he already has an iPod which is nicer than the nano, so he gave it to me. Just last week I was wishing a had a nicer MP3 player. Mine is just a basic one with only one playlist. He got it all set up for me and it is ready to go. I love it!

Lindsey's Birth Announcement

2008-06-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

I am way late posting this, but I thought I better show it. Here is the birth annoucement that we sent out to family that live out of town. They were pretty easy to make. I was happy with how they turned out. Ok, maybe it was pointless to scan it in. I can't get it to appear any larger. Oh, well you get the idea! You can click on it to see the detail.

Happy Birthday Lauren!

2008-06-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

Lauren turns 10 years old today! Crazy to think that I am old enough to have a child that old. We are so glad we have Lauren in our family. She is a wonderful big sister. She helps me so much. She is a lot of fun to have around! We hope you have a great day Lauren!

Lindsey - 2 months

2008-05-24T18:23:00.000-07:00

I am surprised how quickly time goes! Lindsey is 2 months today. She has been sleeping in her own room in her crib now for a week. I have to admit, I checked on her several times during the night and she was just fine!

Welcome Camryn Ella...

2008-05-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

My sister and brother in law welcomed a new baby girl, Camryn on Sunday afternoon. She was born 3 weeks early in Salt Lake City. A tiny 5lbs 11oz. Lindsey although 7 weeks older looks huge compared to her. You can't tell in the pictures but Camryn has lots of hair. My sisters kids are usually bald till they are 2! She has more than Lindsey does right now.

Oh, the joys of a big brother...

2008-05-24T18:10:00.003-07:00

Matthew loves Lindsey. Sometimes she is just another "stuffed animal" for him to play with. As you can tell sometimes she doesn't mind it and other times she hates it.

Last day of preschool!

2008-05-24T18:05:00.003-07:00

This past Tuesday was Matthew's last day of preschool. Sad day for me! He has learned a lot this year and had lots of fun. Since he turns 5 this September and misses the deadline for preschool by 17 days, he is headed back to Bushel and a Peck Preschool. Matthew's cousin in California who is 2 months younger than him will be going to Kindergarten. Crazy!

Matthew with his teachers, Denise and Heather Peck

More pictures of Lindsey...

2008-05-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

My sister's brother in law is a photographer. He wanted to add more pictures to his portfolio so he took some pictures of Lindsey in her blessing dress. I thought he did a wonderful job. His name is Gary Reid. His website is http://www.garyjreidphotography.com/ Here are a few that he took:

New look!

2008-05-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my sister in law Michele for my new blog look. I tried but didn't have the patience to get it to work. I am glad she is able to follow directions and has more patience than me!

6 weeks already!

2008-05-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

Lindsey is still the sweet, calm and happy baby we brought home from the hospital. She has slept through the night twice, other than that she just wakes up once. I am enjoying every minute with her!

Lindsey's Blessing

2008-05-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

Bryan blessed Lindsey at church on Sunday. It was so nice to have so many family members there to support us. My parents and brother and sister in law drove from Fresno and my brother flew in from Phoenix. Everyone else that came lives in Utah. (My sister and her family, Bryan's two sisters and their families and his parents and grandparents.) Lindsey did great, I was afraid because it was time for her to eat and I was trying to put it off. She had her eyes open and looking at Bryan the whole time. (She didn't even need her binkie)

Family Pictures

2008-04-22T08:23:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures we had taken from Jana of our family and Lindsey in her blessing dress.

When you think life stinks...

2008-04-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

go to this website: www.robingroff.com

Robin was a girl that I grew up with. My parents and her parents go way back to when I was little. As we got older Robin and I catered together, Bryan too. Her mom gave me one of my bridal showers. I remember when I found out that Robin had cancer, I couldn't believe it. She was a wife and mom with a beautiful daughter. I have been following her life since cancer on her website. This is what I have learned from her: I am so thankful for my life. I am thankful for my health and the good health of my family. She was amazing at putting things in perspective. When my life is crazy and my kids are driving me nuts I will remember Robin. I know she is now in a better place and is at peace. Her little family will be together forever.

16 years ago...

2008-04-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

This is the exact place of our first date. We ate outside on the patio.

Our Vegas Roll that we ordered for lunch today!

16 years ago today, Bryan and I went on our first date. It was a blind date, and the other couple that was supposed to go with us ended up not going. I first went to Bryan's church basketball game. Then after that was over, he got ready and we went out. We drove around and around FOREVER before deciding on where to go for dinner. (16 years later, we still have a hard time deciding where to go!) We picked Round Table Pizza. We ordered a pepperoni and olive pizza. I got orange soda and Bryan got root beer. I made sure I didn't order a "dark colored" drink because I wanted Bryan to think I was a really good girl and didn't drink caffeine. Even though, Dr. Pepper was my drink of choice. Funny, huh? We had so much to talk about. I remember I didn't feel nervous around him. I just loved being with him. I also remember thinking how cute he was and STILL is! (Lots of girls liked him and I was the one dating him!) We then went over to my house and hung out with a bunch of people. A few days after our date, I told one of my friends that I would marry him! I KNEW I would, even though I was only 16 when I said that. Four years later (3 months after his mission) we were married! I have loved every minute of being with him. He is my best friend. He supports me in anything I do. He loves me no matter what. We have four beautiful children. I couldn't be happier.

We celebrate April 10th every year. Today we had lunch together. We went to Happy Sumo for sushi. Bryan loves sushi. I had never tried it, I wanted to wait till I wasn't pregnant to have it. We had seared tuna for our appetizer and then we had a Vegas and Lava Roll. These are Bryan's favorite. I loved all of it. We are definitely going back! After lunch we stopped at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for a piece of chocolate! Tonight we are having... pizza for dinner, with orange and root beer soda, with the kids.

Thanks for 16 wonderful years! I love you, Bryan!

Our nightly routine...

2008-04-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

Lindsey's first "Big Girl Bath"

Lindsey after her bath in her robe
This is an example of Lindsey's "night time" blanket. The brand is "Swaddle Me" by Kiddopotamus. I got it at Baby R Us. She LOVES this blanket. She stays warm and it helps with the startle reflex, which a lot of times will wake babies up from a good sleep. This is going to be my new baby shower gift to give!

When Lindsey was one week old I decided to get her used to a bedtime routine. I wasn't sure if she would catch on to it, but at least it helped me out. She is still sleeping a lot during the day, so at 8pm, I make sure that she is awake till 10pm. At 10pm I give her a bath, wrap her in her "night time" blanket and put her to bed. She is alseep by 10:30pm and the earliest she will wake up at is 3:30am. Sometimes she goes till 4:30 or 5am!!! Then she eats (up for 15 minutes) and then she is back in bed asleep. She will then sleep till 7 or 8am, eat and back alseep till about 11am. I realize I am totally spoiled. I have never had a child sleep like this. We have only had this schedule for a week, but I am enjoying every minute of sleep I get. Since Lindsey has been born Bryan and I both had the stomach flu and now I have a cold/flu. I never had any illnesses while I was pregnant so I think my body is making up for it. So the good sleeping on her part has really helped us out!!

2 weeks old!

2008-04-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

Lindsey went to her 2 week appt today with Dr. Weipert. She weighs 8lbs 6ozs. and is 21.75" long. He asked how long she sleeps, how much she eats, etc. He told me there was nothing that I was doing to make her sleep so well at night, she is just a really good baby. I thought it was the formula. He said he has bottle fed babies that wake up every 1 1/2 hours and nursed babies that sleep 4-5 hours. After hearing that I am even more thankful that we have such a calm, happy baby. I really needed one! We love her so much!

Meeting more family...

2008-04-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

Lindsey with her cousins - Megan, Ali and Jessica

Lindsey with her cousins - Jessica and Kierstin

Lindsey with Great Grandpa Lauritzen

Lindsey with Great Grandma Lauritzen

We had our first adventure today. We went to Bryan's sisters house for our monthly family dinner. Lindsey was able to meet her Great Grandma and Grandpa Lauritzen. (Bryan's grandparents) She wasn't put down the whole time we were there. The cousins (big and small) all enjoyed holding her, as did her Grandpa and Grandma Atwood

No more lights!

2008-03-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

We went in to the hosptial today for another lab test. The Dr.'s office called back and said that although her numbers are still a little high they did drop a tad. - On her own, without lights. They had us take her off the lights for all day yesterday to see what she would do. So... he told us to pack up the lights, she didn't need them anymore! We are so excited! She is still calm and quiet. She has cried twice since she has been home - both times for her bath. She doesn't like to be cold. I think she gets that from her mom. We are so blessed!!

We are headed home...

2008-03-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

We got some news in the middle of the night that Lindsey had an extremely high bilirubin number. 15. They said she might have to stay an extra day after I was discharged. They put her under the lights and kept her there. It isn't a good idea to tell a mom she might have to leave her baby and go home. I was a little, ok, ask Bryan, a lot emotional and worried about the situtation. When my Dr. came in he explained everything to me and helped me understand what was going on. That helped me a lot. When they tested her again at 6am, it had gone down to 13. Still high, but it showed the Dr. that she was responding to the lights. I was able to feed her and then they had to take her right back. Bryan and I were able to sit by her in the nursery and watch her. Bryan fed her at lunch time and then we waited for the Dr. to come in. He said that we could take her home with the lights. She will need them for several days/24 hours a day and we will be able to go to AF hospital for her daily tests. She is such a calm and quiet baby and even though most babies hate the lights she doesn't seem to mind them. She looks like she is at the tanning booth. I will post pictures when we get home and settled. We are headed to the nursery to feed her and get her ready to come home!!!!! Yea!

Lindsey Kathleen Atwood

2008-03-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

We received the phone call from the hospital at 5:30am on Monday to go ahead and come to be induced. We were there, showered and all by 6:30! The kids spent the night at Bryan's parents on Sunday night. By the time we got checked in and everything taken care of it was 8am. Pitocin and all. I had not progressed from my previous visit so I was starting at a 2! I thought for sure that I would have the baby by lunch time. Boy, I was wrong. Everything was very slow moving with this baby. It would take me hours to progress to the next number! I ended up getting my epidural in the early afternoon. Everything really slowed down after that. At 3:30 or so I was only at a 4. My Dr. came in and told the nurse to turn off my epidural and turn up the pitocin!!! I couldn't believe it. So... by 4pm or a little after I progressed to a 5. And then the rest was history. I went quickly with no epidural to 9. They quickly got the epidural going again and it was working by the time to push. She came out no problem, very quickly. She was born at 6:06pm, weighing 8lbs 3ozs. She is a wonderful baby. I have as of this afternoon heard her cry 2 times for about 2 seconds each time. Once for a diaper change and once when I was changing her shirt. She is content to be held or lay in her little bed. The kids were so excited to come and meet her. Lauren now has a sister. She didn't want to share her last night, she loved holding her. Matthew and Tyler loved holding her too!

Too Full!!

2008-03-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

I went in to have my blood pressure checked, per request from my Dr. My blood pressure was up and he went to go and call in to have me induced today. Well, the recovery rooms were all taken. So he couldn't get me in!!! I was soooo close! Oh, well. Monday is soon.

Waiting Game

2008-03-18T08:43:00.001-07:00

Now we are just playing the waiting game. We go in today for a non-stress test to make sure everything is ok. I have had a few pretty good contractions, but nothing to get excited about. Since Lauren is sick with a cold/flu it would be nice to get her better before anything happens. We'll continue to keep everyone updated.

The end IS in sight!!

2008-03-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

Another update - I went to the Dr. yesterday... apparently this baby is going to be pretty big. He asked me how much my biggest weighed, I told him 8lbs 6ozs. He said that he wanted me to come in on Monday, he would strip my membranes really good and then see what happens on its own. When they did this with Ty I went into labor a few hours later. If nothing happens that week, then he will induce on Monday the 24th!!! Now I am in a hurry to quickly get everything done that I want to. We will keep you all updated!

Don't expect to hear about the baby anytime soon!

2008-03-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

So I went to the Dr. again today. He said I will probably have the baby the week of the 24-28th! I know that my Dr. doesn't like to induce, but I kind of was hoping for the week before Easter. Let's all hope that something happens on its own and I am there sooner!!

Pregnancy Update

2008-02-26T15:17:00.000-08:00

So I went to the Dr. last week and was told I had toxemia. So I have to take it easy and he wants to see me once a week now. I had it with the last 2 pregnancies, so I wasn't surprised. I went back this morning and things look really good. My blood pressure was normal, and no other symptoms. I have 4 weeks left from today. I am pretty sure it will be a long 4 weeks. I am hoping the baby comes before Easter! I don't think that is asking too much.

Writing out Valentines

2008-02-13T10:02:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of the kids doing their valentines. This year Matt got to do some for his preschool friends. I had him write his name and then I would write the kids names on them. After 2 times of writing "Matthew" he said Matt is much easier, and started writing Matt. Pretty smart!

Early Valentine's Day Celebration

2008-02-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

Bryan and I decided to do something different for the kids this year for Valentine's Day. We usually get them candy, a card and some sort of a small gift. So instead we decided to take them to Tepanyaki Japanese Steakhouse. We both love it and thought the kids would love to see them cook their food in front of them! So we decided to go for FHE on Monday night and then we wouldn't have to deal with the crowds on Valentine's Day. The kids LOVED it. It was so fun to watch their reaction. Tyler even caught a piece of shrimp in his mouth when the chef tossed it to him!

Crazy Hair Day

2008-02-13T09:46:00.001-08:00

The kids had crazy hair day at school on the 31st of January. Here are pictures of the kids before they left for school. Of course Matt had to do something too!.

Let the Voting Begin...

2008-02-10T18:11:00.000-08:00

So I thought it would be fun to have everyone put in their votes as to what we are having. Will it be Christian or Lindsey? Leave a comment and tell us what you think. The latest update is from when I went to the Dr. 2 weeks ago. I asked him when I would be having the baby and he said anytime from March 25 - April 3rd! (April 3rd was my original due date) I love my Dr. - even though he rarely induces. I figure I have 6 weeks left to convince him to let me go before Easter! (the 23rd) We'll see what I can do. I am starting to REALLY feel and look very pregnant! Matthew will tell you that there isn't a baby in my tummy - it is just cookies!

"Father Time"

2008-01-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

My kids have had tons of fun playing the the Wii they got for Christmas. The other day they were showing Bryan a contest they had entered. The topic was Father Time. You have to submit a Mii (a character that you can create) that looks like Father Time. Well, my kids without telling Bryan or I, submitted a Mii that looked like Bryan. When they went to go look how the contest did, they were surprised that they didn't get many votes. They told Bryan about it, so he went in and checked it out. When he saw the title, "Father Time" and then their Mii of him, he smiled. He told them who Father Time was. They said they thought it was supposed to be about a father who spends time with his kids. That is why they made him. I thought that was really cute. Bryan is a wonderful dad, who would rather spend time with the kids more than anything else!

Bryan's surgery...

2008-01-10T16:52:00.000-08:00

So it has been one week since Bryan had his ACL repair surgery. He injured it playing basketball at the church in April.( His last surgery was from playing church basketball in high school) I am hoping that things will continue to get better. The first 2 days were a piece of cake. He had a great block in and couldn't feel a thing. We got home from the surgery at about 4pm on Thursday and by 9:30am the next morning we were at Physical Therapy. They were surprised at his range of motion. He was already 2 weeks ahead of schedule. (Could have been that he didn't feel anything and could move it pretty freely.) We had a rough day on Sunday. He doesn't like how the meds make him feel - sleepy and out of it. But we learned the hard way he really needs the meds. Percocet for the pain which started Saturday morning - on a scale from 1-10 he said he has been a 2. And then the valium for anxiety. He doesn't like to sit or lay on the bed 24 hours a day, but that is all he can do. Once he had his meds again that night, I had my sweet husband back again. He had flowers delivered to me on Friday ( the day after surgery) thanking me for everything. I thought he was the one that was supposed to get flowers! So now a week after surgery, he is still in bed 24 hours a day, but he is working from home about 4-5 hours a day, that helps and he is watching tons of movies. Thanks to the new flatscreen that we had to have the day before surgery (our bedroom tv wasn't working too well) and the DVD player I had to buy the day after surgery cause the other one stopped working. The tv has saved him! He went to PT yesterday and they said he is a tough guy - I am sure that made him ride the bicycle even harder. He has been a trooper and the kids have been great keeping it down so he can sleep and rest! They are for sure ready to have their dad back!

Tagged!!

2007-12-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

So Kandace tagged me weeks ago and I am just now getting to it. I have to list 6 facts/habits about myself and then tag 6 other people to do the same.
1. I love to cook, but not when I HAVE to. I love to try new recipes. Baking isn't my favorite.
2. I like to scrapbook. Lately I have been lazy and have been using page packets. Maybe some day when I am up to date, I will be creative again.
3. I am a website manager for a coupon/ad website. I am also a moderator for another coupon/deal site. Yes, I love to save money. And yes, ask Bryan, I love spend $$!
4. I like to decorate my house. We do it slowly but I think it is more fun that way. Luckily Bryan and I have similar tastes and agree with each others ideas.
5. I am not much of a reader. I can sit still long enough to read a magazine, but I don't have much patience for a book. Even when on bed rest I couldn't get into the Stephenie Meyer books.
6. I love a good nap! (in my bed - falling asleep while watching a movie on the couch doesn't count) I don't get them often but love it when I do!

I tag - Cara, Sarah, Brenna, Jen Moffitt, Michele and Peyton!!

Christmas Fun with the kids!

2007-12-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

Check out what the kids have been up to!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1160153118

Not sure if there is an easier way to do view this - hope you enjoy!

Bryan's trip to New Mexico

2007-12-03T16:48:00.000-08:00

Bryan went with some people from his company to Gallup, New Mexico to an Indian Reservation to take Christmas gifts. His company collected coats, shoes, food and other items that they needed and took them to the school. There are 34 kids that attend that school. Here are some pictures from his trip.

Let it Snow!!

2007-12-01T16:44:00.000-08:00

Bryan and the kids went outside to the basin by our house to slide down the hills. You will never find me out there, unless I am in the car watching. I HATE the cold. The kids were out there for hours and loved every minute of it.

Christmas is coming!!

2007-11-26T16:37:00.000-08:00

Here is everyone getting the tree decorated. It is nice having a "fake" tree, we can put it up right after Thanksgiving and leave it up after Christmas! The kids also got their own trees in their rooms this year.

Lauren's Piano Recital

2007-11-10T16:30:00.000-08:00

Lauren had her piano recital on the 5th of November. She takes lessons from Kelly Kunz. She has been taking for 2 1/2 years. She did really well. Grandpa and Grandma Atwood came to the recital. Afterwards, Lauren picked Chuck a Rama for dinner.

We're having a...

2007-11-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

Today we had our ultrasound! We were there for almost an hour! I am not complaining, you can never get tired of watching your baby move while it is inside you. Everything looked great. The baby was being a little stubborn and wouldn't move so the tech could see the heart, finally "it"did. We got some good pictures. It kept sucking or moving its tongue, that was pretty cool to see, and its feet were up by its head. Which made it really easy to see what it was. Within 10 seconds of being there, we knew what it was! I had Bryan hide the two pictures that show us what it is, so that no one will see anything. The baby is also another week ahead of what we thought! Yea! So I am almost 21 weeks! Another reason why we were there for a while, is the placenta. It looks like a have a very small chance of having placenta previa. So...what this means is, we go back in 8 weeks for another ultrasound, to see if it has moved. She (the tech) is pretty sure it will have but if it hasn't, we will then go back in another 4 weeks. (32 weeks) At that time if it hasn't moved, I will have to have the baby by c-section. The risk for major bleeding is too great in a regular delivery. With all 3 of our other kids we got one ultrasound - this one will be 4 after this next one, possibly 5. It will be fun to see how much it has grown. So... no trying to guess by what I say! :)

Halloween

2007-11-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Halloween. On Monday night before Halloween we had our traditional pumpkin carving and caramel apple night. I did the apples and Bryan and the kids did the pumpkins. Then on Halloween day, Bryan took the day off work since we had so much going on. We went to the school parade, which is always exciting to see all the kids. Then we went to my monthly Dr's appt. We took Matthew with us, he liked listening to the heartbeat. Proof to him there really is a baby inside me. (Sometimes he is in denial) Our ultrasound is the 7th of November. We are going to find out what we are having. BUT... we aren't telling anyone. We have never found out with any of the other kids, and since this is the last, I really want to know. Don't try to read in to if I say "he" or "she" as I decided I will use them both for the rest of the pregnancy! Bryan doesn't think I can keep a secret that long, so I really have to prove him wrong! That night Bryan took the kids out trick or treating. The weather was great! After they were done we headed over to his parents, so all the cousins could see each other. Lauren was Princess Peach from Mario Bros. Tyler was Mario, and Matthew was Thomas the Train, of course!

Our trip to Chicago

2007-11-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Bryan and I went to Chicago this last week to attend my nephew's blessing. He was born in September. (My brother Nate and his wife Michele) Right after we flew in we left with Nate, Michele, baby Lincoln, my mom, and other brother Jeremy to Wisconsin. Taking the advise of our neighbor Rod Northrup, we went right to the Jelly Belly Warehouse. My brother lives about 25 minutes from Wisconsin. So it was pretty quick trip. And I LOVE JELLY BELLYS. We went on a little tour that showed us how they make Jelly Bellys and showed all the other candy that they make. Then... we went to the store! Bryan and I had lots of fun in there. They have a Sample Bar where you can try about 100 different candies. YUMMY! After the that we met my dad, who had just flown in (Mom had been in Chicago for a week already helping my sister in law with the baby) to Mars Cheese Castle. We HAD to have some Wisconsin cheese. My dad was a little disappointed that there wasn't an actual castle made out of cheese there. They had lots of good cheese. And of course had to bring some home for the kids. The next day we headed to downtown Chicago for a food/cultural tour. We had about 8 stops, and got to try some good food. It was about 31/2 miles. After the tour we decided to take a taxi back to where our car was parked and not walk! We were are really tired. After the tour we drove to the United Center to see the Michael Jordon statue and check it all out. Bryan is a huge MJ fan so he was loving every minute of it. We then drove to Wrigley Field. It was fun to actually see it in person. On our way home we stopped at White Castle to try a burger. We had heard of this place but never actually tried one. Not my favorite, but glad we tried it. That night we met up with everyone and went to a traditional Chicago pizza place. We had the BEST deep dish pizza. I could only eat one piece it was huge and filling! Then next day was the blessing. Lincoln did a great job - no crying! That afternoon we went to Michele's parents house for dinner. We had an early Thanksgiving dinner. Michele's mom put a lot of thought and effort in to her meal and it all was wonderful! The next day (Monday) up at 4 am to catch our early flight home. Our kids and Heather survived the weekend!

2007-11-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

Wrigley's Field. The apartment building has seats on the roof. People will pay lots of money to live there so they can watch the games from the roof. They are redoing the field so we were able to look through a chain link fence and see in.

2007-11-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

Outside the United Center - the Michael Jordon statue.

2007-11-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

My family right before we started our Food Tour.

2007-11-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

Inside the Jelly Belly store

The latest news...

2007-10-02T17:56:00.000-07:00

The end of July we found out we are having a baby! This totally caught us by surprise, but we are excited to have this baby come. The kids are really looking forward to this, it has been awhile since we have had a little one around. About 6 weeks into things, I started having some problems, they found that the placenta had a moderate to severe tear in it. They said that they have seen it heal before, but they have also seen miscarriages from it. So... I was put on bed rest and given a prescription for a week till my next ultrasound. I had bathroom privileges only! Luckily my sister Heather had moved in with us the week before. So between Bryan and Heather things were taken care of. By about the second day I was tired of laying on the couch or my bed. I endured my SEVEN long days of bed rest and returned to the Dr. They did the ultrasound and it totally healed. I was off bed rest but still had to take things easy. Long story... I am now 15 weeks (according to the ultrasound - it moved me up a week!) and all is well. As of my appt. this past Monday, I can resume my normal activities. YEA! So my due date is March 28th.

A little bigger...

2007-10-02T16:30:00.000-07:00

Baby at 7 weeks - "it" did get much bigger

Here is baby...

2007-10-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the 1st ultrasound at 6 weeks

Matthew turns 4!!

2007-09-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

Matthew turned 4 on September 17th. He wanted a "Thomas" birthday party. We went to Thanksgiving Point and had a picnic at the farm. Then we went home for cake, ice cream and presents.

Tyler's Birthday!

2007-09-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

Tyler turned 7 this year! We celebrated with our little family by going to Pier 49 Pizza - his favorite pizza place. He loves their BBQ Chicken Pizza. We then went to the park to play and have cake and ice cream. Once it got dark we went home to open presents!

Matt's first day of Preschool!!

2007-08-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

We decided to have Matthew go to preschool this year. With being the only one home with mom he gets a little bored sometimes. He goes to a preschool that is in our neighborhood. He loves it! His teachers are Miss Denise and Miss Heather. (they are sisters)

I then have 2 hours twice a week to get things done that I need to.

1st day of school!

2007-08-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

Lauren and Tyler started school on August 21st. They were really excited to go back and see their friends. I think Matt was ready to have the house (t.v) back to himself.

Trip to the lake!

2007-06-23T17:12:00.001-07:00

While we were in Fresno we headed up to Brenna's place and went to the lake. She lives about 10 minutes from Friant Dam. Dad rented a house boat and we had lunch on it and let the kids play in the lake.

Lauren's Birthday Surprise!

2007-06-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

As part of Lauren's 9th birthday - we surprised her and decorated her room. We told her we could only do the beadboard and paint and the rest would have to wait for another time. While she was gone at her cousin's house on the last day of school and the day before her bday, Christa came over and helped me put together her room. Then Bryan came home from work and finished it! It turned out really cute and boy was she surprised!! Here is how it turned out --

In and Out!!!

2007-06-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

We had to stop at our favorite burger place! Once in Vegas on our way to California and then in Bakersfield on our way home!!

2007-06-20T16:28:00.001-07:00

We visited the Los Osos cemetery. I had the kids stand by G'ma and G'dad's headstone. It was great to go there and tell the kids about them. Before they all walked over, (because I found it first) I totally lost it, and started crying. I realized how much I miss them when we were on our trip. On a lighter note, the last picture is the family at Sylvester's! Love that Mushroom Swiss Burger!!

More California pictures

2007-06-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

We went to Fresno for a few days for Heather's graduation. Then we left on Wednesday for a Beach Trip with all the Atwood's. Instead of our yearly family camping trip we went to the beach!! Our family decided to stay an extra day and got a hotel right across the street from Avila Beach. Despite the BAD sunburn I got (that lasted a week) we had a wonderful time.

Here are pictures from Avila. The first two are the kids on the sundeck above our hotel. The next one is from Bryan.

California Trip 2007

2007-06-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Grandma and Grandad's house on 5th Street. I promise this is the right house. Grandad would be using bad words if he saw the house now!

Scaredy Cats!

2007-04-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when your kids watch Ghostbusters for the first time and right before bedtime! Lauren slept in her room but with the door open. Bryan slept with the boys and I opted for Matt's bed. No way was I going to share with the boys!

More from Singapore

2007-04-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

More of Singapore.

Easter 2007

2007-04-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Here are the kids in their new Easter clothes. I had to get the picture quickly BEFORE church, not sure what they would look like after!