Back at the gym and I felt like this...

My friend Katrina was motivated to join a gym post baby #3 (her Sam is 2 weeks older than Kate) and asked for my advice, knowing we belong to a gym. I gave her all the advice I could and told her I was ready to get my butt in gear again and promised to join her if she chose my gym! Tonight she called me and asked "So, tonight do you want to go to Barbell Strength or Cardio Kick-Box Jams?" In my pre-preggo life, I really liked the Strength class and kick-boxing was never my thing so I voted for the Strength class. Katrina, bless her heart, had not done anything like this since high school but she was a trooper and wants to do it again! It is going to take a while to get back into shape but now, here I say it, I am gonna get my body back! 12-14 lbs to go to pre-pregnancy weight and another 5-10 of bonus pounds I would like to lose too. Soon, hopefully I will feel more like this:
ETA on Thurs: I promise, I win NO gold medals for being a super fit mom! I seriously needed a milkshake after that class and eventually today, Sonic won my business! I think *I thought* I could keep up at my former level, minus being able to jump worth a darn but alas, I went again today (to a Rock n' stroll class where you can bring the babykins) and it was a step/strength training cardio class with a stroller by your side. Oh my gosh - this morning (36 hours post strength training class Tuesday night) I could not sit on the toilet, get up and down off the couch, fold laundry, or lift my arms enough to eat cereal or brush my teeth! I am so pathetic. So, I guess the moral of the story is I need to work out but take it easier and take off the cape and own my jiggly belly (and butt and legs...) I did see several friends at the gym so that was a plus...one additional besides Katrina who too was having her first workouts post baby #3. I guess we should all plan to hit the Sauna together afterwards...how do babies like that? ;) I also went to Urgent Care today for what turned out to be Tonsillitis and that pain coupled with the workout pain, I feel I need to be on bed rest, but who has time for that????? We need to get packed for our trip to Asheville, NC. To quote my nieces, who blog too, only 3 more days 'til Asheville!

This is for you, Adrienne!

I take it back. I found one today when I was trimming a very tall shrub in the front yard. It is not quite 6 feet tall but pretty close! (Though much more slender than you fat weed...the only thing fat is me in my schlump-a-dump sweats!) We will be gone for the next 4 Saturdays so like it or not, 100 degrees at 10:30am, we needed to get the yard spruced up! (ETA: it was concealed inside the large shrub...not visable at all until I gave the bush a hair cut.)

Dance recitals, donuts, and dining out...

For those interested, click HERE to read the post with the rest of the pictures from earlier this month when Grandma and Grandpa Simpson and Grandma Nadene were in town.

Oh, Bird!

If you have you ever wondered about the man, Caroll Spinney, under the yellow feathers, click on this article about his career as big bird or this video. Warning: doing so may mar your childhood memories. (But I found it fascinating.)

We love our Daddy!!!

Our Handsome Daddy!

In honor of the best Husband and Daddy on Father's Day, here are a few of the things we all love about Steve:

Caroline:
He cuddles me at night
He gives me Popsicles
He reads me stories
He draws pictures for me but they are not so good and I think that is funny
He holds me on his shoulders

Lindsay:
He plays elephant with us (riding on his back)
He takes me to McDonald's
He has the Priesthood and gives me blessings
He lets me stay up late even if Mommy doesn't want me to
He watches Star Wars with me

Kate:
He snuggles me
He changes my diapers
He takes care of me when Mommy needs a break
He kisses me with his scratchy face
He sings me songs

Meredith:
I could not be more thrilled to honor Steve on Father's Day. He is the most fun, devoted, and dedicated father I know. Steve is just a big kid at heart and that translates well with his relationship with his daughters. From nightly rides on Daddy's back to Popsicle breaks to staying up late watching movies to playing baseball n the backyard, my girls could not ask for a better Daddy. Cuddles, story time, and outings together will all be memorable parts of my girl's childhood. We are grateful for a Dad who takes his responsibility as the Priesthood holder in our home seriously and strives to live a life that makes him worthy to use it to bless our family. I knew almost 12 years ago that Steve would make a great father. I was not wrong. He is the best and we all love him. Being the dad and husband to a bunch of girls could not possibly be easy - a whole lot of hormones and drama and lots of shoes - but he takes it in stride and doesn't complain too loudly when we are being a bunch of crazy ladies! We love you Steve and honor you this day! (This song is meaningful because we have an story book that is illustrated to this Billy Joel Song - it is an illustrated lullaby of sorts and the girls picked it for the slide show.)

One of the reasons I carry a camera with me most every where I go...

...You never know what you may capture for posterity! Today was the last day of swimming lessons (more on that later) and afterwards, while Lindsay was at her 2 hour gymnastics class, Molly and I went with the other kids to Chandler Mall to take more advantage of the Monster Sale at Children's Place. The kids were of course hungry and this was not a planned field trip so we did not have a lot of snacks or a sack lunch so a trip to the food court was in order. Well, the kids sat on one side and Molly and I and the babies sat on the other. The baby cousins were in our laps laying around admiring each other and Molly and I were chatting about our Father's Day plans. We then looked up to see this:

Caroline & Hayden, a cup of ranch, a cup of ketchup and two straws...

"My straw is all stuck with ketchup!" (blow it out...not anymore!)

Caroline got totally sprayed with ketchup! From her hair to her toes to everywhere in between, she got bamboozled with ketchup! Amazing how many small spots a straw full of ketchup can hit. Molly grabbed the camera after I had already cleaned her speckled face. I was working on her hair.

You know how you have those "kid moments" when they really should be in trouble, you should keep s straight face, but you cannot help but bust a gut? Case in point. We could not stop laughing, the whole time telling the kids through gasps, "It's not funny!" "Caroline is covered in Ketchup!" "It is a good thing her mom just bought her new shorts so she can take off her soaked with ketchup skirt!"

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OK, back to swimming lessons. Molly has a friend who teaches lessons at her home ($30 for 8 days - can't be beat!) and we just finished our one session of lessons. The pool temp. fluctuated with our crazy weather the first week (brrrrr....the water was only 76 degrees!) but was back to 82 this week. I am so proud of the girls - Caroline loves the water - this is such a far cry from her first year of lessons 2 years ago where she cried the whole time and spent the entire session trying to escape from the pool. Now, she is mad we are only doing one session. Crud, I cannot afford the gas for the 19 mile round trip! As long as we go swimming a lot, they will keep up their skills, I have no doubt. She can jump in and swim unassisted...not too far but far enough to have fun and find the wall and feel comfortable. Lindsay can swim the length of her backyard pool with a really nice arm/crawl stroke. Side breathing - still needs to work on that - but she loves to swim and prefers without goggles so she is quite secure under water.

Caroline the Fish!

Lindsay (and Ellie) the Mermaids!

And the blog goes on....

So much to blog about, so little time! I have had lots to catch up about so below this are several new entries as not to create the world's longest catch-up post! We have had the end of school, the beginning of summer break, new baby adventures, family in town, Dance recital, Kate's 1 month birthday milestone, etc. So, read (and post if you wish) accordingly. Time to update the blog for the month of June and clean up the sidebar of old news. I just wish it was as easy to de-clutter and update my house!

Happy 1 month birthday to Kate!

The Birthday Girl!

Hot fun in the summer time!

OK, these were actually the day after her 1 month birthday but really, no one would have wanted to see a photo of her that day...she spent the whole day crying! I was not in much of a mood to celebrate. But, we really cannot complain. She really only cries when she is ready to eat and never any other time so I guess she was saving up for the celebration. After spending much of the day Saturday at a primary activity day and cleaning house, we took all the girls to the pool at our gym and out to dinner. We have been to the pool several times since Kate was born but this was her first dip in the water and big sisters could not have been more excited! I think they would have taken her for a ride on the alligator if I would have allowed it...

How is she doing? Well, she finally gained back her birth weight at 3 1/2 weeks. She weighed in at 9 lbs 13 oz at her final weight-check appt. I was really thrilled (not) to have the privilege of spending the gas money and the co-pay (3 times!) to go and weigh Kate when secretly I was glad she was slow to gain...it meant my giant baby was small for a little while longer! (And it was not nice of the crazy lady at church to say today that I gave birth to a first grader. Poo on her!)

She has fallen into a great sleep pattern. (I should be in bed keeping up with her but I needed to get some blogging done!) She started out sleeping 6-7 hours and then started wanting to wake up every 2-3 hours, quite restless. We swaddled her and tried to feed her and sooth her but it wasn't working. This past week we decided to move her into her own room and try having her sleep on her tummy. This worked for Caroline and so we tried with Kate. And, voila! We have a sleeper! We are coming into 4:30am sunrise time (thanks to AZ' southern latitude and no daylight savings time) and my bedroom is not very dark but the kid's bedrooms have black out shades which really helps. So, whatever the right combination is, I don't know, but she is consistently sleeping from 10:30-4:30 or 5:00am then back to bed for more snoozin'.

Is she smiling? Any day now! We keep seeing the beginnings of a smile and all of us cannot wait to catch that first "not in her sleep" twitchy smile. It is quite different having a baby when there are 4 of us around to admire and snuggle her. Sure, I think her sisters might just literally love her to death, but, this really is a fun experience to have 4 of us "oohing and aahing" over her every move. Lindsay is a fantastic little mama, changing her diapers and clothes and "babysitting" whenever needed. Caroline has taken to noticing all the "firsts" - the first time she wore a pink dress to church, the first time she held up 2 fingers, the first time she went to the pool. It is cute.

Yup, we are loving our little Kate!

Our visit with Grandma and Grandpa Simpson and Grandma Nadene

A few pictures from our fun visit with Grandma Shirley, Grandpa Bill, and Grandma Nadene. We love having Bill and Shirley come to visit! They live in South Carolina so seeing them is always a treat. Grandma Nadene lives in Oregon and had not been to Arizona for a while either. We had so much fun eating out almost nightly, (yes, I really can cook, I just don't think Bill was going to let me!) going to Lindsay's dance recital, celebrating Kate's blessing day, playing at home or watching movies, and visiting the temple. They even got to all tag along for our regular summer activities - swimming lessons and gymnastics. It was actually really great to get to share the girls many "likes and talents" with them.

Grandma and Grandpa surprised all the girls with a gift of new clothes - always a hit around here - and Caroline adores the blue and green - she wore that outfit for 3 days I think! Lindsay loves the purple and black "mod" style tunic and immediately put it on with black leggings.

Grandma Shirley enjoying a little back yard time with the girls. I think she fits right in!

Krispy Kreme...It's baaaack!!! I think this might be the 3rd or 4th time we have been to Krispy Kreme since it re-opened in Arizona last month and it is not even that close to us either! (They all closed about 3 years ago or so.) Caroline calls it the Donut Factory. Well, yeah, when you can watch donuts being made - it is like a factory!

For some reason, Kate didn't love the Krispy Kreme hat.

Lindsay and Ellie back stage at the recital, and yes, Ellie is younger and taller than Lindsay, but they are joined at the hip!

A few of the girls from Wednesday's combo II class. They did two dances - first, a ballet dance to "How Does She Know You Love Her?" from Enchanted and her jazz dance was "Freeze Frame." Both were darling!

Post recital...poor girl. She had been fighting a fever all day and the Motrin wore off at the end of the show and she was not a happy girl - she was crying when I picked her up back stage. This was the best post-recital with her flowers shot we got that day.

Lindsay's drawing of The Christus. Lindsay was so sweet - she brought a bag with a notebook and coloring implements because she wanted to draw something during our trip to the Temple Visitor's Center. She decided to draw her own version ofThe Christus statue. I think it is lovely and quickly took a picture of it because she decided she wanted to give it to one of the Sister Missionaries working that day.

Simpson's on the temple grounds.

Two of the best Grandmas out there!!!

Mountain High Mud Pie at Red Robin...One for Grandma...

...and one for us! (OK, Grandma had help eating hers...but it was such a funny picture!)

What a blessing...

...to have so many people who were able to spend time with us in AZ for the blessing of our sweet Kate! Molly and I worked out our schedules to make sure we would bless our babies on the same day since they were only 3 weeks apart and it would be a good way to consolidate on travel for our family! Steve's parents came from South Carolina and my Grandma Nadene came from Oregon. Several other local friends were able to attend our baby blessings as well Molly's inlaws who we also consider to be family! We realized we were going to have a fairly sizable guest list to host for dinner and were thrilled when Dad and Debbie offerred their home for us to use. They have a great "party house" so it was a great fit! Thanks so much - it worked out beautifully! I feel so grateful for a husband who holds the Priesthood and can offer such a beautiful blessing for our daughter. It truly was a special day. When I had Lindsay, I started this crazy ridiculous tradition of making a blessing gown for my daughter. That has now turned into a new hand made blessing gown for each of my children. Sure, it makes me crazy, I stay up too late, I fret about it, but it means a lot to me to know that they will have their own white dress to cherish and use again for their own family if they so wish. here are several of my favorite pictures from the day (along with those above in my new blog header!) I regret, however, that I forgot to make sure to get a picture of just me and Kate or a picture of just our immediate family. Oh well...it is all about sharing the day with family, right?

With Steve's Parents, Bill and Shirley

With my Dad and Debbie

The Ashton's, Simpson's, McGuire's and Grandma Stone

I have really enjoyed sharing so many special new baby moments with Molly!

I adore this picture of Grandma and Kate. We are all so blessed to have such a wonderful Grandma!

School comes to a close...and summer begins!

Caroline ended her first year of preschool with a darling program - she practiced her line over and over (still needed some help) but she was so cute! We will miss Mrs. Packer greatly - she is probably moving and so we will not be making the move with her...it will be too far away. Afterwards, Daddy and I took her out to lunch to her usual choice - to Chick-fil-A!

So, Caroline will begin the "Kindersteps" pre-k program our shcool district offers for 4th qtr birthdays that are not old enough for Kindergarten but turn 5 before the end of the year. She was so excited to tour the classroom and when she realized she would get to bring her Tinkerbell backpack, she was sold!



Our girls are so lucky to have a dad who makes it a priority to take time off work to attend their special programs at school. Lindsay received the "Future Teacher" award at her class end of the year program. Is it wrong to say I felt my heart swell with pride when her teacher described all the ways Lindsay shines and excels? We were truly pleased to see all she accomplished throughout this school year. Of course, daddy and I "kidnapped her" from school and let her choose a lunch spot as well...she chose Subway.
On the last day of school, Caroline, Kate and I surprised Lindsay by showing up to have lunch with her. It was quite fun day - it was a free dress day/fund raiser for several teachers who will participate in the Breast Cancer 3-Day and must raise a certain amount of $$ to participate so, if the kids wanted to wear pink, they made a contribution to the cause. It is always fun to drop by the school and hang out...

After school, we surprised Lindsay yet again by having our swim bag all packed up and we went to the gym to swim. We have a great time at that pool - the kids love the zero-depth play area and the water-park style slides as well. Kate didn't get in the water yet but sure was quite the bathing beauty!

With the end of school, summer officially starts - and we cannot wait for all the adventures summer break will bring!

(Man, this is formatting weird...and I am done fighting it.)