Michael James Fosburg is Here!

Okay seriously, isn't he so adorable?

I'm so excited to announce the birth of our third son, Michael James on July 12th, 2016 at 1332.  He weighed an amazing 10lbs. 6oz. and was 22.5in long.  He was so long he almost couldn't fit the measuring tool for infants!  Cracks me up!

 The very last pre-baby pregnant me picture!

I can't believe he's finally here!  We were totally shocked to be pregnant at all, and then to travel all the way to Washington State to have him, and then traveling all the way back home; it has been quite an adventure to get him here.

I was so grateful to have a wonderful OB here with Dr. Zahra Alamooti, and then to get Dr. Brown at Valley OBGYN was amazing.  Fantastic doctors for a girl having her sixth little one!  Dr. Zahra did an ultrasound at every visit so I literally watched Michael grow from his first appearance. And Dr. Brown was so kind and funny and he actually listened to my concerns and my opinions.  Between the two of them Michael and I were very well taken care of the entire time!

What else do you do when waiting to get started?

Dr. Brown even let me choose the induction date, the earliest date possible, of course!  We arrived at 6am and by 9am we were getting my lovely epidural.  Unfortunately, things always go a little wonky for me.  Chris laughs that it seems to be just the way things are in my life.  The epidural eventually was wonderful, but some major pain was had when the needle went a bit too close to a nerve on my left side.  Thankfully, it was short lived.  The part they forget to tell you when  you get that shot is that labor has to be regular first.  So it's not like you skip the whole thing.  I had forgotten how much I hate contractions.  Anyway, it wasn't too long before my little big guy showed up.

Proud papa for the sixth time!

When he came everyone was super surprised by how big he was!  He actually got stuck, not just shoulders like normal kids, but his chest too.  He was so much bigger than anyone, but Chris and I, had expected.  He was so big he came out purple!  He also came silently.  Not so good.  You could feel the tension, it was not good.  It took a good few seconds before he finally cried and even then it wasn't very loud.  Made everybody so nervous.  It was a really surreal experience for me because usually I'm so out of it by the time my little ones show up that i don't usually remember any of the first few minutes of their lives.  This time I remember everything.  He was so amazing and so fun to hold after imagining what he'd look like for 10 months.  He's a cutie.  Totally a Fosburg: black hair, blue eyes, long fingernails, and totally cute button nose, just like his siblings.

My last hospital/birth picture.  I so love my Michael James!

It was only a little while before visitors began to come for a peek at our new son.  Both the Fosburgs and the Morris' came to see us.  It was so nice to have them be there so quickly.  It was a major departure from the first five.  I was always a bit high strung when it came to the hospital part of having my kids so I always waited a while to let anyone come.  Several of my kids were born too far away from family for it to even be possible.  Michael should have been born in country, but our insurance doesn't cover that here, so I got to be around my family for the birth of my last child.  Such a neat unlooked for blessing!

Nana and her newest grandson look so good together!

Grama is soo happy! Even Grampa is super excited.

The best part of the whole things was later that day a photographer came in and took pictures of the three of us right there in our room at my feet. She was so kind and asked my input on all the poses and types of pictures.  It was such a nice service, especially since newborn pix were high on my list of necessary activities.  So I went to the hospital very uncomfortable and pregnant and came home less than 48 hrs later with an adorable newborn and adorable photographs.  For a multitasking mama, it was quite the event!

And then it was quiet.  My kids were safe, my baby was happy, my husband was exhausted; we all rested.

Mommy and Me Date - Evelynn

I so love doing this!  We started these special "dates" with our kids a couple years ago when Evie turned 5.  As each kid turns 5 we start taking them out on dates.  Sometimes it's simple, like going to Costco, just the two of us, with a sundae to finish off the night.  Sometimes it's a bit more elaborate, like going ice skating and lunch or pedicures and treats.

Tonight was an impromptu date night thanks to one of my best friends on the island here.  Renea is my next door neighbor, life saver, last minute babysitter, and all around fantastic friend.  She had tickets to see a movie, but decided it wouldn't work for her family.  Instead she offered them to me!

So I decided to take Evie to the movie Max, about a military dog and his handler's little brother.  She loved it, even though she talked all the way through!  Cracked me up.  She said her favorite part was the happy ending.  My kind of girl!  After the movie she even was brave enough to touch the "working dog" the MWR had brought in to highlight how special these animals really are.  I was very proud.

After the movie we dropped by McD's for a late dinner and a yummy strawberry milkshake.  Of course I showed her the ONLY real way to eat a milkshake: with fries dipped into it.  She liked it or so she said, but she'll probably not do it again.

We had so much fun together tonight.  I so enjoy these one on one times with my biggest girl.  She is such a sweetheart when she's not trying to be in charge or fighting for my attention.  I adore her and her quirky thoughts that just pop right out of her mouth.  I swear that girl has not one thought that has run through her mind that hasn't come right our her mouth.  So funny.  At least you always know what's going on with her.

She is so amazing and I'm so blessed to get to be her mom.  She's pretty patient with my attempts to do right by her and I'm grateful for my right hand gal.

So love her!  Yay for mommy and me dates!

My House Almost Burned Down - or Close to it!

So my Evie is wonderful and fantastic and totally thinks she is super able to do whatever she wants to do.

With that knowledge about my beautiful Evelynn, you have to also understand that she really does know a lot.  When I say "a lot", I really mean it.  She's my go to girl for so many things.  She helps with the littler kids, she likes to help with shopping and chores, she likes to be in charge.  She is my 'babysitter helper' for when I have an uncertain sitter.  (I have five children under 9, all my sitters are uncertain to a degree!)

So when I left for a dr. appt yesterday leaving my kids with a very good friend of mine and Visiting  Teacher who had never watched my kids before I was unconcerned.  I walked her through some things, but knew that most of the sitter's questions could be answered by Eve.  I was confident that things would be fine, like always.

That's what I get though for being too comfortable with my big little girl!

So my poor, kind friend is surprised by a house full of smoke about an hour before I get home!  She runs inside and finds out that for some reason Evie thought it would be okay to pop her own popcorn. She's never touched the microwave before or even asked about it before, for that matter.  But now, all of a sudden, she thinks that it's okay for her to use it on her own?  I have no clue what was going on and after a discussion with her, she hasn't got a clue either.  Apparently the idea popped in her head and she did it without any thought whatsoever.

I don't know, but the fact that she could have burned down my house because she randomly wanted to use the microwave was a huge wake-up.  I took her abilities to help for granted.

I'm very happy with how I handled it though.  I didn't get angry and I didn't yell.  I asked her about the incident and then told her what she was not going to be able to do as a consequence.  Then I told her why what she had done was wrong.  She was really embarrassed by her behavior and disciplined herself much more harshly than I would have done.

All I have to say at this point when she asks why she can't do something is that she almost burned down my house and her behavior changes/stops immediately! I don't think it will last for a long time, but I'm using it while I can.

Ahh, kids.  Not sure if it will get worse on her end, but I've got five so my odds aren't good on this not happening again!  Good thing I have a short memory and a forgiving heart!

Our Little Opera

Last week in school we had music class.  We learned about opera.  I sang some of their favorite tunes, but with words about getting up in the morning and finishing our chores.  They thought it was hilarious.  Seriously.  I had to sing the songs at least three times.

So after I did a lot of singing we finally learned some about what opera is and how its different from other music.  Then we watched an opera, Cinderella.  It was about 3-4 hrs long.  They wanted to watch the WHOLE thing!  Amazing.

Why am I sharing all this beyond the fact that the kids really enjoyed music class?  Well tonight as I was putting Evie to bed she mentioned that she wanted to be a really good singer.  I sang to her that she needed to work really hard and practice.  Then she asked about her range and I sang-told her that she could learn a range and do very well.  We had an entire conversation in song.  Cracked me up.

Then she sang goodnight after I gave her a kiss and sang she'd see me in the morning.  Best bed time activity ever!

Love my Evelynn!

HS - Friday Friend Notes

Every Friday as I'm sure most of our family and friends know by now, is Friend Notes day.  We write notes to special people instead of doing our spelling exercises.  It's a real-life application of what they're learning and it makes the last day of school for the week a bit different.  They love this activity!

 Evie wrote to her friend Claire this week!  She is becoming such a great writer.  So proud of her!

Joe hadn't finished his note yet, but wanted to be in a picture!  Such a cutie.

Evie's a Big Girl!

So I've been looking for a new bed for Evie for some time now.  Lizzy is getting bigger and we want to move her into the other half of the bunk beds that Joe is already in.  We won't be putting them together, but we do need the bed.

After a couple months of research and a reasonable price limit we finally found the bed she was looking for.  She was specific that she wanted a day bed this time.  We are so excited!

 reminds me how big she's getting and how little she still is all at the same time!

love my girl

It's Pumpkin Time!

When we first started having kids I discovered a horrible secret!  Though Chris loves birthdays and Christmas and he can't get enough of Halloween costumes and decorating, he HATES doing pumpkins.  So after the first year that I carved Evie's pumpkin and did everything myself, I decided things had to change.  Now, we still go pick the pumpkins out as a family (be it farm or store) and then I do all the pumpkin fun after that.  Because I do it by myself we have found a less messy (sort of) and easier to complete way for our kids to do pumpkins.  WE PAINT!  Honestly, with little kids and the warm weather we've been living in for several years, painting is the way to go!

So I covered the kitchen table with one of those vinyl tablecloths taped down and covered my kids in Kmart smocks.  (super cheap)  They each got their pumpkin, a paintbrush, cup of water, and all the paint their little paper plates could take.  

I was pretty sure that both Eve and Joe had the idea down, but Liz and Al are still pretty little so I knew I would be multi-tasking a lot.  With Vaughn at the table my eyes were going to need to be VERY open!

Vaughn had a lot of fun and was finished very quickly.  He had a small pumpkin.  He was also finished quickly because there's only so much paint I think a kid can ingest before a hospital visit is necessary.  He loved it.

Each of the kids were very focused.  But like I said, Ally and Lizzy were a bit smaller than was okay to just let them go crazy.  So I watched Al do her thing and boy, was it fun.  

She loves to pose for all my pictures.

Lizzy was doing a great job until she realized I was watching.  Then her paintbrush got a little carried away as she went from concentration mode to singing mode to crazy girl pose!

focused

singing

pose!

Joe was having such a great time.  He's a very careful child when he's doing pretty much anything.  Artwork is one of the more difficult subjects for him because there are not a lot of rules and guidelines. He did do a beautiful job and helped keep the girls on track.  (by this time Vaughn had gone to bed, so it was just him and the girls).

Evie's passion is anything artistic and free.  She loves to paint, draw, color, create, make, or change.  She had so much fun doing the pumpkin that she of course requested some extra paper when she was done.  She still had paint left.

We had so much fun and the kids had a great time.  Their creations were fantastic.  This is still one of my favorite holiday activities.  So lucky I got to have great kids to share it with.

super cute video!

FHE at the Laie Temple

After such a long weekend, Sunday was absolutely wonderful.  Listening to soft, spiritual music, no appointments to go to, nothing to buy, nowhere to go except to church where you get to hear the scriptures and think about our spiritual life instead of the things we think about the rest of the week.  Talk about a rest!  What a blessing.

On Monday we always do Family Home Evening.  It's a night to just be together as a family and to focus on those principals that the kids need to learn like honesty, kindness, or service.  This week we decided to do something pretty special.  We decided to visit the Laie Temple as a family.  Chris and I go to the temple every month to do work for our ancestors and we love it, but it's not a little kid activity.  They are usually with a sitter.

So anyway, we all drove up to the temple and went inside the visitors center.  Chris and I had never been and it was wonderful.  We so enjoyed all the history of the building of the temple and how it has impacted the local Hawaiian culture in the area.  It was so fun and interactive for the kids.

 Walking to the temple grounds.  I was originally a bit nervous taking such small kids, but the Visitor's Center was well prepared and actually excited to see us!  The kids were unsure how to do this because they knew it was special, but also that they needed to be respectful.

 I so love the Christus statue.  This is obviously a reproduction, but its such a beautiful statue that we took a family photo.  The kids just sat and stared at the representation of Christ for a longer time than I had thought they would.  Kind of neat for mom.

 This display shows how the Book of Mormon is translated into so many languages.  Evie really enjoyed this one because she reads her own copy at home all the time.  She listened to the first verse of the first book at least a dozen times in at least 10 different languages.  She especially liked hearing the verse in Spanish because that's the language I speak at home.  I learned it on my mission to the Dominican Republic.

 This sweet Sister Missionary was so kind to our kids.  She walked through the whole exhibit with us explaining the videos and the displays.  I was so grateful to have such a nice person helping us out.  She really helped make the experience pleasant.  Joe sat at this display for a long time.  It shows different stories about real kids doing great Christlike things.

 This video showed the Apostles of the Lord sharing their testimonies about the Savior, the Book of Mormon and the Bible as the word of God, and of the latter-day Prophet and his work on the earth today.  I think I was the one that liked this most.  I had already heard these testimonies so I knew I liked them, but I also got to sit down and just cuddle with Vaughn while we watched.

 My kids sitting in front of the fountain.  It's water, it's blue, it's refreshing.  Of course my kids liked it here!

 After the visitor center we walked the grounds all the way up to the temple itself.  The grounds are really beautiful so it was an enjoyable walk.

 The temple grounds and the temple itself is covered in these beautiful statues and friezes.  I loved this one because of the fountain part.  The water came from here and then went all the way down to the lower level.  It was beautiful.  It is also a big part of Hawaiian culture.

 On the very top of the temple there are some beautiful friezes that depict the different times recorded in the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  The interpretations of these friezes is on the lower level of the grounds right next to the visitor's center.  This was all of our favorite part.

And that was our special FHE this week.  The kids had a new understanding and appreciation for the temple and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It was reflective and fun and so nice to share something so special with my kids.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity we had to do this!

Picking Pumpkins

Such a busy weekend!  Friday was Joe's birthday party, Saturday morning Joe went to basketball with daddy while the girls went to the tea party, and then in the afternoon we went to get pumpkins at Aloun Farms!  It was a long, but fun weekend!

So Aloun Farms is something I saw on a sign and then looked up online.  Normally there is an entrance fee of sorts, but it was a military day so none for us.  That's why I looked at it in the first place!

First of all, we had no idea it was more like a carnival that happened to also be a farm than the other way around.  There were food booths, rides, a live band, and of course, lots of fresh produce that was already picked or you could go pick it yourself.

After walking around for a while we decided to take the hayride to get a good look at all the areas where we could pick our pumpkins.  The kids loved it; Joe and Vaughn especially liked the tractor pulling the hay cart.

Vaughn kept looking over the edge at the tires.  Chris let him until he almost fell out of his arms.  We all giggled, but mom and dad were giggling with relief as opposed to the kids who just thought it was funny!

Then we took a water break.  Just because the calendar says October doesn't mean it wasn't over 85 degrees!  It was an overcast afternoon though so that was better.  It was also a little windy!

Then it was time to get down to business and get those pumpkins!  We had so much fun roaming around the plants trying to find "the one" that was just right.  Joe was very careful and found his pretty quickly.  Then he went and tried to help everyone else!

The girls all insisted on following each other.  It was a pumpkin picking pack!  So cute.

Lizzy found it and was so excited I was required to take her picture.  Good thing I was on board with that idea already.  She handed hers off to daddy for safe keeping...and hauling to the front gate.  They were heavy!

Have to be honest, I LOVED picking pumpkins with Vaughn.  He was very particular about his pumpkin and like Joe, knew exactly what he wanted.  It was so fun to actually be in this picture with him.

We had such a great time.  We decided before we left that we were absolutely going to come back next year with cash, more water, and a wagon of some kind to help us gather our pumpkins.  We had a wonderful little adventure!