Blog Inspiration

If you've stopped blogging, here is a little inspiration for you: a few days ago I got my 2006-2007 blog printed into a book and it made every moment I spent keeping track of my little family worth it. All those things I thought would be imprinted in my memory forever had almost all been forgotten. As Mike and I viewed the pictures and read the words from our former life we smiled and laughed and looked at our big boys and honestly wondered how time had gone by so quickly. It was a delight to remember who they used to be and compare it with who they are today. They all looked through the book and exclaimed at how funny/cute/little they used to be. It is a family treasure.

I used to blog mainly for friends and family to read, but now that so few people are blogging and my blog is private, I now blog for our family. After reading our blog book, I realized that I should include all the pictures I can, that I should pay just as much attention to the little things as they big events and that I should always record the funny things my kids say.

Recently, a good friend's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer while she was pregnant with her third baby (kids ages 5 and 3 and a newborn). She delivered the baby early and started aggressive treatment. Things were not going well, so they sent her to the MD Anderson Cancer Center. She and her family are there, hoping and praying for the best. She's a young, healthy, active, loving mother. It is my worst nightmare and hit me hard. It was even more motivation for me to make sure my kids know who I am and how I feel about them. It became very clear to me that life is short, history is important and that I want my kids to be able to know who I am and what is important to me.

So, if you have stopped blogging, start again (or at least keep a personal history). Don't worry about catching up or writing for other people to read (let's be honest, the few people who read your blog are the people who love and care about you anyway and won't correct your spelling or grammar or wonder about why you are still in your pajamas when the time on the pictures is 2:30pm, so be honest, share your feelings and brag away!). It's so worth it. On another note, I still do love reading the blogs of friends and family. They uplift me and keep me feeling close to people who are far away. They are a blessing in my life.

In this same vein, here were some moments from our recent life that were worth recording:

Because we are moving, we had to take down our art wall (on stairs leading to the basement we hang up all our favorite art projects). The schools here have amazing art and music programs and my boys have all loved those electives. Parker and James especially love art and enjoy doing it often. I wish I were more sentimental, and maybe it's because we've never had much storage, but I HATE keeping things, so here is a photo of their favorite art projects from the last 2 years. I let them keep a few of the most precious ones.

Jace

 James

 Parker

Pierce Update

I can't believe how quickly Pierce has gone from little baby to buzzing baby. He is ALL OVER THE PLACE and thrilled with his new found independence and abilities. He is still a complete joy. He loves it when we sing The Wheels on the Bus and anything else with hand motions. He still loves clapping for just about anything. He loves wrestling with his brothers and loves it when they rough him up. It's hilarious. He's starting to like books and reaches for me when I hold out my arms. He loves people and smiles every time someone looks at him, so strangers adore him. He loves looking at pictures of our family and grins from ear to ear when he sees one. He stopped nursing a few weeks ago and promptly started sleeping all the way through the night, every night, none of my other kids have ever done this. He's a dream and others often remind of that. He's eating baby food, still loves his bottle and has started trying people food, which he likes but isn't crazy about.  His naps are still hit and miss and he sleeps anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours twice a day. He's a great "on the go" baby which I'm so grateful for. A missed nap here and there is no big deal to him...I guess he realized he did have a choice with the schedule we keep.

He cruises around our house and he is fast, like close the doors fast. Yesterday Mike said with a smile, "We have a baby again," meaning the kind that get into and destroys everything. He loves opening drawers, dumping baskets, ripping up magazines and putting everything into his mouth, as evidenced by this picture. He found a chocolate chip hidden on our brown carpet and was overjoyed to suck the deliciousness out of it.

About the time he started crawling, he started pulling up on things too and LOVES to do it every chance he gets. He's our sweet, busy baby and we couldn't love him more!

Pierce: 4 Months

Our little Pierce is so fat and happy. We are so glad he is part of our family! These 4 months have gone entirely too fast.

Classic interaction.

At 4 months Pierce is 25.5 inches in the 68th % he is ___pounds in the 63rd% and his head is ____inches in the ___%

Pierce is a big fan of: 

waking up in the morning, nursing, laying on a blanket and kicking at toys, his bird on his car seat, his brothers, his mom, his dad, being held, sitting in the Baby Bjorn, music, singing, mom saying, "I love you one, I love you two," Eskimo kisses, facing out, smiling, giggling, getting his diaper changed, bath time, his tongue, zerberts, biting people's fingers, pulling hair, patty cake, crazy arms, being snuggled in bed in the morning, grabbing paper, grabbing necklaces, grabbing anything, neck kissing, spitting up, being held standing up, being outside, going on walks

Pierce is not such a fan of: 

Putting his clothes on, anything covering his face, car rides in the dark, nursing under a blanket or cover, brothers yelling in his face or getting too close for too long, tummy time, sleeping through the night, long naps, the swing, too many errands, babysitters, getting boogers out of his nose, saline solution, shots, James holding him, being left alone for more than 3 minutes

We are a fan of:

Everything about him! He even just rolled over for the first time and the whole family celebrated. We can't get enough of this little boy and we're trying to take it all in. Let's just say, this baby is one loved little man. 

The Blessing

 The event everyone came for was the blessing of our sweet Pierce Olsen Romney. It was a beautiful church service and the blessing Mike gave to Pierce was so sweet and inspired. He is a special spirit and I am so excited to see who he becomes. 
Mike blessed him that he would see the needs of others, be kind, be able to recognize the Spirit guiding his life, that he would love learning and education, that he would love his brothers, honor his parents, that he would serve a mission, and marry the woman he loves in the temple and so much more. 
It's interesting as he gave him that blessing filled with all our hopes and dreams for him, I couldn't help but realize that these are God's hopes for him too. There is so much potential and light in these little ones and I feel so blessed to be a part of their lives, to help them figure out to share and express that light what a tremendous responsibility and blessing.

My Gerber baby, love those cheeks

Our sweet friends from Mike's program who came to support us!

Papa and Mimi

Grandpa and Grandma

Proud parents

Proof that even on the blessing day dad can only handle so many real pictures :)

The men in the priesthood circle, along with Bishop Craig Harris and Jared Whitehead

3 generations

Sweet baby

Our smiley boy

His cute little outfit that he pooped all over at church...that is why there is only one picture. Isn't that always how it goes?  Blowouts on all white clothing :). Undershirt in the trash at church and outfit soaking in the laundry area. Oh well, you can't expect perfect.

We had great food! Curry chicken salad sandwiches (recipe to come!), our "go to" salad with  lettuce, green apples, craisins, sweet and spicy pecans and feta cheese with vidalia onion dressing, pineapple and oranges with toasted coconut, gluten free chocolate chip cookies and chocolate caramel bars--deeelicious!

It was just a wonderful day and one I will always remember. We love our Piercey so much!