Fall Break + Cabin = Fun!

During the University's fall break, Mike & Amy invited us to go to their family cabin in Logan. Their cabin is gorgeous so we got the best of both worlds: clean bathrooms and outdoor fun!

James took MaryKate fishing with Mike and the boys. She loved it. As you can see she thought dipping her pole in the water and swirling it around was fishing. To every father's surprise the kids were just a little too load and a little too impatient to catch anything.

But as you can see by MK's smile, she didn't mind one bit that she didn't catch a fish.

Of course, we had a campfire and roasted marshmallows. Amy introduced James to using a ritz cracker instead of graham and Mike taught me proper roasting techniques. Needless to say, we had the best smores of our lives thanks to them.

On Friday morning the kids all woke up at the frightful hour of 6:00 am... so I decided to make these SPOOKY cupcakes with them so the others could catch a few more winks. It was so fun to watch Max devour the decorations before being placed on the cupcakes. They did great. It was fast, fun, and finished before 7:00 am!

We went on a beautiful walk through the fall leaves and enjoyed they fresh canyon smells. Grace seemed to enjoy it... well most of the time and MaryKate loved every minute of it!

When it was time to check out, we had to clean & pack up. So we put on some Dora or Diego and didn't hear a peep from the kids for over an hour. This is what I found when I went up to check on them. I love the zoned look on their faces.

2 Months of Magic

OK... so truthfully the last 2 months have had their magical moments, but also have had their moments of pure madness. We've been to the ER twice, had a few minor finger pokes in the eyes, been late to every meeting/appointment, and worked through the emotional drama of a mild case of postpartum & turning 30. However, I am glad to report that Grace now sleeps through the night, MaryKate has stopped pushing kids to the ground and strangling them, and I am at the point were I can smile and laugh about our 2 melt down hours each day...most of the time:). James has remained calm and constant through it all and his 3 girls are thankful for that. He is the best!

We really have had some fun times this last month and some big milestones. Grace was blessed on Sunday by James and that was a very sweet experience. James' parents came in town for that & General Conference, so of course we packed the weekend full of fun stuff including a mini early birthday party for MK & a trip to the zoo and to the Alpine Loop to see the fall leaves (gorgeous!). I also turned 30 a week ago. James took me out for dinner and gave me some great gifts including a book he made with pictures & kind letters from 30 awesome people who shared their memories of me. We sat in the restaurant and ate and read and cried together. Then I had cake and ice cream with the Johnsons. Thank you to everyone who wrote notes, sent texts, or called. It made me feel so loved and blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. I love you all!

Grace not only started sleeping from 9:30 to 7:00 she also started smiling. You've got to love both of those milestones! She is a very sweet girl. She doesn't like the swing or laying on her back, but she loves being cuddled and people watching. We love her to pieces.

MaryKate got a cold which triggered an asthma attack that put her in the hospital for 3 days. She felt so much happier after they gave her lots of medicine & put her on oxygen.

I forgot to mention that my mom came and helped just before Grace was a month old. She & I took MK to do fun things like ride ponies and see the dinosaurs at Thanksgiving Point. We're so glad she could come!

My birthday cake was a slice of Cheesecake Factory "Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple". Heavenly! (As yummy as the homemade ice cream I had that night. Thanks Johnsons!)

We kept 2 girls alive for 2 weeks

Life around our house has had very much a feeling of adjustment. We are still trying to figure out how to be parents of two. We have come to appreciate those who have 4, 8 or 12...we truly admire your strength. With two sets of diapers, two girls to dress, to girls to feed, two girls to pack into our car...we definitely have our hands full. And although it is crazy, we have been enjoying the moments when we recognize how blessed we are to have two beautiful little girls in our family now.....P.S. be ready for a of lot pics...Grandma was asking for some.

Grace is a very pleasant little baby. Now that her bowels have calmed down, and diaper rash is gone. She is a joy. She is sleeping 5 to 6 hours at night (which makes mommy very happy), and is starting to open her eyes more and look at us. She is a fun little girl.

MK is wonderful with the new baby. She wants to hold her all the time. She is a little bit emotional. Everything is hard or hurts or ouchie. Having to share our attention is not easy for a 22 month old. But she is doing well.

We had a little photo shoot on Grace's 4 day mark. We went up to Red Butte Gardens, it was beautiful, and so was our little girl. Here are a few of the highlights of the pictures that James took.

We also have been able to be together as a family this week, due to a vacation from school. So we have been trying to have little adventures here in Salt Lake...(adventures a 2 week old can handle).

Grace Editha Gardner

As we were choosing names, we were trying to decide between Edi (pronouced E-dee) or Grace. Grace has always been a name we have loved and it has become an important principle of the gospel to us over the past few years. Edi would have been in honor of Grandma Editha Gardner, who was a great example of faith, endurance, kindness and service. We just couldn't decide on how to spell it and worried people would always call her Eddy (ed-dee) so we compromised and used Editha as a middle name. We will most likely call her Gracie for now.

MK is loving the baby. She wants to hold her all the time. Anytime Grace cries, she wants to know why and wants to help. We are trying our best to make the transition from being an only child to a big sister as easy as possible. Things are going well for now, but I am sure there will be some rough moments ahead.

Grace is still in her sleepy newborn mode, but is starting to love to eat, look around and cuddle up close to us. We sure love her, she truly is our amazing Grace.

A New Addition

Last night at 7:45 the newest member of our family came into the world. She is a very pleasant little girl. She was 8 lbs. 1 oz. and 20 inches long. She is a miracle not only because she managed to come out with a full head of hair, against all genetic odds, but also that she came without having to have a C-section. It took 12 hours. After 10 hours she hadn't dropped yet and only dilated to four. We had about given up hope when the doctor came about an hour and a half later and said the baby had dropped most of the way and was dilated completely. The doctor said we could start pushing. 15 mins later, she was here. Here are a few pictures of the little girl. More to come soon. Including the name...:)