Ultrasound!!!

So last Friday we had our ultrasound. We had originally decided not to find out what the baby was, and Chris was less than thrilled about it! We told the tech we didn't want to know, so when she was ready to look at the gender, she told us to look away. We did, and when she finished she told us it was safe to look. We continued on the measure the spine and legs and I knew what it was.

ITS A BOY!!

That little stinker kept flashing us his boy parts! There was no denying he is a BOY! Even the tech kept saying, "Ok buddy, we have seen it enough. Let's look at something else!"

We laughed so hard! Chris is thrilled! Maddie was super bummed because she wanted a little sister, and I am feeling a little overwhelmed. During the ultrasound he was so busy, and I feel him move a ton! I am afraid him and Cayden might gang up on me and be partners in crime! It will be really good for Cayden to have a brother though. He needs someone to rough and tumble with. Everything else looked good so far, and we are most grateful for that!

Here are some pics of our next little guy!

His profile. We had a hard time getting him to hold still for this one. Everytime the tech would almost have it, he would turn and look directly at us. It was too funny!

It's a BOY!

I love this one because he had his hands up by his face all the time. Whats weird is that my other two kids did too in their ultrasounds. Must be a comfy position!

And this one is of both of his legs outstretched and you can see his feet. Its amazing to me how a baby can grow like that inside of you!

We are super excited and can't wait to meet him!

Halloween

Happy Halloween!!

(sorry the pic is fuzzy)

Madison was "the gold princess", Cayden was Jack Jack from the incredibles, Chris was..... Chris, and I was a skeleton with our new baby on my tummy!

Yep, baby #3 on its way, due May 2011! Maybe I will start feeling better soon so I can get back to blogging!

My baby Cayden

Since the day he was born he has slept like this!

What a sweet boy!

Queen for the day

In Madison's class at school, her teacher has a Queen for the day, and the next day, a King for a day. Now, school just started last week, but on the second day, Madison's friend Bree got to be the Queen. Madison has been asking ever since when it would be her turn. I tried to explain the best I could to a 5 year old about patience, and how everybody will get a turn, so not to worry about it. Well, today was her day! Boy, was she excited!! I was working today, so she and Chris came down and showed me her crown that said "Queen Madison!"

As part of being the Queen or King, you get to stand up in front of the class and answer questions. Do you have a dog, what's your favorite color, etc...? Then everyone in the class draws a picture of you and puts their name on the back. The teacher combines them all together, and you get to take the book home to keep. It is so fun to see each child's interpretation of Madison, and it also helps us to learn the names of the kids in her class.

This picture is one of my favorites! A girl named Rachel drew it. I love it because Madison wore a purple dress with black leggings and black knee-high boots today. This girl got every detail! And look at the color blue she chose for her eyes. I love it!

Now that she has been the Queen, we can all relax a little, and focus on the more important aspects of school... Wait, I think being the Queen is most important!! :)

She didn't even say goodbye...

Madison started Kindergarten today!! I can't believe my baby is old enough for school! She has been so excited, and everyday has asked if it was "the day". When I told her today was "the day" she was beaming!
Here she is all ready to go!


In front of the school

Maddie and her friend Bree. These two girls are in the same class, and Bree's mom and I warned her that they might be too talkative... I have no idea where she gets that from.... :) When we got to the school, everyone was outside waiting for the teachers to come out. When they did, they told the students that they were going to get in a line in front of their teacher. Madison grabbed Bree's hand and off they went! She didn't even say goodbye! I think it has been harder on me than it is on her. I was a good girl though, and I didn't cry!

To celebrate this new freedom with only one kid, Chris and I went to lunch!

They read this poem on Good Things Utah the other morning and it totally describes how it is when your kids go to school.

She started school this morning,

And she seemed so very small.

As I walked there beside her

In the Kindergarten hall.

As she took her place beside

The others in the class,

I realized how all too soon

Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw her as

She first learned how to walk.

The words that we alone made out

When she began to talk.

This little girl so absorbed

In learning how to write.

It seems as though she must have grown

to girlhood overnight.

My eyes were burned but hastily

I brushed the tears away.

Lest by some word or sign of mine

I mar her first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with her

And keep her by the hand.

To lead her through the places

That she couldn't understand.

And something closely kin to fear

Was mingled with my pride.

I knew she would no longer be

A baby by my side.

But she must have her chance to live,

To work her problems out.

The privilege to grow and learn,

What life is all about.

And I must share my little girl

With friends and work and play;

She's not a baby anymore-

She's in Kindergarten today.

BOYS!

I guess this is what boys do best!

Poor kid fell down the outside stairs at my moms tonight... Sadly this was his second goose egg today. You can't even see the first one compared to the honken one. It looks like he has another forehead! Motrin, here we come!

He's Back!!!

My little brother, Elder Brandon Mower, came home from his mission to the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West Mission yesterday!! We have been so anxious for this day to come, and now we can't believe he is really here!

My mom was so excited she could hardly stand it!


This is right after he came through the tunnel. He came home with 4 other missionaries from the Dominican Republic. We saw them coming, and then we saw Brandon stop, wait, and then walk out. He kinda looked at us, but not directly at us... Turns out, his companion stole his glasses, and he had been out of contacts for 4 weeks! He couldn't see us!! It was so sad. He told my mom he had to ask the other missionaries where to go to get to us! Needless to say, he has an eye appointment!

These women are the other moms to the missionaries that came home also. My mom has been emailing Elder Colby's mom, so they were excited to finally meet.
L-R: Elder Hatch's mom, my mom, Elder Yapias' mom, Elder Colby's mom.
It was so fun to see the families of the other Elders that Brandon has told us about. As a bonus, the all live from Provo to Centerville, so they can stay in touch.

Madison kept walking around with her sign and asking, "How much longer?" Seriously! It felt like forever!! This was also Brandon's first time meeting Cayden. I found out I was pregnant with him the week after he left to the MTC. Cayden was a little gun-shy, but got over that real fast.

All in all, he looks good! He lost some weight, and if the wind blows too much, he might blow away, but we have promised to fatten him up a little. He came home with a nasty cold that he says he has had for 3 weeks. Dr. appointment #2 is being scheduled! He are thrilled to have him home and back with our family again!

Well done, thou good and faithful servant!

**UPDATE

That nasty cold he came home with ended up being a sinus infection and pneumonia! Poor kid!

At least I'm not the only one...

At least I am not the only one with this problem!! HAHAHA

www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20011180-10391704.html

Show me your Beiber....What??

Yesterday, the Nesquik bunny made his appearance at the renaming of the E Center to the Maverick Center. My dad works for Nestle and occasionally Chris gets to play the part of the Nesquik bunny. He has usually done it at SUU basketball games, so outside in July was a stretch! The fan inside was not working, so we tried to rig our own fans inside, but it didn't really work... After about 15 minutes of wearing the suit, Chris was dying. So back to the trailer we went to change him out of the suit. Oh wait, did I mention that yesterday was also the Justin Beiber concert at the new Maverick center?? I swear there was Beiber Fever everywhere!! 97.1 zht was there giving out tickets and a backstage pass to one lucky winner. When the girl won, she started bawling!! It was hilarious!!

This is the girls showing off their Beiber posters they made to try to win the backstage pass. The bunny was right there with them!

We handed out Nestle product to people while they were there, and of course had our pictures taken with everybody! Kids and adults!!

Chris and I actually traded, so in the above picture, that's me in the suit! :p

Here we were trying to score the Beiber tickets for Kelsey! They actually gave them to the girls right in front of us... Sorry Kels!


With the head on, the bunny (and his ears) are about 7 feet tall! You can definitely see it coming!

Of course Chester the Cheeto and the Cracker Jack kid were there! Wouldn't be complete without a group picture!

The best part of the whole day, was when the radio DJ kept saying, "Show me your Beiber!!" The first time he said it, I thought my dad was going to die! My dad said, "Show my your WHAT??" I tried to tell him its not what you think! Still kinda weird to ask 14 year old girls to show me your Beiber...

We had a great time! Thanks for the fun dad!!

Chicken Nugget no-no...

A few weeks ago, I went to Walmart for the never ending grocery shopping! I hate to take the kids because I usually end up buying 10 items not on my list and forgetting the most important 5 that are on my list! UGH!! But, shopping with the kids sure beats shopping at 10:00 p.m. when I am tired, and really for get what I need. Anyways.... Cayden is getting to a point where he is out-eating Madison. Its kinda ridiculous! I saw in the frozen food isle the bags of pre-cooked Chicken nuggets, and thought, why not? He might really like them and they are fast and easy. Now mind you there are 2 things in life I am not willing to go cheap on. Food, and my make-up... I eyed the Tyson brand of chicken nuggets, but then quickly saw that the Great Value Brand(Walmarts brand) was almost 2 dollars cheaper. Seeing as it was for the kids, I opted for the Walmart brand. They won't care, right? So we go home and a few days later cook a few for lunch. Then Yesterday I decided to make some more. I made 9 for Cayden and Madison to share. I cut up the first 2 for Cayden, and as he finished those, I cut up another. He was still hungry so as I started to cut up the 4th, my knife wouldn't go through it. Surely it can't be frozen was my first thought, so I pulled the top of the nugget off and found this:


A PIECE OF BLUE PLASTIC!! I about died! It was super jagged and sharp. I was not happy, so I immediately called Walmarts corporate office and complained. The girl there was very nice and kept apologizing. I know its not her fault, so I tried to not be rude, but come on! Plastic in my food!! She told me they were going to send me a pre-paid package envelope to send the nugget back in so they could investigate how the plastic made it into the nugget. I told her I wanted a copy of the report also. She then asked my if I wanted a refund... Is that even a question you have to ask? Of course I want a refund! Later I went into the local Walmart where I bought the nuggets and talked to the store manager. I wanted him to be aware of what was being sold on his shelves just in case other customers had problems too. He was very nice and asked me if I would like a new bag of nuggets while I was waiting for my refund to come in the mail. I said yes, but not the Walmart brand, please. He generously gave me the Tyson brand chicken nuggets and we were on our way.

Note to self: Don't buy Walmart brand!

We're just a little excited!!!

Elder Brandon Mower(my little bro) comes come from his mission to the Dominican Republic on Aug 4th! We are so excited to see him! Maddie keeps asking how much longer, so we decided to make a count-down chain for her. 35 more days! That time will fly! It will be so good to see him again, and introduce him to Cayden!

We can't wait!

Out with the old, in with the new!

I love my Durango! We bought it almost 5 years ago, shortly after Madison was born. I told Chris after the first snowstorm I got stuck in with Madison in the back seat, that from here on out I wanted something with 4-wheel drive. I didn't want to ever get stuck in the snow with a baby in the back seat and not be able to get out. We found our durango from a private seller, who was selling it because his wife was pregnant and they needed something with a third row. It was a '98, and he was the original owner of the car. He had taken really good care of it! It looked new!



Now, 5 years later, we have been through a lot with that car. It has withheld 2 kids, lots of road trips, new tires, and we have loved it. But... the air conditioner has never really worked. Every summer we dread how much we will put into it for us to have cold air for a few weeks and then it stops again. And lately the shocks were starting to squeak, the back hatch wouldn't stay up without a bunjy cord, and we were starting to have transmission problems... We considered fixing everything, but quickly realized it would be more worth it to put that money into a newer car.
So... Saturday we picked up this beautiful car!



Its a 2004 durango. I knew I wanted another durango after how much I loved the old one. This one is white, with leather seats, and sunroof, dvd player for the kids, and has a third row! It even has a hemi (whatever that means...)



We look forward to many years with our new car! Madison loves to sit in the way back, so each of our kids have their own row. SPOILED KIDS!

FIVE

Five years ago today, my sweet Madison was born. I remember being so nervous for that day to come and not really knowing what to expect. As just a refresher on her birth, I was in labor for 11 hours. 3 of those hours were spent pushing with no avail. Finally after her heart rate dropping and not coming back up, we opted for a c-section. She came out not crying and was taken away quickly to check her out.(not to mention a nasty cone head!) It was an hour before I saw her, and it was the longest hour I can remember! She was a beautiful baby, with lots of hair! She was also deemed the loudest baby in the nursery...go figure!



She grew into a sweetheart! Always willing to help, very determined and SMART! She made being a first time mom an easy task for me.


Madison is not shy...ever... and is quick to make new friends. She has been such a blessing in our home. She knows how to get what she wants from Grandpa and Grandma (and Daddy) and loves her family so much! She is the best big sister to Cayden, and he adores her. She is always willing to help with him, and usually doesn't complain. I love to watch as my first baby learns to ride a 2-wheeler, get ready for Kindergarten, and play outside. Happy birthday to my sweet girl!

She's a big girl now!

I know, I know, she is almost 5...(May 31st), but I still think of Madison as my baby girl! For a few days she has been asking us to take off her training wheels on her bike. I figured if she was asking then she was more than ready. Well after an hour on Saturday and a practice run today, she was up and going! It was not even an issue for her. She just took off down the driveway, and Chris had to run to keep up with her. I am so proud of her! What a big girl!!!

Madison and her teacher! What a good daddy!

She's a pro already!

Here's a quick video of her riding her bike!

Way to go Maddie! I am so proud of you!

He loves him some dirt...

I went over to my sister-in-laws Friday to see her new carpet, and I kid you not for 30 seconds, I turned my back just in time for Cayden to crawl right over to the dirt and take a big handful! That kid is so stinkin' fast, I can't keep up. Luckily Jenn took his picture so we could have a good laugh after. He didn't mind that dirt at all!

Teaching him young...

We are teaching Cayden to cook and do dishes at a young age! He loves to play with Maddie's old, shake it to hard and it falls over, plastic kitchen set! He mainly pulls all the food out, which I think I put back at least 5 times a day, but it keeps him happy! He will be a great husband one day if he keeps this up!

My babys first REAL haircut

Cayden got his first real haircut last night! I have trimmed around his ears and neck a few times, but last night he got a real haircut. The back got cut short, and he now has a cute little fohawk. He was pretty good. He sat on my lap and I had to hold his head still because he kept trying to look at the scissors. Thanks again Kortni for making my baby boy look so grown up!

Before

During

After

He looks so big now! He is growing up for sure! What a cute boy!!!

Dinner

So I have been having a really hard time thinking of new things for dinner! I do have picky eaters at my house, so it seems like we eat the same things all the time! I made Apricot chicken for dinner tonight, and it was a hit! I had to post a picture because it looked(and tasted) delicious!!!

Summer...

Summer.... we can't wait for you to get here!!!

 

Maddie and her BFF Koda

Our house

We moved! Well most of you know our story, so I will spare the details, but we recently moved back into the house we first lived in 5 yearsago. Crazy, but thats our life! So when we moved back in, after 2 sets of renters, we knew we wanted to do a little remodeling. We textured the walls, painted, got new doors and moulding, and got new carpet. The kitchen and bathroom stayed the same, but the are next on the list. I was so impressed with Chris! He did most of the projects himself. Our friend Tyler helped us with the painting, and we hired out the carpet, but other than that we did it ourselves! From start to finish, and I mean move-in ready, was 3 1/2 weeks! We busted our butts, and here are the before and after pictures to show our improvements!
(Before on the top, after on the bottom...)

This is our entryway. We had a small closet that was so narrow, you couldn't fit a hanger in it. It was total wasted space, so Chris built a mud room closet, and not only does it look fantastic, but it is so much more efficient!!

This was our bedroom. We had to close in a wall to make it, and now we have one livingroom instead of two!

The familyroom/front room. We used to have an opening in the wall, but we filled that in, and now have a little family room instead.

Cayden's room

Madison's room

The laundry room windows were so old, ugly and dark! They didn't open, and our renters actually broke one, so we had to replace one anyway. We got a steal on the new windows at Home Depot!

New windows

My personal favorite!! This was what I used to call the dungeon. It is more like a one room cellar in the basement(actually the only basement). It was so gross down there and we used it for storage before, and I would send Chris down if we needed anything. NOW... it is my craft room! We painted, got carpet, and put up cute curtains instead of the ugly doors. I love it!!

So... Sorry for all the pictures! But now you can see what we have been up too this last month, and why I haven't blogged!