a decade

 Ten years ago today Jeff and I tied the knot.  Best decision ever.

I'm so grateful Jeff has stood by my side all of these years.  

 We have lived in 3 states (Utah, Texas, and Wyoming), 5 cities (West Jordan, Corpus Christi, Provo, Green River, Lyman), and have lived in 6 different homes (2 houses, 3 apartments, and 1 basement apartment).

 I taught for 7 years of our marriage and Jeff received a degree in chemical engineering, and he has now been working for a chemical plant for 6 years.

We have hiked, snow shoed, camped, and run many races together. 

 We have 8 more nieces and nephews than we had when we first got hitched (we now have a grand total of 4 nieces and 10 nephews).

 We have enjoyed playing a prank or two together.

 We have been blessed with 3 darling little girls that have made our lives together even more meaningful.

I am truly blessed to call this man my husband.  

Can't wait to see what the next 10 years will bring.

Happy 10 years to us!

bath time

Bath time at our house always seems a little chaotic...at least for me it does.  I have Heidi and Savanna take their baths first.  Heidi loves how she feels after her bath, but she still isn't crazy about water.  Savanna likes her bath so much that if I get her out and dressed first she tries to dive back in the tub to be with Heidi with her pajamas on.  She managed to get back in one time.  I've been able to grab her before she hits the water every other time.  Good times.  Both Heidi and Savanna love to help Caimbree get her bath.  Savanna absolutely loves to help by getting Caimbree a diaper...or two or three.  One night a new pack needed to be opened so she came out carrying the whole package for me.  Adorable.  Caimbree is usually pretty chill in the warm water, but she doesn't like getting out and being cold.  Usually Heidi and Savanna have to each take a turn brushing her hair and Savanna loves to get the lotion ready...or dump the entire bottle on herself.  There's nothing like snuggling my three clean little girlies every night once the chaos has all ended and everyone is clean, warm, and happy.

one month

Our little Caimbree girl is already a month old.  Seriously. How did a month creep by already??  We love this sweet little girl more than words can describe!  She is growing a little faster than either of the other girls, or maybe we are just more aware of it this time.  We have already had to adjust her car seat straps three times!  She is pretty sleepy still all day, but when she is awake, she is so fun to talk to because she is super observant and aware that we are there giving her attention.

She is a happy little thing most of the time except for from about 5:30-7 every night. She has some good nights with 4 hour stretches, and even a 5 hour stretch one night, but for the most part, she is up every 2-3 hours.  She is a super noisy sleeper, but Savanna is definitely not ready to get out of her crib so the pack n play may get moved to our closet.  During the day she wakes up the second I put her in her bed for a nap but as soon as she is held or snuggled, she is out cold.  We have seen a few smiles, heard a laugh a time or two, and have even heard a couple of coos.

A lot of people have commented on her long fingers and she doesn't seem quite as little as Heidi and Savanna were so maybe, just maybe, she may reach 5'2''...or at the very least be a piano player.  When she was first born her eyes were the deep blue/gray Heidi's were but now they are looking quite a bit lighter so maybe they will turn green like mine, but my guess is they are going to brown. People also comment on how much hair she has, but she is definitely the baldest, lightest haired baby of the three. Maybe since she started out light, I will finally get my brunette.  Who knows.  The fact is, we love her to pieces no matter how tall or what color eyes or hair she ends up with.  She has a peaceful little spirit and we all feel such a strong connection with her already.

We love you, Caimbree Rae!

we survived

The second the girls wake up, they run to find Caimbree and smother her in hugs and kisses. 

 This was my first week alone with all three girls.  I know, I was so spoiled this time around.  We had good times where I felt like things were pretty under control, and of course crazy times where I wished I had at least 6 arms.  Heidi and Savanna have both been so helpful and they both are so sweet and loving to their newest little sister.  If they hear her squawk or even let out a tiny noise they rush to give her a binky or talk to her or sing to her.  If Savanna can't get her to stop crying, she starts crying herself and runs to find me saying, "Maim-bee!  Maim-bee!"  I love that while she doesn't have a huge vocabulary, she says Heidi and Caimbree all the time.

Today I had to run a diaper outside and I asked Heidi to hold Caimbree for me.  It was time for her to eat so she was a little fussy, but Heidi had things under control by the time I got back 3 seconds later.  I couldn't have been happier to see the three of them reading together.  Moments like these make the hard times worth it.  If we survived the first week, I am sure we can survive many more!  Love, love, love being a mom to these three beautiful faces.  I seriously cannot believe I have been so blessed.

our little caimbree rae

 I got the CD of Caimbree's pictures yesterday so I thought I would post some more.  There were 77 pictures on the CD so it was hard to choose which ones to post, but here are a whole bunch.

 Caimbree's name is pronounced Came-bree....not Cam-bree...hence the AI. Jeff and I thought it was a pretty name and didn't think it was a made up name or anything weird, but apparently it is to some people.  I don't regret naming her Caimbree at all and I am glad we didn't let anyone sway us.  We still think it's a beautiful name and hope she will love it as much as we do.

 Coming up with a middle name was hard.  We didn't want her name to be too long and we didn't want her to have to pronounce her first, middle, and last name.  We like having family names as part of our kid's names and we looked at the family history books but nothing felt right. The name Elizabeth was in the family but I didn't want people to think we named her after me, especially since my name isn't Elizabeth.  We liked the sound of it but it was long.

 With Heidi and Savanna we can tell them stories about the people they were named after and we didn't personally know any of the Elizabeths.  Anyway, about a week or so before Caimbree was born, I asked Jeff about the name Rae.  It was my great grandma's name and I was really close to her.  We wrote letters back and forth to each other all through my high school and college years.  When I first started dating Jeff she started not feeling well and we went up to visit her.  I was glad she met Jeff before she passed away.

 When I suggested Caimbree Rae, Jeff really liked it and the more I thought about it, the more I loved how it sounded.  It seemed perfect and I couldn't figure out why we didn't think of it sooner.  I love that it's easy to say and it's short to balance out her first name.  I am excited to tell her all about the woman she was named after.  I have no doubt she knew my grandma Rae before she came to earth.

 So there's a super long explanation of her name that we love and think fits her perfectly.

 I wish we could have gotten some better pictures of all three girls together, but it was Savanna's nap time on top of being at the age where she just doesn't want her picture taken.  We will schedule a time to get some more of all three girls together when it's not nap time.

I love the sweet, sleepy days of newborns and Caimbree couldn't be sweeter.

 So far Caimbree is my sleepiest baby.  I'm not saying she sleeps 6 hour stretches at night or anything, but she definitely sleeps more in a 24 hour period than I remember Heidi or Savanna doing.

 It's hard to believe Caimbree is already 3 weeks old.  At her 2 week appointment she had grown to 20 inches and reached her birth weight of 6 lbs 13 oz.  She is growing perfectly and we are so glad she joined our family!

slow down

Every now and then I realize just how quickly time flies and it makes me a little sad.  Especially after just having a baby.  I remember feeling it after Savanna was born and now I am feeling it all over again.  It's worse this time because not only does Caimbree remind me of Heidi as a newborn, but I only have one more year before I send this little beauty off into the world of school...and then time will really fly.  I can't imagine not having my little buddy by my side all day. I hate that kindergarten is full day here.  It's a four day school week so it will be even longer days.  I will miss the carefree days of doing whatever we want.  I will miss having Heidi's help. I will miss hearing her little voice reading books to herself throughout the day.  I will miss being able to randomly leave town on a Tuesday.  I will miss my toddler.  I am excited for her to venture into the world and make friends and gain some independence.  I know she is going to love school and is going to do so well.  It's me that struggles with it.  I guess I better stop worrying about it and enjoying the time we have now.  But seriously, why do they have to grow so dang fast?

camping

 We took the girls camping this week.  Caimbree spent most of her time snoozing.  It was a little stressful to have her there so young, especially since the mosquitoes were horrible and we forgot the playpen.  I don't think she really noticed.

 The girls kept themselves busy and enjoyed having a place to eat and play away from the mosquitoes.  This is the first time Savanna colored without putting a single crayon in her mouth.  I guess she ate enough dirt to be full.

 Heidi's favorite part of camping is making s'mores.  I can't believe she can eat a whole one.

 Savanna liked her s'more, but only swallowed maybe 2 bites.  It was a little hard for her to bite, but she did enjoy the graham cracker and chocolate on its own.  Savanna had fun, but she did not sleep well at all.  We put her in the bed with Heidi but she woke up around midnight screaming and wouldn't go back to sleep until about 3 am.  Heidi apparently never noticed because in the morning she said, "I slept so good last night and Savanna slept so good too!"  Ummm....yeah, I think Heidi was the only one who slept at all.  Hopefully Savanna will get used to sleeping in the trailer soon.

The girls wanted the Christmas pajamas packed.  They all looked cute in Christmas pajamas...Savanna was in bed at his point.  It was so nice to have a place to bath the girls before bed.  We were limited in what we could do because of having a three week old, but it was fun to get out and try out the trailer!  We love living close to the mountains!

fun on the fourth

 We had a fun day celebrating our country yesterday!  The girls were excited to get dressed up for the town parade.  We discovered we didn't have red, white, and blue for Caimbree but she looked cute anyway.

 I was soooo nervous to take Caimbree out. I have never taken any of my babies to public places until they are at least 7 weeks old, but it is going to be a lot more challenging with two other littles who need to be out...especially now that it is nicer weather. Hopefully I don't regret taking her to her first parade at 2 weeks old.

 We kept Caimbree shaded and protected in the baby sling most of the time and luckily no one came over trying to get a peek or anything.

 We assumed the parade started at 10...that seems like a logical time for a parade.  Jeff was freaking out about getting a spot so we left around 9:15.  It seemed unusually empty and we were beginning to wonder if there even was a parade.  Turns out it started at 11.

 So we had a lot of time to wait.  We went for a few walks while we waited.  Caimbree snoozed.

 Heidi and Savanna had a dance party in the street while they waited. It was so fun watching them dance in the street and I am glad I didn't stay home with Caimbree because I would have missed it.

 My favorite picture of the whole day. My heart melts when I see these two holding hands.  Heidi was teaching Savanna all about parades and what to do.

 Jeff told Heidi to wave at the people in the parade so she stood on the line and waved non-stop.  Of course, she is not aggressive at all so when the candy was thrown she pretty much waited for all the kids to get out of the way and by then it was gone. She managed to get a few pieces.  After watching the parade for 10 minutes, Savanna spent her time climbing and pushing the camp chairs around.

 We came home and took naps and then Jeff started his firework show for the girls.  Savanna was done at 8, but Heidi made it to almost 11:00pm.  She was thrilled with all of it and loved picking which fireworks Jeff should light.  She was adorable running around with her sparklers.

 Jeff enjoyed the fireworks more than everyone.  He had taken the girls to choose some shortly after we got home from the hospital.  He took advantage of me not being there to stop him from going overboard.  Oh boy.  At least it's only once a year.

This isn't even half the stash he had.  Heidi had so much fun choosing the next one to go off and Jeff and I both loved watching her little face.  Maybe next year Savanna will want to stay up and watch.  They still have some left so I am sure the will do a few more every night the rest of the week. Our neighbors are going to love us.  Good thing we are quiet 364 days of the year.

We sure love America.  I am so grateful I get to raise my girls in this country.  

Happy Birthday, America!

adjusting

 It's been awhile since I have posted...life is definitely crazy with three!  Caimbree is two weeks old today, which seems pretty crazy because two weeks has zipped by.  Actually, to tell you the truth, all of this parenting thing is zipping by.  Fastest years of my life and I am so not enjoying seeing them grow so fast.  I wish I could have just a little longer at each stage.  Heidi and Savanna have been really enjoying their new little sister.  Heidi is the best helper.  She holds Caimbree whenever I need her to, she talks to her when she sees her in the bouncy seat or on the floor, and she gets me anything and everything I need when I can't.  I don't know what I would do without her.  Savanna is enthralled with Caimbree and walks around the house looking for her making kissing noises.  It cracks me up.

 So far Caimbree has been a great baby, but she seems to prefer to catch her z's in the day.  She is definitely loved and gets loads and loads of hugs and kisses and she is totally completely spoiled.  She spends very little time not being held.  At first when I saw Caimbree I didn't think she looked like Heidi or Savanna, but there are times I think I am looking at Heidi as a newborn.  She definitely doesn't look like Savanna as a newborn, but time will tell.

 I was soooo lucky to have Jeff's mom to help out this time.  I was able to heal a million times faster with her here to help keep Heidi and Savanna happy, cook, and clean.  Seriously, I have never been spoiled with so much help and I can't even describe how much of a difference it made.  It was so nice to know the older girls were being loved and cared for, the dishes and laundry were magically done, there was always a delicious meal ready, and I was able to get a nap in everyday. I was able to get off the medicine almost a week earlier than usual.

 The girls loved getting in the sprinkler every day with grandma.  They don't like the water very high and they don't get very wet, but they sure think it's fun.  Savanna is so cute she likes to hold grandma's hand and stick one foot in the water.

 After going in the water for 15 seconds, Heidi would need to lay out on her towel.

 Savanna just wipes her face on her towel.  She can't sit still for long and I have very few pictures of her face because she is constantly moving before the picture snaps!

 When Caimbree was one week old we had her newborn pictures taken.  When my neighbor told me she was moving I had just found out I was pregnant and I bawled.  I was sad to see her go and super sad she wouldn't be around to photograph our new baby.  I was happy I was able to find someone else in town who did newborn pictures and she came to our house, which made it super easy.  I don't have all of them yet, but here is a sneak peak of my favorites.  Caimbree couldn't have been a sweeter, easier baby to work with.

 Life with three is definitely going to be busy and exhausting.  I was able to heal physically faster his time, but I think emotionally it may take a little longer...for totally different reasons than I was anticipating.  Hoping these hormones start leveling out soon.  I am so grateful to my mother in law for dropping everything in her life to come and help me get on my feet!  I would have been lost without her!