Will's birthday

Does this look like the face of a 5 yr old?
I can't believe Will's 5! We watched a video today of Will's birth, and when I looked at him he just seemed so big! I am so happy to have him in our lives.
I admit, he tests us a lot. Maybe it's the age, but he doesn't want to accept our answer when it's not in accordance with what he wants. He will just argue and argue. And if we take something away and put it up high where he can't reach it he'll just get a chair and try to go get it. It frustrates me that he doesn't give up.... but I guess that could be a strength of his if applied in the right way.
On the other hand, he certainly can be such a good, sweet boy too. He is the ring leader among his sisters and I think he loves it. He'll have an idea about something they can pretend to do or be and they'll just follow right along like Will's the best thing in the world. They can really have fun together sometimes. Will can also be really sweet and loving. And I love to talk to him when he comes home from preschool. He gets so excited to show us what he did during art time that day! He is such a joy to us.
Here's a funny story about Will. The other day I took them to McDonald's and we were eating and talking about playing after. He started talking about how he was going to go make some new friends, and he said, "I will go up to them and say Hi. I'm Will. What's your name? And they'll say, 'That's a good question.'"
Haha! I thought that was so funny, and he just went on about what would happen next. And then when he was up there playing he was just chattering away- mainly about how this was a new Mcdonalds and the old one burned down. And then I saw him at the top and he looked down at me and yelled, "Mom, I made a new friend!"
Haha. What a funny kid. He gets so excited and happy sometimes.
So here's a couple pictures from his birthday:

Most of the pictures from his birthday party at the park turned out a little dark, but I liked this one b/c you can tell he's excited about this shirt he got from Grandma b/c it has a cowboy on it (like Woody). Later that day, he put it on and he said he was going to wear it every day. He also got new shoes and didn't want to take them off. We even let him wear them to bed that first night. I was actually a little surprised to still see them on his feet when he woke up in the morning, but he wore them all night. He's so funny.
And here's Will about to open one of his presents at home:

He got a cowboy hat among many other things

And it's interesting how excited he was to see this, b/c it's just something I picked up kind of spur of the moment- not as one of the main gifts. But he has really liked his cowboy hat.
It also turned into a magician hat one day

And his sister's like it too:

And speaking of the girls, they are also really into dolls lately. They feed them and "bathe" them, and change them, and take them for walks in their little stroller, and put them down for naps. It is so cute. Tessa is really talking more lately too. The other day she was playing with a baby and it was so cute to hear her say "Baby sleep. Shhh." And baby this and that. :) Here's her feeding a baby.

And here's a happy one of Tessa

She can be so happy and fun. I love to sing songs with her and see her do the little motions; some of her favorites are the wheels on the bus, the monkey & the alligator song, and if your happy and you know it. If I sing those songs she gets so excited; it is just so cute to see her little finger wagging on "teasing mister alligator" or on the wipers on the bus go swish swish. She is just so fun. And I love to tickle her and make her laugh. I also love to hear her little voice... But on the flip side- Oh boy! She has a temper! And she has a big problem with hitting lately. Oh, I have never had a kid hit like she does. If she is mad at the littlest thing she'll hit me, or whoever's closest. One time, when she was in a bad mood, she just fell down, and she got up madly, walked over to me and hit me, just to tell me that she was mad. I hate the moody days, when it feels like my kids are in time out practically all day. I hope this hitting stage passes soon...
So here's a couple of Adalynn and then I think that'll be enough for one day. :) Just can't leave out my beautiful, sweet little girl.

I just thought she looked really cute on the couch that day in her little pink dress with her pig tails.
And here's one after she sat up. Her hair's a little messy and she's watching TV, but I still thought it was a cute picture. :)

I'm back!

I'd just like to say, it's nice to be back in the blogging world- and back to life in general. Wow, it's been a rough couple months. For anyone that knows how my pregnancies go- it's been the same ol' thing- battling the nauseau. Nauseau, however, is putting it lightly. For awhile on my worst days I would be vomiting 20-25 times a day. It got to the point where it really was an average of 16-20. I also had weeks where it was 10-15, but still anything above 10 is considered severe- the term is hyperemesis. It's no fun, it basically takes control of your life. I would be scared to move, b/c movement is a trigger for me and any motion could make me loose it. Many days I would just get up to go to the bathroom (and that would make me sick). I also couldn't talk when I got too nauseaus, b/c if I talked that would make me loose it. I just had to try to sit still and work on keeping a little sip of gaterade or broth or some sort of liquid down. It seems with me, once I start vommitting I can't stop- it's a cycle, b/c then I get dehydrated and the more dehydrated you get the more you vomit... believe me it gets old after awhile to vomit that much and not be able to do what you want to do. I hated not being able to take care of my kids or the house or fix meals. I hurt everywhere during that time, and I was very weak, and like I just explained very sick. So I just didn't do much... and I felt terrible to put so much on Billy and others. But thankfully, not only do I have the best husband in the world who does so much, but I also have the best ward and the best family... and the best ward family! :) My Mom came for awhile every morning before she went to work to help out with the kids while Billy was at school. (Billy came home at noon and worked from home the rest of the day.) I am so grateful for an amazing and wonderful and caring and sweet and kind and loving mother! My kids LOVE Grandma!
And then... my wonderful sister-in-law jumped in to help and called the compassionate service leader in our ward who then arranged for someone to be available to help watch the kids each weekday in the morning and for meals to be brought in 3 times a week until I got feeling better! I am amazed that so many people would be so willing to serve! I felt so loved! I am so grateful to have the gospel, and the blessings and peace it brings to my life. And I am so grateful to be in a ward that has such wonderful, good people who willingly and cheerfully do such kind things for others. I think of all the smiling faces of people that helped our family not once, but over and over again and I feel moved to tears at the love I have for them. Thank you to anyone that helped me (us)!
Well, anyway. I am also thankful for a great doctor who got me on at home care right away. I was blessed to have the services of great nurses who I talked to every day and who provided me with medicine through a pump running continuously and an IV around the clock for months. I am happy to say I have now been off the IV for about 3 weeks now. It is so nice not to be attached to that pole. It's also nice not to be vomitting as much anymore. I am down to 0-3 times a day. Yes 0! There are some days where I don't throw up at all- Yay!! It's so nice. I am still attached to the medicine pump but I'm really hoping to be off of it soon.
So how was I able to get off the IVs at the beginning of my 2nd trimester rather than the end (like the others)? I went to a homepathic doctor! And it's made all the difference. That's what's really gotten me better. He gave me estroil drops that have a combination of the right stuff to even out my hormone level. It has helped immensely.
I am now pretty much back to my normal activities! Yay! I am so happy about that! Last week I finally took the kids to the library, and we also went to the park as a family! We flew a kite and played and had fun. It was so nice to be able to get out and have fun with my kids again. I am now officially again a full-time mom and housekeeper. I even took on a big project today of going through all the kids clothes and getting out the clothes that are too small or winter clothes and making a winter box, a box for Will's cousin (the hand-me-down 3T stuff), a box of Tessa's old clothes to go in the attic, and rearranging all of Adalynn's and Tessa's drawers into what was too small for Adalynn to go to Tessa. Not only that but I got out the 3T hand-me-down clothes for Adalynn (a box and a garabage bag full) and sorted through those and put them away. And I got out the summer box. Let me tell you, my kids were so excited to see their swimsuits again!! I told them we would go soon. Oh, and I also did their laundry. Soooo... that was a really big day of organizing clothes. Wow.
But anyway, it's nice to be able to do things again and I'm so happy I can be the mom I want to be to my kids again... well I still have a lot of things to work on, but at least I can DO things. :)
Anyway, that's the update of the last 3 months. Soon I will post about Will's birthday and maybe some recent pictures!