Jax update

Thought I would do a few updates on the kiddos:
Jax is getting so big. Having Hads around makes me realize even more how big he is. I can't believe he is going to be 5 this summer!
Over Christmas break I started hearing Jax say things when he would get in trouble that made me worry. He would do something wrong and get sent to timeout. When I would talk to him about it I would say. "Jax, why did you do ________" and over about the course of a week I heard all three of these answers: "Because I'm crazy" , "Because I'm naughty" and "Because I can't control myself". I felt so bad every time he said them. I quickly realized that week that he has been hearing way too many negative things from Scott and I and had started using them. Ugh...that parenting guilt! Scott and I talked about it and have really tried to change the way we talk to him since then. Instead of getting upset with him and saying "You are (naughty, crazy, out of control)" we have started saying "Jax, that was not a good choice" or "that was a bad decision" and have also really worked on overly praising good things with "That is such a good choice!" I wish I would have done this sooner. I worry....a lot...that my parenting with Jaxon has been less than stellar. He has been a challenge for me but looking back on the past 3 years I can easily see that the way I have handled the issues have not been good. So, we are just trying our best to work on it and hope we haven't scarred him for life!
We tried indoor Soccer with Jaxon because it seemed like he enjoyed outdoor soccer and it would be good physical activity. It definitely didn't go as well as fall soccer. He loved playing with the fake grass and tipping over the barriers between the fields a little more than he loved playing soccer. He still did pretty good though and made a few goals. Because I want to keep him involved in some type of sport I asked him the other day if I could sign him up for t-ball again. His reply? "Nope, never". ;) He said he was good to go ahead with outdoor soccer again so I think we will stick with that for now. I think tball is waayyy too slow for him right now. I am secretly (or not) happy he doesn't want to play. T-ball is hard for 2 reasons. 1-the games are during the week and since Scott is in baseball I am the only chauffeur. Seeing I already drive Jade to dance 3 days a week it would be rough getting jax to games during the week...with a baby who hates the car. 2- It's hard for me to see jax at t-ball trying to learn something Scott could/should teach him but can never come to. It's frustrating and makes me irritated so it's probably just best for him to not play right now. It will be interesting to see if he really connects with any sport. Right now I'm just not seeing it! ;)
Funny things Jax has said lately:
- We were at the dentist getting his teeth cleaned (which he did great) and the hygienist was talking to him about Christmas. Jax said he got legos and the hygienist asked if he was a good builder. Jax said "Yes but my dad is the very greatest at building". It was pretty cute
- He still talks about Santa and often says "Santa brings presents even if you are naughty. Yeah, even if you are on the bad list he still will bring you some" Hmmm...wonder what convinced him of this! ;) I think he may have been a little worried this year!
- Last weekend he got sent to his room for something and he was NOT happy about it. Scott and I were in our bedroom laying on the bed with Hads and we hear this: "Mom!!!! I am VERY angry. I am not giving you NO more hugs!!!!" Door slam. Scott and I start laughing. Door opens "DAD!!! I am not giving you any birthday presents ever and none on a Sunday either!!!" Door Slam. Scott and I can't even control the laughing. Door opens "And mom....you are not getting breakfast!!!!" Door slam. It was hilarious. He was trying with all his might to come up with things to upset us. Too bad he couldn't see us laughing in our room! When we told him he could come out he came in the room and I told him he hurt my feelings...no more hugs? He said "Yeah, I was kidding, I will give you everything!" Whew!
- Unlike Jadyn, who sometimes becomes my personal servant (Jade can you....) and is always pretty quick to listen, I have given up on Jax. He is not about to be a servant to anyone. It usually goes like this: "Jax, can you...." and we get back a response like "No", "I'm tooo tirreeddd", "My ankle is broken", etc. A few days ago my nephews were over. I was on the tredmill and TWICE jax came all the way up from the basement to ask me questions for his cousins! I told Scott they must have more power than we do because I could have never have gotten him to do that!
- He doesn't love the dark. It used to not bother him but it does now. He woke up in the middle of the night a few days ago and I tucked him back in bed and he sleepily said "mom? I think I am going to be afraid of the night" I turned on his fish lamp and he was back to sleep
- He could eat squishy cheese all the good long day. We have decided it is banned from our house for awhile. If it's in the fridge it is the only thing he wants to eat and will sneak it up to his room whenever possible!
- He is a home body. He asks everyday "Where are we going today?" and if I tell him we are staying home he is so happy. He is very content to chill at home playing with toys and watching t.v. and he is still VERY good when he is home by himself. The second Jade walks in the door he is back to teasing, but is awesome during the day.
- He loves to get his "favorite sucker" (smartie type suckers) from the gas station.
- He loves to get in Hadley's face to talk to her. We have had to get after him lately because he will say "Mom, I made Hadley hit herself but then I rubbed it!" or "Mom, I squeezed Hadley's toe real hard but then I rubbed it!" "Mom, I sucked on Hads cheek but then I wiped it" It drives me a little (no, a lot) crazy!
-He is very creative and I love hearing him talk to himself while he plays. It's so funny.
Jax still has a hard time controlling his emotions. He gets frustrated pretty easily and hasn't figured out how to control those emotions very well. This leads to crying, screaming, hitting, throwing. It is getting a lot better though, which makes me happy to see. He can also be such a sweet kid too and I love those moments so much! He is always quick to give me kisses (Though he promptly rubs it and says "I rubbed my kiss in!"). He loves to play the wii "Spider hunting" game with Scott and also build legos with him. I love seeing the two of them together.
I sure do love ya Jax!

Jax and his "squishy cheese"

Jax loves to draw. The other day he drew lots of dino's and hung them on his well. What is this one? Well it's a terodactyl doing a handstand! So awesome!


He woke up at 5:00 a.m. asking if it was time to paint yet. I had told him the night before we could paint after Jade went to school. I think it was all he thought about while he slept!

Candyland game on a Tues afternoon

I was trying to ask Jax a question one night. I was in the kitchen and could see him watching t.v. but he wouldn't answer me. I walked over to him and realized this was why he wasn't talking!

Thank heaven's for the itouch! It can keep him busy while we wait for jade at dance, at dr apts, funerals and even church if we need it to! This thing has been sooo great for him! So glad Santa brought it to Jade last year!

Ready for school!

Watching a show together after church on Sunday. Love when they are being nice to each other!

Grandma Christiensen

Eileen Virginia Hurtt Christensen
September 4, 1925 ~ January 6, 2012
Eileen Virginia Hurtt Christensen Nov. 4, 1925 ~ Jan. 6, 2012Eileen Virginia Hurtt Christensen, 86 of Orem, passed away peacefully January 6, 2012 in Henderson, Neveda. She was born November 4, 1925 to Donald Charles Hurtt and Virginia Francis Tully. She married Carl Lewis Christensen on July 21, 1945; their marriage was solemnized May 18, 1966 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.Eileen was preceded in death by her husband Carl. She is survived by Virginia G. Yingling (Gary – deceased), Doris J. Crowley (Clarence), Carla L. Sommer – deceased (Roy), Betty E. Johnson (J. Alan), Lou Anne Kevwitch (Garry), Myrleen Wright (Gordon), 23 Grandchildren, 63 Great Grandchildren and 7 Great-Great Grandchildren.Funeral Services will be held Saturday, January 14, 2012, 11 a.m. in the Windsor 1st Ward, 1505 North 130 East, Orem. Friends and family may call at a viewing held that morning from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Interment will be in the Moroni City cemetery.

Scott's grandma passed away a few weeks ago. I am so happy that we were able to spend time with her in December. I will always remember how happy and content she was to hold Hadley when we saw her. She will be missed but I know she is overjoyed to be with her husband, parents and Carla. I am sure the reunion was amazing!

New Routine

With the New year came the time for us to get back in to a new routine as well. I had been off work for 8 weeks, Jadyn was off track for all of December and Scott and Jax had been off for Christmas break. We thoroughly all enjoyed having a break. Hadley and I had several days where we slept until 9 or 10! It was fantastic that we were able to do that-after she had been up all night-and not have to worry about getting up early to get Jade to school. I can't express how much I loved the 8 weeks I had at home. I will say I spent a lot of the days doing nothing but holding my baby and enjoying the kids. I am truly learning that I have to take the time to spend with my kids because it really does go by so quickly. I would be a stay at home mom in a heartbeat if it was financially possible. I have said it several times, I know I am blessed to be able to work from home and see my kids more than I would if I was in an office and I love and am grateful for that. But the hours are still the same at home or in the o. I am still working 30 hours a week that otherwise could be spent with the kids and doing the other things (cooking, cleaning, bills) that need to be done instead of having to find time to do all of those things after work. But, I am grateful to have a job and it is what it is.
So, like I said, a New Year brought New Routine for us. We are back to having everyone up by about 7:15 and out the door by about 8:10. I am hoping to get back to working out at 6:00 as well. I was afraid that it would be totally nuts in the morning but it has actually been ok and it feels nice to be back into the routine both in the morning and at night. Scott and I have been working hard and getting the kids to bed...in their own rooms....by 9:00 every night. It has been working and has been a huge help to feeling more calmness in our house! Right now Hadley is staying home with me. I figure since she sleeps most the morning anyway, there is no need to take her to daycare. This helps not only financially but for my own mental health! I just don't want to take her so little and especially at a time when kids are all sick. I think she will start going to daycare around April. That will be a hard adjustment for me and we will have to adjust the schedule a little as we try to figure out the best time to take and pick her up. We will take it all as it comes and in the mean time I am keeping afloat! Things are getting done around here still...all be it not as often as they used to and we are all ok with that! Life with 3 kids is not nearly as hard as I was fearing!

Church Callings....

I was released from Young Women's the beginning of December. It was quite a shock to all of us. They actually released all of the leaders in Young Women's: all of the presidency and advisers! It was definitely a timely calling, but I sure did love my girls and will miss having so much interaction with them. I will also miss all of the leaders. One of the great thing about any calling is the friendships you build with those you serve with. And although the friendships will always continue, life moves on and the multiple weekly interactions we had does not continue as we all spend time and efforts in new callings. I served with amazing women and love them all.
New callings? Oh, I am now serving in nursery. A calling I have been in before and enjoyed. I can say that I won't be bringing Hadley with me anytime soon....sick kids come to church...a lot! I have only been with them a week but those little kids are so sweet. And a calling like nursery, and the little amount of time it takes, can be much appreciated after serving in young women's. I will admit that I was nervous about the weekly activities with baseball starting again. My options would have been take all 3 kids to Young Women;s or find sitters every week. I wasn't too fond of either option. So I will miss young women's but will appreciate being in nursery for now!

Divorce Vs. Death

I was talking with someone the other day about families. While we were talking this person mentioned that they felt like Divorce was worth than death because divorce leaves bitter feelings. I didn't comment at all. I didn't feel it was the right place or the right person to openly disagree with
I have thought a lot about it since then and I can say that for me and my experiences, I strongly disagree. I have seen both. My parents are divorced, my mom's parent's are divorced and I have a brother going through a divorce. My mother-n-law has passed away. From those experiences I can tell you that divorce is not worse than death. I am lucky. I have parents who get a long. When we celebrate holidays, we celebrate together. My mom feels welcome at my dad's house and vice versa. Again, I am very lucky and realize this is not the norm. That being said, my grandparents are the same way. My Grandpa lives out of town and when he comes in he stays at my grandma's house. I have had great examples from my mom and grandma about the importance of putting children's needs before their own. There could have been bitter feelings. They could have made it much more difficult for the kids and they didn't. I appreciate that more than they will ever know. It is such a blessing. My brother's divorce is very recent and it hasn't been easy for anyone and regardless of the feelings between them, my brother and sister in law are great parents who love their kids and I know neither of their kids would wish one parent dead instead of the divorce-even if there are hard feelings right now.
I have watched Scott's family deal with the loss of Carla. She. Is. Not. Here. They can not see her, they can not call her. His sister will never get her mom to see her get married. My kids will never know their grandma (in this life). If Scott, Mike or Brandee are having a bad day they cant reach for the phone to call their mom. There are times in life- no matter how old you are- where you just need your mom...and they do not have her here. It's sad, and it's hard.
After giving all of the above much thought, I have had to realize that we all have our own opinion and circumstances in life. I can not judge the feelings of others. All I can take from the conversation I had is that I am grateful for my parents and grandparents who act in a way that for me, death would never have been easier. I am so extremely grateful I still have them in my life to support and love me and my family. I also know that Carla is missed every single day.

Two months!!!

My sweet little baby Hads is 2 months old! Words can not express how much I love her. She has been such a wonderful addition to our family.
We took her in for her 2 month check up and she weighs 11lbs 13oz (70%) and is 24 inches (90%)!! She checked out good except for a fused inner something down below ( gee one day she will be so glad I posted this) which is supposedly pretty common and the $170 steroid cream I picked up today with twice a day application for who knows how long, should take care of it! ;) she had to get 3 shots which she hated but calmed down pretty quick. Jadyn later told me she said a prayer for Hads and her shots before she left! How sweet is that?

Updates on Miss Hadley at 2 months:
- She likes to be held....by mom....a lot. She is definitely not one to just sit and hang out for very long. Don't get me wrong, she does love her swing....when the bunnies are going around and the music is on-don't try to put her in there with out the bunnies going round and round. It makes her mad! She will sit in her bouncy and swing for a short time but it isn't long before she starts squawking to let us know she is still there. She fusses a lot when others are holding her but 99% of the time will stop when I hold her. What can I say, she loves me! Because she loves to be held I realized a month or so ago that the Baby Bjorn was going to be essential. She can stay in it for hours...literally (She is in it right now while I type and has been for the past 3 hours!) She seems so squished in there but loves it. And, it is ok with me to have her close and still have 2 hands to get everything else done!ong

Scott said the other day that she is by far are most "crying" child. He is probably right. Jax was sooo calm and would sit anywhere for hours (but mostly because of his awful ear infections we later learned) and Jade went to daycare full time from 6 weeks on and I think that probably helped her not get too spoiled?!? or she was just a more content baby. Either way, I am fine to hold Miss Hadley. I like having her close to me. Again, words don't quite do justice at how much I have loved adding her to our family!

- She still has a really hard time sleeping flat. That being said, we have made HUGE strides in the last month with sleeping. Most nights I can now get her to bed around 9:00 and she will sleep until about 3:00 and the wakes up again around 6:00 or 7:00. When I put her down around 9:00 she is usually asleep enough for me to lay her in her boppy or her bouncy. After her middle of the night feeding I will usually let her sleep with me the rest of the night. I am just happy we are getting some type of a routine and she isn't staying up at all hours in the night leading us to sleep in the recliner every night....that was a little rough! :)



- She HATES the car. HATES the car! It isn't even the carseat, necessarily. We load her in the house and she is ok. We put her in the car and she is the ok but the second I start the car and reverse out of the driveway she starts crying and the crying turns to wailing very quickly! She cries real tears, turns all shades of red and purple. It is ridiculous. We have tried to figure out what the deal is but there is nothing wrong. We know this because the second we lift her carseat out of the car to take her back inside the tears quiet and as soon as we pick her up they stop all together. If it was motion sickness it wouldn't start automatically or stop as quickly either. It is the craziest thing and the complete opposite of our Jaxon. Before hads came there were several times where we would take Jax places in the car to just calm him down. We would all run errands and Jax and Scott would stay in the car and watch a show. It was always a peaceful thing for us. My how Hads has changed that! I dread having to go anywhere that will take longer than 5 min to drive. I even resorted to buying a CD of lots of different white noise sounds that I put on my Itouch and put that in her carseat for her to listen to. I just got it today and it only had a 50% success rate so far! :) We shall see!

- she poops more than any other baby I know! She doesn't just poop, she EXPLODES!!! It's pretty crazy. With jade we threw a lot of newborn clothes away from the massive spit up of her nasty formula and with hads it will be because of the yellow poop stains! I am hoping this slows down soon!
- She loves water and is so happy when she gets a shower or a bath and would stay in forever if we let her!
- She still has the cutest chubby cheeks and is a spitting image of her sister!
- She is adored by her brother and sister. Jade loves to carry her around and is so good to help her. Jax loves to touch her face and squish her. They both love her so much!
-She smiles! Scott loves when babies are big enough to start smiling and was so happy that she started giving us smiles! I wish I could keep them smaller for longer, but I do love her little grin. She is sometimes a little stingy with them but we seem to get a few every day and we LOVE it!

Oh what a night!

Last night was a long one! Jax had fallen asleep on the way home from gymnastics. I knew he would wake up later and be up all night so after a non nutritious meal of mcd"s with jade we went upstairs to relax and Had's and I fell asleep by about 8:30. We woke up at 10:30 and I tried to feed Hadley. She was fussy and I was grumpy. I got mad at Jade who was still up. Hadley then started screaming ! Not her normal cry but a painful scream! Scott came up to see what was wrong. The two of us tried for an hour to console her. It was so awful because we new something was hurting but didn't know what! We tried holding, feeding, and even getting her in the shower- which she usually loves! Finally By about midnight she calmed down enough to fall asleep. I spent the next hour holding her so she would be asleep enough for me to lay her down and feeling guilty for not spending time with jade all day and being grumpy at her for no reason. Sigh.

So...around 1:30 I was finally getting to bed when Jax woke up...who has now had a nice 8 hour nap. He was hungry from missing dinner so I went downstairs to get him food. We got him fed and back in his room with a show. It was then 3:00 am. I thought about going back to bed when Had's woke up and needs to eat. I finished feeding Hadley and then Jax wanted to come in my room. I set him up a bed on the floor and at 4:15 climbed in bed. I remember sometime after that Jax asked for a bath and I said no. At 6:40 I wake up as I roll over on something hard and odd shaped: a can opener and olives!?! What the??? I also have jax in my room-naked- asking to watch Jurassic. I was so confused. I give him the olives and get him dressed. I go down stairs and see the window markers out with a nice coloring on the mirror that wasn't there when we all went to sleep and the mcd's toys open and on the floor. Hmmm...I now know jax has yet to go back to bed. By the time I picked up downstairs jax had fallen asleep! Only after Scott got home was I told that I had actually consented to the bath for jax so he did take one (hence the nakedness) while Scott got ready for school at 5:15 am. I have no recollection of that!

The good news from all of that is Had's slept in the co- sleeper...flat... All night! I was so happy! Dr says we need her in her own crib by 3 months! Good luck to us!

New Years!

We had a fun New YEar's Eve. Scott had a lesson to plan so when I woke up and the kids were already awake I decided it would be best, for Scott, if I took the kids for a bit. We went to McDonald's and met my dad for a bit. Afterwards I took them to Jumpin Jacks. We did all of this still in our pj's. Yes, I was one of those mom's! :) Good thing me and my kids are totally ok with it!


When we got home I actually took a nap with Hadley for a bit while Scott and Jax played Wii (they did that a lot this break. It makes Jax so happy). I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to go to a movie on New Years Eve. It turned out to be a great idea and one I think we will stick with for years to come. A lot of my family and Brandee and Mike came too. We saw Tin Tin which was ok. Afterwards we went over to Megans for about an hour and a half. Jax played with the toys while Jade played Kinect. We left about 9:30. We came home and got the kids settled in bed. Yes, we are party poopers and not a fan of trying to keep kids entertained until after midnight. Jax was asleep by 11:00 as was Scott. Hadley and I were asleep by 11:30. Jade was in her room watching a show. She said she heard people shouting "Happy New Year!" outside before she fell asleep so she may be the only one who made it this year! ;) To midnight or not, it was a fun day with the kids!

My mom laughing at herself while trying to play Angry Birds!

These two spent the night downstairs...Jax playing and Zach drawing!

HE loves to play with Spike!

Cute Sam loves to hold Hadley

Jade loving the kinect. They were playing wipe out!

Scott was having fun too!

We all got a kick out of Hadley staring intently at Seth! She stared at him like this for about 10 min! We told him it must because Jade has told her how much she loves Seth and Hadley wanted to see what all the fuss was about! ;)
Grandpa with the two youngest grandkids!

After Christmas Acitivites as well!

I have always loved the week after Christmas. Scott and I have both always had that week off from work and we are able to spend lots of time with our family.
Monday Scott went to his movie day. I think he only saw 3 movies this day....a very slow year from him! He was joined by my dad (who went to all three, my brother, and his sister and brother. I was happy to stay home and get Christmas put away and the house cleaned! I couldn't stand it one more minute. Jade played with friends all day and I probably spent over 8 hours on the house. As much as I love Christmas and all that comes with it, I love getting my house back-the day after- just as much!
Tuesday I spent the day mostly in Jade's room. I cleaned it out real well and moved things around so that we could put up Hadley's crib.


It all fits really well and now Hadley has a crib....not that she has spent any time in it. The good news is sweet Jadyn has slept in her bed 95% of the nights since we moved things around. That night we were able to go and see sweet baby Annie. Our good friends and across the street neighbors had her on Dec 22nd. We have been excited for her to come. Her and baby Hads are only 6 weeks apart and I am sure will be the best of friends growing up!

Wednesday we took the kids and Emmalee and Izzie to this trampoline place. I thought it would be a fun place to take the kids while they were on break...so did 1/2 of Utah. It was super crowded!!! The kids had fun but I was glad to get out of there!

Thursday Brandee took Jax and Jade to a movie and lunch while I spent the afternoon with Hadley. It was carla's birthday so we stopped at the cemetery, ran some errands and then went to dinner with Brandee and Mike.

Friday was my first official day back at work. It was nice that Scott was home with the kids so I didn't have to wake anyone up early to get ready. We had my grandma's swimming party that night that we all love. The pool is warm, there is a diving board, and lots of kids to play with! My kids love it!

Christmas Day

We had a great Christmas. Santa came....

Main gifts-
Jade: Double doll stroller and karaoke

Jax: Megarig shark ship, mega rig dino helicopter, legos

Hadley: Crib

My family decided to all go to my brother's ward at 9:00. It was nice to be all together in church. I liked it. I also liked going to church on Christmas. I loved the break in the day to go and sit and remember why we celebrate. I would take Christmas on Sunday every year!

Cute Miss Hadley wore the Christmas dress the we got for Jadyn. She sure looked cute...even if she didn't look too comfy! I had to take her and feed her and Scott said Jax was soo good the entire time!

After church we headed over to my mom's for brunch and presents! The food was great and we enjoyed all hanging out together!

Sweet baby Hads with Grandpa Steve. He is usually the first to speak to hold her! I am pretty sure she likes him as much as he likes her!

My mom asked what Hads wanted for Christmas and I said she needed nothing. Grandma wasn't having any of that and bought her her first baby doll! She also got us a box of diapers. I loved that! Those things are sooo expensive!

I love this picture: Jax getting a kiss from grandma after Jax said thanks for the Legos!

Kids waiting anxiously for their presents.....

which are handed out-youngest to oldest-by Uncle Josh. He is always the one who passes out my mom's gifts to the kids. He did a great job this year doing only one child at a time. It was much more calm than in years past!

The grandkids-minus wyatt and brinks

My kids LOVE Seth!

Josh and Hadley

Grandpa and the kids

Grandma and the kids

After my mom's house we went home and spent the afternoon relaxing and playing with the kids toys. Scott spent the entire afternoon playing with Jaxon and all his new toys! Jax loved that! Michael and Brand came over and spoiled my kids! They are too nice and my kids are lucky to have them. Not sure why I don't have any pictures of them at our house!

In the evening we headed over to my grandma's who is nice enough to do dinner for whoever stops by. My sweet uncle Dave insists every year on buying for EVERYONE in the family. My mom has 6 siblings who all have kids and grandkids so Dave buys for a lot of people and puts a lot of time and thought into each persons gift. It is so sweet! I love that he likes to give as much as receive!

Jax fell asleep on the way to my Grandma's

but was quick to wake up once we got there!

After my Grandma's we headed over to Roy and Belva's.

These two are 4 1/2 months apart. Not sure why Hads is so upset!

Jax loved this dinosaur!

Scott, his brother and his dad!

The five of us

Sommer grandparents with grandkids (minus weston)

Afterwards we headed back home. The kids wanted more time to play with toys. The house was such a mess! I was too tired from playing santa till 3:00 in the morning and then getting up so early it was all I could do to stay awake!

The kids had a great day. Jaxon couldn't open enough presents. I have to say he was pretty focused on the gifts this year on just wanted to keep opening. Does he know why we celebrate? Yes, he will say to be with family and for baby Jesus but he loved the gifts for sure. I had to laugh because just a few days ago Jax said "Mom..you know santa doesn't really care if we are naughty. I mean...he still brought me presents! Even for naughty kids he will still bring presents" Hmmm...ya got a point there Jax! :)
I was a great day spent with all of our family. I am so grateful we have so much family around us. Sure, we spend the day visiting a lot of family but I would not want it any other way. I have been blessed with so many great people in my life.