"MODDY"

So, the other night I was peacefully sleeping when a little hand tapped on my arm (ALWAYS unnerving at that time of night). It was Calvin needing to go potty. Yea!!! I was more than willing to get up and help him with his business. As we sat there in the quiet, Calvin let out some gas. He turned to me with a big smile on his face and said, "Mommy, that was Thomas!" Apparently my earlier explanation of gas had also included the word "toot" which is what Thomas the Tank Engine does. You know... toot-toot! So Calvin just put the two ideas together. Either that, or he has inherited my sense of humor.

We've had such the crazy summer... well, never mind. They're all just excuses as to why I haven't been able to get anything new done with the blog, but oh well. We have a newer, bigger home to go with our newer, bigger family. Yes, we are having number 4! Linden wins the prize on guessing what it was going to be. She has been convinced since we told her I was pregnant that it was going to be another brother. I'm glad she was right because I don't think she would have taken the disappointment well. He will be making his debut around the first of January. Hopefully you won't have to wait until then for another update. Anyway, I'll share some photos of the more eventful things that have happened in the last few months...

Molly turned 1!

We visited with our cousins at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Linden and some of her friends performed for the talent show at church.

We did a LOT of swimming. Linden ended the summer being able to "swim" 5+ yards by herself and Calvin is no longer afraid to go underwater on his own.

Linden's first day of Pre-K. She is getting so big!

Thanks to our Oklahoma blizzard, we had some free time on Christmas Eve to focus on what the Christmas season really is about. Hope you enjoy our movie.

She's finally here...the newest addition to our family. Molly decided when she wanted her birthday (which was fine with me because it was earlier than the doctor had me scheduled). I think she was roasting in my tummy in the 100+ temperatures that week. I know I just felt like a human oven more than normal.

The doctor didn't make it for delivery. The nurse told me to push and as soon as I started to she said, "STOP!" Molly didn't want to wait, though, even with the nurse trying to hold her in. The doctor walked in as they were handing her to me. Crazy girl! (That pout is classic Calvin)

Anyway, we are so happy to have her here. She is a great little baby and takes the "loves" from her brother and sister in stride. Even when Calvin takes chunks out of her head she just looks around as if to say 'That's all you've got?' (she did cry when she got pummeled by a flying sippy cup).

Upper: Linden and Molly dressing up to dance. Molly's 'dress' is actually her swimming suit. Middle: Good morning Molly! This was her first morning home and everyone wanted in on the action. Lower: Calvin holds Molly for the first time in the hospital. He is doing his favorite thing, pointing out her body parts. It gets kind of dicy when he starts on her eyes and nose. She is only a day old in this picture.

She is also Linden's little doll. Even before we left the hospital Linden was playing dress-ups with her, laying out all of the clothes she wanted Molly to wear. It was quite cute. Calvin is having difficulty with her name. It's not that he can't say Molly, but that he doesn't recognize that all babies aren't called Baby Thomas. Baby Thomas happens to be Calvin's 4 month old cousin. I probably have to correct him at least ten times a day. He'll catch on soon hopefully.

Travis and Molly taking a rest

She already has daddy wrapped around her finger. He hates to hear her pathetic little cries for attention and is quick to snuggle her in her blanket and love on her. She is very easy going and seems to be handling our crazy life just fine. I'm enjoying the lull because she's sure to follow in her sister and brother's footsteps.

Molly's first bottle. Calvin wanted to help and did surprisingly well.

This is my first contribution (Travis) to the family blog, and when I saw this tube of hand lotion that was donated to the clinic I knew I had to share. I couldn't help but find the name a little ironic; You wouldn't think that a rejuvenating cream would come from a place that since ancient times has been known as the DEAD Sea. It's called the Dead Sea because it is 8x saltier than the ocean and no animal life (and very few plant life) can survive around it. For me, the Dead Sea would be the last place on earth to look for a rejuvenating cream, but it turns out that a lot of minerals from the Dead Sea are used for lotions. Nonetheless, the name is still funny since I really don't think the Dead Sea is the keeper of the secret of rejuvenation. 

Our local mom's club does a great event called Touch-a-Truck where they get city service vehicles together and the kids get to see them up close.  There was even a helicopter that came in for a little while.  There were tons of kids and lots of vehicles to see.  Calvin wanted to be in the driver's seat in all of them, but there were just too many cars to see.  It was also EXTREMELY loud because the kids were pulling the horns in all the semis.  Linden did not like this at all and ended up crying because she was so scared.  Calvin, on the other hand, LOVED every minute of it and cried only when it was time to go home.  Here are some pictures of the event:

Linden, Calvin and Travis riding in a University of Oklahoma Trolley

      

Calvin waits for his turn to drive while Linden gets an idea of what it's like in the driver's seat.

Calvin driving the Metro Transit bus.  I don't think he can see over the steering wheel.

    

Just a few examples of the different vehicles they had on display.

    

Calvin really wanted to take this Hummer out for a spin.  If you look closely you can see he has to stand in order to see out of the windshield.

Calvin once again in his element.

There was also a dog show going on at the same place.  I think Linden liked that a little more than she liked the trucks.  At least the dogs weren't nearly as loud.

So, I'm sure many of you noticed the fact that the last post came before Thanksgiving and hopefully we haven't lost too much of your interest due to my lack of ability to make time to update the blog.  It has been an eventful few months with numerous ups and downs.  I'll do my best to catch you all up to speed on what our little family has been doing for the last little while.

This was a big month for us for numerous reasons.  Mainly because it was Linden's birthday.  She had been looking forward to it since Christmas (she finished opening her Christmas presents and was wondering when she was going to get more).  A couple of weeks before her birthday I made a chicken and rice casserole with green beans to go with it.  Linden promptly created a casserole birthday cake complete with green bean candles.  It was great.   When the day finally rolled around Grandma Pauline hit the jackpot with her very girly purse cake.  Grandma Michaelsen outdid herself and sent Linden just about everything she could find for her to transform into Sleeping Beauty.  Linden didn't take the dress off for a week.