The Mannings

It's official...I have two girls back to school!!! Little Audrey is now a big, bad Kindergartner and Emma's in the second grade. Audrey has big sister around to show her the ropes (not that she needs any defending). It's just me, Joe and Livi now.

Here's a real gem for all of you. When I broke the news to my children that they may not be spending the night at Nana and Pa's house Emma freaked out. Joseph had a cold and I didn't know if he would be better by then. She couldn't believe that I could do that to them. This being the final days of my children's spring break, I've turned into a beast of a mother. When she wouldn't drop it, I told her to make a little sign, go stand out on the street and look for a new mom that would treat her a little bit better. Imagine my surprise when this little note was placed before me at the table. Here's a translation of my six year old's plea..."Help, please. Emma Manning needs new family. School is Rio Vista. A family with no dogs. A family who is a member of the church." It made my morning! This wasn't a joke. Emma notified me that she would call often and come back to say good bye to Daddy. I told Emma to remind her new mommy about dance class and the recital fees. She even packed a bag, complete with dance outfit, school outfit, church outfit, MP3 player and a few random toys. When I told Audrey she could probably take a friend with her to our annual camping trip at Hume Lake, Emma looked a little sick. The real kicker was when I told her she should probably start calling me Kara instead of Mom (we wouldn't want her new mom to feel gypped). After her goodbyes with Grandma Wyatt, she told me that maybe I should just post the note on my blog and see if we got any hits because she was a little nervous standing out on the street (I'm not kidding). So finally...if there are any takers please let us know immediately.
The good news is that they are currently with my parents!!! When Sonny and I were leaving Costco today (how wonderful to shop with one baby that can't ask for anything or eat any samples) he was missing them. He Asked, "Kara, don't you miss the kids?" My only response was, "Do I really have to answer that?"
Here's a couple more photos. I finally had to transfer almost 900 pics from my camera onto the computer because my memory card was full. Given my recent download and free time I can do a new post! Hope you all are well and are surviving the spring break.

I would just like to apologize to everyone for being such a slacker. Now, granted, I have four kids now, but is that really an excuse!? I wanted to just take this moment to say how much I love my little sister, Kristi. She is one of the most awesome people in the world. She is sweet, funny, and kind. She also has really cute boobs! (I love to comment on her boobs).

Kristi is like a second mother to my kids, and they absolutely ADORE her! In fact, I think that my children resemble her quite a bit. Kristi is my mentor, and I look up to her in every regard. I can't even make a decision without consulting with her first.

Kristi was an absolute gem to grow up with too. I seriously couldn't have gotten luckier with a little sister. THANK YOU, KRISTI! I love you!

P.S. As many of you may have guessed, it is me Kristi posting for Kara yet again. Like you, I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting....So, from this day forward, I will continue to put random posts on this blog until I get what I want. And Kara...don't even think about changing your password! Love, Me

I'm so pathetic at this blog thing... SORRY. I guess a lot happens in three months and with a memory like mine I forget everything! It's hard to believe I have four children. I have a dream that one day my memory will kick in to gear and I'll remember all those precious moments that I failed to record in baby books and journals. For the time being I'm drawing a BLANK. I've kept putting this off and now I don't know what to say. Well...Olivia is just one of the most fabulous things ever! I never believed that babies actually slept through the night but low and behold they do! She is one of the happiest, darling babies a mommy could ever ask for. We worried at first because she had the LOUDEST cry ever and would often squeal like a baby pig. I think my heart jumped out of my chest a couple of times during the first couple weeks. Thankfully, she is now one of the quieter babies I've ever heard. Sonny and I can't believe how patient she is with us (we don't deserve it).


The rest of us are doing well. Emma and Audrey have quite the life with all of their school activities and such. If Emma looses one more tooth, people might start thinking I'm beating her. I think she just likes the mad cash flow the tooth fairy is bringing in. Speaking of which, I don't remember the tooth fairy being such a flake when I was a kid. The tooth fairy was so behind, it took her two nights to get Emma's money to her (not once, but twice)! I wonder if she was completely brain dead due to the birth of a new child? Anyways, that girl's so forgiving she hasn't given it a second thought.


Audrey's my little spit fire. She cracks us up and drives us to the point of insanity all at the same time. She's so sensitive, but fights these little demonic tendencies. We were having a family home evening on Moses the other night and asked the kids if they knew what a slave was. Audrey about burst at the seams because she knew for certain. "A slave is one of those little guys that works for Santa Clause."

Then there's our Joe. He is our comic relief. He's a crazy little "crack head" (like Sonny calls him). I'm so glad I got to experience a little boy, because he's a blast. He's going through this phase where he's obsessed with certain body parts (if you know what I mean). What guy isn't? This photo says a lot about Joe.


Sonny and I just celebrated our eighth anniversary. We didn't start out as one of those blissful couples that loved being married. I have to admit our first year was symbolized by holes in the wall and me spending the night at my parent's house. I'm sure Mom and Dad got tired of seeing me. I guess I'm not proud of the holes or fights, but I'm thrilled with how we've grown. That's why every anniversary is a momentous occasion for us. Just eight years later, I can't stand being away from him. I still get butterflies in my tummy when he smiles at me. I can't wait to hear his obnoxiously loud truck come home. Don't get me wrong...we can still get into it, but we always make up. He's a kick butt daddy and hubby!!! The following photo is thanks to our little photographer Emma.

***For the record...I'm not normally this mushy on my blog, but he's started to read it!!!
Here's a few more photos of the past couple months...until next time, goodbye!!!
Halloween 2008

The Devil's Punchbowl, after the stomach flu.

Daddy and Olivia on her blessing day.

Joe playing in the rain.

Tree Farm 2008

On Saturday night we welcomed little Olivia. It was such a wonderful experience. My doctor decided to induce after an ultrasound confirmed she was on the larger size and the fluid was low. I have never been induced before and didn't know what to expect. I didn't even need pitocin. I received cervidil at 10:40 and that's all it took. We had the best nurses and even my doctor, Dr. Ruiz, delivered the baby. She wasn't the petite baby the doctors and nurses thought she might be. She was 10 days early and weighed 8 lbs 12 oz and was 20" long. I grow my babies BIG. She looks just like her sisters did and we couldn't be more happy. We have been so incredibly blessed and Heavenly Father's hand was definately a part of everything that happened on Saturday. It was wonderful to have my parents there that day and to have all the kids come visit us the following day. Here's some other photos of her and some other highlights of our summer.

I'm going to do a very quick post for Kara to let all of her family and friends know that Olivia Jasmine Manning arrived today at 8:28 p.m., and weighed 8lbs. 12 oz. She is absolutely gorgeous (no shock to anyone), and looks a lot like little Audrey. The delivery went well, and mommy and baby are doing superb! I'll post pictures on my blog soon, and I'm sure Kara will do the same here!

Okay, just kidding. Kara won't give her to me (selfish), but I thought you all might like to know that Olivia is well on her way to making her grand entrance into this lovely world. Kara was admitted this morning, and I hear has now received her epidural, which means that the baby should be here anytime! I'm sure Kara will not update her blog for awhile, but I will try to post pictures when I get them. Stay tuned and say lots of prayers for them!!