Tomlinson Times: June 2010

Life back to normal??

polka dot princess

a smiling picture (of course she has to cover her face). i love that she looks like she's just cracking up about something!

this wasn't a posed picture at all!

our Sarah is a thumb sucker. we've never had one before, and we're pretty excited about it. so long as the weaning doesn't involve chopping off a finger.

a dark smiling picture. she's been smiling since 5-6 weeks, but she will NOT smile when i need her to! oh, her smiles are to die for...

she weighed in at 13lbs. 13oz. at her two month... that's my girl! she's off the chart in every category. she's going to follow in her sumo brothers footsteps.

"hello? you talking to me?"

brother/sister love. do you see those shifty eyes that Rachel has? she's trouble, i tell you! watch out D!

I've obviously tried to catch up on several months of activities, and I've hardly scratched the surface. That's just how it goes sometimes. But I suppose life is as "back to normal" as it's gonna get! I have an inquisitive 4-year-old, a mishchievious 2-year-old, and an angelic 2-month-old that surround me with chaos daily. I'm not great at blogging, that's no surprise. I don't have witty or insightful posts, that much is obvious. But I feel much better that I've scratched this off of my "to do" list... Here's to no more binge posting!

Trampoline!

Thanks to Grandpa and Mima Tomlinson, my kids have been in seventh heaven with a brand new trampoline! They were both a little cautious at first, not quite sure how to handle the beast, but they are quite proficient now. It is a GOOD thing we got the safety net because my kids would have broken their necks several times by now. It's probably teaching them bad habits (they like to throw their bodies full speed at the net) but it's saving their lives for time being. Hopefully by the time it breaks or we decide to take it down, they will be safety champs on there. In the meantime, we're having lots and lots of fun!

D-man is FOUR!

Daniel had a pirate party for his birthday. He has been obsessed with pirates ever since we went to Disneyland over a year ago. He had a fabulous time (obviously), but the one thing that he remembers best is the pirate ride (Pirates of the Caribbean). D was TERRIFIED of that ride, and he will tell anyone who will listen what a traumatic event that was for him to go on it! I figured that was fine. I love that ride, but I can see how it can be scary-- the dark, the drops, the skeletons, the jail, the dog, the fires... Gosh, maybe that ride was scarier than I remember! Anyway, D has had a love/hate relationship with pirates ever since. I have to tell him that some pirates are nice. He wanted a pirate party for his fourth birthday party, but I'm not sure if he's trying to be the nice or the mean pirate... :) Check out his pirate hook!

Daniel had a Toy Story present smorgasbord! Woody, Jessie, Buzz, and Bulls Eye. His favorite? Jessie... :)

He loves his pirate cupcakes... What a cheesy smile.

Here's our answer! He is a MEAN pirate! (But still so cotton pickin' cute!)

The D-man loves orange, his sisters, Caillou, and digging in dirt. He tells me that he is going to be a doctor, a dentist, a digger, or a daddy when he grows up. He'll be excellent at them all. Although he loves to be rough and tumble with Daddy (and his sisters, if they'll let him), he is incredibly sensitive and affectionate. He still wants to cuddle with his mommy (and mommy can't get enough of his cuddles) and professes that he'd like to marry her. His sister, Rachel, is a close second. For those that he loves, he shares the dimensions as, "I love you all the way to Heaven and up Jesus' nose and back!" He is not trying to be disrespectful, I assure you-- Jesus is the focus of many of his thoughts and questions... Daniel is such a blessing in our family. We love him to pieces!

Two toddlers unsupervised??

The hardest part of having a new baby for me is feeling like your other child/children are neglected. I struggled the worst with Daniel after having Rachel, and felt like the worst mom ever. With Sarah I haven't felt AS bad because D-man and Rachie-bop are great friends and like to play with each other (for the most part), but I still worry about what they're doing while I can't check on them... I worry most about the silence. I would prefer screaming and fighting to the terrifying silence. So far, we're all still alive!

Outside is one of their favorite places, even this old broken down swingset. Things go fine until Daniel sees and fly, or a bee, or an ant for that matter... This boy definitely has some phobias! A new addition to our backyard has been the BEST! (More details in another post).

They both share a room now and have bunk beds. We would constantly find Rachel trying to climb in bed with Daniel on the top, so we decided to make two beds, side by side. Life is much happier... Look at those faces!

This is what happens when little children find goodies in the cupboard. A sweet sister in my ward brought cupcakes with a meal. Can you guess what color the frosting was?

And then there were five!

My mom came and helped for the first week. It was WONDERFUL to not have to worry about D and Rach. Not to mention all of the cooking and cleaning and listening to me be whiney and cranky... :) Thanks, Mom!

Here's our sweet Sarah Joy! She is beautiful and looks just like her siblings did at her age.

I look pretty happy here, but this was the day after. You don't want to see what I looked like the day of! Delivery went pretty well, but the epidural did some screwy things to me. My blood pressure plummeted and parts of the day were fuzzy. John thought that I was going to die. I might have thought so also if I hadn't been so loopy! She came out in two contractions, though, which was by FAR my fastest. She was a big girl with her umbilical cord wrapped around her several times. Why do my babies try to compete in being the most purple upon entering this world? After she was born, she just looked at me for over an hour. She was so completely alert and ready to join the family. We love her to pieces!

I love these little ones! I feel so blessed to have three perfect children.

Last minute pictures...

One advantage of not having the internet was not having to show everyone my increasing size. I was feeling very large by the end (although I usually boast that I'm feeling awesome for the first eight months). I must be getting old or something because the last four weeks felt like FOREVER! :) Here's a picture of me and the family the day before Sarah was born. How's that for timing!

Nine months of roasted marshmallows and citrus produce cravings... Must be a girl.

Seven years of marriage... Still feel like the luckiest girl alive.

My cutey-patootey family... they have no idea how quickly their lives will turn upside down!

We're back!

We could not stay away. We missed the internet too much! I dare any of you to go five months without!! :) John and I spontaneously decided to sign up again. I'm not sure why, but I'm not complaining. I feel like I've missed out on so much!

So, beware! I am going to catch up a little. We'll see how much I'm able to do before little Sarah needs to be fed!

Here's the cute family! John playing play doh with them... What a good daddy!