Owen's Blessing

Owen was blessed on July 3rd, also his cousin Lydia's b-day.  Since it was a holiday weekend we didn't have any friends around to be there, so it was just us.  Owen was fussing right before Jarom held him and during the entire blessing he was quiet.  He must've known this was something special just for him.  He looked so cute in his white suit, everyone came up to him and said he looked like he should be at the beach with his bare feet sticking out.  The girls didn't want to be in our family picture so of course we bribed them.  One day maybe they'll like us!

Little Man

Owen is now 4 months old, which has gone by so fast.  I think it's been all the stress we've had in our lives since he was born.  He's started sleeping through the night (12 hours!) when Jarom left for Colorado, which has been a blessing.  I don't know how I'd function being alone with three kids and no sleep.  He's always smiling and laughing at the girls.  We get stopped all the time when we're out in public because of his hair.  Looks like he may have my eyes! The Dr. even mentioned he had some green with the brown.  So now we have all the color combinations in our kids :)  Blue, Brown, and Hazel.   He's a heartbreaker already.  He's following Riley's growth chart almost exactly.  Here is what he was today at his Dr's appointment:
Head- 42 1/2cm (50%)
Height- 26 1/2in (95%)
Weight- 13 1/2oz (25%)
I love this little guy, he's such a good boy.  Here are some pics and videos.

This little suit has a name tag on the bottom that says Future Missionary

Looks like he just got home from work

Wait and pray

It's official, Jarom is living in Colorado now without us.  He flew out this morning on Father's Day to start his new job tomorrow.  I'm here with the kids trying to get this house to sell.  We found a house in Colorado and made an offer but it was refused since it was contingent on our house selling.  It was the perfect house, the minute I stepped inside I knew it was meant for us.  But now that's all up in the air.  So what am I going to do now?  With the advice of a sweet friend I'm going to pray and read my scriptures.  Heavenly Father has a plan for us and without praying I won't get the strength I'm going to need to get through these next few weeks alone.  It's hard to be positive in a situation like this but I have to try.  Our house is a great house and there has got to be just one person out there that thinks this house could be theirs.  So the waiting begins, we'll see how long I last!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!  WE MISS YOU SO MUCH ALREADY!

A little girl named Ella

So what happens when you put a 2 yr old named Ella into time-out for less than 5 minutes?  

THIS is what happens!!!  She took a tub of Triple Paste diaper cream ($30!) and smeared it everywhere like it was paint.  Her hair still looks like she just got out of the shower, complete greaseball!  I just bought Dawn today and figured if it can get oil off a duck than it's got to get oil off this child.  We'll see what happens.
Ella is like no other, she loves wearing her tiara at all times even when she's asleep, she has to wear a dress even if it's rainy and freezing outside, she has many bruises and cuts from being a daredevil and she loves being the center of attention.  I really don't know which side of the family she takes after.  Good thing she's cute, I think God planned it that way.
Oh and here's Ella eating McDonalds on the deck outside...naked

We're moving to...

COLORADO! Yes, it's official Jarom accepted an offer in Denver and we couldn't be happier!  It's been a rough month but it was all worth it.  Jarom will be heading down by the end of June and hopefully we'll all get to go together depending on how fast our house sells.  We have so much to get done that it's all a bit overwhelming.  Riley was pretty upset about leaving her best friend, Allie, but then soon felt better after hearing that we would have a backyard to play in and a new house.  I hope the kids adjust quickly and love Colorado as much as we do.

Blog hiatus

I haven't written anything lately because we've been in stress mode for the past month.  Jarom is looking for another job and it's possible that we may be moving.  Yes, after 8 1/2 years here in the Northwest we may be packing our bags and starting over.  Which is exciting yet makes me very sad that I may have to leave such amazing friends behind.  We still don't know where we'll be going, (which is a whole other stress) but the places we've considered so far are Colorado (our first choice), Texas, Ohio, Utah, Spokane, and wherever else we can find a job.  The timing on all of this has been crazy, we never would've have chosen to do this after just having a baby, buying a new car, repairing water damage to our attic, etc, etc...  Everything has happened all at once and we are exhausted.  So while we wait to see where our new adventure begins I'll start posting some pics of little man.  He definitely is a crowd stopper....must be the hair ;)

Life with 3

We're now on our own.  My parents were here for a week a couple days after Owen was born and then Jarom's mom came out to help.  Meals were cooked, laundry was done, floors were vacuumed, and girls were entertained.  If it weren't for all the wonderful dinners brought to us from friends, I think we would've eaten mac & cheese for quite some time ;)  We've been blessed with such a sweet baby, Owen really is an easy baby, (I don't want to jinx myself), but he really is.  He eats every 3-4 hrs, sleeps 4-5 hours at night, and falls asleep in my arms without really having to rock him.  The girls were just the opposite as babies.  At his 2 week appt he grew an inch from birth and was almost 8lbs.  He also got circumcised that day, I was teary eyed as I gave him over to the Dr.  He didn't cry during it all and when the Dr. brought him back he was just staring at him with red eyes...probably noting in his little mind who did this to him!   Yesterday my friend Jamie came over and gave Owen his first photo session.  I can't wait to see how they turned out, it was quite the feat trying to get him to fall asleep without clothes on!
 As the weeks go by I'm slowly learning how to juggle everything at once.  It's not easy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

New big sister

Owen, sharing his birthday with Grandpa Schenk

My dad finally has a boy in the family!

They just look innocent

Proud big sister of 2!

Having fun at Discovery Village