This and That at the Zoo

Our little boys sleeping.  No matter how much room they have in bed, they always end up right next to each other and Zackary is always uncovered.

We had a fun outing to the zoo.  Here the kids are enjoying a "bear cave." Notice the map of the zoo in Anton's hand. He refused to let go of it during our entire trip throughout the zoo.

The kids and I on the lion.  They loved seeing all of the different animals this visit, however, their attention spans were quite short.  We made it through the zoo in record time.

The baby zebra. Anton and Zackary loved seeing this little baby.

Linden with the kids in the little playground area.  Getting all three kids to look at the camera at the same time is impossible.

Fun in the Spring!

During spring break in March (not that any of my kids are in school, yet) we enjoyed a morning playing in the snow.  We got to go sledding, make snow angels,  and attempt a snowman.  The boys loved playing outside in the snow.  Especially having mom pull them around in the sled and sliding down the small hill in our yard.

One day while I was at work, Linden got this photo of Zackary and Isabel sleeping.

One night, Isabel woke up and didn't really want to settle back down to sleep.  Linden and I were still up and Linden was playing around with his basketball.  He decided this would be a good time to let Isabel get her first lesson in shooting a basketball.  She loved it!!

Our little darling in her cute outfit.  My Aunt Jean made her the adorable skirt.

On April 29, we had another snow storm for the boys to go play in the snow.  They loved it.  They built a nice big snowman and then demolished it and enjoyed playing with the snow again.

Anton concentrating on playing with the snow, trying to get it nice and smooth.

Zackary was willing to look up from the snow for a quick picture.  We had been working on getting the flower bed ready for the year just a few days before, so, here he has his gardening tools for the snow.

Linden, out supervising the boys playing in the snow.  This was his better side, he said.

Isabel got all dirty eating something chocolatey.  Don't remember what it was.  I got a picture taken and gave her some water to drink. And then was going to get her all cleaned up.  Anton wanted to take a picture of Zackary.

So, I let Anton take a picture of Zackary.  Anton insisted that he needed to get a picture of Zackary's behind and Zackary was more than willing to comply.  So here it is.

I then went back to get Isabel out of her seat and cleaned up.  I guess the water helped to wash off her chin. However, she smeared the rest ALL OVER her head.

 We had a great sping.  More to come on some of our spring activies soon.  Then we will get started reporting on the summer.

Birthday Kids

At the end of March we had two birthdays to celebrate.  Anton turned five and Isabel reached the one year mark.  I decided to get fancy with their cakes.  (I know this is nothing compared to what some people do for cakes, but this is about as much as I do.)  Linden baked the cakes and I did the decorating/frosting.  It was a very delicious yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  The recipe Linden found for the yellow cake called for 8 egg yolks!!

The festivities consisted of a special day for Isabel and another one for Anton doing what they wanted to do, and letting them know how special they are for our family.  And then of course, we had the party with Grandma and Grandpa Butler and family and another with Grandma Nielsen and family.

Our little darling on her first birthday.  Sitting, no walking or crawling.  However she had a really mean army swim (yip, swim not army crawl) that would get her anywhere her little heart desired very QUICKLY.  She is now almost walking and crawls everywhere.  I miss that army swim.

Showing off how old she was.  She would be so excited that she would dance around, hence the blury picture.

Uncle Josh had to help Anton unwrap his gift from he and Maria.  He had taped down EVERYTHING! Anton couldn't find a loose end anywhere to start ripping.  Good job, Josh.  When Anton got it opened he was super excited.  He got a hotwheels race car track.  He loves IT!

As most 1 year olds, Isabel was more interested in the wrapping paper than the gifts.

We always have to strip down the babies on their first birthdays to facilitate clean-up of the cake eating. Isabel loved her cake. I will hopefully be posting a video of her devouring her cake - if it decides to work. Here she decided to give us the thumbs up she was so excited to see her very own cake!

Anton blowing out his candles.

Anton thought he needed to eat his cake like Isabel was eating hers - without his shirt on and without a fork/spoon.  However, our clean freak also decided that he didn't want to get his hands dirty.  So, he ate his cake very carefully with just his mouth, making sure to not get his face dirty, either.

The devouring of the cake.  She LOVED it!

The next weekend, after Grandma Nielsen was back in town, we got to do the same thing again.  It is great to have Grandparents close enough to share in these special occasions.

The second go-round of cake eating, Isabel had it down.  She knew what to do to get the most amount of cake and frosting into her mouth.

#3 of Catching Up (Yip, I am still at it)

Last Thursday we received a very wonderful phone call.  We have been hoping and praying for this phone call for over a year. We started applying for jobs about last March before Linden graduated in July.  The last day of his internship was June 24, 2010.  His first day of his new job will be June 20, 2011.  Almost one complete year.  Many prayers of gratitude and joy have been offered, along with tears.  It isn't a dream job.  It isn't even in Linden's field of study.  It is a JOB.  We are extremely grateful.  On Thursday, Linden was offered a part-time job with Melaleuca in their call center.  Yesterday, Monday, they called back and said, hey how about we give you a full-time position.  Even more answers to our many prayers.  We will have insurance again, in a few months.  We will have a steady paycheck. 

Though this past year has been quite a trial, I have learned much.  Mostly I am extremely grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that has kept us going with little blessings everywhere that add up to huge blessings.  I know that our little family has been blessed because we have done our best to be self-reliant and follow the prophets' counsel. We have avoided debt, we do our best to have food storage and prepare for the future.  We work hard to manage our resources wisely. Because of this we were blessed with a few temporary jobs to extend our savings.  How grateful we are for this opportunity for Linden to have regular employment again.  I know that we will continue to be blessed as we continue in obedience and do our best to fulfill the Lord's will for us.  Thanks to all of you for your prayers on our behalf and for your assistance.

Now moving on to something that won't make me cry as I type.  Here are lots of pictures that I think are so cute I couldn't resist posting them on the blog.

At the end of January Leonora, Kevin and Katelynn came for a visit.  We took advantage of the opportunity to get a picture of three of the four granddaughters that were born in the Butler family last year.  We are only missing Susan's little girl.  Here Isabel looks so big and chubby.  In reality, she is in the first percentile for height and weight and we get lectures about feeding her enough.

The little girls with their mothers.  Leonora and Katelynn, Isabel and me, Jessica and Claire.  Isabel is the oldest of the three, born in March.  Next is Katelynn in November and Claire in December.

One night, around midnight, I heard a commotion coming from the boys room.  Linden went to see what was going on.  Then I heard him helping Anton back to the bathroom.  Then I heard Anton start puking (again).  I took over helping Anton, while Linden proceeded to move Zackary to our bed and change the bedding.  Of course, Isabel woke up, also.  After I got Anton bathed he joined Zackary and Isabel in our bed while Linden and I got the boys bed made again.  They enjoyed being in Mom & Dad's bed.  We finally got them settled in their beds again after about 45 minutes.  Twenty minutes later, we heard Anton puking again.  So, it was back in the bath, new sheets and blankets again and all three kids in our bed.  We had more sheets for the boys bed still, but we were about out of clean blankets, so we were quite relieved when we didn't have round three that night.  As it was none of us got settled in bed again until around 2 am.  Poor little Anton, looks like he isn't feeling very well in this picture.

Bath time is everyone's favorite in our house, especially Isabel.

What an adorable little face!

Trying on their new ties for Brook and Bob's wedding.

We made a trip down to Utah for a couple of momentous family events the first weekend in March.  First up, Brook went through the temple prior to getting married. What a special day.  Thanks for sharing with us.

Second up that weekend, was Katelynn's blessing.  Here are the kids after church.  (We had already changed the kids out of their clothes so they wouldn't get dirty, and wanted to get a picture of the four cousins.)  Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get four little ones to hold still for a picture.  It would have helped if I had the camera on the right settings, (oops, I forgot to check).  Anton and Zackary LOVE Katelynn.  When we first got there on Saturday evening they spent about fifteen minutes just talking and cooing with Katelynn, trying to get her to smile. They don't stick at hardly anything for fifteen minutes.  I attribute it to the week we spent in Utah helping Leonora with Katelynn while she was finishing up her student teaching.

The proud parents with their little darling.  A couple of weeks later we were also able to attend Clair's blessing, but we forgot our camera.

Isabel loves marshmallows.  Mom and Dad don't.  I think this particular one was a yellow one with some chocolate stuff on it.  She was almost untouchable.  This picture wasn't the worst of it.

The amazing ever-floating balloon.  This picture was taken when the balloon was one month old.  Yes, it is still up at the ceiling, no photo tricks.  A few days later, it died.  We were quite surprised that it lasted so long.

It was a great few months.  We have such wonderful children.  I love watching them learn and grow.  Thanks for bearing with me as I catch up on our family journal.

A Toy Story Christmas - Catching Up #2

Thanks to family, friends, neighbors and Secret Santas we had a great Christmas, in more ways than one.  We truly felt very blessed and loved by many.  We were able to come to better understand the spirit of the season and hope that sometime we can pay it forward.

Linden and I got up and got dressed and ready to go for the day.  Normally the boys wake up around 6:30 am.  This would give us plenty of time to open our gifts and have our family breakfast before we needed to head out for a busy day of visiting family.  Well, we woke the kids up at 8:00 am.  Here they are shortly after we woke them up.  It must have been because of all of the visiting we did the day before, but they sure slept late. It was a good thing because they weren't so grumpy having gotten some extra sleep.

Anton and Zackary showing off the coat hanger Linden made them for Christmas.  They love seeing their names and being able to hang up their coats instead of tossing them everwhere helps keep mom sane. Thank goodness I have a handy husband that can create personalized gifts for us.

The boys trying out their new sleeping bags and alligator pillow they got from a secret santa while sharing with their sister.

Thanks to the blitz sales, Grandma Nielsen was able to completely thrill the boys.  Anton was so excited when he opened up Buzz he danced around the room with him.  Of course Zackary was just as thrilled and danced, also, but that is what Zackary normally does, Anton's dance was unexpected.

Isabel also got Jesse, this is the only picture I got of her with her new toy.  She loves playing with Jesse, just as much as the boys love playing with Woody and Buzz. Especially since that is what the boys always give her.

How wonderful it was to feel the love from others as they helped to make our Chirstmas brighter.  I wish I knew who to thank for all that was done for us and given to us. THANK YOU!

Catching Up Post 1

I finally feel ambitious enough to try to catch up on my blog. This is our family journal and I need to record a few things before I forget them.

Zackary had a great third birthday. His new cousin Claire was born on his birthday. He also got to see Santa Claus at the ward party. We had a little party for him afterwards with Grandpa and Grandma Butler and Uncle David. We had lots of fun celebrating having our little spitfire with us for three years.

He is still very spunky at HOME.  Anywhere else he seems to be painfully shy. He has a contagious smile. When Anton wants something Zackary is the first to share and come to a compromise about 90% of the time.  He LOVES to make others happy which is why he is so willing to share, despite the fact that he is only three. He has been struggling with his pronunciation quite a bit.  Linden and I had been working with him when we would read with him, talk to him, etc. trying to help him improve his pronunciation. He had improved some, but progress was very slow. At the end of January when we finally got him in to the doctor for his three year check up he recommended that we get a speech evaluation.  He has been in therapy since then.  His pronunciation has improved immensely.  He still has a long ways to go.  But, it is wonderful for us to be getting less and less frustrated as we try to decipher what he is saying.

Zackary loves books, toys, balls, blocks, MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC, dancing, and playing with his brother and sister.  We are hoping to start piano lessons soon with Grandma Butler (Anton also).  They should have lots of fun with it.  He is such a joy and a blessing in our lives.  How grateful I am for my tiny little Zackary.  (He comes up to the shoulders of everyone else in the Sunbeam class.)

Here is our little Zackary showing off his birthday cards he got in the mail from Grandma Nielsen.  In Spanish I am encouraging him to show us how old he is, for those of you who would want to know.

Anton is showing off Zackary's new pajamas. Zackary got them for his birthday and was kind enough to let Anton wear them the first night. Anton's prayers have been showing off his personality a lot more lately. One night he was quite upset that we wouldn't let him do something because it was bedtime.  In his personal prayers he said in the saddest most imploring voice you could imagine: "thank you for my broken heart it is just so broken."  I had the hardest time holding back laughter until I could get out of the room.

The same night that Anton wore Zackary's new pajamas Zackary decided to wear as much stuff as he could when he got ready for bed. He had on three different pairs of pajamas plus three other pair of pants, one on his head, and then did a little dance for us. What great entertainment he is in our lives.

One Sunday in church, late November or early December, Isabel decided to show off her newest skill.  There were a few people sitting on our bench with us and she is so cute they couldn't resist holding her. They all got a shower.  In this video it took some encouragement, the camera distracted her, but she finally decided to show off her spitting skills. You should have seen her when she really got going.  This is about five or six months ago now.  How much she has grown since then.

The sixth try was a charm.  I finally got the video uploaded. It only took six tries and about four hours.  The really frustrating thing is that I don't know why it finally worked, I don't think I did anything different.

Our wonderful children posing together on the floor. As usual, the boys had to join in on the action as soon as they saw the camera. They are so cute, I just had to share.

I was trying to get a close up of the saying on Isabel's shirt because that is truly what I wanted for Christmas.  Now, six months later, Isabel has finally slept through the night about four times.  As with her brothers, she just needed to be weaned in order to start sleeping through the night.  She is now waking up at 6 am instead of 8 am.  She still wants that early morning feeding and won't go back to sleep.  But, hey from 8 or 9 pm to 6 am (with a little stirring around midnight or 1 am) is WONDERFUL.  

Clear back when Isabel was just starting her swim across the floor I got this photo.  I know, I should have been a better mother and gotten the shoe insert away from her instead of taking the photo.  The real story is that she only got it close to getting in her mouth, I hurried and snapped the photo and then got it away from her.  Her army crawl truly did look like she was swimming across the floor, especially when she first started.  She would throw her arms and hands clear out in front of her, grip the floor and pull herself forward as she wiggled and kicked her legs to help her scoot forward also.  It is so cute.  The last couple of weeks her crawling skills have improved and she is now crawling more and more.  Along with that came her pulling herself up to stuff (the first time was a week after her first birthday) and now she is also walking along the furniture.

I couldn't resist adding these adorable pictures of Anton and Zackary in their favorite pajamas.  Anton is showing off his cheesy grin.

Instead of his Elmo slippers Zackary opted for Anton's snow boots and a cowboy hat as accessories for his sleepwear.

Thanks for your patience as I have neglected my blog. 

A Few Reason I Haven't Been Blogging

Finally, I am getting some pictures of my adorable children posted. However, this post is more about what has been keeping me busy lately. (Besides being a mom, wife, and working.) I have been quite busy sewing and learning more about the fun adventures that come with sewing.

First up is this quilt. My mom and I made matching baby quilts for Leonora and Jessica who were due on the same day with baby girls. After cutting out over 2,500 pieces and lots and lots of sewing, pressing, sewing, pressing, quilting and then binding we got them done. This is the first ever quilt that I have pieced like this. It was lots of fun and now I am looking forward to making another quilt. Officially, my mom made the one for Jessica and I made the one for Leonora, with some help from mom.



Katelynn came over a month early in November, we had started on the quilts, but they weren't quite done. Luckily, this meant that Jessica's was done on time when Claire arrived on December 10. I forgot to take pictures of the quilt before I sent it down to Leonora and Katelynn. So, the above picture is one that Leonora and Kevin sent me and the other is via mom's cell phone.



There were a few quilt blocks, table runners, mending and other sewing projects in between this quilt and the next project, but no pictures were taken before they were sent off to their recipients.

Up next are the outfits that I made for Brook and Bob's wedding. Linden had a tie to match his brothers' ties for the wedding, but I wanted him to have one to match us also. (I left off the individual pictures of the kiddos in their ties and dress because they are in the previous post.)



While hunting for material for the wedding I came across a fabulous deal on the perfect material for another project and had an epiphany. Matching outfits aren't just for family weddings!!! I can make matching Easter outfits. I finished everything (almost) that I had hoped to get done by 11 PM, not quite midnight. Yeah, one whole hour to spare before Easter was here. Not bad for just a month to accomplish this undertaking. The only thing I didn't get done that I wanted was a little flower or decoration of some sort for Isabel's pinafore. Alas, I need to learn how to do stuff like that, still. I am hoping to get brave enough to attempt it soon.

Here is the family on Easter, after church at Grandma's. Linden told me that he would NOT wear a vest, so I didn't need to make him one. Then, while we were driving to church he told me (just to bug me) if I had made him a vest he would have worn it. GUESS WHAT LINDEN!!! You are getting one next time!



Little Isabel was so wiggly we had a really hard time getting her to hold still for the pictures. Here are the two that are the least blurry. She is really growing up!



Even a toy didn't keep her still for long enough to get a good picture.



For Anton and Zackary I had a hard time narrowing it down to one picture. They just looked so adorable.

Don't let his innocent look fool you.



Por favor, por favor, por favor, can I?????????????



A typical Anton cheesy grin.



So proud of his new vest and tie!



Hamming it up for the camera.



Have to show off the back of the vest, also.




Thanks for letting me share my handiwork. I have a lot of learning to perfect my sewing, but I have learned a LOT (sometimes more than I wanted) in the last few months.