Another one!

I debated whether or not to post this latest quote but decided it was pretty funny.

I was in the bathroom calling out orders to the kids : Madi, you need to wear your white shirt with the pink vest....that matches it will go great.

Madi: Do I look like a retard to you?!!

On a side note.... we had a little talk about why we don' use that word, and how it isn't a nice thing to say, and luckily she hasn't used it since.

Quote of the day

Tonight we came home from running some errands and I said: "okay you guys, I am going to make you dinner and then I am going to put Hali down"

Madi : "you are so predictable"

Madi is 4!

So, 2 weeks after tyce's party, we invited the same crew over again to celebrate madi's 4th birthday. She wanted a princess and the frog party so I made her a frog cake. We had some better pictures of it on my mother-in-law's camera but I forgot to get them. Anyway, she loved her cake and of course was wearing her princess dress for the occasion. Madi still loves to dress up and changes clothes a million times a day. She is a great big sister and lets tyce get away with murder! He is so lucky to have her! But they are good buddies. Besides, she always needs a prince in her princess games and tyce is a pretty good prospect. She started pre-school this year and loves it! She loves to practice writing her letters and is especially foscused on being able to write her name and is geting prety close. She is my good little helper with the baby when she is not "too busy coloring" as is her favorite excuse for why she can't rock hali during dinner for me. We love you madi!

Tyce is 2!!

Tyce had his second birthday a couple of weeks ago and we celebrated with some family sunday evening. His favorite treat is a cookie, so instead of a cake this year I did an ice cream sandwhich bar. I made 3 diferent kinds of cookies and had three diferent kinds of ice creams so you could make your own sandwhich and then I had a few topping to roll the sandwhich in. Tyce was in heaven! I think I made over 8 dozen cookies and I had about 5 left over when the party ended.

He got a toy motor cylce from us that he loves! I can't believe he is already 2! I am loving this age with him as he is talking more and says some pretty funny things. He is quite the character and makes us laugh with his silly gestures and facial expressions. He is still pretty timid around a crowd of people and wants to stay close to me until he feels comfortable. But once he is comfortable he is a crazy man jumping off couches and running around with his football. He loves to go to work with mark. In fact, he considers himself a pretty important employee to crive construction and wants to walk out the door every morning with his tools right behind his dad. When he is not working with his dad he is still busy hammering the walls all over the house (or hammering his sister). WE love you tycer!!

The magic of childhood

I was taking advantage of a long nap that Hali was taking one day, trying to do some cleaning and organizing (yes, you read that right mom). The kids wanted to go outside so I absent -mindedly sent them out dressed for a cold rainy day, in jackets and pants and shoes (yes, they were fully clothed when I sent them out) I heard madi run in and out of the house a couple of times while I was cleaning but didn't think anything of it. Then I went into one of the back rooms to put clothes away and heard them laughing outside. I pulled up the blinds and found this.... madi in a swimsuit (come on, are you really that shocked? it is madi afterall) and coat and tyce rolling around in a puddle at the side of the house.

They were having so much fun...I stopped cleaning and just sat on the bed and watched the magic of childhood unfold before my eyes. I laughed outloud as I watched them roll and perform tricks for me. And the best part ........ they were making a mess outside and not inside!!

Random Pictures

One sunday afternoon I was in the kitchen making dinner while the rest of the family took a little nap. I went into my bedroom where mark was supposed to be putting hali to sleep and found this scene. Apparently he did such a good job he put himself to sleep to!

This is kind of a funny angle of Hali but since I have been horrible about taking pictures this time around it will have to do. She is even cuter in person but unfotunately her mom is a dunce when it comes to photography! Oh well!

Quote of the week

Today madi and I were watching the princess and the frog at the point when all the fireflies are singing, when she turned to me and said, "mom, bugs can't really play instruments can they?"

me: "no, you're right, bugs can't play instruments"

madi: " I know, they can just sing"

Free at last!

I woke up this morning with a sense of excitement. Today was a momentous day. Tyce got a bed and we put it in madi's room and now I can finally put Hali to sleep in her own room! All day today I planned what I would do with my free time this evening and with free reign in my room again. I looked around at the messy house and smiled to myself because as soon as the kids went down I was going to take control of the clutter once again. Maybe I would watch a movie or fold the 6 loads of laundry (the bane of my existence) that have been taunting me with guilt the last couple of days. Or maybe I would finish a project I started 3 weeks ago, or post pictures and blog about tyce and madi's birthdays or Hali's smiley face. The possibilities were endless. I just put hali to bed and then read to the kids extra long and sang about 6 songs to get them wound down for bed. And so as I sit typing this.....all three are crying in their rooms, and the laundry and clutter that surrounds me seems like a bigger task to tackle than it did earlier in the day. Mark won't be home until tomorrow and I am exhausted. I don't feel like doing any of the things I had planned for this evening, but I feel happy anyway! we had a good day with a costume party at preschool, a quick visit to grandma's, and homemeade tomato-basil-parmesan soup for dinner. I wish mark was here to share it with, but I loved being a mom today despite the mess and the laundry (well, maybe not the laundry!).

Preschool

This is madi on her first day of preschool! She was so excited! She loves it at miss debbie's and even loves her homework. I can't believe she is old enough to go to preschool! I know that it's not that old but somehow it seems to be a milestone in our lives. We have never had anything scheduled before and also it's the first step before starting kinder. I will be honest and say I got a little emotional when I drove away from preschool on that first day. Life seems to be picking up in speed with our growing family and getting faster and faster. Part of me wants to slow it down and the other part is excited to see the milestones my kids reach.

She cannot take a picture without posing for it! At preschool they took a class picture and madi thought it was her own personal photo shoot. I had to tell her to stand still and get her hand off her hip!!

If I was sad to leave madi at preschool I was even more sad that they wouldn't take tyce for 2 hours twice a week! Sure....take my 4 year old and leave me the 2 year terror!

Blessing Day!

This picture is classic to me. Madi is in her favorite princess dress and despite threatenings/bribery would not change, and tyce and mark are less than thrilled that I made them take pictures ! At least this photo is an honest depiction of us!

This is the blessing dress that I wore as a baby and that madi wore. I am so glad madi has a little sister to share things with. My sisters are my best friends, I look to them for advice and help all the time. I am glad my girls have each other and I hope they are just as close as I am with my sisters.

We have been blessed!

Today we blessed Hali at church. It was a special day for us and we were lucky to share it with family and friends.

Thanks to aunt jami for taking these cute pictures because we all know I am horrible at it. And of course I was up until after 10 making this headband. I had big plans to get it done on thursday, but nope, saturday night there I was. Maybe with my next one I will be more on the ball.

A
This was a really hectic week for us. O thursday morning at the last minute we decided to go to tri-cities where mark was working to run some errands and do some shopping. Since mark would be working there friday too, we decided to rent a hotel and come home the next day. Needless to say it was a fun but busy week. So this morning when we were driving to church I looked back at Hali dressed in white and suddenly it all became clear what life is really about. It's not about the stress or distractions that come so easily, it's about family and those little moments that become the big moments. I feel so blessed for my family and for the gospel in my life.

And then...there were 5

Welcome Hali Sue Christensen!!! 7lbs 6 oz born thursday july 22nd (2 1/2 weeks early!). I was so surprised that we had a girl!! I was so sure it was a boy that I only brought a girl onsie with me and boy outfits to the hospital. I could have sworn when I was at the ultra sound a few weeks ago that the tech slipped and called our baby a "he". I thought the surprise was ruined but I guess not!! Jokes on me. we love her and madi is so excited to have a little sister. Tyce.......well, it's going to be an adjustment, as you can see as we tried to get him to sit for a picture. We are home now and adjusting to life with a new baby.

Too Funny!

Today the kids and I were out in our backyard playing in the little pool when Madi got out and wrapped up in a towel and said: "Mom, I just want to relax, settle down, and maybe have a relationship."

Later this evening my sister came over from kirkland and was staying with my parents. We went over to roast s'mores with them and my nephew ethan was chasing madi around with a poker and madi yelled out "Ethan, no! I am not a marshmallow!"

Seattle Aquarium!

we have had a very busy, very fun weekend and I am finally posting some pictures!! It started on Friday. It was the father and sons campout for our ward and I convinced mark to take tyce. He was a little skeptical at first but i knew tyce would love it. So they left firday night and madi and I had a girls night together and went out to dinner and watched part of a movie and she got to sleep in my bed with me!She loved it and loves to snuggle in bed with me, in fact, she preactically wants to sleep on top of me and she sprawls out worse than mark. But it was still fun. Saturday morning I got up early and packed up some things we would need for the day and madi and I headed to pick up Mark and Tyce about half way between us and Seattle. When we got to the campsite tyce poked his head out at me and said "Hi MOM!" His face was covered in dirt and smoke and he never looked happier. I wish I had my camera ready to capture it, it was pure camping bliss! Mark said he did great and went right to bed and slept through the night! So mark and tyce showered really quick and then we headed into seattle. Our first stop was IKEA! I love IKEA! But next time I go I want to go with girls and not 2 kids and a less than interested husband. We didn't stay too long, but it was still fun to browse. Then we jumped in the car to fight the seattle traffic on our way to the seattle aquarium.

This is a huge octopus the kids were fascinated by. I will admit it was impressive to see one up close

Fter the aquarium we walked around Pike Place Market and along the water front and had some homemade icecream and Mark got fish. (Also, here I am in all my glory. 32 weeks, but who's counting?)

More of the octopus. I am pretty sure Tyce's fingerprints are on every glass surface the aquarium had. He thoroughly enjoyed himself, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Mark chase him all over the facility! After our afternoon in Seattle we headed over to my sisters house in Kirkland for my nephew's first birthday. My dad brought down some of his ducks and a baby cow as sort of a petting zoo for the party. I think the city folk were pretty impressed. Then we changed the kids into their pajamas and headed home. We pulled into our house and it was after 10:30 with some very tired kids and even more tired parents. It was such a fun weekend though to be together as a family and get a little bit of culture outside our daily life.

Temporary Post

I know, I have been horrible about blogging and a million other things I should be doing. It just seems like I am doing the bare minimum right now. I do have some fun new things to blog about and pictures to take, that is the goal for this week. Get caught up. Check back later!! But don't judge me if there is nothing new posted

Latest Quote

Madi to my dad: Grandpa, our garden isn't working out very well. And I am VERY hungry!

Loving IT!!

I have loved being outside the last couple of days with the kids. The weather is finally warming up and we have had cabin fever for way too long. I think my "nesting" phase has started early and has expanded to the yard, much to mark's dismay. I have big plans for taming the wild that grows all around my little world. For now, we planted a garden and picked all the weeds around the house. It felt good to be outside and working, and the best part is how fun it is to be outside with my kids. We discovered worms, jumped in mud puddles, chased butterflies, had a picnic and are wearing out our little buckets and plastic shovels. There is something so satisfying about spending a down and dirty day outside and then coming in and getting in the bath and smelling their sweet clean hair and cuddling in a chair with a book before bed. Summer is magical and I am so glad it is finally here! I can't wait to get out the little pool and smell sunscreen on their bathing suits. And hopefully, we can pick tomatoes, squash and a few other things from our garden. If Tyce hasn't dug them all up by then!! I will take pictures of our outdoor adventures...i just need to get new camera batteries!

It finally happened! And then some

I woke up from a nap the other day to a very strange soft noise. I peeked out my door to find madisen cutting her hair with little kid scissors! She hardly has hair to begin with!!! Ahhhhh!! She cut a chunk out of her bangs, off the top and side of her head and who knows where else!!! The worst part is that I can't fix it! I can't cut the rest of her hair to match what she has done. Her only saving grace is that she has curly hair so I can kind of hide it....kind of. I will post pictures later but I am too heartbroken to document this, she seems unaffected however! And then today we had another first. We were on our way out to the park and she was complaining about her nose. So I told her to get a tissue and blow her nose. She said it hurt and was whining about it. I wish I could say that I had been more patient about it but I wasn't. So in the car she said this " we don't put apples in our nose...do we mom??" I said "madisen....did you put a piece of apple up your nose????"

she said "yeah, I did!" So, it took a little while to solve that problem but I laughed so hard and then felt bad that I hadn't given her more credit when she was complaining about her nose. But honestly....she has never put anything up there...how was I supposed to know?!!!! I think I have been initiated into a new phase of life this week.

when dady's away the children will play!

Madisen loves to dress up! She is changing clothes all day long! And now, she is not only changing her clothes, she is changing tyce's clothes as well. Mark would be horrified if he saw his little guy in this purple tutu, but doesn't he look like he would be a great sugar plum fairy?! I also love that this is how madi chose to pose for her photo shoot!

Funny madi quotes: This is for you Nicole!

madi was talking to grandma christensen yesterday and I couldn't hear what they were saying when all of a sudden madi put her head in her hands like she was very frustrated and said
" My life's a joke!"

Mark was putting madisen to slep last night and was laying next to her when she got up all of a sudden and said
"good night kiddo!" and walked out of the room. I guess she was pretending to put mark to sleep instead of the other way around.

I think I mentioned that madi loves to quote movies ( I wonder where she gets that from?) anyway, it's really funny when she messes up the quote. For instance, on aladin, jasmine says " standing around deciding my future? I am not a prize to be won!" This is what I caught madi saying
"standing around deciding my future? I am not surprised!"

Random Photos

My sister asked me to make a cake for the 100 yr. birthday party of scouting for the blue and gold banquet. The theme was "the best things of scouting" , so after talking it over with mark he said the best thing was campfire food. So here is my version of a campfire cake!

We were watching the winter olympics and madi jumps up and wants to be properly dressed for such an occasion. Look out Lindsay vaughn!

Why is it impossible to get both kids looking at the camera at the same time?

Tyce, being the goof-ball that he is. He cracks me up!

Sleep Success

I have started reinforcing a new bed time/ sleep plan for Madisen in an attempt to break some bad habits and be more consistent myself. The last two nights have gone amazing and I was giving myself a pat on the back until I realized a few factors that may have contributed to my success that have not at all been my doing.

1. she played outside at a friends house for over and hour and got really tired

2. She hasn't taken a good nap, or even one at all in 2 days

3. (and this one is the kicker) she has been sick and the dr. recommended giving her benadryl at night.

So, maybe I shouldn't pat myself on the back just yet. But I will say, when starting a new sleep training program with kids, benadryl is proving very helpful. Don't judge me...the doctor told me too, however, if I knew it would help this much I may have considered.......

Can you guess?

Madisen has an infatuation with disney movies. In fact, she has her favorite ones memorized and can quote certain lines that apply to everyday situations. Here are some of her lines, can you guess what movies they are from?

Movie #1

Me: madisen, you need to go and get your jacket on.

Madi: no, that is not the path my heart chooses

Movie #2

Me: Okay madi, you need to pick up your books and then you need to put all your dress-ups in the dress-up chest

madi: and then what step mother?

madisen in the bathtub with a wash rag: Sing sweet nightengale, siiiiiiiing sweet nightengale sing!

Movie #3 (this is a hard one)

me: madisen, you need to share your toys with tyce

madisen: Oh, for goodness sakes!

Movie#4

Madi: mom, hand me that dinglehopper!

Things to remember

A the beginning of this year I wanted to write down the things about my kids I want to remember at this age, so at the end of the year I could see the changes. I'ts not exactly the beginning of the year but close enough.

Madi: started sunbeams this year, is mostly potty-trained, loves to change clothes all day long and wears her swimsuit to bed, loves to wear her dress ups, loves dancing to music and still walks mostly on her tippy-toes, she still has a hard time staying in bed at night, still drags her ratty blanket all over with her, thinks her blanket is an actual person and calls it "she", is super active and busy, I have a hard time getting her to sit through primary, her favorite movie changes every week, most recently it has been pocahontas or the backyardigans, her favorite books are The Princess and the pea, Where the Wild things Are and If you give Pig a Pancake, her favorite food is a pancake, her favorite color is purple, she still throws a fit when we have to leave any grandma's house, she can buckle herself in her booster seat, has curly hair that just won't grow, she loves to help me in the kitchen, she is stubborn and sweet and brave all at the same time, she will only let me put her down at night and cries for her dad every morning when he leaves for work, still takes a nap almost everyday. She is a fireball and I love her so much!

Tyce: Goes to nursery (he is a little young but grandma and grandpa are the nursery leaders, lucky us!), Loves to eat, thinks madi is a great playmate, hates to get his diaper changed, loves his orange and white polka-dotted blanket almost as much as madi loves her blanket, is trying to wink with both eyes, makes me laugh everyday, like to pretend he is shooting a gun with anything he can get his hands on, makes car noises with his little cars, loves being outside and throws a fit when we bring him in, likes to dance with madi, is actually letting us read him a book without throwing a fit, can say quite a few words like: ball, more, mom, dad, blankie, I want that, thank you, papa, guys, bye, and a handful of other phrases, loves spaghetti and pancakes, has to do everything himself, must have his own fork at dinner, wants to drink from a regular cup and spills every time, loves the bath and practices swimming, loves his dad and checks out the window all day for him, loves cell phones and pretends to talk to his dad all day, is such a little entertainer and has started rolling in a circle around the living room. I just love him and can't get enough!

mark: is general contractor to his first house, a house he also drew the plans for so that is exciting to be apart of a house from the beginning, says he is going to do a triathalon this fall, hasn't started training yet, plays church basketball, is the blazer leader, dreams of owning a boat this summer, keep dreaming mark!! we love you and appreciate all your hard work!

For myself: I want to remember what it feels like to fit into my favorite jeans and how great it is to sleep through the night and be able to have a day to myself every now and then because come august, all those things will be a distant memory. You guessed it, I' pregnant! About 14 weeks and looking forward to feeling better!

Quote

I wasn't feeling well the other day and was laying on madi's bed while she and tyce played.

Madi: what's wrong mommy?

me: Oh, i'm okay, my stomach is just upset

Madi: Oh, who is it upset at? Me??

man, I really wish I could have not laughed at that one, it made me feel worse.

Busy

This is what I was working on this morning. Re-organizing my closet and room.
While I was otherwise engaged, this is what tyce was working on. Swimming lessons, in the bathtub with all his clothes on. Summer is just around the corner, you can never start too early I guess!
side note* of course I had just changed his diaper and gotten him dressed not 2 minutes before he decided to cool off in the tub!

Camping

Things get a little dreary out here in the winter. I think it has been cloudy and rainy for 3 weeks straight. I thought I moved away from that when I left Seattle...I think it is following me. So in order to beat the gloom, we had a little "campout" lunch and made hot dogs and other camping treats. As you can see, we are in a very scenic part of our living room with a real evergreen brought in just for the occasion! Don't worry, our Christmas tree has been taken down since these photos.

Bitter Sweet

I don't know if I am happy or sad about the fact that madi moved out of nursery and into sunbeams. That seems so old, I feel like she is too little to be in sunbeams. I think she is the youngest in her class, she just turned 3 in october and went into sunbeams in january!! where has the time gone? I was in the grocery store the other day and madisen was throwing a fit about something and a lady turned to me and said, "don't worry, tomorrow she will be 18". I feel like that is true, how quickly child hood passes. It makes me want to do a better job of not missing it. Regardless, she looks so cute!!!