Teeth Problems

The last couple of weeks, we have been having teeth problems at our house.  First,  Ammon's top tooth has been loose, so loose that it started hanging crooked in his mouth.  Even though it was causing him pain, he refused to let us pull it out.

Finally, after many nights of wiggling the tooth,  Colby got it to "fall out."

Abigail has also been having teeth problems.  I have suspected that Abbi was teething for over a month, but this past week our happy little baby just wasn't herself.  My suspicions were confirmed when I caught her gnawing on the corner of our entertainment center.  Since then, she has been chewing on anything she can get her mouth on...

And drooling on everything else.

The day after Ammon's tooth finally came out,  Abbi's first tooth finally came in.  Now we have two, much happier, kids at our house.

On a side note:  Because Ammon doesn't believe in the tooth fairy he has been leaving his baby teeth under his pillow for the "tooth daddy" to come and leave him a dollar.  We decided that maybe the tooth daddy came and got his tooth and gave it to his little sister.

Happy Easter!

We had a great weekend filled with all the usual Easter fun.  Although Colby thinks it's nerdy, I still insist on dressing the kids up in matching clothes for Easter and Christmas.  It was worth the fight, because they looked as cute as can be. 

We had a visit from the Easter bunny (who, for some reason Ammon believes in even though he knew right off the bat that the tooth fairy was bogus).

True to her Frost genes, the first thing Abbi tried to do when we showed her her Easter basket was eat the peeps.

Then, (with Mom's help) she modeled her sunhat for us.

Sunday evening we got together with some friends for dinner, banana splits and an Easter egg hunt.

The kids loved all the SUGAR!!

I was so excited for Abbi's first Easter (and first little Easter dress).  She looked so cute I couldn't stop taking pictures of her.  (The boys also looked cute, but they weren't in little dresses).   I won't bore you with ALL the pictures I took of her first Easter, but here are some of my favorites.

Abbi loves to be on her tummy so she can see what's going on.

I know she really doesn't need shoes yet (and normally she is barefoot or just in socks), but I couldn't resist these cute little Spring shoes. 

Isn't this about the sweetest thing ever?  Abbi loves her daddy,  she rolled halfway across the room so she could lay by him.

The "I dream of genie" hair-do. I always wondered why so many moms did this style, but now I know-  the top of Abbi's head is where the longest and the most hair is.  A lot of the rest of her hair has been rubbed off!  We hope all of you had a great Easter too!

Shmack to Sleep

Abbi has recently become a pro at rolling over.  She will roll clear across the room sometimes. Since she has been rolling, she has started rolling onto her stomach to sleep at night.  At first this concerned me (you know the whole "back to sleep" thing) but now, she has started sleeping better at night  (whether it is related to sleeping on her tummy or just a big coincidence is unknown).  In fact, last night was the sixth night in a row that she has slept through the night.  I feel like a new woman! I'm not kidding, I forgot how nice it is to sleep for 8 hours straight (I don't sleep well when I'm pregnant either, so it's been a while). I feel like I have boundless energy.  This morning I was up, had the boys fed and dressed, got Ammon on the bus, put dinner in the crock pot and folded a load of laundry before Abbi woke up at 8:45.  So I must say, "back to sleep shmack to sleep."  I could definitely get used to this.

This is also a great shot of Abbi's bald spot (it's actually much bigger than a "spot," but what do you do?)  There is a possibility that Abbi's wonderful new sleeping habits are due to the fact that she has actually started to swallow some of that rice cereal we've been trying to feed her. I have had LOTS of helpers with the rice cereal.  I love that Ammon is getting old enough that I can put him to work!

*just a side note: We do feed Ammon, and he actually eats a lot but that hasn't helped with the malnurished  look he has going on here.

30 is the new 20, right??

It is with great apprehension that I write this post, commemorating the celebration? of three decades of my life.  That's right, the big 3-0.  I am surprised at how much I have been dreading today.  Prior to this one, I have never thought much about my birthdays, or getting old. But I have to admit that today I feel like I am entering middle age (don't laugh, I know I'm not that old yet- but I really do feel like I'm not young anymore.)  As I shared my feelings about "thirty" with my friends the past couple of weeks I got various responses and encouragement.  Here are some of my favorites:

"You're healthy, you look good, you smell good, you're sexy, why does it matter if you're twenty-nine or it you're thirty? I'm the one who should be crying, I'm almost thirty and I'm still in school."    Colby

"Yeah, but think of all the amazing things you've done in your life.  You have three beautiful children, you're healthy, your husband has a good future" Amelia

"Women in their thirties are great,  they have the wisdom of life experiences..." Aunna

"I'm a little apprehensive about turning 30 too." Jessica

"Well, Meg's older than you." Amanda

Thank you everyone for the pep talks and encouragement.  As this day was approaching (due partially to the fact that my birthday falls on General Conference this year),  I kept recalling the talk given by Thomas S. Monson in November conference about change,

"Day by day, minute by minute, second by second we went from where we were to where we are now. The lives of all of us, of course, go through similar alterations and changes. The difference between the changes in my life and the changes in yours is only in the details. Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, and with the marching come the changes."

The last couple of weeks, I have been reflecting on the changes that have taken place in my life and thinking about the experiences I have had and all that I have been blessed with.  I have come up with a list of 30 of the highlights of the past 30 years.  Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Falling in love with Colby

2. Marrying my best friend

3. The day I found out I was going to be a mom.

4. Winning a blue ribbon at the Science fair in Kindergarten (I can't even remember what my project was, but I do remember that we had to use the lid to the popcorn popper)

5.Going to see The Little Mermaid with my family at the movie theatre and sneaking soda cans in the sleeves of our sweaters.

6. All the Summers we spent playing Ghost in the Graveyard and jumping on the trampoline at the "old house" in Layton.

7.The day we could "finally" bring Carter home from the hospital.

8. The births of each of my children

9.Having a daughter.

10. July 5, 1994. My first kiss.

11. Graduating from college

12. Running the Des Moines marathon with one of my best friends, Celeste.

13. The day Colby graduated with his Bachelor's degree

14. The Stewart family vacation to Catalina Island

15. Winning 1st place in a writing contest in 3rd grade and getting to ride on a float in the 4th of July parade.

16. Our Carribean cruise with the Frost family after Colby's graduation.

17. Against all odds, making cheerleader in Junior High.

18.The six months I spent living in Russia, teaching English in a kindergarten.

19.The small miracle that was selling our first house, by owner, two days after I put a "for sale" sign in the front yard. This just confirmed what I already knew, we were supposed to move to Des Moines.

20.The trip to New York that I took with my girlfriends in college. This was also the first time I bought my own plane ticket anywhere.

21. Touring Europe with my parents.

22. Any of the road trips I took with my friends...  from shopping in Vegas to getting terribly sunburned in CA.  Oh, and I can't forget Spring break in St.George.

23. Sundays on Grandpa Stewart's farm, especially if the "California cousins" were in town.  Playing in the attic or the barn and putting on marvelous productions.

24. Singing in the choir in High school, and our choir trip to Nashville

25. Getting all dressed up to go to a UPhA Mother/Daughter luncheon with my mom at Christmas time.

26. Being on the High school drill team

27. Spending 18 hours in the car with my dad last Summer as he helped me, pregnant, with 2 kids, make the treck from Iowa to Utah.

28. Any day spent skiing.  With Colby, with my dad, with all the Frost boys-  all good times.

29. Catching a pop fly in my softball game in 4th grade.  Possibly the only time I touched the ball during a game in the 3 years that I played softball.

30. Renting a moped on our honeymoon and crusing all over Venezuela.

31. Winning at the state tumbling meet in 1994

32. Being a part of the world's best book club

33. Playing Memory or Go Fish with my boys

34. Flying to San Diego for the weekend of our fourth anniversary and celebrating (kid free!) at Seaworld

35. My Senior trip. "Accidentally" missing our flight and convincing our chaperones to rent a van and drive to Disneyland for the day.

36. The countless evenings when at 8:00 the kids are in bed, it is finally quiet and I can sit down and hang out with Colby.

I realize that I actually listed 36 items, but I just couldn't narrow it down.  Although I'm not pumped about turning 30, as my father-in-law told me, "it's better than the alternative."  There have been so many wonderful things about the last 30 years I can only hope that my next 30 will be as good.

Another Whirlwind Adventure of The Frost Family

Our adventure started with the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa Stewart from Utah.  We spent our first day together just relaxing, 

hanging out together, 

and getting reacquainted.

We took advantage of the terrific weather and spent day two of our adventure exploring the Blank Park Zoo.

The kids were thrilled that Grandma and Grandpa were here and I had more than one request for them to "stay in Iowa forever."

Abbi was wowed by the jellyfish.

Armed with a portable DVD player, about 10 lbs of sugar and a GPS, we hit the road and drove 9 hours East to Ohio.  The kids must be getting used to all of our roadtrips, because they were fabulous travelers.  Even little Abbi did great as long as her bink and stuffed pig were close by. (and I might add, she looked great in her shades)

We met Uncle Scott, Aunt Aleese and cute little Barrick in Dayton and had a blast spending the weekend with them.  The boys made sure that we hit the swimming pool. 

It was a little cold, which ended up being a good thing because the boys didn't fight us when it was time to leave.

It was great to see Scott and his family.  Poor little Barrick had a dose of his own "Kryptonite" (i.e. 15 M.O. shots) and wasn't feeling well, but we still got to see his cute personality- and he even showed us his "button."

We celebrated Carter's birthday with a little "cake picnic."  Obviously, the kids were not thrilled about the sun in their eyes!

Then we hit the National Airforce museum.  It was a great place for a boy to spend his fourth birthday! Carter loved all the big airplanes, Abbi rode in the umbrella stroller for the first time, and Ammon kept entertained by pushing Abbi in the stroller.

We even found a B24 like the one that Great Grandpa Stewart flew in WWII. 

One of the highlights of Dayton was spending time with my Aunt and Uncle Trent and Valene and their kids.  We had so much fun playing card games, and Wii and the boys loved the little movie theatre they set up for them.  I did come home with some "war wounds" from playing spoons, but it was worth it to make it into the final three. Thank you Neel family for the great food, fun, superglue, poptarts, etc.

Thanks to the GPS, we found a couple of cute little resturaunts to try out.  (Poor Colby had to stay in Des Moines for clinic, so we had to try out the food in his honor).  We found a cute little cafe that made me feel like we had traveled back to 1950, it was great!

We also found a fantastic pancake house, another little local "greasy spoon."

At the end of the weekend, we sadly said our goodbyes and headed back to Des Moines.

We were so happy to have Grandma and Grandpa come visit.  Thanks guys for coming out and braving the 19 hour roadtrip with 3 kiddos.  May you never underestimate the power of DVD's and fruitsnacks when traveling with a four year old!

Happy B-day Carter Ben!

My sweet little Carter turned FOUR on Sunday.  Poor little middle child had to wait 3 days to get a birthday greeting on our blog! (In my defense, we were out of town for the weekend). Carter is such a fun, happy little boy. He is always showing his big dimples, giving hugs and kisses and telling us how much he loves us.

I can't believe that he has been a part of our family for four years. I know it's cliche, but time certainly does fly!

Thank you Cart for bringing such a happy, loving spirit into our home.  We love you and hope you had a great birthday!

Four Months

We have had so many fun things going on lately, I haven't had time to post Abbi's four month update.  Here it is (mostly so I can remember):

Weight: 14 lbs 10 oz  60%

Height: 25 inches 95%

This girl has some of the Neel family genes!

Recently, Abbi has started wanting something to hold when she goes to bed.  This soft little dolly works great!  Abbi likes to cuddle her and rub her dolly's little head on her cheek while she is falling asleep.

Abbi has also developed a TEMPER!  Girl can scream, and she'll let you know if she's not getting her way.

Abbi loves to sit and stand,  the last couple of weeks she has been doing the "fake sit."  (sitting up unassisted, but balancing on her hands and chubby thighs)

Like her big brothers, Abbi is getting ready for boating and swimming in Utah this Summer.

I can't believe our baby girl is already four months old. We are having so much fun with her and so glad she is part of our family.

Have a Party, We did.

March is a fun month at our house, we get to celebrate both Ammon and Carter's birthdays. Because they are such good buddies, and have many mutual friends, we decided to do a combined birthday party- with a Star Wars theme.  I got some fun ideas from the Internet and my friend Summer's blog (thanks for letting me borrow your ideas Summer!) and we went to work on our party preparations.  The boys helped me dip pretzels in red and blue chocolate to make "candy light sabers" for the guests to take home.

We baked a cake and made rice krispie treats to form a TIE fighter cake for Ammon.

And just when you thought that Ho Ho's and Ding Dong's couldn't get any more unhealthy- I decided to slather them in chocolate frosting and cover them in fondant to make the light saber cake that Carter requested.

What's a birthday party without a pinata?  And what little Jedi party guest wouldn't want to beat up on Darth Vader?

It's party time!  The boys had a great time breaking the pinata, 

dining on "pizza the hut"  and "yoda soda,"

and eating A LOT of birthday cake.

My cake masterpieces that took way too long to make. I have a feeling the boys would have been just as excited about a Walmart sheet cake with a Luke Skywalker toy on top of it, but the pictures are fun.

Carter making a wish.

We also played a "Jedi Fighter" game where the kid got to pick up M & M's with a straw (at this point I realized there was WAY too much sugar happening at this party).

Abbi spent the birthday party flirting with the other party guests...

we're in trouble when this girl grows up!

As if the kids didn't digest enough sugar in the soda, M & M's, pinata treats,  two different birthday cakes and two flavors of ice cream- we sent each guest home with their own candy light sabers.  (sorry to all those Mom's of the party guests!)

Landon, Ammon, Carter, Beckham, Oakley, Ashlyn, Caden, Stephen and Austin.  

Happy you came, we are.  Had a great time, we did.