Outnumbered #4: Kids and Family Pictures

We make it a priority to get family pictures taken professionally every year. I think it gives our boys a sense of belonging to see themselves in the pictures on the wall. I also love proudly displaying the best shots from a photo shoot, showing the world what a fabulous family I get to take care of!

However, for today's Outnumbered Chronicles installment, here's a behind-the-scenes look at our family and a real photo shoot. Suffice it to say, these are the pictures that didn't make the final cut. Here it is, folks - Outnumbered #4: Kids and Family Pictures!

*Special thanks to Jileisa Warner, our amazing photographer!*

2013 Photo Shoot

Here's the one we showed everyone:

And here are the ones we tried to hide:

Toby reminding Zach to keep his finger out of his nose

Zach tickling Toby and Johnny looking at something shiny

That lip quiver though. Also, is Zach eating a rock?!

May the pacifier rest in peace...in the river

The two extremes on the emotional spectrum

2014 Photo Shoot

The one we showed everyone:

The others:

The friendly donkey

"Smile, Toby!"

Aww, brotherly love...kinda

2015 Photo Shoot

Our favorite:

The runners up:

All three boys picking their noses. I wish I could say this was prompted. Sadly, it was not. Apparently we have an epidemic!

Family pictures, you say? I say it's time to pet Zach while he pretends he's a puppy.

"I think my face is frozen like this, guys."

"Oh, can you try to open your eyes a little more next time, Johnny?"

 Nailed it!

"Look guys! Me CWAZY!!"

Look Toby, put your hand up like this!

No, put it on the tree.

Can you put your hand up a little higher?

Everybody SMIIIIILE!!!

And...the piece de resistance.

Happy picture days everyone! And just remember, if your family photo sessions don't always go as planned - just know you're not alone! 

Outnumbered #3: Kids at the Doctor (cont.'d)

Hey everyone!
It's been a while since my last post, but we're still doing great. Still happily parenting three little boys, still feeling wonderfully blessed, and still very outnumbered! When it comes down to it, life doesn't get much better than this, and we are so grateful for the opportunity we have to raise three beautiful little boys.
But seriously, these boys. I tell you what, they keep me running! We've had many, many more doctor's appointments since my last post, and if I've learned anything as a parent, it's this: my kids will stop at nothing to make sure each public outing is just a little more embarrassing than the last.

Here is the next installment of my Outnumbered Chronicles, where I list my most memorable experiences as a mom. These are the gems I don't want to forget over time. Without further ado, I give you Kids at the Doctor Part 2:
(WARNING: If doctor-talk makes you squeamish, this isn't for you! :)

• I took all three boys in a few weeks ago because we thought everyone had strep throat. (Only one of us did, thank goodness! But I digress). I did my best to cheer on each boy as they had their throats swabbed. I'd hold their hands, give them high fives when they were done, promise them candy... you know the drill. Then it was my turn. All three boys insisted on holding my hands (I only have two hands, so one of them held my knee) and they all cheered for me when I was done. Johnny held my face in both hands and told me I was the bravest mommy he ever had. Looking back, this was probably the easiest appointment we've ever had. I had to give you something to compare the rest to. :)
• Last summer I had abdominal surgery to remove some painful scar tissue. I had to take all three boys with me to meet with the surgeon the first time. They spread legos across the whole office and at least two of them were yelling the whole time I talked to the doctor. He ended up bribing them with lollipops so we could have two minutes to hear each other. (Did I mention I really liked that surgeon? Anyone who can get my kids to sit quietly for any length of time is all right in my book. He also solved a problem I'd been dealing with for years, so there's that.)
• After my surgery we had a lot of sweet people drop by to bring dinners and well-wishes. Johnny insisted on showing every single one of them the picture of my "triangle owie," which was a shot the doctor had taken of my intestines attached to my liver. The scar tissue growing there looked like a triangle, and it was super gross. I tried to throw the pic away a thousand times, but alas - every time a new visitor arrived, Johnny would magically produce the nasty shot of my innards. It made for some great conversations."Hey, thanks so much for dinner, and by the way, here are my intestines. Aren't they nice?" Good times. 
• When I was first pregnant with Zach (surprise!), Johnny was only eight months old. I went in for my first appointment and Johnny sat on my chest during the whole exam. He was eating crackers and dropping crumbs in my mouth. It was super fun. It just so happens that crackers were the only thing I could make myself eat at the time, so that worked out nicely!

Speaking of taking kids to your women's doctor appointments, here it is folks: the most embarrassing appointment of my life. I'm mostly sharing this for my own future reference, just in case I ever mistakenly think I can handle taking children to the OB-GYN.

It was my six-week appointment after having Toby. I scheduled it specifically for a time that I knew Paul would be home to watch the boys. 

The day dawned nice and bright. About ten minutes before I had to leave, Paul called to say he wasn't going to be able to make it home in time. YIKES!! I hurriedly dressed the boys, and we were only a few minutes late to the appointment. 

Once we were taken back to the room, I situated the double stroller with the two younger boys behind me so they would be out of the way. I sat Johnny on a chair to the side and gave him my phone to distract him. The doctor came in and we chit-chatted while I got all situated in the stirrups. My plan was working! The boys were all happily distracted during my nether exam and I was the most amazing mommy of three EVER!! 

But then.

 Johnny looked up. His curious little 3-year-old eyes widened in alarm. "What's happening, Mommy? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, buddy, you keep playing Angry Birds." He cast the phone aside and stood up. No. No no no!! This was not a part of my PLAN!!! 

The doctor continued to whistle away nonchalantly from down under. Johnny grabbed my right hand and asked, "Does it hurt, Mommy?"

"No, go sit down! It's fine!" I answered through gritted teeth. Good grief, does it usually take this long? Isn't the doc done already? After an eternity Johnny turned away, presumably to return back to his game. Nope. 

Suddenly, his little head popped up inches away from the doctor's, right between the stirrups. Hands on his hips, he glared at the doctor and said, "What are you doing to my mommy?" 

You guys, I died. I really did. I started laugh-shaking so hard the doctor had to hold me still so he could finish his unpleasantries. Tears were streaming down my face, mostly from embarrassment but a little from laughing. 

The worst part of the whole thing? The doctor didn't laugh! I guess laughing would have probably been inappropriate in his position, but not laughing - totally worse. 

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why children do not go to women's doctor appointments. If any of you have had similar horrifying experiences, please share! I will laugh with you even if the doctor doesn't! :)

Outnumbered #2 - At the Doctor

As a mom with three boys under 3, doctor's appointments (sadly) take up more room than anything else on my calendar. I'm not sure if it's because we actually spend all our time there, or if I'm just afraid I'll forget them if I don't write them down. Probably a little of both!

Anyway, I thought this would make a great second installment in the "Outnumbered" series, where I'm chronicling segments of my life as a chicken with its head cut off. Without further adieu, I present our most shining moments at the doctor's office:

• The second time we took Johnny to Boise (we were living in Twin Falls at the time) for his kidney evaluation, I was just barely pregnant with Zach. As they were trying to find a vein on Johnny's little arm, I was in the corner eating saltines, trying my hardest not to pass out. There was one nurse assigned specifically to me. It was a good thing Paul was there to help Johnny, because I wasn't particularly helpful that day! 
• When Johnny had his kidney surgery, he was 14 months old and I was two weeks from having Zach. I ate an entire bag of chocolate mini-donuts while he was in surgery. I think I'll note here that I would MUCH rather be sick myself than watch my babies suffer. I hate it! Anyway, that night, I slept with Johnny in his hospital crib - 38 weeks pregnant. I'm pretty sure I didn't get all my REM cycles that night.
• In the delivery room with Johnny, right after he was born, everyone abandoned me so they could see the baby. My epidural had worked REALLY well, so with no one there to help me, both my legs fell off the table and there was nothing I could do about it. I think they refer to me as "The Flash."
• We had to take Johnny to the emergency room when he was barely 2 because he had an ibuprofen pill stuck up his nose. 
• The last time I took the two older boys in for their well-checks, Zach was screaming as usual, so I was focusing all my attention on him. When the doctor came in the room, we couldn't find Johnny! Don't worry, we found him in the cupboard under the sink. 
• One time we took Zach in to the Quick Care because he had an ear infection. The doctor refused to see him because he was screaming. Really?! I don't think the guy had ever met a kid before. 
• The only way we could get Johnny to hold still during an ear exam one day was to let him play angry birds on the iPad. The doctor told us he'd never seen a kid hold that still! We were so proud. 
• I've only taken all 3 boys by myself one time, and here's why: while we were in the waiting room, Johnny stood at the front desk telling the receptionist all about her fish tank while Zach ran around the room pooping. I would've wrestled them down, but Toby had decided he was hungry so I was feeding him. Meanwhile, Johnny proceeded to dump goldfish all over the playroom floor and then the receptionist handed me my paperwork. Multitasking, anyone? Then they called us back, where I changed Zach's poopy diaper while the nurse finished feeding Toby his bottle. Meanwhile, Johnny ran up and down the hall, refusing to come into the room. Eventually we found out Zach had a double ear infection and needed 5 shots. Such good news.

As you can see, we really enjoy our time at the doctor. That's why we go so often!

Outnumbered! (and Kids in Church)

Toby is here! That makes 3 little boys and 2 VERY outnumbered parents. Oddly enough, we couldn't be happier!

Baby Tobias Vaun Young was born via a scheduled C-section (which was phenomenally easier than an emergency one, by the way!) at 7:58 AM on Friday, December 14th, 2012. He weighed 6 lbs 9 oz, was 19 inches long, and had the cord wrapped twice around his neck. The doctor said that we would've ended up having to do another C-section even if we had tried the other way. This proves again that Heavenly Father was guiding us in our decisions, just like with Johnny and Zach. All three of our babies are such miracles!

Our lives have greatly changed, and we love it! Johnny and Zach love Toby more than I ever thought they could, and it's so amazing to watch them bond. They try so hard to be soft with him (TRY is the key word there), and it's so sweet!

So, the real purpose of this post is to begin a series of posts depicting different segments of our amazing life as parents. These are moments that I just don't want to forget. I dedicate this to all you parents out there thinking, "My kids are nuts." As I am about to show you, ALL of them are nuts. This particular post, I plan to highlight a few of the joys of taking kids to church. Here you go!

• One of the first Sundays we took Johnny to church, he pooped on a lady during sacrament meeting. I don't mean he tooted in her lap - the lady had POOP on her dress! Luckily it was time to go home. 
• When Johnny was about 6 months old, we were sitting in sacrament meeting and he had one of those long, explosive toots that make everyone turn and smile at you. As all the turners and smilers were watching, he smiled up at me and belched with all the force he could muster. What a charmer.
• Round binkies, otherwise known as little devils, do not like church. Zach went through a throwing phase, and there was one poor bald man that he particularly liked to aim for. Every Sunday. 
• You could easily stock an entire grocery store with the fruit snacks, cereal, goldfish, and raisins that we've ground into the seats and carpets of the chapel. 
• A few months ago, we had to take Johnny out in the middle of a musical number because he was screaming bloody murder, presumably trying to upstage the soloist. 
• And now, I present to you the mother of all awful Sundays! Enjoy:

About 10 months ago, Paul was asked to speak in sacrament meeting. We had only been in the ward about 3 weeks, so we didn't know a whole lot of people. I knew I was going to have to handle an 18-month-old and a 2 and 1/2-year-old all by myself that day, so I packed WELL. Little did I know, it really wouldn't matter WHAT I packed.

When Paul got up to speak, the boys both got really excited and kept pointing and yelling, "DADDY!"  I was completely embarrassed, but that was just the beginning of my troubles... Johnny decided he needed to be up there WITH Daddy, and started trying every escape tactic in the book. I had a few good evasive maneuvers and was actually faring pretty well until Zach started screaming. I looked away for a split second to help Zach, and Johnny was gone.

At first he stood just out of reach (I had Zach on my lap so I couldn't just jump up and grab him), taunting me with a big grin. I showed him every single car and fruit snack I had packed trying to lure him back in, but no luck. The second I stood up to grab him, he was off. People were most definitely watching us at this point, which was okay since Paul was just beginning to introduce us from the pulpit. Speaking of the pulpit, Johnny was on his way there. He hesitated at the stairs, gave me one last look of triumph, and darted onto the stand. One of the bishopric members caught him and held him on his lap for a minute, at which point Johnny looked out at the congregation and suddenly became very serious. He knew he was in trouble! He got down, came down the stairs, caught my eye yet again, and turned to run across in front of the pulpit. I set Zach down, who immediately started screaming as if he were in mortal peril, and ran to grab Johnny.

Johnny saw me coming and darted up the other set of stairs to stand by his daddy at the pulpit. Zach was still screaming, and I hesitated to go onto the stand and add more fuel to the fire. I ran back to take Zach out, and Johnny followed me - thank heavens! However, as soon as we were out the door, I tried to reach into my bag for ANYTHING that would calm Zach down, and Johnny seized the moment to run right back into the chapel....and back onto the stand. The poor bishopric member snatched him up and brought him out, at which point several sweet women came out to help me. After the meeting, every single person in the ward came to talk with us. What a way to meet the new ward: HERE WE ARE!!!

Summer Lovin'!

We've had QUITE the crazy summer this year! Here are a few of our highlights:

1. We found out we're expecting a new little addition (another BOY!!) on Decemeber 21st! Johnny will be barely 3, and Zach turns 2 on Dec. 28th. Needless to say, it's going to be a very exciting Christmas this year!

2. We took our family to Disneyland (my first time) the beginning of June. It was absolutely one of the best weeks of my life! We took our niece and nephew with us to help with the boys, and it was just a blast. Here's a look at our adventures:

 

Johnny played peekaboo with Silvermist on our way to meet Tinkerbell!

  

Johnny was in heaven.



Tinkerbell!



In front of the Tiki Room - which was actually Zach's favorite, although you'd never know it by this picture.

*Some of my favorite moments from Disneyland:

                      - Johnny throwing a muffin at Sadie's face while she was dead asleep in the hotel room.

                      - Pregnant me running back and forth across the street 4 times in a row to find a dropped pin in the road. Those Disney pins are spendy, so it was well worth all the cars having to wait for me! ;)

                      - Watching the World of Color, Fantasmic, and the parades! AMAZING!

                      - Eating. Hey, I'm pregnant, and the food was awesome.

                      - The rides! Duh! The boys' favorite was Winnie the Pooh, which we would ride like 6 times in a row until the boys fell asleep. Johnny called the ride "Poop" and would beg for it all through the park. :)

                      -Carrying around a parasol for my awful sunburn. Princess right here!

                     

I got to see the ocean for the first time!

  

We stopped on our way through to take pictures at the beautiful Las Vegas Temple!



3.  We took a week off and went camping for the annual Anderson Family Reunion at the beginning of August. Our boys were absolute mudballs, even with daily baths. They had a blast though! And so did Paul and I.

Johnny LOVED hiking!

         I do have to say that we got off to a rough start to our trip. Our first evening there, we got out to stretch our legs and locked our keys in the van! BAH! We didn't have any spares, both our phones were in the van, and we hadn't unpacked anything but ourselves. The boys had just sat in the creek for the first time, so they were drenched and muddy with no extra clothes or diapers. As we were circling the van to see if ANY of the doors were unlocked, Zach came around the corner eating what I assumed to be chocolate. It wasn't. It was MOOSE POOP (and I'm not even kidding). I couldn't make this stuff up. 

      Needless to say, thank heaven for families! After a fervent prayer for help, my uncle came over and unlocked the door with a hanger. It took him an hour and a half, blessed man! Our adventures never stop, and neither do our answered prayers.

Well, that pretty well covers the biggest moments of our summer. I hope you all had great ones too!









Wal-Mart Adventures

Hi everyone! I'm mostly writing about this for future reference - to remind myself why I do not - do NOT- take my children shopping. Ever. For any reason. Here's why:

Yesterday dawned bright and sunny, with springtime in the air, promise on the wind, and...no juice in the fridge. It had been months since I'd tried grocery shopping with my boys (because of a few not-so-pleasant episodes of dragging their screaming little selves out of stores - quite literally), but we were desperate. I knew we would never get a naptime without any precious juice, and there were a thousand other things we needed. So, I thought I would give them a chance to redeem themselves in the grocery shopping deparment. Silly me!

I packed my 15-month-old and 2 1/2-year -old into their carseats and off we went. When we got to Wal-Mart, I faced the usual parking dilemma: closer to the store, or closer to the carts? It had been a rainy night, so I decided on closer to the store. That meant using a dry cart inside, but it also meant carrying Zach and dragging Johnny the whole 75 yards into the store. As soon as we were inside, I let go of Johnny so I could grab the nearest cart and start stuffing Zach in the child seat.

 Of course, the second I let go of Johnny, he was running - no destination in mind, simply the call of freedom tugging at his little Osh-Kosh sandals. I tried to keep an eye on him while wrestling to buckle in a squirmy Zach, but alas! Johnny disappeared around a corner at the same moment I realized I had put Zach into a very rain-soaked cart. Oh well on the cart dilemma. The damage was done, and I had a fugitive to chase.

I caught Johnny in a moment of hesitation, as he was trying to decide if he wanted to try pushing ALL the buttons on the RedBox machine, or run straight out the nearest door. I steered us all into the store and our adventures really  began! The first thing Johnny saw was the big beautiful display of "traw-buddies" (strawberries). What?! He was begging for something healthy? Win for Mommy! Also, it was my bribe for getting him to sit in the cart. Double win!

We moved throught the fruit aisle with lightning speed because Johnny had found the "nanas" (bananas) and was yelling at them from 10 yards away. We made it through the deli and the frozen foods pretty quietly, but then I realized why: Johnny was sticking his little tongue out and had weaseled 2 little fingers into the strawberry container. I needed a distraction, and fast! I looked up and found a Pez display - with Lightning McQueen and Mater dispensers. Perfect! I grabbed one for each of them, but I should have known better. Johnny had Mater, and Zach had McQueen. Johnny started yelling for his "Maween!" so we traded. As soon as Zach had Mater, Johnny screamed for "Nater!" He finally realized that he could have one, so he settled for Maween and all was happiness and roses.

Until the juice aisle. Remember how apple juice was the reason we came? I couldn't find it. Anywhere. And Zach had started playing the "Throw Mater and all his Pez Candies out of the Cart and Watch Mommy Scramble to Pick it Up" game. After he did it twice, I put his Mater in the back of the cart with Johnny. And I still couldn't find the juice. I found fifteen aisles of wine, one small display of Sunny-D, and no apple juice. I decided to go with Sunny-D and repent later for all the sugar I was going to feed my children. I put the sunny stuff in the cart and CRASH! Mater went flying again. I couldn't figure out how Zach had gotten it, but whatever. The end was in sight!

We moved on to the binky section, and Johnny was much quieter than he should have been. I looked down and realized he had opened a box of donuts I had picked up to surprise Paul. He only had a little crumb in his hand, so I thought, "Whatever. We're almost done, and we'll still pay for the box." I moved the box away from Johnny, got an understanding smile from another mom as we started moving again, and then CRASH! went Mater again. I picked it up and put it back in the cart. Johnny immediately grabbed it and handed it to Zach again (that's how he was doing it!). I congratulated Johnny on learning to share and stuffed Mater in my armpit.

We headed for the checkout lane as Zach became irate. He only stopped crying intermittently to suck on my sweatshirt strings. We found the famous Wal-Mart checkout lanes (500 lanes, 3 of them open) and went to the shortest one. We realized it was the shortest because the lady in front of us - bless her heart - was a couponer. Oh well, it looked like she was almost done, and the other lines were backing up farther every second. Zach was still screaming and started throwing everyhing he could reach onto the floor. I finally just picked him up out of the cart, and then Johnny started "helping" me. He loves to put everything onto the conveyor belt, but we couldn't reach it yet. He kept handing me the cottage cheese and pointing to the belt, and I kept saying, "Not yet," and putting it back in the cart. Zach started grabbing some candy from the shelf and I was distracted just long enough to hear a SPLAT! and see cottage cheese explode everywhere. Yes, Johnny had thrown it toward the counter and majorly missed.

The cute lady in front of us informed me Johnny was making a mess, and continued with her couponing business. Finally - FINALLY - she finished and it was our turn. I moved the cart forward, revealing a huge puddle of cottage cheese and a whole lotta donut crumbs. As I unloaded the cart, I realized there were two half-eaten donuts stuffed in with the rest of the groceries. Yum. I handed the cashier the empty cottage cheese carton and apologized profusely. She was SO nice and just laughed at the whole thing! Another lady cleaned it up, and we high-tailed it out of there the second Zach was done pushing all the buttons on the credit card machine.

The moral of this story is: wait until the hubby gets home to go shopping.

Fast-Paced Life

Wow! So many things are going on right now, but since this is really the best journaling I do, I better get caught up! Here goes:

- Paul has been applying for several different jobs now that he's finishing up his business degree. We will *probably* be moving to Boise in the next few weeks, but we're not totally sure. Although being sure would help my nerves. A lot. Moving on...

- I have been watching kids for some extra money these last few months. This makes our house even noisier, which, if you've never spent much time here, is pretty impressive. It also makes for some pretty entertaining conversations! For example:

*My 3-yr-old niece walks into the room with Johnny, who's sucking on a bracelet with huge wooden beads. She looks up at me with those concerned little eyes and informs me, "Kristi, him is sucking on those yucky grapes."

*Paul runs into the room and says, "I know this probably isn't what you want right now, but HELP!" Cute little Heather, who is the same age as Johnny (HOW do people with 2-yr-old twins survive?!) had dumped one full liter of Mrs. Butterworth's Maple Syrup onto...well, everything. Herself, Johnny, the table, the floor, the chairs, the booster seat, the...no, she actually missed the kitchen sink, but other than that, the kitchen was one big maple-flavored party! We threw the little destructive duo into the tub and spent the next 45 minutes cleaning/laughing. As soon as I got Heather out and dressed, I ran to grab a hairbrush, but alas, I was too slow. By the time I came back to the living room, she was already back in the bathwater - fully clothed.

The stories go on, but suffice it to say: there is truly no dull moment!

- Johnny is talking up a storm, and repeats about everything he hears. My favorite thing is when he prays. We have to prompt him, and it goes something like this:

*Me, whispering: Heavenly Father,
Johnny, also whispering: Fado...
Me: Thank thee for the food,
Johnny: Food...
Me: Please bless it,
(Zach blows a raspberry)
Johnny: Haha! Silly Zachy
Me: Please bless it,
Johnny: blows a rasperry
Me: In the name of Jesus Christ
Johnny: Jesus. AMEN! YAY!! (much clapping...)

- Zach is walking. Or whatever you call it that he does. It mostly resembles a penguin's waddle, I think. I used to not fully understand why they called it "toddling." I understand now! He also really loves silverware. I can always tell when he's been in a room because I'll find cute little spoons in the toothbrush drawer, forks on my nightstand, etc. He is truly my little sunshine, and he just loves to leave little rays of happiness everywhere he goes!

Well, I think that updates us for now! Happy blogging :)