Don't forget Field Day

I am finally getting to these pictures some 2 weeks later. Maybe sometime next week I'll get around to cleaning up the popsicle mess in the boys' bedroom. I worried that Donovan would get emotional if he didn't do well in any of the events so I made sure Matt and I were both there to lend support if needed. I definitely misjudged Donovan. He had a great time! He was genuinely happy to see his friends run the fastest or jump the farthest. I'm glad I went so I could see him having such a great time. But Field Day has changed since I was in elementary school. Gone are the days of collecting the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or "participation" ribbons. There were a few class competitions, but the majority of the time was spent in the "fun zone" with all the inflatable toys. Maybe that's just the way they do it for kindergarten, but either way it was a hit.

This was new to me: see who can kick their shoe the farthest.

"because"

"Because". I have learned that this little word can make my life a whole lot easier. Nina is a big "why" asker. Sometimes it seems like she is reasonable and absorbs what I say to her, but most of the time everything I say is followed by a slew of "why's". Case in point:
Me: Nina, we don't climb in Cameron's crib.
Nina: Why?
Me: Because I don't want you to hurt Cameron.
Nina: Why?
Me: Because he is small and he can get hurt easily.
Nina: Why?
Me: Because he is a new baby and needs lots of time to grow.
Nina: Why?
Me: (nothing)
Nina: Why mama?
Me: (still nothing)
Nina: Why mama?

So you get the picture. I have just learned though, that if I answer any of her "why" questions with a simple "because", she seems satisfied and drops the subject. Who knew? I have also learned that I need to follow her example and accept a simple "because I no want to" when I ask her a question, or else I will find myself pulling out my hair in frustration:

Me: Nina, why did you climb in Cameron's crib?
Nina: Because I no want to.

Me: Nina, why did you climb on Donovan's bunk bed and wake him up?
Nina: Because I no want to.

Me: Nina, why did you cut your hair?
Nina: Because I no want to.

Me: Nina, why are you lying on the floor in the middle of the kitchen?
Nina: Because I no want to.

If it makes sense to her, then I guess that's all I need to know.

Summer haircuts

Donovan and Howie think it's pretty neat to get a "summer haircut". I like it because
a) I am not very good at cutting hair
b) The boys hate sitting through my long haircuts
c) The boys protest haircuts so loudly that I just give up and deal with long hair
d) A summer haircut is quick, painless and lasts a long time
So this style seems to work for all of us. Matt even cut his own hair in the same fashion, but I didn't get a chance to take his picture.




So naturally Nina felt left out of this "boy only" ritual and took matters (and scissors) into her own hands. I guess it could have been a lot worse.


I think we're officially ready for summer now.

2 weeks old

Today Cameron is 2 weeks old. First I have to say that I am so glad that he didn't wait until his due date because I'd still have 2 more days of being miserable! Yesterday we took Cameron to his 2 week check up and he is growing very well. He grew 2 inches and gained a pound and 2 ounces (from his weight leaving the hospital). For us he is a giant! We compared his size to the other kids at 2 weeks and he has 2 inches and a pound on all of them. Cameron is a very good baby. He pretty much just eats and sleeps, but we are catching him with his eyes open more frequently. I am finding it hard to get pictures of him and I don't know why. Here are a few though, and like usual, not very good.

He does this one eye open thing alot


Donovan came home from school one day with a letter and this crown for Cameron. The letter said, "I love yoo baby bruthr. you ar kut. i hope you ar beeng gud. be gud and go to slep a lot. slep so much. love your big bruthr." I thought it was very sweet.

Before the baby

The night before Cameron was born, we all went out to dinner at Bucca di Beppo, compliments of the awesome teachers in the foreign language department. I mostly wanted to show what incredible table manners our kids demonstrate in public. At home it's pretty much the same, standing on their chairs, eating with their fingers, licking their plates - you get the point. Well anyway, after dinner we went on a little nature walk and ended with a trip to Cold Stone. I'm not sure which of those triggered the onset of labor, but I'm thanking the foreign language department and our sloppy kids for their contributions.

How are we doing? Mostly tired.

Some of us are pretty tired and some of us seem to have doubled up our energy. We still don't have very many "good" pictures of Cameron, but we'll keep trying. Matt, me and Cameron seem to be the tired ones around here. Cameron sleeps quite a bit, but he also gets up to eat very frequently. Matt and I wish we could sleep for longer than 2 hours in a row, but that will come with time. Donovan, Howie and Nina seem to have so much more energy than before. Thank goodness Matt's mom, Pam, is out here! She is playing games, reading books and making food non-stop. But all in all, things are going very well over here.

Cameron Benjamin Marshall

We got quite the surprise early Saturday morning. I woke up to a pretty painful contraction at 1:30 a.m. and he was born 4 hours and 45 minutes later. Cameron is a baby after my heart arriving 16 days early! He was 6 lbs 9 oz and 19 inches long, winning him the title of our largest baby. Here are a few details of the labor for anyone interested. I was dilated to an 8 when we got to the hospital at 4:30, I started begging for my epidural right away, but didn't get it until a little after 6:00 when I was dilated to a 9.5. The pain finally went away after 2 sets of pushes and he was out after another set of 2. Quick and easy! So far he is pretty mellow. The kids love him, some of them maybe a little too much! We will be getting better pictures posted soon!

Some random things

So in preparation for this baby, I have been getting old clothes out, switching the crib bedding back to "boy" colors, buying an extra pack of newborn diapers here and there and ordering a new stroller. I've heard from many reliable sources that the stand and sits are great so I'm trying one out. I have a very nice double stroller, but the fights it causes about who will sit in the front, who will walk and who will look at it (yes, we had that fight one time) are driving me crazy. That and our kids can never sit in the same place for 2 seconds so I'm constantly lifting one out and trying to get another in and buckled and frankly, I must look ridiculous trying to fit a 6 year old into the seat of a stroller made for toddlers. I'm trying this new one out to see if it makes my life any easier! At this point, I'll try anything.


Also in all my preparing, I tried to get some organizing done. All of our Halloween costumes and dress-up clothes were spread out among boxes, tubs and sometimes the basement floor. I decided to put them all into one big container and while I was in the middle of this project I hear, "whoa, where did this come from??" Donovan found Matt's old cowboy outfit (that I swear he has seen before, but whatever right?) and instantly put it on. He wore that thing all day, to the store, to his friend's house and outside to play soccer. Apparently Matt used to wear this outfit all the time when he was growing up. It was pretty cute to see Donovan take the same interest in a cowboy outfit. One funny note, the waist of the pants is a little worn or stretched out so when Donovan put them on, they fell right off him necessitating the use of a belt. Donovan asked me if Matt was really fat when he was a kid since the pants seemed so big. It doesn't sound as funny now that I read it, but it made me laugh.

Father/Son Campout

Last night was our stake's father/son campout. Even though it was super windy and pretty darn cold (in the 20s overnight), Matt and the boys braved the elements and really enjoyed themselves. Some of the highlights of their adventure:
-playing in the barn (it had a tractor, ATV and huge piles of hay)
-roasting marshmallows
-the flag retiring ceremony
-riding a zip-line
-a tractor ride
-playing soccer, Frisbee and whiffleball
-playing in woodpiles
-running around in the woods with their friends and spending time together

Here are the guys in front of the new tent we got for Christmas

The rest of the pictures are of the boys playing in the barn. I guess there was tons of dust flying around making it hard to get clear pictures.





I don't have pictures of Nina and I eating cookie dough at our friend's house and then laying in our bed watching Enchanted. Nina LOVED that movie, she sat totally interested the entire time.