Out my Window

I think I'll dedicate part of my blog just to things we see out our window- it seems to be a common theme in my microcosm. That and perhaps I feel a little deprived having lived in a basement for the past 3 years with no view at all. At any rate, I'm sharing with you, in case your view isn't quite as spectacular as mine. 

sunrise in Fort Collins

Lincoln's at 2 months

Lincoln has officially been in our family 2 months.That meant a trip to the doctor's office for his shots and to get measured. It is always fun to see how much they have grown but sad when they get vaccinated. 

Weight: 11.8 lb  38%

Length: 23.3 inches 62%

Head circumference: 15.5 inches 58%

Weight for Length: 22%

I tried to get a smile out of him but he won't do it on command yet or even with a tickle so 'no dice'. Lincoln is a very peaceful baby, snuggley, and easy to take care of. He doesn't even cry very loudly. Last night he slept through the night for the first time. I'm not confident that will be happening all the time yet but it sure was nice. He is giving Ruth a run for her money on TBBE- the best baby ever. Only the rest of the year will tell. 

Lincoln's Baby Blessing

For all of you who weren't able to make it to his blessing, it was a beautiful one. Zach always puts so much thought and love into our baby blessings, just like we do their names. I wish I had had more time to take pictures before hand but when church is at 9 and you have 5 children to get ready AFTER they finish eating breakfast it sometimes ends up a very short photo shoot. One of these days soon I'll snap a shot of Lincoln smiling- it's his new trick. Well, it's his only trick really, besides just being a peaceful baby. 

Our Father which art in heaven, by the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood

which we hold, we come before thee to offer this baby a name and a blessing. And

the name by which he shall be known is Lincoln Moroni Hutchins. Lincoln, we

bless you at this time, that throughout the course of your life you will look to the

example of the men for whom you have been named and that you will emulate the

characteristics and qualities that have enabled them to be participants in the work

of salvation for your Heavenly Father’s children. We bless you that you will be a

leader of men and women, that by your quiet example and conviction that many

will come to know of true principles and desire more earnestly to follow your father

in heaven. We bless you that like the president for whom you have been named

that you might be firm in your convictions and persist in that which is right, even

when it may be unpopular. We bless you that like Captain Moroni, you will seek for

guidance from the words of the prophets when you reach critical junctures in your

life and need to know what your Heavenly Father would want you to do. We bless

you with courage and with the conviction to walk what will be at times a lonely path

of discipleship. We bless you that as you faithfully ponder the example of these men

and the name which you have been given, that like Lehi and Nephi of old, you will

remember the words of their father, of Helaman, and draw courage and strength

and fortitude from those who have gone before and feel more earnestly a desire to

increase your commitment to your Father in Heaven. And these things we bless you

with, in the name of your Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Not Lincoln's best look I know, but the other two matched so well I had to include it. 

Look Who's Talking 2

Hurrah for Ruthie! She's finally two. We've been practicing saying, "I'm two" and holding up 2 fingers this week. I will say that she is our first child who hasn't needed help blowing out the candles or opening their presents on their second birthday.

 Ruth Ann's favorite things to do right now: read books, chew gum, do whatever chore mom is doing, play 'gotch you' with her brothers, color (with markers or with the ipad), hold her dog and pacifier, and cry. The crying has just started in the last few weeks and we're not sure why. It may have to do with the new baby or just being a two year old girl. She also likes to sing the Sunbeam song, go to the playground, and jump on the trampoline when the weather is nice. Ruthie is still working on her colors but has made a lot of progress and can identify the basics pretty regularly. First one she learned to identify with consistency- pink. She can count out loud to 10 but not count 10 objects on a page yet. She will sing you parts of the alphabet but not A-Z. If you double her height she will be 5'8". We shall see.

My favorite things about this sweetie: singing her to before bed time in the rocking chair, hearing her giggle, playing 'gotch you', watching her skip and dance, and hearing her sing pieces of songs. Ruth Anne is a joy. So glad you came to our family two years ago. 

I actually had a rainbow birthday cake for my second birthday too. I cried when Amber blew out the candle for me. 

Experiencing Technical Difficulties

Stop the presses! or at least the laundry. Our dryer went out last Saturday night. We didn't get a repair man out here till Thursday and he said that we needed a part which had to be ordered. Of course. The part should take 3-5 days to come in. We are still waiting for the part and for the repair man to return. In the mean time I do one load at a time and then proceed to decorate the house with all our wet clothing items. 

Priorities

When you are four years old and mom yells, "Garbage truck!" you come running no matter what state of dress you are in. Even if that state is underwear- only. Usually Mac would run outside but mom draws the line there. No running out to greet the waste collector in your skivvies.

Christmas Break-down

No we didn't break down over Christmas, this is just the break down of our Christmas break. (Clear as mud?)
Before Christmas I made a list of things I wanted to do so that we could use our time well creating family traditions and making memories. I didn't want to get to the end of the break and say, "Oh I wish we had..." Overall it turned out to be a fantastic time with the kidos and hubby.

Chilson Center indoor pool/splash pad- check
Gingerbread houses- check
Visit giant snow piles at the mall parking lot- check
Volunteer with flood relief- check
Visit Christmas lights- check
Put up "Called to Serve" wall- check
Make Christmas sign for mantle- no check, maybe next Christmas
Play basketball at the church with the boys- check
Mop- check
Enter a photo contest- no check
Take the boys to the out door ice skating rink- check
Sledding- check

The ones without a check obviously weren't meant to be done, or at least weren't that important after all. Other highlights not included on the list were attending a local Zumba class, having the Sister missionaries over on Christmas, finding a local sculpture zoo, and acting out the nativity story as a family. Here's to intentional parenting. 

Just in case you missed this picture in Zach's weekly family letter. It is a work in progress and will have pictures of many more missionaries soon going around the sides. 

My best baby holder

We have been blessed with a very peaceful baby. And by peaceful I mean sleepy. Lincoln is always in some state of sleepiness, either getting ready to nap, napping, or just waking up from a nap. It's a lot of hard work to grow so much. When he cries you know he is either hungry or wanting some assistance going back to sleep. Usually holding him is enough to send him off to baby dream land. So far David has proven to be my best baby holder. His older brother finds it some what of a chore and my other two children are just too small to really heft Lincoln's weight yet. It is a sweet to see the two of them together, makes me happy. David takes after his father in this regard, the champion baby holder. 

Swetsville Z00

 Zach saw this gem on a colleague's facebook page and decided the admission price was right so our family took a field trip. Fort Collins' very own whimsical sculpture garden. It did not disappoint. This artist makes his sculptures out of old car parts and the like so the boys were sorely tempted to climb on them but we tried to curb that inclination as they ran from creature to creature. It was fun to imagine one of these on our front lawn if we could afford such an ornament.

Having a bad hair day...week... month...year

Ruth is going through a bit of a hair phase. I say phase because I hope she grows out of it, or rather her hair does. Basically since she got any hair worth speaking of,every morning she has woken up with atrocious bed head. Nothing a little spray conditioner and some patient combing won't fix but if left to it's own devices her dirty blond wisps sprout out in all directions in true Medusa-like fashion. Not exactly princess material before her daily grooming, but darn cute.