The Horne Family

just a normal day

2012-01-15T17:44:00.009-07:00

So I haven't been doing anything too blogworthy lately because I have three kids- a new baby, an emotional toddler, and a hyperactive preschooler- and I only have two hands. I would really like to clone myself so that I could accomplish everything that needs to get done in a day, but that's not an option so this is my life right now. My laundry is never done, I change approximately 15 diapers a day, I wipe bums, noses, hands, faces, and tears constantly. I get one meal cleaned up and it's already time to make the next one. My sippycup and bottle supply fills the dishwasher everynight. My clothes always have spit up and sticky finger stains on them. and I'm pretty sure my resting heart rate is somewhere around 130 bpm at all times because I never stop running. Sometimes I cry, sometimes I laugh, today I took pictures of my cute kids and tried to cherish the moments so I could look back and laugh one day :)

THE ROUTINE:

My bed is the first place the kids end up in the morning.

Usually it turns into a trampoline and then a pillow fight starts which commonly ends in tears and is the main reason I don't make my bed- what's the point?

Then breakfast-

Carmyns favorite is pancakes with peanut butter and "LOTS" of syrup!

Paige usually just wants cereal.

after breakfast paige starts to undress.

I cannot keep clothes on this little girl to save my life.

Then she goes through every cubbard/drawer that she can get into and unloads ( if this was my house I would have child locks on everything- but it's not my house and we are just here temporarily so i just follow her and load it all back up :))

Carmyn gets into a princess dress-up, sits in front of the mirror and puts her make-up on and
brushes her hair.
Then she goes through all of my scarves and wears them while she dances and sings Areal songs from The Little Mermaid.
Then she repeats the process with a different dress and a different scarf.
At some point she usually breaks down crying while she is singing because she just doesn't understand why king Tritan is so mean to Areal when he finds her cavern full of treasures, and why the sea witch took her voice away!- Man- who knew these disney movies could be so emotionally draining on a 3 year old!

Meanwhile, Paige has completely unclothed and successfully pulled the cereal off the counter and is helping herself to a midmorning snack. There is cereal trails all over the house by now. Carmyn joins in.

She is proud that I'm taking a picture and laughing instead of taking the cereal away.

and sweet baby Asher is trying to take a nap in the front pack while I do dishes, laundry, and pick up after Paige.
I am still in my sweats and haven't looked in the mirror yet so no I will not be posting a picture of myself.

Chad wakes up at 4:30 am to hit the gym before work and is half way done with his work day at this point.

Now it's nap time- phew! :)

No my kids aren't in designer clothes with perfect hair at all times. I'm usually a good 30 minutes late whenever I make an attempt to go anywhere. But life is good. We have each other, we have a knowledge of Gods eternal plan and I know that my family is forever. I couldn't ask for anything better! ( ok ok- I'd take a maid and Mary Poppins and trip to Hawaii )

and for the record:

I went to college for six years. I've been an ER/OR/Oncology/and Pediatric nurse. I fought thyroid cancer for four years when I was a teenager. None of it even compares to how emotionally draining/heart wrenching/and completely rewarding it is to be a mother.

MOMS ROCK

2 months old!

2012-01-15T17:03:00.004-07:00

Asher is 2 months old!!

He weighs 10 lbs. 13 oz.
23 inches tall
Smiles and coo's all day/ and night
he is a good sleeper
He has a deep little voice and he snorts and grunts like such a man :)
he spits up all the time but he is a good eater
He's such a happy little boy!

Even though I'm feeling a little crazy having number three so soon, Asher has completely stolen my heart! The meaning of the name Asher is - "Happy"- and it couldn't fit him any better. I am cherishing my moments with my little baby boy. He is changing and growing up so fast. I love how he smiles and talks to me after he eats, and how he loves to cuddle and fall asleep in my arms. I love that he is comforted by my voice and that I know how to hold him just right to calm him down when he's upset. It's such a blessing to be a mother and to know what it feels like to love someone completely unconditionally. It's probably a good thing that I have other kids to take care of and that I'm exhausted most of the time because I might never put him down otherwise!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-08T00:01:00.004-07:00

The Kent's had a ugly sweater/white elephant gift party for New Years. We had a blast and made it till midnight! There were 10 kids between us all and we successfully put 8 of them to bed- Carmyn and Elena wouldn't sleep so they brought in the new year with us.

K so our sweaters weren't really that ugly-

I'll do better next year Darci! I promise!

Tyler and Darci sporting their sweaters

Food and games

We got the worst gift of all- dentures! (plaque and all)

Happy New Year with a little sparkling cider

Topped off the night with some illegal fireworks!!

Great party - Great friends!!

I have a good feeling about 2012- Our house should be finished next month and I can't wait for a new start, somewhere to call home, and to finally feel settled.

Happy New Year!!

MeRRy cHRisTmAs 2011

2012-01-07T22:55:00.005-07:00

We spent Christmas morning at my parents house this year. I loved being with all of my family on Christmas ! We always have so much fun together and my parents still spoil us all like we are kids again! Santa even found us there and my kiddos had a blast opening their presents -and everyone else's :)

My favorite gift this year :)The kiddos opening gifts

The aftermath of opening presents

A poor attempt at a family picture

The kids and their cousins with their new hats from Grandma and Grandpa

and their favorite gift of all............. the silly soap in their stockings

-go figure.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Sweet baby boy

2011-12-21T20:26:00.008-07:00

Asher is 6 weeks old!

He is starting to coo and smile

He loves to look around when he is awake

He is a wonderful sleeper- 6 hours a night!!

He only poops once a week-

(yes thats normal- and he makes up for it by peeing on me every diaper change :) )

I can't get enough of cuddling him- he's such sweet baby.

My friend Tiffany made this adorable hat and mustache binkie for him.
I love it-I laugh so hard every time he uses his bink!

Thanks Tiff :)

one month old-

I think he was pretty shocked to find his hand!

and this is how most of our evenings end....

We love our new little addition to the fam!

Beauty Queen

2011-12-14T20:23:00.002-07:00

Dancing

2011-11-29T08:06:00.003-07:00

Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T18:10:00.007-07:00

We spent Thanksgiving at the Horne's cabin this year.
Lots of fun in the snow and yummy food!

We had to snowmobile in to the cabin- The girls thought it was great, and yes I have 3 week old baby Asher bundled up inside my coat! No son of Chad's is too young to go snowmobiling ;) Great food and good company at the dinner table

Sled racing

Asher did a lot of this

(isn't he a cutie)

Carmyn fell in love with snowmobiling

Paige wanted to try on the helmet too

Chad found a nice rack

The best way to go sledding!!

Life at HOME:

Well the past three weeks have been good. We are all a little tired and life has slowed down a lot. We've been answering lots of anatomy questions about the difference between boys and girls and how milk is made. The girls are so in love with baby Asher. I love my slow simple life right now. I get to sit back and enjoy my children and pay attention to the little things that matter the most.

Asher is such a sweet baby and he brings a sweet little spirit into our home.

I love when they are so little you can stick them in a sink for a bath

We don't get dressed any too fast at our house since we don't go anywhere.

Rainboots and PJ's work just fine for our daily walk.

Paige has been especially busy taking care of her own baby while I'm taking care of mine :)

I am so thankful for my sweet little family!

Side note: I just have to add how wonderful my hubby is- We have a crazy busy little family and he is so helpful and good with the kids. Even with no sleep, a full time job, and building our house. I love you Chad!

Introducing............

2011-11-16T12:51:00.010-07:00

Asher Jay Horne

6 lbs 13 oz
19.5 inches long

Born 11/4/11

We are so in love with this little guy!

Asher is by far my best newborn baby! He sleeps great, he nurses great, he is so alert and loves to look around. I wish I could cuddle him all day long and just stare at his perfect little features! We are so excited to have a boy! He's got a lot of his daddy in him- same hairline, same mouth, huge hands, and huge feet! Other than that I think he has his own little look- just like my girls. Funny that my kids don't really look alike. I love to compare how different each one is.

I have taken so many pictures and I really tried to narrow it down- but I'm sure there will be many more pictures to come!

Carmyn loves to pat his head and put her cheek on his face.
She always says- "He's so beautiful", "Hi baby brother", "What is he dreaming about?", "When can he eat cereal like me?", "Why does he poop so much?", "Oh look mom- he wants to sing wheels on the bus" (when his arms are flailing around), "Where did his big poop go?" (When he lost his umbilical cord), etc....

I love the mind of a three year old!

Carmyn is such a good big sister. She really does love him so much and is always so careful around him. I'm so grateful for how responsible and well mannered my little big girl is!

Paige likes to act just like her big sister so she has been really cute with baby Asher so far. She can say brother and baby and does a cute little soft voice when she softly pats his head. She likes to point out his eyes, nose, and mouth. I can't help but notice how much she has grown up in the last little while, but also how much of a baby she still is. We spend a lot of time cuddling so she doesnt feel neglected at all. Luckily she is fully entertained by Carmyn for most of the day.

the hospital events...

2011-11-16T12:03:00.007-07:00

Baby Asher making his grand arrival!

What a wonderful moment- to hear your babys first cry.
Feelings of relief, joy, love, and gratitude that this little person that has shared your body for the past 9 months is finally here and safe. I know I will never forget that feeling.

What a little miracle....

The hospital was encouraging doing skin to skin contact right after birth which is something I didn't get to do with my girls. I really enjoyed it and I would highly suggest it to other moms. He immediately calmed down and it was a really neat bonding experience.

(Sorry if that was little TMI)

My labor and delivery went really well with Asher. I started having consistent contractions on Thursday night after doing some Christmas shopping with my mom. I went to bed thinking that they would probably go away- because they usually did if I laid down. Then I woke Chad up at 2:30 in the morning and said this has to be the real thing because they are not stopping and I'm really hurting! We called Chad's sister Kelsi to come sleep at our house so she could be there for the girls when they woke up in the morning ( Thanks Kels) and headed to the hospital. I was dialated to a 4 1/2 and my doc broke my water and checked me in. I delivered him 45 minutes after I got my epidural with only a couple pushes. Very nice and smooth- Just what we prayed for with this little surprise :)

Wow that's a lot of offspring in my bed! ;)

A very Proud Daddy!

Big sis needed a little practice holding a baby- we've been working on that!

The girls thought the hospital was pretty cool- the treats were probably more exciting than the new baby, they also loved to push the call light button and the emergency pull in the bathroom. Needless to say their visits where short and sweet :)

Loving my sweet little guy

Chad would like to note that our first big snow storm came right after Asher was born- he's pretty sure that its a sign that this is going to be his life long snowmobile buddy!

Just had to throw in a picture of how tiny he looked in his carseat on the way home.

and now the adventure begins......................................

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-11-16T11:30:00.003-07:00

Halloween was so exciting for the kids this year! Carmyn knew she was going to be Repunzel for about 4 months before Halloween so she was thrilled when the day came that she could actually dress up and go trick or treating! Paige made a very cute ladybug and she mastered task of grabbing candy out of everyones bowls! I was praying all day that I didn't go into labor because that was the only day that I didn't want to have a baby! I didn't want my little guy to have to share his birthday with a holiday.

Chad planted pumpkins in our garden this year then he carved the girls names in them as they were growing so it looked like they grew with their name in it- I thought it was a cute idea :)

The girls at my parents house- They went trick or treating with grandpa T and had a blast~!

I think grandpa liked it too :)

Of coarse Chad and I had to dress up! I painted Chads face as a skeleton and apparently I did a little too good because the girls where scared of him for about an hour. Then they realized it was just daddy. I found my pumpkin costume that I wore when I was 2 and it fit perfectly over my huge belly! Cheesy I know- but the girls loved it :)

Speaking of my huge belly- here I am at 38 weeks

right before I delivered

18 months

2011-10-30T17:10:00.003-07:00

Paige is 18 months old!

Wow this little girl has changes so much from the time she was born!

She has grown up so fast and turned into such a little beauty.

Her hair is so long and curly and constantly in her face. :)

I think the funniest thing about Paige is how much she loves to eat- Not just treats either- she will eat fruits and veggies all day- and has mastered the art of begging.

She is starting to get a great little vocabulary and repeats everything we say.

She loves to dance and sing- and is a really loud screamer too!

She has a fiesty little personality and is often hesitant to do new things.

She loves her sister! Follows her around all day and copies everything Carmyn is doing.

She weighs 25 lbs

I'm pretty sure she has most of her teeth- she got them really early and all at once!

She is already in a size 6 shoe- both of my girls got their daddy's big feet and are predicted to be quite a bit taller than me :)

She hates getting dressed and her diaper changed- that's when we practice our WWF skills.

She LOVES animals- especially dogs ands cats- she has no fear of them at all!

She gives great kisses and loves to rub her daddy's beard.

She is such a cutie- We couldn't even imagine life without her!!

October fun

2011-10-30T16:42:00.004-07:00

We are loving our nice warm weather this fall! We got to spend a week with my brother and his cute family when they came to visit and the girls had a blast with their cousins! Our house is framed and coming along and I'm still preggo :) 38 weeks tomorrow which makes this my longest pregnancy yet! I'm not nearly as misarable as I was feeling in my last post- thank goodness- I hit full term and stopped having contractions- go figure. Now I'm just wondering when this little guy is going to make his appearance. Can't wait!

The girls are so excited for Halloween tomorrow!

Carmyn and her cousing Elijah at the duck parkCheck out this little doll!!

This is my new niece Halle

I just got to meet her for the first time and she is so adorable!

The kids always think Chad is great for climbing on!

Lots of Grandma time :)

Yes- we made them hold hands

I'm getting closer and closer

2011-10-10T17:08:00.004-07:00

Today I hit 35 weeks!!

For most pregnant women that just means crap- I still have 5 more weeks.
For me that means I've made it a week further than I did with Paige!
I am so excited to be this far along, but I'm starting to feel slightly miserable and pathetic.
Last week the contractions started and I earned myself a lovely visit to the hospital, lots of medication to stop the contractions, steroid shots to help my babys lungs develop quicker, and the dreaded bedrest.......
I will forever have sympathy for pregnant women on bedrest. I know it sounds like it should be really easy, but honestly people it's a small form of torture! Luckily I am not on strict bedrest, it's really just to stop my body from having contractions- but I keep getting these tension headaches from laying in one spot for too long, it makes my heartburn worse, I get restless leg syndrome- and well lets just say I am no fun to be around right now!!

My first pregnancy with Carmyn was a breeze. I worked full time until the day I delivered and still managed to go to the gym 3 times a week through the whole pregnancy. I kinda laughed at other women who whinned and complained through their pregnancy and I thought- Oh come on, it's not that bad!- I'm pretty sure I'm getting punished for ever thinking those thoughts! So all you pregnant women out there who are feeling slightly miserable- please call me and I will come to your house and give you all the sympathy you deserve because- I understand!!!
Ok my rampage is over.

My friends and family are absolutely wonderful and seem to just know when to step in and offer their help. It's such a humbling experience to let others serve you by helping with your kids and I appreciate it so much! I only hope I can repay everyone as soon as I get my sweet little boy here!

My cute friend Jodie took some maternity pics of me a couple of weeks ago - before I was bedbound. We had a lot of fun laughing about how awkward it is to try to look decent posing while your pregnant. I think she did a great job- Thanks Jodie!

33 weeks

can't wait to meet this little man!!

Loving all the produce!

2011-10-10T15:31:00.004-07:00

I think my favorite time of the year is August and September when fresh produce in abundance everywhere! This year chad planted a huge garden on our property where we are building our house. We have had tomatos, squash, corn, and cantalope coming out our ears! He even planted pumpkins for the kids and carved their names in them so it looks like it grew with their name in it. :) I've been loving my fresh tomato sandwiches and zuchinni bread!

Not only do we have a garden full of veggies, but the house we are house sitting at has all sorts of fruit trees in the back yard! The girls get a kick out of helping my pick the apples and peaches. I've been able to get some good canning in and some yummy apple and peach crisps for dessert!

Why can't we get fresh produce all year??

It's not fair that it all comes at once and then it's over!!

Yummy Salsa

Plum Jalepeno jelly!

- so yummy on cream cheese with crackers

Preschool and Dance

2011-09-21T18:38:00.004-07:00

My baby left the nest and started preschool this month. She was so excited I had a hard time being sad. This was her first day of school photo. She couldn't wait to put that back pack on and sit at her assigned seat! Although she was super disappointed when I dropped her off because somewhere in her mind she thought she was going to get on a big yellow bus for school. Not yet sweetheart! When I dropped her off I had tears in my eyes until I saw her steal her neighbors marker because she liked the color better than hers. I made her put it back. When I picked her up she had a smile from ear to ear and told me she had 5 new best friends and that we all needed to go to McDonalds and get chicken nuggets together. Apparently this is what 3 year olds talk about.

The next school day she thought that she needed another school pictures but Paige needed to be in this one! what a good sis.

Along with preschool Carmyn started ballet/jazz dance too.

I couldn't get her to stop dancing long enough to take any good pictures.

This girls' got moves!!

It was so cute to see all the little three year old girls running around in their leotards with their panties hanging out.

She finally stopped to pick her nose :)

Classic

We have a hole !!

2011-09-21T18:00:00.004-07:00

We have finally started on our new house!! We are so excited since we have had a zillion set backs that have delayed us for the past 9 months. Chad and his dad dug our hole last week so I took the girls out there to get a ride in the tractor :)

They had a blast!

Here's our hole with the footings in.

This week is the foundation and plumbing.

I am seriously clueless when it comes to building a house so I am learning a ton here!

Oh and we couldn't leave until the girls got a ride in the bucket :)

In the mean time.......

A nice couple in Chad's parents ward asked us to house sit their house while we are building. Their house is gorgeous and it's so nice to have a place to call home for a little while.

The kids love the yard with a pool/play ground/ and tramp.

I'm loving the huge kitchen and open space.

Hooch

2011-08-15T13:34:00.003-07:00

Our sweet dog Hooch died a couple weeks ago and we really miss her.

She was a great dog with a sweet mellow temperment.

She got an agressive cancer that took her in a couple of months :(

She was only 4 years old. We tried to snap some pictures with her when we found out about her cancer.

We Love you sweet Hooch- we will miss you.

More fun at the cabin

2011-08-14T13:57:00.006-07:00

Hanging out at our familys cabins seems to be our vacation of choice this summer :). I don't think there is anything better than spending time with your family and making memories. My grandparents live in St. George but they like to spend their summer at our cabin at Bear Lake to get away from the heat. We love going up there and spending time with them.

The kids love to swing with great grandma Jackie

We always eat lots of great food

Grandma even has tea parties and builds tents with Carmyn

We always love to hit the beach while we're there.

These next couple of pictures of Paige crack me up!

She found grandma Kimmie's coke and was in heaven!

(No I don't usually let my kids have pop but she was so in love with it- I let her endulge)

Is that really my little girl? She looks so grown up!

We spent some time fishing with Grandpa while we were there.

This was Carmyns first time fishing and she caught the only fish! (with a little help from grandpa)

She was so excited to take it home and show everyone.

When she went to bed that night grandpa cleaned her fish and cut off its head.

She was pretty upset about it in the morning and told him that couldn't be her fish because her fish had eyes!

The only crafty thing I've done for a long time.

More pillowcase dresses.

Bear lake with friends

2011-08-14T13:19:00.005-07:00

Took another trip to Bear Lake with some good friends and let the kids play on the beach together. It was over the 24th of July so Bear Lake was packed with people! But that didn't stop us from having a great time :) Chad and the girls

My preggo belly
Chad trying to make me feel better about my growing figure
- Sorry Babe, I don't feel any better when your abs are showing through your pushed out belly.

Paige and her cute friend Mia

This little girl was so in love with the water

- we had to watch her close or she would just waddle herself right out into her death!

Carmyn and her friends dug holes in the sand for hours

Of coarse we had to get some Bear Lake pizza and shakes from La Beaus too :)

oh I Love the summertime......

July swim lessons

2011-08-14T12:30:00.005-07:00

Carmyn finished her swim lessons a couple weeks ago and has officially turned into a fish since then. This little girl has no fear of water and did great at improving her swimming skills!

- On the first day of class Carmyn was having a really hard time because none of the goggles where the right color and there were no pink life jackets- Can you say GIRL!

So her teacher found her the perfect goggles that met her approval and she finally let go of the life jacket issue :)

- I love raising girls but geez- I never realized the drama that we would have to go through!

At the end of every class they got to put life jackets on and play in the pool for a little while. Carmyns favorite was jumping off the diving board over and over and over :)

Her cute class!

4th of July weekend getaway

2011-07-06T19:40:00.003-07:00

We had a great 4th of July weekend at the Horne's cabin.
I'm not gunna lie- I really love cabin camping- especially with kids.
You get the whole camping experience- but a nice cozy bed and less bug bites.
Really I'm not that prissy- I'll just take the comfort when I can get it :)

Our friends Tyler and Darci and their cute kids came with us which made the weekend 10 times more fun!

Carmyn had the time of her life running around with these boys. They climbed rocks, jumped off beds, watched movies, danced, and ate lots of goodies.

We got some 4-wheeling in too.

(Family style)

But the BEST news came on Friday at my 20 week ultrasound!!

We are having a BOY!!!

Oh by the way I'm pregnant again :)

I kinda kept this one on the down low- lets just say he was a big surprise and I think it's taken me a full 20 weeks to actually convince myself that I'm going to have another baby so soon :) But with that being said we couldn't be any happier with our news of a baby BOY!! He and Paige will only be 18 months apart so we will be a little crazy in the Horne house for a couple years but I am so excited that my kids will grow up so close in age!

Due date- November 14, 2011

As for my pregnancy- everything is going good so far. I am getting progesterone shots every week to help prevent preterm labor. I'm nervous about this baby coming too early but I'm just trying to take it easy and let my body rest as much as possible. Even though this wasn't planned- I feel so blessed that I don't have any problems getting pregnant. I have a number of friends struggling with that trial and my heart goes out to them- I don't think that is a trial I could handle very well.

My gifted children

2011-07-06T18:49:00.003-07:00

As a mother, I think everything that my children do has to be a sign of supernatural inteligence.
Don't all moms think that?
Anyways, I am so impressed with my kids new skills that I had to share....

My sweet little Paige is leaps and bounds ahead of what I had expected her to be since she was a preemie. She walked right after her first birthday and is now whipping out sign language like a pro. Ok- I know that is nothing special for a 14 month old, but I'm proud :)

Carmyn is all about art these days and I'm loving all of her paintings and drawings that are hanging up all over our house. When she paints and colors she is so concerned about staying in the lines and matching the right color with the item she is coloring. Ok- so my OCD might have played a role in that- I even trained her to use one color at a time and clean her brush in between each color. Yes this 3 year old probably has the cleanest set of paints around.

I love this chalk picture of Grandma and Grandpa Horne that she did. Even though they look like Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head- I think it's fantastic!. We are finding little potato head people drawn on everything these days :)

Lovin the summertime

2011-07-06T18:22:00.005-07:00

Oh how I love the sunshine!
I'm totally wearing my kids out going from activity to activity trying to soak up as much sun as we possible can before winter hits again. I don't think they mind :).
Boating, swimming, splash pad, parks, sprinklers, kiddie pools, and popcicles!

I don't think life could get much better :). Carmyn is my energizer bunny- she would play in the water all day and all night.

I just smile watching that chubby little body waddling around in her swim suit!

Paige is so adorable and she loves the water!

As always- We Love our days on the boat!

Carmyn tried out tubing this year and had a blast.

Chad playing around on his wake skate

Me on my ski

Paige likes to hide out in the cubby and eat all of our grapes :)

Happy Fathers Day (sorry its sideways!)

2011-06-22T23:00:00.002-07:00

My Birthday week

2011-06-13T18:05:00.009-07:00

Who knew that turning 29 would be such a party! I have great friends and a great family that spoiled me all week long!

I'm just celebrating the fact that I'm not 30 yet :)

The gals took me to Ruby River on Wednesday night.

My mom took me for pedicures and lunch on Thursday.

( and my sweet little niece was born on Thursday- Halle Morgan- can't wait to meet her!! Congrats Nate and Kristin!)

Chad and our friends took me to Sills Cafe for breakfast on Friday morning

Their food is amazing-Chad's cinnamin roll was as big as the plate

and Carmyn's Pancake was bigger than her head :)

Then I got to spend the evening at my Cousin Taya's wedding.

I am so in love with her dress!

My other cousing Tonya was her Maid of Honor- they are both gorgeous!!
The wedding was beautiful- congrats Taya and Hyrum!

Then we had a family dinner and cake on Saturday

A harley ride to Taggarts Grill with my honey Saturday night

then finished off my week on Sunday by opening a load of great presents!

So basically I got completely spoiled and way overfed this past week- and I had a fantastic birthday!

I'm pretty sure that's a sign of a great year to come :)

Thank you- family and friends- You made me feel very loved!!

Random Pictures

2011-06-13T17:23:00.009-07:00

Great Grandma Jackie playing "I'm a little tea cup" for Paige.

Every morning my girls love to cuddle in bed with me right when they wake up- They giggle and roll around in the sheets and they always have major crazy hair. I didn't want to forget this sweet time with my girls so I snapped a picture today- I hope I have a lot more mornings of cuddling and giggling to come. :)

The girls love it when Daddy carries both of them at the same time

It was still a little chilly but we helped grandma Kimmie get all of her flowers planted- Carmyn was in charge of collecting the worms for grandpa to use for fishing.

I'm finally able to braid my girls hair!!

Carmyn loves it and asks for a braid every day-

then admires herself in the mirror :)

Memorial weekend at Bear Lake

2011-06-13T16:54:00.004-07:00

We spent memorial weekend with my family at my parents cabin at Bear Lake. It was chilly and it even snowed but we had a great time hanging out by the fire, eating great food, and playing games. I grew up going to the cabin every summer and I have so many fun memories there. Sitting by the fire in the "pit"

Carmyn helping Grandpa play darts

Extreme ping pong tournaments

My brothers cute new puppy- Mya

Playing in the snow

View of the snowy Lake

Baby steps

2011-05-21T22:48:00.003-07:00

new pictures

2011-04-28T15:31:00.007-07:00

My cute friend Emily Harkness took my girls pictures for their birthdays. She does such a fantastic job! Check out her blog at emilyharknessphotography.blogspot.com

Paige

1 year old

22 lbs

29" long

has 8 teeth (just got her bottom molars)

says Mama and Dada

waves, claps, and blows kisses

crawls up the stairs and stands on her own

Loves to eat!

gives great hugs and loves to cuddle

very attached to mom and dad

Loves to watch and play with her big sister

Has beautiful thick brown hair- which I LOVE

Sings herself to sleep at night and in the car

loves to play peek a boo

and loves to take baths

She is such a sweetheart- I can't wait to watch her grow and learn more this next year

Carmyn

3 years old

27 lbs

37" tall

Very talkative and has the cutest little personality

She asks me questions all day long- about everything!

Loves her little sister Paige and loves to take care of her

Loves to play at parks, paint, color, run, bike, dress up, and pretend that she is a princess.

Loves to play with friends and she has about 10 best friends
She likes to sing and make up songs

her favorite shows are princess shows- but she hides during the scary parts

Is a complete daddy's girl

Favorite food is mac & cheese, go-gurt, cottage cheese, toast, candy, and milk.

She is into pretending and imagining (this is my favorite thing to watch!)

and she can't wait to start pre-school in the fall because she gets to wear a backpack!
She says the funniest things right now and I am so in love with my little girl that's getting so big!

Paige's one year Party!

2011-04-27T11:46:00.005-07:00

My Baby girl turned one last week!

We had a fun party to celebrate!

I am so in LOVE with this little girl and all her chubbiness!

Her new trick is standing on her own-

no steps yet but she is getting pretty confident!

Her friends came to help her celebrate-
these babies were all born within 8 days of each other!

She was given lots of great toys and new clothes

She had a caterpillar theme for her party

The cake eating experience started off with some tears because she grabbed the buring candle before we could stop her. After we all calmed down a little she decided to try a taste.

Mom and Dad and the Birthday girl

It didn't take her long to figure out that the cake was some good stuff!
Yum!

Happy first Birthday my sweet little Paige! We love you so much and you bring such a sweet little spirit into our home. I don't know what I'd do without my daily hugs and cuddles from you!

Happy Birthday Carmyn

2011-04-13T22:56:00.007-07:00

Carmyn turned 3 last weekend and she had a fantastic princess party to celebrate! She wanted a castle cake so this is what we came up with

Her cute little friends all came dressed up as princess's

She got some great gifts from her cute friends

I LOVE watching little kids get so excited when it's time to blow out the birthday candle :)

She spilled her cupcake down her dress- but that's ok when your a princess!

The pinata was a hit

and they played a game called "Tangled" where they all had long yellow crape paper hair and they got to run around and tangle each other up in their hair. (great game for 3 year olds!)

Thanks to Carmyn's good friends for coming to her party! She was in heaven the whole time!

Later we had a family party and Carmyn was so excited to open more presents!

Paige slept through her friend party but she showed up to the family party in her prettiest princess dress

She blew out all three candles

and was so excited to serve ice cream cones- her favorite!

The best ending to her day was her new bike from mom and dad!

We Love You Princess Carmyn!!

Happy Happy Birthday!!

Royal treatment for the Princess

2011-04-13T22:45:00.003-07:00

Grandma Kimmie took Carmyn to get a pedicure and a manicure for her birthday! She loved every minute of her time at the "paint polish store"- and she got to choose her own color

- barbie pink!

Thank you Grandma Kimmie!

Loving all the animals!

2011-04-07T15:13:00.004-07:00

The Hogle Zoo-

The carosel was by far the best part of going to the zoo for Carmyn-

but the animals were pretty cool too. Paige and her cousin Aden were just happy to come along for the ride Most of the animals were stinky- Carmyn said that they needed to take a bath and wipe their bumbs better.

She did get to feed a giraffe and that made her day!

BABY ANIMAL DAYS- in Logan

This was so cute-the kids got to touch and hold all sorts of baby animals, ride on a train, and ride a pony! Carmyn was in heaven! Paige enjoyed it too :)

a little SUNSHINE in Arizona

2011-04-07T14:52:00.003-07:00

We took a little vacation to Pheonix in March. We stayed with our good friends and soaked up the sun for a few days! It felt Wonderful!

Carmyn and I painted our nails while we tried to get a tan We pulled out our shorts and short sleeves

(Paige's rolls look even better in her summer clothes :)-I love it!) The highlight for Carmyn and Paige was this cute little hamster named Amy. They LOVED her!

Rachel and I took some scandalous pictures in a bathroom stall :)

And then we roasted hotdogs and mallows.-

OOoooohhhhh I can't wait for summer!!

Thanks Aaron and Rachel- we had a great time!

She's on the move...

2011-03-14T16:06:00.002-07:00

Paige has been perfectly content with just sitting for the past 4 months.
I've actually loved it because I haven't had to worry about her getting in to any trouble.
But now she's on the move!
It's pretty cute to watch her go after new toys and find so much satisfaction in herself when she pulls herself up on some furniture. Oh boy- now I have two kiddos that can move and get into everything!
I'm in trouble.

Just some more winter fun

2011-03-14T15:11:00.004-07:00

We love breaking out the razor whenever it snows and the streets haven't been plowed yet- this thing can do some seriously fast doughnuts! of coarse Carmyn likes to get in on the action!

a little more skiing with my honey

Paige would rather go skinnydippin in the hottub with the boys
than come out in the cold with us!

We're ok with that :)

Not sure how he got stuck like that- but I wasn't surprised.

It's hard to see but if you look close you can see me and my pink helmet riding on the front of this sled with Chad ( like you did when you were a kid ).

I don't dare to do anything crazy so I just get on with him for a good thrill ride :)

Looking over the Uintas

Last weekend Chad and I had a little getaway up to West Yellowstone- thanks to Michelle and Dusty who watched our kiddos. It was great to get some alone time with my honey and revisit the place where we got engaged.

Oh and Chad conveniently planned it while they were having the world pro snowmobile races up there so we got to watch some of the action!

Happy 30th B-day

2011-03-09T18:49:00.005-07:00

Chad turned the BIG 30 last friday! We had a rockin party at Speed Street and had a blast! Chad loves racing and he loves competition so the heat was on on the race track. The best part was when his sister Brooke whooped on him and everyone else- hehe. He must be getting old or something :)

Here's most of the crew

the race cars

the cake

and his biggest fans

Happy Birthday Babe!!

Hope you had a great one :)

A few of my favorite things.....

2011-02-25T14:10:00.004-07:00

Body Pump at Golds Gym-

my all time favorite workout class

my new toothbrush

My guilty pleasure at McDonalds

Just ordered some face wash/toner/and lotion from

Mario Badescu-

It's seriously amazing!

Can't watch Ellen without laughing!

e.l.f. makeup- love the quality and the price!

Can't leave this store without purchasing something cute and cheap!

9 months

2011-02-09T00:21:00.005-07:00

9 months old

19 lbs

27.5 inches
crawling backwards
Got four new top teeth this month- the same week she had an ear infection :( poor baby
Loves to squeal and babble
Not a fan of strangers
sleeps through the night and everytime we drive somewhere in the car
can outeat Carmyn at every meal
and- with a little styling- can have the cutest curl on top of her head!

I love those chubby fingers and cheeks!!

I really don't want her to grow up- she is so stinkin cute right now!

Carmyn is finally getting a little length to her hair too!

WARNING!! Graffic Images coming up next!! WARNING

So I found pictures of my final pregnant belly before I had Paige.

These were taking during my 4 weeks of bedrest so I'm looking really rough!- don't judge! My figure has improved a little since then so I thought I would be safe posting these now that I can say that I don't look like that anymore- hehe

31 weeks

33 weeks

I never got my 34 week picture before my water broke! Dang- is that a watermelon belly or what! -and that was 7 weeks before my due date! I don't even want to imagine what i would have looked like at full term!

I'm just so happy that Paige was a big baby and completely healthy for how early she was! She is such a sweet blessing in our lives!

Trip to St. George to see Grams and Gramps.

2011-02-08T23:46:00.004-07:00

Anyone who know my grandparents knows that they are the greatest people ever!

Chad had to go to St. George last week for work so the kids and I tagged along to spend some good quality time with my grandparents. Grandma J gave us the royal treatment like always: we were all overfed, pampered, our bedsheets turned down at night, our dinner plates warmed in the oven/and the salad plates chilled, Chad got a special oversized towel for the bathroom (he's the tallest of the whole extended family), and she even rigged up this high chair for Paige :)

Carmyn loved helping Grandpa take the dog on walks around the golf coarse
and eating all of the m&m's out of his trailmix for him.

My Grandparents have always been such a great examples of living life to the fullest! Not only do they have a much bigger social life than me, they are always volunteering in the community and taking care of their friends and family. I truly hope I can live my life as well as they have lived theirs! -I love you Grandma J and Grandpa M!

BONUS!!

While I was there I got to go hang out with my two great friends Shani and Heather (Sorry Heather I didn't get a pic of us!) They both went to High School with me and were my roommates at Dixie! It was so good to see them both!

In Celebration of Kimmie!

2011-02-08T23:38:00.003-07:00

We had a fun little birthday party for my cute Mama a couple weeks ago!

She may be over 50 but she's still got skills!

Hope you have another great year-

We Love you Mom!

Lovin the snow!

2011-02-08T23:21:00.002-07:00

A whole lot of snowmobiling and skiing- thats why we love Utah! A bright day at the top of Farmington canyon- above the inverson

Snowmobile races at Rio Tinto Stadium

Some good skiing with my awesome family!

Isn't it great to actually enjoy winter :)

Moving, moving, why are we always moving?

2011-01-15T15:44:00.003-07:00

I guess as long as we are moving forward it's a good thing. We sold our house in Kansas City and packed up that Budget truck one more time. This time we were headed home, but we still had sad hearts while we said goodbye to our friends and memories of Missouri. Now we are in transition again- everything we own is in boxes and we are mooching off our families for a little while until we get settled. ( Love having family around!!) We are planning on building a house in Syracuse so right now we are busy looking at house plans. - One day we will be settled somewhere- until then- make some memories and enjoy the ride!

a little fun in the snow

2011-01-15T15:21:00.004-07:00

If Chad is not working,

he's usually busy playing King of the Mountain with his snowmobile posse.

So Carmyn and I try to have a little of our own fun in the snow.

(there's only so much you can do with a 2 year old while the baby is taking a nap)

Tubing is her new favorite activity

and my new workout :)

After losing my windshield wipers in Sardine Canyon during a snowstorm the other night and watching my life flash before my eyes, I told Chad that I'm ready to find some sun in Mexico with this Senorita!
Cancun anyone??

Miss Paigey

2010-12-31T18:11:00.002-07:00

Miss Paigey is 8 months old now!
She has two teeth and loves to eat!
She can sit up and roll around but doesn't have much interest in crawling :)
She says ba ba, ma ma, and da da or something close to that.
She smiles and laughs and is completely entertained by her sister for most of the day.
She weighs 18 lbs
She wiggle her feet in circles and sticks her arms strait out like she is flying when she gets excited.
and we love her to death!!

just a little massage- what a good sister :)

ChRiStmAs 2o1o

2010-12-31T17:55:00.004-07:00

Carmyn 2years

Paige 8 months

Christmas morning- waiting to go see if "Santa Closet" came!

He came and he left some presents too!

Carmyn and Paige must have been good this year!

We had a great Christmas and hope you did too!!!

Dusty and Michelle- Dec.17, 2010

2010-12-31T17:26:00.006-07:00

A week before Christmas my studly little bro got married!
I don't have any pictures of the wedding yet but here some cute pics of the two of them!
We love Michelle- she is so much fun and we are so excited to have her in the fam!

The kids LOVE aunt Michelle and uncle Dust!

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

2010-12-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

Christmas is here!!

2010-12-07T23:02:00.002-07:00

Time once again for family Christmas pictures.

I'm not sure why, but every year I end up doing family pictures around Christmas time. I guess it's just fun to pull out old pictures and say

"Oh look how cute you looked on your first or third Christmas!"
Paige 7 months

Carmyn 2 1/2 years

The top two pictures were my favorites of the girls.

The rest of the photo session turned out kinda like this:

Man it's hard to smile for pictures sometimes!

Carmyn is so excited for Christmas this year! She keeps talking about how she is going to open her presents on Christmas and she can't wait! I think she is pretty confused with the whole concept of it all though. We keep talking about Santa, reindeer, baby Jesus, wisemen, Christmas tree's, stockings, the notty list, giving, the manger, etc.... You can see the wheels spinning in her head but it's not all coming together just yet. She just sticks to the fact that she gets to open her presents on Christmas and that keeps her happy :) - How do you explain to your 2 year old that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus but this guy named Santa comes to your house at night and leaves you presents if you are good? - Seriously- that's gotta be confusing!

Utah weather

2010-11-11T10:07:00.005-07:00

Last week was 70 degrees and we were playing in the park and waterskiing with Grandpa Horne

Monday we woke up to snow and a chilly 30 degrees outside.

Winter is here to stay- I Love the snow on the mountains- It's so good to be home!

Especially at Christmas time.

I do have things to talk about other than the weather :)

My little Paige is 6 months old!

She is such a sweetie

She is 15 lbs

Loves to eat- anything I give her

Starting to roll and trying to sit up

Loves to cuddle and be held

Squeals and talks all day long

and is completely entertained by her sister!

Sometimes Carmyn entertains her a little too much though-

I have to step in and save her every so often

But she's learning how to hold her own :)
I call this the pinch and scratch technique-

if you look close you can see battle wounds on both of their faces from this method.

We love our little Paige.

I can't get enough of her cute little baby rolls and her cuddling!

So far she is completely a Mamma's girl and I love it!

My chickens

2010-11-04T17:40:00.004-07:00

Happy Halloween from the Horne ChicksI told Chad he was lucky to walk around with three chicks on Halloween :) of coarse it was raining- but that didn't stop us!

Some last minute fun

2010-10-19T16:17:00.007-07:00

When we accepted the transfer back to Utah, we only had three weeks before Chad needed to be there permanently. So in the middle of trying to get our house on the market and start packing, we decided that we better take some last minute trips before we leave. My parents had already planned a trip to visit so we headed up to Iowa with them to spend time with my brother and his wife and their son Elijah. The kids had a blast together and we all had a great time checking out Nate and Kristin's new stomping grounds.

My parents with E and Carmyn

Then we took a trip down to Branson, Missouri to check out all the action.

Enjoyed the scenery-

Chad and I fell in love with the rolling hills of Missouri!

It's not flat like most people think

The best part of that trip was stopping every hour to let Carmyn go pee.

No rest stops or potty's for miles- ya we're a little white trash-
Chad mastered the side of the road hover method.

Lots of daddy daughter time-

We know Chad is going to be gone a lot in the next few months while he gets his new area going. So we have to enjoy him while he's here!
Fancy Nancy was the book of the week-Pretty sure they read it 100 times.

Finally one last girls night out!

I love these girls- I'm going to miss them so much!

Some well earned R&R at the spa for Tiff's B-day!

We flew home yesterday and I cried the whole way.

Kind of ironic that I cried the whole way to Missouri the first time too :)

I'm feeling a little lost right now- I shouldn't feel that way- I'm home. I think it's just going to take a little time to settle back in. We feel so blessed that we got the opportunity to come back so soon. We both thought it was going to be a struggle to get home but it all seemed to work out perfectly.

Home in Utah with Missouri in my heart.

2010-10-19T14:12:00.009-07:00

One last photo shoot with my sweet friend Tiffany.
She has taken all of our family pictures for us since we have lived in Missouri and I am greatly going to miss her skills!!
Tiff has been my personal photographer, my babysitter, a shoulder to cry on, and basically my family in Missouri. She even took me to the hospital when I was in labor with Paige!
I'm going to miss having her down the street but I know she's just a phone call away :)
She gave me a plaque that said "friendship isn't a big thing- it's a million little things"- so true-
a great friend just knows all those little things that mean a lot. Carmyn handed me my phone today and said

" Mom-call Tiffy- I want to go to Baileys house."

It was hard to explain to a 2 year old that her best friend is now a thousand miles away-

Luckily Carmyn handled the news better than I did

We're driving this tractor on home.........

2010-10-04T14:42:00.006-07:00

We got an unexpected surprise last week.
Chad got offered a job back in Utah with the company that he works for!
It was about 3 years sooner than we had expected.
It's a bitter sweet thing.
I think we both expected to be more excited about this news. We have so many mixed emotions right now. Yes we are thrilled to go back home and be close to our families, but we are going to miss our friends in Missouri so much! We feel like we just got settled here. Now we have to sell our house that we bought 6 months ago and start all over again. But this time we will be home :). And ultimately- it's an offer that we can't refuse- who knows when we would get this chance again.

WE'RE COMING HOME!

KC House

2010-10-04T13:37:00.013-07:00

It's on the market.
If you know anyone who his interested in buying a cute little house in K.C.- let us know!
It is in perfect condition!

A Harley... Now thats my style!

2010-09-17T12:29:00.002-07:00

Chad brought one of his clients to Utah for a VIP harley trip last week- so the girls and I decided to tag along :) They rode from Layton to Jackson Hole and to Yellowstone and had a great time.

Carmyn had to test out dads ride before he left.

Yeah she makes a pretty good harley chick- I hope I haven't been replaced!

As for me- I've been a complete basket-case lately.

WHY?

I'm back in school!

When I had Carmyn, I quit going to school to take a break to figure out how to be a mom. I only had one semester left before I had my Bachelors in Nursing so I thought- Oh I'll go back and finish it later.

Well, I never went back.

My deadline to finish the program was December 2010, so here I am with a new baby and a two year old trying to finish my Bach degree online( 14 credits= 6 classes= ahhhh). That's what I get for procrastinating! - Lets just say that I have a huge amount of respect for those people who go through all of school with kids and a family to take care of! It's not easy!

This is the best stress relief solution I could find since I don't get a break from my kids, and Paige won't let me sleep at night!

a pre-arranged friendship

2010-09-09T22:50:00.004-07:00

Beckham and Paige are only 8 days apart and it's just a fact of life that they are going to grow up being good friends. Becks mom Lesley and I have been best buds since we met on the playground in the 5th grade. Yes we are going to get these pictures out when you're shy embarrassed teenagers :)

on second thought........ maybe we should keep an eye on you two!

Just stay this way :)

2010-09-09T21:40:00.007-07:00

This is my 2 1/2 year old little girl. She's fearless and fast and very independent. She lets me know all day that she can do everything by herself. I get completely frusterated with her at times and I have to stop and remind myself that this is how she is learning to be her own little person- by doing things by herself. Then I start to think of her going out into this big bad world all by herself and I have to fight back the tears. Oh how I want her to be young and cute and innocent forever! Why do they have to grow up?

Just wanted to add in these cute pics of Carmyn and her BFF Bailey.

Yes even 2 year olds understand the value of a great friend :)

Ya she's worth it!

2010-08-31T20:32:00.004-07:00

12 weeks of morning sickness
a painful varicose vein in my left leg
6 weeks of labor pains
4 weeks of complete bed rest
born 6 weeks early
1 week in the NICU
$25,000 in hospital bills (thank you for insurance)
the past 4 months of colic
no dairy/Mexican food/ or chocolate
many sleepless nights
and she's worth every bit of it!
Oh I love this little girl..

4 MONTHS OLD

Paige is 4 months old now!
She weighs 12 lbs 11 oz
She rolls from her tummy to her back
She laughs when I get her dressed
She loves to smile and coo
She would like to be held all day long
and she could still eat all day long too :)

She is such a sweet little baby.
I'm pretty sure I give her 100 kisses a day!

Carmen's 1st Ski #2

2010-08-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

She's a natural!

2010-08-23T13:43:00.009-07:00

Carmyn took her first solo ski set this weekend!
She loved it! and wanted to do it again and again and again.
Chad and I had smiles from ear to ear :)

We just started her off the back of the boat and slowly let the rope out.
She fell once and said- that was fun!
Now all we hear is "No Mommy and Daddy ski- Carmyn ski!"
I think we might be competing for ski time now whenever we go up to the lake :)

P.S. If you are wondering what kind of life jacket she is wearing it is called a puddle jumper and they are the BEST life jackets for kids! I love them! Yes they are coast gaurd approved :). It makes it so much easier for kids to swim because it doesn't pull them to their back.

A cold in the middle of August?

2010-08-12T21:07:00.003-07:00

The girls and I have been sitting home all week coughing and sneezing and wiping our noses.
Who gets a cold in the middle of August? No fun!
Yes, even baby Paige is sick and it breaks my heart to watch her cough and sneeze.
But even with a runny nose and water eyes- We got her first laugh out of her yesterday!
It's about the cutest little laugh you've ever heard!
Chad and I were so excited we've spent the last 2 days sneaking up on her and making the funniest faces we could come up with to keep her laughing.
I've decided that a baby laugh is the BEST sound in the whole world!
It can make anyone smile.
I'm going to try to get her laughing on video so I can make all of you smile too!

For now the only new picture I have is of Carmyn nursing her baby :) What a good little Mama.There's that smile again :)

potty trained

2010-08-06T12:58:00.004-07:00

This little potty has been pushed into every room in our house.
I won't be taking any credit for Carmyns potty training- It was all her idea!
I was not in the mood to potty train her after having Paige.
I just stuck her potty in the bathroom and she did the rest.
No treats, toys, or stickers needed- Just a high five and she was good.
She's been pee peeing on the potty for two months now-but I called it official this week when went to church, the store, and a friends house with panties on and she told me that she needed to find a potty! - GOOD JOB CARMYN!!
I consider myself lucky on this one!

However, we have had a couple of good accidents these past two months - like when she pooped on the front porch because she didn't want to stop coloring with her sidewalk chalk for a potty break. That was my favorite.

drool'n

2010-08-02T15:38:00.003-07:00

Not sure who's worse these days.
But Paige sure is a lot cuter!

My handy man

2010-08-01T14:33:00.003-07:00

There's my hubby building me a fence.
It was 95 degrees and humid.
What a stud!

Carmyns new smile

2010-07-27T14:50:00.006-07:00

I just want to announce that Carmyn has a new smile.
It is very unique and she came up with it on her own.
She calls it her pretty smile.
You may be seeing it a lot in future pictures because we can't get her to do her regular smile.

You've got to make yourself stand out somehow- right!

BIG SIS - little sis

2010-07-27T14:32:00.002-07:00

My Sister in law made these cute Big sis, Little sis shirts for the girls so I have been trying to get a picture of them in their cute shirts before they outgrow them. This is the best I could get. Unfortunately the belly rolls make it hard to read the shirts- but they are both looking at the camera so I was happy!

Oh and if anyone needs to get their cuddly baby fix- come on over to my house! Paige would love to cuddle all day long. You might get a little drool too :)

3 months old

2010-07-23T14:19:00.003-07:00

Paige is 3 months old now!

She is all smiles and coos and I love it!

My scale says she weighs 11.5 lbs

She sleeps 5-6 hours a night now- wahoo!

She LOVES to be held.

She is starting to drool and blow spit bubbles.
(Carmyn says Paige is drippin.)

She still wants to eat every 3 hours- sometimes every 2.
In fact- she would just eat all day long if I let her- that's probably why she has more than doubled her birth weight in 3 months :)

She only poops once a week! YES this is normal for breastfed babies- believe me I have called her Dr. more than once about it.

She loves to be swaddled to go to sleep.

And she hasn't lost any of her hair- in fact- it's getting longer!

What a sweetheart!

We love our newest little addition!

Check out those rolls :)

Road Trip

2010-07-19T10:50:00.004-07:00

Took a little road trip to Des Moines this weekend. Chad had another ski tournament there and my brother just moved his family there! Yeah! I'm so excited to have family only 3 hours away!

Can you see Hooch back there? She's the best traveler out of all of us. Paige slept in a drawer

and Carmyn got the bathroom

then we tried to beat the heat and enjoy the tournament

Other than the 100 degree humid weather and the tornado warning in the middle of the night we had a great weekend!

I loved spending time with my bro too! I never thought I would have any family in the Midwest! So when Nate told me he was taking a job in Des Moines I was thrilled!
Welcome to the heartland Nate and Kristin!

The girls rooms

2010-07-14T13:39:00.007-07:00

We had a lot going on when we moved into our house so it has taken me awhile to get to my decorating. The girls rooms aren't totally finished - but lets face it -they probably never will be!

This is Paige's room.
She got a lot of Carmyn's old nursery stuff because I 'm cheap like that.So I saw this cute "baby" sign that is made of twigs at a baby boutique here in KC. I asked how much $ it was and the lady told me $40 a letter- WHAT! For twigs! Ya right. That's a boutique for ya. So I went home and told Chad to go cut me some twigs off a tree. It took me a half hour and some wire and I had the same sign for free!I saw a curtain just like this at the same boutique for $70. Yikes! I got this curtain from Ikea for $4.99 and spent a few dollars on the ribbon and -Walla!

This is Carmyn's new big girl bed that she hasn't slept in yet. It's too tempting to get out of bed, so she never goes to sleep! That's just way too much freedom! We do have a door nob lock on the inside of her room so she can't get out ( is that cruel?). But that doesn't stop her from playing with all of her toys instead of sleeping.

The bed and bed spread are my fabulous craigslist finds- because like I said- I'm cheap. The bed quilt was only $10! I painted the wall and the tree and used some cute Amy Butler fabric to recover some old pillows for her bed. I'm still looking for a new dresser but I haven't found the right one yet.T

Happiest Mom on the block

2010-07-08T20:14:00.003-07:00

GUESS WHO FINALLY SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!

It's amazing how much better life can be when you get sleep!
Thank you little Miss Paige!

Fun times over the 4th

2010-07-06T06:57:00.010-07:00

On Saturday my neighborhood had a bike parade and pool party. Carmyn doesn't have a bike yet so we decorated the stroller insteadThis is Paige's little hideout in the back of the stroller

Yes this manly man is pushing a pink stroller- but it's ok because it has a camo print on it.
By the way- this stroller is my Favorite new purchase! It's a phil and teds stroller- Look it up- you'll fall in love and want one too!!

They even brought a fire truck to the party to spray the kiddies down
Sunday we went to a BBQ with some friends then attempted to go to fireworks, but the rain canceled all the firework shows :( . That didn't stop our drunken neighbors though!

We spent the rest of the weekend on the lake skiing and playing card games into the wee hours of the night!
FUN TIMES!

A busy morning and a unique style

2010-06-28T19:20:00.009-07:00

Carmyn insists on changing her clothes 50 times a day- I'm not kidding.

If she's not running around naked, then she's in the closet finding something new to wear. She cracks me up with some of her clothing combinations -so today I decided to take a picture of all of her outfit changes. Maybe when she is 16 and still doing the same thing I can look back and realize the problem started at a young age.

quick potty break

I laughed out loud with this one!

stop to give sis a smooch

Then I told her it was time to shut the closet and take a nap.
She wasn't happy about that

No joke- this was all before her 1:00 nap. I was exhausted just trying to take pictures of her. That was one busy morning!

A great Father's Day

2010-06-22T12:54:00.005-07:00

Chad had a ski tournament on Fathers Day.

I'm pretty sure there was nothing he would rather be doing on his special day than skiing and playing with his girls at the lake.

He's the best Daddy these girls could ask for!

2 months old!

2010-06-19T10:34:00.006-07:00

Paige is 2 months old and starting to get rolls on top of her rolls!

She had her 2 month check up yesterday:
9lbs 6oz
21 1/2 inches

Yes my little preemie is growing quite well!

She is starting to be very alert and she lifts her head up well but we are still waiting for a smile and some cooing. Since she is technically only supposed to be 2 weeks old I'm trying to be patient with her development. Our pediatrician said I probably would have had a 9 lb baby if I had gone full term- YIKES!

She is such a sweetie but the darn little girl has her nights and days soooo mixed up and she is not wanting to switch them around either! I'm not gunna lie- I'm EXHAUSTED! I haven't had a full night sleep for 2 months! She eats every 3 hours then wants to be held for another hour-Just at night though- During the day she is fine if I put her down.
Little stinker!

Chad is suffering from the all nighters too

(Yes I've tried all the tricks like swaddling/night time baths/keeping her awake during the day/etc... She's just a night owl! Its ok though- we'll forgive her someday :))

We loved having Grandma JulieAnna spend the past two weeks with us! My girls definitely get spoiled by their grandparents! They love it!
Chad's mom is the best cook! I gain 5 lbs every time I'm around her! YUM- its worth it!

Carmyn is working on potty training at the moment- sigh!
She refuses to wear a diaper- or any clothes for that matter.
We bought her a stool so she could reach the potty but she found the brownies on the counter instead!

This little girl gets into everything! And she insists on doing everything herself! All day long she yells- "I do it, I do it!" Gotta love a 2 year old.

Someone asked me the other day what stage I thought was harder- a newborn or a two year old?
I said I couldn't decide- but having both is definitely the hardest stage of my life :)

I wouldn't give it up for anything!

Hooch moves to Missouri

2010-06-15T15:17:00.006-07:00

Hooch has been living with Chads parents for the past year. Chad was heartbroken when we had to leave her home when we moved to Missouri. He has made plans several times to drive back home to get her but it never seemed to work out. Chad's mom decided to drive out here after Paige was born and she offered to bring Hooch.
So Hooch finally made the move to Missouri and Chad feels complete again to get his dog back!She really is the other woman in his life

(and yes this is as excited as she gets)

Carmyn has made it her own responsibility to make sure Hooch is dressed and fed everyday

Good thing Hooch is such a good sport. Some may fear for my life when they see pictures of the animal I live with! Believe me I had nightmares when Chad told me what kind of dog he wanted. But she is seriously the best dog I have ever known. She is so mellow, great with kids, and a big sweetheart.
However, I will say that she knows her territory and I sure wouldn't want to be the robber to break into my house when this puppy is home!

Happy 28

2010-06-15T13:26:00.003-07:00

I graduated from high school 10 years ago
I graduated from college 6 years ago
I'm a mom of two
and the other day I seriously thought about getting a mini van!
Wow I'm old.
Thanks Chad for throwing me a shrimp boil party and to my good friends for helping me celebrate!

Rock Climbing

2010-06-01T16:41:00.004-07:00

My brother Dusty took us rock climbing in Logan canyon yesterday.

I'm a little sore today but we all had a lot of fun!

Dust
The Chad

me

Big T (my dad)

and Carmyn

and a quick trip to Willow Park Zoo :)

Thanks Dust!

Paige's Blessing

2010-06-01T16:21:00.004-07:00

Paige was blessed by her dad on May 30, 2010

( her actual due date )

We came home to Utah last week for Chad's grandma's funeral and decided to bless Paige while we were home with all of our family. It was so great to be surrounded by all of our close friends and family at my parents house while Chad gave Paige a special blessing.

She looked so sweet and she slept like an angel through the whole event.

Carmyn on the other hand wasn't quite the angel her sister was.

I told you she pokes at her eyes!

Poor Paige! You'll get her back one day!

Sweet little guy

2010-05-28T09:40:00.003-07:00

This is my sweet little nephew that was born 8 days after Paige. Doesn't he have the cutest big blue eyes!

We are keeping this little guy in our prayers today- he is having heart surgery right now to fix a congenital heart defect- He is such a little trooper!

We Love You

Sisters

2010-05-25T22:55:00.003-07:00

I have two amazing brothers, but I never had a sister! I always felt like I was missing out on something really special. I am so excited that my girls will always have each other! Even though right now Carmyn likes to poke at Paiges eyes, and Paige cringes every time Carmyn comes close to her- I know that someday they will love each other!

Side note: Check out how dark Paiges skin is compared to Carmyn- she has the most beautiful olive skin- I love it! When she gets mad she goes bright red and looks like a little Indian baby. She got her dark skin from Chad, Carmyn and I look extremely pasty compared to her!

Baby Shower

2010-05-25T22:29:00.004-07:00

My cute friend Angela had a baby shower for me a couple of weeks ago. Since I was having my second girl I told her that I really didn't want anything big because I didn't need very much. So Angela planned this cute dinner for me and my good friends to celebrate Paige.

She decorated a long table and served us the most amazing food that she made by herself! We all had name tags and a menu. I loved all of the little details that she put into this dinner- she even chilled the salad bowls! It was so fancy and fun!

Thank you all my wonderful friends that came to help me celebrate my new baby girl!

Thank you Angela for such a cute, fun shower!

So in LOVE!

2010-05-07T20:32:00.005-07:00

Chad and I are so in Love with our newest little creation!

I seriously forgot how sweet newborns are! I love all of the little squeaks, grunts, eye flutters, and yawns. We are even getting through the sleepless nights pretty well :). Since Carmyn is still in Utah with our family until Monday, we have loved having our one on one time with Paige this past week. She is doing so good- she is 6 lbs now!

Of coarse Tiffany and I had to do a little photo shoot. Here are a few of the pics we took:

Our week in the NICU

2010-04-28T13:04:00.014-07:00

Paige is one week old and ready to come home! She has a fiesty little personality and has been such a trooper through this rough week.

This has been her home away from home for the past week. The isolette was mainly to control her temperature for her so her body didn't have to burn a lot of calories trying to control it on its own. Our main goal this week in the NICU was to make her rest as much as possible so that she could mature just a little more before taking her home.

The beginning was rough. She had an IV to give her extra fluid and glucose. She got an NG tube so we could give her my milk without her having to expend too much energy to nurse ( I did get to nurse her every other feeding though -because she was so good at it!).

She got to lay under the tanning lights for a couple of days and wear some cool shades!
It is common for premie babies to have high bilirubin levels.

In a couple of days she got her IV out and her NG tube out. She no longer needed the tanning lights and she was starting to feel free again!Now Chad gets to give her a bottle every other feeding and as you can see she is very happy about that!

I love this picture because it just shows how ity bitty she really is next to Chads hands!

I asked Miss Paige how she felt about her busy week in the NICU and she showed me her true feelings.I don't blame you sweetheart!

As for me- I have been "boarding" in a hospital room for the past week. Not that cool! However, the rooms here at Liberty Hospital are really nice and the shower is amazing! Seriously! it has like 8 nozzles that spray you in different directions and I really feel like I'm at a spa!- Ok not really- but it sure helps the whole situation!So if all goes as planned we are heading home tomorrow!

I can't wait to get my little girl home and hold her and love her like she deserves to be loved! She is such a little miracle and Chad and I can't stop counting our blessings. I know that trials come to everyone in different ways at different times, and they are given to us to help us grow and learn. We sure didn't plan on this when we decided to have another baby, but I know that we have grown so much from it. We realize how much we love and appreciate our families. Nothing can replace that love. I'm so happy that Chad and I have an eternal family! We love our girls so much!

Welcome to the family

2010-04-23T12:32:00.004-07:00

Paige Morgan Horne

Born April 21, 2010 at 11:57 pm.

Weight 5 lbs 9 oz.

18 1/2 inches long

34 weeks old

After 4 weeks of bedrest my water decided to break last wednesday night and Miss Paige was on her way for real this time! Everything actually worked out very smoothly. My mom flew Carmyn to Utah with her last Saturday so I could just stay on bed rest until I delivered- so she has been having fun with grandparents all week and we haven't had to worry about her. Chad was in Des Moines, Iowa for work when I noticed that my water broke (3 1/2 hrs away) so he put the pedal to the medal to get back home. In the mean time my friend Tiffany drove me to the hospital and took Chads place for a couple hours :). Luckily it was just a slow leak so everything happened pretty slow in the beginning. Chad made it just in time for the pain to hit hard and for me to get my epidural. After my epidural, I dialated from a 6 to complete in 40 min and 2 contractions worth of pushing and she was out! Not too bad!

We were really nervous about her being so early but everyone in the room was shocked when they saw how big she was and how well she was doing. Her apgar scores were 8/9 and she never needed any oxygen! We got to spend about 20 min holding her right after she was born -then she was off to the NICU for monitoring. We couldn't hold her for the next 24 hrs because we were told that if we just let her rest and not get stressed out she had better chances of progressing faster. Last night at midnight we got to hold her again and give her her first bath and she has done so well ever since then. When I first saw her, I thought that maybe she looked like me- but after her bath her daddy's signature cow lick was revealed and now we can't tame it! I think she is looking more and more like Chad with a couple of my features. We can't get enough of her and we have seriously taken like 200 pictures of her so far!

Today I got to nurse her for the first time and she did amazing! She hasn't needed any oxygen at all. She did get an NG tube to give extra feedings to her with and she is in her own little isolette now -which we were told is a sign of progression! She is ready to just eat and grow for a little while before we get to take her home! We feel so blessed that she is doing so well! We have had so much support through this little battle and we are so thankful for everyones help and prayers!

The "Two Two" Party

2010-04-13T19:37:00.004-07:00

Carmyn had a fun little "two two" party to celebrate her 2nd birthday.

I really wanted to have all of her little friends come over for the party but since I'm confined to the bed or the couch right now- we decided to save her big friend party for later :)
But her BFF Bailey came to help her celebrate on her real birthday!

Chad and my mom did such a great job at planning her party and she totally scored with all of her gifts

It took a couple huffs and puffs but she blew out both candles!

This is how she tells people how old she is

Here's the loot! Her favorite is her new table and chairs and her baby doll!

Funny things to remember about Miss Carmyn on her 2nd birthday:

She is fast! She no longer walks she just runs everywhere!
She is a climber. She can get onto almost anything.
She is Loud! She jabbers all day long and gets louder and louder if you don't pay attention to her.
She has a lot of expression in her face and likes to give scuzzy faces to people.
She has tons of energy! She could go for days without sleep if we let her.
She loves to sing songs, say prayers, give hugs and kisses, copy everything you say and do, eat candy, and laugh at herself.
We love her so much and can't imagine life without her!

2 years old!!

2010-04-09T21:03:00.010-07:00

Guess who' s Birthday it is today!
This little lady is 2 years old!

The Queen of Attitude and animated faces

What a trip!

Carmyn has so much spunk and energy at 2 years old- we can't get enough of her!

We love you Carmyn!

Happy Birthday

I'll post her party pictures later! She is having a fun day with her daddy at the lake on the boat! She was so excited all morning to go on the boat today! She cracks me up!

P.S. I've made it two weeks on bedrest! We are counting each day as a blessing since I have contractions everyday. My wonderful mom is still here taking care of everything for me- I know I couldn't do this without her. I had one more hospital stay earlier this week and got upgraded to strict bedrest because my body wants to go into labor so bad right now. So I'm really feeling pathetic but I know it's the best thing I can do for our baby girl. Thanks for all the messages, prayers, and support!

Moving day and a not so fun hospital stay

2010-04-02T07:44:00.003-07:00

The good news is we moved into our new house last weekend! We had so much help from the men in the ward that we were moved out of our apartment in 1 hour and into our house in 30 min! Amazing! What a blessing to have so much help! I LOVE the house and the neighborhood so much- I am so excited to be here!
Unfortunately, I had to make the weekend a little difficult. On friday (the day before we moved), I had to go on bedrest because I couldn't stop having contractions. This pregnancy has definitely been a lot harder for me than my first, I have been taking it really easy because we found out at my 20 week ultrasound that I have a "short" cervix which puts me at a higher risk for pre-term labor. So after finding out that I needed to be on bedrest, my good friends Lacey and Tiffany took custody of Carmyn for the weekend while I tried my hardest to lay down and drink alot of water. A couple hours after we were all moved in (aka piles of boxes all over the house) I told Chad it was time to go to the hospital because my contractions were getting worse instead of better.
After finding out that I was already dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced at 30 weeks they weren't going to let me go home. My contractions slowed down a lot once I got there and got well hydrated and rested. I stayed for a couple days to get steroid injections for the baby's lungs to prepare for her to come early. Now I'm at home on BEDREST for the next 8 weeks or until she comes. Aaahhhhhhh! Do you realize that bedrest is also known as complete torture! I didn't have one box unpacked and how was I supposed to take care if this little wild woman!
That is when my wonderful mother came to my rescue! She literally dropped everything going on in her life and got on the next flight to Kansas City to help me out. Since Monday, she has been busily taking care of Carmyn and unpacking my whole house! Chad and I seriously don't know what we would have done without her! What an angel! Carmyn is absolutely loving all her Grandma time and doesn't even realize that mommy just hangs out on the couch all day.
We don't have all the details worked out yet on how long my mom is going to stay to help. We are just praying that this little baby stays in long enough to be strong and healthy. I'm doing my best to make sure that happens- as hard as it is to just sit around and ask for other people to do things for me. My mom is probably the one and only person that can actually make me sit while she takes care of everything- I'm so glad she is here! My little buddy is enjoying all of our reading and TV time together though :)
P.S. I need some good book suggestions!

Maternity Pictures

2010-03-22T18:52:00.004-07:00

30 weeks! The countdown is on! My friend Tiffany took some maternity pictures of me last week- she did such a great job as always! I felt a little cheesy but I think it's nice to have a couple decent pics of your pregnancy :) Aside from the aches and pains and stretching, pregnancy really is such a miracle. I'm so excited to meet my little girl!

Thanks Tiff!

Do boys ever grow up? Not this one.

2010-03-16T10:04:00.004-07:00

Chad and his friend Matt decided that they needed to get long boards. Why? Not sure. But since he thinks half of my ideas are crazy too, I just go along with it and nicely remind him that we are moving soon and he may need the use of both arms and both legs- so please don't go down the biggest hills you can find! He promised!

Then his little buddy wanted to try it out. She started off careful.

Then got a little more daring

Then the real deal.

This little girl is so in love with her daddy- she would seriously let him take her anywhere!

Remember this!

I have a feeling that I'm going to have a very fearless little girl

Oh and just a cute pic-

Elmo has been joining us for breakfast in the mornings.

He gets his own bib and a cheerio :)

Moving again!

2010-03-13T07:04:00.002-07:00

Yes this will be the third move this year- I think that is some kind of a record :)

*****

This time I'm thrilled! We bought a house! We debated for a long time whether buying or renting was the smarter thing to do since we don't plan on staying in Missouri for too long. After renting for a year and watching the interest rates and home prices drop, we both felt really good about buying a home. We found a cute little house in a great area that will keep us nice and comfy while we are here. Best of all- My good friend Tiffany lives in the same neighborhood! (I can't tell you how comforting it is to have good friends in a strange state when your husband travels all the time).

*****

So I have to brag a little about the amenities in this neighborhood because they are amazing! Olympic size pool and a kiddie pool, tennis/basketball/and volleyball courts, play ground, and a clubhouse with a gym! Wow- I can't wait for summer! Carmyn is going to have a blast!

*****

Two weeks from today is the planned move in day. I'll be 30 weeks pregnant but I don't care because I am so excited! Nesting is in full charge at the moment and I can't stop thinking about how I'm going to decorate the girls rooms! My wonderful hubby is being so supportive will all my planned painting projects and helping me pick up my fabulous craigs list finds! He's only put a hold on a couple of my projects- like staining the kitchen cabinets and adding hardwood floors. Ok- one step at a time :)

*****

I would post some pictures, but since our blog isn't private and the Waldo rapist is still on the loose in Missouri- I think I'll just keep em to myself :)

That is our exciting news! More updates to come!

Learned her lesson

2010-03-11T08:28:00.004-07:00

They thought it was a great idea!

Until she face planted to the floor and got her first fat lip

Wonder what trouble she'll find next!

Happy Birthday Chad!

2010-03-05T10:48:00.004-07:00

Chads birthday was yesterday- 29 years old! Wow we are getting up there! I took him to a Louisiana grill called JAZZ and some of our good friends met us there to help celebrate! The food was great and the company was even better!

I worked really hard to make his favorite cake (buttermilk with carmel frosting). Usually his mom makes it for him but he didn't have that option this year so my version will have to do :)

He always puts it in a bowl with milk - weird huh

Then he got a lot of help opening his birthday gifts

She even tried on his new clothes

Hope you had a great day Babe! We love you!

Its official! She's allergic to amoxicillan

2010-03-04T12:52:00.004-07:00

Carmyn woke up yesterday with a little rash on her face and chest and I knew that it was probably an allergic reaction to the amoxicillan that she has been taking this past week. Today she woke up looking like this! Poor thing- it looks horrible!

Her doctor said the rash can last up to a week :( The good news is that she is acting completely normal today and doesn't seem to be itching at all. So she feels good, but looks bad- I can handle that !

P.S. when you take your child out in public looking like this you will be treated like she has some type of highly contagious flesh eating/leprosy disease.

Grandpa Morgan

2010-03-01T08:40:00.002-07:00

Carmyn and I took a quick unexpected trip home last week to go to my sweet Grandpa Morgans funeral. He was such a good man and we will all miss him so much. It was a great funeral and so much fun to visit with all of my cousins and aunts and uncles that I don't get to see very often.

This picture sums up how the plane ride there went

Yummy Cafe Rio with some great friends-
yes we're all pregnant and due within 6 weeks of each other.
We looked great waddling into the restaurant together :)

Carmyn loved spending a little more time with grandpa's and grandma's

I always love my trips home-but I'm pretty sure that will be the last one until this baby comes :) Thanks mom and dad for the great week!