block leave 2012 part one: the petroglyph national monument

things to note:
-our little mountain man.
-the absolutely gorgeous day that gave such great color.
-the boyscouts we shared the trail with (in the bright red shirts). We were wary, but they ended up not being as obnoxious as we thought they would.
-how small Yula was! (and how clean)
-brotherly love when we all reached the top.

not pictured: my belly. I'm kicking myself for not handing the camera off so I could have a picture of Oskar and I.

every time i sit in a parking lot and nurse,

I think of you, Shelley.

I think of our conversation last summer as you sat in your minivan and nursed your third child while the other two ran wild through the car, as I now nurse my third child in parking lots while my other two children run wild through the car and my fuel efficiency monitor gradually diminishes in number as I blast the a/c.

Being a mom is awesome.

(most of the time. Not so much when you have to nurse in a Wal-Mart parking lot and creepsters try to look in your car to see what you're doing.)

4-27 Field Artillery Change of Command | fort bliss event photographer

The military sure knows how to put on a good show.

sunday best: pregnancy edition

Since nothing fits right now and I have a couple pregnancy outfits I never got around to sharing, today we're doing a little flashback to the belly! These were taken right around my birthday so the fancy bright green bracelet I'm wearing is the gift I got in primary when they sang to me. (definitely one of the perks of being in primary!) You can't tell in this picture, but my cowboy boots have some purple stitching in them that this dress matched perfectly. (also, my legs got NO sun this summer. And you can tell....) I'm not sure how many weeks I was here, but it would've been about 2 months before my due date (I know I could figure it out if I tried, but math takes too much effort right now).

dress: Motherhood Maternity
shoes: discount boot store in Oklahoma.

i'm not gonna lie.

Three kids is tough. I think it may be because they now outnumber how many arms I have.

And I can't forget the puppy is in the mix too. Although she is growing up fast (I can't wait until she's not a puppy anymore!!).

Don't worry, we are doing fine, I just seem to have left my brain behind half the time.

But thankfully I'm adjusting to our new normal (even if it's slowly) and am managing to keep us all alive too. I may not get us all dressed until lunchtime and the kids may only get bathed when we have social engagements, but we are alive!

And, I'm getting to the point where I am finding my children charming and hilarious more often than frustrating and annoying. They make it pretty easy though when they say things like "What's up pussycat?" and "Hi Nommy!"

So here are some photos of my munchkins, aren't they swell?

Now, if only I can get my clothes to fit then things will be awesome.

announcing....

it can be handy having a bunch of pirate gear.

Because then you can throw it on and rush out to the door to get free donuts at Krispy Kreme.