Another Birthday; More Blessings

So yesterday was my birthday. It was filled with so many well wishes from friends and family....many of you were those people! Thanks to all! I had the greatest day. It began at 6:45am with Dave and the kids singing "Happy Birthday" to me and giving me tons of kisses. At work, there were several kids who knew it was my birthday so the news spread. They were all just so very sweet and kind. During the 2nd class I taught, Dave came walking in with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me. The kids LOVED that! I chose to thank him in the hall, out of their curious eyesight and silly thoughts of the old Frau getting some action. :)

When I arrived home, Dave had built me a 3-tiered herb box just off our deck. It was my favorite gift yet for a birthday! My wonderful mother-in-law came over with a really cool shirt as a present and watched the kids so Dave and I could steal an evening out with our neighbor friends, Steve and Jen Johnston and Dana and Yolanda DuJardin. We ended up eating at Macaroni Grill and then went miniature golfing. It was a blast! The Lindsays won the golf game by 1.

Last, I want to share with you my greatest blessings for my last year in my 30's....

Taylor, age 7 (almost 8)

Jaxson- age 5

Austin- age 3

Alyssa Jean - age 2 1/2 months!

The Lindsay Kids 2009

Alyssa's Blessing Day- April 19, 2009

My brother Jeff's fiance, Nicole!

This past Sunday was so special for our family. We blessed Alyssa in church. Dave did a beautiful job and I was so proud of him. After church, we invited our family and a few neighbors over for a feast of pulled pork sandwiches, yummy salads, fresh fruit and veggies and scrumptious desserts! Both Dave and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to raise these beautiful little children and I look forward to moving into the new phase our lives.

Brantly's new wife, Melanie. She is such a sweetie!

My cousin, Tanner, brother Jeff and hot hubby Dave!

Hatch Grandparents with Alyssa!

Rook, Scum and Mafia were the games of choice during the afternoon.

Poppie, Grandma Barbie and Alyssa!

I had a last minute idea to do a little picture spread in honor of Alyssa! I had just scanned a bunch of pictures from slides of me. Included in the pictures were some of my own blessing and then sealing in the Logan temple. So I took a few and added them to some pictures of Alyssa which we love!

Easter Sunday!

Easter Sunday was spectacular again this year. We enjoyed our 1st Sunday at church with our beautiful little girl. Our ward members were so excited for our new daughter and welcomed us back so kindly.

After church, we napped and then went over to Grandma Barbie's house for Easter dinner and a egg hunt. The kids laughed a lot, we ate amazing food and enjoyed a wonderful day together.

Alyssa's 1st Easter Egg hunt!

Taylor had so much fun looking for eggs!

Jaxson is the fastest runner and therefore, had the most eggs!

Jaxson's Birthday/Alyssa and her BFF

Jaxson has the coolest birthday and he has me to thank for birthing him on 04/04/04! His birthday seems to land each year on conference weekend so we squeeze a little party in for him between conference sessions.
Jaxson is kind of a mystery when it comes to his likes and hobbies. What kind of gift do you buy for the boy whose hobbies include snooping through your valuables, getting gum out of your purse, running over neighbors' homes without permission and writing on your walls? Well, I came up with a great gift idea! A camera! And the kid LOVES it! We bought him a Vitech camera (wrapped in plastic so it won't break when it drops). It is so cool. It is a camera, camcorder, has photoshop with lots of stamps and functions and has memory games. Anyway, Jaxson also got lots of art supplies from his grandparents. He has placed these in a black plastic trash bag and they sit on top of his bunkbed so he can do his writing there. Too cute!

Alyssa is grinning all over the place now. I love how she coos and "talks" to me. Her cheeks KILL us. I just love holding her chunky little body next to me. Best feeling in the world!

Best Friend: Clara Hult! One of my dear friends and I were pregnant at the same time and birthed our children 8 days apart. Clara is older and a doll! Here are some pictures of her from last Monday when the gang came over for FHE and birthday games and cake for Jaxson.

I love to take pictures of my husband sleeping with his children. Here is a shot that warmed my heart.

Austin Turns 3/ Sleepover in the fort/ Reading Made Fun/ Smiles from Alyssa!

Austin Turns 3!

It is hard to believe that our Austin is big boy three now! We celebrated his birthday with Poppie and Grandma Barbie and even Grandma Rae Rae was there from Idaho! Austin requested Macaroni and Cheese for supper so mom and I found and made the dish from scratch. It actually tasted pretty great! After dinner, we played some fun games like "Don't Eat Pete" and "Hot/Cold" while on the hunt for minature kit kats. It was a great evening and we all really enjoyed seeing Austin so excited and happy!

Austin blowing out the candles

Austin loves his new sister! Opening GiftsPoppie and Jaxson playing "Don't Eat Pete!"Singing to our birthday boy!

(Jaxson tried to steal the show here....)I got a bat and ball!!!!

(you all need to know that Austin has a potential profession as a baseball player. He can hit it amazingly well for being just barely 3!SLEEPING IN THE FORT

On Saturday, it was quite cold outside in the morning so the kids found a huge box in the basement to play with. The next thing I knew, it became "the fort." They LOVED cutting out doors and windows and slipping through. By nighttime, they requested a sleepover in the fort so we dragged it into the boys' room. The ceiling was off at this point, but the kids had a blast! Two of the three made it through the night! Austin came in around 3:00am and was finished with his sleepover....

READING MADE FUN!

The other night, I asked Taylor to read her books through before she read them to me. She asked if she could read to the baby. The next time I saw her, this was what I saw:
Now who wouldn't enjoy reading to an audiance like this?SMILES FROM ALYSSA!

Oh, and how she has been trying! And succeeding! It is so hard to capture the perfect smile. As I uploaded these, I thought, "Man, these pictures don't even capture how cute her smile is yet!" Oh well, another blog entry for another day.....

Another shot of Austin with his baby.

What I forgot about newborns.....

10. A newborn's spit comes in all consistencies, from runny to curdy

9. A newborn knows no schedule and therefore, I lose my ability to control what and when

8. A newborn has the ability to chew a hole in my nipple that even caused my doctor to gasp outloud a few days ago

7. A newborn reminds me of a little mouse

6. A newborn has the most delicious smell in the world, period!

5. A newborn can squirt poop on Dad better than any younster I know

4. A newborn begins smiling somewhere around the 6 week mark which means we are in heaven right now!

3. A newborn loves to be held, cuddled and loves to sleep on chests

2. A newborn, whose only ability to communicate is to cry, can make one drop everything he/she is doing and run to the child's side (sidenote: this ability is lost once they become toddlers and throw tantrums)

1. A newborn creates a new bliss, high and joy that I am so very blessed to experience again!