JoJo is 3!

Two days after Louise was born Joseph turned 3. It was a low key day. We had tried more than once to take him to Amazing Jakes before the baby came to celebrate his birthday but they were closed. Talk about a let down (we did end up going later). For his birthday we invited Grandmas and Grandpas and Connie over for dinner and dessert. 

He loves his Sword of Omens. 

And his bike he got from grandma Huston. He hasn't mastered riding it yet but he will get there.

Grandma and Grandpa Christensen brought dinner for all of us and our friends the Hatches brought cup cakes by that we used to celebrate.  

Here he is bringing me flowers and wearing his new Batman shirt Connie got him. 

Joseph is such a fun kid. He has us laughing all the time. I need to do a post just about him soon, cause he says a lot of funny stuff. 

Happy birthday to my Joe Boy! 

pigeons at the park

Gracie has watched her Dad and William be successful at catching pigeons and she really wanted to do it to. I took her and Joseph to the park on a day that was cool and breezy and we just couldn't stay inside. She brought some bread and guess what, she did it. Twice even. She got one for her and one for Joseph. 

It is kinda gross that they are holding those, but look how happy they are. And I had them wash their hands right when we got back.

last date as his only daughter

Russ wanted to take Gracie out on a date before baby sister came. They went to Water and Ice for some tigers blood and then went to ride the pedal boats at Tempe town lake (something Gracie had wanted to do for months). 

I am so glad these kids have such a fun dad. He is so much more fun than I am (I am trying to work on that). I think they had a good time. 

The Bunny

One day we got a call for our friends Clint and Angela that they had a bunny on their front porch and they wondered if we wanted it. I told the kids there was a surprise there and we went to get it. On the way there Gracie said, "I know it's not a bunny." That made me laugh.

Sometimes we let the kids bring it in the house to hop around. When it is inside it lets them hold it but if it is outside it is really good at running away and very hard to catch.

Russ was kind of bugged that I went to get it without asking him but look at him with it. He loves it. We named it Honey Bun but mostly just call it "The Bunny".

September Randoms

My mom, Connie, and I spent some time going through old pictures and look at this picture I found of my grandpa Joe. He is the one on the left.

My mom found this picture of my great great grandmother Mildrer Gertrude. She thinks I got a lot of my looks from her and I agree.

We went over to the Carter's house one day to visit and see their 10 puppies. Sadly they all ended up dying from parvo. It was so sad for everyone.

What my hair looks like after a head massage from Russ.

Little sillies making lollipops out of raspberries and pencils.

One of the last swims of the seasons in our pool. 

It was petty cold but they had a good time.

Russ fixing my Grandma's rocking chair before the baby comes. Something that has needed to happen for a long time.

This is a really bad picture of all the kids at Ballet Under the Stars. It was a lovely night, the weather was perfect and we were there with Connie, Melissa, and Gavin.

William being contemplative early in the morning.

This is a scene we often see if we are coming home too late. Usually from Sunday family dinner.

Bee Sting

On September 28th the kids were playing outside and I heard Joseph crying so I went outside and saw he and Gracie trying to wash mud off their hands and feet in a little left over irrigation water. I told them to come to the hose and Joe told me he got stung by a bee. I began washing his hands and feet to try and find the sting and then noticed him picking at something by his lip. There was mud there too because of his muddy hands toughing it. I looked and saw a stinger right above the corner of his lip. I got it out but didn't suck the venom out because it was covered in mud. I washed him off and brought him inside to put on our favorite Dr. Christopher's bites and stings cream. That seemed to help him feel better but it wasn't long before I could tell he was going to swell up. This is him a little while after it happened.

After his nap I could tell it was spreading up to his eye. He wasn't having any trouble breathing and was happy as could be so I wasn't too worried about it. But I did decide to give him a little Benadryl even though it says not to give to someone his age. I had the Relief Society Broadcast to go to that night and Russ was still at work so my father-in-law watched the kids for me and Russ got there as soon as he could.

This is what he looked like when I got back (above) and when we were getting ready for bed (below).

 The video below is from when he woke up the next morning. He was so happy and funny. I was sad and worried but it was hard to show it when he was cracking me up at the same time. I called my cousin Jacie whose husband is a pharmacist to find out how much and how often we could give him Benadryl. Once we got that answer we stated him on that and by the end of the day he was so much better.

 A day or two later you couldn't even tell it had been swollen.

I set up an appointment with an allergy dr. where we found out he has a 4 out of 5 allergy for honey bee. We will get an Epie pen just in case a future sting is more than a localized reaction. Obviously I hope it never comes to that, but just in case.

 I was so glad to find out he didn't have any food allergies. He tends to get dry skin and rashes a lot but now I know it is just that, sensitive skin.