Eva's Blessing Day

We're a little late posting this, but three weeks ago we named and blessed Eva in Church. We had both Ben's and Claudia's parents in attendance, along with Claudia's sister Veronica and brother Hernan. Eva looked beautiful in her white dress. We had a wonderful time visiting with our families over the weekend and were sorry to see Ben's parents head back to Idaho on Monday. It was great to have them here and look forward to seeing them again soon. Claudia's parents are with us through the holidays, so we are not through enjoying our time with them. Lots of attention for our special girl Eva!

"Firsts" with Eva

Our new and precious little Eva has sprung into our world bringing us immense joy and love beyond measure. She was born 2 weeks ago today on October 25th at 1:11 in the morning weighing in at 7 lbs. 10 oz (our smallest baby to date.)

She has been such a surprise to us, beginning when we learned we were pregnant. Ben and I have listed all of the "firsts" we're experiencing with our new little love. We thought we'd share some with you.

First child to...
1. be a girl.
2. be born in Colorado
3. give me migraine headaches during pregnancy.
4. weigh less than 9 lbs.
5. weigh less than 8 lbs. (yes, she's dinky)
6. wear pink clothes, and hair bows.
7. not be allowed siblings visits in the hospital(due to the swine flu policy)
8. not need a circumcision
9. stop breathing at birth
10. spend time in the NICU
11. wear newborn diapers
12. wear newborn clothes
13. need a bilirubin light for 5 days straight at home. Ugh!


That being said, we are loving our new baby girl to pieces and can hardly believe she is part of our family.

The Family that Vomits Together...Stays Together

No kidding...One after another the stomach bug got us all in one week. Beginning with Carter...then onto me 2 days later...then Ethan and Alec a day after that...and finally Ben on the last day.




Unfortunately for me, I was the one who landed in the hospital with dehydration and horrible contractions. All that effort at 3 in the morning and an IV (which I detest) to pump me with fluids. Surely, I will leave here with a baby and it will all be worth it. WRONG. As soon as they re-hydrated me and the baby's racing heart rate slowed down...they sent me home...to wallow in my misery. I hope to have better news in my next post!

The Mouse Strikes Again

This time, he swiped his brothers NEW PACK of Trident Gum and swallowed 17 pieces at 10pm on Saturday night! Then, he conveniently left all of the wrappers on his book shelf for us to count when we checked to see if he had gone to bed. Two days later, he threw up. Was it the gum... or a stomach bug? We'll never know.

When the Cat's Away...

the mouse (with a huge mouth) will eat the 1lb block of cheese. That same little mouse will be smart enough to put it back in the tupperware, walk into the office and say to me "I was HUNGRY for some cheese."

Made Out Like a Bandit

Last Thursday I truly felt "the love" of many local friends here in Firestone. Just when I thought I didn't "need" anything... I was literally "showered" with the most darling GIRL clothes and other homemade with love "goodies" for our new little baby girl. All thanks to a dear friend (and several helpers) who put their own busy lives aside and insisted that they host a party for our new little nameless pumpkin. Along with the delicious food and a copy of Where the Wild Things Are, dedicated with little notes for the baby...my guests wrote down some suggested names for our little one. The following are those suggestions...some more INTERESTING than others.
Feel free to vote for your favorite.

Eve, Tasha, Jane, Olivia, Mary Jane, Samantha, Madonna, Tessa, Claire, Lauren, Chloe, Brooke, Andrea, Lexie, Angalee, Ava, Eva, Elise, Nadine, Loralie, Aubrey, Audra Ann, Savanah, Clarice, Camille, Teya, Mable, Reese, Thelma, Kim Su Chang.

I will admit...I needed some love that week. This fourth pregnancy has by far been the most physically challenging for me. I don't know if it's my age, the fact that I am chasing a three year old Tazmanain devil for most of the day...or the bulging and exceedingly painful varicose vein in my groin. It's been a long 9 months so far. Well, I'm almost there...I know I'm on the downhill slope now and EAGERLY looking forward to meeting out little "Miracle."

Thanks to all who were able to make it to the party and several who let me know that they couldn't be there...I still felt your kindness and support. I was so elated with all of the beautiful "girly" gifts, that I set them up on my couch for my family to look at the whole weekend. (My husband thinks I'm a dork) Eventually, we needed a place to sit...so my sis helped me hang my "stash" on our new little PINK hangers. SO EXCITING!!!

School, Anniversary & Birthday Time

Time sure passes quickly when your racing around trying to do everything and be everywhere...and lug around a 30 lb. belly at the same time. So here is a brief recap on August and Sept.
First day of school is always a treat for the boys.(and me)


Happy Anniversary Benji!..August 29th, 1997... 12 years and counting. I remember the hot and windy day as my family and I drove to the San Diego Temple in a black stretch limo eagerly waiting to marry Ben. He remembers our limo doing an illegal U turn the middle of the 5 freeway during lunchtime traffic as we couldn't find the restaurant for our luncheon. It goes quickly when you are married to your best friend. Who would have guessed that I could be so lucky to marry a kind and loving patient man who accepts me for all of my shortcomings, honors his priesthood and is a terrific example to me and our children.

Our first born baby is growin'up!! God knew we'd miss out somewhere...so he gave us Carter (mini Alec) to do it all over again!! ( hard to believe but this picture is of Alec on his 1st birthday)Happy 10th Birthday Alec! Pizza, bowling with friends and ice cream at the park. What more could a kid ask for??? We love you so much!!

You Know Belly's Big When...

1. You walk up the stairs and can barely catch your breath at the top of 12 stairs.
2. You get more "mystery stains" on your shirt than food in your mouth.

3. Your husband says,"Your belly looks more like a watermelon than a basketball now"
4. A lady at the Butterfly Pavillion elbows you in the gut as she's trying to put on her backpack.
5. You begin the infamous and unattractive "preggo waddle."
6. People at Costco look at your stomach first, then gradually move up to your face to address you.
7. Your belly serves as a convenient "shelf" for your water bottle or M&M's.

8.Your profile now looks like Snoopy's.
9. Your 3 year old walks by and says"Move Out of the way...JUMBO!" When asked, "Who is Jumbo?" He responds...an elephant.
10. Your belly jiggles like Santa's when you laugh.


(Never thought I'd post my jiggling belly...but it's my 4th and last baby... I gotta document this madness before I forget)I just can't imagine getting bigger...but I know I will...10 weeks and counting. UGHHH!

The 4th in Idaho Falls

My wonderful sister's-in-law hosted a double baby shower for Annalise and I. We knew ours was a girl and just learned that hers is a girl too!! GIRL POWER! The "stash" on the floor is hers and mine is on the other side of the room!

Ben and I visited the Rexburg Temple...BEAUTIFUL... and did some overdue Templework for my grandfather and sealed him to my grandmother who passed away about 8 years ago.

We went to the zoo with our cute little "Chick" friends from Pocatello. Thanks for meeting us Rachel!!

We celebrated Ethan's "REAL" 6th birthday with the family at Grandma Ahlstrom's house with our Arizona cousins.

Summer Update-Christmas in June

I feel like school just got out last week and we finally have a week to STAY HOME!!

June was a whirlwind for us as we decided to make memories with our boys instead of buying them stuff and things as we usually do at Christmas. Sometime in February I got this wild hair to go on a cruise as a family. Well we finally went to Jamaica and Grand Cayman for a week and I recommend it to anyone who is considering a cruise.

As a result of our experience, I've compiled a short list of do's and don'ts for any future cruisers.

DO
1. get on the boat as early as possible before departure, or you will feel like you are on Ellis Island, trying to pass all of your physicals to get into AMERICA!

2. take appropriate clothes for the cruise...my poor mother must have thought she was going to Alaska (again) and brought all kinds of long sleeves and pants!!

3. send your kids to the KIDS CLUB every chance you get. They think they are going to this fabulous party every day to learn the Electric Slide and all sorts of other cool things. When in fact, you're the ones having the fabulous party WITHOUT THEM.

4.Indulge in all of the YUMMY FOOD and forget about the scale for a week. NO ONE is going to serve you lobster and fancy soups and desserts when you get home.

5. Go on the earliest excursion possible or you will be sitting there BAKING in the hot sun waiting for your 10:30 tour to begin while everyone else has left to go swim with the dolphins.


DON'T

6. Feel bad about dumpin' the kids at the kid's club, you'll get over it after a few minutes.

7. Lose your 9 year old kid on the ship the first few minutes you get on board. It's hard enough to find your way around without being in PANIC MODE!!!

8. Take AMERICAN EXPRESS. Jamaican beaches don't take it. Take your VISA, it's everywhere you want to be!

9. Be afraid of kissing a stingray, kinda feels like kissing a GIANT slimy mushroom. Now, I will have 7 years of good luck...according to my tour guide.



10. Don't leave the gift shop on Grand Cayman island without your 9 year old...as the ship is preparing to depart!! You will be traumatized for several hours after that.

Do photograph the DARLING towel animals on your bed every evening.


Do take water shoes for the Jamaican beaches. Our feet were getting cut up with rocks as we posed for this picture as our water shoes sat on the ship.


Do invite your parents to join you..if you like them. Mine are pretty cool.


Send the kids to the space alien parties, they will have a blast!!


This Christmas, instead of presents, the kids will get a power point slide show of our Cruise. We'll see how that goes over!

And the Gender is...

The moment couldn't come soon enough for Ben and I... as well as about 20 of our close relatives and friends. On Tuesday morning Ben, my sister Veronica, Alec, Ethan and I drove to Denver to see our little bean "close up and personal." I had mentally prepared myself to hear the news that he would be healthy and growing at a healthy and perfect rate.

Minutes after walking into the ultrasound room, the tech asked me in a nonchalant way if I wanted to know the gender. After eagerly saying "YES!" She proceeded to tell me that I could call in my family and she began the scan. In times past, the tech had taken all of the routine and necessary pictures and at the very end of the scan told us that we were having a boy and showed us his little boy parts to prove what she already knew for sure. This time was MUCH different. Basically,she took one or two measurements of the head, squished my stomach some more and moved the scanner around and said in her monotone nonchalant voice, "It's a girl."

We all had to pick up our jaws off the floor as the tears streamed down my face. Then, Ben proceeded to ask with a big cautious smile on his face, "So, how sure are you?" Again, she looked at him like he was a goofball and said, "100%. See those two little white lines, that's the labia." Enough said.

We had never seen "that part" before so of course it was all foreign to us. My sister's first words were, "I can't believe it...I can't believe it!! Followed by, "Time to get rid of all that baby boy clothes. Let's have a yard sale this weekend!! Alec of course was less than thrilled as he said, "Now you have to spend a bunch of money on clothes!" Ethan said, "I knew it...I knew it...because you had headaches and girls give their mom's headaches." Needless to say, we are ELATED to welcome a daughter into our family. And I'm HAPPY to buy all new stuff for our new little princess.

We Found Our Missing Mariachi Band

Many moons ago, 12 years to be exact, Ben and I were married in the San Diego Temple. After the wedding, we had a ring exchange ceremony and a reception to share our joy with our families and all of my non-mormon relatives. My dad had ordered a keg of beer for the "drinkin" relatives and a Mariachi band to entertain our guests for the evening (traditional Mexican custom).

As luck would have it, neither showed up to our reception. Last week, my sis-in-law finally found our missing band on the streets of San Diego waiting for public transportation to give them a lift to someone else's wedding.

One More Makes Four

After struggling with fertility issues with our last two boys, I had decided to hang my hat and be content with the three beautiful boys that God had sent me. So, you can imagine my surprise when I learned we were expecting a little peanut a few months ago.

It took me a while to actually believe it. But after 2 ultrasounds,I feel that I can believe our little miracle is true. Initially, I was really concerned about Down's Syndrome because of my age and my brother has Down's. Once I accepted that I was okay with whatever card I was dealt, I felt better. After some recent bloodwork and genetic testing, my odds are pretty good that the baby is fine. We are excited and looking forward to finding out if we will add to our little baseball team or if I will share my throne with a little princess. Either way, we can't lose.

Carter Finds the Egg

One of the treats of having my sister move to Colorado is that she brought her 2 chihuahuas, Pepa Dog and Chalupa and her Labrador, Coco. They visit often and our boys love the dogs. The part I love the best is that after a few hours they leave, my boys got their "dog" fix and I don't have to buy them food or scoop their poop!

In this episode, my sister hid an Easter egg on Coco's collar just waiting to see if any of the kids noticed. Carter finds it in the first thirty seconds of the video, so unless you've never seen kids running around the house hunting for Easter eggs...don't feel obligated to watch the rest of the video.

MARCH MADNESS

Maybe if I was into basketball, this entry would be about something else. However, this is March Madness Ahlstrom Style. Carter has become the family computer nerd. He wakes up at 6:30 EVERY morning, blankie around his neck-Superman style and goes straight to the laptop to play PBS computer games. He's not even 3 years old yet!

Then there was our early beginning to Spring Break with a traditional Spring snowstorm. Notice my snowbunnies striking a pose. Not so bad...as a result, I didn't have to go to work either.

My sister made the big move from California...Mini Cooper and all! I'm so happy she's finally here!!!

If I don't go, I won't need glasses right? WRONG! New glasses after 14 years of not seeing the eye doctor! The benefits of aging!

Whittling chip badge for our new "Bear."

Carter "POT" ty training in front of the tv. He loved the cushy seat to watch tv, but never actually did "the deed" after sitting there for a couple of hours.

Ethan, the abominable snowboy in the "Snow Cave."

Ethan doing math problems while painting our newly finished garage.

Good Times, we'll see what April has in store for us!

Dinner Conversations

About twice a week I feel under appreciated by my boys when it comes to my efforts in fixing dinner. So, I pull out a simple meal like grilled cheese sandwiches or hot dogs etc. On this particular evening, I realized it was 5:00 and I hadn't defrosted anything yet. So I asked the boys if they would rather have Spaghettios or Ravioli (from a can). Of course, Ethan chose one and Alec the other. After I added the broccoli and bread with butter in an attempt to make the meal semi-appealing, Ethan gave me the sweetest compliment. I think.

Ethan: Mom, this dinner totally tastes better than it looks!!

Alec: Yea, mine too!

Claudia: Thanks guys. I will have to open a can of Spaghettios more often.

Gotta Get Away?

Go to a resort town. Ben and I of course love to ski. But even if you don't, there's lots to do as you walk around and explore a new place with your spouse and remember why you even married each other. This trip was actually our first ski trip without children. (Thanks to my kind and loving sister who was in town) And let me tell you, it feels good... to focus on your spouse instead of breaking up fights, taking a different child to the bathroom after every run, and trying to talk Ethan into liking skiing.

Oh and did I mention the shopping?? Outlets galore in Silverthorne. The first night, Ben trudged through about 6 stores with me because I forgot to pack my pajamas. So of course, I had to go find some at the Outlet Mall. The next night, after skiing all day, Ben gracefully declined to go shopping with me and opted instead to soak in the hot tub. I hit another 6 or so stores and returned to the hotel with bags and bags of stuff. All great deals...of course.

Later we hit an authentic Mexican Restaurant and had some yummy food. All the while I was missing my kids, but realizing that if they were there, they'd either be complaining that they were starving and going to DIE at any moment, or saying yuck to the food they were just served. Even so, we missed them. The next morning we drove home and gladly welcomed the hugs and kissed we received from our FAVORITE little boys.

Ben's Favorite You Tube Video

Ben did not vote for Obama. However, when he saw this spoof on YouTube, he couldn't stop singing the song...which of course is a spoof on Beyonce's Single Ladies Video. Then, we watched some other Single Ladies Spoofs on YouTube. Too Funny!

"I'm Goin' Ridin' on the Ski Train of Love...."

Oh wait, I think the song is "Freeway of Love" so, just forget about my trendy title. Unfortunately, some of us had more fun than others.

It was actually more like the "ski train of HORROR" for our little Ethan who not only lost his ski instructor but developed a fever while in the ski school, skipped lunch and slept on a bench for 3 hours in the lodge until his ski class was over. Only to have a horrible cough and act like he was going to vomit at any moment. Yes, all of that excitement and it cost us $105.00! Just for the dang ski school! I should have been his instructor, at least I wouldn't have lost him.

But wait, it gets better, on the way home on the "ski train of Trauma", he accidentally got himself stuck in the bathroom and no one realized it until I heard the screaming and crying from the bathroom and ran down the corridor and shoved the door open only to find my terrorized little boy.

As I said, some of us had more fun than others. I just hope that my poor child is not scarred for life.
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