Christmas!

Yesterday was the official beginning of the Christmas season in our house. In the morning we went to a Christmas family breakfast with Santa down at the police station. The kids had no interest in Santa (actually, they were afraid of him), but we ate good food, won a door prize, and had a fun time!

Then we set off to find the perfect Christmas tree. We decided to just go for a drive to Orting and find a tree farm...it turns out there are at least 10 to choose from in Orting. The first place was not so great, but we found success at our second stop. I don't have a ton of great pictures, but I do have a few. We had originally planned on going with some friends last weekend to find a tree, but I ended up playing piano for a memorial service and Steve had some work stuff to get done. But we had some really great family time doing things on our own, so it all worked out. The kids were happy and enjoying themselves all morning, and then went down for naps as soon as we got home.

I love Christmas! It is so fun to begin traditions with our own little family and re-create some of the memories that are so dear to me from my own childhood. Steve will be hanging lights tomorrow, I'll be finishing putting out the decorations and sending out Christmas cards, and in the next couple of weeks I'll be baking and shopping and visiting with family. There is really nothing about this season that I dislike!

I wanted to use this picture for our Christmas cards but it's a bit blurry. So we used the one at the top of the page.

If you saw our tree right after we finished decorating it, you'd see 90% of our ornaments within about a 2 square feet area. I did some rearranging:)

A glimpse of baby #3!

Can I just say that I LOVE ultrasounds?! I wish it was standard to have them every month! On Monday afternoon, Steve and I had our 20 week ultrasound and saw the amazing details of our newest baby's body. It was so fun! It really is just as cool the third time around. After the technician had finished checking everything she was supposed to, she took several good profile shots. At one point, she held the wand in one place and we watched the baby in real time...it was so cool to see the baby move it's hand around, suck and swallow, and even turn it's head toward us.

Anyway, the baby is as healthy as can be, and definitely a boy a girl, though we don't know which:). It was tempting to find out, especially knowing that the ultrasound technician, doctor, and nurse all knew. But the anticipation is so fun, and maybe will give me extra incentive when it comes time to push for who knows how long.

This baby is definitely our most active yet. I've been feeling him/her for several weeks now. It's hard to believe that I'm already halfway done with this pregnancy. I've been having way too many headaches, but other than that I feel great. Here are a couple of pictures...

Daredevil

Steve needed to make a small repair in the attic last night, so he had the ladder out. I was downstairs, but soon I heard Steve calling me to come get Jayna. So I went upstairs, and there's Jayna on the third step of the ladder! Curious as to how she was going to proceed, I watched her...climb all the way to the top! (Don't worry--I was standing right behind her with my hands ready to catch:) She even tried to get on the very top, but I wasn't going to let her go that far. After Steve came down, I had him "spot" her so I could document her amazing feat. 17 months old and no hesitations! (Of course, Travis wanted to have his picture taken on the ladder, too, but got scared after the third step...I do love my cautious boy!)

Halloween-a little late

We were cheap this year and put Travis in the same costume he used last year - a rooster. And Jayna was a little horsie, complete with sounds! We went to a harvest party at a friend's church, then did a bit of trick-or-treating around our neighborhood.

Mixed feelings

The election is finally over, and I'm feeling many things...

Relief. I am soooooooooo happy for an end to political ads, no more signs everywhere you drive, an end to political debates and whining (or at least less of this), no more wondering how it's all going to turn out. Seriously, this had to have been the longest election in American history.

Heavy-hearted. I am not pleased with many elections results, on both the state and national levels. At all.

And yet, I'm still very hopeful. Believe it or not, Barack Obama is no one's savior. All hope for this world lies in Jesus Christ, and He is the one I will continue to trust in.

Convicted--to pray! If you are a believer, you need to be praying, regardless of your place on the political spectrum. I am guilty...I remember to pray for our nation and our nation's leaders at certain times (election, July 4th, whenever the pastor reminds me to, etc.), but I need to be praying for these people on a consistent basis. And for all of you who are unhappy with our new president, you especially should pray! God will hear your prayers, and it will soften your heart, too.

I'm sorry to sound so preachy...after this post I'll get back to "family" stuff. And in the meantime, I get to watch TV political ad-free! Now THAT is something to be excited about!

P.S. Edited to add...the latest song I added to our blog (playing now) is one of my new favorites, and it is a perfect representation of the hope we have in Jesus. Listen to it!

He survived!

Last Tuesday, after 19 weeks of classes, mock scenes, pepper spray, and lots of testing and physical training, Steve graduated from the Basic Law Enforcement Academy! I'm so proud of him! We had a great day...in the morning, we left the kids with grandma so I could go early with Steve to watch the final inspection and attend a final class with him on transitioning into his new career. I enjoyed meeting his classmates, the people he's been training so hard with and about whom he's told me many stories. The rest of the family joined us around noon, and then we attended Steve's official commissioning for him and the other guy from his department. Then came the actual graduation ceremony for the whole class, which involved a few speeches, awards, and pinning of the badges. I have to tell you now (because Steve never will) that in the award category of "Best Overall Performance" (which is measured by written test scores, scores on mock scenes, shooting range...basically, every type of test given)...Steve was third in his class! (and it was a class of 30, not 5:) Anyway, we capped off the day with a pizza dinner with everyone...really a fun day! Steve was super glad to be done with that step. He then had a good 6 days off before he went back to work this week. For the next 6 weeks or so, he'll be doing more training at the station, and then he'll start patrolling (with a training officer) in December. There really is a ton of training involved, but that's a good thing. Congratulations, Steve!

Final inspection. The guy to the right of Steve was his partner throughout the academy...the one he did all the mock scenes, etc. with.

Dang, he looks good in uniform:) I just realized I should have had him put his badge on.

Family who attended...Steve's dad and his wife, my sister, my grandparents, and Steve's mom and sister. A few of our friends made it up, too...Steve felt everyone's support!

The commissioning ceremony. The guy with his hand raised is the chief of police for Steve's dept.

Steve's whole class at the end of the ceremony. He's the one in the center, in the dark uniform.

Ziggy-zig

Poor Ziggy. This cat has been driving me nuts. I'm blaming it on pregnancy, but every time she climbs on me and starts doing this massaging thing on me with her paws and starts drooling, I shoo her away pretty quickly. So I guess it's no wonder why she prefers Steve over me:) Anyway, despite these quirky habits, I must admit that she is the best cat ever for our kids. Seriously, they can chase her, use her for a pillow, examine and pull her whiskers (Jayna), poke her...you name it, and she has never once swatted or tried to scratch them. And she's much more gracious with them than I am with her...she keeps coming back to them! In turn, the kids love her...so much that Travis was willing to cover her up with his beloved blankie when she was sleeping!

Maris Farms

One of my absolute favorite family activities each year is going to the pumpkin patch. This year we went to Maris farms for the first time (usually we go to Hunter Farms), and had a blast! It was yet another gorgeous fall day, and we enjoyed seeing and feeding animals, riding the giant slide, a hayride around the pumpkin field, and finding our perfect pumpkin. I do love corn mazes, but the one at Maris would have taken quite a while with the kids. Here are some pictures of our day.

So tall!

Travis and Daddy on the hayride.

Jayna and friend Clara for a stroll in the wheelbarrow.

The photo shoot on the pumpkins didn't go so well, but these pictures still make me laugh. I can't quite decipher the look on Travis' face....I think it's a mixture of being ornery and trying not to smile, and being annoyed with Jayna for crying and with mom for insisting on yet another picture. Jayna was overdue for a nap...can you tell?

Recent pictures

A few recent pictures of our cutie pies...

Jayna being silly

We've had some beautiful fall weather here in the last week. These two were taken at the park by our house after the kids woke up from their naps.

A self-portrait. Travis has grown more and more attached to his beloved "lambie". He's had it since he was 6 months, and lambie now goes with us most places. As long as he isn't walking into kindergarten with lambie in his arms...

On Saturday we went up to Bellingham for cousin Ethan's 2nd birthday party. In the morning we went to the "Fun Zone" where there were a ton of big bouncy toys and slides...the kids loved it. Here's just one of many pictures, of Jayna and I at the top of a slide. Do we have a Fun Zone around here?
And these were taken just yesterday. Again, the weather was gorgeous, so the four of went for a walk/tour of all the neighborhood parks.

Time to myself

Many of you know that I am - almost to the point where it's silly - a list maker. Every Sunday, I make a list of everything I want/need to accomplish that week, and then I make separate lists for every day of the week and transfer my weekly list into my daily lists. Sometimes they're really little things, like emailing or calling a specific person, and sometimes they're more involved, like cleaning the bathrooms or going to Target. I guess I make these lists just to keep myself focused and not let myself forget anything important. Yes, I'm a Type A, through and through:) Sometimes I finish everything, sometimes I don't, but at least it helps me prioritize and get the most important things done. Anyway, here is my list from last week...much more ambitious than a typical week:

pull weeds/prune
go to bank, library
organize/sort kids' clothes (purge outgrown stuff, hang new stuff)
list clothing needs for the fall/winter for whole family
clean bathrooms
clean our room (it was a disaster area)
Thurs.-worhsip rehearsal
Wed.-Seattle with Bonnie
hang bathroom things (these shelf thingies)
clean J's room
clean T's room
organize/sort toys
catch up baby books
do some scrapbooking
letters to kids (I do this every year on their birthday, for them to read when they are grown...they're both June babies, so I've been slacking)
clean fridge
ebay old crib set

Believe it or not, I completed everything on my list besides the last two! (The mood never struck for me to clean the fridge, and I've never sold anything on ebay and didn't feel like learning...is it easy to do?) Anyway, how, you are probably wondering, did I manage to accomplish everything? It is because my kids were gone for four whole days! My husband, too, which meant that I didn't even have to worry about cooking dinner! Some of you may be reading this and thinking, what's the big deal? But many more of you understand my excitement, those of you with young kids.

Don't get me wrong...I was apprehensive about this week. Especially about being away from Jayna, as she is much more clingy than Travis. Here's how it happened....last week was the week where Steve was sent (for work) down to Shelton, where the WA state patrol trains, to learn how to drive like a crazy man....I mean like police officers have to drive. And they stayed there overnight, got fed tons of great food, hung out with the guys in the evenings...he had a great week. Well, Steve's dad and his wife (Gary & Paula) had been wanting the kids to stay with them for a few days, and since they're only a couple of hours away, I thought, "Okay, maybe...". But then when I knew that this week was coming where Steve would not be coming home in the evenings (I desperately look forward to that time of day), my wheels started turning and I thought that might be a good time to send the kids to the grandparents. They happily obliged, of course, and though the kids ended up staying longer than I had anticipated, it worked out well. Paula drove up and I drove down so that we met at a McDonald's at Chehalis and made the transfer. I will admit that after I drove away from dropping them off, I bawled like a baby. Jayna had a cold/fever and had been super clingy, so I felt so guilty. Then when I got home I just felt really disoriented...the house was so quiet, and my babies were gone. It was wierd. But the feeling passed, and I really enjoyed my few days to myself. Like I said, I got a ton of stuff done, but since I could complete these tasks without interruption, I also had a lot of time to just relax. And it feels so good now to feel caught up on some things that I had put on the backburner. Oh, and I was also able to stop at my grandparents' place in Olympia on both my way there and back, along with the kids, and it was so good to be with them.

I knew the kids were in the best of hands, but it was still comforting to me that if something happened, they were only two hours away and I would be there in a heartbeat. In many ways I am a super laidback mom, but I guess not always. But the kids had a great time, even Jayna. Paula didn't get to do as many things with them as she had planned (because of Jayna's cold), but that didn't seem to bother them. Travis is still telling me stories from last week...he loved it! And the best part is that they really missed me toward the end of the week and were ready to come home. We had a great weekend together as a family again, just relaxing and having fun together. All in all, the separation was a good thing for all of us. I am a person who refreshes and regroups by spending time alone, and this definitely did the trick.

With that said, I am about to get yet another break....I would have preferred for these two breaks to be a bit more spread apart, but I had no control over the dates. Tomorrow, I am headed with a couple of friends to meet four more friends in Grapevine, Texas for the MOPS national convention. I have never been, and I am so excited! My goals are twofold...to be encouraged in ways to be a better mom and wife, and to apply some of the things I learn/hear to my role as co-coordinator for the MOPS group at RVCC. It is located at the Gaylord Texan, an all-inclusive resort, which is supposedly super fancy, and will just be a ton of fun. (and it better be, because we spent more money than I was comfortable with to make it possible!). Anyway, I'll let you know how it went when I return.

The word is out...

...so we'll put it out there even more...we are pregnant with our third!

We were quite surprised at first, but now we're just excited! We did want more kids, just maybe not quite so soon. Although, Jayna and this one will be almost 2 years apart, which is what Travis and Jayna are, and it works. Due date is April 3rd, making me about 11 weeks. Almost through the first trimester. One HUGE praise in all of this is that I have only felt a fraction of the sickness that I felt with the other two. With both of them, I had to take anti-nausea meds until about 16-17 weeks, and with Jayna, even that only kept the food down...I still felt pretty horrible 24/7. (and I promise I'm not exaggerating..it was bad). So I had kind of been dreading another pregnancy because I remember how physically, and thus emotionally, difficult it was to not be able to do anything when I was pregnant with Jayna...clean, cook, care for Travis, etc. He watched more TV/videos during those months than he ever has or ever will, I think. Anyway, this pregnancy, I am taking an over-the-counter combination of Unisom and vitamin B6 and notice a huge difference when I don't take it. But when I do, I feel great, as long as I keep food in my stomach and only eat a little at a time. I've only puked once, and that was before I started the meds. It's amazing! I never knew pregnancy could be like this! I have thanked God many, many times! Of course, this meant that in the early early weeks I was sure I had miscarried, but the ultrasound I had at 9 weeks showed a strong heartbeat (as amazing as watching it for the first time with Travis!) and a baby that looked exactly as he should! (Yes, I think it's a boy, though I won't put money on it:)

No, we will not find out the gender. We didn't find out with T, we did with J, and while I'm glad we did with J, it's just so much more fun to not know! And with the third one, we thought this would help keep it exciting. And practically speaking, we already have at least the essential clothing for either gender, and the baby will be in Jayna's room either way.

I am a little nervous about being a mom of three, especially when they will all be pretty young. But I know so many who have gone before me and were (or are) wonderful parents...my mom, some friends, several cousins. More than ever, I see the need to lean on God for everything...patience, strength, love.

I receive some weekly emails from babycenter.com that picture and describe all that is happening with the baby in that given week. Here's what was said about 11 weeks:

"Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden. She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements look like water ballet."

And these next two are in utero pictures I found online of babies at 11 weeks. It is still CRAZY to me that a tiny clump of cells turns into a fully formed human baby at all, let alone in such a short period of time. 6 weeks ago there was a heartbeat and a spinal column, and now all major organs are in place, as well as limbs and even fingers and toes. So cool.

I have no doubt that the next 6 1/2 months will fly, and we will meet our newest addition! We'll keep you posted!

Troublemaker

Our new nickname for Jayna is "troublemaker". Not in the sense that she is disobedient...actually, she is very responsive to correction and wails when given a stern "no". What I mean is that she gets in to EVERYTHING! She's explorative and curious (Mel-maybe she gets this from Ethan?!), which usually results in big messes. She is the reason our house too often looks like a disaster area (never mind the fact that I'm just not a good housekeeper, I've finally forced myself to admit). One of her favorite acitivities is to carry objects from one room of the house to another. For example, I often find tupperware (the tupperware drawer is the one thing in the kitchen she's allowed to play in) in our master bathroom. If you know our house, you know that's an impressive feat! Shoes, too...I can NEVER find a match because she carries them all over the house, one shoe at a time. And I have at least three sandwich bags of wipes from when she has pulled dozens out of the container before I caught her.

I'm sure if I looked back through all our pictures I could show you more examples, but I do have a couple of recent videos that demonstrate her amazing mess-making abilities.

In the first, she found a kleenex box and emptied it (almost) before Steve noticed. So he pulled out the camera.

In the second, which was just this week, we were just done with dinner and I had put leftover spaghettie noodles in a tupperware, but hadn't put it in the fridge yet. Apparently, Jayna decided to grab it off the table and carry it into the living room...and dump it out. I'm just grateful it wasn't the tupperware of spaghetti sauce! So we thought "what the heck" and let them play with it.

Oh yeah, we have a blog

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, so I thought I'd update you on life in the Butts house...

Steve is still doing very well at the police academy. He has about 6 weeks left...time has flown! Graduation is on October 21st, and after that he has 6-8 weeks of classes/ride alongs/I don't know what else before he starts doing patrol. I'm looking forward to his 4-tens schedule...I realized over Labor day how nice it is to have him home for 3 days in a row every week. A two day weekend just seems to fly by so quickly. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago his class went through their pepper spray test thing, and a couple of our friends (one of whom is a police officer and has been through it himself) went up and taped it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet and would like to, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg2KFy642aQ. I'd tell you to "enjoy", but it's not exactly enjoyable (or at least it wasn't for me). But it will make you proud of him!

I have been busy, with the kids, of course, but also with MOPS. For those unaware, MOPS is Mothers of Preschoolers. We have one at our church, and I am one of two co-coordinators. However, my partner recently had a beautiful baby girl, and naturally, needed a break from MOPS stuff. I was more than happy to give that to her...that newborn stage is gone in a flash! This means, however, that I've had a TON of work to do in order to get the year started. Our first meeting happens on Sept. 16th, and I'll be glad to get past that point. You'll hear more about MOPS later...I'm so excited that the first weekend of October, I get to go to the MOPS national convention in Texas. Yee-haw!

Travis and Jayna are doing well. As September is now here (and almost half over) and we go back to certain activities/routines that only happen during the school year, we're starting to think about what things we want to be involved in as a family, as well as what our daily routine should look like. Travis has always been young enough that besides mealtimes and sleep times, we didn't need a ton of structure. Now, however, he's getting old enough - preschool age, really - that there are certain things that I want to be a part of our every day (or most days) routine...namely, "school" time, small chores, and Bible time (I'm talking 5 minute story/question time, here). But we also have to be pretty flexible, as every day seems to require it. So that's been on my mind...trying to think about how to make those things fun, and how/when to incorporate them into our schedule. As far as our weekly schedule...which Bible study to join, whether to start Travis in Awana, etc....it's hard to figure that stuff out right now because we have no idea what shift/days Steve will have once he starts patrolling.

We had a great summer, and I'm sad for it to end. It seems like everyone loves fall, but I'm not one of them. It means we have 9+ months of cold coming. Though there are certain things I do love...reading a book with a blanket by the fire (even if it is a fake fire), the colors of fall and playing in the leaves, visiting the pumpkin patch, Thanksgiving....I really don't like being cold.

I do have a short list of things to blog, so I won't be absent for so long this time around!

Camping with the family

Every year, my family has made it a tradition to go camping together on the first weekend of August. So far, we've gone a different place every year...Birch Bay, Oregon coast, Lake Wenatchee, Timothy Lake (Portlandish), Yakima, Hawaii (okay, that wasn't camping...we took a family vacation that year instead of camping), and this year, Dash Point State Park in Federal Way. We always have a ton of fun, and this year was no exception! Kyle, my youngest sister's husband, as well as my brother and his wife, were not able to come, but the rest of us were there.

When you look at a map, it looks like Dash Point is in the middle of the city, but it really doesn't feel that way. Though it was a bit strange to be camping 1/2 hour from home, we saved a lot on gas! And Steve and I thought this would be a good option for our own little family for future camping trips.

Anyway, I liked the fact that the campsites were very private, as opposed to some state parks where you might as well be sleeping in your neighbor's tent. We had some great weather, and the beach a lot of fun, too. It's not exactly a place to swim, but when the tides were low you could walk quite a ways out (on sand, not rocks), play with the sand, find sealife, etc.

I was a little nervous about how Travis and Jayna would do, especially in terms of napping, but they had a great weekend! I think Travis was in heaven, having so many "playmates" around and so many things to keep him busy. Jayna got incredibly dirty because she chose not to walk on all the uneven ground, but I didn't mind. That's what camping's for!

Some picture highlights...

Travis had his own little camping chair...notice him using Aunt Becky as a leg rest. What a life!

I was so proud of Travis....he got dirty!! But not too dirty...he would only hold the clam in the shovel, not with his hands.

All tuckered out. Sleep actually came quite easily for Travis. Jayna--not so much. It didn't help that I forgot to pack her beloved blankie. All is right in Jayna's world when she has her blankie.

It started out much smaller...cousin Ethan would push Jayna in this giant dumptruck we brought along. She loved it! But then the men (yes, including Steve....maybe even initiated by Steve?) decided to let her go for a bit of a longer ride. It was hard for me to watch the first few times, but after I saw that she was okay, and even enjoying it, it was pretty funny. I like how you can hear us all laughing, even though I sound like a total dork.

All in all, it was a great weekend!

Just call me Picasso

This weekend I finally finished painting/putting together Travis' room, and we love it! It is camping-themed, complete with a tent, camping chair, glow-in-the-dark stars, and trees on the wall. I think Steve was a little doubtful that the trees would turn out looking okay, but they're not bad!(?) Travis showed lots of excitement every time a new element was added to the room, especially when we added the final touch of the stars. He kept bringing me in the room with him, turning off the lights, closing the blinds, and laying on the bed to look at the stars. So sweet. Oh, and he's been sleeping in his tent for every nap and every night. I'm glad he likes it, because we plan on sticking with this decor for a while!

Adding several "small touches" really added to the overall theme...here is a set of 3 bear pictures I found at Ikea for $4 (on the closet wall, for those who know his room), and he also has two bear paw towel hooks, a bear (piggy) bank, and a lantern that Steve will hang from the ceiling.

The kids playing in the tent.