Baby Girl is 6 (On January 12, so by Kris standard time this post is right on time)!

CAUTION PICTURE OVERLOAD!!



Emma is 6. No kidding. All of you who are thinking, 'what she isn't 14?',no, no she is not. She just thinks she is. I am really not ready for her to grow up. So, the fact that she had a "Glamor Party" for her birthday really didn't help. On her actual birthday we went as a family to Chuck-E-Cheese. Nate was surprised that the pizza wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be. Pete loved riding in all the little vehicles that just go up and down. Both Emma and Jake liked the shooting games. That was a little disturbing. Emma really likes this booth they have that gives you a sketch of yourself. She also really liked the animatronics. The theme was something about "Back to the 80's" so they had Chuck-E singing all sorts of crazy 80's songs. They weren't very good in the 80's, they were even worse with Chuck-E singing. Just imagine this mouse singing "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". Yeah, it was bad. But we were together, and Emma, being the cheeseball that she is said 'that was all she wanted for her Birthday to make it the best Birthday ever!'
Her second party was one after Jake's baptism. We had a luncheon after the baptism. Since there are 4 of us who have birthdays in a 3 week span that also overlaps Christmas and New Years we thought we would give our friends and family a break so they only had to come to Mapleton once and do a combined birthday party. So, she got to open the gifts from grandparents and some family friends that day, and so did Jake. They each blew out candles in a cupcake and we called it good.
Her third and final party was her party with her friends. It was a 'Glamor Party'. I should have taken a pictue of the invitations I made, but I didn't think of it at the time. The invitations were little purses that told all the party info and asked the girl's to come dressed in their most "glamorous attire". It was a roaring success with all the girls. There was sparkling grape juice to drink out of champagne flutes and pink cupcakes. We did hair and make-up and ended the whole glamorous party with a fashion show. It was really something. It made Emma happy, so I guess in the end all was worth it.



I am so glad I have a such a sweet little girl. We have a wonderful relationship and I hope to always have that with her. Her heart is so good. She is always trying to make everyone around her happy. So, Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

Okay, here is the problem I have encountered, when I went through the pictures of Emma to put up here...well, there were like close to 40 that I wanted to post. So, I am going to post a few of my VERY favorites and then I am going to do one of those slide show things for those of you who care to indulge me in my affection for pictures of my daughter.

One of the first pictures taken of Emma after she was born. She weighed in at a whopping 5 lbs. 5 oz. She was only 5 weeks early and I got to take her home from the hospital with me!
Emma after she was a couple months old.
Emma enjoying a nice, refreshing beverage.
When Emma was almost 11 months old she broke her femur. She had this nasty cast on for about 6 weeks. It was awful. She learned to crawl with it though. She is a tough cookie.
Emma at Christmas time when she was about 1. She was already such a beauty.





Emma at Disneyland for the first time.





Emma as Tinkerbell for Halloween when she was almost 2.



Gorgeous Em, and yes, I am totally biased.


Em at Bob and Erica's wedding. Beautiful.

Emma last Christmas

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad! Today is my Dad's Birthday and I just can't help but be a lemming and write a little about why I love my Dad so much and wish him a Happy Birthday.

Actually, I have been thinking a lot about the things that my Dad has taught me and the ways that he has influenced me. He has always been such a force for good in my life, I thought that I might list a few of these things.
One of the largest ways my Dad has influenced me is that I am a dyed in the wool BYU fan. I can remember as a child spending days just going down to campus. Just to spend the day there. We used to sing the 'Cougar Fight Song' on road trips. I also have attended BYU football games with my Dad since I was too young to even need a ticket of my own. Through the years I am sure I often took these opportunities to spend so much time alone with my Dad for granted, but even as I sit here and write about it I am brought to tears thinking of all the fun times I had with him going to the games. Along with going to the games, he gave me a love for football that most women are never able to attain. I can honestly say I enjoy a good football game considerably more than my husband. It is a strange twist.


My Dad is the most fair man I have ever known. He always gives people the benefit of the doubt. This is something that I admire, but have not perfected. This did give me a good start in life dealing with other people though because I didn't have any experience with being judgementmental or prejudiced.
My Dad was always a wonderful spiritual leader in our home. He taught me to make a decision about the important things in life once and then be a good enough person to stick with the decision. He made the decision he would go to Church on Sunday, so there is no question on Sunday morning, he already made the decision a while back. It makes for an easy Sunday morning. I don't know if I have explained this quality very well, but I think that it has been of great benefit in my life. I don't have a lot of times where I have to figure out what I am going to do, I have already made the decision. I fulfill callings, because that was a decision I made when I received the calling. That is what my Dad taught me through his example.

One thing that I didn't realize until recently is that my Dad, along with my Mom, provided a safe, happy environment for me. He protected me from so much of the rotten things that he saw at work, and never brought it home. I am so grateful that I grew up feeling safe and happy and always knew my home was a haven from the world. I often, in talking with my friends, say I grew up in a "happy little bubble", and frankly, I am grateful for that bubble that was provided. I may be a bit naive, but I don't know it.


One of the things I am most grateful for is that my Dad taught me to have a good sense of humor and some moderation in my life. Life should be fun, and my Dad taught me that I should be able to take time and enjoy the things I like to do. He has always been a hard worker, but he also showed me it is okay to go to a movie instead of spend the entire day Saturday working. You can do some of each, fun and work.
My Dad has a great sense of humor and some of the greatest movies are movies that I first watched with my Dad. Indiana Jones, Die Hard, and Romancing the Stone are all movies that I remember watching with Dad.
One of my greatest memories that my Dad probably doesn't even remember is the first night of bombing during Desert Storm. My Dad let me stay up late (I was in 9th grade) and watch the news with him. I am so much like my Dad in my love of politics, current events, and history. I didn't know it then, but that interest in what was going on and watching that together was something that was so neat to me to be able to share with him.
There are so many things about my Dad that are so extraordinary. I am so grateful that I was able to be raised by such a caring, loving, strong, spiritual man. I can't express in words how much I really love him, but I hope he knows. Dad, Happy Birthday!

Mom and Dad for Christmas. Awhh.

8 Is Great Part 2

On January 10 Jake was baptized. It was a great day for our family. As we talked before he was baptized I was amazed at his level of understanding of the gospel and the ordinance that he was participating in. I don't think I knew that much at his age, and I don't think I taught him all he knows. Regardless, he knows and it makes me happy.
We had so much family travel and send their love and support I was so grateful for the efforts that were made.
The baptism program was short, but went very well. Jake actually sang a song all by himself. I was so proud of him. There have been many people who attended his baptism who have commented to me about how sweet and wonderful his song was. It was good for him to learn the words to the song too because they talked of the covenant he was taking.
I am so proud of my Jakers. It is times like this that make me so grateful to be a mother and to have these sweet (most of the time) kids in my home. I sure love my Jake. I am one happy Mom.
Oh, plus we didn't get any great pictures. Seriously, these are the best of them. Bummer.

Here is Jake in his new suit that he got for his baptism. He is just being goofy. We get goofy or eyes closed. Take your pick.


Here are the guys ready for the baptism. Those are pretty stylin' outfits.

8 Is Great!

My Jakers is 8!! It is absolutely nuts. I can't believe he is getting so big. He has been such a wonderful little guy to have in our family. We went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant once and I saved his fortune from his fortune cookie because I thought it was completely meant for Jake. The fortune reads "Your smile brings happiness to others." I think this perfectly describes his affect on others.
The thing that continues to amaze me is what a happy, optimistic, sweet personality he has after everything he has gone through. This sweet boy has overcome many things already in his life, and always is surprising me with his cheerful attitude. Most of the time I don't think he even knows he was dealing with more than most kids do. He brings me so much happiness (most of the time, he is an 8 year old boy) and he keeps me on my toes. I know there is no way for me to let him know how much I love him, but every day I will keep trying.

Merry Christmas!

So, it was Christmas. Now it isn't. I can't believe how fast it came and went. I am still spinning. This was a very fun Christmas at the Swenson house though. I really felt like both Jake and Em understood what it is we are celebrating. They are old enough now to understand some of the traditions that we do and truly participate. They enjoyed putting their own ornaments on the tree and asked us about each one. They learned so many songs and were forced to listen to many hours of an Osmond Family Christmas (a McGuire tradition that I am carrying on).
Christmas this year seemed to take on a theme for me. It seemed like everything I heard kept turning back to "gift". I know this is a common theme around Christmas but for some reason this Christmas it was a particularly strong theme. With all the talk of gifts, and the purpose of gifts, my mind was continually drawn to the gift of the Atonement. At this time of the year I can't help but be so grateful for that. I have spent time with my own little family and my extended family and it has reminded me how much it means that these are people I can be with forever. The gifts that we have that will last forever are only ours through our Savior. The prophet pointed out some of these gifts during the Christmas devotional, "All that we hold dear, even our families, our friends, our joy, our knowledge, our testimonies would vanish were it not for our Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ." I have gained a greater appreciation for this during this holiday season and although I don't usually use this as a forum for spiritual matters, this is what has mattered to me lately. So, I am sharing. I believe that these things are what make Christmas the time for celebrating. So Merry Christmas!

It burns! It burns!

Well, it happened. I have always worried about having my kids around gas fireplaces because you know they are going to put their hands on the glass. With Jake and Emma we didn't have a fireplace in the house so I just had to worry when we went to my or Nate's parents. Now with Pete we do have a fireplace. We turned it on for the first time this winter and sure enough we had to tell Peter several times to stay away from the glass. Then we turned our back and he did it. He put both hands on the glass. He is so funny though because he didn't really cry, I mean he yelled, but he isn't much of a cryer. His hands didn't blister right then, so it wasn't a second degree burn (yes, for those of you who are thinking it, I am trying to avoid CPS coming to my house so this is my back-pedalling). By the next morning though they were all blistered and looked like they hurt. He didn't fuss or anything though.
So all of this happened Monday night. On Tuesday night Nate suggested that we put Band-Aids over his blistered palms to try to keep them from getting infection. So, here is our first attempt.


On Wednesday I got to thinking that it might be a good idea to call the pediatrician and see if there was anything I should be doing to make sure his hands healed okay. The call went something like this:

Me: My son is 1 1/2 and he burnt his hands on our fireplace. I was just wondering if there is anything I should do so they don't get infected.
(The nurse asks the Dr.)
Nurse: Keep the hands cool, don't put ice directly on them, and bring him in right now.
Me: (Very hesitantly knowing I am going to sound negligent) Uh, well, he did this a couple of days ago, so, should I keep them wrapped or antibiotic ointment?
Nurse: Oh, hmm. Yes. You should wrap them with... yada yada


This is how the nurse instructed me to wrap them, of course not with the tail that is hanging there, that is all Pete. Needless to say the wrapping lasted a total of a couple hours. It appears I may have been a little lax with not taking him in, but they are healing fine, and he is just as happy and "curious" as ever.

Overheard

Our little family was driving around the other day. I can't remember where we were going or what we were doing, but in the backseats this is what Nate and I overheard.
Emma: "This time light my bum on fire!!"
Jake: "Okay, WHOOSH (apparently the sound of lighting someone's bum on fire)"
Emma: Pause. Then in a "surferish" tone, "Dude, hey dude. Smell that? What's cookin'?"
Jake roars with laughter
Emma: "No really dude, what's cookin'?"

Ah, the pride a parent feels when they overhear their children playing and laughing together.