Adjusting to Life with a Baby

I know that everyone thinks that because I have already raised three little boys that I am a professional at this, but I surely don't remember half of it.  Fortunately, it is coming back to me, but it is taking time and things are different with three big boys.  For one, I thought that Hyrum would have a consistent routine by now.  But in general he naps at different times, for different lengths of time and usually naps less on busier days for me.  I don't know how he knows, but he knows.

I never want to make dinner anymore.  I enjoy cooking but making dinner with a baby is just not fun.  So, I now have started a Saturday meal prep day.  James is home and can help chop and we usually get 5 - 8 meals made and ready to either freeze or put in the refrigerator.  I figure if I can make multiple batches of 2 - 3 meals  each weekend, then we will have variety and little prep on my part during the week.  So far it is working out great!  I have less stress and still get to enjoy making meals.  It is a win-win!

My home is no longer baby proof.  We have some beautiful lanterns on the floor that Hyrum just loves to climb.  For an 8 month old his balance is pretty good, and I credit the lanterns as they often move while he is using them as leverage.  But that also means that he often falls.  I remember telling a friend with a 1 and 3 year old that her job in life right now is to keep her kids alive, and I am being reminded of just how true that statement is.  Between keeping him from falling to keeping who knows what out of his mouth, I will admit that the boys keeping him alive is a full time job.  But on the plus side the boys are learning to clean up after themselves a lot more!  And well, I can't complain about that.  :)

Getting up in the morning is not what it once was.  I didn't realize how spoiled I was that I could get up in the morning whenever I wanted to.  I, of course, would get up to get things going, but if I was sick I could stay in bed and let the boys take care of breakfast.  And I never got up in the night. . .  uninterrupted sleep is a beautiful thing.  

Now not everything is challenging.  The boys love playing with Hyrum.  One of my favorite things to do is to lay in bed in the morning and listen to Jacob entertain Hyrum in his crib.  When I go into their room later I find toys all over (Jacob keeps a special stash of Hyrum toys in his room) the room and in his crib.  It is adorable, and I love hearing the joy in both of their voices.  I also love seeing all of the boys play with Hyrum all day long.  Their current project is teaching Hyrum how to walk.  This little boy has no choice but to learn quickly to keep up with these big boys!  They also take tons of pictures, so I need to get those and post them.  I will work on that tomorrow!

And one final thing.  James' brother has a great tradition of meeting his daughter at the railing when he gets home, so we have tried to train Hyrum to do the same.  We are not quite there yet, but we are working on it!

Photos that should be shared

I post some photos on Facebook and Instagram, but I think they should be shared here. What cute kids I have. Yeah, I said it.

Daddy Time

You know, it's been a long time since I had several hours alone with an infant. I wish he hadn't been sick for it, but sickness might be the only thing that made it so he'd spend that much time with me and not the mama. It was not just calm and peaceful, but also a special time with Dad and son. Dads need that time with their boys. And probably their girls, too, but I wouldn't know anything about that.

He slept in my arms, woke back up and went back to sleep. I hope he stays that way for a good night sleep. Dad moments are awesome.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!

This year none of our family was able to join us for Christmas which was sad, but we invited some friends over for Christmas Eve who are just like family, and we all had a great time.  We enjoyed clam chowder, good conversation, the Christmas story and the opening of Christmas pajamas.  We may have had a little too much fun getting matching pajamas for all.  

On Christmas morning Michael and Joshua had a difficult time waiting for Jacob to wake up.  James finally had to wake him up when the older boys seemed to be running out of patience.  

Hyrum opened his first present ever which was an adorable winter hat from Joshua.  He will definitely get to use it quite a bit as it has been below freezing for days now.  We let the boys give their presents this year and it was a lot of fun to see them get excited to give and watch their presents be opened.  We loved it!

Michael found this cute little ball for him which he loves because it is easy to grab.  Hyrum got great presents but he also gave great presents.  I love having a child that I have 100% control over their gifts.  He bought the boys 'Brave' and got James and myself a movie gift certificate which we happily used that evening to watch Les Miserable which was amazing!  So, we all enjoyed a night of movies on Hyrum.  :)

 The other boys got cars, games and many other wonderful things.  We even got them an IPad for school and filled it with books, learning tools and more!  I think they were shocked that we would get them such a device.  They spent the day playing their new games and enjoying the IPad.  It was fun to try new games and enjoy the day together.

And in final news we printed off passport applications for the boys which we will finalize in the next week or so.  We have decided to take a trip to Costa Rica this summer with the boys.  James received an offer to go down and be an administrator at a school down there for five weeks which he gladly accepted, so we thought it would be fun if we all came down to visit him.  We are excited to see the volcanos, rain forests, beaches and much more!  We (I) will also be starting a Spanish class in 1 1/2 weeks in preparation for the trip which will be a fun family project as I plan to teach the boys as I learn.  It was a great Christmas of fun, surprises and hopes of many wonderful things to come.  Merry Christmas to all!

Snow Day!!!!!

The boys have been counting down the days until the snow storm would hit.  Michael was then counting down the hours and would check the weather on my phone regularly.  Apparently they really wanted some snow!  But since the snow came in the form of a blizzard we stayed inside and had some fun indoor time.  In the morning the boys began our fun day by creating a fort in the Family Room.  

After lunch we made 'gingerbread' houses.  In the end it became a war zone with reenactments, but that is what you get with boys, and it is pretty awesome!

In the afternoon we enjoyed reading with mommy time.  I love that I can read books to the boys that I find interesting as well.  A friend recommended 'The Ranger's Apprentice,' and we are loving it!

After dinner we finally put up our Christmas tree.  The boys put up the tree and decorated it with very little help.  It is really fun to see them grow up and be able to do more and more.  Hyrum did have the honor of putting on the star.  What an angel.   (And isn't that light in just the perfect spot?)

Having a floor mover again has us on our toes again.  There is nothing breakable on this tree this year, and we have to keep Hyrum from pulling down the tree.  Wish us luck!

It was a great snow down, and the best part is that the boys get to go sledding tomorrow!

Post Musical Adventures

I know that I promised more details about the musical but have been busy, but a promise is a promise.
This musical was unique in that three of us were involved.  James was directing, as usual.  He had a great team which made producing this musical a much more manageable experience.  There were ups and downs as usual, but in the end it was great.  Michael, played the narrator/child of the baker and his wife, did an amazing job.  My quiet, reserved child came to life on stage.  He didn't just learn his lines to repeat but learned to read the other characters and interact with them while on stage.  Anyone from church who saw him couldn't believe he was the same child they see every Sunday at church.  Michael loved the experience and learned to memorize better.  That is a skill that will help him throughout his life.  For me being in the pit was challenging but fun.  I really had to practice as it has been 10+ years since I have played anything other than church music.  But in the end I did pretty well and had fun being a part of the show.  My only regret was not getting to watch Michael on stage (though I may have watched a little during rehearsal).  In the end it was a great show, and I am sad that everyone couldn't come watch.

After the musical we all wanted to just sleep and relax which we did!  The very next weekend, though, James and I took off for a "weekend away" and had a great time!  It would have been more fun without a baby, but we embraced the challenge and did some fun things.  Hyrum didn't like flying, but you do what you have to do.



He did like the comfy fluffy bed to play on, though.



We enjoyed some Argentinian BBQ for dinner one night and southern BBQ at one of those little hidden gems of a restaurant.  The food was amazing at both places!  We also did a little sight seeing and made a stop at the Houston Temple.  The last time we were there was when my brother got married.  It was fun to reminisce.



We also had some fun visiting family and friends.  My same brother still lives there and we got to spend some time with him and his family.  We were also able to stop in and see an old college friend.  It was fun to see people we haven't seen in such a long time.

 Once we returned home we enjoyed a little normalcy in our lives with family dinners, school time, and date nights.  Hyrum still joins us sometimes but he has become much more fun.

 We also had fun at a homeschool roller skating party.  Hyrum even made it out on the rink!

And since we can't just sit around and relax, we moved onto our next adventure by having my brother's wife and their kids come visit for a week.  My brother was on a business trip for three weeks, so they thought it would be fun to take a road trip.

They have five children Joshua's age and younger, so it was crazy, but it was great to see the cousins get together, play and enjoy getting to know each other better.   They homeschool as well, so we shared some of our homeschool curriculum with each other.  It was fun and interesting doing school with 9 children running around!

With the cold we had to be creative, so they spent a day in Nauvoo, and we spent some time at the library and the local children's museum.  The children had a great time together!  After they left I could tell that my kids missed having others around to play with.
 

In the short time since our cousins left, Hyrum has decided to become an efficient crawler and has entered the world of climbing. He has tried climbing up the stairs, my dresser, and my legs, of course.  We finally took the plunge and had our railing replaced which was a little crazy because we had it done while all of the cousins were here.  But now I only have to worry about Hyrum falling down the top of the stairs and not from the side.  It isn't perfect, but it is better.  But now we need to figure out how to deal with a Christmas tree.  Hmmm. . .   But he is super cute, so we will make it work.  

All of our children love to bake.  I mean really, with James as their father how could they not?  Joshua got in some extra practice this week.  He and his cousin baked a cake for family home evening treat all by themselves.  Then, tonight he baked cupcakes and frosted them.  They were from a kit, but he still did it all by himself and had a blast!  It is fun to watch my kids grow up, branch out and try new things.

 Life is good here at the Hutchings home.  We are enjoying life, working hard and playing hard!

Into the Woods

We have not posted on our blog because we have been in the throws of musical theater.  Our first performance was tonight and Michael did a great job, especially for his first time on stage.  I played most of my notes correctly and James got to watch and enjoy the show.  James' parents finally made it to Illinois today after delays, cancelations and well, a hurricane.  It was fun to have them come and see the performance.

It is late, so I'll have to post more later but here are a couple of pictures of Michael on stage.