Loads to blog

Well, I have a lot to blog about--- but I am too tired tonight to do all the pictures. . Pretty much this past week we took Araleigh and Canden to the zoo-- which was REALLY hot but Araleigh had fun! Then the St. Anthony Parade, and then we did the Arnold reunion up at Green Canyon. We FINALLY got Araleigh to enjoy the pool. She hated the pool and was scared of it but after MAKING her stay in . . . all the sudden she realized that the water was actually fun. So Cory and her played like crazy and she loved it. I am SO glad she is FINALLY a normal kid that likes to swim. Next year swim lessons will be priority for sure!!
***This picture is of Araleigh and Kaden (Tyson/Courtney's little man. Araleigh LOVES Kaden and they ALWAYS have so much fun when they are together . . . this was at the reunion-- Kaden was trying to give her a ride on the trike they found. Pretty cute!)


Then today we had Candens blessing. It was a good one and my little man looked SO cute. I just love the little guy to pieces. He is getting SO chunky I cannot believe it. Cory says its my constant diet of cheesecake and junk that gives him straight cream. . . haha. I just think he's a hungry guy. Anyways, we had a pleasant day with a good turn out for the blessing. We came back to Arnolds and had a potato bar, salads, rolls, and cake. It went very well and not too much stress. Overall it was a good day and I just have to say that my son is priceless to our family and we are so happy that Heavenly Father sent him to us. I truly feel blessed as a mother to have two beautiful children. Every night Araleigh always insists on saying the family prayer. Tonight as we kneeled with the whole family (Grandma/Grandpa Arnold, Trent, Alex and us) Araleigh wanted to pray. Her prayer pretty much consisted of "bess the cake and da presents and mommy Arnold (which is me) and baby" (the presents were on her mind because I just got done wrapping some birthday presents for Trents girlfriend.) In the middle of her prayer she also had to take break to SHOOSH Canden who was starting to cry a little. It was funny. She is truly a gift to us. I get soooo frustrated with her most the times because she is in this two year old tantrum phase. BUT the last few days I have sat back and realized how truly blessed I am that she is in my life. For life would be meaningless without my children---- now that I have them with me. I don't know what I'd do without her sweet smile and teasing moments. As for Canden--- I can just gobble him up-- his cheeks are so chunky and I just naw on them all day it seems. I feel like he truly is a chosen spirit-- and I hope as he grows into a man he can feel our love for him and love for this church to which he was born into. How blessed are we as mothers to be able to have these kids in our homes? I have never known more joy than this joy of motherhood. I would never want to replace the job of motherhood over another---- lately I have come across so many blogs of people who have lost their children. A few months ago I came across this one story that I couldn't help but cry for days over the suffering, loss and just beautiful story and testimony of this mother. i don't know how people cope-- though I realize they have to. Lately I have contemplated her story and as I have seen many more stories of loss of children. I hope that if something were to happen to my children that I could truly grip onto my testimony and faith in the Lord to pull me through it. What a blessing it is to have healthy children. I am truly grateful tonight. (Click HERE if you want to see the blog I am speaking of. At least this is the first one I came across that truly touched me a while back. The funeral pictures had me weeping I read from beginning to end I was so touched.)

I do need to mention for my own journaling: This past weekend Darla's sister, Carol came up for a week. She is the sweetest lady, to whom when we lived in Utah she took us under her wing. Anyways, the other night before she left to go back home Darla and her were playing duets on the piano (they are both extrememly talented at the piano, especially Carol). It was SO much fun to listen to them play these beautiful songs together and see their interactions with one another. It made me hope that when I am older that I can have that kind of interaction with my sisters. Anyways, the reason I bring this up is because the whole time they were pounding on the piano -- Araleigh was right there with them dancing to the music, leading the music and singing at the top of her lungs to their music. I sat there watching her so closely while holding Canden and again all I could think about during that whole time was what I would ever do without them in my life. At that moment I was so happy in watching her dance and sing---- because dance and singing has become very serious to her (she turns the radio on every day and dances and sings to her microphone hand.) Anyways, it was really neat to hear them play together and get to see my little girl dance around to the music they were creating. I truly am blessed.

Lack of Sleep = frustration + impatience

We have started off to a much NOT needed morning. Last night was a toughy for me. The last few nights I have not got much sleep--- either because the baby would wake up a lot or Araleigh would wake up a lot. SO, my lids have been heavy for a few days. Yesterday we went to the zoo which was fun for Araleigh to get out . . . but for me: it was TOO hot, my back hurt (since I threw it out I haven't been able to do a lot of long walking), and Canden was hot and sweaty and seemed to be miserable (plus he had a blow out right when we got there-- good thing I had extra clothes). ANYWAYS, so that was our LONG day yesterday . . . so I was super tired when we got home. Then, last night I usually stay up til about midnight or 12:30 feeding Canden . . so that is what I did. I finally got him settled into his crib and crashed asleep in our bed. Well around 1:30 Araleigh started stirring . . . and crying. So Cory and I got up and he tried to calm her down and got her to stay in her bed (usually she gets in our bed when this happens). Then at 3 she woke up and pretty much threw a tantrum . . not sure if she was really awake. Then during her tantrum (which she was super loud and screaming like we were beating her . . . which she almost woke Canden up) . . . she peed her pants. IT WAS SO FRUSTRATING. Then I fell back asleep. Canden woke up again at 4:30-5 and I got him and took him out to the front room only to find my two year old watching Dora and dancing. WHAT? I was SO MAD. Apparently Cory was too tired to deal with her so he stuck a movie on and went back to bed. WHAT THE HECK DO MEN THINK? She could have walked right out the door if she wanted and we wouldn't have know. SO THEN I couldn't go back to sleep after I fed him because she was wide awake. So I was running on NO sleep and just mad at the world. I finally went to sleep for like an hour and when I woke up Cory was gone exercising and Araleigh was once again alone---- (plus we have laundry coming out of our ears and I have had THAT frustration trying to catch up). ANYWAYS, so around 8 I was feeding Canden and then put him in his swing--- to start getting laundry folded. Well, he puked (and I mean like shooting vomit by the gallons... it looked like) this went all over him and in his swing . . so I went into clean him up when Cory comes in and states that we had another issue: a big wad of 3 pieces of chewed up gum stuck right in the middle of Araleigh's long, AWESOME hair. I WAS SENT OVER THE EDGE AND READY TO UNLEASH THE DEVIL IN ME. I was NOT prepared to cut EIGHT inches of her hair. So I spent the next hour with ice trying to get it out---- and with much pulling of the hair and careful sorting we got most of it out. WHAT A RELIEF. So now I am just sitting here listening to her scream because I put THUMB on her nails (nasty stuff like nail polish to stop nail biting) . . . and she keeps trying to bite her nails. MAN two kids is HARD STUFF! I am just PRAYING that I can get some sleep tonight-- or I might be a lion tomorrow too.

Canden's Baby Shower

Well, today we had my Open House for Canden. It was small but I enjoyed seeing everyone that came! I got a lot of clothes for Canden which I am truly grateful for!! We are definately going to need them! Candice did a great job with the invitations and the thank you's. I reall apprecaisted her putting this together for me. It was really sweet of her and my mother-in-law to get it all together. . . because we really needed it! (We don't really have anything for him). So THANK YOU to everyone who came and brought gifts. We really do appreciate it and we love everything that we received. Did I mention that we had cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory for dessert? YUMMMO!! Darla went and got fruit and yummy stuff to put on them and it was incredible!!! Canden was such a good baby the whole time! He is such a good baby. Although I don't thin khe has ever been "bad". . . he get a little fussy once in a while but truly even when he has a belly ache he is really good natured. I am truly blessed to have him in my life.

I am so excited because I found his blessing outfit today. It was EXACTLY what I wanted and when we got to the store it just HAPPENED to be on the clearance rack and was 50% off. INCREDIBLE!!! I am excited and he is going to be so cute!!


Araleigh has been doing REALLY well with going potty again. Mostly because of her meds I think. But she has done so good--- anyways, with all the frustration we have been a little short with her (especially Cory because he has taken charge of her during the days) ANYWAYS . . . she slept in panties all night without wetting and so today he took her to get her a bike. She was SO EXCITED. She thinks its a princess bike (it was cheaper to get her just a girly one and she doesn't know the difference!) ANYWAYS-- and she got a helmet and pads. She is SO proud. So now we just have to teach her to pedal forward cuz she tends to slam back on the breaks. It was cute though and she is so excited about it!!! I will get pictures of everything later--- but for now I am tired and will probaly be waking up in 2 hours to feed!!!

Buddies

So ever since we moved in here Trenton and Araleigh have become quite the little buddies. He is so good with her and has become a lifesaver (or more like stress reliever) to me. Him and his girlfriend, Macall have pretty much taken over for me in the Araleigh department. They take her EVERYWHERE with them. I have never been more appreciative. It's frustrating sometimes having a newborn and a two year old who smothers him and acts out for mom. She has been craving a lot of attention and I just haven't been able to give it to her-- so her crying has upscaled about 10 notches and she throws tantrums frequently. So my nerves are quite on edge a lot of the time. So I am so greatful that they have scooped her up and give her a ton of attention. A few weeks ago they took her swimming (which we NEVER go swiimming so I was so glad!) then they just happen to take her places with them frequently. The other day they made a date and took her along with them. They went on a picnic and took her to the nature park to feed the ducks. She absolutely loves being with them and I am just so glad she has other people to give her all the attention. It makes it easier for all of us! We are going to miss that when we move out! I know she will especially. So thanks to Uncle Trent for being such a great uncle.

baby blessing

Just for your information:

Canden's Baby Blessing with be on July 26th . . . it is at the Sugar Stake Center at 1:oo pm for those of you who would like to join us. We will have a dinner afterward ---- at Cory's Parents house. So if you would like to join us--- please try and let us know so we can plan food!!

One Month

Well, my little man is officially one month old today. I cannot believe it. Time flies by SO fast once you have kids. I cannot believe that Araleigh is almost THREE. Anyways, Canden has been such a great baby. He does make a lot of squawking noises ---- which is interesting and tends to keep my up in the night . . .but he has the sweetest spirit. He has discovered our lights--- and is very alert to the lamp at night-time (when its a bit dimmed). His blonde hair is getting really long . . . but it's funny how his hairline is the same as is daddy's. But he has a natural mullet growing out and its getting crazy long in the back--- soo cute! Lately, he has been doing really well with sleeping . . . I have put into a routine to feed him right around midnight and then he won't wake up too much. Usually its either at 3 am or at 5 am. Just depending. So most nights I get at least a 3 hour stretch of sleep. He eats ALL THE TIME it seems. I think he is going through a growing spurt cuz its like he never gets enough. His cheeks are SO FAT . . . he is taking on some of those Hendricks traits. We love him and are so excited that he is in our home . . . Araleigh has been SO cute with him. She has become the ultimate big sister. She always runs to find the binkie when he cries and tries to shove it in his mouth everytime he squeels. She always sings to him "Rock a bye, Dont you Cry" She knows that whole song and she loves to sing it to him. She loves him so much and I am so grateful. I have heard horror stories about people saying their kids have neglected the new baby and not wanted anything to do with it. So I am glad that hasn't happened. She hasn't really reacted too much too him. She just loves him.

Oh Great.

Well, I am officially done with taking my kids to Community Care. Now, I am not saying I will not go there--- but for my kids its a no no. I originally taken Araleigh in a month ago and she had a severe UTI ... they gave us meds and sent us on our way. WELL, she has been crying and screaming for the past 2 weeks-- I thought she was just remembering and scared to go because of how it hurt before. So being the impatient mom I am --- I got mad and frustrated wtih her being in diapers. (yes, diapers for a month now). So today was Canden's follow up for his circumcision and I decided to just have her checked at the Pediatricians to make sure I wasn't just assuming she was better. Well, she has another bad UTI that came back (or never went away) and the doctor was very upset because she is Under 6 and she should have had a follow up and an Ultrasound. Which we had neither. So now we are starting ALL OVER and hopefully this time it will get figured out. Apparently having kids getting UTI's so young is not good nor common and can mean kidney problems. Hopefully everything will be fine but I just want to get it under control. I feel so bad that she goes to the bathroom all the time and cries and screams everytime. As for me: I am just tired and frustrated with having a sick little girl.

Canden today which he is 3.5 weeks old weighed 8 lbs 14oz. He is growing like a weed. I was told that he is NOW in the 33% for weight and 2% for height. So I have a short chubby kid! Must be a Hendricks!! He has been doing really well lately. He is pretty much sleeping throught the night. I feed him around 11:30-12:30 and he sleeps until about 5 am. At least thats the routine for the past few days--- we will see if it sticks!

4th of July

Well, the 4th was pretty fun this year. We took our (seems to be) yearly trip to Clarkston, Washington to Cory's sisters house for a week. We actually left on Wednesday but the rest of the family had took Araleigh and left the previous Monday. It was kind of nice having just strictly one on one time with Canden, but we sure missed her for those 2.5 days! Anyways, it was a fun time. The whole trip was completely centered around FOOD and SWIMMING. It was ridiculous how much food one can consume when not caring! Trust me, I think we all gained 10 lbs over the week, EASILY! For the 4th we started the day by going to their wards breakfast, where Cory got to see some old acquaintances, then we had a BBQ at Lacey's, and we ended at the Clarkston High School Football Stadium for a big fireworks show that they put on. It was actually really fun and Araleigh LOVED the fireworks and we finished the night by lighting off Jeff's stash of fireworks at their house--- only one fire was started in the field by their house . . . but luckily it was contained by the poolhouse hose (that fortunately stretched that far!). Over the week we got a little shopping done and Cory got to go Sturgin fishing. They go over night on a beach (because you have to fish in the dark for some reason) anyways, they ended up catching like a 10 foot long Sturgin that was like 300 lbs. Jeff said it was the biggest one he had ever seen there and thought it had to of been at least 60 years old. Cory was dying with excitement. He couldn't stop talking about it and now is currently planning his NEXT fishing trip up there. Anyways, it was fun seeing all the family and letting the kids have a good time. On Sunday, they blessed Parker and it was just a great week. Here are the highlights of the trip!