Halloween Pictures

I know the Mummy looks the scariest but don't let the witch fool you. The Mummy ran around laughing while the rich ran around saying "ha ha ha I eat children". Scary, I know, she was the witch from hansel and gretel i guess. I'm not quite sure why but both girls wanted to be scary costumes this year instead of sweet little fairies or princesses.



Devin made both costumes this year, didn't he do an awesome job?

And Russell was a humble Scarecrow who spent most of the event in a carseat sleeping.


Thanks to Grandma Lockhart and Devin we had delicious homemade doughnuts and hot Cider after the whole event.

Handsome Boys

Don't you think my boys are so handsome? Thanks to Sis. Mafi, Russell looks as striking as his daddy in his new suit. Dressing up a boy can be so fun.

Russell is now 14 pounds 10 ounces and 25 and a half inches long. He is getting big fast. He has decided that rolling from his back to his tummy is pretty cool. Sometimes we cannot even get him completely laid down on the floor before his starts the twisting to roll over.
The other wonderful development is that he now sleeps in his own crib and room! Yahoo! The funny thing is that he prefers it that way. He sleeps much better in his own room and even puts himself to sleep often. I love the new arrangements.

Blunt and Honest 5 year old

So the other day we took a Road Trip package to our neighbors that were going to be going on a long trip to a funeral. While on their porch my 5 yr. old decides to say, "we bought all of them at the dollar store, I wanted them but we had to give them to you." Then just as we were about to leave she tells our wonderful neighbor "see we served you, now it is your turn to serve US!" Totally mortified I pushed my children back into our own house determined to have a discussion in humility.

Then a few days later one of our other neighbors kindly shared some homeade bread and cookies with us during conference. Totally fun! Alexa really enjoyed the bread and Katelynne liked the cookies. Well I forgot to cover the one leftover cookie that night so it was rock hard the next day. Thus when Devin came home he threw it in the garbage and when Kate asked about it he just told her it was too hard to eat.
Well those same neighbors came over that evening and visited for a minute at the doorstep. I left for a few seconds to get something for them and let Katelynne talk to them by herself. (dum da dum dum dummmm). When they left

Katelynne: "Chuck says if you dip the cookies in milk they won't be so hard."
Mom: What did you tell him?
Kate: I told them the cookies they gave us were WAY TOO HARD!
Mom: Silenced into embarrassment...

Lesson learned?..........I think I will do my socializing alone for a while.

3 months and still growing

Russell is now three month and so much bigger than the girls were at his age. He smiles all the time and I almost heard him laugh yesterday. Unfortunately he is currently experiencing his first cold also. Alexa came down with it first then Russell and I and now Katelynne. Devin is trying hard to get past it. I always feel so sad when such a young baby coughs and then cries. His poor hoarse cry is so pitiful. However he slept for about 10 hours last night with only one feeding in the middle so, I hope that will help. I am pretty hopeful we will all be better by this weekend. Yay!

Here are some cute pictures we took on his 3 month day. You can tell he is happy and loves his sisters.

Katelynne's choice

Katelynne was going through our pictures today and told me " I just love this picture, we need to blog it!" I couldn't resist. I thought it was so funny that my 4 yr old wants to be a blogger.

Time to brag!

Okay, I know I am his mother but, look at this face! Don't you just love it! Russell has finally left his crying period and talks all the time to us. We just love this little guy so much. He even loves to talk to his sisters (granted they keep their faces at least 4 inches away from his -- we are still working on this).

How are the girls doing?

Well this week has been pretty good. I think we are starting to settle into a more normal life here at home. (well normal is relative since Aunt Shauna thinks our normal is absolute chaos). After a crazy summer we are trying to do some at home activities and work on learning how to be a happy family. Here are some of the cutest pictures of two happy girls. I love these pictures because they help me remember that the girls really do love each other even though they do fight.

As for the hair, I know they are simple piggy tails but if any of you know my Alexa this is a picture of triumph for me because these piggy tails actually stayed in her hair for two hours before they began to "hurt" and were pulled out.

I love these girls so much!

Here are the three kids all about 1 month old. It is amazing really how different three kids from the same family can look.

Russell


Alexa


Katelynne

Photo troubles

So I cannot get any photos to load. I am so frustrated because I have some cute ones of the girls and Russell to update but to no avail blogger is winning in my battle to post a picture.
These last weeks have been pretty busy, of course. On Aug 14 we took our family camping. Yes, with a new baby I know that is crazy but we just Had to get out to the mountains. And Yes, it was quite an adventure but fun also. We explored Payson canyon and it was beautiful. If you have not been up there yet you must go we went back and hiked around maple lake the next Monday with Uncle Jason and then Devin and Jason took the girls on another hike up the Grotto Trail on Tuesday.

On August 16th we blessed Russell. He was so cute in his little blessing outfit. I bought the one from the distribution center and it reminded everyone of a baby Joseph Smith outfit we even have a cute picture of him with his hands folded like he is praying. Of course you will have to imagine it because the picture will not post. We had such fun with our friends and family that joined us that day. Thank you to all of you for your support and love.

Now, we are embarking on a new adventure everyday called LIFE. Some days we attempt an at home preschool that often turns into a really long recess when the baby wakes up and interrupts. Yet, the girls think it is fun to play school and learn things from mom, well they like it most of the time.

Wow a lot of jibber jabber, just one more thing. We attended the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication yesterday. I am now more inspired and have set my goals again to be more diligent so I can reap the blessings of the temple in my family. I loved the talks and am so grateful for the opportunity to attend. (thanks to Becky and Eric for watching two girls and a newborn.)

Signing off and hopefully There will be pictures soon.

Sly One

So the other morning (before breakfast) Katelynne came running up to me with some smarties asking if she could eat them right now. I proceeded, as a strict mom would, to reminder her that we only have candy after lunch and only then if we eat all of our lunch. Katelynne then started to throw a bit of a fit and insisted that it was okay to have the candy now. She even began sucking on the candy with the wrapper on. So I sternly reminded her that it would soon be my candy if she didn't put it away. Well, sly Alexa had been watching the whole thing......soon she had a bright face on with a solution to the problem. This is what she told Katelynne:

"It's okay Katelynne, just do what I do. Go in your room and eat it!"

Needless to say, my jaw dropped to find out that my sweet little Alexa is so sly and takes candy to her room to eat it in secret so I can't tell her no.

Oh boy!

Russell Devin Little is here

Our Little man has arrived. We are so excited to announce that our baby boy has joined our family. We are naming him Russell Devin Little. Russell was born Thursday July 2nd at 1:53pm and was 7lbs 5oz. and 19 inches long.

It was quite a crazy experience getting started. My sister Janet got married on Wednesday and I was at her wedding in Pocatello Wednesday night. By doctors orders, Kristine was stuck at home by herself. We weren't about to argue with the doc on that one. Delivering our baby in Pocatello idaho was not on the top of our best ideas list. So Kristine stayed home and I headed up to the wedding. We knew that there was a reasonable possibility that the baby could actually come while I was gone…so we made a plan, and then we made a backup plan, and then we made a backup for the backup plan, and then we…well you get the idea. Kristine had arranged in advance for there to be friend "on-call" at all times that could drive her to the hospital (Thanks Julie and Becky!). We had phone number chains to call in a certain order (since we don't have a cell phone), and even set up someone to drive down with me if Kristine called in the middle of the night (a plan I think we both thought was going a bit overboard on the preparation). Turns out that the one plan that we thought was totally out there…the middle of the night departure one…ended up being exactly what happened.

I made it through the whole wedding and reception without any excitement or distress. Kristine felt completely normal all day and actually took two naps with us away. The girls and I crashed at Kristine's mom's house and planned to head home in the morning. But at 3:10am, we got a surprising phone call. Kristine's water had broke when she woke up coughing and it was really happening. Adrenaline went rushing through my blood faster than I can say. I grabbed the kids sleeping in their beds and hit the road with them and Kristine Mom (to keep me awake on the drive home). That was the shortest drive home from Pocatello that I think I will ever have.

Kristine had our neighbor upstairs take her to the hospital, and a little over 3 hours later…I pulled in to a very relieved Kristine. Not 20-30 minutes after I arrived (whew) the contractions started getting really bad. But with a lot of great staff, an epidural, and a super-brave, incredibly-amazing, tough-cookie of a mom, both mom and baby made it through completely healthy and happy. It lasted about 10 hours from water break to pushing. And it only took 5 pushes to get him out—WOW.

We are so happy to have him and just love the kid to death. He makes funny little noises that sound like a squeeky door when he sleeps and so far he's a good sleeper…keep it up Russ! Katelynne and Alexa are very excited to have him too and Katelynne can't wait to go back to the hospital to hold him again tonight. Can't get enough of that! Head on over to our MobileMe Gallery to see pictures and a video.

23 Days Left

So here is the belly at 26 days to go.




Since this pregnancy is so different than the rest I have absolutely no idea if this baby will be early like the girls or be totally different and over due. We don't feel quite ready at all with what needs to get done before he does come. However, I don't think we ever really will. We sure are getting excited to meet this little boy. The bassinet is set up in our room and when we go to bed at night we start to think about him. We are still stumped on boy names so if you have any good suggestions please leave them for us.

The End of Preschool

Katelynne had her last day of preschool last week. We seem almost lost this week without that routine. She loved her preschool so much and did so well. Since she has a late birthday we she will have to wait another year to start kindergarten. Perhaps this year I'll get my act together and do some at home schooling. Perhaps she'll have an opportunity to join a gymnastics, dance or singing group next year. If you have any suggestions let me know.
Reese Elementary Preschool was AWESOME! I love Miss Leber and the other teachers. If you have a chance to take your kids there I wouldn't pass it up.

Here are some picts from Preschool. Her teachers put together a CD of pictures in a slide show to bring home the last day.

This one I was a little surprised by. I asked her about it and she just said "too many boys".


They had a reading center. Kate says they would choose a stuffed animal to read to.


I just thought this was a cute picture.

Mother's Day

Today was a wonderful mother's day. Thanks to my two beautiful girls and devoted husband I had a very nice day! The girls chose to sleep in a bit so we could wake up peacefully. Then as I showered Devin took the girls outside to be sneaky. The next thing I knew Katelynne and Alexa were knocking on my door saying, "you have to stay in your room, it's a surprise!" Now my curiosity was peaked. After I was ready I heard a knock on the door and in came the SURPRISE! a cute family bearing gifts. How fortunate I am to be so pampered on this day. Thank you girls and Thank You Devin! I love you!

The New Foot

So here is a picture of what Devin's foot will look like from now on. Yep, he has new hardware in his heel bone. See the gray line that intersects the screw at 90 degrees? That is where they did the slicing to move it over. This hardware will be permanent unless it bothers him later. No wonder it hurt so much. If you want to see the pictures of his incisions, check out our Photo Gallery , they are a bit gross so I didn't want to post them here.

The Belly

Ok, I couldn't get Devin's pictures to load so here is a picture of my belly. I took this yesterday and am about 26 weeks along. Yes the belly is getting big but see, I am still smiling. The baby is such an active baby, moving often when I lay down. I love the reassuring movements.

Devin is doing well and will hopefully get his cast off on Monday if it is healing properly. He is completely off his prescription medications, which we love, since they make him so sick. Devin is back to work full-time. Of course he still has to hop around on crutches for a while. I don't think he will win the easter egg hunt though. Katelynne and Alexa are much faster than crutches. Good luck anyway Dev.

One More Time

Yep, last Friday Devin had surgery ONE MORE TIME, hopefully the last. In answer to many prayers the surgery went very smoothly and the doctor seemed really confidant. Now we are all home together taking care of Daddy. Alexa is still proving to be a wonderful nurse. She loves to bring daddy his water and snacks and anything else she can think of. Daddy's favorite part is Alexa's snuggles. She loves to have him available for a hug and snuggle anytime she wants one.

Katelynne also enjoys having daddy's undivided attention while he is restricted to the bed. The other morning I walked passed the bedroom and she was busy talking to daddy telling him everything on her mind. I think she was in there for 20 minutes while Alexa and I ate breakfast.

We have tried to keep him entertained as much as possible. For the first couple of days we brought our dinner in his bedroom to eat so he could be a part of the dinner excitement. This went pretty well except one mishap of a pitcher of water and Alexa pouring herself a glass. oops!

He is still trying to stay on top of his medicine to control the pain. Yet he is very upbeat and happy most of the time. We hope this recovery process goes really well so that he will be back on his feet before this little boy joins us. But, for now, it is rest and crutches.

Thank you also to all of you who have taken the time to call and check up on us. Thanks to Grandpa Little too for the yummy pizza.

Gotta go but I'll try and post some pictures soon.

Finally some pictures loaded

Finally some pictures have loaded. Below is an ultrasound picture of our humble little boy showing us all that even before he enters this world he has all the confidence and humility of his father.

I'M NUMBER ONE!And I know this is not an updated picture of me or a good one, this is a picture of the baby bump at around 18 weeks. Now I am almost 23 weeks and my tummy is very much larger.

It's gonna be..........a BOY!

For all of you who don't know......I am expecting baby number three. That's right Daddy gets a boy. And yes Devin is very excited to finally have a boy on his side. There is so much "girl" around this house he needed a boy. I am also very excited, however, my sisters have completely scared me about the way a boy changes EVERYTHING. So, for all of you that have boys, I could use some happy stories.

I have to apologize about not posting any pictures. I just spent 30 min. trying to post pictures of the ultrasound and my belly but blogger is very frustrating right now. No matter how hard I try I cannot get a picture to load using FireFox or safari, so I'll try again later. I decided to post anyway because I promised Jennifer I would.

Our whole family is so very excited for this little one. I think the 3-yr. break between this one and Alexa has helped us get to the point where we are just so ready to hold this little one. Currently I am about 21 weeks and guess what? my belly has REALLY popped out. I attribute it to being baby number three but I'm sure the Cadbury mini eggs have something to do with it too.

We have not chosen a name yet but are always open to some wonderful suggestions. Don't forget though that our name is Little so it can be hard to find a name that doesn't come out silly or embarrassing for the little guy. But please humor us and give us some ideas.

We just can't wait for out little Boy!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day Surprise!

Our family was able to go up to Pocatello and enjoy a fabulous weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Lockhart. And much to our surprise our groggy morning eyes we were pleasantly greeted with a fabulous Valentine's Breakfast. Pancakes with all of the special trimmings: syrup, raspberries, blackberries, and of course, Spray whip cream. Thank you so much Grandma and Grandpa Lockhart. The day was filled smiles and lots of little candy hearts. Oh, and the noises of the special musical wand Katelynne is holding up. We cannot wait to come again.