Nic + Alli

My gorgeous sister and brother-in-law are looking to adopt! 

Here is their cute profile:

 Nic + Alli. 

We are so excited for them to start this phase in their life and can't wait for a baby Phair to come into our family!

Visits here and there

We were so lucky to have my mom come in on the Tuesday after spring break to play the week away with us. Even luckier that my dad got to join us on Thursday. We had a blast just doing life. They spoiled our little Bentley bug for a belated birthday. My mom and dad took Carter, Andi, and Taytum out for some "special time" as Andi would call it. They took them to Target for popcorn, drinks, and a toy. They got some pretty fun stuff. Little did my dad know that he would spend the next two afternoons helping Carter put together his intense Cars 2 Lego set they bought him.

My kids spent a lot of time playing and trying to play on my parents Ipads and phones. We did age and fatten up my kids with some pretty funny apps and we got some good giggles.

We prepared for the Easter festivities by dying Easter eggs and going to an Easter egg hunt with some friends in the ward.

We dyed Easter eggs, of course!

My kids got double goods from the Easter bunny and my parents. My mom made all the kids the cutest little backpacks that were stuffed full of fun stuff, candy, money, coloring books, stickers, water bottles, etc. The Easter bunny wasn't too shabby either. :)

 Then we got ready for church and enjoyed a delicious dinner of tri-tip, Ree Drummen's au gratin potatoes (you should try them, you will not be disappointed), rolls, salad, cake....

 It was a delightful Easter and week with my parents. We always feel so special when we get that one on one time with them.

Spring Break '12

We weren't planning on doing any trips for spring break this year, so I tried to have something extra for the kids to do every day, whether it was just a picnic at the park or going to Bounce. We spent the first three days doing fun things and enjoying any glimpse of dry weather we got. Then, very last minute we decided we needed to make a trip to Twin Falls to visit the temple, so we packed up and headed to Twin for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. When we got in on Thursday, Jefferson and I headed to the temple while his Aunt Di and cousin Taylor watched our kids. We had a great experience at the temple and received some much needed insight, guidance, and comfort.

 
Then we just played and played! The Longs are so good at making us feel welcome and playing with our kids. We went and saw baby goats and rabbits and played tag outside. They set up an Easter egg hunt for the kids with TONS of eggs for just the three of them, stuffed full of candy.


Di, Taylor, and I went out one afternoon and did some shopping. We had to hit up Gerdy's while we were there. It's a fun and yummy pizza place. It's all you can eat, but they bring all the pizzas around to your table and there are all sorts of fun kinds. Jefferson went out shooting with some of the boys. Everyone played Wii and dyed Easter eggs and watched movies and relaxed.
 


Taylor was super sweet about making Andi feel special by doing her hair, make-up, and nails.


After the first session of conference on Saturday we headed home in time to catch most of the second session. We lounged in our sweats all weekend, munched on cinnamon rolls, and enjoyed the words that were spoken. The kids always set up their teepee in the living room like the people of King Benjamin and I made little conference bags for them with treats, activities, conference bingo, and whatnot. It keeps them entertained pretty well. We thoroughly enjoyed our conference weekend and end to our spring break.

Saturday

Was a pretty perfect day.
-Carter had his second soccer game of the season and he scored two goals! It was perfect weather and our little team did great!
-I got to go and get a massage. It was divine and much needed.
-Then we had our friends over for a bbq while the kids ran through the sprinklers and jumped on the trampoline with the water on.
-Followed by Jefferson having some guy friends over to watch the UFC fight nights while us ladies went and hung out and chatted.

Mommy Moments: today.

*So happy to have sunshine and warm weather. My spirits feel lifted.
*Taytum sang Book of Mormon Stories and Popcorn Popping to me and it was so cute.
*Andi and I made a trip to the store together. She loves time with Mom, and so do I.
* I was watching the kids outside through the kitchen window where they couldn't see me. Taytum kept trying to steal a pair of binoculars from Andi. They both ended up having a hold on them and Andi looked to the sliding glass door to see if I was watching, and I wasn't, that she could see. And then she just handed them to Taytum. Just because she wanted to be nice. Made me proud.
*We bought three things of skittles for Carter and Andi to take to their friend's house this afternoon, one for each of them, and Andi said, "I'm going to save some of mine for Taytum." It was sweet.
* We stopped by an elderly, single sister's home while we were out and after we left Andi asked me, "Does she live by herself?" I told her that she did and Andi said, "That's so sad..... We should do something nice for her.... I know, let's make her cookies." Good girl.
*My kids ate 3/4 of a regular watermelon at one meal all by themselves. Jefferson and I were going out to eat so we didn't partake. I may have had a few bites, because I couldn't resist. I thought that was pretty impressive. So glad it's watermelon season! And apparently, so are my kids.
*Bentley has taken to dancing and bouncing when she hears music. It's so cute.
*I think Carter has been taking notes from a new cartoon that we've watched a few times, "Doc McStuffin." He extracted stuffing from one of his big stuffed bears and restuffed Lasso through a small hole in his neck. Kind of innovative. :)
*Jefferson scheduled a massage for me tomorrow. That is going to feel so good on my tired, pregnant, hormonal, body. I tried to convince him to take it, but he wouldn't. He loves me.
*I looked at a picture of my family today and had an overwhelming feeling of being blessed beyond what I deserve. So glad these little people are all mine!

St. Patty's Day.

It was fun this year. It was on a Saturday so the kids didn't have school, but Jefferson was at a marketing event all day. A sneaky little leprechaun stopped by and dropped off some treats and spread chocolate gold coins all over the house that the kids had to find. He also colored our milk green, which was the perfect accoutrement to our green pancakes.

We had a couple of little projects for the kids to do. One was Lucky Charm sorting. They had to sort out their marshmallows and tally them up.


They also helped me make green rice krispy treats for my VT ladies and then helped deliver them. It was fun times.

Shout out.

My husband rocks for oh so many reasons. One of the many being, that he is super supportive of me having me time and nights with my girlfriends. He knows it helps me maintain some sort of balance and my sanity. About a month ago I went out about three times with my girlfriends in less than two weeks. One Saturday afternoon we went out to lunch at the Olive Garden and then went and got make-overs and updated our make-up.

The next weekend a group of us went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then went to the Kelly Clarkson concert. It was seriously a blast. I feel so lucky to have such amazing friends and an amazing husband who supports me in having girlfriends.(Me, Mandy, Michelle, Tamra, and Angel)

Fifth and final.

February 9, 2012

I am pregnant….again. At least I think, and kind of hope I am. It has been a strange beginning. I had a miscarriage in December and though I wasn’t super excited to find out that I was pregnant that month, I was still pretty sad when I miscarried. Then in January, I had my period right on time, but it was really, really light. Not to be graphic, but not even a tampon a day light. Towards the end of my period I noticed that I had been ridiculously tired, even though I was getting plenty of sleep and eating well and working out regularly. Jefferson asked if I needed to take a pregnancy test, and I reminded him that I was on my period. But then I remembered I had bled through my first month when I was pregnant with Carter. Finally, a couple of days after my period had stopped I decided to take a pregnancy test, it was Tuesday, January 24^th. It came back positive. The first words out of my mouth: “Oh boy.” I was hesitantly excited. Hesitantly because it wasn’t exactly the timing I was thinking of, I just had a miscarriage a month before, and I just had a period; wasn't sure if that bode well. I am kind of a planner, and have always thought that baby #5 would be our last, so I had an idea of how I wanted my last pregnancy to go so that I could savor it and enjoy everything about it. It hasn’t quite started that way, for the reasons listed above and because I have spotted a few times since then. My first OB appointment is next week and I can’t wait to go and make sure everything is okay and breathe a little easier and start to enjoy this baby who will probably be our last. So far I have not been feeling great in the morning. No throwing up (yet), knock on wood, but so nauseous I can’t eat until about 10 or so. I don’t really know if I believe in cravings, but certain things just sound better than others at certain times. We went to A&W and everything sounded vomitrocious except cheese curds, really? Also, I have had three Mcdoubles in the last week. Kind of gross, I know, but they are about the only thing that sounds good around lunchtime. Dinner usually sounds good until I am about half way through and then I am usually done with it. If I have to chew anything too long (including my gummy prenatal vitamin) I just can’t do it, it will come back out of my mouth. We went out to eat with my family in Utah at Chili’s and I was eating a delicious burger and about half way through I had to spit out a couple of bites into my napkin and that was the end of it. I hope nobody noticed. Even though this is not exactly the timing of when I thought I would be pregnant, I feel so incredibly blessed to be pregnant again. I am reminded that we don’t get to pick and choose the timing of our babies and I appreciate when our babies are surprises, because it assures me that Heavenly Father sent them when they are supposed to come. And as I see family members and friends struggle with infertility, I can't feel anything but blessed that I have not had that struggle to deal with. We do feel so lucky that we get to have another little Harmon baby enter our home!

Thursday, February 16th

I had my first doctor's appointment today. I told my midwife all about my weird periods and miscarriage and all that. And lucky me, it earned me an ultrasound! Up until the moment of the ultrasound I was so hesitant about everything, thinking that there was a possibility that there was no baby, or that something was wrong. Right away a little baby popped up on that screen and I could see his/her little heart beat. That was the moment that I fell in love with this baby. That was the first moment I let myself be excited about this baby. I jokingly told the ultrasound tech that I would pay her if she could tell me it was a boy (obviously joking since it is so early). She said she would see what she could do. Right after she started the ultrasound she said, "Well, there's only one baby." And I then told her that was even better news than a boy. Everything looks good so far. My due date is September 22nd. On the drive home I was just so happy and teary, feeling so blessed and like I said, for the first time, excited. This is really happening. :)

As for me, I have been feeling about the same. Not really nauseous anymore, but so tired still! I think I get more exhausted with each pregnancy. Maybe it's the other little ones running around... Soda really never sounds good. I know, no Diet Coke? Crazy! Unsweetened cereal always sounds good. I usually have at least one bowl of Cheerios a day, and frequently a bowl of Corn Chex too. I can tell my belly is starting to pooch out a little, but hopefully not noticeably so yet.

March 20th

A few things... I am 13.5 weeks along and we are mailing out pictures to all of our family to let them know we are expecting. I am excited to let the cat out of the bag. We finally told our kids last night. They were really excited. Carter immediately said he wanted a brother. I would be fine with that. :)

I am so glad to be out of those first 10 weeks. I found myself thinking to myself a lot, "I am so glad this is my last pregnancy," and "Why did I think I liked being pregnant again?" And I wasn't even sick, just really, really, really, debilitatingly tired. (like my word?) I feel like myself again.

I can now drink Diet Coke again, though I haven't been drinking a whole ton of it. I have had a lot of Cesar salads. It always sounds good. I buy one of those kits at the store at least a couple of times a week. Also, anything gummy, but particularly sour gummy straws. Yum. I can eat anything now, but even up until a couple of weeks ago I would have to stop eating in the middle of dinner if it took too long to chew something or if the chicken was even a little dry. I'm glad I'm over all that.

I'm looking a little more pregnant every day. Perhaps not noticeably so to anybody else, but when I lay down flat I can feel a tiny bump, and if I lay on my stomach I can feel the pooch. I think I just wore my dark skinny jeans last night for the last time in a long time. :)

March 25, 2012

We finally announced to the world that we are pregnant. It was fun to tell everyone and hear everyone's reactions. I was talking to my Mom almost two weeks ago and she flat out asked if I was pregnant. I lied of course, and she said she's just been having these little feelings that I am, so that if I wasn't pregnant, she informed me, that I would be soon. How did she know?

Of course everyone says congratulations, but I am wondering what they are secretly thinking. I don't care, mind you, but with some people I would love to hear their inner dialogue. "They are so crazy." "She can't even handle the four she's got." etc, etc.

I know that we were meant to have one more baby. I feel about 99.9% confident that this is our last. I also know, that had we not had our kids so close together (not necessarily by design), that we may not have had all of them. The older they and I get, the more my logical, rational brain yells at me. "How are you going to afford these kids?" The answer is, I don't know. "Are you really going to do the baby stage again?" The answer is, yes, one more time. If I ever got too far out of that baby stage and diapers and naps and diaper bags and baby food, there would be no going back. Hence, five kids in 6 1/2 years (+ 2 miscarriages = 7 pregnancies in 6 years)

I am sure so many people, even maybe some of you who read our blog, think that we are absolutely nuts, and I agree, but I know it's going to be awesome having five kids. My kids are so amazing and truly well behaved. They have kind spirits and are so excited for another sibling. I have a husband who loves having children with me. He is so good at being aware of each of our kids and allotting time to each of them. And, if Heavenly Father sent them to us, and we're doing all we can on our part, He will provide. I know it.

Buried.

Last night Andi tells me and Jefferson, "Abby is buried from her trampoline because she walked outside the net." Me, "You mean grounded from her trampoline?" Andi, "Yeah, grounded!" She knew it had something to do with the ground! Haha!