it's time

I was at a Farmer's Market today and I noticed an Amish girl on break from the bread and produce stand that she and her family operates. She was sitting at a table, busily texting on her phone!

I think it's time I start learning the fine art of texting. I feel rather behind the times. My one question is:

how does she charge her phone??????

(I mean no disrespect to the Amish faith, of course. Just a little curious...)

Her Highness ... presented by Katie Dudley Photography

And here is our new favorite little girl in High Quality...

For your (and our) viewing pleasure.

You can enjoy the movie link for a slideshow.




Be sure to visit the website of Katie Dudley, photographer extraordinare, the artist behind these masterpieces! What incredible work!

Visit her website here:

www.kdphotography.org

sweetest days...

Caroline's almost three weeks old! Here are a few pictures for those interested fans, and an assortment of random snapshots of recent events. What a sweetheart little miss Caroline is! I managed to make it through that first week of nursing trauma (I seem to always have a hard time managing the watermelon tumors that remarkably and profoundly erupt on day 3, and cause me emotional grief every time!) Our "quest for rest" is going well... for the most part, Caroline is waking only once a night. The boys are loving holding and bathing her, and Grant is on a mission to teach her the names of poisonous reptiles. As for Jack, he informed me last night that I am a woman. Oh? "Yeah mom, you're a woman now. You used to be a whale, but now you're a woman." Hhhhmmm.

Grant enjoying his hand-picked 6 year old birthday meal of kosher beef dawgs, chips, and pears. word.

Nate was jealous of Jenny for the past nine months. He was particularly tired of her telling him, "you don't know what it's like," and "you men...you'll never understand." So, he stuffed Caroline into the Baby Bjorn and zipped up the vest for a nice warm winter's walk. Hmmph. What's all the fuss about...

Caroline's Thanksgiving outfit. (yes, you can have a special outfit for anything these days...you should see her Tuesday Morning Outfit...wow, it's a looker)

Burp. he he. Burp. ahhh. he he. um. excuse me.

I think I can feel the stuffing in the back of my throat. How am I going to make room for the pie, and that extra pack of fruit snacks that I know my Mom keeps in her purse.

gratitude, verbatim

In light of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, our family took turns and penned a list of things we're grateful for. As usual, no editing or censoring has occurred.

1. Baby Caroline
2. The bed I sleep in
3. Coming home from work
4. Jesus
5. My family
6. Food
7. The gospel
8. My children
9. My food
10. All my friends
11. Grandparents
12. Warm house
13. Water
14. The creatures on earth
15. My wife
16. Tender mercies of the past week
17. Juice Boxes
18. Our eyes
19. My mission
20. Beautiful music
21. Lights
22. The sun
23. My girls
24. The prophet
25. Our house
26. The earth
27. The temple
28. My sweetheart, Nate
29. Tables
30. Our brains
31. School
32. Caroline's health
33. Caroline's swing
34. The toilet
35. Christmas
36. That we live in America
37. GA GA GOO GOO (thanks, Jack)
38. Oxygen
39. Family Home Evening
40. Others' help
41. Clothes
42. Clocks.

We're grateful for all of you. Happy Thanksgiving. We are so filled with gratitude at this magical time with a tiny newborn in our house. There's nothing like it!

Announcing my arrival....

well folks, this is Nate, it's official....

she decided to join us...

Caroline Grace Richards
11/12/08 at 12:51 pm
8 lbs. 8.6 oz
21 3/4 inches

priceless...you can see a slideshow of today's pictures at the right of your screen. feel free to click the link to see better.

more to come, but for now, i'm off to bed.

Halloweenin'

Halloween, for us, is more of a season than a holiday. Our festivities began with our annual "Hayride to the Witches House" at Linvilla Orchards. We went with Dan and Hailey and Preston the Great, and are bummed that we don't have a picture with them...
The ward party and trunk-or-treat, always a hit

Jack, aka Darth Vader, making his preschool class debut

He took himself VERY seriously

Grant, aka Swamp Monster, enjoying his class party. I was able to help out as one of the homeroom moms... what an entertaining event!

Marching along at the school Halloween Parade

And, the trick-o-treating itself. Our good friends the Dudleys had us over for the world's best manicotti ever. I was flying solo because Nate was working nights, but I hauled my big self around two neighborhoods and we had a great time.

Hope everyone had a great one! By the way, I'm dilated to a 3 and fully effaced, as of Monday. Let's get this girl out!!!

a little of this and a little of that

Fall is officially upon us... our favorite season on the East Coast. Life is good, busy, and increasingly uncomfortable as I waddle my way through the days. 4 weeks to go!

Here's a little of what we've been up to:

The nursery is 95% done, thanks to my mom, Nate, and Hailey. Thank you so much for all your help! And of course to my sisters-in-law who gave me the bedding that I thought I could only dream of! (I still need to iron the crib skirt.) I love it! I love that we used oil paint on the trim, not because I was trying to inhale it in my pregnant state, but because it makes our whole house smell new.

Go Phillies! We definitely consider ourselves "Phanatical Phillies Phans" around here!

Go Obama! Don't worry everyone, we're still good, honest, active Mormon folks.

Here's a few pictures of the boys enjoying themselves...

Obi Wan Kenobi, Plumbing Fun, and Hornbills

A few of you may remember a post I wrote a few months ago, expressing my frustration at the lack of potty training progress. Well, hats off to Jack Richards and his mom, because it finally came together in the last month. The clincher? Star Wars action figures did the trick. It hurt the budget a tad, but each time Jack did a #2 on the toilet, we went to Target and bought him a "guy," until his collection included about 10 characters. Sweet.

Well, sweet until this week, when Obi-Wan went tumbling into the toilet as Jack flushed. For a few days, the toilet was a little sluggish, but all was well, and I thought we had wiped our hands of the problem. Not so. Tuesday night, it hit the fan. Every water-producing edifice in our home, when engaged, caused the toilet to explode with a watery vomit of sewage and food waste. Not just a little... this was major, major, major. Of course, Nate was still at work and I had all the YW in my house, making dinner for one of our leaders who just had a baby. Grant was my little helper, dashing up and down for "more towels! No, LOTS more towels!"

The next day, after RotoRooter finished his dirty little 9 hours of work and cruelly left us $900 poorer, Nate asked, "Now, why is it that we potty trained Jack? Just think of how many diapers we could have bought for $900!" The irony.

On a lighter note; while we're still on the subject of fecal waste, Grant said pleasantly this evening: "Mom, aren't you glad you're not a hornbill?" "Well, why yes, I'm glad I'm not a hornbill, Grant. Why do you ask, though?" "Because hornbills poop on their babies. ONLY on their babies." Grant's fascination with animal facts sure comes in handy sometimes. At least I'm not a hornbill.

placenta brain

What a productive week! This week, I did the following:

-Booked two babysitters for the same time. I was already teaching when the second one arrived. That was an interesting scenario.

-Lost my debit card. Found my debit card. Lost my debit card. Cancelled my debit card and ordered a new one.

-Took Grant's first school library book in the jogger while I walked (oops, waddled) with Jack. Left it in the jogger. It was ruined the next day in the rain. Somehow, I thought a little tape job would fix it. Not surprisingly, I got a somewhat perturbed note from the librarian, asking that the $10 replacement fee be paid immediately. Way to start off a relationship with Grant's school personnel on the right foot.

-Left my Mary Poppins (meaning= EVERYTHING IN IT) purse in the kindergarten classroom at Back to School Night. Got a call late that evening from the principal, thankfully. Again, I'm gaining quite a reputation at the school.

Wish me luck, folks. Can anyone help me remember my phone #?

1st Days

Grant studying up before he headed out the door on the first day

giving me the "thumbs up" as he boarded the bus

totally pumped and ready to go in

Jack and his best, best bud Jack Dudley: the inseparable two Jacks

With Grant in a five-day pre-K last year, I didn't anticipate that kindergarten would be too big of a deal. But two things got me: the bus, and the paperwork. Watching Grant climb aboard that big bus, I honestly got a lump in my throat. It wasn't the "I wish he was still at home with me" lump, but more of the "Please world, be good to him. He's too sweet to have anything scary or unpredictable or overwhelming happen to him." Me and all the other parents on the block stood and hungrily watched the bus pull away, not unlike the paparazzi must do to celebrities, waving and snapping pictures. My little celebrity, Grant. Watch out, Chestnutwold Elementary... Grant Richards has arrived! And if anyone isn't nice to him, I'll hunt them down...

As for the second factor of some consternation, I don't think I'm a mature enough adult to be able to handle all of the logistical details that I am responsible for. Book orders, permission slips, phone trees, volunteer schedules, PTO opportunities, bake sales, insurance forms for WHILE they're in school.... for the love! I thought turning 30 and having a third child would help me grow up, but apparently not. I'm going to have to suck it up now.

And then there's Mr. Jack. When Grant started preschool, it was a sweet and careful beginning, which fed my mom-ego quite nicely: "He needs me!" He let me stay with him for the first 15 minutes, held my hand, kissed me goodbye, and quietly reassured me that he'd be OK. Which in turn, quietly reassured me that I'd be ok, too. Not Jack. He marched in like nobody's business: "Hello! I'm Jack Richards! Are you my teacher?" When I asked if he was ready for me to go, he looked at me like I was crazy: "Mom, go home! I'm at SCHOOL!" Thankfully, he was equally boisterous when I picked him up, the last mom to arrive (dangit!!)! I'm truly so proud of him.

There is an indescribably powerful love that a mother possesses for her children, and I felt it overwhelmingly this week. And it was complete and utter joy today as I watched Grant race into Jack's embrace after deboarding the bus, exclaiming, "Jack, buddy-- how did your first day go?" Oh, I love my dudes.

...and thus it ends

Jack struttin' his stuff in Colter Bay

lovin' the Alpine Slide with Grandma as a partner. Too bad they were stuck behind the slow pregnant lady: they had to come to a complete stop several times...

Who says boys can't play dress-up?

Inspiration Point, overlooking Jenny Lake. (I was actually thinking more along the lines of Desperation Point, but hey, that's just me)

twenty, yes twenty cousins hiking in Jackson. People thought we were some kind of day camp.


Grant and cousin Cort... their first sleepover!

Well, it's a wrap. Summer, that is. What a great one we had! After being away for 14 months, it was high time to find ourselves in good company in SLC and vicinity for a few weeks. This visit has inspired me to compile the:

Top Ten Things About Visiting Utah

1. Cousins. Could a trip to Jackson Hole with twenty youngsters under the age of 11 be any more fun for our boys? What a great time! Thanks, G and G Richards!

2. The mountains. Whoa. I always forget. When I lived in NYC, it was always a shocker to come back and see how big they really are. Same thing now. I kept thinking about all my neighbors who've never been west of the Mississippi. What a tragedy.

3. Easily accessible swimming pools. Which goes right together with #1.

4. Food. I can't help myself, but joints like Cafe Rio and Hires just can't be beat, even though Nate and I like to pretend we're East Coast Fine Cuisine Snobs.

5. Park City, home of my parents for the time being, because they're selling their house and MOVING TO PHILLY! (More on this soon.) My boys loved being at the condo; the highlight was Grant nearly stepping on a snake near the bordering Wildlife Reserve. The look on his face was truly priceless. No pic, but imagine joy and horror combined and you've got it.

6. The cabin. Oh, it was joyful to be in the cold basement bedroom. We'd been away much. much too long.

7. Chillin' with family. Todd and Rose, John and Ang, Matt, and Andrew: we had a blast with you before we all headed out in opposite directions. Of course, all of you local to Utah were equally great! It was fun to jam with Micah the future B'way star, watch SYTYCD (I'm not a huge fan, though), and talk talk talk late into the nights. Nothing beats putting your kids down all in the same house! And Emilee, thanks for parting with many obligations to hang out with me!

8. No grocery bills, no AC bills, no water bills, no responsibilities, no commitments. Ah, the luxuries.

9. Michael Phelps. Oops, we could've enjoyed his prowess from anywhere, but it was central to our Utah visit. Anyone know what he listens to on his iPod right before he makes history? I'd love to download it, whatever it is.

10. Good friends who remind us of good times. Ben and Julie--get back to NY, and Jes--please come visit. We love you!

And now, to fall! I'm 29 weeks, look like I'm 43 weeks, but feeling good. We're taking deep breaths before we'll be busier than ever, starting next week. Two boys in school (freedom for me, two mornings a week?!!) , swimming, soccer, football, 20 piano students, Nate putting in 16-hour days, six days a week, and the inevitable nesting that's already kicking in before our daughter debuts in November....

Hope everyone enjoyed their summer! We'd love to hear from you!

Grant's "I'll Never Do" list

This list was compiled this morning by the author. Grant would like to share it. Spelling has not been edited.
1. I'll never take a tub.
2. I'll never have a dinosaur party.
3. I'll never say bad words.
4. I'll never remember mokingbirds.
5. I'll never go ice cateing.
6. I'll never pudt a snowball on my ie.
7. I'll never touch the fire.
8. I'll never boge. (budge.)
9. I'll never watch Wonder Pets.
10. I'll never spell enething with a j, not inclooding Jack.
11. I'll never look for bugs not inclooding spiders.
12. I'll never wash my hands with cold water.
13. I'll never mete an aligaitor.
14. I'll never travel too antartica.
15. I'll never eat chees.
16. I'll never hide in or by a spiderweb.
17. I'll never make dertey food.
18. I'll never mess up fernicher.

There you have it. At least he'll never budge!

TGIF, and S, and S

During the week, we tease that we "catch a glimpse" of Nate as he passes in and out of night float. Typically, he'll get home around 8:30 or 9:00 am and will leave again at 4:15 to make it into work by 5. Most of this time is taken up by the unfortunate human necessity of sleep, although he functions on an impressively small quantity. (If I were to get by on what he gets by on, I would not be a very nice person.)

However, on Fridays, the kids know that dad will crash until noon, and then we're rockin' and rollin.' We've been trying to take advantage of our summer weekends of living on the East Coast... so many beautiful places, big cities, and historical sites to explore! Good thing we've got four more years here; I don't know how we'd pack it all in otherwise.

One weekend, we went camping on the Delaware River with our great friends the Michauds, the camping experts. While I didn't bring the camera on the river itself, here are a few pics.

Nate and Grant clearly happy to be at our campsite, all set up

a surprisingly good night's sleep in the tent, except for me of course..terrified of bears all night!

Jack the budding fisherman, but alas, didn't catch any. At least he's got a good supply of chocolate chip cookies on his face to stave off hunger during those long, biteless hours

Dingman's Falls: a beautiful, cool waterfall in what Pennsylvanians think are mountains


This past weekend, we journeyed the 5 hours up to Palmyra to pay a visit to the Church history sites. Our stake's YM/YW was attending the Hill Cumorah Pageant as part of youth conference, so we joined them for that. It was beautiful, albeit hot and humid, and the boys had a great time.

The Palmyra Temple (Jack was experiencing a temporary meltdown and refused to look at the camera)

Grant with Laura Ebeling, a YW in our ward who happens to be one of his favorite babysitters. We think she makes a pretty good Princess Leia.

At the pageant: a very late night, especially for Grant, who thrives on going to bed promptly at 8:30. Way to be tough, bud.

I love my boys. They are such good friends!


Outside the Sacred Grove. An amazing place! Grant said it made him feel happy and sleepy.

Ummm...Not exactly

So, I am on call at the hospital...surprise, surprise...I check the blog during some downtime and "Whoa, that's not what I said" pops to my mind. Therefore, before I become a punching bag for all things having to do with men and pregnancy...let me correct the public record.

First: Our conversation needs to be put in context. We were finishing the annual Havertown 4th of July bike parade and I looked over at my adorable wife. I remembered 6 years ago when we were staying in a sweet New York City pad and Jenny was expecting Grant. I recalled that Jenny's first sojourn in maternity clothes during that pregnancy was for a little party that we threw for some of our friends. It was a really cute pink shirt with a white collar and some well ironed white capri's. She didn't really "need" to wear it, because she hadn't really "popped" (I think that's the correct term), but she was a little thicker and it was really pretty. I then compared that picture, to what I was currently looking at...My adorable wife in some hot neon green shirt she made at Young Women's Camp and black cut-off sweats. I was struck by the comparison, and decided to compliment Jenny on her beautiful self (something I now wish I hadn't done). I said, "You know, you are a lot skinnier during this pregnancy than you were with Grant 6 years ago," because she is. Her arms, neck, legs, face, etc are skinnier. Then I said, "you really are a lot skinnier and your belly is a littlemore round then it was. You look really good pregnant." Of course, I realized by the steam coming from her ears that she didn't catch the drift of my compliment and I further clarified, "No, what I'm trying to say is you are skinnier than you were so your belly is more obvious because it's not hidden by as much weight gain." (I don't think she heard this part, or if she did it probably sounded like the adults in Charlie Brown's world...Blah blah blah).

Second: Jenny is super self conscious about her supposed varicose veins. I get questions all the time about "is this bigger" or "is this a varicose vein", to which my answer is always, "no" and "I think that's a mosquito bite, babe." With regard to my attempt at humor regarding her "new" varicose vein that she thinks I was pointing out...well, I'll admit that it was probably poor timing. What I should have said was something like this, "You're awesome, I'm not. You're pretty, I'm ugly. You're smart, I'm dumb. You're nice, I'm Mean. You're right, I'm wrong..." you get the drift.

Third: Jenny does have some sweet new gray hairs. I think their cute, and I'm glad that Grant picked up on them without my prompting.

So there you have it. The truth, and my side of the story.

gray matter and a dose of humility

Today, I'm reading Magic Tree House with Grant, who I happen to notice is looking at my head quite intently. When I ask him what he's doing, he replies,

"Oh, I'm just counting gray hairs on your head."

I race to the mirror.

"Where?"

"Well , just all over. Although, I guess it could be brain matter seeping out. Our brains are gray, you know."

I guess I've just got to hope for the latter. Maybe I'm so intelligent that my brain just can't be contained in my head.

Oh, and then there's Nate. Granted, he's lost his tact filter due to prolonged sleep deprivation, but this does mean he can't sugarcoat anything. He says what he means, if you catch my drift.

Yesterday:

"Hey babe, you're looking a lot thinner than you have with other pregnancies. Your stomach's bigger, though."

"Thanks. (?)

"But you do have some varicose veins."

Whoa. Am I letting myself go here? Leave it to my family to keep me humble, in pants, and in search of a good colorist...

it's a...

didn't know it was possible... but we're sure excited!

Grant, ever the intuitive child, knew from the get-go that it was a girl, and grew increasing agitated as I tried to explain that there was a great possibility that it may be another brother. As we returned from the ultrasound, he was waiting on the front porch, eagerly hoping it was "the news I want it to be!" When we told him, a smile of pure joy spread across his face. Later that night, he was kissing my belly, saying "thank you! Thank you in there!" Jack, meanwhile, continues to insist that the baby in HIS tummy is "definitely a boy."

J A C K

energetic beautiful imaginative snuggly squishy-cheeked friendly thoughtful silly stubborn intelligent compassionate intense courageous creative inquisitive

JaCk PrEsToN RiChArDs

What would we do without our Jacky?

How we love our goodmorning smooch-giving,

our strawberrymilk-sugarycereal-chocolatechip poptart-loving,

star-wars soundtrack belting,

T-rex-impersonating,

book-obsessing,

vacuum-fearing,

animal-loving,

snuggle-giving,

racecar sprinting,

chef-aspiring,

joke-telling,

day-brightening,

hope-giving

3-year-old boy!

Happy Birthday, buddy. We love you!

8 is great... with Nate

It's hard to BeLiEvE it's been 8 Years! yes.. that picture IS moments after Nate proposed. We were dorky enough to re-enact the event for the self-timer on the camera....

Pardon my traversal down MEMORY LANE...

June 15, 2000:

After 6 years of dating and an 11-month engagement, we finally made it! Highlights of the day... a long time to quietly contemplate alone in the celestial room before the ceremony, a quick run to Crown Burger after pictures, a funny mix-up with Nate and Fast Eddie Edwards, and a luxurious night at Wolfcrest...

June 15, 2001:

An awesome night in the World Trade Marriott, NYC... right before the fated September 11. Great Italian dinner, lovin' the view-- a step up and a subway ride down from our Morningside Heights apartment...

June 15, 2002:

Livin' large in the Davidson's sprawling 23rd floor Upper West Side apartment. We couldn't NOT spend our anniversary in that place.. overlooking the Hudson, throwing chocolate chips off the balcony, dreaming about our little babe in the belly, and playing lots and lots and lots of Settlers...

June 15, 2003

Back to Wolfcrest! Thanks to mom, our first night without Grant, although he occupied a great deal of our conversations...

June 15, 2004

A visit to San Fran, John and Ang, and a long walk on the wharf...

June 15, 2005

Me uncomfortable and hugely pregnant, we dined elegantly on Cafe Rio one week before Jack's birth...

June 15, 2006

Two weeks into residency. A night in Philly, Nate lookin' hot in a tux as we celebrated at the Union League for a dinner honoring the outgoing chiefs...

June 15, 2007

Our first anniversary apart... me in Utah, Nate slaving away at work, of course. A lovely Park City getaway was partaken of a week early, thankfully...

And, here we are! This year is Father's Day... and we celebrate as a family, honoring the World's BEST Dad. Here's to 8 great years as your wife, babe! Thanks for every, single day!~