Harper Thomas Lanier

My little nephew is scheduled to be born today. Isn't that funny to say a baby can be scheduled? Yes, my sister is like freaking Britney Spears with scheduled births. What a diva.

Well actually she is being induced and I believe B.S had both of her babies via C-seciton so Heidi will have to search for another kind of connection. I hope she finds it because I love me some Britney.

Anyway that officially means my mom will have a grandchild here on Earth that she has never met. And that is a very sad thought. But something happened yesterday.

I didn't cry. And I haven't cried today yet either.

Am I getting "over it"? NO!  But is there a tiny (and I'm mean MICROSCOPIC) part of me who realizes that my mom is free of sin and struggle. And that isn't a bad thing.

Ok I'm crying. So much for that.

But little Harper is a perfect person as of right now. A perfect person in a very imperfect world. I can't wait to meet him.

Last night my sister called to tell me she was in labor.

My heart started pounding and I was shakey. I was ready to throw up.

And then she said, "Just kidding!"

I'm going to kick her next time I see her. Which will be this weekend. Me and the ladies are flying out this Friday for five days of quaility Marley and Harper time. Josh and Heidi we don't really care about but those babies are sure sweet. I'm excited to get there. But not for the two flights and three hours in a rental car that it's going to take me to get there. Wish me luck.

Especially after Izzy told me that she KNOWS Cam Cam is going to be naughty and she is just going to laugh instead of help. I took it as a bad omen for the trip. I will let you know how it goes.

The Magic House

While we were in St. Louis, we went to The Magic House. If anyone is going to be in the area, you have to do this. This place is so neat. The kids had fun, Chase had fun and I had fun. The museum is 4 floors of interactive exhibits for kids of all ages. They even had a room for little Cambri where she got to be involved and stimulated by touching bubbles, balls and water. There was a little town that the kids got to grocery shop in, learn about electricity, bank, fish and set up their own house. This was the location of the incident. Little Marley walked off, went into the elevator and went down. When we noticed she was missing, you can imagine the panic of all of us. Luckily the employees are stationed in every room and once they found out that Marley was missing, they locked down every single room and people had to stay put until we found her. When they radioed us that she was downstairs, Heidi and I were bawling and Marley was perfectly content. In the panic, I accidentally misplaced Izzy but Chase was with it enough to help look plus hold onto our own kids. After that though, we still managed to have fun. The bubble room was awesome and probably our favorite part. You could stand in a machine that formed around you, you could blow bubbles bigger than basketballs plus tons of other bubbly things. Izzy didn't want to leave. She climbed up into the tree house and didn't want to come down. Her dad actually led her up there and he was having so much fun that he kind of forgot that a three year old was trying to follow him and she is not as quick. Anyway, The Magic House in St. Louis should be on anyones list of things to do with kids.

Josh, Heidi & Marley

My little sister has been sent back to Illinois, much to the dismay of our family. We know that they are happy back there, but selfishly, we wish the three of them still lived here in Idaho. It really meant a lot to Isabelle and myself that they made the trip back here just for Izzy's birthday. It was so nice to not have to work every single day they were in town. One of the small joys of maternity leave. We had a really good visit barring the time that my mom woke up in the middle of the night to check on Marley and mistook her face paint as blood. Needless to say, the entire house was woken by her screams. I just wanted my little sis to know that we miss her and her family every single day and hope for their quick return to Idaho. Being that Josh is the only one that can get little Cambri to smile, we need him around on a more permenant basis. Also, Heidi has more patience in her little pinky that I do in my entire body for Isabelle's ADD. I just need her to come home...

Poor Marley

My sister and her family just wrapped up a two week stint here in Southeast Idaho. I haven't seen my little niece since October so it was very exciting. The poor girl is on the short and round side of the spectrum so her clothes never fit just right. Her little booty is always hanging out. It's funny because I bought Izzy a pair of jeans for $2 at Macy's back in the day that were on clearance because they didn't pass inspection. They never quite fit Isabelle right and she was constantly pulling them up which made them look too short for her. These days though, they are the best fitting pair of jeans Marley owns. She is very sweet though. She would sit on my lap and let me play with her hair, which Isabelle never does. She is also a little more peaceful than my child. One night during their visit, Heidi put both girls in timeout together because they wouldn't stop pounding on the baby gate even though they were asked several times to stop. My mom came into the room and tried to save them by saying, "Anyone who's sorry raise your hand to get out." Marley immediately went to raise her hand and Isabelle slapped it down and said, "No Marley, I'm serious." My child would rather meet death than apologize for anything. Marley definitely goes with the flow of things. I'm praying that my next child has a few of these traits!

Thanksgiving with Marley

I'm way jealous of my parents and my grandma. They got to spend Thanksgiving with little Marley. Not that Chase and I didn't have fun, because we did. Chasey booked me a hotel room in the Radisson in downtown Salt Lake City and we had the best view because we were almost on the top floor. We ate room service and watched movies all night. It was very relaxing and just the break that we both needed. But my sister sent me this picture on Thanksgiving in case I was missing the extended family, which I was. They didn't even call me but this is a separate matter. I'm assuming that this picture wasn't taken on Thanksgiving Day in Sioux Falls, SD but who knows what global warming is doing these days. I thought that I could use this opportunity to post my top five things that I'm most thankful for.

1. Izzy's sleeping patterns. My kid is awesome. She has been sleeping through the night since she was 8 weeks old. When she still awake past 9pm, she brings us her pj's and says "Time for bed." Thank you Izzy.
2. My husband's sense of humor. Chase has such a big heart. I absolutely love that about him. And it doesn't take much to make him laugh which makes him fun for everyone to be around. Yes, it can be embarrassing when we are a ridiculous movie and he's laughing while everyone else in the theater is looking at him in shock, but its all part of his character.
3. Our jobs. We have been so blessed that Chase's job hasn't been directly affected by this nasty economy. In fact, he has made more this year than last year which a lot of people can't say. Also, the fact that I'm based out of Idaho Falls now instead of Pocatello has made a huge impact on our lives.
4. My parents. That's really all I need to say but I will choose to elaborate. They have always been there for me and they continue to put up with me. They are always willing to step in and help no matter what. I love them both very much.
5. Our extended family. I have never loved my sister more than I have the last couple of years and I am so grateful for her family as well. Also, I don't think that I could have married into a better family. They are so sweet and nice to me that its my first instinct to be uncomfortable. But I couldn't appreciate these people more.

Marley Jane

My grandma gave me these picutes yesterday and I thought they were priceless. We were all standing around when my dad put Marley on Spot and we were all waiting for her to freak out. But she just turned and smiled at Izzy. All of us with digital camera were scrambling trying to get them turned on and focused and then missed the moment anyway because of the delay that digital cameras tend to have. But my grandma with her trustly old fashioned film camera didn't miss it! And she also passed on the photo of Marley in Grandpa's hat. What a doll!

Family Fun

The Lanier Family Photo

The Sunset the night my Grandpa passed.

Izzy watching Monster House for the first time.

The small redeeming factor in my horrible experience last week was that I got to spend the entire time with my family, which I utterly enjoyed, minus the circumstances. Our nephew, Braxton, is in town and my sister and her family were here for a few days. Overall, we managed to have a nice time together and I wanted to share a few pictures of the week.

Izzy Rides A Horse

Cyndy tried to ride a horse with help from Chuck. I wonder how it feels to have your brother's hands all over your rear end. I hope I never know.
Izzy and Braxton on Spot.

Spot is getting tired of hauling all 33 lbs of Izzy around.

Marley was a little hesitant at first, which I think is a good sign. Izzy, on the other hand, usually refuses to get off and sometimes feels so confidant that she stops holding on.

Izzy practicing her rodeo wave.

My daughter loves horses. While most normal children wouldn't think of riding by themselves, Izzy almost refuses to share the saddle with anyone else. When she and Braxton were sharing, she threw a hissy fit and kept saying,"Izzy can ride alone." At her age, I was petrified of these huge, wild animals. I mean who really has control over a 1300 lbs animal? But she has no fear. To be honest, I'm still scared and it is painful for me to watch her. My dad took her on a ride to the end of my grandparents road and the entire time I felt like she was leaning way too far to the left. But she made it back in one piece. Not only did she not inherit my fear, but she also lucked out and avoided her dad's allergies. Chase can't even get near a horse without sneezing. I just hope she always knows that it is ok to play it safe and get off and walk your horse down hills. My father never used to let me do that and to this day, I have a hard time with going downhill on any mode of transportation (that is not enclosed anyway).