I'll have what he's having

I was at the store last week and realized Jack is finally old enough to sit in a Bumbo chair so I bought him one. He does really well in it and seems to like it. Little did I know his older sister would decide it was the coolest place in the house to sit. Now, whenever she sees Jack in his chair, she immediately asks for him to get out so she can have it.

Jack, enjoying his new chair

Lydia, also enjoying Jack's new chair.

Right now Lydia has the upper hand but just wait - I think by the time Jack is 1 he will out weight his older sister and it will not be so easy for her to just take what she wants from him!

Palmyra Trip

Our Ward here in PA decided to do a Temple Trip to the Palmyra, NY Temple so we decided to go. It was a really fun trip for our family. The Palmyra Temple is about 4 1/2 hours away from our house so we decided to go up on Friday (Lauren didn't have school) and see the historical sites and then go to the Temple on Sat. with our ward. It ended up taking us longer than we had hoped to get up there but we finally made it about 3pm. We went directly to the Hill Cumorah and that was really neat to see. It was so beautiful there. There is a big visitor's center so we went in and looked around for a little bit. Then we "hiked" to the top of the hill with our big double stroller. I didn't see a way to drive to the top but there was. It was a good work out for us though and I am glad we walked to the top.

Our family in front of the Christus at the Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center

View from the top of Hill Cumorah, looking out onto the valley below.

Lauren and Lydia at the base of the statue on the Hill Cumorah.

Statue on the Hill Cumorah

After visiting the Hill Cumorah, we went down the road a few miles to the Smith Family Farm. There is a very small visitor's center here and then the missionaries take you on a tour of the grounds and houses they have there. We started off going to the Log Cabin the Smith Family built when they first moved to Palmyra. It was very small (Kitchen/family area, parents bedroom with a little room off of it for baby Lucy, and the upstairs with a big room for all the boys and a small room for the two older girls). It was in this house that the Angel Moroni came to Joseph Smith telling him about the Golden Plates. The log cabin has been rebuilt but it is built on the original foundation. We were able to walk upstairs and see the bedroom.

The outside of the Log Cabin

Lauren and Lydia in the living area/Kitchen of the Log Cabin.

A view of the Palmyra Temple from the Smith Family Farm. You get this view of the Temple as you walk down the lane between the Log Cabin and the Frame House.

This is the Frame House. Joseph's oldest brother, Alvin, started construction on this house for his family but died before it was completed. The family completed the construction and moved into it in 1825. It was much larger than the log cabin and about 80% of this home is original. The family did not live here for very long though. A loan suddenly came due on the farm and the family did not have the money. The were able to stay in the home for a few years before they were forced to abandon the home and move back to the original log cabin. This home was very nice with a parlor, kitchen, and food pantry. The kitchen even had a stone sink which was pretty state of the art back then. They had to fill the sink by hand but then they could pull a plug and the water would drain out into the yard.

This is the fireplace in the Frame House. Joseph Smith hid the Golden Plates under the bricks of this fireplace to protect them from the mobs.

This barn is directly across the street from the Frame House. It is actually Brigham Young's brother's barn but the church moved it to this site because the Smith's barn was destroyed. But this barn sits on the original site of the Smith families barn.

This is what Jack looked like while touring the Smith Farm.

Ms. Lydia walking into the Sacred Grove. There are many paths through the Sacred Grove but we just went on the shortest path because it was close to 6pm and the site closed at 6pm. It was so peaceful and beautiful though. Lauren thought it was a little spooky though because it was kind of dark in the grove. We were there late in the day and it was very overcast and threatening to rain at any moment so she would have preferred a little more light in the grove. It was really pretty though.

Dave and Lydia walking in the Sacred Grove.

After the Sacred Grove we headed to our hotel and we swam and watched Camp Rock 2 The Final Jam and hung out and relaxed. Then the next morning I went to the Temple early while Dave kept the kids and then Dave went with the rest of our Ward later and I went to the church house across the street from the Temple and helped watch kids while their families were over at the Temple. We had 17 kids under the age of 8 we watched for a few hours while their families were in the Temple. The Bishop and his wife took all the kids between 8 and 12 and they went to the Hill Cumorah. So there was a good group of us who made the trek to Palmyra. After the session our ward provided lunch so we ate and then loaded up and headed back home. We made it home just in time for Dave to watch the first BYU game of the season (and yes, they won in case you were wondering).

On our way home we stopped in Scranton, PA to get gas, feed the baby and get a treat. The girls got to eat donuts while we fed Jack a bottle before heading the rest of the way home.

My Chubby Baby

I love this chubby little guy. I have never had a chubby baby before and it is so fun to see his fun little rolls and big happy smiles! He had his 2 month check-up last month (he was actually 10 1/2 weeks old) and he weighted in at 15 lbs and was 23 1/2 inches long. That puts him in the 95% for weight and the 75% for height. And he has turned into a great little sleeper (like his sisters). He will now go down to sleep anywhere between 9pm - 11pm and he sleeps until about 7:30am. He is getting better at going down for his naps now too. He will cry for just a minute (if at all) and then he is out. We sure love this not so little guy!

1st Grade!

So, we have a big 1st grader at our house! We had a really fun summer but for the last couple of weeks, Lauren has been very ready for school to start. She started a new school this year since we moved in May and she has been excited to meet the new kids. I really hope she has a fun year and meets lots of fun little friends.

Thief

Dave brought me home some chocolate from his trip to San Francisco and this little stinker found it and ate it ALL. I think she really liked it! What can I say, she is her mother's daughter.

Arizona Fun

We went to Arizona the end of July and stayed for almost 3 weeks. It was fun to introduce Jack to his cousins and to be surrounded by family for so long. We hadn't been home in a year so it was a long overdue trip. We only had to pay for 3 plane tickets since we have two children under the age of 2 but Dave had to stay the whole time so I could get us all home (we needed two laps for the two lap children). Luckily all he needs to do his work is a computer so we brought his laptop and a wireless router and he could work from almost any room in my parents house. He also ditched us for 4 days and went to San Francisco for a conference so it all worked out for us to stay and get a good, long visit in.

We did a lot of swimming while in AZ and the girls loved it.
We even rented out Carson Jr. High's pool for a night and had a great time being the only ones allowed in and having free reign of all the diving boards and water slides. I really think Lauren did the big slides at least 40 times.

This is Lauren coming out of the slide.

Jack is finally at the stage where he just smiles and coos when we talk to him. We love his big grin.

More big grins for his Mama

We also played at Amazing Jake's when we were home (an indoor place with rides and games and food). When you are in AZ in the Summer, finding indoor activities is a must and this is one we have done the last few times we have gone home.

Jack and his Grandma Hobbs

We also always make a trip to Jump and Shout when we are in Arizona. Lauren loves this place and this year Lydia was able to join in the fun.

Lydia really did love it and had a huge smile on her face most of the time (I just had a hard time capturing that smile on camera).

I really wish this picture would flip around but I can't get it too. We had 4 new babies born in the Hobbs family this year. In this picture they are layed out in the order they were born with the oldest on the right (bottom). Paige (Tiff's baby) is the oldest, born in Feb. Karlene (Dave's baby) comes next, born in April. Ivy (Ron's baby) is 3rd, born in May. And Jack (mine) is the youngest, born in June. It was a lot of fun having so many babies for everyone to hold and snuggle.

Smiling Jack

We had a lot of fun being in Arizona. We went to a cabin up near Snowflake for three days with both my sister's and their families and my Mom came along as well (Dad had to work at the Temple so he didn't get to come with us). We were able to see some fun movies while home (Eclipse and Despicable Me) and we ate TONS of Mexican Food. Dave and I were able to go to the Temple together, a novelty these days with a new born and living 1 1/2 hours from the nearest temple and 3 1/2 hours from our assigned temple. Swimming early in the morning or right before bed was a favorite thing to do because then it wasn't too hot outside and the pool water wasn't quite so warm. And Lauren and Lydia loved having so many cousins to just play with and follow around. We can't wait until our next trip home and hopefully it won't be in the Summer so we can do a few more outdoor activities.

Our next big adventure is Lauren starting 1st Grade next week! We will have to do a post soon about all the fun we have had for our last week of Summer Vacation.

Blessing

We blessed Jack in church on the 4th of July. Dave's parents had come into town to meet their newest grandchild so it was the perfect time to have his blessing. He was 2 1/2 weeks old at the time of his blessing but it is probably a good thing we did it early because he isn't a little baby and he may have outgrown his blessing outfit if we had waited. Dave gave a beautiful blessing and he was happy throughout. Here are some of the pictures from the day.

I think it looks like Jack is waving

Our attempt at a family photo - not very successful.

Introducing Jack Folsom

John Matthew Folsom - aka, Jack - was born on June 15th at 2:15am. He weighed in at 9lbs 1 oz and is 21 inches long. We are so glad to finally have him here. I went in on Sunday night (the 13th) to begin the induction process because at my last growth check they were estimating that he was around 9lbs 11oz. Due to his large size I should have been expecting the labor to be kind of long but since it was my 3rd baby, I was hopeful it would be smooth sailing and go quickly. He is such a good little baby and we love having him home with us. Lauren loves to hold him and is a great big sister. Lydia likes him more than I was hoping. I had hoped she would just mostly ignore him but she loves him too and loves to touch him and kiss on him. My Mom made it out Mon. night to stay with us for a couple of weeks and it great to have her here helping with the girls. Jack had to spend a couple of days in the NICU because his blood sugars kept dropping (I had Gestational Diabetes so he was having a bit of a hard time adjusting) but he is doing really well now. He has the best cheeks to snuggle and kiss and we are so happy to have him in our family! He was definitely worth the hard pregnancy and long labor.

Sorry the photo's are all out of order - my computer is having issues.

Lydia was more interested in her new Barbie that Jack gave her at the hospital.

Check out those cheeks! The biggest baby in the NICU.

Hanging out with Grandma and his big sis. Lauren

Lauren was so excited to meet him. It seemed like a very long 9 months to her.

Relaxing after his first bath.

We're Moving

Our new home!

Some of the backyard

Back of the house

It is moving time again and I really hope it is the last move for awhile. Luckily the move is just a few miles from where we currently live so we have been able to move small things over piece by piece. We will move the big stuff in a few days but poor Dave is on his own with those items (luckily some of the Elder's Quorum has agreed to help him out). It is not easy being 8 months pregnant and trying to help with a move - nothing is very easy at this stage of the game. I can't help lift and carry things, even bending over to help load and unload boxes is a chore. I thought I could at least help with the taping for the painting we want to get done and that about did my back in. Hopefully I can help clean out our old place a little bit when we get it empty but Dave may have to do a lot of that too.

We are very excited though to have lots more space and a home we can call our own again. The girls love it and helped pick out the paint color for their room. Hopefully we will have their room and the baby's room done in the next couple of days so we can move the furniture in at the end of the week. Here are a couple of pict. of the outside of the house. I have some of the inside but it is really just a bunch of empty rooms right now so after we get settled, I will have to take a few more.

She's 6!

Lauren turned 6 last month and she had a fun "flower" themed party. She was very excited to invite all her primary class (10 kids) and a couple of other friends to her party. I tried very hard to talk her into something small but she would have none of it. She really wanted all her new friends to come over and be at our house and to have a big party so that is what we did.

When the kids arrived we painted flower pots and set those out to dry so by the end of the party we could plant their flower in it. Then they each got a visor and stickers and decorated their "garden visor" next. Next we played pin the stem on the flower and that was fun too. Then we ate pizza and and had cake and ice cream. We also had a flower pinata full of candy that the kids had fun breaking open. At the end of the party we planted their flowers in their pots and we played games in the yard until their parents came to pick them up. Each of them got a goody bag with a flower pin wheel and some garden tools (spade, shovel) so they could work outside in their garden's with their new garden hats. It was a lot of fun and Lauren loved it which is what was most important to us. But she already knows that next year she gets to pick 2 friends and we are either going to Chuck E. Cheese or something like Color Me Mine.

Some of the kids painting their flower pots.

Making their "garden visors"

Chowing down on lunch

Lauren's Flower Cake.

So excited to be opening her presents.

Breaking open the pinata. All the kids went home with A LOT of candy!

Lauren is such a sweet girl that it was fun to plan and throw a party for her. On her actual birthday we took cupcakes into her Kindergarten Class. Then she picked what to eat for dinner (Polynesian Sundaes - her favorite) with ice cream sundaes for dessert. Then she wanted to have a Wii party and have us all play the Wii together so that is exactly what we did. She loved all the fun presents she got from her friends and grandparents. She especially loved the Snuggie she wanted (from one set of grandparents) and the new Barbie movie (from the other grandparents). And she finally got the Pillow Pet she has been asking for for months! She was a very happy girl.