Oakland Temple

We had such a special Christmas! Nick and I were up at six, so excited that we couldn't go back to sleep. At seven, Nick woke the boys up shouting "Santa came!" They were so cute and grateful for every little gift. We are so grateful to have such sweet little boys and for experiencing the magic of Christmas again!

Merry Christmas!!

We want to wish all our friends and family and Merry Christmas!  Thank you for all of your wonderful cards and letters. We wish we would have sent cards out this year but our little prince didn't allow it.  We hope this gives you a laugh!

Tiny King

On Sunday, at the conclusion of our ward's musical Christmas sacrament meeting, the choir sang a beautiful song titled "Tiny King." I was so touched by the simplicity of the words sung by some of the most intellectual people I know. I looked down at my 7 week old baby boy and thought of the huge responsibility placed on Mary and Joseph to properly raise the "Tiny King," knowing he was the Savior. Were they ever frustrated when he wouldn't go to sleep at night or when he threw up all over their only clothing? Since Sunday, Nick and I call little Philip our tiny king. He decides when we can go to sleep and loves to cuddle and be held. He is so precious and I have felt like I have really been able to enjoy him. When Thomas and James were newborns, I think I was too overwhelmed with their basic care that I didn't enjoy them enough while they were tiny. I love "my three sons" and the fun phases that they are in right now. Thomas and James are so excited for Santa to come to our house. It is so cute to listen to them talk about Christmas with each other. They keep reminding me not to light a fire in the fireplace on Christmas Eve so Santa doesn't get burned! The only real problem I have had since Philip was born is mastitis, which is terrible and I hope that I can avoid ever getting it again. The second time I came down with it, my cute mother-in-law offered to come out and help and I was so grateful for her being able to do that! Thomas and James really bonded with "Grandma Bean." She has more energy and patience than any grandma and runs up the huge slides at the playground faster than Thomas and James! 

It was a happy Thanksgiving!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are thankful for all of you! We were so happy to have my parents come to our house for Thanksgiving. It was so fun to spend time with them and they were so much help. Thomas and James love Grandma and Grandpa! They loved playing at the park with Grandpa and making a gingerbread house with Grandma. We were excited for them to meet our new baby too! 

First weeks home with baby...

We received a lot of thanks for the laughs from Nick's costume so I couldn't resist posting another picture of trick-or-treating at Stanford.

Hold on Dad, I'm on the phone! 

Our sweet 4 day old baby lasted for three hours of trick-or-treating! 

He loves to co-sleep!

Notice Thomas and James up to their usual mischief in the background...

The past three weeks have been so wonderful... I don't think I have ever been so happy! We all adore the newest little member of our family. It has been so much easier to have one baby and we have been able to just enjoy him. Thomas and James have been the best little helpers with the baby. They love to help with everything and are so careful to be soft with their little brother. Nick is still our study monster and we are all counting down the days until December 18th when he will be finished with his first semester! 

Prince Philip Has Arrived!

We had our precious baby on Monday! Philip Charles was born October 27th at 5:19 p.m. He was 8 lbs. 1 oz. and 21 1/4 inches. Everything went really well with the delivery and I must let everyone know that Nick and I are now huge fans of the epidural!! After delivery, I spent 24 hours in the hospital and it was so special to spend alone-time and co-sleep with my cute little baby. It was also nice to come home and be with Nick, Thomas and James again. I came home to the cleanest house. Nick had even scrubbed the white tile in our kitchen... and bought me roses. Good job Nick. He also insists on doing all of the laundry and shopping. My rough delivery last time is really paying off now! Thomas and James are fascinated with the new baby and love to help out in every way they can. James was so excited to hold him for the first time. We love our little baby so much and feel so blessed!

The Cat in The Hat

This is for the friends who have requested a "belly shot!"
What a silly dad Thomas and James have!

They were so excited to go to a "costume party!" 

"Then those Things ran about 

With big bumps, jumps and kicks

And with hops and big thumps

And all kinds of bad tricks.

And I said,

I do  NOT like the way that they play!

If Mother could see this,

Oh, what would she say!"

Thomas and James love to read stories, especially Dr. Seuss books. They are so much fun and have so much energy! I feel like I am the mom of thing one and thing two!

So, for Halloween this year, Thomas is "Thing One", James is "Thing Two" and Nick is the famous "Cat in the Hat." 

We went to our ward "Trunk or Treat" last night and had a great time. This week has been great to do some fun things as a family before our new baby comes. I am going in tonight to be induced so I will probably have him tomorrow! 

Thank you for the Baby Showers!

It was so fun for me to celebrate the upcoming arrival our new baby boy with two baby showers this week! I didn't expect anyone to give me a shower for our third baby but it was so fun to get together with friends and any baby whether it's the first or seventh is a huge blessing worth celebrating! Friends that go to law school with Nick threw us a baby shower last Saturday. It is so wonderful to have a strong LDS community at Stanford. Nick has loved getting to know his classmates. On Tuesday evening, my friends in the ward gave me a special shower involving an incredible culinary experience... dinner featuring my favorite Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) recipes! I am so lucky to be in a ward with such fun girls!

 

Fun Visitors...

We had a fun weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Buehner out to visit! Thomas and James remembered them and were very excited to see them (and their keys). We went to a darling pumpkin patch in Half Moon Bay where the boys not only picked pumpkins, but they also got to ride ponies, pet little animals, and ride the little train. Thomas and James are lucky to have young grandparents with so much energy! We went to a fun park while Gary and Nick went to Priesthood Session and Grandma was running UP the steep slides after the boys!