Predictions.

Britta 's life has been somewhat like a hurricane.  Once one location has been demolished, desolated and conquered she moves on to the next stage in her path and does the same thing over and over again.  Quite a force to be reckoned with.  Birthdays for us have never been easy and #3 was no different.  We had a blast, there was NO crying BUT Gunnar was out of town and I was on solo - hence the lack decent pics and my new vow to NEVER have a birthday party alone again.  It was fun, hot and chaotic.  


When I think back at Britta's Birthdays they are very descriptive of how that following year will go.  When she was born she did not sleep for the first 12hrs after she was born and screamed most of those hours.  Very much like her infant year.  Her first Birthday I don't even want to talk about because it was probably the worst birthday I have ever been to.  Lets just leave it at that. During that year she gave us a run for our money.  Just when we thought she would get better... it got worse!


 Second birthday wasn't so bad but there was still a sense of the infant we knew.  Touchy and temperamental.  This year we have had our moments (many of them) but we are surviving.  Her Third birthday was fun but the ENTIRE day of her birthday she was a bon-a-fide birthday monster.  If birthdays are at all the prediction of the future I feel as if we are in for another wild one. It's the only way we know!

The AMAZING birthday cake Bethany made!

lips, make-up and more.  She didn't let go of those for the whole following week!

Better than I even could have imagined!
Bethany I OWE YOU BIG!!

The most AMAZING cake ever! DELISH!

Now that he is naughty...
he's my favorite BOY!

The only real picture of Britta

Ohh! The birthday presents were PERFECT!
She loves every one of them!

She HAD to have her lips opened NOW!

By the end of the party Britta ended with her birthday suit of course!
And can I say the piano from grandma was A-DOR-A-BLE!

Apparently Shelby stole my camera.
I had little control over anything that day
Its more regular than you think!

A happy birthday to Britta - heaven help us.

Forced Freedom

Ah, freedom - something that we take for granted. When we were younger all we wanted to do was grow up and have more FREEDOM.  Freedom to make our own choices, do our own thing, be our own person. As we got that freedom we soon realized that freedom came at a cost.  Costs that consisted of paying taxes, going to work and getting an education and all the lovely things that growing up and having freedom actually means. 

Freedom has a new face in our world.  Britta.  Who else?  

Britta has started preschool this week as well as a new playgroup on Fridays.  Many wonderful exciting things at our house.  I actually get some freedom from Britta. I love that she is growing up and becoming more independent.... at least that is the end goal. 

Britta likes the idea of going to Preschool, but as we drive closer and closer to preschool the water works kicks into high gear .  It is apparent that I am not getting my freedom without a fight.  I should have known, nothing in Britta's life has been easy.  Not even getting her to this earth....

So, I fight on.  With tears and, me all but kicking her into the door and making a run for it and not looking back, before someone stops me and says "yea we changed our minds she maybe needs another year or so..."  You can see from the pictures I try to get her as cute as possible in hope that maybe they will have pity on me and think she is cute enough to have in their class.....

In all honesty this is our reality before preschool.
Cute but not happy about it.

Its not "Freedom isn't Free" at our house... it's Forced.

Angels and Demons

The world is made up of opposites. They attract each other.  There can not be one with out the other. Heavenly Father has made us this way.  This is true with our last endeavor.  We had a chance to go up to Pinetop this last week and we had a wonderful time.  The days were filled with playing outside in the cool, clean mountain air.  It was cold and it rained - we took naps and cooked and ate quite well.  It was heaven.  It was the sabbatical that I needed.  But it came a quite a cost....

Britta was the cost.  She loves the cabin! She plays and Grandma gives her whatever she wants.  She eats and plays with her cousins.  Then the night comes and the Demon rears its ugly head. The first night we gave her, her own room. She went to bed great but 9:45 rolls around and she wakes up and the night really begins. Eventually she finds herself into my bed. Wonderful. Just when I thought she was asleep I would feel a slight tap, tap, tap then her fuzzy head would lift up in the dark and whisper "goodnight mommie, I love you." Heaven.  By the 15th time at 3AM Hell. 

The next few nights we drugged her.  Heavily.  Sedation works. Heaven.

Gunnar came up on Friday - we decide not to prod the demon so we blew up an aero bed for Gunnar and Britta stays in my bed.  The demon can not be persuaded.  She comes back alive again with full force this time.  Switching from Daddy's bed to Mommies and getting out of bed, talking, playing and crying Oh, the crying mixed with screams of course; all at 2AM (meanwhile the Foothills Ward Teachers, Priests and leaders were sleeping in the family room) Awkward...

Lesson taken from this.  There is a balance in all of God's creations.  We happen to have one of His chosen creations in our home.  She is an Angel sent to us to bring us joy, happiness and love but she is also a demon meant to torment us, question our abilities and sanity.  We love her and even when we question selling her to the Circus (which she does not agree with) we really can not get enough of her. 

So impressed with my picture taking skills

My most favorite Brother!

Pure bliss
Painting at the cabin!

She pooped on the potty so we drove to the closest place that had "lips"
which as it turns out is like 15 min away from the cabin.
It was worth it!

More painting

More lips

As it was pouring rain outside Gunnar and & Britta snuggled on the hammock.
Totally adorable!

She looks angelic right
There are two sides to every story

The best mom ever!
We had a blast!