Random

Hi folks!  I should be cleaning out my desk right now. (Ginger, I've got most of it done.  I promise, you'd be totally proud.)  I just have that left over stuff that I really don't know what to do with, ie, random cables, CD cases, basic desk junk.
 
Anyway, I digress.  Sam and I recently purchased a new computer in efforts of saving all of our children's pictures and documents being eternally lost on our old computer.  I'm the lucky one and got the super fun job of transferring said files and photos onto the new computer.  While doing my lucky job I came across some real gems. 
For your viewing pleasure:

The boys being so cute at our family reunion a couple years back.

Sam, sometime in the early 90's showing his moves.

Back off ladies, he's mine.

 

Ben, probably about 2 months old.  He didn't really smile until he was about 18 months old.  That's truth.  I'm not making it up.  Ask anyone of my sisters or sisters in law.

Ben about 6 months old.

 Tom about 5 months old.  Such a mellow baby.

 The boys just before church in Rexburg, ID.  They're about the same now when it comes to their excitement about church.

The last time a hat was ever too big for Tom.

Eliza in her big girl bath.  She loves bath time.

She has the best blue eyes.  It's the only thing about Eliza that looks anything like Sam.

This could be my all time favorite picture of Sam.  Doesn't he look like he should grow up to be an accountant in this picture.  Either that, or he's an Alex P. Keaton poser.

rocking out....and crawling.

The boys have recently been watching "Sonic Underground" on our pirated Netflix. 

We cancelled our account due to budget cut backs, and have been logging on to my parent's account.  SHHHH don't tell.

Even though I think that "Sonic Underground" is a really lame cartoon, it has added some more entertainment value to our family.  In the cartoon there are 3 main characters: Sonic, Manic, and Sonja.  They are siblings lost a birth who find their way back together and form an awesome rock band.  Ben is Sonic, Tom is Manic, and Eliza is Sonja (not pictured here).  Manic plays the drums while Sonic plays the guitar and does the lead vocal.  Enjoy......

In other news:  my baby turned 6 months old on Nov. 18th.  It's huge.  I know this is so cliche, but where has the time gone?  She is such a good baby.  She is happy all the time.  She loves to cuddle and laugh and smile.  She sleeps through the night.  Last night I put here to bed at 8pm and got her up this morning at 8:30am.  She's a dream.  She loves her brothers.  She likes watching them and giggling at them. 

She doesn't like solid food that much.  I've been trying to transition her to eating one solid meal a day, but she's just not that interested.

She's mobile.  She army crawls all over the place.  When she's not army crawling she's rolling around the room.  She doesn't like to stay in one place.  I need to find a baby gate that will work with the steps that go downstairs.

She is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure!

PS.  She's had a runny nose since September.  We've dealt with 3 ear infections since then.  What are your tips for keeping your baby healthy?

HALLOWEEN. . .and other stuff.

This year Halloween was a lot of fun. The older the boys get, the more fun they have dressing up and going trick-or-treating. Ben started the day going to preschool and having his Halloween Program*. He was adorable as usual. His teacher, Mrs. King, does such a great job of making everything so fun.

Ben in his dragon costume, waiting for the program to start.

Mrs. King showing the witch's brew the kids made.

Ben and his class.

 

After preschool we got ready for our neighborhood trunk-or-treat.  Not too many people came, but it was perfect for the boys.  After trunk-or-treat we came home and had dinner.  Sam and our wonderful neighbor Bill took the boys trick-or-treating.They came home with a lot of candy.  Bill's wife Vivian brought over two carved pumpkins for the boys.  One carved like a dragon and the other like a silly jack-o-lantern.  Bill and Vivian also gave us two light-up pumkins (to the right of Ben).  Bill and Vivian are the best neighbors ever!  The boys loved all of the pumpkins. 

Today was crazy hair day at preschool.  Ben wanted his hair "spikey".

I had some left over black hair spray from Halloween, so we did some polka-dots too.  Ben was super excited to go to school with his hair crazy.

*I'm working on posting the video from his program.  My computer is having a hard time.

First Cold

 Today my baby girl woke up with a boogery nose. She didn't sleep well at all last night. I got up with her 3 times. She's obviously not feeling well, which means she has a cold. I'm so sad for her. But even though she's not feeling so hot she still smiles all the time. I love her for that. Here are a few pics from this morning.


                          

Don't you love her dimples!  They're the best!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

This recipe is from a Relief Society activity in my mom's ward.  She raved about how well the detergent works, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Double this recipe to make 5 gallons.

1 whole bar of Ivory Soap or 1/3 bar Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 c. Borax Powder (found on the laundry isle, ie 20 mule team borax)
1/2 c. Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (I found this by the laundry detergents at my local grocery, but if you can't find it there try a hardware store like Lowe's or Home Depot)
Bucket
Water

Instructions:
1.) Grate bar soap into large sauce pan.  Use a cheese grater or food processor. (I put my soap in my blender and once it was chopped up small I added 2 of the 6 cups from the next step and blended it together.)
2.)  Add 6 cups hot water and heat on med. high on stove until the soap melts and dissolves.
3.)  Add Borax and Washing Soda.  Stir until dissolved.
4.)  Pour 4 cups hot tap water into bucket.
5.)  Add soap mix to bucket and stir together.
6.)  Add another 22 cups of hot water and stir until combined.
7.)  Let soap cool and set up for 12-24 hours.
Use 1/2 cup per load.

Tips:  You can essential oils for fragrance.  You can also add a bit more Borax or Washing Soda (about 3/4 cup) if you want more cleaning power.
This works with front load washers as it doesn't create a lot of suds.  Use 2 tablespoons.  Add detergent right in with clothes.
Rather than use a 5 gallon bucket, before it gels up, you can pour into gallon jugs.

11 years ago I married Sam Knecht in the Los Angeles LDS Temple for time and all eternity.  There has never been any moment, not even a second, of the last 11 years that I wished I wasn't married to Sam.  I am the luckiest girl in the world to be married to Sam Knecht.  I love him even more today than I did 11 years ago.  There are so many reasons to love him.  I'd like to share 11 (in no particular order) of the infinite reasons that I love him:

1.  Sam is the father of Ben.

It was so exciting and special to jump off into parenthood together with Ben as our first.  Every little experience of becoming a parent was even better because it was with Sam.

2. Sam is the father of Tom.

When we found out I was pregnant with Tom we were stunned.  We were a little scared about being the parents of two children so close in age.  Sam moved on with courage and determination.  Not once did he ever back down from changing a diaper or getting up in the middle of the night to soothe a crying baby.  Becoming parents to 2 boys within 14 months of each other made us a stronger couple. 

3.  Sam is a "hands on" dad.

Sam loves doing activities with the kids.  He's the pumpkin carver, cake decorator, toy picker-upper and wrestle master of our house.  He can take just about any activity and turn into a fun time with our kids. 

4.  Sam loves the outdoors.

He loves to be playing outside or camping with our family. 

5. Sam is extremely good looking.

Nuff said. 

6.  Sam is a very hard worker.

Not only does he provide for our growing family, he takes care of a lot of the work around the house.  He would tell you that he's very lazy, but I know the truth, he's not.  In college he only got 2 B's and all the rest A's on his report card and now that he's working to provide for us he generally works 10-12 hours a day 5 days a week.  What's more, he's always willing and ready to pitch in immediately when he gets home from work.

(That's him shoveling snow in front of our house.) 

7.  Sam is the father of Eliza.

When we found out we were having a girl it took me a while to get excited.  Sam had been hoping for a girl all along.  Eliza is definitely daddy's little girl.  It's one of the sweetest things to see Sam holding and lovingly caring for our daughter.  I don't know what it is, but it's some how different from when the boys were babies.

8.  Sam loves to travel.

Sam loves to explore and experience new places.  It's so fun to be with him and learn new things about different places. 

9.  Sam married me in the Los Angeles LDS Temple.

Sam loved me enough to marry me for time and all eternity.  He takes that very seriously and has always honored the covenants and commiments that he made on that day, July 28, 2000.

10.  Sam has a great sense of humor.

Sam loves to laugh.  He has one of the best laughs ever!  He's really funny.  He gets the joke.  He loves being silly and having fun, but never at the expense of anyone else.

11.  Sam is my man.

Some women say that they've "married the man of their dreams".  I don't like that saying.  I prefer to think that I've married the man of my reality.  He's real.  He's has a few tiny imperfections, but it's because of those imperfections that he can love me, his imperfect wife.  He's my favorite person ever. 

I love you Sam Knecht.

Family Fun . . . What a Blessing

Last Sunday July 3, 2011 Sam blessed Eliza in church.  It was a beautiful  blessing.  It was so nice to be surrounded by our family and friends on such a special occasion. 

Here are a few pictures of Eliza in her blessing dress.  Eliza's blessing dress is really special because it was made from the same fabric as my wedding dress and it was made in the same pattern that my blessing dress was made.  My mom had always promised that should would make a replica of my blessing dress for my first baby girl because after I was blessed my mom put my blessing dress on display at the fabric store she was working at.  The dress was subsequently stolen from the fabric store.  Eliza's dress was beautiful.  Thanks mom!

The wonderful thing about having a baby and then blessing her in church, was the arrival of family.  Mine and Sam's families came for the big day.  It was so nice to spend time with them.  I'm sad that I didn't take more pictures, I didn't even get any of my family.

Here are a few of Grandma Knecht bathing Eliza. Grandma loves to bathe little babies in the sink. She's a good grandma.

These pictures are from the first Sunday we took Eliza to church.  Don't my boys look so cute with my little girl.  I love my little family!

 

I'm in love.

My sis-in-laws were recently in town and while they were here the super talented Camille Knecht did a little photo shoot with Eliza.  The pictures are magnificent.  (Really Camille, you have a gift.)

Check some of the photos out here.

Have I told you lately how much I love my children, and especially the newest addition, Eliza?  Well, I do.  I love her.  She's so much fun to have around.  She makes the sleepless nights worth it.

Mom Eliza Jeans

A few days before Eliza was born my mom came to help.  What a blessing!  She was here for 2 full weeks.  It was so nice to have her love and support here in the house.  There's nothing like having your mom's reassurance that you're doing the "mother thing" right. 

Thanks mom for all your help.  And thanks dad for letting her stay so long.

Here's a few little videos from last week.  Tom found the camera and decided to be a film maker before I caught him.

Eliza being cute.  She had the hiccups, like usual.

My lovely sis-in-law Katie has been here since Wednesday.  It's been great, especially since Sam has been gone since Wednesday.  Yesterday we went to Wheeler Farm to see the animals.  It was great to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Brotherly love.

Tom was not afraid of any of the animals.  He wanted to be up close and personal with all of them.

Ben and Tom talking to the goats.

Looking out the tree house window.

Katie bought Eliza some really cute onesies that actually fit her.  So we played dress up and found some "mom jeans" for her to wear.  Isn't she cute?

I love that she's already posing for the camera.

I kept thinking of the "mom jeans" skit from SNL all day.