Nice Socks, David

Yup, that's the only pair of socks we could find today, even after we hunted through the dirty clothes. Poor orphan child.

Pumpkin Patch

I love how this picture makes it seem like we are in the middle of nowhere. In reality, we are smack in the middle of a huge city called Irvine. In Orange County, it is impossible to get away from people.

We took a pretty fun hike through a corn maze that led to these cute vegetable characters. Not one of them looked quite as tasty as my little James. :)

David and his cousin Natalia "lost" in the corn

As a comparison, here's the two of them four years ago at the same pumpkin patch... still such good buddies!

Pretty Baby

My favorite of Ruth's features: those eyes!

Here is a hint of a smile. Those baby smiles make all the hard work well worth it! Actually, her colic has worked itself out, and she is an amazingly good baby. I am really lucky!

My "D". I posted this picture because he looks like such a big boy. Will he ever stop growing?!!

Conference weekend was quite wonderful. I really needed to hear President Monson's talk on gratitude. Joseph came up with this wonderful idea. We put up a tent for the kids to watch conference in, loaded it with snacks, toys, and blankets, and they LOVED it! I loved it too, because instead of trying to entertain the kids, I could focus on listening to the talks.

Today has been a good day. It's been rainy, but I've been able to do lots of cleaning, cooking, and laundry. We have had an ant invasion the past few days and I finally solved it by sprinkling pepper all over the "hot" spot. Within an hour, there was no ant in sight! Hooray!

Ruth at 7 weeks

Here's an update on Ruth. She finally gave us some amazing smiles yesterday. She even smiled at David, which absolutely melted his heart. It is cute to see a relationship already developing between them.

We have been a sick house lately. It started on Monday when David came home from school and threw up all over the place. Tuesday, Ruth came down with a nasty cough (I thought that nursing would ensure that she didn't get sick!). By Friday, the flu bug caught up with James and I. For the first time ever, Joseph had to take work off to take care of us. Gratefully, I have been able to continue nursing through it all, and we are getting our strength back. James has been a heap in my arms all day, but when I pulled out the camera, he flashed this handsome smile. I am so glad that I have a child who likes the camera.

happenings

It's been a while since I last posted. Life feels like a crazy rollercoaster with some good days and some not-so-good. I am sure I drive Joseph crazy on the not-so-good days because I spend half the day in tears with no good reason. Joseph is a huge help. Most nights I hand him the baby at about 8:00 and he takes over while I go to bed. Three is hard!

Despite the adjustment, we are having fun. My mom spoiled me with a two week visit. My dad flew in one weekend for the baby blessing. Ruth was too small for her blessing dress, so she had nothing fancy to wear. It was okay, though, because the most important part of the day was her ordinance. During her blessing, I felt such an overwhelming sense of gratitude to have her in our family.

It has been a very cool summer. I really expected my dad to take a swim in the water, but even he felt it was too cold (growing up, he used to drag us into the Pacific in January).

So, David gets the badge of courage:

Ruth couldn't swim in the ocean, but she did get to try out the bath tub.

Now that all of Joseph's family is gone, we have spent most our days at home. Overall, it's been nice for David and James to have some time to figure out how to play together. Most days, we don't get out of our PJs until lunchtime. This was an activity that David came up with.

Here's what James has come up with:

One more picture... One reason that I am married to Joseph is for his creativity. He took this idea out of the Friend and did this FHE for the boys. We even got to throw "darts" at them.

Three

Sand-bearded faces

Can this princess survive two big brothers?

All is well in the Larsen household. James is down to half-day tantrums, so we are seeing improvement. My mom has been visiting from South Carolina for the past week. She has been a huge help with the boys... I am really going to be sad when she's gone. Ruth keeps growing and changing. I am loving every minute of it.

Ruth Ann Larsen!

Finally here after 7 hours of labor and a "sunny side up" entrance.

born July 29

8 lbs 8 oz and 20 inches long

These picture are all a good representation of what she looks like these days... asleep. So far, she is very calm, even when her brothers are creating havoc and when the dog is barking. James follows her around and says "mine.. mine!" When he holds her, he is gentle for about 30 seconds before he starts poking and pulling. When mommy rescues the baby, he throws a huge temper tantrum. Hopefully, he'll adjust soon.

Proud brothers. David especially loves having a sister and picks her a flower almost everyday. On the way home, he requested two more siblings. ... we won't be thinking about that for a LONG time.

5 days later... David turns 5! Joseph's mom helped us out by throwing a birthday party. David was lucky to have 9 cousins in town plus his Grandma Mumford, so it turned out to be quite the party. He requested hamburgers, watermelon, chips, pickles, and chocolate cake. His cousins decorated a chair just for him and he was royally spoiled.

Here is a close up of his face.. is that excitement or what? We are so grateful to have David in our family. He is so patient with his little brother and showers us with love every day. It is fun to watch him grow. Yesterday, he finally mastered pumping his legs on the swing. He also loves to be read to and to have things explained to him. His favorite gifts? new legos and Megatron!