Tah-Dah!!

The moment we'd all been waiting for had finally arrived!! Gwennie made her grand entrance into the world and took her place among her family. It's so funny to me how these little babies just seem to settle right in and it seems like they've always been here. I can't imagine my life without her and it's so strange for me to think that she's only been here on earth for such a short time--- I feel like I've known her my whole life. I guess it's just another affirmation that we really were best friends up in heaven!!

Our newest addition!! We sure love our little Gwennie!!

Gwennie weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. She was only 1 oz. heavier than Beau and only a 1/2 inch longer--- but on a baby, that goes a long way. She was a chunky little monkey! The c-section was a piece of cake, except that I got a little bit anxious and impatient towards the end. I didn't like the oxygen mask and I HATED not being able to feel and control my legs. Just before the Doctor took Gwen out, I started to complain to Paul that I wanted to move my legs and I got really upset when I couldn't do it on my own. He was trying to soothe me and tell me that it was almost over, but I didn't want to hear it. Then he said "Oh, oh---- here she comes, here she comes!!"----- and I didn't believe him!! I thought he was just telling me that to calm me down!! But then I heard her cry and that was it!! My baby girl was finally here. The best thing about it was that I got to hold her the whole time I was being stitched up. Since I wasn't running a fever like I did with Beau, she just got to hang out with Paul and I and we had so much fun getting to know her during her first few minutes of life. It got even better when I was wheeled out of the operating room and there was Beau, waiting anxiously for us to come out. When he saw me he said, "Oh mommy!! I was so worried about you!!" That's my sweet little boy-- always so concerned about other people's feelings. In the recovery room, I didn't waste any time and I immediately got to work on nursing, and Gwennie caught on like a pro. Beau was so cute when he met Gwen for the first time---- the nurse was telling him that she was his new baby sister (as if he didn't already know) and he looked at her and said "I know!! And I like her!" We spent only a few days in the hospital and we got to go home the following Saturday. And just like it always does, life just picked up where I had left it except now I had two little nuggets instead of just one.

Aunt Kaylee and Grandma Rash worked so hard on this cute banner to welcome Gwen home!


Gwen made the transition into parenting 2 kids very easy for me. We never had any problems nursing and by the time she was 2 weeks old, she was pretty much sleeping through the night. It scared me to death the first time she did it, but it's oh so very nice now. It shouldn't surprise me, but she is the exact opposite of Beau. Beau loved his binky, Gwen won't have anything to do with one. She did suck her thumb for about 4 months, but she gave it up. I was kinda sad when she did, cuz it was so cute, but I know in the long run, it's best. You can take away a binky, but you can't take away a thumb. Beau preferred to lay on his back, Gwen prefers her tummy. Gwen loves her crib, Beau wouldn't sleep in his own bed until he was about 19 months. Gwen will take a bottle, Beau had a fit if I even had one in my hand. Beau didn't have much of a temper, Gwen has very much of a temper (typical girl). So between the two of them, I've gotten a taste of just about everything.

The world's best big brother!! Beau absolutely adores Gwen!!

Paul joined his work softball team and they started the season around March. Beau and I made it to all the games before Gwen was born, but after she came Beau went with Grandma Cheryl to rest of the them. He had a lot of fun cheering for his Daddy and he made friends with all the other kids that were there cheering for their Daddies. His favorite part was getting to go out onto the field after the game was over and run the bases with Dad. He even slid into home base a couple of times!!

Hit a homerun Daddy!!

My 2 handsome boys!

No clue what they're looking at?

Running the bases!!

Life got crazy bust around mid-July with the upcoming Crump Family Reunion. This year we were all traveling to Wyoming to go on the Martin's Cove Handcart Trek and then onto a week of camping. I look forward to the Reunion all year because it's the one chance I really have to get to see my older sister Kym and her family. They all live in Madison Wisconsin and I didn't want to miss seeing them this year. So Paul and I packed up our little family joined the rest of the Crumps out in the middle of the Wyoming desert. What an emotional and eye opening experience that was for me!! There were stories of pioneer women who had given birth to their babies and then set out on the trek the very next day! What an incredible sacrafice and a huge amount of faith that took! My family only went on the 1 day trek, which was only about a 5 mile hike--- I can't even imagine traveling the thousands of miles that the pioneers did-- and they did it in the middle of winter too. It makes me so grateful to live in the times that I do and for all of the conveniences and luxuries that I take for granted everyday. We are all so blessed to have it so easy.

Our cute little pioneers helping push the hand cart, and me with my little bundle strapped to my chest!!

Beau and his cousin Nate throwing rocks in the water!! They were too cute!!

Roastin' marshmallows!

Gwen and her cousin Dakota!

The day after we got home from Wyoming, Beau started swimming lessons at the pool here in Stansbury. He had some great teachers and it was so fun to go and watch all of the little kids splash around in the kiddie pool. They did venture into the big pool several times to go off the diving board, and at first Beau wasn't too sure about participating. But it wasn't the diving board that he was aprehensive about--- it was the fact that he had to wear a life jacket. We finally talked him into wearing one and he had so much fun bailing off the diving boards--- in fact, he preferred the higher board and his teachers had to keep a close eye on him and make sure he didn't sneak off during class to jump into the big pool.

Our little daredevil!!

A few days after swimming lessons started, it was time to celebrate Beau's 3rd Birthday. This Birthday was extra special because his cousin Nate from Wisconsin was here in Utah and they got to celebrate their 3rd Birthday's together. Nate is only 4 days older than Beau so we had a big ol' bash for the 2 of them. Beau and Nate hadn't ever had the chance to play together until the reunion in Wyoming, but they completly hit it off and were practically inseperable the whole time. They both have so much in common and they played so cute together. So for their Birthday's we got the Jump House again, but the big hit of the party was the pinata. Since we still don't have any trees in our yard, Paul was brave enough to hold the stick that the piniata was tied to and all the kids had fun taking turns whacking it. Paul came pretty close to getting whacked too, but he made it out unscathed--- thank goodness!!

Piniata Pandamonium!!





She says she was just "holding it" for someone else---- yah, right!!



The Birthday Boys!!


So did I mention that Gwen was a perfect angel during all of this chaos??!! From being hauled clear across the state for the reunion, and being lugged out to swimming lessons every day, to dealing with all of the noise and commotion for a double Birthday party for a bunch of crazy 3 year olds--- she never protested once. She really is a very agreeable baby. When I mentioned before that she has a temper, it's only when she's tired. And she doesn't waste anytime letting you know that she's upset like---- if she's mad, she's going to let you know right then. She can instantly go from being a calm, serene, sweet little girl to a wailing, high-pitched screaming fire engine. That's the only thing that I can compare her to is a fire engine, cuz that's how loud she can scream. It's not too bad though, cuz her little tantrums are short lived and she'll calm down almost as quickly as it takes her to get going.

Our sweet little fire engine!!

After our crazy month of July ended we only had a little while to relax since we had another big occasion on the horizon--- Beau was starting pre-school. He'd been begging me to let him go since he was 2 and we had been looking forward to starting school for such a long time!! My neighbor had referred me to where her kids had gone to pre-school, and when I met the teacher, Miss Tara, we fell in love with her. She holds her preshcool in the basement of her house and she is amazing--- she's so great with the kids and Beau has already learned so much. He can recite the entire alphabet and recognizes all of the letters and knows almost all the sounds they make. Beau was crazy about Miss Tara from the beginning and so excited to start school. It was a very bittersweet time for me however!! I was so excited for him to start and it's so much fun to see him growing and learning so much, but this is the time when he starts to leave me!! As he get's older, he's going to start leaving me more and more everyday and he's not my baby anymore. In fact, he reminds me daily that he's not a baby, he's a big boy!! Sometimes I just wish that I could freeze time and keep him this age longer, because he's just growing up so fast!

My Big Boy!

First day of school outside of Miss Tara's house and playing with his classmates!!

Shortly after school started, we all took a trip up into the mountains to enjoy the beautiful Fall colors. Being the good sport that she is, Grandma Cheryl came with us to take some family photos. Beau got really bored taking pictures and wanted to play in the leaves, so he was pretty upset by the time we left because we had been making him pose for pictures when he wanted to play!!

Daddy and his kids!

Mommy and her kids!!

Our sweet little family!

Halloween was great this year because it was still so warm outside--- we didn't even have to wear a jacket. Beau has been obsessed with John Deere Tractors for a very long time, so we thought it was only appropriate that he get to be one for Halloween. Aunt Kaylee found the cutest little Tiger costume for Gwennie and she looked absolutely adorable in it. Beau's little school class did a Halloween program for all of the parents outside of Miss Tara's house, and it's a good thing I was wearing my sunglasses that day, cuz I cried through the whole thing--- it was so cute!! They paraded down the street in all of their costumes and sang little Halloween songs for us and I was so proud of him!

Beau and his teachers, Grandma Pat and Miss Tara.

The whole class making "scary faces"!!

Parading down the street!

Our little tiger, Aunt Kaylee and Grandma Rash.

We decided to keep Christmas a little bit more humble this year rather than going crazy on gifts like we have the past few years, and I'm glad we did. It gave me a lot more time to reflect on what Christmas is really about and it allowed me get more into the true spirit of Christmas. I'm so grateful to my Big Brother, my Savior, for His life and for the sacrafice he made so that I can enjoy all of the wonderful things that I've been blessed with. It's hard for me to describe how much I love and appreciate Him--- there really are no words for it.

However, we didn't go totally giftless. Santa brought a new baby for Gwennie and a Handy Manny tool truck for Beau. Mommy got some tickets to Hale Center Theatre and Daddy got a boring old sweat shirt (poor Daddy)!!

....... so I'm still living in the stone ages and haven't splurged on a digital camera yet, so I don't have any Christmas pictures developed yet. This is the only Christmas picture I have so far, so I'll add more to this post later. And now that you all know that I don't have a digital camera I have an excuse as to why it takes me so long to post!!