Lost & Found

LOST: 1 cute, melodic voice. (Daniel's words)

FOUND: Stuarts voice!

If you find my voice please send it back!

On another note of finding something, Daniel must have been a good boy this year because we found a little McKay in his stocking!


Merry Christmas!

Brothers and Sister

My kiddos are loving having a baby brother around. I may have said that already but I have some pictures of them giving McKay some loves.

Benson holding McKay. He will sit and hold McKay for about 45 minutes at a time.

Kimber was cute holding him. She was rocking back and forth humming. Now she demands her McKay time. She is quite the little mommy bringing McKay his soother all the time, his hats, burp cloths, blankets and my nursing cover.

We tried to recreate a photo shoot that was done in the hospital. They are amazing pictures but a little out of our reach right now to buy so here is some of our attempts at getting those pictures!

So these pictures don't quite measure up to the ones from the hospital but he is out cute little man!

I just had to add this one. He looks so funny!

More lovin's from brother and sister!

My first child to take to a soother! It is sanity! I have to say though that this type of soother kinda creeps me out but it keeps him happy!

His little feet. Well little compared to the Benson and Kimber's bun feet. McKay's toes are so long... his pinky toes is almost as long as his other toes.

So long for now. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Mr McKay

Here are (finally) more pictures of our little McKay. We are so happy to have him in our family. He really is the perfect little addition. Brother and Sister just adore him and try to love him so much... almost too much!

Here is Daniel, the proud Daddy. We thought it would be a neat birthday gift if they shared a birthday but didn't think it would really happen. Well Happy Birthday Daniel!

My first time holding McKay. Right after he was born they put him on my tummy but that really grosses me out so I asked them to clean him up before bringing him back.

Our little guy snuggling at 1 day old.

McKay all ready to come home. When I saw this onesie I couldn't resist getting it for him to come home in! (it says New in Town)

McKay and I chillin' while waiting to go down to the car to come home.

McKay is a great baby. He is really content and hardly cries. We have been wondering when he is going to get fussy but he hasn't.

I will blog the delivery story another night. Until then just know that it wasn't what I expected and was the longest one yet for me!

We are loving being home and a big thank-you to all the help and well wishes we have been given!

McKay William Bateman

Baby McKay William Bateman was born on Sunday, November 14, 2010. He is 8 lbs 10 oz and 22 inches. Mom and baby are healthy and recovering well!

3 Musketeers

Thanks to Lisa I have a picture of the 3 Musketeers at our Trunk-or-Treat. They were so cute!

Short update on life here. Saturday was my birthday and my body decided it would be a good day to start false labor. Yay! Please note the sarcasm in that! The plan is that I am going to be induced on Monday. My parents will be coming down on the weekend and we will celebrate Daniel's birthday with them then go and have the baby shortly there after. It is great to have an end date in mind. My sanity is worth asking being induced 3 days early!

Until then I have to clean the house... it needs it! Get some extra things sold from around the house that we haven't used since moving here, go to an Ice Cream baby celebration... not a shower just an excuse for us girls to get together! That about sums it up.

Oh, have I mentioned I have been reading the Hunger Games books? Daniel gave me the second two for my birthday. I finished the last one last night. Now I can concentrate on other things other then the drama that is Katniss Everdeen's life!

Trunk-or-Treat!

Our ward put on a Trunk-or-Treat yesterday for all the kids. It was really fun despite the rain. Surprise... we are in Portland. That is like saying 'we went trick-or-treating even though there was snow' back home. It was great to take the kids out and have it all over with in the afternoon! Thanks Julie for planning it!

Here is our family after making the rounds. Daniel took the kids around while I handed out the candy at our van. Great thing about having a hatch back is that it shelters you in the rain! If any of you guess what Daniel and I are 'Kudos' to you! (Think about it until the end then I will let you know!)

Showing off our Bumble Bee and Puppy dog. Thanks for a friend here in the ward we got to super cute costumes for the kids. Their son in 9ish months old but has been given years worth of costumes! Luckily there was one that would fit each of the kids! There weren't any antennas for Kimber's costume so I just did little pig tails up to instead. She looked so cute!

Bens opted to stay with me at the trunk when Daniel went to get some drinks for us. That should make me feel special but I really know he wanted to sit there and eat his candy. He has been almost inseparable from his bucket since he filled it yesterday!

After our Trunk-or-Treat we went to a party our friends were planning for their church. Bens had a blast running around being chased by 'the bad guys' aka Iron Man. At one point he came up and asked for wings so he could chase the bad guys. I had to tell him no because we didn't have any wings with us. Silly kid!

Finally Daniel and I sporting our costumes. Any last guesses? My costume made more sense when Daniel was around. Not too many got right away that I was a gumball machine when they saw me alone. Thanks to Ali for the suggestion! It was between this and the Staple's easy button. Daniel and I won the 'Spooky Honorable Mention' for best costume at the Trunk-or-Treat. Next year if anybody is needing a costume for a fairly pregnant woman I have got you covered! We have two shirts dedicated to this costume now!

How to Play

So I have been tagged. I answer the questions and then make up my own and tag 5 other people.

1. Most embarrassing moment.
Unfortunately the only thing coming to mind is my first kiss. Cliff Notes version... I left a Stake Dance early and went around the side of the building with a guy. What I didn't think about was my parents coming to pick me and my friends up from the dance who showed up early and watched this happen. They sent my friends to find me when they came out. There have been a few catch phrases that friends from then will recognize but I will not put in here. Soooo Awkward!

2. If you could have an endless supply of any one food, what would you get?
Ketchup chips! I love them, and I hate them. They taste so good that I have a hard time pacing myself with them and then I hate how my mouth burns and sometimes sluffs skin after eating too many! I know... gross.

3. If you could be someone else who would you be and why?
A real person or somebody that I made up? I always said I would love to be a Pop Princess wearing a tuque (beanie for all my American friends) that dressed modestly. It always bugged me that all the celebs wore ridiculous outfits that never covered enough skin. Maybe I am getting a little bit too old for that one though. Somebody real? I have no idea. Pretty happy with me!

4. Top 5 favorite songs of all time.

Ok, maybe this will be my most embarrassing moment. 1- Mmm-Bop, Hanson 2- With Arms Wide Open, Creed 3- When You Say Nothing At All, Alison Krauss 4- Gracie Girl, Ben Folds 5- Time, Chantel Kreviazik

5. Oh what the heck...If you had a million dollars what would you spend it on and why? You have to spend it all in a month!
Well I would first pay off all of Daniel's student loans. Next I would have my dream house built therefore deciding where we are going to be living for the next however many years! Buy new clothes and some shoes and accessories. Pay somebody to come in and do my laundry for life. (I hate laundry, it never ends!) I think that might take care of it. If not we would throw a nice vacation, Japan or Australia or both, in there as well.

My Questions:
1) Where is your ideal place to live?
2) What would your perfect day be like?
3) Most embarrassing moment?
4) If you could meet one person from history, who would it be?
5) Favorite vacation of all?

I'm Tagging
Ali
Cassidy
Diana
Kinsey
Brittany

Have fun!

Umm... It's about time!

So it has been awhile. I got on the ball there for a bit but dropped off the face of the blogging world since then. To make up for it here is one of my massive posts on everything interesting in the past month.

Benson was in dire need of a hair cut. He wouldn't let me do it when I did Daniels so after a bathroom miss hap (third day in a row happening) I told him he had no choice and it was getting cut the next day.

He did pretty well with it and looks so handsome with his new do! I cut it the same as Daniels but you can't tell with Bens as we don't actually do his hair in the morning. That is a blessing of cutting his hair so short!


I thought being in the booster instead of the high chair had stopped Kimber from falling asleep but I guess not. She was so cute!



I started to sing Gracie Girl to Kimber and realized she was out to the world!
At the beginning of October we were invited out to a country estate ( I guess that is what you could call it!) to spend the weekend with some friends. It was really cool place and luckily the weather was nice enough that we could go swimming while we were out there. This is the view from our bedroom window. I would say the only draw back was there were no window coverings so the kids woke up at the crack of dawn. Daniel took them one morning and I took them the next. Thanks Barnette's for inviting and arranging everything for us!!

While we were out that weekend we went into Hood River and had a picnic by the river. It was great. We got to watch Kite Boarders (?) and people training for something. The most entertaining was Benson though. He dropped some tomato on his pants and was trying to get it off. Too funny!

Benson also wanted to show us how he fell on the ground.

While in Hood River we went to get Ice Cream and we tried to get a video of Kimber eating her first ice cream cone but the camera started acting up. So I tested out pictures on Chandler... I don't think he was too impressed with that though!

We had a great Canadian Thanksgiving. Really it was the first one that we spent with our family since we got married. My brother Ian and his family came down for the weekend and rented a house by the beach in Seaside. While we were there we had to go to the Carousel so the kids could have a ride.

Daniel and Shar took the kids on while Ian and I watched. I started getting really dizzy when I took Benson on it in April!

Here they are starting to go around. I guess Kimber loved it except when she saw me. Unfortunately that happened every time around so she would cheer up just in time to see me again. Huxley ended up crying so much they stopped the ride so Shar could sit down with him while the ride finished. He seemed to calm down a bit after that.

It poured the whole time we were in Seaside so our trip in town was short. Here is Kimber sitting in the car waiting to go back to the house. Before we went though we went to a candy store and got some candy for the family to share. The kids loved that!

Finally while we played games that night I made a pie for one of my goals. I learned a few things that I would do different if I was doing the lattice top again. I also learned that I really don't like working with lard! Oh, does it ever stink! Maybe it is the pregnancy nose picking up all the smells but it stuck with me for a long time!

Kimber wore her first ponytail not too long ago. She looked so cute! It also didn't last long. Any tips moms on how to get pony/pig tails to stay in? She sits in her car seat and rubs her head so it comes right out! She looked really adorable while it lasted though!

Benson got a new Mr Potato Head for Halloween and he was more interested in the packaging for a little while. I just had to get it on tape cuz he was being so funny!

Other news from this month. My sister and cousin both had their babies. Yay! Two more girls in the family now! For me that means it made me hit a wall in this pregnancy and feel like it should be over already. On Sunday I had a hard time sitting so it made church really fun. Hopefully at most there will be only 3 more one of which is Stake Conference so it will be shorter! My doctor says I should be a couple more weeks at least. I have hit the stage that when I wake up to go to the bathroom it takes me an hour or two to get back to sleep because I am so uncomfortable. Feel bad for the kids as that shortens my patience with them. Almost there!

As of yesterday Daniel has been approved to start treating faculty and family in the campus health clinic. We are excited as that gets him started on the last of his hours he need in the clinic. The last... he needs over 200 hours! So anybody that is looking for an intern at the clinic ask for Daniel. He is under Dr Patton so especially if he is your clinician and you need a new intern as for Daniel! There, I have given my plug. I always felt awkward when people would ask me to go see their husbands or email me about it so I am just doing a general invitation!

I will try and be better at keeping up to date here for the next bit. Halloween will be fun so I will get those pictures up early next week! Hope everybody has a great weekend!

Cascade Locks

Warning... there are a lot of pictures and photos! Maybe a bit of a long post but I need to put it up for myself so I can always remember this trip!!

Daniel and I have had just one night to ourselves since we started having children and that was over two years ago that we had that. We decided that it was time to have a childless night again and took a trip up the Columbia Gorge to do some sight seeing. It was an amazing trip!! Ben and Meaghan... thank you so much for babysitting the kids for us!

If you get the chance to drive the Historic Columbia Highway (highway 30) go for it!! It was an amazing drive. Slower than the freeway but way more beautiful!

When we go to the Vista House I got a little camera happy so enjoy a lot of pictures/videos of the view!

I kept having troubles with the camera and push the wrong button so here is another video of the view at Vista House.

Daniel and I on the balcony of Vista House.

Daniel... he didn't want me to take a picture of just him. After a guy took our picture I made him stay for a picture of himself.

Daniel wanted a picture of me lounging on this. I kept sliding off until he found somewhere to rest my foot. I am 32 weeks along in this picture. I haven't been too diligent in belly pictures this time around!

This is the Vista House. It used to be a hotel but they have restored it into a Historical Point now.

As we drove along I tried to get some pictures of the falls we passed. I think the only one I successfully got was Multnomah Falls. This one got more of the building at the bottom though.

Daniel slowed down enough for me to get a nice picture of the falls. This is my kind of sightseeing... drive by pictures! Okay, mainly right now it is being pregnant and not wanting to hike but if you know me well enough you know that my kind of hikes have no incline at all so really it's a walk around town!

A tunnel we passed on our way. I missed it on our way up to it so I caught the back end of it.

We stopped at the Bonneville Dam and took a look around. Daniel ran up to show just how big this turbine is. They used this turbine from 1941 until 2000.



It was neat to go in a see the visitor's center there. We watched the fish swim up the fish ladder that helps them get through the dam without getting caught in the turbines! We also went to the top floor of the visitor's center and looked at the view from there. The video is actually of the Spillway, not the dam.

Sorry if you get a little sick watching this one! This is the view as we drove over the dam. If you can't hear what Daniel says he was just saying that just one of the turbines creates enough energy to power 25, 000 houses. That is crazy!

After the Dam we checked into the Cascade Motel. This was our little cottage that we stayed in. It was a one bedroom with a kitchenette. It was really cute inside! After my nap, I really needed one, we went into Hood River for dinner. We ate at a really nice place called 6th Street Bistro and Loft (amazing food).

On our way back to the motel we stopped by the Columbia Gorge Hotel and took a look around. The grounds were so pretty!

Waterfall at the back of the property. This shows just a part of how far it goes down.

Bridge going over the creek that is on the grounds.

I had fun framing Daniel in the tree.

My turn for a picture on the bridge.

This video is a little long but it was such beautiful grounds! Daniel kept swiping his hand across my neck saying cut the video but I thought there was a bug on my neck or something. I finally got the point!

In case we forgot we were at the Columbia Gorge Hotel they made bushes to help us remember. It was really great landscaping!!

The next day on our way home we decided to drive across The Bridge of the Gods that goes from Cascade Locks over to Stevenson, WA. It is a toll bridge and we had enough change to get across the bridge but not back so we drove on the Washington side back to the 205. It was a pretty drive!

Portland Spirit

We are on break!!! It has been a great week so far. We decided that we were actually going to do some things during this break instead of staying in the house and realizing that our 2 weeks has gone by and we haven't done anything.

Our first adventure was a ride on the Portland Spirit. We did a lunch cruise down the Willamette River from downtown Portland. We went down by Milwaukee then turned around and returned to downtown.

Bens loved being on the boat and had a great time looking out the windows!

My little family enjoying the boat!


Kimber didn't enjoy it so much as she was ready for a nap but we got a happy picture of her!

I gave her a ponytail for the first time. She looked really cute!!

Benson asked for his picture to be taken as well... he didn't want to smile though.

Funny kid... I was saying we were turning round and round. Benson started during Round and Round the Garden to himself!

Proof that I was actually on the cruise! These are also my new glasses. I am loving them!

After we ate our amazing lunch we went up to the Star deck and took a look around. Benson went to say hi to the Captain and got to actually drive the boat. He enjoyed it a lot especially after he got to honk the horn.

Benson got a special certificate saying he was an Honorary Captain. He loved it!

Our newest family picture. We haven't had one done since Christmas so it was about time!

Me and the kids relaxing on the boat.

Here is some of the view we got to enjoy on the cruise. Benson really wanted to look out the telescope so I found a quarter and put it in for him to take a look around.

If anybody is looking for something fun and special to do here, this was great! Kids 3 and under are free so it was just the cost of our tickets. We had an amazing time!

Edmonton Fun

We had a great time visiting with family in Edmonton the past two weeks. I have finally downloaded all our videos and pictures so here we are with our third post of the day!

The first weekend we were up was the wedding and we stayed at my sister's house so everybody could have their own bed/room before the wedding. Thank you Brooke for hosting us... even though you never read my blog unless I am at your house and pull it up for you and force you to look at it.

The next week we moved over to Daniel's families house... only Daniel was back in Portland. The kids and I had a great time. Jordan quickly became the favorite in the house. We aren't sure if it was because he was the closest to Daniel's build (Kimber hugged him every time she saw him) or if it was because he had an iPod for the kids to play games on!

I introduced Kimber to one of my favorite Canadian treats... Ketchup chips. I didn't get her initial reaction which was funny but she is pretty cute in this clip!

Bens found Gramps' bike helmet one afternoon and wouldn't leave it alone. Have you seen Mermaids? This reminds me of Kate (Christina Ricci) walking around with the pumpkin on her head saying "Rachel Flax!"

We stopped by my sister's work on our last full day in town and visited while I got my new glasses... pictures to come (?). They had a great time playing in this cupboard and actually found a power bar for Brooke that her work was needing.

Kimber really loves her uncle! She had us laughing pretty hard! Kimber was doing this for about five minutes and this is just a minute of it. Poor Jordan... he is a good sport with the kids!

Brooke came and said good bye to us the night before we flew out so we had to do some belly pictures. Votes... who is due first?

Ok, we had some pretty good expressions on our face during this one but our photographer didn't tell us our heads were being cut off!


Sister's pregnant at the same time! I particularly enjoy that my chest nestles in nicely between hers and her belly. Oh the height difference. Now some of you may understand why I have a short complex when I am really an average height for a woman.

Other highlights of the trip? My parents came up for the long weekend to visit with us. It was great to see them again. We went swimming in Sherwood Park... Millennium Place is a great swimming pool! The kids had a great time in the waves, on the slide and in the lazy river.

Bens also had a bunch of change from Nana to spend at the dollar store and he sure did clean up! We have new cars, balls and puzzles to play with now... Thanks Mom!

Grandma, Daniel's mom, also took the kids shopping for some necessities while we were up there. Silly me, I thought with it being August still that it would be fairly nice weather up there. I was wrong. The kids now have new shoes, socks and sweaters! It was about time to get new ones but it was sad I looked like a slacker mom! I lived life up there with sandals and a pair of Sunday shoes. Daniel picked out a pack of socks for me while shopping with his mom that saved me while walking around the house!

We had a great time back home and now miss it more than before. We are looking forward to moving up there in a year but sure are enjoying being back in Portland for now!

That is all for now. My tailbone is hurting and our little baby boy is bouncing around in my tummy telling me it is time to get out of this chair! Have a good night!