True Love Is.....

Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.


Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.

Louis De Bernieres

I think this is so true and so beautiful! I love you Daniel with this kind of love-and this kind of love will carry us through anything and everything for eternity.

Just Dance Winner

Daniel and I took the Kids to Library Night (one of the priveledges of a small town and we love it) There were all sorts of games such as : library bingo, a book walk, and crafts. The most popular game of the night though had to be the Just Dance Wii game. Tavin insisted he needed to have a turn. And guess what-he won! I have to say, this kid has the moves. Katie got in on the action as well and could hold her own. Just in case you were wondering, the songs are "who let the dogs out" and "womanizer" :)

Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer

Tavin did such a great job in the primary presentation that the Relief Society just had to have him make an appearance at their Christmas party. The first counselor called me a week before and asked if he would be willing to sing a Christmas song. He picked Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and we practiced it every night for a week. As you can see, he did great and everyone loved him. He is so confident and sure of himself-not scared at all to stand up there and do his thing. I hope he never loses that as he grows older.

The next day, the same lady called to thank us for having him perform and asked if he would be willing to do it one more time at a concert held every year in our community by a singing group called the Melodaires. They are a very popular singing group-traveling and performing all over. He eagerly agreed and tonight he performed a solo again in front of hundreds of people. He did an exceptional job and even went up on stage all by himself.

Tavin has a gift of bringing so much happiness and joy into other peoples' lives-we are happy that he has found another way to share of his spirit through his love for singing and stealing the spotlight. GOOD JOB TAVIN! Mom and Dad and Grandma are so proud of you!

Our New Addition Is A...

BABY GIRL! The news that it was a baby girl came a bit as a surprise because Dan and I were "sure" it was a baby boy. Tavin has even been calling it Tie (Short for Tyler)-so sorry girly:) The Ultra sound tech. said-well there isn't anything boy about this baby-it definitely is a girl! Of course we are ecstatic to add another princess to our family (the girls will soon out number the boys). It was rough telling tavin that he isn't getting his brother just yet. He had a little melt down at first but then came to the conclusion that it will be OK to have a baby girl THIS TIME.  No pressure on making the next one a boy or anything:)

We have a couple names up in the air for a baby girl so we will be trying to feel them out for the next couple months. Keep her in your prayers though cause the ultra sound showed that she has some cysts on her kidneys. Nothing to really worry about yet...at 28 weeks they will do another ultra sound to make sure they are gone. Usually they disappear by then but if not....who knows what will need to happen. I would rather them just disappear so there isn't any complications thank you:)

The other news that we got yesterday is that Daniel got the job in UT and we will soon be relocating. Of course I have many stressful concerns but I just have to put my faith in Heavenly Father to make it alright. I will miss our little town and first home very much but guess what-I get to be with my sisters and mom and dad now instead of 4 hours away! Here is to the next big adventure.

Tavin Turned The Big Four!

Guess who is four! Yes our little boy is growing up-our love for him grows along with him. His personality almost seems to burst out of his tiny body and it affects everyone that he meets-for the better. Just his smile brightens my worst days. He is such a loving and feeling little boy and he knows when a hug is needed. He is sooooo social and loves to make friends anywhere.

He is the type of kid that wins dance party at a community library family night against kids older than him, the type who memorized his 5 lines for the primary presentation and totally rocked it when it is his turn at the mic., the type that is going to sing a solo to Rudolph The Red Nose Raindeer at the Relief Society Christmas party this coming thursday, the type that loves getting his hair cut, the type that points me out to the girl who is cutting his hair and tells her: "that's my mom, isn't she so beautiful", the type that comes to the basketball games my young women are in and cheers his little guts out for them-repeating everything I say-just louder, and the type that made friends with the window cleaners today while I was in a boutique returning a shirt:)

Tavin started off his day by taking popcorn to share with his classmates at preschool. Then we went out for pizza and played at play place before heading home. We wrapped his presents and hid them for him to find.

Then it was time for cake. I have started a tradition where I make their birthday cakes-I made him a Buzz light year spaceship cake, then Katie a barbie princess cake, and as you can see from the above pictures-this year tavin asked for a lightening Mcqueen cake. He enjoyed every part of the celebration and loved each present-saying he always wanted it. He got a Lightening Mcqueen movie play, Cars 2 DVD, Rio DVD, and a Leap Frog Reader with books, Grandma Fluffy Hairs and Grandpa came to join in the celebration as well.

To help Katie feel included, I got her a snow white dress up gown-which she wouldn't take off for the rest of the weekend! She is truly a princess:) She has started to speak in small sentences and has developed quite the attitude. She calls my dad "boppa" and is taking after her brother in being extremely social. When we are out, she says hi to everyone she passes.

Dragons, And Skeletons, And Lady Bugs Ohhhhh My!

We always love the excitement and fun of Halloween-as our kids get older and understand what is going on a little more (FREE CANDY) it gets better and better! Tradition holds strong in our family as we traveled to UT to spend the holiday with cousins and family. We had witches brew(root beer provided by great grandma Smith-whom Katie has taken quite a liking too) and eye balls floating in our drinks( thanks grandma fluffy!) with lots of yummy chili and jello cake to eat. Who could ask for a better time:)

Katie wasn't sure how she felt about everything-half the time she was giddy with the sight of candy-so excited when they put the bowl down for her to choose what she wanted(often she would just grab an arm full) and then worried about strangers and spooky costumes! She had plenty of people around to hold her and take her by the hand. Tavin was all smiles and full of fire in his tummy (being a dragon and all). What cute kids we have-seriously!

We Have A Two Year Old In The House!

On October 10th Katie Lynn entered the world of being two. We celebrated with UT cousins by playing freeze dance, duck duck goose, drinking with swirly straws, and eating a barbie princess cake in her honor. Katie loves all the new toys especially her lip gloss, and baby dolls! She got a baby crib for her babies to sleep in from Grandma Fluffy and she seems to think it is made for her!  I often find her curled up in it:)

The barbie cake was a challenge but proved to be worth all the work when Katie got so excited as it was brought out. She was all smiles.

What to say about this little girl....she is getting so big already and I try to cherish every moment. Her speech has improved quite a bit over the last month and she now can make small sentences. She calls Dan, Daniel and still refers to her blanky as 'Mam'. A new love of wrestling with her brother has developed and I can't help but smile as she runs head strong after him-determined to bring him to the ground. She loves toddler lab and tells me "go, go !" when I get her ready in the mornings. My favorite moments are when she randomly comes in search of me-just to hug my leg or cuddle with me. And of course she is still our dancer.

We are so thankful for our Katie girl and all the joy she brings to our family! Here is to another year gone by and many more to come.

Apples Coming Out Our Ears!

After the first frost it was apple picking time in our backyard. We had some friends come over and pick some while we were away in UT so we expected to only have a bag or two. Oh no, the top half of the tree was very plentiful this year and it rained apples as Daniel shook the tree to get them down. We had fun collecting them all. Now for what to do with them....my family does not eat apple sauce so I have decided to try some other apple based treats: apple pie filling, caramel apples, caramel dipping sauce, apple cider, and apple juice. I will report back on how it all goes!

Pickin' Time

It is beautiful wonderful Fall time once again and I am especially thankful for it this year. It has lifted my mood and given me hope for the future. Most people think that it is a dreary time but I see it as a time for preparing for a new growth and renewal. With the new baby on the way, Fall seems to fit the new life that is growing inside me.

General Conference weekend we had some very welcomed visitors at our house. Daniel's mom, sister, and brother came to participate in some of the best parts of fall. We went pumpkin picking at The Red Barn. We enjoyed finding our way through the straw maze, and the kids got rides in the pumpkin wagons. Of course we found our prized pumpkins for this year. Everyone did their share of looking and I am proud to report that the Bauman clan is now experts and the art of pumpkin picking:)

The Peculiar Ways of Pregnancy

 We traced Tavin on a day I was feeling much better and wanted to be in the sun. He did all the art work-hair and coloring of the clothes. He wanted his guy to have stripes.

 My happy boy and his chalk masterpiece

A rose Daniel Brought home for me one day-It made me so happy and smelt so good! More on Dan to come in a different post...

I promise that this post will be a lot lighter that the last:)
I wonder what makes pregnant women crave certain things? And why does our sense of smell heighten during these nine months? What makes some things absolutely repulsive to us and other things so comforting? How strange are the ways of pregnancy!

Mystery baby #3 makes me crave:

EGGS: Scrambled, hard boiled, fryed, on a sandwich, as a burrito-I love eggs right now McDonald's sausage and egg McMuffins are Heaven to me on Saturday mornings....I won't tell you how many I ate last Saturday:) I remember craving eggs when pregnant with Katie as well.
PIZZA: It is like Ive never had it before! Pizza has a whole new wonderful flavor that I can't get enough of. We eat it at least 2 times a week.
NACHOS: Has to have cheddar cheese on them with salsa, and olives-yum yum
CHEDDAR CHEESE: Speaking of cheddar cheese, I love it-I eat apple slices wrapped up in a slice of cheddar cheese all the time. And I eat it on Tuna Sandwiches
TUNA: I know prego's aren't supposed to have tuna-well I think we aren't so I try and space out when I have a tuna sandwich-but oh I like it a lot-even more than usual.
SOFT PRETZELS: Luckily we have a shop that sells these close to our house-I just took the kids there for lunch today actually-after I picked them up from preschool. Tavin after we finished eating and were back in the car: "Mom, that was a really yummy lunch!" Yes Tavin, yes it was:)
PEANUT BUTTER AND HONEY/JELLY SANDWICHES: And of course with all of my children thus far, I eat a lot of peanut butter and honey or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

I know these things don't sound so healthy....but don't worry! We order our bountiful basket that comes with fruit and veggies in it-yeah I ate 90% of the fruit that came with it last time all by my good old self:) This baby is going to love fruit.

Smells:
Everything smells to me- I can even smell myself-and for this reason-I take 2 showers a day:) One in the morning and one at night. OK so it isn't always because I smell bad, it also helps with the sickness to have the water running on my belly. I just sit and pretend it is warm rain....seems like a good thing to picture right!

I also change deodorant quite frequently as well because after using one for a certain amount of time( couple of days) it smells really bad to me. Same thing with gum-I have to change the brand I chew every few days cause the flavor goes from good and helpful to yucky and nasty.

Even my toilet paper has a smell to it--I know -weird observation-but when I was blowing my nose the other day, I smelt a slight hint of fragrance to it-not bad though. Later on I said: "Dan did you know our toilet paper has a fragrance to it? I didn't know they did that until I smelt it today." Dan-takes a square and sniffs it....."Kendra-I don't smell a thing." Next time you blow your nose-smell your toilet paper and see if you smell any kind of fragrance-I KNOW I smell something:)

Repulsive/Comforting:
I find the look and smell of certain meats very repulsive and usually end up gagging....my dad took us to this nice restaurant the last time we visited and they serve all different kinds of meat on skewers to your table-Dan loved it! I felt so bad-but had a hard time every time the meat came anywhere near me:) I stuck with my role and salad which were very delicious.

Car rides make me want to gag as well-I just don't like them right now-it makes me sick to drive and I avoid long trips to places as much as possible.

Things that I used to love with a passion make me want to puke....I have no idea what this is all about -but I haven't couponed or shopped ever since I got pregnant...Dan had a cow the other day when he realized I haven't spent any of my own money. I have over 200 something dollars now-this is VERY rare for me-first time ever since we have been married that I haven't spent all my allotted money in the first week of having it:) He keeps asking me-what are you going to do with all that?

But things are looking us-I started to get the urge this week to go out and shop-even cut coupons for the first time in three months-These are really good signs that my sickness is coming to an end! :)

The thought of fall is very comforting and makes me really happy. I saw a bag of fall colored M&M's the other day at the store and bought them because just the look of fall on the bag made me so excited! I know a little strange-but the thought of colorful leaves, and cool breezes, sweats and hoodies,hot chocolate, and Halloween-just make me feel good.

The sun also is very comforting to me-I spend a lot of afternoons sitting in the shade of our apple tree-it makes me feel better.

I told you my Pregnancies are strange!

Working On: Being Thankful For My Sickness

For those of you that haven't heard the latest news in our family yet, I am pregnant and child(ren) #3 is in route-am I loving pregnancy? Not so much-there are some women-I happen to be friends with a few of them-who love everything about being pregnant-who might experience nausea maybe one time in their pregnancy and don't gain weightt anywhere other than their belly.....well that is definitely not me.

Pregnancy makes my skin oily and acne prone, I can't seem to poop right(sorry I know probably a little too much info.) and sleep is a nice thought. I did not expect to feel so upset about my body....I was diligent for 2 years in getting my body healthy and in shape and now I struggle as I feel my muscles deteriorate and slowly turn to flab. Feeling pretty-a thing of the past.  I stated to Daniel the other day that it would be very convenient if I could just be put to sleep until the 9 months is at an end-just wake me up when it is time to push:)

Sickness and depression have been my constant and faithful companions these past couple weeks and still threaten to linger a little longer. I have come to the conclusion that I am a wimp-whose weakness is long term sickness-I envy those who do it without complaints-please forgive me for mine.

Yet amongst my struggling-I can't help put be amazed at the love my God has for me. He has blessed me so much in the last three months and has opened my eyes to things I would have never realized without his help. I have met and talked to NUMEROUS women-some with whom I associate with on a weekly basis, and others whom I have never talked to before who would give anything to trade me for my pain and sickness just to have the opportunity to have a child.

One woman can get pregnant but has not been able to carry it past three months. Another woman has kidney problems and high blood pressure-the two kids she was able to have lead to preclampsia, weeks of being bed ridden, and time in the NICU for both babies. Her doctor has told her that she cannot have anymore children without it being a serious risk to her life.

Another woman cannot have children at all and the baby her and her husband were able to adopt, shortly died of sickness.I have talked to women who take one to two years to get pregnant when it has taken only 2 months each time to get pregnant with each of my children.My heart aches for these women who want so badly to fulfill their maternal role in life-to nurture and love children of their own.  I know that these women were sent to tell me their stories to open my eyes to the fact that I am extremely blessed for the gift I have been given to have risk free and uncomplicated pregnancies that have resulted in some of the greatest blessings I could have ever asked for-my children. For this, I can be thankful in my sickness.

Look What I Found in The Fridge!

As some of you know, we have been working non-stop on our house for the last month-day and night-to get things in good enough condition to try and sell it. Dan came to me one day and just said-I think it is time for us to sell our house-and as usual-things were set into motion quite quickly. We met with the Realtor and he gave us some advise on how to get our house sold-which meant a lot of work on our part. I never knew it took so much preparation to sell a house. I just figured you said "yeah let's sell it" and put it on the market-if you really want to sell a house in a bad market though, that isn't how it goes. We have spent the time and money to put in new hard wood flooring, new counter tops, re-did the walls in our second bathroom, and had the outside painted from baby blue to a brown and cream color. I guess if we don't sell it, we have a much nicer house to live in right!

We are looking to move to make room for our growing family-we have pretty much grown out of this house, and Dan is feeling out the waters for a new job. Our new home might be in Rexburg, Salt Lake, or Boise-depending on job offers and how we feel. It went on the market officially today.

Now for the picture explanation above....while we were redoing things in our kitchen, our fridge was temporarily located in our living room:) When it was time to move it again, it was too heavy with all the food in it, so we had to unload everything. When empty, the kids found it to be a great place to play in. I gave them a flash light and let them have their fun-there has been way too much stress around the house lately and not enough of play and fun.....hopefully this will change now that things have calmed down for the time being. I just have to keep the house clean 24/7 in case someone wants to buy our house.....yeah this is no small task with kids:) Just shows you can find and make fun in most any place-such as a fridge!

While taking on this project of remodeling and selling our house, I had the privilege of stepping on a nail while trying to get the lawn mowed for the Realtor to come take pictures. We didn't want to mow on Sunday so Saturday night I was out there mowing away at dusk trying to get it done while my dad and Dan were finishing up the kitchen base boards. I was bare foot-I know I know, stupid of me. I just hate ruining shoes with grass stains-so i do it in my bare feet and then take a shower. In all the years that I have mowed the lawn bare foot, not once have I had a problem. So, I didn't expect this time to be any different. Well when the people were painting the house, they knocked an old board off our fence and when I was backing up to turn the lawn mower, I found the old rusty nails in the board. Yeah it was really a sickening feeling and I almost fainted. So at 10:30 at night, Mason drove me to the hospital to get a Tetanus. At least the shot is good for 10 years right!

My arm still feels like someone punched me about 100 times but I am thankful that no infection has broke out in my foot and I am now able to walk normally again. The bed I got to hang out in while waiting for the doctor was really comfy though and the nurse was nice enough to give me the remote to the TV while I was waiting:) Oh and the doctor said it was actually a good thing that I wasn't wearing shoes....if the rubber from the soul of a shoe were to get up into my foot when the nail punctured, it could lead into much worse problems.

Now to just cross our fingers and pray for someone to like our house-your prayers are much appreciated:) The Realtor called tonight and said there are already 2 potential buyers to come look at it...that is good right considering it is only the first day!

A very special thanks to family who have taken the time to come out and help with this overwhelming project-both in watching my children and keeping me sane, and helping with projects that went until 1 in the morning some nights! I am so very thankful! We couldn't have completed all we needed to in such a short amount of time with out you.

What We Do When Our Kids Don't Listen

This is what we do to Katie and Tavin when they don't listen to us:) Not really-I don't think it would be very effective anyway, because they liked being wrapped up in Painters Tape! Dan was taking the tape off the wall he had painted and decided to make a game of it with the kids. It kept them busy for quite some time-trying to get out of it-if nothing else it taught them team work-they helped each other figure it out:) Such cute kids-even when they are wrapped in tape!

Tatphus Park Zoo Day

My mom came and visited for a couple days and we took the kids to a local zoo. I have to say I was pretty impressed with some of the bigger animals they had-we didn't think that it would be much other than birds and things like that.

But, there were lions and tigers, and bears:) (oh my!)-my mom and I really did say "OH MY!" at the size of the lions and tigers actually-it just didn't seem right to be up so close to something that big:) Tavin loved it though. Other animals we liked were: Monkeys, sea lions, penguins, and the 500 pound Tortoise. The flamingos were surprisingly smelly-they like to stand in mud.

Katie's Favorite part was feeding the goats in the kids petting zoo. They really liked her a lot too!

Fact that I learned: did you know that turtles can come out of their shells like on cartoons-the shell actually grows with the turtle and is connected to its spine.

I like watching and learning about animals so much-I could probably bring a lounge chair and sit it outside their cages to watch what they do all day:) My favorite is still the giraffe house though at the zoo in UT.