The Crazy Cramers

Christmas 2010

2011-04-13T18:18:00.001-07:00

Josie eating Santa's leftover cookies.
Josie checking out the loot Santa brought.

This Christmas we stayed in Arizona. We didn't have anyone coming over, so it was just our little family. It is always bittersweet. It is nice to be with just our little family and have a quiet, nice dinner, but I still do miss the big family Christmas dinners in Utah too. The kids had a ball opening up presents. I was more excited than they were to open presents, that I could barely sleep the night before. Their main present was a trampoline, so we were pretty excited. We had a great Christmas celebrating Jesus' birth and remembering the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Eve 2010

2011-04-13T18:14:00.001-07:00

Avery on the "Puker" at San Tan Mall before dinner.
Christmas Even we went with a bunch of friends from our street to eat at Cantina Laredo. We saw Santa when we came in and had to get a picture of course. We had a great Christmas Eve.

Great company and very low key.

Christmas Carriage Ride

2011-02-14T19:26:00.000-08:00

We went with some friends to the San Tan Mall for the free carriage ride. Josie was exhausted, so Sean stayed home with her. It was a lot of fun and the kiddos loved it!

Preschool Thanksgiving November 23rd 2010

2011-02-14T19:19:00.001-08:00

The twins had a cute little Thanksgiving program at school the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. They sang some cute little songs. It was fun to watch them.

Gilbert Temple Groundbreaking

2010-12-08T19:49:00.000-08:00

The General Authority and the other speakers sat on the stage.
The kiddos holding their gold shovels. They thought they were pretty cool.

Josie wasn't that excited to be there.

On November 13th the ground breaking for the Gilbert temple finally happened. We have been waiting so long for this to happen. The temple site is about 2 miles from our house. We went and had great seats and the kiddos got to hold the shovels and see the temple is going to look like. Meg kept thinking that the temple was going to built when we were sitting there. She kept asking when it was going to get built. It was hard for them to understand that it will take 2 years for it to be built. We had a fabulous day and are so excited to have a temple so close to us again.

Arizona Mills Sea Life Aquarium

2010-12-07T20:12:00.000-08:00

About a month ago we went to the aquarium at AZ mills mall with our friends. It was pretty good considering it is AZ.

Halloween 2010 cont'd

2010-12-07T20:07:00.001-08:00

Tate with his best friend Brecken.

Meg & Cam

Halloween 2010

2010-11-29T19:11:00.001-08:00

Getting ready to go trick or treating.

Some of the kiddos participating in the donut eating contest.
Meg and Tate with the Preschool teach Mrs. Leavitt. We love her.

Goodbye Summer

2010-11-28T19:50:00.000-08:00

We had a hot, but great summer. A lot of swimming at home and at the gym. Every day we would swim and have popsicles. We had fun. Meg's new thing was to hold on to Sparky's tail and he would pull her through the water. It was hilarious and Meg would squeal the whole time.

2010-09-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

Eating sand

My 5 favorite people

2010-09-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

Sean and I at the Crab Pot in Long Beach. We love that place.
Future driver. Scary.
Josie was such a trooper as long as she could wander around once in awhile.
Tate wouldn't go near any characters, even Buzz. I guess they freak him out.

Last trip to Disneyland for awhile

2010-09-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

Josie's first ride on Dumbo
Love this girl
Giddy up
JoJo's first carousel ride

Our season passes expire in October, so we decided to make one more trip out to CA. We stayed with Sean's parents and went to Disney for 2 days, the beach and then drove home. Thank goodness Sean's parents came to Disneyland with us. We really needed the extra hands. The kids had a blast and we definitely got our moneys worth from our passes.

The twins are in preschool!

2010-08-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

They both had their back packs on at 8am that morning. They couldn't wait to go to school.

Yesterday the twins started preschool. I can't believe that they are 3 1/2. The time has flown. They are going to a lady named JaNae Leavitt in our stake. She is awesome. They go Tuesday and Thursday from 12:00-2:30. Tate didn't want me to come in. He just wanted me to drop him off. Tate kept telling me to stop taking pictures. It was funny. Avery was the same way, so I wasn't too surprised. I did take a nap yesterday. It was great. The house was so quiet, it felt weird. They had a great first day.

Avery's in 2nd grade!

2010-08-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Avery's first day of school. The twins were very sad to have her go to school. They love playing during the day. Her teacher is Mrs. Long. Avery had a great first day.

Utah summer 2010 cont'd

2010-08-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

Utah Summer 2010

2010-08-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

In July we went up to Utah for 2 weeks. We had a great time. We stayed a week at my parents house then went camping in American Fork Canyon. Sad to say, but my kids had never been camping before. Those of you who know me, I hate camping. We were in a trailer, but it is still not my favorite thing. The kids loved it and had an absolute blast. My brother Michael and his family came too. We did tie dye shirts, had smores, hiked and got totally dirty. After camping we stayed in a condo in Park City for a week. It was so nice to be in cooler weather and go to the park and enjoy the outdoors. We really enjoyed ourselves. We went to an aquarium in Sandy and then to 7 peaks. We were exhausted when we got home, but it was worth it.

Josie's 1st Birthday cont'd....

2010-07-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

I love her hat.
She hated her hat.

I was so sad about her cake. It didn't turn out like I had planned. Sean picked it up and he didn't know what I had asked for, so we were stuck with it. O'well. It worked.

Josie's 1st Birthday!!!

2010-07-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is already one year old. This year has gone so fast. Josie is such a sweet good baby. She loves to play with her siblings and be involved with everything they are doing. She started taking steps last month then crawled a few weeks ago. Not full on walking yet, but I'm sure it will be very soon. Josie has brought so much joy into our family and we feel she completes our family so well. I can't imagine our lives with out her. She loves to wave at everyone and points at everything now. We were leaving for Utah the day after her birthday, so we were busy packing and getting ready to go. So we just went to dinner for her and had cake. She wasn't a fan of the cake just like my other kids, but she liked her present. It was a great day!

4th of July!

2010-07-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

Avery in CA with Grandma and Grandpa Cramer
JoJo's first 4th of July!

This 4th of July was a little different. Avery was in CA with her grandma and we had planned to be in Utah, but that didn't work out. It fell on a Sunday this year, so the Saturday before our friends had a party where they had a slip and slide and a big blow up slide. The twins loved it!

That night we went to dinner and then Sunday went to church and Sean took the kids to Tumbleweed park for fireworks. They had fun, but Sean didn't take pictures of them.

On the move!

2010-07-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

On June 15th Josie decided to take her first steps. About 2 weeks later, she started crawling. Boy has my life changed really fast. She is all over the place and loving it. To be honest, I liked it more when she just sat there and played with her toys. O'well, my baby is growing up!

The things kids say

2010-06-11T20:34:00.000-07:00

So this week has been an interesting week with the kiddos. They have said some funny things. I have to document them or I will forget. About a week ago, Tate was getting his swimming suit on and Meg said "Oh no Tate! You have a crack in your bum!" It was so funny. I couldn't quit laughing. Today Tate was having a melt down and I was trying to get him to stand up and Avery said " Mom what are you doing? Are you treating Tate like an Egyptian slave?" I was so floored. I couldn't believe what she said. I know that before school got out she was learning about Egypt. Tate was running through the house today saying "Excuse me, coming through." Josie started growling like a tiger today. So cute. Always fun stuff going on around here.

Happy 11 months Josie!

2010-06-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

Today my JoJo is 11 months. I can't believe her birthday is next month. She still isn't crawling, but she loves to walk around while you hold her hands and she is fast. She just had her two from bottom teeth finally come in at 10 months. I have started her on whole milk and she loves it thank goodness. The weaning process begins! We love you JoJo!

Josie's 1st Haircut.

2010-06-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

The final product

Before her haircut.

Josie has a ton of hair. Probably more than Tate did at the age and definitely more than my other girls. Yesterday I took her in for her first haircut. She had a mullet starting and I can't stand those.

She was pretty good, except squirming around a lot. Thank goodness Theresa has a lot of patience for my kiddos.

Tate and his big noggin

2010-06-06T15:04:00.000-07:00

So those of you who know our family and Tate know of his infamous head. During his first few years of life he always had some bump, bruise, or cut on his head. He looked like he was beaten. Three weeks ago today, he was playing in the water in the bathroom along with soap and got some on the tile (where my rug should've been, but I was washing, because Meg threw up on it) slipped, fell and cut his head open on the door. He came running to us with blood running down his head. It freaked us out pretty bad. Two of my friend's are nurses, so they came over to check it out and told us we needed to take him in to the ER. Took him in and they put 3 staples in his head. This morning before church he fell off of Avery's bunk bed and has a huge goose egg and carpet burn on the back of his head. This kid is going to be the death of me with all of his injuries.

Avery's toothless smile!

2010-04-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

Avery lost her two front top teeth within one week of each other. I love her smile, but it also makes me realize that my baby is growing up.

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

The girls sitting with the Easter Bunny at San Tan Mall. Tate wouldn't go near him.
Here is Tate far away from the Easter Bunny.
Josie's first Easter.
Josie will be 9 months on April 10th. Six days after Easter.

We had a wonderful Easter this year. This is the first year that we had Easter dinner all by ourselves. It was very nice to celebrate with just us. We got up and the kids went crazy finding Easter eggs. Tate calls them Ooster eggs. I love watching the kids get eggs. I could do it over and over again. We talked about the Resurrection and what Jesus did for us. The kids were all so attentive when we talked about it and watched a video about what happened to Jesus. Meg and Tate talked about it all day. They kept saying that mean men hurt Jesus and put nails in his hands and feet. I was amazed that they really listened to us. Later that day we had a ham dinner and went for a walk. It was a great Easter and I am so grateful for what my Savior has done for us.

Spring Block Party

2010-04-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

Tate sitting in the fire truck. He kept going in and out of it. He loved it!
Avery and Sean in the Gilbert SWAT car.

So our street decided to have a block party a few weeks ago before it gets too hot. We had a parade, bouncys, the Gilbert Swat and Fire Department came. We had BBQ's all day and it was a blast.

Happy Birthday Avery!

2010-03-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

Avery turned 7 today! I can't believe it. It seriously seems like yesterday that I was holding my little 5lb 12oz baby in my arms. She was so sweet and tiny. Avery is the greatest big sister. She is loved so much by Tate, Meg and Josie. She is always giving Meggy piggyback rides and helping her get dressed. She is always making Josie smile and laugh. Whenever she walks in the room Josie just lights up. Avery always wants to hold and play with Josie. She is also very good at feeding Josie her dinner. Tate loves to irritate her and Avery says that he is the worst brother ever. Deep down I know that she loves him. She growls and chases him around and he giggles with glee. Avery is a great student and her teacher loves her. I love you Avery so much and I don't know how I would do it without you. You are such a big helper and are always concerned about others. We love you!

You requested Poppyseed muffins for breakfast and donuts to take to school. We went to Olive Garden for your birthday. It has been your favorite place for the last 3 birthdays. You love the salad and penne noodles with alfredo sauce. You get it every time we go there.

We gave her a bike for her birthday and a DS Scooby Doo game.

Happy Birthday Bug!

Josie is 8 months old!

2010-03-15T20:38:00.000-07:00

On March 10th Josie turned 8 months. She is such a happy, great baby. She always loves to be played with and always has to be involved in the chaos.

Meg and Tate's Birthday party

2010-03-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

On January 23rd we had the twin's birthday party at a place called the Little Gym. We had about 15 three year olds there and they had a blast.

Meg and Tate's Birthday

2010-01-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

The twins wishing each other Happy Birthday with a kiss
Tate got a firetruck
Meggy got a baby to play Dr. with.

So we are having the twins birthday party in a few weeks, so I will post pictures of that later. Yesterday they were so excited to open their presents.

Josie is 6 months!

2010-01-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

6 months old!
Her first bite of rice cereal on December 8th.

Josie is 6 months today. She is almost sitting up on her on and is now grabbing everything and anything that she can get her hands on. She loves hearing herself and talks and is very loud. She loves her exersaucer and interacting with her siblings. She is such a happy baby and very social. She started rice cereal a month ago and loves it.

Josie is 16lbs 2oz and 25.5 inches long.

Happy Birthday Meg and Tate! cont'd

2010-01-09T19:40:00.000-08:00

Meg and Tate are either the best of friends or the worst enemies. They usually play pretty well and that is nice that they are each other's playmates. When they do fight they go all out. Their new thing is that tattle on each other saying that the other hit them. The funny thing is when I go into to break up a fight and ask who hit who or who made the mess or something like that they point to each other at the same time a blame each other. It is hilarious. We love you Meg and Tate and are so happy that you are part of our family.

Happy Birthday Meg and Tate!

2010-01-09T07:20:00.001-08:00

Them at 3 months. I love this pic!
So precious
My first time holding my brand new babies

Meg a few seconds old
Tate a few seconds old

Three years ago today our life was changed forever. It was January 8th at 11pm. Sean and just gotten home from helping a friend paint and I started having contractions about 3 minutes apart. I had been on bed rest for a week due to preterm labor, but now being 35 weeks and 1 day they couldn't wait any longer. Around 12:30 am on January 9th I couldn't take it any longer and the contractions were not going away. We called our friend and had him come over to watch Avery.

We got to the hospital around 1am and the nurse checked me. I was dilated to an 8 already and 100% effaced. I then made them check to make sure that Meg was still breech. She was still breech and the doctor on call said that she was not up for a breech delivery and strongly recommended a c-section. I then debated what to do. I could try to push Tate out and see what would happen with Meg, but there was still a good chance I would have to have a c-section with her. I made the decision to not risk it and do the c-section, so they scheduled me for a C-section. They gave me drugs to stop my contractions, so finally I was pain free. We waited for my doctor to get there and then they got me ready for surgery. A few emergency c-sections came up and we still waited. Finally at 4:48 am Tate William was born weighing 5lbs 7oz and 18.5 inches long. He had a ton of strawberry blond hair and absolutely adorable. He looked just like Sean. At 4:49am Meg Olivia joined her brother. She came out screaming and weighing 4lbs 3oz and 17.5 inches long. My first thought was I couldn't believe how tiny she was. Her head was as big as an orange. She was beautiful. I was so relieved that they were healthy and finally here. The happiness and love I felt as I looked at them was amazing. I was filled with so much gratitude. I was so scared that I would never have any more babies. They were breathing on their own and didn't need to go in the NICU. I couldn't believe that I had twins. We went from one kid to 3 in just 2 minutes. Tate had a little fluid in his lungs, so they kept an eye on him and I was wheeled off to recovery. I spent some time with Meg and then Tate was brought to me about 2 hours later. It was a fantastic day.

Tate loves playing with his trains and cars. He loves to ride his big wheel and jump on our neighbor's trampoline. He also loves to go to the park and play with his friends. His favorite foods are pizza, macaroni and cheese and has to have ranch with his eggs. He has been talking so well for the last year now. He speaks so clearly.

Meg loves to play dress up. Her favorite princess is Cinderella and Ariel comes in second. She loves riding her bike and is very fast. She enjoys coloring and anything that is creative. She also loves playing outside and going to the park. Her favorite foods are apples, pasta with butter and cheese, and cereal.

Happy Halloween!!!

2009-11-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

Josie's first Halloween.
Here is the bounce house that we had in our driveway all day.

This Halloween we had a bounce house and a blow up slide during the day. That night we had our potluck party and went trick or treating. The kids had a blast. After every house Meg would say "Let's get more candy." Tate would yell as loud as he could trick or treat and thank you. Avery wanted to keep going to get more candy, so she and I did that with out the twins. Josie just rode in her stroller and went with the flow as usual. We had so much fun watching the kids.

2009-11-01T14:44:00.000-08:00

2009-11-01T14:25:00.000-08:00

Sean with our good friend Tom

The twins with their friend Camryn.

CA cont'd

2009-10-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

Balboa Beach

The lady at the carousel gave Meg and Tate crowns when they go there. Tate wore his all day.

Disneyland October 2009

2009-10-21T20:52:00.001-07:00

So over fall break we went on our first adventure with four kids. We decided to go to CA to see my in laws. We went to Disneyland for 2 days and then the beach. All the kids did awesome, especially Josie. She was an angel in the car and at Disneyland. She would just chill in her stroller and was happy as long as she was fed, changed and given a little bit of attention. We couldn't believe how easy going she was on this trip. We had a great time and we bought season passes to Disneyland, so we will be back a lot this next year.

A very tired little Josie
Tate was exhausted
Sean waited 90 minutes in line for his little girls to see the princesses. What a great dad!
Avery driving the car. She was loving it.

Josie at 3 months

2009-10-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

Josie was 3 months on October 10th. She is such a great baby. She is so easy going and very low maintenance. She is now smiling all the time and laughing. She is so happy.

Blessing Day!

2009-09-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

Today we blessed sweet little Josie. My in laws and my parents came along with my brother Michael and his family. After the blessing we had a luncheon at our house. Josie was blessed in the same dress that I was blessed in and Avery and Meg were blessed in also. It was a great day and we are so happy that our family was here to celebrate it with us.

The first month with Josie

2009-08-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

Avery has been awesome with Josie. She loves to hold her and gives her a binky when she cries without me asking her. She is such a great big sister. She is always concerned about her and wants to be with her all of the time. She is so excited to come home from school to be with her. Josie is so loved.
Tate calls Josie that baby. So when she is crying, Tate says "Mommy that baby is crying" or "That baby is hungry". Then he always says when I'm feeding her "Mommy that baby is eating your boobie". He is a crack up. I wonder if he thinks that Josie is just visiting and will go away. It took Tate about 2 weeks to finally hold her.
Meggy calls her Joshie. It is so cute. It has kind of stuck with me now. She loves to hold her. She always tells me "mommy, I hold her?" Then I put her on her lap and Meg just lights up. It is so sweet. She loves to kiss her too and pet her head. If Josie is not with us Meg always asks "Where did my baby go?" Or "I want my baby". She also is very curious about me nursing her. She asks what the baby is eating and I tell her milk. The other day she asked if she was eating pizza and french fries. LOL.

First day of school!

2009-08-11T14:55:00.001-07:00

Avery is now a 1st grader. She started school yesterday. Her teacher is Ms. Schmidt. We all took her and Meg and Tate thought they were going to school too. Meg had her backpack and everything. They were sad not to stay with their big sister. All day yesterday they asked where she was. Very sweet. Avery had a great day and was pretty excited when she came home.

Josie at one month!

2009-08-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, little Josie is a month old already. She is a very good baby. Pretty easy going, thank goodness. She smiled for the first time a few days ago. So sweet. She is very loved around here. Meg and Tate don't leave her alone. They always want to hold you. Very cute.

Two Weeks Old!

2009-07-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

Josie is already two weeks old. Time is going so fast. She is such a sweet baby. We are so blessed to have her in our family. She is a pretty good sleeper. About 3-4 hours at night, so I will take it! She is pretty laid back like her dad, so we will keep our fingers crossed. I forgot how easy one baby was. Everyone is adjusting to having her in our home. I still can't believe that I have four kids. Wild.

Josie Amber Cramer

2009-07-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

Wristbands for the kids that say big brother and big sister. They love them.

First picture of all the kids.
First Family picture together
True Love

Here she is. Our beautiful baby girl born Friday July 10th at 6:45 p.m. She weighed 6lbs and 2oz. She was our biggest baby. I have to mention that it was 114 degrees the day she was born.

37 weeks and 6 hours before Josie was born

2009-07-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

Our first few moments together.
Josie with Dr. Faulk who was on call for Dr. Kudlinski
Right before Josie was born

So on Thursday July 9th I went in for my Dr. appointment. She checked me and I was at dilated to a 3.5 and 50% effaced. She asked me if I wanted my membranes stripped, so I said yes and she did. I asked her if she thought that I would have her that weekend and she said probably not. I went home and back to my normal routine. I really didn't have any major contractions or anything. Went to bed Thursday night, woke up Friday morning feeling fine. I went to the gym and did a cycle class. About half way into it I started having contractions that were about 5 minutes apart. Those who know me I suffered through it and had to finish the class. I wasn't too worried about them and thought they would go away. So I grabbed my kids and hurried home to shower. Well the contractions didn't go away. They kept getting closer, so I called Sean and told me him that he needed to wrap things up at work and meet me at the hospital, so I could get checked out. I then called my friend Amy and told her what was going on. She was at movie day with her kids and my other friend Dana and her kids. Amy came over with Dana's daughter Becca and Amy drove me to the hospital and Becca watched my kids. In the car on the way there, my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart. Got to the hospital and to make a long story short Josie Amber Cramer was born VBAC at 6:45p.m after about 6 hours of labor.

106 degrees and popsicles

2009-06-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

So we are in our swimming pool or someone else's every day. In the afternoon it is pretty much too hot to do anything else. I run all my errands after the gym in the morning, so it is not too hot. My kids all love to swim, so it works out well.

Tatarina

2009-06-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

So lately Tate is loving girly things. He loves to put these pretty dresses on and princess shoes. He plays with Barbies and when I paint the girls nails, he of course wants his done too. How do you explain to a 2 year old that he can't have his done, but everyone can? So I just go with it. Don't get me wrong. Tate has a ton of boy toys and is so boy it is ridiculous, but he is very in touch with his feminine side.

34 Weeks!!!

2009-06-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

I am finally 34 weeks as of yesterday. All week I have had pretty strong contractions, so yesterday I asked my Dr. if she would check me. She said that I am dialated to a 1 and 50% effaced. She couldn't believe how low her head was already. She told me that I need to slow down and rest more. Yeah right. I have 3 kids, how do I do that? My goal is to make it to 36 weeks and she will be good to go. Keep your fingers crossed.

Big bed time!

2009-06-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

So I feel guilty lately like I have forced my baby girl to grow up too fast. Meg is now potty trained and the next step was getting her to sleep in her bed instead of her crib. I need her crib for the baby. I just felt that she was so much more ready to do these things than Tate is right now. So we tried for a few nights to have her sleep in her bunk bed with Avery, but she wanted her crib instead. A week ago from today she decided that she wanted to sleep in there and did all night. She didn't fall out and slept all night. She has been in there every night now. I was so relieved that she liked her bed. She is not a fan of the sheets or blankets yet, but that is fine.

Meg's potty training

2009-05-31T20:22:00.000-07:00

So for a few weeks now Meg has been totally ready to be potty trained, but I haven't been. I don't have a choice. I cannot have 3 kids in diapers, so today was the day. We got the magic potty out and took Meg's clothes off, she sat down and went to the bathroom. We were all shocked. She was so proud of herself. We all screamed and did the potty dance. Yeah, I'm hot dancing at the stage of pregnancy. She got a chocolate chip and put a sticker on her chart and she thought she was pretty cool. It was so funny. After that she kept saying "go potty" and she would run and sit down and pee. She was naked all day long. She did have one accident when we went to the park tonight. I put her in training pants and she pooped in them. I knew that was coming. Overall, it was a very successful day. Tate on the other did make some progress today.

Every time I even would mention going pee pee on the potty he would say "No potty and no panties". But today he was so jealous of the candy Meg was getting her kept saying "diaper off" and would sit down then ask for the candy without doing anything. I will try him again in a few weeks. One down one to go.

Kindergarten Graduation

2009-05-31T20:16:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know. I am a sucker for matching dresses for the girls.

Avery's teacher, Ms. Warren.

Yes, it is official. Avery is now a first grader. Very crazy. On May 21st they had a little program at her school and sang some songs. It was adorable.

Hawaiian Outfits

2009-05-31T20:12:00.000-07:00

So while we were in Hawaii we bought the kids matching clothes. The girls are in dresses and Tate a shirt. I love these outfits. They all look adorable in them.

Crazy twins

2009-05-17T19:27:00.000-07:00

So this last week the twins have been a little extra crazy. On Tuesday I was getting ready to take the kids to the park and usually they run out and climb into their stroller. Today as I went to grab my sunglasses I hear Meg screaming and I look over and she is hanging on to the garage door as it is going up. It was a pretty scary sight. I ran over and grabbed her down before she got any higher. Thank goodness she is a monkey and was able to hold on and not fall. That same day I was getting dressed after the shower and Tate came up and pointed to my chest and said "boobies". Lately he has been pointing them out to me. I said yes, Tate they are and then he tried to touch them. I told him not to touch my boobies and he said "I want to touch your boobies." Then I told him again that we don't touch them and he said "I want to touch". He is a crazy boy that says the craziest things. He is a little parrot and copies everything everyone says, so I already have to be careful around him.

Also, last week the twins started swimming lessons. By day 3 Meg was totally swimming half way across the pool. She is wild. The program is awesome and I hope Tate is swimming by the end of this week, but he is not as daring as she is. I will post a video of her swimming later.

28 weeks pregnant

2009-05-10T22:12:00.000-07:00

So I was 28 weeks pregnant in Hawaii, so I thought I would take a picture. FYI don't get stuck on a plane when you are this prego. I had a really hard time being uncomfortable and probably couldn't have done it if I was any farther along.

Hawaii, again

2009-05-10T22:05:00.001-07:00

Sunset in Poi'Pu
Since I was so uncomfortable on the beach, Sean dug a hole for my belly.
The Marriott hotel where we stayed.

The view from one of the hotels overlooking the beach.
Another pic of the sunset.

Hawaii, cont'd

2009-05-10T21:59:00.001-07:00

An awesome sunset in Poi'pu.
Snorkeling in Poi'Pu

I don't look 71/2 months prego do I?
Another view from the lighthouse.

Kauai, HI

2009-05-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

The beautiful Kalauea lighthouse. The view from the lighthouse was amazing
Waimea falls. We wanted to hike down, but it was a 4 hour rough terrain hike. I am not ready to go into labor this early and have a baby in Hawaii, so we didn't go.

Na Pali coast line. This was my favorite place that we saw. The picture doesn't do it justice.
Eating at Dukes in our hotel. We ate here three times. It was so yummy.
Spouting Horn. We were able to see sea turtles, but couldn't get a good picture of them.

So Sean and I had the chance to go to Kauai for a week. Our original plan was to go there for our 10 year anniversary which is in November. Then when I got pregnant that kinda changed things. So we decided to go just a few months earlier to celebrate it. We were lucky to have my in-laws come the first half of the week to watch the kids and then my parents for the last half of the week.

We had a blast and it was so weird to be away from the kids that long. Ever since the twins were born, I have been going 100 miles an hour, so it was so nice to get away and relax. The only downfall was, since I am in my last trimester we couldn't do a lot of the activities that we had planned on. We were able to do some awesome hikes, site seeing and of course laying on the beach and snorkeling. Thank you to such great parents for taking on our kids. I know that they all went home exhausted, but we really appreciate it.

Easter cont'd

2009-04-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

The finished product after the Egg hunt.
Nice and relaxed since she has gotten the majority of the eggs.
Jackpot!
He just can't handle all the excitement.
Where should I go next?

EASTER!!!!!

2009-04-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

So this Easter was a lot of fun with the kids. The twins have been obsessed with Easter eggs ever since our hunt last week. They know that there is usually candy in the eggs and they like that idea. We have 8:00am church, so we had do get our eggs after church. While we were getting ready for church everyone kept checking out the eggs outside. Tate kept saying "basket, eggs". He was ready to go. Meggy also kept saying "eggs, candy". When we got home from church they were all so excited. Avery of course was the ring leader. We hid probably about 75 eggs, so they had a blast. If Tate couldn't get an egg open to see what was inside he would drop it and step on it to try to get it open. They were all about the candy this year. All day long they would ask for it. Very annoying. Holidays are so much fun with little kids. We had a blast watching all of them.

Coloring Easter Eggs

2009-04-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

So this year was pretty interesting coloring eggs with two toddlers. It was a little chaotic with the twins trying to put their fingers in the colors and dropping the eggs in the water and breaking the eggs. You will notice there are only a few pictures, because all hands were on deck. Maybe next year it will be a little easier with them.

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to an Easter Egg hunt at our park. The kids had a blast and the Easter Bunny was there. Obviously, the twins weren't a huge fan of him. They totally freaked out and were both crying. I guess the bunny is a little bit scary when you are that little. Everyone had a great time and the twins totally got the concept of getting eggs.

24 Weeks

2009-04-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

So I have been the worst picture taker this pregnancy. It seems like whenever I remember that I need to take a picture, no one is around to take it for me. Only 16 weeks to go! Hopefully less. The pregnancy is going well and feeling pretty good.

Double Trouble

2009-04-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

So tonight I was making dinner and all the kids were outback playing. Then it was quite and I heard chairs being moved. I knew right then what they were up to, so I grabbed my camera and caught them in the act. Yep, there they were trying to open the pool fence. Little stinkers, I couldn't help, but laugh. Although, they did get repramandad after that. The comforting is that if they did get the latch open they still couldn't get the door open.

Birthday cont'd

2009-03-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

Birthday breakfast. Chocolate donuts. My kids were bouncing off the walls all day.

Avery's Birthday Events

2009-03-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

So I told Avery that she could have anything that she wanted for her birthday breakfast. She chose chocolate donuts since we never have them in our house. The twins also enjoyed them. Then she took pink sugar cookies to school for her class. Sean brought home flowers. Then it was off to her favorite restaurant, which is Olive Garden. She gets Penne noodles with alfredo sauce and loves it. Then we came home and had ice cream since we will have her birthday cake for her party. She got an Easy Bake Oven and some clothes. It was a great day.

Happy Birthday Avery!!

2009-03-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

Today my baby turned 6!! I can't believe it. It just seemed like yesterday I was holding my little 5lb 12oz baby girl in my arms for the first time. I was in love the moment we first saw her in the ultrasound. Then when the nurse handed her to me in the hospital I loved her more than words can express. Avery is an amazing girl. She has such a sweet spirit and unconditional love for others. Her brother and sister look up to her and love her so much. She has been such a help in my life and I don't know what I would do without her. She is always asking how she can help me when she sees that I am stressed out. Avery I love you more than words can express. I am so proud of you and the decisions you make, you are truly a blessing in our lives.

It's a Girl!!!!

2009-02-28T19:06:00.000-08:00

So yesterday we went in for my 18 week ultrasound. Yes, it is finally official that we are having another little girl. We are very excited and relieved that she looks good and healthy. I had a feeling since the beginning that it was another girl. Avery also said that it was a girl. At my 14 week ultrasound the baby's legs were crossed the whole time, so we couldn't see the sex and she said that she crossed her legs too when she was in my tummy. She was very excited when they told us that it was a girl. Sean feels a little out numbered, but I told him that at least he got one boy and some men don't even get that.

Saturday Fun

2009-02-09T16:50:00.001-08:00

So last Saturday we decided to take the kids to a place called Freestone park. It is a huge park and and they have a ton of ducks, a little train to ride, and a carousel. The kids loved the train ride and had a blast feeding the ducks. Of course, Tate was more interested in eating the bread himself, instead of feeding it to the ducks. It was also pretty windy, so we did some kite flying. It was a great day.

15 Weeks Prego

2009-02-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

So I have been really bad this pregnancy with not taking pictures. So I am starting now at 15 weeks. Better late than never right? By the way, I totally think it is another girl. Poor Sean and Tate will be so outnumbered, GIRL POWER!

2 year Milestones

2009-02-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

So I have to jot down what the twins are doing at this age and what they are into.

Tate

Weighs 28lbs. He started at 5lbs 7oz.

Never stops talking. This kid is so verbal, it is crazy. He is also very loud. I wonder where he gets that from? In church he will yell at the top of his lungs, "CRACKERS!!! " Has has no clue how to whisper.

Is still obsessed with balls. He loves them and throws like a professional. He also loves cars and trains. He is all boy.

He loves his twin sister, but also loves to hit her. The sweet thing is once he has realized that he has hurt her feelings, he will hug her and say "sowwy". When he wakes up in the morning and from his nap the first thing he asks is "Where is Mayme?" He calls Meg that.

He is happy almost 100% of the time. He is always smiling and it melts my heart. My goal is to have happy kids.

He still loves Elmo. He could watch Elmo in Grouchland over and over again.

When we say prayer he pretends that he is saying it.

He loves Avery. He always reminds me that we need to pick her up from the bus. He says "Avery Bus".

He loves food. I've never seen a kid eat as much as he does. The other night he had four pieces of pizza. Granted they were small, but still.

He loves his mama. Sometimes it gets annoying, when he won't go to anyone else, but I love all the hugs and kisses.

Meg

Weighs 24 lbs. Started at 4lbs 3oz.

She loves shoes. Everyday she is either wearing Avery's shoes all over the house or her dressy shoes.

She loves her baby. She is so sweet with it and is like a little mommy. She has to sleep with it.

She has great motor skills. She can already ride a 2-wheel razor scooter. It is crazy.

She is obsessed with flushing the toilet and is now teaching Tate how exciting it is.

She is a total Daddy's girl. She loves him so much.

She is very sensitive and gets her little feelings hurt so easily.

She loves Avery. She wants to do everything that she is doing and be big like her.

The Big 2!!!

2009-01-21T11:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, the day finally arrived. January 9th the twins turned 2. I remember talking to mothers of twins and they told me that the first 2 years were the worst. Honestly, the first year is all a blur and the second was a little trying at times. So my parents came from Utah to celebrate their birthday. We played during the day and had cake and ice cream that night. We invited Meg and Tate's little friends to come over to get high on sugar and it was fun. They definitely knew that the day was about them, but didn't really know why. When we were singing to them Tate was holding him his finger and kind of leading us and would say to you. It was adorable. They both kept touching the cake and couldn't wait to dive it. When I ask them how old they are, they both hold one finger up and say 2. Happy Birthday to my favorite twins! I love you guys!

Christmas outfits

2009-01-19T12:45:00.000-08:00

Here are the kids in their Christmas outfits. I know it is a little late, but I had to post them, because they looked so dang cute!

2009-01-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

Sean and Meg after coming down the hill on the tube.
Tate eating snow for lunch. Avery made sure that it wasn't yellow.

Avery loving every minute of snow. It had been 3 years since she has played in it.

Meg and Tate trying to figure out what all of this white stuff is.

Snow!!!!

2009-01-04T11:09:00.001-08:00

The week of Christmas we had a lot of rain, so obviously we knew there would be snow in the mountains here. So last Saturday we decided to go to Strawberry which is about 2 hours north and play in some. The twins had never seen snow before. First of all, they hated having all of the clothing on and kept trying to take it off. Meg's hands were cold, so we put hand warmers in them and then she was happy. It was only 18 degrees where we were, so I couldn't blame her. She also loved going down the mountain with Sean on a tube. She is way to gutsy. Tate enjoyed eating the snow and didn't want to do anything else. Avery went up and down about 20 times and finally got a little cold and tired after 2 hours. It was a great day! It didn't feel like we were in AZ anymore.

Christmas cont'd...

2008-12-27T16:44:00.001-08:00

Christmas morning we heard Meg talking in her bed around 7am. Around 7:10 Tate started talking also. We thought for sure Avery would've been up by now, because she was so excited the night before. Around 7:30 I got up and went into the girls room. Avery of course was out cold. I had to wake her up. How many kids do you have to wake up on Christmas morning? It was unbelievable. So we got the camera's ready and told the kids to wait in the kitchen until we were ready. When they came out and saw what Santa left they were ecstatic. The twins got battery operated quads. Avery got a razor scooter and a doll that poops and pees. Like I don't have enough of that going on around here. They got games, cars, dolls, and more toys. We had a great morning. Later that day we went outside to play and then over to our friend's for a delicious Christmas dinner.

It rained most of the day, so it felt a little more like Christmas this year for me.

Christmas Morning!!!!

2008-12-27T16:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve after Santa visited the Cramer household. Everyone, but ma and pa were nestled in their beds. Notice my half decorated tree. The ornaments slowly started to move upward with two two year olds running around.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T20:31:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Eve we let the kids open one present. The twins were very into it this year and totally understood what was going on.

Christmas Eve 2008

2008-12-25T19:59:00.000-08:00

For Christmas this year we stayed home and didn't have any family coming, so we did the next best thing spending it with friends. We had soup at our friends across the street with some of our neighbors who didn't have family here either. We ate soup and tracked Santa. The kids played and we had a great time.

When we were getting ready to go home, I asked Avery what she wanted to leave Santa. She said cookies, but I then asked her if we should leave him something different since everyone gives him cookies. She then said "what about chips and salsa?" I was very excited with that idea, so we didn't have to go home and make cookies. It was a great Christmas Eve.

Church Christmas Party

2008-12-25T19:52:00.000-08:00

Avery got the chance to sit on Santa's lap at our ward Christmas party. The twins were anxiously waiting for their turn, but Santa came too late and they were pooped. Sean stayed with Avery and I took the twins home to bed.

Miracle baby # 4

2008-12-06T12:31:00.000-08:00

Yes people you read it right. We are prego with # 4. I am still in shock too, so don't feel bad. About 6 months ago we couldn't decide whether to have one more or be finished having kids for good. I felt their may be one more for us, but with our infertility history I wasn't sure. We decided that if the Lord had one more little Cramer for us he would send one our way and sure enough he did. We call it our miracle drug free baby. It took a year and fertility drugs to get Avery. We did IUI 7 times, major fertility drugs and still didn't get the twins until 2 1/2 years later. We feel that this baby is a major blessing and is meant to be in our family. We are very excited and a little nervous to have 4 kids and 3 kids under 3. Avery will be 6 1/2 and the twins 2 1/2. I will be busy, but I just keep telling myself that the Lord doesn't give you anything that you can't handle. If I can make it through twins this should be a cakewalk right?

Oh Christmas Tree!

2008-12-01T13:31:00.000-08:00

Last night we decorated our Christmas tree. The twins were all over it and hanging stuff everywhere. Tate would grab the balls off the tree and yell basketball! Thank goodness they were the shatterproof balls from Costco.

I was trying to keep the tree very neat and organized and after about 5 minutes I told Avery to put them wherever.

I figure what is wrong with a crazy looking tree right? It makes for a great memory.

My crazy little man!

2008-11-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

So I had to post my favorite Tate shirt. If you don't know Sean very well, you probably won't get it. Tate looks exactly like Sean. He walks like him and a lot of his mannerisms are Sean. It is wild. When I saw this shirt, I had to get it. Notice the crazy hair again. He got a much needed hair cut yesterday.

Too much like her mama

2008-11-30T13:34:00.002-08:00

So, I know 0ur kids watch our every move, but I never realized that Meg would ever do what she sees me doing obviously too often. She cracks me up.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-30T13:24:00.000-08:00

So we had Sean's family in town for Thanksgiving. We had a great feast and it was fun to have family with us. I wanted to jot some things down that I am extra thankful for:

* I am so thankful for three beautiful healthy kids. My good friend from when I was young

has a little girl who has brain cancer. This situation has hit very close to home with me and has made me realize how we can take good health for granted.

* I am grateful for a wonderful husband.

* I am grateful for my family who loves and supports me

* I am grateful for a living prophet who gives me comfort in all of crazy stuff that is going on

in the world right now.

* I am grateful to live in this country and enjoy all the freedoms that we are so lucky to have.

Happy Anniversary Sean!

2008-11-12T07:17:00.001-08:00

So 9 years ago today I married my best friend. We were married in The San Diego temple at 10:00 am. We had a lunch in downtown San Diego that day and then a reception the next day. For our honeymoon we went on a cruise to the Mexican Riveria for a week. Then on December 3rd we had another reception in UT at the Provo Courthouse. Three kids and three houses later I love you more and more every year. Happy Anniversary!

It's freezing!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

So when we moved here I would always laugh when I saw people wearing sweatshirts when the temp dropped below 70. Now I hate to admit it, but I am one of those people! My blood is no longer Utah blood. It has totally thinned out. The other morning I was walking the dog and it was probably 50 degrees and I was dying. The funny thing is in Utah I wouldn't even wear a sweatshirt it was that temp. How on earth did I keep my house in Utah at 60 degrees during the night? Very funny.

Halloween Cont'd

2008-11-03T11:19:00.001-08:00

These pictures are Avery with her friends Jack and Madison. Then the babies with their twin friends down the street Jackson and Joseph.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2008-11-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

So I love Halloween! It is probably my second favorite holiday after Christmas. We closed down our street and had a potluck dinner. When it started getting dark we took the kids trick or treating. At first the babies were riding happily in the stroller until they realized what was going on. When we let them out of the stroller they ran up to the door to get the goods. It was hilarious. They were so excited and having so much fun. I couldn't get over how cute they all looked. Meg would not keep her bone in her hair and Tate kept taking his sash off. I barely got some pictures with their accessories on. Only in AZ can you dress like Pebbles and Bam Bam and not be cold. We had a great night.

Halloween Breakfast

2008-11-02T08:37:00.000-08:00

So I decided to make the kids a Halloween breakfast. I decided that the fastest and easiest was to make pumpkin shaped pancakes. The kids thought it was pretty funny.

Pumpkin Carving

2008-11-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

So Thursday night we decided that we needed to carve our pumpkins. We had a lot of little helpers and the pumpkins turned out adorable.

Future Cyclist

2008-10-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

So lately Meg has had an obsession with riding bikes. She has been climbing on my spin bike and trying to get the wheel to move. So the other day I walk in to find her on my bike with Avery's helmet on. It was hilarious! At least she is being safe right? I guess she gets the love of cycling from her momma.

Thank you Elmo!

2008-10-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

So I think I have complained recently that I could not get the twins to sit and watch any TV. Well last week Tate finally sat and watched Elmo in Grouchland. They love Elmo! Well they both sat for 10 minutes, which is a record. I actually got half of dinner made. It was awesome. I know soon enough they will beg me to watch TV, so I should enjoy it, but I need it sometimes.

Driveway Parties

2008-10-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

So I honestly believe that I live on the best street ever. We are so lucky to live where we do. Every Friday night we have a driveway party where we all come out and bring food and all the kids play and ride bikes up and down our street. There are so many kids on our street and families that are awesome! This night was Italian night and the babies are loving their spaghetti. This picture reminds me of the movie Lady and the Tramp. I love it when they hug and kiss each other, because I know someday they won't do it anymore.

Tub Time

2008-10-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

The kids love to take baths together. It also makes it so much easier for me to do it all at once. Although, it does get a little crazy at times when they all decide to splash at the same time. O'well. It makes a good memory.

Halloween 2007

2008-10-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

I had to post these pictures of last Halloween since I'm so behind on putting older pics on. Time goes so fast.

Find Joy In The Journey

2008-10-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

So we were "trying" to watch conference yesterday, but it was a little difficult to hear with all the kids jumping on the couch and running around the family room. Sean was complaining that he had just steam cleaned the couch the day before and how they were climbing all over it and getting it dirty again. President Monson started speaking and said some things that hit me like a freight train. I don't remember it word for word, but you'll get the point. He said something like when your children dirty clean surfaces, and bring toys out that you just put away and dirty the house, that we need to find joy in the journey. I just looked at Sean and said "See he is talking directly to us". It was wild. It was so ironic the things he was saying. It was totally meant for me at this stage in my life. Sometimes I feel like all I do is pick up, clean up and tell me kids no no all the time. I have felt frustrated lately, because I feel like whatever I do they undo it and I can't get on top of it. A lot of days I just feel like why bother cleaning they will just trash it all over again. I really need to find joy in the journey. This stage is so temporary and they will be grown before I know it. So when the twins are running down the street in different directions laughing their darling heads off, I will find joy in chasing them.

When they are both climbing on the table and I have to lift them off fifty times, I will find joy in that. When we are out to dinner and Tate throws a chicken nugget and it hits some lady in the head I will find joy in that. It was freakin hilarious, but totally embarrassing. Don't get me wrong I love my kids more than anything and wouldn't trade them for the world, but can I have my house stay clean for more than 2 hours please? So when you feel like you can't pick up one more toy, or break up one more fight, remember to find joy in this journey, because it is your season and will end someday.

Goodbye Summer

2008-09-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

So I think our swimming days are finally coming to an end. We started swimming the end of March and usually can swim until the end of September. Our pool is not heated, so when the temp drops below 100 and starts cooling down at night our pool cools down too. Today Meg didn't even want to get it, because it wasn't hot enough for her. We will miss our pool for a few months, but looking forward to winter. I was even shivering today, my blood has totally thinned. I will freeze to death we go we go to Utah this winter.

Gratitude

2008-09-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

So lately our little family has had a lot of trials thrown our way. Things that have tried my faith and made me look at the bigger picture in life.

So here are 10 things that I am grateful for: Of course there is more, but ya know.

1. For my three beautiful energetic kids that try my patience every day, but I love them so much.

2. My sweet, patient husband that still loves me even when I do stupid things. Which is a lot.

3. My beautiful home, even though it isn't nearly worth as much as we paid for it. Blah.

4. I am so grateful that my family is strong and healthy.

5. Great friends that love and care about me and my well being. You know who you are.

6. A Heavenly Father who loves me and helps me get through the tough times.

7. A temple marriage. Knowing that my family will be together forever, no matter what

happens in this life.

8. Surviving my third Arizona summer and so excited for winter.

9. That my husband has a good job and takes such great care of us.

10. For the freedom to vote for whoever I want. Love ya Sarah!!!