The Schwenagain's

Update #2- California Vacation

2011-01-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

We took our first family trip to California. We went to one of my family's favorite beaches, "Huntington"...

I was pleasantly surprised that Madi liked the water. She couldn't stop smiling! She is like her mama... :)

Max didn't really care for the water, but he loved eating the sand & we couldn't keep it off him!...

Madi loved the sand too...

Madi drawing in the sand, Matt & Max playin' in the water...

Got to stay with my Aunt Anet & See the family...

Got to visit my old school in Glendale...

I love the tree lined streets in my old neighborhood...

I totally remember riding my bike to this 7-eleven with my sister Linsey... Good times.

Getting close to our hotel & Disneyland... I LOVE palm trees!

Finally made it to the hotel... Madi can't wait a whole day until Disneyland!

Got to meet up with an old childhood friend...

Yay, we made it to Disneyland!!!

Cinderella's Castle...

Me & Madi riding on Dumbo...

Madi got to meet the Disney Princesses...

Twinners...

Madi meeting Jasmine & Belle...

Madi got to meet her favorite Disney Princess, Ariel...

This was pretty much Madi's dream vacation :)

Madi's favorite fairy.
She liked her accent & she was nice.

I felt so bad... It was so stinkin' hot & the kids were sweating. :(

We had a to purchase a spray bottle/fan to help cool them off. It was ONLY $15!!! The only down side to theme parks... overly priced merchandise...& the lines. :)

Madi's favorite attraction was the Haunted Mansion.

We are all thoroughly enjoying our ice cream! :)

Not real sure where my spoon is. :)

I guess this is the end of this post because it keeps making me have this huge gap after this pic, so California Vacation... To be Continued....

Sorry for all the weird spacing at the end. That's why I hate doing blogs. Can't I just put a picture somewhere & have it go there?! And I'm not real sure why it keeps putting this huge space after the post. It wont let me get rid of it, so annoying!

Update #1

2011-01-07T00:59:00.001-07:00

I wanted to update my blog & since it's been almost 2 years, I thought I'd just show a bunch of different pictures from my last post, up until my most recent pics.

Here goes...

We did some body painting...

Max & Madi met their cousin Jackson for the first time...

We had a family reunion on my dad's side...

cousins

Madi & her favorite cousin Kambree...

Madi had her first dance concert...

She danced with Studio 1, to Beyonce's "single ladies" So Cute!...
She did great! She was so excited to perform.

We did a lot of chillin' with the family...

Went exploring up Provo Canyon...

Went to some parks...

Madi cut her own bangs...

Madi tripped walking up the steps to our house & got stitches...

Matt tried to eat me...

We all tried on silly hats?..

Matt showed his kids some love... ;)

We got to see Jackson again...

Max learned to walk, obviously...

Learned that taking young kids to mini golf is not the best idea... lesson learned. :)

The adorable sleeping habits begin...

Not sure how long a blog can actually be so I'll end it here... To be continued....

Big FAIL for Obama

2009-10-02T11:43:00.001-06:00

Yet another BIG FAIL for Obama. Thanks Obama for wasting so much time and money lobbying for the Olympics to come to Chicago, so your slum lord friends can get rich. Now maybe you will have time to decide whether or not to win the war, oh wait, your "healthcare" project is more important than our troops, I guess people dying isn't a big deal when it comes to people living without healthcare. Did Michelle come home on the same plane as you this time? Maybe you can talk to your liberal friends about how to reduce admissions when you plunged over 1 million pounds of carbon into our atmosphere from your silly atempt to get the Olympics to Chicago. Oh wait, I forgot your not responsible for anything, because CNN "Communist News Network" wont report on anything your doing wrong. I apoligize, I'll just read about the earthquakes and tsunami's and forget about our contry. I'm done.

Been a while.

2009-08-13T10:52:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since the last post. I guess we mainly use Facebook.

True Happiness Through Mowing One's Lawn...

2009-04-22T10:33:00.005-06:00

Some time ago, as a adolescent, one of my many chores including taking out the garbage and beating on my little brother's was mowing the lawn. Of course back then I couldn't realize the profound truth's and happiness one comes to realize by doing such an act.

I was standing on my front lawn looking around at my neighborhood, house, new driveway and watching Madison ride her bike up and down the street. Felling somewhat inclined by the spirit that day I was thinking about the work I had done to achieve this state of mind in life, this inner peace. Even if it was for just a brief moment I felt the power one only feels when he finds himself free. Knowing the steps I had taken to get there, some of them large, some of them small, I know I could do it all again if I had to. I know that some of the stairs ascended so high that you couldn't see the top, and once you reach the top you get a brief break, only to find another flight of stairs waiting for you. I know this never stops, maybe it will only stop once we live with our father in heaven again.

That day I mowed the lawn I was taking a break at the end of a very long flight of stairs. Only after I achieved this break did I realize that getting there was what made it worth it, it wasn't that I had climbed to the next level in my life, it was each individual step, each achievement no matter how small it was.

How I love each step, I have learned and continue to learn from every one that I take, with each one being different there is always something new to experience and learn. Feeling this way helps you to understand that the Lord has built these steps, each one specific to you in your life, each one with a specific meaning and purpose. Mowing the lawn gave me that break in the middle of a flight of stairs in an endless skyscraper. I am looking forward to the blessings the next step will bring me.

Crazy girls

2009-03-18T18:59:00.004-06:00

Kambree came over to play & I got the camera out, that's when they started acting Crazy!....

Vivian Park

2009-03-18T18:22:00.005-06:00

We wanted to get out & do something on sunday, so we went up the canyon & went to Vivian Park & walked along the train tracks & got in one of the cars. I'm glad we got out, it was well needed family time & we all had fun!

Almost crawling

2009-03-11T15:52:00.004-06:00

Our little man is so close to crawling! I can't wait, everyday I watch him get closer & closer. He just needs to move that leg from under him, but when I move it for him, he usually falls. He'll sit there & rock, it's so cute!

computer time

2009-03-11T15:39:00.003-06:00

This is one of Madison's favorite things... The computer. Her favorite website right now is barbie.com. She also goes to pbskids, nickjr, & disneyprincess.com. She could be on there all day if you let her. She was totally playing these pictures up. We just woke up & she is already on. It looks like she needs to get outside & get some fresh air!

Kiddos in the bath

2009-03-11T15:15:00.003-06:00

Max & Madi takin' a bath at the same time. Max loves to try & grab his sister. He loves watching her & laughing. He thinks she is so funny. I love watching them play together!

Chalk day

2009-03-11T14:41:00.004-06:00

It was really warm about a week ago, so we decided to draw on the driveway with chalk. Matt drew a picture of Max & Madison. Madison colored the picture Matt drew for her. Then Madison & mommy played Hop Scotch & Madi danced around. In one of the pictures she is taking a bow. It was really nice to get out & we had fun! Madison is too cute!

Bye bye Sheeba

2009-03-11T14:09:00.003-06:00

So we finally took Sheeba to the pound. She was about to be pregnant for the 4th time! There were 5 male cats chasing her all day & they sprayed in our garage & around our house, so that was it! I told Madi that her kittens that we took to the shelter missed her & they wanted her to come play at the kitty play place. So she was totally fine with it. I put her in this diaper box that she chewed her way out the side of, so I had to get another box. Then while I was trying to get the trunk open she escaped, but I grabbed her, then she scratched me up. (I was so mad) I was going to put her in the trunk while I got the kids in the car, then put her in the front, but I just threw her A$$ in the trunk! I had enough. I was so afraid when I opened the trunk she was going to attack me, but she was sitting there all calm & just meowed at me. Then when I took her through the doors she started trying to get away again. I'm glad we don't have to deal with an animal anymore. No more animals for a while!

chalk eater

2009-03-11T10:24:00.005-06:00

Madison set her chalk down by Max, I turned away to do something for a second not even thinking about it... He's eating the chalk! He had that yucky face on, but he still wanted it. Until he found something else on the floor, ha ha.

Bath time

2009-03-11T09:54:00.006-06:00

Max has this game in the bath now, where he tries to touch the wall or anything else that's close to him like the shampoo bottle. He leaned clear over & was on his belly in the bath. Kind of scarey. He is a little dare devil!

Max's 2 little teeth

2009-03-11T09:34:00.002-06:00

Maxton has 2 teeth on the bottom now. I can't believe it... This baby grows faster than most. Ever since he was like 3 or 4 months I felt like I missed the newborn stage. Madison seemed to stay small longer, time is just flying by with him. It's sad, but at the same time I love wathcing him grow & can't wait for the next milestone. Which I think will be crawling soon.

Sleep over party

2009-03-10T23:28:00.003-06:00

Kambree slept over, so Matt made it fun for them & made a big tent. They loved it & Max loves hanging out with the girls! Fun night!

Sleepy

2009-03-10T23:14:00.004-06:00

Some recent pictures of our sleepy guy...

Johnny Jump Up/ Sleepy time

2009-02-20T08:20:00.003-07:00

Max fell asleep in his Johnny Jump Up. It was so sad. I was trying to finish a project really fast. He was whining, so I was talking to him, then it got quiet, I look over & he's out. His legs started bouncing for a second, but his eyes were shut. He just put his head down on this stuffed animal in front of him. I felt so bad, I didn't know he was tired.

so cute

2009-02-16T21:11:00.002-07:00

I bought this church outfit for Max. I love it on him. He is so cute! Madi was super excited about this cookie I made for Matt...(and her). She said " Whatever I point at, I want to eat the whole thing". I didn't have to wait for her to point, I knew what she was talking about. She is so cute!

New things

2009-02-04T17:29:00.006-07:00

It's crazy how fast kids grow! Max has been sitting up alone for a couple weeks now. He got his first tooth yesterday. Matt felt it & showed me. No wonder why he had a runny nose & was more cranky than normal, not too bad though. He is so smiley, I love it! I can't wait for Summer time. Everyday Madison says " It's boring" or " I'm boring", which means she's bored, haha, so cute! I need to get her out more & get together with other mom's with kids, so they can play. She talks about going to preschool a lot. I need to get her into something because preschool doesn't start 'til August. Madison tells me almost everyday that she wants to live in a castle or a hotel. Kids are so cute! She plays on the Disney princess, NickJr & PBS kids websites as much as her mom will let her, which is a least once a day. Madison is reading princess stories to Max in his high chair in one of the pictures. She loves playing peek a boo with him & making him laugh. He loves watching her, it's so cute! He is always pulling his socks off & trying to put his feet in his mouth... and anything else he can get a hold of... including his hands.

Growing TOO FAST!

2009-01-21T18:10:00.002-07:00

These kids are growing up so fast! Time keeps passing so fast. When Madi was a baby, it went a lot slower. Speaking of growing... Max just keeps out growing all his clothes. He is barely 5 months & he is in 12 month clothes now. He was in 9 month clothes, but those are getting too tight. He is growing so fast. We just started feeding him rice cereal. He LOVES food. He doesn't necessarily love the taste, but he just wants more & more. When I eat he just watches me & tries to grab my food. It makes me feel bad. He gets frustrated, but it is so cute! I'm glad I don't have to worry about an under weight baby like I did with Madi. It's crazy how different your kids can be! But you love them all the same. I'm so glad I get to stay home with these little cuties.

Madi's hair cut

2009-01-21T17:56:00.002-07:00

Madi has been talking about getting her hair cut for about a month now. We finally took her to Caitlyn to get it cut. When we got there she got really freaked out and did not want to do it. I don't really know why she was so scared. I had Caitlyn fix mine first, so she could see it wasn't scarey. Caitlyn even told her she'd put sparkles in it after. I told her she could show Caitlyn where to cut it, so she felt more in control and after that it was fine. She loves it now. She has asked me a couple times to look at pictures of her "long" hair. She had to go show Kambree right after she did it. We kept a chunk of hair to show her. Now they are twinners & she can stop asking when she's going to get her hair cut. haha. She is a doll!

lunch time!

2008-12-31T14:55:00.003-07:00

I fed Max some rice cereal. He wants to eat it so bad, but tries to suck it & ends up spitting it out. I left the bowl by him & walked away & he dumped the rest of it out, so I thought I'd just take some pictures. I love them, it looks like he's enjoying it and licking his fingers & the bowl, so funny! I love this boy!

Snow Angel

2008-12-22T18:28:00.003-07:00

Madi has been talking about going out & playing in the snow ever since it snowed, but I wouldn't let her cause she didn't have everything she needed like snow boots & gloves. She finally got them all & her dad reminded me I needed to take her out to play. While Max was takin a nap I took her out... she was so cute. She had been talking about doing snow angels, but when I tried to help her lay down to do one, she got freaked out & didn't want to do one anymore. She ended up not wearing the big snow gloves I got her, Instead she wore one mitten cause that's all I could find.

Big Boy

2008-12-01T16:25:00.002-07:00

Max seems to be outgrowing all his clothes. He just turned 3 months not too long ago. His 3-6 month clothes seem to be getting too small. I bought a 6-9 month outfit for when he needs it... which is obviously soon, but tried it on him & it fits perfect. He is such a big boy! Here he is in his 6-9 month outfit, sleeping.

High Score

2008-11-20T22:12:00.002-07:00

Yeah, My family & I went bowling & I got the top score! The second game I bowled a 204! That is an all time high for me. I have gotten in the 130's, but never anything close to 200. I can't believe I beat my dad. He is an amazing bowler. His finger was swollen though and giving him trouble. He did beat me the first game. I don't care too much about winning, but it does feel nice :). I'm just really glad my dad & brothers could come with our family. We had a lot of fun! Madison loved when the lights came on around 9. She said," This is so FUN!". It was really cute. We all had a really good night!

Strep?

2008-11-18T10:54:00.003-07:00

Max was more fussy than normal for two days, so I took him to the doctor to make sure he didn't have an ear infection or something. Strep had also been going around, so I wanted to make sure he didn't have that. The doctor told me strep isn't common in newborns, but he had known of one two month old that had it & since it had been going around he would test him for it. He said it looked like he had a little sore throat. He came back in & said, "That's a big surprise...It came back positive!" Madison has been done with her strep for a while, so I wasn't really expecting that. He said he thinks he got it from someone else because of how long hers has been gone. Poor Max! I'm really glad I took him in. He has a diaper rash from the medicine, it's sad, but we keeps LOTS of rash cream on it, so it hasn't hurt him too bad.

Halloween Time '08

2008-11-01T21:09:00.004-06:00

Halloween was so fun...except for when I burned Madison's ear with the straightening iron. Poor thing! I felt horrible, I just kept apologizing over and over. She was crying and said" It's okay". It was so sweet of her. We put a frozen otter pop on it for about an hour. I thought it would reuin Halloween for her, but she didn't say much about it after that.

We went to Kambree's school to see the parade of costumes. Madison jumped in of course, she was pretty excited about it. She got sad when she waved at the kids going by & they didn't wave back.

After that we went to Matt's work, they had a big Halloween trick or treat thing. Madi got tons of candy & she got to see a bunch of different sections of the building all decorated, it was really cool.

She loved the Candyland section & she saw a lady dressed up as 'the little mermaid'. She stopped & had a conversation with her about how she has an Ariel costume too. It was really cute!

After that we went to grandma Von's, had some chili & Grandma Von took Madi Trick or Treating around her neighborhood.

Then we went to Aunt Linsey's house for a Halloween party, which was a lot of fun! Everyone had fun costumes. Matt was dressed as an 80's rocker. It cracked me up. He seemed like a totally different person! Best Halloween yet!

strep positive

2008-10-30T15:00:00.002-06:00

The second strep test came back positive, good thing she was already on the antibiotic. Let's just hope Max doesn't get it! The rash is almost all gone. She still sounds a little sick. I think she has a cold on top of it. Max has been having trouble breathing at night, it's sad. His nose is stuffy. Time to bust out the humidifier I think.

Our sweet daughter

2008-10-25T21:06:00.004-06:00

Madison went to the Primary program practice today. She was so cute. She was really excited to go on stage, she had been talking about it for days. We all went to church last week for the first time. Max & I hadn't been since his birth. We found out that the following week would be the Primary program. The last time they did the primary program was another time we randomly went & she wanted to go up so bad, but I didn't let her because I was afraid she wouldn't know what to do & of course she didn't know the songs or anything, so I really wanted her to be able to do it the next time. So at the practice her face was just lit up. She was looking around at everything and you could just tell she loved it. It was really hard for her to sit still. We had been practicing 'I am a child of god' with her, so she knew that song really well, but the others, she didn't know. It made me feel horrible because she was so excited to sing the songs and be up there. I really want to go & buy the primary songs on CD & sing them all day with her... that's how bad it made me feel. She is so wonderful & her parents will be taking her to church more often now! She also loves her class, I am so glad. She is not too shy like her mother, which is really good. I have always been afraid she would be. She is such a joy in my life!! I had to take her to the doctor today because she has a rash all over her body. The first strep test came back negative, so we'll wait for the others to see what happens, but the doctor started her on an antibiotic anyway because the bad rash on her ankle, that supposedly isn't related. He says it looks almost infected, so we want to be safe. Hopefully the antibiotic will clear all this up. Poor girl!

Today I met my son...

2008-10-25T14:35:00.008-06:00

It was a typical Saturday morning, sometime through the night Madison and Maxton ended up in our bed with us, as usual. The temperature was on the chilly side and the cat was meowing outside for it's food. This day was special for Madison, she had to practice her singing for her primary program tomorrow. As I usually do on Saturday's I got up early to make my girls breakfast, Madison loves waking up to the smell of French Toast.

After the girls had eaten their breakfast they were off to practice. Madison was a little sick and her mom almost didn't take her, I told her she should and it wouldn't be that bad. Later at the practice she texted me from her phone, she told me Madison doesn't know all the songs so pretended to sing along with the other children. I guess we don't go to chruch as much as we should, but we are getting better. We have been practicing "I Am A Child Of God" with her, that is the song her class is singing.

Even though its hard taking care of a 2 month old baby, the morning is usually the time they are happy. I turned on the T.V. and was watching Popeye, you know the old cartoon? I hadn't noticed yet but Maxton was looking at me, when I looked down at him he gave me a smile. This was one of those smile's that light up not only their face but the whole room. There are not words to explain how that makes you feel. The closest thing I can think of is like having an angel in the room. I just sat on the bed staring at him and talking to him. As his eyebrows and other facial features moved all around I could tell that he was trying to copy me. I then said in a soft voice. "Your family is so happy to have you here, we love you." The response I got from him was that he felt the same, I could tell he was looking at me not only as a person who gives him attention and love, but I knew at that moment that he knew me as his father and I knew him as my son. The spirit overwhelmed me and a tear rolled down my cheek. I said to myself, "I never knew being a father could feel like this."

After this I remembered a couple of sentences in my patriarchal blessing. I couldn't believe how exact and true those words were. I am proud to be a father to Max and Madison, I cannot think of anything more rewarding and fulfilling. I had similar experiences with Madison, it is different with each child but just as wonderful.

More Pictures...

2008-08-19T21:53:00.000-06:00

Pictures...

2008-08-19T21:52:00.000-06:00

Maxton Matthew Schwen

2008-08-18T14:13:00.002-06:00

Maxton Matthew Schwen:

Born 08-18-2008 at 6:59AM
8 lb's 11 oz's, 21 inches long. Has lots of long dark brown hair.

Amanda started having painful contractions at 2:30 AM and told me she needed to go to the hospital. We got our things, dropped Madison off at Kristen's (thank you so much Kristen) and went to the hospital. As soon as we got in there the nurse checked her and she was dialated to a 7. That was about 3:30, she went from a 7 to a 10 in 3 hours. When the doctor arrived it was only 4 contractions worth of pushing and Maxton was out, and he was huge! Nobody believed me when I said he was a big baby but I knew it all along. He went to ICU for an hour or so because he wasn't pink enough. He did fine after he had some fluids in him.

Everyone must help us with this decision, we do not want to circumsize him, tell us your thoughts?

Waiting sucks.....

2008-08-14T14:00:00.001-06:00

Just to update everyone, Amanda has been dilated to a 4 for 6 days now. Her contractions are getting more frequent although, she doesn't feel the real pain you feel when you go into real labor. She has been walking around a lot to help and I have been trying to help as well ; ). Melanye, my sister, brought her some tea that she is drinking and nothing has seemed to escalate the labor. She is very uncomfortable right now and just wants our baby out. Hopefully she goes into labor this weekend, if not we have another doctor's appointment on Monday. Our last appointment the doctor was mistaken and thought Amanda was 39 weeks when in fact she was 38. So if we reach Monday we will most likely schedule an induction for ASAP.

Another OBGYN Visit

2008-08-11T14:12:00.000-06:00

After waiting for about an HOUR we finally got in to see the doctor. Amanda does so awsome with pregnancy, she looks so beautiful and healthy right now. The baby is doing great and Amanda is still dialated to a 4. The doctor stripped her membranes and told us that she can be induced if she wants. He said as soon as she starts feeling hard contractions just to go in and they would break her water and she will have her baby. That could be tonight or tomorrow, if it still doesn't happen in a couple of days we will have her induced.

Last Night

2008-08-08T08:13:00.001-06:00

Last night Amanda discussed going to the hospital, she thought her water might have broke the night before, we just wanted to be safe so we went into the Labor & Delivery. It turned out that it had not broke yet.

They did monitor her for an hour and she is having contractions 2 - 4 minutes apart, she is dailated to a 4 and she is 70% ephased. They gave her a Morphine shot prior to going home so she could get a good night sleep and be ready for the hard labor. When we got home as we were walking to the door she started to feel like she couldn't breath, she actually could barely talk. She told me that we needed to go back to the hospital. So we got back into the car and started driving back. She started to calm down a lot in the car and the breathing became easier. My mother met us at the hospital parking-lot where we decided to just go home as long as she kept feeling better, so we went home. Flip, her father, and I gave her a blessing last night to help with everything that was going on and to help calm her nerves. It seemed to work, she slept pretty good and I am at work just waiting for the call!

Maxton's Middle Name

2008-08-06T09:25:00.000-06:00

Ok, so Amanda and I are having a hard time picking out the middle name for our baby. Here are our choices so far:

Maxton Cruise Schwen

More suggestions would be very helpful! We suck at making decisions.

Doctor Appointments

2008-08-06T09:21:00.000-06:00

As of yesterday Amanda is dilated to a 3, the doctor mentioned that she probably wont last 2 weeks before having the baby. So Amanda went ahead and packed up as much stuff as possible and we are ready to head to the hospital any time. My work is going to give me 2 weeks off so I am going to be able to help Amanda a lot when the baby comes.