November 17, 2013

This week started on a high note for the girls.  They were super surprised to get wonderful birthday cards in the mail from Uncle Norm and Auntie Sue - with a gift card to Target (their absolute favorite store) enclosed.  Lily jumped up and down like she had won the lottery.  Annie just kept hugging her card.  Their reaction was so enthusiastic I had to snap a photo.

 Little Tommy is as busy as ever.  He is discovering the house and all the toys.  His favorite teething toy is....the cord to the vacuum cleaner.  When I pull the vacuum out of the closet he crawls after me and waits for me to plug it in so he can grab the cord and chew away.  This is funny to us because he is so startled by loud noises but he loves the cord so much that he doesn't seem to mind vacuum noise.  Silly boy!

Poor Tommy had an unfortunate day this week.  Our family refers to it as the "terrible, horribly awful, no good, very bad day".  It started out like any other Wednesday but around noon we had a friend over to play.  Our friend left the baby gate at the top of our stairs open slightly and Tommy fell all the way down the stairs.  He was fine but it was traumatic few hours of observation and worry for all of us.  Just a few hours later it was time to pick up Lily from dance class.  Since the weather is cold, Mommy left Tommy snug in his carseat in the parking lot while she ran to the door of Lily's class.  When Lily and Mommy tried to get back in the car, our keyless entry fob wouldn't unlock the doors to the van.  Mommy's phone was locked in the car.  She had to plead with the parents in the dance school to get access to a phone (that's another story in and of itself).  We got in touch with a locksmith.  He came within 15 minutes but still took another hour (with back up help) to get the van opened.  Tommy cried the entire time.  He was totally drained and exhausted by the time the ordeal was over.  The locksmith didn't charge me - probably because he felt sorry for me - and I didn't lock my keys in the car, my key just wouldn't work.  Tommy wouldn't let Mommy put him down the rest of the day.

No reason for this picture - the girls are just adorable!

 Daddy is working hard on the office in the basement.  He's finishing framing in the windows and has started installing flooring.

Lily is plugging away at the piano.  She tries very hard.

 Friday night I took the girls on a Mommy-Daughter Date.  One of the local Zumba studios did a Zumba Family Night.  The girls loved the cool lights and the music.  Lily even remembered some of the routines from when we used to go together.  Annie stayed right by my side and danced the entire hour.  Lily would burst with enthusiasm for one or two songs and then have to take a rest.  We had a total ball.  In the group picture, Annie and I are in the center on the front row Lily is up on the stage just right of center.

 Saturday morning we woke up to our first real snow of the season.  As an adult I still love the magic of the first snow.  And I love seeing it in the eyes of my children.

Poor Tommy can't seem to kick the cold he got two weeks ago.  He was refusing food but needed to get something in his tummy so we offered him a popsicle.  He loved it - can you tell?

 Saturday afternoon Lily went to a birthday party.  Annie was not old enough to go so Mommy took advantage of the time for a one on one outing.  The university was offering a little holiday fair for kids.  Annie played games, listened to stories, got her face painted, made ornaments and pictures, had treats, and got to do it all with just Mommy.  She told me it was the funnest afternoon ever!  After the fair was over we went to McDonald's and shared some chicken nuggets with sweet and sour sauce.....Annie's life was complete.

So that's all for this week.  We're just so thankful that Tommy is fine after his big fall and trauma of being locked in the car.  Lily and Annie seem to grow more every day.  They are beginning to count down to Christmas at the cabin with the Halls.  Mom and Dad are just trying to get through Thanksgiving first!  See you next week with more shenanigans.

November 10, 2013

 Look who is pulling himself up.  Tommy loves to stand up now that he's got it figured out.  And he has started slowly cruising along furniture.  I even caught him experimenting with letting go this morning - he promptly fell over, but he was excited to try standing without support.  Our little guy is constantly on the move.

 Tommy LOVES bathtime.  When he hears the water start to fill the tub, he will crawl all the way to the bathroom no matter where he is in the house. 

 Two nights this week we built a tent fort in the family room and had a movie night. The kids love it and it feels good to snuggle down together.

 Our hooligans love their LEGOS.  They are always all over the floor and all the kids can play together with them for a long time every day.  It is fun to see their creations.  Okay so Tommy is mostly using the blocks as teething toys - but the girls have built some pretty cool things.

 Our cute little cruiser is all smiles.  Love that toothless grin.

We had Uncle Brady over for dinner on Sunday night.  The girls were so excited for him to come over, they were wound up all afternoon.  Brady's friend Morgan was in town this weekend with her mother and sister, so we invited everyone to join us.  It was a fun evening.  The kids were showing off all their tricks - piano songs, dance routines, gymnastics moves, etc.  And Lily hosted a wonderful pretend tea party for all the guests.

We mostly laid low this week.  All the littles are still sick with a cold.  The congestion caused Lily to get an ear infection.  We had lots of days of snuggles, quiet board games and books, movies, and naps.  Hopefully we'll kick this thing within the next week.  Thankfully Daddy and Mommy have avoided getting sick.

Saturday morning Daddy took the girls to see Despicable Me 2.  We got free tickets through BYU.  Lily was so excited about her Daddy-Daughter date, she picked out the outfit she wanted to wear five days in advance.

Jeremy and I won tickets to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert in December.  Grammy and Grampy Hall have graciously offered to watch our kids so we can get away for a night.  I am so excited to get to go again.  We had an amazing experience last year.

See you next Sunday!

November 03, 2013 - Birthday Celebration Round Two

What a fun and crazy week we had.  Puna and Papa came to visit, Halloween festivities, and a Pirate Princess birthday bash.  Mommy was busy and unfortunately the kiddos were sick.  Lily had a fever on Monday followed by a bad cold, Annie caught the cold by Wednesday, and Tommy had fever, stomach bug, and cold begin on Thursday.   But we really cherished the long visit with grandparents.  And the girls are in childhood dreamland with their abundance of Halloween candy and new presents.

Monday night for Family Home Evening we carved our pumpkins.  Lily really got into it this year.  Annie was totally grossed out by the pumpkin guts and would barely touch them.  The girls each designed their faces and Mommy carved them.

 Lily, Annie, and Tommy's pumpkins.  Daddy's pumpkin was really awesome but we didn't get a photo.

 For our treat we had "ghosts in the graveyard".  I made individual bowls of chocolate pudding topped with Oreo crumbs and a whipped cream ghost.

 Annie loved the crushed Oreos.  She called it black sugar.

 The afternoon of Halloween we took the kids to Daddy's office to show off their costumes.  Then we made a stop at their pediatrician's office for an indoor trick or treat.  Puna and Papa came with us.  It was fun.  We made a quick dash back home for dinner.  Then the girls took off with Daddy, Papa, and Uncle Brady to trick or treat the neighborhood.  Unfortunately, Tommy came down with a  fever and vomiting spell just as Mommy was trying to get dinner on the table.  We didn't get any photos of the girls in their costumes on Halloween.  And poor Tommy was truly miserable that night and most of the next day.

 Ghosts in the graveyard made a second appearance after dinner on Halloween.  This time we added gummy worms to the "dirt".  Annie was excited!

 By Saturday Tommy was feeling a little better.  He sure loves his Puna!  We spent the morning preparing for the Pirate Princess party.  The girls were beyond excited before the party even began.  We had to ask Puna to get them out of the house for a little while so we could finish the prep work.

 Our first game was "Pin the Patch on the Pirate".  It was a big hit.  Lily was the closest - her patch is the yellow one under the pirate's eye.

 After the patch game, the kids all walked the plank in our garage before they could hit the pinata.

 The pinata was a lot of fun.  We actually knocked it down before breaking it open.  So Mommy had to pick it up and shake the treasure out.  The kids loved their pirate booty of necklaces, ring pops, gold coins, jewels, candy, and other toys.

 We then painted all the kids faces.  Some wanted eye patches, others a skull and cross bones.  For those who didn't want the mean pirate look, we dusted their faces with gold glitter and called it Pixie Dust.

 Puna made the girls their awesome cakes.  Each one had some ocean, beach, and treasure trail leading to and X.  They turned out so cute.  Thank you Pinterest for the cute idea.  And thank you Puna for having the skills to make it.

  After cake and snacks we opened presents, played Tick-Tock-Where's the Croc? (sort of a hide and seek game) and Pirate....Pirate...Princess! (a spin on duck, duck, goose).  I think all the kids were totally sugared up and exhausted by the time it was over and the party was only two hours long.

It was hard to get great pictures since Mommy and Daddy were running around after ten kids.  But our decorations were really cute and most importantly, they birthday girls had a great time.  We spent the rest of the weekend resting and trying to get well again.  Puna and Papa made it home to Washington safely.  It was a long but fun week together.

See you next Sunday with more shenanigans!

Seven Months

Little Bubba is seven months old today.  This has been a trying month with weaning, teething, beginning of mommy separation anxiety, learning to crawl, and a bad diaper rash turned yeast infection.  Our poor little guy really went through it and wanted us to know it.  It is a good thing he is so cute and funny.  I guess we'll keep him - crying and all......because he makes the BEST faces that are so hard to resist.

Tommy crawls like a champ now.  He has started waking in the night for one feeding - usually around two a.m.  If Mommy leaves the room, he panics and immediately starts crying.  He's blowing bubbles and "razzberries" with his tongue.  Now that he can crawl, he is discovering the house room by room.  He loves to find boxes and baskets to pull things out of.  He tries hard to follow Mommy and sisters but gets frustrated when he can't keep up. His favorite foods are sweet potatoes and green peas.  He can't live without his banana teether - or gas drops - or Tylenol - or Mommy.  In spite of the fussiness he is a sweet little spirit who brings laughter and joy to our family. Keep growing little one!