Thanks Babe

So, I am not one of those people who sits and sings their husbands praises all the time. Not because I don't think he's the best. He is. No contest. Not because I am embarrassed. I'm not. But because I don't feel the need to. It's not as if I could ever explain all the little things that make him just perfect for me. I don't need to brag about what a good husband he is, or how successful he's been at work, or how he completely puts his family first. It just doesn't seem very classy of me to do that.

THAT BEING SAID, I just couldn't let this one go by...

He is the best. He took one for the team, and got tickets for us to go and see the Phantom of the Opera in Vegas. Just because one day I had mentioned that it might be cool to see that. And he remembers those things. And I love that about him. He's not afraid to have the other guys make fun of him for going to see an opera. (and they did) and he's not too macho to say that it was cool, and he actually enjoyed it.

And hey, even if he mostly enjoyed it because we got to spend three hours in a car without kids' music, or screaming, or flying goldfish crackers...and then enjoyed some awesome Vietnamese food...and not AS MUCH the show itself...I'm OK with that. He did it for me. Because he does stuff like that...even if I'm not always bragging about it...he does. And I appreciate it!

And thanks to Jake and Beka for coming, too. It made it even more fun. Even if the boys did pretend to scalp their tickets for a show they fondly referred to as "Phantom of the Brothel "

Oh Yeah, Baby

I'm pretty sure that owning this shirt makes us officially WHITE TRASH. And I'm OK with that.

Wordless Wednesday

The Missing Link

I'm not quite sure how it happened...but I think MaKaty is part monkey.

She is walking now. And she walks pretty well, but she doesn't seem to be all that interested in getting any better at walking. She has moved on to a whole new obsession. Climbing. I don't have a whole lot of photodocumentation yet. I'm sure more will be to follow. But in the last week, she has climbed the bar stools and was in the process of climbing up onto the countertop...she scaled the barrier at the bottom of the stairs and climbed the stairs, and then fell down the stairs...(yes, she's fine, thankfully)...she climbs onto the couches, and then up onto the backs of the couches...she climbs into strollers, and then scales the backs of the strollers, while holding onto the handles...and she climbs into the dishwasher.

Why! I do believe she's smirking at me!

A Question, A Lucky Shot, and The Three Amigos

First of all, I am aware that the video clips are not playing consistently. I'm pretty sure that it is a blogger problem, because they have been playing off and on. Sorry if you missed them. (I'm pretty sure that no one is terribly concerned about missing them, but anyway...)

So, the question. Asked by Hannah.

Mom, can I wear this today?

My answer: Sure, if I can take pictures!

Only Hannah could put together Spong Bob, Bohemian print, Camo, and Galoshes. Love it!

Then the other day, I was taking a picture of MaKaty with her bear (the last picture) and I caught this lucky shot. The sun was coming in the window just perfectly. Isn't she lovely?Finally, The Three Amigos. Seth. Frank. Alex. Preschool graduation party. In retrospect, it may have been a lot to ask of one preschool taking on three spawn of Nerd. They were quite the combination from what I understand. Nothing bad. Just reports that they acted more like brothers than classmates. Believe me, trying to get the three of them to take a picture together was hilarious. As evidenced here:
And here:
Finally Beka lay them down on the grass, and I climbed up onto the jungle gym to get this shot. So cute!And goofy again.

And for some reason I can't resist taking pictures of kids sitting in a line. Katy, Lily, Alex and Seth enjoying some popcorn on the curb.

Life is good.

OK, you might as well pop some popcorn...it's movie time!

Here are some little video snippets from the last month...the busy busy month. The video camera decided to start eating tapes round about, oh, three days before the kids' birthdays, so these little digi camera videos are all we got! Enjoy!

These first ones are the little movies that I made for each of the kids for their birthdays:

Hannah Birthday Video

Seth Birthday Video

MaKaty Birthday Video

Here's MaKaty eating her cake at Grandma and Papas. She definitely enjoyed it, don't you think?

This video is so dark, and it's really not a great representation of her walking, but I love it because when I was pregnant with MaKaty, we went to Disneyland. The kids have been begging to go back ever since. I told them that we wouldn't go back to Disneyland until the baby could walk. Apparently Seth remembered that well.

Here is a much better representation of MaKaty's walking. Isn't she cute?

Papa's work does a Hawaiian Luau party every year. Both Papa and Rick were kidnapped by the ladies and forced to dance. Nothing like good, wholesome entertainment.

Here is a little video of Hannah and Jocelyn jousting with pool noodles at the birthday party. Oh, it was so funny! I wish I had a video of Max and Jocelyn, because they were the best!

just add water

I filled the splash pool and water balloons the other day for the kids. And then I filled regular helium balloons with water, because, quite frankly, the look on my kids' face was just plain hilarious as they saw the balloons get bigger and bigger and bigger. Hannah was especially fond of a certain turquoise colored one. They had no problem popping all the regular sized water baloons, but were determined to keep the big ones. Hannah told me that she was going to keep Turquoise in a box in her room like a normal pet. Yeah right. The only thing in my house that's going to hold that volume of water is the bathtub.

So I went from the best mom ever to the meanest meany that ever meaned in about 30 minutes. Go figure.

Seth eventually warmed up to the idea of watching the things blow up:

I love how the water is still in the shape of the balloon...so cool!

The only thing harder than learning to walk, is learning to walk with an 80 pound diaper:

We'd better enjoy it now before the furnace get's turned up to the triple digits...won't be much going outside then!

I'm nearly insane, but I made it through...

Now let's see if you can make it through this post. It's all birthday. And it's a lot of birthday. It's a whole lot of birthday. Note to self, have a baby in some month other than May.





The parties started when we had a birthday party for Hannah and MaKaty at Grandma and Papa's. Karen made the cutest green cake for Hannah, and Grandma had made an angel food cake with whipped cream for icing. They were both delicious.



Next came the medieval Princess and Knight party with their friends. It was VERY loud in the club house, and the party was sheer chaos, but in a good way. I think the kids had fun. THe hit was the dragon cake, I believe... I was so proud of myself for not totally ruining the cake, as I have never been much of a decorator...
Here are the prince and princess, on their noble steeds, taking the royal load of stuff to the castle for the royal festivities...

Here is Sir Seth, the Duke of Four:
And Lady Hannah, ruler of the land of Six: The pool noodle jousting was terribly entertaining...especially when it was Jocelyn vs. Maxine. So funny! We also decorated some goblets:
And then the dragon started breathing real fire, so the kids had to stab it repeatedly with their swords. It was pretty gory, but all survived (except the dragon, of course).
The swords through the eyeballs were a nice touch, I thought.Time for presents: and there was much rejoicing...
That same night we had a party for MaKaty and Hannah with my family. The splash park was a lot of fun...but the highlight for me was watching Hannah open her Mariposa Barbie. She had been begging for months...
So this is love.

MaKaty actually got more into the cards than the presents. Except for the books. She loved her new books.

And this card from Grandma that she will sit and look at and "talk" about it. So cute!
Time for the insanely fun tradition of letting one year old baby dive into a cake head first. MaKaty did not disappoint.

And then she decided that being covered in frosting was so much fun that Grandma ought to be blessed with the experience as well:
Mission accomplished.
Our next party was for Seth at Grandma and Papa's. This cake was orange, and with a big super S for our big super dude.
And Grandma found this beauty at a garage sale, I believe. Seth is now the hit of the neighborhood. Everyone from 2-60 wants to try this bad boy out. Good luck getting Seth off it, though.

And the final party was for Seth and Bentley with my family. Bentley was born on Seth's first birthday, so they are only a year apart and very much into the same things. All superhero, all the way. Bentley wanted an Iron Man cake, so I did my best. It was a little pathetic, but the boys still seemed happy.

This scrunchy face she makes just cracks me up!

If the splash pad had suddenly flooded, Hannah would have been prepared...

No one has ever accused her of not being weird.One of the cutest things of the whole party was Bentley in his batman cape and batman mask...he put them on, and then said, "I can't, Daddy!" And Jesus said, "You can't what, Bentley?" And he said, "I can't fly. I tried, but I can't fly!" And he would jump into the air. The wind kept blowing his cape and making it look like he was flying, though. So cute!
Present time again. Seth enlisted Batman to open a few of his presents for him... And finally, Seth trying out Bentley's mask. Too cute!
So, I am off the hook for another year. Sweet.

Now, if you'll excuse me...I have to go change a transformer from a robot to a car another fifty times today...and reassemble Mariposa wings, and pick up Polly Pocket pieces, and step on another toy dinosaur...

Torture Session

Studio photos. I don't know why I even try. I have very talented friends who take way better pictures, but it's the lure of the free birthday 8x10 at Kiddie Kandids that I just can't resist. Katy was a beast. Would not smile. All she would do was stand up and walk back over to me. Every. single.time. Argh! Oh well, I already have some awesome ones of her that Beka took. Hannah and Seth were cooperative and did just fine. And I'm happy with my free pictures, and a picture of the three of them together, even if Katy is not smiling. I'm just glad that it will be at least a year before I subject myself to that again!

Happy Birthday Dude!

It couldn't be four years ago that Seth was born, could it? I mean, it was just a few minutes ago that he entered this world in a blaze of glory. Biting the doctor and peeing on the nurse within his first minute of escaping the birth canal. That just happened, right? Apparently not, because it seems that the year is now 2008, and when I look at him, I see a little man. Sigh.

Oh, how I love this kid. He is everything a mom dreams about when wanting a little boy. The special mother-son bond. The cute boy clothes. The obsession with anything with wheels. The excitement about all sports. The fierce loyalty to those he loves. The inability to feel fear.

He is also everything a mom fears when thinking about having a little boy. The inability to feel fear. The accident prone nature. Being a dirt magnet. The holes in clothes (usually in odd places that aren't easily explained) The seemingly innate understanding that any sentence with the words "potty, diaper, underwear, or toot" must be a hilarious joke.

There are so many things that just make Seth, Seth. His husky voice. His huge belly laugh. His mohawk. His funny t-shirts. His swagger walk. His robots. He loves Legos and cars, and dinosaurs. He has a million robot friends made from "junk, and rocks, and old wood, and pieces of metal." He has had stitches, dermabond, and a staple, as well as a broken leg. His favorite movies, over time were: Baby Einstein, especially the Bach one...then Chicken Little, Cars, Robots, and the Never Ending Story. He loves quesadillas folded in half and cut like pizza slices. He has ginormous tonsils. He still pees the bed sometimes. He charms everyone he meets. He remembers lines from movies...usually the lines that I wouldn't want him to repeat out of context...He is currently obsessed with Transformers. He likes to snuggle with me on the couch, and if the movie is scary, he kindly offers to hold my hand. He remembers to tell me when he thinks I look pretty. He also remembers to say thank-you, when I make a dinner he enjoys. He always has bruises on his legs and scrapes on his knees. He still pronounces it "Sponge Bob Squirrel Pants". He plays drums like a rock star, and memorizes songs from the radio. And when he grows up, he aspires to be a dad. And that is perfect. We have a lot of excitement in store for us with this guy, but I'm loving every minute of it. Bring it on, dude. Bring it on.

5/12/08 Are you tired of these yet?

So, my fifth installment of the 12 for 12 series.

I woke up at 7:45 am, which is really late. The kids got up shortly after. We read scriptures, and then I got Hannah into her swimming suit and put her towel and lunch into her backpack. Her Kindergarten was going on a splash pad field trip, and I was NOT going to go...because of this:

I fed Hannah and Seth cereal, and gave MaKaty some milk.

At 8:15, I realized that there was no time to change Seth and Kate, so they went to the bus stop in pajamas.

8:45, I decided to go to the field trip after all. Darn mommy guilt. (but I'm glad I showed up)I fed Kate some yogurt and got she and Seth in swimsuits, packed us a lunch and put the car seats into the Honda. (the van is having a windshield replaced)

9:30 I picked up a little liquid courage (pepsi) at the Maverik and headed to the splash park.

9:45-11:15 I watched the kids play in the water, then the play equipment, then the water, then the play equipment. I kept Katy from eating rocks, chalk, bugs, and cigarette butts. (by the way, I'm not kidding...all of those things were removed from her chunky little fingers, which were half way to her mouth...) Some kids found toads. I love this picture for several reasons...the angle, the hand touching the toad is Hannah's, and the fact that they are ALL GIRLS. Way to skunk those stereotypes, girls!
This also makes me happy. A lot of the letters are backward...but not bad considering that she wrote every single one upside down. Not sure why. And I love that you can see MaKaty's foot up in the top corner.

11:30-12:00, home again, and attempted to do a little cleaning before Hannah got home from the bus.

12:15, the bus arrived and I fed Katy some chicken nuggets while Hannah and Seth played make-up. (and yes, Seth did play, but he refused to have any make-up on his face...just his arms)

12:30 I put Katy down for her nap. As promised, I started assembling Seth's 312 piece lego set that he got for his birthday from C and J. He had only asked 312 times since Sunday evening if he could build his "lego transformer robot." 1:15 Completed Stage 1 of 4. I was actually feeling pretty proud of myself

1:30, I put Hannah and Seth down for a nap because I needed to clean clean clean!(can you tell?)1:45 I needed to start laundry, but I had to clip my fingernails first. I can't stand having nails when I fold laundry. Weird, I know, but it's the truth.

3:00 My house now looked like this: the dishes were done, the table cleared, the living room floor cleared, our bed made, one load of laundry ready to be folder, one in the dryer, one in the washer, and one waiting... I felt like I could breathe again.

3:15 Katy woke up. I gave her milk and we read books. She read alone while I folded laundry.

3:40 I gave her a snack in her high chair and made some phone calls.

4:00 Hannah and Seth were awake and Seth and I built his robot while MaKaty and Hannah played make-up. Hannah declared that MaKaty was the Empress.

4:45 I went to pick Rick up at work, and we went to get the van.

5:30 We were back home, but never made it in from the garage. The kids played outside and we chatted with the neighbors.

This is called: "How Many Babies Can we Fit in One Toy?"

6:30 We headed to Del Taco for 49 cent tacos. The kids in the slide: 7:30 We came back home, and I finished Seth's robot while Hannah did art, and Rick watched TV.

8:15, we put the kids to bed. Rick was not far behind the kids.

9:00, I watched CSI Miami, and folded laundry.10:00, I started uploading pictures and blogging.

I am feeling very tired tonight.

Six years ago...

Six years ago, I became a mommy when my sweet Hannah was born. Never could I have guessed at what these six years might bring. Never would I have guessed that I could love a little person so much. I think back on some of the highlights of her first 6 years. Her little bald head. Her saying "mmmmm, chocolate, I like it!" at 11 months old. Her standing at the top of a slide saying "I really CAN fly, Daddy!" Her spending her entire third Halloween dressed as Annie, and talking to the imaginary Annie that apparently walked with us the entire time. Her getting kicked out of dance class. Her displeasure at the birth of her brother. Her insistence that she is a princess, and a scientist. Her obsession with llamas. Her kissing Prince Phillip on the mouth when he had offered her his cheek, on our first day at Disneyland. Her first day of preschool, thinking so big, and looking so small. Learning to crawl, to walk, to run, to climb, to swim, to read. Kissing salamanders, horny toads, and frogs. Her telling me that I am the best mama she ever had. That girl is amazing. Amazingly sweet. Amazingly smart. Amazingly challenging. Amazingly perfect.

This morning I was feeling a bit nostalgic, and had this conversation with Hannah.

"Hannah, did you know that six years ago, you were born, and I became a mommy?"

"Yeah."

"And six years ago on Mother's Day, I brought you home from the hospital, and you were so tiny, and now you are so big, and someday you will fall in love and get married and leave me and move away."

One big tear rolled out of the corner of her eye and down her cheek, and she said,
"I will never leave you, Mama."

And I cried.

The Graduate and The Bathroom Bandit

Hannah's Kindergarten Graduation was yesterday. I was understandinglly anxious, after the interesting Christmas program described here. But I needn't have worried. She was a little goofy when she discovered that if she clapped on stage, she could get MaKaty to clap in imitation...but other than that she was awesome! She sang her little heart out. Which might not sound like such a big thing, but historically she has refused to sing. I mean, two years of preschool, three years of primary, and all through her Kindergarten year she has refused to sing in groups. She has even been disciplined for being "obstinate" and not following directions. But today she proved to all of us, that she really does know the songs...she is just not a performing monkey and will do it when she darn well pleases. I know I have complained before of this girl and her stubborn personality, but the truth is, it's not her fault. She comes by it naturally, and not by her father. Sigh. At any rate...today she was awesome! She gave her speaking part perfectly memorized and with a smile.

The program was really quite cute. It was all about "When I Grow Up." Each child was assigned a future job possibility. They got to dress up as their part. Hannah's part was to own a restaurant (though she expressed much dismay that she was not assigned the part of "dancer") She wore her Easy Bake Oven apron and chef hat. I'm relatively certain that no one really aspires to be an Easy Bake Chef...but nevertheless.

So here are some awesome action shots of Kindergartners at their finest. No program would be complete without a rousing round of "a too-dee-taw" (I have no idea about the proper spelling of that, hopefully you get the idea!) Giving her part:

Singing like an angel:
Sporting her certificate:With her best friend, who she walks to the bus stop with, and sits with on the bus...
And in other news...MaKaty has officially become a troublesome toddler. I found her half way up the bunk bed ladder on the day of her birthday, and yesterday morning, this is what my sweet baby was doing while I did Hannah's hair. She had shut herself in the toilet room in our master bathroom, and it was a few minutes before I even found her. Nice. It's apparently not enough to just pull it off the roll, it must then be torn to tiny little pieces. Wonderful. She looks like she knows she's in trouble, doesn't she?

String Cheese Humor

This morning, as Rick was leaving for work, he was looking for a healthy snack to take with him.

"I would take a string cheese," he said, "but there are only two left, and I'd better leave those for Tweedledee and Tweedledum."

and Hannah, who was standing behind him, quietly said, "I'm Tweedledee, Seth can be Tweedledum."

Nice.

Happy Birthday MaKaty: Born 05/06/07

It's hard to believe that little Kate is one year old today. It really doesn't seem like that long ago that I was having contractions at Hannah and Seth's birthday party. But it also seems like we never had a life without Katy. She is a constant source of entertainment...a little ray of sunshine...and my human alarm clock.

Some MaKaty stats at one year:

• weighs 23 pounds 5 ounces
• has 8 teeth
• waves hi and bye
• signs "more" and "all done"
• says "mama," "hi," "Uh-oh," "kitty," "whoah," "ga" (for dog), and "he-wo" (for hello).
• roars and meows
• gives tastes and kisses
• claps and dances on command
• bangs things together
• places things in and out on command
• fake cries when she wants to be picked up
• nods head for yes
• turns pages in a book
• makes us smile every day
• no longer takes bottles...just milk in a sippy
• eats most table foods
• loves chicken nuggets, rice, and yogurt
• loves the book "What is it?" and any book with animals, especially if it's a textured book
• stands alone for minutes at a time
• takes around 10-12 steps before falling
• can stand up in the middle of the room without assistance

Here are some more pictures of Katy that my friend Beka took. I saved them for today...in honor of her birthday. Enjoy!

A little antiqued...just for fun.







And a few things that I love about Katy at 12 months...

I love the way she pats my back when she hugs me. I love the little "oomph" sound she makes when she is walking and falls on her tush. I love the way her nose scrunches up when she smiles really big. I love the way she laughs every time Seth plays peek-a-boo with her. I love how she thinks that all clothing belongs on her head. I love how she gulps her milk. I love how when she crawls now, she doesn't want to be on her knees, so she either drags one knee behind her, or she monkey walks on all fours. I love how she can figure out how to open any cell phone, and then "talk" on it. I love how she imitates most sounds now. I love the way she crosses her ankles when she reads. I love how she spontaneously waves "hi" to people as they pass. I love how when she stands alone, her feet are spread wide apart for balance. I love how her hair is almost long enough to put a little "spout" on top. I love those blue blue eyes. I love the way I feel when she lays her head on my shoulder for a snuggle.

We wouldn't know what to do without you, Katy. We love you!

Water, Fire, and Ice Cream

It's been a very busy week. On Wednesday, Hannah's school hosted Mom's and Melted Ice Cream. I'm pretty sure it had another name (like Dessert with Mom) but my name is more apt, and more alliterative. The ice cream left much to be desired, but the experience of spending time with just Hannah, on her own turf, was worth it.
Thanks to Chantel for taking this picture. I had forgotten my camera...

Friday night we decided to take all three kids out to dinner. We questioned our wisdom, as taking the kids out to eat is usually more like a marathon than a quiet evening, but we couldn't find a baby sitter, so we made due. We took them to a little Japanese Hibachi grill called Samurai 21. Brilliant choice. The kids were entertained by the Hibachi chefs, the fire flare-ups, the spinning cutlery, the onion volcanoes...it was good stuff. The kids were great and the food was excellent.

Katy would not take her eyes off the chef after the first time the grill flamed up. She was mesmerized...or terrified...take your pick.

We spent nearly all of Saturday outside. We had a picnic lunch at a park, then came home for a little rest time, and then went to a friends pool. It was our first pool experience this season. I was wondering how much swim skill would have been lost over the winter, but the kids were just as game as ever. Hannah was swimming by herself...jumping off the "island" in the middle of the pool. She would slide to the bottom of the pool, letting herself lay down on the bottom. She thought it was pretty impressive. Seth needed a little floatation help...we'll have to remember his life vest next time. He made due with Elise's baby float. He looked hilarious, trying to climb up the pool ladder with that spare tire middle. Katy enjoyed the water, too. It got a little cold for her, so she left the water first, and we have no pictures of her actually in the pool, but that's OK. The little swimsuit cover she's wearing was mine when I was a little girl. And I know that flip flops and sunglasses for a one year old are a bit superfluous...but she does look really cute in them...Seth in mid jump!
One, Two, Three, JUMP!

This is Hannah exclaiming "I laid down on the bottom of the pool, and that's ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE!" Beautiful Kate
Hannah, and a very wet Ladybug friend...
I love this picture...Katy standing at the side of the pool and me playing peek a boo with her. So cute!
We will have a busy blog week, I anticipate...

Five words:

Three birthdays in eight days.

'nuf said.