Just Us...

'tis the season, and other stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:41:00 +0000

On Monday we went to the temple to see the nativity and the lights. Some friends joined us, and the big kids took off to play, so I only got pictures of the little ones. I was having a hard time figuring out how to get good pictures. (thanks to Amy and Beka for helping me figure it out). I still didn't get any great ones, but I did love this picture.

Cute Katy, she was telling me what the colors of all the lights were.
Beka caught this picture of Cru with my camera. So squishable.Here are some shots of the little crawler. He does this awesome random assortment of movements that eventually get him where he needs to go. And ironically, our vacuum of 9 years chose to quit on us the same weekend that he learned to crawl. Needless to say, I have to watch closely what this boy is putting in his mouth! We will be buying a new vacuum this week.

Katy got up on the counter and took over the job of feeding Cru.
This picture TOTALLY cracks me up!
And here's a little Kate story to end with. Yesterday I told her that she needed to hop in the car because we were going to the post office. I was getting Cru's jacket on, and suddenly she is grabbing me around the knees and saying, "Please don't hurt me, Mama!"
Naturally, I wondered where that came from... so we talked.

Me: Katy, I'm not going to hurt you, why are you afraid that I will hurt you?
Kate: I don't want to go to the post office. They POKE me at the post office!
Me: They poke you?
Kate: Yes, and I don't want to hurt me!

then it processed. She thought the post office was the dr. office.

Me: Kate, we are going to the POST office, not the Dr. Office. We are going to buy stamps. No one will poke you.
Kate: Okay.

On the way to the post office, she piped up from the back seat.
"I going to the post office. No one poke me there. I not go to doctor today."

Glad we cleared that one up. Next week's doctor visit is going to be a scream!

Feeling Thankful

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:01:00 +0000

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. It was eventful, and at times, emotional, but we are definitely feeling grateful.

Thanksgiving morning started off with the first annual Family 5K. We biked, ran, or scooted (is that the correct form for riding a scooter?) Anywho, it was a lot of fun. We just ran the local trail, so it wasn't an official event or anything. Seth and Rick ended up biking about 5 miles (with Rick pulling Katy and Cru in the bike trailer). Hannah biked along with us runners...with a water bottle in her basket.
Alison, Karen, Heather and I ran it. Ethan and Alex lapped us several times in our run. I had not prepared AT ALL for this run...so I didn't run the entire way...I walked at intervals, but definitely ran more than I walked. We came in at about a 45 minute time, so not bad, but not good. Heather, Alison and Karen SO could have beat me, but they were nice and stuck with me!

Ethan and Alex
Cute baby cousins. Cru and Soren are about 3 1/2 months apart.
Nothing like freshly drilled mashed potatoes. Papa has a special way of creaming his mashed potatoes with a drill. Hey! Don't knock it. It works!
No one was cooperative about having their picture taken at the table, so I left those pictures off. But the food was delicious. Papa always does an amazing job.

I call this next picture: Tryptophan.
And I call this one: Not Enough Tryptophan.
These kids are so lucky to have uncles that play with them.
We visited my parents for a few minutes later in the evening. Cru was happy to snuggle.
The next day I got this picture of Cru looking a bit like he had something up his sleeve. Well, he did. After contentedly sitting with NO SIGN of wanting to crawl, the boy up and decided to start crawling. He went from an awkward army crawl to up on his knees lunging in less than 24 hours. He is still not totally confident, and does a lot of spinning, inching, army crawling, rocking and lunging, but he can go from one room to another if he is motivated enough. LOVE that boy.
These four cousins were all born within a year. At this point there were four adults standing behind me trying to get these guys to smile, but as you can see, they are a tough audience. They are still cute, though.
Not pictured events include:

the annual trip to the Gift Show the day after Thanksgiving
a girls night to New Moon (where three of the guys joined us...and Rick wants to make sure that you know that HE was NOT one of them) I will keep my opinions of the movie to myself, as I don't love having my house egged by Twihards... Just kidding. It wasn't THAT bad.
soccer games. (not ours...we attended as fans)
a birthday party.
the avoidance of Black Friday shopping.
a walking trip to the duck pond.
lots of laughs...a few tears...and family time.

I am thankful for health, love, family, recovery, plenty, the gospel, baby smiles, giggles, family, kids, chocolate, Rick, family, bedtime, Hannah, Seth, MaKaty, Cru, family, and love.

Randomness

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:26:00 +0000

This post is just as random as random can be...so be prepared for that. I have gotten behind on a lot of things lately, and here is my meager attempt to recapture the random events of the last 2 months.

Katy had a little soccer envy: (please note that both legs are in the same hole)
We went on an adventure with Grandpa. He knew of this cool cave. We ventured in only a few feet, for safety reasons, but the kids were all sorts of intrigued.
The very same Grandpa suffered a brain bleed and had neurosurgery in October. Thanks to the marvel of modern medicine, and the miracle of prayer, he is recovering well.
Rick designed another new park.
It received the MaKaty seal of approval.She's cute. Were it not for the cuteness factor, she would be sold on the black market. She is the most troublesome toddler I have had yet...
You see that attitude?
This girl has taken to doing her own hair.
He continues to get cuter.
I find similar set-ups on a regular basis. Note the bat hanging in the tree. Good stuff.
We made homemade rootbeer with dry ice. Twice.
Hannah attended her first (non-grandmother) sleepover.
This made me laugh. Hard.
Rick and the kids went Conveniency Camping. This is where you attend the campsite...hike around...roast marshmallows...enjoy the campfire...and drive home and sleep in your own beds.

That is all for now.

My favorite outtake:

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:00:00 +0000

A friend of ours (thanks Shauna) took a few pictures for the ol' Christmas card a week or so ago. This was my favorite of the outtakes. Ah yeah, that's a little slice of my life. Enjoy!

A Farewell To Soccer

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:02:00 +0000

Another soccer season is over. It was a good year. Hannah went from having no desire to play, to begging her coach to keep her in. They both learned a lot about teamwork, and learned that there is more to soccer than just kicking the ball. While neither kid got a goal this year, they both had multiple assists, and some great saves. Thank goodness for good coaches and teammates. We saw an increase in effort and enthusiasm, and kept the tears and the trash talk to a minimum. Hooray for soccer!

Blue Bunnies and Orange Bombers rock!

Eight Months Old

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:36:00 +0000

Our little big man. Just look at him. He's huge! And cuter than ever!

Looking thoughtful...

This picture was poorly composed, but I had to post it because it shows all of Cru's teeth. All SIX of them! See the big one on the top? That tooth and I, we don't get along so well. I'll let you use your imagination to figure out why...
Oh yeah, this next one is just keeping it real. So so glad that I could capture the infamous snot bubble.
Proof that even Captain Chill gets sick of having his picture taken:
And this last picture was taken by my niece. So cute. And yes, he is already a flirt.
Some facts:

Cru sprouted 2 new teeth this month.
He is FAR to content to want to learn to crawl, though he has finally tried to get to his hands and knees.
He is perfecting the pincer grasp.
He LOVES squash.
He LOVES his stuffed dog.
He has shown signs of stranger danger, and gets shy.
He LOVES cats, but dogs tend to scare him a bit.
He is experimenting with the "bum scoot" form of transportation.
He gives high fives, with gusto!
He reaches out to be picked up.
He will often clap in imitation.
He thinks Baby Mum Mum's are THE STUFF!

Some favorites:

I love his cheeks, and how his dimple is emerging more and more all the time
I love how he snuggles just about as long as you will let him.
I love his fake cry...and how it turns off as soon as you pick him up.
I love his baby blues.
I love how he laughs when Katy pretends to sneeze.
I love his sleep habits.
I love it when he yells and scares himself.
I love how he gets excited at the sight of food.
I love how he imitates facial expressions, like when I raise my eyebrows and he returns it.
I love his birthmark.
I love to watch him splash in the bath.
I love to watch him play with toys. Spinning, pushing, banging, dumping.
I love his wet kisses.

Keep up the cuteness, Cruzer!

A Whole Week of Halloween Scares

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:50:00 +0000

OK, so this post is another photo heavy one. It's totally for my benefit more than anyone else's. So if you have seen enough pictures of pumpkin carving/kids in costume/pre-sugar-high festivities, I won't feel bad if you just move on.

The week started with a spooky dinner of "spider dogs" . I know they look totally gross, but the kids thought they were "the stuff!" Essentially you just poke spaghetti noodles into hot dogs and boil them. We dipped our spider dogs in "blood" (ketchup). Gross, but good.
Tirsa painted Hannah's fingernails to go with her Sally costume. I think they were the coolest! (click on the photo to see them close up!)
Monday we invaded Jake and Beka's house and turned the kids loose with cupcakes and frosting. Black frosting. Looks cool. On the cupcake. Everywhere else, not so much. I didn't take many pictures that day...but here is one of Cru. Ready to party!
Tuesday we turned three pumpkins over to the kids for carving. Seth was SO EXCITED to use a knife. He was bummed to realize that there was still a lot of supervision.

Kate got totally into the pumpkin guts.
Hannah kept one arm in her shirt so that only one would get all gross.
Seth with his spiderman pumpkin. I ran a practice round on the drawing a lightning scar on him, if you can't tell.
A couple of years ago, our friends Jared and Amy had used a smoke bomb in their pumpkins. So I saved a couple from the 4th of July. They were lots of fun. Stinky, but fun!

Katy wanted a happy pumpkin. Hannah got Zero, from Nightmare Before Christmas, and Seth rocked the Spiderman pumpkin.
Wednesday was our neighborhood Trunk-or-Treat. You have already seen pictures from that day, but here are a few of the outtakes.

Weird, but adorable. I should make him a shirt that says that.

Yes, it's true...he did keep the patch on. I promise. The kid is ultra-mellow.
And the opposite of mellow...Miss Katy. Who had begged and begged to be a cow. And wanted to take the hood off the whole time. Stinker.
The whole crew.
Two of Seth's best neighborhood buddies were Optimus Prime. So cute. (try to ignore the fact that you can see the back of Seth's tie, revealing that his Gryffindor tie is actually a regular tie with masking tape stripes colored gold.)
People honestly could not tell it was Hannah under there. She looked a little freaky, but LOVED it!
He fell asleep trick-or-treating. Patch and all!Hannah shared her sucker with Cru. I just love the sneaky look in his eyes!
Let the acquisition of candy begin.
this pirate is armed!
not only does she look cool, but she made the entire costume herself. So she *is* cool!
not sure what to think...
cutest dragon EVER!
The three boy cousins. AKA: ImpossibletogettolookatyouatthesametimeAnd now I get to live with three kids who have either had far too much sugar, or they are convinced that they are being deprived of sugar.

Hope you had a good Halloween!

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:15:00 +0000

What Big Brothers are Good For...

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:02:00 +0000

I.about.died.laughing.

Dear Ernie,

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 04:35:00 +0000

I sincerely apologize. I am so sorry that you had the misfortune to be captured by my children. I realize that the conditions in the baby wipe container were not ideal. I'm sorry that you were forced to do tricks, and that you were assigned such an unfortunate name. Truly, it must have been a harrowing 8 hours. Seriously, I freed you as soon as I could. But hey, at least you can tell your buddies that you got to drive this SWEET scooter!Sincerely,

Hannah and Seth's Mom

Farming...

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:19:00 +0000

It has become a family tradition to head out to a local farm each fall and let the kids get a little redneck.

MaKaty has always been a little young to really experience it. Not anymore. She was in heaven. Dirty. Corny. Fly covered. Heaven. (and yes, I did mean corny to be a pun)

Corn Slide:
Red Neck Merry Go Round
Corn Pit:
Petting Zoo:
Kate is obsessed with cows. She was so excited that she kept squealing...so the cow kept moving. So funny.
This is what happens when I just hold my camera down by my knees and snap pictures...I kinda like it.
Anyone want a lamb, beef, and MaKaty sandwich?
Hannah has always had a thing for llamas. One llama kissed her right in the middle of the forehead when we came a couple years ago. This year Hannah noticed that "her" llama was not part of the group. So sad.
Cru was a good sport. He just hung out in the stroller.
Seth was really hard to photograph because he wouldn't hold still for two seconds...
The hay swing was new this year...at least for us. Hannah loved it!
Ah, the beloved Cow Train. Lily. Katy. Frank. Hannah. Elise. Shelly. Seth. Alex.

This is what Cru looks like when he's trying to say, "I'm getting a little cold, and I'm sort of tired of this, guys." He's not very convincing...
On to the pumpkin patch:

We ended up with four pumpkins, of various sizes. We are hoping that they will last until the week of Halloween when we carve them. So far. So good.

Here's Katy with her chosen pumpkin. It's a good picture of her bruised nose. She had cracked her head into another child on a slide at the park. Her nose had bled and both eyes went black. Three days later, this was the bruised look she sported...Our little bruiser.

His Name is Not Noodle: The Story of a Dog

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:43:00 +0000

The only response you will get from MaKaty if you ask her what her doggie's name is: "His name is not Noodle." Ummmmm, OK.
No, this is not a two headed dog. There are actually two doggies in this photo. Perhaps one of them is named Noodle, and the other one is Not Noodle. We may never know. All I know is that the original doggie, given to her on her first birthday by Brandon and Heather, is an absolute necessity. So much so, that being smart parents, we procured a "back-up" from the same store. (thank-you again, Heather.) But...being not-so-smart parents, we neglected to keep back-up doggie hidden. As soon as she realized that there were two, it was necessary to have two with her, AT ALL TIMES. Thankfully, that has phased out now. Both dogs kick around the house all day long, but when it comes to nap or bed time, she is a purist. Only the original will do. And if you get confused or desperate, and try to pass off back-up doggie for original doggie...well, it's not pretty. She looks the doggie right in the eyes and says, "Where is my other-one doggie?", and promptly drops back-up doggie like a bag of rocks.

Even in the middle of the night, she will wake up crying if she can't find original doggie. Back-up doggie in arms, she will cry and cry as I fumble around in the darkness, trying to find the original. As soon as he is found and placed in her arms, she is instantly back to sleep. She carries doggie around draped over one arm, and periodically hugs him to her chest and proclaims emphatically, "I lub you." (I admit it was a little blow to the ego when I mistakenly thought she had uttered the words for me...I was quickly corrected.)

As you can imagine, a fluffy white doggie occasionally loses his fluffiness and whiteness, and needs a little trip to the "doggie salon." Those are rough days for Kate. She stands in front of the washing machine crying. She gets to move doggie from one machine to the other, and is slightly less disturbed by the drying procedure. My hunch is that it's because of the warm fluffiness straight from the dryer. She has been known to tell visitors that she is sad because "Doggie in the washing machine." Trauma, I tell you. I still shudder to think of the day he got peanut butter on his paw. Doggie is no longer allowed anywhere near the peanut butter.

And apparently doggie gets cold in the mornings. Because lately she has been insisting on bringing doggie in the mornings when we head to the bus stop. And Katy needs a jacket. And doggie needs a jacket. But Katy gets the jacket that is a little too small and not nearly so cute...but DOGGIE gets the good jacket because "it is more comfy for him."

No one will ever accuse her of being a girl without priorities...Welcome to the family, NotNoodle.

Cru @ 7

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:24:00 +0000

Seven months. So much closer to a year old than a newborn. Times are changing. He's growing up so much, so fast. And I'm loving every minute of it. How could I not? This is Cru...95% of the time!
I'm a lucky mama.
Mr. Buckets-Of-Drool pushed through two more teeth this month. Can you tell?

You may remember the blue suitcase from his 9-day old photoshoot. (photo by my friend Amy)
I meant to use it in his 6 month and 1 year photo shoots as well...whoops. Was that last month? Here it is...a month later than planned. It shrunk just a bit.
I tried to limit my pictures...honest, I did. He's just too.darn.cute.

Things we love about Cru @ 7 months...

this "Alfalfa" hair thing he has going on. It's all natural, baby.
his deep belly laugh...especially when he's laughing at Katy. It's the best!
the way he talks to his doggie that is in his crib
his wet and enthusiastic kisses
how he lays his head on my chest for a snuggle
his "yelling"...it's not sad, it's just noise experimentation
his mellow nature
how he responds to the sound of my voice...even over the phone...and gets excited when he sees me from across the room
those blue eyes (no eye brightening actions were used...they are just THAT blue)
his enthusiasm for food, especially for squash and sweet potatoes
his sleep habits
his coping ability
his unique rolling-pushing-squirming form of mobility (and the fact that he's NOT crawling yet)

Oh, how we love you, Cru.
Good night.

My Favorite Color is Orange...

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:59:00 +0000

For family night Rick took off a little early and we headed off to the mountains to catch some beautiful leaf action. We got there at that magical time of the evening when the light from the sun setting makes everything glow. There were leaves that had already changed and fallen; as well as leaves that were still green in the trees. It was perfect. The types of trees were varied enough to pop out yellows and reds, and all shades of orange in between. It's going to be a beautiful fall!
There was a little too much orange here...the leaves, the light from the sunset, and Cru's natural skin tones...but it's still so so cute.
Hannah loved collecting leaves, and discovered her own little "thicket" where she and Seth set up a little picnic area for their dinner.

I think this one looks like Seth is sitting in front of one of those cheesy fall backdrops they used to have at the photo center at Wal Mart, and the like...

Katy has temporarily abandoned the cow boots in favor of her new shoe obsession...the high top pink chuck taylors...
So pretty...
MaKaty does not hold still for ANYTHING! So this is the best I could do with her level of cooperation!

Rick got some great shots of the trees and the sunset just as we were losing the last bit of sun behind the mountains.

We have spent the last three years trying to find the perfect spot to get pictures of the fall leaves. I think we found it...

Friday Night is Movie Night, Right?

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:30:00 +0000

So here are a few "Indie" films for your enjoyment. The first one stars Miss MaKaty. Her acting skills are refreshingly natural. Her co-star, Cru, does little more than lay down on the job, but he more than makes up for it with his good looks. Enjoy! (but don't bother popping any popcorn...these videos are all around 1 minute or less)

Cru has found his voice.

MaKaty reading a book. Don't feel bad if you can't understand a word she is saying...neither could we. That was the purpose of the video. She is already talking far far more clearly, so we wanted to get the JabberJabber on video before it was gone for good.

Seth was talking and singing to Cru and making him smile and laugh. This video makes me laugh and cry...nothing like brotherly love.

This is NOT a video of Katy reading...not really. It's a video of Katy singing. It just looks like a video of Katy reading.

Life is good.

"Loud and Fast"

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:59:00 +0000

That would be a five year old's synopsis of his first NASCAR event. Loud and Fast.

Rick happened to mention one day at work that Seth enjoyed watching the NASCAR races on TV. The secretary at his work, Carol, heard this and offered him some tickets for that weekends truck races. How awesome is that? Rick kept it a secret from Seth all week, until the day of the race. Seth was so excited!
I was worried that he would get bored or tired because they had to drive a couple of hours to get there, and it was pretty hot. I thought he wouldn't last the whole 3 hours. I'm not sure if it was the adrenaline rush or the sugar high...but he did just fine!
Rick took our old digital camera, so he had a hard time catching a car in the photo...but here's an idea of what they were watching...

The victory burn out:
They had a great time. They were grateful for ear plugs. They got some guy time. They came home very tired. They loved it. I think they're hooked.
Thanks Carol, for letting my guys get some bonding time!

This Cowboy Wears Flip Flops

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 06:07:00 +0000

It was Cowboy Day in Seth's class a week or so ago, and this is the outfit we threw together. His cowboy boots no longer fit (sad sad) and this is what he came up with as a replacement. Gotta love it.
I did NOT tell him to pretend to shoot the camera. That's all him.
I think I'll mosey on off to bed now.

Aspirations in Soccer

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Season 1, Sept 2007: The Mud Ball Season 2, Sept 2009: The Mud Puddle The last picture was taken after the game...not during the game, to be fair. But this was after she had taken little detours throughout the game to route her directly THROUGH the puddle. She was already filthy, so I figured, "why not?!" and let her jump right in.

She does seem to be enjoying soccer more this time, and she does run after the ball and play the game. So, good job, Hannah. I just hesitate to imagine what might be next in the mud cycle.

Soccer.

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:33:00 +0000

Orange Slices. Uniforms. Last minute scrambles for shin guards and cleats. Victory dances. Sideline meltdowns. Frozen water bottles. Mid-week practices. Blue Bunnies. Orange Bombers. Camp chairs. Telephoto lens. High fives. Human tunnels. Raspy cheer voices. Team photos. Trophies. Half-time snacks. Grass fights. Team cheers. New coaches. Sunburns. Huge kicks. Teamwork.

Bring it on.

More from the Little Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:16:00 +0000

On Saturday, we went to Temple Square. We met A and S there, and enjoyed a couple of hours walking around the grounds and touring the visitor's center and the children's section of the church history museum.

This is the first real "family picture" we have with Cru in it. Seth's looking a little goofy, and Katy looks like she's confused, but we take what we can get. It's like trying to hit four moving targets with one bullet.

This picture cracks me up because I can still hear her yelling "yet me iiiiiiin" over and over. I hope there's a pretty good sound proof barrier there.

This is a classic example of why you don't take pictures and talk on the phone at the same time...just a little crooked, right?
Loved this pic of A and S. She was still trying to get him situated, but I snapped it before she was ready...and I love it.
Katy's favorite part of the museum was the baby nursery they had set up. In fact, she hardly left that area the entire time we were there.
Cru's favorite part was sitting and looking cute while his siblings dawdled.
Seth enjoyed the temple building station...what a cool temple he built, right?
Hannah put on the angel outfit from the nativity dress-ups and was the "Angel Nurse". Only you, Hannah.
Then we moved onto the Planetarium, where we were met by Heather and kids. Jax and Seth played with their alien guys on the surface of the moon.
Heather and Bria checking out one of the exhibits.
Hannah would have stood there all day, if I hadn't forced her off of it. It showed how much you would weigh on the other planets, and also what would happen to you if you were dropped off there. For example, the density in the air would smash you flat, or you would be killed immediately by poisonous gases. She LOVED it.
Rick took this picture of Hannah reading on the moon. So funny.
The next day was the big day for Baby S. All of Rick's family was there for the blessing, and so we snagged a big family picture outside afterward.
Funny story on these skirts. After I made Katy's first market skirt, Heather said that she wanted one for Bria. So I told her to buy some fabric and I would make her one. She sent the fabric down with someone, and in the meantime I had bought some more fabric to make Katy another skirt. Turns out, 300 miles apart, we had bought the same fabric! So I made all four girls skirts. I had visions of these adorable pictures of the girls...but after an hour and a half of church and group photos, they were less than cooperative. This is the best I got.
But they were cute.

Little S. Such a stud!
All sorts of handsome in his little suit.
Here is a shot of all the cousins born this year. You can tell how Ella felt about being boy trapped. Poor girl. She will be tough, at least.
And finally, this cutie boy. What a tease!
Up next...soccer pictures.

A Little Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:06:00 +0000

Last weekend we took a little mini vacation. We headed up north for little Soren's blessing, but took the opportunity to head up a couple of days early and do some fun stuff. We packed a lot into our weekend, and were all exhausted. Here is a look at our first day.

The Dinosaur Park: Basically it's a bunch of dinosaur models nestled into a forest at the mouth of a canyon. All the dinosaurs are those that once roamed this area...so the kids thought that was pretty cool.

Hannah referred to this dinosaur as her "sister." She collected acorns for it's food, and lovingly dusted the sand off it. She didn't want to leave it. So she asked if I would take a picture, so she could always remember her prehistoric sister.Katy refused to call them dinosaurs. She kept saying they were dragons. For example, she would say, "Mom...those dragons scare me!" We tried to get her to say dinosaur, but she refused! She didn't like the sounds they had playing throughout the park...they sounded like dinosaurs tromping through the trees, roaring, and echoing footsteps. We had to keep telling her that they wouldn't get her because they were stuck. She finally got to where she would wander a little bit. When we got under this big guy she tried to tickle its belly.
Rick got this cute shot of Katy coming down the slide. She loved the play area the most. Can you tell it was HOT? Her face was so red! My favorite is the angle on the cow boots. They look huge, and are so obviously on the wrong feet.Cru was thrilled to just sit in the sand. It was a new experience for him. He loved it.
Even when he face planted it...
I love Katy's face here. She was still not so sure...
Um, Hannah...don't look now, but a Tyrannosaurus is about to eat you...
Kate also loved the drinking fountain.
Then we headed to the Aerospace Museum. This was sort of a spur of the moment stop. We passed the exit on our way to the Dinosaur Museum, and when we had some extra time, we decided to stop on the way back. Rick, being a pilot himself, is fascinated with all things aeronautic, and we never really do things just because Daddy wants to. It's usually the other way around. So we stopped. It was very cool. We didn't have a lot of time before the military base closed, so we had to hurry through.
A gyro. I think.

Hannah, in the ejection seat. Now only if we'd had one of those in the car during the 6 hour drive up there! Just kidding. Mostly.
More from the other two days of our trip later.

Six Months Old

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:15:00 +0000

Another month has flown by and somehow my baby is six months old. He is such a sweet heart. I can't get enough of his two-toothy smiles, and belly laughs. He is beginning that amazing stage of discovery where everything is new and wonderful, and must belong in the mouth. He actually plays with toys now...spinning things, or shaking them. He is so much more aware of what is going on around him. He has decided that he doesn't like being left alone. He wants to be in the room where the rest of us are. He is learning to make his voice heard, though he is still an easy going baby. He loves when his siblings play with him. Some favorite games are when Katy plays pat-a-cake with his feet...when Seth plays "Where's Cruzer?" and when Hannah tickles him. He is at such a grabby stage. No plate of food is safe if Cru is on your lap. No lock of hair is safe, either. He has also discovered Daddy's glasses. He is learning new noises all the time, and will try to imitate sounds and noises that you make...like blowing raspberries back at you. He pushed two teeth through the 14th and 16th of last month...and seems to be working on some more. At least I hope that is what will account for the constant stream of drool. He is liking solid foods, though he's never terribly excited at the taste of the first bite. He definitely shows a preference for the freshly pureed foods over the bottled ones. He continues to be Tubby McTubberpants, which we love. Especially because it won't last long. He is already moving from a sitting position up onto his hands, and he scoots himself around on the floor. Once he starts moving for real, I'm sure the weight gain will slow. We sure love this little bald dude.

This next one is for those of you "naysayers" who didn't believe that Chunky Buns could touch his own toes. In fact, holding onto his own feet is a favorite passtime of his.

Some things we love about Cru at six months:

his two-tooth smile (though if he uses those teeth to bite me one more time, he may be done nursing)
his blue eyes
his expressive eye brows
the way he squints when he grins
his inquisitive nature
the way he rarely cries when he falls over...he just rolls over and makes the best of it...
how he entertains himself by making noises
how he wakes up from naps and just lays in his crib and "plays" with his blanket and coos
his pouty lip
how he bounces when he gets excited
his fake cough
how he strokes my face when he's nursing
the way he laughs at his siblings
his abundance of fat rolls

Love you, Cruey!

The saddest thing in the world...

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:38:00 +0000

Cru has never been much of a crier. Don't get me wrong...this is not a complaint. It leads me into the video...

When Cru was born, there was no classic scene of the doctor holding up the baby...and it giving forth it's first cry. Cru would not cry. He barely moaned. It sent me into a bit of a panic. I spent the first 20 minutes of his life trying to get him to cry. He was fine. There was nothing wrong with him (Respiratory came in and checked). He simply wasn't a crier. He grunted a bit, and would let out a whimper every now and again to let me know he was hungry...but it took quite a long time before we heard his real true cry.

Still, nearly six months later, it is not common for him to cry. He recently got over being sick. The first day of his fever he cried more in the space of 8 hours than he had his entire five months prior. Poor little dude.

OK...I'm getting to the point. We finally found something that will.consistently.without fail.make. Cru.cry.

Enjoy...

It's just too sad, we can't do it to him anymore. That's why I got it on video...so that anyone who wants to see it can watch it here. I won't do it to him anymore. It's heartbreaking. Albeit hilarious. I told you he didn't like to be moo-ed at.

I promise...as soon as I turned off the camera, I picked him up and gave him some serious hugs.

Wordless Wednesday (though I admit I cheated, a little...)

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000

Happy Campers

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:59:00 +0000

All of our kids have been camping before they were four months old. Cru was a month overdue. So we jumped on the chance to go camping out on the Kaibab...even though it was only for one night.

Cru was such a champ!

Seth, Lee Ann, McKenna, and Cambria. I didn't take this picture. I was SO bummed that I didn't see this little cottage...that old wood would have been PERFECT to take pictures against. Oh well, my kids looked like orphans anyway...

The place we like to camp is right next to this big natual "bowl" The kids love to run through the meadow and look for fossils. My niece took these pictures of the kids...I "stole" them off of facebook!

Katy would not allow us to call her boots "cow boots." They were her "camping boots."

Her face cracks me up. Nicole said it was a pretty heavy rock.

Cru was fascinated by Daddy's LED lantern. This thing is SO COOL! It doesn't get hot at all, and you can turn it on and off from as far as 30 ft away with a remote control! Totally slick!
Missy MaK wanted nothing more than to go on the four wheeler. We have video of Seth riding the four wheeler when he was not quite two. He was a significantly better driver than MaKaty is. But what she lacks in talent, she makes up for in focus.
Serious business. The little for wheelers are equipped with a kill switch at the back, attached to a rope. If she was heading a little off road, or going too fast (she has sort of a lead thumb)...all Rick had to do was pull the rope, and the engine died.

Bentley is just the cutest. Even with a dirty face!

My sister, Marcie had found these tie dye kits on clearance, and brought them out for the kids to do. Hannah and Seth made t-shirts, while MaKaty made a handkerchief.
Hannah thought of her design all by herself. It turned out super cool! Seth added so much dye to the shirt sleeves, but they look awesome! McKenna tie dyed her hand. Hanging out to dry...My cute parents, cleaning up from breakfast.
Here's Cru doing what Crus do best...looking cute!

Nicole took this picture of my dad talking to Cru. I love it.

Sweet Kate, with bed head.

So I did her hair...........and then she did Chloe's. And Chloe let her.

I stayed at camp with Katy and Cru, and Rick took the big kids and went off on another adventure with my dad. This observation tower houses some weather equipment, and is a look out for wildfires. It was 125 ft tall, and had 151 steps. Had I known that my children were up that high, I might have had a heart attack, but I was blissfully unaware. They climbed a similar tower last year when we came camping, but somehow this one was so much scarier! At any rate, they survived, and were very proud!

Seth and my dad...

A view from the top...

My dad had the brilliant idea to drop his hat off the top of the tower, and let the kids watch it fall all the way to the ground. It fell about 20 feet, and lodged in a tree. Oops.

Just so you know, the stairs are completely encased in chain link, so it would be pretty hard to fall, but still...

Oh Hannah, you make terrified look so cute!

Back at camp...I was getting a little annoyed at Seth...he was wild and crazy, and wanted only to stick stuff in the fire, so I was looking for something to occupy him. I sent him and Bentley on a scavenger hunt into the forest. They were to find a walking stick, a red rock, and the biggest pinecone they could find. Here is Seth upon his return.

And Bentley came announcing that he found the perfect walking stick.

For a Giant, maybe. Cute boy.

In the interest of full disclosure...it was not all happy camperific. It was quite possibly the longest night of my life. Lets just say that our "6 man tent" does not translate into "1man, 1woman, two kids, one portacrib, and our Human Tornado named MaKaty." And poor Cru caught some kind of virus. He cried the entire drive home, and spent the next 3 days with a fever. Poor guy. Still, it was a lot of fun, and I am always glad that we did it!