Not sure why

Halloween Pumpkin Patch Trip 2012

I'm not sure why it has been so hard these past few months to blog.  I have a terrible memory, so it is good for me.  It is also therapeutic.  Good to just get things off my chest.  But I don't have a lot of time right now.  I just wanted to start to get back into the habit.

We have busy with just life.  Jack, Joel and Sam all had birthdays.  Bill and Katherine were here for Thanksgiving.  Bill is not doing so hot.  So it was good to see him.  Sage has a friend at preschool that we get together with at least once a week.  I love hearing them talk to each other.  It is great.  We quite like them.  Charlotte is absolutely the cutest toddler ever.  EVER.  She makes me laugh every day.  Lately she "just wants to make something" and be creative.  I have been busy getting presents for Christmas made.  The kids are going to be excited, I think. 

Overall, we are happy.  The kids are really fantastic.  They are a great bunch of kids. Joel works.  A.  LOT.  Consequently, he is tired too.  He has a new job at a different plant, same company.  He is trying to do his new job while still doing his old job until they find someone.  It has been this way since July.  Hopefully he will be able to do just one job soon.  But even with limited Joel time, we are really happy.  I am so loving the innocence of the kids.  I am totally going to miss it when they get older.  (At the same time I am totally excited for them to be older so we can do all these fun things together.)  But yeah.  There you have it.

The Nutcracker

Sage and I got all dolled up and went on a date this past weekend.  We went up to Fresno to go the the Nutcracker Ballet!  It was really exciting for me first of all, because it was the first time I went somewhere sans Sam.  But it was also the feeling of FINALLY!  The kids are starting to get old enough to do fun things like this together.  SO FUN! 

I thoroughly enjoyed being with Sage.  She is really a sweet happy girl.  She was very shy and quiet at first - just wanting to go straight to our seats, no pictures taken or anything.  As soon as it started, she just held my hand the entire time.  She loved it!  I asked her if it was scary.  No.  Did she cry?  Yes.  A little.  Why?  Because she loved it so much.

The entire audience was filled with little girls who were decked out like Sage and their moms/grandmas.  It was really cute to see.  We also had great seats.  We were in the 5th row.  Next time I want to be a little farther back - it was a little too close to the male dancers for my liking...

When it was time to go Sage did not want to leave.  She wanted to linger and enjoy the theatre for as long as possible.  But hunger got the better of her and we were able to journey home.

I think this is the start of a new tradition...

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving already??

Holy smokes, time has FLOWN!  I can't believe it is Thanksgiving next week.  I have been wanting to blog but seriously it is hard to find a few minutes hands free without the kids.  I cannot be on the computer if they are awake.  Their world just falls apart.  And I just get mad at them. Not a good thing.

 

A few random thoughts and then hopefully some posts with pictures to follow:

 

*Charlotte's leg is better.  I am so thankful.  She is SO much happier too.  She was a great sport though.   Seriously she is so good natured.  Such a cutie pie.  She is adorable. 

 

*I was at the point again of ripping our my carpets.  But then I did my yearly carpet cleaning - wow, I can breathe easier now.  It is still old, worn, a few stains, and needs to be re-stretched.  But at least it doesn't gross me out anymore.  When I did it last year I was 8 1/2 months preggos - it seemed so much easier this year.

 

*Charlotte calls Joel Charby-dad.  She LOVES her Charby-dad.  Me?  She loves me to.  But I'm just Mom.

 

*Jack has 2 loose teeth.  One on top and one on bottom.  He is ecstatic!  Those little chicklits.  I wonder how big his teeth are going to be.

 

*Jack has a friend at school.  This friend calls CONSTANTLY.  If I don't answer the phone he leaves messages that go off for 10 minutes.  We have had him over a few times Jack has been over there once.  I think we both prefer playing here instead. 

 

*Sage's handwriting is totally rocking.  It is clear and she is so proud of herself.  It is so exciting to see.  I am so happy for her - she really wants to read.

 

*Joel is still working.  And he is working some more.  And do you know what he does for fun?  WORK!  What a fun exciting life this guy leads...at least it pays the bills and then some.  And it is a good thing that I love the kids and love to be with them dearly.  But it is hard to have him gone 12+ hours a day.

 

*Sage is still very loving and kind.  She has a lot of love to give.  A lot of time her love looks like kissing and hugs.  At times it can be too much.  And you just need a little space.  But I LOVE this girl.  I am going to miss her when she goes to Kindergarten next year. 

 

*Joel has been dreaming of a shop.  DREAMING.  PLANNING.  RESEARCHING.  DRAWING.  Someday babe, someday.

 

*The kids are all very tender.  They can sure fight but they do love each other.  The other morning they were outside and came running in to tell me that they were all playing nicely with each other and they were giving each other hugs and then all of their eyes started watering because they loved each other so much.  It actually happens frequently.  It is very sweet.

 

*Mr Sam has started weaning.  He is down to 3 feedings a day.  I can't believe he is so big and I can't believe this will be my first time since started to having kids that I haven't been pregnant or breastfeeding.  The possibilities are mind blowing.

 

*Sam has also started crawling on all fours, instead of army crawling.  He is pulling himself up to EVERYTHING.  He can cruise but is not yet standing on his own.  This boy still melts my heart.  He is still super happy and smiley.  He loves to be in the middle of everything.  And he loves balloons.  Oh my goodness, he is so lovely.  I just want to kiss and smooch him.

 

*This past week Jack has been coming in my room and getting in bed with me.  I am awake and reading my scriptures.  So he has been bringing his scriptures and reading next to me.  Once morning we were saying good morning and then he stopped me so he could say his personal prayers before reading scriptures.  This is a tender hearted boy.

 

PICTURES TO COME!!!

Aunt Amy and Cousin Sydney

We went a few weekends ago to visit Joel's sister in Santa Cruz.  It was a quick over nighter but it was really lovely to see them.  The kids loved seeing their cousin, and Sydney was so good with them.  We are going to have to do it again soon.

While we were there we went to the boardwalk.  Now, when I think of the boardwalk I think of the beach, a pier, sand, etc.  No.  I was so wrong.  The Boardwalk is an amusement park on the beach, pretty much.  It was the first experience my kids have had with this type of thing. They had a good time.  Sage has decided that she loves roller coasters.  Jack on the other hand, does not.  They had a family roller coaster that takes your picture while you are on it.  On Sage's picture she is grinning.  GRINNING.  Jack's picture is so sad and so funny at the same time.  Everytime that I saw him on the ride his eyes were glued shut.  I thought he was crying but he said he wasn't.  Jack's picture shows him absolutely terrified with his eyes open.  Like I said, so sad, but it was a really funny face. 

These are pictures I took, though not of the famed roller coaster.

 

 

 

 

 

Charlotte's Leg

About a month ago, a beautiful Sunday evening, we were taking a family walk along the canal on our property.  We were playing fetch with the dog.  Now, our dog Geni (Jenny, short for Genevieve) loves to play fetch.  LOVES her ball.  OBSESSED with her ball.  Well, she decided taht Charlotte was not an obstacle worth going around anymore.  Instead, she went right through her.  Charlotte flipped over in the air, backward somersaulting and then landing awkwardly.  As soon as she fell I thought, "Wow, that looks like a broken leg." She wouldn't stand on it and criend if someone touched it.  It started to swell and the bump on it was hard.  So after putting the kids down I took her to the ER.  Sure enough.  A spiral fracture.  Poor little girl.  She did so good though.  SO GOOD.  We decided that if it happened to any of the kids, Charlotte was the best one because she is so good natured. 

The splint:



Joel took her to the doc to get her cast a few days after the incident.  She picked out a bright pink one.  Charlotte was very good about following the doctor's instructions of no walking or standing, etc.  She was so funny about it to.  She would tell people, "No doctor, no standing."  But then she started to make things up, "Doctor no walking in the bathroom."  The doctor said this, the doctor said that.  By the end of 3 weeks, she never walked or stood but she did do somersaults and the heel of her cast had started to get a hole because of all her scooching around. 

Getting ready to go to the doc to get the cast off (Isn't she just adorable?  I can't get enough of her):

 

 

 

So, the leg is still broken but it needs to be weight bearing inorder to heal. She is not supposed to jump or go on slides for 3 - 4 weeks.  She is allowed to walk but she is not capable yet.  Her joints are sore and her leg all shaky.  But she is sooo much happier to be able to move around more.  I am happy for her and am looking forward to have another walker in the house.

Another Project: Baby Quilt

I just finished another project a few weeks ago.  Sam's baby quilt!  Well, technically it started out as Jack's quilt but then I never finished it...the top just needed the borders but alas, it never happened.  And then I had 2 more kids, but they were girls.  I knew with Sam I might never get this chance again for one of my baby boys.   So, after almost 6 years in the making (most of the time just sitting in the closet), the quilt:

 

 Now I am on a painting kick.  I am antiquing the orange-ish cabinet in the kitchen.  Then I will finish painting the cabinet in the front room.  And then the hotel needs to be painted/stained.  And I want to paint the front entryway.  And my bedroom...I think I will be done with painting for a while after that...

Projects

A few projects at our house this year (that I haven't posted about yet):

Pots painted by the kids for Sage's bday:


Planter boxes for the garden that never got planted this year (I made 5 of them): 

Toy kitchen I made while Joel and the older 2 visited his parents:

 

A little flower box for the front entryway: 
 

Our first pic hanging up in the house.  The horseshoes my dad made and the kids hang their backpacks on them.  I love my shutters...
 

Sneak peak of the hotel that Jack has wanted forever.  FOREVER.  It is not done yet (obviously) but it is playable.  The kids love it.  I must admit - it is really awesome.

 

And the fence!  I can't believe I haven't posted a pic before!  It has taken every Saturday for 6 - 7 months of our lives.  I think this deserves a whole new post for itself...

 

Too Much

That seems to have been Charlotte's punch line lately, "Too much."   If we give her a drink that is too full, she says it and makes me drink it down.  The funny thing is when she sees my cup and wants some she drinks it and tells me it was "Too much."  The same when she sees some of Sam's snacks and wants to eat some.  The same when she sees Geni dog drinking out of the blow-up pool outside.  It totally makes me smile.  She cracks me up.

More things about her:

*Charly loves to wear her swimsuit.  She has worn it all summer - day and night. 

*She has this adorable frown that she uses when she it not happy or not getting what she wants.  It is not a stick-out-your-bottom-lip-pouty frown, but more of a perfect line drawn frowny face frown.  (If that makes any sense)

*We are almost done with our hotel (playhouse) outside.  But it is totally usable.  Man, that girl zooms down the slide.  She didn't like it at first but has totally figured how to land on her feet.  She is so proud that she doesn't hurt her "bum-bums".

*Charlotte loves to be a big kid.  Lately she has been calling herself a "bigger girl" when she learns how to do more and more things independently, things she couldn't do as a "big girl".  :)  Gotta love it.

First Day of Preschool

Today is Sage and Charlotte's first day of preschool.  Charly is just doing a home preschool with 4 other kids from church.  Sage on the other hand is going to a legit school....

I got all choked up after dropping her off.  She is growing up so fast.  She is so big!  I am going to miss her so much.  I love having her home.  But she is soooo ready for this.  She said she was excited to go but she was probably going to be shy.  When I picked her up she said that she was shy in the beginning but it was better later.  And can I tell you how much I love having a girl report on her day rather than my boy?  Seriously - I LOVE getting the details.

Charly was so excited to go to "a little bit of home preschool".  She was super excited to get ready and to wear her backpack.  Man, that girl is a joy.

Oh, let me add that the girls meticulously picked out their outfits and hairstyles...

 

 

 

Just Because He is That Cute.

Really.  Could you get any cuter? 

Sam is going to be 9 months on Sunday.  NINE MONTHS!  Thought I would go ahead and take a picture of him because my monthly pic of him hasn't been all that regular...

Sam is the master scoocher and can get on top of/over anything.  He will eat anything and now feeds himself.  I no longer spoon feed him anything at all.  He is still super smiley and happy but he does not cry.  At all.  He just jumps straight into this pterodachtyl/velociraptor scream.  It is a pretty intense screech.   He loves me very much and always likes to be with me, but I would say Charlotte and Sage make him laugh the most.  Hysterical laughing.  It is pretty fabulous.  That's it for now!

Sammy Pics Over the Past Few months

Ok.  Mr. Sam is no longer a little baby anymore.  He is a BIG baby.  And he is still absolutely fantastic.  Really.  The best baby ever.  So unbelievably happy.  So quick to laugh and smile.  I love it!  We are so blessed with his temperament.  He is so absolutely adorable and he is adored by all of us.

Sam is 8 1/2 months old now.  He has 1 tooth, can sit pretty well, and is a mad crazy army crawler.  He is super fast with it too.  He likes to be in the thick of things with his brother and sisters - when we are reading a book on the ground he is sure to come and play with the pages.  He is not interested if we give him his own book.  If I am on the ground, he has to be on top of me.  He sure doesn't like it if I leave the room without him.  He will eat pretty much anything.  He quite enjoys it.  He is a good sleeper for the most part - though recently he his been waking up around 4.30 for a snacky snacky.  He can go back asleep, but, of course, I cannot. 

I LOVE YOU SOOOOO MUCH SAMURAI!!!

These pics range from 3 months to 7 months old...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacky Boy

The biggest event this summer for Jack was swim lessons.  HE ROCKED IT!  He can totally swim now - after just 2 weeks.  He felt so proud of himself too.  He was so happy and totally enjoyed it.  That is just how it is with Jack, when he is ready, he is a super fast learner.  The teacher was impressed of how quickly he progressed.  He went from beginner to intermediate.  GO JACK!

 

 

 

 

Jack also started 1st grade this year.  His teacher is Mrs. Morgan. He was stoked about his new shirt because it changed colors in the sun and for some reason the house is clean all of a sudden....