milestones 8.5, 7, 5, 6 months

L, Age 8.5

Favorite color: teal and dark blue

Favorite food: sushi, salmon, asparagus, olives

Favorite treat: suckers, cheesecake

Favorite movie: chick flicks, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Back to the Future

Favorite book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Dork Diaries

Favorite activities: read, parties, coloring, lego

Favorite toys: books, tablet

Favorite animal: lion

Favorite place to go: the drive in

What I want to be when I grow up: nurse

I dream about: being a rock star

I worry about: a fire

I’m good at: reading, drawing, dance and piano

I want to be better at: gymnastics

Someday I want to: go to Hollywood and Hawaii

I’m thankful for: my house and family

I like it best when: Mom’s not angry, Z is smiling

Makes mom melt:  L has such a sweet, sensitive spirit.  She’s easily prone to emotions and feels deeply.  She tries so hard to be a good helper and has such a generous spirit.  I love listening to her play piano and am continually amazed how easily she learns and expresses music.  She’s so beautiful and so good to her sisters.  I’m really enjoying her growing up—things like attending dance events, watching chick flicks and going shopping.  She makes it so fun, she loves everything and her excitement makes everything more enjoyable for me.

A, Age 7

Favorite color: red

Favorite food: ramen, spaghetti, cup of noodles

Favorite treat: creamies, jelly beans

Favorite movie: Dragons, Karate Kid

Favorite book: Magic of the Rainbow

Favorite activities: board games, art, karate

Favorite toys: princess stuff, My Little Ponies, barbies, legos

Favorite animal: panda, zebras, tigers, lions, jaguar

Favorite place to go: Legoland, friend’s house

What I want to be when I grow up: veterinarian

I dream about: being a princess

I worry about: when I’m alone

I’m good at: art, helping others

I want to be better at: spelling, karate

Someday I want to: be a black belt

I’m thankful for: my spirit and my brain

I like it best when: I’m happy and having fun

Makes mom melt:  A is so fiery and passionate.  She’s very emphatic and energetic about everything and has trouble controlling her excitement and volume.  She’s such a good helper, especially with baby Z and begs to hold him and play with him.  She’s the ringleader of every group and so good at including everyone and is so charming and fun that she can get absolutely anyone to play with her.  She’s absolutely fearless and eager to try every new challenge.

E, Age 5

Favorite color: blue, pink and purple

Favorite food: mac and cheese, cup of noodles

Favorite treat: suckers, smarties, popsicles

Favorite movie: Cinderella, Back to the Future

Favorite book: Does Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?

Favorite activities: painting, play outside, dance

Favorite toys: legos, stuffed animals, Barbies and Little People

Favorite animal: zebra, lion, panda

Favorite place to go: the theatre

What I want to be when I grow up: mom, dance teacher

I dream about: being a superhero

I worry about: when Penny (her stuffed panda) is hurt

I’m good at: playing, riding my scooter

I want to be better at: dance, reading, riding a bike

Someday I want to: go to Hawaii

I’m thankful for: Jesus

I like it best when: I’m playing

Makes mom melt:  This kid is SO DANG CUTE.  She’s sweet and funny and such an imp.  I love that she’s still my cuddly sweetheart and thrives with some one-on-one attention.  She has an incredible imagination and I love listening to her play, even by herself.  She’s completely adorable and precocious and so stubborn.

Baby Z, 6 months

Be still my heart!  Z is the perfect puzzle piece to our family and makes me so happy.  He is so sweet and happy! He’s such a good baby and his sisters are crazy about him.  He’s ridiculously charming and such a flirt.  His smile is irresistible and I cannot get enough of the beaming sunshine that just radiates from him.

He’s sleeping through the night!  Hurray!  He was doing 6-8 hours until he started teething again and was suddenly back to only 2-3 hour stretches.  But all SIX teeth are through and he’s sleeping 8-10 hours at night.    He doesn’t sleep much during the day, typically three very short (20-40 minute) naps but is so cheerful anyway.  His teeth are so sharp and we’re working through it to keep nursing as long as we can. (some days have been easier than other)  We started him on baby food a few weeks ago and he immediately took to it.  He completely skipped the learning curve; rarely accidentally pushing it out with his tongue.  Instead he slurps it down eagerly (as long as it isn’t green).  We’ve done all the veggies and just started fruits which he loves even more.  He does much better when I thicken his food with baby oatmeal.

He’s using his hands more, starting to reach for things and I love his tight grasp.  He gives me the sweetest cuddles, nuzzling into me and he gives me eager hugs, pushing his arms around my neck and holding tight.  He loves to play with his feet and will even chew on his own toes.  His favorite toys are his superman teether and his pirate mickey and he still loves to watch the ceiling fan.  He loves to roll around on the floor and LOVES playing peek a boo with his sisters.  They can get him giggling like crazy.  And he’s noisy!  He loves to jabber to his sisters, he growls even when nursing and he snores the most adorable baby snores.  Even his cry is expressive, rather than mindless shrieking or wailing, it honestly sounds like he’s making specific demands or complaints and letting me know exactly what he thinks.  Fortunately, he is wonderfully easy going, aside from some recent separation anxiety. 

And huge.  He’s long and lean and has nearly outgrown his infant carrier seat already.  But he’s happy and healthy and perfect.

9-20

my happy today was shopping with my mom.  I love hanging out with her and she is so fun to shop with.  I always find the best stuff when I'm with her and she helps me juggle the kids.  We have similar taste in clothes and decor and she just makes it so much more fun.

my sad today is that I never got around to my self-assigned chore.  but on the other hand, I got a lot of other stuff done.  and I got to play with my babies, got in a workout, went shopping with my mom, made dried apples, built legos, supervised homework and put kids to bed without yelling.  so definitely a good day.

birthdays

Monday morning I snuck down to the kitchen to make A’s favorite—daddy eggs.  L came down to help me and we readied plates of eggs, powdered donuts and grapes.  We served A breakfast in bed amid much giggling and toasting.  We got the kids ready for school and on the bus.  Just before the end of her school day, I joined her class with chocolate creamies.  They sang to her and happily downed their treats.  We did tumbling class and she played with Grammy during L’s piano class.  And then Husband and I took A out for her special birthday date night.  She picked Ichiban, her favorite restaurant.  She ordered pot stickers, fried rice and chow mein (sushi and soup for me and daddy).  She enthusiastically tore into her gifts opening a necklace that she begged for a few weeks ago, a set of chapter books and a Lego Elves set that she squealed over.  We stopped at the grocery store to pick out gourmet cupcakes and took them home to share with sisters.  We sang to her, ate our cupcakes and immediately began building her new legos.

E’s birthday was Friday, but since she didn’t have school that day, she celebrated with her class on Thursday.  She was the special leader and brought the class snacks (donuts and grapes).  I attended the first portion of her class so I could tell her class more about her and we played one of her favorite games.  Then on Friday, we served her breakfast in bed as well, making Mickey shaped waffles and sausage.  She got to play at the gym daycare and spent most of the afternoon as home as she helped me bake the cakes.  E was pretty tired and grumpy, possibly not feeling very well.  I insisted she lay down for a quiet time movie and she eventually feel asleep but it didn’t help much.  She did still want her birthday date though, requesting pasta.  So we met Daddy at Vito’s.  She was pretty quiet and subdued but cuddled in and lapped up the attention.  She colored a picture with Daddy, hardly noticing the presents that we eventually suggested to her.  She cooed over her new necklace and liked the new tablet case.  And she was thrilled with her Lego Cinderella carriage.  But rather quickly, her enthusiasm faded and she asked to go home.  She perked up a little when the server brought her complimentary dessert and she loved the whip cream and strawberries garnish but mostly she just wanted to go home.  At home we sang to her over an ice cream cake, built legos and cuddled until bed.

Finally Saturday arrived and the girls were ecstatic, having anticipated and planned their party for months.  We readied for the day, ran errands, finished the cakes and finally went to the party.  It was held at the tumbling gym in town, Husband arrived first with the girls to meet their guests and get the party started.  They dove into the foam pit and bounced on the trampolines and their favorite—took turns on the bungee jump.  I arrived a few minutes late with all the stuff and finished setting up the room with cake and presents and drinks.  The kids made an obstacle course and then used the blocks to build a jail/castle.  E, who had played so happily up until then, got upset when the other kids didn’t play as she wanted but there wasn’t much to be done and she was over it by the time we did cake and presents.  A ran nonstop bouncing around with friends and trying to do everything as much as she could.  L was a little reluctant at first but anticipating this, we had invited one of her friends as well, so the two of them raced off and gad a great time as well.  After an hour on the equipment, the kids headed to the party room and we sang and served cake and ice cream.  A’s was a Lego Friends beach party cake.  The inside was chocolate and it was decorated with a kitkat “fence” around it.  The blue water glittered with edible sparkles and the sand beach was topped with graham cracker crumbs.  And then lego toys decorated the scene of a lifeguard tower on the beach with girls building a sandcastle, floating on inflated rings and playing with a dolphin.  E’s cake was a red velvet, Cinderella doll cake and turned out beautifully.  The girls begged to open their presents and were wonderfully spoiled with great gifts—new swim suits, toys, craft kits and especially, legos!  We sent their friends home with a bubble wand and a little bag of lego candy, made quick work of the clean up and then spent a lazy evening at home with pizza, watching Back to the Future, and building legos.

quote of the day: (from A) "The best part of being seven is that you get to do bigger math problems!"

9-15

my happy today was unexpectedly getting compliments on my cooking from someone in husband's office.  He shares leftovers occasionally and it really made me happy to receive such an unexpected and sincere compliment.  I've been experimenting a lot lately.  Trying to eat clean and healthy has made me a lot more focused and careful about meal prep and creative with new recipes.  Including a zuchinni oat chocolate chip cookie that might be my new favorite.  I also tried a tried-and-true-family-favorite from one of the aunties.  I always loved it but have never made it myself.  I was thrilled that it was easier than I thought and turned out great--yay for pork and peppers!


my sad today is that my kitchen is still a crazy mess!  Between making peach jam, the cookies and dinner yesterday, the kitchen was a disaster.  Today I got most of the dishes and counters clean but it still needs work.

9-14

quote of the day "can I keep this book? it is very interesting."--the 5 year old.  I love how articulate my kids are.  Their vocabulary seems so advanced for their age and I love watching my babies grow into their own brilliant little minds.


my happy today was school pictures.  L and A missed the bus but made it to school looking especially adorable and excited about pictures.  I took E and Z during the sibling session and managed to get great pictures of everyone and even a picture of all four of them together.  The photographer that they use is especially amazing and I've been thrilled with their school pictures every time.  I really appreciate that he has even humored me to get an "all 3 sisters" portrait.  4 kids was pushing it though (since it's really not set up for more than a single person portrait) so I may not be able to do that anymore.


my sad today is that I get really irritable and flustered some evenings.  Especially when dinner isn't coming together well and Husband is later than I expected.

living for the weekend part 2783

On Friday night we were joined by jo-jo, Husband’s longtime friend and former mission companion.  We always have such a blast with him and our kids adore him.  Even baby Z took to him immediately and spent a lot of time hanging with uncle jo-jo.  We had dinner and introduced the kids to Back to the Future (which they loved of course!)  We stayed up talking for awhile and jo-jo spent the night. 

Saturday morning I went to the gym while husband wrangled the kids and made “daddy eggs”.  Then I traded him out so he and jo-jo could go shooting.  In the afternoon we headed north to my brother’s house.  We attended the baptism of their oldest daughter, combined with the blessing of their newest daughter.  L got to say the opening prayer and A said the closing.  They were both so articulate and sweet and sincere.  L told me later she could really feel the Spirit watching her cousin get baptized and she knew how special it was because it was the same when she was baptized.  My favorite moment was during the baby blessing.  I was standing up rocking baby Z and while taking a quick glance at my kids during the prayer, realized I could see the baby in the blessing circle.  She was perfectly alert and attentive, so gentle and sweet and beautiful.  It was such a precious moment with her perfectly still and content as if she knew how special and meaningful that moment is.  After the meeting, we stayed for the “party” after and had dinner.  The girls sat with cousins and played and talked and giggled like crazy.  They were so good and happy and I love watching them.

We spent the night at my parent’s house.  Grammy had hip replacement surgery and came home with us so she could recover at our house.  We claim its so I can help take care of her and lessen the load for my dad since he has to work.  But really it’s because I just like hanging out with my mom.  So we brought her home with us, arriving home and scrambling to ready for church.  My primary lesson went well and then I spent the evening lounging with my mom helping her settle in.

9-7

My happy today was going to the stake carnival.  It's so fun every year and they had a huge turn out.  I ended up getting to lounge, sprawled out on a blanket with some neighborhood friends while our babies nursed or rolled around.  Th weather was perfect and there was fun music and food and such wonderful energy.

My sad was that L was at dance and wasn't able to join.  But she is so happy that dance classes have started and is having a blast with her teammates.  She also found out she will be a mouse in the Nutcracker and is ridiculously excited about the fun choreography and being in the show again.

Labor Day camping

We arrived at camp on Friday evening and I made a beeline for Jo.  Once upon a time she was my college roommate and still today, one of best friends despite living hours apart and seeing each other only every few years. We've been planning this trip together all summer and I was dying to see her.  Our three girls piled out of the truck eager to meet their three boys.  (Most adorable was E’s chorus of “Where’s mine? Where’s my age friend?”)  I hadn’t yet met their youngest son, almost five years old and she of course had never met baby Z.  The kids hit off immediately and played while we set up camp and roasted s’mores.  We put the kids to bed and then the four adults sat around a campfire to talk and catch each other up on life and families and such.

We started each morning with hot chocolate and kids racing out to play.  Our oldest daughter and their oldest son, only four months apart, hit it off immediately and had a fantastic time together.  They have so much in common and had so much fun playing and imagining together.  At one point I overheard a conversation about what they would name their first daughter (Belle)—I am all for this plan.  Writing in our journals several days later, L confessed having a crush on him and hoping we can see them again soon. 

We spent Saturday at the water park and had such a blast.  The kids started in the outdoor pool, immediately conquering the small slides and working up to the bigger slides and diving boards.  Then we discovered the indoor pools, most especially loving the bathtub-warm kiddie pool with play equipment and the large pool with diving boards and a climbing wall.  Even baby Z played in the water, lounging happily and splashing.  We took a break for lunch but the kids could have played the whole day.  Eventually we went back to camp for dinner and s’mores.  The husbands offered to watch the kids while Jo and I spent the night at the hot pots talking and reminiscing.  I love her SO much and was so thoroughly rejuvenated and overjoyed by the hours of talking and connecting with one of my very favorite people in the world. 

On Sunday we went to a city park.  The kids loved the great play equipment, especially the merry go round and creating obstacle course challenges on the playground.  Z was fussy from teething and my allergies kicked into overdrive so we hung back a little while the rest played games like Red Rover, hide and seek, and soccer.  It started to rain so we headed back to camp and the kids played in the trailer, watching movies and coloring.  Jo made a dutch oven lasagna, something totally new and fun for us, and we made s’mores again (of course).  A rain storm cut our evening short—probably a good thing or we would have stayed up far too late chatting and lamenting having to separate the next day.

Monday was a subdued resignation as we had to pack up and say good bye.  I’m with the kids—I hope we see them again soon!