Visit from Grandma

My mom came to visit last week! YEAH! We had so much fun with her, and we can't wait for her to come back again. It rained almost the whole time she was here, but we still managed to do some fun things. She brought out Christmas presents for the kids, and the girls each received a sewing kit from her. They were so excited to get actual sewing things that she got them started on a quilt block and she taught them how to sew on a button.

On Friday night we went to Tilden Park in Berkeley to ride the carousel. Every December the carousel is decorated with lights and there is a large light display outside on the grounds. All around the carousel are decorated Christmas trees and ornaments for sale. As our carousel ride was slowing down, the power suddenly went out. A couple of decorated trees inside still had power, and the outdoor light display was still lit up. The employees quickly ushered everyone outside, but not before we quickly took a picture by one of the lit trees.

Happy Birthday Blueberry!

Yesterday was Blueberry's 7th birthday. She had such a great day! She took birthday treats to school, wore a new outfit, and had a special birthday dinner that she picked out - hot dogs, Sun Chips, and green salad. We had Rainbow Chip cake, sang Happy Birthday, and then opened presents. We love you, Blueberry!

Birthday Boy

Friday was Chris' birthday - the big 35. Happy birthday to the best husband, father, and friend in the whole world!

Back from Camp

Last week Apple had quite an adventure. She went to an outdoor school, known as Camp Loma Mar, for 4 days with the 5th graders from her school and another elementary school. We were able to fit her pillow and sleeping bag into her duffel bag, and the kids got to ride a nice coach bus for the 2 hour drive. At night she slept in a cabin with 7 other girls and during the day she spent learning about the outdoors. One full day was spent in the forest and the other day was spent on the coast. She learned all about wildlife, conservation, and ecosystems. She had a great time and has a lot of fun stories. The kids learned a bunch of new songs, and she has been singing them since she came home. According to Apple, this song is one of the favorites. It has a catchy tune, and I bet you can't guess why it's so popular...

"Starts with an S and ends with a T

It comes out of you and it comes out of me

I know what you're thinking but don't call it that

Let's be scientific and let's call it SCAT."

It's common for the school kids out here to go to these camps. Some go for 3 days when they are in 4th grade and others like Apple go for longer. It was expensive, and luckily the school does fundraisers to help with the cost. We were a bit nervous about letting her go, but we were so excited for her to have this great opportunity. We dropped off her two disposable cameras today and we can pick up the pictures tomorrow. She can hardly wait...

Weekend with Holly

We got an early Christmas present - Holly came to visit! We had a blast while she was here! We went shopping, ate good food, did projects around the house, and went to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. She was a trooper - took care of Banana, helped Blueberry with homework, played games with the older three, and put up with our general craziness. Holly, sorry about the baby spit-up on your clothes! Having her here was so fun, and we were all very sad when she left.

These pics were taken on Pier 39.



We stopped along Embarcadero for a snack break.


Blueberry and Octimus Prime both got their pictures done by a street artist. They thought it was so fun to sit and pose for him. The finished products look great!

Banana was so good all day. We bundled her up and she was perfect.

The Mighty Hunters

I've been promising Chris for several weeks that I would post some pictures from his hunting trip. From what I have heard, they had a great time. They didn't even see a deer, but ate good food, had fun riding the ATVs and even had time to fish. I do have some compromising pictures (sound familiar, Jason?) in my possession, but I'll hold onto those for now in case I need to use them down the road.

Halloween!

Halloween was spooky fun! The kids carved pumpkins and went trick-or-treating. Apple was an Indian princess, Blueberry was a flapper, and Octimus Prime was Bumblebee. I couldn't find my baby clown costume for Banana, so she went as a baby. The kids made a killing on candy, including several full size candy bars. After they picked out their five favorite pieces, we bought the rest of their candy from them for a whopping $5 - woohoo, they're rich now!

Yummy!

You know how much I love to bake! I found this recipe for Pumpkin Pie Cake, and I made it last night. We loved it! It was like upside-down pumpkin pie. If you love pumpkin, try this recipe.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

1 large can pumpkin
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
1 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 dry yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 c. melted butter

Mix all ingredients (except cake mix, nuts, butter) and pour into a greased 9x13 cake pan. Sprinkle cake mix over pumpkin batter. Sprinkle walnuts over cake mix. Drizzle butter over all. Bake at 350 for 1 hour - no longer. Serve warm or cold with whip cream.

Notes from this tasty cooking experience:
*I didn't have enough ginger so I used pumpkin pie spice.
*My whole house smelled so delicious, we could harldy wait to try it.
*I left nuts off a third of the cake because my kids were whining about having nuts on it.
*We had a piece 45 minutes after it came out of the oven and it was still piping hot.
*After we were done, I stuck it in the fridge last night, and it was just as yummy cold (I had a piece for lunch) as it was hot. The topping had hardened a bit, which made it extra crunchy.

All of us loved this new spin on pumpkin pie. The nut topping is so yummy! I found the recipe in the South Jordan ward cookbook, and it's a recipe by Wendy Calder. Happy baking!

Healthy = Happy

WARNING - The following blog doesn't have any funny stories or cute pictures, just my opinion. Read further if you want.

As the weather turns colder and the sniffles and coughs start to creep into our lives, I have been researching and thinking about how to keep my family healthy this winter. With a baby in the house, the health of my family is a top priority. If Banana gets sick, there isn't anything I can do for her in the way of medicine. Everyone knows that sick kids are miserable, both them and the parents! The threat of different flus, including H1N1, is a huge concern for Chris and me.

We have made the decision to not give our kids any flu shots. There is a lot of pressure out here to have our whole family innoculated against the flu and H1N1 because we have a baby in our family. However, we feel strongly that these vaccinations are not the answer. We know we can prevent and treat illnesses through other methods. How? WASH YOUR HANDS! I'm sure my kids are sick of me saying this, but it's the best thing anyone can do to prevent illnesses. I also have a can of Lysol in strategic locations in the house.

We are also using essential oils a lot more. Many of you know that Chris and I have used oils for a while, and we are using them more than ever now. We believe that these oils will help in the prevention and treatment of illnesses. They are certified pure, therapuetic, and we use them for many different purposes. I feel good about using these natural oils for the benefit of my family. If you want to know more about the oils we use, let me know. I won't push them on anyone, but I will happily answer any questions and talk to anyone about the tremendous physical, emotional, and mental benefits of the oils. We owe a huge thanks to Chris' mom, Cathy, for her tireless efforts in sharing the oils with everyone and anyone and constantly supplying us with oils.

Just to clarify, we do give our kids the standard vaccines (MMR, polio, etc.), but we are not giving them any flu shots. For those of you who do get flu shots, it is your decision and I hope you don't think I am ridiculing you or questioning your judgement. This is just what we are doing for our family.

Ok, I am off my soapbox. The purpose of our blog is to share pics of the kids since we live far away from everyone, but for some reason I felt the need to do this post. I hope that everyone I love and care about stays healthy during the cold weather!

Leaves

We don't have any rakes, but the kids discovered that brooms work just as good, and you can play a mean air guitar with them. Apple, Blueberry, and Octimus Prime worked very hard at getting this pile together, and then they wouldn't jump in because they didn't want it to be ruined. Ha! We did stick Banana in the leaves, and she didn't cry or smile, she just layed very still.

Pumpkin Patch

I love Autumn! I love everything about this season - pumpkin cookies, football games on Saturdays, falling leaves, cooler days, soup, and so many other things. Two great holidays (and one birthday) are in Autumn, and we start by picking out the pumpkins. We went to a pumpkin patch and each of the kids got to choose a pumpkin. We wish we could have picked pumpkins out of mom and dad's garden!

Banana is growing so much! Here are some more recent pics...

Even though most of the pics are of her in the bouncer, we really do hold her a lot, believe me. Here she is in one of our favorite outfits "I love Daddy" (thanks Sandy and Ben!), and the rest of the kids want me to get one that says "I love ___" with each of their names. That way Banana doesn't play favorites in the family.

Banana's check-up

Little Banana had her 2-month check-up yesterday. Here are her stats:

11 lbs. (50th percentile)

24 inches long (95th percentile)

15 inches head circum. (25th percentile)

Yes, my baby is tall with a little head. Her doctor explained that as the brain grows, so grows the head. So does this mean that our little Banana has a smaller than average brain? I guess so. Greg and Kathryn, celebrate your kids' big noggins.

I thought she would weigh more, with her jowels, chin, and thunder thighs. I think the doctor's scale was wrong. It wasn't even an electronic scale. It was one of those old fashioned ones were the nurse had to move the metal lugs at the top for the scale to balance out. It's funny - all the exam rooms have computers, and my kid was weighed using a scale that hasn't been around since I was a kid. Hmmm...

She got three shots and one oral vaccine. Octimus Prime was with me, and he was wide-eyed as he watched the nurse give her the shots. I don't know if he was thinking "better her than me" or if he was secretly afraid that I had lied and he really was going to get one. She did well considering she was naked for half the visit, and was poked, prodded, and manhandled the whole time. At the end of the visit, the doctor announced that Banana was a healthy, beautiful baby, which we already knew.

Now for an update on her colic. She is slowly improving! She is starting to fall asleep earlier in the evenings, between 8-8:30, and she isn't screaming as much. Her behavior is more along the lines of fussing and crying. We know it's something she'll outgrow, and in the meantime, we are still trying everything we know to make her more comfortable. We are using the Mylecon drops, Gripe water, essential oils, and baby massage, all at different times with different results. Also, I've started to take probiotics, hoping that as they get into her system, they will help her. In my 8th month of pregnancy I took antibiotics for a skin infection, and we think that the drugs probably did some damage to the good stuff in her digestive system also.

Ok, enough about Banana. Here are some pictures!

OP report

Many of our family and friends have asked how Octimus Prime is doing. He's doing great! He's making friends, going to preschool, and doing very well. I thought I'd share a couple of OP stories with you...

This past Sunday was the Primary Program in our ward. His class was front and center, and he put on a great show. He pulled funny faces, covered his ears when the music was playing, didn't sing any of the songs, stood up when he was supposed to be sitting, and sat down when he was supposed to be standing. He even recruited his buddies next to him to join in the merry-making. He wasn't talking, in fact, I don't think he said a single word. He knew if he kept quiet, we couldn't get mad at him for being loud. When he stood up at the podium, he made the most of his five seconds and grabbed the mic with both hands. Everyone in the whole church could hear his part, which was "I obey my parents by picking up my toys and keeping my room clean." I couldn't help but laugh through most of the program, hiding my face so he wouldn't see me. Chris and I did our best to give him the evil eye and use hand signals to convey obedience. Didn't work. MY kid was the one that the primary teachers were probably cursing.



Yesterday was brutal! Octimus had a lot of trouble listening, obeying, and just being good in general. I had to turn into mean mom several times, and Swifthand even made an appearance. What did he do? You name it, he did it. About the only thing he didn't do was lay a hand on Banana, which would have sealed his fate. By the time Chris got home from work, he was sitting in the middle of his bedroom on the floor (wasn't allowed to touch the walls, bed, anything), in his pajamas, and all the toys had been taken from his room. We did let him eat and then sent him back to his room, which was lights out before 7pm. It was such a tough day that I had to bust out my Christmas music to help me feel better and change the mood of my home.


Today has been much, much better! Here is my disclaimer - we really LOVE each of our kids, and they are special and unique in their own way. Today they were trying on their Halloween costumes, and here is Octimus in his Bumblebee costume (thanks Matt & Kelli!), all ready to go get candy for mom and dad!

Beach Trip

Wow! The beaches here in northern California really are beautiful. We went to Monterrey this past weekend and enjoyed some sun and sand. Some friends of ours invited us to use their beach house (1/2 block from the beach), and we said we'd have to think about it. Haha! We jumped at the chance, and spent a fabulous couple of days down there. Here are some pics of our great trip.

We kept Banana bundled up most of the day. Thanks Matt and Kelli, this outfit worked out perfect for the beach!
Of course we had to put her in the sand and see how she liked it. We think she loved it!

This was one of the funniest parts of the day. Chris and I would watch as Apple would stand on the boogie board, patiently waiting for the waves to move her. She did a lot of standing...
Did you know we have a David Hasselhoff in the making?

New Pics of Banana

I don't have much to write today. I just want to post some pictures of Banana. She is so much more alert, and she watches us very closely. Also, she is starting to smile! I don't mean the smiles she makes when she's dreaming, but actual smiles when we talk to her.

Fresh out of the tubby...

Blueberry's turn to feed her...

Hot Day, Cool Pool

It's been very hot today, and a family in our new ward invited us over to swim this afternoon. They have a beautiful pool (to go along with their stunning backyard), and their kids match up well with our kids. As Octimus Prime was drying off, I noticed that he still had his goggles on, and I had to grab the camera and take this picture.

I won't write any more tonight. Chris has been on Banana duty (the nightly crying started around 6:30 tonight) for about an hour, and I need to give him a break. We usually take her in 20-minute shifts.

Tomorrow's game against Florida State should be a fun one. I desperately wish we had our tvs hooked up (another long story). Go Cougs!

Here at Last!

We have finally made it to California! I have so much to write about, and I want to post some pictures, but I need a few more days to catch my breath. The house is still filled with boxes, and so I don't want to take inside pictures quite yet.

The weather has been warm, and very beautiful. We had two days of rain over the weekend, and the nights are cool. Perfect! The neighborhood we live in is quiet and everyone takes care of their yard. I told Chris that we wouldn't be able to put that sofa on the porch - bummer!

The kids are great! Apple and Blueberry love their school. They have made friends quickly and they both really like their teachers. The school is right around the corner, so they can walk together. Octimus Prime is our lonely kid. During the day he is stuck playing by himself, or with me, until the girls get home. We have some activities coming up for him - preschool, playdates, and a music class, so soon he will be busy. Banana has had the hardest transition. We think she has colic, so almost every evening (and sometimes it starts in the afternoon) Chris and I trade off walking the floor with her, trying to help her. I'll do a post on her later.

We love the house! The kids spend a lot of time in the backyard, and there are so many great things about this place. Hopefully I can take some pics this weekend of our home. There is sooooo much to do, and not nearly enough time to do everything. More to come later...

This kid is getting a pretty good double chin.

Thank heavens for a backyard!

School News

YEAH!!!! Many of you know that Blueberry was on a waiting list for her new elementary school. The school called Chris today and told him that there was room for her, so she can go to the school. Our new place is a short walk from the school, and we are so excited that the girls can walk to and from school together! I was hopeful that she would get in, but still a bit worried about the girls attending different schools until a spot opened up in 1st grade. Again, YEAH!!!!

New Blogger!

I have finally entered the grand world of blogging! I will use nicknames for the kids - Apple, Blueberry, Octimus Prime (that is how he says it), and Banana. I hope to post twice a week, but since I am new to this, don't hold your breath. Hopefully after I get some experience my blog will look as good as everyone else's blog!

A couple of Sundays ago we blessed Banana! Many thanks to our family and friends who came to support us. We want to give a huge thank you to Greg and Kathryn for letting us use their beautiful blessing dress. It was a fabulous day!

Here are some recent pics of the kids.