I Looked Out the Window and What Did I See?

Two beautiful Tangleds (ha, ha, that is what they call Rapunzel), facing the road, each holding out a pink rose.  I didn't even see them get these outfits on, nick my flowers, or sneak outside until they were already out there.  Cute.

The trees we planted last year have blossomed!  I wanted mature trees, but planting our own has sure been a fun experience.  I love choosing all my favorites, like weeping cherry and the sycamore-like London Plane Tree.  Miguel and I have loved sycamores for a long time; it will be so fun to watch them grow!

 We have been getting out in the warm weather and enjoying ourselves!

 Miguel planted these beautiful tulips.  One day he told me "you haven't even noticed the tulips!"  When I said I had, he said, "no, you didn't notice the colors.  They are the same color as the tulips at the temple on the day we were married."  How romantic!  I can't believe it.  We just celebrated 12 years.  Love the hard-working, smart, fun, sarcastic, sassy, secretly spiritual dude.

Already catching worms, pill bugs, and snakes.  One day Kaedon caught a snake that latched onto his hand.  He said "it really hurt!  I was trying to shake it off but it wouldn't let go! Then Isa noticed another snake so I tried to catch it with the other hand while the first snake was still latched on to my first hand."  Crazy kiddos.

Happy Birthday To My Little Boy

My many efficient handlers try to keep me in order after I get bored of these shiny things after about 10 seconds.   

"Why dost thou protest so much?"

 The girl who helped pick out these candles is in the background.  :)

 Mmmm...ketchup, anyone?

 This is my first real time eating sugar, all those bits off the floor for the last few months didn't count.  My mom thought I would love it, but instead I made an "ick" sound and an "ick" face and promplty removed all tiny bits of my cake to the floor (for later?).  But that fry sauce?  Man, that was sure great for my skin.  Couldn't get enough of that.

He has been the sweetest boy (just like his older brother-- I couldn't ask for nicer boys).  He is so cuddly and polite.  :)  He is a little paul parrot, loves to try to imitate everything we say.  Other day I tried to put him in his car seat and he told me "no, no, no."  Very curious, loves to throw a ball, tentative about walking though he can sure crawl fast!

Happy birthday to my little boy.

One Year

Sitting with my little cutie and his nebulizer one night, with him all relaxed in my arms, I suddenly felt so thankful for him!  I can't believe that one year ago I was big and pregnant in my flooded house.  :)  I also got thinking what a miracle he is, and feeling sentimental about this journey that I won't take again.  Each time I have a baby I'm so amazed at the miracle of life and that I get to take part in it all.  Of course Heavenly Father and my dear husband are the other important part of the equation, I don't mean to leave them out, this is just a mom's perspective. I wrote this poem, its not great, but here goes anyway:

One Year
On the eve of your first birthday,
Your head nestled in the crook of my arm,
Drifting off to dreamland,
I remember when you were
Only a dream and a wish,
An ethereal mist of my mind’s hope.
Then one day you were
Something,
The beginnings of you
Small, round,
Simple,
Growing
Inside me.
Now
Two lines on a pink stick
Exhale.
A thought—
A boy.
Now a little heart forming,
Forming,
All tiny liver,
Lungs,
Taking shape,
As my shape
Changes, too.
My heart raced inside me
The first time I heard
Your tiny one galloping
Across the moon;
Now my heart fluttering,
Fluttering like my
Insides,
Now a wave of nausea
Passes at the wonder of
A lump kick
From pole to pole.
Now big, heavy,
Wracked,
Blackness,
Then
You.
So beautiful,
Crying,
We’re crying,
We’re crying,
You’re so
Beautiful.
Your fingers hold mine
Till they’re white
We see each other
Our skin and warmth
Breathe together—a
Sigh of relief and joy.

Now here you are,

Almost One.
You look at me with your grave dark eyes,

Say 'no, no, no,'
Laugh when I do,
Arms up for “mama,”
Crawl like a banshee,
Love like I never knew.

I remember the
Two-lined plastic stick and how you started from
Nothing;
You fill my arms,
Round red-cheeked,
Mouse-brown hair
Wet against your
Head;
A tiny bruise
Graces your chin from
Brave adventures,
Your busy-boy body
Melted into mine
For the next moment or so.
I watch your pulse
Flutter faintly
In your neck
And thank heaven
For my little boy.

Embattled Emerson

Poor little Emerson is just finishing a second bout of pneumonia and ear infections in 2 months.  The first time I was really scared; I'd go check his breathing in the middle of the night to make sure he was okay.   The first time the antibiotics did a number on his system, giving him diarrhea for 3 and a half weeks afterwards (at the time we had to fly on a plane, though it ended up being ok); at times it was every hour.  He also got a secondary infection from the first round of antibiotics that wasn't cleared up all the way when he had to go on antibiotics again!  Poor little guy.  He is normally such a happy baby so it is sad to see him feeling so bad.  The second time around I was sick, too, so we were quite the sight.

Sitting Pretty: A Sofa Saga

After nearly 12 years of marriage, we finally bought some sofas! 

Our old couches aren't just are ex-couches, they are old couches.  My mother bought them when I was about 10.  At the time, I thought they were so cute and fashionable.  Since that time, they've moved with my parents twice and with us seven times.  I held my baby sister [who is now 21] on them.  A former boyfriend even spent the night on them once when he visited my parent's (maybe I should have told Miguel this sooner, maybe he would have wanted to get rid of them sooner).  I've nursed all my babies on these sofas.  They were stored in a barn for two years while we lived in England; they've probably felt they were in a barn ever since.  For four years, we had movie nights with our little ones in the basement of our home and entertained guests on the floor of our upstairs living room.  My mom was shocked [you make people sit on your floor?!].  There were always purchases that seemed more important; and moving into our most recent house put couches back down the list.  Last year, Miguel offered to buy me couches for Christmas, but with our last baby coming, I asked if we could buy a camera instead.  [can't go back and take pictures of the baby]   Now, finally, its really not that bittersweet, we have some sofas! 

I really wanted to get a brightly colored couch like some orange and yellow ones I saw in a magazine,  [ like this: http://pinterest.com/beachcoaststyle/vintage-orange/]  but in the end I went with neutral colored couches that I can accent with pillows-- more practical, in case we have these for 25 years!  I found the cutest pillows in a cute new designer shop.  In the shop, they were nearly $40 for a 16x16 pillow.  I bought a few of the exact same pillows I'd seen on Etsy for way cheaper!  Here is one of my favorites.   Then I made a few more myself-- I found the fabric for some of the ones I liked on Etsy for even cheaper on www.Fabric.com.   The ones I made myself look homemade, but that's okay, it has been so fun!

In the end, all three pieces cost less than the price of one couch at a designer store, and I got to choose my fabric, leg design, and style of couch. 

About three hours after they were delivered, I caught Ava sitting on the couch eating chocolate ice cream right out of the tub with two big tablespoons; there were chocolate fingerprints and drips all over one of the cushions.  After working on the spots for an hour, they all came out.   Didn't take us long to start making memories on the new ones!  :)

Get Your Khan On

I am a very poor math tutor, but I wanted my kids to be good at math so they have as many options open to them as possible in their future lives.  We read about this website:

www.khanacademy.org

It offers free video tutorials on many different subjects, tracks your child's progress, and awards them with "badges" when they've completed various problem sets.   The biggest seller:  my kids actually like it. 

Candy, Easter, Organ Rockstar

We had a great Easter, complete with picnic and easter egg hunt with family.  We also went to church, and I'm pretty sure I ruined the beautiful feeling when I looked up from the organ one minute before sacrament meeting was supposed to start and they had changed the songs!  I had just been thinking-- so glad I'm not playing that song, which I then indeed get to favor everyone with, complete with many fumbling mistakes.  :)  Thankful for Jesus on this day!