Memorial Day was Memorable

We're not really busy people normally. The kids keep me running around, but that is local stuff and not really "over-scheduled". This we did too much though.

First we had Brother's t-ball potluck on Saturday morning. It was really nice to be able to celebrate him and his season with his team mates. He loved playing t-ball and had a great time. Each player received a trophy with his name on it. So sweet! On the down side, our video camera ended up getting soaked in water and no longer works. We've been discussing getting a new one for about a year since ours is large compared to the newer ones and digital is so much easier than the vhs one we have. Still, it couldn't have happened at a much worse time.

After the potluck, we had to rush home for Sister's friend party. Fortunately, Memere (my mom) returned to town in time to help hang some balloons with the kids and help throughout the party. Aunt Sarah spent her last day in Washington helping out during the party too. A great big THANK YOU to them both. It would have been craziness without them....okay, more craziness without them. (=

Aunt Sarah's camera has a better digital video mode than mine, so she captured some video of the party for us. We'll have to go shopping for a new camera this weekend since Sister's Talent Show is coming up.

Back to Sister's party...everything went well. I went the lazy route with the cake after Brother's treasure chests a couple weeks ago. Her theme was American Girl, so I helped her find all the parts to her dolls to use a decoration. She loved setting them all out! The games were pretty simple. I just picked games for each character's time period. Sister wrote some clues for each main character that the party-goers could guess the character with. She loves guessing games. The pinata ended up being really tough to get open. After the third time through the line of guests, Aunt Sarah used her skill as a softball player to whack it open.

What a blessing...the weather was warm and almost the entire party was spent outside!!! My house was still clean after the party.

After the party ended, we went out to dinner with my parents as none of us were rested enough to cook. We just love Ruby Tuesdays and Baby Bear had his first taste of french fries. He loves them!

Next up...packing for a trip to Whidbey Island. We left at noon (right after church on Sunday morning) and arrived about 3 PM. The ferry traffic wasn't too bad as most people had probably already gotten on the island earlier in the weekend. The trip up wasn't fun. I'm not much for car rides in general, but having a small child cry the entire way doesn't help. Let's just say, Baby Bear doesn't like being strapped in his car seat.

The weather on the island was beautiful as well. The kids had so much fun playing with their grandparents and Uncle Brent. They made "tents" in the dinning room and played the piano...they need some lessons. Larry BBQ'ed some hotdogs and hamburgers which were delicious. Unfortunately, Brother's stomach was upset and he ended up having diariah most of the day.

After going to bed late and waking up really early, we ate a wonderful breakfast and packed up our stuff to head back across the sound to Seattle to visit Aunt Carrianne. Brother wasn't up to eating much on Monday, but didn't seem to be having the diarrhea problem anymore. The kids were really doing well considering how little sleep they'd been getting over the weekend. We hung out with Aunt Carrianne for a few hours and even got a tour of Don and Donna's (Carrianne's parents) new house. What a beautiful place. Sister saw it during her big girl weekend in April and has been bragging about it since.

The entire time we were there we were worried that one of the kids would "spill the beans" about Don and Donna's surprise birthday party that evening. They both turned 60 and Carrianne planned (and executed) and awesome surprise party for them. We left their house and went over to Carrianne's place for a little bit to change for the party while Carrianne, her mom, and her sister-in-law went for manicures.

The dinner party was fun. It was neat to catch up with several people I don't usually see now that I no longer live with Carrianne. Baby Bear was a hit with some of the ladies and Sister had fun running around visiting. Brother was pretty subdued and seemed tired, but enjoyed watching everything.

We headed for home about 7 PM. Not five minutes into our trip Brother started throwing up. My dh and I debated stopping, but figured it would be better to just get through the trip and get him home. I passed some grocery bags back to him and he continued to be sick the whole way home. What a trooper Sister was sitting next to him. She didn't complain at all and was so sweet to him. Brother looked miserable.

Once home my dh took him inside to get a back and into some pjs. I spent the next hour cleaning the van out. It was pretty bad. I guess it is now properly christened.

Brother perked up after his bath and seemed to feel better. He had is "upchuck bowl" and took it around with him while he followed me asking questions as I was cleaning off his clothes, seat cover, and such. I checked, but he didn't have a fever at all.

Tuesday morning we had to get Sister up for school. Brother got up, climbed into our bed and promptly fell asleep. My dh offered to take Sister to work with him then over to school if I got her ready in time. She bragged about going to work with Daddy and "helping" him type in numbers all afternoon and evening. Brother slept until 10:30. I made a "bed" for him on the couch and he ate a little toast while watching a movie. He fell back to sleep about 2 PM and slept until after 5 PM. He seemed to perk up a bit after that, but still only ate a little toast.

Today he says his tummy is still upset. I'm not sure if it isn't just that he likes his couch bed and watching lots of tv. He had some toast with peanut butter on it, but still hasn't eaten much else. He's off to his nap now without complaint. We'll see how he does this afternoon. I think we just did too much this weekend and he is all tuckered out. All the riding in the car, so little sleep, and party foods were probably too much for him.

Thankfully, our fun and busy weekend is over. It was wonderful seeing so much family and friends. We loved spending time with them and in the beautiful sunshine. Now I'm just glad to be home and be back on schedule again.

Lots of memories packed into this Memorial Day weekend!

What we're doing...

We enjoyed some really beautiful weather this weekend. My dh even pulled out the small wadding pool for the kiddos to play in. It hasn't been warm long enough to bring out the larger pool yet. It was Baby Bear's first time playing in the pool since he didn't get home from the hospital until September and was still attached to so many tubes (feeding and oxygen) until the middle of October. As Sister said, "It's Bitty Boos first summer!" (By the way, my dh coined the nickname Bitty Boo from itty bitty brother when Baby Bear was less than a month old. My dh is BIG on nicknames).

I haven't had a chance to go through all our bins of 12-18 month clothes yet to find Brother Bear's old swim suit for Baby Bear yet. Thus, he's just hanging out in a onesie. It really wasn't that warm. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of him kicking his feet in the water since I was busy video taping it. Oh well...next time.

While my loving family was enjoying the sunshine on Sunday, I was in the kitchen working on the pinata for Sister's friend birthday party this Saturday. Originally she wasn't supposed to have a pinata. Then, Brother decided he needed one for his party and I made it work into his Peter Pan theme by making it a pirate and the stick look like a sword. Creative, eh? The next thing I know, Sister is insisting on a pinata too. How do you fit a pinata into an American Girl themed party?


After a review of the various AG characters, I decided it could fit in with the Mexican American character, Josephina. (No, I didn't check to see if they have pinatas during her time period since I don't want to know if they didn't). With that in mind, I did some googling and found directions for making a Mexican Star. The story behind it is really cool. The star pinata represents the seven deadly sins. The blind fold and stick represent faith and virtue. The candy inside the pinata represent the sweetness of Heaven. When the kids overcome sin they enjoy the sweetness of heaven. (Maybe that isn't really the story, but I found a website that said it was and it sounds good.)

Unfortunately, the directions implied making a seven-pointed star pinata is easier than it has been. I've made a few adjustments to the directions to try to make it go a little quicker. Fortunately, I recently made another pinata, so I figured out some tricks through that process. Hopefully it all works out and is finished by Saturday.

Why do I keep working so long and hard on these pinatas when the kids just beat them to a pulp for the candy at the party?

Baby Bear is really on the move now. He has started pulling himself up on lower things such as the trampoline and toy vehicles. He still refuses to sit very often, but sometimes he rises up on his knees to reach things, then goes back to his low crawling when he wants to move around.


He's figured out that he can push things like our toddler rocker when he's standing and holding onto it to move across the room. It is fun to see him push it forward then take a couple steps over and over again. I've thought of getting him one of those push toys, but most have wheels and would probably move too quickly for him causing him to face plant. We used to have one, but I think we got rid of it since I haven't been able to find it. Plus, I'm not sure how mobile we're ready for him to get.


Sister is in heaven as student of the week. It means she gets to be the front of the line everyday and lead her class in morning, lunch, and afternoon prayers. This past weekend we put together a poster with photos of her and answered questions about her favorite foods, activities, and such. It was laminated by her teacher and is hanging in her classroom. Sister already has plans to post it on her bedroom wall when she gets it back at the end of the week. What an honor!


Brother is sad that tee-ball is over. His last game was this past Saturday. The itty bitty tee-ball league has a shorter season than the bigger kids. My dh and I are thankful to have our Wednesday evenings back again (and movie night for the kids and I) and our Saturdays too. Still, it was tremendous fun for Brother. He can't wait for next year.


That's all for now. I should go and check on that crazy pinata. Wish me luck!!! I'll post photos once it is done so you all can appreciate my craftmanship.

9-months-old

Baby Bear had his nine month well-baby check today. He is a whopping 2 feet and 6.5 inches tall and 20 lbs 6 oz. Even his pediatrician was surprised that his weight is only 42nd percentile since he looks so big. His height is 96th percentile. He's tall and skinny like his older brother. (Brother Bear always looked like a scrawny little guy though.)

No shots today! He did get a cavity shield varnish on his four and a half teeth. This is a new procedure they just started doing the past couple months. It is supposed to help prevent decay. Since our kids don't have any cavities, I don't know that it was necessary, but it can't hurt. He's been taking flouride drops since his six month appointment.

I was given a list of appointments to make when Baby Bear turns one-year-old. I really wish the doctors would have calendars more than a couple months out. Since they don't, I have to keep track of when I can make all those appointments: one-year-old well child appointment, pediatric cardiologist appointment, and one-year-old hearing check. Why is it that the dentist can make appointments six months in advance, but doctors can't?

Baby Bear's is still fully nursing. He loves drinking water from his sippy cup, but tends to get his clothes all wet in the process. He's had a wide variety of actual baby foods, but not in great quantities since he wants to do the feeding himself. When we feed him with a spoon we have to give him something to eat with his fingers as well like fishy crackers or cherrios. He typically eats when we sit down to eat (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). If possible, we give him a version of what we're having.

Here's a list of some solid foods that Baby Bear has been eating:
fruits: apples, bananas, and pears
cereals and breads: Cherrioes, Corn Chex, Rice Chex, noodles, and various breads
vegetables: celery, cooked carrots and peas, green beans, and potatoes
snacks: gold fish crackers, graham crackers, and banana cookies
meats: turkey, chicken, and hot dog
dairy: cheddar cheese and string cheese

As you can see, we haven't given him much dairy. The doctor said we could start giving him plain yogurt now that he is nine-months-old, but dairy can be difficult for children under one to digest.

His sleep schedule is pretty regular, but he still doesn't sleep through the night. He wakes up about 7 AM each day. He takes either two 60-90 minute naps (about 10 AM and 3 PM) or three 30-40 minute naps (9 AM, 12 PM, and 4 PM). Then he goes to sleep about 8 PM. During the night he still wakes two to three times to nurse. Typically, he goes right back to sleep after nursing. When he's teething he doesn't go back to sleep as easily at night, or he wakes more frequently.

That's the update on our little guy. What a miracle he is!!!

Growing up so fast...

My Little Man is growing up so quickly! His front two teeth are finally starting to come through. Pretty soon we'll no longer have a little vampire living in our house. Here's a picture showing his cute vampire teeth for prosperity.He loves to stand on things. Unfortunately, he hasn't mastered how to lower himself down from a standing position. So, he just lets go and falls backward...ouch! He also hasn't figured out how to pull himself up yet. He does a great job lowering himself down if you're holding him in a chair, on a couch, or a bed. He turns himself feet first on his tummy and pushes backward so he can stand.

His newest skill is waving and he makes a noise that sounds like "hi". Still no film of it though. That's part of the downside of being a third child. Every time I turn the camera on, the other two kids get in front of it which distracts my Little Man from whatever skill he was displaying. Oh well...at least he's tremondously loved!

He's also gotten really fast at getting into things. Here's a cute shot of what he was doing while I started this post. What a trouble maker. In just a couple minutes he emptied that cubby and crawled into it. We just can't take our eyes off him for a second!

I hope all of you moms enjoyed a special Mother's Day. We don't do a whole lot for it in our house. My own mom is often traveling over Mother's Day, but the kids (and my dh) woke me up with some sweet cards and Sister made me a wonderful poem in school. I was hoping that my van would get washed, but the weather was pretty overcast, so I took a nap instead while my dh watched the kiddos. (= I spent the day catching up on laundry since on Friday and Saturday I was so busy with the party stuff, I'd gotten behind. It's amazing how quickly my baskets fill up. Five people wear so many clothes!!!

A big Happy Mother's Day to the best mom in the world, mine!!! I love you and Dad. I'm glad you're having a fun trip and we love and miss you lots!!!

All petered out...

Today was Brother Bear's Peter Pan Party. Everything went smoothly. The pinata lasted through each guest getting a chance to hit it a few times. The cakes worked out (though I ended up cutting them in half since they were so large). Brother had such a fun time as Peter he is wearing his Peter Pan costume to bed. Thank you to all our wonderful guests!!! Here are some photos of the fun. Sister is Princess Tiger Lily and Little Boy was a lost boy in a Peter hat. (=

These cakes took me about four hours to make on Friday evening. Next time I'd just make two large ones with regular bread loaf pans since these "petite" loaves were too big for each kid to eat anyway.
Peter Pan blows out the candles on his cake. They were supposed to be the trick type that keep relighting, but they didn't Oh well...they were cute candles.
Peter fighting the pirate. My dh fashioned this "sword" out of some leftover wood in our garage. It worked out really well. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of my dh as Captain Hook. Thanks Carolyn for videotaping for us!
Here is Peter Pan, Princess Tiger Lily, and our favorite Lost Boy.
Here I am multi-tasking (serving cake and holding my littlest one). Thanks Tamara for taking photos for me!

Good at Guilting

For her seventh birthday Memere (my mom) gave Sister a subscription to the American Girl Magazine. She loves it! It comes in the mail just for her, has lots of fun craft and decorating ideas, and photos of real girls on display in certain parts. Now Sister asks almost daily, "Is it here yet?" Unfortunately, the magazine only comes every two months. That is eight weeks (56 days) of hearing that question. When it does arrive, she just devours it.

When her first issue arrived, she immediately had to create a butterfly and submit it since that issue had photos of girls and the butterflies that they submitted in it. She really expected the next issue to have her photo and butterfly in it. On Monday it arrived and sadly she wasn't in it. So, Tuesday she created a photo of her pet (which was what all the photos were on this last issue) and wrote a message on the back. Here is what she wrote (completely on her own, btw):

I sent in a butterfly And it wasn't in it. That hurt my feelings.

I even have a Samantha doll.

Please put this in it.

Love,

*******

Just a little guilt for American Girl Magazine. That's my girl!

There's always tomorrow...

Brother is at that place where he doesn't really nap anymore. Mainly it is due to the fact that the time he would normally nap is right when we have to pick up Sister from school. Today, though, Brother said that he was tired and asked if I would lie down for a nap with him. Sure! I'd love to!!! Baby Bear hasn't been sleeping at night, so I've been even more tired than usual.

Normally, lying with Brother means having him climb all over the bed, kick his legs around, and ask questions every couple seconds. Still, never hurts to try. If nothing else, I'd get to read a little bit. Plus, Baby Bear was sleeping in his crib. So, off to bed we went.

As my life goes, as soon as we laid on the bed, Baby Bear began crying. So, into his room to get him and bring him back to bed with Brother Bear and me. After nursing him, Baby Bear fell asleep. Then, Brother Bear fell asleep. Yippee. I turned and looked at the alarm clock...fifteen minutes until we needed to leave to get Sister....NOOOOO!!!

Still, I was able to take this really cute photo before carrying both of them into the van. Too bad. There's always tomorrow.

Meet us in Neverland...

We're having a Peter Pan party for Brother's fourth birthday. Much as with Sister's Madeline party last year, it is not a typical "theme" for a kid's party based on what is available in the stores. Tinkerbell would have been easy to do, but not very good for a boy. So, the googling began.

This week I've been getting everything done. I started the pirate pinata last Friday and completed it on Tuesday. Since I had to wait 24 hours to let each of the paper and paint layers dry, I was thankful that I started so early. The skin color was supposed to be peach, but it didn't cover the newsprint well enough, so I had to use a deeper pink. I also ended up drawing on the details with markers instead of cutting them out and gluing them on as I originally planned.

Next, I made Peter Pan hats for all of the guests. Sister tried to help me, but she only ended up folding one in the time it took me to fold ten. Sorry Sis. After having the kids try them on, I decided to add elastic string so they would stay on the kids' heads better.

Third, I made Peter Pan's shadow. Tracing Brother was lots of fun and he LOVES his shadow. It will hang on our wall for a long time to come. I made a similar decoration for one of Sister's princess parties (I traced her and painted her as the princess for "pin the shoe on the princess"); that stayed on her wall for over a year.


Finally, I painted a target for the archery contest. Wish us luck on that. It is going to take major organization to make sure none of the kids shoot each other. Fortunately, the arrows have suction cups on the ends, so they wouldn't hurt much.

I also spent a couple hours organizing our house in preparation for the party on Saturday. The piles have gotten out of hand around here. I cleared the piles out of the kitchen, reorganized the pantry, and found "homes" for all the random items I found everywhere. My dh even noticed! Which is pretty amazing in this house. So, the transformation must have been elaborate.