A Spunky Six

Fresh off a birthday for this little guy.  Hard to believe the "baby" is six.   Good thing his favorite thing to do still is snuggle with his mama!

If you take the kids to the zoo

If you take the kids to the zoo (aka the Animal Ark) because you are trying to kill time on an idle Saturday while you wait what feels like two forevers for the boy to fly home from Germany....

 

 

 



You will come home and find two wild animals terrorizing your house and threatening to "EAT YOU UP!"

 

p.s.  I'm still alive. 

p.p.s. The Animal Ark was pretty cool.  We had a living social deal we had to use up.  But now we must go back sometime so the boy can go too. 

p.p.p.s.  It was at the Ark that I realized I have a tried and true reader on my hands.  She was in charge of the map and knew what everything was before we got there.  I was both impressed and sad at the growing-up-ness of it all.

F-I-V-E



A certain someone turned 5 recently.
 I'm over here trying to pretend he's not growing up too fast.



A day in the mountains

Sometimes you just need to get out of town for a day. We rounded up some of our favorite people in the name of tree cutting and firewood gathering and headed East.

If I hadn't have had to pee so very badly, I would have missed this gem.  It's in the men's bathroom at Middlegate, NV.
Yes....I had to pee THAT bad.

Emmer's looking pretty good in Bob's carhartt

I found me a baby to love on.  And got out of wood carrying. 

 

My happy place

Found some good treasures

 

 

Emma and Davey bonded over a bag of doritos years ago. Instant friendship.

And this one is my baby

A first child is your own best foot forward, and how you do cheer those little feet as they strike out...

But the last one:

the baby who trails her scent like a flag of surrender through your life when there will be no more coming after--

oh, that's love by a different name. 

She is the babe you hold in your arms for an hour after she's gone to sleep. 

If you put her down in the crib,

she might wake up changed and fly away. 

So instead you rock by the window,

drinking the light from her skin,

breathing her exhaled dreams. 

Your heart bays to the double crescent moons of those closed lashes on her cheeks. 

She's the one you can't put down.

~The Poisonwood Bible

Our books are growing up

It has not escaped my attention that we are slowly thinning out the board books and trading them in for books with more than 10 words on each page and fewer pictures overall.  Every time I try to put goodnight moon in the giveaway pile I find myself setting it off to the side.  We still enjoy looking for that sneaky little mouse on every page.





And so, to sum up our baby to preschool favorites (and maybe you might find a few to add to your nursery library) here are some of our favorites: 

Goodnight Gorilla - Peggy Rathmann

Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown

The Paperbag Princess - Robert Munsch

Love you Forever - Robert Munsch

Brown Bear, Brown Bear - Bill Martin Jr

As hard as it is to pass these books along to younger readers, there are adventures at pooh corner to be enjoyed and little houses in big woods to dream about at night.

Sacramento Zoo time

Just when I decide to start a tradition, the fish tank gets remodeled.

Doh!

Next year perhaps and I'll remember to get both kids in the picture AND have them facing the camera.




2008 - Emma and a random spiderman kid





2011 - Emma and Laila



2012 - Emma, Laila, and Bob





When I was ONE, I had just begun

When I was TWO, I was nearly new

When I was THREE, I was hardly me

When I was FOUR, I was not much more

When I was FIVE, I was just alive

But now I am SIX, I'm as clever as clever.  So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever. 

~AA Milne

I let the birthday girl enjoy her day.  Tomorrow I'll start my nagging to quit growing up so fast.

Not quite summertime

The girlchild walks around with boots and her swim suit on hoping against hope that the dad will take pity on her and set the kiddie pool up.

Reminds me of the days I used to ride the horses with my gymnastic suit on.  Only she has a way better haircut than I did.

She can thank me later.

And my mother can pay my therapy bills.

Say Hello to my Little Friend

This little girl has been keeping us up at nights.  Good thing she's pretty cute.

Still working on a name.

There has been input from all parties.

In no particular order:

Pippa

Hailey

Piper

Tippecanoe

Ben 10 Alien Force

Butterscotch

Tis the Season

I've been feeling a little Grinch-y this year.  Neither family wants to continue the Christmas traditions we have become accustomed to and so I'm thinking of starting my own.  Or just randomly making them up.  I have a few ideas and a few are still stewing.  A few months ago, I came across this War on Christmas article and it has been on my mind ever since.  I've been silently waging my own Christmas battles for the past few years.  So many around us immerse themselves in Christmas from the day after Thanksgiving until that can't possible stand it and Dec 26th all the decorations come down.  Someone always asks me why the heck our tree is still up and decorated on January 4th. 

The twelve days of Christmas really don't start until Christmas day.  And they end at the Epiphany, the 6th of January.  This year, I think I will participate in advent more and leave the anticipation and excitement of Christmas to Christmas.  Having a child's birthday just 6 days before Christmas is probably a good deciding factor too.  I don't want him to feel like his birthday is lost in the hustle and chaos that is the holiday season.

This year, there will be no black Friday shopping, advent will be fully embraced, the tree may not get decorated until just before Christmas.  And all will be right in our world.

You say Potato, I say Tomato

"Just because I am wearing cowboy boots, it does NOT make me a cow girl, Brother!"

p.s. The girl-child is already plotting ways to knock off the old mama so she can have the entire collection of precious moments.  Her name is practically crayola'd in on the bottom of each and every one.

Six Days

My little guy was born six days before Christmas. Six days. 


This time of year holds memories now, not just of the anticipation of Christmas and the joy of the season, but also blurry memories of late nights, round the clock feedings, snuggling by the fire and watching the Christmas tree lights twinkle with a sleeping baby tucked gently in the crook of my arm.

This is Bobbo's first ornament.  I might need to keep it for myself after he's grown.  It's hard not to look at it without getting teary eyed and wishing for babies brand new all over again.

"How delightful," Said Pooh, To be so brand-new"





"A Baby is always doing something brand-new," said Piglet.

"I suppose that's what makes a baby so special," said Pooh. "That and being so huggable and sweet."



p.s.  Nat the fat Rat puts that feeling into words so much better than I do, here and here.



Baby Steps

That's MY GirlChild.
Out where she can't touch.
Swimming with the big kids.
She loved every second of it.


Good thing, Burrito's idea of swimwear looks like this:

(Notice the jacket in July....I wasn't even kidding about that)

My Favorite Girl Child Turns Four

Only one more year until she's off to school forever....we better start soaking this time up.
Here are some highlights from the last year.

Ready or NOT

I might have to quit hanging out with my favorite blue hairs on Saturday (AKA the knitting club).  Crazy things happen around my house whilst I am gone.
Or, is it that the boy is TRYING to get fired from watching his own children. I'm not sure what happened during nap time this past Saturday, but there wasn't very much sleeping going on.  And lets just say that there is quite a bit of photographic evidence that may be used against Burrito later in life.

But, the real reason for this post.  This is what I came home to:


As his mother, I am both proud of his accomplishment (he is after all, 2 yrs old) and terrified (he is after all ONLY 2 yrs old)

Chats through the rearview mirror Vol I

As the kids get older I find myself forgetting the funny little way they say things or the wild, imaginative stories that come out of their mouths.  So these are for me, to remember, and maybe you will find them funny too.
Emma: Mom, can I have your pencil sharpener when you die?

Me: You mean the one I've had since I was 8 that gets pencil shavings everywhere?
E: Yeah.
M: Okay, but what if Bobby wants it?
E: No, I asked for it first. He's gonna need to find his own pencil sharpener.

~~~~~~~~~

Scene: Lowe's little kid craft area

Me: Sorry I messed up your project Emma. I can't get the nails out but we can take it home and I'll fix it there.
Em (with arm around my shoulders): Its okay mom. I won't feed you to the goblins, today.
Me: Today?! As in that's strike one?

~~~~~~~~
Scene: Early Morning Car Ride to Daycare
Em: Can I have a piece of your toast mom?
Me: Sure
Em: Can you NOT tell Aunt Lala that I'm eating this so I can have breakfast again at her house?
Me: Giggling quietly, in my best Hobbit voice But what about second breakfast?

Same ride - different kid (this one is really only funny if you know that I (And my daddy) put butter on everything, and I mean everything:
Burrito: Mom, Did you put butter on this toast?
Me: Yes
Burrito: Why?
Me: Because its delicious
Burrito: Oh, Okay. (said in my Oh, Okay way - intonations and everything, but wait, maybe that means he was mocking me)
~~~~~~~~
Em: Mom, after this goldfish dies.  Can I get a new one?
Me: Sure
Em: I think I will name him 'Heaven'.


to be continued....

Meet Bella Woozie

Have you heard?
Or maybe you noticed I have been a wee bit sleep deprived lately.

Our family has grown by four paws.

Meet Bella

These guys are in love:

Em so far has been an exceptionally good pet owner. She feeds, picks up her toys so Bella won't chew on them, is waiting ever so patiently for Bella to get a little bit bigger so they can sleep in the same bed together.

I for one am sticking to my belief that puppies are SO much harder to take care of than babies. I really mean it. Give me a newborn any day. I thought the same thing when Beatrix was a puppy. But then that was forever and pre-two children ago, what did I know. I testify before you know....I still think its true.

Good thing she's cute!

Bittersweet

Monday was a Snow Day - Yippee!!!!

But UNR didn't get their act together until after my children were on their way to daycare. So...I got to stay home by myself, but I was kind of sad about it.

There's nothing more enjoyable than watching your children play in the year's first big snowfall. And with mine being so young, they still are quite intrigued with snow.

I did get a ton of things done though, that I would not have been able to do with them home.

I shoveled the driveway, twice

I did six loads of laundry (yes I am that far behind)

I did two loads of dishes

I made turkey soup

I cleaned the snow out of the chickens shelter and made sure they were surviving

I caught up on some DVR programs

I wrapped presents

I sorted toys for good-will

So it was productive. But I did find myself standing at the front window watching all the children sled down our street and wish my family was all out there participating in the fun.

A whole new world

There is a big milestone that comes along with turning 1. You get to face forward in the car, unless you are Emma and you have to wait because you don't weigh enough. But, there's no weight issues with Burrito so.....





Verdict, He's in love. Stares out the window the whole time. No time for naps in the car though, there's too much to see. Which is not good for mama...but whatever makes my baby happy.