Vi's Growing Up

Dressing Herself

I told her we were leaving and she prepared herself and marched outside:

I have always said that I love watching my kids grow up but I am having a hard time with Violet growing up. Probably because I do not get to be as involved in that process as I would like to since my time is so split. But it's true, she is growing up. She is 18 months old, attending our church nursery and changing daily! While her vocabulary is not that vast and definitely not understandable, she knows what she wants and she will help you to figure out what she wants.

Violet's favorite things: food, dogs, baby dolls, purses and books
Vi's favorite thing to do: Sing! One day I could not figure out what she was saying and then realized she was singing, "I know you, I walked with you once..." phonetically. It was awesome--she still sings that all the time. She also loves songs with hand motions. IPhone-yes this girl knows how to navigate an iphone/itouch and thinks everything should be a touch screen. She even put all my apps into a folder.

Violet is an absolutely wonderful addition in our family and we are so grateful for her. She can melt your heart with her big eyes and big smile. She tries so hard to help with Abby and to be a big kid with Xander & Eliza. She has a tender spot for her grandparents and great-grandma and clings to her family's legs at first sign that they are leaving. Such a sweetheart--so glad she's part of our family!

Thanksgiving

We did finally celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday. Ben & I hosted 11 adults and 8 kids. It was crazy! So crazy, no pictures were taken. But this is our Grateful tree that hung all of November and we added leaves as we thought of things were thankful which included: family, friends, toys, water, candy, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and many many more. We are truly a blessed people!

Apple Hill

Since Em was on a cruise, we decided not to celebrate Thanksgiving until they got back. I was so excited to read on the internet that part of Apple Hill would be open in the morning. So, we packed the kids up and headed up there. Much to our disappointment, they were only open to buy pies. We went a little overboard on that, took a few pictures and then slowly headed home only to find that not celebrating a holiday on it's actual day is no fun--there is nothing to do (especially since it was raining!)

Felix Family Visit

When Xander came home from Utah, the first thing he said was, Why couldn't I stay with my cousins until they come to our house in November? Well, the much anticipated time finally arrived and the Felix family arrived! Here are some highlights:

Annabelle got to come to Eliza's preschool Thanksgiving feast. While she was a little shy at first (can't blame her, we don't hang out all the time) she ended up having a great time (I think). Eliza, who idolizes her older cousin (they're 18 months apart), was stoked that Annabelle came!
I learned first hand how nice it would be to have older kids when I had a baby. WOW! You can trust them to hold them and not drop the baby. Em's boys were super helpful. I was nervous at first but chilled out and was thankful by the end.
We took turns sleeping at our house or Nana's house. Can you tell which one is Eliza & which one is Annabelle? These girls got along super well! I loved it!
One day my mom & I took the kids to the zoo & park. I put Callie & Violet (who are 3 wks apart) in the double stroller, put Abby in the swing and had the other 5 kids walk. You should have seen the looks I got! PHEW! And several people commented on my twins. I tried to explain to one woman and she just wouldn't listen. Xander had stayed at Nana's the night before and so we met the 'boys' at the zoo. Something wasn't right with Xander & Ryan's pants--neither of them were comfortable. Yah, um, they'd switched pants! We had them swap them back in the middle of the zoo while we all made a wall around them: And of course, we went to the park afterwards. It was CRAZY having 8 kids at the park so we didn't last very long.

Anniversary #7

I am married to the most amazing man! Ben had planned a secret anniversary get-away for us--complete with a massage and babysitting for the kids overnight. Too bad my kidney stone laser treatment was that same day. We ended up with a lot later start then planned since I didn't get out of surgery until 3 hours after planned and I was not as coherent as we thought I would be. In fact, I had a dead leg for the first 20 hours after the surgery. But we managed to have a good time--we enjoyed the bed and breakfast and the massage and looking around on Main Street in Sutter Creek. All in all, we were just grateful to have a little break!

Kung-foo Fighers 2011

Xander played on the same soccer team this fall! Ben was the assistant coach this year instead of the head coach but fun was had by all. It was so fun to see the change in all the boys that returned-they were much more serious and focused this year-and the field looked SO small! We made it to as many practices & games as we could because there was a group of girls Eliza & Violet enjoyed playing with--it was a beautiful season! Xander didn't score any goals this year but he learned that he preferred to be in the goalie box. Several of his friends go to kindergarten at the same time or are in the same class and they liked soccer so much that they organized themselves into teams and positions and play every day (or so the teacher tells us). It's so fun to see our son growing up!

The girls enjoyed watching: While I enjoyed embarrassing myself:

On the last day of practice, we had a parents vs. kids game. I tried really hard (remember, I have never played soccer) and we had a blast. One of the other mom's did not want to play so she begged me to let her take my girls. I just love this team!

Happy Birthday Xander #6!

Welcome to the International Spy School!
A.K.A. Xander's 6th Birthday Party

First up: Becoming a spy! Face paint, finger painting, new names, mugshots

Next: Obstacle Courses
Riding a bike, over a ladder, through the tunnel, shoot the gun and diffuse the bomb!

Don't forget: Laser practice!
Don't touch the laser as you collect the darts for the guns that you need to shoot!

We also played don't drop the bomb with balloons & music and practiced our punching & kicking skills.

Of course, there was also food to keep our spies fueled up and ready to go!
(Some of them may have been a little TOO fueled up!_)

Xander is very into Spy Kids right now so we tried to create a fun "spy' birthday party! Despite being in the ER the day before, I was not going to let him down. And the party went very well! We all had a lot of fun. Xander designed his puzzle cake--it wasn't much to look at because my execution was not that great but Xander was happy and that is all that matters! I did not get a picture of the Goody Bags but they were made out of manila envelopes that said, "Top Secret" and included several spy goodies: pencils & note paper, glasses, Chinese finger traps, magnify glasses, etc. It was super fun and I am so thankful for the extra hands that made it possible!

I cannot believe that Xander is 6! CRAZY!!!

Stoner

The fun never stops! For my own purposes, I'm journaling the past week and a half.

Saturday, November 5, 2011-I had been asked to speak at our local LDS conference. I had been preparing for a week and half but was taking a break at Wal-Mart with Eliza. When out of NO WHERE I started having such major pain in my back I didn't think i could walk and I was having a hard time breathing. We made it home and I took Tylenol, used Bengay and a heating pad to calm my back down--I figured I had hurt myself carrying Vi & Abby and set it aside. I went to speak at the conference and then came home and went to bed.

During the night of Nov 6,7,8 I woke up with awful pain in my lower right abdomen. After taking some Tylenol, I was able to fall back asleep. I was also having some symptoms of a bladder infection, so I called my doctor and headed in Wednesday morning. The dr. said it was probably an infection or an ovarian cyst and signed me up for more tests.

Wednesday night/Thursday morning. After 4 hours of not sleeping and having seriously intense pain, Ben drove me to the ER. Thanks to my mom who came over to take care of the 3 sleeping babes. The ER was empty (phew!) and they got me into triage. They started me on a anti-nauseous & hydration drip. They were going to give me some medicine but realized I was a nursing mom and so they gave me some oral motrin. They told me I had the classic symptoms of a kidney stone and could do a CT scan to be sure if I wanted. Otherwise, I could go home, keep taking the medicine and wait for it to pass. I said, I wanted to know. I am SO glad I did. After going home and getting a little rest I got a call from a Urologist saying that my stone was too big to pass and that I would need surgery.

So guess where I am going tomorrow?!

I am so grateful for all the kind words and help that I have had this week. My parents & my in-laws have been SUPER helpful as have many friends and acquaintances. I am not looking forward to the whole procedure and am quite anxious but I know that the Lord will be with me and my family.

One totally cute story from all this: Eliza had preschool the day I was in the ER and so I coordinated with my Dad to drop her off and pick her up. She was beyond stoked! I mean, that would be an understatement. When my Dad realized this he took full advantage of the love and not only picked Eliza up but took her to lunch. She had a blast! When she got home she was telling me all about her day. And she said, "Don't worry Mom. Grumpy paid Ms. Marnie so that I could go home with him." I was TOTALLY confused. What had my Dad paid her teacher for? Then I realized what it was! The preschool asks to see ID of people they don't know recognize to verify who they are and if they are on the list. So my Dad had gotten out his wallet and she thought he had to pay. LOVE IT! And finally-here is a card she wrote to my Dad--I was so proud of her letters!

Eliza

Eliza is always my first child dressed in the morning. She LOVES picking out her clothes for the day and is always very concerned about what day it is and what it holds for her: preschool, church, music makers, play time. It's very helpful since others, who will remain nameless, would rather lounge in the pj's ALL. DAY. LONG. even when they have school. Don't get me wrong, Eliza loves jammies too but she just likes changing outfits and in the morning is one of the times she gets to do that. Especially on Sunday mornings. She almost always comes into our room fully dressed and ready to go to church. On this particular morning, we were having Stake Conference (a conference held twice a year in our church for members in a particular geographic area) and so church did not start at the usual 9 am but 10. So, I was able to fulfill one of Eliza's dreams and curled her hair. It looked beautiful for a little but it quickly lost its curl. But it was fun to spend time dressing up my little girl and making her happy. BTW-she wouldn't let us comb it or wash it for a few days because it would "mess up" her curls. What a cutie!