Never Again!

I was reminded today why I like online shopping so much. It's because my kids are IMPOSSIBLE to shop with. Even Madeline is now impossible to shop with. She won't sit in a cart nor will she let me hold her. If I try to hold her, she screams and flails around. She just wants to wander around and pick things up. You should've seen the mess she made in the toy section of the store we visited today. (don't worry Tim, we put all the toys back where they belonged) Of course, Madeline seems mild in comparison to the havoc that Andrew can wreak. Today Andrew decided that running away and hiding inside clothes racks or even running out of the store and to a neighboring store would be fun. He also decided to push every single item off a shelf much to the horror (and mild amusement) of the onlooking store employees. As of today and for the foreseeable future, I will no longer shop at stores with my children. I will shop after Tom gets home or on the weekends, because I will not go through the work, frustration, and humiliation of my experiences today. How does anyone do it with more than 2 children?

I love this little girl!

I love everything about my little ones. Today Madeline is cracking me up. She's wearing Andrew's slippers around and sportin the awesome hat I found for her on Etsy.

It's good to be back in sunny California, although we really miss you Grandma, Grandpa, AnnaLisa, and Tim! Come visit soon!

(I'm totally back in a blogging rut. I can't think of anything to write about. Suggestions for new posts are always appreciated!)

Flashback Friday: Halloween

I know it's not actually Friday anymore, but hey better late than never, right?

Halloween 1985

Heather and I


Peter, Me, Heather, Matt, Lara, and Nate

Lara, what exactly are you dressed up as?

Adventures in Utah

My kids can not get enough of all the open space here. There is so much room to roam.

Andrew loves the neighbor's trampoline!

Both kiddos trying to get to the ball. (Andrew will win!)

Then of course there is the added bonus of the doting Aunt and Uncle and Grandma and Grandpa

Madeline snuggling with Aunt AnnaLisa. Notice how Madeline's holding AnnaLisa's hair.

Madeline has decided she likes to wipe her nose, so she's been helping herself to large amounts of TP and anything resembling TP. She is using my sister's camera cover in the picture below.

Meet My 2-Year-Old

I bet you didn't know Madeline was already 2. Neither did I, but according to the lady that checked us in at the airport yesterday she is clearly as big as a 2-year-old. Yes, my 15 month old who is barely on the charts for height or weight looks just like a two-year-old. The airport lady demanded a copy of her birth certificate, which I didn't have because I have NEVER needed one for either of my children despite having travelled a lot with them. (And Andrew may have actually looked like a 2 year old before he was 2) She then informed me she would let me go this once but that she would put a note on my account to never let me fly again without proof of Madeline's age. Ummmm...ok. Does this happen to any of you when travelling with an infant??

Fear

The answer to the flashback Friday fear is a dog. There was a dog right in front of us and both my brother Nate and I were deathly afraid. I believe to this day my brother is still a little afraid of dogs.

Flashback Friday: Fear

I love this picture from 1978. I was two or three and I was quite scared of the "thing" in front of me. Can you guess what I saw? (No guesses from family members who know!)

I'm the one in the purple dress.

Day at the Zoo

This is how the day started:

Yes, Madeline has a big fat lip from a fall on the cement stairs at the zoo entrance and a very snotty nose. She was up half the night crying since she's not feeling well and it took every ounce of energy to convince myself to get out the door this morning. I'm glad I went though, since I met up with a lot of great friends, including my friend Mere, whom I hadn't seen since 2001 at BYU. (I had no idea she would be there this morning-yes, you can start singing, "It's a Small World After All". )

This is some of the fun we had at the zoo

This is the scene in the car on the way home. Wish I could've joined them. Thankfully, I didn't.

Antennas?

Doesn't she look happy?

Does anyone else think that Madeline grew antennas? I am open to all advice on how to properly put pigtails in Madeline's hair. I think they are cute even if it looks a little silly. Plus, I am so excited she has enough hair to do something with.

Serious Boredom

The last couple days I've been suffering from some serious boredom. I know I have two kids that keep me busy, but I've just not had enough activities to fill up my day. Does this happen to any of you? Any suggestions on what exciting things we can do? We need to get out more. Your thoughts are appreciated! (o: I also welcome visitors at all times.

On a different subject, another friend announced recently that she and her family are moving out of the area and it makes me sooooo sad! Do you know how many sets of friends I've gone through in the 3 1/2 years we've lived here? I don't think I can handle anyone else moving away. DON'T LEAVE!!!!!! At least stay here until we move away. OK?

I love the Sound of Music!

This happened at the Antwerp Train Station in Belgium. I would've loved to have been there!


This put the biggest smile on my face. Don't you love it?

Today

I thought it would be nice to have a picture of our family in front of the Oakland Temple from today, to go with our Flashback Friday photo from yesterday.

I wonder what these clothes will look like to us in 25 years? (o:

Flashback Friday: Traumatic Haircut

I was once asked on the playground in Elementary School if I was Lara's BROTHER. This haircut was the reason why. I'm third from the left. And yes I do have the exact same haircut as all three of my brothers in the picture. Thanks for the childhood trauma Mom and Dad. Clearly, I am still bothered by it 25 years later. LOL (o:This picture was taken in front of the Oakland Temple sometime around 1983

PS Our clothes are once again awesome, aren't they? Oh and Nate's glasses are the best! HAHA!

Uh-oh!

She's not even 15 months old yet and already seems to have a little boyfriend.

This is Madeline and cute little 9-month-old Ben.

We are in trouble!

Picture Overload

I know nobody loves all these photos more than me, but I can't help but want to share them. These are from our fun field trip to the Children's Discovery Museum today. Madeline loved everything about the museum this time. It was so fun!

My little fireman

Car racing

Madeline actually liked playing in the water this time.

Silly Monkey

This is my super random post of the week. It's all about how silly Andrew is in pictures.

Andrew loves to hang on things. Anytime he sees an opportunity, this is what he does.

Who would've thought Andrew could fit into Madeline's size 18 month tutu? He can. He immediately took it off after he posed in it for me and said "skirts are for girls mommy". At least he knows.

This is the "please don't take another picture of me" look. Great fake smile Andrew!

I ♥ Faces-Friends

This is Andrew and his friend James playing at the beach together. These two have been great friends since they were little babies. I love how hard they both seem to be concentrating on playing. And yes, beaches in Northern California do normally warrant wearing long sleeves!

Be sure to go check out I ♥ Faces this week to see more friendly faces.

Happy Happy Birthday Andrew Dear!

Our dear Andrew was born in Manhattan 4 years ago today. He was born 9 lbs. 6 oz. and 22 1/2 inches long. Today he is 40 lbs, 43 inches tall, and wears a size 13 shoe.

Brand-new baby Andrew in New York City

Andrew's 1st Birthday in Meridian Bay

April 2007

April 2008


April 2009

We love you Andrew! You are the greatest little boy in the whole world!

Flashback Friday: Graduation

Me, my brother Tim (who is now 9 inches taller than me) and my sister Heather

My College Graduation 2001

Tom's graduation 2002
(Yes, we went to the same University, but did NOT meet until after we had both graduated and moved to Northern Virginia.)

In front of the Lincoln Center in NYC with newborn Andrew

Tom's graduation from Columbia Law School in 2005

PS Have I mentioned lately that the day I left NYC was one of the happiest days of my life? It was.

Could I really be so lucky?

I hardly know what to do with myself with this occurring in my house TWO days in a row:



Should I take a nap or do something productive? Hmmm...

I love April 1st!

How could I not? What's better than a good joke? My siblings and I collaborated and played a joke on my older sister, Lara. My brother Peter is hilarious. He made the joke funny. (at least we think it's funny) So what we did is hack into my sister's blog and this is what we put up. We are still laughing about it. HAHAHA!

Anything funny happen to you today?

Sneaky or Brilliant?

Andrew hates to sleep. He rarely takes naps. He tries to stay up late almost every night. And lately he's been getting up early. The kid is super tired! So, today at about 3 PM Andrew became very grumpy and I decided I needed to do something about it. Telling the kid he needs to nap doesn't work. Nor can you force him down. So, what did I do to not have to deal with a seriously grumpy little boy? I told him he could play Star Wars on the Wii if he would lay down and snuggle with me for TWO minutes. Guess what happened? Yep, he's sound asleep. It only took two minutes. Now I can enjoy a few minutes of peace and quiet. Alleluia! So, am I sneaky or brilliant? (o: