Merry Christmas

December

It's 9:51pm on Christmas Eve and believe it or not this is the first chance I have had in weeks to sit down and update the blog.  December started off very promising as I had a lot of days off scheduled to complete the many tasks needed for this time of year.  The first Sunday of the month I hosted a Cookie Exchange which was very enjoyable and then rolled into the 2nd week where I had to report to Jury Duty.  I have been amazed that I have made it this far into my life without ever receiving a summons.  My very first summons was for Federal Court and I was picked for the 6 day trial!  It was a drug case for two defendants and it was fascinating . . . like watching a movie or reading a good book.  It would have been really enjoyable if not for the fact that I had to keep up with work which meant I worked before I left for court, at lunch, and in the evenings.  It was like working two jobs and it was an exhausting two weeks.  During that time we decorated our tree, sent Christmas cards, and did a lot of shopping.  We hosted friends for holiday dinners and successfully mailed gifts to family in Louisiana.

Which brings us to tonight and getting ready for Santa to stop by the house.  It will be an insane morning but I am anticipating a lot of joy and excitement.  I hope I can stop and capture some of the moments on film and video to share and I hope we can stop and relish these moments.  I love the holiday season but it seems to start and finish so quickly and there is little time to just sit back and enjoy. 

May you enjoy your day tomorrow. 
With love,
Christi

Tea Time with Pickle

One of the annual lessons given at school is the "Holiday Tea Table" and I was honored to go with Bubba each year that he was attending.  I wrote about it last year on the blog.  This year JP got to go with Pickle for her first tea time. 

JP reports that it went fine but it seems she doesn't know how to "sip" just yet.

Friday Photo

The Train Princess

Only Pickle would choose to have a Princess Party at the Train Park! She originally said she wanted to have her birthday party this year at the "train track" and JP's mind was filled with many ideas, but I knew she meant the Train Park. I intended to have Cee-Cee make a Thomas cake like she did for Bubba's party at the Train Park (which was his 3rd birthday too), but she decided she wanted a Princess cake. Cee-Cee was able to put together a cute pink and yellow sheet cake with princess figurines! Cee-Cee also brought a tiara and sash but that was where the theme ended. When your best friends are all boys, there is not much we can do at a Princess party. I figure one day soon enough we will have plenty of parties where boys won't be allowed . . . .

With the usual crowd she played and we ate lunch and rode the train. We did not invite any friends from school as we were not quite ready for that big of a party so the group was small and we were able to move the party along at a quick pace. I think she had a good time and it was a beautiful day to be at the park.

She has finally finished her week long birthday celebration which ended yesterday with a trip to the movie to see Tangled with Cee-Cee. They went to the theater at the mall and she was able to ride the Carousel and had lunch in the food court as well. Cee-Cee says she sat through the whole thing enjoying her snacks, bouncing when the "bad guys" rode their horses, and talking to the movie screen to give directions to Rapunzel. It sounds like it was a great deal of fun; I just can't believe she is old enough for such an outing! How grown up she has become just in the last few months.

Cooking Rituals

In the last 36 hours I have made Spinach Madeline, Cornbread Dressing, Cupcakes, Chicken Stock Chicken-Black Bean Soup, Chicken Enchiladas, Pureed Green Beans, and a Bourbon Pumpkin Tart.  And finally we have put the turkey in the brine.  I have been cooking non-stop . . . a lot of cooking to freeze as well as prep work for Thursday.

I love Thanksgiving! I love the preparation and planning and I love the rituals of it.  Friends make fun of me because they think I like to control the day and yes I guess I do, but it is because I like the traditions and I like having the same dishes I ate growing up.  I also like the challenge of trying to do it better every year - the prep, the food, the table.

For me this Thanksgiving is nearly over - all that's left is to roast the turkey and make the gravy . . . for me, most of my rituals are complete.

Pickle made it to 3

I know there were concerns out there in the world about the viability of Pickle given her natural proclivity for dangerous activities. After singing herself to sleep last night (Happy Birthday), she woke up this morning in a better than average mood and ran around the house searching for someone to say happy birthday to her.Following her "Celebration of Life" at school this morning the class was treated to a visit from a fire truck which JP told her was because of her birthday. She really enjoyed it and told all her callers tonight about it. Other than her birthday it was a pretty normal day that concluded with a taco dinner and cupcakes.We joke a lot about Pickle but she really is a joyful child. She has a unique and vibrant personality that can be happy one minute and whining the next; there is rarely a middle ground and dramatics are common. Pickle has thrived at school and her first report was glowing . . . we actually asked to make sure we had the right report. We're told she is "made for Montessori." She has a love of books like her brother and a true curiosity for life and adventure.Pickle is not "sensitive" like her brother meaning she does not get her feelings hurt and I attribute this to her being bold and confident. She is very loving and is always willing to give hugs and kisses and she is very considerate of others and will be concerned if you are hurt or sick.Happy Birthday Pickle! We are proud of you.

It only lasted a Moment

This is a snapshot of a brief moment in time when the 3 runts were touching and not a one of them was complaining! Bubba was reading a book to his younger sisters and all was right in the world. It could be years until such a rare sight is captured on film again.

1/2 Year

I am six months old today and I can crawl and sit up all by myself.  Today I made it all the way through the kitchen and out the back door!  I also have two teeth coming in and I don't like it.  It makes me want to chew on everything and I drool a lot.  So far my parents have only fed me rice cereal and oat cereal; they keep promising me peas but I haven't had them yet.  I sure hope I like them!

Vote

Today is the day that someone will actually listen to what you have to say about politics so go vote. Do it for no other reason than to celebrate the end of the political ad season!

Halloween 2010

I started getting into the Halloween spirit on Friday by baking some cupcakes . . . nothing like orange and black icing smeared all over a kid's face to usher in the sugar fest.

 

 JP took The Boy to get his costume yesterday.  All he wanted was to be some sort of Star Wars character - he really didn't care which one - and he settled on the Dark Side.

 Pickle has said for a month that she wanted to be a Princess but once we got out the Dinosaur costume she was sold.  She really enjoyed trick-or-treating this year . . . as she described it, taking candy from those people.

Baby C was dragged out of bed for a required photo op; she looked adorable in her pumpkin costume and was really fascinated by her brother's mask.

sw

Cheerleader

Somebody got a new cheerleader uniform!

Go Tigers!

Is this not the cutest bow?

October

I can not believe this is only our third post in the month of October. It has been a very busy month and I have thought almost every day about blogging but just have not made the time.  JP has started having Cyclocross practice once a week in the evenings and Bubba has been playing baseball this fall which has him and JP gone at least one night a week either practicing or at a game. I've been using that extra evening time to put in extra work time. It is also a busy time for me with Junior League as Nominating Chair.

Pickle has continued to challenge us in many ways.  Just as we turned the corner on getting her potty-trained, she got a little sick and I think that threw her off her game so we had several weeks of battling with her.  Knock on wood but the last week has been potty successful; however, her runny nose has progressed to a pretty nasty cough . . . .  She LOVES school and they say she is doing great.  She stays busy the whole morning and when you ask her if she did sandpaper letters or pouring work (or whatever) she says, I didn't have time.  Right now her favorite activity is coloring and she still loves doing puzzles.

Bubba got his first report card! Since Arizona does not fund all day Kindergarten I think they treat 1st graders as the entry-level students so they don't get the traditional A-B-C grades.  Instead they get an "E" for Excelling which is the equivalent of an A.  I am excited to brag that he had an E+ in all subjects! He continues to read voraciously and is working on multiplication.  Last month they studied Egypt in Social Studies and he really enjoyed that topic.  P.E. is his favorite "special" . . . not a fan of music and art.  His current obsession is Star Wars.

Baby C has had a progressive month too.  As JP posted last week she started on rice cereal and we moved today to oat cereal.  I think by her sixth month birthday we will begin vegetables!  She is moving all around the floor and started crawling on Friday.  There is definite purpose in her movement - one arm/ knee at a time, but she is still tentative.  I'm in no rush to encourage her to move faster and for now she seems to want to stay on the rug in the den.

This week we have International Festival at Pickle's school and a baseball game on Friday. Both kids are out of school on Friday and I plan to take the day off and hopefully we will do something fun.  Most likely we will be trying to figure out Halloween costumes as I have once again waited until the last minute . . . .

Pumpkin Festival

 The kids and I had a very busy weekend while JP was in Flagstaff for a bike race.  I am very thankful to say that my sanity was kept with the help of my good friend, Kris, who came over on Friday night for dinner and took the kids on Saturday morning for over 2 hours.  She also came with us on Sunday to the Pumpkin Festival.  On Saturday night I took them to a Halloween carnival at our friend's school and they had a great time bouncing and sliding and swinging.  Below are some pictures from the Pumpkin Festival at the Desert Botanical Gardens.

Tired Baby!

"I've done this before."

Decorating Pumpkins

Mom: "We're not leaving until I get the picture I want . . . ."

Cereal

With kids one and two we were right on the pediatrician approved schedule of starting cereal on the 4th month birthday. Life really is different with kid three though. New kid just started cereal last week. We are only a month off so it isn't that bad. I do not think it was met with enthusiam at first since she pushed it out with her tongue. I doubt very little was ingested at all. She has the hang of it now though and can gobble the oatmeal down with the best of them.

Retrospective

Baby C - 10 days old

Pickle - 13 days old

Bubba - 15 days old

Baby C - 5 weeks

Pickle - 5 weeks

Bubba - 6 1/2 weeks

Baby C - 7 1/2 weeks

I thought I would share a picture comparison of our 3 offspring.  You can be the judge on which of the kids Baby C most resemble and which you think is the most photogenic.  When she was born both of us said Baby C looked just like Bubba but as she is changing I do think she is starting to look more like Pickle.  It will be interesting to see how she changes and how much she turns out like Pickle.

What is up with this?

She is not even 5 months and she is already up on her hands and knees rocking like she wants to crawl.  We are SO not ready for that!  I know realistically we are several months from her actually crawling but it is disconcerting to find her like this.  She is also trying really hard to sit up on her own but her upper body just won't support her yet.  I can see the attempt when she gets on her hands and knees and then falls to her side . . . just a bit more upper body strength and she's there.  I remember Pickle sitting up by herself by 6 months so I am sure Baby C will get there quickly too.

Just like Dad

This is a picture from the beginning of the summer when our newest addition was still new. I came across it when looking for something else in Picasa and really like it. I spend at least 2 hours a day, on that couch, in that position feeding that little lady. But on this day I got a break thanks to the boy.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. That little guy can sure be helpful when he wants to be.

Sunday, September 19th

Sunday, September 19th was a HOT one.  As you can see from the picture below, we hit 100 degrees at 10:42am.  I was standing at the kitchen counter watching the thermometer go up little by little, moment by moment.  It turns out we hit 111 yesterday which was a record high for sure!  And yes, folks, Fall starts on Wednesday.


And this second picture exhibits the rare moment of peace we had this weekend.  These two can play wonderfully together and then all of a sudden tears and crying erupts . . . usually from Bubba when Pickle decides she's been nice long enough and she whacks him over the head just to see him cry.

The other day there was one of these such moments and Pickle emerges from her brother's room to announce she hit her brother and he's crying.  And I ask her, "did you apologize to him?"  And she says, "No, 'cause he's still crying."

P and Pee

Because I am his mother and because one day I want him to laugh about (read: be embarrassed about) this and because this is the kind of stuff I read on other people’s blogs; I am going to share a funny story that happened on Tuesday night.


Our adorable 6 ½ year old son chooses to drink a lot of water RIGHT AT BEDTIME . . . he fills up his water bottle and then kicks back in bed to read and just keeps drinking without even really thinking about it. This practice has resulted in him getting up in the middle of the night to pee. So I asked him on Monday night to please remember to get up and pee before he turns out his light to go to sleep to hopefully keep me from being awakened at 11:00pm or 1:00am or whatever! He did this on Monday but fell asleep on Tuesday without the extra trip to the bathroom (and without turning out his light).

As I am reading in bed he gets up, comes into our room, and heads into the bathroom. I listen as he pees . . . listen to the sounds that pee makes when it hits water and when it hits the seat and when it hits the lid and when it hits other objects that are not water. Let’s just say it was not a consistent sound and I am getting a little concerned about what I will find . . . .

He exits the bathroom and instead of crossing the hall to his bedroom, he turns right to go toward the den. I say, “Hey P – where are you going?” No response. “Um, Buddy . . . .” He turns around and comes back to my room and I ask again, “Where were you going?” He shrugs and turns around and goes to his room. That kid was never awake that whole time!

So of course I get up to inspect the “damage” and find pee EVERYWHERE! It is on the seat and at the back of the toilet and it is even glistening on the floor next too and behind the toilet. Amazing! Needless to say, I spent a few minutes cleaning up (grumbling the whole time) before I went to sleep that night.  It's a good thing I love that kid so much!

My turn to talk

So I am 4 months old today. I have just started to scoot around the floor because that is what happens when you put me down and I want something out of my reach. When my siblings are around I can't get a word in at all. But when they go to bed and I am having some quality time with mom and dad I am the star of the show.

Another Arizona Embarrassment

I try to keep this blog apolitical but the recent embarrassment(s) our Governor has caused our state need to be shared with everyone. I was pleased to see the video clip make the Today Show but I thought Matt and Ann were way too kind to our Jan.


If you haven't seen it, please click on the video. This is her "opening statement" from a televised debate held this week. What is really sad to me is that she is clearly unprepared or just did not take the debate seriously. There is no excuse for being unprepared . . . you are the Governor of one of the largest states in our country. Get your stuff together and don't get on TV and embarrass yourself and your state.

By the way, Jan was not elected Governor. She was "promoted" when Janet Napolitano was tapped to be Homeland Security Secretary, but she's had almost two years to "prepare." Jan has also gained notoriety for signing SB1070 into law. This is our new state law basically saying you must have your immigration papers with you or risk being arrested. Everywhere we went this summer people had two questions for us: is it really that hot and what do you think of SB1070. I can't tell you what I think about it because it is a complicated issue and one that needed to be discussed and debated much longer than it was and no it is not that hot.

And then today she also has admitted that she was "wrong" when she made the statement earlier this summer about law enforcement officials finding beheaded bodies in the Arizona desert. Perhaps Jan has a future making stuff up for Fox News . . . .

Our state has some serious issues and they will not be solved by pausing, taking a deep breath, and giggling.

Girl Trouble

Which set of girl cousins do we think will be the most trouble . . . hard to tell at this point but the potential is there!

Trouble will be when they look back on the pictures we made them take together!

"We're cute and we know it!"

Making plans

"Okay, remember what we talked about . . . and don't look directly at the camera!"

"They'll never catch on!"