thoughts on a sunday

trunk-or-treat

• I'm a little concerned that Layla pretty much can only fall asleep in her swing for naps.  

• Perhaps only my sisters will appreciate this, but at clinical on Tuesday Brian was a major anesthesia representative for OHSU during a JCAHO visit.  He was dying.  

• On Monday we carved pumpkins for family home evening.  I had no idea, but Brian has some serious pumpkin carving skills.  Really, he does.  Ellery requested Belle for her pumpkin and he widdled and carved and created the cutest little Belle pumpkin I ever did see!  I was so impressed.  McKay wanted a bat and I had to use a template.  But that Brian, he can carve!

• Layla and I both had our 6 week appointments. . .which really were 8 week appointments.  Mine went fine although my ob did have an interesting theory on my health as of late.  She thinks that my immune system was negatively affected by pregnancy and that is why weird things happened to me.  This would explain, she says, why I felt so miserable during pregnancy, which was abnormal for me and the scarlet fever, and the strep, and the lesions.  I would be really happy if she was right.  However, I think this is just her opinion, not at all based on facts and not a real medical diagnosis.  You never know though. . .

• I will say that she was SO sweet to me.  She wasn't even my ob during pregnancy.  I saw her after I delivered as I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me.  My regular ob was off and so I saw her.  She was so great- she called me probably four times at home after various appointments and tests just to check on me and see if I was okay.  She was so nice and thoughtful that I decided I'd rather see her than my other doctor.  So I just switched!

• Don't be alarmed, but Layla gained one pound in two weeks.  I was a little alarmed.  Her head is also a bit on the large side.  Other than that her appointment was smooth sailing. . .

• Oh, except if you count the flu shots my other kids got.  At one point all three of them were crying.  McKay went first and didn't cry at all.  Then Ellery.  She had been crying off and on since we walked in the office.  She gets very offended by pain and injury and so it took a long time to calm her down.  Then, little Layla got her immunizations, and of course cried a bit.  As I picked up Layla to calm her down, Ellery was still screaming and I looked over to see big tears welling up in McKay's eyes.  He had watched Layla get three shots.  He was crying because he felt bad for her.  We were in a heap in the corner as I was trying to hug and comfort all three of them.

• So, that reminds me that I feel like a circus whenever I go anywhere with all three kids.  You know how people say that with three you don't have enough arms for each of them anymore?  Well, that's really how it is.  I feel like we're at least a six foot radius of chaos everywhere we go.  

• Speaking of chaos, imagine me trying to give a visitnig teaching lesson on the temple. . .Layla pooped. . .had a blowout. . .ran out of wipes. . .poopy baby in the middle of someone else's living room. . need a bag. . .giving crackers to Ellery . .cleaning up cheese from Ellery. . .trying to distract Ellery with barbies. . .squeezing baby into newborn outfit that was in my purse. . .still talking about the temple.  Yeah, talk about a circus.  

• Also, I think that "yeah" means yes.  And that "yea" means hooray.  But I notice that some people think the opposite.  So who's right?  Okay, I just looked it up and they both mean yes.  Good to know.  I guess I'll have to start saying "yay!"

• The other night McKay was having a hard time falling asleep.  His face was priceless as he realized that I wasn't going to sharply send him back to bed.  I let him come out and help me get Layla ready for for the night.  We had changed her diaper and put her in her jammies and were getting some smiles and coos out of her cute little mouth.  After saying, "hi" to her a few times, McKay looked at me and said, "I feel like I can only say "hi" to her."  It was cute.  

• My life has become a series of a million appointments.  Doctors, dentists, visits, playdates, pictures.  It's quite out of control.  

• Um, I went to the dentist and lets just say I have to go back three more times.  Pregnancy always causes major issues in my mouth and this time may have been the worst of all.  Blah.

• We had ice cream for dessert the other night.  We all enjoyed it, but perhaps no one more than Elle.  As we were finishing up I looked over at her and her face was buried in her bowl.  She was licking every last bit.  

• Awhile ago McKay asked if he came out of the "special spot" or was cut out of my tummy.  I told him he came out of the special spot and was relieved when the subject was changed.  Well, a couple nights ago at dinner he looked up and said, "I want to know where this special spot is."  Brian and I looked at each other and he gave me the "you can handle this one" look.  It wasn't so bad.  I kept in mind that less information/detail is best and we were all satisfied with my answer.  Then Brian started singing beans, beans the magical fruit and McKay thought it was totally hilarious and forgot all about the special spot.  

• Ellery has been chanting "lady gaga" repeatedly all day today.  Help me.

• She also had a bit of drama in her own life last night.  She tripped off the front step and landed on her face.  Our front porch is made of the hardest, rockiest cement stuff you've ever felt and I'm sure doing a face plant on it was really painful.  She was bleeding quite a bit and now has a big, fat lip to show for it.  Poor little girl.  It took her about all night to recover.  

• It's kinda different being in Oregon for Halloween on a Sunday.  Trick-or-treating actually happens on Halloween here.  We had our ward's trunk-or-treat on Friday and luckily my kids were satisfied with just that.  

• Some ward members are going trick-or-treating, some aren't.  I decided before I found out about who was and wasn't we needed to make our own choice based on what we wanted to do, not what everyone else was doing.  My thought was that it would be fine this year, but in seven years when McKay wants to go out with his friends on Halloween I might not be okay with it.  So we just decided to have a fun family Halloween party instead and the kids think that's great.  

Happy Halloween Sunday!

happy halloween!

from,

Ariel,

 
Buzz,

and a pink little kitty!

you might not believe it. . .

But my girl is growin' like a weed!

  

                             2 days                                                                       6 weeks

thoughts on a sunday

• I took the kids to the dentist this week.  Both are proud members of the no cavity club.  Both walked out of the dentist with stickers, balloons, and prizes.  I don't know how this dentist affords to run the kind of office he does, but the kids sure enjoy going to visit him.  

• What we need to work on: flossing. 

• Ellery got Beauty and the Beast for her birthday.  I don't know how many times they've watched it in the last six days. . .at least four times!  Although she's totally loving the movie, Ariel is still the one she brings everywhere.  But, Ariel now has a new "prince":  the Beast. . .which is actually a Baloo the bear from Jungle Book.  Ariel is not picky.

• McKay had a gigantic break down yesterday.  We were at Costco around dinner time and Brian and I were contemplating what to eat for dinner.  We thought about getting pizza at Costco (you know how much I love me some Costco pizza) but then decided to go to another place for dinner.  When McKay found out we weren't staying there to eat he LOST it because he wanted a churro.  LOST IT.  This is pretty unusual for him.  I was totally mad about it, but because of the incident, we had to just go home and eat canned soup for dinner, which made McKay cry and scream even harder.  After a really long drive home, we were able to teach him about using words to express himself when he's mad or sad instead of screaming/crying/going crazy.  We'll see if it works next time.

• Sometimes I feel like every other sentence out of my mouth is an ultimatum.  "If you don't clean up your room, I'm going to take your princesses away."  "If you keep kicking her then you'll loose your bike."  "If you don't stop screaming about a churro, we're not going out to dinner."  On the way home I mentioned this to Brian.  He said it's teaching them about consequences to their actions.  Agreed, an important life lesson.  But I still think that I am giving ultimatums way too often.  And I wonder, is there a better way?  

• Ellery is still learning that it's not okay to kiss/hug/touch Layla when her eyes are closed. 

• Brian got his clinical schedule for the next year and a half.  He will be going to different clinical sites every few months.  We knew when we signed up for this that he would have to do a rotation in Florida and Southern Oregon.  What we didn't know is that he would also have to go to Newport on the Oregon Coast (twice), and another tiny town in the South West tip of Oregon.  I don't even want to talk about it, but I'm really, really not looking forward to it.  

• I played memory with the kids this morning.  I wasn't even trying to let McKay win, but he smoked me!  When did his memory skills surpass mine?  

• Layla is still waking up at night.  She wants to eat at two am and again at four or five.  I had such big plans on doing Baby Wise but somehow it just didn't happen.  I also had plans that she wouldn't be in our bed at night either. . .but she somehow she just sneaks in there.  I am not conscious enough to know how it happens.  

• Today I definitely felt added stress as we got ready for church.  It was Layla's first day of church.  The first Sunday all of us went.  We left the house looking like a bomb had gone off.

• Part of that bomb was that I realized just before church started that Layla didn't have any tights to wear to church.  I had to go through my girl bins until I found some.  The kids used the bins as crab shells and crawled around the family room.  There were clothes everywhere.  

• Speaking of those clothes, I'm feeling sad for my third child.  She will live life in hand-me-downs.  There are worse things, I know.

• I'm also feeling sad for my third child because there is just not enough of me to go around.  I remember sitting and showing my other babies toys and playing with them and even watching them sleep when they were this age.  Poor little Layes is not getting the same treatment.  I do what I can, but if she's content and happy, then I'm usually doing something else.  I feel like we're both missing out a bit.  That's kind of why I don't totally hate that she sneaks into our bed in the early morning.  It's kind of a nice time to just snuggle her with nothing else on my mind.

Happy Sunday

ahhh ahhh ahhhhhh

I hesitate posting these photos.

Only because she's not going to be three forever.

One day she'll be thirteen.

And she might be embarrassed that I showcased her private rendition. . .

. . .of Part of Your World on my blog for everyone to see.

Complete with dance moves. . .

and a passion that only a naked three year old can achieve.  

But I'm hoping that she'll just laugh.  

And be glad that I caught her doing what she loves to do.

Even if it was in her underwear.

birthday interview - ellie jane

Ellery's Birthday Interview ~ Three

Elle's answers in purple.  Notes from the editor in orange.

• What are some things you like to do?  Dress up like a ballerina, I like to play with Layla.  (It's all about princesses.  She loves to play with the little princess figures or any other figures.  She usually has one in each hand at ALL times.)

• What sports do you like?  (Quizzical look- no comment)  ("Soccer is for boys, not girls."  We have some work to do in the sports department with this one!)

• What things do you like to do around the house?  Take pictures, run around, that's the end.  (She never takes pictures.  She does love to run around, and dance all over the house.)

• What are some of your favorite foods?  Marshmallows, no- not marshmallows.  Things that are squares- sandwiches.  And triangles like tia's (quesadillas).  (She does love quesadillas, and this girl eats carrots like it's no one's business.)

• What are foods that you don't like?  Cow milk.  (Even though she can now tolerate cow's milk, she wants no part of is.  Maybe it's all the times we said, "Cow milk hurts your tummy."  It's rice milk or nothing for Elle.)

• What do you like to wear?  In the winter I like to wear my things that are pink.  My tights.  (She hardly goes a day without wearing a skirt.  If she's wearing pants she'll want to change half way through the day into a skirt.  If she's listening to Taylor Swift or sees a princess on tv, she will NEED to wear her fancy Easter dress.)

• What’s your favorite color?  Pink!. . .and red and black and white and brown. 

• Where are some of your favorite places to go?  To Candyland, to the play place.

• What things make you happy?  Golly (her Little People girl).  Reading books.

• What makes you sad?  That mean book, when McKay pulls me and we fight each other and daddy says stop to fight each other.  

• What do you do when you are sad?   I don't know!  Wrestle and do jumping jacks.  (Um, usually she just cries or wants to snuggle.)

• What do you do when you are mad?  with hands on hips say,"I don't want to!"

• Who are your best friends?  Kenna and Kenzi.

• What are your favorite movies or TV shows?  Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, Aladdin and Jasmine- all of the princess ones.  (She's never seen Aladdin.  Caillou is her favorite show on tv.)

• What are your favorite books?  The princess books.  And Barbie books. 

• What do you want to be when you grow up?  Be a little momma.  (She's always talking about when she's a little momma.  Based on her interests though, she'd like to be a ballerina or a princess.)

• If you were an animal, what one would you be?  A princess named Golly.  (No Elle, what animal?)  Like a princess!  Golly!  (Okay, fine.)

• Who is your hero?  Golly.  (Elle, what about a real person?)  Um, McKay.  (Most definitely true.  She loves her older brother so much and is constantly copying everything he does, as well as bragging about him to just about anyone.  "My brother can tie his shoes!")

some things we did

Catching up. . .so as the whole month of September won't be forgotten.



Beaverton Parade

No rain this year.
Lots of hard candy.
Parades here sure are different than in Utah.

*****

Big Al's

This was McKay's reward for not biting his fingernails anymore.
Elle was adorable on the toddler version of Dance, Dance, Revolution.
McKay opted to bowl without the roller thingy.
Prizes were picked:  Dora princess, swirly straws and a silly face.

*****

Pirate Festival

There's an Apple Farm by our house and I love it.
We went to a pirate festival they were having.
There were pirates a plenty and animals too.
McKay and Talan got to touch a real snake.

*****

VooDoo

We went to Voo Doo Donuts Too
It's not as scary as the downtown one- better for children.
Ellery calls it doo doo donuts.
They are really yummy.

*****

A new place to play

We bought a rug and made a little play area in the garage.  

We call it the play room.

The kids thinks it's really cool that we now have a play room.

They kind of bragged to all their friends about their new play room.

I wonder how much they'll actually play in there?

thoughts on a sunday

• This picture about explains our week.  Those two girls pretty much kept me completely exhausted- alternating waking up during the night.  Brian must have snapped this pic on his way out for a morning run.  Ellery kept throwing up randomly- like every three days.  I suspected strep throat since the vomiting was so un-flu like.  I was right.  Boo.    

• I haven't cut Layla's fingernails yet.  When Ellery was born I cut them too soon and they were sore and some bled.  I'm scared to do it and now they're getting long.  

• There is nothing quite like getting dressed for church after having a baby.  I only have so many "fat" clothes that are fancy enough.  Mostly I am in sweatshirts.  I can't wait to fit back into my whole wardrobe.  

• "Jesus is very sad that you took away my princesses."  Do I really need to explain this?  She sure has a healthy dose of spice in her.  Thank goodness there's sweetness as well.

• One thing that is stressing me out is Layla's routine. . .or lack thereof.  At first I was just fine to go with her flow and let her be a newborn.  But now she's practically a teenager and still no definite routine.  It's my goal to figure it out in the next two weeks.  I hope she cooperates.  

• We were sad to say goodbye to Jana and Carson on Tuesday.  It was so much fun having them here.  Layla enjoyed it because half of the kisses from Ellery went to Carson so she got a little break.  

• I was pleasantly surprised when I moved here and found that I wasn't intimidated by driving around Portland.  I usually don't like driving in unfamiliar places, but getting used to making my way around here has been pretty easy.  That is until I drove Jana to the airport during rush hour.  Since we left from another location downtown, we used the GPS to get us there.  All the sudden we were crossing the biggest bridge in Portland that I had never even been on before and the GPS was calculating and the guy behind me was mad because he was looking out his window (I saw him) and didn't notice the slowing in front of him and he was waving his arms around at me and I didn't know what exit to take and it was just generally very stressful.  So stressful in fact that when I finally made it home from  the airport my shoulders and neck were so tight and tense and killing me.  

• Brian doesn't like rubbing my tense shoulders.  I am sad about this.

• Let me tell you something about Brian that I JUST discovered today.  First, a back story.  When we lived in Utah Brian was a nurse in the cardiovascular ICU.  Very sick people- mostly old.  He would regularly check the obituaries to see if any of his patients had died.  Well, this morning I found him at the computer scoping out the obituaries on the Herald.  He still looks at them!  I think this is totally weird.  I felt like I caught him doing something naughty. . .but instead of naughty it was creepy.  He doesn't think it's creepy and was surprised that I didn't know about his obituary habit.  I feel like I don't even know him.  The end.

•  We got a membership to OMSI which is a huge science museum in Portland.  This is also where the infamous earthquake house is.  The one that gave McKay the big nightmare that consumed our house for a week.  Well, happy to report that my boy- now five and much more mature- was able to go back to the earthquake house and all is well.  No nightmares.  He was proud of himself.

• One of my favorite things is pulling out of our driveway and seeing all the leaves fly off of the car.  I love fall and today when I took the garbages out to the curb it smelled like fall.  

• Life seems to be coming at me so fast lately.  Having three kids makes me feel busier than ever. . .which is a good thing.  I seem to have so many things to do and it's never-ending.  I haven't even been able to find time to paint my toenails.  They are just naked.  (No mom, I haven't gotten my pedicure yet.  I don't know if I ever will.  But thank you still.)  I only notice this on Sundays when I'm wearing heels and my ugly toes are peeking out at me screaming for some color. 

• Like right now- I need to be preparing for my girl's third birthday tomorrow.  So I really should stop this and do that.  I have balloons to blow up and banners to hang and presents to wrap, and a party to plan.  That's why I kind of hate this post.  Can you tell?  My heart just isn't in it and I rushed through.  

• One last thing though.  Look at these two pirates I had yesterday.  They got to go to McKay's best friend Talan's pirate  party.  McKay got Talan a bug vacuum gun.  He pretty much couldn't sleep the night before the party because he was so excited about this gift- especially since they had just started a bug club earlier this week.  I'm so glad that McKay has such a good little buddy to play with.  They are little kindred spirits.  

Happy Sunday!

for her

I am so in love with this little girl.  I get teary with feelings of gratefulness that she was sent to our family.  What a gift she is.  I think it's safe to say that I was in shock for about ten months that she was coming to me.  Even when she got here it really did take me a little longer to fully understand the blessing that she is.  But I get it now.  I so get it.  

The last several days I've been taking time to have some quiet moments with just me and her.  I love holding her and looking into her eyes.  I keep thinking about how there's a little person in there- in those eyes.  I can't wait to see who she will be.  I am so excited that I get to have her in my life and continually get to know her.

I am realizing more than ever how fast these babies grow.  I am trying to memorize the way her cute little chin quivers for no reason. . .the sound she makes when she's tired and wants to snuggle. . .the feel of her tiny naked body when I hug her before a bath. . .the way her eye lids droop open and shut when she's trying not to fall asleep. . .and the sound of her voice when she coos back at me.  I can't believe how much she's grown already- before I know it she will be walking.  

As I snuggle her I keep thinking about how much I just completely love her.  Will she always know that?  Will she even understand how much I love her?  That is partly why I wanted to write this down.  So that one day when she is holding her own baby in her arms feeling so completely smitten and overwhelmed with love, she will know that I held her the same way.
And she will understand how much her I love her.

smother mother has twins

It's been a good couple months since Ellery has mentioned the babies in her tummy.  They must be going through a growth spurt though, because lately I am getting all sorts of information regarding the babies.

There is a girl named Evelyn and a boy named Hummus.

Evelyn's birthday is October 18th, like Ellery.  Hummus will be born in July.

Evelyn is going to be a princess for Halloween.  Hummus will be a tiger.

Evelyn really likes carrots.  Hummus does not.

They both like chips.

I want to warn these twins though.  Because the way Ellery smothers/kisses/lays on my baby, they really might not make it very far.  They might want to stay inside permanently.

thoughts on a sunday

• Jana and Carson are here visiting!  Carson is the cutest little boy and I love getting to know him.  And how can I not love having my best friend/sister hanging out with me all day every day?!  I absolutely love it!  We are hardly doing anything, but even just doing nothing with her is fun.

• So one of the effects of having scarlet fever is having the skin on your hands and feet peel off.  Several weeks ago my hands finished peeling.  It was so frustrating and gross.  My hands felt like sandpaper and Brian refused to hold them.  I didn't think my feet were going to, but a couple weeks ago they started peeling too.  This is totally gross, but also kind of one of the funnest things that's happened to me.  I enjoy peeling the skin off the bottoms of my feet.  Yes, that's disgusting, but it doesn't change the fact that I really enjoy it.  That's all.

• Speaking of feet, I should note that Layla has an imperfection.  Her second toe is longer than her big toe.  She gets this from Brian.  Her feet are still cute.  

• I know you may not want to admit it, but is anyone else watching Sister Wives?  I can't look away.

• Ellery.  My sweet, feminine little miss.  She's driving me about crazy.  You see, she is pretty much obsessed with kissing Layla on the face.  She wants to do it all the time.  And at the most inconvenient times.  And she takes about two whole minutes to do it.  And if I try to rush her and she doesn't plant a good one, she'll have to do it again.

• Today was my second Sunday at church since Layla was born.  I was very happy for the chance to go.  Ellery, on the other hand, was not.  Since Layla was born, Ellery has gone a little inactive. . .or she'd like to be.  She was not at all happy when I put her in the car, and even less happy that McKay got to stay home and watch a movie because he was sick.  But once we got there and sat right in front of her little friend Kenzi the princess figurines came out and the two girls played like they were on a playdate. After that, it wasn't hard to get her to go to nursery. . .although the princesses had to go along too.  She did great and I hope that the good memories from this week carry over for the next.

• In relief society today we discussed knowing, living and defending the Proclamation to the World.  This brought up some really great discussions, as well as some pretty intense/uncomfortable discussions.  One thing that I did enjoy talking about was the term "just a mom".  I've said this before about my job.  I've downplayed the importance and honor that motherhood entails.  And I made a resolve today to not do say that anymore.  Maybe I'm not as educated as some and I certainly don't have a glamorous career, but I'm not just a mom.  I am a mom and I know that there is great value in what I'm doing.  It may not be glamorous but it is certainly important.

• One last thought on church.  A guy in our ward bore his testimony today.  He was so emotional that he couldn't even talk- very unlike this guy.  He talked about how one of his brand new sons has to have heart surgery.  He talked about how the Savior is aware of each of us and each of our struggles.  This touched me on two levels.  First, yes!  It's true.  He is aware of each of us and aware of our needs and our struggles.  That's always a good reminder, as simple as it may be.  And second, it just hit me that everyone has struggles.  Sometimes I can feel sorry for myself especially with what I've had to go through lately and it can seem that my trials are the only ones out there. . .like everyone else is fine while I'm dealing with really hard stuff.  Hearing the news about this new little baby in our ward reminded me that everyone is dealing with something.  It's just that most of the time we're not aware of other people's struggles.  It makes me want to reach out more and really reminded me of the importance of service.  When we moved here a year ago I had a distinct impression that my happiness would be directly related to my service towards others.  I'm sad to say that I haven't done as good of a job as I would have liked to do.  Going to do better.

• Can you tell it was a good day at church for me?  So sorry if that was all really boring. :)

• Okay, having a hard time transitioning out of church mode.  How about a vomit story?  The other night we checked on Ellery before we went to bed and to my complete surprise I found her sleeping in a pile of her own throw-up.  She was SLEEPING!  And it was a lot too.  How?  We clearly had to give her a bath because it was dangling throughout her hair and when we woke her up she denied that she had done it.  She didn't know how it got there, but she sure knew it wasn't hers!

• If you want to imagine me riding a bike, leading a group of eight cub scouts down a path for one mile, then go ahead.  But make sure you imagine one of the rotten cubs taunting me, yelling, "My grandma can ride faster than this!"  

• I've been testing little Layla by sneaking some dairy in my diet.  Mostly a little bit of cheese and some yogurt.  No screaming yet, so that's good.  She seems to be tolerating it fairly well.  Yay!

• Um, Layla does not tolerate pizza.  Learned that the hard way last night.  Poor girl.

• Since Layla was born I have had a totally bizarre craving for rootbeer.  I am not a soda drinker at all, but man oh man I might just be turning into one.  Rootbeer of all things?  I don't get it.  But Jana said that she had the same craving after her baby was born too.  The best treat I can think of that doesn't have chocolate, which is forbidden by Layla:  a rootbeer slurpee!  Mmmmmm.

• Layla is definitely filling out and the rolls are comin'!  I may have small babies, but I sure know how to get them big fast.  Her eyelashes are starting to come out too.  And the baby acne is still looking real nice on her torso.  She is adorable.

• So I decided that having a private blog is totally annoying.  I hate having to sign in all the time.  Sorry to be so annoying.

Happy Sunday!

and so it starts

First day of  preschool ~ year two 

So, here's the thing.  McKay started preschool again.  We decided not to send him to kindergarten since his birthday was so close to the deadline.  Not because he wasn't ready for kindergarten.  (It's a huge pet peeve of mine when I tell people we kept him back and they say, "Oh, my kid is just so ready for kindergarten."  Mine is too.  He'd do absolutely fine in kindergarten, I have no doubt.  But we're thinking long term here, not just about right now.)  Sorry, tangent.  Anyway, last year he was the youngest in his class.  

This year.  This year he's the oldest.

Oh what a difference.  This year McKay finds himself in the middle of an odd love triangle.

Anna and Laura.  Twins.  

McKay tells me that Laura is the best singer he's ever heard.  She's just so good.

Anna, has light brown hair and that's pretty much all I know about her.

Last week he came home from school with a guilty conscience.  I never have to worry about McKay keeping things from me because his conscience completely rules his mind.  He didn't want to tell me what happened, but of course he did.

He kissed Laura at recess.  On the lips.  She wanted him to.  Afterwards, she said, "Kiss me again.  Kiss me again!"  He didn't, just the one time.  

Anna was jealous.  Back inside the classroom she told McKay that she wouldn't find any more treasures with him unless he kissed her too.  Anna is really good at finding treasures around the school.  He opted to kiss her on the cheek.  

Ummm. . .

It might be a looong year.

thoughts on a sunday

• We not only got to watch conference, but we had a beautiful ballerina accompany each MoTab song with a lovely dance.  Yesterday, every time the music would start, Ellery would stop whatever she was doing and run to the front of the tv and twirl away.  "When is the music-prophet going to sing?"  Oh what a funny girl I have.

• We sure enjoyed watching conference.  Always uplifting.  Our kids were actually really good this year and we got to hear a lot more than we usually do.  

• McKay has picked up a few new phrases.  Everyone is "dude," especially Brian and "what the?" is being said about as frequently.

• Listen, don't be jealous that H&M is coming to Portland, just come up and visit.  We'll go!

• Several weeks ago Brian let the kids watch a Tom & Jerry cartoon.  For awhile they requested it quite often.  Then one day Brian and I decided that we hate Tom & Jerry and it might not be the best thing to let our kids watch two guys try to kill each other repeatedly.  We put a ban on Tom & Jerry and of course since then it's all the kids want to watch.  

• I know I'm always talking about how cute it is that Ellery mispronounces things and how the things she says are completely adorable.  But if your kid was saying "Winnie ba pooh" thinking that was totally how you say it, you might think it's completely adorable too.  

• Last night A Few Good Men was on and I watched the tail end of it.  I've known this for a long time now, but seeing Tom again last night reminded me.  My dad totaly reminds me of Tom Cruise. . .but before he got weird.  The good Tom Cruise.  Anyone?  Anyone?

• This week we went on a family lunch date to Ruby Tuesday.  We sat outside on the patio, overlooking a big pond with fountains throughout.  It was a perfect afternoon, even though my veggie burger was just so-so.  We don't go on dates anymore, just the two of us.  I can't even remember the last time we did that.  

• Brian and I have found ourselves in a pretty fierce competition over fruit ninja- a game on his phone.  The thing about Brian is he can't stand it when I'm better at it then he is.  I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be able to sleep at night if he didn't immediately top my high score every time. 

• Good for me, I cleaned the house last night!  It's been awhile since I did that.  Brian was off at a school thing (aka: party) and I decided that I wanted to watch conference in a clean house.  I'm starting to be able to do things again.  Now I just need to put some good mental vibes into dinner preparation.  I'm scared.

• Brian started school this week.  And I'm afraid it's going to be a rough semester.  He has clinicals at OHSU this semester, which is very different than where he came from.  I know he'll do great, but I also know that he's in for some stressful days.  I just can't even describe the amount of pressure, intimidation and stress that these clinicals cause for CRNA students.  It's pretty crazy.  And that's pretty much all he has until he graduates next December.  Just going from one clinical site to another for a year and a half.  Yeah, the next year and a half are going to be rough.

• On a happier note, Brian is now a senior!  Hooray!  We can do it, we can do it!

• I totally love Layla because she's only had like three blowouts in her whole month long life.  

• On Tuesdays Brian and I meet in the parking lot of the church at seven.  We switch cars, and I take the kids home as he then goes to do his scout thing. The other night as I was taking a car full of cub scouts home, Layla began screaming.  Like, really screaming.  The poor boys didn't know what to do.  The one who was sitting in the front was physically unable to stay still due to his distress over the crying.  He was almost writhing in his seat.  I'm pretty sure they were all completely traumatized.

• I grew up in a family of all girls.  It's no surprise then (although slightly embarrassing), that we used the word "fluffy" for passing gas.  Of course I went through a phase in my youth where I would say anything but fluffy- of course!  My mom would have died had she hear the real word come out of my mouth.  Now that I have my own family we just go with "fluff".  I take great pride that I converted Brian.  I also take great pride that my kids have no idea that fluffs are funny.  When it happens they just say "excuse me" and go about their business.  It's nothing to laugh about and they have no idea about the potty humor they're missing out on.  They didn't even know about the f word.  I knew it was just a matter of time before this changed.  Before McKay heard it said by someone else and found out what it was.  That's why when he came running into the house in the middle of playing with the neighbor kids and said with a pride I have never before heard in that little voice, "I just have one thing to say to you guys:  farted."  I could only laugh.      

Happy Sunday!

about my layla

There's a lot to say about our new little girl.  Let me fill you in.

• She looks exactly like Brian.  Exactly!  I sometimes look at her and I cannot believe the resemblance between her and his baby pictures.  I would say out of my kids, she more resembles McKay over Elle, but she seems to have a different look altogether.  When I first saw her I thought she looked just like Ellery.  It's funny how they can look like everyone and it's always changing.  Nobody looks like me though.  

• For someone who looks so much like her daddy, she sure is stingy with her snuggles with him.  She likes me.  She likes when I hold her.  Brian will be holding her and she'll be screaming and then he'll simply place her in my arms and she is content.  It drives him crazy.  Lets just say they are still developing their relationship.

• She's got a sensitive tummy.  She seems to not tolerate any dairy, chocolate or spicy food well at all.  This means I'm on a diet.  This means that a vegetarian just knocked out two other food groups: dairy and chocolate.  Isn't chocolate it's own group?  When I was still eating these things she would scream and scream and there was nothing we could do to comfort her.  I did this with McKay too, and it took four months for him to outgrow it.  Needless to say, mama's hungry!

• She is most definitely my cutest newborn.  I am not blinded by love.  My kids look squishy and blotchy when they first arrive.  It takes awhile to see their cuteness.  Of course, they are cute to me, but I get that they aren't going to win any contests.  After all, when McKay was born it was I, his loving mother, who pin-pointed his resemblance to Gohlum.  Anyway, Layla was less squishy, and less blotchy upon arrival.  She was very cute. 

• Don't let her looks fool you.  She is a stubborn little thing.  I saw this from the beginning.  If she's left crying for even just a minute she will begin screaming so loud that she turns purple.  She did this when she was two days old and is still doing it now.  And she's got these angry little eyes that she pulls.  

• She can already hold her weight on her legs and could from the very beginning.  She is strong and will stand if you hold her up.  I can't believe such a little thing can be so strong.

See?  Angry eyes.

• When she was first born she was so tiny that the newborn diapers slid right off her.  She was drowning in them.  And just after three and a half weeks, she moved into size one!  She's growing like a champ and I'm sure she'll be a little chub in no time. 

• She is so alert.  She loves looking at her mobile, her brother and sister, and the paintings that we have on the wall.  

• Besides crying, she is pretty quiet.  She hasn't cooed much at all yet.  She cries and grunts and that's about all we get from her. 

• When we discussed the name Layla during my pregnancy we recognized that there weren't really any nicknames for it.  Oh, not true!  You're looking at little Layes.  It just happened.  I didn't really want it to happen, but it did.  I also didn't really want Laysie to happen either, but oh boy, that one did too.  Not to be confused with lazy, although I'm sure it will be.  I think she's cool enough to pull them off, don't you?    

• So far, she doesn't like her bed.  She'd much prefer to take advantage of her poor exhausted mother in the middle of the night and sleep in bed with her.  She will be dead asleep and we'll place her in her crib as gentle as can be and she perks right up and starts squirming around. . .then turning purple.

• She's still spending most of her time sleeping, but we do get a few good hours in the late afternoon where she is awake and alert.  

• It's so fun to have a newborn in the house.  My other kids just adore her and of course she already has Brian wrapped around her little finger- the girls tend to do that to him pretty early on.  It's also been hard to have a newborn again.  Much more challenging with two other kids to take care of.  I feel like I"m always feeding someone or wiping someone's bum.  I'm so glad that Layla is mellowing out and I'm sure I am too.  

 Oh, I love this little girl so much.