Life these days.

Christmas break was full of family, sleeping in, and having everyone home. Now it's busy season for Eric, ward conference season for me, and life with only 1 parents for the munchkins. We are hanging in there so far, but it's only been a few days. 

Here are a few glimpses into life recently in larsenland. 

Christmas morning!

Scotty finally got the Lego x wing he wanted. 

Alyssa and I made a closet for her Dolly's clothes. 

Rachel is 1-derful!

Teeth: 2 bottom, the edges of the 2 top in the past week

New tricks: pulling up, cruising, giving kisses, pointing, nodding, shaking her head

Signs: more, occasionally she signs thank you, please, and banana

Words: nothing consistently real! She says "eh" to mean yes, "uh uh" if she's in trouble, and babbles mama, dada, and nana sounds

Favorites: food! Especially graham crackers and sweet potatoes. She can gum down just about anything, even small pieces of chicken. Dolls. She screams if Alyssa has a doll and she doesn't. She cradles her dolls, pats their backs, smoothes their hair, and sings at them. It's adorable, except for the screaming part ;) she also loves her siblings, the bath, swimming, and my parents' dog Timbre. 

Dislikes: people taking her toys or not sharing food! Sleeping at my moms house. Getting woken up from naps to pick Scotty up from school. When she's upset, she screams like demons are ripping her arms off. Repeatedly. 

My favorite things: she snuggles and pats my back when I hug her. She is curious and explores, but actually stops and listens when I try to keep her away from something! She is so emotive and conversational, nodding and shaking her head, singing along with me. Just when she's starting to seem big, she snuggles up and nurses (at least 4 times a day still) and I get to keep her as my sweet baby :)

Birthday Girl

 Alyssa is Two!

It's handy to stack birthdays, isn't it? August is kid birthday central around here, with another one likely imminent. Fortunately, they follow birth order so I can keep all the numbers straight.

Without further ado, here are things I love about Alyssa!

2010

1. Her drive to learn new things! This girl wants to do everything, and she wants to do it now, and she wants to do it herself! I have a love/hate relationship with this quality in my two year old, but I admit it's one of the things I most admire about myself so I appreciate where it will take her. She jumps into life with both feet and no hesitation.

2011

2. Her genuine sweetness and willingness to listen. It sounds ironic, because the girl won't accept any help (if I even reach to touch her shirt while she is getting dressed she will take it all the way off, back away into the corner, and start over!), but she will listen to my guidance and try to follow my example. If she it yelling and trying to shove her feet into the wrong shoes, I can tell her that they are on the wrong feet and she will actually listen to me! If she is all worked up and crying hysterically, Eric will scoop her up in his arms and tell her that she needs to calm down--within seconds, she will reply with a shaky "o-tay..." and stop sniffling. If she is trying to get my attention by repeatedly whacking me in the stomach and yelling "mama!", all it takes is a quick reminder from me and she will flash me the sweetest grin and say "please mama?" in a very polite voice. Whenever she hears another kid crying, she immediately notices, comments, and wants to help. She has a special sweet spirit about her that is completely endearing. These sweet smiles are the high points in days filled with battles over everything she is determined to do herself!

2012

Second birthday stats:
Height: 33" (20% --she's actually a little taller but she stands knock-kneed)

Weight: 24.3 lbs (5%)

Hair: long, with the shorter layer now falling around her shoulders, blondish, and curly at the ends

Eyes: big, beautiful and clearly green/hazel

Words: a billion. With such a talker for a big brother she has no need for speech but finds plenty of reason to talk. She's picked up Scottish phrases, which crack me up, and usually speaks in complete sentences, including please and thank you. Not always understandable, but emphatic!

Favorite book: Moo, Baa, La La La or The Colors Book

Favorite song: Do As I'm Doing, The Nani Song, I Am a Child of God, The Wise Man & the Foolish Man

Favorite color: yellow or purple. I'm making this up since she doesn't know colors, but she tells me everything it either yellow or purple so I'm assuming she favors them :)

Favorite toy: Mickey Mouse! Her eyes light up when we wander the mall and she sees the Disney store. Can't wait to take her to Disneyland....maybe next summer? She also loves bags and purses.

Favorite activities: slides, swings, coloring, and bubbles

 We love you, Lyssabelle!

Birthday Boy

Scotty is Five!

2007

Five things I love about Scotty:
1. His willingness to help. He helps his sister whenever she lets him and he plays "fetch" for me all day long.

2008

 2. His silliness. He loves stories and jokes about stinky feet (thanks, Papa!). He makes up jazz scat songs. He tells me silly facts about his stuffed dog Ruffles. He thinks everything is funny.

2009

 3. His conversation. There is never a dull moment around here! He still talks constantly, often with questions about how things work and he actually listens to my answers. I call him my little scientist because he is very observant and wants to understand the "how" and the "why" behind everything. Yesterday he was all about frogs, wanting to know which kind was the biggest and which was the smallest and what made them different...

2010

4. His ability to accept help. Scotty is the first person to ask for help when he thinks something might be too hard. Sometimes this is frustrating for me as I am trying to teach him new skills and build his confidence to try new things, but compared to Alyssa as a two year old, the simple request "will you please help me, Mama?" followed by a sweet hug of thanks is a wonderful blessing!

2011

5. His friendliness. He sincerely wants to be nice and be friends with everyone. He will share just about any toy, happily, because he would rather have the friend than the object. He meets people everywhere we go. He often walks in to my room in the morning to tell me that I look pretty today or that he likes my hair! I'll be crushed when this sweet little boy no longer wants to be best friends with his mama, but for now he tells me that he wants to stay with me forever, even when he's married :o)

2012

Fifth birthday stats:
Height: 41.5" (25%)

Weight: 33.4 lbs (5%--he's gained 3 pounds in the last year!)

Favorite things: Spiderman, ninjas, bad guys, transformers, legos, swords, guns, baseball, building forts

Favorite book: Curious George, Flat Stanley, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. We finished reading our first chapter book, Stuart Little, over the summer.

Favorite activities: running, wrestling, hide and seek, yelling, eating treats, going to preschool

We love you Scotty! So glad you got a "tremote control car" for your birthday :o)

Cranky & Chaos: A Mother's Day Story

Some days, it's nice to be reminded why exactly I wanted to be a mom. I saw a great quote on facebook yesterday: "Motherhood: the only place to experience heaven and hell at the same time." For some reason, that has felt really true to me lately. I blame hormones (darn things!). Sometimes just looking at my cute kids is enough to make tear up (in a happy, mom way). Sometimes just hearing them wake up crying for me at ridiculous hours is enough to make me tear up (in a persecuted, mom way). How can I love that my children want so much of me and resent it at the same time? How can I love that I am the most important person in their world, and at the same time be dying for the opportunity to use the bathroom by myself just once? I feel like I spend most of my day longing for a break, only to find I don't know what to do with myself when they aren't hanging all over me. Kids: can't live with them, can't imagine living without them.

Peek- a-boo!

Much credit goes to Eric for a fabulous Mother's Day. Gourmet french toast in bed, fresh strawberries, whipped vanilla frosting, real maple syrup...not to mention the middle of the night help when Alyssa woke up with a fever, the shakes, a croupy cough, wheezing, and breaking out in hives. It felt odd to be in church without half of my family, but I have primary duties so Eric stayed home with the sick one and I got some quality time with Scotty. After church I got a nice long nap and a tremendous dinner all of Eric's creation. He even did all the cleaning up so I didn't have a house to reclaim after a fun weekend!

Check out this awesomeness: that's bacon-wrapped chicken from a homemade marinade with red and green pepper and onion, perfectly grilled

You can smell the goodness!

Most of all, it was a wonderful Mother's Day because I felt truly grateful to be a mom. These last few weeks have been rough for me for a lot of reasons, not limited to still feeling sick 6 months into this pregnancy and crazy hormones. I've kind of felt like I was living in a fog, not able to recognize or enjoy the little moments that make it all worthwhile. Let me tell you, without the little kodak/hallmark moments, it is REALLY hard to be home with small children. The best part of my day was just getting to enjoy those glimpses of heaven that sneak in amongst the long days.

It's hard to get a good picture of 2 independent children. I love that she carries her babies in a sling :)

Of course, I have to celebrate the 2.5 little ones that call me Mama. I jokingly refer to them as Cranky and Chaos (I need a nickname for this new little one--so far I refer to her as Thumper because she's become quite the mover and shaker in there). Usually Scotty is Chaos and Alyssa is Cranky, but it seems I always have one of each. One is unhappy and needing extra attention, which leaves the obviously deprived one to his or her own devices of insanity. Without further ado, here are some pictures of my favorite little ones.

At Disney on Ice about to see his favorite movie characters

playing with Papa before the big ultrasound (yes, it was AT MY HOUSE. best thing ever!)

Felt shape pizza at the Children's Museum

Driving a pencil

Last but not least, I have to give props to my wonderful moms. My mom is my best advocate and biggest cheerleader. She is such a great support, especially when I'm worn out, pregnant, and struggling. She's my damsel in shining armor :) My mother in law is always telling me how wonderful I am, how much she admires me and how I am living my life, offering words of encouragement and absolute trust. If you listen to these two women, you'd think I was perfect! I learn so much from both of them about how to love. I hope someday I can grow up to be just like them :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Life Like This

So, it's busy season. Eric is on day 12 of working 19 days straight, Saturday and Sunday included, so that about sums it up around here. The kids have been great and well behaved despite suddenly losing their dad to the work abyss. Because Eric had to work last Sunday, he wasn't able to come to church. Of course, it was Stake Conference and I just wasn't feeling up to chasing two kids around the wood floor for two hours by myself, so we had mini primary at home. A few days later, I was reading Scotty a story from the friend about a girl who discovers that her new friend doesn't go to church. After a little tension, the story resolves by the girl deciding that she can be friends with people even if they don't go to church. I asked Scotty what he thought about the story and about being friends with all kinds of people, and he thought for a minute before replying, "I think that's a good idea. I will still be friends with daddy, and he can still be my daddy, even though he doesn't go to church."

You miss one day and you're out around here, apparently!

Fortunately, Eric had two weeks off for Christmas before busy season kicked in so we had time to do lots of fun things.  Like the train park (complete with 2 different playgrounds, a carousel, a train museum, and a train ride).

And the zoo, where the bear was actually moving around. And then trying to break the door down....

And of course, Eric and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary in best way we know how: college football. The Insight Bowl (Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Oklahoma Sooners) was played in Tempe on the 30th so we took it as a sign.

ASU stadium

We ended up sitting on the Oklahoma side. Up in the boonies :)

Cadets from the Air Force Academy did pregame jumps

Some of the few who stayed till the end! It wasn't a very even game....

Thanks to mom and dad for watching our kids overnight, Grandpa Woodhouse for the giftcard for dinner, and Grandpa and Grandma Gould for the extra Christmas cash to help with the tickets :) I'd also like the thank the Iowa Hawkeyes for finally scoring in the fourth quarter to make it more resemble a bowl game. we had a great time!

The Best of Christmas 2012

Larsen Family Christmas 2012: The Highlight Reel

• Homemade gingerbread house, complete with chimney and lots of candy sampling (thanks, mom, you are the best Nana ever!)

•  Christmas Eve Nativity Play, complete with adoring and adorable shepherds and their sheepdog

• Christmas Jammies!

•  Pillow Pets from Auntie Misty and Uncle Drew. Complete with handlebars for jaunty rides around the kitchen....

•  My dad made this cradle for my dolls when I was a little girl. I repainted and stenciled it and made a patchwork doll quilt for Alyssa.

•  Great time with family

•  a healthy sense of humor

•  and, of course, some really cool toys to play with.

Now, if only I can get my NOOK to synch up with my computer so I can actually use it....

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!