Oceanside 2012

This post is now several months overdue, but better late than never! We spent a wonderful week on the beach in Oceanside with my parents, enjoying some rest, some very early mornings with small children, and lots of big waves. And yes, I fully support boogie boarding at 7.5 months pregnant :) We also spent a day at the Mormon Batallion Museum, which was really cool. The kids loved the activities and my dad was able to look up information on an ancestor he had in the group.
 

Goldilocks

Some HUGE waves

Sand crabs! He was brave enough to touch it :)

First (and only) attempt. It's scary when you're four!

Mormon Batallion

She probably pumped 18 gallons of water--ALL BY HERSELF.

panning for gold

Serious splashing requires full body protection

climbing on art!

Papas are great for wrestling while Daddy is away

this girl makes great faces

Probably the best action shot ever.

Hi, Baby Rachel!

These kids LOVE their Papa Bri

Eric caught this wave before he got eaten....

My happy little man

The proper way to wear sunglasses

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)

Life Like This

Enough with the whining! Not that I've really stopped whining, it's morphed more into a shade of panic, but at least it mostly stays inside my head :) I'm sure I'll feel much better about everything after I meet my new midwives on Monday night. Yep, that's right, NEW midwives at 34.5 weeks. Still mourning the unexpected resignation of my fabulous midwife who has been an emotional rock for me this pregnancy...but hopeful that I click well with the two new ladies who will be involved in the birth of this sweet little baby girl.

The past month has been a whirlwind of fun summer activities and vacation. We spent a wonderful 10 days in Utah with the Larsen clan, which deserves an upcoming post all of its own, as does the fabulous week at the beach in Oceanside we just returned from.

Without further ado, a picture dump of my kids and our summer fun :)

Just after the Moroni was added to the Gilbert, AZ temple! This will be *OUR* temple in a year or two

Last day of swimming lessons! Scotty is finally brave enough to really put his face in the water and have fun looking for toys

It's hot, so I let my kids climb on toys at the mall. And I'm too cheap to put money in!

Happy Father's Day! Probably the most cooking I've done in months. Especially when I can't eat pancakes!

Peter Piper Pizza. Ride on, cowgirl!

Yes, even I rode the miniature carousel.

Driving with papa

Waterfalls and rivers at the zoo

Inside monkey village, watching the spider monkeys eat and jump around.

I promise to be better about blogging, for those of you who actually care. I also promise to keep the pictures flowing and the whining to a minimum :)

Enough

There is a phrase I've heard often that I really don't like. It goes something like this:

"The Lord doesn't give you more than you can handle."

I'm sure it's scripture based and well backed up, but I don't like it. It's like saying to someone gasping for their last breath: "Don't worry. You're not really drowning. It really feels like it and you're miserable and you might die anyway, but it'll all be ok."

Hardly a reassuring sentiment, really. I only find it helpful when I'm on the downward slope. It promises hope that the next dip is the last and life will get easier. In reality, I've usually just begun the bumpy ride. I guess if the above statement feels encouraging to me, I should know that I haven't hit the bottom yet and more is sure to come!

Am I the only one?

It's time like this where I try to dig deep, find the good moments, the tender mercies, and feel grateful for all the blessings I have. I know there are plenty. I know when I search for them, I find them.

But sometimes, frankly, I just want to take a minute to admit that life is NOT peachy. That things are NOT easy, even if they are somehow within my capacity to "handle." In my opinion, merely surviving is not the same as "handling" the things life is throwing at me.

In case you haven't heard my whining on the subject, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes about two weeks ago. It's a lot of fun. It has solidified in my mind that cooking is not a hobby of mine, not a talent, and really not something I care to improve at. I really, really dislike cooking. Maybe if I could treat it like any other hobby of mine, aka doing it obsessively once every few months and then forgetting about it, THEN I would enjoy cooking. Instead, it's a huge drain of resources, time, and energy that just keeps needing more! Kids want to eat everyday! Sometimes even several times a day! Now that I can't eat most of the things my kids will eat, I get to do twice the cooking. I can't eat as much at one time, so I am hungry more often. You guessed it--more cooking! All of this cooking makes me grumpy, and results in more dishes and more messes to clean up. To reward myself for a job well done, I get to check my blood sugar four times a day. My kids mistakenly think this is a really fun activity. They gather to watch. Scotty cleaned his room in record time the other day so he could make it in time to watch the blood. Alyssa often volunteers a finger and tells me it's "Syssa's turn!" Maybe I should wipe off the cheerful face and cry occasionally so they aren't tempted to try it themselves...

Eric has been wonderfully supportive through my whining, helping me find websites with recipes, helping with the cooking whenever he can. I just can't seem to accept it and take it in stride.

In other medical news, Scotty dislocated his elbow ("elbone" according to him) again this week, necessitating a quick trip to the pediatrician's office. He managed the same feat three times in the first 2 years of his life but it had been awhile. Alyssa didn't want to be left out of the fun. Yesterday I rescued her from chemicals, climbing into the toilet, climbing onto the toilet, and just about every counter top in the house before she managed to touch the hot stove. She only managed blisters on three of her fingertips so it could have been a lot worse, but she was pretty upset about it. I think I would feel guilty except she was determined to kill herself yesterday so a few blisters is a pretty good parenting save in the long run. If only I could get her to sleep in past 6am and stop yelling in frustration for the majority of the day, we'd be in good shape...

How are you "handling" life right now?