Way Back When-sday

As my friend AFSM (you know who you are *wink*) pointed out to me, I have been extremely deficient in my Way Back Whensday postings of late. And I had such good intentions too, but life just got so busy for a couple of weeks there. I'm sure everyone can relate to that. So, I am here to repent and FINALLY do the post I wanted to do two Wednesdays ago. Behold, my lovely daughter Olivia:
This was taken 6 years ago, when she was just a tiny little one-year-old. Of course, at the time I thought she was getting so big and grown-up. It's so interesting to look back at that time in our lives with the perspective I have now. Not that I'm so much wiser or anything, but I do think I see more of the bigger picture than I did at the time.

When I was at home with just a one-year-old, I thought my life was pretty busy (now I laugh in the face of myself six years ago). I also thought that my one-year-old was really, really hard. In fact, one of the regrets I have is labeling her as a "hard" baby. While it's true that she came out of me screaming and didn't stop for--well, I guess she's still my screamer--she is also a great kid. She's smart, fun, loves to help and nurture others, has a kind heart, and brings a ray of sunshine into our family.

Also, I now understand that many of the things I stressed so much about, were just stages that she eventually grew out of. That's what is so helpful when you have subsequent children: you understand that so many behaviors are just phases, and not permanent issues. That makes it so much easier to be patient and not worry so much about "Will they ever learn to do this?" and "Will they ever stop doing that?"
Now that she is a big seven-year-old, I can see that yes, some of the things about her that stressed me out so much when she was young, she still possesses. She is still quick to frustration and anger and requires more from me emotionally than my other kids. But, she is also SUCH a great girl. She's a hard worker and is helpful and kind. She's beautiful inside and out, just as she was as a baby. And most of all, she WANTS to be good, and truly loves her family. Yes, we are very blessed to have Olivia as part of our family, both then and now.

A whole year

Five days after Liv's birthday, our little Benny turned one! It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since we went to the hospital to have him. I swear time goes faster with each child. We kept his birthday celebration very low-key. I figure it's best to keep expectations as low as possible so they don't start asking for elaborate parties every year. We just had cake at home in the 20 minutes between Erik getting home from work and me leaving for my photography class. We also gave him a few toys (which I forgot to wrap) that were left over from my Christmas shopping. I hear the big kids enjoyed playing with them while Ben watched.

As you can see from the picture above, Olivia decided to follow in my footsteps and "heart attack" Ben's door, which was very cute. On her hearts, she wrote (I kept her original spelling):

• nice and kind
• makes people happy
• good craller
• happy
• smiles a lot
• good one year old babby boy

Ben also looooooved facing forward in his carseat. It's amazing what a small thing like that can do for one's mood. When I put him in the car facing forward for the first time, he looked at me like it was the best surprise ever. He just kept smiling and giggling, which was so fun. I reached back and held his chubby little hand while I was driving. I love doing that. Happy birthday, Ben! As your sister says, you're not zero any more! Congratulations!!!

Seventh Heaven

Birthday season has officially begun at our house. Last week Olivia turned this old:

I surprised her with a heart attack on her bedroom door:
In case you can't see, the hearts have words that describe her:

• thoughful
• helpful
• kind
• beautiful singer
• great big sister
• fun
• great giggle
• fast runner
• smart
• ti-i-i-i-i-ght!
• really good reader
• beautiful, and
• polite.

The "ti-i-i-i-i-ght!" one comes from her buddy Caden who sits next to her at school. Apparently this is his favorite slang word and he says it ALL the time, and with a really distinct accent. We hear it over and over as soon as she gets home from school every afternoon.

We bravely decided a week ahead of time to have a birthday party for her at our house. We kept it small, inviting just a few girls from school.

We had a fun craft party, where the girls painted their names on small canvas bags, frosted cookies, and made bookmarks and bouncy balls. We also had a pinata and of course cake and ice cream. They had a blast.

It's hard to believe my girl is growing up so fast. Happy Birthday, Liv! We love you!!!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Hope you remembered to wear green!



And if you happened to encounter a leprechaun, I hope it was as cute as this one:

On the Move

Ben, at 11.5 months old, is finally finding his groove. For several months he has been content to sit and calmly observe the world around him. This, despite the fact that the three girls in the ward who are within a couple weeks of him in age have been on the move for months. Finally, he has decided he needs to get with the program.

In the past couple of weeks, he's learned to do this (please ignore my annoying voice and my middle child's hacking cough):



And this (don't let the black screen frighten you--just push play):

Needless to say,he's pretty proud of himself.

What can I say? We're pretty proud of him too, the cutie pie.

Now we've entered a whole new world of "Don't leave anything out because Ben will get it" and "Sweep and vacuum the floors daily instead of weekly." Ah, the joys that come with having a newly mobile child.

Friday Favorites: Sometimes Fun Comes in Large Packaging

Today's favorite comes from my kids. We are in the midst of remodeling the downstairs bathroom, which explains why there's a new vanity in the middle of the living room and a toilet in the garage. And why these items have been in their "temporary" locations for, oh, several days now. But I digress.

One of the perks of getting a new vanity is the large box it comes in.

Who knew that one huge box could provide hours of entertainment? I guess I should by now, since my kids immediately confiscate any kind of box we acquire and turn it into a car, spaceship, or boat.

One of the fun games my bigger kids came up with for this box is to get inside and roll it across the room. Which really is super fun... until they roll over their baby brother, that is. But he doesn't seem to mind.

They even marked it so we'll know who it belongs to.

I just love free toys, don't you?

Way Back Wednesday: The Fam...1980's Style

Before I was a mother with a family of my own to love and nurture, I had the privilege of growing up in a family as the fourth of five children. Here we are, circa 1985:

I'm the cute one on the left. OK, maybe just the one on the left. This was taken at my grandparents' house in Los Angeles. For some reason they had a fancy photographer come and take pictures of everyone outside by the pool. I loved that pool. We had some fun times swimming in Grandma's pool.... that is, until the earthquake cracked it and it was empty and barren. Then my cousin and his friends used it as a skate park.

Back to the picture. There are a few things in this picture I'd like to point out. First of all, Mr. Fancy-Pants Photographer apparently needs a few more lessons on Subject Placement. Hello, I look like I have horns growing out of the top of my head. Did he really not notice that when he was taking the picture???

Another concern I have is my little sister. The poor thing not only has her slip hanging out of the bottom of her dress, but her hair ribbons don't match her outfit. Poor, neglected fifth child. My middle sister is sporting her Little Orphan Annie 'do, which is looking fancy. My brother has his stylin' feathered hair, and my oldest sis is looking every bit as stylish as I remember. She used to spend what seemed like hours curling her hair. It was painful to wait for. Mom and Dad are looking good, looking real good, if not classic mid-80's.

I am pleased to see we are wearing our imitation Gunny Sax dresses, ever popular at the time. And of course, the knee-high socks, folded over at the top, with Cherokee sandals which got cut off in the picture. But trust me, they're there.

I love looking back at old pictures. Perhaps that's why I take so many now. I want my kids to be able to reminisce on the crazy haircuts and the clothes they can't believe I made them wear. After all, it's only fair, right? Circle of life.

A Family of Sickies

This picture fairly accurately represents our life the last two weeks. Every one of us has been hit with sickness, from ear infections to fevers to body aches to coughing and, yes, even diarrhea. I don't blame you if you stop reading now and never read my blog again. I'm aware I'm sharing more than most people want to know. Anyway, in order to combat the aforementioned illnesses, we've had three prescription medications, plus a variety of others, that have come to rest on our kitchen counter one by one by one. I didn't realize just how many drugs had accumulated until Erik started laughing and said "Look how much medicine is out here!" It DOES border on the ridiculous. And yes, that is Airborne, which, despite valiant efforts, failed to deter the germs from visiting me as well. Guess I should have taken it more than once.

Despite the collective germified beating our family has taken recently, I am happy to report that we are officially on the upswing. More than half the family is 90% better, and I have high hopes that there will be a night when I am able to sleep uninterrupted for a full eight hour stretch... OK, make it six. Five and a half. Is it sad that that is what I wish for??

Here's to good health! It's true what they say, you don't appreciate it till you don't have it.