Settling

Boxes are unpacked and removed.  Everyone's school has started.  Sleep schedules are slowly getting worked out.  Pictures are getting hung.  Cupboards are being filled.  Toys are being scattered about with reckless abandon.  So, we're slowly making this house a home.  I'll try and get the details sorted on our crazy-awesome summer and put them up, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Ketchup

So, I haven't really felt like blogging the last couple of months.  We've been up to things and having fun, I just haven't really felt like chronicling it much.  But, now it seems like I should probably just buckle down and play catch-up.      

Zach: After five long years of working towards a doctorate, Zach is finally about to become a for reallsy Ph D.  Very, very exciting.  Of course, after a year or so of serious thoughts and prayers, we've decided to go to law school at BYU.  It's scary and exciting and crazy, but we're doing it anyway.  We say goodbye to California in two weeks.  

Katie: Since we've known since January that we were going to be leaving, I've been going a little crazy going through our stuff and trimming the fat, so to speak.  On Saturday we had a yard sale where I sold the contents of 9 trash bags filled with stuff we don't really need.  I'm trying to simplify the house as much as I can before we move, partially to make the process easier, but mostly just to make our lives easier.  I've got a lot of things packed up already and have a good start, but with two weeks to go, I'm going a little bit crazy.

Ben and Sam:  Have been having great fun as usual.  They did a great job in their Spanish immersion preschool which ended last month and will now proudly answer "Si!" to most of Zach's Spanish-spoken inquiries.  They are starting school next year and I'm pretty terrified of that, but they seem pretty cool with it, though they say they don't want to leave Charlotte for that long.  Oh, and they had their two bottom teeth pulled by the dentist the other day!  Take a look for yourself.  

Ben

Sam

Charlotte: The sweetest, cutest, most loved little girl probably ever.  She's keeping herself busy being ridiculously happy one minute and terribly upset the next.  She is walking and even running around all over the place.  She is very independent and will wander all over the playground by herself if I let her.  She's starting to say little words like Mom, Da (Dad), bir (bird), and that's all I can think of right now.  But what she really does to communicate is scream and sing.  She's learned the Star Wars theme, Harry Potter theme, Jingle Bells, an a few others.  She'll just go around singing to herself.  Ridiculously cute.   

Things we've done in the last few months

• Neighborhood Carnival
• Visit from Zach's family
• Trip up to San Fransisco
• Charlotte's Birthday
• Katie's Birthday
• Garden walks
• Yard Sale
• Lots of playing around and good times

And that's the update for now.  Hopefully I'll feel like updating on a more regular basis.  We'll see.  

Boy Talk

Sorry for the long hiatus. Here are some quotes from my almost six-year-olds to make up for it.

Sam: Charlotte has a vin in the vargant!
Katie: A vin in the vargant?
Sam: Uh-huh!
Katie: What does that mean?
Sam: I don't know. Mom, sometimes when you say something you don't know what it means.

(looking at a picture of a lady doing a crazy yoga position)
Katie: Wow! That's crazy!
Sam: No, that's awesome.

(When Sam was sharing bubble gum with Ben)
Ben: What?!? Pink?!?
Sam: Ya, that's the only color they come in. Just chew it and it tastes yummy. But after a while they don't taste yummy.

(While building with legos)
Ben: Mom, I'm gonna build something that blows your mind!

(While at the store)
Sam: Can we get that?
Me: Huh?
Sam: Can we get that?
Me: Umm... well...
Sam: Oh, Mom, another thing... Can we get that?

Zach: Uh-oh, someone left a bunch of candy on the floor. I'm gonna eat it. Munch, munch, munch!
Sam: Ah! Ben, go and save my candy!
Ben: No way. Go and save your own candy.

(While drawing)
Zach: How Should the zombie's mouth be?
Sam: It's open all the time, cause they say, "aaaaaahhh..."
Ben: Ya, zombies say "ahhh" all the time.

(After Zach said he was leaving to have fun at school)
Sam: Umm... Dad, you're a grown up now, and you're married. You don't have any school now. Well, no school where you have fun.

(About a little boy Sam was playing with at the playground)
Katie: How old was he?
Sam: Well, he was pretty little. He didn't speak human yet.

Sam: Mom, you'd better pull your pants up.
Katie: Why? Can you see my bum?
Sam: No, I can see half your underwear.

(About Charlotte)
Sam: She's like the best sister I ever had!

Charlotte's First Birthday

12 Months

 

- Charlotte weighs about 22 lbs.
- She is walking around like a crazy woman
- She has gotten very good at drinking out of a cup
- She has learned how to nod and answers yes to just about any question you ask her
- She has started taking bathes in the tub and loves splashing around in there
- She loves to bring us books to read to her

a maker of lists

So, the boys are five and a half now. It's ridiculous. And it occurred to me the other day, that they are definitely not babies or toddlers anymore. Next year they are going to be in school. At preschool their teacher has them self-evaluate their work. They put a sticker next to the best letter they've drawn, so they can look at the others and see their mistakes for themselves.

So, I've been using the same basic principle with the boys and cleaning up their room. Usually I say, "go clean up their room" and they wander up there and start playing and then ask me to come help and keep playing and I start getting upset and telling them I am not their maid and so forth and so on. It's a pretty slippery slope. So, a couple of weeks ago I wrote them a list with pictures of what they were supposed to do. I gave them the list with a set of boxes for them to check off and a set for me to check off. It looked something like this:



Except I think the first one was in Crayola marker. Anyway, they did it. They went down the list and checked everything off. It was amazing. Then I came in and checked off the list, noting a stray sock or book they missed that was taken care of before I checked it of.

We've done this several times since then, and it has always resulted in a clean room. Sometimes they play for a while first. Sometimes they get right to it, but it gets done. And I don't scream. They've taken to drawing a reward for their work that they would like (usually Wii time) and I'm fine with that. I'm keeping the lists pretty simple for now, but I think I'll slowly start adding things like vacuuming or dusting. Anyway, I just thought I would share this small victory. Because it is exciting for me.

Oh and here is a picture Sam took of me and Charlotte. I really need to sit up straight.

11 Months

- She loves blueberries, cheerios, bananas, peas, corn, craisins, guacamole and salsa (she likes these straight from the bowl, hold the chips)
- She usually takes two naps, but sometimes takes one really long one instead
- Charlotte loves to copy. Everything she sees us doing she wants to do too.
- She has a fascination with taking things out of boxes and them (often, but not always) putting them back in.





Have I mentioned these photo shoots are getting pretty hard? This time I used a handful of craisins to keep her in one spot. Much better.

Christmas in WA - 2011

We went up to Washington for Christmas this year. It was great! I didn't take very many pictures though, so I'm stealing all of these from Michael and Steph, who took some great pics. Thanks, guys! Here is just a glimpse into the awesomeness. Enjoy!

(So, because I'm lazy I didn't resize any of the pictures, so that is why you can't see all of them. Click on them and you will see the whole thing. Sorry, but it's taken me this long, if I wait to fix it it'll never happen.)



Ben and Sam watching Uncle Michael play on his computer



Charlotte on our Winter Walk. She wasn't nearly bundled up enough and she got pretty cold by the end. But, isn't she a cutie?



Aunt Steph and Charlotte playing on the playground.



Sam running on the playground.



Sweet Charlotte



Charlotte looking cute and festive





Ben and Sam opening up their stockings! Hurray!



Ben playing with one of his new toys (I think it's a Ninjago?)



Zach and the boys putting together their new lego cars. This is Zach's favorite part of Christmas, by the way.



Sam got so excited every time he opened up a Ninjago.



Every time he said, "This is what I've always wanted!" Here he is saying that.



The Cousins. These photos are really hard to get. But there wasn't nearly as much complaining as when we took...



...this one. On a side note, the boys took to wearing their pajamas as shirts while we were in Washington. I'm not sure why. They've stopped now.



The day after Christmas/Steph's b-day we went up to see Granpa Great a.k.a. Zach's Grandpa. Zach and the boys shot guns. Charlotte and I stayed inside where it was warm.



Ben showing a leaf with a hole shot in it.