Play Half A Game For A Whole Snow Cone

Dress Up

2012-02-01T08:30:00.001-07:00

The other day we watched Zoey and Zaylor for the night. Zoey had a good time with Adele and playing dress up all night. Here's one of the fabulous outfits they found.

Way Late for Church

2012-01-29T09:20:00.001-07:00

This is how Sunday is going for us, so far.

Dancing at the Mall

2012-01-10T10:09:00.001-07:00

We went to the mall and a song was playing in one of the stores...Adele approved of the music choice.

"Sword Fight"

2012-01-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

What can you do with used wrapping paper rolls?

Christmas Time 2011

2012-01-07T23:59:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah! I have a blog!

It's been a while so this will be one big long November - Christmas post.

Also, how cute is Elsa cuddling her kitty-cat?

And how cute is Elsa when she treats her 1 1/2 year old brother like a tiny baby?
My girls:
We got passes to the community center, so we get to swim year round inside. So far, we've been once!
And here is a shot of me, I took it to show Ryan my snazzy earrings. It was "wear your peacock earrings to work" day at my job. I work with several people who also own peacock earrings.
Benjamin made sure to get his rest as he geared up for the holiday chaos and stress.

Thanksgiving at the Robisons.
And right after Thanksgiving, we put up a tree. To hide behind.
She was not terrible interested in letting me take a picture of her.

Zoey donated an old play skirt to Adele, who wore it for about 72 hours before taking it off once. It's still her favorite thing to wear a month and a half later!
And as Christmas approached, we started baking. And as soon as my mixer comes out, my "helpers" hang close to lick them clean for me when I am done.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Giant lion invasion in the Dickens/turn of the century rural U.S. Christmas town!!!!

Shopping for last minute Christmas items. Can you find anything unusual about these clothing racks?
And finally, Santa came, and he brought a train track, and two trains.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2012-01-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

I got to spend the first seconds of the new year watching some beautiful people watching fireworks above town at midnight.

And then the first morning of the new year, Sunday, my beautiful daughter tried, as she has been trying for years, to drive me nuts.

Elsa Sue? Why on Earth won't you just let me take a picture of you without you making a face like a mentally disturbed gumball?

Anyway, picture her smiling like a normal person, and you can see the pretty dresses she and Adele got for Christmas.

Snow Day (California Style)

2012-01-07T15:23:00.006-07:00

It has been strangely not cold this year, for this time of year. Light jackets, coats on some days, but you are a little hot. It's like being home in Southern California almost!

Well if finally snowed today...just like it does in in the Mojave. It drizzled a bit of snow down, about an inch, that barely stuck, and only in some places. Then the sun came out.

So we did what Californians do when it snows. We rushed outside and played in it before it melted two hours later!

They went up and down the hill a good fifty times I am sure. On one run, Ben flipped out and landed face first in the snow. I thought he would scream, but Ry picked him up, Ben spit his mouth of snow out, and then the only yelling he did was at Ryan to put him back in the sled!!!

Halloween 2011

2012-01-07T15:00:00.005-07:00

I know it's a bit late, but for those of you who were on the edge of your seat wondering, we had a fun Halloween this year. (Did I already post these and forget? I don't see them....hmmmnnnn...)

This is my little group at work. My company does a "group costume" competition. My group was circus performers. This is our knife thrower, a belly dancer, snake charmer, and my boss. (Ha ha!)

Halloween night we went trick-or-treating in our friends the Toones's neighborhood. Adele and Paul are very good friends. Also, he gave her a ride from house to house. Which helped because trick-or-treating is exhausting!

These are Ryan's coworkers. I thought there costumes were pretty cool. They had munchkins too, but I can't seem to find those pictures.
And here is my handsome "hot girl jogging".

Click if you don't get it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFVpaQGltrI

You always wondered what Kid Rock was singing about, hu? He's a cowboy baby!

Benjamin Jackson

2011-11-28T19:15:00.001-07:00

Get it? Ben "Jamin" Jackson???

;)

All By Herself

2011-11-03T18:00:00.000-06:00

When Elsa was 'bout two, we used to frequent Chuck E. Cheese's.

She was too little to pull herself up the climby things until she and I, working together, figured out if she could get into a corner and use her bare feet to shove herself up, she could really go.

I used this to teach Adele to climb this gym the other day when we were at a Del Taco playground.

(Yes, Ryan is in THIS picture, but I traded places with him.)

See, after much coaxing I got her to stick her foot on the window to the side...
And use it to push!
I don't know if I was as proud of her as she was of herself.
It was much more difficult to get her out than it was to get her in!

Evening at a Farm

2011-11-03T17:53:00.000-06:00

There is a large local farm here that has family Halloween activities all through October. My work did an activity for the employees and family there earlier in October. I THOUGHT I posted these, but I can't see them so....

Dirt mini-mountain slide, the most fun you can have on a burlap sack!
They had these cars just around to play on.

And a baby goat just...wandering.

Oh and best of all, a tractor pulling a bunch of barrels made into farm animals! Homemade train!

Fifteen Minutes After Leaving Home

2011-11-02T17:49:00.000-06:00

We were clever enough to plan our departure to coincide with nap time. They stayed like this 3 1/2 of the 6 hour drive.

I am so good at parenting.

For REALZ!

Vegas, Baby!

2011-11-02T17:36:00.002-06:00

This is Las Vegas in October!

(In my uncle's back yard)

These are all out of order because I can't work Blogger. But, a few weeks ago, we went to Vegas for baby G, Emma's baby blessing. (Fine, her name is Gemma!)

While there, we did exciting things:

(She's better at saying "frog" now)

We went to the Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay casino. Way cool. Ben REALLY liked the jelly fish!

Elsa got some good shots of the scenery during the drive. She studied landscapes in school. This is a picture of a plateau she wants to show her teacher.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T23:08:00.001-06:00

The weekend before Halloween, we gals attended our second annual Witch Day.

My girls with their "Aunt Nini" (or "Dooween" if you ask Adele).
Resting from nearly 20 min of walking!

And me, with my ravishing little darlings. Halloween Night

My two little angels. (Stop laughing, they are too!)
Trick-or-treat!!!

Dad's office party. The other kids went from desk to desk filling their buckets with candy but not Benjamin, he got hold of one and figured he'd best run as fast and far as possible before it got taken away!

Dino Day

2011-11-01T17:18:00.002-06:00

About a month ago, Ryan and I noticed that we had a middle child.

We realized Deli doesn't get all the baby attention. We noticed we sometimes make a point of spending time with Elsa without "the babies" and that we naturally sometimes need to cart Ben around alone but this girl hasn't really had much time alone with the parents. And I figure there are only a few short years she would see time alone with the " 'rents" as a good thing.

So, as she is really into dinosaurs right now, and she roars at them whenever she sees a picture of one, we decided we better go see some "real" ones.

This is not a dinosaur, it is a shark. But, Adele will tell you, it is the scariest thing at the museum.

It's even scarier than possibly falling two stories I guess. (There were live fish swimming in the little stream below.)

If you have seen pictures of another little girl, who looks similar to this one, diggin' in this same dirt, feel free to get a little nostalgic and teary-eyed about the passing of time. I did.

She is such a fun girl. If you don't believe me, just ask her, she'll tell ya all about it.

Big Boy!

2011-10-26T10:16:00.001-06:00

He can sit at the table now, just like the big kids. Just...keep the food comin'!

Random Pictures

2011-09-26T14:47:00.001-06:00

Just some photos I've taken recently.

Ben Is Starting To Walk

2011-09-10T21:10:00.000-06:00

A couple of days ago, we couldn't get Ben to take a step. Now, he's doing this...

Looks like it is almost time to retire the stroller.

Night on the Town

2011-09-08T12:26:00.001-06:00

I sure like the way they prettied up the Riverwoods. We went to dinner there my birthday weekend and had lots of fun.

Oh also, the sidewalk shoots water now.

Does it get any better?

Let's Catch Up

2011-09-06T12:01:00.000-06:00

Although I have not posted for a while, I have gotten some cute, nay, adorable shots. Here are the highlights:

Adele still likes pacifiers. Kinda a lot. Is it possible to O.D. on binki?

We have not been to the mall much lately, what with the outdoors being so nice. But we made a trip the other night. Ben is really close to walking on his own (we hope and pray he is, anyway):

I was out shopping with the two little ones, killin' time until Costco opened. I noticed an all kids' haircut place and realized Ben was in need. So we popped in. He was reticent at first, but then they blew bubbles:

I wasn't going to do Adele, but they had a pink car she was pretty sure she NEEDED to sit down in:

Also, Ben has learned a new stroller trick. Don't try this at home folks, he's a professional:

Speakin' of shopping with the little ones, how on Earth did people manage before shopping carts were designed to seat multiple children?

This one seats up to four comfortably. The other day I was there and saw a mother actually pushing a cart filled to child-capacity. I thought I was frazzled!

Benjamin is learning to use crayons. We may have to hold off on Kindergarten for a bit....

A few weeks ago, both of my little ones were fevered and out of it, so we had a jammie and relax day:

We got plenty of fluids, and everyone recovered just fine:

Milkin' the Summer While it Lasts

2011-09-04T11:37:00.008-06:00

No need to worry, we bailed her out a few hours after this photo was taken.

Actually, the mini jail is just one of the exciting things you can see at Thanksgiving Point.

Saturday we packed some snacks, water, and babies on our bikes and rode them to Thanksgiving Point for some Summer-is-waning-but-we-are-not-letting-go-just-yet-fun!

We went to farm land where for a mere $5 you can pet a baby goat:

Throw oats to some ducks and pigs:

Moo at a cow:

(Yip, we did moo at it.)

And ride a pony! (Guess which part Adele liked best):

In the main plaza of Thanksgiving Point there is this contraption:

See the yellow levers? What you do is pull them, or stand near by while someone else pulls them and you may get a little mist of water, or nothing, or a giant splash from above, below, or the middle, or it may just shoot a stream, or explode and soak anyone in range. Think water Russian Roulette:

Benjamin is One Year Old

2011-07-17T03:00:00.001-06:00

July 17, 2010

July 2011

Birthday Eve Picnic

2011-07-16T23:59:00.001-06:00

I believe we are going to Delta for a grand birthday celebration for Harlie, Kix, and Ben.

(Hey, Robisons, why do you people like to be birthed or givin' birth in July so much????)

But, because his birthday is this weekend, we wanted to do a little weekend celebration of our boy, who we have had for about a year now. So, we made Saturday dinner a picnic!

Zoey was a good addition to the party, because she said "Happy Birthday" to Ben more than anyone did.

Despite her appearance in the picture, I swear there is nothing but fruit punch in that cup.

Presents and Cake

2011-07-16T23:18:00.007-06:00

After our picnic, we figured we needed a little dessert.

These were the cake decorators:
My little birthday boy:
His loot:

His own water bottle (with a pirate on it!) from his Elsa:

And a colorful caterpillar from his big sister Elsa too:

Some VERY exciting cars from Aunt Jann.

And Sueky brought the future rock star a guitar. (I don't know if Adele will let him play with it though.)

So, here is my usually hands-in-everything spazz-boy who is perpetually hungry being presented with a cake and told he may go to town on it.

He refused. He would not even taste it. He barely touched it (he was so tired I guess).

So we put him to bed, and we put the cake to good use:

If a Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words, Here are 7,000:

2011-07-16T22:23:00.002-06:00

Face Smash

2011-07-16T22:10:00.000-06:00

He's OK now, but...

Someone needs to tell Ben he has to use his hands when he crawls.
Cement and heads don't mix. :(

Independence Day

2011-07-05T10:16:00.003-06:00

Ben and Delie were pretty sick the first part of the weekend, and still recovering on the 4th, so we spent the holiday bumming around at home. This is something we need to do more of, it was very nice.

But, fittingly, 'cause it was Independence Day, my girls spent the day exerting theirs.

Adele can pull Benjamin in the wagon ALL BY HERSELF! NO HELP, IF YOU PLEASE!

She pulled him all the way to the park up the street. She even pulled him up the steep hill (maybe there was a little motor power assistance from Mommy behind the wagon for that part).

And then, *sniff*, my baby girl Elsa, who, it seems like yesterday, just learned to ride an itty-bitty pink two wheeler, hopped on my old mountain bike and rode it around like she owned it (she does now).
It does not seem like very long ago at all that I rode this very bike with her strapped into the tiny baby seat on the back of it. She used to kick me in the booty with her little toddler toes while I rode her around town.

Time goes so fast.

Well, at least Ben has consented to be my little baby "Benjamonkey" for a little bit longer.

Life Around the Robison Homestead

2011-06-24T13:19:00.004-06:00

EVERYONE does chores.

We go for rides.

There are tea parties,
good friends,
And, we make...

Adele Tacos!

Quality Time

2011-06-22T22:29:00.002-06:00

Adele snuggling with Bella. I'm not sure why the cat tolerates her, but she likes to hang around Adele for some reason.

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How To Watch A Movie

2011-06-21T21:21:00.001-06:00

We said Adele could watch a movie before going to bed. When we checked on her (hoping to find her asleep) this is how we saw her watching the movie.

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Status Update (See, Shai, on Facebook, when you just post something random, it's a "Status Update")

2011-05-14T10:34:00.005-06:00

The reason I had more children was obviously so that Elsa would have better stuff to stick in her doll bed.

A Shakey's Pizza opened in American Fork. We went so Shakey's so they could try Adele out. They thought she was pretty neat.
Every night, before bed, I sneak into the kids' rooms, so that the last thing I see every day is this:
And this:

Elsa's school had "Hawaiian Day" and she went to school lookin' like the cutest little blonde-haired, blue-eyed, pale-skinned, freckled-faced Polynesian there ever has been.

Ben Laughing

2011-05-11T21:58:00.000-06:00

There's one thing lately that will get Ben to stop whatever he's doing and just crack up.

I guess trains are so funny that they'll make you throw up a little.

Defending Herself

2011-05-11T14:55:00.002-06:00

I guess Adele was feeling a little boxed in and had to defend her turf:

She's very intimidating.

Easter Sunday

2011-04-24T22:19:00.006-06:00

Delie looked so pretty in her dress today, but she refused to hold still for more than a three second pose. Impossible to properly photograph a moving target, but here are my best efforts.

I said to go stand by Elsa, she hugged her and told her good-bye instead:
Then she insisted on pulling on her dress and pouting when I suggested she NOT pull on her dress.

So to make her happy, Daddy said, "I'm ganna get you." Of course, to her this sounded like, "Time to run away!"

My beautiful Elsa:
More attempts at getting Adele in a good shot:

I have no idea why this pose happened, but the wall was happy to get the support.
I thought we might have a chance at a good picture at church too. No luck.

C'est la vie.

Deltian Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-24T21:41:00.003-06:00

Or it it Delsian?

I dunno, anyway, here is what one looks like.
Adele helped Cade find lots of eggs, as she was worried he'd be sad if he did not get enough. At least I am pretty sure that is what was going on.
Pretty sure Oakley was doing something incredibly interesting.
Spoils of war.

Baby Boys Eatin Toys

2011-04-24T20:05:00.002-06:00

Zaylor and Ben...being too busy to talk to me.

Saturday in Delta

2011-04-24T19:37:00.005-06:00

We spent Saturday in Delta for fun, frolic, egg-huntin', cousin playin', delicious chicken eatin', etc. for Easter.

I am on a never ending quest to get a picture of all three of my kids together, with eyes open, looking at the camera, and, if it's not too much to ask, with smiles. We attempted a photo shoot in Nana's yard in Delta. This was that best we got.

I don't know if you can tell, but I have one kid who is a little harder to get to sit still than the others. Just a little...

I don't know what was down there, but it was pretty cool.

I felt a little bit like the paparazzi following three kids from behind who didn't know they were being photographed. But hey, you add the right sound track to this and you have the perfect ending to a sappy movie right?

Where Does that Boy Get His Handsome???

2011-04-17T10:55:00.000-06:00

Sicky Boy

2011-04-15T05:19:00.000-06:00

My Benjamonkey was sick this last weekend and part of the week. He had a high fever, runny eyes, and was generally miserable. He was extra cuddly though, you know, since he didn't want to move, talk, play, or be put down. He slept most of the time most days, and when he was awake, he just wanted to be held and not messed with.

So we just had to hold the little man. Elsa, who is on Spring Break, volunteered to handle most of the required holding on her own.

He came down with a fever Friday, and had a rough night Friday, Sat, then Sunday night I thought for sure I was going to lose him - he was burning up all night and I could not get him to drink. Then, Monday morning:

Superman 2 Was On

2011-04-10T21:44:00.001-06:00

Apparently it was a really good show.

Scary!

2011-04-09T21:39:00.000-06:00

Ryan turned on the vacuum which caused Ben, who was on the floor several feet away, to tremble, and Adele, who dove into the easy chair for safety when she saw him coming, to shudder and tear up. I picked Ben up and gestured to Adele, she held out her arms and I put him in them. They snuggled and both watched Dad vacuum with complete composure.

Ben the Almost Crawler

2011-04-08T21:35:00.000-06:00

He can get clear across the room though, he uses his toes to launch himself forward like a missile.

OK one more on Adele's Birthday

2011-04-07T21:32:00.004-06:00

Elsa came home so we had the cake and sang her the song and Elsa gave her this doll, which is now her always ready "Ashes" partner. She also got a car. She it really in to cars.

OK one more on Adele

2011-04-07T21:32:00.001-06:00

Dele's Second Birthday Review

2011-04-02T22:33:00.007-06:00

Saturday was my little Deller's birthday.

Elsa is not here this weekend so we are holding the cake and candles for Monday night when Elsa gets home. So Saturday we kept it casual, but she got a couple of presents.

Her Poppa Bob sent her some birthday money so I took her to the store to see what would strike her fancy. We tried out tricycles but she didn't like them. Then she saw one of these beauties and she informed me that we needed it at "home, home, home."

I think she must have one of these at her sitter's house because she knew just what to do:

Then, somehow, she actually fell off. I guess that is not so surprising, but how she landed in this position we will never know:

She also got to open the present her Aunt Jann sent her.

By the way, the answer to the question, "What is on your shirt?" is "A little white doggie!"

She also received a video singing telegram from a certain up and coming singing sister act out of Las Vegas.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you "The Brooks Triplets" (otherwise known as "Miss Tyda and the Crazies") in their cover of the Hill Sisters' 1893 hit song "Happy Birthday to You":

Adele enjoyed it. She played it over and over and after each time she said, "Mommy, again, 'gain!"

Adele is 2!!!

2011-04-02T21:57:00.001-06:00

April 2, 2009April 2, 2010
April 2, 2011

Disneyland Vacation Pictures

2011-03-31T21:57:00.016-06:00

We got back last night.

These are the pictures we got.

Ryan has a reasonable explanation for why he looks like this in the shot, but I think the picture is funnier if you don't know it so I won't tell you.

I think these two rode Space Mountain a gazillion times.

Adele is a fan of Toone Town. Mostly because it had places to just run around and touch things.

The "Bugs Life" section of California Adventure.

Elsa officially declared Big Thunder Mountain her favorite ride.

Adele made a similar declaration about the carousel, the Bug's life balloons, and the water sprinkler.

Prettiest princesses in the park and we knew it. Clearly.

Oh and Delie's OTHER favorite ride.

She was NOT a fan of the rabbit.

I got to ride Space Mountain once too.

Lady Bug swirly thingy.

This was the scene every night about 2 min after returning to the hotel.

Adele loved, loved, LOVED the pull out tray table on the plane. Way more exciting than anything she saw at Disneyland.

And on the van ride decided she was an ATM.

Also, she loves her new elephant. She calls him "Dummo".

The Mouseketeers

2011-03-29T18:34:00.001-06:00

Elsa and Adele hanging out.

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Indiana Jones

2011-03-28T10:58:00.001-06:00

In line for Indiana Jones.

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The Madhatter

2011-03-27T15:47:00.001-06:00

The first of many pictures.

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Location:Disneyland

☼ Dinner at the O'Robison's ☼

2011-03-21T11:04:00.004-06:00

I think St. Patrick's Day calls for a green family dinner. I would have liked to have some corned beef and cabbage too...but I was alone on that.

We ate green food and potatoes though, which is pretty Irish I guess.

Then, keeping with the theme, we got Ben drunk:

Sitting Up So Soon

2011-03-14T14:10:00.004-06:00

Adele is brilliant. She is sooooooooooo smart that sometimes I worry about her poor little brother who has to follow behind her in school.

Then again, it took Adele so long to sit up that we worried something was wrong with her. But, Ben is getting it down already. So maybe he'll be OK. Adele is still working on it a little.

(This was what she did moments after I informed her that we could not take the Mini Mouse bathing suit with us.)

A Place to Rest his Head

2011-03-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

Mix and Match

2011-03-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

Wanna guess who dresses Adele?

What's a little sister for if you can't dress her up just like you?

(You know, besides having someone who can get stuff across the room for you when you don't want to get up.)

A Boy and His....uh...

2011-02-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

Benjamin later stated, "I will never be satisfied with a dog now, Suckers!"

Elsa's Birthday

2011-02-26T18:37:00.009-07:00

What you see below is a little girl who is 8 years, 364 days, and 15 hours old. Or, as she would tell you, (and as she has been telling people for months now) "practically nine." But, she does not complete a year until 6:21 PM on Feb. 26th. This photo was taken this morning well before 6:21 PM.

She got a new haircut last night, and she is now sporting layers. I made her model them for the camera. (Note the eye roll. That is directed at me.)

And here she is modelling her birthday girl threads. (Hey 2011, 1985 called, it wants its style back!)

Zoey was kind enough to help with the picture taking. You can tell we had a couple of camera shy girlies at my place today, right?

Any one want to guess who came up with this one?

The Mayan restaurant threw Elsa a big bash. They had guys jumping off the ceiling today and everything.

And the cake was terrifying as you can see.

The cool end of the table.
The lighting in the Mayan isn't great for photos. Also, aren't photo orbs supposed to be ghosts. This one is probably a Mayan princess I imagine.
And we got a special visit from the Mayan cliff-diving tribesmen themselves.

*At the time of this post's publication, Elsa was 9 years, o days, 0 hours, and sixteen minutes old.

Stolen Bath

2011-02-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

I got the little tub ready for Ben. I bathe him in these sometimes. But he was not in the mood this night, he yelled at me for even trying actually, so I wrapped him up, turned my back, and...
Did you know that if you bathe in the living room you can watch cartoons while you wash your belly?

And yes, it took the carpet several hours to dry.

Poor Adele, for Some Reason, Ben Keeps Biting Her

2011-02-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

You Know What they Say....

2011-02-15T13:32:00.003-07:00

Before you walk, you gotta crawl!

And before you crawl, you gotta flail your legs around wildly and scream and hope this process propels you forward!

2011-02-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

Showing Little Bro the Ropes

2011-02-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

Now Ben, this is an iPhone, as soon as you see Mom or Dad, take this from them and push the buttons like this...

Try as I Might, I Cannot Keep My Children off the Floor

2011-02-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

Elsa was attempting to get her shoes on, Adele on the other hand, needed a place to rest.

My Baby Blue Eyes

2011-02-08T21:30:00.002-07:00

Reading Together

2011-02-06T22:14:00.002-07:00

So Elsa reads to Adele and Ben, and now Adele wants to read to Ben. The other day she grabbed a book, plunked down, and started to point to pictures and tell Ben what they were.

It might appear that she is holding the book upside down, but she was just trying to make sure he could see the pictures I think.

The Cool Crowd

2011-02-06T21:15:00.003-07:00

Dad and Ben watching the game.

No, seriously, Ben got REALLY into the game.

No, Seriously:

He sorta liked the half-time show too.

Do NOT ask what is in the cup.
(Just rootbeer...as far as you can prove anyway)

Adele's Birth Year Buddies

2011-02-03T14:53:00.003-07:00

What a difference a year makes. (Well it was a year and one month.)

December 2009: Kix, Harlie, Adele (Above) January 2011: Harlie, Kix, Adele (Below)

The Saddest Story EVER Told

2011-01-21T21:56:00.005-07:00

Elsa went to a birthday party at the skating rink, where she fell, and then got up and skated some more.

When I picked her up she said it really hurt. I called the after hours clinic and they said they could squeeze us in later, but we got home, she could move it, she never cried, and she could move it completely. I pushed on the area she said she hit, and she giggled and said, "ow..ha ha..ouch...he he" so I didn't take her in after all.

The next morning she said it hurt but not too bad. So I sent her to school.

When I picked her up that night, she said it hurt so bad it made her stomach hurt. SO, I took her in to the doctor. After an eval, the doctor put a splint on it and sent us to the hospital for x-rays. On the way over, Elsa said (while hopping up and down as if she had no cares in the world, throwing her possibly broken are up and down) "I hope it's broken so I can get a cast. I hope it's broken, I hope it's broken" and so on.

So when the doctor called to let us know the results of the x-ray, I asked, sarcastically over-dramatically, "Will she live, Doctor?" Only to hear an unamused doctor respond, "Actually her arm is broken."

Worst momma in the world, right here folks!

This pic below is Elsa after the doc splinted her (just in case) and before the news it was broken. She tried to force herself to look distressed and sorry she was hurt, but she could not keep the smiles and giggles down.
Doc said she could not do the cast in her office. She said that Elsa would need to see an orthopedic specialist to get the cast she needed for the kind of break she had. We had to wait a week. Seven full days of "I hope they have pink!" "People are going to sign it!" "So-and-so has a cast and it's soooo awesome!" "People with casts are the best people to ever walk the Earth and soon I will be one of them!" etc.

Still she tried to do stuff she shouldn't ought to, like carry Ben around, climb things she normally would not try to climb but feels the need to try now that she shouldn't, etc.

We compromised on the Ben thing. How could we not? After all he is 1/3 hers.
Then today, tragedy of tragedies! We waited over an hour to see the orthopedic doctor and in less than five minutes, he dashed her dreams.

NO CAST! He said the break was straight and the cast could actually cause something in there to fuse to something else in her arm as she grows and that she should just keep the sling on and get x-rays again in a few weeks.

She was a trooper, holding back the tears of disappointment as we left the office. From which we went directly to the craft store, bought some diamonds, and flowers, and made the best of things:

You know how usually you carry a purse on your arm? Well now she carries her arm in a cute little purse.

Think it Might Be Time to Feed This Kid?

2011-01-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

You Were Right Adele, Our Big Sister is The Funniest Person EVER!

2011-01-12T22:26:00.001-07:00

Ganna Share Daddy?

2011-01-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

Benjamin likes to ride Ryan. On weekends and evenings, Ryan's gotta strap on the Daddy Saddle (the baby carrier) and wear him for an hour or two to keep him happy. It's the ONLY way to keep him happy some days.

Ryan's gotten used to the routine of wearing the baby and going about his business - which at baby wearing time is usually the business of watching T.V.

That's what he is doing in this picture, he's watching the T.V. and apparently there was an exciting moment, which captivated Ryan so that he forgot to take his next bite. Benjamin was captivated by something else.

Elsa's Baby

2011-01-09T22:06:00.001-07:00

After we had Adele, Elsa begged me to have one more. She said if I would just have one, she would take care of "it" and it could be her baby and she would take care of it and I wouldn't have to do anything.

I told her the other day that she, Ryan, and I can split Ben three ways. She was SOOOOO excited! She takes her 1/3 of ownership of her brother VERY seriously. The other morning she insisted he was hers and wouldn't let me near him, even though he was fussy. After some floor pacing, and some rocking, she got our baby to sleep.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T11:25:00.002-07:00

I learned a long time ago that there is no magic in January that makes me better at being thinner, smarter, nicer, or more productive. So, all year, I just plug along delegating the energy and time I have to what’s most important to me as I go.

I like to make my New Year’s Resolutions like I choose my sports teams; I pick my pony after the fact, cheer on whomever has already won, and woo hoo! Total satisfaction every time!

So here they are, my resolutions for 2010:

Number one: Spend about 1/3 of the year letting other people clean my house, care for my kids, and make my meals while I sit in bed.

Number two: Survive at least two near death experiences.

Number three: Add a few gray hairs to the heads of both my mother and grandmother.

Number four: Get Elsa to her eight birthday, and Adele to her first without major injury to either party.

Number five: Laugh with my husband/best friend at least one thousand times.

Number five: Have anesthesia administered, and undergo the first incision of surgery within the same 90 second time span.

Number six: Get our baby boy here still breathing.

Number seven: Become the world class master of the soft-bake chocolate chip cookie.

For 2010 I am Check, Check, Check, Check, Over-achieved, Thank Heaven-Yes!, and barely managed but it counts for the win, and hands- down- no-argument true dat!

Clearly, it’s far too early to predict what my resolutions will be for 2011. Here are a few on my wish list:

· Read to my kids enough that when they are grown up, certain books feel to them like a part of their childhood they can take with them to their own children

· Have a clean house, warm dinner, and set table ready every Sunday night when Elsa gets home from visiting Paul for the weekend

· Laugh 2000 times with my best friend, again

· Take Adele to the Tiki-Tiki-Tiki-Tiki-Tiki Room ♪

· Teach my girls how to take a wave without washing out to sea

· Dance with my babies every day

· Hear Benjamin’s laugh every day

· Get a flu shot (What? Their important!)

· Tell Elsa to keep up with me this spring while we hike up to one of the most unique and beautiful places on the planet. (I love Delicate Arch and ever since I first hiked up there, I have been waiting for her to get old enough to come with me.)

· Stay in a raft that’s navigating at least class three rapids

· Take roller skates off of our blistered feet at least 20 times before next year

It's in the Genes

2010-12-29T19:08:00.001-07:00

You know those kids you see at the Skating Rink that are just itty-bitty but they go whizzing by you doing tricks at speeds you think should be illegal without a licence? And you think, "how does someone that small stay upright let alone skate circles around us regular Schmoes?"

Well...give her three weeks:

This was her apprehensive face before we went out there. This was her first time on wheels and she was nervous. The nerves lasted until about three seconds after her skates hit the floor. In the event of a couples' skate, it's always good to have a sister. Just don't say the "G" word (as in "Go" as in "time to...") she hates that.
My grandparents met at a skating rink, my cousins and I grew up at one, and I will admit to an occasional disco-skate night still. So I guess this is just kind-of in my kids' blood.

Yes, my girls DO skate upside down.

Adele is still working on one little skill. She stays up pretty good, but getting up is a whole other story.

Stomp! (Toddler Style)

2010-12-28T14:35:00.002-07:00

I know it's a generally acknowledged fact that I simply and absolutely hate to boast about my children, but I have to say that if the producers of Stomp! should chance to see the video below, I would more than likely be contacted about allowing her to join the cast.

The Wiggles are ganna be sorry they let this little gold mine of talent slip through their woddly-poddly fingers.

Puddin'tain

2010-12-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

We're still finding chocolate in strange places.

The Spoils

2010-12-26T13:38:00.005-07:00

Wanna confuse a one-and-a-half -year-old?

Wrap some boxes in pretty papers, put them under a sparkling tree and tell the child, "don't touch."

Then, one day, allow her to rip all the boxes apart and keep whatever she finds inside. Do this after giving her a sock full of chocolate.
She is now under the impression that Christmas is pretty cool.
She got a pretty exciting toy kitchen, which she spends a good amount of time "cooking" in. She then brings us plastic dishes full of the imaginary food she has prepared and warns us that, in a word, it's "hooooooooooooooot." It also came with an imaginary phone, and the imaginary phone bill is likely to be astronomical she has called so many people on it already.
Ben was less confused. I think he found the whole thing kind of annoying actually, as it disrupted his routine. However, he found a few things to put in his mouth, which is always good.

Elsa is now the proud owner of a robotic penguin (because Santa was fresh out of robo-horses you can ride and feed, like she asked for, as well as out of robots who clean rooms and teach classes, I guess Santa's Elves had a slow production year).

And the three of them are co-owners of this new sweet ride. Here is footage of its maiden voyage:

Don't worry, Benjamin was not on-board. He will probably opt to wait on riding till he's mastered sitting-up solo, and if he's like Adele, that could be another six months.

You Don't Got Elves?

2010-12-23T23:29:00.000-07:00

Well, then you probably don't got Christmas.

2010-12-21T23:43:00.000-07:00

Little Mommies

2010-12-19T23:13:00.000-07:00

Gosh I am lucky. Elsa has adored Adele since the day she was born, and Adele thinks Elsa is so super-cool and lights up when she sees her. And Elsa just swoons for Ben, and when Adele sees Ben she squeals and demands to be allowed to kiss him. And when Benjamin sees either of his sisters he grins and follows them with his eyes and kicks with total delight. My kids all love one another so much and they will never ever fight and it will stay like this forever and ever, right?

My first little girl was doll crazy. But my second can take em' or leave 'em--mostly leave 'em.

But Elsa got this doll out of the basement. It laughs, cries, wiggles its legs and Elsa also brought up a stroller for the doll and a pacifier and she gave them all to Adele. Adele LOVES this baby (sometimes) and loves pushing a stroller.

Elsa's interests have evolved from dolls to actual babies. The second I put Benjamin down, Elsa swoops in and steals him.

The other night, Elsa got down on the floor and started to read to him. This made him smile. So she kept going, and he kept smiling. He looked intently at the book too. This went on for about 40-50 min, which is the equivalent of a long weekend when you convert that into parent-of-an-infant years.

Please disregard the over-turned stroller and the discarded baby-doll in the image above.

The Christmas Tree Decorating Process

2010-12-17T22:45:00.008-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I decided I had better get the Christmas stuff out. I brought the boxes upstairs and left them sitting for a few minutes before my helpful, helpful child decided to check things out. She dug into the box of ornaments and began laying them out along the top of my box...the one that contained the Christmas tree. See the problem?

Nor did she.

Ryan and I put the ornaments on the floor and got the tree up and then Adele took charge. She caught on quickly that the "pretties" go on the tree. And she designed a process for getting them there. We each had our tasks and NOBODY was to deviate from his or her assigned role.

I was the ornament lay-er-out-er. It was my job to pull each one out of the box, attach a hook, and put it on the floor in an orderly manner.
Adele was the transporter. You can guess what she did. She could carry up to two at a time. (Don't you dare try to hang three or more off her finger for her, she CANNOT do more than two and you are a horrible person if you try to make her.)
And Dad was really mostly in charge of design of the upper level. Adele had the lower level covered. Her philosophy is that the ornaments look best if you hang them all in the exact same branch.

About once a day since we have gotten the tree up, Adele leads me into the parlor (yes, it IS a parlor people!) and points to the tree. Then she says, "a babla lob lob ta da ba ta boggie sur deeeee." She grins and laughs as she says this, so I try not to disagree with her. She is pretty proud of her work.

Merry Christmas?

2010-12-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't intend to take them to Santa, so they were not dolled up for the occasion. But, we were walking by on a Friday night, a week before Christmas, and there was not a line.

Ben and Zaylor (Maybe I will just start calling them "the Scotts")

2010-12-13T21:22:00.006-07:00

Pssst. Come here.

Wanna see something scary?

Look:

No! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

OK stop panicking. We didn't have another kid since the last time you saw us. This is Benjamin's cousin Zaylor. He and his sister Zoey came to hang out tonight.

He makes my teeny-tiny, fragile, little bitty Benny look so huge! (They are about 3 months apart.)

They talked a bit, discovered they had similar interests (bottles, pacifiers, older sisters, and middle of the night parties) and then...

The socialization wiped them both out.

Adele's New Favorite Activity

2010-12-02T10:40:00.002-07:00

She has started spinning in circles for the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure why, but apparently it's a blast. She also likes to pretend that she falls down.

My Kid, and Paradise's Kid

2010-12-01T22:36:00.002-07:00

The future has arrived.

Day at the Aquarium

2010-11-30T22:39:00.000-07:00

Daddy Wrangler!

2010-11-29T23:26:00.002-07:00

Cattle rustler or bounty hunter?

Rodeo or circus performer?

Masseuse or flee remover?

"The Gray Outfit"

2010-11-29T23:14:00.002-07:00

My mom sent me a little gray long-john looking suit for Elsa when she was born. It was/is one of my favorites.

This is Elsa wearing it when she was a couple of months old. And this is Adele, at six weeks. Complete with hat. Uh...I don't think this was her favorite one though.
And this is Benjamin wearing it. We machoed it up a bit for him, and as we all know, nothing says macho like a blue rhino.

Chillaxing

2010-11-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

Oh don't worry, she asked first. Seriously, she held up Dad's phone, and pointed at the swing, and I said "Oh sure" so she crawled in and stared up her game. She also turned on the music and lights, cause that's the only way to swing.

That's My Boy

2010-11-15T20:33:00.002-07:00

He never sits anywhere for more than 10 minutes without having a meltdown unless you pick him up and walk around with him. So, I was more than ecstatic when he was sitting still for more than an hour without crying. On the contrary, he was quite happy.

That, in itself, is reason enough to be happy. But it's what made him happy for so long that made me so proud.

That's right! He was happy watching the Broncos crush the Chiefs.

That's my boy!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Slumber Party

2010-11-15T12:05:00.002-07:00

The other night, Elsa got into Adele's crib with her. "The nerve of some people," declared Adele, and she squealed and pushed on Elsa with all her might trying to throw her out. I was surprised, Adele is awfully social so I thought she would enjoy the company. I guess the only thing she is more than social is territorial.

I told disappointed Elsa that they could have a slumber party in the spare room that weekend, and me being a woman of my word (and Elsa never forgetting ANYTHING EVER) I let them pull out the sleeping bags last Friday night. This was how I found them about an hour after bed time:

And this is how I found them early the next morning:

Then, later, I cleaned the house, cross my heart and swear it!

Mr. Mom

2010-11-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

One of the many things Ry does that I love is get up early weekend mornings and keep the kids happy (as happy as possible) for an hour or two while I catch up on sleep. (I do deserve it after all.)

This is what I came downstairs to this morning. It would be hard for me to pick which of these people I am most in love with.

Guy Smiley (More or Less)

2010-11-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

On the rare occasion when his belly is both full and calm, this is his usual reaction.

P.S. There is nothing wrong with Tinker Bell for boys so shut-up!

Intense moment in the game!

Well He Agrees With Adele! Elsa is the MOST HILARIOUS PERSON OF ALL TIME!!!!

2010-11-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

Adele and Benjamin - Chillin'

2010-11-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

I Wear My Sunglasses At Night…and When I'm Sick

2010-11-07T22:40:00.002-07:00

I stayed home with Adele the day after she went to the hospital. I gave her some sunglasses and she wore them for a very long time. This also included an afternoon snack.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Super Swell Adele

2010-11-07T00:41:00.000-06:00

I have no clue where she gets it.

One More Trick

2010-11-01T11:49:00.004-06:00

As you may have been able to tell from the last 7 million posts, we have had tons of Halloween fun this year, so by Sunday, the actual day of Halloween, I thought we were partied clean out.

But there was one last scare. Adele was a bit "out of it" for the festivities on Saturday. And then all day Sunday she was sleepy, and feverish. She would not eat, and sat on the couch looking lethargically at movies for 6 hours. Despite doses of Tylenol and Motrin, her fever was riding somewhere around 101-103 ish and, about 8:30 PM, it hit 105.

I took her into the ER, where this guy, who said he was a doctor, ordered a throat swab to check for strep, a chest x-ray, and some other fun tests. The test were performed by a nurse with pink crimped hair in a side pony-tail, Debbie Gibson style, and a guy with David Bowie hair and an arm full of fake tattoos. The entire ER staff was dressed as though the 80's had returned from the dead.

Tests showed that Adele had really elevated white blood cell counts which they told me meant she was fighting off a "super gnarly" infection. She had some gunk in her chest x-rays, an ear infection, which he said were both little infections, but her kidneys were badly infected.

So, a man in a Led Zeppelin shirt and corresponding hair-do came in and gave my poor baby an IV. Debbie Gibson nurse administered a Popsicle and a pacifier (which now has teeth marks in it as it was given to her just before they did the IV). The Popsicle was rejected.
We got home early in the morning, and Adele is taking an oral antibiotic, fever/pain reducers, and sleeping like a log.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It was a dark and stormy night...

2010-10-30T20:24:00.002-06:00

So we trick-or-treated at the mall instead.

Glinda the Good Witch (of North Lehi)

2010-10-29T21:53:00.010-06:00

I don't want to brag, but the best good witch there is lives at my house.

And she sparkles!

And the Munchkins love her.

Quick, guess which witch is which!

Oh, and P.S. :

Coming to Take Her Away

2010-10-28T20:42:00.000-06:00