Rub a Dub Dub

Isaac loves baths.  He asks for them constantly.  I once told him it wasn't bathtime, and he grabbed a handful of yogurt, rubbed it in his hair, and sweetly asked again, "Bath?"  

 

Today in the tub he was happily playing with cups and other things to dump water with, and I realized I don't have any video of him playing in his favorite place on Earth.  So, here's a bunch of videos of him happily splashing away . . . 

Indoor Soccer -- i.e. herding small children by use of a soft, yellow ball

I'm pretty behind on getting pictures off my camera -- but behold, less than one hour before our next Indoor Soccer game, I have pictures from last week's game online!

Ellie was SUPER enthusiastic about it during warm up and during the first part of the game.

 Then, much to all of our surprise, Ellie came running to the sidelines and sobbed that she wanted her Mom.  Um, I may have expected something like this from Annie at this age, but never Ellie.  We finally got her to agree to go back on the 'field' with her big sister.  For about a minute, then she sat on the sidelines (but with her team -- if she came to sit with me, it was time to go home and there would be no team snack.  The frivolous calories were enough to keep her on the sidelines by her coach -- while holding big sister's hand, of course.)  It will be interesting to see how this week goes.

 

(Edited to add: this week did not go any better.  In fact, she started crying as soon as we got there, and basically didn't stop.  She sat on Greg's lap on the sidelines most of the time.  It was, um, interesting.  I am still at a loss -- how is it that my spunky, fiesty, never-stops, outgoing, crazy kid is the one who sits out entire games with tears running down her face.  Weird.)

I missed Annie's game, as it was during a VERY grumpy one year old's nap time . . . but from what I've heard, there was no crying, and enthusiastic chasing of the ball among a large mass of children, along with several ballerina twirls up and down the length of the field.  She was much happier to be a part of the game.

 Victory dance?  :-)

Latest Pictures

So, I'm playing catch up on my pictures.

A few weeks ago, we went to our Ward's talent show, which was a lot of fun.  But the best part, especially according to the kids, was running around on the stage afterwards.  They could not possibly have had more fun!

Then the biggest thing that's happened around here, was the birth of my newest niece, Bailey.  The girls had just finished their first indoor soccer practice when it was time to go meet the new baby.

 Isaac was not so sure how he felt about this whole baby thing.

 Man, I love this kid!

 Ellie wanted to try swaddling Annie up in a blanket, like baby Bailey was swaddled.

Then this Monday night we went to my Mom & Dad's house for Family Home Evening, where we carved pumpkins, made 'bloody eyeballs' (powdered sugar donuts with a red life saver in the middle, and red frosting blood shot lines), and tried on random Halloween costumes.

Here's Ellie as a pumpkin.

The girls got to try on some of their Uncle Cody's old costumes.

Ellie and Annie as roman soldiers..

 Annie as a cavewoman and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

 Isaac checking out baby Bailey.  And pretty little Bailey on my lap.

 Isaac liked the caveman bone -- mainly to hit things with.  Good news, he only hit the one week old baby one time.  This bodes really well for our household in another 10 weeks or so.  :-)

Happy Birthday Connor!

My oldest nephew, Connor, turns five today!

The girls could not be more excited for his birthday, even if he is several states away.   They happily made videos for him this morning (Annie practically cut her phone call off with him this morning so she could get back to video making).  :-)

(Also, Annie's eye is all red and puffy due to some kind of allergic reaction to something this morning.  We're not sure what it was, but it's really bugging her, the poor thing.  Benadryl and allergy eye drops both on board, and hopefully it looks better soon, or we may just be heading in to the doctor's office.  It has been almost two weeks since we were there last, so it kinda makes sense . . . )

(I apologize for the craptacular video quality -- my normal camera is at my sister's house, and we attempted to just get by this morning using my old Mac's PhotoBooth.  It kinda worked :-).)

Happy Birthday Connor!

We wish we were there with you today!

My Recent Life in Bullet Points

•  I need to write all about being a part of the support team for my new niece's birth.  Sixty hours after my sister was transported to the hospital via ambulance, and 48 hours after the induction was born, little Bailey was born happy and healthy (and stubborn) and it was one of the most amazing things I've ever been a part of . . . more details to follow.  I love my sister more than words can say, but my respect, admiration and feelings of tenderness toward her have quadrupled over the past week.  She's a rockstar.  The most impressive person I know. 

•  We are on week 2 of Ellie's potty training strike.  Yesterday showed some real promise though, so who knows, maybe it's over?  Almost.  PLEASE.

•  For the last several days, Isaac has been alternating between calling Greg "Dada" and "Daddy".  Then, last night (when he woke up at 4:30AM wanting to play), he almost tricked me into getting up with him with his happy calls of, "Mommy!  Mommy!"  Seriously, the kid has already graduated from 'Mama and Dad' to 'Mommy and Daddy' . . . how is that possible?!  He was born, like, yesterday!

•  Annie had her first report card, book fair and Parent Teachers Conference.  Holy cow, she's growing up fast.  And she's such an impressive little girl.  And going to the book fair brought back some of my fondest Elementary School memories.

•  Greg and I attended the parents meeting for the ALPS program (the magnet school for gifted students).  We both left with a very similar feeling of -- what a cool program, but not for our daughter.  Not yet, at least.  Annie's happy in a mainstream school, she's not lacking for social or fun opportunities, and as long as she's not getting bored or having issues with school, we want to keep her where she's at.  Later on, if she's still ahead (since a majority of kids, even those who are 'far' ahead, often even out within a few years), and needs something different, then we'll look into it.  I'm glad there is a program like it, I just wish they did more at the individual schools.  It seemed to us that the ALPS program wasn't just for kids who were smart, but kids who really 'need' something different.  We don't think Annie does yet.

•   Ellie has more personality and spunk than any kid I've ever met.  Her and Annie were learning a Halloween song about a witch in their dance class.  They both get up and sing and dance along to it adorably, but Ellie might as well be in full-on make up and costume for the play "Wicked" by how much she puts into it.  Her facial expressions are pretty much the most hilarious thing ever.  Her and Annie start indoor soccer today, and I can't wait to see how her enthusiasm plays out . . .

• I am in my third trimester now.  At my appointment yesterday they told me to come in again in three weeks, and it really hit me that we're closing in on this if I'm coming more often for appointment now!  I also just weaned Isaac this week (probably 'cause I was at the hospital with my sister more often than not!)  I never thought I'd nurse clear until my third trimester (as I weaned both girls during the first trimester of pregnancy), but I was really surprised just how easy nursing during the pregnancy has been.  He was only nursing once a day, for a little while now, so it didn't 'take much out of me', and I can already tell I'm gonna miss it, but it's a bit of a relief to have that off my plate before the new baby comes.  I will miss our snuggly mornings though -- nothing beats putting off the day an extra 15 minutes by curling up under the covers with the baby and ignoring the world for just a little bit longer . . . now he wakes up and just asks for 'Melmo!'  (That kid LOVES Elmo.)

Potty Training Regression (also known as: What the heck?!?!)

In the past four days, Ellie has pooped in her panties a whopping 7 times.  You have GOT to be freaking kidding me.  The first one or two we tried not to make a huge deal of, or put to much focus on.  Everyone in the family had the stomach flu except Ellie (I lost an impressive 6.5 pounds in 24 hours . . . it was just that fun of an illness.)  Maybe she was feeling a bit lost in shuffle.  But things have returned to normal, but the accident situation has most definitely not.  We've tried to be consistent.  We've made her help clean up, explained how she needs to get to a potty quicker, but she's shrugged it all off with a "I don't care" every single time.  We've increased the consequences.  Friends have gone home (Annie has got to leave with them), naps have been taken, time outs have been instituted, extra chores have been added (to earn the money to replace the pairs of panties that I have just thrown away, 'cause I'm pregnant and there is only so much I'm willing to do to save a pair of underwear), and Annie has got to go out while Ellie's had to stay in after yet another accident.  I've laid out the consequences ahead of time, and when she's had another accident I've followed through.  She seems completely unfazed and completely unaffected by the whole situation.  She is obviously making absolutely no effort whatsoever to use the toilet, and seems to have no intention too.  How exactly does one get through such a situation with their sanity intact?

Seriously, y'all . . . hit me up with your potty training wisdom.  What have you done when your child has regressed at potty training?  Please tell me it didn't last forever. 

At least we're all feeling better.  This would've been a lot worse if this was going on when we were all so sick.  Of course, I'm still tired and drained (which is making it harder to stay patient with the whole potty situation), but really, that is pretty much Ellie's fault too.  The kid likes to wake up 4-5 times a night lately. She's teamed up with Isaac though, he wakes up 2-3 times, and that way they can cover an entire 8 hour night of potential sleep, breaking it conveniently into short hour long bursts of sleep for Mom and Dad.  All night long.  The first night I wasn't puking all night, I was woken up at least 7 times.  That really helps you feel well on your way to recovery, let me tell you. Is it bad if I literally start having actual thoughts of, "I think my children may actually be out to get me . . . "  That seems unhealthy.  Possibly a bit unbalanced.  But man, when Isaac's waking up at 4:30AM for the morning and Ellie's following an hour later, then between them I'm cleaning up multiple blown out diapers, multiple poopy panties, and rinsing out the tub with bleach and hot water for the SECOND time after it's been pooped in, all in one day, THEN they both blow off naps (despite Isaac waking up at 4:30AM, I mentioned that, right?!) . . . well then, it just seems like a big ol' conspiracy to drive Mom crazy (using mainly human waste, with a side of sleep deprivation, as their main weapons.)

In my fondest dream, I would sleep 8 straight hours, and wake up at 7:00AM.  And nobody would poop on me all day.  Ahhh, heaven.

School Picture

We got Annie's first ever 'School Picture' back today -- turned out pretty cute, although it would've been nice if they'd made her smile a bit more for it :-)
I may be biased, but she's one cute little Kindergartener!

Update-ish

I have nothing new to add to the blog . . . no stories or anything.  I just felt like I haven't updated in awhile. Life is just moving along, the kids are having fun in school (Kindergarten for Annie and Preschool for Ellie) and Isaac is talking up a storm (he happily squeals, 'Moothie!' everytime he hears me turn on the blender to make spinach smoothies in the morning.  Today he asked me for a 'cah-cka' (cracker), then started to walk to his highchair, turned and added, 'an nana' (and banana).  He knows how to get what he wants.)

I'm increasingly pregnant every day (as that is how these things tend to work), coming up on 26 weeks (holy cow . . . I'm already closing in on my third trimester!)  I feel large and uncomfortable some of time, and perfectly normal other times.  I feel especially old and falling-apartish when I wake up at three a.m., and hobble into the bathroom with a hand pressing firmly into my hips . . . I'm only 26 weeks!  It does not seem like I should be having a hard time walking yet!  Fortunately, this only happens after I've been sleeping on one side for half the night.  The rest of the time I can walk fairly normally.  Sometimes even with 20 lbs. of toddler on one hip, and 30 lbs. of preschooler on the other hip.  (At this point, both are usually screaming and flailing, so it feels like even more).  I'm wondering how long that'll be a possibility.  :-)  In fact, just going up and down the stairs with Isaac multiple times a day makes me wonder, "Um, should we be working more on him going down stairs on his own, in case I hit a point in pregnancy where I just can't do this anymore."


I've started volunteering in Annie's classroom, which is fun.  I'm planning the Halloween classroom 'activity' (apparently, we aren't supposed to call them parties).  Any fun suggestions that you've done?  Or remember super fondly from your own Elementary School days?
Also, if anyone's had any experience with the ALPS program or any magnet schools in your own area, let me know what you think of it . . . is it worth taking your kid away from all their friends and driving much further multiple times a day to get them there?  Especially if you have three other kids in carseats!?!

Mommy Martyr Moments

There are some weeks you just feel dumped on.  I had one such week a couple weeks ago, when Isaac was eating even more nonstop than normal (so I felt like I was preparing, feeding or cleaning up food all our waking hours), and the unfortunate bi-product of such an appetite was an astounding number of diapers that had to be changed.  And, since he is self-feeding most meals, we are giving him lots of baths.  And for a solid week, the kid pooped in the bathtub once TO TWICE A DAY.  Every day.  For a week.  (And three or four times on the bathroom floor.  This is on top of the many diapers I was changing.  Usually right before I even put him in the stupid tub).  I went through more bleach that week that I normally do in six months . . .

I was feeling a bit 'woe-is-me-ish,' a tad like I was stuck in a poop-filled Groundhogs Day that was leaving me feeling oddly, well, picked on.  Which is silly.  I chose the life of being a Mommy, I relish it, I'm thankful for it, it's a huge blessing and wonderful opportunity that I cherish.  But cleaning up human bodily fluids and waste for hours a day does a number on you.  And despite it being crazy, it was starting to feel like they were doing this on purpose (like right after Isaac pooped in the tub, Ellie would come in and sheepishly inform me she'd just had an accident on the carpet in the hall.  The carpet I had SHAMPOOED TWO DAYS BEFORE.)  But I snapped out of it, and life went back to normal amounts of food (which is still a ton for my tiny son, the kid ears nearly nonstop) and slightly more appropriate levels of human waste being dealt with in our home.  And I got over my feelings of 'you have got to be kidding me/is this really my life?' that had been plaguing me for a few days, and things felt good again.

Then Ellie started coughing at night.  She's fine all day.  Happy, playful, energetic, and snot- and cough-free.  Not the least bit sick. Then she falls asleep, and a couple hours later, she starts to cough.  And cough, and cough so hard that she starts to throw up.  And throw up.  And throw up some more.  I've done 6 loads of laundry in the last three days, just to keep up on the backlog of blankets/stuffed animals/pillows/towels/pajamas that she's puked on.  It's most likely asthma, which is a bit depressing to me.  Annie has this happen too, she's fine all day, then at night she starts to cough and will continue to cough until it makes her throw up.  But, with Annie this usually doesn't happen until the weather is cold.  We start her preventative inhalers twice a day sometime in October, and tend to keep using them until March, then the rest of the year she doesn't needs them.  We're getting Ellie into a doctor soon, and hopefully we'll have some answers, but since the most likely answer is a steroid inhaler, I'm not too happy about it.  The other night she woke up more times than I can count, and started throwing up repeatedly on five different occasions.  Last night, it was fortunately only twice that she had puking fits, but it was after midnight before we got everyone back in bed, since she was so happily wired to be awake and running around after I'd cleaned her up when she threw up at 10:30.  I finally fell asleep around 1AM.  A third night of being up late and waking up repeatedly with a coughing child, so I was tired, and really sad that it was already 1AM.  Then (and here's where I admit to feeling picked on, even though it's silly, 'cause it's not like there's an actual plot against my by conspiring children) Isaac woke up at 5:30 this morning.  I was struck with such an overwhelming feeling of, "You have got to be freaking kidding me?!"  I went in and took care of him, then we put him back to bed, hoping he'd (by some miracle) sleep again 'til 7AM.  It didn't happen.  He cried and fussed and yelled at me from his crib for most of an hour, before I finally admitted this wasn't gonna happen . . . then his sisters came wandering into my room at a quarter to seven.  I looked at Ellie, who we'd just gotten to sleep a mere 7 hours ago, and thought again, "You have got to be kidding me?!" And despite being so tired he can barely function, Isaac fought me to go down for a nap from 9AM (where he complicated matters by having a blow out diaper in his crib . . . yay!  More sheets to wash!), until 10:30AM, when I fed him a mid-morning snack and he finally fell asleep.

I am reminding myself today that motherhood isn't always easy, and it's often monotonous and less than fun when you focus on the jobs of changing diapers, washing dishes, doing laundry and cooking food.  So, it's time to focus not on the chores, but the blessings.  And I may be tired, beyond words to describe (being 24 weeks pregnant and hormonal are not helping any of this), but my children will only be this young for such a brief time.  They're growing and developing at such astounding rates that I feel like I could blink and miss it.  Life can be a bit overwhelming with three kids this young, and the reminder of one more on the way, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Isaac brought me a book today, and happily chattered, 'book, book!' while he opened it up to show me the animals.  "Woof!" he exclaimed as he pointed at the llama.  He loves to cuddle up and have me rub his back.  Annie and I spent almost an hour yesterday afternoon, curled up in my bed reading a book.  Ellie makes me laugh nearly constantly, and is coming up to me all the time now and asking for another page of 'homework'.  (Usually worksheets where she traces letters).  They are beyond amazing.

Yeah, if I focus on the lack of sleep, the poop in the tub and the endless kitchen chores, it gets overwhelming, and even a bit depressing.  So, I'm working on not focusing on that . . . although, a good night's sleep would go a long ways in helping me refocus :-)

So today, I'm gonna focus on this:

Could they possibly be ANY cuter?!

Utah State Fair 2011

We all met up with Aunt Talina and Uncle David at the Utah State Fair today.

The kids loved seeing the animals.  Isaac especially, he happily 'mooed' at the cows, tried repeatedly to stick his fingers into goats' mouths, and he squealed happily whenever he heard the roosters.  He also impressed us by busting out two new words, "Rooster" and "Feathers".  The bird building was a big hit.

Annie and Isaac happily checked out all the animals.  (Ellie's not in as many pictures, since for some reason she was in a less than happy mood.)

 He could not get close enough to the goats and sheep.

 Annie and Isaac thought the bunny rabbit was the softest thing ever, and two out of my three kids were happy to pose as bears in the cutouts.

 Isaac checking out the Bison head with some help from Uncle David.

Annie measuring up to bears.

 Isaac trying on a hat.  Seconds later my sister Talina pointed out the 'please no pictures' sign in the vendors booth.  Oops!

These pictures of Isaac were from a couple days ago.

Poor Isaac got an eye full of sand (that Ellie was haphazardly tossing around the sandbox) that for some reason made his whole face swell up and turn red.  These pictures are after I'd bathed him, and Greg and I had tried to flush his eye out a few times with a squirt bottle of water.  Which is why the poor kid got his very own sucker, 'cause his Mom felt so bad for pinning him down while prying his eye open while Dad sprayed water in it.  Unfortunately, when we checked it again, his lower lid was still filled with sand, so we had to flush it a few more times, but fortunately it looked back to normal the next morning.  I still don't know how Ellie got THAT much sand in such a tiny eye . . .

Random Pictures and Proud Mama Moment

Greg was working late last week, so I threw a towel down on our bed and let the kids have a 'picnic' for dinner while we watched a movie.  Then they got to all take a bath together.  They had so much fun!

My little helper!  He's LOVING to wash walls and vacuum anything!

Mmmmm, cupcakes!  The kids were pretty psyched about the brownies and cupcakes at our Labor Day celebration at Grandma's house!

Isaac's becoming more of a bookworm by the day -- here he is reading on Labor Day with Aunt Talina and Uncle David.

Isaac and Ellie got a hold of one of Uncle Cody's old helmets.  Ellie is a tiny bit crazy.  :-)

Do NOT get between Ellie and her basketball -- she will take you DOWN!

The girls LOVE going out in the garden with Grandma!

Unrelated to our Labor Day festivities, this weekend has given me one of my great 'beaming with pride' motherhood moments.  Annie gave a talk in Primary this last Sunday.  We'd read through it a few times, she read it on her own, and we practiced it aloud.  I was a bit nervous though about it taking too long, since she was reading it a bit slow and about the kids not being able to hear her 'cause she was speaking so softly.  Primary came though, and with only one small stumble, my little girl read her talk from start to finish perfectly.  She spoke right into the microphone, at a perfect tempo and volume.  She's a born public speaker!  She'll also be singing a small solo in Sacrament Meeting in a couple weeks.  The confidence I saw in her as she got up and gave her talk was one of those things that made this Mom so happy I felt like I was gonna burst.  :-)

And if you want to check out Annie reading the talk she gave in Primary last week, it's posted on youtube now . . . at over 3 1/2 minutes long though, I'm guessing Aunts and Grandmas are the only ones who'll make it through . . . :-)  (While making the video she tried to do more from memory, which made her stumble a bit more, but it was so cute!)