Other things

Also, Miles turned 7 months today. He is such a happy baby and loves to laugh, all the time. He is army crawling and gets up on all fours but can't quite stay up when he moves. He is eating food and loves carrots the most. He also just started pulling himself up on everything but can't quite stand. He thinks Ben and Amelia are hilarious. He has slept all thru the night 4 times now. He loves snuggling soft things on his face, pulling hair, climbing on you if you are on the ground, being squeezed, playing with the springy doorstops, swings and chewing everything. He hates the car seat, green beans unless they are mixed with carrots, sitting still and sleeping by himself. He still has no teeth and is 21 pounds wearing the clothes Ben wore when he was 1. He is maintaining his 98th percentile!! He has kept those blue eyes and blonde hair and although it is hard to see his light eyebrows, he is extremely expressive with them. He has had 2 haircuts and is in need for another one. He just started crying if someone leaves the room or picks him up that he doesn't know. He prefers dad to hold him 70% of the time. He also says dada for everything. We are trying mama, but he just smiles and says dada. Stinker. He is completely adored and the center of everyone's attention here anywhere we go and has no problem hamming it up.

Also, Philip passed the Bar here and was sworn in last month. I took no pics of this event because carrying around a 20 pound baby is heavy enough without having to then hold a diaper bag AND a camera!!! But we somehow got captured by another photographer while eating lunch with Phil's parents and somehow Philip just happened to see the article the next day. So random. You have to scroll to the 3rd picture, but you can see the back of me and Amelia, Philip, part of his dad and Miles and the waiter bringing us a plate of yummy food. So I guess it did happen if it's out there on the web!!

Halloween Fun

Here's some pics from our Halloween adventures. We picked pumpkins from our own garden. Amelia got to dress up for career day the day before Halloween. She was so excited to get to dress up twice. She picked to be a vet so I had to rush out to find a stethoscope toy and made her a lab coat the night before. I figured I didn't sew anything this year, I could do that for her. She looked pretty professional. We also got to go to the library and school carnival. My camera settings were off, so no pics turned out for the costume parade, but you've seen one, you've seen them all, am I right!??! Then neighborhood trick or treating. Ben decided he was done after an hour so he sat in the car with me and Miles while Amelia went down another street. She told Phil she was tired but didn't want to "give up", as if deciding to stop trick or treating before anyone else was losing!!! Amelia was a black cat, and the boys were pirates. And this year I am not holding back on the candy rationing. Eat til you throw up. So far no throwing up, but lots of running around screaming kids who get very grumpy after their sugar crash. And we had not one trick or treater so I have pounds of candy again. This is 6 years in a row now. Good thing I have figured out that this ends up being the best on gingerbread houses on Thanksgiving!!!

Amelia's 6th Birthday

I am so far behind in posting. Remember when I would post about my kids birthday hours after it happened?? I am going on 6 weeks here, but she's so adorable, it's worth doing late. Amelia turned 6 at the end of August.
She wanted a pink sparkle cake, so this was my interpretation. You know how I like to make a statement cake, so I couldn't just do store bought colored sugar. I decided to grow my own pink sugar crystals and then make it neapolitan in 3 graduated tiers. It was pretty and delicious.  The kids had fun watching the sugar grow all week.

 

It came out pink and coral and a little orange, but it ended up being a pretty mix.  It is always totally worth it to see her face light up. She couldn't believe her eyes when she came home from school to see a cake half as tall as her. Grandpa came to celebrate with her and she got some fun outfits for her doll and some new pink glittery shoes (see the theme) and some writing supplies for our little author.

As part of her birthday celebration, she got to go to a concert with her dad. If you know Philip, you know how much he loves seeing live music. They saw "Kath-a-leen Edwards" in a concert in a park. She had so much fun and thought Kathleen was so pretty and kept telling us after that maybe when she grows up she would like to be a background singer and play the guitar!

 Philip let her use the camera and she took some really good pictures. I like the one where it seems like Kathleen is looking directly at her. Seeing Amelia with that camera around her neck at a concert reminds me of Philip in college. He used to tote around a big 35mm camera at concerts at Kilby court. It was a weird insight to her future!!! Now Amelia tells us Kathleen Edwards is her favorite singer. I do have to admit, once you see someone perform live, it sticks with you in a new way. I think that will forever be ingrained in her head when she hears one of her songs. I can't believe how grown up she is. She often tells us she can't wait until she's 18 so she can get out of here!!! Even when that day comes, I will still think of her as this little chubby cheeked baby with huge brown eyes, dark hair and tan skin and a huge appetite for life.

She did it.......

 Amelia started first grade on Wednesday. 
Last year, we moved at the end of the year and had to go to school here for about 5 weeks. Every day for those five weeks was torture. It got to the point that I had to walk her in and basically shove her in the class and close the door to keep her from running out. It was all very disruptive for the class and a little traumatic for her. Her teacher was super patient and really gently with her, which really made me feel easier about it. The unknown is really hard for this girl.  On the first day of school there was a lot of anxiety.  I never know if it's better to cut and run or to stay until she is settled and happy. I worry about her feeling more scared or abandoned causing more anxiety the next day if I just leave her (and carrying that on into adulthood blaming me for any of her emotional or social problems). But I also worry about coddling her and setting a standard that since I stayed when she cried then she will use that as a crutch for everything. It's a hard, fine line.


We practiced going to school and dropping her off and leaving for the week before school started. We checked out her classroom and met the teacher. We decided on a reward system like "if you don't run out after me, you can go anywhere for lunch that day" then the next day, "if you can not cry when I leave, you can pick a prize out of the prize box" and then today, "if you can go in the classroom without me going with you, you can have a movie night". The first day she did pretty good considering last year and all her anxiety. She was super clingy, a little teary and almost made it without running after me. She was all settled and I tried to leave but people were blocking the door and in that instant that I was waiting, she saw her chance to run to me. Luckily the teacher held her hand to keep her in the class. I hid behind a door and watched and she clung on to the teacher and calmed down pretty quick. She was still nervous, but not crying. Ben and I decided to set up a tea party for her and her dolls when she got home. We picked flowers and put up a sign and made some cookies. She loved it.

The next day she stayed in her seat when I left, but started to cry so I shamelessly used Miles as my prop. Have I mentioned how much this boy loves his big sister. She is like magic to him. I pretended to have him wave to her and say bye-bye. She started busting up laughing and stopped crying then.

All the classrooms have a door to the playground. Before school starts the kids play outside and when the bell rings, they line up at their door and go in so no kids are roaming the halls before school. Today the inside doors were locked, so I didn't get to go inside with her, which was just what I wanted. I stood with her in line to the door thinking I was going to have to come in with her.  When she got to the door, out of nowhere, she turned around, smiled at me, waved and said bye with that nervous giggle I love of hers.  The teacher and I looked at each other like, "is this really happening?!?" and I took that as my cue and got out of there fast before she could change her mind. I did hide out on the playground for a minute to see if it would last and it did, she was fine.  What a relief. 3 days down, 177 more to go.  I hope this is a sign of a good year.

Ice blocking

When we lived in LA, we usually had people we loved getting together with for dinner, park time, or games. That is something I really loved about LA and haven't found since then. It really made us feel like we belonged somewhere. What's funny is that almost all of those people have moved to Utah in the last year or so. It's nice to have friends from there who "get it" and it's fun to see how their kids have grown up.  We met up with some of them and went ice blocking. It was a blast. I can't believe this was the first time I had ever done this. It seems like such a teenager thing I should have done. why not even in college?? Never too late I guess. The kids had a blast. We raced and slid and when the boys got sick of that, they just rolled down the hill laughing. It was pretty cute. It was a beautiful sunset and we played until dark. It's nice to get together and have a little taste of "home" here.

Dancing in the Rain

It rained today and instead of staying cooped up indoors, I sent the kids out to splash in puddles. They loved it. Accessorized with some boots and a hoodie, they stomped around squealing for about 20 minutes. Then decided they needed to come in and sit by the fireplace because 77 degrees was too cold.......have I mentioned how my kids are going to die in the winter here?!?!?!?

This is one of my favs because you can see how hard it is really coming down and I love how Amelia is just embracing it with wide open arms. She would love a Marshallese shower.

  And then the sun came out and dried up all the rain......

Milo Jo

Our kids started calling Miles, Miley Jo a few months ago, and although I thought it was cute at first, I found myself kind of cringing when I heard it. Not wanting Miles to endure the annoyance of an unwanted nickname (Vern....c'mon, who wants to be called that with a name like Veronica people....) I intervened and said no more Miley Jo. As a compromise we came up with Milo Jo as an alternative. It was a hit. So if you are feeling the urge to call him something other than "Miles", you may call him Milo!!!  And here's some adorable pics of our little Milo Jo around 4 months.....

Cousins Visit

 A few weeks ago my sister and my 5 nieces and nephews came to visit.  We had a blast. I love that we finally have a place big enough for all of us to squish into and space to run around. My kids were totally doted on and Miles was held every waking minute of the day. 

We got to do lots of swimming, movie watching, crafts and games and even had a party which included dangerously popping balloons with sharp skewers while blindfolded.....

which was somehow deemed a better idea than the original idea of throwing freshly sharpened pencils that seemed to somehome bounce right back at them.

There also were colored bubble worms......

streamers.... 

and homemade Cafe Rio, ice cream, rootbeer and cupcakes.

As always, I regret that I only took like 10 pictures, mostly in one hour on the same day posted here.  I feel like there were so many more memories than just that one day. I love that Spencer couldn't stop holding Miles EXCEPT if he spit up or even drooled near him. 

I LOVED building the world's best indoor blanket tent and then watching movies in it. 

I loved watching the kids play frisbee, play do, legos or dolls. I loved watching everyone making shrinky dinks. I loved baking something every day and then having 6 more people to share it with including 2 other kids who don't do dairy!!! I loved how much fun the older kids had going to see Batman with Phil and playing games late at night. **SIGH** If only they lived closer we could do this more than once a year. I am already planning what I can do next year. I'm so glad they all got to come and miss all of them already.

Double rainbow

So last week we experienced a double rainbow. I almost felt like that youtube guy who was crying over it. Check it out here if you haven't seen it (and then click on the rainbow song if you haven't heard it!!!) It was pretty incredible. We saw it in completion from tip to tip but by the time Philip got the camera it was a little less bright. It kind of puts you in a trance and make you to do something you maybe wouldn't normally do......hence Amelia sharing her rainbow painting with the........rainbow???

Ode to the fluff

Oh how I love this baby's hair. He was born with, as I might describe it, a long fringe of front fluff. It sticks up in weird places, it didn't grow in the middle, it cannot be tamed with any product, and for some reason the hair in his widow's peak has come in very blonde and short, making his hairline very.....odd.  It was time to be cut, so you could actually see the blonde hair under that fluff  before it turns brown.  The hair I cut was probably the same amount I cut off Ben when he was 8 months old for his first haircut. He didn't squirm or squawk one bit as I shaved it. The kids thought it was hilarious, and as I was attempting to get the mullet, Amelia yells out, "no leave it so he can have grandpa hair!" I left it, only because I couldn't get that baby fine hair to shave.  In my opinion, now he definitely looks blonde. Sometimes I can't even believe he belongs to me with those blue eyes and light hair.  I will cry the day they turn brown (his hair and eyes) because I am not completely naive and know they inevitably will.  Curse those stubborn Portuguese genes. I will stare at him in awe every day until that happens.
AND, occasionally Philip likes to measure and weigh Miles to check out how he stacks up on the average growth chart. Yesterday he measured in at what an average 8.5 month old should be!!!  I fear he will be bigger than both the kids before he turns 2.
ALSO, Miles rolled over for the first time on Ben's birthday. I guess being strapped in a carseat for an entire day was just the motivation he needed to get mobile. Oh how my life just changed!!

Ben's Birthday

When we got home it was Ben's 4th birthday.  He keeps telling us all the things he can do now that he is 4!!  When he woke up and came in my room, I asked him if he knew what day it was. He didn't, so I reminded him it was his birthday and now he was 4. He ran out to find Amelia and said to her, "Amelia, I am four now!!!". He was so excited. We spent the day lounging around recuperating from our road trip. Ben requested pizza and apples for dinner and I made samoa cupcakes.  He had lego themed presents and Amelia gave him a bag of peanut M&M's, one of Ben's favorite. And just in case you weren't sure how big his eyes can get, here's the proof!!!

Family Reunion

The beach- being buried, making castles, Luke getting very, very muddy and LOVING it, walking to the lighthouse, running and dancing in the sand and the men diving in and quickly running back out!!

Cousins. Norah batting a pinata, swimming on the 4th, Liam kicking a ball ,Audrey singing and Amelia hopping on one foot for their talents, most of the gang and kids in the car

Over the 4th we went to Port Townsend, Washington for a Sargent (Philip's mom's side) family reunion. We drove in a van with 6 kids under the age of 6!! I am really surprised at how little problems we had. We had a caravan with some of the other family meeting up in various places while we made our way there. On the 4th we swam and watched fireworks. Fort Worden is an old military base that has been turned into a state park and the officer housing can be rented out. It is right on the ocean. My Cali babies were so happy to be back on the beach all day, digging in sand and laying around sun bathing. We mostly just stayed on the beach, as you can see!! The kids had fun playing with cousins the whole time.  We didn't see one spec of rain or clouds which is I think unheard of in these parts. I am so glad because I do not like being cold!! 70 degrees is about as cold as I like to be.  We also scouted around the old batteries and tunnels, climbing up ladders to overlook the bay andtaking a tour of a command post. Amelia loved picking flowers for her hair and wisely did not want to go inside the pitch black abandoned underground structures.  Philip's cousin did a fly over in a helicopter to take a family photo and Philip's uncle did a little air show in his bi-plane which included lots of loop-de-loops and stalling the engine out to free fall over the ocean. The other beach goers cheered him on with us. I didn't take any pictures!!!! What was I thinking?? 

It took us 21 hours to get back home and we made it without one meltdown, accident, allergic reaction or puking episode the whole way!! I was very impressed. When we got home, Amelia already was planning out next road trip!!  I guess that's proof what a good time she had.

New Tradition

So I saw on a list called something about "keeping your kids busy during the summer for free" and one idea was to make up a holiday. After a trip to the grocery store where they were sampling donuts, and then seeing the disappointment in Amelia's face when she heard she couldn't have what we were all enjoying, I decided to make Memorial day our family donut day. Then that night I found out by total accident that national donut day is June 1st, just a few days later. Oh well. (But if you are near a Krispy Kreme, you can get one for free on Friday!!!) You can never have too many donuts. And at least our Memorial day donuts are safe for Amelia.  Here are some pics from our holiday. We let the kids top them with whatever they wanted. Amelia's has Christmas sugar crystals, chocolate sauce, vanilla frosting, sprinkles and graham cracker crumbs. Ben's were simple, frosting and chocolate sauce. Later after much coaxing, he added some sprinkles to his plain frosted one.  Mine and Phil's, vanilla frosting, graham cracker crumbs, toasted coconut and chocolate drizzle. Needed some caramel and it would have been a samoa donut.

And you can't be more local than mowing your lawn on a riding lawn mower with the horses watching in front of your flag with a hat you can't see around and some overalls!!!  My kids love being country kids now. And did I mention we planted a garden. We'll see if I deem it worthy of ever speaking of it again!!

All the little parts I love of Miles...

I love all these little things on Miles. From top going clockwise, his little mullet, his fluff of reddish, blondish brown hair that won't lay flat, his adorable smile (and he has a dimple but you have to work at it, so it has not been caught on camera), his blue (for now) blue, blue eyes, his crooked weird toenails, his ridiculously long eyelashes (zoom in to see these puppies....and oh how they curl up) and of course his fluff again and his serious man looks. Oh and I guess the triple chin!!!

Made it a few more months!!

My last post said I made it a week. That makes me laugh. I feel like every week I look back and say, "Whew,  I made it another week".  Here's my attempt to sum up the last 3 months without being too boring, because let's face it, you really just want to see the pics.....



First, Philip moved and started his new job and loves it. There were a lot of concerns, complications and logistics to work out, but in the end, it has been a good move and hopefully will open some doors for him. If anything, it has renewed his faith in his degree, the law and his self esteem.  I say that's worth any inconvenience we may have had in the process.

Next, we had a baby. Miles Joseph born April 3 at 12:37pm. He was 8 pounds 10 ounces and 22 inches long. I basically gave birth to what Ben was at 3 months old!! He's patient, quiet, our "blondest" child (which makes the toe-head side of the family laugh), and growing like a weed.  The older kids ADORE him. I have to chastise them for things like messing up the closet to find the perfect outfit for him, brushing his hair too hard, kissing him too hard, or trying to make him smile while he should be sleeping and other sweet things like that. My delivery was a pain. Literally and mentally. I had 4 false alarm hospital visits with 2 minute contractions thinking every time that would be the day he was born, but due to some crazy hospital policy I wasn't allowed to have pitocin until my due date so I kept getting sent home. Finally 2 days past my due date I got the magical drug and 1 hour later he was born. I still cringe thinking about how it all would have been so much easier if they would have given it to me the first time I went in (or told me the policy about pitocin) and saved all the people who had to be involved a big huge headache for the last 3 weeks of my pregnancy. But what can you do... I guess it all worked out.

Miles and family in the hospital

Miles from 1 week to 6 weeks old

Then, we moved. 3 days after I gave birth. Never again would I do this, nor would I suggest it to anyone. Thankfully Philip's parents came and basically kept us alive. I have no idea how it would have happened if they weren't there. I probably would still be trying to clean and pack. It took us 2 days to make the trek and we still are trying to figure out what to unpack, but we have a great house with TONS of inside and outside space. Something we never really had in CA, but when you live in a small town in the middle of nowhere, I guess you can have all the outside space you want!!  The kids love the fact that they can do normal kid things like ride their bikes and jump on the trampoline and see birds and pick weeds. OK almost all of those.

Top: Our backyard Bottom: kids bird watching, Miles soaking rays when he had jaundice, kids making angry faces

Left: first day of school.  Right: last day of school.

Amelia (started again) and finished kindergarten. She had quite an adjustment but finally made it inside her classroom without crying on the last day of school. Better late than never I guess. She is already bored and ready to go back to school and it's been 1 week. I have a long 3 months ahead. Look how much she's grown up!! She looks like a little angelic baby on the first day of school. Now she looks a little bit more mischievous!!!

Where's Waldo......Amelia's kindergarten program.

We are really excited to be closer to family and even some old friends.  If anyone is bored and wants to stare at fields, you are welcome to come to our house anytime!!!

Time with cousins