Fabulous Five

Andrew turned 5 this year. We went with a Star Wars theme. Mini-light saber cupcakes for school and a Jedi battle on the cake at home.

This is Carson the fish, that Andrew bought with his birthday money. Sadly, he has since taken a final swim in the porcelain pool. RIP Carson.

Five fabulous things about Andrew:

1. He has the most adorable smile, and he loves to share it with me. I am a sucker for dimples. His favorite talent is telling corny knock-knock jokes.

2. He is determined. When he wants something, he goes for it with everything he has.

3. He is curious. He loves to explore and learn new things. He is great at asking questions to find things out.

4. He is in touch with his emotions and shares them. I know when he is happy, sad, angry, or excited. He knows its OK to cry when you are hurting and cheer when you are happy.

5. He is my little boy in the middle. I am so glad he came to be part of our family. He definitely makes it better, more exciting, and keeps me on my toes!

Five things about Andrew that he thinks are important for you to know:
1. He loves oatmeal raisin cookies
2. He is growing big muscles by eating vegetables
3. He is one smart cookie
4. He is a superhero and wants to be a policeman on a motorcycle when he grows up
5. He wishes his grandparents lived closer so they could take him fishing, camping, and gardening, and make him cookies all the time

I mentioned before that I wanted to share his birth story with you. Not THAT story, but some miracles that happened along the way. I think of Andrew as my Miracle Baby.


We found out we were having a baby boy at the 20 week ultra sound. We had his name chosen before we made it home from the hospital- Andrew Joseph. Or Baby Brother Pooh, according to Lenna.

When I was about 32 weeks along I went in for my typical monthly visit. The doctor took an extra long time listening to his heartbeat. She had heard an irregularity in his heartbeat sent us up to the hospital to do some monitoring and have another ultrasound. Time dragged on as the longest day ever was spent in the hospital room with me strapped in with monitors, Lenna entertaining the nursing staff with toddler antics, Mike stranded at school with no car, and Andrew's little heart thumping away to a pattern all his own. Finally 8 hrs later we were released to go home after they decided he wasn't in any immediate danger.

A few days later our home teachers arrived for their monthly visit and gave Andrew, through me, a blessing. I was promised his heart would heal itself and I would deliver a full-term, healthy, strong little boy. The next week I returned to the doctor for a follow up. She had a prescription ready for me for heart medicine I would take until Andrew was born and could take it himself, and a mile of monitor tape showing just how crazy his heartbeat was. She was surprised and confused as she listened to his heart again and found no problems. Nothing but the steady swish swish of a healthy baby heart.

Finally his due date arrived, and passed with him still snuggled cozily in my tummy. We planned to go in Wednesday night for an induction. Wednesday afternoon, we experienced our first California earthquake! Later that night in the hospital, the bed, tables, and rolling monitors all swayed to the aftershocks while my little boy fought to make his entrance into the world. I like to tell him that the Earth shook on the day he was born, because his spirit was so strong and powerful and the world knew he was going to do great things! He nearly lost the fight, emerging blue-faced and still with the cord looped three times around his neck. The ten seconds between birth and first cry were the longest I had experienced.

Many times since I have wondered if I was going to get to keep him, after fighting off strep B infection at birth, RSV at one year, pneumonia at 18 months, scarlet fever twice, ear infections, head wounds, stitches, various mystery rashes and fevers, and a close call in a swimming pool when he was two. Thankfully, he is a tough little guy and keeps going. I am so grateful!

We love you Andrew, happy birthday!

Bring on the Birthdays

I'm going to turn 30 this weekend. 30. The big 3-0.

Scary huh? I'm trying to think of a momentous way to celebrate. Any ideas?

I'm too tired to be sentimental and introspective and do the life and goals evaluation. I will save that for another time. Like, next year.

This week, my little boy turns 5. I hope that I will be able to carve out a few hours of time to tell you his birth story. No, not that one. The only people who like that story are women about to deliver or who just delivered and are swapping L&D stories. I will tell you about how his first priesthood blessing and miracle of healing were in-utero, how the earth shook on the day he was born, how I am convinced he has a very busy and exhausted guardian angel, and of course how much we love him.

I will find those hours sometime between now and Tuesday morning, when I will be expected to deliver 20 character-themed (which has just hours ago changed from Ben 10 to Star Wars, good thing I procrastinated buying the decorations) brownies to preschool, bake and decorate a similarly themed cake, and transport it and a pile of freshly-wrapped presents to Chuck E Cheese for dinner and games, and have everyone home and in bed by 8.

Into newly rearranged beds, I hope. Because Andy's birthday was the deadline I set for myself way back at the beginning of summer to have all the bedrooms moved around and organized. I am no where near being done, but Lenna is holding me to it. I guess tomorrow will be a late night.

Then two weeks later we are off on our Florida trip. The next weekend is Halloween, the next is Rebecca's first birthday, the next is Lenna's birthday and baptism, followed by Thanksgiving and our 10th anniversary, and then Christmas and New Year's and the year is over already and the leaves haven't even started changing!

I hope the next 30 years pass more slowly than the last. I'm not ready yet!

Cure or Quack

Chiropractors.

Do they help aches and pains? How about other issues like GI problems? What about for kids? Worth the risk? What do you think? How do you find a good one? Please share!

Finally

This morning on the way to school, it finally happened.

The moment I have been waiting for these past four weeks!

Andrew willingly put on his transformers t-shirt and new tie shoes. He happily brushed his teeth and loaded his backpack with the carefully chosen show-and-tell items. He climbed into the car without any nagging from me, leaned back contentedly and said:

"Mom, I just love school! I love Miss Jeri and rug time and group time and snack time and outside time. The only part I don't love is the end, because you pick me up too soon, before I have enough time with my friends."

All is again right in the world.

ballet bandwagon

Here is my little monkey. Isn't she just oozing with grace and gentility and southern belle charm?

Lenna started ballet a few weeks ago. So as not to be left out of the ballet dancer cousins' club, here is Lenna on her first day of class. No pressure Eve and Abby, but you are the last ones....

She loves it. She is still technically pre-ballet so won't be doing the intense ballet training or stage performances, but will have a recital at the end of the year. She is looking forward to next year when she can have a part in the nutcracker. Until then, she is happy with this class and her pink slippers and bun and shiny skirt. Ballet is a much better fit than gymnastics, where her long arms and legs kept getting in the way. I am assuming they will serve her better in this sport.

Best Friends

I'm pretty sure her first word is going to be "kitty." He's just lucky he doesn't have a tail or he would never get away.

Kids cook

Yesterday I let the kids try out a new dessert recipe. They chose apple dumplings, using this recipe from pioneer woman, one of my favorite blogs. My kids love her food. Anyway, I will not do a step-by-step tutorial- you can just read the recipe then do it yourself. It was super easy and super yummy. Hers is prettier than mine, but I bet she didn't have a four year old helping. I let the kids do the parts that didn't require heat and we doubled the apples.


Lenna read the recipe.

Andrew invented his own rolling style.

Just baked. A little too much help with the cinnamon shaker, but still tasted good.

Excellent with ice cream.

MMmmmmmm....

After everyone gets a taste, hurry and think of someone you can give it away to. Trust me, this is the only way to keep from eating the entire pan yourself after the kids go to bed.

Someone who just had a baby, had surgery, lost a loved one, broke up with a boyfriend, is getting skinnier than you and you want to make them gain five pounds, any of those reasons would be acceptable grounds for a house call.

I let the kids deliver it themselves, with exclamations of "We made this for you!" and "We already tried some, so we know it is good!"

Enjoy!

Love is. . .

Love is. . .

catching ants for the ant farm so your boy can have something cool for show and tell on "A" day.

That's all I have to say about that!!!