Happy Halloween Pictures!

Cinderella! Sorry about the sideways picture. See the next post for an explanation!
Cinderella and the distracted cowboy!
Cowboy and his sippy...at least it's not a binky!
Cinderella and her pal "Gus-Gus!"
Emmeline's first day of preschool.

Pictures!

Joshua's new tatoo!
While we were in San Diego, Benjamin got to go on a motorcycle ride!
Emmeline's first day of preschool (and Joshua's first day of pre-preschool!)
Joshua's tat again! Sorry, I forgot to rotate these pictures before transferring them to the portable hard drive. I'm not sure if Luke's computer has the tools to edit pictures, so for now enjoy them sideways!
This was the shot of Benjamin that ended up on the Diamond Vision at the San Diego Padres game last summer. Adorable!

Emmeline's First Talk

Yesterday, Emmeline gave her first talk in Primary. She did such a good job! We've been working all week to memorize her talk about following the Prophet. She told about how she read the entire Book of Mormon last year and talked about how our family was blessed for following President Hinckley's counsel. She has really blossomed since moving here and I am loving it!

Last night I finally downloaded pictures onto a portable hard drive, so tonight, when I have a few minutes, I'll post Halloween pictures, first day of school, etc, etc! Hooray! Finally!

And if I can figure it out, I have some video clips of Benjamin army crawling for goodies (he plays fetch), and the kids tormenting him.

Oh gross...Luke just came in the door caked in mud. He's been outside honing his Turkey Bowl skills with the neighborhood kids. Looks like they got him...lovely...I need to go do laundry I guess!

Primary Program

I have only a minute to post, but I wanted to report that Emmeline did FANTASTIC in the Primary Program last Sunday. They have practiced three times. The first time she cried, the second time she refused to talk, but with no tears. The third time she said her part with some cajoling. When it came time to go up to the front for the program she got teary eyed and had me walk her to her seat. As soon as she got there, though, she stood up with the whole primary and said the first part (that they say all together). She sang the first song, then marched up to that microphone, grabbed it, and yelled her part! It was awesome. Luke and I were laughing and crying because we were so happy for her, and it was so cute how she yelled. She sang every song--most while picking her nose, flirting with he kid next to her, or examining the scab on her elbow--and said the last part loud and clear (with the whole primary). She was fabulous! I am so proud of her (to the tune of a huge bag of bribery candy)!

On Sunday I got called as the Primary pianist. It's one of my dream church callings. I'm thrilled!

I've got to go...nap time has officially ended.

Thus we see...

In the Book of Mormon, there are many vital points following the phrase, "Thus we see..." So, without going into gory detail, here's the vital point I learned today. "Thus we see" that a boy named Willie should never be left alone with an art box full of GLITTER and his little brother.

Today I felt like the dentist on Finding Nemo, "All the animals have gone mad!"

But, for good news, for about two hours today every stitch of laundry in this house was clean, folded, and put away. I think that's the first time since having Benjamin that has happened. Then Willie spilled his milkshake and the dirty laundry began again...

We had an enjoyable time at the Pumpkin Farm yesterday. The kids were adorable holding baby chickens, ducklings, rabbits, and goats. Joshua loved the tractor ride, and Emmeline took a million years selecting just the perfect pumpkin. Turtle Grandma came with us and was a huge help as usual with the kids!

Benjamin is keeping us in stitches lately with his antics. He has figured out the fine art of getting Willie in trouble, which just makes me laugh. He can crawl now, but prefers the army crawl and has calluses on his big toes to prove it. He and Luke have growling matches at the dinner table, and he can find the ON button to the most annoying, loud toy we have...ughh. My favorite, though, is "So big!" When I ask him how big he is, he gets all excited like, "I know I'm supposed to do something now, but what?" He claps, waves, flaps, and finally puts one fist in the air. It's the progression of all his "tricks" until he finds the right one. It's hilarious. Oh, he also doesn't like green beans. A killer because that's the ONLY vegetable the others will consistently eat (the others being EmJ, Willie, AND Luke!). Benjamin will eat anything else that you offer him though, including GLITTER!

And that's it.

Next Year?!

A frequent bedtime story around here is "Casey At the Bat." Lately, Luke's been changing the words to, "...the mighty A-Rod had struck out!" Bummer. Maybe next year. Hmmm...

I don't really have much to talk about today, but it's been a while since I've posted, so I wanted to let you all know that we're still alive and well. The house is very quiet for a change, which is very strange, but very nice. Joshua is at playgroup (he screamed bloody murder when I dropped him off, so I'm waiting by the phone for the "come and get this child" call!), Benjamin is asleep, and Emmeline went to the gym with Luke. Silence. Beautiful.

Last night we delivered Halloween treats to some friends and neighbors for Family Home Evening. We're trying to woo people into being our friends with my excellent baking abilities. Now that I'm thinking about it, that's probably why we have no friends yet...

Tomorrow, Emmeline's preschool is taking a trip to the pumpkin farm. I think I'm as excited as she is. She keeps asking if she can wear her Halloween costume to school. NO! I'm going to burn that Cinderella dress on November 1st!

Well, that's about it from us. I'm going to go clean this house and listen to the ball game while I have two free hands and some peace and quiet!

Playoffs start tomorrow!!!!

Well, Benjamin just had his 6 month check-up and shots (2 months late!) He recieved a clean bill of health. We really like our new doctor so far (and he even speaks English, what a treat!). Benjamin weighed in at 19 lbs and 29 inches. He's in only the 22% for weight (I'm actually suprised he's as light as he is), but he's in the 93% for height. I haven't yet looked in the baby books to compare the boys, but I think that Willie was about 19 lbs at a year, maybe a little less.

One more fun thing to note. This weekend it has finally turned to fall here in Sacramento!!! I actually crawled UNDER the covers to go to bed last night! We still have our windows open 24/7, but it's pleasant, not hot anymore. Thank goodness!

Puke and Crawling

Good news and yucky news.

Benjamin is an official mover. He does more of a fish flop than an actual crawl, but it's worthy of a blog, a journal entry, some pictures, and an update in the baby book!

Joshua has a bug or something. I think we went through every blanket and towel and sheet in the house last night. Gross. He seems a little bit better this morning, though, so hopefully it has run it's course.

That's it. We can't get the wireless internet to work in our apartment for some reason, so the computer with all the pictures is out of comission. So, still no pictures, but we'll continue working on the problem. Bye, now!

No Idea!

Many of you will remember that when Emmeline was a baby her favorite phrase was, "No idea!" (pronounced "no 'dea"). Well, we haven't heard the phrase in a while until today on the way home from church. As we summitted on the way home, Luke was going off about how all the speakers in stake conference had gone over leaving no time for the Stake President, how he couldn't hear anything because we had to sit in the back, etc. Once he was done with his tirade he asked EmJ what she learned in church and she said clearly, with attitude, "I have no-o idea!" It was hysterical and totally fit the moment. Ironically, Willie's favorite phrase right now is, "I don't know." That's helpful. Did you hit your brother? I don't know. Do you need a diaper change? I don't know. Can you count to ten for me? I don't know.

One other humorous story, that perfectly illustrates the great "country" we live in. Emmeline and Joshua were playing outside at the park with Joshua's pop gun (and about three other kids). I could see the kids from the window, as could the parents of all the other kids. Anyway, I'm sitting at my window laughing at the kids playing Mcgyver or something, and all of a sudden the apartment security man speeds up in his golf cart yelling to "put the gun down!" My kids, of course, clammed up, but one of the other girls held up the gun to show him it was just a toy.

Now, I have no problem with building security looking out for my kids. Awesome. I do have a problem with the fact that somebody finked on my kids. Somebody too nosy to mind their own business and too cowardly to take any responsibility. Don't you think that if you saw kids that you thought were playing with a gun you would get that gun from them as soon as possible? In this case, all you had to do was watch or listen for two seconds to know they did NOT have a gun.

Grrrr. I was going to go off about personal responsibility, with words like liberal and moron mixed in, but that wouldn't be very nice. I'm no good at articulating myself anyway. It just really bothered me that this happened and that the motivation of the "finker" was all wrong. Besides, it's probably the same person that tattle-tales when the kids ride their bikes out there. Grrrr.

Finally, we've been teaching the kids how to spell. Next time you see them, ask them how to spell Success...they'll say "W-O-R-K." We're working on Problems..."L-I-B-E-R-A-L."

Well, now I feel sufficiently guilty for chewing out the world. We're not always this cynical! I promise that the next post will be good and uplifting!

Preschool

So, I'm sitting here eating stale peanut butter sandwiches and trying to catch my breath. Five four year olds? Three hours? No problem, right? Yikes! Today was MY first day of preschool. Emmeline started preschool about a month ago. We do it with the other kids at church and rotate the preschool from house to house--so this week is my week. I enjoyed today, and I'm sure I'll enjoy Wednesday, but I'm sure glad I only have school at my house every fifth week! Today confirmed what I already knew--kids intimidate me, and they smell fear! Give me a bunch of high schoolers and I'm good, preschoolers, not so good. One of the activities we did, however, was making letters with our bodies (hold your arms out to make a T, etc), and I really enjoyed that. I think on Wednesday I'll pull out a mat and teach them how to do cartwheels. I can handle cartwheels. Maybe I should just designate myself the P.E. teacher...no shapes or letters or singing at my house.

It was really interesting to see EmJ in her domain. She let everybody know the rules of the house and the best hiding spots for hide and seek. It suprised me how vocal she was, since she never usually says a word in primary or preschool. Usually she also just sits back and watches, doesn't participate at all, but in our house she opened up a little bit more.

Alright. I've sufficiently caught my breath. It's time to go clean up and get ready to do it again in a few days.

Proof that kids listen to what you say...

It's been so long since I've been on here that I had to look up my password today. To all of you religious bloggers (who need to get a life) I apologize! I decided today that if I wait for the move to be "complete" and the house to be "perfect", then I will never get anything done, ever. So, tonight I'll humor you with a story...and maybe one day I'll be able to post pictures and updates of everything that's been happening in the last few months.

Today, EmJ came up the stairs and noticed that Luke had moved one of her toys out of it's place. Here's the exchange:

EmJ: What happened here?
Luke: Sorry, I accidentally moved it.
EmJ: Do you think it's just going to crawl back on it's own?
Luke: I forgot to put it back.
EmJ: Do you think it's going to crawl back?
Luke: I'll put it away.
EmJ: I'll just do it.

One more thing...We have stairs! An upstairs and a downstairs!! You wouldn't believe how much more space we feel like we have in this new townhome, simply because of the stairs. It's wonderful!

We're Back!

Just a quick note to say that we've returned safely to our homeland--Mexifornia. We were greeted with a heat wave...how nice! NOT! The temperature in our car read 113 degrees in Woodland, so the 103 degrees in San Jose seemed like a relief. At 9 pm, it was still 101 degrees. We got home and ran straight to the pool for a night swim...finally, something cool.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get a minute to post some pictures and write a little bit!

One more post from San Diego

We went to the Padres game last Saturday night, and Benjamin got on the big screen!!! He drooled for the "smile cam" on the diamond vision--so cute!

That's it. I just wanted to share that fun news!

San Diego

So here we are in beautiful San Diego! Luke, Benjamin, and I are here for Luke's "National Sales Meeting." Emmeline and Joshua are staying with the Grandmas and Grandpas, and are probably having more fun than us!

Because Benjamin is here, I'm not allowed to attend any of the UTI events, but I'm not complaining. On Thursday I read an entire book and watched a lot of baseball. On Friday I made 46 greeting cards, one scrapbook layout, worked out, shopped, half of another book, and put down a pint of cookies and cream ice cream!

Our hotel is connected to Petco Park, where the Padres play, and has a gorgeous view (I'll post pictures later) of the ocean. On both Thursday and Friday night, we got to see firework shows out over the water. Luke and I are on the 21st floor of the hotel, so the 'works were pretty much eye level and amazing!

I did get to attend the awards ceremony last night. Luke recieved, among other things, his "2-year service" award. We get an engraved glass plaque when we get home...don't be jealous Mom A, I'm sure it's not as cool as your 30th Anniversary one! Oh brother! Why can't they give us gift certificates for movies or food or money or something USEFUL!

Has anyone ever had "tres leche" cake? Oh my gross! It tastes like they accidentally dropped the cake in some dirty dishwater before serving it. I guess that's why I had to get that pint of ice cream last night!

Tonight we're heading off to the Padres game! Yipee! I can't wait to hear about all the fun things EmJ and Willie are doing with Gma and Gpa...and I'll post lots of pictures when we get home!

Dirty Fingerprints...

On my windows and sliding glass door, on my counters, sinks, and walls, and two black feetprints on the bottom shelf of my fridge?!

Benjamin had his 4 month checkup today. He weighed in at 16 lbs and 26 inches. His heart murmur appears to be gone, and we haven't had any asthma issues for at least a month! This child also did not cry as they gave him four vaccinations. Wow.

Willie let me know today that, "fan finger chop!" At least he gets the message!

We went to the Oakland Zoo on Tuesday. Besides being murderously hot, we had a great time. Willie loved the "openants" (elephants), and EmJ loved all the animals from Madagascar--the zebras, lion, giraffes, and hippos. Luke loved the alligators, and I loved the shade!

Last night, EmJ and I had a sleepover. I asked her what she wanted to do at it and she said, "Just sleep!" So we did. Luke had a rough night, though, getting Willie to fall asleep without EmJ!

It was 103 degrees here today. Yikes! That's too hot even to scrapbook...so I sat around looking at the Stampin' Up! catalog, saying things like, "Stop fighting or go to bed!" and "If you're hungry, get yourself some crackers!" I'm so mean, and it's so hot that I don't hardly care!

That's it. I'm going to reclaim my spot in front of the fan.

More Father's Day

Well here are a few pictures of what I have been up to lately! Don't critique my scrapping or photography *skilz*, just enjoy the pictures of the kids! It's been so hot here, that I have not wanted to do anything but sit in front of the fan and scrapbook (while Luke watches Mcgyver, of course!)

The primary sang today in Sacrament Meeting. EmJ went up there, but because I was playing the piano she sat with me. (I'm the stand-in pianist for the time being, as the old one was called to my old calling.) Also in primary today, the kids played "Who's your Daddy?" They set up the primary room like a game show and had a couple of dads behind the curtain using voice changers to disguise themselves as they answered questions. The kids of course got to guess whose dads they were. It was such a fun sharing time!

Well, that's it from us! Happy Father's Day once again!

Happy Father's Day!!

To our dads--We love you so very much. We appreciate the example that you have and continue to provide us. Happy Father's Day!

To Luke--Happy Father's Day to you, too! I can't wait until you see the kids gifts! I know you won't let me brag about you on here, so let me just say-- YDMB!! I'm so proud of you, especially as a dad.

The primary is singing "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home..." in church tomorrow. I'm not sure if Emmeline realizes this or not, but nonetheless she has been singing it all week. It's really a cute song, especially coming from a four year old.

We enjoyed the Mariner's game on Thursday. We sat in straightaway center field--very conspicuous M's fans amid the green and yellow! Everyone is sunburned, but it was well worth it.

Well, Luke is watching the "Karate Kid" for the nine-hundreth time this week, so I guess I'll go join him...

That's it for now!

Foreheads

Here are a few pictures of 4 month old Benjamin. Notice his forehead, his double chin, his drool problems, and the first smile we've caught on camera! (Oh, and a picture from the zoo today!)




We thought Luke's dad and his forehead would get a kick out of the following story.

In church a few Sundays ago, someone commented on the huge bump on Benjamin's forehead. He said, "Oh man, did he fall off the bed or something?" Luke replied that it's just a bump--always there--to which our friend said, "You may want to head down to the body shop and get that thing shaved off."

Mariner's Game!

Luke is really excited today because he's been waiting three months to be able to go to a Mariner's game and tomorrow is the day!!

Benjamin gave us a treat last night. After he fell asleep, but while still in my arms, he had a full-blown case of the giggles. The usually quiet, almost somber, child laughed for three solid minutes until he finally woke himself up! It must have been a good dream! We all got a kick out of it.

Benjamin has also finally learned how to roll over in the last couple of days. We learned that he can raise one eyebrow, too--whichever one he chooses. It's totally cute, and totally goes with his personality!

Now let's go to something a little more saucy! I was reading on my sister's blog about their recent one year anniversary celebration. WOW did they have a great time. I got to thinking, Luke and I just celebrated our 5th. For sheer humor I decided to compare. She went to the temple, we went to the temple...not together, of course, because we brought all three kids. She went out to dinner at "Tuscany", we went to Arby's. She stayed at a hotel, we slept at grandma's house....and so on.

All joking aside, as I listen to Willie yell, " 'Lene, watch this!" and then jump off the piano, I know that our life is exciting and wonderful, too! (Lindsey and Brian will probably always be a little more polished, though!)

One more thing before I go...

Three cheers for apartment living--One of our neighbors has decided that it's inappropriate that we throw our dirty diapers in the trash outside, and has begun taking them out of the trash and putting them back on our doorstep! What a sick, sick world!

Pictures

Well, it's been a while since I posted, and I don't have any exciting news or stories...sorry! Here are some pictures of the kiddos, though, for your viewing pleasure! You can see in these pictures that Benjamin is getting huge and that he and Joshua ADORE Emmeline. The first picture was taken today when we went swimming. (There were tons of cute ones, but they all had other kids in them whose parents may not appreciate me putting them on the internet). The other photos were taken last week in Sac'to at Grandma's house and Fairytale Town. I love the one of the boys in their matching turtle shirts with turtle Grandma!

The Monk

This is the giant monk at Half Moon Bay! Just for you, Dad! We had a fun time being tourists at the rest area where it is located!

Today we also went to the U.S. National Cemetary in San Francisco. What an amazing and beautiful tribute to those who fought and died in defense of our country!

He Did It...

Barry Bonds passed Babe Ruth with homerun #715 today.

Too bad it wasn't YESTERDAY!! Since that's when we went to the Giants game!
Lame! We had fun anyway, though. We were sitting on pins and needles the entire game, not only in anticipation of a mammoth homerun, but because we were WAAAAYYYY up on the third deck and knew it was only a matter of time before Willie went plummetting to his death!

Seriously, though, we made it through the game without incident. Except the time that Bonds was about to come up to bat and EmJ said, "I have to go potty!", and the time that Willie licked the child sitting in front of us. Yes, licked. You didn't misread that. Thank goodness he was only seven years old and thought it was funny! My moocher children also conned two different people out of their kettle corn (as the second picture attests)! Unreal!

It's been a while since I posted, but nothing much is going on here. The school year is over for Luke, which means he gets to be home a little more. We plan on going to a BBQ tomorrow and then heading up to Sacramento for the rest of the week to visit Grandma.

I haven't yet been officially released from my calling, but it's only a matter of time. I wonder what I get to do next?!

Emmeline is done with soccer. She did well the last couple weeks of the "season"--actually kicking the ball in the last game!

Joshua just learned how to climb the ladder to the top bunk. You can imagine the problems that entails! We learned this morning, though, that he can hang by one hand from the railing for a good long time before he falls.

Benjamin is doing fantastic. He's learning how to use his hands--mostly to "punch" EmJ in the face--and how to scoot around on his stomach. (I didn't know about the latter, which is why he fell off our bed the other day! Yikes!) He caught a cold last week and gave us quite a scare. The cold turned quickly into bronchiolitis. The doctor thinks that he has developed asthma and will be more susceptible to these kinds of respiratory infections. He also got an ear infection. So between prescriptions, doctor visits, and nebulizers, we've had quite a week! He goes back to the doctor in a week for a follow-up and his four month checkup. The little porker wore an outfit to church today that I bought AFTER we moved to San Jose. That means Benjamin is as big as Joshua was at about nine months!

I think that's it from us! Happy Memorial Day!

Murderer!

I killed a lizard today. Holy gross. The disgusting reptile must have tried to run in the house as I either opened or shut the door, for he was beheaded between the door and the doorframe. Luke is posting the pictures for me because I have to go throw up and then take a shower.

It all started with...

Willie throwing a book out the window of our moving car, across three lanes of traffic! Now our "Just a Baseball Game" by Mercer Mayer has "Just a Tire Tread" by a Semi Truck.

You wouldn't believe the rest of our family home evening if I told you!

In other news, our flowers are growing!!! We planted seeds last Monday for FHE, and we have three itsy bitsy teeny weeny miniscule sprouts. By now, I'm sure the kids have forgotten all about our faith-seed comparison, but I'm still excited that the object lesson seems to be successful.

5 Years!!!

May 12, 2006 marks five years of marriage for Luke and I. I can't believe I've been married for a fifth of my life, and yet, these past five years have gone by in a flash. We were able to spend the day yesterday at the Oakland Temple. We started in Woodland, visiting Grandma and Aunt Traci and her classroom full of animals (Emmeline held a snake!). Leaving Sac'to we drove to Oakland where Luke and I alternated attending the temple and watching the kids. We hung out in Oakland for a while...at the park, shopping, etc...then returned that evening to the Visitors' Center to watch the new Joseph Smith movie. (Amazing)! We ate a drive thru dinner, since the kids fell asleep on the way home. It was not what you'd call romantic, but at least it was quiet! We had a good laugh later as we went over the goals we had made at the start of our marriage. Some we had achieved..."start a family"...and others we, well...didn't! I can't wait to see what the ten year goal session reveals! As an anniversary gift, we bought a framed drawing of the Oakland Temple. We figured it'd be a momento of this "California Adventure!" So that's it! Happy Anniversary to us! Thank you for your well wishes!

Here's Emmeline giving blondes their stereotype--As she got ready to say prayers the other night, I told her to remember to pray for this and thank Heavenly Father for that, etc. She replied, "I don't think that hard!"

Happy Mother's day to our moms and grandmas! We love you very much!

Willie is Two!!

I know I'm a few days late, but I just wanted to report that Joshua had a fabulous second birthday! (He still isists that he's "four", though!) We went out shopping in the morning to get his birthday gift--a lifejacket. You may be wondering why a two year-old would get excited about such a gift, but Willie is far from you're typical two-year old boy, remember? (See head-banging post below! 4-11-06)

Anyway, after shopping we enjoyed lunch and opening a present from Puppy Grandma (and fam)...some books, a car, and a new CAR QUILT! (She's amazing)! Willie now has four blankets that he has to sleep with every night. (I can't wait to travel this summer and carry all of them with us, oh brother!)

Then, Joshua, Emmeline, the new life jacket, and I went swimming. Joshua took only one look back at me as he took a flying leap into the water. I think he was suprised that I didn't stop him, since usually our pool outings consist of "Willie, NOOOOO!", "Get away from the edge!", and "Please come play on the steps!" We've been swimming three times now with the new life jacket and he's quite the pro. He jumps in, dunks his head, treads water (to keep his balance), and swims wherever his little heart desires. If only he'd stop drinking the pool water--Sick!

After a loooooong nap, we headed out to Chuck-e-Cheese for the FHE birthday celebration. The kids had a great time. So, that's it. The birthday. Happy Birthday to dad, too! I think it's so cool that they share a birthday and a name.

In other news, EmJ, the amazing non-complainer, burned her elbow on a sizzling frying pan the other day. It's nastier looking than the pile of hair picture that I posted a few days ago, but she hasn't said a word about it. The only thing that she was concerned about as we were fussing over her was that her toast was getting cold. (She burned her elbow because she was standing on a stool at the counter making her own toast, a new skill that she's very proud of!)

Well, Benjamin is finally starting to fuss, so it's time to put him in bed and tackle my Relief Society To-Do list. I'm up to my ears right now in Enrichment *stuff*, and I get to teach on Sunday, and play for the Spanish branch, etc, etc. I love being busy, and I adore my calling, but what is the deal with everything happening in the same week?! And speaking of adoring my calling--our Relief Society President is moving. So I'll probably be released in the next couple of weeks. *Sigh* (That was a sad sigh, not a relieved sigh...okay maybe a little relieved, but mostly sad.) (I work in the most amazing presidency--truly a lesson in how presidencies should operate.)

FYI--Luke was called last week to be a Sunday School teacher for the 14-18 year olds. I think it's the perfect calling for him!

Man, sorry for rambling for so long, but thanks for reading! Good-night all!

Well, we finally did it!

These aren't the best pictures Joshua has ever posed for, but I know you are all chomping at the bit to see what he looks like as a "real boy!" He had a cold this week...and a fat lip from jumping off the couch, but he's cute anyway! Have a great day everyone!

What is it?!!!

Whomever can guess what this is a picture of wins a prize...
(Hint: We had a monumental day today).
(P.S. There is really not a prize!)

Family Home Evening

We had the sweetest family night tonight. Usually on Sundays we talk about the Sunday School lesson, and then do an activity on Monday. But today, EmJ took charge. She played the piano, then said a prayer. She then turned to Luke and said, "What do Fathers do for us?" He answered with a list of things. Then she asked me, "What do Mothers do for us?" Then to Willie, "What do Brothers do for us?" Then to herself, "What do Sisters do for us?" Her answer was long and random, but so cute. I'll edit this post when I can remember some of it! Finally, she asked Benjamin, "What do Babies do for us?" She followed up with a scripture that made no sense, but included everyone from Joseph Smith to the Lamanites, with mixed in concepts about the Resurrection and the Creation. We ended with "Once there was a Snowman" and another prayer by Emmeline. It was the perfect FHE. Completely unplanned and completely Emmeline's idea. We loved it!

Spring has come!!

Well, it's a month late, but our allergies and pink cheeks will attest to the fact that it's finally SPRING here in the Bay Area!!! Yesterday, we went to the zoo--courtesy of our new zoo membership. The kids had a blast riding the carousel and Danny the Dragon train over and over again. Since I had Benjamin in the stroller, I asked EmJ and Willie to hold hands while we walked around, and they never let each other go! It was so adorable. We also went swimming yesterday for a minute--literally a minute. As soon as we got to the pool, EmJ had to go to the bathroom, so we trekked right back home. It was lame, but I'm still just happy that it was nice enough to go swimming!

Here's our cute Willie story for the day. His vocabulary and brain are starting to work together and it's so cute to see what he comes up with. Today, it's free-associations. He said, "Emmeline?" I told him that Emmeline was sleeping, and he replied, "Sleeping? Night-night. Prayers. Nursery. Camryn. Cars." It's like the "six degrees to Kevin Bacon" except he always comes around to cars!

And finally, last Sunday there was a special "primary chorous" in Sacrament Meeting. It was only supposed to be about seven kids singing (one primary class). Well, they announced it, and when the kids starting gathering up front EmJ joined them. Just left the pew and went and stood up there with all the CTR 7s. She didn't know the song, waved to her teacher in the middle of the song, and was eating a cookie the whole time! Luke didn't stop her because he thought it was supposed to be all the primary, and I was distracted (suprise) with Joshua. By the time we realized what was going on, it was too late. Plus, it would have crushed EmJ to be pulled away in front of everybody. Oh man! She's a nut!

HAPPY EASTER!!

Stats!

Well, the kids all went to the doctor yesterday. Yuck on the shots, but an otherwise normal appointment.

Benjamin is 13lbs, 23 1/2 inches
Joshua is 24 1/2 lbs, 34 inches
Emmeline is 34 1/2 lbs, 42 inches (at least 42, she wasn't really standing up straight)

I have no idea what percentages that puts them in, but for reference sake, Emmeline was 12lbs and 23 1/4 inches at two months, and 27 lbs and 36 1/2 inches at two years.

That's it! Sorry for the boring post!

Typical Middle Child

As I write this tonight, Joshua is jumping off the couch, running to the front door, banging his head on it, and running back into the couch. Oh man!

Anyway, today as Luke was leaving he said, "I love you," to me. I responded with the same. Emmeline chimed in with, "I love Benjamin!" Then she did a quick inventory and concluded, "I don't know who loves Joshua." Poor stuck-in-the-middle Willie! We all love you!

Blessing Day!

I am holding the kid right now, so won't write much, but here are some pictures from Benjamin's blessing. We are so glad that family was able to be there for our special day...thank you once again for everything!

The other pictures are of the kids enjoying the new quilt from Grandma (she made that!)...and of course the new bunk beds. I couldn't resist!

It's Baseball Season Yankee Fans!!!!!

Happy Birthday Emmeline!!

Well, we survived Emmeline's first big kid birthday party! It was so much fun. She made the guest list all on her own. Three kids from her sunbeam class, her teacher, and three of my friends--fortunately, they have kids closer to Joshua's age, so it was good for him, too. 18 people in this apartment was a little chaotic, but at least all the food got eaten. Benjamin and Joshua cooperated by taking mid-morning naps, allowing me to finish the final food preparations and things.

We set up a small table for the kids. EmJ chose butterfly cups, plates, etc. She also chose peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with grapes and Teddy Grahams for lunch. It went over much better and cleaner than pizza! The adults got the big table with plain paper plates, taquitos, veges, etc. After they ate, the kids played pin the tail on the donkey (and every single one of them peeked out from under the mask!!!) Then we opened gifts (which no one was supposed to bring) and ate cupcakes (which EmJ decorated). We didn't sing happy birthday because the cupcakes were half gone as soon as I turned around to get the candles. Oh well!

So, it was a fun birthday. We look forward to celebrating with the family next weekend!

More quotable quotes

"What's your favorite food Willie?"
"Juice"
"What's your name Willie?"
"Juice"
"What's your favorite toy Willie?"
"Juice"
"What did you wish for Willie?"
"Juice"
"How old are you Willie?"
"Four!"

EmJ, in response to a green corvette--"That's a fatty batman car!"

Luke, in response to Joshua's distracibility--"He knows how to count to ten, he just gets bored after two!"

EmJ spitting--"I'm just spitting on the grass so the bugs have food! Duh!"

$16,000

Thank goodness for health insurance!

out of the mouths of babes

Emmeline informed us yesterday that she wants to be a "cooker" when she grows up!

She also let us know that Benjamin thinks she is "so cute," but he thinks that mom is "not so cute!" Apparently thats why he keeps smiling at her and not at me.

First Smile!

Benjamin gave us his first smile this morning! Woohoo! He is adorable, but of course, he won't even look at me when I pull out the camera...so no pictures yet.

We're happy to report that everyone is doing well. Happy and healthy. Emmeline has stopped breaking out in hives every day (we still don't know what was causing that), Joshua has stopped puking, and Benjamin seems to be completely recovered from his pneumonia.

(For those of you who didn't know...Benjamin was hospitalized for a week. It was really sad and scary, but thankfully he is and will be fine.)

Thank you for all your help and prayers during the last couple of weeks!

In other exciting news, Joshua is talking like a mad man. It is so refreshing to have him able to communicate instead of whine, cry, beg, scream, etc. He's turning into quite the kid, no longer a baby.

Question for the day: Should we give Joshua a haircut for his birthday or let it grow until Halloween and dress him up as a country-western singer?

That's it! Happy Saturday!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Since I'm not a flower and chocolate kind of girl, I am now the proud new owner of an alarm clock and "A League of their Own," courtesy of Luke, courtesy of Valentine's Day! Mom Adams watched the kids for an hour so we could go on a date last night. It was so nice. I got Luke tickets to the ball game, when the M's are in town, of course! It was a great Valentine's Day.

In other news, Willie got the stomach flu or something yesterday. Thankfully, Mom Adams was here. I slept right through it, but she probably spent the whole night cleaning puke. Yuck!

Benjamin is doing well. He continues to be very laid back and quiet. He's officially growing up too fast...leaving the newborn clothes and diapers behind. It's really sad to me this time.

Emmeline is the best big sister. I asked her what she wanted to do today and she said, "Just look at Benjamin!" She is willing to "watch" him whenever I have to do something, and she is constantly holding his hand or patting his head. It's so adorable to see!

Well that's it...I'm off to watch "A League of their Own" while Benjamin sleeps and grandma takes the kids to the zoo! To leave you with the best movie quote ever, "There's no crying in baseball!" Oh, and "Hey cowgirls, see the grass? Don't eat it!" Any more, Lin?

Pictures of Benjamin

Well, we've survived a week with the new baby! Thankfully, my mom has been here to cook, clean, care for the big kids, and rock the baby all night long. Soon she'll be cutting up my food, too! Benjamin continues to be the most laid back baby I've ever seen. He has a clogged tear duct, and I keep trying to get him to cry to clean it out, but he just won't. Joshua managed to kick him a couple times yesterday and still--nothing. I seem to remember my neice, Veronica, being similarly calm...I guess the third one's a charm!

Hopefully along with this post there are some pictures. I'm working on it...but I'm not very computer savvy...so here it goes. Oh, and if you can't figure out who Benjamin is, "ring your call button and Tommy will come by and hit you over the head with a tack hammer 'cause you are a moron!"

I'm not pregnant anymore!!!!!

Hello to all! I was going to make really cute baby announcements, but when the baby comes three weeks early it throws a wrench in the best laid plans!

We had a little baby BOY on Wednesday, February 1st. He was born at 1:26a.m. He weighs 7 lbs. 5 oz. and is 21 inches long. He's got blue eyes and lots of dark hair, for now! We've named him Benjamin Vosco, although Emmeline is still calling him Carver. He is healthy and happy and we are both doing great. Emmeline and Joshua adore him!

Happy Birthday Mom!

We had a great time at Grandma's house. Luke and Joshua enjoyed the monster truck show, and they came home with their ears ringing! Luke had a headache the whole next day, so I can imagine that's why Joshua was grumpy, too. But, apparently it was worth it. We forgot the camera, so no pictures. Sorry!

EmJ was really sad when the boys left without her for the truck show, but we went out shopping and to dinner. Traci and Marc gave her a huge basket (they won it in a raffle) full of art supplies. Crayons, markers, paper, paint, glitter, you name it. It is amazing and it made her forget about the monster trucks really fast!

Yesterday, the primary sang in Sacrament Meeting. EmJ stood at the edge of the pew waiting to go up in front (and it was a long (or long-winded) wait, kwim?), marched up there with her arms folded, stood right in the front, and....didn't sing at all! But we were so proud of her actually going up there and being excited about it and being so reverent...except that she picked her nose through the whole second song! They sang Book of Mormon stories (her mouth moved a little on that one) and I Love to see the Temple (which I don't think she knew as well). It was a proud milestone for us and for her!

That's it for today! Happy Birthday Mom...I hope all your dreams come true!

To Grandma's house we go...

We're heading up to Turtle grandma's house tonight to visit, get the playpen, and go to Monster Jam. Actually, Luke is just taking Willie to the truck show...I think the girls will go out and do something a little more decorous (is that a word?)

I'm thinking of spending all day Saturday at the outlet mall, on my feet. Ever since my doctor's appointment on Wednesday, I've been having contractions every time I'm on my feet. While it's miserable, I'm glad that things seem to be moving right along. I'll do anything to get this baby out, so maybe a day of walking around is in order.

My visiting teacher's were over the other day and asked me if we had thought of names for the baby. EmJ, who usually speaks to no one, said, "Carver. Carver Adams." This poor kid is going to have a strange nickname whether he/she likes it or not! Emmeline has started referring to the unborn as Carver and has even made a card and pictures and things for Carver. When she meets the baby we'll have to be sure include Carver as a second middle name or we'll have one upset three year old!

For real's though, we tried it out as a middle name for a boy, but I think it sounds like the name of a serial killer and Luke thinks it sounds like a last name...like naming your kid Benjamin Franklin or George Washington...it just doesn't work! Poor Emmeline!

That's it for today! Happy weekend!

Love Home Movies!!

Yesterday, Luke made me stay home from church and sleep. So, while he was gone (besides napping for 2 hours) I pulled out the video camera. Some of the buttons are broken, so we haven't used it in a while, but I learned that it still works fine as long as you use the remote. Yay! So, last night we watched a bunch of home movies...trying to find the end of all our tapes and get the camera ready for when the new baby comes.

It was so funny to see EmJ at the age that Willie is now. Although they sound the same, EmJ spoke so much better and of course was bigger. They even kind of look alike....which they didn't at all as babies. The best was the video of EmJ licking the bannister all the way down the stairs on Christmas morning. We also couldn't believe how "calm" EmJ is/was compared to Willie. I'm sure that if we compared Christmas morning footage we'd see Willie getting mad because it's not his turn to open gifts, and EmJ patiently helping everyone. It was so cute!

So as to not leave out the most important part....we also watched the whole half hour that Luke videotaped of the Top Thrill Dragster Roller Coaster at Cedar Point. He had a good laugh at himself.

So now the cameras are cued and the bag is packed and we're ready whenever this baby decides to make an appearance. Any name ideas? That's our biggest problem right now!

Well, I'd better go. Willie is mad because he spilled like one little droplet of milk and absolutely cannot finish eating until I clean it up! Yesterday he got mad at Luke for putting his cars away in the wrong order (yes, he lines them up)! What a character.

Go Seahawks!

I hate being sick!

We keep passing around this cold, stuffy nose, sore throat thing. Yuck. Luke is a baby when he's sick and gets aggravated to no end every time someone else coughs or sniffles. Hello...you don't sound so good yourself! The worst part is that no one really feels bad. We've just got the "leftovers". I wish I could just get really sick for a few days and be done with it instead of the minor cough, minor sore throat for like two weeks.

Yesterday I made a Mariners baby blanket for Laura...it is awesome! I also finished all the baby shower invitations for a friend (whose shower I'm throwing later this month). I must be nesting! Today, however, I'm going to put these invites in the mail and then go relax and watch a movie with EmJ...and sleep. What an exciting day, eh?

Hmmm...

Good evening everyone!

We had an uneventful day today, but a good one at least! The most exciting part of our day was that I kept having contractions at COSTCO...darn it, though, they've stopped.

My new sleep strategy would be working wonders, except that Luke snores too much! Last night I also had my first ever case of heartburn. At least I assume that's what it was. I thought I was going to die. I feel so bad for people who get it chronically. Yuck!

EmJ informed me today that the new baby, whose name she still insists is "Carver", likes kitties. So she spent a good twenty minutes lying in my lap and purring. The baby was going crazy kicking her in the head and she got a kick out of it (no pun intended). I also got Willie to say, "Hi Baby." He looks out the window and waves while he says it, but at least he's talking, right? He has also added, "ooh mama," and "where are you?" to his vocabulary...so cute!

That's it for today!

35 Weeks!!

Only five weeks to go...at the most!!!! AND, I finally figured out where to post a title for my posts!!! I don't know which is more exciting.

Tonight for family home evening we went to BY-TH'-BUCKET. It is a seafood and pizza restaurant recommended to us by Marc and Traci (thank you for the gift certificate). We gorged ourselves on buffalo wings, pizza, garlic cheese bread, fettucine, and french onion soup. I kept thinking of that line from Tommy Boy, "I can almost hear you getting fatter!" We are totally full and greasy, but it was good food, and we have enough leftovers for lunch and dinner tomorrow. Yum!

Over dinner, we discussed a new sleeping strategy. Serious business. I am now going to nap when the kids do, every afternoon, and then not go to bed until at least midnight or later. The goal is to sleep when I can, which for some reason is in the middle of the afternoon, and then tire myself out so that I can get at least a few hours of sleep at night. Generally, if I nap during the day I don't sleep well at night, but lately I don't sleep well at night anyway so I might as well nap. Hopefully this will not only help with my sleeping, but my attitude and short temper. We'll see! Someone seriously needs to invent a bed with a hole in the middle so pregnant ladies can sleep on their stomachs. Someone also needs to find a cure for charlie horses. Oh man!

In other news, EmJ thinks primary is great now because they sang, "Once there was a Snowman," on Sunday. Willie fell asleep in nursery...there's like 57 kids in there...why can't I sleep like him?!

That's it! Until tomorrow!

Hey all! I mean, Mom. Who else really reads this?! Actually for all three days that I've been doing it, I've enjoyed having a blog...it's so much more fun than writing in a real journal. I'll just have to make sure that it's saved somewhere safe and sound.

No exciting news in the our family right now. Joshua has strung together his first couple of tiny sentences--"bye car," "bye house," "all gone," and "mimia." I think that last one is the catch-all. He says it all the time just like Emmeline used to say, "nonnie." (No nonnie take a bath. No nonnie eat my food.) We never figured out exactly what it meant.

We had our first visitors today as well. Diana brought over taco bell and cinnabons for the pregnant lady. We devoured the taco bell and made the kids eat ramen. They loved it and of course, so did we! It was so nice of her to visit and bring treats, especially since I've been stranded here for three days (Luke was on a business trip). Emmeline enjoyed playing with Kiki, too. It's always good to see her break out of her shell a little bit.

Happy weekend! I'll be back on Monday!

Congratulations to me! I just moved the last box into storage. Woohoo! Luke has been such a trooper, not letting me lift or move anything, catering to my every whim--straighten that, put those up there, no not that way, etc. Tonight I plan to organize baby clothes, pull out the newborn stuff, etc and tomorrow we'll hang pictures, thus making this look a little more like home.

Want to hear about my brilliance? I adamantly refused to "sacrifice" Christmas for the sake of the move. The Christmas decorations were the last things I packed. Since the Christmas box had already been taken for something else, the decorations ended up randomly in whatever box they would safely fit in. Anyway, my brilliant idea backfired because I am missing three ornaments and a really cute Santa. They could be ANYWHERE!! I seriously hope I shoved them in the box with the fake tree because the only boxes left to clean out are Luke's files...which will be done in like ten years by which time I will have forgotten all about how much I love my Yankee Stadium ornament. Oh man!

In other news, I don't like my OB. Went in for my appointment today and she said that baby is head down (good) but posterior (baby's back is against mine, no good). I casually said that's how my other two were and the doctor just turned the babies, no problem. She said, "Well, this is bad news." WHAT? What exactly does she mean by that? What Dr. Woods did in turning the babies didn't seem like rocket science, but this lady acted like something was seriously wrong. So, now I'm all worried. I wish Dr. Woods would just come and deliver my baby...I worry so much that I need someone laid-back to counter it, you know?! Grrr.

Willie's molars are coming in--what a grump he is! Okay, I think that's all the news from us today!

Many thanks to Lindsey for making us cool with our new blog. She also posted the pics! Cute, huh! I'm glad she didn't include any of me with my pregnant belly...which has officially solicited the rhetorical question, "That baby's coming soon, right?" from complete strangers. Only 40 days (at the most) left.

Today we are unpacking our things and trying to make them fit in a yet smaller apartment. It's all coming together, slowly but surely. That's it for my first official blogger-geek post!

Kirs

Just a few cute pictures of the kids at Christmas!

Emmeline opening a present with her Aunt Alivia.

Joshua shoved a whole powdered donut in his

mouth...It was hilarious trying to watch him eat it!

Emmeline with her game Candyland

Joshua with his truck