The Law Family

I a Wock Stah (I'm a rock star)

2011-12-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

We went and looked at Christmas lights on Sunday night. As Calvin puts it, "dey awethome" (they're awesome)

As we were driving around I mentioned that next year Talmage might be able to play us some carols on the piano. At this, Calvin claimed his need for a piano.

Mom: Okay, Calvi maybe you can play a little piano.

Calvin: No! I need big piano! I a big wock stah!

It was one of those moments as a mother that I think surely I heard wrong. But nope, he told me again - he a big wock stah!

Yesterday, Calvin got to go into primary for the first time...he's getting ready to go into Sunbeams. This morning as we were playing legos I asked him how it went.

Calvin: It went dood (good.) I not punch anyone. I no kick anyone.

As if I automatically assumed he would :)

Typical.

2011-11-14T10:33:00.001-08:00

"Sorry mom. My bad."

"I was going to put them in the bowl but it's just so much easier to eat them this way."

Nap Time.

2011-11-14T10:04:00.001-08:00

Where do you want to go? Nowhere.

Who do you feel like seeing? No one.

Andy and I were laughing yesterday on our way home from church...typically, Elisabeth is exhausted after church and crashes as soon as she gets into her car seat. But yesterday, she just sat and stared at the side of her seat for several minutes before finally falling asleep. She looked so pitiful...

Tal and Naomi

2011-11-14T09:56:00.000-08:00

Tal and Naomi are the best. Right after school started I walked past Tal's room while he and Naomi were playing. This is what I heard.

Tal: Naomi, if I walk past you at school you say, "Hey bro," and then I'll say, "Hey sis." Let's try it.

Naomi: Hey bro.

Tal: Not like that. That's too forgiving (clearly not understanding the word...) More like this, "hey, bro." (his best cool-kid imitation)

Naomi: Oh, okay. "Hey bro."

Tal: Hey sis. (literally shrugging his shoulders in his nonchalant, no-big-deal, I-run-into-my-"sis"-everyday voice)

It was awesome. I can't wait to see Tal practicing in the mirror.

Calvin.

2011-11-08T18:53:00.000-08:00

Calvin: Mom, I not hab a dood feelin bout dis. (Mom, I don't have a good feeling about this)

Calvin said this on our way to Stake Conference... I never have a great feeling about taking four tazmanian devils to sit through a two-hour meeting either.

Calvin: Mom, I cidenty boke you watsh. Sawy. (Mom, I accidentally broke your watch. Sorry)

Luckily, for Calvin it was already broken. This was his first attempt at "accidentally"...not his first attempt at breaking something...he has a knack for that.

Calvin: Mom, Yisbef on de counta adain. (Mom, Elisabeth is on the counter again.)

He's so good to keep tabs on his little sister for me. I'm sure she loves it too.

I love this stage of Calvin's development. I understand most of the things he is saying - but he still says them in such a cute way!

I'm sorry.

2011-11-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

Mom: Tal, I've been feeling badly about getting mad at you for peeing all over my toilet.

Tal: That's okay mom.

Mom: Do you forgive me?

Tal: I'll always forgive you.

There's no way I can measure up. Kids are just too good.

Love these girls.

2011-11-07T18:19:00.001-08:00

I love my girls. Not only because it's fun to have someone to do "girly" things with but also because there is something so special between sisters. I love having three sisters and I am so glad my girls get to experience that special bond!

Funny Elisabeth

2011-11-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

This girl is exploding with attitude. In the last two weeks she has mastered the art of standing with her hands on her hips and crossing her arms and shouting an emphatic, "No!"

It's really quite embarrassing. She doesn't really care who she's yelling at. If someone does or says something she doesn't like she is going to tell them.

Loves to be held.

Bad hair day.

Ice cream anyone?

Girly, girly, girly. Betti is very into her "pretties"

What do we do in the Summertime?

2011-11-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

I found this video. It reminds me of what is great about the summer. And it makes me laugh.

We read you Zordon...

2011-11-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know who "Zordon" is will truly appreciate our themed Halloween costumes this year.

Last year I knew that if I was going to convince my kids to dress alike again I was going to have to bring it to their level. I really love seeing my kids dressed alike so...Power Rangers Unite!

There are many, many different versions of the power rangers so we don't exactly match but it was close enough.

Apparently, there aren't very many 2 year old little girls wanting to dress like the pink power ranger so Elisabeth had to settle for being the hulked-up blue power ranger. She owned it.

Oh, and this was the first year we actually tried to carve our pumpkins. I got one of those carving kits on clearance last year...not too hard and loads of fun!

Hot Springs National Park

2011-09-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

We hit our next National Park over Labor Day. We went with the Smith's our park-hopping friends who we traveled to Big Bend with last year. It is so fun to have friends willing to take these adventures with...and in this case friends who have done it before. They went to Hot Springs National Park last year and found Ouitchita State Park, a gem of a park to camp at. Hot Springs itself isn't much but that coupled with the great time we had camping and boating (we rented a pontoon boat) made for an unforgettable vacation!

Tal and Brooklyn tearing it up on the tube (did you know you could tube behind a pontoon boat)

Andy gave all the kids their official boat driving test.

In addition to tubing we took several swim breaks. Tal and Naomi both did backflips off the side of the boat! Andy and I had to step up to the challenge...even Calvin attempted a flip!

That look of concentration is priceless.

The obligatory family picture with the National Park sign.

Inside one of the bathhouses. These are pretty cool.

Love this shot of Calvin.

The gang.

Trying out a tub in one of the bathhouses.

On the road again. It's a 7 or 8 hour drive.

First Day of School.

2011-09-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that two of my kids are already in school. The dynamic has officially shifted at our house as we learn to juggle the demands of mothering growing children. Tal started 1st grade. We loved his teacher Mrs. Hadley, but they dissolved his class after a month due to low enrollment. After a few tears he has settled into his new class with Mrs. Edson nicely. He did come home a few days after the switch with this story:

Tal: Mom, something bad happened today at school. (this is a typical beginning to his stories)

Mom: Oh, really? What?

Tal: (very sad) Well, I got left at recess.

Mom: What? How did that happen?

Tal: Well, I guess I didn't hear them call our class name. And I didn't realize my class had gone in until a long time after. Then I asked a teacher and she said I would have to wait and go in with her class.

Mom: (I could tell he was really upset) Did you cry?

Tal: A little. But I tried to wipe the tears away before I got to class so I wasn't embarrassed.

Seriously? It was just one of those moments you want to gather your kid up in a big hug and hold on to them forever.

Naomi, has done really well in Kindergarten. We weren't sure whether she would be ready for school but she thrives in structured environments where the rules are clear...so she has adjusted pretty easily.

Calvin is in pre-school and loving it. He cries everyday he doesn't get to go to school with Tal and Naomi but I have loved having some time with him.

Even Elisabeth is going to a Mothers Day Out one day a week at Calvin's Preschool. I don't know how she feels about it since she's short on communication but I am loving it. It's like finding an oasis in the middle of a dessert...just a chance to take a breath.

Ant Trap

2011-08-04T21:10:00.001-07:00

We had an ant invasion in our home last week. Anyone who has been lucky enough to live in Houston knows that this is somewhat common and doesn't cause the amount of stress that infestations of other Houston-friendly pests would cause (read: rats, cockroaches, snakes, spiders).

Lucky for me, at any given time I have at least one kid who is crazy about bugs. Right now it is Calvin, "I yuv (love) bugs, Mom!" Talmage is also interested in them. Apparently his kindergarten teacher didn't want to kill any living things so he is always trying to "save" the bugs from Calvin who really just yuvs smashing them. Anyway, Tal and Calvin decided they could fix my ant problem. This is what they came up with:

I'm not sure what they thought ice, tin foil, and a dog blanket would do. But in case you're wondering: ants can freeze to death.

The Tooth Fairy.

2011-08-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

We have a Tooth Fairy "situation" at our house.

We were excited when Talmage lost his first tooth in May. Knowing that the tooth would get lost quickly I told him to go put it under his pillow so that the tooth fairy could get it after he went to sleep. I forgot and changed his sheets in the middle of the day (what are the chances that he actually listens to what I say and I wash sheets all in one day). After scouring the floor for the lost tooth I assured him the tooth fairy was trained for these kinds of emergencies and that she would be able to find it. She must have found it because he got his money...problem solved.

Two days later, he unbuckled his seatbelt as we were driving home. I hit the brakes, out came tooth number two. So again he put his tooth under the pillow. The next morning, he came into the bathroom with the saddest look on his face and HUGE crocodile tears streaming down his cheeks. It took me about two seconds to realize that our "tooth fairy" had decided to hit the sack a little early and had clearly forgotten her duty. Tal was heartbroken! I tried to reassure Talmage that she was simply overbooked and that as long as his tooth was still there she would come the next night. THEN, he went to make sure the tooth was still under his pillow and found his first tooth laying on the carpet! What kind of a slacker-tooth-fairy do we have??

Luckily, she left a very nice note the next night explaining all about being overbooked and the difficulty fairies have locating lost teeth. She even left a bonus for the recovery of the lost tooth. What a smart fairy.

This is Talmage, huddled in the corner, "the morning after" the tooth fairy forgot him.

Dance Recital

2011-08-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

Naomi had her second dance recital in May! It was so much fun watching her develop into a beatiful little dancer this year. Although I can hang with Kevin Bacon Footloose-style, I have to say she is much better at 4 than I am at 31. She and her bestie, Ava did a super-cute duet to Colbie Caillet's song, Bubbly. It was short but really fun!

Naomi's decided to try gymnastics with her brothers for a while, but I'm really going to miss watching her twirl.

Princess Catherine (aka Naomi)

2011-04-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

Naomi really wants to change her name to Catherine.

Who can blame her? If ever there was a day for a 4-year-old (and mommy) to believe in fairytales and happily-ever-afters it was today. I even got out my wedding dress and let Naomi try it on...it was a big hit!

A Conversation with Naomi.

2011-04-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

Naomi has developed a serious affinity for all things flowering. Today, she came in and excitedly insisted that I come and see the flowers that are blooming in our flower bed. I oohed and aahed with her and Calvin (who must do everything anyone else is doing) and then this...

Me: Okay, are you going to come in now or stay out here and look at the garden some more?
Naomi: I think I'll just sit here and watch the flowers grow.
Mom: Okay - let me know how that goes.
Naomi: I'll come in when they are big.

Love that girl.

Love.

2011-04-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours, Megan, owns a beautiful online boutique that specializes in quilts and baby gifts (http://www.miadolceoriginals.com/). She is in the process of updating her website and wanted to add some pictures of different children with her quilts. So, since I've done such a stellar job contributing to the 1-6 year-old population in Houston she asked if the kids could be little models :) Jane Foster took the pictures (http://www.janefosterphotography.com/) and I have to say she did a awesome job of capturing some priceless moments...

(This is one of my favorite "Elisabeth expressions")

Cute Pics...

2011-03-15T20:03:00.001-07:00

Since I have been remiss in my blogging over the last couple of months here are some pics to tell the tale...

The Rodeo is a big deal here in Houston...so Naomi's school had their annual Rodeo Day Parade...

We went to the park and Elisabeth dragged the two lunch boxes all over the playground...

We've had a little of this...

And a lot of this...

Andy bought a basketball hoop. Not the in-ground one that he really wants...but it'll hold us over for now. It has been a huge hit!

Andy figured out the perfect Valentines Day gift. A bouquet of my favorite candy..

Tal celebrated his "100 days" of school! It's a pretty big deal in kindergarten so they have all the kids make these shirts with a hundred of something on them. We chose a little of everything that Tal loves...I think this shirt weighed 5 pounds!

More interesting additions to the Calvin sleeping saga...

Andy took a week off of work and we had a "staycation" We stayed at home and got all sorts of useful things done. It was actually a really fun week - I'd definitely recommend it...

Elisabeti loved the staycation - we spent a lot of time digging in the yard...

Tal continues to love to "build" things. I opened the fridge one morning to find this little dude smiling at me...can you see his face? It was so funny and cute I didn't even get mad that he'd used one of my yummy Lindt truffles...

Elisabeti turned 1!

2011-03-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe our baby turned one! I think because she is so small I forget that she is getting older. What a year it has been - but with all the stress and chaos some of our life-changes have created Elisabeth has been entirely wonderful. Our little Angel, here are some of the things we love about you...

I love the way Elisabeth's cheeks consume her face when she smiles. It's impossible not to smile when you see it!
I love that we found such a great nickname for her...Elisabeti. We were at a wellness visit right after she was born and I was reading a book to the bigger kids. The little girl in the story (from Jamaica) was named Elisabeti and it stuck! It has morphed into Beti...but we love them both!
I love that Elisabeth is small...for the Law family that is. She is in the 25% for weight - and for us that is just something so different from our other kiddos that I laugh every time I see her little body. And while she is small she still has perfectly kissable, pinchable cheeks!
I love that she has an opinion. She is already so determined to keep up with the big kids - she wants to have what they have and be where they are. She has already figured out how to climb up onto the trampoline and throw a full-size tantrum when we baby her. She will be a hard one to slow down.
I love what a little girl she is - she already holds her babies and loves walking around with a purse on her arm.
I love that she has been so easy to love. She has saved us this year with her mellow tendencies. She can be content for hours just playing by herself. Again, with all of our big personalities she has been a fun change!
I love how much the big kids love her. She will forever be the baby in our family. In fact Calvin only calls her baby. Today, after he admonished her not to take his candy, "No baby no!" he pushed her down. I told him to say sorry...he said, "sorry baby." And Naomi, just can't get enough of her. It's so fun to wake up in the morning after Tal or Naomi has taken her out of her crib and carried her downstairs to see them all playing together!

Honestly, I think that someone upstairs knew how much we needed our Elisabeti. She has brought so much joy into our home!

Last year, when Elisabeti was born, Andy took the kids to Build-A-Bear. So in honor of El's birthday we took her to choose her own. She loves this bunny!

I actually think holding the wrapped presents is more fun for Elisabeth than actually opening them!

Before...

After...

Christmas Highlights

2011-03-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

Just so my kids know that there was a Christmas 2010 - here are some of our favorite pics...

Of course Talmage. being the only one who truly understands what Christmas morning brings, woke up at some unearthly hour. He tried to wake the other kids - Calvin wouldn't move and Naomi's response was, "Go on, I'll be down in a minute" at which point she went right back to sleep!

Evan sent the kids Pez dispensers for Christmas - it was a huge hit!

Naomi earned her brand-new bike! She taught herself to ride on two wheels in November (a small miracle) and was so excited for a bigger bike so she could keep up with Tal!

The new trampoline! Santa and Mrs. Claus stayed up all night on Christmas Eve setting this puppy up in our garage...then we had to move it around the house into the backyard - not one of Mrs. Claus' finer moments.

Grandma Law knitted the girls the super-cute dresses!

Not one of my more-flattering pictures but gotta go with the majority on this one...

Plus, it's a great display of Grandma Law's handiwork!

Let me paint you a picture.

2011-02-28T18:06:00.001-08:00

Three years ago when we were shopping for a minivan there were a number of things on my mind: mileage, age, color, etc. A DVD player was not on my list. I felt like it was really "good" for kids to have to battle it out over miles and miles of road-trips, grocery-trips, sports-trips and every-other-kind-of-trip you can imagine. So when we found our minivan and it had a built-in DVD player I figured it would be an occasional treat for the kids. Fast-forward three years and it has become the center of any and all time spent in the van. Not a huge fan of letting my kids watch hours of tv at a time - and with the time we spend in the van escalating I decided to exert some self-control and limit the DVD watching to longer-than-20-minute-trips.

Let me paint you a picture of our "drive" home from the gym this afternoon.

Naomi: mooOOOMMM! my throat hurts.
Mom: I'm sorry, I'll get you something to drink as soon as we get home.
Naomi: but my throat reALLLYYY huRRts! aaaGGGGHHHhhh....uggHHH (insert some sort of guttural sound) MMMOOOOMMMMMMM MY THROAT HURTS!!!
Mom: You know what is NOT helping your throat? Screaming. (Glancing into the backseat to see the boys battling it out in some sort of boyish cat-fight)
Naomi: What?!! Screaming? What doooOO YOU MEAN? THE SUN IS IN MY EYES! ARRRRR - MY THROAT! MY THROAT! MY THROAT!
Mom: Naomi! The sun is not hurting your throat!
Naomi: Well. It's not helping!
Mom: (Taking deep Lamaze-type breaths. Didn't need it in labor but use it all the time now.)
Calvin: IGHTING-IGHTING-IGHTING!!!
Mom: Talmage! What is wrong with Calvin??
Talmage: He's mad that we're not fighting anymore.
Naomi: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Talmage: (Having figured out what I have know all along) Mom please turn the movie on! It's the only way to get some quiet!
Mom: (Pondering the wisdom of my 6-year-old) Okay.
........
Naomi: I guess my throat doesn't hurt.

A DVD player is now #1 on my list. I will go without leather, automatic locks/windows, air-conditioning, and maybe even heat but you will not find me in a minivan without a DVD player.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T19:00:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas! (I feel bad Wicket didn't make the cut - but we just can't get a good one with him :))

Is Santa coming to our house? That expression says it all.

All the kids with their new Christmas pajamas!

Sisters!

Doesn't this look like a fun team!

Elisabeth's first gift...her pj's!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-12-24T18:52:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was great! We had the usual gang over for dinner and it was so fun! The Saturday after, we got our Christmas tree. I still haven't given up getting a real tree - even though I've settled for a Home Depot lot tree instead of going to one of Texas' "Christmas Tree Farms." It was a great way to get ready for the season!

We made Uncle Spencer come along to help us pick out the beauty!

Tough papa!

Ouch!

2010-12-24T18:41:00.000-08:00

Andy caught Tal having a rage blackout a couple of days ago. This consists of Tal holding his breath, turning bright red, squeezing his fists and usually growling some inaudible phrases.

Andy: Talmage! Where did you learn that kind of behavior?
Tal: Uh? Mom.
Andy: I've never seen Mom act like that.
Tal: Well, that's because your always at work.

Ouch. Nothing like having your lunch handed to you by a six-year-old.

A few other funny ones:

A few nights ago as Naomi and Tal were both hyperventilating because I-wasn't-putting-them-to-bed-first!!
Mom: (As I was tucking Tal into bed) Tal, do you think I should go tuck Naomi into bed?
Tal: (getting very quiet and thoughtful) Well, maybe if you do Santa will put you on his nice list!

A few nights later as Tal and I were talking about our day.
Mom: I'm shouldn't have gotten so upset when you weren't listening.
Tal: That's okay mom. (and then after a moments pause) But mom, I really want you to get what you want for Christmas even though you were a little naughty.

He's just full of one-liners these days!

Leg Pits

2010-12-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

Mom: Tal go finish your thank you notes right now!
Tal: Mom, I don't think I can do it. My stomach hurts, my throat hurts my leg pits hurt...

I'll leave it to you to interpret this one but I think he's referring to the part of the leg behind the knee - makes sense to me :)

Not a good idea

2010-12-06T16:16:00.000-08:00

Note to Self.

Not a good idea to try and rescue your daughter's gingerbread house from the hands of a scavenging two-year old by placing it on top of the freezer. You will inevitably remember it just as you're opening said freezer and watching in horror as it falls - spraying your laundry room with a trillion sprinkles and candies of varying sizes while shattering gingerbread all over the floor. Then you will be faced with the task of trying to clean up microscopic sugared treats from all areas of your very-nook-and-crannied laundry room.

Better just to let the two-year old devour the whole thing.

Santa

2010-12-05T18:24:00.000-08:00

Tal: Mom, I noticed that there is a big box in the garage with a blanket over it. I think it's for Christmas.
Mom: Oh you do? Did you look under it?
Tal: No Mom it's for Christmas!
Mom: Well don't look under it okay?
Tal: Mom, I think you should move it...I don't know how long I can resist!

A couple of nights ago Tal was being over the top nice. "Mom, can I get you anything?" "Please mom anything? I really would like to get you something?" "Here Naomi use my pillow?" and on and on. Finally, I asked what the deal was? "Well I really want to be on Santa's nice list. I do not want a lump of coal!" It's amazing the difference this discovery has made in Tal's behavior - December may become my favorite month!

Tal: Mom, I think I want a hot tub for Christmas.
Mom: Really? A hot tub? That sounds like something Daddy would like too.
Tal: Yeah, it'd be a gift for me and dad.
Mom: (Trying to come up with a way out of this one) Yeah, I don't think a hot tub will fit on Santa's sleigh.
Tal: Sure it will mom. A trampoline fits on his sleigh and a hot tub is about the same size.
Mom: Well, that's true. (Desperate now) But if you got a hot tub it would be for both you and dad. Do you think Dad has been naughty or nice this year?
Tal: (With a little smile) Well a little naughty.

More adventures with Calvin.

2010-11-26T18:48:00.000-08:00

Calvi has never been a great sleeper - the most difficult (by a long shot) of the four- but things have gotten a little interesting over the last few months. Calvin has gotten really creative with his sleeping arrangements...we're never sure what we're going to find when we go up to check on him before we go to bed.

That's his toybox. He keeps his stuffed animals in there so maybe it just looked really comfy...

This is under Talmage's bed. You see his superhero's scattered around - I just can't figure out why he went under there to begin with.

At least he stayed in the bed this time. Poor guy - he was pooped!

I guess he decided that if he couldn't sleep in the toybox with his "pets" then he would bring them all into bed with him.

The beginning of the end.

2010-11-26T18:38:00.001-08:00

It's happening. Elisabeth is growing up. It's such a bittersweet time I just want to hang on to every moment. However, there are some definite signs that time is passing whether I want it to or not.

For the past month everytime I go to get her out of her crib she is standing at the side saying some baby version of "momma" - at least I think that's what she's saying :)

Her bottom two teeth have poked through - one more than the other so she looks like she should be nicknamed "one-tooth"

She crawled up the stairs for the first time - not my favorite phase!

Oh, I love this girl!!

Her favorite smile! (Yes, those are apple cores in her hands. Calvin [did you see the scavenger post?] loves to eat two or three apples at a time and leave his cores around...clearly El doesn't mind even if mom does :))

Scavenger...Part Two

2010-11-22T17:54:00.000-08:00

Apparently, Calvin is working on perfecting his scavenging skills. It seems like everytime I walk into the kitchen I find evidence of a little two-year old forager everywhere I look. It's kind of like living with a really cute little rat. For example...

One day I got out of the shower to find Calvin in my room with - what else - a bowl of marshmallows!

I open my pantry to find three half-gone juice boxes!

Notice, he took one bite out of all twelve cookies!

Blah, Blah, Blah

2010-11-22T17:44:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago as we were walking Tal to school I was trying to convince Naomi that wearing a helmet was non-negotiable...

Mom: Naomi! If you do not get that helmet on your head right now you will NEVER ride your bike to school again!
Naomi: (Looking at me with absolute lack of concern and putting her hand up) Blah, Blah, Blah.
Mom: What? What! (Thinking: "No you didn't! You did NOT just "blah, blah, blah" me)

A few months ago:
Tal: Mom, did you know the Incredible Hulk has an uncle?
Mom: No, I didn't know that.
Tal: Yep! He's called the Incredible Sulk!

Apparently, I have Uncle Dustin to thank for the Incredible Sulk. One night when he was babysitting he came up with this story to warn against the consequences of whining...ha ha! I love it!

Wish I had a tape recorder

2010-11-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

I wish I carried a tape recorder with me all the time. Mornings like this one, when Tal was in rare form, would be classic...

Tal: Where's Calvin?
Dad: Maybe he's still in bed?
Tal: No, I checked his bed.
Mom: Well maybe he's sneaking around. Did you teach him how to be sneaky?
Tal: Remember a year ago when I showed Calvin how to sneak out of his room? I guess I did teach him to be sneaky.
Mom: Well, I guess that's what brothers are for.
Tal: No, brothers are for taking care of you, helping you, being nice and teaching you how to do stuff...
Mom: (Internal Dialogue: Really? Whose kid is this?)

A few minutes later...
Mom: Tal, today we'll go to the book fair together and you can pick out a book.
Tal: Great. I'll use my money...remember my blue piggy bank.
Mom: That's okay Tal. I'll buy the books this time.
Tal: No Mom! I want to help!

And yet a few minutes later...
Tal: Mom, did you know the blue whale is way bigger than the leopluradon (a water dinosaur that Tal is obsessed with).
Mom: Wow.
Tal: Yeah, the blue whale is the biggest thing on earth. If you put a lady bug next to it it would be like 100thousand times bigger than it!

He's funny. You should hear him describe bats and spiders...I could listen for hours :)

Uncle Spencer

2010-11-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

Andy's brother, Spencer just moved to Houston! Yay! He is great with the kids - and has quickly become the "fun" adult in the house. Which is really great for our kids - Andy and I have "fun" way down on our list of character traits.

Motherhood is.

2010-11-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Motherhood is.

Taking all 4 of your kids to the doctor's office. Having them throw themselves on the ground (repeatedly) during a tantrum, color on the bed, pull, hit and scream at every adult in sight, and smiling through it all as if you've got everything under control.

Getting your child out of her carseat only to realize she's covered from head to toe in poop.

While at the park trying to figure out the equation that will succesfully predict the exact moment you should leave - taking into account the amount of sleep they got for the last three nights, what and when they've eaten, if they're sick, and how hot/cold it is. Enabling you to maximize the fun while just escaping the inevitable meltdown that will occur if you stay to long.

"Going to the bathroom" on the airplane - just so you can sit and cry in private at how loud and disruptive your kids are being.

Motherhood is also.

Waking up in the night to cries that can only be comforted by you.

"I love you's", two-year old kisses, and sweet little hands that fit perfectly into yours.

Crying over every milestone and setback. Just because you feel so much of your childs triumphs and losses.

Saying I'm sorry (for the many mistakes I make) and realizing how completely my kids are willing to forgive me and love me still.

Halloween

2010-11-01T13:29:00.001-07:00

Another Halloween has come and gone! We had a great time and the kids got enough candy to ensure a permanent sugar rush for the next three months. Luckily I have no problem helping them out in that department - maybe at the rate I'm going it'll be gone by week's end! I love Halloween!

It was all I could do to get them to sit still long enough for a picture!

Captain Hook

Wendy

Peter Pan...notice the candy already on it's way to his mouth?

Tinker Bell

On the way to the Ward Trunk or Treat!

The whole crew. Captain Hook, Peter Pan, Mr. Darling, Tiger Lilly, Tinker Bell and Wendy.

Wow! These two are having a good time!

The morning after...

Look what I did!

2010-10-18T08:45:00.000-07:00

I convinced the kids to dress-up together for Halloween. This is probably going to be the last year I can manage it - I had to promise Tal a really cool sword for his Captain Hook costume...but I am so excited (I know, I know - super-dork) They agreed to be Peter Pan characters. Tal is going to be Captain Hook (thank you ebay), Naomi is going to be Wendy, Calvin is going to be Peter Pan (won't he look cute in green tights) and Elisabeth is going to be Tinkerbell. I figured out all the costumes but Naomi's. They really don't sell a Wendy costume. So look what I did this weekend!!

It looks better on - but you get the idea...

I know it's nothing fancy (and trust me there are plenty of mistakes) - but I couldn't find a blue nightgown so I made one. In the interest in full disclosure - my mom was here to tutor me...but I did it. I think I'm going to try a regular dress next!

Big Bend

2010-10-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

We decided that if we were going to be serious about visiting our National Parks we better start in Texas! Luckily we have some good friends who like National Parks as much as we do and they let us tag along with them to Big Bend over Columbus Day.

I had my reservations. 10 hours in a car with 4 kids can be a VERY scary prospect. But thanks to the modern day convenience of in-car DVD players and a very good idea from my sister (cookie sheets for each kid - allowing them to play with legos or color for hours) it turned out to be really fun! The kids love camping and we spent most of the weekend driving around the park and taking small hikes. The kids had a great time and even though it was hot they didn't complain.

Big Bend is a beatiful place. It's very different from the National Parks we have visited before - very isolated...but it has a desolate beauty. Looking at the pictures you can see what I mean.

On our way home we stopped at Balmorheal State Park - a natural spring feeds this quasi-swimming pool/water hole. It was great and the kids loved cooling off after the heat of Big Bend.

One of our hikes. This was supposed to be a short hike that led to a waterfall that we could swim in. Well, it was short - about 3 miles round trip - BUT it was also hot and led to a little waterfall that we could not swim in...not only because the signs told us we couldn't but also because it was full of leeches :)

Tal and Calvin exploring the beach that runs alongside the Rio Grande. At one point we were walking along the Rio and across the river there were two Mexicans fishing. It was so funny - only 50 feet seperating our two countries!

Santa Elena Canyon - the Rio Grande runs through this canyon.

A picture from The Window - this is in the Chisos Mountains.

At Balmorheal State Park - Tal had to really work up the courage to jump of the diving board - it was great! They also had a high dive that Andy had a blast with - showing us all his mad diving skills!

The kids had so much fun together - it's always better to have friends!

Tal turned 6!

2010-10-17T17:52:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe my baby turned 6! Tal is changing so much these days - he still says the funniest stuff and he has become so engaged in his world. We have begun dealing with the challenges and delights that accompany having a child in school - it changes everything! But he's having a great time and I'm trying to enjoy the ride too. Here are a few things I love about Tal:

I love that Tal can get completely lost in playing. He has discovered legos this year and can sit and play with them - creating awesome little things for hours.
I love that Tal is one of the happiest people I know. When he was little he was always smiling and laughing. He still laughs all the time...and I mean deep belly laughs - having him around is good for the soul :)
I love that Tal loves people. He thinks everyone is his friend and is a true champion for his siblings! He loves to talk and if you get him started he can talk for hours!
I love that Tal has an amazing memory! I cannot believe the things this kid remembers. His memory is so good that if Andy or I remember something different then what Tal remembers we will usually defer to him...he's almost always right!
I love that underneath all of Tal's zany-ness I can always count on his good little heart!
I love that he has the energy of 5 adults stuffed into that little body...sometimes I expect him to burst he is so full of it!

I feel so lucky to have Tal. It has been such a blessing to discover motherhood with him.

Tal had a party at a local gymnastics gym. It was great! Apparently, 5 and 6 year-olds love to run and jump...go figure! And he got a ninja cake - pretty much the best day ever for Tal!

So lucky! Grandma and Grandpa were in town for his birthday!

Naomi's new game.

2010-10-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

Naomi has discovered that being good tends to maximize goodwill with her parents and wanting to take full advantage of that she has created a new game. It goes something like this...

Mom: Naomi, can you get me a diaper for Elisabeth
Naomi: Mom! Pretend you didn't ask me that.

Mom: Okay? Oh...Hi, Naomi. How are you? (Trying to act nonchalant as Naomi "spontaneously" runs to get me a diaper)

Naomi: (With a flourish hands me a diaper)

Mom: Wow! Oh thank you for noticing I needed a diaper!

It goes like this a few times a day. If I forget to act surprised by her "spontaneous" goodness then we have to start all over.

I love this game!

Galveston

2010-10-17T17:38:00.001-07:00

Sunscreen...check

Towels...check

Swimsuits...check

Enough food to feed a small army...check

Weather Report.........hmmm.

One of my favorite things...

2010-10-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

Occasionally, I give in and lay down with my kids to help them fall asleep. There is a moment, right after they have drifted away that is so perfectly still that it never ceases to fill me with peace. I love that moment.

It was bound to happen...

2010-09-09T20:33:00.001-07:00

I knew that it was inevitable that I would have to deal with a gum-in-the-hair fiasco before I could truly be called a mother. Well, my day arrived last week with a bang.

This is the "I just got a lecture about falling asleep with gum in my mouth" expression.

She has no idea what's coming...

For all of you who will have to deal with this at some point...Peanut Butter really does work.

Yeah! Just relieved we didn't have to cut it off!

Cut my hair...

2010-09-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

Yep, I did it. It was only a matter of time...

I tried to get Tal to take a picture and this is what I ended up with so I had to do it myself...

Not the best pic - but you get the idea :)

First (sniff) Day (sniff) of (sniff) School (sniff)

2010-09-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

No - it really wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I am not a public crier and so surrounded by the hundreds of other moms in various stages of panic/celebration I was able to keep it together. A few highlights from Tal's first day.

As we got to the front doors Tal turns to me and says, "Mom, maybe I should walk by myself now." Um, I don't think so. Hello? I have earned some privleges as a mother and one of them is to walk my kids in for the first day of school thank-you-very-much.

After school as I was yet again trying to keep it together when I asked Tal how it went, "Great Mom! Just really really Great!" Okay. I guess that clears it up. No, I was not missed. No, my little baby did not spend the day wondering what his clever, witty, fun mom was up to. He just had a "really, really Great" time!

Naomi also started school. She gets to go to pre-school three mornings a week and she LOVES it. It's the great thing about having a big brother who makes everything look so exciting!

Practicing his "cool kid" stance

Getting ready for the send-off

Can you tell that Naomi wasn't quite ready to let him go?

In his class - ready to go. Wondering what his lunatic mother is doing.

Ready to go!

Calvin was definitely sad to say goodbye.

I'm such a baby - I was tearing up over this one too!

Island Park and Yellowstone

2010-09-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

We had the best vacation this summer! We were able to spend a week in Island Park with our families. We stayed in a cabin right on the lake and spent the first few days with Andy's family and the last few days with mine. We had so much fun...eating, catching up, catching bats and just relaxing.

After watching a six disc PBS documentary on the National Parks, Andy decided we were going to visit them all. We took a day trip from Island Park and spent some time in Yellowstone with the fam. Check.

Here are a few of the highlights from the trip. (Thanks to all those who took great pictures - it seems like I was always forgetting my camera!)

Around the campfire with Grandpa Great.

Beautiful...

It is honestly a small miracle that we didn't tip over :)

The family that tubes together stays together?

Elisabeth and I at Mesa Falls.

Mesa Falls again

Daddy and Elisabeth chilling in the hamock

Naomi attempting to waterski. She didn't actually get up but no one ever needs to know that :)

Cousins - Naomi and Abby they had so much fun!

Elisabeth and Aunt Sadie - don't they both have great smiles??

Uncle Spence giving Elisabeth her first ice cream - she'll love him forever :)

Ice Cream at the Old Faithful Lodge

Naomi helping Calvin cover his mouth while he coughed...love it.

Old Faithful

Such fun.

We made a detour and drove by the house I grew up in. I hadn't been there in over 15 years!

Bad Day.

2010-09-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a bad day. Okay, maybe not the worst day ever but bad enough that by 5:00 I was ready to take a shower and crawl in bed. It was just one of the those days...you know the kind when things like this happen:

3 of the 4 kids were sick. Not stay in bed sick...more like scream-at-mom-until-she-wants-to-cut-her-eardrums-out sick.
My house smelled like poop and I couldn't find the source...not a good thing with 4 small kids and a puppy.
My car smelled like poop - I knew the source (mildew from a killer rain storm) but it didn't help.
I had to pay a bill at Wal-Mart (need I say more)
While attempting to pay said bill I realized that I didn't have my credit card and I had no way to pay...I had to get Andy's credit card and wait in line AGAIN.
Had to wait behind the world's slowest man at the redbox when I was just trying to return a movie!
While unloading my groceries from Wal-Mart a guy backed up and hit my cart...luckily I had already taken the kids out.
While fuming about the idiot who hit my cart - I cut my finger on the cart
My doctors office calls to "give me bad news" (never start a phone call this way) about some blood work they had taken...they lost it and I have to go have it drawn again. Did I mention they had to stick me three times in both arms? And I have to be fasting?
I go thru the ATM just as the bank experiences a powersurge and the ATM machine eats my debit card...did you know that can happen?

Anyway, I feel a little better after putting in down in bullet point...

Really?

2010-09-02T17:58:00.000-07:00

I was just asking Tal about kindergarten. He was telling me about how some of the girls talk when they aren't supposed to...

Mom: So does your teacher yell at them?
Tal: No, she doesn't really yell at us because she cares about us.
Mom: Okay, well that's good (sheepishly wondering if he knows that even though I yell I still care)
Tal: Only, she does do mean things...kind of like a mom.

Thanks kid. Nothing like a healthy bit of perspective with your dinner.
Turns out, the "mean things" he was referring to were time-outs - so I guess I am a mean mom :)

Out little Ansel...

2010-09-02T09:03:00.001-07:00

The great thing about Tal turning into Ansel Adams is that he catches the beauty of everyday moments that I sometimes miss...

The chronicles of Lego man

2010-09-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

To go along with my last post. Tal has discovered my camera. I laughed out loud as I was going through my pictures the other day and found this series.

Funny things...

2010-09-02T08:30:00.001-07:00

Tal is growing. Everyday I see it as he struggles between the little boy he was and the bigger boy he's becoming. In the crosshairs of this growth come some pretty funny moments...here are a few...

Last Saturday Andy took Naomi on a little date. While they were gone...
Mom: Tal, should I mow the lawn?
Tal: Mom, sometimes you need a day off...I'll watch all the kids for you
Mom: Yes!

While we were watching Where the Red Fern Grows...
Tal: (With tears in his eyes and a little crumpled chin) Mom, sometimes when I see things that are sad it makes me sad.

After I sucessfully unclogged the toilet:
Tal: Mom, you are the best toilet-fixer in the world...well other than those other guys who fix toilets.

The other day Tal got in trouble for something. His punishment was to put his bike ramp away - he wailed the entire time. A couple of days later:
Tal: Mom, the other day when I was crying you didn't give me a hug and tell me it was okay.
Mom: (Big oops moment)

And my favorite. A couple weeks ago the kids were fighting I got mad at Tal - thinking he was the instigator - only to find out he hadn't done anything wrong. As I was wallowing in my shame...
Mom: Tal, do you think I'm a good mom?
Tal: Of course (said in a tone like, duh)
The funny thing is - he was so convincing it actually did make me feel better!

I love this - I don't need positive self-affirmation when Tal's around. On Sunday Andy was harrasing me about something...
Mom: I know what I need. Tal, Do you think I'm a great mom?
Tal: Yes! Like the best in the whole world
Mom: (Smirking in Dad's general direction)
Dad: ...

Wicket

2010-09-02T07:00:00.001-07:00

So, we did it. We made the plunge and did something we said we'd never do (the first sign that we would indeed do it)...we got a puppy! I was visiting an out-of-town friend at her moms - who had just gotten an adorable little Shih Tzu. We thought he was so sweet and when she mentioned that her mom might not be able to keep him I casually said she should let me know if he needed a new home. I didn't actually think her mom would be ready to let him go, nor did I think there was anyway Andy would go for it...well, I was wrong on both counts. He is a wonderful little guy who the kids are totally taken with. There were a couple of rocky weeks in the beginning but somehow the little guy has worked his way into my heart too!

By the way, he is named Wicket after the Eewok...not to be confused with Wicca (the cult) or Wicked (the play).

This picture cemented Wicket's place in our home - can you tell how much she loves him?

Little Rascal

Calvin turned 2!

2010-09-02T06:43:00.001-07:00

Somehow I have lost all of my pictures from Calvin's Birthday :( But just so he knows how much I love him - here are a few of my favorite things about him:

I love to watch him run - the way he catapults his whole body towards his objective

I love how he's teaching us what it means to be a boy. Into everything, making messes, loads of energy...phew!

I love the way he plays doggie - his way of getting mom to stop and pet him :)

I love to watch his mind work. He is such a little engineer - even though he can't communicate I feel like I can see the wheels turning!

I love how much he loves Naomi. I never anticipated the connection he would have to her - I thought he'd stick to his brother - but he adores his sister!

I love that even with all the frustration he is feeling at his lack of communication I can still glimpse what a sweet, sweet boy he is.

Calvin has such a good heart - I felt this the moment I first held him. What a joy to have in our home!

Naomi Turned 4!

2010-09-02T06:24:00.000-07:00

Naomi turned 4 in June. I can't believe how fast time is flying. She has really blossomed into a fun girl. Here are a few of my favorite things.

I love the way she gets really serious when she is talking about something important. Her eyes get big and her expressions get really exagerated.
I love the way she will sit and hold her baby sister while she cries. Tal and Calvin will abandon the baby when she starts to cry but Naomi will just sit there and try to soothe her.
I love how she can make anything girlie (remember "cinderella hulk") but isn't afraid to get dirty or wrestle with her brothers.
I love how enthusiastic she is about her new adventures even though she is afraid "no one will be her friend"
I love how she tries to make people happy.
I love how much love she has to give. She will sit and pet the dog for hours just happy to have found an outlet for her affection.

She is a beautiful girl and we are so lucky to have her in our family! She decided she wanted a My Little Pony party - which lets be honest, was just as much fun for me as it was for her!

Birthday girl!

That's her "Cutie Mark" on her cheek - pretty cute!

The little ponies!

Making "pony tails" which were really just barrettes with their choice of ribbon that they could wear for the pony races!

Naomi's Dance Recital

2010-09-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

Naomi was so excited to have her first dance recital in May. She loves dance class and waits excitedly for it every week. Her class danced to Somewhere Over the Rainbow - it was great!

Dad remembered the most important part of any performance...flowers!

During rehearsal - not sure they are rehearsing the same thing but they are only 4 :)

Ava, Brooklyn and Naomi.

The boys even made it through - what troopers!

Not sure anyone else will love this like I love it but here it is anyway :)

New House

2010-09-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

Yep, for those of you keeping tabs on us through the blog we have moved. Why we decided that the right time to relocate our family was during the same six months we had a baby, got a new job, and adopted our first puppy is beyond me - but nonetheless here is a long awaited peek at the new pad.

The Big 3-0!

2010-09-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

That's right - I turned 30 this year. No big deal - right? I didn't think so until a couple of days before the big day when Andy and I were driving to the store - this is how the conversation went:

A: You're going to be THIRTY??!! (Said with a great look of disgust/outrage)

L: Uh, yeah - you're just figuring this out?

A: I can't believe you're going to be thirty. (Tone of disbelief/resignation)

L: What's the big deal? You've been thirty for a couple of years.
A: Yes, but it's okay for me to be thirty. It's NOT okay for me to married to a thirty-year-old...that's so old.

Wow. Really, I told him he better start shopping for a newer model because like it or not I am (gasp) getting older :) I think he's over it now that the shock has worn off :)

Last candles at Dairy Queen or Freudian slip??

Family Fun

2010-08-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

We were so lucky this spring to have back-to-back visits from my sisters. My oldest sister Melissa and her family came first, they did it all NASA, Seaworld, Galveston and Barbeque! Then my little sister, Sadie and her family came - her husband only got to stay a few days but we managed to squeeze NASA and the Blue Bonnets in! We had such a good time - they overlapped and were all here for Easter, General Conference, and my birthday!!

Calvin and Ella chowing down on breakfast...I love these two!

Aunt Sadie hogging all the babies :)

All the cousins on Easter!

Easter Eggs!

The Blue Bonnets - they were pretty but it took us a LONG time to find them :)

Our little scavenger...

2010-08-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

Calvin is a scavenger - I mean a "hard-core-never-going-to-starve-even-if-I'm-stranded-in-the-middle-of-the-Sahara" scavenger. He has this sixth-sense regarding the presence of food. It makes me laugh whenever I find him in the middle of a scavenge - and it happens quite regularly...

Banana anyone? Notice that Calvin didn't stop with one...I believe I counted three conquered peels!

Calvin in the cereal cupboard - happy isn't he?

Naomi's Birthday Cupcakes. At least I got to him before he devoured the whole lot!

Elisabeth

2010-03-08T12:32:00.000-08:00

We blessed Elisabeth yesterday. Andy did a wonderful job and Elisabeth didn't cry at all - the first one to make it through! It was just us and my Aunt Berti - but it was really nice.

Crazy days

2010-03-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

So, given that I am unable to entertain through clever dialogue alone, here are some of my favorite pics from the last month!

The kids discovered our Harry Potter costumes from a few years back...it almost makes me hope one of my kids need glasses. I wonder if I could convince them to get spectacles like these??

Honestly, 86% of our free time is spent playing dress-up...so eventually the kids create their own characters. This one looks like "Soccer-Man" and "Ballet-Girl" to the rescue!

Ahhh...so cute. Okay, I know she should be buckled in - but see?? Sometimes poor parenting pays off in really cute pics :)

A friend gave us this towel - it is so cute and really SOFT!

Hmmm. Things must have been getting really boring around the homestead for Tal to come up with this doozie...some sort of cross between Buzz Lightyear, a Pirate, Dash, and Batman! Look out world here he comes!

Okay, I know my mom is just counting the cavities...but again, did you see the swing picture above? And really what kind of childhood is it if you can't fall asleep with a sucker in your mouth every once in a while?

Look at Naomi's face in this one. Man, she must love that applesauce. Kind of makes me realize how great it is to be a kid!

Family Pics: Take Two

2010-03-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

Okay, for all of you loyal followers: here are the family pictures we ended up with. Although, you can still expect crazy Tal on your Christmas cards this year!

Family Pictures

2010-02-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

So we decided it was time to bite the bullet and have a family picture done...not my favorite thing with four unpredictable kiddos to corrale. Luckily I have a friend, Kelsey who does a great job and has kids of her own so understands the inherent frustrations of photographing little ones.

Here are a couple of my favorites! The one of little Elisabeth melts my heart - it is so sweet. And then there is the family picture...I can't help but smile everytime I see it...it is such a perfect representation of our family (normal, normal, normal...SPAZ!) Although the crazy child (or parent) rotates someone is always filling that role! Poor Tal...too bad for him I LOVE this picture so it will probably haunt him for the rest of his life!

P.S. If you want to get the full-effect of the family picture click on it to make it bigger :)

Baby Love

2010-01-21T13:52:00.000-08:00

Our little girl has arrived! Elisabeth was born on January 14 at 11:12 am. She weighed in at 7 lbs 7oz and 19.5 inches long. The delivery was the smoothest we have ever had - 3 1/2 hours from start to finish! She has been a wonderful little newborn and the other kids are adjusting to having a new sister to share. We are just smitten and I am already missing this stage, which I know will pass too quickly! Here are a few pictures from our first days together!

Before...

After!!

Love at first sight!

Calvin wasn't sure at first - but he has now claimed her as his own!

Totally in love!

Tal is such a good brother!

Home at last!

Amazing Grandma's!

2009-12-27T18:21:00.000-08:00

Andy and I have amazing mom's. They are so talented - I feel really bad for my kids who will have no one to turn to for help with the domestic arts but in the meantime I have fully taken advantage of my mom and mom-in-laws amazing gifts!

My mom made this dress for Naomi and she hasn't stopped twirling since she got it! It is SO cute - the pictures don't even do it justice! She's holding her Sleeping Beauty doll because she feels like a princess when she wears this - she walks around saying, "Make it pink...No, Make it blue!" Pretending that she is the blue version and her doll is the pink one.

This is Naomi's version of smiling for the camera...we're working on it :)

Andy's mom knit all 3 of the kids these adorable stuffed animals! They are incredible. I don't know why Calvin chose this moment to be a dog - but he loves his little animal and carries it around in his mouth like he is a doggy.

Sea World

2009-12-27T18:12:00.001-08:00

We decided to avoid some of the post-Christmas let down we would drive to Seaworld on Christmas and go on Saturday. It was a blast - the perfect solution to the day after Christmas blahs!

At the 4-D Polar Express - it was awesome!

Remember the Rat from the Nutcracker - same idea here :)

I don't know why they have a race car at Seaworld but Tal loved it!

Relaxing at Shamu's Happy Harbour!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T17:51:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. The kids are finally old enough to get really excited for Santa. Tal woke us up at 1:30 a.m. to tell us Santa had come! They were so cute it renewed the magic of the day for Andy and I. Here are some pics from the day...

Dutifully decorating cookies for Santa...this is serious work!

So excited on Christmas Eve!

Yay for Christmas morning!

Santa brought a Little Tykes playhouse/castle - it was a hit!

Acting like monkeys with their new monkeys!

Really??

2009-12-27T17:38:00.000-08:00

Tal came downstairs around 9:30 a couple of weeks ago and told me that Calvin had found a crayon and drawn all over the pillow. Nevermind that they were supposed to be asleep at 8...what's a little crayon? So in my nonchalance I didn't rush upstairs...maybe I shouldn't have assumed that Tal understood the difference between a crayon and a marker. In any case this is what I found when I went into their room...

Wow! He looks really pleased with himself...really, I had to laugh it was so cute.

Save me daddy!

Didn't want to neglect the feet.

My camera battery was actually dead when I came upon the destruction...so what could I do but make him sleep with marker on his face :) You just have to use your imagination a little - it was actually worse when I found him :)

The Nutcracker

2009-12-27T17:18:00.000-08:00

Naomi has been taking a ballet class for the last few months. She loves it! I was afraid the excitement would wear off after a while but she still gets thrilled everytime. Tuesdays have become leotard day's at our house because she wears her ballet leotard ALL day long.

This Christmas her class put together an outing to the Houston Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker. I thought it would be a good opportunity to expose the kids to the arts so we signed up. In the end I decided Tal might like it too so he got to come along. Hmmm....not sure taking a 5 year old and a 3 year old to the ballet is the best idea but they actually did great! Other than the momentary fear of heights Tal manifested when he realized our seats were on the edge of a very steep balcony they loved it. Naomi has decided that she is the Sugar Plum Fairy (you know she has a great tutu!) and Tal is content to be the Rat King. It was so fun we may have to try again next year!

All dressed up and ready to go!

Okay...so Tal is the only boy. Someday that will be really cool :)

Tal refuses to have anything to do with oversized Rats. However, Naomi (probably trying to be contrary) ALWAYS wants her picture taken with them. Still, she doesn't look too trusting :)

On the balcony - you can see the fear in Tal's eyes!

It's over! Yes, the liked it but it sure feels good to run again!

Snow

2009-12-27T17:04:00.000-08:00

Yep. That's right. Even in Texas we can get snow! Unfortunately, we are grossly unprepared for weather colder than 50 degrees - but we did what we could.

This isn't exactly a fair representation. The day after it snowed our neighborhood had their annual "Snow Day" - that is they truck in a pile of snow for the kids to play in...

Our version of Frosty the Snowman

Notice the mismatched gloves...

"You rock!"

2009-12-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

So, last month as we were driving to church Talmage leaned over to help Naomi put her seatbelt on. This is the conversation that followed:

N: You Rock!
T: No! You Rock!!
N: Hands in! (They put there hands together - like a team would do before a team cheer)
T and N: TOGETHER!!

Okay, really? When did my kids turn into the Power Ranger/Powder Puff Girls Squad? Andy and I just laughed it was about the funniest thing I've ever heard!

"Lindsey...You're HUGE!!"

2009-12-27T16:53:00.001-08:00

Really?? Does anyone ever want to hear that? Even better, does any woman eight months pregnant want to hear that? As if I didn't know. So, thank you dear brother. Yes, I know I am huge...and I can't bend over...or see my toes...or do a million other things normal people can do...thank you for reminding me. :)

I was going to post a picture of myself - but I couldn't get up the courage to take belly pictures so you'll have to use your imagination :)

In the meantime...

2009-12-27T15:12:00.000-08:00

Okay - I know have a lot of blogging to catch up on but in the meantime I found this video from April...it makes me laugh so I thought you might enjoy it too :)

Some more Halloween Pics...

2009-11-02T11:37:00.000-08:00

Halloween was so much fun this year! The kids really enjoyed their costumes. Andy even wore a lion puppet on his hand so he could be the cowardly lion. My kids told everyone that I was the wicked witch of the west (they can't really figure out the direction thing)...I don't know why I couldn't be Glinda the Good Witch...oh well, what can you do :)

Wrestling Calvin into his costume :) I don't know why he is smiling - this is not funny :)

Dorothy and the Scarecrow...

Ahhh...isn't she cute.

Calvin actually did great with this costume...he kept it on all night! And he kept falling all over himself - just like the actual scarecrow :)

A rather stoic looking Tinman - he was totally happy being the tinman as long as he had his axe!

Dorothy and "Toto" - she loves this costume!

Calvin got a mosquito bite on his eyelid on Halloween. He woke up on Sunday with it SWOLLEN! Then as he was walking down the driveway he fell and scraped up the swollen mass...he looks like a boxer after a bad night and Naomi keeps saying, "Calvin is broken"

I'm back!

2009-11-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know it's been a while but my camera battery died...what fun is a blog with no pictures of the kiddos:). Here's a quick update on what's been happening for the last several months!

April:

Spent a weekend in Boston with some great girlfriends - nope, I wasn't running the marathon (missed it by 87 seconds...yep still hurts) but my awesome training partner, Angela was. Andy stayed home with the kids - it was a blast!

Found out we were pregnant with baby #4! Yay!?!

May:

Zipped to Paris for a whirlwind 5-day vacation sans kiddos (thanks mom and dad). It was incredible...the city doesn't dissappoint! It didn't hurt that one of the couples we were with spoke fluent french and had an amazing grasp of the city. We did it all - Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Versailles (okay, I can't spell any more of the places we saw - but trust me we saw them all). We even managed to spend our last day visiting the beaches at Normandy and an amazing castle (Mont St. Michel)
Got back just in time for Calvin to turn 1! He is getting so big!

June:
Went to Seaworld...got food poisoning.
Naomi turned 3! She had a princess party that was, frankly, pretty lame but what can I say it was the day after we recovered from the food poisoning.

July:

(Random picture of us blueberry picking with the Smiths - does it look hot?)

August:

Went to Utah to see my baby sister, Jessica get married! It was great - and the weather was beautiful

Found out baby #4 is a girl! Awesome - now the girl team and boy team are evenly matched. Elisabeth will be the name...Naomi is stoked (can I still use that word?)

September

Hmmm...

October

Tal turned 5!!!!! What happened to my baby? He got a new bike and Andy has spent the month convincing him to ride down the steps of the deck...ahh to be a boy!
Halloween: So much fun! The kids were characters from the Wizard of OZ. Tal was the tinman, Naomi was Dorothy (thanks to Grandma who made the cutest costume ever!) and Calvin was the scarecrow!

And here we are in November. Nothing exciting yet...but stay tuned you never know...

Let's go fly a kite...

2009-04-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

So thanks to our friend Pete, our kids were introduced to their first "kite-flying" experience. Ever-awed by anything that flies, Tal decided that he was going to create his own kite. What follows is his interpretation of a kite - apparently it doesn't take much to get these kids excited...it's sad really :)

Thank you Disney...

2009-04-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so my kids watch their fair share of Disney Movies. I never claimed to be a perfect mother and sometimes Disney buys me a few minutes to do things that I might have a hard time fitting into my day otherwise...you know, things like cleaning a bathroom, making dinner, brushing my teeth, or going to the bathroom :) So it shouldn't surprise my that my super-observant kids come up with remarks like this...

T: Girls talk too much.
Mom: Is that right? Where did you hear that?
T: Peter Pan.

(As we are watching the new TinkerBell movie)
T: Hey! There are two things that fix things: Dads and Tinkers!

Let's hear it for the boy...

2009-04-03T06:12:00.000-07:00

I have to give a shout out to my hubby...he is awesome!

Anyone who has spent time with us knows how much laundry we generate in a week. I still try and avoid doing laundry more than one day a week - which means I end up with about 7 loads in a day :) Imagine my horror when I opened my washing machine after the first load and found sopping wet clothes...my washer was totally broken leaving me with heaps of laundry and half-naked children running around my house. So I started doing some research - it turns out that this problem is typical with my washer and it can cost anywhere from $200 (if you replace the control board) to $500 (if you call Maytag to replace it) to fix it. Blah! So Andy and I started looking on the internet and found instructions for fixing it...$25 later Andy had succesfully soldered our control board back together!!!! $25!!! That is awesome...he is so handy...and handsome...and such a good dad...and handsome (just because I know this is going to embarass him :)) Love ya!

Boys: 4 Girls: 1

2009-03-31T12:30:00.001-07:00

So in our house we operate on a team basis (Parents Team vs. Kids Team or Family Team vs. World Team, etc...) usually the teaming system we use is Girl Team vs. Boy Team - it makes it easier to navigate gender lines (girl team gets to wear lipgloss, boy team gets to pee standing up :)) While the Girl Team has been outnumbered for a few months I was dismayed to lose my only teammember on Sunday when I was taking Naomi up to take a nap. This is how it went...

Mom: Naomi, it's naptime.

Naomi: NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! ARGHHHHHH!!! ROAAARRRRRR!!!

Mom: (Scuffling - then dragging Naomi up to bed) Right now!

Naomi: (In tears) Mommy, I am not going to be on your team anymore!

Mom: Why not?

Naomi: Because you are taking me to bed.

Mom: Whose team are you going to be on?

Naomi: The BOY team!

Dad: (Smirking)

I think I could've handled the rejection until last night. I was filing in the office - an awful task to do with three kids ganging up on you. As I was getting more and more frustrated I had the sudden urge to scream. So you know what? I did. I screamed - I figured it was better then punching a wall and I wasn't screaming at anyone just letting off some steam. This is how it went...

Mom: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tal, Naomi and Calvin: (Silence, mouths hanging open, staring at me in horror)!!

Tal: Mom are you gonna kill us?

Mom: No.
Tal and Naomi: (Hysterical laughter at what a lunatic their mother is)

Okay, so what was I supposed to do at that point but laugh and give them a big kiss. (Please note: he does not actually think I am going to kill him...) Remember that scene in Monsters Inc. when Sully scares Boo and then sees himself on the TV monitor and is shocked by how scarry he looks. Well, I used to tell Andy that is how he looks when he gets mad :) but now it would seem to apply to me too :)

One more thing: Who needs a dog? Tal is playing fetch with Calvin right now. Throwing a stick to him and saying: fetch boy...nice huh??

Spring is here...

2009-03-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and we are loving every minute of it. March and November are definitely my favorite months to be in Houston - the weather is usually beautiful and we get to spend lots of time outside. Tal saw a Curious George cartoon about gardens and he has been asking me if we could plant peas and carrots so last Saturday we finally built our garden. We've never gardened in Texas so we're using this as an experiment - but succeed or fail we are having a great time with it. The kids love playing outside so I've attached a couple of pictures and a video - you'll notice Naomi is donning her favorite gear...a t-shirt and rain boots!

Sorry about my commentary - I always sound so dumb on video:)

I love my kids...

2009-03-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

A few more funny quotes from yesterday:

T: My bum is itchy...I think I'll have to itch it forever. (I'm not kidding - that is exactly what he said :))

T: Thank you, my lady for making this wonderful, yummy surprise. (His comment on dinner last night)

N: Help! Help! I'm in a cage.
T: Don't worry, I'll help you.
N: Thanks Prince.

And one more funny thing. Naomi is potty-training (3 days in big girl undies!!) So she got to pick out a prize. She wanted a Cinderella dress, I found one at Target that could also pass for her Easter dress. As soon as we got home she wanted to wear it, and as soon as she put it on she started twirling and singing (if you listen very closely you can hear that she is singing "I know you" from Sleeping Beauty) - pretty priceless :)

Cinderella Hulk and Pink Freckles...

2009-03-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

Just a few excerpts from a typical day at the Law house:

Yesterday at the Doctors office Tal found a hole in the wall. He looked into it and saw that it was full of bad witches - that were apparently after us. Valiantly he declared himself the Incredible Hulk. Not to be outdone Naomi got very serious and declared herself "Cinderella Hulk" (I'm thinking of trademarking this one :))

The kids found a dead bird in the yard yesterday. Instead of listening to their mothers warning about leaving it alone they picked it up (yes, bare hands) and brought it to the picnic table. As we were telling Dad about it this morning he sternly reinforced that they should not pick up dead animals. Naomi wouldn't have any of that insisting that she was "making a bed for it!" (I have a feeling we haven't had the last "don't pick up dead animals" talk :))

After I tucked the kids into bed last night I turned the light off and shut the door. As I stood by the door listening I overheard this conversation:
Naomi: Tal? I love you.
Tal: I love you to sissy.

This morning as we were walking down the stairs to breakfast Tal asked me what color his freckles were. I replied that they were brown and followed up that most people have brown freckles. At that Naomi piped up, "NOT ME. I have pink freckles!"

Have you ever...

2009-03-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

Have you ever held a baby and felt all of your troubles melt away? Every once in a while I will be holding Calvin or Naomi (she still likes to be held) and I can just feel all of the tension and stress in my life disappear - it's the best kind of medicine :)

Tonight when I was putting Tal and Naomi to bed Tal said:

"Mom, I love you more, I love you 59 times: I love you because..." and then started listing all of the reasons he loves me which include my head, my heart and my "goodness" :) (I know he threw this in there because I didn't lose my temper at dinner when he trashed my bedroom :)) he also love his dad because "he takes care of us by killing all of the bad bugs" :) Is there anything cuter than a four year old?

Naomi has discovered the world of makeup. Now anytime she sees someone on TV with lipgloss she quickly declares how pretty that person is and that she must be a princess. I am trying to convince her that she does not have to wear lipgloss to be a princess :)

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T16:38:00.000-08:00

So my sister called me on Thanksgiving to remind me of this funny story from when I was first married. Andy's sister-in-law Marni and I had volunteered to bring all of the pies for the big day. At this point in my life (and now) I had very little experience in the kitchen but was under the impression that pie making was as simple as following a recipe. So I made my three pies - I was pretty proud of myself - they all looked edible enough. Then Marni comes in...now I should mention that Marni has that touch...I swear everything she touches turns out beautifully - she is just very gifted in the domestic arts - Well, she walks in with her three pies and I felt like a halo was shining down on her pies...they were so beautiful. It was so funny I wish I had a picture of the contrast between the two sets of pies - I think they all tasted good but I wasn't taking any credit for the pies I made :) I think I just let everyone think I had as much to do with the impressive ones and the "not-so-impressive" ones. I had completely forgotten about it until my sister called to tell me she was laughing about it as she made her pies this year.

At any rate, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We missed our family but filled the day with friends and fun traditions. We had 5 families over for a big feast -we all brought something and it was almost easy! Andy had bought a 21 pound Turkey and I felt like I was wrestling a heavy-weight most of the time but it turned out tasty all the same. We are so grateful this year for all we have been given. I've decided that this year I am going to try to apply President Monson's advice to find "Joy in the Journey" - we have so much to be thankful for!

Didn't Andy do a great job with the table. This is our before shot!

The beastly bird :)

This is our group!

The kids table...we borrowed this little table from the nursery :)

Andy with his eggnog - he loves this stuff!!

Calvin and Ethan trying to absorb all the noise...

From their dads who played RockBand on the Wii into the night :)

Go Utes!

2008-11-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

This is how we went to church on Sunday morning. Nope, it's not because it's Christmas. If you need a hint: check out the prop in the picture. If you still don't know why...nevermind :)

Hannah Montana??

2008-11-24T06:30:00.000-08:00

So I took the kids to McDonalds for lunchon Wednesday. As they were playing in the play area Tal walked up to a little girl and asked her, "Why do you have Hannah Montana on your shirt?" This may seem like a rather innocuous question but....HOW DOES MY FOUR-YEAR OLD KNOW WHO HANNAH MONTANA IS? Apparently, not only does he know who she is...but he is familiar enough to recognize her picture on a T-Shirt!!

This followed up a visit to Target on Tuesday where he excitedly exclaimed, "Look Sissy, it's the Dreamer Design Dollhouse!!" So this has to be commercialism at it's finest! I mean seriously either he is some sort of genius who can read packaging perfectly OR we watch WAYYY too much Nickelodeon. My sister blocked Nick from her TV because she was tired of hearing her son ask for things from their commercials...her decision is making a lot more sense to me now...and everytime I hear a chorus of "I want that!"

Ten for Texas

2008-11-24T06:27:00.000-08:00

Two of my friends and I ran a 10 mile race a couple weekends ago. I was coming out of recovery from being injured and then sick for a few weeks...and let's just say it wasn't my finest hour! At mile two I started to question whether I would be able to complete the entire 10 - I was really feeling cruddy :) Anyway, the race photographer emailed us some pics and I thought I would share them...just so you can really appreciate how "great" I was feeling that day...

...the good news is that we did a 20 mile training run this Saturday and it felt much better...and I can still walk :)

The Incredibles!

2008-11-13T13:08:00.001-08:00

So for Halloween I had this great idea that we would dress up as the Incredibles (you know - from the Disney Movie) since our family had all the characters covered. About three days before Halloween I realized that I hadn't figured out how I was going to do this yet. Luckily, I was in Utah where my mom and sister helped me scour the shelves of Target for all the right pieces. It turned out pretty cute (Andy did wonder about my sanity when I took the kids trick-or-treating in leggings and a swim-suit bottom! [I forgot Spencer was here too - so he probably thought I was really crazy]) and it was fun. I couldn't get Andy to commit to the full-tights and gloves outfit but he did wear an Incredibles shirt under his suit - kind of like Superman :)

We flew home from Utah on Halloween and I let the kids wear their costumes on the plane - I think it earned us a few bonus points with the crew and they were easy to spot as the raced through the airport!

All the kids at a neighborhood Halloween Party!

Naomi (aka Violet) and Tal (aka Dash) - this picture doesn't really do the costumes justice - they really looked very cute :)

Andy didn't tell me my shirt was see-through. Thanks hon!

Don't we look like serious crime fighters? Interesting that I'm the only one smiling...hmmm

Tal's Birthday

2008-11-13T12:21:00.000-08:00

His expressions says it all!

Yep that's right - it's reversible!!

I have been promising I would post so - here I go. Tal had his fourth birthday in October! It was great fun - he has been asking for a "Batman, Superman and Spiderman" birthday party since his birthday last year so I scoured the internet and found some great ideas for a superhero training camp birthday party (thank you Google!). We had the kids start with a moon-bounce moonlighting as an anti-gravitational chamber. Next, they used super soakers to shoot "bad-guys" (aka Mc-Donalds toys) off of the deck balcony. Then, with Andy's help they had to pass fitness training - this was an obstacle course Andy set up - they slid down a slide, under a rope, through a tunnel and up a ladder to rescue one of Naomi's dolls - it was a huge hit. Finally, they graduated - they each got a super-hero cape (it started out as a great idea but Tal's was the only one I got completely finished) and a can of silly-string. Why the silly-string you ask? Because "Monster Daddy" (aka Andy) was coming and all the super-hero's had to use their weapons to stop him! Andy was a pretty good sport. Anyway, it was fun - probably the last "fun" party I throw for a while - so I hope Tal enjoyed it :)

Setting up for target practice - these water guns were bigger than most of the kids :)

Part of the obstacle course. I tried it and couldn't get through that tunnel :)

Okay so not the most creative cake ever. Basically we just through some superhero toys on top!

Silly String!

Isn't she the cutest superhero?

I told you Andy was a good sport - these guys were serious :)

All the newly graduated super-heros!!

This is hard work!

Presents! Tal really liked this part!

He's here...

2008-05-22T17:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah! So happy this is going to be over!

I told you he looked like E.T. (I mean that in the most loving motherly way :))

Well after nine (long) months Calvin Glen Law has arrived! Sunday night I went to bed with a sharp pain in my side so Monday morning I went to the hospital to check it out and make sure everything was going okay...I was dilated to a 3 and completely effaced so they decided to induce me (hooray!!) Calvin was born at 2:05 Monday afternoon after about 5 hours of pain-free labor (I LOVE epidurals). He hit a speed bump coming out and got a little bruised in the face, their was meconium in the amniotic fluid and the cord was wrapped so tightly around his neck that they had to cut it off - but even with those few hitches the birth was quick and (relatively) easy. I am absolutely smitten by this little guy - he is so sweet and LITTLE! I can't believe how little they come - even though at 8 lbs 3 oz he is by far our biggest baby. Andy has been wonderful and is being the full-time Mr. Mom at the moment. We are so grateful for our family - a little overwhelmed at times but grateful still. Tal and Naomi love their brother! Naomi couldn't stop laughing when she first saw him. Tal promptly told Calvin he was going to teach him to play football :) I will post more pictures as soon as I find my camera cord but here are a couple to hold you over :)

Warning: Extensive babbling follows...

2008-03-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

I was reading my sisters blog and she was posting about simplification - it started me thinking...I could stand a little simplification in my life. I think I see that need especially with my kids - it is so easy to fill their lives with toys, activities and cartoons that they never have a chance to just be kids. You know, spend time imagining the tub is a boat, or pretending to be pirates and princesses. I am really trying to shut off the TV and just let my kids be kids. It's interesting, I think in a way it scares me to take all of the distraction out of their lives because then (gasp!) they might want to play with me, and sometimes (I know it sounds ridiculous) that just seems overwhelming. But what I am finding is that they have wonderful imaginations and are great at playing and creating themselves. Sometimes they want to play - but that's okay it's good for momma too! I am so grateful I was a kid in Idaho - in a lot of ways it was such a different world - sort of a Leave It to Beaver life, but it taught me some really good life lessons like the importance of imagination, spending time outside, and interacting with other kids. Some days are better than others - but I hope in the end my kids get enough time to play and pretend and that in some small way it can contribute to a fuller life for them.

I LOVE YOU!!!

2008-02-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

Naomi has this habit of picking up on phrases and then repeating them over and over and over again (read: slighty annoyed yet strangely amused). Her latest phrase is I love you. It always starts out as a sweet I wuv you. However, be warned: if you do not repsond with a prompt "I love you too" it quickly escalates until she is screaming at the top of her lungs "I WUV YOU!" This is not cute (it can be funny) because her scream sounds more like a growl and anyone who has heard her growl can attest to the fact that she can sound amazingly demonic/possesed at times :)

Tal and I were eating lunch a couple of days ago and he asked me what Calvin was going to eat. I told him, trying to keep in simple, that since Calvin is in my belly he eats what I eat. He thought about that for a minute and then asked quite straight-faced, "Mom, does Calvin have a kitchen in there?" It was pretty funny.

NAPS

2008-01-31T11:32:00.000-08:00

(just imagine that in my head I am screaming this) OKAY. SO IGUESS TAL IS DONE TAKING NAPS. I AM HAVING A HARD TIME WITH THIS. IT'S NOT THAT HE WON'T STAY IN HIS ROOM FOR THE HOUR LONG "QUIET TIME" OH YES, HE DOES THAT VERY WELL(HE'S BEEN THREATENED WITH A COLD SHOWER). what is making me mad is that ... HE NEEDS A NAP. NOT JUST BECAUSE HE'S CRANKY AND FALLS ASLEEP IN THE CAR WHEN HE DOESN'T GET ONE. but also, because HE'S TIRED! DOESN'T HE KNOW THAT I AM HIS MOM AND I KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR HIM???? when i say go to sleep i mean GO TO SLEEP NOW!!!

okay, I feel a little better. I suppose I will just give up a little control here - ah it begins :)

P.S. I just told Tal to come out of his room - I made him stay two hours today trying to force the issue to no avail (can you believe he will play in his room quietly for two hours) as soon as I said (in a surrendering voice) "Okay Tal you can come down" I hear this sigh from his room as he says "Thanks mom!" What a sweet kid.

Loser

2008-01-28T18:09:00.000-08:00

Okay so I am the only loser in my family not to have posted in the last month. Sorry. I've just been in one of those funks where sitting down for five minutes to write seems overwhelming. For example as I sit here writing Talmage is crying upstairs (he's supposed to be going to bed - but is mad because he can't find spiderman) and I am trying to talk myself out of a rage blackout (or throwing him in the cold shower) and trying to talk myself into being a good mom and going to comfort him. Does anyone else experience these supreme internal battles?
For all of those who haven't heard it is definitley a boy! Yeah! We think it will be little Calvin and every morning Tal will get up and say really loudly (at my belly) "GOOD MORNING CALVIN! HOW ARE YOU?" then Naomi will start hollering in the general direction of my belly "GOO MOOING CAW... MA MA WO WA" It's pretty hilarious.
Tal is surprising me with his spontaneous good behavior lately. For example today we went to the park. He, as usual, got stuck on this climbing wall thing so I went over and started talking him down. When he was just about on solid ground he looked over at me and said, "Thank you for teaching me how to get down Mom." Kids are hilarious.

Okay, I've got to go comfort my screaming child now.

Peanut Butter Shampoo

2007-12-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

So today at lunch I made Naomi the usual: a PB & J. However, instead of eating eat she took the sandwich apart and starting rubbing the peanut butter in her hair. I guess our days with peanut butter are over.

Talmage is just getting to "know" about Santa Clause. So Sunday on the way home from church we were trying to explain how he worked in 3 year old terms. Pretty soon, Tal looked up from his car seat and exclaimed, "I LOVE Santa! He's like, like, like Jesus." So much for the spiritual learning taking place in our home!

It's a ... Boy ??

2007-11-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Well, that's right it looks like another little boy is on his way. We are really excited - not that we don't love Naomi - but she has really given us a run for our money!! I had an ultrasound the other day and the technician thinks it may be a little guy. I am only 14 weeks so it's really early to tell - she said not to buy anything yet - but I've attached pictures so you can see for yourself . We really like the name Calvin - I know it's a little unique but then I guess it fits :)

2007-11-15T16:58:00.001-08:00

Twins

2007-11-07T19:13:00.000-08:00

Okay don't get excited - I am not having twins. The other day I was watching Nickelodeon (look - every self-respecting mom does it) and I came across this show - Zoey 101. Anyway the star of the show is Jaime Lynn Spears (Britney's little sister) - I swear this girl is THE twin of Jessica (my little sis). I couldn't peel my eyes away. I found a picture to compare but you actually have to watch her in action to get the whole effect. The similarities are amazing! I guess if Jessica is Jaime Lynn Spears - that would make me Britney - not an entirely bad thing (in the 1998 "Hit me baby one more time" kind of way) Love you!

Jaime Lynn Spears

Jessica Lynn Draper

Daylight Savings Time

2007-11-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

I want to know whose bright idea daylight savings time was? It couldn't have been a mom because there is not much worse in the world then expecting your children to spontaneously adjust their internal clocks twice a year. Maybe I'll start a petition.

Perfect Daddy

2007-11-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

So Tal has taken to asking me where his "Perfect Daddy" is when Andy is at work. I have no idea where he got that - it certainly wasn't from me :) It is really funny. What I want to know is what about "perfect Mommy"? He never talks about her. Although, the other day he said, "my perfect Daddy is crazy" so I guess I'm not perfect but I'm not crazy either :)