The Family!

Fall is here!

2011-11-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't posted in 3 months and this is primarily because I haven't been able to use my hands for the past 3 months. No...they were not burned or maimed in some accident, but they are always full with this guy:

I think sweet Jensy Lu (as I like to call him) is finally coming out of the hard-newborn-wantstobeheldnonstop phase of his life. And, what a delight he is becoming!

We were able to visit the zoo with all the kids one day:

Lou and Binsky on their first day of 1st grade and kindergarten! They are getting so big so fast!
I need to post more often and have lots of updates and stories to recount, but we spend lots of time driving kids to and from school, etc. Don't worry....sweet baby has his very own, often-updated baby book. (don't know why since he is number 6!)

He's Here!

2011-08-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

Presenting Jensen Theodore Stoll:

Jens (pronounced Yens, as Caleb likes to call him) arrived last week after being induced. Although he wasn't my biggest baby at 8 lbs. 9 oz., his shoulders were big enough to get stuck and to cause a few minutes of panic on the part of all medical staff present at birth. My poor little sister, who is due with her first baby in a month, was probably traumatized by the experience. I wanted to be so calm and managed, even after pushing his head out, which is traditionally the hardest part. But, when he was stuck and had the OB pulling on his little neck, the pain was so intense I started screaming and forgot all about being composed for her sake.

Fortunately, even with the shoulder dystocia, baby seems to be doing well. He is a voracious eater and is ALWAYS hungry. We are in the midst of the rough nights, and are trying to figure out some semblance of a schedule. My sweet Mom has been helping a great deal and Caleb is off next week so I can sleep in and adjust.

Although the picture below doesn't suggest it, Huddy Bear has been adapting far better than any of the other kids to the birth of his new brother. This was taken when he walked into the hospital room to meet the baby and and witnessed another child in my arms. He is hiding behind the couch, but since that day, he has had no ill feelings at all towards the new baby. We are so relieved that he wants to hug, feed, and love his little brother all the time. The same cannot be said for the other kids, however! They are definitely out of sorts, but we hope to adjust during the next few weeks, before school begins. We are beyond blessed to welcome the new baby and can't wait to see what God has in store for his little life!

July 3, 2011

2011-07-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

Be careful what you wish for: I wanted the heat to finally come to Colorado and it has...in full force. Still no baby and I am dying from heat exhaustion just loading the kids in the car. They, however, can't get enough of the hot weather. Let's just say we spend insane amounts of time at the pool. Apparently, when I was little, I used to overheat often. My biological kids must have inherited this trait and literally, look like they're melting as soon as we step outside. Fortunately, we have no humidity here and it is fun spending time outside. Here are a few random pictures of the girls:

Here's an update on each kid:

1.) Lou - This kid has learned the power of money...he wants to earn it non-stop! He helps me with chores and earns a couple dollars, and held a lemonade stand a few days ago. We fresh squeezed the lemonade and sold cookies. We were sold out in about 20 minutes and the kids were SO happy to have some spending money. Lou bought little firecrackers, a chocolate milk, and 2nd hand roller blades, which he loves. The roller blades were a bit more than he had, so he is going to work them off. He begs to wash cars for change too. Lou has been learning to serve, through our church, in various ways. When he was told they were to pick up trash one day in the neighborhood, he responded, "how much are they paying me?" Unfortunately for him, it was a hot lesson in service. He's become quite the fish this summer and I barely have to worry about him in the water.

2.) Binksy - She is also LOVING the pool and is even able to swim in the deep end this summer. She is the lightest of my brown kids and has deep tan lines already. Binksy has been spending a lot of time coloring and does well during her daily "school." I am trying to keep the kids caught up on letters, math, reading, etc., and this girl is going to have an easy time her first few months of kindergarten. She is, however, giving us a bit of grief in the behavioral department, and so we hope to work through several issues before she begins school in the Fall. With her lemonade stand money, Binksy picked out a blonde Barbie in a bikini and likes to brush her hair and put on and remove her sunglasses. A summer highlight was riding the Alpine slide with a cousin's friend. Lou got to ride alone and I bet next summer, little Binksy will be big enough to do it alone too! She sighed this afternoon and said, "you're never going to have that baby. I think you'll be pregnant forever." Maybe someone has picked up on my current attitude....

3.) Goo Goo - Goo has Bieber Fever. Literally, I hear questions about him nonstop. She asks, "How old is Justin Bieber? What is Justin Bieber's favorite color? Does Justin Bieber kiss his girlfriend on the lips?" etc., etc. etc. Her prior obsession was skeletons and before that, it was mummies. Now, we have moved on to a living person, but I must say, I liked the dead questions better. Just this morning, Goo asked me if Justin Bieber would like her hair in a fro or if he would prefer it in 2 ponytails. We had a little competition at breakfast and when mild-mannered Goo lost, she quietly said, "shoot." It was super cute. She also has a new Barbie and loves to "make her hair straight" in the pool. Last night, in Costco, she approached a girl with green dreads and told her how much she loved and envied her hair. I said she can dye and straighten her hair at 16. She asked if that's how old Justin Bieber currently is.

4. ) Tiny - With her lemonade stand money, Tiny also picked out an Ariel Barbie. My parents took the kids to Water World one afternoon and my Dad accidentally dropped a large raft on Tiny's head, pushing her face into the concrete. Unfortunately, it ruined her whole experience, but my Dad made up for it by bringing her another new Barbie over. Her chin and mouth are really scraped up, but she is still cute. I'm not sure if she's thinking about the looming sibling's birth or what, but this morning, Tiny told us she wants to start nursing again. I thought she didn't know what she was talking about, but she insists she wants to nurse and the new baby shouldn't have all my milk. Caleb thinks this is hilarious, but I'm wondering if poor Tiny needs some more attention or something. Tiny brushes my hair, every day, after I get out of the shower. It's a sweet tradition, but sometimes hurts.

5. ) Huddy Bear - No longer does Huddy silently protest. Lately, this kid has been throwing fits! We realize this is normal for his age, but I wonder if he's more frustrated because of his inability to talk at all. Huddy does have around 4 words now: ball, Dada, Mama, and up. His therapist told us he may regress when he gains a new sibling, but we joke the worst that can happen is he loses his 1 or 2 words. He loves to point at my belly and say "ball." I guess it's good his first word is ball and not fat or something. Huddy has slimmed down considerably, but is gaining some really light hair on his head. He is so pleasant and shares Tiny's deep giggle. Huddy also gained a roommate when we set up the new baby's crib in his room and Tiny insists on sleeping in it every night. Huddy loves to "be in on every joke" so when we laugh, he joins in with a fake, loud laugh. He also likes to run and be chased.

Caleb turned 30 last week and didn't want a party. I was bummed by this. Instead, we met him at work for lunch and I took him to dinner the next night. The day after his birthday, his brother welcomed their first child, a sweet little girl. We visited her at the hospital as part of the celebration. Caleb is excited to be a Dad again and I am glad he gets to feel this baby move more than any other. He also did a Krispy Kreme donut challenge at work, where he had to eat 12 original glazed in 4 minutes. Although he won the challenge, his stomach "lost." Now, Caleb is getting my brother to eat 15 in 5 minutes.

Other than swimming a lot, my goal this summer was to average one super fun event/week. So far, the kids have been able to go to a carnival (creepy experience for sure on my part), visit Water World, ride the Alpine slide, hold a lemonade stand, ride go-carts and bumper boats, vacation in Texas, be in 2 weddings, eat free Chik-fil-A breakfast multiple times, be a part of the local library reading event, and go to a fun Car-themed VBS. I admit I spent way too much money on a few games and toys for them for when the baby is born. It will just be nice to have some distractions while baby and I get the hang of nursing, etc. Overall, we are blessed and are just really enjoying this summer!

June, 2011

2011-06-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

So far, this month has been CRAZY busy! We returned from Texas this week and I can't even say how much fun we had there. Poor Caleb had to drive with the 4 older kids, but they did great. Seriously, they loved it and were thrilled to watch as many movies as they wanted. I packed each kid a LARGE water bottle and Tiny had finished hers within 15 minutes. So, the way there was filled with potty breaks. I flew with Huddy Bear and he was pretty difficult, to be honest. It seemed his ears were hurting with the pressure, as he had double ear infections the whole trip. But, I am very glad to say he had tubes put in early this morning. The picture above is around 7 hours post-surgery and as you can see, he's doing very well. The poor baby wanted food so bad and kept doing his eat sign all morning, while wailing loudly. Fortunately, the ENT is a friend and took Huddy back early for his surgery. In post-op, that baby ate SO much. He downed 3 apple juices and shocked the nurses by shoving crackers into his mouth so fast he choked.

The girls and Caleb were in my brother's wedding and LOVED every minute of it. Texas was HOT and I was pretty miserable being pregnant. Literally, the heat made me angry and irritable....sorry Family! Every day, my ankles swelled to epic proportions and I seriously don't know how people live in that state at all.

The wedding was beautiful! The rehearsal dinner was a blast and I got to dance 2 nights in a row. From the moment we arrived at the reception, until the bride and groom left 6 hours or so later, my kids didn't stop dancing. I have never seen such a talented band! They would do ANY song and did them well! There were around 10 people in the band and it was fun to watch them. In spite of how loud the room was, Huddy Bear fell asleep on a couple tux coats, under a table. My little brother dipped me and I smacked my head on an iron chair, but other than that, we loved the dancing. We ate loads of tex mex food, enjoyed new family, and swam quite a bit too.

Tonight the kids and Caleb are rehearsing for my sister-in-law's wedding. We are looking forward to it, but need rest next week fo sho. Here are the girls last weekend:

Our weather here hasn't been warm, so we're bummed about the lack of swimming. The kids started a summer reading program today at the local library and are excited about that. Baby #6 continues to overwhelm me with his/her activeness. The movements wake me up at night and it can kick hard! We are due to have a niece within 2 weeks and 2 more nieces or nephews within 6 months. How fun it will be for all the cousins to be so close in age!

Countdown to Summer....

2011-05-22T14:33:00.001-07:00

Lou asks numerous times, every day, how many days of school are left. We are in single digits, my friends! In 4 days, he has kindergarten graduation! All the kids keep asking about summer time and I must admit, it doesn't feel like summer around here. We've had temps in the 40's and 50's all week, with lots of rain and hail. Our neighborhood pool opened 3 days ago and Caleb finally took the 4 oldest kids swimming today. That's actually where they are right now and are most likely freezing! It's not a warm day, to say the least. But, they were so excited and I think the water might be heated, but don't know for sure.

We're gearing up for our big trip to Texas next week for my brother's wedding. The oldest 4 are driving with Caleb, while Huddy Bear will fly with me. I made day 1 travel and day 2 travel bags for everyone. They are full of gum, a dollar to buy something at a rest stop, coloring stuff, books, games, etc. The older girls even have Justin Bieber trading cards.....they like him lately. Traveling with kids is different now that they have to be strapped in car seats the whole time. I remember when our family would take a row of seats out to roll around and sleep in the middle of our van.

Sweet Huddy Bear has been having a rough go of it lately. Because of his early illness and one of the antibiotics he received, it appears he has hearing loss in both ears. Every time we've gone to meet with the audiologist, he has had double ear infections, complicating things further. This past week was the 3rd appointment! So, we're going to try tubes in his ears soon, to see if with less fluid, his hearing improves. He is still receiving sign language services and loves his therapist to death! His excitement when she comes over is adorable! Then, we'll meet with a team of audiologists to see if hearing aids, etc., are the next plan of action.

I can't believe my baby will be a big brother soon! Huddy Bear is such a joy to have around and is sweet, sweet, sweet! He has a little kitchen, from last weekend's garage sale, and spends most of his time slaving away at the stove.
Tiny learned to ride a bike recently and wants to go on it all the time! She has training wheels, but I think they'll come off soon. Poor baby girl has been sick this week, but refuses tylenol or ibuprofen all the time....not sure why she doesn't want it. She lays around with her blanky and we rented the new Rapunzel movie so perhaps all the kids can rest. She is enjoying Huddy Bear much more lately and is excited to be in 2 weddings this summer. Last night, we bought all the girls new shoes for the weddings and they are on cloud 9! Goo and Binksy are doing well! I couldn't find any recent pics of them, although I'm sure Caleb is getting some good ones at the pool right now.

We are excited to meet the new baby soon and feel like this pregnancy has flown by! These last few weeks may crawl, however, but the little one is still super active, and every time it moves, I feel blessed by the baby's health. I quit running 2 weeks ago as it got too uncomfortable and have been walking often. There is a strong possibility I'll have to have my first C-section with this baby and that thought PETRIFIES me. I realize C-sections are common, but I feel anxious anyway. My OB will probably let me know this week what the plan is.

Spring, 2011

2011-04-17T13:56:00.001-07:00

Life has been full this Spring! It was hard to get a decent picture of all the kids at my sister's wedding, so here's our best shot:

Apart from Shirley Temple's (a.k.a. Tiny's) hair, they all looked fabulous. Seriously, the colors looked really nice on the kids and can conveniently be re-used as Easter clothes. The wedding was beautiful, although a bit on the early side....even if breakfast foods are our favorites. I forgot, as matron-of-honor, that I would need to prepare a speech and embarrassed myself a bit at that part. Everyone had loads of fun dancing, spending time with cousins, eating, and dressing up. My stylish sister had the bridesmaids wear teal HIGH heels, which were unbearable, but other than that, it was a great time. She is marrying into a sweet family and it was so fun to be involved. Here are a few pics of the kids, although I'm hoping the professional ones turned out better!

Goo Goo really does have a fake and a natural smile. The following would be her forced smile:

3 days after the wedding, my older sister and little brother had a birthday. They are born on the same day, which is weird! I've been promising Poohy (my little brother) that I would take him to Vegas for his 21st, for around 6 years. We LOVE poker! All of the siblings were supposed to go, but it ended up being just 3 of us. We had a blast! I don't know if it was the pregnancy thing or what, but I had a super successful run in Vegas, at the no-limit Hold 'Em tables. My other brother and I also enjoyed an awesome buffet! Only our family would get so excited about food. Here is a pic of me this week...it is pretty unflattering, but I wanted to capture my appearance at 6 1/2 mos. prego. With Tiny, I weighed 15 lbs. less on the day she was born. This has been a gaining pregnancy! I wish our backyard was bigger and had more exciting trees to climb. Tiny's new favorite hobby is tree climbing, and getting scraped.
Huddy Bear finally had an eval, since he is lacking any words. He qualified for speech services right away, which is great news, but he also failed a few hearing tests. The audiologist is pretty sure he has some hearing problems, perhaps from the strong antibiotics he took when he was just a week old. So, they are kindly providing therapy for him, as well as for our whole family! We are learning some sign language right now, and hope to have more info about his hearing soon. Huddy refuses to communicate, in any way, and hides his face when we try to practice signs. Nevertheless, he is as adorable as ever.

Binksy Boo begs to be able to do the dishes after dinner every night. I hope she is still asking to do them when she's 13 and required to help! Caleb let her clean up a few nights ago.

Gum is a powerful motivation for Goo Goo. I have never been so proud of her as I was yesterday at her soccer game. We told her she could pick out a pack of gum, if she scored a goal during her weekly game. She played super aggressively and scored! Coach Caleb hoisted her up into the air and from that point on, she was done playing. She would stare at me, through the rest of the game, with a massive smile plastered to her face. Then, she would yell across the field, "am I getting my own pack of gum? Mom! Mom! Mom! I scored a goal!" Goo is playing as the youngest player by a year, since we wanted to simplify life this season. This makes her goal all the more memorable!

Lou is getting huge and is doing well in soccer too! random pic of Tiny....
Only 28 1/2 more days of kindergarten for Lou! He is definitely counting down. Other than that, we are looking forward to meeting the new baby, attending 2 sibling weddings, and doing loads of swimming this summer!

Highlights from Feb-March, 2011

2011-03-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

We can't seem to catch our breath here...literally and figuratively. Being pregnant with a weak immune system has made it possible for me to pick up all sorts of bugs. Last week, I battled bronchitis and finally got on an antibiotic over the weekend. The figurative part alludes to my little sister's wedding this upcoming weekend! Her wedding marks the first of 3 family weddings during the next few months. Every niece and nephew is walking down the aisle, including Huddy Bear! The boys are wearing teal bow ties, while the little girls have fancy teal dresses. The reception is a brunch, which is our family's ultimate favorite! Wait until Lou sees the unlimited bacon and eggs. We were able to host a fun private shower for my little sister 2 weeks ago. She requested an Asian theme, so I served gyoza (kind of like pot stickers), beef satay, and chicken lo mein. The food turned out well and we had a great time, but it was exhausting! This pregnancy has been rough, but a few notes about the baby:

1.) I felt this baby move, earlier than any other pregnancy. I distinctly felt him/her at 15 weeks. It has continued to be active and I'm wondering if this will carry over into his/her personality. Tiny was ACTIVE in utero, while Huddy RARELY moved. He continues to be a mellow baby, so perhaps we have another Tiny on our hands.

2.) I have never looked worse during pregnancy. Seriously, some of the medications caused extreme weight gain, early on, as well as acne. I am mortified to be matron of honor this Saturday and feel super humbled by my appearance this pregnancy. In spite of this, I am overwhelmingly excited to meet this baby and consider my physical sacrifices to be trivial. I am privileged to be having another baby!

The other kids are doing well...we've started reading the Little House on the Prairie books aloud and although they're awesome, I forgot how strange some of it is. For instance, today's chapter was all about Butchering Day at the Little House and the slaughter and preservation of the family pig. Mary and Laura are thrilled to have the pig's bladder blown up to play with, and they get to roast and eat the pig tail. This is kind of foreign to my kids and Tiny's questions, especially, were hilarious! She wanted to know if there was pee in the bladder, why Laura plays with a corn cob doll, etc. All the kids are sad they had to work so hard to get food and to store up for winter. They will sit for a long time, however, and love listening to me read.

This past month, we celebrated Valentine's Day as a family. It was the best Valentine's Day ever. Caleb came home from work early and we all got ready to go to the indoor pool. The kids loved swimming and when we came home, I made a spaghetti feast. We ate by candlelight, told one another what we love about each other, and passed out chocolates. Huddy especially liked his M&M's and the candles....he is a mini pyro. Binksy's bday was a week later and we took her to an arcade. She played laser tag for the first time and although it was a blast, she didn't enjoy herself a great deal because she was running a fever that day. For her favorite dinner, she requested I make egg casserole and breakfast foods. She ate it and then threw up a few minutes later. That was the beginning of a 2 week sick streak for our family and it turns out Binksy Boo had her first ear infection. She did receive a big red bouncy ball, which has been the highlight of our existence for the past week. All 5 kids fit in there, but I think my Dad may have popped it and ruined the fun. Nevertheless, we purchased a new one at Costco this past weekend!

Marriage is on the mind of Binksy and Goo Goo of late. They discuss who and what they will marry. Goo loves mummies and insists she will marry a mummy. Binksy loves a little boy from preschool, but never wants to kiss him. She just likes to write his name over and over, while giggling.

Hope to have lots to post in the upcoming months, as well as time to do it!

2011

2011-01-31T15:26:00.000-08:00

I realize it's been a while since I've logged on and need to go back over our Christmas, etc. Christmas was fine...nothing super eventful, other than sickness after sickness. The morning after Christmas, Tiny came down with the stomach flu, followed by the rest of our family. Let me just say how un-fun it is to have the flu on top of pregnancy nausea. Fortunately, Caleb and I were spared from the next bout of illness. But, the poor kids came down with high, unexplained fevers for around a week. Huddy had RSV in there too. All in all, I'm hoping we stay healthy for a few weeks at least!

We're super excited about the Steelers making the Super Bowl! I was born in Pitt and have a great many thrilled relatives cheering them on. Years ago, when the Steelers played Denver in the playoffs, I think, they stayed at the hotel I worked at. I was able to meet numerous players and even had a chance to talk to Bill Cowher. I was all flustered and told him, "I'm a big fan of yours...play well tomorrow." He responded kindly and told me if he was playing, the Steelers were in trouble. I've also had a long standing desire to dress as Troy Polamalu for Halloween. Anyway...we had Tiny's bday recently and I'll have to post pics of that. It was pretty crazy with around 25 little kids in the house. I tried to coax her into going out for her bday, but she insisted on a "party in our kitchen." She's still the smallest 3 year old I know. Here are she and Lou dressed as painters, perhaps????? That was the goal.

Huddy Bear doesn't know his world will be rocked with the new baby. He just learned to sit at the "big kid table" for snacks and is super proud. He is such a pleasant kid!

Goo Goo is showing off her painted nails. My girls live for nail polish. They beg me to paint them again and again and again. And, they randomly beg other people to paint their nails. They will sit in King Soopers for hours staring at color upon color of polish. They point out likable colors to one another and have great fun, until I make them leave that aisle.

So, here is Binksy during her first snow:

Here she is this past week:

It's not a happy picture of her, but I am amazed at how much she's grown! We're having a cold spell this week and both older kids are out of school tomorrow! Binksy and I are starting therapy! Well, I just began last week and gave background/history info to the therapist. I am really excited about this! She is still struggling with attachment issues and I think our goal is to find some new tools, advice, and skills to parent her with. It will just help being alone with her, in the car, and during the meetings, I think. We're thrilled about this and Binksy is too, although she isn't yet sure what to expect.

Lou has daily quizzes at school and wasn't doing too well on them....until we figured out the importance of bribery. He gets Chipotle for every 100% he gets. Last week, we owed him Chipotle twice and are going to have to reduce the prize scale for good grades. I didn't realize how motivating food is for this kid!

We sometimes call the baby Teddy, as I love the idea of Huddy Bear and Teddy Bear. I don't have an inkling about gender, but do know this pregnancy has been ROUGH! I don't look or feel myself, but am getting excited to meet this precious kiddo. This baby will be a fun addition in 2011!

Thankful...

2010-12-19T15:22:00.000-08:00

Several things our family is thankful for this year:

1.) Beautiful weather lately...seriously, we've been able to ride bikes outside, not wear coats, etc., for the past few months. We haven't had a big, home-binding snow yet.

2.) Caleb's brother and sister-in-law are providing us with a niece or nephew next summer! We've been hounding them for a while and are excited to see them dote on their own child like they have our kids.

3.) My brother got engaged over the weekend! He is marrying a WONDERFUL girl and we are thrilled to have her in our family. Tiny especially loves Ashley and whenever my brother calls to talk to her, Tiny immediately says, "is Ash-a-lee there? I want to talk to Ash-a-lee."

4.) The kids are finally at the ages when they can start participating in Christmas plays and concerts. I've looked forward to this day for a while and tonight, we get to see the 4 oldest kids in a play!

5.) We are SO excited about our next addition, due Summer, 2011! I am feeling like a tired, sick shell of myself, but it's for good reason. The kids can't wait and are split on gender: Lou and Goo want a boy, while Binksy and Tiny want a girl. Huddy probably hopes for no baby at all.

6.) Huddy Bear is finally walking! And, he's been talking...a bit. He says "mama," and it's music to my ears. As a side note, I have never met a child so obsessed with lights. He will gaze at them for hours on end and here exhibits his newest trick:

Huddy turns them off and on too.

7.) 2 weeks off school! I love Christmas break! Not only can we celebrate Jesus' birth, but God gives us time to sleep in and eat good food.

Guess Who is 6!

2010-12-19T15:06:00.000-08:00

The first time I ever saw Lou:

Seriously, have you seen a cuter child?????? (Other than Binksy, Goo, Tiny, and Huddy, of course) I adored Lou from the moment I saw him! He was a beautiful, little boy. And, he continues to grow handsomer and handsomer:

About 2 weeks ago, Lou lost his first tooth, with the second one following shortly. We were in the mountains and Lou was sharing a big bed with his sisters. He was nervous the Tooth Fairy wouldn't know where to leave his prize or wouldn't know how to distinguish him as the lost-tooth-child. So, he made Caleb write a letter to the Tooth Fairy:

"Dear Tooth Fairy,
I am the little, brown boy, laying on the outer edge of the bed.
My pajamas are gray and white striped.
I left the tooth on the coffee table.
You can leave the money there too.
Thank-you."

Caleb and I were cracking up and even got a picture of his note. I want to save it for his baby book. The next morning, he claimed to have seen the Tooth Fairy and said "she was beautiful with a glowing light following her. She was about the size of a 6 or 7 year old girl." I know I'm short, but wasn't aware of the trail of light that follows me.

For Lou's bday, we took Krispy Kreme donuts to his classmates. He had friends over for a taco dinner that night and a pinata. I miss my cuddly toddler, but it is so great being able to have real conversations with Lou and to witness his growing sense of reason. I love my responsible oldest boy and his industrious nature. He helped me clean the house, before a showing, just the other night. And, he really scrubbed and cleaned all my showers! I was so impressed. We love you, Lou!

Happy 4th Birthday, Goo Girl!

2010-11-16T16:37:00.000-08:00

Someone has been VERY excited about her birthday for around 3 1/2 months now. Since she turned 1, we haven't had a party for Goo, so I thought we could do something low key this year. So, in the middle of the day, we had a tea party with around 13 little girls. They were great and Goo had a fabulous time! For lunch, we served star shaped PB&J's, cucumber/cream cheese sandwiches, dainty cookies, grapes, carrots w/ranch, mini cupcakes, sparkling cider, and chocolate covered rice krispy treats, shaped like star wands. The girls decorated their wands with pink, sparkly icing and most of them were eaten, prior to lunch.

We blew up a picture of Goo and played pin-the-crown on Goo's head. The girls also made their own cute crown with jewels and glitter glue. This is the pic we blew up, and I love it:

We also bashed a skeleton pinata, since Goo Goo loves skeletons. There is a story behind this doll:

From the moment Goo Goo opened her baby Belle doll, Tiny was in love. She stared at that thing for hours and kept begging me to open it. I wouldn't until Goo gave the o.k. That night, there was a huge screaming and crying fit, when Tiny couldn't sleep with Goo's doll. The next morning, the doll curiously disappeared. I scoured our house and it was nowhere to be found! Lou mentioned Tiny had it last, so when I questioned her, she consistently said, "maybe it's in heaven. I don't know, Mom." Over a day later, we found it buried in a closet. That girl is stubborn and sneaky! She figured if she couldn't have the doll, no one should.

Huddy looked so cute at the party and all the girls wanted a piece of him.

On her actual bday, we went for Chinese food and to see Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, performed by kids. It was awesome! Goo asked us for a singing card and I have never, ever seen her so genuinely happy! She was dancing around Target telling me, "this is the happiest day of my life! I am SO happy! I love my card!" Wow...if all the kids could be so content with their gifts. In fact, I hear that card in the background right now...she just listens to it and dances around our house.

Goo is such a dear blessing to our family. I can't believe how big she's getting and just adore this sweet girl. Happy Birthday, Goo Girl!

Halloween, 2010

2010-11-16T16:06:00.000-08:00

Our Halloween was full of pre-holiday parties. We raked in enough candy for an army, prior to the actual night of Halloween! Huddy Bear got his first taste of candy and my oh my! He is a sugar hound! Unfortunately, he had to ride around in his stroller, while the older kids trick-or-treated. I kept him pacified with 8 pieces of licorice, 5 mini candy bars, and a lollipop. We borrowed a couple costumes and he was a dragon. The little hat was the cutest part, but of course, he wouldn't keep it on!
Tiny also borrowed a costume and went as Wonder Woman. We would catch her, in the middle of the night, burrowing in her blankets because she was so cold in this outfit. She would rip off her warm pj's and become Wonder Woman, after we kissed her goodnight. The night of Halloween, she refused to wear a coat and if anyone left a bowl out, with a note saying, "take just 1 piece," Tiny would empty it into her bag. I swear we weren't paying attention until around house #4 , when Tiny fell over, off a porch, because her bag was weighing her down.

The middle girls both wanted to be Rapunzel for Halloween. We made their hair out of yarn and they wore dresses we already have. Both girls loved the holiday, although Binksy was scared at night from some of the costumes we saw out and about. We finally had her come sleep in our room around midnight.

Lou wanted to be Woody, from Toy Story! He picked out his costume at Walmart and although I felt guilty, we paid $12 for it. Towards the end of the night, his younger siblings remained excited about trick-or-treating, but Lou said he was feeling sick. I looked in his bucket a bit later and he only had candy wrappers. He was eating every single piece as we went along. I would feel sick too.

It is so fun having kids this age, who love trick-or-treating. I don't know what I'll do when there isn't anyone's bucket to polish off during nap time....

Huddy's First Birthday Party...

2010-10-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

I just realized I haven't posted any pictures of Huddy's first birthday! It was a bit of a crazy day, as the 3 older kids had soccer all morning and we invited lots of friends and relatives. I initially wanted to blow up 12 pictures, one from each month of his life, and stick them around the house as decorations. I got a bit carried away, because he is SO cute, and we ended up with around 50 pics. So, we hung and strung them all over the dining room. I am not an artistic, creative person, but must say that it looked really nice.

For food, we had lots of pizza, vegetable platters, hummus and chips, punch, and cake. On a related note, Huddy goes through the dishwasher, constantly, to find these:

He hasn't been weaned of the bottle yet, and I have an inkling it may be difficult! Here's a quick picture of Tiny from the party. She, along with the other kids, are really into silly bands. I wish I had invented them. The other kids were running around in the basement with friends, so we don't have pics of them.

Huddy's favorite toy was this whistle blower decoration:

Actually, he received 4 cute little puppet animals and he is obsessed with them. He drags them around the house and especially likes the monkey and hippo ones. Just the other night, I found him dipping his favorites in the toilet and when I took them away to be washed, he went berserk! When he got them back the next morning, it was like he had been reunited with his first love. Literally, I think he likes the puppets more than me.

Sweet Huddy LOVED his cake. His eating method was to dig a deep hole in the center of the cake. I thought he would be ill from so much sugar and he didn't eat much the next 2 days. Now, he's already into Halloween candy and perks up when he hears a crinkly wrapper.

My Grandparents are here this week and we are having fun with them! I don't know if they're having fun with us, because every time we're all together, the 8 great Grandkids are hard to handle and LOUD! I was able to run a race this past week and it was a good time. We went to a ton of Halloween parties too and by the time Halloween is actually here, the kids may be candied out. Here's the costumes for this year:

Lou - Woody from Toy Story
Binksy - Rapunzel
Goo Goo - Rapunzel
Tiny - Wonder Woman (although I want her to wear my homemade Pippi Longstocking outfit)
Huddy - dragon

Can You Believe This??????

2010-10-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

We literally cannot believe that 1 year ago, my water broke. I was SICK of being pregnant and literally sick as well. After a LONG labor, sweet Huddy Bear entered the world about 24 hours later. To say he has blessed our family would be an understatement! We ADORE this little boy and after a few days with him (because we were fortunate to be able to spend plenty of time together in the NICU), I couldn't imagine my life without this precious baby. So, for a few weeks, the kids are 5,4,3,2, and 1!

We love Huddy's sometimes serious, but always curious personality. He likes to play with his brother and sisters, put anything and everything in his mouth (including a cricket today at the park), and will sit in his booster eating for as long as we let him. He's beginning to develop a little angry streak and will scream at anyone who dares to do something contrary to Huddy's desires. He'll let you know if he doesn't want you to hold him or take something out of his hand.

He adores his Mommy and has recently developed a shy little habit. If someone new walks by, he hides his face on my chest and refuses to look up until the situation is safe. He's also sensitive to loud noises or even the sun. He buries his head if someone speaks too loud or if I forget I'm holding him and yell to one of the other kids. If it's dark and we go into a light room, that also scares Huddy. He still has no hair, but we feel confident some will grow in this next year of life.

So, for the birthday party, we're celebrating tomorrow night, on his actual birthday. We're eating pizza, veggies, and cake, which I know Huddy will be obsessed with. There are LOTS of people coming and I am decorating with blown up pictures of Huddy, from the past year, that will be strung and hung with clothespins. We also had picture calendars made for Grandparents and game winners.
I can't believe my good fortune with this plethora of kids! God has been good to me and we are excited to see what He will do with Huddy's life and calling. Happy Birthday, dear Boy!

Don't Be Fooled by This:

2010-10-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

I would urge you not to be sucked in by his seeming innocence. This sweet baby is causing trouble again....poor Huddy Bear went into the hospital this weekend for another round of tests and a high fever. It turns out he has bronchiolitis from RSV and a potential bacterial infection yet again! We're waiting on the blood and urine cultures. He seemed more pleasant yesterday and we thought we were in the clear! Then, early this morning, Caleb sprung from our bed to grab a vomit-covered Huddy. The sweet baby proceeded to vomit over and over and over.....I was concerned about meningitis and we hoped for the flu instead. The good news is that he does have the flu, on top of everything else. But, the bad news is that it will most likely go through our family....AAAAAHHHHH! Can there be a worse sound than that of a child throwing up in the middle of the night??????????

To add to the drama, we had a house showing at the peak of Huddy Bear's illness. Poor Caleb came home from work and we cleaned for a bit to make things somewhat presentable. We are feeling very grateful that I didn't need surgery last week and had a neat weekend with some Costa Rican missionaries our church is partnering with. Lou was excited to have Tican candy and a Colon, which is Costa Rica's form of currency. All the older kids colored Tican flags and sang songs in Spanish. They have decided other cultures are fascinating and told me at breakfast, "California is their favorite country."

Binksy Boo is starting to "get" soccer. Although I missed the games from this past weekend, I was told she scored 7 goals! Lou scored as well and is beginning to gain some aggression. Poor Goo remains a prancing, charming player and Caleb told me she touched the ball 4 times.

Little Innocente will be 1 in just 2 weeks! I'm sure he'll be feeling great in time for his party and we're excited to watch him demolish his cake!

30 and a Soccer MOM!

2010-09-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

I just have to share a bit about each kid's soccer tactics. The are all hilarious in their own unique way. Goo has been looking forward to her first season for months now and played with a smile PLASTERED on her face the entire time. She definitely needs to learn the basics, like you want to put the ball in the goal and can't leave the field any time you want. She also likes to converse with me, throughout the game. Her favorite part so far is snack time!

Binksy turns into a shy, timid girl, as soon as she gets on the field....not sure where this comes from! At kickoff, her whole team remained stuck on the midfield line for at least 30 seconds. She has ability, I can tell, and is pretty coordinated! But, she's lacking aggression and turns the ball over to any other little girl, in an effort to share.

Lou was promised whatever bottle of hot sauce his little heart desired, if he won his first game. We just cracked up during his first game! They played against a mini-Beckham and we're not sure who taught Lou to defend the goal. But, as soon as the other team gained possession of the ball, he would bolt for his goal and put his arms out to defend whatever would come. The other team would literally be on the other side of the field, get the ball, and Lou would fly to the other end. Maybe he should be a goalie because every team is always looking for one.

The middle girls just making random expressions:

Tiny looks chubby in this picture, but is still tiny. She loves her some pizza though!

So, I turned 30 and feel too busy to feel older. On my birthday, we received a VERY BIG surprise: a pregnancy! Caleb and I were excited and started making plans for number 6! I rapidly weaned Huddy Bear, we finally put our house on the market, I dropped out of school (I had planned to finish up a graduate degree), and we started looking for a new car. However, it was not meant to be. After seeing the baby's heartbeat and everything, I am miscarrying this week at around 11 weeks. We are pretty disappointed, as the pregnancy was a shock to both of us and we had recently got used to the idea. Plus, we had just decided to tell everyone and felt somewhat in the clear. We're not sure what God is doing through this experience and I am feeling pretty weak this week....just anemic and tired. We're praying I won't have to have surgery and should know by Monday. I told the kids the baby had died in my tummy and Tiny replied, "we should go to the store and get another one, Mommy."

Huddy Bear also surprised us on my birthday with a fabulous gift: He said, "Mama." Alas, he hasn't said it since that day, but relentlessly says, "DADADADADADADA," every second. He is standing on his own, as of 10 months and 3 weeks, and has taken 1 step. But, I still think it will be a while before he wants to walk on his own, as his crawling is efficient. We're planning a big 1st bday bash in around a month and can't believe Huddy Bear is going to be 1.

Louis Michael

2010-09-02T15:56:00.001-07:00

Almost a week ago, the kids became OBSESSED with bug hunting. This all started with Louis Michael, a praying mantis Caleb found in our garage. He googled what to feed a praying mantis and Louis Michael has been staying alive on spiders, crickets, and other assorted bugs. He is typically fed 1x/day and lives comfortably in a large tupperware container. All 4 of the oldest kids LOVE to hear the garage open at the end of the day, because they know Caleb is coming home and they can finally go out and search for Louis' dinner. About the name, I'm not sure, but it was purely spontaneous and decided upon by all the kids.

In other news, I've been at death's doorstep for about a week. I'm better now, but had strep throat, some virus, and double ear infections last week....who gets double ear infections as an adult?????? I also turned the big 30! I was asked, numerous times, if I feel differently now that I'm 30 and the answer is, "no." I'm too busy to feel different. We are hoping to put our house on the market in 3 days, so I am overwhelmed with boxing stuff up, etc. The following, unflattering picture was taken early in the morning, at some point when I wasn't 100% well:

Binksy Boo enjoying the water:
She LOVES preschool! Girls are so different than boys and she tells me EVERYTHING about what goes on in those 2 glorious hours! When she's asked what she likes best, she always answers, "I like everything. All of it is my favorite."

This strapping guy started kindergarten last week. He's just going a 1/2 day but also LOVES school. This may have to do with the fact that they have to wear uniforms, consisting of button down shirts with collars. Lou likes to dress up! I've been told he swings through recess and is doing well. Seriously, he doesn't tell us a great deal about school, so I'm planning on volunteering one afternoon to see what it's all about.

Goo desperately wants to be in school too and starts soccer this week. Perhaps that will be a good distraction for a while???????? She and Tiny spend their days fighting...not sure why, but it's driving me nuts! They are either the best of friends or the worst of enemies. All the togetherness, without the older siblings to mediate, is straining these little girls! They're probably sick of watching me pack too!

Tiny is more feisty than ever and won't let me pack up any of her precious toys. She'll see a long-forgotten stuffed animal and freaks out that it's going to be out of her sights. So, much like a bag lady, she pushes her little cart around the house and it's overflowing with random toys, blankets, towels, and garbage.

Perhaps I can update more on life when our house is on the market...oh wait, then I have to keep it clean every second of every day! AAAAAHHHHH!

Tiny Wants to be Amish....

2010-08-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

A few years back, my mother-in-law visited Amish country and brought back a bonnet for Goo and a wide brimmed hat for Lou. After tossing around numerous ideas, my Ethiopian children were Amish children that year for Halloween as their first choice. Fast forward a few years and as we cleaned out the basement last week, Tiny found the bonnet. For the next 36 hours, she refused to remove the bonnet. So, we took her to church looking like a crazy child, and I heard parishioners ooohing and aaahing about "how cute she looked." In my mind, she just looked borderline:

Because we deprive our children of appropriate dress up clothes, they create their own. Actually, they have a plethora of princess costumes, etc., and have decided to "make long hair" with dresses. Judging by Goo Goo's appearance, the neighbors probably think we aren't using AC during the summer months...or maybe they're used to us by now!

It's hard to believe that a year ago, I was able to watch my little nephew's birth! Wyatt turned 1 last week and we had a little party. He is a sweet baby and my hope is that he and Huddy Bear will be inseparable, dear friends. They are somewhat on their way.....

Lucky Wy Wy got all the hair....

While we watched Wyatt eat 2 cupcakes, the older kids have started a new pastime with their cousins: chasing and wrestling. They LOVE it!
This is the best we could do of all 8 cousins on my side:

We've had a great last week off of school! My sweet cousins, Hannah and Sharon, are visiting and were staying with us. We've had fun workouts, ate great food, went alpine sliding, mini golfing, etc. Today, they're at a music festival in town with my siblings and are seeing an awesome lineup.

Yesterday, we went to a fun picnic with our adoptive home study agency. It was really neat to meet people who have adopted from Kenya, Liberia, Ethiopia, etc. Caleb thought we might lose the older kids in the "sea of African children." Seriously, it was nice to see so many different races represented. Our area of town is pretty much all white.

After that, we headed to my class reunion. How crazy it was to see all those people and although most of them knew I had married Caleb, a few still seemed shell shocked! He played soccer with a lot of the guys in my class and knew them well. Also, perhaps my sleep deprivation is kicking in, but I honestly don't remember much from High School. Literally, they were all talking about a foreign exchange student, whose name starts with an M, and his picture is near mine in our yearbook. (I graduated with just 17 kids.) I looked at Marcien or Marcos or Mim's picture and he didn't look the slightest bit familiar. Then, there's a picture with just me and Mentos, but none of this rang a bell.at.all. Apparently some other time, I punched a guy who was annoying me in PE. Everyone else remembers this, but I just chuckled politely. Maybe I have early onset Alzheimer disease, and mentioned to Caleb we might have showed up at the wrong reunion....

Doesn't Your Kid Own a BlackBerry?

2010-07-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

The 4 oldest kids officially own their own BlackBerry phones now. None of them work, but they couldn't care less! They make sure to have their phone on them, prior to leaving the house, etc.

Here's Goo, taking a break from playing, to send a quick text to her uncle:

It's been a busy couple of weeks, and we've managed to do lots of cool things with the nice weather! Here's a Huddy Bear update: HE LOVES TO EAT! I mean this. Every.single.time you look at Huddy, he typically has a pretzel, cracker, or random piece of food he found on the ground, in his hand/mouth. He sits with us at meal times, and likes to look around at all his siblings:

Huddy Bear now has 8 teeth at 9 months of age! This is crazy to me, because some kids don't have 1 tooth at this age. They are rather large teeth and he likes to randomly bite my shoulder and giggles when I scream in pain. Innocente now has his own room and although I missed him the first few nights, it's sort of nice being able to sleep uninterrupted. He is pulling up on everything and his favorite foods are peas, yogurt, and cantaloupe.

Here is little Buddy enjoying his food yet again:

Still no hair! We're not sure when that's going to arrive, but Huddy is a cute little baldy! His favorite toys are my cell phone, his sock monkey, and Tiny's beloved baby doll. Huddy's favorite people are me, Caleb, Goo Goo, and Eema. He loves to be held lately and follows me around the house non-stop pulling on my clothes and climbing up my legs. I do hold him often, but as much as I want to, can't do it 100% of the time. He also likes to play with balls and is throwing them, and rolls them to us.
Lou is getting out-of-control big! He has picked up some hilarious habits lately.

1.) He uses our home phone to call people all.day.long. I am not exaggerating. This morning, I was in the shower and kept hearing my phone ring. Lou was in the next room, knew I was showering, and was STILL leaving me voice mails. He calls people at work to talk, around dinner time, and is pretty much our mini telemarketer.

2.) Lou also carries around a small wallet, with his BlackBerry, containing several quarters and old health insurance cards. The other day, we went to a fun place in the mountains, and Lou decided to use some of his precious money to ride this:

Lou is super thrilled to play soccer this Fall and to start kindergarten. Me? I'm not so thrilled about our packed schedule and to have my baby boy go away in the mornings.

Chik-Fil-A has family night once/week here. We like to take advantage of their heavenly food and where else can we all eat out for around $10? Last week, they had hair decorating night and each kid picked their design:

Lou wanted rainbow streaks:

Binksy loves pink!

Goo Goo has been begging me for years to dye her hair green. Here she is with all her dreams realized:
Tiny wanted purple hair, but got pink instead, because purple didn't show up on her. I really wanted to dye Huddy's head rainbow like, but Caleb talked me out of it.

Binksy Boo is growing into such a beautiful girl. Seriously, she is REALLY pretty! We were able to go tubing, jet skiing, and boating last week! Binksy was the only one brave enough to tube again and again. She held on for dear life, while my brothers tried to make us fly off. The next day, she told me, "Mommy, my neck hurts when I look around, and it hurts when I look up, and it hurts when I look down." I'll bet it did!

The younger kids were all scared to stay on the boat, so we just kept Lou and Binksy. It was SO MUCH FUN and she is already asking to go again.

Binksy is also starting soccer and preschool in a few weeks and can't wait! We are trying out some new hairstyles for the school year. All summer, I've been lazy with her hair, because as soon as it's moisturized and fixed, we go to the pool and my hard work is ruined. The pony tail on top of her head is her favorite hairstyle!
Crazy Ooey Gooey had yet another bike accident. She was riding to pick up her beloved sunglasses and fell right on her face. Her front teeth are definitely not white anymore and will probably fall out sometime soon. But, she continues to love her new (craigslist) Dora bike.

We went on an Alpine slide this week and timid Goo Goo loved it! She was a bit anxious on the ski lift ride, but kept begging me to go faster towards the end. This week, I've heard non-stop about the alpine slide and have been asked numerous times when we're going back. When my cousins arrive, we're for sure going up again!

Tiny also loved the Alpine slide and each kid got to pick a carnival ride. Although poor Tiny was old enough for the rides, she is still so small and I finally convinced the swing operator to allow her to ride.
Here she waits, eagerly, with her tickets: The ride has just begun and she doesn't know what to think:
Still unsure:

She begins to warm up:

This was the most excited and happiest I've ever seen Tiny! She LOVED the swings:
Tiny wonders why it's slowing down:

She sure was angry and disappointed when that ride ended. In a few weeks, we'll go back and I'll see if I can convince a ride operator to let her do it again.

We've been so fortunate to have such cool experiences this summer! Literally, we've been able to do great things like Disneyland, WaterWorld, Heritage Square, boating, the Bay, the Beach, and more!

Candycapped

2010-07-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

I'm just now posting some overdue pictures of my sister-in-law's wedding a few weeks ago. It was BEAUTIFUL! The 4 oldest kids were in the wedding and did remarkably well. Tiny even mothered her 7-month-younger-cousin and made sure she walked down the aisle. Everyone looked great, with the exception of Huddy Bear. He decided to have an allergic reaction to one of his antibiotics on the day he needed to look super cute. So, he's in a couple pictures, just to prove he was there, but otherwise spent the day miserable, with itchy hives covering his body and his eyes nearly swollen shut.

Caleb probably thinks this next pic is corny, but I thought it was sweet! The guy on the left is their older brother.
A few random happenings:

* All kids have switched rooms and the boys now have their own rooms. The 3 girls are sharing and LOVE it. Lou chose a room in the basement and is thrilled to have his own space. Literally, he wants to go to his room and hang out all the time, like a brooding teenager. He keeps the home phone close by and I call it from my cell every morning when he can come upstairs. This prevents him from waking the babies up before a decent hour. So, the past 3 days, he picks up the phone before it's even rang once. Our conversations go like this:

Lou: Good morning, Mommy.
me: Hi Lou! Did I wake you up?
Lou: No...I've been up.
me: How long?
Lou: About 6 hours. (this isn't true, but I know it has been a while, because he is beginning to grasp time.)
me: I set out some craft stuff so you can draw or something while I feed the baby.
Lou: I will hang up the phone right now so it can charge.

You see, the phone needs to charge because Lou has also learned how to dial my cell phone. So, he then proceeds to call me all.day.long. It's very cute! Tonight he learned to dial Daddy's cell, so we'll see how many calls Caleb gets tomorrow.

* My brother is flying in tomorrow night for one last hurrah before he starts med school in a week. We are super excited and are going to spend some time on a lake, possibly with jet skis!

* The older kids have been asking lots of questions these days. They want to know what buses are for, where the bus stops are, why I don't use Daddy's handicapped sign any longer, etc. After Caleb's last knee surgery, his doc graciously gave him 2 extended handicapped tags. Caleb needs one the day of surgery and makes rapid, inhuman recoveries. So, like any mother with lots of little kids would do, I utilized the heck out of that tag! Can I just say how glorious it was to park so close to every store??????? Caleb teased me about it, but I was counting down the days til that thing expired. The kids would ask me every time we parked if we were going to, "use the candycapped sign." They still occasionally ask me and I wistfully let them know it has expired. Caleb's solution is to have another knee surgery, but I don't think that's going to be an issue, because he's no longer allowed to move. at all. I mean it!

Whiplash and Innocence

2010-07-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

Seriously, Huddy may not have any hair, but what he lacks on his head, he makes up for in pure innocence. Although, lately Huddy has been demonstrating a serious anger streak. He gets most angry at Tiny and diaper changes.

Our weekend was crazy, as usual. Starting with Thursday: we planned to have our dear friend, Bill, over for dinner. Tiny woke up super fussy, at around 10:30 am, and unable to move her neck. (She is such a teenager and has always slept in late.) Anyway, by 10:31, she was crying and screaming uncontrollably. I did what any great Mother would do and planned trips to the library and Costco. (poor Tiny!) Caleb said it sounded like Tiny might have something wrong and to just give her doctor a call. We did, and he said, on our way to Costco, to "come right in." With the noise levels of Tiny, I was thinking meningitis or something. It turns out she has BAD whiplash. I don't mean to minimize this because years ago, my sister had whiplash that caused such severe swelling, she almost couldn't breath. So, for the past few days, Tiny hasn't been able to look up or down and although it's cute to see a 2 year old complaining about a hurt neck, it's also sort of odd. Babies aren't supposed to get sore necks. Last night, she showed us what happened: Tiny goes to bed, but doesn't really go to bed. Instead, she does gymnastics on the dresser and crib railings. She showed us how she flipped around and landed on her neck and cried and cried for her Mommy. I swear...we never heard anything! Poor Tiny!

Caleb and I watched a couple movies this weekend (The Green Zone and The Book of Eli). I am reading an interesting book called Forever and even though it's good so far, it is lasting FOREVER! I'm over 300 pages into it and the main character is only 16. When I went running yesterday, Lou rode his bike alongside of me and had a nasty wipe out. He was just being too speedy around a corner. It was certainly a scorcher too and I have trouble keeping up with him! Today, Binksy and Goo rode with me and are both getting fast. They have to prepare for the neighborhood triathlon, because we want to sweep their categories this year. Lou starts kindergarten in 35 days and Binksy begins preschool in 33 days. I am feeling sad our summer is almost over, although both kids will be done with school and home by 10:30 every morning. We just got news that 2 of my cousins are coming to stay here in a couple weeks and can't wait! They are super fun girls and we'll do all sorts of fun things to finish off this summer with a bang.

Caleb is trying to talk me into going on a camping trip. In my mind, with all the little kids, camping = hell. I don't feel confident we won't lose someone in the woods, and we'll no doubt forget lots of important things. Maybe next summer would be better, when Huddy's bigger...

She Wants to Keep Up SO Bad!

2010-07-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

Poor Tiny Bear tries SO hard to keep up with the older kids. I know Huddy will be there in a bit too. Every Sunday morning, Caleb walks the 4 oldest to church and practices his photography. I think the following photos are GREAT! Fyi, they each picked out their clothes that morning.

This has been a rough week for us....well, primarily for me. My brother and his DEAR new girlfriend, as well as several of our other friends, left this morning. It was great to meet my brother's gf and to get to know her a bit. Regardless of how much I love my kids, I find myself just longing for the times my siblings and I could all hang out for hours, uninterrupted, and enjoy each other's company. Being a mom to lots of little kids can be very isolating at times and "unintellectual." Play dates are o.k., but tend to err on the side of chaos. I suppose the monotony of motherhood has me discouraged this week, but really can't complain about any arena of my life. Our family has PLENTY to be humbled by and I'm beginning to feel ashamed to be pathetically complaining....

Sweet Huddy Bear had a glowing health report yesterday. We spent the day at Infectious Disease at Children's Hospital, where he was examined for an autoimmune issue. The doctors seemed confident he is developing and thriving just fine, but he will be monitored closely. The other kids are doing well too and can I just say how quickly Goo has been learning lately? It's like something clicked in her brain today, because we were doing flashcards of colors and shapes and she KILLED it! Literally, she was so on top of it and would yell, "purple hexagon, orange pentagon, black triangle," etc., immediately and LOUDLY! I'll be honest...I've worried about her future performance in school, but for today, she was spectacular!

pictures

2010-07-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

I was gone one night last week and here are a few crazy pics Caleb took. When I looked back at them, it was shocking to see how BIG the kids are all getting!

These 2 have become the best of friends lately. Lou is a super protective older brother and typically defers to Tiny in all ways. To her, he is the only person that will do, if I can't get there to help her in some way. Their aunts took them to Build-a-Bear and they each picked out and named a stuffed animal. The names are as follows:

Lou - his frog is "Andre"
Binksy - her bear is her actual name
Goo - her bear is "Annabelle"
Tiny - her bear is "Ariel"

Caleb turned 29 last week! Wow! We are aging rapidly! He was traveling on his actual bday, so we celebrated later on in the week. I think he has now celebrated more birthdays knowing me than not. How cool is that??????

The Bookend Boys:

It's Hard Being the Little Brother...

2010-06-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day, Caleb got a new camera! Our old one had broken and we've been eying a certain one at Costco for quite a while. So, here are several of the first pics! It takes BEAUTIFUL pictures and we are NOT photographers at all! This makes us very excited and we are researching settings and directions on line right now. My sister-in-law got married this weekend and it was a lovely event! (pictures and updates on that soon) Poor Huddy Bear is sick again and it was a rough week and weekend, especially. Tomorrow, we head to Children's to meet with Infectious Disease to look into an immune disorder. Be praying for this poor little guy!

My daughter's in a band...

2010-06-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

Gene Simmons is also my daughter, apparently. Every.single.time I ask Goo Girl to smile, this is what she does:

Anyway, our trip to Cali was AWESOME! I grew up in San Diego and although we love the mountains, nothing beats the beautiful beach, in my opinion. I have been wanting to introduce the kids to the beach forever, but maybe should have waited a bit longer. Other than Lou, the others weren't terribly into it. Perhaps this had something to do with this: We jumped out of the large SUV rental car and I encouraged the kids to run directly into the water, because they were FINALLY seeing the ocean. They all listened, but I looked up to hear Goo Goo screaming my name. She had been knocked down by a wave and was covered in sand and just dripping with sea weed and murky water. As I went to her, yet another wave knocked her over and she was clawing at the sand in terror, as it dragged her out to sea. This was not the idyllic introduction I had in mind and pretty much soured her on the beach.

Lou liked it, but I had to coax him into the water with a big guilt trip of his lack of trust for me, etc. I carried him in, just to my waist and would lift him over the waves. As I urged him to "trust me," a giant wave wiped us both out and slammed us against the sand. That was the last time he went in the water as well. But, we did take a little hike and saw anemones, little crabs, fish, and corral in the rock structures.

Our whole family shared a hotel room, which wasn't bad at all. We actually slept better there, than we do at home, perhaps because of exhaustion. The highlight for the kids was Disneyland! Their favorite rides were:

Lou - "space mountain. I liked all the roller coasters really. And, I wasn't scared of them at all. I think they're fun."

Binksy - "Alice in Wonderland. The queen says, 'off with their heads!'"

Goo - "Space Mountain and Matterhorn." (for the record, she claimed these roller coasters were boring, WHILE we were on them."

Tiny - "Small World and Alice in Wonderland." (She has been singing It's a Small World lately.)

Huddy - "I really liked the ride that was supposed to be just a short train ride. Then, we rode away from my stroller and food sources for 2 hours, while it took us to the direct other side of the park. I enjoyed screaming for an hour, while my Dad rode Autopia, and then had to run with me all the way across giant Disneyland to find my food."

The highlight for Caleb was being able to eat at In N Out 5 times in 3 days. I am certainly not a burger girl and NOTHING beats a double double animal style with a chocolate shake. We ate there twice a day, sometimes and became familiar with our local In N Out. Colorado NEEDS this restaurant!

Here are kids waiting for their burgers, shakes, and fries:

Binksy's pretty smile:
Tiny had just peed in her car seat and was sad about having sand in her pants:

3 oldest kids in the massive SUV:

Huddy Bear waking for the day at around 11:30 am. Poor little guy was soooooooo worn out!Waiting in line for the Nemo submarine ride. Everyone loved it, but Tiny is a bit claustrophobic. She was nervous and sweaty on the airplane and was shoving grown men out of her way, claiming it was, "too little in here!" She was nervous again when we got into the cramped submarine:
Me, enjoying the exhausted baby:

He's just so precious and was an EXCELLENT traveler! Literally, he went with the flow and never made a peep! We feel so blessed to have been able to get away for a few days. The kids were great and it was exciting being able to show them Disneyland, In N Out, plane rides, the ocean, etc.

Whew!

2010-06-01T15:44:00.001-07:00

So, it's been quite a while since I've had energy to post anything. 85.71% of our family is doing really well. But, Huddy Bear has been struggling. He ran a fever of over 104 for 7 straight days, and it was finally determined that he has yet another bacterial blood infection. We are headed back to the hospital in the morning for a few renal tests, which he will be sedated for. All I can say is, "poor little guy!" He is precioso! The above pic is one of his beautiful, professionally shot photos! I love it, because it is the exact little expression he gives us throughout the day. It's a partial smile, but demonstrates his utter pleasantness (is that a real word?).

About 1-2 times a week, I sit and tell the older kids stories about themselves on trips. I call them by their names backwards (ex - Oog Oog is Goo Goo), and we start at their different colored suitcases, move through the plane rides where their favorite part is ordering whatever they want to drink, and eventually talk extensively about playing at the beach. As of this afternoon, we are officially going to the beach this weekend! Can I say how excited we all are?????? Caleb needed to go there on Monday for work, and it all fell into place. We are trying to decide if we should visit the overpriced Disneyland, or just hang at the beach. Seriously, who knows when we'll be able to go again, so perhaps we should take advantage of the theme park.

It's our 5 year anniversary on Friday and I am SO THANKFUL to be married to such a dear, speckled man. "Speckled?????," you may ask. Caleb moved some wood chips into our yard over the weekend and woke up 2 days later looking like a scary, scaly version of himself. Literally, 97% of his body has been covered in poison ivy-looking hives and rash. It is good birth control, however, as I am not letting him near me! The rash comes and goes, but yesterday morning it was covering his face and he looked ATROCIOUS! He went to the doctor and they think it's a severe allergic reaction to something in the wood chips, which are now covering our front yard. No one wants to move them, and I am pleased to report Caleb is looking MUCH better, thanks to his 4 or so prescriptions of hefty steroids.

2010-05-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

One week ago, poor Goo rode her bike down our cement stairs. She ended up with a chipped tooth, ripped frenulum, bloody nose, giant bump on her head, and scraped gums. (didn't know that was possible) Anyway, I have NEVER, EVER seen such large lips. This poor girl was swollen and sore for much of this week and I think we're going to lose 2-3 of her teeth, along with much-needed weight, due to her inability to eat. She was a little trooper, however, and hasn't complained about her injuries too much. Plus, she faithfully kept ice packs on her head...even overnight!

It's been a rough week, as I was single-mommin' it a few times. Caleb made me a delicious breakfast on Mother's Day and brought me home flowers after his latest trip. The flowers were mini calla lilies, which we had at our wedding. In 2 weeks, we have our anniversary and want to do something out-of-the-ordinary! Marriage to Caleb has been a true blessing and I really miss him when he's traveling.

Huddy's pictures are BEAUTIFUL! I was so impressed with the photography that I could never have done! He did pee, IN HIS OWN FACE, 2 times, all because I wanted cute-naked-baby-pictures. I love the end result and realized you can't spend too much, capturing images I will never regret in 20 years. So, we have Tiny signed up for this week, since we don't have a pro pic of her since she was 6 months. I know...that's sad! The other kids have been in more recently, so hopefully, I can hold out a few more months on their pictures.

I was able to run a race for Lou's classmate yesterday morning and it was fun to run outside. The kids had a bday party for their friend and had an absolute blast. They each picked out a little gift for their buddy and Lou's favorite foods were served at the party: hot dogs, fruit salad, and chips. I gave him 3 hot dogs and Caleb may have served him more. We lost track.

REAL Pictures

2010-05-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to my very core because Huddy Bear has an appointment (finally a non-medical one) with a great photographer. We have wanted to capture his unique eye color and overall adorableness for quite some time. His eyes are still in the process of changing, I'm sure, and are a weird mixture of green/gray. So, so pretty! Anyway, I will most likely spend too much money, but will have neat 6 month pics to gaze at for the rest of my life! Huddy had 2 more teeth come in this week, which brings his grand total to 4. I'm glad to be able to explain his fussy personality over the past few days.

Caleb has been traveling this entire week and I'm ready to quit being a single Mom! I think he will be home tomorrow and we can't wait. Our 16-year-old-trapped-in-the-body-of-a-3-year-old has been especially excited to see her Daddy, because for some strange reason, she thinks he's bringing her a new bike home. Goo's current bike, which we call Sassy, is apparently not doing the trick anymore. She is expecting "a sparkly green and blue perfect bike." We didn't get that memo. Every single time I'm on the phone with Caleb, she gets super excited and breathlessly asks me, "how long until Daddy comes home with my new bike?" I keep telling her this isn't going to happen, but she responds, "actually, actually, I AM getting a new bike." Perhaps Goo Girl is a prophetess. With her bargaining skills, I'm beginning to wonder if 3 1/2 years ago, we adopted an extremely malnourished 12 year old.

Tiny is potty training! We've always been casually working on it, but this week is the real deal. She averages 1 accident/day, which isn't bad. Her princess panties are the pride and joy of her life. Binksy kindly helps her pick out a new pair every morning and Tiny will GLADLY strip down to show you the day's pair, with or without an invitation.

I've been getting a lot of reading done lately and here's the verdict:

Slim to None - excerpts from the journal of a girl who died from anorexia at age 25. My aunt also died from an eating disorder at the age of 38, so this helped to identify some of her mindset.

Under the Banner of Heaven - Krakauer's book on Fundamental Mormonism

Bringing Down the House - The true story of the MIT kids who played Blackjack in Vegas every weekend and won loads of money

There have been others, but I'm kind of sleep deprived right now and can't remember them. I read when I'm pumping and am able to get through a book almost every couple days. If you have any great ideas, I'm always looking...

Huddy met with a few neurologists on Monday. We had talked about medicating him for 2 years, but I am not a big fan of that idea. Hopefully, the seizures will not increase in quantity or severity, so that he can stay off meds. He met his BFF yesterday...our neighbor has a sweet son, who matches Huddy's size nearly identically.

It's been a bit of a rough week with Lou and Binksy. They tend to fall of the train when Caleb leaves or any part of our "normal" lives is disrupted. Binksy is growing some awesome hair, that's for sure! I want to take her in to get her hair did at some point. They, along with Goo, started soccer last night and are so cute! They love it and were most excited about their water bottles and team bracelets. Caleb is going to be coaching each Weds. night, and I'm glad they can learn the basics and look forward to this each week. Sometimes lately, I look at my Lou and am just shocked at how big he's getting. When we met, he was wearing Huddy's size clothing and weighed a pound less. Now, my oldest is certainly growing quickly! He has beautiful muscle definition in his legs and a big, strong chest. I always tell Binksy she may have my build. She is short and solid. After reading this book on anorexia, I am extra grateful for my build. It is certainly not ideal, and I've always admired the long, beautiful look. But, God gave me strength in my stocky build and the same legs I complain about, have carried me through numerous marathons, etc. I hope to infuse Binksy with a sense of contentment and gratefulness for her body and am hoping she senses my feelings of being blessed with the body God has given me.

EXHAUSTION!

2010-04-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my days feel like a blur and I barely remember anything, if I don't record it here. The past week has been EXHAUSTING! We've spent plenty of time doing the following and are starting to make bi-weekly trips to the library:

There is just quite a bit going on in our lives, lately, and recent news of illnesses and other stresses have been keeping me awake at night. Sometimes the suffering in this world is overwhelming. I start to think about this stuff and compare it to suffering around the world, and you know what? You would think my troubles might begin to pale, and in my head, they somewhat do. But, in my heart, I still feel their weight.

This week has brought lots of appointments...Tiny with allergy testing, Huddy with a few neuro meetings, a dermatologist one, etc. The plan is to probably medicate Huddy continuously, so he doesn't experience seizures. However, I'm not a big fan of the side effects and we're meeting with another specialist shortly for some more testing. The sweet little guy turned 6 months this past week and here are a few of his stats:

* He is beginning to sit up alone, but still prefers to be on his back, sucking on his toes.

* Huddy toys with me early in the morning. I'll unknowingly cough and he mimics me. When I realize what's going on, he sucks in his breath and giggles really loudly. It is PRECIOUS!

* He has started solid foods and considers bananas mashed-up-bits-of-heaven. So, I often add them to new foods and he'll gobble it up.

* Caleb now refers to him as Adorable (pronounced Ahd-door-ob-lay) or Butterball.

* Baby Bear likes most everyone, but FEARS Tiny. Literally, when she approaches him with her saccharine, little voice, oozing baby talk, he immediately looks to me and gets antsy. She is the only person he refuses to smile at. This is sad, and I'm sure it will be remedied when Tiny learns more about being gentle.

* His TV obsession continues.

In all honestly, our exhaustion has little to do with the kids and is diminished by the following people:
Lou can't wait to play outside each and every day. He rushes out there and spends hours with his friends! They play helicopter, helicopter with a jump rope and share snacks. It doesn't matter to him that they are all older (ages 6-9) and female. In fact, that adds to their mystique. He begs me to invite them over for dinner, or to watch a movie every.single.day. Could this be a premonition about our teenage years with Lou???????? He was thrilled last night, when I made his absolute favorite dinner, roast beef sandwiches with au jus. His appetite sometimes appalls us, but it's fun to make him so happy about dinner.

Binksalicious got into school! We are thrilled and thrilled that she will be able to attend preschool at no cost. She'll go about 8 hours/week, in the mornings, beginning this Fall. Even as her Mom, I was astounded at her intelligence level, during her evaluation. She scored perfectly, in her verbal test, for a child who has grown up, during the formative years, speaking and hearing English. This was not the case for Binksy, and she is leaps and bounds ahead of English-first-language kids her age. I don't say this to brag on her, but am continually shocked when she'll repeat, word for word, some song we heard one time 2 months ago. She is really enjoying the neighbor friends too!

Goo Goo is like a teenager trapped in a 3 year old's body. Caleb and I hear the craziest things come from this child's lips. For instance, she often begins every sentence with "actually." She'll ask Caleb for something, he'll deny it, and she'll run to me saying, "actually, Daddy said I could definitely have that." SNEAKY! She argues with us, far beyond her 3 years. We're tempted to find it all funny though. Caleb constantly says to me that he fears the teen years with this one! She is a giggly, funny girl! Older kids always like to hang out with Goo Goo, because she makes them laugh with her potty mouth. She LOVES her Mama too! Goo is rarely affectionate with anyone, other than me. We're also hoping this continues throughout her teen years. Just this morning, I heard Goo telling Binksy, "we're like twins, because we match. Our shirts are both yellow. And, our skin is both brown. Mommy is not as pretty because she's kind of yellowy." (her opinion on trans racial adoption)

As soon as the Allergist doctor began skin testing on Tiny this afternoon, she swung around and yelled at him,"Stop it! Stop it, I said!" A few minutes prior, he was telling me something and Tiny appeared to be oblivious to our conversation. But, she wasn't and suddenly exclaimed to him, in her best valley-girl voice, "Nooooo way!" She is a PISTOL in the small body of a little, cherubic girl. Tiny cracks us up, all the time, except when she is telling me, "you're stupid, Mama." Seriously???? I have no idea where that came from, but after our firm duel, we hope to never hear that again. She and Lou have such a special bond and really enjoy playing together. He finds her precious blankie over and over and over again. He pushes her around in her baby stroller and is the epitome of patience with his dear, little sister.

Huddy Bear should be a baby model.

We were able to go to the zoo with our cousins last week. I like to look at each animal for around 1 minute. The girls wanted to spend at least 30 minutes starting at each one. Their favorites are:

Binksy - the baby giraffe (he was 4 days old and weighed 180 lbs.)
Goo - the zebras (this never changes)
Tiny - the elephants (which we never actually saw on this trip)

Caleb and I were able to be at an Indian wedding over the weekend....super duper cool experience. The bride, bridesmaids, and majority of female guests wore traditional saris with henna tattoos. It made me want to redo my wedding and to own a sari. But, where would I wear my sari?????? 3 times in the past week, we've made an orange bundt cake. This thing is seriously tasty! It has a buttery, orange glaze....I just love all things citrus and want that cake right now. O.K...starting to ramble!

Beautiful April!

2010-04-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

We tend to like April, around here, because of the lovely weather. Seriously, the past few days have been close to 80! The kids LOVE playing outside and like it even better when their friends are out there too. Lou rides his scooter up and down our street or flies around on his bike, while Binksy rides her princess bike. Goo Girl has recently gained enough confidence to actually pedal her bike around. It's a Sassy brand so the kids have named it Sassy. Caleb attached rope to Tiny's little bike and pulls her around everywhere, when she isn't fighting over Sassy with Goo Goo. A few days ago, while the babies slept, the older 3 played outside with neighbors. Suddenly, they all came running in and breathlessly asked me, in unison, "are we different?" I asked them to clarify what they meant and Goo, sounding shocked, said, "our skin! It's darker and yours is yellowish." Casting aside my apparently jaundiced skin, it sounded as if a friend may have pointed this out to the enlightened Lou, Binksy, and Goo. We have definitely talked about this before, but maybe they didn't believe it, until it came from a peer?????? Regardless, the way they approached this revelation was super cute!

A few weeks ago, we went to the museum and the mummy exhibit is definitely the most exciting thing to happen to the kids, in a long time. Mummy is now a derogatory name, reserved for the worst of offenses. Over the weekend, the 4 oldest kept themselves entertained for a good afternoon by taping toilet paper all over their bodies and calling each other, "mummy Lou, mummy Binksy," etc. They can't wait to go to Water World this summer and talk about it incessantly. But, the real draw of Water World is the mummy inside one of the rides.

Lots of News!

2010-04-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I've written anything, but the little Huddy Bear has plenty of news. First of all, we're overwhelmingly grateful that his tests came back so positively. He may continue to suffer from seizures for a bit, as a result of his meningitis from 4 months ago. Apparently, there is scar tissue on his brain, but the seizures should cease, as he grows. It's already been almost 2 weeks, since his last one, so I'm hoping they are becoming more scarce.

This past Sunday, Huddy Bear was baptized! I tend to get emotional at those sorts of things, and he had no clue what was going on. It was particularly special, because his Grandpa was The Baptizer. (that sounds like a freaky nickname I ought to perpetuate!) Anyway, we had family in town, so were glad they were able to witness it. Huddy is such an all-around delight!

My dear Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin were in town over the weekend. Unfortunately, their original flight was delayed, due to the blizzard last week. So, they just came a few days late. My children adore my little cousin, and he's just a bit older than Goo Goo. He, along with Lou and Binksy, went skiing for the first time! Caleb was a patient teacher and the kids LOVED it. They have been asking me every morning if they can go skiing that day. The following are a few short videos...they aren't super clear, because they're taken on Caleb's iphone.

http://www.youtube.com/user/solidworksunleashed#p/a/u/0/4lBsptHulbU

http://www.youtube.com/user/solidworksunleashed#p/a/u/1/VLs1sN2T3LE

http://www.youtube.com/user/solidworksunleashed#p/a/u/2/xctW2LBR3b8

Anyway, we went to a famous, cheesy, Mexican restaurant, ate a ton, took a chaotic stroll in Boulder, and just enjoyed the company of family. It would be so nice to live near these relatives. Caleb reminds me of my Uncle and we always learn a lot when talking with them....they are overwhelmingly wise. The kids are all feeling let down after the excitement of spring break. They have anticipated the family's trip for quite some time. But, I'm sure this weekend's events will snap them out of the funk! Happy Easter!

Sweet Baby Love....

2010-03-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

In the pictures below, pay no attention to the baby spit up on my shoulder or my overall appearance. Besides, how endearing is the Sweet Huddy Bear?????? He is growing at a rapid pace and was a solid 15 lbs. just yesterday. However, this precious boy has us concerned...over the past few weeks, he's had a few seizure like episodes. We aren't sure if they're results of the meningitis from a few months back or something new. So, we are speaking with a pediatric neurologist and have a number of tests this week and next. He has an EEG, a sedated MRI, possible CAT scan, etc. I can't believe there would be anything wrong with this healthy, strong baby, who is developing beautifully and ahead of schedule. Needless to say, we've been a bit anxious about our baby!

In other news, my brother headed to Chile a few days ago to set up a hospital for the Air Force. He has been accepted to a med school in Texas, but we're anxiously waiting to hear if he'll get into school here. He sent a quick e-mail today and it sounds like a cool experience. He was sooooooooooo excited to go and could be there for 2 weeks to 2 months.

Binksy and Goo were able to go see Mary Poppins with Grandma last week. Apparently, Binksy loved the binoculars and was enraptured by every part of the show. I swear...she's going to be our little actress/singer. Lately, if American Idol is on somewhere, she is riveted! We like to tell her she's going to be the next American Idol. Goo liked it too, but was a little excited at the Intermission, because she thought it was over. Since the girls were away for the night, Lou took 2 friends out to eat. They were CRAZY! The boys were so excited to drink pop and pick whatever meal they wanted. Because of our family size, the kids usually fill up on rice at a Chinese restaurant or something. But, CB & Potts had a kids-eat-free night and it was a lot of fun! Tiny sooooooooo wanted to belong with the big boys!

Huddy Bear is literally solid preciousness! I ADORE this baby and have been feeling a bit scared for him lately. He is rolling around and scooting pretty well! He also has some definite separation anxiety even at this young age!

It's Not Enough for Him...

2010-03-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

and that's why I love him sooooooo much. I was thinking all weekend about how much I love Caleb. Perhaps it had something to do with our much-needed date (I REALLY did not like Brooklyn's Finest), but we love the opportunity to go out, just the 2 of us. Caleb happened to mention the only thing he liked about the movie: there's a corrupt Catholic cop, with plenty of kids, and twins on the way. He needs a new house and attempts to buy it with drug-bust money. He even murders a guy and robs him. At one point, the cop is complaining to his partner and says, "where am I going to put all these kids?" The partner says something like, "babies are little...you can just stick the twins in a drawer initially. Do you understand I would give anything to be in your position and to just have 1 kid?" That was the only redeeming part of this movie for Caleb. Why? Because he LOVES children. I have never met a person, let alone a guy, who feels so strongly that kids are a blessing. I realize friends, family, and co-workers of Caleb must think he's crazy to already have 5 kids and to be hoping for more. In our society, 2 kids is the norm and I read last night about how 59 developed countries have negative birth rates.

My dear husband talks to me about adoption, pretty much on a daily basis. He e-mails me abortion alternative articles, financially supports crisis pregnancy centers, and wants to sacrifice more. He makes plans based on a family double our size (like which car to buy, house size, etc.), and SHORTLY after Huddy Bear's birth, was anticipating the next pregnancy. (I was literally in the stage where you can't ever imagine having another baby.) It's not just his own 5 kids that are blessings to him: He strongly feels every child is particularly, and intrinsically valuable.

And, I must say that Caleb does the dirty work and STILL thinks kids are great! He entertains all the kids for 2 hours, every Monday night so I can watch The Bachelor (which is now over). He wakes up with the kids every.single.Saturday morning, gets them breakfast, and has them help him do whatever needs done that day. He hates traveling, or being away from the kids for even an evening. He recounts their cute stories, wrestles with them, willingly changes diapers, bathes them, teaches them new skills, and ADORES his kids.

He may be exhausted, but I love Caleb more, because of his love for these little ones, past, present, and future:

The Flu...

2010-02-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

Last week was a bit rough for our family...Tiny fell ill first, followed by Huddy Bear, my Dad, and now Caleb. I really thought I might lose my mind on Thursday, as the kid's bodily fluids continuously covered me. My little brother and I made bets on who would get hit next....so far, he is winning. We each listed and ranked everyone living in the house and could also list a "survivor." That's the person who avoids the flu. My survivor is Binksy, who as long as I've known her, has never thrown up, and Poohy listed himself. (He is terribly optimistic!) Anyway, Caleb and I did get to go out on a much-needed date, which was super relaxing. Other than that, not much is new!

Yesterday was warmer than usual, and I decided to run stairs at a nearby park. The kids came too and Goo Goo was remarkably nimble at the stairs. She did the whole set about 3 times and even passed by several grownups. It must be the new tennis shoes she and Binksy Boo received! Lou rode his bike around the track a bunch of times, while Tiny kicked a ball, and Binksy meandered about. I tried a new recipe (which Caleb will never want to eat again), but we were super impressed with it. We had homemade tostadas with spicy shredded pork and slaw on top. It may not sound super tasty, but it was crazy good! Hope for more exciting news soon!

Binksy is 4!!!!!

2010-02-22T16:08:00.000-08:00

My little Binksalicious/Binksy Boo is officially 4 today! How crazy! In some ways, she is far older than 4....at least in her sense of awareness and experience. I hurt for Binks, because the first few years of her life were difficult and confusing. She no doubt suffered and learned to comfort and fend for herself. The past few years have been rough for our relationship as mother and daughter, but her progressive healing is apparent! God is literally transforming her daily and she is becoming a sensitive, sweet, empathetic daughter. I adore this little girl and her funny little antics! Several things about the Binksy Boo:

* She has the LOUDEST voice ever! She uses it to sing, chatter, play, etc., and it rarely changes pitch. She is an excellent talker! I remember taking her to an evaluation when she had just been here for a few months and her fluency in English was above and beyond an average child her age, who had been born in the U.S.!

* Binksy is one smart cookie! Caleb calls her that quite often and I am sometimes stunned by her awareness and intellectual maturity. She will hear a song on the radio ONE TIME, and will proceed to repeat it to you, word for word, and melodically accurate. She LOVES music! Not lately, but in the past we've watched American Idol with the Binksy Boo and I think, in a few years, she could become "your next American Idol!"

* Binksy has become very maternal during her 4th year. When I need someone to comfort Huddy Bear or to entertain him, she is my go-to-girl. She tells us all the time that she wants "to have 8 babies....4 girl babies and 4 boy babies." A few days ago, she changed her mind and told me that instead she wants "16 babies...all boy babies just like sweet baby Hudson." If this is prophetic, I will be one happy Grandma!

During the past year, we've discovered that Binksy:

LOVES fruit, but HATES meat

LOVES Cinderella, but dislikes Sleeping Beauty

LOVES to run, but doesn't enjoy riding her bike as much

LOVES books, and enjoys girl movies

LOVES to wear dresses, and tolerates having her hair fixed

LOVES having her small nails painted (they are smaller than Tiny's!), and LOVES painting pictures

LOVES God. I am trying to reinforce Binksy's security in her Heavenly Father. She truly is sensitive towards Him and LOVES to hear about how much He LOVES her.

Binksy brings joy to our family and we adore all 32 lbs. and 33 inches of her! We love you and happy 4th birthday!

This Week...

2010-02-17T15:34:00.001-08:00

Between the Olympics and Binksy's much anticipated 4th bday, Tiny has come down with some nasty virus. Her eyes are pouring water and I literally hear, "hold me, Mommy. Hold me, Mommy, HOLD ME, MOMMY," all. day. long. She slept in our room a few nights ago and kept waking up from bad congestion. Caleb got her some water, patted her back, and climbed back in bed sometime around 3:00 am. We heard a deep, gruffy voice say, "thank-you, Daddy." It was endearing!

Late Monday afternoon, poor Huddy Bear had 6 immunizations. So, I've been trying to hold the 2 youngest the past couple days nonstop. He is 70% for height and at 14 1/2 lbs., he's in the 50th percentile for weight! It is such a new thing for me to have a plump baby! Binksy had her 4 year appointment too and is around 30th percentile for both height and weight. She, fortunately, didn't get any shots, and aced her vision and hearing tests!

Our V-Day was simple: my Valentine woke up early and took all the kids to pick up donuts and a spinnaker omelet from Le Peep for me. Caleb and I also gave each other a chance to work out/ride bikes and went to Costco for a bit. For dinner, I made Philly hoagies, asparagus, roasted red potatoes, and baked fudge cups with whipping cream for dessert. I must say that the hoagies were some of the best ever, so we had them again for dinner on Monday night. The kids made Valentines last week and delivered them to neighbor kids and to Lou's preschool friends. They just cut hearts out of construction paper and decorated them with glitter, glue, markers, and candy. Lou had to write his name on 22 for his class, and I was surprised at how great at it he is! I almost forgot to write about the Valentine Dance on Sat. night! It was so, so cute! We made almost 100 mini cupcakes with white frosting and red hearts. Everyone dressed up and danced to Michael Jackson, Black Eyed Peas, Miley Cyrus, etc. There was a raffle, so I used the cash I had in my purse (which wasn't much)! We put all our tickets in the razor scooter bag and won! The kids were thrilled and have been riding that thing nonstop. Everything was decorated so cute and there were DELICIOUS desserts, a craft table, and more. We had such a nice time, although Caleb doesn't dance. It is really cute to see the kids developing rhythm and having a blast. They've been asking all week when Valentine's Day is going to be again.

Stressful...

2010-02-10T15:42:00.000-08:00

Since the kids have Cubbies tonight, I laid them all down for a nap. Lo and behold, Tiny (who needs the nap the most), was recently found playing with the health-hazardous-blinds. So, everyone is up now. This has been a busy week and I just asked my Mom about the magic age that makes kids easier. Her response????????? "I don't feel like they get easier...you start to get busy driving them around to sports, school, appointments, etc, later on." I feel tired.

Huddy Bear is eating, eating, eating! I pump and feed him that way and his appetite has increased a ton this week. Maybe all the pumping is making me tired. I sound like such a complainer! Here is something I am super thankful for: this week, I finished reading a book called Left to Tell. It's the story of a woman named Immaculee, who survives the 1994 (?) Rwandan genocide by hiding in a bathroom with 7 other women for over 3 months. Seriously, I can't imagine the terror and fear she experienced. But, the neat thing about Immaculee is her deep love for Jesus and her forgiveness for the Hutu killers. She spends hours and days talking to God and I've not read a book before that demonstrates such a tangible relationship with the Lord. My life is infinitely easy in comparison. I hope I can remember the worries and stresses other people experience, before I even mentally complain of my own. Today, what are my complaints?????? Lack of sleep, naughty children, etc. This woman was concerned about the death of her immediate family members, rape, a painful death, etc. I feel small and ashamed now!

Anyway, sorry about the tangent! We went to a fun Super Bowl party and all the kids kept asking when they would see the "super ball." The football game paled in comparison to the great food! We've had a couple play dates this past week, been working on Valentine's cards, and are excited about a kid/parent dance this weekend!

The Ladies Currently

2010-02-04T15:03:00.001-08:00

Since I updated on the Boy Bookends, I thought I might write about the Girls! They are crazy as ever! Binksy and Goo Goo are currently the EXACT same height....but their weights and builds are vastly different. Binksy has more of my body type, while Goo Goo has perfect modeling proportions. The Girls are best friends and worst enemies. They rapidly switch from loving kindness to sheer anger at one another. At a play place last week, I was feeding Huddy Bear, when another mom approached me to say my girls had been in a fight. I'm not sure what happened, but some boys were getting all "up in their kool aid!" Apparently Goo Goo bit one of them, defending Binksy, and we were asked to leave the play place! I was utterly mortified! If you know Gooey, this is completely out of character, so I think the fight between them must have been pretty bad. Neither girl will let me in on what happened, and I'm not sure we will ever show our faces there again! Anyway, all this to say that at least they had each other's back!

Tiny is testing, testing, testing me lately! She is really showing her independent skills off nonstop. The Girls currently love their dolls, tea parties, Ursula (from The Little Mermaid), and pretty much anything princessy. Tiny's bday cake was a giant Sleeping Beauty cupcake and we just picked up some princess plates for Binksy's upcoming bday. Binksy is smart, smart, smart and shocks me with her fabulous memory. Literally, this girl will repeat ANY song she hears just one time, with remarkable clarity and pronunciation. Ooey Gooey is the goofy, profane one. Kids of all ages love her because of her potty mouth. This morning she snuck into my room when I was feeding Huddy Bear, stroked his head, and whispered, "Good Morning, my little Child." I'm not sure where she got that creepy wording! She also identifies with the villains in every movie. She wants to BE Ursula, NOT Ariel.

My Girls are beyond precious. Literally, I love spending time with them each day and their questions are adorable. There are frustrating moments, like just today, when I was working on getting everybody out of the car, and turned around to see Tiny splashing in the MOST disgusting puddle of muddy water/trash. But, for the most part, I am BLESSED to get to spend my days with these little Ladies.

Update on the Bookends!

2010-01-27T15:08:00.000-08:00

It was recently time for Lou's hair to be cut! We typically buzz it, as close to the scalp as possible. But, his hair is so thick and coarse, that the clippers are constantly getting clogged. So, a few weeks ago, I took him to my sister's best friend for a cut. I told him he could do whatever he wanted and a few minutes later, he jumped out of the chair with a mohawk. It was super cute! But alas, after negative reviews from friends and family, we buzzed it completely a bit later. By the way, I call my boys my Bookends, since they start and finish our current family.

Here is sweet Huddy Bear, a.k.a. Innocente: (pay no attention to the unusually hairy arms he is cradled in)
Unfortunately, we are now watching TV a bit more often. Before my parents moved in and ordered cable TV, we probably watched it about once a month. Now, we have access to exciting, interesting shows and watch it a couple times/week. Huddy Bear is mesmerized by it all the time and I know it's not good to let babies watch it. So, Caleb pretends to allow him, just to annoy me.

Huddy is red in the next picture, because You-Know-Who just loved/hurt him:

He is such a precious baby and is HAPPY nearly always! Even his soft cry is precious though, so I had to include his sad face:

As crazy as we may sound, Caleb and I don't want our Bookends to remain Bookends forever. We plan to replace Huddy at some point...although not super soon! These kids are all just dear to us and we can't imagine our lives without any one of them.

The Hell and Joy of 2 Years Ago....

2010-01-20T15:20:00.000-08:00

Exactly 2 years ago, I was miserable, to say the least! I'd been in labor with Tiny for over 20 hours, at this point, and still had around 10 hours to go. I remember telling Caleb, after a particularly difficult contraction, "we should have only adopted. Giving birth is too hard!" I also remember throwing up in excruciating pain and not knowing what to expect! Was it worth it?????? To echo Sarah Palin, "you Betcha'!"

Friends and Mothers have told me, "you forget about the pain of childbirth the minute you see your baby." THIS IS A LIE...at least in my case. My first thought, upon finding out I was expecting Huddy Bear, was anxiety and fear about going through labor again. I was literally nervous for 8 straight months. Anyway, back to the point of this post: Tiny is 2 tomorrow! Here is my little girl right after birth:

At 8 days old, poor Tiny went into the NICU for RSV and apnea. Her pulse ox was 52! (It should be 100) I can't believe I'm such a bad Mom! We spent LOTS of time at the hospital during her first few months of life, but I think it was granted time to allow us to bond so well. Here is baby Tiny at around 2 weeks old:

Here she is at about 1 year old: (I just had to throw this picture in there, because how crazy does she look!)

And, the little Pea just a month ago:

From age 1-2 is a big year for kids! I feel like they turn into little people, as opposed to remaining in the baby stage. Here are a few milestones from this past year (don't worry about boring yourself with all this stuff! It's just what I wanted to record for our own sake!) :

* At 12 months, Tiny FINALLY started eating some food! Prior to this, and due to her massive allergies, she would just nurse.

* At around 13 1/2 months, Tiny started walking!

* 14 months - we begin to realize that EXTREMELY FEISTY is a descriptive understatement about Tiny!

* 16 months - Tiny moves into a "big girl room" with Goo Goo. She proceeds to switch beds with Goo Goo EVERY SINGLE NIGHT and we find her in the toddler bed each morning, and Goo Goo in Tiny's crib.

* 17 months - Tiny begins to rule the roost! She bosses everyone around, but her siblings adore her so much, they don't mind and acquiesce her every wish.

* 20 months - Tiny welcomes her baby brother into the world!

I can't even say how blessed we are to have Tiny in our lives! She is utter joy and a precious, precious child. I love Tiny more and more each day and love spending time with her. Just yesterday, as I fed Huddy Bear, Tiny disappeared for a long time. She returned with her baby and little bottle, climbed up on the bed with me, and pointed out that there were "2 babies eating!" She is going to be such a little Mommy! We often joke and call her Elmira from The Animaniacs. Elmira was a little girl who literally "loved" her animals to death. She always wanted to "squeeze them, and hold them, and love them forever and ever!" Tiny is just like this with anything smaller than herself. We also say she's our teenager, because I wake her up at 10:00 each morning for the day.

Happy Birthday, Precious Tiny! We love you sooooooooooooooo much!

Thanksgiving Pictures, ONLY 48 Days Late!

2010-01-14T15:31:00.000-08:00

The last picture is a wee bit embarrassing! I have a horrendous gait that poor Tiny has inherited as well. When this photo was taken, Caleb and the children were making fun of me as I blazed (or struggled) past them! In contrast, Lou and Binksy moved so, so fast! Their photos are of them at the finish of their 1/2 mile race with their medals. All Lou cared about was when he could finally eat from the post-race table, because we made him hold off, so he wouldn't get sick when he ran. Literally, he ran across the finish line, was still in the corral, and said, "can we go inside and eat?" Binksy paced herself very well! I ran with her and she likes me to feel how fast her heart is beating when she is running quickly. We had a little incident at the end, when she fell 20 feet from the finish line and lost her shoe. It's on video and being the great Mom I am, I sort of drag her out of the way of the other runners and past the finish. We look forward to doing this race every year and I'm especially excited for the day when the kids can run the 5k with me!

We Have a Bachelor Candidate!

2010-01-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

Literally, I have the PERFECT Bachelor candidate in mind: My eligible brother, in the center:

I looked for a recent pic of him alone, but couldn't find one. We like to tease Justin that with all the girls competing for him, we should host our very own season of The Bachelor. In case you haven't seen this show, it's completely addicting...and I don't even like chick flicks or "romancy" stuff. 25 girls compete for one guy, who typically proposes to his pick at the end, and breaks up with a completely unsuspecting girl. (that's the best part!) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this show! The kids are skipping naps on Mondays now, so they can retire to bed early, and I can enjoy this show. Anyway....Justin is ideal for this part. "Why," you may ask? Not only is he good-looking (I've been told, because you really can't accurately judge a sibling's appearance), he is funny (most of the time), loves God (most of the time), is interesting (at least to us), and he would gladly have had kids and a family YESTERDAY if possible. And, Eligible Ladies, he's going to be a doctor! Yep! He's officially been accepted at 2 schools and our family is hoping he'll make it into our state school, so he can move closer to home. He truly, truly should be on this show! Then, I could go on it too and vouch for Justin/help eliminate some caddy girls/gain nieces and nephews asap.

If you haven't seen The Bachelor, I urge you to watch it. And, last week, there was a show following it called The Conveyor Belt of Love. It was seriously hilarious! My college brother is home to watch these shows with me tonight....they are that good!

Overdue Update...

2010-01-05T15:32:00.000-08:00

Lou's 3rd birthday above
Lou's 4th birthday above
5th birthday above and below!

It has been a while since I've found time to update on our lives! First of all, early on during the month of December, my oldest child turned 5! I cannot believe he is getting so old! Anyway, for the past 3 years, we've had family parties, and this was the first year we had just buddies. Lou invited about 15 kids over for pizza, a pirate ship pinata, and ice cream sundaes. (He does not like cake.) As soon as we sat down to eat, his poor friend began projectile vomiting everywhere. We called his Mom, and Caleb scrubbed all the floors by hand...3 times. I kept all the other kids in the basement and tried to occupy them for a bit. Lou received lots of cool gifts, which I have put away in my closet to bring out later....he even got 6 remote control cars! Here are a few events from this past year (ages 4-5), that I'd like to record for him:

1.) He knocked out his front teeth twice. One time was at the park, as he jumped off a picnic table. The other was more recent...Thanksgiving Day, falling out of a tree at Grandparent's house. Oddly enough, one tooth died and turned black. We assumed it would fall out shortly, but it has now turned white again. What??????

2.) Huddy Bear's birth and gender may not be important to Lou now, but I'm sure he will be grateful to have a brother in a few years!

3.) Lou won the neighborhood triathlon in August and continues to get speedier and speedier on his bike each day!

4.) He is developing lots of extreme likes and dislikes. He'll eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING, but his favorites are french dip sandwiches, tacos, toast with jelly, watermelon, hotdogs, and bagels with cream cheese and hot sauce. When Lou grows up, he says he wants to be either a policeman or a "cooker like Mom."

5.) Although slender for 5, 5T clothing is too short on his arms and legs. His appendages are long.

6.) Every little girl we know has a crush on Lou. Literally, I was thinking about this today. They all tell me constantly that he is "soooooooooooooo handsome," and get nervous in his presence. He has a girlfriend at school, church, the gym, and probably others I don't know about. Hmmmmmmmmmmm...we may have a problem on our hands in a few years! For the record, we don't encourage boyfriend/girlfriend talk at age 4-5! Lou came up with this all on his own.

Lou is growing and understanding more each day. I feel privileged that God has called me to be his Mom and it is such a pleasure watching him develop! I love my sweet, oldest boy!

It's Crazy Busy Here...

2009-12-08T16:06:00.001-08:00

This past weekend, my dear Mother-in-law gave us the best Christmas gift ever! She picked out matching outfits for the kids and took us to a photo session. We don't have a picture of our whole family together, so I've changed our profile photo to the one we decided upon. While we were there, I wanted to get Huddy Bear's first photos and of course, we had to do the little naked one. His tiny body is so precious! We also got some free photos of Lou and Goo for their bdays. This week is insanely busy. Here's what I have on the calendar so far:

* 6 dental appts.
* 2 doctor's appts.
* 4 holiday parties
* 2 birthday parties (Lou is turning 5!)
* 3 church meetings
* 1 purse party
* a couple other random appts.
*******************
* And a partridge in a pear tree

It is severely cold here this week! Literally, when we just step outside the car to run Lou into school or something, the chilliness takes your breath away! I was born in Pittsburgh, but don't remember a lot of the icy cold there. My Mom tells me that it's this bitterly cold there every day! What do East coast families do with their kids all day? Seriously, we're doing craft after craft to stay busy here and to avoid going outside, but can only paint so many tree ornaments each day! For dinner tonight, I'm making a butternut squash soup that will hopefully, warm us all up.

In other news, Caleb has started playing soccer a few days/nights each week. Last Thurs. night, we went to his indoor game to cheer him on. He blew out his GOOD knee....the one that's just been operated on once. I am so bummed and am feeling sorry for MYSELF after his injury. "Why," you may ask? Because, he will need another (6th, I think) surgery next week and will be down for a bit. It's just hard doing everything myself and taking care of him to top it all off. So, it appears indoor soccer is out for quite a while. And, we had just planned to play co-ed after the New Year, since I'm no longer pregnant. Perhaps I can still play, but it won't be as fun without Caleb.

I had a date with a boy, and he isn't my husband...

2009-12-03T15:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning, I was able to have a date with this boy:

We went to his school, for a Christmas craft fair. It was bitterly cold, so none of his classmates really made it out, and we nearly had the whole place to ourselves! Lou made numerous tree ornaments, a hot cocoa kit, and other crafts. He was quiet throughout our date, but has been excited about this for weeks!

We have an Advent wreath and have been doing various readings and singing songs every day. We light the prophecy candle and whenever I ask the kids whose birth we are celebrating, they typically answer, "Ryker's." He is their cousin and was indeed born on Christmas Day, 2 years ago. Then, when we (I) start to sing our Christmas song for the day, Tiny always joins in by singing Happy Birthday. This is because we lit a candle. Maybe next year they will all understand more!

Mr. Rogers, Thanksgiving, and beyond....

2009-12-02T15:11:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and the weekend went by too fast! The 5K went well, and the kids' race was fun for them! It was my goal to run the 5K in under 1/2 hour, and it took me 25 minutes, which is nothing to write home about, but provided relief for me that I will be able to run again at some point after Huddy's birth! Binksy and Lou ran super well, although poor Binksy fell about 20 feet from the finish line. I sort of had to drag her across the finish, as there were people coming up behind us to finish too. We had brunch with a dear family and dinner at Caleb's parent's house. It was all great!

My parents moved in with us over the weekend and this may explain the lack of blogging...we haven't had internet access for a bit, as we're trying to get everything situated, technologically. On the bright side, we did get Cable TV yesterday! We have never ever had Cable, so this is exciting! It was included with a package deal, but I don't know how useful it will be, as we haven't watched TV yet. But oh! How I love TV, when I have time to watch, and am not super exhausted with a newborn! On a random note, telemarketers always refer to Caleb as Cable when they call. I never thought his name was that hard to pronounce, but who knows??????

My brother has been complaining about the lack of Inno a.k.a. Huddy Bear pictures. He can't wait to meet him in a few weeks! This dear friend knitted the most adorable sweater for Inno! He looks like a little pseudo-Mr. Rogers, don't you think???????? He certainly doesn't resemble Caleb or me!

Thanksgiving Plans...

2009-11-25T17:47:00.000-08:00

Lou, Binksy, and I are running a race tomorrow morning and we have been training. The kids' distance is just 1/2 mile, which they can run in their sleep! Every day, at least twice, they jump on the treadmill and run 1/2 mile as fast as they can. Lou has it down to 5 1/2 mins, while Binksy can do it in 6, if she's pushing herself. We tried to convince Goo Goo to run it too, but she is pretty terrified of the treadmill....she was stretching one night, when Lou flew off twice, and Goo Goo replied, "I don't want to do it now." Anyway, she will cautiously walk on it now, while holding on the entire time. The other night, she walked for 1/2 hour at a snail's pace, looking straight ahead at the wall and holding on!!!!!!!!!! I will sometimes up her speed a bit, since she can't see me!

So, after the race, we're headed to Caleb's boss' house for brunch. They also have 5 kids (all boys), so the adults will be outnumbered a bit! During the afternoon, we're going to my in-laws house for dinner. Last night, I was excited to try some new recipes and made this and this. We thought it was DELICIOUS, although I was pretty exhausted after cooking so much, following a long break from it. Today, I made a coffee cake, pumpkin/apple muffins with streusel topping, cranberry jello salad, and a Greek salad with homemade dressing. We had pizza for dinner, because I am tired from cooking!

I was able to have a little photo session with Huddy Bear and his new knit sweater! I'm hoping to get some more good ones to post soon. His newest nickname is Innocente (pronounced ee-no-cent-tay). I think I got the idea from a pope, and the fact that he looks so precious when he's sleeping!

My Huddy Buddy!

2009-11-22T15:30:00.001-08:00

Huddy Bear looks to be half-smiling in the above picture. He is such a sweetheart! I am thankful for many things this week, but his health is at the top of my list. At the NICU downtown, I met so many parents who have spent MONTHS and even YEARS in the hospital with their children. I can't even begin to imagine their suffering, gloominess, and sorrow on behalf of their children. It was bad enough with my last 2 kids, watching them get poked time and time again. But, having sick newborns must be a piece of cake compared to having an ill toddler! How would you explain each procedure, keep them entertained, etc.? Anyway, we spend large amounts of time at the pediatrician's office, but have been so, so blessed with Huddy Bear's growth and health! He is such a delight and "little taco" of joy. Caleb calls him a taco, because of how I wrap him up in his blanket.

We had a fun weekend! On Sat., Caleb's dear friend from work had many of us over for a delicious lunch. It was so great meeting/spending time with his co-workers. They have poured encouragement out on us and have been so generous with meals, gifts, etc. That night, we spent time with my parents, who were finishing up their move, and my little brother. My parents aren't staying with us yet, but will be by the end of this week. Moving was a huge chore for them!

I am running a 5K on Thanksgiving morning and signed Lou and Binksy up for a 1/2 mile race. To train, they've been running on our treadmill at least once a day. They are doing so, so well and I hope this means an easy time racing on Thursday! Lou has to remember to look straight ahead on the treadmill, as he flew off the back not once, but 2 times! There's probably a good analogy in there somewhere.

On our way home from Costco yesterday, all of us went around and stated what we are thankful for, at that moment. Here are the responses:

Caleb - his wife, Lou, Binksy, Goo Goo, Tiny, and Huddy Bear, his job, our home, his bikes

Me - my family and especially our newest member, health insurance, the gift of our housecleaning

Lou - Jesus' death on the cross for him

Binksy - she stated, word for word, my response, and added food

Goo Goo - candy, lollipops, chocolate, bubblegum, gum, chocolate milk (Caleb and I asked her if there was anything else she is thankful for and she must have felt guilty, so added asparagus and spinach to the list.)

Tiny - choo choo train, choo choo train (there was one going by and I don't think she got the idea anyway!)

We're going to add to the list a great deal this week!

The Relationship Between the Babies!

2009-11-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

While the older kids LOVE their Huddy Bear and like to spend time looking at him, putting his paci back in his mouth, patting his back, etc., Tiny has a different way of displaying her adoration. She likes to rip his paci out of his mouth, quickly suck on it, and then helpfully hand it to me, saying, "here, Mommy." She will also mysteriously get injured every single time I go to sit down to feed the baby. Don't get me wrong...she does like her baby brother, but is also riddled with jealousy and curiosity at points. The photos are at dinner the other night...Caleb thought it was so hilarious how I was holding Huddy Bear and Tiny kept climbing all over me, smiling her fake smile. My heart does break for little Tiny, as her world has been rocked by the new baby.

Huddy Bear is definitely the most affectionate of my babies so far. I even used to remark that when he was in utero and moving about, I would press on him and he wouldn't flinch or move away. When I would touch Tiny, she would jump away and go to a new location. But, Huddy liked to be acknowledged when he moved. He is starting to smile more often, though not necessarily intentionally. He is just a sweet, growing boy!

We have a busy weekend, as usual, and are looking forward to Thanksgiving!

My Husband May Want a Divorce After Today....

2009-11-17T14:47:00.000-08:00

During the past 24 hours, Caleb has had to leave work 3 times. First, our brand new freezer broke...or so I thought! We have oodles of prepared meals in there, so Caleb packed it all in a large snow pile. After spending nearly an hour and a half on the phone with a repair person and GE warranty lady, we realized it was packed too full and wasn't completely shut. So, this morning, Caleb spent about an hour digging up all the food and putting it back.

I planned our morning perfectly, so that we would be on time to Lou's school. This may sound like a small task, but it takes me a great deal of time to coordinate the baby's eating schedule, with the other kids' lives. After getting everyone buckled into the van, I realized we had a flat tire! Fortunately, my sister lent me her car and I rushed Lou to school. Caleb came home, yet again, to put a clown tire on the car and figured out a place to take it for repair. I told him to go back to work and that I would handle it with the 4 youngest kids. The van belongs to my in-laws and they have an excellent warranty, which allowed us to rush to the tire store and get it replaced in no time! I was thrilled about all of this and the convenience of the repair!

We pulled into the garage, I turned off the car, threw the keys in my purse, and jumped out of the car, just in time to hear Tiny click the door lock! My heart sunk!!!!!!!!! Goo Goo got out of the top part of her car seat and I tried to coax Binksy to get out of hers. After about 20 minutes, I called Caleb again and he graciously rushed home to try to open it with a wire hanger, to no avail. Tiny was in hysterics, but fortunately, Huddy Bear was super content to sleep through the whole ordeal. So, we called the Fire Department and they showed up within a few minutes and popped the door open. This brings Caleb's total time at work to about 26 minutes, for the day.

I promise I am not falling apart, though it may appear so. It has been a trying day, to say the least! On the bright side, my parents are building a home right in our neighborhood! Can I say how thrilled I am???????? Meanwhile, their house sold a bit earlier than they expected, so they are moving into our basement this weekend. I am excited to have them around, but realize they may not be super ecstatic about this arrangement. Perhaps the extra hands will reduce my current stress levels.....

Pics of Goo's bday

2009-11-16T18:49:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of my big 3 year old, Goo Girl! I look rather awful in all of these, because I am lacking clothes that fit me these days and a lingering exhaustion that disables me from fixing my hair or makeup. Last week, we headed to her pediatrician for a 3 year check up and she is perfect modeling measurements....75th percentile for height and 20th for weight. We had a fun birthday dinner with all the relatives and Goo received loads of princess paraphernalia!

Our weekend was relaxing with a large snowstorm! The kids played in the snow (below are the 2 middle girls) and drank lots of hot cocoa. We also visited Costco and played with Luke, our new roomie. Luke is my little brother's best friend and has been staying with us for about a week. The kids LOVE having him here and spend every night wrestling with Luke and generally overwhelming him. I asked him the other day, during a particularly busy situation, if he wanted kids at some point and 19 year old Luke replied, "not until I'm about 45." Our busy household may be good birth control!

In other news, Caleb and I are trying to get in shape. Caleb plays indoor soccer quite often, but with all the snow, he isn't able to ride his bike right now. So, we borrowed a program from my very-in-shape brother-in-law. It is called P90X and click here to witness "EXTREME HOME FITNESS!" There are about 12 different DVDs to be cycled through. We tried the Kenpo one yesterday, which is kind of like Tai Bow....HILARIOUS! In the end, I found Caleb was secretly videotaping my horrible sense of coordination, and stopped to just run on the treadmill. We'll try the weight lifting DVDs this week to see if those are a bit more productive. Hope your weekend was great!

The Goose Did it...

2009-11-12T15:03:00.001-08:00

So I want to record a crazy story from Goo Goo's bday: She got up early to the sweet sound of Tiny's hysteria about a nightmare involving Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. We got that movie on Netflix for the kids and I had completely forgotten how creepy it is! I just remember a flying car, but oh! There is so much more! A scary man lures kids into a cage with promises of candy and they end up locked in a castle tower. There are also tons of kids found in a sewer system??????? begging for freedom. Needless to say, Tiny is not allowed to watch movies with her older siblings now.

Anyway, Goo woke up and then went on a date with Dad. They headed to Jamba Juice, where she had a fresh squeezed carrot, orange, apple juice, her favorite! After Lou went to school, I took all the other kids to a park, with loads of old bread to feed the ducks/geese. Their cousins met us there and everyone was oh-so-excited to feed the animals. There were probably 50 geese/ducks gathered around us and they were getting pretty aggressive. At one point, a large goose bit Ryker. (He is 3 weeks older than Tiny and their middle cousin.) Huddy Bear was on the ground in his car seat and geese started to get super close to him. I went to shoo them away and they hissed at me and suddenly flew at me! I am not kidding! I ducked down quickly, and a large goose flew directly at Ryker, knocking him into the lake! Sarah jumped in to save him, as he was completely under the muddy water! Fortunately, Ryker was fine and not super phased by this! He wanted to continue to hang out with the birds, but the other kids were in hysterics! Sarah and I grabbed all 7 little kids and had to run away from the CRAZY geese/ducks, with one dripping wet, miserable child.

There were quite a few onlookers and Sarah and I had to burst out laughing. Geese have always kind of freaked me out and now I really want to stay away from them! We're all headed to get pizza tonight for Goo Girl's bday and picked up some cupcakes on the way home from the park. I am so exhausted lately that I can't even muster up enough strength to make homemade cupcakes! On the bright side, remember the housecleaning credits I was given at Huddy Bear's shower? Well, I am super duper excited to have our house cleaned tomorrow! What an awesome, awesome gift!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Dear Goo Goo!

2009-11-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

Here is nearly the first time I laid eyes upon my sweet baby girl! Goo Goo was my first "baby" and weighed an unexpected 6 1/2 lbs. She babbled for hours, however, and was the happiest, most easy going baby ever!
We did her first birthday party UP and had loads of relatives and friends to celebrate with. Goo had put on some cute chubbiness and was, literally, the most beautiful baby I have ever seen!

Last year, we took a break from the BIG parties and celebrated low key at Chik-Fil-A with relatives. Goo has always been such a Mama's Girl and is rarely affectionate with anyone...other than me! I love it and tell her to "come give me some Ooey Gooey lovin'," at least twice a day.

(not sure why there are 4 candles on her cupcake, but the busy past couple of years = incredible spaciness for me!)

I know it sounds cliched, but I CANNOT IMAGINE life without my Goo Girl! She is a precious, precious daughter and I am madly in love with all of her...even her newfound potty mouth! Happy 3rd Birthday, sweet Ooey Gooey!

My Sweet Baby Boy!

2009-11-11T16:15:00.000-08:00

Huddy Bear is beyond precious! Here are a few pics for my brother, and more will come soon!

Trying to Adjust...

2009-11-10T14:38:00.000-08:00

Lou is such a good older brother to Tiny, as she begs him to push her around in the baby stroller constantly. This has been a rough week, to be honest! The older kids are out of sorts, since I've been gone so much with Huddy Bear, and we are working on adjusting to life with the new baby. He is an absolute dear and is so cute and alert at night! He literally comes alive at 9:00 pm, which is fine by me, and spends a few hours looking around at things and staring at Caleb, especially. I've heard from Caleb's family that Huddy looks just like Caleb as a newborn, although he doesn't look like him now, if that makes sense. He is still such a solid eater and feels and looks bigger to me. We've spent lots of time on the phone with his natologist, and have been checking in with his pediatrician often. We don't go in again until Friday, however, so will see how much weight the little guy is gaining.

Here is our Binksy Boo at breakfast one morning:

Goo Goo is certainly not the most photogenic child! Pictures don't do her justice, but this smile looks forced for sure:

Beautiful Weather Here!

2009-11-08T16:39:00.000-08:00

To make up for the blizzard we had about a week and a half ago, the weather has been phenomenal this weekend! Friday was literally so hot, we wore flip flops and shorts. It is soooooo nice! We visited a new park every day and took a couple of walks. In other breaking news, my hair is now fixed! I am so relieved, because the day after I dyed it the hideous pink/red color, I tried to cover it with a brown hair dye. That only made the pink color more intense and burned my scalp. Fortunately, my little sister's best friend does hair and came to my rescue. She also cut a bunch off and gave me nice layers. After my botched dye job, Caleb said on a scale of 1-10, my hair was a .5! When I came home 2 evenings ago, he said I am hot again! So, there you have it! My husband finds me to be attractive again, and is now urging me to just pay money, if I want a drastic hair color/cut change. Speaking of my little sister, she has been gone way too long, but I'm pretty sure she will be back late this week. The pictures I have seen are incredible! She has been spending time in Chile, Peru, and Argentina with a friend who looks an awful lot like her. Literally, the 2 of them could be twins.

In other breaking news, I started running again. I realize it's only been 3 weeks since the birth of dear Huddy Bear, but I am going crazy and feel pretty ready. Lou accompanied me outside yesterday, on his bike, and made a few comments about how slow I was going. Last night, we spent some time with the in-laws, who bought beautiful Christmas outfits for all the Grandkids! They have been super generous with us and have made sure the kids will look wonderful this holiday season. We're planning some cute photo sessions!

It's Goo Girl's bday this week and she is planning away! She wants an Ariel pinata, a Cinderella pinata, and a Tiana doll. Tiana is Disney's newest princess, in The Princess and the Frog, which comes out in December. She is also the first black princess. The girls and I are going to have a special date to see the movie and it will be their first cinema experience!

Day 1 at Home!

2009-11-04T14:58:00.000-08:00

It was my first day, with all 5 kids, and no outside help! To be honest, I've been pretty nervous about juggling everything on my own, and unfortunately, our day hasn't gone super smooth! Both Goo Goo and Tiny were up last night, along with Huddy Bear. So, I woke up super tired! By the way, I want to share a photo of the dear man Huddy Bear is named after! He has been a good friend to our family, since I was probably 10 years old. Before my sister and I got married, my Mom urged us to "find a man just like him." Caleb and I can only hope that Huddy Bear will grow to emulate the man he is named after!

So, after waking up tired, pumping, taking care of the baby, etc., I made the older kids smoothies. Tiny, being out of sorts lately, dumped her smoothie on her head, so I took off her dirty pj's. A minute later, that crazy, little girl came up to me trying to hand me something and saying, "help, Mama."

It was a handful of poop!!!!!!!! AAAAAHHHHH! So, I quickly threw her in the tub, bleached everything she had touched, and mopped the floors by hand, as she had tracked it everywhere! By 11 am, we were all still in our pj's, but at least the kids had eaten breakfast!

Post baby, I am feeling super ugly and needed a change. So, I picked up a box of hair dye a few days ago and decided to dye my hair a lovely deep shade of auburn, in honor of this Fall season. So, after getting the kids settled with their nursing boxes, I put it on my hair for 10 minutes and jumped in the shower. The problem is that my hair is not a lovely deep shade of auburn, but rather, a pinkish, fake-looking, red hue. I am bummed! On my computer, the below color is how my hair now looks:
Also, bear in mind that I am severely sleep deprived and look more washed out than ever! Anyway, it is lovely weather here, so we were able to head to a park later on. I was asked by 2 different women if I do daycare, but fortunately, my hideous hair was not questioned.

I certainly love all my babies, but this "transition/adjustment" period, with a newborn, is not so enjoyable! I feel eager for January, when we will, hopefully, be more settled in and rested up!

Great News + Gymnastics Pics

2009-11-02T14:58:00.000-08:00

Binksy and Goo Goo had their last gymnastics class last week and are oh-so-bummed to be finished! I have yet to sign them up for another session, and am glad to have put it off, because I'm feeling super duper busy with 5 little ones at home! Our sweet Huddy Bear was able to come home late Saturday night, after the older kids went trick-or-treating. The little guy has a weak immune system right now, so it may be quite a while before we are able to take him out and about. He is so, so sweet and easily goes right back to sleep after he eats at night. However, he does eat plenty and is hungry all the time, it seems! He has lost a little weight, but we were just at the pediatrician's again today and his doc thinks he will start gaining now.

Poor Tiny is completely out of sorts! I thought she would be thrilled about the new baby, but she is desperately still wanting be the youngest and has been hanging on my leg all day today, crying for no reason...well actually, the reason is clear: Tiny is in mourning about being a middle child. Needless to say, it has been a rough day for certain and I think my mother-in-law was the only thing that saved us! She brought us some delicious food, beautiful baby blankets, and kept the 2 oldest kids overnight. I do remember feeling equally overwhelmed and stressed when Tiny was born and the other kids were so little, so know this panicky feeling will pass. But, it will definitely take us a few weeks to feel more settled and to get into a "schedule" with the new little guy.

We cannot even say how grateful we are towards everyone who has graciously brought us meals, watched kids, given gifts, prayed for us, etc. We are eating so super well these days and it is wonderful to not have to think about meals. Our family can't wait to "show" little Huddy Bear off, in person!

Baby Update...

2009-10-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

What a week it has been! Baby Buzz, a.k.a. Huddy Bear, was transferred to Children's Main Hospital on Monday. Caleb and I were able to follow the ambulance and spend some time with him that evening. He is in the NICU, in isolation, as he has tested positive for a few different bacterias in his blood. He has been on a few different antibiotics, through his IV, and so far, his little veins have held up and he has not needed the picc line put in. We are hoping his IV can simply be moved, every couple of days, so that the picc line won't be necessary. The antibiotics are working, and he will need to be on them for at least 10 days, starting with his first negative blood culture. Fortunately, his spinal culture didn't grow, and although they will allow it to grow for the next 5 days, each day it doesn't grow means the likelihood of meningitis decreases!

Huddy Bear is eating like a champ and I literally cannot keep up with his appetite! In just a day and a half, he put on 8 ounces, which is great news! In the NICU, he looks like a giant, compared to some of the 2 lb. babies! He has a sweet, sweet personality and since I'm not able to stay with him overnight, it is very difficult to leave him each evening. I sincerely have a meltdown every night and perhaps it's the post-pregnancy hormones, but I can't stand being away from this dear baby. Isaiah 49:15 says, "Can a woman forget her nursing child?" I think I am beginning to understand that verse a teeny bit more!

We've met some neat people in the NICU and it can be a very sad, depressing place for families who are there for extended periods of time, etc. We feel fortunate that our baby has such a good prognosis and I can't imagine the pain some of these other families must be experiencing. Today, there is a huge snowstorm, so although we made it to the hospital twice today, I am not sure if we can get there tomorrow.

Our family is beyond grateful for the kindness and overall consideration all of our friends have demonstrated towards us! Tonight, we had the most delicious homemade noodles and beef sauce ever from Caleb's co-worker and people have overwhelmed us with encouragement. A couple of my dear friends are arranging meals for us, and for our large family, I know this must be a big task! So, although we are sad and missing our Huddy Bear, it is so encouraging to feel loved and supported!

Sick baby...

2009-10-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

On Friday night, Buzz randomly decided to quit eating. We tried and I worked with him and we even called La Leche League for advice on Saturday. By that afternoon, he was so lethargic and dehydrated and our pediatrician advised we take him to Children's right away. After lots of blood work, urine tests, ivs, flu tests, and 2 lumbar punctures for spinal fluid, all his lab work was sent away. He is being treated for meningitis and so far has tested positive for Group B Strep. So, it looks like he will need to be transferred downtown to spend 10 days on iv antibiotics. It is so rough watching this poor little guy get poked so often and my heart is breaking for his pain. Please pray the baby will be healed and that his little body won't be hurting so much. Also pray that it won't continue to develop more seriously and that there won't be any lasting effects from any of this. He is such a sweet, precious little guy and his nurses already love him.

I am doing my part to eat as much as possible so I can pump and feed him plenty of fluids. We did go home yesterday afternoon, finally, so the other kids are feeling super unsettled. Fortunately, Caleb is off with them this week and I may go home to spend some time with them later.

Houdini...

2009-10-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

Lately, every time we go to check on Tiny in her crib, she is completely naked! Somehow, she is managing to wiggle out of her onesie and rip her diaper off. It's kind of frustrating, as we end up redressing her numerous times throughout the night. Even though her little naked body is so precious, we don't want her to freeze! So, Caleb came up with the perfect solution: duct tape! Each night, he puts the tape all the way down her pj zipper. Tiny gets super frustrated and picks at the tape all night, but can't figure out how to get her clothes off now! The above picture is our little Tiny, demonstrating her new night time style!

4,3,2,1, and now 0!

2009-10-21T11:10:00.000-07:00

For a few more weeks/months, we have every age, 4 and under. Then, we start the birthday chain! Fortunately, we timed this newest one perfect, so kid bdays are now October, November, December, January, and February. That was not intentional, but worked out well! We need to figure out a nickname for Buzz, but the poor baby has yet to meet his siblings, and poor Caleb hasn't seen him since he was born. We've been quarantining ourselves at my parent's house, in hopes that the baby won't get the flu/sickness from all the kids and Caleb. I am still wearing a mask constantly, and we've already been to the hospital a few times to check in and baby is doing great!

The nursing side of things isn't going so hot, however! The baby has a poor latch and I have to gear up before every feeding, because it is so stinking painful! I have been bleeding on the left side and am wondering if I ought to pump and give him bottles, or if the pain will subside in a few days.

The other kids are feeling a bit better, just super unsettled and so they are acting up a bit. I've been trying to go visit them daily, and miss my other babies! Caleb has been doing fun things with them in the evenings, like going to McDonalds constantly, but I think they are craving the stability of having everyone in the same house. They look at pictures of their new brother and Lou asked the other day if he has brown or white skin. Caleb answered, "white," and Lou was disappointed. He said, "brown is much nicer, I think." This is one of the first instances he has ever mentioned the different skin color. Lou is excited, however, that he has a brother! He keeps telling everyone that he "knew it would be a boy and when Daddy came home to tell him he had been born, he already knew what it was."

Anyway, we are hoping to move back home in the next few days, and head to a bunch of Halloween events this weekend. There is a trunk or treat at Lou's school, a neighborhood party, pumpkin patches, and city events. The kids have been working hard on their robot costumes!

Announcing...

2009-10-17T16:07:00.000-07:00

I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I will give him to the LORD. For his whole life, he will be given over to the LORD. ~ 1 Samuel 1:27-28

Our sweet baby boy was finally born at 6:30 last night! He was just 20 inches long, but weighed 8 lbs. 15 oz., and his head was 15 cm! Average head size is 12-13 cm. Although the labor was quicker than Tiny's, I must say it hurt much worse and I think I'll be out of commission for a bit longer. Being sick made it a lot harder to breathe, and the pushing part was horrible! But, I know I'll consider it worth it in a few days!

Since Caleb and I both have the flu, we are literally quarantined from everyone else in the hospital. Fortunately, the baby can stay in our room with me, but we are wearing masks at all times and he is sleeping in an isolette. When we can leave, we won't be able to go back home, as the sickness is making way through the family. Baby and I may go to stay at my parents house, or some other flu-less home. We have yet to decide upon a name, but I did win the bets, based on gender, date, weight, height, etc., so the name is all mine! He is such a little sweetheart and I was up all night reflecting how blessed we have been with each addition to the family.

Baby is Coming...

2009-10-16T03:04:00.000-07:00

It's about 4:00 am here and my water broke about 2 hours ago. Although this is exciting, I am a bit anxious about how everything will work out, with Caleb and I both being so sick. It doesn't sound like we'll have much access to the baby for a while, so that it can stay healthy. Currently, I am playing internet poker against a lot of Russians and Belgians, in an attempt to kill time until the contractions speed up. There is a guy named Olaf that is beating me in heads up, every time a painful contraction comes along. I'm contemplating telling him why my playing is so inconsistent but he may not even speak English.

I had really wanted to deliver this baby without any meds, but feeling so sick, I may just give in and opt for an epidural early. Here are some funny pics of the kids at Target a bit ago. They were all trying on some princess wig! The quality may not be super great, as Caleb was using his phone, but I can assure you, they looked hilarious!

Sad News!

2009-10-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

I just returned home from the OB's office, where it was confirmed that I do have H1N1. The hospital I am delivering at is quarantining the babies, if their mothers display any flu-like symptoms. They are not even allowed to nurse them. I do not have a set induction date...other than sometime next week, as my OB would like me to be feeling a lot better, prior to giving birth. I asked why I haven't given birth yet and she said sometimes your body knows what's up. If you're sick, your body may not go into labor on its own, so it has a chance to recover and prepare for the big labor day. I declined to use an inhaler right now, as my breathing has been pretty wheezy, and am going to try to sleep upright tonight. Hopefully, that will help! I feel a bit anxious, as Tiny was so sickly and we spent nearly 3 months at Children's for her virus. The same scenario sounds pretty unappetizing! Anyway, pray for this precious baby Buzz and that his/her health will be protected.

Health Update

2009-10-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, Caleb developed a nasty cough and cold. I picked it up too and spent all night coughing. This morning, he found his boss has the flu and this is most likely what we're shaping up to have. I called my OB right away, who put me on Tamiflu and now we are hoping Buzz will stay put for 5 more days, so I can complete the Tamiflu, some of which will hopefully pass onto the baby. Also, I can't imagine being super sick, while giving birth! Labor is hard enough when you feel excellent! The H1N1 flu is particularly hard on pregnant women...I think primarily, because we don't have a lot of breathing room as it is. So, we are laying low this week and hoping to feel better before the baby decides to come! It doesn't look like an induction will happen in the next few days, as the doc wants us all to be reasonably healthy before the baby is born. After dealing with a sick Tiny, I am anxious about keeping this baby healthy!

Busy Weekend!

2009-10-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

It was a frigid weekend! Out of nowhere, it snowed and was around 20 degrees on Saturday! Caleb got the kids bundled up to play in the dusting of snow. They weren't outside very long, but were rewarded with hot cocoa. In the pic below, they all look a bit frozen and miserable!

My fun brother has been here all weekend, but his trip has been pretty bad, I'm guessing. Our little brother went skiing on Saturday for the big season opening. He can do some crazy stuff on skis and apparently, was trying a 540 on a rail, but fell at the end of the rail. He knew his knee was hurt and bruised, but after skiing down on one ski and taking off his gear, he realized blood was spraying out of an open wound and he could see his knee cap! We all told him, over the phone, that he might need stitches and should try to wait until Monday to avoid an ER fee. My Mom made him go in anyway and it's a good thing! He shattered his patella and ripped the cartilage away from the bone, etc. Poohy had emergency surgery on Sat. night, as you're not supposed to let an open fracture go for longer than 6 hours. Because he had eaten, they couldn't completely anesthetize him, but he doesn't remember anything. He spent a couple days in the hospital and just came home with numerous pins, screws, wires, etc. in his knee. It will most likely be quite a while before he can ski again, or even walk, without crutches. For Poohy, this is the worst thing that could happen! He is a very talented skier and looks forward to the season so, so much! He has been throwing front flips, on his skis, since he was 9! I'm not sure how he's going to keep up with all his classes, because his college layout is pretty vast. Anyway, I just feel so awful for my dear little brother and he may be in plenty of pain over the next few days.

So, our visit with Justin has been fast and he has spent much of his time at the hospital. We did get to go to Costco one day (I swear...our whole family loves that place), and ate some Polish food. Pierogies are one of our favorite foods ever!

Here are some pics of what Caleb did with the kids the other night at my parent's house. Unfortunately, the other kids didn't want to be involved in the whole thing!

Buzz Update

2009-10-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

Hopefully, this will be the last really pregnant photo!
Still no baby, and I am willing myself to remember no woman has ever been pregnant forever...right?????? My poor OB has been out all week with H1N1, so I've been seeing someone different. I am still sitting at 3 cm, and according to the doc today, the baby is LARGE and needs to come out asap. So apparently, if it's not born within the next few days, I will be induced. Induction is exactly what I have been fearing all along, but alas! It's not up to me! It's so odd that a few months/weeks ago, we were trying to keep the baby in a bit longer, and now, ironically, I'll do anything to make it come out!

So, a few funny stories about the youngest (at least for a few more days)!

1.) Late last night, while everyone else was asleep, I heard Tiny rustling around in her bed. I went in to check on her and lo and behold, she was a completely naked little girl! She had unzipped her pj's and removed her diaper. I laughed and re-dressed her, while wondering how she had managed to get everything off. A few minutes later, she did the same thing. And, 1/2 hour after that, she did it again! I was starting to get frustrated, firmly told her to stop, and assumed she was just putting off sleep. Well, this morning, she woke up with a dry diaper, immediately ripped it off, and ran to her little potty. She peed forever! I feel so bad and am thinking she couldn't communicate that she wanted to go on her potty last night.

2.) This morning, at the gym, a little boy punched Tiny in the face and knocked her right on her back! She typically provokes fights...especially with children much larger than herself, but I was assured this was unprovoked. My poor baby! This topic has been all the rage with the other kids today, who witnessed the fight and rushed to their sister's defense.

While Lou was in school, the girls were able to go to Caleb's work to have lunch. They were thrilled about this and we picked up Wendys on the way. They had a nice time and told me all about "Daddy's office." Here is that crazy baby, who will be surprised to be a big sister shortly:

They Love Their Daddy!

2009-10-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

Caleb took some great pictures with each of his kids the other night....he totally adores each one of his babies and they are obsessed with him. Just last night, Tiny and Goo both had a nightmare (which may have stemmed from the fact that we had just gone to a Halloween store to browse for some silver face paint), and Caleb literally jumped out of bed and ran to comfort his youngest 2. They were fine within 1.5 minutes. It's so funny how Caleb used to always say that he wanted lots and lots of boys, but instead, he ended up with lots of girls. His girls could not be more precious to him now, and he bristles whenever someone mentions dissatisfaction with the gender of their baby-in-utero, or if a person emphasizes one gender over the other. Anyway, our week has been quiet so far, but I am hoping it will liven up with labor asap!

My dear brother, and the kids' beloved Uncle Justin, is coming to visit this weekend. We are super excited! My little sister is headed to South America for over a month and leaves tomorrow. Last night, Caleb made a contraption and strapped Lou's bike to Goo's and he now pulls her around. We have the funniest video of them going up and down the street, so I need to post that. Our neighbors must literally think we are crazy! In the early mornings, all the kids (except for Tiny, who sleeps in until noon), head outside to run in their pj's. Their pj's are mostly my old shirts, which fit o.k., other than the fact that they're ankle length. They are just allowed to run up and down our street, on the sidewalk, where I can watch them. It is supposed to snow here tomorrow, so this may be our last day of running for a while!

Last night, we went to McDonalds to let the kids play for a bit. We've gone to my gym a few times this week so I can vigorously work out and see if this baby wants to come any time soon. Today, we grabbed a bunch of boxes to make the kids into robots. Lou is going to be a robot for Halloween, mostly because I am not very creative and it's a cheap costume idea. He thinks it's great, however! We're going to cover the box in aluminum foil, glue buttons on it, and paint his head and face silver. I'm still trying to think of some easy, cheap costume ideas for the girls. They do have princess dresses already, so perhaps we'll use those!

I want to promote a 5K race this weekend, in the Denver area. It's to benefit the Burmese refugees here in Colorado, and at home. Click here for more info!

Weekend Alone and Some Random Pictures!

2009-10-05T15:00:00.001-07:00

My DEAR, DEAR, DEAR parents took all 4 kids to the mountains for a retreat this weekend. I cannot even say how brave and generous it was for them to do this for us! Caleb and I soooooooo enjoyed being together, uninterrupted, for 2 days! While the kids swam, rollerskated, played mini golf, ate smores, did crafts, enjoyed bonfires, and refused sleep, here is what their parents did:

* played poker
* looked around for a larger car
* ate delicious Thai food
* watched movies
* worked out together
* cleaned out the garage

After about a day, I began to wonder what I did, pre-children! I also got lonesome for my babies and spent lots of time thinking about what they were doing, missing them, etc. Still, it was such a treat for Caleb and me! As soon as the kids came home, we spent time bathing them, which seemed to set me into labor. I had contractions (just uncomfortable) all day and night. I am still having them today, but they aren't progressively getting worse or painful. Maybe this means it is soon????????

Showered with Kindness!

2009-10-02T16:34:00.000-07:00

That's me with my Aunt above. On Wednesday night, my sweet sisters, Mom, and friend hosted a baby shower for me! Seriously, this was totally unnecessary as it is #5, but was so, so appreciated! They served a lot of my favorite foods, including:

* Julia Child's bruschetta (it was the best thing my sister has EVER made)
* green apple salad with candied pecans, blue cheese, and balsamic
* watermelon
* ice cream sundaes
* spinach dip
* chocolate covered strawberries

I was in heaven! We played a name game and a blindfold/guess the baby food game. My sister's house was really warm that night and the first bite I tasted was beef vegetable casserole....I nearly threw up and was nauseous the rest of the night! I received diapers, an adorable sock monkey and knitted cap, a precious duck outfit, a baby Halloween outfit with a pumpkin on the backside, and from everyone there, a gift card for housecleaning! How awesome is that?????? I am so, so looking forward to using that, as I dread certain household cleaning chores. I think it's enough for 2-3 full cleanings, so I am already excited about planning this! I am so blessed by my friends and family and am grateful they would even think of me on #5!

At the OB today, I found out that the hospital isn't allowing visitors, due to H1N1. This is a good thing, I think, as Tiny was so ill for so long and we had numerous visitors. But, I am bummed that the kids can't come see me and the new baby in the hospital.

Yesterday, the girls and I had lunch at some dear friend's house. They spoiled us with really healthy food and great conversation! I can't believe how privileged we are to have some of the kindest friends ever!

Hey Good Lookin'

2009-10-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to show off the good looking family! I have sworn off pictures, until I am 50 lbs. lighter, or at least 25! Still no baby, but we're headed to the OB again tomorrow. Hopefully, I'm progressing and just don't know it! I always hope to hear surprise when the doctor checks me and says, "this is crazy! You're already 8 centimeters dilated and nearly ready to give birth." But, alas! No good reports as of right now. I'll try to post on our week shortly!

this is a long one.....

2009-09-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

Our weekend was jam packed, but way fun! On Friday, following my OB appt. and lack of labor, I convinced Caleb to take us all to Krispy Kreme. Mmmmmmmmm! The kids love watching the donuts being made and get all upset when a worker throws away an unfit or imperfect donut. My favorites are the glazed with white creme inside and fortunately for us, the Krispy Kreme employee made a mistake and gave us a bunch filled with lemon creme. When I went to exchange them, she said they would throw them away anyway, so we could keep double donuts! We all left feeling a bit ill from sugar overload.

On Saturday, my dear parents took the kids to a Fall festival in the morning. They each picked out a mini pumpkin and Goo Goo was the only one who carefully chose a unique white pumpkin. She was so proud of it and couldn't wait to show us! Unfortunately, my Dad can be a bit spacey at times and forgot to buckle her in her car seat. He may have assumed she could get it done herself, but either way, my Mom, following in the car behind, honked until they pulled over. They pulled over and my Dad buckled Goo Goo in, but in the meantime, her precious pumpkin rolled out and was smashed by another car. She was devastated and talked about that pumpkin all weekend! My Mom found her a suitable replacement, which Goo has been sleeping with every night. She adores her perfect pumpkin!

Caleb was in a cyclocross race that afternoon, which was his first. The day before, he practiced jumping on and off his bike and was a bit anxious about how it would go. Cyclocross is kind of like an obstacle course for road cyclists. There are boards you have to jump over and steep hills you have to carry your bike up. It is crazy looking! Anyway, Caleb did great, but didn't finish as well as he typically does in road races. Here is an example of what they do:

It was a super hot day and Caleb said it was one of the hardest races ever! Late last night, we watched the World Championships of road cycling and Cadel Evans, an Aussie won. I don't really like him much, because he's super arrogant. I also read a Lance Armstrong book over the weekend called How Lance Does It. This is not typical reading for me, but I found it on the side of my bed and am not moving much farther these days.

On Fri. night, Tiny decided she wanted to use the potty and did so! She woke up on Sat. morning with a dry diaper and went on the potty immediately again. We are thrilled and hope this will stick. Now, Caleb has a beloved red blanket that he used as a baby and later on, as a pillowcase. This blanket even came on our honeymoon and was used up until a few months ago. We ran out of clean blankets and it became Tiny's. She, like her Father, has become way attached to this blanket! Early yesterday morning, Tiny was sitting on her potty and accidentally peed all over her red blanket. Caleb threw it in the laundry and Tiny was DEVASTATED! I cannot even tell you the extent of her devastation, but it was severe! She laid on the ground before church and pitifully wailed for a long, long time. Here is the disheveled, grieving baby:

Once we got to church, she wouldn't calm down and was loud throughout the entire service! I was pretty mortified, but didn't want to take her to the nursery, where lots of sickness has been going around, just before Buzz comes.

Yesterday afternoon, I took the girls to a grocery store and Caleb and Lou rode their bikes all the way there and home! It took them at least an hour and a half! I was so proud of Lou! Going to Caleb's bike races really motivates him and he kept practicing jumping off his bike and throwing it up on his shoulder to run. He has so much energy! Here is a picture of my GROWING oldest:

And, here is Lou about 3 years ago with his first bike! Can you believe how he's changed?

Maybe just a few more weeks????????

2009-09-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

I just returned from my OB appt. for the week. Binksy came along for a "date" and she was curious about hearing Buzz's heartbeat, etc. Whenever she runs around the house, she'll randomly stop and ask me to feel how fast her heart is beating. I'm not sure what she must be thinking about the new baby and if she "gets" that the noise she heard is its heartbeat. Anyway, I am a bit discouraged, as there isn't a lot of progress going on. The baby has dropped and is head down, but I am no more dilated. We discussed induction in 2 weeks, or sooner if the amnio fluid isn't high enough. I go back next week so guess we'll see then?????? I sincerely didn't want to be induced, so pray that this child will come quickly and without the pitocin that I dread!

Today, we spent some time at McDonalds with the cousins. Lou was at school, and the girls love that place! For being so small, Tiny can put away the fries! They are her favorite food, most definitely, and after lunch today, she polished off 3 small bags. I think she could have kept going too, but I put an end to it! Before you think I am a bad Mom, I did have her eat numerous peppers, cucumbers, apple slices, and some other healthy food at home for lunch. The fries are her dessert.

We had an interesting breakfast conversation today about what kind of food the kids will buy when they are older and living in their own homes. Here were their responses:

* Lou - "I'm going to eat a big, big donut every morning for breakfast. I'll get apples, peppers, carrots, toast with jelly, and chicken nuggets too."

* Binksy - "I looooooooove toast with jelly. I want oranges, and spinach, and pink cookies."

* Goo Goo - "I want some fruit snacks! I want some fruit snacks! And, pink cookies too...and cake...and chocolate....and whipped cream." (She loves all things sweet!)

We don't have a great deal planned for this weekend, which is how I like it! Hope to take some pictures to post soon!

Happy Birthday, Marky Mark!

2009-09-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

A very dear and talented girl (Karen) mailed me a diaper bag, out of the blue, that she had made. She also sent one to my sister and we are so thrilled with them! So, on Sunday evening, we had a party to showcase her talents. (purses, bags, etc.) I was so impressed! She brought some of the coolest stuff ever and about 25 ladies came to hang out. I haven't been doing too much "hard" cooking these days, so kept the menu simple. We had:

wine
cheese platters (including boursin, the best cheese EVER!) and crackers
roasted red pepper/leek dip with pita chips and veggies
chocolate covered strawberries
avocado feta salsa with pita chips
puppy chow (I love this stuff and the kids were dying to make it that day!)

In fact, we love puppy chow so much that we just finished making another batch! I think this may be responsible for a 2 lb. weight gain in baby Buzz, just this week. It was fun to get together with some friends and Karen even gave me little sparkly and furry purses for each of the girls. I promptly put them away to use as Christmas gifts, but know they will LOVE them.

Today marks 2 things:

1.) the first day I have received only 1 appalling comment about the upcoming baby! This morning, I was told, "that baby better come soon. You are gigantic!" What do you say to that?????? Trust me...I too am hoping it will come soon and have taken a new vow: I will never, ever comment on any woman's pregnancy, unless I have something positive to proclaim. I will not even ask a woman when she is due, because it doesn't matter anyway and I, myself, am sick of answering that question. As soon as you show, people think the baby is imminent!

2.) this day is my brother-in-law's 53rd bday. Actually, he may not be turning 53, but is a bit older than my eldest sister, so it's fun to give him loads of grief about his age. I especially like to tell him he could be my Father. (this isn't true.) Marky Mark is dear and has the coolest stories to tell. When we play the game 2 Truths and 1 Lie, he has some seriously good truths that sound like lies. For instance, he has met Fidel Castro. Marky Mark also loves to play poker, so it's always fun when his Dad and brother come to town and we get a huge game going. This unflattering picture is of my Mom, little sister, self, Marky Mark, big sister, and new nephew, right after Wyatt's birth:

Happy Birthday, Marky Mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My shriveling self esteem....

2009-09-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few of the comments I received yesterday whilst minding my own business at Costco:

1.) "Wow! Any day now, right?"
2.) "Are you having twins?"
3.) Woman: "How many will this be?"
Me: "#5" (not wishing to elaborate on the number of adopted and bio)
Rude woman, pointing to Caleb: "Is this your oldest son?"
Caleb: laughs really hard and immediately gets out his phone to start texting the humorous incident to everyone he knows.
I think I must have looked stunned and perhaps just drifted away from the conversation to alleviate my grief with fudge samples. I sincerely don't even remember if the woman received a response.

Caleb is 9 months younger than me and I am retaining water and lacking in the sleep department these days, but I would have to be at least 45-50 years old to be HIS MOTHER!

Goo Goo is soooooo smart!

2009-09-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

About 3 years ago, when Goo Goo joined our family, we had her treated for some illnesses at Children's Hospital and the International Adoption Clinic evaluated her for us. They recommended some speech help, so we were referred out to Child Find. Goo has been receiving help for her language issues, in the form of therapy for 1 hour/week. This past week, she had a big evaluation to see if she could attend pre-school, on a subsidized basis. She did extremely well and blew me away with her knowledge/reasoning skills! This is a good thing, but won't allow her to attend the same pre-school as Lou now! She was so, so excited to start school after her birthday, and now we may be putting it on hold. I can't believe the leaps and bounds she has made in her language! Everyone who evaluated her thought she was the cutest thing ever (which is true), and as she walked through a certain hall, she noticed a woman eating Cheetos. Goo asked if she could have some and the woman came back into the eval room with the bag of Cheetos for Goo. I was mortified but everyone else thought it was precious! She also kept talking about "the Chicken," which is what she has taken to calling Tiny lately. One woman asked her what she should do when she's tired and Goo replied, "I go to my room and lay down with the Chicken. Sometimes the Chicken says, 'Goo Goo, Goo Goo, Goo Goo' so I say, 'go night-night, Chicken, or I'm going to eat you up.'" The Evaluators have no idea who the Chicken is, but I was cracking up! After the eval, we had a date together and she chose to go to Chipotle. Caleb always says, "that girl doesn't have a serious bone in her body," and it is true! She is so silly!

Poor Caleb has been working a ton lately on some project! He came home at 2:30 am the other morning and is gone by 6:00 am typically. I feel bad he is so exhausted and am also feeling sorry for myself! The past 2 weeks have been super rough with the pregnancy and I feel really worn out. So, we've had a bit of a quiet week and haven't done a great deal! We go to a park every day, and it seems that Tiny is always involved in some fiasco. She tries to bully around 7 year old boys and I always wonder what they must think of her fiery personality! Binksy and Goo Goo try to control her and make her wait her turn to go down the slide, or whatever, but she will have none of it!

Hope your week is going well!

Gymnasts!

2009-09-14T14:35:00.001-07:00

Binksy and Goo Goo started gymnastics today and are oh so excited! Last night, I let them watch some youtube videos of Shawn Johnson, Dominique Dawes, etc. They were enraptured by it all and kept saying, "she is so, so pretty. I want to do gymnastics too."

I felt super bad for Tiny, because she wanted to participate desperately! As the older girls were putting on their leotards, Tiny stripped down to her diaper and ran out into the gym screaming, "I do! I do! I do!" She says this when she wants to do something too. Anyway, Binksy was quiet throughout the class, but was ready to participate for the most part. Goo Goo was pretty loud and answered all Ms. Rachel's questions. She was incredibly into it! They walked on the balance beam, jumped into the foam squares pit, stretched, and did lots of tumbling. Tiny and I watched from an upstairs viewing area and she yelled for Goo Goo the whole time. They can't wait until next week!

Our weekend was fun! Unfortunately, we didn't get to use the pool, as it was super chilly, and now, it's closed for the season. Last night, we went to my in-law's house for dinner and I seriously ate the best steak of all time. It was a NY strip and was DELICIOUS! At a church potluck, a talented cook made dark, dark chocolate Texas sheet cake. I had 5-6 large slabs of it and can't wait for the recipe to make it myself! Food is definitely an idol to me! I have even picked the hospital I will deliver Buzz at, somewhat based on food. Their menu is supposedly awesome and you can order and eat whenever you want. Some hospitals give you a window of time that you have to order within. That is not for me! I heard my hospital has excellent food and they offer you a post-labor massage. I hate massages, but Caleb will certainly see if it can be transferred to him. So, all in all, I think we have made a great and very mature decision about where this baby should be born!

No labor the week of labor day

2009-09-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy can cause some super vivid and strange dreams, I've found. Last night, in my sleep, Caleb had an affair with our waitress, while I beat him with an umbrella. I also have been having dreams about Buzz being a little girl, which is confusing me, as I have strongly felt all along that this baby is a boy. We don't care either way, although the name of the child partially hinges upon the gender...and weight, date, apgar, length, etc. We typically make bets and the winner names the child. Anyway, my most recent appt. was good...I am a bit dilated, but it will probably still be a few weeks until we meet Buzz. I've been thinking a bit about the Duggar family, who are expecting their 19th child, along with their grandchild! Perhaps I will post on them at some point. I sincerely don't know how that Mom is able to survive the 3rd trimester again...and again...and again...and like 16 more times. I am fading fast these days!

Goo Goo was able to have a date today with her Grandpa. They went to Jamba Juice (her favorite spot) and to a park. She loved having Grandpa Stoll all to herself! Her week has been most exciting! She started Awanas at a local church last night and it was her first night as a Cubbie. Last year, Binksy and Lou went and Goo Goo would wistfully watch them come and go every Weds. evening. In other news, Caleb's sister got herself engaged today! So, there will be a wedding within 10 months or so, I believe! Here is a quick rundown of our week thus far:

going to the pool X2
going to the park X3
going on a walk X1
going to the gym X2
hanging out with cousins X3
giving baby dolls their baths X4
eating dinner outside X2
reading Goodnight Gorilla X35
organizing the basement X1
looking around at Target X2

I'm sure we've done other stuff this week, but have been spending lots of time gestating on the couch while the kids play with play-doh. Here is what Lou told me tonight when I asked him what he loves about each of his sisters:

on Binksy - "I like her because she talks to me...alot."
on Goo Goo - "I like that she shares her toys with me."
on Tiny - "I like that Tiny is talking to me now. She can talk a little bit."

One more thing...along with the "nursing boxes" to keep the older 4 occupied when the baby is eating/here, I am spoiling the kids with a new toy. We have never, ever bought any of the kids anything...other than necessary clothes on clearance at Target. They get enough hand-me-downs and gifts from relatives, neighbors, etc. But, I am looking for something special for each of them that will, hopefully, occupy some of their time while I am taking care of Buzz. Last night, I found PERFECT gifts for Binksy and Goo: life size heads with long hair. I realize they sound creepy, but the girls are obsessed with brushing my hair, and really anyone's. So, now they can brush, fix, and style the doll heads! They were $7 a piece but I have a feeling my guilt will be assuaged when they are notorious hits! I am still looking for something for Lou, but did find a great Mom & Me Cookbook with full color pages and great kid recipes. It only cost $0.35 and I figure we could pick one/week to try out. Exciting stuff going on around here!

Labor Day, 2009

2009-09-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend and were able to do some fun stuff! Our little cousin/niece turned 1 and my sister-in-law made us all dinner to celebrate. My mother-in-law also made the most delicious, beautiful birthday cake! She decorates cakes better than a pro and even made our wedding cake years ago. Someday, when I have more time, I want to learn the trade. After the party, my brother-in-law got us free tickets to the Colorado Rapids/Toronto game. (our soccer team) It was awesome! Our seats were incredible and the older kids were way into it. Parking is free at the stadium and we had just had dinner, so it was nice to not have to spend any money. We didn't stay to see who won, but Rapids were ahead when we left. The kids screamed, "go rabbits," the entire time. There were also several mascots and Tiny was petrified of the raccoon one. She was literally shaking when it would come near and hysterically clawed at me! At about 3 am, after the game, I heard her yelling for me in her room. I seriously think she had a nightmare about that mascot, because she would not calm down and was shaking badly again. Plus, she never wakes up during the night! Anyway, here are a few pics of the kids loving the soccer game:

The rest of the weekend was relaxing...we went to parks, Costco, a BBQ, family walk, etc. Caleb and I watched an interesting movie called State of Play. Lately, we haven't seen ANY good movies, but this was the closest we've come. It was pretty interesting. I also watched quite a few natural child births on the computer the other day. Can I just say how nervous I am about labor?????? We don't have cable TV, although with the converter box, Caleb gets to see his bike races lately. We are currently up on the Tour of Spain and literally, every weird cyclist name is an option for Buzz. Yesterday, Caleb threw out Stigne, which is pronounced Stein, Alejandro (in honor of Alejandro Valverde, who is Caleb's favorite), and a few others which I did not note for obvious reasons. My parents have cable TV and I watched and cried throughout 16 and Pregnant on MTV yesterday. It follows 6 girls who become pregnant at 16. Many of them kept their children, but one young couple decided to give their daughter up for adoption. It was heart wrenching as the girl gave birth and could barely look at her daughter for fear that it would be too difficult to give her up. And the teenage father was a wreck! He was so affected by it all and was very, very emotional. I can't imagine most guys having such a hard time giving their baby up for adoption, so his sensitivity was dear. I found myself thinking of Lou, Binksy, and Goo's biological parents and their difficult decisions. I wish they could see the things the kids do that I am able to enjoy everyday and delight in them the way Caleb and I can. I don't consider myself worthy to raise any child and sometimes can't believe the privileges I've been given.

May your father and mother be glad;
may she who gave you birth rejoice! ~ Proverbs 23:25

Anyway, I hope your Labor Day weekend was a great one!

Holiday Weekend!

2009-09-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

Caleb was gone in Chicago for the past few days, so it's nice to have him back home! We don't have a great deal planned for this 3 day weekend, and were able to go to the pool this morning...perhaps for the last time of the summer. I am always so bummed and so surprised when the pool closes! Our little niece turned 1 this week so we have her party to go to tonight. My brother-in-law got us free tickets to the Rapids game after that! We are so excited. Goo Goo has been asking me all week, "when are we going to see the Rabbits?" Poor girl is a bit confused! I just finished up making a baby blanket for my new little nephew, Wyatt, and it is super cute. I just made a fleece tie blanket with monkeys swinging from trees on one side and solid bright blue on the other. While I was making it, Caleb and I had a good laugh about this: I rarely get hit on in public. While gyms tend to be meat markets, there are a great deal of beautiful girls at my gym, so I would certainly never expect to be noticed. However, every time I am pregnant, I have had pick-up experiences. When I was pregnant with Tiny, it took me forever to show and one day, at about 5 months along, this familiar guy ran next to me on the treadmill. He decided to ask me for my number that day and to "see what I was doing that weekend." I literally almost died inside! Not wanting to embarrass him, I didn't say that I was pregnant with #4 and ended up signing up at a new gym shortly after anyway because our membership expired and we saved money elsewhere.

So, a few months ago, when I was pregnant with Buzz, a similar thing happened. I haven't seen the guy for a while, until this weekend, in all my 9 month pregnant glory! I gave him a friendly smile and he looked horrified! Also, at Costco, fairly recently, while Caleb walked ahead, a man kept following me around and grabbing samples and handing them to me. Then, on the frozen food aisle, he slipped his arm around my waist and literally whispered into my ear, "you look amazing!" WHAT??????????? Let's be honest here...I look huge and uncomfortable and certainly don't delude myself into thinking that I am a guy-magnet! My beautiful little sister is probably used to this, but I am not a girl that gets picked up. So, these pregnant experiences are hilarious to me for some reason. Maybe it's all the hormones???????????

I always wonder if Caleb gets hit on when he's out and about. I honestly don't know how women resist him! Last week, he was in a bike race and was poised to win his entire category! This is Caleb's favorite race of all and he typically does really well in it. The older kids went to watch, but I didn't make it. The terrain is out of control for a road race and there were numerous crashes right before their eyes! Caleb lost a spoke in a battle for position before the hill and that ruined the race for him. So, he ended up finishing 6th, which is still awesome, but he knew he could have won the whole thing, if he would have been able to finish on a good wheel. Here are some pics of the crazy course, but I don't think Caleb is in any of these ones: (note what they are riding on!)

Crazy Tiny!

2009-09-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

Tiny is OUT-OF-CONTROL!!!!!!!! Seriously, this little girl is crazy! Our family is obsessed with beets, which I know is an odd food to love. I bake them about once a week, peel them, and add a little butter, maple syrup, and salt. I do notice that our kids have magenta urine the day after we have beets for dinner! Anyway, Tiny was in a wild mood the other night and decided to mash her beets into her hair. She literally has a bath after every meal now! Anyway, Caleb grabbed the camera and these unflattering pictures will probably be humorous to her in a few years:

Triathlon - Lou!

2009-08-31T15:45:00.000-07:00

The triathlon order was different, so that the kids could finish in the pool. So, they began with the bike, then run, and finally, the swim. This is Lou's second year of competition, so he was much better prepared than his little sister, and not nearly as nervous. Caleb talked it up for months, and convinced Lou he was going to win his category. 63 neighborhood kids competed, but not all were in Lou's age division. Here he is, sizing up the situation at the start line:

We don't have any pics of him riding, because he was literally a streak of lightning! Lou got stuck a bit at the beginning and was behind 4 or 5 other kids. But, he took off so fast and was weaving in and around everyone. It was hilarious! I have never ever seen his little legs flying so quickly! We were so proud and his months of riding have paid off big time! Next was the run and I am ashamed to say that I got so caught up in the excitement, that I ran next to Lou and Caleb for a few blocks. At some point, I felt like my water might break, and neighbors were yelling at me to stop.

Lou is a new swimmer, so this is when it "got good." His little buddy trailed him, but made great headway in the pool. His Mom and Caleb were both "helping" in the water and doing their best not to push their children to the finish line. We were screaming so, so loud from the sidelines! They were literally neck and neck and Lou was completely out of breath. He could have just reached out to touch the side of the pool and been declared the winner, but was so tired and disoriented. Caleb gave him a "little" push and Lou's nose hit the wall. He did win, but got out of the water with a bloody nose! Lou didn't even care and kept jumping around that he won!

We have plans for our kids to sweep their categories for the next few years! Lou's name was called first and he got an awesome t-shirt, medal, gift bag, delicious food, and a Target gift card! He has yet to take his medal off...even at night, and has told everyone in the world about his victory! We were so proud of him too!

Triathlon - Binksy!

2009-08-31T15:31:00.000-07:00

We had an absolute blast at the triathlon this weekend! I'll start with Binksy's experience. Here she is, in our garage, prior to the big start. She was super duper exited and not quite sure of what to expect:
The night before, I had taken her out to the street and told her to run as fast as she could. She took off and I attempted to follow her, not aware of how much I have slowed down during this last month of pregnancy! After watching her disappear into the distance, I reluctantly decided she needed someone, other than me, to help her the next day. She wanted my Mom, a.k.a. Grandma Kelly to be the one to assist during transitions. So, just as the above picture was taken and we neared the start line, I briefed my Mom. I vaguely remember telling her she needed to put Binksy's floaties on quickly and may need to throw her into the water. (I didn't literally mean she ought to throw her into the pool, but that's what ended up happening.) Below is a nervous Binksy, going around the corner:

My Mom did a great job of running with Binksy and just stunned the poor little girl when she picked her up and hurled her into the water. Poor Binksy kept blinking and it took her quite a while to get her bearings! (My Mom has since apologized to her poor Granddaughter and didn't mean to get so into the whole competition!) Caleb jumped into the water to help her across:

Binksy did so, so well and was just a bit overwhelmed by it all, as this was her first year participating. The awards were awesome and it was so well put together! Plus, lots of Binksy's relatives came to cheer her on, which was so neat. We have no doubts she can win in her age division next year, after gaining some more solid skills! Here she is accepting her medal and other awards:

Awesome Gift!

2009-08-31T15:26:00.000-07:00

Last week, this dear friend, dropped off the exact number of small rocking chairs to match the number of children in our house that love them! Since Lou was in school, his sisters were the first to discover their awesomeness. Seriously, the girls rocked for more than 2 hours and just kept on switching chairs, etc. They LOVE their new chairs! We are so grateful to have friends who didn't need these chairs any more and who thought of my kids! Below are a few pics of the ladies rocking: (note they didn't even move them out of the entryway)

Where I want to live today...

2009-08-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

You know the produce room at every Costco? My kids call it the "cold room" and playfully scream when we have to go in there. During this 9th month of pregnancy, in spite of an unusually chilly summer, I've decided I want to live in Costco's "cold room." The rest of my family dreads their time in the room, but today I found myself wishing we could recreate those exact temperature conditions here at home. Just a few more weeks......

Please pray!

2009-08-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

I am fortunate enough to have the dearest Aunt, Uncle, and cousin, on my Mom's side. They may not appreciate the above picture I dug up, so I can certainly remove it! (just let me know, K & L!) Anyway, we love and respect this family so much, that we asked them to take care of our kids, in the event that anything happen to Caleb and me....this was before our family exploded in size and I'm not sure if they would still agree to it! Before we adopted, they gave us excellent advice about transracial families, adoption in general, etc. (I had 3 adopted cousins growing up.) We adore them and our hearts are breaking for them right now. I literally have not been sleeping the past 2 nights, thinking about a guardianship issue they are dealing with at this time. So, we would request prayer for their family and the presence of God in their lives, in a supernatural way, right now. I can't imagine the thoughts overwhelming them and the aching anxiety. But, our Lord knows and I ask you to seek His face on their behalf.

Wyatt Update!

2009-08-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

From their first meeting, Tiny has been soooooooo into her new cousin, Wyatt. I assumed she would despise him....if he was in my arms. On the contrary, she talks about this baby nonstop and will watch him like a hawk through his entire feedings! We always joke that she will treat him like Landon treated Goo Goo and Ryker treated her: my nephews literally loved their female cousins to death. It is only recently that Goo Goo will tolerate Landon in her holy presence. And, although Tiny and Ryker are just 3 weeks apart, he has always been way larger and eager to (crush) hug her continuously. Anyway, this gives me hope that she will be a loving older sister to her imminent sibling. Here is their first meeting and a few days ago:

We had a fun day with my sister, Bekah! We all drove to Boulder to the Farmers Market that doesn't actually begin until tonight. Our brother goes to school and lives there, so we called him up and all had lunch together. Since our freezer broke down a few days ago, we had to get another and it arrived today. This made me very happy and I have plans to fill it in the next few days...if the chronic tiredness subsides for a few hours! My dear Mom is having us over for dinner tonight to celebrate my bday. She is making my favorite meal: shredded beef, onions, garlic, and peppers in the crockpot. You serve it on rolls and I don't know why I can't get enough of it! Caleb was supposed to cook for me this week, but got off the hook!

Belated wedding pictures

2009-08-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

Lou and Binksy were able to be in a wedding a few weeks ago! Caleb and I did our best to get some good photos, but the lighting is bad in most. So, we're hoping the professional photographers did a better job capturing them! I have literally never seen these 2 kids look so beautiful! Lou had a twenty-something piece tux on and I even put makeup on Binksy. They have seriously been planning their own weddings ever since.

We had a busy, but fun weekend! I am just getting a bit of work done right now, while everyone sleeps. We swam quite a bit, went to a couple of parks, played some poker last night, and enjoyed awesome samples at Costco today. I felt really good this weekend, and didn't have any rough, medicated days. I wouldn't be surprised if this baby is late now, after all this preterm stuff! After seeing an interesting movie called The Business of Being Born, and speaking quite a bit with my dear friend, Michelle, we are contemplating a natural birth at a birthing center here in the state. I had no idea about the negative pitocin/epidural cycle. Michelle had been warning me for a while, but basically, the pitocin speeds your labor up rapidly, and the epidural slows it down. So, there is a cycle of one then the other. Sometimes this leads to distress in the baby and an emergency c-section. We aren't sure if the birthing center would accept us, since I am so far along and they would require Caleb to go through lots of coach training during the next few weeks. We may have to wait for the next baby...if that is in the future.

I ordered a bunch of decals online to decorate the little girl room. We put them up yesterday and I am so super pleased with the way it looks! Here are the shapes we ordered, but their colors are dark gray and purple:

Anyway, I am working on the baby's room now and hope to get some pics up soon.

Camping Trip 2009

2009-08-19T14:25:00.000-07:00

Most of you who know Caleb know he is one of the best fathers ever! He loves his kids tremendously and wants/helps them to experience everything necessary in childhood. This past weekend, he decided to take them for a camping trip...in our backyard. So, he set up a borrowed tent in the complete darkness, but what the kids were most excited about was smores. Our backyard is about 10x10, so Caleb dug a little hole in the wood chips, right next to the tent and we attempted to light a small fire. It wasn't lighting, so he ran to the garage to get some gasoline. After he poured it on the fire, we nearly lost our neighborhood in flames, and finally got it out with the hose, the kids had their beloved smores! Then, we sang songs, told stories, and took pictures in the tent. Being the uncomfortable, pregnant woman that I am, I chose to sleep in the house and eventually took Tiny in with me. Lou kept bragging that this is his #2 time of camping, while it is everyone else's first trip. He then told his sisters that they were not actually camping, but it was "fake camping" because his campfire crackled on the trip with Grandpa.At around 5 am, poor Caleb came in with several hyper children. It may be a while before we attempt a "real" camping trip with all these little ones!

Tuesday

2009-08-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Lou's last day of "summer" as he starts preschool on Thursday. I am bummed, personally, as it will limit our schedule and it's nice to have all the kids together. But, he is super thrilled and can't wait to start. I haven't been much by the way of entertainment lately! The poor kids spend lots of time in the house and I admit I feel ready to have this baby so we can do more things. I know we will be busy with a newborn, but these meds are making me feel so unlike myself day in and day out. Today, a sweet friend took the kids for a bit so I could get some groceries. We got home and after I unpacked everything, I realized our outside freezer was broken. I melted down along with lots of food! That freezer contains the culmination of hours of work and meal planning for when Buzz arrives. Fortunately, my dear family offered to store what wasn't ruined and in the meantime, we are eating hefty portions in this house! I literally feel sick about this and frustrated because I tried so hard to be uber-prepared for this baby and the freezer breakdown was timed horribly! For some reason, this verse came to my mind, after I thought horrid thoughts and angrily threw some semi-frozen food in the middle of our kitchen: "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."(Matthew 6:20-21)
Perhaps God is trying to tell me to be prepared for Buzz in a different way????????????

Funny conversations....

2009-08-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

Since we have borrowed videos of Disney movies recently, Goo Goo has become super into The Little Mermaid. She doesn't necessarily identify with Ariel, however, but always wants to be Ursula or the villain in every movie. So, on Saturday morning, at breakfast, she kept telling Caleb, in a really deep, creepy voice, "sing to me...now SING TO ME." Caleb pretended to be Ariel, while Goo Goo got louder and harsher in her commands to him. She does sometimes ask to draw pictures of mermaids with curly hair though.

Last night, we were able to spend some time at an Ethiopian restaurant with our dear friends who adopted from Ethiopia a few years back. It was a cool experience, and obviously Lou was thinking on the long drive home. He started asking Caleb and me, "when am I going to get a wife?" He kept saying that if he gets a wife, he and Daddy can work all day, while his wife will help me cook. I promise we are not raising a sexist child, but for some reason Lou thinks girls are "cookers" and boys are "workers all day." We asked him what things he looks for in a wife. He said, "she has to be a really good cooker....a better cooker than you, Mama, and she will make Indian food and make me breakfast." Caleb and I decided the key to Lou's heart really is through his stomach. I think that kid spends more time thinking about food and eating than any other child I know! So eligible little girls, if you are interested in our handsome son, you had best spend some time honing your cooking skills!

Coolest thing ever!

2009-08-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

For quite a while now, I've been longing for a bread machine. Being super frugal, I've heard about how much they can save you and we are a Carb-Loving-Family! Seriously, the only thing Lou would eat, after he first came home from Ethiopia, was bread. But, he called it dabo. For about 6 months, he would cry for dabo and I started introducing variations of it...quesadillas with just a bit of cheese, PB&J, etc. Perhaps the love of bread is universal though. All of our kids are pretty obsessed with it and I typically hold off on giving them any of it, until they've finished the rest of their food, lest they fill up only on bread every meal. Anyway, all this to say that I have craved a bread maker for quite some time. My birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and I had asked Caleb to look for a used one on craigslist or something.

2 days ago, my dear workout buddy and neighbor said she was giving one away. I assumed I was the last one to respond to her e-mail, but imagine my surprise when she said I could have it! How cool is this???????? So, now I have a bread machine. We filled it up last night, but it wouldn't be done until after midnight, so it stayed in there all night. It was a bit spongy, but we had fresh, homemade toast for breakfast! The kids didn't seem to love it as much as the store bought stuff, but they will adjust. Binksy kept dipping it in her yogurt, maybe leading me to think it needs more moisture????????? If you have any good recipes, please, please let me know as I am totally new to this! We are so grateful to our friend and excited to try out new recipes. I'm off to the hospital again, so am hoping for good news soon!

Mid-week

2009-08-12T14:28:00.000-07:00

No baby yet, so that is good news! I am still having strong contractions and have been checking in to be monitored at the hospital at least every other day. Caleb had a talk with the kids the other night and told them that baby Buzz wants to come out of Mama, but can't yet, because it is so small. So, they have to be VERY GOOD and listen to Mama and help her out. Otherwise, Buzz will decide to come out early. They have been very good today, so perhaps his talk was persuasive. Lou and Binksy have also been super helpful and are eager to run and do anything I need.

With all this sitting around, a friend taught me to knit! This is something I've always wanted to learn and am starting out by making my new nephew a little cap. Here is the picture of what the finished product ought to resemble:
Wyatt's is going to be red and gray striped. However, I think things went wrong last night and am not sure where to go from here. Plus, it kind of hurts your hands after you do it for a while. Does knitting cause carpal tunnel?????? Anyway, I'm also able to read quite a bit, but am sort of tired of the super deep books. They can only be read for so long, you know? So, if you have any good book recommendations, I'm about to spend lots of money on Amazon and welcome any and all suggestions. I like to read pretty much anything but sci fi.

Tiny LOVES her new cousin! I mean she really, really, ridiculously loves Wyatt. It is so adorable. I am hoping her new sibling will be equally as loved and enjoyed, but this may be too optimistic..........I'll try to get pics as soon as he visits.

Caleb is being a great husband and is convincing me to let stuff go. By this I mean my house. It is really humbling to be completely unable to control the messes, meals, and other various stuff here at home. I did plan out a bunch of easy dinners that Caleb is capable of putting together. So, he is stepping way out of his typical comfort zone and making food each night! My diet has included of a lot of Nutella lately....that stuff is heavenly! Hope your middle-of-the-week is great!