Finishing Up Summer: Claire's Birthday & 1st Day of School

After our long break from reality, we took it easy the last few weeks of summer.  I did put the kids back in swimming lessons for one last session and let them have plenty of free time and time playing with friends while they could.

To top off the months of freedom, Claire helped us celebrate getting back to school and real life by having her 6th birthday....Happy Birthday, Claire! She opted for a party with a nice group of girls who were all going into 1st grade together (different classes but all the same year in school).  She chose a palette of teal, lavender, and pink for her decorations and I loved how the back patio turned out until the wind kicked up...it took a few balloons for a ride up into the sky and kept tossing some of the decorations that I had hung up onto the roof (and over to the other side of the yard).  The girls enjoyed eating a pizza lunch, making necklaces, having their faces painted, going on a "scavenger/treasure hunt" wherein they were required to do different physical (aka tiring) activities before moving on to the next step (end reward: party favor/goody bags), and of course, cake, ice cream, and the opening of presents.  Claire had a very happy day indeed!

Just a few short days after Claire's birthday was the 1st day of school for 2013-2014. Both kids were so happy to get back into the swing of things.  No, I'm not kidding...back at the end of June, Hudson expressed that he missed school and wished that they were already going back. It's so nice having kiddies who love learning! As mentioned above, Claire is in 1st grade this year and Hudson is in 4th.  I absolutely love their teachers this year.  Claire has the same teacher that Hudson did in 1st grade (she's our favorite!) and Hudson's teacher is fantastic...no complaints coming from our house!

I wish I had better pictures from that morning but we were rushed getting out the door (somebody has a chronically hard time getting going in the a.m...ahem) and I didn't have the time to coax and force the kids to endure a longer photo session.  Maybe I'll be up and going and do better on the last day of school next May...

Rewind: My Boy Turned 9

Back towards the beginning of May, Hudson up and turned 9 on me.  How can he be this old?  And going into 4th grade next year?  Those of you who have older kids are probably thinking, "Just wait..." and I realize he's going to keep getting older, but still.  It's hard to believe that I have a nine year old and that he's growing up so fast.

 

On his birthday, Hudson saved us money and requested his favorite home-cooked meal: grilled burgers, fresh watermelon, oven fries, and a green salad.  With root beer.  He's really not hard to please.  Dessert was ice cream from Cold Stone where he chose blue cotton candy ice cream with rainbow sprinkles mixed in.  After that came the traditional opening of presents.  Here he is opening one of two favorites that night (the other was a circuit board kit):

He kind of has a thing for Minecraft and Legos.  Putting out a product that entails both of these things is one of the most brilliant ideas in the history of toys.  Ever.

 

A few days later we had a little birthday gathering with extended family (hubby's parents, one of hubby's brothers and his boys, and my two brothers who live locally and their families).  Since smiling nicely for a picture is totally overrated when you're 9 years old, this is what Hudson treated my camera to when he had the chance:

Love my boy so much...  I now have about 11 months to come to terms with the fact that he's going to be 10 next year.

5 Years Old and 5+30 Years Old

I obviously never posted an official "5 Years Old" picture of my girl.  So here you go:

A few days before her birthday, we had a family (both sides) party here for her.  We had Max's parents, his local brother and his family and my two local brothers and their families here to celebrate with us.  I made the chocolate and cherry chip cupcakes with almond frosting that we had for dessert.  I didn't realize until my sister-in-law pointed out later in the evening that by chance, Claire chose to put on a purple and pink outfit for the shindig that almost perfectly matched the purple and pink frostings that I had made.  Between her clothes, the cupcakes and the balloons, we had a serious color coordination thing going on!

Her actual birthday was pretty laid back.  We ran a few errands and had a fairly normal day until the evening.  The kids and I went out to dinner at The Olive Garden (her choice - hubby had to work late and couldn't join us) followed by a little shopping trip at Carter's where Claire picked out a couple of things and a stop at Maggie Moo's to get a couple of custom packed quarts of tasty goodness to take home to accompany Claire's birthday cake.  Max was home when we got there so we all enjoyed Claire's birthday cake and ice cream and watched her open a few gifts.

 

It's hard to believe that my baby girl is really five years old.

 

In other news, I turned 35 a few days after Claire's birthday.  I got to spend more money than I wanted to on having my the screen on my iPhone 4 replaced. (I may or may not have dropped it and caused serious damage way back in June.  Thank goodness for a really strong screen protector that held it in place all this time.)  When Max got home from work that evening, he brought this with him:

Chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting with chocolate draped over the top.  I did not complain.  Not even once.  Happy Birthday to me!

Claire: Fantastic Five

Five years ago this morning, I became the mother of a little girl.  My due date was September 11th but due to having had a C-section with Hudson (after a long day of labor), I was scheduled to have one with Claire as well and that was set for September 4th.  Obviously we didn't make it to that day.  This girl has always had plans of her own and the day she came into the world was no different.

If you want the details of her arrival, read on.  If not, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Here's how it went:

• I woke up the morning of my 37 week mark with a huge contraction a little bit before 5:00 a.m.
• Called the hospital after a few more contractions and the unintelligent younger nurse who answered the phone said that since I was a C-section patient and my contractions weren't time-able, I should rest and things should calm down (told later by a more experienced nurse that the girl should have had me get there immediately...she went to find out who I had talked to).
• As per instructions from the same nurse on a second phone call, we didn't leave for the hospital until contractions were 5 minutes apart.
• Had to drop off Hudson at the home of Max's brother on the way.
• Headed for the freeway to find it dead stopped (due to a Coke or Pepsi semi-trailer crash...do you locals remember that?  I do.).
• Took city roads until we could get on the freeway where it was moving along.  Hubby drove a wee bit over the speed limit as I was crying out and screaming a bit.  Okay...a lot over the speed limit and crying and screaming a lot.
• Arrived at the hospital with contractions 30-60 seconds apart.
• Got all set up and the nurse checked me...dilated to a 9, 100% effaced and somehow my water still hadn't broken.  It did so about 1 minute later.
• Begged for an epidural (every contraction felt like someone was hitting me in the lower back with a sledge hammer - now we know that it was that pesky tumor).
• An anesthesiologist came in the room within a few minutes and gave me the world's fastest epidural - put the needle in, gave me 2 shots and left.  No need to leave a line in since things were moving along.
• My doctor came in and said that we wouldn't be doing a C-section since 1) I was only at 37 weeks, 2) the baby was a girl and much smaller than her brother, and 3) I was so far progressed at my 36 week appointment (at a 3 and 60% the week before - apparently that doesn't happen for women who have only delivered by C-section).  I think he said, "We can do this."
• I didn't totally believe him.  I was kind of freaked out.
• Less than an hour after arriving at the hospital (45 minutes?) and 3 pushes later, my baby girl was born.
• Claire weighed only 7 lb 2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long (I know that's probably big for being three weeks early and about average size...but she seemed tiny compared to her 8 lb 14 oz and 21 1/2 inch brother and was the only one out of the 10 babies that my mom, my sister, and I had that was under 8 lb).

Claire really gave us a run for our money that day and has done so on a regular basis since then.  She only does something when she decided she's going to and even then, everyone has to wait until she's good and ready.  Thankfully she doesn't usually make us wait long.  She looks a lot like me but with more of Max's coloring.  She was a very easy baby in a lot of ways but unlike her ultra-social older brother, she was extremely shy and quickly let us know who she would and would not go to.  She was and still is all girl with a love for all things pink, girly, soft, and/or sparkly.  At the same time, she's definitely our more adventurous child.  Sometimes we have to just close our eyes or turn our heads and hope she survives whatever she's doing...and she always does.  From the minute she was born, she had her daddy wrapped around her little finger approximately 500,000 times and that hasn't changed.  Not only does she look like me but she's a lot like me in terms of personality.  That's probably why she's SO good at pushing my buttons at times.  In spite of how crazy she makes me at times, I love her more than I know how to express.  I am so grateful to have Claire for my daughter.  It's hard to believe it's already been this long...

Happy 5th Birthday, Boo!

I'll try to post an official "5 Years Old" picture a little later today...

My Birthday Cake (from back in August...)

At the end of August, I commented on FB how excited I was for the birthday cake I was making for myself.  I had a few people comment that one shouldn't have to bake his/her own birthday cake but I really was beyond fine with it.  I wanted to make this cake.

This cake just so happens to be one of my all-time favorites.  It's right up there with Princess Cake from Gayle's in Capitola and Banana Cake from Icing on the Cake in Los Gatos (both in my native California).  It's my Grandma B's recipe and it is the cake that I wanted for my birthday every year growing up.  It is also my dad's favorite and I do believe my other siblings requested it frequently as well.  Up unti my birthday this year, I hadn't had it since my Grandma's funeral back in 2004.  That's a long time to go without.

Now I'm not currently willing to give up the recipe...but I'm more than happy to tell you about it...

In preparing to make this cake, I called my mom.  Being sure that she had always made this deliciousness from scratch, I asked for her Angel Food Cake recipe.  She told me to go and buy whatever boxed mix was at the store.  Now I know her secret...bwa ha ha ha!  Now don't go thinking that this is just a receipe for basic Angel Food Cake.  This treat is all about the filling/frosting which -  if no Angel Food Cake is available - can easily be consumed by the spoonful.  It's a glorious combination of heavy whipping cream, crushed pineapple, gelatin, and a few other ingredients.  Did you think I was actually going to list everything needed?  I think not.

The cake itself wasn't a big deal to make.  I actually whipped it up the night before and made sure it cooled completely before I hit the sack.  In the morning I went to work on the filling.  It's not a difficult process...just a bit on the time-consuming side.  Once the filling is made, the cake is sliced in half horizontally and the filling is spread in between the layers and then over the whole thing.  Then, in order to keep it from getting melty or sliding around, it has to be kept in the fridge until serving (really should be chilled for a few hours or overnight).  I was especially thankful for my second fridge downstairs that day because between the cake pedestal and the dome, it took up a whole lotta space!

Now, before I stick the pictures in here, I must offer an apology to my friend Katie.  I had promised her a) a photo of this fabulous cake in all its glory and b) to post said picture right away.  Neither of these promises were kept.  We cut into the cake and had 2nds before thinking to take a picture and I'm just now sharing pictures of the half-eaten cake now that it's been well over a month since my birthday.  I'm really sorry, Katie...maybe next time I'll be able to keep my hand from shoveling something into my mouth before I can grab the camera.

This is a side view that almost looks like a complete cake without any damage or consumption having taken place.

What the cake really looked like once I decided to take a picture.  Those squiggly and swiped lines on the pedestal may or may not be spots where one or more people helped clean off any extra filling from where the rest of the cake once stood.

The cake was positively dee-lish-us and while the three weirdies that I live with don't love the cake as much as I do, I think I'll be making this puppy for my birthday just about every year from here on out.  Yum.  Oh - and speaking of yum, the leftovers are positively wonderful.  Every bit as good on days 2 and 3 as the original was on day 1.  Mmmmmmm.

Long Overdue Summer Post

Alrighty, folks.  Obviously haven't exactly been on top of blogging this summer.  Grand intentions and pathetic (non-existent?) efforts and results.  So here is our summer in a single photo happy post...

Flowers in our garden in the late spring/early summer.  I'm a touch obsessed with my white peonies and the dark blue delphinium and would check on them daily.  This year, the delphinium got to be over 5 feet tall!

Hubby got out the pressure washer one day in late June to clean off the fence and patio.  The kids had a glorious time playing in the misty spray.  The only problem is that we have irrigation water outside and we had to keep reminding them to keep their mouths closed and resist the urge to take some in (you can see in the bottom left picture that the reminders didn't always stick).

4th of July: We had some of Max's family over for a BBQ and fireworks.  In spite of the warm night, the kids "needed" to wrap up in blankets to watch them.  Maybe they're not the children of this always-warm lady.  My nephew went out and bought aerial fireworks (just became legal here) that we set off at the end of the "show".  Wish I'd had my act together to get some pictures...they were seriously awesome!

I wanted to get a wading pool for this kids this summer and lucked out at Target...a package had been opened for whatever reason and was marked down to $20 (no damage or anything missing).  It's a HUGE pool as far as the wading sort go - when I sit down in it the top edge is up to my armpits.  Unfortunately for the kids, as cool as I am for buying it, we only set it up the once.  It was there on the soft grass for a few days but then we had to empty it and take it off the lawn to avoid damage.  I hate to think of setting it up on the cement with how much they kids love jumping into it on their knees and the possibility of holes or damage on the bottom.  Maybe I'll get something figured out and fill it up for one last hurrah before the weather turns too cool.

A little robin couple set up house in the Japanese maple tree near our front door this year.  Three little chicks hatched and much to the parents' chagrin, I kept tabs on the little cuties and took pictures often.  You can see in a few of the pictures that dad and mom were keeping tabs on me in return (dad has the bright chest, mom is lighter).  Unfortunately one little chick didn't make it through the 2nd week but the other two were alive, healthy, and hopping away last time we saw them.  The chick sitting on the stepping stone in the one picture was my favorite.  It was very calm and happily sat in my hand and snuggled in  the couple of times that I held it (when it had fallen out of the nest). So stinking cute!

 What is summer without swimming lessons?  My kids both LOVE the water and were thrilled to be back in the pool in July.  I also put them in a 2nd session just before school started.  Claire is definitely progressing and easily moved from Preschool Level 1 to Preschool Level 2.  Hudson, on the other hand, is progressing but not so quickly as his little sister.  The biggest hitch for him?  He's tall.  So rather than breathe to the side as he goes, he stops, stands up, and then gets going again when he's ready...time to move this boy to deeper waters!

 Pioneer Day: It was a weekend long celebration for us this year.  We enjoyed the local fireworks show from our neighbors' backyard as always that Friday night and then had family events/dinners the next two nights.  Saturday night was at our house with part of Max's family.  The kids had a grand time lighting sparkler after sparkler after sparkler and we had a little mini fireworks show once it got dark enough (no aerials this time).

Lastly was a joint birthday shindig for Claire and me a couple of weekends ago (and her actual birthday the next night).  Pictures above are from both.  Claire's birthday is just over a week before mine so we often combine them for a little extended family party.  My favorite shot from the weekend is the one on the top right where I caught Claire's reaction when she saw her new pink scooter & helmet.  Operation perfect gift...success!

Well, that's about it in a nutshell.  Posts for Hudson's first day of school and my actual birthday (nothing big...just have to talk about my cake) to follow soon!

Rewind: Hudson's 7th Birthday

As mentioned in a previous post, Hudson celebrated his 7th birthday back on May 7th.  That evening we had a family party for him.  I spent way too much time that afternoon making cupcakes in ice cream cones.  I not only baked the cake into the cones but also topped each with a smaller cupcake to make a nice "scoop" on to.  Frosting them was somewhat of a nightmare, even once I had a pretty good system down.  Now don't get me wrong, my boy is totally worth it and I think the cupcakes turned out really well.  I just don't think I'll be doing them again anytime soon.  I also made a Texas sheet cake (our fave - recipe here) in preparation for how many people we were going to have.

Cupcakes and cake galore (only a fraction of the cupcakes are shown)...the lower left pic is what happens when you accidentally bump the table in the middle of taking pictures.

Party time rolled around and we ended up with a total of 10 people here (that number includes our family of 4).  We were expecting 18 more people to come but last minute circumstances made it so that three families couldn't come.  It was a bit of a bummer but we did our best to play it down and Hudson was still happy to see those who did come and enjoyed his little party.

As for the copious amounts of dessert that we had in our possession, the cupcakes were a hit with the kids and adults.  The sheet cake was good as always but hardly a dent was made.  The only hitch with any of it (besides insane amounts of leftovers) was that the blue frosting proved to be a real mess-maker.  Not that there's any surprise there.

Messy kids (though we were smart enough to give the little one an un-frosted cupcake)...my nephew actually licked his bowl clean!

Happy Birthday to my best boy!

Ouch...and Happy Birthday, Claire!

A week ago tonight, we woke up at 1:30 in the morning to the sound of Claire screaming like she'd never screamed before. I ran into her room and was surprised to find her bed empty. With my darn deaf ear I couldn't tell what direction the crying was coming from so I turned on the lamp and was surprised to see her kneeling in the middle of the floor (glad I didn't trip over her as I came in!). She was grabbing at the neckline of her nightgown on the left side and assuming she was having a night terror, the first thing I did after picking her up was pull it off. We couldn't get her to settle down and after a few minutes, we realized that she was very much conscious and responsive and very much in pain. After watching her movements and reactions to them, I guessed that it might be a broken collarbone but at the same time thought it unlikely. But we just didn't know and being naturally worried with her behavior, screaming, etc., we soon called Max's brother and he came up and stayed with a sleeping Hudson while we took Claire to the ER. The doctor fairly quickly said that he thought it was indeed a broken collarbone based on her sensitivity to touch and movement on that side. They gave her a shot of morphine in the leg to help ease the pain. In reacting to the shot being administered, poor Claire managed to get her left arm out of my grip and reached for her leg, causing her collarbone to hurt horribly again (sobs, screaming, etc.). We waited for the morphine to kick in and then they took us off to radiology for a couple of x-rays. Claire was good as gold sitting upright on the little bench while they took the films but it was obvious that the morphine wasn't doing the trick as she trembled and quietly sobbed from the pain during much of the process. Sure enough, though, the pictures showed a nice clean break right through the center of the bone. They told us that it's the most commonly broken bone in the body and that they see it all the time. We ended up going home with her arm in a sling with an Ace bandage around her torso to keep it in place, a prescription for kiddie Lortab, and a note to call our doctor for a follow up in the next few days. The first couple of days were pretty rough for her but watching her now, you wouldn't guess that anything was up if it weren't for the sling and body wrap. It's amazing how quickly kids rebound!

Showing us all how to work the sling look (about 13-14 hours after the break).

After a few days of getting used to being less independent than normal, my baby turned the big "3" over the weekend. As my mom says, it goes from the terrible 2's to the tumultuous 3's to the ferocious 4's. Even though she's most definitely following that path, we still love our Claire and we'll keep her (at least for the time being).

For her birthday, Claire decided to forgo her normal daily manifesations of her age and was most pleasant the entire day. After we sang to her in the morning, she kept singing various renditions of Happy Birthday to herself all day long. She talked about it being her birthday, enjoyed repeating that she was 3 years old, and repeatedly asked to open her presents. That evening we had family members from both sides come and joing us for cake and ice cream. Everyone enjoyed dessert, the adults had a nice time visiting, the 5-and-up group took turns on the trampoline, and Claire and the other 3-year-old cousin present spent their time doing girly things. Claire was thrilled with her little party and was excited about all of her gifts. A couple of the things she really loves are her flowered pink sunglasses (lenses flip open to the side...so cute!) and a big pink birthday sign/card that she refers to as her "newsletter". However, the most popular present of the night - let me take a bow - was her shiny pink tutu, "jeweled" crown/tiara, and pink star wand. She has worn them regularly since and enjoys asking me to put them on her frequently (when I'm in the restroom, when we're leaving the house, right after she's taken them all off, when it's time for bed...you get the idea).

Happy 3rd Birthday, Claire!

P.S. Per our follow-up with the pediatrician, the body wrap comes off tomorrow and she'll just have to wear the sling for the remaining 4-5 weeks. Hooray!

The Big 6

Hudson turned 6 years old last week. It's hard to believe that I've been a mommy for that long but at the same time, it seems like I've always been one. Hudson has brought smiles, hugs, and happiness into our home every day since he was born. His birthday this year wasn't any different...

We started with his class field trip to a local farm. When the flyer/permission slip came home from school weeks ago, the first thing he asked was that I go with him on the field trip since it was his birthday. I was planning on going anyway but I pretended like I was going just because it was his special day. I was assigned to manage a group of three boys and once at the farm, joined forces with another mom/friend and together we corralled our six kids throughout the trip. The kids loved playing on the bus on the way there, seeing all the animals, climbing on an old tractor and a giant box elder tree, and generally keeping us on our toes.

Hudson's birthday evening was much more low key. We went to dinner at one of Hudson's favorite restaurants, Tepanyaki (Japanese steak house much like Benihana), where Hudson happily wolfed down his friend rice and steak. A little later on we had Max's parents up for dessert along with one of his sisters and a couple of her kids (currently living with his parents while their family is in limbo between 2 states). Hudson was thrilled with the rainbow chip cake I baked up for him...complete with white frosting, rainbow sprinkles, and a polka-dotted "6" candle. You can see how incredibly ecstatic he was in the one picture below... He was a happy camper opening his gifts and was most excited about a treasure hunt that lead him up and down the stairs again and again, ending with his getting Super Paper Mario for the Wii (weird game but he loves it).

Over the weekend we had his first "friend" party. It was a nice little group with a total of 9 kids including Hudson. We kept it simple with a pizza lunch, a treasure hunt with activities at each stop, a pinata, cake & ice cream, and lots of time to just run around and play.

To finish up, here's a list of 6 things that I'm really loving or enjoying about Hudson right now:

1. He still loves to hug, snuggle, and hold hands (usually)...I know it's not going to last so I'm relishing it while it does.
2. He is really great about entertaining, playing with, and helping take care of Claire.
3. He's a great helper and often comes to me with a "what next?" after finishing a chore.
4. His two front teeth are fairly loose and the one is starting to slide more to the center leaving him with a bit of a gap on the one side. Makes me smile every time I see it.
5. He has a great excitement for life - everything is worth checking out, everything needs to be talked about, and everything is cool.
6. He accepts people for who they are and doesn't let gender, age, or anything else stop him from wanting to be a person's friend.

Happy Birthday to my all time favorite

6-year-old boy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE SISTER!

20 years ago today, my parents had their first child (who happens to be my only sister). I'm not quite sure how that adds up considering the fact that I'm 32 and she's older than me. So let's just disregard my lack of skills in the math department. It is Anne's birthday. In keeping with tradition, here's a list of things that make her the greatest sister in the world:

• She has a fantastic laugh.
• I can call her to tell her the lamest thing or complain about something and she'll not only listen but be genuinely interested.
• She had the good sense to marry a great (and funny) guy and then have 3 awesome children with him.
• While she is very much a mature adult, we can easily slip into teen and pre-teen mode with over-excessive laughter about the silliest things, making funny faces at each other, and carrying on about nothing in particular.
• She's a great cook and baker and is always happy to share her recipes with me.
• She is very thoughtful and generous.
• We share many of the same pet-peeves and things that irritate us so it's extra fun to vent or commiserate with each other.
• She is patient and forgiving.
• When she moved away for college and after she got married, she was always good to send me letters with encouraging words to help me survive being at home with my 3 brothers.
• We have this thing when we see each other's name on caller ID and answer the phone...(you know what I'm talking about).
• She talked my parents into letting me get my ears pierced at an earlier age than she did.
• I can always count on her to go in together on birthday/anniversary/holiday gifts for our parents.
• When I had my back and brain surgeries, she was more than happy to abandon her husband and 2 older kids to come here (bringing her daughter who is Hudson's age with her) and play mom to my kids, do my laundry, and help me get through recovery.
• She is great at keeping in touch with me and the other members of my family whether it's by e-mail or by phone.
• She is always up for anything and is therefore very easy to spend time with.
• We have very similar (and really great) taste in decorating and enjoy adding to each other's already-too-large Christmas tree ornament collection each year.
• She lives in the greatest state and even though I don't make it out there much, I get to vacation at her place anytime I want to.
• We share an affinity for chocolate, shopping, Pride & Prejudice (and therefore BBC's Mr. Darcy aka Colin Firth), marzipan/Princess Cake, baby animals, talking on the phone, and chocolate. Yes, I said it twice.
• She sends me all of her younger daughter's cutest old clothes for Claire to use...I knew there was a reason I talked her into buying all of that Gymboree stuff!
• She is a great example to me in so many things and makes me want to be a better person, sister, friend, and mother.
• Since I don't make it out to her place as often as I should, she's good to help make up for the lack of face time and comes to visit me.
• We both find great humor in ugly and/or tacky note cards and have no problem wasting stamps to send them to each other.
• She is not only my sister but one of my best friends.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANNIE!!

I have a most fabulous picture of her from a couple of years back that involves a navy blue college dance dress (with white lace) from the early 90's and a pair of old-school boots. But I won't post it for fear that as forgiving as she is, she'll disown me. Instead, I'll let you use your imagination.

OUR LITTLE BIRTHDAY GIRL

Another birthday to post about...Claire just turned 2! But this time, I'm way more on top of it than I was with posting for Hudson's birthday (I "waited" months before doing his b-day post). We all know that toddlers don't exactly get the whole aging and birthday thing. But they sure do get the concept of presents and new toys. We're way better about controlling our spending and gift-buying with Claire than we were with Hudson at this age. And while she may have gotten the short end of the stick in that regard (which she thankfully doesn't understand), she got some pretty great stuff for her birthday this year.

The top honors go to her new KidKraft red retro kitchen. She was beyond delighted when she saw it standing in the living room and went right to work, exploring every cupboard, trying to work the sink (she was frustrated that water wasn't coming out of the faucet), talking on the phone, and turning the clicking knobs for the oven and stove. After presenting her with the kitchen itself, we went to work opening the packages of plastic dishes, pots and pans, and a baking set...gotta love IKEA! With the opening of a few more presents that evening, she got wooden Melissa & Doug foods from my parents, an adorable dress for fall from Max's parents, and a Plan Toys shape sort from us. But the most beloved gift she received was a Little Mermaid cell phone from Hudson...it was hands down the cheapest gift at something like $2.48 (hence Hudson could afford to buy it for her with his own money). It never ceases to amuse me when little kids either like the cheapest gift best or, better yet, the packaging that things came in.

In addition to gifts, there was cake and ice cream to be devoured. We got her a Dora the Explorer themed chocolate cake and in spite of the flames being an apparent cause for worry, Claire actually blew out both candles on her own. And this year, she had no problem with the chocolate (she did not like her chocolate cake last year...only the white frosting).

Now, in keeping with tradition, here are a few of the things that I love about Claire:

• She arrived 3 weeks early, helping me accomplish my silly goal of having 2 kids before I was 30 just in the nick of time.
• Every once in a while, she give us all a good smile by doing her "monkey laugh". It's generally a half-sincere one, but we absolutely love it.
• She looks a lot like I did as a child...there's nothing wrong with having my husband's looks, but it's fun to have one kid look like Max (which Hudson does) and one look like me.
• When she's tired, rather than denying it and fighting it with every ounce of her being (like a certain little boy that I know), she'll flat out tell us that she is.
• She loves music and is always entertaining us with her singing along to whatever we're playing on the iPod, belting out a song or two at random, or humming to her dollies.
• She's a real cuddler and loves to give "snuggles".
• Her manners are pretty darned good for a 2-year old...she almost always remember to say please, thank you, and no thank you.
• She is somewhat wary of trees and bushes. Nothing has ever happened to cause this, but anytime we're near a tree that has branches hanging low or a bush sticking out anywhere in the vicinity of her personal space, she steers clear if she's walking or clings tightly to whoever is carrying her.
• I love the way she apologizes: "Wha-eee."
• While we haven't started going full steam ahead on it, she started potty training herself before her 2nd birthday. Hopefully it'll be a breeze when we do decide to attack it.
• She is prone to telling people that she loves them at random...great cause for many warm fuzzies.
• Whenever the phone rings, she graces us with a very loud,"MOM! PHONE!" Maybe she knows that I don't always hear it thanks to my being deaf on one side?
• Two words: curly hair (and yet I straighten my own curls almost every day).
• She has Max wrapped around her little finger approximately 1.3 million times and he's an absolute sucker for her...I love seeing how much they adore each other.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLAIRE!

Next post: Hudson's 1st day of Kindergarten!!

A SUPER BELATED BIRTHDAY POST

So, I have this little boy. His name is Hudson. He's my favorite boy in the whole universe. And a couple of months ago, he had a birthday. And not just any birthday...it was his 5th birthday. I got him an Indiana Jones cake just like he wanted. I took pictures to remember the day by. We got him lots of presents and had people over to party. And then, while knowingly (and perhaps intentionally) putting off a birthday post for a couple of weeks, I failed for several weeks to dedicate a post to my little man. And so, with a large cloud of guilt looming over my head (soon to float away) and feeling grateful that Hudson will just be excited to see his picture on my blog, I write a list of things that I love about my boy:

• He sounded like a donkey when he was born...cried so loud and low that my doctor even commented and kind of laughed about it.
• He has always been social and absolutely loves people. It started when he was a baby and hasn't ever changed.
• When I go in and kiss him goodnight and tell him that I love him before I turn in each night, he'll often mumble back, "I love you, too." in his sleep.
• He's a great helper. Whether it's emptying the dishwasher, bringing clothes to the laundry room, or cleaning up messes that he didn't make, I can almost always count on him to pitch in without complaint.
• He used to say "barries" for "batteries" and "buzzies" for "berries"...very confusing at times.
• He simply loves broccoli. You should see the looks on other shoppers' faces when he squeals with delight, "Mom! Broccoli is on sale!"
• He's very smart (both good and bad...try spelling words to keep things secret from a little kid when that kid can read).
• When someone else is hurt or obviously down, he's quick to show concern and empathy.
• He finally learned to consistently sleep through the night when he was 3 1/2 years old. Claire was only 3 months old and was sleeping better than he did until then. This may not seem like a good thing but I'm just beyond grateful that he finally started doing so.
• His imaginary friend, Seventy, brings a lot of smiles to my face.
• He is easy to feed...he loves his fruits and veggies, grains, meat, dairy, etc. He'll try anything at least once and likes almost everything. I wish that he could somehow teach his little sister to get with the program.
• He loves music and enjoys singing and dancing along with whatever is playing.
• Speaking of which, one of his favorite songs is Toto's old hit, Africa. He lights up whenever it starts.
• He still holds my hand and hugs and kisses me in public...I'm going to hang on to that as long as I can.
• As a toddler, he called himself "Sonny". No matter how we tried to get him to say his name, it always came out the same.
• He loves a good trip to the mall. Yes, seriously. When I say we're done, he'll actually ask that we go to "one more store." And then I reluctantly oblige.
• No one loves to cuddle like my boy. He wants to snuggle to get warm in the middle of the night, he loves to sit on my lap for no reason at all (this is great but he's getting a touch heavy at 55+ pounds), he'll hug just about anyone...he just likes to be close.
• He has outgrown his fear of owls and bats (absolutely no idea when either came from), thereby giving us many nights of uninterrupted sleep.
• Just like his mommy, he's a big fan of having breakfast foods for dinner.
• He thinks the word "butt" is funny. I said it in the car the other day and he laughed like no child has ever laughed before. There's just something about "potty talk"...
• He likes it when I wear my hair in a ponytail (when it's long enough)...how could I not love someone who prefers that I be lazy with my hair?
• He's quick to forgive and loves me in spite of the fact that I'm a bad mommy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SONNY!

Like the gum sticking out through his teeth on the side? I asked him to keep it hidden for the picture and this is what he did. That's my boy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATT-MOO! - EDITED

I'm a very bad little sister. I realized on Friday that I failed to call my brother Matt for his birthday on Thursday. You know when I finally called him to wish him a very happy - and belated - birthday? Never...still hasn't happened yet and I seriously need to get it in gear. While I'm waiting to do so (and while I could actually be calling him), I'm going to do a belated birthday post. Here are some of the great things I love about my eldest brother, Matt:

• He's very calm and very much a peacemaker - a good guy to have around when there's tension or you're upset.
• He married a beautiful, funny, and super tan girl (none of us can tan so this is a very desirable quality in a spouse).
• He has three ridiculously gorgeous children. Seriously...they got way more than their fair share in the looks department.
• He was totally cool with his little sister flying out and visiting him when he was in college.
• He's very empathetic and understanding.
• He'll still answer to the name "Matt-Moo".
• He looks a lot like our dad...it's neat to see younger pictures of my dad and do a double-take when I initially think it's Matt.
• He introduced me to quality late 80's and early 90's music such as Beastie Boys, Biz Markie, Young MC, and Run DMC.
• He's easy to talk to and always makes me feel like what I'm saying matters to him.
• He's very tall. As in 6'7". Why is this so great? A) It's cool to be tall. B) When he imitates a toddler or little kid dancing, there's no way to escape laughing.
• Being very tall, he played basketball in high school. I loved going to his games and hearing his friends cheer for "Matt-Nute".
• Like my other brothers, he is always happy to lend a helping hand and pitch in, even if the help isn't really needed.
• He has a great sense of humor.
• It's fun to watch him duck a little when he walks through some doorways.
• He is always thinking of other people.
• He kept his cool and didn't get mad when as a kid, I tried to fix a flat on his mountain bike by super-gluing the tire to the rim (what...there's another way to do it?).
• His freakishly white (not to mention long) legs look great in knee-socks.
• He will undoubtedly forgive me for not calling him and for taking the time to write this post prior to doing so.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATT!!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and write myself a note so I that I can once again forget to call him tonight after he's home from work.

7/1/2009

NOTE FROM ANNE:

Now it's my turn to add reasons I love Matt...

• Matt can always make me laugh. He is so funny!
• When we were growing up, if I was ever (rarely) upset at him,it ended quickly, because he would say or do something hysterical.
• He lives in California.
• He likes good food as much as I do.
• He eats more than I do, which always makes a girl feel good.
• We used to have late-night talks after "lights out," and one of us would have to bolt back to our room when we heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
• He was really easy to share a car with at BYU.
• He gave me good advice on dating and guys.
• He is a people person.
• He is thoughtful and generous.
• He makes awesome pasta.
• He speaks Italian, which is one reason I want to go to Italy with him.
• He has a Jim Carrey-ish plastic face.
• Just like our other brothers, his deep voice is awesome.
• He was one of my best friends growing up.
• He never complains about anything.
• I could always talk to him about anything.
• He is easy-going.

Happy Birthday, little bro!

Love, Anne

A WEE TAD MORE FROM ME:

So, after reading Anne's comments, I have to say a couple of things...

• She mentioned his pasta and is SO right. Not only does he cook fabulous pasta, but his homemade bruschetta is to die for (I think I'm going to start drooling now).
• I almost said the exact thing about his face being like that of Jim Carrey. He's got great physical comedy!
• She mentioned that he eats copious amounts of food...it's not only nice to have him eat more than me, it's actually fun to watch him eat and see how many platefuls he can pack in! Now, the way I feel about his staying skinny all these years with that kind of eating is another story.
• He taught me cool Italian words like "schifoso" and "puzzolente"...be nice to me or I might fire off one of these words in your direction.

P.S. I never made that note that I mentioned in my original post yesterday. And therefore, I never called the birthday boy. Let's see if I can manage to remember to do so after putting the kids down in a minute...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...ARE DAD & MOM AROUND?

This post is dedicated to my incredibly awesome middle brother, Dave. It's his birthday today and so here comes another list from my listy-self. Some of the many reasons why I think he is the bomb:

• He's very caring, empathetic, and concerned for other people and their well being.
• It was super fun to work with and have lunch with him a few times each week during the years that we were employed by the same company.
• He has a disgustingly thin and cute wife and a bunch of fantastic kids.
• He knows why I call him Kitten (and he calls me the same).
• Other than to get our mom's goat, he never complained about the fact that our parents were out of town for approximately every birthday he had as a kid.
• Four words: "It's a free country." They may have been annoying back in the day but they make me smile now.
• He used to call his wife on the phone when I was in the car and say embarrassing things to her just to push her buttons...very amusing.
• He is yet to have an issue with all the jabs we (my sister and I) make at him for being one of our 3 non-communicative brothers.
• He taught me all the secrets of Dark Castle and Beyond Dark Castle.
• When he was about to lose his hair during chemo, he let his friend Kristy and I dye and style his remaining locks to our hearts' delight.
• He introduced me to Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Tom Perry, and Rush.
• Even though I'm younger than him and we're all grown up and mature, he lets me boss him around sometimes and does what I ask (aka command) without any fussing...wish he'd train Hudson for me.
• He is very understanding and easy-going.
• Like our younger brother, Estee Lauder, he used to let my sister and me dress him up like a girl. And man, did he look good!
• We are surgery and staple scar buddies (he wins for longest scar and I think I win for most staples). No one else in our family is in this club - we rock!
• He drives our mom crazy when he pushes his eyebrows in the wrong direction.
• Whenever someone needs help, he's quick to pitch in.
• As you've probably figured out by now (and much like both of my other brothers), he's not a complainer...and that makes him about as pleasant to be around as is humanly possible!

Now, since it's a free country, below is my super special birthday photo pic for today. Unfortunately, while I am currently giddy with the thought that this picture of my brother is out there for all to see, I am also apparently fishing for snide remarks about my feathered hair (sure is a shame we outgrew our dangerously good looks). I just wish he'd had his braces on for this one:

Happy Birthday, Kitten!

I hope you have a wonderful day and that you actually check my blog for once so that you get to read this. Maybe I'll send you an e-mail.

5/9/2009: Here are Anee's two cents:

Now it's my turn to add to the list of Dave's many fine attributes...

• He has always been a hard worker. No wonder Dad liked his help best when we were working outside. (What a kiss-up.)
• He has that nice upper-body swimmer's build.
• He can laugh AT himself with the rest of us. For example, "You can do maaaa-jic! You can have anything that you desire!" You know what I'm talkin' about, bro!'
• He beat cancer, and then went on to spit in its face by having five kids.
• He doesn't fight his thinning hair. Nothing I hate more than a combover!
• He knows how to pick out a beautiful and good wife.
• He has a funny sense of humor.
• He is helpful and pitches in without fussing.
• He has a strong testimony and really tries to do what's right.
• He let us call him "Dade" for years. (Where did that come from, anyway?)
• He had big glasses AND braces and still went out in public. Brave.
• He will find humor in that last statement.

Happy Birthday, little bro! Love you tons!

Love, Anne

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BRO!

This post is in honor of my favorite little brother. It's his birthday and so I am going to provide you with a LIST of some of my favorite things about him:

• He's super easy going and always willing to go with the flow.
• As a teenager, he never complained when I woke him at strange hours of the night to lecture him about how to treat women (almost always after a bad or particularly lame date).
• He has an awesome wife and very cute little boy.
• He used to let my sister and I dress him up like a girl: wigs, dresses/skirts, makeup, etc. Talk about awesome!
• He puts up with and answers to all of the nicknames that he has been given over the years: Von Rosheimer, Tinky, Si-Thai-Phan, Estee Lauder (and Estee), Esteban, Roshy, Stinky, etc. The list goes on and on.
• He didn't get mad at me when I'd show up at his volleyball games and scream out one his nicknames when he schooled the other players.
• We find each other funny even when our spouses don't.
• His fake smile...he's been using it for years (see school pictures from K-12).
• He used to open the car door for me even when I was the one driving.
• He is one of my best friends and has been for a very long time.
• Back in the day, he helped me improve my volleyball skillz.
• He was a very cool little brother (once we got a bit older)...all my girlfriends loved him.
• Just like me, he gets a little (or a lot) goofy when he gets tired.
• He was Sportsman Spiff.
• He enjoys quality rhymes by such inspired artists as Young MC, Biz Markie, the Beastie Boys, and Run DMC.
• Even though he knew darn well what he was in for, he used to come into my room at night (after I woke him up with my calling his name) to turn off my light or kill spiders for me.
• He looks downright killer in his tree-trimming gear (sweet boots!):

Happy Birthday, Roshy. Hope it was a good one!

4/24/2009: thought I'd paste in the following comment on this post...

Anne said...

Ooooooooh! Sexy pic! And I will add:

• He is always cheerful and happy to pitch in with whatever help is required.
• He has a very accurate take on situations and can find the humor in them.
• He never lets his panties (ahem, boxers, briefs, whatever) get in a bunch.
• He was always good at everything he did -- the total golden child (still is!).
• He doesn't yell at me when I forget to call him on his birthday, but most likely because it goes the other way, too. ;-)
• He never complains...about anything.
• He is an all-around good guy.
• He is kind to everyone.

Love you, C-Tie-Fawn! Wuv, Anne