Snippets

Just a few notes about my kiddos that I want to remember for the future-some in visual format!

On JD: Hanging out with JD so much more during the day has given me the opportunity to see a lot of things about him that I just didn't know! JD likes playing King. We have a foam crown that he will wear and march around the family room singing "I am King JD! I am King JD!" JD also has transformed his dive, which I was always impressed that he could do in the first place. Let me paint a picture: You know all those people who enter belly flop contests? That's JD. He'll stand on the edge of the pool, put his hands in dive position and then literally just fall in on his stomach. Classic! Last thing-JD can touch his tongue to his nose. He does it all the time! He can do "taco tongue" too, but not on command yet.

On Karianna: I LOVE to flip Karianna's hair. I think it makes her look so much older and just way cute! She is such a good customer when I come at her with a straightener! There are some days I can't believe we waited so long to give her this haircut. In any case, I think she is potentially the most adorable kindergartener in the world (I might be a bit biased, but I also think I know several others who would agree....)!

On Jordan: Jordan is amazingly adept at saying "Yeah" and pairing it with a head bob. My favorite is when he pairs it with "More". If I'm giving him applesauce for dinner, he'll call out "More Mama". I'll ask him, "Do you want some more applesauce?" And he'll say in his chipper voice, "Yeah!" and bob his head up and down. It is so cute that I will have that same conversation with him everytime just to see him be so agreeable! Another favorite-when I have to reprimand him for something, I'll call him over, and he'll come racing to my side. He'll tilt his head up to look straight in my eyes, very expectant. My side of things usually ends with an "Okay?" and he'll again bob his head up and down and say, "K!!!!" And then most likely he'll run off and just do the same no-no again. :) Just demonstrates his ability to give me what I want in order to get out of time out. :)

I Love You, But You Kind of Scare Me.

Jordan absolutely loves his cousin, Logan. If I ask him where Logan is, he immediately runs to a window and peers out of it as if he is expecting Logan to visit at any time. He calls Logan "Leelee" or "LohLoh" or "LaLa". Always the "L", the rest is a surprise. :) I think Jordan has very fond memories of playing on the patio with Logan when they both got tired of swimming. I even think Jordan has fond memories of Logan giving him very loving hugs.

Oh how the times change! Logan gives very exhuberant hugs. And I think Logan has become such a smart cookie that he realizes the more exhuberant his hug is, the louder reaction he will get from Jordan. To the point where I think my subject line for this post is beginning to represent Jordan's current feelings towards his favorite cousin! It is so funny to watch, as soon as Logan comes in, I see Jordan's eyes light up because he loves Logan so much...at the same time, Jordan races over to me, climbs into my lap, and lays his head on my shoulder so he can ensure protection from a Logan hug! At some point, he'll get enough courage to climb down and venture over to play, but man, the second Logan realizes he can get to Jordan faster than an adult, he pounces! Jordan starts to cry his little head off until an adult comes to rescue him from the essence of a bear hug! It's just so funny because we all think Logan means well, he just gets so excited about greeting his cousin!

So during Mom's Anniversary/Birthday party last week, I randomly decided to take a picture of Jordan and Logan. Jordan consented to sitting with Logan, but we all had to laugh when Jordan took 3 very obvious scoots away from Logan, just in case.
Photo-op #2 and #3 went better, but it was equally laughable to see that Jordan never took his eyes off of Logan, even though I was doing my best to convince him there was a cockroach on the camara (hey, it worked for Logan!). Notice how I am holding Jordan in place with my knees in one of these pictures.
I love these two kiddos, I'm so glad they get to spend time together and I hope they continue to be good friends! Maybe at some point though, we can remove the "scared" section of the subject line!

A Birthday and an Anniversary in One!

This past week was special in that we celebrated my Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary, AND my Mom's birthday! Mom and Dad celebrated their 30th (oh, I hope I have that right!!!) wedding anniversary on Monday, August 17th. I think it is wonderfully amazing that I can say that sentence in the present tense, despite the fact that Dad is not here any longer. That is the beauty of an eternal marriage! For the last few years, all of the kids have been writing "Memory Pages" for each anniversary-memories of Mom and Dad together that stand out in our minds and that have helped shape our lives, whether in a large or small manner. I personally love this tradition, it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on how wonderful my parents are and to see how their actions and teachings have impacted my life. This year I wrote about the moment when my relationship with Mom and Dad became one that involved deep communication-actually talking and listening to each other about real and important stuff rather than just assuming we all lived on different planets. I am so grateful for my parents and for the many ways they have demonstrated in word and deed how much they love me and each other. Wonderful examples and memories that I will always cherish.

Mom's birthday was on Friday, August 21st. The kids and I made a banner to hang in the kitchen while Mom was at a movie. We also made cards for Mom, which I really think is the pinnacle of any birthday! I love to see what the kids want to say to Mom as compliments. Karianna's card included a simple "You are Beautiful", which is so true when it comes to Mom-seriously good fashion sense! :) JD just wanted to compliment Mom's taste in books, since he covets her most recent dinosuar book purchase!

The adults got to do something unique and go out to dinner with Mom MINUS the kids! I am not sure if we have ever attempted that before...I think it went well for the first time around, we had most everyone there (if you couldn't come, we missed you!). We went to the Cheesecake Factory at Mom's request and I think the highlight of the night for me was seeing the size of Kristen's salad...pretty awesome! We all sang Happy Birthday to Mom as she was presented with her mini desert freebie. After dinner, we headed to the Mantanona's for some delicious smoothies and time with the kids. It was a fun way to celebrate Mom's birthday, and I really hope she enjoyed it! What a week, and hopefully one that will be remembered for good memories, lots of love, and wonderful times to come.

Why I Love My Husband

With tomorrow marking the 7 week countdown to Birth Day for Baby Sara, I think I am pretty justified in saying I'm ready for pregnancy to be over. I am so grateful that I have healthy pregnancies and I am so grateful that Sara is such an active baby. Her constant movement has calmed the motherly jitters that I tend to get; it has also prompted a wonderful bonding experience between her and I, even before I get to officially meet her.

However. I am definitely ready for the next 7 weeks to pass by VERY quickly. The heat is becoming unbearable. Exhaustion hits earlier and earlier every day. It hurts to stand for relatively short periods of time. Heck, it hurts to sit for relatively short periods of time, but no one needs details about that (Jared is exempt). For a person who likes to stay very busy, and who likes to be very involved with her kids, this has been a hard time period for me and I think it might get a little bit harder until October 12th hits-especially as my to do list gets longer and longer with impending birth.

So why do I love my husband. Well, that's a never ending entry in itself. :) But the last week has just made me realize how really wonderful he is! Jared just seems to be going out of his way to make my life a little bit easier when I am sure he realizes how stressed out and tired I am right now. I just want him to know I see that, and I am so grateful for that. Here's some of the small and simple things that have transpired just in this last week that have made my heart smile in spite of pregnancy induced woes:

1. While at work one day, Jared sent me little love notes via email, Facebook and our BLOG!!! That last one blew my mind because I usually have to corner Jared with the laptop in order to get him to simply view the new blog posts that I write! Just tickled me to see that!
2. On Saturday, Jared snuck out of bed so I could sleep an extra hour. When he woke me up, he was holding out breakfast for me-a jelly donut that he knows I can never resist. He told me I had to eat it in 3 minutes flat. :) Which I did while he got the kids breakfast! Score for me!
3. A few days ago, I was wearing a pair of gray yoga pants because they are actually comfortable on my pregnant belly. Nothing special. Except to Jared. When he came home from work, he literally stopped in his tracks and proceeded to compliment my appearance...for about an hour straight. Totally made my day.
4. Today was a stressful day, emotionally and physically. Not only did Jared completely take care of the kids today, he also took them to his parents' house for a few hours so I could take a long bath by myself. Heaven!
5. Also today (racking up the points!)-I finally decided to eat dinner and was in the process of scrambling some eggs. Jared came in behind me, literally took the spatula from my hand and told me he'd finish so I could sit down. As we were leaving the kitchen with plates of food, he asked me if I wanted some water. I told him I had a warm ginger ale I would try and drink to calm my stomach. He responded by getting a glass for me, filling it with ice, and remedying the "warm" part of my drink. Wow.
6. Jared told Karianna, "When you are married and you have your own children, I hope you look just as beautiful as your mommy."
7. We went to dinner last night for my mom's birthday/anniversary. Jared very randomly asked me if I had brought any Zantac with me-he knows heartburn is my biggest enemy right now. I said I hadn't even thought to bring any with me....he reaches in his pocket and pulls out not only a Zantac, but a Tums as well. He simply said, "I was thinking of you." This was after I had gotten frustrated at him at home for not loading the dishwasher as quickly as I would have liked....if that isn't love, I am not sure what is!

All in all-I love my husband, and I just want him to know that those little tokens of his love for, and committment to me speak louder than any words ever could. I am so blessed.

This is Jared posting for the first time. I real quick just wanted to tell my family how much I love them. I have been blessed and am so grateful for each one of them. I love you Rachel, Karianna, JD, Jordan, and soon to be baby Sara!

Memoirs of a First Time Parent

We are now three days into Karianna's kindergarten year and I have so many thoughts about how things are going thus far! I've been putting off this post because I'm not sure how to word them exactly, but I'll try to list a few thoughts here and hopefully refine them as the first quarter progresses. This is bound to be long-I tend to ramble when I am think-typing.

The First Day: Karianna's first day of school went great! Karianna and I had about 10 minutes to hang out together before I needed to take off. We turned in her immunization record and went to get in line with all the other gathering kinder kids; they line up in front of the office each day with a teacher, and once enough kids arrive, they are escorted to the playground. Karianna was pretty quiet, but she didn't seem over nervous or clingy at all. She looked so tall in a line of rather small children, and to me, she looked so old!

I kept asking her if she was feeling okay, and she kept telling me yes, but I wasn't sure if I believed her. Karianna can definitely be an introvert; sometimes I can't tell if her behavior is just that, or true blue nerves! When the teacher started escorting the kids to the playground (no parents allowed unless you check in!), I gave her a good hug and kiss and wished her an awesome first day. She said, "OK." I followed the kids to the gate and watched her disappear around the corner...she didn't even look back over her shoulder!!! Oh sadness! I think I mentioned this before, I just felt empty. Moms all around me were crying, looking back now, it was kind of funny. At the time though, it just felt weird and I hoped with all my heart she would feel comfortable.


Fast forward to after school. I picked Karianna up and she was perfectly happy; her teacher said she had a great day, to which I mentioned I had been nervous for her since she was acting so shy. Karianna piped up to retort, "Mom, I am NOT shy!" I stand corrected! I asked Karianna about a bazillion questions on the way home, which she answered, but she wasn't jumping to share a ton of information. Rather, she was acting like this she had been in school for years, and this was just the ordinary routine! I suppose I'll take that over having an awful first day-she did say she wanted to go back the next day, so again, Ill consider that successful.





The Second Day: Karianna's second day of school was more of what I imagined her first day would be like. She gave me a great big hug and exhuberantly yelled, "See ya Mom!" when I dropped her off at school. At pick up, she told me an exponentially greater amount of information about her day than the previous day. I learned all the rules, many classroom procedures, and all the names of the children that sit at Table 4 with Karianna. I was so tickled to hear all the things they had done that day, and especially tickled to see how excited Karianna was acting. She told me that some boys were putting sand in her hair at recess. I asked her what she did, and she said she had told the boys that wasn't very fair. The boys apparently stopped, and the problem was averted. Yea!! Solving problems was something I worried about for Karianna, and she did it on her own, and I am so proud of her!

So all in all, the first few days have gone great! Here's a few of my corresponding thoughts about everything; I know some of these thoughts are perhaps premature and they might chnage as time passes, but here they are nonetheless:

The School: So far, I love this school environment. The teachers have seemed so child-centered and genuinely interested in getting to know each student. I love how secure the campus is. I love how caring Karianna's teacher seems, and at the same time, how on the ball she is. I love the uniform situation. It's interesting, when Karianna gets home, she has a snack and then changes into play clothes. After 3 days, I have seen a literal difference in how she acts with her school clothes on and then how she acts with her play clothes on. Total difference! I also love that she is already making friends and remembering their names after only 2 days. That was another thing I was worried about and that seems to be working just fine. Overall, I feel so comfortable with her school, and that is a great feeling.

The Schedule: I love my daily schedule. It keeps me sane during the day knowing I have specific mealtimes, naptimes, playtimes, etc. I was a bit nervous about our school schedule, given that it would require a change for everyone in the family, particularly the boys since their nap was going to be much earlier in the day. I am finding that I love the changes in our schedule! My day seems to go by much faster; before I know it, 4:00 rolls around and its time to start prepping dinner! Our schedule is broken up into distinct time blocks and that has really helped me have the energy to get a lot accopmlished: I know a break will come soon, thus I am more willing to stay moving!

Jordan seems to be the only one right now really struggling to adjust, as he gets very tired around 5, but his head is confused by the remaining sunlight. Karianna seems to be all right until that same time when I notice her behavior getting a bit more erratic than normal, which usually signifies sleepiness. Thankfully, our schedule calms down drastically after our 5:00 dinner-story time, bath time, quiet movie time, and then bed time. I think next week those two kiddos will have their internal clocks all figured out and then things will run even smoother!

Time with the Boys: I love my time with the boys. Granted, Jordan still frustrates the crud out of me by playing with every off-limits item in the house! However, I find myself much more encouraged to actively engage with the boys in the morning, especially since I know nap comes quick. My time with JD has been especially welcome these last few days. Our conversations are more detailed; his imaginary play has become more intricate; his willingness to help with chores has increased. I almost see a greater sense of responsibility and independence now that Karianna is not here during the day to hold those titles. It's a really neat shift to experience, even after three days and I am very grateful for the chance to bond with the boys!

Soapbox Warning!

Homework: As a teacher, I loved the practice of homework. A lot of current research claims homework has no academic benefits and is a waste of time. I have always disagreed; if it is done correctly, homework does have great benefits. I was definitely curious to see how homework would feel from a mom perspective as opposed to a teacher perspective. The verdict, even after three days (which I get, might change, but here it is): I LOVE homework. I was very sad to send Karianna off to school when I have been her primary teacher for the last 5 years. I loved working with her and bonding with her as a result. I loved being so intimately aware of her learning habits, styles, and preferences. I loved seeing the connections, and how her personality shaped and molded her learning experience. It was difficult for me to let go of that since I know, after a full school day, the best I could expect in terms of continuing my teaching habits was homework time.

Given all my thoughts, I LOVE homework. It is now my time to bond with Karianna, to stay involved in a major part of her life (education), and to let her know I am interested in HER and what she is doing when she is away from me all day. I have to wonder how many parents view homework in this way. I do not view it as a bunch of extra worksheets to complete, or a waste of time that keeps kids from doing other fun activities. Hanging out with my little girl and giving her lots of compliments and learning right along with her IS a fun activitiy in my book and those 20 minutes of homework time for us has been awesome! This might be my favorite part of the day.

Energy: It has been much easier, as I previously mentioned, for me to keep my energy levels up. Yesterday, I had a doctor appointment and then a 3 hour glucose test to do. I also had an interview at 6:30 in the morning, which meant I was up at 5:30. I was also fasting for said glucose test. I didn't get home from all those appointments until 2:00. I had several vials of blood drawn, several pricks and thus bruises on my arms, no food in my stomach, and zero energy given that the sugar high from my glucose drink had long since dissipated. I was expecting to have a movie afternoon so I could pass out.

Thus, it majorly surprised me that I had a huge burst of energy when Karianna got home. We played make up with the boys, conducted a rousing game of baseball, cleaned the kitchen together, drew pictures, organized the toy bins, and before I knew it, it was 5:00 and time to get dinner going. The reason? I miss Karianna during the day, and no part of me wants to waste the time that I do get with her. This fact alone has acted as a huge internal motivator to keep my energy levels up; I almost feel like it gives me a chemical reaction of extra endorphins! Whatever the case may be, I am so grateful for the extra energy, I just hope it continues when my three kids turn into four.

That's all I got for now. I don't think I typed enough. Is anyone still reading this? :) If so, you are incredible-you get a million points! Woo hoo!

I'm such a first time mom right now! Gotta love it!

The Memorable Picture Post

I've had a bunch of random, often hilarious pictures to post for a while now, and figured I'd bunch them all into one post! I love the antics of my kiddos; they make me laugh and tend to drive all the stresses of the day miles away! Thanks guys-you are the best!

Jordan loves to take pictures. He will race in front of the camara to pose the second I take it out and yell CHEESE as loud as he can! I caught him in the middle of this very act, and I think it pretty obvious that he is "cheesing" it up for the lens!

After Karianna's second day of school, she asked to play make up once her homework was done. So I pulled out some of my old make up and brushes, and she just had a ball with it. Little did I know that she had also planned to give both JD and Jordan makeovers. Their reaction? JD said, "This is so cool!" and "I look beautiful!" I quickly corrected him to say "I look handsome!" If you are going to put make up on a boy, you better at least make it manly.

A few days ago I gave JD and Karianna pudding for a snack. When I did that, I didn't pause to consider that it would end up all over JD's face! He wasn't even being silly-he didn't realize he was making such a mess. I carried him over to a mirror and when he saw his face, he froze and just stared, looking a little scared, as if he was looking at a monster. It was pretty funny. Thereafter, he just thought he was cool. We might not be doing pudding for a while lest it turn into a face mask for any unsuspecting sibling.

When Karianna was barely one year old, we dressed her up for her first Halloween. She wore a care bear costume that was a size 2T, but we made it work on her small body because that was her baby nickname. A few days ago, we were sifting through a box of old baby clothes, pulling out clothes that baby Sara could wear. Karianna was very sad that she could not fit into the dresses any longer, at one point saying, "Man I wish I could just shrink my body." In order to make herself feel better, she pulled out her care bear costume and decided it would, in fact, still fit her. I didn't believe her. I was wrong! JD had to get into the fun of it as well and donned an old Barney costume. I'm not sure how long it took me to stop laughing!

Karianna, JD, and Jordan are very aware at this point that baby Sara is growing in my tummy. If I ask Jordan where baby Sara is, he'll immediately come lay by me and rub my belly very very gently before attempting to lift up my shirt and poke his finger into my belly button-as if it will help him bond with Sara in utero! Karianna and JD are a bit more sophisticated in their bonding techniques. I know tons of kids have done this before, but mine never have, so it tickled me when Karianna and JD put balls under their shirts and paraded around the house with baby Sara growing in their tummies! The cute thing is, JD did it first...usually it is Karianna who instigates silly things like this! I am guessing, by how JD is carying his baby, that he is experiencing a lot of heartburn...talking about being in tune with his mother!

JD and Jordan love to wrestle each other. And chase each other. And recently punch each other, but we are working on remedying that nursery-induced habit. It pleases me so very much, then, to see them playing so nicely together once every millenia or so. They have recently been into building trains and pushing them around the wood floors screeching "CHOO CHOO!" Very adorable boys, sans the clothes and everything!

Karianna loves to make tents these days. The only bad thing about this is she usually instigates a "No Boys Allowed!" rule regarding entrance. She says she is pretending to be Leslie from The Bridge to Terabithia and that the boys are all the terabithian creatures that try to invade Leslie and Jess' treehouse. For that explanation, I make the boys leave her alone. I love the connection!

Sometimes JD insists on wearing a pink, floppy hat. All day. He is very protective of it. Sometimes I wonder if I should worry about this, but I don't because he claims ownership over the fireman hat just as frequently as the pink, floppy hat. For that, I am thankful.

First Haircut

I love it when little boys have cute, curly locks at the nape of their neck! However, there comes a time in every little boy's life where those adorable locks probably need to disappear in the name of a proper haircut. So it was with great sadness this evening that I gave Jordan his first haircut. Just looking at his "before" picture makes me miss those little curlies! I loved sitting with him during church and absentmindedly curling his hair around my finger. It had hit a point though where I was considering conditioning his hair every night becuase it was getting snarles in it. Thus the haircut ensued. Karianna read a book to Jordan to keep his attention while I curled my legs around his little body to avoid abrupt movements. I am not professional by any means (ha ha, just look at JD's hair and you'll find the evidence for that statement!). But I think I did an okay job!

Bye bye curlies! The back of Jordan's head just looks a slight bit naked now! I must admit though, he does look older to me, almost like the last bit of his babyhood has left his little body! Most of the time when I tell people he is 18 months old, they give me this look like, you've got to be kidding me. I don't blame them-he's a little guy by the charts and he has that baby look about him. I think I might be getting less of those comments now!

Such a handsome man either way, I sure do love this little guy! First haircut under the belt, maybe we should attempt potty training next week since it went so well for JD? Yeah, maybe I need to rethink that! :)

First Day of Kindergarten!

It's here! The first day of Kindergarten! And actually-it's almost over too! I get to go pick up my big-little girl in less than an hour. I'm so glad this day went by quick, although I handled it better than I thought I would, I have felt "empty" all morning. I have been looking at the clock nearly every hour thinking of what Karianna was probably doing in class! My goal for her first day was for it to be a positive one overall: to feel comfortable with her new friends, to feel comfortable with her new teacher, and to feel comfortable with new surroundings and procedures. If she comes home saying she wants to go back tomorrow, I will be a happy camper!


Karianna was SO excited when we woke her up this morning. She got all dolled up in her new school clothes and helped me pack her pre planned lunch. She decided to leave her hair straight rather than curl it (darnit, it looked so cute all curled for church yesterady!). We did the traditional photo shoot by the front door, backpack and all. JD was convinced he was going to kindergarten too, I think he might really miss Karianna when she is gone during the day! He won't be alone in that sentiment!

After breakfast, we took some quiet moments as a family to give Karianna a special school blessing. We all felt such a sweet spirit as Jared pronounced that blessing. He reminded her that she is a daughter of God; he blessed her to do her best at academics and to make friends quickly. He blessed her to feel safe in her new classroom and to follow directions well. He finally blessed her to know that her family loves her so very much. I am so glad Jared is able to carry on this tradition that I experienced growing up. I hope Karianna felt comforted during her blessing!

We snapped one family shot before heading to the car! Drop off for kinder kids happens after the older grades begin their school day, so we didn't have to fight traffic or crowds of kids.

We had about five minutes of down time before the kinder teachers came to escort them to their playground. During that time, I got to answer Karianna's last minute questions, give her lots of hugs, and just hold her hand. Karianna was a little quiet, but overall, seemed like a pro! She barely gave me a backwards glance as the kids trotted into the playground (its a closed campus, so that's where I left her). That's when the empty feeling started, I wasn't sure what to do with myself after she left my line of vision! I know she will have a wonderful day and I know she is going to love learning. What a big step for Karianna, I am so lucky to be blessed with this little girl in my life. The last few weeks have been full of strengthening moments in my relationship with Karianna, and although I will be seeing less of her, I feel as if we have grown closer together.

So Kariana has just grown up! In essence, I have grown up too because I now have a daughter in school! Changes are in the air, and I am grateful for all the blessings the Lord has chosen to bestow upon us. I get to pick Karianna up in about 35 minutes now! Woo hoo!

Preparing for Kindergarten

Last Thursday was Meet the Teacher Day for Karianna! I am not sure who was more excited-me or Karianna. This is such a new experience for me, being at the beginning of the school year from the mom perspective rather than the teacher perspective. I was really excited to see how Karianna's teacher was prepping the room, the schedule, and the curriculum in general. Karianna was really excited too; she guess that her teacher was going to have short, straight hair and that her name was going to be "Mrs. Hair". That led to several silly moments in the car ride to Self-Development Charter School! When we got there, we found Karianna's classroom, which is situated just off the kinder playground. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Salvatori and Karianna's comment about her as we were going home was, "She sounds just like a mom...and she is pretty." Pretty much translated to, "I'm gonna like this lady!" We got to meet a lot of the children in Karianna's class, including our next door neighbor! It would be awesome if they hit it off right away. Karianna's classroom is very friendly as well. I personally loved the environment. I just envisioned a very welcoming, safe space for Karianna's first year of schol, with a caring, motherly, warm teacher...I think that's what we got, thus I am pleased for Karianna's sake! She is just as excited after meeting her teacher to embark on her first day of school. For this, I am very grateful!

Next step in preparing for the first day of kindergarten-planning a lunch menu! Karianna got pretty used to a lunchbox during preschool, but I still wanted her to feel very involved in her kindergarten lunch. I put out all the potential lunchbox items on the table, and she planned her menu. She then took it upon herself to start the love note that I was supposed to send in her lunchbox! She drew a picture of an ice cream cone, wrote that on the paper, and proceeded to pack it into her lunchbox! Hey, less work for me, right? Hee hee, wait to take initiative Karianna! I just love that she was that excited!

Just before going to bed, Karianna picked out her clothes for the first day of school. She has red or white shirts and blue bottoms-dress, skirt, or shorts. She opted for a jumper and a white shirt. I love how she laid everything out on her bed, something I didn't direct. she even put her little shorts under the jumper, her socks under the skirt, and her shoes perfectly positioned on the floor! She just seems so responsible to me sometimes (and a tad bit OCD). I am really going to miss that during the day!

So it looks like we are all ready for the first day of school! Our alarm clocks are set to go off at 6:30; lunch is ready to be packed; backpack is waiting by the door; and I am already feeling a slight bit empty inside! We opted to do Karianna's school blessing in the morning since the boys went to bed a little earlier and we want them to see such a cool tradition starting in our home. I took a few minutes Sunday night to explain to Karianna's the special nature of a school blessing and her comment back to me was, "I have faith that my blessing will help me do GREAT at school!" I could have said the same statement, I would just add big crocodile tears to it! Despite that, I am so excited to send Karianna on her way tomorrow morning. I love that little girl so much!

Final Progress Report

Well, we are at the one week mark of potty training for JD and at this point, I will just conclude that he is officially potty trained! I'm not sure when we will will officially switch him to underwear at nighttime, but otherwise, he is diaper-less and accident-less all the time. I am so proud of him, and I love this extra aire of responsibility that he seems to have. He survived our trip to Sahuarita on Saturday with flying colors-we didn't even have to stop midway during the drive to take a potty break! He also did great during nursery on Sunday. We haven't had an accident since Tuesday and he's not constipated at all...all around, I would call that success! I'm willing to bet we have the occasional accident in our future, but overall, I now only have ONE child in diapers....I'll get to enjoy that for 9 more weeks. Guess I better savor the sweetness.

Potty Progress: Day 4

As we are driving down to Sahuarita on Saturday, I decided to test JD today by taking Jared to work-round trip, about an hour and 40 minutes. He did awesome! No accidents at all, but I was also vigilant in asking him every 20 minutes or so if he needed to go. As such, I am fairly optimistic that our 4 hour drive round trip on Saturday will go well.

Potty quirk of the day...the kids are taking early naps since I am, for some reason, very dizzy and shaky this morning. All that driving, maybe; who knows. Anyhow, I laid JD down for nap-same as yesterday, we nixed the diaper for nap. About 10 minutes into it, he told me it was potty time. I told him to go to the bathroom on his own and go potty. I went in there after a few minutes and he was staring into the toilet. He says:

"Mama, I did poo poos! The big poo poo is standing up....and the little poo poo is laying down-he's taking a nap, just like JD!"

Sure enough, when I looked (oh the things moms will do), he was absolutely correct in his observation. I remember when Karianna was newly potty trained and she commented one day that her poop looked like a Nemo fish. So interesting how intrigued kids are by poop. Then again, I have commented on the same topic 4 days in a row now, so perhaps that intrigue doesn't end with childhood...

Potty Progress: Day Three

I am so betting this whole potty progress thing is just like The Truman Show...y'all are rivetted, aren't you? :)

Definitely the best day for JD's potty training so far. No accidents yet, and I haven't been timing JD at all-I've just been relying on aksing him every now and then and letting him tell me when he has to go. He has done so good with telling me all morning that I decided to keep him in underwear during his afternoon nap. He sleeps in my room on a camping cot, so if he needs to go, I'll be right there to help him. Here's a few funny potty quirks about JD that just make me laugh:

1. The biggest motivator for him to avoid accidents: "JD, don't do poo poos in your underwear or else Cookie Monster will get poo poos all over his face!" He thinks that's hilarious and when Jared comes home, he'll report his progress thus: "Daddy, I didn't get poo poos on Cookie Monster's face today! That's weird!"
2. JD's manner of telling me he has to go-"Potty Time Mama!" with the biggest smile on his face...he so knows he is doing something cool!
3. Using the toilet and cockroaches are definitely related. JD still tells me that if he pees on the floor, cockroaches will come. Not sure why, but this is another major motivator. Hey, whatever works! It works for picking your nose too...
4. When JD goes to wipe, he takes about 5 miniscule pinches of toilet paper off the roll. I have demonstrated multiple times how to pull off a normal amount in one clean swipe, but no, he insists on pinching.
5. This is probably just the mommy in me, but the cutest thing in my book: JD is OCD about cleaning up any "drips" that are on his potty seat when he is done. Good habit, I guess!

Karianna Quirks

Karianna and I were unpacking the final box of baby clothes for Sara, just to see what was usable and what was not usable (ie, covered in spit up as Karianna was a very vomit-y baby and I was unaware that stain remover pens existed). The box happened to have tons of dresses and matching hats in it. Karianna just exlaimed how cute each dress was-she was really sad that she very obviously couldn't fit into them now. At one point, she sighed very heavily and said:

"Man, I wish I could just shrink my body."

Oh, the pain and suffering she has to endure!

Potty Progress: Day Two

I know I'm only 3 hours into our day, but I wanted to record this anyway-still plenty of time for accidents, which Im sure will come, I was just so proud of JD! Yesterday was a good first day of potty training, but I was a little concerned that not once did JD tell me he had to go potty, not even in a false alarm situation. I told Jared last night that I thought it might take a while for JD to actually recognize when he needs to go to the bathroom.

Here's how the day has gone so far: JD used the potty about half an hour after waking up on my direction. Great job! About an hour later, he TOLD me he needed to go potty, and sure enough he did! What made it even greater is I was in the middle of fixng the TV when he told me that; I honestly thought it was a false alarm, so I just told him to go to the bathroom, take off his underwear and climb on the potty. When I came in a minute later, he was climbing down and sure enough, he had done his business. Just awesome! About half an hour after that, he came out of his room telling me he had poo poos. My heart sank because I thought that meant he had an accident-which he did, albeit a very small accident. He climbed onto the potty nonethless, on his own and proceeded to...um...expell the larger portion of his business. Double yea! Even though he might not have caught it at the very beginning, I was so proud of him for recognizing what was happening and knowing he needed to get to the potty ASAP!

Small and simple things that just make my day go so much better. I have also discovered today that I can keep Jordan out of trouble for a good 20 minutes if I give him the tub of trains to play with. Karianna also made me smile today because she announced after breakfast that she wanted to do chores today-and then proceeded to wipe down much of the floor, the TV, and the table with lysol wipes.

Finally, I did in fact fix the TV and we now have PBS functioning from both TVs! Weird thing is, our bedroom TV only shows PBS on channel 6, kid shows starting at 7 AM. The family room TV only shows PBS on channel 8, kid shows starting at 9 AM. So the kids watched Sid the Science Kid in my room at 7:30 this morning, and then it was on again (same episode) at 9:30 in the family room. Strange? I'm not going to complain honestly, I've missed these fun shows that don't make me feel at all guilty about letting my kids watch TV while I try and clean house.

Hopefully the rest of this day goes just as swimmingly as the morning has gone; I know I am going to run out of steam within a few hours tops, crossing my fingers that my morning productivity will be able to run on fumes until Jared gets home!

Monumental Week

Here's how the week will probably play out:

Monday: Start the potty-training phase of JD's life! Not dealing with any pull-ups, rewards, consequences, nothing. We are just going cold turkey and nixing the diapers all together in favor of big boy underwear and frequent trips to the potty. Wish us luck! Also on the Monday docket-no more binky for Jordan. He's been without it during the day for several months, and only uses it during naptime and at night. That's going down the tube. I gotta whip these kiddos in shape before Sara makes her appearance in a few months! Better start now, especially if I want to get JD nighttime potty trained AND get Jordan into a big boy bed...

*Update-4 successes and 1 accident today for JD, including two...varieties of successes! To the second variety, he excitedly told me, "Mama, I did TWO poo poos-one big poo poo and one little poo poo! The poo poos did a splash in the potty water!" Yea for JD! I must admit, going into the bathroom with him every hour is tiresome, but also entertaining because our potty-side discussions are so interesting (they are also punctuated with grunts and strains, which makes it all the more hilarious). I have noticed during these conversations that JD has a lot of Karianna quirks in him. He'll emphatically answer a question with a triple no, and it sounds just like Nana. Or he'll playfully slap his thighs and shake his head when laughing, and again-its just like Nana! Maybe he's just growing up in my eyes by wearing uber cool Elmo undies, he's getting closer to Karianna-age by the hour!

Tuesday: Label all of Karianna's school items and let her decorate the front of her folders with stickers. All part of the process of transitioning seamlessly into the kindergarten routine!

Wednesday: Up Jordan's training in the field of "How to avoid playing with things that are off-limits". I tell ya, all Jordan wants to do these days are things he isn't supposed to do! He'll pull anything that he can stand on in order to climb on the top of the couches. He makes a mad dash into the office or my bedroom anytime the door is accidently left open, only to find push pins, cups of water, or hammers to play with. And of course, the bathroom is great fun-today he managed to splash half of the potty water out of the potty before I heard him. Maybe worst of all is his tendancy to either pull all the DVDs off the shelf and scatter them throughout the house, OR pull pictures out of the picture albums and then run like a giggling hyena when I try to retrieve them. Grrr. Such a toddler. Also on the schedule-utilize the service babysitting by our young women and go on a date with Jared. Yea! How often do we get to do that??? This date might involve car shopping...we need to do our research first.

Thursday: Go to Karianna's Meet-The-Teacher-Night and....um....meet the teacher. It will be another good step in that seamless transition we were talking about earlier. Plus I get the school/kindergarten handbook to read and highlight, which is majorly exciting me! I'm a geek, I know. Karianna's only moment of school anxiety so far has come in the form of her being nervous about not knowing her teacher. Going to meet-the-teacher night will be very beneficial for her, especially since I get to be there with her for the comfort factor. Karianna has an amazing memory, and I have no doubt that after we meet her teacher and probably a lot of her new classmates, she will talk nonstop about them throughout the weekend. It will give us a good choice to really talk up the first day of school in a comforting way. Good stuff.

Friday: Go grocery shopping for lunchbox items and any last minute school things Karianna might need. Hopefully have JD at a good potty training point where he can actually tell me when he needs to do his business. Potentially revisit the whole car shopping thing.

Saturday: Day trip to Sahaurita (totally spelled that wrong) to visit the Hammerquists for Makayla's birthday! We really love day trips to visit the Southern cousins. Major test day for JD's potty expertise, and Jordan's binky business considerng we'll be napping elsewhere.

Sunday: Jared gets to give Karianna her traditional start-of-school blessing. What a special thing. I have such fond memories of these blessings from my dad. Of course, I had to sit through 8 of them each time, which definitely tries your reverence... :) I'm so glad I had that experience though and glad Jared is a worthy priesthood holder who can initiate this wonderful tradition. We'll also lay out school clothes, pack Karianna's backpack and plan out a lunch menu. She has already requested a "love note" that says something along the lines "Dear Karianna, I love you so much and I promise we will go get ice cream after your first day of school! Love, Mom". I think I can handle that!

So all in all-maybe not such a monumental week, but one that I feel like is representative of major changes. My little girl is preparing for kindergarten. I don't know if I am mentally ready for that! My little boy has no visible features of being a baby anymore-I mean, he is wearing Cookie Monster underwear!!! Sheez Louise! And certainly "baby" Jordan has lost the innocence of babyhood and completely embraced the mischeviousness of toddlerhood. Sigh. I just feel change in the air.

I think I'll go sneak into the kids' rooms and rock them for a minute. If I close my eyes, I can pretend they are still my little babies.

JD Quirks

Mom: JD, why did you eat Karianna's granola bar?

JD: I didn't eat Karianna's granola bar. My sharp teeth ate Karianna's granola bar.

Wow. How do you argue with that piece of pure, guiltless logic?

Weekend in Flag

We headed up to Flagstaff for the last weekend in July-kind of like a final vacation hurrah before we dove into school. I think we are pretty good at staying on the cheap side of vacations and this one was no different-all of our activities were outdoors and it was a blast! I love spending time with my family and exposing the kids to new views and experiences; I wish we could do it more often! This vacation was no exception, just a ton of fun to hang out with the kiddos in a very relaxed manner! Just love it!

We started off by hitting the red rocks of Sedona! This is one of Jared and my favorite places, as we spent our honeymoon here. We have vowed to go back once I get my non-pregnant body back to do some hiking. We didn't stay for too long, just long enough to walk around a bit and show the kids the beauty of the red rocks. I am always astounded, not only at the colors, but at the rock formations! The kids each picked their "favorite mountains" and took a picture with it. JD and Jordan were pretty cute, holding each other's hands most of the time since we were in a parking lot. As much as Jared wants me to, I love that Jordan's hair is so...full at the back! Wafts in the wind beautifully, doesn't it? :)

I LOVE this shot of Jordan, with his lovely long locks!

JD's favorite mountain

Karianna's favorite mountain.

After hitting Sedona, we stopped a little further down the road at a Fish Farm (sportin' a ton of trout). It was an ideal fish farm to visit when you look at it from a kid perspective-just a few ponds with lots of trout and well guarded viewing/fishing areas.

We rented a pole and the kids all got to fish a little bit. They learned how to bait, cast, and wait for the tug. JD and Karianna wanted to hold the pole the entire time; Jordan got bored with it after a few minutes and just wanted to jump in the water, which I kindly informed him was not possible.

After about 15 minutes, we caught a fish and the kids were SO overjoyed to pull it up and ensnare it in the net! Each one of them touched the fish briefly, but turned down the opportunity to eat it (you can pay to BBQ the fish there). We ended up giving the fish away to a nearby family, but the experience was so worth it! And if anyone is wondering, yes, it was difficult to manage the net while very pregnant, with a 22 pound toddler in my free arm. That trout was hefty!

Teaching the kids how to hang on to that there pole!

Our grand prize! Yea!

Coercing the kids into touching the fish.

A family picture that I love-taken at the Fish Farm.

JD and Karianna showing how you can make the beautiful scenery even more beautiful!

We headed straight to our hotel in Flagstaff after wiping all the fish film off our hands with gallons of hand sanitizer. Our hotel experience wasn't awful, but it wasn't great either. We arrived at 3 pm (which is check in time) only to be told our room wouldn't be ready for 20 more minutes. In lieu of waiting, I left Jared at the front desk and took the kids outside to a small patch of grass next to the pool. They were just running around letting off steam when I noticed Jordan's legs had disappeared and he seemed to have shrunk several inches. I come to fine out he has stepped into a huge muddy patch. Of course, before i could get to him, he face planted it. Covered in mud. Sigh. I hosed him off just in time for our room to be ready....sigh again.

After that adventure, I was just in the mood to relax a bit, which we did only to realize that a 2 room suite really is a very small area for 2 adults and 3 energetic toddlers/preschoolers. Even the lure of a movie couldn't calm them down. So despite a light sprinkle, we headed down to the heated pool for some swimming, which was actually quite enjoyable. We enjoyed a cheap lunchable dinner later on, a hotel-side viewing of "Monsters vs. Aliens", and then headed to bed.

I was pretty impressed at that point with the kids. Perhaps it was our adult genius of just exhausting the kids until 10 pm and then putting them to bed with the knowledge that they'd be tired enough to just pass out....whatever the case, it worked and all three kids were out like a lightbulb. Somehow I don't think a 2 room suite is going to cut it for much longer, especially when Sara gets here....

On Sunday, we wanted to make sure we were honoring the Sabbath as much as possible. We ate a wonderful breakfast courtesy the hotel's amazing omelette man (free!) and headed out early for a day in the mountains. We had planned a while ago to trial run the whole camping scene, as I am very nervous to go camping with our kids-mainly because of the campfire situation.

So we drove up nearby Snowbowl and just let the kids hike around for a while. Again, so much fun watching the kids discover new things! Karianna gathered up an amazing collection of pine cones. We examined the pine trees and of course, the occasional cow pies. JD and Jordan just kept running in and out of the trees, it made me realize how very small the kids still are!

Once we started the campfire, JD was all about collecting firewood and tossing it in. Jared gave the kids some fire safety rules and they did very well with the fire in general-really quelled my fears of camping with the kids. Jordan did have to be sequestered in his stroller, but he didn't seem to mind. We cooked some hot dogs over the campfire, which the kids seemed to love and further explored what happens when you throw various food and garbage items into the fire. As a kid, I remember being very intrigued by how fast the fire would burn up napkins, paper plates, etc. Karianna was the same way!

We had a great time hanging out and eating, but had to make a very fast getaway because it started to pour. Had we known the pouring would only last about ten minutes, we might have stayed! But we ended up heading down the mountain and back towards Mesa. I would have liked to stop at slide rock, but at that point, everyone was pooped out and slide rock was PACKED with half naked people, so we continued on our merry way.

All in all-great times with the family. I managed to have everything unpacked within an hour of getting home-even had a load of laundry going! Jared managed to have the kids bathed, dinner started, and the car cleaned out within that same hour! We sure paid for it later (talk about a tired belly and a sore back!), but it definitely was nice to avoid major unpacking the next day! Next up-an actual bonafide camping trip over Labor Day...wish me and my pregnant belly luck!


Jordan getting into the camping spirit by trying to toss this into the fire pit.

After spreading out the picnic blanket, the boys seemed to think it was meant for naptime!

Jordan looks SO small amidst the pine trees!

Karianna's beloved collection of pine cones (only about 1/56 of it).

The whole family eating our hot dogs-which were really good!

All about the campfire, this one was! I'm just glad he didn't fall in.