Some hard times...

We've been having a hard time this week. The kids (the older ones) have not been being nice to each other...again. We go to the park together a few times during the week and I feel like this is the only time that they are nice to each other. So we fight the morning battle and go to the park where I can get a bit of peace and quiet....sometimes.

Hannah and Ben went to the dentist on Tuesday. Hannah got frightened and freaked out in the waiting room. She screamed and cried for about 15 minutes and finally agreed to sit on my lap in the chair. Then the hygienist came in...another freak out but this one was the "silent treatment" with no eye contact and her lips shut tight. Fun. After what seemed like an eternity, the hygienist managed to get her to open her mouth (at her own will), talk about princesses and Dora and clean her teeth! Go Shawnee!! A quick race to the treasure chest after she was given her bag of goodies and she was out of there! This was her second time to the dentist and last time she did wonderfully! Even the dentist commented on how she did well last time (see December 17, 2005)! So sad...one can only hope that the next time is muuuuch better. *fingers crossed*

Here's the update on the caterpillars:
Monday (June 26th) we went to check on them and they were outside their chrysallis's and getting ready for flight! So awesome to see them go through the cycle! Here are the pics.







And look we have some more caterpillars to watch! This time there are about 4 around the house. Cool!

Picky picky picky

I have known many picky eaters in my life. Many of them were/are children and only a handful of them are adults. I don't like picky eaters. Unfortunately, I have two picky eaters at my dinner table every night. It drives me insane. I haven't changed the way I cook food, the menu, the spices, their seats. They just won't eat.

We have tried everything to get them to eat dinner... Not feeding them (no snacks) all afternoon from lunch until dinner - doesn't work. Not worrying about it or making a big deal out of it - doesn't work. Forcing them to eat every bite - doesn't work. Making them eat their dinner if they are hungry and ask for food later on - doesn't work. Feeding them with a fork or spoon - doesn't work. Making funny faces out of their food on their plates - doesn't work. Spicing things up and having plain ole food - neither work. Eating earlier...or later - nope! Having them in charge of what they want to eat by having them serve themselves - doesn't work! Putting sugar on it - well we haven't tried this but I'm thinking that it won't work.

Hannah is the worst at it and the most stubborn. She will not eat, if she doesn't want to. Some days she decides that she doesn't want to eat from the beginning and states "I don't feel like eating". She saw this work when Ben had the flu and didn't have the appetite to eat, and thinks that it should be OK all the time.

It is the most frustrating time of the day because they won't eat after I've (or Corey has) cooked a meal. I'm at a loss. We have been having dinner together as a family at the table since Ben was born and we'd like to continue doing it, but if they aren't eating, we are arguing about them needing to eat and it isn't a pleasant experience.

They DO eat lunch and a big breakfast on most mornings and aren't picky about that most of the time. The picky-ness, they save that just for dinner.

I don't like picky eaters and I hope this phase soon goes away!

Saunter...

Corey, Benjamin, Hannah and Noah in the carrier (not seen) saunter across the bridge

~

This weeks theme at Mama Says Om go on over to check them out for more sautering.

Caterpillars...

Well they haven't done much since they enclosed themselves in a chrysalis the other day. The kids and I have been checking them out every morning and evening to make sure they are still there. They are and haven't done much since I last posted pictures. On Saturday Nanny came to watch the kids and while she was here there was a bunch that were heading from the grass to the house. One new one is on the eave of the house but alas...I think he has been killed by some spiders. yum! I'll try to get a current picture of them tomorrow. The kids can't wait for them to turn into butterflies, I'm starting to think that it will never be. But I don't know how long it takes for them to be ready and come out and that site I referred to before said that it could take 3 days or 3 weeks... So we'll have to see.

math...

About 2 or 3 weeks ago Ben came up to me and said "Mommy 3 and 3 makes 6" I was slightly surprised with this statement and then we talked about some more math. He had been looking at one of Noah's toys that has 2 rows of 3 lights. Later on that week we were in the car and he said "Mommy 2 and 3 make 5" I asked him what that was and he said "Math". This time he was seeing Corey and I in the front seat and the 3 kids in the back. He is really interested in it and so we're going with it just doing how much or little he feels like doing. He is learning to write his numbers! AND showing Hannah how to do them (I caught him showing Hannah how to make a 5 this morning) I'm so proud of him.

Father's Day...

My kids have a wonderful Dad. He takes care of them, loves them, plays with them, sleeps with them, wipes their boogers and tears, takes them to the park or mountains or swimming... When Benjamin was born and home from the hospital, he would take him to give me a break. I would find him asleep on the couch with Ben cuddled on his tummy or on his chest. He did the same for when Hannah and Noah were born. Ben used to climb onto his Daddy's neck (while he was laying down on the floor) and bounce and bounce. It was hysterical and still brings us to hysterics when we talk about it. Hannah loves her Daddy and sometimes he is all she wants to be with. Noah crawls or nearly jumps out of my arms when his Daddy comes home from work...yes already at almost 8 months old. Our Daddy loves his family and his kids know that he would do anything for them. And they love him unconditionally.

Happy Father's Day!

So we decided to have a party for him and the other Dads in the family. Our kids LOVE parties and today was no exception. We made a big banner for Daddy, Grandpa and Grandad and hung it over the table for all to see. Marissa helped to decorate it when she got here. We had a potluck brunch at our house and I've decided that I love potlucks. My life is so much easier when everyone contributes to the meal. We have vegetarian and vegan members of the family as well as meat eaters and planning for everyone is difficult. So they bring what they want to contribute and everyone is happy. Tha party was a hit and all the Dads left with presents from their children and hearts filled with love from their family.

Caterpillar update...

Well yesterday was the first day after we 'caught' the caterpillar. We were playing outside and lo and behold we found one more, then another and then another until the grand total caterpillars found ouside was 5! They are all (but one) hanging under the eaves of the house. The last one is hanging in a plant that I discovered while watering it. This one is much easier for the kids to view because the others are so high up.

The one in the plant (it looks like it's hanging from the red part)

So yesterday all they were doing was hanging from one end like in this picture. They had a bit of silk coming from one end but they weren't moving much. Just hanging.

Just hanging

And today they are fully (or mostly) covered with their chrysallis. But this one is still poking out. It is amazing to watch and the kids are all into it. They don't want to nap because they have to keep care of the caterpillars.

This one is still poking out a bit

This one (below) is fully enclosed-looks lie a butterfly already through the 'shell'

So until next time....when the story of the gulf fritillary caterpillar continues...

Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar...

Hannah ran into the house last evening and said that she found a caterpillar. I ran out with her to find him and he was on the move... climbing so fast that we barely found him in the crack of the wall of the house. But we found him and he didn't get too far after that. We snapped some pics and then we went to get Ben's bughouse from the house. Ben was in the garage with Corey, we didn't want him to get away so we captured him and took the caterpillar to him.

Oh ... how cool!

Now he's in the bughouse and off to the net I went in search of his name. Here's what I found out. He seems to be a sort of gulf fritillary caterpillar that molts and eventually turns into a butterfly.

Ben doesn't want his bughouse to be where he molts and makes a chrysalis so we are looking for a new home for our new little bug friend...we'll also need some food. :-)

our budding artist...

We all know and love children's drawings ... full of character and full of life. Our budding artist today is Hannah. She loves her sidewalk chalk, makes a spot all her own and goes for it. Today was on the front steps and she drew Noah and herself! A self-portrait! Here she is showing off her masterpiece. I think she would've done the whole family but ran out of time.

new sensations...

Ben, Noah and I went to the park today. (Hannah stayed home to help Daddy cook dinner!) Noah loves the sand. At just under 8 months old he doesn't understand that it isn't good to eat yet but what fun to play with! He grabs at it and lets it trickle down onto his leg. We sat in the sand for a long time while they explored in the sand. Ben tried to cover himself because "he was cold and the sand was warm". Noah kept busy trying to fish out the eucalyptus leaves from the sand - another yummy thing to eat.

Noah's sand play

Ben's sand play

All about Diego...

Ben loves Diego. This is Dora the Explorer's cousin. He's an animal rescuer and rescues animals from all over the place (sea turtles, spectacled bears, penguins, three-toed sloths, blue morpho butterflies....) He thinks Diego and Hannah thinks Dora. They LOVE the show on TV but they REALLY LOVE the new movie Nanny has at her house. It's called Diego's Great Dinosaur Rescue. He helps a Maiasaurus get back to where she needs to be. They call her "Maya" and she's yellow.

We went to the San Diego Natural History Museum today. There were some dinosaurs on display but there will be more on display in a few weeks because a whole section was closed off. We'll have to go back to see more. We visited the Dinosaurs: Reel and Robotic section. At first, Hannah was a little frightened of them because they were so big and robotic so they were moving and making noise! They were huge! It was very cool. All Hannah wanted to do after a while though was sit underneath and stare at the T-Rex. Ben was in awe and very excited about it all. Yesterday, we made a dinosaur book together that we can read and learn about lots of different dinosaurs. We saw many of the dinosaurs that we included in our book in the museum display today. Noah had enough and slept most of the time. After a few hours at the museum we came home to rest our weary bones!

Standing up....

Noah has decided to stand up. I thing that he thinks that sitting and crawling is boring. He loves to stand. He pulls himself up now. Just the beginning...did I mention that he is just 7 months old?

Graduate!

Today we went to my brother's graduation from the University of San Diego Law School. He is such a hard worker and has accomplished so much in all of his studies and . We are very proud of him. He will go far... now it's on to the bar exam in July! Happy studying Chris!

My brother Chris and our parents

ugh...I dropped my camera and hope it is OK!!!! The zoom button popped out but I think I got it back in where it should be!! crossing fingers!!!!

Gardening...

We are growing lots of stuff in our garden this year. We have beans, peas, snap peas, zucchini, cucumber, radishes, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cantaloupe, delicata squash along with some sunflowers that should grow to be mammoth size! So far that is what we have planted. We still have some other melon types and some pumpkins that we will grow also. We probably won't have enough to get into a pot though because as soon as the kids spot a bean or a pea that is ready to be picked, they pick it and eat it. It looks like we will have to grow more of those so that we can enjoy them more. We will have to see how the other 'crops' do...and for that we are waiting for that nice warm sun to stay out longer than it has.
Today we went to the nursery to find some tape for our trellis (the vines seem to need some help in the beginning to go up the bamboo) and the kids got some squirt bottles. They love to use squirt bottles to water the plants. As we were getting back home Ben said, "Well let's get to the back yard and do some gardening!" We couldn't wait to get our hands in the dirt!

Bees...

Ben and Hannah were playing today with all their friends at the park today. They were running from one tree and back playing "bees". Then they would hide in the bushes and keep playing. They were having so much fun running free. On their way back to me, Ben started screaming that he had a splinter, so I ran to see what I could do. It turns out that he got stung on the bottom of his foot. The stinger was not there (I think he puled it out himself). I put a cold wipe on it and it seemed to be a little better. He put his shoes on after that. Then about 30 minutes later his friend Gabriel got stung on his hand! Wow, 2 stings in one day. I think Ben will remember this and agree to put his shoes on when I ask him to.

I just think it is strange that they were playing "bees" and then they got stung...makes me wonder....

Fishing...

Last night while we were at the graduation party, my Dad gave Ben and Marissa a fly fishing vest. Ben loves it because Marissa got one and his Daddy has one. Hannah loves to fish too and wondered where hers was. GranDad told her that he would look for one in her size. Here is one! Ben and Hannah practice fishing at least once or twice a week from the garage. They cast their rods down the driveway and often cast into the street. Because Ben got a vest last night that sparked their interest in fishing today. Here they are with their fishing poles on the front lawn. They can't wait for our yearly camping trip to Lundy Lake.

Fruit...

It's funny how kids are. Often times when we are at a playgroup and someone has a snack that they don't mind sharing, Ben and Hannah will get to try it if we haven't had it before (or they don't want to try it from me). They will take it eat it and like it so much that they want some at home. For example Hannah would not eat carrots. Ever. And one day a friend at playgroup brought carrot sticks and shared and now she loves to eat carrot sticks! So I have been trying to get the kids to eat grapes for the last few years and neither one would try them out. I mean what a refreshing snack to have on a hot day! And they don't believe me when I tell them that they are plump raisins.

Tonight we were at my parents house for a triple college graduation party (Congrats Chris, Heather and Jacqueline!) and they had grapes and berries out to eat. My niece (Marissa) would come down and grab a full plate of fruit and take it upstairs to where they were playing. I followed her upstairs to check on the kids and ... get ready ... they were eating a huge plate of grapes! I try not to make a big deal out of these new discoveries so I just mentioned how huge their plate of yummy grapes was and left. They were so excited that I didn't take it away.

Ice cream...

Tonight was the last Bradley class that I will teach for a while. I have to finish my final exam and turn in all the last of the paperwork before I can teach another class. The kids went with Corey to his Moms house (as they always do on class nights) and they walked to Wendy's. They love the walk along the river and they love Wendy's. They get a cup with the kids meal and after they finish the meal they get ice cream in the cup. What is it with kids and ice cream? They can't finish their dinners but they always have room for it. No threat will make them eat all of their food. We always resort to "take 3 (or 4 or 5) more bites" before we give them their treat. These treats are not every day treats, so they are extra special when we have them...like tonight.

brothers forever...

Ben loves his little brother. Usually he wakes up in a grumpy mood from a nap and can't or won't snap out of it for quite a while after waking up. Today he was sleeping and we had the door closed so that he could rest. But time came when we had to wake him or he would be up all night! So we all went in there to see him. I told Noah to find him in the bed, Ben peeked out of the covers and Noah laughed. That perked him up, I guess Noah is the only one that can get Ben up from a nap smiling. He jumped up and then Noah was jumping on my knee watching him and then Ben started to jump on the bed. So that's what time it became, time to jump on the bed together.

Undo yesterday...

Well, we had a bit of 'buyers' remorse' when we returned from the preschool yesterday. We thought and thought and thought some more about it then we did some researcho online about whether or not preschool is necessary for kids... and we decided not to do it! Kids don't need preschool especially if there is someone who can 'educate' them at home (that would be me...I mean, I am very qualified after all). So Ben is staying home another year :-) Corey went to get the checks back from the school and the deal is done! We're very happy with our decision and will find some other things to spend our hard-earned money on!

Preschool...

Well we went for a visit today. Ben and Hannah really enjoyed looking around and discovering what preschool was all about. I don't think that they had any idea about what school was like before today. They have been playing 'school' but now that they've seen it...well, maybe they'll incorporate what they saw in their play. So Ben is signed up for the fall semester. I think he will like it, I am the one who will have a problem with him being gone though. He's been around me his entire life and now he's growing up (I guess going to school is a sign of growing up?).

Anyway, they have a great place. There's the classroom with all the areas of learning indoors, then they have a playground, and a garden where they actually can do gardening! When we were in the garden looking around Ben and Hannah got to pick peas and eat them from the vine, they loved it! Good thing we have peas growing in the back yard!!

The Director (Ms Marie) asked Hannah if she wanted to come to school too. She said "no". Ben also said no but we think he'll be ready to go at the end of the summer.

Cheeeeez...

What a ham!

Our walk...

We went for a long walk today to the nursery. I had to take back the shovel that the kids got me because there was lead in the handle. I couldn't bring myself to using it in my organic garden so, off we went! The kids were so excited to walk to the nursery! They were interested to learn what we passed with every turn in the road and every driveway that we came to cross. I told them about the car repair shop and the car dealership, the driveway to the apartments, the driveway in to KFC and to the liquor store. They wanted to know what kind of stores we were passing on the way too. I had to explain what a bar was as well as an investors office. They knew exactly where we were going and they did well all the way over and back home. :-)

Mother's Day sweetness...

Today was Mother's Day. The kids are getting so good at keeping secrets! They bought me some presents a few days ago and they didn't say a word about them even while I was opening them! They bought me a new shovel, a tea kettle (!) and a new nozzle for watering the plants. Then we went to lunch at Corvette Diner. They had fun eating the red chips and drinking chocolate shakes with sprinkles in it. Why not! It's only a few times a year that we get to have treats llike that! We played in the backyard in the afternoon and had Nanny here for dinner. They love to have Nanny chase after them playing "monster". After dinner we had our nightly routine of baths, night snacks, brushing teeth and reading books. On her way to bed, Hannah peeked in at me with the baby and said, "Happy Mother's Day" with a big smile on her face. That was so sweet, I hope I remember it forever!

it's official!

Noah is able to sit up all on his own! He's such a big boy now and so much happier! He doesn't need us to sit behind him anymore to catch him. We do still do an occasional catch but they are getting more and more sparse throughout the day. Now it's time for all those little bruises :-( He has one one his cheek from a toy....poor little guy!

Not so fun days...

The last few days the kids have been fighting and arguing with each other. One will tease the other with a toy s/he wants and then later on that day the other will tease back. I can't get them to stop. No matter how hard I try. So we go out of the house for the morning and don't come back until lunchtime. We go to the park. They have lots of fun playing there and they don't get on each others' nerves as easily. So that is where we will be tomorrow!

smart and sneaky girl

Hannah is SO smart. Corey takes the kids to his mom's house while I teach my Bradley class and they do their thing there for the night. Well, this past Friday night was not any different. Saturday we had his mom watch the kids again because we were having a garage sale and it was just that much easier to do without them running around and crying after the toys that were being sold. So she took them to her house for the morning. While there Hannah knows what Nanny has in the house (because she goes all the time but also because she was there last night). They were eating a snack (cookies, or fruit snack) when Hannah says "Nanny, can I have 2 of them since Daddy's not here?"

Friends...?

Today Benjamin and Hannah got on their scooters and were riding out on the sidewalk when a boy from across the street came over. He is about 8 or 9 years old and he was on his scooter too. Ben couldn't have been more excited about having someone to scooter with! They went back and forth to our regular stopping point (about 3 houses down from our house so that we can watch them) and back. Hannah trailed along too. When the neighbor boy stopped to take a break on the curb, they both put their scooters in the street and sat next to each other. It didn't seem like the boy was bothered by having Ben follow him around but he wasn't engaging him in conversation either...just doing his own thing with Ben on his side. He did, at one point help Ben "fix" his scooter. At one point in their cruising together they stopped at the neighbors garage and were just standing next to each other. Ben looked up at him (I don't know what they were talking about but this is what I overheard) and asked "Do you like cauliflower?" the boy said "no" and Ben said "I do, it's good." And off they went.

6 months old!

Here is Noah... tipping the scales at 21lbs 13oz, getting up on all fours with his bum in the air and scooting backwards!

The party!

We celebrated Hannah's 3rd birthday today with all her friends and family! She seemed to have so much fun and she got lots of neat presents from everyone.

Hannah is 3!

Hannah celebrated her birthday today! She is so excited about it. She got dressed all by herself today. We opened presents this morning and she got Dora dominoes...so much fun! Who knew it would be the thing she likes the most? She also got a basket, grippers, and a bell for her bike (used to be Bens) from Daddy. Ben gave her some other Dora stuff and I bought her a big floor pad with markers (washable ones!) and now they can draw on the floor.
We went to the park today too. She loves to swing and so she got to swing for a long time today!

Here she is riding her bike. A quick video clip.


Dora Dominoes!
The Tigger movie!

Dora...

We have had a Dora and Diego explosion in our house! The kids are running around playing Dora and Diego (can you guess who is who?) They tell each other what to say while playing, like they are scripting out their play. They have quite a bit of toys and a few videos to watch but they love to play on their own the best. The problem we have found is that there isn't much in the way of Diego but tons of Dora...he'll become more popular because the boys are getting older and love his sense of adventure rescuing animals. "Bakpack, backpack..."

Rolling!

Noah rolled over from his back to his front today. He just gets over to his tummy and then grunts because he doesn't know what to do then. He is growing so fast. Just yesterday we discovered that his bottom 2 teeth had come in and now he's rolling over. Wow.

Mexico...

We went to Mexico today with Clarisa. It was her first time at the house. We had such a nice and relaxing day. Carol, Chris and Harry came along too. We hadn't seen each other in such a long time that it was nice to catch up. We discovered that Noah's bottom 2 middle teeth had erupted! No wonder he had been so crabby lately! Ben and Hannah had tons of fun playing with Marissa on the beach. It was so chilly and windy but they didn't care and had their pants off to play. They got all wet and sandy! They were busy with building a sand castle with a moat around it, sprinkling sand into the waves, running into and then away from the waves, and climbing on the rocks. Then they went and drank hot chocolate with Marissa while they watched some TV.

Snow in Julian..

It snowed a lot in the past couple of days and so much last night that we decided to go sledding in Julian this morning. We are so lucky that we didn't get caught in all the traffic that started as we were leaving. It looked like hours of waiting as we were leaving. So there were a lot of people doing the same thing we were but we got an early start! Sledding was so much fun but it didn't last long because the kids were tired. They made a little snowman with the sand toys that we brought and Bens favorite thing to do was eat the snow! He even brought a snowball back and put it in the freezer for later (just like what the kids in a storybook we have, did).

Babysitting...

Today we babysat for Heather (my sister) while she took a midterm exam. I had 4 children under the age of 4 years old for 3 hours! But...Ryan slept the entire time he was here! He woke up about 20 minutes before Heather got here. I thought I'd be crazy but it worked out in the end! What a nice little boy to sleep for his auntie!

Felicita Park...

We went up to Felicita Park today and went on a short hike together. It was such a beautiful walk. Ben and Hannah found a boulder and played "king of the mountain" for a couple minutes. We passed a wedding in the trees and found a playground for the kids to play at in the middle of the hike! They loved it. Noah just stayed in his carrier as content as can be.

Hiking...

Today we went on a small hike with the playgroup. A few other kids came and we had so much fun. We found some fuzzy caterpillars that could really move fast! I think it was because they had to get to their destination without being eaten by a bird or squashed into the dirt by a foot. The kids loved hunting for them.

sunflowers...

Well we started our gardening season today. We planted some sunflower seeds in some peat pots and set them in the sun. The kids love to plant seeds and watch them grow. We planted some wildflowers that Hannah picked out at the nursery. They will grow in a pot. When they are a couple of inches tall we are going to put them in the ground and they can grow wild on the hill of the front yard. The sunflowers are a type called Mammoth so they are going to grow huge!! Can't wait!

Snow!

We went to the local mountains today and played in the snow. It has been so cold and it actually snowed! So we packed the sleds and headed east. Noah slept almost the entire time but he did wake up almost in time for us to head home. Ben had so much fun jumping off a little snow jump with the sled and Hannah really enjoyed making a snowman and being pulled around in the sled. We brought our sand toys so we had shovels to dig. There was about 3-4 inches on the ground. We got to the snow, parked and went right to work having fun. It got pretty busy after a while so we headed home. It was a nice day after being so sick. Here are some pictures...

gardening...

It's time to think about the garden again! We are getting busy thinking about all the veggies and fruits that we are going to be planting this year. We got the starter soil out and we filled as many of the planters that we have. The kids are so excited about planting in the garden. It really is fun for them. We have to get more soil because we ran out right at the end. Hannah told Corey that he needed to get more "poil" then she corrected herself and said "dirt".

Noah's baptism...

Today we had Noah baptized at the Mission San Diego de Alcala. We were in the little chapel behind the main church. It was a beautiful ceremony. It was casual, Deacon Earnest didn't mind the children coming in and going out of the chapel. Noah wore the family dress as so many in our family have. He was the 114th baby to wear the dress.

Noah and his parents

Noah with his parents and Godparents

Blessings given by all who were invited

I baptize you...

Jen and Noah

No more training wheels!!

Ben spent the afternoon practicing riding his 2-wheel bike today. He went up and down the block, back and forth for a long time. Hannah joined him at one point on her tricycle. He loves it. He has a bigger bike and will be riding it without training wheels soon. He's just getting comfortable and used to it on his little one for now. He's so excited to go biking with his Daddy. Just like Daddy.

It's safe to say...

that Ben is potty trained!!! He still can't make it through the night being dry but during the day he's got it!! We can't be happier...well we will I guess when he is dry all night too, but we'll get there.

Happy birthday!

Noah is 3 months old today! Time is flying by so fast!! He cooes and talks, tries to giggle and squeals all day long (well, when he's not sleeping).

Dinner....

We had chicken burritos this evening for dinner served with all the fixings! I bought some guacamole from Trader Joe's as an extra. Ben loves avocado but didn't want any with his burrito. Hannah wanted to try some so she asked for it "I want some maca-moleee!!" Aaawww....

artist...

Maybe Hannah will be an artist. She asks to paint all the time. Today she was in tears when I told her that she needed to wait for me to get it ready. I guess she didn't understand that she could but I needed to do something beforehand. She loves it, and gets busy as soon as it's all set up. I think that we need a little paint corner for her so that she can do it any time she wants. I think she'd like that...but where to put it?

The cow...

We have a little gym that we put Noah under during the day. We also just put him on a blanket and read stories to him and have him do his exercises (lay on his tummy, grabbing toys...). We have a cloth book that was given to Ben when he was a baby and it has cows on the cover and inside throughout the pages. I think it's called something like Discover the Farm-or something like that. Noah is really interacting with us and cooing and 'talking' to us. Sometimes it looks like he's getting tickled and he crunches his legs up and rolls slightly to the side while smiling. When we show him this book he focuses on it and smiles and talks to the cows! Every time. It is so adorable. He loves the book so we read it to him often.

pop my eyes?

We went to Cuyamaca today and went on a little hike at Green Valley Falls with the kids. They had fun running around in circles close to the river. With every circle Corey and I nearly jumped out of our skin thinking they would slip into the rushing ice cold river and end up with hypothermia or a broken bone. They never fell in. On our hike we found acorns and holes in the ground. They wondered what types of animals lived inside the ground and decided that it had to be mice, not squirrels, rabbits or snakes.

We stopped at another campgroup area to see the snow that had fallen the night before. The kids and Corey had fun making snowballs with the little slushy snow on the ground and throwing them at Corey and I. Noah slept through the entire snowball fight in the car. When their littel fingers got too cold we got into the car and headed home...it was getting late.

While driving home the kids watched Finding Nemo on our little portable player. As we were driving down the mountain Ben said that he couldn't hear the movie. I tried to turn it up but the volume was already at it's highest. I figured the elevation loss was the problem and he needed to equalize his ears. I told him to try to yawn or chew. He looked at me with such innocence and said "to pop my eyes?"

New stuff!

We went to the Carlsbad outlet stores today (as we do every couple of months). Hannah is wearing a size 3T now and Ben needed new shoes. He really does a number on his shoes. We don't mind going up there. It's a nice drive and it's good to get out of the valley ;0) Anyway we found shoes for both of them and some clothes for all 3 of them! This time of the year is when all the great clearance sales are so we took full advantage! They even got some new sunglasses.

Sick-ey...

Ben had an eventful night of emptying his stomach so he didn't feel like doing much of anything today. Hannah on the other hand was more than excited about going to Nanny's by herself! I think it was the first time that she went alone. She had fun too. Nanny had a new toy that she could play with. Ben stayed here with us while we cleaned up that last bit of Christmas that was lying around the house. We also did a lot of cleaning of sheets and blankets from last night. Pretty un-eventful but we were still very busy!

Vomit...

Yep tonight we had a vomit episode. Benjamin complained that his tummy hurt a few times after dinner. He showed me that it was right under his belly button and we kept telling him that mabye it was because he had to go to the bathroom. He kept trying and telling us that he didn't need to go. He got ready and went to bed. Corey was lying between Ben and Hannah for a few minutes and all of a sudden there was a huge commotion and they went to the bathroom. He threw up all of dinner and some lunch. I know this because it was all over the bed, comforter and pillow. And it stunk!

He felt so much better and really liked the attention he got for it. He just wanted to "stay up all night" to see if he would have to throw up again. Hah!

Hiking

Today we went on a hike together. Corey had to go back to work today and I took all 3 kids on a hike. We went on what I thought would be a short loop for the kids, but it ended up being 1.4 miles! Yikes! We thought we wouldn't make it back to the car. It took 3 hours for us to walk that at a kids pace. We did stop a few times for a break and a snack. We found a big oak tree and they had more snack and water and loved to climb it. They were little monkeys! We had fun.

Happy New Year!!

Last night we went to the Lunas house in Coronado for a few hours. It was drizzling throughout the night and we didn't know if it was going to get any worse. We also didn't know how many people would show for the party. By the time we left it was getting to be a full house. Ben and Hannah dissapeared upstairs with the kids the second we got there and Noah fell asleep so afterwards. We left early and to bring in the new year at home. As we were leaving the kids were saying goodbye to everyone. Hannah didn't want to leave because they were just starting to get a game out (Cranium). I had to tell her that the game was for bigger kids, but that we would bring a game over for them all to play~like Candyland~or something that she could play.

She was brokenhearted!

She crawled up into my arms with sad teary eyes (no cries though) and said "OK". It was so sad, I thought I might cry. She wanted to play with the big kids and understood that the game wasn't for her...poor thing! We came home, she had forgotten all about it and we played Candyland tonight with them.