September ramblings

September was a super sickly month for our household. I guess the blame lies on the kids being in school and the exposure of a billion germy kids ... I'm not sure exactly, but it was brutal. It's so not fun to clean up some sort of vomit and diarrhea mess every hour for days when you yourself are shaking with a fever and chills. (True signature of Mommy-hood, right?)
 It. was. AWFUL!
Name a germ and we had it... something new every week! Like I mentioned, throwing up and other lovely stomach symptoms for the kiddos, fevers, chills, sore throats, goopy noses, ear infections, a sinus infection... it was horrible. The kids missed lots of school, I got no sleep, and I estimate we paid at least $600 out of pocket during the month (due to our lovely high deductible insurance plan that we have this year). We were there (at the doctor's office) several times a week.
Let's just say it was NOT our most productive month!
Anyhow, despite all that loveliness,
September is USUALLY my favorite month of the year!
Since I was a kid, I have always loved the beginnings of a new school year, signifying a fresh start, new friendships, new clothes, and new adventures.
 (Yes, I realize I'm no longer in school, but I still love it!)
 Not to mention it's the beginning of my all-time favorite season - FALL!


It also just so happens that my birthday is mid-September which might be a reason as to why I'm a bit biased for the month!
We were just getting over colds for my big day so everyone was relatively healthy.... for a minute! I woke up to a bouquet of beautiful flowers and delicous french toast from Kneaders for breakfast. Parker had a soccer game at noon that we all went to, and then we dropped the kids off at the Hansens and Chris took me on a surprise shopping spree to the Park City Outlets, one of my favorite places in the Fall!

It was such a fun day and so nice to just hang out with my husband without sporting a stroller, without leaving a trail of cheerios and goldfish crackers behind us, and with no whining and sibling spats. Those days only happen a couple of times of year for Chris and I, and I'm not gonna lie, I love my kiddos but it was refreshing!
In addition to cash to go shopping, Chris also gave me a new 50 mm lens for my camera! I was spoiled! It was a really great birthday!

Glad we had such a good weekend, because by Monday night I had a bad sore throat and fever and Lexi also threw up that night. By Tuesday night all the kids started throwing up and one of them was constantly sick in the bathroom. It went on for 5 days straight and all the while I had my own fever! It was a fantastic week. :)
We were supposed to host my Dad and Grandma and that side of the fam for my birthday on Sunday, but I wasn't sure it was a good idea since no one seemed completely better...by Sunday I seemed to be the only one not doing so well but the party went on anyhow! It seemed to be the only day we could find to work for this party before mid-October.

I got lots of nice things and we actually celebrated Lexi's birthday this day as well with them...sort of. No cake for her or anything but my Dad and Grandma and guests showered her with such nice gifts. We were going to be in CA  2 weeks later for her actual big day and I had sent out a declaration that I was done throwing parties for the year! I had plans to make her big day special in Cali but just wasn't up to dragging out the celebrations for weeks, and I just wanted to celebrate her birthday on her birthday. :)

So here is the cute (almost) birthday girl with all her fun gifts! She has played with these gifts nonstop for the last month. She loves balls and the Peek a Shoe octopus toy is so cute! She loves it and is a pro at it!
I ended up with a bad fever and chills AGAIN that following week and finally gave in and went to the doctor and found out that my cold had turned into a sinus infection. I got on antibiotics just in time for the CureSearch Cancer Walk at Sugarhouse Park that Saturday. I definitely didn't feel great but didn't want to miss it. Chris unfortunately had to work that day.

Parker, Grandma H, Lexi and Emmie

Cindy, Eric, Grandpa H and Grandma H

 

 So the month ended on a bitter sweet  note. It was a great turnout for the Curesearch Walk and such a good cause but so sad to face the reality that we were walking in behalf of our sweet nephew, who lost his cancer battle last May.
 It's surreal. We sure miss him.
3 days later we left for Cali....

School days

Not to state the obvious or anything, but I am so behind on the blogging front! When I think of all that I need to catch up on and document I feel completely overwhelmed and hopeless! I can't seem to catch up on anything anymore with all the crazy events combined with everyday life that just keep a comin'! It's been a CrAzY 4-5 months (who am I kidding, the whole year has been that way) and I don't deal well with crazy, I have to say! But for 2 seconds things have calmed down and I miraculously don't have a party to plan, a vacation to pack for, a wedding to outfit hunt x 4 for, a young women lesson to plan, Halloween is OVER(!),  and no one in our house for maybe the 2nd time since August is super sick and we haven't had to go to the Dr. all week! Miracle! Needless to say I'm scrambling to catch up on this poor pathetic blog!  When I look at my sidebar, there are only about three friends on there who even blog anymore. Kind of sad! After joining Facebook a few months back I realized that it's stolen all the once faithful bloggers! :) But I'm determined to keep going.... This is the only way I remember anything with this mommy brain of mine, so I know that I have to keep rolling if I want to be able to relay stories to my kids of their childhood someday! I've already referenced it numerous times in answer to Emmie's inquiries about what she was like as a baby...thank goodness I wrote those things down!!;)

So here we go. :)

Parker started Kindergarten the last week of August...

Here he is on his first day!
This sweet boy of ours has a mid-summer birthday, so it was discretionary as to whether we should send him last year and have him be the youngest in his class, or send him this year and have him be the oldest. The Elementary school recommends having boys with summer birthdays to be the oldest, and obviously (since he's in Kindergarten now), this was what we chose...for a number of reasons, but we really feel like that extra year of maturity will be especially beneficial to him in the middle school and high school years! A Kindergarten teacher in our ward made the point that kids are pushed to grow up so fast these days, and that giving them that extra year of childhood is a gift... I couldn't agree more! Plus she said she notices a huge difference in the boys who are youngest versus older in the class. P is such a smartie pants (he was reading all last year and he is somewhat of a math whiz - I'll have to give examples sometime), so I have to say I was a bit nervous wondering if we made the right choice for him, but I can tell you that we are 8 weeks into school and he is loving it and thriving! Everything is so fast paced that he doesn't have time to be bored. His teacher is so great and makes sure that he stays challenged, as well as the other kids that are at his level. He loooooves to do his homework and comes home excited to do his worksheets and read his nightly books that are sent home. (This is no surprise, he's been crazy about doing workbooks since he was 3.) It's awesome to see him loving it so much, and we feel so blessed to live just down the street from such an amazing school and to be a part of such a great community!



And this little Miss, she started Preschool the following week. She too absolutely LOVES IT! She picked out the biggest Dora the Explorer backpack she could find and thinks she's all grown up, going to school like her big brother. I've said it before but she is Miss Independent (that might be my middle name, so I suppose I'm guilty of passing that one off to her;), and has gone everytime with complete confidence and no need for Mom. I have to say I was a bit teary the first day, but I got over it when I went home and realized I could hear something that I hardly recognized... peace and quiet!... something that I haven't had in six years since P arrived!;) (No joke)

 Sitting down and focusing is not Emmie's thing, so I wondered how she'd do, but she is definitely learning and getting better at writing.  We carpool with some of their friends and we drop them off at the same time... it works out really well!

My kids are growing up. This is the first time in 6 years that I've been away from the older two for more than four hours a week (that's how long P's preschool was the last 2 years). It's nice to have time to run errands or spend one on one time with Lex, or clean my house uninterrupted for a minute. It's amazing!
This last year was tough for me. As much as I love my kids and love being a mom, having a new baby and balancing three kids under 5 and having them home with me pretty much 24/7 just about threw me over the edge, I have to say.
 But I'm happy to announce that I think I have found the keys back to my sanity...PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN!
 Hey, they're happy, and so am I. :)
It's a win-win! :)

YAY for school!

  

Celebrations

Birthday Girl!
August 2012



Emmie opened up her birthday gifts in her jams on her big day before her Daddy had to leave for work. I have no recollection of what happened the remainder of the day (why I should have blogged about this 9 weeks ago!) but hopefully she had fun!

Her new goods from us included a doll crib, a bike seat for her dolls, some books, a Cinderella doll, and some new dollhouse furniture among a few other things.
She was a happy girl!
For her family birthday activity, we went to the waterpark Cowabunga Bay the Monday prior (Chris' day off). It's our 3rd year in a row going there for her birthday and the kids look forward to it all year, still screaming out "Cowabunga BAY" as we pass it on the freeway. So fun!



My Mom and Reed were in town for a minute for another function and they stopped by to give Emmie her gift, a darling umbrella and raincoat!

The next day, we celebrated not just one, but THREE princesses! These cute girls, Aunt B, Emmie and Grandma Lonczyna, all have birthdays within four days of each other, so naturally, we combined their parties!

Emmie got some fun things, and


it was extra fun that Aunt Cindy and Cousin Isaac were here for a surprise visit and were able to celebrate the day with us. Lexi and Isaac are just 8 months apart and it was sweet to see them love on each other!

The following weekend we celebrated Emmie one last time with a party at my Dad's.

 

The kids love the dart game and the prizes that go with it, and Emmie got a load of such fun gifts from everyone!

I think it's safe to say that she had a great week of parties!!

Exhausted from all the birthday celebrations!?
ME TOO! :):)

 

 

All about Emmie

 

This little Missy turned FOUR back in August! She has grown up so much this last year and her sweet yet spunky countenance is such a blessing to our family! This cute girl who loves all things pink and purple (purple is her fave) definitely keeps us on our toes, not to mention entertained. She marches to the beat of her own drum, and although sometimes it's a naughty drum, I have to appreciate her independent spirit. She is thoughtful, dramatic, gracious, cuddly, affectionate, passionate, creative, fearless, has a naughty streak that baffles me, and this girl- she's such a dreamer! I've mentioned before that she spends A LOT of time in her own little dimension, and it can take calling her name a good 30 times before she snaps back into reality and what's going on around her. She is perfectly content to play by herself for hours (so opposite of her brother who constantly needs to be entertained!) although, with her wild imagination, I'm quite sure she doesn't feel as though she's playing by herself at all! She seems to have many friends in the La La Land that she spends much of her time in! For example, she is always talking about her "old" family. She'll say things like, "Well, my OLD mom let me do it", or my "other brother", and "my old sister", etc etc. We were at The Gap at City Creek back in June, when I heard her let out a loud gasp. I felt her run to my side and she whispered urgently,
"MOM! My OLD MOM is here!"
Of course, intrigued, I looked around anxiously wanting to size up my competition that I've heard so much about.
"She is? Where??".
RIGHT. THERE!"
Eyes wide, I slowly followed her gaze to see a....
(are you ready?)
 HEADLESS MANEQUIN!!!
 Mmmmhmmmm!
 "Is that her?" With huge eyes and a serious expression, Emmie shook her head "yes" while shooshing me so that her "old Mom" wouldn't hear us... it was a very serious situation for her, LOL. So, there you have it,  just one of many examples of her quirky but perfect little personality. She is such a fun bundle of energy to have in our family! She is so tender hearted and sweet, yet can be a total spit fire...consider yourselves fair warned.

EXAMPLE:...
A few weeks ago she was saying nightly prayers (ever so sweetly), when suddenly, mid-prayer and with no pause - she sighs a very dramatic and frustrated "HMMMPH!", followed by a shouted, "LEXIS!!!" (who was babbling in her crib), IIIII AM TALKING! Be QUIET when I'm TALKING!!!", then went on with her prayer, sweet as ever. It was so surprising and out of the blue, Parker and I just gave each other sideways glances and tried our hardest (unsuccessfully) not to bust up laughing.
Moral of the story, you don't want to push this girl's buttons, or she will let you have it, no doubt! Even if you're a 12 month old baby...

She is such a social butterfly, though a little shy at times, and wants to be friends with everyone (imaginary or real). She loves to play outside with the neighborhood "posse" of friends.  She started as a Sunbeam at church last January, and hasn't looked back since. She was so ready and absolutely loves her primary class. She took a Jazz, ballet and tap class all last year (that she called "dancey") with some friends and loved it. She recently started a gymnastics class and thinks it's pretty awesome too!  She is left-handed and definitely sports the creativity that tends to go with a left brained person. She has got quite the imagination! She will tell me a flat out lie without batting an eye or pausing to think out her "story". She'll tell me, serious as can be, that the "baby did it"....which is quite ironic when the baby is sitting restricted in her exersaucer. Her stories can get pretty outrageous at times. I can't tell a lie to save my life, so I have to admit that I am intrigued as to how schooled she seems to be in this area. She is quite convincing, but unfortunately I have learned to know better than to believe her! I'm thinking she'll grow out this??
She has turned into such a girly girl. She's really into dolls lately and don't get me started on her obsession for princesses... If you couldn't tell by her princess party. :) She also loves to play with her dollhouse that she got from Santa last year. She loves to wear lip gloss and put on lotion, and is obsessed lately with having me put in headband curls after her nightly bath (the product is in the picture above). She also loves to have Auntie Sare paint her nails!

One of the many things I love about her is her graciousness, how when she is given something, she gets very excited and is genuinely thankful.  There is almost no need for her to say thank you, because her excitement says it all.{Unless she is overtired, then it's a different story...} I think this is a great quality and hope that she'll always be polite, grateful, and gracious!

A few pictures of each year of her life:

A few of her most repeated words these days would have to be, "SERIOUSLY!!!", (pronounced "Sare iss ly!), and "Awight" (alright).
 

She loves to ride the horses/ponies at Thanksgiving Point! She loves animals.

She loves to ride her bike. One of our neighbor's made this adorable bike basket for her birthday and she loves to ride around with her "Go-go Walking Puppy" or other treasures in it. She may be girly girl but she can definitely keep up with the boys outside whether it's riding bikes, scooters or just playing in the dirt!

 

 We're so thankful for our Emmie!
We love you cute girl!!!

Princess Emmie and her Royal Birthday Ball

Once upon a time there lived a very special Princess, named Emmie.

Not only was she a beautiful princess, but she was smart, sweet, enthusiastic, funny, affectionate, vibrant and thoughtful, among many other desired traits.
Not to mention, she had the best smile and cutest dimples in all the land!
Her fourth birthday was fast approaching, which meant, in her eyes, that she was all grown up. She was going to have her first friend party, and of course she desired nothing more than a
Royal Princess Ball!

 

 The invitations went out to all princesses 5 and under in the Kingdom, and Princess Emmie
could not wait for her special day!

 

After a much-anticipated wait, it finally arrived, and she put on her beautiful, sparkly, party gown. She truly looked like a Princess, in every way possible, as every true princess radiates her shine beginning from the inside out.  And this girl, she's got shine!!! :)

She made sure to have all of her special guest's crowns, wands, and thank you favors set just right for her fellow princesses.
 
(On a side note...The favors in the purple boxes were these cute custom bracelets made by Shelly...she can be contacted at www.mywatchesandbangles.blogspot.com for affordable and darling orders for your own princesses! She also made Emmie's darling charm necklace and matching bracelet to go with her dress! Just email her and she can make anything! She is awesome and these make the cutest gifts!!)

Opening gifts was very special for Princess Emmie. Her mom, (Queen Michelle? lol;) has been reading "The 5 Love Languages of Children" and has come to realize that one of E's love languages is receiving gifts. This makes her feel so special, so opening the darling gifts from her sweet friends made her feel very loved. She was so thankful for all that she received!

 The Princesses were enjoying a Royal Feast (E's favorite homemade mac n cheese, pink lemonade, grapes and carrots), when they were
surprised by a very special guest.....


RAPUNZEL!!!


The Little Princesses were very excited to meet one of their very
 favorite and much-admired fellow Princesses!

They listened intently as she told them about Flynn Ryder and showed them what was in his satchel, they played games with her, sang songs, took pictures, and each got her autograph. Sometimes the princesses were content to just play on the swing set while Rapunzel watched.
 As for Prince Parker, he was too cool to be seen with a bunch of princesses, so he observed from a distance and made an occasional appearance
(like for pinata and cake time, as any smart prince would).

These Princesses sure kept Queen Michelle and King Chris (please just laugh with me at the cheesiness) on their toes, but they were a lot of fun! Who knew a bunch of princesses would be more rowdy than a swashbuckling crew of pirate guests the month prior?!?!
Well, like my Mother-in-Law said, they ARE princesses.... ;)

I think (and hope!) Emmie felt very loved on her big day and we just hope she knows how special she truly is!!
We love you Princess Emmie!!!
xoxo

10 and 11 months

O---kaaay, hurry and snap your pic, mom....
 

Lexi at 10 months!



11 months:

Getting a picture of her by these cute signs that my sweet friend Lichelle emailed me has gotten next to impossible. I have about a 3 second window to take a picture before she tackles them! She is definitely an on-the-go, busy little girl!

Still a thumbsucker (like her big sis!) and still a tiny little miss! I'm hoping that by her 1 year appt she'll be at least 15 lbs, but with her never-ceasing crawl strolls, (and the fact that she's - and our whole household-  been super sick this week and she doesn't want to eat), I'm afraid she's not going to hit the mark.
 Maybe if she eats her whole birthday cupcake here in a few weeks...but it's going to be close! :)
 

(wearing one of Emmie's old dresses)

 These pics (above) catch a tiny glimpse of her cute, irresistable personality. Her countenance is such a sweet one, but she's also got such funny little sense of humor. She is constantly teasing me and trying to make me laugh! I crave to be with her when I'm home away without her.
She is a constant jabberer and loves to be heard. Whether it's baby babble or actual words, she likes to put her two cents in. In her 10th and 11th months she has added a few new words to her vocab..."Baby"-she loves to point out other babies (even when they are older "babies" than her) and looves baby dolls. "Dake do" (thank you), "Nigh-nigh", "Eyes" (as she pokes her own eye out or whomever is holding her), & she signs "more" for food. She is still constantly repeating "doddy" for the dog (every time she hears the dog bark or sees an animal it's a "doddy"), and her cheerful high-pitched greeting of "Hieeee", each time she sees someone never gets old. She rolls her tongue when she cries, making a vibrating noise. Parker made a similar noise when he was a baby.

She waves "Bye bye", and loooooves to play peek a boo. She isn't standing on her own yet but will stand up against a couch or the crib with some help.

Sisters!!! How lucky are they to have each other?!?!

 

 

And this cute threesome... I love these babies so so much!

This  last year has flown by.
Honestly, I can't keep up and I can't believe this pic was just a year ago:

 I'm still spinning from the whirl wind it was.

 It seems like this was just last month that I had those

big round cheeks and big round belly.

And now, in just 2 weeks, my cute baby turns 1!

Ahoy Mateys! P's 6th Birthday party!

 Right after his dinosaur birthday party last year, Parker reported to me that for his sixth bday party he wanted a PIRATE PARTY.
 And so, from that moment, the planning began.
A year ago.
 Er, better phrasing might be "the party pestering" began. We would be at a store, and Parker would say, "Moooom, why aren't you buying stuff for my pirate party? We need to get stuff for my party!". Or we'd be at home and he'd ask, "Mooooom, why aren't you making my pirate party decorations?". I would gently remind him that we still had a good 7,8, even 9 months to go until his birthday...
but he was on the countdown and he had grand plans for his big event!
Alas, July eventually rolled around and it really was time to get moving on the party plans.
No pressure, right?!



First went out the invitations.
To say he was ecstatic to deliver them would be an understatement.
Presenting...


CAPTAIN PARKER!
The day had finally arrived and he couldn't wait!

Here he is with his 11 member crew! I have to say they were just about the cutest pirate buccaneers around. Buuuut, I might be biased. :)
 First off we read one of Parker's favorite books, "How I Became A Pirate", and with an exagerrated and chorused "ARGHH!" here and an "AYE" there, they really got into their new identities! They were quite impressive! :)

The pirate attire!
As all the guests arrived, they transformed into mini Jack Sparrows with a bandana, an eye patch, and a sash to hold their swords (the swords had nametags so we could keep them straight). Yo Ho, Yo Ho A Pirates Life for Me was playing in the background. :)

 

Parker requested (months in advance) that pizza be served as the grub.
Aye, aye, Captain!
They also had canon balls (cheese balls), the Catch of the Day (swedish fish), Shark's blood (red Squeeze It's) and Pirate's Rope (Twizzlers). Very well rounded meal. It was okay though, because, afterall, they were PIRATES!

Of course they had to go on a treasure hunt!
 We are so lucky to have so many of P's buddies live right by us - as in both sides next door, and right across the street! So for the treasure hunt, the clues led them to some of the friend's yards, which made it much more exciting. I have to say, it was pretty darn cute seeing this crew run excitedly in character from clue to clue with their swords drawn and eye patches in place.
I love these little boys pirates!
 They were pretty thrilled to actually dig up the buried treasure (hidden in a pile of dirt that we happened to have on the side of our house).
 

Next up was an obstacle course complete with tunnels, walking the plank, blowing  paper boats across the water, a spinning stunt and a soccer goal. Emmie and Aunt B (who was sooo nice to help us out that day! Thank you thank you!), were the hungry crocodiles (I found croc hats at the dollar store!) waiting for unfortunate mateys to lose their balance on the planks.

Last of all, we had presents, a pinata (a must for my kids) and, of course, cake! (Thanks Costco! I owe the cute bakery lady for doing such an awesome job and making this cake custom at my pleading request..)

The matey's all took home these party favors
(plus their "treasures" and pinata bags).

 

Honestly, the party went great! I was sooo grateful that it all came together, for how smoothly it went, that the kiddos had fun, and most importantly of all that my cute little Pirate Captain had a great swashbuckling time at his much-anticipated event!
As for me, I needed a nap for the following 3 weeks, but hey, I would do it all again to make my sweet Pirate happy! Happy Birthday my Cute Pirate Parker!