Desperately Seeking Baby...Babies Found

Book Blogging & Family Blogging

2011-12-30T08:34:00.001-08:00

Hey there - if you are interested in reading my book "reviews" - please go to my other blog...

http://heathercim.wordpress.com/

Also, I think I'll be just updating everything on my other blog, so be sure to go over there from now on. It is just too much to keep up both blogs!

http://heathercim.wordpress.com/

See you there!

Just a quick update

2011-09-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

I thought I would write a little update since I don't have much time and it has been a while.

Benjamin informed me last night that he is no longer going to play with dolls because boys don't play with dolls. I told that boys can play with dolls - that it is o.k. and he said that no, he just isn't going to play with dolls.

Ella asked me if she could be a kitty for Halloween. She also drew a picture and told me it was o.k. for me to take to work. :-D I thought Ella was doing better with going poo on the potty. She actually went while in Spokane in a restaurant bathroom all on her own doing, but yesterday, she had an accident at school. It wasn't really an accident as I know she knows what she was doing. UGH! Someone please tell me what to do!

Nicholas is now embracing his name and telling people that it is name rather than saying his name is Footy or Nick. He also tells people that he is two.

I am recovering from having my gall bladder removed on the 8th. It was an outpatient surgery though I did end up staying the night because of pain and nausea. I was back to work on my birthday (the 13th) though I probably should have taken one more day and if I had more sick time, I probably would have.

My mom is now doing oral chemotherapy because the other chemotherapy wasn't working. I hope that this oral chemo does the trick in kicking cancer out of her body.

I also learned that my dad has diabetes so now I'm even more concerned about my diet to make sure I don't have the same fate.

Well, that's all for now. Maybe eventually I'll write about our trip to Spokane this past weekend and the kids trip to a farm.

3 little stories

2011-08-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

The other night when I asked Nicholas his name. He told me it was Nick. I said "Nick, not Nicholas?" and he said "noooooo (little laughter), not Nicholas. Nick!" Apparently, it was funny that I thought his name is Nicholas.

Last night, Benjamin was quietly singing "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele. I look at him and I smile and he grunts at me. Apparently, I am not supposed to notice his cuteness as he sings an adult song. :-D I should know this because when I was around 7 or so, my aunt (who is 10 years older than me) caught me singing to a song on the radio and exclaimed "that's so cute!". I didn't sing in front of her ever again or maybe anyone.

I am taking Ella to a baseball game tomorrow night. The plan was to take her to the Sunday game, but the timing isn't working out too well. We are taking the kids to stay at grandma and grandpa's house in Tacoma overnight on Saturday afternoon and picking them up Sunday afternoon so I didn't think we'd get to Everett by 4 since we are going to meet my brother for lunch on Sunday and that would mean we might not get to Tacoma until 2 or so. And Tacoma and Everett - a good 1 1/2 hour drive in between them at least, if not more due to traffic. Oh well, at least she will get to run around the bases which is all she really wants - that and getting ice cream in a baseball cap like Benjamin did.

Weekend of One on One

2011-08-15T15:23:00.001-07:00

This weekend, I got to do some really fun things with each of my kids.

Friday evening, I took Nicholas to the library with me to drop off books, then we played at the playground there for a while. Then I took him shopping (that wasn't really fun but it was still one on one time). He enjoyed spending his time in the sand pit (something he would do again at a different park on Sunday).

Saturday

Saturday morning, we took the kids to their swim lessons. Thankfully, Benjamin got in the pool this time! They seemed to have enjoyed themselves. Nicholas, on the other hand, defintely enjoyed himself. He was doing a little doggie paddling in the pool. This time, instead of being in the pool with him, Jon went in so I could watch (and so I wouldn't need to wash my hair again before going to my next social event).

In the afternoon, I went to a friend's baby shower while Jon took the kids blueberry picking. They also got to look at some farm animals - they told me how they had fed the goat.

When they got home, I took Ella to the movie theater for her to see her first movie in a theater. We went to go see Kung Fu Panda 2. Most of the time, she was telling me she wanted to go home (probably because she was tired and not because of the movie). She did enjoy the popcorn though.

Then on Sunday, we went to church, then out to a picnic lunch with a couple friends and their almost 20 month old son. Nicholas liked the sand pit. Ella and Benjamin did too, though Benjamin also seemed to like just hanging on the blanket too.

Then that afternoon, I took Benjamin to see the Everett Aquasox game (the Mariners are too expensive when they play popular teams). I think he enjoyed it at lot. He watched the game, ate a hot dog, then went on an inflatable slide, ate some ice cream that came in a cute little baseball cap and then got to run around the bases after the game. I tried to get Benjamin to run on the bases by himself but he wasn't doing it so I ran with him (of course, I didn't mind that at all - though it isn't quite the same as when you are at Safeco Field).

A very busy weekend but it was definitely fun. I didn't get a lot of chores done, but we had a lot of fun. And an extra bonus is that one of the ladies at the church gave us some size 6 clothes for Ella and Ella was really enjoying the fairy costume. There are some really cute dresses in there too that I am so jealous of Ella's wardrobe!

Well, that's it for now. This coming weekend, we are going to a 40th birthday party of a friend of Jon's from high school that promises to have a bouncy house for the kids. We haven't seen this friend since we were going through IVF so it will be his first meeting our kids and our first meeting his son. Also, I plan to take Benjamin to a movie in the future and Ella to a baseball game because they both want to and well, so do I!

Little stories

2011-08-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while again. I can't seem to get myself motivated to blog ever.

Here are some stories:

Nicholas got a string and told one of our kitties to come with him. Jon told Nicholas to walk away and the cat would try to get the string, so he did. And when the kitty got the string, Nicholas scolded him and said "Oviler, be nice!" (His name is Oliver but he pronounces it Oliver - something Ella used to do too).

Speaking of Ella and kitties, she LOVES animals. She wants to pick up the kitties so bad and pet them all the time. We told her she has to wait until she is 6 to pick up the kitties. She just wants to be like her idol, Olivia (the pig) and pick up the kitty. The other night,we watched an Olivia episode in which Olivia plays a "magic" trick on her brother and pretends to disappear. So when the episode was over, Ella announces that she was going to put on a magic show and buh-peer (IOW, disappear). Benjamin said it the same way. At one point, she announced that she and Benjamin needed to go their room so that we couldn't see them and buh-peer. Funny!

We started the kids on swimming lessons again and once again, Benjamin refused to get into the pool. We are thinking it is because the teacher is a girl and not Jonathan this time. No bribery was working on him. UGH! Nicholas, on the other hand, was in the pool with me and was doing great with swimming. I would hold him by the belly and he would go doggy paddling after the toy he just threw in the water. He was laughing the whole time and he even crawled over the float bridge thingy they made! Progress! Ella is doing well with swimming as well! I wish Benjamin would just get in the pool.

This past weekend was my 20th high school reunion and I didn't go. I really wish I would have. Had I scheduled things a little differently, I probably could have gone. Oh well. I hope I can get together with some people when I go over to Spokane sometime. We are going over there in September for a family reunion, so probably not then, but perhaps the next time. I hope!

4th of July

2011-07-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was rather busy. We took all 3 kids to get a haircut (I need one myself too but haven't made that appointment yet). Then we took the kids on the bus (the 41 bus - very important detail to Ben & Ella) to downtown (Ella still says "down the town"). We just wondered around for a while, then headed back home for naptime. On Sunday, after church, we took the kids to Tacoma to visit my in-laws. We went to a farmer's market and got some fruit and a balloon animal( that Benjamin promptly popped once we got back to their grandparents house - thankfully, Nicholas forgot about his as his popped as we were trying to load things up). We also went out to lunch at a buffet where I learned that Ella & Nicholas will eat beets (though I don't) and Benjamin will eat chicken drumsticks (again, I don't eat - don't like dark meat). We went back to their house for the kids to open their presents from him - bubble guns and a big bottle of bubbles. They enjoyed that.

For the 4th, we went to a birthday party of a 2 year old from their daycare/preschool and came back home for a low key 4th. We watched some fireworks on tv and when it was over, Ella says she wanted to watch the fireworks. I told here that is what we've been doing. I don't know if they quite get excited about fireworks yet. At first, they thought I was talking about firetrucks.

This weekend, we visit my family for a family reunion on my dad's side. It shall be interesting and fun, I hope!

Quick Story

2011-07-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

The other night Nicholas told me he wanted to sit on the potty. I took him. He sat on the potty for a full 5 seconds before he got up, stared into the potty, and saw that there was nothing there. He sat down again - this time lasting about 10 seconds. He gets up and I say - nope, there's none there. He then looks up to me and says "we need to go to store to get more." Ha! Silly boy!

He did tell me the other night he had to go potty and I sat him on there and he went pee! I was all excited, but he hasn't done it again and refuses to go on there each time I see him going poo. I offer, he declines. I don't push it as I don't want another Ella potty training time. Ugh - that was exhausting. I would love it if Nicholas trained himself. I already feel behind the curve when I hear that others have their 2 year olds trained already. Really? Am I just that bad at training or do other parents have more time to devote to it than I do?

Ben & Ella's 4th Birthday Party

2011-06-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

We had Ben & Ella's party this past Saturday and yes, it did rain. We were covered though and the kids didn't even care that it was raining. They went ahead and played in the playground and because no one else was at the park, they played in the skate park, on the baseball fields and all the way across to the end of the other park. They had a great time. They didn't have success with hitting open their pinatas so we ended up using the strings to pull them open (and I put way too much candy in there as the candy did not come out like it was supposed to). They also enjoyed the little treasure hunt that I set up for them too (though I should have waited a bit longer as some kids showed up right after we played that little game). I also got a little horseshoe game for the kids to play.

It was a good day. I wish I had taken more pictures but I felt like I didn't have the opportunity to this year.

They got a few presents and they've played with them all - they got camping chairs (we had to go get one for Nicholas after he saw them), little computers, books, a little paper and pencil set, and M&Ms.

On another topic - the kids wanted me to tell them stories last night. Ella wanted stories about when I was pregnant with Ben & Ella, when I was pregnant with Nicholas, about when her friends were in their mommy's bellies (though I told her that 2 of her friends weren't in their mommy's bellies but were adopted - I tried to explain that as much as I could to a 4 year old). I thought about mentioning the whole IVF thing to the twins, but thought I'd wait a little bit longer for that.

Benjamin wanted stories about dinosaurs and flowers. I told him a g-rated version of Jurassic Park and made up a story about flowers (it wasn't easy for me).

And on yet another topic - I learned that I have gallstones this week so I'll be having my gallbladder removed in the near future. I don't see the surgeon until the 19th though so I'm not quite certain how soon after that the actual surgery will take place. Thankfully, it is done by laparoscopy so the recovery time is much shorter than if it was a bigger incision being made. My dad had it done a few years ago and he said he was fine a week later. I hope that's the case for me too!

That's all for now! Until the next time when I feel like blogging!

Just some little stories

2011-06-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

Was just reading a post from December 2009 that said this about Ben & Ella

"Funny. Oh, that reminds me - whenever they find something enjoyable - they say "that's funny". :-D"

What's funny about that now is that Nicholas is saying the same thing for the same reason. Hilarious.

Also, last night at the park, he said to me "mommmy, watch zis" then proceeded to jump from the bottom of a slide onto the ground. He then said he was jumping.

Benjamin is really into baseball all of a sudden so I think I'm taking him to a Mariners game soon (something I wanted to do anyway but even more so now). I am very much looking forward to it. I just need to find a day we can go.

I think for Ella our special time will be going to a movie together and getting popcorn. Perhaps after Cars 2 comes out.

Ben & Ella turn 4!

2011-06-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

Benjamin and Ella turned 4 on Sunday. We went to church as normal, then came home to have a BBQ and strawberry shortcake with a couple friends, their son and another friend's 2 kids. We usually have lunch with these friends after church. It was a nice day for sitting outside, eating a BBQ and letting the kids play. We let Ben & Ella open their presents that we got for them. They wanted to play with them right away. Nicholas wanted to play with them when I purchased them and was sad that he didn't have a present to open. He doesn't quite get it that it is their birthday and not his too. Poor guy - this is another glimpse of what it will be like for him being the singleton in the family. Eventually, he'll understand though.

I took a few pics of the day but, as usual, I haven't uploaded them (I still haven't uploaded Christmas!!!!).

This Saturday, we are having their party at the same park we had the party at last year. This year, though, we have two pinatas. One is a Dora pinata and the other is a Thomas the train pinata (at least, I think that is what I ordered). They are quite excited by this.

I guess I'll post more after the party this weekend unless something else comes up. I really hope the weather gets better!!! Right now, Saturday is supposed to be rainy and gross!! At least, the party is in a covered area. Ugh this Seattle weather!!

Ka-chow!

2011-06-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

A little while ago, my kids watched Cars for the first time. I also got a few books from the last multiples group sale that had the characters from Cars in it. So Nicholas has been hearing the word Ka-chow (from Lightning McQueen) a lot. Not to mention, we went to a Cars themed birthday party this past weekend (which was a cute place in Woodinville called The Nest). Well, Nicholas kept saying ka-chow last night (saying it like katow!) - quite cute.

Only 2 more days and Ben & Ella will be 4! The time has indeed gone by fast. Their party isn't until next weekend - I planned their party then thinking my sister and family would be more likely to come since they are still in school now and my niece's birthday is tomorrow - but they aren't coming. So I wish we were having the party tomorrow as more would have been able to come. Oh well.

Ben & Ella have been able to write their names for some time. However, for some reason, Benjamin now thinks he needs to write his name perfectly. So because the N was not written with a straight line, he threw a tantrum and a pen and told me to write his name. I told him that it doesn't need to be perfect, but he didn't believe me.Ugh. What is this boy going to be like in school?

Ella is doing a bit better with going poo on the potty. She went last night all on her own and well, she is 4 in 2 days so she better start going on the potty like she told me she would do.

Nicholas is rather possessive these days. He sees one of the other kids walking toward me and he will run toward me to say "my mommy!" It is quite cute actually. It is going to make me sad when he doesn't run to me anymore (like Benjamin) and give me his little pat on the shoulder hug.

In sad (but keeping a positive attitude) news, my mom has learned that her cancer has spread further down her spine and into her pelvic bone. Not the news any of us wanted to hear. so she is starting chemo on Monday. I hope that chemo will get rid of the cancer yet again. She battled breast cancer about 5 years ago and it came back in her bones (and because of that, they denied her long term disability because she had a pre-existing condition - that word just drives me crazy). Please send her positive vibes and send up a prayer that she can beat this yet again!

Another overdue update

2011-06-03T14:52:00.001-07:00

My heart doesn't seem to be into blogging anymore but I do want to have some record of what my kids are doing at a certain age so I feel I must.

Here are a few recent stories:

Nicholas finally said his own name the other day. It only took him 2 years and 3 months since birth to say it. Of course, he then turned around and yelled "nick" at me when I said Nicholas. However, if you ask him what his name is - he will tell you it is Footee. Silly boy.

He went poo on the potty the other night too - sort of - he had poo coming out and he just happened to finish it off into the potty. That counts, right? He wanted to go potty last night too but it was merely a delaying tactic to keep from having to go to bed. The night prior he stayed up until midnight. I did not want a recreation of that so he cried for about 5 minutes until he fell asleep. that was a hard 5 minutes.

Nicholas LOVES to be naked. You try to clothe him, he throws a fit. Not so fun getting clothes on him these days.

He tells me he is big all the time so he is trying to show it by not using the railing to go down steps just like his big brother and sister. He was doing pretty well until that last step then he stumbled and fell. He's alright - just a bit shocked more than anything.

Ella has been telling me that she will poo on the potty when she is 4 though she did go the other night though she wanted someone in there to comfort her and that someone was me. I'm glad she did go though and she went and sat on the potty all on her own the other day to go poo but nothing happened. It's progress though, right?

Ella has also become a huge fan of finding and picking up worms. She will pick them up and talk to them in a motherly baby voice saying things like "Hi worm! It's o.k. It's not scary." quite cute.

Benjamin seems to have figured out how to play the solitaire game on my iPod. He's a smart little guy. The preschool tells me all the time. However, he doesn't seem to be quite comfortable with affection. Sometimes I feel like I have to force him to let me give him hugs. Though I can tell he kinda likes getting them though maybe he doesn't want to admit it. :-)

The other day we went to a park called Saint Edward State Park in Kenmore,WA. I LOVE that playground - I want to play in the playground too and thankfully, it is big enough for adults to play on. It kinda looks like a little castle.

Well, Ben & Ella are nearly 4. It's shocking how quick the time goes sometimes (though right now, it feels like the day is going by way too slow probably because I'm anxious to end this work day). We are going to have a party for them at a nearby park (same as last year) but this year, we will have a train pinata and a Dora pinata. They are quite excited by this.

Alright, enough for today. Maybe I'll post again in the near future, but we'll see.

One on One

2011-05-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

Jon and I are trying to spend one on one time with the children. This past weekend I managed to spend some time with each child by him or herself. Saturday, I took Ella on a couple errands then we went to a nearby park. It was a surprisingly sunny day, so that was nice. Ella enjoyed playing on the swings, a digger and playing a bit of hide and seek. Pics of that day here.

Before that though, while Ben & Ella were in their music class (and after Nicholas had his), I took Nicholas to another park. At the park, we saw little baby ducks. At one point, we couldn't find the babies and Nicholas yelled out "DUCKS! WHERE ARE YOU?!?" It was quite cute. There are also pics of that on flickr.

The next day, I took Benjamin on an errand to Costco, but after shopping, we sat at the food court and had a smoothie. He told me all about what he wanted for his birthday, including a train pinata (very excited to tell me this). We definitely need to get a pinata as Ella didn't get to pull the pinata at a friend's birthday party and she was very upset by this.

In other news, I accidentally drove on our front yard a little bit when coming home yesterday. I told Benjamin what I did and he then told Jon when he came home. He told me when we were leaving to go to the beach last night that I should drive off the grass.

Nicholas will tell us all the time he wants to do things by himself - he says 'by. my. self!" So we let him and about 10 seconds later, he asks for our help. Apparently, this morning he wanted to pick out his own shirt today. My little baby is growing up. I am not looking forward to potty training though. I feel like I am still working on that with Ella, I can't imagine starting on Nicholas yet. I guess I will have to at some point though. Ella tells me that she will not poo in her underwear on June 12 (their 4th birthday). I look forward to that day.

At our church, they have a segment of the service called "time for young disciples". Usually, one of us will walk up with the twins (Nicholas is usually in the nursery still, but not for much longer!) toward the front. Well, on Sunday, I tried something new. I told them they would go up with our friend Leena and I would then meet them at the front. Well, Benjamin FREAKED out as he wasn't quite sure where I was. I guess that experiment failed. Makes me wonder how much my kids will freak out when they start kindergarten with brand new adults and kids. I guess we have another year before that happens - maybe they will be more independent by then.

"I'm Sleeping!"

2011-05-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

Last night, my little 2 year old, Nicholas, decided he wasn't tired though it was 10 p.m. He came out to the livingroom and was resting with Jon on the couch. I came out to the livingroom and Nicholas exlaims "I'm sleeping, mommy!" Yep, it definitely looks like it Nicholas. Silly boy.

I went to bed before he did.

Surpisingly, both Ben & Ella stayed in their beds last night.

Now that Benjamin has figured out how to pedal his little bike (they have training wheels on), that is all he wants to do. We need more sunny days! Do you hear that mother nature?

Nicholas is also wanting to do everything by himself these days. You try to help him and he yells out "no! Myself!" He's becoming a big boy.

Ben & Ella are looking forward to their birthday. They know that their birthday is on June 12. Ella tells me that when she turns 4, she won't go poo in her underwear anymore (she's still afraid of going poo in the potty). I hope so. At some point soon, we need to potty train Nicholas. I am not looking forward to it as he seems as stubborn about it as Ella.

I can't think of anything else, so I guess that is it for now.

Old Phone Message

2011-05-09T15:03:00.000-07:00

I had an old phone message on my old phone at work that I had to delete. It was Benjamin singing "I see blue" over and over again and when Jon
comes back with the phone, Benjamin yelled "no!" at Jon.

I think this was about the time I went back to work after having Nicholas - so the twins would have been nearly 2.

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well, this Mother's Day seemed rather hectic and a little laid back at the same time.

I woke up that morning, got the kids ready for church and myself. We went to church, then out to lunch. After lunch, Jon took the kids to the park then came home shortly thereafter so he could go into work. When he came back, I was in the process of finally converting the crib into a toddler bed for Nicholas. Ben & Ella were excited by this and eventually, so was Nicholas. After that was done, Jon took the kids shopping and brought me some chocolates - which they wanted to open right away. By this time, it was 9 p.m. and they had just had some ice cream at McDonald's (it looked like) so they didn't need it. They were not thrilled. Bedtime felt extremely rushed. Ella fell asleep right away since she didn't have a nap that day. The boys took a little more coaxing. You would think Nicholas would fall asleep right away since he didn't take a nap but he didn't. Benjamin had a nap but was only upset that we didn't keep the nightlight on so he could read his book. I want to encourage book reading, but they really needed to go to bed by this point.

So that was my day this year.

In other topics - Nicholas got up at 5 a.m. this morning and went out to the livingroom (he can open his bedroom door now) and said "where's papa? I do not know." You'll have to imagine the cuteness as he said this. He came into our room and I lifted him to our bed. He quickly fell back asleep.

The other day at the park, the twins were swinging (Nicholas hates the swing for some reason - did I put him in the swing too much as a baby?). A woman asked "what are your names? Ella yells out "I'm Ella!" Benjamin yells out "I'm Benjamin!...We're 3!!!.... and we're TWINS!!!" It was quite funny.

The favorite phrase for Nicholas to say these days is to announce "that's my mom!" So cute! And he comes running to me every time he sees me after I've been gone - even if I've only been gone for a couple minutes. So sweet!

Have I mentioned that I seemed to have had an ulcer? It seems to have mended itself a bit though I sometimes feel it every so often. I don't like those.

Zoo

2011-04-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon we took the kids to the zoo. They seemed so excited at first when we got there, but as it got later in the afternoon, they started to get cranky as they were starting to miss their nap. We saw the penguins, turtles, snakes, elephants (of which Nicholas asked "what's that?" with a bit of awe in his voice), lions (sleepy lions), bears (briefly), giraffes, and hippos. At first, Benjamin was sad that we would not see a walrus, but they are at the zoo in Tacoma. Nicholas enjoyed just running wherever he could and didn't pay too much attention to the animals. Over by the elephant barn, he just wanted to run inside the barn and out in a circle while making an "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" sound. Thankfully, the weather cooperated with us and ended up being a really nice day. I was really exhausted toward the end there especially with having to carry a preschooler for part of that time! My back is killing me! The kids, of course, once we got home and they woke from their mini-nap in the car, they went outside and ran around. Where did they get this energy? They didn't have it when we left the zoo as they wanted us to carry them!

Other than that, I took Benjamin to the McDonald's play area for a reward for going poo on the potty. Unfortunately, we still need this reward for both of them. I took him there after their last swim class for a while. We are going to try other things for a little while like a music class! After McDonald's, I took Benjamin to the library book sale to look for some airplane books. Our first book we saw when we got there - an airplane book! How lucky for us! Then even later, we babysat a 3 year old child of our friend while she and her husband went to a wedding.

I think that about sums up our weekend. We finally got the toddler bed rail for N's bed but being so busy this weekend, we didn't put it together. Hopefully, we will very soon...

Hi again

2011-04-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

Hi again. I was on a roll there for a while and then just stopped again.

One phrase that Nicholas likes to say a lot is "open the door" and he says this with anything he needs opened - a bag, a sliding phone, and an actual door. It is quite cute.

We transferred him to a toddler bed...sort of. The part to convert his crib STILL hasn't arrived, but we have allowed Ben & Ella to sleep on yoga mats with their sleeping bags (which they love) so Nicholas can have one of their beds. He does not want to stay in the bed at all. The only night he has really stayed in the bed was the day he barely got a nap. I can't really tell the daycare not to give them naps during the day so that means he gets out of his bed several times - as do Ben & Ella. Needless to say, bedtime is not a fun time. If anyone is still reading this and has any suggestions, we are welcome to them!

We took the kids to a free night at the Museum of Flight on Thursday night and to UW to see the cherry blossoms in the quad. Things were o.k. at first but since it was so crowded at both places, it ended up being crazy! We had to make sure that both of us knew where each child was. It seemed worse at the Museum of Flight to me because it was a confined space with many people - easy to lose sight of a child. UW quad was open so easier to keep track - though there they were fighting over who got to be in or push the stroller, then about the rocks down by Drumheller Fountain. I'm thinking the next time we want to do something like this where the place will be crowded,we should bring another adult with us as man to man defense works a lot better than zone defense (at least, in this instance it does).

That's all I can think of at the moment. Next weekend, we are visiting family in Spokane for Easter weekend. It's been quite a while since I've seen my parents and brothers - I think since September when we were over there for my aunt's celebration of life. My sister and 2 of her kids visited with us for Nicholas's birthday party.

The Crazy & Funny Times of Having Children

2011-03-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

Last night, we get home and I have the kids go play while I make dinner. Ella wanted Benjamin to come into their room and play with her, but he wanted to play with Nicholas' birthday present (a little motorbike/tricycle thing). Ella desperately asked Benjamin to come play with her and he kept saying no. One time, he turns and yells right in her face "NO!" Ella starts crying even more and says "this isn't the yelling place..." I asked her if Nicholas or I could play with her, but no, it was all about her Benjamin. She then starts crying "Benjamin is my friend and he should play with me!" I tried to explain to her that he didn't have to but maybe he will in a little bit. I did play with her for a bit and that calmed her down for a bit, but she went on to say she wanted Benjamin to play with her.

Then even later, Benjamin cried out that he feels he is missing out on an important part of dinner - the third vitamin. I give them 3 - one for calcium, one for the fish oil and the other for multi. All are kids vitamins. I gave him two with his dinner because he had already had the third one when he saw me giving one to Nicholas. He screamed and yelled for about 15 minutes about that.

Nicholas cried later when I tried to get him to put his clothes on after taking a bath. The humanity! The horror! How dare I clothe him for the bedtime! He can put on some rather spectacular tantrums - complete with jumping and landing on his butt. I really should try to get a video of that. I'm pretty sure he is learning this behavior from his siblings. For them, the twos weren't all that terrible...their threes are worse. But Nicholas - wow - his two's are definitely terrible.

In the funny times:

1. Nicholas, for a while, thought it was fun to sleep with socks on his hands or just to walk around with socks on his hands. He hasn't done that in a while.

2. Nicholas will sometimes will look directly at your face and rather close to your face when he is telling you something.

3. Nicholas told me the other day "I can do it!" Yep - I guess he's a big boy now.

4. Nicholas likes to tease me by telling me "I go potty?" and so I get him undressed to do so, and he just runs off. Someday I'll get him to go pee or poo on the potty again. Someday.

5. Speaking of potty training, Ella was so proud of herself for buttoning her shirt that she proclaimed that she is a big girl and can button her shirt. She can get herself dressed. She can even go poo on the potty! I said - that's great (and inside I said - I'd like to see that since she still struggles with the fear of going poo on the potty).

6. Ben & Ella fighting over the proper way to say "Bubble Guppies". Benjamin asking Ella "why do you like it so much? Can't we watch another show?" or something along those lines.

7. Ben & Ella calling President's Day present day. :-D

8. Fighting over mommy or papa. Nicholas is saying "my mommy!" whenever Ella sits on my lap or Benjamin. He didn't like it too much when I was in the church nursery and was holding Andre for a period of time to calm him after his mommy left. Ella one time said that we needed another parent so that there would be enough to hold each child. :-( and :-D

In other non-kid news, I went to go see Rock of Ages a while ago with a friend and loved it! If you are a fan of 80s rock music, then this is the show for you!

Nicholas is a Big Boy

2011-03-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

I was going to talk about Nicholas and his toddler bed today, so I guess I will then go into why I titled this UGH.

Nicholas is still in his crib. We had transferred Ben & Ella to their toddler beds when they were 18 months but with Nicholas we have resisted because we know that means he is going to keep getting out of his bed like his brother and sister. We planned to convert his bed at his 2nd birthday but the rail hasn't arrived yet and won't until the end of April! We should have been better about getting it. We are thinking of cancelling the order and getting just one of the plastic-y ones like I had intended to get anyway. We'll see.

Anyway, he really doesn't want to go in his crib. He wants to sleep in Ben & Ella's bed because his a big boy after all. He can do things all by himself (he told me the other day that he could do it - whatever the it was, I can't remember now). He isn't really happy to go into his bed...though lately he has gotten in there - laid down and read his book. So very cute!

So I was going to also write about my frustration with work and with people, but perhaps I'll save that for another day. Maybe by then, I won't feel so frustrated anymore.

Sunny Day in Seattle

2011-03-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

So yesterday we had a nice sunny day and it hit 60 degrees! Time to head to the park! I told the kids when I picked them up that we could head to the park. Things were going well - though honestly, I hate going there by myself because I'm afraid of losing one of the kids especially when it is so crowded, but how could I pass up a nice sunny day!

Anyway, things were going great until it was time to go, then children being children, they would not listen when I told them it was time to go. I was really, really frustrated with them. I told them if they want to come back, they need to listen. This is funny because Benjamin a number of times have said to us "you need to listen!" when he said "is that the 3-5-3 bus" and we say yes "it is the 3-53 bus" and he will reply with "I didn't say 3-53, I said 3-5-3, you need to listen!"

Today isn't looking as nice unfortunately, so I don't think we'll go to the park today unless it gets sunny in the next couple hours...though it looks like it is about to rain.

Tomorrow - all about Nicholas and his toddler bed. He's a big boy, you know! He told me last night "I can do it" when I asked him if I could help him with something. My children are growing up on me!

Swim Class

2011-03-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

As you may recall (if I wrote it down in this blog), that Ben & Ella started swim class back a couple months ago. They, at first, hated it, but gradually were warming up to being in the pool. By the last class that each attended, things were starting to look good. Then the pool closed for a few weeks to clean. I was afraid that would mean we would go back to the beginning but no! Ben & Ella hopped into the pool right away and enjoyed their class. Now, Benjamin is a bit more adventurous than Ella. He wants to go down the slide into the pool and he likes going around the pool in the float. Ella refuses to do both of those things. Hopefully, that will change and hopefully, they will both graduate out of preschool level 1 swim class this time.

This time, I also signed Nicholas up for a class. He has to go into the pool with a parent (you have to be 3 to take the preschool class). The first class was this past Saturday and I went in with him this time. He LOVED it. I would sit him on the edge of the pool and he would just jump at me. He didn't freak out when I accidentally put him under water either...though he did swallow some chorlinated water. Yuck! He didn't want to crawl along the one square float this last time, so maybe next time!

Overnight

2011-03-22T14:47:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday we took all 3 kids to stay at their grandma and grandpa's house overnight. Jon and I went to a wedding then come home close to midnight so that we could sleep in a little. Did I end up getting a good night's rest that night? Nope, not at all. I kept waking up and ended up getting up for good at 8 a.m. - which is a little sleeping in but it wasn't a restful sleeping in like I had hoped. Oh well, I did get to finish my book club book though before going to get the kids so that was good.

As for the kids,they did great. There was no crying whatsoever when we left and they asked when they could come back so I have a feeling we can try this again - maybe just on a night when Jon and I want to go out to dinner or something though. We'll see.

This night also marked Nicholas' first time outside his crib. We have been waiting on the railing to come for his crib so he hasn't transitioned to a toddler bed yet. Honestly, I'm not looking forward to it as it will mean some falling out of bed in the middle of the night and some getting out of bed. I just don't know if I want to have another child getting out of his bed all the time. But I know we should transition him and we will once that part comes!

While at grandma and grandpa's, they watched Toy Story (finally - so now they know who Woody and Buzz Lightyear are), the twins got their toes painted with nail polish by their Aunt, and went to the park and colored. It seemed to be a fun time.

The wedding was also fun for us and it was great to meet some new people due to the wedding. I went to the bachelorette party and met the bridesmaids and others on the bride's side of the aisle. The party was at Chopstix which is a great place! I want to go there for my birthday, I think. And the wedding was at the Museum of Flight. The museum looks rather cool at night with the lights shining on the planes.

Well, anyway, that's all for now. Next time - swim class!

Happy (belated) birthday, Nicholas!!!

2011-03-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

I'm a horrible mother. It is nearly a month after Nicholas' birthday party and I am just now saying happy birthday to him on my blog.

My little guy (and he is little - he is in the 30-35 percentile in height and weight) turned 2 on February 25. He is talking a lot (I understand about 60% of what he says these days) and can be very demanding when he wants something. He wants to be included in what his big brother and sister do, but most of the time they exclude him.

My little guy still is a big snuggle bug even today...especially after he just wakes up.

We had his birthday party at The Children's Museum in Seattle. It was a fun but very exhausting day. My sister and 2 of her kids came over, along with my eldest niece's best friend. My parents didn't dare try the pass, but my sister did. We had lots of friends there too - about 43 people in total!!!

Thanks to all who came to celebrate with us!

(I am going to make more of an effort to write about my kids, so I have lots to write about - including swim class, staying at grandma and grandpa's for the first time overnight by themselves, and more!)

Another Overdue Update

2011-02-04T13:31:00.000-08:00

Well, the kids are still taking swim lessons and still freaked out by the water. Ella did o.k. when I took her on Monday night to go swimming with me. She let me put her on her belly and on her back to swim as long as she was holding a long pink spaghetti noodle. I'm hoping this means she will get in the pool with the teacher tomorrow, but I'm not holding out any luck on that.

Benjamin also refused to go into the pool during class last week and didn't let go of Jon when they went on Wednesday night...though he did well the prior week in class and in pool time with papa.

Nicholas has had his first ear infection. He got a 103 temperature the other day. I took him to the doctor the next day and he has ear infections, so he started on antibiotics on Monday. He was throwing up last night - something that he and at least one of the teachers at school have.

Cute Stories:

the other day, I'm driving the kids home and I hear them say the following:

Ella: Benjamin, do you want to wear the pink things? (I think she is talking about the pink wannabe crocs).
Ben: ...
Ella: BENJAMIN! Do you want to wear the pink things? Yeah or no?
Benjamin: ELLA! Boys like to wear pink sometimes too!

Last night, I was cleaning up their room trying to find where Nicholas put his boots (turns out he put them in Jon's boots). Ella & Benjamin were out in the livingroom pretending to be mommy and baby. I hear one of them say "do you like your soda? I like my soda" and I was thinking they were pretending because they see Jon and I drink soda. Well, no, they found a coke bottle I had left in my lunch bag (I had forgotten about it) and they were pouring the coke into their sippy cups and their other cup and drinking it. I only came out when I heard Benjamin scream out "it's too full! I got it too full!" He put too much in his cup and it was spilling out. Ugh! Luckily, they did go to sleep in a somewhat peaceful manner (in comparison to other days).

Speaking of swimming, last week when I took Ella to swim, she was staring at the womean and little girls walking around - some of them in the nude. I told her it wasn't nice to stare. Later, after "swimming", we went back to the locker room to change and she apparently thought I was staring as she said "mommy, it isn't nice to stare".

Nicholas is sick again today so Jon is home with him. Benjamin also stayed home since his nose kept running and he needed a tissue constantly. He was going to keep Ella home, but she said she really wanted to go to school. I'm not sure right now if she went or not.

That's all for now. Hope everyone feels better soon and that Ben & Ella do very well in their swim class tomorrow!

Swim Class & More

2011-01-20T13:53:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we started Ben & Ella on swim lessons. I'm going to start something with Nicholas next session hopefully (hopefully, the first class isn't on his birthday party day!) Anyway, both kids were very hesitant about this whole getting in the pool thing. Thankfully, they were not the only ones so I didn't feel all too bad. Ella did go in after a while and even floated across to the platform on the other side with the help of the teacher. Unfortunately, she let go of the pole on the platform and went under the water. After that, she was rather nervous about the whole thing so she only spent a little more time in the pool.

Benjamin took more time to be o.k. with the pool. I tried putting him in there but he was lifting his legs up and had he just put his legs down, he would feel the bottom. Eventually, he went in and realized that there was a bottom and he wouldn't go all the way in. However, he didn't last long in the pool. I blame myself for not introducing them to the pool sooner (which is why I want to get Nicholas in there as soon as possible though with him it will be with the parent tot class as you have to be 3 to be in the class Ben & Ella are in.

We are going to try to make it to the Friday night family swim night so the kids can go swimming then with our assistance. I hope this will make them o.k. with the saturday swim class that goes on for another 5 weeks.

Speaking of the twins, one night Benjamin got hurt (he had bit his finger when eating a sandwich) and he did this thing he always does that I hate in which it seems he is not breathing and to top that off, he had food in his mouth so I got a bit nervous he would choke. Ella started to freak out then because of that and I thought it was sweet she was so concerned that something was really going on - but it wasn't. All was cool once I got Benjamin to actually breathe again to tell me what happened.

As for Nicholas - he is saying more and more sentances. He has been saying thank you for a while, but last night actually said you're welcome to me - though I think it was more you elcom. He also says "soos me" for excuse me and it was so cute because last night, he was riding on a little scooter car thing and he said "soos me mommy. Soos me!" Such a polite little boy.

Also - potty training. I THOUGHT we had made some progress when all 3 went poo on the potty over the weekend, but nope. It feels neverending.

Year In Review

2011-01-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

1) What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?

I can't think of anything that was new this year.

2) Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Yes, I read more than 52 books in 2010.

3) Did anyone close to you give birth in 2010?

No, not anyone close though I know some people that have given birth in 2010.

4)Did anyone close to you die?

Unfortunately, yes. My grandmother (on my dad's side) died on March 31. My aunt Judy (my mom's sister) died on August 13. And a fellow vanpool rider died in September, I believe.

5) What countries did you visit?

The U.S.! ;-D

6) What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

More sleep. A bigger and clean house. A clean bill of health for everyone I know.

7) What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

March 31 - Grandmother died.
August 13 - Aunt died
October 13 - Jon turned 40!

8) What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Raising 3 kids.

9) Did you suffer illness or injury?

Possible food poisoning or flu but that's about it. I did have a cyst in my wrist drained. It has since come back and then I hit it on Saturday accidentally and it feels a bit better or so I thought. It is starting to hurt again.

10) What was the best thing you bought?

Kindle!

11) What song will always remind you of 2010?

Probably The Black Keys song "Tighten Up"

12) Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder, b) thinner or fatter, and c) richer or poorer?
a) Happier, but definitely more tired. Exhausted really.
b) Fatter
c) I'm making more, but I feel poorer.

13) What do you wish you’d done more of?

Spent more time with the kids (when they weren't throwing tantrums) and more time with hubby.

14) What do you wish you’d done less of?
work and chores (but those are unavoidable).

15) How did you spend Christmas?
With my husband, babies, kitties and Jon's parents and sister, Tanya. We were at my house. Next year, we're going to Spokane. In 2012, Jon's sister, Janel, wants us to come to Arkansas but we'll see if we can save the money for that.

16) Did you fall in love in 2010?

Of course! With all of my sweeties!

17) What was your favorite TV program?

The Amazing Race

18) What was the best book you read?

Mockingjay or the Millennium trilogy

19) What was your greatest musical discovery this year?
The Black Keys or Mumford & Sons

20) What did you want and get?

Kindle. iPod Touch. InSpa gift card.

21) What did you want and not get?

More time with the kids. Sleep. More date nights. iPhone (or similar smartphone)

22) What was your favorite film of the year?

Films? What are those? :-D I do plan to see Harry Potter this Friday - our first date since August, I think.

23) What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant with friends. I turned 37.

24) What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I think more time off from work. More time spent alone with my husband - that time not easy to get.

25) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

Anything that fits and looks somewhat decent.

26) What kept you sane?

I'm not sure that has happened. My theme song right now is Crazy by Gnarls Barkley.

27) What political issue stirred you the most this year?
Don't Ask, Don't Tell or the Health Care Reform

28) Who did you miss?
Family. Grandmother, grandfather and my Aunt who have passed away.

29) Who was the best new person you met in 2010?

Hmm, I don't know if I really met anyone new this year. There have some been some reconnections with people I knew a while back but lost track of. It was nice getting together with them again!

30) What valuable lesson have you learned in 2010?

You just have to have faith that everything will be alright.

31) Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

Well, there are a few.

"I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind" - Crazy by Gnarls Barkley

"Living just to keep going
Going just to be sane.
All the while I know
It's such a shame"

Tighten Up by The Black Keys

So Many Things

2011-01-03T15:03:00.001-08:00

We celebrated another Christmas. We stayed at home this year and Jon's parents and youngest sister joined us. We actually got a real Christmas tree this year and we haven't done that since before we had our cats (about 6 years ago). Ben & Ella definitely got the whole Christmas and Santa thing this year and will keep saying "we saw Santa at your work mommy!" Each year, Santa comes to my work for pictures which is great since there is pretty much no line. Anyway, they enjoyed it and love opening gifts. Their latest gift was from my older of the two brothers and my parents. One of the items was a little Dora stuffed doll and a Dora blanket - Ella was IN LOVE. Benjamin was sad that he didn't get one too. He got a Buzz Lightyear - they haven't seen that movie yet so maybe once they do, he will be o.k. with Buzz. Nicholas got a Buddy from Toy Story as well. Benjamin LOVED his new fire truck. Ella LOVED her doll set. Nicholas was happy with whatever.

One night when we came home, the moon was only about 3/4 full. Ella says to me "the moon is broken. We need to get a new one." Cracked me up.

Nicholas is really cute - he says the other day "where are dey?" to me. I have no idea what he is looking for so I ask them what he is looking for and he says "I doe no. Where are dey?" So cute!

Benjamin seems to like getting comforted by his sister more so than me. He hurt his hand the other day and would not accept comfort from me, but from his sister. They were playing mommy and baby so maybe that is why...though that isn't the first instance he wanted Ella or he wanted his papa instead of me. :-(

Oh, we also celebrated New Year's by having people over on the Eve of. We had a couple that have two kids (one of which is 3), and a few other friends. Ella lasted the longest and stayed up 'til 12:30. Benjamin made it to 11:30 and Nicholas lasted until about 10:15. They did not sleep in the next day. They slept until about 7! Ugh.
They did sleep until 8 on Sunday though...

Happy New Year everyone - I hope 2011 is better than 2010 (stay tuned for a Year in Review post).

Update on mom & Kids

2010-12-16T15:11:00.000-08:00

First, my mom did not start radiation the other day. She will start that after the holidays. She gets her mold done next Monday though (I have no idea what that means - perhaps I need to read through my old posts to see if I wrote about it before when she had breast cancer). She did get her shots and the IV though. She did not like the shots and commented that she could see why I hated the shots for IVF (hers were in her butt).

And onto the kids. Lately, Ben & Ella have been saying "Chris! Mas! Lights!" everytime we see some lights on a house. One day Benjamin said he was getting bigger and wouldn't say that anymore, but he does.

I haven't mentioned before but Ben & Ella can both write their names. Ben can write his full name of Benjamin. :-D They also know how to spell stop - and apparently, Nicholas can too as he joined in last night when we were spelling it. Maybe he just knows that P comes after O as we sing the alphabet a lot.

Last night, we went to surprise a friend on his 40th birthday by singing happy birthday to the tune of "we wish you a merry christmas" - my kids were quite cranky when it was time to go to bed and were screaming at the top of their lungs. I attempted many different songs, but the one that calmed them down was this happy birthday song. :-D Just one time through and they were calm and on their way to sleeping. :-D

Nicholas was picking something up the other day and said it was heavy. We asked him if he was strong and he said "I strong!". It was rather cute. He continues to tell us these things. He also is saying 'mon' for "c'mon".

Ella these days wants to dress like me. If I am wearing tennis shoes, she wants to wear tennis shoes. If I am wearing black shoes, she wants to wear black shoes. This is a problem since her black shoes no longer fit her. During the week, she doesn't see me so this usually isn't a problem, but on the weekend, it can be. At night, if I am wearing a long sleeve shirt, she wants to as well. It is quite sweet and I should enjoy it while it lasts (thought at times, it can be frustrating - like with the black shoes).

In other news, why do they make one season of a show only 6 episodes long. Seriously! I want more Walking Dead episodes and I have to wait until freaking October! Oh well, at least in June or July - next summer - we'll have more True Blood. What to watch until then? Since my DVR is 90% full, I'm sure I will have no lack of things to watch and perhaps I should watch The Blind Side that I have borrowed from the library 3 times now.

I recently started going to a chiropractor. I've had two adjustments now and it has felt good. I think soon I should go for a massage too...

That's all for now.

Last Day of National Blog Writing Month

2010-11-30T22:23:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day so I can stop blogging now. :-D

Mom went to her doctor appointment today (got in a day earlier than expected). Will start radiation and other medication next week. She will also be having a pet scan done. After 3 months, they'll do another one and see if the treatment is working. If not, move onto something else. Hopefully, she can beat cancer again. I have hope that she will.

I went to a spa party last night in which I was the only participant. I felt compelled to purchase something. I got a couple items - one of which will be a gift.

I didn't get to bed as early as I hoped tonight since I stayed up to watch Glee, then the person who originally sang the song "dog days of summer" was on SNL on my DVR so I listened to that. Now must go to bed and get a minimal amount of sleep again.

Chiropractor & Blech

2010-11-29T19:00:00.000-08:00

Went to the chiropractor today - it was just an initial consult so no adjustment done this time. I go back in one week but before that she wants me to have an xray done of my neck to just check it out in case there are any issues. I'll do that sometime this week.

So it looks like Benjamin got sick too. Last night, maybe around 11, he started to throw up and continued off and on until about 3 or so. Nicholas and Ella were coughing a lot, but so far (knock on wood), they have not gotten sick. Jon stayed home with Benjamin today since he has a gazillion sick hours and I have 8 to last me until February (and I only have that since I worked extra last Friday night to make up at least 3 hours so I could keep my hours at 8 rather than 5). Hopefully, I won't need those hours.

too tired

2010-11-28T22:20:00.001-08:00

I'm too tired to blog too much tonight. Stayed up later than I should. I watched a new show called The Walking Dead on AMC with Jon. That is our new show to watch together since Lost is no longer on and True Blood isn't on until next summer. It seems like a good show. We've watched the first two shows so far - I think there are 5 episodes out there now.

Alright, must go to bed so I can go to work. I'm going to my first chiropractic appointment in four years tomorrow - hope it helps out with the back issues. And then later tomorrow night, I'm going to a spa party at a friend's house. Looking forward to that.

sleep now.

Harry Potter & Blech

2010-11-27T21:22:00.000-08:00

Last night around 9 p.m., my body decided that it didn't agree with something I ate and revolted. So I really didn't go to bed until about 2 and even then I was up every hour. Things seemed to finally quieting down this morning around 8 or 9. I still feel kinda gross but at least I was able to eat a little something and I am able to hold down some liquids.

Thankfully, I was feeling better since I had tickets to go the Harry Potter exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. It was an interesting exhibit. Seeing costumes worn by the actors and props from the movie. On the signs showing the proclamation of things banned had at the very bottom "blah blah blahblah blahablaha" etc. I pointed that out to Kelly who seemed amused by it, as was I. It was then pointed out to people nearby us. It was kinda funny seeing costumes worn during the first or second movies compared to later on - seeing how much the actors have grown over the years.

Soon, I hope to go see the movie.

Now I must go to bed since I had very little sleep last night and I am about to pass out.

Bother

2010-11-26T16:40:00.001-08:00

Not much to say today. I got to work at 7 and I'm leaving at 6 and well, there isn't much to say about work at the moment. I just hope the drive back home goes well.

I don't have any cute kid stories to share either.

So today is another random, boring post.

Question:

Isn't it annoying when you ask "hey does anyone want to go to this thing with me? I'm open to any time" and many do not respond so I think they don't want to go to this thing. Well, I guess it turns out that they just don't want to go with me because I see facebook posts of people going to said thing. That sure does make me feel good! I'm not saying people have to do everything with me, but it isn't often that I get out and not that often that I ask if anyone wants to do something with me either. And well, if they had said, we are going but we want to go alone or something like that, then I would have been o.k. but no response whatsoever?!? I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving, we once again spent time at home since I have to work tomorrow and can't go over to Spokane (though with the pass the way it is, I doubt we would have gone anyway). However, we did have some company this year. We invited over our friend Michelle since her sister now lives in NC and thus, not able to join her family for the holiday. Thanks for coming Michelle!!! Thanks for the food, especially the sausage, fruit salad and of course, the brownies.

I am grateful for a lot of things - my family, friends, and kitties. I am grateful to have a job even if I gripe about it sometimes (or a lot). I am grateful to have a house though it seems too small for all of us. I am grateful to be relatively healthy. And much more. I do wish this year would have sucked less and cancer wasn't so prevalent in my life this year, but I know that these can't be helped.

And onto a cute story:
One thing that I've learned that make Ben & Ella laugh is putting together this foam floor puzzle together all wrong. It is just hilarious to see wrong pieces next to each other. And I mean this really cracks them up.

Snomg & 2010, you suck!

2010-11-24T14:45:00.000-08:00

Day 3 of Snowpocolypse or Snomg here in Seattle. I actually came into work today. Wasn't too bad, I suppose, driving out there, but I'd rather not, thank you very much. Because I work for a retailer (even though it is the corporate office of said retailer), they will never, ever close the offices...ever. I think even an earthquake would keep it open. The buildings will be destroyed and our recording will still say "the corporate offices are operating as normal".

Anyway, my mom called me last night to tell me they found cancer in her back. She had cancer a few years ago in her breast. I just heard that she will see her oncologist on 12/01/2010 to figure out what the battle plan will be. She will beat it again! Stupid, freakin' cancer.

2010 has been the year of cancer for my family and friends this year. It can please go away now. May 2011 bring joy and happiness and great health for everyone!

Snow & Suck

2010-11-23T20:45:00.000-08:00

Today I stayed home because of the snow - well, really, the ice. Snow isn't the problem - the ice is. I have a huge fear of driving in it and probably the biggest reason I should never move back to Spokane. What is funny is that I will have to use my last sick day and I ended up showing signs of a cold today after I made the decision to stay home due to snow/ice! Is that ironic? I don't know. I will actually try to make up as much time as I can though - I don't know when I'll be able to...maybe Friday. The day I was going to leave early but now may have to end up working a much longer day to make up some hours so I don't have use all of my sick time I have left.

And now to the suck. My mom called me tonight. I was in the bathroom when she first called. She left a message to call her and I could tell by her tone of voice that something was wrong. I called her back and she was on the phone with my grandma and quickly told me the news that they found cancer in her back. She had cancer a few years ago in her breast. She was having pain in her back, went in, had a CT scan and that's when they found it. She will find out tomorrow what the treatment will be.

This year has been one sucky moment after another. I am holding out hope and will pray that everything will be alright. I have to believe that or I may just break down. I simply don't know what I would do without my mom, so I am choosing to believe that she will be o.k. The doctors will treat her, get rid of this cancer (again!) and she will be here for many, many years to come. She has to be. Any prayer for her is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Snow in Seattle

2010-11-22T12:26:00.000-08:00

It's the end of the world! Oh wait, it is just snow. Everything has closed down, it seems like, around here since there is snow on the ground. Now, I really don't like driving in the snow myself but sometimes it seems there is a bit of overkill around here. What is really bad is the ice and I'm worried more about tomorrow morning's commute than tonight's. We'll see how it goes.

Speaking of commuting, the annoying, non-stop talking, know-it-all is back in my vanpool. Hooray! I wonder if he knows it is o.k. not to talk all the time and say annoying stuff. This morning, since there was snow on the roads in Seattle (very little of it at the time and probably is still little but I'm actually in Issaquah), he said "this wasn't supposed to be here". Now, you are probably thinking, that is no big deal, but you don't know this person. Maybe you just have to be in a vanpool with him and you would understand.

In other news, I am going to the Harry Potter Exhibit at the Pacific Science Center this Saturday evening. Kelly has decided it is o.k. to go a second time so she is going with me. :-D Now, I just need to figure out a time and someone to go with me to see Harry Potter. Since I know no one reads this besides my husband, I won't even bother to ask on here if anyone can babysit so I can go see it with Jon (though maybe I kinda just did).

Just looked out my window - it has stopped snowing here but it is sticking to the ground. A coworker said she has 2 inches at her house (she lives here in Issaquah). Hope the commute is not too long. Some in my vanpool want to leave at 3 but that would involve me using vacation or sick time that I have so precious little of until February (was going to use 3 days in December for Christmas so I could cut that down if I need to, I guess. And one sick day left that I saved for just this purpose but would rather use it on a day that looks really bad - like a day I can't even get out of my driveway bad - like 2 years ago).

Unexpected potty training

2010-11-21T20:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I saw Nicholas acting like he was about to poo so I asked him if wanted to sit on potty. He quickly got up and went to potty - paused when I wasn't getting up as fast as he wanted and said to me "pee!". We went into the bathroom and I sat him down on the potty. After a few minutes, he got up and said "I pee". I thought - uh huh...but he did! He went pee!!! Now if only I could get him to go poo so his older siblings will see that and perhaps not want to be outdone by their younger sibling. I don't know how much we are going to actually actively potty train him, but if he asks me, I'll sit him down on the potty.

Earlier today, we went to a support group friend's house for a jewelry party/get-together. She has a new house now, so this was my first time seeing it. We thought that one friend of ours has a McMansion - they should see this house. Only in my dreams would I ever get to live in a place like that. It's huge and so clean. I don't know how she keeps it so clean with 3 young kids - but perhaps being able to spread one's things out helps. It was great seeing everyone again and this time with our kids! Of course, there was one person missing so it wasn't everyone, unfortunately. And with the three kids, there wasn't much time for socialization.

At one point, Ella told me she needed to pee. Nicholas was getting into something so I told her where the potty was and she couldn't get her pants down in time so she peed her pants. She flipped out and I came running in there and saw that and helped her change into new pants. Then I had to go in search of Nicholas again and it took me a while fearing he decided to go down the stairs or up the stairs again on his own (not quite there yet - though it may be more be that I'm not there yet), but he was playing with a Jack in the Box with a friend of ours.

Well, that was our day. Now back to work tomorrow. There were a few snowflakes today but nothing stuck. It is supposed to get rather cold tonight so I'm not looking forward to tomorrow morning. May the roads be o.k.

At least it is only a four day work week. If my work wasn't so annoying and not letting people take Friday off, I would have taken it off and had a three day work week. UGH!!!!!!! Have I mentioned I really, really hate this rule??? I would think as long as you have enough people to cover your department, people should be able to take time off during this month and most of December, but no.

Alright, time to watch something on the tv.

UGH

2010-11-20T21:03:00.001-08:00

Today has been a very long, exhausting day. I get really frustrated when my kids, who know how to talk, can't say what they want. They will either scream or just grunt. It really frustrates me. It makes me wonder if I'm really cut out for this. I just said love you to my kids and Ella yelled at me to go. Not something I particularly want to hear especially after a frustrating few minutes or hours.

Sometimes it makes me jealous of those with just one kid. They have no idea how easy they have it. Sure, raising one child is hard, but that seems like a cakewalk compared to 3 kids - all 3 and under.

I was going to talk about the fun part of the day, but the end part of the day keeps popping back into the forefront. We went to my work to get pictures with Santa. Ella was brave and sat on Santa's lap but the other two refused to be in the picture unless held by a parent so once again, we were in the picture. Then I couldn't get all 3 of them in the same shot for a Christmas card photo so once again, I'll have to split them up.

After that, we came home for lunch then I took the twins to their gymnastics class. They seem to have a good time with it that it is sad that there is only more class left on the first Saturday of December. After the class, I took them to Half Price books just for something to do. I managed to walk out of there without getting a book for myself but I did get books for the twins. A coloring book, that is. With stickers.

Then I made the mistake of taking just Ella with me to the store. We came home and Benjamin was awake but Ella was not. So I took Benjamin inside and took Ella to the store with me once she woke up (well, I thought she was awake but she wasn't so I woke her up when we got to the store). I came home and Benjamin was really upset that he didn't get to go too, so after dinner, we all made a trip to Target. We got them a caterpillar music toy that they love and fight over constantly. I guess we thought this would mean bedtime would go smoother and they would stay in their bed if they had one. They are still in bed...but asking Ella if she wanted lotion on her hands mean her saying yes then refusing to use any of the lotions I offered her. She grunted or just refused the choice by turning her back.

It has been a long day and this is probably just getting to me more because of it being a long day (and tomorrow is going to be busy in the morning too - I really hope they behave themselves since I am taking all 3 with me to a friend's house for a little party (this is a friend from support group and other support group ladies will be there with their kids). I'm taking them on my own, so I really hope they behave and go to the potty when they need to...in the potty. I hope they can give me potty training advice because I need it.

(also, part of my frustration is just me throwing my own little pity party)

Friday Stories

2010-11-19T13:03:00.001-08:00

I get a text from my husband yesterday saying Ella had cut her hair saying "papa, I cut my hair! With scissors!" Umm, what? I immediately asked to see a picture (as I was at work) and couldn't tell where she had cut her hair, thankfully. I asked her where she had cut her hair and she said "in the bathroom." Umm, sweetie, I meant where on your head? She gave no answer.

These days Nicholas wants to be like his brother and sister in another way - he wants to sit on the potty. I asked him last night as I saw him acting like he was going #2 if he wanted to sit on the potty. He said "yep", so he started walking there and wanted me to take off his pants so he could sit down. Nothing happened, but at least, it seems at this point, Nicholas will be easier to train than either of his siblings.

Ben & Ella will go pee in the potty. Sometimes Benjamin has an accident, but it is becoming more rare. Having them go poo is another issue...still. Benjamin seems to do better at it than Ella. I think for him it is that he doesn't want rather than he is scared (which seems to be Ella's reason). Everyone keeps telling me it will happen, but seriously, I feel as if we will have the first kids to never learn to go poo on the potty. I really just don't want to buy pull-ups anymore. We definitely will not be introducing them with Nicholas.

I wish I could have seen Harry Potter last night, but I have to work today. My work can't possibly let people have time off during this month (except for Thanksgiving) because they wouldn't want people to be able to spend time with family members that live elsewhere or to do fun things like go to a midnight showing of Harry Potter (not that I'd be able to stay up that late anyway or that I was invited to go with anyone...though I may end up going to see it by myself anyway since everyone has probably already seen it that would want to see it my little group). Well, enough of that pity party.

Oh, another cute story. Benjamin & Ella have become even closer it seems. I will see them giving each other hugs or wrestling on the floor. I thought it would be Benjamin & Nicholas wrestling, but nope, Ella is doing that too. It is quite cute right now. I need to get another picture of them hugging each other.

Some new pics are at www.flickr.com/photos/heathercim

Ho hum

2010-11-18T13:01:00.000-08:00

Not much to say today either. All three kids went to get flu shots today - for Ben & Ella it was #2 and for Nicholas, it was #1. Nicholas needs to go back in a month for #2. And I should say that Ben & Ella's was a nasal spray not a shot - which I guess is better for them. They won't scream as much with that as they would the shot. I guess Nicholas didn't cry at all with the shot - that is surprising. Jon took all 3 since I'm stuck at work. Blech.

Tonight, the UW have a 5 p.m. game. My vanpool leaves at 4:30 - hopefully, most people will be at UW by the time we leave so the commute isn't as bad as people keep saying it will.

Blogging every day when you really don't have much to say is rather annoying.

Bouncy House - Livingroom Version

2010-11-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

Ben & Ella decided that they would put all the pillows from the couch onto the floor, along with their blankets, and said that it was their bouncy house. Thankfully, they did not bounce all that much. They also thought it was funny when I was pretending to be a bear (that was last night) and was trying to eat them for my snack.

I have pics on my flickr account - www.flickr.com/photos/heathercim

Short blog post for today. It is bedtime. Perhaps tomorrow I will remember before bedtime. :-D

Ramblings...again

2010-11-16T13:16:00.000-08:00

I came across this quote today - I'd say this is the same for me too.

"Books for me have always been a way to escape. I now consider reading
a good book a sacred indulgence, time alone to be any place I choose.
It is my absolute favorite way to spend time."

— Oprah

One guy in my van asked me if the current book I'm reading (Clockwork Angel) was a Twilight book. I answered that it wasn't, then he asked if I had read those books and I said I had (and honestly after a moment's hesitation of whether I should answer honestly - that's kinda sad).

Anyway, last night I went to my mom's group meeting at the church. We are currently reading through Real Moms, Real Jesus. This was our third meeting. It was a good meeting and I'm glad that the book was suggested to me so we could start this group at our church. I do hope one day that more moms will join us. Ella was not thrilled at all that I was leaving her. It really sucks to leave when your child is that upset that you are leaving. Talk about mommy guilt. But the rest of this week, I have nothing planned (though I'd really like to go see the Harry Potter movie coming out sometime soon).

This weekend, my work is having a Santa picture day again, so we are taking the kids here. I wonder how they will react to Santa this year? 3 1/2 years old and a (nearly) 21 month old. Hmm. We'll see on Saturday morning!

Two songs that have been in my head today:

1 - Bullet with Butterfly Wings (particularly "The world is a vampire" and "Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage" parts)

2 - Dora Theme Song - d-d-d-d-Dora, d-d-d-d-Dora, d-d-d-d-Dora, d-d-d-d-Dora! Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer! Dora! Boots and supercool explorer dora! Grab your backpack! Let's go! Jump in! Vaminos! You can lead the way! Hey! Hey! d-d-d-d-Dora, d-d-d-d-Dora, Swiper no swiping, Swiper no swiping, oh man! Dora the Explorer!

Have I mentioned that Nicholas will say "oh man" and will attempt to sing ABC and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? It's rather cute.

Books & Cute Kid Stuff

2010-11-15T12:59:00.000-08:00

I'm currently reading book #58 (thanks to goodreads for helping me keep track). My goal for this year was to read 52 books in a year and I've surpassed that - yay me!
Now I'm trying to decide what my goal for next year should be (at least when it comes to books). I'm thinking of possibly reading some of the classics that I haven't read before - maybe 10 classics next year - seems doable. But I've also thought I should just go ahead and read some series I haven't read yet or finish series I haven't done yet - for example, The Time books by Madeleine L'Engle (which might cover classics and series) and the rest of the In Death books by J.D. Robb and a few other series I've been meaning to read. Decisions, decisions.

Any book suggestions out there? My book club is almost ready to select books for next year's list so I'm looking for ideas. I have a couple that I think might be good book club picks. Up next in the book club is "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield. Then "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro.

This morning, I answer my phone and on the other end is Benjamin singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", then Ella gets on the phone and sings a song that Jon wrote that goes "There, there, mommy. Wonderful mommy. Intelligent, strong, mommy. You are good girl and we're proud of you. We love you mommy" It actually started when the twins were babies in a way to calm them down, so instead of mommy, it would be Ella or Benjamin or Nicholas, but the twins have since added mommy and papa into the mix.

Not a cute story, but will share anyway - Nicholas was playing with Jon this a.m. and fell and got yet another bloody nose. I swear that kid will be the child that gets hurt the most in his effort to keep up with his siblings. Did I mention that Nicholas feel about 3 or so feet off a playground toy to the wood chipped ground below. That was not a fun experience for any of us.

Sunday

2010-11-14T14:24:00.000-08:00

Aww, Sunday. Otherwise known as the day before I have to go back to work.

The children are napping. I just got finished cleaning most of the bathroom - the tub still needs to be cleaned. Working on cleaning some laundry - a big pile up as usual. Maybe even bigger than usual since we are trying to get the twins to not use pull-ups at all which results in some poo accidents (pee for Benjamin too). For naptime, I went ahead and let Ella have a pull-up though I probably shouldn't have. Jon is staying home with the kids all week since our daycare is closed and so he is going to try to get the kids to be better at going to the potty. I just don't know if it will work - Ella is afraid of going poo on the potty. She'll go pee, not poo. Benjamin just is rather stubborn when it comes to potty training. He was doing really well until we went over to Spokane one weekend for my aunt's memorial and since then, I feel like we went straight back to the beginning and haven't made any progress since...though the daycare says he is doing well there - just not at home. I don't understand why. I guess they feel like they can get away with more with us maybe?

I don't know - it is just completely frustrating and I feel bad that Jon has to be the one to do this all by himself this week. My work won't allow me to take time off during this month except Thanksgiving so I can't help him. How do we know we are doing the right thing? Are we making the right decision or are we going to cause the kids to get really constipated by not allowing them to use a pull-up? I wish I knew what the right thing to do here is and what I can do to encourage the kids to go on the potty. We tried a "big kid party" on Saturday night and I'm pretty sure that didn't work at all.

Potty training really, really sucks and I hope that other parents out there have a better time with it than we are.

Anyway - this wasn't the post I had thought I was going to write today so I'll try to write that one tomorrow.

ZZZZZZ

2010-11-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why I'm so tired today. Maybe there is something wrong with me and I should get a sleep test, but how can I tell when it just may be because I'm not getting the sleep I need. I did wake up quite a bit last night for unknown reasons. Maybe I'm stressing about things. I don't know.

A friend of mine is saying to me I should get a sleep test done and I feel like I should only then I'll know that it is because my children wake up too early or that I get up to go to work so early (and going to bed so late) that is the real culprit.

I'm here at home now with Nicholas - who is supposed to be napping, but he probably isn't. Jon took Ben & Ella to their gymnastics class so I could balance the checkbook - oh joy. I should probably go take a nap now that I finished with the checkbook stuff, but I probably won't because there is a book to read and I want to read it. Plus, I'm a horrible napper. I always seem to wake up with a headache and feel ill the rest of the day.

How lovely - I have the hiccups now.

Well, that was a really big gripe post. Sorry - I get that way when I'm tired.

Mommy Guilt

2010-11-12T15:20:00.001-08:00

So about that topic I mentioned in yesterday's post, it was all about mommy guilt. I read this article the other day and it brought up a topic that has been a big one for me ever since having kids. I wanted to write this really great blog post on this, but it turns out, I'm not a writer. Anyway...

I have to work. These days, I would love to stay at home with my kids, but it just isn't an option for me. Someone once said - why would you go through all that (that being IVF) and not stay home with your kids? My answer - because I can't. Financially, it just isn't feasible. Does that make me a worse mother because I have to go to work? That I didn't better plan financially so that I could stay home with my kids? I feel guilt about that every day - that I wasn't better about my money when I was younger. But I don't think I am a worse mother because I am not staying at home with my kids. I do what I have to do and try to make the most of the time with my kids when I am with them (though honestly, at times, they frustrate me). I am so looking forward to taking them to a concert tomorrow where 12 year old kids play the fiddle. Awesome! Then, later, they have their gymnastics class. They are so adorable in that and they love it!

Of course, that doesn't mean that I don't also take time for myself away from work and away from the kids. And yes, I do feel guilt about that too - especially in the beginning. How dare I want time for myself when I went through all of that to have kids? But everyone does need a break - a time to be alone or even have some fun adult time. I started a monthly book club and I started a moms group at my church. These are my outlets.

I still feel the mommy guilt all the time. At book club, if I'm there too long, I start to feel bad because I should be hanging out with my kids. I feel guilt when I pick up my kids at daycare/preschool. I should be the one being with my kids during the day, not them. At the same time, I know they are learning so much at the preschool and they get a chance to play with other kids their own age.

So in the end- mommy guilt will always be there no matter what, but I think it starts to get less and less as time goes on with flare-ups every once in a while.

Cuteness

2010-11-11T20:55:00.001-08:00

I had a whole other blog topic planned but since it is nearly 9 p.m., it will have to wait until tomorrow...maybe.

This morning, Nicholas thought a good wake up time was about 5:30. While I should be getting up then so I can exercise before leaving for work, I haven't. Hmm, maybe I should start up my other blog again (the one I had for weight loss many years ago) - maybe that would motivate me. Anyway, Nicholas up at 5:30. We tried to ignore for him for a bit hoping he would go back to bed, but no luck. Jon got up to go to the bathroom. I got up to get Nicholas. Upon picking him up, he immediately asks "where papa at?" Perhaps he is so used to Jon getting him in the mornings as I'm usually gone by the time he gets up. I told him where he was and he repeated the word "bafoom". So cute!

Speaking of cute, I guess yesterday morning, as I was driving away, Ben & Ella started singing "bye bye mommy. bye bye mommy. bye bye mommy. We hope you have a nice day!" or something along those lines. As I wasn't here and only heard from Jon after he asked me if I heard their message did I know that they sang to me. The message that he sent somehow didn't get left on my voice mail though so I didn't get to hear it. So sad, but I can imagine the cuteness. I tried to get them to sing again for me, but they only sang a bit.

Today, the kids and Jon came to visit me at work since my workplace doesn't believe in celebrating our vets and Jon's and the daycare/preschool does. It was a nice visit though it means I have to make up some time for the longer than normal lunch. It was nice to show them off. :-D

Well, that's it for now. I think I'll go watch a little tv before going to bed. I should probably start reading that library book that is due in 9 days but I can't motivate myself to do it. Hopefully, I can finish it before next Saturday. :-D It will be a challenge.

Wednesday post

2010-11-10T12:55:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what to write about today.

Oh, last night, Jon had the kids help him with making cookies. Well, they just decorated their own cookies, but they were really enjoying it. Jon just made some sugar cookies and they put frosting on and sprinkles.

Tonight, I really should take them to get some things from Target. I broke our kitty litter scoop and am really needing to get another one before things get a little too desperate. Speaking of Target, did I mention that I fell down on the escalator there while attempting to go back up to get Benjamin? I had Ella & Benjamin with me and Ella came down with me on the escalator but Benjamin let go of my hand and so she stayed at the top. I tried to run back up to get him, but I fell down and scraped up my knee. That was fun. Luckily, a Target employee helped Benjamin down. And unfortunately, some people can be huge asses as I've learned when I'm on my own with the kids and they either act up or something like this happens. I'm beginning to really not like people.

(which reminds me of another rant - perhaps people should be required to take another written driver's test now and again so they can remember what a yield sign means or even more so, what a stop sign means).

Well, that wasn't that exciting of a blog post. Maybe something better will pop into my head later.

Heaven

2010-11-09T12:56:00.001-08:00

I started reading a book this morning called The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven by Kevin Malarkey. I'm about a 1/4 of the way into it. It was hard for me to keep myself from crying in the vanpool as I read it. It is about a 6 year old who was in a bad car accident and his accounts from being in heaven.

There is a line in there about when the mother found out about the boy's accident and she talks about if God brought him into Heaven, she would be o.k. but God would have to give her the strength to be o.k. with that. And I thought - how does one ever have the strength for something like that? I just think of when my grandfather passed away in 2004. I remember thinking and saying that I just wasn't ready for him to die. He would be my first relative to pass away that I had ever really known (my great grandmother died in the late 80s shortly before we moved back to Spokane, but I don't know if I ever really knew her like I did my grandfather). It was really hard for me to experience death and more so, for it to be my grandfather who died. I cannot imagine the amount of strength one would need if it was one's child that was dying.

However, I keep thinking about things that I had heard after my aunt and grandmother died this year and I can only imagine hearing stories like this and having our beliefs is where the strength comes from. My other aunts and my cousin (whose mom it was that passed) told me of things that my aunt had said before she passed. She said that she saw her dad (who died before I was born) walking toward her and that there were a lot of people with him. She said it again some time later and said their dad was even closer this time and so she knew she was about to die and would be going to heaven. When I heard that, I kept thinking, how can one not believe in something after this life? Some may say it is the pain meds causing delusions, but I believe that she was catching her first glimpses of heaven and it made me feel good to know she was going somewhere good - somewhere without pain, but love (this may sound cheesy to some people reading it but feeling like this is what gets me through the days sometimes). It made me feel better with losing my grandfather 6 years prior, my grandmother in March of this year and now my aunt. An aunt I felt closer to than any others since she lived over here in Seattle before moving back to Spokane about 5 years ago. Not only that, but my cousin said that shortly after she passed, he said out loud "mom, if there is anything after this life, please give me a sign" and I believe she did. He went on to say that a hummingbird kept coming up to the window multiple times and just staring into the room at him. While another cousin was outside, this same hummingbird even flew straight at my other cousin in between one of these window times. Both of them felt it was their mom giving them a sign and I believe so too.

I'm thinking that this book is just the right book for me right now after losing 2 family members in one year. It is a hard book to read because it involves a small child and the father blames himself for the accident, but so far, it is a good book. Another book that I enjoyed that dealt with the afterlife is a fiction book called Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zeven. That book was also a bit of a feel good story (though some parts were a little annoying).

(Just a little note - there was one part of the Heaven book that I cannot believe someone actually said to a mother grieving for her child - a paramedic said that he had prayed for her son while on board the helicopter and that she must continue to do so and not let the doctors steer away from her child recovering or else he would die. Who says that? Do this or your child is going to die and it will be your fault. He might not have meant it that way, but that is the way it came across to me.)

Almost forgot...again

2010-11-08T19:36:00.001-08:00

Completely forgot that I never did get around to blogging today, so I suppose I should write something...but what?

Both the Huskies and the Seahawks sucked this week - I think they were going for the "who can suck the most?" award. It's a toss up so they will have to share in the award. Yay for Seattle for winning something! Oh and the Sounders lost too. So woo hoo, we got a trifecta of loss!

On to blogging about the kids -

Nicholas, Benjamin and I stayed home last night while Ella and Jon went to Costco. Only reason Benjamin stayed home was because he wasn't awake yet from his nap. So anyway, after about 3 minutes, Nicholas asks me "where Ewa go?" Me: She went to the store. Just a few minutes later - Nicholas: "where papa go?" Me: Same place as Ella - to the store. He kept asking me these questions until Jon and Ella came home. Benjamin, upon hearing one of these conversations, breaks out in tears and yells because he wanted to go to the store too. Jon, being the nice guy, took Benjamin to Safeway to grab some other things. Nicholas then started asking "where Ben go?" :-D

In case you are wondering, salmon burgers that we bought from the first store above are gross. Having said that, anyone want the rest of them?

Have I mentioned how grown up my boys look after their haircuts? And how cute Ella looks?

I am always amazed at the different words and phrases that my kids know. Sure, the twins are 3 1/2 (almost) and Nicholas 20 months, but still it amazes me. Benjamin just told me that the jump rope isn't touching the floor because he is holding it and it is hanging.

Is anyone reading this blog at all?

Here's to hoping I remember to blog tomorrow.

The Only Exception

2010-11-07T20:57:00.000-08:00

"The Only Exception" by Paramore is a song I've been listening to a lot these days. I can't say I was in love with it when I first heard it, but it definitely has grown on me. It is a really sweet song.

There have been many songs throughout my life that has made a big impression on me and have some meaning to me. The ones I can think of off the top of my head are "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel (was my favorite for a long time and the song that Jon and I danced to for our first dance at our wedding). Another is "Calling All Angels" by Train. A song I listened to a lot when going through infertility - just listen to the lyrics. And finally the third is, and probably my current favorite of all time, "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol. The lines in this song that really got to me, especially when going through infertility is "All that I am, all that I ever was is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see". LOVE these songs.

Another song I really like these days is "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys - just because it's a fun song and the video is fun too.

I know there are others but I need to go back to finishing up some chores and hopefully getting some reading time in before bed.

(almost forgot to blog today but a person's facebook status reminded me). :-D

Haircut time

2010-11-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

As I write this, Nicholas is screaming because I took away the U.S. Maps puzzle from him - there are too many small pieces for him. I just don't trust him not to put the puzzle pieces in his mouth. And just as I finish this, he stopped crying because his found his milk cup.

The twins are busy watching Dora - their favorite show. And this show has baby twins - I wonder if they like that part. They just went through a pinata forest - wouldn't that be nice?

Well, today, we took the kids to get their haircut. This was Nicholas's first official haircut. See pics at www.flickr.com/photos/heathercim

He did quite well with getting his haircut and looks so grownup now! Ella got a trim while Benjamin got a bigger haircut. He was in desperate need of a haircut, as was Nicholas. I didn't take any after shots of them yet, but I will.

After that, as a treat, we took them to get a donut. Then we went off to Target to get some things. We came back and I went off to meet Ally for lunch at Panera. I love the sandwiches there. Yum. Their bagels are good too. :-D Thanks Ally for lunch!
I came back and the twins went to their third gymnastics class with Jon. I stayed home with Nicholas as he took a nap and I cleaned some laundry (does the laundry pile ever go away?). I also watched the Huskies lose to the Ducks (no surprise there and I think they played like they expected to lose big time). While watching the game, I also read my book.

Well, that's about it for our day. Oh, the twins also went to the King County Library to see a juggler, I guess.

I will do my best to remember to blog tomorrow...

Ramblings

2010-11-05T13:26:00.001-07:00

I don't have much time to blog today since I spent most of my lunch hour reading a book (such a fun series by Gail Carriger. The first one was called Soulless and I am currently reading Changeless.)

Anyway, all three of my children were awake this morning when I left for work. It depends on whether I get to see them before I leave for work or not. Nicholas didn't seem at all pleased that he was woken up by his brother. Benjamin came out of his room yelling for me - I think he must have sensed I was about to leave because I was within seconds of leaving the house. With all three waking, I ended up leaving a bit later than usual but still thankfully made it to the vanpool meeting spot before they left. It was nice to see them this morning although too briefly. I only hope they aren't very cranky tonight when I pick them up and during the day either - don't want the daycare/preschool to want them to leave! I hope that the commute tonight isn't as bad as last night - took us an hour to get back to our meeting spot. Usually, we get can there in 40 minutes at night (I do kinda wonder how the traffic will be the night the Huskies play at 5 p.m. on a Thursday - thankfully, Jon will be home with the kids since the daycare/preschool is closed that week so I won't have to feel rushed to get home).

Speaking of the Huskies, they play the Oregon Ducks tomorrow. I'm afraid to watch. It may be an ugly game - for the Huskies, at least. Who knows, maybe they'll surprise us. Hahahahahahahaha. A coworker's husband asked if I wanted to bet on the game and I laughed.

Tomorrow morning, I am finally taking all kids to get their hair cut. It has been a long time coming. For Nicholas, it will be his first haircut...ever. I've been putting it off because I like his curls so much, but I suppose since he is 20 months,it is time to let the curls go. I'm sure he will look just as cute with some short boy cut.

Alright, enough ramblings for today. I wrote more than I thought I would! Don't you feel lucky?!?!

Anyway,

Ugh

2010-11-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

Three stories have caught my eye in the last couple days (well, more than this, but I'm only to going to talk about three of them...for now).

The first has to do with a librarian in Nebraska being fired for wanting to teach LEGAL immigrants English. I don't understand this at all. Aren't there people in various states wanting English to be the official language of a state (I think there was one state that had this or something similar on their ballot)? What is the big deal? They are LEGAL immigrants who want to learn English!

The second is Senator McConnell saying the GOP goal is to make sure Obama is a one term president. I REALLY don't think that a majority of people voted you into office so you can make sure nothing gets done in DC. Seriously - a majority of people want to see politicians on both side of the aisles get along and get things done to get people working again and to get the economy move its way back up even more. They don't want you to say no to every thing that the President wants to get done no more than they want the President to say no to everything that you want to get done. This article says it for me much better. A Rally to Restore Sanity happened for a reason - because people want our politicians and the pundits to be civil to one another, be reasonable and most of all, act like sane human beings.

Also, I'm tired of either party saying that they have a mandate or it is a referendum on the other party when they win. That's all on that for now.

And voters in my state voted down privatization of alcohol. I don't understand this at all.

One Thing

2010-11-03T13:09:00.000-07:00

I was just washing my hands in the nice warm water and it made me think of a nice warm shower and that then reminded me of my time in the hospital. Why? Because if there is one thing that I miss from being in the hospital when I was pregnant with the twins - it's the jacuzzi. It felt so nice on my back and it was nice and warm. Oh, to have a jacuzzi. I can dream.

Anyway, last night the kids wanted to go to the park and well, normally I would take them, but it is already starting to get dark by the time I get them. We would be at the park for maybe 20 minutes before the sun went down...which, I guess, is at least, a bit of exercise, but my kids would want to stay even after the sun went down. So we went home instead - I feel bad about that because what do we do when get home? I let them watch 1/2 hour of tv while I make dinner (and my lunch for the next couple days). I need an indoor place close by to take them to when the weather is icky and dark.

As soon as we get home, Ella wants to put on her jammies. Not only that, she wants to put on a pull up. It frustrates me - not the jammies, but the pull up. I've decided I'm not even introducing them to Nicholas even if we have some extra 2T size for him to wear. It definitely prolongs things. So, for those of you who haven't gone through the potty training exercise - don't use them. Just get some waterproof underwear that they can wear.

I also feel that because the daycare wants Benjamin in pullups that he has regressed. He used to be good at least going pee - now, he just seems lazy about it. I told them that this is going to stop. As soon as we get home, it's to the potty and Benjamin is putting on underwear. If they want to watch a show, this is what they must do. And no more stickers for going pee - it's all for poo. However, I've tried bribing them with gifts and that just doesn't work. Although, I've heard you have to get the toy, let them play with it once,then put it back up until they start going potty. I'm just not certain that will work for my kids. Potty training is seriously the worst part of parenting so far. Sure, in the beginning, I was pulling out my hair because my infant twins were crying and I couldn't figure out why, but that seems like a cakewalk compared to this. I seriously want to throw in the towel sometimes and wonder what I was thinking. Of course, soon after that, my kids do or say something completely adorable and then I remember. The good times do certainly outweigh the bad.

Oh, and one more thing - blech on the election. People are so irritating. We'll just keeping on this ride of back and forth for the rest of time. And WTH people in WA state!?!?! Right now, I-1100 is losing! I. Just. Don't. Understand!!! (for those outside our state - I-1100 would have privatized spirits sales and done away with some regulations too that really shouldn't be there.)

Alright, back to work. Until tomorrow.

Trick or Treat again?

2010-11-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

Last night, I went to go pick up the kids. They wanted to go to the park - well, it was wet and it was already getting quite dark, so I said no. Ella then quietly asked me something. I couldn't hear her. She repeated a few times but just as quietly. I asked to say it louder. Benjamin then piped up and said, a little louder, but still quietly, that they wanted to go trick or treat again. I then had the joy of trying to explain to them that we couldn't do that tonight and you only did that on Halloween. They screamed "NO!" but I went on explaining why. I think they get it now...maybe.

Nicholas is quite the cutie. He is saying so many different words and even making some good sentences. He told me last night that I had Ella's pants in my hand (he said "that Ewa pant"). He was sitting on the couch the other day and yelling for papa. When Jon responded, he yelled out papa again. It was just his facial expression as he did that.

I asked Ben & Ella last night if they will cry when they sit on Santa's lap - they told me no. We'll see about that. My work has the annual Santa pics on 11/20 this year so we'll test this answer out then.

Halloween 2010 & Rally to Restore Sanity

2010-11-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, my husband and I took the 3 kids to downtown Seattle for our city's version of the Rally to Restore Sanity. We didn't stay too long with Jon being sick and 3 year olds and a 20 month old not so interested in it. We looked at some of the signs and listened to a bit, but then just headed right back home and watched the rest of the DC rally on tv.

Later that day, I took the twins to their gymnastics class. They are continuing to love it. This time, they got to do this walk on the parallel bars. See my pics at www.flickr.com/photos/heathercim. They had a great time.

Oh, and the previous night, we took the kids to a little Halloween play time at the Northgate community center. They seemed to enjoy themselves and we'll probably go again next year. This year, our friend came and brought his 10 month old baby with him!

Then came Halloween. This year, we decided to take the kids out for their first real trick or treating. They seemed to enjoy it - they especially liked the candy part of it. I took a picture of the three of them in their costume, but it looks like I failed to put on flickr so I'll do that later. Nicholas was a monkey. Ella was a fairy princess. Benjamin was a pirate. They got to wear their costumes to preschool today for a little party.I can't wait to hear how that went.

Halloween party idea - we were invited to a few Halloween parties but two of them started at 9 p.m. (that is just too late for me - I went to bed about 9:15-9:30 both Friday and Saturday - I was that tired). We also couldn't go to friend's party yesterday afternoon due to naptime,then when they woke up, it was nearly time to trick or treat. I bring this up for two reasons: 1) I am sorry to those of you who invited us but we were unable to come. 2) I think we need a parent Halloween party that starts around 5 and lasts until 8, children are invited, and it isn't on Halloween. I think I'll need to plan one for next year. People without kids can come too - I just want a party that starts earlier for those of us who pass out at 9 p.m.

And one final note - Happy birthday to my dad - he probably won't ever see this, but we did send him a video of the kids singing happy birthday to him. :-D

That's it for today. I'm trying to write a post for every day in November - we'll see how that goes.

Progress?

2010-10-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

I am probably jinxing myself for even mentioning this, but Jon noticed that Ella was trying to go #2. He put her on the potty despite her HUGE objections and she went. She cried out in that tearful way that she did it. She was crying but I told that she did a good thing and that got her to smile. I only hope that this is a sign of things to come. She also told me she did #2 at school too. I'm hoping once Ella starts doing that more, that Benjamin will follow her.

We're going to be carving/decorating our pumpkins tonight as we watch Charlie Brown. I'm looking forward to it!

Nicholas is repeating a lot of things that we say - before we know it, he'll be talking just like Ben & Ella. I'm looking forward to that. A while back he switched from calling me momma to mommy. So cute.

Hi again

2010-10-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

I really want to get back into the habit of writing every day only so I can look back on this and be able to know what was going on with my kids during these days (and to also complete the baby books for them).

My little guy is now 20 months. In just a couple weeks, he will be the same age that Ben & Ella were when Nicholas entered our lives. I just look at Nicholas and think - wow, how did I do it with 2 20 month olds and an infant. I have no idea.

Anyway, Nicholas is a speed runner these days. Seriously, his little legs move so fast, they are a blur sometimes. He is saying a lot more words, but still saying a lot of things I have no clue as to what he is saying. This morning, when he woke up, he asked me "Where Ewa?" Ella wasn't in their room, but in ours as she fell out of her bed in the middle of the night and Jon brought her out to calm her down. Not a fun way to wake up!

Speaking of falling, I took all three kids with me to a Halloween party over the weekend that the multiples group has (Jon was at work). We stayed for a while but Ella & Benjamin kept wandering off and would scream because they couldn't find me and well, sometimes, I couldn't find them. Not fun. So we ended up going outside to play in the playground for a bit - and well, it was a bit wet. Nicholas was climbing up to the top and was on his way down when he slipped and fell down one step, then rolled onto the ground. I freaked! One of my worst fears coming true. I ran to the other side to where he was and he was crying (thank goodness). He didn't appear to be hurt and was acting normally so I didn't take him to the doctor (though I almost went back into the party with all three kids to find my friend who is a doctor to check him out - but she has 3 kids of her own and she was also on her own). He has been fine since, thankfully (Benjamin had a similar fall earlier this year when we were over in Spokane - that was not a fun time either). I swear with all the bumps and bruises Nicholas has gotten in the last few months that I would not be surprised if he is the child who breaks his arm or leg. I very much hope I'm wrong. He just wants to keep up with his siblings so bad. You can tell how much he loves it when they include him on something (including putting stickers all over the wall near Benjamin's bed).

The next morning, I went to go get him and he had blood all over his sheet. He had a bloody nose and it had dried on his face and all in one corner of the bed. OMG - because of the prior day's events, I freaked out and yelled for Jon. He might have gotten the bloody nose because it was so dry in the house or because of the fall the prior day, I don't know. Either way, he is fine now.

Hmm, what else?

Oh, my husband turned 40 this month. I took the kids with me one night to pick out a birthday present for him. I asked them what he wanted. Benjamin said a car and Ella said a princess. I wonder what they want? Hmmm.

Nicholas is our class clown in the family. He always seems to want to make the twins laugh (maybe so they will think he is super cool). Making funny noises and even one time, saying No to the twins like I had just said to them. He likes to yell at the kitties sometimes too and tell them no on things they are allowed to do - like scratch on their kitty tower.

I'm beginning to wonder if the thing that Benjamin will do when he gets older involves either music or taking things apart. He always likes listening to music and he likes to take apart things and put them back together (though that could be just a normal kid thing). Benjamin is definitely one that will observe things and then do them. The preschool teacher told him to write the letter B and at first, he asked her to do it, but she said you can do it. He wrote it and was very proud of himself. They are teaching him to write his own name.

Ella is definitely more into drawing and coloring. She will write her name no problem. She will write it over everything. She loves to wear dresses so thankfully, I found some long sleeve dresses that she can wear with some leggings. So cute. We bought her some Hello Kitty boots last night - I'll have to take a picture and show a friend of mine who loves Hello Kitty.

Oh, we went to the Pumpkin Patch with my parents and friends the other weekend. There, they had a hay maze for the kids (and a corn maze in the shape of Washington that my brother did - someday, I will do that maze). They both loved the maze, but Benjamin was definitely liking the slide more than Ella. Ella needed assistance to go down the slide whereas Benjamin did it all on his own. They also went on a cow tractor ride - a tractor pulled some barrels that were painted black and white. Nicholas HATED it as did our friend's 1 year old, but Ben & Ella seemed to enjoy it.

We are still potty training. They both have no problem with #1, but #2 is a different issue. I have told them that when we run out, that is it, no more, but I wonder if that is the right thing to do. I need help or advice. I feel like I have the most stubborn children and I've been told this is how they act when they are teenagers - oh joy!

Alright, back to work. Lunch break over.

September 23 post

2010-09-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

Just a few quick things...

Nicholas said "I get a book" the other day. It sounds like he's saying "aki a book" though - Aki is a friend of ours. That is his first full sentence that I know about. He's said two words together before but this is a sentence. Woo!

Benjamin is slowly being better at potty training. It's taking a while. He did great over Labor Day weekend, but then we went to Spokane for my aunt's memorial and that created a bit of a setback. Ella is still doing well except when it comes to going #2 in the potty. She still refuses and I'm not sure what to do. The pediatrician says not to push it, but I'm anxious to get rid of pull-ups (at least until Nicholas uses them - I plan to start him sooner on the potty training than B & E).

I've signed the twins up for gymnastics starting next month. I'm looking forward to that!

There was something else but I've already forgotten. I feel like a horrible mother for not writing things down sooner and especially for not filling out their baby books. I need to do that soon before I really forget everything.

Oh, another thing I thought of regarding Nicholas. When we were in Spokane, he feel down near my parent's house and got a nasty bump on the back of his head and was bleeding a bit. I wasn't with him at that time as I was still at my aunt's memorial and I'm glad because that blood would have freaked me out. Then the next day, he fell at the park. Then a few days later, fell again and got a black eye. It has since healed, but I'm pretty sure people thought we were beating him.

Nicholas is 18 months!

2010-08-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

Today, my little snugglebug turns 18 months! Time sure does fly.

He is saying so many words lately that it is beginning to be hard to keep track. Of course, maybe we are the only ones who understand him and even then, I have no idea what is saying most of the time.

Some new words are Ella (pronounced Ewa), mine (a huge favorite), kitty, cat, no (also a big favorite), down, up, uh oh, oh no, yes, there, Oliver (pronounced Ower) and more.

Funny the other day, Benjamin dropped his straw to his drink and Jon says to Nicholas that he is going to have to share his straw with Benjamin and he says "mine!" Good timing, Nicholas!

Then a couple days ago, I was in our room putting away some laundry when I hear Nicholas and Benjamin just cracking up (Ella was with me, I think), so I go out to investigate. They were in the kitchen (with Jon watching from the dining room) taking kitty food out of the bag and throwing it everywhere. They just thought that was hilarious. Nicholas was cute because when he laughed, he would cover up his mouth with his hands. I wish I had thought to take video. After a bit of that, we told them they had to stop. Nicholas was not too thrilled with that idea.

Speaking of kitty food, guess what Nicholas has tried! Yep, kitty food. I yelled at him "icky" and he started to scream. Poor guy, but I really don't want him eating the kitty food!

This little guy loves to play with the big kids and is super excited when they include him. These days, he LOVES to sit at their little table with Ben & Ella. I guess it might be time to get rid of the high chair...

One of my nicknames for Nicholas these days is "Nickzilla" because he destroys things that we put together (like our lag cabin with the Lincoln Logs or someone's sandcastle at the beach). I have a pic of the destruction at the beach on my flickr.
For that and more, go to www.flickr.com/photos/heathercim.

I think that is all for now. Happy 18 months, Nicholas!!! (18 month checkup is on 09/01).

Hello again

2010-08-25T15:47:00.001-07:00

It's been a while...I've been not so much a blogger these days. So many things have happened since my last post.

VACATION

I took a week off at the end of July since the daycare was closed and so we did various fun things about the town (and out of town). We went to Point Defiance Zoo with Jon's mom. We went to the Greenlake wading pool (and seriously tired my kids out that day with the walking back and forth we did) with our friend Aki and her son James. We went to a petting zoo up north with our friend Steph and her son Grayson. We spent a couple hours searching in vain for a plastic pool for the kids to play in. We went to the church playgroup time and met up with Aki, Jen, and their sons and of course, Leena. It was a good week and I really enjoyed spending so much time with my children. However, it was definitely exhausting too.

Also, we did visit a friend of mine who is battling colon cancer. We brought them some dinner and went on a little playdate with her 3 year old son. We really enjoyed seeing them and I hope and pray that Amy gets better soon as well as our friend Kedra who is battling breast cancer.

ELLA HAD A SEIZURE

Then another thing that happened is that Ella had a seizure brought on by a fever (called a febrile seizure) which was brought on by an ear infection. I didn't actually see the seizure - Jon did. I'm glad I didn't see it or I would have freaked out more than I did. However, when Jon told me, I had a good idea that is what happened so I wasn't extremely concerned but still we took her to the ER (for some reason, I completely forgot about Children's and we went to Northwest since it was closer - our pediatrician told us to go to Children's should it happen again - I hope not). The time at the ER was not fun for any of us, especially Ella has she was given medicine via her butt since she had just thrown up and they wanted to make sure she got the tylenol to reduce her fever. Then they checked her temp in her butt. And they had to take her blood which meant holding her down. She cried out for papa then (as Jon went home to get a change of clothing for Ella and himself since she throw up all over them). I felt so bad and wondered if my little girl would ever like me again. Thankfully, she is all better now and hopefully, that doesn't happen again any time soon. That was on August 1.

AUNT PASSING AWAY

At the beginning of July, my eldest aunt went into the hospital. Her cancer had made a return in the last year and so she was fighting that. It was breast, then they found some in her uterine area, then they found cancer in her colon and eventually found it had spread everywhere. She came home with Hospice care on August 9 and she passed away on August 13. I had visited with her in the hospital in mid-July when we went over to Spokane for a family reunion (another topic below) and she didn't look great, but I thought she was getting better so it came as a bit of a shock to me to hear that she was going home to die. I had planned to go over on that Friday (August 13) to visit when my mom called me to tell me she passed away. I went over to Spokane anyway to be with my mom and family. This is my 2nd relative this year that has passed away. I pray to God that there will be no more anytime soon.

We are planning a celebration of life for my aunt on September 11, so I'll be back to Spokane then.

FAMILY REUNION

I can't say that this was a really big family reunion when some of the people don't even come, but I am glad that I went as that gave me the opportunity to visit with my aunt in the hospital. This family reunion was from the other side of my family - my dad's side. It seemed that each of my dad's siblings families stuck to each other and when I went over to say to the others, they got up and left. Such a heartwarming family reunion, huh? Hopefully, next year, when my aunt plans that one, it will be a better time.

NIECE VISITS

This past week, my niece Kendall came back with me from Spokane to hang out with us. Unfortunately, I could not take the time off to do much stuff with her but it was nice having her there. We did go to Richmond Beach with her one day and to Carkeek the next. Maybe next year, she can come back while I have some time off so we can actually do some things!!

Birthday Party & More

2010-06-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, we had a birthday party for Ben & Ella for friends and family who live on this side of the state. We had it at the same park as last year (the "birthday park"). The weather turned out perfectly for us. It was nice and sunny and warm.

We started off the day by letting the kids play in the playground, then we had some dinner, then cupcakes and then presents. We spent about a little over 4 hours at the park. We had so many people come and join us for the birthday party - people who knew from church, from daycare, from college and our the grandparents and an uncle and an aunt. It was great! The kids enjoyed playing with all the other kids that came.

The next day, we went and played at the beach while my parents and brother were still in town. Benjamin seemed to really enjoye that it was low tide and went pretty far out there while Ella enjoyed looking at the rocks. Nicholas also had a good time wandering all around and playing with kids his own age and the bigger kids.

You can see some pics of both days at www.flickr.com/photos/heathercim

In other info:

Benjamin says as we are heading to the beach that "You need to do this (he had his hands covering his ears") so you won't get scared." He was referring to the loud noise the train makes as he goes underneath the overpass to the beach.

Ella got this cute little play dress and play shoes from a friend of ours and Benjamin wanted them too. Last night, he was walking around with them on and came up to us and said "look at my BEAUTIFUL shoes". It was so cute!

At the party, Ella saw one of the little kids (he's about to turn a year old) from the daycare and went up to him and said "Hi R. How are you, sweetie?" in her baby talk voice.

Nicholas was really into the dog that came to visit and excitedly followed him around for a bit. He also seemed to like riding in a little push car that a friend brought their 1 year old in. Nicholas now knows where his belly is and will lift up his shirt to show you his belly. He had his checkup yesterday (stats to come as soon as I can get them from Jon) and the doctor says he needs to be saying 24 words by 18 months. I remembered being worried about one of the twins but both of them are just fine talkers now, so I'm not too worried about Nicholas.

Nicholas is attempting to climb up on the couch these days. He thinks it is so fun to sit up on the couch and last night, I kept telling him he was a big boy and he kept cracking up over that. :-D

Ben & Ella got a train set for their birthday and they are really liking that and will fight over the trains. Surprisingly, they are also fighting over the play shoes that they got as well. Nicholas really likes the bubble lawnmower they got.

More to come when I remember to blog about it. Sorry to my kids as I was hoping to have this blog as a way to fill in your baby book later and I haven't done either of them too well lately.

Oops

2010-06-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

I somehow managed to delete all my links - someday I might add them back, but for now, it will have to be blank.

Ben & Ella turn 3

2010-06-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

My twins turned 3 on Saturday! Times sure does fly.

Ella loves to do art stuff. She likes to color and she loves to play mommy with her baby dolls and to her baby brother. She keeps telling me about someone named "Jin" that I think perhaps might be an imagined friend as I have no idea where she got that. She also likes to sing - I just love to hear her sing different songs.

Benjamin is definitely more the thinker. He likes puzzles more. At one point, this weekend, he was concentrating so hard on getting these balls to move through a little maze. That was more interesting than going down the slide that was right next to him. He also likes to sing and is such a cute singer.

Their interactions with each other are definitely the best. Sure, they yell at each other and have their disagreements, but it is still fun most of the time.

We spent the weekend in Spokane where my family lives. We spent their actual birthday at Riverfront Park. We looked at Spokane Falls, then moved over to the park and played under the water scuplture for a bit, then onto the caroussel. Benjamin opted to just sit next to me and Nicholas on a bench, while Ella braved the horse going up and down with Jon standing next to her. They enjoyed that quite a bit and Ella wanted to go on it again. After that, we headed for lunch, then went on a train ride through the park. Since they both love trains, this was a definite must. Poor Benjamin fell asleep on the train though - it was a long day. That night, after waking from a nap, we had a BBQ and my aunt and grandmother joined us.

The next day, we went to Chuck E. Cheese's to celebrate my niece's birthday. The kids enjoyed that as well as there was a slide and another little caroussel to go on. They didn't particularly enjoy Chuck E. Cheese though. Ella freaked out when she saw him and wanted me to hold her. Benjamin was less freaked but didn't really want anything to do with him. When it came time to open presents, Ella tore her paper apart, but Benjamin was taking it off strip by strip. He never did finish opening it until we got home last night (and he screamed because Nicholas tore off a big piece - I told him he needs to go quicker when Nicholas is around. Nicholas really wanted to play with all their new toys but they wouldn't let him - he was not happy about that).

On our way home, we stopped at a rest top next to some wind turbines/windmills. The ones next to the stop weren't really moving, except for a couple, but off in the distance, they were. Ben & Ella were quite fascinated by them, as were we. I took pictures of everything and will post on flickr when I get the chance sometime this week or weekend.

Ella really enjoyed playing with her 8 year old cousin. They both have an interest in babies. Morgan was also kind enough to give Ella and Ben her Dora house that she doesn't play with anymore and a couple other items. They were so cute playing with the baby that Morgan got for her birthday (from us). Benjamin spent a lot of time with Connor, my 9 year old nephew. I think Morgan & Connor really enjoyed playing with them too.

There was a moment yesterday when we were leaving my aunt's house that made my heart smile. Benjamin goes up to my dad and says "Grandpa, are you going to Aunt Trina's house too?" I think it just makes me smile for two reasons - I have a child that calls my dad grandpa! And that Benjamin wanted him to come too. They are definitely more comfortable with my parents these days than they have been in the past. Now, if only, I could use them as a babysitter!!!

Park & Weekend

2010-05-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

Despite the day yesterday being crappy, it ended up to be a nice day by the time I got to the daycare to pick up the kids. So they talked me into taking them to a nearby park. They said that they wanted to play on the field. So we went and Ben & Ella ran ahead of Nicholas and I. Nicholas really wanted to go in the opposite direction that Ben & Ella were, so I had to pick him up. He was not too pleased about that. Ben & Ella did stay within eyesight, but I think we need to explain to them some more about what stay near mommy means.

Ella & Benjamin decided that they wanted to go on the swings so we headed over there. There was a guy there with his kids. Ben & Ella got on the swings while Nicholas inspected the beauty bark. I had to keep a good eye on him so he wouldn't eat the beauty bark - he did eventually get a piece in there and I had to dig it out of his mouth. Well, let's just say that his teeth hurt me and he has more than I thought he had.

Anyway, after Ben & Ella were done with the swings, Ella said that she wanted to go on the slides. So they went off to the slides while I was going to push Nicholas in the swing. No go. He hated it - I think I pushed him too hard - and he screamed. I wonder if that guy thinks I'm a horrible mother.

So I take Nicholas over to the slides where Ben & Ella are. Ella & Benjamin really don't like these slides. They are too afraid to go down them by themselves. Ella wanted me to go down with her, but that was a bit impossible since I needed to watch Nicholas and his beauty bark eating ways. Ella was not pleased.

Then a bit later, Benjamin tells me he wants to go look at the water and find some ducks. I said to him that he needs to tell Ella to come down so we can go look at the water. He finds her (eventually), but she wants me to go down the slide with her and will not come down. UGH! After a while of talking to her, she comes down - but from the tube and steps, not from the big slide.

We wander over to the water and Benjamin asks me where the ducks are. There are no ducks. By this time, it has gotten quite windy and cold so I tell him that perhaps they have found a nice warm place to go to like perhaps we should. It was, after all, time for dinner. Those kids will not budge even though they agreed that they would come when I told them to - I know, you're shocked. You mean, almost 3 year olds don't pay attention to their own promises? It took Jon showing up for them to even budge from their spot near the water.

The weather today doesn't look so good, so I don't think we'll be playing outside today, but who knows?

We are thinking of what to do tomorrow for some fun if the weather is icky - we have some ideas so we'll see which one we pick. Other than that, my weekend will involve somehow trying to finish the book club pick (though I've read it before), laundry, cleaning upstairs and the grand finale to the weekend - staying up until 11:30 to watch the series finale of Lost. You East Coasters better stay quiet until us West Coasters have a chance to watch it...

Anyway, that's it for now. I'm trying to write more often so maybe you'll see more of my really interesting posts more often!

Catching Up

2010-05-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

Well, in just under a month, Ben & Ella will be 3. Time goes by quickly - people who say that aren't kidding.

This past weekend, after learning about this place called Country Village in Bothell, we went to go visit it. I read on their website that they had a train and Ben & Ella have been talking about trains and busses all the time. So we went there this past Saturday when the weather was just beautiful. We got there, and the train ride wasn't ready yet so we played in a little playground that they have there for a while. Ben & Ella enjoyed climbing the ladder to the top of a pirate ship and also rocking on some horses down on the ground. They swung in the swings too. Nicholas enjoyed walking around. He was put into the swing but quickly voiced his disapproval as there were things to explore here. There were also roosters walking around - two of which started to fight when we were there.

After a while, the train ride was ready. It was a small little kid sized train but big enough for adults to go too. Ella & Benjamin really liked it and wanted to go on it again - as well as go into the bouncy house too. We decided to go into the Toys that Teach store. They got to play with a model train set for a while before we told them it was time for lunch. Benjamin went quietly after being told he could pick out a train to bring home. Ella - not so much. I had to take her kicking and screaming - ugh. Eventually, we went out. I went to go order some food while the other three watched the ducks in a little pond. The food was just eh and Ben & Ella apparently felt there was too much to look at to eat anything. Nicholas, since he didn't get a morning nap, was a bit cranky. So after lunch, we headed home so all 3 could take a nap.

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Apparently, the kids at daycare/preschool have been eating outside at lunch when it's been nice outside - as they should. And since then and since we went to Country Village, Ella keeps talking about a picnic. So when it has been nice outside, we eat our dinner outside. Ella wanted to eat outside last night but since it was windy and threatening more of a downpour, we did not. She was not pleased. No matter how much I told her it was cold and wet outside.

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Nicholas has been saying a lot more words lately. He said a big word the other day - outside. He hasn't said it since though. He knows what it means too. If you ask him to go outside, he heads straight for the door. He has said door before as well and something that sounds like bear. Before last night, if I needed to calm him down or get him to go to sleep I would give him this polar bear that he just is excited by. Last night, it just wasn't cutting it. I tried to get him to calm down (he was overtired - he fell asleep on the way home last night and the night before) but nothing was working...until I gave him this stuffed orange bull. He was happy with that - put it under his head and fell asleep using it as a pillow. Eventually, he moved off that so I could take it out of his crib.

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Other words that Nicholas has said - kitty or cat; nice (usually said when he is touching the kitty); and what's that. I'm sure there are others, but I'm blanking on them.

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Benjamin has informed me that his name is not Ben - it is Benjamin.

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Benjamin is doing better with potty training but still not quite there yet. I thought he was doing really well when we went to Country Village and to church and he wore underwear the whole time without wetting himself, but apparently, that wasn't quite yet the consistent behavior I want/need. He forgets to tell the daycare people when he needs to go and he forgets to tell us until it is just too late. We're trying though. He's only going to be 3 next month and I said my goal was to have him trained by the time he was 3 1/2 (at least day time training - nighttime training is something (I heard) I just can't control - that is more up to their body to mature to that point).

Ella - is great with her potty training...when it comes to pee. With poo - still an issue. I just don't know what to do. They have their 3 year checkup soon, so unless it has somehow worked out by then, I'll be asking the pediatrician for advice on this one.

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A while ago, I started to sing "lullaby" to the kids at night in hopes it would calm them down to go to bed (sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't - usually the latter). Anyway, the other day we were driving home and Ella starts singing it to her bear. SO. CUTE.

Now the version of Lullaby I sing doesn't have the same lyrics though it has the same melody and sometimes I forget my own lyrics. I'm surprised Ella hasn't told me that isn't the way it goes when I do that. It all started this way because I couldn't remember the actual lyrics. My lyrics are like this:

Lullaby and good night
Go to sleep my three children
Go to sleep now, Go to sleep
And rest your pretty eyes
Go to sleep my 3
Your mommy loves you
Go to sleep my 3
And I will see you tomorrow

Lullaby and good night
Go to sleep my little Ella
Go to sleep now, Go to sleep
And rest your pretty eyes
Go to sleep Ella
Your mommy loves you
Go to sleep Ella
And I will see you tomorrow

Repeat for Benjamin & Nicholas.

Another Long Overdue Update

2010-05-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to get myself motivated to blog anymore, but I should so I have some record of the cuteness my kids do and say... as well as the trials and tribulations in being a parent.

In order of birth...

First, Ella -

I guess this isn't so much cute as it is hooray! Ella is doing very well with potty training. I trust her not to pee in her underwear when we go out. However, she REFUSES to go poo in the potty and will just dance around when she needs to go until we give her a pull-up for nighttime. I don't know what to do to encourage her that going #2 in the potty is a good thing. Any suggestions are very much welcome on what we can do to encourage her.

Anyway, onto the cute things. One morning she told me that I shouldn't go to work. She wanted me to stay at home. She cried about it. I really didn't want to go to work after that - more so than I normally do. Then another night I was off to my book club meeting and she insisted that she go with me, so she did. She was extra shy girl (as I expected) but she was very good. And she came on a good night as one of the ladies brought cookies and cupcakes to celebrate another person's birthday! I wanted to have some one on one time with my kids as we haven't done that in a while, so I'm glad Ella and I got this opportunity to hang out together.

Ella is so cute with all her babies and her animals. She has to have about a million things on her bed before she can go to sleep. O.K. maybe I'm exaggerating but not by much. She has about 4 babies (one of which is a Bart Simpson doll that she says is the daddy), 2 cats, a couple dogs, a bull and a few other things. I really should take a picture. After she has all this stuff on her bed just so, I ask her where she plans to sleep and she look around her bed where there is no room and says "right here" as she moves stuff away.

Next, Benjamin

Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I heard Benjamin and Ella laughing so I listened in on their conversation as I brushed my teeth. Benjamin was saying things like "Benjamin and Ella, go to bed!" Laughter. Then "Benjamin & Ella, lay down in your bed!" Squeals of laughter. So, our children are making fun of us...

Benjamin is doing o.k. with potty training. He isn't to the point of me trusting him to stay dry, but we're getting there. He will do both in the potty - just not on a consistent basis. I hope to have him fully trained by 3 1/2 (which is in 7 months).

About a week ago, I was coming out of the bedroom or something, and Benjamin says to me "mommy, I had chocolate." I asked him, "did you ask me if you could have some?" He says "no." Then I tell him "next time, you need to ask me if you can have some." He looked so saddened because he didn't think he was doing anything wrong. I moved the chocolates to a different place...though I wonder if I should keep it in the same place and see if he asks me next time or just does it quietly.

And last, but not least - Nicholas

He is 14 months now and says momma, waves hi, and says no (says that last one quite clearly). He says a bunch of things as if he talking one big long sentence, but it doesn't make any sense. He understands a lot more than what he can say and can understand simple instructions. We have started to wean him from his pacifier and well, it hurts me to hear him scream like that. However, last night, he had the entertainment of his siblings (they were making fun of us after all), so he didn't scream so much last night.

Before leaving the room last night, Jon put Nicholas into Benjamin's bed and He. Was. In. Heaven. He just kicked his legs all around and squealed with delight. It was so cute. He did seem more happy in Benjamin's bed than in Ella's bed. He definitely is so happy when his siblings include him in things and play with him.

A few nights ago, Nicholas came up to me from behind and hugged me and said something so softly - I choose to believe that he was saying "I Love You!" :-D

Ben & Ella will be 3 in just over a month. How did the time go by so quickly?!?! I'm trying to figure out what to do for their birthday. We will probably have a party at our house, but I'll need to pick a theme. Most likely Dora as that is all they want to watch these days - especially the Little Lamb episode. We are also going on a Thomas the Train ride in July that is part of their birthday present. I'm looking forward to that as they talk about going on the train or the bus all the time.

I am also in the middle of transitioning to a new pediatrician. Our old one is just fine, except sometimes I feel like she doesn't really listen to my concerns; their parking garage sucks for big vehicles like ours; and their billing practices are extremely annoying. Oh, and our favorite NP left to go to another state. So after some asking around, we found a new place. I just need to get everything sent over to the new place so I can make an appointment for N's 15 month checkup and B & E's 3 year checkup. I also finally got around to making a doctor appointment for myself. I haven't had a full physical in years. I was prompted to do so by 2 of my friends learning they have cancer (one breast and the other colon). However, I still need to make an appointment with my OB/GYN for that exam and to schedule my first mammogram. She said to wait until 6 months after breastfeeding ended and that's coming up.

Well, that's all. This has been long enough and I don't even know if anyone reads this anymore.

I'm All Better Now...

2010-04-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

In the past few days, Ella has not been feeling all too well. Last night, she told me that she feels all better now. The cause of this was that she was refusing to go poo in the potty and thus, created a bit of a back-up. Well, things were taken care of last night. I hope she now realizes that going #2 on the potty is good as is #1. I really, really hope to have her completely trained by the time she turns 3.

Benjamin, well, he has good intentions. He will sit on the potty - he just won't do anything on the potty. He wants to wear underwear but keeps forgetting and well, pees and poos his pants (well, the latter, he knows he's doing it and refuses to sit on the potty).

Benjamin really, really likes puzzles. I got a new set the other day at Target. 5 puzzles for $1.98. There were 2 24 piece ones, 1 50 piece, 1 60 piece and 1 100 piece. Benjamin & Ella have mastered the smaller ones. Benjamin was working on the 50 piece last night and I think could have finished on his own given a bit of time. Ella was happy with the 24 piece ones. I also opened up a set I bought a while ago from Amazon where they have to put the pieces together to form a word along with the picture of that word (such as cat, house, dog, etc.). They keep asking what letter does "window" start with or "door" or whatever. They certainly know what letter their own names start with along with the names of their siblings and their parents.

While Nicholas knows how to walk on his own, he still likes to hold our hands to walk sometimes. He will say "go!" and sometimes "go walk". He gets to walk faster when he has an adult walking around with him. When he walks on his own, he has his hands above him for balancing, I suppose. It's quite cute seeing this little guy walking around. His other words, so far, have included, no, momma, and I've heard a couple times, papa, but not much else. He does understand things a lot more. He knows what a bottle is, a pacifier is, a car, and some other things.

We spent this past Easter Sunday with friends - thank you Ally & Paul for inviting us! I had a good time. The twins were having a good time until things started to break down because they hadn't had a nap at all. It was hard to try to keep them awake until at least 8 so they would wake up at a somewhat normal time. They did enjoy the food and the Easter egg hunt this time around. They understood the egg hunt more this time. Nicholas, at least, took a couple naps during the day, but he was still a bit cranky.

My paternal grandmother passed away this past week. She was 85. It was not unexpected. She had been sick for the past 4 months or so and before that, had some health issues. I will miss seeing her. It's funny because growing up, all I can think is my grandmother talked a lot about all sorts of things.
When I was a teenager, I used to get annoyed about the amount of talking she would do, but as I grew older, I found some of her stories interesting. I do wish I would have asked her more about certain things. I will always remember one time when I was about 16 and we were over at my grandparent's house. We were sitting out by the pool under the shade of a tree. My grandmother says to me that she thinks I should help out with my brothers more (they must have been about 1 and 3 at the time)(my grandparents helped watch my brothers), and somehow that evolved into a big discussion on self-esteem and the trials and tribulations of life as a teenager. She listened to me and we talked. It was nice. I don't remember exactly what was said and how it evolved into that discussion, but it was one of the times I really remember talking to my grandmother in a somewhat deep discussion. She's with my grandpa now - he passed away in 2004. Rest in peace, grandma.

And so it begins...

2010-03-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

Nicholas has definitely entered toddlerhood. I have witnessed his first kicking and screaming tantrum. I did the awful thing of bringing him inside when he wanted to play outside some more. I had to bring him in because the other two needed to go potty (well, Ella really - Benjamin still doesn't care about having a wet butt or messy butt - actually, Ella doesn't want to go #2 on the potty either, but will go #1 - any suggestions on getting her to go #2 too?)

Anyway, I was a horrible mother and brought him inside. So he screamed for a while - he kicked his legs for a while. I picked him up and later, after he calmed down, I put him back down and he went over to the door and tried to open the door himself. I remember Ella doing this too. Very determined children. His favorite thing to do outside is to go up and down the stairs - of which, I need to help him with.

He is becoming more of a full-time walker. I will catch him out of the corner of my eye walking toward me or to something else. It still feels a bit strange to see him walking. He seems too small to do something like that. He still does crawling more, but he'll get to full-time walker status soon, I think. He'll be 13 months this week and this is about when Ella did more walking on her own too.

Benjamin, lately, has been wanting to wear his jammy shirts to pre-school. We have all these shirts for him to wear, but they are just not what he wants. Oh well. We let him have this one.

I saw Ella and Nicholas giving each other hugs and leaning their heads into each other. I've seen them do this a number of times and each time, I find it so adorable. Benjamin doesn't seem as lovey-dovey to Nicholas as Ella is. I suppose it is a boy/girl thing. We went to the UW campus the other day to see the cherry blossoms (very pretty) and I saw these 3 boys wrestling with each other - I can just see Benjamin and Nicholas doing the same soon - maybe Ella will join in too.

When we went to lunch the other day after church with Paul and Ally, Nicholas kept giving smiley faces to Andre (their almost 3 month old). It was rather cute.

Potty training

2010-03-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

Oh, the joy that is potty training.

Ella is doing really well at home and at school. I am so proud of her. She still pees her diaper at night, but during the day, she seems to be getting the hang of it. Sohad, our daycare/preschool teacher, said that Ella is about 50% there. She surprised me last night when she said she had to go pee. She just went over to her potty, pulled own her pants and went pee. Before I knew it, she was asking me to put her pee into the toilet so we could flush it! Hooray for Ella!

Benjamin - well, he's taking a little longer. He seems to want to do a lot of things Ella does and will look to her to see what she is doing before doing something, but not when it comes to potty training. He will sit on the potty and he has gone a few times, but I don't think he quite understands the feeling yet when he needs to go - (though he does do the potty dance). I do wonder if it is because that Ella has older girls at the daycare to model her behavior on and Benjamin doesn't have an older boy.

We'll see. I know that boys take longer with this than girls do, but I do hope that Benjamin will start to do this more because of Ella and perhaps Nicholas will be trained earlier because of his older siblings.

I am just so anxious to be done with diapers!!!

Dentist

2010-03-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

We took all 3 kids to the dentist the other day. This was Ben & Ella's 2nd time there and Nicholas's 1st time. Nicholas didn't like it at all - but I think it was more, he wanted to get around and play and didn't like being held down than anything the dentist was doing. He did enjoy getting a duck to chew on afterwards.

Ben & Ella did surprisingly well as they did a lot more this time than they did last time. They cleaned their teeth and flossed them too. We were told to start flossing the kids teeth - that should be fun - as their teeth are all scrunched in together. They both did well with letting us floss their teeth for them. Ella apparently thought it tickled.

Hopefully, they continue to do well. Both Ben & Ella also got to pick a brand new rubber duck to take home with them. This time, they were just plain old ducks (last time, they were a doggy duck and a kitty duck). I raelly wanted Ella to pick the bear duck. :-D

Nicholas - 1 year checkup

2010-03-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

I feel bad - I need to write about my kids more.

Jon took Nicholas into the doctor's office this past Friday for his 1 year checkup. He's a bit of a small guy.

His weight is only 20 lbs 11 ounces. A coworker's 6 month old weighs more than he does. That brings him to the 35th percentile.

His height is 29 inches (30th percentile).

He is in the 94th percentile for his cute head though. 19 3/4 head cir.

They said they aren't worried - he's just taking longer to get to his growth spurts - though I still worry. I know not every child is the same, but I guess I expected him to be like his brother. He was always in the 80-90th percentiles.

Poor guy probably got my genes for height.

Next checkup is at 15 months. I hope to find another pediatrician because I have many gripes about our current place. There's a place nearby that was recommended to us from a coworker so I think we may go check that place out.

One Year Old (Tomorrow)!!!

2010-02-24T12:51:00.000-08:00

A year ago today, I went to the doctor in the morning because I thought my water broke. Turned it hadn't and was only at 1.5 cm dilated. So I went back to work. Several hours later, I was definitely in labor. Thank goodness my friends, Paul & Ally were there to help with the twins and my mother-in-law for coming to watch the twins overnight.

At 4:17 a.m. on February 25, Nicholas James was born. My little snugglebug. This little boy LOVES to cuddle and give the biggest hugs. He giggles a lot when he gives those big hugs. You can just feel the love coming from him. And right now, he doesn't seem at all anxious around strangers though he does seem to have more of a comfort level with his parents and siblings or his little friends at school. Our daycare provider told me that Nicholas won't play in the infant room if his little friends are gone - he wants to be out where Ben & Ella are.

In huge milestones, Nicholas took his first independent steps this past Saturday when were in a hotel in Vancouver, WA. He was so excited to walk between myself and Jon. Ella thought she would get in on the action and have her baby doll learn to walk (have I mentioned that Ella is calling her baby Andre after Paul & Ally named their baby Andre?). Then, she acted like a small toddler that was just learning to walk. She found it hilarious when we would clap and applaud her taking her "first steps".

It's amazing that he is going to be a year old tomorrow because it really does seem like yesterday that I was pregnant with him. I remember the shock when I first found out I was pregnant with him. I remember seeing proof on an ultrasound that I was somehow, miraculously pregnant. I remember feeling him move inside me for the first time. I remember the anticipation of finding out whether I was pregnant with a girl or boy. I remember his whole birth (including the pain! - who says you forget!?!) and feeling his head as he came into this world. I remember holding that little guy in my arms for the first time and seeing Jon hold him for the first time. I remember feeling so shocked that he was 8 pounds and 9 ounces. Since then, he has learned to hold his own head. To sit all on his own. To crawl. To cruise along the furniture. To pull out all the toys and books onto the floor. And now to walk. He says momma and hi (haaa) and something that sounds like gawok (for go walk, I think). He has said papa a few times. He waves hi and bye. He knows how to give a "high 5".

Happy birthday to my youngest miracle baby, my snugglebug, my Nicholas. I love you so much!

Pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/heathercim (though I need to update this)

ATB

2010-02-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

ATB - that's what I call Nicholas these days. He's my All-Terrain Baby. He'll just crawl over anything. No obstacle can get in his way. He could take an easier way around things, but he'd rather just go straight over the obstacle. It's quite cute!

Stories

2010-02-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

Some cute stories to share:

A while ago, I started singing a little song alone the tunes of "are you sleeping? Are you sleeping, Brother John?..." with the words of "Where is papa? Where is papa? I don't know. I don't know. I hope he comes home real soon. I hope he comes home real soon. Yes I do. Yes I do." Well, Ben and Ella have since started singing whatever they are looking for with that song and instead of saying "I don't know", they say "Don't I know! Don't I know!" It's rather cute. And if I ask them where something is and they don't know, they will say "Don't I know." I tried to correct them, but they won't change, so I let them go on saying that.

The other night, we went to Cos&tco to get some gas. When I got back into the car after getting the gas, they asked me where the gas was. I told them that I put it in the car, so the car would go. They seemed to accept that explanation. On our way home, Ella asked where the Cos&tco was and I said we just went there to get gas. Then we drove by Safeway, and she excitedly said "oh, I found it! I found it, mommy!" me: "what did you find?" Ella: "the cosco!" Funny.

Nicholas is now walking around with two hand assistance. If you even dare to think about stopping walking around with him because your back is killing you, he will CRY! One night, I thought he just wanted me to walk around with him as he didn't seem to want to go to Jon, but Jon works - he just wants to walk around. It's so AWESOME. I look forward to when he'll just do it on his own. My back will be much happier. While he walks, he also goes "ahh ahh ahh" like we do when we play our little crawling game - the same game we played with Ben & Ella when they were that age.

Nicholas also hates to be put into his car seat. He is doing a bit of arching his back or locking his legs so I can't bend his knees without some effort. That little guy is strong when he wants to be. He is almost a year old. I find myself reminiscing(sp?) about his birth. I have a calendar here at work and this month is a picture of me holding him shortly after his birth. How has it been a year already?

Right now, it is serious potty training time. We put them in their training underwear when we are at home. Last night, Ella FREAKED when she peed her pants, but when I went to go change her into new pants and sit her on the potty, she decided she could live with the wet pants. I don't like that - she's supposed to hate that feeling!

People keep telling me I'm on the early side of things, but I feel as if we are late. I hear of friends whose children are the same age as mine and they are already trained or seem closer than we are. My goal is to have them trained by the time they turn 3 in 4 months. I hope that will happen - I would LOVE to not have to buy diapers anymore or pull-ups (well, except for Nicholas who I hope will train early after seeing his brother and sister trained).

That's all for now. Time to start thinking about work stuff again. Blech.

Nicholas Stories

2010-01-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

I forgot one thing yesterday on my 11 month post - Nicholas has been giving big wet open mouth kisses. I ask him if he wants to give mommy a kiss and he leans forward (sometimes) and gives a kiss while making a little sound effect. It's rather cute. I think he also understands the word hug as he will give hugs too.

And last night, we went to Cos*tco to get some diapers and because we would be getting home too late, we went out to eat. Nicholas is really wanting to feed himself these days. He likes finger foods the best. Last night, he had a spoon and reached to his food jar with the spoon (after a few missed attempts), got some food out and put it directly to his mouth. He did this several times! Yay Nicholas - on the road to feeding himself. I look forward to that - it will be so easier when he can feed himself on a regular basis.

Ben & Ella tidbits

2010-01-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

Benjamin REALLY loves the Leap Frog toys he got for Christmas from my parents. He will be happy to sit there for a long time playing with those things. That includes sitting on the potty. Now, if he'd only go in the potty.

If anyone has potty training advice, please help as I'm not sure what to do to encourage both of them to use the potty more.

Anyway, both of them have started being possessive over their parents - they will say "my mommy" or "my papa" or even over their siblings. One night last week, though, Ella said "my papa is home!!!" and Benjamin replies with "No, that's my papa! THAT'S your mommy!" Huh - apparently, at that moment, Benjamin didn't want to have possession over me. Just papa.

The other night, Benjamin wanted me to give him another cookie. He screamed and yelled and I told him no. Eventually, he backed down and realized that his screaming and his tears were not going to sway me. However, let me tell you how hard that was not to give in.

Ella really likes playing with her baby dolls. She has taken to rocking her babies to sleep. A friend of ours recently adopted a newborn and named him Andre. Ella has now started calling her baby Andre. A little while later, Benjamin thought that was a good idea and did the same though he says his baby is a girl. Ella also talks to her babies in that high-pitched voice. It's funny. Last night, I caught Benjamin doing the same - I think that's the first I heard him talk like that and tell the baby it was time to change its diaper. Oh, and actually, I think he was talking to a Beanie Baby bear too. :-D

Things that they like to play with these days - playdoh; coloring (and Ella folds up her papers and then gives them to me or Jon - I have one such drawing up on my wall at work); Leap Frog toys; babies; toy that are for Nicholas. Ella also like to help feed Nicholas still. She can get rather upset sometimes if she is not able to help.

Anyway, that's about it for now. More later as I think of them and have time to write!

11 months

2010-01-25T12:57:00.000-08:00

My baby boy is now 11 months old! Some news about him:

He has been saying "ma" or "mama" for a few weeks now. One time, he was saying that and Ella says "no, it's mommy" all of matter of factly. :-D

He also says "ha" for hi. And this morning it sounded like he was trying to say no - he said it like "naaa".

He is still crawling and pulling himself up to stand then cruising around on the furniture. He has let go a couple times, but he has not successfully stood all on his own yet.

The other day, we went to a kids concert. Ben & Ella seemed to enjoy the show, but didn't really participate in the show. The theme was Teddy Bear's Musical Picnic put on by the Tacoma Philharmonic and featuring these ladies. Nicholas had fun being held by myself, Jon and my mother-in-law. Nicholas even managed to make a friend with a little girl about a couple months older than him. They smiled at each other,
then they held hands for a brief period of time. It was adorable!

Also, Nicholas is very sensitive to hearing the word no. He cries if he hears it. He has the cutest pouty face too - like his whole world has crashed in. He doesn't seem to like big noises either as that makes him have the pouty face too and start to really cry.

I'll try to remember to take a picture of Nicholas tonight with my brand new camera and upload it at some point in the future. In the meantime, there are some recent pictures of my little guy on flickr.

Happy 11 months, my sweet little dude!

Christmas 2009 video

2010-01-20T21:50:00.001-08:00

More videos and pics at www.flickr.com/photos/heathercim

Christmas & Other News

2009-12-30T13:26:00.000-08:00

This was Nicholas's first Christmas - he certainly enjoyed the wrapping paper a lot. The 1st Christmas hat that I had when Ben & Ella were little - the one that didn't fit Benjamin at 6 months - definitely does not fit Nicholas. I still managed to take a picture or two with it sitting atop his head. :-D

Benjamin and Ella didn't even notice that Santa had come and brought them stuff until they were gently nudged in that direction. I would think next year, they will notice. Ben & Ella (especially Benjamin) really enjoyed playing with Nicholas's toy - it's this.

They enjoyed their new puzzles a little bit too. Ella seems to really enjoy playing with the playdoh we got for them.

Nicholas is starting to stand up only holding on with one hand. Last night, he is getting a little adventurous and tried to stand all on his own. That lasted all of 1 second, if that.

We watched "Up" the other night. Benjamin and Ella seemed to enjoy it. Ella did get a little bored halfway through, but then at the end asked if we could watch it again. Benjamin picked up the "big snipe" part of the story. During the movie, we ate some popcorn. Ella wanted to give Nicholas a small piece, but I told her that he was too little. Well, Ella didn't like that - she showed me that piece is little like I make his food, but I told her no. At one point, I think she snuck him a piece as it looked like he had some big piece in her mouth, but I didn't feel anything in there. Nicholas was not happy either by my decision, so I asked Jon to get him some cheerios. I do wonder when he's going to get more teeth.

So, I'm a little paranoid. I watched My Sister's Keeper the other night and then I saw a bruise on Ella the next day. But I'm trying to tell myself that it was just a bruise she got when playing as it was just one small bruise not like ones I saw in the movie.

For Christmas, Oliver & Sophie got a new scratching toy and some catnip canes. They seem to be enjoying both items. Oliver tried to open the catnip canes before it was Christmas, but somehow, I managed to keep them under their wrapping paper.

After spending Christmas morning at home, we traveled to Tacoma to visit my in-laws. We had dinner and the kids opened some gifts. It was a nice time.

And the best Christmas news is - a couple friends of ours have learned that they were chosen to adopt a baby that was born on Monday. They were able to be there for the birth. I look forward to seeing them and their new baby soon! Congrats to Paul & Ally!

Catch-up Time

2009-12-16T12:51:00.000-08:00

When I last wrote - it was just before Thanksgiving. We had a small little Thanksgiving - just the 5 of us at home hanging out the entire time. It was nice - we had chicken parmesan instead of a turkey - it was yummy. Later that weekend, we had Jon's family over for dinner and I made some enchiladas - which were alright. Jon's mom hadn't been to our house since about a week after Nicholas was born - not sure why it took this long to get her to come back. Jon's dad and sister - well, it was a while before then. We've visited there a few times. We plan to go down to their house on Christmas in the afternoon and spend some time with each other in the morning. On New Year's Eve, I'm going over to Spokane to visit family - specifically, my grandmother as she found out recently she has cancer all over her body. It isn't looking too good, unfortunately. I'm going over on my own - I will my family terribly!!!

Anyway, some time ago, we took the kids to see Santa at my work. Nicholas enjoyed looking at Santa's beard while the twins didn't want anything to do with him and didn't want to go near him. We had to force them to stand with us. Toward the end, Nicholas was screaming. Maybe next year, they will like Santa. Though, I suppose it is good that they are nervous around strangers.

And now onto specific things about the kids...

Nicholas - cruising all over the place. He gets to a standing position with no problem at all - it's the getting down that he is still trying to figure out. His latest sounds are "da da da da" and he has said "ma" and the other day, he made a sound that sounded like "ella". :-D One of his favorite things to do is pass the baby between one adult and another. Another is for him to have a toy or something in his hand and put it up to my mouth (or whoever is holding him) so I "eat" it. He thinks that is hilarious! He also finds it funny when I blow on his hair. He's been copying me too - which is fun too. :-D

Ella & Benjamin

I find it cute when Ella wakes up in the morning as I'm getting ready for work and she quietly asks for "bekfas" or breakfast. Most of the time, all 3 kids are still sleeping when I leave, but I love it when they get up in time for me to see them before I go. The other morning, she asked for a "banna" (or banana).

Last night, Ella had a full on meltdown. Nothing was calming her down. Eventually, the only thing that was going to calm her down was being in our bed as one of us was in there with her. Seriously - last night was the worst night by far I've had with her.

When Ella says "here" - it sounds like she has a Boston accent.

Lately, Benjamin has become more interested in helping feed Nicholas - which can mean a fight between Ben & Ella. Ella has always been our little mommy ever since Nicholas came around. It has taken a while for Benjamin to want to help out.

Both of them like to count. At first, they would leave out some numbers, but I think they got all the numbers now. The other night, they were counting the number of boys and girls in our house. It is so cute the way Ella says "girl". They had a conversation a while ago on whether the pink baby was a boy or a girl. Benjamin said it was a boy. Now, I think he says it is a boy. Funny. Oh, that reminds me - whenever they find something enjoyable - they say "that's funny". :-D

Both of them are starting to get more into the tv. They will ask to watch this dinosaur DVD with Diego that I got at the holiday library book sale. Lately, I've been letting them watch a half hour show while I get dinner ready. These days, it's been Christmas shows that I've recorded. Benjamin was very mad the other night when I told him no tv tonight. I think this might be my fault - I introduced that Diego dvd to them - only because it had dinosaurs - which for a while, Benjamin was really interested in. I thought they would be super excited by some dinosaurs that I bought for Christmas until we went to go see Santa and one of the gifts they had were the same dinosaurs I got and Ben & Ella did not care.

They helped put together our tiny little tree - I think they enjoyed it. I think next year, we'll be getting a bigger tree. Well, I'm going to see what goes on sale the day after Christmas.

O.K. That's about it for now.

Cute Updates (and not so cute)

2009-11-24T16:06:00.000-08:00

Today, all 3 kids got their flu shot and their H1N1 shot. I'll admit that I'm a bit nervous about the whole H1N1 shot even though rationally I know everything will be o.k. Apparently, Ben didn't cry at all (I wasn't able to go) but just flinched a little. He got a cool shiny band-aid. Well, Ella saw this and apparently thought that it was a cool fun thing, so he stated enthusiastically that it was her turn...she didn't like it so much, it turns out. Neither did Nicholas who gave Jon an angry cry.

Onto the cute updates...

The other day Ella was playing with her baby swing I got at a sale. I recently put the batteries in it so she had it going (that thing moves FAST) and the music playing. She started talking to her baby and at one point said "You having fun, baby? You're a silly boy!" Something I'm sure I've said to Nicholas a number of times.

Nicholas is a crawling guy and will now pull himself up to his feet using the Fisher Price farm or a chair. He has his butt sticking out a little bit and last night, he was doing a bit of a booty dance. He also starting saying "ma" a lot more and enjoying the game of "pass the baby!" between the two parents. The other day, he was crawling all around and came across a small orange inflatable ball a coworker gave the twins one day when we came (that, of course, they fought over). He would get to it and it would roll away - he kept crawling all around the livingroom with it.

Benjamin has taken to not only "reading" his books but also my books. There are no pictures in there, but he is fascinated by it anyway. Ella, seeing this, has also joined in a time or two.

I think it is coming close to me not pumping at work anymore. I feel incredibly guilty about this and feel like I'm letting Nicholas down. I just can't do it at work anymore. It's a frustrating experience and there isn't much milk coming out anyway. I wish that I could keep going until he's a year old. I will continue to pump in the mornings before I leave for work and breastfeed him at night for a while longer, but pumping at work will be stopping. Sorry my little guy. We do have enough frozen breastmilk to last for a little bit longer so we will get close to one year, but I'm not sure if we'll get quite to one year, as was my goal. (And, of course, now that I'm thinking about it and it's nearly time to go home, I'm feeling the need to pump but I'll still only get a little bit out of the whole process).

BUS!

2009-11-17T13:32:00.000-08:00

The children loved the bus - so much so, they insist on going on it again instead of going to preschool/daycare. I'm not sure when we'll be able to go again. This Saturday is our Santa picture time at my work and Sundays are usually busy with church and getting laundry done.

Last night, Ella wanted Benjamin to lay down on the floor so she could change his diaper. She got everything ready. The diaper, the diaper rash cream and even got him a little pillow in which to rest his head. Funny. All the time, she is cleaning her baby doll's diapers and saying they have an "owie butt". Poor Benjamin has quite the rash going right now and we're trying to get rid of it. Pretty soon, we will be potty training the kids. First, we will work on Ella who seems more likely to be into it. We will work on her during Thanksgiving time while at Christmas time, we will work on Benjamin. We chose these times because one of us will have a chunk of time off around that time and so we can devote more straight days to the task.

Also, last night, Nicholas crawled over to this Fisher Price barn we have and pulled himself up to his knees then to his feet. Good thing we lowered his crib mattress the other night! This little guy wants to get up and run around with his brother and sister already!

Bug Safari & Bus

2009-11-14T16:12:00.001-08:00

Today, we took the kids on their first bus ride. We took the bus to downtown and had some lunch, then went to the Bug Safari at Pike Place. Ben & Ella seemed to have really enjoyed the bus ride and will probably be the only thing they will remember of today despite seeing HUGE cockroaches and tarantulas.

Currently, Ben & Nicholas are sleeping, but Ella refused to take a nap so she's playing with the money. The twins really, really like playing with the coins we have in their piggy banks.

That's about it for now.

(And to the person who commented on my last post - I am not approving the comment because WTH? I can write whatever I want to on my blog - no matter how short or long it is.)

Oh, and a tooth

2009-11-12T16:23:00.000-08:00

Nicholas now has 2 bottom teeth and one tooth popping through the top. :-D

We have a crawler...

2009-11-12T16:04:00.000-08:00

I am so bad - I really want to document Nicholas growing up as much as I did with the twins.

Anyway, Nicholas is definitely a crawler now. He has been for about a week or two now. He's gotten quite good at it. And he seems to understand the word dance because when I say to him, you gonna dance, he starts swaying from side to side. His two favorite activities are crawling over the floor puzzle and messing with it while Ben & Ella are playing with it (they don't like that too much) and blowing raspberries.

He has had a lot of different kinds of foods, including Gerber puffs. He loves those - as do the twins...still. They insist I give them some when I get some out for Nicholas. Don't bother telling them they are for the baby.

Both Ben & Ella like to play with puzzles. Ben likes to play with some different types of computers at the daycare.

They went trick or treating for the first time this year (see pics at www.flickr.com/photos/heathercim). They don't quite get it yet and forgot all about the candy once it was out of site. Wish the same could be said about their parents. :-D

Ben was a lion, Ella was a pink poodle and Nicholas was a pumpkin.

We also went to a farm this year to look at the pumpkins and went through a hay maze. The maze had a slide at the top that both kids went down. They also got to look at different animals and eat some kettle corn. Good times!

Sitting up

2009-10-19T12:44:00.001-07:00

Nicholas is pretty much able to sit up all on his own now. He is getting even closer to crawling too. Any day now, I'm sure.

The twins are very good at their puzzles. I just got them a new puzzle at this sale I went to over the weekend that will help them tell time and learn to recognize numbers. They seem to be enjoying the puzzle part of it. They are able to recognize some letters too - Benjamin more so than Ella. They can count to 10.

Pics of the kids at www.flickr.com/photos/heathercim.

Just a short post today!

Book Club - "It Sucked and Then I Cried"

2009-10-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

I've finally decided to get back into the online book club and this month they were discussing "It Sucked and Then I Cried" by Heather Armstrong aka Dooce.

First of all, I loved this book. Her writing style and humor are great!

Now onto the questions...

Heather obviously has a very distinctive writing style that comes across in both her blog and her book. What do you think has made Heather such a famous blogger? Her writing style, honesty, or something else? Do you write with the same passion and honesty that Heather does?

I definitely think it's her writing style and humor, like I said above. :-D She has a way of talking about serious subjects with humor that it's hard not to want to read the next entry or the next chapter. I definitely don't write the same way she does. I just am not that good of a writer, nor do I have the wit she does. I do sometimes wish I could write with as much honesty as she does, but I'm afraid of what those I know who are reading would say. I don't think some would realize that I'm just venting sometimes and I just need to get it out. Although, I could just as easily take things personally too.

One of the main reasons why I was interested in this book was that she was going to address her issues of postpartum depression, which I struggled through with both my children. I found her frank style dealing with this issue very helpful and I could relate to her distress. Have you or some one you know dealt with PPD or depression? How did the author’s experience resonate with you?

I've known people who have dealt with PPD, read books about it, and have gone through a minor bit of it myself. Sometimes I wonder if I'm really through it even now. Her experience was definitely different from mine though. I didn't feel like it was strong enough to need medication for a long time, and when I did think it could help, I only was on a minor dose and for the most part, I think that helped me. I do wish I would have written about it more to get those feelings out there as she did. I think that would have helped tremendously, but I just could never find the time. Reading her talk about it made me think I should have tried harder.

The author's blog is well-known for her biting sense of humor, interspersed with expressions of deep emotion toward her children and husband. Although there was plenty of humor, I found the book to be much heavier on emotion than I expected based on reading her blog. On your own blog, how much emotion do you express? Is that more or less than you tend to express in real life?

I just to write more emotional pieces before we were pregnant. Since then, I've become the "mommy blogger". I don't seem to write about the times that I'm having a hard time with things anymore because no one wants to hear that from someone who was able to get pregnant from IVF and then have a surprise pregnancy! However, I think there are things post-pregnancy that would be good to write about - i.e., PPD.

I don't think, however, I could go to the level of honesty that she expresses. With her and Brooke Shields - they were so open about how they were feeling - even the bad parts. I guess I was too afraid to admit that there were times that I had some of the feelings that they expressed in their books/blog (of course, I kinda just did).

The author talks about how she imagined her future children before becoming pregnant:

When you're childless and young and hopeful, you have this idea of what your children are going to be like, and you make mental notes when you see other kids in public. You say to yourself, "My kid will be cute like that," or "My kid won't ever throw a tantrum in public like that little demon." I had always envisioned a sweet little princess who looked just like me sitting quietly in a high chair, her pressed velvet petticoat creased perfectly as she sat and waited to be handed things in a timely manner. And then you grow up and have kids and realize that YOU HAVE NO SAY...

Before starting to try to conceive, how did you imagine your future children? If you now have children, how did your expectations fit reality?

I guess I did have this vision in my head of how parenting was going to be like - that my children won't misbehave in public. That I'd be able to control them and they would listen and understand when I needed them to behave. While at the same time, I rationally knew that I was going to have times that this wouldn't be the case. After all, my sister has 4 kids. I was a teenager when my brothers were first born (or close to it), so I knew what was reality. But you still think things are going to be different for you - but it turns out, my children will have breakdowns in public and they will not sit quietly at the restaurant table the whole time until it is ready to go. People used to say our children were well-behaved - well, that was before they turned 2.

Hop along to another stop on this blog tour by visiting the main list at Stirrup Queens (http://stirrup-queens.com). You can also sign up for the next book on this online book club: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I got my copy today!

The Cuteness that Melts My Heart

2009-10-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, we are at the park. At one point, Benjamin came down the slide and ran toward me to give me a hug. :-D He then started running away, but turned around about halfway to the slide to blow me a kiss. :-D :-D :-D

How cute is that? It just makes my heart melt, it's so cute.

In other news, Nicholas is doing the get-up-on-hand-and-knees-and-push-both-knees-forward-then-fall-down crawl. It's gets him around to where he wants to go. There is no containing him in one spot for too long.

The other day, Ella said "I love you" to Jon (there might have been a little prompting) - I don't know if he actually heard it though.

Earlier, Ella insisted on taking a shower with me even though she hates the water falling down on her head.

Nicholas has pretty much had a lot of the fruits and veggies. He seems to like squash and applesauce the most.

Benjamin is very, very good at puzzles. We have a u.s. map puzzle that he has absolutely no problems with. He knows Indiana only because we thought we had lost it for about a week or so. Currently, he is asking "where did Indiana go?" I need more challenging things for him. Ella is doing better at the puzzles too.

About 1 1/2 weeks ago or so, we saw that Nicholas has his first tooth popping through!

How?

2009-09-30T05:55:00.000-07:00

How did it get to be over a month since I last posted? I used to be such a good blogger. I was so much better at it after the twins. I'm not even a good blog reader anymore. I'm sure people have written lots that I haven't seen yet - including my own husband.

Well, now, Nicholas is 7 months old. He is a little chatterbox sometimes - including at 3 a.m. as he was last night as we changed a stinky diaper. He will say dada as well as mooommmmmm - I'm not sure if he knows what those mean, but he is saying those sounds. However, he did say "mommmmm" one day and reached toward me, so maybe he does know that means me. He also says other sounds too.

He is doing a little army crawl, as well as a crawl that involves one foot - a little 3 legged crawl - sort of. He is eating all sorts of solid foods - veggies and fruits. He has slept through the night only a handful of times - I hope he gets better at it soon. I'm tired.

As for the twins, they are acting like 2 year olds. Ella really, really likes to be more independent and pick out her own clothes and not have a lid on her sippy cup, but when it comes to potty training - she has only done that a few times. I think last night I might have gotten to her to realize a little bit that going in the potty will help it so she doesn't have a sore bottom. Hopefully, that works - diapers are expensive for 3 kids.

Benjamin & Ella both like to be the teacher. Ella taught Benjamin how to jump and climb up certain playground equipment, while Benjamin teaches Ella how to put a puzzle together (though sometimes Ella doesn't want to be the student and will yell at Benjamin). Ella also likes to teach Nicholas - telling him that Jon is papa and also lifting up her foot and say "baby, this a foot, a foot, baby!" She still calls him baby or baby guy or baby dude. Benjamin will say Nicholas (Nichas).

One day we went to church and they had a bouncy house for the kids. Ella wasn't sure about it at first and sat inside the house while everyone jumped around her, but she eventually starting jumping along with the other kids. Benjamin definitely wasn't sure about it and observed from my lap on the lawn. When Jon came out from helping clean up, he decided to go in there and Ella told him what to do and he started having fun. They really liked it - I'm thinking their 3rd birthday should be at a bouncy place.

This weekend, Nicholas and I are going to do the Heart Walk - I hope the weather cooperates for us! Also, this past weekend I was a seller in the local multiples group's sale and made a bit of money. I didn't sell everything though. I'll probably participate again at the next sale. As a seller, you get to buy stuff first, so that was really helpful as I got some Halloween costumes and a single jogging stroller that I'll be using this weekend. The twins would not stay in their stroller the whole time, so it is just going to be me and Nicholas.

I started a book club and we have had one meeting so far - I think it's going to be fun! I can't think of anything else going on right now.

Well, I'll write again here again soon as I'm involved in a book club online this month so I'll be writing about that soon.

Happy 1/2 birthday, Nicholas!

2009-08-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Today, Nicholas turns 6 months! Where did the time go? My little guy is a busy little guy. He's pushing himself up really far on his hands and trying to get onto those knees. The other day he got onto his feet and did a little pushup and moved himself over a few inches. He has no problem with letting you know when he's displeased about not being held. This little guy LOVES to be held. This morning, I had to leave so I put him into his crib and said goodbye while Jon was finishing up his shower. Well, he cried out that I was going to leave him - on his 6 month birthday too! Rude!

Ella goes between calling him "baby dude" or "baby guy" (I will call him my little dude or my little guy). She loves to tickle him and most of the time he'll tolerate it. Benjamin will say "Nickas" sometimes, but will also just call him baby or mommy's baby. He isn't as affectionate toward Nicholas as Ella is, but I think Ella just wants to be the little mommy. She had a tight grip on her baby doll last night as we put her to bed.

Nicholas has said things that sound like "ma" (and once, he reached toward me as he said it) and he will imitate certain sounds too - sort of like a cooing gurgling sound. He will get very excited when he knows he's going to be picked up. He likes to kick out his legs and arms to show that excitement.

Tonight, we'll start him on solids so be sure to check my flickr page for pics of that messy fun! I'm excited for this to happen. He'll still get breast milk for as long as I can make it (I'd like to give him breast milk until he turns a year, but my supply is dwindling so we'll see if that happens - considering trying a herb to help produce more).

Tomorrow, we take him to his 6 month checkup so stats to be posted as soon as I have time to do so. :-D

Happy 1/2 birthday, my handsome little dude. Mommy loves you so very, very much. And so do your siblings (human and feline) and your papa. I look forward to our next 6 months together as you learn to crawl, walk and talk. May your teething go smoothly.

Baby Guy

2009-08-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

Some other things going on are:

Nicholas - will grab at his car seat toy with his feet and his hands and play with it. It's quite cute. He's also saying a sound that sounds like "hi" and "ma". I'm choosing to believe he's saying those things and knows what they mean. :-D

oh, and speaking of the Heather Armstrong book - she also said that her daughter used to scratch at the sheet on the bed to let her know when she was awake - Nicholas does that too. I kinda wish he would stop - that really isn't a pleasant sound. She also talked about having to put her baby under general anesthesia for a MRI - we have to put Nicholas under general too when he has his circumcision done when he's 9 months old. We have to wait until this age due to a minor issue. Anyway, I'm not looking forward to it. I don't want to see him knocked out like that at only 9 months old (well, anytime really).

Ella - Will call Nicholas "baby guy" - I'm certain she got this from me saying "Hi my little guy!" and well, I guess she likes baby guy better than little guy. She just loves to play with Nicholas. She also likes to play with Benjamin and I will find them cracking each other up over various things. Tonight, it was walking with crouching position (Ella started this because she dumped water on herself on the way home from a party).It's cute now that Ella will say her own name and Ben's name. This morning, Benjamin was wrestling with Ella and Ella said "Ben, no. Stop Ben." Cuteness. I love hearing them say each other's names and their own!

Benjamin - tonight, while Ella was screaming because she dumped water all over herself in the car, I told her to calm down and that we'd be home soon. Well, then Benjamin decided he would also tell Ella to calm down ("Ella, calm down. Ella! Calm down!" - Ha!). Benjamin is repeating A LOT of what we say. A LOT. Jon told me last night, he said "dammit" and well, guess who repeated that? I can't remember why Jon said that, but he did.

DELICIOUS!

2009-08-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

I'm reading "I Screamed and Then I Cried" by Heather Armstrong. In the book, she was talking about her daughter just loving her hands and sucking on them like they were the best things in the whole world and if she went to get her daughter changed, she wouldn't like that too much then she would be super excited when the hands could make a come back. Well, I bring this up, because that is Nicholas. He LOVES his hands. He can't stand to be separated from them. He will double thumb it sometimes or stuff his whole hand into his mouth. They are just that delicious.

Speaking of delicious, we went blueberry picking this morning. We told the twins to put the blueberries in the bucket and while they did that sometimes, most of the time, they just would pick them and stuff them into their mouths. Delicious! We wondered if we should have weighed Ben & Ella before and after to make sure the farm got what they deserved to be paid. Benjamin also liked picking up the sawdust or beauty bark or whatever it was and squishing it together in his hands. Super awesome! Then he would rub whatever was left on his hands onto his shirt. I believe he also shared with Ella the joy of the sawdust.

After blueberry picking, we went to lunch then off to meet my aunt before they went to a Mariner's game. My aunt drove over with her grandson (14) and her friend and her friend's granddaughter (also 14). They're from Spokane. We may or may not see them tomorrow as well before they head back. It was nice to see one of my relatives over on my side of the state!

After that, we went to a friend's surprise birthday party. We didn't stay too long though because with all of this, the kids were getting a bit cranky (and well, the parents were getting a bit tired as well).

Children & Books & Breastfeeding

2009-08-06T12:58:00.000-07:00

Right now, I'm going through my old posts to see what Ben & Ella were doing when they were 6 months and up as I haven't filled in the baby book in quite some time. It's interesting to compare with Nicholas. He's been flipping over on his belly from his back for a while now and it seems Ben & Ella took a bit longer - maybe because they were born early.

Anyway, I noticed that I used to blog all the time with Ben & Ella and what they were up to, but lately, I've been bad about it and since I may need this information later when I'm filling out baby books for them and for Nicholas, I probably should try to write more just for that reason if no other.

So here's another update on my kids:

Nicholas - gets very excited when he sees someone he likes. He flaps his arms and kicks his legs, much like I remember Benjamin doing. He likes to say things, but he seems like he's more into moving forward on physical stuff than talking (kind of like Ella). This morning, though, it really sounded like he was saying mama. I wished Jon was around to see if it sounded like that to him.

Nicholas can flip over both ways, but does it more from back to belly and I'll find him sleeping on his belly these days. It's probably alright, but I still feel the need to flip him back over. I guess I'm paranoid after a coworker's friend lost her 3 month old most likely due to SIDS. He gets onto his knees sometimes, but not too often. He LOVES to be held and stand while someone holds him. I'm starting to work on him sitting up on his own. I put him down the other day and he just sort fell forward (not really fell, but moved, I guess).

Benjamin & Ella - picking up so many new words each day that I can't even keep track anymore. Both of them have said garage. Benjamin told us the other day what sound Jon's coffee maker makes. He can say everyone's names though he laughs when you ask him to say his own name. Ella said her own name for the first time yesterday (at least, it was the first time I heard her say it). Their bedtime is still a bit of party time, but lately, they've liked being on our bed for a while. This seems to calm them down enough to bring them to their own beds to go to bed. They also like to come on our bed and do a bit of wrestling - one will be lying down on the bed and the other one will do a body slam - they think this is hilarious - I do not since most of the time, I'm on the bed with Nicholas nursing him. Though I can't help but smile when they crack each other up so much. Last night, they were also putting their heads together and finding that fun. I wondered if they found that fun since in the womb they had their heads together?

The daycare told me the other day that Benjamin knows his colors (which I knew) and his shapes (which I didn't). I wonder what other stuff he does that I don't know about. Same with Ella and Nicholas. It's hard being a working mom sometimes...a lot, actually.

Speaking of, I'm reading this book now called "The Other Mother" by Gwendolen Gross. It's an o.k. book so far, but the author (so far) makes it seem like she agrees with the SAHM character that working moms are horrible and why would they leave their children like that? The working mom character is feeling all guilty for leaving her kid (as I do), but unlike myself, it seems she doesn't have to work, she chooses to. One of the characters said in the book, why have kids if you can't afford them or take care of them or something along those lines? All I can say to that right now is ugh! Anyway, I'll see how the rest of the book turns out. I still have another 100 pages or so to go.

And on a final topic - breastfeeding. I feel as if my supply is dwindling - it seems I'm pumping less and less these days. My goal is to give Nicholas breast milk exclusively until he's a year old - this is going to be hard, I think. I still feed him when I get home and in the middle of the night if he wants, but pumping in the morning (as he's not up usually when I leave) and twice at work. I hope that I can hold on until he's a year. I made it to 6 months with the twins, but I guess, I feel as if I should do better at it this time.

Word Fun & More

2009-08-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

Benjamin is doing so well with picking up new words. The other night, I said "be careful" and he repeated it. When I was sorting through the 6-9 month clothes for Nicholas, he picked up a sleeper and said "Mommy, it's a towel." I told him that "actually, it's a sleeper" and he repeated the word. And it's so cute. He also told Jon the other day what sound Jon's coffeemaker makes. :-D

And he has finally said Ella and Nicholas (Nikas). :-D And he likes to say "Ella, come!" He also said our names too, but he still uses mommy and papa.

Ella also has been saying a lot more words. She was playing peek-a-boo with Nicholas and saying "dee-bo". She also talks to Nicholas in a baby talk voice. She talks a lot, but I don't understand most of what she's saying. Ella seems to be more physical - she has learned to jump and Benjamin is still working on that. Ella doesn't quite know her colors yet either - just a few of them. Benjamin seems to know them more. Both of them will repeat us when we say the alphabet. Both of them will tell us that something is "mine" or "my (insert any item you can think of), including saying "my turn" - that's more Benjamin than Ella though. Both of them like to say "Aki's baby" a lot. A friend of ours, Aki, has a baby, James, and ever since Jon took them on walks with Aki around Greenlake, they like to say "Aki's baby". We went to a BBQ yesterday at Aki's place and I told them - there's Aki's baby and they were looking like they weren't too sure about that. :-D

Nicholas has said "dadadada" and Jon had to say to him "actually, I like to be called papa". He also says "ma" but usually when he's upset about something. He's 5 months old now. I need to upload pictures of him on his 5 month birthday. I have uploaded family pics onto flickr though - www.flickr.com/photos/heathercim. These pics were taken by our friend Kelly. We were selected to be profiled in the next multiples newsletter for our city so we needed recent pics of our family!

There were a couple nights that he slept for 8 hours, but he hasn't done it since. He slept pretty good last night in comparison to other nights, but he wakes up at least once in the night (around 1), then again around 4:30-5. Since it's been so hot here, I've been feeding him to keep him hydrated instead of just offering the pacifier. However, Nicholas is a BIG thumbsucker. I foresee problems in getting him off that thumb. Actually, sometimes, it isn't just the thumb - he sticks that whole fist in his mouth!

He's gotten up onto his knees a little bit and a couple times onto his feet while on his belly so he has his butt up in the air. He really loves it when his siblings talk to him because, you know, they are just so cool!

Well, that's it for now.

Another update

2009-07-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

yeah, I do mean to blog more, but it's always the last thing I want to do these days. I really need to so I can remember when things happen to write later in my baby books at home.

Benjamin & Ella like to say something that sounds like "upanddown". I'm not sure if they are really saying up and down or something else as I'm not sure what they are talking about when they say it. They also like to say "wee down" - that, we figured out, is what they call the playground because we always say to them "do you want to go wee down the slide?" It took us a bit to figure out what they were saying.

Benjamin's new thing to do these days is say "come" to Ella or myself or Jon when he wants something. The other day, he said this to Ella so she would come outside and play with him. It's quite cute. He's also very good about knowing his colors (most of them) and he's figured out some letters too.

Ella is starting to know more colors and letters too, but she seems to be more interested in climbing and learning how to be the best mommy ever to her baby doll and to Nicholas.

It is really cute when they say to us "I want juice". And funny that one set of blocks is the "mommy blocks" and the other is the "papa blocks".

Nicholas is starting to push himself up onto his knees and sometimes on his feet with his butt in the air. He will scoot himself all around in his bed and on the floor too. He has a very, very cute laugh. He also has been copying me when I blow raspberries - he finds that pretty funny. And the little guy knows how to roll over from his belly to his back, but he seems to think he doesn't and will cry and fuss if someone doesn't come pick him up or flip him over if he's on his belly longer than he's like. He flips over from his back to his belly all the time.

well, that's all for now. I have every intention of writing on a more regular basis, but I probably won't.

Bedtime is party time...to the twins

2009-07-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

Lately, Ben & Ella think that nap time or bedtime is time to get up and play and run around (including run around holding each other's hands - this is rather cute). Needless to say, this has been very frustrating. Without a nap, they get cranky and with not going to sleep when they should, they wake up later and sometimes cranky. I'm not sure what to do in order to get them to lie down and go to sleep - if anyone has any ideas, let me know. At this point, I'm thinking we may need to separate them - which means we need to move our bedroom elsewhere and that means cleaning out that room.

yesterday, in an effort to get them to take a nap - I put them in the car and drove them around for an hour. I can't do that all the time. After we drove for an hour, I took them to Cos&tco to pick up another fan (and, of course, as soon as I do so, the weather turns cooler). I thought maybe they would like a fan in their room to cool it down and I also got them pillows thinking they would want to sleep in their bed if they had a pillow with a cool Charlie Brown pillowcases that, I think, was my mom's when she was younger. Nope - that didn't work at all. I think I need to go do some googling to see if I can find an answer. I know in one of the multiples groups I'm in, this topic came out and I ignored it, but I think I'll need to go find that thread and read it now!