New clean-up song

Natalie has a bright future as a songwriter! She treated us to her newest ditty this morning.

"Mommy said to clean my room
Mommy said to clean my room
Mommy said to clean my room
So I threw everything out the window
So I threw everything out the window
So I threw everything out the WINDOOOOOOOOOOOOW"

*applause*

Forgot two funnies...

From Overgaard.

Natalie loves refried beans, so I sang the "beans beans the magical fruit, they make your hiney go toot, toot, toot" song. I only sang it once, so she gave it her own twist -

"beans beans the magical fruit
they make me stink
and they make me fart
and they make me poop".

And she opened a barber shop. The day we were leaving, I was trying to get ready and then load up the car. The kids were watching a movie, and Natalie had her arts and crafts kit out. All of a sudden, I heard Jon yelling "That's it, no more scissors". Apparently she decided to give Oliver's cowlick a trim - and dude just sat there and let her do it. I walked into the living room, and they were both sitting there with shit-eating grins. I wasn't pleased, but I couldn't help but laugh (I have no poker face, and it's already biting me in the ass). I couldn't figure out where she had cut at first (which is a good thing!), so I asked her to show me. She kind of circled her hand over the top of his head, then said "Don't worry. He still has a lot more". And when asked why she did that? "I was trying to make him more handsome".

Overgaard - MLK weekend

Jon and I took the kids to the mountains over MLK weekend - hoping to run into some snow. It was definitely cold! Natalie was so cute on the way up - searching for snow on the side of the road. And the property had older snow on the ground - not 2 minutes after we arrived, Oliver let out a "woooo hoooo" and did a bellyflop in the snow - the first of many. :-)

We just got settled in that night (Friday), and had dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Heber/Overgaard - Casa Ramos.

Saturday, we got up earlyish and drove to Flagstaff, so we could see Jamie and play in some snow. Had a great time! Oliver learned how to say Jamie - and stalked poor Jamie the whole day. At one point we were following her car, and Oliver spent the entire time pointing to her car and moaning "Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay". Jamie took us to a field on the NAU campus (where she goes to school), and the four of us had a blast (Jon wielded the camera, since he was recovering from surgery on his deviated septum)! There was a hill that was just the right size for sledding. Just before we got into town, I pointed out the large mountain to Natalie (where the ski/snowboarding is) and told her that was the hill we'd be sledding on, and she said "COOL". Several minutes later, I heard her whimpering in the back. I asked her what was wrong - she said "I'm too scared to go down that hill". I thought she knew I was joking! I told her don't worry. It would probably take me two weeks to get up that mountain, and we had to be home in three days. :-) Got back to the condo, made dinner and had a quiet evening.

Sunday we just stayed around the property. Took the kids to a local park. While Oliver napped, Natalie and I went to the front desk/club house to make a birdhouse. Had a nice time! Once Oliver got up, we just walked around the property until we got too cold. Dinner and another quiet evening.

The kids were so good this trip, and so cute too. They really loved the snow! Natalie says she loves visiting it, but doesn't want to have to live in it. She's her mother's daughter, that's for sure!

Crisis averted.

Last night, as I was getting Natalie ready for bed, she asked "Mommy, do you know what Stinky Pinky is?". I was like "uh um, stinky pinky?" (because I'm pretty sure that's some kind of obscene term and I was trying to buy some time). I sat there and scrambled for some kind of explanation for a couple of seconds...

"NO, Mommy. SNEAKY PEEKY"

"Sneaky peeky?"

"Yeah, Sneaky Peeky. You keep your eyes on your paper, and don't let people peek on yours" (they had their first spelling quiz yesterday)

I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief.

I know these conversations are coming, but I'm just not quite ready! :-P

End of 2nd quarter

We had our parent-teacher conference earlier this week! Natalie is continuing to do very well - at level in everything, proficient in several! Her teacher says she is a good, solid student. She recently paired a new student with Natalie because apparently Natalie is a little mommy in class, and likes to take people under her wing and show them the ropes. Still needs some confidence building - she has a strong need for perfection and if she isn't sure of an answer, she won't try; she clams up. We're working on that, but I know from personal experience that's a tough trait to reverse. Mrs. A also told us that Natalie mumbles a lot during class, and she oftens stops to listen because Natalie will be mumbling really funny, little adult asides. And the kids get to take turns being teacher - they stand at the blackboard and review letters and sounds. Mrs. A told me that last week, Natalie was relishing her turn, and kept calling out students who weren't giving her their full attention. That's my girl! :-)

It's potty time!

Well, probably not for real, but this was still pretty cool! Oliver peed in the toilet tonight! Twice! Natalie was so excited, she said "He's a big boy now! Like a 5 year old! Like me!" and gave him one of her Matchbox cars.

Backing up..... Last week, for the first time in months, Oliver peed while I was taking his diaper off before his bath. Jon was gone all week, so I was distracted and didn't give it much thought. Sunday night, I was taking his diaper off before his bath, and he peed again. Like last week, it was just a few drops. I tossed a wipe over him, went back to cleaning him up (poopy diaper). Then he peed two more times - every time I took the wipe off - and I noticed that he was bearing down to force it out, and laughing like a little maniac.

I wasn't sure if this was intentional mischievous behavior, or a "hey cool! look what I can do" connection being made, or some combination of the two. I asked some friends if they had ever encountered a similar situation (Google gave me nothing) and they suggested putting him on the toilet when he does that - not so much to potty train - but at least to show him that pee belongs in the toilet.

So last night, same routine, except I put him on the toilet and told him to pee. He looked at me like I had two heads, then pointed to the tub. I backed off. Tonight, again, same routine, except this time when I put him on the toilet and told him "Go pee. Pee-pee belongs in the toilet", he looked at me for a second, then grinned (I swear I saw a lightbulb go off in his head), bore down and got some pee out! We all made a fuss over him, then after his bath, he indicated he wanted to try again, so on the toilet he went, and he peed again!

I'm under no delusion that he'll be potty trained any time soon, but it's a step in the right direction!

Stringing words

Oliver has started stringing words together!

Last week he said "'nack chips!" - meaning he wanted chips for a snack. Prior to that he would just say "nack" if he wanted a snack and then he'd point to what he wanted, or he'd just say "chips". And no, he doesn't snack on chips all day! He can see the bag in the pantry and always tries to get us to hand some over. :-)

Tonight, I took the kid to see Mitz and Pops - had them out to get new shoes and wasn't far from M&P. As soon as we turned on their street (he actually recognizes the far end of their development where we turn in, and even as we get off the freeway he knows we are going to their place), Oliver got all excited and said "Mitz (I can't phonetically recreate how he says "Mitz") door, knock"! And he did a little knocking motion - so cute! He's also been knocking on doors lately - like Natalie's - don't know why, but it cracks me up.

Grandma's visit! And Happy New Year!

Grandma arrived last Saturday! After a frustrating day at the airport, she finally arrived around 11 p.m. Natalie was so excited to wake her up Sunday morning! We had such a nice time with her this week, and glad that she was able to have a longer visit this time!

Sunday we went to church, then got Oliver down for a nap, and Natalie, Grandma and I spent the afternoon shopping. Introduced Grandma to Cuban sandwiches.

Monday, I dropped Natalie and Grandma off at As You Wish - a local pottery painting place. Natalie made Grandma a snowman ornament, and Grandma made Natalie a penguin statue. I left them there, and took Oliver to meet Mitz at Home Goods. Bought a few things, then we went back to pick up G and N - after Mitz and I chased each other around the parking lot in our cars - don't ask. We all had lunch, then got the kids back for nap/quiet time.

Tuesday - Natalie's friend Trinity came over to play for most of the day. Then we had an early dinner, and headed out to Zoo Lights - Aunt Jamie came along with us. This is the first time we went in Phoenix and it was beautiful - really well done.

Wednesday - Trinity came over again, and we all went to the "big park" - about a mile from the house. Got McDs for lunch, then I left the girls with Carol while I took Oliver to the doctor - raging case of croup again, and he was prescribed steroids for a couple of days. Then Jon got pizza for the kids and Grandma, and we headed over to Nicholas and Rex's for dinner - had a nice night out - thanks for babysitting, Grandma!

Thursday - Grandma and I took the kids to the zoo during the day. Didn't know it was snow day there - the place was packed - but they had two areas with some snow. Natalie loved it, of course. Oliver, not so much. He's definitely our Arizona native! He thought it was fun until his hands got really cold, then it was all over - big drama. But he kept going back for more, then he'd get cold and upset. The final time, I was so proud of Natalie.... Right after she dumped snow on him (and he found that funny), he played a bit, got cold, got upset, and instead of ignoring him, or calling for me, I watched her take him by the hand, and every so gently led him down the snow hill over to me. It was so sweet to see her caring for her baby brother like that. I got a little choked up. Oh, and we all got to feed giraffes! Grandma and I got slimed a little, but that was OK. The kids loved it - it's such a neat experience. Got the kids back, nap/quiet time, I started cooking. Mitz and Pops came over for dinner and the evening. We had Chicken Saltimbocca (and mine/Cook's Illustrated was better than Bucca di Beppo's, so there!), crash hot potatoes, steamed broccoli, and Tres Leche cake for dessert. That cake is divine - my first time making and trying it and it's so good it's unreal. Got the kids to bed, and the adults sat around and drank and played poker until well in to the New Year! Mitz brought several lovely appetizers, I made hot crab dip and we had chips and salsa as well. One of the best evenings we've had - lots of laughter, obnoxiousness, some vulgarities, and just a general good time!

Happy New Year! I'm adding Tday, Christmas and N's birthday pictures now. I need to get the ones from Grandma's visit uploaded and edited - will try to get that done over the weekend.

Merry Christmas!!

Obviously a little late, but whatever. :-)

We had a wonderful Christmas! Our church's Advent pageant was the Sunday before Christmas - Natalie was Mary this year - and had a beautiful costume handmade by Grandma. All the kids did a great job! Natalie brought down the house at one point - she was supposed to climb on the back of large, stuffed horse (supposed to be the donkey that Mary rode to Bethlehem) - she had been been pretty reserved up until that point... All of a sudden, she leapt up in the air, tucked her legs up, and landed square on the back of the horse/donkey - so funny - you can see the video here - just scroll down a bit until you see the video - it is embedded in our church's homepage. Full screen viewing is best.

Christmas Eve was a whirlwind of cooking/baking, church at 4, then we went to Mitz and Pops' for dinner. Mitz made a delicious salad and lasagna, and Santa called Natalie (M&P arranged for their neighbor to call and play Santa) - Natalie was wide-eyed. Then Pops took the kids out back to look for Santa's sleigh. Mitz went out front and rang the sleigh bells she hangs on her door every year - I heard Natalie shout "That's Santa! I hear his sleigh bells!". She came running in, Mitz showed her the bells and told her that they must have fallen from Santa's sleigh - Natalie was amazed. Then Mitz and Pops gave the kids a special present - a Polar Express train set - the kids love it! We're going to bring it out every Christmas, but put it away during the year so it doesn't get broken. Once that was opened, Oliver turned around and started ripping the paper off one of Natalie's other presents. Whoops!

Headed home. Had the kids hang stockings, get the final chocolates out of their Advent calendars. I put O to bed, Jon put Natalie to bed. Jon was out of her room first - usually I'm out of O's before Jon finishes with Natalie. Apparently she told him "I want The Night Before Christmas because it is short. Frosty is short too, that's OK. And I want no screwing around. No drawing on my back, no snuggling, get out so I can go to sleep". LOL We finished wrapping presents, cleaned the house, and got to bed way too late.

Christmas day was awesome as well. Natalie was up at about 6:20, but waited patiently upstairs until Oliver awoke at 7, and also for Mitz and Pops to arrive at the same time. We opened presents - the kids were so cute. Oliver was just stomping around all over the place with a lollipop. One of his gifts was a plush Dora backpack, with the Map - and he put it on and started singing the Map and Backpack songs. Mitz and Pops stayed for breakfast, then left to meet Jamie and Mike back at their house. They came back around 1:30 with Mike and Jamie. My friend Sylvia and her family joined us again this year, so we had 12 total! Dinner was prime rib, au jus, horseradish cream sauce, Caesar salad, Duchess potatoes, green bean casserole (scratch, not the Campbell's version), rolls. Dessert was Eggnog Bundt cake, and Sylvia brought a Red Velvet cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory that was to.die.for.

Some of the highlights from Christmas day -

Jon found Oliver with a fistful of candy in each hand - one had chocolate, the other candy cane. He said O was alternating cramming gobs of candy in his mouth, drooling everywhere - then he looked at Jon, reached in his mouth and pulled out an intact candy cane wrapper. And laughed.

Oliver received a toy dump truck that plays music, says a few things, and moves. He was chasing a couple of Natalie's Zhu Zhu pets around the house with it.

Mitz gave Natalie a small thing of hand sanitizer in her stocking. Natalie was running around the house telling me how she was going to have everyone use it before dinner, and "I can't believe Mitz got me hand sanitizer - it was JUST WHAT I WANTED". Who knew?! :-)

And of course, after all the present opening orgy was finished, Natalie asked "Is there more?". LOL