Teeth Update

Number two tooth came through last night! Only two more to go (hopefully) then maybe we will get a break for a little while.

A Few New Random Pictures

Buggy's General Grievous impression, using birthday party lightsabers.

Beefy, trying to copy Buggy.

He loves holding her.

So sweet.

I love seeing them play together like this.

"Kiddie" Pool

Me: Hey Beefy, are you excited for swimming lessons?
Beefy: Yeah! And they're in the big pool. Not the kitty cat pool.

Ka-Chow

Beefy has a new word in his vocabulary.

Beefy: Mom, I need a cup.
Me: Okay, here you go.
Beefy: Thanks! Oh, yeah! Ka-Chow!

The Hearing Test

Yesterday was attempt number 6 at a "good" (i.e. no fluid in her ears) hearing test for Baby Sister. Thankfully, it was mostly a success.

She was slated to have an un-sedated BAER (brainstem auditory evoked response) test, and an EOAE (evoked otoacoustic emission) test. The funny thing about these tests is that she is expected to sleep through them, naturally, with probes attached to her head, and things stuck in her ears. You can guess how well it went.

After an hour and a half of trying to get her to sleep, it finally happened - just as I was ready to give up.

As far as results go...the Audiologist was confident in the results, there was no fluid, her ears were clear, and they look about the same as last time. Her left ear is good, her right ear isn't. We saw a slight improvement in the right ear, but she is still going to be classified with a moderate-severe loss in that ear.

The loss is permanent. Her hearing in that ear isn't going to come back. But, it is likely not going to get any worse. She will continue to have hearing tests every few months for the first couple of years, just to make sure that it isn't getting worse, and that her good ear is still good.

In most cases like hers the loss is there from the very beginning and the kids who have it cope remarkably well. She qualifies for early intervention services, and they will be able to help her as she learns to speak so that we don't see delays there.

Overall, I still feel like I did after our last test. I am surprisingly calm about the whole thing, and I know that she will be fine.

I am truly grateful that we have access to such a great children's hospital. Being able to catch it early, and having so many great resources available to help her learn to compensate for the loss will be a real advantage to her.

And in other Baby Sister news...Her new tooth from the other day won't be alone for long. She is showing signs of at least two, possibly three more that are on their way in. Stay tuned for their appearance.

Busy Day

I can't take a picture of it yet - but Baby Sister's first tooth broke through today too. I found it just minutes after finishing my last post. We suspected it was coming, but could never get any more significant evidence than lots and lots of drool.

This almost ties her with Buggy as my kid who got teeth earliest. Buggy's first tooth poked through at exactly 5 months, and hers came at 5 months and 1 day.

She should sleep good tonight, considering all of the developmental milestones she's been hitting today. (Wishful thinking, I know)

Guess What Baby Sister Can Do!

This is how I left her (I had to step out of the room for a minute):

This is how I found her when I came back:


She did it all by herself, and she is only 5 months old.

Now, I know to some that may not be an accomplishment, but for my kids...well, let's just say that her brothers didn't catch on to the whole "rolling over" thing nearly this quickly.

Conversation

While questioning me about the merits of duct tape...

Buggy: Mommy, can duck's feathers come off?
Me: Yep, they can.
Buggy: Can their wings come off?
Me: No, not really.
Buggy: Then that's why they call it duck tape.

Yeah, my kid is a little weird.

What is Wrong With This Picture?

I encountered the following while picking up the toys this afternoon:


I'm so glad we have the dollhouse. Otherwise, where would the Star Wars characters sleep?

What Do You Think

Before:

After:

It was badly needed, and long overdue.

Thoughts on Kids

• I never cease to be amazed at the mountain of pink laundry that can be produced by one little girl.
• I'm starting to think that little boys DNA comes automatically programmed with the knowledge of things like Star Wars, Transformers, Legos, and Mario Brothers. It's the only explanation I can come up with for how my boys know so much about these subjects that are so foreign to me.
  

Birthday Pictures

My goal each year is to try and take the boys birthday pictures in mid-June, between their birthdays. Well, this year, it was late July before we got there, but we did finally get there, and they are now here and ready for your viewing pleasure. Per the norm, there are way to many to post them all, but here are a few of my faves

As always, thanks to my photographer "AM".

Buggy (age 5):






Beefy (age 3):






We can't forget Baby Sister (age 4 months):






Group shots:

The ones going on my wall: (I haven't yet decided if I'm going to go color, or black and white)




And, this one just made me laugh:


I know there are a lot of pictures here. I can't help but be a doting mother. Thanks for looking!

Good Moments

I am sitting here messing around on the computer, the house is pretty quiet. The kids are in bed, and don't know that I am home yet, and I just finished eating some ice cream. I can hear Beefy upstairs in his bedroom, singing loudly to himself (or maybe to Buggy - I can't really tell). It is just nonsense words, with no real tune, but it makes me smile. Yeah, this is a good moment.

Catch Up, For Real This Time.

I'm finally, actually getting caught up on blogging. Lets see how long it lasts....

There's lots here, be sure to scroll all the way down.

Kid Stats - July 2009

Buggy (5 years):

Height - 42" 30%

Weight - 39lbs 50%

Buggy has also recently been to the dentist (no cavities!) and the eye doctor (doesn't need glasses!). I think we can safely assume that he is all caught up and ready to start school in a month (eek!).

Baby Sister (4 months):

Height - 25" 75%

Weight - 16lbs 13 1/4oz - +97%

Head - 41 1/2cm - 70%

Yep, she's a chubbo. She is also smiling/laughing all the time, rolling to her side, and playing in the excersaucer/jumper. She is drooling all the time too, and I wouldn't be surprised to see teeth one day soon (bummer).

Lucky Number 7

Our 7th anniversary passed while I was in Utah. We had been looking forward going on a date that night before I had to leave, and funny enough - when the actual day came, neither of us remembered until late in the afternoon. Therefore, it only stands to reason that (of course) I am late in blogging about it too. Oh, well - I was actually late last year too. Isn't it too bad, how my good intentions always go awry.

In honor of the occasion, I thought I'd pull out the wedding photo archives and share some. Enjoy!

Birthday Party Recap

I'm finally getting around to posting about Buggy's "Star Wars" birthday party. I haven't yet managed to get most of the pictures from the day uploaded on my computer, but the photo shown here pretty much sums it up. It was fairly chaotic. All of the good pictures will come in a later post so rather than rehash the event in detail here, I would like to record for my own future reference (and hopefully for my readers amusement) a few things (good and bad) that I learned from this party planning experience.

• Light sabers (made from pool noodles and shiny silver and black duct tape) + Boys of all ages = the hit of the party!
• If you are planning other activities, do them before passing out the light sabers. Once they are distributed, all other structure goes out the window.
• A guest list of 20 (mostly boys, aged 3-7) is too many. I knew this already, but factoring in that it was summer, and many wouldn't come, I thought we'd be okay. Yeah, I now know why the recommendation is to keep the amount of kids equal to the age of the birthday kid. When it comes to boys, I kind of think that in my world the birthday kid will be 5 forever.
• 80 degree heat in Seattle makes for a hot backyard. 80 degrees also turns a "Yoda Soda" into "sticky green mess".
• 1 standard cake mix will yield roughly 60 miniature cupcakes. That is A LOT of cupcakes.
• Candles don't stay lit when there is a breeze. So don't even bother trying. The kids are more concerned about eating the cupcakes than they are about blowing out the candles anyway.
• Coloring pages...Also not a great idea when there is a breeze.
• Last but not least....When it all turns into chaos, roll with it. If they are having fun that is all that matters anyway. Besides, are they really going to remember that game of "Pin the lightsaber on Yoda"? Probably not.

In the end, I think the guests all had fun, and I know that Buggy did. And we are officially done with birthdays for the year...except for mine I guess, in December. But that doesn't count. ;)

Callings

I have a confession to make. I don't know how I got to be here. Inside this 26-year-old body there is still a kid that sometimes feels like she is playing a big game of house...only it isn't really that way.

When did I go from being a carefree teenager to being a wife/mom of three with a mortgage and all of these responsibilities. Am I really an adult now? Sometimes I have a hard time believing that I am in this stage of life...really.

Is that too much information? Please don't think I'm crazy. I'm not - well not super crazy anyway. I just sometimes can't believe how quickly time passes.

Now that I've got that off my chest - I got a new church calling this week! (for my non-lds friends, in our church the word calling is synonymous with assignment, or the capacity in which we serve in the congregation) I got called to be a youth leader. Specifically, secretary to the Young Women's group. I've never served in this calling before, but it definitely takes me back to my days in that program, which, until now, didn't seem all that long ago.

This is why I have been marveling at the swift passage of time recently. It seems like just a short while ago, when I was a girl and had my own leaders to look up to. They were all marvelous women and very strong examples for me. It is incredibly humbling to me that I have the potential to be that example to other girls who are now where I once was. I hope and pray that I am equal to the task.

I am going to miss my job in primary. Playing the piano there and being with the kids has been one of my very favorite callings, and the people I worked with there are some of the best I know. With that being said though, I am very excited (and admittedly a little nervous) about this new opportunity to get to know new people, and to stretch myself in ways that I might otherwise never have. I know it will give me lots of great new experiences, and I am eager to see what they are.

Even though I'm not that carefree kid anymore, I am able to find comfort in the fact that things are still going okay. Even with the responsibilities that adulthood brings, there are still perks like a loving family and good friends. And even though I am old enough now to be one of the leaders that I once looked up to (and *gasp* thought that they were old) so many years ago, I'm okay with it. I'm really looking forward this newest adventure.

I guess it's not so bad to be grown up after all.

Cousins!

The "F" cousins came to visit last week. It was kind of spur of the moment (they decided on Monday that they were going to come on Wednesday), but we had a lot of fun with them. They are used to the Utah heat so our major Seattle "Heat Wave" didn't bother them as much as it bothered us. Go figure.



In the three days that they were here we visited the Seattle center and the Pacific Science Center, and a few brave souls even ventured into Pike's Market. We shopped (and shopped and shopped), played at the beach, rode the ferry, went to the Blue Angels airshow, spent a few hours getting wet at the spray park, played lots of cards (hand & foot) and Monopoly, ate (and ate and ate), and made an all important trip to the Lego store. No wonder we were tired!

Just as a side note...We love having company, so if any of our other out of town family or friends have the urge to see the great northwest, we'd love to have you.