Rools

Ethan came home from his first day at school exited about all the things in his classroom that were different from last year. There is Tattle Toad who HATES it when people tattle, even and odd number poems, and most importantly there is a list of rules on the wall. Ethan came home and decided we needed our own list posted by the door.

Translation:
Rools (rules)
listen to Mom
To be Kind
Dont Run
Listen to Dad
Be Safe
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Be Careful to Baby

Ethan is always drawing. Even in the shower. Eric says he will ask him to do something, like wash his hair and Ethan will write "N-O" on the shower door in the steam. I came in the other day and he was drawing faces.

He also drew on the back of his school work. He and a friend were having their pencils battle, so he thought it would make a great picture. Ethan's pencil, the taller one, is hitting the smiley face pencil and saying "awesome, awesome" (osom, osom) while the poor little smiley face pencil calls for help. I guess the thing above the smiley face pencil is a shield that Ethan's pencil threw on its head. I am a little concerned with the violence of this picture (we may have to stop watching pokemon) but I am also amused at the depiction of pencils fighting. Hmmmm, which side will win out, the appalled mother or the british humor lover in me?

Child Prodigy

I bought Ethan some piano books at our local music store, and since I live in Scottsbluff Nebraska and not Los Angeles I got to talking to the owner of the store about teaching kids instruments. I myself started at age 8, and Ethan will be 6 almost 7. Normal, yes. He told me that a parent called asking for flute lessons for her 2 year old daughter. Okay crazy people. I realized with this story, and after talking to some parents at Ethan's school, how the average IQ is 100, there have to be people like this out there to bring the average down. Crazy flute mom is a waco, but I am not (okay yes I am, but I am on medication so it doesn't count). I know all parents think their kids are prodigies, but I know I am right in saying that Livi is a musical genious! (Heavy sarcasm is so hard to type)

First Day of School, or My Car the Prison

School has finally started and it is nice to have the 2 hour "break" where I get to play with Livi one on one and she has a little nap. What I don't like is the morning Ella doesn't have a playmate, making lunches that only get half eaten, the constant driving in the car, and waking Livi up from her afternoon nap so we can race off to Ella's preschool and then race to Ethan's school. On the bright side next year I'll just have Livi during the day, and she'll still be napping (maybe my house will get clean, ha ha). On the sad side, next year I'll just have Livi during the day. I miss my little ones while they are gone. I may not love playing pokemon with the kids, but I enjoy hearing them play pokemon, I love hearing there little games, the funny things they say.
So on to happier things, Ethan has a great teacher, Mr. Behnke (yes pronounced like the baby pacifier) and there are only 16 kids in his class. Yes, you read that right, take that California! He LOVES Mr. Behnke, and has actually come home excited to tell me things that he did at school. My little shy guy is growing up.Growing up, yes. Still making goofy faces in pictures though.

Ella also started school, and I think it is a big adjustment for her. After we dropped off Ethan she was ready to go off to preschool, just like last year. I explained that we would go after lunch. She looked concerned and said "But I'm not hungry for lunch." After laughing and explaining that we weren't moving lunch up, but moving preschool later, she was very upset. It didn't help that all summer she had her best friend, Maddi, all to herself, and when she walked into the preschool Maddi was playing on the swings with someone else. She teared up, and didn't want to go outside. I felt so badly for her. I know that feeling, of being left out, and it breaks my heart to see it in her eyes. Luckily Mrs. Hessler, the best no nonsense preschool teacher in the world quickly assessed the situation and paired Bella up with another little girl. Ella still got to sit by Maddi, and she was pretty stoic about it when I picked her up. All in all it will be an interesting year.

Chocolate Baby

Another example of my fine parenting on display. In my defense I DO have a really bad sinus infection and I want to lay around and sleep all day. I was laying on the couch after church and heard some rustling over by the table. Eric and the kids were in other rooms, so no one was there to check what Livi had gotten into. It hurts to move my head too much, so I thought it probably wasn't a big deal, I thought it was a cracker wrapper for saltines. Not great, but I thought I would let her eat some crackers and I could clean it up later. Well, it wasn't crackers.
It was Ethan's Kit Kat that he hadn't finished. It made me laugh so hard to see her grubbing away on the chocolate, and that Ethan hadn't finished a Kit Kat. Who's child is he? I picked her up before it got too bad, and let her finish in the kitchen over the sink. I probably will regret this later when she's gumpy from a tummy ache, but I figured she was already grumpy from teething and this at least would taste delicious. Bad Mommy 101, taking applicants now.

Attack of the Livi Grizzly

Some more cute growling from Olivia. I just love the sounds that come out of her mouth!

Frankenstien Walking

Livi is walking. She started taking steps her and there last month, and started perfecting her technique in Canada. Now she is taking several steps all the time, and yesterday she walked across the room. This morning I got a couple of steps on camera. I love the little lurching.

Staying Sane, or Furniture Shopping

Well, we are at an impasse in our future planning. Eric can waive into other states next April, so it makes sense to wait until then to job hunt, but we have outgrown our little house here. I am quickly going crazy in the cramped quarters, but we really don't want to buy a new house (because we may only be here for a short time, and it's nice to have a small mortgage payment). After several LONG phone calls to my mom, trying to make the best of the situation, we've decided to try and make the basement more liveable to make spending time down there more palatable. One thing we did was move our ultra comfy couch downstairs, plus move all the entertainment stuff down, so upstairs can stay neater (I hate when your best friend drops by to drop off the yummiest salsa, and your living room looks like Tornado Livi struck). Long story short, I went furniture shopping to get a new sofa for upstairs. The kids actually had a blast and had their favorite types of furniture. Ella truly got into the spirit of things, and I'm a little concerned we will being seeing her on the Price is Right as a model in about 16 years. We didn't get any of the pieces she is showing off, but her poses were so funny I couldn't help adding them.

All Tucked In

Ethan is such a sweet little guy. He LOVES stuffed animals. He has such a great imagination each animal has a name, personality, likes and dislikes, and special friends among the other stuffed animals. At night he loves to have them all in bed with him (or at least some of them).
A couple of nights ago I came in to turn off the light from his reading books in bed and realized that he had organized his friends. His two pokemon, Sneasel and Sudoowoodoo (?) where laying on a pillow by him, tucked into the blanket he had me knit them. The rest of the stuffed animals where "cuddling" each other at the end of his bed in groups according to size. Okay, maybe he's a little type A like me, but there are worse ways for it to exhibit! He just wanted them all to comfortable for the night.

Mad Mommy Skills

My kids always ask how I can do things. I always, jokingly, answer "Mad Mommy Skills." This time I am not joking. I braided Livi's hair. Yes, her very short, very fine baby hair. How did I do it, yep, Mad Mommy Skills!

Baby Grizzly

I think Livi must be part Grizzly Bear, or maybe if I play back a recording of this sound at a higher tone and different speed there will be a hidden message. I hate to say it, but she does sound like a little possessed demon baby. It here new favorite sound to make. Enjoy!

Oh Canada!

Well, we did it. We survived our fabulous trip to Canada. I can't believe we've spent about 32 hours in the car with the kids in the last 10 days. Yep, 32. On the way up the three kids all wanted to watch movies, which made it hard. Livi's taste run to Elmo, Ella's to princesses, and Ethan to Pokemon. When you add in that Livi is rear facing still, and that the DVD player broke at the Canadian border (3 hours from our destination), we had a FUN time getting there! Luckily we did it in two days, so the kids weren't as bad as they could have been, and they got to play in the new park when we got there. I wanted to kiss the ground when we got there, but the prolific piles of deer droppings squashed all those feelings fairly quickly.
My parents and sister were fabulous helpers with the kids, and Eric and I even got to go on a couple dates while we were there. Eric got up every morning with the kids, and in return I didn't complain once on the many fishing trips he took (I think I got the better end of the stick, but whatever makes him happy!), so all in all it was a great break for everyone, even me.
We cried when we left, especially Ella who sorely missed her Grandma/coloring partner about 30 minutes into the car ride home, and wanted to turn around and go straight back. That was the beginning of the worst car trip in history. Well, maybe not, but it was not fun. Ethan threw up 1 hour into it because we took the windy scenic route across the border. Livi cried for about 7 hours of the 15.5 hour trip. We didn't have a DVD player for 4 hours into it, and Ella thought she would die of bordom. In Billings, Mt, about half way, Eric pointed out that Ethan's eye was swollen and oozing (bacterial conjuntivitis) so we spent lots of time disinfecting the car and washing hands at gas stations. Even with all that I would do it again just to spend time with my family. It again stuck a dagger in our hearts that we are so far from family, so if anyone knows of any attorney positions in Utah or Idaho let us know, I can't take hearing from my sad kids how much they want to be able to see their grandparents "all the time." (yes, they are in California, but we all know where they will end up).
We LOVE the new park, they really put their money to good use, I wish we had one like it in town!
It wouldn't be Waterton without throwing rocks, and the amazing and beloved Banana Boat!
Ethan and Ella had a blast coloring with Grandma Sharon. Ella and Grandma worked on coloring princess pictures and Ethan wrote lots and lots and lots of books.
Our group horseback riding. From left: Julia, Eric, Ella, Nicole, Ethan. The kids LOVED getting to ride on their ow, and Ella even looks natural on a horse. Both kids loved when the horses would trot, and I sat back and tried not the pull my hair out with worry.I am glad Livi warmed up to Grandpa Bud. I knew if she had the time (and some quiet this time) that she would love him as much as everyone else does!
Our last picture in the park. We were so sad to go, and plan to spend much more time there next year. Hopefully it wont rain every day next time, and Eric will get in some better quality fishing.

I knitted what??????

As I read my sweet cousin Megan's blog, I realized I still had not supported our mutual cousin, Andrea, in her entrepreneurial endeavor. She has operated a very awesome website, Punkbabyclothes.net, for a while now. I went online, ordered some of her cute items, and received them yesterday. The kids loved their ninja t-shirts! Ethan loved his so much, he insisted I knit a ninja mask for his stuffed pokemon. Luckily it was small so it took barely anytime, but when I started knitting I didn't think "I hope I get to knit a tiny ninja mask someday." Oh well, it was pretty fun to see how much he loved it! Livi also got a great shirt, that made Eric laugh and laugh when he got home. The kids didn't get the diaper pins, they had never seen them before. I had to explain old fashioned diapers, which both kids thought were gross. I have to agree. I love the environment, but I wipe enough bottoms, I can't think about rinsing out and cleaning diapers too. Sorry Earth!

What a Difference a Day Makes

Our last day of swim lessons before vacation was a huge success. Eric was able to come, since it was a make up day on Saturday, and I think the kids really wanted to impress him, especially Ella. She didn't cry once, and after a few jumps off the side, holding a hand, she started going by herself. I am so proud of my kids, for doing something hard, for being scared, but doing it anyways.

Terror in the Water

We got to do swimming again today. The last two days it has been way too cold and windy for lessons, but today was nicer. Nicer, but not quite nice enough. It was about 70, the water wasn't super heated, but at least there wasn't much of a breeze. I thought "They're Nebraska kids, they'll be fine." I also thought Ella would have more fun this time. I was wrong.

As you can see it was worth it, but Caleb and Ethan both had blue lips when we were done.

Mother of the Year Award Continued

Well, my bad parenting knows no bounds. We went to Wendy's with Eric for lunch after Ella's dance class (he took an early lunch to watch her, what a good dad!) I forgot Livi's formula container, so she munched on fries and a chicken nugget to tide her over. All bad, but even worse, I didn't buckle the safety seat belt in the high chair, AHHHHHHHH!

Dancing Queen

Ella had a show off day from the summer session of Ballet. It was only 6 classes, but super fun, and she showed how quickly she learns things. She talked the whole way home about how she can't wait to go to ballet again. The first clip Ella didn't put her arms out all the way and the teacher corrects her, she gets embarrassed and cries a little. Being type-A myself, I can totally understand. The second clip is her scarf dance. She was the best one, if I do say so myself! I am so proud of her!

Author and Illustrator

Ethan has always had a fascination with drawing. He also has inherited Eric's love of writing books. Last night he set up a little desk area on the table and went to work on a project. I wasn't really sure what he was doing, I just thought he was drawing like usual. 30 minutes went by, not unusual, then an hour, then 1 1/2 hours, so I finally asked what he was working on. He said "A book." I decided not to pry and just wait till he was done. It took about 2 hours 15 minutes, but I finally got to see the masterpiece. It is a book that has a top and bottom. The top of the pages talk about who are the moms of different things, like pokemon, babies, and Mickey Mouse. The bottom of the pages, when you flip the book, is a collection of songs, all but one of which he wrote by himself, that have to do with the same subjects. There is a song from Pokemon, a song about Olivia and Carter, a song about Mickey Mouse, etc.
I can't believe how good the pictures and writing were for someone who is only 6. He's got a great little work ethic, and I think we should be putting our energies in this direction instead of the failed soccer/basketball route.Notice the concentration. Notice the uncomfortable position he "sat" in for most of the time.The book is called "Poke-Moms" and "Poky Songs" on the flip side.This says "A Sudowoodos mom is a Sudowoodo" and "A Bonslys mom is a bonsly." They are pokemon characters, and if you know them, the illustrations look pretty close. The flip side has a song about Brock, a character from pokemon. It says "Broco can cook. Borco cooks the best. O Broco can cook O Brocko cooks, cooks the best. O Broco can cook." There was even a tune to it!
This one says "A Carter's (Cardrs) mom is a human (hyoomon)," and "Olivee's Mom is a human." I noticed Melissa and I look pretty similar in our pictures! Funny guy.

Livi's long lost brother Casey, or my baby is just like a golden retriever

How sad, that at every turn I think my baby is becoming more and more like my parents golden retriever, Casey? At first we called her the "golden retriever of babies" because she loved EVERYONE (except the lady at Hallmark, go figure). Since then (a couple of months ago) I have noticed more and more similarities:
1. Her her feet kick uncontrollably, making her whole body move when one of us enters the room. Casey is so happy when people come home is tail wags his whole body.
2. She follows the kids around the house. Casey follows the kids around the house.
3. Livi puts everything in her mouth, and cannot go 2 feet without something sticking out of her cute lips, mostly things I don't want in there. Casey cannot greet someone without a "present" in his mouth, and most things in there are things that we don't want him chewing on (ie scriptures, reading glasses...)
4. Livi tries to steal our food while we are eating it. Casey has stolen a sandwich my dad was in the middle of eating.
5. She is sad when you leave without her. Casey has doggy depression when someone leaves.
6. Livi thinks there are prizes in the toilet. So does Casey.
7. Livi tried to crawl into the dish washer to lick the plates. Casey is also guilty of that.
Should I be worried?

Swimming Lessons

Melissa found a great swim teacher for the kids, and we were lucky enough to get a week of lessons this summer (she's in high demand). This is our week, so the kids go every day for half an hour. They were SOOOO excited about swimming, and even more excited that Maddi and Caleb would be there with them. After a LONG talk about how they had to listen to the teacher (Mrs. Poole, which the kids thought was hilarious), and not spend the whole time goofing off with friends, we headed off to the lesson.
Ethan did great. They strapped on their little supports called "puppies" and jumped in the water. Good so far. Mrs. Poole took out Ethan and he did great, he even doggie paddled for a while with no help. Maddi and Caleb also did great. Ella, hmmm, well, as far as I could tell this is what happened: Ella was doing her legs just right, but when it came time to add arms she didn't quite understand what she was suppose to do. Mrs. Poole said to start her arms, and Ella just said "NO." Mrs Poole and I both thought she was just being mouthy so she let go of Ella's arms and Ella did what she said she would, which was not move her arms. Ella went under water and swallowed a little bit. She was upset and started crying. Being the supportive mother I am, I just thought "served her right for being rude."
Well, it turns out (once I got her quiet by promising her an icecream sandwhich, my good parenting knows no bounds) that she said "No" instead of "I don't understand." She really didn't know what she was suppose to do with her arms. Hopefully that little hiccup is all we have and the rest of the week goes well.
Just wanted to share my latest "Mother of the Year Award" moment of the week.

Standing Tall

It can't be. It just can't. Livi stood on her own on Sunday. I couldn't believe it. Today she was hanging out, just standing, then she looked around a little and tried to take a step. What in the world is happening? I can't have a baby walking around this house. We are only baby proofed for a crawler, and I just can't let her grow up so fast. Of course she didn't take the step successfully, but the fact that she wanted to take it scared me.
I have to go now. Eric actually wants to watch "So You Think You Can Dance" with me. He's addicted! Go Evan and Janine!

Livi's Turn

Livi finally got the bath she was dying for in the other videos. She normally has a shower with one of us, and doesn't get to play like the kids do. I put barely any water in and let her play a little, which she loved.

Measuring Up

I was looking at the kids yesterday, and was struck by how skinny Ethan is. I laughed to myself that he is probably skinnier than Livi, so I decided to measure the kids' arms and legs. I know it is a crazy, silly thing to do, but my days are slow, and I was curious. Here are they are
Arms:
Ethan 6.5 inches
Olivia 6.5 inches
Ella 6.25 inches
Legs:
Ethan 11 inches
Olivia 11 inches
Ella 12.5 inches
So I was wrong. Ethan and Livi are the same size, only he is stretched out and she is compact. Ella was so sad her arms were the smallest, but happy her legs were the biggest, go figure. In about 10 years she would run off to her room and cry. I guess I'll just enjoy them, no matter what size they are.


Here's how Livi felt about getting measured!

Scooter Livi

I thought I would just add a couple of videos today. I've been working like a mad woman on scrapbooks lately, so I get a little sick of looking at the computer (I've been digitally scrapbooking).
The story is Ella was taking a bath. Livi LOVES baths, and was very sad that she couldn't get in with Ella. I kept removing her from the bathroom, but every time I did, Livi zoomed right back. She would stand there, looking forlornly in at Ella, and bang on the shower door.

Better Late than Never, Maybe or "The 4th of July"

I am such a slacker, but I thought maybe I should post some of the wonderful pictures from our great 4th of July celebration. The Bagleys were nice enough to put up with us for the day, and we had a BLAST! We started out by all going to Ice Age 3, which was SOOOOO good, and then headed back to their house to hang out, eat, and eventually do some fireworks.
We had a great BBQ and I actually made potato salad for the first time. Melissa made these awesome fruit kabobs were you put marshmellows on the end, put them on the grill so the marshmellows melt all over, and then you dip it in a raspberry dipping sauce, can I saw AWESOME!
Livi had a love/hate relationship with this waterbottle. I let her have a drink of it, but it was colder than she expected and started crying. For the rest of the evening she kept chewing on the lid, then crying, then chewing on the lid, then crying. It was though she was chewing on it to hurt it back, then crying when she remembered the dreaded drink.
I think inside every man and boy there is a tiny pyromaniac. We set off a few little fireworks before dark to keep the kids entertained, and then for some reason Chad and Eric thought it would be a good idea to lite a giant dandilion on fire. I don't know what disturbs me most, that they did it in front of the boys, or the look on Eric's face.
The kids got to do the biggest sparklers I have ever seen. I think the girls were a little scared, but the pyro boys had a great time.
It wouldn't be a holiday without a funny face from Ethan. Is it just me, or does he look like James here?
Melissa had another great idea and got the kids glow bracklets and wands. The boys decided they were glow swords instead of wands, typical, and had fun waving them at anything they thought they could, or should, chop.
It maybe mother's intuition, or maybe the look on her face, but I think by this point Ella had just about had it. The smoke bombs had agravated her allergies, she's been to a movie, and played with friends for hours. It was two hours past her bedtime, and she was ready to go home. She even asked if she could sit in the car while we did fireworks (I wouldn't let her because I am a mean mom, and we spent too much money on fireworks for her to ignore them).

Crawling 210

Livi is on the move. Not just little baby crawling, she is a bonified trucker. Not only can she haul diaper across a room, she is also pulling herself up, and she even started cruising across the floor next to the couch while holding onto it. Craziness!!!! Our pediatrician was even surprised! It's great, and I am proud of her, but she keeps bumping her head and falling, so I look like an unfit mother with this little baby with bruises on her head. Luckily I have an inside man at Child Protective Services (Eric is their lawyer).

Secret Cursing

We were so excited to be able to go to Eric's family reunion this year. It was luckily right before Aspen Grove, so we were able to combine it all into one trip. That makes it sound easy. Here is what we actually did. We all flew out to California and Eric flew back the next day. I stayed for a week and a half with my family, then drove to Saint George with my Mom. Eric drove to St. George from Nebraska and met us there, then we all drove to Zion's National Park for the reunion. After the reunion we drove up to Provo Canyon for my reunion, and Eric flew back to Nebraska 3 days later. Eric then flew back to Salt Lake on Saturday (5 days later) and we all drove home on Sunday. So "combining" is really a misnomer. Crazy hard? Yes! Worth it? Yes!
One thing that was especially gratifying to me was seeing Ella ride an actual horse for the first time. She looks SO much like I did at that age, but she is 100% Stott in personality. Or at least I thought she was. Turns out she has a deep love of horses that I also share. She was in heaven. She never wanted to get off of Whiskey (the horse, not the drink)Ethan also had fun riding horses and the kids went as many times as they could. Ella managed to talk her way onto 5 rides, and Ethan rode 3 times.For some reason Alan, my father-in-law, went out to be one with the animals. Cheryl called him the "cow whisperer."Eric got to play volleyball, so he was super happy. It was awesome to see how good he still is. They kept trying to get me to play, but I knew what would happen if I did : The ball would come close to me, and I would completely miss it, they would all be nice on the outside, but secretly they would be cursing me in their heads. I know his family. You may think I'm joking, but you would be wrong.

Pigs Flew

For those of you who don't know every little detail of our lives (and why wouldn't you, we are so interesting! j/k) we use to have a dog. Eric got Charlotte while the rest of us were out of town hoping that she would help Ethan get over his fear of dogs. Well, 9 months later we had to find Charlotte a new home. Ethan wouldn't go in the backyard, we couldn't go on walks with her, I couldn't park in the garage without carrying Ethan across the yard to the back door. As much as we loved Charlotte, we just felt like she deserved a family that would be able to give her the attention she deserved. We agonized and cried, but we felt that Charlotte was stressing Ethan out more than helping him.
Needless to say this has made our trips back to California hard, since my parents have the biggest dog on the planet. Casey started out little and cute, but that scared Ethan even more than big dogs did. Nothing is scarrier than a little ball of adorable yellow fur. Casey is now the biggest, love-iest, nicest dog in the world, who wants nothing more than a little friend to play with, but Ethan would scream and jump on the kitchen counter whenever Casey came in the room. Poor Casey spent most of our trips in the backyard, looking woefully through the slidding doors, or secluded in the laundry room.
So present day, and I am flabbergasted. My mom is the "little boy whisperer." She was able to accomplish in 3 days what we failed to do after almost a year. I would feel sadder about poor Charlotte, but the look on his face in the picture below made all the pain (emotional and physical, ever carry a 6 year old while pregnant?) up to this point worth it. Not only does he love Casey, and Casey love him, but Ethan is so proud of himself. He accomplished something hard, and he knows it. Good job Ethan! (Phew)