Giving Thanks

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for...
so many things to be thankful for.

My incredible family
My loving husband
who is amazing in every way
My health
and that of my family
Little heads nuzzled into the crook of my neck
and little fingers that won't let go
Garrett's artwork and Lego creations
Blake's drive and determination
and fascination with odd things
Garrett's singing and made-up songs
Ella's intimidating scowl
Chase's infectious smile and laughter
Blake's sweet, humble smile when he feels proud
Garrett's love of books, reading and learning
My piano
The happy morning greeting from well-rested babies
Chase's obsession with jumping
and Ella's obsession with dressing up
Brotherly love
First words that only a mother can understand
The uninhibited dancing of children
The excited wave that Chase gives everybody
When I only have to ask once
and unsolicited "thank you's"
Tender moments
Big family hugs
Another fall season (my favorite)
A small house (less to clean)
A warm, safe home
A full heart

Just to name a few...

Yeses and Noses

When I say that Chase is a happy baby, I mean that he's a happy baby. Even smiling in some...unusual circumstances. And he hasn't lost his sense of (potty) humor either.

Case in point. This week the babies and I have been battling a pesky cold. Nothing extreme, just the usual runny nose and juicy sneezes (most of which I end up wearing or they use to style their hair). Needless to say, getting a 15 month old to "blow" their nose is a not a simple task. That's if you can hold the Kleenex to their face without them ripping it out of your hand and making confetti out of it or shaking their head so fast that you end up smearing it across their entire face...a few times. Besides, the minute they see me coming with a handful of tissue they make it an instant game of tag.

Plan B. Using the saline drops and bulb syringe old school style. Ella squirms too much for this. She was, however, open to doing it herself...her way (which was to put the bulb syringe in her mouth which doesn't quite work). Then I noticed her mimicking me blowing my nose and she gave it a whirl...in her hand. Sometimes you just take what you can get. So my compromise with Ella now is that she blows her nose into her hand, then I wipe her hand. Probably just one of the hundreds of reasons NOT to put baby's fingers in your mouth...no matter how cute it is.

Chase isn't quite as squirmy as Ella but he's arguably stronger. He let me drop the saline...a little unsure of what was coming next...and when I got a good suction on the syringe and it made the "thwwwwwrrrp" sound he started laughing hysterically. My silly Chase who loves to laugh actually likes having his nose suctioned! Problem solved! Now...the minute I lay him down for a diaper change he's saying "that" for the saline and bulb syringe and a good belly laugh for both of us. I hope he is able to keep his happy outlook and silly, smiley disposition for ALL of life's unpleasantries!

"And now do you like my hat?"

"I do. What a hat! I like it! I like that party hat!"

If you've read this post then you already know how much Ella likes to dress up...with anything she can "wear". She still has a strong affinity for shoes (especially slippers and her crocs which she is able to put on herself- correct feet and everything!) and hats...or apparently anything that will stay on her head. She thought of this one all by herself...and insisted I leave it there. "Mama, hat!" she proudly repeated. If you can't make it out, it's actually an empty Ziploc box.

I can't wait to see what she comes up with when she can actually dress herself...or maybe I can. Given her independent nature, she will probably be expressing herself in the form of some very interesting outfits (which of course will be posted on our blog). But I'm not going to worry about it...unless- or more likely until- she tries dressing up her brother (which of course will be posted on our blog).

"Good-by."

Through the Eyes of A Child

Brian and the "big boys" had their first Cub Scouts Family Camp out this past weekend in the high desert. With years of Cub Scouts ahead of us, I'm sure we'll be going on plenty more of these, but this time I decided to stay back with the twins to keep my sanity (somehow camping with 15 month old twins just doesn't sound like fun...) and let the boys have their time.

"The Boys Camping"

Two days packed full of activities kept the boys very busy...when they weren't tossing around a football, playing with friends and TAKING PICTURES. One of our favorite things to do is give the boys a camera to see what they take pictures of. At first glance the pictures seem like they are of "nothing". But when you ask yourself what were they thinking when they took this? it gives you a whole new perspective. So...here is the camping trip through the eyes of Blake and Garrett (and my interpretation of it).

The Dad we look up to (literally and figuratively).

Home for two days.

The clouds look like they're exploding. Isn't the orange sky pretty?

Where does that path go? I wonder if that's how you get to that mountain...

No one ever said not to look directly at the sun...through a camera.

Cool rocks, maybe we can build something with them.

Mountains of rocks!? How do they not fall down?

Despite a few hiccups (like having to come home in the middle of the night because of Garrett's severe asthma), the boys seemed to have a lot of fun. Blake liked learning to use an army compass and Garrett thought the best part was the (what seemed like hundreds of) coyotes howling around camp. Fresh air, no "toys" and quality time with family...now if there was just a way to actually get a good night's sleep it would be an ideal vacation...

The Very Happy Caterpillar

From the moment he could hold a pen (without eating it) Garrett has loved drawing. And it's been especially fascinating to see the progression of his art with added detail and the design flair that is Garrett. It's hard not to love his "characters" made with such heart and intention...and given with love to me!

Here are some of his latest drawings.

Happy, smiling bugs put everything into perspective...at least for a moment.
And like any good artist, Garrett has a signature all his own.

Isn't five year old art work priceless?

Tricking and Treating

Blasting off and looking rosy. That pretty much sums up our Halloween. The boys (all three of them) were astronauts again this year (when they're not Storm Troopers) with matching costumes. Meanwhile, Ella was a perfect little rose, complete with rosy cheeks! Chella enjoyed their Halloween cruising the neighborhood mostly on foot but seemed a little confused by all the kids, costumes and commotion (and being denied whatever it was people kept offering them).

Here are the boys in action.

And Chella in action.

The crew.

Let the holidays (and holiday craziness) begin!

The First of Many...

This was a busy weekend of firsts. For Blake, it was his first outside sales experience. As a Tiger Cub, it was his troop's turn to sell the Cub Scout tins of popcorn (which, by the way, are delicious if you have never tried them). Blake was very excited about this new responsibility and even set up a practice run at home.

Unfortunately, it wasn't authentic enough as he quickly developed a death grip on Brian and was talking in a whisper while looking at the ground. We've all been there...it's terrifying. It took some added encouragement from Dad, a first sale to Mom and some sibling competition from Garrett who had NO problem stopping people in their tracks (what can I say, it was a family effort) to get him to relax, but he eventually came around and may have even enjoyed it by the time he left.

This was a big weekend for the babies too. Unfortunately, the twins are at that age at the playground where they each need a set of hands close by to keep them from eating bark, getting kicked by the kids on the swings and not hitting their heads repeatedly on those pesky play structure poles. And when it's just me and them, well...we don't go to the park much. Or ever, really. So I enlisted the help of Grandpa this weekend and the babies got to run wild and explore the park...from the ground! They got to swing (which took some getting used to), slide (which they immediately loved) and run into plenty of play structure poles while taking it all in.

The only problem? Getting them to leave. Now I remember why I haven't had more adventures at the park with them because, really, how you get TWO screaming and kicking toddlers into their car seats- or to the car, for that matter- at the same time? You don't...so we probably won't be seeing you at the park anytime soon. Maybe next year?

Tis the Season

I love this time of year. There is just something about the crispness in the air, the clarity in these sunny days, the crunching leaves as you walk at just a slightly slower pace than usual. And the warmth of winter fires and hot coffee drinks is just around the corner. Fall is by far my favorite season and I'm relishing every second that I can.

This weekend we made our way to Bates Nut Farm (finally...after 15 years of living in San Diego!). The kids were just the right ages for getting lost (and finding the way) in the maze, going for a tractor-pulled hay ride and finding the perfect pumpkin, of course.

Blake and Garrett navigating the hay maze.

Garrett going for a pony ride.

Blake climbing to new heights.

A typical family photo (count us, we're all there).

Chase & Ella on the farm (they had more fun then they appear to be having in the picture).

It was a perfect way to spend a fall day, topped off with pumpkin carving.


Chase even helped.

Okay, so Brian did most of the "carving", but the boys were the design team.

Happy Halloween!

Hair and There

There was no way Blake was going to do it. I already knew that, so there was no point in trying. Garrett, on the other hand, is the "funny one" and at least seems open-minded about things that are wacky or out of the ordinary. This was Red Ribbon Week at the boys' school (or "say no to drugs" week) and the theme today was crazy hair. But then I remembered...Garrett is a little self-conscious about his hair (think LOTS of thick, very straight hair with numerous cowlicks). He's even tried taking showers in the morning in an effort to make his hair "flat". But I tried anyway to get him excited about making his hair crazy just for one day and reminded him that lots of his friends would have funny hair too. He surprisingly agreed and announced he wanted "spiky green hair".

So, just before leaving the house this morning we spiked his hair with gel and sprayed on some color. Before long he was overwhelmed by the fumes (note to self: best to spray OUTSIDE) and after taking one look said, "I don't like it! I want to wash it off!" Great. No time to wash it off and now he's going to school even more insecure than before. NOW I feel like a bad mom. What could I do but promise him that other kids would have crazy hair too (hopefully) and that he could shower first thing when he gets home. Here's my not-so-excited-crazy-haired Garrett.

I wasn't sure what to expect at pick-up time (tears or smiles...) and I was relieved to see that Garrett was neither scarred nor traumatized by his crazy hair, and that, in fact, in the end he was happy with being one of those wacky kids with spiky colored hair. Not only did he decide not to shower immediately when he got home, he wanted to wear his crazy hair to karate (even the green sweat didn't bother him...). And so, I think we will have many more years of crazy hair ahead of us...hopefully in the form of school/parent encouraged- and not rebellion- with TEMPORARY color.

I See Ghosts

The babies are ready for Halloween. They even picked out their own costume. Can you guess what it is?

Having twins is a form of entertainment in and of itself. And like most babies, they are much more fascinated by the "non-toy" things in their playroom than by the actual toys (despite having a playpen FULL of toys). The towel is one of their favorites, due in part to its versatility I'm sure. It can be a costume, a cape, a game of peek-a-boo, a tent, a blanket, a tug-of-war rope, a pillow, or a fan (with a little help). My personal favorite is the "tent" where we all sit down and huddle underneath it...then laugh hysterically as if no one knows we're there. Occasionally I catch the babies doing this together on their own but they are always too quick for the camera.

Due to the small safety issue of not being able to see, I don't think the babies will actually dress as ghosts this year (although I think they think half the fun is bumping into things). I am looking forward to introducing them to their first trick-or-treating experience, but somehow I think they will be much more excited about walking around freely (sans the stroller) than getting candy...at least until they've tried the candy, then all bets are off.