Obsession

I don't know about you all, but my child has an obsession. With a shirt.
What? you ask. Why would a normal, healthy four-year-old have an obsession with a regular T-shirt?

Beats me.

All I know is that Brennen has asked to wear this shirt everyday since summertime when he received it as a gift from his friend, Gavin. It is his "Killer Dana" shirt, named for the surf shop in Dana Point where it was purchased. If it is clean, he chooses it from his closet over any other shirt. If it is dirty, he relentlessly asks when it will be clean again. I have asked him if it's the colors that he likes, or that Gavin got it for him, for the love of Pete, WHY do you love it so? I mean it's cool and all, but why the obsession?

"I like it."

Uh. Ok.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

On Thanksgiving weekend, we drove up to my
aunt's house in Lake Arrowhead and had a rip-roaring time. We didn't know it was going to snow, so imagine our surprise when we woke up the first morning and saw all of this! Olivia was loving every minute of it, Brennen was more cautious (shocking, I know.)

I was mostly glad to get our family Christmas picture taken and not have to dress all four of us up in coordinating outfits just to stand in front of our Christmas tree in the living room and have terrible flash in our faces. No more for us, I say!

Mind the Gap

Olivia lost her first top tooth last week! That sucker was hanging on for dear life for a couple of weeks, but she finally got it out in computer class at school.

I cannot believe how big of a space that little tooth left, it is GIGANTIC! Her face looks new to me now, not quite the same. She is older, prouder, and talks with a slight lisp because of the giant hole in her mouth. We are one step closer to have a real grown up girl living in this house.

Beauty in Brokenness

It's Time...

It is about that time to update you all on my fun-loving, cuter-than-buttons nieces and nephew.

First up, Kenna girl!

I mean, c'mon. Is she not adorable? Mckenna has turned one year old and she is a delight to me. She always has a smile on her face and she is super happy to see me anytime I come around and that makes me feel so great. She is the tiniest little bug, but she has a very large voice and I love her spunk. Her new word is "more" and she is loving all of the new food that being one gets you.

Next up, my Nollie boy!

Nolan is a hoot. He is two and totally obsessed with Thomas and Barney movies. He is talking so well and calls Brennen "Brennie" and Olivia "Libby." I am sad to report that my name, "HeHe" is slowly changing to "Auntie" or "Aunt Heather." Nolan is so much fun to play with. My favorite thing he does right now is report to me when he is going to time out. Funny kid.

Last, but not least... Avery Grace!

Here she is striking her pose and doing her latest trick (that I taught her). We ask her to "show her teeth" and this is the funny face we get every time! Avery is 15 months now and talking more and more. She is becoming very independent and loves playing with the big kids. She can do "crazy man" now and usually says "OOO!!!" when she is excited.

I love this group of kids and I am so glad they belong to me.

Four

Today my son turned four.
Today we celebrated all day long.
Today was a day to rejoice and be glad in.

We became a family of four because of him.

The New Boy in Town

Last week, the sweet and adorable Laken Jude stopped by for a visit.

He was accompanied by his big brother, Kai.

These two have known each other since birth and are three days apart.

We had lots of fun together and I was soaking up Laken since he is already three months old and this was the first time I had met him and WHO KNOWS WHEN I will see him again.

He might be walking.

He might grow hair like Kai's.

He might sleep through the night.

Let's just soak him up, shall we?

How lucky am I?

LOL

Does anyone else think this is
THE FUNNIEST PICTURE YOU HAVE EVER SEEN?
Because I can't look at it without bursting out laughing.


I also feel this way about the scene in the Money Pit when the bathtub comes crashing through the ceiling and Tom Hanks laughs like a crazy person. I just die laughing about that one. If you haven't seen it, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5BKX3QCjk0

You can thank me later.

Our Tiny Tot

This week Brennen started a class at the rec center called Tiny Tots. He does not call it preschool, he calls it Tiny Tots because that is the real official title of it and Brennen likes to be precise. I have no idea where he gets that. It cracks us up that he insists on this title because he doesn't really get that this makes him sound small and well... tiny. Anytime I say that he is littler than someone or something, he barks, "I am NOT little! I'm big!" So this is why we laugh. With him, not at him, of course.

Bren has been loving his class and his teacher's name is Miss Cathy. He only goes twice a week and it is only for 1 1/2 hours, but it's an experience, right? (And guess what? Mommy gets to go to Target for one whole hour to browse by herself! It's bliss! ) It is a three year old class, so there are mostly kids in it who just turned 3. Brennen will be 4 in October, so the maturity level is vast, but he doesn't seem to notice and just thinks everyone talks out loud a lot and constantly tells him they are "Free!" holding up three tiny fingers.

Here is Brennen in action in his first classroom experience:

At the rec center

playing with jungle animals (the two in the background are twins!)

carpet time with Miss Cathy

tiny tables and tiny chairs

"I see the B for Brennen!"

First Things First

This week Olivia started the first grade...

Can this possibly be the same child who wore preemie-sized clothes?

We love you, Liv.

Going to the Chapel of Love

My little brother is getting married today. He is 9 years younger than me and he has always seemed like the baby.
I remember how we shared my room while he was still in his crib and I would wake up to the squeaky sound of the springs because he was jumping up and down, eager for me to wake up and look at him.
I remember how one time when he was a newborn he was so fussy, which was rare, and I was the only one who could calm him and rock him to sleep.
I remember how when we would drive in the car, I would reach over his carseat and run my fingers over his soft face so that he would fall asleep faster. He loved that and always requested it, even as he got older.
I remember that I taught him the sign for "apple" and he would always come to me as a one year old and twist his fist in his cheek and say "app-a joo!" for apple juice.
I remember volunteering in his kindergarten class once a week, as if I were the mom, and knowing all of his little friends and his teacher so well.
I remember that he had the fullest head of hair of any little boy you have ever met and when my future husband hung out with him he gave him the name "Hairs."
I remember that after that name stuck, he would randomly come up with silly jokes and the answer to the joke was always "HAIR!!!" and he would laugh hysterically at himself, which in turn made us all laugh hysterically.

There are so many memories of Johnny Wonny and on this day I am thinking of them all. How could he be a man now, ready to begin a family of his own? How is he old enough to love a woman and dedicate his entire life to her? In many ways, Johnny was my first experience at mothering, even when I was still a child, so I am feeling the pain of one who helped raise the little guy. I can't imagine how my mom will feel today watching her youngest born walk down that aisle. All I know is that he is loved immensely and I am so thankful for all of the memories I have of our times together. I am excited to make new ones with his new wife, Courtney, and I am reminded once again to embrace my time with my own kiddos right now...

One day I will be blogging about their wedding day.

Coppertone Torture

Well, summer is upon us and that means that I am traveling to Walmart every week to buy more spray-on sunscreen for the kids. I know, I know... It's so much more expensive and it doesn't last long enough! Why would I waste our hard earned money on something so frivilous when I could buy a tube of very effective sunscreen for a fraction of the price?

One word: Brennen.

That kid is so stinkin' sensitive! He hates to have sunscreen applied to his tender skin and it obviously feels like I am trying to skin him alive when I rub him all over.

"OOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!! THAT HURTS, MOMMY!!! NOOOO!!! AAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

(Insert ear piercing scream here.)

So, therefore, because I am such a kind, loving, and sensitive mommy, I go the extra mile to make sure my only son never has to endure discomfort of any sort and I buy the spray-on sunscreen for him.

Yes, this choice does also work in my favor, ensuring that I am not humiliated at the community pool, but rest assured that avoidance is most certainly NOT the driving factor behind my weekly jaunts to Walmart.

No way. That would be ridiculously terrible parenting.

Say What?

Yesterday Brennen was going on and on about some animal he learned about on the Magic School Bus show. I couldn't understand which animal he was describing and asked him to slow down and say it to my face.

"Mama, I'm talking about a Hunk-Fat Whale!"

Yes, he's talking about a Humpback Whale. How did I not catch that?

Angel Face

Right?

You Can Say That Again

Does anyone else's kid say the same sentence over and over and over and over and over and over again, even though you have answered that kid? For example:

"Mommy, can you make my fishy for me?"
"Mommy, can you make my fishy for me?"
"Mommy, can you make my fishy for me?"

"Yes, Brennen, I will make your (stupid, tedious, ugly, why did I ever buy those messy fish-shaped perler bead forms) fishy for you. Just one minute."

"Mommy, can you make my fishy for me?"
"Mommy, can you make my fishy for me?"
"Mommy, can you make my fishy for me?"
"Huh? Can you?"

"YES! I said yes. I will make it right now (for the love of Pete, good golly, shut it)."

Anyone? Anyone.

Near Death Experience (Sort of)

Doesn't this look like such a sweet, charming Memorial Day afternoon?

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and all is right with the world.

Not quite.

Actually, there are literally HUNDREDS of poisonous rattlesnakes strategically positioned in that grassy area you see all around my very precious children. Nate and I had no idea when we decided to take the kids on a hike for Memorial Day at the Santa Rosa Plateau that it is a really terrible time to be in the wilderness, aka. rattlesnake season! We were about a quarter of a mile into the hike before we heard the first recognizable rattling sounds. Olivia noticed it right away and started to get nervous. She said, "Is that sound a RATTLESNAKE???" We didn't want to scare her, so we said, "Um, I don't know. Let's just pound our feet and move quickly, okay?"

By halfway through this lovely hike, we were freaked out! Olivia was whimpering, Brennen was declaring how NOT scared he was, and Nate and I were seriously wondering why on Earth we were not at the beach, at a pool, or at the mall. The rattle sounds were so loud and coming from every direction! Every grassy open area vibrated. At one point Nate laughed, "What are we DOING here? We aren't nature people! We should be at the Hilton! HILTON!!"

We started busting up, more from the tension than anything else. It was hard to stay calm and not make a big deal so that the kids didn't get scared. But we were scared! I was just sure that a huge rattlesnake was going to lunge out of the grasses and bite my leg off, or drag my 29 pound son off into its hole. I could really visualize it!

Needless to say, we survived. But barely.

No more hikes in May for us.

Siblings

One girl, one boy... that's all we've got. They love each other, they annoy each other. Brennen steals Olivia's DS and Olivia plays too rough. They are convinced they are co-pirates on our "couch-ship" and they squeal with delight in the bathtub. Brennen still calls her "Wiv" and Olivia melts every time he allows her to cuddle him.

I hope they always have the LOVE.

JANA ROCKS!!!

This week at MomSpace we had The One and Only Jana Alayra come to speak and do a concert for us. Needless to say, someone was a little star-struck:

Our evening concert was amazing and I wish I had lots of pictures for you to see, but my memory card was full, of course. Imagine hundreds of multi-colored balloons arched across the stage and all over the room, two hundred little dancing children in a mosh pit, and me singing my heart out to all of the great Jana songs I have come to love over the years. It was a blessing to work with Jana and her husband Ron all day and I encourage anyone to go to one of her concerts, she is a truly wonderful woman.

Our Easter

This year we celebrated Easter at my mom's house and with my brothers and Cousin Avery. The kids had fun looking for eggs and I had fun taking pictures of some majorly chubby cheeks.