Around the Table

Due to our upcoming trip to the "happiest place on earth" we had this conversation....


"Who do you guys want to see at Disneyland?"


Jara-"Mickey Mouse and the princesses" (of course)


Jack-With eyes cast up and hands clasped, "I want to swim with Ariel." 
 (Jack's got a crush on the only princess in seashells.  Can't wait for high school.)

Nine and a Half

9 Months is what it took to get Elise here and now we are nine months into her life, it's startling how fast it goes by.  The pictures are a sampling of her multiple personalities.

Calm, observant Elise

Crazy, boss of the world Elise (ye, she already has a wicked cackle)

Eating, don't mess with me Elise

This month her latest and greatest include...

• An obsession with the teddy bear flash card.  Let me explain, when Jara was born we received baby flashcards with pictures you could feel.  They have survived down to Elise, barely, all the kids have loved them.  Each child has had their favorite card.  Jara liked the ball and cat.  Jack liked the tractor.  Elise luuuuvs the teddy bear.  It never fails to emit a loving smile from her.  She will hold it and marvel at it oh so tenderly.   
• She has started crawling.  It surprises me how different she is from her siblings in this area.  Each have had their own style and started at a different time.  Jara crawled the earliest, Elise has been the latest. Jack army crawled classic style forever, Jara was up on all fours in days and Elise uses her long monkey toes to crawl.  She army crawls flat on her belly but instead of using her arms to pull, she uses her toes to scratch and a little booty waggling to fully propel herself.  Half the time she goes backwards.  Which is very frustrating when you are trying to get a piece of food in front of you.  
• She now has two sharp little chompers and she knows how to use them.
• Her favorite toy is a 3/4 empty water bottle.  
• She lovingly pets/pulls my "werewolf" (tiny hairs along my neck) hair when she's cuddling right before bed time.  
• Her favorite snacks now include contraband items such as barbie shoes, rocks, and various paraphernalia visible only to a crawling baby.  Commence sweeping twice a day.  ugh
• She simply does not understand why everyone does not absolutely adore her and if she is not receiving a sufficient amount of attention won't you know it.  She also chews out Jack for getting in her face, whoever is holding her in church and won't give her the hymn book in proper, good time, and whoever is unlucky enough to change her diaper.  Elise no likee diaper changes.  Diaper changing induces violent, mule kicking which will harm you.  

Here's to another month...

I've Been Waiting All Winter for This...

Jara started going through lake withdrawal in December.  She has been asking us since Christmas, "When can we go to the lake?"  "Why can't we go to the lake."  "I miss the lake."  You get the idea.  What do you expect when almost half of the year is "lake season?"  So, as we came over the hill looking down into Echo Bay Jara sighed satisfactorily and proclaimed, "I've been waiting all winter for this!"

Prettily posing and mighty pleased to be in her element

In spite of the hypothermia inducing water temperatures, everyone took a dip but me.  I prefer my lake water at a comfortable 80ish.  When the kids would get out they were so cold to the touch, I had to wrap them in a towel before I could hold them seeing as how they were little balls of liquid nitrogen.

Elise got an awesome lake mohawk and only ate one, okay maybe two rocks.  Success.  Baby loved splashing happily in the rocks.  We picked a rocky beach because the sandy beaches are few and far between, and I like the aesthetic properties of rock beaches, even if my feet were being overly exfoliated. Mucky mud beaches are no bueno.  Black mud reeks and I like to see when the fishies are headed for my neon pink toenails.  I like my lake water crystal clear and pristine AND 80ish.  (ok-i'm done)

When the princess became numb we shifted gears.  Time for contained water in a bottle versus free play water in a lake.

Jara and Jack played so happily together.  They played pirates, swam, explored, built rock castles and cozily sun bathed in the boat.  Hallelujah for sibling nicey-nice time.

Mama duck swam among us almost our entire stay.  She flew in from the West about thirty minutes into our visit and foraged Veggie Straws the rest of the day.  She was very entertaining.  I love watching ducks waddle, preen and dip.  When I went around the corner to find a "secret" place she followed me.  We bonded.

And here is my 3 year old SKIING!!!  That's right, Jack can ski!  My boy popped up like a pro the first time and did 3 laps around the cove.  I had to tell Jed to stop because he wasn't going to quit.  Part of skiing 101 beforehand was, don't let go of the rope, and bend your knees, because in every sport it seems like that is required.  I helped him start out from the beach and he took to it like it was his job.  The whole time we were out at the lake he kept telling me, "I want to skateboard" we didn't take him seriously but when we said it was time to leave, he insisted we take him "skateboarding."  So, we did and that was that.  Watch the video, its not the greatest but you'll get the idea.  

Eight Months

As of late...

• She sits, stays, rolls over and begs.
• Is becoming mobile to the point of getting her feet stuck in the bars of her crib.  Granted she does have extra large feet, but they are beautifully lady-like, just look at how neatly she crosses them while sitting.
• She has yet to find a food she dislikes, last night she ate baked beans as fast as I could smoosh them.  She demands whatever we are eating and will give us no peace until her requests are fulfilled.  
• Grooves her body to music.  She especially likes the ditty on the princess castle and "I like to move it, move it."
• Tries to wave hi.  If you wave at her she will imitate you but she has discovered it is better to wave with two hands like a flapping bird.  
• Rests her head on my shoulder, nuzzling and sucking her thumb when she is tired.  She has been doing this for awhile. I love when she cuddles and burrows into my neck. Sometimes she does it without being tired but as a reaction to being picked up and put on my shoulder.  
• One little bottom toothy is poking through her gums.  It always amazes me how razor sharp they are, already capable of inflicting damage.  No wonder they fuss when cutting teeth.
• We are on to finger foods.  Ahh the joy of and turning them loose with the cheerios.  
• Her armpits are super ticklish. If I even hold her arms above her head and look like I might tickle her she giggles.  
• She commands the empire.  There is no other way to explain it.  She sits from her perch on my hip and as we walk she extends her arm stiffly and flicks her wrists to the masses, i.e. Jara and Jack.  
• She's a screamer.  Not whiny or angry screaming, more like you-better-meet-my-needs- now-you-filthy-animal screaming.  Screaming is induced if she is not being thoroughly adored, if she is not receiving an adequate amount of food, if she is feeling cagey, or if Jack is in her face.  Who doesn't wish they could scream in all of those instances?
• She has also started experimenting with language.  dah, num(more of a sound than a word) la and bah.  
• She has an evil cackle/giggle.  Jed went to jump over a hurdle at the high school on a nightly walk and while he was "prepping" Elise started to giggle the most delightfully wicked laugh ever.  She knew what was about to happen.  Yes, Jed did eat it and yes it was even funnier when his 8 month baby was laughing at him.

At this age it feels like every day brings new changes.    

Long Live SUU

Well it has been 9 years since my own college grad (sheez I am old) and now my little bro joins the ranks of T-bird alumni.  Jordan had to go and show me up and graduate summa cum laude with a major in biology!  Goodness, he must be smart or something.  He told me his "smartness" officially trumps mine now.  Never.  I still win at Jeopardy. haha

 After the ceremony-the kiddies were fairly good.  Thank you ipad. Thank you grandparents.  Thank you puffpuffs.  Thank you Chelsey.

 The after party.  We are all about the water slide/pool/grad parties.

 Elise getting into the action.  Look at those adorable baby thighs.

Jordan and Chelsey were nice to supervise my older children since Elise is a full-time, freakishly strong wiggling baby.

Un-Fair

Bah to the fair.  It was a Scrooge year, an inconvenient expenditure.  I just couldn't get into it.  Too much money.  Too much chaos.  Too much playing nice.  Too much wind.  I wasn't even excited for fair food.  

 Jara and Jenna on the coaster.  Even Jara cut loose for this one.

 Riley and Jack hangin' on.  Jack was all over the place.  

Yeah, we need our own.  Okay I need my own.

 Jara and Ella=maximum destruction.

And our happy, littlest fair-go'er Elise.  Chilled in the stroller the whole time.  The only time she threw a fit is when Jed wouldn't share his funnel cake.  Elise takes food seriously.  Very seriously.

Easter

I can't keep up. 

 Easter hunt at grandma Wheeler's.  Lots of eggs, lots of kids, lots of fun.

 Easter morning.  What the picture doesn't show you is the wind chill.  So Elise and I stayed inside and yes, I was only half awake.  Easter bunny had to hop fast, while the kids were being groomed, to make up for lost time.  This year the bunny brought bird feeders and gardening kits.  Bunnies like home-grown carrots and lettuce don't you know.  We had a fun week setting up the cat feeders, I mean bird feeders and planting.

We also had an Egg hunt at Grandma Alderete's but I didn't have my camera.