The Hammonds

It's been awhile...

2011-07-23T22:58:00.001-04:00

It's been awhile since I've updated this... Been a little busy... Here's an attempt to recap what we've been up to for the past couple of months.

The Baby

2011-07-23T22:56:00.001-04:00

So this might be the number one thing keeping me down these days. Here's her story:

1 day old:

5 days:

2 weeks:

4 weeks:

6 weeks:

7 weeks:

9 weeks:

10 weeks:

12 weeks:

3 months:

Nursery!

2011-07-23T22:48:00.001-04:00

Hallelujah he's in nursery! His first day was this month. Big guy!

4th of July

2011-07-23T22:30:00.006-04:00

The 4th of July means one thing at our house: fireworks. We don't put on the most spectacular display, but it is serious business for one Andrew Hammond.

He did the shopping with Grandpa, and he did not take this responsibility lightly.

Sparklers come first. Little kids are welcome to take part in this ritual.

But the big stuff had to wait until the little ones were safely off to bed. First there needed to be a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Then everyone had to take their places.

Grandpa had to do all the hard work while Andrew stayed a safe distance away. I'm told that this year one of the fireworks was so loud that he actually fell out of his chair when it went off. I did not witness this as I was busy putting the babies down when they decided not to wait for me. But I'm not bitter.

Willa was coaxed outside for the first time. Fireworks usually make her run and hide.

And she stayed for the whole display -- we have photographic proof:

Happy Fourth of July to all!

Water Fight

2011-07-23T13:51:00.004-04:00

Grandma and Grandpa Randle came for the 4th of July and we put them to work. We cleared out the overgrown ivy (and all the junk that was hiding in it) in the yard, moved everything out of our storage unit, and had a little fun along the way. Grandpa got water guns for the kids and the fight was on.

Father's Day

2011-07-23T12:19:00.003-04:00

The kids picked out a new pillow for Casey this year, and I had to really hold them off from waking him up at the crack of dawn so he could open it. They were quite excited.

Christian got to feed himself his potatoes at dinner. You can see his success all over his face...and arms...and hair...

Fire!

2011-07-23T12:10:00.001-04:00

In June Casey made his first work trip to the Southwest after Mary was born. I was a single mom to 4 kids for 5 days, ugh. But check out the manly firefighting he did!

A Night at the Ballpark

2011-07-23T00:14:00.003-04:00

This year Andrew really got into baseball. His team was great, they worked hard and won the single A tournament! Andrew really came a long way, and even got the game ball in one of his playoff games for getting 3 hits and batting in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning (which in single A is the last inning). Way to go Andrew!!

Dress Up

2011-07-23T00:04:00.000-04:00

Willa's 5th Birthday Party

2011-07-22T23:41:00.006-04:00

Willa had an Ariel party this year. All the little girls wore mermaid tails...

...and matching necklaces, which they made at the party.

We decorated the living room like the ocean. I hope my kids never get tired of balloons (they were the sea water).

We played games

and danced to the Little Mermaid soundtrack

and had Ariel cake

and of course opened presents.

It was the perfect little girl party.

Willa's 5th Birthday

2011-07-22T23:35:00.005-04:00

I can't believe Willa is 5! In the fall she will be starting kindergarten. She loves to play on the computer and with her stuffed animals (which are her favorite things in the whole world), is learning to read, and tries her hardest to do everything Andrew can do. She loves her little sister, always seems to be stealing toys from her little brother, competes with her older brother for everything, and instantly makes friends with everyone she meets. She is confident, gregarious, and can be tons of fun...and sometimes not, but that's all we'll say about that.

On Willa's birthday she opened her family presents. It was the first week of summer vacation for her, so we got to hang out all day.

It was also really hot, so we broke out the sprinklers.

And because the Ariel cake was all gone, we had to have a new one on the day. So much cake...

Burke Lake Park

2011-07-22T23:30:00.000-04:00

The last thing Willa wanted to do for her birthday is ride the train and carousel at Burke Lake Park, but it was waaaay too hot that day so we waited a few days and let things cool off a bit. Last year she was too scared to ride it, but this year she conquered her fear and forged ahead.

Next was the carousel. Andrew, who is now 7, felt like he was too old to do such a little kid activity and wasn't too happy to have his picture taken while he was doing it.

Willa was of course more than happy to do anything remotely related to horses.

Christian, who you can see eyeing his horse suspiciously, was too nervous so Brenda had to hold him for the entire ride.

Preschool Graduation

2011-07-22T17:05:00.003-04:00

Willa graduated from preschool this year! I can't believe it. I've been going to that preschool for 4 years now, and I won't have another baby big enough to go for 2 more years! They have been fantastic, we love our teachers, and I'm sad we won't be a part of the school. But in 2013 we'll be back!

Non-Stop Fun

2011-07-22T16:49:00.002-04:00

This was one afternoon in late April... This boy is non-stop activity, but he is so cute!

Easter

2011-07-22T16:37:00.003-04:00

This was our first Easter with a yard, so the Easter Bunny actually left eggs outside! Much more fun than doing the egg hunt in the living room. Christian was able to gather eggs for the first time this year, although he was much more interested in climbing up and down the deck stairs, and Mary was 3 weeks old.

Cherry Trees

2011-07-22T16:27:00.004-04:00

We love our yard. The entire back of our property is lined with cherry trees, which is beautiful in April. Willa especially loves all the pink blossoms.

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T19:57:00.005-04:00

Every year the preschool hosts a Mother's Day Tea. It's a highlight for the kids, who make gifts and sing special songs. This was Willa's last year and boy was she excited.

The kids come out to the hall to escort their mothers into the classroom.

Then they show off the table they set and the food they prepared.

Then comes the entertainment (yes I'm filming and trying to keep the baby from crying at the same time).

And then the presentation of gifts.

Even Mary had a good time.

But I think my favorite Mother's Day Tea had to be Andrew's last year in preschool. This is pretty hard to top, you have to admit.

Game Ball

2011-05-09T19:31:00.002-04:00

Fresh from Casey's blackberry, here is Andrew with the game ball.

Just Another Saturday

2011-05-09T10:58:00.001-04:00

Yardwork, Wii, baseball... just another Saturday at the Hammond house. This week Andrew went 3-3 with 2 RBI and 1 run, and had an unassisted put out at 3rd base. He was awarded the game ball. Way to go Andrew!

Christian loves his blankie.

He walks around all day like a little Linus, dragging his blankie with him.

We usually don't let him take it out of the house with him in order to preserve it, but the other day it had been a particularly tough day and we still had to go to Andrew's baseball game in the evening. I relented and let him hang on to it, and of course that evening it got caught on the stroller and ripped. I felt sick to my stomach.

But at least for now, it's true love.

Today also marks Mary's 6 week birthday. I can't believe she is already such a big baby.

It feels like just minutes ago that she was born.

She's huge, over 12 lbs, and at 6 weeks is already completely out of newborn clothes and is into 3-6 month clothes.

The kids love her, especially Willa. She's a very proud big sister.

And of course no Saturday would be complete without a little Wii.

Mary Claire

2011-04-23T14:44:00.005-04:00

Mary Claire was born on March 28. She was a whopping 9 lbs 10 oz and 22 inches long. To put that in perspective, that's more than 3 pounds and 3 1/2 inches bigger than Willa was at birth! Thank goodness I convinced my doctor to induce me at 39 weeks, otherwise she would have surely been over 10 pounds. She is healthy and continues to grow like a weed, even faster than Andrew who has always been very big for his age. I can't believe she's almost a month old already!

Park Day

2011-04-23T14:40:00.004-04:00

One day before my mom left the sun came out and we took the kids to the park. They were so excited to be outside! Especially Christian, who has never played at the park before. This was our first time to go this year, and last summer he couldn't even crawl yet so he spent all his time at the park in the stroller. He got the hang of it pretty fast.

Baseball

2011-04-23T14:37:00.003-04:00

It's baseball season again! Andrew has graduated from the tee this year and is playing single A ball, which means they use a pitching machine. We got him his own bat and batting gloves this year, which he's more than a little proud of. So far he's only played 1 game, though, because all the others have been rained out. Hopefully we'll dry out soon so he can get more time on the field!

Birthday Week

2011-03-26T14:45:00.007-04:00

Birthday Week is always exciting at our house, with Casey, Andrew, and me all celebrating our big days within 5 days of each other. This year was extra exciting, as we were sure that we'd be adding another birthday during the same week. Sadly, we did not, but that's a story for another post.

Casey is first. He's 34 this year. We just had a little party at home for him, since for the 2nd year in a row I'm not really in the party planning mode. And for all of you who know Casey, you know how much it disappoints him to not have a big party with all our friends. Maybe next year.

The kids are always helpful with opening the presents.

The boys. They won't outnumber us for long!

Notice Willa's very concerned face -- I think she thought the cake was going to catch fire!

Andrew was next. He turned 7 this year. It's hard to believe he's getting so old! He's such a big kid now. He's in 1st grade and just has no time for little kid stuff. He loves playing Wii with Casey, reads like a 4th grader, hates doing homework, and regularly gets in trouble for staying up in bed reading or folding origami. Most of the time he gets along with his little brother and sister really well, and they light up when he gets home from school. Life is a lot more fun when Andrew is around!

Andrew is pretty mellow about things like parties, which is good because there is no way I was going to plan one this year! As long as he got to go to dinner and Friendly's and open all his presents he was good to go.

And have a blue cake, of course.

Incidentally, anytime we're in the kitchen this is what our little monster is up to: opening every cupboard and drawer, throwing things in the trash (and sometimes taking them out, which is always a fun surprise), dumping things down the air vents, and generally making a nuisance of himself. Gotta love the toddler stage.

Andrew got his first bike for his birthday this year. He's so big the training wheels we got didn't fit the bike, which is just as well because he didn't need them anyway. He learned to ride by himself in about 15 minutes flat and now wants to spend all his time outside on his bike.

Being the little sister Willa is of course jealous and wants a bike more than anything for her 5 year old birthday in June. She has to be out on her trike whenever he's on his bike.

I always close out birthday week. This year was pretty anti-climatic because I was sure that I'd have a baby this week. See my excitement when it didn't happen? And yes, I'm huge and I'm miserable. I did get a massage and pedicure that day, so it takes the sting out of it a little.

Happy birthday to us!

Christmas Pictures

2011-02-05T14:42:00.004-05:00

Is February too late to post pictures from Christmas? Obviously not!

Christmas was great, as always. Willa woke up before everyone and snuck downstairs and checked out all the loot before the rest of us were up. When she finally came back up to tell us that Santa had come she was able to give us the full report about what each kid had gotten. Thankfully she didn't start opening presents without us.

Christian was busy checking everything out, but he had a hard time keeping up with the action. He kept crawling back to my lap for safety from the fray.

It was exhausting, but as always a great day!

1st Haircut

2011-01-11T14:29:00.002-05:00

Now that he's reached the ripe old age of 1 we thought it was time for Christian to get his first haircut. (I'm so not talented that way so I don't give haircuts at home.)

Look at this mess of hair!

He was so good, he just sat patiently and let the hairdresser wet and comb and cut his hair. Not a single tear.

Of course the cartoons helped.

I hardly recognize him! He looks so big now.

Happy Birthday Christian!

2011-01-10T20:36:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe, but Christian is already 1 year old!

He is getting so big, and doing new things every day. He crawls, "cruises" around on everything he can pull up to standing on, has 4 teeth, and loves his camouflage blankie. He loves to follow his big brother and sister around, and especially imitates everything Andrew does. He's still a mama's boy but likes to make new friends. He isn't really saying any words yet (sometimes "mamamamama" for me, and the occasional "dada" so we think that's "daddy"), but he understands everything you say to him and makes his desires known by forceful grunts when he's not pleased and giggles when he is. He studies everything, and very quickly figures out how things work. We're so excited to have him in our family! (and he better start walking and talking quick because baby sister will be here soon...)

He didn't really get the hang of opening presents, even with all the practice at Christmas, but he had 2 helpers that were more than willing to jump in and lend a hand -- which, of course, may be why he didn't feel the need to rip open the presents.

His helpers also blew out his candle for him.

He didn't dig right in to his cake, just gingerly felt the top of the frosting and then looked around like, "Okay, what am I supposed to do now?" But as soon as he got one bite he was happy to keep 'em coming.

Andrew and Willa had to capture the moment with their cameras as well.

Happy Birthday Big Boy!

Snow!

2010-12-17T17:46:00.005-05:00

It started to snow yesterday as Willa and I were going to school, and she exclaimed, "This is the best day of my life!" School let out 2 hours early, so they had plenty of time to play in the white stuff.

They had a lot of fun playing with the neighbor's dog.

The dog especially loved following Willa around, licking her and stealing her gloves.

Don't worry, I warned Andrew about yellow snow.

I was too mean to take Christian out with them. Mostly because carrying him around these days really does a number on my back. Poor kid.

Crawling

2010-12-08T22:18:00.003-05:00

By popular demand, here are pictures of mobile Christian.

He pretty much has this look on his face whenever he's crawling. He is loving being mobile.

Andrew and Willa love it too, and they get so excited for the end of the day when homework is done and they can play with him.

Andrew is the greatest babysitter. I actually love the evenings when homework and school are finished too, so Andrew can take over and play with the baby until bedtime. And Christian just worships Andrew.

One of the downsides to his being mobile is this. Wherever I am, Christian finds me and starts climbing up my legs. What can I say, he's my little buddy.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-08T22:09:00.004-05:00

Thanksgiving was a relaxed affair at our house this year. It was the first year in at least 4 years that we were on our own, without Brenda. Which means it was the first year in a while that I've had to do the cooking, hence the relaxed attitude. Oh yeah, it was also the 3rd year in a row that I've been pregnant for Thanksgiving, which is a little crazy. I'm looking forward to not being pregnant or having a baby on major holidays.

Andrew and Willa were fascinated with the turkey. I was a little afraid Willa was going to get her fingers chopped off while Casey was carving. She kept insisting that it wasn't a real turkey.

Andrew had his customary dinner of rolls and sweet potatoes. One of these years we'll get him to try the turkey!

At preschool Willa's class got to dress up as the pilgrims, while everyone else was the Indians. This was my 4th year at the preschool Thanksgiving feast, and I found myself getting a little nostalgic because it will be my last for a while.

Baby Dave and Baby Jane

2010-11-15T10:34:00.002-05:00

When the kids were born they got these beautiful Madame Alexander dolls from Grammie and Papa. And because I didn't want them to get ruined, I put them away until they were older. I was digging through our "storage" last week and came across them, and decided that maybe they are old enough to take care of them now. Baby Dave and Baby Jane have become their favorite toys. Andrew sleeps with his baby, and even took it to school for show and tell last week. Thanks Grammie and Papa!

Laundry

2010-11-15T10:32:00.002-05:00

Every week. Wash, fold, put away. Every week. I really hate laundry, especially now that cold weather is here. My laundry almost doubles. Complaining about it really helps, though.

1st Haircut

2010-11-13T22:53:00.002-05:00

Willa has never had a haircut before. She loves her long hair, but it was getting to be problem to take care of so I've been trying to convince her for a few weeks that the time had come to get a trim.

I finally convinced her, and on Friday she woke up excited for the big haircut. She acted like a queen bee the whole time at the salon. She told them she wanted hair like Mommy's, which made my day.

Big times for a big girl!

Soccer

2010-11-13T21:40:00.003-05:00

This was Willa's first season playing soccer, which means it was our first season of juggling multiple soccer games every Saturday. Today was our first week with no soccer, and I must admit that I was relieved.

Check out these game faces.

Andrew got to play on a bigger field this year, and the boys and girls were on separate teams. He really improved this year.

Willa had a slightly more difficult time learning to play a team sport. I'll let the video of her first game tell the story.

Of course, the favorite part of the season is always the trophies.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-06T20:41:00.005-04:00

This year we didn't make it to the pumpkin patch (which actually has no pumpkin patch, but try getting Andrew and Willa to call it anything different) until the day after Halloween. But that's okay, it was a beautiful day, the kids didn't have school, and we had a ton of fun.

In reality, the "pumpkin patch" is a farm with a lot of big slides, animals, and a hayride. Andrew loves the slides the best, of course, culminating in the giant "castle slide." Last year Willa was afraid of the slides, but she hung in there like a champ this year and ran around with Andrew everywhere.

Of course Willa's favorite part was all the animals. Surprisingly, Christian loved the animals too. They have a goat pen where you can go in and feed and pet the goats, and Christian became obsessed with petting every goat in the pen. Maybe we have another animal lover in the family.

Sadly, I couldn't hold the baby and get pictures of him lunging for the goats at the same time, so you'll have to be satisfied with a picture of him munching on snacks instead. Since he got his first tooth last week I've finally started giving him finger foods, which he loves. He munches on them with that 1 little tooth, so it always looks like the food is about to fall right out of his mouth.

Overall, it was a really fun afternoon. But I learned that when I have an outing like that in my delicate condition it takes me a full week to recover, and left me regretting that my next chiropractor appointment isn't until next week. Sigh.

The Stew

2010-10-31T21:32:00.005-04:00

Casey went hunting in Utah last week and brought home some venison from the buck he shot. It's the first deer meat we've had. So today, we had ourselves some stew. I admit, I was scared to cook it, but it turned out really good.

Willa was really excited and hovered over me the whole time I was putting the stew together. She dove right in and chowed down, and absolutely loved it. She said the blessing and made sure to add in a thank you for Daddy for shooting this yummy deer, and kept on and on while she was eating about how yummy it was. It was a little disturbing when she said that Bambi tastes good, though.

No, Christian didn't get any stew, but how cute is this little face? (I can say that now because he's finally sleeping again.)

We made cookies for dessert since we didn't get to go trick-or-treating tonight. I thought the kids would be upset about missing out on the trick-or-treating, but they were totally okay with it. In fact, we still gave out candy to the neighborhood kids, and Andrew and Willa were the ones who did the handing out. They were great, complimenting people on their costumes and wishing everyone a happy Halloween. Frosting does soften the blow, though.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T23:56:00.009-04:00

Willa was so excited about her school party and parade this year. For the past month she was set on being Snow White for Halloween, but we had a last minute change of mind, and she went as a ballerina. Thank goodness for an extensive dress-up wardrobe!

If you look closely, you can see that Christian's first little tooth just poked through the day of the parade. What a big boy!

We went to the ward Trunk or Treat tonight, which was a lot of fun. We had a huge turnout. I had to go buy more candy for the trick or treaters tomorrow night.

Andrew was a ninja, for the 2nd year running. But this year Casey found him some cool ninja weapons, which made Andrew's year.

Christian did not like the costume or the whole trick-or-treating thing.

Andrew was definitely down with it.

Willa hates candy, and although she was really excited to dress up in her costume, she was adamant that she wasn't going to collect candy. We finally convinced her to get chocolate for Daddy, so at every car she told them, "I need to get lots of chocolate for Daddy!"

Costa Mesa

2010-10-17T22:24:00.004-04:00

The Hammonds gathered in Costa Mesa this year. The kids had a blast with the cousins. I only wish we could spend more time with them each year. One of Casey's sisters wasn't able to make it this year, but the other 11 cousins were there, so it was pretty much madness for a couple of days.

Casey grew up in the house his parents still live in, so his room is full of treasures and collections from his youth. Each year Andrew has more and more fun exploring his dad's treasures, and this year he selected a few things to bring back with him. He is so proud of this wallet. He's become quite the saver, checks out all kinds of books on money and budgeting from the library, and has been asking for a real leather wallet for awhile. When he found Casey's old wallet he thought he'd won the lottery. Check out that stash in it. I don't have that much cash to carry around!

We also (finally) blessed Christian while with our family. It does feel a little unusual to bless one baby when another one is already on the way.

Where have we been?

2010-10-17T20:30:00.009-04:00

So, it's been a little while since I've updated the blog, but we've been pretty busy. In the last 3 months we:

Sold our house (and did not buy a new house);

Packed up all our belongings and put them in storage;

Went on vacation;

Celebrated our 10th anniversary;

[I have no pictures of that event]

Lived in a hotel for a month;

And found out we're having baby #4!

Big times around the Hammond house (I use that term loosely)! I'll update more below.

Big News

2010-10-17T20:25:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'll start with the biggest news first: our vacation. Okay, okay, I know, it's baby #4. And because you'll make your own assumptions anyway, I'll just settle the facts:

Baby is due April 3, but since all my babies have been 2-3 weeks early, we're anticipating welcoming the baby home during Birthday Week.

That will make Christian and the new baby 14 months apart. And yes, I remember that Willa did not walk until she was 18 months old.

Of course we planned this. Who wouldn't want to get pregnant when they have a six month old?

We won't find out the gender until mid-November.

Willa is very excited, because she sees this as her chance for justice to be served and to finally get a sister.

The House

2010-10-17T20:24:00.000-04:00

I'll be brief on this one, and then on to more fun and interesting topics. We decided that after 7 years it was time to sell and move up to a bigger house -- and that was before we had any idea we would soon be a family of 6! So we fixed up the house, put it on the market, and sold it. Great news, right? Except we can't seem to find a new house to buy! We're trying to stay in our ward, and found a few we liked, but weren't able to get a contract on any of them. We did ultimately sign a contract on a short sale, but as you can surmise from the post above that didn't quite go as planned (thanks Bank of America). So, our stuff was in storage for a couple of months while we were between houses, and we're currently in a rental house, still looking! Our lease is up in March -- good timing, right?

And now for the fun stuff...

6 months old

2010-07-16T15:59:00.003-04:00

I'm constantly amazed at how fast time is flying by this year. Our little baby is 6 months old! Here's a few of the highlights so far:

He is so mellow and sweet. He will sit and watch the world go by just as quiet as a mouse, and patiently endures being carted around to his older siblings activities, even if it interferes with naps and feeding times.

Sometimes he's so mellow that you can't get him to smile or make a peep at you, no matter how hard you try.

When he's ready to play, he'll coax you over to him -- he grunts at you until you do what he wants -- and then he'll light up like a Christmas tree, laughing and talking at every move you make. His favorite thing is to be tickled, and he loves being bounced around and thrown in the air.

He sleeps great, although he still needs to wake up and eat during the night. But when it's time to sleep I just have to lay him down and walk away (still a gift after certain older siblings, who weren't so cooperative).

He looks just like Andrew, except for the times when he looks just like Willa.

He doesn't sit up or roll over yet, and won't put his legs down to stand up, but loves sitting on my lap or propped up on the couch or in the bouncer.

His brother and sister love him to death (literally in Willa's case, she loves to squeeze him around the neck), and Andrew will stop at nothing to make him smile. Whenever Christian is awake, the kids are vying for his attention (especially Andrew).

I don't have stats on his size, because everyone is out of town at our peds office and I can't get an appointment until the end of the month, but we know he's big. He's breaking my back in his car seat, and he's nearly grown out of all of Andrew's old summer clothes (he's in 9-12 mo clothes now).

The Shark

2010-07-05T23:59:00.003-04:00

Christian has hit the big 6 month mark, and is teething like crazy. He is also Mr. Curious, and tries to grab everything and put it in his mouth. And I mean everything. Tables, mirrors on the wall, and of course, all the books and toys that Willa and Andrew leave laying around. By far his favorite is The Shark.

He loves to just gnaw on it, and gets so excited when he sees it.

The Shark is actually Willa's. She got it for her birthday. Shockingly, she's pretty willing to share with Christian. That's a big step for a girl who learned how to say "mine" before she learned to say "mama."

I probably would've had a heart attack if Andrew had gotten ahold of something so hard and sharp. Now I just take pictures of how cute he looks playing with a non-age appropriate toy while sitting unattended on the couch.

July 4th

2010-07-05T23:26:00.005-04:00

We went to the Potomac Nationals game on Saturday and watched their fireworks display.

Willa was so terrified at the prospect of fireworks after the game that it took us about 3 innings to convince her to enter the stands and sit down with us. And then we had to put cotton balls in her ears and wrap a bandana around her head. She warmed up eventually, but still had to go out to the car before the fireworks display.

On the 4th we stayed home and did our own fireworks.

Andrew was sooo excited.

Notice how he and our neighbor reacted as the fireworks went off. Then notice Willa waaaay off in the distance, hiding as far away as she could get. Actually, the fact that she was outside at all was pretty impressive.

Christian was fascinated by the fireworks, and didn't get even the slightest bit nervous by the loud noises. In fact, he fell asleep halfway through.

Willa pretty quickly locked herself in the house, and didn't make it to the end of the show.

And Randles: notice my shirt? Yes, that was from 2001. Remember the cooler in the Capitol? Remember the extreme heat? And the torrential downpour? Good times.

Head Wound Willa

2010-06-07T23:19:00.003-04:00

Poor Willa. She got her first visit to the ER this weekend. We're not *sure* what happened, but somehow she was standing on the couch and "tumbled" as she says, hitting her head on the side table or something over there. She's got 4 staples in the back of her head, mercifully where they will always be hidden by her hair. As you can see, she took the whole thing pretty well. Other than a gnarly gash, she's fine, thank goodness, and loves to tell people she's got staples in her head.

Happy Birthday Willa!

2010-06-02T00:20:00.002-04:00

Our little girl is 4 years old. I can't believe how big she's getting.

She is super sweet (except when she's not) and very affectionate. She loves stuffed animals and can always be found with one of her friends. She hasn't left the house without one since the time she was big enough to hold them in her hands. She has an incredible imagination and is happiest when she's surrounded by "friends," acting out an infinite number of scenarios.

She loves being with her family. She says Andrew is her best friend, loves to cuddle Christian, and when we are all together she is sure to look around, smile, and say, "We're the whole family." Her birthday wish when she blew out her candles was to have her whole family together.

She is also very stubborn. If she doesn't want to do something, then she's not going to do it, no matter what. Sometimes this translates to extreme contrary-ness (is that a word?). We believe if she channels it correctly, she'll be a force to be reckoned with. Already Andrew won't mess with her, because she always wins.

We love you sweet little Willa!

Happily Ever After

2010-05-29T20:29:00.001-04:00

Here's a conversation I had with Willa tonight when she was going to bed:

Me: "...and they lived happily ever after."

W: Why does it say "happily ever after"?

Me: Because when you find someone you love it makes you happy forever.

W: Well, I love you, so we will live happily ever after.

T-ball

2010-05-24T23:36:00.006-04:00

Andrew loves to play baseball. He loves hitting and running the bases, and hanging out in the dugout with all his friends. Fielding takes a bit more concentration, so that's more of a challenge. This year I somehow got roped into being the team mom, because having a newborn and selling our house doesn't give me enough to do.

Catcher is the most fun position, and all the kids are excited when it's their turn to catch.

Each game the coach gives out a game ball. Andrew got his for "solid hitting," and he was so surprised and happy. (Just look at those skinny little legs. The kid is a full head taller than anyone in his class, but he's such a beanpole. A stiff wind will blow him over.)

The season is almost over now, and I have to say I'm going to be a little sad to see it end. He's had so much fun, and because we love baseball at our house, we've enjoyed going to the games.

4 months old

2010-05-11T17:31:00.004-04:00

The last 4 months have been a blur. I can't believe how big he is already! He smiles and laughs whenever he is talked to, loves stuffed animals (much to Willa's dismay), and absolutely lights up for his big brother and sister. He eats like a champ, and except for not being able to handle lactose (which is hard for me, since I've always big a big milk drinker) he's about as cute and easy as can be. And he's huge. We'll have his official stats next week after his check up, but he's definitely following in Andrew's footsteps.

Spring Break

2010-04-21T17:18:00.009-04:00

We stayed home for spring break again this year. I actually loved hanging out with the kids, having a relaxed time where we didn't need to be rushing around and could go on a few fun adventures. Andrew and Willa had so much fun playing together, and they were able to spend some good bonding time with the baby as well.

Willa's favorite spring break activity is visiting Frying Pan Farm and seeing all the new baby animals.

Watching basketball with Dad.

We've settled into a tradition of going into DC and visiting the Smithsonian and having lunch with Casey one day during spring break. This year the kids chose the Air and Space Museum.

Nothing says spring break like chasing pigeons in front of the Department of Education.

Easter was the last day of spring break. Since it was also General Conference, we did our egg hunt in our jammies.

Of course Andrew ran around like crazy, grabbing all the eggs. Willa was less enthusiastic, only picking up the eggs she thought were pretty. Then one of her eggs broke open and M&M's fell out, and she said, "Ew, there's candy inside!" Silly girl. She gave all her candy to Andrew, who was happy to take it off her hands.

Sweet Baby

2010-04-01T01:49:00.000-04:00

Easter, Part 1

2010-03-28T19:09:00.008-04:00

I know Easter isn't until next week, but since General Conference is on Easter Sunday our ward had our Easter program today. I realized late Friday afternoon that meant the kids needed their Easter clothes this week, and not next week. Thank you Knutsons for the bounty of beautiful dresses! All we had to do was look through them, let Willa choose which one she wanted, and search all over creation for a purple tie so Andrew could match.

I intended to post pictures of my beautiful kids dressed up in their finest, so we got them ready early for church so we'd have time to snap a few. Willa was ready first. She is three, and comes by her name rightfully. She is the most willful, independent, and sometimes downright ornery girl in the world. It's also impossible to make her smile, as you can see. I couldn't narrow down the pictures, I'll just let you vicariously experience the frustration of trying to make her smile without actually saying "cheese." (Note the stuffed animal in her hand; she never goes anywhere or does anything without one or more of her animals.) What in the world did people do before digital cameras?

And then there's handsome Andrew. He loves to pose but lately this is the only smile we can get out of him. Tell me he's not channeling Rupert the Monkey Boy from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. And yes, his pants are about 3 inches too short. I promise they fit him at Christmas. Today all we could do was make him pull them down around his hips.

In the end, though, I'm sure I have the cutest kids in the world. And someday we'll capture that on film.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2010-03-24T09:15:00.003-04:00

W: I'm going on a date with Silas.

Me: (after I pick my jaw up off the floor) Is Silas your boyfriend?

W: Yes, I love boys!

In what part of my parenting did I teach my 3 year old and 6 year old that they should be going on dates and kissing the opposite sex in the classroom?

Birthday Week

2010-03-21T19:17:00.004-04:00

Birthday Week was pretty chill this year. Because our house is on the market, we couldn't decorate as we would ordinarily do, or even have big birthday dinners and cake. To add to that, Casey's birthday was on a Sunday, and we both had to speak in church so we didn't even get birthday breakfast, because we were concentrating on our talks.

Casey's birthday comes first; at this point the kids are always excited about Birthday Week and want to help with presents. Instead of cake, Casey got birthday chocolate chip cookies.

Andrew is next. He is 6 this year! He is so smart, and has become so independent in the past months in kindergarten. He is super friendly, loves everyone, and has a girlfriend (Ieva). New this year: he can read! He's been sounding things out for some time, but on his birthday he read all his birthday cards like a pro. We were floored.

Instead of a party, we went to Build-a-Bear (which he's wanted to do since Willa's birthday 9 months ago) and had dinner at Subway (his choice). He requested cupcakes with blue frosting.

And to round out the week we had my birthday. By the time my birthday was here, Willa was adament that it was NOT my birthday, but hers, and all presents were hers. Birthday Week is hard for a 3 year old. Pay no attention to the bags under my eyes (which I tried hard to not show off in any pictures here), that's just my new look these days.

Happy Birthday to us!

10 weeks old

2010-03-21T19:04:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe it's been 10 weeks since Christian was born, but here we are. He's so fun now, he smiles! It's really hard to capture a new baby smile, but we did our best. And yes, his hair always sticks up like this.

Andrew or Willa?

2010-03-15T10:51:00.005-04:00

So we've been thinking that Christian looks a lot like Andrew as a baby, but I'm not so sure that he doesn't look more like Willa. What do you think? Is it Andrew or Willa?

Andrew

Willa

Christian

Snow. Again.

2010-02-10T21:18:00.005-05:00

This winter is officially the snowiest winter in recorded history in DC. We've had 3 -- count them, 3 -- blizzards so far. The kids haven't been to school in a week, Casey hasn't been to work, and we're all getting a little stir crazy. Right now we have nearly 3 feet of snow piled up in our yard, and the snow plows have built up ginormous walls of snow in our parking lot. Check out what we're living in right now.

This was the view out our front door this weekend.

This was halfway through cleaning off Casey's car. The snow was up to his windows.

More baby pics

2010-02-10T20:01:00.010-05:00

At the request of grandparents who live all the way across the country, here are more pics. Little bub is 5 weeks old today! Time flies... Since we brought him home, he's grown over 2 inches and gained nearly 3 pounds. If it ever stops snowing here we'll take him to get his 1 month pics done. He might be 2 months old before that happens, though.

1 week old

2 weeks old

3 weeks old

4 weeks old

Back to the main event...

2010-01-12T21:15:00.004-05:00

Now that I've caught up on a few things that happened while I was too pregnant to care about sharing them, let's get back the the main event.

Christian is the cutest baby in the entire world, in my humble opinion. He's super sweet and mellow, and sleeps, well, like a baby. We just love him. Andrew and Willa think he's the best thing since sliced bread, and are so excited that "the baby" is finally here.

Christmas

2010-01-12T20:51:00.003-05:00

Christmas was great this year. The kids had a blast opening presents and playing with toys, and Casey got to take off the whole week after and spend lots of time hanging out with the kids.

Gingerbread Party

2010-01-12T20:10:00.004-05:00

Every year we get together with some friends and make gingerbread houses. It's a favorite activity of my kids, and they look forward to it every year.

Of course, sometimes eating the frosting is more fun.

My friend who hosts the party every year has a daughter in high school, and she brings her friends to help out. This year we made cookies, which was right up Andrew's alley.

It came as no surprise that he ended up in a flour fight with a bunch of high school kids.

The older kids also happen to be in the band, and are very musically talented (one of them got into Juliard!). The Christmas music they play every year is awesome, and is Willa's favorite part. She loves the instruments.

The Blizzard of 2009

2010-01-12T19:58:00.004-05:00

The week before Christmas we had a full-fledged blizzard. We got over 2 feet of snow, which NEVER happens here. The kids loved it, but with the deep freeze we've had since then the snow is still lingering around. Check out the mountains of snow on our cars! (yes there is a car in the 1st picture) Luckily for me my dad was in town that weekend to help dig us out, and I could stay tucked safely inside with the whole I'm-too-pregnant-to-help excuse.

Andrew had a lot of fun in the snow, jumping in the drifts and putting his head down and burrowing through like a mole. Willa was briefly fascinated, and then decided it was too cold and went inside. She didn't come out again.

Christian Hammond

2010-01-07T11:55:00.002-05:00

Signed and sent to the the records office.

New Baby

2010-01-06T15:50:00.002-05:00

2nd Male Child Jan 6

2010-01-06T15:32:00.005-05:00

Little Casanova

2009-12-02T21:48:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Andrew started bringing home pictures in his backpack that his friend Ieva drew for him. Then last week another mom at preschool (where Andrew and Ieva both went last year) told me that she heard that Ieva is calling herself Andrew's girlfriend. I assumed it was all very innocent, that Ieva is just a girl that is Andrew's friend, and didn't think about it again.

Then today when I picked Andrew up from school two very giggly girls came up to him and said, "Bye, Andrew," and giggled their way down the sidewalk. Things started clicking in my head. Andrew told me they were two girls in his class, but emphatically denied ever playing with them or sitting by them in class. "I don't play with any girls, Mom."

I tried to casually ask Andrew if he has any girlfriends, and he said yes, Ieva is his girlfriend. I asked him what a girlfriend is, and he said, "Well, girlfriends and boyfriends are special friends." He says they like to talk about silly things, like marrying each other's eyeballs.

Am I in big trouble with this kid?

Halloween

2009-11-03T14:01:00.004-05:00

Halloween is always a fun time of year, and the kids have been as keyed up as ever getting ready for the big day. Both Andrew and Willa kicked off the holiday with costume parades at school. Willa was once again a princess, this year Snow White.

Andrew was upset that he didn't get to wear his mask to school, though, and was concerned that no one would know what his costume was without it. I convinced him that if he struck a good ninja pose then everyone would know that he was Snake Eyes from GI Joe.

He took that advice seriously.

Very seriously.

But of course in the end it's all about the candy. Being an experienced trick-or-treater, Andrew was all business. Willa was a little more excited, and ran around calling out every thought that entered her head at the top of her lungs.

She exclaimed over the candy at every house (and occasionally asked for more), asked people if their house was haunted, and was relieved when the people who gave out candy were not scary.

We love Halloween.

Tonsils

2009-10-28T14:47:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago Andrew got his tonsils and adenoids out, and tubes put in his ears. He was so excited for the surgery, you'd think he was meeting Santa at the north pole instead of heading to the hospital.

He's very articulate when it comes to his medical procedures, and can tell you in great detail what the doctors are going to do and what problem will be solved.

Of course, after it's all said and done he's not quite as happy.

But he survived. His recovery was a bit slow, and was complicated by catching some sort of virus a few days after surgery, but thankfully he's back to normal. He missed 2 weeks of school, which was the hardest part for him. His class was great, and they all made get well cards for him, which his teacher delivered to the house.

The best part? No more procedures left for Andrew! (for now)

1st Day of Preschool

2009-10-17T15:21:00.004-04:00

Willa is getting so big. I can't believe she's already in preschool!

It seems like just yesterday that we were sending Andrew to his 1st day at the same preschool.

Willa has gotten so sassy. She's always had a strong will, but she's having a lot of fun exerting it these days.

I've come to really appreciate those few hours when she's at preschool.

First Andrew goes to school all day, then Willa heads off to preschool. I have to say I'm enjoying being the mom of school-age kids.

January might be rude awakening. And I'm already dreading the return of summer.

Kindergarten Update

2009-10-17T15:06:00.004-04:00

Andrew LOVES kindergarten, which is a good thing because he's in a full-day program. He loves his teacher (and so do I), loves his friends, loves all the activities they do. He's only been in school for about a month, but already his writing is getting so good, and he's decided that he can read. That's right, he's reading! But sometimes I wonder what really happens at school, such as when assignments like these get sent home.

Shortly after school started the teacher asked them to draw a picture of something new they learned at school. Could be anything, such as the library, gym, classroom, or friends. This is what Andrew came up with.

Notice there is nothing about writing his name with lowercase letters or the computers in his classroom. Nope, nothing remotely academic.

In case you missed it, here's the caption on the picture:

What was his reaction when I asked him about this? "Well, Mom, now I know."

Fire Station

2009-10-17T14:48:00.005-04:00

Every year our local fire station hosts an open house in the fall, which Andrew just loves. This is the first year Willa has really gotten involved.

Of course climbing in the fire trucks is the big highlight.

Manning the line is another part Andrew always looks forward to.

Willa is scared of the hose.

Willa had to bring a friend with her to the fire house. See that little white thing in her hand?

The one she's clutching like grim death?

She never let go of it the entire time.

It's a little plastic chicken. The fire dog got to meet it.

She never leaves home without a "friend." She rarely eats a meal without a friend. Brushes her teeth without a friend. Goes to preschool without a friend. Her whole life she's been very attached to her friends, whether they are stuffed animals, princesses, or little plastic chickens. They talk to her, keep her company, occasionally answer questions for her, and often I'll find them in time out. She never loses them. They are scattered everywhere in the house, yet she can always find them. She has such an active imagination I've always wondered why she doesn't have any imaginary friends, but then again, why does she need them? She always has dozens of "real" friends.

Hammond Family Reunion

2009-09-10T23:54:00.007-04:00

We were able to spend the entire month of August in California with family this year. We started off in Costa Mesa for our annual family reunion. Stephanie was in charge this year, and did a terrific job. It was so great to be together with everyone, and we can't wait for next year! I only wish I had more pictures.

Lake Powell

2009-09-10T22:35:00.015-04:00

Lake Powell is always a highlight of our western journey, and this year was no exception. We have tons of pictures, so although it may seem like it here, this really is only a few of them.

Andrew always does his best to wear out Grandpa when we visit, and Lake Powell offers some unique opportunities for him. It helps that Grandpa never tells him no.

Willa is more cautious. This is how she spent much of her time, with Disney movies keeping her entertained.

We made the trip to Rainbow Bridge this year.

It's a long, hot trip, and one of the best parts is the "world famous" ice cream at Dangling Rope Marina on the way.

The trip over to Face Canyon is a tradition.

In honor of me and Casey's 9th anniversary, we made s'mores and set off fireworks. Okay, those things would have happened anyway (Andrew has been planning the fireworks for the past year) but we did do them on our anniversary. And yes, it looks like Andrew is trying to light things on fire with his sparklers, because he was trying to light things on fire with his sparklers.

We had a great time. Thanks Mom and Dad for taking us every year!

Back to School Party

2009-09-10T21:27:00.003-04:00

A long-standing Randle tradition (one of few) is to throw a party for the kids when they enter kindergarten. My grandparents hosted the parties for my sisters and cousins, and the next generation of Grandma and Grandpa Randle have taken up the torch for our kids. Why it's called "Back to School" when in reality it's the first time you're going to school is beyond me, but that's all just part of the mystique. Andrew was just happy to be the center of attention, and to get presents.

Angel Mania

2009-09-10T21:12:00.002-04:00

Chone Figgins, the Angels 3rd baseman, came to the local Costco while we were in Costa Mesa, so of course we had to go and try to meet him. We love the Angels, and Andrew was very excited, but when we got there the line was wrapped all the way around the building so we decided to bag it and just see if we could get a glimpse from inside. Casey ended up getting right up next to him and got a lot of pictures.

And what about excitable Andrew, who loves to meet people and thinks the Angels are fantastic? Well, this is what happens to a 5 year old (and 3 year old) after 4 weeks on vacation.

The Bunk Bed

2009-09-10T21:02:00.003-04:00

Right before we left for CA we finally received all the pieces to the bunk bed, so as soon as we got back in town last week we put it together. We decided just to put the kids together right away, since they'll end up together in a few months anyway. But when these two are in the same room it becomes party time all night long. Combined with the fact that their internal clocks were still set on pacific time, it was near midnight before they would finally settle down and go to sleep. Needless to say, now that school has begun Andrew starts out in our bed and then moves into his after Willa falls asleep -- because it's Willa that is the big instigator in their nighttime hijinks.

They love the bed, and love sharing a room. And Casey and I are having a great time listening in to their conversations on the baby monitor.

1st Day of School

2009-09-10T20:34:00.005-04:00

Check out the satisfied smile on that little mug. No first day anxieties here, no sir. The whole way to school he was singing about walking to kindergarten, and I could barely get his attention to get him to say good-bye to me once inside. He LOVES school.

He marched right in, looking stylish in what I'm sure is the only Angels backpack in a Virginia public school (thanks Aunt Sessy).

Kindergarten is full day in our school district, and it's a loooong day. I think Willa is getting bored at home all alone, but she'll be starting preschool next week so hopefully that will help. If it were up to her she'd watch Disney movies all day long, and it's already getting a little trying on my part to attempt to entertain her all day.

Andrew has now completed 3 days of school, and a picture is beginning to emerge as to what kind of a student he's going to be. It's really difficult to get him to answer any questions about school when he gets home, but a few tidbits have leaked out here and there. Let me share the highlights:

On his 1st day, the only things he could "remember" about school were recess and PE.
When I picked him up today his teacher reminded him not to color on the table tomorrow. He responded, "I didn't color on the table. I played hockey with scissors and the crayons were the pucks."
His teacher challenged the class to make their names out of playdough. When asked how he did, he innocently answered, "Oh, I didn't do any letters. Me and Alejandro made balls and called them killer babies and threw them at each other."

Oh Andrew.

It's a BOY!!

2009-09-08T09:41:00.002-04:00

Looks like Andrew was right after all! We just had our ultrasound, and the baby looks healthy and big. And if the way this baby moves and grooves already is any indication, it looks like he's going to follow in Andrew's footsteps -- heaven help us all... Willa will remain our only little princess, which I think suits her just fine.

I have tons of pics to post from our summer journey back to CA, the kids' new bunk bed (which you'd think by the way they act is the most exciting thing that's happened to them in their short little lives) as well as Andrew's 1st day of school, so as soon as I can get through them I'll post some more.

And then there were 3...

2009-07-29T12:58:00.003-04:00

That's right, we're having another baby! Andrew and Willa are really excited, they like to talk to my belly and "be nice to the baby." Andrew is convinced it's a boy, and Willa is sure it's a girl. I've been sick like I was with Andrew, so maybe he'll get his wish. He's calling it Megatron. The baby is due at the end of January, so time will tell. One of them is right!

Surgery

2009-07-29T12:36:00.007-04:00

Poor Andrew has to have a couple of operations this summer -- nothing life-threatening, just normal kid stuff. The first was about a week ago, and he handled it like a champ. He was actually pretty excited about the whole experience, and all the attention he was getting.

I got to walk him into the OR, and hold him while they gave him the gas to put him under. It was pretty funny watching him go under. One minute he was fighting the mask on his face, and the next he was out cold. I think the nurses were a little disturbed by the fact that I wasn't more upset to leave him in the OR, but I've left him there under more desperate circumstances, so this wasn't too bad at all.

He wasn't all all happy waking up from the anesthesia, though.

Until he got the morphine, that is.

He's doing great now, everything went well, his stitches are healing nicely, and he's preparing for the next one, when we get back from California.

4th of July

2009-07-13T14:50:00.006-04:00

Andrew is our resident pyro. The minute we got off the plane from Spain (which was the 3rd) he started begging Casey to take him to get fireworks.

Willa is not so thrilled with the fireworks. She watched the show from the safety of our living room.

Once Andrew was done lighting his stash, we packed up and headed into town to watch the big show on the National Mall. The kids had a blast waiting for the fireworks to start, eating snacks and chasing fireflies around the Mall.

And of course fireworks on the Mall come with a fantastic backdrop.

We were lucky that Grammie and Papa were able to stay for the holiday.

But once the fireworks started, Willa grabbed her blanket and buried her head and whimpered until they were over. Poor girl, the things we make her do.

Spain

2009-07-13T13:44:00.011-04:00

Casey and I ditched the kids and went to Spain at the end of June. It was our first real vacation since we got married, and it was fantastic. Thanks to Bob and Hilda who came out and stayed with the kids and made it all possible.

We spent most of our time in Seville, where Casey actually had a conference to go to (hence the impromtu trip to Europe). It's beautiful there, so much so that it doesn't seem real. Half the time we felt like we were sitting in a Disneyland or Vegas reproduction, it was so perfectly quaint. Seriously, check this out. Can this possibly be real? And every street in the city looks like this.

One of the most beautiful sights in Seville is the cathedral, which is absolutely huge. Here you can see part of it with the bell tower. The medieval-looking wall in the picture is the outer wall of the royal palace in Seville, which is still used by the royal family today.

Okay, now I'll save you a travelogue of our tour of Spain, and just include a few highlights. Here we are inside the cathedral. I got to sit on the royal family's pew.

Christopher Columbus is buried in Seville, which is where he sailed from on his historic journey to discover the Americas.

And here's our self portrait in the bell tower.

We also got to spend a day in Granada, which was the last Muslim kingdom in Spain. It is also beautiful, of course.

At the end of our trip we spent a day and a half in Madrid. Here we are at the royal palace in Madrid, and the cathedral.

Casey got to fly business class while I was stuck back in coach, which he just loved. And just to rub it in, when we made our connection in Paris the airline wouldn't even let business and coach enter the plane through the same door. But I still had to walk through business to get to my seat, which is just plain mean.

It was a fantastic trip, and so good to be able to spend so much time alone with Casey. You know, when we're not Mom and Dad, we're pretty fun together. Thanks for letting me tag along on your trip, Casey!

Little League Recap

2009-07-13T13:34:00.004-04:00

Although it may seem like it, we haven't dropped off the face of the planet, and in fact have been pretty busy. Here's a few of the things we've been up to the past weeks.

Andrew finished his first season of t-ball, and loved every minute of it. He wasn't exactly the star of the team -- okay, so he was the kid that chased butterflies and picked dandelions in the outfield -- but he was always the life of the dugout, and he played with a great group of kids that got along really well. Here's a few highlights from his first season.

Poor Willa

2009-06-01T22:51:00.009-04:00

Willa doesn't get to take part in birthday week. Willa has to have her birthday all alone.

Willa doesn't get birthday pancakes.

Willa has to wear funny hats and outfits.

Willa doesn't get a party, or her own cake. Willa gets terrorized by candles in cupcakes.

Willa has to make her own present.

Poor Willa. What a sad 3rd birthday.

Mother's Day

2009-05-17T20:38:00.003-04:00

I love Mother's Day. I don't have to cook, I don't have to do dishes, I don't have to put kids to bed. Basically I don't have to do anything, and I LOVE it. Casey really does Mother's Day right. One of the highlights for the past 2 years has been the Mother's Day Tea hosted by Andrew's preschool. Each class makes food, decorates, makes gifts for the moms, and best of all performs a song or two. It is super cute. This year Andrew's class made a cookbook of their moms' favorite recipes, according to the kids. Andrew's recipe was awesome, I'll put it below for a good laugh.

But of course all you really want to see is the song. Bear in mind when you watch this that there is no trick photography here, he really is just freakishly tall compared to the rest of his class. (Which is sometimes a problem because he has no concept of personal space boundaries.)

Strawberry Shortcake (by Andrew)

Ingredients:
1 c flour
2 Tbsp vanilla
3 c baking powder
1-2 c oil
10 c sugar
2 eggs
3-4 c cinnamon
frosting from Walmart
blueberries from Shoppers (very smart since Andrew is allergic to strawberries)
colorful sprinkles

First we make the cake and second we put the blueberries inside the cake. Put it in the oven on 4 for 15 minutes. Then we put the strawberry shortcake frosting on and then some sprinkles on. Then we eat it on Mother's Day.

How You Can Tell Winter is Over

2009-04-26T19:39:00.003-04:00

Or, "How You Can Tell Andrew is Having a Growth Spurt."

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

Now that the weather is nice, Andrew wants to spend all his free time -- and time that is not free -- outside. But I'm convinced the sidewalks in our neighborhood have a personal vendetta against him. He literally cannot go out without coming back with blood dripping from somewhere, and his knees and legs are so bruised up that I'm afraid to send him to school in shorts, or I'll get reported to the authorities.

Somehow, I don't think he minds.

T-ball

2009-04-25T13:20:00.012-04:00

Andrew is loving t-ball. How cute are these kids?

He was all ready for business for his first at-bat. Notice the dirt on his knees. Mind you, he was the first batter of the game. He just couldn't help sliding around the field before the game started.

His first at-bat was a success -- he only swung and missed once.

It's crazy how time-intensive Little League is. I swear I get multiple emails from the league every day. They've even got Casey working at the games.

But you have to admit, the kid's got style. He obviously gets that from me.

Willa has fun at the games, too. She even made a new friend, the little sister of one of Andrew's teammates. They are almost exactly the same age, and together they are too cute for words.

As much fun as she has as a spectator, however, Willa is convinced she's a member of the team. Whenever Andrew's manager calls the team together for stretching, instructions, or after the game to hand out the game ball, Willa always runs right in with the group.

Time for a big girl bed

2009-04-25T13:17:00.002-04:00

Disneyland

2009-04-12T22:38:00.008-04:00

We spent my dad and Jenny's birthday at Disneyland, which was a lot of fun. It was too bad that Casey had to be back at work in Virginia.

Although she loved Disneyland, and talks about it all the time now, she spent much of the day like this. It may be an understatement to say that she's not really fond of loud noises.

One of Willa's favorite things was the carousel. She must've ridden this one a dozen times.

Just slightly less popular than the carousel was the Dumbo ride.

Andrew was beyond excited for the entire day, couldn't decide which direction to go in, and had this look on his face most of the time:

Willa was totally starstruck by the princesses (which was the longest line in the park by the way).

One of the advantages of going with Grandma and Grandpa is that you get all the churros you can eat. Look at that thing -- it's a big as she is!

We got to have dinner with a bunch of the Disney characters, which might have been the highlight of the day for Andrew and Willa. (I use the term "dinner" loosely, though; they were too excited to eat anything.)

It was a pretty good day. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Belated pics

2009-04-12T22:29:00.005-04:00

Here are a few pictures from our recent trip to CA. It was so much fun to be with family, who we miss terribly here on the other side of the country.

May the Force be with You

2009-04-07T10:32:00.014-04:00

Andrew had a Star Wars birthday party this year (of course). For the most part it was a normal, average five-year-old party, although it did get off to a bit of a rocky start. On the day I went to Andrew's school to pass out invitations to the kids in his class, another mom was there handing out invitations to her son's Star Wars party, to be held on the same day. We both stopped and looked at each other and kept on handing out our invitations. I went home and agonized over what to do next. I mean, what is birthday party etiquette, exactly? Obviously there couldn't actually be two parties at the same time -- actually hers was scheduled for directly after mine, but still -- but who backs down first? And even worse (for me), this kid is rich and I was imagining pony rides and jumping castles at his party. In addition, we had family coming in from out of town, so it's not like we had much leeway for rescheduling. In the end I decided to back down and move my party to Friday, instead of Saturday, which was good because the other mom "had already booked [her] moon bounce and couldn't possibly change [her] party." Ugh.

As I said, for the most part it was a normal party. Each of the guests got a Jedi tunic for their training, modeled here by Andrew and Ben. (The poses were completely their inspiration, and neither saw the other one do theirs. I love these boys.)

They played games: Rescue Princess Leia; pin the sticker on Darth Vader; Duck, Duck, Goose, Light Saber Training.

They even decorated their own cupcakes with all kinds of frosting and candy.

Now, as a mom planning a party for her son, naturally I wanted to make things extra special. You know, provide some "wow" factor, so that he can look back and remember how great his 5th birthday party was. Since this was a Star Wars-themed party, and all the kids were Jedi, I thought, "Wouldn't it be great if after the Jedi are 'trained' they get a chance to defeat their mortal enemy?" It seemed like kismet that Andrew just happened to get a Darth Vader mask for Christmas that just happened to fit Casey, and we just happened to have a red light saber. It was too perfect, right? Casey, for his part, was not so enthusiastic about dressing up and letting a bunch of kids beat him up with pool noodle-light sabers. But his sister Abbie -- who flew in with her family for the party and without whom and my sister Brenda I would never have been able to pull this thing off -- and I worked together and finally guilted him into it.

After the little Jedi finished their training,

DJ Abbie cued the Darth Vader music, signaling for Casey to make his appearance. I don't mind telling you that I was so excited I was about to jump out of my skin, anticipating the enthusiasm of the little Jedi as Darth Vader made his appearance. However, as soon as Casey turned the corner coming down the stairs, we suddenly realized that we had made a major miscalculation. I'll let the video tell the story.

Once the screaming started Abbie cut the music, Casey froze, and I had to rush two of the kids who were particularly upset out of the room. As I sat in the kitchen trying to calm down a hysterical boy, I started picturing myself having to call the parents of every kid in my son's preschool class to ask them to pick up their child early, and explain to my insurance why I was having to pay for counseling for 12 five-year-olds.

After the initial outcry, most of the kids -- Andrew included -- had this reaction:

Fortunately, kids are resilient, and few of the braver boys jumped in and wanted to fight the evil Darth Vader.

And so far no outraged parents have called to give me a piece of their mind.

So if you are planning a Star Wars party, maybe Yoda should be the surprise guest.

Birthday Week

2009-03-31T18:03:00.017-04:00

I realize I'm skipping a few things -- like pics from the rest of our trip to CA -- but I promise I'll get to those, and there are some good ones. In the meantime, we must acknowledge Birthday Week. For those of you who don't know, Casey, Andrew, and I all have birthdays within 5 days of each other, so every year we get to celebrate one big Birthday Week.

Birthday Week always kicks off with Casey's big day (I won't say which number it was, but it's more than 30 and less than 40), and it always starts with birthday pancakes.

Followed by birthday presents. Andrew's official position for the opening of presents is right on Casey's lap.

That has been Andrew's position since 2005, which was his first full Birthday Week.

And in 2006.

And 2007.

And in 2008.

But I digress. While presents are fun, cake is far more exciting.

And if you can believe it, Willa got this whole piece in her mouth at once, after meticulously picking off every bit of frosting.

Then it was on to Andrew's birthday -- 5 this year!! We had a small celebration on the day, of course, but this year he had a "friend party." I'll devote a whole post to the party later; it's not something I want to short change here in the middle of Birthday Week.

I got out of making the 2nd birthday cake in 2 days by taking Andrew to dinner at Friendly's. We've done this in the past, but I'll spare you yet another trip down memory lane to see all the times Andrew ate ice cream on his birthday.

And then there was my birthday (again, no numbers, please). By this point we're usually pretty birthday-ed out, so we don't celebrate a lot, there are fewer pictures, and I never have my own cake. But this year Abbie & family were with us, which was a lot of fun, and Casey took care of dinner for everyone, which was AWESOME.

(After I posted this last night, Casey read it and thought I sounded like I was complaining about my birthday. I just want to set the record straight that I am NOT complaining. My birthday was great this year, and Casey was really good about making it enjoyable in the midst of an extremely busy week at work. And we don't have cake on my birthday because by then no one -- least of all me -- wants to eat more cake, not because I'm being overlooked.)

And now at least once a day Willa talks about her birthday in June.

The Airport Game

2009-03-11T21:22:00.015-04:00

In February we got to go back to CA to visit family, and since it's been almost a month since we left I thought now I might as well get around to posting some pics. So what is The Airport Game, you ask? Well, in the words of my almost-five-year-old, "It's when you get to go from airplane to airplane and see if you can get on and fly to California." We started off in DC, flew to Seattle where we spent the night -- after our bags with all of our clothes and toiletries arrived safely in LA, I might add -- then tried unsuccessfully to get on a flight from Seattle to LA all day, ended up flying to Portland and staying at our sister-in-law's house (she wasn't there, incidentally), and then flying from Portland to LA. There's all kinds of things you can discover about yourself and your family while you're playing The Airport Game, however. Here's the top 10 things I learned while playing The Airport Game.

1. Rolling backpacks are endless fun. And endlessly slow when you're going from terminal C to terminal N and back again.

2. The best place to take a nap in Sea-Tac Airport is next to gate C9. Even for little girls who DON'T NAP EVER.

3. It's also the best place for a good pick.

4. Given the chance, children will claim ANYTHING their sibling particularly loves, just because they can.

In this case, Cinderella fell victim to the big brother. Or maybe changing a princess's gown has a broader appeal than we thought?

5. Airport Revenue News announced Sea-Tac Airport as the Best Overall Concessions Program in the large airport division as part of the prestigious Best Airport & Concessionaire Awards. And I must say, they were right.

6. While not being able to change your clothes or put on make-up for two days has its drawbacks, there are benefits to The Airport Game. Like being able to ride on an airplane that your uncle is flying.

Andrew thought it was the coolest thing ever that Uncle Jeremy was flying the plane.

7. There's really nothing like family. After 2 long days spent in airports my sister-in-law opened her home for us to crash in, although she wasn't even home and wasn't expecting guests. Honestly, how many of us would ever let guests into our houses before we threw all the clutter in a closet and meticulously scrubbed the place down? I wouldn't. But then again, when I leave for a trip my house does not look nearly as good as Abbie's did. Don't worry Abbie, I won't post any pictures of your house.

8. When you're playing The Airport Game you make a lot of friends, which is pretty easy when you are two and four and have no fear of strangers. Willa told everyone who would stop long enough to listen that "we're going to Seattle," and Andrew spilled his life story to the world so often that I think he memorized his speech. But it tends to prompt nice ladies to give you pieces of gum, or other kids to share their Leapsters and DVD players with you, and nice flight attendants bend over backwards to make life fun with extra cookies, enough juice to drown in, and entertainment.

9. All of you who travel with young children, take note because this is important: never leave home without your DVD player.

10. Oh, and maybe it goes without saying, but if someone tells you to fly standby on President's Day weekend, run away screaming and never talk to them again. I'm still giving myself the silent treatment.

Star Wars

2009-02-27T22:31:00.004-05:00

Andrew's gifts for his dad are generally things like footballs and Nerf guns, you know, things that he would like to play with with his dad. For Christmas this year he got Casey a Star Wars plug 'n play game, which has been a hit. While Casey is at work Andrew practices, and when Casey gets home they play until bedtime.

Snow!

2009-02-27T22:20:00.007-05:00

After jealously watching the rest of the country get nailed with snow this winter, in January we finally got a little of our own. The kids were ecstatic. What's the point of winter without a few snow days? And the best part is that our snow was gone in two days.

The hill by our house isn't big, but big enough for a little sledding.

Are You Beautiful?

2009-01-13T15:02:00.003-05:00

Whenever we tell Willa that she's beautiful or cute she always says, "No, I'm not." (Actually, if you know her that's not an extraordinary answer. Just about any question gets the same response. When Casey tried to tell her the sky was blue the other day she told him it's not blue, it's purple, and she wasn't taking arguments about it.) On Sunday Casey decided to get to the bottom of this, and find out exactly what Willa's standards for being beautiful are. Here's their exchange.

C: Are you beautiful?
W: No, I'm not.
C: Is Mommy beautiful?
W: No, she's not beautiful.
C: So who is beautiful?
W: Um, Jesus.
C: Is anyone else beautiful?
W: Heavenly Father. And Cinderella. And the prophets.

So there you have it. In order to be beautiful you must be a deity, a prophet, or a Disney princess. High standards for a two-year-old. No wonder I can't match up.

Christmas

2009-01-07T21:14:00.017-05:00

Nothing like posting about holidays that happened two weeks ago, right? Anyway, Christmas was crazy, the kids barely survived the big day, but every day after that has been great. Casey was able to be home for almost two whole weeks, and it was great having so much time together as a family.

Andrew was the first one up, of course, but thankfully he's still young enough that the sun was already up.

I think he was most excited by his Transformers Tooth Tunes toothbrush, and danced all around the house playing the music. At that moment Santa wished he'd taken things a little easier this year.

The other big hit was a coin counter and a Tootsie Roll piggy bank. Ever since Christmas he has been tirelessly moving all his coins from bank to bank (all spare change in our house belongs to Andrew). Score another one for Santa.

When Willa woke up, she made up for lost time. Here are a few of her costume changes throughout the day.

Andrew wanted to get me "jewels" for Christmas, so he picked out a nice ring for me. (He told Casey when they went shopping that "when I'm grown up my girlfriends will be grown up too, and I will take them to Kohl's and give them jewels and make them my wives.") Willa immediately wanted my ring when I opened it, and this is what happened when I said no.

It took us literally all day to open presents. The kids had to play with everything as it was opened, and around mid-day were completely out of gas. Check out the expression on this little face.

Casey and I were incredulous. I mean, what kids on the planet play on Christmas day while presents remain unopened under the tree?

We almost didn't make it to Christmas, though. Here's what happened when we told Andrew he had to eat the ham at dinner on Christmas Eve.

But all was forgiven when he got to open a present.

Festival of Lights

2008-12-22T21:07:00.005-05:00

As part of our Christmas tour this weekend, we went to the DC Temple Visitors Center to see the lights. It was FREEZING, but Andrew ran around so much that he ended up shedding layers.

US Botanical Gardens

2008-12-22T20:56:00.006-05:00

This weekend we went to the Botanical Gardens in DC to check out the Christmas displays. They had a bunch of miniature fairy tale villages set up, with miniature trains running between displays and along the ceiling. It was crowded, but the kids loved every minute of it.

Santa

2008-12-17T22:48:00.007-05:00

We made the big trip to Santa this week. Since Willa is scared of Santa, and generally doesn't even want to talk about toys for Christmas if they come from Santa, we were nervous. She decided not to be scared of the Big Guy, but still was not thrilled to be there.

The line for Santa wound through giant snow globes that the kids could wait in. Andrew was enchanted by the snow.

It was serious business.

Very serious.

Willa was scared of the snow globes, so she clung to my hair outside of the snow while we waited. (Don't judge me by how I look in this picture -- I hadn't planned to leave the house that day, and hadn't quite made it to the shower yet.)

They were both happy once we got home. Willa was so happy in her dress that she didn't want to take it off, so we got a few more pictures of her.

Ward Christmas Party

2008-12-17T22:44:00.003-05:00

The party was great, they served dinner (of course Andrew only ate the dessert), but the highlight was Santa, who gave candy to all the kids. Willa of course was scared to death during most of the program, and we cuddled out in foyer while she asked if we could go home now.

But she finally worked up the nerve to get her own candy, and finally was happy on the ride home.