Thoughts on Thanks

We've enjoyed a lovely weekend celebrating Thanksgiving. Kurt's family gathered and ate and played and shopped and ate some more. We've stayed up late and gotten up early (for Black Friday, of course!). The boys got to see BSU *squeek* by Fresno Saturday, Kurt from the schmancy sky box even! (he was working as one of the EMT's)

At dinner Thursday everyone shared five of the things they are most thankful for. Grandma had challenged us to make lists and we were prepared! I find it easier to think of things when I consider what my life would be like without something. Makes it easy to get specific (think: lightbulbs and toothbrushes).

Of course family was in everyone's top five, as was the Atonement and the Gospel. Warm homes, reliable vehicles and good jobs also topped our lists. Our eyes went blurry when Grandma expressed her gratitude for Grandpa. Yes, this certainly might have been our first Thanksgiving without him. But by the grace of God...

The kids were thankful for good food and I added appreciation for kids big enough to do dishes. I'm also so grateful for epidurals and having a stamp when I need it. Oh the little things!

We are transitioning now into December and planning a decorating party tomorrow night for FHE. We've already had some carols coming from the piano and CD players. Love that Voice Male!

Happy memories have been made this weekend. What a wonderful time of the year!

Three Months Old Today

The girls are home for Thanksgiving Break and were happy to watch the clock this morning to ensure that our pictures were taken at exactly 10:33am, the minute Emily was born, three months ago. She wasn't in the mood really for pictures, but I managed to snap one semi-happy one. Kinda.

I might try again later...

Kurt had Emily going yesterday morning. She loves talking to her daddy!

CostCo Special

This is not a joke. While at CostCo today, we had not one, not two, but THREE of the CUTEST and most sincerely ADORABLE grandma and grandpa-esque couples look at Emily riding in her carseat in the basket and ask us something to the effect of, "Where do we find one of those??" When I agreed that she was quite a find but then lamented "she was the last one on the shelf" or "she's not returnable" or even "she's awfully expensive", some of the grandmas still wanted her. One thought we were being greedy when he heard we already had four others at home. "We only have two," he said. Sorry!
Em was in a great mood and smiled for all three couples. What a doll.

Funny though that they all used the same line...is there a class that teaches that somewhere??

She's three months old tomorrow. Big pictures coming. And giggle video. Oh my lanta ~ her daddy really got her going.

July in November

This is one of those "better late than never" stories. Tonight we took Elizabeth out for her birthday dinner, a birthday that took place the end of July. We're a little behind this year, but if we catch up next year, Liz only has to wait 8-ish months for her next special dinner with mom and dad! Super great!!

Liz chose Red Robin as her meal of choice. I told our server we were celebrating her birthday ~ a TEENAGE birthday even ~ and she winked and said, "Happy Birthday!". A little while later a big group of employees came around and started making a lot of noise clapping and cheer singing. All for a girl named Alexis who was celebrating her seventh birthday. Liz turned red and said she was embarrassed for Alexis, and PLEASE don't do that to her. Muwahahahaha....she was too late! Our little plan was already in the works.

A few minutes later it was Liz's turn.

Liz was especially glad to get to wear those balloons on her ears.

Dinner was great as all dinners as Red Robin are. Liz had a huge-mongous chicken burger, fries and a rootbeer. Yum-o!

Beautiful Inside and Out

We got to see more of Emily's hips today, and can now tell you for certain (not just from a proud parent point of view) that she is gorgeous on the inside as well as the outside. I wish I could show you the pictures. I got a copy of her x-rays but the pictures are at an angle that shows a little more information than we feel comfortable sharing. So you get to take our word for it :)

Can I just say again how much we love our Orthopaedist? He takes his time and he obviously loves what he does. Between him and the blessed anesthesiologist who got an epidural to work while I was in labor ~ thank goodness for them!

His evaluation of Emily's hips today was that her angles are just right. "Perfect" is the word he used. (too bad you can't put that on a resume, huh? "I have perfect hips per Dr. Jeffrey Shilt, MD")

He would be happy to see her in a year, but based on the data today, he felt like there is no reason why she won't continue to develop normally. Yay!

We mentioned that we've been referred for her muscle tone, and he was kind enough to tell us that based on his experience Emily was still within normal development range. He said he'd be glad to stay in the loop on all of this, which we might take him up on. We haven't heard anymore from our Pediatrician's office regarding when our appointment will be with these other specialists. But that should be soon. Since our appointment Friday we've noticed that she'll hold her head up sometimes, and catch her weight on her legs a little. I realized that it doesn't seem as though she can't do these things, but that she isn't too interested at this point. She seems content to snuggle in, which is awfully hard not to love.

So, we've ended one thing just in time to start another. And while I can find myself concerned with the what-ifs, more than that is gratitude first for Emily and the addition she is to our family, and second for modern medicine and the early intervention we are blessed by.

Nathan's Big Find!

Maryhelen has been bugging me to post these for a while, so I had some time today, and thought I would get it done. I saw one of these land at Washington Elementary earlier in the morning for Veteran's Day, and I was going to take Nathan over to see it. While getting him ready, he said "airplane!" He loves the airplanes and helicopters that fly over our house (we live close to an airport and helicopter training school), and he calls them all airplanes. Sure enough, he had heard one and we went out to see and low-and-behold it was another Apache landing by our house at one of the local Charter Schools. He was very excited to go and see.

He got to see the pilots and actually touch the Apache. I even had him saying "Apache" for a second. Later that day, another Apache flew over Grandma's house and landed at another local elementary school. Nathan got a kick out of watching that also.

Twelve Weeks Old

Our dear Emily is twelve weeks old today. Twelve weeks!! She is lovely and bright and we are so lucky to have her in our family.

We paused today to snap a few pictures. She's learning how to cheese for the camera already!

Super Smiley Lady!!

She has put her weight on her legs a little tonight as well as held up her head. Maybe she heard the concern we have for her and is going to help us though. You go girl!

Special Thanks

I'm sending a great big THANK YOU into the bloggosphere to the person who turned in my purse tonight after finding it left in the cart return at WinCo. I appreciate so much your kindness and honesty and being spared all of the ~ well, everything ~ that I might have had to go through should someone else have found it and decided to run away.

May the good karma you've created come back to bless you!

Our Precious Skinny Chicken

We've joked that Emily doesn't seem like she's filled out any, but has gotten longer. I stumbled on my measuring tape the other day while she was close by so I decided to take some measurements. I found that she was between 25 and 26 inches long, which means she's grown two or three inches since birth. But I also found that her chest was still the same 15-inches it was when she was born. So we were right! She has gotten longer, but not filled out any. Her head is a little bigger ~ 16 to birth's 15 inches.

The camera was also close, so I got these pictures. She looks so much like her siblings, except for her whole body is different. :)

Precious precious girl!

We Saw the Doctor Today

Emily saw her terrific doctor today for her 2-month check. She was of course about as happy as she's ever been, just in time to ruin her day with three shots. This seems to be what happens any time we've taken our kids for their immunizations. Go figure!

Are you ready for this? She weighed 11lbs 3oz and is 25 inches long. Just for reference, Nathan weighed 11lbs 6oz when he was SIX DAYS old. But we are adjusting to this new kind of creature, and Emily is just right for Emily.

All during her exam, Em was talking to the doctor ~ seemingly trying to tell him everything he was asking about, all by herself. I finally quit talking for a moment so she could say what she had to say. Pretty adorable!

We've marveled at how long Emily has stayed infant-like ~ still curling up and not quite gaining control of her head or losing her startle reflex. I noticed when she was born that her grip was soft. She's stayed "little" longer than we remember any of the other kids doing.

I had started to wonder (in a try-not-to-worry sort of mommy way) whether she was having trouble with her muscles ~ her inability to hold her head up or support her weight on her legs, and mentioned it to the doctor today.

He found that she might have a little bit of a low tone to her muscles and has referred us to a group of evaluators who will check Emily's abilities and perhaps prescribe some exercises or therapy. We'll see them in a few weeks.

Developmentally Em is right on schedule. Her conversation with the doctor and her ability to see him and smile for him were right where we'd like her to be.

So another adventure to begin! How grateful we are for early diagnosis and intervention, that we might address these issues (like we did her hips) now and avoid troubles later.

Pictures coming soon!

We Voted!

Kurt got home this morning and we decided to tag team our voting, rather than potentially go with two small children only to wait in line in the Health & Welfare building where there's nothing fun to do, except get into things and places that aren't meant for small children to get into.
So after feeding the baby (my timer, dontcha kno) I took off and got there to find a line down "the wall" (where there were signs up telling voters to stand next to). I brought my journal and my scriptures with me ~ childlessness doesn't come often and I was terrified of just standing there for a long time. But just as I was reading an old entry, a woman came out of the room we were all waiting to go into and said, "anyone A through F?" I was the very last person in line, so when everyone in front of me said "no", she started to turn and walk away. I thought to myself, "wait! I'm an F!!!" So I jumped and walked in front all these other people waiting and went in to the little lady sitting alone behind the "A to F" line. I GOT RIGHT IN! So now, my hands were full of scriptures and my journal that were just extra baggage, getting in the way. geesh.
I showed her that I was who I said I was and she directed me to the second line where I would get my ballot. After picking it up, I walked to one of the open cardboard dividers that help us have some privacy while filling in completely those little circles. Here's where I appreciated being childless most: friends from the neighborhood and from church were there with their tiny people and it was of course chaotic to keep track of people and make sure the little guys were all attached at the leg to the appropriate tall people. One little boy got separated (looking up from the leg he was holding only to find that that was NOT his mom!), and was quickly ushered back to the right place. Thank goodness.
As I was filling in my little circles, I was close enough to the line where people were turning in their ballots to hear the "announcer" lady. You know the one I mean ~ the lady that says, "Ben E. Hanna has voted!" when you turn in your ballot. I was taken back for a moment to a time when I must have gone with my mom to vote. At Wilson Middle School. (you know that was a long time ago when it isn't even a middle school anymore) My Social Studies teacher, Mrs. Cummings was the "announcer" lady. And she did her job with gusto. This morning, the lady was quietly making her declarations. Mrs. Cummings would have had none of that. "BOB DENVER HAS VOTED!" Mrs Cummings would say while holding up Bob's ballot before dropping it in the box. I remember as a goofy kid, seeing my teacher there, feeling kind of awkward about her being so loud. Her voice filled an otherwise pretty quiet library. And then, being sort of embarrassed for her, she of course recognized me and acknowledged me by name. Now I was embarrassed that the loud announcer lady knew me. Funny how memories come when you might not expect them. Mrs. Cummings was a grandma when I had her and now I see her headstone at the cemetery near my family. She was an awesome woman...probably worthy of a post all her own someday. One quick memory was how she always used to call Joel Cano (Joe-elle Kahn-o) "CANO!". Especially when he took off down the hall with her prosthetic foot one day.

So back to voting. I was able to finish my ballot and get back home in less than 20 minutes. Kurt went and was back more quickly than that. There wasn't a line at all for him. And he found the little "A to F" lady all by her loney self again. Maybe we'll have to make her some cookies or something, poor dear.

Lines are around the block, around the building today in other places. Boise polling places are showing that there can be multi-houred waits. I'm so proud of people who are moving past the apathy we've seen in past elections. And prayerful that things will turn out well for everyone.

Happy Election Day!!

Happy Halloween!

I'm happy to present our little candy mongers. With three trick-or-treating this year plus our WAY overshooting how much candy we'd need here at the house, we are comfortable that at least now we have our year's supply.

Everyone had a great Halloween I think. Special thanks to Kurt, who got to take care of EVERYTHING again because mommy was down with strep throat.

We'll start with the youngest.... recapturing the love that Elizabeth shined with on her first Halloween, may I present Emily as Minnie Mouse.

She wasn't thrilled about the ears but tolerated them. She was adorable and smiled for Grandmas and Grandpas.

Moving right along to the boy and another recycling of an Elizabeth costume. This version though is not the Dalmatian Liz was. HE is a Firedog!

Nathan had the best time and we even got him to

say "trick or treat" once he learned there was candy on the other end. He can down a roll of smarties like a pro! He'll also eat mom's banana Runts for her without complaining.

Melissa is next. She put together her own costume to go as Word Girl. Who is Word Girl you ask? She's an awesome, crime fighting, vocabulary-building superheroine from PBS. Word Up!

Kathryn was a mighty fine looking Cowgirl. Don't ask when she got so big....it surprises me every time I look at her. She'll trick-or-treat next year for the last time.

Finally we have Elizabeth. She went to a friend's house for a party and decided to go in a costume. She came up with it herself. Pretty creative I think!

Just a girl in sweats and a mortarboard? Nooooo.... notice her pants

have something stuck on...those are packages of Smarties.

This is Liz as Miss Smartie Pants!!!

What's the Date Today??

The little guys and I stopped in Wal-Mart this morning to pick up a few things (like dish soap), and while we were there I poked around a little to find the Halloween clearance. I'm in the process of trying to build my stash of holiday decorations for our downstairs bathroom and hoped I might find a cute (cheap!) themed hand towel or two. Plus buying Christmas candy when it's on sale after Halloween is something I've done before. But when I couldn't find it in the normal "clearance" area, I asked an associate who told me ALL OF IT HAD ALREADY BEEN PUT AWAY. She expressed her frustration at this, saying "we aren't happy either." The entire store was decked out for Christmas!! Even the Thanksgiving stuff was clear in the back on one tiny shelf. Bonus I guess was that even a bunch of that was on sale. I found some festive fingertip towels for 75 cents a piece.

A friend of mine posted that she heard a Christmas song on the radio Friday night as she was driving to see her nieces for Halloween.....what is the world coming to??

It's Probably a Good Thing He Wasn't Born First

As I was making dinner, looking out my kitchen windows at the beautiful sky and the setting sun and the really cool "town" the kids have built out of junk they've found in the field next to our house, I turned and looked out the other window to see my son, eating the gunky carrots I'd thrown out to the dog. (Yes, the dog likes carrots!)

This after two hours of fighting to keep him in his bed for a nap this afternoon, which we (the girls and I) finally lost. More frustrating is that this doesn't happen when daddy is home. Nathan might try to get up once, but then being put back by daddy is enough motivation to get him to stay there. I can use the same firm tone of voice and all the mean mommy I can muster (that has always worked before), but there he is at his door before I can even get to the top of the stairs. In the week since he's learned to get out of his bed, I think I've only won one day. Not sure what to do about this...

For his four sisters' sake, it's probably a good thing Nathan wasn't born first. Their presence in our household might have been in jeopardy if that was the case. As it is, we're realizing we didn't appreciate the ease in which we had things with our first three daughters. Ease of daughter #4 is yet to be determined.

Once again it's a good thing he's cute!