Little Yellow Chick

Last night, Padyn's class performed "The Little Red Hen." When the teachers originally asked the kids what part they wanted, Padyn was adamant that she DID NOT want a speaking part. Well, the teachers, in their infinite wisdom, decided that all the kids would have a speaking part. Padyn was then cast as a chick, which she was initially not happy about. But, as time passed and she quickly memorized her lines, she grew into her part nicely. In the end, she was glad she got to be a chick. Just the right amount of lines, and a really cool headpiece.

Here they are, in all their glory...(Hey, I helped them paint that scenery. Didn't they do a stellar job?)Padyn was right in the middle with other chicks and the cats. (The middle made it hard to get a decent shot without someone's head intruding.)During the curtain call, Padyn was surrounded by two of her favorite people in her class. All aglow after her stunning performance...

She was so happy, she willingly agreed to take pictures with her sister!

And here she is, the star of our family...

Maybe next year she'll agree to a bigger speaking part...but probably not.

Photo Friday-Kids in Green

I have a theory...for every child you add to a photo shoot, the amount of shots you have to take in order to get a decent photo increases exponentially. These shots from St. Patrick's Day last week support that theory...

There is always someone NOT looking at the camera and it's usually the youngest.Someone's face is usually blocked by someone else's head.Someone usually has their eyes closed.Someone decides to use props in the shot.But if you take enough, you usually get one where everyone is looking the right way and has their eyes open, even if they're crazy eyes.And then sometimes the ones where no one is looking at the camera are the best shots...
Happy Friday.

Snow Bunnies

Is it Wednesday already? Guess that means I better show you the pictures of what we did this weekend. It was very monumental...we went skiing for the first time ever with children. Well, Daddy and the girls went skiing. Mommy and Robbie watched from the sidelines then went home for a nap. But the girls really did ski. We were a bit shocked that they went through with it. We both thought for sure the middle child would adamantly refuse and that the bigger one would chicken out. But no...they did it! I'm such a proud Mommy...

Here they are, waiting for their skis.For the first 30 minutes or so, Daddy just walked them up and down the little slope below the ski lift so they could get used to their ski legs.Here's what Robbie did...Actually skiing by themselves! They claim they want to go again...hopefully that is still the case next year. I'm not buying them skis yet...

Eleven Months Old Yesterday

Can you believe Robbie is almost one? I can't, either...

There isn't much that has changed since his ten month update. He has traveled on an airplane played in the sand since then, and there have been a couple nights where he's slept all the way through to 7am, but I don't count on that lasting.

He's a little less interested in food these days, which is hard to believe from this picture. But look at all those teeth. That might have something to do with his waning interest. His 8th on just popped through on the bottom and I think he's now working on a molar. Yikes.

You see the black stuff on his face? That's black beans...he new favorite food. That and blueberries. Bread is still up there, but it doesn't seem to be topping the list. And, of course, his bottle is still right up there, too. When I pull a clean one out of the cupboard, he starts getting all excited. Then he starts crying until it is in his mouth. It's a long 30 seconds while you are waiting for the water to heat up in the microwave before you can mix the formula in...

He has figured out that he can put one object inside another one. This is his new favorite toy that Padyn loves to help him play with. It's a "gumball" machine that you put these balls into. Then you press a lever and the balls roll out. Trust me...it's terribly exciting if you are almost one. He hasn't figured out pressing the lever yet, but he did figure out how to put the balls in the top. He doesn't always let go of them, though...These shots I took today while he was sitting next to Katelyn. I think they exemplify his personality pretty well these days. He is more and more interested in what others are doing, and is really making an effort at that crawling thing so he can get to the items he so desperately wants.
His sisters are still his favorite playmates......and he's not afraid to let you know just what's on his mind.Thanks goodness for happy babies!

Update on Where We ARE

(Do you see that, Juls? I didn't end my sentence with a preposition. But if it's a title, does the same rule apply? If only I knew a grammar expert...)

*Kate is on the final days of antibiotics that we started Friday. When I brought her in Friday afternoon, the phrases "ear infection" and "walking pneumonia" where uttered, but they don't really know what was wrong with her. Her cough sounded crackly in her chest and the doc didn't like that coupled with her 4th day of a fever.

*While the cough is still present, Katelyn is much chipper and almost back to her normally spunky self.

*And by normal, I mean drama queen on an adrenaline high.

*And crying. Wailing, really. Everything has to potential to result in tears. Sweatshirt not quite right in the car seat? Tears. Her sock is twisting? Tears. You get the idea...

*Robbie's fourth tooth on the bottom cut. He is still a bit snotty, drooling, and not eating as much as usual, but at least he's sleeping and he's happy.

*That brings him up to 8 teeth.

*I think Padyn's bloodshot eyes (I KNOW...the bloodshot eyes transferred from Katelyn to Padyn) are a result of allergies. Just to be sure, I took her to the expert...the school secretary. That woman knows her pink eye. She said it was probably allergies, so I'm going with that. Also, the eye drops helped and she was never ever goopy or itchy.

*We did ok with the time change. The girls didn't want to go to sleep last night, so they were pretty tired this morning, but it all balances out. When we put them down at 7:30 tonight, they were done.

*Me? I love that it's light later, but it really throws off my evening. All of a sudden it's 6pm and I realize I still need to get dinner on the table and bedtime is not that far off. I need it to be summer soon so that a later bedtime won't be as detrimental. But wait...that means all three of them are at home at the same time all day long. Maybe I can wait a little longer...

More Hawaii Photos

It seems these days I have less and less time to update the blog. Photos are easy enough, though...

Sunset on our beachIs she eating her tie? Probably.Padyn is so proud of the gap in her teeth.Father and son Honolulu skyline at sunsetEating the camera lens cover
Playing in the sand This was on our first morning in Hawaii. We are right off our porch, taking a look at the monk seals that apparently loved our beach. See that yellow sign? That means a monk seal is just beyond that. That's how close we were to them. And they didn't seem to mind us digging holes, jumping off the edge or sliding down on the boogie boards in their presence. But, if you managed to not see them and walk by between them and the ocean, they let out a huge bark. I saw more than one person startled on what they thought was a pleasant walk in the sand.
And here they are...the first morning we saw them, I thought they were dead. I mean, really. You don't expect to walk out and see seals lying on your public beach where anyone could come up and bug them. I was sure they were carcasses that had washed ashore. But no. They were in fact alive and just like hanging out on the beach all day long. Go figure.

Photo Friday-Padyn's Favorite Picture

This is real...it is not photoshopped. It looks funky because it's a photo from Joel's iPhone of the actual photo. (Our scanner is not too reliable these days). This was absolutely her favorite thing ever...shaking hands with a dolphin. More pics tomorrow...Happy Friday.

Here's Where We're At

We've been back from Hawaii for 5 days now, and so far we have:
*3 days of fevers (Kate)
*2 coughs (Kate and Robbie)
*1 runny nose (Robbie)
*1 pair bloodshot eyes (Kate)
*daily complaints of headaches, leg pains, and foot aches (Padyn and Kate)
*1 potential tooth cutting (Robbie)
*2 kids up in the night (Kate and Robbie)
*attempts at crawling (I think you know)
*lots of drool (you can probably guess this one, too)
*tired kids who want to sleep in larger than I will allow in the morning (all)
*a mommy who is still unpacking, doing laundry and sorting through mail...

As soon as we get it all sorted out, Daylight Savings will start on Sunday and we'll be messed up again.

Sigh...

Their Favorite Day

When you ask the girls what their favorite thing we did during our 13 days in Hawaii was, they will tell you "Sea Life Park." We had never been there before on past vacations, and unfortunately, it might not be able to survive this sagging economy, so we might not get to go back. It reminded me of Marine World Africa USA, minus the Africa part, during the old days, when it was still small and in Redwood City. They had a bunch of marine animals, shows, and activities for kids and adults. We went with our cousins, who you see in a few of these pictures.

There were penguins... ...yes, penguins actually live in Hawaii. Who knew?

And, of course, the dolphin show...

Petting the 8 month old sea turtle was the highlight for Katelyn...

...though falling down and scraping both her knees was not. This was Kate's other favorite part of the day...the Sea Lion show. The sea lions were almost as entertaining as their trainers. But Padyn didn't get to see the sea lion show because she was busy...

...playing with a dolphin...

These are in reverse order, but I was hoping to give you a sense of the set-up. The people stood on a platform in the dolphin pool and the dolphins swam around the people. Each person got the chance to kiss, be kissed, and shake hands with a bottle nose dolphin. Pretty cool. At the same time there where people in the pool who paid a whole lot more money to actually swim (and be pushed and pulled) by the dolphins. We didn't think Padyn was ready for that yet.

That's right...nice view.

You might notice that Robbie is missing from these photos. He spent the day hanging with Grandpa and Mimi learning to fake laugh. I think everyone had an equally good time.