Christmas 2008

We drove to Denver for Christmas. We stayed with Grammie & K., who are always gracious hosts. We spend the week visiting friends and family and enjoying a few moments while the kids were at the “babysitter.” (That would be Grammie & K. The kids probably enjoyed this time even more than Brian & I did!) We always love going back to Colorado, but the visits are never long enough.

Thanksgiving

Brendan's class had a cooperative Thanksgiving feast on the last day before the break. There was tons of food for the kids and Brendan was so sweet to share his with Sela.

We went to Glenwood Springs for Thanksgiving. Grammie, K. and their moms met us there for a great weekend. We swam in the hotel pool, we swam in the hot springs pool, we went to a craft show at the Hotel Colorado, we swam some more, we went out to Thanksgiving dinner (which was a terrifically no-stress experience!), we swam even more, and at the end of the weekend we took the gondola to the caves. The water was great, the caves were fascinating, and the company was the best part of it all.

October Recap

Some stuff we did in October:

Crazy hair day at Brendan’s school:

Playing in the leaves:

Cleaning up the leaves:

Green belt testing:

Halloween

Brendan loves space, so we created an astronaut costume for him. Sela loves pink, so we turned her into an alien princess.

Brendan had a costume parade and a party. Sela was absolutely terrified of the hawk mascot who led the parade. For weeks, every time we went to pick up Brendan from school, she would ask where the bird was while looking at the school as if the bird would come running out at any second. Wouldn’t Disneyland be fun right now?!?

For trick-or-treating, my mother invited us to her office. I have never seen an office more decorated for any holiday. Every area, every cubicle was decked out. One team had a whole pirate thing. They had created a ship with cannons and the team members were all dressed as pirates. The kids walked out, after more than an hour of walking around, with two very full buckets of candy. (Note: It lasted beyond Thanksgiving!) It was a ton of fun.

Idaho Falls

In October, Brian had a week long shutdown, which means he is gone for the entire week. At the same time, Brendan had a 5 day weekend. Staying home for 5 days with just the kids isn’t really my idea of a good time, so I took off to Idaho Falls to visit some friends. It was really nice to reconnect with some folks I haven’t seen for more than 10 years. One couple the kids and I visited now have their own kids who are just about Brendan & Sela’s age. My friends took us all to a play place and the kids had a ball. This play place has a tube and slide area and then an area for dressing up. I think there was yet another area with games and such, but our little ones are not quite ready for that. The dress up area was the biggest hit of all.

My other friends are now grandparents, so they took us to a park. The kids loved having such a neat park and grandparent-types to play with.

All four of the people I went to see are wonderful people who mean a great deal to me. I have been in the Salt Lake area for almost 2 years now, and it has taken me this long to drive the 3 ½ hours up to Idaho Falls to see these folks. Sometimes my procrastination gets the best of me, but at least I finally did it! And it was worth it.

(Note: I have refrained from naming these folks for their own privacy. I also didn’t post pics of them or their kids for the same reason.)

Catching Up

Once again I have been delinquent in posting to the blog. So, I will do a quick update to catch everyone up.
July – Brian had his 20 year high school reunion so we drove back to Colorado for the weekend. The kids got to spend time with Grammie and Kate and other family. Brian reconnected with some friends from way back. I just sat back for the ride.
A few weeks after that, Grammie and Kate came to Utah to hang out with the kids for a weekend. We started by celebrating Brendan’s 5th birthday. It was just family, but tons of fun. Then Brian and I drove to my dad’s house in N. Idaho to get my piano and bring it home. We meandered our way up, visiting Craters of the Moon National Park and the taking the scenic route through southern Idaho. We didn’t get to spend more than 2 nights with my family, so it was much too short a trip.

Sela has been transitioning away from naps. Most days she still takes one. This is what happens when she doesn't:

August – We continued to harvest stuff from the garden and enjoy the last bit of summer. Lots of yummy food - salsas, tomato phyllo pie, pesto. A picture from one of the harvests:

Brendan started soccer this month. I was delinquent in getting him signed up, so in order for him to play Brian had to agree to be the coach. I am still giggling about this.
Brendan attended a “summer camp” which included swimming lessons. He had a ball for these two weeks. The last day of the camp, the kids jumped off the diving board. Brendan overcame his fear and actually jumped in. Good job, Brendan!

September – Brendan started kindergarten. We were supposed to be in the afternoon session, but it turned out we moved to the morning. Getting him up and moving in the mornings is a challenge, but I think it will work out better in the long run. Sela is attending preschool two mornings a week so I can do some school work. This was Brendan's first day of kindergarten (I didn't think I would cry. I was wrong.):

Brian and I made and canned some salsa from the tomatoes from our garden (supplemented with some from one of our dear neighbors – see the pics of what she gave us below). Another friend shared some plums with us, so I made freezer jam with that. And yet another friend shared some Persian cucumbers (I couldn’t tell you what makes them Persian, so don’t ask!), so I made some Russian dill pickles with those. The recipe is one my step-mom used when I was a kid. I remember loving those pickles. Turns out, I still do, and Brendan agrees. We ordered pizza for dinner one night and while we were waiting for it to be delivered, he asked for some pickles – then proceeded to eat half a jar all by himself.

October – The garden has slowed way down. Several things failed, but the tomatoes and strawberries were a huge success. And I loved making the pickles, so we will be rethinking what to plant next year. It is supposed to snow this weekend, so I am guessing the garden is done.
Brendan’s soccer season finished up just before the first snow. Here are a few pictures:

Sela has begun to refer to Brian as her “daddy-friend.” It is about the cutest thing I have ever heard. If only she would hold onto that thought as she grows into a teenager. Sigh. Both Brendan and Sela have put Brian in favor. He is the one they want to put them to bed. I rather enjoy this bond they have growing. We may not totally enjoy Utah, but Brian gets to be home so much more and that means a great deal for the kids.As for Utah, the best part about it is the scenery for sure. The colors of fall are just glorious on the mountains. There is a picture below that just doesn’t do it justice, but if you look closely you can see the blend of fall yellows, evergreens and one of the first dustings of snow on the mountains. I can (mostly) see this from our kitchen window, and more so when we drive through our neighborhood. Lovely.

Happy Birthday, Sela!

Dear Sela,

Can you really be 2 already? Man, time flies. It seems just yesterday you were throwing up after gagging on your first Cheerio. Now you will eat just about anything – including books, letters, and plastic toys. At least your appetite for real food, even healthy food, is pretty good most of the time. The only thing that frustrates me a little is when you don’t eat breakfast and want a snack an hour later. Argh.
Your physical development has been so very fun to watch. When you came home at 9 months old, you were not able to sit up by yourself yet. In November you started to walk, though, and now you are practically running and can jump a little bit. You also enjoy trying to copy your brother in all the things he does, like Tae Kwon Do. Really funny to hear your little “I-ya!”

As for talking, well, that is another fun bit. We have recently had you start putting you binkie in a drawer when you wake up from either bedtime or a nap. You are quite willing, which is really nice. But now that you don’t have an impediment in your mouth YOU DON’T SHUT UP! And I do love it. Even if I don’t honestly understand more than about a quarter of what you are saying. Some of the words you can use are brother, ‘eerio (cheerio), wa-er (water), ‘rapes (grapes), ‘Nette (for your friend Annette), Auva (for your friend Auva), gramma, papa, potty, and, of course, mommy and daddy.

You have been asking to use the potty, off and on, for the past few months. I am gearing up to hit the potty training full force soon. I need to do it before you get too stubborn, eh? If we can accomplish that task, maybe we can do some swimming lessons this summer, and maybe head to a gymnastics/tumbling class. We’ll have to see.

And little girl, you are very, very sweet and funny. You enjoy giving cuddles, have a terrific sense of humor, and have a very definite idea what you want and how you want it. Woe unto the person (usually me) who says no to you. Yikes! I am learning to have more patience when you throw the inevitable tantrum when you have been denied an object or action of your desire. I choose, instead, to delight in the times your very full personality shines.

We are blessed and grateful you have come into our lives. You are just an amazing and wonderful little girl. And remember that smile of yours will get you ever so much further than being a crank. Oh, wait, maybe I don’t want you to know you have that “weapon” at your disposal – I am just as likely as anyone to give you everything you ask for when you are sweet about it!

Love,

Mommy

It's Official!

It’s official! Sela’s adoption has been recorded by the state of Utah, and we have a US birth certificate! Now we just have to get her a social security number/card, passport, and, oh yeah, fill out MORE paperwork so the government will recognize her as an honest-to-goodness US citizen. Geez. The paperwork and money outpouring never ends!

Visit from Nana & Susy

Two of my favorite people just got to come visit us here in Utah, and are the first of my family to meet Sela. My Nana and Auntie Susy live in California, and we haven’t gotten to see them for a few years now.

They flew in the weekend before Memorial Day and stayed with us for the week. It was a tight fit in our small apartment, but totally worth it! Even when Nana snored loud enough to shake the windows. ;) They brought way too many gifts for the kids, but that is just how they are. Nana and Susy may not be materially rich, but they have more love to give than most other people I know. They have quite a bit of sass, too, to keep it interesting.

While they were here we did a lot of playing, went to the park a time or two. We also took a trip up to Park City to get some souvenirs from the Wasatch Brew Pub. Susy liked the beer they make called Polygamy Porter. The slogan is “Bring some home to the wives.” Irreverent humor, gotta love it!

Another day we took the kids’ wagon and walked to the Home Depot next door. I wanted to plant some flowers, herbs and tomatoes, but am fairly clueless about such things. I figured I would take advantage of having Nana and Susy here as they both grow things. We loaded up that wagon and then had to haul all the stuff up to our third floor. Ugh. The next day Brendan and I planted while Susy and Nana supervised. It was a lot of fun to see it come together. I’ll post updated pictures of how the plants are doing, assuming, of course, that they actually survive.

We also took everyone to the zoo, which was nifty, too. Sela put on some movie-star glam and

Brendan got to ride the train. The zoo had a new exhibit of a white alligator, “Ghost of the Bayou,” that was pretty creepy to look at. They aren’t albino, but have a genetic defect. Apparently there are only about 10 of them in the world right now. Then we walked all over the zoo until we were ready to collapse.

All in all, we had a great time with these two dear people. I am truly blessed that they are part of my family and my life. And that they actually put up with me is a HUGE bonus!

Happy Birthday, Little One

Dearest Sela,

You just turned 1. Already. You haven’t been home with us for even 3 months yet, but what an experience it has been so far.

When we picked you up, you weren’t even sitting up by yourself. Now you are crawling, albeit on your belly, all over the place. You have started to get up on your knees and elbows and hands with a little assistance. If we give you some support you are able to stand for a little while. It is incredible to watch you learn these new skills.

I don’t know that you have a favorite toy yet. Mostly, you like to get at whatever Brendan has and most likely doesn’t want you to have. The funniest part of this is that he wants to play with all of your toys. Go figure.

So far, you are game to try most foods. When we first gave you Cheerios – the toddler staple – you gagged on it with messy results. So, we backtracked and gave you rice puffs for a while. Once you got the hang of those, we tried Cheerios again with great success. Now, those are just too boring for you. And why not? It certainly isn’t what the rest of the family is eating for pete’s sake! We haven’t introduced a few foods that are more prone to causing allergies, but we are hopefully that will go smoothly. I mean, who can live without peanut butter and strawberries? (I know there are those out there who do, but my life would just not be as joyful without those two things!)

Your personality is oh, so much different than Brendan’s. You are fussy, particular, funny and happy. When some slight is thrust upon you (usually Mommy or Daddy taking away something you shouldn’t have or Brendan taking away something he wants) you can howl with the best of them. If you take a tumble or get bumped or scared in any way you can let loose then, too. Thankfully for us, you are also easily consolable, for the most part. Usually we can pick you up or distract you and the tears will stop. On the days you aren’t cutting teeth and your brother isn’t picking on you too much, you are just way too much fun. Your smile can brighten a sunlit day. And your laugh is different than any other little kids I have heard, but it is no less infectious. I think if they could bottle baby/toddler laughter it would solve a lot of the world’s anger. Then you have this – look. You lower your chin, furrow your brow and give a stern look that could stop the antics of the naughtiest of kids. Then you usually put your chin up and laugh because you did something really funny. Oh, and being naked? THAT is the absolute best, in your opinion.

We happen to think you are pretty dang smart, too. You know how to smile and flirt to get people to give you what you want. You have already started to make a couple of signs (“more”, “milk” and “please”), though not all the time. You are an expert at maneuvering yourself to get EXACTLY what you shouldn’t have.

While we have changed a lot in your little life thus far, we are hoping the coming year will settle down. We have a nice place to live, Daddy has a job that keeps him from traveling too terribly much, and hopefully your big brother will continue getting used to the idea of actually being a big brother. All in all, we are blessed to have you in our lives, and we couldn’t be happier.

Much love,

Mommy & Daddy