Let your soul delight in fatness.

My soul certainly delights in this fatness! Mommy's got the good stuff apparently. Weighing in at about 18 pounds at 4 months, this girl is chubby! But we love our chubby bubby! They are so fun that way.

I just can't help but smooch this baby all day! She is such a happy baby. She is very patient with her sisters. They love to hold her and talk to her, and sit on her... She smiles and giggles and coos. She has the cutest little pink tongue that she spends a lot of time exploring. She loves to such her thumb, but will suck any finger she can get. In fact, I can tell how hungry she is by the number of fingers in her mouth. 4 fingers is very hungry--mommy better feed me NOW! Just the thumb, and she could take it or leave it (of course she always takes whenever food is offered).

If only Zenna would learn to be gentle with the baby... She can't wait for Phoebe to grow up so she can have a playmate to boss.

We love baby Phoebe. Can't believe she's 4 months, but at the same time, can't believe she hasn't been here forever!

Daddy, will you play Star Wars?

Lately, the girls have been very intrigued by Joe's Lego Star Wars game. It's like a movie for them, only they don't have to wait until Friday. Zenna loves Darth Vador. She calls him "Darfa Fader" and on her birthday, asked if she was getting darfa fader for her birthday. All day she reminds me that when dad gets home, she will ask him to play star wars. And when Joe walks in the door, he is greeted with squeals of delight, loves and kisses, and requests that he play Lego Star Wars so they can watch.

Luckily, though he has not been blessed with sons, he has been blessed with girls who are receptive to Star Wars.

Tonight, Abigail wanted to play with him. This was the scene:This was the dialog:
Joe: Over here! Not THAT way!
Abigail: Giggle
Joe: NO! Follow ME!
Abigail: Giggle giggle.
Joe: The OTHER way... turn around!
Abigail: Rolling on the floor with laughter.

She plays like her mom.

Kittens

For those of you who know Abigail, you knew it would only be a matter of time. We had a cat when she was a baby, and they were best friends. When we moved, we gave Jack to a neighbor (from whom he eventually ran away, and that was the end of Jack...). Since living in Washington, we haven't had a cat. About a month after moving, I noticed some very pleasant changes. We no longer had cat hair all over our clothes. I no longer had to tell Abigail to stop eating cat food (she set up tea parties with Jack, serving up plates of cat food for everyone to eat). We didn't have a litter box to empty (although, to be fair, Jack almost always did his business outside, and not in our yard...). With all these pleasant things, I was very glad to be rid of pets, and thought perhaps we'd keep it that way.

Then, Abigail began to realize that pets are very cool. For her fifth birthday, she wanted a puppy and a kitten. She began telling us this in July. She finally asked Joe point blank if she could have a dog for her birthday. He said no. She asked why (or why not... her very favorite question). He said that they were slobbery, and stinky, and messy, and loud. But her friend has a dog. Her friends dad likes dogs. She saw his point. "OK. I'll get a cat." Hm... not exactly the way this conversation was supposed to end.

The next day we got a call from a lady in our ward. Her daughter had kittens she was trying to place in a home. They wanted to get rid of two. We decided to go for it. They were delivered on Friday. The rest is history.


They are named Callie and Frances. They are very very loved. If they survive this love past kittenhood, my life will be more peaceful.

Happy Happy Birthday Zenna Dear!

Yesterday was Zenna's Birthday. She had so much fun. The girls sang "Happy Birthday" to her about once every 15 minutes all day. She wore a marker lid on her finger all day pretending it was a birthday candle. She practiced blowing it out all day long. She got to eat tortillas for dinner. It was a great day to turn 2!

For Mommy, this birthday was a little stressful. It had to be a birthday made out of what we had on hand. So, Homemade Birthday, here we come! I made a skirt our of some fabric scraps, and a set of fabric balls also out of scraps. I made a "Family Picture Memory game" using some chipboard squares and scrapbook paper. We had a lot of fun playing that for her birthday party. Then came the cake. I had to make a cake from scratch. No pressure.

This was the cake process: As soon as I took the cookbook from the shelf, I had a swarm of little people join me in the kitchen. "Are you making the cake?" "What kind of cake?" "Can we have chocolate cake?" "Will it have sprinkles?" "Can it be a pink cake?" "Will it have sprinkles?" "I want chocolate chips!" "Can I have a taste?"

Once they realized it would be a while before edible cake emerged, they left the area.

Then the oven timer went off, and the swarm returned. "What kind of cake is it?" "Is it done?" "Will it have sprinkles?" "Can I have some?" "Don't forget the sprinkles." "I want chocolate chips!" "I want sprinkles." "Can I have another taste?" "I want some sprinkles." "Will it have sprinkles?" "Don't forget the sprinkles!" "Can I taste the sprinkles?"

Minute by minute my sanity was slipping away... The swarm was getting louder... Phoebe was crying, so I escaped to go feed her, the girls left the area, and peace was restored.


I was a little ashamed of the cake (which tasted fine), because this is the kind of cake I grew up with:This is the cake my mom made for Olivia's birthday this year. A huge hit, and much more beautiful than mine. I am ashamed. I must learn those made cake decorating skills soon, so that my girls can have lovely birthday cakes...

Got White Trash?

Our front yard has been a picture of white trash for the past 2 years.

Overgrown bushes? Check!
Can't see the house? Check!
Weeds? Check!
Dead car that hasn't run for over a year parked in front of the house? Check!!

Well, we are slowing making the transformation from white trash to suburbian normalcy. Joe has cut down four trees, pulled out three giant Pfitzer Junipers, and we just towed off the dead car. While my weeding is not yet under complete control, and my roses need to be trimmed, we are improving our yard.

The problem now is that with so much space in the front, we have to plant something new... and considering my record for yard upkeep, what to do? Is it WT to have grass all the way up to the house? At least you can see the house...

We love homeschool!

The biggest event of my life lately is that we started homeschooling at the beginning of September. We have always planned to do this, and decided this is our year to begin! Abigail will be 5 in November, so her kindergarten year is next year. I decided that if I get a year head start, I will be in a good routine, and not feel overwhelmed the year it "really counts."

I am writing my own curriculum, and I am combining the standards for preschool and kindergarten outlined in the Utah State Core Curriculum (the one I can most readily find, and am most familiar with). We spend about 2 hours per day, four days a week. Friday is Library day, and the day I plan my lessons for the next week or so.

The girls are having so much fun! Every night before bed, they ask me what we will learn about tomorrow. They are so excited about everything we do. While I don't kid myself that this will last forever, it is an encouraging beginning.

Here are some pictures of our activities last week.

Working on assignments

Our art project this week:
This was part of our "bugs" lesson

Ward Choir

I was called to be the new Ward Choir Director at the beginning of August. This has been interesting. As we began choir practice in earnest (we took the month of August off), we had to figure out how to make this work. Since Joe is half the tenor section, having him stay home with the kids was not an option. And, since I also had to be there every Sunday for rehearsals, we decided to make it a family affair. The older girls sit at the back of the primary room while we rehearse (in theory), and I hold Phoebe in the sling while I conduct rehearsals.

What really happens is that the oldest two are trying the entire time to sneak out and explore the empty church building, Zenna is trying everyone's lap to see where she will be most comfortable, and Phoebe (good baby that she is) falls asleep to the swaying and singing.

Well, yesterday was our first "performance" in Sacrament Meeting. I almost forgot all about it. Then, when I remembered, I of course freaked out. But, considering that my back is to the congregation the entire time, it really wasn't that intimidating. I have not looked at my backside in a long time, so I have no reason to worry... what I don't know won't hurt me. :)

The number went well. I held Phoebe, Joe held Zenna, and we left the other girls under the charge of the Wings--very kind and capable people who sit behind us most weeks, and good rapport with the kids. I just hope that we are not becoming the ward freak show... I've never seen two kids in the ward choir before, but the church is, after all, about family, right?