Ryan's Feast

 Ryan is in preschool this year at a great little pre-school here in town.  And I volunteered to help in his classroom for their Thanksgiving party- or their FEAST!  It was so much fun- I went a little early because I wanted to watch him in his classroom for a little bit before everything else got started.  I peeked in his classroom and he was singing his little heart out.  I walked into the room and he burst into tears.  Oops.  He's such a funny little kid- I still haven't figured him out- but he's cute enough I think I'll keep on trying to. 

30

I turned 30 this year.  Apparently it's a bad thing.  30 is a number to be feared.  But I have to admit- it's not so bad.  It's all about perspective.  Something that must be an important lesson for me to learn- since the Lord keeps insisting that I understand it.  So often I get bogged down in the enormity of all the little things that I forget about the big picture and why we are here. 

I'm looking at this picture of Shaun and I as I type this post and I have to admit- there are a few wrinkles, and I'm not the weight I want to be and I need lessons in how to do my hair...  But each of those things paint more than just a picture of what I look like physically- they each give testament to where I am today and how I got there.  Those lines around my eyes are there because I smile and laugh... a lot.  Even with three little kids that drive me nutso- I laugh a lot.  The wrinkle in my forehead is from giving my husband "the look" too many times.  The weight is a result of three beautiful babies and evidence that I have never gone hungry. 

I am so blessed and I am happy to be 30, because of everything that has come with it.  Thanks everyone for being a part of my journey- I look forward to many more birthdays to come!

Beethoven's 6th

Shaun and Jess at the Symphony

One of my favorite things about being back in the city are the opportunities that are more readily available to us.  I have missed being able to go to the symphony and the ballet while living in Montpelier, and we took the chance to rectify that last weekend and went to Beethoven's 6th with my mom and dad for my birthday. 

It really was so nice- and even Shaun, who had never been to a symphony before said that it was "alright."  Which- if you know Shaun- this is counted as a WIN.  The fact that he didn't fall asleep or say outright that he hated it was such a relief to me.  I LOVE classical music and hearing it live is such an awesome experience- I get really caught up in it and it was kind of nice to be able to share that with Shaun.  

Fall Days

The boys are constantly playing ball at our house.  In the house.  Out of the house.  Around the house.  If they could figure out a way to play it on TOP of the house, I'm sure they'd do that too.  They love to play catch.  They are both better at catching a football than a baseball right now- so most afternoons you will find the two of them in the front yard playing a brotherly game of football.  I'm not saying that either of them play fair or that the rules don't change from time to time- but at least they are having a good time. 

 

Of course- with a yard full of leaves- they tend to get sidetracked from time to time and get into a leaf fight instead of a football game- but really- that's just good fun.  

 Kate tries to play both football and the leaf-fight, which leaves her brothers with an interesting challenge.  They want to play with her too- but don't want to hurt her.  They try to play so nice and soft- and she usually turns around and whops them both.  And she's not afraid of tackling either.  She's probably the roughest of the bunch. 

 

 Dad came out to play with the kids the other day and started throwing Kate in the air- this was her face on the way back down... She LOVES it!  And her dad... 

A Monkey

 We live with a little monkey.  I have never had a climber before- so this is NEW to me.  But Kate climbs on EVERYTHING!  She's driving me nuts.  It seems like everytime I turn around she's climbing on something new.  Yesterday I found her on the table.  The day before that it was the bookshelf in the living room.  I may have to tape her to the wall just to get her to stop climbing it!!

I also bought Kate an apron to wear around the house- besides being a climber- she is a total slob and spills anything and everything all over herself.  Instead of a bib- which only covers the top half- I bought her an apron that covers most of her body.  Pretty ingenious I thought.  And she likes it too- so it stays on.  It's pink and covered in cupcakes and it looks so cute on her.

 I also gave piggytails a try the other day- just on the side of her head instead of on top- and they worked!  And then I braided them to be silly and she looked just that.  Silly.  Shaun thought the braids were fake because of how they stuck straight out of her head.  I think we'll wait a little longer to do the braids again- maybe give her hair a chance to get thicker!!! 

HALLOWEEN

After many programs, parades, parties and trunk or treats... The Scariest Day of the Year finally arrived.  Whew.  I love Halloween so I don't mind that it was a little drawn out this year- but at the same time I 'm kind of glad we can now move onto Thanksgiving.  

Anyway- here are my little trick or treaters before they hit the streets...  Two gorillas and a witch!

 And their mom...

 Hee Hee and Jeremiah went out trick or treating with us, while Shaun and Grandma stayed home to hand out candy.  Actually- grandma was all for turning out the lights and going to bed- but we talked her into staying up for a little bit.

 As the night came to a close- I could NOT figure out why Kate's bag was so heavy!  She's only one and didn't really trick or treat all that much.  She mostly chased the boys and ran circles around Melissa.  I dumped out her bag when we got home and found it half full of ROCKS!!!  I guess she missed the memo saying you were supposed to put CANDY in your bag...

Hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween!!!  Now- quick!  Send me your hiding places so I can steal my kids candy without them finding it!!

Halloween Program

We had a busy week this week.  Both Ty's parade and Ryan's program fell on the same day within and hour of each other.  Again- thanks to help from my family- I was able to make it to both!  

Ryan's preschool had a costume day and a program last Thursday and my mom, Kate and I got there a little early so that we could get good seats!  When Ryan came out though- he flat refused to look at us.  When his teacher finally physically turned him toward us- he gave us the most dead-pan look I have ever received from a 3 year old.  NO smiles.  And hardly an acknowledgement!  What a goober!!  And yes- if you are wondering- Ryan was ALSO a gorilla for Halloween this year.  Though- Ryan had the impression that if he was a gorilla then he would be strong enough to squeeze someones head off...  Violent?!  Yes.  And I'm not really sure who he has been talking to...  

 Ryan did a VERY good job singing his songs and I was very proud of him!  We have come a long way in having a happy pre-schooler.

Halloween Parade

Ty is in Kindergarten this year and as such, was able to participate in the Halloween Parade at his school.  He was pretty excited- he watched the BIG kids do this at his dad's school for years and he was so stoked that it was finally his turn to be one of the BIG kids.  I really can't believe how BIG he is getting.  He loves school- and asks me each morning around 9 if it is time for school yet.  And every day I tell him that it's not time until we've had lunch.  It never changes- but he keeps checking just in case.  I love that he loves school- there are too many years ahead for him to hate it so early!  

 If you can't tell from the picture- he wanted to be a gorilla this year.  Odd?  Yes.  I have always believed that if you don't buy the stupid stuff for your kids then they can't wear them (you know the trashy looking cartoon T-shirts and crazy shoes)- but I figured Halloween only comes once a year and if he wants to be a gorilla then I guess he can be a gorilla.

He loved his party at school too and was pretty sad that it was done on an early day so they were only there for a couple of hours instead of the full time.

A Break-In

Let me tell you... There is NOTHING better than starting your day with the words, "My car has been broken into- Can I take yours today?"  

Yeah...  Shaun woke me the other day at 5:30 to tell me that someone had smashed his back window and that he needed the Kia.  I guess we weren't going anywhere...  Oh wait!  We go EVERYWHERE!  Thank goodness my mom was here to help me get kids to school.  

I called the police later that morning and reported it- the detective asked me if anything had been stolen and the only thing I could report was that a couple of empty CD cases had been taken out of the middle console.  EMPTY CD CASES!!!  If you are going to break into my car and steal from me at least make me feel like the theft was justified!!  Maybe I was irritated for the wrong reasons- but it still ticked me off.  

Field Trip

We went on a field trip last weekend to central Utah.  Sounds exciting right?  It was.  And we had a purpose which made it even better.  

My grandma Newren wanted to make sure that both my mom and I knew where some of our ancestors were buried so that when she leaves us, the knowledge doesn't go with her.  We spent most of last Saturday in Mt. Pleasant, Nephi and Mona gathering information and taking pictures.  

 Here is our very cool 4 generation photo that we took while standing behind my 4th and 5th great-grandmas.  With perhaps myself as the exception- there are a lot of powerful women both in and represented in this photo.

 Kate was quite the trooper- being stuck in the car all day was NOT her idea of fun- but she held up pretty well when Grandma pulled out the snacks!

Cafe Kidd

We do a LOT of cooking around here most days.  My little family has been growing... and I LOVE it!  Not only do I have my little family of 5 that I cook for each night, but we have since added my grandma.  And we are lucky enough to have Melissa and her husband, Jeremiah join us most nights. And a few nights a week, we also are joined by Kennedy and Lincoln (some new friends that I watch during the week).  Whew!  That's a lot of people in and out of the kitchen each evening- but Shaun and I are getting the hang of it.  My uncle compared me to a "short order cook", but I'm thinking that title doesn't really fit.  We're more like a soup kitchen.  Dinner is served hot at the same time each night and there is always a lot of it- with an open invitation to anyone that may drop by.  

 Here's Kate, Kennedy, Ty, Lincoln and Ryan waiting for their dinner the other night...

There's a nip in the air...

For the last several years I have hated fall.  I dreaded the end of the summer- I would get stomachaches and I could feel my muscles tensing...  I hated the advent of fall because it meant winter was coming.  Winter in Montpelier is 9 months long and the snow is nose deep.  I hate it.  I could never enjoy the few weeks of fall because of what was just ahead.  

But now...  There is a nip in the air, and I was smiling as I pulled out jeans and a sweatshirt for my boys this morning.  The fall air here in Salt Lake is crisp.  I want to wear a sweater.  I want to make a pie.  I want to rake leaves.  Okay- maybe not the raking part- but for a change- this October- I am excited for what's in front of me.  

I pulled out Halloween decorations yesterday and the kids helped me decorate...

 This little village was actually my grandma newren's.  She used to make and sell ceramics and I ended up with this little Halloween village.  She had painted it gray and white and had glued spiderwebs and spiders all over the houses.  It was cute- but I ripped it all off and painted it black...  What do you think??  Is it spooky?  My boys love it!  I keep catching them trying to play with the pieces- I think they'll be excited for the Dicken's Village this winter too.

 And because it's October, it's time for... HALLOWEEN SHIRTS!  Woohoo!

 I want the record to show that I know Kate's boots don't match.  They are hot pink and her shirt is orange- but they are squeaky boots and she loves them so I didn't make her take them off.  She's kind of a girl when she has them on- she struts around and tries to show them off.  It's pretty darn cute.

Ty came home from school the other day and was kind of sad, so I asked him what was wrong and he told me that he had been embarrassed in school today.  I kind of giggled and told him that EVERYONE gets embarrassed at school.  I told him about the time I tooted in Mrs. Braithwaite's 1st grade class.  It was in the middle of story time and the whole room was silent.  I was mortified.  Ty thought it was pretty funny though. Shaun told him about the time he talked in class and his teacher duct-taped his mouth shut.  Ty thought that was funny too.  Melissa told him about the time she threw up in class and Grandma told him that she once wet her pants in class.  Ty was rolling on the floor by the time dinner was done- I think we made him feel a little bit better about his bad day.  It happens to everyone- though I think it's really funny how these moments really stick with us.

Tickle Those Ivories

Kate LOVES having the piano in the house!  If it is open- she is on it!  Check out that cheezy little grin!

Lately

Life at our house is crazy as usual.  Between sick kids and school and new schedules- we hardly have  chance to breathe.  But just because that wasn't enough- we have some other news!  My Grandma Henriksen has come to live with us!  I really don't have a cute picture of her- I should fix this- but for now, here she is eating her dinner the other night.  She recently lost a few people and was feeling pretty lonely so we invited her to stay with us and our crazy family.  I hope she still likes us...  I know that going from a house that was super quiet to our house would be a shock for ANYONE- so hopefully the fact that she loves us prevails against the chaos.  

 Kate is entering a rotten stage.  I hate it when kids start to really want to feed themselves.  It's such a mess!!  And I hate not knowing exactly how much and what they eat.  I want to know that they are full, because full means a happy tummy and a happy tummy means a happy baby.  As you can see from the picture below- I think that more pizza is on her tray (and probably on the floor) than went into her mouth.

 We are still trying to get settled into the new house- somedays it feels like I'll never have everything put away but we are working very hard to get everything in it's place.

 We have a HUGE backyard that all the kids are in love with.  There is a gazebo (where the boys set up a "trap" to catch the neighborhood cat) and a playhouse (that has lights and a working doorbell) that they run back and forth from.  Kate loves that she can run around with her big brothers back there- and I love that it is totally fenced in and nobody can get out!  It's fun to watch them from the kitchen window as they play.  I'm pretty impressed with their ability to play together.

 Life for me is still a little up in the air with my new found illness.  I'm still struggling to kick wheat to the curb, but I am finding more and more resources out there that have been helping me along.  I recently mixed my own flour blend and am excited to try experimenting more in the kitchen.  I love to bake and I really miss it- so hopefully this is my road back to it!

The Dentist

So...  Ryan is three and has had a rough go of it so far.  He started in the NICU when he was born, where he spent two weeks.  When he was about 18 months, he fell and broke one of his front teeth.  When he was 20 months he lost a fight with a truck.  And now at three, his two front teeth are completely dead and are full of infection.  Lovely right? 

Our little Ryan is a trooper though- he kept telling me that he didn't feel very good- but I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him.  He kept telling me that nothing was wrong with his ears, nose, throat, tummy, or head.  Where else do you look??  One morning he about went through the roof when I was brushing his teeth and I found an abscess above his left front tooth.  So I took him into the dentist, where we found out that Ryan had two options.  We could either pull the teeth and he would have a space for a few years, or we could do a baby root canal on both teeth and it MIGHT save the teeth.  Though if we decided to go with the root canal, Ryan would have to sit in the dentist's chair for 3-4 hours.  Do any of you have three year olds?  Would yours sit through that?  I know mine wouldn't.  Anyway- I couldn't justify spending the money for a root canal on a baby tooth that was going to fall out anyway.  Maybe I'm wrong.  But I told the dentist to pull the teeth.  

Ryan laid back in the chair and the dentist pulled out his little gas mask (I couldn't believe how tiny it was- it was so cute!).  Ryan balked a little- but once we decided that it made him look like an X-Wing fighter from Star Wars- Dr. Marberger was good to go.  Ryan thought it was so cool and he spent the rest of the appointment trying to shoot the dentist with his "Missiles."  

 And about a half an hour later- Ryan had no front teeth.  I was a little afraid that he was going to look like a hillbilly... but it's actually kind of cute.

 He was stoked when he found out he could put his diseased little teeth under his pillow for the tooth fairy that night.  Ryan was so jealous of Ty when Ty started losing his teeth last Christmas- now it was his turn.  Admittedly the Tooth Fairy wanted to give Ryan more than the dollar she usually gives just because Ryan had to have them pulled, but her office manager reminded her that it probably wasn't fair to the other kids in the house.

It has now been a few days since we pulled the teeth and I cannot believe the difference in Ryan.  He is finally acting like his old self.  Even his color is better (like the whites of his eyes and the color of his skin)- he  looks and acts like a healthy (albeit a little skinny) three year old.  Woohoo!!  And it is kind of nice not to look at those front teeth any more!