Merry Christmas!

You guys are so lucky that I am in the hospital. This has got to be the most attention I've paid my blog in months!

We did Christmas morning at the hospital this year. Well, the kids did breakfast and stockings at home, and then they, Jeremy, my parents, and Angelina and Wayne all came down to the hospital to open presents.
It is a little different look without the tree, but the kids really did not care one bit.

Jeremy got an Eagles throw blanket to replace the one Blake stole from him about a year ago. Thanks to my wonderful friend who brought my fabric and scissors to the hospital and proceeded to do all the cutting for me since I couldn't get down on the floor. Good friends are priceless.
And here's Carolyn with something she's been wanting for well over a year. Get ready, world. She's planning on being a rock star someday.


We wish all of you a very merry Christmas and hope you are all doing well!

Thank goodness for...

puzzles...

vaulted ceilings...

and a sister-in-law who takes care of business when I can't.

Blake proudly told me he didn't even cry.

Blake's birthday

By far, the hardest part of being in the hospital has been missing Blake's birthday. We had plans. After weeks of trying to decide, he settled on wanting a Max and Ruby birthday cake. We made plans to go to lunch while Carolyn was at school, just a Mommy-Blake date. He was excited about his presents that were gathering.

Then he woke up the morning of his birthday to find Angelina there, not Mom. He loves Angelina, but it's not the same.

The first thing he and Carolyn asked after was whether or not I had made the cake. I didn't. Carolyn harassed me the entire day before. I told her I had time. Besides, I was trying to get her teacher gift finished and go to a meeting and do a million other things.

Instead of baking his cake, I was stuck in the hospital trying not to feel horrible that all of our plans were shot. Not just for that day, but for weeks.

I convinced Jeremy to go on the lunch date for me. He didn't want to leave me here, but once Angelina said she would sit with me, he went. That was fantastic for both of them. I am very happy that when I couldn't make it, the plans became a Daddy-Blake date. They don't get enough of those.

Then we spent the afternoon trying to scrounge up a cake. I knew it wouldn't be what he pictured, or what I pictured, but we needed to find something. We settled on a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake that said "Happy Birthday Blake! From Max and Ruby."As you can tell, he was more than happy to eat his substitute cake. (This boy desperately needs a haircut.)

Jeremy also went home to do presents and cake with Blake. We wanted to use FaceTime so I could watch Blake open his presents, but the hospital wi-fi is not up to snuff. Instead, Angelina and Jeremy taped it, and I listened on speakerphone. It was fun to hear the joy in his voice as he opened his gifts.

Thanks to everyone who helped make Blake's 3rd birthday wonderful. I am sure that I felt worse about it than he did. How could he be sad?! He got this awesome kitchen!

Guess who lost her first tooth?!

Zoo lights 2011

I had a long list of things I wanted to do this Christmas season, and I was insistent that we get started as soon as possible. The Christmas tree had to be up early. We were going to attend Zoo Lights the first week it was open. I needed to have family pictures taken before the holidays, so that I could attempt to get a Christmas card out.

I was feeling happy with my progress and a little overwhelmed trying to get Blake's birthday taken care of by Dec. 15 before tackling the rest of my list. Then we ended up at the hospital in the wee hours of the morning on Dec. 15 because my waters broke. Labor didn't start and since I wasn't even 29 weeks yet, the doctors determined that I would stay at the hospital until I delivered, which we hope will be 6 or 7 weeks from now. (Sorry for the repeat information for those on Facebook.)

Those were things we were able to do. Of course, I still had a list a mile-long that has been snipped here and there as I adjust to a hospital room instead of my own house. I am so happy with the things we were able to get done before it all came to a stop.

Going to Zoo Lights without a memory card in your camera is stupid. Not only do you not get pictures, but you are still dragging around a camera bag. Also, iPods are not made for taking pictures in the dark. But I am so glad we have these few so that I remember we still had fun holiday activities this year.

This gingerbread house was my favorite light display. And it's the only one that semi-turned out in the pictures.

We took the kids around the zoo for the train ride. Blake and Carolyn loved seeing all the different animals lit up in lights.

We ended the night with dinner at Five Guys, trying to get Blake and Carolyn to eat before falling asleep.

Wishing you a little sugar mixed in with your Christmas

Pictures from a 5-year-old photographer

We are having another boy due at the beginning of March.

Carolyn ran in her school's fundraiser and did 9 laps that were 1/8 of a mile long in 20 minutes. She had so much fun. And thank you to everyone who sponsored her. It made her day. She was telling everyone, "I ran nine laps, and Mom told people I would only run eight."

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Blake helped assemble his bottom bunk of the new bunk beds that made their way to our house a few weeks ago. The kids are now sharing a room, and I am still wondering if it was a good idea.

Pumpkins

Two kids excited to carve pumpkins

One who dove right in to all the goo and guts...

and one who bailed at the first touch of pumpkin innards to go make cookies with his aunt.

And no pictures of the finished products. I should be fired as family photographer.

Happy Halloween!

From Thomas and a cheerleader for a defunct team--but we had all the pieces to make the costume. That was my number 1 priority this year.

First day of school

Why is it so hard to get a normal picture?

I was all prepared to send Carolyn on the bus yesterday for her first day, but, first, we were given the wrong pick-up time by ten minutes, so we missed the bus to school. I drove her and got her in class in the nick of time. Then, the bus came to drop her off, but she wasn't on it. I had about two panicky minutes where I freaked out about where she could be before I got a call from the school office saying her teacher made a mistake and Carolyn was still at school.

Let's hope today goes smoother.

Carolyn's big day

Carolyn had two exciting events yesterday. She went to meet her kindergarten teacher and had a mini day of class. It was a big success, and she is super excited to go back on Thursday for her first real day of class. No pictures of that though! I justify it by saying Thursday is the real day, and I will try to remember then.

But I got pictures of our evening activities because they will never happen again.

We started out by going to dinner, just me and Carolyn.

It is so relaxing to eat with a five-year-old, opposed to a 2.5-year-old boy who thinks making messes and being loud is just fine entertainment.

Then we walked over to our main entertainment for the night...

Carolyn heard about this concert from a conversation I had with Jeremy regarding my sister's propensity to win tickets from radio stations. She hadn't won tickets yet, but was planning on trying. Carolyn loves Taylor Swift. We've spent the last year in the car listening to her Fearless CD. Carolyn can sing every song. While I enjoy her music, there have been multiple times I have wished to never hear another song because of the sheer volume of it we listen to. Once Carolyn knew she was coming to town, she asked me to win tickets and take her.

Angel and I decided to give it a shot. After a week of trying to win one particular game, we did it and had two tickets. Angel graciously said that I could take Carolyn. We spent the next week and half trying to win a second pair, but never even got a ring into the station.


These little earplugs were our lifesaver. Carolyn asked to put them in while we were outside the stadium looking for our seats. It was incredibly loud. I have been to concerts where the bass was so loud you couldn't hear the artist sing, but I had not been to a concert where the people were singing and screaming so loud you couldn't hear the artist. There were a couple songs, I don't think Taylor Swift even had to sing because the stadium had it covered.
We had great seats and Carolyn could see everything happening on stage no problem. Taylor Swift doesn't just sing her songs, she puts on a show for every single one. That really helped with Carolyn's attention span. I figured she would get antsy, and we might leave early, but she wanted to stay.

Although, when Taylor Swift decided to sit under a tree and talk for a long time, we took a mini-break to get water and stretch our legs. It was a good break. We didn't miss any songs Carolyn was familiar with.

Carolyn did start to act tired toward the end. I said we could leave, but she really wanted to hear "Fifteen" and "Love Story." Those were the two encore songs. So we stayed until the glittery end. Did you know Taylor Swift likes glitter?

It was totally worth it. For "Love Story," she rides in this balcony all around the stadium. She went right over us and Carolyn was waving like crazy, so excited to see her up close.

Did I mention that before we went she asked me if Taylor Swift was a real person? It blew her mind when I said yes. She then told me she liked Taylor Swift more than Hannah Montana. Me too.

A family member gets a facelift

Our precious doll-doll was really starting to show her age.

Her hair fell out.

As did all the stuffing in the feet.

She lost her "tail" (the tag on the back).

And slowly, from all the washing, her stuffing was getting lumpy and flat. Plus the washings were getting few and far between because we were worried she would just disintegrate in the wash. So on top of it, she was dirty and smelled bad.

Who wants a family member like that?

Not Blake. He started dropping hints about a month ago: "My hope for Chwistmas, my get a new doll-doll." "My dolly bwoken, dad, my need a new one."

I guess these weren't so much hints as a plea for help.

But where do you buy a doll that was sold in Toys R Us five years ago? Only on ebay.

So today Blake left this upstairs...


and came down to find this on the counter...
The comparison is really much sadder side by side. I certainly forgot how lovely dolly once was.

Coast

We headed out to Cannon Beach to enjoy some of the beautiful weather that finally arrived in Oregon. It's about time summer started. Usually my kids like to just play in the sand and maybe get their feet a little wet...

...this time, they decided to just go jump in the ocean. I wish we had come prepared. Next time, we bring swimsuits!


Aunt Bean and Uncle Wayne came along for the ride. This is how they started out playing frisbee. About six feet apart. Pathetic.

Eventually they moved far enough away from each other that they didn't fit in the same frame.


We enjoyed burying Carolyn to her neck in sand.
Blake helped.

Blake wanted to have a turn too. We didn't bury him to his neck because I was worried he would freak out. Instead, we just went up to his armpits. We took video after Blake got buried. His voice is so quiet that it is hard to hear, but you can get the jist of it by watching. Click here for cuteness.

This is just a quick preview of the video.We left the beach for lunch, and then headed down the coast to collect salt water taffy and Tillamook ice cream. We planned on stopping for dinner, but not a single person was hungry after a giant lunch, so we just headed home.

After the long, hot day, the kids fell asleep on the way home.

All of the kids.


Although taking pictures with a flash makes one of them smiles like this briefly before falling back asleep. I am glad she fell back asleep because we got to deal with post-nap grumpiness at home instead of in a car with miles to go.

We ended up feeding our kids instant breakfast shakes out of sippy cups in the bath as we cleaned them because we knew the meltdowns wouldn't hold off if we tried to feed them a meal at the table. We quickly put them both in bed before crashing onto the couch ourselves.