"So you think you dance?"

Anyone else addicted to that show?  I am a newbie, this is my first season watching it, but both Greg and I are hooked.  If you are also a fan, let's chat.

p.s. Stay tuned for pictures from Nathan's 2nd birthday party and Lianna's bridal shower that's this weekend.  Hannah has big plans for a very indecent game so it should be a blast.

Yes, they had our permission

Amendment

In regards to the earlier post  I want to say, now that I have cooled off, that nine times out of ten my kids really are good at the store.  Seriously.  They obey and don't whine for treats and act like semi respectable people.  I never hesitate to go out with them and all that has changed with the three of them is logistics.  Apparently the exorcism I did this morning on the kids didn't work like it typically does though and their (meaning Nathan's) heathen sides was revealed.  

Chelsie, don't worry too much.  Most of the time three kids is fine, just a lot of work.  Other people survive it and I suspect I will too.  

Uncivilized Beasts

Signs that the day is going to kick your *@@....

1. After the shower you take to revive your body after a night of no sleep, you put on a "clean" sweatshirt only to find that it has baby puke on the sleeve and back. And you decide to wear it anyways.

2. Your two year old wakes up at 5:45 and is having hysterically tired fits by 6:15 a.m. When asked if he needs to go back to bed he screams, "NO, I JUST WOKE UP!!"

3. The above mentioned two year old gets dressed after you literally drag him thrashing from under a wine stand, which he knocks over and breaks some of the contents in the process. The demon possession continues as mom, the goddess of all horrible things, has the audacity to require that he wear a shirt since we are headed to the store. Mom decides that she doesn't have the strength to go to the store and puts rotten child to bed. He is asleep in under two minutes.

1 hours elapses....

4. Rotten two year old wakes up, crabby as ever. However, the grocery store calls because once again, evil mom woman needs to pick up selfish things like ice cream and candies to decorate rotten two year old's birthday cake with, which happens to be tomorrow. Of all the dastardly deeds.

5. Baby Dane, who is always so mellow, decides to wail like a banchee at the grocery store as soon as entering. He decides he is squished. He decides he is being ignored. He decides that he hates his car seat. Mom frantically searches for binky in purse, finds none, and without hesitation opens a new package right there in the store and shoves on in his mouth. (NOTE: I did pay for them and no, I don't care that the package says to boil them first and to never ever use it as a baby sitter or a way to just shut a baby up.)

6. 31/2 year old and rotten two year old are bribed to the ceiling. They are each holding a fruit roll up that will be theirs IF AND ONLY IF THEY CAN KEEP THEIR HANDS TO THEMSELVES AND NATHAN I SAW THAT AND SO HELP ME AUBREY IF YOU PINCH HIS HAND ONE MORE TIME, DO YOU THINK THIS CONSTITUTES GOOD BEHAVIOR, YOU DREADFUL LITTLE INGRATES??????

7. After running into most of Liberty Lake at the store while I wear puke covered clothing and look like an ancient old witch, we go to pay. Once again, mom exercises her idiocy by turning her eyes away from "older" kids to pay only to hear Aubrey scream because Nathan (rotten two year old) has bitten her shoulder and drawn blood. With true delight in mom's heart, she takes rotten two year olds fruit roll up from him, hands it the cashier to take back, and proceeds to open Aubrey's and allow her to eat it in front of him. His anguished cries only make her heart swell with happiness all the more.

8. Saga continues at home, including two more time outs for rotten two year old, much self-righteous indignation from Aubrey and a half whimper of pain whenever Nathan looks at her (to her credit, that bite had to have hurt like hell, and yes I said hell and yes it felt good) a starving suckling baby, mountains of groceries to unload and a house that looks condemned. Oh, and I just had to interrupt typing this post because rotten two year old pooped his pants in bed after his mom forgot to change him into a diaper instead of his big boy underwear for his nap.

I QUIT!

Weekend in Yakima

We spent the weekend in Yakima for Greg's cousin Danny's wedding. He met his new wife, Ila, on line. (They are both deaf.) She is from Delhi, India, and arrived in the U.S. just three days before their wedding. Danny flew to India last fall and spent several weeks with her and her family but that is the only time they have met in person. Danny seemed so happy and Ila seemed happy but VERY overwhelmed. The only person from her family there was her mom. I think she's in for a big adjustment period, they are going to be living in White Swan, WA and she's from huge city India. Yikes. Anyways, I also included a picture of pregnant KayLynn and a few more of the family and kids from the weekend. Cheers!


KayLynn, six months pregnant.
Danny and his new wife Ila. Isn't she gorgeous??
My happy baby.
Aubrey and Nathan, driving tractor at a wedding reception.
A rare good picture of my whole family.

Dane's stats, take 2

I tried to do this post last night but our computer froze up, had to be restarted, and I lost my post.  I'm just not getting ambitious enough to repeat it.

Dane has his four month appointment and is our smallest baby.  He's almost exactly the size Aubrey was but being as she was a girl all her percentiles were higher.  He was 15 pounds 7 oz. (50th percentile) and 25 inches (only 25th percentile!)  I've never had a kid that didn't check out on the big side of things so this was a switch.  He's not going to get any chubbier either at the rate he's moving.  He rolls, flips, and then squinches and wiggles himself in circles.  I am not ready to have another mobile child.

Happy Memorial Day weekend to you all!

Have you ever....

...attempted to wrap prewrap (a thin wrap used under athletic training tape to protect that skin that is supposed to be wrinkle free) and strategically wrapped outer tape around a four month old baby's foot who REFUSES TO STOP ROLLING OVER?? It's really really really hard. (Read, impossible.)

Per request

Dane on his four month birthday
Greg on his 31st birthday, getting some help with the candles.
Two of my boys
Dane playing.  His coordination gets better every day.
Trying out the exersaucer for the first time.
Exersaucers seem to be fun for everyone...

Aubrey and I dressed up for Lianna's graduation dinner.

Jen has requested more pictures and I am never one to disappoint.  Here are some recent ones of my little lovelies.

Speaking of lovelies, Dane is four months old today and rolled from his back to his stomach for the first time!  He has been rolling the other way for a while but pulled this new trick out twice today.  He has to work for it but I already admire his persistence.  He grunted his way to his tummy and then looked so proud.  Already so big!

City girl humiliation

A little background.  In case any of you don't know, my dad grew up VERY rural.  Miles down a dirt road, snowed in months out of the year, trapped between a mama moose and her calf in his yard, one room school house, etc.  He is a man's man.  And he has raised some ridiculously citified girls.  Now for my story...

Remember the reindeer living down the road from us?  Lianna was visiting yesterday and I asked if she wanted to take a drive and go see them.  The kids were all excited, they love to go see the reindeer.  We pile in the car and take off.

When we get to the ranch, there they are, about 30 reindeer, eating, growing huge racks (their antlers), and shedding heavy winter coats.  Up ahead I spy a man and decide to go ask if they are his animals.  I have been very curious as to how these animals ended up in this part of the world.  This is how the conversation played out.

"Um, excuse me, are these your animals?"

"Yes, they are."

"Now, they are reindeer, right?"

(In true excitement): "REINDEER?  Where??" (Very bad sign.)

"Um...."

"THOSE??  (Snicker to self.) Those aren't reindeer, those are elk.  You're not from around here, are you.

(Stammer, stutter):  "Oh, ha, um, I thought elk had thinner horns.

Lianna, whispering in the seat next to me, "Antlers Sara, antlers."

"I mean antlers."

What followed was a very kind story about how antlers grow and how we were welcome to drive past the animals any time.  I had really wanted to know how he came by owning the animals but was far to humiliated to ask.  We sped off, probably never to return.  I assure you we were the talk of his dinner table that night.  Honestly though, is it my fault that they look so much like reindeer??

Later that night when I told the story to my dad I asked him why on earth he had gone along with my reindeer theory.  He said he was sure I knew what an elk looked like and trusted me when I said they weren't elk.  I started to describe the animals.  Do elk have white butts?  Yep.  Do they have thick ANTLERS?  Of course.  Are they smaller than moose?  Certainly.  I blame my father for not saving me from city girl embarrassment.  

The most distressing part of the story for my dad is that I can't get Nathan to now say they are elk.  After we got home Nathan said something about liking the reindeer and Lianna said, "You know, you can also call them elk."  Nathan scowled at her and said, "NO, reindeer."  My dad told me that I have to have Nathan calling them elk by Lianna's wedding.  We will be seeing his brother, my uncle then, and that man is an outfitter for heaven's sake.  His son's first word was elk.  It's all so embarrassing.

Nathan

Sometime this weekend the terrible two's fairy snuck into my son's room and whispered in his ear, "Hey there sonny, did you know that you'll be two in a month and it's time to become a grand daddy turd?" Nathan, ever dutiful, obeyed.

Nathan is very articulate and the most common things I have heard the past two days are, "NO WAY!", "Mommy, I no pee pee in the potty", and "No Aubee, I have first!!!!" even though he most certainly did not have it first. These phrases have been interspersed with hitting, time out, kicking, time out, dead weight fits, time out until your dead, and flailing of limbs. I kid you not, the two year old possession hit him over night and it is not pretty.

Aubrey, ever self righteous, spent most of her time today saying, "Wow Mommy, is Nathan really in a lot of trouble? Is he not obeying? Look, I am listening. Look, I am obeying. Can I have an M&M for obeying?" Dane got in on the fun by spitting up at least a guzillion times.

Oh, and I'm still sticking with the red until the hilarious comments quit.